22 February 2014

Hungry

Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks.  I love the sound it makes when all the kernels race each other to the finish line, and then those free radicals that jump out of the bowl after sliding down the chute with their friends.  I love the variety of seasoning options: plain, salty, buttery, kettle corn, taco, cheesy, carmel, jello (I am a Utahan, jello can be used for anything), honey, parmesan, I could go on but you get the idea.

I used to make popcorn in a pot over the stove because it tastes awesome.  You heat a little oil in the bottom for the kernels to bask in until they burst.  Sprinkle salt over top and it's wonderful.  Perfect for eating one snowy white bite at a time or by the handful.

Then my husband bought me an air popper.  It took me a few tries to understand that I didn't have to use melted butter to get the salt to stick, I could use olive oil.  Just drizzle a little over the top of the popped corn, and add salt.  Easy peasey lemon squeezy.

There's just a hiccup, a slight snafu to this arrangement.

Cooked oil smells differently than oil straight from the container.

I have used extra virgin olive oil as my facial moisturizer for several years.  It's all natural, so it doesn't leave a greasy residue, skin soaks it right in.  It's cheap (which I love, as we all know).  And you can buy it anywhere.  I apply twice daily, once in the morning and once before bed.

You see the issue?  Every time I moisturize my face these days I want popcorn.

17 February 2014

Metropolis 1927


My husband has a master's degree in film.  That means we get to watch a lot of "different" movies.  The latest in his endeavor to soak up as much culture and celluloid as a human brain can stand, we watched a movie from 1927 called Metropolis.  It's a German film.  The story takes place 99 years in the future, which means it's only twelve years away from where we are now, 2026.

They had machines in this futuristic film, but all of them were manpowered.  Most of the workers in the movie looked like they were dancing with flashing lights rather than doing something productive.


The clock thing is a machine and the guy in black is moving the hands to any bulb that lit up.  It's an integral part of the plot, but we, the watchers, have no idea what he's doing or what will happen when he stops, or why.

Aside from the machines, there was A LOT of heart clenching.


A LOT of heart clenching.

Then, there's a good lady:

the kind that helps children, and calls pretentious snobs her brothers and sisters instead of hating them.  A mad, mad scientist takes that good lady, and through the use of electric circles and a robot, turns her into a bad lady.


The bad lady is identified as separate from the good lady by her dark eyeliner.  Also, the bad lady does a strip tease for dozens of entranced men.  My husband says it's not so much a tease.  He's right.  It's more of a sexy dance.

Let me reiterate: this film was made in 1927.  The good old days with family values and all that.  I've long thought there was no such time and I'm sorry to have been proven right.

The end of the movie is a happy one with the bad lady getting buzzed back to a robot and the heart-clenching guy getting the good girl.  It took 2 1/2 hours and some truly terrifying moments to get us there.

I've been so traumatized by the watching of this film I can't get it out of my head.  So, now you can have it in yours.

11 February 2014

Family Ties



This past weekend, I got to hang out with my brothers and sister and their spouses.  Also with my parents.  That's us up there.  (By us, I mean my brothers, sisters, and parents.  No spouses in this one.)  We stayed in a truly ginormous house: ten bedrooms, eight bathrooms, indoor and outdoor pools, two basketball courts.  Big.  But when there are 27 people, I suppose you need a huge house to accommodate.

Since I'm the youngest in the family, I'm used to taking up the leftovers the older siblings didn't want.  Old clothes.  Old hairbrushes.  Old news.  So of course, I didn't get to choose a private bedroom.  My husband and I got to share with my brother and his wife, and my sister and her husband.  My brother snores.  We pushed two twin beds together, so if I snuggled with my husband during the night I was tempting the great divide to suck me in.  It rained.

Aside from all this, it was a fantastic weekend.  We ate and ate and ate.  Then drove and ate some more.  Zion's National Park was beautiful.  The rainy weather brought theclouds down to cover the tops of the mountains, creating contrasts between gray sky and red rocks. Trees at the tippy tops of the cliffs looked like divers preparing to jump.

We laughed a lot.  Over fish tacos, I heard a new favorite joke:

Why did Sally fall off the swing?  Because she didn't have arms.
Knock Knock.  *Who's there?* Not Sally.

*giggle*  I have yet to decide why I think this is so funny.

Saturday morning, we gathered in the cavernous kitchen and said a prayer together, for safety in traveling back home and for gratitude that we all get along and still like each other.  That by itself is pretty amazing.

The last couples' retreat my husband and I went on was ten years ago.  It was worth the wait.