The Pelican Brief

From the first time I saw the movie, Pelican Brief, I absolutely loved it.  It not only starred two of my favorite actors, Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, but it was a political thriller as well.  Those together added up to success for me, and I have probably watched the film at least twenty times since I first saw it in the movie theater in 1993. 

Before we moved to Ocala, Brett gave Doug the book that the movie was based on for his birthday.  Doug read it and liked it, so I put it aside to read later.  This summer, I finally finished several books that I had on my list, so I thought that I would try Pelican Brief.  I was surprised at how much I liked it and finished it quickly.  It was definitely a lot like the book but had several more minor characters in it.  One other difference from the movie was that two of the main characters were extremely unlikeable making it hard to feel sad when one of them is murdered.  Julia Roberts' character, however, was just as resourceful in the book as she was in the movie, making it a great read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

Internship Begins

Cameron officially started his internship with the IU Athletic Marketing Department today.  He had worked with them a few times this summer at various sporting events, but now he was officially "on the clock."  Cameron was very excited about the opportunity and looked forward to working with his favorite IU athletic programs.  This fall the focus would primarily be on football, but he would also help with both soccer programs and the field hockey team as well.  He even planned to work today in the marketing tent at the first match of the season for women's soccer.  He would not only enjoy that, but by being there for the women's game, he would be able to secure a good spot for the men's match up against Clemson as well. I was very impressed with the news of his first day and loved the pictures he sent plus his new IU backpack and the red, white and black Nikes that the internship provided as well.  

Tony's Town Square

Since Doug has stayed at Meg's a lot more than I expected, I decided that once a month we would take her (and Nick if he is home) out to a nice restaurant.  She liked the idea, and we started planning where we wanted to go to in August.  The Halloween decorations had just gone up in Magic Kingdom, and I really wanted to see them.  I suggested that we look for a place near there to try and started researching different ideas.  Originally, I thought we would go to a restaurant at one of the resorts on the monorail system since I didn't think that there were any places that we would want to eat at while at Magic Kingdom.  We had been to Skipper Canteen quite a bit and I wanted something new.  As I begin reading restaurant reviews, I was surprised by how wrong I was.  There were multiple places in the park that had great menus and open reservations.  I suggested a few to Meg and Doug, and soon we had a table for the three of us for this evening at Tony's Town Square Restaurant.  

We arrived earlier than we had planned tonight which I really appreciated as we had time to look at all of the fall decorations on Main Street before we went to dinner.  They were just as festive as always with the Mickey wreaths being my favorite.  The restaurant was packed when we arrived, but we were seated within fifteen minutes of our selected time.  Tony's theming was based on the movie Lady and The Tramp.  The film wasn't any of our favorites, but we did really like all of the pictures on the wall.  We started with the garlic bread as an appetizer.  It was by far the best bread that we had ever eaten.  For dinner Meg had the vodka pasta while Doug and I each ordered the spaghetti and meatballs.  Everyone's meal was delicious.  Meg tried their tiramisu for dessert and said that it was wonderful.  Our waiter was fantastic, and we all enjoyed dinner very much.

It had just started getting dark when we walked out of Tony's which was perfect as I wanted to see the decorations in Fantasyland.  We headed there next and saw all of their character themed pumpkins which were very impressive.  My favorite Halloween decoration, however, was the windows in Liberty Square.  Every so often they would light up with Ichabod crane in the shadows drinking his evening tea.  He looked real and I could just imagine him sitting up there reading ghost stories.  What a great way to end the evening.  

Weddings and Golf Outings

Brett’s wasn’t the only wedding that Cal attended this summer.  One of his high school friends and college roommates, Nic Wilson, got married as well.  Cal and Jayce hadn’t seen Nic in a while, so I was very happy they were invited. They had known him for well over 10 years and had had a lot of fun with him during their sophomore year of college. Nic had been dating his new bride for quite some time and everybody was very happy to celebrate the new couple.  Most of his friends attending the wedding graduated a year ahead of Cal and Jayce in high school.  I was glad he was able to catch up with so many of them.

Cal and Jayce were also able to spend time with a group of their college friends this summer as well at their annual golf outing in Michigan. Cal had been playing a lot of golf this summer, so I expected him to do well. The format, however, was a little interesting.  The first day they played their own ball and were paired based on their score for day two. The lowest medalist was given the highest medalist as a partner and pairing continued from there.  Cal did say that it was close, but in the end he was able to pull out a victory. Jayce even had a traveling trophy made for the event. There were other groups playing golf that day and Cal thought it was funny that they thought this was a very serious tournament. I’m sure for Cal‘s group of friends it probably was. Win or lose, I am glad he was able to see so many of his friends this summer.

A Wonderful Visit to Northern Indiana

Cameron and Cora spent the weekend in Syracuse visiting Grandma and Grandpa. Cameron said that it was the best visit that he had had in a long time. He didn’t have school weighing over his head, grandma was doing a lot better, and he was able to show Cora all the places he loved growing up. They were even able to play several rounds of Oh Hell!  Samuel was home from Central America and Cora finally got to meet him. They were also able to see Keagan and play a round of golf as well. 

I was very glad that Cameron was able to travel north before the semester started. With his internship in the athletics department, job as a teaching assistant, challenging class schedule, and role as a director of student athletic board, I expect Cameron to be extremely busy this semester. On top of everything already scheduled, he will have to interview for internships this fall. I don’t know if he will make it back to Syracuse before football season is over, so I am extremely pleased that this weekend‘s visit went really well.

Cooking Skills

In our family Doug did most of the cooking.  It seemed strange to some of my friends, but it worked for us.  I did not like to touch raw meat and Doug enjoyed cooking after a long day at work as he found it relaxing.  Because of our family life, none of the Heinisch children ever thought that cooking was only a women's job.  They knew that I could make simple dishes and that their dad could grill and cook complicated meals.  

As our children grew up, I was impressed that several of them adopted Doug's love of cooking.  It has been fun watching their skills grow.  Even those who were not as interested at first or who didn't have time for cooking have now made it an important part of their lives.  I love getting pictures of new dishes that they have made, recipes that they like or ideas of new meals that they were going to try.  

Since Meg now lives closer to us, I see her in the kitchen quite a bit.  Both Doug and I have really liked the new meals that she has made for us.  With her in mind, I decided to try a recipe on my own this week for Doug.  On the nights he stays in Ocala, he gets back too late to be able to exercise and cook.  Thus, we either have a simple meal or go out.  This evening, I tried a stuffed peppers recipe that Meg gave me and one for bundt cake that I wanted to try.  I was impressed with how well they turned out and Doug said both were delicious.  The only error that I had in my first attempt was thinking that Meg had written two pounds of ground turkey when she wrote a one.  It made for a lot of leftovers, but Doug said that he would have no problem finishing those off later.  I was glad to hear that my first complicated dinner menu was a success.

Day 200

When we met Maggie's family last Thanksgiving, her mother, Nancy, introduced me to the online word game, Connections.  It was challenging at first to figure out the rules and find the connections, but after a few weeks, I got the hang out it.  I was pretty good at solving the puzzles but still had some days that I could not figure out the solution in four guesses.  

About a couple of months after I started the daily word game, I got on a hot streak and found myself solving the puzzle nineteen days in a row.  I couldn't believe it and was telling Brett and Doug about it.  Obviously, I spoke too fast as day twenty was a tough one for me and I couldn't figure it out on my own.  I knew that I could look up the answers but didn't want to do that.  Instead, I went to Brett for help.  I sent him a screenshot of the puzzle and soon he had some ideas for me to try.  With his help I figured out the connection and decided from there on out, I would ask Brett for help when I was struggling, and it would be our game to play together.

Several weeks went by and Brett wasn't available to help.  I didn't want the streak to end, so I enlisted Doug's thoughts on the puzzle.  We were able to talk through the connections of the words and soon the puzzle was solved, and I was on to the next day.  Since then, I have decided that I would keep the streak alive and make it a family record instead of an individual one.  Brett and Doug have helped the most, but Nick and Cameron have chipped in a few times as well.  Today I am proud to say that our family has gotten 200 Connections correct in a row.  It has not only been very entertaining to play but has made a positive "connection" in our family as well.  I know that one day I will miss the solution, or I will forget to play, but for now I will just enjoy the fun of it all.