Julie & Julia

Yesterday, I decided to beat the heat and take myself to a matinee.  I’ve been hearing good things about Julie & Julia, so I packed my purse with candy and my BPA- free water bottle and settled in for the afternoon.

This movie first caught my eye when I learned that it was two intertwined stories, one, of course, about the pre-fame years of Julia Child, (Meryl Streep) in trying to “find something to doooooo” , and that of Julie Powell, (Amy Adams) a frustrated writer cum office worker.   You probably already know the story, so I won’t re-hash it all.

The movie is about passion. Not sexy, affair-ridden copulating passion, but passion for finding something you love to do and doing it. And most importantly, sticking with it through trying times, even though you sometimes ask yourself, why am I even doing this–what’s the point??

Throughout this movie, I found myself smiling and nodding my head. Yes, I was one of those annoying people talking (albeit to myself) to the characters on the big screen. I could relate to both Julia an Julie, and I recognized many paralells with myself and Julie. 

First and most obvious is the name. I don’t meet many Julies these days. Her love of  food–cooking and eating –was certainly a draw. She is a writer, albeit a disheartened one. (check). So she decides to write a blog.  A blog!  Julie Powell’s blog has a different core than mine (hers has a distinct timeline with one focus-Julia Child’s recipes), but it is a blog, nonetheless.

One year ago next month, my blog was born. I had been (and still am), struggling with a book that was more in my head than on paper (or computer screen). The book is about what I love to do most of all, and that, dear peeps, is travel. (No surprises there). It is about some of the whacky, scary, stupid and just plain funny adventures that my journeys have taken me on over the last half-century. (OMG—did I just write that???!!!)

I have found excuses not to write;  mostly travelling, or prepping for travel, or planning trips, researching destinations, etc.  As long as I wasn’t writing, I had an excuse not to submit anything. And as long as I wasn’t submitting anything, I was safe from rejection.

“But I love to write.  And I’m bored–I need to find something to doooooooo !!!” 

“Start a blog” was my friend Peggy’s answer. “If you love to write, write a blog. Everybody’s doing it.”

A blog, eh? (That’s the Canadian wanna-be coming out). Truthfully, I seemed to have missed-out on this whole blog epidemic.  So I got on my computer and started reading blogs. Some I really liked. Some were OK, some just plain sucked. 

I can do that, I said to myself.  And I can make it about whatever I want, whatever interests me, so I’ll stay interested enough to keep at it.

And so began JulesRules. It’s mostly about travel, and food, and friends, and my dogs, and I know I should probably focus more on one subject–at least according to one professional blogger/critic, but then, well, then it would become my book. And that’s a whole different project. One that has been on the back burner for too long now, one that I vowed, after leaving the movie, that I would move up to the front of the stove and crank up the heat. Well, at least heat it up to more than just a simmer.

In the meantime, please keep reading JulesRules and checking back. If you like it, share it with your friends. If there is a topic you’d like to see or share on my blog, hit me with it.  And I looove for my readers to make comments on my blog.  Like Julie Powell, it’s a real thrill when you start seeing those comments come in.

Oh.  And go see the movie. You’ll love it. Bon Apetit!