Speaking of time well spent… this was a packed weekend. It’s always good when my mom sends me cookies in the mail and calls to tell me that I must have been upset in my recent blog entry because I ended a sentence in a preposition.

It was also nice that my father sent me a card in the mail and called to tell me that the two picture frames he has designated for my family are STILL EMPTY.

Me: Well, with my new camera I’ll be able to…

Dad: Uh huh. Meanwhile, I’ve got these two empty frames…

Me: Yes, Daddy.

Dad: And no new family pictures…

Me: Yes, Daddy.

This went on for some time. Constantly interrupting each other. Oy.

Movies We Saw and Some We Slept To
Derailed was a yawner for sure, but I managed to prop open my eyes late last night and watched it. Billed as a "thriller/drama" it was a little shy on the "thriller" aspect. Mostly, it turned our stomachs to see how easily they fall into an affair. It was predictable in most regards but had one of the best bad guys I’ve seen in a long time. Finally FINALLY I can say I’ve seen This Is Spinal Tap. No more Nigel Tufnel jokes will go by without me saying, "Who’s he?" and getting looks of disgust.

I’ve seen it. Back off now.

And yes, it was hilarious, but I’ll follow Christopher Guest (it’s nice to see such an updated picture for that link) to the ends of the earth if he asks. His mockumentaries are a tough act to follow. Among other favorites of his: Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and of course, The Princess Bride.

We also spent an evening at the drive-in which is always fun. Ken popped a huge batch of Whirley-pop popcorn (worth every penny - we love it!) and we took the kids to see Ice Age: The Meltdown, a satisfying follow up to the first film. We sometimes felt like we giggled more than the kids.

Puchases We Will Need To Sell Body Parts For

We live on three-quarters of an acre which necessitates a riding lawn mower which we’ve opted not to purchase since the last one broke a few years ago. It’s worth it to make a 3 hour experience turn into a 30 minute job, so Ken has a new toy. And it only took 20 minutes of having it out on the lawn before he even got it started to have bird poop on it.

Good times.

Songs We Boogied To and Had Neighbors Questioning Our Parenting Skills Since The Windows and Doors Were Open

Having music on while I work is a must, be it cleaning or studying, so when Ken caught me dancing in the kitchen to "Jump in the Line" by Harry Belafonte, he knew what kind of day it was going to be. Luckily for me, the whole family joined me in the living room later while the neighbors came over to check out the new lawn mower.

It bears mentioning that the living room windows and curtains were open at the time.

Our new favorite, however, is "No Sleep Tonight" * by The Faders. Let me tell you, Living Room Moshpit is way underrated.

Unfortunately, Morgan has an inability to execute any dance move more advanced that a side-to-side two step, but there’s a punk rocker lurking below the surface with that kid. Through this, I exhibit an uncontrollable twitch which is a dead giveaway of my disappointment in his lack of rhythm, so I’m going to encourage the punk rocker bit. That’s just mostly jumping around, right? Well, then he’s got that down pat.

Mason, on the other hand, quit dancing early on. Let’s face it. He’s 14. He doesn’t want to try any high-risk behaviour like smiling in public.

He’s 14 and good at it.

Also heard at the Mocha Discotheque this weekend are older tunes ("Town Called Malice" by The Jam and "One Line" by PJ Harvey) as well as some new discoveries worth a listen: "Good Woman Down"* by Mary J. Blige "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone and my new personal favorite, "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens.

In my quest to be linkalicious, I didn’t want to give too much away and have readers go there, come back here, go there, etc… so you may visit here to see the photo essay that complements this entry.

Thanks to Elizabeth who featured me this week! I’ve neglected to mention that and I’m so sorry! She was so sweet to do that. Here’s the link to her "guestroom" where I stayed.