Tops...

Since watching Jodhaa Akbar for the second time in a week in a half, I thought it was time that I figure out what my top movies are and since I think in terms of genre, here we go (in no particular order):

Foreign Films

Kids/Family Films

"Classics"

15 Reasons Today was Grrrreat!

I really needed today. Today was great! Let me tell you why:

1. After struggling to fall asleep in my way-too-hot apartment last night, I woke up from a great dream.
2. I was able to excuse myself for crying as I watched this video on Joseph Smith, by saying that I was crying because it's so sad about Joseph and Emma, when really I was crying because I miss Cody--but I had an excuse which made it feel better about crying.
3. I got to sit by my sister and watch my nephew watch other people during Sacrament Meeting.
4. I was able to hear a family friend, Sam Bateman, give his last talk before his mission; it was on faith.
5. I was able to play with my nephew at the Bateman's home.
6. I ate nachos for lunch (at the Bateman's home).
7. I took a little nap before church.
8. I got to play with my friend's 7 month old baby during the last 20 minutes of my ward's Sacrament Meeting.
9. I was able to reflect on service during Relief Society.
10. My dad was making fun of my mom on the phone and TOTALLY sounded just like her, which was hilarious!
11. I got to do a "Google Hangout" with Cody and look at his totally handsome, cute face and have him make me laugh.
12. I found out that some of our friends living in DC are willing to let us carpool with them to the Washington DC temple when we're there this summer.
13. I was able to visit teach with and for two of my best friends in this ward for the last time this summer.
14. I found out that one of those best friends will be going through the temple in June (probably) to receive her endowment and be sealed for time and all eternity to her husband and two little girls.
15. I am so so so happy about that news.  Visiting teaching changes us and affects us and those we visit more than we know.  Not only have I made an amazing friend, she has affected my life as I've seen her testimony growing, but I have been able to affect her life.

The day Cody and I talked about getting married.

Same day. Great day!

On the day Cody and I were sealed for time and all eternity--married forever--in the Michigan Detroit Temple

Me, my sister, and Mom on the day of my Great-Grandma Caryol's funeral

I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I love how it changes us into better people. I love how all we have to bring is our belief and our desire and He will work with us and lead us on to be the people He needs us to be.  I love the temples of God and how, even though I'm only a child in my understanding, I am able to understand God's love, the Atonement, the Plan of Salvation, or myself better after attending the temple for any of the ordinances.  I am eternally grateful to be sealed to my husband for time and for all eternity, to know he is mine and I am his forever, and that my mom, my dad, my sister and her family, and my wonderful younger brothers, and all of Cody's family are my family forever.  There is no greater peace.

I vote for no more Tuesdays & Facebook notifications let me down

It seems like Tuesdays have been the hardest days when Cody's been gone. So I vote to get rid of next week's Tuesday, skip straight from Monday to Wednesday, and then reinstate Tuesdays the next week. How does that sound everyone?

In other news: Why did I not find out about the tornados in Oklahoma until I was checking the weather this morning? How come NO ONE on Facebook--despite everyone's over-gushing sympathy and comments on EVERYTHING--mentioned anything?  I was a little shocked. My prayers are with those who have been, are, or will be affected by the tornadoes.  Tornadoes freak me out because of The Wizard of Oz.  Granted, almost every kind of serious natural weather disaster freaks me out, which is why I will never live in California ("regular" earthquakes) or Florida (hurricanes).

Why Foreign Films are Awesome

Lately...for the past five years...I've been on this kick with foreign films.  Don't get me wrong--I love good-ol' contemporary American movies (about superheroes and Disney characters).  However, the past few days I've only watched foreign or classic films and I feel like my "movie-watching experience" has been improved because of it.  My horizons are widened, I'm subjected to more delicate film subtleties (in some cases), and I feel like I'm actually learning something, not just merely being entertained.

Thursday evening I watched Children of Heaven. From imdb: When Ali loses his sister's shoes, the two decide to share his to avoid getting in trouble.

Isn't this the cutest boy in the world?

From this movie I learned the joys and scariness of being a kid again.  I was exposed to the 1997 life in Iran--homes, clothing, schools.  I saw the care that a boy had for his little sister. It was an adorable movie that ends somewhat unsatisfactory because you know there will most likely be closure but the director leaves it up to the viewer. (Note: In Persian, originating from Iran)

Friday night I watched Anna Karenina. From imdb: Stefan and Dolly Oblonsky have had a little spat and Stefan has asked his sister, Anna Karenina, to come down to Moscow to help mend the rift.  Anna's companion on the train from St. Petersburg is Countess Vronsky who is met at the Moscow station by her son. Col. Vronsky looks very dashing in his uniform and it's love at first sight when he looks at Anna and their eyes meet.  Back in St. Petersburg they keep running into each other at parties.  Since she has a husband and a small son, they must be very discreet if they are going to see each other alone.

Rather different than the Kiera Knightly portrayal

Even though I knew what this movie would be like since I read the book in high school, it had been seven years since I read it. I was surprised by some of the turns of events, though the basic premise of a woman deciding she was unhappy in her marriage, abandoning her husband and son to go off with a lover, was known to me.  My biggest problem with this movie (and probably the newer version though I haven't seen it) is that it only focuses on the Anna Karenina part of Tolstoy's novel. I know that's who the book/movie is named after, but Tolstoy is a genius and put a foil in his novel--Kitty and her husband.  There is probably a total of two minutes in this movie that shows how Kitty's life is in complete contrast to Anna's all because of the choices she made.  I do like Vivien Leigh and she did a good job being a sassy, unsatisfied wife and paranoid lover.  I did learn that again, I don't think I would want to live in Russia in the winter. It looks stinkin' cold! (Note: In English, originating from the UK)

Saturday I watched Le Ballon Rouge (The Red Balloon) and Jodhaa Akbar.

From imdb: A red balloon with a life of its own follows a little boy around the streets of Paris.

This boy is delightful! And so is his balloon.

The only word for this 34 minute film is delightful!  The red balloon in the midst of the grays of the area of Paris the boy goes through is beautiful and the boy's relationship with the balloon is so cute. The end also makes me think that that is where the makers of Up! got their idea of traveling by balloon. (Note: What talking there is is in French and it originates from France)


From imdb: A sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa.

Emperor Jalal Mohammad and Jodhaa fighting to resolve a dispute 

In this four hour long movie, you are taken through the history of the Mughal (Muslim) take over of Hindustan (India).  There is somewhat gory fighting at the beginning, but the majority involves the political tension that erupts when Emperor Jalal Mohammad married the Rajput princess, Jodhaa.  The Emperor is Muslim and Jodhaa is a Hindu.  Despite his fervor as a Muslim--in fact, only agreeing to marry Jodhaa because he receives an answer from Allah after praying about what to do (should he marry the "infidel" or not?) and feels that Allah wants him to for the benefit of uniting his country--he believes in religious tolerance and acceptance of other religions.  He also went against the stereotype of being a brutal, bloodthirsty ruler; instead he was compassionate, merciful, and forgiving. He made mistakes, but Jodhaa helped him through her blunt simplicity by telling him what he should do to amend his mistakes.

This isn't a typical Bollywood movie. There is a great deal less singing and dancing than in other Bollywood movies I have seen. The singing and dancing that does take place is in ceremonies that would normally take place in the 16th century life.  Also, no swearing or nudity of any kind.  I loved this movie. I wouldn't be surprised if I watch it again soon. (Note: Language is Hindi; originates from India)

Some new likes

In the past few days I've learned about some new likes that I have:


-Pita Pit
-cobbler (I knew I liked this before, but I really love the recipe I have because it makes a nice crispy, buttery, sugary crust and it is delicious!)
-the movie, Sarah's Key, which is actually pretty sad (it's about the Holocaust and other things) but it is really, really good

In other news: I'd really like to get a nice night of sleep. Since Saturday night I've had troubles falling asleep and staying asleep. It's pretty annoying and makes it even harder to get up in the morning. Last night I did put some lavender on my pillow and I think that helped me to relax and fall asleep and then when I woke up at 2 in the morning, I think it helped me fall back asleep easier.

My Mother's Day

The day started by me going to sleep last night at 12:10 since I tried going to sleep at ten, like I normally do, but I couldn't sleep so I got up at 10:30 and read till 12:10. I woke up at 8:10 this morning and wished I'd been able to sleep more but I couldn't.

I made myself an omelet (turkey bacon, onion, mushroom, red pepper, swiss cheese) since I knew that if Cody had been home, he would have made me breakfast.  I also made myself a strawberry-peach-rhubarb cobbler. I've already had two pieces and it is delicious!

Like every Sunday, I got to talk with my Mom (and sister and brothers, and sometimes, my Dad when he isn't in a meeting).  She's had a pretty awful week but I hope it gets better.  I love talking with my Mom. She's definitely one of my best friends.

At church today, I got to speak for a few minutes about any topic of my choice regarding women/motherhood. I decided to speak about what our purpose is on this Earth and how we've been given the abilities to achieve our purpose.  So what is our purpose? We learn in 2 Nephi 2:25 that "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy."  I listened to President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk from October 2008, "Happiness, Your Heritage," and Sister Mary Ellen Smoot's talk from April 2000, "We are Creators."  I focused on how our purpose is to have joy and eternal happiness. One of the ways that we we find joy is by creating things.  Now, it isn't just creating a piece of art, or writing, or singing. Creation means, "bringing into existence something that did not create before," which could include children, order and organization, memories, laughter, comfort, peace, etc. In Sister Smoot's talk she quotes President David O. McKay as saying, "Sculptors of life are we, with our uncarved souls before us.  Everyone of us is carving a soul."  With our Savior's help, we are creating beautiful souls that are pure and chaste and God-like every day as we make choices that are in harmony with the principles of the Gospel.  Three questions to think about: What will I create of my life? My time? My future?

Now my day is going to end with talking with Cody and hopefully going to bed easily at 9:30.

I'm the most exciting person I know

How do I spend my Friday night?

1. Working on research
2. Running errands
3. Hurrying to make a quesadilla so I can talk to Cody on the phone
4. Deciding whether I should go to bed at 7:45 because I'm so tired or try to get the house all cleaned by 8:30
5. Decided on cleaning. Cleaning was all done by 8:45 (it included going through the papers on the bookshelf in our bedroom that get piled up in my "church" square).
6. Going to work on planning the next two weeks of school and organizing materials for my annual memory book with pictures and students' work.

Like I said, I'm the most exciting person I know.

I really can't wait till I'm with Cody. Then at least, even if I'm doing the exact same thing, I'll be doing it with him there to help me, talk to me, and sing songs with me.  Maybe we'd even dance in the middle of vacuuming.  It hasn't been 10 days yet, so I know I can definitely make it through two more days.

Sheri Dew video

I wanted to post this video because my friend shared it on Facebook and I loved it. I have more thoughts about this topic but they are somewhat sacred to me and I don't want to share them in an argumentative forum or for mere curiosity.  I know that women, who live faithful to the covenants they have made at baptism and in the temple, will receive all that the Father has, which includes a celestial, eternal marriage; the ability to bear children; the ability to create everything that needs creating, and the capability to undertand everything.

If you don't know who Sheri Dew is here's her bio from Wikipedia.

I love modern technology!

I love modern technology that lets me talk to my husband in DC on FaceTime so I can see his handsome face and make silly faces at him.

I love modern technology that lets me talk to my mom, dad, sister, and brothers even though we all live in three different locations.

I love modern technology that lets me listen to Elder William R. Walker give an address to the young adults of the Church on how to be more like our Savior and like our prophet, Thomas S. Monson.  May we all remember that our spouse is most important after God.

No idea what to title this...

I did stick to my goal of running four miles this morning. I tried to not push myself too hard since I haven't run more than 2-3 miles in seven months, but I did better than I thought. 48 minutes for four miles.  I cleaned, did a bunch of stuff for school, had a picnic in the park, finished Fire Arrow, watched The Little Traitor (delightful movie--funny, sad, cute; loved it!), made pierogies for dinner, and talked with Cody. Overall, a pretty good day, though my grandma's email made me a sad.  Not looking forward to the looooong Sunday tomorrow, but church will be good, and the CES fireside, and doing Facetime with Cody.

The First Two Days

Yesterday morning I dropped Cody off at the airport for his flight to DC since his internship there starts next week.  Then after napping for fifty minutes, I went to school.  After some of the craziness that has existed earlier this week, yesterday was a very nice break.  My students painted, tutored kindergarteners, worked on revising their multigenre autobiographies, and participated in a fifth grade wax museum.  I began working on research again. Exercise also entered my life again.  After taking a break off to do the elimination diet, I decided I should start exercising again, especially since my back has begun feeling a lot better since going to the chiropractor (I still get headaches though).  I subjected myself to an intense ten minutes of an arm workout and five minutes of an ab workout.  Ugh! It was so hard! I work up sore this morning.

Today was a good day at school. I bought some things for school next year--still no name tags, after ten minutes of internal debate at the Utah-Idaho Supply store--and did a speed workout for about 25 minutes.  I got to talk with Cody and that was wonderful.  I love that we keep up some of our traditions on the phone. It makes it seem not as bad to have him on the other side of the country.

I just finished a really good book and started it's sequel.  The book I just finished is called, Hero's Song by Edith Pattou. The sequel that I began tonight is called Fire Arrow.  Apparently they're based in some Irish myths and legends.  I love that they're different than other fantasy books I've read.  However, when I discovered that they're of Irish origin it made me think that I have a thing for Irish legends and myths because this same time last year I got sucked into a series of books that were based off of Irish myths and history.  I guess that just means I need to visit Ireland one day.

Tomorrow my goal is to go for a four mile run (avoiding the traffic and busy-ness of the Utah City Marathon), clean, and work on some things for school next year. Oh yeah, I'm also planning on watching Little Traitor so that Cody and I can talk about it together, because he's going to watch it this weekend too.