Thursday, January 31, 2008

Movie Day



A few months ago, my friends and I decided that this year we would make an effort to go to the movies together at least once a week. Even if only two of us were available, we would try to make it happen. So far, I haven't missed a week because I absolutely love going to the movies and really look forward to this outing each week. It might be lunch and a movie or dinner and a movie but either way, it still works for me. As an added incentive, we're trying to see all of the movies that have been nominated for an Academy Award before the actual event is televised. With that in mind, today we saw No Country For Old Men.

I don't know what to say about this movie. It was very well acted but very, very violent. There's a psychopathic killer, JavierBardem, who will kill anyone in his path. There were so many scenes that I just couldn't watch because I knew what was going to happen and it wasn't going to be pretty. After seeing this movie, you can certainly appreciate the expression and the consequences of "being in the wrong place at the wrong time." When it ended....abruptly...Linda and I looked at each other and we both had the same thought....next week we will see either Juno or 27 Dresses as we both need a break from this kind of movie.

I will reserve judgment on this flick until I see all of the other Oscar contenders although it did just receive the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture so that's usually a step in the right direction. Of the Academy Award nominees for Best Picture, so far we've seen Michael Clayton and NoCountry For Old Men. Still to be seen.....Juno, Atonement and There Will Be Blood.

Lunch today was at a diner.....who doesn't like diner food? Once again, another great movie day and we're already looking forward to next week's pick.


2008 AWARDS WON BY NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN


Best Picture (Oscars), No Country For Old Men
Best Director (Oscars), The Coen Brothers
Best Supporting Actor (Oscars), Javier Bardem
Best Adapted Screenplay (Oscars), The Coen Brothers
Best Screenplay (Golden Globes), (adapted from Cormac McCarthy book), The Coen Brothers

Best Supporting Actor (Golden Globes), Javier Bardem
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (Sag Awards), No Country For Old Men
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor (Sag Awards), Javier Bardem

Best Supporting Actor (Bafta Awards), Javier Bardem
Best Director (Bafta Awards), The Coen Brothers
Best Picture (Critics' Choice Awards), No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actor (Critics' Choice Awards), Javier Bardem
Best Director (Critics' Choice Awards), The Coen Brothers

Monday, January 28, 2008

Felicitations


On January 15th, my daughter and son-in-law celebrated their third wedding anniversary and they visited us this weekend because we hadn't seen them yet to commemorate this event......they live in New York and we live in PA. I also had told her that I had some presents for them so that usually is a failsafe way to insure a visit. If you knew her, you'd know how true this statement is. lol Since the third anniversary is leather, I had purchased a black leather photo album from the Exposures catalog with their names monogrammed on front and also a beautiful leather picture frame from Papyrus.

I had also been bugging her to bring over the "proof" photos from her wedding. These are the photos that aren't in the albums but most of which are beautiful anyway. I thought I could take a few of them and do some sort of picture collage. Well, she finally remembered to bring them this time even though she had advised me, in advance, that I could not take any photos that she absolutely "loved". We were all sitting at the kitchen table going through the box of photos and, as she took each one out, she said either "you can have it or you can't have it." Then she got to one and she said "This is our favorite picture and you definitely can't have this one." With that said, she pulled out a sonogram. At first, I was confused until it hit me that she was in fact pregnant. I can't begin to describe the feeling that I had. I couldn't stop crying because I was so happy and so shocked at the same time. My husband said that he knew something was up but just couldn't put his finger on it. I, on the other hand, was oblivious to the fact that she didn't drink at all during the Christmas holidays. They had just moved into a new house and were busy redoing so many things as they fixed it up that I just didn't expect them to be trying to have a baby at the same time. Apparently they were and their little bundle of joy is set to arrive on August 20th. As if that news isn't special enough, August 20th is the day before my son, her brother, Michael's birthday which is August 21st. Of course, he has instructed her to delay the birth by one day so the baby will be born on his birthday.

So many of my friends are already grandparents and they just love it. Now I can totally relate to how they are feeling as we await the birth of our first grandchild. As my son Michael said when he and I discussed the news, "Let the spoiling begin."

When the ball dropped in Times Square ending 2007, my husband looked at me and said, "2008 is going to be a great year for us."I guess he was right.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Tempus Fugit


I guess time does fly when you're having fun. Almost a full year has gone by and I'm now ready to report on yet another poker tournament....the Borgata WPT event which is the first event on the new WPT Ladies' tour. They started the event with great fanfare and I believe there were 383 participants, which was very close to last year's number of 390. When we arrived at our assigned table , there were pink Borgata poker hats on each seat which was a nice touch. I'll definitely be wearing mine at the beach this summer on those very windy days that I can't stand. The tournament started with about 40 tables and I lasted until there were less than ten before exiting. I'm getting closer and closer but have yet to cash in one of these events. We have Caesars WSOP Ladies' event coming up on 3/15 followed by Foxwoods Ladies' event on 3/29. I'm hoping to get to both of these.

As much as I look forward to the actual tournament, the entire weekend event is so enjoyable from beginning to end. We start counting down the days when it's about three weeks out because we're so excited to go. We're listening to the Ipod all the way there and checking into our beautiful Borgata rooms upon arrival.....we get adjoining rooms which makes it even more fun. We had reservations at Wolfgang Pucks restaurant and this was the first time we had eaten there. It was so terrific from the great menu to the great service to the even more than great dinner.

After dinner, we headed over to the poker room where we played some 1/2 No Limit. This is where the real fun starts for Pat and me. We got to sit at the same table....a requirement when we play in cash games so we can discuss each other's hands ad infinitum into the night. The maximum buy-in at these tables is $300 and I cashed out for $985 which was a nice profit considering we had so much fun the entire time we were there. I know I should knock on wood and probably not put this in print but I have yet to lose at a cash game in a casino. I think when Pat and I sit down at the tables, they just think we're probably two soccer Moms there for the weekend and we don't really know the ins and outs of the game. Truth be told, Pat has been playing in home games with her family for as long as she can remember and my son is a professional poker player so I get great first hand training whenever I want.

Getting back to the tournament.... the Borgata gave us free coupons to eat at the buffet since I was still in the tournament at the dinner break. I'm not a great lover of buffets because there's just too much to choose from and I can't decide whether I want the Italian or the Chinese and putting both on the same plate just doesn't seem to work. I opted for the Chinese but kept thinking about the Italian the entire time I was eating. I got knocked out shortly after the dinner break, so there was still time to play in some cash games that evening. It was great because the Giants were playing Green Bay and all the TV screens in the poker room were tuned into the game. Being as though Atlantic City is very close to Philadelphia, there were plenty of Eagles' fans (losers) in the room cheering against the Giants......Pat is a huge Eagles' fan so I better not elaborate on this. lol When they missed that field goal at the end of regulation time, I thought it was all over for them. They were saved by yet another field goal in sudden death overtime and we now go to the SUPER BOWL. Having lived in New York most of my life, the Giants have always been "my" football team of choice."Real" New Yorkers are Giant fans.....not Jet fans. Well, I digress.....I ended up cashing out for $408 that night so another profit albeit small.

All in all, another successful trip to the Borgata and already we can't wait to go back. As I type these blog entries, I realize that I always think in Latin when trying to come up with the post titles. I'll explain that I did take four years of Latin in high school and it's something that doesn't leave you. If there are any of you readers who can appreciate this Latin training, I offer up three words to you......agricola, agricolae, agricolarum.