...more than meets the eye!

Yes, we went to the midnight showing -or rather 12:01 am. I had thought about not going, but it doesn't happen often that I WANT to go to a midnight opening night showing of a movie -Batman IV (yeah yeah yeah, I know, save your breath), Charlie & the Chocolate Factory come to mind. So I scored tix online at 10:30 with bated breath as 3 of the 4 screens at the closest theatre were sold out. We arrived around 11:20, so Madster held our seats while I went to the concession stand. I have never seen lines like these at a movie theatre concession stand -4 or 5 registers open & all were 20 people deep. Yeah, I wondered if I would get back in time for the beginning or if I should just give up the quest for popcorn (MUST have popcorn; you know me). Wished the movie theatre would do like a stage theatre & dim the lights momentarily to warn folks of the impending start of the show. As it was, I got back in time for commercials, various shouts of "TRANSFORMERS!!!!!" from some teenaged male voices, & chillin' with the Madster.

The crowd was mostly kids Snick's age, give or take a couple years. Personally, I couldn't get the cartoon theme song out of my head & sang it a few times until Mad told me to stop on the way in to the theatre because I was, you know, embarrassing . "Told ya so", I responded when we heard other renditions around us.

The previews were "appropriate for all ages" but apparently MPAA didn't have my daughter in mind when they were labeled. She sat through the preview for "2012" & while folks around us chuckled, she clutched her belly & whimpered. Don't know if it was the popcorn, lack of sleep from the night before's sleepover, or the depiction of end times on a big screen, or a combination of the 3, but she immediately didn't feel well. Poor thing. She left 2x & tried to watch Transformers when it finally started, hoping it would take clear her mind. No dice. I reassured her that we could get rainchecks & come back another time. Finally she couldn't deal anymore & we left. She was close to tears as we left, she felt so bad -ill & disappointed & apologetic.

So, we will return, this weekend probably.

I did learn this much from the beginning 10 minutes that I can pass on to you: Sit as far away from the screen as possible. We had the usual choice seats almost in the center of the screen -just back from center, but it wasn't far enough. I don't know about you, but I abhor, loathe, despise movies that are sooooo freaking larger than life that you can't actually see what's happening on the screen -and I suppose theatres that are too short for said movies. There's that.

AND -for all you parents out there- just the short bit we saw was MUCH racier than the first movie. So much so that I thought the guy next to me was going to bust a nut viewing the first shot of Megan Fox...& I kind of wished I hadn't brought my DAUGHTER (or my son, if I had one). Seriously. Call me old fashioned, but the below & behind, slowly panning in & up, shot of Megan Fox's ass cheek hanging out of her too too short Daisy Dukes while she's laying prone on a motorcycle isn't exactly how I want my kids to think girls should behave or dress. And you know the subtle, over-the-kids'-heads sexual innuendos in the first flick? Not so subtle this time around.

That said, I'm still psyched to see the rest of the movie. OOOOH! and the
new Camaro???? SWEEEEEET. 306 HP AND 29 MPG??????!?!????? and that body design????!! Be still my heart!!! I think I've found the mini-van replacement (please please please seat 5!) All you folks who think Transformers is nothing more than a 2 hour Chevy commercial: Bite me!

another thing

Did I mention that daylight lasts longer in Spain? Oh yeah. 10pm in Spain looked kinda like 8pm in Denver. I'm finally over the jet lag. I think the difference in daylight had something to do with it. I really really enjoyed the longer days. Of course I already knew that from my experience in the Scottish Highlands 10 years ago.

And why can't the parks in Denver be beautiful & artful? Can't a park be practical, greenspace & pretty at the same time?? Hmmmm, no changing that anytime soon. The only recourse I can see in the short term is to create something beautiful in my own little world. Pictures when I'm done.

The Bucs are in town this weekend. I wish the Stanley Cup were visiting too.

No plans for Father's Day yet. Any suggestions?

I wanna do the Muddy Buddy in August. Anyone want to be on my team? I have a maybe from my lovely friend Amber. What can be more fun than running+biking+mud+friends+Boulder? Well, maybe some things come to mind, but it sounds like a good time.

My new, favorite kitchen utensil is my KitchenAid blender wand thing-y. OMG. Why didn't I have one sooner???? Smoothies without having to drag out the whole, honking blender? LOVE it!!

The girls are now subjecting me to daily doses of "Jonas". Is there no mercy? Sure each episode is fair enough funny. But thanks to the modern marvels of Comcast & OnDemand, we get to view each episode over&over&over&over, ad nauseum. Blech. Fine, it's not that I let them watch it all day, every day. But really, once is enough. And then there's the OnDemand JoBros music videos. It's gonna be a long summer.

mas pequeñas sobre España

egg yolks in Spain are, like, orange-y. You know how commercially bought eggs here in the States have yolks that are getting lighter in color? Yeah, I wonder what the difference is? Are they fresher? Not factory farmed? Something the chickens are fed? Just curious.

The food in restaurants is saltier than I like.

We had tapas at a small cafe in Requena. We tried the waitress (from Romania!) recommended "robos" She couldn't think of the word in English or Spanish (not that we would know it in Spanish), so she drew a picture. Pig tails. deep fried pig tails. Yes it's true. We tried it. From barbequed "snoots" in St. Louis to "robos" in Spain. Yes, the girls & I have tried pig end to end -well, maybe not pig's ears & pig's feet. And like the snoots, it was tasty.

I gained 4 pounds on vacation. And promptly lost it when I came home. I think it's the salt.

ALOT of bottled water in Spain. As in, order water at a restaurant, & they bring a bottle of mineral water. And it's not quite the same as in the UK where they will do the same unless you order tap water. It just seemed that everyone drank bottled water -not a Nalgene or Sigg in sight -except for the one Lib brought in her carry-on (?)(Yes, she packed her own, & she also brought a Hannah Montana microphone, about 10 books, and her beloved pink tape measure, along with her inseperable DS)

SHOES SHOES SHOES! OMG I was in shoe heaven!! Alot of leather shoes from Spain, and some imported from foreign lands -you know, the toxic smelling pleather kind of footwear that you can smell as you walk past. We avoided those latter. BUT the leather shoes from Spain! So many choices! Shoe stores everywhere. And I should call them boutiques because they weren't the cookie cutter stores like we have in excess here. And talk about COMFY! I swear from now on, I will strive to only buy shoes made in Spain. Seriously.

And in Spain, it is the groom's family who pays for weddings. Ha! Oh the (un)luck of the draw to be born in the US & have 4 girls!

Mas mañana!

mas España

Okay, all the pics are up on Flickr (you know the drill, click the link over there in the left sidebar), but most of them don't have descriptions yet.

Two more notable things...I thought Pittsburgh streets & alleys were narrow -until we were driving in Valencia.

And what Spanish did the littles learn last week? "Bob Esponja, Bob Esponja, Bob Esponja...Bob E-sponja"!

These were taken in Valencia

España

I put up the Madrid pix the other day on Flickr.

I think what piece of my heart that I didn´t leave in San Fransicso, I left in Spain. Seriously. Well, Valencia anyway. Madrid I liked well enough. I didn´t get to take as many pictures as I would have liked b/c my camera battery wouldn't charge properly & died two days in a row :(

I was blown away by the marvelous, historical buildings. And you know me with my obsession for doors, doorways, wrought iron anything, architecture, little things that most people don't notice. PLENTY of that in Madrid. BUT what I noticed was that most of the people I passed didn't smile. They looked unhappy? (?!?!?!) and/or "unfriendly". It kind of bummed me out. Especially since there's so much beauty in Madrid. And -at least the district where we were staying- folks seemed really judgmental; as they passed, they eyeballed you up & down as if to judge what you were wearing. Wow. I don't think I've experienced that before -even in Paris. It was bizarre.

BUT BUT BUT! Valencia! OMG!!! From the moment we entered the city limits -actually even a couple miles out- I could tell it was going to be overwhelmingly fabulously beautiful. And I was not disappointed! It was like San Francisco -but older & European. EVERYWHERE I looked was something different & beautiful. And, well, I don't know what else to say about it. We only drove into the city to have lunch the first day & I so badly wanted to stay longer. We spent only 1 day in Valencia -and even that was only about 4 hours. Soooooooooo not enough time! I could have stayed forever. Yes. I enjoyed it that much. See -like San Francisco, that much. It was worlds different than Madrid. And the people were way friendlier -well, except for the two old ladies who asked me directions -en Español- & I couldn't help them.

And the food. I was sad to come back to the US for all of the above AND the food. I ask you, how can I be expected to eat this American cuisine after I have eaten in Spain? It's just not fair, I tell you. I tasted some of the most delicious food I've ever eaten. Ever. Now I need a Spanish cookbook to re-do our whole menu. Unfortunately -oh how unfortunate- I can't get the seafood in Colorado, maybe not anywhere in the US. I_Can't_Stand_It.

Can I go back already? Please?

Bourbon Madrid - cafe across from Westin Palace Hotel - pizza song

Bourbon Madrid - cafe across from Westin Palace Hotel - pizza song

and later that same day...the 5th grade continuation

freshly dyed hair especially for the event is easy to pick out of the crowd :)

She was one of 6 fifth grade students who won the "Bradley Eagle Feather" award for portraying all PYP (Primary Years Programme) attributes and attitudes of the IB (International Baccalaureate) Learner Profile. But being her normal 'tween self around the fam -i.e. moody AND modest, she wouldn't pose for pictures with the award.





















That's her good friend C, whom she's known since 1st grade. They had 1st & part of 2nd grade together. Ended up in the same school again this year. Yay! Sadly, they won't be in the same middle school next year. But, we live close enough that they can hang out whenever they want...I just hope it doesn't turn into one of those youthful romances & then the friendship ends, ya know what I mean?

good day for a Kinder bridging over ceremony

(I used to be able to caption each photo, but then Blogger changed the format & I don't feel like messing with the HTML right now to sort it out. I guess I'll just put captions at the top & bottom of each post for now)

The bridging ceremony was so cute. Miss Dale called each child's name & he/she climbed up the stairs, paused on the bridge for a photo op & then went down the slide to receive his/her "diploma". It was timed just right so that as one child received the diploma, another child was paused on the bridge. Don't know if it was purposeful or if it just worked out like that, but with the timing each child got applause twice :)

Pictures of the new 1st grader with each of her sisters. Little sister looks unhappy...maybe because she's not the center of attention? And there's Jamey, aka Jermany, Nikki's BF.

Mr Lerner was the class Para. He's retiring this year; Fi is sad that she won't see him anymore & Lib won't get to have him in class next year.

Miss Dale is Fi's beloved teacher & inspiration for her current "what I want to be when I grow up". Lucky Lib will have her next year :)

There was a picnic & games & face painting after the ceremony. AND a special trip for the littles to the Nature & Science Museum with Snick & Jamey before heading back out for Mad's Continuation that evening.

FYI

"The last road team to win Game 7 of the championship round in any major league was the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates." Put that in your pipe & toke it, ya naysayers....

p.s. my heart is still pounding & my hands are still shaking & I still have a euphoric perma-a-grin; someone pinch me. Squeeeeeee!!!!! We won The Cup! It's sorta like a dreamy dream. Yes, it continues to be the best year ever :)

We are the Champions, my friend

and we'll keep on fighting 'til the end!

Congrats to the Penguins on a freaking awesome Stanley Cup run! They made it look easy, even when it was challenging. And Lord Stanley comes home to the 'burgh once again.

Yay Pittsburgh! City of Champions! (c'mon Buccos! Get on board!)














What an incredible feeling!