Labor Day Movie Critic

Boy, was it hard to wake up this morning, especially given the realization that I probably won't have any days off of work until say...Thanksgiving.

My Labor Day weekend was very nice, K and I hung out on Saturday, went to a party on Sunday then pretty much hung out with my family all day on Monday.

For some reason we also saw a lot of movies, so I thought I would play movie critic, in case you are looking for a movie to watch sometime soon.

Coraline: We got this from On Demand on Friday night and since we don't have 3-D glasses laying around the house, we had to rent the regular version. That being said it is still a very entertaining movie. It reminded me a bit of the "Nightmare Before Christmas." K liked it too and he doesn't normally like cartoon movies. B+ would be my grade.

Inglourious Basterds: At first I wasn't sure what I thought about this movie, going into the theater I thought it was based on a true story so I found it a little...shocking. Once I suspended reality I liked it a lot. It has a good mix of war, humor, and actual storyline. I'll give it an A-.

Notorious: It's the story of the life of Notorious B.I.G (which was pretty short and tragic.) The beginning was good but it did get a little slow towards the end. I may have enjoyed it more if I was a big fan of hip hop. C

District 9: Definitely my favorite of the 4, it is very fast paced and holds your attention for the whole movie. It is documentary style for most of it and doesn't have any super famous actors which makes it seem like it could really be happening. Go see it while it is in theaters still! A

I also watched the whole thing of Not Without My Daughter on TV on Saturday for the first time...why does Sally Field play the same character in every movie she makes?

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

In honor of the last real cookout weekend of the summer I thought I would share a recipe. I made this for the 4th of July and it was a huge hit and now it is the only thing people want me to bring to parties. Even people who don't like potato salad like this! The original recipe came from allrecipes.com but I made some changes.

What you will need (will make a large bowl full):
5 pounds red potatoes
2 cups sour cream
1 cup mayo
1 bunch of green onions
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I sometimes use a bit more then two cups)
1 package of thick cut bacon

How to make it:
1) Cube potatoes and cook in lightly salted water (the water should only just cover the potatoes) for about 10 minutes or until you can easily stab them with a fork.
2)Allow potatoes to cool completely
3) Cook bacon and chop it up (bacon bits style)
4) Chop green onions (I use kitchen shears to do this, it goes a lot quicker)
5) In a large bowl mix together sour cream, mayo, about 3/4 of the cheese, about 3/4 of the onions and stir in the cooled potatoes gradually. Then add in about 3/4 of the bacon bits.
6) Top with the rest of the cheese, the rest of the green onions and the rest of the bacon to make it look pretty!
7) Eat it! Leftovers will hold up well in the fridge.

Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Whew...that was a close call

I have to say one of my biggest fears regarding other people's kids is having them ask me something about sex or reproduction. Such a weird area, especially when you don't know the parents or what the kid already knows. You don't want to step on any toes or reveal too much. Having spent a lot of time babysitting I have fielded my fare share of awkward questions but in those cases I normally had a good relationship with the parents.

This brings me to today...

There is a little girl (she is 11 actually so you would think she would know some things) who lives in our building, and she just loves Hanna. Whenever she sees her she runs over and plays with her for a couple minutes. This gets Hanna all excited and she jumps around and climbs on her.

We haven't seen her since Hanna got spayed...that is until this evening:

Little Girl: Hanna!

Me: Be careful, she just had surgery on Monday and isn't supposed to jump around too much.

Little Girl: Oh, what's wrong with her?

Me: Nothing (panicking about what I should say...should I say spayed or fixed or will that prompt more questions...or will she know what that is...I mean she is 11) just her...puppy surgery

Little Girl: For what?

Me: Ummmm...(shit...how do I explain this to a stranger's child without getting sued) ummmm...

Little Girl: Dog things?

Me: Exactly! (thank God)

In retrospect my over-active imagination was probably turning the whole thing into a bigger deal then it actually was. I probably could have just said fixed and if she asked I could just say so she can't have puppies. But I panicked. I've seen the girl's mom and she looks like she could take me.

The Case of the Over Accessorizer

There is this girl at my office...now she is a very nice person and seems to be good at her job, but her wardrobe is in crisis. The first problem is the fact that she is larger lady and does not dress appropriately for her body at all, but that is pretty common. The bigger problem is the fact that she completely over accessorizes...every...single...day.

While over accessorizing is never good, in a professional setting it is just horrible. I was in a meeting with her this morning and to be honest I found myself paying attention to all the jewelery rather then listening to her talk.

For example...today she had on huge silver dangly earrings, a long strand of pearls wrapped around her neck twice then knotted, 2 three inch wide silver colored plastic bangles on one arm and a two inch wooden tribal-ish bracelet on the other. To top it off her nails were painted purple, except for one nail on each hand which was painted white.

I like this girl (although I do not know her well) and I wish we were friends because she is desperate need for someone to talk to her about the perils of over accessorizing.

Here are my rules (compiled from personal experience and advice from others):

1) If you are wearing big earrings you don't need a necklace (conversely if you are wearing a big necklace wear small studs if you are going to wear earrings)

2) Bracelets should only be worn on one arm at a time (I know some may disagree, but it is my preference.)

3) Rings should be worn on no more then two fingers on each hand (at the very most!)

4) When accessorizing being too matchy-matchy is too much!

5) If you think you may be falling prey to over accessorizing, take one thing off before you leave the house.


So what do you all think about over accessorizing?

Way Back When

K and I decided that it would be probably best if I stayed home again (yes it is soooo upsetting for me to miss work) with Hanna again today, we are worried about her getting into her stitches. So I am chilling in the house watching TV and guess what is on....

"Surviving Sextuplets and Twins!"

The original Jon and Kat Plus 8 special...back when they were poor and in love, when Kate had brown, non-spiky hair, when Jon didn't wear Ed Hardy or diamond studs. It's also before Kate got the free tummy tuck from Jon's current girlfriend's father. Very strange.

By the way...wait until Halloween, K and I are planning awesome costumes! I bet you can guess what or should I say who...we are going to be.

Yet another reason I am excited about next May

Sex and the City Sequel!!!!

(the other reason has to do with the life changes I have been mentioning...more on that still to come)

[photo from usmagazine.com]

Relaxing at Home

I picked up Hanna this morning and we have both been relaxing ever since. She actually seems pretty good, just sleeping and laying down a lot. I wish I could explain to her what is going on; she probably is so confused about why she isn't feel well and doesn't feel like playing.

That you all for your sweet comments...maybe some people would think I was crazy for obsessing so much about a dog but I am glad my bloggy friends are fellow dog lovers who understand!