The best place to escape

There is no one best place in the world to escape. Especially considering the variety of life events and aspects that people chose to escape from. For some, they'd like to escape their job and their time would be much better spent with family and sharing bliss with children. On the other hand, there are parents who have had too much of their kids and these people want to unplug from everything.

For me, my best place to escape would be a vacation where I don't have any responsibilities other than entertaining myself. I have a list of things I can do and explore that will fill my mind and my heart with joy, but it is no big deal if I don't get to those items. Tomorrow is another day and in my escape I don't have to go back to reality until I am good and ready.

So, let me paint the picture. My escape would be a northern lake house cabin in early summer before the temperature has baked the earth beyond comfort. At the lake house, I am able to take a book onto the wrap around back porch and do some pleasure reading amid the breeze of the day. I can take a nap to the sound of birds chirping in a hammock that is strung up between two large and shady trees. I can take a drink and go sit on the dock in the sun while reflecting on the beauty of nature. I can go for a dip in the lake when I get a little too heated, leisurely back stroking the minutes away. At night I can have friends over for a bon fire where we'll cook our dinner and then roast marshmallows as the lightning bugs start to dance around the trees along the perimeter of the property. Then, when it is time to go to sleep I can curl up near an open window and listen to the quiet sounds of night as I drift off into rem land.

I don't have to do anything or worry about anything in my escape. I simply make a magical list, attach it to the refrigerator, and all my needs and desires are taken care of. The bills will be paid, the groceries bought, and mosquitoes eradicated without harmful  effects to the environment. Oh, and my allergies don't bother me because this is my fictional escape.

Super villain to-do list

I am the social secretary for an evil super villain (Is the term super needed? Aren't they all especially evil?) and I have been asked to start a to-do list for Dr. Y. Being a scary, mad scientist, Dr. Y doesn't have much time for the upkeep of his calendar. He's always missing appointments with arch nemeses and dinner with his coalition of malevolent characters. This sort of scattered brained approach to life is ruining his image, and I will hopefully restore it by adding some order to the chaos. 

Monday

9am - Breakfast with mother (random scary appearance of the day, or RSAD)

Write speech for random scary subway appearance

Research smoke machine rentals

Feed the cat

Lab time

Tuesday

8am - Breakfast with Sophie the cat

9am - Return phone calls and emails from concerned city leaders

Purchase highly concentrated nerve gas for undetermined use

12pm - Appointment with "Lady U" at University student center

12:30 - Lunch at university quad (RSAD)

Journal time

Wednesday

Grocery shop, see attached list

Prepare acceptance speech for Evil Doers awards banquet

1pm - Pick up tux from the cleaners

Visit haberdasher for top hat

Research where to purchase fake vomit, whoopie cushions, and fly in ice cube tricks

Test flame throwing turbo booster boots

Grocery list

Eggs

Batteries

V8

Draino

Stouffers single meals

7 frozen turkeys

Propane tank

Gin

Juice

Hair gel

Bug spray deoderant

Canning jars

Silly putty

People magazine

Hopefully, this will get him started. In the future I will take more detailed notes of his actions, needs, and desires in order to complete a more thorough to-do list. Since being this evil isn't easy, I want to make sure I have the bases covered so that Dr. Y doesn't miss any opportunities. I hope one day to be a supervillain myself, and a recommendation letter from Dr. Y to the University of Villains and Madmen would go a long way.

Sweet curmudgeon granola

When I eat my morning yogurt I like a little crunch in it. Sometimes I would sprinkle granola on the top, but I was mostly adding Grape Nuts. This is probably because the granola I had wasn't good; it wasn't made to be snacked on. However, I now have a tasty solution. I found a recipe that makes a very yummy additive. I altered it slightly to fit my tastes and it turned out perfect. I call it my sweet curmudgeon granola because it is just that, sweet and crunchy.

The recipe is simple, plus it is easy to modify.

Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats (not instant)
• 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped raw or toasted nuts or seeds
• 1/2 cup small-dice dried fruit

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°
2. Mix all but the last ingredient
3. Spread thinly over a baking sheet
4. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from oven and stir oats
5. Bake for another 10 minutes or until oats are a light golden brown
6. Remove from oven and let cool
7. Add dried fruit
8. Enjoy! 

I even gave some granola as a gift. However, the gift thing is something I've decided I don't want to do a whole lot, at least not with this item. I don't want to be known as the granola lady. That does not sound pleasing. 

A guide to snow day entertainment

Write this guide: 20 things to do when you're bored on a snow day

Winter time makes it the perfect opportunity to write this guide. After all, being prepared to fight off boredom on a snow day makes the difference between a day spent mindlessly watching nothing on t.v. and a productive day of accomplishing tasks and fun projects.

1. Enjoy a homemade breakfast with all of the traditional trimmings.
2. Play a board game.
3. Organize your kitchen drawers.
4. Clean out your closet and get rid of old and seldom worn clothes.
5. Give yourself a facial.
6. Catch up on blogging or other writing projects.
7. Build a snow fort.
8. Construct and line up mini snow men and photograph them from different angles.
9. Abstain from posting what you're doing or comments about the treachery of winter weather on social media.
10. Clean the house.
11. Find some new recipes for crock pot meals.
12. Clean up and update social media profiles.
13. Take a nature walk in your neighborhood and appreciate the fresh untouched snow.
14. Snuggle up with a blanket and popcorn for a movie.
15. Cut paper snow flakes and decorate the house with them.
16. Build a fire in your fireplace and toast marshmellows (or make s'mores in the microwave if you have a gas burning fireplace).
17. Knit some warm weather clothing.
18. Fill out a cross word puzzle.
19. Draw the winter wonderland view you have from your window.
20. Write a "just because" card to snail mail to a friend.

This list hopefully provides some ideas, at least you can piggy back off of them to come up with your own activity list. Many of the items on this list are providing your fridge is stocked and that you have supplies. As with any storm, pay attention to the forecast and make sure you have the items on hand to have a fun snow day.

A condemned gingerbread house

I get excited at the thought of checking things off my bucket list. After all, I filled mine with fun and very feasible activities and events that I can do now instead of on a rainy day when I am very rich and dying. One item on my list that I just satisfied is making a gingerbread house. I decided to make my confectionary concoction after Christmas in the hopes that I could get a good sale price on a pre-made kit. These things are like Twinkies, they have a shelf life of many years, so I wasn't worried about getting an old kit.

The plan and instructions looked simple enough, and it was the bonus candy edition so that was a plus. I unpacked the parts and set off to work. Lean this wall against that wall and use the icing as a spackle-type of joiner. Actually, the frosting is much like spackle and is gross tasting much in the same way that I expect the construction tool to taste like.

Once the walls are up, it's time to put on the roof. This took a little balancing and maneuvering, but not a hard task. Don't forget more icing spackle to seal the deal.  I filled in some holes and tried to make my icing job look as even or at least as snowy as possible.

Candy time! I set out to decorate the house. Flowers around the eves, gum drops across the top where the roof meets, flavored tootsie rolls for trees. And even a chimney made of regular chocolate tootsie rolls.

Okay, so this was by far not an artistic endeavor. It was mostly humorous as I reflected on how bad this project could turn out looking and how gingerbread men everywhere should be very thankful that my house ended up condemned. By the time I was done decorating, I noticed one of the walls starting to droop a little inward, so I grabbed the spackle and the gumdrops and plugged the gap. Fixed some air leaks here and there with extra candy tarts and frosting and then I decided to call it a day before I added any more damage to the house.

My bucket list never said the house needed to look good, or taste good for that matter. Maybe I will re-try this fun activity in the future, but for now I can at least mark it down in the books as being done.

Awards season 2015: Reviews and roundups

It is "go time" for movie watching. The Golden Globes are over and the awards have been handed out and the Oscar nominations are out. It is awards show season! I get excited this time of year, as I also like to celebrate the year's best movies. I have already seen a number of them and as in years past I will attempt to see more of them, as many as possible before the show.

I will review my favorite elements of some of the top contenders. I usually do this in separate articles for each movie, but this time around I will size them up right here and now.

So far, of the movies I have seen, The Imitation Game is my favorite. The movie is intriguing and suspenseful. While it is not violent or dangerous in the way that many suspenseful movies are, there is a lot at stake in this story. The acting is strong and the directing solid. This movie is a serious contender. I give it an A-.

I greatly enjoyed Selma as this movie was like seeing history come to life on the big screen. I studied the Civil Rights Movement quite a bit as a political science student and I am greatly interested in the pivotal time period in one of the most pressing storylines in the history of this nation. The story and directing were solid and the acting was strong. This is a moving film and I give it an A.

Birdman saw some success with the Golden Globes and a number of noms for the Oscars. It is a strong movie, however I never got to the point where I cared what was going to happen to the main character. I felt as though the plot was just circling around until ultimate demise. Although I have warmed to this movie over time, the most noteworthy accomplishment of this movie is the performance by Edward Norton in a supporting character role. He would definitely be deserving of an award. This movie earns a B.

Whiplash also showcases some superb supporting actor juice. Actually, I wasn't  sure who I like better in the supporting roles, Norton or J.K. Simmons. However the more I thought about it the more I realized that Simmons turned in a superior performance. There is so much intensity in this movie, you can feel it dripping down the screen. I give this movie an A-.

There has been quite a bit of buzz and awards handed out for Boyhood. I was very interested in seeing what all the fuss is about. This movie illustrates an interesting concept, documenting a boy's life from early school age to embarking on life outside the nest at college. The movie is charming and warm despite the many moments when the mother is at her whit's end or fleeing a disastrous life decision. I think this film is deserving of at least one Oscar (definitely not the best picture in my book) for Patricia Arquette's best supporting actress role. She did a great job portraying a life full of layers and struggles.

There are still a few movies left on my 'must see' list and I'm working to get to the theaters before they're gone. Included on that list is American Sniper and Wild. Plus, a fun addition to all of the oscar movie watching madness is the marathon of short films at my local arts cinema. They play the action shorts and animated shorts which is fun because these are films I wouldn't have otherwise had the chance to see since they are not in typical theaters.

First Viewing of The Wizard of Oz

We were recently dlighted by a showing of The Wizard of Oz. I was excited when I saw the IMA was doing a Winter Movie series and that this would be one of the selections. I like doing new and different things in my community, so this was the perfect opportunity to try something new, a really old movie on a big screen.

I was sure I had seen The Wizard of Oz before, after all it is an extremely iconic movie. I knew the scenes, the songs, and more. However, upon the first few frames I realized that I had never viewed the movie in its entirety. After many more minutes went by, I realized I had never seen the movie at all!

How is the possible? For me to truly believe I had seen a piece of cinematic history when I hadn't. It is true that I was familiar with the songs and the story line, but perhaps that is because the movie is so pervasive in our pop culture world. Its values and lessons have been woven into our lives. Children perform plays of this popular story, there have been books, stage productions, and movies from alternate points of view. Still, I was shocked to learn that I had never actually seen it.

It is interesting how  popular stories that have been woven into the grain of our society can become so real that we feel we know the story by heart, or even know actors and characters by name. The Wizard of Oz is used as reference by so many to tell similar stories, share lessons, and even find a common bond between people (favorite movie, etc.). We become so familiar with the idea of knowing that we feel we actually do know.