Dr. No on the Big Screen

Last night, we had a rare treat - the Regal Arbor Cinema (not far from our house, towards the Arboretum area of Austin) showed the very first James Bond film, Dr. No, as part of a summer "Retro Rewind" series.

They did it well -- started with trivia and two staff dressed up in suits that were kinda like something Bond might wear. The small audience had a few total Bond geeks who won all the trivia contents (so no free tickets for us). The film itself was 40 years old and showed some wear (changing color at one point and having slight audio inconsistencies), but that just seemed to add to the charm. I was reminded again that honestly, Dr. No isn't that great of a movie -- it's just too slow and has a bit of bad dialogue (and badly-delivered dialogue). But, still, it was a lot of fun to get out and see it on the big screen.

Next week, they're playing Hudsucker Proxy. I've never actually seen it, and won't be going (we'll be out of town). Later in the summer, they're playing So I Married an Axe Murderer and Better off Dead, two of Matt's favorites which I enjoy a lot, too. We already have our tickets for one of them (which, I can't recall right now -- too tired).

So, if you're in the Austin area and looking for a cheap night out, check out the Arbor's series - Wednesday nights for the rest of the summer. Tickets are just $5.

We came home from the movie and did something even more exciting - ran a load of laundry thru our new washer & dryer. Never did anything more fun. haha.

Turns out, you can multiply time

I've been working a lot of hours lately. Today, I did the thing which everybody has told me not to do (or at least everybody I know who has recent experience working long hours). I counted how many days I've worked without a break, and how many hours I've worked on those days. In doing so, I realized that yes, you can multiply time. I added up how much I've worked, and over the past 3 weeks, I've worked the number of hours I normally would in 5.

This is really not normal for me -- our office doesn't have a culture where you work crazy hours no matter what the cost -- we are actually quite good about slowing down. But, slowing down is a luxury I don't have when I'm facing a huge deadline. I'm sure at some point in my old job I hit a higher record of hours worked per week (I remember times when I logged 80 hours over 6 days) -- but this is far more than I've worked at any point in the past 6 years. And, it's way more hours than I've done since we got married. Matt's been great -- cooking and helping around the house -- and I'm very thankful for that (especially at a time when he has his own huge deadlines).

And, though I'm sleep deprived, let me try being thankful for some other things...
1. I'm thankful for my friend Lisa. It's her birthday today, and she & her husband's anniversary. We went out on Saturday night to celebrate. I made her a sock monster! (she has a pic of it on her blog -- I have another one that I need to send her)

2. I am thankful that we have a new washer & dryer coming. Our old one died last week. Matt said I had a huge smile on my face as we walked out of Home Depot yesterday after purchasing our new front-loaders. I hope I'm still smiling come Wednesday when I have to get caught up with all the laundry!

3. I'm thankful that we get to go to Chicago next week, and thrilled that Matt gets to see a Cubs game while I'm at a women's leadership event.

4. I'm thankful for my family, far and wide, though I don't get to see them that much.

5. I'm extra thankful when I get a good night's sleep, which I'd really like tonight.

The past few weeks

During the past few weeks we have:

• Driven more than 2000 miles, round-trip, to Illinois and back to attend Cornerstone Festival.
• Blogged for millions dozens of people to read about the festival!
  
• Stopped at 6 different QTs on 7 occasions (which makes it a very good trip).
• Taken communion in a crowd that could have numbered into 5-digits (10,000+ wouldn't be too hard to believe).
• Heard hindi-language Christian worship music at the same event as hearing a funk old-school celtic punk band cover "Amazing Grace."
• Hung out with some of the coolest people in the world, laughing late into the night.
• Visited with both Becky's parents and Matt's dad (Becky's brother is among some of the coolest people in the world, as referenced above).
• Saw a concert and heard a chapter from the new book from a super-talented songwriter we've appreciated for years.
• Carried a half-sized piano into a dorm, then back out of a dorm, then squeezed into a car, and finally out of the car into the house.
  
• Stopped for Andy's Frozen Custard in Springfield, MO twice. Of course, Matt got the James Brownie Funky Jackhammer both times I tried the Ozark Turtle the first time, and it was great. The next time I tried the choco-rocco (marshmallow creme and almonds in a chocolate frozen custard base).
• Slept on the world's hardest and most uncomfortable bed.
• Lived like college students, staying in a dorm at Western Illinois University (home of the fighting leathernecks!).
  
• Been happy over the healthy arrival of our new nephew.
  
• Discovered just how annoying it is when a soft-top convertible top starts to go bad.
• Craved vegetables after eating way too much fried junk food - elephant ears - yum!
• Chatted with a friend who's currently in Taiwan.
  
• Worked on huge projects at work (both of us are in the thick of big projects & changes at work).
• Laughed heartily over Snake Patrol (click on Rodent Emporium video - guaranteed to make you either raise your eyebrows in wonder or laugh your sides off).
• Bought new shirts and music from Anberlin, The Urban Sophisticates (fair warning - site plays music), and more.
• Craved Tex Mex. I suspect a trip to Chuy's is in store for our weekend.
• Taught a relatively new quilter how to tie a quilter's knot.
• Did some needle-turn appliqué while listening to loud music.
• Worked too much, despite taking vacation.
• Celebrated meeting each other 10 years ago this week. :)