Doughnut Queen!

1 Dec

Doughnut Making Queen!

In my family, it’s not Christmas time without doughnuts.  My dad is the doughnut maestro.  I remember him prepping the dough a couple of days ahead of time.  We used to wake up early on Christmas morning to do our gifts and family time— then– we would help fry and glaze a million batches of Cinnamon Rolls and Doughnuts for our friends family.  I would draw holly leaves and berries on the white gift boxes and my sister would do calligraphy for the boxes with the family’s name on it. All the while trying not to eat every doughnut and cinnamon roll that came off the assembly line.

Well, my dad has decided that after around 30 years of doughnut making, it’s time to pass the torch.  I inherited the coveted kitchen aide stand mixer with dough hook, and the precious doughnut dough recipe.  It’s top secret– NO ONE can have it and you won’t find the recipe here!  We had pals down for this weekend and I decided to try my hand at carrying on the tradition.  I made the dough yesterday and today I woke up early to get started on my cinnamon rolls.

I have to say they turned out DELICIOUS as always and taste just like my Dad’s.  HOORAY!  Now, I can continue this family Christmas tradition for my girls on Christmas morning!

 

First you gotta roll it out..

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Then you gotta put some butter and cinnamon on it…

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Then you gotta roll it up and cut the dough…

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Then you gotta let ’em rise  in a very low heat oven …

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Heat the oil!

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Fry one side to a golden brown…

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Fry the other side to a golden brown…

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Glaze while they are still warm..

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Let ’em drip dry  (and no that is not a bite taken out of the one on the right.. had to make sure they were cooking thoroughly.. ok maybe a small bite hee hee)

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And the batch is done!!! Hooray for my first solo round of doughnut making!!!

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Mama and Papa Movie Review: Breaking Dawn Part 2

23 Nov

Star Rating: 4 stars
(for Star Rating key: https://madtimemama.wordpress.com/mama-and-papa-movie-reviews/)

Ok ya’ll.  I saw it.  That’s right.  The Twilight Saga is complete.  Dunzo.  If you are a Twilight fan, most likely you are going to leave the movie completely satisfied — yes, even with the TWIST ending (which for the sake of anyone who has not seen it, I WILL NOT be discussing specifically what happens in the TWIST ending… only because I know some of my closest pals have not seen it and I personally would have HATED if someone told me before I saw it the first time).

Here are a few short points of what I liked and didn’t like:

  • Michael Sheen COMPLETELY makes this movie for me.  He is awesome. So quirky and so evil. PERFECT for Aro.  He’s one of my favorite actors.  I loved him in the Underworld franchise and I love him in this.  My only complaint is that I wish we could have seen more of him throughout the last couple of films. He’s so cool.

  • The little girl who plays Renesmee is GORGEOUS.  Seriously.  She’s so beautiful.  She did a wonderful acting job.  Her name is Mackenzie Foy.

  • However, in my opinion, you could totally tell that they were using CGI on the baby version of Renesmee.

  • Sure, in the pic above it looks like a pretty little baby. At times though, the baby kind of looked like Chucky the doll.  Which maybe that’s the way the director intended… however, it didn’t have a “good creepy” kind of effect on me.   Eeesh. I have a deep hatred for Chucky.  Gave me nightmares for YEARS.  Made me never want to own a doll.
  • Kstew will obviously not win an Oscar for her role as Bella. However, this now being the finale, I can honestly say that she grew and got better with each film.  She looks good as a vampire and I don’t think she bit her lip the entire time. Proud of you Kstew.

  • Besides the creepy toddler, I was a little nervous going in that the “shield” Bella produces was going to suck… but I was really happy with the way they portrayed it.  Very much the way I envisioned it from the book. With all this said, I will say the twist will make you CRINGE and say “WHHHHHAAAATT!?!?!?” However,  don’t pass judgement and forge on through the film… it will be SO worth it in the end.  I actually like THIS ending better than the original in the book.  For me the book kinda petered out in the end.  This little twist idea, whoever thought it up, was a good idea.  That guy/girl needs a bonus.  Makes the movie end — the FRANCHISE end — PERFECTLY in my opinion.

Obviously if you don’t like the Twilight books/movies, you aren’t going to like this movie.  However, I truly feel if you enjoyed the books, you will be completely and utterly satisfied with the movie version.

Quote from Papa:  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH there ain’t NO WAY Papa would willingly watch this movie.  Ever.

EVER.
Quote from Mama:  “It could have been the pregnancy hormones talking, but I totally got choked up in parts of this movie. True story.”

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American Music Awards 2012 Fashion Review!

20 Nov

I know you’ve been waiting for this.  You knew it was coming.  Here it is… my second fashion review as I sit here in my tank top and stretchy pants with my preggo belly exposed and anklet socks.  I’m the next big thing in fashion… really.

Once again, I was underwhelmed by the fashion at the American Music Awards (even more so at the performances… YIKES!).  It is what it is.  There are good years, there are bad years. This was a HORRIBLE year.

 
The WORST:

5) Gwen Stefani

I’m a little annoyed by this outfit.  Mostly I’m annoyed because Gwennie is a fashion POWERHOUSE.  I just expect more from her.  She is one of the people I watch for on the red carpet and I feel like this outfit was a last minute decision on her part because she didn’t know what she wanted to do… “All my stuff is at the cleaners… oh! the limo’s almost here. Good thing I have a jacket to wear.”   I don’t know, I’m just annoyed.  But, she’s Gwen Stefani.  She can do whatever she wants.  Thankfully, so can I #5.

4) Heidi Klum

Eh, It’s a nice color choice for her– what is the color?  Vomit sauce?  I like the dress– I really do.  I actually would have preferred a bolder color (dark green, or even a burgundy) with this dress accenting all the beautiful detail.  The one thing that I would have changed is the stupid slit.  I’d like to make a plea directly to Heidi right now:   HEIDI, we get it.  You’re newly single and ready to mingle. You have nice legs and knees.  Quit cutting your beautiful dresses just to get a dude.  Aren’t you already dating your bodyguard fella? See?  You don’t need that slit honey.
3) Ke$ha

I’ll admit it.  I’m not a fan.  BUT, she sometimes makes interesting fashion choices.  What’s with people wearing doily dresses?  Remember Lena Dunham from the Emmy’s? Lace doily on a sad pony?  Yea.  This dress kind of reminds me of that.  Except it looks like a awkward tablecloth (awkward=Ke$ha and tablecloth=the dress).

2)  Jennifer Morrison

I typically like black dresses. They stand out, they are fun to accent.  For me, there are several things wrong with this dress:

1) Needs to be hemmed.  It’s too long for any kind of dramatic effect.
2) In fact, it looks untailored completely.  Even where the fabric is pulled across at her waist.  Its not very flattering.
3)  I actually like the shoulder piece concept, but on this dress it looks a little displaced and bizarre. Jennifer has awesome arms and I would have liked for her to show them off.

I like you Jennifer.  But you are still #2.

1) Ahhhhhh the coveted #1 spot.  That goes to none other than Jordin Sparks.

NO.

 

 

 

 

WTF!!!!

I only have two people on this portion.
2) Ginnifer Goodwin

Are you intentionally trying to make yourself look like an elf from 1960? Cuz it’s working.

1)  Kerry Washington

You keep on disappointing me.  The hair is better.  But still not up to the FABULOUS hairstyles that you have displayed on Scandal.   Question for you, do you actually think this sunshine moo-moo looks good?

 

 

 

Eh… The Ok dresses.

5)  Jenny McCarthy

I have a love hate relationship with this dress.  It almost went into the WTF file. BUT, somehow, I think she pulls it off.  HOWEVER, I hate her hair.  It’s the same thing that Pink and Miley have been doing lately. Ugly in my opinion.

4) Taylor Swift

Taylor looks nice.  I like her in this dress. It’s a nice switch up from her 1950s housewife dresses.  This is a little more daring and sexier.  I can appreciate her wanting to branch out.  She pulls this off nicely and classy in my opinion.  However, her live performances are less to be desired.

3) Carly Rae Jepson

I don’t like this chick’s music.  But I do think she looks very nicely put together.  I do think she could have used some color on her face a little more… and some singing lessons…

2) Kelly Rowland

I have a real soft spot for Destiny’s Child.  I love all of them… Beyonce, Michelle, Kelly… They are three seriously talented ladies.  Though sometimes they have a hit or miss fashion sense (Bey’s mom designs most of their clothes and they are great in some respects .. and … EEEEESH in others).  However,  here we have Kelly Rowland and she is exquisite in this little ditty.  I love the design, the color and I love her hair.  From head to toe, I love the look.  No improvement needed.

1) Carrie Underwood

Anybody who knows me knows that I LOVE pink.  Any shade of pink really.  Throw some sequins on there and I love it even more.  Carrie is a constant red carpet hottie and I love most of her fashion choices.  I especially love her hair.  I want to have her hairstylist.

As an added bonus on this post, here’s a doubletake.  Nicki Minaj is wearing the same dress that Julie Bowen wore to the Emmy’s.  I think the dress looks great on both.  It’s nice to have Nicki look well put together for once.  I don’t like her lipstick choice though.

                         

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Babies, Toddlers and their sicknesses.

15 Nov

It’s true.  NOTHING is worse than a sick baby.  So far we are 13 months into my motherhood adventure.  My daughter has had two bad bouts of sicknesses.

The first was a stomach flu (a.k.a. Poop Apocalypse of 2012) and it was pretty bad.  SO sad to watch your babe throw up and then look at you as if you did it to them.  Her symptoms started in the middle of the night when she was around 8 months old. It was the scariest moment so far.  I didn’t know what to do — I literally sat in the nursery and cried with her saying “I don’t know what to do” over and over at 3 in the morning.  I messaged my folks to ask my mom to call me as soon as she woke up.  My husband offered to hold her while I cleaned up her crib. This was a nice gesture but then she threw up on him in our bed.  It was a mess that went every where.  I was a wreck and my poor baby just cried.  Alas, life went on.  After several days of  a sick baby, she got back to herself.  Unfortunately, my husband and I succumbed to the poop apocalypse the very next day. I won’t even continue with the rest of this story.  All I have to say is if I never have to go through that again, I will die a happy lady.

The second and most recent experience in the battle of toddler illnesses (which we are presently on the tail end of), is the croup.  To be honest, THIS SUCKED far worse than the stomach flu. My girl was so miserable and uncomfortable for what seemed like FOREVER.  It started out like a little runny nose and then by the time night fell on the first night, her nose was like a faucet and she was running a fever of 102.8.  (Sidenote: Lucky us, our furnace went out on the first night and it got cold in our house– not too bad the first night, but the second night was freezing.  However, we had prepared in the event we would have any kind of issues from Sandy and got a kerosene heater.  That rocked.  It took two days to get the part and the dude to fix it. We are now cozy with our fixed furnace. However, having this happen at the same time as my baby feeling so poorly was NOT fun.)  Shortly after her fever started,  the congestion started in and she started to cough. After that, she became hoarse, she was wheezing and was so irritable. After 48 hours of no sleep and a baby who was so sick she could barely cry,  she was on her way to recovery. The fever went away, the nose was a runny faucet for  many days after but started to get less and less.   We were told that the cough and congestion would linger a little longer after the other symptoms went away.  The doc was right.  It’s almost a full week after her symptoms first started and her cough remains. I actually started comparing her cough to that of a 50 yr old smoker. lol It was and STILL is awful. For the most part, my babe is getting back to normal.  Nighttime is a little difficult, but other than that she continues to get better and better.  We took her into the doctor, and she gave a prescription for steroids.  That helped with the inflammation in my babe’s throat but that’s all the medicine she received (it’s really all the doc could do for her since it’s a viral infection).  Take note that anytime someone takes steroids (depending on the kind you get) it will suppress your immune system the entire time you are taking it and makes you vulnerable to other illnesses.  Be careful coming in contact with any other peeps who might be sick.

The common theme of remedy for either one of these illnesses, whether it be a stomach bug or the croup, is to hydrate.  Every time I talked to the doctor/nurse, one of the first things they say is get some pedialyte.  I keep it on hand — the drink and popsicles –  in event of future sicknesses.  It sucks dragging your baby out when they are sick ANYWHERE just because you aren’t prepared. I’ve kicked myself several times.  Luckily, I had a wonderful pal go down to the drugstore to get me some during the Poop Apocalypse of 2012 because I was NOT prepared. Some kiddos hate the taste of pedialyte.  My doctor gave me several samples of flavors for my kiddo to try and we found one she liked.  If your kid doesn’t like pedialyte, just make sure he/she drinks lots of fluids or even some of those fruit/fruit pouches.  Lots of hydration in fruit.  I was told if the kid is vomiting to give pedialyte or water… stop milk/formula.  (and boy were they right… eesh… what a mess!)

As soon as the fall season approached, my friends kiddos (myself included) were all getting hit with different kinds of sicknesses.. ’tis the season, right?  From colds to Pink Eye to HFM and the Croup, germs were spreading like wildfires and kids were perfect vessels to carry them.   Some docs say that generally 24 hours after the fever breaks the kid is not contagious anymore.  However, other docs say if the kiddo still has a cough, he/she is still contagious.  Both make sense.  Obviously if you are dripping snot everywhere and coughing up a lung still (like my kid was) regardless of fever, germs are going to spread.  Mamas use your best judgement. After all, you know best! After these two illnesses, I’d be lying if I wasn’t a little paranoid about germs (something I’ve never been paranoid about before becoming a mom). As a rule of thumb for determining when my kid is well, I’ll probably build a buffer of a couple of days after symptoms are gone between my sick kiddo or other sick peeps before normal activity resumes. I don’t want to pass the croup on to ANYONE.  UGH, it’s awful.  This will probably become even increasingly obsessive after my next kiddo arrives in December.  Hooray for germ paranoia!  Here is a great website my Dad sent to me regarding some of the most common toddler illnesses and one about the croup and how to prevent (as much as you can… with toddlers it seems like a hopeless cause!):

 

Common toddlers illnesses

The Croup

**Disclaimer** What do I know about health/medicine?  Not much of anything.  I only know what I have been told and experienced myself. Always consult a medical professional (that’s not me folks!) when you have an actual medical problem. These are just recent experiences that we had the pleasure of going through. Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. It’s a blog…   And hey! It’s my BLOG, I write what I want YO!

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10 things I’ve learned in my first year as a Mama

5 Nov

**Disclaimer**  These are just things I’ve learned in my first year with my first born. I’m staring down two more months of being a mom of one kiddo … then I will have two. Having this on the horizon makes me realize more than ever that EVERY baby is different. Some of these suggestions will work for you, some or all may not (Some of my own suggestions may not even work for my second babe, HA!).  I’m a firm believer in doing what works best for you and your family and most importantly your little bundle of love. This list is in no particular order.  Enjoy!

 

1) Don’t panic.  You will worry about everything and most likely, you will overreact.  It’s all good and it’s a learning process.  Every baby is different.  With that said, I’m a worry wart and have a tendency to freak out a lot. It is what it is folks. I’m a Mama.  Nothing is more important than the welfare of my kiddo and family.

 
2)  I keep these in my diaper bag at all times:

Binkies (if possible, have the attached clip with it — those are awesome!)
onesies/pants/socks (in case of blowouts and unexplained/strange needs to change the baby for whatever reason)
diapers and wipes (of course)
snack bags for older babies (cheerios, mums, graham crackers, or goldfish)  I prefer graham crackers or mums only because they can hold on to them a lot easier and they don’t waste as many. but every baby’s different.
bottle with pre made formula (at least that was for me.. I breastfed and used formula.  However, by three months I had switched to formula completely.)
a couple of toys
bottle of water

 
3) When trying the sippy cup, be sure to put something the baby will like in the cup.  I had used water for the longest time and my kiddo wasn’t as into the sippy cup as I was hoping.  I finally switched to watered down apple juice and now milk and she is now using the sippy cup like a champ!  On this note, don’t be surprised if you go through several different kinds of sippy cups.  My gal went through many to find the one that made sense to her and she is a genius!  heh

 
4) Talk and read a lot to your kiddo.  Get some books with the finger puppets built in.  My kid can’t get enough of them.  LOVES any kind of books, but those are seriously her fave. They pick up tones and inflections so QUICKLY.  Talk and read all the time to them!

 
5) Keep Pedialyte (either frozen pops/drink or BOTH!) on hand at all times.  It has a great shelf life and will keep for a while if unopened.  Most of the time if the baby gets sick, the first thing the doc will ask is if the baby has a fever.  The second thing regardless of fever or not will most likely say “give him/her pedialyte.”  Some babies will have a hard time taking it.  Truth be told it tastes like dirt, but better to have than not. I usually just put it in a bottle and continuously attempt to give it to her. Eventually she will get enough after sips and sips and sips.  Stock up now because it will SUCK to have to take your sick baby out and about just to get some pedialyte.

 
6) Schedules are a great thing.  This is the one thing that I believe is good for every baby.  Let the baby set his/her own schedule, but try to stick with it.  Yes, every schedule is subject to change multiple times as they get older.  However, the more you stick to a schedule, I believe the better off the kiddo will be…. not to mention the parents as well!  From feeding time/snack time, bottle times, nap times, bed time … schedules rock. We are a very schedule dependent family. At least with our first kiddo, she does very well with a schedule. We’ll see about the second… duh duh duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

 
7) Some parents are into co-sleeping with their babes, some parents are into keeping the kiddos crib in the same room as theirs, and some put their babes in the crib in the baby’s own room from the first night they go home from the hospital.  Gotta do what’s good for you and your baby.. have I said that enough? Personally, I had a bassinet beside my bed for the first four months.  Then, I moved the baby over to her own room in her very own crib.  YES.  The first night I did it I checked on her every hour on the dot and it scared me to death to be more than a foot away from my kid during the night.  However, my babe sleeps great (She’s really a freak of nature.  She appreciates sleep).  I sleep great.  For us, it’s best that we both have our own space and that makes life good.  I hope to ship my next kid off to her own crib as soon as I can.

 
8)  I keep a couple of blankets in the back of my car as a padding for a makeshift changing table.  I probably use the back of my car more than I use my pack n play changing table or nursery.  I swear riding in the car really helps her bodily functions.  HA!  Also it is good to have blankets on hand — no telling what they might come in handy for.

 
9) Immunizations.  I don’t do any alternate schedule etc, though I have pals that do (again, do what you feel is best..I know I’m beating a dead horse..).  However, I found that getting my doc to administer tylenol prior to the actual shots helped make the rest of the day go smoother for my babe. She never had any issues with any immunizations.  Her legs were tender, but she never had any reactions.

 
10) Breastfeeding. Ah yes, breastfeeding.  I never knew how scrutinized one action could be until the subject of breastfeeding came up. Holy cow people.  There are ridiculous amounts of commercials about breastfeeding in this area where I live too. They kind of shove it down our throats here. Kind of like the political commercials at the moment. I don’t like ANYTHING forced upon me.  Bah.  I chose (key term here..chose) to breastfeed.  Honestly, I got annoyed with it after the third month. Yea, it was a bonding moment for me and my babe at first and I was proud I was able to do it. Soon it became an annoyance. I wasn’t producing enough, my kid was grumpy because she was hungry and we kept giving thrush back and forth to each other and I had a painful bout of mastitis. It was hard and I was fed up with it. I can appreciate anyone who decides to breastfeed for however long you see fit– it is great for the kiddo. However, I’ve seen some hateful words spoken in regards to people who give up breastfeeding (to me specifically and others) and those who decide not to breastfeed at all.  Do what’s best for you. Don’t listen to any breastfeeding mafia yahoos or formula mafia pushers who judge you for the decisions you make.  You’re the Mama.  You make the decisions. Good for you if you can and good for you if you decide not to.  Either way, your kid is going to be fine.  Just because you do or don’t breastfeed doesn’t mean the kid is going to turn into a troll afterwards.  Seriously.  I mean it. Your kid will be JUST fine whichever route you take.  And YOU will be happy knowing you made the best decision for your family.

 
So, what’s the moral of this post?  Mamas, do what you feel is best.  This is only the beginning of a lifetime of decisions you will make…. scary? fun? It’s all a part of the adventure.

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Mama and Papa Movie Review: Chernobyl Diaries

28 Oct

Star Rating:  2 stars

(for Star Rating key: https://madtimemama.wordpress.com/mama-and-papa-movie-reviews/)

Eesh.  Ok. So, I for one, LOVE scary movies.  Yes, I have a hard time watching scary parts and I close my eyes in some spots.  However, I just love the thrill of a good scary movie whether it be zombies, ghosts, psychopaths, exorcisms or in this case radiation mutated human beings. This movie however was BORING.  COMPLETELY BORING.  There were parts that had good ideas and even made me cringe.  However,  nothing to really push it over the threshold into actually being a good scary movie.  It centers around a group of college age peeps who go to explore the remains of the Chernobyl disaster.  Without even seeing the movie, we can gather from past experiences with these types of movies that:

1) Of course, not everything is going to go as planned.

2) People will go missing, and they will perish in a horrible, gooey sort of way.

3) Anything having to do with radiation immediately makes you think of slimy mutated HUGE fore-headed alien-like gap-toothed creatures.  **

4) There can be only one survivor. Which lucky soul will it be?

Now, from the get-go, this movie was BORING. BORING.  BORING.  Here’s why:

1) Takes too long for ANYHING to even remotely happen to get the story going.

2) Why do people make obvious bad choices in horror movies?  Seriously, it’s like they base the characters on the dumbest people on the planet.  God bless ‘em.  Alas, that’s why they make good stories (sometimes).  It would require more effort to write the plot points if the characters made SMART choices, I guess.

3) The dialogue was AWFUL.

4) The “secret” was way predictable.  ** see #3 above.

5) Though they hinted at the “secret” all during the movie, and showed shadowy figures lurking in the darkness, they never ever really showed what was there.  Just swift movement and small shots of the actual creatures.  I love the element of the “unknown.”  However, I also like to see the creatures once the secret has been explained.  It’s like they weren’t very interested in it either.  Meh.

I have been craving a good scary movie for quite some time.  After Paranormal Activty 3’s disappointing show, I needed this for the Halloween season.  Unfortunately, it did nothing for me.  Have the days of the Horror genre gone the way of the Dodo? I guess I should just stick to the classics around Halloween time.

A quote from my husband: “In Russia, even the bears look Russian.”

A quote from me:  “Jesse McCartney is one of the actors in this flick.  That should have tipped me off before I even watched it.  You remember him right?  He’s the Justin Bieber prior to the Justin Bieber craze. And he sucks. Big time. Also, blonde hair is much better for your skin tone, Jesse.”

 

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Emmy’s 2012 Fashion Review!

25 Sep

My first fashion review. I’ll be the first to say that I don’t know ANYTHING  about fashion.  In fact, (especially these days) I pretty much wear a comfy tank, comfy pants and my birks for any occasion.   So what gives me the right to completely bare my unintelligent fashion soul on the internet?   Because I can folks, because I can.  Keep in mind that the dresses this year looked ABSOLUTELY awful. The colors were ALL wrong, the cuts made toothpicks look like wonka oompaloompas and don’t even get me started on Ashely Judd’s hair… Yikes.  Really and truly all the dresses sucked, but there were some that were “ok” which are listed as my best dressed.

**copyright claim** all photos are courtesy of just about every single entertainment website on the internet.

My top five WORST dressed at the 2012 Emmys are:

5.  Heidi Klum
Yes. Heidi has an amazing body. BUT, for someone who is all into fashion, she is trying WAY too hard to appear younger.  She looks YOUNG, she looks FRESH, she doesn’t need a tacky sea foam, high slit dress to prove it.  Start being a little more classy Heidi. Find a better cut because I expect better from you!

4.   January Jones
Remember when Gwyneth Paltrow got all goth and went to the Academy Awards several years ago?  Yea.  Total fashion stupidity.  January, quit consulting Gwynnie, get with it or don’t show up.

3.  Elizabeth Moss
Just no.  NO. NO. NO.  As my opera professor would say “Floral prints are distracting.  Wear them and fail.”   Liz, you TOTALLY crashed and burned.  Also, is your hair naturally blonde?  No offense, but I think you would look really nice as a dark headed lady. I don’t watch your show and I know nothing about your acting talent… but that dress tells me a lot about your willingness to say yes to people when you should have said NO! Feel the power of SAYING NO!!!!

2.   Julianna Margulies

W.  T.  F  JULIANNA!  Seriously, what is up with these floral prints?  It looks like a horrible shower curtain from 1972.  So ugly.  AND POCKETS?  SERIOUSLY?  POCKETS?  Also, not that I particularly care because I’m sure I have a farmer’s tan on my ankles from my socks.. but we totally see your tan line!!  You are SUCH a bold lady, with a STRIKING face… you do SO SO well in bold, dark colors.  Next time, DO NOT disappoint me.

1.  Lena Dunham
Lena, I don’t even know who you are. Please don’t ever wear something like this again.  It looks like the most horrible bridesmaid dress ever known to man. Except it looks like a blue lace doily on a sad pony.

My top five forgettable (not bad, but nothing spectacular) are:  

5.  Christina Hendricks
Ok .. so you have big boobs.  I get it.  As a lady who is extremely well endowed herself, I can honestly say that you have overexposed your assets.  Can we see something different?  Impress me PLEASE. You are being overshadowed by your boobs. The color of your dress sucks. You’re a pretty gal, and yes luscious boobies.  Your dresses are becoming….. nothing in the fashion history books.

4.  Claire Danes
This cut looks good on NO ONE.  Not a toothpick, not a full figured gal and certainly not a 2nd trimester preggo gal even though you still look like a toothpick..  NO one can save this style of a dress.  I’m not a fan of the mustard yellow either against your platinum locks either.  Washes you out completely.  Had you had a darker shade of blonde, the color might .. *MIGHT* have worked. But as is, no way.

3.  Zooey Deschanel
This is a mess.  Just a total mess.  I wish it had been just a shade darker with the fabric color. Also, did Edward Scissorhands cut this dress up?  Just saying.

2.  Mayim Bialik
Eesh. I don’t  like the cut or style at all for her.  She’s not 70.  Also, I’m not a fan of the drape fabric.  I like the color.. just not the fabric, cut or style.  You can do much, MUCH better Mayim.  On an aside, your hair looks gorgeous.

1.  Kerry Washington
You. Are. A. Pretty. Girl.  Did you forget to stop by hair and makeup?  You almost look like a lush that threw on a sparkly dress. Is that too harsh?  Well,  I guess it’s just my disappointment. I absolutely LOVE you in Scandal and I was really hoping to have that fabulous hairdo you have on the show and some beautiful color on your dress.  That color just ain’t it for you darlin.  Totally forgettable.

My top five for BEST dressed:

5. Julie Bowen
GORGEOUS cut and fit.  But the color is wrong.  You look a little washed out.  Your hair would have looked nice had it had some soft flowing curls, but it just looks like stringy rat hair. I think you can do much better!  Also, put some color on your lips… I can’t see you Julie!  You are such a pretty lady!  Come back to us!

4.  Jessica Lange
Madame Lange.  You are one of THE MOST amazing actresses. You are absolutely stunning in just about ANYTHING.  I truly think you could wear a paper bag and you would rock it like no tomorrow.  Other than the fact I am not a fan of this coral color for myself, you pull it off quite nicely.  I do think the dress could have been better fitted to you.. but you still owned the red carpet like the sexy minx that you are.  Oh, and I dig the sunglasses.  You are a SUCH a classy broad! I ❤ you and CANNOT — ABSOLUTELY CANNOT wait until the American Horror Story premiere! OMG! I cannnnnnnot wait!

3. Ginnifer Goodwin

I like this little ditty. And it looks cute against your pixie cut.  Again, not a fan of that coral color. BUT it’s a great cut, fit and style for you Ginnifer!  Bravo!

2. Kelly Osbourne
I have a soft spot for Kelly.  She used to be this kid who said “she was a chunky girl.”  Being a quite chunky girl myself, I am SO proud of her for getting healthy and looking fabulous!  I think she’s been amazing with her style and the confidence she exudes these days.  I also love how playful she is with her hair.  You are stunning Kelly!  Love the dress, love the hair, love the lipstick– love it all!

1.  Padma Lakshmi
Just about the ONLY dress that doesn’t need any change whatsoever.  Lovely cut, wonderful color against her skin, nice and natural flowing hair.  A+ Padma.

Again, what do I know about dresses and fashion?  Nada.. but that’s what makes it so fun! I’m a celebrity enthusiast and I just can’t help myself! Also, I intentionally left Sofia Vergara off.  She’s gorgeous yes and part of it is out of envy and jealousy … but I am SO ANNOYED by her.  WAY.  OVEREXPOSED.  Like Lady Gaga OVEREXPOSED. I didn’t like her dress or the color.  Her hair looked nice. But that’s about it. The End.

(Yea… I’m totally jealous of Sofia Vergara…. at least I can admit it)

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Fall Season Premiere Week!!! It’s HERE! It’s HERE!

24 Sep

FINALLY!  My favorite time of year!  The Fall season .. the smell of pumpkin spice, the changing of leaves and the return and beginning of some AWESOME SHOWS!!!!  I am so excited for this new season of shows!!!!  YAY!! If you have not already set your DVRS, here’s a list of some of the shows I’ll be recording and keeping up with! I’m so so excited!

On ABC

1. Once Upon A Time 

 

2.  Revenge

 

3.  Nashville  

 

4.  The Neighbors 

 

5.  666 Park Avenue

 

6.  Last Resort 

 

7.  Dancing with the Stars

 

8.  Castle 

 

9.  Scandal  

 

On NBC

1.  Animal Practice

 

2.  Grimm

 

3.  Guys WIth Kids

 

4.  Law and Order:  SVU

 

5.  Revolution

 

6.  Up All Night

 

On CBS

1. Elementary  

 

2.  Made in Jersey

 

3.  The Mentalist 

 

.  NCIS 

 

5.  NCIS: Los Angeles 

 

6.  Person of Interest 

 

On FX 

1. American Horror Story 

 

2.  Sons of Anarchy 

 

On FOX 

1.  Touch  

 

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Mama and Papa Movie Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

22 Sep

Star Rating:  3 stars
(for Star Rating key: https://madtimemama.wordpress.com/mama-and-papa-movie-reviews/)

 
So, I have sat and thought about this movie some before writing this review.  I have to say, I REALLY liked it.  I’m a big pushover for any kind of “period” piece even if it is in a fairytale world.  This satisfied my craving for a period piece AND fairytale in one full swoop.

 
If you read our Prometheus review, you will notice that we were supremely disappointed in Charlize Theron’s performance in that movie.  THIS movie COMPLETELY makes up for her shoddy and worthless performance in one of our favorite collection of sci-fi stories.   She really is a great actress.  Not because she has an Oscar on her mantle (that really means jack-crap), but because she can actually put herself in a situation and can be that character and make it believable.

Ms. Theron was evil.  Pure and raw EVIL.  Like the de-VIL.  Her version of the evil queen was perfectly poised with beauty, and oddly enough, grace.  Every action was deliberate, every word was meaningful and the tone of her voice saturated the screen as if she was one of the “mean girls” from my high school days.  Seriously, and I have to admit this.  Her character reminds me of one girl in particular who was one of the prettiest girls in my class, but yet she was one of the most evil people I had ever come in contact with.  It’s like Charlize shadowed my classmate’s 17 year old self and created the evil queen solely based on **her.

(**disclaimer*  I have no idea if this gal is still as evil and ugly on the inside as she was in high school. I’m certainly not the same person I was 15 years ago, and I would expect after having kids and realizing there is more to life than just popularity she would be a different person.  I hope she is.  It would be a shame to waste such a pretty face with an ugly demeanor. I hear she is different now. It seems that she is.  Hooray!  Cuz, she was one of the worst bullies EVER. Ever. Ever.)

Chris Hemsworth …. SUPER yummy.  He really didn’t have to do anything except be on the screen and say “if I refuse” in his sexy Australian accent.  Seriously, such a delicious specimen. My husband says, “he’s tough.”  I agree.  He was also not perfect.  He was human and had problems. He wasn’t the “Prince Charming” like they would typically display in these types of movies.


We liked the dwarves. ESPECIALLY Ian McShane.  HE IS awesome. If you have ever seen the series Deadwood, then you KNOW his brilliance in the acting medium. He’s so awesome.  I could watch him any day of the week.

The one HUGE flaw in this movie was Kristen Stewart. I think anyone who knows who she is would agree.  Now, I don’t think she RUINED the movie.  I just think she doesn’t have the depth or range to play alongside Charlize and Chris.  It was like putting a 1st grader in Metropolitan Opera performance to sing alongside Kathleen Battle. Although, I’m pretty convinced a 1st grader would do a better job than K-Stew in this movie.

Quote from my husband:  “This movie puts regular dwarves out of business.”

Quote from me:  “You know, the director of this film is the one that K-Stew had an affair with.  I heard a rumor that his wife told the director he is NOT allowed to have K-Stew back as Snow White in the upcoming sequel.  HALLELUJAH.  Lets hope that’s true!”

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Mama and Papa Movie Review: Prometheus

16 Sep

Star Rating:  4 stars

(for Star Rating key: https://madtimemama.wordpress.com/mama-and-papa-movie-reviews/)

 

Oh, Prometheus. Prometheus.  You gave us fire once and great hope.  How’s the liver?  Where to begin?  I had high hopes for this movie.  I must admit, my husband and I were giddy to watch this movie after we found out about its production.  We were “giddy as school girls,” to paraphrase Allison Doody.  Doody, hehe.  It was that kind of excitement.  (We share the same enthusiasm about The Avengers . . . but that’s a whole other post for another day).  We are avid Alien franchise fans as well as being in the Ridley Scott fan club.  He’s a master at his craft.

 

We have so many questions, but first let us talk about what we did like. It wasn’t an epic fail, but it wasn’t a home run either.

 

Things we liked:

 

1) We like the universe of the Alien movies — even number 3.  We like that there are things going on out there that aren’t necessarily included in the storytelling.  They’re just there.  And the characters and plots are related to these unknown tangents.  We like that.  We do.  Really.

 

 
2)    We loved Idris Elba and Michael Fassbender in this movie. In fact, we like these guys in any of their movies.  They’re good. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) Special effects were on par with our expectations.  And despite the fact that my husband says “Expectation is a prison,” good job.  Awesome, even, in places.

 
4)    Noomi was pretty good in the C-section scene.  (But who couldn’t be good acting like they are cutting in to their own reproductive system?) On an aside, being presently pregnant and having had a C-section before and another scheduled C-section to come … I have to admit it was hard to watch.  I might have even closed my eyes–but just for a second.  It was good though.  Noomi FINALLY showed some “chops” in that scene.  Chops, hehe.  She at least acted like she gave a crap.  (Sherlock Holmes 2, anyone?)  Unfortunately, it was too far into the movie to really varnish my opinion of her acting skills.  Alas, it was a good scene nevertheless and regardless, I’m gonna have a C-section anyway! Hooray!

 

 

Things we didn’t like and questions we have:

 
1)  Charlize didn’t do anything.  Seriously.  She didn’t do ANYTHING.  Anybody could have played her part.  She was only in this movie to try to sell tickets and to put that “Academy Award Winner Charlize Theron” on the poster.  Don’t let her participation fool you.

 

 

2)    Noomi is one dimensional (Don’t get us wrong– we love our Swede actors/actresses.  They produced the Skarsgaard men and the Dragon Tattoo trilogy — which is where we started our love affair with Noomi) HOWEVER, after seeing her in other roles our opinion is now firmly set. ONE DIMENSIONAL and lacking any emotion.  She is like an attractive or at least interesting looking block of wood.  You pick it up and think, “Huh.  That’s neat.”  Then you toss it back down and forget it.  Sorry girl.

 

 

3)   We liked the white giants BUT are they just more monsters? What drives them?  Why did it try to kill them all????  The beginning was confusing and it carried throughout the rest of the movie.  SO frustrating.

 
4) David and Shaw leave on another alien spaceship at the end of the movie.  What happened to the white giants we assume would be sleeping on THAT ship?  What about the other ships?  Doesn’t make much sense.

 

 

5) It was hard to care about any character in the film.  Was this on purpose because of their ultimate demise?  Or was it poor writing?  You be the judge.  Ultimately, my husband and I agree that Idris’s character was the only one that we remotely cared about.  We would have liked to see more of him and have him survive to fight on.

 
6) Four years and a trillion dollars into this project, we would have screened our staff for this mission a lot better.  For example:
— no psychologically unstable people
— biologists/scientists who know how to follow simple quarantine procedures and who know how to act when encountering new species on an alien world
— religious fanatics . . . no place for ‘em on my ship
…. ya’ll get the idea.  But it’s those impurities that add the spice of life to a movie . . . right?  Or the kiss of death….

 

 
7)   Guy Pearce…. really?  Why put Guy in ANY movie only to have 8 pounds of make up on him and make him unrecognizable.  He’s Guy Pearce.  In this movie, we don’t need you — sad, but true.   Feeling guilty about saying that, we must recommend the movie “Lockdown.”  He’s in that and it’s GREAT for a sci-fi action flick.  Now, we say all of this . . . but PERHAPS . . . JUST PERHAPS the next movie will explain it all and Guy Pearce will reprise his role as a younger man, clone, robot, etc. and bring forth some MUCH needed explanations.

 

 

8)    We needed the movie to be about an hour longer for fuller explanations, better understanding of the “weapons,” the face hugger snake, the black oily stuff, why the white giants act the way they do, the holograms, the squid, etc. As it is, we suspect there may not be a Grand Unifying Theory For It All.  But we hope, we sincerely hope, there is.

 

 

Quote from my husband: “Big things have small beginnings.”

Quote from me:  “Really, Charlize did NOTHING.”

 

 

**DISCLAIMER** This review was based off of a movie that was watched with a baby in the hotel room, and a noise maker going full blast.  It’s possible we might have missed something and that’s the basis of our whole confusion.  But we have a real cute stinkin’ baby . . . see?

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