Bolt

Remember how a couple weeks ago I was going a bit insane and wanted to see the movie Bolt to cheer me up? Well, I didn't get to see it. Yeah, things happened and the only thing I had any hope for didn't happen, which is why I kind of lost it that day. Well, after one craaaazy month I finally got to see it. Saturday, Mr. Hotness kicked me out for the entire day to finally do something for myself. Usually I feel guilty about doing that... but not this time! This time I smiled, giggled a bit maniacally, and ran for the door mumbling something over my shoulder about where to find the diapers and such. My first order of business that day was Bolt. I took Cookie with me and we had so much fun getting away from the "darling angels."


I have to say, this movie did not fail me. I was worried that there wouldn't be enough hamster. I was worried that the hamster would be the only interesting character. I was worried that the story would override the entertainment factor (I kind of felt like that happened in The Incredibles, which is fine, absolutely fine, but I was in the mood for entertainment).

My worries were for naught as this movie delivered all the way. The opening sequence where they set up the storyline of Bolt being a Hollywood movie dog was fantastic. The action was so good that I now want to see the movie that Bolt was starring in.

Also, each and every character in this movie was wonderfully colorful. I was smiling every time a new figure started to talk. I was especially worried about the cat. In all the previews the cat seems whiny and girly (and looks a bit like a Bratz cat doll). In the movie, though, she comes across as a very smart street cat who knows how to survive at all costs. Every human in this movie was adorable and crazy in their own way. And ya gotta love the pigeons. The differences between the NY pigeons and the LA pigeons are spot on.

As for the hamster... he was AWESOME. His awesomeness was beyond awesome. And he has totally reinvented the word awesome. I loved him, every bit of him. I love his teeth just as much as I loved the teeth of the villain on Meet the Robinsons. Rhino is sadistic, crazy, loyal, and so stinkin' cute I can barely stand it. I think I'm in love.

*

Towards the end of the movie it starts to get sappy and is a bit too much like Toy Story 1 and 2, but it is forgivable as the rest is so new and so good.

*

Through the movie Cookie and I were leaning on each other and laughing together and having a wonderful time and that alone was totally worth the price of admission.

H-A-P-P-Y

How do you spell HAPPY?

I know it is Sunday and I should NOT be thinking about this.... but.

On the way to church today I saw 3 of these lovely signs. Yard Sale season is starting early this year and I am happy. =)

My awesome DSSH bought me a box of Samoa Girl Scout cookies and I'm not expected to share with anyone. I love treats just for me and so I am happy. =)

Two people in church made comments to me about how I'm such a skinny pregnant lady and that I looked great. Compare this to last week when I got several comments about how I was so big for only being so far along, and yes I am happy. =)

I went to the library and picked up some fun movies (two classic horrors, a classic, and a romantic comedy) that I get to selfishly watch tomorrow and I am happy. =)

This year I FINALLY remembered to buy my corned beef early so we can actually have our St. Patrick's day dinner. And I also FINALLY remembered to buy my Easter eggs two weeks early so that they will be good and ready to be hard boiled (if your hard boiled eggs never seem to peel without falling apart it is because your eggs are too fresh) and so I am happy. =)

I have bought books and am developing a way to get my artist son to read more and to get my daughter to read more than just fantasy (I will share it once I have it up and running) and so I am happy. =)

How do you spell happy?

I Fired My Nanny

What would you do if you had a live-in-nanny who allowed you all the free time in the world? Would you fire her if she were too good at her job? Well I did. That's right, I had the world's best nanny and I pulled the plug on her yesterday. Why? Because my son loved her so much that he never wanted to sit and read with me. My daughter loved her so much that she refused to leave her long enough to let me potty train her. She preferred to just pee her pants, while being held in the loving, non-potty-training arms of her cooler-than-mom-will-ever-be nanny. And, frankly, I loved her so much that I was letting her do all the parenting and was beginning to forget my childrens' names. I know I did the right thing... after all I am their mother and I need to be in control around here. Even though I am proud of my decision, I can't help but miss her. Already I'm feeling the loss of all that free time. The kids have begged me to let her come back all morning. My youngest has been in tears, screaming her name. My 5 year old started crying when I told him she was gone. My oldest asked if we could have her back for just a short visit. I hugged them all and said, "I know this will be hard for you for a few days, but soon it will be easy and you will get over her. We have lots of other things to do around here and if we play together, as a family, we can have lots of fun."

I really hope I can get through this without her......

Good bye Dora Labrynth Spongebob Magic School Bus Veggie Tales, we will miss you.

LOST

I have been lost, lost and wandering these past few weeks. My butt hurts and my eyes are weary. Today has been spent searching through the jungle of my home in search of survivors. The children have been foraging for themselves and have somehow survived on a wild diet of cereal and Go-Gurts. I keep signaling for rescue, but it has been days now and I'm starting to loose hope. All I can do is try to stay alive and hope my family doesn't give me up for dead before I can get back to them. I have kept a tally. Nine. I've been here through the first nine. Heaven knows how much longer I will have to go through this. I was nearing what I thought was the end, but then the mysterious smiling man in the blue shirt told me it was supposed to last for seven seasons. Seven. Not seven disks, seven seasons. I don't think I can do this anymore. I need to get back to my family, to my children. If anyone tells you that you just HAVE to watch the television series, LOST, even if they are someone you trust, even if it sounds like a good idea because there are no commercials when they are on DVD, under NO circumstances should you try watching this show. Walk away. RUN. Do not start the madness that is LOST.

Ongoing Memorial Day Festivities

MUST. STOP. EATING.

Sorry for not posting anything new lately. We have all been enjoying one humdinger of a Memorial Day weekend over here. It started on Saturday and is still in process.

Saturday: I attended a fun little baby shower where many tasty treats were served. i started out with a small healthy plate, but soon went back for seconds, and when no one was watching I went back for thirds. I couldn't help it. There was lots of yummy fresh fruit, a rich spinach and artichoke dip with crackers, and some very addicting cranberry turkey pinwheels. I only had a sliver of cake, but was stuffed to the brim by the time I went home. Only an hour after the shower we attended a dinner party at one of my very best friend's home. Jamie and Andy were celebrating their 7 year anniversary and did so be feeding all of their friends. Jamie is a great cook and is my source for very good pasta. She made a great cold pasta salad with rigatoni, tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, basil, olive oil, and I'm sure there were other things in it. Now I was VERY stuffed.

Sunday:
Sunday night our very good friends Shawn and Wendy came all the way from Utah to visit. Shawn and DSSH have been best friends since 1st grade. Shawn has also served 18 months in Iraq and, considering the areas that he served in, we feel very lucky not to have to be memorializing him right now.

We started our bacchanalian marathon with awesome nachos ('awesome' referring to the size as well as the flavor) and multiple bowls of ice cream and tall glasses of Root Beer Floats. The cheesy nachos were served with taco meat, sour cream, Lizzy's Salsa, and butter black beans. The evening was spent eating and talking. We talked until 1 in the morning, just catching up on old times.

Butter Black Beans
melt 1 Tblsp. butter in pan. Add 1/4 C. finely chopped onion and cook until onion begins to brown. Add 1-3 cloves garlic minced and cook for 1 minute. Add one can black beans UNdrained. Smash a few times with a potato smasher. Stir and cook to desired consistency. Salt to taste. MMMMMMMM

Monday:
Luckily for me, S and W like yard saling as much as I do, so we left the kids with DSSH (he doesn't like "junksaling") and hit a few Memorial Day sales. I found some wonderful things, including a great art easel for Pablo's B-Day. For lunch we had make your own sandwiches with pickles, chips, and veggie sticks on the side (and they were some mighty big 'samiches'). With full bellies W and I took the kids to a local beach park to play in the sand and look for shells. We found a huge barnacle and had fun watching it poke its frilled head out. DSSH and S stayed behind to do some man bonding which requires that they sit in different rooms communicating over two computers while playing Age Of Empires III. For dinner we had a good ol' Rockwellian BBQ. W and I prepped all the veggies and side dishes while the manly men sat around drinking rootbeer and tossing a pigskin to the kids while waiting for the coals to turn grey. We chowed down on Peppered Burgers, Broccoli Salad, corn on the cob, 3 kinds of chips, 2 kinds of soda, watermelon, and ice cream. It was a lovely day. We tried to finish the night with a Mystery Science Theater 3000 called Puma Man but, about half way through all the laughter, I fell asleep. I think W fell asleep soon after so we called it a night.

Tuesday:
We took our guests on the requisite Pike Place Market tour. I LOVE Pike Place Market! It is crowded with so many people from all walks of life. In the same three feet you see a bodily pierced young woman selling her handmade purses, a man with a 2 foot beard playing his fiddle, a wealthy business woman buying flowers, a group of Japanese speaking tourists, and me with my big family holding a screaming Sweet Terror on my shoulders. Of course no trip to the market is complete without sampling foods from around the world. Our first culinary stop was Japan with a fresh shrimp spring roll dipped in peanut sauce (or is that Cantonese?), then some Mexican Pan Dulce, a few sweet flavored honey tubes to suck on, freshly fried doughnuts that the dreadlocked man flings behind his back and into the bag while knocking a beat with his tongs on the counter, a few Greek Dolmates wrapped in tangy grape leaves, a free slice from a heavenly sweetened California peach, a stop at the spice store for little bags of pepper, paprika, curry, herbal teas, and sea salt, followed up with some Chinese food at the Genghis Khan (I highly reccomend the broccoli and mushrooms, YUMMERS). After the Market feast we took a two hour break from eating before leaving the kids with our awesome babysitter and escaping to a great indian restaurant called the Sahib. The Sahib is located down by the ferry dock so you can enjoy a great view if you get the right seat, or sit on the deck. We all highly recommend the mixed appetizer platter, the mixed grill, the Malai Kofta, and Chicken Korma. The appetizer platter had something I've never heard of before, let alone tasted, they were fried spinach leaves. I know, it sounds funny but they were addicting. I'm already planning a second visit just for that combo appetizer. Oh, it was GOOD. We were all laughing about how full we were. Then we were laughing about the fact that we still had ice cream in the freezer that wanted to be eaten. After putting the kids to bed we not only ate multiple bowls of ice cream while watching episodes from the 4th season of The Simpsons, but I managed to polish off the leftover Chinese food too, AAAUGH!

As bloggers are my witness, I WILL NEVER GO HUNGRY AGAIN! That is, until 5 minutes ago when I had another bowl of ice cream for breakfast =). Let me just say that I'm actually glad that the ice cream sale is over so that I can return to my normal "three meals and two bowls a day".

A Week's Worth Of Reviews

MOVIE REVIEWS

Devdas: What if Shakespeare were to rewrite Austin's Pride and Prejudice? And what if it was to be filmed in Bollywood? You would end up with Devdas. What an amazing movie! There were moments when the acting didn't fit (but they were very few), there were a few moments when I thought, "Enough with all the tears already!", but there were many more moments where I sat there thinking, "This is good, very good, why haven't I heard of this movie before?" It is a tragic love story but it is beautiful and is filled with lovely morals. And of course you've gotta love the dancing! These Indian women put "old" Britney Spears, Aguilera, JLO, and all the other American booty shakers to shame. And they do it with their clothes on, too =). This movie stars Aishwarya, you know, that "too beautiful to be true" actress from Bollywood's very popular Bride and Prejudice. It also stars Shahrukh Khan who is an actor that I don't want to like but he always manages to pull it off in the end so I do like him. Please find this movie, watch it, and let me know what you think.

Meet The Robinsons: While Jon is out of town I decided to try and earn some browie points with the kids by taking them to see Meet The Robinsons. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I have been so close to permanently boycotting Disney so many times because lately it has been putting out the lamest pieces of filth. I just don't think kids need to see so much boobage and seduction in cartoons. But for the first time, in a long time, I sat through a Disney animation and didn't cringe once. Well, I did cringe twice during previews for upcoming movies by Disney, but I guess I can't have everything. The highest reccomendation, though, is that all four kids sat mesmerized by it the entire time. Now, they have seen The Incredibles and Cars in the theater and both times there were periods of boredom and having to walk them around. But not this time, and it was a good thing too, because I didn't have any back up this time. I will say that the movie was a bit hyper and went at a dizzyingly fast pace, but maybe that is why the kids liked it. Overall, though, it was cute, funny, I loved the villian and his teeth, I really enjoyed the ending, and Disney really surprised me because this one actually had a good moral to it. I might even think about owning this one, but I'll have to watch it one more time before I make that decision. Oh, and you will notice a lot of similarities between this film and Robots, don't knock them though, just enjoy it.

BOOKS

You Can Write a Column by: Monica McCabe Cardoza
For all of you bloggers who are trying to improve your writing or who are seeking to get yourself published somewhere, you MUST find this book and read it! I have been reading lots of books on how to write, and how to get published and this is the book I like the best so far. I love the way she writes, she just seems to make it all sound possible. She doesn't just tell you what you should do, but tells you how to do it, gives examples, and then she gives you little homework assignments (she calls them exercises). I borrowed this book from the library but I keep rereading it and renuing it and that alwasy means it is time to buy it and add it to my library.
Other books I have read in this area are:
Get a Freelance Life by: Margit Feury Ragland and mediabistro.com
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published by: Sherry Bykofsky and Jennifer Basye Sander
How to Write Articles for Newspapers & Magazines by:Thompson*ARCO
Write Where You Are by: Caryn Mirriam-Goldburg, Ph.D.
Meals and Memories: How To Create Keepsake Cookbooks by Kathy Steligo

RESTAURANTS

The Keg: Steakhouse and Bar. Ok, before you start thinking, "I don't like to support restaurants that advertise drinking, like Bar & Grill, or Sports Bars, etc..." let me just say that I didn't even see the bar the entire time because it hides behind a brick fireplace. I've been offended by the loud smelly bar at Outback Steak House or by the big jug of wine pushed on me at The Olive Garden, but there was no offense given here. There were wine glasses on our table, but without even asking our waiter promptly filled them with ice water. Let me start this review with my rating. I'm going back! What a nice place. The service was amazing. We were constantly attended to. We had 2 visits from managers to ask how we were enjoying our food and stay. When our waiter "welcomed" us back we told him it was our first time there. He smiled as he walked away and about 5 minutes later a manager came out to welcome us with a complimentary appetizer of cocktail shrimp. And, boy, I've never had shrimp like that. They were thick, heavy, steak like shrimp. I usually hate getting that teasingly small amount of shrimp (there were only 5) but they were so meaty that 5 was all that was needed. Jon and I split the last one.

oops... I have to get Cookie to school. I will finish this post later =)

Ok. I am back. Not only did I pick up Cookie, I mowed the lawn, fed the kids again, changed a diaper, took a shower, read 25 blogs, ate some ice cream, ate some nachos, and ate some more ice cream. That is why I am so late in finishing these reviews. I'm going to make the rest of these quick because I have to pick up my DSSH from the airport soon.

Back to The Keg:

DO order the Pecan Sirloin with garlic mashed potatoes. I don't like steak but this was really really good! You should also get the Szechwan Green Beans and the Steamed Asparagus (rub the butter pat all over the asparagus, squeeze the lemon wedge over it, salt, and enjoy). They make eating vegetables very very enjoyable.

DON'T get the rib eye (tender but NO flavor) or the Sauteed Mushrooms (I love mushrooms but htese had no flavor. And do not get the chocolate sampler for dessert. Trust me on this one, Jon is a chocolate junkie and even he did not like it. The brownie was bland and tasted plasticy, the Lindt topo-somethingorother tasted like regular ice cream with cocoa powder on it, and the mouse was good until you get to this weird sponge cake bottom that just shouldn't be there.

ICE CREAM

Dreyers Nestle Toll House Cookie Swirl. It is vanilla ice cream with little chocolate chip cookies in it with a swirl of cookie dough and chocolate chips running through it. This suffered the same problem that I encounter in many chocolate chipped ice creams. When chocolate is cold it gets waxy and sticks in your teeth. So I take a big bite of lusciously cold ice cream, it melts in my mouth and runs down my throat and then I'm left with a mouthful of cold waxy chocolate that I have to suck in order to warm it up enough to eat it. The little cookies were yummy, the cookie swirl was too sweet and goopy. I think your classic cookie dough ice cream is a far better choice.

Dreyers Andes Cool Mint. Yummy except for that cold waxy chocolate. They should have done ribbons of the green mint stuff and flakes of dark chocolate. Flakes of chocolate melt fast enough to be eaten with the ice cream. Ah well, I suppose this is why these flavors were discontinued.

I wanna go back and get some more of those Peanut Butter Drumsticks.