Please don’t tell me that this is an actual CNN.com headline:

“Schwarzenegger’s ‘girlie men’ line under fire”

This is news? According to the article, some Democrats are protesting the comment as “sexist and homophobic.” Oh no… Someone shoot me now. Actually, I wasn’t aware that these lawmakers have the ability to claim what a homosexual does and doesn’t think about a particular choice of words!! How exasperating. Poor journalist who had to cover this story… I think of my dear friend Haley Wachdorf and know that usually such professionals don’t choose their topics!

I’ve listened to this clip about three times today (the first just to get my bearings and the second and third to laugh out loud). Andy is a Covenant alumnus and a friend of Charity’s, as well as an excellent photographer. I got our new digital camera today… Hopefully I’ll be taking some great Livia pics and movies soon.

Wishing:

…I had more time to read Anna Karenina and that the Lincoln City Libraries would grant a special allowance to me whereby I would never be charged overdue fees.

…This wall hanging was in Livia’s nursery… or that an artiste would paint a mural for free.

…A magic wand could be waved over my home and all my clutter would be brilliantly organized. Oh to be Mary Poppins right now!

…I could tape Livia’s pacifier to her nose (just for short naps and only ’til she figures out how to hang onto it).

…The fruits of the Spirit would flow from me constantly. How wonderful would it be to always be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient and full of self-control? Darn my self-serving nature.

Wishes Fulfilled:

…The Amazing Race 5 series premiere is airing again tonight! Woohoo!

…Jeremy & Livia.

Can you hear my cries of frustration?

I’ve been looking forward to one (count that, ONE!) television show for months now… And I missed the 90 minute premiere tonight! ARGH!!!!! Yeah yeah… so I’m a mama now and I’ve got more important things to do like make ninety million formula bottles a day and change umpteen wet diapers, not to mention do everything possible to make this darling child smile. (And oh, what a smile! It melts hearts of stone, topples crusty dictators, cracks uncrackable codes. It’s simply amazing.) Was I smiling so hard that all thoughts of The Amazing Race fled through my widened eyes and stretched lips? I think so.

Friends, fellow television viewers and owners of VCRs, please please please let me know if you just happened to tape the premiere of my FAVORITE TELEVISION SHOW EVER. I’m dying here. Can you feel my pain?

For some time now I’ve intended to explain the title of my blog… “View from the Prairie Box.” So here goes.

Our home was built in 1915 and is called an American Foursquare. It looks like a huge place, but really, what you see is exactly what you get… A square box with a basic four room layout. We fell in love with the wide front porch, lovely oak woodwork and yellow pine floors, and special touches like our built-in linen closet upstairs. Apparently homes like ours were built from a Sears catalog floor plan in the early 1900’s. Another name for the American Foursquare is, you guessed it, the Prairie Box. Someday I will research the history of our home and hopefully I can find pictures of this portion of Lincoln around 1915. By that time Zion Church and the larger homes on our block had been built. I imagine the homeowners of the day could sit on their wide front steps and watch the trains roll by, puffing out clouds of black smoke just a few short blocks away. Now we have lots of trees and a great green park, not to mention multitudes of houses, between us and the railroad tracks. But what what was it like in 1920 during the Prohibition? or in the ’30s under the strains of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl? or in the 40’s while World War II raged on in Europe (and Germans in Nebraska were under much suspicion)? or in the rock ‘n roll days of the 50’s? the racial tensions of the 60’s? the Vietnam, hippie 70’s? I just can’t help but wonder… What has the Prairie Box seen?

There exists a continuum that falls between the points “Planner” and “Flies-By-the-Seat-of-His/Her-Pants” and I have realized that I’m quite close to Planner side of it all. Overall, this is an okay thing… I consider it nice to know what I’m doing, when I’m doing it, where I’m doing it and who I’m doing it with. The difficulty comes when a unknown arises, one that I simply have to become comfortable with. I want to KNOW. I NEED to know. And sometimes, darnit, I just DO NOT KNOW. Sitting within the unknown… It can be tough.

Then again, sometimes I embrace the unknown. I’ll readily admit I love a surprise party in my honor; furthermore I was shocked when I found that some (ahem, Jeremy) don’t love such events! I really love the occasional gift of flowers or impromptu dinner with my husband. I enjoy having friends or family drop by the house unannounced and I appreciate the spontaneity and flexibility associated with my job at Zion Church. Little things. Fun things. Happy things. Daily things… for these I can fly by the seat of my pants.

But big, life-altering things? Someone pass me an instructional book, advice from the ages, a map and a compass and I’m ready to go. And if I can’t have such things? Well, that’s when I hunker down and wait, hoping for the unknown to soon become comfortably known.

[For Nebraskans only…]

If you’re like me and enjoy a good deal, in addition to saving money, pick up a Reel Deal card from Douglas Theatres the next time you catch a movie. Get the card stamped each time you plunk down your benjamins and you’ll soon get a free popcorn, free drink, and eventually a free movie pass. Not too shabby! The key is remembering to pull it out of your wallet each time…

What makes a “good” movie?

I’m convinced that part of our opinions of the merits of a film are due to circumstances surrounding our movie-watching experiences, and not to the actual picture itself.

Expectations play a huge role in forming one’s opinions. Though I didn’t appreciate The Matrix when I first saw it on the big screen, I grew to love it and watched it voraciously prior to the releases of the second and third parts in the trilogy. Reloaded and Revolutions were disappointments to me; my expectations were too high and inhibited my enjoyment of the movies. On the other hand, I went to My Big Fat Greek Wedding expecting a fun, fluffy flick and I had a good fun, fluffy time.

Physical surroundings also play a role. I’ll always associate The Adventures of Baron Munchausen with these nasty tasting calzones from Sam’s Club I was eating while watching the movie. Coincidentally, Adventures also left a nasty taste in my mouth. Watch any slightly humorous movie with Charity and you can’t help but smile—the girl is a major movie laugher! We all know flicks like Dumb and Dumber and Tommy Boy are best watched in the right crowd, preferably late at night or accompanied by a few drinks (I mean KoolAid for you minors!). And we’ve all had bad movie-going experiences, ones where a kid kicks your chair through the entire two hour screening or someone with major b.o. sits right next to you. All these things can affect your opinion.

I bring all this up because I’ve had several discussions about movies in the past few days that have resulted in the following phrases: “What?!?! I HATED [or LOVED] that movie!!” …And I’ve been surprised by how different my perception of the film is from my friends’ opinions.

– After reading negative reviews, I ended up really liking Troy. My younger brother thought it was terrible. In fact, the scene I was most impressed by (Priam’s request in Achilles’ tent), Andrew thought was the worst. Huh.

– Though my psyche will forever be scarred, I thought The House of Sand and Fog was a decent movie. My friends Sarah and Dave thought it was just terrible. They also actually walked out of Cold Mountain out of boredom—and I really liked that show! Hmmm.

– I despised American Splendor. Everyone raved about this film so I suppose my expectations were quite high. Hated it. Only watched the whole thing because I kept hoping it would get better. Three friends in the past few days have mentioned how much they liked it. Ugh.

– Perhaps this goes without saying, but my parents and Jeremy’s parents hardly ever agree with us on “good” movies. One of my favorites, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, put my mother-in-law to sleep and made my mom roll her eyes. Ah well!

So who knows what makes a good movie? Academy Awards are given out year after year, and year after year people argue why one deserves the statuette and why another does not. I guess we can all just agree to amicably disagree.

Hee hee… Jeremy and I mimicked a cell phone commercial last night on our walk around the neighborhood. The subsequent photo (not posted here) shows him warily looking around, to make sure no one is looking. Such love, such sacrifice! My husband of six years willingly places himself under the Dip sign for my amusement. Isn’t he great?

As we enter summer, two thoughts are on my mind… 1) Summer television is horrendous! There is nothing decent worth watching on poor man’s cable. (If you know of anything interesting, email me pronto.) My favorite reality show ever, The Amazing Race, usually airs in the summer months. Alas, this year it’s set for the fall line-up. Wait… Wait a minute… It’s not set for fall, it starts July 7! Yippee!!! TAR aside, tv right now stinks. Which leads me to 2) what can we do for FREE this summer? There’s only so much time one can spend gardening, walking around the neighborhood, and playing board games. Your suggestions are welcome!

Here’s wishing you all a happy Wednesday. I’m gonna go look at the Dip picture again for a good chuckle.