Happy Thanksgiving!

Starring Pat's cat Lucky!  Supporting players:  Pat, Mom, Dad & Kristen.

Why hello there!  Looking for some pictures?  Enjoy the ones below!

Lucky went straight for Dad (the only one not trying to pet him) and the massage chair.

Guess which one of these two knew I was taking a picture?

I look awful, but the cat looks content.

Dad relaxing in the massage chair. 

Mom giving and receiving kitty love.

Dad & me 

Root Beer Review: IBC

RANCID.  The first bottle of this root beer tasted like something had died in it.  I've had not-so-great root beers before, but I've never dumped on out after the first few sips.  UGH.  Unfortunately, I still had 5 of these left.  Luckily, none of them tasted like the first.  They weren't the best - lots of carbonation over flavor and an aftertaste that was slightly sour (and reminded me a bit of the first nasty bottle).  Ingredients:  Carbonated Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (preservative), Natural and Artificial Flavors, Modified Food Starch, Citric Acid.  First bottle:  F-.  Other bottles (yes, I drank all 5, so not that bad) C+.

Happy Birthday Emily!

Rain, Rain Stay Stay Stay!

It's raining! Hooray! For an instant earlier this week I was envious of my siblings already having snow this year, but then I remembered that I haven't gotten enough rain yet. I love the rain. It's so soothing. And it keeps the kids from the playground outside my apartment (I think I should get my rent lowered because of that playground. It is non-stop screaming from 2:45-8PM (or later - the parents in this place - I couldn't even see the children one night, but I could hear them. It was like a G-rated horror movie)). When I got the place, it was a tennis court.

How did this get into a Kristen is an old-fuddy-duddy rant? RAIN. I occasionally consider buying one of those nature sound albums, but it's just not the same. There isn't the same misty feeling in the air. You can't fantasize about going outside and dancing in the puddles.

One of my most relaxing memories is being in the parking lot of my first apartment in Texas and hearing a rustling, I turned and was able to watch the rain come across the parking lot towards me. It was summer so it was also a warm rain. BLISS.

Smell Like a Monster

Brilliant Idea: Portion Plate

On my incredibly annoying drive home today (charities are stalking all the intersections...again), I randomly came up with the idea for a portion plate.  It is not really a plate per se, but an overlay that people can put over their plates while they are doling out their portions.  There would be sections for protein (size of the palm of your hand), starch, and vegetable. It would give weight watchers an easy guide to what the size of their meals should look like, but would be removable so they an eat their meals on a normal plate.  And of course, it would be collapsible for easy storage.  Maybe there would be a secondary type of tupperware so you can have the correct portion sizes for lunch the next day - the lid would also help limit the height.  What do you think?  Is there something like this already out there?

Happy Birthday Samuel! (one day late)

What you looking at?

"I've always been scared of you." "That's cause you're smart." Movie Review: Winter's Bone

Mesmerizing and traumatic.  This movie was like a modern-day, non-stereotypical western.  Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone tells the story of a seventeen year old girl who is raising her two younger siblings in a backwoods town in modern-day Arkansas.  She goes on the search for her crank-cooking father so he can make his court date and her family doesn't lose their house due to his bail bond.  To find him, she has to deal with a bunch of people who pride themselves on not talking, and will kill anyone who does (even if they are family).  There is a lot of menace and the need to read between-lines.  I found myself feeling the emotions for the lead character (Ree) because there was no way she could show them to anyone else - and those emotions were a roller coaster ride from small moments of joy to one of the most traumatic things I've seen on film.  Highly recommend.  Rated: R  Type: Film  Grade:  A.

Jello 123

Do you remember Jello 123?  It was an awesome Jello treat that was out in the early 90's (discontinued around 1995 I believe).  It was so good I still remember it today.  I was lucky enough to get a Christmas gift from my parents last year of a similar product called Trio Treat.   On Sunday I made my last box.  See the awesomeness below.

Trio Treat

This is the first time I've tried making them in the champagne style glasses - had to use a chopstick to get to the part in the stem.  But it looks so pretty, doesn't it?

I have also tried several recipes for Jello 123 - this is the tastiest one I've come across - though the middle layer in the separation is usually really thin.  It's a great low-cal and inexpensive treat.

Jello 123
Ingredients:
Water
1 small package Jello  (regular or sugar-free)
Ice cubes
Cool Whip Non Dairy Whipped Topping

Instructions:
Pour 3/4 cup boiling water into blender
Add Jello mix
Cover and blend at low speed for 30 seconds
Combine 1/2 cup cold water and ice cubes to make 1 1/4 cups.
Add to gelatin and stir until ice is partially melted.
Add 1/2 cup Cool Whip Non-Dairy Whipped Topping
Blend for 30 seconds
Pour immediately into dessert glasses (I recommend filling half full and then topping off)
Chill for 30 minutes.
Makes 3 cups.

Let me know if you try it!

"Darling, I kill people" Movie Review: RED and Shutter Island

RED - Starring Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren.  (aka Retired, Extremely Dangerous) I had really low expectations going into this movie, which may have helped the grade.  I swear, I should go into all movies thinking they are horrible and so I can be pleasantly surprised each time.  This was a fun action romp.  Bruce Willis plays the character he always does, but the action was mostly new and creative.  I was surprised to find out this was originally a comic book by Warren Ellis (and I looooove comic book movies).  Movie is worth watching for Helen Mirren alone (see quote in title).  HIGHLY recommend. Type:  Flick  Grade:  A.

Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  Took a LONG TIME for me to be very interested in it.  Way too long (almost 2 and half hours) and DiCaprio's Boston accent was distracting.  The movie was shot beautifully, but the storyline was plodding until the last 20 minutes.  SPOILER ALERT:  Highlight to read: I knew there was a twist at the end - thank goodness it wasn't JUST yeah, you're a patient - the last line DiCaprio's character said made the movie.  I totally thought it would fold back on itself and have it all be a brain experiment and DiCaprio would actually be a Federal Agent that they convinced was a patient.  END SPOILER  Type: Movie Grade:  C-.

Movie Types

I plan to start to do some movie reviews on here (the first after this post) so I thought I should explain my categories of movies:

1.  Flick:  Basically a popcorn movie.  These movies are for pure entertainment only.  They are not trying to make you think.  Example:  Clueless, The Mummy

2. Movie:  A movie that makes you think (or tries to) and tells a story.  Basically, a flick with a reason beyond making just making you laugh or showing action.  Examples:  My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Spiderman

3.  Film:  Epic.  A movie that transports you to another world.  One that feels like you are watching a book. Usually involves a strong metaphor or moral.  Example:  Lord of the Rings, Titanic

Root Beer Review: Dad's

I remember really liking this root beer when I was a kid.  It was definitely different from the others in the box sampler.  First taste was a flavor explosion!  Very creamy flavor with a strong licorice-ish taste.  It had lighter carbonation than most of the others I've tried so far.  However, the taste is so strong, sometimes it came across like an almost medicinal flavor, especially toward the bottom of the bottle.  Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (a preservative), Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors.  Grade:  B-

Or my unicorn will smash in your face.

Didn't expect to read the whole thing but I devoured Zombies vs Unicorns yesterday like a zombie does brains.  There were two editors (Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier) who each argues for one faction or the other. The arguments for zombies won based on their conversations, in my opinion, however the unicorn stories were more memorable.  I've never read about evil unicorns with venom in their fangs before.  The line "Or my unicorn will smash in your face" actually came from a story with a unicorn name Princess Prettypants who farted rainbows.  Humour, mayhem, really odd visuals!  Bliss!  Highly recommend.  There are definitely some new authors for me to check out.

Root Beer Review: Sioux City

Boo.  Another watery root beer.  Actually, it almost tasted more like a cream soda.  Unfortunately, the taste all aftertaste - when drinking it seemed to be just carbonated water.  The second bottle was a bit different - there was a cinnamon flavor to it.  Very odd.  Ingredients:Carbonated Water, Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (a preservative), Natural and Artificial Flavor, Citric Acid.  Grade:  D

Root Beer Review: Frostie

Finally!  A root beer that doesn't taste watery!  Frostie had the creamy almost vanilla flavor of good root beers.  It also had a good ratio of carbonation to taste (didn't feel like it was burning into my tongue).  It's taste was consistent in both bottles.  Ingredients: Carbonated Water, Pure Cane Sugar, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (a preservative), Citric Acid, Natural and Artificial flavors.  Grade:  B+

Family Emergency (all is good now)

Here is a pic from Dad's hospital stay (this is in the ER on 10/27/10).  We can always tell when he is really sick because his hands get cold, so Mom is warming his hands up.  He is mostly better now (at 77% last I spoke with him).  He was diagnosed with TIA (transient ischemic attack) which mimics the symptoms of a small stroke but for a shorter time period and no changes in brain.  It was definitely an experience and I'm still emotionally worn out.  Nice to have so many people offering their support (thank you!).  It feels very strange that life is now "back to normal."  I still brace myself every time my phone rings in case something else has happened.