MWF Seeking Normal

My blog posts have been MIA lately, but for good reason. We have been living in crazytonfieldville lately, all for good reason. (My dad got the "Mr. Deeds" reference when I told him about it earlier, anyone else?) Our kitchen is finally almost done. As in, there are gorgeous bottom cabinets and new counters. As in, we only have one more cabinet and a door to put in before it is finished. And even if that never happens, I still think it is perfect. However, this also means we've been without water for abou

We've also been out on vacation, exploring D.C. We had an amazing time (and came home with incredibly sore muscles, or at least I did), and I will defintiely update you on our trip next week, as soon as we have pictures on the computer (Or maybe I'll just skip the pictures all together.) And I was in Denver last week, and still have a suitcase of things to unpack and find room for.

Sorry for the super brief post, but next week, after I find my normalcy (hopefully), you won't be able to get rid of me.

Movie Review: The Hunger Games

This weekend, Nathan and I (and the rest of the country, apparently) went to see "The Hunger Games." Now, normally we avoid going to movies on opening weekend if we can, but we'll be so busy the next few weeks and I didn't want to wait. Luckily, it was OK, aside from the semi-loud woman who was, of course, sitting right behind us.

Now, if you haven't seen the movie or read the books, STOP reading. Consider this a spoiler alert, because I'm going to talk about what I liked and didn't like about the movie. It will also contain some book spoilers. So stop. Now.

What I Liked:
*I actually liked all of the casting decisions. I didn't think I would like Katniss, but as the movie went on, she seemed like the right choice.
*I liked the music and sound effects they had throughout the movie (except for the ringing after the explosion, because I have actual ringing in my ears!). I thought it added a lot to the plot.
*Overall, I liked the adaptation--it's an already disturbing plot, and seeing it made it even more so. Nathan and I agreed that the scene at the cornucopia was very hard to watch.
*The costumes. Gorgeous.

What I Didn't LIke:
This section is more of a "what I wished they included" that I think made the movie less effective than the book.
*The girl from district 12 who works in the capitol.
*More on how she knew the berries were poisonous (or her mother)
*Her relationship with Rue.
*My sister pointed this out, but definitley more on her relationship with Gael. They hardly looked at this and it becomes pretty important. (Also, I always said Guy-al, thanks to that episode of How I Met Your Mother!)

So, those are my thoughts. What did everyone else think?

Library Love: Checked Out

Here are some books I've checked out lately, in case anyone is looking for new reading material.

Read:
Pretty in plaid : Lancaster, Jen 
Silver girl : Hilderbrand, Elin
Savannah breeze. Andrews, Mary Kay
Stories from Candyland. Spelling, Candy

To Read:
With a little luck : Crane, Caprice.
My fair lazy : Lancaster, Jen,
The bride will keep her name.Goldstein, Jan,
Girl in translation. Kwok, Jean.
All we ever wanted was everything. Brown, Janelle.
This is where we live. Brown, Janelle.

Loving Lately

*SPRING! Today is the official first day of spring, but we've been lucky to have some nice weather already. Shelby has totally become an outside dog and just sits out there in the grass with her eyes half-closed, sniffing the air. That is, when she's not getting in trouble in the mud like she did today. Nathan has worked on building her some agility equipment, a tunnel and two jumps, so she's been practicing for class. Nathan also put down the grass seed, and lucky for me, the rain has been watering it this week. Our landscaping is coming back, too, and I'm hoping my lilac blooms this year. The magnolia bush already started!

*SMASH. I am probably weird and fast forward through most of the singing, but I love the premise, I love the characters, and I love Marilyn. One of my favorite new shows. (Oh, and GCB, but I love Leslie Bibb.)

*RedBox. Saturday I finally got to see "Young Adult," and it was definitely something that did not live up to my expectations because I had set them so high. But I did love "My Week With Marilyn." Also different than I thought it would be, but in a good way.

*The library. I have an unbelievable (and maybe unreadable in three weeks) number of books checked out. Come back tomorrow to see what I've been reading lately.

*Cucumber water. Never thought I'd like such a thing, but had it this weekend and now want to make it everyday. It will be a perfet summer drink.

*Pinterest cleaning tips. My particular favorites are using a grapefruit and salt to scrub the tub and putting a cup of vinegar in a bowl in the dishwasher to clean it. 

*Road Trips. OK, I don't love the actual driving part, but I loved seeing my family two weekends ago. It was a super fun weekend and I came home with lots of treasures from my childhood.

A Confession

This weekend, Nathan and I went bowling together for the first time. Which also means I have not been bowling in three and a half years, at least. I actually don't even remember the last time I went bowling. There is a reason, of course: I am probably the worst bowler ever. Now, Nathan thought he was the worst bowler ever, and so we decided that whoever lost would make breakfast the next morning, and he was so confident that he was going to lose. Also, yes, we were being competitive about who was the worst bowler, not the best. Guess who made breakfast yesterday? Me. Nathan had at least four strikes in two games, and I had at least four times I actually knocked pins over in two games. The small children next to us were kicking my butt. And the bowling alley we went to doesn't let grownups put the bumpers on, bummer.

And that's the end of my bowling story. I dare someone to challenge me for worst bowler ever.

On Handwriting

Last week was my dad's birthday and for his gift, each of the kids made him one of his mom's recipes, which my sister found and scanned for us. (Obviously, because of my limited cooking skills, I got the easiest one, nut crisps. Butter, walnuts, powdered sugar. Yum.) I copied my assigned recipe down on a random scrap of paper and realized while doing so that it was the first time I had ever seen her handwriting. Now this might sound silly to people who don't see handwriting the same way I do. You see, for me, handwriting is part of a person, something identifiable, and something I actually find comfort in, like when I get mail from my parents and grandparents. So making the recipe was definitely a way of getting to know my grandmother, but so was actually seeing the recipe.

Oscar Week: Moneyball

Movie: Moneyball
Book: Moneyball, by Michael Lewis

Nominations: Actor In a Leading Role, Actor In a Supporting Role, Best Picture, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

My Thoughts: This is a book I don't think I would have picked up on my own. We did watch the movie last weekend, and while none of my other "reviews" have been about the movie, I think that the story that is Moneyball, at least for me, was easier to understand while watching the movie rather than reading the book. Of course, I think the book goes into a bit more detail, but because I am not especially familiar with baseball recuriting, the movie details were hard enough for me to grasp. My favorite part of the story overall was that it mixed in Billy Beane's history with baseball with the story of the Oakland A's. And as always with real-life stories, I wished I knew the rest of the story once the book/movie was over, and I have to admit I was searching google and wikipedia to see what has happened since then. So, if you love baseball, sports, statistics, etc., I recommend the book, but if you're like me and are better at "visually learning," the movie might be better. I know, I, too, can't believe I typed that.