Summer adventures 2015 continues

A week ago, Ian and I did something that I hadn't been able to do since before having children.  We went to a double feature at the movies.  Seeing 2 movies back-to-back is something I used to love to do.  In my opinion, it's a great way to spend a Saturday or a Sunday.  

There were two movies Ian had been looking forward to seeing and both happened to be playing at the same theatre.  It was Jeff's idea that I take Ian and go enjoy the day doing what I love.  Ian got a kick out of the idea and was totally up for it.  I asked Jeff if him and Sam wanted to join us for either one or both films, but these weren't the kind of movies Sam would want to see.

We started with "Max" at 10:00am and then went right into "Ant-Man" at 12:30pm.  In between, we walked quickly to a nearby Panera Bread and picked up a grilled cheese sandwich to go for Ian for lunch.  We munched on popcorn until we couldn't take one more kernel.  It was devine!

Each movie was very different from the other and both were awesome.  I loved "Max"!  But then again, it wouldn't be hard to not like any movie that makes a German Shepherd it's star.    And Paul Rudd as "Ant-Man" was a great casting choice.  He is a very likable actor and someone you feel like you could be friends with.

Ian and I had a great time on our movie date.  What fun!   Ian is now enjoying a few days in Connecticut without us.  My cousin Leslie invited Ian to come spend time with his cousin Max, who is 6 weeks younger than Ian.  Her two kids (same age boys and same age girls) are like two peas in a pod.  We pick Ian up tomorrow morning.  I can't wait to hear how his visit was.

Movies

Going to the movies has become fun again.  I LOVE what our local theatres are doing to elevate the movie going experience.  Get this! Regal cinemas are installing full on recliners in every single one of their theatres.  How awesome is that?  To be sitting in a comfy recliner (complete with a little table attached) watching a movie on the big screen…ah, bliss!  

And Mosaic District has reserved seating available for the same price as a theatre that doesn’t offer it.   You can pick exactly the seats you are going to sit in, go eat at one of the nearby restaurants and not worry about getting to the theatre much earlier than when the movie starts.  You’ve already got your seats reserved!  

In an increasing trend, most every theatre is now offering full bars and a wide range of food – beyond the traditional hot dog and nachos.  

I used to get excited when a theatre I went to had stadium seating. That seems so year 2000 now.  :)

It was very necessary the movie theatre industry did something to get people back out there.  With streaming services running rampant and high tech televisions so readily available, I am sure movie ticket sales were suffering.  I love that someone somewhere decided to bring their ‘A” game and make going to the movies an event.   It was getting to be a bit too much with only making almost every single movie in 3D hoping to get people to show up.  

I am so excited, not only for myself but for my kids too.  Ian is now at the age that he is enjoying seeing movies.  When we were at Aunt Lori’s, a commercial for the new, updated version of “Annie” came on and Ian said, I want to see that movie.  Then a few minutes later, a commercial for the “Night at the Museum 3” (Was there even a “Night at the Museum 2”!?!?!) came on and Ian said, I want to see that too.   Without missing a beat, Aunt Lori told Ian, “Ian, that’s one thing you don’t ever have to worry about.  Whatever movie you want to see, you will go see.  You mom loves the movies.”   Why yes, I do.  

With all these changes, it just keeps getting better.  I may be wrong, but I think even Jeff said he wouldn’t mind seeing a chick flick with me if it was done in a recliner.  Oh no, does this mean Kelly and Jen (my main movie watching buddies) have competition?  Probably not, someone has to be home to watch the kids.   And going to the movies has been my means of escape.  In my opinion, there are few ways better spent than 2 hours at the movies.

On a related side note:   I am saddened and disappointed in Sony's decision to not release "The Interview".  By letting North Korea dictate what we can watch, go, and do means they won.   It becomes a very loud sign to North Korea that we are wimps and cowards.  This is not what the USA is about!  We stand for freedom, courage, and bravery.  I hate, hate, hate that North Korea is getting their way.  They are bullying us and winning.  Haven't we learned yet from past events in history that we need to stand strong and not cower to them or any other country for that matter?? 

If by chance Sony changes their mind and does release the movie, I will be the first in line to see it.   Come'on Sony, show North Korea who they are messing with.  Release the movie EVERYWHERE, don't charge people to see it the first weekend it is opened and get the theatres jam packed with our people. 

Documented by Sam

Jeff and I had a date night not too long ago.  We went to dinner and a movie. The babysitter we've been using, Patrick, is very good with the kids.  He only has to say to Sam, "Time for bed" and she will listen.  However, this most recent babysitting occasion, Sam started giving Patrick a hard time and refused to go when he told her it was time.  In fact, she started whining saying she wanted Daddy to put her down.  Patrick told her that her father was not able to do that.  After more resistance, Sam said she was going to call Jeff.  Patrick told her we were at the movies, but that didn't slow her down.

We got out of the movie and Jeff looked down at his phone.  3 missed calls from home.  I looked down at my phone and saw a text message from Patrick "Everything is fine.  Sam is fighting me on going to sleep.  She keeps calling Jeff." 

I call home and tell Patrick not to kill himself trying to get her to go to sleep.  It's not worth making him miserable getting her down.  Sam doesn't have school the next day and whatever happens is fine with us.  I told him to feel flattered he was going through this.  Sam only pulls this crap with me, Jeff and my mom.  This means that she feels comfortable enough to bring Patrick into her inner circle.  Hopefully Patrick was amused by this because I need to keep him to come back.  We don't go out very often, but when we do, its nice to know we have a reliable sitter to call on.

Once we get back home from our evening out, we find out that Sam is indeed asleep.  However, Patrick explains to us what happened.  As Patrick is fighting with Sam to go to bed, she is calling Jeff and telling Ian to help her quickly write these numbers down. 

The next morning when Sam wakes up, she comes out of her room holding a square post-it note.  In her own handwriting is the following info "Daddy  9:00".   The first thing out of her mouth when she sees Jeff is, "Daddy, I tried calling you at 9:00 (pronounced Nine Zero Zero) and you weren't there!!"

She actually documented the time she called Jeff.  And she remembered that this was something she needed to tell him right away when she woke up.  It is very impressive that she had the forethought to want to write down the time of the calls.  It's also a little scary that she is only 5 years old.

If this is what we are dealing with at age 5, what's going to happen when she gets older? 

I heart Jennifer Lawrence

I didn't realize what a HUGE Jennifer Lawrence fan I was until I saw the movie, "American Hustle."   She took a supporting role in the movie and stole every scene she was in. 

I didn't really know who Jennifer was before seeing her in "Hunger Games".  I was in awe of how well they took a larger-than-life story and translated it perfectly for the big screen.  The casting of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen worked brilliantly.  She played that role exactly how I envisioned it when reading the story.  I loved everything about the movie, both the first "Hunger Games" and "Catching Fire."

The next time I took notice of Jennifer was in "Silver Linings Playbook".  What a great movie!  For this role she got the Academy Award.  How cool that someone so young was awarded the top prize in Hollywood.  There is a really cool moment when after the award show, Jennifer Lawrence is getting interviewed by one of the entertainment tv shows.  While she is being asked about how it feels to win, Jack Nicholson comes up to her, interrupts and congratulates her on the win.  After Jack walks away, Jennifer has this moment on air where she is visibly star-struck by Jack's presence.  In a very real person moment, she quietly freaks out and her mouth drops open.   Not realizing that Jack hasn't fully walked away, Jack taps her on her shoulder and Jennifer turns her head and sees him right there.  It makes her jump in her seat, shocked seeing him.  This moment is so down to earth and relatable.  It makes you love her even more.

Since the Academy Awards, Jennifer Lawrence has been quoted many times about how she won't lose weight to get a role; how she wants to portray only "fit", "healthy" women and send out a positive role model to girls.  And she has been known to go head-to-head with Joan Rivers for calling women "fat".   Got to love her, right?

I admit it, I have a girl crush.

Opening weekend.

The trailer for the movie, "Gravity" came on tv one day last week.  Jeff very casually mentioned, "I'd like to see that."   It's rare to hear him say these words.  While Jeff loves the movies, he can usually be found wikipediaing it rather than going to see it on the big screen.  I know, there is something very wrong with this method.  But hey, that's Jeff for you.  Me, on the other hand, can't get enough of the movie theatre experience.  I even get a strange perverse thrill from seeing movies that are so horrid you want to run screaming from the theatre.  Those films give me material for years to make fun of with my movie-going friends  (you know who you are! :)

When I heard Jeff's comment, I knew I had to act fast.  I arranged a babysitter to come this past Sunday evening and surprised Jeff with a date night.  This is HUGE!  We don't usually spring for a babysitter unless it is absolutely necessary.  It's hard to justify spending $60 to $80 just to be able to walk out the door; not to mention the cost of the movie, munchies and if we are really living large, dinner too.  Jeff has been working his butt off these past few months and I knew he (and of course me too!) could use a little fun -- you know, other than our regularly scheduled Sunday mornings.  :)

I was away on a girl's weekend when I called him and said I had a surprise for when I got back home.  Knowing me the way he does, he said it'd be best to tell him the surprise right then and there.  I guess Jeff missed me because he was totally ok with the surprise date night and said "I do want to see the movie.  And I do want to do a date night with you.  Ok."  Yep, just like that it all worked out.

We saw the movie in 3D.  It was worth the extra $.  I hadn't seen a movie in years in 3D.  Normally it is not worth it.  But for the movie, "Gravity" it totally worked and added an extra depth to Space.

The movie was fantastic. Sandra Bullock is amazing and an incredibly talented actress.  I highly recommend everyone see it, even if you need to plan a surprise date night to be able to go.

Butter on our popcorn, please.

It's well known that I love the movies.  My love affair with the movies goes way back to when I was a little girl.  I can remember going to the theatre and seeing every movie that came out.  I even worked in a movie theatre in high school (Florida) and then again during college (Washington, D.C.). 

There is just something magical about watching a movie and being transported to a different time and place.  I have some very distinct genres that I do not enjoy -- horror, western, and period/historical movies, but all others are fair game.  If its a chick flick and a comedy, I'm there.  A drama with a sappy ending, I'm there.  An action film starring any number of leading male stars and I'm there.  There is no twisting my arm to go.  Just showing up, with a big bucket of popcorn on my lap and watching a script coming to life is entertainment enough.  Even the movies that bomb and make us cringe while watching it, is fodder for many laughs for months to come with my friends and I. 

I've been patiently waiting for Ian to get old enough to show him some of my favorite movies.  Movies that are age appropriate and he'd understand and appreciate.  I think we've finally gotten to the point that we can do PG movies.  We watched "Back to the future" and Ian instantly wanted to see "Back to the future 2" and "Back to the future 3".  That's the kind of reaction I like to see.  How cool for him that he didn't have to wait two and three years between the next installments of the movie.

During our week at the beach, we brought the DVD of "Big" with us.  Got to love Tom Hanks.  It was really neat pausing the movie explaining to Ian how iconic the scene with Josh and his boss playing the keyboard piano at FAO Schwartz has now become. 

Last week, it occurred to me how much Ian would love the movie "Rudy".  This is easily in my top 5 all time favorites.  Ian loves football and what better, inspiring story of the "underdog" wanting to play football at Notre Dame, who has everything going against him.  I actually own this movie and couldn't wait to watch it along with him.  Unfortunately, I don't think Ian loved it as much as I thought he would.  He liked it, but didn't get moved to tears like I do at the ending, when the crowd starts cheering "Rudy! Rudy!  Rudy!" and Rudy finally gets his chance to play in the last 4 seconds of the last game of his Senior year.  Ah, what a movie. 

This weekend, we've got "Uncle Buck" at the ready.  I've found a great website, "Common Sense Media.org" that rates almost every movie out there and explains what the youngest age that should see it and what specifically gives it that age rating (violence, language, sex, etc).  I am not a stickler making sure that it has to be 7 years old or younger for the rating.  We are taking it case by case.  While Jeff can't wait to show Ian "Meatballs"  (Really?), I am eager to show Ian "Planes, Trains and Automobiles".  Both are not within shooting distance of being age appropriate yet.  I can still laugh out loud, without the movie even playing, just at the thought of the scene of Steve Martin and John Candy in the hotel room together.  "Where's your hand?"  "Between two pillows."  "THOSE AREN'T PILLOWS!!!!"   Ah, I can't wait until its ok for Ian to watch this gem.

Jeff and I have a list going of all the movies we can't wait to show Ian.  And, we get to do it all again once Sam gets a few years older.  What a great reason to stay in and make it movie night at Casa del Toppall.

Nirvana!

I found myself in the rare situation where both kids were at camp from 9:00am to 3:30pm and I had the day completely to myself.  Yay!   The Man was out of town and didn't need me to work.  And the house was relatively clean and didn't need any upkeep by me.  I was able to get all my errands run within the first 2 hours (it's amazing how fast you can move when you aren't moving at the speed of a 4 year old) and could meet my friend for a movie and lunch.  With plenty of time available afterwards to do pick-up from camp.

I have to tell you, I felt like I was playing hooky!  Going to the movies during a weekday, without kids, when the rest of the world is in an office somewhere, is divine.  I loved this!  It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.  So incredibly delightful.   And a leisurely lunch afterwards was lovely. 

And the best part is, I can actually see this being possible to do more and more as the kids get older.  So very exciting!

Bravo!

I joke that I love to read, but only books that have electricity in it and use of cell phones.  This generally is the same for my tastes in movies. The more current and closer to modern day, the better.  Anything that is a period piece is not for me.  So you can imagine my surprise to find out how much I enjoyed the movie, "The Artist". 

This film had everything going against it in my opinion...silent movie, black/white and oh yeah, covering the time period of 1927 to 1932.  But you know what?  I loved it and couldn't get enough.  It was so well done and kept me entertained from beginning to end.

I was very impressed how the musical score was paired perfectly with every scene. The director really captured the feeling of what you were watching.  And despite not hearing the actors talk, their facial expressions were amazing and made you enjoy seeing what was happening on the big screen.

I love movies.  And there is nothing better than seeing a really great movie and leaving the theatre smiling from ear to ear. 

A very funny moment kicked off the movie watching experience:

I went to the movies with one of my preschool mom friends, Anna.  Right as the movie was beginning, the theatre went completely silent. The music hadn't started yet and you could hear a pin drop.  Of course, this is the moment that I let loose a very loud belch.  Oh my!  I am not one to belch, so this surprised me too.  hehehehee.  Anna and I started giggling and couldn't stop.  Hearing her laugh, made me laugh harder.  I really needed the music start playing NOW!  Fortunately once the movie got underway, I was able to pull it together and keep any further belching from occuring.  :)

Must see!

I love books. I love to read.  I love losing myself in the story and having the characters come alive in my mind.  And when I find a good book, I can not put it down.  I simply must finish it at whatever cost.  

More than a year ago, I read this amazing book called, "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.  It came recommended by a few people, but hadn't really reached the enormous popularity it knows until after I read it. Probably because of my big mouth telling everyone I knew to read it.  I remember having a hard time fitting the book in during the day and was reading it at night before I went to bed.  Before long, the book sucked me in and I was losing whole nights of sleep to finish it.  No matter how tired I was, I couldn't put it down.  Finally, after the 2nd night of no sleep, I finished the book.  I was torn between not wanting it to end and wishing I could get to the last page as quickly as possible so I could finally get to sleep. 

And, when I returned the book to the library (this was before the Kindle), I asked the librarian if she had read it as I handed it over.  When she replied yes, I had a 15 minute conversation with this person I had never seen before on how great I thought the book was.  I had to talk about it with someone....anyone.  It was such a good book and it had been awhile since I read anything that great.  I knew no matter what I followed that book up with, it was going to pale in comparison and not stand a chance in my opinion.

So they made "The Help" into a movie.  Usually they mess with the book so much that the movie has a very different feel to it and you walk away disappointed.  Whether the ending is completely different, huge chunks of the story are missing or the cast is completely wrong from what you envisioned, you wish they didn't touch it with a 10 foot pool if this was going to be the result. 

This is not the case with "The Help".  From the beginning to the very end, the movie was brilliantly done. The book was brought to life in a way that did it justice and made you smile, cry and be in awe of how fantastic this story was to see on the big screen.  Oh, how I loved it. 

Phenomenal is the adjective that comes to mind.  All of it.  The screenplay, the cast, the acting; I couldn't get enough.  2 hours and 17 minutes was not enough time.  I wanted more!  Just llike the book, I didn't want it to end!  Usually in a movie, I start looking at my watch about an hour in to it and see how long I've been there and guess how much longer there is left to see.  And these are movies I am enjoying!  But not "The Help"...no sireee bob!  I didn't check the time once.  I suppressed the urge to pee and I sat captivated through it all.

It has been a fantastic summer for movies.  From "Bridesmaids" to "Horrible Bosses" I've been enjoying the movies like no other summer in a very long time.  But I have to say, "The Help" has now been added to my list of all time favorites.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go now!

E.T.

Ian has had his own queue on Netflix for close to 2 years now.  Over the past 6 months, it has basically morphed into a continual loop of the Star Wars movies.  Once one movie gets sent back, the next one arrives and so forth and so forth.  Ian, being obsessed with Star Wars, never gets tired of seeing the same 6 movies over and over again.

I decided enough was enough and planned to introduce Ian to something new and different.  Heather had mentioned to me how her girls liked watching the movie, "E.T."   I remember how much I liked seeing it when I was little. This would be the perfect film to wedge in between "A New Hope" and "Return of the Jedi".  I told Ian it was coming and he was less than thrilled that I was now making choices for him and taking control of his Netflix queue.  I quickly added that the movie is about an alien trying to get back home.  Oh, and I also fibbed a little and said it had a really cool battle scene in it.  It was enough to get his interest peaked and be very excited when it arrived in the mail last Wednesday.  We decided we'd watch the movie together after dinner. 

The movie started and Ian was really into it.  Once E.T. started using some of his powers and made the flowers grow, Ian loudly proclaimed, "E.T. HAS THE FORCE!!!  HE IS A JEDI!!!!".  

Oh my!  You can take Star Wars away from the boy, but you can't take the boy away from Star Wars.  Once Ian started to relate to E.T. as a Jedi, he no longer cared that there wasn't really a battle scene in the movie. I asked Ian when it was over if he liked it, he said, "Yes!  Let's send it back tomorrow."   I then asked him if I could recommend other movies for him to watch that I think he'd like just as much.  His answer was, "No." 

I give up.  May the force be with me.  :)

CARS - the sequel

Ian has seen the movie "CARS" at least 60 times. Every time we are on a road trip to his grandparents in the Baltimore area, every time we find ourselves on an airplane to Florida, and generally when we are at home and he gets bored watching regular tv, he'll eagerly turn to the movie "CARS" to pass the time.

What is amazing about this feat is that not only does he not get tired of watching the movie, but he watches it like it is the first time he has ever seen it. Being in the car on our way to NJ a few weekends ago, I was quite impressed with how Ian makes each viewing a new and fresh experience for him. He'll comment "Come'on McQueen, you can beat him!!" or "Oh no, look out" or, one of the best lines we heard come out of his mouth was "Please, please just win this one race."

Ian even knows all the lines by heart. He'll say his favorites along with the movie and still watch in anticipation wondering what is going to happen next. You've got to give the boy credit. Watching it with this much enthusiasm, hoping each of the races and plot twists have a different outcome, keeps it very exciting for him. How nice to be able to get so much mileage out of one download on iTunes. (Mileage, get it? Pun intended.) Now this is a deal we could even justify getting him other movies to watch. If only he would stop watching CARS.

Valentine's Day

The movie was good. Very good. And we all enjoyed it, probably a little more than we should have. I am sure we didn't make any friends in the theatre that night and even more sure that there were a few moviegoers who wished they picked a different time to see it.

But you have to understand, we had all been cooped up in our houses for way too long. The blizzards gave us more quality time together with our kids than anyone could willingly want. There was no school, no playdates scheduled, no getting out. We had a date on the calendar to gather a few mommy friends and make a beeline for the movies. "Valentine's Day" was our target. It has a fabulous cast, chick-flick written all over it, and who doesn't enjoy a good love story? The idea to go see the movie was long decided before any forecast of the first blizzard and of course, the 2nd blizzard had been spoken. The words 'movie with Kelly' was written in pink marker for the night of Monday, February 15th on my calendar and stood increasingly lonely as various plans preceding it days prior kept getting cancelled.

There was a small amount of excitement as the weatherman kept forecasting more snow for Monday afternoon/evening. We could expect 1 to 3 inches to fall in the NoVa area. Oh no!! Nothing was going to ruin my plans to get out and enjoy one of my favorite pastimes. Going to the movies is truly the only thing I miss getting to do now that I have kids. I quickly emailed a few of us and made them promise that no matter how much snow we were to get, we could still go. In all seriousness, I would've understood if it wasn't deemed safe to drive. No matter how much I love the movies, I wouldn't want anyone to risk getting hurt.

I believe we were all on the same page and started getting disappointed when we saw heavy snow begin to fall around 4:00pm. And it was sticking!! Oh no!! Make it stop!! Fortunately, Mother Nature heard my cries of desperation and ended the snowfall.

There was 7 of us total. 7 mommy friends who hadn't experienced the joys of school being opened for the past week and a half. Yes, we laughed a little too loud. Yes, we cried at a scene in the film that only the 7 of us could truly appreciate. Yes, we made comments without even trying to whisper. And, yes, we all gasped (pretty loudly) when we thought a particular on-screen kiss was about to happen.

But so what? We were 7 women who really needed a night out. Are you going to mess with that?

Oh, and for those who thought this blog entry was going to be about Jeff and the actual holiday, I will tell you what he got me. He tracked down and surprised me with gluten-free cupcakes from CakeLove. Yum-O! The bigger surprise came when he managed to keep his plans a secret and not tell me in advance.

Tissues, please.

It's funny how a movie you know so well, backwards and forwards, seen at least 50 times, can have the same effect on you time and time again. Yesterday on tv, I was flipping through the channels and came across the movie, "Beaches". This movie is easily in my top 5 favorite films of all time. It was playing on the WE network, which stands for Women's Entertainment and needed 3 full hours to play to fit in all the commercial breaks. It doesn't matter that I own the movie on DVD and could've played it straight thru without interruption. There is something special about finding a classic on tv, when you aren't expecting it and tailoring your original plans (read a book? play with the kids? start dinner?) to accommodate watching it.

I first saw this movie with my mom in the theatre when it came out in 1988. To this day we can still get a good laugh over how I started bawling in the theatre in mid movie (when you realize that Barbara Hershey's character is going to die and Bette Middler's character is on her way to her) and couldn't stop. Really. 30 minutes after the movie had ended and we were driving back home, I was still crying. And crying hard at that. It was insane. At one point during the movie when my crying was in full effect, I couldn't catch my breath and the sobs got harder and louder. I am pretty certain that everyone around us in the theatre stopped their tears because they were distracted by the display I had going on. Yes, it was bad and I went through a lot of napkins.

To this day, I am not sure what caused me to cry that hard or for as long as I did. But each time I've seen the movie since then, I can still start crying - no matter where I join in the film too.

Now here is the crazy thing about watching it yesterday at home. I would cry up until the commercial break, take the 2 minutes to do something and then start crying again when the movie came back on. Is this normal?!?! I can't imagine it is.

Towards the end of the movie, we had dinner on the table and I had it playing on our little tv in the kitchen. I managed to not fully lose it while eating dinner with the family, but the minute we started clearing the table, it was all over. Fortunately Jeff has seen my reaction to this movie a few times before in our relationship. He's good about coming over to give me a hug, comforting me and moving on. Since it has been a good 21 years from when "Beaches" first came out, I no longer cry past the ending. I am getting good about only giving the appropriate amount of tears and keeping it short and sweet. Although, by now you would think that I could recite every line, know what is coming up and brace myself for it. But that is not the case. Even putting in commercial breaks every 20 minutes did nothing to dull my sadness.

From a rational standpoint, I find this absurd. But this is me, who I am. And, if I channel flipped tomorrow and came across it, I'd still stop everything and watch it and have a good cry.

A big thumbs up.

I love the movies. In high school and college, I worked at a movie theatre. I even had a pair of parakeets named "Siskel and Ebert". The only thing I miss in life by having kids is the ability to go to a movie any time I want or as much as I want.

I owe a huge part of this love and admiration of the movies to John Hughes. His death is affecting me more than Michael Jackson or Farrah Fawcett ever could. I was the perfect age when his movies came out in the 80's to experience them on the big screen as a first run. He had one amazing hit after another. He understood teenagers, the popular ones as well as the nerdy ones and the outcasts. Teen love, teen crushes, teen angst. All of it. He knew what it was like to be A Brain. A Recluse. A Jock. A Rebel. A Princess. Who wouldn't want to spend 8 hours on a Saturday in detention with these kids? He made you appreciate Jake Ryan getting back your panties for you. John Hughes got it. He wrote brilliantly and has some of the best movies lines ever quoted. "Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?" "What's-a-happening hot stuff?" "Just answer the question Claire." "Donger's here for 5 hours and he's got somebody. I'm here my whole life and I am like a disease." "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop look and around once in a while, you could miss it." And, there are hundreds more I could include.

Just a few weeks ago I quoted "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" to my husband on the phone upon hearing that him and Ben were sharing a bed in Lake Tahoe. "Where's your hand?" "In between two pillows." "THOSE AREN'T PILLOWS!!"

I couldn't wait to introduce my sister Meghan to his movies. Maybe I did start a little young when she was only 10 and asked "What is a nymphomaniac?" after watching "The Breakfast Club" with me. I think I'll wait a few extra years when playing his movies for my kids.

I know death happens and is a part of the life cycle. So I am trying to figure out why this is affecting me so. Is it because he was only 59? And had so many more years left to produce the sequels I've been so desperately wanting and waiting for? What happened to Ferris Bueller? Did him and Sloan really get married? Did Ferris ever grow up and get a job? What happened to Jake Ryan and Samantha after they leaned over the birthday cake and kissed? And did Blaine's friends finally accept him after he chose Andie at prom?

Ah, John Hughes was a good man and will definitely be missed. Thank you John for getting my love of the movies off to a most excellent start.

SIDE NOTE: this website was discovered by a friend of a FB friend and I think it adds a wonderful inside look to the man that was John Hughes.