Scribble and Scrambles ~Words

Thought this was pretty cool and creative.

Scribble and Scrambles ~ Bring it, Jane

22 and I have entered a Jane Austen marathon of sorts.

Today she purchased Persuasion and we watched it while avoiding the humidity and the housework.

I just bought Pride and Prejudice, the pink version, which we watched two weeks ago. She just finished one Jane Austen fiction title, and is in the middle of a second and now I find myself searching for more versions of the films.

We've never seen Northanger Abbey and have only viewed Mansfield Park once. One click ordering at Amazon makes the urge almost impossible to control.

The pink version, above, is a total modern version of the tale and is charming in it's own quirky way.

What is it about Mr. Darcy and Mr. Knightley and scenes in the rain/fog?

Which is your favorite Austen story? Hero? Heroine? Movie version? Are we alone in our new obsession?

Scribble and Scrambles ~ HOT!

Would it be whining if I said that it must be a million degrees in Iowa?

Eggs frying on sidewalks hot? Yup.

Dogs melted and sluggish, barely quirking eyebrows when a human moves unless towards a) refrigerator or b) freezer? Yup.

Sweating upper lips and the annoying trickle of 100+ % humidity running where it ought not to run? Oh yeah!

While I'm on a whining roll....

Super-heated breeze feels fabulous because it's moving.

To step outside is to either step into a sauna right after some sadist dumps a scoop full of water over the glowing rocks OR like being sucked into a force field of gelatinous too-warm bath water.

Super Cinema Saturday ~ The Proposal ~ Reviewed

My Review:

Romantic comedy junkies are in for a treat. As a Bullock fan I couldn't resist the sneak preview of The Proposal. Even after the first five minutes of the film were soundless due to technical issues in my theater, I have to say it's one of the best films romantic comedies I've seen in quite some time.

Ryan Reynolds doesn't need words to act, his eyes and facial expressions make his thoughts loud and clear. Are there more expressive eyes in Hollywood? And sarcasm, oh, there is plenty of sarcasm from both main characters. Nobody does psycho/prickly/vulnerable like Sandra Bullock. Anyone who loved While You Were Sleeping and Two Weeks Notice is going to find similar flavors of fun and fire in The Proposal.

The story is quirky and odd enough that I smirked through much of the plot as it unfolded. You can't have romantic comedy without some predictability, but it was a joy to watch. Oscar Nunez (The Office) played multiple scenes and one left me laughing until I squirmed. If you can't stomach the thought of Oscar dancing in a Speedo, you might want to wait for the DVD version so you can skip it. A semi-nude scene with Bullock and Reynolds, along with the Speedo dance make it iffy for kids, as does a smattering of off-color comments and a bit of language. The semi-nude scene runs in the previews I've seen, but there are a few prolonged moments with Bullock covering up but showing lots of skin and a side view of a collision that make it longer in the movie. Betty White looks great and plays a grandma with a special connection to Mother Earth. The scenery is breathtaking.

Overall, though not perfect, this is a movie worth the few hours and the full-price movie ticket investment. A charming, fun, summer evening movie.

Scribble and Scrambles ~Friday Fun, Read the Warning.

WARNING: Before you click on the link below.... The clip is great but the website is written on the corner of the screen. Website name is: crazys---.com. I looked for another version but didn't find one without the "brand." So, you've been warned. : )

Click HERE.

Serials and Scenarios ~ Eyes Wide Open

Book Summary:



I had it all backwards. The main thing was not my love for God, but his love for me. And from that love I respond to God as one deeply flawed, yet loved. I’m not looking to prove my worth. I’m not searching for acceptance. I’m living out of the worth God already declares I have. I’m embracing his view of me and in the process discovering the person he created me to be.

In Eyes Wide Open, Jud Wilhite invites you to discover the real you. Not the you who pretends to be perfect to satisfy everyone’s expectations. Not the you who always feels guilty before God. Not the you who secretly feels God forgives everyone else but only tolerates you. Not the you who looks in the mirror and sees a failure. The real you, loved and forgiven by God, living out of your identity in Christ.

A travel guide through real spirituality from one incomplete person to another, Eyes Wide Open is a book of stories about following God in the messes of life, about broken pasts and our lifelong need for grace. It is a book about seeing ourselves and God with new eyes–eyes wide open to a God of love.

My Review:

Eyes Wide Open ended up containing more content than I expected. Not for the steeped in church doctrine crowd, but a solid little resource for brand new baby Christians or seekers. Similar in content to Purpose Driven Life but geared more toward those who don't quite know how all this Christian stuff is supposed to play out, Eyes Wide Open is full of anecdotal stories and examples from Jud Wilhite's life, town and various friends.

Written conversationally and with plenty of contemporary language and slang, it's lacking Christianese. It begins with the assurance that God loves us, to our new creatureship in Christ, to the assurance that we are designed to be unique beings with created purposes, to our response to all of this truth. This 180 page quick read would be a very good resource for a small fellowship group study/discussion and it would lend itself to a mentoring/discipling relationship. No discussion questions are presented but some could easily be put together. There are four sections and twenty-one chapters which could be adapted into a month long study with homework.

Scribble and Scrambles ~ The Path That The State Built

Ode to Sultry Summer Walks on Delightful Walking Paths.


Recite with the cadence of The House That Jack Built. If you don't know what I'm talkin about or smokin then just move on, it only goes downhill from here.

This is the path that the state built...

There are concrete and concrete blend products in Iowa...on and near the path that the state built.

The sunlight on the path that the state built makes for lovely walks.

The dogs, Lily blue, Lola pink, on the grass that the state planted make use of said grass for unmentionable purposes.

The sights and smells and sounds on the path that the state built are mostly pleasant...birds singing, wildflowers blooming, traffic humming, grass growing. Unless an unmentionable thing left near the path or on the grass that the state built and/or planted rides in a recycled plastic bag dangling at my side.

Hope you enjoyed your guided tour of the path that the state built.