Armageddon

Armageddon is one of those movies that just about every time it comes on TV, I have to watch.

It's almost a guilty pleasure. I have a Bachelors in English with a concentration in film and media studies. Really all that means is that I learned how to write movie reviews. But it also gives me the ability to turn my nose up at movies that cause brain damage to those who watch them and to raise my eyebrows in wonder when I find someone else who loves Jean-Pierre Jeunet films or anything from Miramax. If I hear that James Horner composed the score, I'm a little more interested in seeing the picture. So for me to love a full blown special effects driven movie feels almost like I'm breaking the rules. 

Here is the link to the IMDB page where you can real the official credintials. Who's in it, who made it, which awards it won, so I'm not going to go into all that. I'm just going to tell you why I love it.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120591/?ref_=nv_sr_2

First of all, it's the cast. And, yes, I know I JUST said I wasn't going to talk about the cast, but I meant I wasn't going to talk about them in the, "9 time academy award nominated blah blah blah" sense. But I mean, COME ON! Bruce Willis, Ben Aflfleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Steve Buscemi, and Liv Tyler. 

Her role (Tyler's) in particular struck me. I fully believed that she loved her daddy (Willis) and honey (Affleck) tremendously, and I still cry right along with her in that one scene. If you've seen it you know what I mean. If you haven't seen it yet, I don't want to give it away, but my Lord, I ball like a baby every time. I fully believed that all the other rough-necks in the drilling crew loved her like a daughter too. This group of actors was such a fantastic blend of smarts, pretty, funny, and sincere. I bet they had a blast filming it. They look like a group that probably spent a lot of time goofing off and being silly while on set.

The special effects are cool, I guess. I'm not all that into big explosion scenes in multi million dollar blockbusters. I mean, they are cool to watch, and in a high energy movie like this or in Independence Day when the aliens are blowing up landmarks they are awesome and add to the story, but it's not the type of movie I'm going to jump to watch and if there are just explosions and damage to personal and/or public property for no real reason, that's not my bag. I prefer the homemade low-budget effects. Original Star Wars, Tremors, Monty Python, you know, back when making a movie was fun and you got to hold a camera and chase your employees in giant costumes on a hand made wagon being pulled behind a jeep. Which of course no one would do now because that's dangerous and someone could get hurt.

On a personal level, the movie holds a special place in my heart. I watched it once with my now husband and a fraternity brother of his in his room on his teeniney tv and when the "Leaving On A Jet Plane" scene came on we all sang along at the top of our lungs, flopped all over each other in a big pile laughing and singing very badly and way off key and being silly. 

Armageddon is a movie with a very good combination of love story and action making it appealing to a larger fan base. In addition to that, the love story is both a romantic love and a family love. So it's not all boobies and bombs at all. The relationships appeal to my feminin side, but I also enjoy the macho "let's go blow shit up to save the world" part too. 

At this point, of course, I should go into the dichotomy of this and the juxtaposition of that, the protagonist and antagonist, the struggles, the obstacles overcome. Or I should point out certain screen shots, fades, editing, cinematography, zooms, pans, etc. 

But no. Not here. Not with Armageddon. It's just fun to watch and I don't feel the need to dissect it and turn it into a choreographed essay-like document I would have submitted 15 years ago with footnotes, a cover page, and a side of anxiety over whether or not my works sited page was formatted correctly. 

So, with all that said, and for the reasons described above, I'll say it again. Armageddon is one of those movies that just about every time it comes on TV, I have to watch.

Recycled Towel Bathmat

Needing a new bathmat and having no money to buy one, I decided to experiment with cutting two old towels into strips, braiding them, then sewing the braid together to create the "new" bathmat. 

To my amazement, it worked wonderfully and came out perfect. 

Here is how I made it. 

I picked out the 2 regular sized bath towels that I wanted to use. They were a few years old, had a tear in one and a bleach spot on another. 

I then cut the towels into about 2" strips. 

I didn't want the tough "seam" part of the towel, so I cut them off as well. 

I used a large round tipped "Tapestry" needle and size 10 crochet cotton thread. 

After cutting both towels into strips, I started to assemble the braid. Using the above thread, I made a very simple stitch to hold together the start of the first 3 strips.

I then sewed a new strip to the ends of the previous strips as the braid grew. 

The 2" thickness of the strip made it very easy to keep a flat braid. I wanted this to be the case because I wanted to make sure the mat was as soft as possible. 

After I had one long "rope" of the braided towel strips, I laid it out to see if I liked it as a circle or oval, and to check for size. 

We decided on the oval, and it wasn't quite large enough with just 1 towel so I continued with the second towel to make it large enough to fit in front of our shower. 

I measured the space in front of the shower door (very technically with my leg) then I sat on the floor and began to lay out the braid to get the final size I needed. 

The finished mat is a spiral of the braided strips. To create the oval, I started with a straight section of the braided rope, then turned it 180 degrees, keeping it flat and even. Think of a paper clip as the core design. 

Once I had the size I wanted, I began to sew it together. I really just wove the crochet thread through the braid. I believe I only pierced the braid with the needle at the very beginning and end. 

Using the large needle, I was able to easily weave the thread through adjoining sections of the braid. 

Keep the thread tight, but not too tight, or you'll bring it up like a basket rather than a flat mat. If it's not tight enough it will appear to unravel and look yucky. 

By weaving the thread in and out of the braids side-by-side like this, you hide the thread. 

I continued to weave the thread through each section of braid until I had secured all of the rope to itself resulting in the finished oval shaped bathmat. 

And there we have it. The upcycled bathmat made from 2 regular sized bath towels. 

Send me pictures of yours after you make it! I'll be making more myself. The kids now want one for their bathroom too. 

Momday

I have a timer that goes off on my phone and tablet every day at noon telling me that its time to write. But I've had a very hard time coming up with what to write about. 

So, I made up a catchy little list of things that could spark an idea.

Monday: Mom, Menu, Media

Tuesday: Transformation

Wednesday: Words, Wonder

Thursday: Thirsty, Thankful, Therapeutic

Friday: Food, Friends, Farm, Fun, Family

And, since today is Monday, and a really awesome thing happened this past week, it's kinda perfect timing to write about Mama's sapphire ring. 

Mama was given this ring by her Daddy for her college graduation. She wore it every day 100% of the time from that moment on. She even paired it with her wedding ring, and was essentially just a part of her. Really almost more than that, though. It WAS HER.

Before she passed, she said she wanted me to have it until Shelby, my niece, and my mothers only grandchild at the time of her death, was old enough to love it, care for it, and treasure it. Shelby and Mama were both born in September, as as the sapphire is their birthstone, it was perfect for Shel to have it.

Kate, my sister and I, discussed the big moment of when we would give it to her. We debated her college graduation, like Mama. I thought it would be sweet to give it to her on her wedding day as her something blue and something old. But in the end, Kate and I chose her 21st birthday, which was this year.

So, last week, I began the process of both finding a perfect way to ship the ring to Shel, and the process of letting go of it.  

The ring was always Mama's. I was a babysitter for it until Shel was old enough, so therefore I was scared to really wear it a lot. I tried from time to time to get in the habit of wearing it, but it never felt like "mine", and I was so anxious about it. Plus, I would catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye and would honestly flinch because I thought my hand was my mother's. The ring was such a part of her that it was hard to explain what it felt like to see it on my own finger. 

I looked in so many stores. Looked for jewelry boxes, ring boxes, decorative storage boxes, anything that would be a nifty gift that would protect and encase the ring in shipping. I even almost bought a ring so I could use the ring box to ship our ring in. 

Then, at TJMaxx (aaah ... how we love the maxx!) I found a wine glass that was painted with "Birthday Girl" and had a loop formed in the glass stem holding a wine dooble. PERFECT!! I placed the ring onto the wine dooble, walked next door to the shipping place, and overnighted that bad-boy to my sister's house. 

The next night, we were able to be on facetime so I could be there with her as she opened it. And sure enough, she loved it, it fit perfectly, and both Kate and I cried. 

I also learned a few things. UPS will not ship an item that is "irreplaceable", so don't say that the item is a one of a kind family heirloom. Insurance it flipping EXPENSIVE on shipping things. Even if you don't ensure it, don't put a dollar value on it, and don't tell them that a signature is required, they may suddenly decide that they won't just leave the package on the porch, nor will they leave it at a local UPS store for pickup.

But ... the drama of the shipping aside, the fact that I didn't breathe at ALL until I knew it was in my sisters possession aside, it was a beautiful moment. It took her a few minutes to realize what the ring was, that it was HERS, and what it all meant. But of course, trying to understand Kate and I while we cried trying to tell her about it probably didn't help.

Shelby ... I love you dearly! Mama loved you more than anything in the world, and I know she's smiling down on you and so incredibly proud of you!  You are an amazing woman, and I'm proud to be your aunt.

Love you!!

Pantry Stew

Awe heck. Mr. Saucy is going love the leftovers from tonight's stew!

2 lbs stew meat 

Olive Oil

1 onion

3-4-7 garlic cloves

6"sprig of fresh rosemary

3-4 6" sprigs of fresh thyme

Bay leaf

Salt 

Pepper (if your kids won't freak the crap out)

1 big can of whole peeled tomatoes, or diced toms, your choice. (I had whole, so that's what I used.)

1 empty tomato can of water 

1 cup rice 

Onions and garlic get cooked in olive oil. 

Toss in fresh herb sprigs. And bay leaf. (Don't bother taking thyme and rosemary off of the stems. They cook in the stew, falling off of the stem, and you just remove the stems before serving.)

The meat gets added. 

Cook until meat is brown all over. You can do batches if you want, I didn't. 

Add tomatoes, fill the can with water and add that too. 

Stir. Cover. Cook baby. Cook. 

Low and slow. 

You could put all of this into a crockpot I guess, but I don't have any luck with crockpots. 

When the meat it fall apart tender and you're good and hungry, add the rice. 

Stir. Watch it. Adjust the temp. Add more water if your rice needs it. 

When the rice is cooked you may eat. 

You may eat it before the rice is fully cooked if you want, but it won't be a pleasant experience. 

But hey. You be you.

Garden 2015

The porch, which has the wisteria growing up the pergola. 

Wide shot of the porch. Same wisteria on the right, Floyyd the Ficus in the center, and moon flower in the pot on the left growing up the other side of the pergola. 

The strawberries are sending out a second crop. 

The giant mutant zucchini!!

Only one tomato plant this year. I had a bout of blossom-end-rot that I had to fight off. So far I've only harvested 2 ripe tomatoes this season. 

The hot pepper plant that I can't remember it's name. But it made my lip go numb, so it's a good one. 

There are also 2 varieties of bell pepper and cucumber plays as well, but they're impressingly unproductive. 

We also have sweet potatoes growing in a few places.  The herbs are still thriving in their pots on the porch, so hopefully the rest of the produce will catch on and catch up soon. 

BootCamp Day 1

Here we go again. 

Yup. I've joined a new gym. But it's not a gym-gym. It's a Fit Body Boot Camp. If you've never heard of such a thing, here's a link.Gainesville FitBodyBootCamp. It's a 30 minute routine that is NONSTOP. From the time the trainer/coach hits the volume up button on the music, we jump, step, move, pull, lift, and sweat like there's no tomorrow.

I went for an initial trial last week and fell head over heels in love with the activities, facility, and owners. 

I'm currently in a 21-day challenge. If I win the challenge I get 2 months free membership. I earn points by weight lost, inches lost, body fat percentage lost, number of times I check-in on social media, and the number of times I'm at the gym. I'm totally going to win, by the way.  

So, it's exciting, and I'm having a blast. I have always loved working out, hated running, and have always had the hardest time just getting up and getting there. But I'm feeling pretty good about this. The kids are cooperating, they understand that this is my time to do something for me. They have their sports, Daddy has the shooting range and coaching and playing various sports throughout the year for charity, and this is my "thing". They're old enough to get it now and to not be total pills when it's time to go. That makes it infinitely easier for me, to be honest. Y'all know I'm the queen of excuses, so having the kids on board is very important to me.

Wish me luck, cross your fingers, and perhaps even say a little prayer for me.

I'll keep you posted...