Hello Again!

Hello Friends,

I am back. Sorry I was gone so long, several of you have chastised me recently for not posting and I really don't have any excuse except for the old "if you don't have anything nice to say..." adage that my Mama pounded into my head as a youngster.

The good news is that I'm back. The reason I'm writing today when I haven't written for so many other days is that I watched "Julie and Julia" this morning and it reminded me how much I enjoyed writing, although I have NO intention of tackling THAT feat!

Let's see, you need to get caught up on my doings:

1. Left Sheldon in December, but remained friends.
2. Moved back into my Mama's house where I grew up.
3. Signed up for a class that I thought I would LOVE.
4. Hated professor but loved subject so attempted to stick with it.
5. Dropped class before committing harikari or murder, but still read all the books, cause I really did like the subject matter.
6. Met someone new who we shall call Perry.
7. Gave up snow for Lent after suffering through several freak snowstorms.
8. Had my heart almost broken by said Perry.
9. Read a very large pile of marvelous books, with only a couple duds. (Join Goodreads to keep up with my reading list.)
10. Slowly moved crap out of my childhood bedroom and moved my stuff in.
11. Began hanging out with Sheldon again, a lot.
12. Registered for Summer school.
13. Decided that living with Sheldon was NOT an option, but after many conversations and compromises, being his girlfriend might not be so bad after all.
14. Bought tickets to see the Eagles, Dixie Chicks, Keith Urban, James Taylor, Carole King, and Fiddler on the Roof with Harvey Fierstein.
15. Started exercising and actually losing weight! Down 9 pounds!!!!
16. Started teaching Myles how to drive
17. Reconnected with an old high school friend who we shall call Joseph. Not Joe, Joseph.
18. Was responsible for Myles's first car accident while trying to teach him how to drive a manual transmission.
19. Was reminded in a very sharp, stinging way why Sheldon and I cannot be in a romantic relationship.
20. Ate Easter breakfast and dinner outdoors on the front porch because the weather in Virginia is absolutely perfect.

Taking Chance

I had never heard of this movie but when Sheldon and I were in Pittsburgh over Memorial Day weekend we had HBO and this came on. We only got to watch part of it as we were on our way to go do something else, but we both really wanted to see the rest. When we got home I looked it up on Netflix and sure enough it was available. I moved it to the top of my list and we got it a few days later. We didn't get around to watching it until last night but it was worth the wait.

The movie stars Kevin Bacon and is a moving tribute to our boys at war and their long trip home when they are killed in action. It was so visually beautiful and so emotional, but never political or or graphic or hokey. The movie was based on real events and adapted from this story.

I highly recommend this movie. Three of my friends have lost sons in this war, to say Some Gave All is an understatement.

I heart Narciso.

I just watched the 2008 version of The Women and that is time that will never be returned to me. The movie had a stellar cast and I was really looking forward to a little "girl" time. But alas, that was not to be. The movie didn't contain any girls or any women, it only contained caricatures of people that screenwriters think are female. Well, to be fair it was originally written in the '30s, but still!





There was a saving grace however. Narciso Rodriguez. Never heard of him? Neither had I, or at least that's what I thought. Turns out I have liked his style for a while! He designed this gorgeous dress for Carolyn Bessett Kennedy which I love. And he designed this wonderful dress that Michelle Obama rocked on election night.

The Meg Ryan character in the movie is a fashion designer who finally comes out from the shadows of her husband and father and puts on her own show. Every dress that came down the aisle looked like something I would wear, so I had to look up the designer. Narciso. Check him out. I now have a favorite designer.

Randomness on a rainy Thursday

• When I got home yesterday Sheldon immediately wanted to know if I had blogged about the dishes. I knew he wouldn't care, but I was surprised that he wanted to know. Turns out that he had discussed it with the female teachers in the work room and for the most part they were in agreement with me. I think we almost understand each other now and are much more willing to compromise. We ate out last night, so no dishes to test my theory yet.
  
• We ate at Hooters. Hooters Lots a Tots. Need I say more?
• We are having our two story foyer, family room and powder room painted. I have a migraine from the paint fumes. My head hurts and I am nauseous, but the colors are gorgeous! The foyer and family are a warm golden brown that I adore. The powder room is a blue that was supposed to resemble the sky to coordinate with the gorgeous butterflies we got as decoration for in there, but it seems a tad bright at the moment. It may have to change.
• I make Sheldon watch Steel Magnolias last night. Somehow he has managed to avoid all the classic chick flicks. I intend to rectify this situation. His response to SM? "That was cute." CUTE! He called the best southern movie since Gone with the Wind CUTE!
• Have I told y'all how much I love sheets I bought at Costco a few weeks ago? I forget the thread count 400, 500, 600, but they are satiny soft with damask stripes. They came in several colors but I chose the chocolate brown.
• Seamus the poodle made himself invisible the other night. We put him in his kennel at night because Sheldon can't stand him walking over him in the night. I usually put him outside and then into the kennel at 9pm when I am headed up to bed. A few nights ago he was asleep on the couch with me watching baseball and when I got up to put the computer away and head for bed he didn't move so I forgot about him. When Sheldon came to bed a few hours later he must have stayed put because Sheldon didn't even know he was loose. The next morning when I went downstairs he sat up and looked at me all sleepy-eyed. He had stayed loose and quiet as a mouse all night long!
• I have eaten one of Sheldon's cherry brownies while I have been writing this and my headache seems to be dissipating. If I have found the cure for migraines I will let you know!!!
• I think that is enough randomness for one day, but I could be wrong...
  

Pleasantville

I love this movie. Have you seen it? I went to see it in the theatre when it first came out. It was not what I was expecting at all, I was surprised and pleased by what it turned out to be. I had expected some sort of mistaken identity/screwball comedy. Instead I found a beautiful allegory on humanity, freedom, racism, sexuality and etc. I rented it for Sheldon to see last week and he and I watched it over the weekend. Today I have been watching it again with the director's commentary turned on. It was written and directed by Gary Ross who also directed Dave and Big, two other movies I really enjoyed. I really, really love this movie. If you haven't seen it, by all means rent it asap, if you have seen it I can recommend rewatching it.