Movie Club: Smart Cookies ~ Inspiration for My Work

I watched Smart Cookies on Hallmark last week and thought it was cute. I so often, when I see a movie that inspires me, want to jump in and do what they do. Ooooh, wouldn't it be fun to be a den mother in a girl scout troop?! I think. But, I am learning that I can't do everything that inspires me, but I can learn from everything and apply it to my life's work. 

I love my writing time. But things had gotten a little unbalanced in my life. I was not cooking and cleaning as much as I needed and it was wearing me down. The physical exertion in my home, although at times, overwhelming, is very rewarding as I work up a sweat, see the results, and hear the ooohs and ahhhs over yummy food!

So when I wake up in the mornings, I drink coffee while pinning, then I'm up, tidying, scrubbing and cooking. So much fun! I didn't realize how much I had missed my kitchen. I've condensed some of my networking time and I've personalized my writing more. 

Don't forget to Watch Jane Eyre on Ovation, Sept. 3 or 4!!!

image from here

Wordless Weekends with Mini Captions ~ Body Image

I have been on a diet and don't feel like I have lost hardly anything..I believe much of this is due to a medication I am and must be on..

having a husband who calls me "hot" is both a comfort & a shock, as before him, I thought the only thing I could possibly squeeze out of people was them calling me "cute"

and here is the perfect new doll for little girls!!!

Writing and the Call of Jesus to Bonnie

Writing..I watched The J.K. Rowling story on Lifetime the other day and was driven so deeply to write by both her struggle at survival and the satisfaction of her heart through writing. 

Writing terrifies me at times, so much so that I feel paralyzed and unable to think of anything to write about. But I have found that if I can summon one interesting thought in my mind and get a couple of sentences scratched out, then I am on a roll and it flows. 

Inspired to write cat-based chapter books for kids, I am about to start reading The Wind in the Willows and the Beatrix Potter books.

My life seems to be going from being streamlined to being stripped down so that I have time for my writing and my imagination. So often I will read a book or see a movie and want to jump in and do exactly what the characters or author was accomplishing in their story. I can't seem to just appreciate their story; I want to experience what they experienced. 

This unsettling is what deters me from my own personal calling of taking care of my husband, feeding my family & friends, writing, & managing the library and food pantry at my church. 

The call of Jesus to Bonnie is where my focus should be: no, it is not constantly trying to be like other heroic people..it is living my small life with value!

Linked at The Wellspring

image from here

Movie Club: How to Fall in Love..guest post from my husband

Check out my husband's other guest posts here & here

Movie Club: How to Fall in Love

Hi gang, this is Commodore: Mrs. Wysiwyg's husband and I want to take a minute talking about the movie How to Fall in Love and my reflections on it. For those of you who don't know, I'm about 8 years older that my lovely bride and 10 years advanced in school - mainly because I started early and then skipped a grade. As such, I grew up in the 70's and graduated in the early to mid 80's and had a completely different perspective of school. And on top of that, I -W-A-S- the nerd that everyone gawked at... well, those first couple years anyway.

When I was watching it, I was reminded of my own heartaches in high school. As Kurt Evans' character went thru his issues with Brooke D'Orsay's high school rejection, it reminded me of how many times I too felt that pang. Ok, I admit it: I had a thing for readheads and that one factor often led to disaster. But let's be honest here, and I want a show of hands, we all know that women can be difficult when they want to be, but there is something about a natural ginger that can escalate that difficulty into the stratosphere. Being a sandy-brown out of a family of red-locks, I truly believed that if ever there was someone in this world who could manage the circumstances of dating a red-haired little girl, it would be me. Yea, right... Heartbreak City. Don't get me wrong, they weren't mean or cruel about the rejections, just rejectful. And when you're 14, 15, 16 years old, that hurts a lot. Added to that, I was a chubby kid who was not good at sports and a brainiac that put most of my peers into the "help-me-with-my-homework-but-nothing-else-because-you're-so-smart-you-scare-me" mode. Either that or them using me as their own personal counselor as they talked about how their boyfriends treated them badly. So dates usually meant either books or boring. And like the young Kurt's character, I too went to the dances. Ugh! Don't even get em started on the full-scale level of rejection there!

But then one day, a friend/girl named Jackie said she wanted to help me. This shy little angel who was a great friend but nothing like I thought I wanted, was my age, in the grade below me, and was wanting to teach me how to relax around girls.  In exchange, she wanted me to be her chauffeur for the various things she did, like getting to her job at Sonic drive-in. She said that part of my problem was how I acted (tense) and that I tried too hard to be nice. She then started helping me to understand how I felt and reacted versus what was actually going on. She was my real-life dating coach, as it were, who did the kissing bit and all, just like the show. We told everyone that we were not a couple and spent the next crazy six months lying to everyone and especially, ourselves. Then, with only a couple days notice, she had to move away. In her absence, I realized just what she meant to me even if it was too late.

I saw her again a few years later... at her wedding! She had moved away only to fall in love with another guy. Was that a hard thing to sit through? Yeah, it was hard for me. But after the ceremony when she was introducing me to her new love, she did so by saying that I was the guy who taught her was real love was and what it meant to be loved. In an instant, I was humbled in my spirit by her and simultaneously being crushed by a hug from him. When I walked away from that church, I had a whole new perspective on life, love, and living.

It took many years and many more heartaches before I finally found my beloved wife, but I am still grateful to Jackie for her care and friendship. Would my story have made as good a movie? I highly doubt it because I think their version was much better, but I do feel my "dating coach" story means more to me.

And now I'm thankful for this cute movie and those who helped make it for reminding me of such a wonderful set of memories.

Linked at The Better Mom, Time Warp Wife, Growing Home, True Aim Education, We Are That Family, Women Living Well, lowercase letters, Passionate and Creative Homemaking, Consider the Lilies, Raising Homemakers 

Wordless Weekends with Mini Captions: Scenes from the movie It's Complicated

I just loved the couple time this scene evoked..thought fancies of the hot tub we want to put out on our back porch..to soak in, eat ice cream and gab to our hearts content..

And the girl time of hysterical laughing while they slurp down a bottle of wine..I had my first 2 glasses, in several months, of Chardonnay last night..really, really enjoyed the taste and how it slowed my racing mind down..

Tea Parties!!!

I did a wordless weekend post on tea rituals around the world. I just have to expand word-wise on this. Two books that stand out to me, probably for reasons they were never meant to, is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. In both of these books the utter coziness of their tea times grabbed my heart and tummy. 

Oh the piping tea and the brunch-type goodies. Reminds me of a Norwegian breakfast I had at a friend's years ago. She served buttered whole grain toast, raspberry jam, sliced hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and fruit all with strawberry tea.The slight preparation and the simple deliciousness of these type foods makes me want to invite people over for tea and cards. Oh, the sweet heavens on earth!!!

Linked at The Better Mom, Time Warp Wife, Growing Home, True Aim Education, We Are That Family, Women Living Well, lowercase letters, Passionate and Creative Homemaking, Consider the Lilies, Raising Homemakers

image from here

Movie Club: The Music Teacher Review & NEW MOVIES!!!

Ok, so I watched The Music Teacher last night, and it did keep me entertained, but I must say, I was hoping for something as spectacular as Mr. Holland's Opus. This was akin to High School Musical and had all that drama, but the performers were grown adults..just didn't draw me in.

Ok, on to our next movies..just remember to check the channels for movie times in your own time zone..

I have considered being a brownie or girl scout leader and am excited to see Smart Cookies on Hallmark.

August 18

09:00 PM
11:00 PM

August 19

01:00 PM
09:00 PM

August 25

05:00 PM

If you ever get the chance to listen to the soundtrack to Jane Eyre, the Musical, lyrics by composer-lyricist Paul Gordon and book by John Caird, I think you will be impressed. I love it!!! The version of Jane Eyre we will be watching is on Ovation. I caught the tail end of it a few weeks ago and have been anxious for it to show again!!!

August 15

01:30PM

September 3
11:00

September 4

03:30PM

Grab some popcorn and a soda and join us!!!