Week In Review - Ten Things Of Thankful (44)

Today was a busy day, the last day to get things done before our vacation. I'Ve picked up the girls' rooms while hubby was out on kitty-sitting duty, we've had another meeting with a contractor for finishing up the interior of the house, and in the afternoon the girls and I went downtown for some last-minute gift shopping. Upon returning home I found poor hubby spiking a fever just in time for the pre-trip stress to really pick up, so I threw together some dinner and an Easter bread before bathing the girls and finishing up the Easter baskets for everyone. And now, with my translation for the night done, I am done as well.

But even though my brain is more than fried, I should still come up with at least 10 things to be thankful for, since it was a really eventful week.

1. Being on leave until May now. I so need the break!

2. A good book to read while sitting on the bus for an extra hour in downtown Erlangen, waiting for the street to clear after the fender bender right in front of us. George R.R. Martin can also write really good science fiction!

3. Contending for Mother of the Year when I Richard pointed out to me that the girls were just watching their first Quentin Tarantino movie. And losing all chances to that title again since the Quentin Tarantino movie they are watching is The Muppets and the Wizard of Oz.

4. Having my husband. I can never be thankful enough for him. Even though he feels like crap and is spiking a fever he picks up the second part of bathing duty with the girls because Baby Boy demanded me to sit down and rest for a bit. He's simply the best.

5. Asparagus.

6. Violet being her absolutely even sweeter than usual self and giving Daddy extra-hugs because he feels bad.

7. Finding a really knowledgeable painter to finish the interior of our house by mid-May. Got everything arranged within a matter of days. It was stressful and anxiety-inducing, but we are both very comfortable with our decision now.

8. Having a building site manager who doesn't mind getting panicked phone calls on a Saturday morning from me. And not only does he not mind, he also calls me back and puts my mind on ease.

9. Spending a fun day downtown with the girls. We shared ice cream and the girls got to run around a play during perfect spring weather with surprisingly tons of sunshine after yesterday's all-day rain showers.

10. Being able to look forward to a mostly stress-free day tomorrow. And how much I'm looking forward to it!

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend and a happy springtime celebration!

Being Late For The Movies - Captain Corelli's Mandoline

Since I'm not reviewing books this year, I thought up this little new column. As some may now, 2, soon to be 3 kids leave little time for movie dates, especially taking into consideration a very picky husband. So it sometimes takes a couple of years to watch a movie that most others have seen back when it was at the theater. So, here is my much belated opinion to blockbusters or smaller gems in "Being Late for the Movies". 

Starting out with this movie I came across at my work's library the other day:

Title: Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Year: 2001 (pathetic, isn't it?)
Director: John Madden
Starring: Penelope Cruz, John Hurt, Christian Bale, Nicolas Cage
based on a book by Louis de Bernières

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Synopsis:
During the time of the Second World War, young men are leaving the little Greek island of Cellaphonia to fight the Italian army on the mainland. Mandras, the finace of the Island's doctor's daughter Pelagia leaves, promising to marry her upon his return. After an initial victory, the Greek army is defeated by the Italians and Germans, and Madras is missing.  Soon, the first units of the Italian military arrive on the island, among them the artist unit of Captain Antonio Corelli, who is soon quartered in the doctor's house. While being hostile and sceptic towards the foreign military in the befinning, Pelagia soon starts to develop feelings for the foreign officer. As Madras returns, Pelagia helps him to flee again from being captured by the Italians. Soon, the Greek citizens get used to the presence of the Italians, and a certain normalcy returns until more and more German troops arrive. Meanwhile, the Greek militia forms to free the island, while more and more German troops arrive. When Italy surrenders to the allies, the Germans insist on disarming the Italian soldiers before sending them home. Instead, all of them are executed by their former ally; only Corelli survives by chance, being saved by Madras and brought to the doctor's house. Pelagia and the doctor save his life and restore him to health; however, once recovered, he has to flee the island to not fall into the hands of the Greek militia. During Corelli's recovery, Madras learns that he has lost Pelagia. As the war ends, she decides to train to be a doctor himself, not having heard a word from Corelli since helping him escape. Years later, after an earthquake has destroyed much of the town, Corelli finally returns to his love.

My opinion:
 I loved the movie, even though both male leads, Bale and Cage, do not fill the shoes of their roles in the beginning. To me, they simply do not incorporate the overflowing energy of young Greek or Italian men. Only later, when the characters mature through the horrors they encounter, they become credible. Definitely recommendable just for the scene when the town's mayor blows off the Italian invaders with a curt little note of "F*ck you"  (believe me, it looks so much nicer in Greek letters!!)

My Day Off

Do you know, it somehow felt different, waking up yesterday, knowing that the computer would stay off that day, a commitment I made to myself and my family. It was a fun day, a busy day, something I'm looking forward to every Sunday from now.

So what did we do yesterday?

We had our family pictures taken (to come soon!)

The girls and I went to the bunny show in town, where I was maimed by a panicky bunny.

We baked (and ate) banana bread.

We cuddled and watched TV.

I tried a new recipe (probably won't do it again..)

And after the girl had gone to bed, hubby and I had a movie date.

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And last but not least: I got to bed at a reasonable time.

I hope you all had a great start into this new week!

Survivor Girl

Have you watched Zombieland? I would put my money on it being a classic like "From Dusk till Dawn" one day! We went out to a double-date with our nerdy friends, why our friend's son watched Lily; I think it was the last adults-only date before little Violet arrived.

If you watched the movie, you'll know about Columbus' 32 rules to survive. Remember number 2:

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 Well, Lily seems to be a natural survivor of any zombie apocalypse, as she knows rule number 2 and is not scared to apply it.

When I came home from work on Thursday, Lily and Violet were playing with Celine from downstairs. Violet was wielding a foam sword, running at me and attacking in best sword-fighter manier. I played along and collapsed in the driveway. Lily, checking out the situation, took the sword and "stabbed" me right in the stomach, just to make sure. She sure knows: Always Doube Tap  ;-)

Who do you think will for sure survive a zombie apocalypse?

Week in Review - Ten Things of Thankful (5)

I have to say, this week just flew by. We were so busy, unexpectant things have happened, and it finally seems that we might have a house there pretty soon! More details on that later. Here are my top ten of things I am incredible thankful for:

1. Having 30 days of paid leave per year. I love having so much time off for spending time with the family and decompress.

2. Getting to sleep in - sometimes.

3. Running partners. So much better running with someone than by myself.

4. The genius who invented caprese salad.

5. The Bridget Jones movies.

6. Sunshine and parks.

7. German beer gardens and play grounds.

8. Awesome customer service.

9. Silliness in all its facettes.

10. Birthday parties in wildlife parks.



As always, thank you so much for hosting this link-up, Lizzi! Can't wait to read all the other posts!

Movie Night

It's Friday! I've been trying to take care of the hubbie the last few days, who has had oral surgery on Wednesday; of course, he didn't want me to take care of him, so at least I tried to give him space. He's had two bad nights without sleep (only Ibuprofen 400, no good American drugs for the poor guy), but got out his tubes today, and a good dinner in his belly, so I hope for a better night tonight.

Lily is still asking where Daddy's teeth were, since he should put them under his pillow so the tooth fairy could bring him some presents for being a good boy.

And since it's already Friday, I'm linking up with Janine for Finish the Sentence Friday. Today's cue:

Your favorite movie of all time is...

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nuff said  :-)

Perceiving Me, Perceiving You

The entire Powell family is down with a cold right now, which resulted in a lazy afternoon at home rather than the planned moving sale. Since I had nothing better to do (and needed some time to relax) I turned to Netflix and found "World's Greatest Dad" starring Robin Williams. It is a movie aboutLance, a teacher at a private school (and unsuccessful writer), who writes a suicide note in order to make his teenage son Kyle's death as a result of a "freak accident" (let your imagination take off, or just watch the movie!) look as if he had hanged himself. The suicide note is a hit, inspiring students at the school to look into themselves and change their lives. Seeing the impact of his note, Lance writes a journal he accredits to Kyle, which becomes a huge success at the school. Lance's poetry class is overbooked with students, and Kyle, who - to say the least - was a total jerk, becomes a hero with a large fellowship posthumously, based on the persona delivered by the journal and suicide note his father wrote.

In the progress, it seemed to me that Lance has described the person he wanted Kyle to be, while the students were able to identify themselves with different aspects of the persona Lance created. When Lance admits to the scam in the end, the disappointment can be clearly seen in the students' and faculty members' faces. Their little world of a perfect, troubled young hero a la Werther (see "The Sorrows of Young Werther"/"Die Leiden den jungen Werther" by J.W. von Goethe) was shattered, and the grim reality of their own lives set in again.

Analyzing the the movie's premise, one can see that it is nothing but an exaggerated depiction of daily life. Oftentimes we are perceiving people the way we want them to be rather than the way they really are. We love them for what we see in them whether it is truly there or we just imagine it because we want it to be there so badly. On the other hand, many people are going through life taking on disguises only to please people. I wonder how much effort is wasted in creating these perceptions on whatever end, and how this energy could be used to more effective ends? What would happen if people simply sat down, looked in a mirror and asked themselves: "Who am I?" Would it make them happier? What if people didn't go through life trying to change people to fit in their narrow-minded world view but accept them for who they are? Would it make the world a better and happier place to live? Would it help our society to be more productive and less depressed? Questions over questions... Unfortunately, we might never have a real answer for it, because it seems like an unachievable utopia.