T-minus .... how many hours?

Tomorrow - the original man of my dreams gets married...and heck no! I am not waking up at 4am to watch this occur and after I am going to be working from 9-4. Sad thing is - I know it will be on repeat forever and a day.

My romantic relationship(s) - going nowhere. Yup, I have nothing but dream lovers that run off and get married or have perfect girlfriends.

Health: Well, I went to the gym Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday and this morning - I was too pooped and sore from working to go to the gym. I think I'll drag my but out of bed tomorrow. I can watch part of the wedding while sweating at the gym. I also have such a severe Vitamin D deficiency - to the point where I have to take a prescription strength vitamin to get it back in order. I have to go back in 8 weeks and get tested to see if my levels have gone up. I hope to God so!

Career - well, I have a job! Heck yes!!!!!!!!!! I like my job, but I am going to be excited when this gig ends. Not because I don't enjoy what I am doing, but because I don't know if my shoulders can take to much more of this. My back and shoulders sure make their complaints known. I wonder if it feels the same way at a desk job. There are probably whole other sets of muscles and nerves that get peeved at every job.

Roamin' in the Gloamin'

Ok, so it's a little past gloamin' into the full night, but it sounds so pretty! And tonight, my blog is going to be all over the place. As I FLOSS and brush my teeth and take my 50,000mg Vitamin D pill - I am tired. I am tired of being the chubby one, the homely one, the unhealthy one, the one with no clue what to do in life. OMG! I'm so tired of having to fight. I always admired Jo in Little Women, but I am so much more the Beth character. I don't like fighting, bragging, going out, missing the precious moments in my family's life - it's too bad that it isn't practical anymore to be the kid that stays at home because she doesn't get married. I could be an Emily Dickinson that stays up in her room experiencing things with her imagination - a bee, a field, a prairie is mine. I like being quiet, thinking, imagining, dreaming up new things - too bad that doesn't really work unless you are rich!

Another thing on my mental list - Criminal Minds...I love you, but really, only one token "fat" person?!? I love Garcia so much - she's so snappy and fierce, but everyone from the killers, to the victims, to the victims families, to the cops, to the witnesses, to the team...all of them are shapely models. Do chubby, homely/ugly girls never get murdered, raped, kidnapped? Do chubby, homely/ugly guys never get targeted...let alone does this demographic not commit crimes? Where are all the chubby cops - I can tell you that I don't think a single one in my town has anything close to an ab, let alone being 6-pack ripped. Does the average 5'5" size 14 woman never get targeted? Are killers that picky that they only stick with an ideal body size, shape, and looks? Damn, I guess I can't get a date and I can't get murdered either. Well, guess that shirt is right: "Fat girls are hard to kidnap".





Last, but not least, is my first husband/lover/dream beau - Prince William - is getting married this Friday. You can't flip through the channels without seeing some sort of coverage about the wedding. Today's big news was a royal servant carrying a long garment bag - was it the dress or was it a diversion! I thought the coverage on the hats being made for the royal wedding was super cool! I love hats - I esp. love the little hat that I tried on in the Marks and Spencers on the Island of Mann. Such an awesome Spring Break with my travel buddy and roomie. I'll cover more of this later, but I must talk about how Prince William has added to some of my delusions. So when I was about 13 or 14 I had a dream about Prince William. We met next to this HUGE fountain on a night with a gorgeous full moon! And - he gave me my first kiss! I have been deluded with having my first kiss on a full moon, next to a fountain, by my Prince Charming since then. I was quite crest fallen when the night came and past with no kiss...It was Paris, my Prince Charming (Marcus Mumford) had just given a concert I had attended in a park with a ginormous fountain...and it was a full moon. It was the most perfect of perfect settings - well, he walked past me earlier in the night. I might have said hi, but he was talking to some older people (I later found out these were his parents) and I didn't want to interrupt a conversation with the words "incredible guilt" mentioned. I'm glad I didn't interrupt him then, I'm sure he doesn't get to see his parents all that much and I'm pretty positive he wouldn't have wanted a Midwestern girl geeking out on him during his precious time with his family. Oh well - I guess I will just have to wait - or maybe write that scene into a book or movie so I can live vicariously through it!


Well, off to bed! Maybe I can dream up the man that will go roamin' in the gloamin' with me...

Flowering and Detangling

Today's testy Tuesday has to do with my new job that I just started today. Who new there were so many things going on with plants! Fertilizer, fertilizer, acid - water, water, water, water, water...chop off the heads of plants! It was really kind of fun. The lady who runs the place is really nice and is really interested in helping me learn all the aspects of the farm and being comfortable while working there. I am actually having a lot of fun - I split my first day between watering plants and doing upkeep (aka ripping flowers off and clipping down the tops of some plants). I am excited to start again tomorrow. I have a feeling I'll probably be doing a lot of the same things that I did today since it is going to be raining almost all week. I am excited that Friday is going to be amazingly beautiful - sunny and in the 60s.



I have been using a product lately that I have to say - I AM IN LOVE WITH! It is super dorky and childish, but I love using Suave Kids Detangling Spay in Double Dutch Apple. I got mine for under $2 and it is so worth it. As my hair gets longer and longer - it get tanglier and tanglier!....ok, more tangled. There are probably more expensive and 17 million other leave in conditioner sprays that do the same thing that this product does, but this is great for just getting my hair manageable in the morning/after showering. I can spritz, brush my teeth, and then brush my hair out without the yanking and ripping of hair from knots. I can leave my hair down to go into wavy curls or brush it and put it up into a twist - lickety split! Such a good buy for what it does!

Error

I haven't actually read a single book this last week. I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off too much to get a book - even an audio book read this week. I had a really great Easter with my family and chasing my little nephew around - he is actually starting to walk large distances without any help! I am working on several books and as soon as I finish with this and getting ready for bed - I'm curling up with a good book.


I can tell you I am severely disappointed in the teachers at my siblings school. I had to go up and help my sister find an example of onomonopia in one of her books for school. Her assignment was to find an example of several literary techniques and then give the literal and figurative meanings of the examples she had found. The teacher sent home a packet that gave examples of the literary techniques and then what a literal and figurative meaning was - this is one of the examples...
Figurative: My dad is a strong, reliable man.
Literal: My dad is rock hard mineral material.
I scanned the rest of the examples and all the "literal" examples were the figurative and all the "figurative" examples were the literal ones. Are you kidding me? Did you get a degree?!?!? I know that everyone can't be always running at full capacity, but really? You are a teacher - educating the young minds of America and you can't get your head out of your butt to check what you are teaching them? Can you not tell the difference between LITERAL and FIGURATIVE? It makes me sick - education not only is beginning to suck at the lower levels, but anyone can get into college today. If you are outgoing enough and have enough money - hello college and sometimes, even grad school. I have met the dumbest people who are studying education and I swear I rather educate my own children or rip out my own ovaries so they cannot teach my children because otherwise my kids will be coming home saying "My dad is literally a rock!" Sure - if you are using the literary technique of hyperbole. I want to bash my head into the walls!

Rio

My family recently went to see Rio with my family. We went to the 3D showing and most of us felt a little sick, but we could goof off as much as we wanted to since we were the only ones in the theaters. The movie follows Blu, a blue macaw, how get taken from the jungle as a baby and ends up in the middle of nowhere Minnesota. He and his owner, Linda, get tracked down by a Brazilian scientist because he is the only remaining male blue macaw. Linda and Blu go to Rio to help the continuation of his species during the famous Carnival. Jewel, the female blue macaw, is very spirited and is solely focused on returning to the jungle. Blu, unable to fly and very used to the securities of pet life, struggles to keep up with Jewel whom he has fallen in love with during their kidnapping. They pick of some interesting characters on their journey - including a feisty bulldog and some strange birds. I won't give away too much more - but it ends with a lot of singing!




It was a very good movie and I would suggest going to it. I would not suggest paying the extra money (we had to pay $3 extra for the glasses that we had to recycle at the end of the movie) to see a movie in the 3D. It made just about everyone in my family sick and the 3D effects weren't all the stunning. Sometimes things moved too fast for the 3D effects to do anything more than make things blurry and hard to focus on: i.e. the birds wings in the opening and closing sequences. I kept having to close one of my eyes every once in a while so as to give my eyes a break from all the work they were having to do focusing. The one other thing I want to mention that confused me, was George Lopez speaking Spanish when he's supposed to be a Brazilian bird! He'd be speaking Portuguese if his character were correct.

Akrit Jaswal

I just am in love with this little kid. I think it is absoluetly adorable that he is so determined to cure cancer that he can "feel the cancer" and how he is going to defeat it. He is so adorable and innocent and sweet despite all his knowledge and his IQ being higher than "the Einstein." I think geniuses are little miracles - not something you can create. I'm sorry Tom Cruise and Kattie Holmes, but I don't think you can turn your baby into a genius no matter how much audio stimulation you give them in eutero or how many flash cards you expose them to as an infant. I think she may be a little further ahead than others, but I don't think you can create a genius. I just wanted to share a person that I consider a celebrity before I hop onto the rest of the bandwagon celebs.



There was apparently a picture of Rupert Grint smoking a bong leaked; however, this turned out to just be a shaggy haired ginger with most of his face obscured by the angle of the shot. My roommate while living in Scotland would have been completely scandalized if this rumor had turned out to be true! She is so in love with him - we had to stop and get a 99cent flake cone because those were Rupert's favorites! I love her!



In other news, Lindsay Lohan is going to jail. It is kind of sad that she more than likely will not spend more than a day or two in jail for her crimes. Her felony theft charges were dropped to a misdemeanor and she wasn't actually sent to jail on these charges. I guess while she was there, the judge decided she was in violation of her probation and they gave her 120 days in jail and 480 hours of community service. The community service is devided between a women's shelter and the morgue! Ick! I feel kind of sorry for her having to work at the morgue, but hopefully both places will scare her into seeing how lucky she actually is.

And lastly, my favorite news - there is going to be another Chipmunks movie - Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chip-wrecked. There isn't too much out about the movie yet, but it is set to be released sometime in December of 2011. I was pretty bummed out that I had to work when my family all went to see the Sqeakqeul...I still haven't seen it, but I have it on hold at the library so I'm hoping to watch it tomorrow.

Excuse me, but I thought you were married!

Relationships: I have spent a lot of time with my little brother lately. I really love that little dude; however, people begin to think he is my kid. This sucks because not only do most people automatically think that I am married, now they think I have a child. I guess it doesn't really matter - my love life is heading no where fast.



Health: I have been at the gym every day this week except today. I was busy running errands, cleaning, and attempting to get John out to play soccer for a while. It was pretty fun; however, he expects me to be as hard core as he is! No way am I using my face/head to stop one of his kicks. My thigh is feeling sore enough after stopping one of his kicks - I can't imagine what it would feel like to stop one of those with my face. It was pretty funny though, he was giving me smack talk in a Scottish accent while telling me he grew up playing in Africa. I don't know if I have lost any weight yet, but I am feeling good about myself. I am a little worried, I have some things that have come up that worry me and my "down there" doctor called and left a message that I should call. I am a little worried; however, I am hoping it is something as simple as I have low Vitamin D.

Career: Meh - that is what my career is looking like. I saw a job today that I am thinking about applying to for over the summer (it's seasonal work) and then I am hoping to work at Christopher Banks while I look for something more permanent. My poor account can't take too much more hanging out in the basement.

Give the dude a break...or a girlfriend!

I feel bad for Dr. Reid right now. His poor character has so much crap happen to him: anthrax, kidnapped and tortured, schizophrenia! The poor dude needs a break. CBS Criminal Minds writers, if you see this...you need to give poor Reid a girlfriend. And not just so he gets some loving or it takes away from the main grit of the show, but if you are going to have him deal with the torture of thinking he's becoming schizophrenic or if he actually is - he needs someone that will be there to help take care of him. Personally, I think he should date a librarian; someone who is smart and plus, what better place for the genius book nerd to find a date/relationship.

Speaking of Criminal Minds, my immense skills of behavior analysis (from my extensive time spent watching the show) helped me to diagnose the guy at the gym the other day as a narcissist. Probably didn't help that I know the guy and his family, but just watching him spend the majority of his time at the gym pacing or staring at himself in the mirror while lifting only sealed the profile.



Speaking of the gym, I spent about 2-3 hours in the pool today (ours, sadly, is nowhere as pimp as the Hearst Castle indoor pool, or outdoor one for that matter - I don't think you get someone else's band aid stuck on your foot there...inner germaphobe gags!). It was mostly spent goofing around with my little brother. The rain, sleet, snow, hail crap has been keeping him from burning of his high levels of energy with sports, so he burned some off in the pool today. I think I might pickle from how much I've been in the water...he wants to go again tomorrow! One of the ladies at the pool thought he was my kid and asked me where I got him. Well, if he's my kid - I'd tend to guess he came from my, well, va-jay-jay, but okay lady - maybe I just picked him up off some street corner in inner city Milwaukee (my little brother is Ethiopian American).

And to end this whole shabang - let's talk about va-jay-jay...or at least the "down under" doctor as my mom likes to refer to them as. Anyways, I think mine must be a stand up comedian in her spare time. She was talking about how she's going to Peru this year for vacation and so she's trying to learn some Spanish and these are the phrases she already knows: "Are you leaking any fluid?" "Vagina" and I think one of them was something about mucus. I think I spent more of my time laughing in that office than anything; however, I suppose the laughter helps people loosen up a bit. Nobody really enjoys another person you don't really know all that well poking around down there - least of all when she's taking scrapings (ouch!). The nurse checking me in told me I could undress when she left, but I could feel free to leave my socks on; yes, I want to be completely nude in front of a complete stranger while having my mid-calf high argyle socks on! These people be CRAZY! The "down under" doctor also asked if she could have a cholesterol and Vitamin D screening done because Wisconsinites apparently have high levels of osteoporosis due to a lack of Vitamin D. The lady taking my blood is apparently the one who takes the blood for screenings on babies; she kept looking at me like a was a very small child that might faint (it could happen) or bolt at the first prick of the needle. Luckily, I made it through. You know what question I have always wanted to ask OB/GYNs is: how many shotty shave jobs do you see a day? I suppose it probably varies with your demographics, but I still think it would be interesting to find out their answers.

"Wildflower"

Since today has been filled with nothing but snow, rain, sleet, hail, thunder, and lightening - I have had nothing but sunshine and wildflowers on my mind! I guess I should have kept my mouth shut when I taunted the powers that be to throw confetti into the storm as well shortly before the tiny pebbles of hail began to pelt down. I have to say, it is really unsettling to have snow and thunder all at once. Goodness Grapenuts is climate change weird; however, Wisconsin is probably the best state for freaktastic weather patterns. It seems so far away, but at the beginning of last week it was nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit! I guess I better pick out a nice pair of tights to wear with my Easter dress.

So anyways, this week I am reviving my country roots. When I was little, I used to love country music - now it makes me want to vomit. I still hear George Straight or Randy Travis songs and my heart melts! I heard this song on the radio my first road trip after returning back stateside. It is super catchy and rockabilly (something that I am getting more and more into). I love their fashions and music - these girls rock and you should also check out the official music video for Wildflower by the JaneDear Girls.

Doctor Doctor - who wants to play doctor?

I got a book from my library's audio library that I presumed was a science book on bloodletting and other weird cures that had worked in the past. Oh how wrong I was! It is a group of interwoven short stories in the novel of Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam. I do say that I did end up liking some of the story. It was really interesting at points and I didn't want to stop listening to the complex web of people and interactions that were all laced with the medical field. It wasn't quite Grey's Anatomy drama happening, but close. Girls breaking up with boyfriends to sleep with new guy at school, girl sleeping with cousin to get good grades, alcoholic, schizophrenic, dedicated doctor, lovers, etc. I was a little interested to see SARS pop up in the story. I guess I have no real experience with SARS since it was just the big, scary disease on t.v. that was going to kill us all and then ended up not effecting as many as was originally thought. The story was pretty well but together and I enjoyed many of the characters; however, the ending really SUCKED. It just nose dived into an end. I think this is one of those books without closure that I just have to deal with, but it is really friggin' annoying. It was an ok book, but I don't know if it was worth the 10+ hours I spent listening to it.

Tangled to Tron

My family watched a couple of movies for movie night this week. Tangled and Tron were the two that were selected for this week.

Tangled is an adorable movie about Rapunzel who sets off on a quest to find herself. She goes out and explores the big wide world that has been denied her for all of her 18 years. On her quest she finds love, while her guide on this quest finds his self as well. It is a cute and funny film - well worth a Redbox rent.

The second movie we had for movie night was Tron. I could barely stay awake for the film. It was sort of interesting - the boy seeking out his father who got stuck in his own video game. The movie was just a little weird beyond weird for me. Some of the scenes and decorations were extremely gorgeous, but it was mostly just boring for me. Jeff Bridges mumbles throughout the whole movie, so I had to keep turning it up to understand him and the turn it down when some of the intense action scenes started. It annoyed me and this movie sucks (if you ask me).

Paris Bites Back

She has recently been out of the news for a LONG time...unless you count all those times she was caught with pot but said it was vicious rumors (until she got caught with enough to convict her) - yes, I am talking about Paris Hilton. Apparently the dumbass is feeling unloved and under appreciated, either that, or her mother is! News sources -aka- Ryan Seacrest's brilliant smile told me the other day (via this incredible device called the tv) that Paris Hilton's mom was picking on Kim Kardashian because she was just "copying Paris."

Ok, I am not that obsessed with the Kardashians - any of them - but God help me if Paris wants to bring them down. Yes, Kim has done many of the same things that Paris has...she's just done them better and with more class (aka - she's got style, she doesn't go around pulling other people down, and she has a lack of jail time!). Not to mention, the girl has one banging body compared to that twig of a Hilton. I also think that Kim has a few more brain cells to work with, because from what I have seen she at least hasn't said anything like: "Can you get aids from a puddle?"


So Paris, or her mother - quit running your mouth and instead, smile or say something nice about another human being (and you can't be looking in the mirror when you do this)! We honestly don't give a crap if you are feeling rather unloved since most of us can see through the publicity stunt of calling out Kim. Personally, I don't care what you do with yourselves; just quit spreading the bitterness of your life out there because you are feeling insecure and out of the spotlight. Maybe you should try good works for a change - it hasn't hurt Angelina Jolie's career at all.

Biking Bonanza

This week has been a little crazy! I have been having to get up early in the morning to take the kids to school - this morning I helped my little brother make his lunch for his field trip.

Relationships: Well, I've watched a whole lot of Criminal Minds this week! :D Go Dr. Reid! :D

Health: Since last night I have flossed three times! I really did make a little sticky note to remind me...my mom, the frequent flosser, laughed at it. I have been riding my bike around to do local errands and the like. I rode my bike to the dentist and the library and to the grocery store! It is actually nice, listening to my audio book and pedalling. Exactly today, I finally marched my butt into Lakers gym and asked for membership information. I have to say, the prices are MUCH lower than when I originally went there in high school. The presence of about three other gyms in town have dropped the price from about $80 a month to $42! SWEET! Not to mention the gym has two mascots - a mastiff and a pit bull/lab mix! They are SOOOOOOOO cute. I want one!



Career: I am still lagging in this area, but I found out that one of my favorite stores is coming into the mall nearby and I'll looking at applying there. If I only work there for the summer, hopefully it will help me save up some for rent and job searching in another area with one of my besties! The town is a college town, so there are all sorts of jobs to be had around there and if I do decide to go back to school...I'll be near a campus with a roomie already!

"What flavor?" to "Do you Floss Regularly?"

WTF!?! I went to the dentist today and found out I have not one, two or even just three cavities. Nope - I have FIVE cavities...and all between my teeth. This led to a very interesting discussion of flossing. I do floss...a whole lot more than I used too at least. I suck at it - the keeping with it! So I am apparently going to have to start flossing twice a day and making sure that I rinse with water after I drink any beverage other than water because apparently even milk will rot the hell out of your teeth. It kind of makes me sad to go to the dentist. I have these deep grooves in my teeth that they can't seal at all, so it is SUPER easy for me to get cavities...joy! Not only that, but now at the ripe old age of 23 they don't ask you what flavor toothpaste you want them to use or what flavor of floss you want. You just get boring mint. Ugh! Not to mention - the hygenist usually tries to carry on a conversation with you while she has her fingers shoved in your mouth. I am guessing that this recent diagnosis will have me with a sticky note to my mirror telling me to floss! Hopefully that will help me to remember and stay committed.

I didn't just want to talk about that! My little sister is painting pictures to sell for aid relief to Japan. She has already sold one of her paintings for $75. I am so proud of her and I am so amazed by her talents. I cannot paint to save the life of me. I have a little artistic ability, but the most I like to express mine through is coloring books! (Such a good stress reliever).

Chicken and Chutney

I tried out a new recipe the other day! It was absolutely amazing. It was so delicious and tasty - not to mention it is a healthy choice. This of course made it absolutely disgusting to every one except my mother and I. I made Walnut-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Apple Chutney which I got off of Shape.com's recipe finder. It seems like a complicated recipe, but it is actually really simple and quick.

If you set up an assembly line of the flour, egg whites, and walnut/bread crumb mixture - it goes really quickly. After you dip the chicken breasts you just have to place them onto the baking tray and stick them in the oven. The Chutney you can make while the chicken bakes in the oven and pop the rice in the microwave at the same time.
The Chutney is just throwing the ingredients into a pot, letting boiling on a medium heat and then setting it on a low setting to let it simmer for about 10 minutes. The recipe says you can mash the apples up when they are softened - I did and I thought it was really good.
I made cous cous instead of rice - and the packs of cous cous only take about 10 minutes to make. All I had to do what add oil and water to the spice packs, microwave that for 5 minutes and then add the cous cous and cover to let sit for 5 more minutes. After the cous cous has absorbed the liquidy goodness, you just "fluff" with a fork (aka - you mix it up).

I hate to say that I did not get any pictures of the food before it got devoured! We had put off dinner until late because my sister had soccer practice. I thought that this recipe was worth a repeat! The chutney tastes amazing on top of the walnut-crusted chicken breasts and even thought I like cous cous - I didn't think the flavor I got (Mediterranean) went well with it. I might try this recipe again with rice instead of a flavored grain. I hope that you try this recipe as well. It was filling and only about 489 calories for the whole shabang.

For Jane's Sake

Some of my friends told me that I reminded them a lot of Catherine Moreland, so I decided to read the book, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, after watching the movie and falling head-over-heels for Mr. Tilney. The story follows Catherine through her introduction into society in Bath. Some family friends of the Morelands (whom happen to be rather wealthy) offer to take Catherine to Bath with them as Mr. Allen is recovering in the mineral baths of Bath. She meets a very dashing young man there...Mr. Tilney...and has another man quite taken with her. Confusion and misunderstandings rule the day and after some rough patches - well, you can guess what the ending of an Austen novel is like! I really did like the book, but was kind of offended by the comparison to a rather air brained Catherine. I can't disagree that their are similarities - I do tend to be quite innocent of social graces and I could ignore the whole rest of the world for a book! I think it was a rather good novel - it entertained me while plugging away at housework!

Movie Party

I watched several movies in the last couple of days. First a girls night and then a nice solo night of just relaxing. I watched Letters to Juliet, My Sister's Keeper, 17 Again, and RocknRolla. It was a pretty fun night just relaxing and watching some movies. Letters to Juliet was rather a cute movie. I had to cover my ears when Taylor Swift played and I gagged a little bit when he climbed up the vines to talk to Sophie (Amanda Seyfried's character). My friends thought I was a little anal thinking that it was cheesy or being annoyed by the Taylor Swift song. I did like the movie! I liked the line: "I didn't know love had an expiration date." It was a rather cute way of saying that love can cross distances and time and take you absolutely unexpectedly. It was cutesy and chick flicky - just good, feel-good fun. My Sister's Keeper is a whole nother jar of worms. This movie takes your heart out and crushes it for a while. I think my eyes liquefied throughout the duration of this movie. I cried from the beginning to the end. I thought the family dynamic was interesting and the love story was one of the sweetest and most moving love stories. The love between the siblings that was displayed was just really touching. Having a sister who would do anything for you - even challenge their parents to the pint of taking them to court!

17 Again was my lightener after My Sister's Keeper. It was a great comedic film that lightened my mood completely. I loved Zac Efron's character and his friend Ned. Ned's character was beyond ridiculously hilarious! I loved his highlights and his cloaks, his masks and light sabers, and his speaking Elfish! It was a nice love story and highlighted the importance of family.

RocknRolla, while not being that great of a movie - THANK YOU GUY RITCHIE! Hello Thomas Hardy and Gerard Butler. There were plenty of muscley guys running around doing bad things. I loved the scene with the two crazy Russians that just don't give up. Gerard was so perfect running away from the big Russian and then the skinny Russian turned up again. It was comedic and action packed all rolled into one. It was a nice guilty pleasure sort of movie. Thomas Hardy was perfect for Handsome Bob and I laughed so hard when Gerard freaked out so much upon finding out that Bob was gay and how much he was embarrassed about dancing with him. It was an interesting movie to say the least.

The Moon Shined :( Ugh!

So I didn't write yesterday because I was enjoying some much appreciated girl time with some of my friends from Scotland. We watched part of Jane Eyre and Letters to Juliet. We got to talking and...of course, the inevitable Taylor Swift - Love Story song comes on and it drives me batty. My friends laugh their asses off at me as I explain why songs with such gross inacuracies and poor grammar annoy me. Love Story being one of these - SHAKESPEARE DID NOT WRITE LOVE STORIES; he had three genres he stuck with: tragedy (Romeo and Juliet), histories (Henry IV), and comedies (The Merry Wives of Windsor). They argue that she was a young girl when she wrote the song and it kind of is a love story. No, no, no!!!!! If you are going to write about something and stick it out into the world - you better know what you are talking about! Come on -it annoys the hell out of me and I can't stand it. I do not know why this is really, but I have it has something to do with my anal demeanor and love of Shakespeare. I also cannot handle songs with poor grammar. I happen to like All Summer Long by Kid Rock; however, I can not stand it! I have to change the song after a bit...mainly the part where he says "the way the moonlight shined upon her hair". Really!!! Really, come on! That is such crap. Saying: shone (which is correct) sounds just as nice...actually, about a bazillion times better. I can handle slang and dropping parts of words - I can handle hangin' with the bros or swingin' by the park, but really, get your tenses correct. I guess I will just extremely anal and have to plug my ears when crap songs come on the radio.

Ain't No Sunshine

Ok, so my outlook on life isn't that horrible; but I am beginning to feel a little bogged down. Some massive betrayals in the lives of people I dearly love have me a little jaded (beyond what I already was...is a little hard to be, but it happens/happened). I feel a little down on life, but looking through some of my photos and playing card games with my family helps me remember that life is about loving the things you have and not constantly being discontent in that "transition" to greatness or achievement.

I am so greatly blessed that it sometimes stuns me to see it - other times I can blow right over it. I am so blessed - just look at all these photos of the wonderful people in my life, the ones I have chanced to meet, the places I have gone, the things I have seen, the beauty of the world as it can truly be!

In other news: The man of my life this week has been my little bundle of joy: Levi! I love my nephew SOOOOOOOOO much, sometimes it is painful! I have snacked on brownies most of the day instead of eating a single healthy thing and I have done nothing towards my career goals this week! I am so on target with my life goals this week!

I don't really care though - I was more than willing to put off these things of little consequence to be with someone who really matters to me at a point in time when they really needed someone. I was happy to be there!

Transitions

Why does it seem that life always just seems to be one transition to the next? Why am I always looking towards another time in my life when life will be happy and "perfect". It seems like a lot of people I know are living life in a "transitional" stage. I understand that we all have to be constantly adapting and changing and transitioning with our environments and that it is a good thing to have goals and things to strive for - but it seems like we are stuck in thinking that we have to drudge through the hard stuff to get to that state of Nirvana only to find out that it isn't the final stopping point. My life will be better when I lose those 20 pounds finally, my life will be better when I finally can speak French well, my life will be better when I get an important job, my life will be better when I meet the love of my life, my life will be better when I........fill in the blank. I want to stop living my life in the "transition" of being grumpy or unhappy with life until I "get to where I am going." I want to be happy as I float on the breeze of life to where I am heading. If anything in my life recently has taught me anything is: you can't have any idea where the wind will blow you to and if a freak blast won't turn up out of the blue to knock you completely off course and unto your butt!

Fuck it

Well, I have done nothing but fuck up today, so there is nothing new there. Hello Black sheep - nice to see you again! I can say the nicest (yeah, I know now how Mr. Tillney would hate my use of "nice") thing that happened today during my massive fuck-up-ishness was that I met a nice Scottish guy and talked to him for about 15 minutes (he was the cashier at Target). Joy of joys - the day is over and I am going to drink some tea and pass out and hope that the sun really will come out tomorrow.

Anne Gets Nickeled

This last week I listened to both Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery and Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. I really enjoyed both of these books while I worked away baking, watching soccer games (between my mad cheering), vacuuming, etc. etc. I had seen both of these movies prior to reading these books. As a child I would constantly watch the Anne movies and The Sound of Music - thus, I am a massive Gilbert fan. I want a Gilbert :D It is probably because the movie, Anne of Avonlea, came out the year I was born. I only recently watched Nicholas Nickleby with my sister. The movie is REALLY good, despite the presence of dead babies in one scene...just chilling out on the corner of a building - a coffin full of dead looking babies! It disturbed me to say the least.


Anne was listened to while doing laundry, painting, cooking, and a soccer game. I loved this book and I liked finding the things that were different between the movie and the book. It was kind of amazing to see all the differences. The story of Anne as I knew it turned out to be quite different from the movie. Anne stays at Green Gables, teaches, helps raise adopted twins with Marilla, Mr. Harris is just a friend, and there is not the key rejection that had always shaped my notion of Anne and Gilbert's relationship! This book definitely has its comedic points - I would laugh out loud at the silly things that would happen, like: Mr. Harris's parrot calling Anne a "red headed snip it" at regular intervals, the community hall being painted a brilliant but bawdy blue, the run away cow (still a favorite of mine), and Davy's mischief. I really love this story, it really is just a great and interesting read about the turn of the century. I can't wait to dive into the rest of the Anne series.


Nicholas Nickelby was listened to while driving and doing some various housework while the house was invaded by workmen to replace windows. It took several hours for the windows to be replaced and even a few more hours for warmth to return to my toes - for a windy day in early April is not the most ideal time for having four large holes in your apartment. I think window replacements should be I also enjoyed hearing the differences between the movie version and the book. I was a little confused, I am not sure if I actually got to the end of the book or not, for the book seemed to end rather suddenly. I loved hearing about these characters that I had absolutely come to love while watching them on screen. I like that Dickens novels all end in the perfect story book ending; every one is happy, evil has got its comeuppance and love and virtue have conquered all.

Switch Paris Drugs

So I have watched a few movies this week that I enjoyed/was disturbed by: The Switch, An American in Paris, and Love & Other Drugs.

I really did enjoy the switch. For some odd reason I really like Jason Bateman, so I got this movie. I must be the one odd person in the world who doesn't really like America's girl next door, Jennifer Aniston - but I liked this movie. I thought it was really cute and hilarious. The little boy is absolutely ADORABLE and I love that he is as neurotic as Jason Bateman's character. This is just a feel good movie about mistakes, friendship, and love. Plus, bonus beyond bonus points - the presence of Jeff Goldblum! I have an odd obsession with him :D

I also watched An American in Paris this week and decided I should take up tap dancing...ok, maybe not that much (it hurts bouncing up and down when you have a larger chest). So I decided I'll just watch more Gene Kelly movies. I absolutely fell in love watching this movie. I am actually kind of glad that I waited until after I got back from France to watch this movie - I understood the French and it just made me feel all warm and gooey inside about Paris. The dancing and singing ihttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn this film were enough to have anyone mesmerized and glued to the screen. I'm sure my little brothers could prove me wrong there, but they can't help it that they were forced to watch 7 Brides for 7 Brothers until they wanted to puke (which kind of makes me sad since that movie is AMAZING), so this might explain their aversion to musicals. I think that this movie as a combinations of musical, comedy, love story, and dance recital give it a powerhouse combination of entertainment. I'd say this is a must see for anyone!

Love & Other Drugs...where do I start? It was a pretty good movie and I have already seen a lot of Jake Gyllenhaal in Jarhead (another great movie) but I was totally unprepared to see that much of my Princess Diaries Anne Hathaway. I know she has gone on to do a lot of different kinds of roles since her days as Mia, but holy vache was I not ready to see all that Anne had to offer. Other than the CRAZY amounts of sex present, there was sort of a good message of loving yourself and accepting people for who they are. There was a line that I really loved about needing someone: Jake tells Anne that everyone needs someone to depend on and he needed her and she needed him. It was an ok movie, but I doubt that I will ever waste my time to watch it again.

OMG - MOM JEANS

So here I am ... absolutely exhausted at the end of my day. My dad and mom both went away for the weekend and I am home with the kids. And good Lord in heaven I do not know how they do this - a SECOND time. I shopped for a family of six today and it took me like five hours to get all the stuff. I then had to get home and rush John straight to his...canceled soccer practice - thanks coach for the update, not that I really wanted to leave my little brother to run around in a down pour for an hour while it is barely crackin' 40degrees. I cooked dinner for both my family and another family - luckily, our family dinner wasn't lasagna and cupcakes...I went high brow with the Mac&Cheese and hot dogs! Our dessert of drumsticks and creamsickles totally rocked though. Then we settled down to watch The Pink Panther 2. It was cute and my little brother - who insisted on sharing the recliner with me - could not stop giggling! Tomorrow I have soccer games and practices and baking and cooking - I do no know how my parents work full time jobs and then come home to this full and a half time job. Yikes!

If you can't tell, this "flitty Friday" has nothing to do with celebrities. Frankly, I really just don't give a shit right now about any celebrity gossip. I more want to dedicate this to the real superstars: the moms who take your calls at 5 in the morning because you are in another country and vomiting your guts out, the dad that would secretly do anything for you - even though he doesn't admit it out loud, the sisters who take your call at 2am because you can't breath and are in hysterics because you can't figure out who or what you are supposed to be in this world, the older brother - even though he picks on you, you know he really cares deep down, the little siblings who want your help with their math homework and deal with your frustrated rantings, the little brother who can't wait to go see Harry Potter with you, and the other one who is excited for you to show up to one of his games and just as excited that you decided to stop for a while and read a story to him. Family can be crazy, they are the celebrities of my life.