Drool.

Found this after my previous post & homage to my man, Sawyer. Go ahead--watch and drool. I did.

6:25 p.m.

It's been almost exactly 6 years since I gave birth to my eldest daughter, Miss Mary Elizabeth "Libbey" Litton. Shakespeare once wrote, "Silence is the perfectest herald of joy." Yep...that about sums it up for me today. Libbey, we love you--happy birthday!

Obligatory.

Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, Oh boy, OH BOY!!!! It's been 253 days since we were last on the Island of Lost. Yeah, who's counting? Tonight my show returns, for at least 8 weeks. And yes, Beckie, I'll be posting lots more about it during those weeks...because it's MY show.

This is Sawyer...he's my favorite Lostie. Not because he's hot--because obviously, he's an Adonis, but because his character is so brilliantly written & performed that I think Josh Holloway (his portrayer) should've been nominated for an Emmy 3 years ago. I'm just saying. (But a big shout-out to Terry O'Quinn who very much deserved his Best Supporting Actor win for "Locke.") And he's from Georgia...'nuff said.
So get your Lost on tonight, people. The review begings at 8 pm central time...the new ep airs at 9:00. No one is allowed to so much as breathe in my general direction tonight. Nuh-uh. It's on!

TRL

Because it's her birthday tomorrow, and because she asked me. Here it is..."Total Request Libbey"...her favorite song. And if we're getting all confessional, I profess my love for both this song and Miss Cyrus. There's a retro-80's-ish quality to this tune...plus, lots of spandex, bright colors, and Cyndi Lauper-wannabe wardrobe choices. It's all around fun! Happy early birthday, Mary Elizabeth!

Ladies Night.

This is Eliza Myers Sanders, or as we lovingly call her, "Lizee." She is 15 months old and pretty much our sweetie. Today Lizee's mommy & daddy told her that she is getting a baby sister in the honorary month of Uncle June. As you can see, she is very excited with the news! Litton granddaughter #4 will round out our gaggle of gorgeous girls, and we are very excited to meet the little Miss sometime in the next 4 1/2 months or so. Who needs boys, anyway?

Yeah, it's a bit of an obsession.

Four more days, my friends...and we have at least 8 hours of brilliant Lost TV. It would be so swell if this writer's strike would end...I'd like a full 16 episodes, please! For those who care, I even pimped out my profile over on My Space. www.myspace.com/lalitton
It's all Lost all the time, y'all!

Randomness.

The past few days have been busy. "Busy" is actually the theme of our family, however we've really stepped it up this past week. I like being busy...it's better than being bored. However, tonight we are home alone...one child is in Richmond with her grandparents, visiting her uncle, aunt, cousin, and cousin-in-waiting, while the other child is with her "3rd set" of grandparents...the Cress family, of course. So we have nothing to do but hang, watch TV, surf the 'net, and blog. And here I am...a welcome reprieve from the busyness of this past week.

If you read one of my posts from a couple of weeks ago (go back & read it you haven't!), then you'll remember my story of the "rule of 3." We proved it once again on Friday. By mid-afternoon we had a house full of folk, all doing something or other to benefit the lives of the Littons. First to arrive was Christina Smith, our fabulous interior designer. She came to measure Caroline's new "big girl" bed & to take one of my Memaw's chairs that we're having reupholstered for our baby to use. Give us another 6-8 weeks and we'll have a brand-new room to show off! Shortly after Christina's arrival, a man from DirecTV showed up to install...wait for it...here it comes...our HD DVR!!!!! WAHOO!!!! It's what I asked for at Christmas...DVR so I can record the entire season of "Lost." Oh wow, I can hardly contain myself.

I'm breaking it in tonight for the very first time, recording "Torchwood," which is on BBC America...one of my "boyfriends" is guest-starring tonight, so I'm using him as my inaugural DVR-ing attempt.

This is James Marsters. He's right up there with Jason Statham (see below). Swoon!

Just after Mr. DirecTV left, Mr. ADT Security System made his entrance and attempted up upgrade our security system...on ADT's dime no less. He was unable to perform the upgrade...mostly because we live in the middle of the sticks, but also because I think he was just a bit incompetent.

In the middle of all these comings and goings, my sweet friend, Kelli Elliot, stopped by for a visit. We got to chat while showed me how she spent her Christmas day (in Paris...I so hate her!). I also got to see loads of pictures from her recent Caribbean cruise. Thanks, Kelli, for making me supremely jealous. I love you! And everyone, fly United--maybe you'll have Kelli for a flight attendant. She's the best! And we will vacation together sometime SOON!

(Kelli & Libbey, July '06)

Looking back I realize that while we've had a lot of stuff going on at our house, we've also accomplished a bunch. (Decorating Caroline's room, being the last people on earth to finally get DVR, visits from friends we don't see often enough. Oh, and a phone call from an old friend--thanks, Kelly! Just to name a few...) Yes, I reckon it is better to be busy than bored. Then again, I have 2 children under the age of 6...the word "boredom" really doesn't fit in our vocabularly! I'm blessed with a life full of randomness. It's a good thing!

Pray for Ramey!

Lord, I lift up to You my sister, Ramey Reeves. I pray Your healing power over her life, and I claim it in Your Name!

Please pray for my friend, Ramey, and for John, her husband, and their son, Judah. She was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor in her right hemisphere. If you're feeling the need for a blessing, head on over to www.myspace.com/rameyreeves to hear her incredible gift of praise & song. And pray...pray, pray, pray for her miracle!

In its absence, my heart has grown fonder. Much.

Impossible to cram 3 years of brilliant storytelling into 8:15 minutes (and if you are a Lost lover, you know the significance of that number!), but this is a pretty swell attempt. Sardonically humorous, too. Give it a chance, then get thee to the TV next Thursday, the 31st, at 8 pm for a Season 3 recap. The first episode of Season 4 begins at 9:00. To say I'm excited is putting it mildly.

Devastated.

So...I was dealt a crushing blow today. That sounds quite melodramatic, but it's really how I feel about the whole issue. There's a book I reread at least once every year and have for the past 20 years or so. It's a "young adult" book that I bought from the Scholastic book club while in elementary school. It's my all-time favorite in the world...ever...and it's absolutely wonderful, even when read as a 33 year old. (Yikes! I'm 33!)
Here's the love:
It's always been my dream that one day this fabulous story would be told on the silver screen...and that by miracle of miracles, I'd not only cast the film, but also author the adapted screenplay (Ellen Raskin, its author, died many years ago), and produce the soundtrack. Lofty aspirations, huh? Like I'm fond of saying, I dream big. I mean, if you're gonna dream, do it big. Duh!

Today I decided to check on Wikipedia (one of my fave sites!) to see if there was a listing for The Westing Game, and was completely blindsided to learn the book had already been turned into a made-for-TV-movie. I searched it out on Amazon and my disappointment turned to despair. Not only was my book already a moving picture, but apparently it's been very poorly done. The standard rape of the original story had been committed...characters changed (age and race seem to be most prevalent), locations removed, and a simple, basic hack of the storyline. And the cast? Ugh...so not the one of my dreams. Horror of horrors! I'm quite certain Ms. Raskin is shifting in her grave.

Here I've been making this movie in my head for a couple of decades now, only to discover that someone stole my idea. (Because you know I was the only one to ever think of it--most people have never even heard of this book! I'm maintaining this one 'til the end!) And yeah, so my dream cast has had to evolve over the years...Beverly D'Angelo is not quite as young as she used to be, and Pat Morita died years ago. But Chevy Chase, Shirley MacLaine, Tim Curry and Kathy Bates, among others, are still available. And well overdue for a box office hit, I might add.

Now this dream has been diminished--and I don't say "died"--because I could still work some magic on a screenplay one day (hey Raskin family members--give me a call, please!). And I was tempted to buy the DVD from Amazon but my adoration of this little novel would be forever tainted by viewing a less than stellar adaptation, so I refrained...and saved money. Bonuses all around!

Y'all are probably wondering why on earth I'm telling you all of this. Well, (a) it's my blog and I'll whine if I want to, and (b) I'm hoping all this rambling will lead you to go out and purchase your very own copy of The Westing Game. (Amazon has it for $6.99--it's worth way more than that. Way. More.) You must read this book--then report back to me on how we can turn it into an Academy Award winner. Then we can be on Oprah, in People, and basically all-around famous...and I'll finally get to meet Tim Curry. Sigh...

What the world has come to.

This is both humorous and sad. For me, though, it won't be a bit humorous if she's elected next year. And that's all I'm gonna say about that!

House call.

Yesterday Scotty made a late morning house call not too far from where we live. (Yes--there are M.D.s who still make house calls and I just happen to live with one of them!) He surprised me by phoning to say he'd finished early and wanted to come home and see us before Caroline's nap. Oh, and could I please make a peanut butter & strawberry jam sandwich for him? But of course, my dear! Caroline loved getting to see her Daddy during the middle of the day, and she even offered to share her pre-nap snack of yogurt and vanilla wafers with him. Thanks, Daddy, for making our day! Please do it again more often!