"heavily into"

I often get into one particular movie and it will wind up staying in the DVD player for a solid month. Right now my movie du mois is Becoming Jane. I know I recently gushed over James McAvoy after seeing this movie but if you've seen it, can you really blame me? And if you haven't seen it, then come over right now! And bring some popcorn because another showing is just about to start.

Here is my favorite scene du jour and it gets REALLY good at minute 2:08.
So enjoy and you're welcome.



P.S. So bummed that tonight we couldn't find a babysitter because I want to see THIS MOVIE really bad. What?! James McAvoy is in that too!? My goodness! I had no idea.

P.P.S. The original title of this post was "obsessed" but I felt the need to change it so that I wouldn't seem as crazy. This new title was an acceptable alternative from thesaurus[dot]com.

growing up

You could say that she is now weaned from her bottle.

the pen is naughtier

happy birthday to dave

Just had to post a quick note today for Dave's birthday! If you stop by then leave a comment and wish him a happy day!

(more to come later)

my fave, for now.

I love The Shins. I mean, I really love The Shins. The Shins are to me as the sun is to the earth.

And right now this is my favorite of all of their songs.



Enjoy.

gwen's first pony

First pony-tail, that is.

She and her little rosy cheeks are just so scrumptious, I can hardly stand it.

guilty and old

I don't usually feel old, but on my actual birthday I felt it. So to counter the feeling old I decided that my Friday birthday would last through Sunday. A three-day birthday celebration!! And since Sunday would bring with it a little family birthday party it would be the perfect ending to my three days. My parents have been here for a few weeks (from China) and left Monday morning so we partied like it was (just another family birthday party back in) 1999.

By the way, have you ever had the chocolate cake from Costco? Well, this would be where the guilt comes in. I think I am responsible for eating a quarter of the whole cake. And while it may have been worth it, my body is now paying for it. I have had a serious sugar crash from that delicious chocolate thing. It's actually worked out though because I haven't had to go anywhere and I have been reading a really good book (735 pages) that I cannot put down. So being in my pajamas at 1pm has been okay in my mind since I have been reading.

One of the things that Dave got me for my birthday was a new pair of running shoes and the Nike+ iPod thing. It's totally going to help me lose the 18 pounds that I gained from that evil chocolate cake. I'm never going to buy it again.

On a side note, we watched Becoming Jane for Valentine's Day and I have a bit of a crush on James McAvoy. Then we saw 27 Dresses for my birthday and I have a bit of a crush on James Marsden. I recommend both of those movies if you are a girl.

Speaking of crushes, Inez talks about Troy Bolton (of High School Musical) all the time. She gave me a birthday card with his face on it and that plays a song when you open it up. She has pretty much taken the card back. This is how I found her that night.

to my lovely wife, on her birthday

Dear Holly,

Sometimes, when I'm at work and you're at home, you'll call me, or I'll call you, and we'll talk on the phone. Sometimes, during these phone calls, you'll be in the middle of a sentence when Gwen's voice, or Nezzie's voice, or both, will come bursting through, wailing and screaming and drowning out your words.

"Mommy!" Inez will shriek, "I want chocolate milk!"

"Waaahhhh!" Gwen will counter, "Waaaaaahhhhhhhh!"

Sometimes, I can hear their cries in the background. Sometimes in the foreground. Sometimes right in my ear. Under most circumstances, I don't enjoy the sound of small children screaming into my ear, so, when this sort of thing happens, I'll say something like "I'd better let you go." or "Sounds like you've got your hands full." and quickly end the call.

Is this evidence of me being a horrible father, an insensitive husband, and a generally crappy human being? Yes, probably, yes.

Hmm. Let's move on.

It's usually on those days, during those calls, that I can hear weariness in your voice. You sound tired. I can hear in your voice that two girls growing up is a busy thing, a daily, hourly, constant thing, requiring a lot of adult supervision, and that you are—for too many hours of the day—the only supervising adult. Doing a lot of supervising.

Sometimes, after those calls, as I'm sitting at my desk, with a day before me filled with nothing more pressing than pixels that need pushing, I think about the tired in your voice and the wails in the background. I think about the dedication it takes to be a mom and about the love that must—that does—fuel that dedication. I think about what a wonderful woman you are. What a loving mother you are. What a perfect wife you are.

I sigh on on those days—after those calls. I sit at my desk and I sigh. And then, I smile and shake my head in disbelief at my outrageous, outlandish luck.

I love you, babe. Happy birthday.

i don't really heart valentine's day

Maybe it's because it feels like there's this pressure to do something/be super romantic. It also seems like all the stores are trying to cram a lot of lame merchandise down my throat in the form of boxed chocolates and tacky stuffed animals.

That being said, I am a sucker for boxed chocolate (Dove dark chocolate, preferably) and pink unicorns (for a certain four-year-old that loves pink and loves unicorns).

Don't get me wrong, I think the idea of Valentine's Day is great and I am all for getting special attention from my hubby (and still expecting something so you aren't totally off the hook Dave). But this year I am just not that into it. Maybe it's due to the fact that my birthday is on the 15th and I am just anxious to get the 14th over with so that I can (fingers crossed) be showered with gifts like The Edge Brownie Pan.

But don't let me rain on your parade. Happy Valentine's Day to those of you who aren't thinking only of yourselves and your birthdays. May your day not include anything resembling this:

Unless you want it to. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

random thoughts

BE YE WARNED: this is a long post and has no pictures. Read on if you dare. (Nothing about pirates though, if that makes it more appealing)

So there is this woman who is a member of our church named Barbara Thompson. She's actually the second counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency and I don't personally know her (even though I wish I did). She seems like she is very down-to-earth and charming and I do think that we would be BFF if we did know each other. Tonight Dave and I were reading her message from the last General Relief Society Meeting, entitled "I Will Strengthen Thee; I Will Help Thee."

Rewind to last May. Last Spring I attended one day of Women's Conference at BYU. It was a shot in the arm that I was really needing as a wife, mother and woman. As Sister Thompson spoke I laughed and cried (laughter through tears is my favorite emotion, Mom). She talked about the day she was called to this position she has now. Here is that portion of her talk:

"A little over one month ago I was busy at work in my office of a charitable organization for abused and neglected children when my bishop called. He is rather a kidder and it took some time to finally convince me that I needed to call President Faust’s office right away. Immediately fear gripped my heart. I knew I hadn’t done anything bad enough to get excommunicated by a member of the First Presidency. I tried to convince myself that maybe he was calling me to be on the
Days of ’47 Parade Committee—I love parades— but somehow I knew it wasn’t that. I finally knew it was Relief Society.

I left the office and cried all the way home and for several hours after that as I had a bright recollection of all the people I had
offended, been cross with, had been impatient with, and so on. How would people ever be able to vote to sustain a calling for me? I wished I had been kinder, more patient, more charitable, more like so many of you. (I also knew that I didn’t have
anything to wear and there was no way I could loose 100 pounds in one week) It was a tough day.

Later that afternoon I had the interview with President Faust. Some of it is a blur when it comes to remembering what I said, but I remember very well what he said. One thing that stands out for me was when he said, “Sister Thompson, we are all just ordinary people, called to do a work for the Lord for a season. Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies.” Then we just sat and cried together. He said he would pray for me if I would pray for him."

I think everyone who heard her that day immediately loved and sustained her. And I can't help but cry when I re-read what President Faust said and did. So tender.

Fast forward to tonight. In reading her talk tonight, I felt empowered again. Remember that funk that I was in about a month ago where I was just so tired? Well, I am happy to report that I am feeling much better. I have changed a number of things in my life such as going to bed earlier, taking more/different vitamins, and excercising just to name a few (I'll have to expand in another post).

But as we were reading, I realized that one of the most important things that I still need to adjust is relying on the Lord. No matter what the problem is, big or small, I need to go to Him more for help. I also need to study my scriptures. Not just read them. Our home teacher came last sunday and in his message that he gave he said that the two things we need to do to be spiritually nourished are to study the scriptures daily and pray with faith. I need some serious spiritual nourishment in my life.

This portion of her talk really struck me tonight:

"President Hinckley said, “It is imperative that you not neglect your families. Nothing you have is more precious. … When all is said and done, it is this family relationship which we will take with us into the life beyond.” Remember the great love of our Savior. He said in Isaiah 41:10, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee.” Then in verse 13 He says again, “I will help thee.” And once more in verse 14 He says, “I will help thee.”
Believe the Savior. He will help us. He loves us. He wants us to be happy."

I don't even know what I would do on a daily basis without this knowledge. I need His help everyday. There is simply no other way. And it's not like I didn't know this before, I guess it just had to be brought to my immediate attention again.

Have you (if you have reached the end of this post) had to relearn something recently?

new found love

Do you see the abductor longus muscles? That's is the sorest out of all the sore muscles in my legs and arms and back.

Thanks to Erin & Chaz I have sore muscles and a good reason to enjoy living in the snow.

As soon as I soak in some Epsom salt and apply a lotta Icy Hot, I'll be ready to hit the trail again Erin!

gross

Have you ever been wondering where a certain bottle or sippy cup is? It's not like I was thinking about it all the time, but every once in awhile I kept remembering that we were short one small bottle. Then one night as Inez was standing next to the chair I was sitting in and talking to me, she stepped on something hard that was under a blanket in the corner.

There it is! The missing bottle. Half-full (because I like to think that I'm an optimist) of apple juice and mold.




*Please not that these picture cannot do the gross-ness justice as they were taken with the camera phone.