A Few Good Movies

I don’t know why it feels like this week has been such a long one. I’ve been looking forward to the weekend so much that I actually went out last night to buy some candy for the movie night that Husband and I are planning to have on Friday.

The Sour Patch Kids are for me, and the Raisinets are for Husband. (Although I’m probably being delusional if I pretend like Husband will get to eat all the Raisinets because I’m sure I will need to taste test a few or half the box.)

We plan to watch the Blind Side. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about this movie that I think we have may have committed some kind of crime by not seeing it yet. I can’t wait to finally see it.

We might also watch A Few Good Men. Husband and I happened to catch part of the movie when it was shown on TV a couple weeks ago, and we’ve become a little infatuated with it. I had almost forgotten what a good movie it is. We rarely buy DVDs, but we actually bought this one recently to watch all the scenes we missed (and to watch a few of the good scenes again). There are so many great quotables from the movie, more than just the obvious, “You can’t handle the truth!” Is it Friday yet?

Planning

I can’t help that I’m a planner by nature. I plan everything in advance from what meals we’ll eat for the week to when we’ll probably need to put our house on the market next year before we move. And if the military would let me plan and pick where we move next, I would gladly take making that decision off its hands. Husband e-mailed me from work about a special duty assignment he was considering. He asked in the e-mail, “What do you think?” I answered, “If you want it, go for it.” And then I spent the next half hour on the internet researching that duty station and the area. I know Husband would have been horrified if he saw me doing that. He’d say, “I haven’t even applied yet! Don’t get your hopes up!” I know that the chances of us knowing with any certainty where we are going is very slim until we actually get our orders. But, it’s still exciting to dream about where we might be. It turns out that Husband decided not to apply for the special duty assignment. If, however, we end up there later in our career, I’ll be prepared. I already know the population of the nearest town and the location of the closest Target.

Gardening Amnesia

It’s about this time of year that I develop gardening amnesia and buy a plant. I seem to forget the many occasions that that I’ve been the Grim Reaper of gardening, and all I can think about is how wonderful a new plant would be.

This year, I bought a little basil plant. I probably couldn’t have bought anything more practical, since I love cooking with basil. (And I refuse to pay the hefty sum they want in the grocery store for a small sprig of it.) I even love the smell of basil.

The way I look at it, even if I get nothing more from the plant than the leaves that are on it, I’ve already gotten more of a harvest from it than from last year’s tomato plant, which yielded exactly one penny-sized tomato.

I’m still no gardening expert, but hopefully the basil plant doesn’t know that. I’m hoping to have some garnish for many Italian dishes this year!

Evening Tea

This week I hosted the monthly social for our unit’s military wife group. Let me just say that a couple years ago I would have never imagined myself as someone who would join a military wife group, let alone play host in my home for 20 women. Another friend volunteered to help me. We decided on a theme of a spring “tea” because we thought it would be fun and different. (And, it doesn’t hurt that I still have an enormous supply of tea, thanks to my grandma.) I usually get a little neurotic when I know people are coming over. (Let’s just say that if I knew with any certainty when the UPS man might stop by, I’d probably clean up for him, too.) But the days leading up to the social, I felt strangely calm. I even bragged to my mom on the phone, saying something about a “turning point in my life” and “finally getting it together as a hostess.” And then exactly 24 hours before the event, I had my freak-out session, as if on cue. I was in charge of making the finger sandwiches, and after spending hours trying out recipes and tasting the results, I decided that I just wasted hours of my life to make a boring old lunch sandwich. Husband came home that night to a very frantic wife. I made him try the sandwiches, but only after this disclaimer: “I’m in an emotionally fragile state right now, and the only feedback I can hear about these sandwiches is that they’re delicious. Otherwise, I might melt into a puddle on the floor, and you’d have to step in as host for the wives.” He tried them, and not surprisingly, remarked, “They’re delicious!” (True or not, I bought it.) Somehow, though, everything came together. That’s due in large part to my very talented friend. She brought bags and bags of cute fabric, tablecloths, and other décor that I didn’t even know existed. I was relieved when she told me that she used to work for a catering company because I was wondering how someone could just know instinctively that “if we raise the centerpiece, it’ll make for a more dramatic presentation.”

Everyone seemed to have a great time. And even after all my initial worrying, I had a lot of fun. I even thought that I wouldn’t mind doing it again – with my talented friend.

Date Night

Husband and I saw the movie Date Night this weekend for our own little date night. (Actually, I guess it was a date “day,” since we saw a matinee.)

I thought it was hilarious! And Husband liked it, too. (His hysterical laughter during the movie gave it away.) Steve Carell and Tina Fey were a great combination. And unlike some movies where the only funny parts are shown in the previews, this was pretty much funny from start to finish.

The movie also gave me the chance to make a dumb joke that night when we went out to dinner with our friends. Our friends told us that the restaurant we originally wanted to go to only accepted reservations.

“I thought we had a reservation. Aren’t we the Triplehorns, party of 4?”

They laughed politely, and we went to a different restaurant. Needless to say, our night had a little less excitement than the couple in the movie.

The Language of Deodorant

So it seems that Husband and I are in the point in our marriage where we can have a whole conversation with a well-placed stick of deodorant.

When I woke up this morning I saw this in the bathroom sink:

It was a coded message from Husband, and I knew instantly what it meant.

Morning, sweetie. I know you asked me last night if I needed anything before you made your weekly grocery shopping trip. But I didn’t realize that I was almost out of deodorant until this morning. I would tell you right now, but I don’t want to wake you up. And I’m running late for work, so I don’t have time to write a note. Sorry! Love you.

I left him a message in the same spot.

Hi, sweetie. I figured you might need more deodorant, and your message in the sink confirmed it this morning. And because I love you (and good hygiene, of course), I bought you a new stick of deodorant. Here it is. Love you.

Who needs text messaging when you have toiletry messaging?

Weddings Galore

I think it was 2006 (or was it 2007?) that I called the Year of the Weddings because we had so many to attend. But, I’m finding that nothing so far compares to 2010. We’re not even halfway through the year yet, and we already have invites to 6 weddings. (Actually, it might be 7; it’s hard to keep them all straight!) I think we’ll probably be able to make only 2 of the weddings – the ones that are within a drivable distance. The others are all several states away, and sadly, we only have so much time off from work. I’ve already started thinking about wedding gift ideas. (Or, should I say, the “sorry-we-couldn’t-make-it” consolation prizes, since that applies to most of the weddings.) For one bride that I know loves Giada De Laurentiis, I ordered her the new cookbook and I’ll put together a cooking-themed gift.

For a friend of mine from the military, I’m going to give her a pretty cross and either a gift card or something else to go with it.

But, now I’m curious about what other people give as wedding gifts…

What is your favorite gift to give for weddings? Or, if you’re married, what was your favorite gift you received? And more importantly, is it bad if you buy a gift (ahem, say, a nice cookbook) that you secretly want yourself?

Happy Easter

Whether you celebrate by going to church or eating Easter-themed candy (or, if you’re like us, by doing both, though not at the same time), I hope you have a wonderful Easter!