Go see Australia

Against all the critics - I actually really liked Australia. I am a slight movie snob but even I get sick of sad endings and tragic story-lines. Australia is all about happy endings - it's melodrama at it's best. And no, melodrama isn't always bad. See definition:

Melodramas tend to be formulaic productions, with a clearly constructed world of connotations: a villain poses a threat, the hero escapes the threat (or rescues the heroine) and there is (generally) a happy ending.

So who doesn't want to see a story like this after all the ones about failed lives that resemble reality a little too closely? Those movies are usually too preachy anyhow. This movie is full of good looking people who kiss and ride horses and shoot guns and in the end seem to be going towards their happily ever after. So go see it. It's a good thing.

This review summarized my feelings on the film pretty well. Here's a snip-it:
"And then, from the graphic beauty of the opening credits to the bigger than the Outback story line, Baz had me at G'day. All the most popular of fictions swirling around its epic story: improbable love, class differences, larger than life characters, incredible landscape, life and death. And, my favorite story technique, an omniscient narrator speaking from some time in the future about the past that you are viewing. A movie with highs and lows, tensions built and equitably satisfied, a soaring score, a major throwback, stirring, Hollywood epic.

I just reread that paragraph and I hope it entices you to go see Australia, but, I realized I hadn't even mentioned cattle drives, bar fights, war, violence, mystery, love unrequited, love requited. It is such a big movie that at one point, halfway in, I fully expected a dissolve to a 'Intermission' sign and cocktails in the lobby discussing what we had all just seen and then back in for the climax. Australia feels like one of those big road show movies of the fifties: Ben-Hur, Cleopatra, The Ten Commandments, The Longest Day."

And here's a trailer if you don't even know what I'm talking about:

Anyone got a talent for my kid?

So next week we are spending Thanksgiving with Mike's family and they are having a full blown talent show complete with a stage and a backdrop! Elijah is going to play some violin but I have no idea what to have Andrew(age 3) do - let alone Mike and I! Any ideas for what I could teach him before Wednesday of next week?

Just in case I never have a girl...

We couldn't resist - he needs a haircut! Or I can watch videos like this one I saw on Cindy's blog:

A boy's destiny

Today my boys pulled out the lincoln logs and I was glad to see them enjoying a good old fashioned toy instead of tearing through my house, jumping from my couches, or pretending to shoot and stab each other. Only, as I listened to their communication I realized it wasn't quite the type of play I had imagined. Instead of a pleasant mountain cabin with a happy woodcutter's family, this is actually a scene of serious warmongering. In fact, every time someone lights a fire in the quaint little fireplace - the smoke sets off a series of bombs. And those things at the front of the picture are actually cannons - used to obliterate the enemy.
And this here is a bomb storage facility. Note the missile launching chimney...And these are bombs waiting to be unleash their fury upon the enemy. I explained to the boys that bombs are horrible things only used to kill people and my oldest says, "Ya, but, girl's just don't like war as much as boys do." I really have no argument for that. I am slightly afraid of having a girl because I think it will show how much more I enjoy playing house with her rather than war with them.
All the while my innocent little Peter is watching on. I can already see him taking it all in and learning the ways of destruction and terror.Poor Peter - you are destined to a life of violence and there's not much a mom can do about it.

Eat food, not too much, mostly vegetables....for a week.

Well, I just finished "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan and it was excellent. I whole heartedly recommend it to everyone. It's a short read but jammed full of information that is likely to change to way you see a lot of things. Part of the book talks about "how to eat" - this is not a diet or a list of forbidden foods. Instead it recommends the three things listed in the title of this post:

Eat Food - this means no food products: i.e. imitation foods or foods that your ancestors wouldn't recognize as food. That also means if the ingrediant list is long and full of things you can't pronounce - it's probably not food but a food product. It's a lot more detailed than that but you get the idea...

Not too much - this means we enjoy our food and don't gorge ourselves on it. We eat more like the French who eat smaller portions of higher quality food.

Mostly vegetables - this means that we eat way too much meat in the country because it has become so cheap. Our ancestors ate a lot less just because it wasn't as available - as do people in other countries. We needs to eat more vegetables with meat being the side dish.

I have oversimplified the book's message by a million - there are health reasons to eat this way but just as importantly environmental, political, and social reasons. In my opinion this book needs to be read hand in hand with The Omnivore's Dilemma which I am still reading - it's a lot longer. Anyhow, my point being that I want to try it out starting this coming Sunday.

I wanted a little time to prepare so I could have it in my mind what I could make. You'd be surprised by how much isn't true food anymore - at least partly. Like today I wanted a tuna sandwich but when I looked at the can saw that it was partly vegetable broth - meaning soy flakes! I ate my tuna still but next week I won't be able to unless I buy the raw tuna and cook it myself. Anyhow...I'll let you know how it goes...I'm curious what my week will be like and I'm betting the food will taste a lot better - as long as I do my job right!

RSV week

So, here's the story of our RSV adventure...

Peter was slightly sick over the last weekend. The main symptom was that he was wheezing. Though he had no fever and was overall in a pretty happy mood, his wheezing was starting to concern me. So Monday morning I took him in to see the doctor. Well, everyone was really concerned there and said if he got any worse - even if it was just a few hours later - I had to bring him back in. I was really surprised because even during the check-up he was cooing and gurgling and really happy - just wheezy. The doctor also said that if he wasn't any better by Wednesday I had to bring him back.

So Wednesday rolled around and he wasn't any better but I really didn't think I'd take him back in. But that afternoon he starting to look a little worse so at the last minute we went in. The doctor looked him over and said to take him in for chest x-rays. After the x-rays they wanted him admitted. I was actually getting a little bothered by this time. He still didn't seem very sick! I always thought a child with RSV would be coughing and barely able to breathe. But I guess the real thing to worry about is that RSV so often leads to bronchilitis - which Peter had - and that makes the small tubes in the lungs swell. And in babies - those tubes are so small that when they swell it's bad news. So even though Peter wasn't THAT noticeably sick, while he was sleeping his oxygen levels were dipping into dangerous territory. Needless to say, the time in the hospital was long and Peter really started to hate it. He couldn't leave his room and he always had oxygen tubes taped to his face and up his nose. When we brought him home around noon on Friday he was as happy as a clam(what does that mean anyhow?) He was so glad to have toys and freedom and big loud brothers to entertain him. And he's just been getting better even since. He's still coughing but his wheeze is almost non-existent and he's eating normally again. So, that was a fun week. But the best part was that Meghan and Brett brought us dinner on Saturday night. And that meal was AMAZING! I know you've probably heard me talk about Brett's cooking before - and we're not talking like some amazing version of the foods we eat - we're talking about high end foodie delight. Go to his food blog - that's the kind of food they eat every night! So it washed away all of the bad with delicious food. Though our kids weren't really cooperating. They were so loud and someone was always whining and ruining the opportunity to enjoy the food. We felt like we were trying to listen to a symphony with someone screaming in our ears. So thanks for thinking of us guys!
*You'll have to excuse the quality of the images - they were all taken with Mike's camera phone!

We've always got to be the first...

So, Peter is the first official case of RSV at the local hospital. It's been one heck of a week! I'll tell you more about it later. The story isn't over yet but don't worry - Peter's going to be just fine. Hopefully he can come home tomorrow. Mike's spending the night there right now. But really don't worry!

Tagged by Kathy

I was tagged - so here goes with my extremely interesting answers:

8 TV shows that I love: (I only faithfully watch the office but if the others are on, I'll usually stick around)
1- The Office
2- What Not to Wear
3- 30 rock - I'm just starting to like and watch
4- Bizzare Foods with Andrew Zimmern(on the travel channel)
5- Flight of the Conchords - on DVD now
6- Long Way Round and Long Way Down - from the BBC - we watch on DVD
7-Rick Steves' Europe
8- Arrested Development - on DVD

8 Restaurants I Love:(in no particular order)
1- The Macaroni Grill
2- The Bombay House - though Mike NEVER wants to eat there...
3- Cafe Rio
4- For fast food I like Noodles and Company
5- The Grill Room @ Sundance
6- Chadders in American Fork
7- Berry Hill
8- Brett Stubbs - not a restaurant but better than any place I've ever eaten

8 things that happened today:
1-Woke up early to help clean-up baby vomit but thankfully went BACK to sleep
2 -stayed home from church with sick baby
3- drank a slimfast
4- read a little from The Omnivore's Dilemma
5- uploaded some Christmas albums on the computer
6- looked at some blogs and realized I'd been tagged
7- that's it - it's not that late in the day...
8-

8 things I am looking forward to:
1- christmas
2- thanksgiving too
3- lunch
4- finishing Long Way Down
5- snow
6- the ultrasound
7-owning a house again
8- being rich(i'm still holding on to that hope...)

8 things on my wish list:
1- a house
2- lots of money
3- the camper to come soon - we bought Chelsea's...
4- to have a magical Christmas
5- to be pregnant with a girl
6- a trip to Italy - sadly, mostly for the food.
7- to be thin again someday - that doesn't really jive with the last one though...
8- a great date night.

I hereby tag Marisa, Chelsea, Meghie, Kristi & Jamie

Our first snowman

This morning it snowed and the boys were so excited to get out into it. After a while Andrew gave up and came inside. I hadn't seen Elijah for a while and started to suspect he had snuck upstairs to watch tv. He hadn't so when I went to look out back to my pleasant surprise I found him steadily working by himself on this:
All year he had been talking about making one but I thought the magic would wear off really quickly. I guess I was wrong!

We found some sticks in the parking lot - we're in a townhouse and we can't start ripping the landscaping apart. And of course a carrot for the nose.
We used grapes for the mouth and rocks for the eyes. All in all I'd say it's pretty cute! Hooray for the season!!!I guess those of you who live in snow don't think it's a big deal but we southerners were in a winter wonderland!

When you're sixty-four

Today my dear old Dad is sixty four. That comment made him sound really ancient and endearing but he's mainly only the latter.

Since you probably hear the music playing - enjoy it. The Beatles song is very specific to one birthday and it's the one my dad is celebrating today. And the other two are so inseparably connected with my Dad that you must listen to them as you read this post. Today on his birthday I wanted to write a post about how much I love him and wish him his happiest birthday yet.

I've been writing this post in my brain for months on nights when I couldn't fall asleep. I wanted to write something that lets everyone know about how great my Dad is and what a powerful force he has been in my life. I don't know if I can even come close to doing that very completely here but hopefully I can touch the top of it a little.

Just recently my parents came to visit for the ordination of their oldest grandson as an Elder. It had been a while since I had sat with my parents in church and my heart swelled with pride to hear my Dad's beautiful singing voice during the hymns. My Dad really does have a beautiful voice. Growing up on Sunday mornings my Dad would either be returning from or about to go to his early morning church meetings and would sit at the piano and play some songs and sing them. It was early and I was almost always really tired so I didn't appreciate those moments as much then but I treasure those memories now. He would sing on other days to - often singing the song, "Tenderly" which is such a romantic beautiful song. He would also use the tune of "Mona Lisa" to sing about pretty much everything from spaghetti and meatballs to whatever friend was visiting for the night. I love your voice, Dad.

My Dad is also a charitable man. He has taught me to give someone in need the shirt off your own back and to always be there for people. My Dad has an elderly man that he visits with and receives calls from on a regular basis. And that would be a kind thing in and of itself but this old man is hard to be around. His own family doesn't want to see him anymore and most people avoid talking with him. But not my dad. I have often been visiting at his home when he receives a call from this man and will talk with him for quite a while in both spanish and english and about who knows what. And he usually takes him a plate from our holiday meals and visits with him. And he isn't the fist aged man he's visited and helped. And I've seen him touch the lives of countless others. I hope to follow his example.

Another little thing you might not know about my Dad is that he has impeccable handwriting. It's beautiful and neat. I love to see it. When I was in middle school or so my Dad was looking at a paper I had written and was so appalled at how terrible my handwriting was that he had me sit down and write out my whole alphabet and all my numbers over and over again. That sounds mean but it wasn't for pages and pages - just one page. And from then on I think my handwriting greatly improved. I actually think about that little thing he did for me every time I write a letter or a card.

I think most dads don't realize the power they have in their children's lives for good but they do have so much. At girl's camp when I was growing up they would ask our parents to write us letters that they could hand out each week. I don't know if my Dad thought it was too big of a deal but his letters meant a lot to me. One in particular he told me one of the talents he thought I possessed. It was such a powerful thing to me that I still have that letter and consider it to be one of the most significant things ever said to me.

When I was in middle school I had an undying love for Kevin Costner. I loved the movie Dances with Wolves! And so when the new Robin Hood movie with him in it came out I was dying to see it. One evening I was particularly excited about it and went in to my parent's bedroom and told them I couldn't wait to see it. My dad said, "You want to go now?" And off we went with my little brother Weston and had a great time! That night I felt like my Dad really cared about what was dearest to my heart and it meant a lot to me.

My Dad is hard working, creative, clever, funny, and quite the spiffy dresser if you ask me. I am grateful that the Lord let me be a part of his family. He has enabled myself and my family to be blessed on more than one occasion by following his heart and I am grateful for his ability to hear and follow those promptings. He has been a force for good in the lives of many people besides myself, as my mom has as well, and I look forward to the day when the two of them can serve together as missionaries as a super-force for good.

So happy birthday, Dad. Pip, pip, cheerio!