Oscar 2018: The Highs and Lows

The Full List of Winners!

The Oscar Highs:

• Francis McDormand's Acceptance Speech (Actress, 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Not sure what an "inclusion rider" is? Here you go!
• Jordan Peele winning Best  Original Screenplay for Get Out (YAY!)
• Maya Rudolf and Tiffany Hadish were the funniest part of the night. 
• Also Kumail Nanjiani is my favorite, so here is a clip of him presenting with Lupita Nyong'o being funny and talking about Dreamers. 
• The first Native (Cherokee) presenter in all of Oscar history: Wes Studi. And he spoke in Cherokee!
• Sign Language at the Oscars - Rachel Shenton signed (and spoke) her acceptance speech for her Short, The Silent Child. 

The Oscar Lows:

• Generally boring and unfunny. And as if it wasn't long enough, there was this whole "let's go across the street and surprise 'real people' by having actors give them candy" bit.
• The in memorial- give us some context for how we know these producers, old actors, writers, etc. They used to show scenes from movies people worked on, but now it's mostly just a head shot and a person's name. Such a let down.

Oscar  Disappointments:

• Neither Get Out or Lady Bird winning Best Picture. 
• Neither Jordan Peele or Greta Gerwig winning Best Director. 
• Daniel Kaluuya not winning Best Actor (Get Out)
• Willem Dafoe not winning Best Supporting Actor (The Florida Project)
• Icarus won Best Documentary? WHAAA? No. I blame Russia. 

Oscar Watch 2018!

I set out to watch 39 of the the nominated movies for this year's Academy Awards, and I was able to see 36 of them!  I don't think I could have done it without my MoviePass subscription!

Here is my run down of who I'd like to win each of the categories. I do not recommend using any of this to fill out any Oscar-watch Ballots though. I pay zero attention to reviews/buzz, so although I also give predictions, they are largely meaningless.
**Please forgive misspellings of names, of which I'm sure there are more than a few!
**Also my not wanting someone to win doesn't mean I think they did a bad job; just that they aren't who I want to take home the award for some reason or another.
**I did not list the super technical categories because I really don't have an opinion on them this year!


Best Picture: 
Want to Win: Get Out or Lady Bird
Would be fine if they won: I, Tonya, Shape of Water, 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
Don't Want to Win: Dunkirk, Darkest Hour, Call Me By Your Name, Phantom Thread, The Post.
Who I think will win: probably someone from my "don't want to win" list.

Best Animated Picture:
Out of the 4 I saw,  Coco is the clear winner here. I don't see how any of the others can beat it.
Other animated movies: Ferdinand, Boss Baby, Loving Vincent, Breadwinner (Sadly, I didn't get to see this one!)
Who I think will win: Coco

Best Documentary:
I saw 4/5 of these as well. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail has my vote. I also really like Strong Island.
Other nominated Documentaries: Icarus, Last Men In Aleppo, and Faces Places (I didn't see this one).
Who I think will win: Strong Island or Last Men In Aleppo

Best Actor: 
Want to Win: Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out)
Would be fine if they won: Denzel Washington (Roman J. Isreal, Esq), Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name)
Don't Want to Win: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour), Daniel Day Lewis (Phantom Thread)
Who I think will win: Daniel Day Lewis

Best Actress:Want to Win: Frances McDormand (3 Billboards), Saorise Ronan (LadyBird), or Margot Robbie (I, Tonya)
Would be fine if they won: Sally Hawkins (Shape of Water), Meryl Streep (The Post)
Don't Want to Win: n/a
Who I think will win: Frances McDormand

Supporting Actor:
Want to Win: Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project)
Would be fine if they won: Richard Jenkins (Shape of Water), Sam Rockwell (3 Billboards), Woody Harrelson (3 Billboards)
Don't Want to Win: Christopher Plummer (All the Money in the World) -- only because I didn't see it.
Who I Think Will Win: Richard Jenkins or Sam Rockwell

Supporting Actress:
Want To Win: Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Laurie Metcalf (LadyBird), Octavia Spencer (Shape of Water)
Fine If They Win: Mary J. Blige (Mudbound), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread)
Don't Want to Win: n/a
Who I think Will Win: Allison Janney

Director:
Want To Win: Jordon Peele (Get Out) or Greta Gerwig (Ladybird)
Fine If They Win: Guillermo del Toro (Shape of Water)
Don't Want to Win: Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk), Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread)
Who I think Will Win: Guillermo del Toro (Shape of Water)

Adapted Screenplay:
Want To Win: Aaron Sorkin (Molly's Game)
Fine If They Win: Virgil Williams & Dee Rees (Mudbound)
Don't Want to Win: James Ivory (Call Me By Your Name), Scott Frank & James Magold & Michael Green (Logan), Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (Disaster Artist)
Who I think Will Win: Aaron Sorkin (Molly's Game)

Original Screenplay: 
Want To Win: Jordan Peele (Get Out) or Greta Gerwig (Ladybird)
Fine If They Win: Emily V. Gordon & Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick)
Don't Want to Win: Guillermo del Toro (Shape of Water), Martin McDonagh (3 Billboards)
Who I think Will Win: Martin McDonagh (3 Billboards)

Cinematography:
Want To Win: Shape of Water or Mudbound
Fine If They Win: Dunkirk
Don't Want to Win: BladRunner 2049, Darkest Hour,
Who I think Will Win: Shape of Water

Orig Score:
Want To Win: Phantom Thread (Jonny Greenwood) or Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)
Fine If They Win: Dunkirk (Hans Zimmer), Three Billboards (Carter Burwell)
Don't Want to Win: Star Wars: Last Jedi (Jon Williams)
Who I think Will Win: Shape of Water (Alexandre Desplat)

Orig Song:
Want To Win: Stand Up for Something (Diane Warren & Common, Marshall)
Fine If They Win: This is Me (Bemj Pasek & Justin Paul, The Greatest Showman), Mighy River (Mary J. Blige, Mudbound)
Don't Want to Win: Mystery of Love (Sufjan Stevens; Call Me By Your Name)
Who I think Will Win: I have absolutely no clue.

One Word 2018

It's January, so I suppose New Year's Resolutions are in order.

I don't usually make resolutions, and I find that my big declarations for self-betterment or changes tend to not pan out. Not because I never better or change myself, but because they are often too lofty or too empty. I'm not sure.

I recently saw that a couple of my friends are choosing a word to focus on (like gratitude or kindness) throughout the year. I like this idea; it's simple, yet if you choose a word wisely, it can probably have a big impact.

A word I often use to describe how I'm feeling is "overwhelmed," and yet I continue to live a life made to overwhelm.  With that in mind, my word for 2018 is:

Simplify

Meal Prep Mania!

I hate to cook when I come home from a long day at work. I won't do it. I just won't. I refuse. Even if I plan to do it, I won't do it.  Additionally, as a single person, when I do make a meal, I often have to eat if for days. This bores me, and before I know it, it's 555-PZZA to the rescue.  I end up spending more money than I have on food that is easy, but not especially tasty or good for me.

To combat that, this year I cooked up a storm over Winter Break, and I froze everything in individual portion sized bags, giving me enough dinners for about 3 months of weeknight meals.  So, if I stick with my plain I will have healthy meals each night that I can heat up in less time than it takes to order a pizza!

Here's what I made (linked recipes where available):

Budget Bytes Black Bean Quesadillas (vegetarian):
This is probably my favorite meal. I could eat it daily. The recipe makes 8-10 quesadillas. I swapped out frozen corn for peppers because I had some in my veggie drawer that I needed to use; they seem to freeze and reheat well.

One Pot Spicy Thai Noodles (vegetarian).  This is another one of my favorite recipes. It makes a ton of food, and I've yet to meet someone who didn't love it. SO GOOD. Even skeptical meat-lovers loved it. You could easily add meat to it, but I don't think it needs it.   I decided the zucchini won't freeze and reheat well, so I swapped it out for frozen peppers and green beans. I also barely cooked the veggies, so when I reheat, they will cook the first time (I hate overcooked veggies).

Turkey Kielbasa Lentil Soup:
I've blogged about this before; it's one of my favorites. I added a bunch of crushed red pepper to make it more spicy and added another half of a package of turkey kielbasa. Delish!

Crockpot Ziti
So yummy! And easy. I used a combo of Italian sausage and beef. You could make this meat-free and use mushrooms instead, but I think the meat flavors really takes this over the edge as one of my favorite new recipes.

Turkey Tortilla Soup:
I used leftover Christmas Dinner turkey, and it's pretty tasty. Not my favorite, but it's a cheap way to make turkey leftovers stretch. I just threw everything in a crock pot and cooked it all day,.

Pinto Bean Soup (can be vegetarian): 
Swap out the chicken broth for veggie broth to make it vegetarian (seems silly not to; I had left over chicken broth from another recipe, so I didn't). I also added a package of taco seasoning on my friend's recommendation, and it gave it some zip! That said, I don't think I'll make this recipe again, although bean soup is so easy and cheap, so I'll keep testing them out.

Budget Bytes Country Breakfast Bowls (Breakfast For Dinner) (vegetarian): 
I'm most skeptical about this recipe's ability to reheat well, but BudgetBytes has never steered me wrong before. Fingers crossed!

Chili: 
No recipe because I didn't make this; my mom did, and I snagged a couple of portions of it because it was so tasty. She used fire roasted tomatoes instead of regular diced, and it really took the chili up a notch. No recipe, but I recommend that tip!  My favorite vegetarian chili recipe uses quinoa, which sounds bonkers, but actually is really good; I'm sure I'll make a pot of this before winter is done.

Meatloaf:
No recipe, but it's hard to mess up meatloaf. Just throw beef, breadcrumbs, onion, ketchup, mustard and some seasoning together and cook it. So easy. So delicious. I can't believe I didn't like it when I was a kid; what was wrong with me?

My friend's Pasta Sauce (vegetarian):
No recipe. I made this vegetarian by swapping out the meat for more portabella mushrooms. Smelled delicious, although it all went into the freezer, so I'll have to update later!

Goodbye, 2017

Whew, that crap of a year is over. Goodbye, 2017!

okay, so it wasn't all bad. Highlights in pictures:

I helped organized the St. Louis Women's March. It was an incredible learning experience, and so amazing to see how many people turned out for this, and for marches across the world. It also pushed me into more direct activism in my community, and for that I am thankful! #ResitTrump #ResistRacism #Resist!

I adopted a new cat! Anya is a beautiful and sweet calico. She has yet to realize she is food secure, so no man's plate is safe while she is on the loose, but she is a sweetheart when she's not hunting.

My first trip to the beach. Me and 4 fabulous friends visited Puerto Rico. A trip of many firsts - first real beach vacation, first time paddle boarding, and first trip the a rain forest. It was wonderful.  Sadly, a few months later the catastrophic Hurricane Maria hit.  Half of Puerto Rico is still without power.

Fun times at the farm with the family. Cooper was in heaven :)

Hiking! This fall was unmatched for it's beautiful colors. It was gorgeous.