Movies I Will Always Watch If They are On TV #2

Return to Me starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver

This movie is fantastic.  I actually own it, but I will STILL always stop and watch it if it’s on TV.  If you haven’t seen it, it’s a great story that’s sad, sweet, and funny.  Plus, it’s the kind of movie that you could watch with your Grandma.

Return to Me is about Bob, an architect (Duchovny) whose wife dies suddenly in an accident.  She’s an organ donor, and her heart is given to Grace (Driver), a young woman who has had heart trouble her whole life.  Grace gets well and returns to the restaurant her grandfather owns with his friends.  Bob and Grace meet and fall in love, not knowing that Grace has Bob’s deceased wife’s heart.

Believe me now when I said it’s sad?  But trust me, it’s also funny and adorable!  Especially because of how cute Grace’s grandfather (Carroll O’Connor) and all his friends are.  They play cards after work and argue over things like who the best crooner is.  🙂  Definitely worth seeing if you haven’t!  Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that it was written and directed by Helen Hunt!

– Jill

P.S.  Hooray for BEDA!  I’m honestly surprised I made it.  I’m really proud of all of us for blogging so much this month.  I hope we continue to blog frequently, even if it’s not every day.  Thanks to all who read my posts this month!  I’m taking a break for at least a day.  I have plans tomorrow.  🙂

Something That Might Make Me Throw My Shoe At You

When I get very angry I have a saying…….it goes, “I’m so mad I want to take off my shoe and throw it!”  I have never actually thrown my shoe at anyone (or anything) but sometimes after a long day, I’ve come close.  Most of the incidents that push me over the edge happen while I’m at work, dealing with the general public.

I work in a small town, and I genuinely love most of my patrons.  I know them by name (and I have a lot of their card numbers memorized) and I know what books they like to read.  I am really fortunate to be in a situation like that.

But………there is one thing that patrons do that makes me so upset, the shoes could start flying…

The thing that really grates my cheese more than anything else is when people put things on the shelf backwards!!!!!  When I say backwards, I mean with the spine facing towards the shelf.  I wish that people wouldn’t put things back in general, but that is never going to stop (I break out in a cold sweat every time I hear a parent say, “honey, put that back where you found it”).

Right way

But please, everyone in the world knows how to put a book on a shelf properly!  You would never know it from walking around a library.  The worst is when a little kid does it in full view of a parent and the parent does absolutely nothing.  Parents, you need to take some responsibility for you child’s actions every once in a while.  It does not take a colossal effort to turn that little DVD back around so it faces the right direction.

WRONG WAY!

I was helping a sixth grader find books the other day and she did it RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!  I think you could probably see smoke coming out of my ears.  But since I am a non-confrontational person, I just waited until she had her back turned and fixed the book.  Yes, I will admit that even though it makes me furious, I am too much of a chicken to actually correct people about it.  Go figure.

So, the next time you are in a library, if you attempt to shelve something yourself (but please don’t even attempt to shelve it yourself…leave it up to us highly trained librarians…or unpaid volunteers :)), please be courteous enough to at least have the spine facing in the right direction.

Jen

P.S.  Woohooo!!!!  I made it through BEDA!!!  Don’t expect another post from me for a little while…..I am taking a much needed break.

TV Shows I Need to Fall in Love With

I feel like I’m not a true NerdGirl because I don’t watch these two shows, but I am going to start soon!

All of Jen and Amber’s (and Lindsay’s?) references to Murder, She Wrote are lost on me.  I think I’ve seen part of one episode.  I’m a little embarrassed about it.  I have no idea what I was watching when it was originally on, but I never saw this show.  I’m excited to start watching it though.  I like mysteries.  I like late ’80s/early ’90s shows.  I like knowing what my fellow NerdGirls are talking about.  🙂  I’ll have to figure out when it’s on tv.

The other show I need to start watching…

The Golden Girls!

I think I’ve at least seen more of The Golden Girls than Murder, She Wrote but not by much.  Again my NerdGirls’ references make me want to watch it, but also Bea Arthur reminds me of one of my aunts AND who can resist Betty White lately??  I cannot wait until next Saturday when she hosts SNL.

So am I the last person to show up to the Murder, She Wrote and The Golden Girls party?

– Jill

I Got My Hair Cut Today

So today I got my first REAL haircut in a long time (and by real, I mean that I paid more than $12 for it).   I am still getting used to it because even though it might look exactly the same, it feels really different.  I unveiled it at our special author event tonight at work and I got some nice compliments.  Hopefully I can make it look as glamorous tomorrow when I try to do it myself (YIKES!).

Here is a picture:

*Please ignore the shiny face and Christmas tree in the background.

Jen

7 Things That Make Me Smile

So, this week has not been all that great so far.  Nothing truly horrible has happened, but just enough to make me say “Blerg!” or “Nerds!” a la Liz Lemon.

I am also getting really lazy with BEDA.  I am literally dragging my feet to the end here.

So, yet again, instead of a real post……here are some things that will help cheer me up today.

Thinking about these cupcakes

This picture by Tanja Askani which is in the book "A Friend Like You"

Purple Pansies

Remembering when THIS happened

My cats

And of course, my fellow nerdgirls (and Meg Cabot!!!)

Aaaaaahhhh, now I feel much better!

Jen

A Very Special Episode of Buffy

I apologize for blogging about Buffy again, but I’m watching an episode now, and it is absolutely one of the best episodes of the whole series.  In an attempt to not spoil anything, I will only tell you that it is toward the end of the 5th season, and it is the SADDEST episode EVER.  I’m sure if you’ve seen it, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

I haven’t cried this much while watching an episode of a tv show since…hmm…now I’m not sure.  Maybe I’ll think of some later and will edit this post.

What episodes of TV shows have made you cry?

EDIT:  I forgot to use my words to explain why this particular episode is so good.  First of all, it’s visually stunning.  Several scenes are in one-shot.  Camera angles place characters to the side instead of centering on them.  It’s like art.  Secondly, the acting has never been better.  EVERYONE from Buffy to Giles to Anya is INCREDIBLE.  Seriously, when you watch this episode, you could not love these characters more.  Thirdly, everything about the episode, from the dialogue to the characters’ actions, are perfect for the situation.  It is a fabulous episode.

– Jill

April’s Pink Nightie

This is a short post because I am super tired–just got done with book club (I use the term book club loosely because one member read the book, another read half of the book, I only read 6 pages, and I forgot to tell the other member what book we were reading…) and watching Glee with said book club + cousins and then running to McDonalds with Steve for coffee and sprite 🙂 so here is my post:

1. Glee was kinda icky tonight. I cried MULTIPLE times which was not necessary AND they only had Kristin Chenoweth sing ballads…um if you are going to the trouble to get KRISTIN CHENOWETH on Glee, then I WANT TO HEAR HER SING SOMETHING RIDICULOUSLY HOT, not some long, sad song that I don’t know and that doesn’t involve a dance sequence.

2. The pink nightie that April/Kristin is wearing at Will’s apartment? I had been eyeing it at Von Maur FOREVER (it is Betsey Johnson which I cannot ever ever get enough of) but when I tried it on finally it was just kinda “nuuuhhhhhhh” so I bought a softer pink, more romantic one instead (and it can totally go in the washing machine, how cool is that?!). Still, I’m v. excited on the inside that Kristin Chenoweth and I now share that bond. Also, I really need more cute nightgowns now that it is springtime…

amber

Sometimes I Buy Presents Just for the Fun of It

You know what is sooo awesome?  Receiving presents from people just because.  It’s not your birthday, Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, or any other holiday you may receive presents on, but you still get a package in the mail is the BEST!

Example:  A few months ago, Amber sent me Madlibs, a bag of candy, and an Us Weekly WITH HER COMMENTS!!! to me just because I had said that I missed our roadtrips.  See, in what I like to call “the good ol’ Iowa days” on our roadtrips to library events or to visit nerdgirls, I’d drive and Amber would supply snacks and fun to entertain me, like reading from an Us Weekly and sharing her comments on why this story is scandalous or how hot that guy looks or how ugly this dress is.  So when I was sad about not getting to do that anymore, she sent me the world’s greatest package.

Sometimes I like to do similar things.  I might send someone a mixed cd of songs I think they’d love, or a dvd of episodes of a legen–wait for it–dary tv show, etc, etc.  It’s just fun to surprise people.

So the other day at …a store… I stopped and found something that reminded me of Someone.  So I bought it and as soon as I make it to the post office, Someone will be receiving a fun surprise.  🙂

– Jill

Long Car Trips = I Get to Listen to Audiobooks

I spent most of last weekend driving to and from Minneapolis.  I had fun during the in between parts, but the trip itself was really long.  There is only one thing to make a long car trip better……audiobooks!

I checked out about five of them, but only listened to two (I like to have some choices).  Here are mini-reviews of the two I listened to.

Chess pieces....mysterious, eh?

Agatha Chrisitie’s The Big Four read by Hugh Fraser–I have been on a big Agatha Christie kick ever since last year’s 48 Hour Book Challenge.  This was the second Christie audiobook I have listened to, and it did not disappoint.

The story is one involving her famous detective Hercule Poirot, but the format is different than his other novels.  The Big Four reads like a collection of short stories because it is lots of little mysteries that lead up to a big finale.  The Big Four describes the most powerful group of criminals the world has ever known.  They control crime across the globe and the only person who can stop them is Monsieur Poirot.  *cue dramatic music*

I liked the book a lot, but mainly because Hugh Fraser did a very good job of reading it.  He had to cover a lot of different accents and he performed them admirably.  He did an especially good job with Poirot himself.  He slipped effortlessly from his British narrator to the Belgian’s voice effortlessly.

The audiobook clocked in at just over 5 hours, which is about my limit, so it was great for my long car trip.  It is a good mystery (I should say lots of good mysteries) that is improved by a great narrator.

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland read by Jim Dale–I had very high hopes for this audiobook.  I have never read the original Alice book, so I thought this would be a neat way to experience it.  Unfortunately, I did not enjoy it all that much.  Since everybody probably knows the story, I will just give my reasons for not liking it.

First of all, it was not a great book for me to read for the first time as an audiobook.  Many times when I am listening to books (especially while driving) my mind tends to wander for a few seconds (or sometimes minutes).  With most books this isn’t really a problem, but with a book like Alice it is a HUGE deal.  Since the story is so full of nonsense, I had no idea what was going on most of the time.  I would take a few moments to consider my exit off the interstate and Alice would be in a completely new place talking to a different creature and I would be totally lost in terms of the story.

Also, I found some of Jim Dale’s voice choices to be really grating on my ears.  I enjoyed his Harry Potter audiobooks a lot, but I couldn’t handle listening to The Duchess, The Queen of Hearts, or the Griffin.  EEEks!  Everytime they said anything I was like, “Ack!  Turn it down, turn it down!”

I also found myself wishing that I was watching “Pushing Daisies” the whole time I was listening to the book.

So, I personally have nothing against Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland or Jim Dale, I just don’t think I like them together.  Most people would probably feel differently though.

I will be doing a lot of traveling in the next few months, so hopefully more audiobook reviews will be forthcoming!  (Unless, of course, I accidently get caught in a never ending cycle of listening to the “Glee” soundtrack).

Jen

Oh Dear….

Bear with me here – this is probably going to look a little messy.

So I haven’t posted in a few weeks.  I am super ashamed, as I am the one who threw down the BEDA challenge.  And Jill, Jen and Amber have all responded beautifully and brilliantly.  So even though I’m ashamed, I’m still glad I threw down the challenge because I love sneaking onto the website to see what they’ve all written!  I am super sneaky!

So the past few weeks have been absolutely crazy – it all started I think about 2 weeks ago when I stayed at work until almost 4 in the morning trying to help get a grant out.  It all went downhill from there – I then took a few days to be cranky and tired and sick.  So let’s do a quick recap of what you’ve all missed: I got a haircut, I got sick, a truck rear-ended me, but it was OK cause all he hit was my bike rack and that thing is like nuclear strong (I still pulled over and that f*c*er didn’t and it was rush hour so I couldn’t get back out into traffic and so I never got to confront my rear-ender).  Let’s see, what else?  I cleaned my apartment like nobody’s business, got a papason chair (yay!!) and a rug and our apartment actually for once looks kind of put together.  Last Thursday I had my sister in law and her husband fly down and then on Friday my brother in law flew down.  Then on Saturday we all got up at 5:3o in the morning so that they could all go run a half marathon (I didn’t run it, don’t worry – I was sane this year).  I also ran into another guy I graduated from high school with.  I ate a freakish amount of food, got way too little sleep, and finally yesterday morning we got rid of everybody and I spent most of yesterday looking and acting like a zombie.  There!  So that’s what I’ve been up to while not posting.  Oh, I probably could have posted, but every time I thought I should post I was like “but I have to do this and this and that and EVERYTHING!”  And then I started to get ashamed because I was all like, man I haven’t posted and I feel like a jerk.  So then I would avoid the blog for a while because I was all like “what if my fellow nerdgirls are super mad at me and saying what a jerk I was!!”  Which obviously never would have happened because my nerdgirls are the greatest in the world!  

Some other interesting things that I’d like to post about: I started watching Buffy!  So cute!  And Angel?  Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!  He is so hotttttttttttt!!!  I can’t wait until I’ve watched all of it!  I’m only on the first season still.  I haven’t had any me time to sit and watch it for a while.  That’s why I love sick days so much – I get my netflix fix.  

Also, I have joined Jen in the ranks of vegetarianism.  I might post about that once in a while.  Oh, and everybody needs to go read Fat Cat by Robin Brande – it’s awesome!  Fat Cat is kind of why I think I’m going to give vegetarianism a try actually.  I’ll do a proper review later when I don’t feel super zombie-ish!  

<3, lindsay

My dinosaurs are sorry for my shortcomings as a blogger.