A Word for Wednesday

"A man would always wish to give a woman a better home than the one he takes her from; and he who can do it, where there is no doubt of her regard, must, I think, be the happiest of mortals."

~from Emma by Jane Austen~

A Word for Wednesday

"Human nature is so well disposed towards those who are in interesting situations, that a young person, who either marries or dies, is sure of being kindly spoken of."

~from Emma by Jane Austen~

Let's Bust a Recap : Emma

Well, I've gone rogue yet again. I have officially read more books that are not on my 2017 book list than ones that are. Sue me. After having all four of my wisdom teeth out, I needed a more medicinal read, if you will, so Emma it was. 

Emma is one of my favorites. I know, I know; I say that about all of Jane Austen's novels, but Emma is so wonderfully delightful and funny that I can't help thinking it really might be my favorite. And on top of that, I can say definitively that Mr. Knightley is my favorite Austen man. And that's the truth. 

In Emma, we meet our happily single heroine who has absolutely no inducement to marry herself but enjoys playing matchmaker among the less fortunate mortals who must succumb to that blessed institution. Through scrape after scrape, Emma slowly realizes that she is not well suited to wield Cupid's bow, and SPOILER, she ultimately gives up the title of Matchmaker for that of Bride. 

The thing I love so much about Jane Austen's writing is that all her characters are so perfectly human. We all have a know-it-all Mrs. Elton or a never-stops-talking Miss Bates in our lives. We love our indulgent Mrs. Westons and are flattered by our charming Mr. Churchills but would be lost without our truth-telling Mr. Knightleys. We all know a worthy and respectable Miss Fairfax that we should probably be better friends with but secretly don't like, and prefer to spend our time with the adoring Miss Harriet Smiths of the world. And we all, at some point or other, end up sticking the proverbial foot into mouth and have to then choke down a slice of humble pie to correct our unfortunate blunder like our silly but well-meaning friend Emma. 

In my last Austen recap, I said that Pride and Prejudice is probably the best place to start for Austen newbies. Emma is an excellent followup, and I would highly recommend it. And for you sacrilegious movie-preferrers out there, I will vouch for the adaptation starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam. I actually love it. 

Has anyone seen the BBC miniseries starring Romola Garai? I know Austen-lovers generally prefer BBC adaptations, but you know how I feel about them. Have you ever read Emma? It seems to be either the favorite or the least favorite with most Austen fans I've talked to. Seemingly no middle ground with this one. I can't imagine not loving it, but those people do exist in the world. 

A Word for Wednesday

"A woman is not to marry a man merely because she is asked, 

or because he is attached to her, and can write a tolerable letter."

~from Emma by Jane Austen~

A Tuesday Confession

As you may remember, I recently re-read Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.

I love that novel. 

I love all Jane Austen's novels.

But here's the big confession: I don't care for either of the major film adaptations. 

Most Austen enthusiasts I know will pick a side and go down swinging over this, but I just don't like either one.
The BBC mini-series starring Colin Firth certainly pays faithful homage to the novel, but it's painfully long, the acting is a tad on the cheesy side, and several of the actors don't really capture the essence of the characters they're portraying, in my opinion.

The 2005 film directed by Joe Wright is absolutely gorgeous with a fantastic score and the actors do a much better job of embodying the characters (with the unfortunate exceptions of Kiera Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen--arguably the two most important characters of all), but it basically flips the novel the bird and does its own thing for some of the most important scenes that it makes me want to scream every time I watch it.

Yes, I own both of these films on DVD.

I'm not sure what that says about me, but whenever I'm in the mood for Pride & Prejudice, I just sit down with the actual novel instead of popping one of those trainwrecks into the DVD player.

Have you seen either of these movies? Are you a fan of one or the other?
Anybody else own movies that you don't particularly enjoy and you're not exactly sure why? 

A Word for Wednesday

"There is so much of gratitude or vanity in almost every attachment, that it is not safe to leave any to itself. We can all begin freely--a slight preference is natural enough; but there are very few of us who have heart enough to be really in love without encouragement."

~from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen~

A Word for Wednesday

"To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love..."

~from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen~

Let's Bust a Recap : Pride & Prejudice

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." 

Thus begins the most well-known and beloved of Jane Austen's work. Now, I know that Pride and Prejudice is not on my official book list this year, but I also seem to remember vowing that Jane Austen would show up on every book list for years to come. So even though I didn't pencil it in on the book list, I had every intention of reading it at some point this year. I guess that point came sooner rather than later. After making it through the first 200 pages or so of John Adams, I decided to take a quick break for the rather silly Bennet family, the proud Mr. Darcy, and the oh-so-lovable Bingley. 

Pride and Prejudice was the second of four novels published anonymously during Jane Austen's lifetime. It was well received and garnered favorable reviews very soon after being released as a three-volume set in 1813. 

If you're not familiar with the novel, well, that's a shame. It centers around Elizabeth Bennet who, throughout the novel, learns the error of making hasty judgments about a person and eventually comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial versus the essential qualities people possess. 

While Elizabeth Bennet herself is not someone I would want to model my life after, her always-seeking-the-best-in-people sister Jane is one of my favorite Austen ladies. And while Mr. Darcy is not a man I'd necessarily want to be married to, I'll always be a little in love with the charming and affable Mr. Bingley. Even though Jane and Bingley's love story is somewhat secondary to Elizabeth and Darcy's in Pride and Prejudice, they are probably my favorite of Austen's couples and, by far, the most perfect for and deserving of each other. 

I know I've hinted on this blog before that Pride and Prejudice may be a bit of a cliché place to start in the world of Jane Austen, but to be perfectly fair and honest, it's her most popular and beloved novel for good reason. It's absolutely wonderful, and I've only ever talked to one person (my brother Oakie) who found fault with it. I've also suggested on this blog that Sense and Sensibility is a good introduction to Austen--and I stand by that suggestion--however, Pride and Prejudice is certainly more manageable for the person who may be a bit intimidated by 200 year old British literature. 

Any way you spin it, I highly recommend reading Pride and Prejudice at least once in your life, and if you're only ever going to read one novel by Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice is the way to go. It pains me to even say that, but I do realize that not everyone out there is going to read all her work just because I said so. I guess she doesn't have to be everyone's favorite. 

Have you read Pride and Prejudice or anything else by Jane Austen? Who is your favorite author of all time? Do you have a favorite Austen novel? Because I absolutely can't decide. Every single one seems to be my favorite while I'm reading it although Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey do tend to stand out from the rest in my mind. Speaking of which, I've noticed a lot of hate towards Northanger Abbey in recent internet discussions I've been a part of, and I just don't get it! What is wrong with people?? I jest, but seriously. Let's end this post before this tangent gets out of hand. Happy Monday, y'all!

Let's Bust a Recap : Sense & Sensibility

Ah, Sense & Sensibility. My first love in the wonderful world of Austen. The novel that drew me in and gave me an insatiable appetite for the rest of Miss Jane's fabulous fiction. Sense & Sensibility was the first Jane Austen novel I ever read, and (in case you couldn't tell), I've been in love with Jane Austen ever since. If you caught the most recent Casual Friday around here, you know that I just finished re-reading it last week so let's recap.

Jane Austen began writing Sense & Sensibility when she was 19. She had it published on commission (meaning she ran the risk of having to pay for any losses the publisher might incur if it didn't sell) in 1811 when she was 36 years old. It was published without an author's name attached because at that time, female authors were shunned by their own sex and despised by the other. Pretty rough. But Sense & Sensibility turned out to be a success and sold out its first printing in 2 to 3 years.

Sense & Sensibility centers around two of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. After the death of Henry Dashwood, his wife and three daughters have to leave their beloved Norwood due to a legal technicality which bequeathed the estate to Henry's only son from a different marriage. Even though this son, John Dashwood, is already wealthy before coming into this new inheritance, and even though John promises his father on his father's deathbed that he will take care of his sisters and stepmother, his selfish wife Fanny talks him out of any good deeds he contrives to complete on behalf of them.

The Dashwood women end up at a cottage in Barton Park and become close to such characters as the Middletons, Mrs. Jennings, Colonel Brandon, and Mr. Willoughby. Throughout the novel, we see the practical, even-keeled, sensible Elinor (the sense in Sense & Sensibility) facing disappointment in love sharply contrasted by the dramatic, over-emotional, self-indulgent Marianne (the sensibility) also dealing with romantic disappointments of her own.

Elinor Dashwood is my very favorite of all of Austen's leading ladies. She's smart, self-sufficient, commander of her emotions, polite, and strong. She cares about her family and loves them through their flaws while still gently correcting poor conduct in her sisters and even her mother. She is a model woman, and we girls could all take a page from her book

Marianne, on the other hand, is a bit cray-cray. But we can forgive her because she's only 17, and, in the end, she does take a page from her sister's book and strives to be more like her. The way that Marianne learns from and grows because of her sister Elinor's example is commendable especially because she does so in spite of the fact that her natural behavior is so similar to and encouraged by her mother.

As for the leading men in Sense & Sensibility, Colonel Brandon, Willoughby, and Edward Ferrars, (I won't tell you who ends up with whom) I have to admit that they're among my least favorite of Austen's literary men. I wouldn't personally want to marry any of them. That being said, I love this novel, and I love the way it turns out.

Sense & Sensibility is such a well-developed story, and I would highly recommend it. The characters are complex and the plot takes some twists along the way that you might not expect. Jane Austen writes with such wit and sarcasm which is one of the reasons she's one of my favorite authors of all time. If you haven't read anything by her, Sense & Sensibility is a great place to start, in my opinion.

My favorite quote from Sense & Sensibility, almost at the very end of the book, is this:

"...for though a very few hours spent in the hard labour of incessant talking will dispatch more subjects than can really be in common between any two rational creatures, yet with lovers it is different. Between them no subject is finished, no communication is even made, till it has been made at least twenty times over."

I mean, can you relate? Don't you just love that? I do.

Have you read anything by Jane Austen? What is your favorite Jane Austen novel? Any Austen haters out there? Why don't you like her? (I promise I won't burn you at the stake as long as you have a genuine opinion based on an actual knowledge of her work.) For anyone who has read Sense & Sensibility, would you agree that it's a good starting place to wade into the world of Austen or would you recommend something else?

Casual Fridays

Well, I stayed up till almost 1 AM last night finishing Sense & Sensibility. Once I get to a certain point in that book (namely, Willoughby's big confession to Elinor), I just can't stop reading until I've finished it. It's always bittersweet coming to the end of such a friendly novel. 

But anyway, a couple minutes after I finished reading and was about to actually get some sleep, my phone started ringing. At 1:00 in the morning. It was a facetime call from my little brother who is currently in Hawaii and sending me pictures like this:

Oh and my other brother is in Thailand right now with his wife sending me pictures like this:

Yes. Those are for real tigers. 

Did I mention that my little sister is an Air Force PILOT and was also just named Cadet of the Year for the second year in a row? 

My family is so bomb. 

And even though I'm a little jealous of those Hawaii photos and the knowledge that Oak and Caroline will be (if they haven't already) riding elephants, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than snuggled up to my man in bed, eating Ben & Jerry's straight out of the carton, and watching Bones at 2 AM because we just finished talking to Reagan on the facetime and were wide awake. Life is sweet.

Link Love

Your Blog Post Wasn't About Me : This is so true. If you don't like something you read, then for the love just move on and read something else, people! Is it really necessary to leave hateful, ugly comments on every single little thing you disagree with?! If you can't contribute to the conversation in a healthy way, it's time to leave the internet and never come back.

Florida News : You guys. This is just too hilarious. Only in Florida. I died.

What The Cross Has Meant To Me : And this one made me cry. Thank you, Jesus!

How I Spend Money : I can't even. This chick totally gets me. 

Thank You, Mom : My husband just showed me this, and I'm having a lot of feelings. P&G. #nailedit

Well, that's about it for today. Oh, except, here's this:

That first link I shared could have had this picture in it. I don't know who thinks of this stuff, but right?!

I hope your weekend is spectacular and whine-free. And if you're a praying person, send a few up for me tonight because I'm going to be rocking an All-Nighter with a bunch of 5th and 6th grade girls and guess what showed up this morning....hint.

Seen or read anything good on the internet lately? What's awesome about your family? Any big plans for the weekend?

Casual Fridays

Another Friday, another casual post. And how about making this one a Photo-Prompted Post since it's been a couple weeks and lots of stuff has been going on, ok? Good. 

First up: the Major. I feel like I haven't put up as many pictures of him as I have of the Colonel because he always just looks like a big black shadow whenever I try to snap a photo. But he's just the sweetest most lovable puppy in the world. He's every bit as big as Colonel now, and I think he's still got some growing left to do yet. He'd eat everything (including my ChapStick--remember when Colonel did that? what is it with puppies and ChapStick?!) and then keep going if we'd let him. He's the best. You should meet him.

This was back from St. Patrick's Day a.k.a (and more importantly) Danette's birthday! We surprised her with a little party at Manny's, and y'all, you've never seen true joy if you haven't seen this chick being surprised by her two nieces coming all the way from Tallahassee a day early and showing up at her school. I only saw a video of it myself, but it was too. good. Think green mullet and two cute blondes. Anyway, I love these ladies and I love this picture. iPhones for the win, amiright?!

Thought you were going to make it out of here without a photo collage or two? Think again. Collages are a game changer for our Photo-Prompted Posts in a fabulous way. Instead of posting 11 individual pictures for a specific event: voila! Collage it and now maybe you'll actually make it to the end of this post without quitting or hating me. Anyway, this is Gatorland! We took our Guard girls there on March 19th, and yes, those are real gators, you guys. And they were everywhere. This was actually my very first visit to Gatorland, and I can't believe I've never been before. Even though we got rained on, the girls had a fabulous time, and I have to admit, I want to go back and try out their (apparently) world-famous zipline. Cody thinks I'm totally crazy 'cause ain't no way brother's gonna' be suspended by a string over a multitude of hungry gators. But I'm down to try it. As long as I'm not suspended over any snakes which, as you can see if you look to the bottom right of our collage, ain't got nothin' on Miss Mary. Those same guys tried to put two gigantic, hairy, disgusting tarantulas on me (and no, I'm not kidding), but they picked the wrong girl for that trick. I was back to my seat in about 6 seconds flat and they got some willing sucker to hold those nasty things. #notthiswhitegirl  #notever

Y'all. Apparently, Colonel is just as big of an Austen fan as I am. I had been lying (laying?) on the floor reading with Colonel nearby (like he always is), and I got up to get a tissue because allergies, and when I turn around, this is what I see. I can't even. How sweet is he?!

Speaking of allergies, it rained a whole bunch last week, and I haven't been suffering very much at all anymore. All the praise hands! And the weather this week has been perfect. Cool in the mornings and evenings and sunny with a breeze during the day. It's what I like to call Be Out In It Weather and believe me, I have. I've pretty much just been coming in to sleep. #floridagirlforeverrrr

Umm...the most recent bag of carrots I bought has been a little funky. As in: every handful I've grabbed has included 2 or 3 of these mutant, siamese carrots. Should I be concerned? 

So I've instituted a monthly Girls Movie Night at my house, and I can always count on these two to stay till they have to wake me up and tell me they're leaving. It's been so fun, and I hope we can keep it up because every girl needs girl time, and really, how am I ever supposed to break in to the twenty-first century without girlfriends to teach me how to snapchat?

Am I doing it right?

This past weekend was Living Proof Live in Miami. I've been looking forward to this since they posted the schedule for this year, and I bought my early-bird ticket about as soon as they went on sale. Up till just a couple weeks ago, I thought I'd be going all by my lonesome, but I finally convinced this girl that she needed to come with me, and I'm so glad she did. I can honestly echo the same words I used last year when I told you about Living Proof Live in Tampa: it was a powerful, Spirit-filled weekend of edification and worship. This time around, Ms. Beth brought us some lessons from the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 and challenged us to pray for GIANT DEFIANT faith. I'm so thankful for special pockets of focused time geared specifically toward worshipping our Mighty God, and I'm also thankful for sweet sisters in Christ, especially Amy. The recap video for this particular event can be found here, and did you notice our little secret Siesta photo? There were only 6 of us this year! We each got to hug Ms. Beth's sweet neck and chat with her for a couple minutes. How fun! #becausecheese #insidejoke #1samuel17:18

Because can you get enough of my dogs? I can't. This is a new favorite picture of them. Since our new house is almost completely carpeted, they love to lie (lay?) on the little square of tiles at the front door or in one of the bathrooms to keep cool while we're all just relaxing inside, but I caught them like this on the linoleum in the kitchen the other night. I think this picture might give me diabetes it's just so stinkin' sweet. 

Have you had just about enough yet? We're almost done, I promise.

Speaking of precious sisters in Christ, one of mine just handed my husband and me an envelope on Sunday completely out of the blue, and inside was my new favorite thing. An American flag ChapStick keychain. Which I can only assume she made. And it even had a brand new tube of lip balm in it. Y'all. Remember how excited I was when I found this one? It doesn't even compare to this new one, mostly because it wasn't made especially for me by such a thoughtful, praying lady. Thank you, Miss Rhonda! I absolutely love it!

I started a new Bible study this week, and I'm really excited about the study and the group of women I'll be studying alongside of. This is the first Bible study I've ever done by Jennifer Rothschild, and she is just as sweet as sugar. I can tell I'm going to love it. The very first day of homework already had me crying some tender tears. What a blessing to have God's Word in my own two hands and to see His unfailing love for His own on every page! Hallelujah!

Alright. Last one. Just me and my boys soaking up that gorgeous Florida sunshine this week. Lookin' a hot mess per usual. If you made it all the way down to this, I congratulate you. Tell me what's going on with you! And if you can figure out how to leave your own photo in the comments, all the better. Have a fantastic weekend!

Casual Fridays

Well hello there! I realize I haven't been the most faithful with the posts lately. So today I've decided to dedicate our Casual Friday to telling you all the reasons I haven't been around. Sound good?

Excuses For Being Totes M.I.A. From Blog-Land Lately

1) Did you catch the very end of this post where I casually mentioned that we bought a house? It's true. We're homeowners now, and this is definitely the biggest reason I haven't been keeping up with blogging. I've been unpacking, unpacking, unpacking, and I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Cody and I have moved 4 times in less than 4 years of marriage together, and I'm optimistically expecting this to be the last time (at least for a very, very long time). I absolutely love my little house o' dreams, and I hope we never leave it. Happily, I think all my boys have completely assimilated to our new home and want to stay, too.

2) Because of this gigantic life change, I haven't exactly been tearing through my book list. I think there was a week or two where I didn't even read at all. I haven't touched The Good Girl's Guide or In Their Own Voices since I mentioned them in this post, but I did decide that it was time for something friendly and familiar so I'm about halfway through Sense and Sensibility. Which I have to say is a lovely break from all the craziness that is moving. Why is this an excuse? Because this blog is supposed to be about what I'm reading, and I haven't been reading.

3) My husband let me buy a piano! We finally have room for one, so I got on craigslist and contacted several different people, saw and played a few, and finally found one that has been loved and taken care of that I thought was perfect. So all the spare minutes (and some of the not-so-spare ones) find me sitting at the keys, fumbling my way through all my old music. #bliss

4) I've been helping out a friend with one of her sweet little munchkins quite a bit these last couple of weeks and who wants to blog when you can play with a baby? Not me. 

5) Naps. Because priorities, amiright? Most days over the past month, when I finally get a second to sit down and take a breath, I think to myself, "I guess I could try and crank out a blog post." And then two hours later...I wake up. To make matters worse, enter Daylight Savings Time. I'm a night owl by nature, so losing an hour has screwed with me in an ugly way. I'm getting to bed later (in fact, it's 1:52 AM at the time I'm writing this post), but I still have to actually get up in the morning. What a cruel trick. #napsforthewin #nappingisbetterthanblogging

So there you have it. Excuses for my blog-silence. These could also be dubbed "Excuses For Not Cooking Dinner" or "Excuses For Running Out of Milk". I hope you'll forgive me. Thankfully, my husband sure has. What have you been up to lately?

P.S. By the way, apparently, several of you shared this post and (except for my giveaway) it quickly became my most-viewed post of all time. So thanks for sharing and thank you to everyone who approached me with kind things to say about it. I truly appreciate all the prayers and love!

Let's Bust a Recap

Ok, so if you read my 2015 Book List, you may recall my statement that the first book I ended up reading this year was not on the list.  (Is anyone dying to know what book I read first yet?  Am I doing this whole suspense thing right?)  Today, let me just catch you up on what I've read since January 1st and do a little summarizing. 

The first book I read this year was *drumroll, please*......... Persuasion by Jane Austen! This was not a first-time read for me.  Jane Austen is quite possibly my favorite authoress of all time, and I've read all 7 of her complete novels.  You can bet your butt that you will be able to find at least one of Austen's novels on all my book lists for years to come.  (Unless I'm re-reading the Anne of Green Gables series that year.  I mean, if there was such a thing as death by too much literary goodness in a year, I don't want to push it.)  So why, after putting Sense & Sensibility on this year's list, did I pick up Persuasion and read it like I hadn't even made any reading goals for myself?  Well, the answer is simple really.  I got the movie.  And anyone with even a kernel of sense in her head knows that the book is always better.  This is a rule that I have yet to find any exceptions to.  And the truth is, I haven't read Persuasion in 4 or 5 years.  It's fantastic, but it's not my go-to Austen.  So I wanted the written word to be fresh in my mind before I watched the film.  I finished reading it January 12th. 

Let's summarize: our heroine in Persuasion is quiet, unselfish Anne Elliot, the middle of 3 daughters born to Sir Walter Elliot.  Her mother died when she was 14, and she, unlike her ridiculous and vain father and sisters, drew close to and was greatly influenced by her mother's close friend Lady Russell. About the time she was 19 years old, Anne met and fell irrevocably in love with Captain Frederick Wentworth, but being persuaded (get it?) by Lady Russell and her family (mainly Lady Russell), she chose prudently rather than passionately and regretted her decision for years to come. Our story opens 8 years after all this transpired and through a series of events, she and Captain Wentworth are thrown back into each other's company for the first time since she rejected his proposal.  **Spoiler Alert: they end up together, duh.**

Persuasion is a study in the merits and the defects of a resolute will.  Should Anne have tossed all advice and logic to the wind and run off with Wentworth?  Or was she wise to have heeded the advice of her elder? If you are a first-time Austen reader, I would not recommend beginning with Persuasion.  (Sorry, Jon!)  Although I love Jane Austen unconditionally and all her books suck me in every time, I would not want Persuasion to be my introduction to this hero of the literary world.  Anne's timidity and faint-heartedness can be a bit annoying and the wrap-up is somewhat hurried.  (Probably due to the fact that Persuasion was written in a race against Jane Austen's failing health in the last year of her life.)  If you are looking to ease yourself gently into the wonderful world of Austen, I would recommend Sense & Sensibility if you want a really well-developed, masterful novel, or Emma or Northanger Abbey if you want something shorter and hilarious.  (I guess you could start with Pride & Prejudice...it would just be so cliché of you.  I mean, there's a reason everyone loves it, but really?)  

As far as the movie is concerned, it was a pretty good adaptation of Persuasion.  I took issue with a few liberties they took at the end, but overall, it wasn't bad. (P.S.  I got the 1995 version starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds.) 

Now, I realize this post is starting to get a bit lengthy, but let me give you a super-quick recap of the second publication I read this year: William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. It is one of my life goals to read all of Shakespeare's plays before I die.  To date, the only plays I have read in their entirety are Romeo & Juliet and Julius Caesar.  Both of which were required reading in high school.  (Let's not bring up how many years ago that was.) Much Ado About Nothing is a play centered around 4 principal characters: Claudio (a young lord of Florence), Benedick (a sworn bachelor), Hero (the virgin daughter of Leonato), and Beatrice (Hero's cousin who is disdainful of men and marriage).  The play was short and funny, full of intrigue, match-making, and teasing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It took me a few days to read it because, let's get real, we don't talk like Shakespeare anymore, and, although the language is beautiful, it can be a little tough to wade through.  I would highly recommend this to anyone desirous of diving into the world of Shakespeare but unsure of where to begin. It was fun. I finished reading it January 16th.

What do you think?  Have you read Persuasion or Much Ado About Nothing?  Any other Austen die-hards out there?  Shakespeare fans, is there a better play to start with? Blow up my comment section.