Live Action Movie Suggestion

 There are all these movies out there that are live action remakes of an animated one.  Some have been fabulous, i.e. Beauty and the Beast, and some weren't really necessary since the animated one was fantastic.  My husband Lee and I were chatting yesterday about these live action remakes and we went over one that we have talked about multiple times: Atlantis The Lost Empire.  

For those that don't know this movie, it is about a linguist named Milo, who is gifted a journal from his late grandfather that is the key to discovering the lost city of Atlantis.  This movie has to be one of my top Disney favorites, but sadly it is not one of their more popular ones.  The plot is good, the characters are engaging, and the storyline itself keeps you attention till the very end.  The voice actors include Michael J. Fox as Milo and Leonard Nimoy as the King of Atlantis.

In the spirit of all these live actions, Lee and I have come up with a list of actors that we feel would be great to play each character.  The ones with the astric are ones that we are absolutely set on and think would be perfect in the role.  Those without an astric could be replaced if someone better is found for the part.  So, without further ado, here is our cast for the live action Atlantis: The Lost Empire.

*Tom Holland as Milo Thatch

Gal Gadot, Karen Gillian, or Zoey Saldana as Princess Kida

*Annie Potts as Mrs. Packard

*Danny Devito as Mole

 

*Terry Cruz as Dr. Sweet

Jim Carrey as Mr. Whitmore

John Turturro as Vinny

*Michael Rooker as Rourke

Ian McKellen or Patrick Stewart as the King of Atlantis

 

Diedrich Bader as Cookie

 

Zendaya as Audrey

Scarlett Johansson as Helga

Oops!

 When I worked for Pier 1 for the first time, they had these pretty, clear glasses with a red swirl line going around the glass. I was straightening up the shelves when I turned to fix something. As I turned, the very bottom corner of my apron flipped up and caught the edge of a champagne flute. That small part of my apron managed to fling that flute a good five feet off the shelf and onto the floor. It was my first time breaking something in that job and it was the weirdest too.

(Writing prompt: write about a time you broke something)

Recycle, Reuse, Reduce

 In the news, there are tons of stories of shortages: appliances, cans, heck even wine bottles. Why aren't we doing what we were taught in elementary school: recycle reduce, reuse?

I get that it is difficult to recycle certian things but let's start with something simple: glass. This stuff has already been crafted. A wine company could make a killing by saying that they are doing their part to help the environment. 

You could have local grocery stores do what they did in the 40's & 50's: let people drop off their clean, empty bottles for a small refund. These get packed up and sent to a place that washes and sterilized, then sent back to the vineyards.

It is a win win situation. Empty glass bottles don't get thrown in the dump, people have jobs hauling the bottles from the stores to the wash to the vineyards, vineyards have bottles for their product.

I realize that there may be more to it than what I described but the idea is there. We need to do something for our communities.

Parking Lot Mayhem

 During one of our many random conversations that Lee and I have, we were bouncing ideas around about what we could do with cars that are left in the parking lot running with the keys in it.

Here is the list so far:

Move car to opposite end of the parking lot

Move driver's seat all the way forward 

Move the driver's seat all the way back

Change the radio station

Take the keys out and hide the keys behind the fuel door

Buckle all the seatbelts

Change all the preset radio stations to random ones

Put on the parking break then put the car in drive

Change the climate settings (a/c on in winter, heat in summer

Lean seat back all the way forward

Lean seat back all the way back

Adjust the steering column

Adjust all the mirrors

Got any others for us?

Freedom at Last

The straw that broke the camel's back happened Sunday night. I finally left retail. I couldn't take the mental abuse anymore.  I even quit without giving my 2 weeks notice, which I have never done. 

It was very liberating. I normally get worked up over a lot of things, but not this.  I have worked retail since 2003 and it has definitely increased my dislike of most of the human race.

Yes, I still need to work 2 jobs but at least now, I can work the jobs I want & need, not just need.

They Live Within Us

 February 2021 is when my husband and I had to say goodbye to our sweet, fuzzy daughter. The pain of losing her is still there, it has dulled a bit. There are moments that will suddenly make me think of her and I will smile sadly at the memory.

A friend of mine recently commented how, even after 4 years of her own fur son's passing, it still hurts. It made me start thinking about why.  When we share our heart with them, they share theirs with us. I think that is why it still hurts, even though time has passed since they left us. The good thing is, a piece of them still lives with us.  

Remember, it is okay to be sad about our beloved lost pets but they are still with us, in our hearts.

The picture I use on my lock screen so I can still see her every day.

Ad Oddities

 So, we all know that ads are on social media so that, for the most part, it is free to those that use it. Now, there are mathematical algorithms to put ads with certian audiences.  Apparently, the algorithm is broken on one of my social media platforms. 

Just today, I have had the following:

Medicine for RA, lung cancer, and another I couldn't figure out

Stop smoking

Alcohol of 4 different types

Being a surrogate mother in IL

These are just the weird ones that I have seen today. The weirdest one ever is one saying that I should become a nun in the Catholic church. The algorithm must have really been broken that day since I am active on several new age pages and I am married. 

It just amuses me to see what the algorithms will bring me as I scroll through my newsfeed. What weird ones have you gotten?

Digging In the Dirt

 So my bff Marie has a bit of an etsy addiction, just like I have a bit of a stone addiction. When these two addictions collide, silly fun happens.

To set the scene, my sister & mom came out for a visit. After they left, Marie decided to send me a small gift to chase away the blues of my family leaving to go home. The package arrives and is really heavy.  I open it up to find this:

It is a bit squishy so I figure it is padding. Nope! It is a bag of sand!

According to the directions, the crystals are in the sand. It is up to you to find them. Let the fun begin!

I poured the bag into a bowl and dug it. It took about 20 minutes but I found all the awesome crystals. It was a lot of fun. I'd recommend this to anyone, kids & kids at heart.

After I opened the bag but before digging in the dirt.

My wonderful treasures unearthed

On the Search

 It has been 4 months since my fuzzy daughter Gabby crossed the rainbow bridge. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her. She was the 1st pet my husband & I had together and was a huge part of my heart.

Ever since she passed, I have wanted to tattoo an outline of her actual paw print (major thanks to my vet for helping us get that before she passed). The hard thing about this is trying to find a tattoo artist to do this for me. As an artist myself, I would never ask for discounts for a piece of art done by another. However, it has been harder than what I thought. I can't seem to get a clear cost on what I want & the few quotes I have gotten seem ridiculously high (ex: $100 per hour plus cost of the piece which would be around another $100).

All I wish to do is honor my daughter; a simple outline of her paw print with her name under it. 

My beautiful baby girl

Can't Go Wrong with Potatoes

 I am always looking for recipes to expand our meals. I found a fried potato recipe that seemed pretty easy: Pommes Persillade.

Yes this is a French recipe, but I figured its potatoes. What can go wrong?

Well, they didn't turn out too bad. I might have boiled them a bit longer than I should have, which made for an interesting frying experience. I was also out of dried parsley, so I added a bit of dried basil in its place.  I think I will try to make these again. It seems like a recipe that gets better with more practice at it. Hey, at least I can say I cooked something French.

Here is my copy of the recipe.

No Choice but to Give Up on Him

 I work with students who have behavior and emotional disabilities.  I love my job and wouldn't trade it.  I get to make connections with these kids who a lot of people have already given up on.  And these kids have such personalities; some seem to blossom under the attention. 

I try to listen to what they like, what they don't like, and just have a conversation with them about mundane things.  It often surprises them that I remember what they tell me.  For example, I bring in a birthday treat for each kid: donuts to share with the whole class and a special food treat just for them, based on what they have told me or that I have observed.  They also get a hand drawn card with a message from me and my fellow teacher written inside.  The kids who are new to my room, are often shocked to see a treat that is just for them and it is based off of stuff that I know about them.

What hurts is when one of my kids (yes, they are my kids even though I did not birth them) has given up on his education, for one reason or another.  I keep trying to help them realize the importance of it and how having a high school diploma can help them in the future, but sometimes it doesn't make a difference.  I do not what to give up on them but I have to come to that point where I can't continue to pour water on a dead plant, thinking that it will grow again.  I have three students who have pretty much check out of their education and it hurts to see. 

I still love and care about those kids and I let them know that, but I have to remind myself that there are other kids in my room that haven't checked out of their education.   I don't want to give up on them, but in the end, I have no choice.  Those three have made their choice and there is nothing that I can do to change it.

Think About It

 Will you remember...

The deaths of innocent,

Families torn to pieces,

Lives halted.

Do you stop & think

About tomorrow?

Will you not do it

Because someone else will?

Well...

To someone else,

You are that someone else.

(written August 12, 1999)

The Hardest Path to Find and Follow

 Follow the trail through the night black
To feel the last of the time of day.
The beginning of to the end is
At last touched by the top of Life's lips.
A feeling through
By the loss of these hands.

To keep grasping
With the loss of hands
Is to feel the loss of one.

Touch with the undead hand
Brings the Shadows
Behind the unfulfilled Truths.
Truths left
By mouths dead but moving.

The light opens the door of Truth

And the dark shuts it.

(written January 18, 1999 & inspired by "The Crow: City of Angels)

Cats Are Toddlers

 "Oscar, don't lick that thing off the carpet! You don't know what it is."

Sounds like I am reprimanding a toddler right? Nope. It was something I said this evening to my almost 12 year old cat Oscar.  There are times when I feel that living with a cat is like living with a small, furry toddler. Here are some examples of I've said in my years of being a cat mom:

Gabby, don't smack your brother!

Oscar don't sit on your sister!

Stop trying to crawl into the dryer/closet/pantry.

Get out of the dryer/closet/pantry!

Don't eat your sister's barf!

No, I will not give you more treats.

If you eat too fast, you'll get yourself sick.

These phrases are just a sampling of what I have said (repeatedly) in my 11 years as a cat mom. They sound an awful lot like phrases uttered by people with toddlers. But honestly, the antics that I've seen over the years make those phrases worth it.

Gabby Memories

 The year 2021 will always be, in my mind, one of the worst years of my life. On the 6th of February, my husband and I had to say goodbye to our fuzzy daughter Gabby. It was the most heartwrenching things I have ever had to do. 

She was such a silly girl with the attitude of a diva. This is how I want to remember her. In an act of healing an remembrance, I wish to share memories of her. 

Memory 1: When we 1st met her, she was the runt of her litter. She fit in my hand. Even with the double hernia on her belly, she was so full of attitude. She was fearless and wanted her way. We tried to not let her sleep in our bedroom, but she wasn't going to have that. She meowed her little head off and we let her sleep with us the 1st night and every night.

Memory 2: One day, when she was still a little kitten, we thought she got out of our apartment because we couldn't find her. My husband and I were in a panic. She was so little that she couldn't wear a collar. We were so scared that she was lost. I walked past a pair of my husband's sneakers lying on the floor & just happened to look down. I spotted a silvery gray tail draped over the edge of one shoe. I shouted to my husband that I had found her. He asked where & I told him that she had fallen asleep in his shoe. Lee reacted to the news with a bit of shock, saying that it couldn't smell that good. We both couldn't help but laugh.

One of the many pictures of my darling Gabby on my phone. She loved laying on my lap & snoozing.

Love Comes in Many Forms

 Many have said that cats are not capable of the loyalty and love that dogs give. I respectfully disagree with that thought. I am owned by two, sweet, yet nutty cats. One specifically has chosen me as her special human. 

For some weird reason, Gabby has picked me. She will often seek out my lap, curl up with me as I lay in bed, ready to go to sleep. She will even curl up with me when I am sick, purring away.

Oscar has chosen my husband as his human. He will give lots of rubs to his legs, meow at Lee to shift on the couch so that he can curl up next to him, crawl up Lee's chest and headbutt his chin.

Cat love is different that the love from a dog, bird, or any other animal, but it is love just the same. The wonderful little fireballs that live in my home are the sweetest cats that I know. I am grateful that they chose us to give their love to.

My sweet girl, napping on my lap