What I love! | Peaches Prattlings

{April 29, 2013} The Big Wedding

I la la la loved this movie!

CKM had two movie passes and $5 towards the concession stand, so we went to the movies! We saw The Big Wedding and there were Big Stars, Big laughs and Bug fun! I recommend this movie highly!

It was funny, a lot; sad at times, silly at times, hilarious at others, sweet, charming and almost wet yourself hysterical! There were plot twists and a lot of, “did that just happen?” moments, a few “I’m so confused” moments and “even a few oooooo!” Thrown in! If I tell you that one of the characters, in Spanish, says “This is like an episode of Telemundo!” does that tell you anything?

I think that about coves it.

The story is about a divorced couple who have to pretend to be married for the weekend of their son’s wedding. And hilarity ensues.

The cast was great! Robert De Niro plays Don, the dad, he’s a sculptor, recovering alcoholic, a peeve and an occasional tool. Susan Sarandon plays Bebe, his love interest who is a health nut and madly in love high Don. Diane Keaton is Ellie, the ex-wife, funny and awkward and wants people to get along. They all love the kids like crazy.

The kids; Katherine Heigel, the eldest daughter, she plays a lawyer, slightly neurotic who is like her dad and doesn’t want to be. Topher Grace plays Jared, the middle son and a doctor and if I tell you more, that will give it away. Ben Barnes plays Alejandro, the baby and the groom to be, he’s sweet and very much in love and wants to make his family happy, whatever it takes. Amanda Seyfried is Missy, the bride, very sweet and wishes she was part of another family.

Christine Ebersole is Muffin, yes I said Muffin, Missy’s mom and she is a special one, along with her husband, Barry, played by David Rasche. Robin Williams plays Father Moinighan, I liked him as a priest in this way better than License to Wed, way better! He was funny and charming and a ball buster, yes, even for a priest.

It was a great ensemble cast, a great story, kept you on your toes at all times and I laughed so hard a few times I thought I might… It was good to be able to laugh so hard, we were the only ones in the theater!

All in all, I loved it and I recommend it highly! So much, that I would go again (hear that DCM)!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1931435/?ref_=sr_2

{April 24, 2013} My Monopoly Collection

It all started with The Wizard of Oz…

For my birthday, my friend LGR gave me Wizard of Oz Monopoly and it seemed to take off from there. I played Monopoly as a kid, but it wasn’t a great love or fascination for me, but I enjoyed it, I was a passive player. I know people who have marathons, can play for hours and others who don’t like to play, for that reason.

And for that reason, is started hosting Monopoly Marathons, I set up 3-4 games, depending on how many people attend, one in each room, a different version (we’re getting there) and everyone is on a team. One person from each team is at a table, so each table has someone from team 1,2,3,4. We play for 30 minutes, then when the buzzer sounds, or I yell “Time!” everyone moves to another table, you don’t have to go to the next logical table, as long as there is one person from each team at a table. When you sit at the table, you have to sit at your teammate’s seat and play the hand that they left. You may have started at that table with money, property, hotels and come back and find that you are bankrupt!

People seem to like it, it goes quickly and you’re never in one spot for too long. At the end of the tournament, there are prizes for the team with the most money/property. I also ask people to bring specific food, never telling them what the versions we are playing. For example, Kiss-opoly (based on the band) I asked for Hershey’s kisses, we played NY Yankees, I asked for peanuts, pretzels and cracker jacks, get the idea?

My friend AM is uncanny when it comes to Monopoly, he is like Yoda, he plays without looking at the cards, he knows exactly how much each property is worth, what the mortgage is and what it would take to get it out of hock, without even thinking, he’s amazing! He also gave me Waffle-opoly!
I got The Beatles from my dad for Chanukah and my latest? DCM found Klingon! Geek out people!

Before I list out my collection, as people have asked me to do, I want to tell you about my pride and joy. Years ago, and I mean years, I cross stitched an afghan with a Monopoly board, I think one day I a going to cross stitch the properties. I have played on the blanket, kids love it. I hope you enjoy the picture.

I once took a picture with all the monopolies I had at the time, I am 5’1 & 1/2 ” tall, with my hand extended I couldn’t reach the top of the pile and I’ve added more since. I am spoiled! People will buy them for me, I have only purchased a few, and I’ve played many of them, but I love them all!

I have had pictures of my collection on Facebook and I was so tickled when someone I have known since grade school and reconnected with on Facebook, SBS, said she had her mom’s Monopoly from when she was a kid and would I like it? Oh my yes, she dropped it off at my dad’s house and now it is part of my collection! How lucky am I?

How about this…I was in Las Vegas with my dad in October 2009, staying at Caesar’s and what did we find? The World Monopoly Championship! What are the odds? There were players from all over the world! They had team jackets, track suits, coaches, translators, separate judges and bankers! It was awesome! The pot was exactly $20,071, exactly what is in the bank in a game of Monopoly!

I didn’t start out collecting these, but I love each and every one of them, I hope to have more, so if you find a unique one, one that screams YOU, send it my way! I will love it dearly!

Here now, is my collection (some of them are not Parker Bros)
Official
Snow Boarding The Beatles The Muppets Sesame Street
Greenway Packers The Nightmare before Christmas. Whooville
My Marvel Heroes. Nintendo. Justice League of America
Disney Theme Parks. Monopoly Junior Classic Wooden. Harley Davidson
St Louis Rams. NY Yankees. Wizard of Oz. M & Ms
Las Vegas. Pirates of the Caribbean Rudolph
The Simpsons. Simpsons: Treehouse of Terror. Mickey Mouse (75th edition)
Fantastic Four. Scooby Doo: Fright Fest Edition. Pokemon
The Muppets (collectors edition). Lord of the Rings Klingon
Coca Cola Star Wars: Episode I. Millennium (has rice paper money!)
Disney. NFL. Original (1950’s)
Classic 1935 Reproduction. Looney Tunes. Here & Now
Anniversary Edition (mine from when I was a kid!). 2006 edition
Electronic (play with an iPad)
Fancy schmancy wooden box edition I got at Restoration Hardware
I gave DCM USMC ooh rah!

Unofficial (add “opoly”to the end of each one)
Motown. Atlantis. Waffle. Niagra. Earth.
Anti. Kiss. Greatful Dead. Brew. Stitch.
Redneck (thanks twin) Cat. Atlanta. Millennium.
Make your own. Brooklyn Dodgers. Staten – Comes in a pizza box!

Who wants to play?

{April 20, 2013} I am a Dirty Girl!!!

Today I did the Dirty Girl 5k Mud Run and Obstacle Course with CKM and it was AWESOME!

Hey, remember…. family blog!

Today was a great day! CKM spent the night after helping me to paint last night [great job by the way! texted a pic to the realtor and she was amazed!]. We got up, went to Bojangles drive through for breakfast. It’s one of CKM’s favorite places and there aren’t any where she lives and when she knows she’s coming to see me, wahoo!

On to Lake Lanier Island Resort for the Dirty Girl 5K Mud Run. Paid our $10 to park, found a spot, had to walk what seemed like a mile [on the way back, after the race, felt like 10!] and then stand in a very long line for a very long time to check in and get our race bibs. Next, pick up our shirts and necklaces [apparel and bling, what could be better!], drop off our bag at back check, last time at the port o’ jane, then off to the start.

There was a sea of pink, apparently we missed the memo! I was in all black and CKM in black and purple, not to worry, we still looked fabulous! [my sneakers are pink does that count?] and we were off! There were some great team shirts, a lot in support of breast cancer awareness, so just think about all the puns and go from there!

There were 13 obstacles and none of them were very difficult, that’s what I liked about it, it was something everyone could do. Some were in the mud, some climbing, crawling, under, over, through. Since this is a women’s only event, I would say if you have never done an obstacle race, this would be a great one to cut your teeth on. There was some running, but it wasn’t mandatory and all the obstacle signs said “we won’t tell if you go around” so there was no pressure.

There was a lot of comraderie, even with people you didn’t know, you encouraged, you helped and if, perchance your teammate was not muddy after the 3rd or 4th obstacle [DEFINITELY NOT myself or CKM] then, you helped those teams out by running up to the VERY clean members and hugging them! this was a mud run ladies, don’t buy expensive clothes and expect to not get dirty!

There were cargo net ladders, muddy baths, walls to climb [I did not skip one obstacle!!!] a slide that was so much fun, we did it twice! no one cared! the best was we weren’t being timed, so have some fun!

At the finish line we danced into the water to clean off the mud, but not to worry it’s still on our race bibs!

After the race, we collected our bags, went into the tent and hosed off, literally! There was a pipe that ran the length of the tent and hoses with spray handles on the end and the water was fffffrrriiigggiiiddd and if you were a modest person, you might have been able to find a spot in the very back corner to change, but if you wanted to wash off the mud, bite the bullet, drop your drawers and hose off!

There was a sign posted “no cell phones, no photos” makes sense, all these women in the all together, who would want their photos taken, although, i thought it seemed like an artist installment, women together, something like that. you did your thing, got dressed and got out, simple as that.

Next, it was on to the merchandise tent…sweatshirt and performance shirt later [it’s going to be cold where I’m going, so CKM reminded me] and the sweatshirt is cozy and the performance shirt has a pocket and a hood, how could I not? CKM and I thought it would be fun to be twins, but, as it turns out…the shirt I liked didn’t suit her and the shirt she liked didn’t work for me! what are the odds?

Gather all belongings and new purchases, head the 20 miles back to the car, I’m telling you, after the race, it seemed to take forever to get back to the car! On to Cracker Barrel for brunch, along with a whole bunch of other Dirty Girls, we managed to keep our heads off our plates.

After lunch, get in the car, drop the top and away we went!

We are so doing this race again next year, even during the race, after the 3rd obstacle, we were talking about doing it again, who we thought would enjoy doing it with us and what cities we could do it in! Would I fly back to Atlanta to do the race with CKM next year? You betcha! [April happens to coincide with some important events that I want to be here for, so bonus!] and would CKM fly to Colorado to do the race with me? Why not!

If I haven’t stressed this enough, this was a very fun race that I recommend to anyone, well, any woman, who is looking for an obstacle race, a fun time, no pressure and lots of other women to share the experience with. Go for it! It will be worth the price!

http://www.godirtygirl.com/

{April 18, 2013} Making People Laugh

Making someone laugh is great. Hearing a good belly laugh, terrific.

I think you will probably agree, one of the greatest sounds in the world is a child’s laugh. Why else would there be so many videos online,cellphone ringtones.

Are you able to make others laugh? Make yourself laugh? Laugh hard enough to snort? [yeah, the last two are me, more often than not].

I love getting someone to laugh.

I used to make my sister laugh when we were kids with childish body humor, ok, so it was even well into our teens and young adult hood, but we’re sisters, that’s what we do. Now, we share a look, a joke, an inside joke, sometimes, it’s hiding our faces when we don’t want to be seen laughing, is it wrong when a child is having a tantrum and you need to keep a straight face? One of the best laughs my sister and I had in recent years was when her first born was a few months old, and the three of us were in the park, it was wonderful to see her let go and fall apart laughing like that.

My dad has a great sense of humor, he loves to laugh and he can draw the attention of a comic on stage, I guess I take after him. He loves to tell a good joke and to hear one, i know that when I hear a good joke, sometimes I have to call him right away so I don’t forget. I told him one recently that I thought he was going to fall on the floor, even better, we were telling EJ a bedtime story and she made a gesture and said something that reminded us of the joke, and we had a very hard time collecting ourselves, EJ was taken with our laughter and couldn’t help herself, she started giggling and it was hard to stop, just kind of fueled us as well. He and I have laughed at the same things in movies, shared a moment, even a look. Sometimes he’s like my conspirator, it’s fun!

EJ and MG are giggle monsters, just get them in a hug and kiss their necks or snuggle up with them and start to tickle them, it’s non stop laughter and who doesn’t want to hear that! Miss A loves to bounce and have wind blown in her face, tickle her in the right spot, she becomes a snorter, which, in turn, makes me laugh and snort!

I like to make my friends laugh, mostly at my own expense, with dorky stories about myself, but sometimes it’s a shared memory, a look, but mostly…a dorky story about me, who wouldn’t sacrifice themselves for their friends? And shared stories are what we are going to look back on when we’re much much much older, to get us through the tough times and make us smile.

With DCM, we laugh a lot, mostly because we have a similar twisted sense of humor. We might be talking about something and one or the other will make a bad pun, “you had to go there, didn’t you?”. I’ll pull out a movie quote, sometimes at the oddest moments and he will bust out with a good deep belly laugh; while we are in a movie, I will make comments and he can’t help but laugh. Facebook makes us both crack up, his granddaughter LB, makes us laugh, especially when he wants to Facetime with her and she’s looking for me and Elmo, so sad, but also funny. Then, sometimes, when we are sitting together, I realize he’s reading a new post and I know exactly when he’s going to laugh [kind of like he did when he read “you had to go there, didn’t you?]

All I can say is enjoy life and at least once a day, have a laugh!

{April 17, 2013} Homey

Just what I wanted. Tonight was homey and just right.

This morning we checked out of the hotel and came to the apartment that DCM has been living in, it’s the corporate apartment for the company he works for. DCM dropped me and the luggage off, kissed me goodbye and off to the office he went.

I set up shop in the living room on a very comfy chair, mobile desk and got to work, I had a conference call right away. It was snowing all day, still snowing a little as we speak. The time difference is still a bit odd, it’s still light later, I start working earlier so i finish earlier by Mountain Time [3pm here, 5pm in Atlanta], that’s kind of fun! Same number of hours, but if i can fool myself, who am I to burst my bubble?

DCM and I chatted a few times during the day, always a welcome distraction. Then, at the end of my workday, my friend, SRH called to catch up and then DCM was home, that was fun, I told SRH I needed to go, my honey was home, I know, very silly, but it felt good.

We went to the grocery store to pick up food for dinner, couldn’t wait to not go out to eat or eat in the hotel room! We got home, chilled and then cooked dinner. What I really liked…we cooked together. After dinner, we chilled out together, watching some DVR’d shows, both of us on our laptops, geek city! And now, we are sitting back, relaxing on the couch, there is a fire going and we are like a regular couple.

Ah…domestic bliss.

{April 16, 2013} Mother Nature is a fickle woman!

When I told people I would be moving to Colorado, on several occasions, I was told, by different people, bring a change of clothes for every season when you leave the house in the morning!

Apparently, you can have all four seasons happen in one afternoon!

Well, here it is, the middle of April, when, as they say…”April Showers bring may flowers”. No where in that rhyme did they mention snow, let alone a snowstorm!!

I flew into Denver Friday night, it was in the 70s when I left Atlanta and it was in the 50s when I landed. Not too bad, I had worn long sleeves and had two jacket options in my bag, nothing heavy. Saturday was gorgeous! It was in the low to mid 60s, jeans and short sleeve shirt, maybe a light jacket, there was a breeze. Didn’t even need the jacket I took into the movie theater. Nice.

Sunday was a little chillier, but nice, mid 50s; long sleeves, jeans and a light jacket, still a nice day.

I looked at the weather forecast before I left Atlanta, it said lows of 40 and highs of 58 all week. Where was the snowstorm warning? Avalanche warning? It started snowing Sunday evening, with no signs of stopping. Wait, do I hear some music starting? “Oh, the weather outside is frightening…” The snow keeps coming and coming and coming.

Monday morning, it was time to find out what the traffic might be like from where we are staying to the office. Let’s just say, the 30 minute commute turned into over an hour, due to the snow, icy roads and cautious drivers. It only took me about 30 minutes to get back to the hotel. When it was time to go get DCM, there was at least six inches of snow on the truck, had to clean off the truck, something I haven’t done in a LONG time! Didn’t take too long getting to the office to get DCM, cleaned off the truck some more while I was in the parking deck, confused a few people because there was no snow inside the parking deck!

On the way back to the hotel, had to pull over to clear off the wipers, they started icing as we were driving. We got back to the hotel and ordered pizza, we were in for the night! The snow kept coming down, no sign of letting up and even though DCM left really early to the office, still took 1.45 to get there! Snow, ice, freezing… The snow kept coming, we had a total of 16 inches in Boulder! But what? Schools were still open? No rush on the grocery store? Streets were clear? Where am I?

Dorky, yet cool? There is so much snow in the bed of the truck…we put some ice cream back there to keep it cold!

The oddest thing for me? Aside from the winter storm warnings, there were avalanche warnings! No where near where we are, but still, I have never seen that on the news! Things started clearing up, but as we were driving back to the hotel, guess what started coming down? Who knows what tomorrow holds!

No matter what’s going on out there…I’m excited and what did this inspire? I may have to wait until next year, but…I’m ready to get back on the slopes!

{April 13, 2013} Olympus Has Fallen

Today, DCM and I went to see Olympus Has Fallen. I liked it more than I thought I would.

Mike Banning is a disgraced former Presidential guard who ends up in the thick of it when the White House and the President are taken hostage. [Not a spoiler alert, that is what imdb.com says].

I really did like it more than I thought I would. It started out a little slow, you need a back story to explain why Mike is a former Presidential guard and disgraced. I will tell you that it was incredibly violent, there was so much bloodshed and people getting blown up, there were moments that I covered my eyes and ears.

The cast was impressive, Aaron Eckhart played the president, he was introspective, loved his family and this country. Ashley Judd plays his very loving wife, Morgan Freeman is the Speaker of the House, when he has to take command of a situation, you are very impressed, not realizing how good he really is. Dylan McDremott plays another Secret Service Agent in the beginning and then working for the Korean Ambassador later in the movie. Angela Bassett was the Secret Service Director, she was a good strong character, she definitely commanded a situation, was very well respected. Gerald Butler was Mike Banning, a strong, steadfast and true guard, taking his job very seriously, even when he was no longer in the presents employ. He was a combination of Jason Statham, Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, who else can I throw in there? He was a force to be reckoned with!

After the fatalities, the next biggest victim? The White House. How many movies have we seen the White House get blown up, shot, lit on fire, explode? It was sad. I will say, it’s very cool to watch the efficiency in which the Secret Service rallies around the president and goes into lock down mode when the White House is under attack, precision, almost like a dance.

All in all, I recommend the movie, it had bad /cheesy one liners, gun play, explosions, twists [you know, how can he be the bad guy?], neck breaking, fighting and a computer whiz [and what action movie today doesn’t?] what more could you want?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2302755/?ref_=sr_1

{April 12, 2013} A better travel experience

This flight was so much better than the last one.

So, I had an interesting new experience today, I flew Southwest Airlines for the first time. I’m not sure if I liked how they do things. First, you don’t check in online and get your boarding pass, you get your boarding pass at the gate, I’ll get back to that later. When you get to the airport they give you a ticket, of sorts, to get through security, you turn that in at the gate and they give you a boarding pass with a zone on it.

Did I mention that since you don’t have a boarding pass, you don’t get to select a seat, they board in the herding cattle method. Ok, I might be a little harsh, but it felt like that. My zone was C28, that meant that I wasn’t getting on until the C group and in group 25-30, what? If you pay $12.95 online, you can improve your zone option.

This ultimately means that in the C28 zone, I had my choice of middle seats as far as the eye can see. Weehoo…

Ok, so, when you get to the airport, you check in, 2 bags free up to 50 pounds, that was a bonus, they give you a piece of paper and then at the gate, you get your boarding pass and still no sat assignment, what?

I was on the phone with CKM and she couldn’t believe the no seat assignment either. I said I’ve flown on Delta enough to have privileges, I like those privileges, she called me spoiled, I said yes. And I’m I with that

So, the better experience, the flight was my delayed 10 minutes, so not bad. I sat in the middle set next to a woman who seemed to be working on a time sheet invoice most of the flight, we chatted for part of the flight, she had just moved to Atlanta and was still on the fence, she was going back home to Denver for a girls weekend. (Guess where I’m going?)

To my right was Jack, Jackson Lee, a very cute and friendly 10 month old who got a bit restless. He had the biggest blue green eyes and was a big flirt in his blue running pants and superman tshirt. After a white, I changed from the Transformers to Rio, a great cartoon about a bird named Blue, set in Rio, that worked. Then I found some Elmo, like I play with LB and that worked, he held my hand and had so much to say, just have no idea what that was!

When I put the iPad away, he actually reached for me and his mom said it was ok. He was sitting on my lap and we talked and laughed, I blew in his face, just like I do with Miss A and he giggled, what a great sound and his face scrunched up, so cute! Then all of a sudden I was removing his hand, that happened a few times, remember I said he was a flirt!

Then the best thing happened, he reached his little arms around my neck and kissed my cheek and gave me the best hug, that felt so good. Is there a better feeling?

All in all a better flight than the last one, this little guy was a treat, no Preston get off the floor, no Preston stand up, Preston…Preston…Preston.

The BEST part…DCM was there at the airport to pick me up, it’s been 2 weeks since we’ve seen each other and that first hug was heaven. We’ve got a lot to do while I’m here, I’ll keep you posted as we move along.

{April 10, 2013} Siblings Day

Did you know that today is National Siblings Day?

I didn’t until I saw a post on Facebook a few hours ago. Well, that solved the “what am I going to blog about today question?” And just for the record, I don’t have to blog towards midnight, it just seems to work out that way, I think about things during the day, then something comes up and I’m off doing something else and then it’s about 10 and I remember, it’s time to blog.

Back to siblings. Siblings are great, some are born together, some are from the same parents, some are from different parents, some aren’t even from the same parents at all, then there’s brother from another mother, ha ha.

I know there are people out there who don’t have siblings and can’t imagine life with one, take away from their time, their relationship with their parents and then there are some who have multiple siblings and wish they were only children! Even kids like myself, with one sibling, at one time or another wished they were only children!

When you’re kids, it’s a hard lesson when you find out, your younger sibling isn’t going anywhere, they at there for the long haul, you can’t give them away, hide them or sell them, oh well. I myself, found out at one point that I despised my sister, I was getting headaches, the rocks were clanging in my head, couldn’t see the blackboard, all at the same time, I needed glasses and she was there to stay, so deal with it!

On the other hand, I remember when my mom was pregnant with my sister, GES, everyone asked what I wanted, a sister I said proudly! Then I used to tell her she should be lucky, I could have asked for a brother! I remember the ride home from the hospital, I say in the back seat of the green beetle bug (see, beetle love started very early for me!) with my mom, holding my new baby sister in my lap all the way home! There is a great picture of me getting to hold her on my parents bed, I look at it now and it’s like it was yesterday. (ok, GES, I am tearing up as we speak, man, we have turned into mommy!)

I was a few months shy of being four years old when she was born and I knew I was in for a treat, my best friend for life. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all perfect, there were times I tried to leave her behind when friends would come to play, but there were never two more steadfast friends, confidants and conspirators than us. During the summer, there weren’t other kids to play with, so it was us, we shared a room at the summer house and it was great. We’d bike to the library, when we were old enough to go alone, we’d bike to the beach, I still remember holding on to the bike while roller blading, that didn’t end well!

We fought like cats and dogs and we could say horrible things to each other, but no one better say anything against my sister, you have me to deal with. And that’s the way it should be!

My favorite things she would yell at me when she was little…”D, you’re getting on my nervous!”

One of the great things about having a sibling that I wish everyone could experience and realize is that you now have a best friend for life, never take that for granted. I don’t know what my life wold have been like as an only child, glad I never had to find out!

As we got older, I remember my clothes going missing, someone going through my things, borrowing without asking, seeming like she got everything (we all have a flair for the dramatic at that age!)and being annoyed, but inside, so flattered! I left my army jacket when I went to college, I wonder what happened to it! I was at my sister’s house a few weeks ago, the sheets for the bed I was using? My first set of sheets from my college dorm room. I used to type her papers when she was in high school and wrap all the presents. I’m sure she could have done all that, and if she just did it because she wanted her big sister to help, I never complained.

I remember giving her my drivers license when I moved to GA, a friend of hers ended up using it, looked more like me than she did! But people were always telling us we looked alike, our mom had trouble telling our baby photos apart!

I remember little siblings weekend, when she came to stay with me my freshman year, getting to show her off, introduce her to everyone and then visiting her when she was in college, so proud hearing from people how great she was, some things never change!

As we’ve gotten older and grown apart logistically, we still remain steadfast friends and companions and conspirators. We realized we’re maturing, well, sometimes, when we can go more than 4 days without having a fight when we’re together, oh, it used to be 1day, maybe 2 if we were lucky!

We cook together, what feast we put on for Passover! (Shhh…don’t tell the vegans and vegetarians that I will taste most of what we cook, just a taste, I still remember what’s grandma and mommy’s chicken soup tasted like!). We work so well together and then when it’s all said and done, we sit down across from each other, prop our feet in each others laps and rub rub rub!

We laugh together, we cry together, we watch really bad TV together. What more could you want? One of the best things, I am getting to watch my sister become a wife and a mother and we far as mothers go, what a great one! I’m at every birthday, help plan and set them up, when I can, sometimes even channeling her when talking to her kids. I get to read night night books, stifle laughs when there is a tantrum (the kids, not her!) and get to marvel at what a fantastic job she has done with her kids, someone everyone could look up to. And I love those times when she lets go, doesn’t take herself too seriously and laughs at herself, well, I can’t laugh at her alone!

We may not see each other or talk on the phone other very often, but the time we do get is special and I value and treasure it. I know a lot of time when she texts “FaceTime?” It’s because of my nieces, but I still get to see my sister and I love that. She has been there for me through some tough times and I appreciate her so much for that and even better when she gets riled up on my behalf!

So, as it is National Siblings Day, I would like to give a big hello, a giant hug, huge smile and a whole lotta love to my baby sister, GES. I love you.

{April 4, 2013} The Place Beyond The Pines

Or as I like to call it…two hours and fifteen minutes of my life I’m not getting back.

It wasn’t that bad, but the best part of the movie was the cookie CKM got me and it was ok. It was vegan (just a coincidence, but not as good as the gluten free lemon bars she made!) well, actually, the best part about the movie, it was free! Thanks CKM!

The movie is billed with Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Ray Liotta and Eva Mendes in the top billing. I thought because of the movie posters and trailers that Ryan Gosling was going to be in it a lot longer. I have to say, they did a great job making Bradley Cooper look 29 in the beginning of the movie. Ryan Gosling is a traveling carnival motorcycle wonder, he finds out that a waitress he was with a year ago had a baby (not a spoiler alert) and he wants to stick round and do right by him.

Bradley Cooper is a rookie cop with bigger ideas for his future, Ray Liotta is the seasoned cop and Eva Mendes is the waitress and the makeup on her was great, she looked like crud! (Besides Corina Corina, has Ray Liotta played a good guy? Someone we could root for?)

Each main character, Gosling and Bradley has a one year old son, how they feel about them, towards them, take care of them and deal with an incident. About 2/3 of the way through the movie, we jump 15 years and here, so a to not have a spoiler alert…guess who ends up meeting.

All in all, it seemed to take a long time to get somewhere, it wasn’t for me, but it was still fun for a night out.

One of the best lines…there is a boy who was raised by his stepfather and when he asks about his “real dad” the dad says (in his best Darth Vader..I am your father… And I know every single one of you said it in your heads or out loud with that voice!)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1817273/?ref_=sr_1

Since this was a movie review, I would like to say a fond farewell to Roger Ebert who passed away today. There was a great picture in Facebook…a sunset with two silhouettes, Roger Ebert says, “Hey Gene, brought popcorn” Gene Siskel says “Roger, I’ve been saving you a seat”. Two thumbs up I say.

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