Mr & Mrs Peters

It has always been one of my favorite things in the world to go see a movie at the theater. I love the feeling of sitting in the comfy bucket seats with a way-too-gigantic tub of buttery popcorn waiting for the previews to roll. Watching a movie at home, while still enjoyable, just isn’t the same. I thought I would share with everyone my thoughts on two movies I have seen recently.

The Secret Life of Bees was a book written by Sue Monk Kidd a few years back. I read it based on a recommendation from my dear sister Amy. It tells the story of a 14 year old girl who runs away from home in order to learn about her deceased mother. The story is set during the 1960’s and the Civil Rights Era… Lily finds herself taken in by the Boatwright sisters: May, August, and June. These women are unlike any woman Lily has ever experienced back home on the farm- they are cultured, witty, musical, joyful, and intelligent. Oh, and they just happen to be African-American. The movie stays pretty close to the book, and really didn’t change anything too vital to the story. As always Dakota Fanning does a great job and each of the Boatwright sisters was perfectly cast, in my humble opinion. Be forewarned- the movie is appropriate for younger people, but there are some scenes that are pretty hard to watch (Lily and her abusive father as well as some interactions involving racist confrontations).

Anne Hathaway’s latest is Rachel Getting Married. Kym (Hathaway) is taking a leave from her rehab program to go home for her sister Rachel’s wedding. We find out that Kym struggles with several addictions and has a very real talent for turning any event or conversation to her most favorite subject… herself. She is struggling to forgive herself for things done in the past and it is obvious that many of her family members still haven’t gotten over their issues with Kym either. I wasn’t crazy about this movie. I know it might seem naive or sheltered, but honestly there is enough pain in this world that I really don’t like paying money to see more stories of tragedy and dysfunctional families (I have my own set, free of charge!). The acting is great but I grew tired of the director’s use of handheld cameras for most scenes very early on in the movie. I wouldn’t say that I do not recommend the movie, but I would urge you to not go see this if you are looking for a light hearted night at the movies.

First my disclaimer- a lot of these pictures are slightly random, but I am posting them anyway. Now that I have the freedom to post pictures freely with the new version of the blog, I don’t even care that there isn’t a theme for the photos.

Francina's class.

Her very official teacher's desk!

Skyla snuggles up against the strangest places... Apparently she is using the buffet for a headrest.

Sleeping in the swing.

Dad and son. Look at those eyes! And the hair! Simply precious. (And no, I am not talking about Bryant)

P.S. My sources tell me that Stone will be wearing a Raider’s outfit of some sort on Halloween. I am sure the team choice is somewhat controversial, but I couldn’t care less about sports so I say it’ll be cute!

Today I was suddenly filled with excitement for Halloween. Want to know why? This is my first grown up Halloween!! For the first year ever, I will be handing out candy to trick or treaters at MY house with MY husband. (Yes, we were married last year but I honestly have no earthly clue what I did that night. I do seem to remember that JP worked and it was right before we moved so I didn’t even bother decorating) Tonight I went to Target and bought candy, a candy bowl, and a couple of fun decorations. And if you are wondering why I waited until today to do all this, well… mainly because I wasn’t sure if we would even be home on Friday night. Now the plan is for our Grace Group to come by for dessert while taking a break from trick or treating in our neighborhood. I am even going to wear a costume!!

Growing up I really loved Halloween. We always treated it as a happy, fun-filled holiday. It makes me sad that it basically now has become a night for women to wear lingerie in public and have a supposedly legitimate costume.

Some of my favorite Halloween moments: (in no particular order)

1. Growing up my mom would make us the most INSANE Halloween costumes. She sews like a pro and so we always had gorgeous homemade costumes. Some notable costumes that come to mind: Alice in Wonderland, Rose from Titanic, Minnie Mouse, and two years of being a clown.

2. My freshman year at college the roomies and I dressed up as white water rafting guides. Why on earth we thought this was a clever idea, I will never know. All I can remember is smelling like moldy water all night (from the life vests we wore). YUCK!

3. If I have my dates and memories right, the first year Francina and I were sisters we both dressed up as princesses. I was Cinderella and she was Sleeping Beauty. I can honestly still remember sitting in my grandparent’s living room trying to sit “like princesses.” (This meant sitting on the floor with the skirt of your dress spread around you in a perfect circle)

Here are some photos from Halloweens past. (Tragically, my computer died in college and so I have no photographic proof of the rafting guides year). Maybe one of my lovely friends has it and will send it via email??

Sophomore year in college. Elena and I dressed up as dogs. We were cute if I do say so myself.

Junior year in college. I was lazy and borrowed my friend's scrubs and was a nurse.

Here we are as jailbirds. This was when we were still dating.

Justin & I last year as Air Force dude and beauty pageant lady (we had just come from a wedding where I was a bridesmaid).

Six things that made me oh-so-happy this week:

1. My nephew was born Monday and is healthy, beautiful and just about perfect! You should all be forewarned… In the next month (until I get to meet him) I will probably be just a tad obsessed with posting pics and stories. On the other hand, it might actually get worse once I finally meet him, so never mind! Here is Stone with his beautiful momma. (Side note: the woman doesn’t even look like she just had a kid!! Amy, you make it look easy.)

2. Justin and I had a date night!! We went out to dinner and saw a movie, and I actually wore something other than a hoody and jeans! Woohoo…

3. A new blog design! Our good friend Matthew helped me retool the site and I couldn’t be happier! I now have a blogroll, an “about me” page, and a few fun new features. Make sure to look around the new site if you have a moment. Thanks again Matthew.

4. Yesterday we enjoyed a lovely lunch with some good friends. I can’t even think of the last time we saw Eric and Josie (who live in Ukraine). My best guess is that it has been 2 years…. Brent, Jill, and Matthew came over for lunch (along with Eric and Josie) and we had such a great time. It was especially fun to watch Abby (B & J’s almost 3 year old) and Dietrich (E & J’s 2 year old) interact. What sweet kids!

5. On Thursday my sister Francina had Justin as a guest speaker in her 5th grade classroom. They were celebrating Red Ribbon week. She has such a neat classroom and it is a trip to watch her in “teacher mode.” I will post some pics tomorrow. (Actually, I have several sets of pictures that I have promised to post and haven’t so far. The good news is: the new site will really help with the uploading issues I was having. Maybe I will do a whole post of previously promised pics!)

6. God’s timing. It can be so hard to sit back and wait on the Lord to work things out in His timing. Patience is not always easy for me, but this year I have learned a lot about giving issues and concerns up in prayer and trusting that God will move things around when it is time.

Coming up this week: the “previously promised pictures post” (try saying that 4 times fast!), a fun autumn recipe, a movie review post, and more pictures of Stone!

Justin and I try to regularly take Skyla on walks. While she has a huge backyard to play in, it’s not quite the same as getting out there and sniffing/peeing on new trees and plants. Lately I have been feeling guilty about not walking her more and have made a goal to walk her every day (not counting days that I get home from work when it is already dark, because I am ALL about safety as you will see with my list below). Yesterday was our third walk in as many days. We did get lost at one point, but hey- life is all about adventure, right?

Rules for dog walking: (self-imposed of course)

1. Always be prepared. Leash? Check. Cell phone for emergencies? Check. Bag for Skyla’s doo-ah? Check check.

2. Always use the bathroom before leaving the house (me, not Skyla). This rule is VERY important.

3. Be aware of your surroundings. While out with Skyla I am always on my guard and prepared to use my self-defense skills. Men I pass by must think I am very unfriendly because I typically give them a non-smiling nod and a look that I hope says, “Yeah, just try coming over here… I would love the chance to puncture your throat by using my 2 fingered ‘hook and drop’ move.” I think it also helps me that the dog I am walking looks rather intimidating (to those who don’t know her absolute lack of meanness).

Some funny tales from my time with Miss Skyla:

One day some sort of inexplicable urge to go running came over me. I still do not know where this came from as I would normally rather walk on hot coals than go running, but that is not the point of the story. So there we were running around the neighborhood… We came up on a corner that while still a residential street is probably the busiest street in the neighborhood. Two young girls were playing in their front yard with a ball. One of them threw it too hard and the ball went right into the middle of the street (this was during the evening commute time and several cars were directly in front of the house). After making visual contact with each of the drivers I began to run out into the street to grab the ball. I even yelled to the girls, “Stay there, I’ll get it for you.” I was feeling like quite the hero at that point in time. And then, at the exact moment I ran into the street and hopped down from the curb, Skyla decided to run in front of me and caused me to trip in front of ALL the drivers and the two little girls. I honestly believe she knew what she was doing and tried to trip me on purpose (just for fun).

Another day Skyla and I were walking along innocently, minding our own business when two pit bulls ran out of an open gate and came straight towards us. (My first thought: Oh dear God, THIS is why I should carry pepper spray at all times!) One of the pit bulls sort of hung back keeping an eye on everything, but the other came straight for Skyla. I anxiously looked around for any neighbors that might be outside and could help. I tried yelling for someone, but either no one was home or people wanted a show. At this point I was genuinely in a state of panic and had no clue what to do. (Stay put and get mauled or run and have them chase me down and then maul me?) Thankfully, something distracted them and they eventually got bored with circling us and walked back to their house. Horrible animals.

Do you remember when you were young and made promises with your sisters (or best friends if you didn’t have sisters) to always be together? My sissy Fran and I used to say we would always live next to each other that way our kids would be best friends too. I think we even had some sort of plan to buy the house across the street from my parents and build a walkover bridge to connect the houses. In an ideal world, all the people I love would live on the same street as me. It would be a cute street filled with modest but lovely homes; a cul-de-sac always populated with little kids riding bikes and family members eating dinner together in the back yard. Can you imagine how lovely it would be? Anytime you had a joy, there would always be someone to share it with, in person. The same goes with sad times- you would always have a shoulder to cry on. I am fortunate enough that the vast majority of my loved ones live within a 30 mile radius. But still, there are times when I hate that ANY of my family members live outside Cali. (Sidenote to family members in Utah and Kentucky: There is a crisp $20 bill in it for you if you move back to CA!)

As much excitement as I felt yesterday at the birth of my new nephew, there was a part of me that was so sad not to be there in person, holding him and sharing in Bryant and Amy’s joy first-hand. Thank goodness for cell phone technology that meant I got a decent quality photo sent within an hour of his arrival! (Thanks BP for indulging me!) I still was feeling sad this morning and everytime I looked at his sweet little face on my cell phone I thought, “It’s okay Mel… a month will go by quickly and then you will be there in person.” I do have to admit though, once I finally got to have a good chat with Amy this morning a lot of my sadness melted away. Being able to hear about the labor from her firsthand made me feel a lot better. It sounds like Amy and the baby might even get to go home tonight!

Here are some more pics of handsome little Stone…

Please allow me to introduce my beautiful new nephew, Stone Creek Peters. He was born this evening at 5:55pm and weighed in at 6 pounds, 6 ounces. Amy is doing wonderfully and even said, “It didn’t hurt as bad as I thought it would!” There’s a champ right there if you ask me!

Six things that made me smile and feel grateful this week:

1. My darling of a husband. He wrote me a cute note one morning and stuck it in my wallet. Those are the sorts of mementos that I don’t throw away.

2. A REALLY funny episode of The Office. Justin and I don’t have tv (we have the actual set, just no service). There are only a handful of shows that I actually miss enough to watch online, and The Office is definitely my fave. This week Michael forced the office to throw a shower for Jan and Astrid (worst baby name EVER).

3. People’s generosity at work sometimes blows me away. We had our change contest for the Susan G. Komen foundation and one woman actually baked cupcakes to sell at work. The money she raised went into her department’s jar. I love that she put so much effort into it.

4. Today is Chloe’s birthday! We had such a wonderful time celebrating her on Friday night at my house. Nothing beats a night with good friends, pizza, cake, ice cream, spinach dip, and pumpkin bread (oh yeah, we pigged out!). Happy B-day Clo, I love you so much!

5. Time spent with my mom. There is nothing like being babied by your parents… I love when she cooks for me and treats me like a kid again.

6. The joys of cooking. I like to make food for my hubby and this morning I made him an omelette. He loved his breakfast and I loved watching him scarf it all down!

Today something incredibly exciting made its way into my mailbox… Drum roll please- the Thanksgiving issue of Real Simple. I cannot even begin to express my delight at looking through pages of yummy recipes (pumpkin cheesecake and maple glazed carrots are just the first that come to mind). Also, my spirits were lifted as I read several pages of what different women are grateful for.

Additionally, I found several items I will be adding to my Christmas list (Editor pants from Express and a dutch oven to add to my kitchen). So thank you Real Simple, for bringing me such joy on this lovely Saturday evening.

This morning on the radio they were interviewing Elizabeth Banks, the actress who plays Laura Bush in the new Oliver Stone movie, “W.” Now, let me preface by saying that one reason I listen to this particular radio station is that the main deejay is a Republican and the others are Democrats. This isn’t a huge deal, but it does mean that around election times, there isn’t nearly as much “conservative bashing” as there always in on every other radio station (and I’m not even going to go into other forms of media).

Anywho, the deejay asked Elizabeth Banks for a “sassy” story about Laura Bush. My ears perked because from the books I have read, Laura does indeed sound like a sassy lady, which I find sort of funny. I like that she can be so professional and beautiful in front of the cameras and America and still have a private life that might surprise some of us. The actress began to talk about filming the scene where her character and the President initially meet (at a backyard BBQ in Texas). Banks said something to the likes of, “I mean you wonder, how on earth would a woman like her be attracted to him? Well, she’s just like anyone else… She just wanted to get laid.” And you can imagine how my jaw dropped with the last comment. Who in their right mind would make such a disrecpectful comment about the First Lady, on the radio for so many people to hear? I mean honestly, can you imagine if a Republican went on the radio and said that Michelle Obama only dated Barack because she “wanted to…” well, you get the point. I feel uncomfortable even suggesting it.

I get it. People don’t like President Bush and his Administration (not all people, but certainly a fair majority of the country and especially the media). You know what though, suck it up and save your rude and disparaging comments for somewhere other than the radio. This isn’t an issue of First Amendment rights, although I certainly agree she has the right to say what she wants. This is an issue of treating others as you would want to be treated, and having some small amount of deceny and respect for the Office of the President.

Oh, and Oliver Stone… I totally believe you when you say that (a) the movie is completely un-biased and (b) the release date is completely coincidental and has nothing to do with the upcoming Presidential election. All I’m saying is, let’s call this for what it is.