Slipping Through My Fingers

As I write this, people are ringing in the new year in Australia and I woke this morning without even realizing it was soon to be New Year's Eve. I feel as though I've been in a fog since December 23rd. I wasn't ready for Christmas. I still don't feel ready and it's been a week since. It feels like the holidays snuck up on me and sucker punched me and have left me lying here recovering for days.

My goal of reading vast amounts of books over the vacation is quickly emerging as the stuff of fantasies. I am still slowly reading the same darn book I've been reading for the past month. I've managed two young adult/juvenile titles but that is no where close to the 12 books I hoped to whiz through.

I've had plenty of sleep and food and for some reason much of my time has been eaten up by others' plans for me. Go figure. Sure I did see a few matinees, and I have watched the Flashforward episodes I'd recorded on my DVR, but I feel like the failure to make plans has left me still lying in bed each day at 10:25 am and I'm horrified to realize it is suddenly the last day of the year, the last day of the decade*, and it's snuck up on me. I don't feel like celebrating. I mostly just want to get a few things done.

If you are the sort who likes to make resolutions--my list loving self usually does--here's some help getting started.


*Ebert just pointed out to me in his "best films of the decade post" that this decade actually has one more year. Oops. I knew that. I learned it when 1999 turned to 2000. Still for all his advice... he did make a list!

Matinee Monday

Up in the Air

Once again, George Clooney (Ryan Bingham) hits it home. For some reason his job reminds me a bit of the one he had in Michael Clayton. This film explores the role of connections and relationships, of baggage and the ways we protect ourselves, of loneliness and unemployment. Vera Farmigna is fantastic in her role as a "female version of Ryan Bingham" and Anna Kendrick (Natalie Keener) plays an uptight 23 year old who has a lot to learn and some teaching to offer too. I'd recommend it.

It's Complicated

This film provided fodder for dinner conversation and was a refreshing take on romantic comedy, looking at a couple at the other end of the age spectrum. Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin explore the what ifs in their relationship ten years after their divorce. John Krasinski is really fantastic as the future son in law. Hunter Parrish of Weeds plays their son Luke who is graduating from college and together the siblings on the film look like they might actually be related. Steve Martin plays Adam, the architect who is showing interest in Jane (Streep) and his role is charming and funny. The film explores marriage, divorce, family, the older man/younger woman phenomenon, infidelity, therapy and is sure to leave you craving delicious food since there are a number of yummy baked goods and delectable meals.

Champagne Salad

I got the following recipe from my friend Diane. This dish is further proof that potlucks are a good thing, because I tried it first and fell in love. Mmmmmm.... Now I need a jello mold, since my makeshift one didn't work quite as well as I wanted.

Champagne Salad

Ingredients:
1 8 oz cream cheese
3/4 cup granulated sugar
10 oz frozen strawberries
1 can crushed pineapple
2 bananas sliced
8 oz cool whip
Directions:
1 8 oz. cream cheese blended with 3/4 cup sugar
Add 10 oz frozen strawberries with juice to blender.
Pour this into a bowl and add 1 can crushed pineapple with juice, 2 bananas sliced and 8 oz cool whip.

Freeze.
Remove from freezer one hour before serving--should be served partially frozen, not melted.

The Book, The Music, The Movies, and Me.

I've been hearing about the Moomins in the blogosphere for awhile...
I had no idea they were Finn. How perfectly wonderful! So I picked up a couple books and am loving Comet in Moominland, thus far!

I upped my Netflix membership in light of the Golden Globes nominations and my negligence in keeping up with movies this year! I have Inglourious Basterds and Public Enemies to watch this weekend.

Contrary to my "tradition" of picking up a new Christmas CD each year I found great joy in listening to last year's which still felt rather "new" to me. My recent trip to the Twin Cities gave me ample opportunity to savor Kristin Chenoweth, Martin Sexton, and Sufjan Stevens Christmas albums.



With the most uncooperative weather I can recall at Christmas time, I was forced to miss out on a family Christmas Day gathering, but that also meant I got to enjoy a Christmas Day release-- Sherlock Holmes. And even that wouldn't have happened without my trusty friend Mike and his four-wheel drive! I loved this film and look forward to more like it. While neither actor really fit the bill for what I always pictured Holmes and Watson to be like, I was rather pleased with the result.

Blizzard Alvin, Christmas 2009

A Parade of Ornaments

My Belleek tree doesn't vary much from year to year,
but this year I found some fun holiday expressions to add to the mix.

"Joy the World, Heaven & Nature Sing, Seasons Greetings,
Merry Christmas and Silent Night"

I've been wanting some birch snowflakes for awhile,

and though I didn't buy a whole set, I did find four pretties at Zandbroz in Fargo.

Love my bucket of candy canes, courtesy of mom!

Mushrooms are always a hit at my house and I love this frosty little number. The candy inspired snowman ornament was a gift from mom!

I couldn't resist a few vintage stars for my silvery tree. They were the big investment here, the snowman is just an added bonus.

Always a hit in my classroom. I consider the Magic 8 Ball a modern incarnation of the oracle at Delphi. Now it's a keepsake ornament too!

Mom used to have a little girl like this one ice skating on paper clip blades. Though she's just sporting a super cool red sweater, I was swept back to the Christmas tree of my youth.

Another gift from mom.
A peanut for my Peanut.
Thoughtful and adorable.

Pine cone girl I found at Finn Style in Minneapolis
I simply ADORE her.

The closest I came to creating an advent calendar...
Next year. I think I'll start NOW.

Merry Christmas!

Shade

Peanut

Candy

Wordless Wednesday -- O Tannenbaum 2009

In The Neighborhood.

Just a sample of the holiday spirit where I live. :)

Nothing Like the Holidays

Always searching for a new favorite Christmas film, I decided to give Nothing Like the Holidays a shot.It's a bit like The Family Stone turned Puerto Rican. Set in Chicago, all the family is home for Christmas in time for mom to announce she's leaving their father. Jesse returns home from Iraq, and there is pressure for the children to start making grandbabies... I would give this one 3 stars. Okay, but nothing special.

Let the Parade of Movies Begin.

I just cranked my Netflix subscription back up to 3 movies at a time after having the same one film since last March. I've been horrible about seeing movies this year (simply NO time) and have actually seen more in the theatre than on DVD, I think. There are a handful of must-sees this holiday season in the theatre but for now I'm going to catch up on a few I missed earlier this year. Here are two of those:

Julie & Julia

I enjoyed this film. It certainly made me hungry. Not in the Chocolat kind of way but maybe in "give me some butter" kind of way. Yum. This was just what I needed on a Saturday night in the midst of holiday frenzy. I felt annoyed by Julie Powell's attitudes at times, but felt that Meryl Streep as Julia Childs was simply wonderful. I'm not rushing out to buy the book the film was based on, nor am I eager to read the blog entries from 2002. My interest in Julia Childs is piqued, however. And as much as I like good food, I'm not sure I'm ready for that level of cooking. I didn't realize the film was a Nora Ephron (a master of my kind of "comfort" films) and so it's no surprise I enjoyed it.

Away We Go

Sam Mendes film, Away We Go, was a melancholy film that resonated with the bits of me that can feel a bit lost at times. A favorite voice, Dave Eggers, had a hand in the screenwriting and I felt his presence in the film. In this film Burt and Verona are in their early 30s and expecting their first child. When Burt's parents decide to move to Belgium for two years, the young couple suddenly feels unmoored and they decide to find a place to call home. Somewhere they can raise their child. The film follows them on a trek to Phoenix, Madison, Montreal, and Miami as they search for friends, family, home and end up finding themselves. It's a wild exploration of all kinds of parenting styles, all kinds of idealism and problems. I have to admit one of my favorite bits was the part with LN (maggie gyllenhaal) and her attachment parenting, the continuum movement and the three s's. I didn't love the film, but I didn't dislike it either. It made me feel a little blue because it reminded me of difficult life can be in even the best situations, still I am glad I saw it.

Reading Challenge Update

A few months ago I signed on for a Fall Into Reading Challenge.

I'm happy to report I read nearly all of the books I listed--11 out of 17. Though, I am not quite done with Zuleika Dobson. I still have high hopes of getting a couple more done.

I've also read 14 unplanned titles which is always how it goes. Yikes.

I should make a Christmas Break Challenge and list some titles I plan to devour, but then there's pressure. So instead of getting to regimented I think I'll just plan to complete 12 books--one for each day off, one for each "Day of Christmas." Yay.

A few specific titles? Okay. I'll mention a few.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

What's on your holiday reading list?

Glee

Glee makes me giddy. It brings me joy. This is my new favorite TV show and my current musical obsession. I bought the first volume at a bargain price on Black Thursday and then on my drive home from the Twin Cities last Tuesday I cracked open my brand new copy of Volume 2.

The music is super fun and the performances are always such a joy to watch, but there's more than that to the show. I like the story and the characters too. Especially Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), she is great in everything she does (Two and a Half Men, The New Adventures of Old Christine) but in this she's deliciously evil and riotously funny.

I also just discovered the Official Glee Wiki which features songs from every episode in you tube video format. This includes those Acafellas songs which were left off the CDs.


1. “Can’t Fight This Feeling”
2. “Don’t Stop Believin’”
3. “Gold Digger”
4. “Take a Bow”
5. “Bust Your Windows”
6. “Taking Chances”
7. “Alone”
8. “Hate On Me”
9. “Maybe This Time”
10. “Somebody to Love”
11. “No Air”
12. “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”
13. “Keep Holding On”
14. “Bust a Move”
15. “Sweet Caroline”
16. “Dancing with Myself”
17. “Defying Gravity”

1. “Proud Mary
2. “Endless Love”
3. “I’ll Stand By You”
4. “Don’t Stand So Close To Me / Young Girl”
5. “Crush”
6. “(You’re) Having My Baby”
7. “Lean On Me”
8. “Don’t Make Me Over”
9. “Imagine”
10. “True Colors”
11. “Jump”
12. “Smile” (cover of Lily Allen)
13. “Smile” (cover of Charlie Chaplin)
14. “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going”
15. “Don’t Rain On My Parade”
16. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
17. “My Life Would Suck Without You”

I'm not even sure I can decide which are my favorites. I did think that the "Don't Rain on My Parade" by Rachel (Lea Michelle) was pretty freakin' amazing. "Bust Your Windows" by Mercedes (Amber Riley) is surprisingly fun and "Dancing with Myself" by Artie (Kevin McHale) is a favorite from Vlme. 1 and so is "Somebody to Love."

I'm not sure I'll to be able to wait until April 13th when the show returns.

2009 Golden Globes

I've only pasted in the nominations for the motion picture stuff since that's what I get most excited about. I'll indicate which ones I've seen by writing their titles in blue. Usually my goal is to see all of them before the award show, but I suspect that might be hard to do.

Best Motion Picture--Drama
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
Up in the Air

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture--Drama
Emily Blunt -- The Young Victoria
Sandra Bullock -- The Blind Side
Helen Mirren -- The Last Station
Carey Mulligan -- An Education
Gabourey Sidibe -- Precious

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama
Jeff Bridges -- Crazy Heart
George Clooney -- Up in the Air
Colin Firth -- A Single Man
Morgan Freeman -- Invictus
Tobey Maguire -- Brothers

Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy
(500) Days of Summer
The Hangover
It's Complicated
Julie & Julia
Nine

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Comedy
Sandra Bullock -- the Proposal
Marion Cotillard -- Nine
Julia Roberts -- Duplicity
Meryl Streep -- It's Complicated
Meryl Streep -- Julie & Julia

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Comedy
Matt Damon -- The Informant!
Daniel Day-Lewis -- Nine
Robert Downey Jr. -- Sherlock Holmes
Joseph Gordon-Levitt -- (500) Days of Summer
Michael Stuhlbarg -- A Serious Man

Best Performance by an Actress is a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Penelope Cruz -- Nine
Vera Farmiga -- Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick -- Up in the Air
Mo'nique -- Precious
Julianne Moore -- A Single Man

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Matt Damon -- Invictus
Woody Harrelson -- The Messenger
Christopher Plummer -- The Last Station
Stanley Tucci -- The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz -- Inglourious Basterds

Best Animated Feature Film
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
Up

Best Foreign Language
Baaria
Broken Embraces
The Maid (La Nana)
A Prophet (Un Prophete)
The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band -- Eine Deutsche Kindergeschichte)

Best Director -- Motion Picture
Kathryn Bigelow -- The Hurt Locker
James Cameron -- Avatar
Clint Eastwood -- Invictus
Jason Reitman -- Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino -- Inglorious Basterds

Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture
Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell -- District 9
Mark Boal -- The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino -- Inglourious Basterds
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner -- Up in the Air

Best Original Score -- Motion Picture
Michael Giacchion -- Up
Marvin Hamlisch -- The Informant!
James Horner -- Avatar
Abel Korzeniowski -- A Single Man
Karen O and Carter Burwell -- Where the Wild Things Are

Best Original Song -- Motion Picture
"Cinema Italiano" -- Nine
"I See You" -- Avatar
"I Want to Come Home" -- Everybody's Fine
"The Weary Kind" -- Crazy Heart
"Winter" -- The Brothers

This looks delicious.

Blurg.

I got my new Dell laptop today. When it turned it on I realized the screen is cracked. After 30 minutes online chatting with Ravi #1 and Ravi #2 (neither of whom are related to Norah Jones, I don't think) I discovered they intend to send a repair person to replace the LCD and that person will call me in the next day or two to set up a time. I hope nothing else is wrong. I went from super excited to super sad in no time at all. This is certainly robbing me of the joy of a new exciting purchase.

Up, up and away!

Love this clever costume idea!
Directions here.
via Black Eiffel

Monsters Inc.

Awww... Kitty! I love this movie. I'd forgotten how much until I happened upon it this afternoon. It was perfect for some blanket stitching company. I was grooving on the crafts today and a favorite animated film made the time fly by.

from IMDB... "Monsters generate their city's power by scaring children, but they are terribly afraid themselves of being contaminated by children, so when one enters Monstropolis, top scarer Sulley finds his world disrupted."

Pixar does a great job of creating a visual masterpiece as well as loading it full of fun little "easter eggs," like the Woody doll, Nemo fish toy, and it's always fun to listen for the voice of John Ratzenberger who makes an appearance in every Pixar film. Boo, however, steals the show with her pouty face, her pure love of Sulley and the trust and joy she has in him and Mike. It's a story about battling fears and embracing change as well as the story of a girl and her "kitty."

Spooky.

I couldn't resist decorating the holiday tree my favorite of the holidays. I was a child in love with dress-up and my joy for costumes has never faded. Also I love black. And I find great solace in cemeteries. And of my very scattered memories from my early elementary years, a song from music class remains... "Stirring and stirring and stirring my brew (sung spookily)" And fall is a great time of year. And the Halloween one is probably the best Charlie Brown special too. God Bless the Great Pumpkin.

Much of this I have collected from year to year, but if you are ever on the look out for great holiday goodies, be sure to check out the Plain and Fancy Antique Mall -- Linda from The Red Geranium there always carries such great stuff.

I even managed to find some ornaments to celebrate my Peanuts Great Pumpkin love!

Health Care Reform.

an excerpt from Roger Ebert's article "Sign the Social Contract"

"I am naive enough to think that universal care is obviously good. I don't say how it should be implemented or regulated. I say we should implement it and regulate it as well as we can, and improve it through our votes and our legislature. This is something we owe to the future. The United States is shamefully the only Western democracy without universal health care. All of the nations that we inspired by our revolution, including France, have moved ahead on us on this.

I am told we cannot trust the government. I believe we must trust it, and work to make it trustworthy. We are told the free enterprise system will sort things out, but it has not. When insurance companies direct millions toward lobbying and advertising against a health care system, every dollar is being withheld from sick people. When it goes to salaries, executive jets, corporate edifices and legislative manipulation, it isn't going to Amy Caudle.

The fallacy of the free enterprise argument is that it assumes corporations are motivated to bring about the public good. Corporations are motivated to maximize profits for shareholders. That is the primary mission of all corporate executives, and they retain their jobs by placing the bottom line and the stock price above all else."

--read the entire article here.

Roller Derby Rocks!

And so does Ellen Page. I just love that girl.

Whip it was a predictable film that pretty much stole its plot from a ton of other movies where the main character is a parent-pleasing child who discovers his/her love is NOT what mom and dad have in mind. The lead character hides the truth from the parents until the night of the big game, dance recital, roller derby and in the end it's a choice both the hero and the parents have to make. Think Billy Elliot. Think Dirty Dancing... Hairspray... Girls Just Want to Have Fun--wait, those are all dance movies... Hmmm... Well, I know there are countless others. However, with a cast like this it really does stand out--Kristen Wigg as Maggie Mahem, Drew Barrymore as Smashley Simpson, Juliette Lewis as Iron Maven and Ellen Page as Babe Ruthless. The roller derby scenes were gritty and playful and funny and painful and generally it made me want to go out, adopt an irreverent nickname and kick some ass...

Ebert gives it 3.5 stars. I agree. Click here to read his review.

Celebrate Banned Book Week

Read a book... don't BAN a book. Sheesh. I swear the world is falling apart. Some school districts and towns seem to be taking this literally as YA authors all around the country are coming under fire. And now teachers in a school in Kentucky are not allowed to wear a tee shirt with this quote on it because it constitutes political activity. Seriously? I think Banned Book Week is a reading activity. Something libraries and book stores have consistently promoted to encourage kids to read. Maybe it's time for another book Mr. Bradbury...

Lost in Linkland...

Candy Corn Hershey's Kisses. These are to die for.

I think I need to embrace the mustache craze and get one of these magnets...

Fairy Tale finger puppets patterns

The Meaning of Photoshop by Khoi Vinh -- an article that ponders the role photoshop plays in our perceptions of beauty, real or imagined and whether such a thing is a destructive force if not acknowledged.

Photos of Marilyn Monroe reading, reading, reading... via Sheila Variations

a few others:

Yep, reading is sexy.

Love Happens

Love Happens (2009)

After a twitter based debate over the price of matinees at River Cinema Theatre my sister and I just decided to SEE a film in the afternoon to settle this once and for all. There were a number of choices and we opted for the "romantic comedy" option, though I think it could be better labeled "romantic tragedy." I cried A LOT during this film. It had a lot do with loss and grieving and working through that. It's the premise of the film, really. So I'm not sure why I missed that. I guess I just saw Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart looking lovey and I got confused. In the film, Eckhart's character Burke Ryan's wife died three years earlier and he's written a best selling book about how he's moved on. Only, he hasn't. His agent books him for a workshop/presentation in Seattle where the accident happened and he is suddenly being forced to deal with it all head on. Jennifer Aniston's quirky word-loving character Eloise, runs a flower shop and their paths converge one day at his hotel when he catches her in the act of vandalism by graffiti.

The film is still enjoyable, even more so if you need a good cry. Not the best, not the worst. You might want to stick with this one as a rental.

By the way, I was right. Matinees are $4.50 as opposed to their evening prices of $6.50. Ashley was confused because the last film she saw had a $2.00 surcharge because it was 3D.

Fall Into Reading 2009

To feed my reading habit, I'm going to take part in a reading challenge. And YOU can join too!

Here’s a brief recap of how to be a part of Fall Into Reading 2009:

• Make a list of books you want to read (or finish reading) this fall. Your list can be as long or as short as you’d like. (Also, feel free to modify your list during the challenge if it’s not working for you.)

• Write a blog post containing your list and submit it to the original post on Callapiddar Days using the Mr. Linky at the bottom of Katrina's post.
  

• Get reading! The challenge goes from today, September 22nd, through December 20th.

• Check out other participants’ lists and add to your own to-read-someday pile!

• Write a post about your challenge experience in December, telling us all about whether you reached your goals and how Fall Into Reading went for you. But remember: this is a low-pressure challenge that should be fun. As long as you do some reading this fall (and enjoy it!), that’s good enough for me (Katrina!).

I have 377 books in my "to read" category on Goodreads. I'm overwhelmed with goodness in book-form and yet, I sometimes find myself unnecessarily bogged down in a book. I am hoping to be able to read both the books for my book clubs and also the teen books I need to read to stay current with the up and coming authors and fiction students are reading. I also have a handful of professional books that I want to dig into... In the midst of all that I still have numerous other books I'm eager to read just for pleasure. So just for kicks I aim to read the following titles between now and December 20th! We shall see if I'm up to the challenge. Certainly, other books will creep in (they always do) but I'm hoping I can still tackle these ones too.

Here's my reading challenge list:

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson
Freedom Writer's Diary by Erin Gruwell
Paper Towns by John Green
Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm
Silverfin by Charlie Higson
The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller
Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Spanking Shakespeare by Jake Wizner
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
What Narcissism Means to Me by Tony Hoagland
Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall

**** update ****

I'll update my progress by labeling each completed title in boldface. ten down, one in progress... more to come!

At the Drive-In

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

It's been awhile since I've read this book, so comparison wasn't looming large. Usually that's a good thing when it comes to these books. The main problem I have now is separating out the stories. The last three books seemed to just blend in my mind. In this film we learn about Voldemort's past, and the hoar cruxes and yet, I was thinking that they under played all the half-blood prince stuff, while in the book it seemed like a bigger deal. It is the TITLE of the book/film, after all. I do love Jim Broadbent who is the latest addition to the Hogwarts staff, as Professor Horace Slughorn. While the film was actually pretty long, it did seem to fly by. Mike, Pam, and I enjoyed the final drive in of the season at Warren, Minnesota's Sky-View Drive In.