Holiday Movie Review: Alvin and The Chipminks

For our 2nd Annual Family Fun Christmas Movie we went to see Alvin and The Chipmunks. I am a big fan of the little guys from my childhood and was actually wanting to see the movie before we settled on it for our family movie. I must say it was pretty cute. You gotta love those adorable little guys. The animation was pretty good as far as my untrained eye can see too. I certainly don't think it will win any awards but it was a fun movie for the holidays. I always like to check out the movie websites for the extras and with this one you can "Get Munked" and create your own chipmunk character with voice recording. Try it!

Movie Review: Polar Express in IMAX 3D

WOW, what an experience! Being my first trip to an IMAX theatre I figured it would be great, but this went well beyond. The Polar Express is such a great movie even not at the IMAX, but seeing it there really brings it to life. The snow flakes seem as if they are going to land right in your hands and the train ride actually feels like a magical roller coaster. And then there's Santa's village that is just incredible. If you need a little help getting in the Christmas spirit this movie, or book even, is a must. Making it's way to becoming a new Christmas classic, if it isn't already, I assure anyone this magical movie will help children of age 5 or 50 remember the magic of believing! Be sure to check out the website for the movie where you can build your own snowman and even board the train itself! The website is just a cool as the movie with lots of interactive ideas.

Christmas Cheer

Just sending a little Christmas in Cali. cheer! This is supposed to be me by the way!

I'm FREE!!!

Today officially ended my first semester at UCDavis and without question I am elated! I have conquered organic chemistry (we'll see how well when grades come out) and am very happy to be saying that I am moving on. If you ever want to torture someone for fun give them a semester, or two, or three, in organic chemistry.

If that was not enough for me to be doing I also started my job yesterday with the research lab. You remember the one I mentioned TWO MONTHS AGO! The wait is finally over and all the paperwork signed and dated for me to start just in time for finals and leaving on holiday next week (I like to refer to a vacation as going on holiday because I think it sounds cool when the Brits say it). :) The day went well and after two months of frustration I have a renewed excitement about this job. It is actually very cool work that I will be doing with DNA and cancer research. I was slightly nervous because I wasn't sure about how my experience, or what I thought was lack there of, would fit in with everyone else. But it turns out I am in the same position as everyone else when they started and may even have more experience than some did in the beginning. So my nerves were put to ease and I am ready to move forward.

I also started a little babysitting gig that I will be doing for a bit on Monday(s). It is just one day a week while the parents are at work, but it will definitely be good for a little extra spending cash. My other job is only two days a week for right now. The little girl I am sitting for is ~17mos. and as cute as can be. She would warm up to me and we would play and then all of a sudden she would realize she didn't know me that well and shy away (actually she would scream hysterically). I thought it was kinda funny how she would do this. It made for an exhausting day but I will get used to it, probably just in time for something else to come up. That's how it always seems to work out, right?!

Things have certainly come together this week, but I am really excited about coming home next week. I will be heading east on the 19th, so I can't wait to see everyone!

Movie Review: I'm Not There and Into the Wild

Well this one was interesting to say the least! I'm Not There is a look into the life and times of American icon Bob Dylan and this movie really took a journey. Several big name actors and actresses portrayed Mr. Dylan in the many roles that his real life character took on. I wish I knew more about him and his life because it really would have made the film more coherent for me personally. What little I did/do know of him and his life/music made it interesting, but I was slightly lost at other times. Overall it is an artsy film that I think is much more appreciated by those that are more informed. I now have some research to do so I can put it all together!

Another movie that I failed to mention when I saw it is Into the Wild. This was a beautiful movie directed by Sean Penn, whom I thought was in it as well, until I saw it. It is based on a true story that chronicles the journey of a recent college grad trying to find himself. This young adventurer leaves his conventional life of fortune and seeks one of less "worldly" prosperity on the road. His adventure leads him to Alaska where he learns how to survive in the wild and discovers an important lesson about life. WARNING: This movie is very intense and will leave you thinking. I would like to read the book that it is based on by Jon Krakauer of the same name. I have heard that the movie follows very closely to the book.

Giving Thanks

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving everyone! I wish I could have been in Texas for the occasion but I did spend a nice day with the little bit of family and friends that are out here. We started the day with good intentions to walk in the Run to Feed the Hungry charity event to support the local food banks. However, we didn't quite make it due to the amount of food that we were preparing for the hungry walkers/runners to stop by after the event. We served brunch at my cousins house for those that wanted to stop by and share part of their day before heading other places. The walk is a pretty big deal here in Sac., I think they said there were 20,000+ people that participated this year. There is a 5K and 10K course that you may run or walk and it goes for a great cause to help those that may not have food and family to spend Thanksgiving with. My cousin had 20+ people over afterward which made for a nice mid-afternoon. We then went over to my cousins husbands moms house (did you get that?) for a traditional Thanksgiving feast of turkey and stuffing/dressing and sweet potatoes, etc. I am so grateful that they included me in with their crowd. We had a nice evening there with lots of good food. I laughed with Amanda that she and I are the only ones that don't worry about gaining weight at this time because we don't eat that much, but this year I did make a little bit larger plate than normal! Cari made Granny's dressing so I had some of home with me and Stu fried a turkey which turned out really awesome! With so much to be thankful for I didn't have much time to miss being 2,000 miles from home!

In other news our heater gave out yesterday just in time for the colder weather to roll in! I am thankful it isn't any colder than it is but it still is quite chilly without the main heater going. We are surviving though with space heaters and layers until the handy man can come Mon. to take a look. I have all my blankets wrapped around me in the mean time! :)

Going Green

Today we had an interesting sermon at church titled "Brief Statement of Faith - Green Theology." It was from the book of Genesis 2:4-15 and basically gave a new perspective on the Green Movement that is going on around the world. The general idea was that God gave us this garden (the earth) that we are to tend and take care of. He made us stewards of what He has provided. It was really an inspiring sermon and afterwards they passed out new flourescent light bulbs for all the congregation to go and put into action these words. It is a message that I'm sure many have heard over and over again, but sometimes hearing it at church stirs up a new commitment, so I am glad to hear it put this way. I have been aware of the Green Movement for awhile now and try my best to incorporate the "green" lifestyle as I can. Every little bit helps!