So I’ll share this… Something that I REALLY wanted to happen this weekend, didn’t happen. On Friday afternoon, I was informed that “The Newsroom” (HBO) might be bringing back my character from an episode I shot a co-star role for back in March. I was told it would work on Monday and maybe again the beginning of June and I’d hear over the weekend. Well, on Saturday, I found out they decided to cut the role from the script.

BUMMER!! I wasn’t pissed off, but I had a mini-mope fest, and then moved on. Too much other stuff to think about anyway. Who has time to waste feeling sorry for oneself? That’s one of the perks of being a single-mother/working actor: even when things are slow, it’s insanely busy, so one must move the fuck on, like a big girl.

Being a mom has also taught me a lot about appreciating what I have at the moment. Moms know that moments in life can be alarmingly brief, phases come and go and there’s something completely different looking you in the face in what feels like the blink of an eye. Sometimes not getting what you want can be the best thing that ever happens to you. And yeah, sometimes it just sucks balls, but life is such a great adventure when we learn to love what is happening at the moment. What other choice is there? It will be gone in an instant, so embrace it.

Here is my bright side of getting axed from The Newsroom:

- I was informed there’s always the possibility the character could come back in a future episode (there’s one more left to shoot in their season, so…)

- More importantly, Aaron Sorkin thought enough of me to write more scenes for me – and then chop them – but how cool is that?! I’ll take it. Honestly, it’s one of the most exciting indirect compliments I’ve ever received as an actor. Would it be totally gauche to put that on my resume?

“Aaron Sorkin digs me so much, he writes deletable lines for me”

I had a unique and memorable Mother’s Day weekend. I hope those of you who celebrated felt loved and appreciated.

To all the strong, beautiful, fun, hard-working, thoughtful, vibrant, intelligent, caring, compassionate, supportive, exhausted, talented, generous, selfless, stubborn, creative, loving, nurturing, driven, wise, wise-ass moms out there… HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! You make a difference in this world every day. You matter and you’re awesome. All the crappy moms can take a flying leap. You know who you are.

]]> http://amyanderson.net/ill-take-it/feed 1 http://amyanderson.net/tgif http://amyanderson.net/tgif#comments Sat, 23 Feb 2013 07:59:01 +0000 AmyAnderson http://amyanderson.net/?p=972  

This was a long, busy week for us and I told Aubrey she could have a “movie dinner” before bed. That’s when she’s allowed to sit in the ugly-but-comfortable-given-to-me-by-my-BFF-when-I-became-a-signgle-mom armchair and eat dinner from a tray while watching a DVD. It’s her favorite thing to do at night.

She picked “The Lorax” and snuggled under a blanket on our armchair. Then she offered to share the chair with me.

“Mom, do you want to sit next to me? There’s space right here for you mom and we can share the blanket,” she said, patting the tiny plot of cushion beside her.

As usual, I was scurrying around, busy assembling some sort of dinner, putting dishes away, filling the dog’s water bowl, throwing shoes on the shoe rack. I finally came back with food for both of us and again she offered, “And when you’re done eating you can sit next to me on the chair.”

Sometimes her clinginess is exhausting, but hers is truly the sweetest love I have ever known. It is genuine and pure. After we finished eating, we most certainly did sit together, sharing a blanket, on a Friday night. 

Friendships that last! Viva Room 3!

Today, on this beautiful SoCal Sunday in February, Aubrey had a play date reunion with her old classmates from preschool TWO years ago, when they were all three years old. We were only missing a small handful of kids and their assistant teacher who has since moved out of state. Their teacher, Ms Erika, was able to come and it was a wonderful get together.

These kids have all gone on to new teachers and different schools, but after all this time, they remain friends. They still attend each others’ birthday parties and when they saw each other today, they ran to one another, yelling each others’ names, excited to play, snack and yes, bicker, as if no time had passed at all.

While I’d like to give all the credits to the amazing mamas (and papas) who have made the effort to stay friends and be nice, normal, sane parents who are respectful and kind to one another, I have to give the biggest shout out to their teacher, Ms Erika (and Ms Esmirna). They were special teachers who went the extra mile for our kids by creating a sense of community and respect in their class and the lasting friendships of our kids is the real testament to the difference these two women made in their lives.

Teachers – YOU CAN make a difference. What you do for children is so much more than teaching letters and numbers. Teachers of both little ones and older children, your classroom is a microcosm for life beyond the school walls. You are giving your students examples of leadership, respect, love, compassion, discipline, integrity and so much more.

Here’s to all the great teachers out there, fighting the good fight and changing lives. I hope there are many more Ms Erikas and Ms Esmirnas in Aubrey’s future. If you had great teachers in your life, count yourself lucky! They are a rare breed. What teachers changed your life and why?

Happy New Year From Us!

At the end of each year, my BFF, Jennie Wong (co-founder of CartCentric.com, syndicated columnist of Ask The Mompreneur, friend extraordinaire & more) compiles a “done” list. New Years is a time when we tend to focus a lot of energy on all of the things we think we “should” do in the new year. I’m going to go to the gym every day, I’m going to stop eating carbs, I’m going to balance the national budget. I’ve never been a fan of New Year’s resolutions. Why shlep ancient negativity onto a fresh new slate? I love Jennie’s idea of reminding yourself of what you DID accomplish. In this busy day and age, it is too easy to forget what we’ve done as we are so quickly on to the next conquest. I can’t recall why I even entered a room about 4 out of 5 times, although I mostly blame that on the brain cell sucking powers of motherhood.

Whether you published a book, ran a marathon or finally organized your sock drawer, why not take a few minutes to remind yourself that the year was a fruitful one of growth and hard work? Or even if it’s a reassurance that the year wasn’t ALL bad, that’s ok too. Go ahead, inspire yourself to move into the new year with hope, drive and purpose. Excelsior!

Amy Anderson’s DONE List 2012

- Booked and shot two new tv stand-up shows (Stand Up In Stilettos & Nick Mom Night Out)

- Booked a national commercial

- Banner year of most stand up work booked ever in my 15+ yr career, as a result…

- Highest income year ever in my life

- Got back in shape, lost approx 10 lbs & began training for a half marathon (Jan 20, 2013)

- Got the ball rolling on financial and estate planning

- Re-established a healthy family relationship with my brother & obtained reliable, flexible, trustworthy, much needed child-care help in one-fell-swoop

- Paid off a substantial chunk of debt & starting to see the light at the end of a loooong, shit-filled tunnel

- Obtained health & dental insurance for both Aubrey and me

- Turned 40 and was given a VERY CLEAN bill of health after first ever annual exam including full blood work

- Rid myself of a toxic relationship and stayed happily single all year

- Most importantly, I am proud of the kind of mom I have been to Aubrey and I am the happiest I have ever been. Even though the year was incredibly busy (head spinning, to put it lightly) it was wonderful. And by focusing in on myself and my daughter, I experienced the deepest feelings of peace and joy I’ve ever had. I can honestly tell you, it doesn’t suck.

This past Friday, Aubrey, Uncle Eric and I made a trek down to San Diego to check out the much talked about horse show, Cavalia.

Aubrey’s riding instructor told her about the show several months ago and ever since, she has been begging me to go see it. I am a horse enthusiast as well so we were both really excited at the opportunity.

Meeting Cavalia artist, Spencer, & her horse before the show

Cavalia was described to me as Cirque du Soleil on horses (Artistic Director, Normand LaTourelle was one of the pioneers of Cirque du Soleil) but the horses are the real stars of the show. Don’t go expecting the horses to be swinging from the trapeze or walking on tightropes, but they do do some really amazing things. You’ll see trick riding, vaulting, jumping, dressage, Roman riding and more, but my favorite aspect of the show was seeing the intimacy and trust between the horses and the humans. The subtle commands and the sensitivity of each animal to its trainer was, at times, breathtaking.

One of the reasons I was so excited to bring Aubrey to this show is because I’ve long been opposed to traditional circuses with performing animals. I’ve explained to Aubrey that I didn’t feel it was a humane way for animals to live and they are often abused or mistreated. I had heard from many “horse people” that Cavalia was different and when I witnessed it with my own eyes, the attitude of the horses made it obvious that they were right. These horses took joy in their performances and the playfulness with their trainers was evident in each act.

Aubrey LOVED the show, but faded during the last 5-10 minutes. It was almost 3 hours past her bedtime!

Cavalia will be in downtown San Diego, in the Gaslamp District right next to Petco Park (can’t miss that giant white tent!) through the end of December and right now they have a group special of Buy 5, Get 5 Free! It’s a great family show, with some matinee times for the little ones. We went to a night time showing and it got a tad too late for Aubrey! Check it out now before they trot on down under to Australia! The only downside is your kids will be begging you for a horse for a long time afterwards, but trust me, it’s worth it.

*I was not compensated for this post. Opinions expressed here are solely mine and totally honest. Like totally! I did receive complimentary tickets to facilitate this review.

I like the cartoon series (which is on the HUB network). I love ponies and I think they are really cute. I love the different characters, the music and singing is Broadway quality and the writing is funny. Yes, it’s funny.

So Aubrey was pretty stoked to receive a review copy of the latest DVD “MY LITTLE PONIES: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC: ADVENTURES IN THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE” which officially releases on Dec 4. You can pre-order on Amazon for only $9.99. Woohoo!

She’s already addicted to the new DVD and has seen it about a zillion times in just a few days and I have to say it’s nice to have a distraction from all the holiday gift mania on kid’s tv right now. Speaking of which, this would be a PERFECT gift for your little pony fan! Here is a clip from the new DVD for you to enjoy. Happy holidays!

3 cheeseburgers with fries
a fried chicken/meatloaf/pot roast sampler dinner
a Boston Cream Parfait
soft pretzel with “cheese”
popcorn
about 5 of the snickerdoodle cookies I baked and brought from home
part of an Oreo milkshake
a croissant
a granola bar
part of a chocolate chip muffin
shrimp & scallop puff pastry
potato leek soup
butternut squash soup
2 or 3 cesar salads
part of a pork chop
hot dog and fries
part of Sarah Hyland’s birthday cake
part of a giant Wonka Bar
hot chocolate and a cookie during Mickey’s Christmas Party Parade

And God knows what else that I simply can’t remember. There were also rolls. Lots and lots of dinner rolls. Oh, the bread.

Post-prandial at 50s Prime Time Cafe in Disney World

What’s your FAVORITE holiday treat indulgence? I love Christmas cookies! Spritz being at the top of the list. I can’t say no to something made out of butter, sugar and flour. So evil, so good.

Oh and I forgot to mention the whole reason we were in Disney World was for Aubrey’s part on the “2012 Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade” tv special which airs on ABC on Christmas morning. I can’t wait to see her segment. It should be adorable and I’ll post specific details once we get closer.

Happy holidays everyone! Eat, drink & be merry! (and exercise and be even merrier)

My brother, and Aubrey’s uncle, Eric recently relocated to SoCal to help us out with child care and chihuahua wrangling and the other day I was telling him about Cirque du Soleil’s IRIS at the Hollywood & Highland complex. I saw it last fall with a friend and was absolutely blown away. It’s on the list of my top two favorite Cirque du Soleil shows (I’ve seen 5 of them so far).

Anyway, Eric told me he had never seen a Cirque show and had always wanted to and I felt Aubrey was finally old enough to check one out, so we set up some tickets and off we went to Hollywood!

After braving over an hour and a half in Barbara Streisand/Hollywood Bowl traffic (there went dinner plans), we made it and it was definitely worth the wait. Like anything by Cirque du Soleil, IRIS is a full feast of the senses and even though this was my second time seeing it, I saw 100s of new things I missed the first time. That’s just one of the things I love about their shows. The totally ripped guys in shirtless gladiator costumes would be one of the other things.

Aubrey, Eric and I backstage with a cast member after the show

I know a lot of people think Cirque shows are only for adults and teens, and while some of their shows are, IRIS is one that you can bring your family to. I probably wouldn’t suggest it for children under 5 because of the attention span required to sit quietly for the duration of a show, but I think most children would love it. Aubrey was awestruck throughout the entire show and on the way home told me she wanted to see it again “tomorrow night”! If a Cirque show looks like magic to most adults, imagine the wonder through the eyes of a child. I loved how she gripped my hand during some of the more daring acrobatic feats and how she would let out little gasps during the stunning visuals.

Aubrey strikes a Cirque pose!

The only down side is that now I have to listen to weeks of begging for “circus lessons” but I can think of worse things for a 5 yr old to beg for… like that “Pop The Pig” game or a baby brother.

It you’d like to take your family to check out IRIS here in Hollywood, visit their official website. The show is in residence at the Dolby Theater in the Hollywood & Highland complex and tell the gladiators, Amy & Aubrey sent ya.

I wasn’t sure if I should write about Knott’s and Disney in the same blog post, but you know what? They are really close to each other and I know a lot of locals go to both. Some from the city even get a hotel room and do both parks on consecutive days. We did both and we had a blast at both, so let me tell you about the Halloween haps at the Happiest Place On Earth and the, um, Knottiest Place On Earth (?).

Both are having special Halloween celebrations throughout the month of October, ending on Halloween night and both have events that are appropriate for young children. Disney’s is at night and Knott’s is during the day. Do NOT take your little ones to Knott’s at night, unless you want to make the Guinness Book for youngest heart attack ever. Starting at 7pm, Knott’s Berry Farm transforms into Knott’s Scary Farm’s 40th Haunt and it is SCARY. Like crazy scary. HOWEVER…

My Really Rosie (Google it people) with Snoopy At Knott’s Berry Farm

During the day, on the weekends, there is a lot of really fun stuff for families and young children including a “Spooky Ookie Scavenger Hunt,” “Peanuts Spooktacular Show,” “Creepy Crawler Critter Cave,” “Snoopy’s Costume Party & Parade” and more! There is no additional cost for these activities and you can find the information on the Knott’s website.

Ready for trick-or-treating, panning for gold & riding the big rigs!

In Anaheim, join up with Mickey and his friends at night for Disneyland’s Mickey’s Halloween Party. This is a separately ticketed, evening/night event for $69 and, according to Disney’s website, all of the night’s are currently sold out except Mon, October 29 & Halloween night, Wed, October 31. So hurry! Get a ticket now if you want to go!

Snow White In Halloween Ears

Ticket holders are treated to a special, family-friendly night in the Disneyland park with trick-or-treating, dance parties, a Halloween Screams Fireworks Spectacular, Mickey’s Costume Cavalcade parade AND, most importantly, free parking. They even have guidelines for appropriate, non-violent costumes to keep it the night fun. Of course there’s even more fun, plus all the regular Disney magic and rides and you can read all about it on the Disney website!

Mickey’s Halloween Party With Our Friends

Aubrey and I had a blast at both of these events and we feel so lucky to live here in L.A. So much to do and so much fun to be had! Have a SAFE and FUN Halloween!

*I was not compensated for this post, but I did receive admission to both theme parks to facilitate this post. The opinions expressed here are mine and my kid’s only and I’d just like to state for the record, that neither of us likes bloody clowns or zombies. We’re sticking with Snoopy and Mickey.

What a great night! I couldn’t be prouder of my little Aubrey and Modern Family had a great sweep of the Emmys! Congratulations to Steve Levitan, Julie Bowen, Eric Stonestreet and the entire cast, crew and staff who make this hilarious show happen every week.

If you didn’t see the Emmy broadcast, there was a really funny  video skit that the cast did and it centered around Aubrey being an on-set mini-tyrant! Hilarious, and of course a joke, but Aubrey loved getting to play a naughty kid! Here it is:

You can also go to TheClicker.com and vote for their sketch, although it’s pretty much a land slide already.

I’ll be writing some more thoughts about the Emmy weekend very soon. We are still in the whirlwind now and heading out the door to get to another interview.

Thanks for following our journey and for all the wonderful well-wishes and congrats for Aubrey! She is having a blast!

The Hollywood Reporter put out a great set of photos, articles, galleries and this video of Modern Family getting ready for the Emmys. Pretty awesome!

Aubrey is VERY excited to wear her fancy dresses and go to the fancy parties. She’s even ready to rock the red carpet which, hopefully, will be a little change of pace from last year when she was a little overwhelmed and confused by all the red carpet excitement. After several screenings of My Little Pony episodes where the ponies walk the red carpet, she is ready! She also really wants to win because she wants to go on stage in front of everyone. A natural born performer.

Today I took her to get a kid mani-pedi at Little Rockstar Salon and she told the manicurist all about the Emmys and even told her she was the youngest ever recipient of the SAG Award. I’m trying to teach her about modesty and humbleness as we go along, but I’m also happy that she’s proud of her work.

All fingers and toes crossed for Modern Family this Sunday, Sept 26 at the Emmys. They are nominated for 14 awards, including Best Comedy.Woohoo!!

Earlier this week, Aubrey and I were invited to check out the fall fashions at The Children’s Place. I’m going to be honest, I hadn’t been into one of their stores in a while as I am not a big clothing shopper, but as soon as we walked in, Aubrey ran right to the sparkly stuff on the girls’ side of the store and began to ooooh and aaaah! She knows what she likes and she was in LOVE with this store. She literally asked to get almost everything she laid her eyes on!

Aubrey is starting kindergarten at a uniformed school this fall, so I don’t have to worry about school shopping, but because of her work on Modern Family, she does attend a fair amount of media events and award ceremonies and parties – everything from casual Disney movie premieres to The Golden Globes which is black tie – and dressing her for all of these shindigs can really take its toll on mommy’s bank account.

One of my favorite things about The Children’s Place is the wide range of options under one roof. Play clothes and school uniform staples up through fancier dresses and accessories that are easy to dress up and down for different occasions. Their prices are really reasonable and the quality is great. Everything we have ever had from TCP has held up really well.

We picked up a nice assortment of dresses, tops and a night gown that Aubrey LOVED and the shopping trip wouldn’t have been complete without a pair of pink, sparkly high tops. Not sure how I got such a girly girl, but it’s fun! Of course they have a boys section too and there was some super cute stuff on that side, as well. No sparkly sneakers though.

Good luck with all of your back-to-school shopping and watch for these sparkly high tops on a red carpet this fall!

*I was not compensated for this post, but I was treated to a very nice shopping spree and tour of the current fall line, and for this, I am very grateful All opinions expressed here are my own… like totally.

Over the holidays I got  a new 3D Blu-ray DVD player and a 3D tv. This is my first new tv and player in ages and I have to admit, I wasn’t keen spending my hard earned dollars on it, but it has been worth every dime so far. The 2 ton box tv set is gone and we are enjoying the HD cable channels. Well, Aubrey is. I almost never get to watch what I want to watch, but Yo Gabba Gabba has never looked better.

This week I got a copy of Universal’s Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. Aubrey and I saw it when it was in the theaters, but this was our first chance to try out our new 3D tv and Blu-ray player! We hadn’t purchased any 3D movies yet, so we were pretty excited.

It really did look amazing and it was fun using our own 3D glasses at home. Two of the features of the Combo Pack that I thought were really cool are the 3 new Mini Movies – Aubrey’s favorite one is “Serenade” – and the Digital Copy of The Lorax compatible with iTunes, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Android & UltraViolet.

The Lorax Blu-ray Combo Packs are available now in stores and online and to view a trailer of the new mini movies, visit this link on YouTube!

*I was not compensated for this post, but I did receive a copy of The Lorax Blu-ray Combo Pack to facilitate this review. 

My daughter, Aubrey is 5 yrs old and is a great mix of girly and goofy. She loves sports, but is definitely a girly girl. She prefers dresses, loves stickers and glitter and has pink handlebar streamers on both her Razor scooter and her bicycle. It should come as no surprise that she LOVES My Little Pony. Anything to do with ponies and horses is right up her ally, but My Little Pony is pastel colored, singing ponies who are really into fashion and fun which is pretty much her dream come true.

The My Little Pony – Friendship Is Magic: Royal Pony Wedding, 5 episode DVD is coming to DVD on August 7 and we were lucky to get a review copy! Aubrey has been watching it over and over and here’s her review:

“I LOVE IT!!”

It really is a well done series, currently airing on The HUB TV Network and we also stream it on Netflix. Magical, sweet little ponies with a wide variety of personalities and styles teach lessons in patience, kindness, honestly and integrity through hilarious story lines and super catchy tunes. I have a degree in music education and I have to admit I’m consistently impressed with the music on this series. It’s the quality of a good Broadway musical most of the time. OK, OK, I admit, I actually kind of like watching it too. But it is wildly popular with young kids and I won’t even get into the whole “Bronies” phenomenon. Google it. Oh wait. I already did it for you.

This DVD contains 5 episodes from the last season:

A Canterlot Wedding, Part 1 (yes, one of the ponies gets married to another pony, duh)
A Canterlot Wedding, Part 2
Hearts And Hooves Day
Sweet & Elite
The Best Night Ever

And bonus features of 2 sing-alongs and coloring sheets. Aubrey loves these wedding episodes SO much she reenacts them with different toys and even like to pretend we are the good and bad ponies on our bicycles in the driveway. Somehow, I always end up being “Nightmare Moon” (or as Aubrey usually calls her, “Mare Night Moon”). She’s the baaaaaad, evil pony!

Look for it in stores August 7 or pre-order on Amazon.com now! Priced at $14.97

*I was not compensated for this post, but was provided with a DVD to facilitate the review.

I’m not going to lie: Aubrey and I LOVE candy. I was one of those new moms who didn’t let my baby have any refined sugar for the first two years. Until almost two and a half, Aubrey did not taste candy, donuts, ice cream… nothing! The only things were her 1st and 2nd birthday cakes which were made by me, from scratch so they weren’t too horrendous.

But I love sugar and junk food and I knew it was only a matter of time before Aubrey would be away at preschool and the holiday and birthday parties would change her palate. I knew it was coming and I was fine with it. Now we enjoy sweets as part of our daily lives. We enjoy having a little treat of some sort every day, but everything in moderation and we try to not eat COMPLETE junk. For instance I try to limit artificial flavors and colors and we don’t drink soda pop or instant flavored drinks in our house. We bake a lot of our own treats from scratch mainly because it’s a fun thing to do and I know what ingredients go into what we eat and I can choose real food ingredients.

A couple weeks ago, I was introduced to a new snack food company that is out to change the way we treat ourselves and I can’t tell you how excited I am about it! The name of the company is UNREAL.

Their junk food concept is junk food UNJUNKED. What happens to candy when you take corn syrup and replace it with real cane sugar? Take out artificial colors and flavors and replace them with more cacao and plant dyes? Research and use a superior packaging material to keep the candy fresh without the use of artificial preservatives? What happens when you make a candy with sustainably farmed ingredients, no hydrogenated oils/fats, real milk from grass fed cows, also free from artificial hormones and antibiotics. No GMOs?! The result is an amazing tasting candy with more protein and fiber and over 40% less sugar per serving, on average. Yes! It is possible.

At this point you’re probably thinking – oh I bet it’s expensive and I’ll only be able to buy it at high end hippie stores where they shoot you dirty looks if you don’t bring your own reusable, help shopping bag. NO! It really IS delicious and it’s the same price as the junk filled candies you have settled for for years. And soon you will be able to buy UNREAL candy in over 30,000 stores nationwide.

I did have the opportunity to take a sample box of UNREAL candies home and Aubrey and I really enjoyed tasting them. We both love all of the 5 current offerings: UNREAL 77 (peanut butter cups), UNREAL 5 (chocolate caramel nougat bar), UNREAL 8 (chocolate peanut caramel nougat bar), UNREAL 41 (candy coated chocolates) and UNREAL 54 (candy coated chocolates with peanuts). #8 is my fave  Click this pink banner to see more nutritional info!

As a mom, I’m sold. I believe in trying to feed my kid real food as often as possible and I am disgusted and shocked that in 2012 a typical US grocery store is filled with mostly “food” that is not really food. Chemicals laden with salt, corn syrup and artificial flavors and colors. Did you know that most caramel in the most popular candy bars isn’t actually caramel? It’s corn syrup colored to look like caramel and most of the chemical and non-food additives put into candy isn’t there to make it taste better. It’s there to make it cheaper to manufacture. None of us are perfect consumers or perfect moms but here’s an easy way to give your kids, and yourself, something everyone enjoys and feel a little less crap about it. Another way to eat real food and demand better.

UNREAL candies are currently available at Michael’s CVS & Walgreen’s stores and soon will hit the shelves at Kroger, Ralph’s, BJ’s, Target, Fred Meyer and Food4Less. Check out their super groovy website, www.GetUnreal.com, and read the UNREAL story, get the UNREAL facts. Get inspired to UNJUNK your junk food and support this new company doing the right thing for people and the right thing for our planet. What a refreshing and yummy change!

* I was not compensated for this post and I did receive a sample box of UNREAL candies to facilitate this review. I honestly, truly did this candy and this company’s mission! Yay!

Last night I saw an advanced screening of the new Dreamworks drama/comedy, People Like Us, starring Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer and Michael Hall D’Daddario. Plot summary goes that Sam (Pine) finds his estranged father has died and reluctantly returns home to Los Angeles hoping to inherit some money but instead finds out he has a 30 year old sister and young nephew. A result of his father’s extra-marital affair. As this relationship develops, Sam is forced to examine everything he believed to be true about his family and reevaluate his own life choices.

First off, I liked this movie a lot. It’s not the best drama in the world, but it’s a pretty darn good one. Dreamworks is selling it as a “dramedy” but there’s very little “medy”to it. It’s mostly drama and pretty heavy at that. The young Josh (D’Daddario) lends a few laughs to the picture, here and there, but overall it’s a serious film about family and relationships. Bring tissues.

Their are many strong points to this film – the acting is excellent and so it the direction. I was especially impressed with, well all of the main characters I mentioned in the first sentence up there, but Michelle Pfeiffer is great as the grieving widow and distant mother. Nice to see her playing her age and doing it well – wrinkles and all! The young boy in the film, Michael Hall D’Daddrio, is fantastic. I’m always amazed by superb child actors and he really does a great job delivering a wide range of subtle emotion over the span of a very large and demanding role for a kid his age. Pine and Banks were also super watchable and each of them delivered layered characters that were believable and compelling. The only kind of wasted role was Sam’s girlfriend, Hannah, played by Olivia Wilde. She did a fine job with a boring role that was mostly about exposition. And of course, the wonderful Philip Baker Hall as the attorney and long time friend of the deceased father, was as natural and seamless as ever. One of my favorites!

I found it interesting that the movie is loosely based on the real life events of writer/director, Alex Kurtzman who knew his father had had a family before his but never knew them. He then met his half-sister for the first time, completely by chance, at a party on the very same day he was thinking about writing a script about a guy meeting a long lost sister. Wacky!

The film has well developed characters and natural dialogue and only loses a little of that tightness at the end, when things feel a little more contrived at times, but not to the point where it ruins the rest. Not even close. My main complaint was the score. Composer A.R. Rahman is a two time Academy Award winning composer, but his work just didn’t jive with me on this one. Right from the beginning of the movie, the scoring felt a little too movie of the week-ish to me and was often overly sentimental and somewhat insipid. It was overly pronounced and I feel a good musical score should support, not manipulate above and beyond the actors’ performances. But maybe you love sap and you’ll love the score. Me, not so much.

However, the use of other music throughout the film was very good (the deceased father was an old school rock music producer) and songs by Bob Dylan, The Clash, Foghat, Loose Fur, James Gang, Charles Mingus and more are strategically placed and appreciated.

I wouldn’t categorize this as a total “chick flick” but it’s a drama and it’s not a good date movie. Go with someone you don’t mind crying in front of and maybe even see it with your brother or sister and have a feel good family date. From a professional point of view, it’s refreshing to see actors acting, writers writing and directors directing in something original again. Remember? That’s what movies used to be. For this reason alone, it is worth seeing.

People Like Us opens nationwide June 29, 2012.

OK, maybe it also means school’s out, family vacations and omg I have a lot of cellulite I’m never putting on a swimsuit again, but there are also some awesome things you can make and chomp with milk this summer.

My friend and super awesome milk-loving blogger, Marsha Takeda Morrison, and I attended a cooking class sponsored by the fab Got Milk folks. Now those of you who know me know that I love to bake. Cook… not so much. I’m a good cook and can follow almost any recipe, but I’m no stranger to a package of Top Ramen (“Oriental flavor” is my fave. I know.) only because I really don’t like to cook. I was a little concerned about the hands-on aspect of this event as I’m more of a mouth-on person when it comes to food, but I can honestly say, I had a blast! Especially since we made desserts! YUM!

We paired up with a cooking buddy at our own cooking stations and first made Swiss merengue topped chocolate pudding tarts with Danielle Keene from Top Chef! Danielle was awesome, but the best part was getting to torch the top of the merengue AND I still have my eyebrows. Phew.

They look good enough to eat, don’t you think? We thought so, and we did. YUM! (I’m going to use the word “yum” a lot, fyi.)

Then my favorite part came next! Michelle Quilles of Blooming Gelatin Art taught us how to make GELATIN ART with milk based, colored gelatin injected into clear flavored gelatin using hypodermic syringes! Seriously one of the coolest culinary things I have ever seen! She made these gelatin flowers right in front of our eyes in just a matter of minutes:

Then I tried my hand at making the easiest flower, a chrysanthemum. Gosh, I’ve always wondered how to spell that and now I know. Onward… here’s what I made. Not bad for a first timer:

The next morning, Aubrey and I ate it at breakfast and it was delicious!

Of course, the Got Milk people treated us to a delicious lunch and a table full of other amazing milky summer desserts, my favorites being the Lavender Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Berry Caramel Sauce (YES you read it right) and the Coffee Banana Malt Ball Milk Shake. These sound pretty fancy-schmancy, but you’d be surprised how easy they are to make right at home. Here are a couple recipes for you to try, because I love you so much. Oh, and thanks to Eatz for letting us mess up your kitchen.

Cheers to summer eats and don’t forget your lactaid if you’re Asian. xo Amy

Lavender Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta

 with Berry Caramel Sauce

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 vanilla bean, split
• 2 ¼ tsp. dried lavender
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 3 cups heavy cream
• ½ cup crème fraiche
• 1 tbsp. powdered gelatin

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, bring vanilla bean, lavender, sugar, ½ cup milk and 1 ½ cups of heavy cream to a simmer.  Cover, remove from heat and set aside to steep for 30 minutes.   In a separate bowl, mix gelatin powder in remaining ½ cup milk to hydrate.  Reheat vanilla mixture and pour over gelatin mixture.  Whisk until combined and gelatin is dissolved.  Whisk in crème fraiche and strain.  Cool to room temperature.

With an electric mixer, whisk remaining 1 ½ cups of heavy cream to soft peaks.  Gently fold in vanilla bean mixture in two parts.  Pour into small greased ramekins and chill for 6 hours or overnight.  Unmold and serve with blueberry caramel and fresh fruit.

Berry Caramel Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 ¾ cup fresh berries (in season), pureed
• 1 tbsp. butter

Berry Caramel Directions:

In a saucepan over high heat, combine sugar and water.  Boil until mixture is an amber color. Add berry puree and butter.  Whisk until dissolved.  Strain and serve over panna cotta.

Coffee Banana Malt Ball Milkshake

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pint premium-quality coffee ice cream
• 1 cup milk
• 1 ripe banana, sliced
• ¼ cup malt balls
• Whipped cream
• Cinnamon
• Chocolate sauce (optional)

Directions:

Combine ice cream, milk, bananas and malt balls in a blender until smooth.  In a tall glass, top the milkshake with whipped cream, malt balls and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Optional:  Before pouring milkshake, line glass with chocolate sauce for added touch.

(Amy’s Optional Touch: ADD SOME KAHLUA OR BAILEYS!! HELLO SUMMER!)

While I’m thinking of it, this is something I mention every Mother’s Day and probably will for the rest of my life.

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and if you know a single mom, reach out to her and don’t be afraid to make her day special. It won’t take much, a phone call, a text, or even invite her to your brunch, out for a drink, send her an ecard, knock on her door with a plate of cookies, whatever works for your schedule. Especially the single moms of very young children.

Mother’s Day can be a very lonely and sad day for single moms of little children. Aubrey’s dad and I split when she was an infant so I spent the 1st couple Mother’s Days of Aubrey’s life feeling pretty horrible. Alone in an apartment with a baby, no family near by. Tired and doing the daily grind… laundry, diapers, nap, bath, feeding… It was hard reading Facebook posts and Tweets about other moms going to brunch, getting flowers and candy, heading to the spa with their gift certificate in hand. These things  don’t usually happen for single moms. And not that Mother’s Day needs to be about fancy gifts, but remember babies and young children don’t know it’s Mother’s Day. They just keep spitting up, crying and throwing tantrums on schedule.

Some single moms are lucky to have a close connection with immediate family or relatives and they are not forgotten. They are the lucky single moms indeed, but my nearest family members are across the country. I remember those first years being asked the Monday after, “What did you do for Mother’s Day?!” UM… NOTHING! Wiped up poop? And then you get the sad, I feel sorry for you, “Ohhhh. That’s no fun.” And that makes you feel even more like shit. Seriously, I don’t mean to make single motherhood out to be a big sob fest, but it has its moments, for sure.

Now that Aubrey is almost 5 yrs old, it’s not quite as difficult. The days are still demanding but we have so much fun doing all kinds of activities and we can go out and celebrate together. This year we are going to the circus and we are both really excited! I love being a mom and I even love being a single mom. Aubrey and I have an amazing bond and I feel we will have each others’ backs for the rest of our lives. But those earliest years alone were isolating and daunting at times. If you’re reading this and you’re there right now, you’re not alone! Hang in there – it DOES get easier!

So… for those of you who know a single mom, go ahead and take the time to reach out to her tomorrow. Let her know she is loved and appreciated for the very important job she does. You may feel like you’re bothering someone on their special day, but trust me, your simple phone call might just be what makes her day special. Go ahead and bother her.

With one of my best mom friends, Bernadette. She's the one on the right.

I was lucky enough to be invited down to the world famous Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant yesterday to preview their May 13th, Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch. All I have to say is Oh. Em Gee. It was soooo good.

I hadn’t been down to Knott’s Berry Farm since, um… well, circa 1976? Yeah, it’s been a while. I’m happy to report that a lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same such as Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant. This is where the whole thing began in 1934 and it is known for its homestyle dishes, comfort food and of course, the fried chicken.

Don’t expect the Ritz Carlton – this is real food for real people who like to eat in a casual, family dining atmosphere. The brunch is buffet style and everything was delicious. The most amazing thing, to me, was the variety and amount of dishes to choose from. Everything from breakfast staples like eggs, bagels, fruit, sausage and bacon, biscuits, cheese blintzes and more, to salmon, shrimp cocktail, enchiladas, Spanish rice, mashed potatoes and gravy, apple stuffing, steamed veggies, soups, fresh carved meats, cold salads, rice pilaf and MORE MORE MORE. It kind of blew my mind.

Ice swan on a pile of shrimp? Check.

I ate some of this fruit to pretend I was healthy

Included in the price of the buffet are your beverages – coffee, tea, sodas and unlimited champagne

And then there’s the dessert table. Or tables… plural. I smuggled an adorable Snoopy cupcake to Aubrey and sampled a few too many chocolate eclairs, fruit tarts and of course, I had a slice of Mrs Knott’s famous boysenberry pie. Yum.

Yummm

SO CUTE!

The service was great, the employees were all very friendly and we even got a visit from Snoopy. I love Snoopy and was kind of overly excited to have my picture taken with him.

My new boyfriend

Now here’s the best part – since you’re reading this here blog of mine, if you mention “MOM BLOGGERS DISCOUNT” when you make your reservation for the Mother’s Day Brunch, you will get 10% off!

Also, Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant is located just outside the main gates of the Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park, so you can park for free for up to three hours instead of paying the $15 amusement park parking. After you finish gorging yourself (Trust me, you will and you should if you’re a mother. You’ve earned it.), if you’re able, you should stroll around the Marketplace Shops! There is a wide variety of stores, from Snoopy and Peanuts paraphernalia, collectors items, clothing, an awesome candy store, a bakery, souvenirs and more.

This Mother’s Day, I will be flying home from a week on the road, otherwise I might actually be tempted to drive back down to Buena Park to chow down again.

The end of the road

To all of my mom friends and readers – Happy Early Mother’s Day! I hope you get some fried chicken too!

Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant: Mother’s Day Brunch
Sunday, May 13, 2012
9am – 2pm
Adults: $29.95
Seniors: $22.95
Children: $16.95
Call 717.220.5055 and be sure to ask for the MOM BLOGGERS DISCOUNT for 10% off!!

I was not paid for this post, but the fine people of Knott’s treated me to a fabulous brunch and a gift certificate to the Marketplace shops where I oddly bought my daughter a Disney toy. It was a really fun and delicious morning and that’s my honest opinion. So there.

What a life.

We hope you’re having a great day too!

xo Amy & BB