Until my Mom gets her website up with examples of her jewelry, I’ll be posting anything that she sends me. This is her latest creation, the Pomegranite Fairy with fresh water pearls. She worked on it all day on Sunday. She’s trying to come up with some stuff on top of her double necklace look. I think it looks fantastic.
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It’s real cool watching your kid grow and develop preferences. I hate to admit this, but since I am trying to get some chores done today I put the tv on for my son to watch. I’ve been putting Baby Einstein on for him in my bedroom while I fold the laundry. Because I’ve been putting these on for him one after another I’ve noticed that he seems to be more inclined to Beethoven than Mozart. The music for the Mozart DVD he could care less for, but Beethoven he dances to and repeats over and over ‘yeah!’ My son rocks out to Beethoven!
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I just finished reading this very charming book today. Considering what the subject matter is I can’t help but call this book anything but sweet and cute. It is set on the island of Guernsey right after Worl War II and is written almost entirely in the form of letters in between the characters. Most of the focus is on the islanders way of life while occupied by the Germans, but their English charm and characterisitcs really stand out to keep the feeling of the book light-hearted despite the sometimes very sad subject matter. Don’t let the name of this bood throw you off, it is definitely worth a look at!
Now that I have finished this book I think I will revisit a series of books I read in high school. I want to re-read the Dragonriders of Pern books by Anne McCaffrey. I reall enjoyed then while I was in high school, and there have been new books added since the last time I actually sat down to read them. I want to see if they are still as enjoyable now that I am more of an adult.
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I just found out, through the mommies group I belong to, that Regal Cinemas has free movies for the kiddies during the Summer months. It’s on a first come first serve basis. I will definitely be taking the boys to see these movies, especially when I make the trip to visit my family. Since they don’t have air conditioning it will be nice to sit in a cool theatre. To find out about days, times, what movies will be showing and participating areas visit Regal Cinemas.
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I am currently using a Nikon D100. I got it on Craigslist for a great deal last Summer. My husband also has a little coolpix that I find takes decent video, though not the best, in addition to the stills. I love Nikon, though to be fair that is what I was trained on. I really have no exposure to other cameras. While I was still a photographer for the Army I used a D1H, D1X, D2H and D2X. I kind of miss using the bigger cameras, but I’ve gotten very used to my 100. It can be a very versatile little camera which makes it easier hauling it around in addition to the five thousand pounds of kids gear that goes along with the kids.
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When my husband and I first started dating he worked at a movie theatre and we would go on dates there all the time. I used to love it. Unfortunately, one of the movies that he brought me, and a group of our friends, to see was Batman and Robin. Possibly one of the worst movies ever made, in my personal opinion. My husband still apologizes for the one hundred and twenty five minutes we wasted that afternoon twelve years ago.
I recently found a video clip of director Joel Schumacher apologizing for this film. I couldn’t believe how incredibly funny this was and when I sent the link to my darling the look of surprise on his face was priceless.
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My husband thinks flash mobs are the coolest thing, especially dance mobs. He wants to be involved in a really well organized one in the worst way, only problem is that he cannot dance.
Update: I did a little research for my husband and found a flash mob group for the DC area here, DC Defenestrators. I told him to go flash mob his heart out.
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So, in the spirit of my last couple of posts being about movies, I think I will continue with the topic. Yesterday my husband and I were talking about comedic timing. Specifically, my comedic timing. Usually I miss my window of opportunity, the event happens and hours later I think to myself “I should have said so and so! Damn it!” Here’s where the movie part comes in. When James Bond: Casino Royale came out my husband and I went to see it in theatres. At the very beginning of the movie James Bond chases some guy during a very high tension action sequence. They go through crowds, over roof tops, through peoples houses and Mr. Bond chases the guy into a construction site. There is finally one shot of him crashing through a wall while in pursuit. I finally felt my comedic timing kick in! A second after James Bond bursts through the wall I quickly turned to my husband and said “OH YEAH!” in the Kool-Aid Man voice. This was probably the first and last time I was ever able to be funny at just the right moment.
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My husband and I took our two boys to see Pixar’s ‘Up’ today. This was my oldest sons first time seeing a movie in a theatre and he really seemed to enjoy himself (I took my newborn with me to ‘Star Trek’ a couple weeks ago). It was really cool seeing my toddler experiencing the theatre and really getting into the movie. During the scary parts he was shouting with the characters and calling Russell’s name. I think we will start bringing him to more movies since he was so good!
I won’t write much about ‘Up’ except that I really liked it a lot. I am constantly impressed by Pixar’s ability to produce real true quality story lines, action and entertainment in every one of their movies. When Pixar only had a few movies out I used to think that all of their movies looked dumb. I assumed that because Disney’s name was attached it automatically made them unwatchable by adults. As the years rolled by and Pixar kept releasing good movie after good movie I became a believer in Pixar. I remember before I was deployed to Iraq seeing all the posters and cardboard stands for ‘The Incredibles’ and thinking how insanely dumb it looked. At that point, however, when I heard it was a Pixar production I decided that no matter how stupid this movie seems like it would be, I would continue to believe that no matter what they would deliver the audience a fantastic flick. Of course I wasn’t disappointed, ‘Incredibles’ is one of my favorite movies. And, of course, they have done it again with ‘Up.’
On a complete side note, after the movie was over we went to have dinner at Bonefish. I was really excited because I was finally allowed to consume two things that I haven’t been able to for months and months because of pregnancy. I had ahi tuna sashimi and a pomegranate martini, which are both OUT OF THIS WORLD at Bonefish. The sashimi just melts in your mouth and I have yet to find a place that has a pomegranate martini as good. To top it all off both of the kids were really good at dinner. All in all I had quite an excellent evening; good movie, good food and good company.
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I have a hard time sitting down and watching movies that are older than thirty years. I tend to like movies that move fast. However, I realize that I am missing out on some great stuff by avoiding the classics so I am making an effort to actually sit down and watch them. I started with Citizen Kane and Robin Hood a few weeks ago and I watched Casablanca the other night. I think I am going to try and do Gone With The Wind sometime soon, but I don’t feel like dealing with the length of the movie. Maybe on a night that I have a hard time sleeping… My husband gave me the Green Berets to watch, maybe today at some point.
I was having a discussion with my brother yesterday about classic movies. I was telling him about my venture into the Golden Age of Hollywood (most of the movies I am making an effort to watch were made then). We were talking about when we actually sit down to watch one and you get this feeling of “Sheesh! This has been done so many times! Why am I watching this!” Then you realize that this particular movie that you are watching is the very FIRST time it was done, and all those other times you have seen it were either making fun of or paying homage to this movie. I hadn’t realized how much Casablanca is quoted until I watched it, and all I could think was “I didn’t know that’s where that quote came from!”
Luckily for me I have a subscription to Netflix (which I absolutely LOVE this service! They are the best!). The great thing about it is that there are a lot of classic movies that are available on instant view and I do not need to wait for them to come in the mail. We watched Robin Hood this way and I have a lot of Hitchcock movies lined up on there. When I have time and am bored (which is not very often) I can just pop one on real quick.
I think my biggest problem with watching these old movies is that you really have to pay attention to them because there is so much going on with the dialogue. I tend to keep myself busy doing chores when I have a movie on and I get easily distracted. So, I find myself having to rewind the movies over and over again just to follow it (I won’t be able to do that with Gone With The Wind, it’s already too long). I must have replayed the beginning of Casablanca six times the other day, and I did the same thing with the end of Citizen Kane.
While I probably won’t ever revisit these movies again, at least I can say that I have actually taken the time to watch them and I know what everyone is talking about. These are great movies for a reason and I can see why they are considered classics.
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