Random Reviews #1

Movie - Nim's Island

My son and I went and watched Nim's Island this afternoon. He'd been begging to see it for the past few days. Since there had been no major behavioral issues, I agreed to take him. Overall, the movie gets a pretty good rating. This is out of "it sucked", "it was OK", "eh, good", "pretty good", and "freaking awesome!"

Anthony's been talking about it quite a bit and has a renewed fascination with aquatic life. I would have to compare it to Swiss Family Robinson, though without so many characters. There was an awesome tree house, rigged rope swings, and an assortment of helpful and entertaining animal friends that had my son's imagination working overtime. I could see in his eyes that he was plotting how to set up a rope swing from the top of the stairs to the kitchen.... Maybe this movie wasn't such a good idea... Just kidding.

It had an eh, good storyline and pretty good soundtrack. The scenery was freaking awesome, and did a pretty good job of keeping my four year old son's attention throughout. It addressed facing your fears and overcoming them. It emphasized that you should never give up, no matter how bleak the situation. These are all good values in my opinion and the movie presented these in a way that makes conversations about these values easy after you watch the movie.

And on a more mom-only note... the male lead.... oh wow! Gerard Butler... he also played in "P.S. I Love You" with Hillary Swank. I can definitely say that his presence in the movie makes it more than a worth while trip to the theaters! I may even spend money and buy the DVD when it comes out! For those of you that may read the JD Robb series of books, he would make a perfect Roarke!
Gluten-Free Meal recipe of the week:
This is by no means up for any "chef of the year" awards, but it was quick and easy. My son and I loved it. The whole thing took like 10 - 15 minutes to make, so it was relatively quick. FYI - definitely not GFCF, just GF.

1 to 1 1/2 boneless, skinless chicken breast(s)
a little bit of olive oil to use in pan with chicken and pot of water
a little bit of McCormick Italian Seasoning
a little bit of Mrs. Dash Tomato, Basil, and Garlic
about 1/2 tsp of minced garlic
Tinkyada GF Brown Rice Pasta Shells
Ragu Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese Sauce

1. Start water to boil... add a bit of olive oil 'cause that's what you do with pasta water
2. Spread a little bit of olive oil on the bottom of frying pan and start to heat
3. Cut chicken up into bite-sized pieces and put into frying pan
4. Season chicken with the spices and garlic (to taste, of course)
5. Once the water boils, pour enough pasta in pot to have more pasta than chicken :) I used enough for two people. Follow directions on bag for the time to cook.
6. Make sure you don't burn the chicken! Not all things are good blackened!
7. Once pasta's done cooking, drain and throw into pan with chicken. It mixed up all the spices, chicken, and pasta... made it pretty good!
8. After everything is all mixed up, add a bit of Ragu. Stir until evenly coated and sauce is heated.
9. Voila! Serve with salad and tomatoes. Fruit for dessert if you want to knock out a majority of the food groups for the meal. The kid gets a glass of water or milk and you can help yourself to a good glass of white or blush wine. It would probably be good with GF French Bread, but I'm not that good of a baker... yet ;)

What this will hopefully be...

I have no actual plans of a stringent format for this blog. I don't believe I will be using this as a forum to advertise my innermost thoughts and feelings. I also have no urges to publicly bash in words those I have no guts to bash in person, nor will I be describing the most mundane details of my life. There's a book by Margaret Mason with the phrase "No One Cares What You Had For Lunch" in the title. It's a book about blogging that I haven't read, but I agree with the title at least... to a point.

I'm a single mother with a full-time job, 2 cats and a really dumb, but loving and loyal dog. I think I will write about things that I find interesting during the course of a day. Trust me, I could go on and on with this topic, but it's not the only thing I'd like to share.

My son and I are on a gluten-free diet. I think I will sometimes write about what we had for lunch (or any other meal for that matter) if it's interesting enough to share with the internet-based gluten-free community I've grown to rely upon so much.

I love technology and I'm constantly looking for new things and information regarding anything geeky and techie... I think I will sometimes write about the stuff I find.

And trust me... I'll write about anything I think is important or interesting that may not fall under any of those categories!

I will warn you, however. Writing is something that I used to be good at. My current occupation has sucked any writing ability I once had out and replaced it with an overuse of adverbs and improperly punctuated run-on sentences that tend to make anything or anyone sound absolutely amazing. So, no grading my posts! :) Just kidding.

Please feel free to leave any comments at any time regarding any subject!

Who, what, and why...

Well, I'm making the leap into the digital age... about 5 years after it's almost lost it's "coolness". I don't know what makes me think I have anything to say or offer in a blog, but I'll give it a shot anyways. I should be doing my homework right now, but this is me procrastinating!

I think my genuine inspiration for this attempt at blogging would be the fact that I've learned so much from other people's blogs. I'm a working single mother of a very active almost-five year old boy and thanks to Google, I've discovered so much info regarding parenting and just plain living from others blogs. My son and I are also on a gluten-free diet and the internet has been my primary source of information and guidance. I also have an emerging interest in computers and technology, so it's safe to say that again, the internet and others blogs have been my classroom.

As I said, I'm not sure what I'll have to offer, but this is my feeble attempt to contribute what I can to the global community the internet has created!