Loss

It has been a pretty intense past few days.  My thoughts have been many and that's when I decided it was time to write them down.

Part 1
As most of you know, I am a social worker in my professional life.  I have been in the field for more years than I almost care to admit...just because then people would realize how old I am.  But I hold my field with high esteem and I have the utmost respect for what I do and particularly the people that I work with; those that I try and help. I believe in what I do.

I have also struggled with my choice of career.  As you would guess, it does not pay well.  In fact, it pays significantly less than what public teachers make.  So if that gives you any idea...well then there you go.  I have had many a discussion with my mom trying to balance my passion for what I do and being able to "make it" financially.  This is only compounded when I see my efforts not just unappreciated but my integrity questioned or face verbal abuse from a few of my clients.

I work with the most challenging population of people you would ever meet.  The homeless.  Diverse, intriguing, frustrating, sometimes hopeless, sometimes hoping you will be the one that does not give up on them, fighters, the forgotten, misunderstood... They are people that fascinate me.  People always have.  How people think; why they do what they do.  Some say, "that must be so rewarding" or "you must see so much heartache" Well, yes, I do...and I do not.  One of the most valuable things I have learned along the way is this: you learn to define success with each individual.  That is, what someone may see as an utter failure with an attempt to "help" this person may have a really instrumental element to it.  For instance, someone that I have been working with for three years may end up not being able to stay in their apartment and returns to the homeless shelter.  Fail?  Nah, not at all.  A success. Perhaps the only positive part of this entire experience was that they had someone in their life that respected them as a human being and therefore showed them the dignity of doing what they said; never making a promise that they could not keep.  Believe it or not, that would be a first for many of my clientele.

Part 2
The other day I got a call from a gentleman that I have been working with for over 10 years.  I had just come back from maternity leave with my oldest son when his case was assigned to me.  A middle-aged Vietnam vet with a long history of homelessness. Vets are one of my favorite populations to work with.  Again, some unique challenges but an opportunity to be that one positive person in their life.  This gentleman who I will call Jerry was disenfranchised to say the least.  He had no tolerance for the establishment.  The world had wronged him so many times it was all he could do to not live in the mountains on his own...and he had. But there was one thing that was keeping him from venturing out into the wilderness again - his son.  His son who had recently come back into his life because mom had left.  Jerry had an obligation.  This obligation brought him to Utah with his son to raise.  Jerry's son, who I will also call Leonard, was in fourth grade.  A mischievous boy who was shy, baby-faced, and not quite sure of his father's world.

As it turned out, Jerry had a difficult time balancing what was expected of him from society - regular school attendance, a basic level of hygiene, following rules, socializing, etc.  If Dad had a struggle, it was an epic one for Leonard.  Leonard tried to find a balance between his father's ideas of the world and what he was facing each day at school with teachers and peers living much differently than himself.  Jerry would refuse to allow his son to wear deodorant as Leonard went through puberty; Jerry did not see the need of any sort of clothing from the current decade that youth were wearing; and Jerry certainly didn't acknowledge reaching out for help with his son was suffering from mental illness.  Each year the problems would only compound.

You see, the field of social work has one very pivotal ideal and you will find this in almost any of its areas: client's right to self determination.  And while I subscribe to this ideal in most every way; it does not fair well for many of those client's dependents.

As the years went by and Leonard seemed to fall more and more through the cracks of our society, Jerry became more and more resistant to his Social Worker's requests and offers of assistance.  Leonard was diagnosed with schizophrenia and this came about only because Leonard was diagnosed in jail at the age of 19.

When I received a call from Jerry this past week, I was a little surprised.  Typically, Jerry does not reach out to me.  I contact him and usually I find him intoxicated and must then wade through his inebriation and inappropriate requests to discover the family's current status.  Not this time - Jerry was lucid and started the phone call by saying, "I'm not sure how to tell you this, but Leonard committed suicide."

Some would likely think that I see my fair share of suicide in the population that I serve but his is simply not true.  Most of them are some of the heartiest people you will find.  They are fighters.  Often times, they may fight ineffectively and in a way that is not condoned my most social groups, but in their own way they make it. So while I have had my fair share of clients pass away; not one of them have I lost from suicide.

So after a lengthy conversation with Jerry to help him process the initial loss of his son, he asked me for help. "I need help to get Leonard in the ground. You know I don't have the means to do it and I don't even know where to begin." Remember, Jerry hates the establishment.  Can you imagine reaching out to the Medical Examiner's office and asking if they would help cremate your son?  I learned a great deal in the next three hours I spent on the phone tracking down which mortuary contracts with the county for indigent services and asking the right questions to get the paperwork not only approved, but even initiated.

After several hours, I was ready to process my own feelings surrounding the tragedy.  My supervisor kept asking if I was all right.  Well yeah, I knew I was in shock and I knew that I felt connected to Leonard's feelings of despair to the point that the only option was to leave this life. But who was I really mourning here? And then it came to me, I was mourning the life that Leonard never had.  Just a small part of the life I have had with two parents that have shown unconditional positive regard though out my childhood, adolescence, young adult life and still to this day. What made me deserve a life with parents that didn't just view me as an obligation? I had parents who taught me choices and consequences, respect, resilience, compassion, and other invaluable life skills, who celebrated holidays, family traditions, and personal achievements not to mention provided me with such things as socially-acceptable clothing, braces, and money to spend on a Friday night with friends.

Today I got to take Jerry to the mortuary to coordinate the cremation and the handling of Leonard's remains. I waited to see how Jerry referred to his son so that I could match the same vernacular - son, body, departed, etc.  But I believe Jerry was just as unsure how to refer to Leonard as I was.  So I used the terms that I would use in my own personal life -"Leonard's body", "Leonard will be moved from the Medical Examiner's office to the mortuary", "I can bring you back here to get Leonard's ashes to bring home".  That choice seemed to be the most comfortable one for my client as well.  The day ended up being fairly positive considering what we were trying to accomplish.  We talked about Jerry's beliefs about what happens after this life and if a memorial service offered by the shelter was something that would bring Jerry some closure and peace.  Thankfully, my client was sober and he chose to be completely appropriate with me as well as respectful. It was likely the most positive interaction he and I have ever had.

What a tragedy for this man.  What a tragic life his son led.  Were my past 10 years a failure?  Maybe I was the one person in either of their lives that held on and never made a promise that I could not keep.

Do you realize Halloween is coming?

It feels like just yesterday I had on short sleeves and capri pants...oh wait, it was.  I absolutely adore fall and everything that it brings but it does seem that we were kind of jolted into it {but enough of that because season transition complainers wear me out}.  Anyway, Boy #2, Carter has only been prepping for fall's premiere holiday - Halloween since, oh, I'd say, May.  Which is absolutely okay with me because you'll remember, I'm all about the holiday (sorry Allison).

I've always made Nate wait until October 1 to set up our Halloween village, but I decided this year to let him start in September.  It's a ton of work to get all the wires and everything just right, so why not make the most out of it?  Plus, you've got the Carter factor as well.  We've found that the more enthusiastic Carter feels about a subject, the louder he talks.  Let's just say this kid is not going to need a microphone when it comes to public speaking regarding Halloween.

Of course we've been in discussion about this year's Halloween costumes.  Carter decided (back in May) that he would be none other than his beloved Batman {he did matter-of-factly inform me the other night at dinner that he didn't mind if Batman toots}.  His plans all changed when he went with his cousins to Target and discovered this mask...

Now don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Edvard Munch as much as the next guy, but what happened to preschoolers wanting to be cute things like this...

or this...

He is certain that the Scream mask/costume will garner him a bucket full of fun size candybars.  Considering that he received unequivocal adoration from candy passer-outers as the cutest chicken they'd ever seen last year, I somehow find this year's choice ill-timed.  What's a mom to do?

Boy #1 was able to find his costume choice on Amazon.

It's master chief from Halo.  It is currently selling for $649 (free shipping).  When I told him that I would NEVER be purchasing this product for him, he was able to track one down for 80 bucks.  I told him to start getting creative with duct tape.

First Day of School

Jameson started 5th grade on August 26th.  He also finished his Halo Mega Blocks project as pictured here.

Here's to a great year!

40 Days & 40 Nights

Or 40 years would be more like it.  Wow.  I've reached a milestone and for better or worse, here I am.  It's somewhat liberating.  It's somewhat unbelievable and I'm pretty sure I still feel like 31.

When I had a total thyroidectomy in April of this year I had no idea that I would feel like a pile of dog pooh. That's putting it nicely and let's just say, family friendly.  I've been achy...in places that have never ached a day in my life...not unmentionable places you sickos.  I have no energy and my metabolism, well I'm pretty sure my deceased grandma's metabolism is likely functioning higher than mine is right now.  I would also complain about the trail of hair that falls out behind me but I just can't because my friend Steph who battled cancer earlier this year and last - well that just seems petty and whiney. So I don't feel myself these days and I've had a lot of stress the past few months as mentioned in my earlier post, but birthdays, they just don't wait for high kicks and perfect lives.

So what's a 40-year old woman to do?  Have a party.  And I'll tell you what, we had a party. A perfectly pretty party at the park.  Complete with piquant nachos and palatable, petite cupcakes!  A special thank you to my sis, Brenda and to my niece, Michelle for their extra hard work. Also, to my Mom for her financial backing (as always Mom).

Thank you too to my sweetie and to all of my family and dear friends that came and celebrated with me.  It was sincerely a lovely evening.

Cupcakes by Liz (thank you E!) and yours truly... and photo bomb compliments of Amy

Neighborhood friends (and notice that glow from Kaylee who is recently engaged)

USU friends

Friend of 28 years!

 Work friends!

More work friends!

My Mom and my nephew, Will

Nieces! With a grandma, a nephew, and a Carter

That they may know to prize the good

Life has been hard as of late.  Like really hard.  Like I-want-to-run-away-sometimes-hard.  I find myself praying very differently than I ever have before.  Asking for a different kind of help; a specific help. Sometimes it's just asking to please help me put aside worries so that I can do the most essential tasks like be a mom whose mind is present for her little boys.  Maybe I am starting to learn to not just ask for the "whole enchilada" things or to take something enormously challenging away in my life. Maybe it's wisdom. Maybe it's exhaustion.  I'm not sure sometimes but I do know that my Heavenly Father is aware of me.  I do know that.

I am constantly reminded of the joy in life.  This helps me to digest the bitter parts.
The following are a few things that have reminded me that my Father in Heaven knows me:

* Summer rain.  The cleansing of those hot days.

* Arms and legs that work and help me swim and do tons of other things that not only do I need to do, but want to do.

* Sitting in the car with my mom and tearing up talking to her.  From the back seat I hear Carter say, "Nina, it's all right.  It's going to be all right."  Yeah, he calls me Nina now.  Like exclusively.

* Knowing that I have people around me that love me.  I can feel their prayers, especially my Mom's prayers.

* A much appreciated raise at work.

* Learning as much, as if not much more than my girls from my Young Women's lessons that I study.

Where did June go?

I know everyone says this, but seriously, I can't believe it is July already.

June brought the end of school (and I am not doing as much summer learning with Jameson as I should be) and then Karate belt advancement!  Jameson received his orange belt and a trophy for perfect attendance.  He's loving it.

Summer has also brought lots of these...

My Big Kahuna with his big kahuna

And then against EVERYTHING I told him, Nate brought home one of these...

So yeah, June has been eventful. Bring on July!

Halfsies

This year we celebrated both boy's half birthdays at the same time. I always believed that if you had a birthday in December you should be rewarded with an honorary mini birthday in June as well, since most December-born people I know have repressed feelings surrounding the issue.

Many give me grief about giving my son a cake and a single present in June. I say if I only have two kids, I can do what I want. And I can do what I want.

My other son's birthday is in April. He doesn't necessarily need a half birthday celebration to aid him in healthy emotional development, but hey, how do you celebrate one without the other. And again, I can do what I want.

Enter half birthday fun.

 Boy #1 received the much anticipated Lego Batmobile

Boy #2, a weed whacker of course!

And if you know this boy at all, you will understand completely why he had to 

sleep with it...and continued to do so for five nights.

Here's to healthy emotional development.

The Two

that made me a mother...

I didn't get a chance to post this on Mother's Day but wanted to say thank you to my Father in Heaven for giving me the privilege to have these two spirits in my home. Both are nothing short of complete miracles.

Did you know my little one turned 3?

That's right. My sweet little boy albeit an infamous disaster creator, but still so sweet, is now 3. I can't believe it. I kind of don't want to believe it.

Carter saw a Batman cake at the local grocery store bakery and made up his mind right then and there that this would be his next birthday cake.  That was in August.  His birthday was April 2nd.  He didn't let me forget. But I didn't let him forget that I would not be ordering him a shortening-frosted-dried-out-odd-ratio-of-cake-to-icing store bought confection.

Oh no, not me. Let's just say when he saw this cake all done and ready to go, he was not disappointed.

Carter is a good eater.  He's not chubby but he is solid.  I dare say, solid muscle.  I'm pretty sure there's even some pecks going on there under his shirt but anyway, a good eater.  Likely his top 2 favorite foods are strawberries or fruit in general and soup.  You could say Zupas is his eatery of choice.  A chocolate dipped strawberry with a bowl of soup.  And just recently, he put aside his disdain for bread and started dipping some bread into his soup!  So now between his handfuls of Sacrament bread (we're working on this) and soup dipping bread, he'll come out on top with his grains/starches.

Nate-Guy, as Carter fondly refers to his dad as, had to work the day we celebrated with family.  So I transported two soups to my parent's house to share.  Unfortunately, this ended up being an epic fail.  My car now smells of outdated creamy tomato basil... but there for that afternoon, we dined on Zupa Toscana (thanks Aunt Brenda) and Wisconsin Cauliflower along with salad, chocolate dipped strawberries and of course bread, for dipping purposes.

Thai Curried Carrot Soup

I typically cook and bake with the seasons.  That's why you'll not find me making my much requested Caramel Corn in May.  But when it comes to soup, I mourn the warmer months.  It just doesn't seem right to  dine over a steaming bowl of the satisfying stuff.  Thankfully spring has been chilly thus far.  So I'm still in full swing when it comes to soup making. I love trying new flavors and combinations.  I especially like recreating soups I've tried at a restaurant, at home.

I also decided that a spring icon would be the carrot.  Bunnies...carrots?  We're all eating carrot cake right now.  So why not some Thai Curried Carrot Soup?

Here's my own version:

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 lbs fresh carrots, washed, peeled and cut into thick coins
2 green onion stalks, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp curry powder
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
Sea salt to taste

In a large saucepan, heat oil on medium heat until it sizzles.  Saute carrot coins, both kinds of chopped onions, and garlic until they give off their juices.  Sprinkle carrot mixture with curry powder and stir until well combined.  Slowly stir in chicken stock and increase heat to medium-high until mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are very tender, about 45 minutes.  Using an immersion (stick) blender, blend carrots until smooth or to desired texture.  I typically leave a few larger pieces of vegetable.  If you do not have an immersion blender, you may transfer the carrot mixture to a regular blender or food processor and then return to sauce pan.

Add seasonings - cumin through cayenne pepper.  Stir in coconut milk and heat until warm.  Season with sea salt.

You can make this soup heartier or a complete meal by adding jasmine rice and/or shredded chicken.

For Humanity's Sake

One of my Facebook friends posted the following article.  I loved it and it helped me process my thoughts surrounding today's tragedy in Boston.  I wanted to share it on Facebook as well, but it had a pretty major swear in it and I didn't feel it appropriate (and I only know how to cut & paste on my blog).

Some days I get really caught up in the nastiness of the world.  This is hard for me, I think especially because of what I do for a living.  Some days I seriously question leaving my house.

From Patton Oswalt...

Boston. ____ horrible. 

I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity."

But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths. 

But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness.

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will."

RIP Neapolitan Coconut Sundaes

Some of you may say that the things I discuss could at times, be called random.  However to me, coconut is far from random.

Please read on.

The other day I received a rare gift...a better part of an afternoon to kill.  No, not kill as in maim or harm.  I wouldn't blog about that, sillies.  Kill as in time. As in no kids; just yours truly. So what did I do?  I did what any red-blooded, American girl would do.  I went shopping.  As in old school, kickin' it at the mall.  And it was some good stuff.  Retail therapy.  I didn't over do, in fact I was quite reasonable.  I found these on clearance!

28 bucks baby! I wanted these so bad last year but couldn't bring myself to spend $74 on warm weather canvas flats.  When I finally located some on clearance right before the first snowfall, they were out of size 10.  But I digress.

Back to the mall and my intent with this slightly inappropriately impassioned post...as I ambled by the Candy Barrel store - you know the one where all the hard to find candies are displayed in distillery barrels but are really only about 1/32nd of the way full?  Anyway, my endorphins were in full swing with my recent red shoe find and I thought I would treat myself to a half pound of these little darlings:

I walked the perimeter of the store...twice...and didn't see them.  Now one would stop right there and ask the 16-year old candy girl on duty.  But not me.  No. You see the 16-year old girl doesn't even know what these gratifying layers of substantial coconut are. Blasphemy. And I didn't want to hear some depressing and likely erroneous news that the Candy Barrel doesn't stock them anymore.  No, I would rather walk around the store coming up with scenarios in my head.

I finally caved and asked said 16-year old girl.  Surprisingly, she knew exactly what I was talking about.  Then, the words that no coconut connoisseur ever wants to hear:  "Oh, the company stopped making those."  Initially I felt deflated.  But only for a moment.  Because it was then that I recognized that I knew way more about these chewy charmers than this 16-year old Candy Barrel employee who just works there did.  Oh yes, I would get to the bottom of this.  I think some of you will recall my Dove Coconut Creme Egg Odyssey?

So I left and googled "Brach's Neapolitan Sundaes" and found all kinds of pictures that brought back sweet memories.  Like this one:

I totally had those yarn ribbons!  And those ponytails!  But I doubt my mom ever let me choose candy from here. She was all Shredded Wheat (not the mini kind with frosting no, the biscuit kind) and my mom would have never worn a yellow dress. Nope, treats at the store were my Dad's department...Troph.  And he probably would have picked some of those Jelly Nougats too. Bleh.

No matter, Troph would have let me get my Neapolitan Sundaes.  The ones they used to make with a caramel layer.

Back to my online searching... to my horror, multiple websites told me the same thing: Confectionery Adolescent Employee was in fact correct; this product was discontinued.  What?  I mean I get the Pick-A-Mix had seen its day but places like Candy Barrel and Vermont Country Store HAD my coconut connection to childhood. Right?  Wrong. Turns out Brach's Candy has been sold like 14 times since ye old pick-a-mix was seen at your local grocer.

Copious websites tried to pass these off as the "bar version" of Neapolitan Sundaes:

If disgusting artificial strawberry carcinogen red is your thing, well, there you go.

Floating Around Facebook

Just too good not to share.

Remember this?

The wallpaper, not the hair.  After much blood, sweat, tears, and swears, the dual layers of wallpaper have been removed (along with the layer on the ceiling).  Plaster walls skim coated and fresh paint applied!

We went with a gray to somehow compliment the pink tile.  You see we did updates, not a full on remodel.  Silhouettes done and framed.  Hopefully more pics coming soon!

Sugar in the Mornin'...Sugar in the Evenin'

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  Carter was up first thing to check on Mom's work with the heart sugar cookies.  He carefully sampled one as part of his heart-healthy breakfast.

Tonight I had the Valentine's table set as I finished up dinner.  I found him (a nakey boy aside from his diaper) with his napkin tucked under his chin, stuffing the strawberries and Dove chocolate hearts in his mouth as fast as humanly possible.

Love to you all!

Can you deduce?

Jameson is long and lean.  He has always been this way - and to the point where he's been on calorie packing eating plans at various times in his life.  You know, just the opposite of his mom. There are a handful of things he really enjoys eating but for the most part he could care less about food.  So when we were walking through Costco the other day and he mentioned wanting to buy a specific food item, he had my complete attention.

J couldn't remember the name of the food he was thinking of so he began to describe it: the shape, color, etc.  He told me it was round and the outside looked like when you draw the sun; the rays.  Then he described the food itself as green and a vegetable.  Any guesses?  Me neither.

After an extensive search in the produce section, and then the packaged foods in the refrigerator section, he found his well-thought-out-item...

Spinach Ravioli.  Can't believe you didn't guess it.

Yum

If it's going to be cold outside, then you have every right to make the following:

I found this recipe on Six Sisters' Stuff (love their recipes).  Generally, I seem do a lot of tweaking to a recipe but didn't have to do much to this one.  The only thing I did different was to add more pasta...to make it go further and to lessen the sauce-to-noodle ratio.

As I was making it, Nate was watching and said he could tell the dish was going to be good after he watched me add sharp cheddar cheese and sour cream.  Yes, it's definitely not a Weight Watchers staple but eat some with your heart/mind healthy white fish and then do some cardio when it gets warm again.

Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

3 cups uncooked pasta (I used large shells)
4 Tbsp butter
2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10.5 oz) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp ground mustard (dry variety)
1/2 tsp salt

Cook pasta in boiling water for 6 minutes; drain.  While pasta is cooking melt butter and cheese together in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add sour cream, condensed soup, milk, ground mustard, and salt; stir until smooth.

Spray medium-sized slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.  Add cooked pasta and butter/cheese sauce.  Stir together.  Cook on low setting for approx 2 hours. Stir 2-3 times during cooking time.  Serve with a dash of black pepper.

What's a kid to do?

Oh what does Carter do in the wintertime?  When all the world is frozen and smoggy?

Well he sneaks into Big Bro's room and plays with that cool Lego Bat Cave from Christmas that Big Bro has not let him play with thus far.  Carter doesn't seem to mind when Jameson leaves for school...

Then there is the constant quest for new dirt.  Can I tell you how many houseplants have been victimized?

Note Carter's Dirt Devil attempt to clean up his playtime mess...

And really this picture doesn't do it justice.  We're talking dirt that is being hauled 

via dump trucks to far away places.

Learning

Jameson has had the unique experience to interview Three Brave Men/Women for a writing project in his 4th grade class.  He chose three adults from his family including his Grandpa (or Bomp Wade as he has always  called him).  One of the questions that made my father stop and give some thought was, "If you could change one thing that has happened in your life, what would it be. Explain."

I know for myself, a dozen things ran through my head.  But the question really seemed to stump my dad.  Really? I thought.  How about for my life - never having to battle weight, or not having to go through infertility or a job loss or dating some guy or any other number of things. So when he couldn't seem to think of anything, I suggested maybe his cancer?  What about the time he did not pass the professional engineering exam the first try or when he was passed over for a promotion in his career or even when he grew up in a family with very little money.  That's when in all his wisdom he said this, "I wouldn't change anything in my life.  It has all been a learning experience for me.  It has made me who I am today.  There are no mistakes."

I was speechless.  He sincerely meant this.  He wasn't saying it in any pretentious or lofty manner.  He truly believes this.

I hope someday I can feel the same way.  I hope someday I can have a portion of the wisdom my father does and I hope the same for my Jameson and Carter.

Current Favorites

The necklace I received for Christmas.  They are antique buttons from the 1800s and the "J" and "C" are for Jameson and Carter, of course.  Or Justified and Charismatic.

Ok, so I knew I would like it but I LOVED it.  I don't even care for Hugh Jackman and he was fantastic in this!  Go see if you haven't already.  And Russell Crowe, ah, you just can't go wrong with my man Russ.


And now for something that ISN'T MY FAVORITE right now...

I believe in buying local first, but this is the last time I'll do this with HobbyTown USA.  Thanks for not standing behind your pricey RC car and for being a donkey in general.  Buyers beware.