I Watch Movies, Read Books, and Eat Food

Happy Oscar Day, everyone!  Here are my favorite films of 2013!  I hope everyone enjoys the show and I hope the movie stars don't get too cold and wet tonight! *My comments may have what some might consider spoilers.* 10. Don Jon I still refuse to like Scarlett Johansson.  I didn't have high expectations for this one.  I expected it to be amateurish because it was Joseph Gordon Levitt's directorial debut, but I shouldn't have underestimated him!  It's not a particularly original movie - it's about a porn addict who tries to have a normal relationship, but his addiction creates problems - but it's executed very, very well.  It's funny, it's charming, and it's surprisingly human.  The script is really good, and the acting is good as well.  Yes, even Scarlett is good...but I still don't like her! 9. Saving Mr. Banks Snubbed, I tell you!!  Snubbed!!  I understand why Tom Hanks wasn't nominated, I mean he was good, but maybe not the ...

The Oscars this year completely took me by surprise!  For some reason I thought we had one more week!  But no!  It's THIS Sunday!  Which means it's end of the year list time! 10. Pacific Rim This movie wasn't BAD, exactly.  It just didn't do anything for me.  It was supposed to be an over the top summer popcorn movie - and I usually LOVE over the top summer popcorn movies - but Pacific Rim was just lacking!  The action scenes were only okay.  I think I have a real problem with robots fighting.  That's why I don't like any of the Transformers movies.  I like my action to involve people.  I feel a real threat for their lives when human characters are doing something dangerous.  Giant robots fighting other dimension alien creatures?  Not so much.  Yes, I know the humans are inside the robots controlling it, but I still didn't buy it.  I didn't end up caring too much about the robots or the humans.   ...

If you know me, you know that I don't bake.  I love cooking, but baking is waaaay beyond me!  I don't like it, I'm not good at it, and every time I try to do it, I mess it up somehow!  But I felt inspired today and I decided to bake bread! Here is where I found the original recipe: Seasons & Suppers: Soft Cheese Bread 2 Ways The only other time I ever made dough, it turned out hard as a rock, and the bread was even worse!!  It was like biting into a bone!  But the dough for this bread turned out great!  Soft, smooth, not sticky - just like the recipe said!  The recipe makes two loafs: cheddar & herb and Parmesan garlic & herb. I was afraid of the shaping part, it looked super advanced!  But surprisingly, I did it! First you lay out the filling on top of the rolled dough. This one is the cheddar & herb one: Here's the Parm garlic & herb one (before adding the cheese): After rolling it up jelly roll style, yo...

Between March 2010 - March 2011 I gave up fast food.  It wasn't so bad.  To this day I very rarely eat fast food.  Maybe five times a year.  Now I wanna step it up a notch and be pescatarian for one year.  Why, you ask?  A few reasons. 1. I never thought this would happen, but I feel guilty for eating meat.  I've read all the books (Omnivore's Dilemma, Eating Animals, Fast Food Nation) and seen all the documentaries (Food, Inc, Super Size Me, Forks over Knives, Vegucated, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead) and they all say the same thing:  Eating meat is bad!  It's bad for the animals, it's bad for the environment, it's bad for society, and above all, it's bad for our bodies!  Maybe if I was alive 100 years ago when farms were actually farms (as opposed to factories) and the food industry wasn't the disgusting monster that it is now, eating meat would be fine.  But today it's not fine, and I don't want to be a part of that. Yeah, I get a...

In one week I turn 30. I'm not sure how I feel about that.  You're supposed to officially be an adult at 30 and I don't feel like an adult at all!  Is anyone where they thought they would be at 30?  I certainly am not!  I was supposed to have a house, a husband, a kid, and a dog by now!  I can't believe I don't at least have a dog!  But I guess we live in different times these days, and you never know where life will take you. But the one thing I do have working for me is my youthful looks!  I've always told people that I've looked exactly the same since I was 16 years old, and here is proof!  This is a collage of a pictures of me taken on my birthday since I was 16 years old. No wonder why I don't feel like an an adult!  I guess you're only as young as you feel/look!  Here's to the next ageless 14 years!

PAT & KIM'S JALAPENO POPPERS Pat and I didn't really measure when making these.  We just kind of went by feel/looks/taste.  So the measurements I put down are estimations. Yields 24 poppers 12 jalapenos, cut in half, veined, and seeded 1 package of bacon, cut in half For the filling: 1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup green onions or chives, chopped 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 1 clove garlic, chopped 1/4 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese Preheat oven to 350(ish). Mix all the ingredients for the filling together.  Stuff each jalapeno with the filling mixture.  Wrap each with the bacon.  They should look like this: Put them on a rack on top of a cookie sheet.  That way, the bottom of the popper will get cooked too, and it's not sitting in the bacon grease.  Mmmm...bacon grease.  Cook it in the oven for about an hour-ish.  Give or take 10-15 minutes.  At the v...

10. 21 Jump Street This movie shouldn't have been good.  In fact, it probably should have sucked.  But I found myself enjoying every minute of it!  I never really was a Channing Tatum fan until I saw this movie.  He always seemed pretty average to me, but I was really surprised to see him do comedy and to see him excel in it!  And of course Jonah Hill is hilarious.  I won't give too much away, but there's a pretty amazing cameo at the end that takes the movie from entertaining to awesome!  (It doesn't take a genius to figure out who the cameo is, but I was still surprised when it happened!) 9. Life of Pi I really hope my Uncle Ang wins!  Okay, he's not really my uncle....  But I do hope he wins!!  Spielberg will get it, I'm sure, but I'm rooting for Ang.  I actually heard some negative things from people about this movie, so going into it, I had relatively low expectations.  Turns out, I have vastly different taste from t...