What a difference a year makes! Who is this sweet pudgy baby???

Or, an open letter to the drivers who think drive time equals phone booth time:

Dear Drivers on Your Cell Phones,

I know your conversations are important. I know the cell phone is easy to use and that it seems utterly convenient to have your all-so-necessary conversations at this particular moment in time. I know it seems ridiculous to suspend your intense desire to TALK for a few more minutes while you’re doing something as insignificant as driving.

But here’s the deal. Driving is not insignificant. Commandering several tons of vehicle while battling it out with other folks on the road is not a task to take lightly. If you were simply driving on the highway, going one direction for long periods of time, go ahead and have that conversation. But for the love, people, PUT YOUR CELL PHONES DOWN and FOCUS ON DRIVING while you’re in town. You simply cannot pay attention to that upcoming lane merge, the four way stop sign, or even a typical red/yellow/green stoplight while you’re chatting non-stop about the clothes you just purchased from the mall. Pull over to take a call, stop in the McDonalds parking lot to place one.

Be courteous to your fellow drivers on the road because, really, you’re just not that good of a driver while talking on the phone.

(To read Common Courtesy, check out Megan’s blog.)

Does anyone else think Chris was robbed (ROBBED, I tell you!) last night? I wanted to mock Paula Abdul for crying, but oddly enough I felt the same way. Whatever!

I don’t get why everyone loves Elliot. I should be rooting for my fellow diabetic (I hear he uses an insulin pump like me), but I wouldn’t buy an album featuring his style of music, so he doesn’t appeal to me. Katherine reminds me of Linda Ronstadt in many ways. She’s got an amazing voice, though she’s lacks consistency, IMO. Taylor I’ve loved from the beginning. Call him cheesy, or a one-hit wonder, but I like the guy and would definitely listen his to one of his albums. Chris was a cool dude, in his own rocker way, and consistently presented himself week after week on Idol. I’m sad to see him go.

Anyone else watching this crazy talent show?

I need a nap and I need to clean, but copying Lindsey’s Shuffle o’ Fun is so much more enjoyable on a Saturday afternoon. The deal is that you set your iPod to shuffle, then answer the questions. I didn’t cheat on any of the answers (as tempting as it was), however I did go through the list twice and picked the more sensible of the two shuffled titles.

How am I feeling today? “A Fine Romance” [Ella Fitzgerald, Forever Gold]
Will I get far in life? “Such Great Heights” [Iron & Wine, Garden State]
How do my friends see me? “Ants Marching” [Dave Matthews Band, Under the Table and Dreaming]
What is my best friend’s theme song? “Crazy” [Sommer Waite, Pass in Front of Me]
What is my theme song? “Primavera” [Santana, Supernatural]
What is the story of my life?”Complainte De La Butte” [Moulin Rouge]
What was high school like? “Sovereign Grace” [Sandra McCracken, The Builder and the Architect]
How can I get ahead in life? “Little Did I Know” [Over the Rhine, Drunkard’s Prayer]
What is the best thing about me? “Fair Phyllis I Saw” [John Farmer, Olde English Madrigals]
What is today going to be like? “Wildwood Flower” [Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line]
What is in store for this weekend? “Introduction to Romeo” [Romeo + Juliet soundtrack]
What song describes my parents? “It is Well” [Jenny Nelson, Tell Me a Story]
Describes me? “The Grabbing Hands” [The Wiseguys, The Antidote]
How is my life going? “Do You Feel Loved” [U2 Pop]
What song will be played at my funeral? “Wake Up Dead Man” [U2, Pop]
How does the world see me? “Final Storm” [Lucy Simon, The Secret Garden]
Will I have a happy life? “You Are My Sunshine” [Norman Blake, O Brother…]
How can I make myself happy? “He is Exalted” [Eden’s Bridge, Celtic Worship]
What should I do with my life? “Simple Man” [Almost Famous soundtrack]

Pecan Bars
(taken from the Southern Living Cookbook)

1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1/3 c firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 c butter or margarine
1 c firmly packed brown sugar
4 eggs
1 c dark corn syrup
1/4 c butter or margarine, melted
1/8 t salt
1 1/4 c chopped pecans

Combine flour and 1/3 c brown sugar. Cut in 3/4 c butter with pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Press mixture evenly into a greased 13×9 inch pan and bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes.

Combine 1 c brown sugar and remaining ingredients except pecans, beating well. Stir in pecans. Pour filling over prepared crust. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until firm. Let cool, and cut into bars. Yield: about 2.5 dozen.

I had an epiphany, though I’m not sure that’s truly the word for it, a few weeks ago and here it is:

Books are not perfect.

I realized that I’ve been operating through 28 years of life under the premise that books will make everything better, books bring knowledge, books equal intelligence, books are inherently good. Right. Right? Wrong.

Books, as wonderful a learning tool as they are, are as full of crud as any reality show, soap opera, or conversation overheard on the street. Books aren’t perfect and just because a person reads plenty of books doesn’t mean they are better than the average Joe. That’s the thing of my epiphany… I had falsely concluded that well-read individuals are somehow better than everyone else. Sinful thought, I know. But then it occurred to me – the majority of books I’ve read are either fairly poorly written or full of discouraging, dark concepts. Sad, but true. It is not often I read a book that really truly resonates with me or where I gain a profound, life-enriching concept from within its pages (though perhaps this only speaks to my choice of books).

Don’t get me wrong here. It’s good to read. Reading exercises the mind in a way that television never will, so whether one reads great books or just average ones, it’s still good to read. But, ya know, books aren’t perfect.

Or maybe you already knew that.