Juno

This is a very sweet movie. It's about a 16-year-old girl who gets pregnant and is mature enough to understand that she is not mature enough to raise a baby. I won't give it away, but she decides to give the baby up for adoption and finds a couple who seem like they would be perfect parents for the new little one. The story takes a surprising turn and not what I expected to happen. But, like I said, I won't give it away. The young actors in this film are quite good, as are the adults. I am not so sure I would be able to stay as rational as the parents of this girl if my daughter at age 16 came and told me that she was pregnant, but the parents in the film were great and very supportive through the whole thing. Good flick.

Luggage deal!

For years we have gone without a set of real luggage. We would just stuff our clothes and belongings in duffel bags or little carry-on type bags, the kind that comes free when you buy $35 worth of Lancome. Jon would just cram all of his stuff into a couple of backpacks. Things we didn't want wrinkled we would just hang on the clothes rack at the back of the van.

Every trip I always say we need to get real luggage, and complain what a pain it is to have to carry dozens of small bags and loose clothes on hangers into our hotel rooms. But after the trip is over, we always say we will get luggage later and never do.

Well, my friend Pam can sniff out a deal like nobody I know. All I have to say to her is I would like to find this or that for cheap and she will find it. When I was over at her house last week, I mentioned that I really need some decent luggage. At least a couple of suitcases to put our clothes in. A couple days later she called me up and asked how a set of 6 pieces of burgundy luggage on wheels for $8 sounded. I said she must be joking and she said nope, it was for real. Her two daughters-in law were having a garage sale and a family member of one of them was selling this luggage set they no longer wanted and let it go for $8. I told Pam of course I wanted it and so now I am the proud owner of a set of like-new luggage for 8 bucks. Now we just have to plan a vacation somewhere now.

It only took six months (snark)

After six long months, hubby finally finished rebuilding the engine in our son's car (pictured here). Jason's car broke down last February and since he was low on funds, Jon decided to repair it himself for him to save him the money of repairs or buying a new one. Well, his intentions were to get it done in a couple of weeks. Then a couple of weeks turned into a couple of months and then three months, four months, five months and six! All the while I didn't have a car to drive because Jon gave Jason his Impala to use in the meantime. So, all this time Jason has had a brand new car to drive, Jon took my van and I had nada. I had to wait for him to come home to go anywhere. This wasn't a big deal while I was having the gout attack and couldn't drive anyway, but now that that is over with I miss my wheels! So, this means that Jon gets his car back, I get my van back and can go out and see people when I want, make doctor appointments when I want without consulting people's schedules, and go out and spend money when I want...which is awesome.

Sears sold us a lemon washing machine

Remember the washing machine we bought that I wrote about here? Well, after three repair visits over a four week period, we turned the thing on two days ago thinking it was all finally fixed, but after doing two loads of laundry, the damn thing leaked water all over the laundry room floor. So it's going back and hopefully they won't try to sell it to some other poor suckers.

I wanted to send it back after the first time it didn't work and demand a new one. But Jon said to let them try to fix it. I wasn't happy about that idea because that's just like having a used one that has been tinkered with. I wanted a nice fresh new one. Well, now that is what I am getting...hopefully.

They called to say they are bringing us a new one and taking this piece of crap away and hopefully to a scrap heap because that is where it belongs. I do like the way it washes, and how it spins everything till it's all practically dry, but if it's not going to keep having problems, then I will just keep the old one.

Lucky we do have the old one here that still works so we have something to use. If I had to drag baskets of clothes back and forth to the laundrymat I would be really pissed. Especially since I don't have a car during the day since hubby hasn't finished with our son's car yet and he still has our other car in the city. (Since February!) If anything gets finished around here, I will be amazed.

"Why does Batman talk like the offspring of Clint Eastwood and a grizzly bear?"

That is a question many film-goers want to know. What's up with the voice?

The voice of Christian Bale's Batman is raspy and almost like a whispery growl. When I heard it first in the last Batman movie I nearly laughed out loud. This time I knew what to expect, but it still sounds rather silly to me.

Here is an interesting article to read about the voice of Batman: Bale's Batman voice too much?

All-in-all, this Batman flick, "The Dark Knight" was excellent, great acting especially by the late Heath Ledger who played Batman's nemesis, The Joker. This Batman was darker than all the rest, and there was an actual plot that could be followed. Despite the voice, Christian Bale's portrayal of Batman is the best to date.

UPDATE: After an anonymous commenter pointed this out, I did some research and found out that Batman's voice is produced by a voice modulator in the cowl of his Batsuit.

How the Batsuit works.
"The microphones in the ears are combined with special earpieces in the cowl that give Batman superior hearing in the field. The microphones can also be used to amplify Batman's voice and broadcast it through a discreet speaker in the suit. This is what gives Batman's voice that distinctive, disembodied and unearthly sound."

But it still sounds funny. Overly evil.

Batter Blaster

I found this great new product...pancake batter in a can and the pancakes turn out really good! I was a bit skeptical, but am a sucker for trying new things. But this is great. It's organic, low in fat, low in sodium and tastes delicious. And there are about 28 pancakes in each can.

August already!

This year has been going by incredibly fast, hasn't it? It seems that not that long ago we were welcoming in a new year and now it's two thirds gone by. Is it just me or does time seem to go by faster and faster with each year we age?

It's hot and humid out today. Typical summer August days. Makes me want to watch the film "A Long Hot Summer" or "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". Maybe I will drive over to the video store and see if they have those.

The picture above is of my favorite collection...House Mouse Designs. They are so cute.