Afternoon Delight

I know there is some connotation associated with the song of the same title as this blog post. I'm not implying anything other than a delightful afternoon.

I've mentioned before that String Bean has some foster grandparents. Neither my folks nor Mr. Bean's live nearby. At best, it is a 12 hour drive or a 7 hour flight for one or the other of our parents to make it. As you may imagine, we don't get a lot of visits from either set of String Bean's grandparents.

Well, Uncle John (foster grandpa) and "Aunt Connie (foster grandma) have a young adult son, who we refer to as Uncle Rob. Rob requested an afternoon with our String Bean and we settled on today as being the best day in our schedule to make it work.

Mr. Bean and I enjoyed a movie (Up) and dinner followed by ice cream. From the squeals we received when Uncle Rob dropped off String Bean, we knew she missed us. Aunt Connie and Uncle Rob took her to a local farm that had a pumpkins and a petting zoo. String Bean decorated Mr. Potato Head style a pirate pumpkin. She ate a lot of food and capped the evening with ice cream and the play land at McDonalds. What almost-two-year-old wouldn't LOVE that playdate?!

When all was said and done, we spent about $30 on our afternoon. If we'd had to pay for childcare (and if we had gone to the regular movie theater instead of the $1.75 a seat theater), we would have spent about $90 for the afternoon. Can't beat that deal.

Thanks, Rob and Connie!

Lifetime

We recently aquired a new HD TV (a hand-me-down from the in-laws). Upon setting it up, we discovered several new channels we did not have before! One of the honorable mentions is the Lifetime Movie Network (aka LMN).

Who can resist a lifetime movie? The titles alone will pull you in!

Hush
A Sister's Secret
Mother May I Sleep with Danger?
No Ordinary Baby
Cabin by the Lake
The Price of a Broken Heart
Pavement

Wow...wow. (Is it just me or do most of these titles sound like really bad novels?)

The great thing about a Lifetime movie is that you can fall asleep in the middle and when you wake up for the ending, you are right back there in the plot like you missed nothing.

Movies

Every mom knows that going to the movies takes an act of God. The last time I went to one was over Christmas to see Tale of Desperaux which I insisted on because I'd read the book. Poor Mr. Bean endured it. (The book was much better than the movie.)

It is just killing me to watch television and see ads for movies that I'd love to see. Here is a list of recent (and upcoming) movies that I'd love to go see:

Up

My Sister's Keeper

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Public Enemies

Julie and Julia (August 2009)

Time Traveller's Wife (August 2009)

One of these days we'll just have to bite the bullet and go out on a date night to see a movie!

Red Carpet Debut

The long-awaited Red Carpet event was this evening and String Bean loved every minute of it. If you missed the background on this, you can read it here. The paparazzi was out at the event and took these photos for your viewing pleasure!

Mr. Bean and String Bean pose before the screening since they were both dressed up!

String Bean runs down the red carpet!

And the Oscar goes to....String Bean for best supporting actress!! Not really. She lost to the other supporting actress in her film; however, several people commented after the event that she should have won. We commandeered this award from one of the (real) winners.

Our Movie Star

String Bean has been asked to star in a movie. Some students who work with Mr. Bean are working on their class film. Every class from seniors to freshmen write a short film, cast it, produce it, and screen it at the college. It is a big deal. The students rent limos for the stars and have them parade on the red carpet on opening night.

String Bean has been asked to play the part of a young child whose dad is telling her a bedtime story which is a flashback on his younger days. The students need a set and will be using String Bean's own bedroom. We have agreed to let the students rearrange furniture as long as they return things where they found it!

The original plot called for a crying baby. After tense negotiations, Mr. Bean got the producers to agree to a rewrite. String Bean will be able to use her own creative expression and act in the scene as she feels led based on the chemistry she has with her actor-dad. If that includes crying, so be it. However, if she's not feeling it, that's OK, too.

Salary negotiations and the technical riders are still in the works. String Bean has expressed interest in bananas, goldfish, corn chex and cookies in her dressing room. As far as salary goes, she has indicated she'd be happy if she were compensated by just getting to stay up late. Her agent (aka Mr. Bean) is working on her behalf to get the sweetest deal he can. Unfortunately, this is a low-budget film.

We start shooting in about two weeks.

Need Unique Christmas Ideas?

I have some hard to shop for people on my list this year. I love to get well thought out gifts for people--things I think they will love. Sometimes that person who has everything makes that difficult!

My co-blogger, Amy, is planning on making Christmas gifts this year. Not me. I'm not so crafty. Instead, I thought I'd share with you some of the things I'm considering getting some special someones in my life. Maybe it will inspire you as you start finish up your shopping.

For Her:

I think I've mentioned previously that I am having a love affair with Etsy. I found this adorable customized rubber address stamp, Funky Swirls, made by designer babyjewels. There are quite a few customized stamps available on Etsy. Just do a search and you'll come up with all sorts of ideas and some shop owners who will work with you to get your own designs in stamp form.



If I were finished having children, I would be tempted to purchase Mommy Cards. What a cute idea to leave a calling card for your family when you meet new moms at the park, at school, or at church. This company will also do Pet Cards, Allergy Cards, Grandparent Cards and more. There are also designs appropriate for Dad Cards.

For Him:
Sports equipment. My man is into football. Maybe yours is into ping pong. Either way, getting some replacement sports equipment for that raggedy stuff that's falling apart in the garage would be a welcomed gift. Say you are getting a football and you just aren't exactly sure which football is the right one (there are about a billion out there ranging in price from $10 to $90 or more), you can always go the route of a gift card to the Sporting Goods store. Or one of those handmade coupons you used to make as a kid inscribed with "Good for one __________ of your choice from Dick's Sporting Goods." Bonus: purchasing a new play toy for that macho male in your home may just promote wellness and fitness!

You know that movie (or trilogy *cough, cough*) that the guy in your life just loves and for the life of you, you can't find any logic as to why? Chances are it has recently come out with a collector's edition that he does not own, yet (or in the case of Mr. Bean any collectible from his favorite move will do). Amazon.com is a great place to look for the latest (and often times cheapest) movies and the old favorites that you can't find on the shelf at the store.

For Anyone:
I love iTunes. If someone on your list has an ipod, you can't go wrong with iTunes gift cards. They come in denominations of $15, $25, $50 and $100 through the Apple Store. At least you know they will love what they get!


I wasn't sure how to graphically represent this idea, so I made the image above instead. Have you considered getting an "experience" gift for someone? One of my best Christmas gifts ever was a swim with the dolphins adventure at Sealife Park in Hawaii. I will never forget that day and I have photos to prove I did it! Think about the within-driving-distance locations with extreme adventures. Think about the people you know or the friends-of-friends that you could call that favor in from. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing: flying in a private plane, deep-sea fishing, shadowing the local meteorologist, rock-climbing, scuba diving lessons, wine tasting at a vineyard, golf lessons...you get the idea.

Good luck with your shopping!