Monday, July 30, 2007

Birthday at the Beach


Rehoboth Beach 2007
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Nicholas and I spent the weekend in Delaware at Rehoboth Beach, our favorite summer getaway. We had an absolutely fabulous time and I had a near perfect birthday. We drove down Friday night and had fish and chips on the boardwalk. On my birthday, we spent at the beach until a thunderstorm rained us out at which point we headed to the arcade. We ate an unseemly amount of seafood at our favorite local crab shack and birthday cake and champagne in our room. On Sunday, we took one last stroll on the beach before heading to the outlet, where Nicholas injected some much needed new blood into his wardrobe.
I think more than anything I just enjoyed hanging out with my husband. As we left town, he realized he'd been at work everyday since July 5th. And as we had more and more fun together, I realized how much I'd really missed him. So, not to lay on the sap, but getting to spend such quality time with my favorite person was probably the best birthday present of all. :)

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Friday, July 27, 2007

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

****SPOILER ALERT**** I've warned you people and gave you a week's notice so here it goes!



I started reading Harry Potter in 2001. My dear friend Annie was having a party for the first movie and you couldn't come to the party unless you had read the book. About 5 pages in I was hooked and I've been desperately in love with J.K. Rowling's wizarding wonderland ever since. I literally love everything about the books. The characters, the settings, the themes of choice and courage. I just love it. I've been pushed to tears by her books. I've laughed out loud. And at the end of Goblet of Fire, I sat in my room in broad daylight scared out of my freaking mind.

So, it was incredibly bittersweet to reach the end of the series. But, oh wow, what an ending it was.

Not surprisingly, I absolutely adored Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Again, I went through the whole spectrum of emotions. I laughed out loud ("Pathetic! With the whole wide world of ear-related humor before you, you go for holey?"). I cried...ok, let's be honest, I wept. (DOBBY!) And, for a majority of the book, I was on the edge-of-my -seat, scared out of my mind!

What I didn't expect was to be surprised. I thought Rowling would spend this final book answering our questions and tying everything up. And she did, but in ways I never expected. I think the tying in of Dumbledore's past was nothing short of genius. Like Harry, a part of me just assumed Dumbledore sprung forth full-formed. I never thought about why he was so powerful, although a part of me always wondered why he couldn't defeat Voldemort. The way his past became such an integral part of Harry and Voldemort's story was amazing to me and probably my favorite part of this book. While I had never questioned it before, it makes so much sense that the three most powerful wizards in the book, Harry, Voldemort, and Dumbledore, would be intertwined and that for Harry to fully come into his own power before he defeats Voldemort, he would need to understand why he was uniquely suited for the role (beyond the mere accident of birth) and Dumbledore wasn't. What struck me even more by the end of the book, I believed that Harry was a more powerful wizard by the end - which in some ways I wasn't expecting.

Of course the road there wasn't easy and the deaths in the book were also surprising. There was a part of me that fully expected for one of the three friends to die. I heard an interview with Rowling where she expressed pride that people really felt no one was off the table and I guess she's right. The book felt more real and intense because I truly expected Harry, Ron or Hermoine to die, especially after Hedwig died in the first 50 pages of the book. I felt like she was telling me very clearly that no one was off limits. Now, the fact that the main three were spared did not make any of the other deaths any easier. I was particularly devastated by Hedwig and Dobby. These two creatures were caught up in a war they had no part in creating and their unconditional devotion to Harry made their deaths that much harder. Of course, as a big sister to twin brothers, Fred's death was almost unbearable. It truly makes me wonder if Rowling is close to any twins in her life because part of me thinks if she was then she would have known one without the other is completely unimaginable.

Now, there were some deaths that were significantly less upsetting. Like, I don't know...Bellatrix the Bitch. The killing of Bellatrix, the ultimate representation of murder and complete lack of empathy, by Molly Weasley, the ultimate representation of life and compassion, was awesome! Again, not what I saw coming but the only conceivable option once it happened. Of course there were a thousand other brilliant moments where some of my favorite characters got their moment to shine - almost all at the Battle of Hogwarts (which is the sole reason I am counting until the days the 7th movie) - Neville pulling the sword from the sorting hat to slay Nagini, Minerva ordering the armor to do their duty and defend the school, Trelawny throwing crystal balls at Deatheaters, the list goes on and on.

Of course the ultimate shining moment was the ending - Harry faces death courageously and comes out on the other side. I thought the ending was inspiring and perfect. I thought the ultimate battle between Harry and Voldemort being fought in the Great Hall of Hogwarts for all eyes to witness was brilliant and I felt completely fulfilled with not the slightest dash of disappointment. My absolute only complaint was that the epilogue featuring Harry and his family 19 years later did not reveal his career. However, Rowling has recently revealed he is an auror, so my only remaining question was answered. And otherwise I really loved the ending with him sending his beloved children off to his first loving home and the beginning of his journey - Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I'm so sad it's over, but I can at least look forward to the next two movies...that and introducing my own children to the enchanting and endearing world of Harry Potter. :)

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Happy Birthday Early!


Ultimate Rewards Points
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

My birthday came a bit early courtesy of Lexis Nexis! All through law school I was obsessed with the Lexis Nexis rewards points they handed out for trainings or regular visits to lexisnexis.com. So obsessed that by the time I graduated almost 30,000 points. To give you some perspective, most of my friends had around 1,000.

So, last week I cashed in my points on their amazon.com website and got:
- a digital picture frame
- scanner
- card reader
- several books
- a cupcake carrier
- $10 iTunes gift card

The majority of the shipment came today and I've been playing with my digital picture frame all night.

Thanks Lexis!

Wednesday: Tortilla Soup


Wednesday: Tortilla Soup
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Harry Potter


Harry Potter Release Party
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Ok, so all you peeps have till Friday to read the book because I REALLY want to post about the book! Consider this your warning ;)

Saturday: Neopolitan Ice Cream Cake


Saturday: Neopolitan Ice Cream Cake
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

I made this for our good friend Jennifer and David, who were in town visiting from North Carolina. It was chocolate angel food layered with strawberry and vanilla ice cream and it's dang good if I do say so myself.

Swing Time



Despite my self-professed passion for dancing flicks, I had never actually seen a Fred and Ginger movie and - oh man! - was I missing out. It is like they are connected by invisible strings, moving constantly in sync.
More importantly, what makes them standout against all the ballroom I've ever seen, is the seeming absence of effort. Sometimes I watch ballroom dancers, particularly the hardcore professionals, and it seems like every muscle in their body is tense. But F&G just glide and twirl and dip as if the movements are more natural than walking. It is stunning.
What surprised me even more (besides the blackface number no one mentions) is what good actors they both were. They were funny and charming and their chemistry was amazing. I won't lie and say the rest of the movie was genius - it's still all about the dance numbers. However, overall it was really entertaining and now I really want to see more F&G flicks.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Mama Maggie


While at home in Paducah last month, I did interviews with my great-grandmother Maggie Stewart and my grandmother Nancy Stewart. I've finished editing the interview with Mama Maggie - complete with family photos and music. It will of course be more interesting to the Stewart's on the blog but I think the life of any 95 year old is interesting whether you are related to her or not. You should at least watch till she talks about her mother and her ability to "bless you down." ;)



Mama Maggie from hollandnm and Vimeo.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Big Love


I've got one word for why this season of Big Love rocks my pants off....

MARGENE!

Screen on the Green


Screen on the Green
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

Last night Nicholas and I went to the opening night of Screen on the Green. They opened with Annie Hall, which was a big hit and really fun to see with an audience.

We packed a picnic which (I hope ya'll are sitting down for this) I COOKED and prepared. That's right I chopped, cooked, and generally prepared eggplant pasta salad AND I baked peanut butter cup brownies for dessert. Then I packed it all up with bread, cheese, and fruit that I bought at the grocery store ALL BY MYSELF.

Are you impressed yet? You should be. It's all part of my campaign to remain a well-pampered housewife and convince my husband I can put my legal skills, such as analysis and research, to good use without actually getting a paying job. ;)

Friday, July 13, 2007

Thursday, July 12, 2007



Underwater Doggy Treadmill from hollandnm and Vimeo.

Global Literacy


Last week's Newsweek was about global literacy, aka "What You Need to Know" about the world around you. They had a quiz you could (and still can) take to test your global literacy. I consider myself a pretty informed person but I was pretty shocked by my 55% on the quiz. Of course, if there wasn't a sports section I believe I would have done significantly better.

However, the following articles spelling out 181 Things You Need To Know contained several facts that shocked me even more.

Here's a sampling:
1. The largest Muslim nation in the world is Indonesia.
2. Brazil is the worlds leading producer of ethanol, which they make from sugar cane not corn.
3. More than half the 12.8 million Mormans in the world live outside the United States.
4. The United States is ranked 24th in internet broadband penetration (after Estonia).
5. The last time the No. 1 blockbuster of the year focused on a woman was 1964's Mary Poppins.

Saturday, July 07, 2007

Maggie


Maggie
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

If there is a cuter dog in the universe, I would sure like to know about it.


Fourth Anniversary
Originally uploaded by SarahorNicholas.

The Fourth Anniversary is fruit and flowers. Nicholas and I always try to stick close to the traditional gifts. This was my "fruit" basket from Nicholas. I got him a tomato knife because a tomato is totally a fruit!
We also went out for a lovely dinner at Oya and had a fabulous time.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Cabaret

Can you tell I'm having a bit of a movie marathon? ;)
I LOVED this movie. It was infinitely better than Blade Runner (see Christina I have appreciation for things made before I was born...in the 1980's! - sorry just had to throw that in!). The whole thing was really fantastic - the costumes, the music, Liza Minnelli. And Joel Grey as the MC was nothing short of mindblowing.

Even if it was just a silly musical it would have been entertaining, but I think what made it genius was the deeper layer. The desperation of Sally Bowles and her band of fools. You know it's good film making when you hate the characters and feel sorry for them at the exact same time, especially Sally/Liza. Her intensity is so magnetic, but it is so tinged with sadness - just like her mom. I actually thought about the two of them a lot while watching it because I felt just like I did when I was watching Judy Garland in A Star Is Born. What we know about her real life makes her performances so much more touching and ironic. I think the same is true to a certain extent with Liza. Her portrayal of Sally Bowles is such a work of genius because it is difficult at times to imagine where Sally ends and Liza begins.

Big thumbs up - absolutely loved it.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Blade Runner

Holy crap was this movie boring. I mean I get why it's important and it is pretty amazing that they tapped into issues of globalization and genetics almost twenty years ago, but I almost fell asleep like three times.

My biggest problem is the pacing was painfully slow. Plus, all the special effects look so dated. The only thing I really liked was the contrast of all the 40's hair and clothing in the futuristic landscape.

Overall, I have to say if I'm going to watch a story about robots gone wrong it's going to be Battlestar Galactica.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?


Wow...make sure and watch this one when you're all rested up and in a stable mood because it's quite a battle. Elizabeth Taylor is phenomenal - loud, crude, biting. Richard Burton's performance increases at this steady pace that is just short of psychotic. The whole time I kept wondering how these people said these things to each other, even acting, and retained a half-way decent relationship. Then I read this on wikipedia:

The relationship between them portrayed in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is reputed to have been similar to Burton and Taylor's real-life marriage.

Well, there you go. It actually reminded me of the movie Closer, where the fights are so real they reach right through the screen and slap you in the face. Of course, they were both directed by Mike Nichols, which means his four marriages maybe aren't that surprising.