Les Misérables

I only have a moment to blog as I am not feeling well and am going to go lie down shortly. However, I wanted to take a moment to say that I had a great time with my girlfriends, Anya and Erin, this weekend. We like to have our little theme movie dates, you know, so this event was a viewing party for Les Misérables. We drank sparkling cider (a nod to champagne), had cute little croissant sandwiches, crackers with fancy cheeses, fresh fruit (so refreshing!), and adorable Napoleons (puff pastry with nutella, whipped cream, and strawberry jam). We had a great time catching up on what's going on in our lives, eating delicious food, and watching the musical.

I had grown up with a few of the songs from Les Mis but had never heard the whole soundtrack, or seen any version of the movie, play, or musical. I read a brief synopsis a few weeks ago (maybe on wikipedia?) just so I'd have an idea of what was going on. I really enjoyed it! The singing was great (better than I expected), the scenes were impressive, and the story was wonderful! I was surprised by how much religion was in the movie. I had read or heard that Hugo was anti-religion, maybe even anti-Catholic, so I had zero expectation of a favorable view of religion. It was a pleasant surprise, then, to see how much of a role religious themes played in the production. It was very touching and very well done. :)

Next up for our theme parties is Anna Karenina. I have no idea how we will find something delicious that has any kind of Russian theme. Russian food does not seem to appeal to me, but we are creative people so we'll figure something out! :)
Gotta run, but everyone take care!

Cake cake cake cake

One of my all-time favorite coworkers, Dave, did the sweetest thing. He brought be a cake! Lemonade Cake, to be precise. His wife made it, and I have to say, it smells so good, looks so moist, and promises to be so delicious that I can barely stand it! Here is a picture:

I can't wait to start eating it, but I am trying to make myself wait until after lunch. Any readers of this blog are welcome to start placing bets on how long I can hold out. :)
I am so excited that there are really no words for it. I expect I will be eating a lot of cake in the next couple days. I did offer to share with some of my coworkers. Now I am sitting here wondering what Jesus would do. Isn't the *right* thing to offer to share it with all my library colleagues? But then when I think of what Jesus would do, he would make it last-- sharing one cake with everybody and collecting several bushels of remnants after everyone has had their fill. So it's not really a practical thought exercise, is it? :)

In tangentially related news, my dear husband has started counting calories. That means that he will sample some cake, have a small slice or two or three, and the rest will gradually disappear over time, imperceptible sliver by sliver. :D I will have to perfect the ninja-like art of opening and closing the microwave without making a sound. I think I'm up to the challenge!

In completely unrelated news, last night some friends and I watched "Django Unchained." It was a great movie, but man was it heavy! There were some great characters, and it's a great vengeance movie. Typical amounts of Tanantino violence, humor, and language. Overall I would recommend it. But don't do like I did and watch it late at night. It kept me up, partly all the excitement, and partly thinking sad things about slavery. :(

OK, gotta get back on task. Have a great day!

A gift from my friend

One of my closest friends is an artist named Chrissy Clark. She made this picture as a gift for me and Charles; isn't she awesome? I have a higher quality, non-watermarked version that I hope to include in a baby book for Baby G, as well as another picture that I'll share after the birth. She did a great job of flattering me, and capturing Charles's cuteness and enthusiasm. Chrissy and I have been friends since 7th grade, which is about 20 years! She is also the one that drew the picture I use as my profile pic on this blog:

I just wanted to share. I don't usually post pictures but these are too good to pass up. :) If you like these, check out Chrissy's webpage: http://chrissyclark.com/