So, I totally found the hottest new band EVER! They're like the greatest thing since sliced bread. And not to mention that they're all completely hot. Move over Justin, JC, Chis, Joey and Lance, because Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan, and Abraham have taken up shelter in my heart. I introduce you to the Altar Boyz. How can you not love them when you hear "Girl you make me want to wait" and "Jesus called me on my cell phone." They're the real deal.



Actually, Altar Boyz is a new off-broadway musical comedy about a struggling Christian boyband. They were masters of the Bingo Hall circuit in Ohio, but can they make it in the Big Apple?


Wednesday, June 29, 2005 | 8:25 AM | LINK |

Southern Style.

Sometimes I really love living in the South. For example, I love that my family is completely southern. We're complete with the drawl, lingo, and easy-going "it'll eventually get done" attitude. I especially love the men in my family. They are the Southern Gentlemen. My cousins, are borderline "redneck," but they are complete (perhaps not in diction) with perfect manners and etiquette. They are some of the few men left in the world who have complete respect and admiration for the women in their lives. They still stand up from where they're sitting when a lady enters the room. They still wait to be seated at the table until my grandmother is seated. The best of all is that they take off their hats when they greet and talk to a woman. I was visiting with my cousins the other day and Adam (18) came home with a friend in tow. As they entered the den, both young gentlemen took off their hats to greet me and my cousin. I think it's a direct result from my uncle slapping him on the back of the head and saying "Boy, you take off that hat when you talk to a woman." But he's learned that when you give respect, you get respect. When we visited my grandmother in the hospital, I watched as Adam and my uncle tipped their hats to each of the nurses. It's just nice for me to see. And it makes me hold my family more dear to my heart, because I see things in them that are lost to the rest of the world.


Monday, June 27, 2005 | 7:56 PM | LINK |

Whitley's photos are now up on my Flickr site. I think they turned out quite nicely. Don't be shy...let me know what you think!


| 8:14 AM | LINK |

I just finished watching The Jacket starring Kiera Knightley and Adrian Brody. Sometimes I wonder why I put certain movies on my Netflix queue. The same thing happened with Birth. I know they're going to be bad, but I still want to watch them anyway. It's like I want to see how bad they really are like they're some sort of bad car accident. What's wrong with me?


Friday, June 24, 2005 | 9:03 AM | LINK |

The Movie Dream.
Yes, it's another dream post. Just let me know when you're tired of them and I'll stop posting.

This one begins with a trip to a rundown Disneyworldesque place.
A few friends and myself decide to take a trip to this area and as we're walking around surveying and taking pictures of the old rides and venues where many years before children had run and frolicked, we decided that it was the perfect place to open a theater. So we began the journey to resurrect the theme park and turn it into the prime place to find edgy theater.

The renovation began and we also began our search for great actors to fill the halls with great monologues and characters that inspire the audience to become more than who they were when they entered. Our search succeeded...we found an amazing actor that blew everyone away with his ability and talent. Soon the troupe of actors began to become a family and we began to plan our first performance. It was an original piece. We worked and toiled and then one day one of the actresses disappeared. Two days later another was gone. The next day another disappeared. Unfortunately, the show must go on and rehearsals continued.

I walked into the dressing room and put my things down and continued out to the main stage to wait for the rest of our actors to arrive. While waiting, I heard a noise backstage. I went to investigate the noise and found myself in a part of the theater that I had never been before. It went down into the basement. I followed the noise to find our last actress that had disappeared strapped to a table. She was alive but unresponsive. I quickly began to untie her arms, when suddenly I realized that I was not alone in the room. I turned to see our star actor standing behind me in pure psycho form. He proceeded to shoot me in the leg with some sort of paralyzing dart. I immediately felt the effects and began to try to make my escape. I ran out of the theater and found my way to the dilapidated log flume ride. I climbed up into the mountain area and around the track and over the old "logs" that carried riders for so many years. My feet found themselves mired in the swampy stagnating water that still remained in and around the track. I followed the track for what seemed like forever and I realized that the Actor was still in hot pursuit, still carrying the strange dart weapon in his hand. My journey continued around the wooden track and I finally found myself on solid ground once again. I started to run wide open now with my leg regaining some of it's feeling. Climbing over a fence, the area morphed into rolling hills like the kind you find in Sonoma Valley, CA. The Actor only seemed to be walking and yet like in so many movies he was amazingly only a few steps behind me. I made my way towards a farmhouse in the distance, but as I approached I noticed that the entire area was surrounded by a barbed wire fence. I continued to head straight on towards the fence hoping that I could just hurl my body over the top and get minimal damage. As I got closer to the fence, I heard the actor shout "Lanna dear, you do know that you're heading for a barbed wire fence." I turned and screamed, "YOU KNOW AT THIS POINT, I REALLY DON'T CARE." I jumped over the fence and continued my race to the farmhouse. At this point I realized that the Actor was frightened of the fence and was looking for another way to get inside. Upon looking at the house I realized that it was indeed my good friends, Ken and Meg's house. I crawled up onto the porch screaming out their names and just as I reached the door. The Actor made his way to me...Then I woke up.


Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | 3:47 PM | LINK |

Can I be your friend?


This is one of the many reasons I heart Jason Mraz.

Jason, if you're out there...know that you're welcome to hang out with me and mine any time. You'll fit in nicely.


Monday, June 20, 2005 | 5:47 PM | LINK |

I had a dream the other night that I was walking through a big city. And then suddenly everything stopped. All of the buildings, sidewalks and signs just faded away. It was just brilliant green grass and a strikingly sharp blue sky. People were still walking and talking and all of the sudden I started crying. It was a deep, heaving cry that leaves you gasping for breath. I dropped to my knees and lifted my hands up. I cried for what seemed like hours and then started to sing in prayers...and then I woke up. I woke up with a broken and heavy heart. So often I get in the routine of reading and prayer in the mornings, that the possibility of impromptu worship flies out the window. My body was crying out for worship. My body was crying out to its Maker.

"I will praise the Lord , who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken." Psalm 16: 7-8


Friday, June 17, 2005 | 8:40 PM | LINK |

MoM BrEaD.

Yesterday, I was given a gift of loaf bread. "Wow", you say, "That's nice, Lanna." But what you don't understand is that it's not like ordinary bread. It is, in fact, Super Bread. Bread bred to be freakin' awesome. Bread so good you can eat it like cake. Bread that shuts down all of you other senses so that every part of your body can partake in the goodness that your mouth is experiencing. That's what I'm talking about. So, to Crystal's mom, where ever she is...Thank You.

Now, I'm getting ready to leave for a Children's ministry retreat. See you when I get back.


Monday, June 13, 2005 | 8:02 AM | LINK |

The Grandma in Me (partial funding for today's topic brought to you by the letter Q and the lovely Karl).

It's been a lazy afternoon. It's overcast and I've cleaned house, sat down to read a book, and worked on a puzzle...and no Karla, I didn't knit anything (and can't you remember that I crochet, not knit...they are two completely different things). But I did eat a pimento cheese sandwich for lunch. And you know what? I don't care if I have Grandma tendencies. I like me just the way I am. AND I have a rockin' chicken salad recipe...I'm awesome!


Saturday, June 11, 2005 | 4:34 PM | LINK |

Last week, Lee and I had a little photographing session. You can see the results on my Flickr page. I'm very happy with how they turned out. There were a lot of keepers and more will be going up later (outtakes if you will).

Today, Whitley and I went out for her second photo shoot. We are starting to work on a modeling portfolio for her. I must say that it makes me a little nervous. But I'm ready to learn and take a challenge. She inspires me to be a better photographer and for that I thank her so much.



Now, rashes. My skin decided to attack itself last night while at the Braves game. I thought..."Oh, it must be heat rash, it'll go away in a little bit." On our way home I thought, "Oh, now that I'm out of the heat, it'll go away." As I got ready for bed I thought, "Oh, it'll be gone by the morning." And now I sit and look at my arms covered in splotchy pigmentation, I think, "perhaps I should go to the doctor."


Thursday, June 09, 2005 | 4:14 PM | LINK |

That Stupid Jewel Song.

You know the one "Intuition." Well, for some reason or another I got one of the intuition razors in the mail for a FREE TRIAL. In my haste of running late this morning, I decided to give the odd razor a try. I was amazed at the ease and efficiency of the Intuition. Not to mention how quickly my legs were made smooth and shiny. Bravo.

The Downside: All I could hear as I was shaving my legs was "your intu-ee-shon." And it still continues to roll about in my mind. Give me a new song! And then it begs the question "If I continue to use the Intuition, will it's annoying soundtrack be present each time I make my legs as silk? And is it worth it?" It will be something I will have to ponder. In the meantime, if you would like to feel the effects of the razor...you can come by my office and partake of the beauty.

On a side note, I watched The Machinist last night starring a ghostly thin Christian Bale. Disturbing, freakish, well shot and eerily good. Bravo Brad Anderson.


Wednesday, June 08, 2005 | 11:45 AM | LINK |

I've been very inconsistent with my blogging lately. Some have expressed their concerns and have promptly told me to "get on it." So, here goes.
This is what you have missed.

I watched White Noise: boo.
I went to a wedding: meh.
I'm getting better with my Graflex 22: yay.
I got tickets to Coldplay: Holy Freakin' Crap Yeah!

There you go. What you've missed. Exciting huh? I bet you wished I had commentary on every bit of my day. I mean I do lead an extraordinary life. And I'm inexplicably giddy right now. It's the rain. I love it. You can smell the storm coming in. And if you could only hear the squeak in my voice right now...it's full of excitement (and by "squeak" I really do mean squeak. I've got a bit of chest congestion that has manifested itself in my throat and given me the voice of a 13 year-old boy).


Monday, June 06, 2005 | 11:32 PM | LINK |

I love books. Books, books, books. I love how they smell. I love how they can take you away into another world or stand you still to reexamine your life. Perhaps I love them too much, they have overflowed out of my bookshelves and begun build themselves into towers along the walls of my bedroom. I especially love antique books of 1900 and before. I've been collecting for a while now and every 1st Thursday of the month I make my way to McDowell's Emporium (one of my favorite places on the planet) to see their new selection. As I enter the small house the keeper asks if I would like to see the "Bargain Basement." She tells me that she hadn't planned to open it today because it's so nasty outside, but since I'm a regular she'll take me down. When we reach the basement I make a bee-line for the antique section. I run my fingers down the bindings and take in the smell of leather and years seeping out of the pages. I make my selections: Oliver Goldsmith: A Biography by Washington Irving (1851), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Alice Loos (1925), Masterpieces of Eloquence (18**), and Memoirs of a Physician: A Historical Romance by Alexandre Dumas (1893). All were purchased for a mere 50 cents apiece. Beautiful.


Thursday, June 02, 2005 | 10:53 PM | LINK |