Trip Update

After Birdman won Best Film last year, Spotlight won this year, and Mad Max: Fury Road won numerous awards last night, I just don't understand the Academy's thinking. Nevertheless, bottom line, a good variety of excellent films were released in 2015 and I look forward to seeing more of them.

On another subject, we booked our spring 2016 trip to Eastern Europe last September and now it's finally less than three months away. Yesterday Globus released the list of optional excursions and I was able to book all of them.

So our upcoming once-in-a-lifetime trip is feeling more real now. I'm excited and pray daily it actually happens. That hubby and I maintain our current level of wellbeing. That all family members, specifically my 85-year-old dad and pregnant daughter-in-law, stay well.

I wish I could be carefree, but I'm not and never have been. So I'll continue to be both excited and anxious until we're actually on the Lufthansa flight to Munich. Nevertheless, over the weekend we took another step forward and that's a good thing.

Movie Review – Brooklyn

I was able to check off another Academy Award movie nominee today. Brooklyn is a charming delightful film about immigration from Ireland to New York in the 1950s. It's not an epic or a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat film, so I'm not sure why it was nominated. But I'm glad it was, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered seeing it.

There are two main reasons I enjoyed Brooklyn. First, it takes place during the time I was born. When sets and costumes are done right, I always find it fun to be reminded of how much things have changed.

Second, it was refreshing to watch an immigration story that didn't include depressing or life-threatening drama. In Brooklyn, the main character is treated fairly and succeeds relatively quickly. The worse that happens to Ellis Lacey (besides homesickness) is the terrible seasickness she experiences on her voyage to America.

So now the only 2015 movie nominees I didn't see are Mad Max: Fury Road and Room. I'm not at all interest in Mad Max, and have decided to watch Room in the privacy of my own home where I can cry freely.

My prediction for Best Movie? The Revenant! Weeks later and I still can't stop thinking about it.

Enjoy the show!

Gender Reveal

Yep, in July or August (due date is July 21), I'll have a granddaughter in addition to two grandsons!

February Weekend Getaway

After 2+ years with the county parks, I've learned hubby just can't stay away from work completely if we're home. When possible, therefore, we need to leave town on three-day weekends so he gets a true break.

This past holiday weekend we drove to Louisville, KY, which is approximately 4.5 hours away. It's a pleasant drive that even includes some significant hills. We stayed at The Brown Hotel which turned out to be a good choice.

Before checking into the hotel,
we toured Churchill Downs.

Our first night, for dinner,
we shared a Hot Brown at our
hotel where the dish originated.
(This is a half portion!)

On Valentine's Day we toured
the Louisville Slugger factory
and museum.

Louisville was a fun getaway. The Churchill Downs and Slugger tours were much more interesting than I had imagined. And the Kentucky-specific foods we experienced (a Hot Brown, bourbon balls, and Derby Pie) were enough to bring us back. But to make the weekend even more special, the city got 1-2 inches of snow while we were there, which we enjoyed watching from our 14th-floor room.

While we were away, my daughter's family visited Kansas City per Elliott's request. It was his birthday weekend and he loves the Legoland Discovery Center there.

Elliott turned 10 years old on February 14. Happy birthday to the sweetest Valentine I ever received!

Yep, Elliott's two-hands full now!

Movie Review – Spotlight

Hubby was hanging with the guys today, so I saw Spotlight because I didn't think he would enjoy it. But after seeing it, I now believe he will like it when it's available through Amazon Prime.

If the Academy hadn't nominated Spotlight for Best Movie, I'm not sure I would have ever seen it. Not because of the subject matter, but because it got very little publicity. At least none I ever saw. Never saw a preview in the movie theater; never saw a major ad in Entertainment Weekly.

But Spotlight is another movie nominee I enjoyed although, as a Catholic, I found it frustrating. I was born in a strict God-fearing environment and bought everything the Catholic church dished out for way too many years. But when the massive scandal of child molestation within the church was exposed on the heals of 9/11, I began questioning everything. Even though, at the time, I didn't want to know all the details. It was just too hard to take.

I doubt Spotlight will win for Best Movie. But it's well done and I definitely recommend it.