Missing Cupcakes

I wasn't paying close attention when Patty asked if she could have a cupcake.  Sure, you can have a cupcake, I vaguely remember telling her.

But, I'm pretty sure there were five cupcakes left over from JT's birthday party.

I only saw her with one cupcake.  Or so I thought.

When I went to the kitchen I discovered this empty cupcake tray!

Yes, she had eaten the frosting off five cupcakes!  I know this because the cake part was in the trash can!

Fifty Shades Recast

So, the Fifty Shades folks announced that this fellow pictured on the left will play Christian Grey in the may never see the light of day movie of the same name.  Sorry fans, but I just can't see this movie arriving at a theatre near me anytime soon.

But, if you're curious, his name is Jamie Dornan and he hails from Northern Ireland.  And you may have seen him in a handful of episodes of Once Upon a Time, where, I must add, he was fabulous.

I don't dislike him for the role of Mr. Grey.  I just think my casting choice was better. 

I do find it a little funny that Mr. Dornan is from Ireland and he's replacing Charlie Hunnam for this role.  Why do I find it funny?  Because Charlie's character, Jax, is always having trouble with the Irish on his show Sons of Anarchy! 

;-}  Well, I didn't say you'd think it was funny, too!

Use Reminders for Recipe List

I have to confess, I rarely ever use the little Reminders app on my iPhone.  It just feels faster to use a good old fashioned piece of paper and a pen to make my shopping lists. 

But, I had a list epiphany this afternoon! 

Yes, the Reminders app is app-solutely perfect for making an ingredients list for a recipe! 

Maybe it's just me, but I find myself at the grocery store all the time and can't remember which ingredients I need for a specific recipe.  Really, this happens much more often than I want to admit. 

Now, I can have those favorite recipes with me at all times!  Just have to find all the recipes and then find the time to type them into the Reminders app and I'll be all set!


That recipe list for Onion Soup Mix came from Good Cheap Eats and I can't wait to try it in my next meat loaf!

Fifty Shades Casting Call

I thought I missed the opportunity to post about the Fifty Shades of Grey movie, but then Charlie backed out and it's news again!

So, sometime in late August or early September, Hollywood announced that Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson would portray Christian and Anastasia in the 2014 movie adaptation of the uber best selling novel Fifty Shades of Grey.  That announcement actually came at the same time I was reading the first installment in the series.  And, no, I wasn't impressed with the casting choices. 

First, I think Charlie is too short to play Christian.  Second, I think Dakota is a dead ringer for the role of Kate, Anastasia's best friend.  But, I'm speculating that the role of Kate will be absent from the movie all together. 

Obviously,  I just wasn't feeling these guys as the characters from the book.  Then, yesterday I hear that Charlie has dropped out of the movie.  The radio said it was a fear of being type-cast, IMDB says it's scheduling conflicts.  I don't know which is accurate, but if I was fearful of type casting, I'd really be trying to get away from playing murdering motorcycle rider Jax Teller.

And now that this is in the news again, I'd finally like to share my casting choices with the world.

Drum roll please.

Imagine Christian Grey played by the handsome and smart Christopher Gorham.  And Anastasia played by the lovely and smart Anna Kendrick.

And here's way I made these choices.

Anna as Anastasia
1.  Right hair color
2.  Perfect for the beautiful but thinks she's not pretty role
3.  Would be funny because Fifty Shades is the result of something known as Twilight Fan Fiction.  Anna was in Twilight.  Come on, it's funny.
4.  Anastasia prefers to be called Ana.  That's Anna's name already.

Christopher as Christian
1.  Tall
2.  Fantastic physique
3.  Great speaking voice
4.  Well, those three things are the only reasons you need to cast Christopher in this role.

Now, having said all that, I want to make a prediction.  I predict that this movie will never see the light of day.  And, if it miraculously does become reality, I think it will be so far removed from the book that fans will be up in arms disappointed.  I mean, we have something called ratings in this country and there's no way anyone is turning this book into an R rated movie fit for theatres. 

For me, this book just wasn't great.  It wasn't a 'can't put it down' read that I couldn't wait to finish.  Actually, I think it took me about two months to read it cover to cover.  And I'm no interest in reading the other two installments.  And that almost never happens when I've started reading a series.  Plus, it's a blatant rip off of Twilight, pretty much down to the initials of the characters, but without the bite. 

And the real clincher for me, the thing I found to be the most off-putting about this book, is a single line of dialogue from the final pages of the book.  Christian says to Anastasia, "I want to hurt you."  And that cemented the icky feeling that I had had from the beginning.  I can't imagine being in a relationship where my partner openly admits that he wants to hurt me.  It's just insane.  I can hardly believe this series found the audience it did.  It just isn't for me, I guess.

Hindsight: I got to thinking about this and I have a new prediction. I predict that, even though this won't make it to the movie box office, Fifty Shades might work as a one-hour drama for a major network. It won't fit I to the ABC Family or CW lineups, and it's not smart enough for AMC, but I think it might find a home on FX or maybe even HBO. These books are long, I think the right team of writers just might be able to squeak out a watchable series.

What Happened to Miley?

I had commented on my Facebook when Miley's VMA performance was anything anyone could talk about.  Way back in August.  ;-}  Need-less-to-say, pretty much everyone had an opinion and everyone pretty much burned the poor girl at the stake.  Seriously, my Facebook friends and family were ready to flog her.

Personally, I wasn't surprised by the VMA performance.  It was the VMAs for crying out loud!  We're not talking about a posh, sophisticated gathering of intellectuals.  We're talking about a crazy, amped up, fun-filled, musical experience.  And, at the age of nearly 36, I look forward to it each and every year.  Second only to the MTV Movie Awards, but that's not the point.

The point is that Miley Cyrus and her really strange performance started a barrage of disgust among the public.  And, I just don't get it.  I did a little comparison of Miley, Britney, and Christina, all products of Disney, and I really can't see how Miley is more back lash than other young stars.

Britney and Christina had their Disney beginning on a little show called The Mickey Mouse Club, along side the likes of Justin Timberlake and Ryan Gosling.  Britney, a cast member from ages 12 to 16; Christina, a cast member from 13-17.

Miley starred in a little Disney series called Hannah Montana from the age of 14 to 19.  So, arguably she was a Disney star for a year longer than Britney and Christina.  But, the major difference is how Disney had re branded itself between the end of the Mickey Mouse Club and the birth of Hannah Montana.  Know what I'm talking about?  In the nineties, Disney was a premium cable channel, and that meant you had to pay extra for it.  By the time Hannah Montana arrived on the Disney scene, Disney was part of basic cable, which meant it was readily piped into every home with a cable connection.  And it had gone majorly commercial.  Majorly.  No, they didn't show typical commercials, but they were busily pimping their own products.  So then came the shameless merchandising of all things Hannah Montana.  Disney took full advantage of Miley's marketability during her five years as their queen of all things preteen.

In fact, Disney did such a fantastic job marketing Miley as Hannah Montana, that no one can seem to remember that Hannah Montana is a fictional character and Miley Cyrus is the real person.  It's like people just can't let her move on from Hannah Montana.  And I don't understand that.  Yes, I am glad that she declared Miley is dead.  Maybe people can begin the grieving process.  Anyway, moving on.

I'm guessing the hardcore Hannah fans are now in their mid-teens to early twenties.  So, ages 15-21, let's say.  Now let's think about what this age group is up to.  Parents who are in denial, you probably want to shield your eyes from this revelation.  Teens today are doing exactly the same things teens were doing when you were a teenage.  Experimenting with alcohol and drugs, being sexually active, all the while exposed to Lil Wayne and Lady Gaga and Ke$ha during their formative years.  Lil Wayne raps about all kinds of stuff kids this age shouldn't be doing.  Lady Gaga, well, she is a unique character in her own right, and I really like most of her music, she just comes off a bit odd, doesn't she?  And, well, there's Ke$ha who sings about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack.  Come on folks, if I had a kid in this age group, and believe me I am super thankful that I do not, I'd be happy if the message they were hearing involved standing up for yourself and learning to love everyone.

Maybe this all boils down to a wake up call for us parents, who sat week after week watching Hannah Montana with our little darlings hearing them proclaim how they wanted to be just like her when they grew up.  Yeah, the reality of what a difference a few years makes is startling.  But, stop blaming Miley for growing up and finding what she thinks is her own voice and shaking her skinny ass all over the place.  The only change I would make is her tendency to stick out her tongue.  That's just gross.  I mean, I have to draw a line somewhere. 

Damn Buggies and a Little Shit

Way before we had kids, we had Madison.  Our niece.  I used to joke that we shared custody of her because she was at our house most weekends!  It was great, I loved it.  I got to play "mommy" for a couple days, spoil her rotten, and send her back home.  I once let her wear her little plastic dress up shoes to Walmart.  Honestly, I think I learned a lot from my time spent with Madison.  Like, some kids get so upset they vomit, and then you have to clean it up.  And I learned about children's medicine and going to the Minit Mart in your pajamas to get a bottle of Tylenol.  Oh, and once a kid is big enough to know about babies, you can not call them baby anymore.  I heard "I'm not a baby!" many times.

Madison was the very first grandbaby for my husbands side of the family and she was surely the apple of Grandma Gail's eye.  In fact, I think she never lost at Candy Land and owned absolutely every toy there was to own from the local dollar store.  Fast forward and now Madison is a high school freshman!  Where does the time go?

Ok, wait.  I had a point to this post and then I got lost on my stroll down memory lane!

Last night, as we tried to get the day finished and everyone ready for bed, Patty and JT spotted that little creepy crawly bug making its way across the dinning room floor.  I'm impressed with that iPhone photo, aren't you?  I bet it was JT's idea to trap it inside that little gum ball machine ball. 

Anyhoo, the kids spent the better part of an hour rolling that bug around the house in his gum ball.  If you consider that the gum ball cost a quarter, and the bug was free, it may very well have been the cheapest toy ever invented.  And it was certainly more entertaining for them than all of the other toys in the house.  Even if the fascination did wear off after about an hour.  Really, I need to find that gum ball and dispose of it!

OK, so back to memory lane.  When Madison was in about Kindergarten, she went through a cursing phase.  I can't recall exactly how it went, but there was something to do with bugs at school, maybe ants on the playground, and Madison would call them "damn buggies" which Grandma Gail and I thought was just too adorable for words.  But, her favorite curse word was shit.  It was really funny to hear the s word come out of her cute, little five-year-old mouth.  Well, one day Grandma Gail said the s word and Madison pointed out that you're not supposed to say that word.  I'm guessing this wasn't the only time Grandma Gail had been reminded because she said, "Shit shit shit shit," several times in a row.  The look on Madison's face was priceless!  It was a mixture of admiration and shock.  And you know, I think it might have broken her from saying that s word!

So, to make a long story just a little longer....  When ever I think of "damn buggies" I also think of "shit shit shit".  And it makes me smile just a little.

It's Official, We're Separating

I'm sure a lot of folks were making bets that day 15 years ago when we said I do.  I'd really like to know what the numbers were.  If anyone guessed we'd last over 15 years, I'd really like to send that person a card.

The truth is, I will  miss this life we've created during the last 15 years.  This transition won't be simple, but at least we'll be making it together as a family.  Yes, indeed, I will miss being a military family...in some ways.  Well, I guess there's not really much about military life that I'll miss.

What?  Did you think we were getting divorced?  Not a chance.  We've been a couple for the better part of 19 years, there's no way I'm throwing that away.  Shame on you if you thought we'd end up divorced!  That just goes to show how well you know us, or don't know us, I guess.

But, today does indeed mark the closing of our story as a military family.  Most of these last 15 years have flown by; happy, exciting, difficult, sad, you name it, they've run the gamut.  It is a bittersweet day, to be sure.  I'd be a fool not to say that these past 15 years have shaped me into the person I am today.  Diligent, sometimes hateful, proud, and stronger than I ever imagined possible.  Maybe, deep down, I'll always be an Army wife.  But, as of today, we are civilians, once again!

Hooah!