Monday Five Countdown

It's funny how a few days can make something change.  Last week I was hating the rain.  Today, I'm not minding it.  AND today is the last day of February - 21 days until Spring!  AND it's payday!  So, yeah, feeling okay today.

And awaaaay we go...

Five Things I'm Grateful For

1. Our landlord spent Saturday putting insulation in our kitchen ceiling (it appears there were huge holes/spaces with zero insulation so I'm pretty sure we were heating the upstairs apartment and that's partially why our gas bill is so huge).  He also put sweeps under all the exterior doors to help prevent drafts.  I'm really hoping it makes a difference.

2. We get a new dryer this Wednesday!  Finally!  Not sure when it's getting hooked up, but at least the process is in motion.  I cannot wait to stop air-drying my clothes.

3. I had a few hours to sit in a bake shop and do homework on Sunday.  This worked out really well and I think it might be something I'll try to do weekly as a way to get homework done.

4. Yesterday my brother and I went to see The King's Speech, just in time before it won a handful of Oscars.  (I adore Colin Firth.)  I love that my and my brother's interests intersect so often.  It's been ages since I saw a movie in a theater - like, nine months?  It was great.

5. Nate continues to be wonderful and the little smiley, drooly love of my life.

Four Things I Can't Stop Thinking About

1. The hubby had a job interview on Friday and should hear something this week.  Fingers crossed so hard they hurt.

2. I have an important meeting later this week and I keep running through agenda items in my head.

3. My car.  I just need it to hold out until the hubby has a regular paycheck coming in.  I don't want to sign us up for more car payments without him having steady income.

4. Cooking.  I love thinking ahead about meals I want to make.

Three Things I Want To Accomplish This Week

1. Finish all my homework for school.  I'm SO close this week - closer than I've been any other week this semester!  I already finished all my work for my online class so now I just have to finish the work for tomorrow's on-campus class.

2. Clean the bathroom.  It's a horror.

3. Complete my FAFSA for the 2011-2012 academic year.  Hoping for a scholarship.

Two Things I Am Working To Be Positive About

1. Buster. Most days I just want to stab him.  BUT there are small signs of improvement.  Today, for the first day in two weeks, he did not pee in his crate overnight.  Hallelujah!  And he's been barking and whining a tiny bit less.  I think as the weather improves and we can start going to the dog park on the weekend, everything may fall into place.

2. Our gas and electric bill.  I really, really hope it becomes manageable immediately because I do not want to think about having to move AGAIN.

One Random Thing

1. I had an important email to send this morning.  This email required an attachment.  I sent the email without the attachment, something I almost never do. Gah.  And, of course, I do it when it counts - not just when it's a picture I'm sending to my parents or something.  Why mess up if you can't do it when it counts?  Ugh.  I caught it immediately, though, so hopefully that counts for something.

Aaaaaand... links are back!  Do you do the Monday Five Countdown?  Link up below!  I want to read them :-)

Bottle Shock

No, surprisingly, this is not a blog post about the tediousness of bottle feeding (make bottle, wash bottle, make bottle, wash bottle).  No, no - I'll save that whine for another time.  This is actually about wine.

Bottle Shock is a 2008 movie based on the true story of a famous, wine blind taste test that took place in Paris in 1976.  I caught the last ten or fifteen minutes of this movie last week and decided I needed to see it from the beginning.  Very rarely do I see the end of a movie first and then still want to see the rest, but this one intrigued me.

I'll be honest, what first caught my eye was Chris Pine.  He played Captain Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek film and he's a key reason that I've seen that film four or five times now (aside from the fact that the hubby is a die hard Trekkie).  But anyway - I spotted him in the film's ending and knew I wanted to see the rest of the film.  The other immediate draw (aside from the story)?  Alan Rickman.  Mmm.  (Best known these days as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films.)  But check out the rest of the cast: Bill Pullman, Dennis Farina, Eliza Dushku.  Not bad, right?

Bill Pullman plays the owner of a vineyard in Napa Valley (CA) who is struggling to keep his vineyard in the black.  Chris Pine plays his son - your stereotypical 70s long haired blond guy - who's a bit lazy, more interested in sleeping around and having fun than working.  But he finds his dedication and purpose in this vineyard and, in turn, helps his father.  Alan Rickman is the British wine shop owner who holds the contest in Paris.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, even though I already knew the ending, and would definitely recommend it.

Fill in the blank Friday

Another fill in the blank from the little things we do:

1.  My favorite thing about this week has been  spending the whole day with the hubby yesterday, even if much of it was spent in the car and we had a few moments of bickering later in the day as the stress of taking care of a baby on the road began to get to us.  It's just that I feel like we don't spend enough time together and it was so nice to have it just be us, outside our living room. 

2.  The weather this week has been effing HOT.  UGH.  I hate summer.  Monday through Wednesday were the worst - and so I literally did not go outside other than to take out garbage or get the mail.  Such is the privilege of being on a leave of absence. 

3.  The last (interesting) item I received in the mail was Terminator from Netflix.  Haven't watched it yet, even though I've had it for over a week since the hubby wants to watch it together and we're not so good at scheduling that time. 

4.  The last movie I saw was Away We Go, which I really enjoyed.  Maggie Gyllenhaal's hippie/attachment parenting character was absolutely hysterical.  The main characters buy her a stroller as a gift but don't understand why she doesn't want it so she explains, "I LOVE my babies.  Why would I want to PUSH them away from me?"   Possibly my favorite line in the film, although there are tons of other good ones.  Whether you're a parent, are going to be one, sympathize with them or just enjoy laughing at them, I highly recommend this film. 

5.  If I could be doing anything I felt like today I would let my mom babysit Nate while I went shopping for an outfit to wear to my godson's birthday party tomorrow and then strolled around Barnes & Noble.

6.  As a teenager I was angsty, depressed, insecure, and uncool.  Oddly enough, sometimes I miss that self.  There's a romance about angst that's hard to let go.

7.  I wish I could trade lives for the day with the hubby.  I know it's so remarkably cliche, but I think it would be really helpful for both of us to have a better understanding of what the other does all day long. 

1.  My favorite thing about this week has been       having a completely lazy Monday with Craig.  We never have those.  Other than that my favorite thing will probably be tonight when I go to a fashion show with my friends Jamie and Ashley - super excited!    .

2.  The weather this week has been      HOT!  Oregon - 98 degrees...these two words usually don't go together.  Where was this beautiful weather during the holiday weekend?  .

3.  The last (interesting) item I received in the mail was     my "Cooking Light" magazine.  I get real excited when it comes :)  .

4.  The last movie I saw was       Micmacs.  Quirky little French film.  Like a cross between "Big Fish" and "Nightmare Before Christmas"....kinda.  I liked it a lot  .

5.  If I could be doing anything I felt like today I would     skip work and steal Craig away from his work and go spend the day at the beach, watching Marley romp around and eating waffle cones filled with delicious ice cream. Hmmmm....maybe if no one from work reads this I can call in "sick" :).  Kidding....kind of .

6.  As a teenager I was       so ridiculously full of myself and not so nice....glad we all grow up :)  .

7.  I wish I could trade lives for the day with      Craig.  I would love to know just how he thinks.  He's such a mystery to me sometimes...even still.  He knows everything about me...I'm an open book      .

Watching and rewatching Harry

Anyone else unable to stop watching the new Harry Potter trailer?

I know it's probably slightly blasphemous to some to talk about this on the night that Eclipse opens, but for me Harry Potter will always (always) be a superior set of books and films.  I told Nate recently that he's lucky his first name isn't Harry and his middle name isn't Potter.  That said, though, one of my favorite girl's names is Lily, the name of Harry's mother... but the hubby doesn't like it, so if we have a girl one day, I don't think she'll be a Lily, alas.

But I digress a bit... How fantastic is that trailer?  I cannot wait for these two films, especially the final one.  But I know that as excited as I'm going to be for Deathly Hallows, Part II, I'm also going to be remarkably sad because the whole Harry Potter thing will be officially over.  Even if J.K. Rowling one day decides to write prequels or sequels, it'll never be the same.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go watch the trailer another three or four times.

Cloud Necklaces

I recently watched Broken English, a 2007 film starring Parker Posey as a single woman in her thirties, living in NYC, and generally displeased with all aspects of her life.  If you like slower-paced, independent films, you'll like this.  If you only like action films or romantic comedies, this one isn't for you.

One of the best parts of the film was Parker Posey's wardrobe (don't all independent films have great styling?).  One item in particular that stood out for me was this raining cloud necklace she wore in several scenes:

The thing about independent films (well, or really any films or television shows) is that they show people of average or modest lives wearing great pieces, and then you find out those pieces are exorbitantly priced.

But this necklace is just SO me.  I believe a rainy day is just as beautiful as a sunny one (which is why the hubby calls me Eeyore sometimes) so I headed over to Etsy and typed "raining cloud necklace" into the search.

And... eureka!  What a treasure of choices!  These are my three favorites:

Wickedly Good

This one might be my favorite favorite.  It's so beautiful and unique and I love the idea that Cloud 9 can be a rain cloud.  It's very yin and yang - with the good there is always bad and that provides the balance in life.

Delicious Hobo

This one is really cool.  It's got a tribal quality to it and I love the speckled raindrop.

Asil Designs

This one is so remarkably beautiful in its subtlety.  You may not see it as a raining cloud... or you might.  Either way, it's simply beautiful.

I want all three.  I have this plan to work on my style now that I'm not pregnant anymore and don't have to worry about how things will fit - and I think these necklaces would give quite a touch of spark to any outfit.