The Great Debate

Disclaimer:  I, Julianna, in the position of editor, do solemnly swear that Alexandria’s comments have not been tampered with in any way and accurately reflect her opinions.  That said, I choose to disassociate myself from her narrow viewpoint and oppose even posting this ridiculous discussion.  However, if you choose to keep reading, I hope you will not be completely swayed by her arguments. 

Alexandria:  Over dinner Julianna and I often ponder the deep questions in life.  Tonight the discussion became very heated.  You may wonder, “Are they arguing over pressing issues such as eliminating national debt or reducing poverty?” We weren’t.  The debate tonight centered on chick flicks and the fact that most of the cute guys in these movies have dark hair.  While Julianna conceded that most of the guys in the movies do have dark hair, we did have a lengthy argument (and it still continues).  As a rule I tend to like guys who are TDH (tall, dark, and handsome), whereas Julianna seems to go for men with lighter hair.  Therefore, our disagreement could be due to differences in taste, but we tried to remain as objective as possible while searching for the answer. 

            First we had to set up the appropriate qualifiers and operational definitions as any great researchers would.  We narrowed the field of movies to only include chick flicks and romantic comedies.  This in itself created some controversy.  Next, we had to determine what counts as dark hair versus not dark hair.  After watching several clips of our favorite chick flicks, we determined that dark blonde is still blonde and light brown is still brown.  It would have been helpful if we had a color palette to reference.  Julianna did suggest that we go down to the local drugstore to compare to the hair coloring samples they had (we did not actually do this in case you were worried).  

Our next operational definition was whether the guys in question were actually cute or not before they were to be considered in our pool of subjects.  This led to another debate- whether or not the gentlemen in English dramas such as Pride and Prejudice could ever be considered cute.  (I am of the opinion that any dudes sporting mutton chops cannot rate very high on the cuteness scale.  We also had to Google mutton chops to verify the definition.)  Another side of the argument that was brought up was the fact that a very high percentage of dudes in movies have dark hair so those with light hair are not given equal screen time.  The rebuttal to this was that most movie stars are considered good-looking and therefore naturally have dark hair. 

            Next we had to present the appropriate evidence to support both sides of the case.  To support Julianna’s case for cute blonde guys, the evidence included Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, and Matt Damon.  All of these gentlemen did qualify as being blonde and having acceptable ratings on the cute factor.  However, Matt Damon was excluded since his normal movie genre is nothing close to chick flicks or romantic comedies.  Zac Efron was debatable since we are not 13 or huge fans of High School Musical,but he has been in a few other movies which made him more legitimate.  There was simply no debate about Matthew McConaughey; Alexandria conceded on that one. 

Besides these three actors, every other cute guy in a chick flick that we could think of has dark hair.  This led into a discussion on what qualities are the most important in determining if a man is good looking.  Hair is definitely near the top of the list, followed by eyes and smiles.  However, that is a debate for another evening.  All in all, it was a great girls dinner:  we finished off a whole frozen pizza, discussed cute guys, and even watched snatches of a few of our favorite chick flicks.  What more could you ask for?

Fall

What do you all love about fall?  After several e-mails and remarks about not being able to leave comments, we were able to tweak the settings so you all can do so anonymously. 

There are so many things that we love about fall.  These are a few of our favorite things (if you like, you can pretend that we are singing in our best Julie Andrew’s voices)

Julianna

1.                  Christmas songs—Ok, I know some people are absolutely opposed to listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, but I say you can never have too much of a good thing.  Maybe it’s also because when I was younger we would start in October to practice for our Christmas piano recitals and choir concerts.  Nowadays, my roommate Alexandria just gets to enjoy me unknowingly humming “A Holly Jolly Christmas.” (Alex interjecting:  It does get old after awhile, especially since you’ve been humming it over and over since July!)  Now that our local radio station is playing Christmas music, hopefully I can get some other songs stuck in my head. 

2.                  Pumpkins—There is something festive about pumpkins, and this (is it a fruit or a vegetable?) food item brings back fond memories.  Instead of carving them, my brother and I painted them with rather sad results on my part.  We had fun all the same.  My parents also bought pumpkin trash bags that we filled with leaves; of course jumping in them prior to raking was much more fun.  Another random memory involves filling our plastic pumpkin baskets with lots of candy on Halloween when we went to our church to play fun games.

3.                  Other fall activities—As I walk outside, I can inhale the amazing scent of barbecue and smoke from the local diner.  This reminds me of amazing times during youth group bonfires and high school retreats; doesn’t everyone love staring into the flickering flames and roasting marshmallows for smores?  And then there’s the hayrack rides and playing hide and seek in the dark.

4.                  Weather—After experiencing a humid summer, the transition to fall is always refreshing.  There’s something wonderful about waking up on a fall day and being able to wear a jacket in the morning and experiencing a perfect afternoon.  The air is cool and crisp, and the beauty of God’s creation is displayed in the glorious colors of fall.  The reddish brown, gold, and orange leaves contrasted against the blue sky both amaze and humble me.  God desires to reveal Himself to us in fall despite “the fall” of mankind and my own “falls” when I try to do things in my own strength instead of His. 

Alexandria

5.                  Leaves—I love crunching leaves under my feet.  As a kid walking home from school, I would cross to the opposite side of the street just to walk through the leaves.  Even still I love to stomp, crunch, and kick leaves- I just secretly hope no one is watching me do this.  Another one of my favorite things about fall is nature’s fireworks.  Each fall I anxiously wait for the first leaves to change colors.  I have several favorite trees based on their display during autumn. 

6.                  Halloween—One aspect of my childhood that sticks out is the variations in my Halloween costumes.  As a toddler, I went as Big Bird and Minnie Mouse.  I then progressed from cartoon characters to architectural landmarks.  In first grade I was the Statue of Liberty.  The next year I really wanted to go as the Golden Gate Bridge, but for some reason the logistics on that didn’t work out.  I instead went as a picnic table.  My younger brother and I once went together as Vikings; I had great yellow braids to go with my Viking helmet.  Last year I dressed up as the Tree of Knowledge for the kids program I helped with at church. 

7.                  Football— Football and fall just go hand in hand.  There is no better way to spend a fall afternoon than tossing the old pigskin around.  There will be more on football and fall in a later blog.

8.                  Food—I am all about seasonal eating.  There are so many great fall foods.  Julianna has started making soups now that it is cooler.  I love making fall desserts such as apple cake or pumpkin bars. We also have enjoyed drinking tea and hot apple cider.  And then there is Thanksgiving.  Fall has so much to offer culinarily speaking.

There are many great fall foods but we have included the recipe for pumpkin dessert bars from Alexandria’s Bible study leader Rebecca. 

Julianna:  Thank you, Rebecca!  I got to enjoy this recipe Alexandria made, and it was amazing!  Enjoy!

• 1 package yellow or spice cake mix (set aside 1 cup)
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 egg
• Mix and press into a 9x13 pan

• 1 can pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• Combine and pour over crust

• 1 cup reserved cake mix
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup butter
• Mix together with a fork and sprinkle over top of filling.
• Bake at 350F degrees for 45 minutes.