This is a little less ranger-ish--but important for the telling of what I've been experiencing this summer in down time (besides running).
Early this summer Eric told me about his favorite musical: Paint Your Wagon. Now, I'm pretty familiar with musicals but I hadn't ever heard of this one.... A quick summary:
A 1969 release with Lee Marvin, Jean Seberg and Clint Eastwood, all about a Gold Rush town that booms (and then collapses--literally), while centered around the romantic interests of a woman who takes two husbands (after being "sold" by her husband who had two wives). Confusing huh? I'm not doing it justice...
Several times this summer Eric has invited me over to watch it and finally, this past Tuesday I headed out and to see this musical for myself. This 164 minute film is indeed unique. I loved the history (even if inaccurate) in it and just, experiencing a new musical. It cannot begin to compete, in my book, with The Sound of Music, but then again I'm not sure any musical ever will. What I think was better than anything was seeing Eric and his wife, Liz, so excited about it. I truly appreciate the exposure to the "new" musical. THANK YOU ERIC!
The other obsession for the last two weeks (less than) has been the Twilight series. Right now Lauren is rolling her eyes at me writing this. :) She has heard more about it than anyone should (although if she just read it for herself she, too, would be obsessed with it!)..... :) 
It started off with mere curiosity. I watched my 8th graders read the series, heard from friends how great the series is, and, with free time this summer to read, I decided to give the books a chance. While shopping for my OK adventure back in June I picked up the first book at Target and said to myself, "well, if I get desperate it will be nice to have around...." Little did I know. I inhaled the book. I couldn't put it down. I read and read and read. I stayed up until 1 am reading. I don't remember the last time I was so obsessed with a book. My family knows that once I get into a good book I'm hard to move. This, however, took it to new levels. It is a good thing that I was by myself the last two weeks. I read before bed (for hours---this from a woman who is fanatic about getting sleep!)...I read when I got up (just a few pages I promised myself)...I read while I ate dinner....I would have probably tried to read during work too but wouldn't afford myself the opportunity--the book stayed at home only. Book one was done. I picked up book two with Mark in Norman and wouldn't let myself even crack it open until he left. Then whooosh! Book two was done. By the end of book two my obsession was fever pitch. I picked up both books 3 and 4 in Big Thicket at the Walmart there. I didn't care that they were hard cover, weighed a ton, cost more than I should pay for them..... [I should interject here that I bought them despite being on the Ardmore Public Library wait list under Chris' name....they were all checked out though and when faced with the issue of waiting for them or paying for my own copies---well, the choice was all too clear.]
I read half of book 3 and couldn't stand it any longer. Would Bella become a vampire? I couldn't stand it. I must add here that I AM NOT A VAMPIRE FAN! But these books are just....so....addictive!!!! In a state of sheer impatience I emailed two of my former students who I was pretty sure had read them...Meridian and Zoe. How ironic is this? Here, I am a 30 something reading these books, emailing my teenage students for the answers to my questions....THANK YOU ZOE FOR WRITING ME BACK! With my new found knowledge I tossed the rest of book 3 aside (after I read the last chapter) and dove into book 4. I am proud to say that I finished it last night--after a few marathon reading sessions. My shoulders are sore from propping myself up in bed with the book....but my curiosity is satisfied.
Looking back I have to say, the books have been a source of conversation wherever I've gone. At the laundromat in Sulphur I had a conversation about them with two teenage girls---they both loved the books, but were split on the movie. At Red Robin last night the waitress and I had a conversation about the series. If nothing else, I feel like I have been inaugurated into a bit of pop culture reading this summer--and loved every word of it!
I thought I would be satiated now that I finished reading them. However, when Zoe wrote me back, she mentioned that Stephenie Meyer wrote a sequel to the series from Edward's perspective called Midnight Sun. It's online. And today.....I downloaded it....and started to read it.....it looks like I have more reading to do......
It started off with mere curiosity. I watched my 8th graders read the series, heard from friends how great the series is, and, with free time this summer to read, I decided to give the books a chance. While shopping for my OK adventure back in June I picked up the first book at Target and said to myself, "well, if I get desperate it will be nice to have around...." Little did I know. I inhaled the book. I couldn't put it down. I read and read and read. I stayed up until 1 am reading. I don't remember the last time I was so obsessed with a book. My family knows that once I get into a good book I'm hard to move. This, however, took it to new levels. It is a good thing that I was by myself the last two weeks. I read before bed (for hours---this from a woman who is fanatic about getting sleep!)...I read when I got up (just a few pages I promised myself)...I read while I ate dinner....I would have probably tried to read during work too but wouldn't afford myself the opportunity--the book stayed at home only. Book one was done. I picked up book two with Mark in Norman and wouldn't let myself even crack it open until he left. Then whooosh! Book two was done. By the end of book two my obsession was fever pitch. I picked up both books 3 and 4 in Big Thicket at the Walmart there. I didn't care that they were hard cover, weighed a ton, cost more than I should pay for them..... [I should interject here that I bought them despite being on the Ardmore Public Library wait list under Chris' name....they were all checked out though and when faced with the issue of waiting for them or paying for my own copies---well, the choice was all too clear.] 
