OMG! Broadway Here I Come!

I heard something on the radio the other day and my heart actually fluttered. I mean, I didn't really believe it when I heard it. It was quick. I figured I must have heard in correctly . . . But I checked it out this morning and IT'S TRUE!!!

Xanadu is coming to Broadway!!!

That's right. I said it. Quite possibly the cheesiest and best movie to come out in 1980 - Xanadu stars Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelley and Michael Beck. It's a movie about Sonny Malone (Beck), an artist who paints album (Yes, vinyl!!) covers to display in record store windows, but wants something more from his life. Enter Kira, a daughter of Zeus and a muse sent to inspire Sonny to make his dreams come true. Obviously, Kira and Sonny fall for each other, obviously a muse and a mortal cannot be together . . . and Gene Kelley is in there, too.

Anyway, there's GREAT 80's music in it - check out this video from the title track - and, oh yes, ROLLER SKATING!! Lots of roller skating!!

I loved this movie as a kid. I was a dancer in my childhood, Xanadu has a tap routine in it which was my favorite because I was a tap dancer, no kidding - and there was nothing I liked more than a musical. (I used to dance with my best friend in her basement to the soundtrack of Annie on a regular basis.) I actually used my Fisher-Price tape recorder to record (by holding up the tape recorder to the speaker of the TV) the songs from the movie.

So if anyone would like to accompany me on a trip to NYC to see Xanadu on Broadway (I'm singing the theme song as we speak!) then let me know! (Cheryl, I know you want to go. Admit it.)

What a great way to start my morning!

Still Raining . . .

Well, it's been two solid days of rain (again!) and it's cold and I really don't like cold, rainy days. But I'm going out with my sister tonight for her second-to-last girls' night out as a single lady (her last girls' night out will be on Wednesday when my other sister is in town and we take her out just three days before her big day!) and that will be fun. (We even bought matching handbags!)

But it seems that my gardening plans for the weekend have been put on hold. My boys are literally running laps in my house because they're looking for some kind of outlet for their energy. And, oh yes, I still can't kick this cold I've had since last week.

On the plus side, my husband and I rented an amazing movie last night - Little Children. It stars Kate Winslet as a stay-at-home mom who has an affair with a stay-at-home dad. It's really about people who's lives have spun out of control and whether or not they really want to take back control and live with the choices they've made. It's a drama and it's pretty dark (in the way that American Beauty was), but there are plenty of lines that had me (and my husband) literally laughing out loud.

The movie was up for a couple of Academy Awards (not sure if it won any) and I must say that it stayed very true to the novel it's based on. I read the novel by Tom Perrotta more than a year ago and it was fabulous. It started a little slow, but once I got into it a little bit I couldn't put it down. The movie is the same way. An excellent movie and I highly recommend it.

Oh, and I posted my monthly contribution over at The Soccer Mom Vote. It's a little piece on children and health care in the United States. Some of the stats I found were so disheartening. I couldn't believe how many children are without adequate health care coverage. And it's something that I and so many of my friends take for granted. I certainly couldn't afford to take my children to the doctor without it. (It's hard enough for many of us just to afford the portion of the premiums that our employers don't pay!) So if you're interested, click on over and be sure to check out some of the other posts as well. There have been some very good ones recently that will get you thinking.

Day Thirty: We Needed This

FINALLY!!! It snowed! Well, a little bit at least. Enough to get the kids dressed in their snow gear and take them outside. Enough to throw a few snowballs and for me to make this darling snowman . . .

Granted, there was only enough snow to make him about a foot tall. And, yes, that's grass poking through the snow in the background. We didn't even get an inch, but it was enough for my boys. When they saw it coming down my four year old couldn't get his gear on fast enough. We played tag. We played hide and seek. We threw (small) snowballs. It was pure bliss.

The only disappointment of the day was when we were outside and the sun came out. My older son responded immediately: "Mommy! I can't believe it's spring already!!" We're hoping for one big wallop before the end of the winter. Yes, even me. We had so much fun today. It was a day I really needed. If only everyday could be like this one . . .

P.S. I even got to watch a movie tonight! I know! Can you imagine?! My husband and I watched "Thank You for Smoking," and it was so funny! Definitely one of those quirky films; only 90 minutes long; Lots of great, dry humor. If you get a chance, rent it. (Plus I got to hear Katie Holmes, er Kate Cruise use the f-word several times and she was a dirty little whore, too! What does Tom think? Is that very Scientologist of her?)

Day Twenty: Girls Night Out

I went out with my girls tonight. We went and saw "The Holiday." Total chick-flick movie, so I decided not to torture my husband by making him go with me and invited several friends of mine instead. (I'm not usually one for those kinds of movies either, but this one is set in large part in Britain and I love the countryside and the cottages and the pubs ... and I love the accents so listening to Kate Winslet and Jude Law speak for two hours was like music to my ears ... And who wouldn't want to watch Jude Law and listen to previously mentioned accent while eating popcorn, sipping a Mountain Dew in the dark?)

As you can see I had a great time. The storyline was cute; The scenery was even better (yes, I am referring to Jude Law and the English countryside) and of course it had the mandatory happy ending for all involved. A few drinks and lots of laughs afterward and we called it a night.

So I'm tired now and I only have about twenty minutes to get this post up, so that's it. I'm grateful for good times, good friends, girly drinks and sappy, chick movies.

Day Eight: Rudolph and Six? Flying Reindeer

Tonight my boys and I participated in a holiday tradition - we cuddled up on the couch under a warm, flannel blanket and watched "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." I've watched Rudolph (and A Charlie Brown Christmas) every December for as long as I can remember and I enjoy sharing my tradition with my boys. Especially now that my four year old is old enough to get excited in anticipation of the "big night." All day today he kept asking me when it was going to be dark because Rudolph and Frosty were on tonight.

I enjoyed watching Rudolph - rudimentary animation and mismatched audio - but there were a few things that stuck out this go round that I don't remember from my childhood. For example, when Rudolph runs away from home and his father goes to look for him; his mother also volunteers to go and look but is rebuffed with the line "No! This is man's work!" Uh, excuse me?

Then there is the part where Yukon Cornelius and the Abominable Snow Monster fall over the edge of the cliff. The narrator comments that the friends are sad at losing Yukon, but they realize "that it's time to get the women home to Christmastown." And why is that exactly?

While the feminist in me is agitated, I can put that aside - after all it is Christmas time and it's a classic. Things were different back in the day, right? It's a tradition and it wouldn't be the same if it were some updated, politically correct version. However, the following glaring error I'm not sure I can forgive.

In the final scenes where Santa goes to the Island of Misfit Toys and then delivers those toys on Christmas Eve, Rudolph is leading the team of flying reindeer - according to the song he should be leading Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. That's EIGHT flying reindeer; count them again if you're not sure. But tonight I realized that there are only SIX reindeer and Rudolph makes SEVEN.

So much for the classics. (And btw, there's a doll in a pink dress on the Island of Misfit toys and for years now it has bothered me that I can't figure out what makes her a misfit. Is there anybody out there who knows? If so, please tell me.)

But this is a post about what I am grateful for, so tonight I am grateful that I could share one of my childhood traditions with my own children - sexist remarks, bad math and all :)