FunnyBlog

Movie Review: The Help
The book The Help by Kathryn Stockett was life changing for me. 
The movie was a great review for why it was life changing.
I am not usually one to compare the movies to the books.
I like to read books first because I then get to imagine them unfolding 
untainted by another’s interpretation.
I then like to take in the movie as a whole different experience.
However open-minded I tried to go into this movie experience, 
I have to say that The Help was more like what I imagined 
while reading than any other book/movie experience.
My hat is off to the producers, directors, and actors.
You nailed it.
Head on.
Bravo.

I busted a get. Especially when it came to the terrible awful.
I cried a bucket. The complexities of humanity are so emotional.
I jumped in victory when Skeeter’s mama finally figured things out.
I revered and honored Milly and Abileen in that little black church.
I searched myself once again. 
Wow, I have such great ambitions yet fall so short.
I want to be the best mama.
I want to be the best writer.
I want to stand for something important.
I want to love and be loved.
Go see this movie. 
If my hubby and I both laugh and cry, you know it won’t disappoint.
And just a sidenote: When I first moved to Knoxville I had the horrifying experience of listening to four born and raised Southern whites embarrass themselves as humans. They were so racist and were proud of it. At that dinner, there was even a comment about how the blacks had brought all the troubles on themselves. I was appalled. I stood my ground. I told them they were absolutely wrong. Seven years later, one of these racists had become my best friend. I saw her befriend her first black. People can change. If they haven’t, they should. Not because I told them so, but because it’s the right thing to do to love our neighbors. I was proud to take a stand against racism and to be a part of making the world a better place. A place where everyone is loved and appreciated. Call me Skeeter.

Mommy wasn’t giggling

When the toddling tornado wreaked havoc.

But apparently, other moms get it, so they featured one of Caroline’s photos on their blog.

I love mommy giggles.

Go over and give them a photo that makes you chuckle.

You could win $25 every month.

And we all know, every mom needs two things:
more giggles, and more money?

Of course I wasn’t going to say more kids.
We’ve got plenty of those.

Deep-fried Kool-Aid

Sometimes, you can find the perfect reason to smile.
Today it was in the form of a culinary delicacy.
From California of all places.
I love it when all three of my universes collide.

Who knew a girl could love California, Utah, and Tennessee equally?
I mean if there are any three places
in the United States that are different,
it is those three.

And I love them all.

When I make deep fried Kool-Aid,
I will honor all three.

Sometimes people say “Those crazy Mormons drank the Kool-Aid.”
There are a lot of Kool-Aid drinkers here in Utah.

Deep fried. Only one place you can think of with that one.
Love you Tennessee.

And the video that was recorded in my birthstate of California is something you will never forget.

God bless America.
Even if I never make or try this American invented food.
If you can call it that.

Go here for the recipe.

I know you are all dying to try it.

Taylor Lautner

I don’t know how anyone could ever choose skinny Edward over Werewolf Jacob.

Taylor is such a cutie and he always seems so down to earth.

I wish they would make this a real movie.
I think it has potential.
I loved the original Field of Dreams.

And I love me some Taylor Lautner. In a “I like to pretend I am still in high school when I dream” way.

Book Review – All That Was Promised
All That Was Promised. by Vickie Hall 

3.5 stars out of 5.

I traveled to Wales last week. I also time-traveled back to the 1800’s. It was the best of times and the worst of times. The Church of Jesus Christ was just being established, which means the church and all of its new members were also being severely persecuted.

This book is a piece of LDS fiction that will make any of its readers, wherever they may be or whatever they be, grateful for freedom of worship. How many times have you walked into your church without a second thought of mobs forming, or atrocities being calculated against you and your family? Yeah, me too. I have never once had to worry about physical injury. I’ll take the intellectual prejudices any day, over the physical prejudices so many before me have endured.



Vickie’s writing was excellent. She kept the story moving and it was a very quick read. She had great character development and the thing that I may have liked best about her style was her descriptive abilities. I feel like I have actually visited Cardiff, Wales. For instance:

The afternoon sky darkened as an impending spring storm brewed in the burgeoning clouds overhead. The Kenyon’s small stone cottage sat nestled on a small plot of land surrounded by a stacked stone fence built some two centuries earlier.

Don’t you just want to go there in real life?


Here is how the book is introduced on the cover:

An encounter with a Mormon missionary and his unusual message of a “restored gospel” leaves Richard Kenyon, a young Methodist minister, questioning his life’s work when he cannot deny a growing testimony of this peculiar American religion. 

What this blurb doesn’t tell you are the parts of the book that I liked best. Perhaps the greatest character was Pastor Kenyon’s wife, who was the epitome of a loving and doting wife, but was torn when she didn’t believe in the choices her husband was making. I loved seeing where the book took her. Kenyon’s business loving brother lives in his own hell with an overly controlling wife and even though he is very smart, he seems so ignorant at how to break destructive cycles. I found myself wishing for a 19th century therapist to save his family. Perhaps the story-line I enjoyed the most was the one of the bar-tending girl. I won’t tell you more about her because it will give away some of the best parts of the story.

The only thing I would change about this book was the predictability in the characters, but I was really happy with the ending. So if I had to take one or the other I would take the perfect ending. Most authors don’t satisfy me in the conclusion, but I was more than satisfied this time around. I even learned a little Welsh.


Purchase the book here. 

Vickie’s (the author) Blog

I was given a free copy of this book so that I could review it and tell you all what I thought. And, yes, it never gets old, getting free books to review. It makes me feel important and smart.


Here are some other important and smart people who would love for you to read what they thought of the book.

Margot Hovley              
                  
Janice Johnson         
                  
Tamara Westhoff                     
                  
Mindy Holt 
                  
Marsha Ward                 
                  
Jen Kindrick               


Dan Olsen   

Heidi Durant        
                  

School Lunches – Easy as Ants on a Log

This great post got me thinking about school lunches.

A young mom will be sending her first child to kindergarten and her mom suggested that they practice having school lunches at home so he would be prepared when on his own. If every kindergarten teacher could be as lucky to get her kid.

I used to help the kindergarten for the first week of school at lunch time. It was crazy. Nobody knew how to open their tupperware, or open their straws, or tear open their ketchup packets, or open their thermos (not really, I don’t think anyone uses a thermos anymore), and most of all the kids were all crazed knowing that everyone around them had something different to eat.

I thought you may like my take on the matter.
It may help you simplify this school year.

My favorite sack lunches are
let the kids make the themselves.

They throw it together the night before.
They put non perishables in the lunchbox and perishables in a gallon size ziplock in the fridge.
In the morning, when mom is barely awake, they just take out their ziplocks and dump it into their box.
Easy as pie.

I keep all of the following on hand:

Sandwich necessities.
Hard boiled eggs.
Cheese. (of all varieties)
Fresh Fruit – apples, bananas, oranges, nectarines, plums, grapes, cherries, strawberries
Carrots.
Cucumbers.
Celery.
Granola Bars.
Go-gurt/Yogurt
Raisins.
Peanut Butter crackers
Cheese Crackers.
Tortillas (They sometimes make quesadillas)
Salsa/Peanut Butter/Ranch Dressing

I buy chips and cookies and separate them out into portions at the beginning of the week.
(It keeps the kids from eating them after school and gives them the right portion and saves me money when I don’t buy the separately packaged stuff)

Every night before they are allowed to go to bed, I personally approve what they have packed to make sure they incorporated all the food groups and didn’t load up on the empty calories.

And every week, the kids are allowed to buy school lunch once or twice (depending on the budget). They will sometimes buy just because they know the night before they are going to be busy and won’t want to pack a lunch and they sometimes buy because they really like the pizza.

The bonus to my system is that my kids can satisfy their own appetites, manage their time, learn how to plan ahead, and take care of themselves.

And all I have to worry about is breakfast and dinner. Or keeping the cereal and milk and lunch items stocked and cooking dinner.

August’s Challenge

Whoever can find the longest word first
in any one of these Boggle boards, wins.
You have to post the word in a comment here.
And make sure you do it first.

Words that can’t be entered are:

This is

a blog

post.

Of course why would you want to enter one of those words?
They would never be long enough to win you anything.

My bets are on Jillian
(who kicked my trash a few weeks back
and inspired this blogging game)
or Lindsey
(who in my last 8 years in TN,
beat me at every single shower game)
At a shower once,
Wanda explained it was
because Lindsey lived a righteous life,
and I still have issues because
Lindsey must be more righteous
and does God really help people
win shower games because of their goodness?
I don’t think so.

Now, hurry, find yourself some words.
And I am praying for the most un-righteous person to win.
I need validation that God doesn’t care
who wins silly shower games.
And that Lindsey is just smarter
and more talented
or better yet, a cheater.
(wink wink)
That would surely make her less righteous!

The prize will be a package of candy mailed to you
because everyone knows you need some candy while playing games.
So, while you leave a comment,
tell me your favorite candy.
And if you can find
the name of your favorite candy
in the boggle board, even better.