One More Blogthing...

What? They're fun! I'm mainly putting this one on here for Lexi's and Lauren's enjoyment. (So you two better take the quiz and tell me which answer you get!)

Your Ideal Relationship is Marriage

You've dated enough to know what you want. And that's marriage - with the right person. You're serious about settling down some time soon. Even if you haven't met the person you want to get hitched to!

What's Your Ideal Relationship?

Just Something Cute-sy and Fun

Apparently, I am strawberry ice cream. See?

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

12, 10, and ...8?

Okay, okay. I know I haven't blogged in a while, but a storm's a brewin'. I've got several posts (with pictures!) coming up. So check back in a few days.

At the moment, though, I'd like to share some good news with you. I went to the Gap yesterday to take part in the jeans sale (Yay for jeans!), and was trying on some 10's. To my surprise, they were a little loose. Now, I must mention here that I usually wear a 12, but a few weeks ago, I thought, "This is ridiculous! Why do I always get clothes too big?" My whole family suffers from "baggy clothes syndrome." That's what I like to call it, anyway. It started when we were very young. Our parents would always buy big clothes so that we could "grow into them." It does make sense if you want to save money, especially when there are six children within a nine-year stretch. But we all grew up buying clothes and thinking, "Okay. I've got to get this in a larger size so that I can grow into it." HELLO! If we're still growing at age 23, there's a problem. But the problem is, is that we're all stuck with this "buy bigger" mentality, and I think we all realized this a couple of years ago. So all of us are trying to buy clothes THAT FIT.

With that said, I'll go back to the Gap. I decided to try 10's, and when they were too big, I thought it was a fluke pair. So I asked the saleswoman (who looked very much like Marcia Gay Harden, by the way) to get me another 10 because I thought they mislabeled it or something. She said, "Do you just want me to get you an 8?" WHAT? No way! That's too small! Too small! But I replied with a shrug, "Okay, why not?" She brought the 8's. I put them on. They fit! THEY FIT! It was a very exciting moment for me. I thought they looked good, she thought they looked good. . . I definitely had to buy them. I felt like they were too fitted, but I had to remember my goal: Stop buying clothes you will grow into. So I bought them and immediately called my sister-in-law, who is a pro at buying clothes that fit. She said she was proud of me, and I have to say, I was too.

Anyway, that's my fun July 28th story. I hope you liked it, and if you tend to buy clothes that are too big, I hope you learned something from it.

Potter IV

This trailer has been out for a while, but what with all the Harry Potter madness going on right now, I just couldn't resist putting something related to the next Harry Potter movie on my blog. So here is the link for the "Goblet of Fire" trailer. It's going to be wonderful, just wonderful. I can't wait!!! In fact, I've been looking more forward to this movie than I have the 6th book. Incidentally, the "Half-Blood Prince" is pretty good. It's much better than the 5th book, anyway, which, for many people, is not saying much.

Anyway, check out the trailer. Or not, I guess. What I really want to say is, read the 4th book before the movie comes out so you can all be as excited as me! C'mon! It'll be fun!

Thing I'm thankful for: Pottermania!

Would My Friends Do This For Me?

I don't know if posting a billboard about my singlehood would be a thoughtful gesture from my friends or an incredibly embarrassing one. Read this article to see what you think! (Because it's an integral part -- or should I say, "the integral part" -- of my post, I pasted it below.) Note: Thanks to Cory Stephens for e-mailing me the link. Also, thing I'm thankful for today: online banking.

Bachelor’s billboard a sign of desperation?
Utah man’s friends use roadside ad to find him a date

SALT LAKE CITY - Friends say Lance Archibald is a tall, handsome former college basketball player and graduate of Harvard business school.

He’s also still single at 31, and so they’re hoping to speed things up with a billboard and Web site.

“I’m Lance, Let’s go out!” reads the billboard on an interstate near Lindon, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.

“It kind of came out of discussions we had, that Lance is such a good guy but not married,” said Morgan Lynch, CEO of LogoWorks, where Archibald is the director of marketing. “Someone threw out the idea of getting a billboard.”
So why the concern over Archibald’s marital status? As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members typically marry in their early 20s, the 31-year-Archibald is approaching the male-equivalent of an “old maid.”

Friends say they’re not sure what the Brigham Young University graduate and former Mormon missionary is looking for but tease “it’s taking a little longer than usual for a guy with these credentials.”

“Team DateLance,” the cadre of friends and co-workers behind the scheme, are screening date applications. The site asks interested women to describe themselves, including age, occupation and personality, and to describe their ideal date with Archibald.

So far, the Web site has received more than 1,500 hits, with several women vying for a date.

“We’re still taking submissions,” Bates said. “As much as we thought it’d be funny, we’re serious about this.”

Archibald is taking the attention in stride, although he says he’s spent a good amount of time explaining to others what his friends have done. And he says he’s not bothered by singlehood.

“I’m not overly concerned about (marriage). I’m pretty happy right now,” Archibald said. “I’d like to get married, but it’s not a concern.”

© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The End of an Era

So I was finishing up my assignment for my Computers and Society class this evening. . . We had to create a web page -- mine was a web page about chocolate. Yum. So after I submitted the assignment and had had my fill of Hershey's miniatures we happened to have at the house, I surfed the internet for a while. I completed a few of my own projects, and at around 8:00 had nothing to do. "Hmmm, what to do?" I thought. "Do I have anything else to do for school?" And then it hit me. NO! I HAD NOTHING ELSE TO DO FOR SCHOOL! I had finished my absolute last piece of college homework! No more homework! EVER! It just feels. . . great. What am I going to do with all my time? Get a job? No; no one will hire me! But at least I don't have homework! . . . Until graduate school. Hmmmm.

Someone Else's Childhood Memory

Since I just finished a post about childhood memories, I decided to write another -- this time, referring you to someone else's. That someone else is my friend Lauren, and let me just say that she tells this story beautifully. It is SOOO funny. So read it. Now. Here's the link.

Thing I'm thankful for: Lauren's creative writing abilities.

Oklahoma, OK!

My family has lived in Georgia for about 13 years now, and it's been a while since I've even thought about my homestate, Oklahoma. But an old family friend recently got in touch with us, and so the connection that was once broken is now intact. And I just thought, life's funny that way, you know? One day you can cry your eyes out because you miss your old home, a year later you finally make some real friends, 3 years later you visit your hometown and it seems like no one knows you anymore, 10 years later you're busy and don't think about home at all, and 13 years later, an old friend pops up to say hello.

This friend -- Chris Lawson -- was more particularly my brothers' friends, but he and his brother, Greg, were almost always at our house. So I guess they were kind of like brothers, too. Anyway, Chris wound up leaving a comment on my blog the other day, and he wrote "If you're not sure who this is, it's Chris Lawson (from Stillwater)." From Stillwater! As if I didn't know? And so I thought about how interesting it is that most childhood memories are so strong. There are certain things and people and places that you probably just won't ever forget. This is especially true for hometowns, too. Everyone from Stillwater will always have a special connection, and anytime I see an Eskimo Joe's shirt, I will always get a little excited inside and think, "Hey, they've been to my town."

So then I e-mail Chris, and he e-mails me and writes, "It's weird to see you all grown up and doing 'real world' things." (Same for you and Greg, Chris.) And it is weird, isn't it? Just picture yourselves being little and imagining what you would be doing when you're 25 or something. I mean, when you're little, you can't even think that far ahead! It's CRAZY! What I really remember is the people. People that are always there somewhere in my head, and I might see something that reminds me of them at a particular moment. And then all the memories of Oklahoma come rushing in -- fishing in Theta Pond, OSU homecoming, Westwood, Braum's cheeseburgers and shakes, Yost Lake, tornadoes. . . It's so neat to think about those things.

I guess what I'm trying to say here, is that I LOVED my childhood. I loved running around the neighborhood and asking my friends' parents if "so-and-so could play." I LOVE re-connecting with people I haven't seen in a very long time, and I love to see how they've changed. I don't know if there's anything I'll love more than growing up in Oklahoma (except maybe. . . having my own kids running around and growing). Won't THAT be exciting?

So in tribute to the Sooner state and all of the memories it holds, I'm posting a picture of growing Snows. I tried to find a picture of Chris and Greg and have a "then-and-now" kind of thing, but I tried in vain. So here's a picture of the family waking up one Christmas morning. It was sometime in the late 80's. Thing I'm thankful for: late 80's fashions.

Mr. [Picasso]head?

My sister suggested that I make a post about a website called Mr. Picassohead. It's for all of you artistes out there. Try it, and after you do, post a link of your creation on the comments spot, please. I would love to see what your Picassohead looks like! I've attached a copy of mine here, but you can also click here to see a better image of it. (It's called "The Comforter.") Click here to see Lexi's; it's reel good.

Oh, How Quickly We Forget, Pt. 3

I am determined to proclaim my thanks! But I haven't been doing a very good job, have I? So I'm going to list about 10 to make up for it.

Things/People I'm thankful for: Rain, good drivers who pay attention to my occasional sloppiness, our family cat, brown paper packages tied up with . . . shipping tape, being born with a fully functioning and normal body, the internet, weddings, a mom who fills the car up with gas, a new mailbox, salmon, and the color blue.

Note: I don't mean to sound disrespectful or ungrateful by mixing everyday thanks with "serious" thanks. I just want to make sure I don't make this feature too intense or too silly.

"I Googled It!"

Strange verbs are making their way into English vernacular, and I just thought I'd post about it. Because it's SO weird, isn't it? I know it's not really a new topic anymore; I mean, we've had "blog" and "google" for a while. But just take a minute and really think about it. You could be reading anything, and if you don't understand a word, you can google it. Or if you want to look at an aerial photo of your house, you can google the address. Or your friend might say, "Hey, I just met this really cool guy; I think I might like him." And you could reply, "Google him."

"Blog" works the same way. You could be talking with your friend on the phone about something really interesting, and you could say, "Hey, I'll have to blog that later." Or you might be furiously typing on your computer, and your dad would ask, "What are you doing?" And you would of course answer, "Blogging."

The one I've heard lately comes from the word "text," as in words that are written or typed. Cell phones get full credit for this one. You might hear phrases like, "I'll text you later." Or, "I'll text that to you." Or the usage I've heard lately: "She was texting him." Weird.

So if you, dear readers, have heard of any other crazy noun/verb monstrosities out there in our technological world, let me know. Write a comment about it.

This brings me to another thought, though. Do you like these weird additions to our language? I called them monstrosities, but are they really? I tend to be very formal and traditional -- I don't usually like using nicknames; I like calling people by their full names; I don't like hearing people pronouncing words incorrectly, and I'm so embarrassed when I do that; and I usually don't like contemporary books, design, and music. But for some reason, I like this new transformation of language. I like this new flexibility and relaxed quality to speech. Maybe it's just easier and faster to say, "I'll google that" instead of "I'll look that up." But I think it just levels the verbal playing field. Perhaps it will force people to cut back on the stuffy arrogance that sometimes accompanies "big" words. And maybe this phenomenon just reminds us that language is often inadequate and ambiguous -- even standards like "good" and "pretty" and "love" and "death." So if those words don't always mean what we want them to or think they do, why can't we use words like blog, google, and text?

Yet Another Wedding!

Saturday I went to Andrea Sapp's wedding (I only list her here because I only know her, not her husband). For those of you who know Andrea, you know that she is just about the most cheerful and nice person you could ever meet. I met her my sophomore year in college, and until she moved to Valdosta, we had so much fun together!!! But I think everyone knew she just HAD to get down to Valdosta for some reason. And whadaya know? She met "Moose" almost as soon as she moved! YAY!

So. Here are the pics. The wedding took place at St. Stephen's in Lilburn, GA. (I drove there all by myself! Cool!) I didn't know whether I was allowed to take pictures in their chapel, so I didn't. But I do have these great pictures from the reception. Keep in mind that I only knew 5 people there, so these 5 people are the only ones I took pictures of. :)

The reception was held at Winfield Hall in Duluth. Check out the awesome lights. How fun is that?


Here's the beautiful bride! Hello, GORGEOUS! (Wow, you can insert "Funny Girl" quotes anywhere!)


Here are two of the pretty maids. They're (from left) Maria, Andrea's older sister, and Lea.


This is what the bridesmaids' bouquets looked like. They were, of course, beautiful.


Here's Lea and her friend Scott. I'm so glad Scott went to the wedding because he knew less people than I did, and since the people we knew were all in the wedding party, we had each other to talk to while pictures were being taken. So, uhhh, thanks for bringing Scott, Lea. :)


Andrea, Margaret, and Lea get down to some country song. It was some sort of line-dance, I think.


The music was excellent, by the way. In this picture, Andrea's family danced to Dean Martin's "That's Amore!" It's important to point out that Andrea's family is Italian. No, you wouldn't know it by Andrea's complexion, but they are. And at that particular moment, I was wishing I was Italian. Oh bene!


Here I am with the bride. I almost didn't put this picture on here because ummm, I LOOK LIKE A GIANT(!!!) standing next to Andrea. But wait 'til you see the picture of her and her new husband!


Here's Maria and Andrea. Awww, sisters are special. (Sorry about the bad photo quality; it's not the camera I usually use.)


Lea, Andrea, and me. I met Andrea and Margaret through Lea;they were all roommates at UWG. We had some very exciting times back then, and it was fun to see everyone again. Ahh, those fun college days. Hmmm, yeah. Those were probably my favorite times in college. Thanks, girls. (I know Lexia is sad she couldn't make it; she misses you girls, too!)


Margaret and me. Margaret looks great and tan. (You'd think SHE was the Italian one!) It was nice to have Margaret there; I mean, we were probably the only two single people, besides the kids. YES!!! I love being fun and free and single! Marriage. HA! Who needs it? :)


Margaret, me, and Lea. Didn't we coordinate this picture nicely? Who DOESN'T love some pink?!?


I LIVE FOR WEDDING CAKE. This cake was soooo goooood. It was moist and creamy. The frosting wasn't too sugary, and cake had a smooth vanilla flavor, not a cheap-we-skimped-on-vanilla flavor. It wasn't all dry and chalky like so many wedding cakes are these days. So how did I handle this delightful discovery? I asked for another piece, of course! AND I found out that the cake is from Publix. Hmmm, I wonder how much wedding cakes cost. . .


So now you finally get to see "Moose," and maybe you'll even understand why that's his nickname. Hmmm, I don't know how I feel about "cutting the cake." It looks fun, but I think it's too messy for me. :)


So here's the final picture of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rhodes. CONGRATULATIONS!

I Am "Apocalypse Now"

Yeah, right. Wasn't this rated 'R'? I didn't even see it. I don't think I answered the questions thoroughly. But don't think I'm only saying this because I don't want to be associated with "Apocalypse Now" whereas I do want to be associated with Gandhi (See this post.). I don't think I answered the questions thoroughly on that one either. Anyway, this is what I do at 2 in the morning. What?

So here's the verdict (and the link for you!):

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

I Am Gandhi

HA! Yeah, right!!! But apparently I could be. See?

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

"Charlie" Was A Bust

Two years ago, when I heard there would be a remake of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" starring Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton, I was completely excited. I just KNEW it would be good. I mean, who can match the magic that happens when Burton and Depp get together?!? No one can. No one.

I thought that until last night, anyway. I almost feel guilty saying that it wasn't a great movie, but it's my opinion that it just . . . isn't. Several people told me I shouldn't watch it, it wasn't going to be any good, nothing can top the original, etc. But how could I not watch it? If it was bad, I had to know.

So the theatre was packed -- in fact, two showings were sold out. Did these people agree with me? Did they think it was going to be the BEST EVER???

The first third of the movie was good. True to Burton-esque form, the cinematography was weird yet fascinating, and the colors were exciting and vibrant. The title character was played excellently by Freddie Highmore, as was Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz). Those actors were by far my favorites. I even liked them better than Johnny Depp. There were a few lines from Depp, though, that were great, but I don't think his performance was outstanding -- not even close to his Jack Sparrow. The set design was fantastic, but maybe a little too over-the-top in some scenes.

For me, the scene where the movie broke down was just after Augustus fell into the chocolate river. The Oompa Loompas started singing (Incidentally, the Oompa Loompas were played by one actor, Deep Roy.), and it was really over from there. I don't mind musicals AT ALL, but the music has to be solid or it just doesn't work. And so, the song routines were the scenes I disliked the most. I think Burton should've skipped that altogether. He also shouldn't have told a Wonka backstory, but then again, I suppose he had to add something to the remake to really make it his own.

But there's something else that just isn't right about it, and I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it's just that it isn't the original, but I don't think that's it. I think I'm pretty open to re-creations and improvements and new productions; I went to see the movie, didn't I? And I don't think the original was absolutely perfect; it was also an adaptation. So what was it? That's a question I'm posing to you, readers. Let me know what YOU think.

P.S. I think we will see a return of the Burton/Depp magic in "Corpse Bride," which will come out later this year. If you haven't seen the trailer, watch it here.

This Just In!!!

I just received an e-mail notification that Barnes and Noble has shipped my copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince!!! YAY! Don't forget: If you haven't already pre-ordered a copy, you can buy one on Saturday!

A Birthday

Last Saturday the family celebrated Lily's birthday. She's 4!!! I don't have many clever things to write, so there isn't much text for this post. Sorry!

Before we had cake, mom entertained the kids (as usual) by blowing up balloons. I'm sure she nearly passed out a couple of times . . . So there she blows (!), while Ezra and Carson look on.


For a while, it was balloon madness!


Here's the birthday girl:


Whoa, let's zoom in on that cake!!! It was so gooooood.


Summer hung a Care Bear pinata. FUN! The kids watched as she demonstrated how one hits such an object. (I'd like to point out here that the creation of the pinata was a crazy good idea. Incidentally, I'm really T-O'ed right now that there isn't a tilde feature on Blogger . . .)


In hitting order: Macy, Ezra, Lily, Carson, and Dylan





Despite their efforts, they could not get the candy out. So they pulled the strings at the bottom (which, also incidentally, I did not know pinatas had).


The kids came down from their sugar high by watching Lily open her presents. Instead of documenting that event, though, I wanted to post my favorite pics on here -- the random shots of the fam.'

Here we see that Macy cannot be content with one sucker:


Here's the perfect daddy/daughter picture:


Or maybe this is the perfect daddy/daughter picture:


This is Angela and her new baby. (I know she'd probably hurt me really bad if she knew this picture was on here, but I don't care because she's GORGEOUS . . . and I think she knows it.)


I like this picture because in it, I'm holding my spittin' image.


Here's my dad. I think this is his best shirt (and mom, you picked it out!).


This is Stewart and Amy, Clay's sister. What a handsome couple!


And finally, Clay and Amy. Those beautiful Woods -- they all got great tan skin. Ahhh, if only pale skin was still the fashion!

Best Picture

Yes, it's late; I know. But I just finished watching "The Nun's Story" on Turner Classic Movies with my mom. When it started, I thought, "Boooo. Who wants to watch a nun's story, even if it does have Audrey Hepburn in the lead role?" The running time is about 2 hours and 50 minutes; I started watching it as the 2nd hour was beginning. I was captivated. CAPTIVATED. (Brooks, you'd LOVE this movie!)

Here is a short summary found on IMDb:

Gabrielle Van Der Mal gave up everything to become a nun. But her faith and her vows are forever being tested: first in the missionary Congo hospital where she assists the brilliant and handsome Dr. Fortunati and then at the mother house in France when World War II has broken out and the nuns are forbidden by the order to take sides.

It was directed by Fred Zinneman in 1959 and was nominated for several academy awards in 1960, including best actress and best picture. Why it didn't actually win any is beyond me. The tagline for the movie is: "The most gripping and dramatic personal story of this decade on the screen!" I think "gripping" is a highly over-used adjective in movie review jargon, but in this case, it's right on the money. It is gripping. Truly. To use a metaphor Brigham Barnes (whose blog can be found here) used in a recent post, I would say that this movie was a dagger that stabbed me to the quick. The proverbial pulls on my heartstrings were in full force. And the ending -- oh, the ending. My mom says I can tell all of you that I am a hopeless romantic like her, and what can I say? It's true. But looking back, the ending was perfect. No, it didn't quite satisfy me with perfect closure, but the story ended in the very beginnings of the 2nd World War. So the incomplete and restless feeling experienced in the last scene was probably necessary for the full emotional effect.

DON'T let that stop you from watching the movie, though! It's wonderful! I don't know how to express to you that this movie is so worth your time. I will just have to tell everyone in person from now on. "Hello, I'm Sara. I think you should watch "The Nun's Story" as soon as you get the chance."

Just watch it. Watch it!

How I Spent Independence Day 2005

Well, I didn't do a whole lot this weekend. I kept thinking, "What do I have planned for the 4th? What am I going to do? Any cookouts or pool parties?" I don't really know why I felt the need to be doing something really social. I guess I must not have really cared, though, because I didn't do much to find out if any of these kinds of activities were actually going on. Instead, I decided to watch a bunch of old movies, starting with the 90's and working my way back. So here's what I watched: "Notting Hill," "Sleepless in Seattle," "The Philadelphia Story," and "The Strawberry Blonde." It was quite fun. Two I watched by myself, and the other two with my parents. We had popcorn and chips and IBC. After "The Strawberry Blonde," my mom taught me how to waltz?!?! It was so much fun, though. I LOVE my parents!

The key message I want to get across here -- besides spending quality time with parents -- is to watch old black and white movies. They're great! "The Philadelphia Story" was made in 1938, and "The Strawberry Blonde" came out in 1941. After seeing "Batman Begins" on Friday, I just felt like the plots of old movies are so much more . . . real? Complex? Interesting? Hmmmm, what? The plots aren't too ambitious or so intricate that you find unintended problems. They're complex on an emotional level, not on a special effects one. What I mean is that it's nice to not be able to see EVERYTHING in a movie; that way, the director/producers have to rely on the actual story. It's a refreshing change from a lot of movies today. I'm not saying that all contemporary movies stink now; there are a lot of really great stories on film right now. I guess I just want to say, "Hey, watch some old movies once in a while! They're good!" And after you do, maybe your mom will teach you how to waltz and talk about how traditional dance is a lost art.

Flor-EE-da

Two weeks ago I went to Santa Rosa, Fl with a bunch of couples/married people and a pair of kids. So I almost didn't go -- we all know how it is to be single in a crowd of people who have already found their other halves. But it was kinda nice 'cause the pressure to look good on the beach was off. Hmmm . . . maybe I should've felt the pressure; as it is, you won't be seeing me in my swimsuit in any of these pics. HA!

Thing I'm thankful for: That Jacki nannies for rich people who let us use their beach house for the weekend! I'd also like to thank Summer for taking all of these pictures -- so I didn't have to lug my camera around!

Here we are on the way to the beach:


Ezra and Brooks kayak while Dylan looks on.


Lily LOVES the water.


And Macy LOVES the sand.


Clay is always trying to be cool. :)


Here, Jacki recovers from a spill. Brooks had thrown the frisbee to kayaking Jacki, who caught it with the paddles, toppling over head-first into the ocean. She did catch it, though.


Lily and Crystal played together. I'd like to point out that C's swimsuit bottoms match her skin color -- COOL!


Clay took Lily out in the kayak.


While the two of them were out at sea, Macy pretended she was too.


She finally got her turn, though.


Macy and I laid out together, but she looked much cuter. She also had her own little system going . . . first the back, then the front.


This is perhaps the prettiest family in the world:


Later we ate in Panama City. Ummm . . . I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was in a giant pirate ship; somebody help me out, here.


Lily and Macy were little pirates. Awww.


Pretty Crystal and handsome Ezra; they're gonna have cute kids . . . named Double Cheeseburger??? (That's the word on the street, anyway.)


I'm sorry I didn't have a better picture of Laura and Dylan. But here they are looking over the menu:


Jacki and Brooks look great together!


And finally, here I am with Summer. We're twins! (Not really.)