Auld Lang Syne

It is bittersweet saying farewell to this decade. Looking back I can most readily agree that life has been good to me and mine.
In the beginning we welcomed our first precious little life into this world and our hearts.
In the middle we welcomed our second precious little life and it has been a wonderful and wild ride ever since! I also made some incredible self discoveries that have changed my life and allowed me to be a more free and open person and a better wife and mom as a result.
Now at the closing of this decade I look around, humbly filled with joy and awe at the beautiful friends and loved ones that surround me.
I am so thankful that I have eyes that can see all of the good and a heart that can hold all of the love.
By the time I see the end of the next decade my life will be completely different than it is now. My young sons will be men. This fills me with both sadness and eager anticipation.
Bring on the hours and months and years because I will relish every second.
Cheers to 2010!

A Twist on Pride and Prejudice: Lost in Austen

One of my favorite movies of all time is the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. That being said I am a bit of a critic when it comes to other versions. For instance the 2005 version directed by Joe Wright, starring Keira Knightley was absolutely terrible in my opinion.
Well let me clarify…the filming was beautiful and I cannot complain about the dialogue, it was more specifically the casting of Keira Knightley. She failed to capture and portray Elizabeth Bennet completely, thus ruining what could have been a fantastic re-creation of a classic. On a side note, I did however enjoy Donald Sutherland as her father and most everything else about the film was fabulous. It just proves how casting can make or break a film.
All of this to say that last night I watched a fantastic "version" of Pride and Prejudice, called Lost in Austen (2008). Like my favorite version of Pride and Prejudice, it is a BBC TV mini-series.
It first takes to extreme the concept that every Pride and Prejudice fan can be “submerged” in the story…only in this instance, it is quite literally. It secondly and more importantly holds firmly to the feel of the legacy that is the classic love story and yet contains an obvious modernism, with the addition of a modern day character; enter our heroine, Amanda Price.
It was a treat to get to see more from each and every character than I had ever seen before and it was believable…if not unexpected and sometimes outrageous but yet certainly how things could have turned out if all the stars hadn’t aligned, or perhaps aligned in a slightly different pattern.
So if you are looking for more from you favorite book and movie, look no further than Lost in Austen. It is currently on Netflix for instant streaming.



Side-note:
I would give Lost in Austen a rating of PG-13 and 5 stars and also state that it is not for a conservative person.

The Aftermath

It's December 26th. The flurry of activity, flying wrapping paper, driving to and fro and the uncomfortably full tummy has ceased. My house looks like Lego Land at this moment, an impressive Pirate Ship that perfectly matches the box has laid anchor on my kitchen table in addition to piles of Lego's waiting to be built and more waiting in their boxes.
My back aches a little from bending over the tiny designs. As I make my way to the office I expertly dodge remote controlled cars, books, games, giant peppermint sticks and multiple Nerf guns with their ammunition.
I have spent the morning building the Drawbridge Defense along-side my much adored sons and I must heartily admit that all of the frenzied preparation lends itself to total satisfaction in the aftermath of this holiday called Christmas.

Christmas 2009

Fiery Flames

Taking a moment to cozy up and listen to the crackle of the flickery flames and let the pyromaniac in me be mesmerized. Merry Christmas to me indeed.

Blue Sky

See artist's page.
David Bowers

Jägermeister

For years I have heard people raving about, Jägermeister they would say to me, "Do you like black licorice?" I would say, "No, ew!" and thus ending anything that might have been between me and Jäger.
However last night at the Crazy Christmas Sweater party, something happened.
I don't know exactly how it started but there was a bottle of Jägermeister in the freezer and a tall silver shot glass...oh and I can't forget the circle of trust.
In the end I came out of the circle loving Jägermeister. It doesn't taste like licorice to me though, it tasted of sweet, delicious herbs that danced on my tongue and then swam in my belly.
I love that Jägermeister was originally used as a medicinal product aiding in digestion and curing coughs...in Germany it is still used as such and carries the nickname Leberkleister (liver glue).

I will gladly take my medicine!

Imprinting.

I recently read a Q/A with Stephanie Meyer and someone asked where she got the idea for imprinting and she said she watched a documentary about chicks and ducklings and went from there. That of course made me do a little google-research. It is a very interesting subject. 'The first scientific studies of this phenomenon were carried out by Austrian naturalist Konrad Lorenz (1903 - 1989), one of the founders of ethology (the study of animal behavior).'



Excerpt from Learning Who is Your Mother, The Behavior of Imprinting
by Silvia Helena Cardoso, PhD and Renato M.E. Sabbatini, PhD

"In the natural environment, behavioral imprinting acts as an instinct for survival in newborns. The offspring must immediately recognize its parent, because threatening events, such as the attack by a predator or by other adults could occur just after hatching. Thus, imprinting is very reliable to induce the formation of a strong social bond between offspring and parent, even if it is the wrong one.

This is only one of the many forms of imprinting which have been studied, and its called filial imprinting. Another form is sexual imprinting, in which birds learn the characteristics of their siblings, which later on will influence their mating preferences as adults. In greylag geese, filial and sexual imprinting occur almost simultaneously, but in other animals there is a clear interval between the two processes.

Imprinting in mammals is more rare. Primates are altricial animals, that is, they are born in a very "incomplete" state, with an exceedingly immature brain that will take many months to become fully operational, alert and active with all its senses and actions. Therefore the mother is the supreme caretaker and protector, and mother-child bonding takes place via other processes than imprinting. There is no hurry, so to say."

It made me think about my own mother and how I am glad that I have more sense than a duckling.

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."
-Frank Lloyd Wright

Buffalo Gal - It's a Wonderful Life

One of my favorite movies, the scene, the song, Jimmy Stewart! Its a good thing, as Martha says.

R&J

Two households, both alike in dignity, / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, / Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

Tauntaun Sleeping bag

DJ Kitty

Remember Fraggle Rock?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraggle_Rock

Another Delicious Glee Mash-up

Eye Spy

Fiddling around.

All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey.....

Actually our leaves are orange and the sky is silvery white with its puffy clouds.
My boys happily play.
There is no "California Dreaming" on this fall day.

The Long Awaited New Moon

So I am going to New Moon (with on of my best girl friends) tonight at midnight and this is the really sad part, last night at 10pm I was ready to pass out. I did stay up until 11:30pm anyway just to condition myself. (Ha.) I will take a nap this afternoon and have some caffeine in the form of hot chocolate and hope that my adrenaline will keep me going!
As a happily married 30 year old mom of two boys I just don't stay up into the wee hours of the morn anymore and I am not used to it. Its for a good cause though...right?

A few little tid bits:



This was hiliarious:

The Hills in 2009

Every year for the last nine years we have taken family photos, for some reason this tradition is one that I strictly adhere to. It is fun to see us change. Matt and I are finally starting to look like grown ups!

I only dream of being so patient.

http://orudorumagi11.deviantart.com/gallery/#_featured--2

Gleeeeeee!

Back in the early part of this year I remember laying in bed with my hubby watching our Thursday shows and the commercial of the pilot for Glee came on, it was the cast singing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey (another love of my heart) and I paid attention and said to myself "I will be checking that show out.". Well time passed and I forgot about it until I saw a preview for a recent episode earlier this week. I quickly went to HULU and caught myself up and I freaking love this show. Admittedly I have to watch it alone due to my excessive singing along but what the hell, it makes me happy...Glee for the win!

Traditional or not...

I am contemplating doing something really wild for Thanksgiving this year...we like to mix it up and sometimes do a big beautiful salmon or a juicy prime rib for the meal, sometimes its traditional and sometimes not but this year I've got a bee in my bonnet to do a German Feast for our Thanksgiving dinner...
Spaetzel with Brown Gravy and Wienerschnitzel...hot German Potato Salad...and a German Cheesecake!
Now to discuss it with my mother in law...

Its November and the Blooms Remain.

My tree is confused...but I'll take it...its beautiful.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Can't wait to see this!!

Ok, just a sip.

Thought this was a pretty informative site. Makes me thirsty!



I am adding a few splashes of this to my Mushroom Beef Barley Soup tonight and drinking the rest...I might share some with friends if they are nice.

Brown Eyed Girl

This has always been a favorite of mine. (guess what color my eyes are?) I was surprised to hear this version from Billy Ray Cyrus that, I thought was pretty exceptional considering I have never liked anything I have heard come out of the man's mouth. Way to go Billaay.

Hallow's Eve

Matt and I as the Drinking Couple from Deutschland...Ja das Bier ist sehr gut!



Marcus as Harry Potter



Ben as Indiana Jones

German Love

Starfucker is a Portland based quartet. Synth pop best describes their sound I think. For obvious reasons they are changing their name to Pyramiddd.
They are playing tonight at the Crystal Ballroom and then they are off for a stint in Europe.
(P.S. Looking for a show in Portland mid November, Friday or Saturday night if anyone hears of anything.)

Pumpkin Carving Fun

Ben and his best two girls, Arielle and Fiona.








Ben's pumpkin is the one with no nose and one heart shaped ear :)

My Hours In Portland

Getting lost is an opportunity to see things you wouldn't have seen otherwise.