The first 8 days of 2013

Today is the 9th January, 2013, 6.30am.  Already we have burned through 8 days of the new year and what have we to show for it?  Well Jacob has started a new job; Oliver has had a good case of Pink Eye; Sara is still pregnant and still very fatigued but has to go to work each day; Ethan still goes to gymnastics and takes piano lessons; Lyla still goes to pre school at the UNL campus; David still lives in the ADHD home: Bill still goes to work two days per week; I try to keep up with the house and quilt guild, beading group, Zumba classes and watching my diet.  Whew!
We went to see Lincoln.  Daniel Day Lewis did a good job portraying this iconic man.  The film portrayed the wheeling and dealing that takes place to get political agendas pushed to the front.  We have just come through the fiscal cliff drama in Washington and I am not so sure we survived but the best any citizen can do is to vote for the man they think will do the best job and hope for the best.  I know that I do not wish to become involved with politics.
We went to see Les Miserables movie.  I think the actors were well cast but it is evident that Hugh Jackman, aside from being ruggedly handsome, is not a trained singer.  In the scene between him and Colm Wilkinson it is readily evident that Colm is a professional singer and Hugh tried his best.  I do not like Russell Crowe but he made an excellent Javier and I was very glad when he jumped off the bridge.  Sasha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter played the inn keeper and his wife to cartoon-ish perfection.  Although, I rather like the Inn Keeper and his wife to be portly from eating the best and in excess.  Cohen and Carter are wispy in build but the cartoon-ish nature of their makeup was garish and they carried off their parts well. (Carter did an excellent job as a witch in Harry Potter and Cohen did an excellent job in Hugo.
Both films were very intense and there was not a sound from the audience.  Not too many movies hold people spellbound these days but these two movies drew us in from the first scene and we did not move a muscle till the ending credits rolled.
Yesterday we said goodbye to the Italian student who has been staying at my friend Juli's house.  He is 17 and by now should be at 35,000ft above the earth on his way back to Italy.  About 6 students from Prescott High came to see him off.  What a marvelous experience he has had coming to the USA to study for a semester and experience American High School.
I had been asked to go to the Family History Center and meet with two people who wish to start on their family history.  That also was intense for me because it is almost 18 months since I was actively doing research and helping people with their family history.  I really am rusty and have to do a lot of work to catch up.
Just like Forrest Gump says, life is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you are getting.
I love Chocolate.