Friday night I was supposed to go out to dinner with the lovely Malomatic, but I had a spell of tummy troubles so I had to take a rain check. BOOOOOO! It's a good thing I stayed home, though, and that's all I'm gonna say about that. Bedtime was 9:45 PM, because I am cool like 'dat.
Saturday I felt a little better and it was a beautiful Fall day, so naturally I spent the first half inside, cleaning. I scrubbed the floors, the bathrooms, the kitchen, then the kids. It may sound boring, but it was actually extremely satisfying!
Later in the afternoon Jillinator came over with her daughters and we went apple picking. We had a good time and then came back to my place to have a glass of wine and a chat, then ended up making a pie together. 
Jill was going out that night but I took a rain check on that one, too. I know! Very un-Bev! I just wasn't feeling terrific this weekend and wanted to relax, that's all. I'm sure I'll get my groove back soon!
Bedtime: Asleep on the couch by 10:15. WOOT.
Sunday I did nothin'. Absolutely nothin'. I played with the kids all morning, then J let me have some solo time in my room, which I LOVE. I watched a movie I'd already seen (Burn After Reading), read a little, and just stared at the wall for a while. It rocked. Last night we watched the season premier of Dexter (LOVE that show) and cleared a few other shows off the DVR, but that's about it.
I'm pleased to report that my attention span seems to be making a come-back. YAY! I am embarrassed that I haven't been able to focus much since, oh, April? I'm not sure, somewhere last Spring I stopped reading, writing, and even watching movies and my favorite shows. Yes, it was right around the time when my dad got his diagnosis and subsequently passed away.
I noticed a week or so ago that I was craving a good book, and I felt encouraged. After all, I've always been an avid reader and when this malaise came over me I literally put down two novels in mid-sentence and never looked at them again. Strangely enough, I still don't want to read those two novels anymore; they've become permanently tainted in my mind, I'm afraid. Kind of like how I can't watch Slumdog Millionaire because I tried to watch it the night Dad died, so now the two things are linked in my mind.
Recently I've found myself watching movies again. Over the past couple of weeks I've seen:
Frozen River
Excellent indie drama with a talented cast of unknowns. Very simple but moving.
Volver
I have been meaning to watch this movie for ages - AGES - but I was never in the mood to sit through a movie with subtitles. I'm so glad I finally did. I loved everything about it, and about an hour in I realized it was quickly becoming one of my favorite movies ever. I've never had much of an opinion about Penelope Cruz before, but she was outstanding (and gorgeous) in this film. The language was incredibly beautiful to listen to, and it was just well-done on every level. LOVED it.
Now that I know that I have the attention span to read subtitles again, I can finally bump I've Loved You So Long back up to the top of my Netflix queue, too. Yay!
Little Children
I'd seen this one before and liked it, so I watched it again and liked it just as much as the first time. Kate Winslet is one of my favorite actors, and the hot sex scenes with Patrick Wilson are only PART of the reason why this movie rocks. It's smart and intense and makes you think hard about tough subjects. It actually makes you feel sorry for child molestors and adulterers. What I love most about the movie is the growing sense of dread that you feel as you watch it; you feel like you're being shoved towards the inevitable climax, and you know it's gonna be scary and hurt but you can't stop watching. It's sublime. I dig it.
Burn After Reading
I dunno, this movie is just okay. George Clooney is really funny in it, and I like most of the actors in it, but I've tried to watch it twice now and I can't seem to make it all the way to the end without losing interest. I make it to the point where a certain character gets offed, and then I just kind of... drift. Meh.
Knowing
Ugh, I can't believe I watched a new Nic Cage movie. It sucked, and I'm not just saying that because it's about aliens and shit. It was really, really bad, and really, really long. Not a good combo.
Anywho, it's good to be able to pay attention for longer periods of time again. I've even begun jotting down ideas in my handy-dandy notebook again and spent a couple of hours writing the other day. Could this be the return of Creative Bev? I hope so -- I've missed her.
Stay tuned.
Hope everyone is avoiding "The Mondays" today.