Monthly Archives: August 2010

Random Thoughts from Fellowship of the Ring

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I like to watch movies while ironing. Today, the movie of choice was the Fellowship of the Ring. It’s been awhile since I’ve watched the LOTR trilogy, and the extended editions of each make for plenty of ironing time!

Today, a few random thoughts occurred to me while I was watching the first half of the movie (watching the two-disc extended edition; I said the movies made for plenty of ironing time, I didn’t claim to actually IRON for the entire duration of the movie!). For your consideration, I share these random tidbits from Z’s brain below:

  1. I still don’t particularly like Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins. For that matter, Frodo still annoys me in the movies…Gandalf said don’t put the ring on, it’ll attract those looking for it, and when he’s faced with the wringwraiths, what does he do? PUT THE RING ON! Smart one. (For the record, I get it – the ring wants him to put it on, and the pull is just too strong, etc. etc.)

  2. Considering Stryder/Aragorn beat off the wringwraiths with fire, maybe the hobbits having a fire wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Maybe torches would’ve been a better weapon to leave them with than the swords.

  3. Humans always get such a bad rap; thank goodness for Aragorn living among the elves so long to save the race from being nothing but power-hungry, easily-corruptible…humans.

  4. Viggo Mortensen is, to borrow a phrase from a friend, very easy on the eyes. So glad his son convinced him to play the part!

  5. I still think Orlando Bloom makes a better elf than a pirate…

  6. Maybe this says something about the movies and/or books I’ve been reading, but who was the first author to portray ravens and crows as being evil, or at least in league with the bad guys? I’m curious if they’re ever the good side’s spies?

  7. Christopher Lee (Saruman) just makes a great bad guy.

  8. Moths still creep me out, but they get a slightly less creepy quality when helping save Gandalf from Isengard. (Sidenote: that was one huge moth.)

  9. When was the last time Gimli actually visited his cousin in the Mines of Moria…?

  10. I wonder if Hugo Weaving (Elrond) did the one-eyebrow raised thing as part of his audition? Was that a requirement? Raising both would seem too much when Boromir walks towards the ring, but just raising the one speaks volumes!

  11. The exasperated looks from Elrond and Legolas when Gandalf speaks the words on the ring still make me chuckle. You just don’t think elves would gives looks that say, “Ugh. You just had to go there, didn’t you?”

  12. Hobbit foot hair must be one heck of an insulator.

Well, there you have it. Z’s random thoughts while ironing and watching the first half of Fellowship of the Ring.

When life gives you lemons…

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Lately, it would be easy to say life has been nothing but lemons.

Lemons 1-2

I was laid off in early July – I’d seen it coming, thankfully, and had spent some time already “pounding the pavement” for a new job, but didn’t manage to land a new role before the lay-off notice came. It came about 24 hours after receiving word that my husband hadn’t been selected for a job he’d been a final candidate for.

Lemonade

The lemonade is: first, my husband had been a final candidate for the job! Second, my lay-off notice came when the weather was really nice, which meant time to enjoy the weather! My in-laws (including my youngest sister-in-law) came to visit the weekend after the one-two punch we’d just been through, and we enjoyed the fact I’d be around the entire time they were here, instead of missing out on some of the fun (like another trip to Ikea!). I also got to spend some time helping my husband with his resume for his own job search – something I had wanted to do, but just hadn’t done yet. And, with the weather so nice, we were able to go enjoy a few walks together – something we hadn’t done much of because of weather and schedules. There was also catching up on church-related responsibilities, getting ready for the LDS Girls’ Camp where I was going to be a tent mom, and a few interviews with contract companies, and life was pretty full.

Lemons 3-4

Then Girls’ Camp came. My sweet husband drove a borrowed truck with the gear for the girls in our young women’s group to the camp site. On the way back, the truck blew a tire…completely. He ended up stuck on the side of the road for a few hours while my friend – the Young Women’s president – and I made all sorts of phone calls to try to figure out how to take care of the truck…and rescue my husband. We ended up signing up for AAA. The goal was to try to use the spare tire, which my hubby had tried to loosen, but couldn’t due to the tire iron being the wrong size. Here’s where things get great…the first truck to arrive didn’t have the right socket size either and couldn’t get the spare off! About an hour later, I finally received a call telling me the second truck had arrived, the spare was on, and Rich was on his way home! Then…”Wait, the guy’s motioning me to pull over…” Spare wasn’t strong enough, and the truck had to be towed in the end. Four hours, two tow trucks, one tow, and two miles of walking later, Rich finally was able to get something to eat, and my friend went to pick him up to take him the rest of the way to Seattle.

A sidenote: the car I’d drive to camp had a very low front drivers’ side tire. It had been fixed the day before, but was low again once I arrived at camp. One of the facilities people at the camp site had pumped it full of air, thankfully, but it was in no condition to go rescue my husband. So, he was stranded…and so was I. I took my car in the next day (wondering if that AAA membership was going to be put into effect!) and learned the little cover for the air nozzle just had been overtightened and was leaking air! It was fixed, and I was able to keep driving the car.

A Little More Lemonade

Lemonade…well, my friend hadn’t necessarily planned on staying too long up at camp that afternoon, but, thankfully, she was around when I needed to run to her to brainstorm what to do when the tire blew. Otherwise, it would have added just one more layer of complication.

A Few More Lemons…5+

While prepping for girls’ camp, we learned that a member of the Johnson clan had cancer. Of the cancers to get, it was one of the best – easiest to be cured, requiring surgery and some targeted radiation. When Rich went to visit family while I was at camp, another member of the Johnson clan had a mini-stroke. We also learned of a friend who died unexpectedly a couple weeks prior, and another friend whose young son was in the hospital with health issues. It made us grateful for what we had, and grateful we could help out.

A Little More Lemonade!

Our Bishop (leader of the ward we’re in) had commented to me when speaking with him about how things were going that perhaps being unemployed right now was a blessing, since it meant both Rich and I were completely available to help the Johnson family in their time of need. We were glad to be there to help with the family, and we learned a few things about ourselves in the process. For example, we made a great partnership when caring for the nephews and niece, making me, at least, less scared about parenthood. I learned that a couple peaches, a couple nectarines, a few strawberries, and a few blueberries make a great-tasting fruit salad that goes a long way to feeding a large group of people!

Trying to Keep Making that Lemonade

In the past month, we’ve had what can at times feel like silence from the heavens, as we knock on doors, pound on pavement, and get no answers. We’ve had family health issues, and I’ve had my confidence beat down. In short, life hasn’t been easy. It’s TOUGH making lemonade with all the lemons! But here’s the constant — I have great friends, a wonderful husband, and a great family. Rich and I have had some great bonding time, and we’re making it through this together. For me, that’s HUGELY important…probably the most important aspect of all of this. We help each other up when the other is down, and we’re working out our plans together. Not really seeing that with my parents as I grew up, the fact we are in this together means the world to me. My husband is truly my best friend, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything.

And that may just be the best lemonade of all.