Monday Movie: Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids is a highly talked about comedy with a cast of funny ladies known for their work in other comedy shows and movies (The Office, SNL, Reno 911, Away We Go, etc). Kyle and I went to see it with his family last weekend when they were visiting (that's not to say it is exactly a family movie). As Kyle wrote, it is definitely deserving of its R rating. It was more crude humor than I expected; at times I wasn't sure whether to be horrified or hysterically laughing, but it was an entertaining movie. I was at least a little familiar with most of the leading cast and it was interesting to see some of them in different roles (um. Sookie from Gilmore Girls whaat). From a wedding planning perspective, I can not relate one bit, but I also haven't gone past the "this would be nice..." stage of planning, and my bridesmaids all do not live near to me- closest Philadelphia and DC, furthest Qatar- and this not being a real wedding I'm not exactly sure what their roles are. But if they want to hand out puppies in berets at my bridal shower, I'd be OK with that.

Happy Memorial Day! Keep PFC McPherson in your thoughts!  

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

Some Photos

We had dinner in Round Rock Wednesday night and came outside to this. Looks like a UFO a la Independence Day or something. There was a lot of lightening under it. Super cool.

The lovely motel in Killeen that Kyle lived at for about two months and I got to spend some quality time in as well. Total number of cockroaches killed/spotted in or around the room in the last week I was there: 5. There also may have been prostitutes working/living there. Can't be sure. 

"Ready to Work!" Said like this. 0:17. Classic.

Taking a picture while driving? No I didn't... Foggy morning in Tennessee.

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

Solo Road Trip

I started my drive from Fort Hood around 4:30pm on Thursday. I got to Lindale, TX around 8 that night and then drove for 12-13 hours the next day, making it to Dandridge, TN. Yesterday I continued on and arrived back in State College around 3:30pm. I drove through 9 states total. I took a more southern swing around instead of heading into where the tornadoes and storms were supposed to be (which was pretty much every other route I could take). Clear sunny skies the whole way except for about two minutes of rain in Virginia, and quite a bit of fog in the morning of the last day. I don't know why I thought the trip would take three days or longer than it took with two people driving. I don't take very long breaks, just as long as necessary to refuel, and there's nothing else to do but drive so I just kept going. I get way more tired as a passenger than a driver. Your knees and hands start to ache from being bent up and gripping the wheel for so long, but nothing a day of rest won't fix. Some things I noticed:

-As you get further East, people drive faster. Except in Virginia. But in Virginia sometimes people stand on bridges over the highways and wave, sometimes with flags. A Memorial Day thing, or a thing Virginians do on Saturday? I do not know. I waved back.

- The "State in Which the Most Bugs Were Killed on my Window" Award goes to: Alabama! Congratulations!

- I knew I was getting close to home when: I saw Sheetz on the blue sign listing upcoming gas stops.

- This is a nice and easy route to take if you're headed down to the Texas area/up to PA. This is the fourth time I've driven between Texas and PA, and I liked this way the best. Any route that does not include Arkansas is preferable.

- That ET song by Katy Perry that the radio likes to play is really annoying.

Here's the route I took:


View Larger Map

The first day driving away from my husband was the hardest part. 

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

Hello From Texas

I've been in Texas since Wednesday evening. The weather has been kind of hazy and looking like it is threatening to storm and sometimes doing so, but also at times blindingly bright out; generally pretty warm but not as hot as it could be. Kyle has had more free time than the last times I've visited, so we get to spend more of the day together. His parents and brother flew down on Saturday for a weekend visit so we've been showing them the glories of Killeen (it doesn't take very long. At all.). We wanted to go horseback riding yesterday but we called the place and they are closed until further notice. We think the horses are on strike.

I think for this blog I'll start what I plan to call Movie Monday, where I'll review a movie on Mondays (clever eh?). One that I've recently seen (Thor and Bridesmaids) or favorites from the past. I might start later today, or next Monday.

Looks like I'll be starting my drive back to PA in the early evening on Thursday. I can at least get a few hours in to get past Dallas to shorten my drive a little for the next long haul to Tennessee. I really don't know how far I can get each day, but I'm hopeful the journey won't take more than three or four full days.

Anyway, just wanted to check in and say...

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

Moving Out and Kitten Relocation

Mom and Dad came out to Pittsburgh with a U-haul van yesterday. We loaded up my stuff, which somehow managed to all fit between the U-haul and car. Dad headed back to State College, and Mom and I vacuumed and took the kittens to the vet to get their second round of shots. The third round plus rabies shot will be in a few weeks.

 The kittens were not too happy in the crate in the car ride back to SC, so we let them out. They climbed around a bit but mostly were in a conflicted state of wanting to sleep and wanting to look at everything at the same time.

 Upon arriving at home we put them back in the crate to introduce them to KitKat...she didn't react as terribly as we thought. She hissed a bit and walked away; it certainly won't be a problem keeping the kittens here for a couple weeks though. Upon their second meeting there was again hissing from KitKat, and Darwin hissed back a little. We set the kittens up in the basement, but they've had some time to check out the other levels of the house as well, and the outdoors.They're enjoying having lots of new places and things to explore!

I'll be in State College for a couple days, then flying to Texas on Wednesday. I'm excited to spend some time with Kyle before he leaves!

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

Monday Movie

Today Allie, Tracy and I went to see what I refer to as "the new John Krasinski movie," otherwise known as Something Borrowed. Only $5 during the week, reminding us all of the good ol' days when every movie anytime cost just that much. The movie was quite enjoyable. The message was: sometimes it's OK for everyone to cheat because it'll end up OK for everyone in the end, which I am not a fan of, but I did like that it wasn't exactly what you'd expect it to be. It was a fun film! Kate Hudson was a bit annoying as she usually is. John Krasinski was wonderful as always. The new guy I've never heard of looks like Tom Cruise.

Still packing, gradually. I've been in a bit of a rut with not much to do for a couple weeks, so it was nice to get out for a while. The weather is finally nice again, too.

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

This Month

I started packing today for my move out next Saturday. The kittens are enjoying the apartment being in a state of semi disarray, boxes to jump in, things all out of place... We're going to see if our cat at home will allow the kittens to be in her house, even just keeping them in the basement; if not we may have to find somewhere for them to stay for a couple weeks.

Here's my schedule of events for the next month. It may change if Army changes things.

May 14: Move out from Pittsburgh, return to State College
May 18: Fly to Texas to stay with Kyle for a week before he deploys
May 25: Kyle's deployment date; I start my return drive to PA, hopefully getting to somewhere in Tennessee before stopping
May 26: Continue driving, make it to Suzanne's in Indiana for a little visit!
May 27 or 28: Make it back to State College
June 3: Move in to Toftrees

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

PS- Second Monthiversary!

Trip to the Vet 2: The Case of the Red and Squinty Eye

My friend Allie and I took Huxley to the vet today (and Darwin along for the ride; she did not appreciate it), as last night I noticed his right eye was very red and he was squinting and pawing at it. It has been going back and forth between worse and not as bad since, but I wanted to take him in anyway, because I worry and he just looked so sad with his wonky eye. The vet said he probably got it scratched and the bacteria was irritating it. He gave me some eye drops to give him for a week and some lysine powder to sprinkle on their food. Next vet visit should be in about two weeks, back in State College, for round two of booster shots. The picture is a bit after I gave him his first eye drop and it doesn't look as noticeably bad.

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

Why Get Married?

The last thing you want is to look back on your life and wonder "if only."

Okay, so it's a quote from the last Castle episode that Kyle and I watched, but it seemed like a good starting point for this post. Why did Kyle and I get married? Why did we get married when we did? Why would anyone get married ever? All questions probably a lot of people have asked though the words that actually came out and reached my facebook wall were all versions of "Congratulations!" More polite and less invasive a response I suppose, but weren't you wondering?

- Love: is the obvious reason. It has to be about more than love, no surprise there. Not every couple in love ever gets married; some people in love probably shouldn't get married. Kyle and I loved each other for years and we only got married two months ago.
- Timing: is another thing. From an outside perspective it might seem like timing was never right for Kyle and I, not just for getting married but for having a relationship at all (remember, that not living in the same place broken record bit). We talked about marriage for a while before Kyle left for basic training, but we thought it would be wise to see how we both would handle the addition of the Army to our lives. Kyle actually said that if I still liked him when he was done (in December), he'd give me a ring. No problem, I thought. And that's what happened. Me finishing college and him having some months of experience in the Army seems like a good time for it.
- Compatibility. Kyle and I have a lot in common and a lot of differences; we compliment each other really well. I'll make sure that bills always get paid on time and he'll make sure we always have fun. He'll calm me down and I'll wake him up in the morning.
- Able to face challenges together: We've definitely done that. It's good to have practice dealing with rocky situations so you know you can handle it in your married future, as challenges will inevitably occur. They already have!
- Want the same things
- Children! We want three. I don't really want to be having babies much past 30, and we want to have some time before to just be married sans children.
- Make each other better; challenge each other
- Do not have unrealistic expectations from one another but keep each other in high regard. It's really just about knowing the other person really well.
- Honesty
- Security
- Ability to commit
- Best Friends: Everyone tells me that starting out as best friends is the way to go. Not that we planned it that way, but it has been a nice and natural transition. We knew each other quite well before starting to date, so that gave us a good base from which to grow.
- Similar Interests: I'm reminded of when a friend caught us both humming the Jurassic Park theme song at the same time and said something along the lines of "Wow. I get it now."
- Desire to take care of and support each other
- Couldn't see a happy and fulfilling future where we're not together
- We wanted to
- The Master Mind Effect: This article came out after we got married, but it puts into words a lot of good reasons that when I read I thought, yeah, exactly. I think asking any less of a marriage is cutting yourself and your relationship short.

I don't imagine that any of this has been particularly surprising.

We got married pretty quickly in Texas after a very very stressful month or so of trying to figure out how/when it would actually happen. After learning in December that Kyle would be deployed in May we decided to still get married before he left, and do the party after.  I believe that when you agree to getting engaged you should be able to agree to getting married the next day, so I don't think a long engagement is necessary. We wanted to get married before he left, whenever it would be, so that I would count and be recognized as an actual person, to improve/ensure communication while he is deployed, and so we could start getting married benefits from the Army. This wedding just wouldn't be your typical wedding, but little about our relationship was typical anyway. Then there were issues with his family not wanting us to do another ceremony later, that only came up weeks before getting married when this had been the plan for months, and then we thought there was a possibility of getting married in Pittsburgh or State College, but ultimately it would only really work doing it in Texas over my spring break. We had to do it then so that we would have time to do all the necessary Army and government paperwork, and there was no guarantee Kyle would get any time to leave Fort Hood for a wedding elsewhere at a later date. Family wanted to be there but it wasn't really possible. So it was me, Kyle, and Mr. Garland Potvin of Bell County in a little court room on Monday March 7. We went to Ihop for brunch afterwards, waited in lobbies and did paperwork all day, had Mexican food for dinner, then watched Away We Go back in the barracks. Classy. Like these moose. (Because there are exactly zero pictures from our wedding day)

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

A Quick Response to Recent Events

I don't mind people wanting to celebrate. It seems like people are split between those celebrating and those looking down on those celebrating. The MLK quote about hate and love doesn't quite make sense to me in this situation. People are rejoicing in the death of one person while showing love for country. Doesn't hate often stem out of love? Don't we all hate something because we love another thing even more? I think it's often hard to see a difference between passion in either direction, and I don't know what each chanting or quietly thankful individual was feeling and thinking; I certainly can't judge their reactions. There is a lot that remains to be seen, and I'm more interested in how this plays out in the months and years to come.

That's all!

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson

Dexter

I love the show Dexter. Love love love. Credit for introducing the show to me goes to my brother who bugged us for months to watch it. I didn't know much about it and often confused the show for Chuck (both guys names, and that's all I knew about them), but one day I decided to start watching it. I think I watched the whole first season in two days (there wasn't much going on that weekend anyway). Season One first impressions: incredible. So good! I typically go for NBC comedy shows (with the exception of Bones which I only discovered a year ago), not Showtime emotionally stunted man hunts criminals set free my the failings of the justice system and hacks them into pieces shows (based on a book). The character Dexter is wonderful; he is introduced to us and portrays himself as devoid of feeling human emotions, though he is well aware of what they are, and what others expect him to be feeling. He puts on a smile when he should, can fake enthusiasm and concern with just a little thought. He's got a girlfriend (plus kids) too, to help his facade. He is an unassuming actor working (blood spatter) forensics at a Miami police precinct by day, and hunter of evildoers by night. He has a hunger for it, not an innate desire to clean up the world of the filth that slip through the cracks; they are more a convenient and justifiable outlet as set down in a sort of code by his adoptive father Harry (the only one aware of his hobby). Dexter is a vigilante doing what those tasked with our protection cannot. Right or wrong, he does it, and it's awesome. He narrates the show, so we hear his thoughts behind his outward projections to those around him.

Each season of twelve episodes focuses on one main case that Dexter and his police buddies are working on: the Ice Truck Killer, Bay Harbor Butcher, Trinity, etc. Dexter is often a step ahead of the police, and doesn't often share the information he has with them so that he can savor taking down the bad guy for himself (and he often gets quite personally involved early on in the season). He has his projects on the side, though when you're going around making people disappear and you work in a police station, there is bound to be some overlap and more than a few close calls. While I personally find his sister Deb quite irritating, the cast of characters around him also develop nicely, as suspicion arises and Dexter does his best to quell them. There are currently five seasons out, with the sixth to start up in the fall. Some seasons are better than others (all are better than the fifth); the first and fourth have to be my favorites.

Dexter is smart, well cast, and very addictive. You should probably watch it.

- From the desk of Mrs. Sarah McPherson