Resolution

I've decided to not try and force the blog. When I have something to say, I'll write, when I don't, I won't put meaningless crap up here. Sound fair?

I mean really, nobody cares what I had for lunch (leftover Chinese from The Emerald).

But just so there's something here for today, you need to go to www.capitalonebowl.com and vote for Butch T. Cougar! Preferably, every day. Thanks!

Life is Demanding, Without Understanding

Deep, huh?

Last night, while waiting to fall asleep (usually doesn't take long), I started thinking about Ace of Base, the 90's fabulous Swedish pop sensation. I know, totally random, but when I asked Jeremy about them, we both started busting out in song. When I was 13, I had their whole album memorized (Happy Nation), and would dance around in my living room to "The Sign" and "All That She Wants." So for your Wednesday viewing pleaseure, please enjoy some Ace of Base. Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes, they are still a band, and they tour around Europe. Good for them!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96jFtzVa80A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjJwqDa1QVI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RYo0JpT410&feature=related

You know you missed it!

A thought for today

"This is life's nature: lives and hearts get broken - those of people we love, those of people we'll never meet. The world sometimes feels like the waiting room of the emergency ward and that we who are more or less okay for now need to take the tenderest possible care of the more wounded people in the waiting room, until the Healer comes."

Anne Lamott, in Traveling Mercies

Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

Matthew 9:20-21

An experiment

So, last Friday, I was out at my parents lake cabin, by myself (with two dogs), while it rained all night and all day. I went to Video Quest here in Pullman to rent a movie, and found out I could rent 5 old movies for 6 bucks. So I went ahead and did it. Then, I was so bored, I watched four of them in one day. Here's my impressions of them - some I had seen before, some I hadn't.

Movie #1 - Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1996)

I rented this because Jeremy had taken me to the play in the park two days earlier, so the story was fresh in my mind, and I realized it had been almost 12 years since I've seen this version. I do love how Baz Lehrmann took olde english, and put it into a modern, gang-riddled, dirty L.A. setting. 17-year-old Leonardo Decaprio doesn't do it for me, but the characters are all portrayed very well.

My thoughts on the actual STORY, though? Well, first, Romeo and Juliet are DRAMA QUEENS, and Romeo hangs out in a pretty rough crowd. Secondly, they received some VERY unwise council, in the forms of the Priest and the Nurse. Star cross'd lovers? Yes, but perhaps cooler heads may have prevailed? But then it wouldn't be a timeless love story, would it?

Movie #2 - Definitely, Maybe (2008)

I've recently become a Ryan Reynolds fan, ever since I saw him in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Proposal.

Definitely, Maybe stars him and Abigail Breslin as his daughter. It's a very cute telling of a man's life story, or maybe more accurate, his love story. It's very sweet, and definitely worth a rental, maybe. :)

Movie #3 - August Rush (2007)

To be honest, I never had much of a desire to see this movie. That being said, I rented it because I had friends who LOVED it.

I almost turned it off 10 minutes in, because the premise is so absurd. "Orphaned kid finds his parents by 'following the music.'" Puh-lease.

However, I'm glad I stuck with it, because it's a beautiful story, it's always worthwhile to see Robin Williams play a creepy character, and I do love me a happy ending!

Movie #4 - Cold Mountain (2003)

As my husband can attest, I have a terrible memory. I rented this one, forgetting I'd seen it on the DVR at home.

That being said, I'm glad I watched it again. It's such an incredible movie, with outstanding acting and a poignant storyline.

It's no wonder this movie was nominated for seven Oscars. Just an FYI - there are some steamy scenes, that certainly weren't there in the TV version, so I wasn't prepared for that...

Lazy blogger

I admit it. I've been a lazy blogger lately. I think it's because we've gone out of town to the lake every weekend (I know, it's a rough life. Someone's got to do it) and when we're in town, we're desperately getting caught up on work and chores. I know, enough excuses.

The summer has TOTALLY FLOWN BY. I can't beleive that I start "real work" next week. We go to cheer/dance camp at Central Washington next Wednesday through Friday, which I think will be very tiring but really fun. After that, practices start. So I'm trying to savor every last bit of summer, since it's ALL OVER in six days. What? Too dramatic? Okay, I'll stop.

The summer has been lovely, pretty much everything I hoped it would be, lots of travel, seeing family, doing races, hanging out at the lake. It's even been hot enough for me. (Remind me of that when I'm whining in January about the cold/snow) Our house isn't air conditioned, but we make it work pretty well, with window-and-fan-management.

Just to throw a picture in here, here's Reggie and I sacked out in bed, on a hot morning.

Triathlons!

Over the last two weeks, Jeremy has finished two triathlons, and I have done one! I found it

more challenging than I thought it would be (mostly due to the lack of current in the Spokane

River) but fun, nonetheless. I think I'll do one again, maybe next summer!

Here are some photos of Jeremy at Tiger Tri in Colville, WA. It was an Olympic-distance race, .6 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 5 mile run.

Before the swim in the new wetsuit!

Finishing the bike leg

2nd transition. Stuff that Powerbar into your mouth and GO!

And here's a video of him finishing!

And here are some pics of me at Race the River in Coeur d'Alene, ID. This one was sprint distance, 5. mile swim, 11 mile bike, 3.2 mile run. Jeremy did this one as well, but he was in the first heat to start, and I was the last, so he was done by the time I had started!

Coming out of the swim - amazed I could actually run.

Starting the bike leg - my favorite.

At the finish with my tri buds Jessi and Katie. Nice job girls, and thanks for the support!

Warranties are our friends

So as you know, we bought a "new to us" car last month. I still love it. However, on Tuesday evening, we were on our way to see Harry Potter (which was okay, by the way), and I went to get something out of the backseat, and the door wouldn't open! I was so frustrated and annoyed that I just said "I'll deal with it tomorrow."

Now, the nice thing about buying a Hyundai is the warranty. All Hyundais come with a 10 year/ 100,000 mile warranty on the engine, and a 5 year/60,000 mile warranty on all car parts. And even when I bought the car used (it's a 2007), it still had that factory warranty. So I drove down to Wysup Hyundai in Lewiston yesterday to have them check out the door.

As it turns out, both interior panels on the rear doors had come loose, causing them to get jammed when you try to open the door. In an hour, they had them both fixed, and fixed two other problems with the car (factory mandates - the speedometer and brake light), at no cost to me. Woot!

I've never had a car with a warranty before, since I've never bought a car this new. I love it. They gave me a bill that said Total Charges: $85.42. You owe: $0.00. That is what I like to see.