March 2 is coming fast y'all.

The Oscars.  You knew that.

2 things I love about this fiasco:

1.  The movies

2.  Ellen Degeneres hosting

In the next 30 days, I plan to see every film nominated for best picture.  Here are the sneaks of all of them.

12 Years a Slave

 

Lots of Golden Globes hype about this one.  Super moving.  A true story which always gets me.  And any time Brad Pitt has long hair in a movie (exhibit A) you know it's going to get real.

American Hustle

 

Can we talk for 5 seconds about how Amy Adams went from this to American Hustle?!  Girl is killing it.  She also stars in one of my top 3 favorite movies of all time of which I will not be made fun of because any movie starring Meryl Streep is immune from heckling.  All this said, this one looks like it may be a bit raunchy for me.

Captain Phillips

Tom Hanks.  True story.  He's still a babe.  Done deal.

Dallas Buyers Club

Mr. McConaughey, you have come a long way from How to Lose a Guy in 10 days (and also reverted a bit back to Dazed and Confused which is fine).  Happy to see you in 2 films nominated for best picture.  Now please go gain some weight.

Gravity

I have a hard time getting into space movies (except for Apollo 13...and then I can't think of any other space movies, so maybe this isn't the case), but am willing to give this one a chance.  Mr. Clooney and Sandra for a little space chemistry maybe?! 

Her

Joaquin, I am so happy to see your rapping career come to an end.  

The trailer breaks my heart.  And again...Amy Adams!

Nebraska

I loved Sideways.  No one else did.  I think I'll like this one but will have to venture out of my normal theater to see it.

Philomena

True story.  The accents.  Her humor.  I'm in.

The Wolf of Wallstreet

Leo has a knack for playing a rich guy conning his way around the FBI.  

There's not a movie he's been in that I haven't loved.

Not one.

Except maybe that island movie.

Some other big ones you don't want to miss:

20 Feet From Stardom

Cutie and the Boxer

August Osage County - Someone tell me how...HOW?!?!?!  Is this not nominated for every award from here to kingdom come.  The cast.  This is an outrage. 

The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life - I ordered my copy of this for $7 to support the film making about 5 years ago...then changed my address so many times, I hope it floated into someone's mailbox who really needed it.  

Blue Jasmine of course- Woody did it again and Cate Blanchett nailed it

Welp...I quit my job.

...and bought a ticket for the Funemployment Express.  My last day is this Saturday to be followed by bubbles and oysters with my favorite friend to celebrate.

Exciting. 

Oh, and also?  Terrifying.

I had such a wild ride with this job.  So many friends.  So many fun times.  So many stores in so many cities!
My job helped me reach goals I never thought I could reach.

Like Astavakrasana

and Salamba Sirsasana

and running my best running times

and getting a strict pull up

and learning to be a better communicator.

Knowing what it means to work toward greatness instead of mediocrity and how to know when it's time to move toward the next goal.

So here we are!  Next goal.

There are a lot of things that I want for my life that my current job can't give me.  Things like weekends with my man- to watch him race, to take weekend trips, to work on our house. 

There's a lot that I want to do, and I know that leaving is right for me.  Right now.  Before it's too late!

I'm moving on to become a life coach here in Austin, and I have another project in the works with some friends.  That's as far as my plan goes as of now, but the more I talk about it, the more things seem to line up.

If you know someone who needs life coaching, have them call me...wink wink...

But really.

The Master List: Home

After 3 months in our new house, the man and I finally sat down and made our master list for renovation/decorating/etc.  It's a dream list and has a 10+ year lifespan, but it will keep us organized and excited and also remind us that we have a crapton to do.

Kitchen

- Tear out and install new cabinets

- Extend cabinet and counter left of sink window

- Purchase book shelf

- New light fixture over the sink

- New light fixture over the table

- Purchase kitchen table and chairs

- Purchase counter stools

- Re-do shelving in pantry

- Refrigerator

- Stove

- Custom blinds

- Remove key holder on wall

- Paint

- New faucet

Laundry Room

- New washer/dryer

- Tear out shelving

- Install cabinets

- Paint

- Flip door hinge

- Repair wall

- Repair door jam

Living Room

- Paint

- Purchase media stand

- Purchase book shelves

- New floor

- Purchase rug

- Purchase coffee table

- New couches

- New sitting chair

- Install higher ceiling fan (more light power)

- Blinds for window seat

- Art for the mantle

- Paint brass lamps

Entryway

- Remove alarm box and patch wall

- Paint

- Blinds

- Purchase new light fixture

- Purchase art for back of fireplace

- Paint entry table

- Purchase bench

Office

- Paint

- Purchase new desk

- Blinds

- Move dresser to garage

Guest Bath

- Paint

- New shower head

- Remove massive mirror

- Purchase new mirror

- New floor

- New counter

- Paint trim/doors

Guest Room

- Purchase night stand

- Paint

- Blinds

- Hang portrait

- Spray paint and hang frames

- Purchase lamp

Master Bedroom

- Paint

- New bedding

- Purchase bed

- New ceiling fan

- Purchase lamps

- Closet renovation

Master Bath

- New cabinets

- New countertops

- New shower tile

Backyard

- Secure stair railing

- Paint stair railing

- Remove cinderblocks

- Dig up old, random plants

- Re-do fence on the street side

- Build raised beds for garden

- Purchase bench

- PVC watering system for garden

- Plant sod in bare places

- Landscape new beds in back of yard

- Purchase outdoor dining table and chairs

Front Yard

- Remove hedges

- Create flower bed on corner

- Put down walk stones to side of house

House exterior

- Northeast roof trim

- Northwest roof trim

- Paint

- Clean windows

- New windows

I see a lot of DIY and youtube videos in our future.

We need to talk...

Sometimes one of my favorite authors posts on facebook and I will stop everything.  EVERYTHING. to read the entire post at least twice.  Today she inspired me so much that I thought you and I should sit down and hash some things out.

We just finished Christmas (mine was great, how was yours?  great!) and are in that awkward leftovers-consuming-yet-feeling-humongous-stage between Christmas and New Years when you'll decide you're not humongous and yes you look like a babe in that dress made out of 100% glitter/sequins/shiny trinkets and yes it's a good idea to consume 2 bottles of champagne and dance until you break and/or lose one of your shoes.

Or that's just me.

The new year is quite possibly my favorite. I love to organize, clean up the Christmas hubbub, and set some big goals for myself that I forget about in 12-17 days.  But the thing about the new year is that sometimes I look back at the year that has passed and I think, "Wow.  Where was I all year?"

And after reading my author-girl-crush's post, I started thinking...what if, this new year, we stop thinking about all of the things we want to change about ourselves and start thinking about the things we want to do with ourselves.

That's awkward.

What I mean is instead of setting yourself up to try and transform a part of you based on the past- like maybe you used to wear a size 2 and now that 2 is accompanied by another number or maybe you used to be a high school track star but you haven't owned a pair of running shoes in 3 years kind of thing- maybe we can all agree to make some changes based on what we want to become. Because nothing good ever comes from trying to go back to the way things were.  We never go back to that size 2 and feel the full satisfaction of looking 16 again.  Because you're 30.  And you have a fupa that the metabolism of Seabiscuit couldn't shed.

Instead of resolutions that will set me up for some sort of failure whether it's lack of commitment or disappointment in the end, I'm writing a list of to-dos for 2014.  30 things (because I will be 30 this year) Things that make my heart race.  It's exciting and I can't wait to share it with you.

I'm entering this short story contest that receives a disgustingly-overwhelming amount of entries.  I have no expectation of winning, but I do have a story to tell.  It's due on December 11th and I have been staring at 3 sentences all morning.  As we speak, I am listening to a guy do a cover of Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You and, simply put, bawling my eyeballs out of their sockets.

My short story is about how my grandmother met my grandfather.  There is not a movie production company big enough to put a story like this together.  It only happens in real life during one of the hardest times in our nation's history.  And this morning, I was lucky...blessed...something enough to be allowed to hear it from her all over again.

And it wrecked my morning.

And I can't seem to get past those 3 sentences without being overwhelmed with the pressure of adding enough emotion and detail to make it as real as it is.  She remembers every bit.  The outfit she wore, how he smelled, the pattern of blonde streaks in his hair.  The hole he left when he died.

And so it became my cliche "Thanksgiving week" blog post for a blog I sort of kind of never write on.

Dear Husband,

I fell in love with you again this weekend.  Weddings do that.  Time alone with you does that.  You do that.

Goggle met her husband at a party.  Just like I met you.
She knew she wanted to marry him right then.  Just like I did.
She never thought twice about it.  Neither did I.


And 27 years later, she talks about him like he's still there sitting next to her with a sly smile while she gushes over him.  But he's not there.

I never want to feel that. 
I am so thankful for every second.  Every smile.  Every laugh.

I will love you for all of my life.