An Odd Getaway

I saw on social media that some girls I used to work with went on a trip together to Belize. They are both married with children, and I was inspired by their idea to go on a vacation without their kids. So I immediately informed Mikkele, one of my best friends, that we should obviously plan a trip specifically to Belize. She agreed, but we decided to start smaller with a trip to a local Temecula Airbnb. 

Highlights from the weekend:

1. We ate at Public House on Friday night and I had the one of the best hamburgers of my life there. I didn't take a picture of it because I don't want you drooling on your computer and pictures of food generally bore.

2. We stayed in an RV next to a petting zoo filled with miniature animals. 

A pygmy goat that was my favorite until we caught him
picking fights with the other, smaller goats.

Pegasus, the albino mini horse.

A mini goat that reminded Mikkele of her cat.

A mini toucan - a creature we didn't previously know existed.

3. Our hostess was a chocolatier who gave us incredible chocolate. We learned that she taught herself her craft and initially made a batch of 14 chocolates which she dropped off at a five-star hotel in Los Angeles to sell as an amenity. About a week later, they called her back with an order for 2,000. Now she regularly supplies three five-star hotels, and she's working on getting a fourth. Inspiring and delicious. We talked to her for an hour and would have continued the conversation except it was nearly dinnertime and we got hungry.

4. We went for a long walk on Saturday morning around the hills of Temecula. The sun fell beautifully on the hills and vineyards, and we even stumbled upon a rare wild chair. We feared it at first, but it did us no harm.

The horror.

5. We watched a terrible early 00s teen film called How to Deal. It was the worst and I loved it. I think Mikkele just thought it was the worst. 

6. We assembled a puzzle I'd purchased at a thrift store just for the occasion. The bad news is that it was missing a piece. The good news is that it was a picture of a giant sandwich and had an epic poem about midnight snacks on the back. 

I knew I was hungry for dinner on Saturday evening when this disgusting thing started to look appetizing.

7. On Sunday morning, I heard the distinct sound of hot air balloon burners. At first I saw just one balloon and was mesmerized. Soon there were seven in sight, and we felt like we'd hopped into a postcard for Southern California wine country.

8. I read Harry Potter in bed for an hour on Sunday morning. This is something I don't get to do often and it was glorious (even though I'm currently in Order of the Phoenix which is mildly depressing).

9. We went wine tasting at Lorimar Winery because we were in Temecula and that's what you do there. It was only okay.

In conclusion, I highly recommend finding a weird place to stay via Airbnb. It was relaxing, memorable, and there were miniature animals.

Movie Review Monday #10: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

My daughter was born 51 hours and 20 minutes before the final Harry Potter film opened. I had previously been to every Harry Potter midnight showing, so as miraculous and wonderful as it was to give birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl, I'm not ashamed to say there was a wee bit of disappointment at her timing. You may think that's silly, especially given that this post indicates that I have, by now, seen the film. But it's just not the same. A midnight showing of an epic film is a community experience. The audience is significantly more invested in the film. Thanks to the late hour, emotions run high, and people unabashedly cheer, applaud, openly weep. Plus you always get the crazies who dress up. One year there was even a group dressed up as Harry, Hermione, and several Weasleys (for who else can gingers play?) and obviously role playing, which fascinated me. I felt like a sociologist studying geekdom.


But this is not a review of midnight showings. It's a review of the final installment of Harry Potter. I'll try not to spoil anything. So here we go:


1. Daniel Radcliffe previously had two faces that he'd make while "acting": One, a grimace that indicated pain, fear, sorrow, deep thought, and probably, on the occasion, constipation. 

Hey, look! It's also RPatt's best acting moment. Ever. 

The other, a kind of neutral smile that indicated happiness, pride, contentment, twitterpatedness, and general satisfaction.

In this film, it seems like he suddenly learned how to act. For example, in one scene, he is alone in Dumbledore's office making a huge decision. The camera trains on his face, and with very little facial expression, good ole Dan shows the audience that something has changed internally. The decision is made and we know what he plans to do. Brill. And that's just one example. 

2. There were two moments in the book that I looked forward to seeing in the film. Both moments were done justice. Feel free to speculate on what those were.

3. I'm not going to sugar coat this: some characters die in this film. When we learn who has died, I love that they don't dwell on it. It's not a long, drawn out sob fest. I did allow some tears to pop out of my face at that moment though, so somehow the filmmakers did the moment justice without milking it.

4. I freaking love Maggie Smith. All the time. From Hook to Sister Acts to Harry Potters, she is literally one classy dame. This film was no exception. I want to hug her.

5. I have read the book twice and was still on the edge of my seat. And I don't mean that as a cliche. I was perched on the edge of my theater seat, biting on my hands. I'm really tired though.

6. I could have used more Hagrid.

7. Neville is a hero. He has the most British smile I've seen in a while, but he's still adorable and winning and I couldn't help but feel a weird sense of pride whenever he displayed valiance.

8. I have things to say about the characters at the very end of the film, but that would give things away. Let's just say that different hairstyles don't necessarily add age to people. 

9. The visual effects were, as always, mind blowing. Kind of made me start to believe in dragons. 

10. All the Harry Potter films have a theme of good versus evil, but none more than this one. And, spoiler alert: Good prevails. And it's beautiful.

I could go on and on ad infinitum, but I'm sleepy and I don't want to start really thinking about the fact that it's all over because it really is true that new mothers are weepy. No more Harry Potters. Sad, yet awesome that they ended on a high note. I even enjoyed it in a weekday matinee setting.

Lobsters, in order to properly rate this film, I have to use a freak, mutated lobster. Three claws up. 

Another Baby Update

Last night I tried getting Eiley out by drinking Red Raspberry Herbal Tea. I've heard this works, but I couldn't even choke down an entire cup, so maybe that's why I'm still pregnant today. Or maybe it's because I pilfered the tea from church and Eiley doesn't want to start her life as an accomplice. 


Or maybe it's because we watched Deathly Hallows, Part I last night and I went to the bathroom during the Bathilda Bagshot scene and thus missed an opportunity to scare the baby out of me.


Or maybe I just have a delightfully comfortable and accommodating womb. Yeah, that's probably it.