duck pond

One of our favorite things in the summer is to feed the ducks. There is a great pond right at the mouth of the canyon which is never short on geese and ducks. There is always a great supply! But we have never really thought about doing it in the winter until recently. I had never seen so many geese and ducks co-existing in one small area.

The stampede:

I doubt these fowl are underfed. But still, they came-a-charging as soon as they heard the soft unfolding of the bread bag.

No need to beg! Plenty for all!


Surrounded.


"Um...so where's, um, my bread? I really would like some soft, white, sugary bread. Like. Now."


He and I bonded quickly. I sensed he knew I married a fellow Canuck.


"So are they out of bread? How long do we have to peck at this snow before they throw some more?"




Converging.

bright star

I rented this movie and it was excellent. Definitely a heartbreaking love story full of anxiety and tragedy. But it was wonderful. The acting was superb. The costumes were flowy and colorful. The imagery was beautiful. Every shot was like a picture that could be printed and framed. All I wanted to do was transport myself into that place and time. Good thing I will be able to see England for myself pretty soon but too bad I won't be as well dressed as Franny Brawne...

I definitely recommend renting this though. Here is the trailer:

cleaning

This is how we clean the floors at our house.
P.S. I realize I am panting pretty hard in the video. I really am not that out of shape...or maybe I am. At any rate, it is a task to pull 50+ lbs around whilst trying to hold the camera steady.
Really.

Cleaning the Floor from Nells Bells on Vimeo.

snl weekly

It is time to play catch up on all the missed weeks of SNL weekly. SO many great kits and Digital Shorts and musical guests. Two of my favorites were recently on: Muse and The Ting Tings. Oh. My. Goodness. I truly think SNL is one of the best shows on TV.

Here Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig show off their improvisational chops. This clip is actually from the dress rehearsal and I almost think it is funnier than the original. Mainly because they break and laugh at themselves. That always makes a skit laugh out loud hysterical...at least, it makes me bust a gut. Enjoy.

new releases

I am just seeing this trailer and I am very excited about its release. Paul Bettany is awesome and this whole film just looks fascinating.



Also, have you seen the new Clash of the Titans trailer?? Holy excitement, Batman. I previously had posted about my love for the old version. I had no idea they already had made a new one. And so many great actors involved! Much squealing ensued.



Another new release I am so looking forward to is the new Robin Hood with Russell Crowe. Lets face it: Russell Crowe and a caesar haircut go hand-in-hand. He is just so good in these types of roles. Plus we all know Crowe is Ridley Scott's muse.

recipe for disaster

We became the family who ruined family pictures this year and we are barely into the new year. Chalk it up to our cute little family to make the year meaningful, a week and a half in! Plus it was the in-laws who were requesting the picture (i.e. the ones whom you want to impress the most). And it wasn't just any family picture...it was to signify the wonderful 50 years ma and pa in-laws have spent together. THE golden anniversary. So for sure they wanted pictures with all the grandkids and all their kids with spouses too. Totally sounds like a normal procedure so far. Of course, a lot of planning, on my part, was put into this to make sure our children were properly dressed and ready to look stunning among the 38 or so grankids that have become the product offspring of their 50 years. New sweaters (totally proud of the sale I snagged them from) were ordered for just our little family to look stunning in our 2010 debut. I mean, matchy-matchy sweaters are the ultimate recipe for an outstanding family pic, right?

The location: an ampitheater

The date: December 26th

The temperature: 2 F

Windchill factor: -12 F

My choice of shoes: NOT smart but of course, super cute and fashionable

Shoes suitable for snow: BIG no

Shoes suitable for carrying a small child: BIGGER no

Did I think it would be a problem: gynormous no

We were late on arrival which did not add to the mix well. With it being freezing and the kids tired from a late night with their cousins, our target was already off que. We seriously should not have even bothered. But was I about to surrender after all my planning and precision bargain hunting for our matchy sweater set? No!

Here is the pic of ma and pa in-laws with their grandkids. Notice our cute lovelies up front? Mo stopped screaming and crying for two seconds together. Mi-mi is still crying, reaching out for mom like someone has snatched her up and is taking her away forever.

Here is our attempt at making a family picture "work". Mi-mi is clutching her elefant for dear life but still crying. Too bad you can't see the giant red splotches all over her face from crying. Oh. Notice the snowy hill we are standing on? Remember the choice of shoes? Yeah. AND I tripped on the stoney path to the snowy hill, while carrying Mi-mi. I almost dropped her but luckily caught her mid-air. Double yeah....totally nightmarish and uncool.I also wish you could really feel how cold we are in this picture. It literally took us 2 hours to defrost and another 3 to warm up to the proper body temperature. Not sure I had ever been this cold in my life. I think I may have if I had fallen through ice and swam in a snowy river. Yeah, that's about how cold we were.

My awesome and cute sister came through for us today and snapped these for us. It really is impossible to have everyone smiley and happy, but they turned out way cute and they were free! Double dose of yay and yay.

Even better is we didn't have to travel far and freeze off our tootsies. Our backyard made a pretty great backdrop and the kids could hop inside to warm up in between takes. Oooohhh...now I'm talking like a true professional. We totally could be professional. Like that professional made-up family that is in all the photo frames you buy. Note to self: develop market strategy to become next big thing.
I'm thinking next year we will have to try the mustache idea like Annie and her family.

fanatical friday

Happy New Year's to all! Hope you had fun ringing in 2010. We definitely did and enjoyed filling our bellies with lots of good food. 'Tis the season!

For this particular Fanatical Friday post I would like to share one of my favorite music videos of all time. It comes from one of my favorite bands, Alien Ant Farm. What has happened to them?? Not sure. I truly hope they are just taking an extended break and a new album will drop soon. We shall see...

Here they are crashing the BET awards back in 2003 from on top of the building across the way. They definitely pull a U2 in this video but what I especially love is no one knows who they are when they start playing. Then they drape their band sign on the building and everyone thinks they are the bomb. U2 didn't have to drop a sign...everyone knew who they were. But that is because they are U2.

Anywho. Enjoy.