Movie Review ~ The Holiday

I have been told more than once recently that I need to put something new up on my blog. And since nothing about my own life is chomping at the bit for a spot in the limelight, I thought I'd write a review about this film which, surprisingly, is still on my mind even though it's been at least 3 weeks since I invaded Weston's netflix queue to watch it. Also, I'm inspired by the reviews on Rachel's Like/Don't Like Blog that I love to stalk even though I have never met Rachel or been invited to read her blogs.

First of all, my reasons for choosing this flick. Not really sure. Clearly it was destined from the get-go to be cheesy (4 super-stars crammed into one film), shallow (how substantial can the plot really be?), and based on the standard for all romantic comedy these days, immoral. Still, my curiosity for shallowness got the better of me and I wanted to see how these four would fare together; Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Jack Black.

The basic plot line is this: Two women are having troubles with men in their various corners of the universe (quaint little cottage in London and grandiose mansion in LA). Both simultaneously feel that they need to get away ASAP, find each other online and agree to a home exchange. Predictably, their various experiences on Holiday lead them to find "true love." (Now that I actually summarize the plot I am embarrassed that I spent 2 hours of my life watching this. Still, it had a few redeeming qualities.) I'm pretty sure the intention of the producers was to convince me as the audience to like both of these women and care about their relationships and the final outcome. Ironically, I found more interest in contrasting my enjoyment of one couple's story with my distaste for the other.

I was utterly shocked....nay, floored to find that I really identified with and liked Kate Winslet's character. Needless to say, I'm not a big Kate Winslet fan. Though I think she did a decent job in Finding Neverland, I've never quite been able to get past the whole Titanic factor of her career. Still, her character in this movie was completely genuine. Selfless, sincere, and just trying to survive the curse of unrequited love.

Contrast that with the character of Cameron Diaz....who I usually don't have a problem with. Immature. Selfish. Shallow movie trailer producer. Not really much there. (And I'm supposed to care about what happens to you because.....?)

Kate Winslet spends most of her California holiday helping and befriending an old man who turns out to be a has-been big-time film writer who she encourages and helps train physically to accept an award from the film-writer's guild. What's not to like about that? It's just sweet. In the process she meets Jack Black and also develops a nice, genuine friendship with him.

Speaking of Jack Black, at the end of the movie I had this conversation with Weston:
Me: "We need more Jack Black in our lives."
Weston: strange look
I guess Jack Black has a reputation for sub-standard films, but honestly, I've enjoyed everything I've seen him in and I think he's hilarious: Shallow Hal, Nacho Libre, School of Rock , and now The Holiday. Granted, he was slightly toned down and more mature in this film, but his character as a film score composer was unique, entertaining, and likeable.

By the end of the movie the most physical contact they've had is one kiss, and then you're left to imagine that they had a nice courtship and maybe marriage? Who knows. The point is, they just had one kiss and you are satisfied. They're nice people. If they are supposed to end up together they will.

Over in London......well, it's a different story. I am shuddering even as I write this. We already know Cameron isn't a very engaging character. She doesn't have much to do except hang out at the cottage and go out for groceries every once-in-a-while. She meets Jude Law (Kate Winslet's brother) when he comes looking for a place to sleep because he's had a few too many. So after a few pleasantries and explanations of who is who...bam, they sleep together. What?!?!? I'm sorry but even when they don't show anything, as in this film, it just leaves you with that icky feeling. Gross. So basically you're left with that feeling through the whole movie that there's nothing substantial in the relationship and that feeling never goes away.

There are only two positive factors in the London story line; 1)Jude Law is very attractive and 2)Turns out he's a single dad, just trying to make his way and support his two girls while occasionally pretending to have a social life of his own. Still I wouldn't even go so far as to say that these two factors "redeem" the London story line.

Sadly, there is nothing that can redeem the London story line. Which is a little bit sad because I enjoyed the other half of the movie so much but it's not worth sitting through again. Did any of you see this movie? Your comments please.

Five Years

Today we are celebrating our

5 year anniversary!

Woohoo!!

In honor of this day I am going to indulge in some storytelling (even though the risk of embarrassing Weston is very high. If you are Weston, stop reading HERE.) But I must be allowed, at least every 5 years or so, to shout out to the world about how awesome my hubbie is.
And what good are stories without some pictures? I picked some of my favorites from our wedding to share.
(I got this idea from my friend Laurel who had her wedding photos scanned and made into digital images. Sadly, I haven’t been on-the-ball enough to get it together in time to do anything that cool. So you will have to settle for images that I scanned at home. Just don’t look too close.)

Just Friends

Weston and I met in a singles ward at BYU when we were called to serve together as Family Home Evening coordinators. We became fast friends….that is, after we had the initial conversation where we both concluded that neither one of us was a potential love interest for the other. Not verbatim, but it went something like this.

“So, what are you looking for in a girl?”
“I need someone who can live in 3rd-world countries and move around a lot.”
Ok. Nope.
“So, what are you looking for in a guy? Oh, wait….you probably want someone tall.”
Yup.
Case closed. We are just friends.

And he was a great friend. I just remember that it became so natural for us to hang out and come and go together, that we would sometimes seek each other out when it was time to go home from ward activities so we could walk together. I’m pretty sure this was a subconscious thing. It just kind of happened.

First Date

It took a while from the time we met (April 2001) until we arrived at our first official “date” (Nov 2002). Having already been through a dear friendship and long-distance something-or-other, by the time we got into the same town and on our first date it seemed like quite an ordeal. We met up in SLC, UT and wandered the streets downtown for a while. He took me to dinner in the rooftop Garden Room at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We were seated across from each other on a rather small table. Now, there’s only one way to tell this part so I’ll just have to say it like it is. He was so smitten with me he couldn’t even carry on a normal conversation. He was just sitting across from me, staring. Awkward. Even with all my efforts to compel him into regular conversation, I finally insisted that he move his plate and chair and slide over to the side of the table, closer to me, so that he wouldn’t have such an easy, awkward, straight shot view of my face. That seemed to help a little.

Engaged ~ February 2003

Lunch in DC

I flew out to Washington DC for New Years 2003. Weston showed me around downtown, including meeting me on his lunch break. At the time he had an internship on Capitol Hill. (This is a story he likes to tell himself, so I think it’s ok if I repeat it here.) He took me to a little self-serve Chinese food buffet. Being the generous person that he is, he said to me several times, “Just go ahead and get whatever you want.” Ok. We loaded up our plates and headed for the check-out counter where we saw the CASH ONLY sign. A pained expression came over his face and I realized that only one of us had cash on hand. I guess I’m a pretty generous person, too.

Wedding Portraits

I LOVE this picture of him.
He looks so GREAT in a tux!

Just Married

One of the things I love about Weston is his ability to tell a joke that will make me laugh for days. Just one example: After we married, we loaded up a Uhaul trailer with my stuff and drove across the country. My brother Kirk shared the cost of the trailer so that we could help transport some of his precious paintings from UT to TN. We made several stops on our trip, one of the last one’s being at Kirk’s in-laws in TN where he and his family were staying so we could drop off the paintings. We arrived and got settled and started visiting. My sister-in-law, Amy, who hadn’t been able to come to the wedding because she happened to be giving birth that week, was asking about the wedding and our other plans. One of her questions was, “So, what did you do with all your students?” Weston’s quick and candid reply: “They’re in the trailer.”

I’m sorry but even 5 years later I am still laughing about that.

A Sad Day

We’d been married almost a year when I had a very early miscarriage. It was early enough (5 weeks) that I hadn’t started knitting booties, but we had had a few days to become excited about the prospect of having a baby. The day I miscarried was a sad day. Weston came home from work to be with me and on his way in he picked a few flowers for me from the flower bed outside our apartment building. It was a simple gesture but it made me feel loved. I pressed the flowers in a book and kept them. When I think about that day I am grateful to have a husband who feels sad when I am sad, even though he doesn’t show his feelings the same way I do. He does what he can to comfort me.

Fatherhood

I thank my lucky stars every day to have been given a husband who is such a fantastic father to our children. Sometimes I sit back in awe as I watch him with the boys. I’m not sure where we are in the “Terrible/Terrific Two’s” phase….but I’m pretty sure we are there and we’ve been there for some time. Often I feel deeply my lack of ability to stick to my guns with Adam and I let him win far too many battles. (I won’t blame my pregnancy…I won’t.) Weston, however, is a master at getting results and yet showing the boys an increase of love and tenderness. He is a loving father and friend even though disciplinarian at the same time. He has set the bar for me and I have to try every day to live up to his example.

Um…Wow

I celebrated my 30th birthday last year in Utah with my family. My birthday being Dec 18th and Weston’s plans being to join us on Dec 22nd, he couldn’t be there with me to help celebrate.
I was sitting in the kitchen enjoying a chat with my sister when the doorbell rang. There was the ProFlowers guy with a box for me. This came as no surprise, as getting flowers from my husband is something I enjoy more frequently than I would guess many women do. As I was opening the box and tending to the flowers, there came another knock at the door. This time it was the ProFlowers guy with a box for my mom. The card was simple. It only said, “Thank You.” Now, I’m pretty sure he scored points with my mom that day, but I’m positive that he scored a LOT of points with me. Sending my mom flowers to thank her on MY birthday? Genius.

Conclusion

I love my husband. I am so grateful to have spent the last 5 years with him and look forward to finishing this road called life with him. I can’t be the easiest person to be married to, I’m sure. My neurotic perfectionism sometimes makes life impossible for myself and those around me. But I’m so grateful that Weston doesn’t hold grudges and is there to welcome me with a long hug at the end of the day. That’s how I know I’m home.

(Weston, if you are still reading this and you’re not mad, I owe you a Slurpee.)

If you're easily scared, please look away!

This is a portrait of a

REALLY SCARY MONSTER.

The outfit is an original Peter Ricks tm design, manufactured in the USA by Mommy-Implements-All, ltd. Mr. Ricks' exquisite taste demands this chilling ensemble specifically to feature the blanket covering his head and waste with arms free. (Not as easy to implement as it looks), held in place by choice pieces from the WRR cravate collection. The only appropriate way to wear this ensemble is with the end of the top tie tucked in to the blanket on the chest, with no part of the blanket (whatsoever) touching the floor. Any extraneous floor-touching pieces must be lifted up and tucked into the tie at the wasteline.

As Mr. Ricks felt he personally would be the only one to capture a facial expression scary enough for a monster in this ensemble, he chose to model it himself for today's photo shoot. The photo above is the finished product, even garnering Mr. Ricks' approval as a sufficiently terrifying facial expression. The outtakes below are the other shots we got with him trying to maintain the expression without smiling long enough for our photographer to take the picture.

Baby Girl

It's official! We're having a girl! Of course this comes as no surprise since we've all been referring to the baby as "she" for quite some time now. This is the best ultrasound pic we got today. She is practicing for gymnastics....or yoga. I can't exactly tell. All I know is she looks really flexible.

The measurements from today bumped my "due date" up by about a week. And since this due-date discrepancy has been debatable since the beginning of my pregnancy, and also since Weston wants to be able to say the baby is coming on his birthday this time, I'm going to go with it. You'll notice my pregnancy ticker to the right reflects this change and I am now officially halfway done. Wow! That was an easy week!

Superman Capes

A few weeks ago, on one of those rainy, indoor days, we made flags. I thought it was a pretty clever idea and the kids had fun. We found sticks in the yard and then I cut paper for them to decorate for their flag and stapled it to the sticks. This activity went over so well that I even repeated it when I was in charge of preschool. All the kids had a great time. When their flags were finished I put on the Sousa marches and let them march in a parade in the "circle" that goes around the floor plan of our house. They got so into it that I finally just sat down on the couch with Adam and then cheered the parade on every time it passed by me.

Fast forward a week or so. I took the boys to the nature center where one of the activities for kids is to dress up like insects. Peter was really enjoying the butterfly costume up until it was time to go home. When I told him it was time to go he asked if he could take the costume home. I explained that we couldn't take it, but suggested that maybe we could make one of our own at home. He became very distressed and sadly exclaimed, "No, mommy! I don't want it to be out of paper!" Hmmm….I guess he had my number on that one. Although, I didn't really think I deserved that pigeonhole after only two episodes of paper flags.

More recently the boys have also shown an interest in Superman. I had made capes for them out of dishtowels with the Superman logo (paper again) pinned on the back. After a few days of watching those sorry capes fly around the house, I determined that I could (and should) do a better job than that. This weekend I finished their "real" Superman capes. I picked up a dark blue sheet at the thrift store and then used t-shirt transfers to iron-on the Superman logo. Peter was happy with it, and pointed out several times that the "S" was not a paper S. I guess I'd better kick it up a notch from now on.

Silhouette

Yesterday morning the sun was streaming in through the window and I caught a glimpse of this silhouette of the boys eating breakfast against the wall. I think if I had a better camera and/or better photography skills, this picture would do more justice to the image that I saw. It kind of took my breath away at first, and just made me happy and grateful for the sun, Spring's long-awaited arrival, and my precious little boys.

Letter to my violin

Dear Violin,
I've missed you. I don't really mean to take advantage of you only when I'm teaching or gigging without giving you the time of day or letting you play real music. I can imagine you have been so completely bored. I hope you're not suicidal.

You probably didn't know this, but the reason I brought you out and practiced for an hour tonight is because the other week at scrapbook club I had to confess to my friends #1) that I don't practice. Ever. and #2) that my kids don't get as much exposure to music as my friends seemed to be thinking, as evidenced by our conversation. Also, there is a ward talent show coming up and even though I don't really want to, I think we should probably do something. (You don't know this yet, but Weston already ordered us the music for Orange Blossom Special.) So I think it's getting to be time for me to put away the sour grapes that I can't be as good as I used to be because I have little ones to look after. My mom always helps shed good perspective on that front. She reminds me that all I have to do is start practicing again when my kids get a little older if I want to get everything back. And also that keeping up a talent is worthwhile just for my own sake, and for the service I can render with it, regardless of whether or not I can measure up to myself or anyone else, because that's not what it's about.

But another reason I wanted to practice was to reassure myself that I can still play those octaves in tune. I had to go into the garage and dig out my box of violin music that I thought I wouldn't need for the next 6 months to get my Carl Flesch scale book and my Kreutzer, Dont, and Rode etudes to try to find some good octaves to play. And you didn't let me down, except that your E string was a little too harsh on my un-calloused pinky...not that I'm blaming you. It's me. Really.

Wasn't it so nice to play the Bach g minor Adagio again? I think the only reason I can say it was nice is because we used to practice that thing so much that it would probably never leave my fingers....even if I wanted it to. But it made me happy. Now THAT's real music, don't you think?

I brought out the 2nd movement of the Bruch concerto, not because some people foolishly consider it the "first" real concerto a student should play (aside: That idea is totally absurd, and the reason most people don't like the Bruch is because they have heard it slaughtered until dead in performance so many times...but it does also make me smile when I remember my 160R student trying to play it and looking at me with evil eyes with her violin on her hip because I was making her break down her shifts instead of telling her how wonderful she sounded for the entire lesson....as all 160R students expect you to do..remember?), but because it happens to be on my list of Emily's Most Favorite Beautiful Music. And when I really remembered how beautiful it is, I decided to play along with a recording (Perlman's being the most accessible). We had so much fun together, even though we slaughtered so many shifts tonight. We'll have to try again tomorrow, and actually take some time to work through them all. Don't you think it would be worth it?

Well, I just wanted to let you know I had a good time. No sour grapes tonight. And I want to make a committment to you but I don't think I will actually put it in writing tonight. I don't want to break your heart again.

Thinking of you,
Emily