a stone's throw

been watching a lot of this lately


If have no idea what is going on in that photo, then you are missing out on some high quality Olympic action! We're talking about CURLING folks. It's a crazy Olympic sport where teams of 4 take turns throwing (or pushing rather) large stones across the ice, while two teammates "sweep" out in front of the stone to help it "curl" in the direction they want, or to help it go straight. The point of the game is to get your stones into the target (aka "the house") at the other end of the ice, and to knock any of your opponent's stones out of the house. It may not seem as exciting as freestyle skiing or the luge, but it's one of our favorites. We like it because of the strategy and precision involved in play. And because, let's face it, it's kind of weird.

For some crazy reason, they don't seem to air it on regular NBC, only on CNBC or MSNBC, so if you don't have cable or satellite, you probably haven't seen any Olympic coverage of this fine pass-time. But don't you fret my friends. If you've got an itch to try out some curling for yourself, just hop on over to playcurling.com to give it a whirl! (You can play without having to create an account by clicking "Practice Mode"). We've enjoyed a few hours of online stone throwing fun ourselves, so now it's your turn! What are you waiting for?! Go on over and get your curl on! Your Olympic experience just won't be complete without it.

I don't like candy

But I do. But I don't. I like the taste, but I don't like the way my mouth feels after I eat it. Chocolate on the other hand.... Probably the perfect treat. Tastes good, and no weird "my teeth are falling out" feelings after. In fact, I think I'll go eat some right now to cure my sugary mouth syndrome. Or I suppose I could just brush my teeth, but that's not nearly as tasty.

baby spoon, I am so over you

I have always thought that baby food from a jar is just too runny. In the past I would mix the pureed food of choice with some baby cereal to make it thicker and easier to handle with a spoon. But today I had a mental breakthrough.

Here is how Sara enjoyed her baby food today.


She downed two and a half jars of it this way! A jar of green beans (which she normally refuses to eat), a jar of squash, and half a jar of applesauce. I tell ya folks, I'm converted. Baby food smoothies from here on out!

And yes, in case you are wondering, Sara does eat cut-up pieces of regular food also, but we got a whole bunch of baby food for FREE from WIC, so we might as well use it, right?

So what interesting methods have you employed to get your kids to eat their food?

At the Movies

Well, more like at home on my couch, but that's as close to "at the movies" as we get these days! RedBox and Netflix just make it too darn convenient to stay at home. Which is interesting considering the plot of my first movie review.


Despite mixed Rotten Tomatoes reviews (only scored a 40%), Rob and I actually quite enjoyed this film. It is a realistic science fiction movie about completely human-like "surrogate" robots that humans control with their thoughts and use to basically live their lives without fear of injury or death. Or in other, more eloquent words, "a high-tech surrogate phenomenon that allows people to purchase unflawed robotic versions of themselves – fit, good looking remotely controlled machines that ultimately assume their life roles – enabling people to experience life vicariously from the comfort and safety of their own homes." The main twist comes when somebody figures out a way to kill the human operator by killing the surrogate, putting 99% of the human population at risk of simultaneous termination.

The movie is kind of creepy to watch because you know all the "people" aren't real, and surrogates don't necessarily look like their human operators, so you never know who is behind the actions of the surrogates. (A fat, ugly, middle-aged man posing as a young beautiful blonde woman, for example). It's like fake MySpace or Facebook profiles come to life. As one RT critic put it, "SF chillers of the past that warned about dehumanization -- 'Invaders from Mars,' for example -- posited an outside threat; now, in a 21st-century world of plastic surgery and online avatars, the danger comes from within: the dehumanization is voluntary."

It's kind of a mixture of I, Robot and Minority Report, which are two movies we also like (and two of the few we actually own). If you're into the Sci-fi genre, you should definitely give this one a try.

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Ghost Town, another movie we watched and enjoyed recently, was much better than I expected it to be, and received a well-deserved 85% on the RT scale.


Think of it as a funny, or hilarious rather, rom-com version of The Sixth Sense. It had me laughing unexpectedly at every turn. Funny-man Ricky Gervais nails his role as an uninterested, antisocial dentist who suddenly finds himself able to see and communicate with the dead who need his help resolving thier unfinished business. Doesn't sound that funny, does it. But trust me, it is. The comic timing is spot on throughout the film. You should watch it. You will watch it. You'll watch it and you'll like it. And that's a promise. I also recommend watching the outtakes which are equally hilarious as the film itself.

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And there you have it. Two films, two completely different plots, both earning two-thumbs-up reviews from yours truly.

Go. Now. Watch them.