Pay It Forward

Other than being a horrible Kevin Spacey movie (is there such a thing as a good Kevin Spacey movie?), "Pay It Forward" is a little game my sis-in-law Laura started. Wanna play?

The Rules
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me (since it's from me, it'll be a card).
2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along.Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER...Pay it forward!

Valentine's Day . . . and a cool card

We had a good Valentine's Day. The night before, John and I went ahead and exchange presents. He got me these pretty tulips . . . he's very good at picking out flowers. I got him Blades of Glory. Kind of a random choice, but it's healthier than candy! I also made him this really weird card. I didn't post a picture of it, because it's super weird. At the time, it made sense to me. Now, not so much. I did this watercolor painting of a bloody heart (a human heart!) and the card said, "Aorta tell you . . . Happy Valentine's Day!" Uh, yeah. That would be why it's not on here . . .

On the actual V Day, I made some muffins in the morning, always a good start to the day. We put Charlie down for a nap and John and I went bowling. I had never been bowling with less than eight people. I thought it might be weird, but it was a lot of fun. That is, until the second game. John got strike after strike while I seriously didn't hit a single pin for the majority of the game. I seriously wanted to quit and leave. I get annoyed at the whole, "I'm awesome at every game there is," thing! Because I have a, "I stink at every single game there is," thing!

That night, we took Charlie out for ice cream. Grandpa and Grandma Flynn sent him some ice cream money for Valentine's, so we took him to Mickey D's for a sundae. Needless to say, he was grateful! Then, we put him to bed and watched Run, Fatboy, Run. Thanks for the recommendation, Laura . . . we laughed through the whole movie.

The next day was my little brother Ethan's birthday. I made him possibly one of the coolest cards ever. He saw The Dark Knight in the theater over 10 times . . . I'm not exaggerating. So, obviously, I had to do something Joker-y. Something about the Joker just inspires me, I guess. First, the pumpkin I did at Halloween, then this card. Too bad Heath Ledger won't be around for a sequel. Anyway, the Joker's hand spins . . . when you spin the hand, a little banner that says, "Happy Birthday!" opens up. It was a lot of fun to make. I love it when I get an idea and then it actually works!

My Favorite "Goopy" Movies

Right now I'm working on a script for a romantic comedy. With Valentine's Day this week and romance on my mind, I thought I'd do a list of my favorite "goopy" (meaning, romantic) movies. They are "feel good" movies that leave you feeling wonderful afterwards. I'm not a fan of dramatic romantic movies . . . in fact, I loathe them (I laughed all the way through The Notebook--while my friend sobbed). I'd rather have some laughs, a few happy sniffles (well, I would if I cried at movies), then turn off the DVD player feeling great about life.

Pride and Prejudice

I loved the BBC version of the best novel ever written (lots of people say it, and yes, it's totally true) . . . until I saw Joe Wright's version. I haven't been able to watch that goofy excuse for a Jane Austen adaptation ever since. That version not only dramatized literally every scene in the book, but they even made some up. Joe Wright's version, while smaller on plot, was so much bigger in scope and yes . . . romance. He allows us to see through one character's eyes, which always makes for a more meaningful experience.

The cast in this movie is beyond amazing. Keira Knightley was born to play Elizabeth Bennett (not to mention she was actually the right age--all the people in the BBC version are at least 10 years older than their characters!). Yes, I love Colin Firth, too, ladies, but I think Matthew McFayden is to die for! He lets Keira Knightley steal the show, and frankly, it is her show. And Dame Judi Dench as Lady Catherine DeBurgh? Life is good as long as casts like this exist!

Favorite Scene: Darcy walking across the field in the early morning light with that piano playing in the background. Ooh, I'm melting right now . . .

Fun Fact: Keira Knightley had long relationship with Rupert Friend, the actor who plays Wickham. I'm not sure if they're still together, though . . .

Sense and Sensibility

Yeah, yeah, I know it's another Jane Austen adaptation. But this movie is the exception to the rule that books are always better than their movie adaptations. That's right. Emma Thompson's screenplay is better than the book. Don't believe me? Read the book. It's not that great. But the movie? Well, let's look at the facts . . .

The cast? Kate Winslet. Emma Thompson. Hugh Grant. Alan Rickman (in his best performance to date, and that's saying something). The director? Ang Lee. And if this isn't enough to convince you, just watch it. Everything about it is just sublime. It's one of my top movies, if not the tippy-top.

Favorite Scene: The look on Colonel Brendan's face when Marianne calls his name and tells him "Thank you." (who knew Severus Snape could be so dreamy?) And, Elinor laughing and crying at the same time in that final scene with Edward. Okay, I couldn't pick just one!

Fun Fact: Emma Thompson is married to Greg Wise, the actor who played Willoghby. They met on this movie and became friends. They married years later. Something about these Jane Austen movies . . .

Pretty in Pink

If you've never seen this movie, drop everything, call your girlfriends and have a girls' night in. It is such a fun, funny and surprisingly romantic movie. The plot isn't all that special: poor girl falls for rich boy and problems arise. But it feels oddly refreshing to root for the brave girl with no money, especially in the wake of shows like "Gossip Girl" that would rather spend time exploring the shallowness of rich girl culture. Plus, Molly Ringwald is friggin' awesome. If only I could be as outspoken and confident as her character in this movie . . . and have a best friend like Duckie Dale! This is my favorite movie about high school, for sure.

Favorite Scene: Hands down, Duckie's dance to "Try a Little Tenderness" in the record store. Classic. If a guy danced like that for me, I would drop my date with Blaine in a second!

Fun Fact: Kenny Ortega, the choreographer and director behind all the "High School Musical" movies, choreographed Duckie's dance.

Enchanted

So I know that this is technically a kids' movie, but it is the most romantic movie of recent times in my opinion. I love this movie so much. When I went to see it, I wasn't expecting much. It was so funny, because I totally got swept up in the story. Not to mention, Amy Adams is the stuff! I never liked James Marsden (Prince Edward) until I saw this movie. He is so hilarious here.

Favorite Scene: Obviously, any of the musical numbers (especially "Happy Working Song"), but as far as romance goes, definitely the fight between Giselle and Robert. The part where she touches his chest is pretty hot, especially for a kids' movie! That moment shows how you can evoke tons of feeling in one touch. Sex scenes are so unnecessary.

Fun Fact: Amy Adams was a singing waitress at a murder mystery theater before she got her start.

Notting Hill

Yet another Hugh Grant movie on the list . . . seeing a pattern? I never understood the big deal about Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan or Julia Roberts and Richard Gere. It's probably because I don't like any of the movies those couples are in. For me, as far as chemistry goes, Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant are it. For a movie starring two huge movie stars, it's surprisingly low key and that's what I love about it. All the romantic comedies coming out nowadays (uh, "Bride Wars" anyone?) seem so screechy and obnoxious. What ever happened to movies like this? It's very simple and heartfelt. Not to mention, it's also friggin' hilarious. I laugh out loud every time I watch it.

Favorite Scene: "I'm just a girl . . ." That whole scene just blows me away. It could have been really over-the-top and emotional, but it's quiet and sad. It just shows what great actors those two are, that they can deliver so much without resorting to tears, etc. The montage at the end of the movie is also really sweet . . . the final shot is a tearjerker, for sure.

Fun Fact: The flat with the blue door is real in Notting Hill is real. The screenwriter used to live there! Although the exterior in the movie is real, the inside was shot on a soundstage.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (see top)

If you have never seen this movie, repent now and rent it! It is, to me, one of the most romantic movies ever made. Every time I watch this movie, I think I love it more than the last time I watched it. It's not all about Audrey Hepburn's wardrobe (although fabulous), and actually, not all about Audrey Hepburn. I think George Peppard (Hannibal from A-Team when he was young and hot, hee hee!) is equally as good in this, if not better.

Favorite Scene: "So plenty." My heart just jumps when I think of that line. One of the best lines ever written, in my opinion! If you don't know what I'm talking about, you gotta see it!

Fun Fact: Well, this isn't fun really. There is one negative to this movie. For whatever reason, Holly's landlord is a japanese man . . . played by Mickey Rooney (a caucasian comedian). He wears these really big false teeth, a bad wig and talks with a really bad accent. It's really weird and super rascist. It bothers me every time I watch it. Thankfully, he's not in the movie that much.

This morning, my mom accused me of not being romantic. Well, I guess I showed all of you that I do have a "goopy" side!

The ironic thing about these movies is that they are best enjoyed alone! That's my opinion, anyway . . . So, what are some of your favorite "goopy" movies?

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is one of my favorite Charlie faces. Sometimes he does it because he's upset, but he also does it to make people laugh. One night this week, my dad told him, "Don't furrow your brow!" Charlie goes, "Don't furrow brow!" It was hilarious. It's so funny to hear him say sentences. Now, every time he makes that face he'll go, "Don't furrow!"

Here's the newest addition to the John Flynn fam:

This car is replacing (sniff) the Vibe. I LOVED that car. Unfortunately, a month ago some guy was standing in the middle of the freeway directing traffic. Some luggage had fallen off his car, so he was trying to pick it up. Well, this lead to a lot people braking suddenly, and John ran into one of those people. I don't really want to talk about this, because I'm still bitter about it. I did not like using that car. But our new car drives way better and it's an '08 with not many miles on it. Not to mention our car payments are $100 less now, so it turned out well in the end. I guess.

This week was really crazy. The main thing that happened was I helped out with a birthday party for Donna Blackburn. She is seriously the most kind, sweet and fun person ever. I have never heard a negative word come from her mouth. For the past year and a half, her husband has been serving as Branch President in a tiny branch in South Pittsburgh (which is an hour away). Even though they are technically still in our branch, she never gets to see anyone. My mom had the idea to throw her a birthday party so she could see everyone. Since I'm her visiting teacher, I made most of the food. I made a huge chicken salad and cupcakes. Chicken salad is usually served with a rolls, but my mom, of course, didn't want to do that. She always has to do something different . . . good thing I didn't inherit that (um, that was sarcasm if you couldn't tell!) So I had the idea to serve the chicken salad with toasted bread (EVOO, salt and pepper on both sides for 7-8 minutes at 400 degrees), sort of like a bruschetta. It was definitely a hit. Here's the recipe, although I would suggest leaving out the water chestnuts. There's plenty of crunch with the almonds and celery. I'm just a water chestnut hater--they taste like nothing! Another tip: for amazing vanilla cupcakes, add one teaspoon of almond extract (the real stuff, no imitation) to one box of cake mix. Then, add a tiny bit to the frosting (I've only done this with homemade frosting, so I'm not sure if it'll work with canned). Unfortunately, I couldn't eat any of the stuff I made, but I heard it was good!

So this is a giant card I made for Donna. I apologize for this picture. I look like a total dork. John took the picture and he always makes me nervous, so I wind up making stupid faces. He's really bossy when he has a camera! It's like he thinks he's a professional photographer or something . . . Just ignore my stupid face and look at the cute card!

Donna was so excited about this party and I think she had a great time. I got the Primary, Youth and RS to sign the big card and I think she was more excited about that than anything. It's always such a pleasure to serve someone who you know needs it, and appreciates it. Opportunities like this are rare, so I'm glad I got to participate in this one.

Oh, and to all you former Signal Mountain people, if you didn't already hear, Hannah Collins (formerly Blackburn) is having a baby! She looks so cute with a baby bump. I didn't ask for a picture, because I remember how self-conscious I was when I was pregnant. I didn't want any pictures of me pregnant. But somehow, someone coerced me into taking some . . . Amber! Grrr . . . Anyway, that will be the cutest baby ever, I swear . . .

And for some glorious news: Charlie has gone 3 days without a bottle! This is a miracle, for sure. I know he's super old for that . . . but it's been rough. We had him almost off it four months ago, then he was just sick off and on since then. Really, it wasn't just him that needed weaning . . . John and I needed it just as much! It's just so much easier to stick a bottle in his mouth to get him to go to sleep. Plus, he was very attached to it. I couldn't breastfeed him (medical reason - don't judge me), so the bottle is all he knew. But, he's been very cooperative this week. I think he's just growing up. We had our first real meal out together today. We all went to Chick-fil-a, and Charlie had chicken nuggets and fries. It was so cute to watch him feed himself.

Move over, Puxatawney Phil, General Beauregard Lee (the South's groundhog--as if you couldn't tell from the name) has spoken! The South is getting an early spring. It was in the 60s yesterday, today and it's supposed to be all week. Spring, glorious, Spring in the South! Guess we'll be hitting the playground hard this week . . .

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

I'm opinionated when it comes to, well, everything. But I'm especially passionate about great writing. Right now, I'm re-reading what has become my favorite book, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It's like Harry Potter for adults. Meaning, everything in the book, character, plot, pace, prose is elevated.

The basic plot is about two magicians in early 1800s England. If it sounds like The Prestige (although, that book/movie took place in the late 1800s/early 1900s), it's not. In this book, "magicians" are resemble wizards more than stage magicians. They perform spells and manipulate space and time, etc. Mr. Norrell is the elderly magician, obsessed with his books. He believes he is the only man responsible (and scholarly) enough in England to be called a "magician." Jonathan Strange is the younger, brasher magician. He is vain, yet charming (think Hugh Grant with a spellbook). These two unite and clash over and over again throughout the years. This book is technically a fantasy book, but it could also reasonably be called a historical novel. Now, I normally don't read historical fiction, because I think it's well, dorky. But the history in this book makes the magic all the more believeable. For example, there's a good deal of the book devoted to magic used against Napoleon and the French during the Napoleonic Wars. The magicians make armadas of ships out of rain, conjure dragons to chase the enemy and even wake soldiers from the dead in order to find out what they know.

The tone of the book varies from humorous to wickedly scary. The dry wit of Susanna Clarke's narrator most resembles Jane Austen. Just like Austen, Clarke pokes fun at Regency England society and its foibles. This is book is by far the most "British" book I've ever read. It's a sort of throwback to the kind of books that were written during the Regency period. It's a traditional three volume novel. At one point in the novel, Jonathan Strange tells a friend his wife won't "have time to finish a three-volume novel."

As Strange suggests, this is no afternoon read. It's 782 pages. And I don't mean 782 Harry Potter pages. The type is tiny, not to mention, there are hundreds of footnotes throughout the book. That's right. Footnotes. Clarke likes to reference books that are completely from her imagination. She also inserts little fairy tales in these footnotes, causing them to sometimes take over four entire pages. The author is quirky to be sure, but these little anecdotes are so interesting that by the middle of the book, you look forward to those giant footnotes.

I've had the book checked out for over two months and I'm only halfway through. I only have time to read a couple of chapters a day, though. It's one of those books that you live in for weeks. Clarke has created the most detailed world I've ever experienced in a book. It's not a page-turner (although, the last 200 pages are incredibly scary and exciting), but it's worth the time you put in it. In my opinion, well-written are rare these days. This book is a real treat, not to mention it's squeaky clean. Although, I wouldn't recommend it for kids. Not only would they not understand most of the historical references, some of the book is pretty brutal.

If you like Harry Potter and Jane Austen (and have a lot of patience) I would recommend this book. It is worth the work, I promise! It's a fairly popular book so you should be able to find it at your local library or bookstore.

I've heard rumors they are working on a film version of this book. I would love to adapt this book into a screenplay (or three screenplays!). That would be a dream job, for sure. Although, it would probably take a few years . . . I have a million more things to say about how awesome this book is, but I realize I've blabbed on for waaayyyy too long . . .

So I got a new calling this week. I'm now second counselor in the Primary. I'm excited because I really care about those kids. I've been the music leader for almost a year . . . and I'll probably be in charge of music for a few months until we can get a new music leader. We're kind of running low on callings lately. Anyway, the calling is a lot more work than my last one but I'm kind of grateful for that. I'm not exactly where I'd like to be in my life right now, and it's frustrating. Having a busy calling is exactly what I need because it'll distract me from my own problems. So wish me luck. I think this new calling will be great.

This week has been crazy. Charlie is sick yet again. I was so excited last week because we finally got him off the nebulizer. Literally, the day after I put the machine away, he started wheezing again. He's had a crazy cold that will not go away. So I'm sure he'll be on treatments for another month or two, get better, then he'll get sick again just like he did last spring. Well, at least he's getting better. Monday night he was acting like he had the stomach flu and it was, well, disgusting and traumatizing for me! I'll leave it at that . . .

Here's to better health for all of us!

Snow . . . and some "Lost" mania

It snowed this week, and in true Southern fashion, none of it stuck. Well, we had a dusting. It was so lame. We've had so much snow this winter, but none of it is sled-able. Maybe we'll get a good one soon . . . Charlie was excited about the snowfall. I took him out on the deck for just a minute so he could feel it. Then I rushed him back inside and he threw a fit. So I tossed his coat on and took him and the camera out in the yard. He loved it. He held his mouth wide open most of the time, trying to catch the snow in his mouth. I wondered how he knew it was edible. Then I remembered that this is the child that eats paper daily. He probably just thought it was tiny bits of paper falling from the sky!

After the snow, things warmed up a bit and I took Charlie to the park a few times. We have this playground almost a mile away from the house. I push him in the stroller over there--it's good exercise for me, and for him. Can you tell that he's excited about playing at the park?

Unfortunately, the ground has been wet and every time, I somehow wind up with muddy pants. The worst was when we went down the slide. I wasn't aware it was wet and I had to walk almost a mile home with mud butt! Not to mention there were like, a million cars driving by that day for some reason . . .


And finally, another reason for Charlie to disown us as parents. Yes, I dressed him up for the season premiere of "Lost." What's worse, is this isn't the first time. Last year, as a four-month-old, we dressed him up like Locke. Charlie had no hair back then, so Locke was the obvious choice. We even drew a scar on his face! I'm not sure we have a picture of that one. This year I dressed him up like Mikhail . . . pretty good job, right? Boredom and obsession are a bad mix!

The "real" Mikhail.

Charlie as Mikhail.

If you haven't seen this show yet, you're depriving yourself of total awesomeness. Just so you know . . . So go watch Season 1 online now! I think that ABC should start paying me residuals for how many people I've converted to this show. Everyone I've recommended it to becomes a total addict like me. "Lost" is the best drug ever! Go get hooked!

New Card and Scrapbook Page

I made this card for one of my VT people . . . it was her b-day. I think this card would have been waaayyy better if I had added stitching . . . but I was really lazy and didn't feel like pulling my sewing machine out. I thought it came out really cute anyway. I got the "flower person" tag from one of those copyright-free vintage images books. I'm obsessed with vintage stuff right now. It's kind of funny, because it's really not my style. I usually gravitate to more graphic, modern patterns. But I'm loving this card right now. The quote says, "Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is."

It's kind of ironic I used the word "nature" in the title, because everything in this picture is staged. This picture was not taken outside, but inside the butterfly room at the TN Aquarium. We planted the butterfly on his shoulder. At least his smile is genuine! That's all that really matters . . .

This butterfly was on a tree and I was trying to coax it to fly towards Charlie. It was kind of ugly, and it really didn't want to touch it. Then out of nowhere, this crazy old lady wearing a fanny pack (always an indicator of psychosis) grabbed my hand and pushed the butterfly on it. I did not want to touch that thing. It had these nasty hairy legs and its body was literally the size of my pinkie. I told her I didn't want to but she made me. It was so crazy. Well, I guess it's crazy that I enjoyed having a python on my shoulders, but I didn't want to hold a butterfly.

At least we got a cute picture out of the experience!