a few random things

1. sometimes people are so stinkin' nice. aynsley campbell, i'm talking to you.

2. anyone else seen the "own it" ads on youtube with adam levine from maroon5 talking about adhd? i have a thought- has anyone thought that maybe they have normal attention spans and we all just have abnormally long ones? and maybe society is making even "normal" people have attention problems? i bet like 50/100 people stopped reading this blog post at this point. it's 5 sentences, people!

3. if you ARE still reading, watch this video. it's my new favorite song. yes, i am back in my yearly latina phase- i've been listening to 93.9 exitos for weeks straight. you're welcome. you don't know the words, but you understand everything. beauty of music.

color run!!

after 15 miles running with strangers- i decided to walk a run run with friends!

3.1 miles were spent walking/jogging and getting colored with coco & lacey! 

 cute ladies

just a bit proud of my ragnar still

after some color

 FINISHED!!

cleaning off with leaf blowers... hilarious

 so much fun!! brad and i were both worried than i signed up for 2 races 3 days in a row... but it ended up being JUST the ticket. one intense long run with strangers, followed by a short fun, walk/jog with friends. 

best.weekend.ever. 

18 miles

this weekend i ran 18 miles.

i ran my first ragnar relay this weekend. i loved it. despite the fact i was the odd man out on my team (they all knew each other & are from AZ) and i probably had very little in common with them, they were nice, we all got along and we had a great time! 12 runners, 2 vans and 203 miles later we made it!
this time around i had average length runs.

awesomeness

5.5 miles at 3 PM- in sweltering, beating, no shade, 92 degree weather. mostly uphill. HORRIFIC. i ran like an 11:30 minute mile. so bad. so hot. everyone on every team had to slow down and take it easy- not worth the heat stroke.
3.9 miles at 4 AM- 34 minutes baby! i SMOKED IT. i really think i could have ran it faster, i just didn't want to pull muscles or anything and have some juice left for another run. i felt SOOOO good. no, i mean, SOO good. the music on my ipod came at perfect times, it was cool, dark, uphill and downhill, i ran passed tons of people (and since i am competitive that felt good) and it was basically the biggest runners high i've ever had!! i could not have been happier.
4.9 miles at 4 PM- another amazing run- i don't know my exact time, but i know it was around an 8:45 pace. another great run. i thought it would be cold with fog and rain and cold, but actually it was amazing.  coming into the finish i SPRINTED and gave it all i could. felt sooo good!! i had no idea i had that much in me.

after I finished

i barely trained in the last few weeks and NEVER at any pace faster than a 9 minute mile. i thought with having a baby and being lazy about training i might never see my 7:45 minute pace return. but NOW... i'm thinking if i sign up for another race and actually train REALLY hard i could do it!

doing this race definitely made me feel young(er?) again and made me feel like i COULD accomplish something.  i was SOO proud of myself and Brad was so proud of me- it was worth it all. the best part, besides the surprising awesomeness of my runs, was seeing my best friend at one of the exchanges. his team was way faster than ours, but we got to see each other once. i love him.

two ragnar lovebirds

Hunger Games

SPOILER ALERT

Now that I've read the book and Brad took me on a to see the movie last night, I have some thoughts to share. I really didn't know much about the books and movie until this week. I purposefully avoided it. Of course I picked up bits and pieces and knew the basics, but I tried to stay away. I haven't had time to read a series (bc I knew I would like to read it straight through) and I did not see ONE trailer (not ONE, people!) for the movie bc I wanted to imagine the characters myself first. So this is all new to me this week.
 
I know this is a huge thing for people. I know people are OBSESSED with it. I can see why:
Fantasy world we don't live in? Check.
Fantasy people who dress up crazy? Check.
Fighting against the system? Check.
Heroine with love problems? Check.
What's not to like?

I like it as well. I love fantasy worlds I don't live in. I love fighting the system. I hate love triangles, but in this case it's really not a triangle because Katniss loves Gale and not Peeta. I like that there are no chapters in the whole book. There are like 3 "Parts" and that makes reading the book in one day that much easier. There are no chapters to remind me I'm reading farther than I planned.

I don't think it was the best written book ever. Comparing Hunger Games to Harry Potter is like comparing Shel Silverstien to Shakespeare. Both entertaining, great writing- but one clearly has a firmer grasp on the beauty words can convey & describe (aka. not Shel or Suzanne).

The movie was also good. Story kept to book really well.
I'm glad there wasn't too much gore but I could have standed to see even less of teenagers killing teenagers- I'd rather have it be left to my imagination. Or rather, to not imagine it at all...
There were a few elements they changed that I didn't understand WHY they changed it. I understand the mockingjay pin to play up the sisters' relationship, but why couldn't her beauty team like her? Why doesn't she SMILE at the opening ceremonies in the chariots? Why don't Katniss and Peeta kiss more? Let's face it, there is a lot of kissing for the cameras in the book.

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss- thighs too big and too tall. I'm serious! In the book she is small and fast and has been practically starving her whole life. Jennifer Lawrence has chin fat- that did not speak "starvation" to me.
Liam Hemsworth as Gale- Perfect. I saw a bit more facial hair, but he's gorgeous.
Josh Hutcherson as Peeta- Too short. I always pictured him taller. Not super handsome or hugely musclar, but just bigger. Mostly bc Katniss is bigger than him in the movie, which is totally NOT what I pictured. It made me feel like Peeta was weaker than he is. I think Josh did a better job though of acting the personality I expected of Peeta than most of the other characters, tho.
Woody Harrelson as Haymitch- Brad actually laughed outloud when he came on screen. I was expecting him to be terrible, but he wasn't at all.
Holy crap- Stanley Tucci??  I didn't even know he played Ceasar Flickerman, but he was EXACTLY like i pictured. I loved him! (I may be biased bc I love Stanley, tho.)
Lenny Kravitz as Cinna- I didn't want to love Lenny as Cinna (bc how can you NOT love Cinna?), but I did. Gold eyeliner and all.

Props to the movie: I loved they played up the involvment of Seneca Crane(and his awsesome beard!). It was a perfect addition to understanding how it all works.

Final thoughts:
People who want to BE in the Hunger Games and want to live in that world are off their rockers. They clearly don't understand the dark message of violence and control Suzanne Collins is sending. The violence in the movie was HIDEOUS, but the whole premise of teenagers murdering each other for TV entertainment is exponentially more hideous. Why in the world would you want to dress up like the ignorant, selfish people of the Capitol? (What about Darth Vadar? Why was my nephew a Death Eater for Halloween? Okay, I take that one back, it's fun to dress up like the bad guys...)
Well written, entertaining. Movie equally so. I would read and watch them again.

But really, can we get a girl herione with some brains, who isn't "trying to figure out how she feels" all the time, and NOT stuck in a love triangle? That's why Hermione is the best herione ever. The end.

Scrub a dub-dub

Today I realized I didn't want to walk on my own kitchen floor with bare feet. This is never a good sign.
I sweep almost daily and spot clean very frequently, but how often do I get down on my hands and knees and scrub "til it shines like the top of the Chrysler building"? Not often enough- like once a month. (Is that gross? I don't even know.)

Today I moved all the furniture, I swept, VACUUMED THE GROUT AND BASEBOARDS (I know!!), and then proceeded to scrub. It really wasn't that bad until I got to the corner where Faye sits; more food falls on the floor there...I'm not sure why.

I scrubbed in silence, with my own thoughts, my own soundtrack playing in my head. No baby babbling (she was napping), no TV commercials blaring (Brad isn't home yet), just my own little lovely world of silence. The only sound was the "swish swish" of rag against tile.
I don't usually take many  moments to myself nowadays. The world is loud and life is busy. Maybe hands and knees scrubbing isn't exactly glamorous, or fun, our even that productive (I mean, just buy a Swiffer, amiright?) but today it was so therapeutic. I scrubbed away not only soup and dirt, but worry and discouragement. Little things build up and suddenly my feet are crunching Cheerios everywhere I walk; but just by taking a quiet moment and some Mr. Clean, I can have a different outlook. I needed that today, this week, this year. Gentle reminders that life is beautiful, and so are things that have had crap scrubbed off them. My floor is shiney, and so is my heart.

I should scrub more often. I'm sure it will be cheaper then therapy and less damaging to my vanity than tears in the long run, yes?

Happy Easter 2012!

Barttels family April 2012

Moses Moses!

Whenever we watch any movie that is based loosely on fact or history, I make the comment that what we are watching is probably NOTHING like what really happened.

But seriously, I have a dream that when we die, God is going to be like,"Actually, the Ten Commandments is pretty close." That would be undeniably awesome. Amiright?

Every Saturday before Easter? Best movie tradition ever.

a room with a view

i am watching this movie RIGHT NOW on netflix.  have you seen it? wait, let me ask these questions fist: do you love the brits? do you love period pieces? do you love humor and the italian countryside? well of COURSE you have seen this movie!!

it's a winner. (parental warning: there is some male nudity so don't let your 13 year-old daughters watch without some censoring. but that part is seriously funny, too.)

i just got through the "first kiss" scene and i just laughed out loud. it's so hilariously awkward. 

it got me thinking about my first kiss with brad. (this is the part where most of you stop reading, it's ok, i'm not offended- but it IS a good story, if you were wondering...)

it was my birthday (our second official date- i know, i know "i'm anything but fussy") and brad took me to a USC football game, then to Disneyland to buy my first season pass, then to Maggianos to meet a few people for dinner, then we went back to his house & there were approximately 30 people watching a movie- i have no recollection what it was, but i know it was something like Batman Begins or Bourne or something manly. this means we drove ALL OVER THE WORLD. we played "name that tune" on brad's ipod and i named almost every song & he knew none- on his OWN ipod. 

by the time it ended, it was late and we had been together approximately 14 hours and i was TIRED. not tired of brad, but just tired. it was a good day. 

he walked me to the door, naturally. we chatted. i have no idea what i was talking about, but suddenly he was kissing me. i was in the middle of a sentence and he just decided what i was talking about was far less important than just putting a stop to it. as benedict, "Come! I will stop thy mouth!"

when he was finished having his way, he stopped, said goodnight and i opened the door & he left. 

i then walked in the door, smiled happily to myself, and swooned on the floor.

yup, i did. i fell on the floor, gazing happily at the ceiling. i then picked up what was left of my self-respect (none) and went and snuggled & chatted with my roommates until we were tired & went to sleep at some unGodly wee hour of the morning. 

no one but brad, me and my two roommates knew about the whole thing until one announced it at my bridal shower to great embarrassment and entertainment of all in attendance. and now i share it on the world wide web. no shame. i think its a great story. and i love brad. :)