Fridays

It's my favorite day of the week. I don't have to cook dinner since we eat out every Friday. That really makes me a happy camper. I can stay up late and watch tv til 2 am and sleep in the next day.  But I hate it when I have to get my allergy shots every 4th Friday.  It's okay if I can just walk in there, get the shot, and get out, but I have to wait 20 minutes for a reaction.  At least I don't have to wait 30 minutes like most people, since I've been getting my shots for what, 18 years now? I'm making my allergist a rich woman.
 
Trying to figure out where to eat for dinner between 4 people can be a challenge.  The hubs doesn't want to suggest anything since he claims his brain is fried from work.  But the moment you suggest something, he's quick to shoot it down!  Every Friday, my son always suggests the same thing.  Mexican.  He knows what my reply will be because I'm not a big Mexican food fan, except for La Morena burritos.  But their damn service is so slow on Friday nights!  My daughter always wants anything pasta or shrimp.  I love Elephant Bar but the two guys aren't crazy about the place.  A bunch of picky people if you ask me.  Most of the time, we end up eating Vietnamese because it's close by and it's the last resort when we all can't agree on anything.  My daughter is away in college, so it's down to the three of us.  My son will still suggest Mexican, the hubs will suggest Vietnamese because he doesn't want to think anymore, and I'll suggest all others.  Most of the time, I get my way.  Well, that's how it should be since I'm the cook in the house. 
 

Vietnamese at Pho The Gioi

 



 

The hubs always orders the fried spring rolls.  Frankly, I'm getting tired of them.

 

 

I do love their pork chops over rice.  The best ever.

 

 

La Morena

 

 

Chicharones Al Pastor Burrito?  The crunch in the burrito sounds awesome! How come I never see that on thier menu?  Whoever took the photo must know the cook.

 

 

Paradise Chinese Restaurant in South City

 

 

The best salt and pepper pork ever!  Can someone please tell me where Paradise Restaurant has moved to?  They're remodeling the shopping square and merchants who have done business here were forced to move elsewhere due to the high lease.  I've eaten at this place for 25 years!  My biggest mistake was not asking them where they're moving to. 

 

 

Elephant Bar, DC

 

 

 

I love their Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  My absolute fave!

I fail to see why the hubs doesn't like this place.  He keeps ordering the same thing, over and over again.  Some Jambalaya dish.  Boring.

 

 

Fried Calamari.  Another winner at E Bar

 

Crispy Honey Shrimp.  Nom nom nom nom nom.

 

See, I'm not hard to please.  Just take me anywhere for dinner, as long as I don't have to cook, and I'm a happy camper!

 

 

Fifty Shades of Grey, Darker and Freed

It seems that majority of moms learn about this book from their daughters, am I right?  I did see this book on the internet and some newspapers in the past, but never really paid attention to what it was really about or took any interest at all until I found my 20 year old daughter reading the first book.  I asked her what it was about and she replied "It's about a college graduate who has a steamy affair with an executive".  "Brittney recommended it".  Her former description did not really spark an interest in me.  It was Brittney's recommendation that made me curious.  She finished the book but I did not bother asking her if I could borrow it from Brittney.  I never saw the book again.  Now I know why.  What daughter in her right mind would ask her mom if she would like to read the book?
 
Two months later, I was talking to a friend who brought up Fifty Shades, the trilogy.  Trilogy?  I  had no idea!  My friend said it was pure porn and she couldn't put the books down!  I told her that my daughter read Part 1 and she said her daughter read all 3 books.  I demanded that she loan the books to me; that they would be perfect to read on the plane for my trip to India in December.  She said it was an easy read and I should finish them in no time. 
 
Her husband works with my husband and imagine my surprise when my husband came home with all 3 books individually wrapped in a brown paper bag!  I was hysterical!  Was it really that embarassing for her husband to carry with him on the train to work?  I guess so!  When my husband handed the books to me, he said he heard that they were pure pornography.  I got so excited!
 
Mind you, I was struggling with the first 60 pages of the book.  It sounded like it was written by a high school student.  I was ready to give up and return the books and complained to my daughter.  She agreed that the book wasn't written well.  She should know because she was the editor in chief of her high school newspaper!  But she did encourage me to read on and that the exciting part would come after page 60.  I'm a very impatient person!
 
Imagine my surprise when I got to the juicy parts!  I found myself giggling like a school girl and covering my face with the book several times!  Must I remind you that I've been married for 25 years and pretty much heard it all!  But this book made me blush and yell "OMG!" several times as I finished each juicy chapter!
 
I took a picture of all 3 books and texted them to my daughter who's away in college and she said she now wants to read Parts 2 and 3.  My friend also mentioned that Part 2 was her favorite. I ran into a woman in physical therapy reading one of the books and I just had to ask her which book she was reading.  She said she finished all 3 but is reading Part 2 again because the last book makes you go back and read the previous books for events that you could easily forget.  I'm like "Are you serious"?
I really don't want to go back and re-read the books again so I'm making sure that I remember the important events as I go along.  By the way, I finished Grey and now I'm on Darker.  The lady also said I would finish Freed before I fly to India.  I believe her too.
 
Gosh, look at how much I've written and I just started on Part 2, Fifty Shades Darker.  All I could say is if they make a movie out of this, I don't think it would be that exciting.  Movies are never as good as the book.  It would definitely be R rated, along the lines of  9 1/2 Weeks but possibly steamier.  Let's see how much more I will add to this article after completing Darker!
 
 
Holy Crap!!!!!!!

 

Laters, Baby!!!!!

Breaking Dawn Part 2

Finally saw this movie.  I didn't care if the Chronicle's little man was sleeping when the reviews came out, while another movie critic called it the best Twilight movie of all.  I had to see it for myself.  Besides, I never agreed with Mick La Salle's critiques anyway.  He's from another planet.

I must say, it wasn't the best Twilight movie ever.  There were only 2 scenes that moved me.  The clever ending with a twist which caught everyone by surprise, myself included.  It's not that we've never seen anything like this played before.  For those of you that haven't watched the movie yet, you may want to stop here.  This has been executed before in Dallas back in the 80s.  You remember that famous scene when Pam Ewing wakes up in the morning and finds her 'dead husband' Bobby Ewing in the shower as he greets her "Good Morning, beautiful"!  The whole season was Pam's dream!  How clever!  And Stephenie Meyers decides to copy that stunt but in a different fashion.  I mean, how else can you bring back the dead?  Yeah, that'll surely work for the young audiences who probably have no clue about Dallas!

The second scene that moved me and actually brought tears to my eyes was the introduction of all the characters from all of the Twilight movies, coupled with the background music of Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years".  How touching. 

 

You know this is the end of the saga and there will be no Twilight movie coming out next year.  Ms. Meyers, please write another book!  There's so much to write about!  How about Renesmee's life as a teenager, her relationship with Jacob.  Billy wondering why Bella never grows old as he gets older.  I'd like to see Bella suck the life out of a human in her quench for human blood.  Or Renesmee screwing up in school, giving proof that she's half mortal and half vampire.  She's just a teenager who hasn't been around for decades unlike her vampire family! 

I would have loved to witness Edward and Bella's vampire sex.  Bella confronts Edward that he was holding back during their honeymoon when he broke down their matrimonial bed.  But since all the hype already happened in Part 1, they had to tone it down big time in Part 2.  The whole house would have been shaking off the ground and the residents of Forks probably thought it was an earthquake. 

After watching Breaking Dawn Part 1, I did go on Wikipedia to find out what happens in Part 2.  It sounded boring, with the Volturi headed to Washington to kill Renesmee and Aro finally realizes that she does not pose a threat to the Volturi.  I thought, how could you make a movie out of that?  But, they did do a fantastic job, especially the scenes where they showed some of our favorite characters dying one by one.  No!  Not Carlisle!  Not Emmet!  Not the two wolves!  Who were they, anyway?  Jane (Dakota Fanning), yeah, she deserves to die, that evil bitch!  It was a long 10 minute battle and in the end, as it can only happen in the movies, does everyone come out alive and well.  How?  Go see for yourself! 

I'd like to buy all 4 dvds as the final chapter becomes available.  My favorite Twilight scenes of all time are:


#6      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EsNmAvXyVQ

#5      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDkKX50q9HU&feature=player_detailpage

#4      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsE-hrOX5z0

#3      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2ayEiB6qcg

#2      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCYpTtBg5PU&feature=player_detailpage

#1      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=527bawsDr6s&feature=player_detailpage

Edward and Bella, may your love flourish for a thousand years!