EXTREME MAKEOVER, KITCHEN EDITION: Day 1: This Is Why We Had Mother's Day Dinner Tonight and Not Yesterday

. . . because by this afternoon, our kitchen looked like this!

Amazing what one guy can do in four hours.

It was a good day. Mark and I greeted the worker at 7:40 am and he immediately began tearing, ripping, banging. Must be fun work for a guy.

By about noon he had the room completely demolished and Mark and I were off to see SPEED RACER (fun movie, not much of a story but pure action and eye candy--as our paper's movie reviewer says, definitely a whole bunch of colors NOT found in nature.)

M-Day Belated Dinner was at Red Robin. Enjoyed it!

We don't know when we'll get a sink with running water back in the kitchen, so for the meanwhile we're still making do. Little Man loves the echo in the empty kitchen!

EXTREME MAKEOVER: KITCHEN EDITION: The Prelude

So we have made a very big investment, most definitely stimulating the economy, and are having our 48-year-old (older than we are!) ugly mishshmosh of a kitchen completely re-done. It should be a very interesting as well as challenging few weeks!

The preparation has been done in the past few days. We cleared out all the cabinets. It's truly amazing how much STUFF accumulates that we didn't even know was there. Who would have known we had probably at least SIXTY coffee mugs! Not to mention all the Princess House crystal (souvenirs of my year as a State Representative in Job's Daughters, where several co-officers were selling it.) And let's not talk about all the appliances in the Appliance Graveyard, like the pasta maker and pasta roller--bought with good intentions but rarely used. Quite a pile to be going to the Salvation Army soon.

I've actually enjoyed being able to sort through and play "Clean Sweep". It's something that should be done every now and then--you find unexpected treasures and find other things that other people will enjoy just as much as you once did.

The garage is completely FILLED with our cabinets and counters, we've laid in the paper goods and pre-prepared food, found a temporary space for the important appliances (phone, microwave, toaster, COFFEE POT AND COFFEE GRINDER!), and at 7 AM tomorrow all the fun begins!

Here are some of the BEFORE pictures!

A Word to the Wise

It came to me suddenly in the middle of the night. A single word, simple but profound, that encompasses everything that has in some respects been lacking in me; a word that perhaps expresses why I’ve been going through what I’ve been going through the past few weeks and where God would have me grow.

Wisdom.

A good leader requires wisdom. A good spouse must have it too. And a good parent needs it in spades.

Wisdom is knowledge of the head AND the heart. It is the ability to understand people and situations and how they interact. It values relationships as well as things; it seeks solutions that will empower others and help others grow.

Wisdom is being able to see the whole scope of a problem, project, or challenge and work out the details to get to the end successfully.

Wisdom looks at all aspects of a situation and uses knowledge to make good judgments.

Wisdom takes the time it needs to think, then takes action boldly and with confidence.

Wisdom meets obstacles not with fear but with courage, vision, and innovative thinking.

Wisdom doesn’t think it can do everything on its own; it relies on the good counsel of others who have knowledge or skills it lacks, seeks and develops the gifts and talents of others, and shows great respect to those who help clarify understanding or who take the risk to speak truths it may not want to hear. It shares credit with all those who have had a hand in its successes.

Wisdom shows true humility when mistakes are made, not passing the buck or making excuses, but taking responsibility. And then wisdom does its best to change what can be changed and to mend relationships or trust that have been broken. Wisdom goes forward to the future having learned from the past, and knows that perhaps next time the lesson will be less painful.

In Job’s Daughters we are taught that wisdom includes “both just thinking and right conduct.”

God has given me many gifts: enthusiasm, intelligence, genuine concern and care for others, dedication, true joy in my work and in my family.

But I have never been particularly gifted with the quality of true wisdom, either with my work tasks, as a leader, or in my relationships. It’s always been a challenge for me. Is it the Peter Principle in action? Perhaps. I can be terribly superficial and oblivious sometimes, both to the thoughts and feelings of others and to the details of a situation. And though it is never intentional, that can doom the success of any venture, not to mention hurt others that have put their trust and respect in me.

So how does one develop wisdom? Fortunately, the answer is simple (although not easy!):

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. (James 1:5-6, NIV).

So it is time to think and pray, to ask for wisdom in all that I say and do, to believe that God will help me grow and develop into the kind of leader, wife, mother and person He would have me to be. Going to His Word will be a necessary element as well, as it is the true Source of wisdom. (Perhaps a little study in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes would be a good plan!)

I have had many such growth opportunities over the course of my life--the four years of college were nothing but!--and as painful as the process is, I have always looked back gratefully and thanked the Lord for the new maturity He has given me.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (SPOILERS!)

WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW! (for Movie 5 & Book 7)

Well, I finally got to see the Order of the Phoenix movie with DH last night. Saw it in IMAX which was great. The IMAX version is also in 3D from the time they take off on the thestrals throughout the battle of the Dept. of Mysteries. But since I have usable vision in only one eye, 3D unfortunately doesn't work for me, but hubby said he loved it.I really liked the film a whole lot. I thought they really kept it moving, made it enjoyable and stuck as much as they COULD to the book. Things I liked:

Top of the list has to be Umbridge and Luna. Pure perfection, both of them! Absolutely marvelous and thoroughly enjoyable performances, and they really nailed their characters. I enjoyed that Luna got to tell Harry about the thestrals--thought that was quite appropriate and well done.

Bellatrix was also great--delightfully deranged. And how great to see Lucius--he was terrific as always.

I liked the growing relationship between Harry and Sirius. Also liked the new way of showing the head in the fire--didn't care for the way it was done in GoF.

Liked Neville's character development.

LOVED the DA. Those scenes were great and I loved how it showed how Harry grew as a teacher and how the students grew in their skills.

Snape and the Occlumency lessons were also well done. Snape was properly menacing. Loved how Dumbledore wanted to start the lessons "RIGHT AWAY--WE CAN'T WAIT!" and S. just grabbed Harry's hand and took off. Quite effective.

Hermione delivering her lines about how Cho must be feeling--straight out of the book if I'm correct and delivered spot-on.

Fred and George going out in a blaze of glory--Marvelous!! I do love those twins.

I liked Michael Gambon MUCH more in this movie than in the last. He seems to have settled into the character much better.

I thought the use of newspaper headlines/pictures to convey information and to show the passage of time worked really well.

Things I didn't care for, or was disappointed to miss:


I wish Cho had had "SNEAK" across her forehead! (Oh well, she did comb her bangs straight forward!)

Wish Mrs. Figg (who I did like) had come out and SAID "I'm a Squib." To non-readers of the book, it would be confusing as to how she knows about the Wizarding World.

Wish Neville had had a chance to flat out tell Harry where his parents were.

Wish it was made clear that Kreacher had betrayed Harry to the Death Eaters. Although it's good that they showed clearly how Sirius felt about Kreacher--which ties into book 7 although the filmmakers couldn't know that! (I understand that they were going to cut Kreacher out entirely but JKR insisted he be in, for reasons that are now obvious.)

I didn't really care for Tonks. I wanted more of her youthful vibrancy and fun energy. She just felt too "old" to me.

I didn't care for Fiennes' Voldemort in this movie either. For some reason, I just wasn't feeling the magnetism, the commanding air, the fear. He just didn't seem as scary as he did in that graveyard.

The Death Eaters masks were just stupid.

Wish the Snape's Worst Memory scene had been longer so we really could have gotten the picture. Especially since the Snape/Lily connection is so important (although again of course the film makers couldn't have known that!)

I missed the other rooms in the Dept of Mysteries (brain room, etc.) I agree with others who said the final battle just seemed a bit anticlimactic.

I didn't really FEEL Harry's grief for Sirius. I wanted more sadness, especially when he and Luna were talking in the final scene and she helps him. (Though I did like how she found her tennis shoes :) )

MY MAJOR QUIBBLES BELOW:
I just felt there wasn't enough of Harry's alienation, frustration, depression and ANGER! Yes, they conveyed it in quite a few scenes (I loved when he said to Dumbledore, "Look at me!").

But I remember reading the fifth book and thinking how BLEAK the whole year was for Harry, how alone and frustrated and angry he felt and how nothing really went right for him, except the formation of the DA and the Weasleys' moment of triumph. The film of course focused on those two positive events and I felt there wasn't enough of the discouragement, alienation, feeling cut off from everyone, and anger at Dumbledore. Funny that for such a dark movie I walked out feeling it wasn't quite dark enough!

And what really surprised me: I knew that Dumbledore's Patented Explanation And Wrap-Up At The End Of The Film would be cut short (as it had been in films 3 & 4, one of my major peeves with both those films, grrrrrr.) But I was shocked that in the final scene after the battle with Dumbledore and Harry---ALL CAPS HARRY WAS COMPLETELY ABSENT! There was NO anger! There was NO rage! There was NO yelling and screaming and smashing of objects! To me, that confrontation between H & D is one of the most important parts of the whole book. Dumbledore has been ignoring Harry all year and Harry is FURIOUS and wants to know WHY and wants ANSWERS! I was really surprised that in their brief talk (in which Dumbledore didn't get a chance to explain much at all, par for the films) Harry was simply tired and sad, NOT one bit angry. That part is my major beef with the film. I wonder why it was done that way.

But overall, I thought it was great and I really did enjoy it!

The Last LAST Page (A Spoiler-Free Review)

I have just finished the incredible roller coaster ride that is the final Harry Potter book. J.K. Rowling has put together another masterpiece.

From the very beginning, the action is nearly non-stop, yet there are plenty of deeper themes too--loyalty, courage, friendship, and above all, redemption. There are twists and turns in both characters and plot that will make your head spin (I am certain there are many things I still don't quite understand), all leading to a dramatic and heart-pulsing climax (and I'd better say no more about THAT for fear of spoilage.)

JKR's wit and flair for words and names are in evidence and she throws some marvelous tidbits our way, including one of the most PERFECTLY placed swear words I've ever seen in any book (It's one of the few in all of the seven books, and it jumps out at you at EXACTLY the right moment from EXACTLY the right person--I roared out loud and pumped my fist!) There are heartbreaking moments and moments of pure joy.

Sadly, the Epilogue, while amusing and satisfying, doesn't quite rise to the high standards of the rest of the book, and left me wanting much more. . .

But overall, what a marvelous achievement. I believe it will stand the test of time.

Thanks, Jo, for everything.

The Last First Page

Some time tomorrow morning, either before or after we take Little Man to his swimming lesson, the mail carrier will arrive with a small cardboard box for me from amazon.com. I will swoop it up with glee, do a small happy dance, open it carefully, take a long look at Mary GrandPre’s breathtakingly beautiful cover art—and crack open Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Thus will I take part in a cultural milestone—thus will I enjoy “the last first page” of an amazing journey through Harry’s magical world.

What is it about Harry Potter? It’s just seven books, just seven simple stories from the imagination of a gifted writer. So why has this particular series captured the world and become such a phenomenon? Why has the HYPE (IN ALL-CAPS) taken on a life of its own, far, far beyond the books themselves? Part of it, I’m sure, is simply the nature of our global mass culture. Something promoted worldwide, something given such incredible buzz for nearly 10 years now, via word of mouth, magazines, newspapers, television, the Internet, blogs, and just about every modern form of media there is, is going to have people jumping on the bandwagon no matter what it is, no matter what its intrinsic worth (can you say Eragon?). People are like that. Perhaps it could have been some other book, some other author, some other character inspiring midnight madness, costumes, hysterical mothers in Georgia demanding a ban, and children actually eagerly and excitedly sitting down to READ a 700-plus page novel.

And yet—there’s something that makes Harry and his world unique and special. There are the sharply defined, skillfully drawn people we have come to feel are real to us, whom we love dearly or hate with a vengeance, due to the author’s amazing ability for character description and ear for dialogue. (Including one particular character so masterfully written that debates have raged for years as to his true nature and his true motives. The world is holding its breath to find out “where his loyalties lie”!) There is the setting—a wonderfully realized mixture of typical British boarding school and magical academy, with humorous and clever twists on normal teenage life that these young wizards and witches simply take for granted as part of going to school. So many minute and vivid details has she created that you feel you are at home at Hogwarts, in the Burrow, or even on Privet Drive. And of course there is the plot, a magical drama of the struggle between the forces of good and the powers of evil, spread out over seven books, yet with each one still containing its own satisfying tale. The stories are richly and carefully woven, with drama, suspense, humor, politics, a touch of romance, pain and triumph, great joy and deep sorrow.

In the end, Jo Rowling has made me and millions upon millions of others around the globe CARE about Harry and his world. Her creative gift and her imagination, begun as a struggling single mom in a coffee house in Scotland, have left a legacy that I believe will stand the test of time. But there will likely (unless Jo changes her mind!) never again be a time like this, a worldwide celebration of a new Harry Potter story, a time to enjoy The Last First Page together.

Thank you, Jo!
Come on, mail carrier!

Three Hours Of My Life Looted by Pirates

So, DH & I spent a few pieces of eight (yeah, it would have been less if he hadn't insisted on ordering the BIG COMBINATION SUPER PACK of a humongous tub of popcorn and 2 supersize drinks!) and saw PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END last Friday.

Well, a Pirates movie is always fun to watch, whatever it is. You can't beat Johnny, Orlando, Keira, and also Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa. And this one was enjoyable enough. But it was so bloated and convoluted and LONG, with a plot that I couldn't really figure out and some VERY weird scenes. Who could tell who was alive, dead, or undead, anyway? It was just strange, and disappointing. It could have been so much better.

It did contain one of the more interesting on-screen weddings I've ever seen--and I kept myself amused by noting the fact that of the dozens of people we see onscreen--only 2 have decent teeth! (Well, perhaps the British officers did OK in the dental department, too, but most of the screen time is taken up by some of the most disgusting smiles you'll ever see.)

Anyhow, I agree with our local paper's reviewer--too much, too strange, too confusing. I'll watch Captain Jack Sparrow any day, but I really do wish the film had been much better.