Fish Movies

My dad asked me to write a blog post for Christmas.  Okay, that isn’t

1000% accurate. It is more like he implied it has been a while since I last posted something and we happened to be in the Christmas Holiday season. With my father in mind, I write this post, since he often asked me if I have seen a movie or show. 

Not to long ago, I was participating in a mini killer fish movie marathon with my husband. While watching movies and pulling up trivia on why certain actors look familiar, I discovered a Fandango Fish Movie Top 10 list. My husband disagreed with almost every movie on that list.  

Thinking about that conversation, I compiled a quick list of Fish Movies that are fun to watch. (Notice that I didn’t say they were good, just fun. Some of these are terrible movies.) Jon agrees with most of these movies, but certainly not all. 

Below is my quick list of Fish Movies that are varying shades of fun to watch and can be very loosely considered fish movies. 

Fun Fish Based Movies

1. Horror at Party Beach
2. Piranha
3. Up From the Depths
4. Piranha 2 
5. Creature from the Black Lagoon
6. Revenge of the Creature
7. Jaws 3
8. Creature from the Haunted Sea
9. Killer Fish (MST3K version preference)
10. Humanoids from the Deep

Do you have any Fish movies that you would put on the list? Something that might not be considered a good movie but is certainly a fun movie to watch for various reasons?

Full of Thanks

For a little while now I have had a mental block on writing.  It probably isn’t that much of secret, if you look at the last time I put up a blog post.  I even tried to jump start my writing by participating in NaNoWriMo, but despite encouragement, the words would not come. I can’t even tell you what triggered a mental block, because if I could then I would have been able to avoid it.  Maybe the adventures were too new and I wanted to soak them in before I spoke of them, maybe my brain has been busy solving anticipated problems at work, or maybe I was having an existential crisis.  It doesn’t really matter, I am writing now.

Recently (last week) I celebrated Thanksgiving.  It is a time to reminisce over the people in your life that have made a difference. It is also the carb loading cook off before one of the largest American shopping days of the year, Black Friday.  I personally am not one to participate in marathon shopping and as refuge for those that do not shop, my husband and I host Black Friday Game Day.

This annual gathering has grown through out the years into epic proportions of Tom foolery.  The diversity of games creates a jovial atmosphere that lead to good natured teasing.  It is not unrealistic to expect my terrible dice skills to be called out or for everyone to expect Ralph to be The Thing, even if he isn’t, because we all know he really is.  The point of Game Day is to come together and have fun. 

Here are a list of games that were accomplished this Black Friday Game Day:

• Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards: Duel at Mt. Skullzfyre
• The Thing
• Survive
• Murder of Crows
• Bears Vs Babies

I am thankful for everyone that came out to Game Day. It is the people in life that make the difference and it is always a joy to create good memories. Thank you.

Taste of Nostalgia

A trip to southern California is almost always tinged with nostalgia. I have a lot of family that lives out there and I spent my early years basking in its sunshine. When ever I am out there, I have a bucket list of things that I want to do.  It isn't a long list.  In fact it only consists of three items.

Teresa's California List
1. See Family
2. Eat at IN-N-OUT Burger
3. Do Tourist stuff

Jon and I just came back from our honeymoon in San Diego.  (Okay, it is really our 7th anniversary, but honeymoon sounds way more romantic.) One of the perks of being in San Diego, is that I was able to check off item #1 on my list rather quickly.  I able to to see family that I had not seen in little over a decade and catch up. It was pretty wonderful.  Jon is still imitating the youngest member's enthusiasm for painting rocks.

Checking off #2 on the list was not as easy.  Jon did not grow up with IN-N-OUT Burger.  There was an IN-N-OUT Burger less than a mile from our hotel. (I  solemnly swear I did not pick the hotel based off the proximity to my only fast food luxury, it was coincidence) The love for IN-N-OUT Burger does not run through my husbands veins. He does not know it is the best thing a person could eat when they get off of a flight.  In fact he was a skeptic on how much there is to appreciate in an IN-N-OUT Burger, until we went to get one.

The drive thru stretched onto the road, blocking half the parking lot as the smell of grilled meat permeated the air.  The parking was a precarious matter. Many swear words were uttered as the  rental car slide into a spot that defied logic.  Jon voiced his doubts on if this pilgrimage was even necessary. A hamburger is just a hamburger, and after all we had a 5 Guys at home, if I wanted a a greasy slab of regret served with a basket of julienned spuds, I could do so without the hassle.  Still I persevered and in short order we were in the glistening clean red and white tiled establishment ordering a double of California pride and joy.

The moment of truth arrived.  A double double with fries to go.  My husband with his first bite, proclaimed that his life was changed.

 He definitely said those words, but they were not even close to being sincere. By the end of the burger and fries, Jon had to admit it was a delicious and satisfying.  Maybe IN-N-OUT Burger is a native thing, but it doesn't matter. It is still a good burger. 

Goretacular 2018

October is a busy month for me.  One annual October event  is Goretacular.  Now most humans have no idea what Goretacular is, and sometimes I wish I didn't know what it was. Goretacular is the annual Horror Movie Marathon that my husband hosts.  If I were to gravitate towards movies selections, it would most likely not be anything in the Horror genre. My husband on the other hand, loves horror movies and especially adores B rated movies and if the two could be combined then there is a good chance it will end up in Goretacular.

Here is the 2018 Goretacular line up

1. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
2. Creepshow 2 (1987)
3. The Boxers Omen (1983)
4. Halloween III Season of the Witch (1982)
5. Abominable (2006)
6. In The Mouth of Madness (1994) (This is one of my favorites!)
7. Night of The Creeps (1986)
8. The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

As if 8 movies wasn't enough, Goretacular spilled over into the next day with the following movies:

1. Black Magic (1975)
2. Black Magic 2 (1976)
3. RawheadRex (1986)
4. The Redeemer Son of Satan (1978)
5. The Devil Rides Out (1968)

Needless to say, even if horror movies is not your thing, there was a wide variety that could peak almost anyones interest.  It is sometimes hard to take older movies as horror movies, because they do not age well in what would offend the sensibilities, but they are classics that helped define a genre and lead the way for pushing the envelope.

The list of movies for Goretacular is often expansive and it gets culled based off of who shows up.  If you don't believe me, take a look at what was on the original possibilities list!

If you were to hold any type of  movie marathon, what sort of movies would be on your list?

Curse You Bundt Pan!

Curse You Bundt Pan!


It is my mother in laws birthday, and we are doing brunch at my house.  My husband and I just finished binge watching the first season with Noel Fielding as one of the co hosts of The Great British Bakeoff and we were feeling lofty about our baking abilities. (Depending on where you are from, I have no idea which season that really is.)  We had the brilliant idea of doing a lovely lemon and blueberry pound cake served with a Quiche Lorraine. All of it to be served with a white wine sangria.  It sounds super classy, delicious and relatively easy.

Jon and I decided to do the cake a day ahead so that we didn't have to rush this morning.  The recipe is one I found on Pinterest, and sounded easy enough.  Make the cake, put it in the pan, bake, cook and take it out of the pan, cool and icing.  I was good all the way to take the cake out of the pan.
In fact I think the cake decided that it would rather live in the bundt cake pan then ever see the light of day in one piece.  The sole bright side, is that despite it being an utter shape disaster, it was a magnificent  flavor masterpiece.  It tasted like blueberries and lemons.  Total flavor win, when something tastes the way it is expected.

Once we finally retrieved all of the cake bits from the nefarious bundt pan that is the bane of baking existence (or it is in my house).  Oh the swear words that came up, and then it evolved into our best impressions of common judge comments.  We had to come up with a Plan B to go with the quiche.  To the mighty internet we searched, and discovered that cake ruined by unruly bundt is a thing and that breakfast trifle is going to be a thing. Or at least a thing that we are serving for brunch. 

This set back could easily have ruined my day and weekend. I don't often utterly fail so hard at baking. I think the lesson learned is that baking is hard.  When life gives you lemons and your cake doesn't turn out, you just have to make the best out of what you have.  Trifles are amazing. The quiche is delightful and so is Sangria.  Happy Birthday Joanne!


For those interested, this is where I got the Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake Recipe:  Grandbaby Cakes

Grandpa's Cheese Barn

When you say the Grandpa's Cheese Barn, you are either mentally conjuring up a dilapidated old red barn that might be missing a few boards, with a couple of cow roaming around outside and looking a little sketchy or you are thinking about one of the hidden gems of Ohio.

Not Sketchy and Not a Red Barn!

Grandpa's Cheese Barn is like someone read my diary and discovered the way to my heart was through tourist attractions, cheese products and fart jokes. Grandpa's Cheese Barn in Ashland, Ohio covers all three.  Their mascot might be my new favorite mouse mascot.   The facility is neat and orderly and full of humor and food.  There was a little something for everyone there, even if cheese isn't your thing. (I am not judging, we have some dairy intolerant individuals in my family.)  

Colby! Perfect mascot name!

There were samples of  most items, which is extremely effective in convincing a person to try something, and the prices were modest. My husband totally decided he needed to come home with teriyaki beef jerky after a single sample. One of my favorite sections aside from the cheese, tea, jerky, snack food and chocolates, is the gift shop. I love a good gift shop, and the cheesier the items the better.  Their gift shop has a wide variety of shirts and other sundry items.  The thing that stole the show for me were the post cards. 

Some lucky people are getting this postcard from me!

I know that sending physical mail is an archaic form of communication, but I love it.  I love sending mail, I love receiving mail. When a gift shop has post cards, that is one of the first things I check out.  Postcards are a wonderful souvenir to remember where you have been, and often times have a picture on it that is way better then I could have taken.   Grandpa's Cheese Barn did not fail me.  They had their signature joke on their postcard and a postcard with their mousey mascot. It was a double win for me.  I picked up at least half a dozen postcards to send, mixed in with the cheese curds I couldn't live without and tea, jerky, t-shirt and soap that needed to be rescued.  The only thing that I couldn't not find in the gift shop were magnets. They might have been there, but I honestly think I was a bit distracted with amount of excitement I had coursing through me.  Grandpa's Cheese Barn is a dream.  It is one of those places that you thought was made up for television and then realize that this is better than any TV fantasy. T

If you happen to be in Ohio and see and exit for Grandpa's Cheese Barn, I would recommend stopping. The cheesy goodness that oozes out of that place is beyond belief!

Book of Teeth

Pisces Framed. 

Welcome to another episode of "Teresa is terrible at writing Etsy Reviews in a Timely Fashion".  I discovered this shop  through my other addiction, Kickstarter and it grew.  The shop/ artist I am talking about is Cody Vrosh. 

I first discovered him on Kickstarter when he was working on a Zodiac calendar and was offering prints of his work for backers. That might be the first selfish thing I ever supported on Kickstarter.  I debated for two days on getting the Pisces or the Aquarius for my best friend.  The voice in my head that is my husband prevailed and I ended up with Pisces for myself and promptly framed it when it arrived. 

Then came the Book of Teeth. I started stalking the artist through Twitter and then realized I could view the creations being created for the Book of Teeth on Instagram and follow the artist. I of course Kickstarted it and danced around like a lunatic when the book finally arrived.  I received to prints (not pictured) with the Book of Teeth of the smiling creatures of my choosing and it has been struggle on if I frame them and gift them or frame them and keep them.  It was been a joy to follow the artist, but it also made me aware of the Etsys page that Cody Vrosh has.  My wallet is beginning to feel some pain, but the happiness it brings is worth it. 

Reviewing the Etsy page brought additional surprises, in the form of jewelry.  I love unique jewelry. It make me happy and it is great way to self express. When I saw several pendants with Cody's art on it in his shop, I was in a quandary. Which one?  After much debating and perhaps I coin toss I was able to choose a pendant. It was exactly as I expected.  The pendant does come with a chain, but not a great chain. I swapped the change out (not pictured) to something else I previously had, so that it would hang  where I preferred on my neck. The pendant is detailed, light weight and perfect for the rest of my octopus life.  I have seriously been debating on getting a second piece just because it is a unique statement piece and easy to slip on and go. 

Around Christmas, I annually hold a White Elephant Party, and the fun part is seeing the diverse gifts that everyone brings. I had purchased a print for the White Elephant party that I thought would spark the interest of several of my friends.  It involved cats and reading. A perfect combination. I decided to frame the print and paint a mat to match.  That was a terrible idea. Once I had it all put together, I no longer wanted to give it away. Instead I ended up re arranging the art on my wall and giving it a home.  The moral of the story is that you should check out this artist on which ever social media is your preferred platform, or peruse his Etsy page. I think that the art is imaginative, energetic with a touch a bio mechanical with being dreary.