February 2007Monthly Archives

Movie Review: Because I Said So

All I can say about Because I Said So is.. wow? I don’t get embarrassed easily by sexual innuendos but holy cow, did this movie cross the line a few times. I think the older folks around me were enjoying it more than I did. Granted there were some funny parts, but goodness – what an eye opener this movie was. It just goes to show you there are all sorts of parent/child relationships out there.

Other than that, I really don’t have a lot to say. I enjoy Lauren Graham’s acting more in Gilmore Girls then I did in this movie, and Mandy Moore has gone a long way from her innocent girlish roles. Piper just played another part similar to her role in Coyote Ugly. Diane Keaton stole the show in parts of the movie, but normally in these sort of chic flicks I don’t want them to end, and this one I was shifting around waiting for the end to come.

Lydia

20 February, 2007

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My Celebrity Lookalikes

Lydia

19 February, 2007

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I've taken the leap!

Yes, my friends, I’ve finally done it. Yesterday, after work, I made my way through the snow and treacherous ice and ended up at Pearce Community Center after several months of promising to, three filled out (and subsequently lost) applications, numerous self-beating up sessions for not doing it… well you get the picture.

I’m finally well enough off financially to swing the initial fees, finally fed up with my lack of physical fitness to push myself into this, and finally excited enough about being able to get out of my home and find a new place to settle in where I can meet people, swim (even in the winter, thanks be for 84 degree pools!), relax in a sauna and walk without having to brave the cold weather for it.

I’ve always been such a homebody that I never could pull myself away from my books and computer to get out and do things. Now with my Inspire meetings, my Pearce membership and personal piano lessons I’m finally breaking away from a hermit-like existence for the last 10 years and living again.

The cruise didn’t hurt either. =)

Lydia

16 February, 2007

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Movie Review: Dreamgirls

Once a week I make it a point to have a “Date Night” with myself and trudge across the street (in the snow if needs be!) to go to our local theater. I’ve been pretty lucky that every week the theater has at least one movie that I want to see (it can show two at once, whoopee) and this past weekend my choices were Dreamgirls or The Hitcher. Well, after watching the trailers of each – my choice was obvious.

I did not expect this movie to hit me like it did. At first I was mildly interested because I’m an American Idol fan, and I knew Jennifer Hudson because of her performances on the show (although she was far from my favorite – she had an attitude that rubbed me the wrong way but played well for her in her part in Dreamgirls). She gave an incredibly emotional performance in the movie through her singing though and they did do a great job of showing the difference between a soulful voice and Beyonce’s “pop” voice.

It was worth the $4.00 for me to see the movie, for sure. I was even moved to tears quite a few times over the injustice shown to Jennifer’s character repeatedly – and the music really was quite good – worth the price of a ticket in itself.

Lydia

13 February, 2007

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Movie Review: Beethoven Lives Upstairs

The night before vacation I stuck this movie into the DVD player and really did not know what to expect from it.

The information from Netflix was that it was a story about a boy who lived in a house where Beethoven was the tenant upstairs. The opening credits of the movie indicated it was a kid’s movie. Great.

The movie turned out to be pretty acceptable. It kept my interest and portrayed Beethoven near the end of his lifetime. He was working on the 9th Symphony at the time and had lost his hearing – the actor did a wonderful job of pulling off a cranky, but still touching man. Sometimes I just get so involved in playing the music the great composers wrote and I don’t sit down to think about the people behind them. There was a moment in the movie when the boy’s uncle is talking to him about the musical genius that is Beethoven and remarked something along the lines of, the music that we hear from Mr. Beethoven is just a fragment of the wonderful music that he hears inside of his head all the time.

How beautiful and frustrating that must have been. To be so full inside of music and unable to get it out fast enough – I can’t even imagine. I go nuts if I go for a few days without being able to express my emotions through the classics.

Hats off to Beethoven and the other great composers is all I could think about after watching that movie – check it out if you would like to see a different perspective on how Beethoven lived.

Movie Review: RV

So over vacation I sat mom and dad down and we spent a bit of time watching RV. I was unsure about this movie from the previews, and while Robin Williams can be totally hilarious at times he can also be incredibly crude in his humor.

But hey, this is a vacation, right? Bring on the vacation movies.

We laughed … so hard. The portrayal of a 15 year old girl – spot on. The issues the family dealt with throughout the vacation and the stages of resentment to acceptance to returning to that warm fuzzy family feeling reminded me of so many of our own family vacations, well the ones that involved serious amounts of traveling in a van!

The movie had some major laughter points (and one particular part reminded me so much of how my father would react in the same situation) and some major feel good points. Overall, A+ for keeping us entertained and willing to sit in a tiny cabin room instead of out on the deck for a few hours.

And the roomservice cheeseburgers weren’t bad either.

Cruise Report

So many things happened on my vacation that there is simply no way to put down in words the sheer amount of things that happened. So I’ve decided to do a listing of new things I experienced, ate, and places I visited in the days that they occured. In addition, I’m posting some pictures of the day we set sail and the view of Miami. My parents are holding the actual cruise pictures hostage until my mother gets back from Atlanta.

Day 1. Miami – Set sail at 5:00 pm EST
New Experiences

Waving goodbye to the cars honking and people sitting out on the beach as we left port.
Doing the emergency life jacket drill (not fun)
Attending my first “grown-up” social event gathering with the Colwell Banker Devonshire realtor group
Stepping foot into my first ships cabin.
Walking out onto the deck at 10pm that first night and seeing nothing but blackness and sea surrounding me. ( THAT was incredible)

New Foods

Cavier
Creme Brulee

Day 2. At Sea
New Experiences

Reading on deck with a spectacular view of the ocean
Napping while on deck
Watching my first cruise ship show (And boy was it cheesy)

New Foods

Smoked Salmon (with Salmon cream cheese something filling .. oh yum)
Cherries Jubilee

Day 3. Ocho Rios, Jamaica
New Experiences

Sweating from heat in January!
Dodging Jamaican taxi drivers and beggers (these guys do NOT take no for an answer)
Buying rum in Jamaica (did you know that $1.00 American = $66.70 Jamaican? wow)
Receiving a proposal from a Jamaican man who was smoking some of the local “oregano” in a teeny, tiny little joint.
Receiving an offer to buy the “best stuff in Jamaica, mon”
Realizing that they really do say things like “No problem, mon” in Jamaica.
Viewing very large, very loudly dressed Jamaican women molest American tourist men while their wives took pictures.
Watching Matilda, the Jamaican comedian

New Foods

Jamaican “Jerk” Chicken
Rum Punch (yum!)
Rack of Lamb
Baked Alaska

Day 4. George Town, Grand Cayman Island
New Experiences

Boarding a tender for the first time.
Visiting “Margaritaville”
Visiting a British post office and buying postage there. (their money looks sooo funny)
Going to see Louis Johnson, Comedian, that evening on the ship

New Foods

Stuffed Lobster tail

Day 5. At Sea
New Experiences

Played bingo
Attended a “laugh” seminar (and passed the humor test!)
Cried because I knew I was going to miss the sea

New Foods

A HUGE variety of Sushi.

Day 6. Port and travel to Orlando
New Experiences

Viewing the stadium for the Superbowl
Viewing the stadium again for the Superbowl because we got lost in the rental car.
Going to bed at 9pm because we’re all fuddy-duddy’s.

Day 7. Epcot
New Experiences

Watching a man do a handstand on 7 stacked chairs
Watching my father get picked to play the role of “Romeo” in a skit.
Being totally embarrassed watching my father disco dance as said Romeo
Laughing at my father because he inserted “What ho!” into his dialogue and then it had to be explained that he was not insulting his “Edna”
Trying Japanese “Flowers Kiss” candy. No, it doesn’t taste like roses but more like a plum peach!
Going on Soarin’, a new Epcot ride that makes it feel as if you are hanggliding over various National Parks and wonders.

Day 8. Magic Kingdom and Home

The Magic Kingdom had only a few new experiences for me, as I spent several months working here.

In conclusion to this post – I just want to say that this was one of the most amazing, memorable vacations I’ve ever had. It was thrilling and heartwarming to spend time with my folks when they were really allowed to “relax”. It’s a side of them I don’t see very often at all. Mom said I took to cruising like a duck takes to water, so I’m sure I’ll thoroughly enjoy the family Disney cruise this fall, but in the meantime – it felt good to break out of the shell I’d placed myself into for the last few years and breathe and live again.

And now – pictures of the Miami coast line as we left port, along with a picture of the ship.