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Dec. 26th, 2009 @ 05:45 pm
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) rendergirl
You are an amazingly fantastic lady and I am sorry I'm late in the day to wishing you a good one. I hope it was kick ass in its own way and that you remember you are loved. ♥ |
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Dec. 25th, 2009 @ 03:33 pm
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Christmas Eve is the time when the Pence family decides to celebrate--the gift opening, the sweets and egg nog all happen the night before Christmas day, so that Christmas day is knows as the day of recovery and sleep.
I made butter cookies, sugar cookies, peanut butter fudge, meatballs, goulash, meatloaf, grandmas corn casserole and heavenly rice.
The goulash went well, surprisingly. Grandma ate some of it then took half of it home. When I asked grandma how I did with the heavenly rice, she shook her head side to side slow and sad then informed me, "Not even close. Doesn't taste like how my mother made it at all."
I love Grandma.
Thus sparked the conversation from everyone, those that ate it and those that didn't, of: Yes, but does it TASTE good?
The egg nog that I made from an Alton Brown recipe with bourbon lasted less than four minutes. At first when I tried to get everyone to try it, they were all terribly polite about 'not right now.' So I got smart and said, "WELL I'M GOING TO HAVE SOME :D" and that started a landslide of, "Well if you're getting one get me one too?"
I brought them out and set them down and went back in to grab more pre-poured christmas-y glasses and heard a chorus of, "Holy crap! This is good!" along with, "WOW, this IS good--" and by the time I brought out more, there were empty glasses already.
I think the christmas gifts I made for everyone went over well this year! Kim commented about how she too, liked hand-made gifts a lot, and my Mom in law set fire to candle a few minutes after opening it.
This year I got Star Wars Darth Vadar chop sticks from "Santa," and a snuggle from Grandma. Kim gave up some kitty-cat food samples, a pen, a coupon off pet food should we ever decide to try purina, and $.
After, to steer the conversation away from animals because food & animals are generally all we talk about and it apparently drives Kim's boyfriend, Ritchie, nuts, he asked about god and the bible. That opened up the floodgates between Mark, Phyllis, Ritchie and Shawn about Christianity in general and weird faqs as well as skirting around some very obvious things--such as I think Ritchie might be an Atheist but he was trying to say that without saying it.
Believe it or not, the discussion went well until Grandma looked confused and fell quiet at ten pm and we decided to ask her if she wanted to go home.
Of course, if you were following this blog earlier and all the squealing, I got early christmas gifts from my internet friends who are sexy beasts: Sculpey bright colors clay pack, a Barnes & Noble virtual gift card & four books from yellowrosetx.
I liked this year's Christmas a lot and it's funny, because I was worried that because we didn't have much to give each other this year it would some how feel lacking. It's funny what the brain and the heart do when they collide with one another!
I already desperately miss Christmas and don't want it to go even though it's Christmas day. I put up so many shiny things and have enjoyed looking at them year round. I will miss the snowflakes, the tinsel, the tiny tree, the LED snowflake lights and snowflake garland in our room--I'll be sad when it's time to take them down! Everything will seem plain for a long while after!
I hope this Christmas sends joy to all of you this year!Hint:  tired |
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It started off a balmy 71 degrees in Houston this morning, but it's dropped almost 30 since then and may freeze tonight. Good, because even though I was born in this humid swamp of a city, I hate breaking a sweat on Christmas. It just feels wrong.
I'll be offline for the evening and tomorrow, but I hope everyone out there has a happy, blessed, and wonderful Christmas day!
Love to you all,
NinaHint:  Merry! Ears: We Wish You a Merry Christmas |
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The cookies I made tonight:
Out of the holiday cooking I have to do I've finished:
Grandma's goulash
Meatballs
Cookies
Swept living room
dust living room
mopped living room
I still have to finish:
Meatloaf
Heavenly rice
Peanut butter fudge
Corn casserole
Home made eggnog
clean kitchen
sweep kitchen
mop kitchen quickly
I can move the eggnog to tomorrow, since I want it as fresh as well as cold. The corn casserole only takes an hour to cook, so that can also be moved to tomorrow and since I won't be done cooking until then, the kitchen cleaning will have to wait until then as well. So I have to get the meatloaf & heavenly rice done and we're good for tonight.
Also, I am so glad there's a lot of damn space between the next Thanksgiving & Christmas. I'm happy and cheerful and love the holiday seasons but being pretty much responsible for making it happen has also made me very tired and not wanting to cooking anything ever again for another ten months.
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Dear yellowrosetx,
I love you and will have your babies.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!11! |
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And now to lighten up my previously pissed off entry, I bring you one of my favorite singers because she may be as insane as I am:
"I'm gonna pee on you."
"It's gonna be hot."
"I'm gonna pee on you."
"It's gonna be wet." |
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I sent someone a pair of earrings for Christmas in a Christmas card.
They didn't get them, but they got the remainder of the card.
When they got the card, it arrived with the entire bottom torn out and half the back of the envelope missing. They let me know that the back of the card was nearly torn off, too. I taped those earrings very well to the card and I am assuming that someone tore the card to near shreds to steal...a pair of polymer clay earrings.
Steal earrings.
Really?
Good job who ever you are, for reminding me of one of the many reasons why so many people are--rightfully so--pissed off and fed up for Christmas.Hint:  annoyed |
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I confess I'm one of those people who lugs around a lot of baggage in regard to Christmas. When you are a child, Christmas is all about fun and presents and singing and pretty lights. When you are an adult, it's about expenses and obligations and every memories of every dark thing that ever happened to you during this obligatorily "happy" time of year that still haunt you. Still, I think I'm getting better. I was able to decorate the Christmas tree without crying this year, and if that's not a sign of progress then I don't know what is.
( Zombie Dads Are No Fun At Christmas )Hint:  thoughtful Ears: The Christmas Song |
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Avatar review expanded, but still short and hopefully not going to give anything away:
Reasons why you might not like it:
- If having an absolutely original, non-cliche story line or plot to this movie is essential for you, disregarding effects, entertainment value and what not--then you'll find it hard to watch Avatar.
Avatar's main plot is a mix of several archetype stories that have been rehashed in different places over the years. There are some club-over-the-head-strikingly blatant plot directions, a few gaping holes here and there and some very over-the-top personalities.
As a side note, I see a lot of people commenting on how racist the SL seems to be. I don't think the focus of the SL had anything to do with race, but how one man started out on a dark, selfish path and finally learned to a) think for himself and b) do the right thing. Avatar's story is about a battle for a man's soul and saving it. Everything else is just padded story and eye candy.
- If you have something against CGI or issues with the uncanny valley watching this movie might be difficult. The majority of the film is CGI (although most movies have CGI in some way, shape or form these days. I think the entirety of this movie has it but for very small scenes.)
- Sam Worthington, the main male lead is not...particularly interesting to look at as a human. Put him in blue however, and he does fine because his dialogue and on-screen time is significantly cut.
- If you have issues with sci-fi films or simply aren't a fan of the genre. I know a lot of people who simply don't have any interest in science fiction. If such is the case you'll probably find it hard to be interested in this movie. It's...well, sci-fi.
Reasons you might like it:
- The cliched story line isn't as bad as a few have made it out to be, especially if you are a sci-fi, fantasy fan. We're familiar with it, yet Avatar does really well to make it an enjoyable experience. I found myself despite the clear-as-a-bell plot device moments, being drawn in to the story anyway. I ended up cheering for the good guys and mentally booing for the bad--even though I already gleaned how the story was going to unravel from the get go.
I tend to think that a story's done its job when it can do that to you.
- The CGI for me was utterly amazing. I did not have any issues with uncanny valley. I knew what I was looking at was CGI, my brain knew--but for 99% of the movie my eyes did not. Some times in movies, the CGI is so perceivable that my eyes and brain agree with one another and I end up finding the effect ruined a little bit. I didn't have any instances of this during Avatar (maybe a few seconds where some things didn't line up correctly--but nothing I can even remember enough to specify where and what.)
There were instances in the movie where I was down right floored at how realistic they got movements down--especially the expressions for Zoe Saldana's character, Neytiri, the female lead.
- Speaking of Zoe and her character, Neytiri, where Sam Worthington falters, Zoe absolutely kicks ass. Her voice acting and the CGI character has more presence than half of the real actors. Her emotions coupled with the spot-on-character expressions carried the movie and made everything all the more believable. Thanks to her performance there were several times I choked up. (And it helps I am a big giant squishy, yes.)
- It's a big giant completely original world out there. It's said that James Cameron had the world built, from the entire ecosystem, to it's plants and animals, to the language and lifestyle of the Na'vi and made into an encyclopedia long before the movie was being made. I think this translates--the world he shows you is lush and rich, it's creatures memorable, the plant life diverse. Even though we only see snippets of it, wide-ranging vista shots without any explanation of flowers or trees or what-not, it doesn't seem to matter. It's so difficult to explain for me, but the care taken to give us a unique world is simply there in every shot of Pandora.
In the end I walked out of Avatar knowing it wasn't 100% perfect, but feeling like I'd been taken for a ride. One that I was (in today's economy) happy to pay for and considered wanting to go watch again.
I didn't go into this movie searching for imperfections, overlaying tones, underlying notes, secret messages. I didn't spend my time in the theater analyzing every single scene, set of dialogue for all the hidden meanings, either. When I go to a movie I go to watch it--I go to be entertained. If I found it entertaining, I consider the movie to do what it intended to do.
Avatar, for me, did that and more. It isn't one things about the movie that made it memorable, or the fact it was just eye candy, but several little instances from how well the voice acting was to how well the CGI conveyed itself and convinced me what I was seeing, was real.
I think it's a must see. In a season packed with sequels, prequels, and parts three and four--Avatar is also a refreshing break from everything we've already seen before. So shove your pride about "but everyone else likes it," to the door and suck it up to go have fun. Walk in with little expectations and walk out pleasantly entertained.
So I recommend it highly, it's a must see on my list.Hint:  giggly |
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