i think every night should be movie night.:)

I LOVE film. And I don't think I'm over emphasizing this.:) I come by it honestly; Dad has always been a big movie buff (while Mom didn't really see the point so much:). Luke loves movies too, which makes us a good match (well, that's at least part of it:). Our movie tastes have rubbed off on each other over time. Luke showed me how epic Bruce Lee and other old Kung-fu movies can be and I've helped him to appreciate art films and other foreign films. Together we've discovered several great directors, many genres we enjoy and tons of movies that we will excitedly watch over and over. We seriously watch several movies a week.

This week we saw two good movies. Since Thursday is my day off, we decided to catch a matinee at the Keystone Art Cinema (one of our favorite movie theaters). We love this theater because it shows alot of foreign and art films, as well as movies that are difficult to find at other local theaters. And, I'm not going to lie, we like the fact that they have a lounge where you can buy drinks to take into the theater (although we can rarely afford this luxury:). Plus if you can make it to a showing before 6pm ticket prices are just $6.50 (a far cry from $9.50). Anyway, we decided to go see "the Wrestler". We've been excited about this movie because it's by Darren Arnofsky, a director we really enjoy (Pi, Requiem for a Drean, the Fountain). The movie was quite good, although definitely depressing, in keeping with Arnofsky's usual. His movies can be hard to watch because they are brutally honest, focus on tough life situations and are extremely depressing, but his style and honesty are also a great thing. The people feel very real.

The other movie we saw this week was "Seven Samurai". This is a classic and epic movie, but somehow neither of us had ever seen it. The IMA does a winter movie nights program on the weekends and this was the movie for tonight, so we decided today to go. While the movie is 200 minutes long, it doesn't feel too slow and it is very enjoyable to watch (although you need to be awake as this is one you read). I would highly recommend this movie (if you ever have a spare 3 and a half hours:). We hope to attend more of these IMA movie nights. It's kind of fun to see old classics on a big screen.

I'm sure this won't be the last time you hear from me about movies, as they are a big part of my life and one of my favorite forms of entertainment. I think it's important not just to see them as an entertainment thing though, but to view them as an essential art form. Movies should be viewed intellectually, with intelligence and an open mind.

everyone should be relieved to know that...

as of yesterday, our Christmas stuff has finally been taken down and put away.:) I was very pleased yesterday to receive a phone call in the early morning hours that Half Price Books would not be opening until 1 p.m. I was even more pleased to receive a later phone call telling me that we would not be opening at all! I had heard of these inclement weather induced closing days, but had never been the beneficiary of one.:)
Luke and I slept in a bit and then got up and lazed around for awhile before deciding to get some stuff down around our apartment. We had some growing stacks of DVDs and Cds that needed gone through and put away, so we put on Kill Bill Vol. 1 (and later Vol. 2) and got down to business. I like having a movie on that I am very familiar with while I work. That way I'm not too distracted, but if I need a momentary diversion I can just concentrate on it for a bit and quote along with it.:) Marge dropped over after work and watched some of the movie and then napped on our couch for a couple hours while we took down Christmas decorations and vacuumed the living room (and yes, she slept right through the vacuuming process:).
In the evening, Elliot and Ashley came over for dinner and for me to cut Elliot's hair.:) I made Alaina's cream of broccoli soup from her recipe blog. It's good stuff.:) Plus I had broccoli, green onions and celery that all needed used and this is one of the few ways that Luke actually enjoys eating broccoli.:) After supper, I cut Elliot's hair while Luke and Ashley played bananagram. It was an enjoyable evening and a great day to get a few things knocked out. I had today off as well, which made it extra great since I rarely to never get 2 days off in a row.
Today was a good day too. Maybe I'll tell you more about it tomorrow...

how great is it...

that on the only night of the week that i work late, we closed the store 2 and half hours early due to "inclement weather". fingers crossed for a late opening tomorrow.:) i love having unexpected time.

some quality time with grandparents

yesterday was a full but good day. we went up to lafayette in the morning to celebrate grandma & grandpa nelson's 60th anniversary with the rest of the family. everyone surprised them at church in the morning and then we all went out to mountain jacks for dinner. grandma & grandpa were very surprised and felt very honored.:) i think it's pretty great to have examples of long & loving marriages. luke and i are blessed to have the examples of both our parents and all of our grandparents.
after the dinner, we decided to head up to rensselaer to visit grandma and grandpa cummings. we hadn't visited them in awhile and it was great to see them. we always enjoy playing games and chatting with them. when i was younger, grandpa taught me many of the games i know. he taught me strategy and to play to win.:) i have many fond memories of game time with grandpa cummings.:) yesterday we taught them how to play bananagram (similar to speed scrabble) and they taught us how to play a new game called triple four.
good times wth great people!

progress

for the first time since it's purchase (over a year ago) my kitchenaid is out on the counter and ready for use.:)
i didn't go to work today, because when i woke up i didn't feel well. so i called off and went back to bed. by the afternoon i was feeling better, so decided get to work on some things around the apartment. after putting food in the crock pot for dinner i started working on the dishes, since that always seems like a good place to start.:) luke ambled into the kitchen a few minutes later and began helping and what began as a "let's do the dishes so we feel better about life" turned into a "let's get this kitchen freaking dealt with".:)
within a matter of a few hours, the kitchen now looks like a different place. things had kind of gotten out of control over the last month on top of the fact that we kind of feel like we never fully got organized after our move (and yes, i do realize that was like 9 months ago:). we didn't reorganize very many cupboards, but we did go through the pantry and organize it, we rearranged our counter space to make it more productive, took some glasses and things out of boxes and found places them. overall, it looks pretty good and we are very happy to have made some progress. seems like life is so hard to keep up with sometimes.
we had bought the kitchenaid sometime in our first year of marriage when it was on sale for about 2/3 it's regular price, but since i'm not usually making large quantities of food and we didn't have much counter space, it had stayed in the box. needless to say, i'm pleased to have it out and accessible. it is a beautiful piece of equipment.:)

i guess the holidays are pretty well over...

so, i guess that means it's probably time to take down the christmas decor...

happy shoe news:)

after a 2+ year search for a neato skeato pair of winter boots that fit all of my criteria, about a week ago i hit the jackpot.:) luke has been, for these last 2 years, trying to find me an acceptable pair of boots on various holidays and birthdays. he could never find a pair that he knew i would really like, so last year on my birthday as part of my gift he told me i could pick out a pair. even with this free reign, i still couldn't find THE pair of boots that i wanted. the problem is that i have too many stipulations: no heel, must be brown (preferably dark brown), no pointy toes, more casual than dressy, warm soft interior... and so and so forth.:) a week ago sunday, we were downtown for my birthday and decided to browse around the mall. at the last minute we walked through carson pirie scott, a store we never go to. there sitting on a display table in all their glory were the perfect boots. not only did they fit all of my criteria, but they were a favorite brand of mine (rocket dogs) and they were on clearance. it was the last pair they had and they just happened to be size 6. which is awesome, because i often have difficulty finding shoes for my irregularly small feet.:)
in other happy shoe news, one of my favorite people besides my family members (*cough* carly *cought*) gave me a ridiculously awesome birthday gift. she personally designed a pair of converses for me on their website. they are freaking sweet! they are black with green stitching, the tongue and inside has a cool black and white skull design and down by the heel is stiched "liz". how cool is that?
i love shoes...

this is a bookstore... not a diner

work provides alot of interesting situations customer-service wise. sometimes i find my blood pressure rising and other times i find myself laughing and shaking my head.:) the other day during our 20% off sale weekend a customer approached me and asked me: "what's your special today?" i wanted to say: "well, our chili cheese baked potato is $2.53 with your choice of one side, or if you want a hot dog instead of a potato, it's just 37 cents more.":) i refrained from saying it, tried to give her a look that indicated the strange phrasing of her question and said: "everything is 20% off today."

a quasi new year's resolution...

i've been toying with the idea of starting a blog. (i will not blame this entirely on alaina...:). so this seemed like a good time to do that...