Random Randomness...

1. It seems like I've spent this entire pregnancy either sick or tending to a sick 3 year old. This is by far the sickest I've been during the time span...I feel like I'm trying to cough up a lung or something.

2. Has it really been 10 years since Dale Earnhardt died in the Daytona 500? It really doesn't seem that long. I remember pulling into my parking space at college, listening to folks call in to the local country radio station (I really do miss 106.7) and talking about Dale and I could tell something was wrong. It wasn't until I was in my dorm and had the TV on that I realized what had happened. My first thought (after wow) was "I feel really sorry for his son since everyone is going to expect him to become his dad instantly."

3. I made some delicious pineapple cupcakes with coconut frosting a week and a half ago. They were so yummy. It was my first attempt at from scratch cupcakes. I'm really hoping I can get some interest...I'd love to have a little cupcake business. Wish I'd thought to take a picture of them...they were so pretty. That coconut buttercream was the best frosting I've ever made!!

4. We still haven't picked a name for the baby. Guess we'd better get going on that! At least we have first names narrowed down to 3: Luke, Colt, and Evan. We're having a harder time agreeing on one this time around for some reason.

5. I'm tired of snow and cold. Never thought I'd say it but I don't want to see another flake of snow for quite a while. We've had more snow this year (and we're only two months in!) than I think we've ever had...and let's not talk about how I was stuck in the house for 4 days with my 3 year old son in January because of the snow and ice. Ugh.

6. Warmer weather will also make getting dressed easier! It is extremely hard to get my shoes on and putting on flip flops will make life so much better! :)

7. That master's degree will have to be put off for a few more years. I had thought once my son started school I could look into it but with a second on the way it will push that timeline even further back. Think I've figured out I'll go to Georgia College and State U in Millegeville when I'm finally ready; they have thesis and non-thesis options in the program I'd go into.

8. My England trip is something else that's going to be pushed back. No way was I going to travel overseas while pregnant! At least this gives me more time to save up!

Where Were You?

Where were you on September 11, 2001? Do you remember? Is it still so clear in your mind it could have been yesterday? I certainly hope so. What happened MUST be remembered. The innocent victims MUST never be forgotten. If we forget, we give those cowards a victory.

I was in Kalispell, Montana. My cousin had been married on the 8th. My mom and I arrived at the tiny airport early in the morning on September 11. Our flight was to leave at 8ish mountain time. I had talked to Johnny the night before - the flight was wide open, we'd have no problem getting on (we were flying standby). We got to the gate ... and the flight was suddenly full. This was a bit of a problem as the next flight out of this tiny airport to Salt Lake City wasn't until after 1pm. Sigh.

We went back to the main area of the terminal. Mom walked to the windows on the opposite side to contact our family to see if we could get a ride back to their house. I sat down at a table in the small "cafe" to wait and see what we'd be doing. I remember an airport worker coming up to the lady in the cafe and telling her that there had been a plane crash and to turn on the news. The first thing that popped in my head was "Oh my stars! The plane we were just supposed to be on has crashed!" So the cafe lady turned the little TV mounted on the wall on and flipped through the channels; I recall it went past a station and there was a picture of the Twin Towers there, smoking, but we didn't notice it, we were looking for plane crash coverage. The first worker told her," No, no. Go back. That was it!" Horrible reality set in.

I sat there in my little chair staring at those building with smoke pouring out of them. The two ladies stood there staring. I kept trying to get my mom's attention across the room. Slowly, people in the airport gathered around in silence. My mom came back to the table. This airport is really small (REALLY small) and its not going to be noisy like Hartsfield here in Atlanta but it was dead silent. Dead silent. I remember glancing around at the people gathered around us, maybe a dozen or so, and everyone had the same expression: shock, horror, sadness.

Then there came the report that another plane had been flown into the Pentagon in DC (and I think I remember there was a mention of a fire or explosion on The Mall). I looked at my mom and said, feeling like I was 5 and not 22, "Mom, what in the world is going on?" She just looked at me, tears in her eyes, and shook her head. I have never felt so young or helpless or confused or scared in my life. This was America. Things like this didn't happen here! We hadn't been attacked since 1941 and even then there was a war going on (even if we weren't in it then).

Suddenly, there was more smoke pouring from one of the Towers and a gentleman to my left said there had been another explosion. I stared at what was on the screen and knew that was no explosion and cried, "No! The building is collapsing!!" They didn't want to believe me. Nerd that I am, I have watched those shows where they show building demolition and I recognized the sight of a building collapsing. It was soon apparent I had been right. I remember glancing kind of behind me and to my left. There was an elderly couple standing there, the gentleman had a cowboy hat on, and I can still see the expression on his face. We probably all looked like that. There was no sound; we all watched in silence as the second Tower fell.

We heard the flights had been canceled. We went to the Delta desk to ask what we should do? When would there be another flight? I'll never forget the poor girl behind the counter in tears just shaking her head and saying over and over "I don't know, I don't know."

I have never been so glad to see someone as I was when my cousin walked in to pick us up and take us back to their house in town. We would be stuck there for another week as there were no open seats once flights resumed (standby remember?); there weren't even any rental cars left in town. I am just glad that we were with family.

When we were finally able to get on a plane home a week later, the flight from Salt Lake City to Atlanta was....interesting. After dinner, while they were serving us ice cream sundaes we hit some turbulence. Not really bad but enough to bounce the plane around pretty good for a couple minutes. Needless to say, everyone on the plane was pretty freaked out. We had been lucky enough to get seats in first class for that trip and I remember the stewardess looking pretty freaked out herself.

We can never forget what happened to this country. There are people out there that just want to wipe us off this planet. They will try again.

Friday Funny

Thank you, Karen, for sending this my way!

Mr. Knightley - My Favorite Austen Hero

Until about three weeks ago if you had asked me who my favorite Austen hero was I probably would have said (after much thought) Colonel Brandon from Sense and Sensibility. I wouldn't have really called him a "hero" (and he certainly wouldn't have called himself one!) though that is what he is classified as but he is quite the gentleman and you can't help but love him for his attachment to Marianne. I have seen several different adaptions of the book and by far my favorite portrayal is the one by Alan Rickman. He really seemed to fit the part and his voice! Really, what can be said about his voice but wow!

However, about three weeks ago I finally picked up and read Emma ... in about a day. Really. It was marvelous; a fantastic comedy of manners with some very comical moments and very memorable characters. And the most memorable? Mr. Knightley of course! He has now become my favorite Austen hero. He was, after all, Jane's favorite hero and created in him her "ideal Regency English gentleman." And boy did she ever!

A little background on the character for those of you who have not read this novel (and if you haven't...why??): Mr. Knightley of Donwell Abbey is the principal land owner in Highbury (the little town where the story takes place), is about 37 or 38, and a close friend of Emma Woodhouse and her father. In fact, Emma's older sister and Knightley's younger brother are married and living in London so there is a very close relationship between the families. Knightley is intelligent, kind, sensible. and very generous. Being an old friend, he is very concerned with Emma's "upbringing" (though she is 21 in the story...) and worries about her. He is the only person in the novel who can gain the upper hand with her and is the only one who will find fault with her (which is something she needs). Knightley just wants (so he thinks) Emma to be the wonderful young lady he knows she can be and sees that as his reason behind his constant concern over her activities. Of course, his feelings run deeper than he originally expected. At the end his patience does win out and he wins the woman of his dreams.

So that is a very generalized look at Mr. Knightley but there is so much more to him! He is quite the gentleman, friendly to every one despite their "situation" (remember there were strict social classes at this time all dependent upon how much money one had). He always goes out of his way to help the impoverished Mrs. and Miss. Bates and their niece, Jane Fairfax (so much so that some believe he is going to marry Jane at one point!). He also considers his tenant farmer Robert Martin a friend; Martin even comes to him for advice on whether to marry or not. So while he is obviously aware of his own situation in the community he is not at all snobbish about it and uses his position to help as many as possible. Even when Frank Churchill arrives Knightley is able to be the perfect gentleman around him, never revealing how much he dislikes him and suspects Frank isn't all that he seems. There are some wonderfully humorous moments between Knightley and Emma that show he is quite funny and witty. Even when he is lecturing Emma, he is not at all unkind and you can tell by his words and manner that he truly wants to help her. After she insults Miss. Bates at the Box Hill picnic you can tell that his anger with her stems from his extreme disappointment in her behavior, knowing she is a better person than that (and feeling this change is because of Frank Churchill). You will not find Mr. Knightley covering the pages of the novel but his presence is there even if he, physically, is not; Emma is usually concerned with what Mr. Knightley will think and even finds herself guided by his opinions (even if she is not aware of it).

There have been a few different TV and movie adaptions of this wonderful story but my favorite is the 1996 Miramax version with Gwyneth Paltrow as Emma and Jeremy Northam as Mr. Knightley. As another blogger stated, "he is the definitive Mr. Knightley," a statement with which I heartily concur. Northam is wonderful in this role. Besides being oh so suave and handsome (yes, all the Knightley pictures in this post are of him!), he really brings the character to life. He just has gentleman written across him. His mannerisms, his humor, his emotions all fit with the Mr. Knightley of Austen's novel - and he looks so comfortable and at ease in those Regency clothes! Throughout the movie I find my eyes drawn to him whenever he appears, he really steals the scene! He does a superb job with the script; in fact some of the most memorable lines (or scenes) are his. His "Badly done, Emma. Badly done" is one of the most famous lines from the movie. After seeing this movie I have found it very easy to picture Northam's Mr. Knightley in the various sequels or retellings of Emma I've come across (the best, in my opinion, is Barbara Cornthwaite's George Knightley, Esquire).

I love this movie so much that I have yet to return it to Netflix! Of course when I've gone looking for it in the $5 section at Target, I can't find it, though I've seen it numerous times over the years! I highly recommend this movie to any Austen fans; I do not think you'll be disappointed. Besides the wonderful Mr. Northam, there is some other fantastic acting in the movie. Get it! Watch it and see for yourself what a wonderful job Mr. Northam does with this character! I am very glad I watched Showtime's The Tudors before I saw this movie. Northam plays Sir. Thomas More in the series and I think I would have cried to see my Mr. Knightley meet More's horrible end!

An Award!

I feel all special! My good friend Kristine the HistoryDiva at Blissfully Unaware has passed along my first award! Pretty cute, eh?

So the rules for this one are that I'm supposed to list 7 random things about myself before I pass it along to a fellow blogger. Hmm....

1. I wish I was an archeologist.

2. I desperately want to get my Master's degree but there is not one college in this country that offers the program(s) I want or would be interested in!

3. Green thumb I am not. In fact, plants running screaming in terror when they see me as I am a serial plant killer.

4. I love white roses solely for the fact that they are the emblem of the medieval royal House of York. (York peppermint patties are pretty good too actually...)


5. Deadliest Catch is my absolutely favorite show on TV. (still can't figure out what is so fascinating about watching grown men catch crabs...)

6. I could probably quote the entire movie Cars from memory. (Logan watches it that much...)

7. I am claustrophobic and would rather deal with the hassle of getting to the airport and flying somewhere rather than sit in a small vehicle.


I am passing this award on to....my friend Melissa at her blog The Sheltons!.

Friday Funny

Chipper Jones I am Not...

Or perhaps I am considering how often he gets injured these days.

After not stepping on the softball field for almost 10 years I joined my church's co-ed softball team this year. I was at my first practice last Saturday and I have to admit that I was really, really, really sore afterwards. It was getting better by the time we had our first game last night.

I got to play about one inning. I was behind the plate catching and then up to bat in the bottom of the inning. While squatting behind the plate I felt something in my leg but didn't think much of it. Boy was I wrong. Running from 1st to 3rd about killed me; horrible pain in my upper leg. I was sitting for the rest of the game.

Ouch.

I can put weight on my leg no problem but if something requires me to bend or stretch that muscle ... not happening. Sigh. My typical luck I suppose! Johnny thinks I pulled a hamstring but I don't know. I just know it hurts - alot - and I hope its better before the next game this Saturday.

Guess I won't be going out for the Braves any time soon!

Yay for Robins!!

Or...I'm really looking forward to the new Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe. It opens on May 14th and Johnny has said he wouldn't mind seeing it. Yay! I don't have to go by myself! Only 7 days to go!!
There have been so many versions of this legend (and legend it is, though there probably is some basis for it in the lives of real people) and so many of them have landed on the big screen. There is a BBC TV series about it as well.
Who can forget the oh-so-manly green outfit of Errol Flynn?

Why, yes, it is a lovely shade of kelly green; makes me feel manly. I can give you the number of my dyer.

My personal favorite (really, it is) is the Kevin Costner version which came out in 1991. Yes, cheesy acting (though I do so love Alan Rickman) and an almost equally cheesy plot but I still loved it. The scenery was beautiful.

As a matter of fact I do use Garnier Fructis.

This newest version, starring Russell Crowe as a much more realistic Robin and Cate Blanchette as a very warrior like Marion, is going to give viewers a much more realistic look at the way life was in the 1200s - gritty, dirty, and violent. I am really looking forward to this, especially since I have read so much about this time period (via Sharon Kay Penman's wonderful Here Be Dragons and Elizabeth Chadwick's novels about William Marshal).

Shhh...be vewry, vewry qwiet...I'm hunting wabbits.