ArizonaButterfly

I went to see Defintely, Maybe yesterday and then had lunch at Pei Wei. The movie was okay, the food was good, and the company was great so it was a good outing.

After the outing, I decided it was time to pull the lawn mower out for the season. It wouldn’t start. John got it running for me today which I totally appreciate. Especially since I no doubt caused the problem by overfilling the oil.

So I mowed. Which is good because the grass/weeds/clover was so thick and tall in places that it gummed up the mower which in turn stopped it…and flooded it when I tried to restart it. After the third time I put the mower away, leaving a small swatch of unmowed grass/weeds/clover in the side yard, and the back yard untouched.

What else? The shower didn’t drain this morning but I was able to unclog it (courtesy of some good drain stuff of course) successfully. Tomorrow I’m off to another overnight conference. I’m hoping Lucy behaves a bit better for Sarah this time.

I’ve been thinking a lot today about all the homes I’ve lived in during my life. We moved several times when I was a child usually. I moved to a small town when I was in 8th grade and before I left home we had lived in 4 houses. While my home is not grand by most people’s standards, it is the nicest one I’ve ever lived in and I think that’s why it hurts so much to know a relative is working so hard to take that away from me. I feel incredibly stupid for ever thinking this particular person could ever change.

Seeing The Bucket List was perhaps a fitting thing for me to do today. I enjoyed the movie a great deal. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it reminded me to take time to enjoy the little moments in life, focusing on both experiencing joy and bringing joy into the lives of others. The fact that I enjoy both Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson certainly helped, and I’m not convinced that the roles could have been better played by any other actors. And, it’s not a sappy denial of death story or another road trip story so much as it’s a celebration of love and life through friendship. Both characters change throughout the movie in ways that make both of them better human beings more accepting of their fates.

I went to see PS I Love You with a group of friends today. The premise of the movie is well known. Everyone in my group cried except for me and one other person. I enjoyed the movie a great deal, but since I went to it knowing he died, and since I have lost two very significant people in my life, maybe I was better prepared for the struggle Hilary Swank’s character would face. Anyway, I thought it was well done and that it realistically portrayed some of the struggles people face when an intimate loved one dies. The scenes from Ireland are beautiful and made me wish to visit one day.

We lunched at Applebees afterwards and I did my best to not let conversation stray to work. Monday will be soon enough to talk about work. I hadn’t been to Applebees for quite a while, and was very pleased to see some great additions to their Weight Watchers menu. I had the Italian Chicken & Portobello Sandwich and it was quite tasty (and 7 WW points if you’re interested).

So I went to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets this afternoon. It was very entertaining in its own way and I’d recommend it, but I enjoyed the first movie more. For me, the premise of Book of Secrets was a bit more contrived and difficult to believe than the first one, which probably doesn’t make much sense since they’re both stretches. Anyway, it was a pleasant way to spend a few hours with good friends.

I have lots to do to get ready for dinner tomorrow afternoon but no real energy to do any of it at the moment. I may just bake the pies this evening and leave the cleaning for tomorrow morning.

The menu for tomorrow:

• Shrimp with Warm Coleslaw
• Relish Tray
• Cheese & Crackers
• Turkey
• Stuffing
• Mashed Potatoes
• Praline Yams
• Corn Pudding
•  Chocolate Cream Oreo Pie
• Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie
• Chocolate Peppermintinis

I suspect it looks like more work than it really is either that or I’m crazy for not being more stressed out over it. I still have a few presents to wrap as well, but that will be a quick chore.

The days leading up to a holiday tend to be full of discipline referrals…some because of the excitement of the coming holiday and some because staff are tired and tend to send kids to the office more frequently. For whatever reason, it was a long week and I’m glad it’s over. The lowlight of the week was being physically assaulted at work which ended up with the police having to escort the perpetrator out. I don’t think I realized until late last night just how much the incident bothered me, perhaps because of the busy-ness of the week and the total lack of sleep Thursday night. Either way, the holiday celebrating at work is officially over, and I’m looking forward to the two weeks off.

Last week I went to see I Am Legend, and I’d recommend it. Tomorrow I’m looking forward to seeing National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Between now and then, I need to get a great deal done around the house in preparation for Christmas Eve dinner. I’m hoping to get cookies and candy made today, along with some major house cleaning and laundry.

Right now, though, I’m watching Slow Burn and cuddling with the dogs. There’ll be enough time later to get everything finished.

I went to see The Golden Compass yesterday. I’ve read (and enjoyed) Pullman’s trilogy and so the very blatent sequel-coming ending didn’t surprise me as much as it did some of my companions. I’d heard all the hoo-ha about the film ahead of time, and as usual, feel that the controversy will probably help the movie more than it will harm it. Again, I firmly believe you get out of a movie what you put into it, and so if you go looking for “evil” you will no doubt find it. The special effects were amazing, and as I told me tech friend when we left, it truly is amazing how far computer generated effects have progressed over the past several years. The whole premise around the movie (in my opinion) revolves around the subject of free-will and people’s rights to think for themselves and form their own opinions. Not to blindly accept authority and opinoin, but rather to seek the truth and discern for oneself exactly what that is. There will be lots of people that would argue that fact, and that’s fine because we each bring our own unique perspectives and backgrounds to a movie.

Anyway, I recommend seeing The Golden Compass. I would also recommend discussing it afterwards, especially if children are involved. I know I’m looking forward to part 2.

So the first full week is finally over, and while there are some glitches, overall it wasn’t too bad. The problem with living in a rapidly growing community is that you can’t always anticipate very accurately what the specific needs are going to be. So it takes the first week or so of the year to “shake things out.”

Either way I was exhausted last night. While the original plan was to eat out, after a few bizarre incidents (involving an adult flipping out and actiing strange), John and Sarah came over and we drank and watched Ghost Rider on their grandson’s recommendation. Later I watched Deja Vu and Zodiac. I enjoyed all three movies and they certainly took my mind off of work.

I went to see The Bourne Ultimatum yesterday with John and Sarah. It kept me involved the entire time (meaning not once did I pull out my cell phone to see how long I’d been there). I think it might just be the best movie of the three.

The we did some quick shopping, and I was able to find some short sleeved blouses for work. That might sound strange, but while sleeveless and longs sleeves are simple to find, short sleeves are not as popular here as you might expect. And while I might (not) be able to wear a long sleeved blouse to work, I’d die from heat stroke walking in and out of the building and that would not be a pretty sight.

Today I’ve done the usual Sunday “stuff” like cleaning and laundry. I also moved furniture and talk to my brother. They’re still waiting for a call to find out when surgery is, which makes the whole immediately and ASAP somewhat of an oxymoron doesn’t it? My biggest fear is that they’ll call the day before which would make it even harder for me to be able to go.

I also looked at alarm systems for my house today. I have a friend who uses ADT so I guess maybe I’m leaning that way. I’m not entirely convinced yet that I actually need one yet either.

What started out as rainy ended up humid and hot. Although there are storms in the area, not a drop of rain since this morning for me.

Sarah came down and colored my hair this morning. I don’t think I mentioned that I got it cut on Friday, which prompted me to feel the need to try to hide the copious amounts of gray that I’ve been seeing lately. It turned out nice.

In the midst of drilling holes for the cabinets knobs and handles I managed to get the upper cabinets done with relatively few problems. I broke not one, but two, drill bits on the first of the lower cabinets and so thankfully John stepped in and helped me. An interesting fact though is that the screws for the drawer handles are too short, which is not an uncommon situation from what I’ve been told and heard. I wonder why they feel the need to make it more difficult? Anyway all the but the drawers are done and I think they look great. I might even post pictures later of them.

I have some rather unpleasant business to take care of this week. I’ll be glad when it’s finally over. In good news though, I received a letter from the tax auditor yesterday telling me they finished my audit and my refund should be here in the next month or so. I had honestly given up on the refund and so this was a pleasant surprise.

Oh yeah, yesterday I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I thought the movie was well done although I was aware that substantial parts of the book were missing. My friend, who has not read the book, loved the movie and I think that probably says it all. Being that I also understand that to be “true” to the whole of the book would require a VERY long movie, I enjoyed the movie and would recommend it. Having said all that, I am eagerly awaiting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this week. I’m keeping all my predictions about how it’s going to end to myself (although I did share it with my friend on Saturday).

This might not have been the best movie to watch in my sinus-medicated, half-queasy state. It certainly kept me awake. I would hate to think that humankind could dissolve into the type of world portrayed in the movie, but then when I think of how people treat each other and so totally disregard the preciousness of life, perhaps I’m wrong. Either way, the movie definitely kept me watching and certainly gave me something to think about.

Earlier this morning, when I couldn’t sleep because of the heartburn I was suffering after dinner at Macayo’s (the food was great, I just ordered a bit spicier fare than normal), I watched The Freedom Writers. It was a much more positive and uplifting movie. It’s certainly been a day of diverse movies. I still have The Good Shepherd to watch, but I’m not sure if I’ll get to it today or not.