If I could choose the layout of a newspaper, all the good news would be at the front. I would read all the good and shred the bad. Seriously! I know that it is helpful to be warned about negative things and to be aware of what is happening in the world whether it be good, bad or ugly but, oh, if only the good news sold as well as the bad! So, it may not be a big seller but if I was an editor, here is what my first page would look like. Local Food Blogger Hosts A Pierogi Bee
I was checking my Twitter feed on Saturday morning and the following tweet jumped out at me: From Wikipedia: Pierogi (Polish pronunciation: [pjɛˈrɔɡʲi]; also spelled perogi, pierogy, perogy, pierógi, pyrohy, pirogi, or pyrogy. However you want to spell it, pierogies are one of my all-time favorite foods. If you have spent any time in Calgary, you have probably sampled some of these fluffy little bundles of comfort food at one time or another. Pierogies were one of the things I missed when we were living in California and New York. When I noticed Julie's tweet I had to ask, "What is a peroghy bee?" Imagine my delight when she replied that she was having friends over to make up a bunch of pierogies and then proceeded to invite Max and I to come over! (Another thing I love is invites. I almost always say yes, especially if they are spur of the moment! *Note to all new friends: don't invite Misty over unless you really mean it!)
Max rolling out pierogi dough.
We had a lovely time meeting new friends, stuffing and pinching perogies and playing with Louis (the dog). Thanks for being neighborly, Julie, and thanks for the wonderful pierogi recipe! I am so excited to try them!
If you don't already follow her, you should. @dinnerwithjulie for more great recipes and inspiring pictures of the food she makes in her kitchen. Julie's post on the day's events can be found here. Have you hosted a 'bee' at your home? I have been thinking of all the things it would be fun to make with friends like ravioli's, muffins, cookies, anything that would be faster in an assembly line. Friends make everything better!More Good Things | Max Hamel Is Two Max had a birthday while we were in California a couple of weeks ago. We kept his party low-key with family and some penguin decorations for the Pingu theme. I set up a Pinterest board for inspiration the week before and found a local baker via Yelp when we got there. Mehgan, at Above and Beyond Cakes, was so great to work with and even though she had never heard of Pingu she made us a fantastic cake! The guests wore penguin masks! Ellen Asks Russell Brand About #MomEnough The Time Magazine cover has been talked about way too much! (I even blogged about it.) It has not been laughed about enough. Russell's take is worth watching. In Conclusion I know we can't stick our head in the sand every day, but some days we just need to focus on the good. Some days I don't want to read something negative, scary, or disgusting. On those days, I wish that news would come with a warning label. DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE DISTURBED! Do you ever feel that way? |
"If you are a gardener and find me," said the little bunny, "I will be a bird and fly away from you."
"If you become a bird and fly away from me," said his mother,
"I will be a tree that you come home to."
from The Runaway Bunny, 1942
Margaret Wise Brown
Happy Mother's Day to my mom who, like the mother in The Runaway Bunny, is always there for her kids.
I love you mom!
I pray that my heart can be as big as yours!
I became a mom on April 21, 2010.
You don’t need to know whether I had a natural birth or an epidural.
You don’t need to know if I had a midwife, a nurse-practitioner or an OB/GYN.
You don’t need to know if I breastfed or used formula.
You don’t need to know if I co-slept or let him cry-it-out.
You don’t need to know if I used disposable or cloth.
None of the above information is relevant.
Here is what I would like you to know:
I make conscious decisions every day to meet my child’s needs to the best of my ability.
I make mistakes and then I try to do better.
I love my kid more than I thought was possible.
As long as those 3 things are true:
I am mom enough.
Let’s be in this together and be happy.
Let’s listen without judgement and be peaceful.
Let’s enjoy each other’s successes and be joyful.
Let’s share each other’s tears and be comforted.
Let’s help one another be mom enough and be united.
We love.
We do our best.
We are mom enough!
My husband gets really annoyed when I watch certain shows right before bed. I can never fall asleep after watching them because, as he says, I get too worked up. I've always been more of a night owl anyway so adding in these shows just brings out the wide-awake in me.
Glee
Smash
The Voice
and now... The Voice UK
There is something about music that wakes me up. Makes me want to move. Makes me happy. Makes me want to SING!!! Here are two clips from the first episode of The Voice UK that had me grinning from ear to ear.
My parents are somewhat to blame for this but even if they hadn't got me started loving music I think music would have found me anyway. I am going to sing today. After Max wakes up from his nap. He will sing with me. Josh will get annoyed. I don't care. What are you going to do that makes you happy? | |
Disclaimer - I am writing this after lying in bed since I got home from The Hunger Games screening on Thursday night. I have a Nyquil hangover and can barely swallow food. So, if the following review is filled with grammatical errors, I apologize. If, however, my review is filled with views that you disagree with, I would love to read your feedback in the comment section. I shied away from The Hunger Games trilogy based on the subject matter. Kids killing kids was too dark a subject matter for me to handle. Then, Google Play entered my life. The Market app on my Android disappeared and was replaced by this intriguing new icon labeled Play Store. Curious, I tapped the icon and saw that I could browse apps, games, books, movies...oh, so dangerous! The featured book was The Hunger Games and when I saw that you could get a free sample, well, of course I got the free sample. Am I the only girl out there who is a sucker for a free sample of anything? That is the story of how I got sucked into reading The Hunger Games.
I read the free sample and I became invested in Katniss Everdeen, little Primrose Everdeen, and yes, Gale. I bought the book on my phone, continued reading it on my tablet, bought the 2nd and 3rd books and read them the same way. All of that was in the span of less than 48 hours. Judge away, fellow mommies, judge away. I read on the toilet, I propped my phone up and read while I was cooking, I read while Max was napping and most of all I read when I should have been sleeping.
Now, I should warn you that if you intend to either read the books or see the movie, you should stop reading this review and please return to read it later. **************Spoiler Alert************** The Hunger Games - Books Vs. Movie
Katniss Everdeen
When I read The Hunger Games there was something about Katniss Everdeen that inspired me. Yes, I know, I am a 36 year old mother getting inspired by reading a Young Adult fiction book. Nevertheless, I was, and am inspired. Katniss is strong. She rebels against authority and puts herself at risk in order to feed her family and friends. She is skilled at hunting with a bow and arrow. She loves her little sister fiercely.
The movie tries to get all of this back story in but if you hadn't read the book, I don't think you would get exactly how fierce Katniss is. The beginning of the movie is a little rushed for my taste and the actual filming was very rushed, made me dizzy as the camera panned super quick from image to image.
Team Gale or Team Peeta
The Hunger Games trilogy was not a romance in my opinion. Katniss is very focused on survival and protecting those she loves. If you had asked me, after reading the books, who Katniss should be with, I would have been hard-pressed to give you an answer. Neither character really grabbed me. Maybe I would have been more partial to Gale because he is a strong hunter with a bit of a dark, mysterious side.
As I sat and watched the camera pan to Josh Hutcherson's pale and nervous face, I thought, "Why did they pick this guy for Peeta Mellark?" It took me a little while and then I got it. I don't know exactly when I developed a soft spot for him but I think it was when he wowed the crowds in his charming interview with Caesar Flickerman who was wonderfully played by Stanley Tucci. So, before I saw the movie I was Team Katniss all the way. Now I could be tempted to lean towards Team Peeta and it remains to be seen if the buff Liam Hemsworth can act his way into my heart as Gale in the movies to come. Wow, that is too much cougar talk for now!
The Hunger Games - Violence
The books are violent and the movie is too. This is not a story that you can pretend happens in another world with pretend beings that we know aren't real. This is a story about humans in a time not too far removed from us. Sure the citizens of Panem are a bit ridiculous with their crazy outfits and shaped facial hair but the kids from the Districts are just kids. When you read about Cato snapping another kids neck with a twist of his arm it is disturbing. When you actually see him snap a kids neck it is disturbing and nauseating. The most gruesome scenes are blurred by camera speed and your mind is left to make up what you know has happened. This is not a movie for young kids and the books, in my opinion, should be carefully read by parents before their kids read them and family discussions should follow.
The Hunger Games - Characters
So I could go through each character but that would make this lengthy review way too long. I'll just give the highlights and the disappointments.
Jennifer Lawrence was a good Katniss. It was my first time seeing her in a film and I was really worried since she wasn't what I had in mind when I read the books but she pulled it off. Perfect? No, but I ended up liking her in the role. You already know what I think about Josh Hutcherson as Peeta and I am reserving judgement on Liam Hemsworth as Gale.
Rue. Sweet little Rue! Amandla Stenberg was perfect and yes I cried when she died.
Stanley Tucci was fabulous as Caesar Flickerman.
Elizabeth Banks was good as Effie Trinkett but I found it odd that they never said her name.
The disappointments. No Avox? No team in The Remake Center? Octavia, Venia, Flavius. These characters played such a large role in all three books, it was surprising that they weren't given any play in the movie.
Major disappointment, The Mockingjay Pin was not focused on like I thought it should be. In the books the pin was so symbolic it was almost a character itself. Not in the movie. Also, The Hob, such a big part of the books was almost nonexistent in the movie.
The Hunger Games - Costumes
This is where the movie really let me down. Clothing was a major focus point in the books. Cinna (played by Lenny Kravitz) as a designer extraordinaire had me imagining the most fantastic clothing throughout the books. I did think that the two intro outfits were good but not blow-my-mind-fantastic. More than that, the whole story of Cinna just seemed to get a bit lost in the movie.
Then there are the citizens of Panem. Lame. It seemed very quickly pulled together and for such a huge film I would appreciate more attention to detail.
In Conclusion - My Rating of The Hunger Games Movie In order to understand the depth of the story you should read the books, then see the movie. And you should see the movie. Overall they did a good job of making the characters come to life and stayed fairly true to the book. Oh yeah, and I did cry. Twice. Full Disclosure - I responded to @ShesConnected on Twitter when they asked for bloggers across Canada who wanted to view The Hunger Games and blog about it. The passes were provided by Toshiba. I was SUPER excited when they chose me and said I would be getting 2 double passes and to get me plus three others together to see the movie. It was a bit embarrassing to find out I was only getting 1 double pass and had to then figure out who to take and who to apologize too. @ShesConnected apologized saying that they didn't get as many passes as they were told they would and had to tell some bloggers that they weren't getting any of the passes promised. Understandable. My lesson learned is not to invite anyone until the passes are actually in hand (or in my inbox). I was still very happy to get the 1 double pass and see the movie with my friend, Jolene.
Decided to take a walk with Max and his cousin and didn't realize until we were far from the house and greeting strangers that I hadn't brushed my hair and I had the biggest pimple of my life (all swollen and white) right in the middle of my forehead.
Singing the Hello song at Athletic Tot and realized that Max's breakfast was still all over his face.
Smelled something weird, couldn't figure out what it was. Took a shower, resolved the issue.
That's all.
I think I am going to give up talking for Lent. Is it too late to jump in? Seriously, I have days where I feel too tired to speak and I wish I didn't have to respond to anyone. Today is one of those days. So, instead of writing about these sludgy grey feelings I thought I'd share a fantastic video with you. I hope you find it as fascinating as I did.
It is our wedding anniversary today. 10 years. We have loved and fought. We have laughed and cried. We have moved from California to Canada to New York and back to Canada. We have been through better and we have been through worse. We are still committed and that takes work. Is it easy? No. Is it worth it? Yes. On the 1oth anniversary of our engagement I wrote some thoughts about this relationship I got myself into by saying "yes". (If you missed it you can catch up at 10 Years After Tra Vigne.) A few friends asked for pics of the wedding. Most of our pics are in storage in California but here is a peek into our special day.
Lacquered Walls I love lacquered walls in almost every color. There is one peach room that I have been seeing people blog about and it doesn't do anything for me. But that's why I said 'almost'. There are some colors thought that are the top of my favorites when lacquered and I think black has to be at the very top. Look at this room! (Find more of my faves on my Lacquered Walls Pinterest board.) (Find more of my faves on my Lacquered Walls Pinterest board.) Yes, that's a link. Follow it. Make them. Never look back. Seriously! Brunch at Brasserie Kensington The Brasserie is a great place to sit in the late morning and eat some breakfast poutine. It is lit by enormous windows so I can bask in the light and almost forget how cold it is outside. Tip: Follow @The_BrassKens to be tempted by their specials!Reading The Hunger Games I just read the trilogy this week, don't ask me how many days it took, it's embarrassing. Great read. Provocative and inspiring. The movie is coming out soon and I hope that Jennifer Lawrence does Katniss Everdeen justice. The music for the movie is awesome thanks to the team-up of The Civil Wars and Taylor Swift. Odd pairing but it works! A Couple of Shows Smash. NBC's new show depicts a behind-the-scenes view of the production of a new Broadway Musical and I L-O-V-E it!
Downton Abbey. I'm kind of glad I didn't catch this when it started because I got to marathon Season One. What a great show. Then again, the BBC almost always puts out great shows! (MI-5 is over! How sad is that?) The Colour Green I need a green room. And I'm not talking the room behind the stage. I need some green walls or green leather furniture or a green table. I also need green boots. Dark, swampy green leather boots. But the green that has been making me happy is dark green walls like the custom colour that Kristin Hein and Philip Cozzo had Fine Paints of Europe make for them. Their Cape Cod Bay living room was featured in House Beautiful's March issue this year and I am in love with the green. Yes, I have started a Green Pinterest board. Not too many pins yet but I think we will be seeing more green to come.Flush-Mount Switches If you are an interior designer, you owe it to all future clients to check out Trufig and their amazing product. No more ugly light switches, power outlets and data jacks. They can camouflage anything! Texts & Skype
With Loved Ones Far Away My brother, Matt. My two grandpas. The little ones that I watched in New York. My two besties in NY. I am thankful for them keeping in touch with me. The Silly Grin
Max gives us this silly grin every time we ask him to smile. Today Josh pulled out the camera and without us saying anything Max posed like this and said, "Cheese!"
10 Years of Simulssage Okay, I admit, when you spell it out it is not the sexiest portmanteau (two words combined into one) but it is one of the secrets to staying married. Almost every night for the past 10 years Josh and I have practiced simulssage. Simultaneous massage works like this. Let's say you are on the couch watching a show or reading and you would really like a foot massage. So you suggest simulssage and your partner thinks, hmmm...I would like a foot massage too, so he agrees. You sit at opposite ends of the couch and each massage the other's foot. As long as you keep massaging, your partner keeps massaging. Simulssage. It's a beautiful thing!
- He loves me.
- He is patient with me.
- He is snuggly.
- He is super funny.
- He wants me to be fulfilled in life and encourages me to be my own person.
- He is the best dad to our son.
- He cleans house better and quicker (and more) than I do.
- He cooks incredible food.
- He values my advice.
- He always sincerely apologizes when he is wrong.
I could list more but this week I am posting Lists Of 10 in honor of our 10th Wedding Anniversary on Friday. I could also give you a list of things I don't like but I'm sure I will post those things when inspiration (or rage) hits me. Maybe this positive list will balance those posts out . Plus, it's his birthday today and I love him.
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