Miss Wisabus

Phillip Phillips for American Idol 2012

Elizabeth — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:48:48 +0000

On a whim, I started watching American Idol this year. I haven’t watched it regularly since the Carrie Underwood season, and I haven’t watched beginning to end since the first season — when I was a senior in high school. The group this year has been incredibly talented and I have had my favorites from the start. For the first time, one of them is still in the game for the final 3! I’m just hoping he can make it past tonight and on to the finale.

Have you heard Phillip Phillips? *sigh*

And last night he just had to go and sing “We’ve Got Tonight.”

I’m really hoping this guy wins. My taste isn’t usually that of 18-25 year olds in the US, but man…I love this guy’s singing.

50 of My Favorite Films — Honorable Mentions

Elizabeth — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:42:36 +0000

My honorable mentions list has grown and shrunk over the course of this endeavor. In all likelihood I could have had a list of 100 films, but that would have been pretty watered down and who wants that? Plus it would have taken twice as long. You all have been patient enough

So, on my list of films that didn’t quite make the cut, or that I saw after I began assembling the list (over a year ago), are these (in a very particular order — from ones I like to ones I really really like):

Samt el qusur (The Silences of the Palace)

This film holds the distinction of being the first feature-length movie to be directed by a woman in the Arab world, though I didn’t know that when I stumbled upon in on some world movie channel when I was in 8th grade. It is a dark picture of the memories of a girl who grew up as the child of a kitchen maid in a palace in Tunisia. The story and the acting are excellent. It offers a very unique perspective.

Yentl

Oy vey.

If my mom read my blog she would be rolling her eyes right now. I LOVE THIS MOVIE. Babs, Mandy Patinkin (LOVE HIM), the cinematography, and the gorgeous music. It’s the music that really gets me. Forget about “Papa, Can You Hear Me?”, there are so many gorgeous songs in this film.

“Will Someone Ever Look At Me That Way” — Can’t everyone understand that feeling? Gah! Unrequited love.

“The Way He Makes Me Feel” — Oh my lands.
There’s no storm yet I hear thunder
And I’m breathless, why, I wonder
Weak one moment then the next I’m fine
I feel as if I’m falling
Every time I close my eyes

A Walk to Remember

I’ve written at length about my feelings on this movie.

The Notebook

No need to explain The Notebook, is there? The above two scenes are a couple of my favorites, though I have to say the talk that Allie has with her mom about the man her mother used to love is on up there on the list, as well as the little chat that Allie and Lon have when Allie is trying to decide what to do. Sigh. This is a cry movie.

Love, Actually

One of my favorite romantic comedies. This pairing is one of my favorites from the film and it’s really…heartbreaking, I suppose. It’s hard for me to buy Andrew Lincoln as a zombie killer in the south when I see him in this.

Wait Until Dark

One of my favorite suspense films! It’s excellent and not anything like films you’ll find today. Seek this one out.

Forget Me Not

This one will RIP YOUR HEART OUT. But it’s so good. One of my newer favorites. I love stories that take place in a short period of time. I won’t give away the ending, or what the characters are dealing with because that would ruin it for you, but let me just say that it’s something that’s close to my heart.

Last Night

Speaking of short period of time — Last Night. A woman’s husband goes out of town and a man she loved once shows back up. Combine all this with Eva Mendes wanting to start something with the husband, the husband paying less attention to the wife, and the former love of hers still being in love with her, and all of this colliding on one single day — well, it’s better than you may think. I love this film. The dialogue is exquisite, especially that between Keira Knightly and Guillaume Canet. When he says, “Why aren’t you writing?” Oh goodness. It kills me.

Saturday List

Elizabeth — Sat, 12 May 2012 17:05:40 +0000

I finished season 4 of Mad Men a few nights ago. Phew. Made it through that pretty fast. I’ve enjoyed it so far and can’t wait to catch up in season 5, but I’m going to have to find an avenue to watch it first. My OnDemand only has episodes 5-7 of this season, so I need to find the earlier ones.
I’ve decided I need a 65 inch bathtub. Like, with 65 inches of clearance inside the tub so that I could lay flat out and not touch the ends. How else am I supposed to feel like a mermaid in the tub?
Fact: My hair at it’s current length is what I like to call “mermaid hair.” Okay, maybe that’s what 5-year-old me would have called it. In my heart I’m not that far removed from who I was/how I acted then
Meaning if I ever turn into a mermaid, my hair is prepared. (I’ve loved mermaids since I was 5-years-old. Can’t help it.)
It’s also ready for any impromptu performances as Christine Daaé.
I’ve never particularly liked baseball, other than the atmosphere and the hotdogs, but the Harvard baseball team is trying to change my mind.
I’m in spring cleaning mode this weekend. Just in the mood to clean up and throw things out. Open some windows and let in the fresh air.
Scratch that. My allergies are bad enough as it is.
Tomorrow night is the season finale of Once Upon A Time. Oh, how I love that show. Snow and Frederick, Emma and August, and little Henry. And Regina. She is an excellent evil queen. Who else is watching this? I’m really excited that they are coming back for a second season

Hope your Saturday is lovely. Remember to tell your mom you love her tomorrow. And every other day.

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The gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity

Elizabeth — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:38:09 +0000

Theme from Malèna by Ennio Morricone

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♥ The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenalin but is, rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity. – Glenn Gould
♥ something a lifetime in the making
♥ getting results
♥ I look up to
Everything you are
In my eyes you do no wrong
I’ve loved you for so long
And after all is said and done
You’re still you
After all
You’re still you
♥ There are certain events which to each man’s life are as comets to the earth, seemingly strange and erratic portents; distinct from the ordinary lights which guide our course and mark our seasons, yet true to their own laws, potent in their own influences. – Edward Bulwer-Lytton
♥ real, measurable accomplishment
♥ unexpected encouragement
♥ a heart unveiled
♥ the feeling of returning to a place you’ve never been
♥ I watched a rose-bud very long
Brought on by dew and sun and shower,
Waiting to see the perfect flower:
Then when I thought it should be strong
It opened at the matin hour
And fell at even-song.
- Christina G. Rossetti, Symbols
♥ He had her in his arms, her face like a wet flower at his lips, and all their vain terrors shriveling up like ghosts at sunrise. The one thing that astonished him now was that he should have stood for five minutes arguing with her across the width of the room, when just touching her made everything so simple. – from The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

Wordless Wednesday {Ladybugs}

Elizabeth — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:38:40 +0000

Weekends and Butterflies and Pretty Dresses

Elizabeth — Tue, 08 May 2012 12:38:01 +0000

I spent Saturday with my mom, one of my favorite things to do. On a typical Saturday when she comes up to visit we head over to the local farmers’ market. This past weekend was our first trip of the season and it was a lovely, warm day. Well, kinda hot. I’m not acclimated to the warmer temps yet (it always takes me a while) so it was a little bit uncomfortable for me.

Mom bought a few gallons of plants and I hauled them around the market for her, but didn’t buy any for myself this time. Before I buy anything else I am going to try to get my other flower bed cleaned out and ready for plants. I was inspired this weekend to plant a bed exclusively full of plants native to Oklahoma. There’s a stand at the market that sells only natives and beneficials and it’s been something I’ve wanted to try for a long time anyway. I’ll post updates here and try to get you a few before and after photos. And maybe some in the middle ones, though I tend to forget those.

The master garden was in full bloom this weekend and their butterfly beds were attracting all kinds of pollinators. This year in my own beds I have tried to plant things to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. So far I have only seen one hummingbird at my feeder, but it’s one more than I have had in the 7 years I’ve lived in this house Such a change from my parents’ house, where hummingbirds tend to swarm.

We did a little shopping on Saturday as well and I found some cute dresses for summer. It’s so nice to be wearing light, bright clothing again.

My hair has gotten really, really long. Longer than it’s been at any other point in my life. About once every two weeks or so I toy with the idea of cutting it off somewhere around shoulder length, but then I realize how much I love it. When I’m sitting the ends touch my waistband in the back. I can twist it up, pull it back, pull it half up, curl it, straighten it (I never do that, but hey, options). So I think I’ll let it go. I have started pulling out the grays and according to my mom I’m going to have two grow back for every one that I pull out, so I should be easy to spot in a crowd soon.

50 of My Favorite Films — 3-1

Elizabeth — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:21:11 +0000

Here they are! My top three. I started making this list a long time ago and these three have swapped places with each other a number of times. In reality they all tie for me, with one being my preferred film a certain times while another may take the top spot depending on my mood. And they are all at least a tad bit tragic.

3. Splendor in the Grass
Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower; we will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains behind.

I fell in love with this after watching 20+ times during my freshman year of college. I had seen it before and decided to write one of the best (IMO) papers of my life on it. It’s a story about expectations and social mores, young love and the things that can drive you apart. Natalie Wood is excellent in this film and the ending is worth every minute. Not everything ends up the way we expect. Life just…is.

Trivia: I named my first guinea pig, Wilmadean, after the main character in this film

2. Two for the Road
Mark: It’s really meant for photographing three-dimensional objects.
Joanna: I’m three dimensional, as a matter of fact.

This is a story of falling in love, falling out of love, and returning again — all told in a non-linear style that I love. This is Audrey Hepburn in my favorite performance of hers. She’s so natural and funny in it. Albert Finney is a little gruff, but charming. Their love story is believable and goes through all the twists and turns that real relationships do — nothing sugar-coated about this. It shows beautifully how relationships change over the years and brings the viewer to the point where the protagonists are, deciding where their lives are going to go.

Such a lovely story with wonderful music. It makes me cry every time I watch it. Especially the “I’m three-dimensional” scene. Sigh. Watch it.

1. Jeux d’enfants (English: Love Me If You Dare)
Tell me that you love me first because I’m afraid that if I tell you first you’ll think that I’m playing the game.

You will either love or hate this film, most likely based on the ending. You need to be able to make the ending what you want and not demand such, ahem, concrete answers from the film.

It’s beautiful. I love every single moment of this. From all the versions of “La vie en rose” that play throughout to the quirky little dares. Even the great big ones. It’s really about two kids who love each other and who have a hard time getting around to expressing it in an appropriate way. Gorgeous and funny and sad. (Try to avoid spoilers before seeing this one!)

Thanks for sticking through this with me! Here are the previous films in the list:

5 & 4
10 – 6
15 – 11
20 – 16
25 – 21
30 – 26
35 – 31
40 – 36
45 – 41
50 – 46

Sunday Morning Coffee

Elizabeth — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:27:01 +0000

I have another pound of Tribute Blend from Starbucks, so that’ll be it for a while. Absolutely my favorite coffee, ever.

I love these Scottish sea glass necklaces from Celtic Surf. One of them must be mine.
All right, Jen. I think we need to watch this one and talk about it this summer.
From Allume – Smaller Bloggers: Embrace Your Influence — Great words for us little folks.
Fans of The Hunger Games created a really nifty map of Panem.
From Babble Kids - 25 Things Every Child Should Experience — I’m going to go ahead and say that I think it would help a lot of adults if they would occasionally indulge in some of these experiences as well.
10 Things I’m Glad No One Told Me About Becoming a Mom — Boy howdy.
For writers — Finding Inspiration by Francine Rivers
How To Be Friends With An Introvert — Required reading in Understanding Elizabeth 101

‘Tis now the summer of your youth

Elizabeth — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:28:27 +0000

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♥ ‘Tis now the summer of your youth; time has not cropt the roses from your cheek, though sorrow long has washed them. — Edward Moore
♥ the same moon
♥ Her mind, was a very big house, we got lost there for hours
♥ the dark, distant sky full of twinkling stars
♥ gravity
♥ No love, no friendship, can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever. — François Mauriac
♥ a cool evening breeze brushing over bare shoulders
♥ a jar of dried rose petals
♥ tendrils of roots shooting out from a cutting
♥ a good laugh
♥ breathing out and breathing in deeply
♥ He knows perfectly well that he’s never loved anyone but her and that he’s never been loved by anyone but her. That she was his only love and that nothing will ever be able to change that. — Anna Gavalda, For Years

Wordless Wednesday {Black, Red, and Glossy}

Elizabeth — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:00:36 +0000

(As mentioned in the video)