Tag: movies

Muppets & Things

The folks and I finally got out (in the rain) to see The Muppets today. YAY! (Picture Kermit the Frog shouting that for full effect.) We all enjoyed the movie. It’s quite the love letter to the Muppets. 🙂

Yesterday wasn’t a rainy day, however, and so the folks and I spent a good deal of it shopping and stuff. They came over here and we went to the local UCC for the monthly “all you can eat” pancake breakfast. Yummy. Their arrival finally prompted me to finish decorating and cleaning.

I then drove them to Brukner Nature Center for the Winter Craft Fair, dropped them off, then parked WAY far away. I’m a good daughter. The craft fair, as usual, was fun and I found a few items to buy. Both parental units found presents for the other, so a successful venture all around.

We returned to my place and then reconvened at their place. Lunch was at 4 Starters, where I had the turkey club with a basil spread. Tasty. We also went to the Hayner Center’s open house to see how local decorators decorated the place. (It was the Troy Public Library when dad was a kid, and he had quite a few memories of Christmas parties there since his mom was a librarian in P. Hill.)

We then decided to head to Crafts 2000 in Springfield to look for “ingredients” for my Christmas Craft idea. I’ll be making something for the female relatives and it’s a bit interesting and I hope it winds up looking nifty. Mom and I found stuff we think will work, but I haven’t started crafting yet. We also popped into Hobby Lobby, but didn’t find anything there.

Once we returned home, it was Wine Time. So dad got out assorted cheeses and nibbles and I had an Oliver Wineries raspberry-flavored cider while we watched my DVD of Miracle on 34th Street. Such a lovely movie. Probably my favorite holiday flick (definitely up there with Muppet Family Christmas and Muppet Christmas Carol.)

So anyhoo, a lovely weekend with the folks followed with an evening reading with Lucy on my lap. With my Monkey Face Snuggie, pine-scented candle, cat on lap, and eBook reader (currently reading Terrier by Tamora Pierce and enjoying it), I am a happy camper. Er, reader. Or whatever.

A toast to friends… and revenge!

Today was yet another fun-filled day with my girls, judiang and elsaf. And, as this trip has been, it was another food-filled day. We started at the (last day of the) Taste of Chicago, moved onto Spanish Tapas, and ended with Super 8.

My takings from the Taste:

  • Vegan Samosa from Arya Bhavan

  • Pralines and Cream (ice cream) from Lagniappe-Creole Cajun Joynt

  • Slice of Gluten-Free Pizza from Connie’s Pizza

  • Italian Lemon Ice from Franco’s Ristorante

  • Bourbon Chicken (in a wrap) from Oak Street Beach Cafe

  • Peach Cobbler from BJ’s Market & Bakery

  • Crab Rangoon from the Noodle Vietnamese Cuisine

  • Churro (vanilla filled) from Churro Factory

All of the above were taste portions except the Churro. Elsa, alas, wasn’t feeling hungry, so she gave us her tickets. Judi and I ate like queens. 🙂

Once we returned to Judi’s flat, I headed off to the pool to read. It was chillier than yesterday, but the water was warm still. Once Elsa & Judi joined me, I got in and enjoyed the warm water. Alas, the pool suffered a major child infestation, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

For supper, Elsa drove us to Tapas Valencia. We had quite a few plates.

  • Salmon Curado – cured salmon with dill sour cream

  • Alchofas con Crema – marinated artichokes with creamy white wine vinaigrette

  • Champinones – stuffed mushroom caps

  • Empanada de Buey – puff pastry filled with beef tenderloin

  • Pato Confitado – duck confit with mushrooms and apples

  • Patatas con Alioli – robust garlic potato salad

  • Gambas al Ajillo – grilled shrimp with garlic lemon butter

  • Crepe Rellena – crepe with goat cheese, spinach, pine nuts and apples

  • Mejillones con Guindillas – fresh black mussels sauteed with guindilla peppers served with a white wine sauce

We did it in three rounds, each picking an item during the round. And then we each picked a dessert. I wound up ordering what I think I ordered the last time Judi and I came here. Crema con Chocolate, which is basically creme brulee with chocolate. All of the food that I ate today was wonderful (except the mussels, but that’s to be expected. I don’t like mussels.)

After a short stop back at the flat, we headed off to see Super 8 at the Icon theater. This place is hoity-toity with VIP films with leather seats. We went to a regular flick, however, but still had reserved seats. Reserved seats! And an air hostess telling how to escape in case of fire and where the oxygen masks drop from. We ain’t got theaters like that in Ohio.

When we got back, Judi, Patty (her Pomeranian) and I took a night time walk around the Field Museum. Patty really enjoyed herself. And so did Judi and I.

Alas, tomorrow, Elsa and I need to have to leave Chicago. I have kitties awaiting my return. But I believe we’ll have a bit more yummy food before the day is over.

Paul

Apologies to the SMASters – they’ll see this in the forum as well as here.

Today (well, officially yesterday now), Mom and I went out to see a movie together (been ages since it was just the two of us – back when I was little, we did it from time to time – I remember Superman and Snoopy Come Home in particular). Originally she wanted to see Rango, but I’d mentioned a hankering to see Paul. She read the premise and decided to humor my British-obsessed self.

So we paid our $5.25 (sheesh, the price at Piqua just keeps getting higher & higher!), sat in our comfy chairs (the main reason I prefer Piqua over Troy for movie watching), watched our 15+ minutes of trailers, and eventually got to laugh mightily while watching Paul. Quite a treat and, IMO, Simon Pegg’s best flick yet. I was still remembering bits & chuckling to myself when we returned to mom & dad’s house.

I twigged on who The Big Guy was early on, and mom figured it out too before the flick was over. Amy (my sis) would be proud of us. She has us well trained. Best pay-off line was near the end. I almost stomped my feet in delight. :-)(Mother, of course, fwapped me. Though it wasn’t the first time she did it in the movie. I apparently laugh quite loudly.)

Anyhoo, Simon & Nick (Frost) did a great job on this flick. Although you get more out of it by being a scifi geek like me (the bar scene with the big brouhaha? listen to the music playing and I bet most of you will recognize it), even folks only on the fringe of scifi geekery (like mum) can enjoy the movie as well.

A weekend celebration

Ah yes, it does feel good to be done with my classes for a month. Yesterday, we had two things to celebrate – the semester ending and mom’s birthday. So I headed next door midmorning so that we could head up to Piqua for shopping & a nice lunch.

Elder-Beerman was having doorbuster sales until 1pm, so that was our first destination. Although I didn’t get anything, the folks had some successful purchases. By the time we were done, we were all suitably hungry. Mom chose Red Slobster for lunch. Tasty tasty! We got their coconut fried shrimp appetizer and drinks (amaretto sour for me). Then when we ordered our main courses, we all picked shrimp again. Heh. I got their shrimp linguine. We’d decided while there to stop at Kroger on the way home for cake & ice cream (and other essentials).

We returned to the mall where Beerman is and did some more shopping. (I again managed to not spend anything. Go me!) Then we headed to Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts for craft supplies. Alas, they had no glass bottles like I need for my Xmas gips this year, but they had some cookie decorating stuff that I wanted (and was on sale). So I picked that up and some itty bitty plastic bags (also for the Xmas gips). At Kroger, I bought the cake & ice cream for mom. Then we headed to KMart for the last few items on dad’s list. By this time we were all ready to be done. Thankfully, we were. Heh.

Once we were settled back home, it was time for mom to open presents. She got a GPS unit from herself and dad. (Wasn’t she thoughtful?) It’s a Garmin Nuvi 350. It’s really cute! She got some ’round the neck headphones by Jensen, a power plug for iPods, and a regifted iPod Nano 2nd generation (Product Red) from me. I thought it would match her Product Red iPod Shuffle that she got for Mother’s Day. 🙂 (Well, when the new iPod Nano came out with PURPLE, I had to upgrade…) I then worked a bit on her PC getting some playlists onto her iTunes (grrrr, I do hate iTunes) while dad got the cake & ice cream ready. It was very tasty.

When I got home, I resubscribed to World of Warcraft and revisited my little toons. Although I prefer City of Heroes, it is also fun to play WoW. (I’ll resub to CoH Tuesday or so which will let that subscription go until classes begin.)

Today’s Grand Adventure spawned in part because of yesterday’s failed trip to Jo-Ann’s. When I asked a store person about glass bottles, she admitted they didn’t have any, but (in a quieter voice, looking around to make sure no one was watching) she suggested that I try Crafts2000 in Springfield. When talking with my Aunt Becky last night, she recommended Crafts2000 too. So I put Crafts2000 into my plans for the day.

I played WoW until 11am, then called Crafts2000 (since they were open finally) to see if they did have glass bottles – colorless with stoppers or screw caps. The lady there was pretty sure & directed me to someone on the floor who concurred. 4 aisles of glassware, they said. So after I got my hair cut, I headed off to Springfield.

Wow – they weren’t kidding. They had just what I was looking for and then some. Square bottles, oval bottles, round bottles – and all $1 each! 12″ tall, nice & thin. Even a funny looking one (which I’m not sure will work with my plans, but we’ll see.) I will eventually show off what I’m doing with these bottles, but as there are recipients of them who read this list, I shall refrain for now.

There really isn’t a lot of nice eating places in that end of Springfield, so I headed to the Upper Valley Mall (which I’d not been to in years) and wound up eating at the Chinese place there. Mmmm, Mall Chinese Food – in a class by itself. General Tso’s (should have gotten the bourbon chicken) and orange chicken and lo mein. Plus some crab rangoon (the nicely sweet type – yummy). I was able to finish reading Jane Eyre (which I have on my phone) while there.

After finishing my perusal of the mall (they STILL have 2 bookstores there – yay! B.Dalton & Walden), I returned to the parking lot, set my phone to direct me to the Piqua Mall (AKA Miami Valley Center Mall), and headed off to see a movie.

The Cinemark Theater at the Piqua Mall has moved out of the mall proper and, on Friday, opened in their new location just outside of the mall. I decided to watch Delgo cuz I figured it’s not something likely to be crowded (it wasn’t) and that ought to be seen on the big screen (and can likely be missed as a DVD purchase). I enjoyed it – lots of fun eye candy – despite the pedestrian plot. If you do go see it, stay til after the credits. Heck, simply reading the credits was a hoot.

I returned home after the movie, invited myself next door for more cake & ice cream, and am now back home & typing this up. Tomorrow starts the last week of school for 2008. Should be a nice week. Maybe I’ll get the house decorated this week. 🙂

Super Saturday!

Today was a busy day. And a great day too. After a night of little sleep (turns out the airbed for the cottage now leaks, so I wound up sleeping on the uncomfortable lounge chair in the 3-season room last night), I snoozed a bit on the sofa and got up around 8:15am. elsaf got up then too and started preparing her new electric griddle for making us pancakes for breakfast. After my shower, I nipped off to Wagner’s to get ice for the pop cooler and a shower poof for judiang. I returned around 9 to find our breakfast chef had disappeared mid-prep. (The plates were lovingly decorated with sliced strawberry garnish, but no pancakes were made yet.) Elsa was off in the shower. Heh.

Once she was showered, we woke up Judi with promise of blueberry pancakes and she, too, got all cleaned up for the day. My goal was to be on the road by 10:30am, and we managed it, even with me cleaning up the breakfast dishes. The goal was to head south to the Bookery so Judi could get her Doctor Who magazines, we could have Indian Fud, and watch Indiana Jones (at $7.25 for a matinée – gah! Gimme my $4 matinées from Piqua & Troy.) We accomplished the goal and included a stop at a used bookstore where I bought more Terry Brooks’ Landover novels and a stop at BestBuy where I bought dad the wireless mouse he wanted and decided to get one for myself. I’ll be interested to see if I use it much – I’ve become pretty used to my trackpad on my laptop.

We enjoyed the movie – it’s silly fun with some edge-of-your-seat action and really crappy science. But it played up to its silly science and was an enjoyable 2 hours. (I’ll still prefer the third movie because I loved the interplay between Ford and Connery.) Several of the trailers were entertaining too. I think we all agreed that Hancock will be our 4th of July movie when we’re in Chicago (where I’ll be wishing I was paying that $7.25 matinée price of today).

When we got back to the Lake, our guests for the evening were already here and enjoying nachos with salsa and guacamole. Aunt Becky and Deanna had come up for supper and to play cards. Mom and dad were also here for supper and cards (dad to avoid them, mom to play them). Even my Uncle Dean showed up for supper. I got to work on making the burger patties. Dad had already started a fire, so once the burgers were made, I could start grilling them and the hot dogs. I also grilled the leftover shrimp so that Elsa could have some – indeed, anyone that wanted to try the shrimp was able to. And it was just as delicious today as yesterday. Go shrimp!

My hostess skills are constantly improving thanks to these Memorial Day weekend gatherings. However, I didn’t remember tomato and, to my uncle Dean’s dismay, deviled eggs. However, I doubt that deviled eggs will ever be part of my hostessing repertoire. Never liked the suckers, even though they’re pretty to look at. Thanks to the brownies that Becky brought and the sugar cookies and no bake cookies that I’d bought, we had plenty of sweet stuff. Everyone got their fill and then some.

After supper it was time for some Shanghai Rum. Elsa isn’t much for card playing, but she condescended to join us for the game. She picked up the rudiments to the game quickly, but Judi had smelled victory early on and fought hard for the final win of the game. Becky decided that we’d have to have a rematch later this summer when Judi deigns to visit again. Heh.

Folks headed out once the game was done and Judi cleaned the dishes with me drying them. She’s now slowly downing an amaretto sour while playing World of Warcrack on her laptop. Elsa’s also working on her laptop (and most likely NOT playing World of Warcrack). I’m writing this.

Tomorrow is Relax Day. Our only real task is to make supper – with Elsa making barbecued country ribs and sour cream potato salad. I’ll be baking an apple pie (from frozen) for dessert. Should be another fun & food filled day tomorrow!

Now *that’s* more like it, Miyazaki!

After my disappointment with Porco Rosso (the animation, as usual, was beautiful, but I didn’t care for the story – particularly the ending), I was pleased to find Howl’s Moving Castle more to my taste. As usual, the imagery blew me away, and this time the story drew me in as well. The movie’s quite long (especially compared to Rosso, which I watched twice in one night – once in Japanese, once in English) but I didn’t really notice until near the end (when my body was saying “hey, isn’t it close to bedtime?”). The English-speaking voices look like they’ll be fun, so I’ll probably watch it with the English language track another night this week. (I always like to watch Anime in the original Japanese with subtitles. Depending on the English-speaking voices, I may watch it in English as well.)

I think I’m coming down with a cold, so I’ll hit it with Nyquil-clone tonight and hit the sack early. Here’s hoping I can nip it in the bud! Really don’t want to be sick during Spring Break, which starts this Friday for us.

Happy Harry Hump Day!

I decided not to attend the midnight screening of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Mostly because I’ve been sleeping fairly well of late and knew that would throw off my current pattern. So I decided to catch it today.

I worked today for about 4 hours (2.5 in the morning and 1.5 after lunch) before heading off to Piqua for the movie. Being the paranoid type, I paid the extra buck to get my ticket online just in case. Turns out for the 4:00 showing, that wasn’t needed. (The 12:45 showing earlier and the 7something showing later – probably would have been advisable.) No matter, I still paid less than $6 for the flick, which works for me.

I will admit, I do prefer it when I’m the only one in the theater (as usually happens when I see movies), but it is neat sharing a movie experience with complete strangers. And, as with all good movies, I got completely caught up in Phoenix and forgot all about the other folks until we all laughed at something together. I’m quite impressed with the movie – they were pulling from a lot of material and managed to get, I think, what was needed to make a good movie. The acting was excellent and the effects were superb. I wasn’t think “Wow, neat CGI!” I was thinking “Wow!!!!”

After the flick, I talked myself into having supper at Frisch’s for a Big Boy platter (onion rings & baked apples) and hot fudge cake. Let’s face it, I didn’t have to be too convincing. And while stopped at Walmart getting supplies, I finally found some Americone Dream ice cream. Cool, will finally get to try that flavor. But not tonight!

So, it’s been a good day for me. I hope you can say the same for yourselves!

Memorial Day Weekend 2007

Well, it wasn’t as planned in advance as some of our other weekends at the Lake, and I completely forgot about setting up a card playing night for judiang (but with Granny passed on & mom off being a Bad Gurl with Amy & Rachel, that only leaves 3 card players), but the Weekend at the Lake is here. Yay!

I didn’t wind up getting on the road to the Lake on time as I’d hoped, and when I was 15 minutes away, I got a call from Judi telling me they were “kicking me off.” (At least, I think that’s what she said.) Apparently, there were bugs eating at them and elsaf had to use the ladies. They headed off to the local Grocery while I finished my trek to the Lake.

Eventually, we were all in the cottage and ready for a nice relaxing evening by the fire. But the rain had another idea. A real frog strangler of a storm came through and we began to discuss the evening plans. Well, Elsa and I discussed the plans while Judi got all confused thinking each idea was the finalized plan.

The finalized plan? Go out to eat at El Sombrero and then go see Pirates of the Caribbean 3. I was going to order online tix when Judi decided maybe she didn’t want to see it tonight. So then I stopped ordering. Then she decided maybe we should see it tonight. So we hopped in the car and then I remembered – oh yeah, pre-ordering tix. The girls sat in the car while I bought the tickets online. (Let’s hear it for online movie tickets!)

As we headed south down I-75, we found out that it hadn’t been raining in Miami County. And when we got to the new El Sombrero location, we found out they didn’t have as much seating as they once had. After waiting 15 minutes with no one looking like they were planning on vacating their tables anytime soon, we decided to hop down the strip mall to W.G. Grinders for sandwiches. (Yes, Amy, there is now a W.G. Grinders in Piqua!) Ah, a good change in plans.

W.G. Grinders, a regional chain, serves hot sandwiches and deli sides. I ordered the “white pizza” which is an open sandwich with artichoke hearts, Italian dressing, and several types of cheese melted on top. I also got the broccoli salad as a side, and it was very nice. Judi got ham&turkey, Elsa got a turkey Reuben (AKA a Rachel). Supper was good, fast, and required no tip. We got to the theater at 8pm, half an hour before the flick.

The movie, as I suspected, was sold out, so pre-ordering = good idea. (Let’s hear it again for online movie tickets!) Judi got in line to order popcorn & pop, and I suggested she up the size on the popcorn. (If someone in my party gets popcorn for a movie, I wind up eating some too.) I ordered a Coke for myself, so I know I won’t be sleeping tonight!

We found seats on the right side of the theater (it was already mostly full) and still had 20 minutes to go before the previews. The commercials they showed were very quiet and the movie wasn’t that much louder IMO. Still I heard most of the dialog. Judi wasn’t so lucky, but in the car afterward, we got her sorted out.

So what did I think? Fun movie! Wonderfully convoluted plot that actually stands up to scrutiny afterward. And stick around for after the credits if you can. 🙂

When we got back to the cabin, we all hopped on our laptops and then Elsa cut slices of her pineapple upside down cake. Yum! I made Judi a margarita (the first I’ve ever made and I guess it wasn’t that good), too. (Blech, margarita AND pineapple upside down cake!) So now we’re vegging out for the remainder of the evening. Yay for vacation!

Cinco De Free Comic Book Day!

The first Saturday in May is, apparently, Free Comic Book Day. And today is also Cinco de Mayo. So let the celebrations ensue!

I had quite a few things on my running list o’ stuff, so planned my route in advance. (I hate to drive somewhere for one thing, so I keep a list going of what I need/want and when it gets full or I know I really need to get out of the house, I grab the running list and hit everything that needs hitting.)

  1. Post Office: a Saturday tradition. A Monday through Friday tradition, now that I mention it…

  2. AAA: I needed some passport photos and my local post office (which doesn’t do ’em) recommended AAA or the Troy Post Office. I figured I’d get a deal at AAA – and they were only $8. The photos do focus on my chins rather well, however…

  3. Bookery Fantasy: Yay for Free Comic Book Day. They gave us each a small Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer poster as we entered the store. Inside, there was a line of folks waiting for their free books & stuff. I stood in line and got a sack full of free comics, 4 of which we picked out ourselves. Wound up with a total of 15 free comics and 1 Batman Hero Clix figurine. Cool. Got my DWM and Astonishing X-Men and headed on to the next place on my list.

  4. Jeet India: Indian Fud! ’nuff said.

  5. Hot Fuzz: I’ve been a fan of Simon Pegg since the TV series Spaced was on, so of course I saw Shaun of the Dead and really enjoyed it (and I don’t go for zombie flicks normally). So I had to see Hot Fuzz. I’d’ve gone out the first weekend it was out, but the weather was so nice, I couldn’t sit in a film all that time. But today was nice and rainy, a great day for shopping & a movie. And the movie? Most entertaining. A wonderful blend of humor and cartoon violence. But Bill Bailey with short hair is a crime and let’s hope that never happens again!

  6. Andy’s Garden: The cheerleaders were selling discounted flats from Andy’s Garden again this year, so I bought two certificates from them. On the way back from the Fairborn area, I stopped at Andy’s to pick up two flats of Vinca. Last year I had picked up two flats of assorted annuals and discovered that the one type which survived my benign neglect were the Vinca. Here’s hoping they can survive another year with me!

  7. Other Shopping: Finished my excursion at a few shops in Troy to finish up my running list. One thing I decided to get was a George Foreman personal grill. Earlier this week I was frying a chicken boobie and was getting oil spattered everywhere. I got to thinking, a personal grill should help prevent lots of spattering and assist in cooking my ChickNSteaks and Ranch Steaks from Market Day. Tonight won’t be the night to try it out, however – I’m still stuffed from lunch.

My timing worked out just fine today. My main concern was getting to the movie in time, which I did. There were 15 minutes worth of previews, of which I was interested in one movie. (Another Simon Pegg movie, actually.)

So, today has been a good day. 🙂

Movie Reviews

You’d think that owning over 300 DVDs means never having to go to the rental store. While it’s true that I don’t usually frequent the rental place, I decided to do this on Friday. I’d finally gotten around to renewing my driver’s license (though not as late this year as last time I renewed) and decided I’d pick up some movies and lo mein on the way back. So, what flicks did I rent this time out?

Thank You for Smoking: I had recently purchased the book at a buy 2 get 1 free sale and enjoyed it. Funny and cynical – my kind of humor. I think they did a nice job with the movie, though there were some bits that I missed from the book. It wound up being the second favorite of the batch that I rented.

A Prairie Home Companion: I’m not sure what I was expecting with this movie, but whatever it was, it wasn’t what I got. It was more fantasy than I was expecting and just wasn’t that funny for me. Oh, there were some funny bits, but it wasn’t funny enough… Or something. My interest in the flick kept waning and I spent some of the time playing with my Robopet and the kitties. (The kitties still haven’t figured out what to make of it.)

Checking Out: I’ve been a Peter Falk fan for many years now, so it surprised me that there was a recent(ish) Peter Falk movie out there that I didn’t know about. Of course, as soon as I saw it in the rental store, I had to rent it. (And yes, I’ll admit, if they had it for sale used, I’d’ve bought it sight unseen.) This movie wound up being my favorite of the batch. Falk is wonderfully eccentric (wow – so unusual for him! 😉 Heh). He plays a man about to turn 90 who invites his family and many friends to a huge birthday bash – which he’ll follow up by killing himself. His three grown kids (all with fun dysfunctional relationships) then have to work together to talk him out of suicide. It was funny, the acting good, and I’ll have to find this used at some point… 🙂

Napoleon Dynamite: Students of mine have been recommending this film for some time, but I’ve only gotten around to renting it. Well, as with Prairie Home Companion, it wasn’t all that funny for me. Yup, it’s happened – what my students find funny is not the same as what I find funny… I’m getting old! 🙂

Snakes on a Plane: OK, so I just couldn’t resist renting this. I knew it was going to be silly & far fetched, but I thought “Samuel L Jackson battling snakes?” and decided “Hell yeah!” This film was more like what I was expecting and it was very silly and quite violent. Will I ever watch it again? Probably not, unless I was with lots of friends and we were taking the piss out of it. But I did enjoy the ridiculous violence and swearing.

Apart from movie watching, I’ve wasted far too much time doing f*** all. Hate when I get into moods like this where a little productivity could go a long way, but I don’t actually do anything productive. Ah well, at least I’ll have clean sheets tonight (doing laundry right now at least).