Going Home!

This is my last weekend in D.C. and I am going home on Monday! I am so excited to go home and see everyone. I'm also excited for:
-Dad's breakfasts (french toast, waffles and chocolate chip pancakes mmm)
-Buddy and his oh-so-soft fur

-quality time with the DVR and big screen
-watching the 4th season of LOST on said tv
-sleeping in a comfy, big bed
-grocery shopping in a real store
-Christmas movies with the girls (Little Women, Meet Me in St. Louis, Holiday Inn, Family Stone, Santa Clause, Elf, Miracle on 34th St, am I forgetting any?)
-singing around the piano
-baking (trying out a new sugar cookie recipe this year)
-making Christmas morning breakfast (any ideas?)
-watching family videos newly archived on dvd (thanks Leah!)
-going places in a car/driving a car (i miss being able to sing along to my music...can't really do that on the metro)
-finishing my very own quilting/sewing project with Mom
most of all, i'm excited to be with these guys!

(don't expand, it's a scanned copy and kinda fuzzy)

Best Movie I Had Never Seen

I am so mad that no one has ever told me about this movie! And also that I had never seen Mr. Newman in a movie before. Maybe that's a good thing because I could hardly contain myself. Ms. Woodward, you are the luckiest woman. But it really was such a great movie. Go watch it.

I loved watching the featurette about the making of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, including how well the cast worked together and what a springboard it was for the two leads. All I know is, I might be spending my Christmas vacation watching every movie Mr. Newman and Ms. Taylor have made.



Don't laugh at my picture choices, please. Let me have my moment. :)

Is it time for Christmas yet?

I have a pretty firm rule about Christmas music. I wait until the day after Thanksgiving because when I start listening to Christmas music, I only listen to Christmas music. If I start too soon, I get sick of it. But I am really excited for this Christmas, especially since I will be home in time to decorate and enjoy December in Oregon. The point of this whole post? I might have to bend the rules this year because thanks to Nicole and Erin, I found a Christmas mix cd that looks incredibly good. Sara, Ingrid, Colbie, KT, and Lenka all on one cd? It must be a Christmas miracle!

Surprise in the Mail!

A blog that I faithfully read, Marta Writes, also has a store that sells fun crafty things like quote journals and cards. I missed out on the mini journals the first time around, so when Marta posted about a limited-time offer of these adorable journals, I snatched one up. It came a few weeks ago, beautifully packaged in polkadot tissue paper. The design of the journal was a surprise but I love it! As someone who loves the idea of keeping a journal but literally falls into bed every night, it is perfect. I have just enough energy to fill in the blanks and feel like I documented something about my day.


Yes, I did take a picture of it on my bed and no, the quality is not very good. So what?

Here is what the inside looks like, taken from Marta's blog. Click on it to see it bigger and enjoy her amazing handwriting. I would like to make it into font and use it for myself.

Took the words right out of my mouth

While doing my daily check on E!online.com, I saw a picture of Zac Efron with the following caption: "If we could take a snapshot of our dreams, this is kinda what it would look like." It's weird, like they read my mind or something. Ha.

"We are, and always will be, the United States of America."

We watched the speech in my class today and even amidst shushing kids and playing referee, I was really overcome. I thought back to that day, over a year ago, when I flipped to CNN and saw Barack Obama speaking and thought "this is what hope looks like." I am so excited to see our country change and be healed.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer."

"This is our time to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can."

I found this website, designforobama.org, that has hundreds of cool campaign-y posters. These are my favorite.

High School Musical 3

This weekend I went to see HSM3 by myself. Not a lot of people my age are as excited as I am to see people break out in song, you know? I would have brought along a couple of my 4th graders, but they all saw it opening weekend. Nevertheless, I woke up so excited this morning and listened to the soundtrack all the way there on the train. I was glad to see that there were other adults there, although the only ones in my row were two grown men. Hmm. The previews (my favorite part) were all good, especially the one with Matthew Perry and Zac Efron.

Now, on to the good stuff. I loved all of the interactions between Troy and Gabriella.
They are so ridiculously cute!

I also loved Gabriella's clothes, especially her dresses. I wish that they listed where the clothes were from in the credits.

My absolute favorite song is "Can I Have This Dance" where T & G waltz. There were some Sound of the Music-esque parts that I loved and the song is great, but mostly I just love the dancing.


Overall, I loved the movie and was sad that it meant the end of an era. I even teared up a little. If you haven't seen it yet, take your favorite youngster and go dance in your seat!