Punked

If I could take a moment to compare Colorado's weather to a celebrity it would definitely be Ashton Kutcher and I totally feel punked. It was beautiful, nay gorgeous, for the past 3 days. My kids played outside everyday after school with bubbles and sidewalk chalk and trips to the park and everything. We had BBQ sandwiches and fruit salad for dinner the other night and it felt like June for pete's sake. And what did I wake up to today?? Snow. Snow. And it's still snowing. I guess they say 5-10 inches. Whatever. I'm kinda mad. I know this is totally expected for March weather around here, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Sure if it was cold this week and then today we had snow I would have been fine, but once you break out the flip flops it's SO hard to put on Uggs. Yes, Colorado is a beautiful state with awesome skies and beautiful weather (sometimes), but it is also a persistent trickster who lures you into thinking about the lazy days of summer right before it dumps a whopper storm on you. I guess I'll get used to it all someday, but for now I am reserving the right to feel ticked on days like this. I'll get over it soon. I'm still a little grumpy because it's morning, but I'm sure baking a batch of cookies or bread will help me feel some snow love.

Back and Alice

I'm back. Sadly not even Adrian's skillz were able to save my old laptop, so I'm typing right now on my lovely new laptop. I am very happy with it even though it is another windows machine. A Mac just wasn't in the budget I'm afraid and I continue to feel more comfortable with windows much to Adrian's chagrin. He is very happy though that I have a laptop capable of joining him in joint Diablo games - his adorable Paladin Pippin and my little Assassin Fai have quite fun together beating up monsters. It has been so hard to be without my own computer the past little while. I can't believe how much I rely on google and wikipedia. Isn't it weird to think of how different life has become in the last 10 years. I don't think I even had an email account 10 years ago.
Over the weekend Adrian and I went to Alice in Wonderland in IMAX 3D. It was pretty cool. I am a Tim Burton fan. Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my all time favorite movies. I was not as impressed with Alice. Now don't get me wrong, I thought it was visually stunning. I loved big headed Helena Bonham Carter and stretched out Crispin Glover. Really really loved the styling of Anne Hathaway as the White Queen - she looked like she was in black and white! And Johnny Depp's crookedy eyes were SO cool. Ooh ooh and the part when Alice was on the balcony at the White Queen's castle with all the waterfalls behind her. Gorgeous. It looked just like a Maxfield Parrish painting. All that was absolutely awesome. It was just that along with the great stuff it was also so heavily "Tim Burton" branded that I found it slightly annoying. I don't think he has to have fat kids in striped T-shirts in every single movie. We all know you are Tim Burton and we love you for it, but I like it when things are freaky and creative and new rather than just stripey if you know what I mean. Do you know what I mean? And the Mad Hatter ended up feeling a bit "been there, done that" too - like he was a cross between Captain Jack and Willy Wonka (with awesome crazy hair and eyes!!). So I left feeling it was really entertaining, but overall kind of feeling like it lacked that special something. Honestly the middle part even got a bit boring... Oh I feel so bad saying that! Maybe my expectations are too high and I'm always looking to relive the experience of seeing Nightmare Before Christmas for the first time. That's probably a lot of it. I would see Alice again (probably will take Sophie if she wants to see it) and will probably end up owning it, but will continue to think of Nightmare as the pinnacle of Tim Burton's awesomeness.

Computer Stuff

So I'm not actually MIA (or should that be MIB "missing in blogging"), but I've been having to take long breaks in my blogging because my computer is dying. It is so sad! I love my computer. I got it for mothers day when I was pregnant with Nina so that I could play computer games on the couch while on bedrest (and I did play a lot of Diablo!) and in these almost 4 years it has become so slow and now has stopped working sometimes all together. I'm lucky in that Adrian has been able to bring it back from the brink many a time with his surgeon-like computer skillz, but of course every time Adrian fixes it I have to hear all about how if it were a Mac I wouldn't have these problems. Insult to injury! I really don't want a new computer or frankly want to pay for a new computer. This totally sucks. Oh well. Hopefully Adrian will be able to fix it again, whilst mumbling about how evil Windows is I'm sure, but in the mean time I might be MIB for a while. Bummer.

Happy Valentines Day from the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood and John Keats (but really from Jenni)!

La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John William Waterhouse, 1893

Time for my annual Valentines day hello from the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood. This painting is by John William Waterhouse and is called La Belle Dame Sans Merci (which translates to "a beautiful woman without mercy or pity"). I finally looked up what this painting is all about - it's kind of weird with the girl grabbing the knight and all - and found out it is based on the poem "La Belle Dame Sans Merci" by John Keats. It is kind of a weird (and tragic) romantic poem just like it's kind of a weirdly romantic Waterhouse painting. Being that I am a fan of the weird I thought this was the perfect Valentines day painting for me.:) Oh oh, and did you notice the little heart on her sleeve? Totally Valentines day! SO happy happy valentines day!!

La Belle Dame Sans Merci, a poem by John Keats, 1819

Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

Oh what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
So haggard and so woe-begone?
The squirrel's granary is full,
And the harvest's done.

I see a lily on thy brow,
With anguish moist and fever-dew,
And on thy cheeks a fading rose
Fast withered too.

I met a lady in the meads,
Full beautiful - a faery's child,
Her hair was long, her foot was light,
And her eyes were wild.

I made a garland for her head,
And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;
She looked at me as she did love,
And made sweet moan.

I set her on my pacing steed,
And nothing else saw all day long,
For sidelong would she bend, and sing
A faery's song.

Seh found me roots of relish sweet,
And honey wild, and manna-dew,
And sure in language strange she said -
'I love three true'.

She took me to her elfin grot,
And there she wept and sighed full sore,
And there I shut her wild wild eyes
With kisses four.

And there she lulled me asleep
And there I dreamed - Ah! woe betide! -
The latest dream I ever dremt
On the cold hill side.

I saw pale kings and princes too,
Pale warriors, death-pale were they all;
They cried - 'La Belle Dame sans Merci
Hath thee in thrall!

I saw their starved lips in gloam,
With horrid warning gaped wide,
And I awoke and found me here,
On the col hill's side.

And this is why I sojourn here
Alone and palely loitering,
Though the sedge is withered from the lake,
And no birds sing.

A Weekend in Pictures (with captions)

Friday NightAfter a week at home with sick kids it was so fantastic to get out on a date with Adrian. We went out to sushi and then saw An Education. Man, that movie was upsetting! It was a GREAT movie though and I can see why Carey Mulligan is nominated for an Oscar. She was amazing. You want to strangle the leading man the whole time so it's quite a change from most British period dramas were you want to be swept away by Colin Fir...uh hum I mean whoever the leading man might be.


Saturday MorningAhh sleeping in... And this is what Adrian and the kids did while I slept for a couple hours. Yes, that is all 3 of my children sitting symbiotically with each other playing the Wii.


Saturday Afternoon
Grocery shopping for the next 5 weeks. Boring I know, but it's done and was actually a little fun to go to sample day at Costco all by myself.


Saturday EveningPizza night! A Little Caesar's just opened up by us and nothing beats 5 buck pizzas. Usually I make our pizzas on pizza night, but every now and then I think 10 bucks is worth someone else making them - especially after a day of shopping.


Sunday MorningNina and I stayed home from church and Nina spent some quality time with "Bubbles" her nebulizer fishy mask - her asthma has been kicking up for the last 2 weeks after getting a regular old cold that Ben got over in 2 days. I hope that soon we'll get to put Bubbles away for a while.


Sunday Afternoon
During Sunday naptime for Nina (and Adrian) I watched the movie Food Inc. Yeah the day after I went shopping for the month, at 2 huge national chain stores and bought a whole bunch of chicken, pork and beef, I decide to watch this movie. Not the best move on my part.It was educational, disturbing, and well down right scary in parts (i.e. the e-coli part). I did not think it was a movie just for crazy environmentalist. It shed light on how our food is produced here in America and it's definitely worth watching.


Sunday EveningSundae Fast Sunday is always a popular day in our house. After a day of fasting (for me, Adrian, and Sophie) we were excited for dinner which was Pioneer Woman's fabulous BBQ Meatballs but more importantly ice cream sundaes for dessert. I made homemade hot fudge sauce and ooooh it was good, if I do say so myself.


Sunday Night
The final installment of Masterpiece Theatre's Emma!! Wow, we had quite the movie weekend didn't we! Emma was so great!! I loved this new version! And Adrian did watch it with me without falling asleep. Success!!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Adrian and Sophie went to their first Daddy Daughter dance tonight and had a great time. For the refreshments all the dads and daughters brought a cake that they decorated at the dance. Adrian actually made a cake. A chocolate cake with strawberry frosting. All by himself. I am impressed. Sophie and Adrian decorated the cake together and it turned out very cute. They also had lots of fun dancing, Sophie especially liked being spun around. Adrian reported that it was very fun to see Sophie laughing and dancing with her friends. Fun times. I love these memory building moments for our family!

And here's what Ben and Nina did while Sophie and Daddy were dancing away. Nina's cheesy grin always cracks me up!

Thanks J. D. Salinger

J. D. Salinger died last week at the age of 91. You probably already heard, but I found a couple great tributes to him. HERE (wasn't that funny?!) and HERE. For better or worse he wrote one of the great American novels, The Catcher in the Rye. If you can get past the language, and maybe you don't want to and that's totally fine, it is an amazing book that so fully encompasses the feelings of alienation and angst that so many of us went through in adolescence.I have a special place in my heart for Holden Caulfield. He is such a real character to me. I love his constant and unrelenting stream of thoughts. Disturbing thoughts at times, but so real. I connected with those thoughts as a teenager. NOT in a crazy psycho way, but oh if those other kids knew what I was thinking of them at my high school. I was wrong. And I was lonely and deep down just wanted them to like me (which is what all the other high schoolers were wanting too). I think Holden felt the same way. See how I think of him as real?? When I read Catcher now I realize I've gone over the cliff at the end of the rye field despite Holden's efforts. I don't like his potty mouth. He is clinically depressed. But I still love him. I still want to give that kid a hug and tell him the world isn't as bad as it seems. There are lots of non-phonies out there and you won't always be alone. Which is just the type of crummy thing a lousy adult would say, right?! I thank Salinger for this amazing character, Holden, and for the thoughts he put in his head. He had an impact on me and in his profound loneliness made me feel not so alone. Well done and thank you.

Holden would hate this post. I know. But that's okay. I'm more inclined to bake him a batch of cookies now then I am to hang out with him in the rye field. How times have changed.:) I'm sure Holden would also hate emoticons.