Oscar time

     Sunday night marked the 84th annual Academy Awards. I was so pleasantly pleased by the return of a classy affair, hosted by the delightful, and tasteful Billy Crystal.  The whole evening hearkened back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, from the sets, which shone with a technicolor brilliance, to the glamorous gowns, to the lack of bleeps blocking out bad language, to the types of pictures that walked away with the majority of Oscars.

     Having Billy Crystal back as the MC,  with his Bob Hopeian presence, felt like the return of an old friend.  I loved his movie montage at the start of the program, especially,for some reason, his rendition of Tin Tin. (He looked like one of the lollipop kids!)  Funny, clever and professional he was; disrespectful, crude and crass he wasn't.  What a breath of fresh air.  I'm tried of watching hosts make unbelievably rude, shocking and embarrassing jokes and  remarks about the guests we're trying to honor.  Leave that to the Grammy's and the MTV Music Awards, which are entertaining in their own right, but not the right tone for the Oscars.

 
     An old Hollywood feel was evident at every turn.  From the richly colored velvet curtain, to the sparkly crystal backdrop to the old style movie marquee, the Golden Age of Hollywood was ever present. Even the guests seemed to be in period attire.  No meat dresses here... just glamorous, dazzling and classy elegance.  There were a few moments of inelegance and awkwardness...while Angelina, Cameron and Jennifer are the personification of Hollywood glam,  their respective strange poses didn't come off well.  Angelina's emaciated leg sticking out of the slit in her dress was startling and a far cry from sexy.  Was it meant to be funny? and Jennifer and Cameron with their junior high antics of turning around to show off their posteriors was downright embarrassing.  I half expected them to pull out their Iphones and take a picture to post to instagram.  It was the kind of thing you would expect to see on those other shows...here it just seemed in bad taste.  But those scenes were the exception and out of place on this rare night of tasteful revelry.
    Even the pictures being honored were reminiscent of old Hollywood.  Black and white silent movie, The Artist, is obviously a tribute to the past, with the lead being played by the darling Gene Kelly protege, Jean Dujardin (George Valentin), who stole the night winning best actor.  Tap dancing Hollywood hunk? From Gene to Jean...it works for me.  Midnight in Paris, War Horse, The Iron Lady, The Help and Hugo all paid homage to the past and used very little or no vulgar language.  Is the pendulum swinging back a little a bit? I think so.

Gene Kelly

Jean Dujardin and Bereniece Bejo

Precious!

 



  The two best speeches of the night were given by Hollywood standbys,  Best Actress recipient, Meryl Streep and Best Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer, who represented the old guard and added more class and dignity to the whole affair.

     Some may criticize this year's Oscars as being a slow and staid event, but I would gladly trade the fast pace for this return to the decorum and "Grace" of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Penelope Cruz looking very Grace Kelly

LOVE and my steady date

      Remember when love was young and Valentine's Day was so anticipated.  'What will my love get for me or write to me in a romantic card?', I would muse.  Chocolates, roses, a negligee,  champagne or all of the above?  Those days were exciting with love burning hot and heavy, but after almost 26 years together, what I really appreciate is the constancy of my  husband, Dave, and his unending devotion to me and our children.
     Don't get me wrong, I still love a card filled with mushy sentiments, and a good and passionate tumble between the sheets, (sorry for my vulgarity, but it's the truth...I think I just heard my kids gagging...haha), but I know the real value of our relationship comes from the fact that we can count on each other, 100%, in good and stormy weather.  
     My husband and I come from a long line of people who stick together.  The first time I went to visit Dave's family in Iowa, back in 1986, they were celebrating his grandparents' 50th anniversary.  Both of my grandparents also celebrated their 50 year mark and so have both sets of our parents.  I'm sure we would all agree that that is pretty impressive in these times.  
      Love and passion are important ingredients to a successful marriage, but more essential is the mutual desire to have a lasting relationship, to be there for the big and the small things, the exciting and the mundane, where a common love of family is the tie that binds.
    How lucky am I, to have a man, the father of my 4 daughters, the love of my life, my friend and confidant, to travel through life with and grow old with, secure in our mutual love? Pretty damned lucky, I'd say.  

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
(I'll put down my top 10 out of a list of many more!)


1. Your physical appearance.  You are a handsome man.  I know that sounds shallow, but physical attraction is where it all begins....
 #'s 2-10 are the reasons I stuck.

Yow! See what I mean!

2.  The love and respect you show your family and mine.  You are a favorite to all your nieces and nephews, because you have always given them your undivided attention.  Both sides of our family hold you in high esteem because you are ever a loving, loyal and devoted son, son-in-law, brother and brother-in-law.


3. You are affectionate.  You still hold my hand, give me a kiss hello and goodbye daily, and give me a slap on the butt when you are feeling frisky. (I hear more groaning!!)

4. The way you looked at me when our first child was born.  I will never forget when we were in San Diego for Christmas Eve with our 3 day old first born daughter, Natalie.  We were resting in the bedroom with Natalie, the whole experience of becoming parents finally starting to sink in.  We were both looking at our child and crying and I knew then we could never part.


5. The way you listened to my daily ramblings when the kids were little.  Having someone to listen to all the little mundane nuances of my day helped me more then you can imagine.  To all of you fathers out there...doing this for your wife is a real life saver.  Just sit and listen and tell her she's doing an amazing job! She will feel validated and you will reap the benefits of "happy wife, happy life".

6. The way you embrace life with 4 daughters.  We've had people say, "Wow, four daughters.  What did you do to deserve such a punishment?" Even though you are a sports fanatic and would have loved to have a son, you have NEVER complained about having daughters.  One man in a house with 5 women (4  premenstrual/ menstrual girls and 1 premenopausal woman are a recipe for disaster) and 2 female dogs...not an enviable position for many men to be in...but you, my dear, have always made us feel there is no place you'd rather be than home with us.

7. I love that you always ask my opinion.  Being consulted on matters big and small, is a sign of respect and confidence in my judgement.  It makes me feel valued. 


8. The way you show your emotion.  Everyone who knows you, knows that you are a crier, just like your dad.  Whether it's a speech you're giving or a game we're winning or a touching moment you're witnessing...tears are sure to flow.  More than likely, everyone will be crying with you within seconds.  My brother Pat coined the term "blowfishing", to describe you in an emotional moment! Oh no, Dave's giving a speech...let me get some tissue first!


9.  How much you love to laugh.  Watching a funny movie or being in a humorous situation with you is the best! The more slapsick and vulgarity the better. You always laugh the hardest and the loudest!!


10. Your loyalty.  I love the way you've stuck with me through thick and thin.  You are my homebase, my comfort, my security...my steady date.

   

You are one hell of a catch, Divad Goose and I love you with 

all my heart!

Our wedding day, September 15, 1990

Happy Valentine's Day, my sweet.

Putting Some "Heart" Into Making Our Valentines

      Making your own valentines can be a creative and fun experience.  Every year that I rushed out at the last minute to by those ugly boxed cards they sell at CVS or Target, I vow that the next year I'm going to prepare early and make homemade cards with my kids.  A couple of times my endeavors turned into fiascos! Have you ever bought that horrible glitter gel glue, thinking it would be just perfect for decorating valentines? The kids thought it was great too, and they used it in abundance to make their cards extra colorful and sparkly.  The problem is, that damn stuff never dries!! So of course it smudges as you try to put the cards into the envelopes or write on the other side and at this point those boxed cards seem like Martha Stewart personified compared to the mess we've made.  But with trial and error and a good bit of experience, we have come up with a few a less painful methods.

      My first bit of advice is to keep it as simple as possible.  You can cut  construction paper into hearts, squares or rectangles or you can buy blank note cards in a variety of shapes and sizes at your local craft or stationary store.  Next you can purchase a few rubber stamps, ie, hearts, flowers, or any other valentiney motif, and a stamp pad or two (red, pink or purple).  Glitter is the next essential item needed because everything looks more dazzling with glitter and kids absolutely love it.  I also highly recommend a glue pen to more easily delineate where the glitter will be "stuck".  If you collect one or two items yearly, before you know it you'll have quite a collection and you can use this stuff for lots of occasions.  I keep a box of blank note cards, glitter, glue pens, rubber stamps and stamp pads.

     

My nine year old daughter Lizzie loves
doing art projects.  

     Once you have your supplies and you've decided if you are going to cut out your valentines or use pre-cut note cards, you can experiment with colors and stamps and come up with endless designs.  I'm always amazed at the things my kids come up with...it's obvious they got higher quality art intructucion in school because, they are far more likely than me, to think out of the box.  We usually stamp the cards, then go back and add glitter and let them dry.  After they dry (glitter and glue pen dry pretty fast...nothing like the dreaded gel!), we write our messages on them.  One downfall is that you will have glitter in your life for the next week at least...I have glitter permamently ground into both of my tables...I think it adds life and character!

After stamping the card, add glue with the glue pen.

Pour on some glitter and distribute it over the card so you
get some glitter on all of the glue.  I put a paper plate under the
card so the excess glitter can be reused.  A little glitter goes a long way .

Shake the glitter around....

...and voile'! You have a unique, homemade
card to give to someone dear.

Stamp, glitter, voile'!

Stamp, glitter, voile'!
Lizzie thought this one up...she added glitter to the
wings, tail feathers and trumpet flower.  Lovely, don't you think?

A small sampling of our creations.

   I hope you are inspired to try your hand at making your very own, custom, valentines.

Tiene mucha suerte! (Good luck!)

February, the Season of Love

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on Valentine
making and my steady date!