A Place to Call Home

Well, if anything could bring me out of my slump, I guess it's buying our first home. Above are pictures of the outside of the place that we intend to buy. Our offer was made last night and accepted this morning. I won't disclose the price because I'm still suffering from sticker shock. I will, however, share that I'm actually excited about this place. For one thing, it's literally down the street from where we live now - we can walk there in two minutes. That means we already know the neighborhood and I don't have to learn a bunch of new streets and find new places to shop. No, it's not a conventional house, but we have to start somewhere. The inside is pretty original, so we'll be replacing flooring and getting walls painted before moving in. We have plenty of space - almost 2000 square feet, which is bigger than any of the houses we'd been looking at. There are three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and plenty of room. This sounds really silly and petty, but I'll be so excited to park in a garage - no more fighting for decent parking. It's not that I'm lazy, but I'm always lugging a bunch of crap back and forth, and it's harder to do from further away. K will be happy because he will continue to have his own room, and the complex has a pool. Directly across the street from us is a small park and playground, which we will definitely be using since we have no yard. Best of all, we can quit pissing our money away on rent, even though we will definitely hurt for the first year or so. Guess this is just the kick I needed to boost my motivation. Whether I'm ready or not, there's plenty to get done in just a month!

Movie Review: 10 Items Or Less

A few weekends ago, H came home with this movie from Blockbuster. It is a small independent film with only one actor you'd recognize - Morgan Freeman. Freeman is one of those actors who can do no wrong in my eyes. His role in this film was no exception. The other actors and actresses were pretty much "unknowns".

In the movie, Freeman plays himself, an aging actor who is considering doing an independent film to stay in the game. He gets a ride to do some research at this small market, where he meets Scarlet, the cashier in the "10 items or less" lane. He needs to get back home after his "research", but the kid who dropped him off is nowhere to be found, and he can't get anyone to pick him up. So, he bums a ride from Scarlet, who has a few things to do before she can drop Freeman back at home. In the course of things, they learn about each other, and Freeman helps Scarlet get ready for a job interview so that she doesn't have to work as a cashier at the store her ex-who-is-screwing-another-checkout girl is manager.

I won't give away much more of the movie than I already have. I do have a few favorite parts, but to describe them would ruin it for others. I will describe one scene that is my absolute favorite. Freeman and Scarlet are sitting on the top of her crappy little Gremlin, eating Arby's, and just killing time before her interview. Freeman and Scarlet share with each other their "10 items or less" - the things you can't do without and the things you could do without in life.

Bottom line: The movie is very sweet and sentimental, but funny too. It's really not like anything else I've seen, and the actors did a great job and played well off of each other. I would give this 9 out of 10 dancing feet.

My "10 Items or Less"

Things I can't live without: family, friends, chocolate, sun, water, laughing, a good nap, hugging, a nice hot bubble bath, and my car.

Things I could definitely do without: inconsiderate drivers, olives, judgement from others, *being bloated and gassy, beestings, spiders, commercials, sensitive skin, pushup bras, and empty ice cube trays.

*bloated and gassy are not my normal modes, but have gone hand-in-hand with the appearance of Jellybean.