Random Thoughts

My parents offered to take the kidlets on Friday and Saturday nights so I spent the weekend resting, watching the coverage of the Katrina disaster and catching up on my to-be-watched list of movies.

Katrina: The images and stories are heartbreaking. There are plenty of websites and blogs offering links for donations and how to volunteer so I won't do the same here, but I hope everyone does whatever they can for those affected, including the pets who had to be left behind. I also encourage you to write your U.S. senators and representatives. We not only need long-term relief for the Gulf Coast, but we need to ensure that the lack of immediate and appropriate response never happens again. If you don't know how to reach them, simply try google.com. I received a response from Senator Cantwell today so at least I know that the email I sent last week arrived.

Movies: I watched two DVDs this weekend including Troy. The first question out of my hubby's mouth when I put on Troy was, "Is Hayden in this?" No, Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom. (Plus a bunch of other eye candy which I didn't mention.) "Orlando who?" Legolas. "Oh, him." My hubby says he's not into movies, but he just likes to say that. Put on Slapshot, Jaws, Rush Hour, Sense and Sensibility or a few others, and he won't move until the credits role.

What did I think of Troy? Well, the credits read based on The Iliad. Perhaps they should have said, character names, a few scenes and plot points borrowed from the Iliad, but the rest is all Hollywood (or rather what Hollywood thinks we, the audience, wants to see.) Still you can't beat the eye candy. Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Sean Bean and Orlando Bloom, just to name a few. So at least they got that part right. But Orlando's Paris was so absolutely beautiful that Helen paled in comparison.

Something hit me while I was watching that took me by surprise-Paris (not his looks, but his character) reminded me so much of Henry Davenport, a character from several of my books. Both men were privileged and indulged their every whim (i.e. flawed), but both managed to redeem themselves at the end.

Back to school: Today was the first day back to school for my two oldest kids. They dressed in their uniforms, put their lunchboxes into their backpacks and off they went to the school. I'm nervous about my seven year old adjusting to her new class and school. I still can't believe my five year old is in kindergarten. Full day kindergarten. It's been a hard day. I'm sure they are both fine. I just miss them so much!