This is what I shared this afternoon at a professional luncheon for Cornerstone Christian School. I was a speaker for the alumni.
Good afternoon. My name is Kristin Barb. I am the mother of two, a preschool teacher, a consultant with The Pampered Chef, and a graduate of Cornerstone Christian School. When Rick asked me to share today, he asked if I had one word to describe what I gained from my CCS experience. I quickly responded: Confidence. Cornerstone believes that a quality education is a partnership between families, the school, and the churches. That education encompasses a child’s character and opportunities for ministry as well as academic excellence. For me, CCS provided a safe, nurturing environment to test my wings while preparing me for the academic and emotional challenges of high school.
I attended CCS for 4 years, 5th through 8th grade. Like all preteens, it was a time of major adjustment and change. I started 5th grade as an incredibly shy little girl, literally hiding behind my dad during the Open House event. I didn’t have much to be confident about back then. My family had just moved to Virginia 3 weeks before and I wasn’t thrilled about leaving my friends and starting over in a new place filled with corn fields and smelly cows. I was a decent student, mostly As and Bs with a few Cs in math. I stuttered when I was nervous. I was used to being in the background where it was safe and comfortable. But Cornerstone changed that because of good friends and amazing teachers, specifically Cynthia Brunk.
One of my education assignments when I attended JMU was to write a paper about my most influential teacher. That teacher was Mrs. Brunk. I was fortunate to have Mrs. Brunk all four years, for 5th and 6th grade math and science and 7th & 8th grade English. I give her credit for the legibility of my cursive, my ability to parse a complex sentence, and my love of taking learning outdoors and into the unexpected. She took my Cs in math and worked with me until I was an A student, which is a great accomplishment when one is learning algebra. I learned to pay attention to details and discovered the benefit of reading ALL the directions before beginning an assignment. She, and my other teachers at CCS, taught me that my perspective was not only welcome, but wanted. And I thrived. In 6th grade I had my first experience on stage when I filled in for a sick classmate the day of the Spring Program. With just hours to learn my lines, I accepted the role because I knew Mrs. Brunk and Mrs. Hostetter believed in me. In 8th grade I sang a solo and was part of a quintet in the ACSI Music Festival, both coached by our music teacher Michele Morgan. Not only was the shy little girl from South Jersey speaking into a mic, she was singing into one as well as part of the middle school worship team. That same year, I and some schoolmates helped Mrs. Morgan with background vocals for a Vacation Bible School curriculum. Then in the spring I boarded my very first airplane with eight other students and three staff and flew over the border to Mexico City.
It’s impossible to put a monetary value on those middle school experiences. I was never just “one in the crowd”. My teachers had the opportunity to get to know who I was—quirks, stutter and all—and lend a helping hand and encouraging word when needed. We were taught to do our best in everything, to ask questions and think critically, not just soak up information like sponges, and most importantly to live our faith, not simply defend it.
After graduation I prepared to attend public school for the first time in my life. While I was quite terrified—Harrisonburg High School is and was a huge school for a girl whose entire middle school wasn’t too much bigger than her freshman English class—I knew I was prepared. I had been trained well, because of the collaboration between home and school and the emphasis on excellence. Three musicals, another speaking part in a church play, District choir, a trip with the Honors choir to sing in Carnegie Hall, a Yearbook award, two advanced placement courses, a trip to the Supreme Court, participation in a mock trial, and two years of drama and marketing classes later, I graduated with honors. As I walked across the stage I knew I looked as confident as I felt inside.
Four years later I returned to my high school gym, now owned by James Madison University. Wearing my black cap and gown I clutched a paper in my hands and willed them to stop shaking. Standing in front of hundreds of fellow College of Education graduates, I did something that the 5th grade me, and even the 8th grade me, would not have thought possible: I spoke…out loud…into a microphone…WITHOUT A STUTTER. In that speech I quoted one of my professors who said “We do not teach math, science, or social studies. We teach children.” I can say the same about Cornerstone Christian School. The teachers there do not just teach academics, they teach the whole child…Academic excellence, strong Godly character, and a heart for ministering to the needs of others above their own. My close connection with the school has enabled me to watch other students graduate and continue to excel in school (academically, socially, in music, theater, and sports), and in the workplace after graduation. I’ve met a future governor as well as teachers, business leaders, inventors, engineers, lawyers, doctors, artists, and writers. We—the students and alumni of Cornerstone Christian School—have been given a great gift: the confidence to go out into the world and fulfill our God-given dreams.
Authors Note: Check out CCS at www.ccsconnection.org.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Friday, February 8, 2013
You Know You're a Geek When...
10. The cover of a book can cause righteous indignation or absolute adoration. (Character representation! I should have a pretty good sense of the content from the cover.)
Good cover: Aslan in all his golden glory on the cover of The Chronicles of Narnia (complete collection). Epic.
Bad cover: The blonde on the cover of Anne of Green Gables. Seriously?!
Also: The Hobbit cover with the creepy Gollum and the fat, stupid looking Bilbo. Bad. The awesome drawing on The Silmarillion cover...So good I used it as the background of my wedding program.
9. Using A BOOK ILLUSTRATION as the background of your wedding program. Moving on...
8. Referencing either the Lord of the Rings book appendices or Extended Edition movie appendices, or both, in conversation.
7. The Star Wars Wiki page pops up automatically when you type SW in your internet search.
6. You have a Pinterest board that has been taken over by Doctor Who, Star Wars, LOTR, and/or Firefly references and/or products.
5. You take your 2 year old by the hand and your first conscious thought is "Come along Pond!"
4. Your daughter is named for a former Imperial assassin turned Jedi Master and also shares a middle name with the Queen of Great Britain.
3. You actually understand a majority of Josh Barb's Facebook statuses.
2. "I know" is the expected response to "I love you".
1. "Hello Sweetie" has replaced almost all other greetings in your vocabulary.
Good cover: Aslan in all his golden glory on the cover of The Chronicles of Narnia (complete collection). Epic.
Bad cover: The blonde on the cover of Anne of Green Gables. Seriously?!
Also: The Hobbit cover with the creepy Gollum and the fat, stupid looking Bilbo. Bad. The awesome drawing on The Silmarillion cover...So good I used it as the background of my wedding program.
9. Using A BOOK ILLUSTRATION as the background of your wedding program. Moving on...
8. Referencing either the Lord of the Rings book appendices or Extended Edition movie appendices, or both, in conversation.
7. The Star Wars Wiki page pops up automatically when you type SW in your internet search.
6. You have a Pinterest board that has been taken over by Doctor Who, Star Wars, LOTR, and/or Firefly references and/or products.
5. You take your 2 year old by the hand and your first conscious thought is "Come along Pond!"
4. Your daughter is named for a former Imperial assassin turned Jedi Master and also shares a middle name with the Queen of Great Britain.
3. You actually understand a majority of Josh Barb's Facebook statuses.
2. "I know" is the expected response to "I love you".
1. "Hello Sweetie" has replaced almost all other greetings in your vocabulary.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Movie Quotes, Part 2
What NOT to say when he tells you he loves you:
Paul Varjak: Holly, I'm in love with you.
Holly Golightly: So what?
Paul Varjak: So what? So plenty! I love you. You belong to me.
Holly Golightly: No. People don't belong to people.
Paul Varjak: Of course they do.
Holly Golightly: I'm not going to let anyone put me in a cage.
Paul Varjak: I don't want to put you in a cage. I want to love you.
Holly Golightly: It's the same thing.
Paul Varjak: No it's not
Harry Burns: I've been doing a lot of thinking, and the thing is, I love you.
Sally Albright: What?
What to say to her dad:
Linus Larrabee: Go ahead, say it.
Fairchild: You don't deserve her.
Linus Larrabee: I don't, I know that; but I need her, and I don't need anything.
Amusing quotes:
Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.
Sally Albright: Which one am I?
Harry Burns: You're the worst kind; you're high maintenance but you think you're low maintenance.
Sally Albright: I don't see that.
Harry Burns: You don't see that? Waiter, I'll begin with a house salad, but I don't want the regular dressing. I'll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce on the side. "On the side" is a very big thing for you.
Sally Albright: Well, I just want it the way I want it.
Harry Burns: I know; high maintenance.
Kathleen Kelly: "Joe"? "Just call me Joe"? As if you were one of those stupid 22-year old girls with no last name? "Hi, I'm Kimberly!" "Hi, I'm Janice!" Don't they know you're supposed to have a last name? It's like they're an entire generation of cocktail waitresses.
Joe Fox: The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.
Dennis Reed: Annie, when you're attracted to someone, it just means that your subconscious is attracted to their subconscious, subconsciously. So what we think of as fate is just two neuroses knowing that they are a perfect match.
Anne Shirley: Why do people have to grow up and marry, change?
Gilbert Blythe: Oh, you'd change. If someone ever admitted that they were head over heels for you, you'd be swept off your feet in a moment.
Anne Shirley: I would not, and I defy anyone who would try and make me change.
Gilbert Blythe: Oh, you do?
Sally Albright: I thought you didn't believe men and women could be friends.
Harry Burns: When did I say that?
Sally Albright: On the ride to New York.
Harry Burns: No, no, no, I never said that... Yes, that's right, they can't be friends. Unless both of them are involved with other people, then they can... This is an amendment to the earlier rule. If the two people are in relationships, the pressure of possible involvement is lifted... That doesn't work either, because what happens then is, the person you're involved with can't understand why you need to be friends with the person you're just friends with. Like it means something is missing from the relationship and why do you have to go outside to get it? And when you say "No, no, no it's not true, nothing is missing from the relationship," the person you're involved with then accuses you of being secretly attracted to the person you're just friends with, which you probably are. I mean, come on, who the hell are we kidding, let's face it. Which brings us back to the earlier rule before the amendment, which is men and women can't be friends.
Quotes that make you go awww:
Joe Fox: Kevin, this is possibly the most adorable creature I've ever been in contact with, and if she turns out to be as good looking as a mailbox... I would be crazy enough to turn my life upside down and marry her.
Marilla Cuthbert: Anne, you have tricked something out of that imagination of yours that you call romance. Have you forgotten how he gave up the Avonlea school for you so that you could stay here with me? He picked you up every day in his carriage so that you could study your courses together. Don't toss it away for some ridiculous ideal that doesn't exist.
Terry McKay: And all I could say was, hello.
Annie Reed: Now that was when people KNEW how to be in love. They knew it! Time, distance... nothing could separate them because they knew. It was right. It was real. It was...
Becky: A movie! That's your problem! You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie.
Doctor Marcia Fieldstone: Tell me what was so special about your wife?
Sam Baldwin: Well, how long is your program? Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together... and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home... only to no home I'd ever known... I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like... magic.
Harry Burns: The first time we met, we hated each other.
Sally Albright: No, you didn't hate me, I hated you. The second time we met, you didn't even remember me.
Harry Burns: I did too, I remembered you. The third time we met, we became friends.
Sally Albright: We were friends for a long time.
Harry Burns: And then we weren't.
Sally Albright: And then we fell in love.
Misc:
Kathleen Kelly: When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.
Paul Varjak: Holly, I'm in love with you.
Holly Golightly: So what?
Paul Varjak: So what? So plenty! I love you. You belong to me.
Holly Golightly: No. People don't belong to people.
Paul Varjak: Of course they do.
Holly Golightly: I'm not going to let anyone put me in a cage.
Paul Varjak: I don't want to put you in a cage. I want to love you.
Holly Golightly: It's the same thing.
Paul Varjak: No it's not
Harry Burns: I've been doing a lot of thinking, and the thing is, I love you.
Sally Albright: What?
What to say to her dad:
Linus Larrabee: Go ahead, say it.
Fairchild: You don't deserve her.
Linus Larrabee: I don't, I know that; but I need her, and I don't need anything.
Amusing quotes:
Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance.
Sally Albright: Which one am I?
Harry Burns: You're the worst kind; you're high maintenance but you think you're low maintenance.
Sally Albright: I don't see that.
Harry Burns: You don't see that? Waiter, I'll begin with a house salad, but I don't want the regular dressing. I'll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce on the side. "On the side" is a very big thing for you.
Sally Albright: Well, I just want it the way I want it.
Harry Burns: I know; high maintenance.
Kathleen Kelly: "Joe"? "Just call me Joe"? As if you were one of those stupid 22-year old girls with no last name? "Hi, I'm Kimberly!" "Hi, I'm Janice!" Don't they know you're supposed to have a last name? It's like they're an entire generation of cocktail waitresses.
Joe Fox: The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.
Dennis Reed: Annie, when you're attracted to someone, it just means that your subconscious is attracted to their subconscious, subconsciously. So what we think of as fate is just two neuroses knowing that they are a perfect match.
Anne Shirley: Why do people have to grow up and marry, change?
Gilbert Blythe: Oh, you'd change. If someone ever admitted that they were head over heels for you, you'd be swept off your feet in a moment.
Anne Shirley: I would not, and I defy anyone who would try and make me change.
Gilbert Blythe: Oh, you do?
Sally Albright: I thought you didn't believe men and women could be friends.
Harry Burns: When did I say that?
Sally Albright: On the ride to New York.
Harry Burns: No, no, no, I never said that... Yes, that's right, they can't be friends. Unless both of them are involved with other people, then they can... This is an amendment to the earlier rule. If the two people are in relationships, the pressure of possible involvement is lifted... That doesn't work either, because what happens then is, the person you're involved with can't understand why you need to be friends with the person you're just friends with. Like it means something is missing from the relationship and why do you have to go outside to get it? And when you say "No, no, no it's not true, nothing is missing from the relationship," the person you're involved with then accuses you of being secretly attracted to the person you're just friends with, which you probably are. I mean, come on, who the hell are we kidding, let's face it. Which brings us back to the earlier rule before the amendment, which is men and women can't be friends.
Quotes that make you go awww:
Joe Fox: Kevin, this is possibly the most adorable creature I've ever been in contact with, and if she turns out to be as good looking as a mailbox... I would be crazy enough to turn my life upside down and marry her.
Marilla Cuthbert: Anne, you have tricked something out of that imagination of yours that you call romance. Have you forgotten how he gave up the Avonlea school for you so that you could stay here with me? He picked you up every day in his carriage so that you could study your courses together. Don't toss it away for some ridiculous ideal that doesn't exist.
Terry McKay: And all I could say was, hello.
Annie Reed: Now that was when people KNEW how to be in love. They knew it! Time, distance... nothing could separate them because they knew. It was right. It was real. It was...
Becky: A movie! That's your problem! You don't want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie.
Doctor Marcia Fieldstone: Tell me what was so special about your wife?
Sam Baldwin: Well, how long is your program? Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together... and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home... only to no home I'd ever known... I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like... magic.
Harry Burns: The first time we met, we hated each other.
Sally Albright: No, you didn't hate me, I hated you. The second time we met, you didn't even remember me.
Harry Burns: I did too, I remembered you. The third time we met, we became friends.
Sally Albright: We were friends for a long time.
Harry Burns: And then we weren't.
Sally Albright: And then we fell in love.
Misc:
Kathleen Kelly: When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.
Movie Quotes, Part 1
Add your own favorites in the comments!
Sweet things to say to girls:
I've been following in footsteps all my life. Save me, Sabrina fair, you're the only one who can.
Iris, if you were a melody... I used only the good notes.
Steve: Why you only eating the brown ones?
Mary: Because someone once said they have less artificial colouring because chocolate's already brown. And it kind of stayed with me.
Steve: You kind of stayed with me.
Close your eyes. Close your eyes. Close... your... eyes. You're safe. You can relax. I'm not going to kiss you. He's gonna be so sorry he lost you, so stop worrying. Forget the past. Forget the pain. And remember what an incredible woman you are. You do that and he'll realize what he lost.
I'm allergic to fabric softener. I majored in comparative literature at Brown. I hate anchovies. And I think I'd miss you even if we never met.
Joe Fox: You know, sometimes I wonder...
Kathleen Kelly: What?
Joe Fox: Well... if I hadn't been Fox Books and you hadn't been The Shop Around the Corner, and you and I had just, well, met...
Kathleen Kelly: I know.
Joe Fox: Yeah. I would have asked for your number, and I wouldn't have been able to wait twenty-four hours before calling you and saying, "Hey, how about... oh, how about some coffee or, you know, drinks or dinner or a movie... for as long as we both shall live?"
Kathleen Kelly: Joe...
Joe Fox: And you and I would have never been at war. And the only thing we'd fight about would be which video to rent on a Saturday night.
Kathleen Kelly: Well, who fights about that?
Joe Fox: Well, some people. Not us.
Kathleen Kelly: We would never.
Mr. Darcy: How are you this evening, my dear?
Elizabeth Bennet: Very well... although I wish you would not call me my dear.
Mr. Darcy: Why?
Elizabeth Bennet: Because it's what my father always calls my mother when he's cross about something.
Mr. Darcy: What endearments am I allowed?
Elizabeth Bennet: Well let me think...Lizzy for every day, My Pearl for Sundays, and...Goddess Divine... but only on very special occasions.
Mr. Darcy: And... what should I call you when I am cross? Mrs. Darcy...?
Elizabeth Bennet: No! No. You may only call me Mrs. Darcy... when you are completely, and perfectly, and incandescently happy.
Mr. Darcy: Then how are you this evening... Mrs. Darcy?
How to tell her you love her:
I have another scenario for you - I'm in love with you. I apologize for the blunt delivery, but as problematic as this fact may be, I'm in love... with YOU. I'm not feeling this because you're leaving, and not because it feels good to feel this way... which, by the way, it does, or did before you went off like that. I can't figure out the mathematics of this, I just know I love you. I can't believe how many times I'm saying it! And I never thought I'd feel this way again, so that's pretty phenomenal. And I realize that I come as a package deal: 3 for the price of 1. I know my package, perhaps in the light of day, isn't all that wonderful, but I finally know what I want and that, in itself, is a miracle. And what I want is YOU.
I barely know you. I don't know your dad's first name, I don't know if you ever wore braces, or contacts, or glasses and I have no idea how you came to be a wedding planner, Mary. But I do know the curves of your face. And I know every fleck of gold in your eyes. I know that the night at the park was the best time I've ever had.
Queen Victoria: Why did you do it? So stupid, why did you do it?
Prince Albert: I had two very good reasons. First, I am replaceable and you are not.
Queen Victoria: You are not replaceable to me!
Prince Albert: Second, you're the only wife I've got or ever will have. You are my whole existence, and I will love you until my very last breath.
Harry Burns: I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
Mr. Darcy: You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.
Mr. Darcy: Miss Elizabeth. I have struggled in vain and I can bear it no longer. These past months have been a torment. I came to Rosings with the single object of seeing you... I had to see you. I have fought against my better judgment, my family's expectations, the inferiority of your birth by rank and circumstance. All these things I am willing to put aside and ask you to end my agony.
Elizabeth Bennet: I don't understand.
Mr. Darcy: I love you.
Captain Wentworth: I have loved none but you. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone I think and plan. Have you not seen this?
Captain Wentworth: Miss Elliot, I can bear this no longer. You pierce my soul. I'm half agony, half hope. Unjust I may have been. Weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it eight years ago.
Edmund Bertram: Fanny, I've loved you my whole life. Fanny Price: I know, Edmund. Edmund Bertram: No... I've loved you as a man loves a woman. As a hero loves a heroine. As I have never loved anyone.
Anne Shirley: You just think that you love me.
Gilbert Blythe: Anne, I've loved you as long as I can remember. I need you.
Gilbert Blythe: Anne, There's not going to be any wedding anymore.
Anne Shirley: You're gonna get well, Gil. I know you are.
Gilbert Blythe: I called it off. It wouldn't be fair to Christine. There would never be anyone for me but you.
Charlie: Listen. Listen to me very carefully. I live in London, a gorgeous, vibrant, historic city that I happen to love living in. You live in New York, which is highly overrated... But since the Atlantic Ocean is a bit wide to cross every day, swimming, boating or flying, I suggest we flip for it... And if those terms are unacceptable, leaving London will be a pleasure, as long as you're waiting for me on the other side. 'Cause the truth is, I am Madly, Deeply, Truly, Passionately in Love with You.
How to propose to a woman who is proposing to you:
Queen Victoria: I'm so pleased you like it. I do want you to feel quite at home... I'm sure you're aware why I wished you to come here. Because it would make me happier than anything, too happy really, if you would agree to what I wish.
Prince Albert: And stay with you?
Queen Victoria: And stay with me.
Prince Albert: And marry you?
Queen Victoria: And marry me!
David Larrabee: God, you're easy on me.
Elizabeth Tyson, MD: Okay then, why don't you marry me?
David Larrabee: Okay, why don't I?
Elizabeth Tyson, MD: Don't kid about stuff like that.
David Larrabee: Okay. Why don't I?
Elizabeth Tyson, MD: You sure you know what it is?
David Larrabee: Yeah, that thing where you hang together a lot and sleep in the same room and button each other's hard-to-reach buttons...
Elizabeth Tyson, MD: Then I accept.
Declan: Mrs. O'Brady Callhan. Where the hell are you going?
Anna: You said no.
Declan: I didn't say no. I didn't say anything.
Anna: You walked away.
Declan: I was getting something.
Anna: Really? That was a good time to go get something?
Declan: Yeah, it was actually. I don't want not to make plans with you. I want to make plans with you.
Anna: You do?
Declan: Yeah I do.
Scoundrel quotes:
Marion: You're not the man I knew ten years ago.
Indiana: It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
Princess Leia: Let go, please.
Han Solo: Don't get excited.
Princess Leia: Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited.
Han Solo: Sorry sweetheart. I haven't got time for anything else.
How to apologize:
Mr. Bingley: First, I must tell you I've been the most unmitigated and comprehensive ass.
Terry McKay: Oh, it's nobody's fault but my own! I was looking up... it was the nearest thing to heaven! You were there...
Couple Cuteness:
Princess Leia: I love you.
Han Solo: I know.
Arwen: Do you remember when we first met?
Aragorn: I thought I had wandered into a dream.
Arwen: Long years have passed. You did not have the cares you carry now. Do you remember what I told you?
Aragorn: You said you'd bind yourself to me, forsaking the immortal life of your people.
Arwen: And to that I hold. I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone. I choose a mortal life.
Aragorn: You cannot give me this.
Arwen: It is mine to give to whom I will. Like my heart.
Gilbert Blythe: It'll be three years before I finish medical school. Even then there won't be any diamond sunbursts or marble halls.
Anne Shirley: I don't want diamond sunbursts, or marble halls. I just want you.
What do you want to be married to me for, anyhow?
So I can kiss you anytime I want.
How to tell your guy you love him (or tell your friends you love the guy):
Little Mary: George Bailey, I'll love you 'til the day I die.
Elizabeth Bennet: Perhaps I didn't always love him as well as I do now, but in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable.
Sweet things to say to girls:
I've been following in footsteps all my life. Save me, Sabrina fair, you're the only one who can.
Iris, if you were a melody... I used only the good notes.
Steve: Why you only eating the brown ones?
Mary: Because someone once said they have less artificial colouring because chocolate's already brown. And it kind of stayed with me.
Steve: You kind of stayed with me.
Close your eyes. Close your eyes. Close... your... eyes. You're safe. You can relax. I'm not going to kiss you. He's gonna be so sorry he lost you, so stop worrying. Forget the past. Forget the pain. And remember what an incredible woman you are. You do that and he'll realize what he lost.
I'm allergic to fabric softener. I majored in comparative literature at Brown. I hate anchovies. And I think I'd miss you even if we never met.
Joe Fox: You know, sometimes I wonder...
Kathleen Kelly: What?
Joe Fox: Well... if I hadn't been Fox Books and you hadn't been The Shop Around the Corner, and you and I had just, well, met...
Kathleen Kelly: I know.
Joe Fox: Yeah. I would have asked for your number, and I wouldn't have been able to wait twenty-four hours before calling you and saying, "Hey, how about... oh, how about some coffee or, you know, drinks or dinner or a movie... for as long as we both shall live?"
Kathleen Kelly: Joe...
Joe Fox: And you and I would have never been at war. And the only thing we'd fight about would be which video to rent on a Saturday night.
Kathleen Kelly: Well, who fights about that?
Joe Fox: Well, some people. Not us.
Kathleen Kelly: We would never.
Mr. Darcy: How are you this evening, my dear?
Elizabeth Bennet: Very well... although I wish you would not call me my dear.
Mr. Darcy: Why?
Elizabeth Bennet: Because it's what my father always calls my mother when he's cross about something.
Mr. Darcy: What endearments am I allowed?
Elizabeth Bennet: Well let me think...Lizzy for every day, My Pearl for Sundays, and...Goddess Divine... but only on very special occasions.
Mr. Darcy: And... what should I call you when I am cross? Mrs. Darcy...?
Elizabeth Bennet: No! No. You may only call me Mrs. Darcy... when you are completely, and perfectly, and incandescently happy.
Mr. Darcy: Then how are you this evening... Mrs. Darcy?
How to tell her you love her:
I have another scenario for you - I'm in love with you. I apologize for the blunt delivery, but as problematic as this fact may be, I'm in love... with YOU. I'm not feeling this because you're leaving, and not because it feels good to feel this way... which, by the way, it does, or did before you went off like that. I can't figure out the mathematics of this, I just know I love you. I can't believe how many times I'm saying it! And I never thought I'd feel this way again, so that's pretty phenomenal. And I realize that I come as a package deal: 3 for the price of 1. I know my package, perhaps in the light of day, isn't all that wonderful, but I finally know what I want and that, in itself, is a miracle. And what I want is YOU.
I barely know you. I don't know your dad's first name, I don't know if you ever wore braces, or contacts, or glasses and I have no idea how you came to be a wedding planner, Mary. But I do know the curves of your face. And I know every fleck of gold in your eyes. I know that the night at the park was the best time I've ever had.
Queen Victoria: Why did you do it? So stupid, why did you do it?
Prince Albert: I had two very good reasons. First, I am replaceable and you are not.
Queen Victoria: You are not replaceable to me!
Prince Albert: Second, you're the only wife I've got or ever will have. You are my whole existence, and I will love you until my very last breath.
Harry Burns: I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
Mr. Darcy: You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes have not changed, but one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love, I love, I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.
Mr. Darcy: Miss Elizabeth. I have struggled in vain and I can bear it no longer. These past months have been a torment. I came to Rosings with the single object of seeing you... I had to see you. I have fought against my better judgment, my family's expectations, the inferiority of your birth by rank and circumstance. All these things I am willing to put aside and ask you to end my agony.
Elizabeth Bennet: I don't understand.
Mr. Darcy: I love you.
Captain Wentworth: I have loved none but you. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone I think and plan. Have you not seen this?
Captain Wentworth: Miss Elliot, I can bear this no longer. You pierce my soul. I'm half agony, half hope. Unjust I may have been. Weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it eight years ago.
Edmund Bertram: Fanny, I've loved you my whole life. Fanny Price: I know, Edmund. Edmund Bertram: No... I've loved you as a man loves a woman. As a hero loves a heroine. As I have never loved anyone.
Anne Shirley: You just think that you love me.
Gilbert Blythe: Anne, I've loved you as long as I can remember. I need you.
Gilbert Blythe: Anne, There's not going to be any wedding anymore.
Anne Shirley: You're gonna get well, Gil. I know you are.
Gilbert Blythe: I called it off. It wouldn't be fair to Christine. There would never be anyone for me but you.
Charlie: Listen. Listen to me very carefully. I live in London, a gorgeous, vibrant, historic city that I happen to love living in. You live in New York, which is highly overrated... But since the Atlantic Ocean is a bit wide to cross every day, swimming, boating or flying, I suggest we flip for it... And if those terms are unacceptable, leaving London will be a pleasure, as long as you're waiting for me on the other side. 'Cause the truth is, I am Madly, Deeply, Truly, Passionately in Love with You.
How to propose to a woman who is proposing to you:
Queen Victoria: I'm so pleased you like it. I do want you to feel quite at home... I'm sure you're aware why I wished you to come here. Because it would make me happier than anything, too happy really, if you would agree to what I wish.
Prince Albert: And stay with you?
Queen Victoria: And stay with me.
Prince Albert: And marry you?
Queen Victoria: And marry me!
David Larrabee: God, you're easy on me.
Elizabeth Tyson, MD: Okay then, why don't you marry me?
David Larrabee: Okay, why don't I?
Elizabeth Tyson, MD: Don't kid about stuff like that.
David Larrabee: Okay. Why don't I?
Elizabeth Tyson, MD: You sure you know what it is?
David Larrabee: Yeah, that thing where you hang together a lot and sleep in the same room and button each other's hard-to-reach buttons...
Elizabeth Tyson, MD: Then I accept.
Declan: Mrs. O'Brady Callhan. Where the hell are you going?
Anna: You said no.
Declan: I didn't say no. I didn't say anything.
Anna: You walked away.
Declan: I was getting something.
Anna: Really? That was a good time to go get something?
Declan: Yeah, it was actually. I don't want not to make plans with you. I want to make plans with you.
Anna: You do?
Declan: Yeah I do.
Scoundrel quotes:
Marion: You're not the man I knew ten years ago.
Indiana: It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage.
Princess Leia: Let go, please.
Han Solo: Don't get excited.
Princess Leia: Captain, being held by you isn't quite enough to get me excited.
Han Solo: Sorry sweetheart. I haven't got time for anything else.
How to apologize:
Mr. Bingley: First, I must tell you I've been the most unmitigated and comprehensive ass.
Terry McKay: Oh, it's nobody's fault but my own! I was looking up... it was the nearest thing to heaven! You were there...
Couple Cuteness:
Princess Leia: I love you.
Han Solo: I know.
Arwen: Do you remember when we first met?
Aragorn: I thought I had wandered into a dream.
Arwen: Long years have passed. You did not have the cares you carry now. Do you remember what I told you?
Aragorn: You said you'd bind yourself to me, forsaking the immortal life of your people.
Arwen: And to that I hold. I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone. I choose a mortal life.
Aragorn: You cannot give me this.
Arwen: It is mine to give to whom I will. Like my heart.
Gilbert Blythe: It'll be three years before I finish medical school. Even then there won't be any diamond sunbursts or marble halls.
Anne Shirley: I don't want diamond sunbursts, or marble halls. I just want you.
What do you want to be married to me for, anyhow?
So I can kiss you anytime I want.
How to tell your guy you love him (or tell your friends you love the guy):
Little Mary: George Bailey, I'll love you 'til the day I die.
Elizabeth Bennet: Perhaps I didn't always love him as well as I do now, but in such cases as these a good memory is unpardonable.
Friday, January 18, 2013
A Letter to New Moms
Congratulations on the birth of your sweet baby!
I want to share the story of my son Aedan's birth two years ago.
My mom has 3 children, all born by c-section. Her doctor told her in 1983 that she would have died trying to give birth to my brother. Even though she has never had the experience of going into labor and pushing her babies into the world, she is so thankful to have us. Because of Mom's experience, I wanted so much to have my baby naturally. I worked with midwives at my doctor's office, read every book in the library on the subject, and explained my birth plan to Jeremy and my mom in great detail. Aedan was due September 23, but the day came and went and at my next appointment they planned to induce. I went to RMH the evening of Sept 29th and was induced the following morning.
Fast forward to Friday, October 1st. Enduring painful contractions with very little progress had left me exhausted. I was barely 5 cm that morning. Around lunchtime I finally agreed to an epidural so that I could rest and hopefully make more progress. When I woke up I was at 5 1/2, but the contractions were pushing my baby's head against my pelvis and they were monitoring him closely for signs of distress. As much as I wanted to keep trying, my body was exhausted. An hour later: no progress. My midwife called in the OB and we decided to go ahead with a c-section. By that point, I just wanted to hold my baby. At 5:04 that afternoon when I heard him cry I was nearly in tears myself.
While his birth was nothing like I had hoped--and I'm still quite sensitive when natural-birth moms share their stories as if it's the only "normal" way--I've come to realize that how I bring my children into the world does not define me as a woman or a mother. While I hope you know this as well, I felt I needed to share. I struggled this summer while pregnant with my daughter--do I try a VBAC? Statistically, it didn't look encouraging. Because of the circumstances of my c-section, my odds of a successful VBAC were low...and dependent on my body going into labor on it's own. We ended up deciding to have Mara by scheduled c-section. Having her was more important to me than how at this point (this was a much more difficult pregnancy). She was born the morning of November 27th, a whopping 8 lbs 11 oz! (Aedan was 6 lbs, 7 oz). All 5 of my mom's living grandchildren were born by c-section. All are practically perfect.
I don't know the circumstances of your baby's birth, but I can understand a little of what your heart is feeling. Know that (if you struggled in labor or had a c-section) you are not a failure as a woman. For your sake I hope that you will eventually experience bringing a baby into the world the way it was "meant" to be done. I recognize I will never have this experience for myself. Regardless, we as moms can continue to be thankful for the technology that allows us to hold our precious darlings in our arms regardless of our ability to bring them here--or their ability to GET here. I wish I knew why some women seem to be unable to birth naturally. If I thought it would matter to me when I reach heaven I'd make a note to ask God. But as I hold my brand new daughter in my arms I know...the only thing that matters is that she's here, she is a gift from God, and the how doesn't really matter.
Love,
Kristin
I want to share the story of my son Aedan's birth two years ago.
My mom has 3 children, all born by c-section. Her doctor told her in 1983 that she would have died trying to give birth to my brother. Even though she has never had the experience of going into labor and pushing her babies into the world, she is so thankful to have us. Because of Mom's experience, I wanted so much to have my baby naturally. I worked with midwives at my doctor's office, read every book in the library on the subject, and explained my birth plan to Jeremy and my mom in great detail. Aedan was due September 23, but the day came and went and at my next appointment they planned to induce. I went to RMH the evening of Sept 29th and was induced the following morning.
Fast forward to Friday, October 1st. Enduring painful contractions with very little progress had left me exhausted. I was barely 5 cm that morning. Around lunchtime I finally agreed to an epidural so that I could rest and hopefully make more progress. When I woke up I was at 5 1/2, but the contractions were pushing my baby's head against my pelvis and they were monitoring him closely for signs of distress. As much as I wanted to keep trying, my body was exhausted. An hour later: no progress. My midwife called in the OB and we decided to go ahead with a c-section. By that point, I just wanted to hold my baby. At 5:04 that afternoon when I heard him cry I was nearly in tears myself.
While his birth was nothing like I had hoped--and I'm still quite sensitive when natural-birth moms share their stories as if it's the only "normal" way--I've come to realize that how I bring my children into the world does not define me as a woman or a mother. While I hope you know this as well, I felt I needed to share. I struggled this summer while pregnant with my daughter--do I try a VBAC? Statistically, it didn't look encouraging. Because of the circumstances of my c-section, my odds of a successful VBAC were low...and dependent on my body going into labor on it's own. We ended up deciding to have Mara by scheduled c-section. Having her was more important to me than how at this point (this was a much more difficult pregnancy). She was born the morning of November 27th, a whopping 8 lbs 11 oz! (Aedan was 6 lbs, 7 oz). All 5 of my mom's living grandchildren were born by c-section. All are practically perfect.
I don't know the circumstances of your baby's birth, but I can understand a little of what your heart is feeling. Know that (if you struggled in labor or had a c-section) you are not a failure as a woman. For your sake I hope that you will eventually experience bringing a baby into the world the way it was "meant" to be done. I recognize I will never have this experience for myself. Regardless, we as moms can continue to be thankful for the technology that allows us to hold our precious darlings in our arms regardless of our ability to bring them here--or their ability to GET here. I wish I knew why some women seem to be unable to birth naturally. If I thought it would matter to me when I reach heaven I'd make a note to ask God. But as I hold my brand new daughter in my arms I know...the only thing that matters is that she's here, she is a gift from God, and the how doesn't really matter.
Love,
Kristin
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Mara Alexandra Jade
2 weeks.
Crazy isn't it?
And yes, what many other moms say is true...I feel I've been pregnant FOREVER. But I'm not quite ready for her to come. Well, I am, but yet I'm not. Let me explain...
Yay Mara is coming!
Adorable outfits to dress her in--pinks and purples!
Hair accessories!
My dolls and girly things coming out of storage!
A tiny little girl with 10 fingers and 10 toes!
No more swollen fingers and ankles!
New clothes for me (yay shopping!) and "new" clothes I haven't worn in (by the time I wear them again) nearly a year!
Moving from place to place, driving, getting in and out of the car...More or less ache free.
No more appendages in my rib cage!
Shaving in the shower no longer a blind balancing act.
Wearing my boots again--no more sneakers!
All we have to do is move the bassinet over to our room and get some tiny diapers, and we're ready.
(Jeremy adds that HE will get to hold her too.)
Did I mention the clothes and hair accessories?!
Oh my goodness, Mara is coming!
The nursery isn't ready...We're waiting for the conversion kit for Aedan's crib so we can move that one over to his room, making it his toddler bed, so we can set up the new crib in the nursery.
I have 2 more weeks of decent sleep. I will probably not get decent sleep again for the majority of 2013.
I'll miss feeling her kick and squirm. :(
Lugging around that infant seat again... :P
Praying for the energy to be Aedan AND Mara's mama...and that Aedan will adjust well to not being Numero Uno anymore...
2 more weeks.
Thank You God for this precious, darling baby girl. I adore her already. <3 Be my strength, my comfort, and my peace. Amen.
Crazy isn't it?
And yes, what many other moms say is true...I feel I've been pregnant FOREVER. But I'm not quite ready for her to come. Well, I am, but yet I'm not. Let me explain...
Yay Mara is coming!
Adorable outfits to dress her in--pinks and purples!
Hair accessories!
My dolls and girly things coming out of storage!
A tiny little girl with 10 fingers and 10 toes!
No more swollen fingers and ankles!
New clothes for me (yay shopping!) and "new" clothes I haven't worn in (by the time I wear them again) nearly a year!
Moving from place to place, driving, getting in and out of the car...More or less ache free.
No more appendages in my rib cage!
Shaving in the shower no longer a blind balancing act.
Wearing my boots again--no more sneakers!
All we have to do is move the bassinet over to our room and get some tiny diapers, and we're ready.
(Jeremy adds that HE will get to hold her too.)
Did I mention the clothes and hair accessories?!
Oh my goodness, Mara is coming!
The nursery isn't ready...We're waiting for the conversion kit for Aedan's crib so we can move that one over to his room, making it his toddler bed, so we can set up the new crib in the nursery.
I have 2 more weeks of decent sleep. I will probably not get decent sleep again for the majority of 2013.
I'll miss feeling her kick and squirm. :(
Lugging around that infant seat again... :P
Praying for the energy to be Aedan AND Mara's mama...and that Aedan will adjust well to not being Numero Uno anymore...
2 more weeks.
Thank You God for this precious, darling baby girl. I adore her already. <3 Be my strength, my comfort, and my peace. Amen.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Dear Abby...
The "Dear Abby" column in the newspaper amuses me. On the rare occasion that someone asks something useful, I learn something. Every other time I wish I was Abby instead of Jeannie or whatever her name is. Because while "Abby" and I usually agree, I think she's often too vague, too politically correct, or just plain too cautious.
For example, today a woman wrote in asking whether or not she should be concerned that the guy she has a crush on at work showed her inappropriate pictures of himself on his phone. They do not have any type of relationship and it apparently had something to do with a conversation they were having.
!!!!!!!!!!!!
Her response: A slap on the guy's wrist calling him juvenile and a caution to the woman because of the guy's IMMATURITY.
My response: Girl, a guy at work is showing you inappropriate pictures of himself on his phone AT WORK. And you need ME to tell you this is a problem? Eww! Yes, you may like the guy, but how many other women do you think MAY have seen those pictures and do you REALLY want to be with a guy who has them on his PHONE? Ever thought that maybe pictures of YOU could end up on his phone, or worse?
And a few days ago "Lauren" writes to "Abby" complaining that she has to do chores around the house and her mom only pays her $3. She told her mom she was tired of being "her slave" and she wanted a raise. Mom said she'd talk it over with Lauren's dad.
Abby's response: If Dad is in charge of the money, go talk to him yourself.
My response: Honey, slaves don't get paid ANYTHING and I'll bet there are millions of kids--some who actually ARE child-laborers--who would love to trade places with you. If I was your mom I wouldn't pay you a cent until you learned something called gratitude. Second, you should learn now that when your mom says she'll talk to your dad about it, chances are good it means NO.
My NICE response: If you want more money for doing your chores, perhaps you should work out a deal with your parents. They'll pay you more and you will be responsible for contributing to your personal budget (clothes, electronics including cell phone if you have one, and expenses incurred while hanging out with your friends). The more they pay you, the more you contribute. What's that? $3 a week sounds fine to you now? Thought so.
The one that takes the cake though was the lady who told her neighbor kids to "come back later" on Halloween because they interrupted dinner. She got called by the mom and was chewed out for it. Abby made some kind of response about how some parents don't want their kids out after dark, or if it was too late on a school night or something, so have the candy basket ready anyway and don't fret about it.
My response: If you don't want dinner interrupted, DON'T ANSWER THE DOOR. When you are done, turn on your porch light.
I won't even start on the wedding etiquette ones. Oye.
Anyone else want to be Dear Abby? :)
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