Zombieland!

Best ZomCom ever! I hope Zombie Comedy becomes an actual genre. I would be so happy.

Top 5 Reasons why I absolutely loved Zombieland:
1.) Only 87 minutes long. Every movie should be this long. Or short.
2.) Bill Murray plays an actor playing a zombie mistaken for an actual zombie. Yep.
3.) What's scarier than a zombie? A clown! What about a zombie clown?
4.) Tallahasee (Woody Harrelson's character) searches for a twinkie the entire movie. He finds a Hostess truck and to his dismay, the truck is full of Hostess Snowballs. Of those, he says he hates them. Not the flavor, the consistency. So general coconut hatred is reaffirmed!
5.) Despite the extreme gruesomeness and the whole escape-from-zombies plot, the true theme of this movie is finding joy in the little things, like the people in your life or a simple favorite snack. That message reverberates at the end, so you leave the movie feeling all warm and fuzzy.



"First girl I let in to my life, and she's tries to eat me" Columbus

I have been thinking lately of how my mom made me a Zombie Survival Kit for my birthday, which was so awesome. The zombie survival guides you see at the bookstore are actually bestsellers. So, thinking of zombies and hashing out what to do during a zombie apocalypse (is it just me and Fox that has this conversation on date night?) is actual very useful in preparing for any extreme emergency. Around the time I was thinking of this, I found my old quote book, where I had copied this:

"We're not just afraid of predators; we're transfixed by them, prone to weave stories and chatter endlessly about them, because fascination creates preparedness, and preparedness, survival. In a deeply tribal sense, we love our monsters". Edward Wilson, biologist.

So, sometimes it is good to draw out your zombie escape plan with your husband on an Olive Garden napkin.

Sugar-Free Candy Corn

What is this, candy? Coco thought. Hooray!


Wait a second...this isn't sweet...



Go back to where you came from!



(For some strange reason, I got on a huge crochet candy corn kick last week. They are cute and fun, but I have no idea what to do with them!)

Oh, Robin...

Hood, that is. The BBC television series. Why do I love you so?
Is it because your characters have the greatest onscreen chemistry of all-time?



or that your eery Sheriff of Nottingham wears sparkles and paints his toenails black?



or maybe because your show has a fabulous, amazing costume designer?


Well, BBC Robin Hood series, you are awesome, but you broke my heart in series 2. Seriously, even my cat cried.

I don't think I can see you anymore

(but I will watch fan videos on Youtube while dipping spoonfuls of peanut butter into melted chocolate chips).

No-Fail, Yummy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

Remember my post about being excited about coconut? I still love coconut. Today, I had to make a dessert for a church function, and I decided to make coconut cupcakes--just a simple chocolate cake mix with a yummy, homemade coconut frosting on top. So, I took them to church...and, well, I guess people are just not as into coconut as I am. I have a whole tray of cupcakes sitting here. I guess that's breakfast!

What people are into are these yummy chocolate chip cookies that I make a few times a month. Everyone loves them, so I will share the recipe. These aren't the healthiest, but they are no-fail. And the wheat part makes you feel less guilty!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe from Betty Crocker)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 cups Gold Medal® whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)


1. Heat oven to 375ºF.
2. Mix sugars, butter, vanilla and egg in large bowl. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown (centers will be soft). Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.

 
 

 
 

 



 

Finally! Pregnant in America Review

Things that make me happy: anyone pro-natural childbirth! I first blogged about the documentary Pregnant in America a year and a half ago
  but I hadn't watched it until today. I found a link to watch it online for free here: so I used naptime to watch it.

The verdict? Amazing. Best birth video/documentary I've ever seen. Less gory, less anti-hospital, less shock-tactic than a certain other recent documentary on birth.
Pregnant in America follows a couple (the filmmaker and his wife) as they research birth options and hospital birth practices while they are expecting their first birth. There are interviews with all of my favorite people in the natural birth community, including Kerry Tuschoff, who I spent four days with this month as she trained me and 25 others to teach her method of hypnosis for childbirth called Hypnobabies.

I loved that this film documented birth practices in Holland and Germany. Probably not a good idea to keep watching docs if I want to continue happily living in America.

Most importantly, I loved that this film had a "You create your own reality" message, which is a central tenet of Hypnobabies and a general fact of life.

This film is not shocking. It is thoughtful, educational, and beautiful. It is just part of an underground movement to change the way birth is done here, and I'm so excited to get to be a part of it (when I start teaching Hypnobabies...soon!).

Using up Fabric

Okay, I saw this ruffle pillow tutorial and loved it! I had a sad looking pillow lying around that doesn't match anything in our house, so I decided to make a slipcover with ruffles for it:

and an hour later I had this:

Cost: $0! Although the pillow is still misshapen, at least it's cuter, right?

Cuckoo for coconut!

We are having a coconut summer! For me, it all started with buying this organic coconut oil:

Coconut oil has become increasingly more popular lately. Coconut oil is thought to be the healthiest natural fat next to mother's milk. Both contain lauric acid, which helps the immune system. Coconut oil is also good for the skin, digestive system, cholesterol levels-- and more.

For me, though, I bought it to use as natural deodorant.
The recipe:
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. baking soda
5 Tbsp. coconut oil

This makes a ton, and it works! I smell so tropical, too!
(Note: keep in a cool place if you don't want liquefied deodorant!)


I also saw these Coconut M & M's and bought a bag (or several):

Not so much for the coconut at first, but because I am a sucker for any limited edition candy, like Hershey's kisses flavors and such. I have to say that I don't really like M&Ms...but these were so so yummy...and cute! They have just a subtle flavor of coconut on the outer shell with chocolate inside.

Finally, this book--I had to check it out after seeing my sister's very non-fad-diet mother-in-law reading this and then rubbing coconut oil all over herself and others:


It is a really interesting book with a lot of scientific evidence supporting the healing properties of the coconut.

So, although I have yet to actually cook with it, there is nothing to fear about the 90% saturated fat content coconut oil. It is 50% lauric acid and also has been shown to reduce heart disease. It is so good for your hair and skin, smells delicious, melts like crazy, and is all natural--so go get your tropic on!!