Other Dimensions...

I realize as I read through my posts that I must seem very one-dimensional...completely obsessed with my sweet husband and children with n'er a thought of anything else. Well, that's mostly true, but it must be tedious reading for those of you who aren't grandparents or otherwise related to my yummy smallies who "star" in this blog.

To that end, I'm dedicating a post to my other obsessions, beginning with the best movie I've seen in a long, long time. Now, I must add the disclaimer that I haven't seen many movies since the birth of my children, as it costs $20/hour for a babysitter in this crazy town, making for a very expensive movie! But, occasionally we "splurge" for a movie and a super-fancy dinner, i.e. Fuddruckers or Jack In The Box. If you haven't seen it yet, make a point to see "Once." It's one of those "artsy" films we San Franciscans can't get enough of. Rumor has it the film was made in two weeks with no big names and a measly $150K budget. It's a musical in the sense that there's a lot of music (but not in the "Oklahama" or even the "Moulin Rouge" sense). The film follows the life of a vacuum-machine repairman who moonlights as a street musician in Dublin. He meets a girl who is also a musician, and they strike up an unbelievably sweet, genuine friendship. The music is actually GOOD. Incredible, really. The day after we saw the movie, Scott and I purchased the soundtrack as well as two other albums featuring the music of the film's main characters. You can view the trailer (and hear a sampling of the music) here:

http://movies.aol.com/movie/once/28796/video/trailer-no-1/1893387

Buy this!!

Another "obsession" is reading, though, in truth, my reading list is comprised primarily of parenting magazines, toddler discipline books (!), and my weekly subscription to "People" magazine, which keeps me in touch with the "real" world :)

I did manage to read a real-live book a few weeks ago. I picked it up at an airport bookstore and couldn't put it down, much to the sacrifice of several nights' sleep. It's called "The Memory Keeper's Daughter." It is heartbreaking and wonderful all at once. Definitely worth a read!

Ignore the "Search Inside" arrow - I copied this picture from Amazon.com

My next obsession is learning Spanish. I have taken up my study in the past six months in order to communicate with my nanny, who speaks very little English. When she first started working with us, I could count to 10 and knew a handful of random words. I understood NOTHING. After spending a bit of time on http://www.freetranslation.com/, combined with her superior teaching skills and lots of practice, I'm proud to say I'm now rather conversational!

My final obsession (for now) is writing. If there was ever a school subject in which I excelled, it was English. I'm one of those grammar snobs, much to the annoyance of my husband. This blog serves as my oulet for this obsession :)