Winter Drive

So the other day it was really snowy out and I decided to take a drive. I know. Big rebel I am. But I love driving on snowy days. The kids were in school, husband at work and so I conjured up some lame errand that I just had to run so I could go out and drive around. After completing my errand I didn't want to go home, so I went through the Arby's drive-thru, got a sandwich (the turkey Ruben if you must know) and went for my winter drive.

This first one is from when I was driving. One hand on the camera, one on the samm'ich - who's driving? (just kidding)

And the rest are some not so good shots of the ice kite... er, I don't know what it is called. Icy sailboarding? Icy skiing? I don't know. They had kites and I think skis. The pictures aren't that great, but you get the gist. Click for larger version.

Nevermind, I had more than one picture of the skiers but goodness they were terrible. You could see more of my fuzzy dice than the people. What's the point? Ah well. Thankfully the snow is still around and we will be having a white Christmas. I hope it snows some more. And if I had a fireplace I'd throw some logs on, light it up, sip some eggnog and watch the snow fall with my family.

King Kong

King Kong (2005)

Even though I knew this was a long, long movie (we're talking Gandhi long), my husband and I decided we'd take the kids to a movie. Not just any movie, but the King Kong movie. We picked up our treats to smuggle in, got our tickets, popcorn and seats and settled in with anticipation.

The first hour there was not even a glimpse of Kong. But that was expected. The twins (who were 7) didn't complain though and were interested enough in what was going on to watch. The second hour Kong made his debut, as well as the dinosaurs and more. From there on it was pretty much action packed with some bursts of calm in the sea of chaos.

Though it held my attention and entertained, I think the scene with the natives was rather scary and can see why the PG-13 rating came in. I'll admit cringing (I'm a terrible wuss). The three hours was easily tolerated and I was not antsy. A couple changes I would have made are a little less of the island dinosaur/insect stuff and a little more of the human emotion stuff (like what happened on the boat on the way over - and in between that and the show that was put on). Maybe I'm a sucker for the relationship stuff and less of the gore.

All in all though it was a good movie with a great cast (love me some Jack Black). I thought both Thomas Kretschmann and Jack Black had above average performances, and maybe Adrien Brody, too. Naomi Watts did fine, but nothing I was overly impressed with.

Bottom Line: A good movie, although scary for little ones at times, worth seeing in a theatre. I wouldn't put it on my "must see" list but I wouldn't discourage those who want to see it from seeing it.

Rating::

Link: King Kong

Basketball Moms

Soccer moms have a bad rap. You know, for being nutty. But in comparison to some other sports? They are tame. But anyway, this year my three youngest boys have gotten into basketball.

Oh. My. Sweet. Lord.

Wanna talk nutty? I've never seen such insane, annoying sports parents. Good grief. And we're talking first grade b-ball, honey. Prime example: Clipboard Dad. He carries a clipboard with him, up and down the sidelines calling out, go son - go kid, take it all the way, work that defence boooooooi... Mind you, his kid was just SUBBING on our team that day. And dad isn't the coach of our team. Yeah. I had to move three times because his tall butt was blocking my view. I guess he felt it was more important for him to see.

Then there's the middle class mom clique. 8am. Caked with make-up, chocolottaskinny$5latte gripped in their manicured hands. They don't even know the game (... was that a touchdown?) but stand there looking pretty and supportive, but out of place wearing their heels and fur-trimmed vests in the YMCA gym. And if they ever open their mouth to cheer their kid on, name that always comes out is in the top 5 of the Ten Most Popular Baby Names list.

My final example of nutty, weird sports parent? Dude last week who, after the game, came over to have the after-the-game wrap up with his son. First grade son. He crouches down to talk to the boy, and at the same time I notice him taking off a pair of basketball shoes and putting on a pair of running shoes. Since... you know, it was time to go and everyone knows that you have to bring the sport appropriate shoe attire with to the game. No. He was NOT the coach. I was so embarrassed for him I had to divert my stunned expression to the wood grains in the court floor.

These examples were from the first graders division. The team we played last week had offensive and defensive coaches. Yeaaaah.

I'm thinking, in America, football parents are probably the worst. But I haven't experienced that one first hand yet. Dads in their belted shorts and polo shirts so closely matched with the coach's apparel that you can hardly tell who is spectator and who is supposed to be with the team.

Aaaah people watching is fun.

Richard Pryor Dies

Comedian Richard Pryor Died. Man, he was hilarious.

Hooray For Snow

Hooray for snow!! Wisconsin is actually acting like Wisconsin this winter and giving us a nice, heavy blanket of snow. The boys have delighted in it, and we all went sledding yesterday. I whimped out, though and didn't sled but watched them. After we came back home and ate chili and sourdough bread. Mmmmmm. All we need is a fireplace and I'd be in heaven!!

Here's one of the twins catching snow on his tongue.

(click for larger)

Makes Me Happy

All of her stuff is incredibly snappy, but this right here makes the pink-lovah in me delight. I wish I could make stuff half that good. Dang.