"Why are you here soldier?? Why are you here??" ]]> http://www.silverberry.org/archives/2007/08/19/minesweeper_the_movie.php http://www.silverberry.org/archives/2007/08/19/minesweeper_the_movie.php Funny Pictures Sun, 19 Aug 2007 09:08:05 -0600

woah - poor guy! Amazingly - his computer survived - but he did have to recarpet ;) He's now the proud owner of a solid wood desk!

The thread of comments on flickr is hilarious though ... other ikea furniture buyers wondering how the desk just spontaneously shattered ... lol

Full Camp Coverage Here

Here are a few of the videos we put together:

Click To Play

Click To Play

Click To Play

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From May 1955 Housekeeping Monthly

The good wife's guide

* Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

* Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

* Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

* Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives. Run a dustcloth over the tables.

* During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

* Minimize all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Encourage the children to be quiet.

* Be happy to see him.

* Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

* Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

* Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

* Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

* Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

* Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

* Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

* A good wife always knows her place.

I have an email from March sitting in my inbox from a high-school friend I haven't talked to in ... 5 years ... and it's in it's fourth "mark as unread" status.

I wish I could just delete my entire inbox an start fresh. I know it would pile up in only a matter of a day or so ... but wow. The feeling of a fresh inbox with no ghostly reminders of tasks not yet completed.

Jill and I are on the flower committee at church ... and so we are used to doing HUGE flower arrangements and those don't make us nervous ... but bouquets are a totally different animal. Wedding flowers are ... going to be photographed and scrap-booked for forevermore! They have to look just right!! Jill and I ended up putting flowers together ... and then standing in front of a mirror holding them as the girls would -- to make sure they looked like what a bouquet should look like.

I think they turned out pretty well ... and the most important thing -- Kimberly loved them. AND we got a steal on the flowers from our florist ... we used the same wholesale place we use to get the flowers for our church arrangements ... and so we did the bridal bouquet, 3 bridesmaid bouquets, 3 small table arrangements, 7 boutineres and 2 corsages for $220!! Not bad ;)

More photos

Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone (for obvious reasons)

The Da Vinci Code (on the list basically for it's controversy)

And the Band Played On (excellent book ... excellent movie)

Bridget Jones's Diary (interesting choice ... though their reasoning makes sense)

Left Behind (surprised this made the list ... but I agree)

Fast Food Nation (a definite must read for everyone)

... and more. A few on the list that I haven't read are now on my library hold list.

1. Times Square, New York City, NY: 35 million visitors every year

2. National Mall & Memorial Parks, Washington, D.C. (Washington Monument, Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials,the war memorials): About 25 million 1999.

3. Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, Fla.: 16.6 million with family

4. Trafalgar Square, London, England: 15 million

5. Disneyland Park, Anaheim, Calif.: 14.7 million

6. Niagara Falls, Ontario and New York: 14 million - and they were frozen!

7. Fisherman’s Wharf/Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Calif.: 13 million

8. Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea, Tokyo, Japan: 12.9 million

9. Notre Dame de Paris, Paris, France: 12 million.

10. Disneyland Paris, Marne-La-Vallee, France: 10.6 million

12. The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina: 9.2 million

13. Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, Japan: 8.5 million

14. Basilique du Sacré-Coeur de Montmartre, Paris, France: 8 million

15. Musée du Louvre, Paris, France: 7.5 million

16. Everland (amusement park), Kyonggi-Do, South Korea: 7.5 million

17. The Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China: At least 7 million

18. Eiffel Tower, Paris, France: 6.7 million

19. Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando, Fla: 6 million with family

20. SeaWorld Florida, Orlando, Fla: 5,740,000 with family.

21. Pleasure Beach (amusement park), Blackpool, England: 5.7 million

22. Lotte World (amusement park), Seoul, South Korea: 5.5 million

23. Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Japan: 5.4 million

24. Hong Kong Disneyland, China: 5.2 million

25. Centre Pompidou, Paris, France: 5.1 million

27. British Museum, London, England: 4.8 million

28. Universal Studios Los Angeles, Calif.: 4.7 million

29. National Gallery, London, England: 4.6 million

30. Metropolitan Museum, New York, NY: 4.5 million

31. Grand Canyon, Ariz.: 4.4 million

32. Tivoli Gardens (amusement park), Copenhagen, Denmark: 4.4 million

33. Ocean Park (amusement park), Hong Kong, China: 4.38 million

34. Busch Gardens (amusement park), Tampa Bay, Fla.: 4.36 million

35. SeaWorld California, San Diego, Calif.: 4.26 million

36. Statue of Liberty, New York, NY: 4.24 million

37. The Vatican and its museums, Rome, Italy: 4.2 million

38. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia: More than 4 million

39. The Coliseum, Rome, Italy: 4 million

40. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY: 4 million

41. Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood, Calif.: 4 million

42. Empire State Building, New York, NY: 4 million

44. The London Eye, London, England: 3.5 million

45. Palace of Versailles, France: 3.45 million

46. Yosemite National Park, Calif.: 3.44 million

47. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt: 3 million

48. Pompeii, Italy: 2.5 million

49. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia: 2.5 million

50. Taj Mahal, Agra, India: 2.4 million

I've long been a supporter of Movable Type ... it's a fantastic content management system, with unreal online community support. I've been using MT in one form or another for almost five years now -- either as blogging software -- or even better -- as a backend content management system for corporate clients. I'm a firm believer that MT can do whatever you need it to do ... the possibilities are endless.

If you're an MT user ... and haven't done a beta install (it's definitely not ready for a production environment - it IS a beta, for users to install and give them feedback ... they're shooting for 3Q full release;) -- I recommend giving it a whirl. Again ... as a BETA release. It is *not* ready for a production environment (or atleast ... not to my standards ... I use quite a few plugins, custom code, integrations with other programs, etc ... but if you just have a basic blog -- go for it.)

Be sure to submit your feedback so the final 4.0 release can be even better ...

Click here for aloha photo happiness from Steve & Lacy

If you just for a few pics ... here are my favs from each island (although it's probably easier to just flick through them on the above pages!)

OAHU

    Pearl Harbor / USS Arizona Memorial (beautiful memorial - I never realized you can actually see the ship in the water)
        USS Arizona 2
    Amazing Ocean Water Color (every single island - the water is this color - it's breathtaking sometimes)
    View from the top of Diamond Head Crater  (just glad I was alive by the time we got up there!!!)
    Dole Plantation
        Pineapple Princess Lacy (seriously.  they had a song called the Pineapple Princess playing ... ) 
        Pinapple Prince Steve (you know he loves this photo ... ha!) 

BIG ISLAND

    Whale Watching    (it's the fluke!)
            Whale Watching 2  (see the fluke ... and then you can see another whale's blow hole in front of it; there were four around our boat at this point; whales the size of a bus; crazy!)
    Black Sand Beach    (loved this)
            Black Sand Beach 2
    Steve walking down Volcanic Lava Tube

MAUI

    Ocean
        Ocean 2
    Maui Restuarant (who could pass this and not take a picture of it??)
    A fish at the Maui Ocean Center with a serious complex
        A stingray smiling at us ;) 
        A weird fish
    Steve windsurfing

KAUAI

    Wailua Waterfall
    Kilauea Point Lighthouse
    Waimea Canyon 
    'Opeaka'a Waterfall 
    Lawai (near the Spouting Horn)
    National Tropical Botanical Gardens
        One    Two    Three    Four

My iMac died. Completely. Pressed the power key last Thursday ... the apple logo appears in center, the spin wheel is spinning ... and then an ominous dark grey screen descends. Then an even darker (and more ominous) little box appears in the center saying I am required to reboot.

I reboot approximately 37 times. Nada.

Then I reset the PRAM. Run Hardware Tests, Disk Utility.

Nada.

I can fix a PC with my eyes closed for the most part ... but a mac. That's another story. Especially an iMac that you can't just pop open. I call my *mac guy* ... he says it's time to call my neighborhood apple store. Sigh.

I get an appointment at the genius bar ... and carry my sad iMac up to the counter. You know you're in trouble when the genius bar guy makes the sad sighing sound ... tries 3 different keyboard/mice ... 3 different firewire cables.

I hear them say "Complete hard drive AND logic board failure..."

Thank goodness it's still under warranty ... and applecare is worth every penny.

Got it back last night ... spent this morning reinstalling and configuring.

Soo ... don't believe everything you hear. Macs do crash.

And I still love apple ... ;)

Only Five Days 'til Two Weeks in Hawaii.

We haven't been on a real vacation in two years (a real vacation for us is going somewhere we've never been ... and for more than a week!). Steve has been traveling A LOT with work ... and we were moving, building a house ... vacation just wasn't going to happen until this year. So - we have been planning this trip for about 9 months now. It is technically our five-year anniversary trip ... even though we just celebrated six years in December!

We are FINALLY seeing some benefit from Steve's traveling all over the U.S. for HCA. We're using frequent flier miles for our flights, hotel points for our hotels, and car points for our rental cars. We are staying at some AMAZING resorts ... I can't wait. The thread count alone is going to make me sigh with vacationary delight. Bring on the relaxation.

We'll be spending time in Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island (Hawaii). Neither of us have ever been to Hawaii before (one of our real vacation stipulations, remember?) - so we're really excited. My parents and brother/sister-in-law have been there before and have been a great source of information for things to definitely do and see on each of the islands. Neither of us are really "lay on the beach for hours and do nothing" type of people ... so we have each day planned out with what we will be doing.

Sooo ... five days and counting. Yesssss!!

Movie Cliches That Must Die

Just a few ... but visit the site for the whole list complete with movie examples and thoughtful reasoning ;)

*The just-in-time bomb disabling
*The "Now, what were you going to say?"
*Subduing the killer and promptly running away instead of repeatedly kicking his face in
*The makeover that turns an already-pretty girl into a hot sex kitten
*The disproportionately huge apartment that realistically can't be affordable for the person habiting it

I'd love to see Pam's additions to this list ... as she is the most movie knowledgeable person I know.

I can't stop laughing ... it's witty and intelligent ... what's not to like!

From The Seven Phases of Owning an Ipod:

PHASE 6: A smaller, fancier ipod is created and yours is now outdated and crappy. Yours is no longer awesome, it is horribly awful. Just awful.

Is that not SOOOOO true? I have a color ipod that I got about 2 years ago ... but not the *new* (last year's new anyway) slimline movie-playing version. Went on a youth trip last summer ... and all the kids have the new swanky one. I felt like the ipod's redheaded stepsister. And I AM redheaded. So I really felt it. My ipod works GREAT for what I use it for ... music. I have no desire to watch a movie on a 2inch screen. AND YET ... I felt like my ipod was inferior.

The other phases are also illustrated ... and hilarious.

Excerpts:

**In episode 15, Claire's mom recognizes Mr. Muggles as a threat and Claire discovers her in the kitchen screaming at him in horror. Minutes later, Claire's mom appears to forget the incident and becomes complacent and loving (Mr. Muggles erasing her memory?).
**Mr. Muggles is immortalized in a painting hanging in the Bennets' home. Loving gesture...or the work of Issac Mendez? You decide.
**Sylar uses Mr. Muggles as an excuse to get into the Bennet house. A closer look reveals Mr. Muggles is the one in control.

I can't believe they didn't include the allusion to Harry Potter-dom with his very name ... Mr. Muggles. It is CLEARLY an attempt to throw us off and make us believe that Mr. Muggles is completely without power. But we know the truth ...

i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

Several times - he has spoken from the heart - once right after his father had died - and then Monday night he talked about alcoholism - and how the media is out of control with the rehabilitation thing, and making light of addiction problems. V. Good. Just reminds me why I watch him - and not other late night shows!

EXCELLENT ...

My first computer was a Commodore 64 ... I remember my brother and I keying in pages and pages of code just to play a super simple game. One keystroke wrong ... game doesn't work and you start over. You want to play something else? Key the code in again. Play the game you were playing last week? Key the code in again.

Sigh .... Kids today just don't know about having to *work* for anything ... it's all right at their fingertips with a click of a button or the wave of a Wii.

More fun 80's stuff after the break ....

hehe ... I love my tivos!!!

Microsoft's new mobile music player might just have a chance at giving Apple *some* competition. It looks cool ... they're doing a good job with marketing ... the price is right ($249) ... and you know they are going to start bundling it with PC sales - at the very least zune software will be included with windows on new pc's. That's where Microsoft makes its money anyway ... bundling. It might be a tall order to come close to ipod sales ... but the zune might have what it takes to atleast get Microsoft in the game.

Built in FM tuner
Share songs with zunes nearby (3 plays over a 3 day period)
Comparable size.... and with a cool brown version!
Large 3" screen ... vertical & horizontal orientations
Wireless (this is huge ... having it in the unit opens up all sorts of possibilities )

I doubt Apple is concerned about the zune at this point ... the ipod has too much iconic appeal. However - the social aspects of the zune are very cool. You can be sure the next gen of ipods will be sporting something similar ... following on the heals of microsoft for once ;)

[interesting writeup about the zune and microsofts knack for just not *getting it*]

I saw Umbridge in a totally different way in my head. I think this is the first time when I have been *totally* disappointed with the casting in Harry Potter. I've been pretty pleased with everyone up until now; she is just *not* AT ALL what I had in my head. :( Shorter. Wider, shorter face. Definite frog features. I think I saw Zelda Rubinstein in my head ... Imelda Staunton just is not doing it for me.

[getting on soapbox]

Yes - its sad that she will be separated from her family. But she's had more than ample time to file papers with INS ... and would most likely have speedy service (say less than 4 years) since she has US citizen children. Yes its a lengthy process ... and yes it costs money ... but nothing in life is free.

We jumped through all the hoops, paid all the fees, and got to hang out in immigration offices for several years. It took over four years for Steve to get his greencard. We had to file for *advanced parole* during those years to allow Steve to leave the US and go to England to visit his family. But we filed the paperwork. We paid the fees. We did the interviews. And then we waited for the giant sloth that is INS to do their jobs. And eventually ... they did. Steve now has a shiny greencard.

Mrs. Nunez could have done the same thing ... and because she didn't ... now she expects our government (and the media is lapping this up - they love the sob stories) to bend the law for her. We shouldn't have to bend the law. She had FOUR AND A HALF YEARS to get her act together and file for her greencard. She would have gotten it faster than my husband did because she has children. They count for more than spouses!

There has to be a line ... where you say - ok - here is the law - and it's not unreasonable. All people have to do is their part. She would have *DEFINITELY* been given a greencard since she has children ... so its not like she even had to worry about being denied.

Why does someone deserve mercy for ignoring the law and crossing their fingers that they can get away with it? Although mercy isn't something that is *deserved* by its very nature ...

ARGH! Her poor children!

Perhaps everyone should have to go to an immigration office at least once. Seeing who is there ... and what goes on ... makes you understand why we need to have tougher immigration laws.

Perhaps Mrs. Nunez doesn't need to be deported ... maybe she just needs to pay a huge fine and have to start the greencard process at the very beginning ... and in four years she could have her very own greencard! In the meantime - they'll get her a work visa - and her life will get back to normal. That would be mercy.

Who should be given the right to decide who should and shouldn't be deported? Case by case basis isn't really feasible ... when you think of the hundreds of thousands of applications flowing through INS all the time. I don't know what the answer is. But I'm just not going to feel too sorry for a woman who knew exactly what she was NOT doing ...

[getting off soapbox. preparing to be tarred and feathered because I don't have a bleeding heart]

I even have a tag on my blog for my ins frustration entries over the past few years. Most of them to do with our frustration at how slow they are.

I'm so ready for this election to be over ...

Testing out including a flickr slideshow in one of my blog entries ... I finally uploaded a bunch of pictures from our west coast tour in 2004 to flickr this week. I'm trying to go back and get all the photos off my machine into flickr :) It's going to take a while!

Seriously. This isn't new information. And for someone working in the election *business* - you'd think one might have to know a few important things like how to tell if someone is illegally registering to vote.

Click here to watch the video!

The Hanso Foundation Formula

The Hanso Foundation Phone Messages

This weekend the house had an initiation of sorts ... we were one of three houses in a progressive dinner for our church's student ministry. At some point Saturday morning - we thought we must have been smoking crack to volunteer to have 45 kids under 17 and all the accompanying adults in our brand new house on our brand new carpet and wood floors - eating sticky gooey desserts too! - but then we realized - hey - we can always rent a carpet cleaner on Monday ;) It's not a big deal!

It's a great time to have a party at the house - because we don't have much furniture on the first floor yet :) We borrowed some tall bar-height tables from the church - and had them all over the first floor of the house. The theme of the night was "Black and White" - attire and decor was to be black/white. It was a fun evening -- all the girls were decked out in super cute dresses and some of the guys even had on jackets and ties! I think they enjoyed getting dressed up - and some of them had never done a progressive dinner before - so it was a new experience for them!

Here's a few pics from our house -- more from our house and the other two houses in the link at the bottom.

More Photos of the event at all three houses ...

Check it out!

All Photos from July 14

All Photos from June 23

All Photos from June 19

All Photos from June 4

Our new house will be finished in about six weeks. Til then we're in temporary housing graciously provided for us by our church (God is good! We are so blessed!) We'll be going there tonight and then heading back here tomorrow morning for cleanup and loading of the tech stuff. We didn't put any of our computers, tivos, or geek stuff in storage. Since we'll be displaced for 6 weeks - we'll be setting up an office temporarily so I can get some work done.

Sigh. I'm tired - but just getting this done means we are one step closer to being in our new home - so it's a good tired ;)

All Photos from May 27

• For 2 years in a row, Nashville is the number 1 city for business expansion.

• 38 CEO’s say this is the right place for our business and our families.

• The Kiplinger Report – best city to live in; the next 3 cities on the list don't even come close.

• Hume-Fogg and Martin Luther king Jr. Magnet Schools are among the top 50 High Schools in the country.

• Rolling Stone Magazine listed Belmont as one of three universities in the country that ROCK!

• The Tennessean recently reported “The number of downtown apartments and condos is expected to rise from about 1,600 today to more than 4,000 in the next three years.

• Downtown will need more park space. Mass transit systems may also need to be expanded. And quality of life issues — panhandling, sidewalk maintenance, street lights — will get more attention as more people spend more time downtown.

• Corporations, such as Nissan North America and Louisiana-Pacific, are moving their headquarters here. A new symphony hall is being built. A stadium with professional football, an arena that hosts pro hockey and the site of a new minor-league baseball stadium are all within walking distance of downtown.

Nashville is a great city ... and hopefully the downtown area will continue to grow and become a place where Nashville residents want to come - not just tourists ;) We need shopping ... and theaters ...

More interesting city info:

Worst Places to Live

Worst Large Cities for Crime
1. Tucson, AZ for the highest property crime rates in the country, especially larceny.
2. Memphis, TN has the nation's second-highest violent crime rate.
3. Miami, Florida’s violent crime rate is the highest in the nation, with especially high incidences of robbery and assault.
4. Phoenix AZ has one of the highest rates of auto theft in the nation.
5. Little Rock AR has a high rate of property crime, especially larceny.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America the 3 worst U.S. cities for spring allergies are
1. Lexington, Ky.
2. Little Rock, Ark.
3. Chattanooga, Tenn.

The Most Traffic Congested Cities
1. Los Angeles, CA
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Denver, CO
4. Miami, FL
5. Phoenix, AZ
6. Chicago, IL
7. San Jose, CA
8. Washington, DC
9. Portland, OR
10. Boston, MA

We didn't even make the list ;) I guess I-65 isn't that bad after all ...

All Photos from May 20

All Photos from May 13

All Photos from May 7

All that's left now is a home inspection (which we should pass easily). Then we start packing!

What a huge weight off our shoulders to have the house sold so quickly - and for what we wanted to get. Now we can just relax and look forward to the new house getting finished in late July.

Oh yeah - one more thing is left to do - finding somewhere to live for two months ;)

I hate monthly fees. When you start charging monthly fees ... people start thinking about how much something is really worth to them. With that lifetime fee ... you say "ouch" when you first pay for it ... but then there isn't any monthly "man ... I can't believe I'm paying $$$ a month for this." Two years later and its paid for itself.

This seems to be a purely money decision on tivo's part ... which, ok, they are a business. They have to make money. But tivo got to be where they are because of their fanbase preaching for them. Tivo users are fanatical ... and they want everyone to have a tivo. And everyone I have convinced to get a tivo ... bought the lifetime subscription fee.

We gave a tivo to my parents for Christmas -- with the lifetime service -- and it was great to give it to them and be able to say - here you go. Plug it in and have fun. You never have to pay a dime for anything ... just enjoy.

Now ... you give it ... maybe buy a year's subscription and then tell them oh yeah and in a year -- you'll have to pay a fee if you want to keep it.

The only possible positive thing about them dropping the lifetime service option is that those of us who have tivos with lifetimes can make a lot of money on ebay. Of course then we'd have to buy a monthly fee tivo to replace it. Which stinks. So its a win/lose situation. I guess we'll just have to make sure our tivos never die.

check it out!

All Photos from April 29

All Photos from April 23

All Photos from April 21

All Photos from April 19

All Photos from April 18

It's amazing how fast things are moving now. We signed the initial papers back in December 2005. It's April 2006 and we're REALLY moving fast now. It's going to be a fun ride!!!

Construction Photos

Our foundation is supposed to be poured Tuesday/Wednesday at this place:

And I guess if you saw this behind the gate ... you might think twice about coming into our yard. But once you got back there ... he'd just lick you to death.

Go to your music player of choice and put it on shuffle.
Say the following questions aloud, and press play.
Use the song title as the answer to the question.

1. How does the world see me?
Great Things (echobelly)

2. Will I have a happy life?
Good Times Gone (Nickelback)

3. What do my friends really think of me?
The Goblet of Fire (HP GOF Audiobook)

4. Do people secretly lust after me?
Crash Into Me (DMB)

5. How can I make myself happy?
Emo (Blink 182)

6. What should I do with my life?
Underneath It All (no Doubt)

7. Will I ever have children?
American Idiot (Green Day)

8. What is some good advice for me?
Like a Virgin (Moulin Rouge)

9. How will I be remembered?
Nobody Like You (echobelly)

10. What is my signature dancing song?
Run Baby Run (Garbage)

11. What do I think my current theme song is?
Talk (Coldplay)

12. What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (HP GOF Audiobook)

13. What song will play at my funeral?
There's Your Trouble (Dixie Chicks)

14. What type of men/women do you like?
Natural Animal (echobelly)

15. What is my day going to be like?
Degenerate (Blink 182)

Anybody looking for a house in West-West-Nashville? :)

Today on the drive in to work - I was flooded with memories. Memories of this day - seven years ago - when a circle of friends had their faith rocked to the core. A circle of friends who hadn't believed that their friend would actually die from cancer. Of course she wouldn't - not when thousands of people were praying - every day - for God to touch and heal her body. She is only 22. We believed. We had faith. We had hope.

And then - she was healed. But not in the way we wanted.

Seven years ago today I posted a new entry on The Amber Zone - a blog (though it wasn't called a blog back then) several of us had created to keep everyone updated on how her chemo treatments and eventual bone marrow transplant was going. People from all over the world visited it - friends, family, strangers. Amber would sit in her hospital bed at Vandy and enjoy reading through the comments people posted - encouraging and lifting her up.

Seven years ago today Brenda, her mom, told me to post this - "Amber has been healed. Her pain is gone. She is with Him."

It took a long time for her circle of friends to accept God's will. We questioned Him - and I believe God understands how we cannot sometimes understand His plan. He understands that we do wonder - HOW CAN THIS BE YOUR WILL? WHY? He understands our pain and suffering and questioning ... even when we do not.

But now - seven years later - we understand more. And yet we still grieve the loss of our friend. So many things I will never forget.

I will never forget Amber getting striped tan lines. She had a black and white striped swimsuit - and she tanned through the white stripes. It was the funniest thing. Especially to a fair-skinned redhead.

I will never forget all the trips to Gatlinburg, Knoxville, Florida - our circle of friends went on lots of trips together. We played practical jokes. We were like a family.

I will never forget staying in the tiny rooms at Breezy Point with Amber on a mission trip. Staying up late at night talking about Wade and my latest crush.

I will never forget Amber and Wade (her husband) finding each other when Amber was only a freshman in high school. They were best friends - she made him light up. They married during her last year of college. To some it seemed they were so young - and had seriously dated only each other - and then getting married so young. But now - you see God's hand in it. She had a great love during her short lifetime.

I won't forget a huge group of us rolling a friend's house during the bachelorette party for my sister-in-law and almost getting arrested for it. Amber was sitting in the passenger seat with the leftover toliet paper when the policeman stopped us. He asked us if we had just rolled that house - and in all seriousness she said "Yes, sir. We sure did." The policeman just laughed and waved us on.

I remember going through the drive-through at Taco Bell and every single time - we would sing the gordita song to the cashier. These are the things you do when you're a teenager. Silly things. We did a good rendition of the gordita song though. :)

I will never forget ordering take-out when she was in the hospital - and playing board games so loudly that the nurse came in to tell us to "keep it down a little ... Oh - nevermind - its good for there to be laughter on this floor!"

And then there are things I will be forever changed by experiencing.

I will never - ever - forget seeing my brother, my boyfriend, and four other friends being the pallbearers at Ambers funeral. Young Men. Boys, really. It is an unnatural sight.

I won't ever forget hearing our friend Tim play a beautiful song he wrote for Amber at her funeral. (Tim - who's wife Heather is now fighting for her life in Knoxville after being hit by a drunk & high-on-cocaine loser in a wreck 2 weeks ago.)

I won't ever forget the prayer service we had during DiscipleNow weekend at our church for Amber. The church was packed. Where two are more are gathered ...

I will never forget her parents - Brenda & Mike - unflinching faith. The testimony of their lives is one of complete faith and trust in God's perfect plan for Amber's life. I will always love and treasure them.

I won't ever forget Amber planning her funeral. She had the song "Friends" played for us.

And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends

I won't ever forget Dr. Jay - our pastor - reading this from the inside cover of Amber's bible.

Four places I’ve lived:
Cleveland, TN
Herndon, VA
Kingston Springs, TN
Nashville, TN

Four jobs I’ve had:
K-Mart Cashier (worked there for 1 month ... went as a walmart employee for halloween "how may I hurt you?")
Coldwell Banker broker's assistant (worked there all through college; learned a lot there that I have used later in life)
Hospital Lab Assistant (I'll take that sperm-count test specimen, thank you; I have to draw how many CBC's before lunch???)
Surgical Tech (scalpel ... happiest I've ever been in a job ... but always exhausted)

Four movies I can watch over and over (its hard to pick four ... ):
Pride & Prejudice(the REAL one ... with Colin and Jennifer.)
Gone with the Wind
The American President
The Fifth Element
hard to choose four ...

Four contemporary authors that I read everything they publish
Diana Gabaldon
Patricia Cornwell
J.D. Robb
J.K. Rowling
and so many more ... I have lots of favorite authors

Four current TV shows I love:
Veronica Mars
LOST
Grey's Anatomy
Gilmore Girls

Four places I’ve visited/vacationed:
England - all over
Paris, France
Grand Canyon
Edinborough, Scotland

Four of my favorite dishes:
Strawberry-Pretzel Salad
Pineapple Casserole
Fajitas
Cranberry Frozen Salad

Four sites I visit daily:
Television Without Pity
Dooce
The Onion
NewEgg

Four places I would rather be right now:
Jardin du Tuileries, Paris, in the springtime
Anywhere with Steve
With my niece, Sarah, anywhere
The B&B in Bath, England where our suite was bigger than the first floor of our house now ...

Four bloggers I am tagging:
Pam
Katherine
Jeff
Geeky

When we're driving home each night ... my eyes are accosted with several houses with colored lights up. Do they not know? Weren't they raised right? How did it get so bad? Did no one tell them to leave those colored lights on the shelves and pick up the good stuff? The only thing worse than multi-colored lights ... are the solid red lights. A house about 4 miles from us has all their windows lined in red lights ... it looks like some evil den of demented elves or something.

Now I know lots of you have colored lights in your homes right now. I just want to tell you that its not too late. Leave your colored past behind. There's still time to come t