Steven Helmer Publications

My oldest daughter, Azalea, officially becomes a teenager today. It's something I knew would eventually happen. But, it sure did seem to happen a lot faster than expected. After thirteen years of parenthood, I think I've come to a realization. Everyone, upon becoming a parent for the first time, thinks they will be a perfect mom/dad to the perfect child. But, eventually, reality sets in and they realize there is no such thing. My wife and I have made mistakes. Our daughter has made just as many. And, all we can do is be patient, do our best, let her become her own person and hope things turn out OK.

When my wife picked up fish for Friday evening's dinner, I asked her to pick up some shrimp to go with it. This is the product she ended up bringing home. She made this purchase mostly because it was the lowest-priced option. As it turns out, unlike the frozen fish fillets she also purchased from this brand, it was a good purchase overall. One of the things I liked about this product right away is I could make the shrimp poppers in the oven. A lot of other brands only have directions for frying and that's not always the most convenient way to make them. Being able to throw them in the oven (along with the other fish we were making) meant I didn't have to spend as much time in the kitchen. The shrimp came out the way I prefer it. It was crispy, but not crispy to the point I couldn't chew them. The breading also had a decent flavor to it, something that isn't always the case with lower-priced products like this. The shrimp also proved to be very filling wh...

My wife needed to pick up a couple things at Wal-mart Friday afternoon and, while she was there, I asked her to pick up some frozen fish for dinner. She did that and one of the items she ended up picking up was a box of Great Value Crispy Battered Fish Fillets. We've purchased this product before. However, it had been a while since we had this particular brand (I usually try to avoid shopping at Wal-mart when possible) and I couldn't remember much about it. After having it again Friday night, my overall opinion of it was mixed. Since she purchased this brand primarily on price, my overall expectations were lowered when I ended up preparing the fillets in the oven. As it turns out, the fillets met those expectations but, unfortunately, there wasn't anything about them that really exceeded them. As far as taste goes, they were OK. They weren't the worst frozen fish fillets I've ever eaten and, to be fair, they weren't dripping with grease (as has been the...

Synopsis: As part of an experiment, a pair of high school students decide to make the cranky widower across the street believe his house is haunted while secretly recording his every reaction. Not only does he not react with terror, as they expected him to, they observe him behaving suspiciously. This includes him spending hours in the basement he keeps padlocked. Who's in it? The movie stars James Caan , Logan Miller , Keir Gilchrist , Anne Dudek and Edwin Hodge . Review: My wife and I had some time to watch a movie together last night and, since I couldn't find anything on our movie channels, I ended up selecting this one off of my Netflix list. I came across this film a couple weeks ago and, even though I wasn't sure of the description, I decided to give it a try because I saw it starred James Caan. As it turns out, it was actually a halfway decent film. The movie is classified as a thriller. However, I don't think that classification is accurate. It is, ...

It wasn't too bad of a night garden-wise. I ended up with plenty of cherry tomatoes along with some lettuce and chili peppers. I ended up making a garden-fresh salad to go with our fish dinner tonight (without the chili peppers).

Normally, when I take a walk, I pick a direction and just see what I come across. However, on occasion, I'll be a bit more purposeful with my walk and head in a specific direction in an effort to get a specific photo. Today was one of those days. I saw a turtle resting on a rock on the far side of a pond and made an effort to get close enough to get a good photo of it. This wasn't as easy as it sounds either. The trail on that side of the pond isn't mowed down like the other trails and I had to walk through some knee-high grass, avoiding thistle and hidden gopher holes (not to mention ticks). I also had to be careful not to step on any snakes (we don't have anything poisonous here, I just didn't want to injure one). At the same time, I had to be as quiet as possible and remain as hidden as possible so the turtle wouldn't see me and dive into the water before I got my photo. In the end, I succeeded and even managed to get a few other photos before heading bac...

Not as much out this morning as I've seen other mornings (not counting the mosquitoes, at least). But, I still managed to get some photos while I was out for my morning walk. Then, when I got to the office, I saw a little chipmunk running around and was lucky enough to get a photo of him too:

Synopsis : While still on the run from the Umbrella Corporation, Alice is contacted by the Red Queen and learns she can save what's left of humanity by returning to Raccoon City and the Hive and retrieving an airborne cure to the zombie-causing T-virus. As she travels to the city and invades the heavily-guarded underground lab, she also learns the truth behind the zombie apocalypse and her past. Who's in it? The movie stars Milla Jovovich , Ali Larter , Iain Glen , Ever Anderson and Ruby Rose . Review : My wife loves the Resident Evil movies and, when I saw there was a newer one we had not watched together yet, I ended up getting it through Netflix. We watched it earlier this week and, overall, I have to say I was impressed with the movie. The thing that I found I really liked about this film was the way it had non-stop action. A lot of "action" movies tend to get bogged down by introducing various backstories and a little too much focus on relationships. ...

I managed to get my walk in at lunch today and, even though I had to share the park with quite a few people (meaning most of the animals were hiding), I was still able to enjoy it thanks to a large number of butterflies flying around. I was able to get photos of some of them, along with a few others:

I had intended on just taking a walk by the lake this morning. But, there were several people already there fishing and I figured most of the photo opportunities were gone as a result so I ended up braving the dew-soaked trails instead (fortunately, I thought to bring a change of socks with me). There wasn't as much to see as I hoped there would be. But, I did manage to find a couple herons and some ducks. Plus, I got a photo of a couple of the mushrooms that were popping up everywhere. Here are some of the photos I took:

Synopsis: The Doctor ( David Tennant ) decides to travel via tourist shuttle to see a sapphire waterfall on a planet that is bathed by a highly toxic radiation. The planet is believed to be uninhabited. But, the shuttle is soon invaded by a life form that is capable of inhabiting other bodies, leading to confusion and panic. Review: This episode was on TV when I got up this morning and I wound up watching it. I've seen this episode one more than one occasion and, each time, I become more and more impressed with it. I'm a big fan of horror movies, especially psychological thrillers, and this episode is as good as any of the films I've seen in that genre. At first, it is hard to tell if the creature is evil or just misunderstood. But, as it purposely tries to create confusion and manipulate the passengers on board the shuttle, it becomes very easy not to like it very much. The thing that really impresses me about this episode is the non-stop intensity. The Doctor ca...

Last night, I got a cup of water to drink while watching a movie with my wife. The cup had a lid (too keep the cats out of it) and I needed a straw to drink it. I reached into the box of straws and pulled out a pink one. I immediately returned it to the box. This wasn't because I necessarily cared about what color the straw was (it's just going in the garbage anyway). It was because my youngest daughter loves the color pink and I wanted to leave it in the box for her. As I sat down, I realized it was one of those things us parents do for our kids that normally would go unnoticed.

My wife came across this product in the refrigerator section of Wal-mart while doing some other shopping there. She thought it would be something I could make/eat while at the office and picked one up so I could try it. I had some doubts about this product when I first saw it, mostly because I figured it would be like the frozen Jimmy Dean breakfast bowls I've purchased before (edible but not overly great). As it turns out, it exceeded my expectations by quite a bit. I brought it to the office this morning and made it before starting my day. The instructions were very easy to follow. All I had to do was remove the lid, open the container containing the egg and the package with the potatoes meat then combine them. After that, the only thing left to do was microwave the contents (stirring on occasion) until they were cooked. Other than the fact it took about 30 seconds longer than the instructions said it would (it's a smaller microwave and, since the eggs were still runny...

The park I frequently walk in has an observation tower located on top of a hill. I don't climb it very often (the steps kill my knees) but, when I heard the train coming today, I hurried up to the top as fast as I could so I could grab a video of it as it passed by. I was really hoping the train would have more cars than it did, but I was able to get it at least.

It took me nearly 42 years, but I FINALLY saw a hummingbird today. I've put up feeders, planted hummingbird-attracting flowers, etc. and have never managed to get one in my yard (at least when I was looking) despite the fact they are supposedly fairly common around here. That changed today. I was on my walk and was lucky enough to spot one flying around (a female ruby-throated one, I believe). Even better, I was able to get a photo when it perched for a few seconds on a branch. Here's a photo of it, along with some others I took on my walk.

I wasn't sure if it was going to rain or not this morning so I ended up walking up by the lake just so I could stay close to my car. Since it was very gloomy out, it was a little difficult to get decent photos (I always tend to blur things when the lighting is terrible). But, I did manage to get a few photos while I was out.

Synopsis: On January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger successfully completed a water landing on the Hudson River and saved 155 lives after a group of birds struck his plane and knocked out both engines. New York City and the world are celebrating him as a hero. However, behind the scenes, he is in danger of losing his job and everything he worked for because investigators believe he took an unnecessary risk. Who's in it? The movie stars Tom Hanks , Aaron Eckhart , Valerie Mahaffey , Mike O'Malley and Laura Linney . Review : I don't normally watch biographical films because they always tend to be slanted and don't usually give the full story. However, my wife wanted to see this movie and, since I got it as a free rental with my pizza order on Friday, I picked it up. We finally got around to watching it last night and it ended up being much better than I expected. Since it was a relatively recent event, we both remembered the Hudson Riv...

My wife had to make a run out to Wal-mart earlier today so, while she was there, I asked her to pick up something simple for dinner. She saw this in Wal-mart's freezer section for $5.98 and, thinking it looked good, decided to pick it up. We ended up having it after I got home from work and our overall opinion of it is mixed. One of the biggest attractions with this product was the promise of convenience. And, for the most part at least, I think it lived up to that promise. There were a couple different ways of making this product. She chose to use the boiling method and the food was prepared in a reasonable amount of time without any significant effort. As far as taste goes, I was admittedly surprised by this product. I don't think I would ever mistake this for homemade. But, considering it was a frozen product, it definitely exceeded my expectations. The sweet ketchup glaze had a good flavor to it and the meat (unlike many other frozen meat products) wasn't to...

I was out in the garden picking beans and decided to check my potato plants. As I was walking toward them, I had something dart out from in between them and hit the side of my foot. It turned out to be a small bunny (I've seen the mother hanging around so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised). But, since I wasn't expecting it to dart out like that and I didn't know what it was at first, it scared the crap out of me, to the point I almost fell over and ended up pulling my back a bit. Since it hit my foot, I was a little worried it hurt itself. But, I didn't want to scare it any more than it already was so I waited until after dinner to try to check on it. By then, it was gone so I'm assuming it was OK. Guess I'll have to be a bit more careful the next time I'm in the garden.

It was still a little damp at the park and I already used my change of socks for the day so I kept my walk somewhat short so I could stay in areas that wouldn't result in my shoes being soaked through again. As a result, I was somewhat limited on what I saw. However, I did manage to get photos of a couple frogs, a dragonfly and a blackbird.

Synopsis : 21 years after Camp Crystal Lake was shut down following a drowning and the murder of two camp counselors, Steve Christy is looking to re-open the property and has brought in a group of counselors to help him. Shortly after arriving, however, the counselors are stalked by an unknown killer. Who's in it? The movie stars Betsy Palmer , Adrienne King , Robbi Morgan , Kevin Bacon and Harry Crosby. Review: My wife and I recently watched some of the sequels to this film and, while doing so, I realized it had been a while since I had seen the original and I didn't remember too much about it. So, when we had an opportunity to watch this film earlier this week, we did. One of the biggest problems with slasher movies is, once you know who the killer is, they do tend to lose a little something the next time you see them. That is, unfortunately, the case with this movie. While I never thought the movie was overly scary, I do think, without prior knowledge of w...

Overall, I would like to believe cats are smart animals. But, there are times when I question that belief. This morning was one of those times. Our cat, Echo, was being a pest this morning so I ended up getting out of bed earlier than I wanted to (I didn't want him keeping my wife awake). He decided to follow me into the bathroom which, in itself, isn't a big deal. But, as soon as I lifted the toilet lid up, he decided to run and leap into the toilet. He then realized his mistake (he actually started to realize it while he was still in the air) and immediately began to splash water everywhere as he hurried to get out then cower (dripping wet) in a corner of the room. Now, everyone, including cats, makes mistakes and, had this been the first time, I probably wouldn't think much of it. But, this is the third time he has done that. You would think, considering he's a year old now, he would learn not to leap into the toilet bowl by now. I am seriously starting to wonder...

I saw these ducks swimming in one of the ponds while out on my walk this morning. I've seen them before. But, they are very shy and this was the first time I was able to get a photo of them before they flew away.

I went through another pair of socks on my morning walk this morning (lots and lots of dew). Plus, I made the mistake of walking down the wrong trail and also came into the office with wet pant legs as a result. There wasn't much in terms of life at the park this morning. The temps were a little on the cool side and I think most of the critters stayed hidden as a result. But, there were, once again, plenty of spider webs around the park so I grabbed some photos of those.