And the Winner is....a Tie!!

On the 14 categories that I was interested in watching/guessing, we logged 9 proper guesses each, for an Oscar night tie! But really, I won Best Picture, so that should really count for double points. :)

My's wins:

1. Best Picture (No Country For Old Men)
2. Best Animated Feature (Ratatouille)
3. Directing (No Country For Old Men)
4. Cinematography (There Will Be Blood)
5. Actoring Leading (Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood)
6. Actor Supporting (Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men)
7. Art Direction (Sweeney Todd)
8. Screenplay Adapted (No Country For Old Men)
9. Screenplay Original (Juno)

My husband's wins:

1. Best Animated Feature (Ratatouille)
2. Directing (No Country For Old Men)
3. Actoring Leading (Daniel Day Lewis, There Will Be Blood)
4. Actor Supporting (Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men)
5. Actress Leading (Marion Cotillard, La Vie En Rose)
   
6. Art Direction (Sweeney Todd)
7. Film Editing (Bourne Ultimatum)
   
8. Screenplay Adapted (No Country For Old Men)
9. Screenplay Original (Juno)

Winning dress for the night: 1) Dame Helen Mirren. Spectacular. I hope to look this good at her age, and just wish someone would design a dress this spectacular for me. 2) George Clooney's date's dress. Lovely. 3) Again, Kathrine Heigl. I don't really like her body of work, and her teeth are like perfect shaped orzo, but this dress was spectacular, as was the hair and jewelry. Slightly better than the white denim number from last year. http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200709/r183893_681941.jpg
Not unlike my eighth grade graduation dress, only longer.

See you next Oscar season!!

And the Oscar Goes to....

They're finally here! The Oscars are on Sunday night, and after weeks of viewing and renting, I feel prepared and informed.
What I missed:

1. The Golden Compass { I'm just not that into sci-fi, tho I am that into Daniel Craig }
2. I'm Not There { was only here for a very short time, and didn't come back }
3. Charlie Wilson's War
4. Persepolis
   
5. In the Valley of Elah

What I saw:

1. Atonement { well, the first half was good. }
2. Juno { witty banter a la Gilmore Girls -- who talks like this? otherwise, loved it. }
3. Michael Clayton { wasn't all that for me. }
4. No Country For Old Men { loved it. my nominee for best picture }
5. There Will Be Blood { great acting, directing, and cinematography. found the story dull. }
6. Ratatouille { loved it! wished it was set in New Orleans instead -- would have helped the economy there. }
7. Surf's Up { story wasn't as good as Ratatouille, but the animation was great! }
8. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly { not as uplifting as the previews pretend. }
9. The Assassination of the Outlaw Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford { kind slow }
10. Sweeney Todd { LOVED IT! barber chair duet was great! }
11. Eastern Promises { yep, naked fighting scene makes this movie. }
12. Into the Wild { how was this nominated for film editing? PLEASE. So many errors. I liked it otherwise. }
13. Elizabeth: the Golden Age { on the docket for tonight }
14. Away From Her { poignant, but depressing }
15. La Vie en Rose { received the appropriate nomination. }
16. The Savages { HATED THIS MOVIE. Billed as quirky and clever. NOT. }
17. American Gangster { saw it when it was called "Blow." }
18. Gone Baby Gone { harsh message, but I liked it. thought-provoking. }
19. 27 Dresses { ok, this wasn't nominated for anything, but I accidentally ended up at the wrong theater, and it was just starting so I indulged. decent chick flick. }
20. Across the Universe { mostly entertaining, but was no Sweeney Todd }
21. The Bourne Ultimatum { eh. }
22. Pirates of the Caribbean { special effects were outstanding... }
23. Transformers { better than I thought it was going to be. }
24. Lars and the Real Girl { LOVED THIS MOVIE!! }
25. Lust, Caution { on the docket for tonight }

My prediction is that "No Country For Old Men" will sweep the ceremony!

Guess We Still Have to Walk Miss Ginger.

You know how when you hang a small dog over water they intuitively begin to paddle, even though they are not yet in the water?
















Well, in case you were wondering, this phenomenon does not work with treadmills.

Commute

Well, in an attempt to reduce my parking bill even further (to $34 from $62...and down from $105 in PDX!) by switching to a three-day a week pass instead of a five-day a week pass, I ran to work on Friday. It's only three miles, which is less than I do on a treadmill, so it shouldn't be a problem. And we are lucky enough to have a showers and a locker room in the building, so there's no excuse. It was a great run! Sure the weather report said some snow showers were possible, but we were also supposed to have a high of 42 degrees, so no worries, right?
















Then this arrived! Gah!! Thankfully it cleared, and I was able to make it home. I'll try this new commute again next week!

It's Not OK.

It's wrong, and I'm against it. If you want a wagon, buy a Subaru.











And can I just say, this isn't my Mini...

We're ALL IN (Idaho)!

Well, for the first time in nearly 6 months, all our stuff is in Idaho! Over the past weekend Poo, Art, and Carolyn graciously helped load it all into a biiiig truck, and then my husband drove it to our storage unit here in just about 8 hours!

Here he's making his "Airborne" face in the hopes that Poo's cold germs kept to themselves over the weekend.

It feels slightly better to not be so scattered...only 24 more wake-ups until we can take possession of our new abode!!

Happy Wee Valentine's Cupcake!

The project manager for a highway report team brought the team wee V-day cupcakes! I was recently assigned to this project, so got to share in the wee cupcake bonanza! Whoo-hoo!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My sweet sweet husband began plying me with goodies on Wednesday, in the dire hope that I will agree to be his Valentine! This lovely bouquet of tulips brought me the admiration and envy of all my peers.

I'm definitely taking his request under consideration. He seems like a really excellent candidate.

(The bright shadows in this picture are cast by this large bright globe they call "the sun.")

Happy Valentine's Day!

House Update!

House transaction stuff is going well enough. Our inspection went fine, and sellers accepted our repair addendum. We will likely have another inspection by our lender (the VA) down the road.

I thought we moved the close date to March 5, but instead we moved it to March 12. TWELFTH! That is sooo long from now...

And They Say It's Bronco Nation

After a loooong day at work, this fantastic note left under my windshield made me smile.

I love that someone went to all this trouble to pass on this sentiment!

We Bought a House!

Not ones to dilly-dally over important decisions, we went ahead and bought a house! It's blue!! It's almost 1800sf (but somehow feels cozier than our Beaverton house!) It was listed as a 4 bedroom, 1 bath, though we are hard-pressed to identify which rooms are considered the bedrooms...no matter, as they'll likely be TV rooms and offices anyway!

There's a huge deck in the backyard with a firepit, a big outbuilding with a loft and a woodstove, and....a hot tub in the backyard. We're not exactly sure what we're going to do with that piece...

And one of the best parts? It's very close in. Just over a mile and a half from work! Whoo-hoo!!

The purchase closes on Wednesday, March 12! We are very excited to get our of our tiny condo and into our new home!

The Chicken R.anch!

In our new back yard is this tiny chicken house. The current owners will be taking their chickens with them, but someone coined the term "chicken ranch." Henceforth, we will refer to our residence by this name. Hopefully our new house will not be confused with the more popular establishments with the same name in Texas and Nevada.

The Main Floor Living Space!

This is the kitchen, living room, and dining room. We might be moving some walls around in there...and hope to remove that giant tile in the dining room someday.

The Bedrooms!

These are the two upstairs bedrooms. I will promptly buy a black shade for that sky light! We aren't sure what we are going to do with the attic room.

The Unfinished (Partially-Finished?) Basement!

I think this the so-called fourth bedroom in the partially-finished basement. We will plan to upgrade and remodel this space down the road!