Water for Elephants

I've been super busy with school, but a friend of mine lent me the book Water for Elephants and I couldn't put it down. I read it in just a couple weeks, staying up past my bed time because I wanted to know what happened next. The movie just came out and I went to see it with my husband and brother. Neither one was excited to see the movie, but both knew that I wanted to see it and there really wasn't much else playing, so they reluctantly went with me. As we were exiting the theatre, they both told me that they liked it a lot and it wasn't as bad as they thought. I have to agree, though like many movies that originate as books, the book was much better. I highly recommend reading the book and/ or watching the movie. Christoph Waltz played another creepy badass character and he was perfect for the role of August. Robert Pattinson is not the best actor in the world, but we all knew this going in so kind of expected it. Reese Witherspoon played a great Marlena. This is not just a book about circuses and what a rip off they are, it is a book about how to make your life better and how you can choose a better life for yourself. Jacob (Robert Pattinson) is pulled from his exams in med school to learn that both of his parents have died. He can either mope about it or move on. He decides to move on and jumps on a train on impulse. That train happens to belong to the Benzini Brothers circus. While working at the circus he meets Marlena and August who are married but dont have the best relationship in the world. I'm sure you can probably guess who ends up together but it's not a chick flick I swear! Read the book- watch the movie- you'll like it!

Bad TV

This weekend it was cold and rainy here in NC. Not typical weather for this time of month down here. It was the perfect for weekend for some mindless, bad TV. We had to watch some mindless entertainment. What better show than Dawson's Creek? The show was filmed in our state, in Wilmington, where we've been and love. The kids talk like 35 year old adults instead of highschoolers. It's like Beverly Hills, 90210 without all the messed up situations, like Dylan's dad getting blown up, or Kelly getting burned in a house. It was the perfect remedy to a lazy rainy weekend. I think sometimes it's good to watch some bad TV. It's mindless entertainment that gets you away from reality. Thursday nights I stay up way later than normal so that my husband and I can watch Jersey Shore. Worst show ever. There's domestic violence, drunken nights, and horrible tans. We sit on our couch together and laugh at the stupidity. I'm always super tired Friday when I was up, but it's worth it to have quality time with my man watching bad TV. While we watch Jersey Shore, or even Dawson's Creek, I'm not thinking of all the lesson plans that I need to write or the impending EOGs or what grades my kids are making or my grad school work or the other million things I think about every other minute during the week. We both work pretty high stress jobs, so it's nice to just veg out and watch some really bad TV. Try it sometime. I bet it makes you forget your problems for the time being.

Married Life

"How's married life treating you?"

I get asked this questions all the time, especially since I got married just this past August. "It's great" I'll reply. "Does it feel any different" they'll ask. "Not really" I say. I think that this reply always throws people for a loop. They think that because I say I don't feel any different it must be going bad or I must not be enjoying it. The truth is: I really don't feel different, but everything in my life is amazing right now. I think that it's normal to feel the same after being married, especially when you've lived together for 4 years.
My husband and I started dating in the summer of 2005. I moved into his NC apartment in the summer of 2006. We got engaged in the summer of 2009. We got married in the summer of 2010. By the time we got married, we were used to each other's routines. We had already lived together, shared bills together, gone grocery shopping together, decorated the apartment together, and did all of these wonderful things together. Now that we're married, we still get to do all of those things together, but we now share the same last name, and we both have wedding bands on our pictures. Oh, and the Goodfellas picture that was above our mantle has now been replaced with a wedding picture- though I'm not sure how happy he is about that one :)
The truth is, I'm still absolutely crazy about him. I still get excited to go home to him, I'm still excited to wake up next to him, I'm still excited to go on our weekly movie date, I'm still excited to go to concerts with him, I'm still excited to take a walk with him, I'm still excited to cuddle on the couch with him, I'm still excited to eat dinner with him, I'm still excited just to be with him. So if you ever ask someone how married life is, and they reply with it's the same, don't think that there's something wrong with them. I feel so lucky to have the life that I do. My husband and I both found jobs that we love in this difficuly economy, and we support each other's professions. We both come from great families. We are saving money, and still have a great time. We still go to concerts (hello DMB in Atlantic City!!) and to the beach and have an amazing time together. Sorry if this was mushy, but it was on my mind because I do get asked that question all the time!!I love getting asked it, because I love being married, it's just as wonderful as when we were engaged, and it's just as wonderful as when we were dating.

Parents

I think that I have some of the best parents out there. And I believe that they had a big part in making me who I am today. My husband and I both come from families without divorce, which is not common in today's society. I believe that his parents had a big part in making him who he is today, which is a man who is amazing and who I love with all my part. We're both very lucky to come from such great families and to have such great parents. Our recent wedding made us realize just how much our parents do for us, in the past and the present. We're very lucky.

But what about the kids who are growing up without great parents? In my profession, I come across a lot of kids who don't have that role model of a great parent. There are many parents out there who don't value their child's education, spend what little money they have on themselves, and who push their children to the side. It's sad that this happens, but it does. I've seen the impact a parent can have on a child, both in my life and in the lives of others. I've seen what a parent's love and attention can do, not only to a child's attitude but their academics as well. I've also seen what inattention can do to a child's attitude and academics.

I'm not a parent myself, and do not know how hard it is to be one, though I can only imagine. I only speak from what I grew up with and what I see. I think that being a parent is one of the most important jobs in the world, and I'm thankful that my parents took that job seriously.