Archives for April 2009

I Read A Book, Y’all

15 April 2009 by

I am a person with a widely varied and seemingly unending array of annoying qualities: I talk way too fast, I finish other people’s sentences, I let clean laundry remain unfolded for days on end, I repeat myself, I’m moody, I repeat myself, I procrastinate, I’m great at starting things but not finishing them, etc.

I also repeat myself.

Anyway, over the last couple of years I bet I’ve started twenty different books that I’ve never finished. It’s not that the books haven’t been wonderful. It’s not that the books haven’t been compelling. It’s just that I have the attention span of a four year-old who’s been hooked up to an IV of sugar and caffeine, so if I don’t HUNKER DOWN with a book and physically move myself away from all possible distractions, I’ll read 20 or 25 pages, set the book down to go fix a diet Coke, and before I know it I’ve cleaned out half of a cabinet in the kitchen and started boiling water for some something that I was planning to cook but completely forgot about because I decided that it was of the utmost importance to watch 17 minutes of “America’s Next Top Model” before moving a vase from my bedroom to the table in the foyer and then deciding to eat some Goldfish.

Well.

A few weeks ago I found out (from a book review – not from a publicist or publisher) about a new book called The Help, and I read an excerpt on Amazon. I was immediately hooked. The book takes place in Mississippi, my beloved home state, and it’s set in the early 60s, a time period that’s always fascinated me. However, if you’ve been lurking around here awhile you know that my interest in a work of ficton set in the early 60s is pretty uncharacteristic because, as I’ve mentioned several times before, I don’t like to read things that take place too far in the past because the lack of air conditioning stresses me out. I don’t like to think about people being really hot. It makes me nervous.

Feel free to add those last three sentences to my list of annoying qualities.

Anyway, despite the fact that the book takes place during a time when I knew that people were going to be BURNING SLAP UP, I still wanted to read it. And over the last three or four days, that is exactly what I’ve done.

I finished it this afternoon. And I cried like a baby. I wish I could buy a copy for all my friends.

The language in the book is a little more colorful than I expected (though I can hardly blame the characters since they were in fact BURNING SLAP UP), and there were a couple of scenes where people said such hateful things that it made me squirm a little bit. But the characters in this novel got so far up under my skin that when I wasn’t reading, I missed them. I LONG for a sequel to this book because I want to check in on them and see how they’re doing. I want to make sure they’re okay.

And you know what else? As a girl who has spent her entire life in the South, I am a STICKLER for accurate Southern dialect. I cannot stand it when an author’s interpretation of Southern is “Well, mah word, dahlin’ – I think I’ve got a case of the vapahs.” A real Southern accent is just as much about the rhythm of the speech as it is the pronunciation of the words. So I was tickled to find that the dialect in The Help is DEAD ON. It’s wonderful, really. I laughed out loud more times than I can tell you because the voices in this novel are so distinct and real – they sound just like home.

So. That’s what’s been going on around here the last couple of days. I’VE BEEN READING. A WHOLE BOOK! And it was delightful.

What about y’all? You read anything good lately? Anything great? I’d love to see your suggestions.

In case, you know, I get on a bit of a reading roll.

Filed Under: The South

American Idol, Top 7

14 April 2009 by

Tonight on American Idol the contestants are singing songs of the cinema, and Quentin Tarantino is the guest judge. Um, maybe I’m overlooking the obvious, but what’s he going to do, exactly? Teach them how to emote more? Teach them where to stand? Teach them how to appear interested when the judges are talking?

I’m telling you: I just don’t understand these fancy TV shows and all these fancy directors with all their fancy Hollywood ways.

Anyway, it should be interesting to see what songs everybody picks, though so help me if anyone sings “My Heart Will Go On” I cannot be held responsible for my actions, especially considering that my actions will probably involve some loud screaming and then subsequently pulling out all the hair on the right side of my head while I set my toes on fire.

Alison Iraheta – “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” – I don’t know what it is, but everytime I hear this song I want to put on a red and white polka dotted dress and sit under a tree with Ben Affleck. It’s the funniest thing. Anyway, this performance of Alison’s was way too overwrought and screamy for me. I think it was a good song choice for her because it has the whole rock vibe thing going on, but it almost felt like the song got away from her and she was playing catch-up. Didn’t love it.

Anoop Desai – “Everything I Do I Do For You” – My first thought when Anoop announced his song choice was that I’d better run and grab some crackers since he was about to bring on the cheese. But I have to give Anoop credit: he took a song that, honestly, I pretty much despise and made it fairly interesting. He gave it a little bit of an edge, but at the same time he kept it understated, especially at the end. I thought this was one of his best performances, and nobody’s more surprised by that than I am.

[BTW, excellent call on only having two judges speak after each performance. TWO IS PLENTY.]

[Which begs the question: are four judges even remotely necessary?]

Adam Lambert – “Born To Be Wild” – This whole thing reminded me of something that you’d see in Rocky Horror Picture Show. It was too much screaming falsetto. (Okay, I just heard Simon, and HE TOTALLY SAID THE SAME THING ABOUT ROCKY HORROR. It’s like we share a mind.) Bottom line: the only reason tonight’s performance was memorable for me is because I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Yes, he’s talented. But he just doesn’t seem to sing a lot of stuff that I enjoy – at least not so far.

Matt Giraud – “Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman” – To me, Matt is strongest when he goes with the whole Robin Thicke / Justin Timberlake thing – and he totally had that feel for the first half of tonight’s performance. But as soon as the orchestra joined in, things went a little haywire. It became this weird cross between karaoke and a piano bar and R&B, and it was a wee bit trainwreckian. Way too much going on. I think he would have been way better off if he had just kept it simple – no orchestra, no falsetto in weird places. He’s way better than what we saw tonight.

Danny Gokey – “Endless Love” – I SO appreciated Danny dialing it back a little bit for the first three-quarters of this song. He had a little bit of a rough start, but he recovered well, and I thought he did a very touching interpretation of a song that takes me RIGHT BACK to when I was in elementary school and had no idea what the movie was about but I thought Brooke Shields was really, really pretty and I begged my mama to buy me the sheet music so I could learn to play the song on the piano. And now I have shared a memory that absolutely no one cares about, but I really don’t have anything else to say about Danny’s performance so thank you the end.

Kris Allen – “Falling Slowly” – THAT WAS STINKIN’ BRILLIANT. It was restrained and confident all at the same time – not to mention that there wasn’t anything shrieky or showy about his falsetto. I thought it was a home run. LOVED IT.

Lil Rounds – “The Rose” – I think she picked a good song, and I think the little bit of gospel influence in the arrangement was a great call. However, the unfortunate part of this performance was that pitch-wise she was all over the place. This could have been a big comeback for her, but in the end it fell short. It was definitely better than the last three or four weeks, though.

I have to say that the playing field seems much more even now that we’re down to seven. My favorite of the night was definitely Kris, and I think that Matt is probably in a wee bit of danger. Lil was the weakest, I think, but since she hasn’t been in the bottom two before, I doubt she finds herself there tomorrow night.

So. What did y’all think?

If you’d like to add your own AI post to the Mr. Linky, please leave the permalink to your specific post and not your general blog URL.

Filed Under: TV Is My Friend

The Day I Almost Fired Myself

13 April 2009 by

You know those days when you sort of feel like you’re firing on all pistons as a mama? When you pretty much have things under control and you’re not easily rattled and you manage to meet your family’s needs without feeling like you’re losing your mind?

Well. Today was not that kind of day for me. Today was the opposite of Effective Parenting. Today was Parenting FAIL. Today was PMS (which, by the way, SEEMS TO GET WORSE EVERY YEAR) mixed with a kindergartner who didn’t just push my buttons – he sat on them. And then, when I couldn’t take it anymore and I said something to the effect of, “PLEASE LEAVE MY BUTTONS ALONE NOW, THANK YOU,” he was all, “What? I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, beloved-mother-of-mine. I’m nowhere near your buttons. Why, I didn’t even know you had buttons.”

And then my head exploded.

Anyway, thanks to our rocky morning and afternoon, I spent a chunk of the day feeling like the worst mama in the world, and the kicker was that feeling that way ended up just making me irrationally angry because of the aforementioned HORMONAL IMBALANCE THAT HAS COME TO ROB ME OF ALL PLEASANTNESS.

It wasn’t until I was cooking supper that I finally started to feel the tension leave my shoulders, and while the little guy was sitting at the kitchen table I caught a glimpse of his face that reminded me of what he looked like when he was about 18 months old.

I found an odd sense of comfort in the fact that even though we may have an occasional bad day, I really can’t stay frustrated with that boy. Not for any real length of time. He’s smart and funny and tenderhearted. He’s delightful. I love him to pieces. And hello, DO YOU SEE THOSE CHEEKS? THOSE CHEEKS ARE DELICIOUS.

Not to mention that if we made it through that 18-24 months phase, we will make it through this one, too. Because do you know what this phase has over that one? THE ABILITY TO REASON – which, my word, cannot be overestimated.

So by bedtime we were back on fine and harmonious terms again, and after we read a book I said, “You know what, buddy? Today was rough. But we’re family and we love each other and we forgive each other and tomorrow will be better. I’m so glad I get to be your mama.”

And God bless him, after a day that had taken its toll on both of us, he hugged me and said, “Thanks, Mama. I’m so glad that you’re my son.”

Quite frankly my mood was so erratic today that I wouldn’t blame him for being a smidge confused, but when he realized what he’d said, he started to giggle. Got downright silly, in fact. And I’m so grateful that we got to end the day with a little bit of laughter. We both needed it.

And tomorrow will be better.

It really will.

I just know it.

Filed Under: Oh Howard

Linky Interwebby Awesomeness 04.13.09

13 April 2009 by

I’m a little focused on house and home today, so here are some house-y and home-y links.

– I LURVE this post on the importance of family rituals. Such great ideas. (via Nester)

– I’m always fascinated by how other people seem to find all sorts of wonderful treasures at yard sales, and Rhoda is the champ. All of her finds are great-looking, and I’m well-aware that I could have gone to the same exact sales and come home with, I don’t know, a broken wooden spoon.

(You ever feel like you’ve lost your decorating mojo?)

(I feel like I’ve lost my decorating mojo.)

– Um. Southern Living is giving away a house.

Filed Under: Daily Awesome

Just Pretend That Disjointed Is Charming

12 April 2009 by

This morning I needed to be at church a little earlier than usual, so I gave the little guy the option of leaving the house when I did or leaving with his daddy about an hour later. He decided to leave with me. Which means he had to get out of bed at sunrise o’clock so we could leave the house around sunrise thirty.

And I tell you all of that so that you understand why he is why he is half-asleep in the one picture I took of him today.

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Bless him.

So when Alex and I were on the way to church I said, “You know what? I bet you anything that when we get to church Mr. Mike will meet us at the door, and I bet he will have made some coffee.” Mr. Mike is a sweet man who serves so faithfully, and I am here to tell you that I had barely parked my car before Mr. Mike opened the door and gave the little guy a high-five.

IT MADE ME SO HAPPY.

Sure enough, Mr. Mike been at church making coffee since 5 AM. I bet he’d filled up at least 20 big carafes. I was so glad that the little guy got to see Mr. Mike in action, because I have the sweetest memories of growing up in my home church and knowing that certain people could always be counted on to take care of certain tasks – like how Mr. Fountain would always stand at the back of the sanctuary and add up how many people were there. Or how Miss Kitty always led the children’s choir. Or how Mr. McElroy always cooked the barbecue for the fall festival. I could go on and on.

So this is all a very roundabout way of saying that we had a mighty joyful Resurrection Sunday. Our little family got to serve together and worship together, and after we got home I climbed in the bed in the guest room, turned on HGTV, and promptly fell asleep for two hours. It was GLORIOUS. Then I woke up and walked in the kitchen and fixed a diet Coke over ice that was so delicious I nearly wept.

It’s the little things, you know.

In conclusion comma I would like to tell you that I made PW’s apple dumplings yesterday, and they’re ALL GONE tonight. ALL GONE. Because WE ATE THEM ALL. And I don’t want to overstate their deliciousness, but they’re pretty much life-changing. And simple. And inexpensive.

I think we can agree that’s a fairly winning combination.

Filed Under: Rambling

The Big Boo Cast, Episode 15

10 April 2009 by

bigboobuttonsm.jpg

Sometimes Melanie and I decide to record a podcast because we want to talk about some specific things.

Today we recorded a podcast because I had been in the kitchen all day long and wanted to pursue some sort activity that didn’t require mixing a softened stick of butter with sugar. And Mel wanted to do something that wasn’t watching the same episode of “Friday Night Lights” for the third time in a row.

I’m telling you: sometimes boredom will just propel you into all manner of podcasting ambition.

Anyway, this one is completely random (SO WHAT ELSE IS NEW?). We talk about my search for a birthday gift for my sister-in-law, our mutual disdain for coconut, Mel’s hunt for a maxi-dress and how her shopping habits eerily resemble a woman I know who likes to sign cards and letters like this:

Love,
Mother
“Martie.”

It’s all very big fun.

As long as you remember that the words “very,” “big” and “fun” are completely relative.

And you can listen right here.

If the link isn’t working for you, you can also go here and then click on the speaker.

Filed Under: Big Boo Cast
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