Dear Lindsay -

What the hell is wrong with you?

No, Seriously.

What is wrong with you?!  Did you not see this coming?

I want to feel badly for you, I honestly do.  I can’t imagine it’s easy being a young star in Hollywood, when you have fame and time and money and everything you could possibly ever want to own.  That combination of factors is a breeding ground for wild behavior.  I get that.  We all saw when you started smoking and drinking and dating men too far your senior and dealing with your crazy ass family.  Heck, we probably all saw when you first started doing hard drugs, too.  There were whispers here and there and you went from looking happy and fresh-faced to haggard and worn.

And then there was the car crash.  That car crash, so long ago, changed everything for you.  The car crash when the cops found the coke.  The car crash that resulted in a lawsuit and myriad court hearings and jail time and rehab.

But let’s back up to this summer, shall we?  You had a mandatory court date here in the U.S., but you were off partying in Cannes.  YOU MISSED YOUR FLIGHT.  If I missed my mandatory court date because I was fooling around in Cannes you can bet that my ass would be thrown into jail.  No questions asked and it wouldn’t matter how much I paid my lawyer to keep me out – judges aren’t that lenient to normal people.

But it doesn’t end there.

Pictures appear of you sitting on a floor with coke on the table right in front of you.  And you denied that it was yours.  I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt here and accept your story that it wasn’t yours.  But answer me this – with a huge court date coming up that at least in part involves former cocaine use, why are you sitting in a room where someone – ANYONE -  is doing coke?

When you finally made it back to the states you painted “F*** U” on your finger nails and cried before the judge.

I thought “FINALLY!” when Judge Marsha Revel had the cajones to put you in jail and then ordered mandatory rehab to boot.  Not because I dislike you, Lindsay, but because I was excited and hopeful that you would finally receive the help that you need.  Judge Revel wasn’t afraid to throw the book at you, and I applauded her for that.

But then, of course, you came skipping out weeks early because the jails in L.A. are overcrowded and your doctors determined you didn’t actually have an addiction.  {I’m still puzzling over that one.}

I’ll give you this – you looked healthier.  And happier.  Your friends swore that the partying days were behind you.

Fast forward to last weekend and the news that you failed a drug test.  For cocaine.

I don’t think anyone was surprised, though I do think this is one of the first tests you have publicly failed for drugs.  You kept denying the coke use before, but finally the proof came to light.

I’ll tell you what, Lindsay.  I was disappointed.  I AM disappointed.

What happened to the girl above?  The girl that had the world at her feet.  The girl that people were comparing to a young Ann Margret?

What happened to the Lindsay Lohan that was going to conquer the acting world and keep her head on straight?

What happened to the Lindsay Lohan that was one of the top teen actresses in Hollywood, and who graced the cover of Vanity Fair not because of her sex appeal or notoriety, but because of her t-a-l-e-n-t?

Come on, Lindsay.  Snap out of this foolishness.  You’re getting too old to play stupid or to blame your problems on your friends or family. It’s time to grow up, take responsibility for your own actions, and move on.

Use your latest stint in jail to learn how to say “no” to temptation.  Use your latest stint in jail to think about completing rehab and getting better, and not just convincing the doctors that you’re not addicted to anything.

Get clean.  Start fresh. Get your career back.

Move on.

We’re all rooting for you.

Sincerely,

Lisa

I have been experimenting with The Pioneer Woman’s Photoshop Action Sets and created this fun picture of Bacon.

One of Bacon’s favorite pastimes is playing in the planter of dirt on our balcony.  The planter used to house various herbs, but Bacon unplanted them.  And then he just kept digging the dirt out of the planter and onto his face.

World’s biggest Michigan fan, obviously.

My boyfriend, Randy, is a big fan of blow pops. I’m not sure if he actually loves them or if he loves that they drive Bacon crazy. I assure you he has never had a sucker but they make him go a little crazy, as evidenced above.

When I made the list of things to accomplish before my 31st birthday I honestly thought that owning a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes would be the hardest to complete.  I am certainly not at a point in my life where spending $600 on a pair of shoes is feasible.  In fact, it’s downright laughable.

However, a funny thing happened when I was at the BlogHer conference in New York City in early August: I won a $1,000 Ebay shopping spree!  As soon as I learned I had won I turned to my boyfriend and said, “I’m going to buy a pair of obscenely priced shoes!”  Sure, I could have purchased an entire year’s wardrobe plus some extras for $1,000.  But what I really wanted was a pair of Christian Louboutins.

I ended up with the pair of previously-owned Simple Pumps in black kid leather that you see above.  I’m not sure they were actually worn because as you can see the sole is 100% impeccable.  {The mark you see is actually the original sticker on the sole.}

The best part?  I paid just $450 for a $600 pair of shoes.  Well, technically I didn’t pay anything.  They were free to me.

I have to thank Elisa from Not Your Mama’s Ebay who actually found these shoes for me.  Elisa makes extra money tracking down and selling designer items on Ebay, including personal requests like mine.  I would have never found these shoes without her, and yes, the $450 I paid includes the small fee for her personal shopping services.  {I believe she charges 10% or $30, whichever is more.}  Elisa was a real life-saver in the Ebay jungle since my #1 fear was paying top dollar for a pair of $$$ shoes only to find out that the shoes were fake.  The shoes I have are definitely real.

Now that I have my pretty, pretty shoes I just need to figure out where to wear them…

Wow.  I apologize for being so slow in posting a winner of the Gold’s Gym Dance Workout for Wii giveaway.  I don’t know what got into me!

Thank you all for taking the time to enter!  If I had a prize for all of you, I’d give one out.  Alas, this time around there’s only one winner.

Lucky #23 is… Jolene!

Congratulations Jolene!

This is not the world’s best picture, probably because I took it with Photo Booth on my Mac.  However, I love the look on Bacon’s face.  He’s a little sulky that I’m making him pose.

First off, woah, my lone picture from the drive-in sucks, doesn’t it?

Second, we finally made it to the drive-in!

This past Saturday the boyfriend and I, along with two of our friends, headed way way way West of Chicago to go to the drive-in. As you all know, this is on my list of things to do before turning 31, so it was a pretty momentous occasion.

The boyfriend and I were in charge of going to the airport to rent the largest car we could find while our friends packed a cooler full of beer and a bag full of snacks. After a quick stop at Starbucks we were on our way.

While we had lawn chairs available so we could sit outside the car and enjoy the nice Summer night, the mosquitoes were absolutely ferocious and we quickly retreated into the car. This might be TMI, but I had multiple mosquito bites in each of my arm pits! Ugh, I’m still scratching away.

Illinois’ mosquito issues aside, it was actually fun to sit inside the car and watch The Other Guys! We had the volume up pretty loudly so the sounds were reverberating through the car and we felt like we were part of the action. We didn’t plan our trip around seeing a specific movie so thankfully The Other Guys was pretty good and we had a few laugh out loud moments. The particular drive-in we checked out does double features, though we chose not to stay for Salt. I was the DD and there was no way I was going to be able to stay awake for a second movie that wouldn’t start until about 10:45 p.m.

We already have plans to go back, either late in the Fall or next Spring…anytime when we won’t have to deal with the mosquitoes.

Has anyone else been to a drive-in?  If you have one within a reasonable driving distance from your house I recommend checking it out!  I’m a big old dork so I kept imagining we had been transplanted back in time, when sitting in your car to watch a movie was the thing to do.

Dear Friday Night Lights-

What can I say to you that would adequately express my feelings?

We didn’t watch you live during the first season.  The boyfriend picked you up at Best Buy and had to work hard to convince me to give you a try.  I couldn’t figure out why he’d even bother.  A TV show about football?  No thank you.  My boyfriend was persistent though, so I gave you a shot… and was hooked after the first 15 minutes.

I’ve met many people who say they’re not interested in Friday Night Lights because as I mentioned before, you market yourself as a show about high school football.  And while I admit that there is plenty of football, Friday Night Lights is so much bigger than that.  Friday Night Lights is about life, and I dare anyone to watch the show and not find at least one character compelling or relatable.

I’ve gone back and forth over my favorite character over the years, and now, at the end of your fourth season, I think I have finally pinned down my favorite four.

1. Zach Gilford as Matt Saracen

I cried during Matt’s last scene on the show this season as oftentimes he has been the teenage emotional heart of FNL.  Matt is always so sweet and sincere and Zach Gilford played the character perfectly.  I’ll certainly miss Matt next season, but his happiness is in Chicago and if there’s ever any character that needed a happy ending it was Matt Saracen.

2 & 3. Kyle Chandler as Coach Taylor and Connie Britton as Tami Taylor

You can’t have Coach without Mrs. Coach.  Kyle and Connie play against one another so well and make the Taylor’s relationship real.  Their relationship is not perfect but it is perfect in its imperfections.  The Taylors fight.  They make-up.  They’re both revered and hated in their community.  They make mistakes.  They care for everyone around them.  If ever a TV couple should have a handbook for how to be good parents I think it should be written by the Taylors.

4. Michael B. Jordan as Vince Howard

Vince only appeared during season 4 but he is already an integral character.  You can’t help but care about Vince and I attribute that solely to Michale B. Jordan’s portrayal.  Fans of The Wire will recognize Michael B. Jordan as the tragic character of Wallace, and the character of Vince is almost a continuation of Wallace and what may have become of him if his life hadn’t ended so early.  I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Vince during season 5, and like so many other characters I hope he finds happiness.

I could go on and on about how much I love you, Friday Night Lights, because your characters are so real and you rarely do anything over the top.  But rather than do that,  I thought I’d share a little FNL snippet that showed me the type of mom I’d like to be one day, and proves that FNL isn’t just about football.  It’s about family and love.

In closing, thank you Friday Night Lights for four great years of delightful characters and wonderful storylines {to be fair, I’m purposefully forgetting that Landry’s storyline in season 2 ever existed}. Here’s to a great finale next season.

xoxo,

Lisa