The Crappy Movie Sunday gang was here yesterday, and we watched Gigli. I don’t know what to say except that it was really really bad. I usually can find something to enjoy about a bad movie, but this had NOTHING redeeming. NOTHING. Look, if Christopher Walken & Al Pacino can’t save a movie, it’s beyond hope. Anyway, we posted our version of a review over at the Crappy Movie Sunday Blog. Go ahead, take a look.
On Friday, Dawn & I saw Inception. It was mind-bendy and sort of surreal, but really good. Worth seeing for sure. The plot is kind of twisty, so I think I’d actually like to see it again so I can really get the full effect. But I’ll wait for DVD for that. It was pretty mind-bottling, but in a good way.
Yesterday morning, we hit the road bright & early for the Michigan Summer Beer Festival in Ypsilanti. Of course, we had to make a stop at Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor for lunch, which was fabulous as always. I had a great sandwich, but the highlight for me was the Burnt Sugar Gelato. It was so good! Like the top of a creme brulee. Mike bought some fancy cheese and then we pressed on to Ypsi.
When we got to the park, it seemed like there weren’t many people there. I assumed the turnout was weak because it was supposed to thunderstorm all day. Good thing I brought umbrellas & towels. We got a decent parking spot, then headed to the gate. Oops, somehow we went to the back of the park and were at the employee entrance. We had to walk all the way around the park and down a couple of city blocks to reach the front gate. HOLY SMOKES there were about 568975568 waiting to get inside!! We waited in line for a while, marvelling at the assortment of pretzel necklaces people were wearing. At first we thought this was just a sustenance thing, as drinking on an empty stomach is not a good idea, but much later we figured out that the salty pretzels actually cleanse the palate between samples. Next time we will know better and have our own pretzel necklaces. We also saw a few people with Cheeze-Its and pretzels, and even a dude with various types of beef jerky and cheeses on a necklace!!
About the time we were halfway through the line the sun came out and started blazing. It did not stop all day long!! So much for my umbrellas and towels! Since it had rained so much before the fest, the whole park was a grody mud pit. But nobody, including us, really seemed to care that it was hot and muddy and humid and gross. There was beer beyond the gates, and we had work to do. Here’s a pic of us waiting in line. Mikey took the photo, so he’s not pictured. 
Once we got inside, Dawn, Peach Pit & I got our cups & tokens. Mike & Peach Fuzz don’t drink beer, so they decided to camp out in the shady food tent while the 3 of us decided to check out our first brewery. The festival was HUGE, with 54 breweries and over 400 beers available to sample. Where to start was a pretty big challenge. Dawn & I diligently checked off the samples we tried on the beer list included in the program. Peach Pit doesn’t even like beer, and was really only there because he heard there was drinking. We even heard him say things like “Give me the lightest beer you have.” Contrarily, Dawn & I studied our list of options carefully before we got into the lines so that we knew what we wanted before getting to the taps.
There were some standouts for me. I loved Olde Peninsula’s Stout Chocula. It’s a little sad that I had to go all the way to Ypsi to sample a beer that is brewed 5 minutes from my house, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles I suppose. I really really enjoyed the Oak Aged Hatter IPA from New Holland. I didn’t even choose that one, Peach Pit did. I got The Poet Oatmeal Stout from New Holland and it wasn’t my fave so we traded. It was so good, though. Smooth, yet still rich. I also really enjoyed Pickle Tink, a strawberry wheat brew from Schmoz in Grand Rapids. It tasted like fresh strawberries. it was very good. I hope I get the chance to try this again sometime when my palate isn’t hosed by drinking 100 different flavors in one sitting. The big winner for me was Old Hat’s Peanut Butter Stout. It was absolutely delightful, and I have fantasies of an Olde Peninsula Stout Chocula/Old Hat Peanut Butter Stout float with vanilla ice cream. I think I need to make that happen this summer.
There were also a few brews that made it into the “Interesting” catergory. We tried a Margarita Shandy from Big Buck that was not bad. It was different than anything else I’ve ever had, that’s for sure. One of these would be good on a hot day, but I don’t think I’d want more than 1 at a time under any circumstance. I also tried the Short’s Imperial Spruce
India Pilsner. This one was definitely different – it tasted very pine-y, sort of like a beer-gin hybrid. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t think I’d get that one again. One thing we were really excited about was the Beer Popsicles at the Big Buck booth. We waited in the line 20 minutes only to find out they were all out! They did have Stout ice cream, so I got one. It was really good and chocolate-y, but I realized dairy was maybe not the best choice so I tossed it after a few bites. They also had a beer Slip N’ Slide towards the end of the day!!
I like a lot of Short’s beers, so I bought a T-shirt, and I got a brewfest T as well. All in all, it was a super fun day. I would absolutely do this again, but I think I’d do the bus tour next time, because poor Mike & Peach Fuzz were pretty bored most of the day. I know they had fun at Zingerman’s, but the Beer Fest itself didn’t have much that was of interest to them, sadly.
Here’s my faorite picture from the day. Dawn took this pic of the 2 of us, but Peach Pit was feeling left out so he had to make his presence known, too. The end result is just adorable.
I started this scarf on Monday and finished it yesterday. This particular pattern takes very little time and I really like the results. Of course, it’s kind of a hodge podge of texture but with a monochromatic color palette. I think it turned out pretty sweet.
Mikey & I had a splendid time at the beach. We spent most of Thursdayshopping in Ludington, but in the early evening we walked to the beach and flew our kites, which is always fun. Plus it was nice and windy so the timing was stellar. We stayed at the beach and watched the sunset over the lake which is incredible.
I also did this. If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I love me some sand messages. 
On Saturday, the boys went fishing while the girls stayed at the cottage and hit the beach. It was warm, but breezy – a perfect day for lounging by the surf. I slathered on sunscreen but still managed to get burned wicked back on the tops of my feet. Ugh, they still hurt. Anyway, we had a blast, and it was a nice relaxing little mini-getaway. There are lots more pics, and you can see a slide show here.
Aside from that, not too much is going on. I haven’t knit a stitch in quite a while, but I really need to get back on it. Mike’s mom told me last week that the big show in November is definitely on, so I need to get some stuff ready. I am thinking mittens to start with because I can knock them out so fast. I also have a great idea for some ornaments I want to do. They’re not knit, but I think they’re going to be really sweet. I guess I need to get a plan and make some lists.
I’ve been spending most of my time reading. After seeing Eclipse, I got sucked into reading the Twilight Saga again. This time around I read Twilight and Midnight Sun together – a chapter of one, then the matching chapter of the other. I thoroughly enjoyed reading them that way. It was so much easier to compare & contrast the two perspectives while each was still fresh in my mind. I burned through those and also New Moon, and now I’m a little more than halfway through Eclipse. After I finish these, I might need to take a break while I get a jump on some crafty goodness.
I’m stoked for the beer fest this weekend! It’s going to be totally sweet. I’m so looking forward to it because I heart beer and road trips. I also heart Zingermann’s, and I am pretty sure we will have lunch there. Woot! I need to get some fun road trip activities planned. I’m thinking Mad Libs for sure, but I’m open to suggestions, so if you have any, let’s hear them!
Mike & I went out for our usual Friday lunch last week, but we went to the new place downtown, Casa Bolero. I was super excited to try the tableside guacamole. Let me tell you, it was delicious, and well worth the $8. It tasted so fresh and just full of nom sauce. For my entree, I chose a wild mushroom quesadilla and it was superb. They actually have a whole quesadilla section on the menu with 6 or 8 different kinds. YUM.
After the nomriffic lunch we went to the Rave to see Toy Story 3. GREAT movie, dudes. Like the first 2 before it, this movie really delivered. There were some great new characters. Lotso the bear was a great villain. Plus, Barbie & Ken!! There were so great. I loved Ken’s little fashion show for Barbie. The movie was all around awesome, and the ending was so touching – Mike & I cried like two little girls. It was a great movie, and if you haven’t seen it, do so. Skip the 3D, though – I don’t think it really added anything to the story at all, plus it gives me a wicked headache.
Saturday, Dawn, Rachel & I finally went to see Eclipse. While my expectations were understandably low based on the previous 2 movies in the saga, I was still hopeful. So hopeful that I was really scared my hopes would be dashed and I would be disappointed again, only even worse this time. My fears were unfounded!! Eclipse was my favorite of all of the books, and I think they FINALLY got it right. Don’t get me wrong, if I could turn back time (If I could find a way! I’d take back those words that have hurt you….oops. Sorry) I would recast the hell out of all 3 of these movies. Since that is not possible at this juncture, I will say that everything outside of that worked for me in this movie. I was super nervous that my favorite scene from the book would be foiled, but I think they played it off just right. It had the perfect tone and accomplished what the book did. Things I wasn’t crazy about: The new Victoria’s hair, Jacob wearing a shirt WAY too often, and a few other little tiny details that nobody else would probably notice or care about. Subtle things I LOVED: Edward saying “Doesn’t he own a shirt?” referring to Jacob’s abs of fury, and Jacob saying to Edward “We both know I’m hotter than you.” WORD.
Ok, speaking of recasting the hell out of the saga, this guy is my pick for Edward. Justin Hartley, also known as the Green Arrow. This guy would make RPattz look like a bumbling fool. Well, RPattz kind of does that on his own. Anyway, here’s a sample. Type this guy’s name into a Google image search to see even more (READ: shirtless). Jacob is awesome & gets to stay as is. Also, Bella should be someone else. Anyone else, really.
On Sunday, I went over to the SPCA for my volunteer orientation. It was very cool. It’s kind of heartbreaking to see all of the animals caged up and desperate for adoption. And on the other hand, it’s sobering to realize that without this organization, these animals wouldn’t be here at all. I am really excited to get involved and help out in any way that I can. I plan to focus on the cats in Kitty City, but one of my personal goals is to get a little more comfortable with dogs as well. I don’t dislike them, I’m just a little scared of bigger dogs because I don’t have any experience with them. So hopefully I can change that.
After orientation we hosted Crappy Movie Sunday. This week’s feature was Snakes on a Plane. We really did things up with flower leis and fake snakes. Of course, we had an awesome time. I am working on the blog post, and it’ll be up in a few days over at Crappy Movie Sunday.
I’m really really excited that Mike & I are going out of town for a few days! We are heading up north to stay at a cottage on Lake Michigan. I truly can’t wait!! It’s going to be so fun to get out of here for a bit.
So I decided to finally share some of my art. Here are just a couple of things I’ve done recently that I don’t feel are totally awful. I know I’m not totally awesome, but I feel pretty good about my progress so far, and I’m still working on it.
The panther is pencil and charcoal, and the parrot is a watercolor. He is actually complete, but the paper was too big for the scanner, so his beak is a little cut off.
We had a nice holiday weekend. We did a little BBQ in the park with my mom and sister and her family. We had burgers and dogs and hung around and chatted. Noah and Uncle Mike had a blast playing with a few boxes of those popper thingies. We did a few sparklers, but it was kind of lame in the middle of the day. Here’s Noah playing in his fancy sprinkler from Grandma.
As for our bird feeder, Mike put the squirrel dome on, and it totally works! Monkey Tail and his chipmunk legions can’t scale the pole anymore, so the birds are free to eat the seed! It’s kind of awesome and we feel very victorious.
I have been having some trouble with some of my plants. The Celosia in the front window box are damn near dead. I don’t think they were getting enough sun there, so I took them out and put them in a pot on the front patio. I planted some purple and white Dahlias in their place which seem to be doing well. My Astilbe in the way back is like, almost totally dead, maybe not even salvageable. I didn’t check on them for like a week and clearly, that was all it took. Anyway, I am trying really hard to nurse them back to health. If that’s even possible. Ugggh, I suck at gardening!!! It’s just really not something I enjoy. I don’t mind the small stuff, like my window boxes, but the big planter out back is just a pain in the butt.
The war between us and Monkey Tail rages on. The chipmunks have also decided to get in on the battle, and they have allied themselves with Monkey Tail, which is no surprise. Last week the suet cake ran out because Monkey Tail and the chipmunks are huge pigs and ate all of it. So of course, I was reluctant to replenish it. On Friday morning, a chipmunk perched himself on top of the Suet holder, stared into the bedroom window and made angry chirping sounds at us for 10 full minutes. When we next saw him, he had chewed a hole in the top of the tube feeder, and was INSIDE the tube, his back feet clinging to the top, and his greedy little paws and mouth were feasting on the seed. This was pretty much the last straw. We shooed him away and took the whole feeder away.
We are planning a multi-pronged attack angaint the criiters. First, we bought a squirrel dome that will go over the feeder to keep fat critters off of it. We are also going to lube the pole with vegetable oil or maybe Vaseline so tiny paws will have a hard time scaling it. We also mixed cayenne pepper in with the bird seed. I read online that squirrels hate cayenne, but that birds can’t taste it. We are going to get our new (hopefully) squirrel-proof feeder set up this weekend. I’ll keep you posted on the results.
Everything else has been pretty good. George was gone camping last weekend, so Mike & I had the house to ourselves, and didn’t really do a whole lot. On Saturday my mom & I went out garage sale scouting, and my big find was a beer drinking board game called Chug-A-Lug from the early 80’s. The box cover photo is priceless and it even says “Beverages Not Included” just so there’s no confusion. I’m pretty sure this was a steal for 50 cents. Can’t wait to give it a whirl soon. We also went to Milham Park for the big craft show. Truthfully, it was a little disappointing. I didn’t see too much of interest, and all I bought was some fudge and some jerky for Mike.
We did have Crappy Movie Sunday, and this week we watched Twilight. It turned into a spirited debate of why Twilight’s vamps aren’t “real” vamps because Stepenie Meyer didn’t go along with the established vampire lore. The dudes are just really mad that Edward glitters in the sun and they don’t. Dawn & I tried to stand behind the actual story and the books (not necessarily the movie, which we know is crap), but the dudes are adamant that Twilight is lame and all vamps are made way lamer because of it’s existence. Or something. Jacob didn’t even take his shirt off in this movie, so I don’t know why the boys were feeling so threatened anyway. PS – can’t wait for Eclipse! It looks like it might actually be good! Dawn & I are going to see it next weekend in an effort to avoid the (other) screaming fangirls. We really want to be the only screaming fangirls, and that just won’t be possible on opening weekend.
I forgot yesterday to mention that I made a French press cozy for Mike’s dad for Father’s Day. I think he really liked it, but the best part was when he opened it and immediately put it on his head thinking it was a hat. He sort of looked like a G. Anyway, I busted out my needle felting supplies and made a W on the front. I think it turned out kind of cool. After these pics were taken I added a line of stitches with red embroidery floss around the W so that it would stand out a little more and also to help define the shape. It turned out great.
It was another busy weekend around here. On Friday Mike & I spent all day cleaning and doing yardwork to get ready for a birthday party we were throwing for my sister on Saturday. We managed to get the yard looking really nice and the inside was all sparkly too. We even managed to get rid of the carload of cardboard in the garage too, which felt like a huge accomplishment. We also finally got our birdfeeder set up in the front yard, right in front of the bedroom window where the cats like to sit on the window seat. We figured they would LOVE to watch the birds nibble.
The party on Saturday turned out great – my sister really enjoyed it which was the main thing. We had a fairly steady stream of folks in & out for most of the afternoon. The kids had a great time too. Sticky Ball was a big hit. Here are some photos! There are so many good pics, I couldn’t choose a few, so you get a slideshow!! And I can’t embed it because Flickr doesn’t want to be friends with Wordpress. But click the link and see all the fun.
On Sunday we got up bright & early and headed to Grand Rapids to visit with Mike’s family for Father’s Day. I played bocce ball with my brother in law and some of the kids and I’m actually pretty good at it. I suck big time at Ladder Ball, though. Anyway, we had a really good time, and it was fun to hang out with everyone. We even managed to get home in time to throw some laundry in and relax for a couple of hours before bed.
So anyway, the bird feeder. We set it up on Friday afternoon and put a suet cake in there that smelled like delicious peanut butter, and also some yummy bird seed in a tube style feeder. We kept watching, but no birds ever checked it out. We were thinking maybe it would just tke some time for them to find it or something. We did finally see a couple of birds eating from the feeder yesterday evening, so we were feeling good about the whole thing. Then I woke up this morning and saw this:
Hmmm, maybe Monkey Tail is scaring the birds away. Also, now the whole thing is leaning over to the side a little. Stupid obese squirrel. I put a squirrel block out back, but apparently, that wsn’t good enough for this piglet.
