Movie Review

Ok, not really a review, but Mark and I went to see City of Ember tonight at the dollar theater, and thought I could use that for a blog post. It was good and bad. It was bad because the theater is a total dump. We don't usually go to that one, but the other theater that we like didn't have City of Ember. The good part was the movie. It was really good. We were both surprised, especially since it has only been out for just over a month and it is already at the dollar theater. We thought it would be a comedy, considering it has Bill Murray in it, who was funny by the way, but it was actually a serious movie, and a really good one at that. Very inspiring! I won't say anything about the movie, because I don’t like giving things away, except that it had some similarities to The Giver. We both have decided that City of Ember is another book that we need to read.

I've been gotten, or bitten, or tagged...that's it!

Some of our friends from Orem that are now living in Mississippi tagged us. Sorry it has taken so long to respond! I have never been tagged before. I guess that means that I'm not a very interesting person, and so people don't want any more information about me. Or maybe it's because I already provide too much information. Who knows! And no, this doesn't mean that I necessarily want to be tagged. I was never very good at tag! Any way, here goes...

8 Shows I love to watch:
House, MD
The Office
Cold Case
Everybody Loves Raymond
King of Queens
America's test kitchen
So You Think You Can Dance (you bet I do!)
(and a big shout-out to Heidi! =) Smallville

8 Favorite Restaurants:
(this is hard for me, since I have a passion for food. Not cooking, just eating it.)
Mimi's
Famous Dave's
Olive Garden
Applebee's/Chili's (they are very similar to me)
Texas Roadhouse (new for us)
Quaker Steak and Lube
Greek Island
Taco Bell

8 Things that happened Yesterday:
woke up
Website went down
(thanks to Richard for fixing it! We don't know what we would do without him and Darron)
did homework
Took one of my finals
decided my major
cheered Mark on during his studying
received bad news about a house we wanted to buy
drove by the house, so I could have closure

8 things I am looking forward to:
Mark graduating!!!!
Buying our first house!!!
Christmas in Utah next month
sleep
Our first year with a net income
paying off our student loans
our first child (purchased or naturally)
tomorrow

8 Things on my wish list:
Lose half my body weight (but I don't think wishing is going to work!)
World happiness
A better economy
A better president the coming 4 years
I was a better person
I loved tofu, or something really healthy like that
I knew what I was doing
I knew where we should live after Mark graduates
I was already done with school

8 People I tag:
(this is where a big family comes in handy)
Heidi Stewart
John Stewart
Jennie Robbins
Stacy Robbins
Jamie Robbins
Lisa Robbins
Chelsea Chambers
Erin Gurney

Fall Fading Away

So fall is all but gone, and winter is hard on its heels. We have had horrible rainy cold weather the past 2 days, and we are not supposed to be thawing out again until spring. This makes me so sad! But the holidays will be great, I'm sure! So the last time that we went walking in our favorite park before it started getting colder, we took some pictures of the beautiful foliage. Unfortunately, our camera kinda stinks. Or maybe it was the photographer. I'll stick with it being the camera. Any way, here are some of our favorite spots at Elmwood Park here in Omaha.

Education!!!

So I am taking several classes, which are undergraduate classes, and I think most people that have some sort of degree know what I am going through. But, I have one class that is very special. Not a week goes by without me getting a good laugh or guffaw from the content of the book. So far, I haven't done much more than read the heading of the chapters, and I am getting an A in the class. It's not me, it's the class.

So this week's material is extra special!!! It talks about redefining our work lives, and achieving, our "right livelihood" without thought or concern for money. Sounds good, right? So I decided I would read this chapter. Two pages into it, I had to start laughing, which led to a very interesting discussion post from me for the class. The example that they give as a model of people achieving their "right livelihood" is of a 45 year old woman who lived and worked in Atlanta in a lucrative medical practice. In my own words of their story of her, she decided that even though she had a great life, she was better off exploring her passions.

Okay, still nothing crazy, but then they go on to say that now she spends her time working as a potter and raises tomatoes and flowers. "Really? Is this a joke?!" I am thinking. Nope, not a joke. They go on to give several other similar examples of similar situations. Okay, well, lucky them, right? So I go to the course work online, and they actually expect people to decide their professions solely on what you are passionate about.
Remember, this woman is filthy rich. She could sit in a hammock and drink, I don't know, something good, all day long if she wanted to. Actually, that is essentially what she was doing. But the point is, she worked at a job she wasn't passionate about to get the money to make it possible for her to do this. I am sure that if she wasn't loaded, her name would not have been included in this book for finding her zen.
Well, one of the discussion questions for the class talks about different aspects of reaching the ultimate spirituality, and what role physical fitness plays in your developing this perfect, challenge free life! So, here is my response. Disclaimer: Mark told me I should write a post about this!

Discussion: I have noticed a lot of people saying "If only it were that easy!" Reading this chapter, and the comments in this post makes me think that the new idea of success is finding the easiest path. Problem is, easy never does anything for you. That's the whole point of growth. If things aren't hard, then you aren't going to grow. I have always battled weight problems, since I have hypothyroidism, and a passion for yummy food. But when I am proactive about getting into shape, it means that much more to me when I lose a pound, because I worked hard for it. Getting into shape, or any other goal for that matter, is not supposed to be easy. It is supposed to make you stretch, make you push yourself, make you take the time to exercise.

It is so important to be in shape for many reasons, but the one most applicable to this chapter is to save you money, since you aren't supposed to be working for money, according to them. So, since you won't have much money, because you have decided to doodle for a living, being healthy will cut down on health costs.

Sweet Potato Casserole

So Mark and I both really like sweet potato casserole, and I bought some sweet potatoes a while ago, so I decided to finally do something with them. I think this is my first encounter with domestic life! So, since many won't believe that I actually made this, because it has more than 2 ingredients, I had Mark take pictures. It was a momentous occasion. I mostly did it because it is now really cold here, so I wanted to bake something to warm up the house a little. We kind of refuse to turn the heat on yet, since we don't like to spend our money on that. Speaking of which, we would like to apologize to Jared and Stacy for being so "cold" when we were living in your basement. I think we understand, now. Just put on a long sleeve shirt and some sweatpants! Thanks for the great idea, otherwise, yeah, we would be burning through our small amount of money on utilities! Any way, Sweet potato casserole. Here is the proof!