Boogies Cancelled Due to Writer Strike.....

I have been really busy doing things for the mediation, like reconstructing fiscal years and gathering documents and STILL filling out claim forms. Batman left for Africa and will be gone until April. I am also planning the grand Reptile Birthday Extravaganza. Also worte mean email to PBS Kids about horrible show called The Hoobs. Also I have been going to Curves a lot, just because it is a nice break and I feel really great and energized afterwards.

As far as the Oscars tonight, I have only seen ONE of the nominated movies: Michael Clayton. While excellent I doubt Clooney will win. Since I hate bloody violent scary movies I doubt I will ever see There will be Blood or No Country for Old Men. I never made it to see Charlie Wilson's War, but would have if I had found the time. I do know who that woman who played Edith Piaf was, Marianne Cotillard. She was in a great little movie called A Good Year with Russell Crowe and Albert Finney. It was based on the Peter Mayles Year in Provence books. It was so nice to see Russel Crowe just playing a normal guy instead of a gladiator or cyborg or something stupid.....I also liked him in that movie with Meg Ryan where that guy from St Elsewhere gets kidnapped.

I also have like 46 books checked out from the Canby Library currently.

I have so much to do tomorrow that I think I might be on the phone the ENTIRE day. I cannot wait until this mediation is over When it is, we are planning a trip to Florida to visit my Uncle and also take Spencer to Disney/Epcot/Space Center/ Busch Gardens Everglades Et al. Uncle John is my mother's brother, and he has never even met Spencer, and Bill has never been to Florida. He lives down there with his friend/companion/whatever she is Linda and their two dogs. We p[lan to stay with them part of the time and then do the tourist stuff too. Normally staying at Disney would be out of the question, since it sooooo expensive but I think they have a thing where kids fly free if you do and coming all the way from Oregon, that would make it worth it , maybe. I have not done the math yet....

I have given up cooking for the time being. I plan only to make some soup in the near future and figure out stuff to make for the birthday party. ALso, I have to figure out who from Spencer's Preschool to invite? I don't want to leave anyone out, but he goes to THREE CLASSES there...I thought about inviting ONly the boys, but then he is friends with a bunch of girls, too.
There are also like 20 kids coming already from the Exploded house neighborhood. With all those kids plus all those reptiles it is going to be a freaking zoo. I thought about having it somewhere else, like Bullwinkles this one place with all this stuff for kids to do, But this kid Ashton had his b day party there recently and Spencer went to it, and all they had was pizza and cake and yet every kid got food poisoning. Plus I have already booked the reptile lady.

Quelle Nightmare.

Time for THE BOOGIES!!!

The Coveted BOOGIE ^
Just ignore that plaque.... its a typo

Oh By the way: It is STILL for rent: The Faux Chateau, that is....

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/apa/581296348.html

Anyway I am sure you are all, my adoring public, waiting for Master Thespian Friday, which is sort of being remodeled... But I do not want to disappoint both of you....

So I am holding my first ever Fake Oscars, The Boogie Awards, or The Boogers for short...

SO STAY TUNED I will announce the Nominations shortly.

Octopus video....Welcome to my nightmare.....

Sorry to offend but EWWWWWWWWWWW

Aquarium trip was a HIT.

I amd back.. I did not take my laptop with me to the coast. and I would not let Bill take his either. it was only one night but we had fun. Spencer had a BLAST at the aquarium and at the beach. He flipped out over the octopus and the jellyfish, as well as over the sharks and stingrays. He also touched a starfish in the touch pool.

We stayed at a decent hotel with the tackiest furniture and decor I have seen since that one weekend we spent in Lake Tahoe Caesars's Palace. Yikes.... There was a five foot tall lamp that was a statue of a woman in a genie outfit holding up two white orbs that were the lamp The rest of the furniture was just like the above picture. A lot of the hotels on the coast are like this, but at least you never forget your visit...



We had a forgettable dinner, had a good time playing in the sand on the beach and we had a great time at the aquarium. it was good to get out of town even for a little while. Spencer learned a lot about fish and he had a great time.

The aquarium kind of freaked me out.... I mean I hated that tunnel that went under the ocean or whatever... seriously



My worst nightmares are being stuck in the ocean without a boat, and seeing sharks and stingray above my head all over.. I hate creepy crawlie things anyway the grossest thing to me was the octopus - have you ever really LOOKED at an OCTOPUS????? it was HUGE and soooooooo disgusting looking I mean I cannot get that picture of that thing out of my head..... and when we could not see it, the lady from the place went into the tank and pet it to "wake it up" so that we could see it.. God I SO WISH I had exited at that point but Spencer was practically peeing his pants and screaming with delight and jumping all over he LOVED it. I was so happy for him but I never ever need to see another octopus, live or dead, ever again.

Traveling Poet - Chris Elliott

I don't even know what this is...

Movie Mood for Friday Also weekend plans

This is an aerial view of Lincoln City, Oregon where we will visit Sunday

Have you ever had a zit on your EYEBALL, MARY?????

Chris Elliot should have been nominated for an Oscar for this part.....
There are no quizzes today, just this silly clip from this silliest of movies. I hope your Valentine's day was great. Mine was okay but what made it worthwhile was Spencer coming home all sticky holding Valentines from all of his classmates at preschool. he was so excited! Bill worked at the preschool ALL DAY yesterday. He was sticky too, and tired.

We are all going crazy trying to get ready for the mediation hearing in April. One of our attorneys (Batman) is leaving for Africa with his family for like 6 weeks tomorrow, and the other one's (Robin) mom died. So they are leaving us along for the moment and we are trying to take advantage of the extra time to get our act together. There is a ton of stuff to do. I do not even remember the last vacation we had if ever, we did not even really have a honeymoon except driving across the US and stopping at every weird ass tourist thing there was. But oh well, there willbe time for that later I guess.

Spencer recently read this book that had jellyfish in it, and since then we have been talking and reading a lot of about jellyfish so on Sunday we are gonna head to the Oregon Coast Aquarium

http://www.aquarium.org/

to look at some jellyfish I guess they have a really cool exhibit of them there:

http://www.aquarium.org/exhibitsJellies.asp?sid=2

We will stay only one night and we have to take the dog who is doing MUCH better but still it will be fun. I cannot wait to see Spencer's face when he sees all the jellyfish!! This kids book I read him about the sea is really cool and he has learned so much from it. If you ask him now how a dolphin sees in the dark when he is swimming, he will tell you "Echolocation."

its one of many of these Dr Seuss books that use the the Cat a\in the Hat guy to teach kids stuff like about the human body or animals or dinosaurs or the sea or how to take care of your teeth etc. I am sure they were written long after Dr Seuss died, but Spencer loves them so much so I am glad they exist. They are all in the Cat in the Hat Learning Library and the one we learned about the fish is called Wish for a Fish: http://www.amazon.com/Wish-Fish-About-Creatures-Lrning/dp/0679891161/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1203111056&sr=8-1

There are a lot of them and I plan to get out the rest of them from the library soon.

So. I have like 48 books checked out from the library, though a lot of them are cook books and also kids books. I am currently reading Armistead Maupin's first installment of "Tales of the City." So far pretty cheezy. Then I just finished the bio of Laci Peterson that her mom wrote which was kind of sad. I know its stupid to read those true crime books, but I ususally only read ONE of them. I only read TWO OJ books, the Kardashian one and another one by that one guy who looks exactly like my friend Ben Mayer, Jeffrey Toobin. I am also starting the Peter Mayle books, I have two of them out: A year in Provence and Up the Agency. Also I bought Sidney Poitier's bio Measure of a Man for 50 cents at the library but have not read it yet, so that one is waiting for me...

So we have been working on the case, I have been reading, lots of valentines and stuff and that is about it.

my Movie Mood for Thursday

The Universe is Expanding

In Honor of IPLAW... My Movie Mood 4 Wednesday

See if you can guess what I am now.

My Movie Mood Tuesday

Walken steals the movie with this scene in my opinion. Happy Birthday, Abe Lincoln!!!

Love child of Bruce Vilanch and Michael Moore?

Bruce Vilanch

Michael Moore

That would be Bill's new doctor... I imagine he resembles a Muppet, so I will call him Dr. Muppet from now on. Its cool though, because Bill now has a doctor here in town. Amazing, because most of the doctors in Canby are Veterinarians... ALso he is the kind of guy who gives out samples etc.. unlike MY doctor, Dr. Greg Kinnear Lookalike Dude, who never gives me ANY drugs and only keeps doing BLOOD WORK.

Anyway I think Bill was close to getting pneumonia and I got Dr. Muppet's name from Steve, My friend Siri's husband, who goes to him too. Bill and Steve are pretty good friends.

SO Bill went to Dr. Muppet today. I am sure he will be feeling better soon.

I called the reptile lady today and we are booking her to come for the B day party. She is bringing 20 reptiles and a crocodile dressed up in a costume.. a REAL croc in a costume.... Okee Dokee!!!!

Monday Movie Mood: Don't Hassle Me, I'm Local.

Ahoy.

My Movie Mood for Sunday....

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this scene of this movie.

Does it place itself into the Dishwasher when it finishes cooking your Coq AuVin????

Benefits Associated With The Weight Of Le Creuset

• Distributes the heat more evenly.
• Ensures moisture and flavors are sealed in by heavy, tight fitting lids.
• Increases pan's longevity by preventing warping or burning.
• Retains heat longer, which keeps food hot when serving.
• Is lined with Plutonium
• Pan plays soothing Beethoven which braising your beef
• Comes with a lifetime membership to the Maidstone Club in Easthampton so you can hang with Ina
  
• Act now to receive our rare Columbian emerald encrusted meat thermometer: a $24,999.00 Value!
  

My husband likes to cook, In fact he does most of the cooking in our house I do only my hideous experimental cooking However I do have a specialty and that is the crock pot cooking. I also make GREAT soup. I mean that soup is GREAT I had only made about 400 gallons of it RIGHT before the house exploded and it was all stored in the freezer, which I think a firefighter landed on top of. Our neighbors saved the freezer for us but the soup had to all be thrown away.

Growing up my mother was sort of a vicarious thrill kind of chef.... she would READ cookbooks a lot, and CLIP A TON of recipes particularly form the New Your Times Magazine section every Sunday. In fact, she clipped so many that I found like 7 binders full of clipped recipes and some were from like 1971. I found recipes for black and white food that were from Truman Capote's Black and White ball in 1962. or 66? I dunno ANYWAY. My mother was LITERALLY reading a cookbook on her deathbed.. I mean, like the DAY she died the last book she had read was literally a cook book. I think it was all about having a TAPAS party.... Honestly, I inherited about 200 cookbooks, and I still have them all and yet I still also obsessively rent cookbooks from the library as well.

SO she would also buy a lot of specialty cooking equipment in the hopes that one day she might use it but never ever did. Thus, I also inherited things like springform pans, Madeleine molds, canape cutters, butter molds, puff pastry cutters that make the puff pastry into shells or fish dishes to hold the lobster salad... melon ballers, odd knives and spoons and tongs, demitasse cups, espresso cups, Pots de Creme cups, mini ramekins, you name it, if it was weird, it was in our house. Unfortunately she rarely cooked, and most nights made frozen stuff.

However she did have these weird pans I hated. She was quite proud of her set of Le Creuset cookware - which was in the color BLEU. I only know that when I wanted to scramble some eggs or make a grilled cheese that the saute pan weighed about 34 pounds and was a pain to wash. When I would go to other people's houses I would notice that they had NORMAL stainless steel or whatever cookware, with the copper on the bottom maybe. Did we have any of that? Nope. So non of my friends were risking life and limb pouring the pasta into the colander when it had been cooked in a pan that filled with water weighed about 87 pounds. I reallllly thought my mother was insane and I VOWED NEVER to have those stupid pans in my house when I grew up.

However, since like her, I make a LOT of SOUP like all the time, My regular stock pots are okay but I would prefer a Le Creuset round Dutch Oven like my mother had. I got a set of All Clad for our wedding, but a lot of it has been ruined by burning... sometimes Bill's fault, sometimes mine... and my stock pot is only 6 qts.

SO the other day I went online looking for a Dutch Oven like my mom had. I was thinking maybe a nine quart. I found one. Price? $289.00 ON SALE.

Tell me WHY does this stupid pan cost this much????? The All Clad is the same price, but for my soup I would prefer to have one that cannot be killed by conventional weapons. America's Test Kitchen is this amazing cooking show that also rates equipment. They tested tons of Dutch Ovens. Usually they sort of like to prove that you don't have to spend a million dollars on a chef knife or a grill pan to be a good cook, but in this case? Their panel chose only three.... What do you think those were?

All Clad,
Le Creuset and
Mario Batali.

I looked at Mario's His was the bargain one at ONLY $100.00 and it seems nice but he only makes a 6 qt.
I already have a 6 qt All Clad.
So what does that leave?????
Second verse, same as the first!

Luckily I live down I -5 from the Woodburn Company Stores - which is an Outlet Mall (where the prices seem not that much better than the normal overpriced pretentious mall, Bridgeport Village -home of the Beautiful People, which is just NORTH on I-5.....) but they do have great stores... Columbia, Nike, Gap, Harry & David, and ALSO.....get this, has a Le Creuset OUTLET!!!!! AND I see they are having a sale in the middle of Feb so I will go to that and hope for the best... But I will NEVER NEVER EVER understand why the hell this pan has to cost three hundred dollars?????? It is lined with Plutonium? I mean what the hell is that about anyway????

Gordeeva and Grinkov 1994 Olympics Long Program

This is the best Pairs Long program I have ever ever ever witnessed. The Long program at the 1994 Olympics which won the Gold,(their second gold) by married Russian Pair skaters Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov. He later died of a heart attack after months of weird symptoms that no one caught. She became a solo skater a very successful one and then later married Ilia Kulik, the gold medalist Men's from the Nagano Olympics. She had a daughter with Sergei, Daria, and later,another daughter with Ilia Kulik, named Elizabeth.

My Movie Mood for Saturday

I put some hints in the comments of the Mastah Thespian thing.

Also this is my Movie Mood for Saturday AND

Notice it is one of the trivia questions.

My Movie Mood Today: Its FRIDAY!!!!

John Travolta - these days - let's face it... He's a freak. Seriously. But before Battlefield Earth, the boy had some MOVES.

Do NOT forget to test your movie trivia aptitude below in the latest edition of Mastah Thespian....

MASTER THESPIAN FRIDAY Version 8.2.16.3455

What movies are these quotes from?

1
David Howard: Say it! Say it! Say "I lost the nest-egg." Go on, say it!

2
Barbara Rose: Besides money...
[Barbara kicks off one of her heels and puts her foot in Gavin's crotch]
Barbara Rose: what would it take to get you to help me, Gavin?
Gavin: Come on, put your shoes on, Barbara. I haven't been into feet since '82.

3
Nurse Packer: [reading from a note left by Doc Hogue] "When to call me, you've been stabbed, shot, poisoned, separated from an appendage, knocked or beaten unconscious, run over by a tractor mower, or generally about to bleed to death. Otherwise, leave me alone"

4
Reuben Feffer: Since we have been together I have felt more uncomfortable, out of place, embarassed, and just physically sick then I have in my entire life. But I could not have gone through that, I could not have thrown up 19 times in 48 days if I was not in love with you.

5
Sheldon the Desk Clerk: Are you Mr. Miller?
William Miller: Yeah.
Sheldon the Desk Clerk: [politely] You have a message from Elaine, your mother.
[pause]
Sheldon the Desk Clerk: She's a handful.
William Miller: I know.
Sheldon the Desk Clerk: [seriously] She freaked me out.

6
Doctor Jeff Cooper: You know... you kind of remind me of a bull terrier of some kind.
J.C. Wiatt: Yeah, I bet you say that to all the girls.

TRIVIA

Q Bruce Willis was originally set to star in this movie but dropped out, though he appears as himself in its sequel.

Q In which movie did Kevin Costner play a dead guy and then get cut out?

The Best Skating performance I have ever seen

1998 Winter Olympics - Michelle Kwan Long Program Lyra Angelica

She only got the silver, which was complete crap.

My Movie Mood for Thursday

I am not depressed like this guy.... I just think this is hilarious.

Bill has a terrible cold, but otherwise things are okay. Teacher Gina told Bill this afternoon that Spencer is really smart and that he very interested in camels. Not sure about the connection there. It is very very windy tonight The dog is doing great with her hip. I just got that Jessica Seinfeld cookbook from the library, so I guess I am gonna go hide some vegetables in Spencer's food. Oh and we have come up with a theme for Spencer b day party in April.... REPTILES.

My Movie Mood today.... Moonstruck.

Cuz everyone and everything is driving me crazy.