Jeannette, Author at Jeannette Tomanka's Tips (2024)

It’s no secret that one of my favorite movies of all time is The Princess Bride. It is just amazing for so many reasons – well-made, timeless, funny, touching, well-cast, and a fun watch for all ages. Cary Elwes (Westley) recently released a book about the making of the film, and Santa brought me a personalized copy!! I was so thrilled!

When I heard the book was coming out, I was a little apprehensive, worried that my love of the movie would be tarnished by a “tell-all” scandal-recounting recollection. I needn’t have worried. Most of the actors in this film made many other movies, but this one remains a favorite of all of them. Twenty-five years later, they clearly remember how it was to work on this film, the fun they had, the feeling of family they all had (even mean old Prince Humperdinck), the funny things that happened (like Andre the Giant passing out in a hotel lobby and being left there all night because no one could move him!), and the respect they all had for the talent of the other actors.

The book is a tribute to the film, a labor of love, a way for the actors and filmmakers to express their love for the film, and their gratitude to the millions of fans who “got it;” the fans who saw it in 1987 as children or young adults and are now sharing it with their children and grandchildren. I haven’t finished the book yet, but it’s already made me watch the movie with new eyes and new respect. It’s a splendid book about the making of a splendid film. Thank you, Santa!

Well, we finally did it. After months – no, years – of saying “we just don’t need it,” we finally broke down and got a new television and a Blu-ray player. It was the family Christmas gift. And while we may not have needed it, we are certainly enjoying it!

The first thing my oldest child said, while watching a college bowl game, was “Wow! You can see the sweat drops on them!” Just what I always wanted! The sharpness of the HD is definitely impressive.

Then we hooked up the Blu-ray. I am completely in love with the beauty of the picture. The sound is not as impressive, but we’re told that can be fixed with a sound bar. It doesn’t matter to me right now. I am just in awe of the quality of the picture on a 25-year-old movie! What was the first movie we purchased and watched in Blu-ray?

The Princess Bride, of course.

I’m sure we’re probably the last people in the country to upgrade to this technology, but just in case some of you are resisting, I can only say don’t.If money is an issue, don’t think you have to spend your children’s inheritance on this. The television was less than $400 (for a 42-inch screen) and the player was $60. If the quality is better on more expensive systems, I don’t think I could stand it!

Whew! What happened to December?? This time of year always seems to go in fast-forward, but this year seems to have been in a particular hurry. We try to slow it down a little by watching a movie every night, kind of a “movie advent.” We put the names of our favorite holiday movies in a hat, then draw one every night that the kids are out of school. Here are the ones in the hat this year:

* Santa Claus is Coming to Town – This is my personal favorite of the stop-motion classics. More to follow….

* Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – This one has to be on the list. It just has to be.

* Last Holiday (Queen Latifah, LL Cool J) – This is a surprisingly sweet and funny story about a woman who’s told she’s dying, so she takes a trip of a lifetime. My kids always giggle when she arrives at the Hotel Pupp (pronounced “poop”).

* White Christmas (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye) – Fun fact about this one: Vera-Ellen wasn’t much of a singer (her parts were actually sung by Rosemary Clooney or Trudy Stevens), and Rosemary Clooney wasn’t much of a dancer. Knowing that, it’s easy to see how they worked around this, but until I read this, I never noticed how little Rosemary Clooney danced in the film.

* The Santa Clause and The Santa Clause 2 (Tim Allen) – This is a case of the sequel being at least as good as the first one. We don’t care for the third installment, though.

* A Christmas Story – My kids haven’t reached a full appreciation of this one yet,but they love the leg lamp.

* Muppet Christmas Carol – It just wouldn’t be Christmas without Kermie!

* National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – Another one that is appreciated more as you get older.

* While You Were Sleeping – A sweet movie that is completely unrealistic, but nice to watch.

* Miracle on 34th Street (either one) – This is another one that just must be on the list. Believe!!

* Scrooged (Bill Murray) – One of the best version of A Christmas Carol, and classic Bill Murray.

*It’s a Wonderful Life– My kids haven’t reached a full appreciation of this one either, but I think it definitely resonates more with adults. It’s still full of good lessons for kids: every time you do the right thing, it reaches further than you’ll ever know.

Hot cocoa recommended – “Cocoa is superior!” (Robot Santa, The Santa Clause 2).

A few years ago, American Express launched a concept called “Small Business Saturday” that happens after Black Friday and before Cyber Monday. The idea is to support family-owned, non-big box, non-mega-chain restaurants, retail stores, service providers, etc. If you read my post earlier this week, you know I’m not a fan of Black Friday, but I have gotten out and tried to support small businesses. I’m a big fan of non-chain restaurants; in fact, 90% of the time we eat out it’s at a small, family-owned places. I admit I don’t shop many “boutique” shops for clothing, because it’s just too expensive, but we’ve had a few consignment shops open in the area recently, and those are fun. I mostly shop little stores for unique gifts, so this day happening in the holiday season is perfect.

Check the American Express website for participating businesses, or just wander around town and stop somewhere that looks interesting. Remember, most of these businesses don’t have robust websites, so don’t count on a web search to find them. An old-fashioned phone book might work better! Happy shopping!

We started a tradition in my family a few years ago where we write down what we’re most thankful for, and it can’t be just “my family” or “my job” – we have to be specific. In my immediate family, every day in November we talk about one thing we’re thankful for, and it doesn’t have to be serious; for example, on Day 6 of Thanksgiving, my husband was thankful for the “mute” button on the remote.

This is my 2014 Thanksgiving list, in no particular order:

1. I am thankful to live in a city that is so beautiful and so close to so much natural beauty.

2. I am thankful for the laughter that is so much a part of my family. Not a day goes by that I don’t hear my children giggling or that we don’t make each other laugh.

3. I am thankful for the opportunity to spend so much time with my children as they’re growing up, and I am thankful for the most wonderful spouse who truly makes raising these two precious souls a team effort. I can’t imagine doing this without him!

4. I am thankful for our furkids who are more than just pets; they are teachers, companions, guards, therapists, and friends.

5. I am thankful for the “mute” button on the remote.

I am an admitted Disneyphile, and I’ve been accused of being a little biased, but when it comes to Big Hero 6, all I can say is, “They’ve done it again.”

It is based on a Marvel story, but it is not your typical superhero movie. The main characters are a 14-year-old robotics genius and an inflatable “health companion” named Baymax. Nothing is what you expect (and of course I will not include any spoilers here) – I certainly didn’t expect Disney to make uber-nerds look so cool! As the parent of a developing uber-nerd (possibly 2), I think that was my favorite part of the movie. However, it wasn’t a “stay-in-school” preachy message, it seemed to me to be a very heartfelt homage to the super-smart folks who make the world go ’round.

While it won’t reach the fever frenzy of Frozen (nothing will for many years, I predict), Big Hero 6 is definitely a hit. And like Frozen, it is a cross-gender hit – boys loved Frozen (a little unexpectedly), and girls love BH6. I was recently in my favorite store when a group of 4- to 10-year-old girls came in, and the squealing when they saw Baymax rivaled a Taylor Swift concert. And also like Frozen, there are so many layers to the movie, appealing to every age, that it was fun for the adults in the audience, too, who outnumbered the kids at the showing we saw.

Treat yourself this holiday weekend and check out Hiro and Baymax’s adventure. Then let me know that you think! Oh, and don’t bother seeing it in 3-D; you won’t lose any visuals (which are stunning!) in the 2-D version.

It’s that time of year. The time when we should reflect on our blessings, savor family traditions, enjoy being together watching football or playing cards. One thing my family always enjoyed on Thanksgiving was poring over the Black Friday sales flyers in the paper, commenting on the deals – not that we ever participated in the Black Friday madness, we just liked looking at the paper. Over the years the deals have gotten crazier, the store hours earlier, the shopper behaviors more bizarre. Of course I have opinions about all of it, but I must confess: this year, my prevailing emotion is confusion.

Yes, I’m confused. Stores are opening at 6 pm Thursday, earlier than they’ve ever opened. That’s not what confuses me. What I don’t understand is why every major retailer is starting their “Black Friday specials” up to a week before Thanksgiving. What’s the point of opening so early if you’ve already had your sale going for a week? Yes, I know most of them are offering special deals on Thanksgiving, like extra discounts for a few hours, but what’s the point? Shoppers will have spent all their money by Thursday, right?

Is this just the retail world’s way of commercializing Thanksgiving like they’ve done every other holiday? They’ve managed to turn other traditionally non-gifting holidays, like Easter, into “let’s go talk to the Easter Bunny and see what he brings in your basket this year!” When I was a kid, Easter was jellybeans and coloring/hiding eggs, Valentine’s Day was making your “mailbox” at school to put your little cards in, and Thanksgiving was time to play with the cousins you rarely saw and eat yourself into a food coma. As an adult, Thanksgiving became my favorite holiday because of the lack of commercialization; it was just a time to be together, relax, visit, watch football. The only shopping was for groceries.

As a matter of fact, it’s still that for my family. If you decide to shop on Black Thanksfriday, have fun and please be careful, and thank the employees who are required to work so you can shop.

I’ll be in a food coma.

We are so excited that Halloween is on a Friday this year!! We like to make scary snacks and watch a movie, but we usually have to limit it to one movie because it’s a school night. But this year, with it being on Friday, we’re planning a marathon that could last all weekend!

I don’t really like the typical Halloween movies that top the internet lists – likeHalloweenand all its sequels, or the equally clicheFriday the 13thandNightmare on Elm Street. My whole family has contributed to this list, so it’s pretty varied. And here we go!

The Family Titles (in no particular order)

1.Night on Bald Mountainsegment of Fantasia, which to me is the perfect telling of Hallow’s Eve and the following All Saints Day

2. The Ghost and Mr Chicken, a Don Knotts classic

3. Arsenic and Old Lace, which makes this list because it’s set on Halloween and stars the perfectly terrifying Raymond Massey, but it’s one of our favorite movies of all time

4. Tower of Terror, based on the awesome Disney attraction of the same name

5. Beetlejuice, a modern classic whose “Day-O” scene still almost makes me wet my pants laughing

6. The Others, perhaps the creepiest of the family movies, but my kids love it

7. Nosferatu, the original silent film that’s just macabre – as is the film Shadow of the Vampireabout the making of the film, starring the goosebump-inducing John Malkovich

After the Kids are in Bed

1. Any Vincent Price movie, but especially House of Wax or House on Haunted Hill

2. Young Frankenstein (“that’s ‘Fronkensteen'”), which never gets old

3. Little Shop of Horrors, the 1986 Rick Moranis version

4. Sleepy Hollow, the Johnny Depp one, because it has the ever-terrifying Christopher Walken as the Headless Horseman

5. Fright Night, the Chris Sarandon version, although I love David Tennant as Peter Vincent in the remake, and I adore Anton Yelchin, who plays Charlie Brewster

6. Odd Thomas, speaking of Anton Yelchin. This is a new addition to the list, since the movie just came out in 2013.

Do you have any Halloween favorites that don’t usually make “The List”? Please share – we’re always looking for good movies!

I’ve always been a fan of pumpkins. They were the basis for my favorite childhood dessert at Thanksgiving, with whipped cream, of course! I will buy a bakery pie in a pinch, but I prefer the homemade variety.When I got old enough,carvingpumpkins was an annual Halloween festivity, followed by the bets to see how long it took for them to look like zombies.

Pumpkin carving has gotten quite elaborate in recent years. People are carving actual worksofart on these gourds. Read More→

I can’t go to haunted houses as frequently as I used to, now that I have kids, but my husband and I still sometimes do, if we can get a baby sitter.

One really great guide to haunted houses in Portland (as well as throughout Oregon) is Haunt World. You can also find haunted hayrides, corn mazes, pumpkin patches or farms, and ghost tours on that site. Read More→