WHAAAAA?!?!!

Sweet Baby James,

Today I found out you were coming.

How it it possible!?! Well, obviously I know how it is possible, but still. How is it possible that you are just a speck but I'm already in love with you?

Your momma gets ahead of herself sometimes. Back to the story of how I found out I was pregnant with you.

I had been feeling kinda funny, but mostly just the usual kind that a girl feels every month. If you are a girl, I apologize in advance that you'll have to go through this. If you are a boy, I want you to understand that girls are very special and should be treated with lots of respect because we go through a lot for you guys!

But since I knew it was a possibility that I could be pregnant, I could NOT. STOP. THINKING ABOUT IT. I was wrestling with the idea because I know God is in control and I didn't want to display unbelief by worrying about something that was ultimately out of my hands. I was supposed to be getting ready for my women's Bible study and finally I just figured I would take the pregnancy test and then I wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

I had prayed for so long about how badly I wanted to be your momma. So I really hoped it would be positive. But I didn't actually expect it to be. So you can imagine my surprise when after about 15 seconds I was looking at this:

It's basically idiot proof, and the little plus sign there? That means positive. Positive means pregnant.

I started shaking. I started crying. I got down on my knees right there in the bathroom (where, by the way, I really need to vacuum) and just sobbed my gratitude to God. I'm pretty sure I told you I loved you a couple times, too.

Now I had to compose myself and go to Bible study, which I did, grinning like an idiot the entire time. On the way home I stopped and picked out a card for your dad from you. I signed it for you (hope you don't mind, but your arm buds haven't really formed yet) and then waited for him to get home.

And waited. And waited and waited and waited. Sometimes your dad works really late - but just so you know, he's doing it because he loves us so much and wants to take care of us. Also he does not have a great sense of time. Hopefully you won't inherit that...

Anyway, finally I couldn't wait any more and I went to sleep. You have been making me really sleepy even before I knew you were coming! I left the card on his pillow.

I am a light sleeper (hopefully you won't inherit that either) so I woke up when he came home. I pointed to the card and told him I got him something. He sat down and opened it. I think it took him a minute to get it. When he did, he came around to my side and we hugged and I cried some more. Happy tears, I promise!

So you'll be making your world debut around May 28th. And believe me when we say, we can't wait to meet you.


Love love love,

Momma

Emmy Fashion Rundown 2010!

Emmy ladies, I gotta be honest, you were a bit of a letdown this year. Many of you looked just fine - okay, so your "fine" is still better than I'll ever look in my whole life - but only a few of you distinguished yourselves as particularly memorable for good or bad reasons. Here were a few of my thoughts!

I don't actually like the pattern on Tina Fey's dress as much in pictures as I did on camera. In the picture I'm really distracted by the pattern of the dress, which I guess I'd call "Cave Art." But on TV it was really elegant and I thought the shape was very chic. I even liked her teased-out extended ponytail. It was a nice look for her after the Lampshade Incident of 2009.

Nina Dobrev is really beautiful and holy crap, how tiny is her waist? But to me this feels a little bit like how Hayden Panettiere always dressed about 15 years older than she is. Nina is 21. This dress with this hair with those earrings and this pose... it is very elegant and mature. Which are good things, really. So why am I not on board with this?

Dear Mindy Kaling. I am all for taking risks. And I am all for being outside the box and not trying to conform to look like the rest of the twigs out there on the red carpet. I have loved when you did this in the past, such as when you wore this. But Helena Bonham Carter called and she says nice try but only I could pull this off.

Let me first say, Lea Michele is so adorable I could barf. And I love this dress. But her hair just ruined it. The bangs parted in the middle is bad enough, but it is covering up and competing with that stunning statement necklace. One or the other, dear.

How I do these blogs is I watch the red carpet coverage and then the actual show and I have a notepad and I just write down all my comments and impressions as I see the dresses appear. Then when I get around to sitting down at my computer, I review what I said and make any necessary elaborations or adjustments. Much of the time, the little one-liner I scribble in the heat of the moment is better than anything else I come up with. Here's what I wrote for this one: "Lauren Graham - That dress is the worst." I think that about sums it up.

I don't really have any strong opinions about Kyra Sedgwick's dress one way or the other but good gravy woman, it might be time for a haircut. Or a style. Something that says more, "Fancy Celebrity" and less, "Hippie Witch."

I don't really have a good reason for liking Kristen Wiig's dress, but I just do. I should hate those weird shoulder poofs but I just don't. Here's an example of a look that only a skinny, un-buxom woman could pull off. It's fun and kinda summery and chic and I just want to like it and not have to explain why.

When I first saw Keri Russell during the red-carpet arrivals I was a little skeptical on the color. But when I saw her on stage I decided I loved it. She's petite enough to pull off this tricky length and tiny enough to pull off the cut of the top. I don't really like how the fit looks in this picture but I couldn't find a better one, so just trust me that it was really pretty and unique. Yay Felicity!

Jewel looked really lovely. This dress was something to talk about. So soft and delicate and vintage-y. The only thing I could've done without was the little bow at the bust. Otherwise, just really pretty and the kind of dress you'd wanna find in your dress-up box as a little girl.

You probably heard about this one. There's nothing I can say about January Jones's dress that hasn't already been said. There's nothing I can say about her hair that hasn't already been said. Maybe the best I can do is to say all the words everyone else is saying, but say them all at once. Here goes: Bedspread ugly busy shiny cone-bra peacock weird brush your hair.

I have long loved Maura Tierney from when she was Abby on ER, so I'm glad to see her back again since she battled breast cancer. Again, the picture is not doing it justice, but I really liked this dress on screen. The silhouette and fabric are strong and the color is unique but she still looks pretty and relaxed.

I looooooove Bones. And therefore I looooooove Emily Deschanel. She is straight-up robbed every year that she isn't nominated for one of these awards for her brilliant portrayal of Temperance Brennan. That being said, her bangs look like she borrowed them from a twelve year old and her dress looks exactly like a roll of crepe paper streamers that is being unraveled.

The only thing I know about Jennifer Carpenter is that she is on Dexter, and that she plays Dexter's sister even though in real life she's that actor's wife. I guess that's less awkward than the other way around. Anyway, a full on one-sleeve is pretty intense but I am a sucker for sparkly things and so I find myself just staring at this picture and wanting this dress real bad.

Honestly, the fierce gladiator-esque shoulder pads are my favorite thing about Anna Paquin's dress. I don't understand why it appears the front of the hem is stuck to her knees and I find the whole torso highly unflattering. But if we're talking strictly about the shoulder business, I kinda like it. Probably because it is sparkly.

Up next, Sofia Vergara. I like her dress, although it's a leeeeeeetle bit pageant-esque. But there's no denying that she is gorgeous and the whole look is really wowza. Still, the longer I stared at the top, the more I wondered why it just didn't look right, and finally I decided that this dress gives her a uniboob. Right? Just a little?

You know who definitely does not have a uniboob?

Oh Christina Hendricks. I feel you, I really and truly do. Well, at least in the chest department. The rest of you is pretty much incomparable. I just feel like this dress is not doing you justice. The color is vaguely "Dishwater Lilac." The stringy parts on the skirt are sloppy and the stringy sleeves are just ugly. Whatever reinforced steel corset is being used to defy gravity and hold those girls in place is making your ribcage and torso seem lumpy and misshapen. Your hair and makeup are really great, though. And you could wear a burlap sack and men would still be drooling over you so, fine. You win.

Well folks, that's all she wrote! I will now resume my regular schedule of not blogging for weeks at a time, followed by three days in which I post seven times.

Got your own Emmy fashion thoughts? Leave 'em in the comments!

America!

I think we can all agree hitchhiking is not such a great idea, but I kinda love this. Australian Dan Ilic goes from Seattle to New York City hitching rides with kind strangers. It's a weird little snapshot of the beauty of America and all her assorted inhabitants. Stick around for the tag at the end.




(via Best Week Ever)

Hi, Welcome to Taco Bell, How May I Judge You Today?

Yesterday, I decided to get Taco Bell on my lunch break. That was my first mistake, I know. I don't even really like Taco Bell that much, but I was driving and there it was and it was on the right side of the road and it was a Taco Bell/Pizza Hut and breadsticks sounded really good.

I DIGRESS.

I go through the drive thru. (I don't really like spelling words wrong but "drive through" looks too formal.) I order my food. I pull up to the window. Money is exchanged. Food is passed to me.

And then, AND THEN.

Taco Bell Drive Thru Employee, peering into my backseat, comments, "Somebody likes Sonic." I turn to see what he means and realize there are eight (okay maybe twelve) Sonic styrofoam cups rolling around in the back of my SUV.

Classy, right? But they were clean, rinsed, waiting to be taken to Publix which is the only place I know that recycles styrofoam cups. FOR RECYCLING, DO YOU HEAR ME? For the good of the EARTH.

Nevermind that it looks like I've got a once-a-day habit of downing Route 44s in the secret of my car.

So that, my friends and readers (you're actually one and the same), is the story of how I got judged by the Drive Thru Guy. As if I needed to feel more shame pulling away from a TACO BELL.

Has a minimum wage fast food worker ever judged you from his window? No? So you probably feel pretty good about yourself right now, huh? You're welcome.

Grandpa Jim

Last night my Grandpa got to meet Jesus.

No more suffering and no more pain.

He was met with an embrace from the Savior of his soul and an invitation to join the worshippers in the eternal song of the redeemed.

Maybe they'll sing "How Great Thou Art." That was one of his favorites. Maybe he whistled - he had the best whistle you'd ever heard, clear and sweet and warbling.

It's easy to trivialize the grandeur of heaven; to characterize it as some all-expenses paid swanky do-your-favorite-leisure-activity-forever resort, or as baby angels jumping on fluffy clouds, or as some cosmic family reunion with all your favorite dearly departed shaking hands and catching up on old times.

It is not those things.

But it is real. And for those who know Jesus, who have fallen before Him and asked for His salvation, it will be home.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"

Revelation 21:1-5

All things new. What a sweet promise, so full of hope and mercy you can taste it, like biting an apple and the juice runs down your chin.

There's a particular picture of him I wish I had to upload, because that's how I'm imagining him now. He's probably in his early twenties, looking sharp in his Marine dress uniform, his face tan and young and strong-jawed, with just a little smile, strong and full of life-to-be-lived.

Grandpa, you loved me my whole life. You told the best bedtime stories. Thank you for loving Jesus. Thank you for teaching my dad to love Him too. We will miss you; but oh you've been yearning for home and I'm so glad you are finally there.

James Albert McMinn
August 6, 1921 - July 14, 2010

101 Things

Remember when I wanted to do 101 things in 1001 days? Yeah, neither did I. It's been over a year since I updated or paid it any attention.

I revisited the old blog on this, the 992nd day, and gave it one final update.

Check it out here.

Bonnaroo Dance Party!

Most of you know that Ben has been going to Bonnaroo every year since it started back in 2002. I have never been, as three days of camping in the sweltering summer heat with no showers, surrounded by smelly sweaty strung-out hippies and hipsters, and listening to music which I mostly dislike would be my own personal hell.

But wait!

Ben shot and edited this AWESOME video of a Bonnaroo late-night event called "Silent Disco" in which everyone in the tent gets wireless headphones so they can listen to music and then have essentially a silent (to outside observers) dance party. And I watched it and I thought, That looks like fun! If I could teleport in and immediately back out, I think I'd like to go to Bonnaroo just to shake my tail feathers at the Silent Disco for an hour or two.

So all of that was a really long introduction to some continued bragging about my husband's super-fly videographer skills. I love everything about the way he shot it, how it is edited together, the bumpin' song he picked.

Please be advised, this video features some ladies dancing around in bikinis. Also some shirtless dudes. Also a guy in a Gumby costume. I did instruct Ben to avoid any footage that was too... jiggly. So now that you've been properly warned... dance party! Check it out you guys!

Click to watch it in HD on YouTube for extra awesome!

Maybe come next year's B-Roo you'll see me getting my grove on at the Silent Disco! (I talk a big game; this will never happen.)

But how badly do you want a light-up hula-hoop after watching that video? Answer: SO BADLY.

Fancy Meeting You Here

Whoops, I forgot to blog for most of June. But hey, here I am again! Back in action! And Blogger added a bunch of new templates and backgrounds so I switched that, yet again. I really liked the look of the other one but it was a little busy for my tastes and also I couldn't access the dashboard very easily which means jibber jabber to you but it was bugging me. So, hello new yellow swirlies!

I do want to take a poll as to whether you find it difficult to read with the transparent background. So please let me know and if so I will try something else!

This past weekend we went to Tucson, so we could be incredibly hot. Just kidding, we went for a wedding. The being hot part was just a little bonus. It hit 105 every day we were there, including the day we went to the wedding. Did I mention it was outside?

Jokes aside, the wedding was for our very good friend Rob. Rob is someone Ben and I have been friends with since high school. Actually, Ben and Rob went to the same preschool, though they don't remember each other from that far back. He is one of Ben's original guitar buddies and just an all-around wonderful guy. Some of my best, funniest memories involve Rob. He was a groomsman at Ben's & my wedding, and we also performed "our" song at my reception - that would be the Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge - which is somewhere captured on video but maybe it is best that the moment live on only in our hearts.

We also love Rob's family. We spent many a night in high school and on trips home in college hanging out in the Nation Family basement with his brothers and being doted on by his momma. If I am ever the mother of three boys, I can only pray they all turn out as impressively as Louise's did.

We got to make the trip with another couple from high school, Cara and Cody, who are still our dear friends. It was fun to take a mini-vacation together and live it up at a gorgeous desert resort. There were several amazing pools where we spent most of our days. Ben and Cody went down the water slide approximately 500 times. We all got a little sunburned. It was awesome.


Rob married a lovely woman named Laura who were were excited to finally meet this weekend. The wedding was wonderful, everyone looked beautiful, and by the time the ceremony got into gear the sun was setting and the heat was mercifully dissipating. Their ceremony was really God-honoring and brought to the front and center Rob & Laura's faith and love for Jesus. All in all a totally great weekend and I am so excited for my old friend Rob and my new friend Laura and the beginning of their shared life.

Shopping in a Bookstore: Lesson #2

Last time we learned how to put the books back. Or more specifically, to not put them back at all unless you are doing it right. Today I'd like to cover a new topic: How to Ask For Help.

Let me begin by saying that I totally understand when people want to look for something themselves. Browse away. It's fun to find things for your own. We get it. You are not obligated to accept our help.

But we will offer to help you. We offer out of politeness, and also because we know more than you.

Oh, I'm sorry, that might have sounded mean. But let me clarify.

I don't mean, of course, that we are smarter than you. Okay, we're definitely smarter than a percentage of people who shop in our store, but when I say we know more than you, I mean we know the store better than you, and our inventory better than you.

So if you don't ask for our help, or you don't accept our help, don't get mad at us when you can't find something. Definitely don't make ridiculous accusations. "Did you all get rid of your travel section or something?" "I guess you guys don't carry graphic novels." "Do you not have music anymore?"

Wrong. False. Stop being ridiculous. All you have to say, and this really shouldn't come as a surprise, is, "Hi, I'm looking for _______." We will spring into eager action to retrieve what you need.

Which leads me to another point. If you want to browse the cooking section, please ask us, "Can you point me to the cooking section?" But if what you want is Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, then please. JUST SAY THAT. If you want something specific, just ask for that thing. Otherwise something like this is bound to happen:

LADY: Hi, can you point me to your travel section?
ME: Sure, I'll walk you over there. Anywhere specific?
LADY: I'll just look around, thanks.
ME: Okay, my name is Amy if you need more help.
(Five minutes later, she re-approches the info desk.)
LADY: Why don't you have any books about Kenya?
ME: I could literally slap you.

That last line ever only happens in my head, of course. But can you understand the frustration? Some version of this conversation happens almost every day I'm at work. If this lady would have just said, "Could you please show me books about traveling to Kenya?" then she'd be happy and I wouldn't feel like slapping anyone. That's a win-win.

The other good reason to ask us for help is because we know things you couldn't possibly know. We know which school books we do and don't have, and we can retrieve them in 4.6 seconds flat. You could too, if twelve people had asked you for To Kill A Mockingbird in the past two hours. We know the title and author of that book you heard about on NPR yesterday morning, and we know that our store is sold out but that the Cool Springs store still has copies. We can call them and have one held for you. We know that $30 hardcover you're about to buy is coming out in paperback for half the price next week. We may even know the title of "that one book about some brothers and I think there's a bird on the cover." I once found a book for a lady and all she knew was that the word "Rose" was somewhere in the title.

We can be especially helpful when you don't know what you want or what you need. I wish more people understood this. My bookstore is not McDonalds. Or Wal-Mart. Not that there is anything wrong with either of those places. But no one is working at Borders because they lack the skills to work anywhere else. Almost everyone is college educated (more than one of my colleagues has or is working towards an advanced degree), and we are all avid (sometimes rabid) readers. Our staff covers a broad spectrum of interests and specialties. You like history and politics, you see Andy. You want high-brow lit? Evan's read books you wish you were smart enough to have even heard of. Luanne can tell you the author and title of just about every genre novel in the store. I can pick out a book your 6th grade son who hates reading won't be able to put down. The list goes on.

So if you want to browse, browse. You are welcome to stay in our store for hours at a time. Curl up in a chair and read a whole book for all we care. Don't break the spine, of course, because then we can't sell it. And don't leave a mess, because this isn't your living room. And don't steal things, because that is wrong.

But if you need something specific, you're always better off asking. And if you just want some suggestions, we're pretty good at those. We like reading. We want you to like it too.

It's Almost Time.

Six years of amazing television all comes to an end this Sunday night when LOST airs its series finale. I cannot wait! This is a fan-made trailer but it is somehow more awesome than all the promos ABC managed to put together.