Saturday #12, May 30, 2009

MAKING THE "FUN" COUNT!

"Have a FUN day!" said the guy at the front desk as Amy left the gym.
"One of the purposes of Young Women's is to have FUN." said Sister Statham, Stake YW President.
"Are you going to post this on your 52 Fun Saturdays blog?" said Sis. Nichols after we took a picture of the AF 1st Ward YW leaders.
"What are you doing for FUN today?" asked Brian when he rang the doorbell and woke me up from my nap.
"For FUN Well Done." was the note on the tip jar at Cold Stone.
"It's FUN to see all the books you guys have." said Amy E. as she helped pack up Max & Brityn's library.
"Have FUN with your grandchildren." said Amy to Jen's mom.
"Today was a different take on FUN." said Amy E. to her sister Kendra at the end of the day.
"Fun, fun, fun." said someone on TV--which Amy heard while she put away groceries.

It was Stake Conference this weekend. Both Jen and I had meetings on and off the entire day. So, we really didn't have anything "FUN" planned. I guess I could consider going to meetings on a Saturday as FUN--relative to say taking out the trash or getting the tires on my car rotated. It's all about attitude, right?

What was interesting to me, however, to count all the references on Saturday to FUN! Every time I saw, heard, or said the word FUN, it was like a little bell rang to remind me it's what the day was all about. So, while this post is a bit on the boring side and our day was only mildly FUN as compared to other Saturdays o' Fun, I'm grateful for the repeat reminders of my goal--having a year of FUN Saturdays!

Oh, and for my fellow YW leaders...never fear! I'll post our picture when I get it uploaded from my camera!



SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!
Next Saturday...We're having fun in DISNEYLAND and at the Beach. WAHOO!!!

Saturday #11--May 23, 2009

BEFORE & AFTER SATURDAY (well, mainly just "after")

I got a text message from my sister Angela on Saturday.

Angela: "What are you doing for Sat of fun?"

Amy: "Yard work."

Angela: "That's doesn't count!!!!!"

Amy: "Sure it does!"

Amy: "What r u doing??"

Angela: "Eating lunch in San Diego. We went to the beach."

Amy: "I'm jealous of yr fun sat."

So, here is the lesson. Sometimes Saturday has to be a chore day. And "fun" is all a matter of perspective. Although, I'd much rather have been at the beach!!!

My Fun Saturday Chore was yard work. Since I'm not moving (ooh, this will be a way to see who reads my blog!) I decided to put in a garden after all. I forgot to take a "before" shot, but here's the "after." (And to be honest, it's "after" finishing it all up on Monday too.)

Here's my front flower bed with new perennials (thanks Sue D. for the suggestions!)

And my back yard garden with a new tomato plant, hydrangeas (I'm going to try), new zucchini, clematis (this three year old vine is going strong), new strawberries and squash (by seed). Now I'm crossing my fingers it all grows!

Check out Jen's post for her Fun Saturday Chore...painting her bathroom.

Saturday #10--May 16, 2009

"Angel" Saturday
Jen and I participated for the third year in the "Running with Angels" 5K race at Thanksgiving Point. It's a great race to start the season and inspires some of us (not me) to run other (longer) races. This year, we both beat our times from last year...hooray! But, we were both slower than the first year...oh well. Gives me a goal to shoot for next year!
Jen's niece, Abby, and sister-in-law, Karol, also ran the race. Abby crossed the finish line first. Way to go Abby! (Notice the little angel sitting on Jen's left shoulder?)



I made it home from the "Running with Angels" race just in time to "Serve with Angels!" Our stake had a youth service project picking up trash in the neighborhoods and parks within our stake boundaries. Afterwards, we had a yummy lunch of roasted hot dogs and cheese puffs (my favorite). Here's a photos of a few (but not all) of my favorite "Angels."
McKell, Sis. Nicholes, Miss Madison, Nicole & Courtney

Much, much later, Saturday evening (almost Sunday morning), Jen and I went to see Angels & Demons. I think we decided to give it 4.2 stars.

Saturday #9, May 9, 2009

MOVIE MARATHON!!!

When: Saturday o' Fun #9

Where: Jordan Commons

Why: Because we can

Time:

10:30 to 12:47 IMAX Star Trek

12:40 to 2:30 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (run from ST to G and miss a few previews)
2:30 to 3:40 Lunch

3:45 to 5:45 Wolverine

5:50 to 6:45 Dinner (and sunlight with a mad dash to Brian's Grad party)

6:50 to 8:57 Soloist

9:10 to 11:02 17 Again

Check out our movie reviews below:

Move #1: STAR TREK (5 stars)

It was the prefect movie to start the day. Neither of us are huge Star Trek fans (although there were a few...check out are picture below), but we enjoyed this action packed movie--seeing the "start" of a great sci-fi original. And being in a theater with cheering crowd, watching it on the huge IMAX screen was great (thanks for the recommendation Aunt Teresa!).

Spoiler Alert!!! They brought back a classic character for this movie...those huge earwig creatures from "The Wrath of Kahn". YUCK!

Movie #2: GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIEND'S PAST (3 stars)

We were a little disappointed by this movie. Matthew & Jennifer just didn't quite have the chemistry we were hoping for. And some of the Dickens' quotes were a little too cheesy!

Movie #3: X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (4 stars)

Not quite as good as Star Trek, but certainly entertaining and everything we were hoping for. We kind of wish it had been on the IMAX screen too. And you have to stay for the very end of the credits. There's a fun little teaser! Sorry the picture below is so dark--we really loved staring at this banner during our lunch break!

Movie #4: SOLOIST (4.8 stars)

A departure from the action packed, CGI films we saw earlier in the day, but definitely one of our favorites. It's a good reminder about the power of friendship. Robert Downey Jr. is hugely talented!

Movie #5: 17 AGAIN (3.3 stars)

Okay, we only added this movie to the list so we could get in 5 movies. But, it was funny and entertaining, and not a bad way to end our movie marathon day. Starting the movie with a shirtless Zach Efron certainly helped! It distracted us from the fact the beginning of the movie is set in 1989--uh, hello, we both graduated from high school in 1989.

Final observations:

It's amazing how quickly the day goes when you're in a movie theater. And for sitting around, doing nothing but watching movies, we were surprisingly tired at the end of the day. But maybe it's best to do this kind of thing when it's cold outside. We missed a perfectly lovely sunshiny day!

Saturday #8, May 2, 2009

I have a friend--a best friend--and it is her birthday today. So, as part of my Saturday Fun, I want to wish Tricia W. a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY and tell you some of the reasons why she is my best friend!

1. Tricia is easy to travel with. Some of my best trips (for work or for fun) have been with Tricia.

• San Diego--Ah, the beach! And the flowers in Carlsbad. And shopping at IKEA!
• Chicago--Bistro 110's pumpkin soup! Ahhh!
• Orlando--My birthday dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, thank you very much!
• Atlanta--Visiting Mike's family and shopping for shoes.
• New Orleans--Touring historic plantations & buying a vacuum for the booth
• New York--Sephora...need I say more?

2. Tricia's thought process is almost the same as mine. I never have to explain the why and how...Tricia just gets it. Which means she gets me! And that makes our friendship a lot easier.

3. We've been friends long enough to tell it like it is. Tricia's my sounding board for complaints, observations, questions, and random thoughts. She keeps me grounded in reality, pushes me when I need it, and helps me keep my dreams alive. After years of friendships our almost daily emails could fill books and books and books!

4. Tricia works at being my friend. What I mean is she'll make the call or send an email to make sure I'm alive and well. She meets me for lunch on a regular basis. And she extends invitations to family get-togethers or girl's night out. I feel like part of her extended family and it's nice to feel included in her life. I appreciate the effort she has made to go from being work friends to being life friends.

These are just a few of the reasons why Tricia is such a great friend. I could go on about her sense of humor, her fashion eye, and her high level of confidence in what she knows...all traits I wish I had like Tricia does.

The only thing lacking in my friendship with Tricia? A decent picture of her to post on my blog!!!

Happy Birthday Tricia!

Dessert is on me next time!