Presleigh's 7th birthday

Remember when you turned seven?  Such a fun age.  Happy birthday to our niece Presleigh!

Here are some pictures from the party:

Sunday afternoon recital

So it's pretty bad when your 6 year old niece is a better dancer than you....

Great recital Nebraska Dance and awesome job Pres!



Have you guys seen the movie Temple Grandin?

If not, you should totally check it out.  My cousin Marci and Julia told me about it last Thanksgiving and it finally made it's way all the way to the top of the Netflix queue when Kevin wasn't watching.  :)

Soooo good.  Rotten Tomatoes is my movie bible and critics gave the movie 100% rating and audiences gave it a 95%.  I totally agree.  I'm a complete sucker for a true story but I thought this movie was particularly well done with the way it gave you a view into Temple's unique way of seeing the world.  Even Kevin liked it.

Claire Danes did a phenomenal job playing Temple.  I liked it so much that I even watched half the movie over again with the screenwriter, director, and the real Temple Grandin's commentary.  The only other movie I've done this with is Goodwill Hunting, my all-time favorite.  Claire Danes did such a good job of portraying not only how Temple acted, but also the way she looked and sounded.  After the movie I googled a picture of Claire Danes to make sure I was thinking of the right person.  Crazy huh?

Thanks Marci and Julia for the recommendation!

A bachelorette trip to Madison, WI

Last weekend I ditched poor Kevin the first weekend we had our house on the market and went on a trip for one of my best friend's bachelorette parties to Madison, WI.  I was off site-seeing, shopping, and eating awesome food in Madison, and he was at home cleaning. Worst part was that nobody showed up for the open house on Sunday except for a few neighbors.  But, I'm trying to be optimistic for this weekend.  It's the Downtown Living Tour and we had a real estate agent contact us and said they saw our listing, and wanted to include it in the condos they were taking interested buyers.  Fingers crossed that we see some more action this weekend!  

During my 5 hours of driving to the bachelorette party I tried out the audio book strategy I used on my last road trip, and it worked again.  I'm officially hooked on audio books.  This time I listened to the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People."  

I've always heard that this book was a classic, but I've never read it.  Something about the title has always put me off... I don't want to trick anyone into being friends with me.  But since my wonderful professor Dr. Fransecky and some members of my book club recommended it, I decided to check it out.  The premise of the book is simple.  Nobody wants to listen to you talk about yourself forever.  Don't embarrass people.  Be nice.  Such common sense stuff, but it's funny how often we forget it.  

After five hours of driving, I was almost to Emily's house when I got off the interstate.  Apparently the speed limit changed from 55 to 25 very suddenly, and before I knew it I was approaching a cop.  He turned his lights on.  Shit.  I had been going 50 mph in a 25 mph.  Worse yet, when he asked for my proof of insurance, I couldn't find anything that wasn't expired.  Awesome.

Instead of my usual approach, I tried the book's approach (it was fresh in my mind after 5 hours of listening).  Be personal with the other person.  Admit you're wrong.  Don't try to argue.  Instead of tickets, he gave me two warnings.  My new strategy had worked.  I excitedly told Kevin all about this when he got home.  His response: "That's no fancy strategy, they're called boobs."  Gotta love my husband.  

Thanks Mallory, Jordan, and Emily for an awesome weekend!  Can't wait for the wedding!