Maybe a Comedy Next Time...

Last night Alvin and I saw Defiance, the Daniel Craig movie about four Jewish brothers in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe escape into the Belarussian forests, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and about 1,000 Jewish non-combatants. It was very well done. (Alvin even cried.) Intense to say the least. But I do have to admit there were some moments when I thought Bond (Daniel Craig) crept out. Bielski, Tuvia Bielski...lol. The last movie we saw before this in the theaters was Valkyrie, the Tom Cruise movie about actual events, a plot to assassinate Hitler unfurled during the height of WWII. This was an incredible film. Again very very intense. I guess what hit me the most in both of these films is that they are both true stories. It makes you incredibly grateful for all that we have and the possibilities that lay before you. I recommend both shows if you haven't seen them.

Tag I'm It!

So my friend Krissy tagged me for my pet peeves.... (In no particular order.)

1. Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Dr. Laura, etc.
2. Mix matched socks.
3. Overly talkative waiters/waitresses.
4. Cotton balls.
5. Anything symmetric.
6. Crappy logos.
7. The new building at the intersection of Hwy 89 & Harrison.
8. Warming up my truck in the morning.
9. The spurt of yogurt as you open it.
10. The watery substance that comes out the Ketchup bottle first.
11. Iowa

Tag YOU'RE it!

I'll Have the Regular...

Now this is neither here nor there but I thought it was a little funny. Last night Alvin and I went to my favorite Mexican place in Layton, Guadalajara Grill. We usually end up sharing a plate unless I’m feeling like snarfing a whole plate by myself. I get the same thing every time; the chili-verde burrito with rice and beans. Come to find out, Came, the owner’s sister and our waitress has noticed. We sat down and she says in her sweet Spanish accent and raised eyebrows, “Chili-verde with rice and beans?” LOL – I’ve turned into a regular! This has never happened before… I don’t know whether to be ashamed of eating out too much and being predicable or take it as a compliment that they remember me. Either way, “Guadalajara Night” what my mom and I called every other Wednesday in High School, has almost creped into my marriage as a norm. (Yay!)

A Little of This, A Little of That

I've copied Lissa on her playlist idea. As I started to gather songs though I realized my taste for bands has come directly from being the youngest of 5. Imagine this, a four year old Nattie jumping on Rosie's bed singing all the words to "Haunted When the Minutes Drag" off the 1988 movie, She's Having a Baby. "Haunted by your soul, Haunted by your hair..." Or better yet, a four year old me coming up with the interpretive dance for "Roll the Bones," by Rush. "Why are we here? (shrugging shoulders with hands out in why gesture) Because we're here. (both hands pointing down to the ground) Roll the bones. (Both hands pushing outwards as if pushing something)" LOL. So in tribute to those that have helped develop my taste in music the playlist to the left includes a song that was influenced from each member of my fam. Beginning with Mom, who has enforced the classics - I chose Vivaldi's Summer. Next, Dad - he began my affinity for Led Zepplin which is why I chose The Immigrant Song. Jen gave me my small fraction of love for country, hence Josh Turner's My Man. Rosie's phase of all things dark led to my liking of Beautiful South. They have an interesting way of making disturbing lyrics surprisingly upbeat. Melissa had a period of ska in high school. I've never stopped liking Dance Hall Crashers because of it. Billy's donation list could have been long but I chose Duran Duran - being in our St. Louis condo while the parents were out meant the CD player was blaring with Duran of the Duran's. So thank you for my wide array of music taste.

Cross Your T's & Dot Your I's!

Alvin's interview at the University of Utah begins tomorrow going on through Friday. I'm crossing my fingers, my eyes, my toes, etc... that this will go smoothly for him. I have all the confidence in the world that just being himself will blow them out of the water. Being accepted to the U would be killer! They have an amazing PT program, doable tuition, and the farthest we'd have to move is 20 minutes south! We really appreciate all the prayers. I love you sugar and know you've got much more than it takes!

Thick Envelopes

A few months ago when we got this whole application process going my sister Rosie was commiserating about completing the process as Jimmy was getting into Law school. “The best part is getting those thick envelopes,” she mentioned. Thick envelopes meant there was much more information than just a single sheet of paper thanking you for your application but denying you admission. Thick envelopes meant there was hope for information on student housing, financial aid, and program curriculum all of course would only be sent because you had been accepted. Even though we’ve heard from 70% of the schools we’ve applied to, not one of them has corresponded via ‘snail mail’. Jimmy began law school in 2003 (I think…) isn’t it interesting that in just 6 years they’ve all but eliminated the ‘thick envelope’? As an impatient person I shouldn’t complain; email is heaven sent. But for the sake of experiencing the ‘thick envelope’ I think I might create a bogus school and mail Alvin a package bursting at the seams, just so he can tear into it. Sadly it will be very anticlimactic when all he finds is 80 pages of blank college-ruled paper with a sticky note attached reading, “I’ve been told you’ll need this kind.”

Here’s an update:

Creighton Omaha, NE Interview 3/20/09
DMU Des Moines, IA Interviewed 1/9/09
Regis Denver, CO Interview 1/29/09
WUSTL St. Louis, MO Accepted
EW Cheney, WA Interview 2/21/09
UofU SLC, UT Interview 1/22-23/09
Puget Seattle, WA Nothing as of yet
UNLV Las Vegas, NV Interview 2/20/09
NAU Flagstaff, AZ Nothing as of yet
SU Winchester, VA Nothing as of yet

Could You Repeat That?

Yesterday was an ordinary Wednesday. I went to work. Alvin went to school. Around 8:00 pm we were settling into our nightly routine; me playing on my blog and Alvin surfing KSL. He has just posted his laptop on KSL so when his phone rang I thought nothing of it, thinking it was someone interested in his ad. Then I heard, “You’re kidding me!.....This is Washington University in St. Louis accepting me?!”

In deed it was. Susan Deusinger, the Director of Physical Therapy at WUSTL called Alvin to inform him he is accepted into their Doctorate of Physical Therapy Program. This is like getting accepted into the Harvard of Physical Therapy schools. Washington University in St. Louis is ranked #2 in the nation. (http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/grad/pht/search)

We are stunned to say the least. In fact, we thought it might have been a prank call. We even Googled the number to make sure it was for real...lol. When we sent the application we felt it was a shot in the dark! After making phone calls to our family with the awesome news the reality of this set in. We haven’t made a definite decision as of yet. Alvin is still going to interview with the University of Utah next week but he is going to forego interviewing at Regis and Creighton. My stomach is in knots with worry. There are so many factors to consider in this hefty decision. One of the largest factors being cost of tuition; three years at the U will cost approximately $45,000, three years at WUSTL will cost approximately $105,000. We’ve begun the stressful road of finding out if going to a top 5 school will make a difference. This is all of course, if Alvin gets into the U as well. If that doesn’t happen our decision has been made for us. All in all I’m extremely proud of my sweetheart for this accomplishment!