Random Thoughts

Some things we've been up to lately...

1. I saw Mamma Mia! last weekend. I didn't have a lot of expectations for it after reading some of the reviews, so I was not disappointed. It was silly at times, strange at other times, but overall an enjoyable movie. I'm sure it was better in the theater than it will be at home, so I'm glad I saw it. Someone described it to me as being "like a two-hour vacation," and that's completely true. But who doesn't need that every once in awhile?

2. My husband shaved his head yesterday! He's been wanting to for awhile, but was nervous about how it would turn out. I encouraged it; I've wondered what he might look like if he loses his hair one day, so it's like a sneak peak. I haven't really seen it yet...I was asleep when he got home last night and he was asleep when I left this morning, so I couldn't get a good look. His head is pretty white though, so a little sun might help!

3. My sister has been home for a little over a week, but she leaves tomorrow going back to Mobile. It's been nice having her around, even though we haven't done much. I'm hoping to get to go down there to visit before too long. Mobile is really starting to grow on me too! Jeremy and I will definitely go visit when we go down for my work conference in October, but maybe I can squeeze in a weekend before then.

4. We've had some drama in the youth group in the last week or so. Those kids continue to surprise me! Along those lines, though, our new pastor is awesome. He and his family have already livened up the church, and they are fitting in very well. I think he is going to challenge us like we've never experienced before, but we need that to continue to grow...even if it's hard sometimes.

5. We had to make an unexpected purchase this week, but it turned out okay. The lawnmower quit on Monday, and it was going to cost at least a few hundred dollars to repair it. Jeremy has been dying for a new mower, and it actually made more sense to go buy one, rather than put money into an old one and have something else go wrong next month. The one we had was old, but we got more than our money's worth out of it over the last couple of years. So, on Monday night, we made the trip to Lowe's and purchased a brand-new bright green John Deere. We were able to finance it with zero interest for a year, which was nice. That will allow us to pay for it over the next couple of months when Jeremy goes back to his part-time job at the high school. (That allows us a lot of flex money during the school year!) I did learn that just asking for zero percent interest rates when making a major purchase usually works...good to know for the future!

That's really about it at the moment. We have an anniversary coming up in less than two weeks, but we have no major plans for that yet. Money is a little tight until we go back to our respective second jobs, and we aren't really big on gifts anyway. We'll most likely have a nice dinner out and maybe actually go to a movie or something, which is a rarity with our schedules. Whatever we do, I'm excited to be celebrating our two years of marriage!

Recent movies

The absolute laziness of this past weekend allowed me to check another movie off my list of classic movies. Saturday morning when the dogs woke me up bright and early (they don't have any concept of the weekend and so continue to demand their regular 6:30 am feeding), I decided to settle in on the couch and take in the latest gem awaiting me. This time I watched Brief Encounter, from 1946. It was a very mild portrayal of a passionate affair between two strangers who randomly met at a train station in England. The word I would use to describe the movie itself is "charming." That's what comes to mind when I think of the way the intimacy was only hinted about and all the things the couple left unsaid. It's an great example of the changes in the film industry from then to now...nothing is left unsaid or unseen anymore. The story itself was simple, but poignant and emotional. You could feel the anguish as she sits at home with her kind husband, knowing her lover is on his way to Africa and she will never see him again...and worst of all, that she will never be able to tell a soul about her pain. I am really enjoying the discovery of these great old movies, and I can't wait to decide on my next pick!

Sunday afternoon, Jeremy and I skipped ahead a few decades (we get netflix two at a time, so I usually get one classic for me and a current movie for us to watch together). We watched Definitely, Maybe, which I have to say was one of the better movies I've seen in awhile. The story is told in a creative and entertaining way...a dad, who's going through a divorce, tells his daughter the story of how he got together with her mother, but he changes the names so the daughter can guess which one turns out to be her mother. It's definitely different, sort of similar to How I Met Your Mother, and the daughter is played by the fabulous Abigail Breslin. Jeremy and I both liked it, which is pretty unusual, but it's nice when we agree occasionally. : )

Recap of early July

We had a great trip to the beach and made it back safely. We got to spend some time with my sister, who has been there all summer with Summer Beach Project. She's been working as a lifeguard at Shipwreck Island waterpark and staying very busy with all sorts of projects, bible studies, etc. The "hotel" they are staying in (ok, it's actually a motor inn!) is quite cramped, so she stayed two nights with us. I would be scrambling for a night away too, if I was staying in a room with 5 other girls! Anyway, we visited with Laura, spent an afternoon with a friend of Jeremy's and his family, relaxed and read by the pool, and ate a ton of excellent food. Successful vacation! I have to say that Panama City has changed a lot since the last time I was there (May 2002). For so long, Panama City has had the party place reputation, and the last time I was there it certainly lived up to that reputation. However, it seems that they are making a conscious effort to return to a more family-friendly atmosphere, and it seems to be working. The majority of the lower-end strip motels have been turned into condos, and most places seem to require a minimum age of 25 to check in. The "strip," while still packed and slow-moving nearly all the time, was not full of drunk teenagers hanging out of car windows or riding in the back of trucks. I am sure there is more of that going on during Spring Break and senior trip time, but overall, we found PCB very laid-back and family-friendly. The new dining and shopping locale, Pier Park, was very nice and we went there at some point almost every day. It's similar to Bridge Street in Huntsville, but a little bigger. The only drawback was that most of the shops closed at 9. We tend to eat dinner pretty late on vacation, so a couple of nights we were left without many options for entertainment after dinner. We did venture over to Apalachicola on Saturday, where we spent the afternoon exploring and taking pictures. There is a very old cemetery right in downtown, and it was interesting to walk around and take in the history contained there. My favorite part was reading the inscriptions on the markers...kind of morbid, I know, but it's fascinating. Some of them dated back to before the Civil War. You can't find that just anywhere! Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Dinner at The Backporch with my sister and a friend of hers.

View of the beach from our balcony, with a storm coming in.

Spending the afternoon by the pool with Laura.

The week we got back from the beach was the week of the 4th of July, so I had a very short week. Jeremy worked on the 4th, so my mom, my aunt, and my cousin came to Huntsville. We did some bargain-shopping (Big Lots!) and had dinner. That evening, I learned just how much the people in my neighborhood love this holiday. Several people in our neighborhood shot fireworks, and I have to say, it was just as good as any professional show I've seen! I can't imagine the money they spent on fireworks, but I sat in the backyard and enjoyed them for two full hours. Chloe (our Eskimo Spitz) loved it because I was letting her run around the yard and bark her little heart out at them, but Petey Grace (my black-eyed shelter dog) was absolutely terrified of the fireworks. She refused to come outside after they started, and she sat at the backdoor the whole time so she could keep her eyes on us. The one time I coaxed (okay, pushed) her out the door, she jumped up in my lap in the lawn chair. Have I mentioned that she is not a small dog? She's about 30 pounds and very long-legged, so the image of her trying to curl up on my lap in the lawn chair she would barely fit in alone was quite comical. Apparently some of the neighborhood kids had leftovers from the 4th, because all weekend they shot small fireworks periodically. Poor Petey Grace was scared to go outside for days, but I think she's finally gotten over it.

So that's what has been going on in our lives lately. Nothing too exciting, just enjoying the summer as much as we can around our work schedules. We did have a pool party for the youth group on Sunday afternoon, which was a lot of fun, but tiring. The weather had been iffy all morning, but it held off for two hours, just for us! Literally...it was cloudy just before we got there, and it was raining less than thirty minutes after we left. God knew we needed that fellowship, I guess!

Beach Bound!

Jeremy and I are headed out on our first real vacation in awhile. We are going to Panama City Beach to relax for a few days. We are actually leaving this afternoon to drive about halfway, because we are meeting some friends in PCB tomorrow and don't want to be rushed to get there. This is the first time we've been to the beach since our honeymoon (which was actually a cruise), so we are looking forward to some much-needed time away!

Today, a Victory

A Madison County jury rendered a verdict today in a criminal trial that has become close to my heart. Benito Albarran, a Mexican immigrant, was found guilty of capital murder in the 2005 shooting of Daniel Golden, a City of Huntsville police officer.

When people find out my husband is a police officer, the most common question I hear is "Do you worry about him when he's working?" The true answer is no, most of the time I don't. Jeremy loves his job, and he is so good at it. How can I not want him to do something that makes him so happy and gives him such an opportunity to serve our community? Now, of course, that's not to say that I don't occasionally worry when I hear stories of the fights he's been in or the knife he found in someone's pocket...but that's why he doesn't always tell me the worst of the stories (I'm pretty sure he thinks I don't know this, but I'm okay with it). And the fact that I don't worry doesn't mean that I don't pray every single day that God will keep my sweet husband out of harm's way. I always tell Jeremy I'm sure that he was meant to be an officer and I was meant to be an officer's wife. I can't explain why I have such an inner peace about his job, when I know he's literally out looking for trouble every day, in a sense. I wasn't sure how I would take it when he started, but from the beginning I have just felt that it is all a part of God's bigger plan and I have no reason to question that plan. Jeremy always says his main goal is to make sure he comes home at the end of the day, and I know he does everything in his power to make sure that happens. The other reason I am sure I was meant for this lifestyle is that I don't mind being home alone while he works nights. I actually enjoy some of the evenings I get to spend in a quiet house, just as Jeremy values the mornings he gets to sleep in alone....although sometimes I do wonder what it would be like to go to bed with my husband every night! That's the other question I am asked often: "Don't you get scared staying at home by yourself at night?" That question I can answer with a resounding "no"!

Despite my convictions that Jeremy is living the life and serving in the career God has laid out for him, I do experience a wave of fear when I hear of an officer's death. Daniel was killed before Jeremy transferred to this job, but when Eric Freeman was killed a few months ago, the situation hit me a little more personally. I will be following the trial of his killer closely as well. For now, I am elated at this small victory against those who think they can take a life and get away with it just because their own lives have been hard. Benito Albarran took the life of a wonderful officer, husband, and father when he murdered Officer Daniel Golden. I experienced his kindness firsthand when Officer Golden worked a traffic accident I had in December 2004. He was extremely gentle with me when I was upset, and I have never forgotten it. For his deed, Mr. Albarran's life will now be taken from him, one way or another.

My Favorite '80s Star

is back! At lucnch today, I saw an advertisement for a new series on ABC Family starring none other than...Molly Ringwald!! In case the excessive use of exclamation points doesn't give it away, I love me some Molly Ringwald. In middle school, my friend Sarah and I literally wore out our copy of The Breakfast Club. Our other favorite was For Keeps, one of Molly Ringwald's lesser-known films...which I am about to go add to my Netflix because I haven't seen it in about twelve years or so. I wonder if I will still think it's a good movie?

Anyway, our Pretty in Pink princess will be playing a mom in a show called The Secret Life of the American Teenager. I went to the show's website, and it looks like it could have some potential. It was created by Brenda Hampton, who also created 7th Heaven (a show which, according to the ABC Family site, "pretty much defined teen drama in the '90s"...I'm not sure I'd take it that far, but hey, the show lasted for ten years, so I will let that one slide!). Like most made-for-cable shows, The Secret Life of the American Teenager will probably be either fairly entertaining or really bad. I guess we'll have to wait until July 1 to find out, but I'm excited to see Molly back in action!

Speaking of cable shows, I'm kind of sad to admit it, but one I can't help watching is Tyler Perry's House of Payne. Jeremy started watching it last year, and I grudgingly found myself enjoying the new episodes on Wednesday nights. The show tackles some pretty tough topics with a lot of taste...and with a lot of humor, of course, in true Tyler Perry style. I can no longer say I only watch it with Jeremy though, since I found myself flipping it on last Wednesday when I was home alone. Oh well, if I had to add another show to my list at least it's a family show!

Simple Pleasures

This weekend, I am vowing to take time to notice and be thankful for the simple pleasures in my life. I have been reading some of the heart-wrenching stories of others in the blogging world this week, such as the one found here, and I can't help but wonder if I would be as strong if tragedy struck in my life. I have really been struck the past few days by how fortunate I am, and again, I have decided to take notice and be appreciative this weekend. Some of the good things from the past day or so have included:
---An unexpected weeknight dinner with my best friend Kelly, something that doesn't happen nearly often enough.
---Spending my lunch hour today just catching up on the week with my mom.
---A phone call from my sister yesterday afternoon...another rarity!
---The mandarin chicken salad I had from Wendy's yesterday. I have been wanting to try it for awhile, and it was every bit worth the $5.00 I grudgingly handed over at a fast-food restaurant.
---Sitting outside last night, on my freshly-painted patio furniture, watching the dogs play in the yard. I am especially thankful they were not hurt during Sunday's escapade, and that the fence provisions seem to be working to keep the little criminals inside the yard!

This is my first totally free weekend in awhile, and I plan to thoroughly enjoy it. Oh, and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!