Leftover Fridays

I used to love going to potluck meals as a kid.  Maybe it was the fact that there were so many varieties of food available.  Where else can you put meatballs, fried chicken, three kinds of rolls, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, and enchiladas all on your plate?  As I've grown older (and wiser) I've come to fear potluck meals, and that's not just because I believe that the dishes could have been prepared around pet hair.  We don't have potluck meals at my church and I do not choose cafeteria style dining.

When I worked for a camp full time we had a weekly chapel service and meal that we would enjoy together.  That meal was made up of a smorgasbord of everything leftover from the previous weekend's conference and retreat groups.  I usually made the mistake of choosing the first food that looked both safe and somewhat nourishing.  Oddly enough, most of us would cross our fingers for meatloaf.  It was a safe option.  Otherwise you might fill one of the little sections of your styrofoam plate with something that's just "meh" when you could have found the one secret awesome item of the day.  

Today is potluck Friday.  I brought some random items and hope you will supply the rest.

1.  Last Saturday night during service a third grader brought up close to $20 to put in the offering.  He placed each small bill in slowly and then turned to walk away.  His shoulders sagged and he took a deep breath before turning back around and pulling out ten more dollars.  He threw the bills in the bucket and said quietly, "Aw screw it."

2.  I'm wondering if any of the new movies out are worth seeing.  I tend to just go to the movies with a group of young moms now who want to see things their husbands wouldn't want to see.  Thus Bride Wars and 17 Again were the last two movies I saw in the theatre.  Someone please help.

3.  Has anyone ever read Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard?  It came highly recommended, not to mention  that it won the Pulitzer Prize.  I can't get past the 2nd chapter.  Is it worth pushing through?

4.  The high was 105 degrees here yesterday.

5.  I'm looking into U2 tickets.  Which performer would you pay the most to see?  How much would you pay to see them?

6.  I've watched the new Pride and Prejudice more times that I care to say and unlike my sister, I am not a repeat movie watcher.  What's your go-to-movie to play in the background or watch multiple times?  (Just to change things up I put in the A&E Colin Firth version the other night.)

7.  What was your favorite book or series to read as a child?  I was taken in by The Babysitters Club, American Girls, The Mandy Series, and of course... Jeanette Oke books.

8.  I have had two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my entire life.  I have no desire to increase that number.

9.  Check out this recent study that found that out of all the discretionary items, broadband internet was the last thing a consumer would give up.  I personally went without internet access for 6 months  out of '08-'09 so I wouldn't be in this same boat.  You?

10.  I went to lunch yesterday for a co-workers 30th birthday.  Everyone started talking about the age they have dreaded the most.  Three people threw out the number 26.  What in the world?  (Everyone at the table was between the ages of 26-31.)

11.  Anything else my day might be missing?

And that's all I've got.