Raspberries

One of the joy’s about summer in Canada is enjoying all the summer fruits and vegetables that are in season. They’re not only good for you, but are also cheaper to buy. While going to the supermarket and buying all these fruits and vegetables is fun, I also really enjoy going to farms and picking my own fruit. A local farm that I love is Brooks Farms, a farm just north of Markham Ontario (where I live). While Brooks Farms has many fruits to ‘pick’ from, my favorite to collect is the raspberry. Raspberries are in season from July to August, but it’s best to visit early in order to pick the best fruit first. Someone once told me that the raspberry is the champagne of berries, and after eating a couple I concurred. Raspberries are fragrant, sweet, and are good for your health. Raspberries contain lots of vitamins, and also have antioxidants that protect against free-radicals. The only negative part about raspberries is the price and the seeds they come with. Even though they are pretty expensive, I figure I would much rather spend my money on something that is not only delicious and healthy than on some fast food junk that is bad for my body and can upset my stomach. As for the seeds, they’re not much of a bother because I like to scarf the berries down when I eat them, lol. However one solution to the seed problem that I have found is to make raspberry juice and remove the seeds. To make raspberry juice is pretty simple; to start off after bringing home your berries you just want to give them a light wash. I then like to store mine in zip-loc bags, and I use a straw to suck all the air out of the bag so that I may store them in the freezer (for up to 12 months). Then whenever I am ready to make juice I defrost the bag for a few hours, then put it in the blender, add some sugar and water and mix. Once it is fully mixed I like to strain the juice to remove the seeds, and finally put it in a pitcher with lots of ice. Once that is done you can sit back and enjoy a nice glass of raspberry juice and reflect on all your hard work.




Brooks Farms website:
http://www.brooksfarms.com/
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w4rUquIp10

R2-D2 Papercraft

The R2-D2 papercraft has been one of the most intimidating papercrafts that I have done to date. Although the template only takes up three pages, what seems difficult is all the cutting and gluing that is required to finish it. But if you take your time like I did, eventually it all comes out pretty smoothly. For this project I decided to use special tools that I borrowed from a manicure set. In this case I used small scissors to cut little tiny details (the zig-zag areas), a nail file to press down on areas that needed to be bent in a straight line, a nail cuticle tool to paint on the glue, and some eyebrow tweezers to glue small pieces together. I also used a pen filter which I wrapped masking tape around so that I could glue paper parts that were circular. This project took me about a week on and off, and the cutting was what was most time consuming. Advice that I would give anyone that wants to do this papercraft is to print out two copies of the template so you can have one as a guide line along the way because this is a pretty confusing project. My only complaint about this template is that it doesn’t come with English instructions, but the pictures more than make up for it along the way. I think this has been one of the best papercrafts you can find online and it being part of Star Wars makes it a 10 out of 10 in my opinion.




Link to the template:
http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~sf-papercraft/Gallery/r2d2/r2d2.html
YouTube link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smrhiPsq55A

To be (pregnant) or not to be? That is THE question...

Here's the deal...

I had two roommates in college, Jennifer and Cara. As best friends go, they're pretty awesome. We forged some strong friendships while living together and were practically inseparable for 4 straight years. So, it makes sense that our futures have turned out so similarly. Jennifer was the first of us to marry her college sweetie and have a little boy, then Cara married hers and had a boy. A year later I married my college sweetie and, you guessed it, had a boy.

Jennifer announced that she was pregnant with #2 a couple months ago and Cara just informed me that she is pregnant with #2. Notice the pattern here?

Not sure if I'm ready to be pregnant again, although it would be fun for the roomies to be pregnant together. I'm hoping God doesn't find the coincidence as entertaining as my mom and sisters do...if He does, I'm probably pregnant right now.

Children are a gift from the Lord;

they are a reward from him.

Psalm 127:3

I have red hair!

I needed a change so I decided to change my color.

Okay...that's a lie.

Honestly, it's time I stop pretending that I still have golden locks. Unfortunately, embracing the truth means that I have...ugh...dishwater blonde hair, dark dishwater.

Yeah, that wasn't happening.

In the past my hair has pulled red when I've had it dyed blonde and it never bothered me, I've had a few stylists tell me that I should go red and I have 3 sisters with different hues of red hair.

I figured, 'what the heck' and started looking at pictures.

Me before.

I have always loved the classic Julia Roberts red.

I really liked Lindsay Lohan's blonde highlights in the red.

My red hair!

I absolutely LOVE it! What do you think?

Special thanks to my stylist, Colleen Baartz

The Next Great Novelist

“Hmmm…. what do I want to write about?” Yup, if you’ve said that before you can relate to what I’m talking about. There comes a point when we’ve thought we could write a book, only to end up thinking maybe next year will be better. You rationalize (procrastinate) that you need more life experience before you get a clear idea of what you want to write. So that great novel that you know will turn the literary world upside down gets pushed back or maybe never gets published. The truth is that just like any contest, you can’t win if you don’t enter; so it’s important that you at least get your ideas on paper. But despite having the tenacity to write your novel, there are also other impediments that can prevent you from actualizing your book. With so many publishing houses going bankrupt, it’s getting harder and harder to publish a book. Yet despite this fact, any jerk off the street will tell you that if you really want people to read your work then you might as well get a blog. But of course that’s not the same as having a piece of your creation in your hands or in the hands of others. Luckily there are places that can help you with this problem. Lulu.com is a great website that will not only publish your ideas, but will also make them available for other people to purchase on Amazon.com. The best part is that it’s all free for you, since only people that want your book will have to pay. Translation; you, yourself, your mom, dad, sister, best friend growing up, spouse; heck all your kin and kith. On the website you get to pick what type of cover, text, pictures, and price you want for your book. There are also great forums with friendly people that can help you along the way. So if you’ve always wanted to publish a book of your writing, then this website is for you. As for my book, uhm… well I’m planning to start it next year as soon as I get more life experience.

http://www.lulu.com/

two is a crowd, but three is a party

Just mere months after two Marilyn Monroe biopics were announced, starring Naomi Watts and Michelle Williams, respectively, news is breaking that Angelina Jolie will take a stab at the role of the late screen legend. Jolie is set to star in the film version of "The Life and Opinions of Maf the Bog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe," by Andrew O'Hagan.

O'Hagan's tale tells the story of the controversial last two years of Monroe's life, told through the eyes of her Maltese terrier Maf (short for Mafia). In real life, the pup was a gift from friend Frank Sinatra, who is to be played by George Clooney in the film. Monroe toted Maf around to the residences of her famous friends, and got his belly scratched by the Rat Pack and President Kennedy.

The 35-year-old Jolie is in the perfect age bracket to portray Monroe in her later years, as she died in August 1962 at the age of 36. But is Angelina - who allegedly beat out contenders such as Mad Men lovely Christina Hendricks (my personal swoon) and Monroe-lookalike Scarlett Johansson - best suited to play Marilyn? She will have to put on some serious curves if she wants to go from her svelte ass-kicker physique in Salt to the delicately feminine form of Monroe. And also, will a woman who made a career out of playing action heroes, assassins, and sociopaths be able to bring the charm and vulnerability to this role? Though her turn in Changeling is a good indication of her range, one has to consider that the careful direction of Clint Eastwood had to do with evoking those emotions.

And for George Clooney, whose acting empire includes his takeover of the role Danny Ocean, a role made legendary by Frank Sinatra in the original Ocean's Eleven, is an interesting choice to play the blue-eyed crooner. Though names like Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Harry Connick Jr. were danced around for the role, the charming leading man won the role of ... a charming leading man. But it's hard to form an opinion around this casting choice. First off (and perhaps most inconsequentially), George Clooney has hazel brown eyes. Frank Sinatra was known for his ice-blue eyes. Sure color contacts are no problem, but so much of Clooney's handsomeness is centered around his gently wrinkled sad brown eyes. Would color contacts change his physical appearance enough ... or too much? He's got the rough brash handsomeness that Sinatra had, but I don't know how to envision him as the late legend. I want to closely monitor Clooney's development of the Sinatra role, because Frank Sinatra is near and dear to my heart (as a six-year-old, I expected to marry him by 13. Sadly, he died before my teen years).

With the prospect of Angelina also taking on the role of Cleopatra, made famous by Elizabeth Taylor in the 1963 MGM megaproduction, it seems like a major 1960s redux in Angelina's career. While both Jolie and Elizabeth Taylor shot down rumors that Angie would be portraying Taylor in a biopic of her life with Richard Burton (with Liz even tweeting "No one is going to play Elizabeth Taylor, but Elizabeth Taylor. Not at least until I'm dead, and at the moment I'm having too much fun being alive"), rumors still swirl that Angie will take on one of Taylor's most famous roles. With at least 28 film depictions of Cleopatra, does the world need another Hollywood version of the life of the Egyptian queen? Producer Scott Rudin (No Country for Old Men, Revolutionary Road, Julie & Julia, and all of the Wes Anderson films) has the rights for the film version of the book Queen of the Nile, Cleopatra: A Life. The book's author, Stacy Schiff, who will be involved in the film adaptation of her biography has stated that she wishes to mirror the on-and-off screen love affair present in the 1963 version between Elizabeth and Richard Burton. Her perfect Marc Anthony: Brad Pitt.

Controversy over Jolie's casting in both life stories of Marilyn and Cleopatra is blasting over the internet. Though many say that Angelina is 'too white' to play the African queen, I think that the edginess of Queen Cleo's life is better suited for the acting talents of Angelina Jolie. I could much sooner envision Angie in gold bracelets, heavy cat eye liner, ruling a country and seducing the world's most powerful men than hear her impersonate the breathy girly voice and ditzy persona of Monroe. We can already kind of envision Jolie in each of the roles: she had a Monroe-esque platinum blonde cut in the romcom Life or Something Like It, and she was picture perfect as the Greek queen Olympias in Alexander.

girl, you really got me goin’, you got me so i don’t know what i’m doin’

I've recently become obsessed with the films of the late Eric Rohmer. A fascinating filmmaker, Rohmer created an impressive body of work before he passed in January of this year. I am currently working my way through his "Six Moral Tales,"a collection of six films that explore man's struggle to uphold his inner morality when faced with an opportunity (most usually in the form of a beautiful young woman) to diverge from everything he believes in. Rohmer's films are very cerebral and slow-paced, but there is a beauty in his films that makes me come back for more.

My most recent venture into the moral tales was "Le genou de Claire" (or "Claire's Knee"), the fifth - and perhaps most accessible - of Rohmer's moral canon. Jerome, a French diplomat about to be married, goes on holiday to visit an old friend staying on the shore of Lake Annecy. While there, he meets two sisters: the intense and complex Laura, and the delicate and unattainable Claire. Though Laura pursues him aggressively, Jerome is consumed by thoughts of touching Claire's knee. According to him, "Every woman has her most vulnerable point. For some, it's the nape of the neck, the waist, the hands. For Claire, in that position, that light, it was her knee." Yes, it's a strange obsession to have, but he realizes this. His fear that being revealed as a fetishist would destroy his diplomatic designs, he struggles to suppress his obsession.

The scenic Southern France location is the perfect backdrop to the beautiful seventies fashions. Dressed in woven straw hats and shift dresses, Claire and Laura are the picture of French sexy sophistication.