Life Lately 3/27

♦ My sister started baby-sitting for a family here in Memphis when she was thirteen. Over the years they’ve become very close, so the boys’ mom threw Debra a baby shower on Saturday. The party had a duck theme and it was really cute. I’d hoped to share more pictures, but my mom was the main photographer, so there’s no telling when I might get copies of hers. This adorable cake was the best part anyway. :) Debra was here for most of the weekend, and I was thankful to have one last quality time with her before Sophia is born. Next time I see her, about five weeks from now, she’ll probably be in labor. CRAZY.

♦ I was invited to a midnight showing of The Hunger Games and really wanted to go, but those aren’t doable for me anymore unless I take the following day off. Instead I saw the movie on Sunday with Kathy and Daniel and a few other friends. It was the best movie adaptation of a book I’ve ever seen. For months I’d been skeptical of the casting and how they could pull off a PG-13 movie without watering down the story, but my expectations were exceeded on all counts. I have no complaints. It’s a disturbing and unsettling movie – I was stressed out for a lot of it even though, or maybe because, I knew what was coming – but it’s supposed to be. It’s a cautionary tale slash commentary on our mindless spectator society. I’ve read articles about audiences cheering some of the deaths, oblivious to the fact that they’re acting exactly like the villains of the story. Thankfully, the theater I was in seemed to get it. I’m still thinking about the movie. I skimmed back through the book that night, and am now basically re-reading Catching Fire.

♦ I’ve been working on a very stressful transaction at work. The main part of it finally wrapped up yesterday morning, and in the afternoon, I received this happy flower delivery from the client! When I got the call from the front desk, I was all emotional thinking that someone had sent me cheer-up flowers – I’ve been feeling pretty down recently. Then I saw that they were work-related and had a good laugh at myself. I think the rush of thankfulness and feeling noticed helped all on its own. In a way, I feel like they were cheer-up flowers from God. In any case, it was very thoughtful of the guy to send them. Maybe they were the kickstart I needed, because I’m feeling more energized and like myself today than I have in a while!