Skeletons in Your Closet

Wait... is this supposed to be a Halloween post? I know it sounds rather spooky. But no, I'm not talking about those real skeletons (of which, hopefully, you don't have any in your closet). I'm talking about those other skeletons. You know. The ones you only see once a year at the holidays? Your embarrassing... family members? (not that you'd ever admit you were related).

I have many skeletons, but the biggest one is a real doozy. Every now and then I tell people about my "embarrassing uncle" and they nod and smile, saying, "don't be embarrassed! everyone has one." Then I tell them a little more. Maybe about how he took out his harmonica at PF Changs and played "Oh, Sussanah!" in between appetizers and the main course. Or maybe, just maybe (if I've had some wine), I tell them about the 7-11 big gulp cup he has, that holds 126 ounces of soda. That he drains every hour. That he has had for the last decade. (the exact same cup. plus he has modified it with some sort of apparatus that ensures the straw doesn't fall off.) At this point, most people sort of smile and look at me thinking, "I really want to laugh right now. Is it ok to laugh?" but some people persist on, saying, "oh, that's not, uh, that bad."

So then, maybe I'd tell them about this Christmas, when he showed up for dinner with his blue tooth ear piece in and called random people on his phone and played them songs on his harmonica. Or about how he told me he speaks multiple languages. (he doesn't.) Or maybe about how he reached for my husband's cell phone at dinner and asked if he could "take that apart, to see how it works". Or maybe about how he started muttering "t'was the night before Christmas" at the dinner table.

Yeah, my skeletons are pretty interesting. I'm married now, so I don't have to worry about introducing a boyfriend to him for the first time anymore, but I feel for my brother and sister, who will inevitably have to explain the maddness, and then also explain why it would still be wise to consider reproducing with our gene pool!

All in all, my holidays were lovely, though. I have zip, zada, zilch in the way of pictures for you. But my chocolate peppermint cake, which I make every year (slightly adapted from that recipe), was delicious. And my gingerbread bundt cake stuffed with apples was amazing (I'll post the recipe soon). And we had a delicious goat cheese and proscuitto strata, which was made because of a special request (whiney demand) from my younger sister. Even my crazy uncle liked the desserts. Although he did ask me if my chocolate cake had pumpkin in it. (huh?)

After Christmas, Nick and I gorged ourselves on movies. We saw:

1. Marley and Me. Cute, but not as good as the book. Jokes that were hysterical in the book fell flat on the screen, and they made some changes to the story that, in my opinion, were just unnecessary. I still really liked it, though. Aniston did a great job, although Wilson was at times annoying in his aloofishness.

2. Valkyrie. I thought this movie kinda sucked. I mean, Tom Cruise was supposed to play this amazing hero that wanted to take down Hitler. You'd think you could connect with the character, but no. Cruise made the guy seem selfish and uncaring. I didn't identify with him at all, and really thought he was horrible in the role. The story was interesting, although it had a lot of holes in it. I'd wait for DVD. Or better yet, catch a far superior documentary on the Valkyrie efforts on the History channel.

3. Milk. First of all, Sean Penn was amazing. Just amazing. He really made me feel like I was actually watching Harvey Milk's life unfold before me, and I got so caught up in his character, I just adored him. The movie was a little long at times, and a little heavy on the political stuff without always giving enough background into the turmoil and struggles of Milk's life that didn't revolve around his political quests. I could have done with less of the political campaigns, and more of Milk's actual life and struggles as a gay man. All in all, though, I think Penn deserves the Oscar nom (and maybe win) for this movie. I'm not sure the movie deserves a nom though.

Ok. If you've read this far, I'm sincerely amazed, as this post had really nothing to do with food or anything, but was rather just a rambling session for me. So, thanks for reading. I'll be back with recipes, soon! I swear!