A long weekend...

I'm hoping that my girls won't mind me using this photo of them...I just love it! As you can see, my nest was NOT empty this weekend! Twinkies were in the house. It was so good to reconnect with Mandi and to have both girls in the house together and getting along! One of the benefits of having them home is that we get to catch up with their friends, too!

It was a good weekend for rest, catching up on chores and seeing a few movies, too.

Took the girls for dinner and a movie on Saturday - went to see Bridesmaids. It was funny, but pretty crass and crude in spots - I'm a little embarrassed that I laughed as much as I did. I would compare it to The Hangover - if you liked it - you should like this one, too. The bottom line for me - I wish we had seen Midnight in Paris, instead. Maybe next weekend.

Yesterday, Mandi and I watched I Am Number Four on pay per view. It didn't do all that well in theaters, but I am a sucker for a good-alien-tries-to-blend-in-as-a-human-and-falls-in-love-with-the-beautiful-human-girl-while-running-away-from-the-bad-aliens movie. The good alien boy was awfully cute and the scary bad aliens were sufficiently scary. There were some good sidekicks, too. I am just sorry that they have put the sequel on hold for now. It's worth renting.

The last movie that I saw this weekend was a Netflix film that has been sitting here waiting for me to watch it for a couple of weeks. Catfish is a documentary that came out over a year ago. I had heard quite a bit of buzz about it, always meant to watch it and then forgot about it until i found it on Netflix and put it in my queue. It's a very interesting story - I can't say too much about it because I don't want to give anything away here. I think the reason I enjoyed it so much is because I didn't know much about it. So, if you are in the mood for something a little different rent this movie. It also has a cute boy in it.

Besides watching movies and chatting with my darling daughters and their friends, I caught up on my laundry AND my homework. Ron and I watched the Indy 500 and he caught up some much needed rest - I hope - he napped quite a bit. It was sad to see Mandi leave today, but we know she'll be home again soon.

BTW, this happens to be my 100th blog post! And they said it would never last!

Confession

I didn't go to class this week.

As an adult, I feel perfectly justified in making the decision not to go to class. It had been a particularly exhausting week up to that point and I knew that sitting class for 3 hours was not going to be good for me. I have a limited reserve of energy that was all but gone by 5:30 pm on Wednesday. I emailed my professor telling her that I would not be there. So, why do I feel guilty?

Going back to school was all my idea. No one is forcing me. No one even recommended it. I have no one to blame but myself. Everyone has been very supportive, but I really question the wisdom of what I am doing.

The upside is that spring quarter will be over on June 24th. No gerontology classes are being offered during the summer session. I will be able to take some time to decide if I want to keep taking classes.

Hmmmmm....what to do?

Thor in 3D

Yesterday, Ron and I picked up Viliamu and headed off to the movie theater. Taking him to the movies was a last minute decision, but we figured that since Pirates of the Caribbean opened this weekend, there would be showings every hour and we wouldn't have any trouble getting tickets. HA! I totally underestimated the draw of Johnny Depp and the popularity of the Pirates movies. As I stepped up to the window, the showing that we wanted sold out. UGH! It was showing on 6 screens, for crying out loud! We had already promised our boy a movie and you don't break a promise to a 4 1/2 year old without serious repercussions.

OK, then. Plan B - try to get tickets to Thor. Let me just say here that I had already gotten permission from his mama for him to see this movie; I was just hoping not to have to see it! The buzz on this movie has been pretty positive, but since I knew nothing about Thor, I wasn't that interested. So, I stepped up to the window again and asked for tickets for Thor - another snag - the only available tickets were for the 3D showing. Clearly, it was not my day. I will write later about my feelings about 2D versus 3D and the extra $5 they tack on to each ticket.

Anyway, I bit the bullet and bought the tickets. Viliamu was disappointed about not seeing Pirates but the 3D glasses were a great consolation. I was amazed by how still he sat to watch this movie (and I only had to remind him to use his "inside voice" 3 times!). Otherwise, the movie was ok. The story was all new to me - I didn't read comic books when I was younger. The special effects were fun, although I don't know that 3D was at all necessary. The violence was mostly limited to explosions and some swordplay, well, hammer play and there was very little blood. The bad guys were evil and pretty scary looking, but most importantly, the hero was handsome and charming. I hadn't been paying attention to the promos, because I had no idea that Anthony Hopkins was in it. It must be sad to get into the later years of a film career and be reduced to a supporting role in a movie based on a Marvel comic. He was fine, though. Natalie Portman was irrelevant.

All in all, for me this was a B- and totally forgettable. Viliamu liked it, though. He said, "I likeded Thor's suit and his hammer!" Big praise from a 4 1/2 year old.

Midterm: Results

I guess I studied enough! Yay for me!

Thanks for all the support, Friends!

Have Suitcase...

...will travel!

Our suitcases are getting a work out this year. Ron and I just returned from our latest weekend trip - this one was to El Paso. Within the last year we have flown to El Paso in June for a wedding, in March for a birthday party and in May for a stage debut. Ron flew to Texas by himself in January because I got sick and I flew to Houston for Mom’s birthday at the beginning of April and then off to Oregon at the end of April for a wedding. Looking ahead now, we have plans to go to southern California in July, to Oregon in August and, hopefully, to New York City for Thanksgiving. These are all trips that we are taking because we want to be part of milestones events in our family. For me this is the best part of having an empty nest. I can't wait to see what new adventures we will have.

The only downside to all this travel is the amount of time it takes us to recuperate. That said, I'm off to bed - Gotta start resting up for the next trip!

Midterm part 2

Just so you know...all the positive vibes you sent my way were very helpful. I think I did ok! Should get my score next Wednesday and I will let you know.

Midterm

How did I get here? I am studying for a midterm exam. Yes, I am.

I am so out of practice for this. I didn't enjoy it much the first time I went to college. I did well enough, though, and I did graduate. So, why do I find myself back in this position?

I enrolled at Foothill College for the purpose of getting my career certificate in Gerontology. I am only taking one class at the moment, but I wish I was enjoying it more. Maybe it wasn't the right time to back to school.

My first midterm is on Wednesday. We'll see whether this was a mistake or not after I get the results of my test. For now I need to get back to the books. Wish me luck.

Something Borrowed

There is good news for those of us who love romantic comedies - Emily Griffin has written 5 books! I have not read any of them but yesterday Ron and I went to see Something Borrowed, the first one of her books made in to a movie. What a pleasant experience.

The movie stars Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin, John Krasinski and Colin Egglesfield. The main character is Rachel played by Ginnifer. Aside from the funny way her name is spelled, there is nothing I don't like about this beautiful girl. She has the most expressive face and is so believable. Kate Hudson plays her self-absorbed best friend, Darcy. It's funny how self-centered she is; unfortunately, there is nothing in the movie to explain why she is this way or why she drinks so much. This would be my only real criticism of the movie.

John Krasinski is Ethan, Rachel's other best friend who only has her best interests at heart. He steals every scene he is in - very funny and sincere. (I loved him in Away We Go - check it out). The only unknown for me was Colin Egglesfield. This young man is alarmingly good looking and perfect as the fiance of Darcy but the real love of Rachel. The movie was completely satisfying for me and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good love story. If I gave out stars for my reviews I would give it 3 3/4 stars out of 4!

By the way, I saw the first trailer for the last Harry Potter movie last night - OMG! I can't wait to see it! I have high hopes for a good movie summer!