What a fantastic weekend. I started off not having any plans so I thought I was in for a boring weekend but in end in it was just what I needed.

Saturday morning I got up and hit the ground running trying to get my house cleaned and laundry done. Just as I finished vacuuming the floor the doorbell rang. When I opened it I saw my friend Amber standing there. Last weekend when we went dancing I had let her borrow a shirt and she was returning it. Her kids were once again with their father and she had been shopping but didn’t really want to go back to an empty house. I told her I wasn’t really up for going out so we decided to hit Boston Market and came back to watch a movie. We had decided to watch “27 Dresses” which is a great film for those of us who have ever served as a bridesmaid. After the movie we sat around drinking wine and laughing about some of the dresses we have been forced to wear. And like the character in the movie, I too have had to ton a Southern Bell dress for a Civil War themed wedding. Luckily it was a rental and I wasn’t forced to buy it. We also got tickled at the line from the movie where the bride says. “And you can shorter the dress and wear it again.” To which the bridesmaid replies, “That is so totally true!” We all hear this when the bride shows us what horrid dress we will be forced to don. But the truth is…we will never wear it again no matter how short you make it. All of my old dress went to Goodwill. Hopefully someone was able to wear them for Halloween.

Amber decided after two bottles of wine that she wasn’t fit to drive home so she crashed in the spare bedroom. Sunday morning we got up and I made breakfast and we then decided to hit the Farmer’s Market.  It was a hot and humid day but some lemonade and some soft served ice cream made it bearable to be outside. I love the Farmer’s Market and I don’t know why I don’t go more often. I loaded up on fruit and fresh veggies. I must have made 5 trips back to the car with bags loaded with strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, green beans, etc. I even bought a slab of country ham which I ate last night for dinner. Bad me! After the Market we headed over to Napper Tandy’s for some lunch and then Amber headed home to greet her kids. I went and did a little shopping then headed home to take Potter to the dog park. We didn’t stay long because it was just too hot for him. He kept trying to hide under one of the picnic tables.  That evening I cut up my fruit and made a kick ass fruit salad. The fruit was so sweet it didn’t need any additional sugar which was perfect for my diet. I cooked my ham, steamed some green beans. Piled a bowl high with fresh fruit and plopped down in front of the TV to watch a movie called, “In the Valley of Elah” which Bill had recommend. I don’t know what to say about this film.  It is definitely Oscar caliber but it left me angry and sad all at the same time. There is no happy ending here. It is not a feel good film so if you are not in the mood for an intense downer of a movie then I won’t recommend this for you. This movie was an eye opener for me. I truly think the last scene of the movie with the flag totally sums up the mess we are in as a country. We have all heard lately about PTSD and having a mother who works with veterans that have the disorder, I probably know more than most but I think as Americans we don’t really want to focus on what war does to soldiers. It’s depressing. One soldier even commented that it was hard for the soldiers when the came home to very little recognition of what they had been through. American’s just seemed to be going on with their lives. And it’s true. I think we often feel that if we fail to acknowledge something then it doesn’t really exist.

The film was based on true events that happened in 2003. Some of the actors in the movie are actual soldiers who have spent time in Iraq. If you rent the movie definitely take look at the extra features because they interview these guys as well as the real father and mother of the dead soldier.

Okay enough of the depressing stuff. Don’t know what I will get into this week but if it is anything exciting I will let you know.