cinderella movie review

The little girls were enchanted.I found myself with a smile on my face.Lily James totally nailed it! Sweet and believable, beautiful in a likable way...and with a motto, "Have courage and be kind.", how can you not love her? Plus, she was friends with the animals, and took good care of the cute little mice.

Mirielle and I, and Suzanne and Sonja, and Charlotte Claire, Camille, and cousin Danielle...headed to the small city this evening. We stopped in the dollar store first for some chocolate...I had Hershey's with almonds...

Anyway...the little girls absolutely love the movies, they were entranced. I thought the stepmother was a copy of Glenn Close in 101 Dalmations/Anglelica Huston in Ever After. Cate Blanchett is lovely, but I felt like she was poured into that stepmother mold, it was like deja vous. The prince...well, he was all right. But Prince Charming, or Kit, as he was named...should be stunning, or really handsome, or something. This guy was just so-so. I was so ready to be entertained by the stepsisters, but they were silly and loud and looked seriously dopey in their matching clothes. I think Sophie McShera, aka Daisy from Downton is adorable though. The fairy godmother had me at hello, she was flawless, Helena Bonham-Carter.

The overall look of the movie: magical. It was like Disney animation came to life. The costumes and dresses were gorgeous.

We all think we got our money's worth, it was a good movie to see on the big screen. The little ones are planning to see it again when it comes to Redbox.

Margaret took Jonathan to the library, where he stocked up on Star Wars movies. She watched one with him while we were out. I did offer to take Jon too, but he decided not to. I think he would have liked it.

Tomorrow I might take Evelyn shopping for shoes after school. With eleven daughters, I am starting to get use to hearing, "I have no shoes!". It does no good to go look in their closet and hold up pair after pair, because believe me, they have no shoes. She is being truthful though, she likes to wear nice clothes to school and her flats hurt her feet. It isn't sandal weather, and it won't be boot weather for long...the thing about Evelyn is, I offered to take her, and she said that shoes are too expensive, she would be fine. I need some time with her though, so perhaps I will insist.

Raising kids is like climbing a mountain that has no peak. Sometimes the going gets easier, but you never really get to the top. The needs change, but they still NEED. In this day and age, with internet so accessible, I can't police everything everyone does, but I try to pay attention and talk to them, encourage them, steer them in the right direction. With Paul gone so much, I am The Parent. I love being their mom, but that doesn't mean it's always easy.

Yesterday, Jonathan went to the airport with me to pick up Emily and Margaret. They had been in Paris for a few days, and in Norway. They brought back Norwegian chocolate, which I am saving for an evening when lots of the kids are here, and a really nice scarf for me from France. Oh this old thing? Yah, it's from Paris.

We picked them up, and they were hungry. We went to Moe's for lunch, oh Mexican yumminess. They have fresh tortilla chips and this homemade salsa that is just incredible.

Our dinner tonight was almost as good. I deboned several chicken breasts, and chopped up the chicken. We had Jasmine rice, chopped green and red peppers and onions, broccoli and cauliflower. I put Frank's Hot Sauce on my rice, and orange ginger on the chicken...not bad at all.

I did work out today, again! I saw a nice number on the scale, which was encouraging. It helped me not go overboard with the chocolate, thinking about that number and how I would like it to go even lower. Okay, a lot lower.

The princesses are loud and silly. It's getting late....I am tired, but it's my own fault. I read an entire book last night in bed, then another one this morning. That makes three since Sunday. That's what I do when Paul's gone.

I haven't given up on my remodeling ideas...but I am a muller, I have to mull those thougths and plans over for a while before I jump in. We have two bad kitties who are already plotting to jump up on the wet countertops which haven't even been started yet. And taking the cupboard doors off and sanding them all down...blah. Wake me up when it's finished and the kitchen looks like a page from Better Homes And Gardens. And don't even get me started on the What If list. Because Paul doesn't think the cabinets look too bad, which is in itself hilarious. But hey, he doesn't think that I look too bad either. His lack of discernment is a good thing:) But if I wreck those cabinets, make them look like one of those Home Decorating Fails, he will wonder why I even wanted to change them because they look, "fine".

Things around here don't bother him much. He likes it neat, and we both like the floors clean. But no trim around the bottom of the walls in the living room since he replaced the flooring...six years ago? Doesn't bother him. We have lived here 21 years, and still haven't put that molding around in the foyer. The one kitchen window Paul replaced like four years ago or so, has no trim around it, only ragged sheetrock. He mistakenly replaced it with a new building window, not a replacement window. So it was a bigger job than he bargained for, and he thinks it is fine. Now, I am not criticizing him. He just isn't bothered by it. And because I love him and don't want to be unappreciative, I don't want to fret and nag about it...because for one thing, it has not killed me yet, so it isn't likely to.

I certainly do miss him this week....