If this strikes a chord with you, I recommend For Women Only (or, if you are a guy, For Men Only — I’ve read both).

This feels like a Pretty in Pink kind of day. Maybe it’s because I’m crampy and I associate cramps with being a teenager and angst and being interested in one guy while having two or three more interested in you while the first one couldn’t really care less.

And maybe it’s because the only other thing I considered watching was Atonement and right now I just don’t feel like it. It’s too soon. I watched it yesterday for the first time and it devastated me. Seriously, there was nothing happy about that at all. And I know that stories aren’t always happy. But the end got me. Once you get to that point (if you haven’t read the novel already) you can begin to put things together and the typing sounds in the score really make it all make sense, but an unreliable narrator really riles me up. Especially one that I have next to no compassion for and one who thinks that writing a story and “giving” two people a happy ending is really even close to “atoning” for her “sins.” I found it quite presumptuous of Briony to state that she gave the couple their happiness and that comment alone made me seriously question her state of mind. Is she losing it by this point?

I’d like to add that I didn’t feel any sort of compassion for Cecelia either, as I don’t think she gave Young Briony half a chance. She was a little girl who saw something she didn’t understand and ended up making something much larger out of it. Honestly, an adult can tell from the first second when he appears who the real culprit is, but what is a little girl to think? Certainly that the fellow with the most evidence against him is the guilty party.

I will say that it was terribly beautiful cinematography though. The racy content at the beginning makes it something I really can’t recommend in good conscience, but it’s very, very pretty. Not the racy content — the film overall. Sigh.

The way it’s stuck with me reminds me of the feeling I had after watching A Walk to Remember for the first time. I know what you’re thinking. She’s comparing a film based on a Nicholas Sparks novel to one based on a novel by Ian McEwan? I understand. But I must tell you that at the time that film came out, it was something very close. I had never identified with a character so much as Jamie Sullivan (in the book) and the film made it all the more real (though less appealing in some ways). To see her situation and the change that she helped to spark in that boy by expressing her faith really touched me. To watch her dreams come true and then have her pass from this life to the next, well, it made me examine my life, priorities, and where I stood on a lot of things. I began to seriously consider the impact my words and the way I lived had (or could have) on people. If you can get past the cheese factor (which doesn’t bother me so much because I am a certified Cheeseball) there are some great lessons to be gleaned from A Walk to Remember. I would suggest the novel over the film though.

If you enjoyed Atonement, I recommend: Jeux d’enfants (Eng. Title: Love Me If You Dare)

I have no need for this, but I think it is one of the cutest pregnancy shirts I’ve seen. So I thought I’d share it with those of you who might have some use for it! Most pregnancy shirts that I see on celebrities annoy me (e.g. Britney Spears), but this one…this one is just perfect. By disco belly™.

I love etsy. Here are a few reasons why:

From Chet and Dot:

From Nut and Bee…GUINEA PIGS!

From Red Mush:

I am. Terrible. From time to time I get like this. No posts for days. And what kind of blog is that? Not the kind I like to read, but I do appreciate those of you who stick around and check everyday just the same.

At least I’m not a terrible monster. (Wonderful book!)

Right now I am staying pretty busy (by my standards) with planning parties, throwing showers for a soon-to-be-old-and-married friend, going on road trips, and turning twenty-three (next Wednesday). I’m hosting a “personal shower” this Friday and let me tell you–that’s going to be fun! Pictures (the ones that wouldn’t put a funny knot in my stomach if my Granny were to see them) next week sometime.

Until then, I leave you with ME, very excited to see the Haygoods in Branson.

A few months ago a new little place opened up on Route 66 where it passes through the northern edge of the Oklahoma City metro area. Pops. One of the neatest little places I’ve been to. Where else can you go and find nearly any carbonated beverage your sweet little heart could desire? Beats me. And while they still don’t have my boyfriend’s favorite root beer (Henry Weinhard’s) it is a great place. Drive to Oklahoma. Stop. Go in. Eat their food (it’s good). Drink their pop.

When you see this you are getting close.

When you see this, you need to flip on your turn signal.

Now go inside and have yourself some pop. My favorite is Empire Bottling Works’ Spruce Beer. Their food is good, too.

Spank you.

Starting around $99.95, you can get a personalized photo dog bed made for your furry little family member. Someday, when Lulu lives in the house, I intend to get her one of these, covered with a collage of Kevin to guarantee that she will fawn over it all day. Check out VisionBedding.com for more info!

What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones. That’s the book. I read it either my junior or senior year of high school, though the reading level is much lower than that because at that point in my life I was feeling as if I had missed out on lots of children’s literature altogether (also one of the reasons that I took Children’s Literature this semester - I highly recommend it for anyone at OU). When I was a child I went straight from Bill Wallace to Mary Higgins Clark and never looked back. In the 6th grade I tested on a college reading level and I wasn’t reading any of the books on the teacher’s bookshelf. None of the books in the library looked interesting to me. The day I started 7th grade and got to visit the high school library for the first time was one of those days I will never forget.

Back to the subject at hand. I was buying children’s literature so that I could get caught up. At the time I was planning to be an elementary school teacher (if you want to know my major changes at OU, they go something like this: Elementary Education, Language Arts Education, and lastly, English-Writing) and you know, I needed to be prepared. So I picked this book up at the book fair. It is really, really good. I think children around the age of 12 should have this book or one like it as required reading. It’s about all sorts of family troubles that are just on the fringes of the story, because as a young girl, Sophie (the main character) doesn’t know all the details, but the point is that she does know that something is going on.

And then there is Murphy. The one I am posting this about. Murphy is a boy in Sophie’s class. Murphy isn’t the best looking kid, and Sophie knows she would get teased for hanging out with him…there’s more I could say, but I’ll just post the poem. Whether you were a Murphy or you loved one, I think you will understand.

Watching Murphy During Art Class
from What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones

He is so homely,
so downright ugly
that none of the girls
even think about him.

He’s too lowly,
too pitiful
to even bother
making fun of.

So something must be
very wrong with me,
because I want to kiss him.
I want to kiss him real bad,

even though his nose is crooked
and his ears are huge,
even though his hair’s a mess
and his lips are tight and scared.

I want to kiss away
those circles under his eyes
that make him look like
he’s never slept a second in his life.

And those arms of his
seem like they’re just aching
to hold on to someone.
I wish I could let them hold on to me.

When no one was looking,
I’d walk up to him
and say, “Hey, Murph.
Would it be okay if I kissed you?”

And he’d look hurt
because he’d think I was joking
and he’d turn away
to hide his face,

but I’d touch his shoulder and
look at him with gentle misty movie eyes
and say, “Come on. I mean it.
I really want to.”

And he’d look dumbstruck,
and all the gray
would fade out of his eyes
and this light would come into them

and his lips would look like
they were getting ready to smile and then,
before I had a chance to change my mind,
I’d kiss him.

And he’d wrap his skinniness around me
and his arms would be shaking,
and suddenly I’d feel all this love,
all this need pouring into me

right through his lips
into me
and it would feel great,
and I’d close my eyes to feel it better.

(Whoa.
I can’t believe
I’m having this fantasy about Murphy,
when I’m so totally in love with Dylan!)

I’m not too quick to recommend country music on here, a) because I’m from Oklahoma and there are probably some of you who assume this is my genre of choice, b) because it’s not my genre of choice, and c) because it’s country music and I know how some of my Oklahoma friends feel about that (though I think it’s ridiculous, not all of it is hick music) and they’re from Oklahoma. I can’t imagine what the rest of you might think.

I have to recommend this though. Trisha Yearwood’s latest cd Jasper County, which has been out for a while now, is really, really good. She’s got a great voice and the cd has a variety on it. Nice ballads and a few really peppy tunes. One of my favorites is “Trying to Love You” along with “Georgia Rain” and even though “Georgia Rain” is probably the best song on the cd, almost everyone has heard that so I’m not posting the lyrics to it. Check this music out. You won’t regret it.