A Weekend of Surprises

We celebrated Easter yesterday, thinking the weather would be better than it was today. We were up at my in-laws lakehouse--a cabin sort of house where you pretty much plan to spend most of your time outdoors because it gets cramped with too many people inside. Well, my husband's parents and my parents were there, and then us (hubby, two boys, and me). We didn't go outside. After 80 degree plus weather earlier in the week, it was drizzly, cloudy, murky, and in the low forties. So...we all stayed inside. We ate, watched movies, boys played computer games (my husband and father-in-law are included in that grouping), and just lounged and vegged. It felt very odd to me. And then, in the evening, it started to snow--just a little--great big chunky flakes falling down and melting instantly as it was 42 degrees.

I did finish Tantalize (which I mentioned last week)--actually I read the vast majority of the book yesterday. What can I say except Wow! I am so impressed. It's a YA book, but it's about a seventeen year old and really very freaky and creepy. So many twists and turns and surprises, such a fun heroine, so many zany and quirky characters. I really, really loved it. The author, Cynthia Leitich Smith mentions at the end how there's a 'nod' to certain authors, one of them being Maurice Sendak. I totally missed that, darn it. I highly, highly recommend it and will probably be buying it for my niece for her birthday (after I check with her mom that she can handle it in all its glory).

Also...I watched The Holiday (with Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black), which I'd been going to see right before Christmas but didn't. I saw Stranger Than Fiction instead (and it was great). Anyway, I loved it too! It had all the stuff I liked: great setting--the house swap looked like so much fun, really interesting characters, romance, comedy, that special touch of quirkiness--PERFECT! I think I'm actually going to buy it as I think I could watch it again and again. Jude Law was adorable, but I just LOVE Jack Black. Much like I LOVE Ben Stiller. I find quirky very appealing.

Oooh...also, I tried a couple of Harry Potter Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans when my sons were too chicken. They each got a pack from the Easter Bunny, including a mix of tasty and not so tasty flavors. I've now tried Black Pepper (strong) and Soap (really kind of gross). My gramma used to threaten to wash my mouth out with soap, and I now know it would have just been nasty. After I braved it out, both boys tried Grass and said it wasn't too bad. None of us have yet tried Booger, Vomit, Sardine, Earthworm, Earwax, Rotten Egg, or Dirt. And I'm not sure we ever will...