Reading

After Eat, Pray, Love and Eats, Shoots, and Leaves I didn't do a lot of reading.  I couldn't really find anything that I liked just by looking at the library shelves.  This is partly because I didn't know what I wanted to read and partly because I always looked in the wrong places.  When Paul came home we got a public library card and he put a book on hold for me (how nice), one that he remembered me mentioning. 

I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  And it only recently occurred to me that "help" is a noun.  In my defense, when I first heard the title I didn't know what the book was about, and assumed it was some weird, catchy phrase, created by the editors to intrigue readers.  Titles don't have to make sense, right?  I mean I guess I knew it was a noun (because of "the") but thought of it more as "me helping you, and the help that I am giving you", or whatever.  And now that I'm reading and re-reading the title, I say it aloud and realize "help" is a weird word.

I spent about an hour trying to read Harry Potter a l'ecole des sorciers, but I don't know enough French.  However, I did learn a new word: hiboux.

I think I'll peruse Paul's dream books next.

Yes, No, Maybe So

Let's start with no:

Bee Movie.  Worst animated movie I've ever seen.  I wonder if children even like it.

Teen Wolf.  80's, Michael J. Fox, but it just wasn't Back to the Future.

Maybe so:

Robin Hood Men in Tights.  Funny at 22, but maybe funnier if you are 14.

Valentine's Day.  Not completely horrible, but not your typical chick-flick.  And if it can't be categorized as such, then what is it, really?

All About Steve.  Very ridiculous, which can be both hilarious and lame.

Time Traveler's Wife.  Different but not all-together bad.

Steel Magnolias.  I wish I had seen this when I was younger because I probably would have liked it a lot then.  I thought it was heart-warming.

X-Men.  Paul got tired of girlie movies so we watched this.  It was fine.  I'm not a fan of super-hero movies in general.  Iron Man is an exception.

Yes:

Madagascar.  Very funny animated film.

Arrested Development.  I know, it's not a movie, but Paul and I just watched all the seasons and it grew on me.

Exercise

There are a lot of exercise/fitness classes on base, so I took advantage and went to Zumba this week.  It reminds me a lot of the aerobics dance class that I took last fall at BYU, except the music is considerably different.  Still, there's quite a bit of bouncing and waving of arms, as well as shaking, bending, and a whole ton of uncoordinated-ness.  But I think it is so fun.

Paul and I went to our first tennis class yesterday.  I've really learned to love tennis, and I think I'm actually doing pretty good!  It's such a fun sport, and it was nice to play with new people.  Also, I don't know why we didn't just go on base to find decent courts.  duh.

And I'm still going to the gym quite frequently to run.  Lately I've been wanting something to train for though because it's easier to follow a training schedule.  I ran the most consistently when I was training for Ragnar last year, and would love to train for something like that again.  I also wish it was cooler than 80 at night so I could run outside.

I want to lift weights when I go to the gym, but the buff Air Force guys intimidate me and I would feel silly lifting my 5-10 lbs weights next to them.  And I've never really figured out the weight machines.  Maybe I should just go buy some dumbbells (why are they called that?).

Exercise feels good.

No Thanks

San Antonio

Day 1:  San Antonio is about a 3.5-hour drive away, south-east of San Angelo.  It seemed like a rather long drive because the AC in the van is pretty much useless if the sun is out, and the driver's side window is broken.  Also, Paul was sleepy so I did the driving into San Antonio; there was a lot of traffic AND, as it turns out, Google Maps failed us.  We got lost trying to get to our hotel on Lackland Air Force Base.  Yes, we should've expected it since we got lost when we arrived at Goodfellow, but still.  We barely made it to the 8:00 pm session at the San Antonio Temple, which was another 40 minute drive through crazy highway obsessed San Antonio.  The temple was beautiful though, set up on a high hill, and we're definitely glad we made it.

Day 2:  SEA WORLD.

Sea World San Antonio has a program called Here's to the Heroes which offers free entrance to military members and their families once a year.  Score.  This was the main reason we came to San Antonio in the first place.  We stayed all day!

We went to the water park first thing.  They have awesome slides, a wave pool, and a lazy river.  It's probably one of our favorite parts of the park (besides the fact that we neglected to wear sun screen and are paying the price even days later.  ouch).  We also went on a few of the roller coaster rides (I love roller coasters).

I loved all of the animals!  We saw dolphins, penguins, puffins, sea lions, otters, alligators, turtles, frogs, sting rays, flamingos, sharks, whales, and all sorts of fish.  I like the flamingos a lot, and I think that the sea lions are super funny.  Paul really likes the penguins.

We went to two shows.  The Shamu Show (or as they call it "Believe") was pretty dull.  The trainers didn't go in the water at all, and didn't even touch the whales.  We think they must have changed the show quite a bit since a trainer in Orlando was killed by one of the whales a few months ago.  But yeah, the whales swam and jumped a little, but it wasn't really that great.  We didn't even get splashed.  The second show we went to was called Azul.  It featured a baluga whale, dolphins, and human divers.  We went to the last showing and thought it was really cool.  Much more entertaining than the other one.

Sea World was awesome.  I can't wait until next year so we can go again.

Day 3:  We spent Sunday in New Braunfels with Paul's Aunt and Uncle and cousins.  We went to church with them (at 1:00, yay) and stayed for dinner.  I found an unfinished puzzle while we were watching a movie and worked on that (I love puzzles).  They also had a cuddly little dog that really liked Paul.

Day 4:  On Labor Day we went downtown, first to the Alamo, and then to the river walk.

It was fun to just wander around downtown.  We both liked the Alamo (despite the fact that everyone we know says that it is lame), and the river walk.  We stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants along the river, and even bought a souvenir.  There was a quick storm while we were exploring the mall, and then we decided to head back.

Google Maps failed us once again on our way home.  This was a real bummer because it was unbearably hot in the car and we probably ended up driving an extra 30 minutes.  I think the only thing that kept us from complaining the whole time was our book on CD: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

We had a ton of fun on our trip, but I think now we both appreciate the smallness that is San Angelo.

"Homebody"

I love being at home.  I am a homebody:

1. A person who likes to stay at home, esp. one who is perceived as unadventurous
2. A person who prefers to remain at home, rather than participate in social events elsewhere
3. A person who prefers pleasures and activities that center around the home
4. A person whose life and interests are centered on the home

(I'm not sure every statement there is true for me, but you get the idea)

In general, I would rather be at home than anywhere else, because I love it.



With that said, I am stoked for our trip to San Antonio this weekend, and can't wait to leave!

Home

On Saturday Paul got home.

On Sunday we were asked to teach the sunbeams last minute.  Poor Paul had jetlag.

On Monday we drove to the airport to see if they had Paul's bag (he lost it somewhere between Kiev and JFK), but they didn't have it.  We were almost home again when they called him back and said that it just came in.  yay.

On Tuesday we went to see Dinner For Schmucks at the theatre.  It was super funny.  There was also a thunderstorm that night which means that you can't drive in the right lane and we will have to mow our grass (which we still haven't done yet).

On Wednesday we went to the lake and rented a kayak for $3.00.  Money well spent.  We also drove around trying to find decent lighted tennis courts.  Since when does a chain-link fence and cement qualify as a tennis court?

On Thursday Paul actually had to go to work (what?) and we watched 500 Days of Summer.

On Friday (that's today) Paul went to work again, I got my haircut, and now he's making me dinner.

:D

I can't wait to see ...