The new sound of summer.

Now that it's getting warmer and staying light so late I'm really noticing summer approaching. I've discovered a new summer sound here on Three Kings Drive... the sound of the little cart that goes around... grooming the landscape? picking up golf balls? I'm really not sure what... at the driving range. Outdoor sounds are a big part of summer since the windows are opened to allow them in, and I love it!

What's your favorite summer sound?

Who was it that told me to watch Zack and Miri Make a Porno last weekend? Was it Katie? Well anyway I watched it and it was so funny!! Gross, but funny and cute!

I've still got this cold. It sucks. Wish me luck on getting better!!

Cars are more expensive than cats... but not by much.

Over the past two days I have shelled out a little over $400 to fix my car and try to fix my kitty. Life is expensive, isn't it?

Every single time, seriously, EVERY SINGLE TIME, I take my car in for an oil change they find something else wrong with it. And it's never just a $20-30 operation, oh no, it's always in the hundreds. So I needed a new battery and had dirty transmission fluid and I figured I should get it fixed before I leave my car at the airport next week when I....

COME HOME FOR THE WEDDING!!!!!!!!! SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!

...and chance it not starting again. Then of course my passenger side door has been really hard to open and shut lately so I had them oil that a bit. I spent $206.12 yesterday on my little Nuggetmobile. And here's the very Heather part of that story: I forgot my wallet at home!!! What an idiot, right?! So I had to write a check, but anything over $200 requires a driver's license number so as soon as I got home I had to call them with that information. The guys were actually really cool about it, thankfully.

Now onto the kitty... Neve's cough never really went away so I brought her into the vet for a check-up and to see if we could figure out what's going on. Well guess what. $194.68 later, we still don't know. We did X-rays, blood tests and put her on a deworming medication on the off chance that she has lung worm. She hasn't coughed these last couple of days, but it comes and goes, so I'm not convinced yet.

There are two other options at this point. The first is to put her on an antibiotic for a longer period of time than she was before and see if that works OR (here's where we start talking the BIG BUCKS) we can do a bronchial lavage which would run me about $600. Other than her occasional cough, Nevie is PERFECTLY FINE!!! She runs around, plays with Belami, eats, drinks, uses the litter box, she's a very happy kitty- I can tell. And she's gained 2 pounds! Her size always worries me so I'm glad she putting on some weight! Not only do I not want to spend that much money for something that might not tell us anything, but it's a big deal procedure and I don't want to put her through that if I don't have to.

I've started calling Neve my "little expensive kitty" and I wish I knew something, ANYTHING, about her past that could help me with her health issue. I guess that if she's happy then I shouldn't worry about it too much, but asking me not to worry about my babies is like asking me not to breathe.

I finally watched Marley & Me and while I had some issues with it as a film- the stabbing scene, seriously??? I think that the story of the Grogans and Marley is such a true, relatable tale to anyone with a pet. They are best part of your life, but sometimes they make things very stressful! Whether they're chewing up the couch or coughing inexplicably you constantly think to yourself "What should I be doing differently?" I wish animals could talk! Or in Nevie's case I wish she made any sound at all- no purring, no meowing. She's a mysterious little bugger.

Amy and I were talking about our cats the other day and we've developed a theory about cats who have had multiple owners vs. those who have lived with one family or person their whole life. When I was away for Easter and my friend Carole took care of the kitties and said that Neve was all over her and so friendly but Belami wasn't very friendly. I explained that he's had a charmed life and he can be snobby with new people. Neve on the other hand has had a tougher life with less stability. She can adapt better I guess, whereas Belami notices changes more easily. When I came back to Park City in January after being in NH for 10 days, I swear Belami would barely look at me for two days! He was MAD at me for leaving! He would like me to be around all the time because he knows me as his mom/owner. Neve probably still wonders if this is her permanent home.

I realize I'm giving the kitties far too much credit in the brain department here, but interesting idea, don't you think?

Time for work! See some of you in a week!!!!

Dance, Dance, Dance.

Having troubles telling
how I feel, but I can
Dance, dance, dance.
Couldn't possibly tell you
How I mean, but I can
Dance, dance, dance.

So when I trip on my feet
Look at the beat
The words are written in the sand
When I'm shaking my hips
Look for the swing
The words are written in the air.

Dance,
I was a dancer all along
Dance, dance, dance
Words can never make up for what you do.

Easy conversations, there's no such thing
No I'm shy, shy, shy
My hips they lie 'cause in reality
I'm shy, shy, shy
But when I trip on my feet
Look at the ground
The words are written in the dust
When I'm shaking my hips
Look for the swing
The words are written in the air.

Dance,
I was a dancer all along
Dance, dance, dance
Words can never make up for what you do...

Dance, dance, dance.

This is a cute song by Lykke Li, a Swedish singer. She has a couple of other good songs, my favorite is called Little Bit, but most of them are actually kind of weird. Back to Dance, Dance, Dance... I love the idea of dancing for inspiration when you're not sure what to say. What a lovely idea!

Is...

I was reading the NHSPCA newsletter online and saw some information about leaving a dog in a hot car. I wondered what the laws are in Utah so I went to the Google page and began typing "Is it illegal to leave a dog in a car in Utah?" My Google assist is on so it always guesses what you're typing as you type it. I just have to share with you what Google thought I would be asking after I typed in the word "is."

The first suggestion was "Is Santa real?" Could you imagine some little kid going on the Internet to find out if Father Christmas exists? Maybe they're too embarrassed to ask a real person. And speaking of the holiday, one of the other suggestions was "Is Walmart open on Christmas?" So do these questions pop up because so many people are typing them in? In that case there are a lot of people wondering "Is bronchitis contagious?" and the same thing about pneumonia. There are three things people would like to know about Obama: is he a US citizen? Is he a Muslim? And, here's an interesting one: "Is he the Antichrist?" Hmmm... People actually went online hoping to find factual evidence to answer this inquiry?

Isn't the Internet a wonderful thing? You can Google just about any subject. And FYI I didn't even find the answer to my original question! Does anyone know where I could get that kind of information?

Mom won!

Congratulations, Mama! You guessed right! Well, half right. The song is called The Fear, by Lily Allen. I think it has cool lyrics and it's an interesting commentary on some aspects of life these days.

So for your prize you win... a visit from me on Mother's Day!!!!! Lucky you!!!

Speaking of Mother's Day, tomorrow we celebrate our other mother- Mother Earth! It's Earth Day as I'm sure you are aware. Let's all try to do something nice for the planet!

I have been to the end of the earth.
I have been to the end of the waters.
I have been to the end of the sky.
I have been to the end of the mountains.
I have found none that are not my friends.

Navajo Proverb

Clues.

That song is not rap! Here are some other clues:

It's sung by a girl.
She's British.
It came out in the last year.

Good luck!

Turn off your cell phone BEFORE the movie starts.

Let me tell you all what the mean man did to me at the movies last night...

One of the other managers, Carole, invited me to see State of Play with her and a couple of her friends after work last night. Never one to pass up a trip to the movies I obviously accepted and the whole night was really fun! We went out for wine and appetizers first at my favorite restaurant in Park City, Red Rock, which happens to be across the street from the theatre.

Now onto the mean man. The movie had started and I realized that I hadn't turned off my cell phone so I took it out of my bag to do so and the old man next to me grabs my phone while it is still in my hand and says "EXCUSE ME!" I told him that I was actually turning it off and he didn't say anything! No apology! Nothing! What a jerk! I guess he thought I was going to make a call? Start texting? I don't know what he was expecting but if he had just waited a second he would have seen that I was doing the courteous thing by shutting off my phone. Some people.

BTW the movie was pretty good, a little boring, but according to Jared I think all good movies are boring. In my opinion it's a rental, but what a great cast! I think Jason Bateman was my favorite part of the whole film!

Now let's play a game! I'm going to put some song lyrics here and you all have to guess the song! Have fun!

Life's about film stars and less about mothers,
It's all about fast cars and cussing each other,
But it doesn't matter 'cuz I'm packing plastic,
That's what makes my life so f#$@ing fantastic.
I am a weapon of massive consumption,
And it's not my fault, its how I'm programmed to function.

Easter in Paradise... again.

I've fallen into my old blogging habit of letting myself get too busy to post. I don't have time to write anything too special right now, I just wanted to check in! I type this as I lay in bed and both of the kitties are sitting on top of me right now which is making this very difficult but I'll do my best!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! This was my second Easter away from home. The last time was while I was abroad. Katie, Beth, Szilvia and I spent the holiday in Surfer's Paradise. This year I spent the day in Paradise, UT at Stacie's farm. The same place where I went for Christmas. Her family is SO NICE! They got me an Easter basket and everything! They do an Easter egg hunt and guess what is in the eggs?! Money! I only found $5.75- way to go, right? Her sister found $45!!! They're pretty hardcore about it! The whole day was really relaxing. We went for a walk around her property and I took lots of pictures which I will post another time when I'm not trying to get to sleep. Don't worry, I didn't come home with a kitty this time although I did see all of the stray cats who live at her grandmother's (where I found Nevie) so I was excited about that! None of them were running in the house though so I figure they're set in their wild ways- not like Neve!

Okay that's really all I have time for... here's a cute little poem to enjoy!

They might not need me; but they might,
I'll let my head be just in sight;
As smile as small as mine might be
Precisely their necessity.
Emily Dickinson

Etsy.

A couple of weeks ago I complimented a customer on her earrings and she told me that she bought them from Etsy. She was a little surprised that I had never heard of this website. Have any of you? I feel like you could literally spend DAYS looking around the site so I've only browsed a few areas but it's pretty awesome! What a great idea for people to get their designs and creations out there for all to see!

COOL STUFF!

One should make one's life a mosaic. Let the general design be good, the colors lively, and the materials diversified.
Princess Marthe Bibesco

Compassion & Fashion.

Some great news on Wayne Pacelle's latest post... fur sales are down!!! Woohoo! I won't go into details here since you can get to his blog from mine but in case you don't want to read the whole post you can click on this link to see if your favorite retailers are fur-free, like J. Crew.

GOOD places to shop!

Make sure you're shopping with a company you can feel good about! And if you'd like to know where to go for all of your beauty needs, click on the link below.

More GOOD places to shop!

Remember that cruelty-free is always in style and looks good on EVERYONE!

Oops.

As you can see I screwed around with the size of the font on my post and couldn't get it back to normal. I figured I'd get people (and by people I mean Mom) asking what happened so I'm just telling you now. I don't know what I did, I just wanted Meg's b-day message to be big, but now it's ALL big. Oh well.

ZUMBA!!!

First things, first...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEG!!! I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!!!

And now onto Zumba! Has anyone taken this class?? It is SO MUCH FUN!!! It's a fitness class that doesn't feel like working out! I was sweating like crazy and the instructor told us it burns 800-900 calories!! It's basically just shakin' your booty! We had heard about it and seen people in the class so Anna and I decided to try it out. Everyone wears these chiffon skirts with coins on them so that it jingles when you move, so I bought one for myself and Anna for our big debut. The instructor at our gym is a Colombian woman named Leticia and she is fabulous, full of energy and makes you feel so comfortable! At the beginning she told us to just make sure we have good posture and have fun. She said don't worry about your neighbors or anything else, it's about you and your movement! Click on the link to see what Zumba is!

Ditch the workout, join the party!

Usually during a class I'll look at the clock and wonder when the torture will end but today the hour flew by and I was actually a little sad when it was over! ANYONE can do this! I was probably the youngest person in the class and some of the women were a lot older but you could tell they were having a blast!

Life's a party make it hot, dance don't ever stop, whatever rhythm!
Jennifer Lopez (or whoever wrote Let's Get Loud since I'm sure it wasn't her!)

Progress!

I talked 3 of my friends from work into going to a class this morning that's taught by Josh, the trainer that I met with last week. When I met with him he suggested that I take his class but I knew I'd need some support so I recruited Stacie, Anna and Kristi to attend with me. When I went to sign us up for it yesterday morning the girl at the front desk of the gym told me I was brave for taking that class. Oh great! I thought "What have I gotten myself into here!?" I was so glad that I had friends to go through the torture with!

The class was difficult and I will admit that I took a few shortcuts on some of the exercises that I really struggled with, but here's the good news... He told us to do those full sit ups that you'll recall I couldn't do at all last week and guess what! I COULD DO THEM!! I've been practicing every day and it paid off! I know it's just something little, but I was truly proud of myself. I'm so out of shape but I'm getting there- slowly but surely!

After the class Kristi, Stacie and I went to a restaurant called Squatters and got some breakfast. It was my first time there but I really wanted to go because they have vegetarian and vegan choices and run a pretty eco-friendly establishment. I got a tofu scrambler burrito and it was quite yummy! Take a look at the website to see what it's all about! Delicious!

I have the day off and planned to get my taxes done, but I must have put my W-2's in a safe place- so safe, in fact that I am having a hard time finding them. Oops. I guess I should go look some more- I know I'll find them!

I have a strong feeling I'm going to be sore tomorrow so I'll include a quote of inspiration. You can use it too should you need a little motivation for anything!

You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.
Maya Angelou

One thing I really love about cats...

One thing (among many others) I really love about cats is when they suddenly stop what they are doing, whatever it is, and start frantically licking themselves in just one spot. It's like that little bit of fur was SO dirty it just couldn't wait to be cleaned.

One thing (among very few others) I really don't like about cats is when they break things that you really love. Like the beautiful candle holders that Katie sent me for Christmas... started out with 4 and we are down to 2. Neve slid into one and it fell to the floor shattering into a million pieces and the other day I came home from work to find another one smashed on the floor. The 2 little brats weren't hurt, thank goodness, but honestly, I was sad. I've moved them to a higher shelf where the kitties can't reach them so I think the last 2 are safe now.

I'm sure all of you cat- and any other pet- owners can relate and would agree with me that the good FAR outweighs the bad.




Even Belami appreciates the great view!






After a long day of breaking things, it's good to rest.








Cat nap.






Awwwww.








AHHHHHHH!










I'm so glad that they love each other!










He takes great pictures, doesn't he?

Life saver <3

Wait
Galway Kinnell

Wait, for now.
Distrust everything if you have to.
But trust the hours. Haven't they
carried you everywhere, up to now?
Personal events will become interesting again.
Hair will become interesting.
Pain will become interesting.
Buds that open out of season will become interesting.
Second-hand gloves will become lovely again;
their memories are what give them
the need for other hands. The desolation
of lovers is the same: that enormous emptiness
carved out of such tiny beings as we are
asks to be filled; the need
for the new love is faithfulness to the old.

Wait.
Don't go too early.
You're tired. But everyone's tired.
But no one is tired enough.
Only wait a little and listen:
music of hair,
music of pain,
music of looms weaving our loves again.
Be there to hear it, it will be the only time,
most of all to hear your whole existence,
rehearsed by the sorrows, play itself into total exhaustion.

This is one of my favorite poems, and I thought I would share it with everyone. I first discovered this piece in the poetry class I took my senior year at UNH. Part of the reason I love it is because Kinnell wrote it for one of his students who was contemplating suicide. Not only did she not kill herself, she thanked Kinnell and he read this poem every time he visited a college in hopes that if anyone in the audience was having similar feelings they would decide instead to just... Wait.

So poetry isn't just pretty, it saves lives.

MUSIC

I have decided that I am no longer going to buy CDs because it is a waste of paper, plastic and space. I will just download from Itunes going forward. I look at the pages of a CD booklet maybe once and then I struggle to find a place to keep the case. When you buy an album from Itunes you get the same pages that you would when buying a CD- it opens up on your computer. I like to know lyrics so that's the main reason I look at the booklet. For instance, Gabriella Cilmi's CD- I can't understand what she says, which can pose a problem when you're trying to sing along. I read the lyrics that I wasn't sure of and that was all I needed, but now I don't have to worry about finding a place for the CD case that I'm probably never going to need again.

I don't have a stereo so the way that I listen to music around the apartment is by putting my Itunes on shuffle. I love not knowing what song it will pick for me next! Sometimes it will play a song I had totally forgotten that I love! The thing that I don't like is when it shuffles to a Christmas song right in the middle of everything. I guess I should just take the time to separate the types of music, but I really don't feel like it! It's so funny when I'm in the other room and all of a sudden I hear Madonna singing Santa Baby!

Music is ESSENTIAL to a successful workout for me. A good beat gets me pumped! Here are 15 of the songs that provide me with that extra push while I'm exercising:

Discipline... NIN (Thank you, Jared!!)
My Life Would Suck Without You... Kelly Clarkson
The Fame... Lady Gaga
Faster Kill Pussycat... Paul Oakenfold f. Brittany Murphy
New Sensation... INXS
Shut Up and Let Me Go... The Ting Tings
Shake Your Pom Pom... Missy Elliott
Hombre... M.I.A.
The Way You Make Me Feel... Michael Jackson
Sunday Morning... K-OS
Misery Business... Paramore
Cobrastyle... Robyn
Jai Ho... A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire Sdtk.)*
Superstar... Jamelia
Fantasy... Mariah Carey f. ODB

*Does anyone else think it's weird that The Pussycat Dolls have already remade this song?! It's not even different- just dumb!! Why did they let them do that?!

Here are two songs I'm really into right now if anyone else wants to give them a listen... Around the Bend by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour and Heartbeats by The Knife.

Without music I should wish to die.
Edna St. Vincent Millay

Amen, sista!!

Smiles!

Give your smiles away for it may be all some people receive that day.
Robbin Rawlings

I think that is great advice... think about it while you're out and about this weekend. Sometimes just smiling at someone can make his or her day!

I Love You, Man... I loved you!

Movie recommendation time!!!!

I said that I'd let you all know how I Love You, Man was and it was hilarious! I'm so glad that Paul Rudd is a leading man! We've loved him since Clueless but he's always played the sidekick in films. He can certainly hold his own and he was so funny in this role! The supporting cast is also great! If you're looking for a laugh, you should totally see this movie!

Snow? Really?

Snowball
-Shel Silverstein

I made myself a snowball
As perfect as can be.
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas
And a pillow for it's head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first it wet the bed.

That Mother Nature loves to tease, doesn't she? Last week the weather was unbelievable! Warm with a nice breeze, perfect skirt weather, although a reminder that I need a tan. Now it is SNOWING!! I am officially sick of winter! I realize that I shouldn't complain because my first winter in Park City was rather mild, but I'm a summer girl at heart so bring on the SUN!!!!

I've had the last couple of days off which is why I've been able to write every day. I didn't do anything terribly exciting but I did work out every day! I got my ass kicked in fact. This morning I attended a step class taught by Terri, one of the other managers at work. I'm pretty quick to pick up the basic steps but with the more involved ones I feel like by the time I get it we've moved on to something else. What bugged me though was the people who would offer to show me the step slower which was SO NICE of them but then it made me feel bad that they were altering their workout so that Ms. Uncoordinated in the back row could catch up. What bugged me even more was when Terri told us to go get weights and this one lady said I should grab lighter weights! I wanted to say this:

"Mind your own f-ing business lady! Just because I can't move my feet as fast as you doesn't mean I don't have strong arms!"

Here's what I actually said:

"Okay, thanks!"

Wouldn't the first comment have been way better?! Oh well. The class is an hour and a half long! With a nice little break in the middle to go do, oh I don't know... A MILLION lunges in the gym. The class was fun, maybe I'll even do it again, but between that and meeting with the trainer on Monday I am sore. Oh and I'm sure you're wondering how that went.

I was a sweaty, weak, totally unfunny, uncharming mess while the trainer stands there looking all adorable, making me do all these dumb exercises. Like for instance the Treadmill of Death, as it will now be affectionately referred to. He had it on such an incline I thought I might fall off! Or FULL sit-ups! I do crunches almost every day but these, folks, I COULD NOT do them. I'm not joking! He said we were going to do 20, but he had to help me and when we got to 10, he's like "Okay that's enough." Cool. The only thing that made me feel better was when I told another woman I work with who is a personal trainer what I did during the session she said that it was hard stuff and she was a little surprised. I got some tips from her on how to modify things a bit so that it isn't as difficult for me at first. Overall, meeting with the trainer was helpful so I'm glad I was talked into it.

The good news about my fitness endeavors is that not only do I feel better but I'm noticing a difference in how I look! Just a little bit, but seeing results is super-motivating and makes me want to keep at it.

One of my headlights was out and I needed an oil change anyway so I spent part of my day getting my car worked on. And I SWEAR, every single time I get my oil changed they find something else wrong with my car and today was no different. I need a new battery and my transmission fluid is dirty or something. Don't quote me on that, I don't have the paper in front of me, but come on! Cars are too expensive. While I was sitting there waiting I heard the James Bond theme music all of a sudden and I realized it was this old man's ring tone! I got a big kick out of that! There was also a guy there who had a really friendly and cute bulldog! She was walking around, greeting everybody in the waiting room.

Tonight Stacie and I are going to see I Love You, Man. Which looks so funny and has gotten positive reviews so far. I hope I like it! I'll let you all know how it is!

Ashley's photos... take a look!

Did you all notice the new addition to my "blog love" section?

Ashley is a girl I work with and she takes beautiful photos which are on display at the Ashley Swapp Photography blog. Ashley is a great employee and just the sweetest girl you'd ever meet!

If you like adorable babies, you'll especially LOVE her stuff! Check it out!

Me... blonde.

You all know "the other grandmother" now it's time to meet the other me!

Ever wonder if someone out there has not only the same name, but also the same dance moves and outfit as you??? Well folks, in my case it's true, as you can see by this video:

Have a good summer and say bye-bye mama!

Enjoy!

Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition.

Hello again!

As you can see I have given my blog a makeover! I want to start keeping up with this again so I decided to freshen things up a bit!

I'm going to try doing things a little differently this time and take some of the pressure off. I was always thinking to myself "What am I going to write on my blog today???" This should be fun, right? I was worrying too much. I'll try to write more often but some days it won't be about my life. It might just be a recommendation of some sort- movie, song, book, etc., or just the link to an interesting article online. I might just post a picture, or a quote, but I WILL try to get into this more. And if it doesn't work this time, maybe I'm just not cut out for life in the blogoshpere. Wish me luck!

Belami and Neve doing great, as usual! Nevie was spayed recently and you would NEVER have known she had major surgery, she healed up so nicely! B is currently on antibiotics to clear up his runny nose, but other than that he's perfectly healthy and they are both about as full as energy as possible! As the weather gets warmer they love looking out the windows at all of the wildlife in our backyard. Aside from the magpies, we have seen a little mole and even a duck! It's great entertainment!

We have the apartment to ourselves at the moment since Erin and Germano moved out last week. We put some ads up about the open room but not many people are looking this time of year. If you know anyone moving to PC, give them my number!!

I'll leave you with a music suggestion...


Meet Gabriella Cilmi (chill-me) she's 17, born in Melbourne, and she's got a killer voice. I can't believe she's a teenager when I listen to her! Her CD is called Lessons to be Learned and her first single, Sweet About Me is awesome! If you don't want the entire CD, here are some of my other song suggestions: Round and Round or Cigarettes and Lies. DOWNLOAD her- you'll thank me!



I'm off to bed early because I've been going to the gym on a pretty regular basis and tomorrow I'm meeting with a trainer for some tips!

Here's a cute quote, nothing to do with the post, but you'll like it, I think...

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug.
Mark Knopfler

Under construction.

Hello!

This blog is currently under construction to be better. It should be functioning in its improved state quite soon. Thank you for your understanding!

If you've stumbled across this site in boredom please visit www.fmylife.com for some entertainment. I take no responsibility in the addiction that may result.

Peace!

Asthma, new roomies, Sundance...it's been a busy day.

Things are really starting to wind down here at the home of the Sundance Film Festival. The first five days are always the busiest and then most of the stars and out-of-town folk head home.

Which explains why John Krasinski and the rest of the cast and crew were not present when I watched Brief Interviews With Hideous Men this evening. BUMMER. I really wish I could have seen him. Oh well...

Here's the really bad news: I didn't like the film. Here's the good news: I don't believe it's been picked up yet so it might not even be released. I'm lucky I even got to see it! I really, really wanted to like it but I didn't completely understand what the message was, or if there even was one, and I thought it lacked flow. Plus, Krasinski has a monologue at the end that seemed so rehearsed and unnatural. It made NO sense, or maybe it did make sense but it was just stupid, or maybe it went right over my head. I don't know. Good for him for taking a risk though- I mean, that's a huge part of Sundance.

I was wondering after watching Motherhood last night (we'll get to that in a moment) if part of the reason I was enjoying the films so much was because they were part of the festival. With all the excitement, how could you not like the film? But Brief Interviews proved that theory to be incorrect.

Okay, so Motherhood. This was a cute, quirky little film about what is sacrificed when you become a parent. Uma Thurman plays a mother of two who really misses working and having an adult life. She used to be a writer and she keeps a blog!! Minnie Driver and Anthony Edwards also star. Last night was the PREMIERE of the film! All of the stars were there and even Jodi Foster ,who has a cameo, showed up. Although I never actually saw her. The director just said she was there and thanked her for coming. There was a short Q & A and the director was very cool and pretty outspoken, Minnie Driver was hilarious and Uma Thurman came off as very sweet and almost a little shy. I did like this movie a lot and I think that anyone who is a mother will really enjoy it!



Director Katherine Dieckmann answering questions about Motherhood.







Uma Thurman talks about the film.






I am so glad that I was able to attend Sundance! The festival isn't over yet but I don't have tickets to any more films and I'm working everyday until it's over, so Sundance and I have most likely parted ways for now.

Onto the other news of the day...

I took Neve to the vet this morning for a shot and I explained to Dr. Lund that she breathes really fast and sometimes she has little coughing fits. We talked about it for a while and he listened to her lungs, which apparently make a bit of a swishy sound, and told me that he thinks she has asthma!! He gave her an injection and I have to let him know if it helps. She has an appointment to get spayed next Wednesday, but if the coughing and rapid breathing haven't stopped, we can't go ahead with the spay. If the shot he gave her doesn't end up working I might have to get a little kitty inhaler for her! So far no coughing today so I really hope that the medicine is working!



I thought this picture I took of Neve was really cute!








I love this pic of Belami and Neve. They have been sitting together a lot lately! I love it that they are such good buddies!



And one more thing...

As some of you know, Laura Lee moved out last week so Suzette put an ad in the paper for a new roommate. Today a girl named Erin came over to look at the place and meet me and Suzette and her family. We all feel like it's a good fit so Erin and her boyfriend move in tomorrow! She seems so nice and I think everything will work out quite well!. They will only be here until the middle of March at the latest. Erin loves cats and she seemed to really like Belami and Neve!

I'm working on making the apartment nice, comfortable and cozy! Suzette gave me a couch and I have it set up with my $2 coffee table and I love sitting here by the fire every evening, reading, writing on my blog or whatever I end up doing. The kitties love it too!

Sundance is about storytelling. Storytellers can broaden our minds: engage, provoke, inspire, and ultimately, connect us.
Robert Redford

SUNDANCE!

Okay so I'm actually pretty pooped from my long day but I wanted to let everyone know how my first Sundance experience was.

Everyone keeps saying how mellow this year's fest is and it's most likely due to a couple of things: the inauguration and the economy. Main Street is usually so packed you can hardly move but today it was empty enough for a nice stroll in the sun. This is also the first year that it hasn't snowed during Sundance, according to the locals.


Here's a shot of Main Street. You can tell it's pretty quiet.





I started my day with Adventureland, which I really liked, it was funny and sweet. It will be in theatres in the next couple of months since it already had distribution before coming to Sundance. Greg Mottola directed this (he also did Superbad) and it stars Kristen Stewart Jesse Eisenberg, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. When it was over Anna and I took the bus downtown for an early lunch at Zoom, a restaurant owned by Robert Redford. I had some delicious vegetarian chili and baked mac and cheese. Yum!!

As we moseyed about Main Street I had my first celeb sighting when I brushed shoulders with Liam Neeson as he walked by us! Actually I guess you could say my shoulder brushed his elbow- he is really tall!

Right after that a woman asked us if we would like to attend a panel about the film La Mission starring Benjamin Bratt, and we figured why not?! I don't have tickets to this film, but after seeing a clip and listening to the director and cast discuss the material, I'm interested in seeing it! It's about a very violent, macho-type guy living in the Mission district of San Fransisco who finds out that his son is gay. The cast and crew, including Peter Bratt, Benjamin's brother who wrote and directed the picture, talked about the film which was very interesting and then there was a "Q & A" which turned out to be very uninteresting. No one really asked any questions, people just raised their hands and told little stories about their own lives while everyone else just sat there thinking "Why are you telling everyone this?"



The Bratt brothers talking about La Mission. That's Benjamin on the left.




After walking around a bit more we took the bus back to my apartment to relax before heading out to see Adam starring Hugh Dancy, Rose Byrne and Peter Gallagher. This film is in competition so everyone gets to vote on what they thought of it. I really liked this one, it's about a guy with Asbergers and his relationship with a woman who moves into his apartment building. There was also a "Q & A" after this with the stars of the film and the writer/ director, Max Mayer. This "Q & A" was better because people actually asked questions but then this one dumb guy basically told them that he didn't like the end of the movie and you could tell that the director and actors didn't really know what to say.


Here is Max Mayer speaking about Adam.







Hugh Dancy, who plays the title character, answered questions about the film. BTW- he is SO CUTE!!







Rose Byrne, who portrayed Beth, also talked to the audience.





Before the film started we spotted Claire Danes who I believe is dating Hugh Dancy. (LUCKY!!) I was determined to get a photo with her because as with most people of my generation, I'm a big fan of hers! She wasn't too thrilled about taking the photo it seemed, but I figure it must be hard when you are just trying to enjoy the festival and people keep stopping you for a photo op, so I guess I won't hold it against her.



Here's the photo. I look like a dumb ass but I'll blame that on the fact that there was a row of chairs in between Ms. Danes and me and the fact that the camera seemed to be on a bit of a delay. The movie star, however, looks flawless... go figure.


It was a fun day and I'm so glad that I get to experience the festival! I love going online at the end of the day to see which celebs are hanging out in my backyard. I love being among the first to see these films and I love being surrounded by all of these people who LOVE cinema!

It's a miracle, really, that movies- independent movies, especially- get made at all.
Nick Hornby

This is a miracle I am grateful for!

Sundance, my White Christmas, Neve.

Well folks, long time, no... write! I am once again very sorry that I haven't posted in quite some time. We have been slammin' at work so I've been really tired when I get home and usually end up just watching a movie and going to sleep. Which leads me to some recommendations for all you lucky readers!

I watched Stepbrothers and thought it was hilarious! Totally worth watching if you want a chuckle! I also watched Hamlet 2- very funny as well, but a little odd. Still something I would recommend for some good entertainment. I watched Tropic Thunder recently and again, really funny! I went to the movies twice this past week too! I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button- good, visually quite stunning and a little sad at parts but also uplifting. It reminds me of Big Fish, which I love! My buddy, Chris Masterson, was in the audience when we saw this, kinda cool. The other movie I saw was Bedtime Stories, with my friend, Anna, and her little girl, Zoe. It was so funny too! My, I've been watching a lot of comedies lately!

Speaking of films, I bought my Sundance tickets today!! I bought tickets for 4 movies: Adam, Motherhood, Adventureland and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. It's a whole process, as I've told you before, to get these tickets, and today was the last step. I picked up a guide to all of the films and went through to find the ones that I was interested in seeing. Then I had to pick the showings that fit into my schedule at work that week. I was lucky because there was only one movie I wanted to see that was sold out. That movie was I Love You Phillip Morris starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. Some of the other people in line went to check out the "sold out board" and had to pick totally new films. One guy told his friend "We suffer from good taste." It looked like pretty much everything they had picked was no longer available! I am psyched for the festival! I can't wait to be a part of that- so cool!! Park City is going to be CRAZY! Here is a link to the film guide if you want some more info on my choices or any of the other films:

http://www.sundance.org/festival/filmguide/alphabetical.asp?alpha=a-c

I can't believe that 2008 is over! It was a big year for me with the move. What did you do last year that you're proud of? Any New Year's resolutions? I never really have one and this year is no different. Hmmmm... I'll have to think about it and get back to you.

I know everyone is wondering about my first Christmas away from home. It was a White Christmas in more ways than one. First there was a lot of snow and second, my friend, Stacie who I spent the day with, her last name is White. Hehe... It was very nice at Stacie's. Her family is so sweet and inviting, but it's just not the same as being with my crazy and wonderful relatives. That was probably the biggest difference- my Christmas was very calm and relaxing this year- we didn't even get out of our pajamas all day! That's not the case back in Norwell! The excitement of the holiday actually came when Stacie and I tried to drive back to Park City that evening. The weather was so bad, there was so much snow, that we had to go back to her parents and leave in the morning! She lives about 2 hours north of PC in a little farm town called Paradise and there are a couple of canyons that we have to drive through to get there. The road through one of the canyons actually ended up getting closed due to the weather so it's a good thing we turned around!

Belami and I received a pretty great gift this year- a new kitty!!! There are some stray cats who live at Stacie's grandmother's house and one of them kept running inside every time someone opened the door, but we had to just keep putting her back out. She was very sweet and clearly didn't want to be an outdoor kitty. To make a long story short, as I'm sure you've already guessed, I just couldn't leave this little girl out in the cold so I brought her home and now she lives with B and me! I named her Neve (think Neve Campbell for pronunciation) because it means snow. She is absolutely precious and so unbelievably affectionate. I brought her to the vet thinking that she was a kitten but Dr. Lund looked at her teeth and told me that she is actually a little over a year! Even he was shocked because of her size. I really like my vet, by the way! He decided not to charge me for the exam because he thought it was great that I decided to keep her and he knows how expensive the first visit can be. She is totally healthy so that's great news. I am going to have her spayed at the end of the month. Her and Belami are getting along great! He is in love with her already, but she's taking a little more time to really love him. He doesn't exactly know how to play it cool and his enthusiasm scares her a bit at times, but so far so good and it will only get better! Here are some photos of Neve.




Here I am with my new baby! Isn't she cute?!










And again.









She loves this little bed up on the windowsill. It's fleece on the bottom so it's a little slippery and some mornings I wake up with it on my head because the kitties have knocked it down!








I think she has beautiful eyes! A classic torti with a split face! I hope she likes getting her picture taken with me for a mom!!









This photo gives a good size comparison. I know it's a little hard to see how much smaller she is, but trust me, she's little.








I hope you enjoyed my photos of the new addition to my little family! I apologize again for taking so long to write! Thank you to everyone who sent us Christmas gifts. It was very nice of you to think of me and even though I was so far from home I felt loved and missed and that in itself is a pretty nice gift.

I can't wait to see most of you in a week! Knowing that soon I'll see everyone kept me happy and excited over the holidays! I keep telling myself it doesn't matter when you see your family, just that you do get to see them!

Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!
Amanda Bradley

What a great idea!