Friday Night at Up

My grandma once told me that you could measure how good a movie was by how many kleenex you needed to use while watching.

I didn't have any when we saw Up, but I should have. I don't think I cried that much at Braveheart.

It was a wonderful movie. Sweet, touching, entertaining, thoughtful, and creative.

I'm not sure, but it may be my favorite Pixar film to date.

Also, the 3D was pretty sweet. Definitely worth the money.

I watched a movie

This is going to be one of those posts where I ramble on about a movie. Feel free to stop reading now. :)

Recently I had been chastised multiple times because I hadn't seen Dan In Real Life. It hadn't really looked that appealing to me, but on a night in with nothing to do and Netflix Instant at our side, Jono and I decided to give it a go since we had been encouraged to do so.

I really enjoy Steve Carell, so I figured it couldn't be that bad.

I wish.

The main problem with this movie (as hard as it is to limit it to one), is that it is completely unoriginal in every sense. We start with that poor, down-on-his-luck guy who meets the "perfect girl" (A word which here means "good listener, but I don't really know anything about her"). He then finds out that she is dating his brother, who is freakishly obsessed with her.

Then, of course, throughout the movie there are various moments that cause him intense anguish because he cannot have her. Such moments include situations that are ridiculous beyond measure, and (hopefully) would never actually happen to a sensible human being. Most notable is the moment when he is hiding, fully clothed in the shower and she joins him (naked, of course) because she doesn't want his daughter to know he is in there and apparently can't think up a good excuse to NOT get into the shower. Brilliant.

As a result of this anguish, he decides to stab his little brother in the back because he "loves" her. Because it's relentlessly predictable, you see this coming. It's painful for the viewer, though, considering most of the time people will actually put family about someone they've known for one weekend. At least, you'd hope so.

Don't worry, though. His family is only angry with him for a few hours. And, of course, the brother rebounds instantly (slightly more believable because the character is played by Dane Cook). Thus, you have an entire movie of angst and immaturity wrapped nicely into a bow of love.

I place this movie in the following categories:

• unbearable waste of time (that I'll never get back)
• uninteresting
• Dane Cook (eeek!)

Up!

Tomorrow we are going to see Up! It will be the first time I've ever seen a 3D movie... and as long as I can get past using publicly used glasses, I think I will thoroughly enjoy myself. Despite my movie problem, I've never seen a Pixar film that I didn't like.

It will also be the first time I spend $12 on a single movie ticket.

Pain!

Thursday Haiku

Oh, pistachio
I enjoy that tinkly sound
As you tumble out

Take off your shoes, stay a while

When we got married and moved into our current home, it felt like a temporary thing. It's located very close to the college, has been well kept, and is pretty small. And by "small" I mean that it's not really any bigger than most apartments. We thought we could save up for a little while, buy a second house, and rent out the one we're staying in currently. I still love the idea of renting, but Dave Ramsey has caused us to change our plans.

Rather than take on a second mortgage (and just hoping we have a steady renter paying off the first), we decided that it makes a lot more sense to just hunker down for a while. With devotion to our budget we could pay that sucker off pretty quickly. As nice as it sounds to have a slightly bigger home, it sounds a lot nicer to not pay a mortgage. Besides, we aren't living a lower quality of life just because there's not an excess of space.

So, I think I'm ready to take a plunge of sorts. I'm ready to make improvements to our home. Thinking that the house would go to the mercy of renters, I thought I might as well leave the neutral tones on the walls, the stick-down tile on the floor, and the dishwasher-free kitchen as they are. But no more!

I'm kind of excited. And inexperienced. And on a budget. It's going to be great. :)

Because I know I have some exceptionally creative readers, I will probably be calling upon you for advice. For one: what colors make a room look bigger?

I just love knowing creative people.

Highlights of a Holiday Weekend

Friday night spent with pals, unwinding after a looooong week.
Purchasing tickets for our quickly approaching VACATION. :)
Sleeping in on Saturday, doing very minimal housework, and eating m&m pancakes for dinner while watching Muppets.
Baking sugar cookies for the first time (on my own, that is) and enjoying my super cool cookie cutters.
Eating dinner with friends while being thoroughly amused by their offspring.
Having a late-night, date-night with Jono since we are alone in the house again.
Riding to the rose garden on Jono's motorcycle and enjoying a beautiful summer evening.
Sleeping in until ten-friggin'-thirty.
Eating lunch with wonderful friends, one that was home briefly from Alabama.
Enjoying the fruits of the grill (and other people's labor).
Much relaxation.

The makings of a lovely weekend!

Debi Pearl Would Not Approve

We've had a busy week.

Two of my siblings are staying with us until it's time for them to work at camp this summer. I'm very blessed to have a husband who feels a true, brotherly bond to my family. He's been having a wonderful time with them.

As a result, though, he has been "busy" (playing nintendo) with them most nights this week. I haven't wanted to break that up (as it's truly adorable), so I've been cooking dinner and doing all the clean up in the evevnings after work.

Most of you will read this and wonder when I will start saying something interesting. I don't blame you. But the truth is that this never happens. I never *ever* have to make dinner by myself more than one night in a row. Since we both have jobs and no kids, we make dinner together and clean up together. While I know this would be considered "fair" by many, I also know that it shouldn't be too hard for someone to make dinner (like and adult) and clean up (like an adult).

But it's been hard. After day 4 of this routine I even felt...put out.

I believe this officially (as if you needed the official word) makes me selfish. As I was feeling discouraged coming home to a dirty house (that I have been constantly trying to keep clean), I somehow let myself forget how totally worth it it all is. I love having family and friends over. I love the fact that Jono is spending quality time with my siblings, making them feel welcome and wanted.

And tonight, as Jono forced me to stop working while he did all the cleaning and made me dinner, I knew that I was still a lucky woman, even if I let small things overwhelm me.

This is the part where all you mothers out there sigh and shake your heads at how wimpy I am.
I apologize. I'm trying to be better. :)

What Does This Say About Me?

I got a new phone recently. I generally like Samsungs the most, as they seem to last longer. However, Motorola usually has a better layout. As I was discussing the pros and cons of my last few phones with Jono, I said, "I should get a job reviewing cell phones and pointing out all the faults so that someone could create the perfect phone. I would like that."

A few weeks later I was talking to Jono about a movie we had just seen. As I've mentioned before, I have a bit of a problem when it comes to watching movies. So, as I was dissecting every last bit of what I didn't like about the movie, I said, "I would LOVE to have a job where I reviewed movies and could be as mean as I wanted to about them. It would be the perfect job."

Now I'm just wondering why my ideal job seems to be one in which I am constantly critical.

I aspire to be a realist, but feel I am doomed always to be a pessimist.

Oh, well.

If you must know...

No, I am not pregnant.

No, I am not planning on becoming pregnant.

No, I am not in a "phase."

No, I don't hate children.

No, it wasn't morning sickness.

No, I'm not forcing my husband to remain childless.


Just for the record, you know. I figured it was easier to just answer people all at once instead of continually repeating myself as I have been doing for the last month or so.

"have mercy!"

We had to buy this onesie for the little nephew when we saw it at Six Flags.

I love baby thighs. :)

Where has the weekend gone?

Seriously!

It was wonderful to see family, celebrate graduations and moms, and gather in large groups for food and fellowship. I absolutely did not get enough time with everybody, though.

As the work week begins again, I'm trying to look on the bright side (rather unusual for me, I admit). I've got a lot to be thankful for, though.

Two of my siblings are staying with us for the next coupla weeks, and hopefully in a month I'll get to see the 'rents again. :)

What did you guys do for your weekend?

More Mush!

Look how cute this guy is. Seriously.

Being his wife is a blessing every day.

Trip Pics

St. Louis was lots of fun mixed in with lots of relaxation.


We saw the arch.
And rode this pod to the top.

From the top we could see the riverboats that we did not get to ride. Curse springtime flooding. Maybe we should change our anniversary to another date, since something similar happened last year, too. ;)We walked about downtown,

Ate at an outdoor cafe,

And saw a man eating chicken.

We are so dignified.

We went to the best free zoo ever. There were funny creatures there.

We only had 3 days there, so we didn't get everything done we had hoped. We might just have to go back some day.

This has been the best year ever. Everybody likes to scare people and tell them how hard the first year is, but I'm so happy to know that it doesn't have to be that way. Maybe it's just because Jono is so easy to get along with, but I can't remember having a single fight with him since we've been together. He's amazing.

Marriage. It comes highly recommended around here. :)

Winner!

Yay, Dale!

I have to admit that I'm glad that she won the prize.

If you'll look at her last post you will see that their family car was recently stolen. I can't even imagine how that must feel. Sorry, Dale!

I hope my prize cheers you up at least a little bit.

Also, I'll post a few more pictures from our trip to St. Louis soon. :)

Clue #4

Clue #3

I'm not going to bother turning it the correct way. I like it saying "Oon" :)

Next clue coming at 10am.

Clue #2

The next clue will appear at 7am tomorrow morning.

Clue #1

We were so excited to leave! We left Thursday night just before 5pm.And we saw this sign as we were driving.

Next clue coming at 10pm!

Home again, home again

I'm baaaaaaaaack.

And it was loverly.

Clue number one (which, I warn you, will be of little help) will appear at 9pm tonight.

I wanted to keep the prize for myself...but Jono won't let me.