I forgot a few other fun things from our Harry Potter outing:
1) there were some exciting previews! The next Batman movie is coming out next summer and the second Sherlock Holmes movie will be in theaters around Christmas time. I'm very much looking forward to both.
2) after the movie I made a quick potty stop and as I was leaving the restroom a toddler and her dad came around the corner. The dad stopped looking very surprised and said "Is this the ladies restroom?!?!" My only response was "I certainly hope so!" and he quickly turned around with a hurried "Oh my gosh!" I found this incredibly funny for some reason :)
That's all.
Saturday, 30 July 2011
Tuesday, 26 July 2011
Voldy's Gone Moldy.
I think my favorite scene was when Harry goes back to Hogwarts and McGonagall and Snape duel. And also when McGonagall goes outside to place protective charms on the castle. That part was really cool too. Molly Weasley and Neville Longbottom both got their big moments towards the end, which were small but important elements that I was really concerned might be left out.Some of my favorite characters from the series (as Steven would say... pretty much all of them) I also really like Kreacher's character in the 7th book but they basically leave him out of the films for the most part and he's not so pretty to look at anyhow.
I can't believe it's over!! (uh.... when did I become such a Harry Potter nerd) The books will always be better (listen to the audio books when you get a chance -- the gentleman who reads them does an excellent job!) but they certainly finished off the movie series well. And now we can finally ask for the complete set of DVDs as a Christmas gift!!! We've been waiting until all the films had been released :) Hope you get a chance to enjoy the movie yourself!
Tuesday, 12 July 2011
Cookies!
Well, we know that cookies are always plentiful in this house but this month, I outdid myself. I've been trying to find some new cookie recipes that Steven really really likes. This is not an easy task. He always says, "yeah, they're good, but I like chocolate chip better." I can't make chocolate chip cookies every month for the rest of my life! Okay, yes, I can, but I just think that sounds a bit boring. Anyhow, I remembered that Steven really likes sugar cookies and butter cookies so I did a little research and found this shortbread recipe:They're fabulous!!! Steven loves them and I can't wait to make them again. I think I'll make them a bit smaller next time though and maybe even try them with the chocolate on them, though they certainly don't need it. I maybe should have saved the recipe for next month... I'll have to come up with something really good for our one-year anniversary batch of cookies.
Destructo - Steph
Instead of letting things just fall apart in my life I've decided to start taking them down myself! Well, no, not really, that sounds a bit too destructive but I did have a good time smashing down an old play structure and hacking away at some weed-infested flower beds yesterday. I'd go so far as to say that it was... therapeutic.
I've just started helping my dad with some work on his new houses. He's recently been purchasing foreclosures and then fixing them up to rent or sell. Now that he's in China for a couple of weeks with his family, my sisters and I get to do all sorts of fun things to help manage these properties: yard work, pressure washing, cleaning, window washing, ordering beauty bark... and so on and so forth.
This also includes many fun trips to Home Depot. I've never really thought of Home Depot as a fun place but when you're doing projects like this, it kind of turns into an office supply store of sorts and all of the sudden it's a bit of a wonderland. I bought some gardening tools yesterday and I'm really quite pleased to own them. My favorite new tool is the action hoe. Rather provocative name, I know, but it's pretty much amazing. Helps to hack away at unwanted plants/grass/weeds and gets all of the roots out of the soil. Great stress reliever! So if you're looking for a good time.... well, I know where you can find your very own action hoe.
My first job yesterday was to take down this old and decently unsteady play structure (p.s. I tend to remember to take my "before" photo a few minutes after I've already started the project so my "before" pics are really "work in progress" pics).
I got to use a hammer and a cordless drill and this really fabulous, um, some kind of tool that I don't know what to call it, but you wedge it in there and then pry it back to force the pieces of wood apart. It felt good to know that I still have some muscles however weak they may be.
At first I tried climbing up the ladder to take it down from the top but I just didn't feel safe up there....
So I had to pull the whole structure down to really get going.
I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with myself once I had finished. Then I had to drag everything over to the side yard to add it to the pile of stuff that needs to be taken to the dump. This process took a bit longer than it should have due to a mama bird and her baby who were causing a bit of a distraction. They kept hopping across my path and I had to go real slow to make sure I wasn't running over them. It was kind of silly. They were cute though.
I spent the next couple of hours pulling weeds out of flower beds, edging the flower beds and getting rid of clumps of grass, moss and dead plants that were in places they weren't supposed to be. I still have loads more work to do in the next week and a half.
Upon returning home around 7pm I thought it might behoove me to do a bit of yard work of my own.
This plant has been driving me crazy for an entire year now. I just think it's ugly and overgrown and pointless.
So now it's gone. So much better, right?? I think so. My action hoe came in quite handy with this project. Couldn't have done it without her. There were many layers of vines and roots and leaves and it just seemed never ending. The plant originated in a pot in the middle but had put down roots everywhere it touched the ground and it seemed to have a pretty strong hold.
You wouldn't believe the stuff I found under there: garbage, a kitchen knife, cigarettes, some of the biggest spiders I've ever seen in my life, glass marbles, loads of dead leaves, an old broken flower pot and a garden hose! Nice to know that we have a garden hose I guess.
I'm not sure what I'll plant there now but I know I have to plant something. If you leave it empty then the weeds think that means they get to take over. Not cool. Let me know if you have any suggestions of what I can plant in our little spaces on either side of our front door that don't require sunlight and won't grow too huge and will stay green throughout the year. I know, those are a lot of requirements but that's exactly why I haven't planted anything yet! By the time I went inside around 8:30 I was sweaty and dirty and tired and my body is still reminding me just how tired it is almost 24 hours later. Everything is sore.
The good thing about these projects is that I can actually see progress! It makes me feel productive and like I'm actually accomplishing something. It's rewarding. For now at least. Until the weeds grow back. Ay yi yi.
That's all for now!
I've just started helping my dad with some work on his new houses. He's recently been purchasing foreclosures and then fixing them up to rent or sell. Now that he's in China for a couple of weeks with his family, my sisters and I get to do all sorts of fun things to help manage these properties: yard work, pressure washing, cleaning, window washing, ordering beauty bark... and so on and so forth.
This also includes many fun trips to Home Depot. I've never really thought of Home Depot as a fun place but when you're doing projects like this, it kind of turns into an office supply store of sorts and all of the sudden it's a bit of a wonderland. I bought some gardening tools yesterday and I'm really quite pleased to own them. My favorite new tool is the action hoe. Rather provocative name, I know, but it's pretty much amazing. Helps to hack away at unwanted plants/grass/weeds and gets all of the roots out of the soil. Great stress reliever! So if you're looking for a good time.... well, I know where you can find your very own action hoe.
My first job yesterday was to take down this old and decently unsteady play structure (p.s. I tend to remember to take my "before" photo a few minutes after I've already started the project so my "before" pics are really "work in progress" pics).
I got to use a hammer and a cordless drill and this really fabulous, um, some kind of tool that I don't know what to call it, but you wedge it in there and then pry it back to force the pieces of wood apart. It felt good to know that I still have some muscles however weak they may be.
At first I tried climbing up the ladder to take it down from the top but I just didn't feel safe up there....
So I had to pull the whole structure down to really get going.
I have to admit, I was pretty pleased with myself once I had finished. Then I had to drag everything over to the side yard to add it to the pile of stuff that needs to be taken to the dump. This process took a bit longer than it should have due to a mama bird and her baby who were causing a bit of a distraction. They kept hopping across my path and I had to go real slow to make sure I wasn't running over them. It was kind of silly. They were cute though.
I spent the next couple of hours pulling weeds out of flower beds, edging the flower beds and getting rid of clumps of grass, moss and dead plants that were in places they weren't supposed to be. I still have loads more work to do in the next week and a half.
Upon returning home around 7pm I thought it might behoove me to do a bit of yard work of my own.
This plant has been driving me crazy for an entire year now. I just think it's ugly and overgrown and pointless.
So now it's gone. So much better, right?? I think so. My action hoe came in quite handy with this project. Couldn't have done it without her. There were many layers of vines and roots and leaves and it just seemed never ending. The plant originated in a pot in the middle but had put down roots everywhere it touched the ground and it seemed to have a pretty strong hold.
You wouldn't believe the stuff I found under there: garbage, a kitchen knife, cigarettes, some of the biggest spiders I've ever seen in my life, glass marbles, loads of dead leaves, an old broken flower pot and a garden hose! Nice to know that we have a garden hose I guess.
I'm not sure what I'll plant there now but I know I have to plant something. If you leave it empty then the weeds think that means they get to take over. Not cool. Let me know if you have any suggestions of what I can plant in our little spaces on either side of our front door that don't require sunlight and won't grow too huge and will stay green throughout the year. I know, those are a lot of requirements but that's exactly why I haven't planted anything yet! By the time I went inside around 8:30 I was sweaty and dirty and tired and my body is still reminding me just how tired it is almost 24 hours later. Everything is sore.
The good thing about these projects is that I can actually see progress! It makes me feel productive and like I'm actually accomplishing something. It's rewarding. For now at least. Until the weeds grow back. Ay yi yi.
That's all for now!
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
Well How About That?
It was 80+ degrees here yesterday and Steven and I were sitting at the table playing a game of Ticket to Ride and we were just all sweaty and gross and I was thinking "it would be so great if we had a fan and could get some air moving in here..." and then I looked up to find a ceiling fan right above our heads. Yeah... only took us a little over a year here to realize that...
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