Showering with Love

So, yesterday was Val's bridal shower. I would post pictures of the shower but I left my camera on the counter at home so I have to wait until Val's mom emails me the pictures from her camera. So I'll just have to write about it (I am a writer, after all.)

Because we are redecorating the house, we had the shower at the Market Tea Room, which is tucked in an Antique Mall near the airport. It's a little place, only about 6 tables, but everyone agreed that it was very cute. I had made a reservation ahead of time and when we got there they had a large table all ready for us. Each place was set with mis-matched china for a quaint, eclectic feel. Each woman chose her own pot of tea, which came wrapped in a tea cozy that kept the tea nice and warm for the two and a half hours we spent there. Most of us were "no-caffeine" people (most by choice, me by necessity) and it was very nice that they had a large selection of roobios (red) tea to choose from (which is naturally caffeine free) as well as a tisane (what tea purists call herb tea.) We each also chose either a soup (choices that day were tomato basil, turkey noodle and broccoli cheese) or a quiche. Then came large three tiered servers with an assortment of finger sandwiches, scones and desserts.

The food is all homemade at the Market Tea House by chef/owner Carolyn Geiger, who came out several times to talk to us and see how we liked everything. The finger sandwiches were delicious, with open-faced chicken salad, made with nuts and cranberries, a lovely cucumber and cream cheese with dill (my favorite since I love cucumber sandwiches), egg salad and tuna salad. There were apricot, cherry coconut and apple cinnamon scones and while I prefer a moister scone my mother thought they were wonderful. But the house made clotted cream and a lovely strawberry jam was a truly wonderful accompaniment.

The soup and quiche portions were small, but that was okay because by the time they arrived we were getting pretty full. (Finger sandwiches always seem so delicate but when you eat six of them they can be a substantial meal!) I had he tomato basil soup, which had great flavor but was a little odd in that it was a brothy, chunky soup where I am used to it being a more pureed and smooth consistency. I didn't try the quiche but my mom said it needed work. After speaking with Chef Carolyn, who has a background in garde manger, I knew why the baked good were really the weak link in the chain. The quiche and desserts were just okay. The chocolate cake was alright, but it should have been denser and had way more chocolate flavor. My mother said she didn't even know what the carrot cake was (it neither looked nor tasted like carrot cake) and the bread pudding cubes were odd both in texture and flavor. None of the desserts were bad, just nothing spectacular either. Now, I can be a tough critic because I know when I can do something better, and I wanted to volunteer to do her baking. But it was still a lovely meal, the few hiccoughs aside.

We played a couple of games, one suggested by Maura. Where I handed out little engagement rings an if someone said the word "wedding" you could steal her ring(s). it was hard to not say wedding at a bridal shower, especially when one of the other guests was a bride-to-be as well. We also did a word scramble and one game where I took the labels off of some small jarred candles and they were passed around with everyone trying to guess the scent. This one was fun and easy since the prize was the candles!

Val got lovely presents, but nothing risque. Everyone seemed to have a really good time and it was nice and relaxed. The Graminator even had a good time, especially because one of the attendees brought her baby and The Graminator just lit up when she saw the child. it was fun to see her laugh and giggle with the little girl.


My friend Traci made these wonderful chai tea soaps that were given to guests as favors. They smelled so good! Everyone exclaimed over how nice they were and how yummy the scent was.

I made hand-decorated bride and bridesmaid cookies to use as place settings. They turned out really cute (although I over baked them just a bit.) The same cookies go for around five bucks apiece on the Internet. (And I saw one site that charges eleven dollars apiece for them!) My mom thinks they are so cute that I should sell them on the Net myself. I could do the wedding ones as well as ones for baby showers, birthdays and holidays. There are several companies that do them so I'm not sure how I could carve out my niche but it wouldn't cost me much to set up a website to 'test the waters'. My cousin does website design so maybe he could help me set up a simple site and we can see if any orders come in. I'm going to bake up some samples to decorate and photograph. What do you think, Loyal Readers, would you pay $3 a cookie?

This, That and the Other Thing

It's a busy weekend for me. Today we have a table read for YP (That's the initials of the title of the movie I'm staring in...I know I'm not a star but I just love saying that!) and Sunday is Val's bridal shower and I still haven't figured out what games we are playing or what prizes to give for the unknown games. Thank goodness the shower is at the tea house so I don't have to deal with food...except for the two dozen cupcakes currently sitting on my counter waiting to be frosted so I can take them to the table read.

The wedding is six weeks away and I still need to lose five pounds and get a pair of Spanx so it looks like I lost ten pounds. I'm doing Script Frenzy in April. (It's like NaNoWriMo, except that instead of writing a novel in 30 days yo write a script in 30 days). We start filming YP two days after the wedding. Am I crazy? Yes, but we already knew that.

I need Christmas sweaters for the film. Lots of Christmas sweaters. I wear at least thirteen different Christmas sweaters in the film (it may be more but I have to ask my director about a couple of different scenes). I counted them in the script last night. I though that I would need maybe six. But thirteen? I have three that I bought at a local thrift store but when I went back last week to look for more they had changed over to their summer stock and had none. Now I'm getting worried, because I need so many more. So I sent out an SOS last night and I'm pleading to you today, Loyal Readers. Send me your tired, your poor, your tacky. I need any Christmas apparel you can loan me. I'm not picky about size because in addition to having to wear thirteen different sweaters I also have to show off a rack of sweaters that my character paid $10K for. I'm going to hit a couple of thrift stores today in hopes that they might have some hiding way in the back. I'm trying not to panic yet, or worse, think about the fact that I have to wear Christmas sweaters in Las Vegas in the summer...under hot movie lighting...with the air conditioner turned off because it makes noise while you are filming.

Also, Maura, Dyann and I are trying to motivate ourselves in our writing. (I need it way more than they do, since they each have TWO manuscripts already completed.) We are embarking on some writing exercises. So not only will you get to see my posts, Loyal Readers, but you get guest blogs too!

So here is my challenge to you, Maura and Dyann. We are going to play a round of writers tennis. I'm going to start a story, then send it to Maura who will write the middle of the story and then send it to Dyann to write the ending. We will post the finished story on our blogs. (I did reverse alphabetical order of writers this time, we can change it up in the future.) To get started, I found this writers exercise. It gives me the first line of the story to start from and I have to take it from there.

So have a great weekend Loyal Readers. And Maura, I'll send you my part of the story by Monday, so be ready. Here is the first line:

"As the plane slowly backed away from its designated gate Sam realized that..."

Having Your Corned Beef and Eating Your Hash Too

I know my Irish Post was yesterday (thanks for the Irish blessing Maura!) but I HAD to tell you about my corned beef. It was AWESOME. Seriously, so good I can't rave enough about it. I was worried because I never really liked the corned beef my grandmother used to make, the one you get at the grocery store with the little packet of pickling spice in it to boil the meat in. It never tasted like corned beef to me, just like boiled meat with mustard seeds stuck to it. Plus I was more of a pastrami than a corned beef girl. So I made the home cured corned beef with low but hopeful expectations. Man, was I ever blown away. It was honestly the best corned beef I have ever eaten and the vegetables were out of this world. The salt from brining the beef mixed into the water with the spices (which were tied in a bag made from a coffee filter so no weird seeds stuck to the meat) and seasoned the vegetables deliciously. It smelled so good while it was cooking. I wanted to eat the whole thing, but I also wanted to have enough to make hash, because we love hash at this house. The only bad thing about the corned beef? Because I was scared that I wouldn't like it I got the smallest brisket I could find and now we only have enough left over for hash, while if I had made a bigger one we could have had hash AND reuben sandwiches. (But I have learned from my mistake and it won't happen again!)

Here is the recipe, courtesy of Bon Apetit magazine, March 2008.

Brine:
6 cups water
2 cups lager beer
11/2 cups coarse kosher salt
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons Insta Cure no. 1* (optional)
1/4 cup pickling spices
1 6- to 8-pound flat-cut beef brisket, trimmed, with some fat remaining

Corned beef and vegetables:
1 12-ounce bottle Guinness stout or other stout or porter
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 whole allspice
1 dried chile de árbol,** broken in half Cheesecloth
12 baby turnips, trimmed, or 3 medium turnips or rutabagas, peeled, quartered
8 unpeeled medium white-skinned or red-skinned potatoes (about 3 pounds)
6 medium carrots, peeled
4 medium onions, peeled, halved through root ends
2 medium parsnips, peeled, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 2-pound head of cabbage, quartered

For brine:
Pour 6 cups water and beer into large deep roasting pan. Add coarse salt; stir until dissolved. Add sugar; stir until dissolved. If desired, stir in Insta Cure No. 1. Mix in pickling spices. Pierce brisket all over with tip of small sharp knife. Submerge brisket in liquid, then top with heavy platter to weigh down. Cover and refrigerate 4 days.
Remove brisket from brine. Stir liquid to blend. Return brisket to brine; top with heavy platter. Cover; refrigerate 4 days. Remove brisket from brine. Rinse with cold running water. do ahead Can be made 2 days ahead. Wrap corned beef in plastic, cover with foil, and refrigerate.

For corned beef and vegetables:
Place corned beef in very large wide pot. Add stout and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Wrap cheesecloth around bay leaves, coriander seeds, allspice, and chile, enclosing completely, and tie with kitchen string to secure. Add spice bag to pot with beef; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until beef is tender, about 2 1/4 hours. Transfer beef to large baking sheet.
Add turnips and all remaining vegetables to liquid in pot; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil gently until all vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to baking sheet with beef. Return beef to pot and rewarm 5 minutes. Discard spice bag.
Cut beef against grain into 1/4-inch thick slices. Arrange beef and vegetables on platter. Serve with Horseradish Cream and Guinness Mustard.

*Insta Cure No. 1 is a mixture of sodium nitrate and salt that is used in cured and smoked sausages to prevent botulism. In this brine, its only purpose is to prevent the meat from turning gray, so you can certainly leave it out. You'll find Insta Cure No. 1 at sausagemaker.com.
**A thin, red, very hot three-inch-long chile; sold at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Latin markets.

The changes I made were to reduce the amounts to half since I made a very small brisket. I only used one onion and I added some golden beets to the vegetables. I didn't use any Insta Cure, but it was fine without it. And for the spice bag I just used 2 Tbsp. of pickling spice with the chile de árbol and a few juniper berries thrown in for good measure. (I changed the spice bag because I don't like bay leaves and I already had the pickling spice.) I also used a, gasp, English beer, because that's what I had in the house and I knew my mom would drink the leftovers. And I only brined it for six days.

I served this with an Irish soda bread, which I had also never made before but I would again, it was so easy and delicious.
Just mix 2 cups of four and 1 teaspoon each salt and baking soda in a bowl. Pour 1 cup of buttermilk into a well in the center of the flour and incorporate gently into the flour just until it all comes together. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead about 3 times, gathering the dough into a ball. Place the ball onto a greased pie tin, flatten it slightly and cut an X in the top. Bake it in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. Or you can cut the flattened ball into 4 rounded triangles and grill it in a greased skillet for 10 minutes on each side for a scone/biscuity looking thing. (I made the bread but I'm going to try the 'farls' next time.)

I swear, you have to try this. (Maura, put Larry on this, seriously) It wasn't hard and once you put the meat in the brine you just put it in the back of your fridge and forget about it. It was the best St. Patty's day meal I have ever made. So good that I can hardly wait till next St. Patrick's Day to do it again!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

As a red-haired (well, with assistance I'm red-haired), green eyed girl named Shae (Shea is a Gaelic name but my dad was a notoriously bad speller) I have an affinity for all things Irish. I'm not as Irish as my friend Maura, who still has relatives who live in Ireland, but my dream is to visit the 'old sod' when I sell my first book. So today, in honor of the most revered Irish-American holiday (I don't know if they make as big a deal out of it in actual Ireland, dying their beer green and such) I give you my tribute to Ireland.

Here is a video by Flogging Molly, the song is "If I Ever Leave This World Alive". (Thanks to my friend Traci for turning me on to them. I had actually heard them before and liked them but didn't know their name. I love this song.)


These are pictures of a converted parochial school in County Clare that you can rent to stay in. It's like $450 dollars a week (thanks to a dropping Euro.) They have turf fireplaces and are near the ocean and a short walk to three pubs. Lovely little stone cottages that I want to stay in and wrap myself in a fine Irish sweater and write some Gothic romantic tale.




Tonight we are having the corned beef and cabbage that I cured myself. (I hope it's okay or we are in trouble!) With lots of root veggies and some soda bread. And of course I'm turning the leftovers into delicious hash. (Or at least that's the plan.)



I want to curl up today with a bunch of Irish themed movies (For romance I choose "Circle of Friends", for music and beautiful Irish scenery I would choose "P.S. I Love You" but I don't want to cry.) I wish you the luck of the Irish, with shamrocks and leprechauns. And I raise a pint, in your honor Loyal Readers! Happy St. Patty's Day!

More Random Things

I need to come up with a better title for when I have these posts that are conglomerations of several thoughts....

Do you think "Kath & Kim" deserves to be on the air? I'm not sure. It has it's occasionally funny moments but the main characters are really unlikeable. I love Molly Shannon and Selma Blair but not this show. The season finale was on last night and I don't really care if it comes back or not. I only watch it because it's wedged between "My Name is Earl" and "The Office" (which is probably why most people watch it.) I'm going to check out episodes of the original Australian version to see if it's any funnier. But if it's cancelled I won't cry.

I had some strange dreams last night. In one, which took place in that hard-to-identify-because-it's-a-dream time period of 'war' (my clothes screamed 1930's but WWII was later than that, but again, it's hard to criticise a dream for being anachronistic) I was held in Imperialist China as a POW and forced to work as a courtesan for Chinese and foreign dignitaries. I used my position to spy for 'our' side (again, not sure who that is but since I was clearly a good guy then I was spying for the good guys, right?). I had grown jaded and bitter and no longer cared for my own life or safety, which the guards knew and they then used my fellow POW's as leverage to keep me in line. An American official tried to convince me to escape but I knew they would kill my friend Lily who was still innocent and naive. That's where I woke up. But in the dream I could sing and got to wear these incredible gowns while I sang for the men.

In the other dream I was in a wedding (see how this darn wedding is even permeating my sleep?!?) which took place at the airport. But for some reason the wedding party went through security while the guests were on the other side, so that when we finished the ceremony the wedding party had to go all the way around the airport to get back to the guests for the reception. (Because you can't just turn around at security, at least not in my dream.) I agree, it's a strange and demented dream.

I love Ross. We took The Graminator there to look for dresses for the wedding activities. We found two dresses that were just right. One is a bold patterned black and green that she fell in love with that she can wear to the shower and rehearsal dinner. The other is a cream colored with large pink flowers and green leaves in a muted pattern that is so perfect for the wedding I can hardly believe it. If I said to you, "picture a dress for a grandmother of the groom at a spring outdoor wedding", I swear you would picture this exact dress. And the total for both dresses? Forty dollars. My mom got a great little khaki shirtwaist for less than twelve bucks and also got two framed prints that will hopefully go with the new decor in the living room. I didn't find anything so I'll have to go shopping another day.

Jacques Pepin is amazing. Did you know he used to work at Howard Johnson's? I got his book "More Fast Food My Way" at the library and it has some really neat recipes. I made one last night that was a pan fried fish coated with, get this, french fried onions. Yup, those ones in a can that you put on top of green bean casserole. I have always been opposed to the canned fried onion but I had to try Jacques' recipe. You grind the onions in a food processor and use the 'crumbs' to coat the fish fillets. I added a bit of fresh bread crumbs because the onions were a bit, well, greasy. But it turned out delicious. Light and onion-y but not overwhelmingly so and nicely crisp even though you just pan fry them (they could easily be baked too.) I served them with Pepin potatoes, which is a Rachel Ray recipe based on one from Jacques' childhood. You basically steam little baby potatoes in chicken broth then once the broth is absorbed you smush the potatoes just a bit (you aren't mashing them, just flattening them a little) and then let them crisp in the pan. They are so yummy, you can't imagine but you have to cook them longer than her recipe calls for. (You can get her recipe on the Food Network website.) I also made some jalapeno tartar sauce to top the fish and green beans on the side. Even The Graminator cleaned her plate.

Speaking of Food Network, did you know that Guy Fieri (host of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" and star of those annoying TGI Friday's commercials) went to UNLV? He graduated a few years ahead of me, which I didn't know until I got his cookbook at the library. One of the 'dives' in his book is the Four Kegs bar that's about two minutes from my house and we have been going there forever (seriously, I went there with my Girl Scout troop for cryin' out loud.) He reminisces about going there during college to watch sports games and eat stromboli. The stomboli there is good and the Kegs is pretty famous for it, but we go there for what my friend Chan coined as "grease-fest". We order the chicken fingers, fried mushrooms, stuffed jalapenos and Cajun fries. Yes, you need to bring your own defibrillator, especially when you order extra ranch to go with it all. The Cajun fries are awesome, they are actually just fries that they douse with the hot wing sauce and you need to turn your head when they first come to the table or the vinegar and hot sauce smell could knock you out. But once you dig in, you will be addicted. They haven't remodeled the place in, well, ever. They redid the outside about ten years ago and we were excited to go in and see what they did inside. We went and...nothing. Same worn Formica tables and old carpeting. They serve your food in baskets with Styrofoam plates and cheap (but metal) silverware. The waitresses have been there since the Earth's crust cooled. But the draft beer is served in these chilled goblets that make the beer so wonderful in the hot summertime. We haven't done 'grease-fest' in a long time because the place isn't all that wheelchair friendly for The Graminator, so I miss it. And I like Guy Fieri just a tiny bit more now (but he can still work a nerve with his over-the-top style.)

Okay, enough ramblings for now. Have a great weekend Loyal Readers. Hopefully next week you will find more insightful commentary on this blog (but I wouldn't count on it!)

Weddings, Weddings Everywhere!

We are less than two months from the big day and things are in full swing.

I have painted 72 gum paste cherry blossoms. Actually, I painted 90 but I dropped a box which shattered like glass and I was only able to save 3 unbroken ones, so I have one more box to paint. The cupcake flavors are set and I am going to do a trial run of the little wedding cake this weekend. I don't know what filling it will have but I'm going to do a marble cake since the bride and groom can't decide between white and chocolate cake. I have to practice the branches the blossoms will rest on. They come up the sides of the tiers so I need to be able to make it right.

Breaking the box of flowers meant I had to order more which meant actually ordering at least fifty dollars worth of stuff since that is the minimum order. The place I have been ordering from, Pfeil and Holing, is a bakers dream. They are for the professional and semi-pro baker and every time I go to the site I'm like a kid in a candy store (and since they sell edible decorations it is sort of an actual candy store.) So I ordered an offset spatula, a disher (which is like an ice cream scoop and 'dishes' out a measured amount, so all the cupcakes will be uniform in size), cake ruffle (a pretty decorative edging to put on the cake stand) and some cake dummies (Styrofoam 'cakes' for making those fake cakes you see on display at bakeries.) My mom wants me to go into the wedding business and I may have to just to recoup my investment in this one. The last order had the original flowers plus the cake stand, the pans for the 8" and 6" tiers and some professional pastry bags and tips (i have long wanted these bags and now I had an excuse to get them!) In total a lot of money spent so I hope I can do the cake justice.

The shower is a week from Sunday. Since the house is in the middle of redecorating, we are having it at a tea house. It will be an afternoon "high tea" with tea and scones and that sort of thing. I still have only received one RSVP, seriously, how hard is it to drop an email saying yes or no? The 'deadline' is Sunday so I guess I just have to be patient until then. My friend Tracy, who makes these great soaps and lotions and stuff (seriously, check out her store, she makes cool stuff with emu oil and smelly good stuff), is making me some chai tea soap that we will wrap in a tea themed fabric as shower favors. I have the decorations for the table so all I have left to do is figure out some shower games and prizes (suggestions anyone?)

We are going shopping this afternoon to find The Graminator a dress for the wedding and one for the shower and rehearsal dinner (can you still call it a rehearsal dinner if there is no rehearsal?). My mom has her dresses already but needs some Spanx to suck it all in (don't we all!) I'm going to look for a dress too but it has to be cheap because I'm running out of cash, but since we are going to Ross, I have hope. Then on to Target to get a shower gift.



My wedding ensemble is set except for jewelry. I found this incredible pendant that I'm hoping to make into my wedding jewelry. It's made by this Hill Tribe in Thailand and it's not just pretty but fair trade as well. The only problem is that it is coming from Thailand so I'm hoping it arrives in time for me to do something other than just put it on a chain or ribbon. The site said usually seven to fourteen days but leave as much as 8 weeks. I ordered it at the 9 week mark so my fingers are crossed that it doesn't take that long. Isn't it pretty? And it was less than twelve bucks. I saw it on some custom jewelry sites at more than ten times the price but I went Googling around and found the source. It should look lovely and it totally fits the cherry blossom theme.

So, does anyone out there need a wedding cake or coordinator? Because I'm available and getting pretty good at it. I'll post some pictures of the 'trial' cake after I make it this weekend!

Things

Just an unconnected series of random things I have on my mind.

I think I broke my toe. I stubbed it last night in the garage and it didn't hurt much at the time (just as much as any other stubbed toe, which is a lot but I didn't think much of it) but later in the evening it really started to hurt. Today it's swollen and purple and painful. I know there isn't a lot you can do for a broken toe (I've broken toes before, apparently I need to watch where I'm walking better) so I'll just have to live with it. But it hurts and I just wanted to whine a bit. I guess I should just be glad it wasn't my big toe.

I need to find a brisket today if I'm going to corn my own beef for St. Patrick's Day. I found the recipe in Bon Apetit last year and it sounded really good but I was out of town so I couldn't do it. But I found it again this year and I want to try it. But it needs to brine for 8 days so I have to find one today.

I love my iPod touch. Love it. It makes me so happy. The new home theater system we got for the living room even has a dock for it so I can listen to it out there or in my room on my iHome radio or with my cool Skull Candy earphones. But besides the music (which is totally cool, I have found songs on iTunes that I haven't had since, gulp, cassette tapes) I really love the App Store. We were assembling my mom's bookcase and needed a level. We couldn't find one so two minutes and one free app later my iPod was a level. I play more games on it now than my DS. And the coolest app I found? One that turns my iPod into a Kindle. Yup. I can read a gazillion books on it. Now it doesn't have all the features of the Kindle but it does have the one feature I would use the most, the ability to read books on it. And the books are delivered to my iPod in less than a minute. And before you go thinking that I'm going to abandon my local library and spend way too much money on books, I'm not. First off, I can't afford too many books, which is why I started going to the library in the first place. But Amazon has lots of FREE Kindle titles. Lots are public domain works which are older titles and classics but they also have new books they release for free for a short period of time. So I can download those and have them on my iPod to carry with me to the doctor's office or on set to read. So cool, huh?

I'm really tired of the news about the economy. Does anyone else think that the constant negative news actually fuels the fear, panic and depression that helps create more bad economic news? This won't be our first depression and it won't be our last unfortunately. But come on, have some good news, please. Where are the water skiing squirrel stories when you need them? (Bonus points if you can tell me what movie that is a reference to.)

Redecorating is hard work. We have been building new furniture, hauling out the old stuff. It's tiring. And each new thing accomplished seems to add another to the list. With the bookcase that should arrive this week we should be done with the 'media' wall. (We already built an Ikea sideboard and massive bookcase and a small corner desk.) Except that now my mom wants to order a new desk chair to match. Then we still have to get the new couch, paint the walls, refinish the furniture we are keeping, get new foam and make new pillows and slipcovers for the furniture we are keeping and look for new accessories. (We also need to find a throw rug but that is on hold indefinitely as we don't want to put out anything that The Graminator might trip over.) It's going to be BEAUTIFUL when we are done (it's a seaside cottage theme, very cool and serene, and will look great in my mom's little house) but it's a lot of work. I have to go to Lowe's and get a sample can of paint and paint a poster board that we can move around and make sure we like the paint color in all the various locations it will go. (The house is so tiny that you have to paint the living room, kitchen and hallway all the same color or it will look too chopped up.) The color we think we want (notice how I include me even though she is the one who is ultimately going to make the decision? but she respects my opinion, which she should since she taught me how to decorate) is a pale blue-green, like beach glass. But we have been burned on color before (the house shutters for example are way more green than intended) so we need to choose carefully. And artwork has been hard. My mom found a print she really liked but when we went to go buy it, it was way more yellow a background than the online picture had. With the white white furniture it just didn't work. So it's back to square one with art.

Why do the employee's at Lowe's act like they are doing you a huge favor when they help you? Isn't that their job? I needed some PVC pipe cut (I used it to hide the computer wiring behind my mom's new white open desk and it turned out great, you can't see the bazillion wires now) and when I asked the man working there to cut it for me, he said "How many cuts?" I don't know what the magic number at which he would have said no, but since I only needed one he reluctantly agreed to help. But I still think that they should be nicer about it and not act like I'm imposing. In this economy if I had a job I'd be grateful for it and I'd be bucking for employee of the month. Not grumpy and mean. But I saw where he cut it and if I ever need more I know where the tool is now. In case you need to know, at the Lowe's on Buffalo it's in to the plastic tubing section on the bottom shelf. I'm pretty sure they don't want you cutting it yourself because if you cut your finger off they would be opening themselves up liability wise, but if I can't get Grumpy to help me, what else can I do? Also, now I know where meth labs get their plastic tubing, at Lowe's. They have a huge selection.

My mom takes "Dancing with the Stars" way too personally. She feels bad for the ones who stink and thinks that celebrities that don't dance well shouldn't go on the show. She so doesn't understand Hollywood.

The George Forman grill makes a great panini press. I bought my mom a GF years ago that she never used. I got it out last week and made paninis and it worked perfectly. I made more last night. Yum.

Our cat sleeps like twenty hours a day. Is that normal? She goes outside in the mornings then pretty much sleeps on the Graminator's bed all day (with the occasional food break) and roams a little around the house in the evening. She likes to play a bit early in the day but after ten in the morning she's pretty much ready for her seven hour nap. She was a skinny little stray when we brought her in, now she's a giant fat cat. And she likes it that way. I've never had a cat so I don't know if it's normal or not.

Okay, I got to go find a brisket. Sorry for my ramble, but these were all short topics that couldn't make a full post out of themselves. Have a good Tuesday!

It's Picture Day!

I'm too tired to write much today (why does 'spring forward' kick my butt so much?) so I thought that since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'd give you ten thousand words (ah, if only it really was that easy.

Here is The Graminator, with her new glasses and haircut. Isn't she adorable? I think I'm going to put these in my wallet and when someone asks if I have kids I'm gonna pull out the pictures of my 'little one'.




Okay, it might not be as cute as Dyann's new haircut, but it's still cute.



Here are shots from Friday's Vegas Schmegas shoot. We worked hard, laughed a lot and made great comedy. What more can you ask for?






We had a great time filming even though it was a lot of work. But we got what we needed and we made the day. It's magic, I tell you, magic.

Crazy Busy but Fun

Hello Loyal Readers and thanks for checking in even when I've been slacking on the posts.

This week has been über busy. After a crazy weekend (Saturday was spent dress shopping for a dress for my mother for the wedding, getting fittings for Val and I for our wedding attire and assembling a giant Ikea bookcase for my mom, Sunday I assembled all the wedding invitations) I had to accomplish a lot this week.

My dress fitting made me realize that I've been slacking on my diet and exercise regimen (it fits but just barely) and if I'm going to look good for the wedding I had better jump back in with both feet. Plus the new movie starts filming the week after the wedding and I want to look good on camera, right? (Even if my character has a penchant for ugly Christmas sweaters.) It won't do any good for tomorrow though when I reprise my role as dominatrix for the final Vegas Schmegas shoot. Oh well. But it's crunch city for the next eight weeks.

The invitations for the wedding went out Monday (well, most of them anyway, I'm still waiting for a few addresses from the bride and groom) They turned out very well and were really personalized. It was a lot of work and I'm really glad it's a very small wedding because making twenty-five was enough. I would have hated to have to do two hundred!

We had a read through and blocking rehearsal last night for the movie. It was really cool and Kelly is using an interesting filming technique to keep it fast and furious. Movies take a LONG time to shoot and he has tried to get the schedule down to twenty-five shooting days which is really short. So he's shooting it in a different way so as to minimize the number of 'set-ups' we have to do. Set-ups are whenever you move the camera, because you have to move all of the lights and it takes forever. He's trying to figure out a way to capture what he needs with as few changes as possible. The way he's doing it feels better to me as an actor because it helps the scene flow better. Last night went great and I'm starting to feel very comfortable with my co-stars and my character. Fun, fun, fun!

Random question, but when do you RSVP for something? I sent out invitations to Val's bridal shower over two weeks ago and I haven't heard anything. I did put a deadline of March 15th for RSVP's, do you think everyone is waiting until the last minute? I guess I'm just worried that they never received the invitations. But I guess they would have been returned by the post office if that were the case.

Tomorrow is the Vegas Schmegas re-shoot. I have to confirm the location and then make set decorations today as well as pack my costume and makeup. But we should be close to finishing it up which will be nice and then we can send it on it's merry way to be bought by a major network and make us all rich (are you listening universe?) I would like to spend Saturday collapsed on the couch but we are in the process of re-decorating the house and my fingers are crossed that the new desk my mom ordered will be here on Friday and I can secretly put it together for her while she's at work on Saturday. (The entertainment center and bookcase were too massive for me to do alone so it was a whole family project.) I'll post pictures next week.

Okay, LRs, I have to go and start on all the things I need to accomplish today (it's also time for The Graminator's shower). Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you on Monday!

Soundtrack to My Life "There's a Fine, Fine Line"

My friend Dyann sent this to me on Facebook and I have been a lazy blogger this week so I'm posting it again here (with apologies to Loyal Readers who read this already.)

This was actually fun...and a bit embarrassing. Please don't judge, my taste in songs is, well, eclectic at best. But it turns out that your iPod is a bit like a Magic 8 ball, who knew?

Here are the rules:
1. Put your iTunes on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
"It's Alright" by Huey Hewis & the News

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
"Defying Gravity" from the "Wicked" soundtrack

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"Life in the Fast Lane" by The Eagles

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
"When Your Mind's Made Up" by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
"Save the Last Dance for Me" by Harry Connick, Jr.

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
"It's Raining Again" by Supertramp (What the heck does that mean?)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
"I Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
"She's Leaving Home" by The Beatles

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"Close Your Eyes" by Aaron Neville (probably because they are imaginary)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
"Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen (Oh no....)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
"Fallen from the Sky" by Glen Hansard

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
"I Can't Make You Love Me" by Bonnie Raitt (hmm, does that mean my imaginary boyfriend doesn't even love me?

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
"Come Fly With Me" by Frank Sinatra

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
"Suspended in Time" by Olivia Newton John

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
"The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis & the News (well. as a romance writer, it fits)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
"I Have a Dream" by ABBA (not so secret, really)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
"Every Heartbeat" by Amy Grant (awww)

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
"Too Little Too Late" by Bare Naked Ladies (my biggest fear, really)

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
"The Lady Is A Tramp" by Frank Sinatra (hey, that's not nice!)

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
"Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies" from a Christmas Album

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
"The Look of Love" by ABC

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
"Feelings Show" by Colbie Caillat

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
"Evil Ways" by Santana (okay, when this came up I had to laugh)

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
"XXX's and OOO's" by Trisha Yearwood (again, aww)

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
"September Morn" by Neil Diamond (I have no idea what I did one September morn)

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
"Wedding Bell Blues" by The 5th Dimension (I'm happy about my brother getting married, so maybe it's the wedding planning that has me blue?)

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
"There's A Fine, Fine Line" from the "Avenue Q" sountrack (I actually love this song, it goes, "There's a fine, fine line between love and a waste of your time." So true)

Stirring the Pot

Who knew that cheese sandwiches could cause such controversy? I'm so happy that a lively debate on politics, parenting and economics could take place on my blog.

No one wants kids to go hungry. I would take food out of my own mouth before my child ever went without food. Even in our poorest moments (and there were more than a few, like when my dad was laid off for more than 8 months and we were living on food stamps and donated canned goods - although I still dislike whoever donated the canned brown bread- I was grateful but it was still gross) my parents made sure we had enough to eat. (They were concerned with things like food and shelter.)

If I have one hope during this terrible economy, it's that this country gets it's priorities straight. Corporate greed needs to go, personal greed needs to go, and we need to learn to care about our fellow human beings again. Education, health care and taking care of our people (children through the elderly) needs to be a priority. How can we ever be a truly 'civilized' nation if we can't take care of one another?

Is a Cheese Sandwich Torture?

Apparently, due to the bad economy, some schools are giving cheese sandwiches to students who have 'charged' too many school lunches without paying the tab. Here's the article.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A cold cheese sandwich, fruit and a milk carton might not seem like much of a meal — but that's what's on the menu for students in New Mexico's largest school district without their lunch money. Faced with mounting unpaid lunch charges in the economic downturn, Albuquerque Public Schools last month instituted a "cheese sandwich policy," serving the alternative meals to children whose parents are supposed to be able to pay for some or all of their regular meals but fail to pick up the tab.

Such policies have become a necessity for schools seeking to keep budgets in the black while ensuring children don't go hungry. School districts including those in Chula Vista, Calif.; Hillsborough County, Fla.; and Lynnwood, Wash.; have also taken to serving cheese sandwiches to children with delinquent lunch accounts. Critics argue the cold meals are a form of punishment for children whose parents can't afford to pay. Parents who qualify for free meals are not affected.

"We've heard stories from moms coming in saying their child was pulled out of the lunch line and given a cheese sandwich," said Nancy Pope, director of the New Mexico Collaborative to End Hunger. "One woman said her daughter never wants to go back to school."

Some Albuquerque parents have tearfully pleaded with school board members to stop singling out their children because they're poor, while others have flooded talk radio shows thanking the district for imposing a policy that commands parental responsibility.

Second-grader Danessa Vigil said she will never eat sliced cheese again. She had to eat cheese sandwiches because her mother couldn't afford to give her lunch money while her application for free lunch was being processed. "Every time I eat it, it makes me feel like I want to throw up," the 7-year-old said. Her mother, Darlene Vigil, said there are days she can't spare lunch money for her two daughters. "Some parents don't have even $1 sometimes," the 27-year-old single mother said. "If they do, it's for something else, like milk at home. There are some families that just don't have it and that's the reason they're not paying."

Albuquerque Public Schools students receive a cheese sandwich in lieu of a hot meal if they have exceeded a set amount of meals charged to their account, ranging from two at high schools to 10 at elementary schools. The schools' Web site warns: "Once the charging limit is met, students will be offered an alternate meal consisting of a cheese sandwich and a beverage."
The School Nutrition Association recently surveyed nutrition directors from 38 states and found more than half of school districts have seen an increase in the number of students charging meals, while 79 percent saw an increase in the number of free lunches served over the last year.

In New Mexico, nearly 204,000 low-income students — about three-fifths of public school students — received free or reduced-price lunches at the beginning of the school year, according to the state Public Education Department.
"What you are seeing is families struggling and having a really hard time, and school districts are struggling as well," said Crystal FitzSimons of the national Food Research and Action Center.

In Albuquerque, unpaid lunch charges hovered around $55,000 in 2006. That jumped to $130,000 at the end of the 2007-08 school year. It was $140,000 through the first five months of this school year. Charges were on pace to reach $300,000 by the end of the year. Mary Swift, director of Albuquerque's food and nutrition services, said her department had no way to absorb that debt as it had in the past. "We can't use any federal lunch program money to pay what they call bad debt. It has to come out of the general budget and of course that takes it from some other department," Swift said. With the new policy, the school district has collected just over $50,000 from parents since the beginning of the year. It also identified 2,000 students eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunches, and more children in the lunch program means more federal dollars for the district.
School officials said the policy was under consideration for some time and parents were notified last fall. Families with unpaid charges are reminded with an automated phone call each night and notes are sent home with children once a week.

Swift added that the cheese sandwiches — about 80 of the 46,000 meals the district serves daily — can be considered a "courtesy meal," rather than an alternate meal. Some districts, she noted, don't allow children without money to eat anything.
Albuquerque Public Schools "has historically gone above and beyond as far as treating children with dignity and respect and trying to do what's best with for the child and I think this is just another example," Swift said.

This story hit home for me for a couple of reasons. The first is the students feeling singled out when they got the cheese sandwich meal. But I don't blame the school, I blame the parents. I remember one time, in first grade, when my mother forgot to give me lunch money (this was the bio-mom, not my mommy, who always made my lunch, a nutritious, delicious lunch that sometimes involved thermoses filled with surprises like ice cream). When I told the lunch lady I had no money, she gave me a lunch 'on credit'. That was so humiliating to me that I would have rather not eaten lunch that day and I had a hard time looking at the lunch lady after that. it wasn't because of the credited lunch that I was humiliated though, it was knowing my mother had forgotten me. (It wasn't the first, nor the last time.) If the parents can't afford a school lunch, they need to talk to their kids about the economic realities of their lives. If the kids are told the truth, maybe the cheese sandwich wouldn't be quite so humiliating. And when three of your five classmates is already getting the free lunch, I don't think your peers have much to judge you on. A cheese sandwich, carton of milk and piece of fruit is inexpensive and nutritional.

Secondly, the idea that having to eat a cheese sandwich is a punishment makes me laugh. First of all the notion that the school is still feeding these children is awesome. Most schools would just stop feeding them, not out of cruelty but out of economic necessity. I would be grateful for the generosity in a time of need, and I would teach my children about gratitude. But I kind of understand why some kids would consider a cheese sandwich to be a form of torture. When I was growing up, we had a rule. You had to try whatever Mom made for dinner. Just try it. If you truly didn't like it after you gave it a try, you could make yourself a cold cheese sandwich. I usually ate my dinner, no matter what because I HATE cold cheese sandwiches. Now I love grilled cheese and cheese on a burger and cheese on my nachos, but the thought of a slice of cold cheese between two slices of white bread makes me shudder with horror. The though of it being processed, plastic wrapped American cheese makes it worse. And even though I am a great condiment lover, no mayo or mustard can help. Some sliced ham could change the situation but we weren't offered that option nor a peanut butter escape route. Eat what's on you plate or make a cold cheese sandwich, those were our choices. (It's funny to me that I almost always chose to eat what was on my plate while my brother frequently picked the sandwich. Which is probably why he was a very skinny child while I was a very chubby one... he was a much pickier eater.)

So I get the whole 'don't like cheese sandwiches' thing. But again, explain it to your children, and they will get it. Just like I got it when I couldn't have the white Nike's with the red swoop I wanted and had to settle for the light green Nike's with the dark green swoop that were on clearance at the discount store. Don't keep your child out of the loop on economic reality, but give them the tools to understand it and cope with it. They will be better adults with a greater understanding of fiscal matters.

Kids, eat the cheese sandwich or pray that there is some other kid around who just loves cheese sandwiches and is willing to trade his lunch for yours. And just know, that one day you will be an adult and if you don't want to, you will never have to eat a cold cheese sandwich again. Ever.

La Vida Locavore

All of the food trends these days are for the slow food movement and eating locally (although with the economy in the dumper, we may see a resurgence of the 1970's ground beef cheap recipes). And I'd love to eat more locally grown food, but Las Vegas isn't exactly a mecca for agriculture.

I do grow my own herbs and tomatoes in the spring and summer, but the winter chill (yes, I know it's going to be in the 70 degree range for the next couple of days, but there was a chill in December) killed the more delicate herbs like my prized basil. I will be doubling the size of my 'farm' this year so I can have even more tomatoes, more herbs and possibly some micro greens. I am also going to try some recipes for making my own ricotta and mozzarella cheese. (Mostly for the experience, although my mother dreams of owning goats and making our own artisanal goat cheese. Don't ask me why, it's her dream.) I love artisanal and small batch products because I think there is more care and quality, but there is also a higher price tag, so making my own or growing my own is both fun and economical.

I read an article in this month's Bon Apetit about foraging. Apparently this segment of the locavore movement encourages you to go out and forage for your food, much like our non-agrarian gathering ancestors. So people go off in search of wild berries, mushrooms and the like in their local forests or fields. Cool, right? Except, wait, no forests or fields in Las Vegas. So where could I forage?

How about my yard? Easy to get to, no weird critters hanging out. We have had a lot of rain lately so there are lots of green things sprouting up. So I checked. Lots of wild mustard, which is rampant but unfortunately not edible, except the flower and I've never been big on eating flowers. Lots of grass but I don't think it's wheat grass and I don't have a juicer anyway. Hmm, there are some dandelions. I've heard of people eating dandelion greens and making dandelion wine. So I looked it up and it turns out that the entire dandelion plant is edible (the roots have medicinal uses) and that wild dandelions are as safe to eat as cultivated ones as long as no pesticide or herbicide has been sprayed on them. So I went and plucked a lot of dandelion greens. Some were huge, almost a foot in length, so I picked those and left the smaller plants alone. Into the house for a good wash and spin in the salad spinner. Now what do I do?

I love greens. Love them. Collard greens, mustard greens, kale, I like them all, although my favorite is collard because it's pretty mild. I like them cooked all sorts of ways, in soups, salads, stir fries, etc. I have even made the PERFECT greens recipe (it's going in my cookbook so I don't want to put it online but if you would like it, email me and I'll send it to you) that is so good, we gobble them up. I made them Monday and they were eaten in a flash. But I had never made dandelion greens so I had to look it up to see how to prepare them. Most articles said they were a lot like spinach but with a bit more 'bite". I found them very mild. so I just wilted them and glazed them with a bit of my 1-2-3 dressing. (Equal parts mayo, sugar and vinegar. I used red wine vinegar last night, but it can be made with any vinegar and it is so simple yet so delicious and light). My mom was a bit leery of eating the greens even though most had come straight from my garden (apparently when I turned the earth where my basil was I made a perfect spot for dandelions to grow.) But after showing her online sites testifying to the safety of dandelion greens and proving that it was indeed a dandelion I picked, she chowed down too. I told my mother she didn't have to eat any, but my grandma was actually really excited to eat them because she ate them a lot as a child, when growing up in the country meant always foraging for greens, huckleberries, wild rhubarb and such. Well, let me say, the dandelion greens were quite tasty. So good in fact, that when I joked with my mother this morning that she seemed alive and well enough after eating them, she asked if there were any more outside. I said I left some smaller plants and she told me to check the side yard too. I guess she liked them after all.

So, do you have some dandelion 'weeds' just growing in your yard? Try them, they are really tasty. Go forage some. It's about all the foraging I can do, at least until our mulberry tree starts setting fruit. But maybe if it rains some more, I'll go mushroom hunting...just kidding, I'm a foodie but I'm not that crazy!

What In The World

Here is my take on some "news making" stories today.

The future queen of Sweden announced her engagement yesterday. Her fiance is...a gym owner. Not exactly what I would expect for a future queen but it just goes to show you that princes are hard to come by. She has been dating him for like seven years and he's been living with the royal family for a while now. (So much for the storybook virgin princess thing, huh?) Hey, the monarchy ain't what it used to be. And there is nothing like a royal wedding to boost the economy. I like Sweden, the home of Ikea, H&M, Volvo, those delicious little meatballs and yummy pancakes. And apparently they aren't so snooty that their crown princess can't marry a gym owner. (I don't think owning a gym is a bad thing, it just brings some funny visuals to my mind of a dainty queen and some sweaty muscle guy in one of those funky 'armholes-too-long-pink-wifebeater' type gym shirt and black bicycle shorts. It would make a great sitcom.) Anyway, congratulations to the happy couple. And if you need wedding planning assistance, I'm getting really good at it.

Okay, I am not one to make generalizations or encourage racial stereotypes. But this story made me laugh. A woman in South Korea has failed the drivers license exam 775 times. Boy, the jokes you could make about female or Asian drivers. Apparently it is her dream to get her license so she can buy a catering truck or something. She has spent more than $6,800 just taking the test over and over again. She refuses to give up. I admire that kind of dedication, but seriously, at what point do you say, 'hey, maybe I'm just not meant to pass this test'? Now we are talking about the written portion here. I'm thinking that by the time you have taken the test say, four or five HUNDRED times, you should have it memorized. Then you go home, look up all the answers, memorize them, then go back and re-take it, and voila, you pass. Maybe the test is really, really hard and I'm not giving her enough credit. But seriously, 775 times? Maybe she could just buy the truck and have someone drive it for her?

It's Fat Tuesday! (Yes, they named a holiday after me.) It's the day before Lent begins. Traditionally you eat pancakes (to use up all the foods that you are giving up for Lent) which is why IHOP is giving away free pancakes today. It's also the last day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans where revelers drink, party on Bourbon street and women flash their breasts to obtain plastic beads worth about two cents. I'm not exactly sure how you tell Mardi Gras from any other day in New Orleans, except maybe on a regular day there aren't parades. (I used to think that New Orleans was exactly like the French Quarter area of Disneyland, which is clean and safe and contains no strip clubs. Then I went to New Orleans and boy was I shocked.) Since I love the cuisine of the Big Easy, I'm making Jambalaya for dinner tonight. I actually planned it for before I realized it was Fat Tuesday but now it's even more appropriate. Oh, and I don't give up anything for Lent since I'm not religious. But I applaud and admire those of you that do.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that the economy is suffering a 'severe contraction'. Really Ben? 'Cuz from where I'm sitting it looks like a full fledged epileptic seizure. But what do I know? I don't have advanced degrees in Economics. But I could see that there was going to be a housing crisis. I knew people whose credit ratings were in the low double digits, who were buying half million dollar homes with interest only mortgages. Hmm, potential problem maybe? It was a house of cards fueled by greed and it had to fall down eventually. So yes, when it all came crashing, it brought us to this 'severe contraction'. But hey, I sit here in a good position. I'm already unemployed and I pulled my money out of the stock market and into a nice federally insured account just in the nick of time. Tonight the President will give his state of the union address. I don't envy him, it's hard to pretty up "we're in a world of s**t right now". He's going to offer details of his plan for economic recovery (gosh, I hope it doesn't involve everyone collecting cans and bottles to sell to recycling centers, that was my vacation, er, stay-cation, fund plan.) But we are Americans and we always have hope. That's what is going to eventually get us through. But until that happens, I think I might give up something for Lent after all...watching the economic news.

I'll stay on the lookout for more stories to keep you in touch, informed and um, er (the only other 'in' that is springing to mind right now is incontinent but that's just not right). Stay smart, Loyal Readers!

Oscar Wrap Up - A Night of Beige and Bawling

Okay, it's my annual take on the Oscars.

First off, as of Saturday morning I hadn't seen any of the "Best Picture" nominees. By the time the Oscars aired, I had seen four of the five. Plus "Doubt', which wasn't nominated, but should have been. And I don't want to say how I saw them - I did NOT illegally download movies - but I still feel dirty. Out of guilt I will have to buy the DVD's when they come out. Let's just say that Chinese YouTube (YouKu) doesn't follow the same infringement laws as the U.S.

So, "Slumdog Millionaire" won. Did it deserve it? That's a great question. Of the nominees I saw (I didn't watch "Frost/Nixon") it was the least depressing. But while everyone is touting it as the 'feel good movie of the year', I have to warn you that it was the most depressing 'feel good' movie I have ever seen. Sure, it has a 'happy ending'. But it takes a long, arduous, painful journey to get there. Still, I liked it better than "The Reader" (in all fairness, I read the book and hated it, so the fact that the picture was as slow, dull and self-important as it was was no surprise.) "Milk" was a good movie (I'd say it was a great movie, but there is a documentary narrated by Harvey Feirstein, called "The Times of Harvey Milk" that covered this same subject better, it was a great movie so "Milk" only gets a 'good' from me.) Josh Brolin was good in "Milk", so deserving of his nomination. Sean Penn? Well, we'll get to that later. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was good too. So they were all excellent choices for Best Picture. But they all made me long for Prozac. In the end, I'll say yes, the right movie won "Best Picture". But probably a little of that was for the little indie film, which Oscar loves to recognize so that it can feel proud of itself while still sucking at the teat of corporate film making.

Okay, on to Oscar night itself. Dull. Dull. Dull. In a time when the economy is bad, I want happy, gaudy, over the top Oscars. But it was a sea of beige, with a bland host, hardly any comedy and a musical number that was, well, weird. First, Hugh Jackman. Lovely man, very handsome, still faithful to his wife, incredibly talented. Not an Oscar host. A Tony host? Sure, absolutely. But Oscars, not so much. There is a reason why the best Oscar hosts (Carson and Crystal, IMO) are comedians, because this night needs the levity. The opening number was okay, but not boffo and it went downhill from there. The only "highlights' for me were Jackman's intimation that Streep's numerous nominations might be the result of performance enhancing drugs, Tina Fey with Steve Martin (Fey: "Someone once wrote "To write is to live forever", Martin: "The person who wrote that is dead") and Ben Stiller's hilarious send up of Joaquin Phoenix, which was brilliant. But there were no over-the-top gowns or production numbers, no crazy flubs (unless you count Alan Arkin calling 'Phillip Seymour Hoffman' as "Seymour Phillip Hoffman' as crazy.

First up was "Best Supporting Actress" which showed the bizarre new format for the night of five former winners in the category introducing the five nominees in kissy-kissy fest that brought so many nominees to pseudo tears. (Real tears ruin makeup). The winner was Penelope Cruz. Not that she wasn't good enough to win, but Viola Davis in "Doubt" brought my mother to real tears - real, eye reddening, makeup smearing tears. (By the way, my mother watched "Doubt" with me and said that was the worst thing (meaning the legality of watching pirated video on the net) she has done in many, many years. Which made me think, it's probably not the worst thing I've done this month. It's tough to live with a saint.) So Viola was my choice, but she was in only one scene of the movie. Next was "Best Supporting Actor". And by next, I mean an hour and seventeen minutes later.

Look, I love the awards for screenwriting, documentary, short subject, makeup and set design as much as the next person (an probably more than the next person, unless the next person is a nominee for screenwriting, documentary, short subject, makeup or set design.) But there has to be a better way to intersperse the five "big" awards so that one isn't at 5:43, one at 7:30 and three at 8:42. I'm just saying, that's all. Of course, "Best Supporting Actor" went to Heath Ledger. You could have bet the farm. Not that you really could have bet the farm since his Vegas odds were 1-2. (Yes, you would have lost a dollar on that bet if you had won, weird, huh?) It was a really great performance by Heath, I'm just not entirely convinced that he would have won had he not died.

Disappointments? Well, I missed having five song nominees. The Academy decreed that no more than two songs could come from a single film (after last year's three songs from "Enchanted" debacle) but to then have only three songs with two of them from "Slumdog Millionaire" win wasn't any better. Worse was the tribute number where they tried to mix the two Bollywood songs with the Peter Gabriel song from "Wall E". It was awkward and odd. 'Jai Ho' won, probably the first time a Best Song went to a song that most Americans couldn't understand the lyrics to (not counting Bob Dylan singing the "Wonder Boys" song in 2001.) And the "In Memoriam" is one of my favorite parts of the Oscar telecast and having Queen Latifah sing was fine, in fact she did a beautiful rendition of "I'll Be Seeing You" but they should seriously fire the director who kept the camera on her while ignoring the video with the dead people on it. Um, hey, it's the point of the memorial segment to show the dead people. I don't know whose picture I missed due to this blunderheaded move but I hope their families get really mad at the Academy. Also, while I harangue the Academy, what was with the 'advertisements' for upcoming releases at the end of the show? Tacky, tacky, tacky.

Okay, "Best Actress" went to Kate Winslet. Now I like Kate just fine, although I think calling her 'the finest actress of her generation" is laying it on a bit thick. But she did not deserve her win last night. I know that Meryl Streep is nominated for an award every time she sneezes, but she was wonderful in "Doubt". Much better than Kate. (I'm sorry Kate, but you know it's true.) But Kate has been nominated six times and never won before so I guess the Academy thought they had better honor her before she did a Susan Lucci. It still seemed odd though, considering hardly anyone even saw "The Reader" (heck even Hugh Jackman did a joke about it.) "Best Actor" went to Sean Penn and while my secret hope was for Richard Jenkins (and my mom was rooting for anyone BUT Penn or Brad Pitt) I can see why he won. I even liked his speech, or at least the first 45 seconds of it. Then he went all political and lost me. Plus he didn't thank his wife. Guess the reconciliation isn't going as well as they would like.

And then the big win for "Slumdog Millionaire" which won awards it wasn't even nominated for. (Just kidding!) I agree with the "Best Picture" win but I have a quibble with the "Best Cinematography" win. But that's just my opinion and since I'm not an Academy member (yet) my vote doesn't count.

Okay, on to fashion. I'm no stylista and I don't much care but here is my two cents. Best gown to Natalie Portman because it wasn't beige, black, grey or navy blue (was this a funeral?) Worst gown, Miley Cyrus (and what the hell was she doing at the Academy Awards? Oh, wait, Disney owns ABC.) Worst jewelry, Angelina Jolie. I'm sure those emeralds cost a bloody fortune but they could have been from a candy machine and no one would have been able to tell the difference. Gaudy and ugly. And didn't anyone tell her that emeralds are unlucky? And did anyone else notice how similar in style and color the dress that Queen Latifah wore to sing and the dress that Reese Witherspoon came out in moments later were? I would have thought they exchanged clothes except Resse is a size 00 and Latifah is a ginormous size ten or twelve (which is heifer by industry standards.)

And my favorite red carpet moment? When someone asked Miley Cyrus (after he asked her to plug the new "Hannah Montana" movie that opens in April) if she would like to be a nominee someday and she said "Oh yes, I'd love to be nominated for this film, it's very different than what you expect". Um, Miley, the chances of you being nominated for an Oscar for a Hannah Montana film are about the same as me being nominated next year for the film I'm working on. Not if you were the last actress on the planet Earth. Sorry kid, but thanks for a great moment of humor.

Okay, the 2009 awards are over. Next year, more glitz, more humor and more fun, please!

Things I Need to Do This Weekend

Clean the house - How does it get so messy?

Take the Graminator for a haircut - I'm thinking a cute little pixie

Find some pictures of cute pixie cuts to show the stylist

Buy pies to take to table read

Go over script again before the table read

Table read for new film - 6:30pm Friday

Get invitation approved by Will & Val so all components can be printed - only one week before these need to go out!

Go to the grocery store

Go to the post office

See "The Wiz" at LVA - 7:00pm Saturday

Try to see "Slumdog Millionaire" before the Oscar telecast

Make goodies for Oscar festivities - I have some cool new popcorn recipes I want to try

Pick up beverages for Oscar festivities - should it just be bubbly or should I make a 'signature' cocktail?

Watch THE OSCARS! - It's my Superbowl

Sleep

Six Degrees of (Insert Celebrity Name Here)

Okay, so you all know I'm working on a new feature film, which is set to begin filming sometime after my feature film debut finishes filming. (In exciting update news, that film will begin shooting on May 8th, YAY!)

For my film, which is set in Vegas - because a) write what you know and b) Vegas is, well, still cool - I need to find a celebrity. Or possibly celebrities. I'm making this film on no budget and not paying anyone, except that craft services will be good (for those that don't know what craft services is, it's the food on set, and believe me, always trust the fat girl with food). I think this film is going to get some buzz on the festival circuit. I don't want to give too much away but the concept for the film is totally unique and something that is a bit risky but truly interesting. But because the cast will be free and therefore relatively unknown, I need a celebrity cameo appearance or two to help boost the films 'street cred'.

I was at a film festival with "Supermodels" where my little 'film that could' showed with another film that looked fantastic. Now I love my film but it cost $1800 and was made with completely unknown actors (and I use that term loosely because most of them, okay all of them, had never acted in a film before). This film had Robert Wagner and Lori Singer in it. (It's called "Little Victim" and it's a really cute movie, you can see it here.) Made by the Ronalds Brothers, I asked them how much their movie cost them to make. They said $100,000. After I finished choking, I asked how they got actors like Robert Wagner. That's when I was told that if you can afford to meet an actor's 'day rate' (that is, the amount an actor gets paid for one days work) then you can hire any actor you want. While I'm sure they couldn't get ANY actor, I wondered about directors like me, working with no budget. Could I get an actor? A real one? One who was sort of 'known'? (By the way, you can buy the Ronalds Brothers feature film, "Netherbeast Incorporated" online or rent it on Netflix. It has Darrell Hammond, Judd Nelson, Dave Foley and yes, Robert Wagner in it.)

So here is what I need from you, Loyal Readers. We are going to play "Six Degrees of Separation". Do you know somebody who knows somebody who knows somebody? I'd love to find some celebrities for this film. Here is my dream list: Wayne Newton, Penn & Teller, Siegfried and/or Roy, George Wallace, Donny and/or Marie. Yes, it's a list of celebrities who already are in Las Vegas. That's because I can't provide airfare or accommodations. But if you know a celebrity who's willing to come to Vegas on their own dime for a cameo role to help a struggling filmmaker, by all means invite them.

Here is what I can provide for any celebrity who decides to help us out with a credited or uncredited cameo: Transportation to and from the set in a 2002 Toyota Corolla, an assigned lackey to fetch water, juice, etc while keeping paparazzi at bay, excellent craft services and the director will personally make you two dozen cupcakes in any flavor(s) you choose. Plus all the undying gratitude you can stand. And for the six degree people who are able to get me in contact with said celebrities, the cupcake offer stands for you too as well as thank you credit in the film.

Okay, Loyal Readers, you have your assignment. Filming will begin in September. So think about who you know who might know someone who might know someone. This is a social experiment to test the six degrees of separation. I know we can do it! My film depends on YOU!

Has Reality TV Jumped The Shark?

I admit, I used to watch a lot of reality TV. My only excuse is that, well, that's all there was on. Plus the office I used to work in had a lot of reality TV fans, and if you wanted water cooler conversation then you had better know what happened on "Survivor", "Big Brother", etc.

But I think that reality TV, even the ones that were somewhat interesting, has gotten really, well, dull. I couldn't tell you who won the last season on "Survivor" or "Big Brother", and I also couldn't care less who wins this season. Even my favorite reality show, "The Amazing Race" seemed pretty low on it's first show of the season last night. Watching drunk Swiss men laugh at the contestants while they tried to carry hundreds of pounds down a steep hill, falling and hurting themselves, just seemed cruel. Not to mention the couple that appears to be reforming meth addicts who are afraid to leave the U.S. Um, hello, you applied to be on a show that takes you around the world. Plus even the deaf kid could find the yodelers more quickly than they could. If their combined IQ's added up to the triple digits I'd be surprised.

Have we seen it all before? Or, possibly, is the prospect of all that "reality" in a time where the actual reality, well, kind of sucks, just not what we need right now?

Reality television is cheaper to produce. But I don't think it's very 'entertaining' any more.

Happy Valentine's Day or Excuse Me While I Wretch

For those of you in love, Happy Valentine's Day. For those of us that are solo, candy will be half price on Sunday, hang in there.

Each year I eschew Valentine's Day as a made up holiday for the benefit of greeting card companies and candy manufacturers. And I don't think that's actually too far off. Why do we need one day to tell the people we love that we love them? Shouldn't we be doing that like, um, every day?

My dislike of Valentine's Day goes all the way back to elementary school, where some moron decreed that Valentines should be given to classmates and then counted to see who received the most, thereby starting the popularity contest race in kindergarten. It also began my consoling myself with large amounts of Reeses's and M&M's.

My family wasn't sentimental about Valentine's either. My father brought home gifts to commemorate the day ONCE in my whole life. Now I have no doubt that he loved us. He was a brilliant man who worked twelve hour shifts in a steel mill so that he could provide for his family and allow his wife to stay home with her children. But he wasn't exactly Mr. Romance. So when he arrived home with gifts that one February 14th, it stuck out in our minds, because it was unusual. In fact, I didn't know my father knew how to go into a store by himself before that day. (My mother was so surprised by the gesture that she got us all gifts for Easter that year. I'll always remember that year.)

Now I do participate in Valentine's Day, because I love my family and I try to show them as often as I can, and because in my cynical little heart I actually like doing that sort of thing. But I expect (and usually receive) nothing in return. Then I'm not disappointed. But I do love romance so here are some things I'll share with you, to help honor the day.

Watch the "30 Rock" Valentine's episode that aired last night (available on demand online). One of the funniest shows ever and an excellent lesson in why not to eat cheese stew on a first date. Hilarious.

Best Romantic Movies to Snuggle with:

"Pride and Prejudice" - Either version. The Keira Knightly one is so beautifully shot, it's marvelous. But the BBC one with Colin Firth has, well, Colin Firth - Best. Darcy. Ever.

For that matter, anything by or about Jane Austen. That woman had a way with the romance. "Sense and Sensibility", "Persuasion", "Emma", all delicious. Or adaptations like "Bride and Prejudice" (the Bollywood version), "Bridget Jones' Diary" and "Clueless" (based on "Emma", did you know that?). Or try "Becoming Jane" for Austen's own romantic trials. And don't forget "The Jane Austen Book Club"!

"Love Actually" - Great Christmas film, great romantic film.

"While You Were Sleeping" - I have, quite honestly, seen this movie hundreds of times. I can watch it over and over and never get tired of it.

"Dirty Dancing" - Patrick Swayze, dancing, Jerry Orbach, dancing and a heroine that wasn't very pretty (sorry, Jennifer Grey) so those of us less that gifted genetically could actually see that happening to us. I wish someone would take me out of the corner.

"Pretty Woman" - Who would have thought that a movie about a prostitute and a hard nosed corporate raider would be romantic? Leave it to the brilliant Garry Marshall to make it so. I worship at the alter of this comedy legend.

"Return to Me" - I felt the love story, I didn't just watch it. Brilliant. Plus David Duchovny and a killer soundtrack. Kudos to Bonnie Hunt and Don Lake for making this one.

"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" - Pass the gyros and tzadziki, I'm going to that wedding. And John Corbett is so yummy, even though I can't figure out for the life of me why.

"Once" - A romantic movie it might not seem, but a romantic movie it is all the same. And a good one at that.

Best Stuff to Eat/Drink on Valentine's -

See's Chocolate - I'm a cream center kind of girl while everyone else is Nuts and Chews. Either way, you won't be unhappy.

Dreamstone Moscato Sparkling Wine - $7.99 at Fresh and Easy. Light, sweet and bubbly, what more could you ask for?

Freed's Bakery Eclairs - Thank goodness I live nowhere near a Freed's. Because just remembering eating the eclair made me gain two pounds.

Luv It's Frozen Custard - A Las Vegas institution for more than 35 years. It's so worth braving the bad neighborhood. The Desert Sundae (with hot fudge, homemade marshmallow and salted pecans) is the way to go. Do yourself a favor and order the junior size. You can't eat the large one, trust me, you can try but you'll regret it later.

Marie Callendar's Pie - It's no coincidence that Valentine's day falls in February and February is pie month at Marie Callendar's. Don't fight fate, just enjoy it.

Mirin Glazed Salmon - Recipe here.

Best Places to Spend Valentine's Day with your Sweetheart... For Free
Who needs crowded restaurants with overpriced 'special Valentine's menus'? Here are some picks that are romantic and free.

In Bed - Hey, it's free, it's good exercise and nothing says I love you like a little nookie. Sorry if I went PG-13 all of a sudden.

Watching the Fountains at Bellagio - Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman singing "Con Te Partiro", you can't get much more romantic than that. For those of you who don't live in Vegas, here's a video.


Swing Set at Park/Playground/Schoolyard - Remember that funny feeling in your stomach as you soared on the swings? It's a little like the feeling you get when you fall in love. Relive both feelings when you get your significant other to swing with you.


Okay, I just betrayed my wushy-gushy romantic side. Sure, I wish I had a 'romantic' valentine. But I am blessed with love. So while I will spend Valentine's Day with my family (eating the salmon and pie and watching one of the films on the list) I hope you have a wonderful day surrounded by the people and things you love.

Happy Valentine's Day, Loyal Readers. May your day be filled with more sentiment than a Hallmark card commercial, more love than the Democrats have for Obama and more joy than a bag full of peanut butter cups. XXOOGa

Maybe Instead of Johnny Cash, He Should Have Sung Patsy Cline...Crazy

Sorry I haven't written much this week, I have been working my little fingers to the bone writing other projects. But I had to share this video with you. I don't know much about being a celebrity (yet) but I'm pretty sure this is what NOT to do when you are on The David Letterman Show. Please, Jaoquin, get some help. You don't want to pull a River.



Don't mess with Letterman, that's all I'm saying. Worldwide Pants can be your best friend (ask Bonnie Hunt) or your worst enemy (ask Farrah Fawcett.) Personally, I want to stay on Dave's good side.

Lot's of people think this was a hoax, a la Andy Kaufman. I hope for Joaquin's sake it was, but if it was, it so wasn't funny. And if I was one of the producers on the film he was promoting, I'd be pissed. Yuck it up on your own time, but don't disrespect the film you are in, that clearly Letterman thought was good. I think he was on something, but that's because I never thought he was that great an actor to begin with (don't shoot the messenger. It's just my opinion.)