I was so excited to learn that another Linklater movie was going to come out this summer… and it did not disappoint!

Cover of Before Sunrise

• In 1995, “Before Sunrise” came out – a small independent movie about a couple who meet on a train and have one night in Vienna.
• In 2004, “Before Sunset” came out – a small independent movie catching up with this same couple 9 years later.
• And now, in 2013 “Before Midnight” is released.  The same couple, now in their very early 40s.

I won’t give any spoilers here (links below to many reviews – read at your own risk!), but will simply say that if you love movies with smart dialogue, romantic chemistry, beautiful European settings, and real-world conversations and relationship troubles, you should definitely see all of these movies.

I am thankful that I was able to borrow the first two movies and binge on them a bit before seeing the 3rd movie.  It was a great way to reacquaint myself with Jesse and Celine.  I plan to buy all three when they’re all out on DVD so that I can binge again!

I was listening to a podcast last night (Filmspotting) and they were wondering (as I was) if since the characters were approximately my age during all three of these movies if I have more of an affinity to love the movies.  I would love to have this discussion – if anyone else has seen them!  :)

Before Summer Solstice:

• I finished “Circle of Friends” by Maeve Binchy this morning.  It’s a re-read and I wondered if it would hold up as I’m not in my 20s anymore (like I was when I first read it) but it did.  She writes such great stories about great places with great characters.  Love it!
• I will watch “Anna Karenina” with Cindy tomorrow – and can’t wait for the re-watch!  I’m sure there will be vodka and something sorta Russian to eat.  Love me a theme!
• I had an impromptu game night last Saturday night!  Beth came for a planned girl’s night, and we stayed in and invited others over.  We played Loaded Questions and “What if…”  A great time!
• I watched Trajan graduate from 8th grade – such a fun kid.
• I celebrated Jenny’s birthday with her at Goonie’s and the Loop!  The comedians were fun – the raunchy one leading up to the cerebral one made for some big brain shifts!
• I sang with Take Note! at our yearly spring concert, on Over the Back Fence, and during Art in the Park in Lanesboro!  Good stuff.  I think I finally have the songs committed to memory and now we won’t sing them again!
• I listened to music outside during Harmony at Mayo on Monday 6/10.  Great band, great food and great company!
• I chatted about “Little Wolves” with Sarah, Paul and Heidi.  What a delicious meal was prepared and enjoyed al fresco!  A beautiful summer evening…

Before the end of Quarter 3 (44 Things)

Here’s my list of 11 things for this quarter… how am I doing?  Have til the end of the month…

11 Things: 3rd Quarter: 

1. Book Club – LOVE talking about books, whenever and wherever!  April 2 – with rum & Cokes, pizza burgers, and Mississippi Mud Cake!! May 27 – with hot turkey sandwiches we discussed The Accidental Tourist!  Good stuff!  Next one July 9!  
2. Cosmo Girls – April brought green smoothies, chair massages, and henna!  May brought A Cosmo Girl Party to celebrate another year of fun! Next – organize for next year!  
3. A Spring Break facial – and pedicure!
4. Baseball games and softball games – hopefully in sunshine!
5. THE GREAT GATSBY movie! Saw it once in the theatre – it was great!  
6. Marissa’s graduation in May with a party to celebrate her Bachelor’s in Biology!  Taran’s graduation in June! Both parties were very fun!  Very proud of their accomplishments!  
7. Take Note! spring concert – most likely in June! Done! A great concert followed by a get-together at Mom and Dad’s with s’mores around the campfire!  Perfect!  
   
8. New walking shoes – so hopefully many walks! Knee feels better – still no power walks!  Just short ones and stretching!  
9. Catch up on the TBR pile – as many as possible!  #1 Silver Linings Playbook!  #2 Elizabeth the First Wife #3 Little Wolves #4 Circle of Friends – the list is interminable!  Oh well!  
10. June will bring Thursdays on First and Rochesterfest – outdoor food, music and fun!  And hopefully sunshine!  (Can you tell we’ve been without for too long?)  Spun through Thursdays last week and plan to go this week – on June 20!  
11. Strike up a conversation with a stranger (NOT a patient!) weekly (?) and WRITE about it!  Woot!   Haven’t done this really!  What was I thinking?  Looking for a challenge, I guess.  I’m just enjoying getting to know my coworkers and planning things for my “circle of friends.”  :)  

I suppose it’s time to think about my 4th Quarter list… hard to believe that I’m winding down my 44th year and really close to 45!  What will the theme of 45 be?

What do you have planned – Before Midnight?  Before the Summer Solstice?  Before the end of the month?

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• Remembering ‘The Irish Times’ circle of friends (irishtimes.com)
• ‘Before Midnight’ has to be the best movie of the year so far. (megoblog.typepad.com)
• Film: Movie Review: Before Midnight (avclub.com)
• Before Midnight Was Everything I Hoped It Would Be…And More (allinsparetime.com)
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• “Before Midnight” and Emotional Catharsis (snippetstudios.wordpress.com)
• Richard Linklater on Before Midnight (guardian.co.uk)

Tequila Mockingbird – a great gift book!

I found the best gift book for book loving people who also love a cocktail!  At this point, I can’t remember where I first heard about it – I’m sure one of the bookish newsletters that comes to my inbox weekly – but I know that I bought my first copy (and second copy) at the end of April.  I bought one for me, one for Sarah’s birthday.  I went back and bought two more, and have since bought three more.  Yes, I’m keeping B&N busy stocking this book on their shelves!

The book is filled with cocktail recipes with a “literary twist.”  Classic literature humorously turned into drinks – Gin Eyre, Gone with the Wine, Bridget Jone’s Daiquiri (classic? no, but classically funny).  The list goes on and on!  And the book also includes hor d’oerve ideas for book clubs and drinking games to play by yourself or with your book group (or in a library!).

Such a fun little treat of a book.  Love it!

Cocktail Glass (Martini): The traditional cocktail glass has become synonymous with Martini cocktails, which are commonly served in this type of glassware. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have any standard books you love to give as gifts to book-lovin’ friends?

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I joined Audible.com today!

The last audiobook I reserved at the library turned out to be 30 hours long with 30 discs and a 2 week check-out time.  I brought it back without opening it, as I didn’t want to import all the discs and I knew I wouldn’t have time to get it done.  My TBR list never gets smaller, so I thought I could maybe knock off one book per month this way.  I miss listening to books, so it will now be more intentional!

First book I downloaded was the one I returned to the library – “11.22.63″ by Stephen King!  I have heard good things about it, and so far so good!

Yay books!

Do you have favorite audiobooks?  It is audiobook month, after all – let’s discuss!

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Here we are at another first – June 1st!  Love those firsts.
It’s a weekend off with no plans!
Here’s a recap of what’s been going on and what’s been making me happy:

  Somewhere in this crowd is a girl we know!

Graduation day at UW-LaCrosse was a great day!  Marissa wasn’t sure she wanted to walk through, but decided it would be good closure to her 2 years in LaCrosse.  Afterwards we took pictures down by the Mississippi and then went to one of her favorite after-class establishments – Howie’s Bar.  :)

Smiles abound!

The next weekend (Memorial Day) we had a small family gathering to celebrate her accomplishments, and that was a fun day, as well!

Gathered with her Godparents

Silliness with the cousins! Love it

The family all together – we love to take these pictures!

So this summer will be filled with apartment and job searching for her – I’m sure I’ll be invited along to assist!  :

Can’t wait to watch her further adventures in education!

Bookish Stuff:

• Had Preston book club for “The Accidental Tourist.”  Consensus was that we liked the book quite a bit, mainly it caused a lot of thinking!  Thinking is good!  Some of us related to the characters in the book more than others (I won’t name names).  It was a good discussion (mostly about the book), delicious dinner (not promptly at 5:30 but we had to make sure the Tots got browned!), and too many dessert choices!  A great time.
• Next to read for Preston book club is “The Night Circus.”  I’m looking forward to reading it!  Oh, my TBR pile never goes down, just keeps getting bigger!
• I just finished “Little Wolves” by Thomas Maltman, a Minnesota author.  It definitely set a mood, that book.  West-central Minnesota, in the late 1980s, a teacher who engages her students by teaching Beowolf and other early epic stories, and a mystery or two.  I can’t wait to discuss it with Paul and Heidi in a few weeks!
• I couldn’t decide which book I would pick up next, but decided to read Rob Lowe‘s book, “Stories I Only Tell My Friends.”  It’s been highly recommended so I can’t wait to dive in!
• I also am excited about reading “The Promise of Provence” by Patricia Sands!  I think that will be next, after Rob Lowe’s book.

Other Media:

Last week I had the pleasure of a two-movie-day.  Love when that happens!

• First I saw “Mud” with Jenny.  I kept hearing that I needed to see this movie, and I am so glad that I did!  It was a nice story with incredible teen actors.  It felt a little like “Stand By Me” – a coming of age story, with a bit of intrigue and a lot of relationship building.  Good stuff.  And Matthew McConnaughy!
• Then I saw the late showing of “Hangover III” with a bunch of random people.  There were many laughs, groans, and one time I gasped and jumped!  I saw the first in the theatre and the second at home, so this was better than the second but really more of the same.  But a good time.  And two-movie-days are always great!
• On DVD I saw “Rust and Bone,” the French film which got some buzz at the Golden Globes. Kickboxing, killer whale trainer accidents, and poor parenting.  It was pretty good.  I was glad for the ending.  Not because it was over, but because it was a fitting ending.
• I finally watched the finale to “Smash.”  There were tears, there were Broadway numbers, there was closure.  Ah, it was good.
• I have been powering through past seasons of “Arrested Development.”  I know I’m late to the game, but it is fun to binge on it!  I’m well into season 2 now and enjoy all the episodes!  It is a smart show with truly abhorrent people in it!  How fun!
• I have to plug Noisetrade again.  I love discovering new music this way and recently downloaded their 65 song summer sampler. How fun is that!  I have my iPad playing on random and just really enjoy all the stuff that is on it!  Of course there are over 3000 songs on there, so I will never hear them all but it’s nice to just be able to enjoy good music of all kinds!

And now I’m enjoying this weekend off.  No big plans, but just taking care of my house and hopefully seeing some friends!  What are you doing this early summer?

I am going to participate in a “book tour,” which means that on July 7 I will be posting a review of the book ‘The Promise of Provence” by Patricia Sands!  On July 9 I will randomly give away a digital copy of the book (or a $10 amazon gift card).  How cool is that?  I hope that I can get it together enough to do a virtual interview with the author, as well.  I love to find out how writers tick!  

I love books!  Woot!

The Great Gatsby from Spineless Classics

What I’ve Been Reading:

“Sick Girl“ by Amy Silverstein – we read this for group supervision at work and will be discussing it on Friday.  It is a powerful memoir about a young woman who quickly becomes sick and within 8 months has a heart transplant.  It was interesting to read about her relationships with her physicians, with her family, with her fiance/husband, and with her new heart.  She is angry and that’s not always easy to read, but it’s her story.

“Elizabeth the First Wife” by Lian Dolan – and on a lighter note, the second novel by my Satellite Sister, Lian.  Her debut novel, “Helen of Pasadena,” was a fun little book, but this one ramps up the smarts in a big way!  The story-within-a-story of All’s Fair, a book using Shakespearean philosophy to give modern advice for couples, is smart and fun.  The chemistry that Elizabeth has with the men in the book is well-written and the fleshed-out personalities of her family members round out the smarter-than-average fun read.  Good stuff.

What’ I’ve Been Watching: 

• Got my Al Pacino fix by watching Frankie and Johnny on Instant Netflix and Scent of a Woman on DVD.  I love love love Frankie and Johnny… good stuff.
• The Kentucky Derby was fun to watch at the 4th (?) Annual Party hosted by Sarah!  Orb was the big winner, and someone else at the party won the big money.  We had a good time wearing our hats, drinking mint juleps, and watching the spectacle around the one-minute race.  There was still snow on the ground  (May 4, 2013) but the air was warm, especially in front of the garage heater!
• Finally got to watch a few of Gunnar’s baseball games in the sunshine!  April was a soggy and cold month, so they’ve been playing catch-up and we sat in the 90 degree weather on Tuesday and watched the games.  Felt good to have warm sunshine on my shoulders!
• We went to The Great Gatsby in 3D on opening night (10pm show!)!  It was a good time and I will see it again in 2D.  It was a good time and the movie was beautiful and fun.  I love Luhrman movies and this didn’t disappoint.
• Still faithful to Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and the Daily Show.
• Anticipating some tears tonight with the series finale of The Office.

What I’ve been Celebrating :

• A fun evening with the gals eating a Greek meal at Gary’s house.
• A fun evening with the gals drinking margaritas and eating Qdoba deliciousness while celebrating Cinco de Mayo at Beth’s house.
• A fun evening celebrating Sarah’s birthday at Cannon River Winery for a wine tasting.
• A delicious dinner at Lynndon Bridge celebrating Mother’s Day with my mama.

I guess this is why time is going so fast!  It’s so full!  Love it!

What is keeping your life full?

DEEPER

Dennis Lee
From:   unpublished, 1999.

Often at night, sometimes

out in the snow or going into the music, the hunch says,
“Deeper.”
I don’t know what it means.
Just, “Push it. Go further. Go deeper.”
And when they come talking at me I get
antsy at times, but mostly I stay put and it keeps saying,
“Deeper. This is not it. You must go deeper.”
There is danger in this, also
beautiful fingers and I believe it can issue in
gestures of concord; but I
cannot control it, all I know is one thing—
“Deeper. You must go further. You must go deeper.”
http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/lee/poem3.htm

Dennis Lee’s works copyright © to the author.

I had a little nut-tree,

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What’s Making Me Happy: 

Cover of Gone with the Wind

• I finished “Gone With the Wind” and am so glad I read it!  It is an epic novel, ‘The Great American Novel,” and it is really worth the read.  Watched the movie this weekend, in two sittings.  It is a magnificent movie, and at 4-hours it is merely a condensed version of the story.  It follows the story greatly, but the story is so much richer in the novel.  Ah, Scarlet.  Ah, Rhett.  Love them both!  After reading the Margaret Mitchell book, I really want to read the “sequels” that were written by others.  I didn’t expect that to happen!  
• I am also excited that I finished that 960 page book so that I can finally move on to my TBR pile!  I’ve been listening to an audio for book club (“The Accidental Tourist” – slowest narrator EVER!), but I am excited to dive into some others.  Ah, books.  Good stuff.  
• I still haven’t committed to my 3rd Quarter of 11 Things yet… but I will start that list here tonight, as almost 1/3 of that quarter is gone! Ha!
• Everytime I get an update of the blog Des Hommes et des Chatons, I smile. Good stuff!  You MUST check it out!  Sexy men and kittens – how can it be anything but happy-making?  Go, NOW!
  

  http://deshommesetdeschatons.tumblr.com/
  CLICK IT! This is NOT a good example of the sexy!

• THREE WEEKENDS IN A ROW OFF!  This weekend, next, and the weekend after!  Wowza!  I may get used to that!
• The Rochester International Film Festival starts Friday night, so I’m looking forward to movies Saturday and Sunday – my weekend to work, but my “bye” weekend!  Woot!

This week has been filled with bad news and frustrating media… I’m thankful for friends who choose to share the good and to remain hopeful and positive.  It is easy to get sucked into it, for sure, but I do my best to “feed my head” with positive strategies and good news.

With that, here is my list of Things to look forward to or do in my April, May and June!

11 Things: 3rd Quarter: 

1. Book Club – LOVE talking about books, whenever and wherever!  April 2 – with rum & Cokes, pizza burgers, and Mississippi Mud Cake!  Will schedule another before the end of May!
2. Cosmo Girls – April brought green smoothies, chair massages, and henna!  May will bring A Cosmo Girl Party to celebrate another year of fun!
3. A Spring Break facial – and pedicure!
4. Baseball games and softball games – hopefully in sunshine!
5. THE GREAT GATSBY movie!  Cannot wait!!! Maybe a party before? Group outing?
6. Marissa’s graduation in May with a party to celebrate her Bachelor’s in Biology!  Taran’s graduation in June!
7. Take Note! spring concert – most likely in June!
8. New walking shoes – so hopefully many walks!
9. Catch up on the TBR pile – as many as possible!  #1 Silver Linings Playbook!  
10. June will bring Thursdays on First and Rochesterfest – outdoor food, music and fun!  And hopefully sunshine!  (Can you tell we’ve been without for too long?) 
11. Strike up a conversation with a stranger (NOT a patient!) weekly (?) and WRITE about it!  Woot!  

Have anything you think I should replace with something?  What are you looking forward to in the upcoming spring months?

Related articles

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But here’s what’s making me happy:

• Getting through overnights at work is always good… another month until it happens again!  
• I finished “Gone with the Wind” last night!  Woot!  It was a great book, unfortunately I didn’t have a lot of endurance with it, so I read it in shorter spurts than I would have liked.  But I can’t wait to discuss it with others who have read it and to revisit the movie.  So much to talk about!  Scarlett’s coping skill of “thinking of it tomorrow” is something I have employed… sometimes things are just so hard to face that you have to divert attention elsewhere and move forward with plans tomorrow.  It is spoken so often in the book… and it is the final sentence of the book:  ”After all, tomorrow is another day.”  I’m so glad I read it.
  

  Gone with the Wind cover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

• Book club with the Preston gals was a lot of fun.  We read a great book (“We are all Welcome Here” by Elizabeth Berg) and had great food – rum and Cokes, pizza burgers, cheesy potatoes, and Mississippi Mud Cake.  Yummy!  Always good to see those women!
• Met girls from work for dinner on a Friday night!  It was good to get together outside of work and to get to know them better.  Hopefully it’s something we can do again and again!  We celebrated having a Friday off before a weekend off!  Doesn’t always happen!  Maybe this Friday we will have a happy hour after we have supervision from 6-8pm!  :)
• I had a terrible cold during my weekend off, but enjoyed movies and reading… not a bad way to spend a weekend off!
• Singing is always good… love the songs we’re singing in choir!  Some river songs, medley style (“Old Black Water,” “Swanee River,” “The Old Folks at Home,” “Mood River” and more!) and some Irish songs (yay!) and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.”  Love it.
• Had some good days off last week before my weekend overnight work.  Good meals out, good cooking at home, good movie in the theatre (“Admissions”) and hanging out with Marissa.  Good stuff.
• A great post-tax-day out with Beth today – delicious breakfast at Burdey’s in Peterson (cinnamon roll pancakes – so good!) followed by shopping and fro-yo!  Good stuff.

And coming up:

• 3 days of work ahead and a weekend off.  No big plans (yet!), but just glad to have a Saturday, Sunday, Monday off!  
• Hanging out with the kids a little as Dana and  Koni jet off to Vegas!  
• Starting in on my pile of TBR books – #1 is The Silver Linings Playbook!  Yay!  DVD comes out 4/30, so that’s something I”m looking forward to! Also have 2 book club books going – “The Accidental Tourist” by Anne Tyler and “Sick Girl” by Amy Silverstein (for work).  Good stuff!  I’m listening to the audio of “The Accidental Tourist” and I think it’s read by the slowest narrator in the history of narrators.  Goodness.  But it’s a good book!
  

  The Accidental Tourist (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

   

• Planning a small graduation party for Marissa is fun… it sure is something to celebrate!
• Have so many good shows to catch up on – so glad I still have my DVR!  I’ll catch up with them sometime – so no Mad Men or Smash spoilers!

What is making you happy this week?

Wine Wednesday – wacky!

So what’s the 411?
Does anyone say that anymore?  Does anyone call information anymore?

What info can I give you today…

• Musinex is my friend!  I think that it has helped me feel better faster.  Crazy, eh?  
• I work overnights this weekend so I’m in self-indulgent mode – gonna stay in  my pajamas as long as possible on Friday!
• I enjoyed my days off and had some adventures with Marissa!
• Watched “Admissions” on free-popcorn Wednesday.  It was pleasantly unpredictable, although the girl does end up with the guy in the end. Just a little surprising in how they got there!
• Still plugging away on “Gone With The Wind.”  Loving it and amazed at her writing… just wish I had more reading stamina!  Hopefully I’ll binge on it tomorrow and make a big dent.
• Have TWO “book club in a bag” sets – one for the old FC girls and one for work!  Yay!  So in the next few weeks I will be reading “The Accidental Tourist” by Anne Tyler (love her books!) and “Sick Girl” by Amy Silverstein.  Just added two more books to my already towering TBR pile!  Oh well!
• Cosmo Girls tonight was another great time – green smoothies, do-it-yourself-henna, and chair massages.  And of course, many laughs!  Yay!
• I will finalize my spring quarter list this weekend – we’re marching through April!
• SOOOO looking forward to “The Great Gatsby” movie coming out!  I can’t wait!

Finally, this photo booth was just too much fun today!  Once the photos are taken, they replayed the video of you taking all the pictures!  And look at my hair!  It’s always so unpredictable… quite a flip I’ve got going on!  We laughed so hard… lots of laughs today.  :)

Paparazzi Photo Booth!

What’s the 411 with you?