In an effort to resurrect some entertainment on this blog like the good ol’ days I thought it would be fun to send my sister a questionnaire to fill out for you guys, and I have to say, I found it very entertaining, especially the questions I asked her about us. I should’ve asked more of those. I hope you enjoy her answers as much as I did, but first I’ll tell you a little bit about what she’s been up to.

Lesley, aka The Great Lazlo, went to Chapman University in southern California and studied film. She graduated this spring and is working at Yosemite National Park. As you may have guessed, I ripped these photos right off her Facebook album (tweaked them a little bit for color and contrast, shhh), and am posting them all over her post. She has about 200 photos up in her Facebook album so I just chose a few of my favorites, like this one below, holy crap.

I’ve personally loved the time she’s spent at Yosemite because (1) she has time to talk to me on the phone, (2) she’s bored enough to talk to me on the phone, and (3) she has insanely hilarious stories about wildlife sneaking into her cabin and boys in platform heels chasing bears out of her camp (I was on the phone for that incident, and I thank the good Lord every day that I was).

I’ve personally hated the time she’s spent at Yosemite because (1) she’s not in Texas hanging out with me.

P.S. She uses the word “bildungsroman” in her answers. I have absolutely no clue what this means. Think I’ll just smile and nod.

Okay, that’s enough out of me! On with the program….

Name 5 movies that you think everyone should see and why.

1. Taxi Driver — My favorite film of Martin Scorsese’s, who in turn is one of my favorite directors. This film about God’s Lonely Man is potentially one of the best portrayals of the psychological effects of the Vietnam War without even directly including the war at all. I tend to appreciate movies more when I had to rewatch, analyze, research and ultimately pick them apart for papers, and that was something I did with this film. Scorsese is legend (he also makes an incredibly disturbing cameo in this film), and this is a perfect example of the brilliance that came out of the young Hollywood directors in the 60s and 70s.
2. An Education — I was the biggest supporter of Carey Mulligan winning Best Actress this spring, which I knew wasn’t going to happen but which I will continue to be upset about because she deserved it. This is simply a beautiful film in every respect, which everyone can appreciate. The production design combines my love of Mad Men and my love of London into one film, the bildungsroman narrative is an eternally interesting genre, and the performances are beautifully understated. I think this is a movie that everyone can appreciate, but for the people who can relate to it, it’s another experience entirely. It may be an understated film but it hits like a steel train emotionally. I love this movie.
3. The Awful Truth — Maybe it’s just because I have a deep-seated love of both screwball comedies and Cary Grant, but I found this movie absolutely hilarious when I saw it for the first time a couple years ago. It is definitely one of the most underrated films in this genre and is a lot more light hearted than anything else on this list. Mr. Grant and Irene Dunne are both brilliant, and there’s not really a whole lot else to say about this movie except that it’s a shame there aren’t more men like Archibald Leach.
4. In Bruges — This is easily one of the best films I’ve seen in the last few years. It can be difficult to watch at times because there is a decent amount of violence and an incredible amount of swearing, but if you can handle both those things the screenplay is brilliant. I often find that the best films are not comedies or dramas but have elements of both, and this dark comedy made me laugh and cry with astounding regularity. Martin McDonagh also got amazing performances out of his actors, which is saying something considering I usually appreciate Colin Farrell more as a pretty face than as a serious actor, and it’s even a greater accomplishment considering this was the writer/director’s first feature-length film. If nothing else, watch this film in order to see Ralph Fiennes’ character give his wife one of the best insults recorded on film.
5. A Matter of Life and Death — I almost did The Apartment because of my love for Billy Wilder, but at the last minute I decided to change it to something I feel like less people have seen. I had never even heard of this Powell & Pressburger film until my last semester of school when my professor played it in our fantasy genre class. The only word that I can think of to describe this film is charming. Powell & Pressburger are known for their beautiful colors and visuals, and this Technicolor love story between an American radio operator and an RAF pilot straddling the gap between this world and the next is a perfect example of their brilliance. There’s not much to say about this movie except go watch it.

[Editor's Note: Looks like I've got some movie renting to do. I second her review of The Education. Loved that movie and definitely related to it. So good.]

Name 5 movies that you could watch over and over again regardless of how “good” they are technically.

1. You’ve Got Mail
2. That Thing You Do! (there’s a bit of a Tom Hanks trend…in fact, all 5 of these could potentially be Tom Hanks movies)
3. Empire Records
4. The Sound of Music
5. Hook

What would you say are our most quoted movies?

Some of our most quoted movies…You’ve Got Mail, A League of Their Own, That Thing You Do! (another Tom Hanks trend), Fletch and Fletch Lives, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Father of the Bride, Groundhog Day, Clueless, It Could Happen to You…they go in cycles it seems, but those are a handful.

[Editor's note: She forgot Cool Runnings, one of our most oft quoted movies of all time. And I think we quote Father of the Bride 2 as much as we do the first one. Just had to add those in there.]

What’s a movie/TV show that I love that you hate?

The Biggest Loser. I don’t hate it but I’ve seen it a few times and I just can’t get into it, but I know you watch it a fair amount. Honestly I think it would be easier to find something that I like that you hate. I’m not too picky.

How many animals have tried or succeeded in coming into your tent cabin so far at Yosemite?

A handful of raccoons (though it’s likely that it’s the same raccoon every time…we call our neighborhood raccoon Tito and he absconded with my chocolate granola once), a few squirrels, a Steller’s Jay, a bat (which I’m sad to say I wasn’t here for), thousands of bugs, and a climbing bum friend who’s been storing his haul bag under my bed.

What do you miss most about Texas (besides family because that’s too easy)?

I miss the friendliness of the people in Texas. When I was claustrophobic in Southern California I would say that I miss how spread out everything is, but that’s not really a problem here in Yosemite where I’m 50 miles from any sizable town. I know I can’t say family but I can say that I miss my friends from both school and church, though a lot of them no longer live in Texas either. I miss Blue Bell ice cream and the kid’s pizza at Schlotzsky’s and Studio Movie Grill.

How are Californians different from Texans?

In general the most obvious difference is that Californians tend to be more liberal with pockets of conservative strongholds (i.e. Orange County and much of the agricultural community) whereas Texans tend to be more conservative with pockets of more liberal populations (i.e. Austin). I’ve noticed that people actually tend to be pretty similar, although Californians where I have lived tend to be used to having so much right at their fingertips — giant cities, beaches, clubs, theme parks, concerts, restaurants, shops, mountains, etc. And they’re okay with paying a higher premium for all the options they have. But the real question is how are Northern Californians different from the rest of California AND from Texas? And that is a long list of things which are pretty easy to guess, since they’re liberal hippies which make life so interesting.

How would you describe yourself in one word?

Wanderer.

How would you describe me in one word?

Opinionated (this is a good thing).

How are you and I different?

I am much more prone to moving around (see two questions up). I love traveling and I want to see as many places in the world as possible, and that is not you, though you’ve moved around plenty yourself. By the time you were my age you were already married and that is definitely not in the near future for me. I’m also much nerdier than you are and get singularly obsessed with bands, movies, books and people, while you’re much more normal than that. I’m a little crazier and since I’m younger I get to be more immature.

How are you and I the same?

We both love movies, TV shows and books and have enough of an overlapping taste to relate to each other and recommend things to each other on that level. I actually feel like we’ve become pretty similar when it comes to our senses of humor and the traits that we admire or dislike in ourselves and other people, which is good because it means we can vent or tell humorous stories to each other easily. Luckily we’ve grown closer instead of farther apart as we’ve gotten older. Also, neither of us cook and we both love Jess Mariano.

[Editor's note: Mmmm, Jess Mariano.]

Will you interview me next for my blog?

I would say yes, but considering it took me 2 1/2 weeks to answer questions about myself, I can’t make any promises.

Thanks so much for humoring me, Lesley! You’re the best!

I haven’t done a post like this in a while, so I thought it would be fun today while I procrastinated cleaning the house. As much as I love taking photos of my baby, I’ve been itching to do something different on the blog because I used to actually take pictures of other things before she came along if I remember correctly.

Anyway, here are a few things I’m loving lately.

• These hair products. Lest you think short hair equals no work, check out all these hair products I use on a regular basis. I don’t use every single one every day, but more or less, this is what I use. I love, love, love the Alterna Hemp line, partly because it works really well without making my hair oily, crunchy, or waxy, but also because it smells so damn good. They’re by far my favorite smelling products I’ve ever used. I don’t like their straightening product though, so I use Aveda’s Hang Straight for that, which is the best straightening product I’ve found. I also like their shine stuff.

• On a similar note, my hair. I love this style so much. It really feels like me.

• Of course. Enough said.

• Sunflower seeds! I love a snack that takes a while to eat and keeps my hands busy, which is why I like picking through Great Grains, eating chips and salsa, scooping watermelon right of the rind, and buying unshelled peanuts. I like to work for my food, damnit!

• Training the Turkledog. I am having so much fun training my dog. We’ve been having a blast going for walks every day and seeing his progress in obedience. I’m so proud of him, and I look forward to it every day. I wish Justin were home more so it would be easier for me to take Turk out and really focus with him, but even so, I absolutely love working with him when I can. I’m sad I’ll be going away for a couple weeks and have to work him back up to where he is right now.

• This moose toy. I had my mom pick me up some dangly toys to hook onto this jumper thing since we don’t have any baby stores close by, and one of the toys she got was this moose. It’s so cute, I’m a little obsessed with it.

• New flowers in my beds. It makes such a big difference having flowers in my yard, so I love taking care of these. We (and by “we” I mean my mom) planted purple pansies for the winter, but they got eaten by rabbits so I never did get to see the purple part. I’m happy to see purple periwinkles out there now. So far, they’re still alive and well. I don’t remember what those pink flowers are called.

• Taking baths. I lived here two years before I ever took a bath in this huge tub. Within the last month though, I’ve taken one a week, and it feels sooo good. I even took a bubble bath the other day just to tempt the UTI gods, and it was so relaxing. Next house I think I’m going to demand one of those fancy tubs with jets and all that cool stuff.

Well that was fun. Back to laundry and cleaning.

I like the lists. I obsess about paragraph transitions which is hard when you don’t have enough to say about any one subject to warrant a whole post but your thoughts don’t connect at all to form one cohesive post. With lists I get to just embrace the disjointedness.

• It is insanely fun to shop for a baby girl. I never realized how fun it would be until I was pregnant with one, and now that she’s born and growing up it’s even more fun. I currently have another internet window open up with cute, tempting, taunting baby girl clothes, and it’s taking everything in my power not to add about 90% of it to my shopping cart. I actually need clothes for her next size up (12 months) because I have almost nothing, but it’s hard when I’m not sure when she’ll transition over. Will she follow her own trend and be early, thus still in the hot months of Texas, or will she hold off until closer to her first birthday, thus requiring warmer clothes? Tricky. I need to start stocking up on some versatile outfits anyway though, like jammies. But I just want to buy everything!
• I have some awesome girl friends here. I feel so lucky to have friends that really get me. I have a few here that I really feel like I can be myself around. It’s so refreshing and comforting feeling like you don’t really have to watch what you say or constantly defend or second guess what you said. If you say something stupid, they get it. We all say stupid things sometimes. You don’t have to explain it. If you’re in a bad mood, feeling really cynical, or just sick of everything, you don’t have to pretend that life’s perfect all the time. It’s okay to have a bad day. It’s easy to have friends who like you at your best, but how many of us are really our best 24 hours a day? I’d rather have friends that accept me and love me and probably love me a little more at my worst as well. I know I feel that way about them.
• I would pay my hairstylist as much for her head massages as I do for my hair cut and color.
• I went blonder today. This blonde pixie cut could possibly be my favorite hairstyle of all time. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when it goes out of style if that ever happens.
• My mom and I picked out flowers last weekend and she planted them for me while I was getting the baby ready for bed before she left. Between new flowers and a lawn that is actually mowed and edged weekly (I hired my friend Tawni’s boys to keep our HOA off my back), I’m actually excited to pull up to my house. I can’t wait to get the rest of the front landscaping done one day (hopefully between this fall and next spring).
• When I used to live with my mom, I would open up a box of Great Grains, sit down on the couch or at the table, and pick all the goodies out of it to eat — nut clusters first, dates and raisins next, then the pecans, until there were only flakes left. I found this irresistible. If there was a box of Great Grains in the house, I had to pick it apart. I even found out my mom started hiding boxes from me around the house and went through them as well. It was a sickness. Well, I hadn’t done that in years until I got bored a few days ago and picked apart one of my boxes of Great Grains. Now it’s taking all my willpower to withstand doing it to the rest of them. And I don’t have much willpower. Even as I type, I’m having the debate in my head.
• I found a pair of huge clunky splendidly heavy Doc Martin sandals in my closet. I don’t know or care if they’re still in style. I’m wearing them! That also goes for the pair of jeans I found buried back there as well. Style, schmyle. I like ‘em, and I’m wearing ‘em.
• I keep flipping back to the baby clothes tab. RESIST! RESIST! But she needs some clothes. But I want everything! I’m in too fragile a state to make online purchases right now.
• I had two moles removed and sent to a pathology lab. They were benign, but I still plan on avoiding the sun most of my life, even if my legs are so white they’re blue.
• Five more seconds and I’m going to give in to the call of the Great Grains treasure hunt.
• I get to eat at Cafe Rio and The Pie in a week! Utah definitely has its charms.
• Oh yeah, and I’ll be seeing my brother and going to my friend Natalie’s wedding while I’m there before going to see Justin’s family in California.
• I’m going to bed. I need to step away from the baby clothes and the highly dense cereal at midnight. My senses are skewed. Night!

She was laughing so much harder than this before I got the camera of course, but it’s still funny. And of course after one of these giggling fits she never laughs at the same thing again. It’s funny what cracks her up at the time though.

It took me two days for this video to finally upload. It kept erroring out. Our internet must’ve sucked yesterday for some reason. So it better be worth it!

Exhibit A: Despondent

Here’s another phone pic. At a stop light tonight, I said something to her and glanced in the back to see her smiling up at me. This is what I saw. Awwww! So cute! I’m so glad I caught this cute expression.

I love that she’s to an age now where she can consciously cuddle back with me. It’s so sweet, I just can’t think of anything sweeter than that. Tonight, I stood at her crib, rubbed her back, and cuddled her for 30 minutes. I would’ve stood there all night too.

I think I need to move her crib down so it’s harder to climb out of (or at least I’m getting very close to needing to). When I’m putting her down, I always have to duck down and crawl out while she’s distracted with something because if she sees me leave she freaks out. Well, I think she’s caught on because tonight while I was sitting on the floor, I looked up to see these two little hands grabbing the top of the bumper and then the top of her head pop up. She actually pulled up enough to get her eyes above the bumper to look at me! Hahahaha! She started crying as soon as she saw me, but it was still so funny.

Just some pictures lately of the look-a-likes in this house. I LOVE this first one! She looks so little on Justin’s shoulders. She’s been eating better the last few days, which has been really nice of her! For a couple days I had to start with something with apples in it before I could switch to anything else. Girl after my own heart.

Another thing she’s been doing lately that’s cracking me up: when I’m nursing her, she grabs her foot with her hand and starts hitting herself in the face with the bottom of her foot or stroking her cheek or ear with her toes. Hilarious. I’ve had to make sure her toenails are short so she doesn’t cut her cheek with her toenails (and all this time I thought it was more important to keep her fingernails short).

She was in an irritable mood when I took these. I could not get her to smile, which is rare.

Nom nom nom nom nom.

So, as I’ve been saying to anyone and everyone, Turk started his dog training classes this week. He’s been an interesting case since we got him. He’s extremely intelligent and extremely stubborn and extremely anxious, which is and isn’t a great combination. It’s great that he’s intelligent, but that also means you can see the wheels turning in his head, deciding if he’s actually going to do what you say or not.

And what he usually decides is, nah. Unless you have a treat in sight. And only if he thinks that treat outweighs what he’d rather be doing. When we’re out, if he sees other people, smells something interesting, or sees another dog, it wouldn’t matter if I held a steak in front of his face, he wouldn’t listen. Which is precisely why I never got him properly leash trained, despite months and months of pretty steady attempts and a variety of techniques.

Enter professional trainers.

Turk has significantly relaxed his anxiety already because he realizes I’m in control, and we have been able to go for walks during the day, at night (he’s scared of the dark), and even at the busy lake with tons of people and off-leash dogs around. And he has stayed right at my side and has been relatively calm and relaxed. I am so excited cuz now I can actually take him places with me, and I’m the kind of dog owner who would love to take him places with me.

I know everyone loves their dog, but I really am a dog person. Before I was hauling around a baby and the ten thousand accessories she requires, I would take Turk everywhere with me, but the poor guy rarely gets out now that I can’t give them both my full attention and Turk hasn’t been trained enough to be trusted with any less than that.

The whole dog training technique debate has caught my attention again of course. Whew, that is a heated debate, much like parenting techniques. Fanatics on either side always think there’s only one way of doing things, despite differing personality types and temperaments, and that anyone who does differently must not really care about their dogs (or kids). It’s really annoying, but whatever.

Anyway, I’m feeling good, and it’s fun getting Turk out to train as well. He’s absolutely thrilled that he’s getting so much attention and so many walks, and I love that I’m not always yelling at him for one thing or another or too frustrated with him to take him out with me.

Obviously this is just a phone shot, but someone had a poopy diaper that was oozing out of her diaper and onesie. It was one of those lovely moments where I went to unbutton her onesie and realized my hand was covered in squishy poo, poo that was now also under my fingernails. And then I couldn’t get her out of her outfit without getting it all over her, so after a baby wipe pre-bath, I dunked her into the tub for a good scrubbing.