Wordless Wednesday - Baby, it's cold outside!

Moved some inside

I'm hosting Fun Monday for January 11th!

Hey, ya'll - I'm hosting next week and here's the topic:

I want to know your car history.  What was your first car?  Which was your favorite car?  And what are you driving now - and why?

You know the drill - sign up in comments and post your response on your own blog come Monday, January 11th!

Sandy
Janis
Mariposa
The Church Lady
Kim
Jill (L'il Mouse)
Gayle
Cher
Gattina
Faye
CynicalGirl
Joangee

Fun Monday - Looking forward to it!

Mariposa is hosting Fun Monday this week and she's added a small twist to the usual resolution thing:
I know most of you probably have their list of New Year's resolution, I'm not going to ask for those. What I'm interested to know are the things you are looking forward to this year. It could be an event, a date, or anything. You can add photos if you want!

I've been looking for pictures and I've found plenty but not from our area.  Most of the pictures of this event seem to have snow involved, which is NOT something you would find here.

I believe I've mentioned before that I am planning to participate in a marathon in May 2011 with my friend Christin.  Training will start in earnest (as soon as this sore throat and stuffy head and achy ribs goes away).  Along the way, there will be various races around here.  5Ks, 10Ks, Fun Runs and that kind of thing.  But the one race I'm looking forward to is the Jingle Bell Run, held on the night of Winter Festival.

I remember seeing one of those once.  It was dark.  The participants wore Santa hats, bells on their shoe laces, and some of them had lights on their bodies as well.  It was really a cool experience to watch (and hear) those people running by.  It's a 5K, so it's not long, but it sure would be fun!

And by next December, it should just be a walk in the park.

It's Complicated

I love "chick flicks."  There are a couple I've been wanting to see over the holidays, and yesterday my mom and I went to see "It's Complicated" which was heavily panned.

I'm not sure why.  I do have my suspicions.

Meryl Streep was lovely as a middle-aged divorcee still trying to get on with her life after 10 years of being on her own.  She's just sent her last child out into the world and suddenly is facing life alone as she never did quite manage to "get back out there." 

Alex Baldwin plays her ex - a totally unsympathetic character until you see the scenes of just him and his new wife and Pedro.  At which point your judgement of him as a total and complete jerk relaxes and you can see why what happens happens. 

Steve Martin is a shy architect dealing with his own divorce fall-out, who has the unlucky job of being Meryl's first love interest since her divorce and is, unfortunately, competing with the ex-husband.  It's a very understated role for him, but he makes shy architect quite believable.

It did get long in a couple of places, but overall, I'd say it was a good movie, well acted and a common, if difficult, storyline.

So why was this movie so reviled in print?  First off, the Alec Baldwin character is a bit of a blowhard.  Every one's buddy, loud and jocular and a bit of a buffoon.  Over the top, really - but don't all of us actually KNOW someone like that?  Steve Martin almost fades away in comparison with his gentle, quiet character.  I can see why Meryl's character was torn.  I've had relationships with both types of man.  The buffoon is kind of fun but wearying.  The quiet guy is steady and loving, but can get a little boring.  The trick is to find someone who is a little of both - for me a little more on the quiet side.  I got lucky when I found my Darling Man. 

I have a feeling that this movie was reviewed mostly by men, who looked at the "hero" roles in this piece and said that they were totally unbelievable.  And the fact that Meryl Streep is getting up there in years made her seem unbelievable as a coveted love interest between the two men.  Any man looking at the new young wife would say, "now that's what I'm talking about....", but to me she seemed hard and selfish and a little too sure of her value and a little too dismissive of the experience of life and true love. 

I liked this movie a lot.  And I can't wait to see another heavily panned chick flick - "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" with Sam Elliot (LOVE him) and Hugh Grant (LOVE him).  Oh, yeah - and Sarah Jessica Parker (eh...).