Another busy weekend following another busy week!

Thursday night I went with my friend Lauren to see The Secret Live of Bees. We both read the book and loved it – and fortunately the movie was pretty true to the novel, though Jennifer Hudson’s character could have been developed a bit more. We also saw the trailer for Marley & Me which deserves its own video posting:

I don’t know if I can stand the wait til Christmas for that one! I’ve already ordered the book from Amazon. I also have to get going on some other reading I’m trying to get in, Water for Elephants which has been on my list for years.

Friday we went out to dinner as a family to a new restaurant in town called Liberty Market. It’s in downtown Gilbert just across the street from one of my fave restaurants Joe’s Real BBQ, and not coincidentally has the same owner. Liberty Market’s menu has tasty sandwiches (including pressed paninis), wood fired pizzas and fresh salads, but the dining experience is unique and fitting to the downtown Gilbert area. The restaurant has a somewhat nostalgic market feel, with little touches like grocery carts to hold bags of potato chips and bottles of coke. We enjoyed dining on their patio overlooking Hale Theatre and the now-desolate Grain Belt aka Rock City Bar & Grill aka Mahogany Run aka Gonzo’s and a host of other names/owners/concepts. The difference? Liberty Market’s owner knows how to create a friendly, unique dining experience while keeping prices low (sandwiches range between $7 – $12 for dinner). And if you go to Liberty, be sure to visit the unisex bathrooms – it’s a must.

Saturday we got up early and drove to Anthem to watch Justin’s game. They won! All the kids played well, especially Justin’s friend Stephen who has grown leaps and bounds since the start of the season. Coaches say he’s got tremendous potential as a football player.

Saturday evening we went to Lauren & Matt’s house for a lovely Italian-themed birthday dinner. She had a gorgeous table set and waiting for us in her back yard that was reminiscent of a garden restaurant in Italy, complete with flowers, candles, wine adn string lighting. The food was brought in from another restaurant favorite Rigatony’s and the company was just as wonderful.

Tonight (Sunday) we’re getting a visit from Terry’s Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Vern who are visiting from Ohio. Right now I’m simmering the sauce for the lasagna I’m making. We’re really eating like kings this weekend! Tomorrow it’s back to the diet for sure!

Oscar night post-mortem OR “Scary Busey”

Last night we enjoyed watching the Oscars with movie-buff Ray, and I think this year more than ever I did not recognize most of the flicks. I had never even heard of the chick that won best actress! I had more fun poking fun at what people were wearing (or less often, adoring certain dresses) Anyhoo… after viewing my fave blogs today I found this video worth passing along. It’s scary. Very scary. Mr. Busey is either drunk or pulling a “Margo Kidder” here. Watch as the nightmare unravels for Jennifer Garner and Ryan Seacrest.

Weekend winding down

It is late Sunday afternoon and has been a good weekend so far (which probably won’t change). “Good” meaning not having to work, clean house or be anywhere at any given time.

Friday evening started out with an adjustment from Dr. Miller which included a special wrist snap for rolling well at BUNCO. I guess it worked, because I had the 2nd most wins that night, which netted me one of the $10 prizes, a decorative spice rack. Of course there was more fun in actually playing and interacting with the ladies, especially since it was enhanced with a six pack of Mike’s Hard Light Cranberry Lemonade, only 2 points per bottle. I was especially glad to see our newest player, my friend Dana, enjoy herself despite some mortifying xxx-rated stories from one of the subs. After the game, some of us girls joined the guys at Jim & Kathy’s where the fun continued until after midnight. We just have the BEST friends!

Surprisingly, Saturday started with no hangover, just some dehydration and general feeling of scumminess which was easily washed away in a hot shower. Terry had the unfortunate duty of taking Eric to football practice from 7-9 and after having new tires put on my Santa Fe, I went to Trader Joe’s and picked up some of my favorites – organic apples & bananas, frozen margherita pizzas (which proved to taste incredibly similar to the ones we devoured in Rome), Italian red table wines and the ingredients for my favorite Caprese salad. We went to the 4pm Mass and Terry and I decided to go see The Bourne Ultimatum which was just as good as the first two. Jason Bourne is my hero! And I just love Julia Stiles so it was nice to see her again, though I wish she had more of a role in this movie. Her hair was completely adorable and I think I might go with that look after the summer heat has gone for the year.

I was proud of myself today as I was able to go to the grocery store and return before noon, allowing me to throw the necessary ingredients for chicken & dumplings in the crock pot for dinner. Boy, it sure smells good! I have been using my crock pot for summer dinners more and more often – it’s just so nice not to have to fuss over a stovetop or with an oven. Last week I made Barbecue in it, using bone-in pork ribs that were on sale for $1.99/lb. I simply placed them in the crock pot, added a little water and cooked on low for 7 hours. Then I removed the bones, clear liquids and fat chunks, and broke up the meat. I poured in a bottle of barbecue sauce and continued to cook for one more hour – which produced the most wonderful and tasty barbecue sandwich meat! And the whole dinner (with plenty of leftovers) was under $10.

Tonight’s Chicken & Dumplings started with a couple pounds of boneless chicken breasts, a can of cream of chicken soup, a can of cream of celery soup, cumin, seasoning salt and a finely chopped onion, with chicken broth to cover. Cooked on high three hours, then added a bag of frozen vegetable mix and 1 can of refrigerated biscuit dough, torn to small pieces, cooked 3 more hours and done!  I’ll just serve it with a salad and sliced bread and it’s dinner.

The week ahead will be filled with work and more work, kids’ homework, and the other usual stuff. Friday Terry and I will be presenting Eric with his game jersey for football, followed by a team barbecue party. On Saturday we’re going to the B/S (AC/DC tribute band) concert to see Kevin play and hang out with his wife Kathy and many of our friends & neighbors. I’m looking forward to that, and also catching the Van Halen tribute again too. Oh and how could I forget – the season premiere of Weeds is on tomorrow night. I can’t wait to see whether Nancy, Silas and Shane come away from their perils as posed in the season 2 cliffhanger!

Today I also finished up a book called Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot. It was a cute book, but not as good as anything Sophie Kinsella has done. Maybe because the main character Lizzie is younger – fresh out of college – and I don’t relate to her as much as Kinsella’s Becky (Shopaholic) or Emma (Can You Keep A Secret?) Now I’ve started a book called The Guardians by Ana Castillo. It was given to me for free from Random House – they sent it to me with the only stipulation being that I write a review on LibraryThing and Amazon. Pretty cool, huh?

Speaking of babble, this has been a long post so I’d better sign off now.

Family news update, local tragedy, movie & book

Last week, Terry’s boss from hell was demoted and sent to another office; another undesirable peon is likely to follow – he gets a new boss tomorrow and couldn’t be happier about it.

Justin’s birthday was fun – we went to Chili’s to celebrate. I took him to Guitar Center to pick out his presents which turned out to be two books of sheet music from bands including AC/DC, Green Day and other favorite bands. I also got him two really cool CDs of generic background music – one Rock and one Blues. He can play them on his stereo and then “jam” as lead guitar to them. It’s like having his own backup band and it’s teaching him how to improvise. Plus it sounds really cool when he plays!

Eric isn’t up to much but this Wednesday he’s going to get his schedule at school. He accidentally (?) signed up for girls’ Phys Ed which I don’t think will fly with the school. He’s getting nervous about playing football, evident by the doubts he’s raising – which he always does with things like this. We are confident he will do well and enjoy it immensely as always.

You may have heard about a terrible helicopter crash that happened in Phoenix on Friday. Such a tragedy – it’s the top story on all the local news channels (TV, paper and Internet). Several news helicopters were reporting a police chase and capture when two of them collided mid-air and crashed to the ground. All four persons aboard were killed.

On a much lighter note, I went with my friend Kathy to see Hairspray on Tuesday night. It was a cute movie, very much a chick flick. I have three things to say about John Travolta:

1. His performance as a woman was not convincing (though maybe not meant to be) and very distracting
2. It’s disappointing that the person who makes the decisions about casting didn’t instead find a beautiful heavy white woman to take the role instead of making this character out of a man.
3. I recognize it was a huge P.R. stunt that wouldn’t have gotten many people to see the movie (probably including myself).

I also finished another cute book by Sophie Kinsella called Can You Keep a Secret. It was just as enjoyable as her Shopaholic books, but with a different character. It is probably the 6th or 7th book I received from www.bookmooch.com and I am just loving this site! I love that you can get a book for FREE simply by accumulating points (partially accomplished by sending some used books of your own).

Big meeting this week so I had better get back to my to-do list. This blog entry was a nice diversion though!

Travels, working at home, books

Did ya miss me? I guess you can always tell when I’m busy or traveling due to my lack of blog posts. This week, it was both.

I was in Galveston doing a site visit for a May 2008 meeting. All looks good and I think we will be going to contract with the hotel – Moody Gardens. The place is really nice – great rooms and lots to do right on the hotel grounds. They have an aquarium, rainforest exhibit, IMAX theater, special effects/4D film, manmade beach area (far better and far cleaner than the “real” Galveston beaches) and a brand new Schlitterbahn water park. I will tell you something else Galveston has, especially this time of year – HUMIDITY. I was reminded of those hot, humid summer days growing up in upstate NY when we would break records. Add about 10 degrees to that. Needless to say, I’m glad to be home. The flight was a nighmare – try sitting in the back of the plane outside a restroom that decides it wants to spew raw sewage odors for a 2 hour 20 minute flight.

So tonight I’m enjoying a quiet evening at home while Terry’s out at the baseball game with a friend. Tomorrow night we’re going to play euchre at a friend’s house but no other major plans for this weekend. Oh yeah, except for work. I have to make up for being out and having limited Internet access. At least I can pick my hours and even work poolside if I want. Ah, the miracles of modern technology.

Last weekend I took the kids to see Shrek the 3rd – it was cute, but we enjoyed Transformers (all of us went on Sunday) much more. The special effects were awesome, and although it was a bit juvenile in some places, it was a good story which kept us on the edges of our seats.

Last week I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, a book that I highly recommend. It’s a touching story and very well-written, though it is not exactly “light reading.” It’s about a man who grew up in Afghanistan, then when in his late teens moved to the USA with his traditionalist father. Usually when I’m done reading a heavy hitter like that one, I like to follow with something light, so this week I chose the fourth Shopaholic book, Shopaholic and Sister by Sophie Kinsella. It was a really cute story and I enjoyed reading about Becky Bloomwood-Brandon again – now I have to finish up the series with her fifth and final (as of yet) Shopaholic and Baby.

On another subject, Eric thinks he’s found a place that might hire him. Dairy Queen apparently will take applications from kids about his age, so we picked up an app tonight and will be returning it tomorrow. Gotta love him – he’s anxious to make some money of his own instead of relying on me for allowance. I don’t have the heart to tell him about all the taxes that will be taken out of his check on a regular basis. Ah well, life is full of disappointments – maybe I’ll let him figure this one out on his own.

Happy Friday!

Hey, it’s Friday! I’ve been so productive today. I was able to cross seven, count ‘em, SEVEN big items off my list today. This is a big accomplishment for me. Just one really big thing left to do – not sure if it will get done this afternoon but even if I can make a big dent, I’ll be thrilled. Boss has been picking on one of my coworkers today instead of me, haha! She’s the one who’s been stuck in his office all day discussing an upcoming meeting, poor girl. I’m glad it was her turn and not mine – this explains my extreme productivity today. Next week he is on vacation so Monday and Tuesday should be very productive for me (I’m off Wednesday, Thursday & Friday).

This weekend we will be hanging out at the pool (a combination of ours and our neighbors’) and soaking up the sun. Well, I have to stay in the shade or I end up looking like a cooked lobster. Our pool is 88 degrees and cold compared to that of our neighbors. I love the bathwater temp – especially when we swim at night. Night swimming is also great because I can go right from changing my suit to the water, skipping that annoying process of slathering the bare parts of my body then waiting to dry.

As you probably know, our area has been hotter than Hades lately. Today’s high is listed at a possible 111, with coming days ranging from 109 to 114 on Wednesday the 4th of July. We’re having a party so I’m sure our A/C will get a workout what with the patio door opening & shutting all the time. Gosh, what the heck did we ever do before we had a pool?

Justin’s birthday is coming up soon – I can’t believe he’s going to be 10! He’s so funny, the other day he said, “I’m gonna be a double digit midget.” What a goof. With the heat being what it is, I’ve been seriously considering BounceU for his party. It’s an indoor room full of inflatable bouncy structures (you know, those things they have at carnivals & in the back yard at kids’ birthday parties). It’s pretty reasonably priced, but I don’t think he could scrounge up 25 friends to make it worthwhile. It’s probably best to just host our own at our pool. I have to get going on my research of kids games. He has already put in his request for the ever-popular “Jello Eating Contest”.

Tomorrow I’m taking Eric to a job fair for a Brunswick Zone that’s opening near our house soon. I hope it works out for him. If it doesn’t he may have to resolve to McDonald’s, which he is turning his nose up at. Of course, after seeing the movie Waiting the other night, I’m not exactly eager for him to enter the world of foodservice.

Wherever you are, stay cool!

Movies, fun in the sun and homemade apple pie

Wow those weekends really do pass by quickly don’t they? Our clan had a great one – filled with fun, sun and good friends. On Friday, aside from the movie which you already know Terry and I saw, we also tried a new restaurant (new for us, been around forever) called Flancer’s. It’s close, and the food is good. They turn tables quickly, getting guests in and out in a hurry, which I imagine they have to do to stay in business since the place is so small.

On Saturday my friend Kathy and I went to lunch at Friday’s and gobbled up their delicious Pecan-Crusted Chicken Salad before going to see the movie Waitress starring Keri Russell. What a cute movie! It reminded me of Where the Heart is. Keri stars as Jenna, a waitress working in a pie diner, trapped in a miserable marriage with an unwanted pregnancy. She has an affair with her OBGYN (which in my opinion, is kind of creepy) who is also married. Jenna also has a talent for making the most delicous pies in the world, including “Marshmallow Mermaid Pie”, “I Hate My Husband Pie”, and “My Husband is Going to Kill Me Because I’m Having an Affair Pie”. Supporting parts included the other two waitresses in the diner, who also found romance in their otherwise-dull lives. The story was very heartwarming and the only thing that kind of bugged me (and Kathy too) was the romanticizing of having an extramarital affair. If you think you can get past that, I’d highly recommend it for your next chick flick movie night. You will likely have to rent the DVD though, since I doubt it will be in theaters much longer.

Saturday was a long (but fun) day – in the afternoon I was working on the couch in the living room and the doorbell rang. It was our friend Brian from the “old neighborhood”. He was in the area and decided to just stop by. We had plans to go to Barb & Todd’s for a barbecue, but knowing how good-natured they are, I invited Brian to tag along with us. It was so much fun hanging out with Brian again, and our “new” neighbors loved him too. He fit right in with our crowd and we are all hoping he will join us more often.

Yesterday, Father’s Day, Terry did pretty much nothing, which was certainly an appropriate way to spend the day. Justin went with a friend to Hamilton Pool and the poor baby came home looking as red as a lobster. I went grocery shopping then taught Eric how to make an apple pie from scratch, his present to his Dad. He was such a good student! Very patient and good at listening to instructions. The pie came out absolutely perfect and we enjoyed it a la mode after our steak & potato dinner – all of Terry’s favorites. Overall I think a pretty good Father’s Day for Terry!

Knocked Up

Terry and I went to see the movie Knocked Up, by the creator of The 40-Year-Old Virgin last night. The premise is that a successful and beautiful young woman (Alison) has a one-night-stand with a jobless, pot-smoking, less-than-attractive, loser (Ben) – and ends up pregnant. They decide to try and make it work and as they learn about each other they observe Alison’s sister’s relationship with her husband and children. It’s basically a cute movie and if were not for a lot of “guy humor” (which was funny enough that I actually laughed instead of rolling my eyes) would be more like a “chick flick”. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good laugh who doesn’t mind some of the gross stuff (above and beyond There’s Something About Mary). My rating 3.5 out of 5.

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