And I wish I had one of the kitchen pre-painting, but I can't find one.
And now...
TA DA!!!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
A Visit from Flat Rachel
I'm pretty sure a lot of the people who read my blog also read Rachel K's blog. If you do, you know that she has been sending a flat version of herself to friends around the country to visit and enjoy the summer. She drew my name out of her sombrero, and last week it was my turn. Flat Rachel will now be returning to Rachel K. in California, and being shipped off to her next destination.
Here is an illustrated narrative of her visit:
Flat Rachel arrived while we were on a week-long trip in Kansas. She spent who knows how many days on my neighbor's counter sitting under a pile of junk mail. Imagine her joy when she was finally released from her paper prison:
Here is an illustrated narrative of her visit:
After her ordeal being trapped in her mailing envelope, she was exhausted, so she collapsed next to Jacob and had a nap on the couch.
Flat Rachel was cooped up so long, we headed to the park for some fresh air. Jacob and Flat Rachel became the best of friends. They ate lunch together and played together.
We needed a little girl time, so we ate Starburst and watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer together.
Knowing that Rachel K. has excellent taste in handbags, I knew Flat Rachel would be equally helpful when I went to buy a few summertime totes. She came along and helped me pick out these cute bags:
It was time to head to Costco with the whole family to get a double jogger/bike trailer and some lights for the bathroom, and Flat Rachel decided to come along and risk her well-being by sitting by Tyler (or as we sometimes call him, Tyler the Destroyer). She survived the trip, and helped us find some lovely bathroom light fixtures.
It was time to try out the new double jogger. We walked all the way to library, which I wouldn't have done without Flat Rachel. I know she loves books. You know Tyler's up to no good. Rachel tried very hard to stick with Jacob and be safe, but...
...there was a bit of an incident, and we had to perform emergency surgery.
Post-op treat of caramel cake:
After Flat Rachel's painful ordeal, I thought she deserved a night out, so we went to Eclipse together:
and then we blogged about it together:
Flat Rachel wanted to sit in on a flute lesson, so she listened from the piano:
As our week together drew to a close, we had a barbecue and some pool time to celebrate Flat Rachel's visit. Flat Rachel sat under the umbrella with a smoothie instead of hopping in the pool (no matter how much Jacob begged for her to join us), because she didn't want her adorable top to smear.
And today, with tears in my eyes, I will bid Flat Rachel a fond farewell and send her back to the loving arms of Rachel K., who thanks to the curse we have (see #2 on her list), has been sick with the stomach flu. Thanks for the good times. Rachel K., get well soon.
Friday, July 9, 2010
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, The Movie
Just kidding.
This post is really about Eclipse, of course. I've seen it twice now. I figured after I had to redo my New Moon review after I saw it the second time, I should probably just see it twice in a week and get it over with so I could do one review instead of two. I'm going to break it down into categories so I can gather my thoughts.
First, let's start with the Stuff that bugged me:
Edward's Grey V-neck. Yeah, I know that seems petty, but that shirt exposed his chest hair and gave me flashbacks to that one scene in New Moon. I won't make you suffer that picture again. The good news is that that plunging V is all we had to see of his pale hairy chest. But let's put some nice crew neck shirts on him.
Could Jasper Relax his Eyes? Have you seen Edward Scissorhands? Great movie. Amazing, really. One of my faves. So you'd think that the fact that Jasper seems to constantly be channeling Edward Scissorhands' wide stare shouldn't bother me, right? But oy! There has to be a different way to convey his special power. I think instead of bugging his eyes out, he needs to master the smize. I'm sure with their bigger budget they could hire Tyra Banks to coach Jasper.
Bella's hair. Tangle much? Wiggy? It's all about the hairline. Most people's hairlines aren't a perfect straight line. Anyway. It bugged me. Everyone else's hair looked fine. More about that in a minute.
Victoria. I have new info on the reason Rachelle LeFevre was canned. Apparently she wanted more money. Poo on her for messing things up. She had the perfect evil sneer, I loved how she delivered her lines, and I was extremely disappointed by her departure from the series. Bryce Dallas Howard isn't a bad actress. She looked the part, red hair and all, she tried really hard to be evil, but she wasn't as good as Rachelle LeFevre. She didn't look evil enough. She was missing the attitude.
Stuff that pleasantly surprised me:
Riley. There have been questionable casting choices with this series (Rob Pattinson comes to mind), but give that casting director a raise for hiring on Xavier Samuel as Riley. In the book, there's really not a lot about him. He makes an appearance at the end for about 2 pages, and isn't described in much detail. However, the screenplay included bits from the novella, "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner." You catch a glimpse of Riley before he is changed, and he is a sweet, young college student. The next time you see him, he is a blood-thirsty, angry vampire. The transformation is convincing and complete. I don't know where they found him, but two enthusiastic thumbs up.
The music. Sorry to keep comparing this movie to New Moon, but the orchestral music in New Moon bugged the heck out of me. The orchestral soundtrack is meant to enhance what is happening on the screen, not distract you from it. So FAIL on that account for New Moon. But obviously, the success from the first 2 movies have helped boost the budget enough that they could hire Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings music guy) for Eclipse. Nice call, people. I admit, the second time I went, I paid more attention to the music and couldn't believe I hadn't realized it was his music the first time. Definitely similar to LOTR stuff. I loved it.
Edward. I know I have already mentioned his yucky shirt and hairy chest. Those were Edward moments I could live without. But there were moments that I understood the whole teen craze over Rob Pattinson. I don't know if it was that they finally figured out that unruly hair, or got the light angles right, or put on just the right amount of makeup, but there were moments he was actually quite attractive. One of the reasons he was more attractive was that he actually smiled. Convincing smiles. Maybe he found a happy place in his life. Or maybe the director told him to stop looking crazed.
The dialogue. These movies are based on romance novels. So there was potential for a LOT of gooey, sappy, lame dialogue. And there was some of that, of course. But there were some great moments, like Charlie trying to give Bella "The Talk," and Edward and Jacob's conversation in the tent ("You know I'm hotter than you."), and so on.
Rosalie. Finally, Rosalie had a decent wig. It didn't look overstyled. Her hair was sleek and shiny, and when it was pulled back I wasn't distracted by the hairline too much. Her makeup was a bit excessive, for sure. Whoa on that eyeshadow. But she looked beautiful and I think they finally got her near the description Meyers gave her in the book.
Jacob. Still hot.
The Action. I LOVED the fight scenes. They were fun, action-packed, and exciting. I loved the impossible spinning leaps of vampires over werewolves, the crunch as vampires collided, and Edward pounding a tree down with Victoria in it. Good stuff.
So, what's the verdict? Best of the three, hands down. Others may disagree, but that's my take on it. I didn't feel like giggling when I wasn't supposed to (except at one spot that I'm sure teenagers thought was totally swoon worthy, but was a bit ridiculous to a 32-year-old housewife). It was one I look forward to buying and watching with my friends more than once. Two thumbs up.
First, let's start with the Stuff that bugged me:
Edward's Grey V-neck. Yeah, I know that seems petty, but that shirt exposed his chest hair and gave me flashbacks to that one scene in New Moon. I won't make you suffer that picture again. The good news is that that plunging V is all we had to see of his pale hairy chest. But let's put some nice crew neck shirts on him.
Could Jasper Relax his Eyes? Have you seen Edward Scissorhands? Great movie. Amazing, really. One of my faves. So you'd think that the fact that Jasper seems to constantly be channeling Edward Scissorhands' wide stare shouldn't bother me, right? But oy! There has to be a different way to convey his special power. I think instead of bugging his eyes out, he needs to master the smize. I'm sure with their bigger budget they could hire Tyra Banks to coach Jasper.
Bella's hair. Tangle much? Wiggy? It's all about the hairline. Most people's hairlines aren't a perfect straight line. Anyway. It bugged me. Everyone else's hair looked fine. More about that in a minute.
Victoria. I have new info on the reason Rachelle LeFevre was canned. Apparently she wanted more money. Poo on her for messing things up. She had the perfect evil sneer, I loved how she delivered her lines, and I was extremely disappointed by her departure from the series. Bryce Dallas Howard isn't a bad actress. She looked the part, red hair and all, she tried really hard to be evil, but she wasn't as good as Rachelle LeFevre. She didn't look evil enough. She was missing the attitude.
Stuff that pleasantly surprised me:
Riley. There have been questionable casting choices with this series (Rob Pattinson comes to mind), but give that casting director a raise for hiring on Xavier Samuel as Riley. In the book, there's really not a lot about him. He makes an appearance at the end for about 2 pages, and isn't described in much detail. However, the screenplay included bits from the novella, "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner." You catch a glimpse of Riley before he is changed, and he is a sweet, young college student. The next time you see him, he is a blood-thirsty, angry vampire. The transformation is convincing and complete. I don't know where they found him, but two enthusiastic thumbs up.
The music. Sorry to keep comparing this movie to New Moon, but the orchestral music in New Moon bugged the heck out of me. The orchestral soundtrack is meant to enhance what is happening on the screen, not distract you from it. So FAIL on that account for New Moon. But obviously, the success from the first 2 movies have helped boost the budget enough that they could hire Howard Shore (Lord of the Rings music guy) for Eclipse. Nice call, people. I admit, the second time I went, I paid more attention to the music and couldn't believe I hadn't realized it was his music the first time. Definitely similar to LOTR stuff. I loved it.
Edward. I know I have already mentioned his yucky shirt and hairy chest. Those were Edward moments I could live without. But there were moments that I understood the whole teen craze over Rob Pattinson. I don't know if it was that they finally figured out that unruly hair, or got the light angles right, or put on just the right amount of makeup, but there were moments he was actually quite attractive. One of the reasons he was more attractive was that he actually smiled. Convincing smiles. Maybe he found a happy place in his life. Or maybe the director told him to stop looking crazed.
The dialogue. These movies are based on romance novels. So there was potential for a LOT of gooey, sappy, lame dialogue. And there was some of that, of course. But there were some great moments, like Charlie trying to give Bella "The Talk," and Edward and Jacob's conversation in the tent ("You know I'm hotter than you."), and so on.
Rosalie. Finally, Rosalie had a decent wig. It didn't look overstyled. Her hair was sleek and shiny, and when it was pulled back I wasn't distracted by the hairline too much. Her makeup was a bit excessive, for sure. Whoa on that eyeshadow. But she looked beautiful and I think they finally got her near the description Meyers gave her in the book.
Jacob. Still hot.
The Action. I LOVED the fight scenes. They were fun, action-packed, and exciting. I loved the impossible spinning leaps of vampires over werewolves, the crunch as vampires collided, and Edward pounding a tree down with Victoria in it. Good stuff.
So, what's the verdict? Best of the three, hands down. Others may disagree, but that's my take on it. I didn't feel like giggling when I wasn't supposed to (except at one spot that I'm sure teenagers thought was totally swoon worthy, but was a bit ridiculous to a 32-year-old housewife). It was one I look forward to buying and watching with my friends more than once. Two thumbs up.
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