F is for Freedom?

Wow, hi there.

Life has been pretty crazy around here.

For a while now, things have not been going well at my job.  This is the job I was not looking for.  This is the job that was supposed to be such a great opportunity for me.  This is the job that was going to allow me to pay off my credit cards - FAST!

I have not been enjoying this job and I definitely feel this is not the place for me.  I have felt trapped because I am not in the position to quit due to our finances. 

Today I have a paid day off as yesterday I was "let go". 


It's a weird situation though.  Essentially my company is allowing me to choose my end date.  They asked if I would like to work for a few more weeks while I look for a new job and would accommodate any interviews I get lined up. 

I'll take it.

So today I spent lounging around at home doing whatever I pleased.  I made bruchetta for brunch and got caught up on blog reading while lounging in my new jersey dress from Old Navy that arrived yesterday in the mail.  I may even have a glass of white wine that arrived in the mail today from my wine club.

I did look for a new job too.....

So now what?  I can't say I didn't think this possibility wouldn't happen.  I was preparing for it and socking away money in savings - when I could have been paying off my credit cards.  The end date I am choosing will allow me to get paid two more times not counting the paycheck this Friday. That will allow me to put an additional $2000 in savings.  I will be able to collect unemployment if I can't find something new by then.

I'm actually pretty optimistic.  I have other things to keep me busy right now.  I'm taking this great class on reorienting my career (don't laugh) and I couldn't be taking it at a better time.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that I started a production company with two friends I met on the set of the award winning indie film I worked on?  We held our first auditions last Monday and the second auditions will be Saturday July 2.  We have a Kickstarter video planned to raise the money we need to shoot our project which is scheduled for a weekend in August. 

So not entirely freaking out here and am wondering what the universe has in store for me.  I'm thinking positive and have great references lined up.  It's summer and I plan to enjoy it as much as possible.

We got our car back last night too - it had issues for the second time and the dealership covered it all - huge sigh of relief there.

So universe - throw me a bone will ya?

Grey Gardens

Last night I watched the made for HBO movie Grey Gardens with Jessica Lang and Drew Barrymore. This film was based on the original 1975 documentary of Grey Gardens about Edith and Edie Beale. An eccentric mother daughter pair who were related to Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. They lived in a decrepit East Hamptons home.

"[Grey Gardens] is oozing with romance, ghosts, and other things." - Little Edie

Grey Gardens is the name of the home. "It was truly a gray garden, the soft gray of the dunes, cement walls, and sea mists gave us our color scheme as well as our name." - Anna Gilman Hill (owner who purchased in 1913). Phelan and Edith Beale bought the home in the 1920's. Phelan left his wife in 1934 and Big Edie was disowned by her father. That is when the house started to deteriorate and the gardens reverted back to nature as she did not have the means to keep them up.

The Edie's lived in squallor with cats and raccoons running about the house. Broken windows and lack of heat or phone. In October 1971, the house was raided by the Suffolk County Health Department. They eventually were able to stay with help from their famous relative and another cousin.

"Oh, Mother thinks its artistic this way, like a Frank Lloyd Wright house. Don't you love the overgrown Louisiana Bayou look." - Little Edie

But, you can't help loving Little Edie as the daughter is called. Stricken with Alopetia, this causes her to go bald. Her attempt at covering her baldness is with a variety of outrageous scarfs or sweaters which she wears about her head. Always pinned with a ginormous gold pin (the original Little Edie in the photo below).

Her affection for odd ways to wear clothing is truly a sight to see. Quite often wearing skirts upside down and fastening them in various ways about her person. She says this is her protest against working for the establishment when she was a model in the mid 30's. My favorite outfit (worn by Drew in the photo below), a bathing suit over a leopard print turtleneck. Her skirt is on upside down and pinned at the side several times with shorts peaking from underneath.

Little Eddie steals the show and seems completely within her own world. She is somewhat childlike and the banter between her and her mother is quite hilarious. I would recommend watching the documentary before seeing the film. Both Jessica and Drew perfectly capture the originals and Drew especially has the mannerisms and voice down perfectly of Little Eddie.

One would think that the documentary and subsequent film would be drepressing but its actually kind of a quaint look in to two women's lives. The home was purchased in 1979 and restored and that was the only way Little Edie would sell. "All it needs is a coat of paint!" - Little Edie.

Oregon Trip - The Beach & The Goonies

Sorry I have been so busy it's taken me a while and three posts to gett this up from our Oregon trip. Been so tired so my writing is somewhat - well ug!

Anyway, After a yummy dinner Saturday night for our anniversary we woke up early, ate breakfast and hit the road. Highway 26 to highway 101 along the Oregon coast. First stop, Cannon Beach. The hubs and I are movie geeks so when an opportunity presents itself to see some filming sites we do not hesitate.

Do you recognize this site? For any of you growing up in the 80's this is the backdrop from a rather famous scene from the Goonies. Remember when the ORV races through the streets of Astoria after picking up one of the Fratelli brothers from jail and they "enter" a race on the beach? This is that beach.

Next up the road was Seaside and finally Astoria. We did more Goonies sight seeing with a stop at the house used for Mikey and Brand's residence. It's a private residence and this was at the bottom of the driveway. Goonies are encouraged to take photos but to hoof it on foot.


The house pretty much looks the same as when it was filmed 25 years ago.

Couple other sites in town were the Flavel House Museum where Mikey's dad worked and the county jail from that infamous opening sequence.


Another favorite is Kindergarten Cop, also filmed in Astoria. The school from the film just happens to be right down the street from the Goonies house.

A few other movies were filmed in the Astoria area like Short Circuit, The Ring (1 & 2) and Into The Wild to name a few.

Edit - If you are in the area and are interested. There is a 25th anniversary Goonies weekend in June 2010.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone

Unless you have been living under a rock, you have probably heard of the Twilight series of books. To give you a brief synopsis, 17 year old Bella Swan moves from Phoenix, AZ to Forks, WA and finds her life in danger when she falls in love with a vampire. Just a ferry and short car ride gets us to Forks and the surrounding area.

The city of Forks has embraced the Twilight phenomenon. There are websites dedicated to points of interest in the town. The most notable site is the red 1953 Chevy truck Bella drove in the film. The truck below is not the actual truck from the film.

A private home and a bed and breakfast serve as the official residences of the Swan's and Cullen's.



Esme even leaves a daily note on the porch of there house. Wonder if that means they are vacationing in Alaska?

The Dazzled by Twilight store located both in Forks and Port Angeles carry everything Twilight you could hope to purchase from clothing to memorabilia to books to you name it. The inside of the store is set up like you are in the Forrest. Its actually quite cool.


There are a few places around town you can see little Twilight items. Dr. Cullen seems to pop up everywhere. I think its fun the town has a sense of humor.


Forks isn't all about Twilight though. The town was started as a timber town as evidenced by its timber museum. At the visitors center there is a huge nine foot in diameter tree trunk with a hole in the center big enough for a teenager to crawl through.


Just a short drive down the highway you arrive at the Hoh Rain Forest. This area is a protected National Park and include many species of tree and animals including bear, elk, deer, owl, frogs, etc.


From here we went to La Push which is located on the Pacific Ocean and home of the Quileute Native American Tribe. The town of La Push feature prominently in Stephanie Meyer's series.

The beach, like most Washington beaches, was pretty rocky with a lot of trees and drift wood piled up on the sand. The dogs had a great time running around. It was pretty windy as well.

The hubs and the dog on the sand at First Beach in La Push right on the ocean.

Port Angeles is a little seaside town located across the Straight of Juan de Fuca from Victoria BC. A little known fact about Port Angeles, its the birthplace of John Elway, former quarterback for the Denver Broncos.

The town is pretty small. We stopped at the Twilight hot spot, Bella Italia for a photo. I neglected to get a photo of the book store in Port Angeles.

We stopped in Port Townsend and drove through Fort Warden state park. This is where the film An Officer and a Gentleman was partially made.

Finally as we headed towards the Kingston ferry we stopped in Port Gamble. The township really only consists of a few homes and a group of buildings along the main road off the highway. They have a tea house, a Masonic lodge, antique shops, a book store and post office/general store. Its a quaint little town to stop off at or drive through.


The Walker-Ames house facing the water is a really great example of Victorian architecture and boasts the Washington state champion Camperdown Elm.

In 1640 the Earl of Camperdown grafted a Camperdown branch to a Scotch Elm tree. This tree is a mutant and cannot self produce. Every Camperdown Elm tree in the world is part of the original and must be grafted to a Scotch Elm tree to be started. This one is the State Champion in Washington State located in Port Gamble.

You are never far away from coffee.....

Christmas Movies

I can't believe Christmas is in 12 days! I'm not nearly ready. I have craft projects to complete - or start, I have gifts to buy and everything needs to be wrapped. We bought our tree last weekend and need to put it up this weekend. I have not even decorated. Ahhhhh! (Picture Makauley Culkin in Home Alone).

I got a little of the third panel of my brothers quilt done last week. Worked long hours and was exhausted most days. This weekend is all about finishing that quilt and anything else I can start. It's supposed to snow too.

Now that we have rearranged the living room I can see the TV from the dining room table where I will sew and that reminded me of my favorite Christmas movies. I tend to enjoy the ones where everything is not picture perfect, slightly dysfunctional families and lot's of drama.

First up is the classic A Christmas Story from 1983. "Ralphie, a young boy growing up in '40's Illinois, dreams of owning a Red Rider BB gun. He sets out to convince the world this is the perfect gift. But along the way, he runs into opposition from his parents, his teacher, and even good 'ol Santa Claus himself." The hubs and I actually have a leg lamp replica but have never had the place to put it. Maybe this year we will find it."


Quote: Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window.

Next up is The Ref from 1994. "Denis Leary plays an unfortunate cat burglar, who is abandoned by his partner in the middle of a heist, and is forced to take an irritating Connecticut couple (Kevin Spacey, Judy Davis) hostage. He soon finds that he took more than he bargained for when the couple's blackmailing son and despicable in-laws step into the picture. Before long they're driving him nuts with their petty bickering and family problems. The only way for him to survive is to be their referee and resolve their differences, before he can be nabbed by the police."


Quote: "Great, I hijacked my [insert favorite expletive] parents."

A more recent holiday movie but one of my favorites (LOVE Diane Keaton) is The Family Stone from 2005. "The Stone family unites in common cause when their favorite son brings his uptight girlfriend home for the Christmas holiday, with plans of proposing. Overwhelmed by the hostile reception, she begs her sister to join her for emotional support, triggering further complications."


Quote: "Christmas is not "clothing optional" this year - we have a guest. "

Another recent favorite is The Holiday from 2006. "In London, Iris Simpkins writes a wedding column in a newspaper and has an unrequited love for her colleague Jasper Bloom. Nearly Christmas, she is informed that Jasper is engaged and will marry another colleague, and her life turns head over heels. In Los Angeles, a movie-trailers maker Amanda Woods has just broken with her unfaithful boyfriend Ethan and wants to forget him. Amanda accesses a house exchange website, and impulsively swaps her mansion for Iris' cottage in Surrey for the holiday along the next two weeks. While in Surrey, Amanda meets Iris' brother and book editor Graham and they fall in love for each other. Meanwhile Iris meet her next door neighbor, the ninety year old screenplay writer Arthur, who helps her to retrieve her self-esteem, and the film composer Miles, and they fall in love for each other."

Quote: "I don't know, but I think what I've got is something slightly resembling... GUMPTION!"

A classic for the entire family is Home Alone from 1990. "In this film, Kevin McAllister is an eight year old boy left at home by his parents, when they leave with the rest of the family for Christmas holidays to Paris. At first he seems to enjoy living alone, but after a while he understands that things aren't so easy. Especially when two robbers decide to break in a particular house. HIS house! Is he able to defend his home?"


Quote: "This is extremely important. Will you please tell Santa that instead of presents this year, I just want my family back. No toys, nothing but Peter, Kate, Buzz, Megan, Linnie and Jeff. And my aunt and my cousins. And if he has time, my Uncle Frank. Okay?"

Another personal favorite is The Santa Clause from 1994. "Divorcee Scott Calvin is disgusted to learn that his ex and her husband have tried - and failed - to break it easy to their 6-year-old son Charlie that Santa isn't real. On Christmas Eve, Scott reads The Night Before Christmas... then receives an unexpected visitor on his roof. When he's startled by Scott's calling out and falls, the Santa impersonator disappears, leaving only an 8-reindeer sleigh and a suit with instructions to put it on if he's involved in an accident. Scott does, and is transported around the town dropping gifts through chimneys until he's taken to the North Pole and informed by a group who claim they're elves that he is now Santa. Charlie is proud of his dad's new job, though Scott's convinced it's a dream. Until his hair turns white, his beard refuses to stay shaved, he gains weight inexplicably, even for his sudden love of junk food... Now he's accepted it, there's just one problem: how to keep it secret from his disbelieving family?"


Quote: "Hey, I know where this is going. The other guy fell, it was an accident. I've got homeowners insurance, and a good attorney, not as good as my wife's - but lets not open up that wound! "

The new version of the classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas from 2000. "Based on the book by the famous Dr. Seuss. Inside a snowflake exists the magical land of Whoville. In Whoville, live the Who's, an almost mutated sort of munchkinlike people. All the Who's love Christmas, yet just outside of their beloved Whoville lives the Grinch. The Grinch is a nasty creature that hates Christmas, and plots to steal it away from the Whos which he equally abhors. Yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, decides to try befriend the Grinch."


Quote: "The nerve of those Whos. Inviting me down there - and on such short notice. Even if I wanted to go my schedule wouldn't allow it. Four o'clock, wallow in self pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, solve world hunger, tell no one. 5:30, jazzercize. 6:30, dinner with me. I can't cancel that again. 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing; I'm booked. Of course, if I bump the loathing to 9 I could still be done in time to lay in bed, stare at the ceiling and slip slowly into madness. But what would I wear?"

There are a few movies in the theaters this season I want to see. Typically we have the hubs kids Christmas morning and then they go to their mom at noon. The hubs and I have been known to see three movies on a Christmas day.

Four Christmases "When a couple tries to fly away from their family for Christmas, as they do every year, their fun turns around when all flights have been canceled. Now they have to go to four houses to celebrate Christmas while going through memories they don't want to go into and surprises they can't handle while they have to use a safe word to get out of situations ."

Nothing Like the Holidays "A Puerto Rican family living in the area of Humboldt Park in west Chicago face what may be their last Christmas together."

What are your favorite Christmas movies?

Christmas In July

I went to my local nursery today to pick up some plants for the yard. They did not have a couple things I was looking for but I came home with some other beautiful stuff.

I had planted some hostas under a tree in my backyard. I thought the space was pretty shaded, I know it had been in the past before the groundskeepers cut off a low growing tree limb. Anyway, even though these hostas were labeled as "sun tolerant" they clearly were not. I have moved them to a pot in a shadier part of the yard. Below is my "before" photos of them. I am hoping with more shade they will come back to life.


Today it was a red and green theme for buying plants. I replaced my hostas from above with a bunch of red and green colored plants. Most all of these are colorful without flowers which I used to hate.

Saturn Coleus

Kiwi Fern Coleus

Rhubarb

"Red Baron" Celosia (also known as Cockscomb)

Gold Spikemoss (groundcover)

I also bought some potato vine that I still need to get planted. But tonight hubby and I are headed to the drive in to see a double feature of The Dark Knight and Wall-E. Click the link here to find a drive in theater in your area!

PS. Last night (early this morning) I finished the first Firehouse glove!

New Indiana Jones Movie

Caution - Spoiler Alert!

I went and saw the new Indy movie Tuesday night. Actually 12:01 Wednesday morning. I am a huge Indy fan and at one point in my life I wanted to be the female version of him. I was really looking forward to this film and - I felt a little let down.

As an action film it was pretty good. I would probably rate it an 8. As a story it was OK. The writing was not up to par compared to the other films. I won't go as far as saying it was worse than the Temple of Doom. I rank it third in the series of four films. My all time favorite is The Last Crusade followed closely by Raiders.

First off, the fact that Karen Allen reprised her role as Marion Ravenwood was to me a dead giveaway that Shia LaBeouf was her son with Indy. That was cool. The way Indy found out was kind of comical in a way. I thought Karen was going to be great. When she is first introduced in the film she is as feisty as ever but soon it becomes clear she doesn't have all of her marbles in one bag. At one point in the film she practically drives off a cliff an she's acting more like it's a Sunday drive in the country. A cameo would have been fine for the reprisal of her role - seriously.

Indy survives a nuclear test in New Mexico by hiding in a lead lined refrigerator that "miraculously" survives the blast that several square miles of buildings don't. The acting in the beginning is somewhat disjointed and stiff. Eventually Harry does get in to stride as Indy.

The most amazing and truly horrific thing to me is the fact that the writers and producers think it's a good idea to combine an ancient South American "city of gold" with Extraterrestrial life. I do realize the crystal skulls in the film are probably related to these crystal skulls. At least they didn't deviate from the lore of the original crystal skulls. My hubby says it should have been named Indiana Jones and the Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

All in all, I didn't hate it. I think it just missed the mark. It was good enough to be number one at the box office. They could redeem themselves by making a fabulous fifth film. :0)

Name That Movie

I borrowed this blog idea from the Caffeinated Librarian who borrowed it from a blog she reads.

• Pick 15 (or 5 or 26 or 80) of your favorite movies.
  
• Go to IMDB and find a quote from each movie (or quote them from memory because you are so badass).
• Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
• Fill in the film title once it's been guessed.
  

These are your rules....

• No Googling or using IMDB search functions (Don't cheat!)
  
• Leave your answere(s) in the comments

1. "What's this, another door"?

2. "He was kinda cute, for a sociopath....."

3. "Can you star 69 Italy?"

4. "Christmas is not "clothing optional" this year - we have a guest."

5. Give me a Jack on the rocks. It doesn't have a fancy name, but if it was good enough for Frank, it's good enough for me."

6. "No, Sean Connery is Monique's boyfriend! He may be three hundred years old, but he's still a stud!

7. "I need some peace and quiet... or whatever it is people go away for. "

8. "But I was hoping to meet a girl on the Australian trip! No, African war zone; ship of death!"

9. "I like anything fast enough to do something stupid in."
10. "You burn the picture after you get the assignment! It's the first thing you learn! Oh, I must have missed that day. Just like you missed the one about not marrying the enemy."
11. "I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne. Let my armies be the rocks and the trees and the birds in the sky..."
12. "I'm sorry, Emily. I had to wait three hundred years for a virgin to light a candle."
13. "Now look. There is nothing in the world to get uptight about. We are two summa cum laudes. We can handle one little baby for eight hours."
14. "How would a little trip down the Nile suit you? There is nothing I would dislike more. There are two things in the world I can't abide: it's heat and heathens."
15. "Damn, I hate being a foregone conclusion."

Another fun way to play this game is to do it via email. Post a quote in an email and the first person to choose the correct title of the movie (and character if you want) get's to go next.

Horror of Horror's

Last night my hubby my bonus kids and I sat down to watch some scary movies. First up was Disturbia which I liked and supposedly was a remake of Rear Window. Having never seen Rear Window I had nothing to compare it to.

Then.... we watched The Hole. I thought Thora Birch who is in one of my favorite movies of all time - Hocus Pocus - was great. Keira Knightley was also in it. Anyway, it has full frontal male nudity. Yikes, can you imagine my horror and discomfort to be watching something like that with my step kids! They are 13 and 11. Mind you it was probably under 30 seconds but that was the longest 30 seconds of my life last night! Needless to say on IMDB there is no mention of male nudity, just female nudity.

Signing off to go see something a little safer (I hope) - Stardust.