maiden voyage

Our canoe made her maiden voyage this afternoon at Sterling Lake at Van Patten Woods. Not a very long canoe trip but very enjoyable. The birds were chirping, families were picnicking and fishing, and the water lilies were blooming. A very lovely way to spend a few hours on this June Sunday.

Movie Switch: Raising Helen

KW's Pick: Raising Helen. Not much to say, enjoyable enough, I guess.

My Pick: About a Boy. My husband will disagree, but I think movie is great. Similar to Raising Helen in that a child helps the main character grow up, but more melancholy. Plus I actually found the kid in About a Boy to be interesting and funny and sad, but the kids in Raising Helen, are just background to the over-rated Kate Hudson. If you haven't seen About a Boy, I highly suggested it.

Movie Switch: Gone in 60 Seconds

KW's Pick: Gone in 60 Seconds...More Nicholas Cage. And some cars, and car chases. Spoiler Alert: Everything turns out fine. And Angelina Jolie, don't even get me started.

My pick: Oceans Eleven. On all accounts a pretty similar movie--assemble cast, heist movie, etc--but I liked it so much better. When I saw Oceans Eleven for the first time, I wanted to be a con man, I wanted to plan a heist and steal from a casino. The movie is cool and sexy, and everytime it is on TV, I have to stop and watch at least part of it. (All bets are off for the sequels though, they look really bad!)

Movie Switch: Freedom Writers

KW's pick: Freedom Writers. I hate to admit it but I was set on not to like this movie. But I did. It was cliche and very similar to other teacher movies like Dangerous Minds and Mr. Holland's Opus, even Sister Act 2. But it was inspirational and charming. All around a nice feel good movie.

My pick: Million Dollar Baby. Hilary Swank really throws herself into her roles and is a great actress. Plus, Clint Eastwood is just such an icon. I only saw this movie once, but I felt like it had it all: it was an underdog, sports movie, and teacher/student movie, it was real and dramatic. Actually, writing about it makes me want to watch it again!

Movie Switch: City of Angels

KW's movie pick: City of Angels. Here's the real problem with this movie: Nicholas Cage. I don't buy this guy as a love interest, as an action hero, as a leading man, in general. The soundtrack is good though. I used to have the CD and listen to it all the time, it's now on my IPod, but after listening to the music a lot, this was the first time watching the movie. And I may have even enjoyed it, minus Mr. Cage.

My Pick: Raising Arizona. A movie I actually liked Nicholas Cage in. I think he should stick to being weird, cause he is. Plus, I heart the Cohen brothers!

Homemade Pizza

On Friday night we had friends over for homemade pizza. I used a simple pizza crust recipe that is dense and bready. If you'd like to try it, here's the recipe:

1 package active dry yeast, I used Red Star
1 cup warm water

Mix these together first.

Then add the following:

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Honey
1 tsp Garlic Salt
2 1/2 cups flour, I used whole wheat flour

Then mix altogether using your hands, then roll out on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Lightly coat the crust with EVOO and bake on 450 degrees for 6 minutes. The dough will be halfway cooked at this point and you can top however you'd want. We made 4 pizzas on Friday: 1) Pizza Sauce, Pepperoni, and shredded Mozzarella Cheese 2) Alfredo Sauce, Onions, Pre-Cooked Chicken, and Provolone Cheese 3) Vodka Sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, Pineapple and Ham 4) Vodka Sauce, little Mozzarella Cheese, Mushrooms, Green Pepper, Pre-Cooked Sausage, and crumbles Goat Cheese. Everyone really liked pizza #4!!

After you top your pizza, put it back in the oven for another 6-8 minutes until crust looks golden and cheese is melty.

Enjoy!

Spring