I look forward to having kids, because I could tell little kid stories all day long. You remember Mia, my cousin's 3 year old? If not, see last week's blog post.
Before I lay out the story, there are 2 things you need to understand about my family:
1) My mom's nickname on her side of the family is "Neeners." The story goes that my cousin Frankie couldn't say "Denise" when he was a tyke, so then he started saying "Nee" which turned into "Neeners." Her WHOLE family calls her that, including the new generations and even my brother-in-law Mike.
2) My family is not foreign to swearing. I grew up with a potty mouth. Yes, I've sworn since I could talk. Horrible? Probably. True? Yes. Funny? Definitely. I'm just giving you background.
So, Amy, Sierra & Mia are at my Aunt Patty's house right now, while Lily is with her paternal grandmother in Sonoma county for a few days. The phone rings at my mom's house today, and she hears "Hi NEEENAS! Wah wah wah wah, wah wah, wah." (Wah meaning to indicate that my mom had no idea what Mia was saying after Hi Neeners!" Gotta love little 3 year old speak). Then my mom hears my Aunt Patty ask in the background, "Mia, what are you doing?!"
What followed, of course, was crystal clear: "Oh, I'm just shooting the shit with Neeenas."
I love 3 year olds.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Maleficent
My inner child just got very excited. Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney film of all time, so this article made me squeal. I think it will make Christy squeal as well. I loved the recent Alice in Wonderland movie, so this could be pretty cool. While Aurora and the faeries (and of course the prince) are my favorite parts of the animated Disney movie, I'll take a movie centering on the evil queen! She is, arguably, the coolest Disney villain ever.
Having scored a hit with "Alice in Wonderland," Disney and screenwriter Linda Woolverton are teaming to bring to the big screen "Maleficent," a live-action take on the evil queen in the 1959 animated classic "Sleeping Beauty."
"Maleficent" might reunite Woolverton with Tim Burton; it's one of a handful of projects the filmmaker is circling. His interest in the character was piqued in the summer when he was in post on "Alice," and the studio and Burton's camp have been trying to keep a lid on the project, though the Web site Ain't It Cool News mentioned Burton's interest in January.
No deal has been made with Burton, and the hiring of Woolverton is the first concrete step forward in its development.
Disney, 'Alice' scribe team for film about 'Sleeping Beauty's' evil queen (exclusive)
Having scored a hit with "Alice in Wonderland," Disney and screenwriter Linda Woolverton are teaming to bring to the big screen "Maleficent," a live-action take on the evil queen in the 1959 animated classic "Sleeping Beauty."
"Maleficent" might reunite Woolverton with Tim Burton; it's one of a handful of projects the filmmaker is circling. His interest in the character was piqued in the summer when he was in post on "Alice," and the studio and Burton's camp have been trying to keep a lid on the project, though the Web site Ain't It Cool News mentioned Burton's interest in January.
No deal has been made with Burton, and the hiring of Woolverton is the first concrete step forward in its development.
In "Beauty," Maleficent is a tall green-skinned woman with horns who can morph into several forms, including a terrifying black and purple dragon. The character, who has appeared in many Disney books and TV shows and is a popular Halloween costume, is also the most serious character in Disney's villain stable, featuring a darkness not found in other Disney characters.
Woolverton's "Maleficent" movie would tell the classic fairy tale from the point of view of the self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil," offering a new take on a classic tale as she did with Lewis Carrol's "Alice."
It is unclear just how dark and edgy Disney -- which had no comment on the project -- wants to make "Maleficent." The dragon scenes in the 1959 feature, for example, are notable for their intensity. But if any filmmaker has a successful track record of making the dark and weird work for families, it's Burton.
CAA-repped Woolverton has a long history with Disney, and is best known for having written on the 1991's "Beauty and the Beast" and 1994's "The Lion King."
It is unclear just how dark and edgy Disney -- which had no comment on the project -- wants to make "Maleficent." The dragon scenes in the 1959 feature, for example, are notable for their intensity. But if any filmmaker has a successful track record of making the dark and weird work for families, it's Burton.
CAA-repped Woolverton has a long history with Disney, and is best known for having written on the 1991's "Beauty and the Beast" and 1994's "The Lion King."
Monday, March 22, 2010
Random Musings
Here are some musings today:
Dancing with the Stars:
New Host Brooke Burke: is it me, or did she look like a Bobble Head? This isn't jealousy speaking...just good old female criticism. As a host, she beat the pants of Samantha Harris.
Ochocinco: better than I expected. I like the whole "don't tell me I'm good unless I'm perfect" thing.
Shannon Doherty: the thing about her dad touched me.
Erin Andrews: way more likable than I thought she would be. The fact that her nose isn't perfect helps.
Jake the Bachelor: I hope this week is the the end of the rose theme.
Niecy: I missed this one while driving home from my parents. Still trying to figure out if I want to go back and catch it.
Evan Lysacek: by far the one I was most looking forward to; he didn't disappoint!
Buzz: frisky old man
Nicole from Pussy Cat Dolls: Yup, she's goooood
Aiden: dude can't dance, but he sure is funny
Kate Gosselin: yawn. And she totally has an attitude, right?
Pam Anderson: I think she's on drugs. Actually, no, I know she is. She was trash-tastic.
Something I've Been Fuming on For a While:
This:
I loooooove reading. Love it. And - of course for everyone - it's almost impossible to nail down your "favorite" anything. However, if you held a gun to my head, I would spit out "Pride and Prejudice." Because when it comes down to it, it's probably my favorite. And why, oh why, did they bring zombies into it?! Call me close-minded, beacause I need to admit that I have not yet read the book. I need to find someone who has read it and can tell me that it's way awesome. I'm sure it's progressive and inventive, but my own pride and prejudice is getting in the way on this one.
As a P.S. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters?!
P.P.S. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls (PPZ's prequel)?!
CBS 5 Commercial:
They were smart. They played the music from Amelie in their commercial. Every time I see (or, rather, hear) that commercial, it makes me happy. I need to sit down and watch that movie again. It's been a while. I heart that movie.
And Last But Not Least:
As watching How I Met Your Mother tonight, I am again reminded how Barney Stinson is probably one of the BEST television characters created ever.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Bee Stings and Christenings
We traveled up to Roseville this weekend for a very Genovese weekend - my cousin's itty bitty baby was Christened. We weren't at the hotel for 5 minutes and I got my first bee sting ever. In my neck. The sucker was sitting on my neck and I didn't even think about what was on there. I was in my mom's hotel room and hadn't noticed a bee at all. I swatted at it and the rest is history. The good news: I don't appear to be allergic to bee stings. The bad news: OMFG, those suckers HURT. I don't want another one. My pain level stinks anyway, but no! I of course took Benadryl, in case I was allergic. Which made me drugged at 3 pm through the rest of the night. No operating heavy machinery for me! It took a while to kick in. I was laying down to try to take a nap. It didn't work out so well..I couldn't fall asleep. I thought I'd get up and was so whoozy. Then I proceded to walk into the bathroom door. I'm thinking it was doing its thing by then.
We had an amazing dinner at the Claim Jumper, which totally reminded me of Tahoe Joe's in SLO. Of course, if you haven't been to either, they are like woodsy steakhouses with antler lights, fireplaces, wood everything, and huge portions. I split a meal with my mom and it was the perfect amount!
We saw our good friends Erin & Jerry that night - they live there, and we sat around talking. Love them!
The next morning (today) was the Christening, and it was at a Presbyterian church. One thing about my family is that we're Catholic, and we're not exactly seasoned going to other religions' services. So, here comes the stories: A person asked my nonni if her rosary was a necklace and my nonni was flabergasted. My cousin has two little girls and one future step-child. Her two little girls spent half the ceremony either next to me or on my lap (they are 7 and 3 years old). Every time they sang a song, the 3 year old, Mia, would start dancing. In her seat, from sitting in the pew, while standing - anywhere. At one point she did her little dance and was pressing her finger on the Bible, trying to match the tune of the piano. When she was done she turned to Ryan and wanted a high five. And she would say in her adorable 3 year old voice, "it's time to sing now!" And everyone in my family almost had tears from trying not to laugh during church.
Amy gave her daughters gum during the service. I instantly thought, "OH NO." My nonni is a stern believer that you should NOT have gum in church. So you have my nonni telling Amy, "You can't have gum in chruch!"
Mia's older sister, Lily, was a good little girl. She sat by me, listening and reading the words on the big screen. They had a screen with words on it. Each pamphlet had a white fill in the blank sheet. Like Ad Libs for church (but not funnies). Of which, at the beginning, everyone in the family was confused that there was a test?! Anyways, the huge screen is a novelty as well to us. Here goes the conversations with Lily sitting next to me:
(The screen had words on it regarding birth and re-birth during the minister's (?) homily):
Lily: How can you be born twice?
Me: You know, I don't know.
Lily: Really, you can't be born twice!
Lily: What is he talking about? I don't understand a thing he's saying. (he was very long winded)
Me: Yeah, me neither.
Lily: He's not making any sense.
When the missionaries going to Mexico stood up at the front:
Lily: Why are those people going to Mexico?
Me: Umm, I think they are going to go build churches (I really didn't want to get into the notion of them spreading God's word to others - it's not my place to explain that)
Ryan: (whispering to me) They're not going there to build churches
Me:(shrug with a slight smirk. I hope I didn't just lie in church. They could be going to build churches, right?)
Lily: They are going to build churches? Why? Aren't there a lot of churches already?
Me: (nodding) Yeah, there are lots of churches, Lil.
The minister's homily was about Presbyterians leaving the church for "PC USA." Of which I spent half of it wondering what the heck he was talking about, because didn't PC stand for Presbyterian Church? How can they leave the Presbyterian Church for the Presbyterian Church? Turns out it meant "Politically Correct" USA.
At the end of service, the lady behind us gave Mia a hug (who was standing on the pew). She said, "I'm going to give you a big JESUS hug! :) " Mia's like, ok, whatever. Then the lady goes, "So, did you like the church service?" "No."
Mia rounded the service out by dancing on the alter after it had concluded. All in all, both girls were actually very good girls in church. No crying or screaming = thumbs up in my book. Sierra, Amy's 9 year old step-daughter, sat there by my Aunt Patty like an angel the whole time. And baby Sierra, who was the guest of honor, was an angel as well.
Ahh, it was an experience for us Genoveses, that's for sure. Now I know how Ryan feels going to mass. Lost and a little bit bewildered. The service and subject matter was not what we were used to. Just different. To end: the priest during his homily, was talking about how there are more Christians in China than in the US (and that was not a good thing). As my mom later pointed out: "Yeah, but China also takes up half the world's population!"
We had an amazing dinner at the Claim Jumper, which totally reminded me of Tahoe Joe's in SLO. Of course, if you haven't been to either, they are like woodsy steakhouses with antler lights, fireplaces, wood everything, and huge portions. I split a meal with my mom and it was the perfect amount!
We saw our good friends Erin & Jerry that night - they live there, and we sat around talking. Love them!
The next morning (today) was the Christening, and it was at a Presbyterian church. One thing about my family is that we're Catholic, and we're not exactly seasoned going to other religions' services. So, here comes the stories: A person asked my nonni if her rosary was a necklace and my nonni was flabergasted. My cousin has two little girls and one future step-child. Her two little girls spent half the ceremony either next to me or on my lap (they are 7 and 3 years old). Every time they sang a song, the 3 year old, Mia, would start dancing. In her seat, from sitting in the pew, while standing - anywhere. At one point she did her little dance and was pressing her finger on the Bible, trying to match the tune of the piano. When she was done she turned to Ryan and wanted a high five. And she would say in her adorable 3 year old voice, "it's time to sing now!" And everyone in my family almost had tears from trying not to laugh during church.
Amy gave her daughters gum during the service. I instantly thought, "OH NO." My nonni is a stern believer that you should NOT have gum in church. So you have my nonni telling Amy, "You can't have gum in chruch!"
Mia's older sister, Lily, was a good little girl. She sat by me, listening and reading the words on the big screen. They had a screen with words on it. Each pamphlet had a white fill in the blank sheet. Like Ad Libs for church (but not funnies). Of which, at the beginning, everyone in the family was confused that there was a test?! Anyways, the huge screen is a novelty as well to us. Here goes the conversations with Lily sitting next to me:
(The screen had words on it regarding birth and re-birth during the minister's (?) homily):
Lily: How can you be born twice?
Me: You know, I don't know.
Lily: Really, you can't be born twice!
Lily: What is he talking about? I don't understand a thing he's saying. (he was very long winded)
Me: Yeah, me neither.
Lily: He's not making any sense.
When the missionaries going to Mexico stood up at the front:
Lily: Why are those people going to Mexico?
Me: Umm, I think they are going to go build churches (I really didn't want to get into the notion of them spreading God's word to others - it's not my place to explain that)
Ryan: (whispering to me) They're not going there to build churches
Me:
Lily: They are going to build churches? Why? Aren't there a lot of churches already?
Me: (nodding) Yeah, there are lots of churches, Lil.
The minister's homily was about Presbyterians leaving the church for "PC USA." Of which I spent half of it wondering what the heck he was talking about, because didn't PC stand for Presbyterian Church? How can they leave the Presbyterian Church for the Presbyterian Church? Turns out it meant "Politically Correct" USA.
At the end of service, the lady behind us gave Mia a hug (who was standing on the pew). She said, "I'm going to give you a big JESUS hug! :) " Mia's like, ok, whatever. Then the lady goes, "So, did you like the church service?" "No."
Mia rounded the service out by dancing on the alter after it had concluded. All in all, both girls were actually very good girls in church. No crying or screaming = thumbs up in my book. Sierra, Amy's 9 year old step-daughter, sat there by my Aunt Patty like an angel the whole time. And baby Sierra, who was the guest of honor, was an angel as well.
Ahh, it was an experience for us Genoveses, that's for sure. Now I know how Ryan feels going to mass. Lost and a little bit bewildered. The service and subject matter was not what we were used to. Just different. To end: the priest during his homily, was talking about how there are more Christians in China than in the US (and that was not a good thing). As my mom later pointed out: "Yeah, but China also takes up half the world's population!"
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Bolt
Ryan and I watched the movie "Bolt" tonight.
Here is our cat, Reyna, when the dog is on TV:
Here she is when the cats came on the screen:
Hilarious.
P.S. Don't tell Ryan that I put that picture of him up :-)
Here is our cat, Reyna, when the dog is on TV:
Here she is when the cats came on the screen:
Hilarious.
P.S. Don't tell Ryan that I put that picture of him up :-)
Sunday, March 7, 2010
National Geographic
Simonos Petras Monastery Photo, Mount Athos Wallpaper – National Geographic Photo of the Day
I've discovered nationalgeographic.com - specifically their photography section. New favorite website.
Today's photo of the day is particularly ironic, in that it comes at a time where I am researching places to go in Europe. After years of begging, I'm finally at the point of *probably* having convinced Ryan to go with me this year. I gave him some sturdy, logical reasons. We only have about two weeks for the trip, so I have to be selective in where we go. I definitely want to return to Italy (specifically, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily) and the Greek Isles. I've started doing some research, and the truth is, I am hopelessly over my head. It was so much easier signing up for a tour last time, when Tracy and I went with Nonni. However, I'm trying to do it on my own this time.
I'm completely overwhelmed.
I've discovered nationalgeographic.com - specifically their photography section. New favorite website.
Today's photo of the day is particularly ironic, in that it comes at a time where I am researching places to go in Europe. After years of begging, I'm finally at the point of *probably* having convinced Ryan to go with me this year. I gave him some sturdy, logical reasons. We only have about two weeks for the trip, so I have to be selective in where we go. I definitely want to return to Italy (specifically, the Amalfi Coast and Sicily) and the Greek Isles. I've started doing some research, and the truth is, I am hopelessly over my head. It was so much easier signing up for a tour last time, when Tracy and I went with Nonni. However, I'm trying to do it on my own this time.
I'm completely overwhelmed.
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