Gnomance

There are a few things that will always make me super happy. (Okay, there are actually quite a few things.) This year for Valentine's Day, Brad focused on two of the most sure-fire ways to make me grin big: flowers and silly, animated movies aimed toward children. But this particular date movie incorporated even another one of my life loves: gnomes! I've been dying to see Gnomeo and Juliet for a while now, and was so excited when he suggested it following dinner! There's nothing like some Gnomance to round out the year's most romantic holiday!

I'm so not even ashamed to admit that I completely loved it. I literally laughed the entire time. The plot was great and the characters were awesome. Each of them were classic yard ornaments with personalities that stayed true to their individual identities, from the sunbathing guy to the fishing guy to the girl holding a rose to the man leaning on a mushroom. The gnomey characteristics were absolutely hilarious. (They made a ceramic chinking sound every time they touched; they fought for status by maintaining the nicest garden and by racing lawn mowers; and their makeovers consisted of magic-markering her "eyeliner" and white-outing his beard.) The movie totally embraced the tackiness that surrounds gnomes by featuring a tree growing out of a toilet in the middle of the yard and then by them befriending a neighboring pink flamingo. Honestly, every detail was quirky, ironic, clever, and totally funny. If you like dumb G-rated films and/or lawn ornaments, you seriously need to watch this movie. I think you'll enjoy it.

Even better yet, it was in 3D! Wooty woot! Okay, really, 3D isn't all that awesome to me, especially as it seems that every new movie is going into the third dimension. But it was still fun. Besides, the ultra hip glasses provided a great photo shoot while we patiently waited for the previews to begin.

We may have secretly stolen six additional a couple extra pairs of the geeky shades from the recycle box receptacle to use with Charles' new 3D equipped gaming system. (Is it a PS3? Eh, ya got me. I have no idea.) Shhh... Don't tell.

I love lame movies. I love gnomes. I love silly self-portraits. I love goofing off with my best friend. I love special dinners. I love feeling loved. I love my husband. Pretty much, Valentine's Day 2011 was chalk-full of love. And love is another one of those things that will always make me super happy.  :)

Harry Potter 7 Movie Release

You better believe Brad and I watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, yesterday! But, I bet you didn't know that we saw it twice! Oh yes! We are that amount of Potter Freak!

We had (obviously) purchased our 12:01 release tickets weeks ago. But, through some pretty sweet connections, we were able to get our hands on a free pair of tickets to a pre-release premiere that showed at 7:30, a whole four and a half hours before the rest of the country! (Well, not considering time zones, those lucky coastals!) Brad and I absolutely could not miss out on that chance! It was some promotional thing for a new "Big D Experience" theater (which really was pretty awesome), but we didn't really care about that at all. We just wanted to watch the movie!

We got there before 5:00 to make sure we got legit seats. We were numbers 14 and 15 in line, and it's a good thing, too, because the place filled up super quickly. After hours in line, we got two great (Big D, leather rocking) seats in the back row, and thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of the final installment to the HP franchise.

But just because we had already seen the movie, didn't mean that we were going to skip out on the Midnight Mania! As soon as the movie finished, we sprinted out of there and hightailed across the city to the theater near our house where we had our 12:01 tickets reserved. We were worried that we'd get terrible seats (or not even get seats together) since we hadn't been waiting in the line for hours, but to our pleasant surprise, they were already allowing people to go into the theater instead of waiting in a line outside. We marched our way to the top row, politely asked three teenage boys to scoot down a chair to make two available together, and we plopped ourselves down in the very best, very middle seats feeling smug that we already knew what was going to happen. And not just "we've read the book, so we know what's going to happen" kind of smugness, but the "we've totally already seen this movie before you were even allowed to, so we know what's going to happen" kind. We tried not to let it go to our heads.

Honestly, I believe that this 7th film is the very best Potter movie, yet. It was seriously so good. So intense. So action packed. So suspenseful. So well acted. So accurate to the book. Simply put: so great. It was everything a Potterhead could want in a film adaptation. I'm super glad that they split this book into two movies. I think the extra screen time really allowed for them to stay true to the story and keep (most) everything from the plot in tact. I'm so, completely satisfied.

However, I'm not going to lie, since Brad's read the 7th book more recently than I have, there was more than one occasion when I leaned over to him and whispered, "Is that how it happened in the book?" or "I don't understand. What happens with that?" If I weren't so proud of Brad's Potter knowledge and devotion, I'd be ashamed of myself. Oh, I forgot to mention, Brad dressed up for the occasion! He totally wore his Gryffindor tie and Quidditch robe (that is very much too small, as it is a child's costume, but we were given by a friend)! I was so surprised, and sooooo happy! He's a Potter Freak just like me, and he's proud of it!!

There really is just something special and unique about watching a movie at Midnight (or earlier). You're amongst all of the other freaks out there who love the story just as much as you do and aren't ashamed to admit it. It's such a neat experience to live through all of the events and emotions as one with a huge room full of people (and across the country) who are just as wrapped up into the characters as you are.

That feeling of oneness combined with the chance to finally enjoy Harry Potter alongside a husband who finally enjoys it himself is priceless. Last night provided some memories I'll cherish for long to come. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to be part of the Harry Potter frenzy.

Now, I'm really looking forward to July 2011 when we get to watch the exciting conclusion to Harry Potter's journey! I'm most definitely already counting down.

Double Date

Friday, Brad and I embarked upon a double date with our favorite across-the-street-and-over-one neighbors, Kris and Emily. It couldn't have been better, since the boys totally indulged Em and me and let us do exactly what we wanted.

Which, of course, began with a hot dog dinner from Cori's Dog House. Mmmm... So incredibly delicious. I got the Chicago Dog, which is really code for Too Big and Loaded With Tons of Great Stuff to Actually be Edible Dog. Even though I had to take two bites (top and bottom) for every one bite, it was totally worth it. There's nothing better than a good hot dog.

Then we went to the movies for Toy Story 3's opening night! Oh, how I love all things Disney Pixar. I was a little nervous, since I had so much riding on this sequel. The first Toy Story came out when I was only 10 years old, and it holds a special place in my heart. But the second installment was great (possibly even better than the first?), so I had high hopes that it would only add to the great foundation.

We definitely were not disappointed. The final movie in this Toy Story trilogy encompasses the same charming characters with endearing relationships as the first two. Now, I won't say that it is better than either of the previous installments, but it definitely deserves to be in the same category. I really feel like it was a perfect ending to the story of Andy and his toys. And I'm such a sap that I love when stories are wrapped up with a pretty little bow.

Brad pretended to be too cool and grown up for such a "kids' movie," but then he went and spent $0.75 on the mustache machine to look like a Fernando. Now that's the boy that I fell in love with. ♥

Have you seen Toy Story 3, yet? Are you planning to? Have you seen and loved the first two, or all other Pixar movies, for that matter? Is there any food out there better than a giant hot dog?

Behind the Busy Season

Here's what you've missed over the last couple of months while I was busy with Tax Season. Join me as we fast forward through the most recent events:

Some of my girlfriends celebrated our 2nd Annual Girls' Night Out, complete with dinner at Red Robin's and a movie. (However, this year, we decided to leave out the falling down the theater steps. Thank goodness.) We got together and watched Alice in Wonderland in 3D. It was pretty awesome. I'm generally a little skeptical of Tim Burton, just because he's so strange, but this movie was incredible. The visual effects were stunning. So many times, I caught myself thinking, "How in the world did they pull that off??" Oh yeah, and the entire cast (especially Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter) are wonderful. If you still haven't seen it, I totally recommend it.

Over Easter weekend, we had a nice visit from some Metcalfs. Even though I had to work the whole time, they kept quite busy with Easter Egg Hunts and visits to the park. The boys (including Clinton) worked on our new Tahoe to get some things working, while Rachel "picked flower (dandelions) for her wedding." Seriously, these kids are the cutest things I've ever seen! It was awesome to get to hang out with (and show off our new house to) TJ & Jennie and their family, my dad, and also my brother Richard, whom I honestly don't believe I've legitimately visited with for years now. Why have we never been in the same place at the same time?? I am so thankful for some new memories together.

In addition to some time spend with my family in Nashville, we spent some time with Brad's family back up in Indiana. His dad turned the big 5-0 this month, and his (crazy) family planned an extensive surprise birthday party to celebrate the momentous occasion. It was fully equipped with black balloons, black roses, age-appropriate toilettries, various t-shirts with his head photo-shopped onto his multiple characterizations, a "Truth Or Lie about Don Mehaffey" game, and some hilariously embarrassing stories of him growing up. All of the adorable pictures of him as a child didn't sway anyone away from viciously making fun of him in front of everybody. It was awesome. His siblings did a great job planning and organizing, and his sons did a decent job stalling him while we executed the plan. I do believe this is one birthday that Don won't soon forget. Oh wait, he's old now. There's a good chance he already doesn't remember any of it. It's a good thing we took some pictures...

And that's what you missed during Busy Season. Sorry it was such a quick recap, but I had to get caught up ASAP, so I could move on forward. I can't wait to show you what all we've done with our house!!

Valentine's Day 2010

For Valentine's Day this year, Brad surprised me with a homemade card! How sweet is he!? He literally created a card with construction paper and markers. I honestly loved it more than nearly any other gift, ever. On the back of it, he had taped the soundtrack to Valentine's Day the Movie because I am more than obsessed with Taylor Swift, who not only stars in the movie, but also wrote a new song just for the project.

After I ooh'ed and aah'ed over my card, we hopped in the car and went to dinner. Every year, Brad's parents send us a gift card to Olive Garden, and every year it is our Valentine's Day date. It's such a nice gift, because since we've been married, we've always been just broke enough to not splurge on dates. However, this once a year, we get to order food without hesitance.

When we left the restaurant, after enjoying each other's company over a romantic meal, he surprised me by pulling into the movie theater. The soundtrack to Valentine's Day the Movie wasn't all Brad had up his sleeve! He loved me enough to voluntarily subject himself to a chick flick! Of course, I enjoyed the movie more than he did, but he was gracious enough to not talk to badly of it, especially because he knows how much I adore me some Taylor Swift (and Ashton Kutcher, and Topher Grace).

Over all, it was a great surprise Valentine's Day. Brad is the sweetest ever, and I totally love being loved on. How in the world did I snag such a great guy??

Brownie Points for Brad

Speaking of concerts... Guess what Brad did on Friday! He totally surprised me with the best date ever!

I had plans to hang out with some girls Friday night. (Watch Dirty Dancing, really important stuff, you know.) He called me towards the end of the work day and said that he was sad he wouldn't get to see me that night, and wondered if I'd be willing to hang around my office a little bit later so that he could stop by and see me while he was in the area. Well, I'll never turn down an impromptu visit from my beau at the office, so I gladly agreed.

He showed up at 5:05... carrying a bag. I was thrilled to see him (in my favorite shirt) as always, but was a little confused about the bag he brought. He plopped it on my desk and declared that he had "brought some things I'd need for the night."

Uhhh... Huh? What would I need from him in order for me to watch my all-time favorite movie with the girls? I curiously perused the bag and discovered some clothes. I immediately recognized it as the dress and leggings that he had casually asked me to try on for him to see if he liked them together, the night before. (Hmm, how convenient.) Upon a little deeper exploration into the bag, I found two nonchalant concert tickets to see the Casting Crowns concert for that evening lying on the bottom!

What!?! I have been wanting to go to this concert forever! It has been constantly advertised on the radio; some close friends of ours were planning on going to see them (for the third time!); and the billboard on the way to work was reminding me every day how much wanted to go. Just that morning I had thought, "at least after tonight I won't have to hear about it anymore." And then here comes Brad with tickets out of nowhere! What a great surprise!!

And these weren't just any tickets. Oh no. These were tickets purchased the week after they became available, way back in June! Brad had kept it a secret from me for three months! And he had already called the girls to explain that I'd be missing out on the movie night, and to reschedule our (very important) viewing of the best movie of all time.

I changed into my "concert attire" (complete with accessories and shoes!), and we headed downtown for dinner at Demos' before walking to the Sommet Center. Our seats were awesome!! We were on the floor, section 3, row 7. Seriously, we didn't even have to zoom to take good pictures!

Matt Redmond was the opening act, and he was great. I didn't realize how many of the songs I am familiar with, he wrote! They had all the lyrics to each song displayed on the screens so that we could all sing along, and the sound of the crowd of 1,000's of Christians all coming together to sing praises to our Lord took my breath away.

Shortly after, Casting Crowns took the stage and blew us away with a remarkable show! Brad and I have been fans for a long time, and knew nearly ever song. We were so close to losing our voices from belting out the music along with the band by the end of the night. What a blessing to be surrounded by believers, unifying in worship.

The whole evening was wonderful. Anytime I get to spend time with just my husband, is great. Anytime he surprises me, I love it. Anytime we're at a concert, feeling the live music in our chests, we're happy. Anytime we're in the very middle of a giant group of Christians, we're truly blessed. What a great evening. Thanks, honey!

Have you ever been completely surprised? What's the best surprise (or attempted surprise) you've ever gotten or given?

Snow Patrol in the Fall

Brad and I enjoy music a lot. Nashville is a convenient place to live with that hobby, since there are concerts on every block. Our BF's, Charles and Emily love music, as well. Actually, that's pretty much an understatement. He's a musical engineer/producer and she's a singer/songwriter. So, really, they are all about music.

Last week, they had two extra tickets to the Snow Patrol concert. None of us were completely familiar with the band other than their one big hit, Chasing Cars, but we all knew we really liked that song, and we were totally pumped for the show. Not to mention, the Plain White T's opened for them, and we I absolutely love their big hit, Hey There Delilah and couldn't wait to hear it live.

So, Friday night, we headed downtown and enjoyed some scrumptious dinner at Rippy's before walking over to the Ryman Auditorium for the concert. It was super awesome. Both the Plain White T's and Snow Patrol were great shows. And it turns out, we recognized more songs from both bands than we thought we knew.

Pretty much, we would enjoy ourselves and have a super great time with Charles and Emily, regardless of what we do. Oftentimes, that includes music (sometimes live, sometimes tracks they just finished in the studio, sometimes just "great classics" that they are enlightening us with), but anytime it's in the Ryman, it's considered worthy of a blog post. :)

Thanks, guys, for the free tickets. It was a ton of fun. We'll have to do it again, sometime!

Have you been to a concert lately? What's your favorite musical group or concert you've ever been to? Tell me all about it!

Movies at the Mall

Have you heard of the new Julie & Julia movie? It's "based on two true stories" - the making of Julia Child in the 1940's, and the present time, year-long blog experiment of Julie Powell as she commits to cooking all 542 recipes in Julia's cook book.

The movie doesn't technically release until this Friday, but Cristin came upon four free movie passes to the pre-screening of the film. It was definitely an occasion that called for a girls' night out at the mall! Heather, Emily and I joined her, last night, at Opry Mills. We spent some time playing in Forever21 before dining lavishly in the food court. Once we were finished eating our various meals, we headed straight into the cinema (with only a short break to pine over the new New Moon poster).

Let me just say, that I loved the movie. Way more than I anticipated. Meryl Streep as Julia Child was hilarious! It was weird to see Amy Adams with short hair, but she played the role perfectly. There were a few curse words (and one F-word) that clearly earned the PG-13 rating, but it was wonderful.

Watching Julia Child learn to cook was amusing. (Heather and I could hardly keep from giggling to ourselves as she so resembled our father-in-law's spot on impression of her!) The idea that even Julia Child had to start somewhere regarding her cooking is very encouraging to kitchen-haters like myself.

The blog references regarding Current Day Julie were completely relatable! Well, for those of us who blog, at least. She frequently mentioned longing for comments from readers and cheered out loud at work when she got her first one. I totally know that feeling. As a blog writer, you wonder if anybody ever actually reads your blog, and each comment feels like a nice, warm, hand-written letter in the mailbox.

(Ahem. If you're reading this, leave a comment - even if it's just to say, "Hey, I read this." I'll get all giddy over it. I promise.)

There was also a nice love story (well, two) of healthy, happy, married couples. It was oh-so-nice to see husbands and wives loving, encouraging, and supporting each other. Great change from the norm.

I really do recommend the movie to anybody who likes blogs (which you do, since you're reading this), likes to cook, likes Julia Child, or Meryl Streep or Amy Adams, or just comedy in general. (They indulge you as Julie and her husband joyfully watch Dan Akroyd's classic Julia Child skit from SNL.)

Evenings with the girls are always fun, especially when we're at the mall or watching a great chick flick together. Combine those two activities, and make the movie a free, sneak preview, and you've got a pretty great night on your hands! Thanks, Cristin, for making it happen!

FDH Field Day '09

I'm lucky blessed enough to work at a super great firm and also genuinely enjoy spending time with the people with whom I work. Not only does it make the day-to-day activities more bearable, but it also makes firm-wide events much more fun!

Yesterday, we closed the office early and headed to the park for the Company Picnic, which included a cookout as well as "relay events." There were two teams that competed in the activities: the audit employees (the A-Team) and the tax employees (the T-Team). Apparently, there is an unspoken rivalry between these two accounting fields that I was oblivious of until a competition was suggested. Let me tell you, trash talk abounded throughout the office in the days and weeks prior to the picnic!

Since I'm "neutral," I, along with the few other non-tax-non-audit employees were haphazardly placed on one team or the other. For a few intense days, I was tax, through and through. You better believe I was smack talking with the best of 'em! (Even though many of the auditors are some of my best friends in the office!)

The whole FDH Crew, along with their families, came together on the field to compete in five relay events: The Sack Race, The Dizzy Bat, The Egg Race, The Wheel Barrow, and The 3-Legged Race. You can't possibly understand how hilarious it was to see our partners hopping around in sacks and spinning in circles with their heads (supposedly) on baseball bats. We all laughed so hard and had a great time, despite the stiff competition. Brad and I both participated in the sack race, the egg race, and the wheel barrow race. And just FYI, it's very difficult for a short person to hold an extremely long person up by only their legs!

The A-Team thought they could intimidate us by sporting some sweet, matching sweatbands, but we knew it was all just talk. As evidenced by the fact that we dominated the sports. The T-Team creamed them with a whopping 4-1 victory. Boom! Roasted!

But I was glad when the games were all said and done so I could reestablish my neutral position. Even though I love a lot of the tax guys, I was starting to miss my audit friends. Now, it's all water under the bridge. Well, kind of. The scoreboard has been displayed right outside of the office kitchen, just to "gently remind everyone of who defeated whom." Old rivalries die hard...

Oh, and just because I have to, look at some of the oh-so-adorable kids that I got to spend time with! I never knew my coworkers had such cute families!

Company picnics are the best! Especially when you're so blessed to work with so many friends!

Complete FDH Field Day Photo Album

Two Thumbs Way "UP!"

Pixar has never let me down before. I fell in love with them with Toy Story (1 and 2), and have excitedly followed them through Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and others, including my personal favorite, Cars. Brad and I are not ashamed; we've not only bought movie tickets to these "children's movies" even though we have no children to use as an excuse, we've also joined right along with all the kids while we laugh hysterically in the theater.

When I heard that they were coming out with a new movie, I got super excited. What could they possibly come up with next? (Pixar has never followed the Disney "damsel in distress / save the princess" routine, and every presentation has been uniquely different.) All that I knew about Up was what I could gather from the poster: It was about an old man, a little boy, and a house floating by balloons. I tried very hard to not watch previews, because I have learned many times over that previews oftentimes spoil the movie by showing all of the best parts. (Which is also the case with this film. I have since watched the preview. Consider yourself warned.) Besides, I knew it was Pixar, I knew it would be great, and I knew I wanted to see it. Why would I need to watch a preview, anyway?

Just as I presumed, Brad and I, along with Alex and Amber, ventured out into the movie world and forked over a small fortune to gain access into the Wonderful World of Pixar this past Friday to lounge in stadium seats and view Up, first hand, on its release date.

Oh, and Alex and Amber smuggled in some Dollar Tree candy. Shame, shame.

Alright, my final review? The movie was awesome! I'm not kidding. I t-totally loved it! I won't say much, because I would hate to spoil it for you, since I know you're all going to take my recommendation and run out and watch it this week! But I will tell you that I laughed, and I cried, and I wasn't the only one! It was seriously an emotional roller coaster! I can't believe that Pixar was able to make you fall so in love with their characters that you literally feel every emotion right along with them! Amber and I (along with the boys, only they won't admit it) grew completely involved with this little old man and his young counterpart. We would be moved to tears in one scene, only to be pleasantly humored in the next. I've never been laughing and crying so much at the exact same time! Here's proof of our simultaneous, opposite emotions. This picture of Amber and me was taken immediately after the movie. We were sufficiently filled up with happiness and literally ready to stay seated just to watch the next showing of the film right over again! (If only that were legal.) I give it my highest recommendation. I have a strong feeling that you'll like it.

Oh, and as a special treat, look at what they teased me with! The sixth Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, coming out next month!! I can't even describe how anxiously I am awaiting this installment of my favorite series ever! This is one case in which I do watch the previews (over and over again). Just in case you're wondering, my prep work is coming along swimmingly. I'm about half way through the 3rd book as I reread the Potter Story (for the 3rd time) to get ready to witness the intensity that this 6th movie is sure to deliver! If you're new to the Potter-verse, come on in! The water's fine!

Praise, Worship, and Lots of Fun

For my birthday, this year, Brad and I went to see Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith in concert at the Ryman Auditorium, while they sang to their hometown crowd in Nashville during their United Tour. It was absolutely amazing to see these two Christian artist legends joining forces on the same stage. I've procrastinated posting about the event simply because I really don't have words to describe it appropriately.

So many emotions were rolled up to one evening. Most importantly, it was incredibly, spiritually uplifting to be unashamedly singing praises to my God with so many fellow believers.

There were many moments that brought tears to my eyes. Some simply because the music and the emotions filling the Ryman were so moving and real. A couple moments, however, caused me to cry a mixture of sadness as well as joyful tears. You see, Steven Curtis Chapman has a remarkable story of tragedy within his family about the death of his little daughter, and a song that he wrote about loving and letting go of his little girl before the accident ever occurred. To hear him talk about the loss was difficult enough, but to listen to him sing that sweet song not even a year after her death was heartbreaking.

However, the tears turned to symbols of sympathetic joy as he continually gave God the glory for all good things and explained that he has faith that our Lord is the Master Creator who is creating a magnificent piece of artwork throughout our lives. Oftentimes, we are so close that it looks like a jumbled mess, he explained. But, God has such a vantage point that allows him to see the whole work of art - including every story, every tear, every smile, past, present, and future. Where things may not make sense to us at this moment and at this angle, faith in our Father helps us to truly believe that it all works together for the good of His children. What an incredible testament!

Furthermore, the show was simply so much fun! The guys poked fun at each other's "embarrassing" beginnings and sang each other's old, old hits ("Go West Young Man") and old styles (mullets and all). They shared the stage for quite a while, then Steven Curtis Chapman sang by himself. Came back together for a while, before Michael W. Smith took the stage alone. They finished by joining forces and leading a worship set (of songs that we sing every week, but they actually wrote!) that honestly raised the roof.

It was an incredible opportunity, and I feel blessed that I was able to experience the worship as well as witness the love and faith of so many, especially Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith, themselves. (It was also a great opportunity to grow more acquainted with Show Hope, Steven Curtis Chapman's ministry to care for orphans around the world. Check it out.) I was definitely blessed by being there. Thank you, Brad, for a great 25th birthday. Thank you, Lord, for loving me enough to place people and events like these in my path.

Entire Concert Photo Album

Girls' Night Out

What could possibly be better than a classic girls' night? Well, a mega girls' night that includes over 20 of your favorite friends, your all-time-favorite burger joint, and a great chick flick, of course! You see, in our group, we have quite a few babies on the way; a couple of which are really on their way. So, last night, "The Girls" organized a get together to enjoy some much needed pre-infant bonding time.

Our night commenced with a group meal at Red Robin, which is quite possibly the greatest restaurant of all time. For real. They are known for their gourmet burgers (with unusual toppings such as guacamole and fried eggs) and their bottomless steak fries. Yeah, you heard me right. Bottomless.steak.fries. I couldn't resist the traditional (also) Bottomless Freckled Lemonade. I eventually drank 4 of them, and didn't allow a single strawberry go to waste. The service was incredible, and they even provided us with a variety of appetizers free of charge! We decided they offered us the free food to keep our large party quieter while they prepared our meals. I'm not quite sure if it worked or not! After we were all stuffed to the gills and lugging around overflowing to-go boxes (left overs, thanks to those filling appetizers), we headed just across the street to the brand new cinema. We interrupted the last of the previews as we piled into the dark theater to watch "He's Just Not That Into You." All of the girls laughed and cried, and then laughed some more when they saw some klutz (yours truly) make a fool of herself as she fell down the stairs in the middle of the movie on the way to the restroom. Haha! So much entertainment jam-packed into one night! (FYI, I went straight from my job and was still in my work clothes. One of my heels got caught on the step, and I tumbled forward. No major injuries - just some scrapes and bruises on my ankles and knees... but mostly to my ego.)

After the movie, we all gathered in the lobby by the fountain for a group shot. A nice concessions boy offered to take the picture, and he didn't even run away when it took us 10 minutes to get situated, or when 3 different girls shoved their cameras into his hands. Thanks, concessions guy! However, even after the photo, the majority of us lagged behind for another 30 - 45 minutes talking and enjoying each other's company. If the Cinema people were glad to see us go, they didn't show it until after the last of us was safely out in the parking lot searching for her car.
I pretty much have the greatest group of girlfriends in the world. I really am so blessed.