This week I thought I’d offer a bit of a flashback–to 1995 to be exact.

Back in 1995, I was a freshman in high school with a thing for Saturday morning shows for teens. Oh, yeah. I was all over Saved by the Bell, City Guys, Running the Halls … well, you get the picture. My deal with my mom was if I folded laundry while I watched, I could watch these shows every weekend. My favorite of these shows was Hang Time.

Hang Time was a show about Julie Connor, who loved basketball. But when she transfers to Deering High School, she discovers that they don’t have a girl’s basketball team. So she tries out for the boy’s team. Seems logical enough.

That’s pretty much the premise of the entire show, and even though I’m not a big fan of basketball, I loved this show. The guy players and coach seem to come and go over the course of 6 seasons (I’m not sure how that works with Julie’s 4 years in high school), but Julie and her cheerleader friend remain the same.

So you’re probably wondering why it’s making an appearance on my blog, some 14 years later. Well, I just discovered that nearly every episode of Hang Time is available on YouTube.com. Thank you, YouTube. So I decided I was going to watch some episodes, starting at the very beginning of season 1.

You know what? The show is awful! I mean really, really cheesy. And I like a bit of cheese in my books, movies, and TV, so you know it’s saying something about Hang Time. But I can’t seem to stop watching the bad acting, poor dialogue, and really bad fashion. I keep hoping it’ll get better. Maybe by the last season it’ll be really watchable. So I thought I’d share just the opener with you, so you can see what I’m talking about.

But refamiliarizing myself with Hang Time has made me wonder what other things I loved (slouch socks, hair-sprayed bangs, Union Bay striped shirts) that are actually really cheesy. Hmm … what did you once love that you’re now realizing is really terrible?

Cringing over how I spent my time 14 years ago until next time. -LJ

In honor of the start of the NFL season, I’m pleased to feature my favorite football player of all time.

PEYTON MANNING

If you’ve been hiding under a rock for the last 10 seasons or so, then you’ve really missed out on watching Indianapolis’ QB Peyton Manning. You may have heard of his brother Eli or his dad Archie–both NFL QBs too. Although his dad retired many years ago. But Eli led the NY Giants to a Super Bowl victory just a year after Peyton took his Colts to win the title.

In honor of Petyon, who isn’t just a great QB but is also an all around great guy, I bring you a countdown of my top three Peyton Manning commercials.

#3 – Because everyone needs a a hair cut that will last forever …

#2 – Because that mustache couldn’t be any better …  

Last weekend I went to Vail with several dear friends. The in-laws of one of the girls graciously allowed us to use their condo for the weekend, so 6 of us hit the road for a weekend of fun and exploration in the mountains of Colorado. Here’s a photo tour of our weekend. (Except, I missed pics of all the ice cream we ate and games we played. Congrats to Ashley B who finally won a hand of killer uno just before midnight on Saturday! And here’s to Grace, who tried to sabotage AB’s winning by passing her the biggest hand of the night.) 🙂

Wishing I was back in Vail until next time. -LJ

So a couple months ago Katie and Stephanie informed me that there was a show I just had to watch. It stars Zachary Levi (of Chuck fame). Being a fan of Mr. Levi, I decided I’d give it a try. Trouble is, it’s not available on dvd. But then they informed me that Lifetime is airing reruns of the show.

Thus Less Than Perfect entered my life. With a little help from my dvr, I’ve made it through the first three seasons, and sure enough, it’s a hoot!

Less Than Perfect stars Sara Rue as Claude Casey, a young temp at GNB, who ends up getting the prime spot as the assistant to Will Butler (played by Eric Roberts, who is actually Julia Roberts’ brother. Who knew?). Will is the on-air talent of the tv station, and everyone wants the job that he offers to Claude.

Claude shares an office with Kipp, our insatiable Mr. Levi, who is an absolute hoot! He’s so funny as the snobby guy who’ll do anything to get ahead. Kipp’s best friend in the office is Lydia (Andrea Parker from The Pretender), who wants to marry rich and will do anything to be rich. Add in goofy characters played by Sherri Shepherd and Andy Dick, and it’s a free-for-all laugh-fest.

I think my favorite part of the show is the witty one-liners that Claude and Kipp offer. For example:
Kipp: Hurry! Quick, quick, quick quick, quick!
Lydia: Are they coming?
Kipp: No, it’s just really creepy down here. Somebody brought a lunch from home! 

or

Just so funny! If you’re up at 7am and looking for something to watch, I definitely recommend Less Than Perfect.

Thanking Lifetime for airing such a great show until next time. -LJ

What is it about the summer months that makes ice cream sandwiches so wonderful? It’s like combining my two favorite foods: ice cream and cookies. I love all sorts of flavors of ice cream sandwiches, but the mint Skinny Cow ones are probably my favorite.  They’re so soft and smooth and yummy!

While the winter months in Colorado aren’t quite conducive to a good ice cream sandwich, these summer months have been great. Especially since we don’t have air conditioning.

So what’s your favorite sweet treat for the summer?

Enjoying a treat in the heat until next time. -LJ

I love birthdays, and the presents that go along with them. I love giving gifts, and I love getting them. But since last weekend was my birthday, it was my turn to get presents. My friends and family were immensly generous with me, and I was absolutely floored by their thoughtfulness. My family and friends made sure I was stocked up on seasons of Robin Hood and Burn Notice and lots of gift cards.

But there were two gifts that really stood out to me as expectionally thoughtful. 

First, my friend Judy Dyson surprised me with a gift that was more for my book release than for my birthday with a gift that made me cry. She’d arranged to have her brother-in-law paint the cover of my book on a large scale. When I first met Willy, I threw my arms around him to thank him. It’s the most beautiful painting because of the love and thoughtfulness behind it. Here’s me and Willy at my last signing in Yuma.

Thank you, Judy and Willy! I love it!

Then after my return to Colorado Springs, I jumped back into work and nearly forgot that I’d just had a birthday. But on Wednesday morning, Jess B., writing buddy-extraordinaire came to my office first thing in the morning with a wrapped gift and said I should open it immediately … so I opened it and found …

Well … let me tell a quick story first. You see, Jess was the one who originally suggested to me that Adam Baldwin would be the perfect guy to “play” Myles Borden, the hero in The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn. As soon as she said his name, I knew that he was the right guy! Adam of Chuck and Firefly was the perfect model for Myles.

So Jess headed to San Diego last week for ComiCon, and she mentioned that she might try to get in line to meet Adam. I hooted and swooned appropriately. Then Jess suggested I might sign a copy of my book to Adam and she’d try to slip it to him. What a wonderful idea! I signed him a copy of the book that said something like “Dear Adam, you’re my hero. No seriously. I modeled the hero of my book after you. Love your work!”

When I first saw Jess on Tuesday after her return, I asked if she’d gotten a chance to give Adam my book, she said she’d just had time to slip it to him, and the line was moving fast, so he hadn’t said anything. Totally understandable, so I thanked her and promptly moved on.

So back to my office and Jess’ present. A little card on the front said, “About yesterday, I lied.” Huh? I was confused. Until I opened the gift and found an 8×10 framed copy of this picture:

It’s Adam Baldwin! Holding a copy of my book! He’s holding MY BOOK! Giving it a thumbs up!!!!!!!!!!!!

To say I squealed would be an understatement. And the gift wasn’t even over. Jess had him sign a copy of my book back to me. “To Liz, Keep up the great works!!!!!” Oh, gosh! I can’t breathe, just remembering it! 🙂

Turns out Jess totally had time to give him my book that I signed for him, and he was excited about it.

Jess, you absolutely rock! This is one of the most complex and thoughtfully planned gifts I’ve ever gotten.

Hoping you all get amazing birthday presents until next time. -LJ

I love being home and visiting my family in Arizona, and one of my favorite parts is that you never know what the little girls are going to do.

Earlier this week, I walked over to see my sister and her family. They live just a couple houses down from my parents. I get there, step inside and kick off my shoes. I set my purse down next to my shoes and wandered off to talk to my sister and her husband and my oldest niece. We were laughing and chatting, when all of a sudden, my sister asked, “Where’s Rachel?”

We ducked our head around looking for her, and there, right by the front door, we saw this scene:

Yes, that’s my purse. Yes, that’s everything that was inside my purse, now out on the floor. 🙂 She’d even opened up my wallet and had my debit card waving in the breeze. (FYI, that pink microphone–not mine. Rachel brough that to the party.)

Back in Colorado I don’t have to worry about Amy taking my purse and dumping out all of its contents on the floor. I forget the little girls do things a little differently. And it’s a hoot!

Sure missing the wee ones when I’m not in AZ until next time. -LJ

It’s hard to say when my obsession with Diet Dr. Pepper started. It was probably back when the slogan was something like “Tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper.”

But I’m not a big fan of the taste of regular DP. Nope, I love the diet stuff. Seriously! It’s way better tasting with none of the calories. Score!

There’s something so wonderful about the the carbination and the sweet flavor. It’s like having a dessert, only you drink it! I can’t go more than a couple days without one. (Course that’s probably because of the caffeine.)

If you haven’t tried a Diet DP lately, I highly recommend you do.

Who needs coffee when there’s a DDP around until next time? -LJ