Nerdy Ravings: Star Trek Into Darkness

Yay, another Nerdy Ravings! And it's about Star Trek! Woo!

Image from http://collider.com/star-trek-into-darkness-app-image/

I was super excited for this movie to come out. So, obviously, I went to see it as soon as I could manage.

I like Star Trek in general and have a couple other Star Trek-related posts (see Star Trek and Technology and Women in Star Trek). And I really enjoyed the last Star Trek movie. And then came Into Darkness. Where's bad?

And then came Benedict Cumberbatch. Yummy.

Ok, Star Trek Into Darkness.

I will not post any spoilers, but it blew my mind! I loved it! And it had all those silly little things in it to make you laugh, like the last one did.

I always like Spock and Bones and usually Uhura. Spock has always been a great favorite, which is part of why I liked the first (new) movie so much. Kirk has never been a favorite, but I liked him OK in the two newest movies. So Spock, of course, was wonderful. I'm not sure how you could not like him, really. And the strong bromance between him and Kirk was priceless! Crack me up. Bones was as hysterical as ever. Sulu was sort of minor, sadly, and Uhura was her usual, kick-ass self. And her little tiff with Spock made me laugh. Is that bad? I'm OK with them being a couple, but it was funny to watch them fight.

And then, of course, Benedict Cumberbatch. Mmmm. SOOOOOO good to watch. He was so intense and engaging. And usually gorgeously drool-worthy.

And one of my new favorites? Scotty. I have always liked Scotty just fine and I loved Simon Pegg as Scotty in the first one. In this one, he really has out-done himself! He was so delightful to watch! He was funny and charming and just wonderful. I loved every minute that he was on the screen. Well done Simon Pegg!

And, as you know, Benedict Cumberbatch. Lets just wallow in that a while...

Image from http://geektyrant.com/news/2013/5/3/star-trek-3-could-involve-klingons-and-benedict-cumberbatch.html

OK! I wanted to share this post from Cupcake about this movie (but it does have spoilers, so beware!): Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness. Enjoy! Also, check out her Tumblr page for lots of Benedict Cumberbatch deliciousness.

And here is a good review written by my boyfriend, Isaac: Tertiary Integration: Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness. He pays a lot more attention to the making of the movie, not just the plot and characters.

Also, because it is sort of relevant and definitely nerdy, I wanted to share this ad with you that Wyatt showed me: Zachary Quinto vs. Leonard Nimoy: "The Challenge." It might be one of my new favorite things. I laughed so hard.

And that is it for this episode of Nerdy Ravings! See you next time!

Mother's Day Gifts

Mother's Day was just over a week ago. Some of you may remember my mom from my previous posts, namely In Honor of Mother's Day

Due to my limited budget, there seemed to be little I could do for her and I wanted a gift I could make that was different from stuff I've made or bought in the past. 

After some searching, I decided to buy some flowers, arrange them, and bring them to her at work. Here is what I ended up with:

Pretty, right? I liked the yellow accents in this irises so a yellow rose offset it nicely. I cut the flowers and put them in a clear vase. I tied a thick white, medium yellow, and thin purple ribbons around it, which gave it a nice, finished touch.

As for the main gift, I decided on a sugar scrub. 

I did a lot of looking on Pinterest for DIY sugar scrubs and found several different recipes. My two favorites were these:

Jaco'lyn Murphy: Sugar Momma! Mother's Day Sugar Scrub. I like using the oil because it is good for your skin. Plus I liked to overall citrus theme.

Simply You and Me: Sugar Scrub. I liked this because of the added moisturizing as well as the fact that it will foam--I like sugar and salt scrubs that foam. Makes it feel cleaner.

I took some aspects from both to make mine.

I got a cute little glass Tupperware with a lid. I filled that about 3/4 full of white sugar (looking back, maybe a courser, raw or natural sugar, would have been better?).

I added some olive oil, just enough to make the sugar easier to mix. 

Then I added about 4-5 ounces of Dawn Olay hand renewal dish soap:

I chose the pomegranate splash scent because it smelled best, in my opinion.

Then mix until every part is the same color and consistency. I kept adding more soap to make sure the scent was noticeable.

Looks pretty, right?

When I tried out a little, I liked in. And my hands felt nice after, though the smell didn't linger. I will have to play with that another time.

Indiana Part of the Trip

While on vacation, we also spent some time in Indiana.

Fun fact: on the highway between Indiana and Chicago, they have signs that report the number of traffic deaths that year. This year while we were there, it was something like 289.

We went to Fair Oaks Farms for a late breakfast/early lunch. While the service staff was less than polite, the cheese was to die for! And the ice cream was so rich and yummy! And I couldn't leave without purchasing some Muenster cheese and, possibly my all time favorite, smoked Gouda! Delicious!!

Amie and Krissy being silly while enjoying their ice cream.

Following the cheese experience, we visited local Wildcat Creek Winery for a little wine tasting and shopping. I tried several different wines: Prophet's Rock Red (a dry red), Chambourcin (raspberry tones, semi-dry), Cayuga White (subtle fruity flavors, semi-dry), Steuben (crisp and fruity, semi-dry), Traminette (fresh and crisp, semi-dry), Lafayette Blush (strawberry tones, semi-sweet), Lafayette White (sweet and light, semi-sweet), and Aunt Minnie's Cherry Tree (cherry notes, pairs very well with chocolate, semi-sweet). My favorites were the Stuben, Chambourcin, and the Cherry Tree. I bought a bottle of the Steuben to go with my Muenster cheese! Perfect.

This required Krissy and I to purchase another bag so we could check one. We had to get our wine home, after all!

Then we baked our cookies with the rest of the sipping chocolate from KC Chocolatier.

Then we accompanied Amie and her boyfriend to their friends' place for dinner and game night. We ate pizza, cheese and crackers (Fair Oaks Butterkase cheese-soooo good!), wine (Cayuga White, from Wildcat Creek Winery), and some other drinks. We played Ascension, which I had never played before, but was very fun! Then we played a bit of another game with a really long name that was a bit odd and gruesome. Still fun, but Ascension was my favorite.

Then it was time to return to Amie's and finish packing and go to bed! The end!

Here is the website for Fair Oaks Farm: fofarms.com.

And here is the site for Wildcat Creek Winery: wildcatcreekwinery.com.