Isolation

Bovine fetus' fetuses + surprisingly good acting + killing and blood = fairly good movie. I wouldn't buy it. But I'd recommend it.

3 1/2 stars.

(C'mon, it is killer cows, how can you go wrong?!?)

The Brady Bunch Movie

Yes, I watched it. I'll admit it. And it is just as cheesy as you might think. I really liked the clothes though.

2 stars.

The Horseman

In honor of Halloween David and I have been watching "scary movies." Now, I am the first to admit that I'm pretty particular about scary movies. We've seen a ton of them and they're either great, a general waste of time, or absolutely horrible. The Horseman was horrible.

We chose it because it had a known actor in it. Granted it is Dennis Quad, not our favorite, but at least we'd heard the name before. It is about a forensic scientist that is investigating a case. Add some ethos, some children, and some blood, and you've got yourself a scary movie. Oh, and don't forget the religion.

I had a hard time following the movie, or at least paying enough attention to know exactly what was going on. Throughout the movie there are people hanging from hooks. Now I don't hang from hooks, but some people like that sort of thing. It was the main shock value in the movie - not all that shocking.

I give it 1 1/2 stars. It get the bonus 1/2 star because I didn't turn it off.

Just because

I'm really tired of people making presumptions about me. Baring making a huge sign that I carry everywhere, I really feel like I have no other way to make a self-proclamation than here. So, here it goes.

Just because I'm a mom doesn't mean I have lost my identity or live to serve others.
Just because I'm married doesn't mean I'm straight.
Just because I'm Christian doesn't mean I believe in Creationism.
Just because I'm white doesn't mean I'm racist.
Just because we vaccinate our kids doesn't mean we haven't done research.
Just because I am outgoing doesn't mean I don't have feelings.
Just because I don't earn a paycheck doesn't mean I don't work.
Just because I'm fat doesn't mean I'm lazy.
Just because I don't wear my child doesn't mean I'm not attached.
conversely
Just because I don't let my kids "cry it out" doesn't mean I'm spoiling them.
Just because I play an instrument doesn't mean I like to perform.
Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I'm subservient, quiet, timid, stupid, weak, less-worthy.
Just because I limp doesn't mean I'm limping because of weight - my knees are fine.
Just because I smile at people doesn't mean I want something from them.
Just because I cry doesn't mean I need therapy.
Just because my childhood didn't suck doesn't mean that I lived in paradise.

Lord, Save Me from your Followers

Because we have Netflix, we have a seemingly endless supply of documentaries. I absolutely love them and watch them often. I 'liked' the movie Lord, Save Me From Your Followers without really knowing what it was about. It was one of those vulnerable times on Facebook where you like anything that might be funny or catchy. It turns out that Dan Merchant (the director of the flick) is a marketing genius by trade and I learned a lot more about his movie. Finally I found it on Netflix and watched it over the weekend.

The movie is about how American Christians are generally not very Christ-like. Now, to be fair, none of us can be too Christ-like because Christ is perfect and we aren't. But American Christians have a reputation for being jerks....seriously. There are a lot of Christians around here that ostracize others, put people down, tell people they're going to hell, etc. A lot of Christians focus on the money, not on living in a Christ-like manner. While that is human nature, people really need to get it together and BE NICE to others. Not because we want people to come to church, but rather because that's what God wants us to do.

Overall I find this a good movie. I think it is inspirational and entertaining. It is funny and has all sorts of interesting statistics. You see some hostility from people that aren't Christian, but generally the people interviewed are willing to participate and are kind (even if they aren't Christian - gasp!) I think it would be a good movie for a youth group to watch.

Kindergarten!

Today was my son's first day of school. He walked in, like the big boy he is, and sat in his seat. Things went well for him. They gave him chocolate milk with his breakfast....which instantly won him over. His teacher is a pretty woman, relatively young, and very nurturing. I think it is a good fit. And I *think* my son is in love with her.

The outpouring of support for the mommas today was absolutely amazing. I feel pretty lucky to have the friends I have. Looking back on today, I'll remember how brave my son was, and how loved I felt when I picked him up. None of the rest of today matters.

Human Centipede

We watched this movie on the 4th of July with some friends. (You know who you are) If bad times bring people closer together, we are now forever attached to these friends. Some experiences you just can't forget.

Let it be known, before I continue, that David picked out the movie. And Jim paid 7 whole dollars for it. If anyone is to blame, it is one of them.

Human Centipede is a film about a psychopathic doctor who dreams of creating new creatures out of humans. He attaches people together to create a dog-like being that he can control. The actor playing the doctor is super creepy looking, which very tight face skin, and really fits the part. The actors playing the centipede are either into anal fetishes or really desperate for money.

Really folks, you have to see it for yourself. I've heard Jim has $7 to go toward a bad movie.

1 1/2 stars - all for creativity and the audacity to actually produce this film. *shudders*

Planet 51

Animated movie about a human arriving on a distant planet, only to discover that this planet is a lot like Earth. The characters are cute, the music is good, and it has some good ol' McCarthy paranoia for good measure. Nothing profound in this movie, but it could be a useful lesson for kids in acceptance. Good clean fun!

3 stars

Surrogate

Saturday afternoon movie time. Just what the doctor ordered!

First we watched Surrogate. It has Bruce Willis and the robot version of Bruce Willis. He distracted me a bit in this role because he is not as spry and delicious anymore. (Sorry Bruce!) He's still hot but not immediate eye candy. And the robot him had odd hair. Of course, all the robots did, but *my* favorite Bruce 'do is bald. He is a sexy man.

*clears throat* Take 2!

Surrogate is set in the future and is about these robots that people control remotely with their minds. Most middle and upper class folks use them instead of walking around and being themselves out in the real world. Bruce and wife has some marital drama on the side, but really it is about how people aren't going out in the world any more. The robots reminded me of The Sims, which was amusing. There are people that refuse to live around the robots, preferring to live in slums. There is drama involved, and enough of it to keep me interested, but the robots are the main focus of the movie.

Would I watch it again? Yes. Would I buy it? Nope. If someone bought it for me would I return it? Naw, but I'm also pretty lazy.

2 1/2 starts

Hot

It would be significantly easier to live in Texas if I did better in the heat. Unfortunately, my overly-Caucasian self can sunburn at night, which makes the heat even worse. I get tense, like the sun is going to attack me or something. It gives me headaches. And makes me red. Something I have to get over, sure, but I don't have to like it.

Lonely

I'll admit it, sometimes I feel so lonely I can hardly breathe. I feel completely ignored. I get paranoid, wonder if I'm being shunned. I am able to fake it, even forget it for a few minutes, but most of the time I'm miserable and wanting to cry.

I have chosen to walk away from a women's forum because of these feelings. The women are not being hurtful or neglectful, or at least not intentionally, but it powerfully amplifies what I already feel. I already miss it. I care about these women. And I've come to remember how much it hurts to care for someone when they don't care for you. It takes a bit of your spirit away. I need to protect myself from the hurt.

I wonder how long this will last. I wonder if I will give in and get medicine. I wonder if I'll survive.

Adventures in Sitting

I was thinking about the Babysitters Club books the other day. I didn't read many of them, mainly because I wasn't allowed to at school because I was an advanced reader, and partly because my life mirrored them so much that it wasn't entertaining. Who needs fictional babysitters when you're chasing after your little brother? Anyhow, I realized how absolutely sexist those books really were. Geesh, the message that women should be raising kids and washing dishes is everywhere.

This is what I ponder whilst I sit.

Do you think it would be easier for me to sit (and not physically help my kids, take care of the house, or run errands) if I were male? I could do my husband's job while sitting. (Of course, I'm not quite sure what he does, but I know it requires computer work and sitting) I can't do my "job" while sitting. Or at least not all of it.

I really think my expectations are being skewed by this stinking society I've been raised in. I like to think I'm useful. Sitting isn't useful.

I think I need to do some research on things that I can do while sitting. And, while I'm doing my research, I'll sit!

Julie and Julia

(I've been trying to sit, and watching movies seems to help me keep my ass connected to the couch. Please excuse the rampant movie-watching.)

I've been wanting to watch this movie for quite a while, simply because Julia Child was part of the movie plot. My mom was a checker at a grocery store while Dad went to Harvard. Julia Child went through Mom's lane. She was apparently tall and nice. And, since she was famous and still was nice to the check out girl, I like her.

The movie started out with a fast enough plot to keep my attention, but then soon began to drag. I suppose, to be fair, it would be difficult to write a quick-paced action-y sort of movie about cooking, and the writers did the best that they could. Meryl Streep was a wonderful Julia Child. I wonder if they modified the sets to make her look taller. (I bet they did). All the rest of the acting was good, but with nobody to compare to it, was not remarkable. The food, however, looked delicious.

Both Julie and Julia talked a lot whilst their husbands patiently listened. Reminded me a lot of my own marriage. After discussing it for about 15 minutes with my husband, all the while he was listening intently, he said he was going to bed. I can't imagine staying quiet that long. Good thing he found me to listen to or he'd be terribly bored.

All in all, 3 1/2 out of 5. I would buy the movie if it were cheap enough, but I wouldn't pay full price. And I want a string of pearls to wear while cooking dinner.

Sunshine Cleaning

This movie was not nearly as funny as I thought it would be. It was morbid and gross and dark - but still somehow entertaining enough for me to watch it until the end.

The characters were both so sad though, and I found it difficult to believe that two people that sad would ever get up the ooomph to actually start a business. Still, I have a great respect for people who clean up crime scenes and the like, and the movie was respectful toward the dead and the people in that profession.

I really hope I die somewhere public enough that I don't sit and rot for a while before someone finds me.

2 Stars, folks.

Signs

I've already seen this movie before, as has most everyone else in America. Mom hadn't seen it yet, and that posed too good an opportunity to pass up. So away we went, watching aliens invade Earth.

I'm not a big Mel Gibson fan. I can't see him in anything else besides associated with Passion of the Christ. All that Christian media hype ruined him for me. (Not that I have anything against Passion of the Christ, the media just sort of annoyed me) If you ignore the fact that the character Graham is played by Gibson, the movie is pretty darn good. Aliens are scary. And aliens that can blend in the background, yikes! One of the most redeeming qualities about the movie is the Hershey Kiss hats out of tin foil. I think they are a stroke of genius.

A solid 3 out of 5 stars.

Sit Down! (again)

In the never-ending healing after a total hip replacement, I've been ordered to sit. Again. Apparently I am doing "too much," which may not be entirely accurate. The doctor and nurse think they know more about artificial joints than I. I think they're used to talking to 70 year olds that don't have children to carry, houses to keep, play dates to play at, or YMCA classes to do. So, I am trying to take it easy for a bit, and pretend to be old.

So, to the couch I go, watching copious amounts of television, and letting my bone grow around my leg.

I'm also taking 9-ish Motrin a day.

And Mom is back, carrying the baby and taking care of things.

I'm so glad to have the help (Thanks Mom, I owe you one!...or three!) but I like living my life. I'm not 70 and don't do well acting as though I am. I am tragically bored. But I do have a few little goals to keep me occupied.

#1. Netflixs Wii. All movies, all the time. Some of them are horrible, but I'm willing to try anything once. I prefer this movie rental method over Blockbuster.com, which is amazing as I am an avid Blockbuster fan.

#2. Logic puzzles. I suck at them. I want to get better. So I am going to buy a book of them and practice until I get one right.

#3. VBS. Ok, this one isn't really for me. My son loves church, because there are kids there, so he is going to three VBS's this summer. Pretty good for the child of a mixed marriage (one Christian, one Atheist - never telling which one is which.)

#4. Getting caught up on "Weeds." See #1 for more specifics.

Grow bone grow!!!

Don't do that!

I am having a difficult time, because of financial issues and physical problems. A certain family member completely and totally dismisses everything that I say. I often don't speak to her about anything of substance because of her apathy, but I made the mistake and shared what is going on in my life. Her response? "Eh, whatever will happen will happen. It is no big deal." Now, I realize that there are situations beyond our control. I can do my best to work toward the best outcome, but there are things that I can't affect in the least. The first statement doesn't really bother me. Telling me that my problems are "no big deal" really upsets me. Now, to clarify, this particular person has been 'rescued' several times, and perhaps having her world fall down around her ears is no big deal to her because she's always been ok because of the help of others. Herein lies the difference: I am not going to ask to be rescued. We're going to take care of this ourselves, because that is important to us. It isn't a matter of independence or pride, we just feel that it is the right thing to do for us. We ask for reasonable help, sure, but we're not going to ask someone to buy us a house/car/etc to "fix it" for us.

I don't really know why I'm writing this. You don't care, and that's fine with me. Sometimes I guess it is just nice to say 'outloud', proclaim if you will, that we will not be rescued. We can do this ourselves. And no condescending statements are going to change us.

Lazy

The title of this blog is saying I won't shut up, yet I'm horrible at writing in it. That's pretty silly, I need to be better at it. I want to say that I've been busy curing homelessness or cancer, but really I've just been busy with real life. *Yawn* I won't bore you with the details. Let's just say I'm a few ounces lighter because I had some metal removed. I"m all better and ready to start blogging on a regular basis.

I've been feeling more and more inclined to speak my mind lately. I've bought some gay pride accessories, which are fun. I love rainbows anyhow, and professing my sexuality is a nice change of pace. (Just because I'm married doesn't mean I'm straight. Not that you care, perhaps, but that's that.)

We're traveling to our hometown this week. I have mixed feelings about it. Part of me is excited: family, friends, familiarity. Part of me is tired already: family, friends, familiarity. I have strict instructions to slow down, which is a challenge while visiting. I hope to continue to update this whilst traveling. We'll see if my momentum holds out!

Legion - movie review

David really wanted to see this movie, and I'm up for anything, so we watched it last night. I don't care for religious-based movies, but I liked this one. The budget for it was tiny, no big actors or great special effects, but the movie had a good plot. The premise is that God gets tired of humans acting naughty and sinful, so he sends angels to kill off the humans. And, for the record, human-killing angels are mean and scary!

This movie could have been so much more with a better budget. Some of the writing was a bit silly and the acting wasn't great. But really, folks, let's face it, you watch those movies for the scare factor and blood, not for the supreme acting anyhow.

3 1/2 stars.

2012

This movie is visually stimulating --- and horrible. The acting is awful. The story is boring and overdone. Still, as wasteful as this might be, I'm not regretting the 2 hours I spent watching it. I like watching buildings and bridges fall down. I think this movie might be better the louder you watch it, especially if you took a shot every time the acting got exceptionally cheesy. You'd miss the end of the movie, but there's no real twist there. They all die - or at least most of them.

Being home is good

We're home, grandparent free, and happy as a clam. We're busy, and this is making me think about how much busy is the right amount of busy. We do something outside the house everyday. Seems to work for us, so I guess that's good enough for me.

I love that my kids love each other. I know, it is random, but I thought of it, and I don't typically edit what I write her. Sebastian sings and talks about Karma all the time, and Karma glows when she sees Sebastian. I seriously think that her first word will be Sebastian.

Vacations and childrens' detox

It has been an adventure the last few months! I feel like we're finally getting back to "normal," whatever that is. We took my mom back to my hometown on March 10th. We *finally* returned back to Dallas sans Mom on March 22nd. That's a long vacation. I learned a few things on this vacation.
1. People will actually show up and help you clean up/paint a house.
2. Painting in a poorly ventilated bathroom is pretty darn fun after a while.
3. Your family is really happy when you leave, especially if both children have the stomach flu while you visit.
4. Nothing feels as good as being at home, in your own bed.

More to come, as I have something to talk about. As it stands now I'm purely trying to survive this thing called life.

Ichibad Cane

I haven't written in so long! Good intentions and all of that. These pesky kids require so much attention. Lol, I said that kids were expensive and they should get a job - and the poor Wal-Mart cashier thought I was serious. I'm all about in-home child labor, but the kids aren't quite there yet. I am looking foward to help with dishes though. I understand why my parents had four kids. With a 12 year old brother, they've got six more years of slave labor before they have to do their won dishes again.

I'm using a cane. My hip hurts like hell, and feels as hot as hell, but I'm not going back to the walker. Good ol' Luke, I'm missing you buddy. You're a good walker, kept me off the ground, you deserve a medal or something. I'm not leaving you for Ichibad; we will keep you around.

Takin' care of the body

I wonder if anyone would notice if I stopped all grooming. Not hygiene things, no way!, but the plucking, and shaving, and painting, and chemically removing hair-ing. Not to mention the things I do to my poor locks.

I couldn't shave my legs for a month. Well, to be fair, I still can't, but my husband used some Veet on these monsters and they are now bare. It made me feel scroungy, even though nobody knew I was 3 pounds heavier because of my leg hair. (Lol, sorry, tmi.) I guess it is just in my head, you know?

I like the grooming though. I like painting my fingernails and messing with my hair. I wish my hair could change colors more often, I'm just not girlie enough. I feel better with myself when I've taken time to look nice. I tend to want to look like Helena Bonhem Carter, so most people think I haven't done my hair in months, but I know the truth - and I like it. It takes work to make it look that bad, lol.

Grooming is a good pick-me-up too. Let's face it, you can't do much else while you're painting your nails. Like many moms, I am helping everyone else all day long, that 10 minutes is a nice oasis. And you literally CAN'T do anything for those few minutes...very refreshing! So, feminism be damned, I will continue to burn my leg hair off of my legs. I like it, darn it!

State o' the Union

I am a liberal. Don't know if I mentioned that previously, but I am. And I'm watching my president (enter swoon here) speak to the nation about how he is helping our country get out of the cluster cuss that we were in a year ago.

Mrs. Obama, Biden, and Palowsi are wearing purple. Get it? Blue + Red = Purple? I wish the Republicans would get the fuck over themselves and do what is right for our citizens. People don't have jobs, don't have health care, aren't able to provide for their families. Yeah, we've bailed out the banks, and that was a good idea. But now we need to get a gripe on the forclosures, the hopelessness that people are feeling.

I like that President Obama is focusing on the infrastructure of our nation. We have the work force, let's use that work force and create NEW in our country.

I love how energetic the president is. He obviously loves his job. He's passionate and hardworking. Ok, so he's trying to stay bipartisan (which is annoying the crap out of us Democrats) but at least he's doing something. Love, love, love him!

These tunes in my head

I am listening to my iPod. I love listening to music, I wish I did it more often. So far this evening I have listened to:
Dixie Chicks
The Who
Nine Inch Nails
The Prodigy
The Rolling Stones
Marilyn Manson
Flogging Molly
The Glee Soundtrack and
Elton John

A rather eclectic music list, I suppose, but fits me. I also have showtunes and classical music on here. I like whatever is true to the genre best, pure music. I admire people who are willing to write music to their tastes not popular culture.

My favorite part about music is the memories that go with each song. I think of people or situations, or even feelings with each song. Some songs will represent this moment for me later, and I like that changing quality in how I process the music too. Crazy brain schema.

4th Kind

This was a date night movie, seen in the theaters. I had forgotten what the movie was about until we got in and settled, only to realize it was an alien movie. I was stuck in a wheelchair so I couldn't gracefully excuse myself to the restroom when it got scary - which was often. It reminded me of Blair Witch Project sans jerky camera shots. The acting was good, almost copied acting from more popular actors. The movie takes place in Alaska, and the swooping scenery shots were nice additions to the movie, although not necessary. The children were minor parts in the actual movie, but critical to the storyline...which was good writing because they were not experienced actors and their acting was not exceptional. It was an interesting story, paralleling re-enactments with "actual footage," doubling the level of fear in this alien-phobic viewer. There were some religious indications in the movie, with possible interpretations out the wazzo, and it gave me some ideas to consider. You leave the movie without an actual ending - no real resolution. Very unnerving!

4 out of 5 stars.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

I saw this movie with my husband and our children. My son enjoyed it but often did not understand the subtle jokes, while husband and I laughed so hard we cried. It reminds me of a Quintin Tarantino movie combined with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but animated. I love Roald Dahl anyhow, so it was a treat to see this movie. It had a sentimental factor to it, which was nice. Nothing like the son winning the dad's approval to make you sigh with joy. Add in sticking it to the man, and it jumps high on my list of childrens' movies. I want to own this movie, no doubt about it.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

The rules

So now that I've started a blog, I've been thinking about what I want to write in said blog. I'm at a cross-roads of sorts and I have a lot of time to think, and narrowing down my options has been difficult. Therefore, I think I will write about anything and everything I think I want to write about. Today may be politics, tomorrow might be celery stalks. I'd love to write every day, but we'll have to see about that. I'm not holding myself to any goals right now, given the state of affairs in my life. Cross roads can be difficult to navigate.

I suppose, to be fair to anyone who might stumble upon this blog, that I should explain a few things. So, for the sake of simplicity, I'll write a biography just for you. I won't update it, and obviously the facts will change as time goes on, but you'll just have to continue to read other posts to get the juicy details as life progresses.

My name is Aubrey. I live in Dallas with my husband, son, daughter, dog, and cat. We are obnoxiously stereotypically normal: husband works, I stay at home, son is 4, daughter is 4 months. Dog and cat even get along. We go to playdates and play in the playplaces at McDonalds. While I wish it were different, my kids will probably end up in public schools. They eat gluten and hotdogs, and we don't go to church every Sunday. They could make a sitcom out of our boring lives, although nobody would watch it because it looks just like everyone elses' lives.

But there's more to it than that. For one, I just got my hip replaced. I'm disabled - wow, that sounds so weird. I use a walker for now, but will soon graduate to a cane, then to nothing. It is the cross-roads you've heard about. In a few months it will be over. Right now it is a miserable sort of thing to go through. I wouldn't suggest it just for fun.

I think, dear readers, that's all I'd like to share for now. Stay tuned, I'm more dynamic than one might think. I have things to say, and I won't shut up.

P.S. I will also review movies on here, especially since I get to watch a lot of movies right now. The title of the blog will indicate the movie reviewed. No other musings will be in the movie review, so you can skip them and not miss out on any big secrets.

I'm such a follower

Sort of.

I have always been outspoken and opinionated. Obnoxiously so, much to the pleasure of my parents. I have learned to curtail my outburts when appropriate (or I'm not in the mood to argue) but I've never just stayed quiet. Blame it on my large family, or my dad's dragging me to political functions and parades, or my desire to piss people off. Speaking up has been such a huge part of my makeup.

Then it happened.

We moved to Dallas, TX. 500+ miles away from 99% of the people we know. And the center of conservative-ville.

We moved 2 months before the 2008 election. I still wore my Obama tshirt, kept the bumper stickers on my car, but I didn't say what I wanted to say. I joined a few online boards, made some friends - still didn't say what I think. I hinted here and there (and, let's face it, driving the Obama-mobile is telling in itself) but I didn't say what I would normally say. I got comfortable censoring myself, got in the habit of it. Muted myself in a lot of ways, thinking that life would be easier if I just stopped being so me.

I am over it. Like me, don't like me, whatever. But I'm not going to keep quiet any longer. And it feels really good.