The lie my husband told me

Last night Greg and I decided to stay in and have pizza and beer (last one for me before August!) while watching a Western.  It was actually a really good evening, but I have to say that Greg totally lied to me by telling me that the John Wayne movie, The Cowboys, is like a Western version of The Sandlot. 

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Here is the only similarity that I noticed between the 2 films:

Both The Sandlot and The Cowboys could be described as a coming of age story for a group of ragtag young men.

Here's my list of differences:

In The Sandlot, the mission the boys undertake is getting a valuable baseball back from an unwelcoming backyard.

In The Cowboys, the mission for the team of boys is to wrangle cattle over dangerous terrain.

In The Sandlot, the villain is a backyard dog.

In The Cowboys, the villain is a murderous gang of ex-cons lead by the terrifying Bruce Dern who track the boys for days through the wilderness.

In The Sandlot, none of the children die.

In The Cowboys, a child is trampled to death by a stampede (while trying to retrieve his friend's glasses, mind you).

In The Sandlot, the protagonist kid finally embraces his stepdad as somewhat of a father figure by the end of the movie.

In The Cowboys, the father figure is murdered in front of them.  (John Wayne, ya'll!)

In The Sandlot, the boys become men by facing their fear of the backyard dog and bravely don P.F. Flyers in order to run fast, and jump higher.

In The Cowboys, the boys become men by tracking down and killing all the bad guys that murdered John Wayne.  (John Wayne, ya'll!  They killed off The Duke!)

Sooo, my overall conclusion is that these two films are NOTHING alike.  Both were good films, but don't be fooled into thinking that The Cowboys is an inspirational feel-good movie that will have you on the edge of your seat by the end as you cheer for the underdogs. 

ALSO, at the beginning of The Cowboys, while all the characters are still being established, we briefly meet John Wayne's wife.  She literally comes on screen only a handful of times, and in her brief cameos, John Wayne mentions that he worries about her because he's getting to be an old cowboy and if anything should happen to him she'll have to become a fry cook to take care of herself.  Also, just before the cowboys set out, John Wayne asks his wife if she wants anything from the town they're headed to and she says: "A string of blue glass beads and for you to come home safely to me."

Ummm-- THANKS for putting that wife character in the movie, you joker filmmakers!  All I could think about at the end of the film was that his wife is off being a fry cook somewhere now, and she never even got her blue glass beads.  If I could change one thing about that movie, I would have had one of the boys remember to buy a string of blue glass beads to bring back to her when all the boys are in town buying John Wayne's headstone.  WHY was all that wife stuff in the movie at all?  Just to throw me off track and make me think that her requests foreshadowed John's Wayne's safe return?  Well, consider me thrown.  I thought for sure she'd get her beads.  (John. Wayne. Dies... Unbelievable.)

PS-- This Sandlot kid's eye slightly resembles my bruised hip:

Ouch!

I decided to wash our car on Friday when I got out of work.  Since our neighborhood offers (outdoor) street parking-- as opposed to a garage or carport of some sort-- Greg and I don't really trouble ourselves with the cleanliness of our vehicle.  It's going to be dusty when the pollen is floating around in the air, and leaves and branches fall on it all the time.  But our windshield had gotten so coated that I noticed it was becoming difficult to see through once the sun went down. 

Sooo... I took our little green Mazda to our local DIY car wash.  The kind that eats about $5 worth of quarters and gives you 10 minutes to power soak your car with a wand that sprays water, then soap, then water again. 

All went well with the cleaning of the car, but as I was circling the Mazda with the power-wand, I totally rammed into the metal holster thing that the wand rests in while not in use.  I know, I know-- it sounds so stupid and so little, but GEEZ it hurt!  I'm the sort of person who bruises easily and often times looks down to find a bruise and think: "Hmm, I wonder where I got this one...?"  But yowza, this one I knew was not going to be pretty.

I considered taking a picture to prove to you how horrible my mark is, but then I thought, no one really wants to see that.  But let me just say, if this bruise were on my eye instead of hidden under my clothes, I guarantee someone would stop me in the supermarket and ask me if I needed help.

Remember in that movie A League of Their Own when that girl slides into a base and bruises her thigh because their uniforms are short little skirts instead of pants because they're women and that's what the public wanted to see them in...?  THAT'S WHAT MY BRUISE LOOKS LIKE!

Yep.  So that's that.

Thanks for letting me vent about my stupid bruise that looks like a freakin' tattoo it's so big and dark.

And this-- rather than my injury-- is the image I will leave you with  :)

I don't care what anyone says, this was a great movie!

A Sunday Proposal

Yesterday, I got to witness the very beautiful proposal of two incredibly special people.  I admire both Kevin and Kat so much and I'm so happy that they've made the choice to get hitched! 

(I sort of suspected that they'd end up together!)

The gorgeous couple--

Ohhh, my heart is swelling and swelling with love and excitement for these two!

Congratulations Kevin & Kat! 

Something to Celebrate

I saw a really great play last night as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival called The Birthday Boys. 

My college friend Aaron was the writer/director of the piece, and I also knew a few of the actors in the show from school.  In fact, last night was opening night and a whole bunch of Sooners showed up to support their fellow alums in this project-- it was like an OU reunion.

I have to say that I really enjoyed the show.  When it's your friend, you show up whether the project is any good or not because that's what friends do-- but it's always such a pleasant surprise when it truly is good.

I have always had a special place in my heart for Aaron.  For some reason in college I always felt a little protective of him-- maybe he reminds me of my own brother in some ways.  But last night I was so overwhelmingly proud of him.  The play showed a lot of maturity artistically, and I know that it had to have been a lot of work.  It was really inspiring to get to see the fruit of what I know took a lot of motivation to pull off.

Maybe it's because I got to see so many old buddies last night, but today I've been nostalgically thinking of all the people I know who are doing the same in their lives.  Still pursuing their dreams even while balancing the responsibilities of being a grown up.  I feel like I know a lot of you-- and my heart is swelling with pride just thinking about it.  (Picture the Grinch's shriveled up heart when he finally accepted Christmas-- that's what's happening in my chest right now!)

To all of my friends who are out there making it happen-- whatever "making it happen" looks like for you-- well done and I'm proud of you for not smothering your dreams when the going gets tough.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

I go to the newsstand every Thursday morning for work. 

This morning I noticed a trend but didn't take a picture, so when I saw the following image on my friend Steph's facebook page, I snagged it:

Looks like twilight fever is still going strong...

Yikes!

Today

It is taking everything in me not to turn this blog entry into one long rant about today.  (Sigh.) 

But... rants are not very fun to read (ahh yer welcome)-- and even though sometimes rants feel good to write out, doing so usually only fuels the fires of "injustice" that I feel and I want this frustration that I'm feeling to go away.  Stat.  So I'm going to focus on something good that happened today instead.

SO!  In the midst of my stupid afternoon during the height of its stupidness, I decided that I would treat myself on my lunch break.  "This day needs a treat!" is something I actually heard exclaimed from some distant corner in the back of my brain.
 
My first thought was: cookie break!  But then I realized that, even though I haven't officially started my Sweets Fast that kicks off in July, I should probably avoid extra sweets at this point.  Namely: sugar as a reward.

I was trying to think of something close to work, and was just about to settle for reading a magazine in the parking garage when I remembered that my coworker had gotten a pedicure on her lunch break not too long ago.  Perfect!

So that's what I did, I hopped in my car and drove around the corner to the nail place she went to.  I am not a regular mani/pedi client, so I'm always a little bit embarrassed at my nails (not that my fingers and toes have jungle rot or anything, they usually just aren't as "kept" as the women who go in regularly). 

But as I sat there with my feet soaking in a warm tub, stewing over the day I was having, and trying flip through a magazine-- the girl who was washing my feet motioned to my face and said "Very pretty."

Awww crap, you guys.  Let me tell you something: nothing takes you out of a personal pity-party like being complimented by a girl who is LITERALLY. WASHING. YOUR. FEET.

I have been served. 

(And for the record, humble pie doesn't taste like cookies.)

Charlotte's California Pie

I did all kinds of cooking this weekend-- aren't you proud of me?  Being all wifey and domestic? 

Not only did I cook that yummy salmon on Friday when Jake and Joanie came over (which turned out great, by the way), I also tried a recipe that I've been eyeing on Saturday night. 

Charlotte shared her recipe for California Pie on her blog recently and I got really excited when she posted it for two reasons:

• 1. It looked delicious
• 2. It looked like something that I could actually make-- not too difficult!

Here's how mine turned out:

It was REALLY good, especially the pie crust.  I'm a vegetarian though, so instead of using shredded turkey on the bottom, I used a little bit of veggie bacon.  (It was good, but the bacon taste was a little overpowering, so I don't think I'll use that again.  Next time I may try tofu or faux chicken... or maybe another vegetable like shredded squash or something.)  But veggie bacon aside, it was a very delicious recipe-- thanks for sharing, Charlotte!

I don't know why I've decided to go on this huge cooking spree now that it's hot outside and turning on the oven makes it 100 degrees in our apartment... but the meals are definitely encouraging me on my quest to become a better cook.  It's nice eating good fresh food!  (Also, thank God for fans and cross breezes when I open all my windows.)

Lastly, I have made a very important decision and need some accountability.  For the month of July, I've decided to give up sweets and alcohol.  My friend Dianna has sworn off sweets for this month, and she's inspired me to pay more attention to what sorts of food I put in my body.  I have a pretty big sweet tooth, and usually let myself have desserts on occasion (but lately those occasions are more and more frequent so I need to exercise some discipline). 

Same situation with alcohol.  I usually get a beer when I go see Greg perform, but he's had a lot more shows lately, and I don't want to be in the habit of always drinking just because I'm at the bar.  Also, I like to have a glass of wine in the evenings, but I feel like I've been doing that a little too often as well.  I'm going wine tasting with some friends at the end of the month, so that will be the day that I'm able to have alcohol again.

I'm SURE I'll have more to say on these challenges as the month goes on (especially on the 4th of July!), I know it's going to be tough for me.  But I'm excited to exercise this sort of discipline over what I'm putting into my body. 

Sunday morning in Hollywood

"...For greater things have yet to come

And greater things are still to be done
In this city

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here..."
-- Chris Tomlin

(from his song God of This City)

Dinner with J-pod

Tonight Greg and I are finally having our friends Joanie & Jake over for dinner.  It's been a long time coming, but work schedules, play rehearsals and just generally getting settled into our new place after the wedding has gotten in the way of our entertaining for a while.

But tonight is the night!  I'm so looking forward to having these two over-- I honestly don't think we've spent any time together since our trip to Lake Arrowhead together at Thanksgiving.

If I get off work early, I'm going to try to make Baked Salmon Fillets Dijon for dinner:

Looks good, huh?

I used to live with Joanie before we both got married, and even though we don't see one another often, when we do meet up it's like no time has passed at all.  Plus, it's still sort of new and fun to talk about being a newlywed, and I crave those sweet moments when Greg and I get to compare notes with other couples.

I'll let you know how dinner turns out (luckily we live a short walk from a Papa John's if an emergency pizza needs to be ordered...)!

booo hisssss!

I've decided that I don't like my new haircut.  :(

The idea first crossed my mind last night and after actually spending time on my hair this morning (and still only having "okay" hair as the result), I decided that I don't like it.

This is the pits! 

I just got it cut, so that means I have to wait it out while it grows-- knowing that my haircut is awkward.  I'm not one to go back into my salon and demand a free anything, so don't even suggest that.  And besides, it's not like it's a BAD cut... I mean, it's even and stuff-- it's just and awkward length, and it needs to be shorter in the back.  It doesn't work with my hair type or my skull shape.  Let's just leave it at that.

Gross.  GROSS, you guys. 

PS-- I hate you, Rebecca.

You are loved.

Yesterday, I got an email out of the blue from a girl I used to know, but haven't been in touch with lately.  She shared this verse with me:

"the Lord will always lead you, satisfy you in a parched land, and strengthen your bones. you will be like a watered garden and like a spring whose waters never run dry." (isaiah 58:11)

I have not been in touch with this girl for more than a few years, and even when I knew her, she was more of an acquaintance than friend.  (I always thought she was sweet though-- we probably should have hung out!)
 
It was a nice message to get in the middle of my day.  I mean, come on, it always feels good to know that someone was thinking of you-- and pretty nice to get a little reminder of truth in there too.  I wouldn't say that the verse spoke to me in any way, though.  It's not like I opened that email and thought: "YES!!  This is EXACTLY what I needed to hear right now!"
 
A few hours went by, and I got another email, this time from a very dear friend of mine that I am in regular contact with.  And she told me that she needs some help and asked if we could meet to talk soon.  She hinted at what her burden is, and although I don't know details, my heart broke for her and I thought, "No please, God, not her.  Not that."
 
And then that verse popped back up.  I am clinging to it.  Committing it to memory.  And it's giving me relief because I know that even when we talk, I can't fix this precious girl.  But God can still bring glory to her circumstances. 
 
Meanwhile, I can listen, I can emphasize, and the Lord will lead me, and satisfy me when I'm breaking at the thought of how desperately parched this world is.  And He will strengthen my bones, in spite of how dusty my feeble bones are.  And He will make my friend beautiful and rich, like a gorgeous and well cared for garden.  He will give her sweet fruits, and lovely flowers and a pleasant aroma.  He will be our spring, our source of life, our fresh, cool, pure water that will always satisfy and never dry up.
 
You are loved. 

I like lists

I am a goal oriented person and I really enjoy making lists and crossing off tasks as I complete them. 

There is something really agreeable about "being done."   When I clean, I like to tornado clean the whole house and bask in the radiant order of the place when I'm done.  At work, I tackle one pitch at a time and feel such satisfaction when I hit "send" on my email to whatever journalist.  When I cook, I like to set out all the ingredients on the counter and put them away as I add that part of the recipe, leaving a clear counter once I've added everything.  (Am I alone in this?)

The most frustrating thing to me is having to go back and do a task over when I'm ready to cross it off my list.  Back when I first started waiting tables at ol' PF Chang's, I learned to fold napkins wrong (we used to have to fold a stack of 50 napkins as part of our closing duties) and no one corrected me until I had folded the entire stack.  So frustrating!  Not because I had to stay later-- I would have happily folded another 50 if they needed me to-- but to fold that completed stack OVER again was the pits.

I rarely talk about work in this blog (and I like to keep it that way) so I'm going to keep it vague here, but I will say that as much as I do enjoy parts of my job... lately the way I like to work and the way my boss runs our office aren't computing. 

This job is a great one, and I'm thankful for it and for all that it has taught me-- I literally knew nothing about PR before I came to this agency.  I love the people that I work with too.  But I think I've learned all that I'm going to learn from this place, and I'm starting to get itchy feet.  Trouble is, I'm not sure what my next move should be... the idea of a larger PR agency or a corporate PR setting aren't very appealing, and those examples seem to be the most obvious "step up" from here. 

I'd like to use my skills at a boutique establishment that's a lot like my current agency, but that's a bit more creative, with more of a "go-getter" attitude than the team that I currently work with.  I realize as I type this that what I'm looking for may not be in the public relations field at all...

What would your dream job be if you HAD to leave what you were currently doing?  It occurs to me as I type this that I'm toying with the idea of starting over, which is both scary and exciting. 

Tell me, anyone who is reading this, what would your next move be if you had a quarter-life crisis and decided to change up your current routine?

Reason #5,948 why I love Greg

My husband listens to me when I share my heart with him. 

He allows me to get really vulnerable and take all my guards down, and he listens while I share things that are so precious to me that I can't bring myself to share them with anyone else. 

I speak my desires and my fears, and he doesn't judge me for them.  (He doesn't always agree with me, but that's okay, he still listens to my point of view.)

What a man!

The Lampshades and a date night

Last night I went to watch Rigor Tortoise perform at the LA Improv Festival and I also saw a group called The Lampshades that was really funny:

The Lampshades are Kate Flannery and Scot Robinson.

They play a fake lounge act duo and they are hysterical!

I don't know what this Urban Rush show is, but I pulled this performance off of YouTube to share with you and Urban Rush offered the best quality.  Way to go Urban Rush!

Of course, Rigor Tortoise also had a great show-- but I forgot to take a picture of them!

Tonight Greg and I had plans with a friend, but unfortunately she had to cancel earlier today.  Soooooo Greggers and I find ourselves facing an unexpected date night!  We're going to try a new restaurant that we purchased a Groupn for. 

(Does everyone know about Groupon?  I LOVE IT.)

A surprise in a box.

I went home at lunch yesterday and noticed this box on our kitchen table:

Curious, I looked a little closer...

Yikes, is that what I think it is?!

Nestled in a box between the crystal candlesticks that we got for our wedding?!

If you guessed "Freddy Kruger hand," you guessed correct:

With real. knife. "fingers."

Very sharp!

Our friend, Jason was a prop master for a popular TV show that recently aired its series finale.  Enjoying his little hiatus while he's between shows, Jason came over this weekend to hang out and he brought along this new little project he had made in his spare time... 

And he left it! 

He accidentally left this terrifying thing in my kitchen!  I have slept with this in my house the past several nights.

I mean, the guy is good at what he does.

Dear Jason, pleasecomepickupyourpropatyourearliestconvenience,THANKS!

Heart. Officially. Stolen.

My friends Leah & Matt have the cutest kids.  They've got a 5 year old son, a daughter who just turned 3 and they've got a bun in the oven.

Matt & Leah are definitely a couple that I look up to-- just after I got engaged Leah pulled me aside and whispered: "You think you love him now!"  It was just so nice to hear someone who's married encourage me that it gets better and better.  "Happily ever after" isn't the end of a story, but the beginning.

They are a wonderful couple, and they are wonderful parents.  I love the way that they are raising their children and my heart swells with the precious things their kids say all the time. 

Example, posted on Leah's facebook page a few days ago:
Her daughter wanted "to go visit 'Little Pinnochio.'  Translation: Little Tokyo."

Ahhh, be still my heart!!

As promised

Here's my new haircut:

It's sort of hard to tell, but it comes down longer in the front and is a little bit shorter in the back. 

Again, I have a really hard time taking pictures of myself with this iphone, and this is what happened when I tried to take a picture of the back:

Soooo, you're going to have to trust me...

I'm by no means a hair model, but I like this new cut (and Greg likes it too!)  It is shorter, so it looks fuller, but it's still long enough to pull up into a cute little ponytail.

Anyway, these aren't the greatest photos-- but you get the idea!

Haircut. It's time.

I don't know when it happened, but somehow my hair has gotten entirely too long.  I wanted it long-ish for my wedding last year-- but it's like something in me snapped and when my locks started grazing my shoulders I just let them go.

I love long hair styles and sometimes I slip on rose colored glasses and think that I too can grow a thick mane with sleek layers that all at once frame my face/highlight my neck/pool around my shoulders!  It'll be great!  I can try updos and those cute beachy waves! 

...Like this girl I used to know who is now literally a hair model:

I'd love to tell you people that they've styled her hair to look like this,

but in all honesty, Rebecca's hair always looks like this. 

(...Or maybe I just need to suck it up and buy some Wen.  Heh.)

Recently I realized... um... MY hair doesn't look like that.  My hair's actually kind of flat and stringy looking and makes my head look somehow too small?  I need to find a more flattering cut.

I made an appointment with Tiffany, my adorable hairdresser, and I've been looking forward to our meeting all week.  I've decided that I'm taking at least a good 3 inches off and may go even shorter.  As of 5:45pm, Project "Maintain This Mane" will be in full effect.

PS-- I'll post pictures once it's good and chopped!

Just thought I'd share

This video makes me happy:

Get outta town!

This weekend Greg and I BOTH managed to have 2 consecutive days off work-- something that NEVER happens.  So we took full advantage and decided to head to Palm Springs for two days and one night. 

All the resorts were full, but we found a guest house on the VRBO website and we decided to go for it.

These are the windmills on the way. 

Even though it hit 100 degrees in Palm Springs this weekend, there was still snow on the mountain tops.

The bedroom

Living room shots

Kitchen table

Greg made a delicious feast of portobello mushroom "burgers"-- SO GOOD

There was a DISHWASHER (!!!)

There was a pool, which we had all to ourselves.  The water was really cold, but it felt pretty good once we took a hot stroll down the main street.

Below are some random shots that Greg and I took throughout the weekend:

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Weekend as well. 

(And the good news for those of us with desk jobs-- it's already Tuesday!)