Last night we dropped the kids off with the Redneck Parents (CB's fam) and headed off to see the movie 300. I knew it was going to be a gorefest, but I am obsessed with all things ancient Greek, so I was game.
Even though I knew it was going to be bloody, I was not prepared for all the beheadings. Which I can totally appreciate because it's authentic, but I spent a good ten minutes of the movie with my eyes covered. Yeesh.
So, if you can get past the fake blood, I highly recommend this movie. It's got a tish of a romance feel to it with the relationship between King Leonitas and his queen, but it's full of reminders about what it's really like to love your country and to want to fight for what you believe in.
Sparta was a unique society without all the Hollywood-ness the book this movie was based on added to it, but for the first time in a long time, I actually appreciated the Hollywood-izing. For example, the Spartans went out to battle in just a cod piece and a cape (which makes for yummy eye candy, but anyone with even general knowledge of ancient Greece knows that the soldiers went out with some sort of armor. But, without the armor, you could really see the athleticism in their fighting style. Think part ballet, part javelin tosser. It was INSANE.
Add into it the yumminess that is Gerard Butler (along with 300 other half-naked muscle-bound men, and it is the epitome of a date movie. Action for the boys, eye candy and romance for the girls. All in all a great show.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Updates
The snow storm is over, and we have cleared off most of the sidewalk. Which of course means that it will be 50 by the weekend and all this sparkly white stuff will melt BACK onto the sidewalks, turning them into one long ice skating rink. But it’s totally fine because that means that spring is almost here. Which means that soon the thermometer will jump back into my comfort range (70-85 degrees).
There’s been lots of things going on, but I’ve just had no motivation to blog whatsoever. But today, my boss is out of town for the week and my coworker is gone for the rest of this week, so I have NO WORK! Which means that you are all going to be bored to tears by my updating!
-We had our 50’s themed Valentine’s party. It was super fun! CB and I won first prize in the costume contest. He was dressed like Johnny Cash, and I had my poodle skirt, a shirt with a rhinestone C on it and black cat-eye glasses. I’ve only received one picture of us so far, but the lighting is bad in the restaurant and it was from a disposable camera. But if I think of it, I’ll scan it in. Hopefully I’ll get some better ones from my friend that planned it all.
-The digital camera is fantastic! We’ve taken more pictures in the past two weeks than we have in the past two years! When the first snowstorm hit, CB and I went driving around (seriously, this just makes me feel ancient. Because that’s what all the farmers do when the storm’s a comin’) and took pictures of the Minnesota River and some fun little landmarks we didn’t know existed. I was reminded of how truly beautiful this area is. If only the people’s attitudes matched the pristine landscape. . .
-We’ve been sledding like maniacs lately.
-On Sunday we went to another town to go see a guy named Rockie Lynne. He is a country singer that I hadn’t really heard of (but after he started singing, I realized I’ve heard a couple of his songs on the radio), and was in the area for a VFW benefit concert. We’ve got connections, so we scored VIP tickets. Which didn’t really mean anything other than we got to be inside the auditorium during sound check. But I can’t even begin to tell you how nice Rockie was. I had Diva and CJ (their first concert. Sniff. I’m so proud) with me, and after he was done with the sound check, he came down and talked to us. He asked Diva if the music was too loud and when she told him it was, he explained to her that they turn it up louder then because they want to make sure it doesn’t get any louder than that. Then throughout the concert, he kept checking with her to make sure she was doing OK. Diva had a little crush and kept staring at him with this star-crossed look in her eye. She also got a signed picture that says “[Diva], You can do anything! Love, Rockie” and she had a death grip on it for the rest of the night. We went right to the store after the concert and picked up a frame for it and she’s proudly got it on display on their craft table.
CJ also cleaned up. We were talking to all of the band members after the concert and the drummer ended up giving CJ a drumhead signed by everyone. He thought that was the greatest thing in the whole world and brought it for show and tell on Monday.
They both gave Rockie a big hug after the concert. I do believe that it was a life changing event for the two of them. CJ wants to grow his hair out so he looks like Rockie. Diva cannot wait to see him again.
She also thinks she’s ready for the big time concerts, but I told her that not everyone is this nice when you go to a show. But they should be! Rockie was so gracious and thankful that everyone had come to the concert and must have thanked everyone a million times. I wish you would see more of that. After all, aren’t the people in the crowd the people that are making the superstars all their money anyway?? I think you see it a lot more in country and rock than you do any other genre. Mostly because 90% of those guys have had to put in the long hours working their butts off in smoky dive bars before finally making it to the big time. Not like these pop princesses who just have to look good in a skirt and have a marginal voice.
All right, I guess that’s enough rambling for one day. I would say that I’m going to try and start posting more regularly again, but the last time I said that I didn’t post for another week, so I’m just not going to go there!
There’s been lots of things going on, but I’ve just had no motivation to blog whatsoever. But today, my boss is out of town for the week and my coworker is gone for the rest of this week, so I have NO WORK! Which means that you are all going to be bored to tears by my updating!
-We had our 50’s themed Valentine’s party. It was super fun! CB and I won first prize in the costume contest. He was dressed like Johnny Cash, and I had my poodle skirt, a shirt with a rhinestone C on it and black cat-eye glasses. I’ve only received one picture of us so far, but the lighting is bad in the restaurant and it was from a disposable camera. But if I think of it, I’ll scan it in. Hopefully I’ll get some better ones from my friend that planned it all.
-The digital camera is fantastic! We’ve taken more pictures in the past two weeks than we have in the past two years! When the first snowstorm hit, CB and I went driving around (seriously, this just makes me feel ancient. Because that’s what all the farmers do when the storm’s a comin’) and took pictures of the Minnesota River and some fun little landmarks we didn’t know existed. I was reminded of how truly beautiful this area is. If only the people’s attitudes matched the pristine landscape. . .
-We’ve been sledding like maniacs lately.
-On Sunday we went to another town to go see a guy named Rockie Lynne. He is a country singer that I hadn’t really heard of (but after he started singing, I realized I’ve heard a couple of his songs on the radio), and was in the area for a VFW benefit concert. We’ve got connections, so we scored VIP tickets. Which didn’t really mean anything other than we got to be inside the auditorium during sound check. But I can’t even begin to tell you how nice Rockie was. I had Diva and CJ (their first concert. Sniff. I’m so proud) with me, and after he was done with the sound check, he came down and talked to us. He asked Diva if the music was too loud and when she told him it was, he explained to her that they turn it up louder then because they want to make sure it doesn’t get any louder than that. Then throughout the concert, he kept checking with her to make sure she was doing OK. Diva had a little crush and kept staring at him with this star-crossed look in her eye. She also got a signed picture that says “[Diva], You can do anything! Love, Rockie” and she had a death grip on it for the rest of the night. We went right to the store after the concert and picked up a frame for it and she’s proudly got it on display on their craft table.
CJ also cleaned up. We were talking to all of the band members after the concert and the drummer ended up giving CJ a drumhead signed by everyone. He thought that was the greatest thing in the whole world and brought it for show and tell on Monday.
They both gave Rockie a big hug after the concert. I do believe that it was a life changing event for the two of them. CJ wants to grow his hair out so he looks like Rockie. Diva cannot wait to see him again.
She also thinks she’s ready for the big time concerts, but I told her that not everyone is this nice when you go to a show. But they should be! Rockie was so gracious and thankful that everyone had come to the concert and must have thanked everyone a million times. I wish you would see more of that. After all, aren’t the people in the crowd the people that are making the superstars all their money anyway?? I think you see it a lot more in country and rock than you do any other genre. Mostly because 90% of those guys have had to put in the long hours working their butts off in smoky dive bars before finally making it to the big time. Not like these pop princesses who just have to look good in a skirt and have a marginal voice.
All right, I guess that’s enough rambling for one day. I would say that I’m going to try and start posting more regularly again, but the last time I said that I didn’t post for another week, so I’m just not going to go there!
Updates
The snow storm is over, and we have cleared off most of the sidewalk. Which of course means that it will be 50 by the weekend and all this sparkly white stuff will melt BACK onto the sidewalks, turning them into one long ice skating rink. But it’s totally fine because that means that spring is almost here. Which means that soon the thermometer will jump back into my comfort range (70-85 degrees).
There’s been lots of things going on, but I’ve just had no motivation to blog whatsoever. But today, my boss is out of town for the week and my coworker is gone for the rest of this week, so I have NO WORK! Which means that you are all going to be bored to tears by my updating!
-We had our 50’s themed Valentine’s party. It was super fun! CB and I won first prize in the costume contest. He was dressed like Johnny Cash, and I had my poodle skirt, a shirt with a rhinestone C on it and black cat-eye glasses. I’ve only received one picture of us so far, but the lighting is bad in the restaurant and it was from a disposable camera. But if I think of it, I’ll scan it in. Hopefully I’ll get some better ones from my friend that planned it all.
-The digital camera is fantastic! We’ve taken more pictures in the past two weeks than we have in the past two years! When the first snowstorm hit, CB and I went driving around (seriously, this just makes me feel ancient. Because that’s what all the farmers do when the storm’s a comin’) and took pictures of the Minnesota River and some fun little landmarks we didn’t know existed. I was reminded of how truly beautiful this area is. If only the people’s attitudes matched the pristine landscape. . .
-We’ve been sledding like maniacs lately.
-On Sunday we went to another town to go see a guy named Rockie Lynne. He is a country singer that I hadn’t really heard of (but after he started singing, I realized I’ve heard a couple of his songs on the radio), and was in the area for a VFW benefit concert. We’ve got connections, so we scored VIP tickets. Which didn’t really mean anything other than we got to be inside the auditorium during sound check. But I can’t even begin to tell you how nice Rockie was. I had Diva and CJ (their first concert. Sniff. I’m so proud) with me, and after he was done with the sound check, he came down and talked to us. He asked Diva if the music was too loud and when she told him it was, he explained to her that they turn it up louder then because they want to make sure it doesn’t get any louder than that. Then throughout the concert, he kept checking with her to make sure she was doing OK. Diva had a little crush and kept staring at him with this star-crossed look in her eye. She also got a signed picture that says “[Diva], You can do anything! Love, Rockie” and she had a death grip on it for the rest of the night. We went right to the store after the concert and picked up a frame for it and she’s proudly got it on display on their craft table.
CJ also cleaned up. We were talking to all of the band members after the concert and the drummer ended up giving CJ a drumhead signed by everyone. He thought that was the greatest thing in the whole world and brought it for show and tell on Monday.
They both gave Rockie a big hug after the concert. I do believe that it was a life changing event for the two of them. CJ wants to grow his hair out so he looks like Rockie. Diva cannot wait to see him again.
She also thinks she’s ready for the big time concerts, but I told her that not everyone is this nice when you go to a show. But they should be! Rockie was so gracious and thankful that everyone had come to the concert and must have thanked everyone a million times. I wish you would see more of that. After all, aren’t the people in the crowd the people that are making the superstars all their money anyway?? I think you see it a lot more in country and rock than you do any other genre. Mostly because 90% of those guys have had to put in the long hours working their butts off in smoky dive bars before finally making it to the big time. Not like these pop princesses who just have to look good in a skirt and have a marginal voice.
All right, I guess that’s enough rambling for one day. I would say that I’m going to try and start posting more regularly again, but the last time I said that I didn’t post for another week, so I’m just not going to go there!
There’s been lots of things going on, but I’ve just had no motivation to blog whatsoever. But today, my boss is out of town for the week and my coworker is gone for the rest of this week, so I have NO WORK! Which means that you are all going to be bored to tears by my updating!
-We had our 50’s themed Valentine’s party. It was super fun! CB and I won first prize in the costume contest. He was dressed like Johnny Cash, and I had my poodle skirt, a shirt with a rhinestone C on it and black cat-eye glasses. I’ve only received one picture of us so far, but the lighting is bad in the restaurant and it was from a disposable camera. But if I think of it, I’ll scan it in. Hopefully I’ll get some better ones from my friend that planned it all.
-The digital camera is fantastic! We’ve taken more pictures in the past two weeks than we have in the past two years! When the first snowstorm hit, CB and I went driving around (seriously, this just makes me feel ancient. Because that’s what all the farmers do when the storm’s a comin’) and took pictures of the Minnesota River and some fun little landmarks we didn’t know existed. I was reminded of how truly beautiful this area is. If only the people’s attitudes matched the pristine landscape. . .
-We’ve been sledding like maniacs lately.
-On Sunday we went to another town to go see a guy named Rockie Lynne. He is a country singer that I hadn’t really heard of (but after he started singing, I realized I’ve heard a couple of his songs on the radio), and was in the area for a VFW benefit concert. We’ve got connections, so we scored VIP tickets. Which didn’t really mean anything other than we got to be inside the auditorium during sound check. But I can’t even begin to tell you how nice Rockie was. I had Diva and CJ (their first concert. Sniff. I’m so proud) with me, and after he was done with the sound check, he came down and talked to us. He asked Diva if the music was too loud and when she told him it was, he explained to her that they turn it up louder then because they want to make sure it doesn’t get any louder than that. Then throughout the concert, he kept checking with her to make sure she was doing OK. Diva had a little crush and kept staring at him with this star-crossed look in her eye. She also got a signed picture that says “[Diva], You can do anything! Love, Rockie” and she had a death grip on it for the rest of the night. We went right to the store after the concert and picked up a frame for it and she’s proudly got it on display on their craft table.
CJ also cleaned up. We were talking to all of the band members after the concert and the drummer ended up giving CJ a drumhead signed by everyone. He thought that was the greatest thing in the whole world and brought it for show and tell on Monday.
They both gave Rockie a big hug after the concert. I do believe that it was a life changing event for the two of them. CJ wants to grow his hair out so he looks like Rockie. Diva cannot wait to see him again.
She also thinks she’s ready for the big time concerts, but I told her that not everyone is this nice when you go to a show. But they should be! Rockie was so gracious and thankful that everyone had come to the concert and must have thanked everyone a million times. I wish you would see more of that. After all, aren’t the people in the crowd the people that are making the superstars all their money anyway?? I think you see it a lot more in country and rock than you do any other genre. Mostly because 90% of those guys have had to put in the long hours working their butts off in smoky dive bars before finally making it to the big time. Not like these pop princesses who just have to look good in a skirt and have a marginal voice.
All right, I guess that’s enough rambling for one day. I would say that I’m going to try and start posting more regularly again, but the last time I said that I didn’t post for another week, so I’m just not going to go there!
Friday, March 02, 2007
Storm of the Century!!!!
The second winter that I lived in Minnesota we got TONS of snow. The drifts that were made when the snowplow came through were taller than I am. But that all came over the course of the winter. Last Thursday, my backyard was bone dry. Then the big storm last weekend came through and it looked like this:
The picture looks kind of foggy because I took it out the bathroom window upstairs. (Also note the Redneck back porch that is our summer project). We got like eight inches of snow between Friday and Saturday. Which was awesome! We didn't have to go anywhere, so we took the kids (and ourselves) sledding. School was even on time.
Cut to Wednesday of this week. Our backs were still sore from shoveling the last go around (which was awesome snowman making snow because it was just the right consistancy. But it sucked for clearing because it was HEAVY!), when I happened to look on the internet and see that there was ANOTHER storm coming. The school let the kids out early in anticipation, and it was a good thing because by Wednesday night we had quite a bit.
It hasn't quit since. School was cancelled yesterday and today. The major highways out of this town are closed because they are impassable (sp? Is that even a word?). We are snowed in! There is over a foot of new snow since Wednesday night and it is still snowing right now. Up yonder in Duluth they are having windgusts of 65 mph. And this snow is not the heavy stuff, so the wind is pulling it all over the place, which adds to the fun! So now, my backyard looks like this:
The kids are outside digging a fort and I am inside watching them. For now. We'll probably go sledding again today and several more times this weekend. I have really, really (really) hated Minnesota in the winter time for the past few years. Even if we had gotten snow, it was too cold to go enjoy it, so we spent most of the winter cooped up and on each others' nerves. Now CB and I are having just as much fun as the kids. He went and built up a curve on the hill we sled on so that the kids would stay in the right path, then went down it on his shovel. It's been forever since we've had this much fun.
So now I'm off now to go help the kids build a snow fort. This is the stuff my mom told me about growing up here, and I'm excited to finally get to play in it!
The picture looks kind of foggy because I took it out the bathroom window upstairs. (Also note the Redneck back porch that is our summer project). We got like eight inches of snow between Friday and Saturday. Which was awesome! We didn't have to go anywhere, so we took the kids (and ourselves) sledding. School was even on time.
Cut to Wednesday of this week. Our backs were still sore from shoveling the last go around (which was awesome snowman making snow because it was just the right consistancy. But it sucked for clearing because it was HEAVY!), when I happened to look on the internet and see that there was ANOTHER storm coming. The school let the kids out early in anticipation, and it was a good thing because by Wednesday night we had quite a bit.
It hasn't quit since. School was cancelled yesterday and today. The major highways out of this town are closed because they are impassable (sp? Is that even a word?). We are snowed in! There is over a foot of new snow since Wednesday night and it is still snowing right now. Up yonder in Duluth they are having windgusts of 65 mph. And this snow is not the heavy stuff, so the wind is pulling it all over the place, which adds to the fun! So now, my backyard looks like this:
The kids are outside digging a fort and I am inside watching them. For now. We'll probably go sledding again today and several more times this weekend. I have really, really (really) hated Minnesota in the winter time for the past few years. Even if we had gotten snow, it was too cold to go enjoy it, so we spent most of the winter cooped up and on each others' nerves. Now CB and I are having just as much fun as the kids. He went and built up a curve on the hill we sled on so that the kids would stay in the right path, then went down it on his shovel. It's been forever since we've had this much fun.
So now I'm off now to go help the kids build a snow fort. This is the stuff my mom told me about growing up here, and I'm excited to finally get to play in it!
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