Eragon Review

Eragon, the most highly advertised movie in a long while, opened yesterday. Brandon and I had the day off so we went to a nearly empty theatre for the 12:30 show, an Orange Julius in hand (pina colada with banana actually).
Overall I give the movie a B rating. Fortunately I haven't read the book yet, so I was saved any disappointment on that account. It is an entertaining fantasy film, appropriate for older children, but a bit too scary for younger ones.
Let me first tell you the good things. Good storyline, great special effects, really bad badguy, good acting, cool dragon, good chemistry between characters, good characters (though many were underdeveloped). Sadly, the film was less than 2 hours long and it left something to be desired. You wanted to see more development of the boy, more of his training, more of his mentor, more development of his dark friend, more of his learning fighting, the elvish language, and magic, etc.
The biggest problem with this film can be described in one word, "formulaic." Even if I spelled that wrong, it is an accurate description. They took what appeared to be a great story, cut it too short and Hollywooded it too much. Some pretty poor scriptwriting and some cliche lines and predictable happenings made it kind of weak.
All that said, I still recommend it and think most of you will enjoy it. We did.

The Truth About Santa Claus

(I got this story as a forward from my Grandma Aggie today. I is a story I hope I never forget.)

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid. I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"
My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.
Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" She snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."
"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car. "Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.
I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping. For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for. I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends , my neighbors, the kids at school, and the people who went to my church. I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class.
Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat! I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.
"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."
The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.
That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.
Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers. Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going." I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma. Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.
Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were: ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team. I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.

May you always have LOVE to share, HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care....And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!

30 Weeks

I think it's a combination of the angle of the shot and the way I am standing, but I look HUGE here. But that's okay with me, I'm really not very uncomfortable AND I'm 3/4 of the way thru my pregnancy now. Only 10 weeks to go! Brandon says I look like I swallowed a basketball.

Snowed In

Unlike in Utah, where it would take about 3 feet of snow to shut anything down, here in Oklahoma it's a whole different story. We get snow about 5 times a year. It always begins with freezing rain, then sleet, then snow (or would it be than?). That means there's a nice, thick sheet of black ice under the snow and roads are extremely treacherous. Snow in Utah is very soft, big, fluffy, and wet. OK snow is dry and crunchy and it usually kind of hurts, small ice chunks more than flakes a lot of the time. We actually got some soft flakes on Thursday.

So we woke up Thursday morning with freezing rain but very little snow on the ground after reports on Wednesday of the worst storm Oklahoma has seen in years on every news station. Well, it ended up being a pretty good storm and the roads were really bad on Thursday, but I think people got overly excited because it was the first snow of the year and such. Thursday all the schools were closed, which meant I didn't have to work and Brandon didn't either. We really enjoyed our day inside watching the snow fall, watching tv, baking, snuggling, eating, etc.

I made one of my favorite (and extremely easy) recipes. It had been almost a year since I last made it, what a shame. I got this recipe from my friend Ann from Hawaii a few years ago.

Great Grandma's Banana Bread
5 large bananas
4 eggs
1 c. shortening (I use butter or marg. or both)
2 c. sugar
4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Beat all together and add to three greased loaf pans. Test for doneness before removing from oven. Bake 45-60 mins. at 325 degrees. Delicious!!

Been enjoying that bread for 3 days. I especially liked it this morning accompanied by hot chocolate.

Silly enough, all the schools closed again yesterday. We were a little stir crazy and went and wandered around Walmart for awhile in the afternoon. Then watched the rest of our My Name is Earl dvd (best show around) that we'd rented from Netflix (I don't understand why everyone doesn't join). Last night we decorated our little 3 ft. tree. It looks great! Brandon is a little disappointed that we didn't get a bigger and/or real tree this year, but we leave out of town on the 21st so I just didn't want to. We put lights up all over the dining room and a few other decorations out too. The cats haven't eaten any ornaments yet, so that's good. We've also been enjoying a lot of Christmas music. Our favorites have always been Bing Crosby, but we also really like the Charlie Brown soundtrack, the Nutcracker ballet soundtrack, and the Harry Connick Jr. cds. Yesterday at Walmart we bought an excellent Elvis Christmas cd and Christmas with the Rat Pack which is also quite good.

Hope you are enjoying the first few days of December! Love you.

Holiday Weekend

Here we are on Thanksgiving; The McBride Family. We were missing B's big sister Dr. Andy and her hubby Coach Matich but we managed to have a great time without them anyway. I'm so lucky to have great in-laws. Their neighborhood has all these weird fence laws, so what your seeing is us on their swing with the neighbor's house behind. Their yard with its swing, patio, furniture, landscaping and grill, is the envy of the block.

Spend the weekend cooking, eating, relaxing, watching movies (I'd recommend Muppets in Space), playing frisbee, playing Halo, doing Dance Dance Revolution, board games, and talking. I enjoyed every minute!

Casino Royale

Even though I found the new Bond to be unattractive I decided to see the movie anyway. I was not disappointed (neither were any of the professional reviewers). I think we may have found our best Bond and Bond girl ever. Definitely my favorite Bond film, even better than the Sean Connery days. No, it wasn't perfect, but yes, it was excellent. I may have to see it again this weekend. And if you like amazing physical stunts, not just car chases and things blowing up, the first 20 minutes (a foot chase thru a city in Madagascar) will delight you in a Jackie Chan-type way. A-. Go see it!

Giving Thanks

I am still basking in the glow of the holiday. I sit here at a computer in the home of my mother-in-law and her family. We arrived here in Illinios on Wednesday evening. Thursday was a fun family day of cooking and play and eating. Friday I did some shopping, got everything for Brandon's Christmas. Today I'm doing not much of anything but a little bit of helping Tori prepare for her 11th birthday party tonight. Tori is my youngest sister-in-law.
I'm thankful for:
1) A wonderful, loving, crazy family
2) Great in-laws
3) Fantastic friends
4) Good health
5) Modern medicine
6) A baby in my belly
7) A good education
8) Never going without the necessities in life
9) Delicious food
10) The ability to travel the country quickly and comfortably (unlike generations past)
11) Being able to keep in touch with loved ones online
12) The gospel of Jesus Christ
13) Online shopping
14) Holiday cheer
15) Good movies
16) Christmas music
17) A reliable car
18) A comfortable home
19) A talented, loving, ambitious husband and his enthusiasm for fatherhood
20) A great pregnancy

Thanks for reading. I'm thankful for you!

In Memorium

Yesterday we said goodbye to Uncle Danny.
At only 55, he suffered a brain aneurysm, probably from heavy smoking for years.

He leaves behind a wonderful wife and three Florida panthers (and I believe 2 dogs).
He had a wonderful sense of humor and was a good, kind man. He was a great storyteller. If that is hereditary, than he passed it on to my brother, Adam. Oh, and what stories he had to tell! I wish I could have heard them all. He will be greatly missed.

My poor grandparents, have lost 4 of their 8 children. Please pray especially for them and for my aunt Bonnie, but also for my mom and the other surviving 3 siblings.

I love you Uncle Danny and I am sorry that you never got to meet my better half, he would have loved you too.

What is that smell?

Last night we noticed a bad odor in the kitchen. It wasn't the diswasher, it wasn't the disposal. There were hardly any dirty dishes, so it wasn't old food in/on them. It didn't seem to be the fridge or the trash.
This morning we discovered it was a rotten potato in a small bag of potatoes on the counter. Rotten potatoes rank up there with old flower water on my list of worst smells. It had leaked its oozy liquid out onto my counter. I cleaned it up and disinfected, but the smell has dispursed throughout the house. I have two candles lit right now. What I'm concerned about is that some of the liquid has probably leaked down the side of the counter on to the floor next to/under the fridge. The crack between the fridge and the counter is a scary place. It is too thin to get a broom into and it is full of lint and cat hair and probably a few magnents, etc. I know for a fact there is a postcard and a dehydrated (by now) cherry tomato down there. If the potato stench isn't gone in an hour I will loose my mind. How do I get in there to clean?!

6 months along

As of yesterday, my wedding ring no longer fits. I think I may size it up a quarter size, as Brandon always swore it was too tight anyway. If it gets too tight again, I'll buy a bigger size cz ring and wear the fake one til the pregnancy is over. I just don't know if I want to wear my ring on a chain around my neck for the next three months. What do you all think? I'm okay not wearing a ring at all, but someone mentioned that they always look at pregnant women's hands for a ring and then feel sorry for those who don't have one. Weird. And though I shouldn't care what people think, maybe I kind of do. But maybe I just like an excuse to buy jewelry.

Oh, and my baby kicks back when you press on him now instead of moving away. That's his new thing as of today. So fun!

Learned a new Oklahoma word yesterday: mudding. You can probably guess what it is. In Wyoming it's called, "diggin'." In Utah it is called, "four-wheeling." Lacey says my Utah phraseology is boring.

A guy at the gym today said, "You look like you're about to pop." I said, "far from it." I bet with that kind of finesse he gets a lot of dates.

I told a friend today that we are probably going to name the baby Jonah Charles. She said (very unenthusiastically), "Jonah is good. I like Jonah." Listen babe, I wasn't asking for your approval or your opinion. Then she said (very distastefully), "Why Charles? Tell me that's a family name." Well yes, it actually is a family name but could you be any more bitchy? I didn't say that though, but hey, if you happen to read this, that is what I was thinking. Those who speak without thinking are the reason we considered keeping the name a secret. But actually, I don't think I've had any other negative comments on the name. But strangers treat you like some kind of freak if you tell them you haven't decided on a name. Sometimes they'll even press you, "Well, which names do you like? Are you trying to decide between two?" Are they just dying to hand out their unasked for opinion?? People are strange.

Last, and most fun, bit of news. This weekend we went to the Blue Man Group concert.
It was excellent!
Brandon called me the day the Oklahoma concert tickets went on sale, sounding a little bit frantic. Fortunately it was my morning off and I had an hour til the tickets went on sale. I didn't really know that much about the group, and I only learned a little more before going to see them. They are musicians and performers; great entertainers. This photo is of them with one of their instruments. Very creative. It is the only concert I've ever been to where I feel pretty confident saying that ANYone would enjoy their show. I would take a 5 year old, I would take my parents. If you ever get the chance to see them, do it.

Cocoa Butter?

Last night, while laying in bed looking at my belly, Brandon discovered a stretch mark! It's my first pregnancy stretch mark. It doesn't really look stretchy, although it is low enough that I can hardly see it, even in the mirror. It is dark reddish and looks more like a hickey or a bruise than anything, only it is pretty much a short straight line.
My mom gave birth to nine children and only has one belly stretch mark. My older sister got hundreds of stretch marks during her first pregnancy. Hopefully I've got good elastin (or is it collagen?) and more of Mom's genes. Most of my stretching will happen over the next 3 months so I will probably get more, but let's hope for the best.
I've been using an anti-stretch mark cream whenever I get out of the shower, but I'm almost out of it. I know genetics play a much bigger role than anything else, but does any body have any favorite belly creams they'd like to recommend?

List Lady requests your assistance

Attention all Mothers:
I would love you to email me a list of "new mom/baby essentials". If you are a stranger and want to participate, that is fine. You can email me thru my other webpage at: http://www.myspace.com/listlady by clicking on the "send message" button under my main photo. Can't wait to hear from all you mommies.

Baby Showers!

My wonderful, sweet sister Robin called me this morning to tell me she wants to throw me a baby shower while I'm in Arizona after Christmas. Thank you Robin! I only have a couple friends in AZ but I've got lots of relatives there and it will be nice to have an excuse to see all the female ones at once! And Robin knows how to throw a great shower (just check out her most recent blog if you don't believe me).
I'd really like to have a Utah shower because I have lots of friends there plus relatives and Brandon has tons of relatives there. The real barrier is that I am only going to be there during the week of Christmas. Nobody wants to feel like they have to buy another gift right at Christmastime, do they? And worse, Saturdays seem to be the day for showers and the only Saturday I'm going to be in town is the 23rd, the day before Christmas Eve. Ah, well.
As for an Oklahoma baby shower, that is yet to be determined. I have had several people ask about it but there are no plans. Hannah, my former co-worker from Foley's, has offered to throw one for me in January, after the madness of the holidays has passed. She doesn't know many of my friends, but I don't suppose that really matters. Right now she's my only offer for a shower, so you Okies will have to wait til January to give me baby clothes and you'll get to meet my negative, yet very sweet, 50-something, kookie former co-worker.
Fortunately, since we'll more than likely be moving out of state when the baby is less than 5 months old, we'll hold off on getting some of the big baby items for now. We're going to get a Pack n' Play (bassinet on a playpen) instead of a crib, no dresser or changing table, no fancy nursery decor or anything like that. I just want clothes, books, and the necessities (you mom's will have to let me know what all that includes). I have, of course, started an amazon baby wishlist http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/baby/ZHDO17YRNI3U . I just couldn't help myself. I love amazon!

Halloween, etc.

Coach B with his little witch wife.
So last week I made the mash potatoes again on Wednesday. Still a little pastey and this time a bit lumpy too, but again, extremely delicious. I love potatoes. I think maybe I'm using too much/many liquids. I highly recommend the Klondike Golddust potatoes I've been getting from Target.
Thursday was combined Enrichment activity for the ladies from church. I think there were 8 people there, some knitting, some tying a quilt and some of us sharing scrapbooking ideas. Mostly we were talking and eating. It was fun.
Friday night Lacey and I hung out. She got a fondue pot she wanted to try out. Hers is electric and has the best non-stick coating. We made cheese fondue first; half swiss, half something else, a little wine, a pinch of ground mustard, and a pinch of nutmeg. So heavenly! We dipped apples, cooked mini-potatoes, french bread, sausage, and tomatoes. I've been craving more ever since. Then we made up a chocolate dessert fondue and dipped pound cake, raspberries, dried sweetened cranberries (our favorite), marshmellows (my unexpected next favorite), mini oreos, and bananas (another excellent choice). It was a great girl's date night! Can't wait to fondue again!! If I had room in my kitchen I'd probably have my own fondue pot by now.
Saturday night was Halloween party night. We decided to skip on the church party as it was out of the way and catering to people with kids. Then we went to Jamon & Alisha's party where we had the most delicious black bean soup (Alisha- I still need that recipe!). Mmm! Ham, lime, cilantro, sour cream.... Can you tell that my life is focused around food??
Oh, and whenever I eat now my right ribs hurt. It feels lots better when I lift my arm up though. My baby is getting big. They say he's about 2 lbs now. I had a check-up yesterday and everything still looks great. I gained four pounds in the past four weeks and my baby is very wiggly.
Back to the parties. We were the only couple there without kids but we had tons of fun. I had a small witch and a tiny bumble bee that really buddied up with me at the park. Cute kids! Brandon enjoyed playing football with the other guys at the party, I think they were all dental students. We had a great time. My favorite costume was the fat, bald Dracula with his (fake) gut hanging out under his cummerbun (sp?).
Next we stopped in at Victoria's annual Halloween bash. It was fun. We had a good time chatting with Jenny, Shaun, Victoria, and Rachel. We saw some really good costumes. My favorites were Nacho Libre, Wonder Woman, a she-devil and Michael Meyers. There were other good ones too but I can't remember.
Studying the Renaissance this week for school has been fun. Trying to condense it all hasn't been as much fun.
Tomorrow and Saturday I work 8 hour days giving makeovers at Dillards. I was excited for it a couple weeks ago but now it just sounds exhausting. I will make it fun though so that the days go by quickly. I want it to be Christmas break so I can just sit around at relatives houses being lazy. I desperately need to do laundry, etc. here but I have no motivation. Ah, well. Life is good. Write soon.

Tuesday

Last night my mashed potatoes turned out a little more paste-y rather than fluffy. Anyone know what I did wrong? Well, I know what I did right- the flavor. I think they were the best tasting potatoes I've ever had!! I used golden (I tossed the package so I'm not sure which variety) potatoes, milk, butter, salt, chicken broth, evaporated milk. Oh so good!!!
Oh, and my baby has been kicking, dancing, swimming, moving pretty much non-stop since about a week ago. It is so fun. Not as much fun when he seems to wedge himself under my right rib. You can feel him from the outside now. Feel free to touch my belly next time you see me, he'll probably promptly kick you.
Had my two 5th graders do a word scramble during the last five minutes of tutoring instead of the regular hangman. It was a hit. Here try your luck, the topic is history:
PPRAE SWA IEVTNNDE NI CAHNI.

Today

Today was my first day back at work in a week and a half. (Last week our school district has Thurs and Fri for "Fall Break"). I can't tell you how therapeutic (sp?) it was to spend time with my mom. I didn't realize how starved I was for family-time. I miss my siblings and my parents, maybe even more now that I'm pregnant. It sucks not to be able to see them every week and to be low on cellphone minutes so I can't even talk to all of them. I should have called them all over the weekend, especially Robin, but somehow I wasn't in a talking mood on Sunday. I did try calling Sarah several times in the past week, but I can't ever get ahold of her. Please keep her in your prayers as she is having severe medical problems.
Anyway, back to today. It's been a good day. I slept in, checked my email, did the dishes, and looked good for work. English and History went well with my high schoolers and tutuoring with my elementary kids was less frustrating than usual. I must have needed that break from them. We are on to the Middle Ages in history and that should be fun to research and teach.
I have a turkey roast in the oven and I'm making real mashed potatoes, gravy, and peas to go with it. Or I could do cooked carrots, or salad... but peas would be easy and good. Brandon gets home from The Good Shepherd Clinic around 8:00, so we will eat a late dinner while watching Heroes, my current favorite show. Have you seen it? You've got to. Brandon even watches it every week and I don't know if he's EVER followed a show before.
Orson Scott Card, one of my favorite authors, writes a weekly column on his website (www.hatrack.com) called OSC Reviews Everything. I don't read it very often, but I love it. He talks about the Fall TV season and said this about Heroes, "Since the actor playing Hiro, Masi Oka, may be the most infectiously enthusiastic human ever to appear on television, he alone would be reason to watch this show. But he's not alone. " My sentiments exactly.

Off to whip some potatoes! (I'm gonna have to have a sampling of those before B gets home).

Pregnant Traveler

Here's me and Mom on Boston's Freedom Trail. Some of it is a red brick line like you see here (this part at the beginning had these cute ground markers) and some of it is a red paint line on the sidewalk/road. It is about 2 1/2 miles long and goes past a lot of historical sites, like Paul Revere's home built in the 1600s, the site of the Old North Church where they hung the "one if by land" lantern, and the building where the Declaration of Independence was written, etc. Very cool walk.
This one is in front of the Mayflower II, a replica of the ship the first Pilgrims came over on. My ancestor, William Bradford, rode on the original.

New England

Well, we stayed in Massachusetts the entire trip except for a night in New Hampshire, where the leaves were admittedly even better colors than in Mass. My favorite places in eastern Mass? Here's photos of each.

Nantucket Island. Here's the harbor.

Lexington was a quick stop but it was lovely and full of history.













Plymouth was adorable.











Concord was stunning.

To my loyal readers

Thank you for the comments and emails. It's good to know that people are still reading this. Just got home 2 hours ago from my vacation. Here is my favorite picture of me from the trip. It's at a flooded cranberry bog in Nantucket. Mom and I had a great time!

Quick Update

Even though it appears that nobody is still reading my blog from the lack of comments. Robin and Jill care, so this is for you two (Have you seen the Sonic commercial about the guy's blog that only his mom reads?).
Anyway...
On the 19th my cousin Jill, a flight attendant, had an overnight layover in Oklahoma City. I haven't seen her in probably 5 years, she is 3 years younger than me and we've never been very close. Well, we are good friends now! I picked her up at her hotel and she took me out to dinner as a birthday gift. We pigged out at the Spagetti Warehouse and then I showed her around Bricktown and the OKC Bombing Memorial. We talked a lot. It's amazing how having dad's that are brothers (with similar personalities and tempraments) gives you plenty in common. Love you Jill!
More recently:
Just finished teaching the Chinese Dynasties for history to my two high school students. Teaching history is SO fun, more fun than English lately.
Last Friday Brandon got to go down to Dallas with his cousin Jamon. They met up with Alan (B's dad) there and had a blast golfing the day away. The next day they went to the OU vs. University of Texas game. It's the big rivalry in this region of the country. There tickets were $300 each. Good thing Alan was paying. Too bad OU lost. Brandon hasn't been to a single OU game since he started going to school here three years ago. Alan decided to make his senior year memorable. They all had a GREAT time!
This past Saturday I went to my friend Jenny's wedding. It was held outdoors at a B&B in Norman. Lovely setting! There were only about 40 guests and I felt privledged to be there . I've known Jenny less than two years, but we really enjoy eachother's company. It was a beautiful ceremony and a very delicious reception.
Saturday evening, our friend Ryan, a pilot, had an overnight layover in OKC. I spent 1 1/2 hours chatting with him and two of his co-workers at the Cajun Kitchen. It was great to see him. Maybe some pregnancy hormones will have transfered to him, he and his wife Elaine, my dear friend, have been trying for a baby even longer than us. I'm glad he got to see my belly cause I don't know if he'll get another chance.
Sunday I taught in Relief Society. The lesson went really well, I ended on time, and I didn't get as nervous as last time (no sweaty armpits) and I made it thru the lesson without crying but still had the spirit there. I hope it's always that good.
Pregnancy update: my belly is steadily growing, my baby is fairly active. I've had two horrible charlie horses so far and two recent days of outrageous hormones. Overall, everything is fantastic.
Well, I gotta run pack for my New England trip. More when I get home. (Can't get photos to upload ANY way right now, sorry).