Git Er Done… (our last week in WA!)

Well, it is finally down to the wire! T minus 6 days until the epic drive across our fair country begins. We have been conquering the longest TO-DO list in the history of my life (save for the pre-wedding TO-DO list, but that was full of inconsequential things like: borrow flower vase for gladiolas).

Can I just say AMEN for awesome customer service at Patagonia, REI, Super Jock n’ Jill, Williams-Sonoma and Nordstrom. We have made about $700 returning things we didn’t want/like/use without a hitch! Love that. We even MADE money returning 12 mugs we never use to Williams-Sonoma, and this is WITHOUT a receipt. They’ve gone up in price since our wedding 3 years ago, to $21/mug, pricy! So that’s awesome that we were able to continue paring down. We also sold the kitchen table and 6 chairs we got for free for $175, which is fun. On top of that, I brought back Saucony running shoes that are hurting my left arch (but have been used for a year!) and they exchanged them out for brand new shoes at no cost. YES!

So we are feeling good about what we have remaining. I’ve blogged before about Rob Bell’s challenge to his church during the God is Green sermon series. He said, “If you were to move tomorrow, what would you sell, donate, give away, recycle, throw away. Well why not do that today?” That mantra has been something we’ve tried to live by the past year and a half, simplify, simplify!!!

And so our day has actually come, we ARE moving tomorrow, and we no longer have piles of stuff we don’t want or need. Movers come tomorrow morning at 8:15, giddy up! We’ll be living out of suitcases for the next month, as we galavant around the country, taking our time to enjoy different people and places en route to our new home.

Though our TO-DO list is long enough to make any sane person dizzy, we have also been taking time to enjoy our last week in WA. We’ve been getting quality time with everyone we love, and are looking forward to having dinner at Canlis (Seattle’s best restaurant) with Erik and Monica on Friday night, after seeing Erika and Jodi for a last time. I also get to see JJ and Lisa, since I’m going up to the Couv on Sunday night, which will be fun.

We used our last free movie tickets (thank you Boeing!) and saw EagleEye, which was a fun action flick with Shia LeBeouf (I love saying his name) and Michelle Monaghan (I may have a girl crush on her). Yesterday we took our last ferry ride, on a beautiful morning. Then we had lunch in downtown Seattle with Erik at Palomino and shopped for grooming necessities at Aveda/Nordstrom, and visited the newest H+M. We went to Green Lake one last time, for our and Burly’s sakes. He goes crazy at that place, with all the other dogs/stimulation. Last night we had dinner at the fabulous local/organic Tilth restaurant, that I think every Seattleite should try, it is so amazing.

On Kiesha’s recommendation to “EAT AS MUCH FISH AS POSSIBLE BEFORE LEAVING THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST!!!!” I had a pistachio-encrusted Cod for lunch that was fantastic. Then at dinner with Jonathan and Lynnea (love them, will miss them, we’re trying to talk them into coming to S. Africa with us for World Cup 2010), we had all kinds of awesomeness. The world’s best Halibut, pork belly, chicken, faro, quinoa, a cheese plate straight from heaven, and heirloom melon with mint, feta and anise hyssop, unbelievable. So creative, who thinks of that kind of stuff! Three hours and two bottles of Northwest wine later, we were quite happy campers.

I’ll miss that place, and everywhere that we have fabulous memories in Seattle, which will remain in my heart as one of the most awesome cities in our country, even if we never live close by it again. So if you’re wondering where I am this next week, it’s either checking off our gargantuan TO-DO list or being sentimental about this place I love so much and am sad to leave.

If I were a rich (wo)man... da da dee dee dee dee dah.

Last night in bed we watched the movie Fiddler on the Roof. I haven't seen the musical in over 10 years and I was missing it, such a classic. This morning I was thinking, what would I have asked for (in a comparable song to Tevye)? Here is my current list, all things we are fine without, but would be nice to have, in the next year or so...

#1- iPhones
#2- a new Mac computer
#3- a nice camera
#4- a new car (we continue to praise the Prius daily: 54 mpg!!! But my Acura is now 14 years old...)
#5- a new Pug (we want to get Burly a sister soon)
#6- a new sofa/coffee table from Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardwear
#7- a Bang & Olufsen sound system

I'm sure this list could go on and on, but for the Top 7, all I need is like $40,000. Anyone? Anyone? All donations are accepted and tax deductible;)

There Goes the Neighborhood

Maybe it’s because I just watched The Dark Knight (newest Batman flick, good one) that I’m feeling a desire to fight injustice. Not organized crime, per se, but that of the broken homes and underage drinking persuasion. Like 13-year-olds ditching school, getting drunk and going to the hospital with alcohol poisoning kind of underage drinking. Last night I was talking to some great neighbors while waiting for Burly to do his business, when a car came screeching up next door to them and a girl ran out of the car and hopped through a bedroom window. Two minutes later her parents showed up to pick her up and were screaming at her in Spanish, b/c she wasn’t supposed to be at Kayla’s house. Little did they know she had been elsewhere. 3 minutes after that my 13-year old neighbor and a bunch of her miscreant posse showed up, open beers in hand (from the car!) This was at 11, the last I saw them was after 3am. No mom in sight.

My heart is sad for her, as she has little role model in her mom. A few months ago, her parents got divorced. A new man was in the house shortly thereafter. As a tight-knit community, our block took it pretty hard. That schism has changed the dynamics of our street some, turning their house into a dysfunctional place where teenagers can do whatever they want. It’s made me think a lot about community and how sad I am that none of us were allowed in to the couple’s lives to know that they were hurting. If we had been, I wonder if being loved from other couples and being given resources could have changed the dynamics or outcome of their situation. Maybe not, but maybe. What makes it so hard for us to tell people when we need help? If it ‘takes a village’ to raise kids, then we need community…

I want to tell Kayla, that at 13 she’s making decisions with boys and drugs that are setting her on a path that isn’t going to lead anywhere positive. She’s already been kicked out of a school, and the friends she’s surrounded herself with are not going to lift her up and inspire her to any kind of greatness in life. Watching her compared to her next door neighbor who’s only one year older is like watching the book of Proverbs’ concepts of wisdom and folly being fleshed out. Wisdom respects her involved parents, has chores, works hard, is honest, does well, and will have the world at her feet when she finishes school. Folly by contrast, does none of the above, and is blown with the winds of peer pressure and erroneous judgment.

We have the power of choice in life, we are not merely recipients of the cards we are dealt. I know a guy from Atlanta who just shared his amazing life story with me. He realized that education was the way out of his broken family, projects life. After high school, he got a full scholarship to Penn and then Harvard Business School, when his mom had just completed 7th grade. He retired at about 40, set for life.

It makes me sad that the path he took is more rare and the path people like Kayla are on is more common. But then again Scripture says ‘broad is the road that leads to destruction and narrow is the road that leads to life.’ I wish life for Kayla, and all her friends. I don’t necessarily know how to communicate this, but I think it starts with the stirring that I feel in my heart.

Ciao Bella

Tonight's our last night at home before heading across the pond to Europe once again. We've been cleaning the house and readying the garden for our departure. This means the fridge is empty- so pizza, beer and a movie it was... Always a good option. I was taking care of any number of our long list of to-do's before we leave, so Los went out to get the stuff and came back with the movie Bella. I hadn't heard of it, but it's the first feature length film from a new production company called Metanoia. That is a Biblical Greek word for repentance, changing your mind, turning and going another way... So I was curious about it. The main characters (including "Mexico's Brad Pitt") have a sweet friendship and we always love redemption themes. We both cried and appreciated the last scene. It was shot in NYC in 3 weeks, which is crazy; lots of potential, we look forward to what these guys do in the future. Let me know if you check it out.

Bourne... Jason Bourne (way better than Bond!)

So with all the graduation festivities and everything going on, we needed some down time as well- so we holed up and hosted our own little Bourne Trilogy movie festival. It had been a while... we forgot how much we LOVE them! Love all the international locations (London to India, and everywhere in between, Germany, Russia, Tunisia...) and the story line and the action. Now I feel inspired to write my last 16 pages:)

What Happens In Vegas

We went on a date night last night and laughed our heads off... If you're looking for a silly movie, check it out!

Paris, Je T’aime

I usually don’t write movie reviews, but here’s another one. We just watched Paris, Je T’aime (Here's the trailer) and if you are a Francophile like me (my in-law's just came back from there this week and I can't WAIT to see what they brought back) or just a fan of, or curious about Paris, the city of light and love, you’ll love this movie. It’s shot like postcards, 18 total, by fabulous different directors and casts, each 5-8 minutes long. All around the subject of love. Some of the stories are tragic, some are heart-warming, some are awkward, some are random, some are funny and some are beautiful; all of them are poignant. Great movie.

Mandy Moore, my inspiration?

Soon to have a graduate degree in hand, I like to think of myself as intelligent, so I don’t even know how to start this blog. I’m just gonna throw it out there: I like movies made for teenagers. Or younger, even. When Los is home, we spend money on more intellectual, or fast-paced, suspenseful, etc. genres of movies. Usually. Actually, we had free tickets last winter that I used, dragging him to see Enchanted. He endured it like a champ, that is love! Not gonna lie, I cried. I don’t know what it is, but every time he leaves, I go to my neighbor’s houses and borrow all kinds of cheesy, sappy movies that we usually would never watch together. Chick flicks galore, and things like Princess Diaries and Bring it On. I mean, what?
I almost feel like writing this is some kind of confession, but it’s laughable. It seems incongruous with the rest of my personhood- but I love movies like this! I remember a couple of years ago, I went with Kathleen and Mallory Cummins to see 13 Going On 30. Mallory was the age the movie was geared toward, yet she sat there with an embarrassed/incredulous look on her face while her mom and I cried! Ha!
My new favorite is Chasing Liberty, a couple of years old, but I just watched it this week for the first time. And then I may or may not have watched it four more times... Come on, I was multi-tasking! I’ve already confessed my slight infatuation with daughters of Presidents. I mean, if I’m never gonna be one, I would at least like to meet one. But so far the closest I’ve come to actualizing that dream is watching movies about First Daughters.
The movie is shot in Prague, Venice, Berlin, London and D.C., some of the world’s most awesome cities. I went to Prague before it was a big deal, in 1999; and it is so gorgeous! I went to the ballet Swan Lake there, a memory I won’t soon forget. In Chasing Liberty Mandy Moore and the guy (my new fave Brit, Matthew Goode) have a cool scene watching an opera from a rooftop. I think I’ve only been to the Opera once, in Vienna, Austria- and that was just because everyone else was doing it. But I’ve never really been into it. So Mandy Moore’s character inspired me to learn about opera some, and to try going to a couple. I learned that Vancouver, Seattle and San Francisco’s operas all have some interesting performances coming up. I figure I should experience Puccini and others’ creations in person rather than on YouTube or Wikipedia, which is what I have done this week. So anyone up for some culture, holler at your girl. Or if you have more chick flicks to recommend, you could holler at me as well☺

And p.s. to all closet Mandy Moore fans, her new album sounds cool, she collaborated with awesome people like Lori McKenna, The Weepies, Chantal Kreviazuk, and a guy who produced John Mayer.

[Love] Reign Over Me

Awesome movie, go see it.