I love using different pans to cook dinner. When I first moved into this place, and for most of the summer, all we ever did was cook Kielbasa on the “contact grill.” I say “contact grill” because it make my mom laugh every time I said it. Haha. It got to be that I HATED washing it. We went between tilapia and rice….kielbasa and rice…chicken and rice, and I hated how heavy and how snappy and how hingy it was. After we got married and after John moved in, all of a sudden we had a rice maker (two! one doubles as a steamer!) an electric skillet and a wok. Tonight we made stew beef, fried in the wok in extra virgin olive oil, onion, garlic and celery salt with mixed veggies and smashed potatoes. And John made fresh bread (gluten-free of course) so we even had warm bread out of the breadmaker. It might be somewhat simple…but I looked at our plates tonight and felt proud. Grownup food! I’ve EVEN started to use the OVEN. As in, make chicken or pork chops in there. It’s a brand new world.
I’ve also been searching for the perfect strainer. We got one for our wedding that’s great, and has hingy legs that hold it up over the sink, but I found it too big for most every day uses. Then, we had two wiry ones that were IMPOSSIBLE to clean. Who knew? Not me! So I bought one from Wal*Mart that I thought would solve the problem. It didn’t work. I had five…and none of them made me happy. Then John and I were wandering around IKEA and we saw this. APPARENTLY, they are called COLANDERS, and this one has changed my life. I love it, it’s perfect. And seriously, $1.99? That’s amazing. I love IKEA.
Today has been pretty good. There was sleeping, there was breakfast…then we ran some errands. I was a little stressed because we needed to go to Costco. It’s a love/hate relationship with Costco…I love filling our freezer with meat, and not shopping for a few weeks…but I HATE dropping however much money it takes to do it. Then, I remembered. I got a rebate check from when I bought my computer earlier this year! It covered the bill exactly. I love stuff like that! We also had to get a part for John’s car. The fan relay was broken, and was stuck on the “on” position. This little problem killed his battery at work the other night, and he could drive his car just fine as long as he got a jumpstart. So, 20 minutes of driving around, a few dollars (ok, a few more than a few) I pulled my car around and we hooked them up, John put in the new part, and Wal-Lah! Fixed. I am so happy to be married to a man that knows that fan relays exist.
I had to review a movie for my film class again…I chose Amelie. A French film that I love. Here’s the thing, they played it on campus at the International Cinema, but I didn’t go see it there, I opted to rent it instead. Turns out there is a bit of nudity and sexual content that probably would’ve been cut out if I saw it on campus, as well as a montage of a sperm fertilizing an egg and a baby being born (about 5 seconds long) in the opening. I have fixed feelings about this. I can’t even explain to you how much I love this movie. John watched it with me today and said, “Of course you love this movie, Amelie is you!” She collects rocks just to hold them and throw them, loves to put her hands in bins of beans, just because it feels nice, and has a series of other idiosyncrasies that mirror my own tendencies to get lost and pay attention to little things I enjoy. I love how she falls in love- I love that she helps people find happiness and see the extraordinary in the ordinary, but I know that I couldn’t recommend the movie to anyone. It’s French…and so the sexuality isn’t the same as you would see in an American movie- and it is definitely not just to draw viewers. There is no element just thrown in to be risque, it’s all part of life, a commentary on being human- imperfection and quirkiness and all. And even still, I see that Mormon-Ad with the ice cream sunday with a bug sticking it in reading, “It’s good except for the bad parts.” But there’s something in me that just won’t see this as ugliness. I generally have a pretty sensitive spirit when it comes to movie, but I felt uplifted by this one. What do ya do?
We watched another one this weekend for my film class called, “A Room with a View,” by the BBC. It was a little older, and was full of a specific kind of English Humor that I love…(this Sense and Sensibility, not Mr. Bean). Again, we encountered a scene that we DEFINITELY wouldn’t have seen in the International Cinema. There are two younger guys and a Vicar who all go swimming somewhere in the middle/end of the movie. Things are going swimmingly until all of a sudden, they’re naked and chasing each other around for 10 minutes. And it shows EVERYTHING. Seriously. I’VE SEEN A NAKED VICAR. Or, at least, an actor playing one. John and I were shocked…stunned, not sure what to do. I have no idea how that’s even allowed. Let’s be honest. No one wants to see that. What’s up with BYU picking foreign films with nudity, cutting it out for the IC, and having all kinds of students forming a love for a film that’s going to SHOCK THE CRAP out of them in 5 years when they decide, “I loved that movie, I should buy it and watch it again!” One of those, “I don’t remember THIS part” moments. 3. Naked. Men. That’s all I’ve got to say. BYU is responsible for that one.
So now I’m going to do some work, then write up a bunch of reviews of these films online…and then maybe do some science. Life is beautiful, minus naked vicars, that is.
