topsail beach

My wonderful Mom came to visit! She arrived last Wednesday and met us at our apartment after work. It was so great to see her and just be able to have a conversation in the same room; I miss that, being 2,000 miles away from the fam. We had homemade pizza and a tiny little zucchini for supper, then drove around town so my mom could see how her hometown has changed (and it definitely has). We went to bed earlyish to get some rest before our fun-filled weekend.

The next morning Mom and I left for North Carolina at five AM. Our drive was mostly uneventful (though I did send us on I-495 north-bound by accident about two minutes in), until the rental car alerted us to a change in tire pressure in the middle of nowhere. Kindly southern Virginians at 7-11 loaned us a gauge, and mom filled up the deficient tire and we went on our way.

[The lovely intersection where we stopped]

We were having so much fun talking and laughing that we missed an exit and ended up maybe fifteen miles off course. Thanks to our trusty phones, we recalculated and made our way back to the freeway by way of tiny North Carolina towns.

Rolling into Surf City around 12:30 PM, we decided to pick up some bagels and fruit at Food Lion for the next day’s breakfast, and hamburgers at Hardee’s (a.k.a. Carl’s Jr., for all you westerners) for lunch.

My mom’s family has been going to the beach for some thirty years, and I think this year’s contingent was a good sixty people strong (give or take a few small children). We dropped our stuff at the Hendersons’ house, then put on our suits and headed out into the warm water. My mom’s best friend Alex joined us later; she is hilarious, and I enjoyed hearing stories about my mom’s adolescence.

In the evening, we had dinner with the whole crew. My Aunt Kathleen made a staggering nineteen dozen rolls (that’s 228 total!), and we had ham, funeral potatoes (a.k.a. hashbrown casserole), baked beans, the Henderson jello, and four flavors of homemade ice cream. We sat around talking with my cousins–many of whom I’ve not seen in a really long time–and met their adorable kids.

My cousin Dave performed an acoustic guitar mini concert for us, after which we all watched Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol on a ridiculously huge screen. After a too-early morning, it’s a testament to the film that I was able to stay awake at all.

The next morning was kind of overcast and rainy, and the waves were really choppy. We opted to go see Alex and her family a few miles down the beach, then went to lunch at Sears Landing Grill with Alex, Aunt Kathleen, and cousin Laura.

I had crab cakes and my mom had scallops (which I’d never tried before and turned out to be most excellent).

Post-lunch, we hit up a souvenir emporium and found gear for Mariel and the boys. I considered buying this shirt for my Dad–who thinks cornhole is a hilarious thing–or Jason, but didn’t.

In the afternoon, we wandered the beach and hung out in the tide pools with the Dicksons. We visited the McClelland house and talked and played with babies. Then we had dinner, visited with the other Hendersons for a few minutes, and my mom and I decided to hit the beach again for the last time. It was getting dark, but the water was still nice and warm. We enjoyed the hot tub afterward until we saw lightning and went inside to bed.

Meanwhile, Jason and my dad were enjoying a baseball game at Camden Yards.

no new stories

[I realized after writing this out that I think I have already detailed the Vertigo-is-not-scary story on the blog. This is no surprise, since Jason insists I have told him every story in my life (many more than once). Oh well. That little quirk is part of my overall charm.]

So, Sight & Sound announced the decennial Greatest Films of All Time list, and Vertigo dethroned Citizen Kane. For more on the list and what it all means and does not mean to film geeks, see Roger Ebert’s blog post here.

I actually got the news from Jason on Wednesday night, who reminded me of when I introduced him to Vertigo. We’d been dating nearly a year and wanted to watch a scary movie at my apartment. I suggested Vertigo, which I had first seen at age 9 back in the bygone days when you had to drive to a movie rental location, walk the aisles looking for a particular title, and return the VHS tape two days later without having accidentally left it in the back window of the car. We watched a lot of old/good movies back then, which came in handy during my film student days.

Anyway, I remember being terrified by Vertigo, and assumed it would be ideal fare for a scary movie night with Jason. I warned him that it was scary, “Probably even scarier than ‘The Sixth Sense’!” (which maybe says a lot about my low tolerance for scariness). We picked up the DVD from the LRC, and started watching.

It turns out Vertigo isn’t actually conventionally terrifying (in a Halloween night-worthy film kind of way). I think I realized things were going downhill when the floating green disembodied head appeared. We laugh about it now, but at the time I was embarrassed that my “scary movie” was a disappointment (though I will insist that it is terrifying from a psychological standpoint. Jimmy Stewart has problems).

In case you’re interested, here’s the full list (films I’ve seen crossed out).

1 - Vertigo (1958)
2 – Citizen Kane (1941)
3 – Tokyo Story (1953) [Haven't seen it, but I did once watch Ozu's Late Spring. I feel like that should count for something.]
4 – La Règle du Jeu (1939)
5 – Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
6 – 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [I legitimately feel bad about never having seen this one]
7 – The Searchers (1956)
8 – Man with a Movie Camera (1939)
9 – The Passion of Joan of Arc (1927) [I've seen clips of this one]
10 – 8½ (1963)

And now for a film story I haven’t detailed on the blog:

Once upon a time I got 101% on a film final exam in a class that shall not be named. The professor gave me extra credit for having beautiful handwriting. It was a proud moment. The End.

blog rewind: 2012, take two

Note: this post was originally written on February 1. I just realized I forgot to publish it three weeks ago.

I feel like the first month of 2012 was kind of a wash, resolution-wise. The move, job-starting, traveling to and from Kentucky, and settling into a new place made it hard to get into a groove. Now we are groovin’ and I will be gainfully employed after President’s Day, so I am declaring January a prologue, and February 1st the new beginning of 2012 (not to be confused with the Frost fiscal year 2012, which ends on May 1. Not confusing at all).

In the spirit of the newish year, I’ve made what might be considered an unemployment bucket list (except I hate that term because it makes me think of a list you keep in a bucket, which if you do, cool. I do not keep my list of things to do in a bucket, so that designation doesn’t fit). I have 20 days left of unemployment, so 20 things should be apt. UPDATE: I had twenty days left of unemployment when this was written, but now I’m just down to 1 day. Let’s see how I fared on my non-bucket list.

1. Host Mariel for her Christmas visit.
2. Read all the General Conference addresses from October.

3. Cook (at least) one new recipe each week. Week 1: Whole wheat crackers and pita bread; Week 2: Korean beef tacos with cucumber slaw; Week 3: Sally Lunn breadmaker bread (epic fail) and macarons.
4. Finish For Whom the Bell Tolls.
5. Finish The Unconsoled.
6. Read the scriptures daily. Close enough.
7. Go to the ward’s craft group again.
8. Finish my latest crocheting project. DONE! Photos to come.
9. Compile Lexington photos.
10. Decide what to get Jason for his birthday and purchase it.
11. Enthusiastically fill in my new planner when it finally arrives (long story).
12. Write in my journal daily.
13. Work out daily.
14. Not watch any movies where the protagonist is unemployed (see Sliding Doors and Morning Glory.
15. Write something.
16. Do something nice for someone else.
17. Write Hannah and Dave physical letters.
18. Cook something for lunch that is not sweet potato fries.
19. Make pita bread.
20. Make chilaquiles.

Other things of which I am proud:

- Started running consistently again

- Got up early every day to make Jason’s lunch, have breakfast together, and see him off.

- Didn’t go crazy overboard eating cookies all day long, despite being in and around my kitchen almost 24/7.

- Learned to use the bread machine.

- Did laundry while Jason was at work more than once (usually he does all our laundry and I very much appreciate it).

- Relished my at-home time and actually never got sick of it.

- More than once sat in my poang chair and watched the sun come up.

here’s the thing…

When we lived in Lexington, I felt like Margaret Mead, sharing with family and friends the wild and unfamiliar ways of Kentuckians.  Jason and I experienced regional cuisine (pimento cheese spread sandwiches?), new traditions (Keeneland, tailgates, keg standing), charming accents/colloquialisms, and the slow-moving pace of southern life.  The blog functioned as a teeny tiny window into the alien culture in which we found ourselves.

Now, however, we are in a place that 1) is not completely new to us and 2) is not new at all to people we love. We are no longer arbiters of perception and our experiences are not uncommon.  There is a character to our new home, but it is not as foreign or distinct (or delightful, but I think it will grow on us).

The Margaret Mead-ing can continue, I guess. We are both enjoying this new chapter in our collective life and are having excellent adventures. It’s just hard for me to think of things to write about anymore–so I drink obscene amounts of hot chocolate instead.

Time to do the dishes. Tomorrow we are supposed to get a wintry mix. Good-bye, autumn weather.

I cried mightily in Downton Abbey today, probably because Jason was gone and because it is just so sad. Roni: you will definitely weep if you watch it.  I was trying to think of other movies that made me cry, and could only think of A Little Princess (I was eight) and Almost Famous. I also cried in Life is Beautiful, after which my mom and I had to watch a documentary where Julia Roberts visits Mongolian horse farmers to cheer up.  Sometimes I feel like I dreamed that documentary, but guess what! I didn’t.

good things from today

1. Jason and I both rocked 4.0 GPAs this semester. Granted, I had just two classes to his three, but it’s still cause for celebration.

2. Six days until Christmas. SIX!  Kentucky looks decidedly autumnal still, and we are not supposed to get any snow before Moving Day (nine days away). Five days until Christmas Eve. Two days until Pre-Christmas dinner.

3. I decided to be thoughtful and get Jason Clear and Present Danger from Amazon.com for Christmas (on the recommendation of basically all his Connecticut friends). Since he’s a student, we have AmazonPrime (a.k.a. free two-day shipping, which actually comes in one day, thanks to the Amazon fulfillment center located in Lexington), but I had to order it on his account and surreptitiously check his email periodically to intercept the shipping notification. Unfortunately, I wasn’t careful enough and he saw an email from Amazon. Also unfortunately, he noticed that I ordered a VHS instead of a DVD. Nice, especially considering we do not (and do not ever plan to) own a VCR. The good part? We had a hearty laugh about it when I got home…and the VHS was $2.87.

4. Chocolate chip cookies + Andes Mint Chips = Cookie nirvana for mint-devotees.

5. I remembered today that the first day of winter is on Thursday and I am not completely behind on my To Do in Fall 2011 goals (though some, like Bible mini-golfing, have sadly fallen by the wayside).

6. (Technically from last night) We had a great last-hurrah dinner with the Laytons and wish they were moving closer to us, instead of very far away.

7. It’s nine o’clock and Jason is reading recreationally. We watched three episodes of Parks and Recreation and ate dinner and neither one of us has to worry about homework. I could get used to this.

“It’s a cave person!”

Last week was a full one in the Frost home.  Jason went on high adventure with the scouts (no, his calling is not in scouting, but his summer free time makes him a perfect candidate for youth activity chaperoning). 

Looks to me like they had a good time. 

I stayed home and felt like a college student again.  I dislike cooking for one, although I did try a tasty new recipe.  On Friday night, I watched The Parent Trap II (did not even know it existed, but the eighties apparel was stellar) and ate caramel popcorn with Elaina.  When I got home that night, I casually turned on the TV and had to watch the last thirty minutes of The Wedding Planner because I couldn’t remember if JLo and Matthew McConaughey get together (they do…obviously. Is it so hard to remember RomCom narrative structures at 2:00 AM?).

The next day, I ran some errands in the morning, which included finally finding some dresses and stocking up on groceries for the week.  I have decided that I like having Jason along for those types of errands because 1) I can leave my purse at home, 2) he is an honest fashion consultant and 3) he drives the car, carries the groceries, and returns the cart/carriage.  Also, Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me is more fun with a buddy.

I picked (a very tired) Jason up from the church around 2 PM.  We went home and he regaled me with tales of the Wild Cave Tour.  He got pretty beat up in the cave and sunburned from the canoeing and didn’t sleep well, but he had an excellent time overall.

pins and needles

So, we’re waiting for the gal on the right to get her mission call, which is supposedly coming this week. I know it’s driving her crazy, because it’s driving me crazy and I’m not even the one going somewhere far away for eighteen months.

I just want to know now–partly because Jason and I have a bet going and I have a good feeling about my guesses.

UPDATE: It’s here!  We’ll know in just a few hours.

In other news…

1. Last night, we watched the most poorly-written Law and Order episode ever.  I’m not even sure why we kept watching; maybe the over-earnest acting, cheesy dialogue and hopelessly improbable (even for L&O) plot developments have some sort of tractor-beam effect?

2. We went to Joseph-Beth Booksellers for family night on Monday.  We’d never been before and it was actually kind of neat; there’s a duck pond.  I love wandering bookstores with Jason.  My favorite part was the little tables of Kentucky stuff: Bluegrass cookbooks, distillery memorabilia, Keeneland gear (yes, Mary, yellow sweatshirt included), UK stuff (obviously.  The grocery stores here sell UK apparel), hiking guides, coffee table books, etc. I’m pretty sure we’re going to raid that section of the bookstore the week before we move away when I’m awash in Kentucky nostalgia.

3. I ran forty miles last week–while my running buddy was on vacation.  I’m kind of proud of that. 

4. We (still) haven’t stopped talking about The Tree of Life.

in which we see another excellent movie

I had the afternoon off yesterday (hooray!) so we went to Puccini’s for lunch to use my birthday coupon.  We ran some errands, then went to The Tree of Life at the Kentucky Theatre.  For the past few months, we have been diligently checking online to see when Malick’s newest film would come to a theatre near us, and it finally happened.

I’m so glad we finally got to see something at the theatre.  Built in 1922, the Kentucky Theatre was one of the first fifty theatres in the US to use Warner Brothers Vitaphone sound–which is really cool if you, I don’t know, studied film in college.  The seats were marginally uncomfortable, but the experience was well worth it.

The movie was excellent (see Jason’s musings on it here) and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.

The latest, in 140 characters or less

Jason tweets a lot.  I tweet (almost) never, usually because I feel like I have way more to say than can be encapsulated in text-message-size blips.  I don’t understand the little @s and #s.  Also, my tweets lack wry wit and I only have two followers. You know who you are.

I feel like I should like twitter more because I think the little bird is aesthetically pleasing.

Just for fun, I thought I’d try to elucidate our activities of this week in tweetable form:

2 movies in four days! Unheard of for the Frosts. We redboxed True Grit last night and it was, in a word, awesome. Highly recommend it.

Quick pizza dough recipe from Smitten Kitchen = four stars. Thick and tasty and wonderful.  Next time, we’ll double it.

Finished Cutting for Stone.  Next: Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader or A Young Man’s Guide to Late Capitalism? #longwindedtitles

Midnight in Paris is coming to a theatre near us. Hallelujah! Now I have to refresh my knowledge of Lost Generation writers so I don’t feel like a rube.

Is it wrong to hope Sarah Palin gets the GOP nod for ’12, if only for Halloween-related purposes?