Movie Actor Movie

Good morning! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Thanks for starting off your week with a little Movie Actor Movie.

Pulp Fiction

Go.

In Training

A few weeks ago, the instructor in my weightlifting class was leading us in some abdominal work- all kinds of killer crunches and obliques, core strengthening, etc. - all the while urging us to "pull in your abdominals, keep your lower back on the floor, pull your belly button in." And we'd lift and reach, chin to our chests, grunting (maybe that's just me) and counting down.

Then she casually mentions,

"You've got to make sure you are pulling in your abdominals as hard as you can...if you don't, you can actually train those muscles to stick out. If your abdominals are pushing out while you're doing these crunches, they will go out instead of in."

Excuuuuuuuse me? Stick out?????

Shoot.

Me.

Now.

Hey Flinders, No Flinders, Come On We Got to Go Flinders. Believe Us We're Your Friends

I planned a perfect spring evening for the family. Troy was home, the house was clean enough, the homework was done enough, the weather was warm enough, everyone was in a good mood, and by golly I wanted to go out and have some fun.

We waited for Cam to get home from play practice and then we were going to head over to the tennis courts. The boys have been taking some lessons and they really enjoy it, Troy and I both love it, so with the promise of an Arctic Circle cone on the way home, we thought we had the perfect evening planned. Good old-fashioned family time.

And then Cam called from the school.

"I'm staying here to play with my friends, okay?"

"Noooooo, come home. We're going to play tennis! The whole family!"

"But I've been in school all day and then play practice. I want to be with my friends."

Seriously, the last time I checked, his friends are also at school and play practice.

"Come on, Cam, this will be fun...we'll get ice cream afterwards..."

"Please, Mom, please????? I just want to stay here. The weather's finally good enough to play football. I just want to be with my friends!"

I handed the phone to Troy and they had pretty much the same conversation. Before they even finished, I mouthed "Fine...let him stay...we're still going." Troy told him to call us so we'd know when he'd made it home.

We stared at each other. It's happened. No matter how cool I think we are (and we are!!), no matter how many cones we buy or how many perfect, fun-filled evenings of tennis we plan, he will want to be with his friends.

Not us. His friends.

( now this is how I know that Troy is the perfect man for me.)

If there had been an orchestra, the music would have swelled. Troy and I both started singing!

(wait a minute...could this be why Cam doesn't want to hang with us???)

Whatever. The lyrics came out, choppy in places, but we clung to each other and sang the song for every parent with a child who is feeling the pull of friends over family.

(oh, and apologies to Mr. de Axevedo if a lyric is wrong, and a thank you for writing the music score for my life.)

When he was just a little boy
Things were different then...
With eyes of trust he looked to us
To lead the way...

Always bringing us his fears
We could wipe away his tears
But things were different then
For he was just a little boy...

The years have passed
Like summer dew upon the grass
The little boy that held our hands
Grew up so fast...

There was a time he loved us
The way we love him now...
But growing up
Has changed it all...somehow...

Tell me that you remember this!

We laughed it off ('cause music cheers the heart), went and played tennis, had a great time with Aaron, and came back to Cameron, who was now wishing that he'd gone with us instead. We ate our cones in front of him.

Score one (I think) for the family. Fifteen/Love

Aaaaaaaghhhh! This growing up thing is hard! And Cam has great friends - seriously, I couldn't ask for better. They aren't like the those hooligans from Saturday's Warrior, dancing around in leather, growing their hair and planning a trip to California for their "Summer of Fair Weather" ('cause I know a place, where we can get it together....). Now that was a rough crowd!

Nope, his friends are good. I shouldn't have a problem with this at all. It's just hard to let go of my little boy. I have a friend who will be sending her son off to college by the first of next year, and I get a knot in my stomach just listening to her talk about it.

I wish I could hold onto my boys forever.

But since I can't (and I'm sure eventually I wouldn't want to) I'm just grateful to have a husband who remembers the words and will sing with me.

How Stimulating...

So...anyone have their Economic Stimulus Payment yet? Have you mentally spent it, getting ready to do your part to stimulate the economy, or are you holding on tight and putting it in a savings account?

I want to do a little of both.

I like the peace of mind that comes with having a cushion-y little savings account. My income dries up at the end of the school year and it would be nice to have some money saved to carry us through the summer vacations, birthdays, and hello - our 20th anniversary in September.

Or we might just have to use it to buy gas.

Or rice.

****Speaking of rice...when I heard that it was being rationed (!) at Sam's Club, I worried and stressed for a short while. I wanted to search all over the valley and get a big supply. Rice, RICE!!! We must have rice!! But then I realized that we have enough - we don't even eat a lot of rice. Whew. I don't have to spend my Economic Stimulus Check on rice. Crisis averted. ****

Oh, there are so many things to do with this good-sized chunk of change. We could throw it all into the yard, landscaping and such. The boys need new bikes. Ramping up my food storage would bring some peace of mind. Summertime and Bear Lake vacations are coming up. That pesky credit card. The balance with my podiatrist. A new dishwasher. Laser hair removal for my underarms. New mattresses for everyone. Hiring the Dog Whisperer.

What to do, what to do?

The sensible me says to put it away and pad that savings account. Gas and food might be getting even pricier, and who knows when the next major car repair will be needed.

A savings account is good.

Spending is...um...more fun.

I remain undecided.

What are your plans for your Economic Stimulus Payment?

Movie Actor Movie

Oh my. Back to back games of Movie Actor Movie because I've been, well, busy. Spring is here, tennis is calling, the yard is nagging at me, the bike is beckoning, and the writer's strike is over. What can I say...I've been neglecting the blog.

But all of that aside, I'm still up for a game today, so I'll start things off with:

Apollo 13

Go.