December 31, 2006
Last Post of the Year
It's been a relaxing week around here. I took full advantage of being on vacation by doing NOTHING!
I've read, watched tv, movies, played wii and just this morning started putting Christmas decorations away. We'll leave the tree up for another week or so, but I was dusting and decided to just put some of this Santa stuff away instead of having to dust it again next week.
We have no big plans for tonight. We used to go out, but now we like to stay home. Mike has to work until about 8:00 and there are too many drunks on the road anyway. I bought a bottle of champagne for midnight and if we manage to stay awake we'll have a toast to 2007.
My sleep wake cycle is all screwed up from staying up late reading and sleeping in. I haven't been sleeping well, lots of tossing and turning and very weird vivid dreams. At least once I go back to work I can back on my regular schedule.
I was hoping to make it to 100 books by the end of the year but came up short. I finished up with #90- Santa Cruise by Mary and Carol Higgins Clark, #91- Cross by James Patterson, and #92- Capital Crimes by Jonathan and Faye Kellerman. I have a whole bunch of other books I had planned on reading but I started Lisey's Story by Stephen King and I'm not liking it too much so it kind of killed my mood to read. I feel like I have an obligation to finish it and its just not exciting me too much. Not one of his best.
I watched Poseidon last night (the remake) and was literally biting my nails. I loved the original, cheesy as it was and this one was just as horrifying, maybe more so because of the better special effects. The scenes with the single mom and her young son really got to me, hit way too close to home. I could literally feel her pain when she thought he had drowned.
I am not making any resolutions for the new year, who ever sticks to them anyway? I wont be doing the 50 Book Challenge next year either. I'll still be reading but I know that I can easily read 50 books, no need to prove it to myself. I'll still probably mention what books I've been reading in some way however.
Once tomorrow comes, I can officially start preparing for Mardi Gras! I'm so excited!
Wishing each of you, a very happy, healthy, New Year.
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 09:27 AM | Comments (1)
October 23, 2006
5 Weeks Until Thanksgiving Vacation.......
.......and I'm counting down the minutes!
I think I need a few days to recover from my weekend. Used to be I could come to work and be assured it would be less stressful, less chaotic and busy than my home/family life. But not so much anymore. Things around here just get busier and busier. Which is good, it means more students are realizing the importance of Career Planning, but there is only two of us here in this office and we are running on fumes. Stretched waaay thin. And being asked to take on additional responsibilities as other staff leave or are being let go.
I had originally planned to take it easy this weekend and read and watch movies and tivo. Mike was away at Notre Dame so I stupidly decided to paint the three downstairs rooms that have been primed for 3 weeks while he was gone. I decided on some colors and after bowling on Friday, Connor and I stopped at Lowe's and got the paint and some supplies so I could start painting when I got up on Saturday morning.
My allergies were really awful on Friday and I suffered all day long and forgot to stop and get some of the Claratin that my system can handle. So by the time I got home Friday night, I could barely see my eyes were swollen, red, itchy and sore from rubbing them. So I gave in and took the Claratin-D that I had, knowing full well that it gives me insomnia. But I needed some allergy relief. Sure enough I was up all night Friday night. Tossing and turning, too hot,thirsty, legs feeling all crampy and agitated. I finally crawled out of bed around 6:30 and was painting by 7:00. First thing I did was paint the ceilings in the three rooms. I hate painting ceilings. Then I tried out the color I picked for the bathroom. It was supposed to be a deep reddish color. It turned out pink. It was so ugly. There is no way I will ever paint my bathroom that color. I'm hoping they can add more tint to it to make it darker or else I wasted $25 on a can of paint no one will ever use because its HIDEOUS!
The kitchen was easy, as its a small rooom. I picked out this beautiful creamy gold color that looks fantastic with our oak cupboards. I even moved the fridge and pained behind it! LOVE how the kitchen turned out! (pics forthcoming some day)
Now the computer/less/piano/whatthehellarewegoingtodowiththisroom room...first of all, we dont know what to do with this room. Its wasted space. When we first moved in, we had the computer set up in here and the dogs crates. Now the crates are gone and the computer is moved to the LR. So this room remained empty for years now. My great grandmothers china cabinet is in there but only because we dont have room for it in the dining room.
We thought about moving the piano in there but our plan is to evntually knock out the wall between the useless room and the kitchen and make a nice big kitchen. So I dont really want to move the piano right now. We cant put any kind of furniture in there because the cats have access to it and VooDoo will pee on it. So right now it just accumulates junk and pet hair.
So anyway, I painted that room what was supposed to be a sage green that I loved in theory but with the dark wood in that room, it makes it look...icky. Hospital greenish. Mike loves it, I hate it. But I dont think I will bother doing anything with it right. And Im not painting the wood! I hate painted wood! Natural wood is so beautiful!
So, by the time I finished painting and cleaning up on Saturday, it was almost 8:00 pm. Every muscle in my body was crying out in pain. even the soles of my feet were sore. I showered and fell asleep on the couch.
Yesterday, since I did nothing but paint on Saturday, I had to do all the cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping. Not to mention help Connor with his homework and help him finish making his puppet (pics later, forgot to upload from my camera), and complete all the work I took home with me because I had to have it done by noon today. I was up till after 11:00 grading papers.
And now today I am exhaused. If I didnt have to teach class today, I really would have called off for a mental health day. I sure could use one!
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 09:57 AM | Comments (0)
September 05, 2006
Wenty Fix of the Week and a Few Movies
I almost forgot Prison Break was on last night! Since I had the day off, I forgot it was Monday!
Before we talk about the Wenty hotness lets discuss how C-Note and Sucre are vying for the role of "stupidest person on the show" now that Veronica has bit the dust. I know they want to see their families but how dumb do you have to be not to know that the FBI is going to look there for you first? Come on, I'm NOT the FBI and that's the first people I'd have staked out! And speaking of Sucre...how the hell did he get from Chicago to Brooklyn so fast?
And how is he going to find Maricruz in Las Vegas? It's not like there is only one chapel there!
I wonder if Linc is ever going to button his shirt? Not that I mind. And that was awesome how they worked in the explaination about not changing the radio station! Now I get why Michael needed that car! But was that real body parts in those plastic bags? And they stayed that fresh? Ew. Love the way the two of them interact....so cute!
I love that Bellick beat the Feds to finding Michaed and Linc! So funny how he and Geary teamed up now....I like Geary, he reminds me of my dad for some reason. Guess the Feds dont know about Nika! Next week- Aburzzi and T-Bag are back Yay!
Speaking of the Feds...can't wait to see who "Shales" is and what he did and why he causes Mahone to pop a handfull of pill! And now kellerman is following sara....so much going on in this eppie!
And its educational! Who knew cayenne pepper could stop bleeding? And will help a gunshot wound??
I watched a few movies over the weekend. It's been FOREVER since I've watched any movies...
Rumor Has It- It was cute but I found myself looking at the clock, wondering how much longer it was going to be.
The Family Stone- LOVED IT! Was bawling at the end.
16 Blocks- not bad, Liked the ending.
Just My Luck- cute, I actually like Lindsey Lohan as an actress.
Failure to Launch- PRetty cute movie, I really only wanted to see it because parts of it were filmed in NOLA, right before Katrina. Bradley Cooper was the best character IMO, and this movie further proved that I just cant stand Matthew McCona-whatever...hes so annoying!
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 12:04 PM | Comments (3)
February 16, 2006
Movie Catch Up
Since I have had absolutley no attention span latley and have been reading the same chapter of the same book for over a week now, I decided to put my energies into catching up on my movie watching in my free time (ha! what free time) since I'm pretty caught up on the 50 book challenge.
Last week/weekend I watched:
Just Like Heaven- it was ok. Nothing great. Typical Reese Witherspoon. I left the room at one point to put some clothes in the washer and forgot to pause it, came back and whatever I missed didnt really matter to the storyline.
In Her Shoes- SUCKED. Oh this was awful I hate Cameron Diaz for one thing and this movie just d-r-a-g-g-e-d on forever! I didnt think it would ever end.
The Perfect Man- I thought this looked really good when it was advertised in the movies and it took foever for Netflix to get it to me so I thought it was going to be fabulous...it was "eh". Heather Locklear always looks fabulous and I think shes fun to watch. Hillary Duff is annoying. The small parts with Carson Pressley were funny. The better of the three "romantic comedies" I watched.
The Fog-horrible. stupid. bad acting. worse effects. dont waste your time.
Saw2- Mike and I watched this last night. We couldnt wait to see it, having LOVED Saw! I was kind of disappointed
POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!
Ok....I totally had it figured out that Amanda was in on it with Jigsaw from the moment she woke up and as soon as Jigsaw said something about the combinations being "in the back of your minds" on the recording, I knew that the numbers would be somewhere on the back of their heads...and then once they started figuring out that they were all in jail, I knew that Mathews was going to end up being the arresting officer.So the 'twists" just didnt work for me this time, way too obvious. Not as creepy and thrilling as the original but definatly worth seeing....and the ending totally set things up for a Saw3
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 01:23 PM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2005
They Said That Dirty "S Word"
They said that dirty, scary "S" word on tv this morning. It made me shudder and weep. I pulled the covers over my head and threatened to stay there until Spring (or at least Mardi Gras) but the dogs and the kids dont care that SNOW is in the forecast, they still expect mom to get up and get breakfast and get them off to school. Damn them. But yes, the weather lady uttered that word and I had brief thoughts of packing us all up and moving southward.
I should have known winter was on the way, the Mole Lady had her earmuffs on yesterday. Under her chin of course, looking completley ridiculous. I tried to get a picture of her but it was too dark out. I cant believe the crappy fall we've had this year. I was out and about this weekend and noticed that we still havent had a "peak" in the leaves yet. Most of them are still green! The trees are still full and lush. And now its turning to winter already.Brrrrr.
Our weekend was so crazy, I feel like I need a day to recover. Mike was gone to Notre Dame for his annual trip with his family. All the guys go and they see all their cousins and just have a grand old time. So that left me to do all the running around and of course this was probably the busiest weekend EVER. Friday night after work Connor had bowling, then basketball practice. Then we had to run to Best Buy because he had $$$ and there was a new Tony Hawk game out that he just HAD to have. Then we stopped and bought the chocolate fountian! I saw them at Kohls and then Connor saw it at JCPenny's the other day and he hasnt stopped talking about it. I figured it will be fun to bring to Thanksgiving Dinner for dessert so we went and got one before they sell out. We were home and passed out on the counch about 9:30.
Saturday I took Connor to one of his friends birthday parties at the Rec Center. The kids had such a great time running around playing dodgeball, basketball, pool, pingpong for three hours. We stopped at the grocery store and bought some chocolate and all kinds of goodies and went home and had chocolate fountian treats for supper! Mmmmmm! Its really cool. And tasty. Of course connor wants me to just start it up any time he feels like dipping a pretzel or cookie. He didnt have to clean the darn thing! It wasnt that bad, just messy, chocolate coverd parts. I could have just licked it clean I suppose.
After we tired of that he was off to play his new video game, Jimmy was out with friends so I watched Monster In Law. It was ok. I despise J.Lo and Jane Fonda but I miss Vaughn on Alias and it was a nice Michael Vartan fix.
Sunday was back out to another birthday party, this one at the bowling alley. The kids bowled for 2 hours and the parents gossiped. Then Connor decided to go home with one of his friends so I had the afternoon free! I thought about going shopping but I'm trying to watch the spending now that we have the heat going and my ears are still bothering me so I just went home, plopped on the couch and watched movies. First off was Fever Pitch- Hys-freaking-terical! I havent laughed that loud and that hard in a long, long time! Jimmy heard me and came to see what was so funny! GREAT movie and as someone who has her own obsession I could totally relate to the Jimmy Fallon character. After that I watched The Wedding Date and although I HATED Debra Messing's hair in the movie, I enjoyed the movie. One of those feel good, eveyone lives happily ever after movies. Connor still wasnt ready to come home so I figured I'd continue my lazy trend and watch ANOTHER movie, so next up was The Interpreter which I really enjoyed. Love suspensful thriller kind of movies. I'm not a huge Nicole Kidman fan but she was really good in this.
By this time Connor and Mike were home so we all caught up with each other and had some soup for dinner. Connor was FREEZING as he and his friend Jeremy thought it would be a good idea to squirt each other with the hose! Did I mention its really cold out? After he thawed out he went to bed and I half watched Desperate Housewives. That show has really turned into a snoozefest. But Grey's Anatomy? FANTASTIC! I hate when each episode is over. The characters are so interesting and the dialogue so witty.
Speaking of fantastic tv, Prison Break is back on tonight! Best new show of the season, hand down! Can't wait to see the hunkiness of Wentworth Miller!
And for now, I'm off to call the doctor about my contining earache....hopefully this time he will prescribe me something that doenst cause me to sleep for two days.....
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 08:56 AM | Comments (1)
October 09, 2005
I Thought Lauren Was Dead?
I'm watching the re-make of The Amityville Horror and didnt realize Melissa George was in it. I keep thinking "You're supposed to be dead you bitch Lauren!!!"
Ryan Reynolds=hot.
This movie=creepy
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 11:17 AM | Comments (1)
June 16, 2005
Friends Wanted
Anyone out there Netflix? I'd love to add you to my Friends list! I love to see what other people are watching, gives me some referrals to some good movies. Not that my queue isnt long enough already...but its a long tv-less summer, lots of movie watching to do....so let me know if you want to join my Netflix Friends list.
Of course that means anyone can see the embarassingly lame movies I watch too. Let me add this little disclaimer, that my list encompasses Mike, Jimmy and Connor's movie selections too, so any really lame movies I am likely to blame on them!
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 10:41 AM | Comments (2)
June 06, 2005
DVD/Movie Meme
My dear Stacey tagged me and I promised I would do this tonight so here goes:
1) Total Number of films we own on dvd: Well, this is a tricky question now isnt it? Ok, counting ALL our dvd's mine, mike's Jimmy and Connors....ok.....Grand total of are you ready? This is sick. 427. With the majority of them being Jimmys.
2) The last film I bought: Lemony Snicket: A Series of Unfortunate Events
3) The last film I watched: on DVD: Racing Stripes. In the movies: Kicking and Screaming (actually the drive in)Dear lord I need an adult movie...um, not porn...just no more kids movies!ACK!
4) Five films I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me:
1. Steel Magnolias
2. Jaws
3. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation
4. Gone With The Wind
5. Fight Club
ANd now I tag Wendy , Lettie and Kiki....
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 08:53 PM | Comments (0)
May 03, 2005
I Don't Feel Any Older
So another birthday has come and gone....if I really stop to think about it, its quite depressing. I think birthdays started bothering me at around 35 when I realized I was now closer to 40 than to 30. It's not that I really mind getting old, because I dont feel 38. I know I dont look 38. I dont get carded anymore but most people assume Im about 28 or 29. Thats what my students tell me anyway.
Its just hard to comprehend that I am 38. When I think of my parents I always think of them being in their 40's....but if I'm 38 that means they are in their 60's and my parents can not be in their 60's! They dont look their age either. My grandmother died last year and she was 80 but she could have passed for 60. I guess we have good genes. I'm very thankful for that. I see people my age, or younger, who look so much older. But they act "old" too. I still feel 28 and live like I did when I was 28. Ok, maybe not so much. I'm too tired to live like a 28 year old,lol.
This past weekend we were at my nephews First Birthday Party and were catching up with some old friends we used to go out with every weekend. Everyone is married with kids now and no one goes out much. It was about 5:00 and people were getting ready to go home. I joked that 10 years ago we all would have just been waking up. Its true. Mike and I spent many a Saturday sleeping away hangovers, getting rested to head out for another late night. Now 10:00 is late! We go to bed around 10 when we used to just be going out at 10:00. My how things change.
Being at that party also made me realize how thankful I am I had my kids young. Mike and I were the first in our group of friends to get married, first to have kids. Everyone else is just having their kids now. I cant imagine keeping up with a baby now. I am so glad I had them when I was younger and had the energy to stay up all night with a crankey baby. Babies are EXHAUSTING! I know Mike would love to have another but there is no way in hell I am going thru that again. I didnt like being pregnant and as much as I love my kids, I love that they are somewhat independent now. Starting over with a baby ......not me......*shudders*
I've been a mom for nearly 20 years now. It was hard being a young mom, but I would never change that. Its nice now that Mike and I are getting some independence back. We can do things that we enjoy. I'll just wait for grandchildren. Hopefully about 10 years from now...
Wow, really got sidetracked there...back to my birthday. We actually celebrated it on Sunday because Mike had to work 3-11 last night and Jimmy had night class and I had to work all day so we wouldnt get any time when we were all together. Mike and the kids got me a pink mini ipod (LOVE IT!!) and had it engraved "Dig The Bone!". I was really surprised and touched that Mike would think to engrave it with something fun like that. If any of you readers dont know what that means, you still havent checked out Bonerama then have you? What are you waiting for??? Anyway, that really meant alot to me.
We went to dinner at my parents. Turbo usually cooks dinner on Sunday but he had to cater a 1st Communion Party, so my DAD cooked! WOW! He made sauce and we had a great pasta dinner! Thanks Dad! It was delishious!
Yesterday, my actual birthday was not as much fun. I worked. Then went grocery shopping. Then made dinner (Steak, baked potatoes, corn on the cob). Did the dishes. Checked Connors homework. Did a load of laundry. Whoop-de-do. I really know how to live it up dont I! I watched a fun movie set in New Orleans, A Murder of Crows and went to bed. Mike got home a little before midnight and managed to wake me up to give me a birthday kiss before my birthday officially ended. Birthday over.
In other news, my poor Sage has hurt her leg. Shes been limping for the past two days. Mike had to carry her downstairs yesterday. I've been giving her some ascripton and she seems to be ok. Shes getting old now. But shes still hardheaded and stubborn. Mike blocked the stairs off before he went to work and somehow she managed to completley get thru his roadblock with out disturbing a thing! Hopefully its nothing serious and she will be back to normal soon.
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 09:42 AM | Comments (1)
April 23, 2005
Rainy Day Weekend Musings
Its a crappy rainy day so what else is there to do but but snuggle down on the couch and catch up on reading and tv/movie watching.
The mole kid is outside in the rain, wearing a winter coat, wings, and planting seeds. They are the strangest family EVER.
The house is clean, the gi-normous pot of soup is cooking. Its kind of humid so I decided not to do any painting. Cant open the windows and the paint fumes are too gross to deal with.
So, I started watching Dead Like Me, which is a Showtime series out on DVD. Its hysterical. Its so snarky. Ellen Muth is so adorable and sarcastic. You just dont expect half the things that come out off her mouth...she plays George, one of a group of Grim Reapers, led by Mandy Pantakin. This show makes me consider suscribing to Showtime just to watch this show! (Note: Wendy just informed me its been cancelled, scratch the Showtime subscription)
I've also started my next book, and its really good...hopefully I'll have time to finish it this weekend.
We had Connor's basketball banquet Friday night. I was dreading it, the thoughts of 60 or so 3rd-8th graders, a dj and banquet food. It turned out to be fun actually! The food and the service sucked but the kids had a blast. It didn't start off that way however. Boys being boys, were roughhousing before the dinner, running around, chasing each other, wresteling....typical boy stuff. Somehow Connor's head ended up going thru a wall! After we determined that he was fine, no bleeding, no damage, just a nice goosegg, and then calmed him down, he was able to enjoy the night again. He was terrified that he was in trouble for damaging the wall. During the dj/dancing part of the evening, Connor spent most of his time holding up the wall and running from the girls who were trying to get the boys out on the dance floor.
But by the end of the night at least he and his friends had moved to sitting in chairs at the edge of the dancefloor. And thats fine. In two years I'm sure they will be more interested in dancing with the girls and I'm just not ready for that yet. He's still my baby. I'm not ready for Jimmy to have a girlfriend...so Connor and girls better be a long way off!
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2005
Hotel Rwanda
I don't even have words to describe this movie. I sat here and sobbed for two hours. The horror that occured in Rwanda in Spring of 1994 was devastating. Thats not even strong enough a word. There is no word. I loved Don Cheadle before I saw this movie, but now I have a new found respect for him. He was amazing. He brought this movie to life. I worried and held my breath waiting for the outcome several times. Such an emotionally impactful movie. Just see it. It's beyond my comprehension how something like this could actually happen. I remember when this genocide took place. I remember being so upset and disturbed seeing the events portayed on the news and reading about the horror in the newspapers. Its just......just.......just see the movie....
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 08:43 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2005
*twitch*twitch*
What a frustrating weekend! Criminy! Saturday night we had a horrible thunderstorm. Jimmy unplugged the modem and computers and disconnected the cable lines. Sunday morning, I had no internet on my laptop. Hmmm. At first I attributed it to the flooding that was going on. Last fall when it flooded we lost iinternet for a few days. But Jimmy woke up and he restarted his pc and it worked fine. So it wasnt the internet. Hmmm.
I would have thought it was something with my computer but the mini mac was unable to get online too. hmmmm. Ok, it has something to do with the wireless connection obviously. So I played around all day, with setttings and IP addresses and blah blah blah but still nothing. I started having withdrawl symptoms around noon. Jimmy let me use him computer for a few minutes to check my e-mail and let some people know we were still alive despite the flooding in town.
This morning, still no internet. So after some phone calls to our internet provider, the router manufacturer and alot of unplugging, replugging and synchronizing...I'm back up! I probably could have figured this out yesterday and saved myself alot of grief if we hadnt been distracted by the floods. Apparently when you disconnect the modem, you have to keep the router unplugged until the modem comes back up entirely or it doesnt synchronize correctly. So I've got the laptop running now, but the mini is still giving me problems, saying the IP is already in use. *sigh*. I'll deal with that later.
As for the flooding. Yikes! The river was running really high to begin with and we got about 3 inches of rain on Saturday...the river spilled out of the banks early yesterday and flooded all the beautiful homes along the river. I got really nervous at one point. Mike and I were sitting in our living room and two mourning doves flew into the tree outside our window. They were out there for quite awhile. Ive never seen doves around here. I think they were looking for the Ark.
As we walked around town yesterday, I thought back to 1997 when Mike and I were looking for a house to buy. A few of the home that are now under a few feet of water, we had considered buying. We loved some of those homes but the river was the deciding factor. It was just too close for comfort. We ended up buying our house because it was just out of the flood zone. It didnt get hit in 1972 with Hurricane Agnes and that was the worst flooding this Valley has seen. Now, mine subsidence is a differnt worry altogether although they assure us our house was not built over any mines.
We also watched a few movies this weekend. It was cold, rainy and no one felt like going out anywhere with the fear that the bridges woudl be closed and we wouldnt be able to get home. So, lets see, we watched:
CloserSUCKED. BORING. POINTLESS. HATED IT.
PaparazziCompletley cheesey and I loved it. It got me mad. FURIOUS. I was sooo pissed. Vowed to never buy a tabloid again.
Arrested Development-Season 1 - How have I missed this show? OMG, its hysterical. I need more Arrested Development!
I Heart Huckabees- I still have absolutley no idea what this movie was about.
Little Black Book-Cute, light, mindless. Mike even watched it with me and thought it wasnt a waste of time.
Globe Trekker: New Orleans-I love anything to do with New Orleans and this was a fun little trip thru the city. Mike and I both think we could have done a better job however. Too many things were left out and we found a few innaccuricies.
I also watched SAW again with Mike. He loved it although he is so annoyed he didnt figure it out and Jimmy and I love to tease him "huh, what kind of cop are you??"
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 10:34 AM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2005
For A Good Creepy Movie....
Check out "SAW"......wow. I'm not a fan of gory slasher flicks, but this one was different. If you liked "Seven", you will like this...grisley but not overly done. Even though I suspected what the ending was, as the movie progressed, I gave up that theory so I was shocked when it really happened....
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 08:44 PM | Comments (1)
March 16, 2005
My Kids Think They Are Living In The Dark Ages
Right before Christmas, when we were going thru the hell that is replacing a furnace, our microwave decided to kick the bucket too. My mom had an extra in her basement so she gave us that so we didnt run right out and buy a new one. Not that microwaves are really that expensive, but with the holidays and the furnace costs, every little bit helped.
Last night I was warming up some veggies in the microwave for dinner and noticed a strange smell. I walked around sniffing but couldnt determine where it was coming from. No one else could smell it, but thats not unusual as I have a very strong sense of smell. I finally decided it was coming from somewhere in the kitchen. I walked over to the microwave and shut it off. Opened the door and realized that although the veggies had been in there for 6 minutes, they were still very cold. So it was the microwave emitting the smell, probably some type of radioactive toxic fumes and my kids willnow produce children with 3 heads or something.
Jimmy and Connor have never experienced a day of thier life without a microwave. Jimmy wondered how I would cook (hahaha). I told him to use the oven. He's distraught that a hot pocket will take 20 minutes to cook rather than 2 minutes. Kids today are spoiled. They are so used to having everything instantly.
Of course I'll be in microwave popcorn withdrawl. Jimmy suggested I buy some Jiffy Pop. I havent had Jiffy Pop in years. Just may have to do that.
HARRY POTTER
So we are a bit behind the times and jus finished watching all three Harry Potter movies. Santa brought them for Connor and we had a Harry Potter marathon. I didnt think I would like the movies, normally not my kind of thing, but I really did. The Prisoner of Azkaban was my favorite of the three, it was dark and creepy and sucked me right in. I've never read any of the Harry Potter Books and I realize a new one is due out very soon. I'm thinking maybe I will start reading them. Just what I need, another obsession.
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 08:21 AM | Comments (0)
March 05, 2005
Movie Mania
So, since I've been stuck home on the couch for 3 days, I've managed to knock a few more movies off the Netflix list:
Cellular-Ok, the premise of this movie was a bit far fetched, and I was slightly annoyed by the lack of explaination given as to why Kim Basinger was kidnapped in the first place. But I enjoyed her performance, it was pretty believable and I could feel her panic as a mother. But Chris Evans is the star of this movie as Ryan, the poor young guy dragged into this fiasco by answering his cellphone. ITs pretty humerous at times, and many people can relate to the cell phone issues Ryan encounters. Its a movie worth a viewing...
The Forgotten- Another movie I really enjoyed. It kind of had that X-Files feel to it. Julianne Moore was fantastic. Ending left me a little disappointed. I watched the alternative ending as well, but neither gave me a sense of closure. It was like the producers/writers whoever, just wanted it to end....
The Grudge-Dont waste your time. Just silly, trying to be scary. I love Sarah Michele Gellar but this movie was just awful.
Mean Girls- Over the past 6 months or so, I have developed an aversion to Lindey Lohan. The media is certinaly not painting a nice picture of her and I couldnt understand why there was so much fuss about her. Afet seeing this movie, I understand it. She was just adorable! Really cute and funny movie. Even had Mike LOL at times. Rang so true to how catty and mean girls can be to one another.
Raising Helen-I adore Kate Hudson and this movie was just a fun, light-hearted, chick film. Great movie for a quiet Friday night at home...
The Stepford Wives-I saw the original Stepford Wives movie years ago, but didnt remember too much about, except the general premise when I decided to watch the remake. Nicole Kidman and Bette Midler...what more can you ask for. HYSTERICAL! Mike was upstairs while I was watching and ketp yelling "What are you watching??". It was so goofy and over the top but so refreshing after The Grudge...
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
February 19, 2005
City of God
On our flight from New Orleans to Atlanta, we sat in front of a very loud talking gentleman. We couldnt help but overhear every word he spoke to the person seated next to him. Apparently they were also both returning home from Mardi Gras, and the one poor man made the unfortunate mistake of stating that he now wanted to attend Carnival in Rio.
LTM was not only loud but also an expert on Rio. He proceeded to spend most of the flight explaining to his seatmate why Rio is so dangerous and how the man shouldnt even consider travelling there. We heard all about the cab drivers who work for the drug lords and will drive you thru the most dangerous parts of town so you can be robbed. How the crime is so bad and the police are so corrupt that your basically taking your life into your hands should you venture there.
His words came back to me today when I picked up a movie to watch. Jimmy had put some of the movies he wanted to see at the top of the Netflix queue while we were away. So, I had the choiced of City of God, Suicide Club or A Clockwork Orange. Since I had wanted to see CoG as well and I decided to give it a try.
CoG is based on the true life experiences of Alexandre Rodrigues, Rocket,an aspiring photographer who lives in one of the most dangerous housing projects in Rio. The movie takes place over three decades, telling the stories of various gangmembers and other children of the City of God. This movie is extremely violent but from reviews I've read, its an accurate portrayal of the violence that existed in this area of Rio during the 1970's and still exists to an extent today. It was very disturing and sad to see roving bands of murderous children. Most of the amateur actors were actual children who had lived in the real City of God. I havent read anything that indicated that this movies is anything less than accurate in its portyral of life in the City of God.
Even with subtitles, you lose nothing in the understanding of this movie. Highly recommended movie for anyone interested in learning more about the life in the slums of Rio.
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2005
You wont
Tonight I did something rather scandelous, scandelous for me anyway. Something I NEVER do. Something I detest. Something so normal for most people but utterly apalling to me. Whad did I do that was so shocking ?
I went to see a movie at the movie theatre. Take a moment to gasp. Its true. I went and paid half my mortgage to see a movie and chow down on popcorn and ....I even drank a coke! I heard the gasps that time. I never go to the movies and I never drink coke! By now those of you that know me are probably wondring if I'm on crack or hit my head or had my body taken over by aliens. Fortunatley none of those are true. The last time I have been to an actual movie theatre was to see Dickie Roberts. And before that it was Toy Story 2. And before that it was probably Titanic. I HATE the movie theatre.
What did happen was that Connors school had no heat today. I dropped him off and no sooner did Mike walk in the door from work but the school called to say they were sending the kids home. Now, th epoor guy had been up since 1:30 in the afternoon on Thursday, and worked all night, worked a bit of overtime due to another stupid idiotic irresponsible tractor trailer driver. All he wanted to do was sleep. But now he had to drive down to Connors school and bring him home and entertain him all day. See, Connor goes to private school in another city. So all the kids in the neighborhood that he would normally play with were still in school. Their tax funded public schools had heat. Whime our tuition dependant little private school was suffering from an anciet furnace.
So it was a slow day at work and I had planned to leave early to do some shopping for Mardi Gras anyway, but instead I came home so that Mike could get some sleep before he goes back to work tonight. Connor was crankey, bored, and whining so I suggested we get out of the house. He quickly vetoed a trip to the mall. Hes been shopping with me before. Hes a smart kid, he knows better than to ever go again. We would probably still be at the mall. He asked if we could go to a movie. At first I recoiled, "A movie? in a theatre?" Why cant we stay home and watch one of the hundreds of movies we have on DVD? Well, he wanted to see a new movie, a movie all his friends are talking about. While they are still talking about it, not next summer when it comes out on DVD. So , we looked online and narrowed down our choices: Racing Stripes, Lemony Snicket or Are We There Yet. I put the kibosh on Are We There Yet? The previews make my teeth itch, I dont think I could sit thru that movie. Racing Stripes just came out and I figured anyone taking their kids to the movie this afternoon would be going to see that. The thoughts of sitting in a crowded, noisy theatre gave me a migrane just thinking about it. Luckily he wanted to see Lemony Snicket. So off we went , to Cinemark. I stopped at the bank to cash in some stock to fund this trip first. Seriously, isnt it insane what they charge to see a movie?
We got our popcorn, and some Cokes and set off to find the correct theater in the maze that is Cinemark. After walking down one incorrect hallway and making a pit stop at the bathroom, we found the correct theatre. There were three other people in there besides us! It was almost like our private viewing! So at least I wouldnt have to put up with other people talking or worry about Connor disturbing others with his incessant talking. When we went in the previews were just starting. Perfect timing I thought. 20 minutes later the popcorn was almost gone and the movie still hadn't started!
Finally the movie started and we settled in to watch. I have to say it was a really cute movie. Connor loved it and Mike got to sleep. On the downside, Connor has that memory that Mike has and he quoted the movie the entire way home. On the plus side, he now wants to go buy the Lemony Snicket books to read. And I'm always supportive of reading. So I'll have to stop in Barnes and Noble when I'm out and about tomorrow.
Now I'm off to feed the beasts and watch some tv of my own. The way I like. In my pajamas. Laying on my couch. With the remote in my hand.
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 09:41 PM | Comments (1)
January 16, 2005
Movies, Movies, Movies
Before I write my first post about movies, let me clarify that I NEVER see movies in the cinema/theatre. We always wait for DVD. I hate "going to the movies". I so much prefer watching movies sitting on my couch, preferably in my pajamas, with my bowl of microwave popcorn and a huge glass of water and the ability to pause the movie if I need to go to the bathroom, stop the movie if it sucks, not having to drive anywhere or take a second mortgage on my house to afford to take the family to see a movie. No people talking, kicking my chair, blocking my view, or otherwise making it an unpleasant experience. So most movies I talk about are pretty much old news by the time I see them. I worship at the altar of Netflix. Blockbuster can bite me.
I pretty much watched movies for the better part of the weekend. Heres some thoughts on what I watched:
Maria Full Of Grace -I'm not big on foreign films, subtitles usually annoy me but I heard about this movie months ago and it intrigued me. I immediatley added it to my Netflix Queue and the day it was released I moved it to the top. I finally got a chance to sit and watch it. This movie made me re-think my position on foreign movies. It was pretty simplistic but it just grabbed me. Even though the cops wife in me was screaming "SHES A DRUG RUNNER", I wanted Maria to safely make it to the US and get her money! It also made me sad for the people that actually do become mules to escape the poverty of their countries. Highly recommend.
Open Water- Every review I have heard/read about this movie was awful. When I saw the previews Mike and I both said we wanted to see this movie. We both love Shark Week on the Discovery Channel and watched some of the shows they had on people who were left behind by their dive boats. Contrary to every other review out there, I didnt think this movie sucked. I really liked it. It wasnt phenominal but it helps to keep in mind this movie had a very small budget so there are no special effects and the sharks they show are REAL! The fact that this movie is based on actual events is terrifying and makes me never want to SCUBA (even though I get the magazine). It easy to imagine yourself in this situation and I often felt myself empathizing with the characters, despondent that no one was going to rescue them, imagining how I would feel out in the ocean trying to survive. While I really enjoyed it, I agree its one to wait for DVD. Which is why I'm glad I did.
Garden State- This movie got off to a slow start, but soon had me involved.Natalie Portman was just adorable. I enjoyed seeing Andrew(Zach Braff) come to life thru the powers love and ditching the Lithium....loved the transformation of his character from emotionless and numb at the beginning to alive and ready to take on what life 1400 has to offer at the end. My only dissatisfaction was the lack of intereaction with Andrew's father..........I was hoping for more of a relationship there. Overall entertaining and well written movie.
Dodgeball- It was cheesey, it was corny. It was laugh out loud funny! I don't normally like this kind of movie and wasnt going to watch it but I'm so glad I did! Mike was sleeping upstairs and he kept waking up from my laughing so much!!!
Napoleon Dynamite- Yeah, so I guess I didnt get this movie. Or it was just a bad follow up to Dodgeball. But I didnt find it that funny. the way people carry on about how hysterical this movie was, makes me feel like its some huge conspiracy to make people think they are supposed to like a shitty movie. I wanted to reach thru my tv and just slap the Napoleon character. Slow moving. No plot. Just a series of disconnected scenarios. Annoying as hell.
Office Space- Ah, a breath of fresh air after the aforementioned stinker. Having worked in corporate america for 5 long years, I could identify with the people in this office. Anyone who has ever spent time living in a cubicle will enjoy this movie. This is one I will watch again. And I finally "get" what TPS reports are!
Requim For A Dream- Wow. This is the kind of movie that stays with you, your haunted by the characters. Jimmy has been after me to watch this for quite some time now. He's pretty good at picking what movies I will like and not like (he warned me I wouldnt like Napoleon Dynamite). This is an amazing movie about drug addiction. The good, the bad and the very very ugly. Any kid contemplating using drugs should be made to watch this movie. Ellen Burstyn probably had the most powerful performance in the movie playing Sarah/mom to Jared Leto (Harry). Her decline into psychosis from diet pills is just riveting. THIS is a true horror movie. The directors cut features some very disturbing scenes that were left out of the original, very graphic drug and sex scenes so be forewarned....although they probably werent necessary to deliver the film's message, they really drove it home.
Snatch- Couldnt understand a word Brad Pitt said. I'm not quite sure what the plot was. I couldnt wait for this movie to be over.
And that ladies and gentlemen concludes my movie watching for the weekend......back to reality now.
Posted by dolphnlvr6 at 04:25 PM | Comments (0)