July 2nd, 2009 / 1 Comment » / by gishers
Over the course of the past few months, I have become a movie junkie. Nothing beats curling up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watching a movie. Which consequently is what I did almost every night during the month of June! Below is a list of movies watched, along with their descriptions and my 5-star rating of each!
The Women
- Mothers, daughters, wives, friends: These are the women of The Women. Based on Clare Boothe Luce’s Broadway success and the hit 1939 movie, this sparkling update (from Murphy Brown creator Diane English) set in Manhattan and featuring an all-star, all-female cast says a lot about what it means to be today’s woman and all of it’s funny! The story starts with beautiful, smart, accomplished Mary Haines (Meg Ryan) discovering her husband is cheating on her. It’s a time when friends are needed, so Mary’s gal pals (Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith and Debra Messing) and mother (Candice Bergen) rally round with advice, cocktails and shopping. The Wife vs. the Other Woman (Eva Mendes): Sharpen your claws for a timeless and wonderfully witty battle.
Rating: 
Changeling
– A mothers prayer for her kidnapped son to return home is answered though it doesn’t take long for her to suspect the boy who comes back is not hers.
Rating:
Slumdog Millionaire
– A mumbai teen who grew up in the slums becomes a contestant on the indian version of who wants to be a millionaire?. He is arrested for cheating & while being interrogated events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers.
Rating:
Taken (Single-Disc Extended Edition)
– An ex-soldier (Liam Neeson) traveling through Europe embarks on a frantic quest to rescue his daughter (Maggie Grace) after the young girl is abducted by slave traders in District B13.
Rating:
Nim’s Island (Widescreen Edition)
– Nim Rusoe (Abigail Breslin) lives on a deserted island with her scientist father Jack (Gerard Butler) and her best friends: Selkie, a sea lion; Fred, a bearded dragon lizard; and Galileo, a plucky pelican. But when Jack goes missing at sea and the island is “invaded,” Nim reaches out via e-mail to the adventurous author (Jodie Foster) of her favorite books, and together, each discovers what it takes to truly become the hero of your own life story.
Rating:
Stay tuned for more movie descriptions and my own personal rating system!
Posted in: Movies
July 2nd, 2009 / No Comments » / by gishers
About two weeks ago, I made the decision that I needed to begin living healthier. Two weeks ago, I totally failed at that mission. My mind is not in tune with my mouth. I want to start working out- walking on treadmills, lifting weights, etc, but I lack the motivation. Something has got to kick my butt into gear before I get so large that I can no longer play with my children.
Of course, I do not always need to use a treadmill. If I could just get Michigan weather to cooperate more frequently, I would be able to load the kids into the double stroller and go for a walk. Speaking of the double stroller, does anyone know how much these things weigh? You feel like you are pushing a ton of bricks when both children are in there. Okay, maybe not a ton, but you get the point. Maybe it is just our stroller, maybe not. Anyone else have double stroller weight issues? Not that I mind the extra weight behind my push, I was just impressed with how heavy they are!
While we are on the topic of living healthier, I believe I am going to join Weight Watchers. I have watched several women around me lose a decent amount of weight and according to a close family friend, it taught her new eating habits. What are your thoughts on this? Have you ever tried Weight Watchers? Yay or nay? I am curious!
Posted in: Health & Safety
July 2nd, 2009 / No Comments » / by gishers
Last night I watched the movie, “The Women.” There were parts of the movie that had me in tears from laughing so hard, but also parts that were so-so. It was definitely different than what I had envisioned in my mind, but overall delightful.
In the beginning, I could not help but laugh when the woman offered Sylvie a face lift in a bottle and she makes the comment, “this is my face, deal with it.” And of course, who could forget Candace Bergen during her face lift? Just watching her facial expression during this part of the movie was enough to crack me up, honestly, but it also made me think. How sad is it that older women are desperate to look younger? Face lifts, diets, liposuction, diet pills (e.g. Lipovox), etc. Oh well, now is not the time to jump on my soap box. I wanted to mention the movie, not the craziness of growing older!
Posted in: Movies, PG-13 Movies
June 30th, 2009 / 1 Comment » / by gishers
Sometime last week, something snapped inside of me and had me feeling a little less than excited about going camping. It was until Wednesday, mid-afternoon, that I started getting a little bit more excited about it. Maybe it was the jitters of taking the munchkins camping, but whatever it was diminished by the time we arrived.
We left for the campground on Wednesday evening. We meaning my grandparents, Tyler (our neighbor), Ethan, Addison and me. My parents pulled the camper over to the campground and help set up before they headed home. After some minor complications (wrong power cord, camper rolling off the block, etc), we finally made it to bed around 11:30pm. Not really excited about how late my munchkins got to bed, but they did sleep fairly well.
Thursday is when the real fun started. My brother and his family arrived, as well as my parents and some family friends. After everyone was set up, we sat around the campsite watching the munchkins play. After a while the boys (my brother, Jason, Tyler and Zachary) went out on to the fishing boat to stroll around the lake. Ethan was a bit devastated about this and demanded that “you don’t like me no more!” to everyone he came in contact with. He was unhappy, at least until he found the dirt pits. And then it was all over from there… we couldn’t keep him away from them even if we tried.
Friday and Saturday were lazy days, with the occasional temper tantrums, trips to the beach and playing in the dirt holes. Ethan, Tyler and myself went to the beach on Friday afternoon and had a blast! It was the first time Ethan had ever stepped foot into the lake, so it was special. Ethan and I floated around on a raft together, while my back turned into a thousand shades of red. I do not know who invented sunscreen, but seriously people… it did not work! My back is friend something fierce!
Friday evening I picked Jeff up from work around 9:30pm so that he could come back to the campgrounds with us. When we got back, everyone was sitting around the campfire eating s’mores, talking and singing songs. Saturday was basically a repeat of Friday. Sunday though, that was a whole different story. Woke up around 7am to rain, winds and rushing outdoors to put things away before the wind carried them away. We started tearing down shortly afterward and bummed around until around noon, when we kicked into high gear. After Jaclyn’s nap, we sang “Happy Birthday” to her, ate cupcakes and opened presents. Kind of a rushed 1st birthday party at the end, but a nice one. Everyone left the campground to head home, drop their campers and meet up at my parents house for one last cookout before some of them had to leave to head back home to Detroit.
All in all, it was a good weekend. I met new people, spent time with family (ours and in-laws), heard more about constipation (they might want to try Colonix, eh?) than I cared to and saw more alcohol consumed than should be legal. It was such a good time that we are already planning another big ‘ol family camp out again in the near future!
Posted in: Travel
June 29th, 2009 / 1 Comment » / by gishers
We’re back from camping. After a five day camping extravaganza, I am glad to be home. The beds in the camper were comfortable, but most definitely not a sleep number bed. Aside from a killer sunburn, a filthy toddler and lots of cleaning to do- it was a fabulous weekend. Ethan was able to play with several little ones at the campground, he had his 1st smore and his first swim in a lake.
It was a little odd for me to be away from home for so long, as we have not really had a vacation since Ethan and I flew down to Florida. After we get more settled, I will be sure to write up more of a post with some pictures thrown into the mix. For now, I have mounds of laundry to tend.
Posted in: Travel
