I had a farm in Africa

I didn't really, but if I had, I would have liked to have penned something like Karen Blixen did...

If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?

A few days ago, I downloaded a Phil Collins song from my college days and listened to colors and shadows of a time long past.....and "he was waiting for me there." I wondered - does this song remind him of me?

Do you ever wonder if any eagles from your past look out for you? Did you make a mark that lingers on someone's heart?.....like Australia has for me....or my grandparents....or Mozart's Clarinet Concerto.....

Is there a plain somewhere I once walked that quivers with my color? Just a passing thought.

Have you been wondering about me & chocolate?

You know the chorus of that song by Cinderella, “You don’t know what you got ‘til its gone,” where the singer laments not appreciating or recognizing the great love that was and now isn’t in his/her life?

Most of us have experienced something akin to this, whether it be a friend or a family member or a loved one or a job, etc., and it feels like a truth - a cautionary tale, if you will: appreciate the good things in your life WHILE you have them.

Well, I have a different song to sing/tale to tell. It would go something like this: “You don’t realize what you gave up ‘til it is back.”

I must first say, I do not suppose to have coined a phrase of universal truth here – I realized immediately, and each successive day after, what I had given up when I went for 27 days without my Diet Coke/Diet Dr. Pepper (caffeine).

But, wow – 14 YEARS without chocolate! I absolutely did not fully realize/comprehend/remember what I was missing. And, I am so happy it is back in my life that I have appreciated it multiple times every day since December 31st.

I am about done appreciating at this magnitude and will shortly be consuming at a more normal level of “appreciation,” but before I tried to be a normal person, I had to make sure I had been thoroughly reminded of and reacquainted with my old friend. And I have been. Isn’t chocolate divine?!!!

A few of my current favorites:
BYU Creamery Chocolate Milk -thanks to Kurt, I tasted chocolate milk for the first time in my life the other day (Mom didn’t think it was good for us when we were young – she was probably right!)
Chocolate Donuts (thanks, Joe!)
Chocolate Mint Graham Crackers
Peppermint Oreos, Oreos, Oreo Shakes, Mint Oreo Shakes, homemade oreos, etc.
Brownies
Hershey’s Kisses, M&M’s, Kit Kats, Twix,…
Chocolate and Peanut Butter anything, but esp. the treats my sisters-in-law make
Chocolate Sin Pie at The Dodo
Chocolate Chip Cookies from Paradise (completely obsessed with these)

I could go on and on. I’m like that mayor guy in Chocolat who abstains from chocolate and then completely loses all self control and eats all the chocolate in the chocolate shop window one night. Classic.

So - diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but chocolate is her 2nd bestie. Glad to have you back, friend!

BTW – can someone smarter than me/better informed than me please tell me the etymology for the “don’t know what you’ve got….” phrase? Was it really Cinderella? I’m sure I should know or be able to find it, but I’ve not been able to yet.

And, yes - the Chocolat reference was just so I could have a pic of Johnny Depp on my blog. :)

6 - Montana Mile Marker #5

Several writers and movie makers have tried to capture the essence of an Ideal – a perfect place of love, joy and peace.…

-Sir Thomas More in Utopia;
-The Arthurian legend of a place called Camelot (the Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave film is a classic);
-Or James Hilton’s description of Shangri La in Lost Horizon (was also made into a great movie).

I knew a man who succeeded in creating a real Utopia/Camelot/Shangri La. We called him Hans. And, his cabin on Hebgen Lake WAS the Ideal.

Apart from the days my brothers got married or had children, the best and happiest memories of my life are of Hebgen. Check out that sweet life-preserver. I could swim quite well by this time, but it was important to Mom and Dad and Hans that we all stay safe, so we wore them faithfully - and didn't really mind, because who could be bothered by anything at Hebgen?!

Hans was one of those rare individuals who saw the opportunity to make and share something special and actually did it. He was constantly improving things and doing things for us while we were there - like building a fire each morning so that when we woke up it was warm in the cabin...or teaching us how to make ice cream in the garage...or taking us on wood safari's...hunting for huckleberries...spinning tales about slingshots and moose (which I believed into adulthood)...showing us silent movies from his amazing collection in a living room theater decked out with big screen, reel to reel, light dimmer and surround sound...or giving up his bedroom in the big cabin so we could feel like the cabin was our's.

I can still remember the smell of the woods and lake and the feeling of waking up in that bed under the 4 inch thick brown quilt; and, the site of my Dad chasing a baby bear outside the dining windows to get a photo; my brothers hunting for frogs; swinging on the swing; playing chinese checkers and the marble game; listening to "cabin music"; the wind in my hair as I skiied across a glass lake; cleaning my first fish; sliding down the plastic cushions at the Walton-style table; and saying goodbye for the last time.

In a few days, when I blow out the candle sitting atop the first chocolate birthday cake I’ve had in a very long time, my birthday wish will be for everyone to have a Hans and the opportunity to experience the Ideal that was Hebgen.

#6 on my list of Favorite Things is HANS' CABIN and HEBGEN LAKE, MONTANA.

10 - Ships

Have you ever sat and pondered what you would do if you won the lottery or the sweepstakes or just suddenly came into a substantial amount of money? Well, I have.

It would be a dream come true. After writing the biggest check in my tithing history, I would:

- Buy houses/pay off the mortgages for my family (and me)
- Buy a big cabin on Hebgen Lake
- Set up a charitable organization doing something great for children where the now mortgage-free family could spend their time
- Buy a car for any of the family who needed it (and four new cars for me – Black Convertible Boxster, Big Jeep, Super Big Truck, and a CRV like the one I have now only black and with a few extras)
- Undoubtedly go to the spa once a week and spend a few weeks buying a ridiculous amount of clothes, shoes, jewelry, purses, luggage, and organizing bins, etc.
- Fly first class to Australia and spend two weeks driving down the Great Ocean Road
- And best of all, I would buy whatever gifts I wanted for family, friends, coworkers…whomever

Can you imagine? Not being constrained by a budget when purchasing gifts for people? THIS would be nirvana for me. I absolutely LOVE giving gifts. It is not because I am a wonderful philanthropist or benefactress (what a cool word!)…I just really get a kick out of seeking out and giving gifts that are special for people I love. I am sure it has more to do with loving shopping than anything else. OH….and, think of the stuffed animal lions I could get for me and my nieces and nephews. Life-sized. What fun!

The thing is, I can’t wait for my pirate ship (with Orlando Bloom captaining it) to come in. Albert Einstein said, “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” So – I am going to have to be worthwhile now. I am pretty sure the Budget Master would frown on increasing the 2011 amount budgeted for gifts, so- people who I love: get ready for non-monetary gifts….whatever that is. Oh Mr. Pirate...where are you?

#10 on my list of Favorite Things is GIVING GIFTS (which I prefer to call PRIZES).

15 - Shaken, not stirred

What if there was a man who could always figure his way out of any situation, had a sweet fast car full of every gadget known to inventors, was quick on his feet, won every fight he fought almost without breaking a sweat, saved the world from war all in a day's work, dressed to kill and had a license to do the same...wouldn't you want him on your side?

Well, he's in Her Majesty's Service, so too bad for us Yanks, but at least we can enjoy the films. And I do! I love James Bond films. I know some of my sister "feminists" would dissaprove, but maybe they haven't seen Daniel Craig or Sean Connery before. And, while we are on the subject, here's my order of Great Bonds from crappiest to best:

-Timothy Dalton (surely, they jest)
-George Lazenby (who?)
-Roger Moore (fish face I call him)
-Pierce Brosnan (getting better! except, don't have him sing - WOW!)
-and here, I waver between Daniel Craig and Sean Connery - the two best - no contest

But, where I don't waver is which is my favorite Bond film: You Only Live Twice. Love it.

I also think Casino Royale (the new one, not the spoof) is excellent.

#15 on my list of Favorite Things is BOND, JAMES BOND FILMS.

20 - 80’s Night at the Oscars

One summer, my brother and I spent many nights eating Cheetos and Ranch dip (very delicious) and watching an 80’s classic film: North Shore. Now, some might say we were losers with nothing to do, but I think it is more to do with the fact that we enjoy good food, good movies, and having a good laugh.

North Shore is a “B” movie, if that, but it is very fun to watch and quote (“Nobody listens to turtle…”). There are several other 80’s movies I would throw into the “B” category – all movies I loved (and still love) to watch over and over; they might not merit an Academy nod for Best Picture, but I would give them other awards like….

Some Kind of Wonderful – Most Awkward Kissing Scene to Watch While on a Not Great Blind Date Award (in addition - a bug flew onto my lip while we were eating and I ate it)

16 Candles – Sweetest Red Porsche/Just Like the Boy Next Door Award

Top Gun – Top Volley-Ball Game I Like to Watch (what girl doesn't?) Award

Pretty in Pink – Greatest Soundtrack to Listen to While Lying Out Award

Always – Best Last Movie Seen with College Sweetheart Award

Footloose – Classic Movie My Grandma Didn’t Want Me to Watch on the Airplane Ride to Hawaii but Had Already Seen with My Young Women’s Leader Award

Fletch – Most Quoted Chevy Chase Line Award (also my favorite comedy film ever)

Karate Kid – Most Reminiscent of Neighborhood Boys Award

Superman II – Craziest Movie I Wish I Hadn’t Watched with My Mom and My Friend’s Mom Award

Princess Bride – Most Quoted Movie by Missionaries in Australia Award

The Outsiders – Best Book My 6th Grade Teacher Read to Us Award

Now – this is all just a silly walk down memory lane, to be sure, but in fairness to the brilliance of the 80’s, there were also some absolute classics produced– certainly worthy of a real Best Picture Oscar, like:

Somewhere in Time, Out of Africa, Dead Poets Society, On Golden Pond, Driving Miss Daisy, The Mission, Gandhi, Chariots of Fire and Rain Man.

#20 on my list of Favorite Things is 80’s MOVIES.

Bonus Prize: Which of these were either nominated or DID get the Best Picture?

21 - And even Mister Moon is left without a tune…

I love movies with 80's music references...like Wedding Singer (the Boy George wannabe is classic) or Music & Lyrics (what a great Wham! spoof).

I think it is safe to say, the 80’s produced some of the best music EVER. I started trying to compile a list of Top 5 Favorites – from the stuff I listened to a lot during the 80’s – and I simply couldn't narrow it to five.

Here is my list - these are just the MOST favorite. There were so many other classics from the 80’s:

aHA, Air Supply, Bananarama, The Bangles, Barry Manilow, Berlin, Bon Jovi, The Cars, Chicago, Corey Hart, Culture Club, Cyndi Lauper, Dan Fogelberg, Def Leppard, Depeche Mode, Erasure, Eurythmics, The Go-Go’s, Guns-N’-, Roses, Hall & Oates, Huey Lewis & The News, Kenny Loggins, Madonna, Michael Jackson, The Police/Sting, ‘Til Tuesday, R.E.M., Sheena Easton, Siouxie and the Banshees, Stevie Nicks, Tears for Fears, U2, Wham!, Whitney Houston, Yaz

Who did I miss? Do you have a favorite 80’s band/performer?

#21 on my list of Favorite Things is 80’s MUSIC.

Comment Prizes to be Awarded:
First Place – Cite who introduced me to ‘Til Tuesday & my favorite of their songs
Second Place – Cite the Siouxie and the Banshees song I used to blast from my Toyota Tercel stereo
Third Place – Cite the best Tears for Fears song phrase
Honorable Mention – 1st to finish the post’s title phrase and cite the artist & song title (TRY not to google it)

23 - Simple Signs

Remember the scene in Sleepless in Seattle where Meg Ryan’s character, Annie, is trying on a wedding dress up in the attic with her mother and the dress rips? She sadly cries out, “It’s a sign.” And, her mother replies, “You don’t believe in signs.”

Annie might not, but I do. I believe when I get a great parking spot by a store or mall that it is a sign or harbinger of good shopping ahead. I have been known to happily exclaim, as I pull into a great parking spot, “It’s a sign!” I proceed into the store of choice, fully hoping to find just the right thing, or get a great deal, or spend a lot of money.
My great parking place excitement applies in non-shopping situations too though. I just think it is fun, and when I am running late (which is often), very helpful to get a great parking place. I once had an intern who told me my joy over finding a great parking place was a simple pleasure for a simple mind (needless to say – not one of the interns I hired full-time).
The workings of most female minds certainly aren’t simple. It can get pretty complex in there. I choose to characterize my parking pleasure as finding joy in even little gifts and events in life. Like putting a reserved parking sticker on my car this week. Pretty great perk!
#23 on my list of Favorite Things is GETTING A GOOD PARKING PLACE.

28 - Fruma Sarah

I love the movie Fiddler on the Roof. The character of Tevye has some of the best lines in movie history….like, “As the good book says, if you spit in the air, it lands in your face.”

One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Tevye tells his wife, Golda that he has had a dream where the deceased relatives all came to warn him that his daughter, Tzeitel, should marry Motel, the tailor, instead of Lazar Wolfe. Lazar Wolfe’s dead wife, Fruma Sarah, even comes back to threaten death in 3 weeks if Tzeitel marries her husband and wears Fruma Sarah’s clothes and “PEARLs, PEARLs, PEARLs….”

The dream is just a leetle white lie Tevye tells Golda to get himself out of trouble, but I am not sure I wouldn't blame Fruma Sarah if she had come back to say, "Step off." A woman’s jewelry shouldn’t be worn by the woman who replaces her. A woman’s jewelry should go to her nieces.

No – this is not my Last Will and Testament…but, now that I mention it: the girls should have any jewelry they want.

This is a just long introduction to today’s favorite: Earrings. I LOVE them. Everywhere I go I look for cool earrings. And, it all began with two high school graduation gifts. One from Bob and another from Jennifer. Thanks, friends!

Here is some of the collection: #28 on my list of Favorite Things is EARRINGS.

29 - Cinderella

Ever since I was a little girl, I have LOVED Cinderella stories. My Mom still has the classic Disney story of Cinderella memorized because she read it to me so many times. This is the very cover from that book. I love all versions of the story...books, cartoons, movies, real life... in fact, I was completely obsessed with the Princess Diana/Prince Charles story (in the beginning). I woke up at 3 a.m. to watch all the wedding proceedings. I just loved her. I loved watching her grace and love for people.

#29 on my list of Favorite Things is the CINDERELLA STORY.

31 - As Handy as a Pocket on a Shirt

About ten years ago, there was a week at work where the computers were down - for the whole week. I organized my hard copy files and dusted my desk about 300 times and I had to use a typewriter. (Joe doesn't even know what a typewriter is - too busy not being born, cuz using a typewriter was back before dirt.)

It was a grim week, and that was before I had an iPod and a cell phone. I am so dependent on technology now, I can't imagine how I could run my life without it. I use my laptop and the internet to do 90%+ of my work all day long. The other 10% is actually talking to people face to face. hahaha

There are two sites I simply couldn't function without. Google and iMDB. If I want to know pretty much anything, I google it. And, since I can't really speak without quoting a movie, I spend a lot of time on iMDB looking up various movie trivia. They are both so handy and so much a part of my constant learning process that I feel very disadvantaged if I am somewhere without my phone or laptop.

#31 on my list of Favorite Things is TECHNOLOGY.

32 - Candy is Dandy

Listen, is there really any debate? Pink are the best. Hands down. I know these things. Afterall, I've spent the last 14 years in the Non-Chocolate-Candy-Domain.

In the words of Henry Higgins (sort of)..... PINK, PINK, PINK.

#32 on my list of Favorite Things is PINK STARBURST

34 - Black Friday

There's a scene in Young Catherine, a movie about Catherine the Great, starring Julia Ormond, where the empress has died and the Grand Duke Peter, Catherine's husband, has broken with protocol and ordered the court to discontinue wearing the traditional black mourning garb.

When a black clad Catherine, enters the scene where Peter's court is dining, Peter demands to know why she has disobedied him, and she says, "I am told that black becomes me." Then she sits at the table and defies him again by saying, "And, I mourn. I mourn for a woman who loved Russia, and for the Russia she loved." Other than Count Gregory Orlov, the "black becomes me" scene is one of the best in the movie.

The thing is, who DOESN'T look better in black? I LOVE wearing it, and have been increasing the black portion of my wardrobe over the last four or five years. I have black everything - purses, coats, luggage, shoes, furniture, wallets, jewelry, clothes...I love black. See:#34 on my list of Favorite Things is BLACK.

37 - Like the wind, honey

Some movies or people or situations are such a big deal that everyone immediately recognizes the acronym….like, LOTR…or POTUS…or LOL. :)

Well, see if you recognize the acronym for a favorite Thanksgiving film – HFTH. If you don’t know what that is, too bad, but I will tell you that there is just nothing better than Aunt Gladdie and her fruit loop necklace “singing” We Gather Together in multiple ranges. Classic!

# 37 on my list of Favorite Things is HFTH.

(Just in case - Lord of The Rings, President of The United States, Laughing out Loud)

43 – The Great William Shakespeare

One of the best Christmas presents I ever got was a miniature card game called Authors. The deck includes greats like Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Edgar Allen Poe, Sir Walter Scott, James Fenimore Cooper, Robert Louis Stevenson, and of course, William Shakespeare. The game is played like Go Fish…where a match/set consists of four of the author’s books or works…the person with the most sets at the end of the game wins.

My brothers and I grew up playing this game. Whenever I ended with the most sets, I never considered it a complete win unless I had the Shakespeare set. It was (and still is) my personal challenge to get that set, and I have employed all sorts of trickery to get it (except cheating, of course).

In high school, I was always more excited to memorize Shakespeare lines than any others. In college, when I had to write a compare and contrast paper in film class, I chose two of the versions of Henry V (the ones by Sir Lawrence Olivier and by Kenneth Branagh – who, by the way, does Shakespeare brilliantly). And I continue to notice quotes from Shakespeare more than others – in various facets of life and our culture. I’m not sure what besides the Bible is quoted more than Shakespeare.

I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a Shakespeare expert. Not remotely. I do think, though, within the works of Shakespeare exists something of brilliance and inspiration. Here are some of my favorites:

Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.

Sonnet 116
Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

But men are men; the best sometimes forget.

Hamlet
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them?
To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd.

As soon go kindle fire with snow, as seek to quench the fire of love with words.

JULIUS CAESAR
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar.

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.

HENRY V
This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in Englad now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.

ROMEO & JULIET
O, here
Will I set up my everlasting rest,
And shake the yoke of inauspicious stars
From this world-wearied flesh.
Eyes, look your last!
Arms, take your last embrace! and, lips, O you
The doors of breath, seal with a righteous kiss
A dateless bargain to engrossing death!

But O, how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man's eyes.

Truly great!!!

#43 on my list of Favorite Things is SHAKESPEARE.

47 - Word Games

I remember a conversation a while back with a guy I met online who said he liked a girl who was straight forward and spoke her mind, because he was too old to play games. Those words were just that - words. Words to form a trite little dating phrase rather than an actual mantra or principle by which to live. They were in reality part of a game. A game I didn't want to play.

Now, I like playing online word games, just not the kind he was referring to. One of my favorite online games is Yahoo's TextTwist where in one version, you find all the words six specific letters can possibily form, and if you find the six-letter word(s), you advance to the next round. I don't play this as often as I once did - in meetings when I got bored, while watching movies or the news, while wasting time, etc., etc.,...but every once in a while I do like to hop online for a few minutes and play a game with words.

#47 on my list of Favorite Things is TEXTTWIST.

52 - The Mission

Have you seen the film, The Mission, with Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons? It is the story of 18th century Spanish Jesuits trying to protect a remote South American Indian tribe in danger of falling under the rule of pro-slavery Portugal. But it is about so much more.

One of the themes in the film is the power of music, and the score, written by Ennio Morricone, to accompany this message is stunning. I love this music. Give yourself a gift and go listen to it sometime - specifically, Gabriel's Oboe. So beautiful.

#52 on my list of Favorite Things is the SOUNDTRACK from The Mission.

53 - Legolas

One of the best Valentine's gifts I ever got was this at my door:

Need I say more?

Yes - one more thing. Legolas is WAY better than Aragorn. You don't see Aragorn gliding down castle stairs on his shield while shooting enemies with arrows do you? No. Nor do you see him scaling a massive elephant thing while shooting enemies with arrows.....I could go on and on.

#53 on my list of Favorite Things is my cardboard life-size LEGOLAS.

55 – Ascot

One of the best scenes in the movie My Fair Lady, with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, is the trip to Ascot for the horse races; where, the lady who isn’t quite yet fair yells, amidst all the silent snobs, “Come on Dover! Move your bloomin’ a_ _!” This embarrassing blunder is accentuated by the stunning and very pristine clothes they are in.

My Dad loves this movie, and one year his annual Easter bonnet gifts to my Mom and me were Ascott-worthy (albeit slightly more conservative than Eliza Doolittle's). I love that I get an Easter bonnet every year, and I love this particular bonnet so much it sits on my piano to this day.
#55 on my list of Favorite Things is this EASTER BONNET.

57 – Lions, and Tigers, and Lions – Oh, my!

I collect toy stuffed lions. I do. So, sue me. (It’s from a movie – sort of.)

I have been participating in said collecting for several years now and have thus amassed a rather large collection. People who know me well give them to me for birthdays, Valentines, Christmas, etc., etc.. I buy them whenever I am out shopping and find one that is cute, I buy them when I am traveling, and I give them to my nieces and nephews for various events. I have several sets of twins, a couple of big pillow lions, a blanket, a wall-covering, one with a steel frame the kids can sit on, a corduroy one, a key chain, etc., etc., etc…. Why do I need them? Because it is fun collecting them, that’s why. Plus, the kids like to play with them when they come over. Good enough for me.

Here are just a few of them… Aren’t they cute?!

#57 on my list of Favorite Things is TOY LIONS.