Blank Checks

I was doing a bit of surfing the other day, and came across this notice from the guys on the Time Bandit, from Deadliest Catch.  I know what I’m doing when I get some money!  I’m getting some Alaskan King crab delivered to my door, fresh off the boat! 

I think this totally rocks and wanted to pass the word along. 

 

The Official Website of the F/V Time Bandit

Breaking News!

Captains Johnathan & Andy Hillstrand have teamed-up with FishEx Seafood Company to arrange nationwide home delivery of their catch. Treat yourself to succulent, fresh-caught Alaska crab from the very same boat and crew that you’ve watched on TV!.

This is your chance to enjoy succulent, fresh-caught crab legs- shipped overnight directly to your home or business.  Melt plenty of butter, invite good friends, and feast on the bounty brought to you by your favorite fishermen!  Guaranteed to be the best crab you’ve ever had.

 

 

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Have you ever had one of those moments where you reach for a word and it’s just not there?  I had such a moment the other day.  *sigh*

Darc and I were watching a show, and the lead actor is Australian, speaks with an American accent for the show, but uses his Australian one for the announcements during commercial breaks.  The “We’ll be right back,” kind of thing.

Darc said, “Can’t keep the Aussie under wraps.”  I remembered that Christian Bale used his American voice for all his Batman promotions, even though he’s from Wales.  So I mentioned that, that Bale did it, kept his accent under wraps.

“Well, he’s not Australian,” quipped Darc.
”Oh I know, he’s … [blank] … [blinking] … Walesian.”  My brain went on vacation and forgot to tell me.

Darc busted up laughing.  “You mean Welsh?  I’m sure you meant Welsh.  Because there’s no such thing as ‘Walesian’.  I hope to God you know that!”

Yes.  I know that.    *smack*

Lesson of the day: Don’t ever do drugs in high school, it’ll come back to bite you in the ass later on … years later on.  The gift that keeps on giving. 

~~~~~~~~~~

And I think my brain is still on some kind of vacation, because I’m pretty blank! 

Tell me about one of your brain blank moments, please, so I don’t feel like such an idiot.  Seriously, Walesian?  I have no idea WTH I was thinking.  It kinda sounds cool, though, right?  Right?

Monday Mayhem

Most of the time I look forward to Monday.  I don’t know why I’m not this week, but there it is, I’m not looking forward to it. 

We had a nice anniversary though.  Sure, we couldn’t go anywhere or do anything, but we did play with the kids and really, isn’t that the best reason to remind you of what an anniversary is about?  Your wedding’s birthday – and look what our getting married has accomplished!  These 2 awesome babies who are the light of our life. 

We worked on a project together – not sure what – if anything – will come of it but it was nice to have a joint effort thing going on there. 

And I was so distracted by other stuff that I forgot to get my football picks up in time – which is a real bummer because I would have done well in the early games.  Thankfully my beloved Patriots beat the Dolphins so that was happiness. 

Beyond that … nothing.  My kids were pretty low-key this weekend, meaning no funny stuff.  Darc made me laugh a few times with some wise-acre crack he made at the TV but I can’t recall what exactly it was he said that made me chuckle. 

Oh yeah – the weather was beautiful this weekend – a rarity here in Chicagoland in November.  We got up to 70° on Saturday, so that was awesome.  And since I’ve been reduced to talking about the stupid weather, I’m stopping now!

Have a great one!

PS – Of course, after I post this, my daughter does something I think is amazingly sweet for a 4 y/o.  KnytLite was bemoaning his lack of chocolate milk – he’d already gone through his quota of the day.  MiniNess heard him and said, “I still have some left Knytie, you can have mine!”  This child is just too sweet, thoughtful, and generous to have come from me!  Share chocolate milk?  Never!  And yet she does so – gladly.  Lessons from babies, no?

Monday Mayhem

My son, Mr. Saturday Night, approached every open door with his hands in the air like a Las Vegas crooner, and announced, “Happy Halloween!”  I kept waiting for him to say, “Try the fish and be sure to tip your waitress!.”  He was so happy that it was Halloween, his “favorite day of the year.”  Until the next one.    He’s got a birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’m sure that’ll be his “favorite day of the year,” for the next little while, until Christmas.  Oh the joys of 7. 

My daughter, bright and shiny while we were still at home, and who also couldn’t wait to go trick-or-treating, became strangely shy once we got to the neighborhood houses.  She loved seeing other kids out, but going to the door herself?  Not so much.  She got all shy and quiet.  She got a lot of “awwww’s” though, because those curls under that helmet were absolutely adorable – if I do say so myself. 

At one house, the lady grabbed some candy out of her bowl and put it in my son’s bucket, then had to reach back into the bowl, which was just inside the door, to get some more for my daughter.  My son, ever the bold one, asked in alarm, “Did you forget my little sister?”  Talk about parental mortification!  I shushed him, made him say thank you, and when we got to the sidewalk, had a little talk with him about rudeness and manners.  I confess I was a little on the pleased side though, seeing him so protective of her.  He’s a good brother, if he still hasn’t quite learned when that’s appropriate.  He’ll get there.   

The people in the neighborhood we went to seem really nice.  We saw a lot of parents talking to each other so there was a good sense of community.  And lots of kids. 

All in all, the kids seemed to really enjoy themselves and that makes me happy. 

Which reminds me, later that night I heard my son say to my daughter, “Halloween’s all about having fun, MiniNess.”

“No it’s not, KnytLite!” she retorted, “It’s about the candy!”

**********

We were watching an older episode of Medium, and in this one scene, a character seemed to change into a demon’s face.  Me and the kids were on the floor and Darc was on the couch, so the coffee table blocked his view, but I got the whole thing.

When the demon face appeared, my son made this sound like a moan and a shriek combined.  “WUH!” he cried and snatched a blanket over his face.  Darc busted up laughing and then MiniNess quipped, “It looks like a Saber tooth Tiger.” 

They never react like I think they will.  

**********

I found out this weekend that Roots was a total fraud.  I didn’t know that.  I never thought it was entirely real, oral histories being subject to a lot of embellishment and all, but I never suspected plagiarism either.  And not plagiarized from someone else’s history, but plagiarized from fiction.  I was shocked, to say the least.  You can read all about it here. 

**********

And how was your weekend? 

 

But they’re sticky!

It happened just as Darc and I were discussing our respective blog posts … “What are you going to blog about?” … “I dunno … what are you going to blog about?”

Right then my kids asked us a question.

See, this afternoon at the grocery store, my son heard his name being called from a shelf near the bakery section of the store.  He spied the box of doughnuts.  Glorious red and blue glazed, star shaped, what more could a boy want?  He begged me for them.  “It’s only $5 for the whole box, mom!  Please can we get them, pleeeeeease??”  I caved, naturally.  You should see how big his eyes can get and how long his lashes are, and his huge gap-toothed smile.  Resistance is futile – he’s like the Borg. 

Later in the evening he and his baby sister had their doughnuts while their dad and I were discussing blog potential, or the lack thereof. 

“Can you cut up my doughnut?”

“Yeah, me too, me too!”  Guess who said that? 

I stared at my children, as I was trying to wash some dishes.  “Wait … you want your doughnuts cut up?  Like in pieces?  And you want to eat them with forks?  What is wrong with you people?  Seriously, how can you be my kids and want to eat your doughnuts with a fork?”

“But they’re sticky!” was the excuse.

“They’re doughnuts!  They’re supposed to be sticky!  That means you can play in the sink afterwards while you wash your hands and faces.  Nobody eats doughnuts with a fork!”

“We do, we do!”

“I have my blog post for tomorrow,” I announced to my husband.

Daddy cut up their doughnuts, they did indeed eat them with forks, and they still played in the sink afterwards while they brushed their teeth. 

I have decided I have the prissiest kids on the planet. 

 

Mom-ness

(hey!  I should use that as a blog title and do just mommy-blogging stuff there!)

I live with a songstress.  She fills the house with music every day.  She twirls and dances, spins and skips, and sings the whole time.  She knows the words to several of the songs on one of her kids computer game CD’s, and she sings those with abandon, repeatedly.  She also knows the words to the theme from Deadliest Catch, which also happens to be Wanted, Dead or Alive, by Bon Jovi. 

I can’t get her to sing into the mic at my computer, and I have no way to get video from the camera to the computer either.  That makes me a little sad, because I really wanted you to see how adorably cute she is when she’s doing her thing.  I thought if I could at least get her recorded through my mic, I might be able to make a video with still pics or something.  At 3, she knows how to put passion into her songs.  No matter how many times she sings them, she never loses that enthusiasm.  Ever.  She can sing the same song a thousand times and is just as joyful the last time as the first.  And she’s pretty good at staying in tune, too.

I also live with a smart-alec.  Well, 2 of them – one a pro, and one apprentice.  *rimshot*  My son makes wise cracks to the TV now.  Just the other night when we were watching Paranormal State he quipped, “Yeah, Paranormal State makes me para-annoyed.”  He saw the commercial for the Obama Chia Pet and said, “Hey, it’s Barrack O’Hair!”  Sometimes I get the “Yeah, right” response when I tell him something – although he is learning that smart-ass remarks to one’s mother are not in one’s best interests.  Other times he snorts at me.  Yes, he actually does that *snort* thing.  I’ve even gotten the line, “But I already know all I need to know,” during homeschool.  At 7.  I thought we had a few more years until the ‘tude began, but no, it’s here now.  Only trouble is, most of the time he’s just being funny, not rude, and I can’t help but laugh at the things he says.  I know this only encourages him, but come on, Barrack O’Hair?  How can you not laugh?  He’s getting his flirt on already too.  Last time we were at the store he told one of the stock girls that she was pretty.  He already knows how well this works on mom, now it’s time to test it on the world, I suppose. 

My kids are awesome and they make me look good, most of the time.  I’m not afraid to take them out in public, although we did have a 3 y/o mini-meltdown the last time we went to the grocery store but Daddy cut it short with a suggestion to go hunt down cookie treasure stolen by pirates.  Other than that, they’re great to have around.  It amazes me sometimes, how complete they are.  They are themselves, and they just seem to know who they are.  They embody pure joy, and I love having them around. 

I’m still working on that screaming thing they do though, but other than that, I got the cream of the crop. 

~~Ness~~ 

You Know You’re a Mom When …

 

1. Your feet stick to the kitchen floor …. and you don’t care.

2. When the kids are fighting, you threaten to lock them in a room together and not let them out until someone’s bleeding.

3. You can’t find your cordless phone, so you ask a friend to call you, and you run around the house madly, following the sound until you locate the phone downstairs in the laundry basket.

4. You spend an entire week wearing sweats.

5. Your idea of a good day is making it through without a child leaking bodily fluids on you.

6. Popsicles become a food staple.

7. Your favorite television show is a cartoon.

8. Peanut butter and jelly is eaten at least in one meal a day.

9. You’re willing to kiss your child’s boo-boo, regardless of where it is.

10. Your baby’s pacifier falls on the floor and you give it back to her, after you suck the dirt off of it because you’re too busy to wash it off.

11. Your kids make jokes about flatulence, burping, pooping, etc. and you think its funny.

12. You’re so desperate for adult conversation that you spill your guts to the telemarketer that calls and HE hangs up on YOU!

13. Spit is your number one cleaning agent.

14. You’re up each night until 10 PM vacuuming, dusting, wiping, washing, drying, loading, unloading, shopping, cooking, driving, flushing, ironing, sweeping, picking up, changing sheets, changing diapers, bathing, helping with homework, paying bills, budgeting, clipping coupons, folding clothes, putting to bed, dragging out of bed, brushing, chasing, buckling, feeding (them, not you), PLUS swinging, playing baseball, bike riding, pushing trucks, cuddling dolls, roller balding, basketball, football, catch, bubbles, sprinklers, slides, nature walks, coloring, crafts, jumping rope, PLUS raking, trimming, planting, edging, mowing, gardening, painting, and walking the dog. You get up at 5:30 AM and you have no time to eat, sleep, drink or go to the bathroom, and yet…you still managed to gain 10 pounds.

15. In your bathroom there is toothpaste on the light fixtures, water all over the floor, a dog drinking out of the toilet and body hair forming a union to protest unsafe working conditions.

16. You buy cereal with marshmallows in it.

17. The closest you get to gourmet cooking is making rice krispies bars.

My St. Patrick’s Day

Caffeine!  Woo!  We were down to only decaf in the house for the past few days but we managed to make a grocery run yesterday and stock up a little.  Coffee in the house!  Hopefully the caffeine-withdrawal headaches will go away now. 

I thought it would be a nice treat to pick up some McD’s for St. Patrick’s Day, get the family some shamrock shakes … would you believe my local golden arches was out of shamrock shakes?  OUT of shamrock shakes on St. Patrick’s Day?  What kind of shoddy operation are you people running there??  You don’t run out of shamrock shakes on St. Patrick’s Day!  That’s just … just … sacrilegious! 

The library didn’t have any books by an author I’ve recently fallen in love with either, even though their web site said they did.  They lied!  I’m telling you, this guy is good – so good in fact even my beloved live-in critic liked his work.  Now that’s saying something!  The book I read recently is called “Empty Ever After” by Reed Coleman, and it’s the latest in what is called the Moe Praeger series.  It’s a gritty detective book, sort of noir I suppose.  The prose was tight, the characters – and there are many – were well written and full of depth, even if their scenes were brief.  While the story was intense and dramatic, some of the lines were amusing and even funny.  I heard Darc chuckling and when I asked him what made him laugh, he read a line: “I wondered if that lazy fly buzzing around the bar was wearing a nicotine patch.”  To be honest, I was a tad surprised when he said he didn’t think it was my taste.  I’m the girl who used to read Lawrence Sanders with his curmudgeonly Edward X. Delany character; and Robert Ludlum with all his spy intrigue and Bourne and Osterman; and devoured the complete cases of Sherlock Holmes.  And I read true crime like it’s going out of style – which sadly it’s not – why wouldn’t I love detective stories?  Hmm.  Anyway, no Coleman for me this trip.  I think I’ll try putting some books on reserve for next time.  I did manage to find another of the funny Irish doctors series by Patrick Taylor so I’m happy about that.  I’m going to try someone new, too.  Can’t think of her name right now and too lazy to get the book bag.  I also found a mystery “anthology” book, so I’ll let you know how all those turn out.  Mmm, fresh meat – I do love trips to the library!

My kids have been on a funny roll lately too.  The other day when I was setting up to watch “The Brave One” with Jody Foster (Jody = A+; movie = B-) my daughter asked if it was a scary movie.  I said, “No, not a scary movie, maybe a scary scene or two but no monsters or anything like that.”  My son quipped, “Well of course there has to be a scary one if there’s a brave one, you can’t have one with out the other, and the movie IS called ‘The Brave One’.”  That’s usin’ your noggin’ kiddo!

Then last night my daughter came and knocked on the door while Darc and I went to have a quick smoke.  “Um, are you going to watch more grown-up shows?”

“Yes, we’re going to watch more grown-up shows,” daddy answered.

“Well, um, but I’m a kid!”

“I am aware of that, princess.”

I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.    She’s trying so hard not to be a baby anymore. 

So that’s how I’ve been.  And you?

~~Ness~~ 

 

My Super Family

One of my BFF’s, Sherri, did a blog post about making a superhero character, so you know I just had to play along too.  And while I was doing that, naturally my kids noticed what I was doing and they came over to see.  That led to, “Oh, make one of me, please Mom!”  Of course, I did, and these are our results. 

First up is my son, the mini-Darc.  He’s doing his Spiderman interpretation, complete with a spider on his chest. 

 

Next up is the mini-Falcon.  She had to have a spider on her chest too, because her big brother did.  She picked her own colors though, opting to go with the orange and green Irish flag version of Spider-girl.  

Then, of course, we had to make one for Daddy, who as far as I know, decided not to make a superhero of his own.  So we dressed him up all in black complete with bat wings and a bat logo on his chest.  He did choose his own weapon though, when we asked him to.  I thought he might like the flame-thrower but he preferred the double gun feature.  

Me, I couldn’t choose between the bird wings – Falcon you know, or butterfly wings.  I’m quite partial to butterflies too, so I figured what the heck and made one of each.  

Which reminds me – when we were watching TV, Darc had put on some show about weird creatures and it ended up being about the New Jersey Devil, I think.  Anyway, people were talking about this weird thing that flew at them out of the trees like a giant bird and my son retorted, “It was the Darc’s Falcon!”  You should have heard him, he made his voice all low and dramatic.  Darc busted up laughing.  Ah my boy, you grow more like Daddy every day. 

So here’s my super family.  We’re a strange bunch, but we always fight for good.  Truth, Justice, and the American Way, you know, all the fun stuff.    Want to make your own superhero?  Go here to The Hero Factory and have fun!  Don’t forget to share your results! 

Oh, before I forget, did you hear the good news?  There’s a little KnytStalker on the way!  Woo!  Check out the pictures!

I still don’t like Mondays

I’z a grumpy girl.  I don’t know why either, I just am.  I do my best not to inflict it on the people I care about, and when I feel this way I’ve learned it’s best to just retreat, withdraw into myself.  Some people find the need for people greatest at those times, I suppose, but I just can’t do it.  It’s the nature of the melancholy I guess, this withdrawal.  Perhaps it’s seasonally related, you know, what with winter still here – at least 7 months out of the year every year around here.  Sigh.  I’ve also noticed that since the sun is at a different angle now, we get less of it in the house during the day.  Our windows face east/northeast so we only get sun in the early morning hours and this vampire misses quite a bit. 

I’m also irritated with myself.  I have a recipe for this salad that I love.  It’s got chicken and rotini pasta, and grapes, all sorts of good stuff.  I was all set to make it today and realized I forgot the celery.  How could I forget the doggone celery?!  Now I have to wait until the next trip to the grocery store and pray my grapes don’t go bad in the meantime.  I can live for a week on that salad. 

So if I’ve seemed particularly distant, it’s totally me and not you at all.  March is here now so spring is coming, and McDonald’s has shamrock shakes again.  Which reminds of the time my son was a toddler and first tried a shamrock shake.  Ah, good times!  I won’t gross you out with the gory details, but trust me, some things just should NOT be green! 

~~Ness~~ 

Birth of a Conservative

Have I told you how smart my boy is?  My mini-Darc?  Surely I have by now!  I know I mentioned his comment about adding unnecessary words in sentences.  Know what he said yesterday?

He was watching some show on TV, a kid show but I don’t know which one.  Anyway, the characters were doing something, a piñata I think.  One of them broke it, and the other characters scattered to grab the prizes.  My son, the capitalist, commented, “Why should the rest of them get anything?  They didn’t do anything to deserve all that stuff.” 

Now, he’s never been to a piñata party so he doesn’t understand how it’s played – one day he will understand so I’m not worried about that.  The thing that pleased me so much was the fact that he grasped the concept of a hand-out and it offended him.  In his mind, the one that broke the piñata should have gotten the prizes because he’d done the work to earn them, and the other characters had no right to just run up and take everything from him.  It offended his sensibilities that others simply took what they hadn’t earned.  For a kid who’s never had to earn much of anything, this amazes me.  The most he’s ever had to earn was a new game for the game system, and he had to earn it by trying new foods, not by cleaning his room or anything like that.  Hopefully, in a dozen years or so this will translate into him not calling home every month from college asking for more money, but simply to say hi. 

One of the things that pleases me most about this is that we don’t sit around talking politics all the time in our home for him to pick up on this kind of thing.  It’s just his nature. 

~~Ness~~ 

 

Grumpy days!

There must be something in the air.  I don’t know what it is, but yesterday my daughter was one of the grumpiest babies I’ve ever seen.  My son had a touch of it too, as did my Beloved.  It seems we were all a bit on the short tempered side and could hardly be coaxed out of it.  Especially the baby Falcon.  Nothing pleased her.  It didn’t matter what games anyone tried to play with her, it didn’t matter what she was offered to eat, everything made her angry. 

It’s hard to be a parent on those days.  It’s hard to remember to be patient.  There are moments you just want to shout back, “Fine!  Be a grump!  See if I care!”  I sent her to her room for a bit and she came out later and tried to be in a better mood.  It wasn’t too hard for her, because by that time, mini-Darc was in his grumpy phase and that took the focus off her.  Mini-Darc hates math, and fights learning it as best he can.  Darc and I spent a long time trying to explain the importance, but really, how much do you think sunk in to his 7 year old head?  Yeah, same here.  *sigh*  All I can do is plug away every day and hope something sinks in at some point.  He’s such a structured child, attached to his routines, I thought he would love math for its absolutes.  So not the case!  He’s convinced himself it’s hard, therefore he thinks it’s beyond him to learn – at least until he’s a grown up.  He believes when that magic day happens, that he will somehow also magically attain all the mathematical knowledge he needs.  Yes, that makes sense to him. 

It’s hard for a daddy to be patient when his babies are full of piss and vinegar but Darc did his best.  Me, I was the very soul of patience and understanding … and if you believe that, I have a bridge in Alaska to sell you, too.    Thank goodness it’s Tuesday!

~~Ness~~ 

The Day After

So, are you suffering with post-holiday meltdown?  Letdown?  Stress?  If not, woo for you!!  If you are, I hope you recover soon. 

We, the Beloved and I, stayed up way too late watching, of all things, ghost stories, then talking about ghost stories.  Being married to a future-published horror writer, we call it “research.”   

It was a nice Christmas.  The kids were well behaved, nothing went wrong, dinner turned out pretty good, so we’re happy.  Now, the day after, what to do for the husband who does not want a big deal made about his birthday?  He always suffered from that post-Christmas-birthday syndrome as a kid, and now I want to make up for some of that, but circumstances don’t allow for that this year, and neither does he.  Sigh.  Maybe if we make it out to that French import store, Targét, I can find him a little something.  It’s warmer today, and tomorrow is supposed to be too, but I don’t know if there’s any more snow on the way.  Maybe we can sneak out before anything else falls from the sky.  Ever feel like Chicken Little? 

Have a wonderful weekend, enjoy your gifts.  All of them, not just the ones you got for Christmas. 

The Mate Clique

If I said, “Shakkah,” how would you respond?  Would you give me a weird look and say, “What in the world is wrong with you?”  Probably.  Not my husband, though.  I know as he’s reading this he’s thinking, “When the walls fell.”  The meaning, to us, is clear – failure.  And you would only know that if you’ve seen the episode called, “Darmok” from Star Trek, The Next Generation.  Likewise, if one of us says, “Zinda!  His face black, his eyes red!” the other knows that someone is very, very pissed.  Yes, we’re weird.  That was never in question.    My point is that over the years we’ve developed our own language of sorts, based on things we love, or hate, things we have in common, that allow us to communicate with one another in ways no one else understands.  We have our own little clique. 

That particular episode of Star Trek happens to be one of our mutual favorites, so we’ve glommed onto a few lines.  We also had an affection for Paul Winfield, the principal non-TNG regular in that episode.  He did the voice-over work on City Confidential, as well; another of our favorite shows. 

Because of the exclusive little clique we’re in, when my husband is reading at his computer and mutters, “Ow,” I know he’s come across a butchery of the English language, whether it’s spelling, punctuation, or grammar.  He can tell by the way I sigh if it’s an angry sigh, a frustrated one, or a tired one.  We know each other’s jokes and stories, habits, quirks, likes, dislikes, tastes, and distastes.  This is our club. 

It occurred to me over the weekend that I’ve never been in a clique before.  Not as a kid, not in high school, and certainly not in my 1st marriage.  I don’t know why it was that way, but it was.  I can’t really explain why what I have now does feel like a clique, either.  It just does.  There are times when the Biblical line of, “The two shall become one,” finally makes sense to me.  There’s a blending, a merging – of thoughts, ideas, beliefs.  Not to say we don’t have our, “Dammit, you are really pissing me off!” moments, but they’re pretty rare.  Half the time we’re finishing each other’s sentences.  You’d think that would get annoying after a while but it doesn’t.  There’s a sort of comfort in knowing that someone else knows you that well, almost better than you know yourself, and likes you anyway.  We belong.  Darmok and Jalahd, at Tenagrah.   

 

©DarcsFalcon

Weekend at the movies

We watched a couple of movies this weekend and I thought I’d tell you about them.  Now remember, we don’t see movies until they’re at least 6-12 mos. out, because we wait until they come out on the “on demand” feature of our cable provider.  But maybe you don’t get to things when they’re first run either, in which case my insights and observations will be of utmost value to you.  Quit laughing!  It could happen! 

The first movie we picked was “Untraceable” with Diane Lane.  It turned out to be better than I thought it would be.  Kind of predictable, yes, but the tension was built up well – the music added a great element to that.  My chief complaint with it was this: for an FBI agent, the heroine did some pretty dumb things, things even I would know not to do, so that at the end of the movie, it almost seemed out of character for her to get her moxie together.  I was a tad disappointed with the ending too.  I expected more of a “wrap-up” or prologue or something along those lines.  The abruptness of the ending kind of left me feeling flat and let down somehow.  Overall though, it was a decent movie and if you’re looking for a nice cozy thrill, it’s a good piece. 

The 2nd movie we watched was “Apocalypto.”  As we were scanning titles, Darc commented that he’d always been sort of curious about that one, and when I said, “yeah, me too, kinda,” we decided to go for it.  Turned out it was better than expected too.  I thought I would be put off by the subtitles but it wasn’t that big an issue and the story was actually pretty compelling.  And I could kind of relate to the guy because I’ve had those kind of days too, when anything and everything that could go wrong does, when it feels like the whole world is out to get you.  Okay, maybe I’ve never had the arrow through the chest thing, but hey, I’ve had the knife in the back deal.  Neener!  “Apocalypto” was visually compelling and it was pretty intense, a very high action movie, actually, just set in a different time and culture instead of a modern urban setting.  As Darc put it, “that was like the Mayan ‘Die Hard.’”  It even had some tribal humor in the beginning. 

So if you’re looking for something to kill some time, now you have a couple of choices for movies.  Did you happen to see anything good?

Scattered Progress

I keep forgetting what I wanted to blog about.  I know there was something, I just can’t remember what it is.  Lately it seems I get an idea and before I can define and refine it, poof, it’s gone.  While I have my moments, I’m generally not so scatterbrained!  I just feel like I have so much on my mind that I can’t focus on any one particular thought.  Like most things, I can only believe that this too, shall pass. 

I did manage to make some progress on my desk today, so that’s a good thing.  And my son did really well in homeschool.    Tomorrow the kids room gets an overhaul because that room looks like a freaking hurricane went through it!  Progress comes slowly, but it does come.  Hey, maybe I’ll post some pictures when I’m done.   

In the meantime, here’s a “current pic” for you to enjoy. 

more animals