Last Monday

I can hardly believe that it's the last Monday of January already. Is the rest of the year going to go like this? It seems like just a day ago that my DH and I were snowed in at our home in Kirkland. Celebrating the holidays, yes, but also trapped!

It did snow - a little bit - yesterday, but not enough to keep me from heading home to be with my honey. He thoughtfully taped the NHL All Stars Game, and let me watch it while he cooked an amazing gourmet feast. We had a marinated pork tenderloin, with red potatoes roasted with garlic, and fresh asparagus. What a wonderful meal!

Since I last wrote, I have a few updates:

In Bruges - a film starring Colin Farrell, was lauded by the critics, and called a "sleeper". Well, it should have stayed asleep. I'm one of those people who needs to see something happy on a Sunday night, and there was nothing happy in this film. There were times when I thought they might pull out of the muck long enough to give us a modified happy ending, but, no. It was death and destruction to everyone we liked, and even those we didn't. It could have been a David Lynch for all the blood. The dialog was clever, and we did laugh once or twice during it, but this was not a winner. Afterward, we watched an episode of 2 and 1/2 Men to have a giggle before heading off to bed in preparation for the work week.

Defiance - Did I already kvell about this one? Even if I did, it's worth saying again. It is the best movie I've seen in a long time. The critics complain that it tried too hard, and pulled too many heart strings. What? Yes, I cared about the people in it, which must be something critics disdain, and I felt uplifted at the end of it, which must also be a no-no. Bah! Forget them. This is fantastic!

I received an extra movie from Netflix this past week because it had been at the top of my queue for a while with a status of "short wait". They finally found it somewhere else, and had it sent to me even though I already had my allotment of films. It was a series of concerts by Bill Hicks (comedian who died of cancer back in the 90's). I remember loving his work, and wanted to see it again. I found it most interesting that I no longer enjoyed him at all. There were a few chuckles, but, for the most part, he was just ranting without humor.

That has happened to me before - where something I remember as touching or funny just doesn't have the same appeal it once did. I was surprised this time, though. My friend, Ravi and I used to enjoy him so much that I thought for sure it would be the same this time around - but it wasn't...not by a long shot.

King of Hearts, though, seems to have unlimited appeal. I watched it again with the same enjoyment as the first time I saw it - or maybe even more. What makes it even better is that it was a free, "play now" video through Netflix, so I just pulled it onto my Roku machine and have it there to watch anytime I want (along with Star Trek TOS and the current seasons of NCIS, and Numb3rs seasons 3, 4 and 5).

The street was paved with ice this morning, as if someone had used a powdered-sugar glaze over everything. My sweetie drove me to the P&R because I didn't set the alarm correctly. It's currently set to go off at 5pm instead of 5am. Anyway, it was good he did that because walking to the bus stop could have been treacherous!

Tomorrow, we're heading to a production of one of my favorite plays - The Importance of Being Earnest. We'll meet up with friends and go to a show on a Tuesday night! That's not our normal behavior. Weekdays are normally too tiring to consider going out, but this is a special event, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Wednesday will be my first Weight Watchers' meeting in a very long time. I have to get serious now, or I'll be miserable when we go to NYC in June. I think it is so much worse to be stuffed into clothes when it's hot and sticky than when it's cold and rainy. Not that it's great any time, but I would just hate having to feel either exposed and embarrassed or sweltering in too many clothes while we're back there. If I can just eat sensibly, and NOT snack at night (I'm a late-night nibbler) I should be okay by June. That's the goal, anyway. I'd love to be motivated enough to start running again, and train for the Vancouver 1/2 marathon, but I don't think I'll pull it together this year. Maybe next May I will be in a better place with daily exercise.

My sister is the Queen of Physical Health. She's been working out daily since the new year. What a star! She's amazing, anyway, but this is a poke for me to remember to keep up (uh, get up is more like it).

More later after we head to the theater. I'll give updates on my WW meetings, too. There's one next door to work right now, but they need 10 more people to keep it going. I hope they get them because it'd be a lot easier to get there than at Westlake, which is 1/2 way home. Hard to come back to the office when I've escaped that far! Also, the blog can keep me honest, since I'll report losses and gains, so I'd better be good!

Long time no blog

Finally feeling somewhat normal after the holidays. Time to get back to a regular routine - the food, the exercise, the work...everything. Once I get my habits reset, I'll be okay, but now everything seems so forced and strange. Normal living seems dull in comparison, and yet the holidays lacked something this year, too.

I hadn't realized until this year how much I appreciated lighting the menorah for Channukah. We're non-traditional to say the least, and enjoy a mixed experience of both a single gift-giving day on xmas, and lighting the candles for each night of Channukah. We say a blessing each night - not the standard brachot by any means - for something for which we are thankful. The first night is for our health, and the nights following each remind us of another aspect of life for which we are grateful. During a time as hectic and crazy as the holidays, having 8 nights where we light the candles together, and spend some time in reflection and appreciation for each other and our life together - that in itself is a blessing. This year, we didn't have Channukah candles, and I couldn't find any anywhere. You don't realize how xmas-centric the world is until you try and find candles for the menorah at the last minute. I bought a case after the holiday so that I will NOT run into this problem again. We ran through the holidays without a break, and they were over before we knew it. We had fun giving presents to the children in our lives, but we missed having the intimate holiday with each other that I've come to anticipate and love.

We were forced to slow down a little bit, though, because we were snowed in at the house in Kirkland. It looked like Tahoe out the window. Driving was impossible, and walking was difficult. After 4 days in the house, we pushed the car out of the driveway and into the ruts created by the mailman to get out to a movie - Tales of Despereaux. I loved the movie, which had some of the most beautiful animation I've ever seen. Evidently, the book is sadder than the film - so I'm glad I saw the film!

This xmas I got a patriotic banner instead of a flag. I mentioned before that I never even wanted a flag for the condo because the Bush administration did not engender even the smallest amout of patriotism in me. In fact, I never felt so alienated from my own country. However, as of last November 4th, all of that changed. Still, it's hard to figure out how to put a flag up on the deck of the condo. My creative DH found a banner - one of those ruffled red/white/blue banners you might see on a dais during a political speach - and I'll be using it quite soon. I will put it out for Tuesday - Inauguration Day for our 44th President, Barak Obama. Talk about something for which I can be truly grateful! A president for all of us.

Here's to meeting our personal goals (bah on "resolutions") and living a life filled with love, peace, and prosperity in the coming year.