School is in session

I know it's been a while. I should write something. But I'm just too dern tired!!!

Ah, the movies

I am currently watching movie #74. One I've had on my shelf and for some reason never watched. So far, I'm wondering why I even bought it. Well, actually, I know. It's got baseball in it! #75 will be Schindler's List later. And then I'm done. Not that I'll never watch another movie, but the summer project, and summer, is over.

Of these 75 movies, few stand out. I don't have a favorite or one I'd watch over and over. Several were pretty good: Act of Valor, This Means War, 50/50, Killers. All for different reasons, from various genres. They're the ones I can actually remember most of, and would recommend.

In this quest, I spent less than $20 if you don't count the popcorn for #73. $8 for one month of Netflix (one month was free). $1.20 for one Redbox rental (it was early in the summer and I didn't have a system down). $1.25 for late fees on 2 movies at the library. $7 for the one movie in the theater. $17.25 total! I used the public library (yay for their reservation system on line!), a free month of unlimited in-store rentals at Blockbuster, and borrowed one from a friend.

I started the summer planning on a movie every weekday. Then was enjoying it and it became everyday. I did take some days off, but would watch 2 the day before or after. A couple days I watched 2 just because, or because they were due at the library :) I ended up skipping the entire week my dad was here - we had other things to be doing!! The olympics through a kink in but I started watching the movie on my computer with the TV on mute and I'd pause for any exciting competition. It worked. After my dad left I wasn't sure I wanted to seriously "catch up" so I decided to get to 75. It is just about one movie a day for the entire summer. Sad that summer is only 75 days long!!

I must thank my friend Leslie for watching several with me, and also her hubby Quinn, and our friend Becky for also joining me on occasion.

Before I started this project, I didn't particularly like watching movies. I could watch an entire season of CSI or something without hardly moving, but a movie tested my attention span. I'll say I wasn't always 100% into every movie I watched this summer, but I am definitely a "movie watcher" now!! Free, on DVD :)

All in all, it was a fun little project. I would definitely do it again!

Wilton

Today I lost a friend. Wilton was 90 years old. He was Texan to the core. These two things meant we didn't always see eye to eye. Not that I ever told him that. I didn't always laugh at his jokes, because they were offensive, but I smiled because I knew he was just being Wilton. He and his wife Dorothy celebrated 65 years of marriage before she passed in 2008. Dorothy was a school teacher and her paddle still hung on the wall of their home. They were an old school couple who grew up in a different era and I loved them both so much. Dorothy tried to fix me up with both of her grandsons. Bobby passed away very unexpectedly in 2009 and Tex will be married in September. But I sure did appreciate the fact that she and Wilton wanted me to be a part of their family.

Just this past week, I wrote Wilton a note to tell him I had heard he was sick. I told him how glad I was that he was my friend. I am truly blessed to have had Wilton, and Dorothy, in my life. If nothing else, the love that they showed for each other, even after 65 years, was enough to make me keep looking for my forever love. I didn't put that in the note to Wilton. I didn't have any stamps and so never mailed it. I'd like to think he knew how many lives he blessed. But I still felt like I needed to get it out there for someone to read. It's a selfish part of the grieving process.

So, thank you Wilton, for the love and laughter. You will be missed.

Cleaner than a...

I can't think of what is super clean. I'm too tired to think!

It's summer, and technically I have nothing to do, so I'm cleaning. Trying to make up for my lack of cleaning during the school year. Deep, deep cleaning. Cleaning out, under, behind. Hopefully, starting clean will make it easier to keep clean. We'll see!!

The clean rooms (2 so far) are SO nice!! It makes me want to just plow through and clean the rest. But I'm exhausted. It's great exercise. I guess. I sweat and my body hurts, so I must be exercising, right?!

I'm doing one room at a time in an attempt to not tire myself and cut corners. And it's working. I'm exhausted when I'm done with a room. But the cleanness spurs me into the next room on the next scheduled cleaning day.

I can't wait to be done!!!

Movie Review - Larry Crowne, etc.

LARRY CROWNE -
Finally a movie to talk about in a good way!! This was very cute!! A love story for the later in life single people. A story of hope and change and overcoming obstacles. Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts are, as always, great and great together. I recommend.

While I'm typing... FOOTLOOSE (S)-
The original Footloose is a classic for a reason. Good story, decent acting and fabulous music. The new version is good!! The best part is Willard, the sidekick of Ten, the main character. Unfortunately, the music was altered and changed which made this viewer unhappy. See it anyway, if you haven't already.

I can't even think of others I've watched without going to my list. That's how good they were. Wait, I do know last night was THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL. It wasn't bad. Slow. And since its true, you know how its going to end, though I didn't figure it out until about 3/4 through. I did learn a little history about the family.

I'm currently trying to decide what the final movie should be for the summer. I'm thinking perhaps something in theaters. I've decided it will be Friday, August 17. Funny how involved this quest has become!!

Movie Review(s) - Our Idiot Brother, Jeff Who Lives at Home

Apparently there a lot of messed up families with grown brothers who don't have it all together.

I didn't realize it beforehand but these two movies - OUR IDIOT BROTHER and JEFF WHO LIVES AT HOME - are quite similar. There's a brother who is not quite what the family wants him to be. One's kind of a happy hippy; the other is a wandering pothead. There are affairs and homosexuality in both, and family coming around to their brother's way of thinking, sort of. Only one has a cute kid and cuter dog though.

I'm actually writing this while watching JEFF. I'm not sure that the world needs to watch either movie, but if you had to pick one, pick OUR IDIOT BROTHER. It's clearer from the beginning that he's not really an idiot. Oh, wait, I think Jeff just found his purpose. Still not one I'd recommend. (update: the good news is it's only 83 minutes long. the end was happy and interesting.)

On a completely different genre - GREY GARDENS was okay. This was a highly acclaimed, many award nominated, HBO (?) movie. The acting was great and the story was interesting. But kinda sad. Not in a teary way, but more of a that sucks for them kind of way. It went from one era to another and back and was mildly confusing. Of course, I was doing other stuff while watching.

The only movie that's kept me paying attention more or less, in a while, was THIS MEANS WAR.

Movie Review - Horrible Bosses

HORRIBLE BOSSES

I didn't really know what to expect. I'd heard it was funny, but from one of the writers (I follow him on Twitter) so wasn't sure he was the best source. It's about 3 guys who decide to murder their bosses. How could that be funny?! But, it was! It was mostly clean - not a lot of unnecessary language (except for the character whose name contained a curse word), very little sex (one of the bad bosses was a sexual harasser), and in the end, it all sort of worked out okay.

Also watched THE DESCENDENTS - didn't like it. WAY too slow. No plot - there was a plot, I guess, but it wasn't very exciting.

ZOOKEEPER was very cute. Talking animals made it unrealistic, but still cute, feel good, with a happy ending.