Julie & Julia

I utterly adore the film Julie & Julia.  We watched it (again, for me) tonight, and I just can't get over how inspiring, funny, and heart-warming it is for me.  I saw it when it came out in the theatres a few months ago with my good friend Tiffani, and loved it so much I went out and bought the two books it was done from - My Life in France by Julia Child, and Julie & Julia by Julie Powell - that night.  Needless to say, I haven't actually gotten to read either one (darn, why didn't I think to bring them to read on the plane?!), but really do hope I can soon.

I think my first love is just the character of Julia Child...I hope Meryl Streep gets and Oscar for it, because she just did an absolutely amazing job.  I adore her Julia...to the point I want to learn more and more about her...and possibly pick up some of her videos or books...or maybe even learn how to cook!  LOL


The love of food in the film is just tangible...and the love between the couples is so amazing.  I adore the partnership between Julia and Paul (and I just love Stanley Tucci!), and also Julie's relationship with her husband is beautiful as well.

I delight in seeing Julia's sister and then Avis, and her reaction to each meeting.  I cry every time they touch that longing for a child in Meryl's performance.  I rejoice in Julia's triumphs in cooking school (oh, the onions!), and the eventual acceptance of the book.  I long to know her!

But along with my love of Julia's character, is how I relate to Julie's side of the story.  There she is...on the edge of thirty...trying to find something to power through, some project to keep herself going through life - something important to say, "Yes, here I am!  See, I can make my mark too!"  She is lucky enough to have someone by her side through all this - I so far am going it alone.  But when they get to her 30th birthday party and she says something about how terrible she thought it would be, they made it bearable, and not so bad...yep, definitely felt if not said, something almost exactly the same this year...

And Paris...oh PARIS!  It just makes me want to go there...speak French again...EAT...  Everything was a beautiful, gorgeous (albeit rosy) version of a city I've had a vague inkling I'd like to visit someday, turned to a raging 'I need to go NOW!' urge that is very uncharacteristic of this person who travels for people, not places.  I've really never had the huge travelling bug, seeing places just isn't a huge priority for me (seeing people IS), but this film just makes me want to hop the next ocean-crossing flight and somehow catch a Delorean to go back in time to this picturesque town.

Surprisingly, I didn't think to just buy this movie.  I rented it from RedBox, but since it's only $1, then I'll be fine to buy it later.  If I had to pay more than that, I probably would have weighed the difference and bought my own copy, because I know I'll watch this one at least a few more times before I'm tired of it...if ever...

What's the coolest thing you've done in your life?

Sometimes I wonder, "What's the coolest thing you've done in your life, Joy?"  "What can you say, when you look back at your life, is the neatest thing you've worked on?"  Sometimes I just ask myself so I remember I do enjoy my life even through all the crazy hectic-ness.  Sometimes I ask myself because I'm just a nostalgic nerotic mess.  And sometimes I ask myself so I can re-evaluate my past in order to align my steps for the future.

Lately I have to put the film company on the top of the list.  Making Life In Transit with the rest of the VerticalBlu team was an amazing adventure, and one I wonder will happen again.  It's one of those rare moments in your life where you have all the elements combine in just the right way, at just the right time, to produce magic.  Something special happened to where the team of Daniel, Cori, Stronz, TC and I all just fit the puzzle pieces, amassed all this amazing talent, and whipped all those ingredients into a recipie that was bigger than its parts.  Not to say we didn't have our issues - nope, far from it, it was tough going and we weren't immune to breakdowns in communication and just wanting to snap from the pressure of this huge production.  But when I look back at the experience, it's all in a rosy glow.  And I guess that's what you really want to take away from experiences like that...

Other 'life highlights' since I'm thinking of them...

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  Years of marching band...bonding with the group over band camp...travelling to competitions on what seems like every early Saturday after a Friday night football game...the flags and uniforms and instruments and lights and backdrops and drums and music and love and everyone working toward a common goal...
  
  
  
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  Working at Info Services in college - all the crazy times during Student Assistant training each year...pizza parties every month or semester or however often our meetings were...learning so much my brain sometimes hurt and I wanted to cry because I could just barely keep up (ok this was a specific linux meeting Shende hosted so maybe it doesn't count here)...playing Quake in the training room...chair races down the hall in Trexler...the Telephone Doctor
  
  
  
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  Recent Soma trip to Havasu - just had an awesome time relaxing, playing in the water and the sand, being active, but mostly connecting with like-minded believers and friends
  
  
  
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  Disneyland trip in 2007 with Scott, Derek, Tiffani, and Shelley...such a great ride over, fun at our hotel "camping" LOL, the excitement of Disney for the first time, putting together songs to sing, Rick Warren's church that Sunday, the island in the afternoon, and the beautiful wedding in the evening, topped off by singing at the reception...such fun times with friends
  
  
  
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  Vegas with my high-school BFF's last year - Cirque du Soleil's Beatles' LOVE show - not many words for this, just fun, fun, fun, with some of my oldest friends (see above: Marching Band)
  
  
  

I'll add more...but I'm still tired, even though I haven't stopped posting blogs...funny how that is, isn't it?!  LOL

What's up tonight

I always think I want to start blogging again...I used to make up blogs every time I hiked, planning to share my insights (however small) of nature, hiking in relationship to God, and His relationship to us...and then I would never write the blog itself! I guess it was a good mental exercise at least...

I thought maybe I'll start simple. A few paragraphs about my day and we'll go from there. I think I get bogged down by the 'gotta tell the whole story' syndrome - you know that's my nature, in the details, of course - when in reality, I just want to share a piece of my life.

So here we go. Today.

It's Friday. I think it was something like 86 today...last week got into the 90's. I am loving the weather right now - perfect Phoenix loveliness. Reminds me of why I live here, when I leave the doors and windows open 24-hrs a day (helps to be on an upper floor), drive everywhere with all the windows down and the music up, the wind blowing through my hair...ahhhh...sigh of contentment.

The house is a total wreck. I'm packing to move next weekend and there are boxes everywhere - barely have walkways - some packed, some empty - I have this weird packing style where I need to see what all needs to get in the box, so I empty all the drawers and cupboards before I can pack anything away...so yeah, messy is a big of an understatement.

It's hard to be a single person when it comes to things like this. You used to rely on mom and dad's help when moving out to college, etc. And then you relied on your then-guy after that. So when faced with the prospect of moving by myself, I tend to go overboard...freak out a little more than necessary, inviting 50 friends to help move, clearing my calendar for two weeks prior to pack...

It's kind of a catch-22; on one hand, I feel like I have to get big and strong and take care of things, because no one else is taking care of me...and on the other hand I feel like that strength is not what women were designed to handle. Sometimes I just feel so...weary. Of all that life requires of me to live alone and be strong. I want to change out a fan for a light fixture...repair a broken cabinet...paint an alcove...put up a heavy mirror...take out the trash and scrub the Foreman grill. And I can do it - don't get me wrong. I feel more capable than most of the women around me. Yet so vulnerable. If I sit back for too long not moving, I just get this overwhelming feeling that I am not supposed to be doing these types of things. I'm so tired of trying to be strong in a way I'm not intended to be. Probably the same way (I guess) single guys feel when they need to buy and wrap presents for people, bake a birthday cake, or decorate a bedroom (okay and if you're a guy and like doing this stuff, I'm not trying to crack on you at all, just trying to think of a common parallel).

I guess it just points to the different roles we've been created for...

In other, less exhausting news...

Saw my old housemate from college, Alex, for a bit tonight. I haven't seen her for 8 years! Wow...it's been a long time. She looks fabulous, living in New Orleans and working with FEMA.

Got a filling redone yesterday - and I think it made my jaw go out of alignment or something again...when wearing my NTI (tiny bite guard thingy) my teeth can touch in a couple places, and that's a no-no (the point is so that I don't grind my teeth to dust!) so I think I'll have to go back again...bleh...me no likey dentist :-( I realized when he finished on me yesterday, I was so weak I could barely stand. Took me a while, but I figured out it was because I had every single muscle and nerve totally tensed for the entire time I sat in the chair. Sigh...anticipation is simultaneously the best and worst sensation I think...

48-hour film challenge this weekend. Daniel and I are both 'out,' though I'm going to see if I can stop by for a bit tomorrow to help out. I came by the ideas session last night and Cori and Stronz had a good amount of stuff figured out...they're fine without me... Sometimes it feels like they could totally do without me and be fine...they'd just be a lot less organized and some balls may get dropped. But for the most part, they can do what they do without me, and most people wouldn't know by watching the final product. I guess I make the internal workings hopefully go more like an oiled machine and everyone (hopefully) ends up happier in the end (cause they actually got fed, we did it for less money, or someone didn't have to make a last-minute run to produce some photographs - oh wait, that still happens on my watch...hmmm).

Listening my eclectic music mix on iTunes...just had Nelly Furtado and now N Sync, 'Gone', Jewel "Hands"...before that was Taylor Swift, Incubus, and WOW 2009 Christian music...I used to say I'd listen to anything but country - but Taylor Swift ruined my phrase! Now I guess I can say 'anything but hard-core country' right? I love music and wish so much that I actually had some true musical inclinations...I can dance, I can play flute (sorta), but I wanna sing, I'd love to play piano or guitar, something that I can use to share music, the music that I love so much... I adore worship and would be happy to just sing to God with an amazing band up there every night in church!

He is constantly teaching me. This week He is reminding me about forgiveness and grace in an amazing way. I have done nothing to deserve the lavish gifts he gives. He spoke Eph 4:14 to me and in that and the surrounding verses, He spoke directly, point by point, to a small pile of things I had been dealing with. What a wonderful God! He is teaching me (though I still have a hard time learning) how much He loves and cares for me. Teesha commented on the difference between making God first vs. making Him the center of your life (first sometimes becomes second, then third, and starts slipping down the list, whereas the center will always be that core) and I don't want to forget that lesson.

I am tired and just rambling typing so it's time for sleep now. If you read this, it would be cool if you left a comment, even if it's just one point you liked or disliked. Curious, but guessing no one will read and that's okay, I just need to get things outta my head. They've been rattling around too long up there - time to process and maybe that'll clear my confusion on life that's been plaguing me for a while...

Goodnight for now!