If you’re a 30-something child of the 80’s, then you will appreciate this week’s hottie. DH and I recently saw 1408, a creepy movie about an evil hotel room. It was based off a short story by Steven King of the same title, and it stars this man. Mr. John Cusack.

I think I’ve loved Mr. Cusack for over half my life. He’s not your average “hunk”, but rather, an adorable “every man”. He comes across as someone you’d love to get to know (or fall in love with). How can you forget Lloyd Dobler, for instance?

Or the classic “Better Off Dead”… I *love* that movie. Heck, I love pretty much anything Mr. Cusack is in. He’s a great actor and I think I love watching him onscreen for that “nostalgia” factor.

But that’s not the only reason why I watch his movies. I just like the guy, as if he were an old friend. He’s an “auto-watcher” for me, someone I don’t even care what the movie is about, I’ll watch it because it stars John Cusack. I’m sure I’m not alone.

I’d love to meet him, if only to thank him for all the wonderful movies he’s made over the years. He’s definately wormed his way into pop culture, in more than one movie, and that makes him immortal in a way.

Congratulations, John Cusack. You’re Becka’s Hottie of the Week!

~~Becka

13 Things I Wish They’d Invent

1.) Car/house key finder. This would be a device on your keychain, when activated by another device on your counter (perhaps next to your phone) that when you pushed the button, the device on your keychain would make a loud noise, thus making your keys easily found. (Like your cordless phone finder)

2.) TV Remote finder. Akin to the car/house key finder. You’d push a button on your electronics and your remote would beep and it would be easily found.

3.) Toilet seat warmer. Do they have this already? I don’t know. A friend of mine and I thought of this while we were back in school. If you live in cold climates, going to the bathroom at night from your warm, comfy bed can be an eye-opening experience when you sit on the ice-cold toilet.

4.) Dream recorder. Wouldn’t it be awesome to be able to watch your dreams while you were lucid? Of course, what made perfect sense while dreaming (eating donuts while making out with George Clooney and driving your car to the moon) might be kinda embarrassing in the light of day.

5.) Robot housekeepers. Seriously. SOMEONE do Isaac Asimov proud already, people. And this has NOTHING to do with my sinkful of dirty dishes…

6.) A car that runs on garbage. C’mon, they had “Mr. Fusion” in the Back to the Future movies, and that was actually a good idea. Forget oil and electricity and Ethanol… Let’s give our landfills a break and see if we could get rid of our household trash in a clean, efficient way. Of course, you’d have to work on clean emissions as well…

7.) Air scrubbers. Like for the entire planet. If they can create them for the space shuttles and the space station, make a GIANT one or a few BIG ones and scrub our planet’s air.

8.) Salt-water scrubbers. I know they have these already to an extent, but why aren’t we making more use of them? Our planet is TWO THIRDS water, people. If we had an easy way to take out the salt content and make it fresh water, imagine the possibilities. There would be no excuse for a drought and everyone could have fresh drinking water.

9.) Cars that run on water. Heck, if they can run on garbage, why not water too? I’d much rather pay my water bill than give $$ to some overseas oil baron. Imagine putting your garden hose in your gas tank every day. Awesome. Couple that with the salt-water scrubbers, and you’d never run out of fresh water.

10.) Mopping robot. Hey, they have that “Roomba” thing that vacuums your carpet. I want one that mops. Dammit.

11.) Money trees. But just like fruit trees, they wouldn’t bloom all year long. So once a year, you might get a good harvest. lol

12.) Replicator ala Star Trek. No one on the planet would ever need to go hungry again. And Star Trek’s replicators made so much more than merely food. Clothing, books, etc.

13.) Star Trek’s Holodeck. Just like the show, it would be a room that was a big life-like hologram. You could “meet” famous people, participate in moments in history, vacation in the Alps, or explore the stars… That would totally rule.

14.) The cure for cancer. Yes, I know there’s 14 on my list this week, but we can’t forget the obvious, now can we? I’m not TOTALLY selfish. Only mostly so. LOL

~~Becka

This weekend, the Goings clan and a few friends decided to take a day trip out to Lost Lake, a small lake near the base of Mt. Hood. This scenic lake has a trail that goes all the way around, about 3 1/2 miles, which we hiked and had great fun.

My DH was taking pictures all day long. We had a YUMMY lunch of hoagies (with avocado MMM…) before heading out. The lake has these cool little secluded nooks with picnic tables near the edge of the lake. It was so peaceful.

And the view! Here are a couple of shots DH got of the mysterious Mt. Hood. Note the peak “peeking” through the clouds. Awesome.

Seeing that in person was much more dramatic, as the mountain is RIGHT THERE! And we think the pictures are better *because* of the clouds. Gives it more ooomff.

Even our dog Abe had a good time! He was whining so badly to go for a swim (he’s a chocolate lab who LOVES the water), so we took a short break from hiking to throw a few sticks into the lake for him to chase. He was in doggie heaven.

Near the docks, where you could launch your canoe, kayak, or fishing boat (no motorboats allowed), there was a cool wooden bench fashioned into a lincoln-log-esque car. We decided to all get on and have a group family photo.

Simone, Levi, Miriam, Hannah, Becka, & Jim. One big happy family!

Lost Lake is a little over 100 miles from our home, but it was so worth the drive. There are camping grounds, and you can even rent a cabin! We definately want to go back and stay for a few days. Too much fun to be had!

~~Becka