Friday Favorite – The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Posted on March 27, 2009March 23, 2009 by lizjohnson

Since my Teaser Tuesday this week featured this years Newbery Medal winner, I thought I’d continue the trend with my favorite of the week. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare was the1959 winner of the Newbery Medal and is without a doubt my favorite book of all time.

I was probably 8 when I read this book for the first time. My mom assigned it to me for a school project, and I fell in witch-of-blackbird-pond1 love with the story of Kit Tyler, a young woman forced to move from Barbados to a Puritan colony in Connecticut when her grandfather dies and she must live with her aunt and uncle in New England.

Kit, with her silk gowns and awkward ways, can’t figure out how she fits in with her cousins Judith and Mercy. Instead she befriends Hannah, a lonely Quaker widow, who lives on the shores of Blackbird Pond. Kit also befriends a young girl, teaching her to read despite the wishes of her parents.

Through a failed courtship and ultimately a trial as a witch, Kit’s mind goes back to Nat Eaton, a seaman on the ship that took Kit to New England. Nat appears and rescues her at his own risk at every turn.

Next to Gilbert Blythe, Nat was one of my first literary crushes, and so I’ve read this book over and over again. In fact I borrowed–of course, I mean that I stole, as I have no intention of giving it back–my mom’s copy of the book. It has this orange cover, and pages are bent and wrinkled and it’s seen many years of love on my shelf.

Then, a couple years ago, my mom bought a new copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond. She tried to trade me for my–obviously, I mean her–old copy, but I just couldn’t part with it. How could I ever get used to a new book? I’d have to memorize the pages of favorite passages all over again. I’d have to find the scene where Nat and Kit thatch Hannah’s roof and the one where Nat sails down the river and appears out of the mist to rescue Hannah and the one … Well, you get the point.

If you haven’t read it yet, don’t wait. It’s a quick read and worth every minute. Remembering why she loves Nat until next time. -LJ

Friday Favorite: New Ring Tones

Posted on March 20, 2009March 19, 2009 by lizjohnson

It was 11:40p.m. on Monday night of this week. I had turned off my light, closed my book, and pulled my quilt up to my chin just ten minutes earlier. My eyes were closed, and I was in that wonderful state between sleep and wake.

And then my cell phone let out a horridly pathetic beep, telling me that it was dying and desperately needed a charge. I knew it would keep going all night if I didn’t get up and plug it in, but I still grumbled to myself as I turned my light back on and scavanged for my glasses. I had barely jammed them on my face , when my phone beeped again. But this one was stronger. An alert to the text message I had just received.

Who was sending me a text message at 11:40 at night?

My sister-in-law Beth. That’s who. I was irked for second, then I thought maybe it was a cute picture of my niece or nephew. It was not. But then I remembered that Arizona does’nt observe daylight savings time, so she probably forgot that Colorado is now an hour a head of them. No problem. I’d get back to her in the morning, but I decided to check the messages to make sure it wasn’t really important. But the moment I opened it up the instense organ strains of The Pantom of the Opera pelted out of my little pink phone.

A Phantom ring tone, just for me! Is my family cool, or what?

The next day came more funny ring tones, and I had to call Beth, at which point, she told me that she’s set her phone so that when I call, it plays Phantom. Awesome! Then she told me about this very cool website where you can create and text ring tones from any song. Feel free to check out here. And the cool thing, is it’s all free. (Don’t be fooled by the ads on the site that ask you pay.) For example:

Create free ringtones at Phonezoo

As for me, I’m just stoked with Phantom. I’m sure there’ll need to be a Brandon Heath ring tone soon. Probably even a Third Day and Chris Tomlin too. But it’s all thanks to my coolest sister-in-law, who is he only girl in the world I’d want to share a name with! A big shout out to Beth (and Micah too, just by proximity). Miss you guys! See you in April.

Now, if only someone would call me. 🙂 -LJ

Friday Favorite – Harry Potter

Posted on March 13, 2009March 11, 2009 by lizjohnson

The year was 2001. I was a junior in college, and my brother happened to be one of my best friends. We hung out a lot that year, both just trying to finish up with our degrees. This was long before Micah married Beth, before they had 2 kids. Micah and I had a friend named Julia, and one day they went to see a movie together. They came back and told me that I just had to see this new movie–Harry Potter and Sorcerer’s Stone.

I was hesitant, reluctant to spend my less-than-moderate college income on a movie that I wasn’t sure I’d like. At the time, I was mostly only into chick flicks. (I’m happy to report that my tastes have expanded over the years: historicals, classics, comedies, action, etc.) But after a week, they had worn me down, and so I went with Micah and Julia to see the movie.

That began my … hmmm … what’s the word? It’s more than just an appreciation but less than an obsession. Anyway, I loved the fairy tale quality, the hope, the themes of good vs. evil. All of it! And that 11-year-old Daniel Radcliffe was just too cute as Harry. 🙂

Then Julia told me that I had to read the books. Well, I figured if the books were half as good as the movie, it’d be worth my time. I was wrong! The books were three times better than the movie! JK Rowling packed so much heart and hope into what is essentially a children’s book, but there’s a reason that adults and kids alike love these books.

I sprinted through the first four books, then joined the rest of the world in waiting for the 5th book to come out. By then, I was out of college and living back at home with my parents. I didn’t know anyone else reading Harry Potter books at the time, but there was no way I was waiting a moment longer than I had to to get to read it. So there I was at Barnes and Noble at midnight on the release date. I waited in line, then I raced home and spent the entire night and the whole morning reading. My parents didn’t know what to do with a recent college grad, who really didn’t need sleep and just wanted to read. I was a bit of zombie for an entire weekend, but it was so worth it!

I think since then I’ve seen every movie and gotten every book at the midnight release. 🙂 Don’t worry. I was never one to dress up and go overboard for the parties. I just wanted to get the book. I just wanted to see the movie.

Until July 2007 that is. For the first time, I was with friends who loved Harry as much as I did. And for the first time, the book and a movie released within days of each other. So I went to the midnight showing of The Order of the Phoenix with Jess L. and Laura B. (Kelly B.’s sister-in-law). It was amazing! So fun! We got there like 3 hours early and sat and played card games in the theater waiting for the movie to start. The entire theater was practically sizzling with anticipation. And when the movie finally started there was much cheering and joy all around. It was a great movie too! By far my favorite so far. (But book 6 is my favorite book, so I fully expect to love that movie too!)

So a little over a week later, came the release of book 7, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We were on summer hours at work, which meant that that Friday, Jess and Jess and I were done for the day at 1:30, which meant an entire afternoon of “what do we do to pass the time until midnight?” Turns out we had plenty to do. 🙂 There were t-shirts to be made (mine said, Jealous of Ginny), movies to see (again), and a midnight release party to attend. We met Kelly and Laura at the Barnes and Noble and there, I finally put my hands on the last tome in the series.

I read straight through the night and was done by … hmm … I think I was too tired to remember. 🙂 I do remember throwing my book across the room when one of my favorite characters died.

That Saturday night was my birthday party. Funny thing was, the five of us who’d read the book all through the night sequestered ourselves in the basement for the first 20 minutes just to talk Harry. 🙂 We did finally emerge to be social.

I have a lot of good memories from times with friends that involved Harry Potter. And I have an entire shelf dedicated to my Harry memoribilia–gifts from friends. Here’s a peak at my Harry corner.

Yes those are HP dolls. Gifts! All gifts!

I will say that I love the friendship between HP, Ron, and Hermione. Their loyalty and love for each other is nothing short of inspiring. Plus, Ron is a hoot and quite the funny character!

I thought you might like a peak at the preview for the new Harry Potter movie coming out July 17 this summer. That’s bound to be a great week! The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn comes out on the 14th, and my birthday is the next week! it’s going to be a good summer! 🙂 Counting down the days (oh, man, I won’t even tell you about the paper chain that Jess L. and I made with our favorite HP quotes to count down to the movie release) to the new movie until next time. -LJ

Friday Favorite – Have my taxes DONE!

Posted on March 6, 2009March 3, 2009 by lizjohnson

I thought I’d take a moment to celebrate with you now that my taxes are done. Finished. Completed. And boy was it an ordeal. I had my W-2 forms and all my paperwork in order. I was ready to get going.

Except for one little thing. As of Monday, I still hadn’t figured out how to report my advance on my book. I was waiting for a 1099 form or something from my publisher. So I waited and I waited. And it didn’t come and it didn’t come. So I finally called the Harlequin (yes, my publisher is a division of Harlequin) offices and spoke with a very nice lady in the accounts payable department. She kindly explained to me that because they are headquartered in Toronto, they don’t send out and US tax forms.

Oops. I hadn’t considered that.

So I proceeded to call the IRS helpline to figure out the best way to report my advance (however, small it was). No problem. Right?

Wrong. I explained my situation to everyone that I spoke with and each person told me I was speaking with the wrong department. I spoke with 5 people in 5 departments and still couldn’t get an answer. It’s foreign income. No it’s not. It’s this. No, it’s that. Was I ever going to find the right person? And then IRS helpperson number 6 came to my rescue. She talked me through my options of reporting it. Was I self-employed? Was I out to make a profit? Was I running a business or trade?

Who knew selling a book could be such a stress more than 6 months after the contract was signed?

We talked through these questions. And I filed my taxes, and I’m done! I got an e-mail from my tax prep website, and my filings have been approved. I’m home free!

Until next year. Hmmm … I think I better find a good CPA for next year’s taxes. Still very thankful for IRS helpperson #6 this year until next time … -LJ

Friday Favorite – G-words

Posted on February 27, 2009February 25, 2009 by lizjohnson

Amy posted on her blog recently a list of her ten favorite works starting with the letter K. And she invited me to participate in this rather relaxed game of tag. So I said I was in. She assigned me the letter G and now I proudly present–in no particular order–my 10 favorite Gs …

sleep1 1. “Good night”s – I love sleeping … probably more than I should, but there’s really something lovely about bidding the rest of the world farwell for the night and getting plenty of zzzzzzzz. I even read a magazine article recently about how sleep can help you lose weight. I’m all over that!

2. Grandma Marian stories – My dad’s mom passed away before my parents were married, so I never got to meet her, but I adore hearing stories about her. My dad loves to tell the story about her really bad candle joke. My Aunt Chris has Grandma Marian’s wedding dress displayed in the guest room I always stay in and she’ll tell stories about grandma. It makes me feel like I know her. I wish I had.

3. Grandkids – More specifically my parent’s grandkids. Those would be my nieces Julia, Rachel, and Emily and my nephew Jacob. Cute, cute, cute kids! I love them tons and wish I could spoil them rotten! (But their parents wouldn’t let me get away with it.) I talked with Julia on the phone a couple weeks ago for 30 minutes! The kiddo is 5, and she carries on a conversation like a pro. She’s reading and writing now, and I’m proud as can be. Julia’s little sister Rachel is the pasty blond (she takes after Hannah) of the kids, but she is one of the funniest things ever. She has no qualms about sitting on my lap, begging for a drink of water then dumping it all over me. Emily is a crazy-girl with wild hair, who loves to run around and chase her cousins. And J-dawg … well, he’s still too little to know what he’s going to be like. But he’s a very handsome little guy. Well, done Hannah and John and Micah and Beth.

4. Gilmore Girls – This old WB show is one of the smartest, fastest shows now available on gilmore_girls1 DVD. It’s funny and the mom/daughter relationship is wonderful. Even when I hate what the characters are doing, I love the show.

5. Google – I’m such a googler. No other search engine does it like Google. How did I ever survive before it?

6. Girl Scout Cookies – I mean, come on. Who doesn’t love them? And even if you don’t buy any for yourself (I had serious self-control this season, but it hasn’t stopped me from eating the offered cookies from friends), consider donating a box.

7. Grace – I guess this would be number one on the list priority-wise. But really … what could be more improtant. I need God’s grace more than anything else, because I am a sinner through and through. But I’m totally covered. It’s great to know that!

8. Grated cheese – You know the stuff that comes in the bag? I love it! I mean, I like cheese as much as the next person, but when I’m ready to put it on my taco, nachos, or quesadilla, the already grated cheese in the bag is amazing! It’s the convenience and the ease and the fact that my knuckles don’t have to face being skinned or even eaten alive by the grater. It’s a beautiful thing.

gerard-butler-22 9. Garages – I just love having a garage. I like parking inside especially during the (usually) snowy Colorado winters. I like having extra storage space. I like … well, that pretty much sums it up. But I really do love having a garage.

10. Gerard Butler – My list just wouldn’t be complete without my one of my all-time favorite actors. He’s too adorable, and really quite a fantastic actor. If you don’t know him, check out my recent Phantom of the Opera addiction here. I also recently rewatched Nim’s Island, which has him in two roles–one a slightly nerdy scientist, the other an Indiana Jone-type adventurer. He’s plays them both superbly.

Thanks for the post idea, Amy. Grateful for the Gs in my life until next time. -LJ

Friday Favorite – The Princess Bride

Posted on February 20, 2009February 17, 2009 by lizjohnson

It’s high time I have a Friday Favorite about a book–seeing as I do love a good yarn. So today, I’m t princess-bride-cover hrilled to present one of my all time favorites. Again, I have Jess B. to thank for introducing me to this fantastic book. I saw it one day on her bookshelf (I’m sure after a very prodcutive evening of writing) and asked if I could borrow it. She looked shocked!

“You’ve never read it?” she practically wailed. “You have to read it!”

And so I took it home to enjoy it. Of course I’ve seen the movie version of The Princess Bride a hundred times. I grew up on Buttercup and Westley’s love story. So I knew that I’d enjoy the book.

Turns out Jess was right all along … I had no idea just how much I’d enjoy it!

It turns out that Mr. Goldman’s abridged version of S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure is really beyond anything that I could have hoped for. I spent many a late night reading this stripped down tale. Every bit of Florinese culture and lengthy soloquies on the importance of hats have been removed. And what’s left is one of the wittiest and most enjoyable books I’ve ever read. Likely my favorite part of this book is Mr. Goldman’s parenthetical expressions. So entertaining!

Amazon.com says of it: The Princess Bride is a true fantasy classic. William Goldman describes it as a “good parts version” of “S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure.” Morgenstern’s original was filled with details of Florinese history, court etiquette, and Mrs. Morgenstern’s mostly complimentary views of the text. Much admired by academics, the “Classic Tale” nonetheless obscured what Mr. Goldman feels is a story that has everything: “Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles.”

Goldman frames the fairy tale with an “autobiographical” story: his father, who came from Florin, abridged the book as he read it to his son. Now, Goldman is publishing an abridged version, interspersed with comments on the parts he cut out.

Is The Princess Bride a critique of classics like Ivanhoe and The Three Musketeers, that smother a ripping yarn under elaborate prose? A wry look at the differences between fairy tales and real life? Simply a funny, frenetic adventure? No matter how you read it, you’ll put it on your “keeper” shelf. –Nona Vero

For the briefest moment after finishing this amazing book, I considered tucking it into my own bookshelf and not returning it to it’s rightful owner. But that would be wrong. Very wrong indeed. So I grudgingly gave it back to Jess and have kept my eyes peeled for my very own copy, which I’ve yet to discover. I’m torn between buying a new, perfect copy and finding one at a used bookstore that already has years of love on the pages.

Knowing that I need to own this book … and thinking that you should too … until next time. -LJ

Friday Favorite – Friday Night Lights

Posted on February 13, 2009February 12, 2009 by lizjohnson

Amy’s been after me for quite some time to feature Friday Night Lights as a Friday Favorite … so here it is!

In Dillon, TX, football is more than a favorite pastime. It’s a way of life. And coach Eric Taylor is charged with leading the Dillon Panthers to win–every game.

But the truth is that this show isn’t about football. It’s really about the people who make up this football town. It’s about the grown men who still count their high school championship rings as the most important thing in their lives. It’s about the boys trying to become men, worthy of respect. It’s about the girls who want more than their mothers’ lives in Dillon. It’s about husbands and wives loving each other in the toughest times.

It’s a story of heart and hope and learning to love and forgive each other in all our faults.

We’re now in the third season (seasons 1 and 2 are available on dvd) of this amazing show, and it just keeps getting better. Check out the clip below–which is the final minutes of the pilot episode, a beautiful, moving prayer by coach Taylor–and be sure to watch Friday nights on NBC.

Clear eyes, full hearts, CAN’T LOSE!

Friday Favorite – Chris Tomlin

Posted on February 6, 2009February 3, 2009 by lizjohnson

In honor of the concert that Amy, our friend Tracy, and I will be attending tonight, I’ve chosen Chris Tomlin as today’s Friday Favorite. We’re headed up to Denver to the Wells Fargo Theater with our front row tickets to enjoy a little love from his Hello Love album!

Now Amy, Tracy, and I all went to see Chris back in early 2008–long before Amy I were roommates–when he was on the How Great Is Our God tour with Louie Giglio (another one of my faves!). But that time we got to the church a little late, and the seats weren’t reserved by ticket, so we ended up sitting in the nose-bleed section. Tonight we’ll be able to tell if Chris has a drop of sweat on his nose! Looking forward to it.

Of course Amy used some of her mad-skills and got us backstage passes, and we got to meet Chris and Louie. Amazing night all around. Hoping this night will be just as great! Love Chris’s worship songs. I always leave his concerts feeling like I’m stepping out of a church service.

Me and Chris Tomlin - likely one of the worst pics of me ever!

Friday Favorite – James McAvoy

Posted on January 30, 2009January 27, 2009 by lizjohnson

penelope-movie-poster I figured that today I’d offer you two Friday Favorites for the price of one. I was first introduced to Scottish actor James McAvoy playing Tom Lefroy, Jane Austen’s love interest in Becoming Jane. I rather enjoyed the film, even though it has quite the sad ending, but the truth was that I couldn’t take my eyes off the very handsome James.

He’s a ridiculously wonderful actor, so I started searching out his other movies, and soon realized that I had actually already seen him as Mr. Tumnus in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I was suitibly surprised by this realization, but I went back and watched it again and promptly decided I might have a small crush on a fawn. Mom says I’m strange.

Anyway, shortly thereafter I discovered he was going to be in another movie Penelope–my second Friday Favorite of the day. It came out the end of February 2008, and I knew that I was heading out of town for a business trip, so I talked my friends into joining me for a Friday night showing–which is pretty strange for me, as I never pay full-price for a flick. It was better than I hoped it might be. An adorable, modern-day fairy tale about learning to love yourself before you can ever love someone else. James plays opposite Christina Ricci, and they have fantastic on-screen chemistry. If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t miss out!

james-mcavoy-2 — James McAvoy as Mr. Tumnus

James has been in a wide variety of flicks including The Last King of Scotland, playing opposite Forest Whitaker’s Oscar Award-winning performance and Idi Amin. He plays Robbie Turner in Atonement with Keira Knightley. He’s also done a slew of TV and movies from the UK.

While I have seen some of his movies that I didn’t like, I’ve never thought he did a poor job in any of them.

And strangely enough, I was talking with my newest roommate Leslie one day, and she mentioned that her fiance Rob loves this actor … James McAvoy. Turns out Rob and I have a lot in common in the favorite actor category, and I knew he was a quality guy on the spot. 🙂 Good pick, Leslie.

So Jess B. happens to be another James McAvoy fan. One day we were both having hard days at work, so we were hanging out in my office over our lunch hour. Somehow we stumbled onto the funniest interview with James and Craig Ferguson. It’s really one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen, and it began the battle cry, “I need horse pants!” Watch on, good reader, watch on. (Sorry, I can’t embed this video for some reason, but just follow the link. It’s a hoot!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcxiYqVvkD0

Confession: I’ve been trying to make one of my book heroes look like James, but he’s just not big enough to “play” a hero in a romance book. Hmmm … I’ll noodle on it until I come up with a good idea.

Noodling on the idea of James on the pages of my book until next time. -LJ

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