It felt like this movie was a female version of The Hangover. That said, it was pretty funny, though I was expecting more. While there were a number of funny scenes in the movie, it didn’t have any “laugh till you cry” moments. Some of the scenes were a little long. I think if the movie would have been slightly shorter, it would have been better. But, still, it was worth watching.
performance
Jake started playing guitar at our church’s Saturday evening service. He is playing with a couple other guitarists and his first performance was last Saturday.
Of course, all of the grandparents want to see him play, so my in-laws (and niece) came to yesterday’s service (my parents will be attending a service later this month). Jake is doing a great job and it’s good experience for him to play in front of people.
Church is at a kind of inconvenient time 5:30 (it’s too early to eat beforehand and too late to eat after), but I threw a lasagna in the oven before we left and we all had dinner at our house after the service. Maybe it’s just the former Catholic in me, but I wish the service was at 4 or 4:30. That would be perfect.
mockingjay
This was the third and final installment in the Hunger Games series. I think I liked this one better than the second, but the first was still my favorite. I’m still stoked for the movie next spring. It will be interesting to see how they translate the books to film.
beetlejuice
Another blast from the past. This movie was enjoyable years later thanks to Tim Burton. While it was not full of laughs, it had enough of them to keep Jake interested. Plus the f-bomb was dropped at least once–you don’t see that every day in a PG movie.
thanksgiving 2011
Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. My parents, brother, grandmother, and great-aunt shared the day with us.
Not to brag, but I really have this holiday cooking thing down to a science. I did have some help with the food–my mom brought cranberry sauce, my grandmother brought the pumpkin pies, and my aunt brought a jello salad. I started off on the right foot by taking Wednesday off of work in order to prepare some of the dishes ahead of time. Most of the side dishes I made were oven-based, so it made it easy to have all of the dishes ready at the same time–as soon as the turkey was done, I was able to start baking the side dishes.
It was a nice day all around. After dinner, everyone sat around the dinner table and talked. Towards the end of the afternoon, we had dessert, and that concluded the festivities.
Here are the new recipes I tried this year (hint–all of them are keepers):
Green Beans Amandine
Roasted Squash with Butter and Sage
Sweet Potato-Pecan Casserole
Basic Bread Stuffing
Parker House Rolls
Roasted Turkey with Rosemary-Garlic Butter Rub and Pan Gravy
Good stuff!