The Long Journey Home

Alas, I am home once again, but not without happy memories and a desire for the Christmas spirit to bite me in the ass!

Unfortunately, I did not have the best in-air experience. Who said people can take cats and dogs on planes. Now look, they banished bags of peanuts for people with peanut allergies, but more people in the world are allergic to dander (and highly allergic to cats) and therefore the cats and dogs should be banished!

Now look, I love animals - I do! However, I just cannot be around them in closed spaces (and just ask my old boss Clare about me in parks with them). I know some of you have pets you need to transport cross-country, but there are other ways.

Luckily, I had a savior names Reiko - the flight attendant who went to bat - and almost to blows - for allergic folks everywhere. I never complained - my eyes swelled up and I had trouble breathing and just tried to sleep through it all, but this woman (the row in front of me) kept taking her dog out of the carrier and petting her vigorously thus releasing tons of dander into the plane - NICE! The woman next to me also had a problem, but she couldn't see the dog, so she had no idea why.

Finally, the passenger put the dog away and kept it away the rest of the flight, but the damage was done. All I could do was thank the flight attendant for her help and hope I made it to Atlanta still breathing!

So I am home and work is gonna be nuts for a couple of weeks, but then the kiddies will be in town for an entire week! How many days left until Christmas??

Tea for Four

My sister-in-law loves to fill up the days and hours with lots of things to do when the family (mostly the parents) are in town for the week, and this time she suggested a Children's Tea. Sounded interesting, but quite the unknown event for me. But it was an afternoon with the ladies (including the littlest lady, Maggie).

We headed to Palo Alto and went to this little tea shop where we were served by two young ladies, one who was only 9 or 10! We each picked our tea (Maggie got her own tea pot with milk in it) and a plate of goodies for each of us. Maggie ended up with 4 little heart-shaped peanut butter sandwiches that she absolutely adored, while the grown-ups had other tea sandwiches, little quiches, tartlets and the like. We had quite a nice time and Maggie was very well-behaved.

This was too much fun - it seemed like such a relaxing way to sit with the girls and talk (and eat) and just enjoy it. I highly recommend it for anyone who might be interested. Now I just have to find tea rooms here AND a group of ladies that might consider making it a monthly event...I can be SUCH a girl sometimes!

A Tale of Two Turkeys

Happy Turkey Day, one and all (unless you are in Canada)!

A hearty dinner and some full bellies later...

In my family, we have a tradition of deep-frying the turkey - I may have Thanksgiving in California, but we are from the South! My brother makes quite the spectacle of lowering that bird into the hot fat - but DAYHUM isn't it right tasty!

So in order for there to be enough for all AND for turkey sandwiches all weekend (on homemade bread, of course), we have to also roast a turkey. I am of the mind that when you cannot find the perfect recipe, take the best aspects of several and create your own. Not only do you end up with tasty vittles, but you can call it your own ;)!

So I roasted a turkey over some stuffing (yes, I said over) and it was delicious - I wish you could have been there to partake. I'd post the menu, but why torture you?

So I hope you all had just as happy a Turkey Day as we did - here's to the Christmas feast in our short futures!

A Day at the Cirque

Theatre Review: Corteo

Corteo, meaning a joyful procession, was just that. This centers around a clown who dreams of his own funeral and is a very light a playful atmosphere. In a carnival-like environment, you really get pulled into the wonderment of it all. Tightrope walkers, jugglers, acrobats, flying bicycles, the works!

The music in this version of Cirque was truly inspirational. It was not intrusive, it flowed well with the feelings portrayed in the work on stage. I highly recommend all Cirque Shows honestly - but I still haven't seen a couple of them.

Saltimbanco
Quidam
Dralion
Alegria
Varekai
Mystere
KA
Corteo
"O" - unseen
La Nouba - unseen
Zumanity - unseen

This one is not my favorite, but it was really amazing and well worth the cost of admission. At least I got to see this one now, instead of waiting a year for it to come to Atlanta!

To Market, To Market

An entire day at the Ferry Building Market and fancy food for lunch - what could be better? Squash Blossoms, Arugula, Asian Pears, Millions of Peppers, my idea of Eden.

So my family and I spent the day on the Bay shopping for fresh fruits and veggies for our Thanksgiving Dinner. We had a pleasant late lunch, including a sampling of breads, chocolates, fruits, and gelatos. And behold, we found the turkey of all turkeys...A Heritage Bourbon Red Turkey! This is the Porshe of turkeys. My brother and I saw red and jumped at the chance. We ordered ourselves one and walked away patting ourselves on the backs for being so alert as to find them.

These turkeys are more along the lines of the original turkeys in this country and have much more flavor then your regular white, almost tasteless birds. However, the deposit we put down on a 14-pound Red was $50...YIKES! So we changed our minds and decided spending $200 for a turkey was a bit extravagant.

Anyway, no worries, it is the Frank household and we can make an extravagant meal without such a bird...but I do want to try it at some point.

Nothing else exciting to report (not that the above is anything to write home about). Ahhhhh, the Bay Area. Oh, how I miss it!

A Well-Deserved Break

Vacation at last! A nice long trip to San Francisco with my family to spend a very happy and fruitful week for Thanksgiving.

I'm leaving work here in a couple of hours and look forward to the long plane ride across the country to see my Peanut (nephew) and my Punkin (niece). Nothing is better than taking a week off from work and cooking and eating good food, right?

Now if everyone would just leave me alone until 1pm, then maybe I can waste my last bit of time without interruption!

tick...tick...tick...tick...

Difficult Times Lie Ahead, Harry

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Let me preface by saying just this - this is the best Harry Potter movie to date. That said, and sicne many people in the world have NOT seen this yet, there are no spoilers ahead, unless you do NOT read the books.

The Dark Mark has re-emerged and this can mean only one thing - Death Eaters! Not only is this the most dangerous time for Harry due to the return of Voldemort's henchmen, but also because people are conspiring to bring Harry face-to-face with the Dark Lord by entering him in the Triwizard tournament - a Wizardy School triathalon pitting the 3 schools against each other (Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang) for the unlimtate prize, the Triwizard cup.

This is by far, the darkest of the movies so far, but this makes sense since it was the darkest (and longest) of the books so far. But honestly, I felt this was one of the truest adaptations. Look, there was nothing about Hermione liberating House Elves, but it was no great loss.

All the tasks were brought to life brilliantly by Mike Newell. I was on the edge of my seat, chearing Harry on, and found myself holding my breath several times during the 2 hours and 45 minutes of the flick.

This is what sequals and adaptations should be - Hollywood, take note. You must see this movie if you have enjoyed any of the previous films or any of the books. This is the reason I love movies and spend my time in the dark theatres. See this film!

A special "shout out" to Leslie for the pleasant surprise in my mailbox. This was the best pass I have received thus far. Thanks for taking such good care of me and my habits!

Land Ho!

I finally am home, have napped a bit and now am wide awake! From Manila, to Tokyo, to LA, to Atlanta - lots of sleep, a few meals and several movies later and it is great to be home!

So there is nothing exciting about this trip home except that I am glad it's over. The most exhausting part of my entire trip was my driver from the airport - Robbie. Wow, that guy can talk! I guess it was good that he kept me awake, but seriously, such a name-dropper...and I am nobody so why does he care?

At least the LA airport provided some entertainment in the form of people watching. The fashions (both clothes and hair) were a sight to see, but seeing poor Kirk Cameron being mobbed by teenage girls and old ladies was the icing on the cake. The guy was just trying to get a Latte at Starbucks. Anyway, his travelling companion was an evangelist of some kind handing out million dollar bills with Christian messages on them. Very odd and somewhat surreal.

Personally, I was much more impressed that I saw a soap star I recognized, Becky Herbst. I'm a girl, what can I say :)

I'm just happy to be home for a minute before I head to SFO for Thanksgiving!

McDo's and McDon'ts

Every country has a different McDonald's menu. While shopping in the mall across from our hotel, Julia said she wanted to go into the restaurant to look at the menu. Little did we know, that such an act would cause such side-splitting laughter for me and Traci.

Introducing the McDo.


Honestly, we had no idea what it was, what was on it, nothing, but the name just sent us into such a fit of laughter, that we had to walk out of the restaurant. Turns out, it is a hamburger with some Honey-Barbecue sauce. Couple that with the McSpaghetti and the Corn-Dipped Ice Cream Cone, and Traci and I would never recover.

I will admit, that most of you needed to be there for this to be so hysterical, but imagine if you will 3 women who were road wearily, sleep deprived and shopping at the equivalent of 11pm in Atlanta. Yeah...we lost it.

The side effects of such an outing were the subsequent conversations about the "McDo Flu," an ailment that apparently causes your ankles to swell, constant laughter and a flightiness that can only be attributed to our crazy gang of CS misfits.

I need sleep!

The Long Road Back Again

Hello my friends. Sorry it has been so long since I have posted, but many things have been happening at work and my job recently got a lot bigger. I have a new boss (yes, Chester is now my peer) and more responsibility. However, I did get a team of my very own and I couldn't be happier. The catch? Well, two people on the new team have not been in customer service at this company before, and therefore have no knowledge of our customer calls, or systems, our agents. Wow, you are thinking my name should be Unlucky Lindy, right? Nope! I have good folks who are eager to learn and absorb and therefore we are in Manila once again!

After a day and a half of travelling (yuck), here we are in the fancy Shangri-La in Makati City living it up! Today, my good friend, Exx, and his girlfriend, Cathy, took us to the mall - Greenhills. Now Traci, one of my newbies, had not been here before, but had heard all about my pearl shopping experience, and therefore that was the first stop. And boy, did I make a dent...in the checkbook, that is.

Traci bought many things, mostly for family and friends, including a watch for her husband and a bag for her sister...she has to learn to buy for herself too! Julia missed out - she is under the weather (some combo of sinuses and migraine) and she decided to stay in bed (smart thinking). Exx, being ever the host, offered to take her again later in the week.

This being my 3rd stay here, apparently that warranted an upgrade to an Executive Suite (ooooo, fancy). I feel SO special!

I'm not sure what the rest of our day will hold, but it should prove interesting. Stay tuned for more from the Philippines!

4 8 15 16 23 42 = 108!

Television Review: "Lost"

Sorry I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks, but remember that bug I thought I had...well, I still have it and I don't think it is just a bug now. So I have spent the past 2 weeks eating nothing but mashed potatoes, soup and bread...anything else enters my body and I get horribly sick. I'm walking around in a constant state of nausea and have gone days at a time with out consuming anything! Not fun.

So today, after all the water cooler discussions here at work, I decided to turn from the big screen to the small one and talk about the best show on television today - LOST.



I will start by saying that I have been a long time fan of J.J. Abrams - his writing has been incredible for close to 15 years and I remain addicted. From his screen writing for Regarding Henry and Forever Young (we'll just ignore Armageddon), to his breakthrough TV gems of "Felicity" and "Alias", J.J. spins a tale like no other.

After Season One, I thought to myself, they cannot keep this level of effort up for yet another season, can they? But truly, they have. Now, I will preface this by saying that the following are theories, not Spoliers. These are just some revelations my Lost buddies and I have come up with. But let's start with the obvious, but not-so-obvious items.

The Numbers:
These numbers are everywhere. Some people may have missed it, but all throughout Season One, they seemed to pop up all over the place. Dates spoken, times spoked - Mr. Rutherford's time of death, 8:15 - soccer jersey numbers, medicine vials, even the flight number - all have the core 6 numbers in them...until Season Two, this was it for the numbers...now we have a new number - 108. Well this number, duh why didn't we think of this before, is the sum of the mysterious 6 numbers...oooooo, intrigue.



The Tailies:
The 23 survivors from the tail section on the plane. They have dwindled in numbers - why? Most likely, they are being tortured by the Others. Or this mysterious disease has gotten them. My first thought was that this was an Alive scenario, but I have since thought better of it.

The Others:
Are these the Tailies? I think not - I think these are a different set of people hiding on the island. They are the ones who stole Danielle's baby and this is the group where Ethan came from...remember him? The Others like to kidnap children. Did this crash occur just to get Walt?

Walt:
Some sort of "special" kid. He makes things happen on the island by thinking of them - the Polar Bear from the comic book. He appears as an apparition to Shannon and the only discernable word out of his mouth, if I was reading lips right, was "button." So he knows about the button...hmmmmm.

The Button:
Does it or doesn't it? Is it the way to prevent something unspeakable from happening? What might happen if 108 minutes pass and the button isn't pressed?

The Orientation Film:
What is missing? That movie jumped around too much to not have been spliced. I worked in movie theatres too long not to recognize the tell-tale splicing. Something was cut out of that movie...but what? What was too disturbing to show, or what did the first hermit cut out so that Desmond would stick around?

Desmond:
Hermit #2 with amazing healing powers...is he sent from the heavens? I feel like he had something to do with Mrs. Dr. Jack's healed spine and Locke's sudden ability to walk again. And where is he running to and what will happen when he gets there? This is not the last of him...and are his powers tied to Walt's?

Locke:
Why was he in that wheelchair? What happened between his lady friend catching him at his dad's house again and him being unable to walk? Why does he have these survival skills (and all those knives) if he worked at a box company and a toy store? And what is his fascination with certain survivors...Kate, Boone, Claire?

Claire and Charlie & Shannon and Sayid:
Will they or won't they? Will this show ever go there? C'mon, they have been on this island for 40 some odd days - people are getting close - are you telling me there is no action going on here? Even on Survivor, it takes less than 39 days for 2 people to hook up. They have to go there soon - we can only suspend disbelief for so long...

The Hatch:
...And then there were 2. So the Original 42 have a hatch and the 23 Tailies have a hatch (notice the numbers) - what is going on with the hatches? Observation posts? Why do they need such powerful magnets? Well, magnets do mess with navigational systems - this is probably why no one has found the island on purpose...

That's all I can think of at the moment - I may build on these theories more later.

Are you watching this show, too? If so, feel free to respond with your own theories - I would love to read them. If not, why not? What are you afraid of? If you too are sucked into this - check out The Fuselage and Oceanic Airlines...these are some great sites!

Stroke of Luck

Movie Review: The Greatest Game Ever Played

Yet another Mommy Movie since I was in San Francisco - this is a nice little tradition my sister-in-law and I have. Believe it or not, it is always quite enjoyable!

This week was an interesting choice, but actually a pretty decent movie. Look, if this had not been the chosen movie for the Reel Moms, I probably would not have seen it in the theatres - let's be honest. But I certainly didn't feel like my time was wasted in any way.

So let's discuss the odd and varied carrer of Bill Paxton to start. Believe it or not, he is the director of this flick and I would have to say that he did a very nice job in creating the right mood and atmosphere. He has come a long way from the days of the Fish Heads music video - one of my personal favorites! Honestly, I think this was the most redeeming quality of this movie - the direction and cinematography - it made it worthwhile.

Now, I'm not implying that the acting of the young Shia LaBeouf wasn't good - it was - but I feel like he left something on the table...something was missing here. What he did, he did well, but he still has some work to do on his craft. I don't know what it is, but he always seems the same to me not matter what the emotion - but let's face it, he IS young.

After the movie, we had a nice lunch and headed home. Unfortunately, by the time we got home I was violently ill and ended up flying home ill (thank goodness I had an entire 3 seats to myself to stretch out and sleep). Today sucked as I was still terribly ill - I can't seem to keep anything down...BLECH. Not the way I wanted to end my trip at all!

An Incredible Birthday

How can it be? How does time fly by so quickly anyway? It seems almost unnatural for Maggie to be 4 years old already. I remember holding her as a baby and watching her take her first steps and hearing her first words...

Now it is 2005 and Maggie and I have long and quite cohesive telephone conversations. She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it! Starting with her birthday cake for her 4th birthday party (which was held yesterday). Maggie has known for some time that she wanted an Aunt D chocolate cake and that she wanted The Incredibles in a purple bubble on it..."all of them, Aunt D, even Jack Jack"

Okay, well, let me start by explaining that I am not a great artist - I just cannot draw. Pen and paper is hard enough, but try using an icing bag! So I had been stressing over how I was going to draw 5 superheros in a purple bubble (for those of you who don't know, the "purple bubble," as Maggie likes to call it, is the force field that Violet uses as her super-power). However, I had an epiphany - bakeries have been putting kids' school photos and the like on cakes for a few years now. All I had to do was find a bakery willing to do a scan for me and not have me buy the cake from them...enter Christina, my sister-in-law. She called a local place and they said it was no problem - $12. BOOK IT!

So here is the end result:


I'm happy with it and Maggie was happy with it - what more can I say? All in all it was a great birthday experience for Maggie and she will hopefully remember it always!

The Reincarnation of the Browncoats

Movie Review: Serenity

"JOSS WHEDON IS MY MASTER NOW," so sayeth a T-shirt or two at the screening last night of this fall's most anticipated TV to Big Screen adaptation to hit the theatres - only this time it isn't really an adaptation, but more of an homage, or episodes 12 and 13 some might say. This is on sci-fi western that has been sorely missed on the little screen by fans and those same fans herald its return to multiplexes everywhere!

Universal Studios has been really wise about the release of such an anticipated film – screen it for 6 months to all the fans out there (Browncoats) and let them spread the word – they call that marketing genius.

I do want to state that you do not have to be a fan of the show to enjoy this movie – many members of last night’s audience admittedly had never watched Firefly, and they were some of the most vocal!

This flick has some big surprises while keeping the feel of the TV show. It explained so much, yet opened up many new questions for those of us dying to know. Now if this can do some good box office money and allow us either TV or another movie, I will be a very happy camper!

The Little Lady Vanishes

Movie Review: Flightplan

Good, not great. I have to start by stating this fact (which should be obvious to most). You spend most of this movie trying to figure out if Jodie Foster is crazy or just plain insane. Personally, I was fitting her for a rubber room most of the movie, but I will give her credit for exercising her acting chops quite convincingly.

Now, as for plausibility - Red Eye was better at the mid-air terror plot-wise, but Flightplan was more brilliantly photographed. I was not really on the edge of my seat for this one, but I was not entirely disappointed. Now, the mystery of the plot - I figured out too early. It was not a complete waste of time or money, but you could wait for the Netflix queue for this one and not lose anything.

I would have to say that I would not mind traveling on such a lush airplane on my trips to the Philippines, but at least give me better Flight Attendants. At least for a laugh, you need to check out this article for some entertainment...it makes seeing this movie worthwhile and begs the question - "What is this world coming to?" By all means, compare the impact of 9/11 and a Hollywood movie - that makes sense?!?

Wedding the Dead

Movie Review: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride

The vision and creativity of Tim Burton never fails to amaze me - and this new stop-motion installment is no different.

Let me preface this review by stating that this movie is NOT for everyone. However, if you are a fan of such gems as Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, this movie should delight you just as much.

This movie is witty and ghoulish, funny and deranged, dark and gothic. This is the Runaway Groom meets Night of the Living Dead version of animation and the irony that ensues is well worth the 90 minutes of entertainment.

The characters - all all-star voice cast – make this story what it is. The Everglots, an aristocratic family who is down on their luck (and funds) have decided to marry off their daughter Victoria to the local nouveaux riche fishmonger couple's son, Victor. After much performance anxiety, Victor runs to the woods to practice his vows. When he places the ring on what appears to be a branch, suddenly he is faced with the Corpse Bride. As it happens, she was murdered on the eve of her wedding and has been waiting for her groom ever since – thus hilarity ensues.

Honestly, this is a love story albeit a bit whacky. Every move is beautifully sculpted and beings both the land of the living and the land of the dead to life! Even the chorus-line of singing and dancing skeletons seems completely normal, yet brilliantly executed.

Take the time, but not the kids…this one is a little too goth for the younger folk.

It's a Wonderful Afterlife

Movie Review: Just Like Heaven

I am a sucker for romantic comedies - ask anyone who knows me. I see most of them and get some form of enjoyment from them, even if they are less than stellar; however this movie is exactly what it needed to be - fun and entertaining and highly recommendable!

Let's start with the ever-fabulous, Reese Witherspoon. I see why she feels this is her favorite of the movies she has made. She is funny and delightful as the crazy cat lady (without a cat) who had no life but her work. Elizabeth finds herself in the same outfit for days having found a hunky man (enter Mark Ruffalo) has moved into her apartment when she thought she still lived there. Unable to forcibly remove him (a funny bit of her running at him and flying out the window was good for some sniggers), she finds herself without a memory of who she is or what she does.

A movie full of twists and turns, most of which you did not see coming, this flick is refreshing and focuses on two very damaged individuals trying to learn to cope with each other as well as themselves.

A fun and humorous supporting cast includes the always enjoyable Donal Logue as the not-so-therapeutic psychologist friend and the forever Napoleon Dynomite-esque Jon Heder who has "the gift" and helps meld the otherworldly and the reality of a spirit who just won't go into the light - and believe me, they both lend plenty of levity and zaniness to this movie to help round it out.

Hardly just a chick-flick, but plenty of scenes to you make think it is, there is fun for the guys as well - especially the well-developed "hot girl" who lives downstairs and likes to dress in workout clothes or nothing at all. Enjoy, boys!

Taking Flight

Movie Review: Red Eye and Valiant

The worst part about migraines in the inability to withstand the daylight. What makes things worse is that my apartment has many windows without curtains (yes, I must remedy this). So instead of suffering at home, I decided I would kill 2 birds with one stone and see some movies. At least it is dark in the theatres, right?

First up, Wes Craven's newest thriller. Now the past few movies from Mr. Craven have not even interested me enough to spend the cash and actually leave my house. This one was different. I really enjoyed it. It was the right balance of terror and was in no way over the top. Nothing seemed predictable, and having such strong characters was refreshing.

Look - it isn't going to win any Oscars, and it certainly isn't a scare-fest like Mr. Craven's previous fare, but it is worth the time and money to get to the theatre to enjoy a good movie. Plus, it was quite nice to see that there is life after reality TV and it took the form of Colby Donaldson playing a secret service agent and doing it wuite well, I might add.

Afterwards, I walked down the hall to see the pigeon-flick called Valiant. Honestly, this was more a mission to determine if this was Maggie-friendly or not, plus it was the only movie that was starting after Red Eye (without having to wait 90 minutes).

Ewan McGregor is cute as a little pigeon who wants to be a war hero. This movie was okay for a G-rated animated flick, but better off as a rental for the kids. It had a couple of funny moments, but nothing like the Pixar films of the past...this is why I can't wait for Cars next year. I basically spent the entire movie trying to place voices instead of really following the plot, but it is all about carrier pigeons during World War II. It was cute, but it also made me happy that kids movies are usually barely 90 minutes long.

This will be a busy week for flicks, so look for more reviews to come.

Maggie and Willie and Molly and May

Sorry for the delay in posting about my trip out with the kiddies, but as soon as I got back it was a non-stop barrage of work crap. Also, I decided to make the weekend a long, lazy, but productive one, so I stayed off the computer except to do catering stuff.

So I arrived in SFO late on Saturday night and was completely spent. Maggie and my brother came to the airport to pick me up and as soon as Maggie saw me, she unbuckled her seatbelt and did a little dance in the backseat - she could not wait to give me a big hug! We headed for home and I could not have been happier!

So we walked in the door and a friend of ours was there. She had come over for dinner and to see me, which was cool. I sat down for a bite of home cooking and Maggie pulled up a chair right next to me. She insisted on sitting close while I ate and tell me all about her day. I gave her the presents I brought her and she loved her toy Jeepney. She went to my room and picked out my PJs for the night (blue cloud PJs, just like her) and had me read her a bedtime story.

The weekend was great. We went to a 4-year old birthday party on Sunday and I got to watch Maggie play on the gymnastics equipment. She insisted I take lots of pictures of her and walk around with her.

After the party, we had a nice lunch of homemade pancakes and bacon (Maggie insists I make her pancakes every time I come and visit). Will was very attentive and I finally got my hands on him. He loves to stand on your thighs - it is like he is trying to jump ahead 9 months and start walking! He is SO adorable and I cannot wait until he does even more tricks next month :)

Maggie and I took an afternoon nap and she learned the benefits of an iPod. I got to help pick her up from school each day and spend the evening with her.

The worst (and also best) part of the trip was when she told me she would be disappointed if I left and to please stay. This choked me up a ton! I explained to her that in order for me to come back for her birthday, I had to go home. And after much ado, she decided that was okay. (snif, snif).

Tuesday night, after dinner and Maggie put on her PJs, she and my brother took me to the airport. She insisted on walking me to the door and giving me lots of hugs and kisses before I left. With tears welling in my eyes, I started walking to the people mover and she is standing in the motor lobby waiving and saying Bye, Buh-Bye, Aunt D! I look back, fighting back tears, and see my brother whispering to her. She then says "Bye, bye...have fun storming the castle, Aunt D!". I just started giggling and then she started giggling. It was great.

After a long overnight flight where I couldn't really sleep, I came home to find that I was locked out of my house. My mother had come over to have some furniture moved and she turned the bolt on her way out, thus keeping me from being able to open the front door. After calling my mom and waking her from a dead sleep, she drove to my rescue and let me in my house. I climbed 2 flights of stairs by the hardest (one of those with my 57 pound suitcase) and flopped into bed. I called my boss and explained that my lack of sleep would hinder me from being productive and I was going to sleep instead of going to work. I woke up almost 12 hours later!

So I am back to see my Maggie and Will in 4 weeks for Maggie's big day and I am already counting the days!

Tuxedo Parade

Movie Review: La Marche de l'empereur (March of the Penguins)

This is the story of annual trek of Emperor penguins as they fight the elements to arrive at their breeding ground. On the surface, I know it sounds riveting, but truly it was.

I was in San Francisco and my sister-in-law and I did our Tuesday trip to the movie theatre for the Mom's Matinee (thanks to Century Theatres) - see previous post for more info: Begin the Bat.

This was a great film for the entire family - despite the death and sex involved! Considering they are penguins, and you don't really see anything (some heavy petting and balls of fur covered in snow), it is a very tame movie. The amazing piece is how these penguins survive and keep their young alive. I was enthralled and had no idea what penguins went through to keep their species alive.

The US version of this film was narrated by none other than, the master himself, Morgan Freeman. His voice was very nurturing and really played well with the film. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested...and even if you aren't, maybe you should be?!