I'll "rah-rah" for my Charming's team (the Seattle Seahawks) or for my little brother's team (the Vikings, basically because I'm part Viking)...but other than that, I honestly could care less about The Super Bowl. It's a time to set out some munchies, perhaps a few footbal shaped cookies...and head to something else. And honestly, to me it's just another game played by grown-up little boys who get paid to stay in shape...if you are a football fan, my apologies as I don't want to set anyone off, but then again I feel that way about basically all sports that carry high priced contracts. I can handle the games at a stadium or at a hockey rink...ah, but that's a whole other topic of conversation...
So, after returning home from church, I rushed to dress and get a rack of pork ribs into the oven so that Charming would have something savory to chew on. I say "chew" because honestly, what man wants to just nibble on ribs? Oh no, they chew, chomp and suck the meat right off of the bone. It's not a very pretty sight, but it is the truth. Although I must say that the two times (yes, only two) that I have made ribs, they have fallen right off of the bone. Woohoo for me! Couple that with our favorite BBQ sauce (Sweet Lumpy's Original BBQ Sauce) and I have one very happy hubby. Anyway, I figured that these would bring delight to my wonderful hubby and would allow me to slink away to watch anything other than football this afternoon. After getting the ribs into their resting place for the next 2 1/2 hours, Grace and I headed off to run some errands and spend some Mommy & daughter time. (Rose elected to stay home and play PBSkids games on the computer) I love this time, especially if she's not yelling and screaming at me as we make our way through a store or two. And today, today was a wonderful time of just being silly and goofy as we made our way through WalMart...there were a few things that we had to get to complete the snacking table before kick-off time and Grace had her eye on some Valentine's Day goodies. So, as we made our way down several aisles and viewed some of the bakery's wares (Grace loves looking at all of the cakes on display) it occurred to me that although I had heard the rave reviews, I had never actually taken the time to watch Julie & Julia. *gasp!* Oh yes, I must admit that this lover of cooking and baking, who had grown-up watching Julia Child with my Momma, had yet to view this particular movie. At that point I decided that this was the perfect day to do just that...and had my fingers crossed that the RedBox at the front of the store had one solitary copy waiting for me to take home. Just in case I wasn't a fan of it, I didn't want to put out the money for my own copy just yet. And to my delight it did...have just one copy! The copy of Julie & Julia was placed into my purse. It would have to wait just a little bit longer...Grace wanted donuts from our favorite donut shop, DoughBoys Donuts. We went in...I tried to get our selection of goodies for everyone completed as quickly as possible and, of course, Grace had to look at every donut and evaluate if it was the one she wanted or if chocolate with chocolate icing and sprinkles was going to dominate the day. (the chocolate cake donut with chocolate icing and sprinkles won) When I got home I proceeded to get all of the other little goodies ready and out for snacking during the game. Then the girls got set-up with games on the computer and their Leapster...and Mommy proceeded to begin the tale of Julie & Julia. And immediately I became swept away into Meryl Streep's characterization of Julia Child. She captured Julia so well that I did not see Meryl, I only saw Julia. It was amazing to see her walking the streets of Paris...I found myself wishing that I could have just followed her as she did all of her shopping. The enjoyment she had for every ingredient made me laugh...mostly because it was a mirror of myself when I find some new ingredient or food, or come across some wonderful kitchen gadget that is not yet in my possession. Let me just stop right here and say if, for some reason or another, you have not seen this movie...by all means, rent it and be prepared to be amused. The writing and direction for it...brilliant. The acting...even more so. Even Charming (who ventured in after the game) found humor in it and ended up enjoying it. His favorite scene...the lobsters & the boiling pot. My favorite scene...do I have to pick just one? The determination of Julia as she masters chopping onions or the lobsters or the de-boning of the duck...I love them all. For those of you who do not know me personally, the de-boning of anything is a huge item for me...there is a mental issue that I have with anything with skin or bone. (Charming is blessed that I love him so much to deal with pork ribs) Oh, did I fail to mention that it took me about 5 1/2 hours to actually get through the movie? Never put it past a 3 year-old and a 5 year-old to thwart the idea of watching a movie from beginning to end without constant interruption...even when they are entertained with some of their favorite things. Never before has Grace pulled for my constant attention as she played her PBSkids games...or has Rose constantly attempted to use me as a human playground. By the time the Super Bowl was over, I was only about an hour into the movie and rather frustrated that the pause button was having to constantly be pushed. And now, my bedroom was the choice place of congregation for all of my little family. (although everyone but Charming was in there to begin with anyway) Grace was on the computer, Rose was still attempting to make a playground out of my bed and myself, and now Charming was joining the group to get on his laptop. So much for the "Me Time" that I was shooting for. Does that even exist once motherhood has come into play? Oh well, this is what family life is like...and at least my precious girls find humor in anything that explodes, splatters or that their Daddy & I laugh at. (even Rose found the lobster scene amusing) And I have been blessed with two little darlings who love to "help" me in the kitchen. (even though their help is usually quite a mess) And as the directives for attention from Grace and the goofiness of Rose continue, 8:30p crept upon us and the Pause button was hit once again for our bedtime rituals. And I began to wonder if I would ever finish getting through this movie...but I was still loving every minute of it and, therefore, I was not going to abandon ship! In the end, I truely feel that I had the better time of the day....and Julie reminded me of exactly what I am going through in this endeavour into the world of blogging...and I have been inspired to go even further and seek-out some of Julia Child's cookbooks to learn what I can of her techniques. I even found Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History right after I got the kiddles to bed. From which I learned an interesting tidbit: Sixteen baking sheets were stored vertically in slots next to the dishwasher. Who, other than Julia Child, would have 16 baking sheets in their kitchen?! I love this fact...for no particular reason, I love it. If you're a fan of Julie & Julia, then you'll probably love going through the Smithsonian's site as I did...all sorts of little tidbits to discover there!
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