She's a super freak...she's super freaky!

Eli has a friend Evelyn. She came over for a play-date today. She is tiny and petite, like a pixie. Eli is tall and lanky, like a grade school Jimmy Stewart. Evelyn's father is a cancer doctor and she has a fabulous vocabulary. I love to have conversations with her because they are so grown up and funny. Today she made me laugh. She and Eli were talking in the car on the way home from school. This is the conversation. "Eli I like you a lot because you are freakishly tall. Not in a bad way, but in a really good way." Later on they were playing on the wii. Tennis, I think. Again, I hear Evelyn say, "Eli, you are freakishly good at Tennis. Not in a bad way, but in a really good way." And so it goes. We start the girl-likes-boy-cycle all over. Only this time, it's not the boys liking my girls. It's a girl liking my boy. Freakishly weird. Not in a bad way, but in a really good way.

Oh, the things you can know when you know where to go!

Whitney hooked me up with this cool website. Check it out. rickwalton.com/wordplay/initials.htm.
You can look up your initials and see what famous people have the same letters as you. It's actually quite revealing. Here are my "J" "S" twins and my connections to all of them. Jacklyn Smith...my favorite of Charlie's Angels...she's southern, she's beautiful, she's graceful, she has a clothing line at K-Mart. Jane Seymour...she's Britsih, she's Dr. Quinn, she's the beautiful love interest of Christopher Reeves (SUPERMAN) in Somewhere in Time...she also designs (ugly) heart jewelry for Kay Jewelers. Jean Smart...again, southern, beautiful, smart, and sassy. She played Charlene,the Elvis-loving secretary on Designing Women. In my dreams I'm all of those things and so much more. Johann Strauss and John Phillip Sousa also share my initials, giving way to my love of all music, including American marches and Viennese waltzes. John Schneider. One of the good ole' boys on Dukes of Hazzard. This will explain my desire to drive fast red cars with the name "General Lee" painted on the side. I also think he sings 'Meet Me In Montana' with Marie Osmond. I could be wrong there, but that would give me a connection with Marie, who then connects me to Donny, and we all know how I feel about Donny! (Yes, I still call it Puppy Love!) Jimmy Swaggart and Joseph Smith. Both have religious connections. One I believe in. The other one I don't. James Spader. An actor who usually plays someone scary and creepy, thus explaining my fear of being stalked by a greasy weirdo. Joseph Stalin. I'm not so proud of this one, but it might just explain my secret desire to be a world dictator, at least in the privacy of my own home. John Steinbeck. Grapes of Wrath. Dust Storm. Probably why I fear them...and poverty. My favorite letter twin I have saved for the end. Jimmy Stewart. Debonair. Classic. Quiet. Unassuming. One of the last quintescential leading men.

With initials like "J" "S" who can go wrong. After all, "It's a Wonderful Life."

The Heart is Lonely Hunter...

...it's also great for weaponry, if it is a candy conversation heart.

Tonight I had 8 teenagers over for a pre-Sweetheart Dance Dinner. I had planned a very festive decor theme, all around those nasty candies. They may not taste good, but they are very cute in votives and on tables. (Thanks Kim J.) I was very proud of how well it was all looking...very Martha Stewart and such. After dinner is when the fun started. Phillip and I were in the basement when I heard screams from above and feet running across the wood floor. Arriving first on the scence, I was witness to a candy conversation hearts food fight to beat all food fights. Conversation hearts were EVEryWhERE...the FlooR, the CeiLinG...in the DrinKS, down the DreSSEs...between the cUshIons on the CouCH...I'ave decided things haven't changed much since my 8th grade experience with David Gambles. Boys still like to throw candy hearts. Only difference...I don't think anyone got a 'be mine' heart tonight. Maybe it was more like a 'let me hit you in the eye' heart or 'these don't really dissolve all that well in strawberry lemonade' or my favorite...'if we leave enough of these on the floor, the hostess will have to spend hours picking them up!' All in a good night's fun.. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. And for the record, we decided the new heart phrase for 2009 should be 'facebook me'!

Love is a Many Splendored Thing...

...especially if you've got a 'chick flick' to watch and your favorite guy by your side. Bring on the Red Vines, M-n-M-'s, plain and peanut, Milk Duds, Mike and Ike's, Junior Mints and plenty of popcorn. Here are Joy and Phil's Valentine's Day movie recommendations.

Who can reisist Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in "You've Got Mail'? Her hair is perfect, she owns a bookstore, the dialogue is witty and clever, Tom Hanks plays the bad-guy-turned-good-guy-turned-love-interest to a tee, and it reminds us that 'daisies are the friendliest flowers.' Everytime I see the end I get goosebumps. By the time Somewhere Over the Rainbow starts playing and she sees him coming towards her with his dog, I am crying like a baby. She says, "I wanted it to be you. I wanted it to be you so badly." And in true big-screen hero style he wipes away her tears, and says, "Don't cry, Shopgirl." Of course, they kiss in a field of flowers and life is once again perfect for Meg and Tom. Perfection on the screen. Every time.



"High Society" starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and the lovely and timeless Grace Kelly. Great music...beautiful clothes...mansions and swimming pools...and the chance to go sailing with Bing Crosby on the 'True Love'. This movie is classic. It never gets old, only better with time. Kind of like wine, but I wouldn't know. I don't drink wine. Try talking with Grace Kelly's 'noveau riche' accent for a few minutes. It always makes me feel so much classier than I really am. It's a good dream. I mean, who doesn't want to be like 'Grace Kelly'? (See playlist song #20)

My all time favorite movie for Valentine's Day is Return to Me with David Duchovney, Minnie Driver, and the hilarious Bonnie Hunt, David Alan Steer, and James Belushi. This is one amazing ensemble cast. Too many funny lines to quote, although I will share, "Grace has Bob's dead wife's heart" and "Look, kids, Sammy Sosa!" Again, this movie makes me laugh and cry and rejoice in good old-fashioned love stories. Don't forget about those funny old men, including the late, great Carroll O' Connor. Their discussions concerning Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra ("Frankie never hit anybody. His people did, but he did not") crack me up every time. Plus this movie always makes me want to go bowling in a cool bowling shirt. What's more romantic than bowling? I just can't think of anything! And the piece de resistance...a Soundtrack TO DIE FOR! You haven't lived until you've heard Dean Martin sing "Return to Me"...it makes you want to fly to Italy right now and ride a cool bike with a nun!

Out of five stars, I give it 10***********

*Also recommended...Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping, Pillow Talk, The Thrill of It All, Send Me No Flowers, Sabrina (either version) and That Touch of Mink!

Cookies and Cakes TO DIE FOR...

Check it out...bakerella.blogspot.com...My friend Sandy just turned me onto this site with the coolest red velvet oreos, cute heart cookies out of Oreo Cakesters and the piece de resistance, and red velvet cake shaped like a box of chocolates, complete with the decorated candies on top! No photos for this blog...check out the real one for all the yummy details.!

Red. Velvet. Cupcakes. To. Die. For.

Talk about a romantic treat for

Valentine's Day. I hope I can save one or two for my sweetheart...

(Just wondering...what do skulls and Valentine's Day have in common? Any thoughts on this?)

Don't wear your heart on your sleeve...put it in your mouth!

One more short post about those dumb candy hearts. Besides tasting like chalk, I have found the need for them to update their messages and bring them into the 21st century. I don't mean phrases like, 'text me', or 'nuf' said' or even just plain 'word'. I'd much rather read things that stimulate my mind and make me think. Phrases like, 'meth. not even once.' Or how about 'he's just not that into you.' For all the single ladies, 'if you liked it then you should'a put a ring on it' would be appropriate. Maybe 'yes, we can' in honor of our new President. Or perhaps "yes, Mitt will' in honor of my next president. Just incase you'd forgotten, another popular message of love this valentine's season could be 'bongs are wrong' in honor of the fallen hero Michael Phelps. Maybe Rafael Nadal will send a special 'better luck next time' to Roger Federer. For the circus freaks in our lives, how about 'you don't do that to another carnie, fella'. And for my gal-pal Beyonce, maybe a heart with a 'thumbs up' sign for her style and grace at the Inagural Ball. To Michelle Obama I would send, 'find a better designer'. And to Whitney and Cassidy and Cody, special hearts just for them, saying, 'to the left, to the left'.

"This is Dedicated to the One I Love..."

Just for Phillip...Just Because...Playlist Songs #1-17

"I Want to Make it With You"...

It's that time of year again. Time to break out those famous 'conversation hearts'. They bring back such romatic memories. When I was in the 3rd grade, I had a crush on David Gambles. He was tall and blond, with curly hair; the Greg Brady of I.T. Stoddard Elementary. I remember hoping with all the love in my heart that I would get a special word heart from him attached to my valentine on class party day. Something romantic like, "love you", or "my girl", or even, "be mine". I guess it wasn't meant to be. Not only did he not give me any candy with my card, but if I remember correctly, the card was something dumb like a gorilla eating a banana, or a dog wearing a bandana. The years pressed on. 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th grades passed without any indication that he liked me. Except for the fact that he pulled my braids, took my pencils in English, and ocassionally tried to push in front of me in the lunch line, I didn't think he even knew I was alive. UNTIL...Valentine's Day...8th Grade. I had a new red jumper to wear to the dance. I was looking fine. A bit nervous, having never actually stayed for a school dance, but hoping the prospects would be rewarded. At first it was awkward, all the inexperienced 7th and 8th graders standing around, watching the 9th graders and wishing we were just 'that cool'. My friends and I nervously giggled away our disappointment about not being asked to dance, but secretly hoping that one 'special guy' would look our way. We knew our eyes would meet across the crowded floor, our feet would float off of the ground, and we would be whisked away into the loveliness of that 'first' slow dance. Well, don't get your hopes up. It didn't happen for me that day. (*** see side note post at end.) Mostly David Gambles and Mike Haddock kept coming around, teasing us, and throwing those silly coversation hearts our way. It wasn't what I expected for my first Valentine's Dance, but it was fun in a pre-pubescent kind of way. I'll never forget the last song they played that day. It was "I Want to Make it With You" by Bread. (***see Playlist song #10) As we were leaving the gym to go home, a red-faced David Gambles walked up to me, grabbed my hand, put in a conversation heart, and sprinted off, Napolean Dynamite style. I opened my hand, only to find the sweetest heart ever...just two words, "Be Mine." (I saved it until I graduated from high school!) Short of riding me off into the sunset on a white honeymoon steed, no Valentine's Day could've been sweeter for an awkward 12 year old girl who was taller than all of the boys in school. Except of course, for David Gambles, my blond Greg Brady.

***my offical first 'slow' dance came later that year at the 'End of School' dance. David and I were 'way over' by then and I was more into a baseball player by the name of Jay Callahan. When our eyes met across the crowded floor, my feet floated off the ground as he whisked me into the loveliness of that magic moment. Elton John's "Your Song" (See Playlist song#11) provided the background. Perfection on a dance floor. That's what memories are made of.

Save the Cheerleader...Save the World!

Cassidy is getting ready to perform in her high school production of Grease. She has been cast as one of the Rydell High Cheerleaders. You go, girl! Work that crowd! I find it interesting how much uniforms can change in 50 years! No cheerleader at our school dresses like this! I hope Cassidy and her 'cheer friends' can still perform their stunts in these skirts!

Extra! Extra! Google All About It!

Have you ever 'Googled' yourself? Don't be embarrassed to say yes. We've all done it. I find that my name twin is a famous author. But if you go to the second page and scroll all the way down, you'll actually find the real me. Joy Sorensen. Also a published author, with the article "Reclaiming Monday Nights", published in THE ENSIGN. It's probably my one and only claim to fame. I'm just excited to find that it comes up on page 2, not page 757!

Only four words...

Why, Michael Phelps, why?