"Yeah, well, I've got a dream too. But it's about singing and dancing and making people happy. That's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with. And well, I've found a whole bunch of friends who have the same dream. And it kind of makes us like a family."

- Kermit

Excerpt from "It's Not Easy Being Green

And Other Things to Consider"

Jim Henson - The Muppets and Friends

Cheerful Giving

The Blind Side was a big hit seven months before I finally rented the movie.
I was sorry I hadn't paid more attention to the TV interviews with the family at the time of its initial release. Well, I needn't have worried, because People Mag did a nice interview with them recently and more interestingly, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy wrote a book with Sally Jenkins, entitled In a Heartbeat, about their family's journey taking Michael Oher into their hearts and home, eventually adopting him.

If you thought you knew enough about them, I'm telling you the book is really inspiring, telling about their individual backgrounds, how their own parents' giving influenced their lives at an early age. I couldn't put the book down, which is rare for one with my short attention span.

Michael must have cringed when he saw the scene where Leigh Ann comes onto the field to tell him how to play and S.J. drills plays with him. According to Leigh Ann, he already knew how to play when he got to their family.

Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, who portray Leigh Ann and Sean, and all three of the Tuohy children (Collins, Michael and S.J.) get their say in the book as well.

Anytime a book can make me smile, laugh and cry, I say it's worth recommending. Of course, the main purpose in writing the book is to encourage those of us who saw the movie and now have read the book to go out and buy into the Popcorn Theory. You will have to read the book to find out what that means. Actually, it's on the first page of the book.

You don't have to do a lot to make a difference in someone's life; every day there are opportunities if only we pay attention to them. I found this to be an excellent lesson in cheerful giving.

A perfect wedding

We hadn't been to a wedding in a long time and were ready to attend another when we received the invitation to Chris and Nikki's wedding, the daughter of our good friends, Betty & Frank.

If the venue that the bride and groom had initially picked out hadn't cancelled and left them not only disappointed but scrambling to find another one, it would have been a dreary and windy day in May for an outdoor wedding. This day in June, however, was beautiful. A string quartet played as we all entered the courtyard where the white rose-lined trellis and white pathway strewn with rose petals awaited the soon to be newlyweds.

Nikki, who has always been a beautiful blonde, looked gorgeous in her strapless beaded gown. The groom was handsome in his tux. The bridesmaids wore pretty black dresses. The "officiator" of the wedding was a close friend of theirs and did a marvelous job of setting the tone for the wedding vows. The brother and sister of the bride also spoke a lovely tribute to the couple,who had been dating for a few years before taking the plunge into holy matrimony.

Betty looked smashing in a lavender tiered floor-length gown. Frank wore a matching cumberbund, hanky and tie, which were made from the remnants of Betty's dress, which had been altered. Both sets of parents have happy long-term marriages, so Chris and Nikki have good examples for which to follow.

After the wedding, we drove to a nearby venue, which had previously been a dinner theatre. An open bar and many hot hors' doeuvres later, we had a delicious sit-down dinner of beef, potatoes, and veggies. The cake matched their colors of black and white and cranberry. We all danced and carried on and had a great time. Met some new friends whom we plan to see soon.

The truest words we heard that day in addition to the bride and groom vowing to love one another were when the officiator said to Chris, "Every married man in this room will attest to the fact that from this day forward you will now be made aware of faults you never knew you had." We ladies just smiled.