This holiday weekend, I took my kids and a gaggle of nieces and cousins to see Enchanted, the new Disney movie wherein the heroine, Giselle, is forced out of her animated world by the prince’s evil stepmother. Once in the real, live-action world, plucky Giselle makes her way using all those Disney princess-ly talents, including making her own clothes, care giving, and generally cheering people up. While trying to sort out her situation, she meets cynical divorce lawyer Robert Philip, played by Dr. McDreamy himself, Patrick Dempsey, and his adorable daughter. Much soul-searching and hilarity ensue.

I’ve periodically complained about all the horrible children’s movies I’ve been forced to endure over the years (Barnyard, anyone?), but this movie more than makes up for that. It’s the delightful, charming story of a saccharine-sweet, yet loveable heroine who learns and grows when the going gets tough. Not since, hmm, let me think … yeah, not since 1991’s Beauty and the Beast have I enjoyed a Disney feature this much.

One of the best things about this movie, aside from Amy Adams’ spot-on performance as a wide-eyed, sweet-voiced, painfully naïve princess-to-be, is the way this movie pokes fun at all the Disney conventions, including those singing, cleaning animals, bursting into song for no apparent reason, the evil-stepmother with her poison apples, the dragon, and the one-dimensional prince.

The kids all loved this movie, and I did too.

Two thumbs up. Or, uh … five stars. Or whatever my top rating is.

Don’t miss it.

I think I’ll just make this my annual Thanksgiving message:

Give Thanks
When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the morning light, for your life and strength.
Give thanks for your food and the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself.
–Tecumseh

Have a wonderful day!

Let’s get one thing straight. I love Christmas as much as the next person. I love giving presents, cooking, decorating, and celebrating the season and all it stands for.

I just don’t love it in November.

Why do we have to start in on Christmas the day after Halloween? Is that really necessary? Can’t we take a little breather, disassemble the Halloween decorations, enjoy Thanksgiving, and THEN get into the Christmas spirit?

Target has had Christmas stuff up for weeks. One of my favorite local radio stations is now playing (and has been playing) 24-hour Christmas music for a while now. I’m getting holiday catalogues already.

I mean, come ON.

You know what the biggest problem with this premature holiday consumerism is? Now my kids look at me with shining, eager faces, and wonder when we’ll put up our tree. When I’ll start baking cookies. When we can pull out the decorations. As if I’m the one with the problem because I want to celebrate Thanksgiving before Christmas.

I think we need to draw a line in the sand right now: No Christmas before Thanksgiving!

I mean, think about it. If we let this go unchecked, next year they’ll have us getting out the tinsel just as we’re putting away our bathing suits and charcoal grills after Labor Day.

I’m just saying.

Today I’m blogging over at Access Romance. Stop by and say hi.

Versace, we all noticed, had been spending a lot of time on the litter box.

Too much time.

Grumbling about the 1001 other things on my to-do list, but knowing that urinary tract infections can be serious problems for neutered males, I grudgingly took him to the vet. She said it was a digestive problem and prescribed some medication. I took Versace back home in the baby blue carrier that matched his eyes, certain that he’d be back to his old self by the end of the week.

The medicine didn’t work.

With a growing sense of alarm, I drove him to the emergency vet, who took an X-ray. The films showed bad things, the kind you don’t want to see in your three year-old cat. The only possible solution was a difficult and drastic surgery that wasn’t guaranteed to address the problem. Other vets were called, including the local expert. All agreed there were no good answers.

And then there was Versace’s sudden, unexplained weight loss, 3 pounds in the last month. A huge teddy bear of a cat who weighs sixteen pounds has a little weight to lose, but 3 pounds was nearly twenty percent of his entire body weight.

Twenty percent, gone. In less than a month.

The writing on the wall became clear, even to me.

I took him back home and told the kids. Broke their little hearts. We spent a last night loving him and remembering. In the morning I returned him to the vet, where the lovely tech said that I’d brought Versace back so we could give him his wings, and I lost it.

His ending was relaxed and peaceful, with me petting him and telling him what a wonderful cat he’d been and him purring.

Here’s what we miss about Versace:

• His laid-back, even keel disposition;
• His lengthy, expressive, high-pitched meows;
• The way he opened doors by jumping up on his hind legs and pressing the door with his front paws;
• The way he always tried to sneak into the bedroom, where cats aren’t allowed;
• The unconditional love he gave us.

Here’s that poem again, the one my father sent us earlier in the year when we gave Hobbes his wings. This time it’s for Versace:

I’m blogging today about one of my favorite love stories, that between Scarlett and Rhett, over at Michelle Buonfiglio’s Romance: B(u)y the Book. Stop by if you have time and leave a comment.

I don’t know about you, but I just love it when Denzel Washington plays bad guys. I didn’t think he could ever top his performance as a corrupt cop in 2001’s Training Day, but he comes awfully close with his portrayal of real life 1970’s Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas.

You may have heard about Lucas. He’s the guy who built an empire based on the purity of his heroin, which he christened with the brand name Blue Magic. He was also the guy who handed out Thanksgiving turkeys to crowds on the street like a benevolent czar feeding his serfs, even as he committed violence of all types and sold the product that ruined and/or ended countless lives.

Washington plays Lucas as an understated, dignified man who thought of himself as a businessman first and foremost. Watching the movie, you almost want to applaud the man’s brilliance as he thinks outside the box and builds his empire, but then you remember.

This guy was no hero.

Another great Oscar winner, Russell Crowe, who turned in a stellar performance a couple of months ago in 3:10 to Yuma, is back as Richie Roberts, the incorruptible cop who identifies, hunts, and eventually nails Lucas. Crowe does his usual phenomenal job, and the few scenes the actors have together really crackle with electricity.

One caveat: the movie is pretty long, so you may want to pack a lunch or get the extra large popcorn.

You don’t want to miss this one. And wait’ll you get a load of Washington in the chinchilla coat and hat ensemble that was the beginning of Lucas’s downfall.