Let's go to the movies...

There is something about the Oscars.  Maybe it's the hundreds of celebrities that all come together in one place.  Maybe it's the theme music that makes me want to cry even though it isn't meant to be sad.  Maybe it's the dresses...the tuxes...the tributes...

All I know is that I look forward to it...and it never seems to disappoint.

As I sit here watching this year's edition, it has me thinking about the impact that movies have had on my life and on the lives of all of us.  We certainly live in this strange world where Hollywood and celebrity and materialism seem to overwhelm us in a negative sense.  We know more about the gossip surrounding the death of Whitney Houston than we do the real news that is happening in this world.  I'm the first to admit that my conversations often involve more ridiculous jabber about people I don't know than about things that actually matter.

BUT....I think there is a lot more to Hollywood than the glitz and the rumors.  Think about the movies that have impacted you...that hold memories that are incredibly personal and meaningful.  Doesn't everyone remember those movies that they went to see as kids, when we were so small that those old-school theater seats would flip up and trap us in them?  How about that movie that you went to on your first date (you know...the one that you don't remember anything about because you were concentrating so hard on not doing something stupid)?  How about that movie that you watch everytime you were home sick as a kid?  The movie that you have watched over and over because it never stops being funny?  We all have those.

I love the Oscars because it takes time to honor the talents of people that make these moments possible.  Let's face it...most of us have no idea how to act.  Most of us have no desire to act. I have never once wanted to stand in front of a crowd and show off my entertainment abilities, most likely because I have none.  The Oscars is an opportunity to recognize people, that regardless if they themselves recognize it or not, have been allowed a God-given talent to allow people to escape this world for a few moments.  Movies allow us to escape that bad break-up or bad news and find humor or adventure in something fantastical.  They are the visual companion to the books that have always kept us company.  They are the outpouring of the imaginations of a lot of talented people.  I love it.

As I watch this year, I realize that I haven't seen many of the top notch movies of the year, probably because I have been wasting all my money on movies like The Vow which will never be awarded anything for talented acting....ha.  But I'm also reminded of my goal to watch all the Best Pictures from 1990 on....a little piece of my Bucket List that I suppose I should get cracking on.  I think I'm having a hard time getting into it because of the 2nd one on this list...maybe I can skip to 1992.  Cannabalism quit being fun when I was in the Jr. High and scary movies were still exciting and not heart-attack inducing.

Perhaps I can use 1989's movie in its place?  Driving Miss Daisy is so much more my speed.

(*) = I've seen this enough times that I don't need to see it again to appreciate the beauty of it all.

1990 - Dances with Wolves
1991 - Silence of the Lambs
1992 - Unforgiven
1993 - Schindler's List
1994 - Forrest Gump (*)
1995 - Braveheart
1996 - The English Patient
1997 - Titanic (3D in Imax....on the 100th anniversary...I think yes).
1998 - Shakespeare in Love
1999 - American Beauty
2000 - Gladiator
2001 - A Beautiful Mind
2002 - Chicago
2003 - Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (*)
2004 - Million Dollar Baby
2005 - Crash (*)
2006 - The Departed
2007 - No Country for Old Men
2008 - Slumdog Millionaire (*)
2009 - Hurt Locker
2010 - The King's Speech
This year...to be announced.

So thank you actors, producers, directors, cinematographers, etc... for allowing us to get outside of ourselves and experience in ways that we couldn't if you didn't create.

P.S. Does anyone have direct contact with Joseph Gordon-Levitt...because I would like to thank him personally...  ;)

HA!  Happy Oscar Sunday!

Teach me a lesson....

A few lessons this week....minor.....major.  Lots of them really.  There will be more next week and the week after that....but this week feels monumental to me.

1) Life doesn't owe you anything... 

So silly that we assume that we deserve a certain set of circumstances in life.  We deserve good health.  We deserve a high paying job (or any job at all) because of that degree we've got tucked in our back pocket.  We deserve a reasonable number of answered prayers (not just answered, but answered with the answer we want).  Holy cow.  How undeserving I am for everything I've ever been blessed with....and I don't deserve anything else.  So why don't we recognize more often that the beautiful things we encounter in life are gifts...not because life owes them to us, but because someone loves us enough to allow us to experience them.  I'm frequently annoyed by the "God is awesome" status updates on Facebook.  Not because I don't agree with that, but because its said so flippantly that we forget what we are even saying.  Can I just say, as someone who doesn't say it enough, God is awesome.  And not because I'm having a mountain top experience right now.  In fact, I've found myself in quite the valley.  But God is awesome.  And in control.  And showers me with things I don't deserve, like people that adore me and laughter and sunshine and hope.

2) If an article of clothing looks like it might be cheap....it probably is. 

Nothing like a brand new sweater that looks sort of like it might rip apart actually ripping apart the first time you wash it.  Granted, I also ignored the tag that said "dry flat" and decided to dry it in the dryer.  Who has time or patience for a shirt that has to be dried flat.  Have you seen my apartment?  I have no flat spaces to dry high maintenance shirts....and if I did find a spot, my cat would fall asleep on it and it would need to be washed again.

3) Speaking of cats....don't reward animals for bad habits...no matter how cute said "bad habit" is initially. 

My cat has discovered that he can move his bowls around on the floor to indicate when he is hungry.  It was cute at first....and I would quickly respond by refilling his bowl.  However, after  3 incidents of waking up in the middle of the night from him shuffling his bowl around in hungry expectation, I'm about to wring his adorable little neck.  Maniac.  I've officially had him for a year in March.  I've kept a living animal live for over a year...he has outlived every single plant I've ever attempted to care for.  Horray!

4)  Ireland has to be what heaven looks like....

I am MISSING Ireland in a big way right now.  In case you've lived under a rock for the last year, I traveled to Ireland for 10 days last March with a handful of my best friends.  It was a pretty epic getaway with a lot of highs and lows, but as time goes on and the lows become less memorable....all I seem to recall is how beautiful it is there and how much I'd love to go back.  I have a collage of pictures from my trip next to my bed and sometimes I find myself just staring at it aimlessly in the mornings when I'm getting ready.  Look at these pictures and tell me you don't think God spent an unusual amount of time creating such a beautiful place....I dare you.

 Greece is a masterpiece as well....maybe I should go there next.



Any takers?

Ok, I'm out of lessons for the week....on to the weekend.  Time to go check my last load of laundry and see what else I've managed to ruin.

Paper Hearts

I've heard a lot of complaints about Valentine's Day over the years....in fact...some of them have probably come out of my mouth at one time or another.

1)  "It's a Hallmark holiday"
2)  "You should tell people you love them every day...not just Valentine's Day"
3)  "It's really over-consumeristic"
4)  "Its fun if you are actually HAVE a Valentine..."

Ok, so maybe all of those are true....but why can't it still be fun? 

I have a little bit of a twisted love affair with Valentine's Day and I have to say that I've never received flowers as a romantic gesture, never gone out for an intimate dinner, never been surprised by something unexpected from a special someone.  Realistically Valentine's Day falls flat when it comes to all its traditional selling points.  BUT....here is why I like Valentine's Day.

1) Those little cards that kids give to their classmates (especially the old school ones that we had....they came with envelopes.  High qual.)  I was at Hallmark with my mom the other day and picked up a box and was pleasantly reminded of how sweet and innocent those cards are.  I remember being REALLY concerned about which one to give to the cute guy that sat across from me in class...and after looking at them as an adult...I realize I shouldn't have worried so much.  There is no way that any little boy could read "You are rad" or "I'm bananas over you" or "You're purrfect" and actually question your intentions by that.  Boys are so dense...and those card are so ridiculous.

2) Flowers....it's the one day of the year where I unabashedly believe that I deserve a $15.00 bouquet of flowers on my own dime.  Usually I go for the $3.50 bunches at Trader Joes, but Valentine's Day calls for something special.  And I don't care that it isn't from someone else....because flowers are flowers.  Let's be real.

3) Getting a card from my mom in the mail.
It's no lie.  My mommy loves me.  And she is always good to me on Valentine's Day.

4) 4 days of non-stop girl movies on TV.  Enough of those thrillers or science fiction garbage flicks...I'm talking hours and hours of the best chick flicks ever made.  Today alone (because I was at home cleaning and cooking), I have watched Pretty Woman, The Holiday, 27 Dresses, When in Rome, and later I plan on watching the Proposal.  It has been good....really good.

5) Wearing that ugly pink scarf that I never wear any other day of the year.  It's hot pink...why would I ever wear that really?  I got to wear it the other night for girls night, and it was liberating.  I felt like Paris Hilton, but I felt liberated doing so.  I'm saving my light pink scarf with black hearts for Tuesday...and anticipating a day of borderline sexual harassment from my clients.

6) Not having to buy something for someone else.  You know how much cheaper it is to not be dating someone on Valentine's Day? 

But realistically this Valentine's Day the thing I love most is that I'm just loving the slow roll of life.  I will admit that on Valentine's in the past, I have felt really overwhelmed by the day.  Overwhelmed by the lack of romance in my life. Overwhelmed by the fact that the chick flicks are so untrue.  Overwhelmed by friends planning weddings, getting engaged, getting married, having kids.  This year, I'm relieved to be where I am.  I'm relieved that I'm relieved.  Call it an attitude change or a real honest answer to prayer, but for the first Valentine's Day ever...I'm not anticipating that tiny ache that goes along with the day.  For the first time in my life I think I'd run away from romance if it came my way because its the last thing I want.  My self-identity is for the first time ever not dominated by my singleness.  Sigh of relief.

Life is good.

As for a run of the mill life update...I have sent in my tuition deposit and am starting to pull myself into the preparation mode for a big move across country in September.  I literally still can't believe I'm going, but I have never felt more assured that I'm making the right move.  I have major discernment issues in life.  I changed my major 3 times officially.  I date the wrong guys.  I get myself into weird situations.  I guess I can't guarantee that I'm making the perfect one here either.  And by perfect...I mean easy.  I tend to quit when the going gets rough, which may explain the changes in majors/flakey relationships.  If something turns me off even just a little bit, I peace out.  I realize that by moving all the way across the country and paying out the nose for an expensive private education, I am abandoning my liberty to change my mind. This is it.  And as scary as that may usually feel for my non-committal self....I feel so sure about it.  So pumped.

The scariest portion of planning this move right now is the realization that if I decide to live in a studio apartment without roommates I am going to be living in a shoebox that costs 3 times as much as my apartment in Spokane.  Holy cow.

So, all of you should start planning vacations to the East Coast, and you can come hang in my shoebox!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!