We may have gotten Directv for the NFL, but we’re keeping it for the high school football. This is the best show on TV you guys. Are you watching it? You should be watching it.

Tonight! It starts tonight! I love this show so much. (Also, this song. Do you know it? It’s called “Devil Town” by Tony Locca (or Bright Eyes if you prefer) and I listen to it nonstop.)

Yesterday we took our youth group to Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. And yes, it is just as awesome as it sounds. I planted myself in the water park and spent the whole day going down giant slides in tubes and playing in the wave pool. It was an excellent day.

On the way home, the kids started casting the movie of our youth group. It’s a stellar cast: Owen and Luke Wilson, Queen Latifah, Micheal Cera, Jessicas Alba, Biel and Simpson, the girl who plays Juno, Dakota Fanning, the Olsen twins, most of the cast of Gossip Girl, the Target lady from SNL and John C. Reilly. You know you want to see it when it comes out.

It took them a while to decide who should play me and Aaron. There was much discussion on all three vans. Here’s what they decided.

The role of Aaron will be played by Seth Rogen. This is because he is cute in a nontraditional way, very funny, slightly inappropriate but good-natured and fun.

The role of Brandi will be played by Lorelai Gilmore. Not Lauren Graham, Lorelai. This is because she understands teenage girls, will tell you when you’re being stupid and talks really fast about books and movies no one else has read or seen.

What do you think? I think they make a pretty good couple. Here they are, making the same faces we usually make while talking to the kids.

I know, I know. You’ve been sitting there at your desk all day, pretending to work. You’ve got a spreadsheet minimized so you can pull it up when your boss walks by so she can’t see what you’re really doing. But! No worries! You can stop pouring over the internet looking for the perfect birthday gift for me. I am here to tell you what to buy.

These are the things that would make me oh so very happy on Sunday. I am, of course, working within the confines of your unlimited Brandi budget.

I think this dress would be perfect for my upcoming high school reunion, don’t you? Maybe with these shoes?

Perfect. Thanks. I will send you a thank you text with the new phone I know you are dying to buy for me. I’m sure you are tired of my annoying whining about how my current phone freezes and dies all the time. This is really a gift for both of us, you know?

What’s that? You’d prefer to get something for the house? No problem. How about something of the handmade variety? Say, from etsy?

I have had this print in my favorites for ages:

This one would look great on my bookshelf.

I am also, in case you didn’t know, a big fan of jewelry. You know, like these perfect earrings to wear with jeans and a black tank top:

Or this super cute necklace:

So there you go! I have solved your dilemma. I know it’s hard to shop for someone as important to you as I am, but I have no shame in telling you what to get.

I love our neighborhood. I love our house, I love our street, I love our big trees and downtown proximity. But there are some weird things going down in this place.

The couple across the street from us has lived in that house for 45 years. They are super nice and have a grandson who stays with them who is always, always, ALWAYS wearing a cowboy hat, boots, and a cape. He’s awesome. But here’s the weird part - she mows the lawn every day. EVERY DAY. I’ve been paying attention, and I think I’ve got it figured out. As best as I can tell, she’s got the yard divided into seven chunks. (I was going to say seven quadrants, but I’m pretty sure that’s impossible. I don’t know my geometry, or even if that would be qualified as geometry, but I do know my prefixes!) Each day she mows a different chunk, and by the end of the week she’s mowed the whole thing. Then she just starts over.

There’s a guy who lives kind of caddy-cornered to us who is a gardener. Usually, it’s really nice when your neighbor is a gardener. They always have pretty, well-kept grass and flowers. BUT. It’s a little different when they are growing corn. In the front yard. It’s pretty awesome, really… there was grass, then there was black tarp everywhere, and now there are cornstalks that are taller than I am.

But my personal favorite is the lady a few houses down. She runs a daycare out of her house, and she keeps a few kids from all over the neighborhood. At the end of the day, when it’s time for the kids to go home, their parents don’t pick them up. Instead, the daycare lady takes them home. On her riding lawnmower. So several times a day I see her driving down the street, racing past my house at two miles an hour, with a couple of kids and a dog in her lap. Sometimes she’s alone and talking on the phone. Because we all need a little downtime.

I wonder if those people think we’re the weird ones? They sit and blog about their new neighbors who pay a guy to mow their lawn, just grow bushes and flowers, and use their cars to get around town. Or maybe it’s about how they have a bunch of teenagers over all the time, sleep late and wear their pajamas outside every morning to let the dog out. Crazy people.

I had to get a shot on Friday. A SHOT. I do not do needles. At all. Or doctors, really, for that matter. She asked me when I had my last tetanus shot and I was all, “Oh, I got one before college! I am awesome at medical upkeep!” And that’s when she told me that if it had been ten years, I was due for another one. Not cool. But I have been milking the sore-arm-can’t-do-anything-for-myself thing for all it’s worth.

Since it’s been ten years since I was getting ready for college, that also means it’s been ten years since I graduated high school. My class set up this website where people can upload pictures and fill out a little thing about themselves, and I am OBSESSED with it. I check it all the time. I don’t know why, but I am always so surprised when people married other people from our class. Does that happen a lot? I don’t think any of our married friends went to high school together.

The website has taught me something about myself: I have a terrible memory. The main page has a list of recently updated profiles, and I very rarely have any idea who these people are. The name will sound vaguely familiar, and I’ll think I know, and then I click the name and the picture comes up and one of two things will happen. I either know the face, but it’s not the one I thought went with the name, or I have never seen that person before in my life. What is wrong with me?

Relatedly, my high school reunion is in September. I am going, and I am scared. What does one wear to a high school reunion? Ours is at a bar, thankfully, and not some random hotel ballroom that would require fancy dressing. Can I wear jeans? I have some really nice super dark rinse jeans and an excellent pair of strappy wedges that I love. Can I wear that with a cool top? I don’t know what to do. I need an outfit that says, “Look at me! I am so much cooler than I was in high school and my life is completely awesome. Which you can totally tell by how my outfit looks great on me but does not at all look like I’m trying too hard. Don’t you wish we were friends?”

I have a problem with shopping for big events. I always seem to buy something that I think I really love, wear it on that one occasion, and then never wear it again. What is that all about? These are the pieces I spend the most money on and am most photographed in, but I do not love them. I think I get shopping paralysis and just buy the first thing that might kind of work. I am overwhelmed by the pressure to be fabulous!

I would write more, but I can’t. My arm totally hurts. Will you get me a glass of tea?

Hi friends! I am alive!

The past two weeks have pretty much been a blur. Last Monday at 5:00am we loaded up 32 kids and adults and drove to Ridgecrest, NC for youth camp. It was an amazing week that pretty much stressed out every muscle in my body and every wave in my brain, and I am only now beginning to emerge back into the real world.

Camp was an interesting experience this year. Last year, everything was crazy high energy and emotional and big and loud. And this year… wasn’t. I don’t know if it was the staff, or the schedule, or just excessively high expectations, but everything just felt slower and more mellow.

And it was awesome.

At first the kids were struggling with it. They were expecting the insanity we experienced last year. When they got teambuilding instead of competition and parables and discussion instead of naptime disguised as bible study, they didn’t quite know what to do. But by the end of the week I think they were glad for it. All that intense competition and those big emotional nights are gratifying while they’re happening, but they’re hard to translate into everyday life.

We had several kids who were taking their first trip with our group (and some taking their first non-parent trip EVER), and there’s no better way to get to know people than to ride on a crowded van for 12 hours and sleep in a bed with them. The trick now will be figuring out how to walk alongside all these new relationships and support them when real life claws its way back in.

We made it through 99% of the week injury-free… and ended the week with a midnight dash to the emergency room. The night before we left one of our sixth grade boys got his finger slammed in a heavy door. I will spare you the really gross details and instead tell you that he handled it like a champ and we all survived, even those of us who had to drive home the next morning on three hours sleep.

I love camp so much. I love the crazy games and the morning services and the funny videos and the inside jokes and the late night dance parties and the puff painted tshirts and the teambuilding games and the new people and the bonding and the church group time. I can’t think of much better than to have a job where I get paid to do camp. I would do it for free in a heartbeat.

Jeff tagged me, and I haven’t done a meme in a while, so here you go!

The rules of the “game” are simple:
1. list your top ten favorite films (in no particular order).
2. if you’re tagged, you’ve got to post and tag 3-5 other people.
3. give a tag back (some link love) to the one who tagged you in your post
4. give a hat tip (HT) to Dan

Dan, Dan, he’s our man, if he can do it, anyone can!

I am actually not a big movie person. I don’t like to go to the movies very often. Aaron, on the other hand, would go see every movie that ever came out in the theater and rent the ones he missed. But I do have favorites, and I love them oh so very much. Just don’t expect any cinematic masterpieces on this list.

1. Almost Famous

Anytime someone asks me what my favorite movie is, I always choose Almost Famous. I love everything about it: the music, the t-shirts that say everything you want to say, the pencils and legal pads, the tour bus, Jimmy Fallon as the fancy new manager. I love the ending, when William finally gets his interview. I could watch it over and over and over. And have.

Sample quote: “This song explains why I am leaving home to become a stewardess.”

2. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion

Romy and Michele came out the summer before my senior year of high school. My friends and I probably saw it at the dollar theater about a hundred times. It is so completely ridiculous and so completely fun. And the whole movie is worth watching for the dance at the end.

Sample quote: “You look so good with blond hair and black roots it’s like, not even funny.”

3. That Thing You Do

I have written about my love of TTYD before. It is one of the most quoteable and joyful movies I know. I get a little teary every time they hear their song on the radio for the first time. I think I love it more now than I ever have, since our lives seem to parallel the movie a bit. We’ve done the label visit, the video, the big tours. Soon we will hear our song on the radio. And I will run screaming down the street, just like Faye.

Sample quote: “Are you crazy? A man in a really nice camper wants to put our song on the radio! Gimme a pen, I’m signin’! You’re signin’! We’re all signin’!”

4. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

I’ve been watching this movie for most of my life. Growing up, we stayed after school with a lady down the street who had a teenage daughter. She was a cheerleader and I completely idolized her. We watched this movie with her ALL THE TIME. I think it might have been where my dancing obsession began. Whatever happened to the guy who played Jeff? His red cut off t-shirt was too sexy.

Sample quote: “Velcro. Next to the Walkman and tab it is the coolest invention of the 20th century.”

5. Can’t Buy Me Love

This is another holdover from the babysitter days. Patrick Dempsey is so awesome in this movie. This and GJWHF are what 80s movies are to me. I love me some Molly Ringwald, but these are the best ones for sure. I was so jealous of the girl who wears a sports bra and overalls to school. That was a sweet outfit. Also, I may or may not be able to perform the African Anteater Ritual for you.

Sample quote: “You raise a doll-chopping homicidal maniac, and what do you do every time you see him? You give him money.”

6. Romeo+Juliet

Things that are awesome about this movie: Leonardo DiCaprio, the crazy carnival set on the beach, the amazing soundtrack, Leonardo DiCaprio, the balcony/pool scene, the colors and the dancing, Leonardo DiCaprio. I was already over the moon for him when this movie came out - I had loved him since his days as a homeless teen on Growing Pains. But Romeo+Juliet really put it over the top for me. It came on TV the other day and I couldn’t believe how young everyone looked… they seemed so grown up when I first saw it. And seriously. It has a great soundtrack.

Sample quote: “No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, but I bite my thumb, sir!”

7. Can’t Hardly Wait

This is one of those movies that it feels like no one saw but you, and then you drop a quote randomly and someone picks up on it and that’s how you know you were meant to be friends. This movie has everything - parties, long lost love, a good villain, the unknown who saves the day, personal growth and… Scott Baio. It is also my third favorite Ethan Embry movie. I love that boy.

Sample quote: “You know who else I like that didn’t get much play? Velma from Scooby-Doo. She was cool. She was a hip, hip lady.”

8. Rat Race

Is it bad that this is my third Seth Green movie? I have no idea what that says about me. I do know, however, that this movie makes me laugh every time. I love the rich guys at the hotel taking bets on who will puke first, or how much you have to offer a hooker to get in a jacuzzi filled with Pepto-Bismol, or which maid can hold onto the curtain rod the longest without falling. And I love Mr. Bean. The whole movie is just a mishmash of random things that I think are awesome. Like Lucy impersonators. And Smashmouth. (Just kidding on that last part.)

Sample quote: “What do you mean that’s it? I’m not giving up! And neither are you! And neither am I!”

9. Man On the Moon

I didn’t know anything about Andy Kaufman when I saw this movie. I’m not entirely sure why I ever saw it in the first place. But it is one of my very favorites. It’s such a crazy story, and I think Jim Carrey does an amazing job. The funeral scene is one of the sweetest I have ever seen. I’m not even embarrassed that one of my favorite movies stars Courtney Love. It’s that good.

Sample quote: “I am from Caspiar, an Island in the Caspian Sea. It sunk.”

10. Empire Records

Did I save the best for last? Possibly. I saw this movie for the first time my freshman year in college. I had this roommate that I am pretty sure hated me, but we watched this the first week we were there and I just fell in love with it. It has all the qualities of my kind of movies: music, teenagers, high school drama, more music, and Ethan Embry. It was made for me.

Sample quote: “Joe, I can categorically say that you are not a bigger banana-head.” (Such a hard choice!)

So let’s see… my top ten movies came out between 1985 and 2001, with only one coming out in the new millennium. The bulk of my movies are from high school/early college, which makes sense since it would have been when I was going to the movies the most. There’s not a single serious movie on the list, and I like it that way. I’m not ashamed that my favorite movies are teeny-bopper films. That’s the best kind.

Oh! I have to tag people! I choose Katie, Jacob, Jon and Jonathan

Ten Random Things From The Past Week

1. Last Thursday we went to this music contest thing that our friend Katie was a part of. Our friend is crazy good, but this whole event was insane. I’m pretty sure it was the worst thing we’ve ever been to in Nashville. At one point I thought we might get stabbed with a bow.

2. Then on Friday we got invited to a dinner with a private chef that another friend of ours won at some kind of event. When we got there, we realized it wasn’t exactly what we had expected - it was a sales pitch for pots and pans. He made us dinner, all right, but we had to watch and answer questions about vegetables while he did it. Then he made us a cake that involved carrots, zucchini, squash and… chocolate. He was all, “Isn’t it amazing how you can’t even taste the veggies?” and I raised my hand and said, “Ummm, I can taste them.” And then he didn’t really talk to us anymore.

3. After that dinner we got in the car and drove to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, on our way to the Ichthus festival in Louisville. We got there at 4:30am and had to be in Louisville at 10:00. So that was fun.

4. We spent all day at Ichthus with Remedy Drive… they played in the morning, and then we sold merch and ate and hung out the rest of the day. There were cicadas EVERYWHERE. Cicadas are gross. The highlight of the day was watching Leeland and Family Force Five from the side stage. It doesn’t matter how many times I see FF5 play. They are awesome.

5. Let’s talk about Leeland for a minute. Have you listened to them? I don’t listen to a lot of Christian music, but that kid is so talented. The first record was pretty good, and includes one of my favorite worship songs (”Beautiful Lord”), but this new record is great all the way through. Listen to “Opposite Way“, especially if you have any kind of influence with teenagers. I have used the concept of that song more times than I care to admit lately. It’s good stuff.

6. Sunday we drove to Birmingham because Remedy Drive filmed a video there on Monday. We got there, I went to church with Susan (which I loved… it was nice to get to go to church and not be responsible for anything) and then we walked 10,000 miles to eat Thai food. Luckily, it was delicious Thai food and I think everyone had a really good time. Especially the guys who would walk way ahead of us and then jump out of trees when we walked under them. Awesome.

7. Monday while everyone else did grown up responsible work-type things, I went shopping. I have been looking for a new every day bag for approximately five hundred years. I had very specific specifications (that I got from the Department of Redundancy Department) for this bag: it had to be leather, in a non-brown/black/white color, have only one strap, be big enough to carry a book, and have a long enough strap that I can pick it up with one hand and put it on my shoulder without using my other hand (ie: my elbow would fit between the strap and the bag itself). I know it sounds like a lot, but I did not expect to spend four months trying to find it. Then! I went shopping in Birmingham, and there it was! I am so happy with this bag, from Urban Outfitters.

8. We all came back to Nashville on Tuesday. Aaron and the guys had a bunch of meetings and I had a lot of stuff on my schedule, too. Which all ended up getting canceled. That worked out well, though, since Aaron decided we should have everyone (7 adults and 2 kids) over for a cookout that night. I ended up spending most of the day grocery shopping and prepping food. We had a great time, though, and the food was fabulous if I do say so myself.

9. Because I was running on about ten total hours of sleep for the past five days, I slept in a bit and didn’t go to ordination class. Which turned out to be a mistake. Last week at the end of class we took this hermeneutics quiz, which was fascinating, and this week they went through it and discussed their answers. I would have liked to have been there for that. (If you care, you can click that link and then click ‘take assessment’ on the right. I would be curious to hear how you score!)

10. The band finally left late late Wednesday night. The bus had alternator issues, so they were pretty much just killing time at our house. I had intended to use Thursday to catch up on all the work I didn’t do while they were around. However, thanks to an ill-advised sit-down at the blood pressure machine at CVS, I ended up passed out on the drugstore floor. Classy, I know. Luckily Aaron was there so I didn’t look like a total idiot. I should really know better. If something says “This may cause bruising or faiting”, I should probably not do it. I am smrt.

So last night was kind of frustrating. We had a great Sunday morning - lots of new kids, a really successful game and lessons, a big group for lunch after church. Yesterday afternoon I went shopping and bought a dress I already had in two different colors in a third. It was all set to be a fabulous day. And then last night happened.

I don’t want to go into the details, but the generics are this: last Sunday something happened. And it directly affected one of my people. Then a couple of follow up somethings happened and it turned into a Thing. So I said something, because I feel like it’s my job to take care of my people. Then someone else said something and someone else said something and before I knew it I was in the middle of a Thing that I did not want to be a part of. And that turned into an unnecessary Serious Conversation.

Y’all, I hate the Unnecessary Serious Conversation. We have a couple of friends who are Serious Conversation people, all day every day all the time, and it is exhausting. I am always up for talking about what needs to be talked about, but I do not love the Unnecessary Serious Conversation.

The gist of the USC was this - there is a way things are done, and people need to get on board with that. When you guys are older you will understand. Don’t rock the boat. Just let the grown ups handle it and everything will be fine.

Um, what?

Here’s the problem - the speaker was talking to me like I was on her team. Like WE, the adults, are in the right, and THEY, the young folk, are the issue. This is bad for multiple reasons. First, she has 15 years on me and I have 3 on the Problem Person. Second, even if I considered myself one of the Adults, she is still wrong. Like way seriously across the board wrong. Third, this is just another case of you thinking I think like you think when in fact I do not think like you think at all.

This whole thing is just exhausting. I am not a fan.

I don’t want to have sides or teams or any of that. But I work with the middle and high school kids, and we have the 20’s-ish care group. I do feel like it’s my job to speak up for those people. But more than that, I feel like it’s the ‘other’ side’s job to pay attention and listen to what they have to say. Their opinions aren’t less important because they have less life experience. There’s something to be said for optimism and for believing that you can change things for the better. You can tell me all day that you ‘remember what it’s like to be young’, but if you’re not letting people be who they are then it doesn’t make a difference.

Just don’t make me have an Unnecessary Serious Conversation about something if you’re not really interested in what I have to say about it. And please, PLEASE don’t quit on the USC when you realize that I’m not agreeing with you.

It’s just mean.

It’s midnight. I am driving around town with my headlights off and the radio turned down. My car is full of high school kids who are trying, albeit not terribly hard, to keep their voices down. We’re unsure of our destination and are clearly a little bit lost. It’s our fourth night doing this in a row and we’re starting to get the hang of it.

Oh - and there are eighty pink plastic flamingos in the trunk.

These flamingos are taking over my life.

For our big camp fundraiser this year we are flamingoing our church members. It is so much fun. We made videos about the mysterious flocks of flamingos that have been spotted hanging out in the yards of Nashville families and warned the church to be on the lookout.

Every night we move flocks of 20 pink plastic flamingos from yard to yard all over town. The recipients then pay to have them removed and taken to someone else’s yard. So far we’ve flocked 32 families in our church and made enough money to send 11 kids to camp on full scholarships. This is working so well that we don’t have to do the other fundraisers we had planned.

I am exhausted. Exhausted, but very, very happy.