Persuasion

I love this movie!! The first time I watched it was several years ago. I was living in Provo and I really didn't care for it. But then, we watched it again a few months ago and I really liked it. Meghan and I watched it again after Christmas and that time I loved it.

We watched this version last Sunday. And while I prefer the previous version, I fell in love with the Captain in this movie. Do not be deceived by the look on his face in this picture. He is perfect and beautiful!

I can't remember what we were doing in this picture, but I'm sure it has something to do with acting proper. If you look closely, you can see that I am about to burst. I love this group. We have so much fun!!

Wives and Daughters

If you haven't seen it, you should! It is based off of the book by Elizabeth Gaskell. I've never read the book, but I've heard it is great! Here is a little bit of trivia for you that I learned tonight from the actual readers of this book. (Lis and Sara have read most of the books that we watch the movies of. The rest of us have read some, but mostly just enjoy the movies.) Apparently, Elizabeth Gaskell was writing the book and got to the point that is almost the end of the movie and died. Before she died, however, she had written a letter to someone with an outline of more of the story. So the writers of the movie ad libbed the ending to the movie based on her outline. I guess we will never know if that would have been the true ending she would have chosen.

Almost the whole group. Lis, we missed you last night! Glad you could come tonight to finish the last hour with us!

This is what I had to go home to for Christmas...

Aren't I lucky?!

Happy New Year 2011!

Each New Year is a time for a new beginning. I like everyone else, make goals and succeed or fail at accomplishing them. This year I thought it would be a good idea to write them down on my blog to hold me a little more accountable. I have a lot of good intentions, but I sometimes lack the discipline to follow through. This year I turn 30 (that's a big deal, right?!), so this is the year that is going to be different! Here is a list of a few of my goals...

1. Blog about my movie club. Each Sunday, a small group of friends and I get together to watch a period piece. Mostly Jane Austen films, but we have watched a few Dickens and other BBC or Masterpiece Theater movies. It is my favorite part of the week!

2. Write letters to my grandparents. I've been thinking about how much I love them and how little I talk to them. Letters are an "old" way of communication that is lost and I feel that letters to them will be appreciated and special.

3. Exercise (of course). I want to find something active that I enjoy doing and then do it.

These are just a few of my goals, but I will continue to add to the list as new goals come along. I feel hopeful for this new year. And look forward to the experiences that life will bring me.

ELF Date

I'm sad that I don't have any pictures to document this experience, but it is at least worth mentioning. Last weekend, some friends and I did a group date centered around the movie Elf. In the movie, Buddy meets his real father for the first time and makes a list of activities that they can do together.

Here's the quote from the movie..."First, we'll make snow angels for two hours, then we'll go ice-skating, then we'll eat a whole roll of Toll-House cookie dough as fast as we can, and then we'll snuggle."

So this was the premise of our date. The only glitch, was that the snow was melting and pretty slushy, so we had to skip the snow angels. Everything else went according to plan and it was a blast!

Good times, Good friends, Funny movie!

Shakespearean Festival

Cedar City has a Shakespearean Festival every year. This was my first time going and it was so great!

We saw two plays. Pride and Prejudice and Much Ado About Nothing. They were both fantastic!!

The matching outfits were not entirely intentional.

Washington D.C.

A few friends and I went to Washington D.C. July 7-11. It was a great trip! We went non-stop the entire trip and saw so many wonderful things. Here is a small taste of the good times.

Gelato in Georgetown on the waterfront with the Kennedy Center behind us.

Our hotel was in Georgetown, so the first night we got there we walked around that area. We went to Georgetown University, took my picture in front of Clyde's Restaurant, ate at a really great pizza restaurant and walked down to the waterfront.

Our first time on the metro.

The Air and Space Museum

Shuttle to the Kennedy Center

Mary Poppins was fantastic! I LOVED it!

Arlington Cemetery

We took the bus tour! I'm glad we did because it saved our feet. What a special experience being at that cemetery. Thank you to all the men and women who have fought and especially to those who have died protecting our country and our freedom!


Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Erin and I in front of the Capital Building.

Inside the Capital Building on our tour.

Erin, Sylinda, and I on the shuttle in the Capital Building. Apparently, they have a separate shuttle for the Senators to use. We had to use the other one. No sneak peaks at anyone "famous." Although, we did see Nancy Pelosi's office once we got inside.

Standing in the center of D.C.

Shouldn't we be models?!

These cupcakes were yummy!

FDR Memorial

A giant me holding the Washington Monument. We saw other tourists taking pictures like this, so we thought we'd give it a try.

World War II Memorial.

Korean Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Saturday morning started out pouring rain, but we went to the Eastern Market anyway.

They make the best pancakes and have a really fun atmosphere at the Eastern Market!

As close as we could get to the White House.

To finish our trip we spent Sunday at the D.C. Temple and the National Cathedral. What a great Sunday experience!

It was a fantastic trip. There is still so much more to see. I guess I'll have to catch the other sites on my next trip!