Star Trek Into Darkness - My Official Review

**warning - NO spoiler alerts here**

Splenda Daddy has been wanting to see this one since the first reviews.  Note:  He is VERY picky about what movies we actually go see in the theater.  I'm no trekkie, but hey - a date at the movies with popcorn, diet coke and Splenda?  Yeah, I'm game.   And really, I enjoyed the most recent one they came out with so I expected that I would like this one too.


I.Was.Wrong.

So very, very wrong.

First off - remember I'm no trekkie so my opinion on the entire matter is pretty much useless.
Secondly - sci fi is NEVER my genre so....there's that.

I had been warned ahead of time that I would likely be swooning over Benedict Cumberbatch, and that there was some secret surprise in the film.  Okey doke - on the look out.

The first twenty minutes lost me.  Completely and totally lost me.  Dude!?!  Is this Indiana Jones in Avatar?  What the chicken?  At one point, I snuck a sidelong glance at Daddy to see if he was as amused as I was.  For the record, I did NOT openly snicker.  *pats self on the back*

And then it gets underway.......

Benedict Cumberbatch.  Let's discuss.
Meh.  Certainly not hard on the eyes, but I didn't feel like swooning nor faint at any time just looking at him.  And I even paid particular attention to his lips as I had been advised.  Nope.  Doesn't do it for me.  And in all honesty, I can't get past his unusual name.  It sounds......like........I don't know, just odd.

Explosions.  There's a lot of them.  A LOT OF BLOWING UP STUFF!  Which normally I totally love, but this was different. It was all blowing up in space.  Whu? Double meh.

Characters.  The fact that I liked Spock and Scotty the mostest tells ya something.  After mocking the Spock man my entire life and now finding that I am drawn to him more than any other character is a real head scratcher for me.  Shouldn't I be all like "ooh Captain James Kirk" or something?  Nope.  Spock is fascinating.  And my favorite part with him was at the end when he was running super, duper fast and his bangs are flying in the wind.  Totes awesome to see those bangs move like that. As for Scotty - he's just plain fun.  I love me a scottish brogue.

Gratuitous bra and panties shot.  Just one more reminder that real women do not have flat abs like that.  Suck.

Anyone see Armageddon with Bruce Willis?  Yeah, that one.  There is a scene where Bruce is saving the day and the camera zooms in on his eye and we see his life flash before him.  I swear to you, I was waiting for it with Kirk in a particular scene.  I was so sure it was gonna happen I would have bet money on it.  In fact, now that I think about it, maybe it would have helped the scene.

Klingon language.  Lame.  Kinda like when the hobbits all start talking elvish or elvin or something like that in LOTR.  Just makes me giggle and lose all respect for the characters and actors.

Dr Bones.  Is he really so angry all the time?  Is he mad?  Is he just so serious?  Is it overacting?
"Are you out of your corn fed mind?"

Writing.  I will admit there is some pretty witty writing in there, and there's some really bad cheesy stuff too.  It seems as if they almost had a complete different staff write different parts of the story.

Special effects.  On point for an action movie.

The super secret that reveals itself in the movie?  Yeah.  Didn't get it.  Didn't pick up on it.  I even watched some of the credits waiting for something momentous to happen.  Once Tiburon explained it to me, then it made sense.  So that whole piece was completely lost on me.  I suppose if I were a true Trekkie, I would have gotten it.  Meh.

And finally, let's discuss Captain Kirk.  Chris Pine.  I do enjoy the actor that plays him.  Easy on the eyes.  Speaking of eyes, his are pretty.  But to be completely honest, ever since seeing Jim Carrey's impersonation of William Shatner as Kirk on "In Living Color", I can't take anyone serious as Kirk.  Ever.

Overall, the popcorn was good, the diet coke better and Splenda Daddy best.  The movie?  Meh.  Something for me to snort and giggle over for a couple of days as it provided plenty of fodder for me to mock and uber glad we didn't pay full price.  No complaining from this corner - overall fun time just in a different way than I had expected.

Next up on the movie circuit?

Don't know - taking your suggestions..........

Mother's Day 2013 - it just keeps getting better

 So, yeah - like a whole week late but whatev's.

And before I even say one more thing, let the record reflect that Mother's Day gets to be freakin AWESOME when you're kids are adults.

Dude.

For reals.

Sure, the macaroni necklaces are cute, and the primary singing in church is always fun.  But we also tend to heap guilt on us because we're women and we just hollered at the kid in the car on the way to church.  We might have even threatened a beat down or two, so when we hear all the butterfly kisses and unicorns pooping rainbows on Mother's day - we convince ourselves that we suck and then book a first class ticket on the guilt cruise.  Been there, done that.

Maybe your husband isn't a great gift giver.  Sooooooo, it kinda sucks when you hear about all the cool things/services your friends get and at your house, you get a head nod and fist bump while he cleans the kitchen all the while you might be secretly just wanting something sparkly to wear.  Or a massage for crying out loud.

I get it.  Although Splenda has always been good in the prize giving department, I have friends who aren't that lucky and so I understand.

I will however, testify loud and strongly that once those snot nosed, mouthy kids grow up and become adults - IT IS WONDERFUL!

First, you look at them and see that they actually turned into great, upstanding and contributing members of society.  They got their brains back and you see all the smarts that you knew were in there the whole time and instead of guilt for allegedly threatening to "crack some skulls",  you get the reward of seeing that they actually like you again and you enjoy them as your best friends!

Second, even is husband isn't super great in the present department - your children (now adults) will be.  You freaking get AWESOME prizey's!!

So to all my younger mom friends - hang in there.  I promise you it get better.  So.Much.Better!!

For me this year?  The day was wonderful.  Yes, I missed the boys being little and dressing up as waiters.  Taking my breakfast order and serving me in bed, but Splenda took care of that and I was treated to eggs, hashbrowns, bacon, biscuits and diet coke on the rocks.  Pretty stellar.

Church was delightful.  Couldn't have had better speakers and then our ward gave us these treats:

After church, I came home to Tuffy and 'Tana waiting for us with a huge gift bag:

(exhibit A that my kids truly know my loves)

Splenda attended his ward for High Council and then we headed over to his Mom's (meeting up with Luke and Mindy) for a visit.
They spoiled me too!:

(exhibit B - more things that my kids know I love)

Then it was all of us over to my mom's for a bbq with my brother, my BFSIL and all our kids.  John grills a mean steak and the dinner was delish!

At one point (it's kind of blur now) I saw an unattended phone.  I played with it.  My BFSIL (pictured directly above) blogged about it.  Click here to read her story.  She's a much better writer than I am (proof is, she's published 4 books whereas I have not)

After that hysterical fun, my little chickens all gathered at my house for movie night.  I loved getting to talk to the SoCal kids a bit and love the prize that came in the mail yesterday:

(exhibit C - it's an ELEPHANT!  my kids know what I love)

It was a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, the temp was warm, my kids were here, we laughed, we shared memories and Splenda was at my side.  Simply beautiful.

I usually take flowers over to Jill from Chloee, but I didn't get a chance on that day.  However, I did make a couple of recent visits and shared some flowers with her.

 I think she's pretty proud of her little Chloee right now.

Last order of business for the night was a funny Mom's day card and gift card from the Splenda Daddy.

(exhibit D - with strict instructions that I could NOT purchase anything for anyone else but that it all had to be for me.  Splenda knows me so well )

So, another Mother's Day in the books.  Hope yours was wonderful and if it wasn't (let's be honest - sometimes they aren't) - keep on keeping on and HANG IN THERE - they get better.  So, SO much better!

Happy Mother's day

As a young mother, I dreaded this day.  Guilt, guilt and then more guilt.

I grew up a little bit and got over it.  I developed some perspective.

Hope you have a fine A mother's day.  And just remember, you didn't birth Osama.  Or Obama for that matter.

Peace and blessings yo

xoxo

mCat

An Open Letter.......

Dear Melanie,

Yes.  You!

I just wanted to tell you that you COMPLETELY and TOTALLY made my whole day today!  Maybe my whole week!

Thanks for saying something.  Thanks for being kind.

And thanks for letting me hug you!

xoxox

mCat

**Never underestimate the power of kindness.  A simple kind word or two goes a loooooong way**

The big reveal Ultrasound.! It's a........

So, SO thankful that the kids invited me, Dana and Bird to the big, important ultrasound!

(the most beautiful 20 week pregnant belly I've ever seen!)

First off - baby looks completely perfect.  Everything healthy, right on schedule, and not just normal but gorgeous already!!

SHE is already a princess!!!

(I have no idea what I'm looking at here, but both the tech and the doc were quite assured that it's a girl.  No dangling participles)

(her little hand waving hello!)

Of course the shopping has begun!!  All things frilly, pink, girly, and F.U.N!

Now hoping the next 20 weeks to go just as fast!

The Nuptials Part III

Every good wedding has a video that plays at the luncheon and then loops around playing at the reception.   At least any good Utah Mormon wedding that is.

Luke chose the songs, the kids both chose pictures and Splenda Daddy put it all together.

I realize it's 12 minutes long and prolly not as interesting to any else as much as it is to me, but hey, my blog



Gosh I love these kids....

And yes, two IS better than one

The Nuptials Part II

Friday morning.

We have one bathroom to get 8 people ready.

We.Are.Amazing!

Mindy picked up Luke and Splenda and they headed to the temple early.  I rode with Corb and Karalee while Tuffy, Montana and Chloee came up later.

The sealing was absolutely beautiful.  There is something to be said for seeing your child so, SO happy!  It was a great feeling to look around the room and see so many people that we love, adore and feel as close to as family.

Simply beautiful.

this one pretty much screams "them!"

Our besties the Bland's

The boys

new sisters

After their grand entrance

Mindy's aunt and uncle

my boys

Chloee practicing for when it will be her big day :)

Splenda's family

me and my BFF

My boys - they are so very handsome

my girls - the epitome of beauty

my and my Lukie

Now he is hers!

Lot's of pictures outside the temple and then we had a little bit of time before we needed to get to the restaurant for the luncheon.  Since Splenda's mom works right there in the Family History center, we walked over and took a little tour of her office.  Lot's of cool things happening there.

The restaurant was right over at the Gateway, and I'll tell you right now, if you are looking for a reasonable place to host a wedding luncheon or something along those lines.  They.Were.Stellar!
Tucano's took exceptional care of us.  We had a room with glass doors that closed and a projector screen for our video.  It's a Brazilian steakhouse with an all you can eat salad/pasta/whatever bar and then servers coming around with various meats on skewers.  It was so delicious!

Some of Mindy's family

Jody, me and Deb's

I also worked with Debbie over at Swirly Girl Bakery and had a little cake bite decorated and placed at each place setting.  My friend Jody provided the flower centerpieces and Splenda did the video.  That's it folks.  Simply sit down, enjoy and eat!  Easy peasy.......seriously - a fantastic experience and I would highly recommend you check out both links.  On point with their service and product!

After the luncheon, we came home with the intent of getting a little rest.  Que the overslept panic that hit all of us when we woke up at about the time we were supposed to be at the reception center!  GAH!!

Their reception was held at Le Jardin in Sandy and it's one of my all time favorite places.  It's a greenhouse so there's no decorating necessary.  They took care of everything.  We did some family photo shoots and then the bride and groom stood in a receiving area to greet their guests.  I hung out and just walked up and down the line chatting and greeting friends and neighbors.

I think having just the two of them and not a formal reception line made things go much faster.  Plus no awkward having to shake hands with someone you don't know.  Besides, it was their party!

They cut the cake, had the traditional dances and then Chloee was exhausted.  She climbed in my lap, we snuggled down and I held her for the rest of the night.  I didn't even get up to see what damage had been done to the car.  I figured it was probably best that way.  Every naughty thing Luke did to his buddies cars when they got married came right back at him.

There are a couple of kids left in this group to still get married - I can only shake my head at what lies in store for them.

The kids changed clothes and off they went!  We gave them a night at the Anniversary Inn and then they spent the week in Park City.

I just couldn't be happier for them!  What a great couple.  So much love, happiness, fun, goofiness, compatibility......just perfect for each other.  That makes a momma content.

Thankfully, the reception center doesn't need to be cleaned up.  We loaded everything and then created a stack of presents in the kitchen for the kids to come back to.

Of course, with Corb and Kar here only another day, I went to bed that night with a house full of kids spending time together and catching up.  Best.thing.ever.  Felt like old times.  Food, laughing, and the constant hum of chatter.

Happy. Happy. Happy.

*next up - the video
** clearly, I have no professional pics yet