So, I'm surfing my RSS feeds on Google Reader and came upon Seth's post titled Odds and Ends. I have no idea why it caught my eye, but I was happy to note that he recommended the portable hard drive I just bought. If you knew what all I've gone through losing all my files on a variety of hard discs - ugh. Western Digital is the biggest offender. But I just bought the Seagate 1 Tb drive and so far (wish me luck) so good!
What spurred me to blog was a link he had on his blog. Its a collection of Thank You notes, written by a woman named Leah - for random things. I love that they were handwritten notes - like a traditional Thank You. I love that she is thanking just really random things in her life. Some made me laugh, some really touched me and some I just purely related to in an 'I don't know why' sort of way. So, here you go - a link to her blog. Love it.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
My One Mom Post
Its been awhile since I've had the time to journal anything. I think its partly because I really wanted to make this NOT about parenting, yet my life is all about being a parent. My highs, my lows, my challenges... they all stem from being a mom - experiencing and being enveloped by it. And yet, I'm so much more. I have a career. I'm a friend. I'm the one people turn to when they need advice, an ear, a devil's advocate.
I'm a wife, a cook, a housekeeper. I'm an avid reader, a continuous learner, a music lover, a TV addict and a DS player. I revel in my connections with the people in my life. I glow from the obstacles I overcome and learn from those I stumble over.
With all of that in my pocket, I find my joy moments in being a mom. I unashamedly WANT to be defined by how I parent my child. I am not embarrassed say that this is my life. My child. Nothing I do compares or even measures close to that endeavor. Its not a job, its a passion. I give myself permission to write about it in these generalities because it is such a huge part of my life. As a matter of fact that its the perfect way to write about it and include it in my blog.
When I scroll down in a few years, I think I will be proud of the feelings I have written here, and happy that I included this one post about being a mom. I love my little boy.
I'm a wife, a cook, a housekeeper. I'm an avid reader, a continuous learner, a music lover, a TV addict and a DS player. I revel in my connections with the people in my life. I glow from the obstacles I overcome and learn from those I stumble over.
With all of that in my pocket, I find my joy moments in being a mom. I unashamedly WANT to be defined by how I parent my child. I am not embarrassed say that this is my life. My child. Nothing I do compares or even measures close to that endeavor. Its not a job, its a passion. I give myself permission to write about it in these generalities because it is such a huge part of my life. As a matter of fact that its the perfect way to write about it and include it in my blog.
When I scroll down in a few years, I think I will be proud of the feelings I have written here, and happy that I included this one post about being a mom. I love my little boy.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
The Weekend is Over
Its Sunday night, I'm home after a long drive in the rain. It wasn't perilous, but I wish we'd remembered to Rain-X the windshield and rear windows. My husband's upstairs giving our son a bath and I'm unwinding, catching up on FB, blogging, etc.
The weekend was awesome. It was sooo great to reconnect with old friends. Even though I see most of the girls on a pretty regular basis, its so different to just hang out and catch up. Before I left, I wanted to get us each something that was the same - to commemorate the weekend. I went with a friend to Old Navy and I saw some tank tops and pajama pants and picked one up for each of us. Pink hearts for Valentine's day.
I'd wanted to 'brand' it with a band that said something about us. I searched and searched my mind for some common element that we all shared. I came up with an alphabet related name. How about Alpha-biddies (like old ladies - get it?) - which sucked anyway, but then I realized that while 3 of the girls names began with A, B and C, mine began with an L. That wouldn't work. So, I thought, 'How about the A girls?' or 'A-List' since all of our names end in the letter A. Oh, wait, C's name ends in an E. So after wracking my brain, I came up with the lamest connection of all, and made bands that said: D Girls. Because, as I was buying the tank tops I realized that we all wore at least D cup bras. So, D Girls, but also could be like D-girls (as in The Girls).
I shared this with C at the office and she just laughed. She asked, "you can't think of ANYTHING we share in common besides our BRA sizes?" Nope, I can't. She started naming things, but none of them applied to all of us. I have a kid, none of them do, 2 are single, 2 are married. 3 are brunettes, 1 varies. 3 are short, one average. We aren't from the same town, state or countries of birth: Delaware, Hong Kong, Venazuela and France. Now that I think of it, maybe we could have been the International Girls. Well, I didn't think of it before now, so D Girls it is. C admitted that it grew on her.
I brought some board games and we ended up playing Guestures. Its one of my favorite party games for groups. Its silly and really gets people laughing. We laughed until our sides hurt. (Well, to be honest, B fell on a table, it collapsed and she fell a bit more to the floor - so her sides may be hurting for other reasons). I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard or long.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we were all charged with cooking something new that we'd never made. I brought up my lobster, ginger and scallions and decided that I was craving chicken wings - so I brought those, too. C looked online and found a refreshing white Sangria recipe with fresh fruit and berries. A came up with Bobby Flay's cauliflower au gratin, and Giatta's French Onion Soup. B made a baked shell pasta with homemade sauce and bechamel and grilled shrimp. At the last minute I thought I'd try to make crystal dumplings with shrimp, asparagus and cilantro.
We started with the chicken wings and shrimp and picked on those while we were cooking. They were pretty good and we ended up eating so much that we were too full to sit down and eat. So we packed up the soup, put away the cauliflower, pasta and put all the lobster-makings back into the fridge. We figured, give ourselves and hour or so and we'd be hungry. So we played Guestures. An hour later, we still weren't hungry but we all got a little plate and sampled all of the food - including cooking the lobster - except for the soup.
Everything was really good. I'm going to get the recipes (and alterations) from the girls -- oops, I mean D Girls -- and post them on my food blog. I took pictures of almost all of the food, so I'll post those on there.
We cooked up the bacon, pulled out the Crumbs cupcakes I'd bought, and assembled and re-heated the French Onion Soup. I'd heard of the bacon cupcakes phenomenon but I hadn't seen it in any of my local cupcakeries. I don't know if I'd spend nearly $4 on that concoction, anyway. But since we had my favorite cupcakes and this scrumptious bacon, I crumbled some on top of the Crumbs Twinkie and tried that. It was surprisingly good! I still wouldn't buy it, but I won't turn my nose up at it, either.
I'd wanted to 'brand' it with a band that said something about us. I searched and searched my mind for some common element that we all shared. I came up with an alphabet related name. How about Alpha-biddies (like old ladies - get it?) - which sucked anyway, but then I realized that while 3 of the girls names began with A, B and C, mine began with an L. That wouldn't work. So, I thought, 'How about the A girls?' or 'A-List' since all of our names end in the letter A. Oh, wait, C's name ends in an E. So after wracking my brain, I came up with the lamest connection of all, and made bands that said: D Girls. Because, as I was buying the tank tops I realized that we all wore at least D cup bras. So, D Girls, but also could be like D-girls (as in The Girls).
I shared this with C at the office and she just laughed. She asked, "you can't think of ANYTHING we share in common besides our BRA sizes?" Nope, I can't. She started naming things, but none of them applied to all of us. I have a kid, none of them do, 2 are single, 2 are married. 3 are brunettes, 1 varies. 3 are short, one average. We aren't from the same town, state or countries of birth: Delaware, Hong Kong, Venazuela and France. Now that I think of it, maybe we could have been the International Girls. Well, I didn't think of it before now, so D Girls it is. C admitted that it grew on her.
I brought some board games and we ended up playing Guestures. Its one of my favorite party games for groups. Its silly and really gets people laughing. We laughed until our sides hurt. (Well, to be honest, B fell on a table, it collapsed and she fell a bit more to the floor - so her sides may be hurting for other reasons). I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard or long.
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, we were all charged with cooking something new that we'd never made. I brought up my lobster, ginger and scallions and decided that I was craving chicken wings - so I brought those, too. C looked online and found a refreshing white Sangria recipe with fresh fruit and berries. A came up with Bobby Flay's cauliflower au gratin, and Giatta's French Onion Soup. B made a baked shell pasta with homemade sauce and bechamel and grilled shrimp. At the last minute I thought I'd try to make crystal dumplings with shrimp, asparagus and cilantro.
We started with the chicken wings and shrimp and picked on those while we were cooking. They were pretty good and we ended up eating so much that we were too full to sit down and eat. So we packed up the soup, put away the cauliflower, pasta and put all the lobster-makings back into the fridge. We figured, give ourselves and hour or so and we'd be hungry. So we played Guestures. An hour later, we still weren't hungry but we all got a little plate and sampled all of the food - including cooking the lobster - except for the soup.
Everything was really good. I'm going to get the recipes (and alterations) from the girls -- oops, I mean D Girls -- and post them on my food blog. I took pictures of almost all of the food, so I'll post those on there.
The next morning, after most of us slept, we got up late -- I think around 10:30 -- went downstairs and made a mish-mash breakfast out of the food we neglected the night before.
We cooked up the bacon, pulled out the Crumbs cupcakes I'd bought, and assembled and re-heated the French Onion Soup. I'd heard of the bacon cupcakes phenomenon but I hadn't seen it in any of my local cupcakeries. I don't know if I'd spend nearly $4 on that concoction, anyway. But since we had my favorite cupcakes and this scrumptious bacon, I crumbled some on top of the Crumbs Twinkie and tried that. It was surprisingly good! I still wouldn't buy it, but I won't turn my nose up at it, either. 
French Onion Soup for breakfast is also a bit odd, but on a weekend of mish-mash eating -- who cares.
We followed our Gour-mash with a game of Scrabble. I broke out my new travel set that rotates and has drawers for all the accessories. Its a cool set. I think the name is Diamond Anniversary Edition. I didn't win. Lets put that out there right away. I held my own but in the end, A's consistent 20+ word plays blew us all out of the water. For the record, B is very smart. She is one of those people that you just assumes knows everything - or close to it. I've played Scrabble with her twice and she is surprisingly bad at it. She knows good words but doesn't seem to utilize the points to their full benefit. To HER full benefit. Just an observation.
C, on the other hand, played an average game but at the last hand, with 30+ points difference, she still felt the need to put her single-point E down somewhere to get the most points -- even though she knew she had no hope of catching up to A's points. That just struck me funny. I think it struck A impatiently - as in "put down your stupid E -- it won't make a difference!" lol.
For the record: Que, Dealtsly, Aine are NOT words. Ide and Ow ARE words.
Here are some shots of our Scrab & Apps:
The weather was getting crappy - crappy-ER - so I had to leave. I knew I'd see my son for 2 hours at the most, and the later I stayed the less I'd see him, so we had to end the day. It was a great weekend for me. A 'toe in the water' way of getting away, but not going too far or being gone too long that I'd feel too much guilt. This was my first weekend/day away from him that wasn't work related. It was a weekend just for me. I thought I'd be thinking about him and feeling badly that my husband was on 'daddy duty' all weekend. I did - but not nearly as much as I thought I would. I know other mom's do it all the time and much earlier than I did. But it was hard for me and I'm very grateful that my friends all understood, and planned a short getaway that I could do guilt-free. They didn't try to make it a long weekend or try to guilt me into staying later or coming earlier. It was perfect. I have some awesome girls. I feel like I went on a mini-vacation. Ahhhhhh.
10 Things I Learned This Weekend
1) Done right, I like a good gourmet French Onion soup.
2) Bacon goes with just about anything - even cupcakes.
3) I make an awesome flamingo (as in 'impression', not as in 'cooking' it).
4) Cheetos are a great appetizer.
5) There are many ways to cut up a lobster tail.
6) Never cheat on your fake, simulated husband in a video game.
7) I apparently do a great imitation of 'stupid' - not sure what that says about me.
8) I can be genuinely concerned when a friend has an accident with a side-table - and laugh hysterically until I cry, both at the same time.
9) Many, many people don't think there is anything wrong with tinkling in the shower.
10) Its OK to take some time for myself, away from the family, and let my husband handle things alone.
And 3 Things I Forgot:
1) I forgot how much I love riding onto the city bridges at night, in a fog, mist or rain. Awesome and beautiful.
2) I forgot what it felt like to laugh until your throat was scratchy, your sides hurt and you couldn't breathe.
3) I forgot what it felt like to do something fun without worrying about your kid or feeling guilty the whole time.
2) Bacon goes with just about anything - even cupcakes.
3) I make an awesome flamingo (as in 'impression', not as in 'cooking' it).
4) Cheetos are a great appetizer.
5) There are many ways to cut up a lobster tail.
6) Never cheat on your fake, simulated husband in a video game.
7) I apparently do a great imitation of 'stupid' - not sure what that says about me.
8) I can be genuinely concerned when a friend has an accident with a side-table - and laugh hysterically until I cry, both at the same time.
9) Many, many people don't think there is anything wrong with tinkling in the shower.
10) Its OK to take some time for myself, away from the family, and let my husband handle things alone.
And 3 Things I Forgot:
1) I forgot how much I love riding onto the city bridges at night, in a fog, mist or rain. Awesome and beautiful.
2) I forgot what it felt like to laugh until your throat was scratchy, your sides hurt and you couldn't breathe.
3) I forgot what it felt like to do something fun without worrying about your kid or feeling guilty the whole time.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Girls Weekend
The idea behind a 'Girls' Weekend' is to get away from the men in your life, dish with the girls, whatever you want to do without the fellas around. In my case its my 3 year old and husband. I love them both. I'll miss them terribly. I'm really looking forward to getting away. :)
In my single days, there wasn't a need for such. We just had the time to hang out with our girlfriends. And if we went away for the weekend, it was usually just the girls anyway and it was done with wild abandonment mixed with an occasionaly walk of shame for at least one of them (us). It seemed like every weekend was dedicated, at some point, to connecting with your girls. Even weeknights were filled with chatting with them on the phone, instant messaging with them, texting with them. Then boyfriends, marriage, children and, well, LIFE just steamrolled in.
Fast forward a whole bunch of years and even more life changes and a weekend away with the girls is more like: no make-up, jammies all day, never leaving the house/hotel/cabin, playing board games or Wii.
At least that's what we've planned with a group I'm going away with next weekend. I'm really looking forward to it, and after watching Julie and Julia, I'm thinking... I may blog it. Though, from my above description, you're probably thinking its not going to be very interesting. Possibly not, but I'm writing about it anyway.
It started with my friend C (See below for why its just an initial) saying that she loves the idea of girls getting together year after year who when they're old, keep circling back, once a year, and hang with the same girls. We tried to get it off the ground a few times. Finally it was settled and we're all doing it next weekend.
The players are (I know that no one is reading this, but I'll put in their first initials only, just in case):
C (34 - dating her BF for a couple of years, has the oddest frame of mind of anyone I know and asks a bazillion questions and basically just makes life interesting)
B (early 40s. 43? Married for something like 8 years, no kids, a goofball who snorts out loud at her own jokes),
A (32? - single, just started dating her guy a few months ago, but they batted around the idea of dating for a little while before that. The BF won and got the girl. She is brilliantly creative, unapologetically unfocused, and scarily really, really similar to me),
and myself (blah, blah, blah stats you all know if you read any of my stuff. At the writing of this, I just turned 45, my son is a little over 3 1/2, and this entire blog is about ME, so, what's left to describe?).
Our mission is that we are each coming up with random recipes that we have never tried before and meeting at B's house and cooking for each other. It could be disasterous - think Chinese food, meets rich French cooking, meets Mexican, meets Sloppy Joes. Maybe I should bring Pepto. Or Tums. Or a manual on bulimia. Just in case. No one knows what each other are making, although I did tell C what I had in mind.
For C's birthday, I took her to lunch at a local inexpensive Chinese place a few blocks from work. We DEVOURED this lobster in Ginger and Scallions dish. We both separately dreamed about it that weekend. She was dying to tell her BF about it, but he'd lovingly packed a gourmet lunch for her that he'd specially made; complete with a special beverage of some island drink and she didn't eat it so that we could lunch instead. But she had to lie to him so that he wouldn't know she never tasted his food. So, to make it real, we went back to the Chinese place and splurged again on the lobster. It was that good. And now she could tell him.
I think I can do it. That's going to be my dish.
I also picked out a Chocolate souffle - in little mini-cups. I tore it out of a magazine awhile ago. I have all of the ingredients. I've neither tasted nor made a souffle before, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to say if its good in the traditional sense or just tastes good to me.
I love cooking and board games. I'm really looking forward to the weekend and to blogging about it. I'm working on another blog - in the infancy stage - all about food and recipes and I think I'm going to get a lot of material for that over the 2 days.
Wish me luck!
In my single days, there wasn't a need for such. We just had the time to hang out with our girlfriends. And if we went away for the weekend, it was usually just the girls anyway and it was done with wild abandonment mixed with an occasionaly walk of shame for at least one of them (us). It seemed like every weekend was dedicated, at some point, to connecting with your girls. Even weeknights were filled with chatting with them on the phone, instant messaging with them, texting with them. Then boyfriends, marriage, children and, well, LIFE just steamrolled in.
Fast forward a whole bunch of years and even more life changes and a weekend away with the girls is more like: no make-up, jammies all day, never leaving the house/hotel/cabin, playing board games or Wii.
At least that's what we've planned with a group I'm going away with next weekend. I'm really looking forward to it, and after watching Julie and Julia, I'm thinking... I may blog it. Though, from my above description, you're probably thinking its not going to be very interesting. Possibly not, but I'm writing about it anyway.
It started with my friend C (See below for why its just an initial) saying that she loves the idea of girls getting together year after year who when they're old, keep circling back, once a year, and hang with the same girls. We tried to get it off the ground a few times. Finally it was settled and we're all doing it next weekend.
The players are (I know that no one is reading this, but I'll put in their first initials only, just in case):
C (34 - dating her BF for a couple of years, has the oddest frame of mind of anyone I know and asks a bazillion questions and basically just makes life interesting)
B (early 40s. 43? Married for something like 8 years, no kids, a goofball who snorts out loud at her own jokes),
A (32? - single, just started dating her guy a few months ago, but they batted around the idea of dating for a little while before that. The BF won and got the girl. She is brilliantly creative, unapologetically unfocused, and scarily really, really similar to me),
and myself (blah, blah, blah stats you all know if you read any of my stuff. At the writing of this, I just turned 45, my son is a little over 3 1/2, and this entire blog is about ME, so, what's left to describe?).
Our mission is that we are each coming up with random recipes that we have never tried before and meeting at B's house and cooking for each other. It could be disasterous - think Chinese food, meets rich French cooking, meets Mexican, meets Sloppy Joes. Maybe I should bring Pepto. Or Tums. Or a manual on bulimia. Just in case. No one knows what each other are making, although I did tell C what I had in mind.
For C's birthday, I took her to lunch at a local inexpensive Chinese place a few blocks from work. We DEVOURED this lobster in Ginger and Scallions dish. We both separately dreamed about it that weekend. She was dying to tell her BF about it, but he'd lovingly packed a gourmet lunch for her that he'd specially made; complete with a special beverage of some island drink and she didn't eat it so that we could lunch instead. But she had to lie to him so that he wouldn't know she never tasted his food. So, to make it real, we went back to the Chinese place and splurged again on the lobster. It was that good. And now she could tell him.
I think I can do it. That's going to be my dish.
I also picked out a Chocolate souffle - in little mini-cups. I tore it out of a magazine awhile ago. I have all of the ingredients. I've neither tasted nor made a souffle before, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to say if its good in the traditional sense or just tastes good to me.
I love cooking and board games. I'm really looking forward to the weekend and to blogging about it. I'm working on another blog - in the infancy stage - all about food and recipes and I think I'm going to get a lot of material for that over the 2 days.
Wish me luck!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Movies, Movies, Movies
I never go to the movies - I just fidget too much. I'm uncomfortable. I think of all the other stuff I should be doing. And I end up not having that 'escape from reality - enjoy the 2 mindless hours' experience that everyone else has.
So it was a surprise to me that, over the 2 weeks Christmas holiday/vacation I took, I actually watched something like 5 movies. At home of course- and between printing out pics for ornaments, cooking, doing dishes, etc. But I watch full feature films none the less.
Partially, we needed to clear out the DVR and return borrowed DVDs, and partially, I had this extra time where I didn't have to wake up at a quarter till 6 AM.
So, in no particular order, we saw: Up, My Sassy Girl, Sideways, The Accidentaly Husband, Avatar (not in 3D), Julia and Julia, Polar Express, and Hercules.
Granted 2 of these were Disney cartoons and one was a CG animation, but did you really think we'd get away with zero Kiddie movies?
So, I'll review those first.
UP: I'd heard it was sad in the beginning and then kinda plffffttt after that. But I liked it. I liked the beginning where they flash through Mr. Fredrickson's life. I think we needed it and Ellie's passing to connect with what drove the old guy to be so focused on his mission. What I didn't get was how the explorer (and I forget his name) was still alive. I mean Mr. Frederickson had to be about 80 or 85. That would make the other guy over a hundred. And they had a fight scene. On top of a blimp. That was moving at mach speed. Yeah, I know - its a cartoon. Anyway. I liked it, it was entertaining. Nothing in it was scary to my kid, so it got thumbs up for me.
Polar Express:
I got a few phone calls while this one was on so I'm sure I missed a few key moments. Loved the CG - thought it was cool and just enough for this kind of movie. I'll have to watch it again to get it, though. I can't truly review it, but it was cute - the bits I saw.
Sideways: now, we've had this DVD for months and we had to watch it. It was supposed to be about wine. That's what various people told me. My cynical synopsis is that its about 2 guys who spiral out of control that you don't care about.
My girlfriend who loaned it to me agrees, but found that to be part of the charm of the film. In fact, she got many laugh-out-loud moments. I got a forced-out-loud chuckle - once.
Who takes his friend out for a bachelor week and does what HE wants vs what the groom wants? If I were the groom, I'd say, "hold up - we'll do your things when YOU get married".
And do men really spend the week before their wedding trying to bang every woman they see? Don't answer that.
Anyway, I didn't connect with it at all. I don't get the multiple Oscar nominations. But I'm glad I saw it. Just cuz.
The 2 surprises for me were My Sassy Girl and the Accidental Husband. I hadn't heard anything about either and both were entertaining.
The Accidental Husband starred Uma Thurman. Remember her in Truth About Cats and Dogs? Well, this one is like her, 5 years later (not older, just later) and she's taken over Jeanne Garafolo's job as a Radio advice chick. Its not really, but if you watched the Cat and Dog one first, then the Husband one, you could easily make that connection. Anyhow, cute chick flick. Mindless and entertaining. Its the classic Boy meets girl, Boy loses girl, Boy gets girl movie, but I liked it.
My Sassy Girl went straight to DVD. Remember Elisha Cuthbert of 24 fame as the annoying Kimmie (and the name alone is annoying) and later as the playboy bunny in The Girl Next Door? (On a side note, the IMDB one liner is: A teenager's dreams come true when a former porn star moves in next door and they fall in love. lol - I found that funny for some reason). She stars in the Sassy Girl movie as a high maintanence, highly complicated girl who attaches herself to this mild-mannered, conservative guy who has his life entirely mapped out. The film started out making me nuts. When I see movies where one person's bizarre behaviour sends another person's life spinning out of control, it makes me bonkers. (That was partially why I wasn't a big fan of the Sideways movie, too.)
Then about 3/4 into the movie, it all turned around and I ended up really liking it. I'm not posting a spoiler for this obscure flick, just in case you watch it. But I really, really liked it. In fact, I thought about it a few times later, which is sort of one of the marks of a good movie to me; it makes me think about it well after I've watched it. I thought, later, that I might have enjoyed this one so much because it was the first non-tv show that I've watched in ages. But, no, I think I just really liked it.
The final movie I'm semi-reviewing is Julie and Julia. I've been dying to see this. Several of my friends and my sister all saw it and it inspired them all to whip up some fabulous dish or meal. For those that don't know, its about a girl (Julie) who decided to spend one year, cooking everything in The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. The movie starts by stating that its two true stories of two women: Julie and Julia. As we watch, we follow parallel(ish) stories of their two lives.
I'm a foodie (of sorts) - love food, love cooking, love going to restaurants and try to go home and make up the dishes out of my head. Sometimes I cheat and look up similar recipes online and put in my own twist to make it similar to what we had. Or completely different from what we had. Watching Julie and Julia made me want to... blog. Weird, huh? I totally thought it would make me want to cook, too. It made me want to blog on here - my random thoughts - on my recipe blog (coming soon to a flat panel screen near you) anywhere. It made me want to do something creatively, to pour out my thoughts, write and get my thoughts down. It also made me want to read the blog. Truthfully, it didn't do that right away, but as I was getting the links to the movies on here, I thought... I wonder if her blog is still up? So I looked, and voila! There it was. The Julie/Julia Project. She was right in the movie when she says she curses a lot. A LOT. I don't think either cooking nor blogging cause me to break out in expletives. That's just me.
I know, that wasn't any sort of review of the movie. LOL, and neither will this be... I loved the movie, would totally recommend it. I'm not a huge fan of Meryl Streep. Yeah, yeah, I know, she's a fabulous actress, blah blah blah. Something about her bothers me. Like, why does she have to do an accent in every movie she's in? And her facial bones are flat on her face. No clue why, but it bothers me. In that Bridges of Madison County movie, she drove me nuts. In this one, she had me thinking she WAS Julia Child. I loved the woman from Glee in it, too... she was only in it for like 3.3 minutes, but I like 'Sue'.
I did think about trying to cook my way through a simpler, smaller cookbook of some sort after watching it. But then thought, nah. I don't like ALL food. And, after my 1.5 hour commute, there are days I get home at 8. I have to wake up at the crack of dawn - sometimes, pre-dawn - so who has time for all that? It did, however, make me think... I don't think I've ever eaten a meal or dish I've made myself where I closed my eyes, wrapped my tongue and palette around a bite and tasted it in ecstacy like the people in this movie did. It seemed like every dish she made, she savored it in a 'this is the best bite that's ever passed my lips' sort of way. Maybe I DO need to make a few Julia Child recipes. hmmmm.
I have made her Flaky pie crust. (On a side note, I've tried and tried to find a link to the recipe for this blog but the true recipe isn't posted anywhere). Its the best - and I mean the BEST pie crust I've ever tasted. Its awesome. Better than Delicious Orchards, and their pies are mouth-gasmic. My friend David brought a couple of pies over for Thanksgiving a few years ago. It was the best pie I've ever had. I've talked to David about this recently and he has said that the pie crust is one of those things that people STILL talk to him about or ask him about. It is that good.
This is my first post in ages - on any of my blogs. I'm vowing to do more of them, be more regular about it. We'll see how that goes.
Goodnight.
Note: at the time of my writing this post, I linked to the movies that had websites, some no longer did but had IMDB pages or quotes or both. I linked to that.
So it was a surprise to me that, over the 2 weeks Christmas holiday/vacation I took, I actually watched something like 5 movies. At home of course- and between printing out pics for ornaments, cooking, doing dishes, etc. But I watch full feature films none the less.
Partially, we needed to clear out the DVR and return borrowed DVDs, and partially, I had this extra time where I didn't have to wake up at a quarter till 6 AM.
So, in no particular order, we saw: Up, My Sassy Girl, Sideways, The Accidentaly Husband, Avatar (not in 3D), Julia and Julia, Polar Express, and Hercules.
Granted 2 of these were Disney cartoons and one was a CG animation, but did you really think we'd get away with zero Kiddie movies?
So, I'll review those first.
UP: I'd heard it was sad in the beginning and then kinda plffffttt after that. But I liked it. I liked the beginning where they flash through Mr. Fredrickson's life. I think we needed it and Ellie's passing to connect with what drove the old guy to be so focused on his mission. What I didn't get was how the explorer (and I forget his name) was still alive. I mean Mr. Frederickson had to be about 80 or 85. That would make the other guy over a hundred. And they had a fight scene. On top of a blimp. That was moving at mach speed. Yeah, I know - its a cartoon. Anyway. I liked it, it was entertaining. Nothing in it was scary to my kid, so it got thumbs up for me.
Polar Express:
I got a few phone calls while this one was on so I'm sure I missed a few key moments. Loved the CG - thought it was cool and just enough for this kind of movie. I'll have to watch it again to get it, though. I can't truly review it, but it was cute - the bits I saw.
Sideways: now, we've had this DVD for months and we had to watch it. It was supposed to be about wine. That's what various people told me. My cynical synopsis is that its about 2 guys who spiral out of control that you don't care about.
My girlfriend who loaned it to me agrees, but found that to be part of the charm of the film. In fact, she got many laugh-out-loud moments. I got a forced-out-loud chuckle - once.
Who takes his friend out for a bachelor week and does what HE wants vs what the groom wants? If I were the groom, I'd say, "hold up - we'll do your things when YOU get married".
And do men really spend the week before their wedding trying to bang every woman they see? Don't answer that.
Anyway, I didn't connect with it at all. I don't get the multiple Oscar nominations. But I'm glad I saw it. Just cuz.
The 2 surprises for me were My Sassy Girl and the Accidental Husband. I hadn't heard anything about either and both were entertaining.
The Accidental Husband starred Uma Thurman. Remember her in Truth About Cats and Dogs? Well, this one is like her, 5 years later (not older, just later) and she's taken over Jeanne Garafolo's job as a Radio advice chick. Its not really, but if you watched the Cat and Dog one first, then the Husband one, you could easily make that connection. Anyhow, cute chick flick. Mindless and entertaining. Its the classic Boy meets girl, Boy loses girl, Boy gets girl movie, but I liked it.
My Sassy Girl went straight to DVD. Remember Elisha Cuthbert of 24 fame as the annoying Kimmie (and the name alone is annoying) and later as the playboy bunny in The Girl Next Door? (On a side note, the IMDB one liner is: A teenager's dreams come true when a former porn star moves in next door and they fall in love. lol - I found that funny for some reason). She stars in the Sassy Girl movie as a high maintanence, highly complicated girl who attaches herself to this mild-mannered, conservative guy who has his life entirely mapped out. The film started out making me nuts. When I see movies where one person's bizarre behaviour sends another person's life spinning out of control, it makes me bonkers. (That was partially why I wasn't a big fan of the Sideways movie, too.)
Then about 3/4 into the movie, it all turned around and I ended up really liking it. I'm not posting a spoiler for this obscure flick, just in case you watch it. But I really, really liked it. In fact, I thought about it a few times later, which is sort of one of the marks of a good movie to me; it makes me think about it well after I've watched it. I thought, later, that I might have enjoyed this one so much because it was the first non-tv show that I've watched in ages. But, no, I think I just really liked it.
The final movie I'm semi-reviewing is Julie and Julia. I've been dying to see this. Several of my friends and my sister all saw it and it inspired them all to whip up some fabulous dish or meal. For those that don't know, its about a girl (Julie) who decided to spend one year, cooking everything in The Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. The movie starts by stating that its two true stories of two women: Julie and Julia. As we watch, we follow parallel(ish) stories of their two lives.
I'm a foodie (of sorts) - love food, love cooking, love going to restaurants and try to go home and make up the dishes out of my head. Sometimes I cheat and look up similar recipes online and put in my own twist to make it similar to what we had. Or completely different from what we had. Watching Julie and Julia made me want to... blog. Weird, huh? I totally thought it would make me want to cook, too. It made me want to blog on here - my random thoughts - on my recipe blog (coming soon to a flat panel screen near you) anywhere. It made me want to do something creatively, to pour out my thoughts, write and get my thoughts down. It also made me want to read the blog. Truthfully, it didn't do that right away, but as I was getting the links to the movies on here, I thought... I wonder if her blog is still up? So I looked, and voila! There it was. The Julie/Julia Project. She was right in the movie when she says she curses a lot. A LOT. I don't think either cooking nor blogging cause me to break out in expletives. That's just me.
I know, that wasn't any sort of review of the movie. LOL, and neither will this be... I loved the movie, would totally recommend it. I'm not a huge fan of Meryl Streep. Yeah, yeah, I know, she's a fabulous actress, blah blah blah. Something about her bothers me. Like, why does she have to do an accent in every movie she's in? And her facial bones are flat on her face. No clue why, but it bothers me. In that Bridges of Madison County movie, she drove me nuts. In this one, she had me thinking she WAS Julia Child. I loved the woman from Glee in it, too... she was only in it for like 3.3 minutes, but I like 'Sue'.
I did think about trying to cook my way through a simpler, smaller cookbook of some sort after watching it. But then thought, nah. I don't like ALL food. And, after my 1.5 hour commute, there are days I get home at 8. I have to wake up at the crack of dawn - sometimes, pre-dawn - so who has time for all that? It did, however, make me think... I don't think I've ever eaten a meal or dish I've made myself where I closed my eyes, wrapped my tongue and palette around a bite and tasted it in ecstacy like the people in this movie did. It seemed like every dish she made, she savored it in a 'this is the best bite that's ever passed my lips' sort of way. Maybe I DO need to make a few Julia Child recipes. hmmmm.
I have made her Flaky pie crust. (On a side note, I've tried and tried to find a link to the recipe for this blog but the true recipe isn't posted anywhere). Its the best - and I mean the BEST pie crust I've ever tasted. Its awesome. Better than Delicious Orchards, and their pies are mouth-gasmic. My friend David brought a couple of pies over for Thanksgiving a few years ago. It was the best pie I've ever had. I've talked to David about this recently and he has said that the pie crust is one of those things that people STILL talk to him about or ask him about. It is that good.
This is my first post in ages - on any of my blogs. I'm vowing to do more of them, be more regular about it. We'll see how that goes.
Goodnight.
Note: at the time of my writing this post, I linked to the movies that had websites, some no longer did but had IMDB pages or quotes or both. I linked to that.
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