PENSIEVE

How I learned I have caterpillar eyebrows...

The Inspirational Writing Workshop at Blissdom remains a warmfuzzymemory for me; Hallmark cardwriters Sarah Mueller and Molly Wigand joined bloggers Casey Mullins and Stephanie Precourt for an inspiration-filled session.  It's apparent they love what they do and their hearts lead their writing.  That connects with their readers, whether it's a 30-word card or a 300-word post.  

Later, Sarah Kolell with Hallmark Cards and Fleishman-Hillard's PR team, Liz Hawks and Amy Smith, hosted a booth where conferees could wander through the new kids card collection, and share feedback with creators Sarah M. or Molly.  I had the privilege of doing so with Sarah, and while I had FUN in the process, now I'm cringing just a little--a) I do NOT like my left profile (and now I understand what actors prefer a "side"!), and b) my eyebrows are really, REALLY wiggly and dark, and the left one is higher than the right!  Plus, I have the crazy eyes.  Plus, I never knew how animated I am when I speak...people who know me, AM I ALWAYS THIS EXPRESSIVE???

In hindsight, I'm wondering if Hallmark wanted to hear this much opinion 'cause I was shoveling them like a thoroughbred stall tender.  

I hope you'll watch til at least the four-minute mark; there, you'll find my video is educational...you'll learn what in THE world a "lenticular" is!

Thanks to Hallmark for their imaginative, interactive sponsorship of Blissdom!  For more blogger videos, check out their youtube page.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

While the East Coast is blanketed under Winter's arctic fury, what better way to forget about it than to sing about it?  I woke up humming this tune, and to my mind's ear I sounded just like Zooey Deschanel in her not-at-all provocative shower scene from Elf; oh, how I love her bluesy, richly melodic old school voice.  Elf is one of those movies I like better with every viewing...:)

On the Elf Soundtrack, Zooey shares an impressive duet with Leon RedBone, but I kinda liked the sweetness and naïveté Will Ferrell brings as Buddy the Elf.  Enjoy the clip with a steaming cup of hot chocolate mounded with your choice of whipped cream or marshmallows ~~ 

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Want more of the same only different?  Try renditions from:

• Selma Blair & Rainn Wilson (she kinda creeped me out, but he makes me laugh, especially in the closing frame!)
• Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey (she's a little too breathy for me but he nails it)
• James Taylor & Natalie Cole (I wanted to like this one more 'cause I LOVE JT from back in the day and Natalie's voice is spun sugar...but it sadly fell short)
• Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan (She's the cat's meow but he didn't seem to be man enough for her)
• Willie Nelson & Norah Jones (She's perfect for this song; he isn't)
• Dean Martin & Martina McBride (S'ok...but no cigar)
• Rod Stewart & Dolly Parton (Love him, her warbley voice leaves me cold)

If you've got a favorite, shout it out!  And if you have any fun(ny) stories about how you're staying warm, do tell :).

It might not cure acne but it's so cute, who cares?

As a mom to two teens and a tween, oh, how I feel their pain when unsightly blemishes pop up.  When it's worse than a pimple or two, I'd be willing to take 'em on the chin (and cheeks and nose and forehead and...) if it meant my kids wouldn't have to face the world as a polka dotted, three-eyed cyclops AND-I-KNOW-THAT-DOESN'T-MAKE-SENSE-BUT-WORK-WITH-ME-HERE!

Without further ado, meet stinkin' adorable Charlie; who proves that a charming personality and quirky-mad music skills cover a multitude of zits.

HT:   Schmutzie

"I always wondered where the flavor came from." {My Thanksgiving gift to you}

If you haven't seen this "Everybody Loves Raymond" turkey preparation clip, you're missing out on one of the funniest scenes in television history.  While I don't care for how it begins, the ending?  Absolutely delicious!  The one minute mark is funny but the last line?  Classic and perfectly timed.  Enjoy ~

I wanna party with YOU!

a}  After my explosive implosion yesterday, I anchored myself to Real Life and only now am dipping a pinky toe into the Matrix.

b}  Cyber hugs & smooches for your golden words of encouragement in comments to my last post, on Twitter and in email.  I really appreciated the Metlife blimp flyover, too--nothin' says lovin' like four stories of hot air (the irony of their slogan "For the "IF" in LIFE" wasn't wasted....).

c}  My sweet sister-in-law has apparently received her PhD, and prescribed laughter for what ailed me; it defintely is the best medicine and I invite you to enjoy her prescription if you haven't already seen it.  {With 7,000,000 hits and climbing on YouTube, you've probably already seen this video, but if not?  You need to!}

Keep Blog Hoppin', y'all...you'll have plenty of time to enter giveaways once I finally post 'em!!

youtube to the rescue!!

Did you happen to DVR American Idol last night only to realize THE SHOW RAN LONG AND ADAM LAMBERT'S PERFORMANCE WAS CUT OFF??  Adam Lambert's amazing Tears for Fears "Mad World" performance??  I'm not even a fan of the song and he had me at hello "all around me are familiar faces...".  Here, in its entirety including the AI intro, judges' remarks and Simon's standing O. 

That alone is telling.....:)

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GREAT...it keeps getting removed from youtube, so if you wanna see it, click the American Idol site and you'll at least see his performance (tears for those of you who didn't get to see the whole thing!)

And now, a personal fan letter:

Dear Youtube,

Thank you.  I love you.  Should I ever renounce my religion, move to Utah and become a polygamist, will you marry me? 

Love & hugs & pink puffy heart doodles,

@PensieveRobin

Photo credit:  American Idol

Live blogging, roach stomping & swimming

I cannot wait until 7:00 tonight:  a new friend*--whom, soon, I'll really get to know--has made it possible for me to attend and live blog The United Tour, showcasing two legends in contemporary Christian music--

Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith.

With almost 100 Dove and Grammy awards to their credit, their respective 20+ year careers in the music business have been characterized by consistency, excellence and devotion to God.  Their public lives are compelling testimony to and evidence of their faith--when all is well, and perhaps no more beautifully, than in the midst of tragedy.  

If you're online, PLEASE check in after 7:00 p.m. EST TONIGHT when hopefully I'll be sharing with you LIVE pictures and words from the Spring kick off of The United Tour!! 

Two extras which, if you have time, explain this post title.

Roaches

"Above All" is one of my favorite MWS songs; in it, he simply and beautifully reminds me of God's place in my life.  One minute 18 seconds into the song/this video, however, I lose it every time I hear it; I'm reminded of my son's interpretation of the lyrics.   

One Sunday morning, we sang "Above All" at church; the lyrics were being scrolled across a big screen at the front of our sanctuary--

Above all powers / Above all things / Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man / You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms / Above all thrones / Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth /
There's no way to measure what You're worth

Crucified
Laid behind the stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all...

Right at that point, my son leaned in close to me and whispered, "Like a ROSE?  I always thought it was 'Like a ROACH trampled on the ground'...!"

...which, when you think about it, makes just as much sense.

Swimming

"Speechless" is my favorite SCC album; though I admired him from a distance prior to its 1999 release, "Speechless" sealed Chapman as one of my favorite recording artists, Christian or otherwise.  There are too many songs I love on it to list just one as a favorite, but "Dive" resonates loudly with my carpe diem spirit.  Every time I've been at a crossroads in life since first hearing that song, it mentally plays--on "repeat", mind you--and inspires me to "sink or swim".  

Wait, I can't stand it!  It's not enough to tell you that, lol, read the lyrics in full and you'll see what I mean (if you click the album image, you'll be directed to the Chapman Channel and can listen to the song.  Prepare to dive!).

The long awaited rains / Have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground

And carved their way to where / The wild and rushing river can be found

And like the rains / I have been carried here to where the river flows, yeah

My heart is racing and my knees are weak / As I walk to the edge

I know there is no turning back / Once my feet have left the ledge

And in the rush I hear a voice / That's telling me it's time

to take the leap of faith

So here I go

I'm diving in I'm going deep in over my head I want to be

Caught in the rush lost in the flow in over my head I want to go

The river's deep, the river's wide, the river's water is alive

So sink or swim I'm diving in

There is a supernatural power / In this mighty rivers flow

It can bring the dead to life / And it can fill an empty soul

And give a heart the only thing / Worth living and worth dying for yeah

But we will never know the awesome power / Of the grace of god

Until we let ourselves get swept away / Into this holy flood

So if you'll take my hand / Well close our eyes and count to three

And take the leap of faith / Come on lets go

Thank you, Spence! 

Related links: 

Wikipedia on Chapman & Smith 

MWS Website 

SCC Website

"...as shaky as...a fiddler on the roof!"

"P r o g r e s s" (she says loosely) next door has resulted in me treading water--a new home under construction and related heavy truck traffic has sliced through the cabling that furnishes our home telephone, tv cable and internet service three times this week.  It's why I've been unusually quiet since returning from my trip to South Carolina. 

I'm working on several posts I had hoped to complete, but while those were stalled due to technical difficulties, Spring cleaning has begun early in mi casa.  It's also a beautiful Saturday in the Tennessee Valley and "some" of us are headed out for a bike ride and "others" of us are headed downtown on a photo walk; we'll all meet up at Coolidge park eventually.

In the meantime, after posing a question about "tradition" on Twitter and Facebook, this song was mentioned a few times.  It's in keeping with one of my posts, so very appropriate to consider.  Please...do yourself a favor:  watch the video, delight in the song, and share with me your thoughts about traditions.

• the traditions your family celebrates (the daily things or special occasion)
• why they're important to you
• your favorites as a child and now as an adult
• the traditions you detest
• any other thoughts about establishing, keeping...or sometimes letting go of traditions and why

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Punctuational relationship end-ers

It's disturbing when I relate so well to Elaine Benis.

Though I thought I had every episode of Seinfeld memorized, I had forgotten about this exchange between Elaine and Jake Jarmel until reminded last night when watching "The Sniffing Accountant" episode.  Note:  Swedish subtitles included--you know--as a courtesy to all my Swedish readers....

As a self-proclaimed Abuser of Ellipses, I understand how Elaine would take offense at Jake's exclamation point omission!  Quite a travesty, it's clearly a relationship end-er, yes?!

;)

The wisdom of Linus

I interrupt my holiday baking--at the moment cinnamon rolls and a chocolate pound cake--to share some holiday cheer ~

 

When I was a child, Linus' monologue meant little to me; now, I fully appreciate its significance.  I can't help but wonder if "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was produced today, would this scene have made the cut?   Would the title have remained the same, or instead, taken on a generic "A Charlie Brown Holiday Special Extravaganza" or something equally benign?  

I wonder...:).  What do you think?

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In unrelated but fun Christmas Eve news, the infamous "mom" of the Mother Letter Project has been revealed!  I wish I could've seen her face when she unwrapped her gift!  

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Back to cookin'...I think it's about time to punch down my dough just to let it rise again!  What are you doin' on this dreary-in-the-Tennessee-Valley Christmas Eve?  Snow?  Sunshine?  Shout it out!!