Tag Archives: sniperpost

GIT TO DA CHOPPA!

Posted by SniperBear on July 28, 2010 Comments Off

The best advice you will ever receive:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Predator set a new standard for violence in movies involving a group of guys in a jungle with a chick and an alien. It was a movie that scared the bajesus outta me but then made me appreciate the importance of mud and sticks in a fight against a foe with lasers, bombs, and a cloaking device. Flash forward 23 years and you get a new standard in men in a jungle with a chick…and this time 4 aliens!

Predators is set in present day on a distant planet. It opens with a scene of the main character (Adrien Brody) plummeting from the sky while attempting to open a parachute. Eventually he lands safely with all his guns and machetes and what not. We soon find that there are a few other guys falling all around. First they try and kill each other, but soon realize that they are being hunted. Sound familiar? Well, if you’ve seen any action movie that involves more than one guy, then probably so.

The rag-tag group is comprised of your usual assortment of fodder. You have the scraggly voice self appointed leader who never asked for the job. There’s the ever so doubtful chick. You’ve got the guy who’s not who he says he is but no one really cares until he’s met his demise. There’s the black guy, the comic relief guy, the Danny Trejo playing his usual character (after all, it is a Robert Rodriguez film) and a forgetful Laurence Fishburne. Each character is picked off one by one, alternating with one of 4 Predators up until the very end when you have the ultimate showdown (but not this kind of ultimate showdown). I won’t give away the ending, but let’s just say that the battle was just as epic as the original.

Predator Handshake!

Now for a review of the movie overall. I mean, there were certain things that I was expecting. Like a good old fashion handshake, but the rest was there. From a mini gatling gun to a mud covered guy fighting an alien that’s nearly 8ft tall. I really did enjoy the film and will most likely buy it when it comes out. It was a great follow up to the original. There were several throwbacks and references mixed in that made it seem like a continuation. They completely dismissed Predator 2 as well as the AvP movies.

The flow of the movie was fairly straight forward and to the point. There were some down times between fights, but it picked right back up. I didn’t expect there to be any vast character development or extravagant plot lines. I wasn’t looking for the personalities of the characters to carry me through the scenes. I wanted blood (both green and red), Predators, yelling, s’plosions, fighting, that distinct Predator sound and more blood. I got everything I wanted out of the movie. If you go into this movie wanting more than that or wanting a Chris Nolan film, then you will be disappointed.

I did have a few favorite parts of the movie as well as a few parts I could have done with out. For starters the sword fight was epic and bad at the same time. I mean, you get to see a Yakuza guy fight an Predator with a sword. As good as this could have been, it left me wanting more. They pretty much just ‘cut’ the point and moved on to the next scene. Laurence Fishburne was a character that was a bit strange to me. He played a guy that has been on the planet for several “seasons” and has adapted many survival methods. One of them being going half retard (you never go full retard). I dunno, I just didn’t like him in that role. He started off strong, but then just kinda fizzled out. The last thing that bugged me about the movie was the trailer. Here watch it again:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The part at 1:28 where Adrien Brody has 10, count’em 10 Predator beam things on him is totally not accurate. For starters there are only 4 Predators in the movie and only 3 of them are hunters (the other is tied up as a captive because he’s not as cool as the bigger ones). Secondly, in the movie there’s only 1 beam thingy on him. Just one! Don’t be fooled into thinking that Mr. Brody is gonna pull some crazy stunt and get out of a massive explosion from 10 Predators, it’s just one people!

Ok, so that’s my rant/review. I really did like the action scenes and the music and the feel of the movie. It brought me back to the feeling of the original. I like the actors that were picked for the roles. The Predators looked great and true to the 1987 film. It was well paced and worth my money. I would highly recommend seeing it and at the very least you should GIT TO DA CHOPPA!!!

Tags: predators, review

He went to Jared. :)

Posted by SniperJess on July 17, 2010 Comments Off

I’m engaged!!! Here’s how it went down:

A month or so ago Ben marked a weekend on our gmail calendar as “Do not plan a thing”. Hhmm…my interest is peaked. We’re big on planning surprise trips or dates for each other, so I had a few ideas in my head. A few days prior to the weekend, I was having a crappy day. We found out that canceling our lease would require selling a kidney so my heart was sunken with the thought of driving the same commute to work until at least March. SB lifted my spirits by telling me that the weekend would involve a cabin in Blue Ridge, a hot tub, lots of food and beverages, and four of our close friends: Kit, Bob, Kim, and James. I was stoked! An adult weekend away was the best way to wrap up the summer before returning back to work!

So Friday is finally here and we got off to a late start. I dropped SniperHBK off with his dad, SB made last minute trips to the store, we finished packing, loaded up, stopped for a quick dinner, sat in traffic, sang some Eminem while driving in the rain, and finally made it to Wild Azalea! The others were there waiting and we had an awesome night! We filled the hot tub with beer and laughter and memories and woke up the next morning feeling a little…well…yeah, hungover. It was a lazy day filled with naps and eating and movies. At one point we all decided to go for a walk outside. Ben was very eager about our walk! We went down a trail to the water and by the time I made it back up I was done. Hot, tired, hungover, done. Ben suggested we go for a bit more of a walk (bless him…he was trying!)..but I needed air conditioning and a nap. After some much needed recovery, SB and I went out to the porch to enjoy the view. We both really love the mountains. Thin air, lots of green, lots of quiet. As we were enjoying the view Ben asked me an odd question…

SB: “Are you happy?”….

SJ: “Of course I’m happy…”

SB: “Are you like…the happiest ever?”

SJ: giggling…”I mean..yeah, I’m pretty dang happy”

At this point I start to notice a change. His heart literally felt like it was about to beat out of his chest. I looked up at him a bit confused and asked something along the lines of..”Are you ok?”

SB: “I need you to do me a favor…” reaches in pocket

SJ: Oh…my…God…are you kidding me?

Sweet words…a few tears…and a “Yes! I will!” later…and we were engaged! We announced the news to our friends (who had no idea it was going to happen) and we spent the rest of the weekend floating around in Blue Ridge.

So now the planning starts! We’re not typically traditional people..and this will be a second marriage for both of us, so we’ve thrown a lot of ideas and dates around. Nothing is definite yet…but Vegas in April is looking like a mighty fine idea!

Tags: Blue Ridge, ring, engaged, cabin, fiance

Road Trip – NC (Day 2)

Posted by SniperJess on July 5, 2010 Comments Off

Day 2 of NC was a perfect way to wrap up our family road trip! The boys and I, along with the Bateman’s, headed off to play in the Atlantic for a few hours! After a quick stop at the “Shark Store” for a boogie board, a kite, and sand toys, we arrived at the beautiful beach! As a child, my family typically went to the Gulf for our vacations and the beaches there are gawgeous! I have to admit I was surprised to see how nice the Atlantic was how big and beautiful the waves were. Perfect for boogie boarding and body surfing. Chase had the best time playing in the waves. I was a nervous wreck as usual…thinking he was going out too far…worried about the under toe…etc., but everybody had a safe, fun time. We wrapped up the day with some fresh seafood and a great dinner. By the end of the day we were full, tired, sunburned, and happy. We had such an amazing time on our trip, but we all agreed we were ready to be home. One final night in NC and we were heading home to sweet ol’ Georgia. The ride home was nice and quiet for the most part. Chase amazed me as a road tripper and really was an awesome car rider. As we crossed into the Georgia state line we found a Randy Travis station on Pandora that brought me right back to road trips I’ve taken in my life and the trips I took as a child in my dad’s ‘big truck’. As we listened and sang along I laughed and cried and smiled and shared stories and memories that the old country songs brought back to me. I felt lucky to have had the ‘abnormal childhood’ that I often joke about and to have such great memories connected to song…and even more lucky that my son will have his own road trip stories to tell now. This trip was my favorite part of my summer vacation…and little did I know it would soon be tied with another favorite part of the summer…just a few weeks later…

The Pics:

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Tags: boogie board, beach, road trip, NC, vacation

Road Trip – NC (Day 1)

Posted by SniperJess on July 4, 2010 Comments Off

I am an avid list maker…which inspired to me to change it up a bit make a list of all the fabulous things we did on our first day in NC.

Survived horrible traffic on 95South, but made it to the Camp Lejeune Inn. Nice and economical!
Visited the “mall” on base for last minute must haves.
Had a cookout at the Bateman’s!
Watched the kids play in the water all day!
Listened to Marines talk about things and acronyms I pretended to understand.
Watched Marines grill meat!
Met new friends.
Drank beer and ate delicious food!
Fashioned a homemade fly trap!
Ate MORE delicious food. (Hey..it’s vacation!?)
Played RockBand
Watched three kids wrestle and tackle a Marine for about an hour.
Sat with friends and family to watch one of the best fireworks shows ever!
Celebrated the fourth with my two loves, and awesome friends we don’t see enough.
Prepared for day 2! BEACH DAY!!

The Pics:

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Tags: adventure, vacation, 4th of july, road trip, NC

Road Trip – Philly (Day 1)

Posted by SniperBear on July 1, 2010 Comments Off

Despite a bit of construction traffic we arrived in Philly a little after lunch time on Wednesday. Everyone was awaiting our arrival and it felt so good to be there! I love the constant flow of visitors and family through the house and MAN did we eat! The first night my Grandmom made us the most delicious meal: Ham, beans, potatoes, rolls. It was so nice to take a break from eating out or grabbing fast food on the road. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing and learning how to play pinochle. It’s a family tradition and SniperBen fell into place so perfectly. Everyone seemed to love him and he even got in some guy time with one of my uncles!

The following day we loaded up and headed to the city. My Aunt Jackie, two of my cousins, and the Snipers all went to Ride the Ducks! We quacked through the city and learned about the history of our nation’s first capital then we quacked down the Delaware River! The kids had a great time and Chase loved spending time with his cousins. Oh! And not long after coming home to GA my aunt sent me this link. OMG! (Our favorite phrase of the week btw). I couldn’t believe just days before we were on one of those ducks! It’s a good thing we got it done when we did though…because my ass will never sit on one of those ducks again!

Nomnomnomnom

After the quackin’ we were ready to experience the most delicious lunch ever. We went to South Street and ordered Philly Cheese steaks from Jim’s. They were the perfect way to end our duck trip! Aunt Jackie and the kids went to Johnny Rockets for chicken and shakes. My family, the jokes, the food, the laughter, the card games…they are all such a huge part of my life that I don’t get to experience often enough. It meant so much to not only have SniperBen there with me, but to see just how perfectly he fit in made it even better. I can’t wait to go back!

The Pics:

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Tags: road trip, cheesesteak, vacation, adventure, philly

Road Trip – DC

Posted by SniperBear on June 29, 2010 Comments Off

Sunrise on the start of the road trip

Every summer needs a summer vacation. This year our summer vacation was an epic road trip. Since Jess has family in Philly and I have some friends in NC that we hadn’t seen in a while, we figured it would be the perfect time to see them both all while visiting our nation’s capitol, especially since Jess and Chase had never been there and the last time I was there was when I was a kid.

As with every great road trip we planned it all out, got all our ducks in a row and headed out early. Our first stop was DC, approximately 10 hours away. The trip was a lot of fun. We played the usual car games of I Spy and how many different state license plates can we find (nearly 40 during the entire trip) and did some singing and all that. We made great time and arrived just in time for dinner. I had scoped out places to eat prior to getting there so we wouldn’t have to spend our time looking. First up was Matchbox DC – Vintage Pizza Bistro. The food and atmosphere were great!

After dinner we walked around a bit. We actually managed to make it all the way to The Capitol. It was MUCH larger than I imagined and quite a site to behold. We snapped a few photos with our phones then headed back to the hotel to get tucked in. After all, the following day would be a marathon of sites.

Washington Monument

The day started off with some scrapple at Lincoln’s Waffle Shop. This little hole in the wall place was un-freakin-real. Quick, tasty, cheap, fun. Once we were done eating we headed over to Union Station to park and begin our excursion. Rather than try to find parking all over town we did a double decker tour. We could get off/on at pretty much any of the sites for the whole day. This turned out to be a genius idea.

Our first stop was The National Air and Space Museum. This place was awesome. It was huge. We walked around looking for the cool things, minding the time since we could spend all day in here, but had an entire city to see. In the end, Chase and I rode the flight simulators while Jess hung back and took pics. Even though it was first, it was probably the highlight of the day.

From NASM we headed over to the Washington Monument. I had no idea how tall or massive this thing was. You see pictures all the time, but you can never really appreciate something like this until you are right up on it. We got our necessary pictures then headed over to the Lincoln Memorial. Again, this is something you have to see to believe. Abe didn’t come alive and walk around like in the movies, but then again there were a lot of people around and he probably would have killed several of them.

It was getting to be that time when we need to not be walking for a bit, so we took a little break while waiting on our bus. Once the bus came we rode over to Arlington Cemetery, passing the Pentagon on the way. Not to sound in any way disrespectful, but Arlington is an amazing place. There is a LOT of history at that place. It was getting late in the day but I wanted to see the Eternal Flame and the Changing of the Guards. Watching the extreme dedication those men have to doing what they do is awe inspiring.

Chase and Jess were feeling a bit pooped after walking around Arlington, so we hopped on the bus and headed back in town. We still had a few more stops before we called it a day. We hit up The National Museum of Natural History. It was between this and The National Museum of American History. We wanted to see the dinosaurs so our choice was clear. The dino’s were cool, as were all the other exhibits, but we were tired and hungry. It was dinner time in DC and what better place to eat, than America. I mean, it was freakin’ AMERICA! Yet another amazing dinner in our bellies, but it was getting late and we were all dead tired.

And.... we're done.

We headed back to the hotel, got packed up, and hit the sack. It was a fun filled day with lots of sites and history lessons, flight simulators, monuments, “hollowed” grounds, ground animal parts, sunshine, and all manner of things. Our DC trip had come to a close and we had managed to cram it all into one day. It’s not something I will soon, or hopefully ever forget. Getting to be there as Chase saw all these things that make up our great nation was worth the miles of walking we did.

Next on our list, Philly Cheese Steaks. Oh and some family time as well.

The Pics:

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Tags: monuments, DC, adventure, washington, vacation

Wrestle Bowl Fest 2010 (Chase turns 8)

Posted by SniperBear on June 21, 2010 Comments Off

Wrestle Cake!

For Chase‘s 8th birthday we decided to make him a Rasslin’ Cake. He’s pretty much the biggest wrestling fan on the planet right now and Jess and I are bound and determined to elevate or cooking/baking arsenal. So, after several failed attempts, scouring of the interwebs for the perfect recipe, several trips to hardware stores and/or cooking supply stores, and countless hours standing in front of the oven, we made the best cake we could. It may not have been the perfect cake, but to our 8 year old, it was magical.

The party itself was a ton of fun. We had it at the bowling alley in Griffin. Chase and several friends spent the day bowling, playing arcade game, eating pizza and cake, and generally having a great time. He got a ton of cool presents. Everyone had a great time! In addition to all the kids having fun, the adults did as well. Speaking of adults, this was the first time Jess‘ mom and my parents got to meet. They seemed to get along really well! I have a feeling they’ll be seeing a lot more of each other at future functions!

This was my first birthday with Chase and I can’t tell you how great it felt. I really did feel like a dad. Getting to watch him interact with the other kids, watching the joy on his face when he opened all his presents. Cheering him on while he bowled. Helping him try to get that elusive strike. It all just felt right. I can’t wait until 9, 10, 21, 30, etc. He’s such a great kid who deserves the world, and I intend on being there to give him that.

The Pics:

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Tags: wrestling, chase, bowling, birthday, ben

A break from Summer?

Posted by SniperJess on June 14, 2010 Comments Off

Here’s the rundown:

1 – sick boyfriend. Tired, achy, pissed off stomach, sunburned, yuck.

1- sick boy. Warm, tired, achy, sore throat, sunburned, yuck.

1 – empty refrigerator + 1 messy apartment = 4 to 5 hours of ‘chores’ to do

1 – amazing weekend that makes it all worth it

It started off with a night of bowling with the boys at 300 here in Dunwoody. We wanted to get warmed up before HBK’s birthday party at the bowling alley next weekend. Saturday morning we got an early start. Chase went golfing with his uncle then had plans to spend the rest of the day at the pool with his grandmom, and SB and I headed to float the hooch with friends for Bob’s birthday! We had about 6 or 7 floats tied together and despite the freezing water and a mid day storm, we had a really, really good time! We will post pics soon. I definitely want to get back out there on a canoe and take the HBK with us! He would love it. After rafting we cleaned up and went back to K-Bob’s for dinner and fun and promptly falling asleep on the couch (me). Sunday was another HOT day in Georgia. We had plans to go to the ArtBQue in Decatur, but I knew if we were going to be outside it would have to be in some water. After a breakfast at our favorite place we went down to get the HBK from my moms. The pool was too inviting so we spend yet another day in the sun and in the water. After, I pull together what little energy I had left to drive home, shower, and get right in bed watch the Kardashians.

So my job today is to get this place in order and get these boys feeling better! I have to much to do this week to have soldier down. Chase’s birthday is in a week and we’re attempting going to make his wrestling ring cake, plus I gotta find him a desk for one of his presents. My bestie is turning 30 this week and we are catering her party in two weeks. We also have a road trip that I am getting SO excited for at the end of this month. Throw in there house hunting since the job search didn’t go as planned. Summer vacation is starting off pretty busy, but after the road trip we are going to RELAX! …who am I kidding? I slept until 11:00 am today. Here’s to summer!

Oh! And True Blood is back! Are you watching?? It’s off to a great start already!

Tags: birthday, fun, HBK, sick, summer

Testing a mobile post

Posted by SniperBear on June 11, 2010 Comments Off

Whoa! I’m on my phone!!

This was for real posted from a phone!

Tags: Mobile

Summah Summah Summah Tiiiime…

Posted by SniperJess on June 10, 2010 Comments Off

Summer is here which means relaxing time is a must. I do, though, have an almost 8 year old (how is that possible btw?) so part of our summer will include exploring the beautiful area we live in. Chase has a full list of things to see and do, but we started simple. Fernbank Museum of Natural History and Centennial Olympic Park to play in the water fountains! It was just the two of us, and we really enjoyed our day together. We were both in awe of the huge dinosaur replicas and I’m pretty sure I have a space geek in training! We came home and decked out his room with glow in the dark starts and planets. I’m so thankful that my job allows me to spend the summers with the SniperHBK, even on the days where boredom has taken over and we’re driving each other nuts. I’m hoping the SB can get some time off and join us on some adventures! Coming up soon…HBK’s 8th birthday and a cross country road trip! Pray we all still love each other at the end of that one!