Closing Out 2009

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas celebrations. It's hard to believe that this year is almost over, and a new decade is about to begin. This has been a year of adjustments and changes, some good, some not so good. Change is not always good, contrary to the popular saying, but it definitely can make a person grow. At least that's my story and I'm sticking with it. For now.

We went to go see Sherlock Holmes yesterday and I really liked it. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law made a good team, along with Rachel McAdams. The plot and the villain were both interesting and mysterious. It was on the violent side, a very hard PG-13 that was likely earned by trimming just enough violence to not warrant an R rating. I will admit that it was just a bit tough at first to understand everything that was said with the Londoner accents, so I really had to listen carefully. The sets and wardrobe were amazing, and the music was great, scored by Hans Zimmer, a favorite movie composer. I highly recommend this movie.

You have to see these amazing paper cuttings from a single sheet of paper. He's got some really sharp scissors and a very steady hand. Not to mention amazing creativity and imagination. Wow!

Happy New Year to all! See you in 2010.

Turkeys, Twilight and Trek

The Thanksgiving (and Christmas Eve) turkeys were bought today. I got them at Trader Joe's, and was lucky to get there early enough to score kosher turkeys. Yum! They're now resting comfortably in the freezer. I did most of the early stage grocery shopping. Pretty much everything other than the fresh produce items were bought.

In other news, we're down to the last 7 days before the opening of New Moon! We've got our tickets already, and will be joined by a couple of friends. I'm pretty excited, and seeing all the coverage from all stops along the press tour is really amping up the anticipation. I'm probably most excited to see the Wolf Pack join the cast.

But before that, next Tuesday marks the release of the Star Trek DVD. I loved this movie, and wished we had a BluRay player. This is one movie that would definitely benefit from the enhanced format. Ah, one day.

And Now November!

Trick-or-Treating was a nice way to end what was a long day today. Two friends came over and we walked down to the house all the girls were meeting up at for soup before heading out. And soup it was! It wasn't enough that Jen made soup for everyone to enjoy. She had mini bread bowls warming in the oven to ladle the potato cheese soup into. There was bacon, green onions and a too cute ghost-shaped slice of cheese to garnish the soup with. It was all really delicious too, as if there was any doubt that it would be.

Let's see what's on tap for November:

The Sockers have their long-awaited home-opener next weekend. I've been waiting for years for this team's next incarnation. I'm really hoping this league will last more than just a couple years. Fingers crossed!

A couple weeks after that New Moon finally opens! Woo-hoo! I'm not necessarily trying to stay spoiler-free, but I'm not watching any more clips that are being released. There was a behind-the-scenes clip that came out earlier this week on the wolf pack, which was really cool. BTS is fine, I just don't want to see any more bits of the movie itself. I've already got the movie companion book and I'm pretty satisfied with that. It's enough to feed the 'I can hardly wait to see the movie' hunger.

Of course after that is Thanksgiving! Both sides of the family will once again descend upon our home to enjoy the feast that the girls and I will begin to prepare days beforehand. On the day of, Jaime will make his much-appreciated contribution of barbecued turkey. I'll make the traditional roasted turkey also. Cooking two turkeys ensures more leftovers, something we all enjoy. Turkey sandwiches are one of my favorite things to look forward to after the big day. Pie making was added to the ritual a couple of years ago. I love making pies from scratch. There's really nothing like a pie with a homemade crust. I find it really disappointing when a pie has a bad crust. It really ruins the whole thing for me. Especially if it's burned. That bitter taste is not what I'm looking for in the last few bites of a slice of pie. Making the pie crust isn't really that hard to do, so I make my own. The little extra effort is so worth it.

I think that's it for major happenings this month. Have a great November!

Special Message For My Twilight Friends

(You know who you are!)
From Wolfpack member Kiowa Gordon, who plays Embry Call.

Today (10/10/09) New Moon star Kiowa Gordon appeared at the Hard Rock Cafe in Phoenix, Arizona. The event was a benefit for Hoop of Learning. Kiowa recorded a special greeting for all Twilight fans.

The First Time I've Ever Heard Orlando and Jackson's Name In The Same Sentence

From 'Twilight' to 'Airbender': Is Jackson Rathbone the Next Orlando Bloom?

You know that headline had to catch my eye! In it, they mention that The Last Airbender may be a trilogy if the first film is successful. That's sort of the Orlando connection. They compare Jackson to Orlando saying that if The Last Airbender becomes a trilogy, that he and Orlando will both be stars who have been in two major film franchises.

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Still Mildly Obsessed With Twilight

I'm re-reading Eclipse right now since they've begun filming the movie. When they started filming New Moon, the fansites were reporting what scenes they were filming so I started to re-read that to refresh my memory. The filming wrapped on that movie earlier this Summer and I finished the book, too. Now that I'm reading these books again, I don't feel as obsessed with reading them as I did the first time through. Also, since I'm trying not to spend so much time online, the books are a good distraction from that. It's good to be able to just read them slowly and absorb them better. It's not such a race to hurry up and see what's next this time.

Just 3 more months until New Moon hits the theatres!

Birthday Weekend: Quite Pleasant!

This weekend wasn't too bad at all. Friday night instead of dinner at The Corvette Diner (the traffic was beyond insane), we went to Trupiano's. Their calamari appetizer was amazingly light and came with a really great dipping sauce. The calamari was perfectly cooked, not overdone or rubbery. For dessert I wanted to try their cannoli. I was disappointed, expecting a nice sit-down restaurant to have a really good cannoli. The shell was a bit on the stale side and the filling was just okay. Sorrentino's makes a superior cannoli. Their shells are fresher and the filling is divine.

On Saturday we finally went to see The Time Traveler's Wife. I really enjoyed it, and forgot my tissues. There were quite a few things, including characters, left out but I expected that. In a way it left the adaptation sort of uncluttered, perhaps making it a little easier for those who hadn't read the book to follow. Rachel McAdams was a perfect Clare and Eric Bana played Henry with just the right amount of sensitivity that I expected from him. He just has the eyes and facial expressions for characters such as Henry. I really enjoyed him as Hector in Troy. He brought such depth to a character that I never imagined the warrior to have when I read in The Iliad. After the movie we drove to Escondido to have dinner at Fatburger. We discovered that place after we went to see Star Trek in IMAX. Their burgers are so good and the fries were perfectly crunchy without being greasy.

I suppose I should get off of here and start making dinner.