ten books that impacted me

There's a book related meme going around Facebook right now. My friend Steph tagged me, and I decided to post my answers here so I could expound on them more than I did on Facebook.

"I've been challenged to list 10 books that have stayed with me in some way and tag people to do the same. Rules (there are always rules): don't take more than a few minutes and do not think too hard. They don't have to be the "right" books or great works of literature, just ones that have affected you in some way. Then tag 10 friends including me so I can see your list. Don't make fun of me. No particular order."

1. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

When I was young, bedtime was one of the most special times of the day, as my mom would read a chapter or two of a book to my brother and me. She read the whole Little House series to us, and Big Woods is what kicked off that special journey.

2. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

I was an English major ... a really bad one. I hardly read anything that I was supposed to read (Shhh! Don't tell Dr. Sauders!), choosing instead to turn to SparkNotes. But, for whatever reason, when Dr. Lovelady assigned As I Lay Dying, I read it. It was so ... weird. And I loved it! More than 10 years later, I couldn't really tell you anything about it, except for this: "My mother is a fish."

3. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl

This was another childhood bedtime read. I had a boxed set of Roald Dahl books that Mom worked through—this book, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Charlie & the Great Glass Elevator, and James & the Giant Peach. This book has stuck with me, not because I loved it, but because I was horrified when Mom explained poaching to me. 

4. Romans (in the Bible)
I suppose I could have just said "The Bible," but Romans is my favorite book. It's my default book—the book I turn to if I don't have a specific passage in mind to read. It always encourages and challenges me.

5. Sophie's Heart by Lori Wick
I first read Sophie's Heart as a freshman in high school. I'd read other Christian romances before, but Sophie's Heart made me love the genre.

6. Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
The Anne of Green Gables series is one of my all time favorites. Anne and Gilbert ... need I say more? So why would I pick Rilla out of all the books in this series? Two words: Walter dies. I remember nothing else about this book, but I vividly remember where I was when I read of his death: lying on my parents' bed on a lazy summer afternoon, tears streaming down my face. Then my sister walked in and caught me sobbing. It was the first time I cried while reading a book.

7. Hamlet by William Shakespeare
My previous Shakespeare experience consisted of reading Romeo & Juliet in high school, which I thought was just about the dumbest story ever. Then I read Hamlet in community college, and I realized that Shakespeare had some good stories to tell. In this class (which is the class that made me decide to major in English), we each had to find a song that went along with a particular scene in the play. I got Act 3, Scene 1 (Hamlet's soliloquy), and I used the MASH theme song,"Suicide Is Painless," which has a horrible message, by the way! (Shoutout to my mom's Sheet Music Magazine subscription, without which I never would have known that the MASH song had lyrics.)

8. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Another community college read (I did far more reading there than at Grace), Things Fall Apart marked the first time I realized that, while spreading the gospel is a good thing, the white man's methods weren't always good. Things Fall Apart caused me to think critically about what I read for one of the first times in my life.

9. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
Sure, I read an abridged, illustrated version that someone gave me for Christmas, and I've never read the actual book, but The War of the Worlds was my first foray into science fiction. For that fact alone, it belongs on this list.

10. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
My mom read us the Narnia books, too, and The Horse and His Boy was never one of my favorites. It just didn't seem to fit with the other books. Then, I read it again a few years ago to one of my ESL classes. I. Loved. It. Maybe it's because my students were so intrigued that I saw it through new eyes. It has adventure, action, humor, and a glimpse at the Pevensies during their rule of Narnia. It's really fantastic!

no surprises here

These are my Amazon Quick Picks over the last two days. I think they've got a pretty good read on me, don't you?

Also, these movies remind me that the Christmas movie season is just around the corner. Yippee! The Hallmark Channel will begin showing Christmas movies on November 1. Two months of Christmas movies ... I can't wait!

the long, tragic season of "downton abbey"

The third season of Downton Abbey just ended. Is it just me, or did this season seem longer than the others? (OK, in truth it was longer than season one...) So many things happened, and while many were good (Matthew & Mary finally getting married, Bates finally getting out of prison, the birth of a Crawley heir), the bad seemed to overshadow the good. Matthew stubbornly refuses to accept the money that could save Downton. Sybil dies. Bates is in prison for over half the season—and all the prison scenes are painfully boring. Edith gets jilted at the altar. Rose. Matthew dies.

Oh, I enjoyed the season, and I'm eagerly awaiting season four, but I wouldn't say the journey through season three was particularly fun.

For all the plot lines that I hated, one I can't blame on creator/writer Julian Fellowes is Matthew's death. The blame for that one goes to actor Dan Stevens, who elected not to renew his contract. Fellowes has said that they felt the only organic way to get Matthew off the show was to kill him, and I agree. Matthew and Mary were finally at a very good place as a couple, and Matthew had taken on a vital role in the management of Downton. Having Matthew and Mary become estranged at this point wouldn't ring true. And actually, Matthew went from being one of my favorite characters to one I didn't really care about anymore ... I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next for Mary and the rest of the Downton bunch! (But I could certainly do without Rose. Unfortunately, it sounds like she's going to be a main character next season.)

In light of the depressing events we were left with last night, I think we could use a little levity. I saw this video on Annie Downs' blog this morning, and it absolutely cracked me up. Enjoy!

the most anticipated movie of my life?

About two years ago, completely out of the blue, my sister Val posed the following question to Blendy and me: If you had to marry an old guy, who would you choose?

Blendy chose Liam Neeson. Val chose Jeff Bridges. I chose Dennis Quaid. They said my choice didn't count because Dennis Quaid isn't old enough. In actuality, Quaid is only two years younger than Neeson and three years younger than our parents ... so I think that qualifies him as an old guy in this scenario. However, I'd still like to change my pick. But before I tell you who I'd change my pick to, watch this video. THIS is why I love Dennis Quaid!

Dennis Quaid is here! OK, now that we have that out of the way, which old guy would I marry? Hands down, no question about it: I'd pick Colm Wilkinson. Have you heard the man sing? He was the original Jean Valjean in Les Miserables (the musical). I have the CD and DVD 10th Anniversary Concert sets, and I can't get enough of them. And then there's this video from the 25th Anniversary Concert. Or this one. Love!

I fell in love with Les Mis (and Wilkinson) in 1999 when I saw the 10th Anniversary Concert on PBS. Since then, I've seen the Broadway touring company twice, and I watched the 25th Anniversary Concert on PBS three or four times (in my opinion, neither lived up to the amazingness that was the 10th Anniversary Concert). So when I heard that the stage musical was being made into a movie musical, I eagerly devoured each piece of news I could find. And the best news? That Wilkinson would play the Bishop of Digne. It's a very small role, yet I was thrilled that he would at least get to sing in the film.

As the movie's release approached, I got more excited by the day. I even spent nearly as much time listening to my Les Mis 10th Anniversary Concert CDs as I spent listening to Christmas music in the last couple weeks.

And then Friday happened.

That's the day the movie soundtrack released. Well, actually it's a "highlights" album, though I have no clue how they decided what to call a highlight. "Do You Hear the People Sing?" didn't make the cut! That quibble aside, I still wasn't thrilled with the album. There's a lot more acting than singing going on—something that I expect to work marvelously in the film, but it doesn't make for a good listening (or sing-along) experience. I was so disturbed that I even reviewed the album, even though I didn't have to (something that very rarely happens anymore).

Now, Les Miserables is in theaters. My mom, sisters, and I will see it at 12:30 this afternoon. And now I find that, while this has indeed been the most anticipated movie of my life, my expectations are no longer in the stratosphere, just in the clouds. And I'll probably enjoy the film much more with my lowered expectations!

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

a long time ago, we used to be friends, but I haven't thought of you lately at all ...

This made my night that much better:

Logan!! Where are you?!@imkristenbell #veronicamars twitter.com/HiRyanHansen/s…
— Ryan Hansen (@HiRyanHansen) October 20, 2012

Now I think I need to go watch an episode of Veronica Mars before bed ...

i really should be working ...

I had my gallbladder removed last week. (That's a post for another day.) My yearbook submission date was May 25, but I knew there was no way I'd feel like working on yearbook right after my surgery, so I got an extension from my yearbook rep. Now I'm back at work and feeling good, so it's time to buckle down and finish the yearbook. So tonight, I silenced my phone, turned on some music, and sat down with a stack of spreads to proofread.

That was three hours ago. In those three hours, I did manage to proofread three spreads. But I also ...

• Carried on a Facebook conversation with Blendy and Janae about The Bachelorette. I have somehow managed to be spoiler free so far this season, so I have no idea what's coming down the pike ... and I'd like to keep it that way! My top three right now are Arie, Doug, and Sean. And Kalon and Ryan so have to go!
• Perused this list of celebrity Republicans. I have no idea how accurate it is, but I always knew I liked Freddie Prinze, Jr.!
• Watched a couple episodes of What I Like About You. (Yes, Val, "Ground-Turkey-Hog-Day" was one of them!)
• Fell into that black hole known as YouTube. Seriously! What is it about being under pressure that makes terrible fan videos so appealing?
• Played "Words with Friends" on Facebook. I'm truly terrible, but I enjoy it—and I'd be willing to play any of you ... just send me a request!
• Fell into that black hole known as Pinterest. I am totally trying this tightlining tip I found!

And now, it's time for bed. Maybe it's time to start using LeechBlock again!

need a saturday morning laugh?

So true! My favorite line: Do you wanna be Jim & Pam, or do you wanna be Ross & Rachel?

a drive down memory lane

I judged at a district speech meet in Ansley, Nebraska, today. Ansley is about 90 miles northwest (more west than north) of here, and it's definitely in the Sandhills! On my drive this morning, I noticed a sign for Homeward Trail Bible Camp. Homeward Trail was the first sleepover camp I ever attended, and seeing the sign brought back a flood of memories.

Climbing the hill to the cross.
Getting nettles during a "find the counselor" hide-and-seek game.
Peeling potatoes as part of my morning work assignment.
Going into Ansley to swim at the town pool.
Learning "Singin' in the Rain"—not the movie version. (Here's the closest one I could find on YouTube ... apparently everyone does it differently!)
Being too chicken to try the zip line. (This I've regretted ever since!)

On my way home, I decided to drive by the camp, since it was only about five miles out of my way. It was kind of surreal to see the place again—it's definitely smaller that it seemed when I was eight! I would have loved to wander around, but the gate was locked, and since I'm a rule follower, trespassing didn't even cross my mind. I did snap a picture of the sign, though.

When I got home, I searched through my pictures for some from my camp days. Unfortunately, I could only find one ... and it's not too flattering. It does give you a good idea of how horrible my hair was in my upper elementary days, thanks to my mom.

My cousin Kate and me during our last week at Homeward Trail.
I think our cabin was Elm?

I'm really glad I drove by—what a fun trip down memory lane!

i love aloe juice!

Yes, the title of my post is a lie. Let me explain ...

In my ESL class, we have a "question of the day" nearly every class period. Sometimes I choose the question, and sometimes a student chooses the question. Either way, we all take turns answering. A couple weeks ago, I asked: "What is the strangest food you've ever eaten?" I learned something that day: pig blood is considered a delicacy in Vietnam. They mix it with flour, cook it, slice it up, and eat it. But that's not the point of this post ... When it was my turn to answer, I couldn't think of anything. I mean, I've eaten my share of strange foods, but on the spot, I couldn't come up with anything. Except ... aloe juice.

A few years ago, one of my students gave me a bottle of aloe juice. Before that point, I didn't even know you could drink aloe ... my experience with it extended to my mom's aloe plant—she would use the pulp from it on burns. Well, aloe juice itself isn't bad—it has kind of a nondescript sweet flavor—but it contains that same pulp. Lots of it. I'm a girl who buys the pulp-free orange juice. So pulp-loaded aloe juice is not my cup of tea!

When I went to class on Tuesday, one of my students presented me with a bottle of aloe juice, amid much laughter. Then he asked me to post on facebook that I love aloe juice. I thought I'd do him one better ... Kyle, this post is for you!

See the lighter stuff in the bottle? That's the pulp.

have you said this?

I came across a brilliant video today. Whether you read reviews or write them yourself, you've surely seen some of these phrases. And I must admit, I've used my fair share in my reviews. Enjoy!

just call me handy

I love assembling things. I'm not sure when I first realized this, but I do remember feeling so powerful and independent when I fixed the desk chair in my dorm room. (I wasn't assembling anything per se, but I was putting it back together.) My absolute favorite part of moving is assembling the new furniture. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to put something together at work—my new desk chair!

Can you see how happy I am?

Putting the arms on. This was the easy part—getting the back on was a bit more difficult.

The finished product. This is so much nicer than my old chair, which was one of those $15 Walmart task chairs.

So if you ever need a bookshelf, chair, or other furniture assembled, just give me a call. I'd love to help you out!

sometimes, it's better to pay

A few months ago, we were in Kansas cleaning out my grandma's house. While working in the bathroom, I tweeted the following:

@beckyrittaBecky Ritta

Cleaning out grandma's house. Just found some Milk of Magnesia that expired in 1988!

That should have been warning enough to ignore the "treasure" I found in that bathroom—a hot water bottle. But, being my father's daughter, I decided to take the bottle home with me, thus saving the $7 or so I'd pay for one at Walmart.

Flash forward to tonight. I wasn't feeling great, so I decided to dig out the hot water bottle. I filled it, checked it all over for leaks, wrapped it in a towel, and took it to bed with me. Then I found the latest episode of Ringer to watch. (Ringer is my "guilty pleasure" TV of the season. The plot line really is ludicrous, but I enjoy it—just ask Blendy ... I gave her a 20-minute recap of the season while we drove home from Grand Island today!)

So there I was, all settled into my bed, watching Ringer on my computer and trying to get my mind off my stomachache, when suddenly I was wet. Soaking. The hot water bottle had popped like a balloon. For a second, I just lay there while the hot (HOT!) water ran over my stomach and to my backside. Then I leapt to my feet, holding the hot water bottle, trying to contain the remaining water. I was largely unsuccessful.

Water went everywhere. My bed, a memory foam mattress, got soaked. I looked like I'd wet my pants. Somehow, water even got in one of my shoes, which was several feet away from both the bed and the door. Maybe I sloshed the water around when I jumped out of bed?

Somehow, all the electronics escaped unscathed. (Thank goodness!) And I just made the following purchase on Amazon:

I just bought: 'Mabis Dmi Healthcare Rubber Water Bottle, Red, One' by Mabis

www.amazon.com

Large, 2-quart capacity. ribbed surface helps retain warm or cold temperatures. made from durable, natural rubber latex.

Lesson learned.

my life in films

I came across this post on author Kaye Dacus's blog this morning, and I couldn't resist making my own list. After all, I do love me some movies!

Films that Remind Me of Childhood

• The Sound of Music. When I was little, we didn't have a VCR, so I didn't get to watch many movies. My grandparents had one, though, and every time we visited, I wanted to watch The Sound of Music. And I pretended (in my own head, of course--not aloud) that I was Liesl.
• The Three Stooges: Disorder in the Court and Malice in the Palace. This is another video we always watched at my grandparents' house ... and my grandma hated it. Disorder in the Court was my favorite, but I always watched Malice in the Palace, too. Both films are on YouTube--here and here!
• Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. After watching this movie, I sat on my little brother and made him promise never to do drugs! Remember how I said we didn't have a VCR? Well, we didn't, but the school did, so my dad would let us use the VCR on weekends. (My parents were boys' dorm parents.) This movie didn't belong to us--it was always on the TV cart, and we always seemed to watch it. If you're a child of the '80s, you've gotta watch it! (I am amazed at how much I remember of it!)
  
• The BBC/Wonderworks productions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; and The Silver Chair. My uncle gave us these one Christmas, and we watched them over ... and over ... and over!

Films that Defined My Teens

• While You Were Sleeping. This movie came out when I was an 8th grader--and even today, it's my favorite movie!
• Derby. Honestly, it's not that great. But I still love it for all the memories it brings back! My cousins and I watched it ad nauseam--so many times that my video tape began wearing out and the sound eroded!
• Newsies. This movie (and the music) became my obsession. I first watched it at a friend's birthday party, and it quickly became one of my favorites. It's hard to fathom now, but I searched and searched and searched for the movie and sountrack (how did I live without Amazon?)--and I didn't get either one until early college. My sister and I still have Newsies sing-alongs on road trips!
• The Princess Bride. Didn't see this until the 8th grade, even though it had been out for years. It quickly became one of my family's favorite films.
• Liar, Liar. I'll admit it: I lived a pretty sheltered childhood. And I do believe most people in my class had a perception of me that was way off. So I guess this makes sense, but still ... When Liar, Liar came out, my friend Dori and I made plans to see it. We were talking about said plans in Spanish one day, and this guy turned to Dori and said, "Don't take Becky to that movie. She won't like it." Well, guess what, Jeremy? I did like the movie, and I even own it now. And every time I watch it, I think of that incident.
• Anne of Avonlea. How many times did I rewind and rewatch the kiss at the end? It's probably better that you don't know!

Films that Defined My College Years

• The Matrix. Though I loved science fiction TV (like Star Trek: TNG and Stargate: SG-1), I never watched sci-fi films ... until The Matrix. The story absolutely blew me away, and the special effects were pretty cool, too! (Parts 2 & 3, though ... not so much!)
• Snow White: A Tale of Terror. During my first semester at Grace, I didn't have any Thursday afternoon classes. Neither did Danielle, this other girl on my hall. We never hung out or even really talked at any other time, but most Thursdays we'd end up in the lounge together watching movies on Lifetime. One Thursday, this was on. I've never seen it again, but every time it comes to mind, I remember Thursdays with Danielle.
• A Walk to Remember. I could name one of about a dozen chick flicks here, but of them all, A Walk to Remember was my favorite. I loved the story. I loved the soundtrack. I loved Shane West.

Films When I Need a Good Cry

• Brian's Song (2001 TV movie, not the original). This is the only movie that consistently makes me sob--I even start crying before Brian gets sick because I know what's coming!
• Up. The beginning. My heart just breaks for Carl!

Nightmares from Films

• Only one. Arachnophobia. I watched about five minutes of it once, had a nightmare about spiders that night, and have stayed away from it ever since!

Films that Are Guilty Pleasures

• My sisters would tell you that most of the movies I love could fit into this category ... but here are a few that I'll concede: Lost in Austen, Holiday in Handcuffs, Family Plan, This Time Around, Picture Perfect (the Richard Karn movie, not the Jennifer Aniston one). Yes, I have a thing for TV movies!

The Last Film I Saw at the Theater

• The Help. Just saw it last night with my mom, aunt, and cousin. Loved it!

A Favorite Film Few Others Seem to Know About

• If you've been reading my blog very long, you already know what I'm going to say, as I simply can't stop talking about it: My Girlfriend's Boyfriend! (If you click on the link on the title, you'll go to Hulu, where you can watch it right now.) Alyssa Milano. The always adorable Christopher Gorham. Jimmy Olsen himself, Michael Landes. A brief appearance by Tiffani from California Dreams. AND it's a cute story.

What about you? Leave your answers in the comments, or better yet, write about it on your own blog and post the link in the comments. And please, if you haven't yet watched My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, do it. You'll thank me later.

after these messages, we'll be right back!

Original content on this blog has been lacking lately. My goal is to post three times each week, and I'm not doing a very good job of meeting that goal. My book reviews are important, and I know that the majority of the traffic coming to my blog is due to the reviews, but I'm not ready to make this a "book review only" kinda place, so I'm working on several other posts right now – about my 30th birthday, country music, and 35 things I want to do before I turn 35. Nothing is close to being ready, though. (Why? One word: School.) So, while I continue working on those other posts (and while I keep reading and reviewing – I should have at least three reviews go up in the next two weeks), here are a few "internet" things I want you to know about:

• Remember when I told you about Perfect Romance? No? It's the movie where Desmond from LOST falls in love with a woman he meets online, and it's so cute! For the next 10 days, you can catch it on Hulu. Watch it. You'll thank me later! (Unless you're a guy who hates chick flicks. Dearest brother, I'm pretty sure this is too sappy for you. However, someone from Stargate does make an appearance, so at least something in the movie might interest you.)
• One of my most popular posts (it's #3 this month and #2 since Blogger started keeping track) is the one about My Girlfriend's Boyfriend. I still love introducing people to this movie – I even watched it last night with two of the dorm girls at NC. Seriously, I feel like the film's biggest cheerleader! Now it's free on Hulu, so you have no excuse for not watching it. Just do it!
• If you want other movie recommendations, check out my "Movies to Watch" tab – especially if you like chick flicks.
• If you saw the movie Something Borrowed – which is not on my recommended list – you might be interested in this post by author Jenny B. Jones. (She wrote Save the Date, which I loved.) She makes a valid point, one that Blendy and I discussed at length (SPOILER ALERT!): why on earth would you cast John Krasinski in the role of the guy who doesn't get the girl? 
• Have you heard of Spotify? Not only is is super cool – you can listen to just about any music you want, and you don't have to listen to a bunch of things you don't want in order to get to that one song you do want (à la Pandora) – but it also can save you money! How, you ask? Well, say Amazon is running a sale on an album you're interested in. You listen to the samples, but how much can you really tell from 30 seconds of a song? So instead of taking your chances on an album you may or may not really want, you can listen to the whole thing on Spotify before deciding! I've saved at least $3.99 – I'm looking at you, Matthew Morrison! – and I'll be checking out all future purchases here, first. If only I'd had Spotify when looking for "Forever," I would have known the version Amazon was offering wasn't the John Stamos version and saved 99¢ ...
  
• Since I brought it up:
  

Thanks for sticking with me, and I'll try to do a better job of posting regularly!

save the upper middle class americans!

I love this. It perfectly shows the utter ridiculousness in the panic surrounding Netflix's price hike. (In case you're wondering, I'm still planning to cancel the dvd portion of my service come September 1. And no, I don't need a sponsor to give me $6 so I can keep the dvds.)

my day with ryan reynolds

No, I didn’t actually spend a day with Ryan Reynolds. (Insert my cousin screaming, “I love Ryan Reynolds!” in the background here.) But I did dream about spending a day with him—I mean an actual dream, not a “Wouldn’t it be nice if Ryan Reynolds fell in love with me?” fantasy.

While I used to have crazy dreams all the time (like the time someone was trying to turn me into a statue by forcing me to eat crunchy Cheetos or the time there was a bucking bronco competition in our college cafeteria), I normally don’t have them any more … or at least I don’t remember them!

Here are the factors that I believe led to this dream (which I’ll soon get around to sharing with you):

• A conversation about X-Men Origins: Wolverine (specifically concerning Deadpool) at dinner.
• A less than ideal hotel room, which made me insanely uncomfortable as I attempted to go to sleep. (Seriously, never ever stay at the Travelodge in Davenport, Iowa. It was, without a doubt, the worst hotel I’ve ever stayed at.)
• Spinach. (I don’t know if spinach is known to cause weird dreams, but I ate a large amount of it in my yummy Panera lemon chicken orzo soup a couple hours before bed … and I never eat any green stuff! So let me blame it on the spinach, okay?)

So, here goes …

I went to the mall (already this dream is quite abnormal, as I usually try to avoid the mall), where I ran into Anna, an acquaintance. She looked about eight months pregnant, and after we watched a man try to sell a very large pin art toy (so large you could do an impression of your entire body), she said she needed to get off her feet and wondered if I’d like to get a pedicure with her. We went into a nearby nail salon, but they didn’t have two open chairs, so she got her toes done while I sat on an ottoman by her feet. I glanced down the row of chairs and saw Tonya, one of my coworkers. I waved at her, but as soon as I did, I realized it wasn’t really Tonya. I was embarrassed to have been waving at a stranger, but she didn’t even notice me. The guy in the chair next to her did, though, and he waved back. He was wearing a very obviously fake blonde moustache, but I knew who he was immediately, and without thinking, I blurted out, “That’s Ryan Reynolds!” He tried to hide by pretending to look around for “himself,” but then his moustache slid down his face so it was covering his mouth at an angle, and other people started recognizing him.

Suddenly, Ryan, a crowd of girls, my sister Val, and I were in this giant old gymnasium where some old professor was giving a history lecture—but no one was listening because all the girls wanted their pictures taken with Ryan. Finally, I worked up the nerve to ask for a picture, and I handed my camera to some girl, but she couldn’t figure out how to work my simple point-and-shoot camera. She took a bunch of horrible pictures, and then I spotted Ryan Stauffer, one of my college classmates. (I guess this was just a “Ryan” kind of dream!) I asked him to take the picture of me, Ryan Reynolds, and Val, and while he was getting the camera ready, I suddenly told everyone to go to Kickstarter and support Ryan Stauffer’s movie, Murder! A Love Story. I was quite pleased when Ryan Reynolds said it sounded cool and he’d definitely look it up. Then his manager made him leave, and I shared my caramel corn (huh?) with Mr. P (the shop teacher from my high school) and his wife. Then Val and I had to hurry to catch our boat (again, huh?), but what I really wanted to do was look at the pictures. I never got a chance before I woke up.

So why did I remember it? Because when I woke up at 5:45 a.m., I thought, “If I don’t write this down, I’m going to forget it.” And then I got out of bed, grabbed a notebook, and started writing. In the dark. But almost everything is legible!

(FYI--Ryan Stauffer really is making a movie. While the Kickstarter funding project failed, you can still check out info on Murder! A Love Story at its website and on Ryan's site. It's going to be filmed in my old dorm!)

a fairy tale

Once upon a time, I married Shane West. I suddenly remembered this while watching a recent episode of Nikita, my new "guilty pleasure" show. He was on screen, and I literally shouted, "I MARRIED HIM!" Fortunately, I was alone at the time.

Of course, I didn't actually marry West. Rather, I married him in my obituary. In my college news writing class, one of the assignments was to write our own obituaries. I had fun with mine, and it became even better when my sister Val got her hands on it and embellished it a bit more. So I present, for your reading pleasure, my obituary. (Val's additions are in italics. I also just realized that I probably shouldn't put all this personally identifying information out there, so I'm changing and/or leaving out a few things.)

Rebecca West, known as the "Christian Entertainment Voice," died Sunday of natural causes at her home in Central City. She was 85. Because her entire estate was left to one relative, her daughter, Cassandra Kilers, it was at first believed that she had been "done in" in another tragic case of greed by a cold-hearted relative who just couldn't wait. However, because Cassandra was already well-off thanks to the untimely death of her husband, Michael Kilers of Chicago, on whom she had a $1,000,000 life insurance policy, it was decided that she did not need the money and, therefore, did not "buy the farm" for her mother.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at Swiss Church in Whitewater, Kansas. Pastor Jason McCullogh will officiate. Burial will be in the Whitewater Cemetery. 

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday at the Lion Funeral Home. Family will be present from 6 to 8 p.m. Memorials are suggested to Nebraska Christian Schools and CAM International.

Mrs. West was born in Kansas to Robert and Susan R. She graduated from Nebraska Christian High School in Central City, attended Central Community College in Grand Island, and received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana. She received a Masters of Education degree from Northwestern University in Chicago in 2008.

On July 19, 2006, she married Dean Cain in Central City. They had three children. Mr. Cain was killed in a skiing accident in 2012. Cassandra was again a suspect early on in the investigation, but it was later determined that it was the malicious ski lodge owner who was jealous of Cain's fabulous abs who spiked the hot cocoa on that fateful day. Because of the influence of the alcohol, Mr. Cain "Just call me Dean" skiied into a tree. On November 25, 2015, she married Shane West of Los Angeles in Whitewater, Kansas. They had one child. 

Mrs. West's great loves were family, education, and entertainment. She combined these loves in her work as the "Christian Entertainment Voice." While doing her graduate work at Northwestern, she wrote a column for the Chicago Sun-Times which reviewed television programs in light of traditional moral values. This column spawned a weekly syndicated television show, "Family Entertainment," which also included movie reviews and interviews with members of the entertainment industry. Critics dubbed her the "Christian Entertainment Voice" due to her family-friendly reviews and her push for morality in Hollywood. 

Mrs. West also had a great love for romance novels, which she read daily. Upon the suggestion of her rustic husband Shane, she decided to try her hand at this "art." Her first book, "Love in Kansas," was based entirely on the exploits of her mother's teens and early twenties. Her second book, "You Skiied into a Tree, and Now I'm All Alone, Unless I Find Someone Else," was based upon the tragedy and triumph of her first husband's death. This was a bestselling book on the "Literature of Kansas" reading list.

 Mrs. West also taught high school English at Puebla Christian School in Mexico and Berean Academy in Elbing, Kansas; served as Chair of the Journalism Department at Multnomah Bible College in Portland; worked on the staff of "Plugged-In Magazine;" and founded and served as editor-in-chief of "Christian Entertainment Quarterly," which she continued to be involved with until her untimely death.

Survivors include her husband of Central City; two daughters, Jennifer Jensen of Whitewater, Kansas, and Cassandra Kilers of Chicago; two sons, Christopher Cain of Winona Lake, Indiana, and Jeremy West of Puebla, Mexico; 12 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by an infant son, Jesse West; two grandchildren, Sydney Jensen and Jessica Cain; and one great-grandchild, Alec Hernandez. Her favorite saying was, "For all the saiiints who from their labors reeest to Thee by faith before the world confeeeeeeeeeessed." While she lived a seemingly full life, she never fulfilled two dreams; to become Michelle Kwan, and to personally meet the entire cast of the show "Full House."

After reading that, who here thinks Val should blog? Also, according to my timetable, I still have time to marry Shane West. Just sayin'.