Category: my life

Well, I did it – I finally switched to an iPhone! I have been using a BlackBerry Pearl for the last several years AND an iPod Touch, and it just made sense to me to combine the functionality of the two. I love gadgets in general, and this one does not disappoint with all of its handy little features. The camera alone is an improvement over my old Pearl, and I’ll definitely be using it more frequently.

I normally wouldn’t announce this on my blog as it’s hardly news (and I’m also a teeny bit paranoid about putting certain information “out there” – you know, because that one criminal is reading MY blog and taking notes about my purchases and my daily schedule so they can mug me), this purchase unexpectedly completes item #4 on my 101 in 1001 list: Buy a new address book and update it. So I’m mentioning it here and taking a photo for 101 in 1001 documentation purposes. I have put all of my contact information in Outlook on my computer, which synchronizes with my iPhone, so while it’s not an address book per se, it’s certainly functioning as one among other things. Yay for a multi-tasking gadget!

(image taken with the iPhone, of course)

I went to the grocery store yesterday just to pick up a few things. Upon entering the store, I was greeted immediately by a hugely tempting Easter candy display. What is it specifically about Easter candy that is so irresistible? I personally have a weakness for Reese’s peanut butter eggs and chocolate bunnies (who doesn’t love biting the ears off?), and for a brief moment I thought about treating myself. But then I also noticed tons of cheerful-colored fresh flowers just on the other side of the candy display, and decided that tulips would make a much nicer treat. What do you do to treat yourself? And when was the last time you did? If it’s been a while, why not treat yourself this weekend?

This is the third year in a row that Chris and I have pledged to watch all of the Oscar Best Picture nominees before the awards show so that we can make an informed decision on which movie should actually win. You know, in case the academy asks for our humble opinions. In most cases, the nominations are movies that we wouldn’t necessarily choose to watch, so this tradition is sort of a way to stretch our cinematic palette, if you will. The tradition of “movie day” was born when we found a movie theatre that was screening all five of the Best Picture nominees in one day and we decided to buy an advance pass. When we arrived that day, it was totally packed and all of the good seats were taken so we just decided to wait and watch the movies when they were out on DVD. And we’ve done that three years in a row now. The academy expanded the Best Picture category to ten movies instead of five this year, which means we definitely have our work cut out for us. So a few weeks ago, we set aside an entire Saturday to watch several of the films: The Hurt Locker, District 9, Inglorious Basterds, and A Serious Man. We gathered up some of our favorite movie candies and popcorn, and we spent the day screening the noms from the comfort of our living room.

And with that, I’m hereby crossing #77 off of my 101 in 1001 list: Spend a whole day seeing movies (about 4 films) at a theatre. Now, I know it says “at a theatre,” but I have officially decided that I love watching movies at home 1000 times better than at the movie theatre. Don’t get me wrong, we have a Fox Cinemas close to us that is brand-new, huge, clean and offers very comfy seats in their stadium theatres. But (crankypants warning!) every single time I have been to the movies in the past couple of years, I always end up sitting next to someone who talks through the entire film, and it just ruins my experience. At home, it’s so nice and quiet and if Chris and I want to comment, we can always push pause (which of course also works for bathroom breaks!). 🙂

We have a few more movies to watch before we can declare our official picks, but in the meantime tell us what movies you’ve seen! Do you have a prediction for any of the Oscar award categories?

I think I have become a little obsessed with winter-weather photos these past few weeks. In all fairness, this has been a very unusual winter for us, and I’m just kind of fascinated by the weather in general. One last shot (for now) of the residual ice from the big blizzard. This was taken yesterday in the morning – I guess maybe this little holly busy was under a bunch of the icicles that were dripping, and the water re-froze overnight:

Happy Valentine’s Day, by the way! Hopefully your Valentine is keeping you warm and cozy today. 🙂

Hopefully you’re not tired of seeing snow pictures yet! Here are a few from the days after the snowstorm finally stopped and we were left with well over two feet of snow. I’m not sure what the official total was, but I think we were near 30 inches!