Can tastebuds evolve?

Now everyone at some point in their lives had a food they hated as a kid. Maybe it was the texture, the look, the smell, or just that nasty aftertaste, whatever it was, we hated it. And we refused to eat it no matter the consequence.

So, how I ask you, does one "grow out of " not liking those horrible foods of our childhood?
As for me, I hated onions, celery, peppers, cabbage, anything with a weird smell, and fish.
Today, things have changed. I love sauteed onions and cabbage and I'll eat smoked salmon if there's absolutely nothing else. Unfortunately peppers are staying on the hated list for now along with unnatural smelling entities.

As for celery, well, it's always been an issue for me. I know it's healthy and takes more energy to digest than to eat, so that's good apparently. But no matter how hard I would try, I couldn't get past the funky taste and those dang strings!!

Back when Girls Scouts were cool (trust me, they were), they tried all sorts of ways to get me to like it. "Don't be scared to eat celery," they'd say. "Just line up those raisins and pretend it's ants on a log!" Sure, like eating ants is better than eating raisins. I don't like raisins either. So, I abandoned the hope of acquiring a taste. It was a lost cause.

Until today.

I saw the peanut butter beckoning to me from the pantry, so I needed a healthy excuse to eat it. I searched through the fridge, and there they were; fresh stalks of green, stringy celery.
"Just try it," said my inner healthy-eating-conscience.
So, I pulled out the materials I needed and began to spread the delectable nutty goodness down the chute of celery. Once this process was perfected, I stopped. What am I doing?



Why am I abandoning my long trusted tastebuds that told me "No, no this gross!" ?
I don't know why it happened, but it did. I took a bite. And it was....



delicious.
Hello healthy eating. Let's get to know each other a little better.

dreaming of better days....

It snowed today. It wasn't super bad, but it was enough to almost kill me twice. Well, make my car slide. Unlike many others I'm sure, the only things going through my head at those moments are, "Well let's see, what's the best angle to hit this car in front of me to cause the least amount of damage.." because, if my brakes continue to relinquish their duty of stopping me when i want them to, then collision is inevitable, as Agent Smith would say.
SO, in lieu of (believe me, it took awhile to find the correct spelling) this horrid spritz of precipitation, I've decided to post a moment in time that the weather was brilliant and sunny.
A day without plans or schedules, a day that I simply enjoyed the world around me...

It was around August, September-ish of last year. Carina and I just wanted to get out and take in the scenery and ended up here, Crooked River Canyon, where our trigger fingers itched with desire, giving us only one option, cameras!!

When we first arrived, we were faced with this rather grim sign...



Now, there were many other ways to convey this message, so why did they have to make it so graphic?! ---- I guess it could've been worse. They could've shown a cartoon of what the dog looked like after it landed...

We are both fans of all sorts of architecture, so we were thrilled to have not one, not two, but 3 marvelous bridges to photos at all angles. -- I think this is the only one I got with all three together.



The black one is an old railway bridge, the second is the rendered obsolete one for cars, and the new and improved red one is the current!

But, it wasn't only bridges that caught our eye, (eyes? eyes'?) there was the river of course, and it was beautiful that day...



And I even got the El Frontera del Norte bus to prove it's a bridge....and not photoshopped in or anything..

So, after awhile, we needed to photograph something more...living, you know, stop being so serious and inspirational. So here's what became of that...







'Cobblestone tanning' All the rage in Europe...



Where the two halves meet. Remind me never to apply for bridge construction. I still don't get how it works.



A little movie seepage again...



Once again, we came upon another unnecessarily disturbing sign. Unfortunately for one of us, the warning came too late...



I was extremely upset at Carina for making me take this.



Living life on the edge isn't quite this literal.



and to end the trip, we were haunted with this piece of graffiti towering over us...
Why don't you tell us what it is.

So. there you have it. A wonderful day in place of an otherwise troublesome, blustery one.

Number one skies...

In my hometown, our weather is pretty moody. Seriously, you can't stay mad at it for long, because if it's raining at noon, it'll be sunny at 2. We have the most ridiculous weather. But, the upside is our skies. We get all the best clouds and sunrises/sets, that's why everyone wants to move here.
So, drink this in. It's the view from my front porch.
Edit Posts


I know, it's looks a bit Edward Scissorhands-ish..





Here's a few more...



Right before it started raining at Haystack..





And, the Rocks....







Not to brag or anything...

Last Chance Hoffman....

Ok, I usually never go see something in the theater unless it's theater-worthy. This means that I will not feel disappointed after spending nearly 10 bucks on a ticket alone (no popcorn!) to see it. That means films that need a big screen like The Dark Knight, totally worthy of surround sound and massive action. A film that does not fall into this category is Last Chance Harvey.



Had it not been for the well-seasoned leading actors, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, this would've been a flop. I was surprised they accepted this script, being so uneventful and all. Times are tough and maybe Hoffman needed it. But since they both were in it, it's only borderline floppin'.

What I liked:

• The unique match up between Hoffman and Thompson. I loved them in Stranger than Fiction, so I was hopeful for this one.
• The realism. Not everyone is happy all of their lives, they don't have a perfect family, and they don't always get the dream job they want. This is something we can actually relate to, rather than resent a dreamlike storyline.
  
• It wasn't love at first sight. Enemies first, then friends, then love, just at an incredibly fast pace. (Hey, when you're that old, now is all you've got!)

What wasn't so enjoyable was the slow pace and the uneventful setting. C'mon, they're in London, there's bound to be more than one cobblestone walkway.

So, why did I break my own rule? It was Carina's birthday, and we wanted to go see a movie. What we really wanted to see was Taken, but it was too late, so we agreed upon Last Chance Harvey. It was either that or Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

So, if I were you, I'd wait to rent it, and even then, don't host a party with it as the main event. It's a rainy day movie when you've got nothing extremely better to do.

Ah, period films...

Now, I'm a sucker for period films. Anything involving nobility, tyrannical kings, gambling queens, you know the usual, I love it.
One, as of late, has become my most recent favorite (not of all time however), starring Keira Knightley (my definite favorite) as The Duchess.



She is the ideal choice for any period film, so that must be why we've seen her in numerous roles such as : Princess of Thieves(2001), Pirates of the Caribbean(2003, '06, '07), King Arthur (2004), Pride and Prejudice(2005), Atonement(2007), The Duchess(2008), and finally King Lear(coming out 2010). She plays the elegant lady we all wish we were.



It seems as if Shakespeare's Juliet is the only prominent role left for her to perfect. And it so happens that in 2004, the Royal Shakespeare Company of Stratford, England, held a poll asking movie viewers to vote for the actor and actress they would love to see play Romeo and Juliet. It was no surprise that the winners were Knightley and James Marsters(P.S. I Love You). Had I been included in this vote, I definitely would've preferred someone more suited to Keira such as her former costars, James McAvoy and Matthew McFadden.



More than 2,000 people voted for more than 150 different actors for both roles. Keira triumphed over Kate Winslet, Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson, and Juliet Landau in the vote. Knightley said, "I am absolutely thrilled to have come top of the poll, particularly as Juliet is a role I would very much love to play in the future." (April 23, 2004)
So, as a devoted fan, I hope she gets that chance as well!



The wardrobe in The Duchess is so precise and exquisite, one is thrust into envy. Her wigs are at times hilarious, but that's what it was all about in those days, over the top.



This one was my favorite.

It's the infamous story of the scandalous life of the Duchess of Devonshire. She was the icon of fashion, designing all of her clothes, and was very active in politics. This was completely opposite to the Duke, played by Ralph Fiennes, who plays the most disgusting, horrific man in France.



I was positive he would be this way even before I saw the film. You see, it's not that I don't like Ralph, he's a great actor. It's just all I see when I look at him is Francis Dolarhyde aka: Red Dragon. Now, I am an avid Hannibal fan, so for some reason, my admiration for Anthony Hopkins enables me to tolerate his cannibalistic roles, but Ralph Fiennes hit a nerve. That face and that voice just gives me the creeps! I mean look at him! How can one not be disturbed?

Overall, it's a good film, even though these types don't ever end the way you want them to. So, if you are fan of flamboyant wealth and secret loves, then you'd better rent this. Tonight.

The best in a long time...

Now, it's been a while since Ive been to the movies, since the money flow has been less than gushing...so, now that I've gotten to see a bit of what's out there, it's such a relief! There is one in particular that I enjoyed so thoroughly, that I just have to recommend it to everyone!

Australia is one the most beautiful, epic films I've seen in a long time. The Cinematography and locations and costumes were amazing.

In the beginning, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) is labeled as an aristocrat of sorts, being the image of style and elegance in the rustic company of Australia. She thought very highly of herself and seemed very uptight and rude. But as the film progresses, her lighter side is unveiled by the mysterious wonder of a little aboriginal boy named Nullah.

The first time you lay eyes on this beautiful child, it's an instant love. He is so sweet and innocent and mystical. His grandfather is the King of the aborigines, who also teaches Nullah the songs of the earth. He sings to calm animals down and draw Lady Ashley to him. It's so moving how he sings with such a small voice, but it also has so much power beneath it. -- "I'll sing you to me" becomes a sort of catchphrase for him throughout the film, but every time you hear it, your eyes are bound to start puddling.

Now, don't pass this off as some girly love story. It's full of intensity and danger, gun fights and chases.


There is a definite bad guy, and his name is Mr. Fletcher. (David Wenham). You may recognize him as the honorable Faramir in LOTR (Return of the King), but trust me, there's not a smidge of good in this character.


And, there is a gorgeous, rough, Australian hero known as Drover, which I'm not sure is his actual name since droving is his profession (driving cattle ). But, nevertheless, he's the perfect outdoors, save your life, just enough scruff, kind of man that every woman dreams of. And Hugh Jackman does an amazing job. I mean, c'mon, who can resist that...


I didn't think there would be very good chemistry between Kidman and Jackman. Even though they're only a year apart, she looks quite a bit older than him. I guess it's because he's played alot of youthful roles as opposed hers in The Hours and such. But, they surprised me and created a powerful, exotic romance that makes your heart race everytime their eyes meet.


So, please, if you haven't delved into this world of beauty, love, action, and adventure, for your own sake of experiencing something truely exciting, watch it. It's worth every penny of your overpriced movie ticket.

The Morning After...

Yes, Last night was amazing....another wonderful episode of LOST.
-As you know, this is my favorite day of the week and my friends and I always make it an occasion! We even dress up as characters, just for fun though, it's not like we go out and buy things, just whatever we can come up with. For the premiere, Carina was hurley:

The next week, She was the black smoke...


And Charity was Sawyer...

And I was the Blast door map...I know, soo creative....



So this week, I was Alex...I even had a costar in tow...

Don't worry, I didn't feed it to Karl, me and KitKat just cuddled...(while taking these, I discovered that rabbits can't look straight, so if you spin in a circle, it's head sort of "ticks" like a clock as you spin. It's hilarious, just try it.)

So, back to LOST...

-Although, it wasn't nearly as exciting as the premiere, I mean c'mon, who DIDN'T know that was Rousseau, it was a good episode. But, it did have a few surprises here and there. Even though Ms. Littleton was A client, she wasn't THE client, coincidence? I think, no, probably not.

Poor Hugo only got a quick snapshot, but it was worth it. That jumpsuit was priceless, loved it!

--Finally, Jin. Yes, I knew he was still alive. There was no reason for him to die, only stupid Micheal. So, good for Jin, he's probably sick of always being blown off boats and being found by strange people.

Until next week!