By Karyn Bowman

Last week we finally got the time to see Julie and Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

The husband and I loved the movie and found we were charmed by it more than expected.

Meryl Streep always impresses me on how she is still able to lose herself when playing some of these roles. I forgot who she was, forgot that Meryl is five-foot-six and played the six-foot tall Child. She had a presence of a larger woman.

The other amazing factor of this movie was the food. While there were not too many great presentations, there was the discussion and talk of preparation of those great recipes.

Yet there are other movies out there that go for the great presentation.  Have you ever seen Big Night with Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub as Italian immigrants who open a restaurant. The cooking is divine but customers are in low supply. That is when Tucci decides to make a grand gesture for one night using the last of their money to get the word out about their restaurant.

There are many wonderful small performances by Marc Anthony, Minnie Driver and Isabella Rossellini, who adds grace just by showing up. She must be one of the most beautiful women in the world. It makes me want to get Arborio rice and heat chicken broth to make a killer Risotto. Tucci and Shalhoub are fantastic – as always – as two brothers who love each other and have totally different temperaments.

Another movie that features food that is a good movie is Soul Food starring Vanessa Williams, Nia Long and Vivica A. Fox. The movie is about three sisters and their relationships with each other and the men in their life. Everything is thrown into turmoil when the matriarch of the family dies and no one knows where the mysterious stash of cash is held.

For the foodies in the audience, there are displays of soul food that makes one drool a bit. Corn bread made in a cast iron skillet, Mac and cheese from scratch. Yes.

But there are two movies out there that show food like no one else. The first is Eat, Drink, Man, Woman. Set in Hong Kong, it is the story of a chef and his three daughters as they navigate life. Every Sunday he makes a feast and the daughters eat. Sometimes there are announcements and surprises as each daughter slowly works her way into the independence of adulthood. Directed by Ang Lee, this is perhaps one of the few perfect movies in the world.

The last is the American version of this movie called Tortilla Soup starring Hector Elizondo. With his deep gravelly voice, Elizondo has managed to be sexy and reassuring no matter how old he is – which is now 73. In this movie we see him carving a pumpkin that is later used as a soup tureen.  He is also romanced by Raquel Welch and later announces a surprising romance of his own.

What all of these movies do is to inspire my cooking to be kicked up a notch. Sunday supper is a time in which we try new recipes and new techniques. Each child gets their turn to choose the menu and it has lead to some surprising successes. We have taken recipes from the internet (molten lava cake) and a Rachel Ray’s cookbook (grilled pork chops with a cherry sauce).

What’s next on the menu?  I am not sure but I know my husband has requested a repeat of Chicken Imperial, braised chicken in a mushroom, wine and cream sauce. Very French, very Julia Child.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook.

By Karyn Bowman

How many times in the past week have you heard anyone besides media people say new year’s resolutions are blown within the first week of the year?

New habits are hard to make. I have heard studies say it takes about three weeks to make a new habit stick. But when the payoff is a smaller dress size or better blood sugar numbers, the hard work is worth it. And lets not kid ourselves, to make these changes does take effort on our parts.

Usually this time of year I pull out Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. While Breathnach has gone on to bigger and better things, I still find guidance in her book to find a more authentic self. I like her push to do a gratitude journal or to have a gift drawer for yourself for those days you need a little comfort.

It is books that Simple Abundance and The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron that helps a person discover what they love. And it makes you think about how you want to make that dream come true.

Being a more authentic artist is only one goal on my list. The other is to lose weight. I am one of those people for whom breast feeding did not work as the incredible weight reducer after pregnancy. I would be so hungry not matter how much I drank that I would continue to eat for two. In the last two years, I have taken some of the weight off. so much so that I have taken clothes to the consignment shop because they were too big for me. But I want to go further to make a goal that is realistic for my height and body shape.

I noticed in my various e-newsletters that Dr. Jon, a veterinarian, encourages his readers to take their pooch for a longer walk than usual. His reasoning is that it has been shown that people lose weight better when they exercise with a buddy. And there is no better buddy than the one with the big eyes begging you for a walk. Of course, you might want to give the pooch a check up to make sure he can handle to extra exercise.

I did that one day last week. Storm is on orders from the vet to lose weight. So Storm and I did a walk around the block. He loved it. I was thinking about getting warm again but at least I did get my exercise in. Once the weather gets really cold, Storm gets a little short changed but I know sooner or later he and I will find our way into a regular routine of an afternoon walk.

Have you kept up with your New Year’s resolution? And has it made a difference yet?

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children. Become friends with Karyn on Facebook.

By Karyn Bowman

I never realized how disappointed I was in the lack of Jane Austen works until I was reading the novel Ladies With Options in which one character laments a lack of new novels from Austen.

I agreed with that statement so deeply that I, too, felt the loss. But when a life is so short (Austen lived only 41 years) it is easy to see how so few novels could be completed. Considering how difficult it was to get a novel published in those days by a lady writer, the task seems almost impossible.

And yet there were women writers at the time. Mrs. Radcliffe was known for her gothic novels that were devoured by the multitudes. Austen had her as a guide point of what could happen. But her direction of writing was completely different, focusing on the dramas that can take place in the small villages.

The 16^th of December is Austen’s birthday and I am choosing to remember the writer who influences my own works though we do not write in the same style or about the same subjects. Yet I feel akin to her, hoping to have as lively as a mind that never seemed to stop. Whenever I do biographical research o the woman, I find there are many sides to her. She had been called a silly flirt, a devoted aunt, a brilliant writer, and unlucky in love.

We know there was a broken engagement on her part, a possible tendre with Tom Lefroy and a mysterious start of a relationship in Lyme Regis that ended with the man’s untimely death. We know that her sister Cassandra burned the majority of their letters and that family members wrote memoirs about Jane.

And yet there is so little we do not know.

Over the years, fans of her work have invaded Hollywood and created beautiful and well done films based on her books. But there is one novel that has been ignored and it might be my favorite because the main character is delightfully deceptive and selfish. Lady Susan is told through letters about a young widow who seeks to marry off her daughter to a rich lord and find herself a suitable situation.

In my mind I see Kate Winslet as Susan, knowing that she would sink her teeth in to this villain who is destined to win out against her enemies who are just as self-absorbed and think they are on the side of goodness. Surely Emma Thompson would make a great script and find a great part for herself and a number of friends, including Alan Rickman.

For now it is only a hope.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for the Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

Every year someone writes the Top Ten Christmas movie list. And other people then comment on what treasured movie or another was left out. Holiday movies are a very personal issue.

I haven’t done one for a long while for that reason. Plus, I am always forgeting something that should have been there. However, this year I am giving it a go and then all of the readers can debate where I was wrong, where I was right and what should have been there instead. You could even leave a comment here or stop me in the grocery store the next time you see me.

I do have a few honorable mentions that are more in the romatic comedy genre with a holiday theme. Those are: Christmas in Conneticut (1947), Love Actually (2005) and While You Were Sleeping (1995). I also think Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town TV specials belong in honrable mentions as well. If my husband had his way, the segment of Bing Crosby and David Bowie singing The Little Drummer Boy would end up there, too.

Just so there is no mistake, this is in numerical order. Perhaps your order is different.

10. Polar Express (2004) has a beautiful soundtrack along with great voice work and tremendous cgi animation that is almost as beautiful as the book. Tom Hanks plays a variety of roles and makes it work.

9. Prancer (1989) tells the story of a young motherless girl who believes she is healing the leg of Prancer, who has gotten lost from the rest of the Santa’s helpers. It makes you want to believe.

8. White Christmas (1954) stars Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye as a song-and-dance team who help out their former commanding officer save his Vermont inn with a classic “Lets Put on a Show” routine with Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.

7. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) is one of those Christmas specials that stick out because it reminds us about the true meaning of Christmas without getting preachy. It tells the story and does it well. Plus, that scraggily Christmas tree has become an icon.

6. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) allows us to spend time with Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo and the whole gang one more time for Christmas misadventures. You will laugh so hard you will have tears forming as your guts is spasming in pain. And you won’t care that you are laughing that hard.

5. The Nativity Story (2006) directed by Catherine Hardwicke took me by surprise on the beauty of the cinematography and quality of acting. This re-telling of the Christmas Story will make you cry and realize how much this young couple had to overcome in order to bring God’s son into the world.

4. A Christmas Story (1987) Ralphie wants a very special Christmas gift but everyone around him tells him that he will shoot his eye out. That doesn’t stop Ralphie and nor should it you from enjoying this great slice of life movie about Christmas in the 40’s with an irascible dad and a long-suffering mother. The ‘tongue on the pole’ scene alone is worth the rental fee.

3. A Christmas Carol (1951) with Alastair Sim is the definitive version of this movie. He makes Dickens’ story of the miser who learns the true meaning of Christmas full of spirit and joy.

2. Miracle On 34^th Street (1947). So, you have an old guy state his name is Kris Kringle and he is the best store Santa, ever. Do you believe because of his unfailing kindness and ability to make you smile no matter what or do you doubt because of an unfeeling, cynical jerk tells you to.

1. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946). Let Jimmy Stewart charm you as the guy who wanted to get away from his small home town but instead builds it up throughout the years. When doubts get the better of him on Christmas Eve, Clarence the Angel helps him find his way back home with a little trip to what might have been. Bring the tissues along.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for the Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

Over the years I have been asked by people how to become a writer. They talk of a great need to write and all the stories they have inside of them wanting to get out. Others enjoy the process and want to go further with it, develop their skills and learn how to make something in their head take on a life of its own.

My first words of wisdom are always this: find or create a writing support group. Find people who write and want to share their works to get feedback and reassurance. Elizabeth Berg and Jennifer Chiaverini are two current authors who do just that.

I also encourage people to read as much as possible, see what others do in your field and figure it out. Implement what works and throw out what does not.

Writing is not easy. It can be messy and irritating when you know a favorite sentence has to go out the door in order to make a more perfect piece of work. It is all a part of the deal. An author of a recent book I read stated it took her almost 12 drafts of the novel to get it right. It meant ripping apart who was the love interest, the heroine, the ending, and the entire format of the book. In the end, all of the drafts and hard work made for a perfect book.

Recently, I have had more time on my hands and decided to get back in touch with a writer’s group I had joined before. They welcomed me and my poetic efforts (the first in years). What was also interesting was hearing contributions from the others, how they worked with the actual rhyme pattern of a Robert Frost poem or didn’t. People had fun with the topic or took a serious note.

For me, it was refreshing and invigorating while we had lunch at Russ-n-Rosie’s in Chebanse. Below was my poetic offering. If upon reading it, you feel so inspired, send it in the comments section and we can have a poet’s corner in this blog.

Mastodon Fruit

We pulled into the field that held soy bean just a few days ago.Hedge apple

The popping sound of the stems comes from under the tires.

Looking over, my daughter sees the prize we are searching for

Bright neon green orbs, hedge apples.

I tell her to pick up a few, that we want seven all together.

“Why seven?” the bright eight year old asks

“It is a good number to get,” I say.

Already I imagine how they will look in a glass bowl on my table.

Later my son sees them and says “Mastodon fruit.”

Not that this area has seen a Mastodon in thousands of years

He tells me the seeds need the digestive system of the Mastodon

In order to make germination possible.

Yet, I look around and see hedge apple trees along the fence rows

I see them along ditches in the country and in forest preserves.

But the place I love to see them best, the place that makes me happiest,

Is in a glass bowl in the middle of my dining room table.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

How crafty are you? If you are like me, perhaps you admire what other people do and wonder if you could do it yourself. Our 4H group has a number of crafty members who can create beautiful pieces of art.

This past week found our November meeting taking place at Sharnets’ Crafty Corner in Iroquois. In the farmland, we found Sharon Taylor, who has her own ceramic studio in the shed on the farm that she works with husband. Sharon also runs a number of classes, including a Monday night ceramics class.

By having her studio on the farm, Sharon can get out there anytime without fuss or muss. She makes ceramic decorations that can be personalized. We saw one ceramic snowman that had the family’s name cut out and when it was lit, the letter glowed. One the shelves were a variety of current and upcoming holiday ceramic figures in a variety of sizes. We saw many cute figures including baby turkeys and pilgrims.

Our group painted six inch high snowmen and reindeer. We had about seven kids and four adults come along who got to choose their figure and then painted with colors of our choosing. Not knowing who was a novice painter or experienced did not seem to faze Sharon and her daughter-in-law, Anita, one bit.

They kept going around each of the three tables, giving us instructions as needed. When we needed the pointy brushes to do the fine lines or the pointer to make that special dot in the eyes of our creatures, Sharon and Anita were there to help out. Anita demonstrated how to do a dry brush technique to me (as well as everyone else) so I could put on the right amount of blush on my reindeer’s cheek.

While my son, who loves animé, did a traditional snowman, another one of our 4H members became detailed oriented and placed a slightly darker color in the hat lines of her snowman. Our 12-year-old wanted to have a classic reindeer with no blush or glitter while mine did all of that. Every single one that was made that night looked great no matter how each artist choose to do their own personal project.

Once the projects were completed, our group began to look at basket patterns. Sharon had a great many patterns, some even had flower designs that were woven with the basket but climbed up to top rim. The ones I remember the most were the Wedding Basket and the Albuquerque Basket. Both looked difficult but Sharon assured us they were doable.

Offering ceramics and basket weaving classes, it is possible to find and release your inner artist while at Sharnets’ Crafty Corner. I know I am personally thinking about doing the Wedding Basket the next time our group goes out.

For more information about class times for ceramics and basket weaving you can call Sharon Taylor of Sharnets’ Crafty Corner at (219) 474-5489.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for the Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

I have to admit I love some forms of talk radio. There is nothing better than listening to someone who could be your neighbor down the street who is funny and interesting. That is what I loved about Spike O’Dell before he retired from WGN last year. His interests became my interests and I found out about new and interesting people or things while listening to Spike.

Now that he is gone and other changes have occurred with favorite talk show hosts disappearing, I have been at a loss. There is much on the radio landscape I avoid, such as the opinionated screamers or the hosts who have an opinion and really do not care to hear yours despite the fact that they invite people to call in. Even sports radio gets on my last nerve as the latest game is analyzed to the nth degree in loud booming voices that hurt my ear drums.

However, there is one station that is getting more and more of my time. WKCC 91.1 on the FM dial has become a staple for our household. For years, the husband and I have wanted to listen to A Prairie Home Companion but we could not get the Chicago radio station in our house, although we got great reception in the car. It is really hard to justify hanging in your car for two hours in the heart of winter.

Then we discovered that our house radio could pick it up. Glory be!! Now we get to listen to Garrison Keillor as he tells his stories through Guy Noir, Rusty and Dusty the cowboys, ketchup commercials or the News from Lake Wobegon. We laugh, we cry, we can share it with our kids.

I am also finding myself turning it on in weekday evenings for classical music. The husband enjoys listening to the Friends of the Blues program with James Walker and D’Arcy Ballinger. Last Sunday, I woke up to Sunday Baroque and it was wonderful music to hear as I meditated on the day ahead.

Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me is another NPR staple we listen to and I find myself checking in with Marketplace. I could go on but you get the picture. You can get a wide variety of music, news from sources other than the screamers and radio shows that love to make fun of anything and everything.

To find out more about the station or to see their programming schedule, visit the Web site or tune your FM dial to 91.1 for something out of the ordinary.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

Recently we noticed that family pooch, Storm, has begun to gain weight. Storm is a three-year-old Labrador retriever and can be very active. He also likes to eat anything that falls on the floor, has been deserted on the table, or is not being looked at while still in a child’s hand. Plus we had him fixed this past spring.

He has become bulked up in the hips and tummy, leading to knocking down our five-year-old son more often than not. Then the kid usually socks the dog but that is another story.

I feel for our Storm because he has been put on a diet. Nothing ruins the mood of sneaking candy out of the kids’ Halloween stash more than having big brown eyes looking up at you in the hope that something will drop directly into his mouth. Plus, I know where he is right now, if a dog cares that they have more weight than they should.

In the past few years I have finally been successful at losing weight that has crept up on me over the years. It has not been easy but it meant that I had to change some bad habits. I stopped drinking soda and lowered my chocolate intake. Then I worked to add good habits such as drinking unsweetened ice tea or water and having yogurt as a snack everyday. Plus I am trying to make sure I add a piece of fruit to my lunch menu and salad at supper.

That can get you only so far. Now it is time to up the ante.

The last few Sundays the husband and I make a point of taking the dog – and the whole family – for a walk in one of the great forest preserves we have nearby. This past Sunday we went the entire three mile trek at the Aroma Park Forest Preserve on Heiland Road that took us to the shore of the river and back.

The week before I took the kids and the dog to the new path by KCC that has been paved. We took the entrance drive by the softball fields and went all the way back. We did not go as far as we could have but the dog and the kids were happy with the trip. And before you think I allowed my dog to do his business recklessly, let me inform you that we always, always, carry bags with us for the solid matter.

I asked my husband how long he felt we could do this, considering the cold weather that is coming our way. His response was perfect for a man who loves to hunt in the winter.

“We’ll just bundle them up and make sure to bring hot chocolate and water along,” he said.

That’s good because I am planning for the family to hit Perry Farm and the State Park walking trails in the near future. Do you have any other great suggestions for a Sunday afternoon trail walk?

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

When Exploration Station has their Grand re-opening night a month ago, we went as a family. One of the reasons was we do have a membership to this fun museum.

But another was that over the years we have enjoyed coming to this museum with our kids. Our age range is 5 years to 17 years. We have had a child at the right age for the exploration station for the last 15 years.

When we first moved in the area, we came and conquered the castle. I use to climb up and down with the kids. Plus the grocery store was always great fun. I was sad when that went away.

But now with the new hands-on areas upfront I am happy to say Exploration Station has done a great job of re-inventing itself. We have been to the museum a couple of times since that grand opening night and we are loving what we see.

The old gift shop area is now a diner. Right next to it is a new auto repair shop. My boys think this is a really cool area; my five-year-old grabs tools and starts fixing cars. All of my kids love the new inventor’s workshop area.

Plus the grocery store is back with a flower wagon. I love how the new area is smaller with canvas shopping bags to encourage green behavior.

Overall, I love the slightly smaller play areas that encourage a lot of fun and imagination. The art table and dinosaur bones are still there as well as a wonderful dress up area and the waterworks.

Most important though is the castle. We could have spent an hour in that room going up and down the stairs or hiding in the dungeon or playing with the puppets.

Bravo, Exploration Station! You have enhanced what worked well, brought back old favorites and created some wonderful new areas. This is one family that is loving it!

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for the Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.

By Karyn Bowman

Movies might be one obsession, but reading is my first.

Ever since I could put letters together to make words I have been reading.

Admittedly, I will read just about anything. I have read my husband’s Sports Illustrated along with my Jane Austen novels.

I am always disappointed that she wrote only six gems. But there it is.

Recently I was sent a series of books by Richelle Mead called The Vampire Academy. Fitting for Halloween, the books are about a secret vampire world most humans know nothing about.

In this world, there are two types of vampires – the Morois and the Strigois. The Strigois are everything evil in the vampire world. They kill and turn others into vampires for fun. Their goal seems to be to keep the world in chaos and their control. A good person can be turned into a strigoi and lose everything that made them good.

Now a Moroi is a born vampire, some are royal and some are not. They need blood to survive but do not kill to do so. In fact there is usually a group of willing humans who live in Moroi compounds know as feeders; they get high from the bites.

OK, that may seem weird but there is another species that lives in this world called dhamphirs. Dhamphirs are humans mixed with vampires. Because they are strong like vampires but able to handle light as humans do they protect the Morois from Strigois. It is a symbiotic relationship. One helps create the other while the other helps protect the first.

Our heroine is dhamphir Rose Hathaway who is training to be a guardian and loves it. Since she was in kindergarten she has been best friends with Lisa Dragomir, the last living member of the royal Dragomir family. Their bond is very strong, Rose can even read Lisa’s mind. And it will be Rose’s job to protect Lisa once they are finished with school.

It is a case of opposites as Rose is very fiesty and prone to hit first and ask questions later. Lisa is more cultured and sociable. Each would protect the other no matter what. This relationship might start the book but what drives it through the series is Rose’s relationship with her instructor, Dimitri. It is a love match but they also have challenges, such as he is seven years older and her teacher. She is a hot head who knows she has to learn control.

There is a lot to love about these books. They handle teen behavior such as the hormonal ups and downs. One character gets into cutting to relieve her emotional pain, another is anti-social and sarcastic. There are mean girl situations and dealings with spirits that are just as spooky for vampires as they are for humans. Plus there are plenty of action scenes to keep you interested. Book four – Blood Promise – has a heart wrenching fight that surprised me.

I started on Vampire Academy, then moved on to Frost Bite, Shadow Kissed and Blood Promise in quick order. I had a hard time putting them down once I started reading the books. I then handed the books off to my 17-year-old son and his girlfriend, who is a big Twilight fan. They meet her standards for good fiction, too.

The other night I was in Target and saw Blood Promise on the shelf. To be honest I got excited because now I know I will find the fifth book, whenever it comes out. When that fifth book comes out, I already know three people ready to take on the next journey Rose and Lisa choose to go on.

Karyn Bowman is also known as Mom Goes to the Movies and wrote for The Daily Journal as their movie reviewer for over seven years. She lives in Kankakee County with her outdoor writer husband and four children.