Two weeks in review

Olivia is still feverish and has been fussing a lot and acting all out of sorts, so we are headed to the doctor after her nap. I know it's probably just some viral thing and there's probably not a darn thing we can do about it, but three consecutive days of fever makes me want to at least try.

As you've figured out by now, I have my computer back. YAY! Well, not the same computer...it's a new computer with all of my old documents loaded onto it. I'm really looking forward to learning the new software and such, but I'm most excited that our bad hard drive didn't eat all of my beloved files before our computer-genius friend was able to transfer them. By the way, did you know that putting a bad hard drive in the freezer can make it easier to retrieve old files before the hard drive completely dies? I never knew that, but it's true.

Since new computers come with USB keyboards, Olivia inherited our old keyboard. Now, maybe she'll leave my computer alone...yeah, right.

"Play with 'puters, Mommy?"

In the past two weeks of computerless existence, I have become friends with my DVR and the millions of movie channels that we are receiving for free for a promotional period of time. Since those channels will disappear soon, I thought I might as well get some use out of them. I have found that there's not a lot on those channels that's worth paying for, and I don't have time to watch most of the movies that ARE on even if I record them.

We recorded "Bee Movie" for Olivia, and she is addicted to it. Every single time we turn the TV on, she requests the "honeybees?". It's like how she requests her silly songs CDs every time we are in the car. I am no longer allowed to listen to talk radio unless she is sleeping in the backseat, and apparently I can't watch anything but bees unless she is napping. I don't know what is so captivating, but she will sit still in one spot and be locked in on that movie. Nothing else holds her attention so completely. It's a teeny bit scary.

I also recorded a few movies that I've been meaning to watch. "Mamma Mia" was one of those, and I must say that I was EXTREMELY disappointed. Perhaps it was ruined by the fact that I saw the show on stage before seeing it on screen, but I think it's more than that. The stage production was like a really fun Abba revival concert with some silly story thrown in to entertain you between numbers. The movie was like a really badly acted story with some Abba songs thrown in to distract you from how much you HATED the rest of the movie. I actually liked some of the songs. Others were distracting. Pierce Brosnan forcing out a melody and trying to act it out as well? Ick. Also, who decided that capri-length denim overalls were a good look for Meryl Streep? They just made her look ridiculous...even more ridiculous than acting out Abba songs while trying to make them seem remotely related to the story made her look.

I had so much fun at the theater production. I guess this is just one example of where a musical doesn't translate well to screen. But I must say I did love the encore numbers (loved them on stage too, but for different reasons). I enjoyed watching seasoned actors make fools of themselves with awful retro costumes and bad dancing. They MUST have all been drunk for that shoot, because I cannot imagine any other reason that they would have allowed themselves to look that silly.

Moving on...

I also became reacquainted with my library over the past two weeks. It was my only internet source, which was my primary reason for visiting. But I also read some good books. My favorite was The Lacemakers of Glenmara. GREAT book. It was captivating and so well written that I could imagine myself in that tiny, forgotten Irish village. I think it would make a great movie. If you haven't read it, I would highly recommend it.

We also spent some time doing this:


And this:

Ate lots of this:


Saw some of these:

Drank a bunch of these.
And now you are updated.