Firefly

I got the first disc of the series Firefly from Netflix on the recommendation of other Star Trek fans. I didn't make it through the whole first episode. It wasn't horrible. It just didn't get my attention at all. I wonder if I just needed to watch it longer or what. I'm all for spending time watching good TV, but I felt like I was wasting my time, so I took it out and am sending it back. I'm disappointed because I thought I was about to get involved in something good and absorbing. And Netflix thought it would be 4.5 stars for me based on other things I like. Out of my approximately 5 readers, is anyone familiar with Firefly and can provide some feedback?

How To Be Popular by Meg Cabot

On the recommendation of LeisureGirl, and also because Leah sometimes enjoys young adult fiction, and because when I was a young adult I enjoyed it, so why did I quit, I read How To Be Popular by Meg Cabot. I really enjoyed it! I felt like it might be a little predictable, but then it didn't all go down how I predicted, so I was glad for that, even. It was a fun and cute read, and I'll definitely read more of her YA stuff.

I've read Boy Meets Girl and The Boy Next Door, both of which I really enjoyed. I find that it's harder to get into that format, although I do find it hilarious and fun in the end. I'm also planning to read Queen of Babble based on LeisureGirl's recommendation, too, but it was checked out of my library already, so I'll check next time.

I recommend!

Lars and the Real Girl

Okay, so the premise is crazy, man falls in love with a life-size doll and believes she's real, but I couldn't help but want to see it after hearing some things about it. Thoughts:

Does Bianca look a little like Angelina Jolie?
He's settling her into the pink room right now...and she's laying down. Oh my.
Karen's checking it out under Bianca's skirt, wait for it, yep, she's anatomically correct. (Not that it shows it.)

Okay, I'm not going to put all my thoughts as I watch, because that would give things away. Here's my favorite quote that's unrelated to the plot.

"Everybody knows your first wife was a klepto."
"No she wasn't!"
"Really? Then why is she buried in a pair of my earrings?"

Ryan Gosling does such a good job of looking so proud of her. It really is kinda sad.

There are so many more things I want to say, but I don't want spoil it since I do recommend it. It's a pretty good movie, and it's a great departure from the norm. See it, let me know, and we can discuss.

My Perfect Subway Sandwich

Chicken Parmesan was my go-to Subway sandwich, and since they discontinued it, I keep having so-so experiences with each thing I try there. I have a short list of work lunch stand-bys, and Subway is one I like to throw in occasionally, especially since it comes up a lot with Jessica these days. (How many hyphens can I use in just two sentences? But I need each of them to say what I wanted to say.)

Today I got it right! It's the sweet onion chicken teriyaki on Italian Herbs & Cheese bread (I do wish they'd bring out something with 100% whole grain.) with pepper jack cheese, sweet onion sauce, lettuce, onions, bell pepper, and pickle. That's it. And of course it's toasted, because just from all the sandwich chain commericals, it's obvious that only a dip eats a sandwich untoasted.

Oops. I just dribbled some sweet onion sauce into my keyboard.

Star Wars, Episodes IV, V, and VI

Well, I finally watched all three of the original Star Wars movies. After years of people thinking I'm into Star Wars because I'm into Star Trek, when in fact I had never seen Star Wars and the two have NO relation other than stars, I decided to watch them while visiting my parents last week. My youngest brother still lives at home, and he had all the Star Wars movies, and I was able to watch these three while I was there.

I have to say that on the whole, I enjoyed them. My expectations were that it would be a classic action movie with good guys, bad guys, and a princess, and that the good guys would ultimately win. It met my expectations. There is definitely something positive to watching a fun action movie that you don't have to wait for your child to be asleep to enjoy.

I guess since the movies are approximately the same age as me, some cheesiness by today's standards is to be expected. I don't remember all the things I was thinking as I watched them, but here are the things that still stick out to me several days later.

1. Princess Leia is referred to as Lee-uh in the first movie, A New Hope. I swear no one pronounced it Lay-uh until a little ways into The Empire Strikes Back. I guess Lee-uh was just a little too common for a princess and they had to take it up a notch.
2. Chewbacca's....I don't even know what to call it....warbling drove me insane! There were parts of all three movies when I was like, for the love of God, shut that up! Nice how Han could always understand him and speak English to him, but Chewy could never manage to get anything out but a warble.
3. Yoda, yoda, yoda. I guess it makes you a deep thinker if you can invert the structure of all of your sentences. Also, I really expected a Jedi Master to have more of a calm zen-like voice. Instead, I'm going to be checking imdb.com to see if he's voiced by the same person as Grover.
4. It's not that I had never seen Luke Skywalker on the side of a Burger King collectible cup or anything, but after watching him for three movies, I have to say, I really expect the "good guy" lead to be a little more attractive. By Return of the Jedi, when we had moved a little more into the 80s, his hair looked slightly better, but still. I kept thinking about hearing how the actor had some accident that disfigured his face and wondering if it happened before or after the movies were made. (Not nice, I know!!)

Having said all that, I really did enjoy it, and Harrison Ford will always have some small piece of my heart. He still looks best in Indiana Jones, but it was fun watching Han Solo.

I can't wait to watch the three prequels now. I usually like Natalie Portman, and it will be nice to see Anakin's background. Now that I know how Darth Vader ends, which was a surprise to me--I had somehow missed out on that spoiler all these years--I'd like to see how he came to be. So for all you Star Wars fans out there (Leah), I'm joining up!

The Gosselins

I was just reading things on the internet about the Gosselins on Jon & Kate Plus 8 after what I wrote earlier, and some of the things are horrible! I'm so disillusioned and disappointed! It's basically all saying that Jon & Kate, mostly Kate, are selfish and expect everything to be handed to them and their children, all the while pretending to be good Christians. There's some really awful stuff, and some of it is on blogs of their local newspaper that date before they had their show and were famous. That's what bothers me. Oh, I hate when this happens! I'm still going to watch the show to see if it seems the same to me.

This and That

I just realized that when I go to my brother's wedding at the end of July, I'll be just over 50 miles from the Gosselins of Jon & Kate Plus 8. That's so exciting! Not that I'm a stalker or anything. :) It's just so neat that they're so fascinating, and they're just normal real people, though. Kate's my idol. I wonder if there are any Jon & Kate Plus 8 tour stops....

Kayley was so stubborn, ornery or whatever this morning. She wanted to wear the same dress she wore yesterday, and I was a bad mom and even let her put it back on to sleep in last night because she couldn't bear to take it off. I finally--finally--got her in a different, clean dress (We're in a dress phase right now.), but every step was a struggle. When we got outside to get in the car, she was dragging and fussing at me about something, and I saw one of those teeny baby frogs, so I distracted her with that. Of course, she had to catch it, and she put it in this bug trap thing that she's always wanting to use. She was so excited, and as I buckled her in to her seat, she said, "Mom, her name is Miley." At first I thought she said Molly, and I was like, really, Molly? Because I was thinking she doesn't know anyone named that, and then I realized, of course, my 4-year-old little princess would name a baby frog after Hannah Montana. So I clarified, and yes, the frog's name is Miley. I let her take it to day care to show the other kids, so.....may Miley the frog rest in peace. My overall point, though, is about the dueling personalities of a preschooler. I was so frustrated with her, and then the Miley the frog thing just melted my heart. She is precious. Kayley. Not Miley.

Person I Love #1: Katie

Katie is my sister-in-law, and she is so cool.

Some specifics on her coolness and why I love her so much:

Katie always puts others before herself. If it's at all possible, she will go out of her way to help you. She does this without concern for her own cost or time. It's impossible to count the times I've needed something small or big and she has immediately offered to help.

Katie is a wonderful mother. Her patience amazes me. Toddlers are rough, and Katie calmly keeps the day (and night) flowing. When she does get frustrated or upset, she doesn't let it get in the way of parenting her kids. She's a stay at home mom, so she does this every day and every night without a break. On the rare occasion Katie does have a break from mommying, she's hard at work on her job as a wife or doing something for someone. Katie thinks she's a complainer sometimes when she tells me how her day has gone, but the fact that she doesn't wallow in it and moves right on after she's thought about it for a minute makes me think otherwise.

Katie is woman (hear her roar). She is doing the traditional female thing right now, staying at home, doing almost all of the cooking and cleaning with grace and with the conviction that she is absolutely doing the right thing as a mother and a wife. She also stands up for herself when she knows she's right, makes her own decisions and stands by them, and stands up to her kids (hard sometimes!). She is not a self-doubter, and I admire that. Katie is comfortable with herself. She never makes grabs for attention, and she doesn't worry about how she compares to other people.

When I'm with Katie, I'm never ready to leave. We talk and laugh, sigh and sometimes cry. I love Katie.

Welcome to the blog!

So I've done it. I've gone and gotten a blog. This had to happen sometime. I lay in bed at night and write so many things in my head. Maybe some of them will make it to the light of day.

I'm planning a series on people I love (in no particular order), and I hope to make regular posts on life with a beautiful, obstinate preschooler, so bookmark me and come back often.