take me out to the ballgame.....@RiverCats

after several years of randomly going to see some River Cats games, we decided to get season tickets this year. well, for a family as over booked as ours, we didn't actually end up with SEASON tickets.......we ended up with a Flex Plan. that means we got vouchers to use for a certain number of tickets/games. other than a few games (weather too hot, weather too cold......gosh we sound like Goldilocks here), they have been the highlight of our summer.

these games are FUN!!!! seriously! even if you aren't a big baseball fan, minor league games are a BLAST!!! (I assume every team is as fun as the River Cats......perhaps I shouldn't?!?!?) but LOOK! you get ex-governors (including actual sized egos) running around in circles. and a special treat at the end of the 6th inning (Thurs - Sun games only, thankyouverymuch), great weather, reasonably priced food (especially if you buy the refillable soda cups and remember to bring them).

one homestand left over the next 2 weeks and we are going to 5 games. a bit more than our average but those were the times we had available to head out to Raley Field. and yesterday, the River Cats announced ticket sales for the playoffs. there are definitely two games on September 5th & 6th and possibly an additional two games the following week. I think we will have to add atleast one to our calendar even if school has already started!

if you haven't been out to a game this year, time is running out to go. come join us for the 7th Inning Stretch.....and maybe a Dinger Dog (notice I did NOT suggest the Donut Cheeseburger?!!?). and if you go.......keep an ear peeled for the guy selling COTTON CANDEEEEE! he makes us laugh every game!

The Odd Movie (I mean LIFE) of Timothy Green

I hadn't read this book before seeing the movie. why? well, because according to Barnes & Noble there is no book for this movie to be based on. how odd is that? seems that most movies these days are based on books.......or on previous movies. so an original movie concept was......well........odd!!

but the movie was able to interest Jennifer Garner to the lead female role so I knew it had to be worth giving a try. I don't give Disney as much credit.

the basic premise of The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a couple unable to conceive plants a box of their dreams for a child. lo and behold, one shows up. odd, huh? (okay, I'll stop with that......) now in the real world, CPS would swoop in and snag the kid away and it would take years for them to get Timothy back again.......assuming they weren't imprisoned for kidnapping him or something. but this is Disney, so that doesn't happen. but, that doesn't stop odd (sorry) and magical things from taking place. like the fact that no one questions a boy mysteriously showing up and the school not making the parents show 24 forms of proof of birth and immunizations......

Disney knew exactly how to pull the punches in the script. from the type-A sister saying that Timothy wasn't a "real" son (that irks all us adoptive parents who want to know how a kid isn't real) to the unattentive parent who makes the dad strive to be a better parent. we are set up to fight for the Green family to succeed. does it work? I don't really think so. the ploys were too obvious and the ending a little too perfect.
despite all that, the boy who plays Timothy, CJ Adams, is totally adorable and the perfect fit of gawky young boy and wizened old man. his impish charm adds to the adventure. somehow he keeps this sappy story from truly plummeting head first over the cliff of saccharine sweetness. and I'll be honest, it teeters so darn close!!

while this is a Disney movie, it is rated PG and for a reason. there isn't anything that will permanently scar children, but they won't enjoy the movie and the simplistic look at adoption and how children are "gotten" is a little odd (last time). I'd save this one for a rainy afternoon to watch while you are drinking hot chocolate.

Cheesy reminder! The @TillamookCheese kind...

As promised, Tillamook has updated their Loaf Love Tour Schedule with the Sacramento area dates! They start TODAY!!!

I still think you should come see them at the Sacramento Zoo on Saturday (see HERE for more info)......but in case you can't, here is their schedule for their Cheesy Sacramento Take Over (nifty title courtesy of moi).

Just wanted to let you know.......

The Tillamook is coming! The Tillamook is coming!

(imagine Paul Revere riding through the streets of Sacramento shouting that......thanks)

 like the title says, it is one of my favorite times of year: back to school and Tillamook's Loaf Love Tour! seriously, I do enjoy cheese and Tillamook makes some darn good cheese! (did you know they make ice cream, yogurt, sour cream and butter too?)

so......you have a few options, you can go check out the world's most adorable cheddar colored mini VW van at a grocery store near you (see tour schedule to be updated with Sacramento's cheesy goodness)......

OOOOORRRR........... you can come check them out at the Sacramento Zoo!! really, this is the option you should go for! really it is!! why? you ask why? well.......because it is super fun! and because it is cheese....and the zoo.....and cheese! and while you can't pet a tiger (I've asked).....

 

and doesn't he look like he wants a good belly rub? but anyway...... there is still all kinds of cheesy zoo-ey (??) fun to be had!

 

seriously, the first 100 people who show up on August 11th at the Sacramento Zoo wearing ORANGE will get in for free!! (after that the cheddar colored clothing will garner you a dollar off admission) and whether you are wearing the color de rigueur or not, you can join in the cheesy fun! and I can tell you that Tillamook brings the fun! last year's frivolity included hide and seek, zoo bingo, and lots of cheese tasting. oh, yes, and the world's most adorable cheddar colored mini VW vans! did I mention those?

wanna know more about Tillamook? check out their site but don't go if you are hungry!


Disclosure: they sent me an email. they asked me to post about the event. they will be giving me free samples of cheese and I'll get into the Zoo for free. but hey, that's cool because I was going anyway! (see paragraph about cheese......and the zoo......and cheese)

Disclosure #2: the zoo is probably really smart in not letting me pet a tiger even though I am continually asking to. that is why they are in charge of the animals.

a promise.....

I promise that before I go to sleep on Sunday I will have:

1. posted an actual blog post (that you will like.........I am not promising you will like it.......but I promise I will post one)

2. I will update the photo in the corner of the blog to something that isn't 5 years old.

yeah.......that's all you get! I've got a busy weekend people.

People Like Us (wow! lots of movies this week!)

Okay People Like Us, another new release this week, can be boiled down to a very simple story line: a son dealing with the death of his father and that he has a half- sister whom he needs to deliver a $150,000 inheritance to. If only it were that easy! But it isn’t and that is what makes this Alex Kurtzman film such a gem.


People Like Us stars Chris Pine (Star Trek and This Means War) as Sam, the slick salesman son who resists coming home for his own father’s funeral and Elizabeth Banks (most recently of Hunger Games) as the daughter/half-sister, Frankie, who is having a rough time of life. Michael Hall D’Addario provides an amazing performance as Frankie’s son, Josh. I’d like to go on record stating that we will see a lot more of Michael in the coming years. Michelle Pfeiffer shows that she can tackle being the mother/grandmother with as much finesse as she did the love interest in years past and Olivia Wilde, still known to me as Thirteen from the House tv series, rounds out the cast and fills in the cracks that the storyline forces the characters to cross.

Pine, however, stands out in this film as a surprise. He does an excellent job, as shown in his movie credits, of playing a self-absorbed ladies man. Pine brings this edginess to People Like Us making the audience a bit uncomfortable and unhappy with Sam for a good portion of the movie. That is the film’s secret weapon! It is the internal change in Pine’s character that takes what could have been a shallow feel-good movie and brings it into the realm of last year’s The Descendents.

While the movie includes the obligatory relationship confusion including the generic soap opera scene where half-sister makes a play for her unknown brother, the formula is balanced out by solid character development and surprising tidbits of music throughout the movie. It can be boiled down to this: don’t let the clichés keep you away from what is truly a heartwarming and well thought out film.

I’d also like to give a serious nod to the musical references. Diverse and eccentric. Probably meant to give insight into the deceased father who laid the foundation for the premise of the movie.

My suggestion: make it a date night. The kids won’t want to see it but you shouldn’t miss it.

Magic Mike versus Ted (movie stuffs)

this week I saw two sneak previews: Magic Mike and Ted. one I'll see again and one I will sadly never forget.

Magic Mike is full of male stripper hype. I got to give it to them, the movie is packed with sexy men! however, the storyline is laughable and the characters are so stereotypical that the movie itself comes off (no pun intended) as a parody of what a real stripper movie would be.......as if someone would actually make one. needless to say, the movie does have some good qualities: all of them visual. despite THAT, I would have preferred a bit more editting and a little more thought into the cinematography. at one point the camera angle made me nauseous, and yes, it was the camera angle and not the movie itself. also, the dance scenes went on way too long. after reading a CNN article, I learned that Channing Tatum's "big break" was in Step Up. everything makes a lot more sense now but doesn't change my view that the dance scenes could have been cut down. do strippers really do an entire fully clothed dance number, tear off their clothes at the last minute and then get drowned beneath a waterfall of bills? oh, I could also have skipped Matthew McConaughey singing. do strip shows usually have musical interludes? you tell me......I don't plan on going to do the hands on research (yes, that pun was intended).

my suggestion: Magic Mike is perfect for a girl's night out......that starts with a few friends, a few drinks........a few more drinks......

Ted, on the other hand, was hysterical, and not because someone truly expected me to believe that a teddy bear had magically come to life but just because it was FUNNY! full of potty humor and real characters that found themselves in real life dilemnas (stuffed animals aside) about relationships and priorities but all done with a great sense of humor. and did I mention it was funny? Both Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis played the perfect straight man/woman to Seth McFarlane's fuzzy lead. yes the movie was a bit too sexual and mature to take my boys (though they would protest otherwise) but that is why it was rated "R". the 80's music and movie references might be missed by the younger members of the crowd. even I missed some of the jokes as I wasn't a Flash Gordon fan, but it did not reduce my enjoyment of the movie. so, despite the excessive amount of fart jokes and turnip abuse (I think it was a turnip......I was too busy laughing at Bill Smitrovich's deadpan) I really enjoyed the movie.

my suggestion: leave the kids and turnips at home. and if Patrick Stewart's foul mouthed narration isn't enough for you, keep an eye out for a few cameos.