Alice in Creepyland

click pic to enlarge for full effect

We saw the movie poster last night for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. If you can't tell, that's Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. True to Tim Burton form it looks like it will be cool and creepy.

My first thought when I saw this picture was that he looked like Madonna but creepier. But I think Matt nailed it on the head with "a deranged Frodo".

Of course I love Tim Burton films, so I'm excited to see this movie. But I AM a little wierded out by this picture. hehe. What do you think?

Harry Potter

Ok, my niece got after me for not blogging in such a long time. So here I am. And the latest excitement in our lives? ... we saw Harry Potter tonight.

I have to say, I think this one has been the best so far. Of course it didn't follow the book entirely, but if you can look past that, it really was a good movie. The effects were cool, and the acting is getting better and better. Oh and the best thing... Quiddich is back! I've missed the Quiddich in some of the movies.

Riley was bummed because she wanted to see the dramatic scene when Harry first kisses Ginny, (oh hell, it's starting) and they handled that scene in a different way. Matt wanted to see more of the battle at the end.. but they both agree it was good.

Sammy was freaked out by the inferi, but Olivia didn't seem to mind. She plugged her ears a lot, but that was mostly because it was loud.

Can't wait to see the next two!

En Garde...

Riley and her friend Wyatt (who Olivia calls Quiet) wanted to take fencing lessons. It's pretty cool because their coach is a Master of Sport in USSR, former Ukraine National Coach, and coached a Jr. Fencing World Championship team. Not too shabby, eh? He has a very thick accent and the kids understand him MOST of the time. Hehe.


Tuesday was the last day of this round of classes and they got to use the foils that are hooked up to a score keeping doo-hickey. It was really fun to watch, though like a ding-dong I took pictures from the wrong side so all you see is Riley's back.


Riley and I also had a good time practicing Tuesday with a toy Pirates of the Caribbean sword and a vaccuum extention. I got cracked on the knuckles really good a few times, but it was still fun.

Riley is on the left.

Yes, I know she looks a bit like a one-eyed pirate here, but she actually smiled without being asked!

Live long and prosper

We saw the new Star Trek movie tonight with our friends Kevin & Jen. Now... I'm not what you'd call a Trekkie. I mean I did watch several episodes back in the 70's, and so did you! Don't lie! But I've never watched any of the movies and you couldn't have paid me to watch a bare-chested poofy haired Ricardo Montalban in "The Wrath of Khan". Some people should have just stuck to Fantasy Island and rich Corinthian leather, but I digress.

So, back to the latest Trek movie, which by the way had my man Karl Urban in it sporting a totally dorky hairdo and doing an awesome job of playing Dr. McCoy (Bones). Best line: "Dammit Spock! I'm a doctor not a physicist!"

Another plus is that for the first time I could ACTUALLY believe that Kirk was a sexy womanizing hottie... I mean seriously.. do you remember the old TV show?

Here... you be the judge... is there really any question here?

There were many homages to the old TV show that were great. They picked the perfect cast, and the moment they began to play the Beastie Boys "Sabotage" in the first part of the movie, I knew it was going to be awesome. They also incorporated a lot of the classic music from the TV show into the movie (if you've seen Jim Carey in the movie The Cable Guy, battling at Medieval Times you'll know what music I'm referring to.. watch below).

YouTube - cable guy immense

This movie was funny and action packed from beginning to end. We didn't even touch our treats, that should tell you a lot. No clip at the end of the credits, so you don't need to bother hanging around.

I give it an 'A', despite the fact that you'll be watching it in a theater full of nerds that clap and cheer at certain points in the movie.

Oh... and I'm sure all the guys want to know... yes... there IS a green chick in the movie.

The horror!!!!

Tonight Riley came running into the TV room, "Mom! There's some creepy animal in my window well! Come listen!" So I ran in there and we listened and sure enough after a minute I heard a distinct and loud chittering/chirpy sound. It was obviously coming right from the other side of the glass. So we ran upstairs and made Matt come down to listen. Sure enough he heard it too. He thought it was probably a bird or something, but I was imagining all sorts of crazy woodland creatures, opossums, raccoons, etc. and in my imagination they were just waiting to leap at my face!
We decided to get flashlights and sneak up on it from outside, because of course that would be more dramatic and more scary. So all three of us crept around the side of the house and quickly shined our lights down into the window well!! AAAAUGH!
It was a giant snail... It was slowly sliming it's way down the window and as it crept, it's shell would rub on the glass making a strange chirping noise.
So if you ever want to scare someone, just stick a big snail on a rain soaked window late at night. It's terrifying!

D.. d.. d.. d.. Dora....

Last week I took the girls to my salon for haircuts. I got one at the same time. Riley & Sammy looked in a hair magazine and found two really cute short cuts they liked. I wish I'd done the same thing, because somehow my description was lost in the translation. I now have what is best described as a Dora the Explorer hairdo. It's absolutely lovely. Everyone knows that when you have a big head, it's best to get a short rounded hairdo with bangs to accentuate it.

Stock Tip: Invest in Rubber Gloves

I finally took Riley to get her ears pierced. A friend suggested we go to a piercing studio rather than one of those places at the mall. I had to agree, since I doubt those 16 year old girls at the mall are really very worried about sterilization and stud placement. I know this partly because my own earrings are all cockeyed and point in different directions.

So Riley went to Iris Piercing in Sugarhouse and when we got there the guy asked if I'd brought her birth certificate. Doh! I'd forgotten... and I really didn't want to drive all the way back home to get it. I mean.. couldn't he TELL she was my daughter? I suppose I could have started saying embarrassing things and let her freak out publicly as proof of our relationship, but instead I dug through my purse until I found an insurance card with both our names listed.

Next she got to pick out her earrings. She went for some tasteful Titanium hoops, and we headed back to the piercing area.

It looked like a doctor's examination room... if he had spent time in Tibet and Africa and decorated with masks, paintings and bamboo. There was the little exam table in the center of the room, the red bio-hazard bin for the old needles, the boxes of rubber gloves... beyond those medical necessities the room was tricked out in granite counter tops, one of those cool bowl-type sinks and copper faucets. Oh and The White Stripes were playing in the background, so it was a pretty cool "doctor's" office.

A very nice guy named Nick did her piercing.

Apparently at Iris they are ALL about sterile conditions. Nick used 5 pairs of rubber gloves. First pair.. he swabbed her earlobes, 2nd pair he uses a toothpick & paint to mark her ears (this takes a good 10 minutes as he's looking at her from all angles and marking & re-marking the fronts and backs to get them just right).. 2nd pair of gloves in the trash, 3rd pair.. he swabs her earlobes some more.. then opens a metal container that has been sterilized. 3rd pair in the trash.. he removes the 4th pair from within said sterilized container and wipes something new on her ears.. gloves go in the trash. 5th pair of gloves are now on and the piercing may now commence. He uses a 2 inch long needle and pushes it through one earlobe, then attaches the little hoop to the end and pulls it through, closing it by pinching a little ball between the two ends of the hoop... meantime Riley is uncharacteristically calm and quiet and doing deep breathing exercises. Next ear goes just as well as the first and she's done! We had a 5 minute after-care discussion of just what should and shouldn't be done in the next 6 weeks. (I don't remember those girls at the mall telling me any of this stuff... nor do I remember them requesting that I come back in a couple of weeks just so they could check on it)

So... long story short... Riley was completely happy with her ears and even claimed that it was worth the pain and it didn't hurt that bad. I was satisfied that not only would her earrings be directionally accurate and well centered... but there was little to no chance that she would be getting an infection from THAT piercing studio. Now... if we can only follow the multitude of rules for aftercare... One of the rules being not to wear tight clothing.... I'm thinking that one may be for a different kind of piercing altogether.