Right Now

...I'm 20 pounds overweight, but not doing much about it.
...I'm reading "The Story Sisters" by Alice Hoffman.
...I'm loving "Modern Family". My new favorite show on television.
...I'm beating my cuz in Scrabble on Facebook.
...I'm keeping all of Haiti in my prayers.
...I'm dying for the release of "Shutter Island". Can't wait!
...I'm dreading Valentine's Day.
...I'm looking forward to "Valentine's Day", the movie.
...I'm drafting my Life List (will post about this later).
...I'm eagerly awaiting "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains." Go Russell!
...I'm disappointed my Jets lost. :o(
...I'm going into award season overload. Oscars will push me over the edge.
...I'm loving it's the last season of "Lost" and we'll soon have all the answers.
...I'm hating it's the last season of "Lost" and there'll be no more questions.
...I'm hoping my "American Idol" favorite (Tyler Grady) makes it to Top 24.
...I'm happy to be posting again.

Do It Again

"A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we." [G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, Chapter 4]

Shutter Island

This thriller from Dennis Lehane is set in 1954 and centers around two U.S. Marshalls investigating the escape of an inmate/patient at an institution for the criminally insane located on Shutter Island. The book is a page-turner which keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat until its shocking conclusion. I haven't enjoyed a book this much in quite a while. A must read!

Susan Boyle - Wild Horses

The rightful winner of Britain's Got Talent. Susan shines in this song from her debut album, "I Dreamed a Dream", which is available for pre-order on Amazon and has a scheduled release date of November 24, 2009.

Labor Day Weekend...

...was great! This post is a week late, but as the saying goes, better late than never. Now I could post some photos I shot of the beautiful scenery and landscape to try and capture the weekend, but in all honesty it wasn’t the setting or the activities that made it great, it was the people I shared it with. From start to finish the weekend was filled with fun shared with family and friends.

It kicked off with a 3-hour iPod fueled music fest on the drive to Oneonta with my dear cousins Tana and her daughter Maya. The car’s acoustics along with our incredible singing voices left us ready for the next American Idol auditions, or at the bare minimum ready to join in the karaoke scheduled for the next evening’s party.

The main reason for the annual Labor Day get together is to celebrate three family birthdays which fall in a row on 9/1, 9/2 and 9/3. The joint birthday party which we celebrated on Saturday evening, equipped with a DJ and karaoke, was a booming success. Tons of food, drink, music, and laughter.

Over the rest of the weekend, I got to enjoy a spin on a quad, to take a peaceful hike in one of the beautiful fields that comprises part of my cousin's property, and to sit by a crackling campfire under the glow of the moon and stars. After some urging from Tana, I even played volleyball (badly), which I hadn't done since gym class in high school. My serve was decent, it was just everything else that sucked. Lucky for me, not only were my cousins and their friends very understanding, but my team was seemingly filled with pros and their skill more than made up for my lack of it.

Thanks to my cousin Susa I also laughed like I hadn’t laughed in over a year. The kind of laughter that leaves your sides aching, and has the lingering aftereffect of leaving a stupid smile plastered on your face for the rest of the evening.

Lastly, I had the pleasure of spending time with some of Tana and Rodger’s (her hubby) closest friends, Chris and Rachel (and their kids) and Kenny. After getting to know them a little better, I see why they’re such an important part of their life. They were kind and funny, and a blast to be around.

I had a wonderful time which I hope to be blessed to be able to repeat next year.

Inglourious Basterds

I saw this last Tuesday with a bunch of friends from work. When it comes to the violence in this latest movie from director Quentin Tarantino, it's about what you'd expect from any of his movies - abundant and gruesome. The movie is good at times, and ridiculous at others. The best thing going for the movie is the performance of Christopher Waltz as Nazi Col. Hans Landa. An Oscar nomination is guaranteed for Mr. Waltz.