Mom and I wore ourselves out today...
We met at her place and decided to go on a long walk.
Note to self: When Mom says a long walk, she means a loooong walk.
It was nice though, I had a good time. I had my camera with me and I took some really nice shots of the area. We went to the Logan temple and much to the surprise of the anti-Andees we didn't burst into flames when we stepped foot on the temple grounds. I got some shots of the beautiful flowers and the trees that were trying desperately to change color for fall. I can't wait until they do!!
We walked over to a giant overlook of the valley, and found a trail marked with "Legalize Marijuana" on it. Good times. The views were spectacular, I will add some photos as soon as I am done with the editing process.
We hopped back in her truck and drove around trying to find the freaking cemetary. You know... roomie drove me there not too long ago. I remembered where it was (so I thought) but I was wrong. I ended up taking Mom on a joy-ride to Smithfield via back roads. Thats okay, we checked out an antique store there (found nothing we couldn't live without) and then hopped back in the truck for Logan.
After a quick job interview for Mom, we went to Firehouse Pizza. I ordered a medium cheese pizza with extra cheese (go me! Still doing the vegetarian thing... it's hard!) and Mom got herself a pizza with everything except mushrooms. It looked good. *sigh* Mom and I went to pay the bill and we couldn't find the money. We both had minor heart attacks and then quickly recovered when we found the bills in the truck. Whew.
Next, we went to the movie titled, The Errand of Angels... here is my review:
The movie starts as a young, pretty, red-haired girl starts a journal to chronicle her mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don't think I ever remember them using her first name, or any of the other missionaries for that matter. Just a lot of "sister so-and-so." I kept wanting to give her a name like Laura, Sally, Mary, something... what can ya do?
She goes right into the mission. There is no shot of her family, any relationships outside of the mission. There is no shot of her saying goodbye to the lovely family at home. As a matter of fact, the only mention of her family that I recall is when she mentions her parents joined the church when she was five, and another time when she tells a sister missionary that her grandmother (a non-member) was paying for her mission. I thought for sure there would be a little home-sickness in the movie, but it wasn't mentioned at all.
There were a couple really funny moments during the film. The first was when she ate authentic Austrian food for the first time. The look on her face was precious when they told her what it was they were eating. Another funny moment is when she and a companion go door to door and her companion is bored out of her living skull. Cute moments... I wish there was more of those.
To be honest, the movie didn't really deal with Mormonism the way I thought it would. I only heard the name Joseph Smith twice (that I recall). The movie was based on the relationships she formed while on her mission and the lives she changed. There are touching moments when she leaves one area for another, and another emotional farewell at the end when she wanders into a church of a different faith and listens to two men sing Silent Night in German. It was a nice touch, leaving people with a note of acceptance of other religions with (somewhat) similar beliefs. I don't think it's that easy or real in the "real world," at least... that has been my experience. Maybe that is just because I live in Utah. Utah is a different world altogether.
Overall, the movie was kind of boring.
Believing Mormons, I am not saying the movie is boring because I am leaving the church. The movie was really boring. The music got to me a little. A lot of piano and flute that grew stale quickly. There were also tons of shots of the star on trains traveling to and from her areas as she was transferred. 20 minutes of the movie could have been saved if they didn't focus so much on her facial expressions on the trains. Yes, we get she is pretty and that she is trying to learn and be a good missionary. Thank you. Move on, Mr. Director sir.
I give the flick two out of five stars. Don't worry though, if you live outside Utah you won't be able to find it until it's available on DVD... don't spend money on it.
On the walk home from the movie I was carrying the leftover tub of popcorn. I love popcorn, especially stuff that has "official" movie theater butter on it. We had half of our tub left. I say had, because it's now gone. I walked right into a "for sale" sign, and our yummy buttered popcorn is now decorating a street next to my Mom's house.
Damnit.
Till next time!
Andee