Terry and I are planning to take William out with us one evening for a meal during Charlottesville's "Restaurant Week". It's mostly nicer places participating, but I saw from the website photo that Ventana didn't have tablecloths, which makes it baby-friendly in my estimation (we don't take William anywhere he could yank off a tablecloth). We hadn't been there before (I think it's new, but I don't keep up with this sort of thing as much anymore so I'm not sure just how new), so I'm glad I asked about a highchair when I called for a reservation.

Because THEY DON'T HAVE A HIGHCHAIR! The guy on the phone offered to put us at a banquette so William could sit between my husband and I, but I said that wouldn't be useful since he's too short to sit at the table, so I canceled the reservation.

Now I'm not nearly as interested in trying them out-- I'll not go there unless I hear from friends that it's really good. In the meantime, I'll give my business to more family-friendly establishments.

I just got home from the 3D version of "Despicable Me". I enjoyed the film, and recommend it to anyone. I didn't know much about it before I saw it-- the film got good reviews overall, Steve Carell did a good job with the main character, and the minions are cute.

It's animated, and in some theaters it's in 3D. I enjoyed it in 3D, and when I got home our babysitter asked if it was worth the $3.50 surcharge to see it in 3D. I figured it was, although it occurs to me now (hours later) that I might be less willing to spend the $3.50 if we weren't in such a secure financial situation. It would still be a really good film in 2D, if that's an issue for you. The charm of the film was not in the 3D special effects, it was the story and characters.

It's about a villain who is getting a little over the hill, and being challenged by a young upstart villain. So the older guy figures out a way to steal the moon as a way to get back on top. He winds up adopting three orphan girls to use to get a shrink ray, but they become a distraction to his mission. I won't give away more, but you get the gist; the film is not about unexpected plot twists, and they all live happily ever after.

Terry always laughed when he saw the upstart villain, Vector, because of his physical appearance. He was a pretty nerdy villain. I liked the main villain, Dr. Gru, largely because of his silly accent and word choices. He used some modern slang, but then had some idiosyncratic phrasing, like a non-native speaker. It was a fresh take on the usual tone of animated villains.

I'm glad I went out to see the show in the theater-- not that it won't be good on DVD, but it was so enjoyable I'm glad I didn't have to wait months to see it.

Sephora was giving out free 10-day samples of the minerals foundation and powder, so I gave it a try.

So far, I like it. I chose the color "Fairly Light" based on some online reviews that recommended you go with a slightly lighter color than you'd think, since after a few minutes the minerals oxidize on your skin to a darker color. I'm not sure that the color changed on me, but it looks fine.

Today was the first day I've used it, so this review is basically my first impression. I'll update it later if my opinion changes. I've never used a powder foundation before (I've used liquid foundation, and solid foundation), but it's effective.

I applied it over bare skin, using the miniature brush that came with my sample kit. It did a great job of evening out my skin tone, with a really natural-looking finish, neither matte nor shiny. It didn't cover up my large pores, but relatively few foundations do that well for me, so that's not a huge issue. Tomorrow I will use my foundation primer first, then the powder foundation. If my pores still look large even after using primer, then this foundation might not work for me.

One of the things I'm liking about it, is that I don't feel like I'm wearing foundation. The powder is very lightweight, and my skin doesn't feel like it's coated with anything. This is not usually a problem with good liquid foundations for most of the year, but I find that in the summer, sometimes I feel like the makeup is sliding off my face in the heat. Not so with the bareMinerals, although I suspect in reality it is more likely to actually slide off, not less. I base this on a single observation that some color came off on the tissue when I blew my nose this afternoon, and that usually doesn't happen when I use my regular liquid foundation.

But it's now five hours after I applied the makeup, and while my face has a bit of shine (I'll dust some of the translucent setting powder on before I leave the house again), the main color is still in place, keeping my skin tone even.

The full title of the book by Barbara Strauch is, "The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind."
The book was full of information from the latest brain research, which is contrary to what most people have been told all their lives. Sure, you can kill off brain cells through various activities, but unlike what we were told in our youth, OUR BRAIN CAN GROW MORE. And guess what helps your brain grow more better cells? Healthy diet and exercise. Anyone surprised?

There is a decline in short-term memory and processing speed that is associated with middle age (here primarily defined from the 40s through 60s), but for most people it seems to be made up for by better intuition and expertise in life. So although one can't remember facts as well as one used to, problem-solving and wisdom skills increase to offset that, and reduce the need to remember facts quickly.

Also, contrary to the idea of "midlife crisis", most people are happiest in mid-life. The brain automatically focuses on the positive, lets the negative stuff go. The book explains some reasons this might be evolutionarily advantageous.

I recommend the book. It's a heartening anti-dote to our youth-obsessed media culture.