I Feel Like I'm on HGTV

I have made the monumental decision to sell my house and since then my life has been a whirlwind.  I do not make big decisions easily but two things converged to make this happen.  First, I found a town house that I fell in love with online.  I looked at it frequently but did nothing (my real estate agent can track these things and, apparently, I visited the site 13 times) and then, suddenly, it was off the market.  I was really mad at myself for not taking action.  That made me realize that I was unhappy living in my current house and that I have been for quite some time.  It is such a beautiful house but it is too big for me and it is quite overwhelming.  The yard work, especially, is daunting because it is very landscaped and I don't have the time (or the inclination, frankly) to keep up with it.  I am not handy and the myriad of maintenance projects that come with a house this size rendered me completely helpless.  My poor brother-in-law!  It is expensive to maintain such a big house.  My heating bill is astronomical and yet I always feel cold.  South Jordan is a very desirable area (so my real estate agent tells me) but I have never really liked it.  It feels so far away from everything I like to do.  My friend Adia put it best when she said that the suburbs are not the single girl's friend.  I want to be closer to my family and to downtown SLC.  I realized that living in this house is a choice and, if I am unhappy, I could choose to do something about it.  Then, just like that, the town house was back on the market because financing fell through for the buyer.  Uncharacteristically, I jumped at the opportunity and scheduled a showing.  I am pre-qualified for financing and am going through the motions of submitting an offer.  However, I have decided that I am selling my house regardless of whether or not I get the town house (although I hope I do).  I have a great agent and it is going to be listed tomorrow.  Yikes!  My favorite moment of this whole adventure so far is when she said that I don't need to do a thing because it is already staged beautifully!  I haven't watched HGTV all of these years for nothing!

Note:  I have a lot of books to pack...

Love & Mercy

As a fan of the music of the 1960s, I have been looking forward to Love & Mercy, the new biopic about Brian Wilson.  I finally had the chance to see it Sunday night and it is brilliant.  There is a fine line between madness and genius and this film explores both aspects of Wilson's life.  The narrative alternates between the 1960s as Wilson (played by Paul Dano) creates the Beach Boys' seminal album Pet Sounds and the 1980s when Wilson (played by John Cusack) is a broken man under the complete control of his psychotherapist, Dr. Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti).  This technique is highly effective because, as I watched what the future Wilson had become, I became more and more interested in how the past Wilson got to that point.  I was absolutely blown away by Dano as the past Wilson and I particularly enjoyed the scenes in the studio as he tries to re-create the sounds that he hears in his head using unconventional instruments, such as sleigh bells, and even the sound of dogs barking.  Dano is able to convey energy and exuberance in the studio and hopelessness everywhere else (although the scenes of Wilson looking into the deep end of the pool became a little bit monotonous after a while) in an incredibly nuanced performance that is sure to be remembered during awards season.  He is mesmerizing!  Initially, I had difficulty with Cusack's portrayal of Wilson because he looks nothing like Dano but that mattered less and less as the movie progressed.  I think it is one of Cusack's best performances and I found all of his subtle mannerisms and speech patterns to be highly effective.  Giamatti is absolutely creepy as Dr. Landy, a man cashing in on his famous client's vulnerability, and Elizabeth Banks does an excellent job as Melinda Ledbetter, the woman who rescues Wilson from Landy's clutches (wearing one over the top 80s outfit after another).   The soundtrack is not just the music of the Beach Boys;  it includes an original score from Atticus Ross (a frequent collaborator with Trent Reznor on the scores of such films as The Social Network, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl, all amazing) which incorporates the original Pet Sounds studio session recordings and it is very atmospheric.  This movie is not just a traditional biography about the life of an extraordinary musician but a deep exploration of one man's psyche.  I loved it and I highly recommend it!

Let's Go Bees!

Saturday night I took Sean and Tashena to see the Bees play the Fresno Grizzlies.  It was extremely crowded, probably the biggest crowd I've ever seen at a Bees game (I do not like crowds).  It was a good game, however, with both teams scoring lots of runs.  The Bees scored five runs in the fifth inning and then there was a dramatic home run in the sixth.  At the bottom of the ninth the score was tied at 7 but the Bees scored a fantastic out-of-the-ballpark home run to win the game 8-7.

Sean just comes for the ice cream but this time he opted for a cone instead of the baseball helmet!

Drive-In Movie

Another summer tradition that I have with Sean is to see a drive-in movie.  We always go to the store and stock up on movie theatre candy and then pick a movie to see at the Redwood Drive-In.  This year I convinced Sean that we should see Jurassic World (with his parents' permission) and he was really excited about it but, as the movie progressed, he got a bit scared of the dinosaurs.  He even climbed to the back seat and hid his head during some of the battle scenes.  He spent the night at my house and it was a bit fun getting him to go to sleep!

Despite the scary dinosaurs and a major M&M spill in the back seat (I'm a little bit OCD), we had a lot of fun.  Drive-in movies always remind me of my childhood and I'm glad that the Redwood (one of the few remaining drive-ins still in operation) is available so Sean and Tashena can enjoy this summer ritual.

Summer Ritual

It seems like summer doesn't officially start for me until I spend a day at the pool.  It is a summer tradition that started with Tashena and now continues with Sean.  Yesterday Sean and I spent five hours at our favorite pool at the Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center and we both had so much fun (even though Sean had a bloody nose and I am now sunburned)!

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Note:  Go here for the tutorial I used to make the cute swim bags out of beach towels (pictured above).