Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Dear Obnoxious Woman Sitting Behind Me in the Movie Theater,

{Following my rant is a perfectly lucid review of Disney's latest, Tangled, which I happened to enjoy}
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Dear Obnoxious Woman Sitting Behind Me in the Movie Theater,

I am so glad that my $8 movie ticket included your running commentary spoken at conversation-level volume. It completely enhanced my special surprise afternoon out with my girls to hear you pointing out. every. single. thing. to your granddaughter, who quite frankly seemed as if she'd prefer to be home in her toddler bed taking a nap.

The highlight for me was when she sneezed on the back of my head (twice) and when you both shouted "Go, Neigh Neigh, Go!" directly in my ear during the chase scene. That was pretty great.

I'm so happy you were also able to get cell phone reception. I turned my own phone off because I was sure I wouldn't be able to take calls during the movie. You sure proved me and Verizon and those "Please silence your phones" movie ads wrong. It was so thoughtful of you to hold a conversation with your friend, letting her know where you were and finally asking if you could call her back.

Your idea to let your granddaughter lay in the aisle when the lights went down was superb, I must say. She made for a fabulous speed bump when I got up to take my two year old to the restroom. I must have been exiting too quickly.

I apologize for letting my inner b*&%$ out by giving you the death look and turning around to ask you to please whisper. I didn't realize how shocking that would be. I suppose I don't know much about movie theater etiquette. Thanks for setting me straight.

Love, Amanda

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I used to love going to the movies. There's something about disappearing into a story for a couple of hours that I find exciting and relaxing. Going to the movies was always a big treat when I was growing up, and I was so excited to take my girls to see Tangled last week.

However, it seems that more and more often our theater experience is ruined by obnoxious, rude, selfish people with absolutely no social graces. It doesn't matter whether I'm sitting with my girls watching a G-rated film, or out with my Chick Flick Club; it has become increasingly difficult to enjoy a film without some sort of rude interruption. I'm always willing to give children the benefit of the doubt, but I expect adults (especially ladies my mom's age!) to know better than to talk through an entire movie.

Here's a hint: if your child can't sit still for longer than 10 minutes and can't follow a storyline at all, maybe you should forgo the $7 movie ticket until he/she is a bit older. You'll save yourself and your fellow theater-goers a pain in the rear (or ear).

That said, we really did enjoy Tangled. We saw the film in 2D. I know this will make me sound like a MeeMaw, but I prefer good, old-fashioned animation. 3D gives me a headache, and we head to travel 20 minutes North on the interstate to find a theater showing Tangled in 2D. The lighting in the animation was reminiscent of some older Disney films, but with newer technology to appeal to today's savvy kids.

I don't want to give anything in the plot away, but the characters were fun. Flynn Rider, the hero, is a dashing rogue with some great one-liners. Mother Gothel stole the show in a fabulous performance of "Mother Knows Best," and the kids loved the horse, a determined member of the police force named Maximus. Rapunzel is beautiful, smart, and kind. The girls are in love with her.

Unlike The Princess and the Frog, I don't recall any overly scary moments that upset my girls or gave them nightmares. Instead, they both want to play Rapunzel, and let's just say I've already gone out and purchased a set of Disney dolls for Christmas that includes this latest princess.

Despite Disney's attempt to "androgynize" the film by renaming it Tangled, I think it still appeals to a female audience a bit more. But the chase scenes, clever hero, and hilarious outlaws in the tavern might win your boy over.

I give it two thumbs up. Here's the trailer in case you haven't seen it yet:


{Have you seen anything great at the movies lately?}


*Check back on Thursday for a Giveaway from my Blessings Unlimited shop!

Monday, November 29, 2010

"Haul Out the Holly..."

"Haul out the Holly;
Put up the tree before my spirit falls again.
Fill up the stockings,
I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now.
For we need a little Christmas,
Right this very minute,
Candles in the window,
Carols at the spinet.
Yes, we need a little Christmas,
Right this very minute....
Need a little Christmas now."
-Mame

I hauled out the holly, all right. And a bunch of other things too.

One of the nice things about hosting Thanksgiving in our home this year was that I had the whole weekend to clear my Fall stuff out and brave the attic stairs to drag all my Christmas loot down. We don't have a basement or a garage, so everything goes up in the attic. It took me a good hour, and a good deal of panting and puffing and climbing over joists, but I did it!

The girls were overjoyed to see Frank (Frankincense) return from his extended attic vacation:


Packing and unpacking decorations is one of the hardest parts of Christmas for me. I tend to feel a bit rushed because Natalie's birthday party always falls on the first Saturday in December. If I wait any longer, people get too busy with their holiday plans and my poor girl would end up with "the fuzzy end of the lollipop." I also know that if I don't get everything decorated before Saturday, I'll be too tired, too wired, and too busy later this month to accomplish anything. I guess I fall somewhere between the folks who have their tree displayed on November 1st and the people like my mom who are so busy and never home and don't get anything out until the week before Christmas...or later!

So, T has his assignment of purchasing our (real) tree on Wednesday so I'll have time to get the ornaments on.  He already took some time yesterday to build his girls a large castle silhouette out of cardboard for the party. Can't wait to show you some pictures!

Do you struggle with lots of boxes and bags, or is Christmas decorating a breeze for you?

I hope you'll stick with me this week. I have a Giveaway planned for Thursday from ME! That's right...I'm going to give away something from my Blessings Unlimited shop and I can't wait to show you what I've chosen.

Until then...it's back to decorating for me. I have some Nutcrackers calling my name!

{How is your Christmas decorating coming?}

Sunday, November 28, 2010

She's a Winner!

The winner of the Giveaway from RJ Charms is...

Beth from Blissful Beth. Beth linked up a Potato Filling recipe to my Thanksgiving Round-Up to earn her entry.

Thanks, Beth! Email me so I can get you in touch with RJ. You won a $20 Shopping Spree to RJ Charms!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Do the Holiday Hustle

What did Natalie say after viewing our Christmas Jib Jab?

"Wow, we are cool!"

If she can still say that in about 11 years, I'll be so pleased. For now, let's start the Christmas season off with a bang!


Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Today is clean up day so we can get the Christmas decorations out!

{How is your weekend starting out?}

Friday, November 26, 2010

It's Go Time

Hope you had a marvelous Thanksgiving! I'm off the conquer the Black Friday sales, then home to do some Christmas decorating.



Thursday, November 25, 2010

Gobble Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

If all goes well, we'll have a special first Thanksgiving at home today and a fabulous day of Black Friday shopping tomorrow.

With any luck, I won't have any recipe mishaps like this one from Friends:


Hopefully, my desserts turn out better than Rachel's trifle...or maybe my family will be as understanding as Joey.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Black Friday Wish List

I'm not one of those moms who heads out for Black Friday Shopping with a die hard list of items to buy that I am willing to risk my life over, or stand in the Toys 'R Us parking lot all night for.

I do, however, try to keep a brief list of items to be on the lookout for as I hit the stores on Friday.

1. The perfect pair of flat brown boots.
My annual I {Heart} New York trip will be here in a few short weeks, and if my friend Christy is going to wear her perfect brown flat boots, then darnit, so am I! Just need to find a pair I can squeeze my calves into. They need to be comfortable, because Christy and I are capable of covering large distances in the one day we allot ourselves in the city.

2. Christmas Decor on Sale
This is a given, and should be as easy to spot as the women fighting over the $20 Wii in Wal-Mart.

3. Various Christmas gifts for people who may or may not read this blog.
SuSu, I am 98.9% certain you are reading this, so I refuse to elaborate here. You're getting Tupperware from Goodwill.

4. A new hat to wear on the NYC trip.
As much as I loooove the navy ruffled coat pictured above, a new coat isn't in the budget. So I don't look identical to last year's NYC pictures, a new hat might change things up. Or maybe a ponytail. I don't know.

And that's pretty much it! Most of the time, I end up spotting fun things while I am out. I prefer not having the pressure of "if I don't come home with ___ my life will be over" sort of mentality.

{What's on your shopping list for Friday?}

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