Froyo Shaker and the Deathly Hallows (Part I)

Greetings everybody! The wife and I finally made it out to a movie today! I know, small miracles do happen (it's been 8 months). The cable tech came early and put the cable card in our new tivo premier (which picks up some channels but not all of them, but that's not important right now). Once that debacle was put on hold, we headed to the theatre and wondered what kind of lunch we could fit in before the movie. Well, time is short, so we decided to try to sneak in a little cold stone creamery action before the show... oh geez, the movie starts at 12, the same time that cold stone opens. Bummer, back into the theatre we go. I guess we're getting Ben & Jerry's instead.

We pick up our tickets, pick up some popcorn, and then head over to the Ben & Jerry's counter for some milkshakes. My wife decides to try a cookie dough milkshake but I've got an idea I need to mull over. You see, I had to decide I was willing to waste $5.75 on a milkshake made of half baked froyo rather than on another awesome milk & cookies milkshake like I had last time.

Well, this is a blog about trying new things, so to potentially save you six bucks, I gave it a try. Ok, there is a second reason too, and that would be the health benefits. I don't know how many actual ice cream servings are in a Ben & Jerry's shake, I'd say at least two, but for each serving we are talking 270cals (140 from fat) vs 180cals (a mere 25 from fat). That's a big difference in fat calories, and if you worry about saturated fat like I try to do, we are talking a whopping 7g to 1.5g. That's some major health benefits there, so let's see how it tastes.

We head into the theater with a half dozen other couples (no kids, as it is a school day after all). My shake is pretty much done before the previews end because it's pretty darn good. No, it's not the super thick rich solidness of a super premium milkshake, but it's still good.  Overall the half baked froyo has turned into a respectable chocolate shake with some brownie bits jamming my straw now and then. It definitely tastes better than some faux shake from a fast food joint. So, if you want to splurge with money but not your calories, give a froyo shake a try!   ---oh, my wife's shake was ok, but overall she didn't really like how the cookie dough flavor came across.

I shall cast the mighty spell  Icecream SCOOPUPUS!

(yeah, sounded funnier in my head)

As far as the movie goes (incase the title didnt give it away), we went and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1. We wanted to see Tron: Legacy, but it wouldn't have given us enough time to get our daughter from school. Anyway, I don't think we've see Harry Potter in the theatre since.... iunno, the 3rd one maybe? Somewhere along the line we just started watching them on tv, which is also the point where they all just started blurring together. Look, there's a reason most movies don't have 7 sequels behind it. That being said, we both enjoyed the film. Sure, it could have been a little quicker, but it was fairly dark, fairly mature, and kept things moving. It definitely had the feel of a movie that was attempting to keep it tight and preparing to wrap things up. Everyone does well with their part as always, and there is minimal whining from any of the characters. I think they even did a pretty good job of picking a place to end the movie. My favorite part? I think I may have actually been most impressed by the scene where they tell the tale of the deathly hallows which was this very cool looking cartoon/cgi thing that added in a neat little break to the movie. So if you were thinking about checking this film out, I say go for it.