Thursday, August 21, 2008

Fay Fay, go away!

So last week my parents went to Destin for their anniversary. They got there on Wednesday night and they flew us out to meet them on Thursday night. By them I mean me, my sister and her husband. Jason couldn't come out to meet us until Friday. We have gone to Destin about a million times since I was like 6 and we have ALWAYS driven, but now I have been spoiled. DFW now has direct flights to Destin that are up and down and about an hour and a half. When we got there after only a total of maybe 2 and a half hours of travel (if you count the drive to and from the airport) it didn't seem like we deserved to be there. Like to earn our time on the beach we needed to endure the 12 hour car ride down. Nevertheless, we were there and the beach was gorgeous as always.

We spent the next four days mostly on the beach. Tropical Storm Fay was brewing in the Atlantic, but had really only gotten to about the Keys by the time we left. So all but one day was sunny and the temperature was right around 80 degrees the whole time. I mean even in June it gets up in the 90s. I am not sure how we got so lucky with the weather. I laid on the beach and read my books and listened to music and tanned myself. I started reading that Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I had read all about it in Entertainment Weekly and decided it sounded right up my alley. I finished the first book and went to buy the second one immediately. I had brought The Last Man by Mary Shelley and said I would read that before starting on New Moon, but classic British literature just can't compare with the struggle of love between a human and a vampire! =) So I am now about 2/3 of the way through New Moon and I love it. Went to buy Eclipse yesterday...

Anyway, Jason got to come out just for the weekend, but we had a good time. Ate some good food and played some mini golf. Then Amanda, Jared and I headed back on Monday night. It was a short trip, but really fun and we had a great time. Thanks again to my parents for offering to fly us out! That is the way to go!

So this coming weekend I am heading back to Florida to go to Disney World with my mom and Amanda. I thought I had bested Fay and was going to be there right before she hit and get back to Florida right after she had left. But guess what? She has decided that she likes Florida and wants to hang out there for a while. I mean I can't blame her. Mickey and Minnie are pretty fun and she is probably having fun adding a little something extra to Splash Mountain, but come ON Fay! Get OUT of there. I have Pirates to see and Figaro Fries to eat. And I don't want to do it in the rain! So please? For my sake? Go bother Georgia or Alabama and leave Orlando alone. =)

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Walk Around Inside My Head...

So I haven't written lately, mostly because I haven't had anything terribly exciting to write about, but I figure I can just update with things going on and things bouncing around in my brain.

So a couple of weeks ago we went to see The Dark Knight. Awesome! Seriously the best movie I have seen this year, if not the last couple of years. I loved it so much. I won't even attempt a review of any sort because a) I don't want to give anything away to you people who still haven't seen it - although I am guessing you people are in the minority and b) it would be a little belated don't you think? If you want a review go read Ebert. My review is short and sweet. This movie was greatness. It had everything a great movie needs. Every actor in it was amazing. Should I list the talent? Ok - Gary Oldman (whom I LOVE, like really love), Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Morgan Freeman, Michael Cain, Maggie Gyllenhaal, even a cameo from Cillian Murphy (whom I also LOVE). A List actors doing an A List job if you ask me. The movie was also just beautifully shot. And did you see that 18 wheeler flip over? That was freakin' real! No CGI, the real deal stunt spectacular. The script was greatness as well. So many cool twists and some stuff that made you really think. If you were on that boat would you have blown up the prisoners? I am thinking I would have. Sad, but true. Anyway, my point is see it. You won't be sorry.

We have also gotten closer to finishing our bathrooms. The guest one has been pretty much done for a while, but we finally got mirrors in our master bath! So we can finally get ready in there again. Now we just have to change out a couple of fixtures and we are done for a while. Eventually we have to stain the cabinets and redo the shower, but we are taking a break for a little while at least.

So last weekend my friend Gabby turned 27 on July 27th, and she decided to have a 27 Dresses themed party. Cute idea, no? Basically the idea was that everyone would wear the ugliest brides maid dress that they could find. If you don't know me that well or at all, then you don't know that I LOVE costume parties. Halloween is my second favorite holiday behind Christmas because I love dressing up. Sometimes I think I never aged past the age of 7. So I go to Goodwill and I find the section where the old gross dresses are that no one is ever going to buy unless an opportunity like this presents itself. So I zero in on this completely awful powder blue dress and I just PRAY that it will fit because it is perfect. I don't have the pictures uploaded yet, but I will post one some other time. So I get to Gab's and she is in this cute little cocktail looking dress. She thought it was funny looking, but everyone else said it was cute, which was also the case for her cousin who wore this cute shiny gold dress that you could totally wear to go clubbing. I am pretty sure not a single other person dressed up. Some people wore dresses, but like normal dresses that you could go to Anne Taylor and buy right now. I sort of stuck out like a sore thumb, but had there been a contest on ugliest dress, I would have won. =)

Also went to see Step Brothers last weekend. I love Will Ferrell and John C Reilly, and there were some funny parts and a ton of quotable lines, but I would probably recommend that most people wait until DVD. I can only take so many dirty jokes in a movie. I mean sometimes it's funny, but I think it takes a lot more skill to make jokes funny without going for the obvious jokes referring to anatomy or bodily functions. Also watched La Dolce Vita on DVD this past week. A classic Italian movie that I had meant to watch before we went to Italy, but I am kind o glad I waited. It is set in Rome and the Trevi Fountain is shown in that famous scene, and it is neat to watch and think 'I've been there!'. =) I liked the movie and it was interesting because a lot of it is in English because there are American characters. It is funny how when you watch a foreign film your brain sort of switches in to a different gear and you listen to words differently. I would be in Italian mode and then they would speak English and it would take me a while to figure out what they said because my brain was listening for a different pronunciation. Kind of funny.

Last night I finished my book for my book club that I can't even go to this time around, but it was called Marley and Me and it is about this family and their dog and it was really cute. I was a blubbering mess by the end though. If you like dogs, I would read it.

Guess what tonight is! The So You Think You Can Dance Finale!!!! Well part one of it at least. Tonight the final four dance and America will vote. I have absolutely no idea who will win. I heart Twitch so much, but I kind of want Courtney to win. Honestly, though, they all deserve it. The talent on that show amazes me to no end. I will be so sad when it is over.

So final thoughts on this random blog - if you haven't seen Dark Knight or Wall E, those are my top picks for the year so far and you should go. Right now. Music I am loving right now? Brandi Carlisle is greatness. Her song called 'My Song' gets me. Also still loving Mates of State and Eli Young Band lately as well as Sunny Sweeny. Recently I heard 'Please Come To Boston' remake. I forgot how good that song is. Alright that is it for now. Arrivaderci!

Driving Up to Mount Cook

After a wonderful and too short time in Wellington, the next morning we boarded a plane to Queenstown.  Now, the whole time we had either be...