Henrietta Hen

Jeff and I really want to see Where the Wild Things Are. After hearing a piece on the movie on NPR we were even more itching to go. Several months ago we started to hatch a plan. Alamo Drafthouse is a nice theater, and they actually have "baby days". On Tuesdays at the South Lamar location or Tuesdays and Fridays at The Village, not only are you allowed to bring in a baby to the movie but they "keep the lights up a bit, and the sound down a bit".

The plan started as thinking we'd take Max to see this as his first movie. He wouldn't watch it or remember it, but it'd be cool for us. The more we thought about it, and the closer it came to the movie's release, the more it seemed like a good gathering thing to do with some of the other people at home with little ones. We could get a group together, take up a whole row with our wee ones. Who knows, maybe with the improved lighting/sound mix the toddlers might have fun and not get too freaked out.

Well, it doesn't look like it's going to happen. It seems like every day I hear something more about the flu here in town. I'm not really easily scared and try not to buy into hype from the news, but of all the places in town to take Max a movie theater just seems like a bad idea. I mean, I know that they don't clean all that well between shows, because I was once covered in ketchup from a big mess that was left behind. So I can't justify the risk that I might be exposing Max to a flu bug just so that we can see this movie together on the big screen.

If it weren't flu season, or even if Max were just older, I know that we'd be there. For now I'll just add it to ye ole Netflix queue, and try to be the first to grab it when the DVD is available. Meanwhile, you can call me chicken.

Movie Noms

For a food theme Sean picked Ireland vs Belgium. For my part I made Guinness cupcakes again, but used the icing from the cake recipe. The cake icing has less sugar in it, and a little more cream cheese flavor. Jeff made ice cream with Belgian ales, one a double and the other a triple.

I used mini cupcake pans, and so I ended up bringing a lot of cupcakes. I packed them into a bamboo steamer just to be able to get them all over to the Larson residence.Jeff made 3 quarts of ice cream all told, and it was a big hit. Tasty cold treats tend to go over pretty big in 100 degree weather. The cupcakes also went over pretty well, but I cheated. I put them out on the table in front of everyone as we watched In Bruges. Hard to resist little bite sized cupcakes when they are right in front of you. I should know, I think I may have eaten a dozen all on my own.

Another fun movie night! I think we'd all seen the movie already, but it's so good that we enjoyed seeing again. Max was fairly well behaved for a little guy; Jeff and I were able to stay through the entire movie. We took turns walking off to calm him or feed him as needed, but he hung in there like a champ and I don't think he disrupted the movie too much for everyone else.

Parsley, Sage, and Other Stuff

Last night was movie night at our house, and we put that sucker through its paces. We had (including ourselves) 10 adults and 6 children over for dinner, and other than needing to borrow folding chairs it went pretty well. I saw places where improvements could be made in layout and organization of the kitchen area, but all in all it worked out, and everyone got fed. We may not routinely have that many guests at once, but I'm very happy to see that we can manage. Our duplex was just way to small to accommodate that kind of gathering.

The house quickly emptied by the time the movie was about to start. That's the problem with movie "night". Our group doesn't do night as well as it used to, and by 8pm when the movie is ready to start a lot of people are ready to head out so the kids can climb into bed. Still, some folks might have stayed if I had picked a more kid friendly film. Rosemary's Baby is not kid friendly. Only 4 of us were left by the time the movie came on, and none of us remembered how kid unfriendly it got, or how fast. So any of you thinking about watching it at home, take my warning and don't watch it with the kids. Still, I enjoyed the movie and I'm glad that I picked it because it had been a long time since I saw it. I bet the last time I watched it was on tv and that's why I don't remember some bits, they were probably edited for content. The funniest moment came when Rosemary finds out her due date is June 28th, just a day after my due date. That cracked us all up.

Due dates are a funny thing. Everyone knows that you can't count on that date to be accurate, but we can't help but hope anyway. I've hit the end of my rope with this pregnancy thing, and I'm officially ready for this baby to be born. If I thought he would care I'd threaten or bribe him anyway I could think of in order to convince him that it was time to leave my body. I'm tired of being tired all the time. I'm tired of not being able to bend over, or having it cause me pain or exhaustion. I'm tired of being thumped, kicked, stretched, and otherwise abused from the inside out. I'm tired of having a pain I compare to getting a pap smear done repeatedly for sometimes 30 minutes or more at a time. But not all my feelings are of frustration. I'm excited by the prospect of being able to see what this little creature looks like, and play with his little toes. I'm ready for his dad to be able to hold him and cuddle him, and for me to be able to see them together. I'm ready for him to have a name and to hear other people use it, so maybe we need to settle on a middle name... It would be nice if the nursery were actually ready, but at this point I don't care. I'll take the baby now and the nursery later, thank you very much.

I officially have 12 days to go until the promised due date, but it if were less that would be okay by me.

Good Night Sweet Prince

I have new love for the Oscars. Last night we went to Tim and Julie's for the annual Oscar party, and we stayed far too late. The Oscars ran until almost 11, and we didn't make it home until almost midnight. I was worried that I would have problems falling asleep, as I have for the last few weeks, and I was running short on time that I could be asleep before work today. As I laid my weary head on my pillow my brain just kept going over the Oscars, not houses or cleaning or anything of the other things that have kept me awake, and I was asleep within minutes. I even woke up once in the middle of the night, but still thinking about the Oscars I was back asleep in no time. I could have used a couple more hours this morning, and my eyes feel dry and tired, but at least what little time I had in bed last night was spent sleeping. I'd just like to thank the academy and all the boring speeches that made my dreaming possible.

Coraline

I am really looking forward to seeing Coraline. It was a fun book to read, but the art I've seen so far in the snippets is beyond what I had in my imagination. It's so beautiful, and spooky, and cool, and just awesome. If you can't wait until February of 2009 then check out the website, and use these codes to get a peek.

stopmotion : the Biggest Smallest movie ever made. (this is so pretty)
buttoneyes : Meet the cast...
moustachio : Bo Henry, art director of Coraline, shows off his remarkable moustache tricks. (beware men may find themselves needing to grow a large mustache)
armpithair : Every hair in the film was placed there by hand... (boggle!)
puppetlove : Director Henry Selick explains what it must be like for the puppets in the film. (this one was a bit weird)
sweaterxxs : Micro-knitting. (even non-knitters will be a amazed)

After that you need to go check out the Knitty blog. There are said to be 50 boxes sent all over the net containing various movie memorabilia, and Amy did a great job photographing hers to share. Not all of them have been sent to knitters and I found a great post here with links to other boxes that have appeared online.

It's times like this when I wish I were famous, at least internet famous, even if no one locally knew who I was. As much as I appreciate all these folks sharing their presents virtually with the world, I wish I could touch them. I'm sure there will be some cute merch released with the movie and I will just have to support the economy when the time comes and get something of my own.

Bang Bang!

Another movie review here. We actually watched Shoot 'Em Up a while back. Back before Valentine's Day, although I'd be lying if I said I could tell you exactly when. I swear I do watch non-violent movies at times, I guess I've just been on a bender for them lately.

Shoot 'Em Up is just what it sounds like. The movie is just one big gun fight after another. The gun slinging and fight sequences are just off the wall insane, and will keep you enthralled... Well if you like that kind of movie anyway. Honestly the movie only goes down hill when they start to introduce more than a cursory plot. The strongest sequences are in the first 10 minutes when you really don't have a clue what's going on. I found myself getting irritated with Mr. Hertz as he starts figuring out the history of Mr. Smith, because it was better when I didn't know. They just needed to shut up and keep shooting at each other!

Still, I rated this 4 out of 5 on Netflix, because it was enjoyable, and there's some damn funny scenes. I know I'll get sucked in when it starts popping up on USA and I'll watch it again. It probably would have been worth it to see it in the theater, but oh-frickin-well, it's too late for that now. If you like a good mindless action movie from time to time, and especially if you like Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, and Monica Bellucci, then you ought to check this one out.

A Night at the Movies

When Jeff asked what we should do for Valentine's Day I suggested we see a movie. I know it's sort of cliché, but we don't get out to the movies very often, so it's still a sort of special event. Being the gentleman that he is, Jeff let me pick the movie, so we saw In Bruges.

In Bruges was awesome. I really completely enjoyed the movie. I don't have anything bad to say about it, and that's rare. I will warn you, the movie centers around the lives of two hit men…. That means that there is violence, and things are said and done that might offend your delicate sensibilities. I didn't find anything offensive in it, but that's me. The movie was touching, and funny, and sad, and I don't know. There is just such a sweet story buried in this strange circumstance. I honestly would like to recommend this movie to everyone, because I believe it is that fantastic. The only thing that holds me back is the subject matter, and the graphic-ness, because I know that would be a big turn off to some people. I don't want to put down any details that might be spoilers for people that want to watch it, but if you want some specifics before deciding whether you want to watch it I'd be happy to email you any details that you want. (Or I'm sure you can find them at some other review type site.)

After the movie we grabbed some Outback Steakhouse to go. I loves lamb. We also picked up some wine, and took it all back to our home.

We settled into the couch and popped in Eastern Promises. I really thought that I would like this movie. I'd seen lots of trailers, and I thought I wanted to see it. I don't know if it just couldn't compete with In Bruges, or if it was just the lack of story arch that made it a disappointment. I mean, the acting was top notch, and the story was compelling, but at the end it just stops. It really felt like there should have been a fade to new scene, but instead the credits came up. It wasn't satisfying as a movie to me, but still not bad. (Also violent, in case you weren't aware, it does center around the Russian mafia, so lots of blood and general nastiness.) (Oh and a nekid Viggo with his junk flopping around as he tries not to get killed in a sauna… just you know, in case you care.)

So all in all it was a pretty nice night. It might not have been a pink and red candy Valentine's, but then again neither are we.

It's Going to be Hard

I have indeed had to rip back the sock I'm knitting for Iza... two or three times actually. I finally decided on 56 sts around sometime after I got home for the day. I slid out my needles, and then re-inserted them into the knitting back at the toe where I only had 56 sts. This is the first time that the operation went off without a hitch. For the final time I ripped out ... rows. I refuse to contemplate how many.

Since that time I have eaten dinner and knitted away while watching Hannibal Rising. I've done the foot and finished the heel. This is my stopping point for the night. On a normal day I'd probably be able to finish up the leg tomorrow night, but tomorrow isn't normal. I'm getting my hair done, cut and highlights, and that's going to eat up precious knitting time.

I am so in love with this yarn. I really wish that I was keeping these socks, and my only solace is that I may still be able to squeeze out another pair from this skein. The second pair would likely have to be shorter in the leg portion, but if I knit them toe up, and two at a time at least I won't run short for the second sock or not be able to finish.

Yarn details: Trekking XXL (Zitron, 75% superwash wool & 25% nylon) The color number is 154, and it's got these great blues and greens with yellow, and I don't even like yellow, and these white and blue spots that are like clouds. I really can't wait to show you, but the camera batteries are dead (and charging). It may not be a colorway for everyone, but they are Iza's favorites and I only pray that they fit well, because I know that she'll adore them every much as I will.

Oh, and Hannibal Rising was good. I liked it anyway. Jeff was disappointed because the character wasn't as polished as Anthony Hopkins version. We discussed it, but I think he was hoping for a different movie. I'd seen enough trailers and teasers that I pretty much knew what it was going to be. I found it interesting and gross, which was everything that I had hoped for. Still, I do kind of wish that I hadn't chosen it to go with a spaghetti dinner.

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Well yesterday was movie night, and the last hurrah at Tim & Julie's current pad. The movie was Monster Club and the food theme was horrific. I can't even remember all the good grub that was there to nosh. We brought Children of the Corn on the Cob, and The Stuff. The Stuff was actually raspberry frozen yogurt, and it was delish. It was the first time that Jeff had ever made frozen yogurt (I think) and he did an awesome job. The corn on the cob was roasted in the oven and all sorts of nummy. I ate two ears! There was also some Texas Chainsaw Massacre Chili, and a Pasta Puttanesca (Ian went with whore-rific, but we weren't splitting hairs) and of course there was LOTS of wine. I think I did a good job of emptying bottles into my belly. I should also mention that the movie was fun. It's old and campy and wonderful, so you should check it out.

All in all I had a good weekend. I vacuumed half the house with my new vacuum cleaner. I heart my new suck machine. I finally have a bagless vac so I don't have to replace the bag every time I clean. With 4 cats and a dog + 2 people there's a lot of hair in our carpets, and it fills up bags super fast. I think the old vac was starting to die too. We've had it for years, and done repairs on it a couple of times, but it was time for it to go. The new Hoover is a little heavier, and I'm not sure I like the feel of the hose attachment, but I'll have to cope. I'm also a little iffy on the retractable cord bit. It's great that it winds it up, but it's kind of a pain to pull out. It was only $99 so at least my dad won't disown me. When I told him that I wanted the Dyson he told me that if I spent that much on a vacuum that I would be out of the will.

I also finally got Jeff to air up the bike tires and we took a little tiny bike ride. It was really really short, like we walk that far in about 15 minutes short. omgimoutofshape! It was completely fun, but it hurt my butt, and my legs felt all wobbly when we got back. I'm just happy that I eventually remembered how to work the gear system, and the tires have air in them so we don't have to do that next time we want to ride. If I get us into riding more often then maybe we can eventually go further than 1/2 a block from the house. For now we'll have to stick close to home. At the very least we want to make sure that we don't end up going down any big hills that we can't get back up later.

Okay, time to get back to work over here.

How's It Hanging?

So I've been doing my new job here at The Company since a little before my vacation and entirely since the after vacation, and boy howdy. I'm still here getting my arse handed to me regularly. It seems like everytime I think that I have a concept figured out there's a new twist to it that makes half the stuff that I already knew go kablooey. I guess I did say that I wanted more of a challenge, so I've got that at least.

All in all I'm having a good time. I definately enjoy my days here more than I was in my previous post. And slowly but surely my replacement is standing on her own two feet and keeping off my back. It was strange yesterday when I had some material to take back to the warehouse. I realized that it was the first time I had walked past my old co-workers since June 25th, I felt out of place, almost like I was trespassing.

I haven't been posting much because I'm busy all the time. I mean, I haven't even had time to finish my vacation posts. There will be more coming, but they will be back dated to go in line with the others. I have a Flickr album where I am loading the pictures from my trip in chunks, or at least I was before I took a week off from the computer. I'm literally so tired of looking at the computer by the time that I leave here that other than paying bills and checking my email twice I've stayed away from the computer at home. I also have a small issue in that my laptop needs a new video card fan (oops forgot to order that when I got home last night) that I need to order. Once Jeff hops on the WoW that means I have no computer access for the rest of the night. Still there will be more photos added. I'm really excited about the fireworks photos that I took, so I can't wait to get those up there.

We went and saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last week. My feelings go back and forth with it. There were some aspects that I really loved, like the visual style that was breath taking. I also had some issues with it. I think the most common complaint that you will find fans have with it is just that the beginning of the movie moves too quickly through plot points. Each point that had to be made gets a line or two of dialouge and it feels somewhat empty. Still, all in all I did enjoy the movie and I'm sure the next time I see it I'll like it even more. There's always little things that you miss the first time around.

I've also managed to re-read the last two books (5 & 6) in anticipation of book 7's release. I believe that it goes on sale this Friday at midnight (Saturday morning). As excited about reading it as I am, I can't say that I'm pleased that we'll be buying two copies. There's just no way that I can wait for Jeff to finish, and I also don't want to read it and not be able to talk about it in front of him until he gets a chance to read it. So we have to get two copies and that's just life.

Okay, I'm getting too far behind so I gotta go. Take care peoples.

Movie Night - Green

The theme for this month's Movie Night is green. For anyone not familiar, we have a group of friends that gets together almost every month. One person is selected at random to pick a movie for the next gathering. The movie is supposed to be a secret until the day it's shown. The goal is to try and share a movie they may not watch otherwise, but you think they'll enjoy. The only information that is shared about the movie is a theme for the food. We do a pot luck style dinner and it's always a blast.

I've been brainstorming since the theme was announced to try and figure out what to make. I still have a few ideas that Jeff has not completely vetoed. I'm going to keep those secret for now. For your entertainment I am posting the short list of food with a theme of green that have been shot down.

1. Salisbury Hill (salisbury steak loaf with green army men on top)
2. Lime Jello with Green Beans
3. Soylent Hobo
4. Lime Jello with Frozen Peas
5+ involved more green jello with green veggies and fruit in suspension.

I am glad to say that I have other ideas that suck far less. As soon as Jeff wakes up we're going to have to come to an agreement and get to work with the grocery buying so that it's all good to go by 6.

I Can Has Queue?

Okay folks, I have a Netflix queue now, but I don't have any friends*. I need friends so that I can browse movie recommendations and stuff. I only get to pick one DVD at a time, so I'm going to want to make it count. I have to make sure my choices are fabulously good or bad, no meh movies if at all possible.

Here's this fancy link that says if you clicks it that it will help you be my friend. It might be a liar, but I hope it works because that seems to me to be the fastest way to get friends.

*Um, that is Netflix doesn't know that I have friends. Help me correct this issue.

Post Party Post

So despite Jeff’s worst fears, we pulled off a nice weekend for his birthday celebration. The first thing that went right was that we had excellent weather all weekend. It was sunny and warm, but not hot. There was a slight breeze, but never enough that I felt cold. When the weather is nice, everything else just seems to work better.

My friend Chris came into town this weekend. We met up with Chris and his girlfriend Brandy, and their friends Sheena and … Eric? I forget his name. I’m so horrible with names, and for the record I think it was only said once. Still that’s not the point. We had lunch at Romeo’s Saturday afternoon. That’s one of my new favorite lunch spots for the weekend. They don’t tend to be horribly busy, and you never feel rushed. We ended up spending over 2 hours there. Great food and great conversation made for a great start to the day.

Next up was a bit of a low point. Jeff for some reason really wanted to see The Host. I was iffy on the movie, but the posters tag it as the greatest monster movie ever, so I was up for it. That movie was a big disappointment. I don’t know if there was just too much lost in translation or what, but it was not my thing. There were interesting elements to the characters that were never fully explored, and then other facets that were explained in painful detail, only it never had any bearing on the story. Jeff’s suggestion is that people wait for the dvd to come out before they watch it. I just recommend that you don’t bother watching it. I thought it was a little boring, and whatever Jeff tells you to the contrary he fell asleep multiple times.

After the movie we stopped at Randall’s and picked up a birthday cake. It was chocolate cake with fudge icing. I was really impressed with the cake. It was moist and had great flavor. I think it only cost us about ten dollars. But we saw other cakes (of the same variety) that did not look the same. Some of them had a dried up looking icing. I don’t know if they were old, of if the lids weren’t properly sealed, but we could have had a much different cake if we didn’t look closely. So when you buy your cake at Randall’s make sure you give it a good once over and compare it’s color and gloss to the other cakes around it.

We spent a little time at home resting up before Jeff’s party. I watched some bad tv and he spent time in the office doing something or another on the computer. We spent the evening at Opal’s south with a few friends drinking and talking the night away. It was really nice. Brandon and Courtney ended up being able to make it after all. Ian came after work, and Crystal joined us for the last drink of the evening. Bill hung out with us for a while, and was kind enough to pick Ian up from work so that Ian didn’t have to take the bus. Of course Erin was there, because she wouldn’t miss it for anything. She once again stole the show with her handmade wrapping paper. The funniest story though, is the story of Beth. See Beth got to Opal’s at 8 pm with a cell phone that had a dying battery. She managed to get one call in and out to her husband who confirmed that she was an hour early to the party. Beth is not one to be discouraged and spent her pre-party hour celebrating with a table of complete strangers. You have to admire that kind of spirit. I’m entirely too shy and probably would have spent the hour by myself, but then again I almost always travel with knitting so I would have been okay.

Sunday I went to the second half of my knitting class. I had already finished knitting my bag (pictures coming sometime soon) so I worked on knitting a sock, and helping out the other students. I handed out some rivets for people to use, because I had to buy a package of about 100 when I needed 4, over Christmas break. It was a fun morning of chatting with other knitters.

When I got home Jeff’s dad was there. He had brought some smoked barbecue that Jeff’s mom had made, and Jeff grabbed some side dishes from Bill Miller’s Barbecue and some beer to go with it. So we watched some Deadwood and ate barbecue before Dan hopped back on his motorcycle and drove back to Houston. You can’t make that kind of stuff up!

Jeff and I rounded out his weekend by playing World of Warcraft last night. He’s been pestering me because I don’t play my warrior very often, so I was holding up his quest progression. I think he was satisfied with the number of quests we did. We finished off the last of the chocolate cake and I crawled into bed to go to sleep before I turned into a pumpkin.

I’d like to say thank you to all the people that we spent time with this weekend. We had a great time, and we’re glad that you were there with us. To everyone else, I know that you would have been there if you could, and we thought fondly of you and barely gossiped about you at all. ;) I hope you all had a great weekend, and now it’s time to get back to work.