My, my--how time flies over the holidays. Seems like I am right on time, then I realize it has been five weeks since I last wrote about my adventures. The good news is that I got a ton of stuff done. Let's get started:
#8 Read 3 books.
I decided, after a Thanksgiving trip back to the homestead, that I wanted to re-read some of the books from my childhood. The first was Half Magic. My father would read this to me at night before bed. We must have read it hundreds of times. Reading it again at 35 did not disappoint. I still love the story. It is about 4 children that are not looking forward to their typical humdrum summer. The atypical summer is what they have after they find a magical coin that grants wishes. This would be every child's dream except the wishes granted are half of what the original wish was. For example, if the children wished for a hot fudge sundae, they would receive one half of the delectable treat. You get the picture. Adventure abound, the children learn how to master their wishes and have a great summer.
Also read Angels and Spaceships. This is a compilation of various science fiction stories. All are very good. This book belonged to my Nana, so I guess you could call it an heirloom piece.
Also read The Hideaway Summer. This book was written by my Aunt. Who knew that there was an author in my background. The story is about two kids that are not content with attending summer camp. They take leave from the bus as it stopped at the corner market. They start their trek to the cabin that their grandmother built for them on the back of her property. They stay there for the entire summer and save two raccoons from certain death. They care for the raccoons and eventually set them back into the woods at the end of the summer. They also stop raccoon hunters illegally hunting in the area. Not sure that their plan made a lot of sense, but it is fiction.
#36 Rubbed Mark's feet on Christmas. I also rubbed mom's tootsies after a long day at work. I know I said Mark's toes were the ones I would rub, but I am totally counting mom's rubdown. Feets is feets.
#76 Made a popcorn/cranberry chain for the holidays. I had the pleasure and honor of doing this with my two grandmothers. Let me tell you something--doing stuff like this with your grandparents is priceless. The fact that both told me they did this kind of thing when they were young was not lost on me. This is one of the best things I got to do on my list with two of the best people. Hands down!
#82 Canned Salsa for Christmas gifts. Seeing as my spending budget was nil this year, I had to come up with some things that did not cost a lot of me. Not so easy when the retail world is shoving "buy, buy, buy" down your throat. However, in my necessity to make as much as I could, canning salsa came to be. I made black bean and corn salsa, canned it and gave it to people on my list. I have tried canning in the past only to not be sure of the condition of the contents. Sorry to all my friends last year. This year, I had fool-proof plan. I had a grandma who has been canning for 60 years to guide me down the proper canning path. Let's just say that my technique last year was too long and not the easiest way to go. Under Gma Verona's tutelage, I correctly canned both salsa and chili. Watch out--there will be much canning in my future. Thanks Grandma!
#34 Again, in an attempt to save money, I painted mom a canvas for Christmas. She gave me some Hawaii stickers and a postcard to make her a new page in the Mom Book I gave her a while back. Needless to say, I procrastinated until this year. I used the postcard as a template and painted a extension scene on the canvas. I put the postcard in the middle and used the stickers to accent the piece.
#84 Thirdly, in an attempt to save money, I also made Christmas ornaments for all. I did a lot of different styles: snowman from a lightbulb, antique gold angels with tinsel, painted wood, painted glass bulbs with filling, paper snowflakes, paper mache stars and paper origami balls. I even kept some for myself and used them on the tree at the parents' casa.
#95 Instead of adopting three Salvation Army Angels, I decided to adopt three seniors for Christmas this year. I went through the Home Instead organization. Got them heating units, socks, puzzle magazines, a calendar and a notepad. Even though we don't have a lot this year, it feels good to give to those who have even less.
#72 Gave $30.00 to people on the street. A lady from the neighborhood came into the driveway just as I was about to wash the car. She said she needed money and was willing to do a job in exchange for it. I had her wash the car, because I hate to do it. All I had was $20, so that is what I gave her. Also gave $10.00 to the bell ringers for the Salvation Army. I know it is so easy to ignore and keep walking, but sometimes it is better to put the money in the kettle.
#74 Listened to 2 more CD's
Van Halen--not sure which one, but it rocked.
Hell Yeah--This sucked. So manic--sometimes I question my husband's early music choices.
#40 Watched some movies:
Godfather I & II--Yes, I am now part of the club that understands the meaning of the horse head in the bed. I can't surmise these movies because they are 8 hours of the best movie making ever. The writing, acting, directing, costumes, cinematography are all excellent. I did not realize the star power in these films--Keaton, Pacino, Caan, Brando, Vigoda, Duvall, DeNiro. Amazing! How have I lived my life until now without seeing these films? It is just sad.
All About Eve: Aspiring actress Eve Harrington maneuvers her way into the lives of Broadway star Margo Channing, playwright Lloyd Richards and director Bill Sampson. This classic story of ambition and betrayal has become part of American folklore. Bette Davis claims to have based her character on the persona of film actress Talullah Bankhead. Davis' line "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night" is legendary, but, in fact, all of the film's dialog sparkles with equal brilliance. Bette Davis was stunning. An interesting fact about this flick, the producers thought it would flop because the plot was centered around ambitious women trying to further their careers without the influence of men. This was practically unheard of in the 1950's. The film became a success and is sometimes credited with sparking the beginning of the women's lib movement.
The Last Picture Show.: Great flick about a small Texas town that is slowly moving into the wrong side of oblivion. The residents are divided into the ones desperate to get out and the ones that are content in going down with the town. For a dying-town movie, there was intrigue and an Mrs. Robinson situation, fisty-cuffs, deaths, and even full frontal nudity. Naughty, naughty!
Midnight Cowboy: Flick follows a naive male prostitute and his sickly friend as they struggle to survive on the streets of New York City. Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman are amazing in this movie. Poor Joe Buck could not get the dough from the ladies and he gets taken by Rizzo, Dustin Hoffman who sends him to an extreme bible thumper instead of a pimp. Joe Buck is that naive that he befriends Rizzo and lives with him in his condemned building. They get tired of NY City and make a final journey to Florida. Striking similarities between the party scene in this move and the graveyard scene in Easy Rider. They were both made in 1969, so maybe it is not coincidence.
That is enough--my fingers are tired.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Week 72
It has been well over a month and I fear that I have neglected updating the blog. Things just start piling up this time of year in the house. That being said, I have been doing stuff.
#8 Read Murder at the Brown Palace. This is a true account of two affairs and murder at the infamous Brown Palace in Denver in the 1920's. Isabel Springer is a socialite that lives the high life courtesy of her wealthy husband. She has an affair with Tony Von Phul, the hot head, and Frank Henwood, the ticking time bomb. Isabel wants to dump Tony and enlists the help of Henwood to break the news and get back love letters that she wrote to Von Phul. Tensions arise between the two men and threats are made. Henwood, the physical weaker of the two, gets pushed by Henwood and comes back firing with a gun in a crowded bar. He kills Henwood and another bystander. He is convicted of murder and sent to jail. He maintained his innocence, claiming self-defense. He was granted Executive Clemency only to return to jail one year later for a parole violation. He dies in jail. What happened to Isabel? She was divorced by her husband, shunned by the socialite group, and died penniless. There are loads of details that I am leaving out. You should read the book to get the complete scoop.
#29 Had lunch with lunch/coffee with lots of friends.
Coffee with Cathy. Bluebird Cafe has the best scones. For the record, they also make the best cupcakes ever!!
Lunch with Michelle. Got her before the rush of holiday. Might not see her for a while, so the time together was good. Stupid holiday season takes my retail friends away.
Lunch with Rita. Introduced her to Pom's. She loved it.
Lunch with Melissa. Graffiti Junction for burgers and beer. It was a beautiful day, so we sat outside. I am the only person in Florida who gets a sunburn from sitting on a patio for an hour. Stupid sun!
#72 Gave $5.00 to a gentlemen in the Fedex parking lot. He did try to wash my window. I just gave him the money. His rag looked dirtier than my windshield.
#74 Listened to 2 CD's.
Guns N Roses--The Spaghetti Incident. Really, Axl? Can you say trying to fulfill the record contract??
Heart-Greatest Hits. Good Album. Great band. Kudos to the lady rockers. We need more of them.
#11 While technically this was not a dinner party, I cooked enough food to feed an army at our Halloween party. Cook it and they will come. This is very true. There was not a crumb of food left on the table at the end of the night. Made hummus(Pureed brain matter), pulled pork(Dragon toes), veggie trays(Mark's worst nightmare), bruchette(Attack of the killer tomatoes), black bean and corn salsa(Rotting troll teeth), roasted whole garlic(Vampire's Bane), brownies(Death by chocolate), vanilla cake with raspberry/white chocolate filling(Painting the roses red) and spicy peanuts(El Diablo). As you can see, I also had fun with the names.
#36 Gave Mark a foot rub after the Orlando Open Disc Golf Tournament. He loves playing tournaments. He knows when he comes home he will have drink waiting for him, a steak on the table and hands ready to rub his barking dogs.
#93 Made a drum key necklace from a . . . drum key. It was Mark's first drum key. It is not usable in its original capacity because it has cracked, but it works just dandy on a chain around my neck.
#99 The unhung artwork is up on the walls as best we can. Living in a 1940's bungalow in downtown Orlando lacks two things--wall space and closet space.
#3 Wrote thank you notes to Grandma for her anniversary gift. Thank you Grandma!
Wrote thank you note to Michele for all of her support during Halloween Hell Week. Thank you Easter Bunny!
Wrote a thank you note to Alan for his generous donation of homemade pumpkin ice cream into our freezer. My taste buds say thank you, my waistline says more yoga. So good.
#35 Wrote lots of love notes to my honey. I will have to paraphrase because I gave him a lot.
Made Sunday morning breakfast as usual. I used the pancake batter to write " I ((heart)) U". Everyone knows that pancakes taste better when they are in shapes and letters.
Basic post-it note on the computer screen. Yes, I know. No creativity, but sometimes you just need to say it and not be frilly.
Wrote him a "classroom" note complete with check boxes. I was slightly giddy wondering what answer he would pick. At least he did not dip my pigtails in the inkwell.
Slicing cucumbers for the veggie tray at the party. I used the end of the cucumber and carved out an I, a heart and a U. Thank goodness I did not lose a finger over this one.
Mark started his new job and complained about the quality of the TP and compared tit to tree bark. After he went to bed, I grabbed a roll of our uber soft Cottenelle and told him that I loved all of him, including his tush. He should take softer care of it. The roll is still sitting on his desk where it is doing the most good.
Went to Cocoa with Michele for a weekend. Mark and I are not beach people, so we were slightly out of our element. We like the cover of night and dingy bars. Anywho, I wrote a love note to him in the sand. It lasted for 1 minute when the surf came in and washed it away. Stupid wave!
Wrote I love you on his crammed calendar. Not sure how I found an empty spot. Wrote it in yellow highlighter. He did not see it for a week until I said something about. How did that work out for me?
#8 Read Murder at the Brown Palace. This is a true account of two affairs and murder at the infamous Brown Palace in Denver in the 1920's. Isabel Springer is a socialite that lives the high life courtesy of her wealthy husband. She has an affair with Tony Von Phul, the hot head, and Frank Henwood, the ticking time bomb. Isabel wants to dump Tony and enlists the help of Henwood to break the news and get back love letters that she wrote to Von Phul. Tensions arise between the two men and threats are made. Henwood, the physical weaker of the two, gets pushed by Henwood and comes back firing with a gun in a crowded bar. He kills Henwood and another bystander. He is convicted of murder and sent to jail. He maintained his innocence, claiming self-defense. He was granted Executive Clemency only to return to jail one year later for a parole violation. He dies in jail. What happened to Isabel? She was divorced by her husband, shunned by the socialite group, and died penniless. There are loads of details that I am leaving out. You should read the book to get the complete scoop.
#29 Had lunch with lunch/coffee with lots of friends.
Coffee with Cathy. Bluebird Cafe has the best scones. For the record, they also make the best cupcakes ever!!
Lunch with Michelle. Got her before the rush of holiday. Might not see her for a while, so the time together was good. Stupid holiday season takes my retail friends away.
Lunch with Rita. Introduced her to Pom's. She loved it.
Lunch with Melissa. Graffiti Junction for burgers and beer. It was a beautiful day, so we sat outside. I am the only person in Florida who gets a sunburn from sitting on a patio for an hour. Stupid sun!
#72 Gave $5.00 to a gentlemen in the Fedex parking lot. He did try to wash my window. I just gave him the money. His rag looked dirtier than my windshield.
#74 Listened to 2 CD's.
Guns N Roses--The Spaghetti Incident. Really, Axl? Can you say trying to fulfill the record contract??
Heart-Greatest Hits. Good Album. Great band. Kudos to the lady rockers. We need more of them.
#11 While technically this was not a dinner party, I cooked enough food to feed an army at our Halloween party. Cook it and they will come. This is very true. There was not a crumb of food left on the table at the end of the night. Made hummus(Pureed brain matter), pulled pork(Dragon toes), veggie trays(Mark's worst nightmare), bruchette(Attack of the killer tomatoes), black bean and corn salsa(Rotting troll teeth), roasted whole garlic(Vampire's Bane), brownies(Death by chocolate), vanilla cake with raspberry/white chocolate filling(Painting the roses red) and spicy peanuts(El Diablo). As you can see, I also had fun with the names.
#36 Gave Mark a foot rub after the Orlando Open Disc Golf Tournament. He loves playing tournaments. He knows when he comes home he will have drink waiting for him, a steak on the table and hands ready to rub his barking dogs.
#93 Made a drum key necklace from a . . . drum key. It was Mark's first drum key. It is not usable in its original capacity because it has cracked, but it works just dandy on a chain around my neck.
#99 The unhung artwork is up on the walls as best we can. Living in a 1940's bungalow in downtown Orlando lacks two things--wall space and closet space.
#3 Wrote thank you notes to Grandma for her anniversary gift. Thank you Grandma!
Wrote thank you note to Michele for all of her support during Halloween Hell Week. Thank you Easter Bunny!
Wrote a thank you note to Alan for his generous donation of homemade pumpkin ice cream into our freezer. My taste buds say thank you, my waistline says more yoga. So good.
#35 Wrote lots of love notes to my honey. I will have to paraphrase because I gave him a lot.
Made Sunday morning breakfast as usual. I used the pancake batter to write " I ((heart)) U". Everyone knows that pancakes taste better when they are in shapes and letters.
Basic post-it note on the computer screen. Yes, I know. No creativity, but sometimes you just need to say it and not be frilly.
Wrote him a "classroom" note complete with check boxes. I was slightly giddy wondering what answer he would pick. At least he did not dip my pigtails in the inkwell.
Slicing cucumbers for the veggie tray at the party. I used the end of the cucumber and carved out an I, a heart and a U. Thank goodness I did not lose a finger over this one.
Mark started his new job and complained about the quality of the TP and compared tit to tree bark. After he went to bed, I grabbed a roll of our uber soft Cottenelle and told him that I loved all of him, including his tush. He should take softer care of it. The roll is still sitting on his desk where it is doing the most good.
Went to Cocoa with Michele for a weekend. Mark and I are not beach people, so we were slightly out of our element. We like the cover of night and dingy bars. Anywho, I wrote a love note to him in the sand. It lasted for 1 minute when the surf came in and washed it away. Stupid wave!
Wrote I love you on his crammed calendar. Not sure how I found an empty spot. Wrote it in yellow highlighter. He did not see it for a week until I said something about. How did that work out for me?
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Week 64
My completion list this post is really long. Yeah!!
#3 Wrote thank you notes to K and P, and B and K for covering our trip to West Virginia earlier this year. For the record, we did not expect it, but we took the generosity and said thank you. Sometimes you have to do that.
#8 Read Twisted. This was a compilation book that contained interesting facts and tidbits about unusual things in history. It was OK. It was a little manic for me.
#11 Hosted poker teach night at the house. B and S came over and we taught them Hold-em poker. Made some yummy apps and served drinks. Rousing success.
#29 Had a great lunch with S at Pom's. Is there any place else to have lunch with a good friend? I think not!
#35 Gave Mark two love notes. First one was the first phone call made and received on our new, shiny phones. Just a quick RAWR (dinosaur for I Love You) and I hung up. The second one was made in my latest issue of Budget Travel Magazine. I picked three pages and drew an illustration of "I" filled with all of the things that he and I do together. The "Love" was a big heart filled with various synonyms for love. The "You" was actually a ewe that looked a little like a fat poodle. Hey, I never said I was an artist, but I do really well at Pictionary.
#40 Watched Raging Bull. I always like seeing Pesci and DeNiro together in a movie and this was no exception. The dialog was realistic and did not sound written. It was like watching two guys hanging out and a camera happened to be there. DeNiro is a boxer. Pesci is his brother/ringman. As a boxer, DeNiro has ups and downs. He battles opponents both in the ring and out. Personal demons in the form of drinking, paranoia and jealousy overpower him and he eventually succumbs to life's TKO. He loses his title, brother, wife, kids, post-ring bar business, and his freedom. Eventually, he comes out the other end. He becomes a stand-up comedian. Great flick. Definite rewatch!
#58 Made a new 101 List. It will be tweaked here and there, but the core is done and ready to implement next year.
#61 Fixed the issue in the hallway. Okay, I'll say it. We had a mold issue. Not sure if it was the deadly black mold, but it sure looked bad. I went down to HD and bought some mold killer that is supposed to take out the mold and make sure it does not come back. I thought it was going to be a huge hassle of spraying, scrubbing, coughing, and back-bending. Actually, all I did was spray and do a quick wipedown. It took 10 minutes. Who knew? If I knew it could be this simple, I would have done this a long time ago.
#74 Listened to a lot of CD's this time:
Labrador--Rantings of a Lunatic. The title of the album says it all. This album sounded like it was written by a lunatic. It went from rock to jazz to reggae to salsa. Not to mention, it was badly produced. Icky.
David Gilmour--About Face. Very good. I liked that this album did not scream Pink Floyd.
John Fogerty--Premonition. Didn't expect it to be so pop-y. But, it did not suck!
Incubus--Morning View. I was expecting a little more rock. It was more soft then what I remember.
Guns N Roses--Appetite for Destruction. Not my favorite band, but this is one of my favorite albums. For me, this album turned rock on its ears and said F%$# You. Great music. Unfortunately, the rest of GNR's albums were subpar in comparison.
Guns N Roses--Use your Illusion I & II. See last line in above comment
Guns N Roses--GNR Lies. Not as bad as UYI I&II, but not Appetite for Destruction either.
Green Jello--Cereal Killer Soundtrack. I dug this album for the creativity. Little Pig is the song that people will recognize, but the whole album was very good.
Gin Blossoms--New Miserable Experience. Never been a big GB fan.
Flow--All of a Sudden. I can't talk about this one. Mark thinks this CD is from a band that wanted him to play with them in Austin. Thank God he didn't.
Dream Theater--A Change of Season. Great album. The only original song is a 23 minute opus filled with stirring lyrics and face-melting guitar solos. The rest of the album are covers of Elton John, Led Zepplin, Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, Pink Floyd, Kansas, Journey, and Queen. What else do you need?
#81 Ding dong Bright House is gone! Which old House? Crap Bright House.
I cannot begin to tell you how glad I am to be out from under the Bright House Cable thumb. They suck. I can't get into it here, because I am trying to release and move on. I will say if you have U-Verse in your area, get it immediately. They are cheaper, have BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE, and you get more for your buck.
#3 Wrote thank you notes to K and P, and B and K for covering our trip to West Virginia earlier this year. For the record, we did not expect it, but we took the generosity and said thank you. Sometimes you have to do that.
#8 Read Twisted. This was a compilation book that contained interesting facts and tidbits about unusual things in history. It was OK. It was a little manic for me.
#11 Hosted poker teach night at the house. B and S came over and we taught them Hold-em poker. Made some yummy apps and served drinks. Rousing success.
#29 Had a great lunch with S at Pom's. Is there any place else to have lunch with a good friend? I think not!
#35 Gave Mark two love notes. First one was the first phone call made and received on our new, shiny phones. Just a quick RAWR (dinosaur for I Love You) and I hung up. The second one was made in my latest issue of Budget Travel Magazine. I picked three pages and drew an illustration of "I" filled with all of the things that he and I do together. The "Love" was a big heart filled with various synonyms for love. The "You" was actually a ewe that looked a little like a fat poodle. Hey, I never said I was an artist, but I do really well at Pictionary.
#40 Watched Raging Bull. I always like seeing Pesci and DeNiro together in a movie and this was no exception. The dialog was realistic and did not sound written. It was like watching two guys hanging out and a camera happened to be there. DeNiro is a boxer. Pesci is his brother/ringman. As a boxer, DeNiro has ups and downs. He battles opponents both in the ring and out. Personal demons in the form of drinking, paranoia and jealousy overpower him and he eventually succumbs to life's TKO. He loses his title, brother, wife, kids, post-ring bar business, and his freedom. Eventually, he comes out the other end. He becomes a stand-up comedian. Great flick. Definite rewatch!
#58 Made a new 101 List. It will be tweaked here and there, but the core is done and ready to implement next year.
#61 Fixed the issue in the hallway. Okay, I'll say it. We had a mold issue. Not sure if it was the deadly black mold, but it sure looked bad. I went down to HD and bought some mold killer that is supposed to take out the mold and make sure it does not come back. I thought it was going to be a huge hassle of spraying, scrubbing, coughing, and back-bending. Actually, all I did was spray and do a quick wipedown. It took 10 minutes. Who knew? If I knew it could be this simple, I would have done this a long time ago.
#74 Listened to a lot of CD's this time:
Labrador--Rantings of a Lunatic. The title of the album says it all. This album sounded like it was written by a lunatic. It went from rock to jazz to reggae to salsa. Not to mention, it was badly produced. Icky.
David Gilmour--About Face. Very good. I liked that this album did not scream Pink Floyd.
John Fogerty--Premonition. Didn't expect it to be so pop-y. But, it did not suck!
Incubus--Morning View. I was expecting a little more rock. It was more soft then what I remember.
Guns N Roses--Appetite for Destruction. Not my favorite band, but this is one of my favorite albums. For me, this album turned rock on its ears and said F%$# You. Great music. Unfortunately, the rest of GNR's albums were subpar in comparison.
Guns N Roses--Use your Illusion I & II. See last line in above comment
Guns N Roses--GNR Lies. Not as bad as UYI I&II, but not Appetite for Destruction either.
Green Jello--Cereal Killer Soundtrack. I dug this album for the creativity. Little Pig is the song that people will recognize, but the whole album was very good.
Gin Blossoms--New Miserable Experience. Never been a big GB fan.
Flow--All of a Sudden. I can't talk about this one. Mark thinks this CD is from a band that wanted him to play with them in Austin. Thank God he didn't.
Dream Theater--A Change of Season. Great album. The only original song is a 23 minute opus filled with stirring lyrics and face-melting guitar solos. The rest of the album are covers of Elton John, Led Zepplin, Deep Purple, Dixie Dregs, Pink Floyd, Kansas, Journey, and Queen. What else do you need?
#81 Ding dong Bright House is gone! Which old House? Crap Bright House.
I cannot begin to tell you how glad I am to be out from under the Bright House Cable thumb. They suck. I can't get into it here, because I am trying to release and move on. I will say if you have U-Verse in your area, get it immediately. They are cheaper, have BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE, and you get more for your buck.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Week 61
OMG! I am on time this week. I got a lot done so I feel very motivated to write it down.
#40--I watched three movies this week.
The first was The Apartment. Great flick. The movie showcases Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine as co-workers in an insurance firm. She is the elevator attendant and he works on the 19th floor. They casually flirt and make small talk, but it never goes anywhere until Fred MacMillian starts to complicate things. The movie also stars the apartment that Jack lives in. Normally, I would not call an inanimate object a star, but the pad plays a huge role. Jack wants to move up in the firm, so he allows the execs to "spend an evening" with their mistresses in his apartment. Things are copacetic until Fred brings Shirley to the place. Drama ensues involving some sleeping pills, a nosy neighbor and a rummy game. In the end Jack gets the girl, loses his job, moves to a new place and finishes the rummy game.
Mark and I watched The Graduate. So, I had no idea what to expect from this flick. I kept singing "Here's to you Mrs. Robinson" in anticipation of watching it. I was not disappointed. This movie was slightly manic so the best way to describe it is as follows: Boy graduates. Boy gets seduced by his older neighbor. Boy is nervous, but eventually "graduates". Affair continues. Boy meets seductress' daughter. Boys falls for daughter. Seductress gets uber, crazy jealous. Girl almost marries a dolt. Boy stops the wedding. Seductress screams that it is too late, but we know it is not. Boy and girl make a mad dash out of the chapel and ride the public bus off into the sunset. Whew! So that scene in Wayne's World 2 makes way more sense now.
I watched American Graffiti. Great insight into the 60's. There was great music, sexy cars, sock hops, car hops, drag racing, girl chasing, car stealing, water balloon throwing, and Wolfman Jack. What else do you need?
#47 With the advice from my cousin, I went vegetarian last week. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I had some great dinners and, everyone hold on to something, Mark ate the veggie dishes I made. He only relented one night when he had chicken soup. I made vegetarian chili with corn masa stacks, spicy veggie wraps with chickpeas and spinach, and enchiladas made with tofu. Mark and I could be persuaded to eat like this more often. Of course, I do like my steak and pork, but a veggie night every so often is good too.
#74 Listened to the following cd's.
Extreme--3 Sides to Every Story. Sucked. I am concerned that Mark has this.
Genghis Angus--12 Days. Sucked. Christian Rock. This was a local band that asked Mark to play with them. He said no, but we still have the CD.
Gathering Field--Lost in America. See above description of Genghis Angus.
KISS--Revenge. This was the album they took their makeup off for. It was weird and not KISS. It was way over-produced and clean for them. KISS, take my advice. Keep the Starchild!
The Dead Weather. This is Jack White's newest incarnation. This was the only saving grace of music yesterday. This band is great. They get very organic and juicy with their music. If you have not heard them, you need to put down what you are doing, get off the computer, and immediately get a cd. It will change you. At least go to ITunes. We saw them live at Jazz Fest in New Orleans this year. Great show!
#73 I learned to shuffle poker chips. I am up to 12 chips total. It only took me 2 months and a couple of hand cramps, but now I will be feared at the poker table. The power is in my hands!!
I will distract my opponents with the quickness and accuracy of my shuffle. The rhythmic sound will put any player into a trance, after which I will take all their chips. Fear me! Muwahahahaha muhahahaha muwahahaha! Sorry, I got carried away. I am sure my ability to shuffle chips will have no affect on the tables. Or will it......?
#40--I watched three movies this week.
The first was The Apartment. Great flick. The movie showcases Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine as co-workers in an insurance firm. She is the elevator attendant and he works on the 19th floor. They casually flirt and make small talk, but it never goes anywhere until Fred MacMillian starts to complicate things. The movie also stars the apartment that Jack lives in. Normally, I would not call an inanimate object a star, but the pad plays a huge role. Jack wants to move up in the firm, so he allows the execs to "spend an evening" with their mistresses in his apartment. Things are copacetic until Fred brings Shirley to the place. Drama ensues involving some sleeping pills, a nosy neighbor and a rummy game. In the end Jack gets the girl, loses his job, moves to a new place and finishes the rummy game.
Mark and I watched The Graduate. So, I had no idea what to expect from this flick. I kept singing "Here's to you Mrs. Robinson" in anticipation of watching it. I was not disappointed. This movie was slightly manic so the best way to describe it is as follows: Boy graduates. Boy gets seduced by his older neighbor. Boy is nervous, but eventually "graduates". Affair continues. Boy meets seductress' daughter. Boys falls for daughter. Seductress gets uber, crazy jealous. Girl almost marries a dolt. Boy stops the wedding. Seductress screams that it is too late, but we know it is not. Boy and girl make a mad dash out of the chapel and ride the public bus off into the sunset. Whew! So that scene in Wayne's World 2 makes way more sense now.
I watched American Graffiti. Great insight into the 60's. There was great music, sexy cars, sock hops, car hops, drag racing, girl chasing, car stealing, water balloon throwing, and Wolfman Jack. What else do you need?
#47 With the advice from my cousin, I went vegetarian last week. It wasn't as bad as I thought. I had some great dinners and, everyone hold on to something, Mark ate the veggie dishes I made. He only relented one night when he had chicken soup. I made vegetarian chili with corn masa stacks, spicy veggie wraps with chickpeas and spinach, and enchiladas made with tofu. Mark and I could be persuaded to eat like this more often. Of course, I do like my steak and pork, but a veggie night every so often is good too.
#74 Listened to the following cd's.
Extreme--3 Sides to Every Story. Sucked. I am concerned that Mark has this.
Genghis Angus--12 Days. Sucked. Christian Rock. This was a local band that asked Mark to play with them. He said no, but we still have the CD.
Gathering Field--Lost in America. See above description of Genghis Angus.
KISS--Revenge. This was the album they took their makeup off for. It was weird and not KISS. It was way over-produced and clean for them. KISS, take my advice. Keep the Starchild!
The Dead Weather. This is Jack White's newest incarnation. This was the only saving grace of music yesterday. This band is great. They get very organic and juicy with their music. If you have not heard them, you need to put down what you are doing, get off the computer, and immediately get a cd. It will change you. At least go to ITunes. We saw them live at Jazz Fest in New Orleans this year. Great show!
#73 I learned to shuffle poker chips. I am up to 12 chips total. It only took me 2 months and a couple of hand cramps, but now I will be feared at the poker table. The power is in my hands!!
I will distract my opponents with the quickness and accuracy of my shuffle. The rhythmic sound will put any player into a trance, after which I will take all their chips. Fear me! Muwahahahaha muhahahaha muwahahaha! Sorry, I got carried away. I am sure my ability to shuffle chips will have no affect on the tables. Or will it......?
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Week 60
So, I barely made it in under the gun for posting at least every month. I have been traveling and working, so extra time has been a luxury.
Anywho, let's get this going.
#1 Finished my traveling. California, Portland, Virginia and West Virginia. I have lots of space taken up in my travel journal. I am trying to write down as many details as possible, but let's face it, writing every detail gets tedious. I keep telling myself in 50 years, I will be thankful that I did the extra mile.
#8 Read The Girls Who Went Away. The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe V. Wade. It was a long read, but it was very good. The title says it all. It chronicles the stories of women who were forced to give up their babies because they were unwed and young. They would get sent to a "home" where they stayed until term. The babies were taken after a week and sometimes immediately. Young moms were told all kinds of lies about their children--where they ended up, the contact they could have, the repercussions of a forced adoption for both the mom and their child. Roe v. Wade not only gave a woman a choice to mature the pregnancy, it also made these kind of "adoptions" illegal. Again, excellent read.
#29 Had lunch with J. McGrath at Pom's. Yum. Also celebrated Bill's birthday at Dexter's. Since I have now joined the Book, I reconnected with my NY&Co girls. We had a great happy hour at Dexter's . Honestly, we probably had enough for 3 happy hours. I met up with the Disc Golf Widows Club for happy hour. Happy hour is my favorite two-word phrase where both words begin with H. It's fun.
#35 Gave Mark two love notes this month. The first came about when we were looking at wedding photos for the album, yes I know this is way late! Anywho, I printed two pics on the laser printer for mom to check the size. On one of them, I wrote Love Ya and sent it across the desk. It is now taped to the back of my computer monitor and Mark looks at it every day. AWWW! Ok, stop. The second happened when Mark was doing a work marathon for his new client and he said he need quiet, which is almost impossible. So I wrote him a note that said "I am trying to be quiet. Just wanted to say I love you. The only noise that I will make is when I crinkle up this paper and throw it at you" He laughed and all was right with the world.
#36 Gave Mark a foot rub as we watched M*A*S*H
#40 Watched M*A*S*H. It was funny, but in a dry satirical way. It ended fast. I mean the climax of the movie was a football game. Now, I am not a shoot-em-up kind of girl, but this was a war movie dealing with the surgical side of the war. I guess I was expecting a Saving Private Ryan moment that never came. I will say that Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould were perfect in their roles of BJ and Hawkeye. Loved them. I never watched the show, so I was a virgin to the whole experience.
Also watched Easy Rider. Slow burn, but the last 15 minutes of the movie makes it awesome. The whole trippy scene in New Orleans and the asses in the truck. I was not expecting the ending at all. It threw me for a loop, but that is what made this movie great. Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson were yummy to watch. As for my friend, Dennis Hopper, rest in peace.
Anywho, let's get this going.
#1 Finished my traveling. California, Portland, Virginia and West Virginia. I have lots of space taken up in my travel journal. I am trying to write down as many details as possible, but let's face it, writing every detail gets tedious. I keep telling myself in 50 years, I will be thankful that I did the extra mile.
#8 Read The Girls Who Went Away. The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe V. Wade. It was a long read, but it was very good. The title says it all. It chronicles the stories of women who were forced to give up their babies because they were unwed and young. They would get sent to a "home" where they stayed until term. The babies were taken after a week and sometimes immediately. Young moms were told all kinds of lies about their children--where they ended up, the contact they could have, the repercussions of a forced adoption for both the mom and their child. Roe v. Wade not only gave a woman a choice to mature the pregnancy, it also made these kind of "adoptions" illegal. Again, excellent read.
#29 Had lunch with J. McGrath at Pom's. Yum. Also celebrated Bill's birthday at Dexter's. Since I have now joined the Book, I reconnected with my NY&Co girls. We had a great happy hour at Dexter's . Honestly, we probably had enough for 3 happy hours. I met up with the Disc Golf Widows Club for happy hour. Happy hour is my favorite two-word phrase where both words begin with H. It's fun.
#35 Gave Mark two love notes this month. The first came about when we were looking at wedding photos for the album, yes I know this is way late! Anywho, I printed two pics on the laser printer for mom to check the size. On one of them, I wrote Love Ya and sent it across the desk. It is now taped to the back of my computer monitor and Mark looks at it every day. AWWW! Ok, stop. The second happened when Mark was doing a work marathon for his new client and he said he need quiet, which is almost impossible. So I wrote him a note that said "I am trying to be quiet. Just wanted to say I love you. The only noise that I will make is when I crinkle up this paper and throw it at you" He laughed and all was right with the world.
#36 Gave Mark a foot rub as we watched M*A*S*H
#40 Watched M*A*S*H. It was funny, but in a dry satirical way. It ended fast. I mean the climax of the movie was a football game. Now, I am not a shoot-em-up kind of girl, but this was a war movie dealing with the surgical side of the war. I guess I was expecting a Saving Private Ryan moment that never came. I will say that Donald Sutherland and Elliot Gould were perfect in their roles of BJ and Hawkeye. Loved them. I never watched the show, so I was a virgin to the whole experience.
Also watched Easy Rider. Slow burn, but the last 15 minutes of the movie makes it awesome. The whole trippy scene in New Orleans and the asses in the truck. I was not expecting the ending at all. It threw me for a loop, but that is what made this movie great. Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson were yummy to watch. As for my friend, Dennis Hopper, rest in peace.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Week 55
Got some big things off the list this week.
#52 Mark and I went to the top of the Washington Monument. If you have never done this and will be visiting the DC area, you need to plan ahead and do this. It was amazing. The view of our nation's capital is stunning. Trust when I tell you to plan ahead. I overheard the security guard tell a tourist that the tickets were out until the end of September. They are free, with the exception of shipping.
#15 Ran a 5K while in Berkeley Springs. We were there for a family vacation. We stayed just outside of the state park that sponsored a 5K charity run/walk for Alzheimer's Research. Karl sponsored my entry fee and Brian, my brother-in-law, ran with me. He finished in just over 30 minutes and I finished in 40. Not a stellar performance, but I finished. Since it was a spur of the moment decision on vacation, I did not have my uber-expensive running shoes. Let me tell you, I paid for that severely for the next three days. Ouch!
#87, 19, 65--Still commited to these things every day. It has actually gotten easier as the months have gone on.
#36 Gave Mark an impromptu foot rub in our room in Reedville while Brian worked on the laptop and we discussed chemical procurement, vacations and conference call attendance. Good times.
#35 Gave Mark two more love notes. One was a renote that made its way back to me and then found its way back to Mark. I love travelling love notes. The second was a sloppy note quickly scrawled on Mark's work list for his logos. It was messy, but that is what made it beautiful.
#52 Mark and I went to the top of the Washington Monument. If you have never done this and will be visiting the DC area, you need to plan ahead and do this. It was amazing. The view of our nation's capital is stunning. Trust when I tell you to plan ahead. I overheard the security guard tell a tourist that the tickets were out until the end of September. They are free, with the exception of shipping.
#15 Ran a 5K while in Berkeley Springs. We were there for a family vacation. We stayed just outside of the state park that sponsored a 5K charity run/walk for Alzheimer's Research. Karl sponsored my entry fee and Brian, my brother-in-law, ran with me. He finished in just over 30 minutes and I finished in 40. Not a stellar performance, but I finished. Since it was a spur of the moment decision on vacation, I did not have my uber-expensive running shoes. Let me tell you, I paid for that severely for the next three days. Ouch!
#87, 19, 65--Still commited to these things every day. It has actually gotten easier as the months have gone on.
#36 Gave Mark an impromptu foot rub in our room in Reedville while Brian worked on the laptop and we discussed chemical procurement, vacations and conference call attendance. Good times.
#35 Gave Mark two more love notes. One was a renote that made its way back to me and then found its way back to Mark. I love travelling love notes. The second was a sloppy note quickly scrawled on Mark's work list for his logos. It was messy, but that is what made it beautiful.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Week 53
Getting ready to hit the road, so this will be short and sweet.
#8: Read Service Included. I got this one as a throw back to my restaurant days. I was expecting all these sordid tales about the inner goings on between the staff and the crazy things that tables ask for that I remembered from my years of waiting tables. It was not like that at all. It was more like a love story. The love between a 5-star place just opening and a waitress who landed a job. It was an interesting read. I will be passing it on to my friend, Michele because I know she will appreciate it as I did.
#35 Two loves to Mark this week. The first one was sent to him on the bottom of the weekly "honey-do" list. Of course, that one got marked off as done. The second got sent in an email. He had a full plate doing some free-lance things and he looked a little frazzled. Let's just say the note got send in the nick of time.
#36 Mark got lots of lovin' this week. Along with his love notes, he also got a foot rub. His dogs were tired after taking first place in his disc golf tourney. He asked, no begged, for a little rub down. Knowing he has sweaty feet, ICK, I hesitated for a minute. Then he gave me the kitten eyes. I sucked it up. He is not making the transition from hating feet to liking feet an easy one.
#40 Watched The Searchers. John Wayne. This is my favorite western so far. It was the only one that I got through in one sitting. John is a crotchety veteran of the Civil War. He doesn't like anybody. He doesn't like his family. He doesn't like the North. He doesn't like the Indians. He doesn't like the town Preacher and Sheriff. He doesn't like the adopted nephew. He doesn't like anybody. Then he gets roped into a search party that tries to locate his niece from the local Comanche Tribe. In the end, he gets his man, Scar. He gets the girl back safe. He gets his adopted nephew back to his love. He gets to tell the sheriff off. He doesn't get his own girl, but he is John Wayne. He is so bad-ass, he doesn't need one.
#75 Booked two non-soccer tournaments this week. We got a baseball tournament, which was a nice surprise because baseball usually doesn't follow a round robin schedule. He saw our boards a Midland and thought they would work. Also booked a lacrosse tournament. This is a sport we want to break into because they do use the same format as soccer. This tournament is put on by a league that does two other tournaments with us. Before we could contact him to offer, he placed the order. We are going in the right direction, which is up!
#8: Read Service Included. I got this one as a throw back to my restaurant days. I was expecting all these sordid tales about the inner goings on between the staff and the crazy things that tables ask for that I remembered from my years of waiting tables. It was not like that at all. It was more like a love story. The love between a 5-star place just opening and a waitress who landed a job. It was an interesting read. I will be passing it on to my friend, Michele because I know she will appreciate it as I did.
#35 Two loves to Mark this week. The first one was sent to him on the bottom of the weekly "honey-do" list. Of course, that one got marked off as done. The second got sent in an email. He had a full plate doing some free-lance things and he looked a little frazzled. Let's just say the note got send in the nick of time.
#36 Mark got lots of lovin' this week. Along with his love notes, he also got a foot rub. His dogs were tired after taking first place in his disc golf tourney. He asked, no begged, for a little rub down. Knowing he has sweaty feet, ICK, I hesitated for a minute. Then he gave me the kitten eyes. I sucked it up. He is not making the transition from hating feet to liking feet an easy one.
#40 Watched The Searchers. John Wayne. This is my favorite western so far. It was the only one that I got through in one sitting. John is a crotchety veteran of the Civil War. He doesn't like anybody. He doesn't like his family. He doesn't like the North. He doesn't like the Indians. He doesn't like the town Preacher and Sheriff. He doesn't like the adopted nephew. He doesn't like anybody. Then he gets roped into a search party that tries to locate his niece from the local Comanche Tribe. In the end, he gets his man, Scar. He gets the girl back safe. He gets his adopted nephew back to his love. He gets to tell the sheriff off. He doesn't get his own girl, but he is John Wayne. He is so bad-ass, he doesn't need one.
#75 Booked two non-soccer tournaments this week. We got a baseball tournament, which was a nice surprise because baseball usually doesn't follow a round robin schedule. He saw our boards a Midland and thought they would work. Also booked a lacrosse tournament. This is a sport we want to break into because they do use the same format as soccer. This tournament is put on by a league that does two other tournaments with us. Before we could contact him to offer, he placed the order. We are going in the right direction, which is up!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Up to Week 52
So, I have been traveling over the last couple of weeks. I am back, but not too much is going on.
Let's see here--
Watched Rocky last week. I have nothing to say about this flick. If you have not seen it, then you should come out from under the rock as I did. It was awesome, even for a Sly Stallone movie. Interesting tidbit, it was written by Rocky himself. Who knew??
I wrote Mark two love notes. One was on the back of a vintage valentine I printed from online. I was working on the outfit for Halloween and came across this great image of two chubby, naked cherubs holding hearts and ribbons. I printed it and cut it out and called it my own. Mark loved it. It was the naked cherubs.
The other note I gave him was written on a postie note that I stapled to a rubber band. I shot the rubber band over to his part of the office. I almost took his eye out, but he got my message none the less. Later, he shot the rubber band back at me, but he hit the blinds instead. The love note is still there.
Read two books--
Beyond the Body Farm is about the first leaps in forensic science. It centers around a pathologist who bought land behind the University of Tennessee. He would place donated cadavers on the land and document all phases of decomp for science. The book doesn't center on the body farm, but more about some of the pivotal cases that he was a part of over the years. In some cases, he determined time of death and cause solely from findings at the body farm. He was also involved in some of the first cases that used teeth and DNA to determine identity. It was a great, but grusome, read.
Love is a Mix Tape. You know you had them. Any respectable kid growing up in the 80's had a full collection of mixed tapes for all kinds of situations--making out, driving, studying, hanging out with friends. Love is a Mix Tape tells the true tale of a young man and his obsession with the almighty mix tape. He tells his story of discovering lust, young love, serious love, lost love, and rediscovering love too the background of seemingly unrelated songs on a grainy TDK. If you grew up in the 80's and 90's and you honor the mixtape, you have to read this book.
Man, I suck. I am out and about over the next couple of weeks, but I am bound and determined to get this blog thing regular.
Let's see here--
Watched Rocky last week. I have nothing to say about this flick. If you have not seen it, then you should come out from under the rock as I did. It was awesome, even for a Sly Stallone movie. Interesting tidbit, it was written by Rocky himself. Who knew??
I wrote Mark two love notes. One was on the back of a vintage valentine I printed from online. I was working on the outfit for Halloween and came across this great image of two chubby, naked cherubs holding hearts and ribbons. I printed it and cut it out and called it my own. Mark loved it. It was the naked cherubs.
The other note I gave him was written on a postie note that I stapled to a rubber band. I shot the rubber band over to his part of the office. I almost took his eye out, but he got my message none the less. Later, he shot the rubber band back at me, but he hit the blinds instead. The love note is still there.
Read two books--
Beyond the Body Farm is about the first leaps in forensic science. It centers around a pathologist who bought land behind the University of Tennessee. He would place donated cadavers on the land and document all phases of decomp for science. The book doesn't center on the body farm, but more about some of the pivotal cases that he was a part of over the years. In some cases, he determined time of death and cause solely from findings at the body farm. He was also involved in some of the first cases that used teeth and DNA to determine identity. It was a great, but grusome, read.
Love is a Mix Tape. You know you had them. Any respectable kid growing up in the 80's had a full collection of mixed tapes for all kinds of situations--making out, driving, studying, hanging out with friends. Love is a Mix Tape tells the true tale of a young man and his obsession with the almighty mix tape. He tells his story of discovering lust, young love, serious love, lost love, and rediscovering love too the background of seemingly unrelated songs on a grainy TDK. If you grew up in the 80's and 90's and you honor the mixtape, you have to read this book.
Man, I suck. I am out and about over the next couple of weeks, but I am bound and determined to get this blog thing regular.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Week 47
So, yeah, I know. It has been long overdue. I will just get to the updates--
3. I wrote many thank you notes. One went to Nana for treating us to Bingo when we visited. One went to dad because he stayed at the bingo all night. One went to mom for just about everything else related to our trip back home. She is a fantastic hostess with the mostess. One went to my friend Tracie. She treated me to drinks and dinner. One went to Michelle for treating dinner during her wedding planning.
8. I finished reading one of the books I have started. I have started, like, at least 5. I just can't seem to finish them quickly. I read "The Murder List". It was ok. It started out with promise as a crime novel, but quickly went down the soft core porn route. The original story was overshadowed by passion and sexy time. It got very boring very quickly. Heck, even the sexy time parts were not very original. "He strode to her in three steps and took her in his arms. Her eyes met his and the spark ignited a passion that could not be quenched. They kissed passionately and fell to bed, blah, blah, blah. We all know how this part ends. Too bad the book didn't end sooner.
32. Went to Jazz Fest in New Orleans. The greatest thing we could have done that weekend. It was awesome to be back home with good people, good music and good food. We saw so many amazing bands. Pearl Jam was packed. Jeff Beck ruled the weekend. The Dead Weather played in crappy weather. B.B. King is still bringing it. We met some friends there and hung out. Mark had never been and it was fun to share this with him.
62. I took a cake decorating class at JoAnn's. It was very entertaining. I learned how to make a smooth finish on the cake, flowers, trims, outlines and the famous Wilton Rose. Since we are trying to eat better, my family and friends got the fruit of my labor.
40. Watched To Kill a Mockingbird. I watched this in high school, but did not care enough to pay attention. This was a great flick. If I was ever on trial for anything, I would totally ask Gregory Peck to be my representation. The movie was moving and poignant.
Watched Unforgiven. Wasn't my favorite. It was about 40 minutes too long and the ending was not what I had built up in my mind. I mean, we are talking about Clint Eastwood and a western movie. Where was the showdown? Where was the high noon standoff? The only thing that came close was the one-sided gun fight in the bar. Not entertaining and kind of a let-down.
Watched The Best Years of Our Lives. Man, this movie was long. 3 hours. I was not sure that I would make it in one sitting, but I did! This was an awesome movie. The story followed three veterans returning home from WWII. They met on the flight home and stayed friends after returning. Each man had his own story and conditions when they came home. One dealt with the fact that his family had survived very well without him and now had to readjust to him being home. One had to deal with a wife of 20 days who became accustomed to earning her own money and spending it. One had to deal with a war injury that replaced his hands with hooks. His family seemed to take it harder than he did because he worked very well with the hooks. In the end, one man's family welcomes their father and husband back, one man's wife runs off with another man, and one man's family accepts him for him and watches him marry his high school sweetheart. Interesting note, the man who played Homer is actually a war vet that did lose his hands in the war. He was approached by the director who saw him in an Air Force instructional video and thought he would be just the thing to put the flick over the top. I would agree.
35. Wrote Mark a love note in the hotel bathroom in New Orleans. It was steamy and he saw it exiting the shower. I also sent him an email while he was working that said Hi Honey in the subject line and had a picture of a dinosaur in the body. He knew exactly what that meant and giggled.
I think that is it. If I forgot something, I will add it next week.
3. I wrote many thank you notes. One went to Nana for treating us to Bingo when we visited. One went to dad because he stayed at the bingo all night. One went to mom for just about everything else related to our trip back home. She is a fantastic hostess with the mostess. One went to my friend Tracie. She treated me to drinks and dinner. One went to Michelle for treating dinner during her wedding planning.
8. I finished reading one of the books I have started. I have started, like, at least 5. I just can't seem to finish them quickly. I read "The Murder List". It was ok. It started out with promise as a crime novel, but quickly went down the soft core porn route. The original story was overshadowed by passion and sexy time. It got very boring very quickly. Heck, even the sexy time parts were not very original. "He strode to her in three steps and took her in his arms. Her eyes met his and the spark ignited a passion that could not be quenched. They kissed passionately and fell to bed, blah, blah, blah. We all know how this part ends. Too bad the book didn't end sooner.
32. Went to Jazz Fest in New Orleans. The greatest thing we could have done that weekend. It was awesome to be back home with good people, good music and good food. We saw so many amazing bands. Pearl Jam was packed. Jeff Beck ruled the weekend. The Dead Weather played in crappy weather. B.B. King is still bringing it. We met some friends there and hung out. Mark had never been and it was fun to share this with him.
62. I took a cake decorating class at JoAnn's. It was very entertaining. I learned how to make a smooth finish on the cake, flowers, trims, outlines and the famous Wilton Rose. Since we are trying to eat better, my family and friends got the fruit of my labor.
40. Watched To Kill a Mockingbird. I watched this in high school, but did not care enough to pay attention. This was a great flick. If I was ever on trial for anything, I would totally ask Gregory Peck to be my representation. The movie was moving and poignant.
Watched Unforgiven. Wasn't my favorite. It was about 40 minutes too long and the ending was not what I had built up in my mind. I mean, we are talking about Clint Eastwood and a western movie. Where was the showdown? Where was the high noon standoff? The only thing that came close was the one-sided gun fight in the bar. Not entertaining and kind of a let-down.
Watched The Best Years of Our Lives. Man, this movie was long. 3 hours. I was not sure that I would make it in one sitting, but I did! This was an awesome movie. The story followed three veterans returning home from WWII. They met on the flight home and stayed friends after returning. Each man had his own story and conditions when they came home. One dealt with the fact that his family had survived very well without him and now had to readjust to him being home. One had to deal with a wife of 20 days who became accustomed to earning her own money and spending it. One had to deal with a war injury that replaced his hands with hooks. His family seemed to take it harder than he did because he worked very well with the hooks. In the end, one man's family welcomes their father and husband back, one man's wife runs off with another man, and one man's family accepts him for him and watches him marry his high school sweetheart. Interesting note, the man who played Homer is actually a war vet that did lose his hands in the war. He was approached by the director who saw him in an Air Force instructional video and thought he would be just the thing to put the flick over the top. I would agree.
35. Wrote Mark a love note in the hotel bathroom in New Orleans. It was steamy and he saw it exiting the shower. I also sent him an email while he was working that said Hi Honey in the subject line and had a picture of a dinosaur in the body. He knew exactly what that meant and giggled.
I think that is it. If I forgot something, I will add it next week.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Up to week 42
Man, I am a total loser. But to be fair, there have been many things happening and they are time-consuming.
I got a lot stuff done!
#20 I got the sewing machine fixed. It was the machine that I used growing up. It have been sitting in storage for I don't know how long. The bobbing case was bad and the tension was not correct. In the end, I was set back about $130, but it was worth it. The machine is a good machine. Even the guy who repaired it was in awe at the sight of it.
#21 I took crochet classes at Joann's. The class was ok. I learned all the things that I was doing incorrectly. No wonder my pattern looked funky and lopsided. Now that I know the correct way to crochet, I will be whipping out scarves, pot-holders, hats and towels.
#24/#25 So the garden is still alive and producing viable produce. Who knew!? I guess my black thumb of death is slowly turning gray. So I am crossing this off while everything is still alive.
#29 Had 4 outings with friends. Went to lunch with Bill, Jen and Sharon to Pom's. Yummy! Had cocktails and apps with Tracie at Lake Eola Wine Company. The bruschette is divine. I had cocktails and apps with Melissa at, wait for it, Lake Eola Wine Company. I can't help it, LEWC is awesome. If someone gives me the choice, that is where I go. I went to the Taste of Winter Park Festival. Tickets were fairly priced and we got them before the "incident" happened. I went with my foodie friend, Cathy. She is always good for trying new foods.
#40 Watched Philadelphia Story. Katherine Hepburn was awesome. Let me tell you, she had her hands everywhere. No man was safe from her charm. She had a fiance, an ex-husband with a sailboat, and a rag-mag reporter at her beck and call. She bounced between all of them and about 5 bottles of champagne. She was a hussy, but a classy hussy. In the end, she sailed back to her ex because she was too wild for the new one.
#66 I completed the Almaniac which is an Old Maltese Challenge. The Old Maltese Challenges are trivia and puzzle contests. This particular one is an 80+ list of questions that can all be answered using only the 2010 Almanac. Most of the questions were pretty straight forward, but some of them were very hard to find. So after weeks and weeks of hunting through the enormous almanac, all the questions were answered. Correctly, I do no know. Only the Old Maltese knows and he's not telling right away.....
#72 I gave a gentleman $9.00 in the parking lot of Joann's. He said he just got out of the hospital and needed money to catch the bus to go home. I gave him some dough and gave him a lift to the nearest bus stop just in time to catch it. He got on the bus and headed home.
#74 Cd's I listened to:
Fleetwood Mac-Greatest Hits: Well, it is Fleetwood Mac, so you know they aren't really rockin', but they are still a classic band. Seeing as this was a greatest hits album, I knew every song.
Flyin' Blind-Flyin' Blind: Mark doesn't even know where this CD came from, which is indicative of the caliber of music that I heard. It was not good. The singer drowned out the rest of the band. They have to be local which means that they are probably not together anymore.
Fuel-Sunburn: Thank goodness I listened to this CD after Flyin' Blind. I need Fuel. They were my rock salvation.
Still flossing, turning off water in the shower, and drinking plenty of water everyday.
So, I will try not to be so lame in the future with posting. Sorry.
I got a lot stuff done!
#20 I got the sewing machine fixed. It was the machine that I used growing up. It have been sitting in storage for I don't know how long. The bobbing case was bad and the tension was not correct. In the end, I was set back about $130, but it was worth it. The machine is a good machine. Even the guy who repaired it was in awe at the sight of it.
#21 I took crochet classes at Joann's. The class was ok. I learned all the things that I was doing incorrectly. No wonder my pattern looked funky and lopsided. Now that I know the correct way to crochet, I will be whipping out scarves, pot-holders, hats and towels.
#24/#25 So the garden is still alive and producing viable produce. Who knew!? I guess my black thumb of death is slowly turning gray. So I am crossing this off while everything is still alive.
#29 Had 4 outings with friends. Went to lunch with Bill, Jen and Sharon to Pom's. Yummy! Had cocktails and apps with Tracie at Lake Eola Wine Company. The bruschette is divine. I had cocktails and apps with Melissa at, wait for it, Lake Eola Wine Company. I can't help it, LEWC is awesome. If someone gives me the choice, that is where I go. I went to the Taste of Winter Park Festival. Tickets were fairly priced and we got them before the "incident" happened. I went with my foodie friend, Cathy. She is always good for trying new foods.
#40 Watched Philadelphia Story. Katherine Hepburn was awesome. Let me tell you, she had her hands everywhere. No man was safe from her charm. She had a fiance, an ex-husband with a sailboat, and a rag-mag reporter at her beck and call. She bounced between all of them and about 5 bottles of champagne. She was a hussy, but a classy hussy. In the end, she sailed back to her ex because she was too wild for the new one.
#66 I completed the Almaniac which is an Old Maltese Challenge. The Old Maltese Challenges are trivia and puzzle contests. This particular one is an 80+ list of questions that can all be answered using only the 2010 Almanac. Most of the questions were pretty straight forward, but some of them were very hard to find. So after weeks and weeks of hunting through the enormous almanac, all the questions were answered. Correctly, I do no know. Only the Old Maltese knows and he's not telling right away.....
#72 I gave a gentleman $9.00 in the parking lot of Joann's. He said he just got out of the hospital and needed money to catch the bus to go home. I gave him some dough and gave him a lift to the nearest bus stop just in time to catch it. He got on the bus and headed home.
#74 Cd's I listened to:
Fleetwood Mac-Greatest Hits: Well, it is Fleetwood Mac, so you know they aren't really rockin', but they are still a classic band. Seeing as this was a greatest hits album, I knew every song.
Flyin' Blind-Flyin' Blind: Mark doesn't even know where this CD came from, which is indicative of the caliber of music that I heard. It was not good. The singer drowned out the rest of the band. They have to be local which means that they are probably not together anymore.
Fuel-Sunburn: Thank goodness I listened to this CD after Flyin' Blind. I need Fuel. They were my rock salvation.
Still flossing, turning off water in the shower, and drinking plenty of water everyday.
So, I will try not to be so lame in the future with posting. Sorry.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Week 39
My oh my--got some stuff done this week.
#35 I planted a love note to my guy. I used Easter as an inspiration. I used one of those plastic eggs, you know the ones that never close correctly, and I wrote Mark a simple note. I told him that he made me "hoppy" Corny? Why yes is was. I put it on his desk on Saturday and he saw it by the end of the night. So the nice thing was the next day I planned a very elaborate Easter dinner. While in the throws of battle in the kitchen, he wrote me a note and put it in the egg. I found it after my glorious victory in the kitchen. He said thank you for all you do! Corny? Why, yes it was.
#3 Wrote Thank you notes to Bill for some hot sauce he brought back from his trip. I watched SocaMan while he was gone. I also wrote one to Daryl for letting me carpool to a wedding over an hour away. Very cool, my friends.
#24/#25 Round two. I started a vege and herb garden AGAIN. Apparently, my black thumb of death was too much for the unsuspecting first garden and they were lost. Well, it was that and the scorching Florida sun and torrential downpours. This time I moved the garden to a semi-shaded zone. Mark dug up the ground for me and also built a barrier to build up the soil. This time I have 2 cherry tomato plants, 2 prince tomato plants, 1 rosemary bush, 2 thyme plants, 1 oregano plant, 1 purple basil plant, 1 pepper plant (I think is is jalapeno) and one green pepper plant that survived the first planting last year. I did not start any of these plants from seeds. I bought them at the local farmers market already started. I need all the help I can get!! I did lay down some mulch in the garden. Someone told me that this will help retain moisture in the soil and deter weeds and some pests. We will see if I can keep this one going.
I have a green thumb.
I have a green thumb.
I have a green thumb.
I have a green thumb.
#29 Went to a great little Mexican place with Cathy. The sandwich place we wanted to go to was packed, so we walked over to this place. When I say small--it was about the size of my living room. There are only 4 tables, 4 seats at the counter and 4 items on the menu. We had fresh tacos and Aye Ca-rumba were they stunning. Definitely going back!
#46 Mark and I went to date night at our local botanical gardens. We watched Star Trek outside on a blanket with a picnic dinner. It was really fun to watch a movie under the stars with the night breeze and fragrance of the gardens. If anybody has an opportunity to do this--do it. It is a completely different experience from going to a theater. The place we went to does date night once a month and it is very cheap to get in. Way cheaper than a theater and the payoff is very unique. Side note--usually they show girlie movies, so we were very glad to see a "boy" movie pop up on the schedule.
#2 I developed a data base of friends and family birthdays and special events. I just used a calendar program and I put in dates as they come to my attention. Now I can send cards, flowers, gifts, etc., when the time is right.
#40 Got three movies in this week:
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. So this movie came out when I was 8 and I desperately wanted to see it. Due to an unfortunate combination of a toilet and a lotion jar, it did not happen. Twenty-seven years later, I got to see it. It would have been better at 8. Seeing it as an adult, the movie had a lot of inconsistencies in the plot and a lot of unanswered questions. If I saw this when it came out, however, it would have been my favorite movie and I would have made my parents sick with demands to see it again and again. I will say that the special effects were very slick in this movie for the time it came out. And yes, it is very sad at the end when you think ET is dead. I almost cried, ALMOST.
The Maltese Falcon. Humphrey Bogart plays Sam Spade in this crime drama. He is charged with following cheating spouses until a dame saunters into his office. She wants him to find her sister who has gone missing. Bogart sends his partner out. When his partner turns up dead, Bogart realizes that there is more to this story. He finds out the missing sister is really a statuette in the shape of a falcon that is worth a ton of dough. Pretty soon, he has his hands full with the dame, the cops, the goon, the creepy guy(Peter Lorre was awesome), and the Fat Man.
In the end, he got the bird and everyone else became jailbirds. Great flick. Question, Why is it that Bogart always gets the girl he just met to fall for him 10 minutes into the movie? I guess he is just suave.
Duck Soup. OMG!! What a great movie. I laughed through the whole thing. It was slapstick and zingers for an hour fifteen minutes. It was hilarious. The Marx brothers definitely delivered in this flick. Groucho Marx takes over a country that is in bad financial shape and proceeds to drive it into the ground even more. His assistant only writes letters to other people, Zeppo. A neighboring ruler wants Freedonia for himself and sends spies to gather information, Harpo and Chico. One great scene in the movie is at the end when Freedonia is being attacked. All the guys are in a country house trying to win the war. Every cut shot shows them suited up in a different war uniform from various areas and times. The big fluffy french hat is the best! But who am I kidding? The whole movie was hilarious--the mirror scene, His Excellency is Due, the infamous Lemonade vs. Peanuts--the list goes on! Fun fact: Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera are considered national treasures by the Library of Congress. Not bad for a movie that was an economic bust at the box office and the cause of the Marx brothers getting fired from Paramount.
#35 I planted a love note to my guy. I used Easter as an inspiration. I used one of those plastic eggs, you know the ones that never close correctly, and I wrote Mark a simple note. I told him that he made me "hoppy" Corny? Why yes is was. I put it on his desk on Saturday and he saw it by the end of the night. So the nice thing was the next day I planned a very elaborate Easter dinner. While in the throws of battle in the kitchen, he wrote me a note and put it in the egg. I found it after my glorious victory in the kitchen. He said thank you for all you do! Corny? Why, yes it was.
#3 Wrote Thank you notes to Bill for some hot sauce he brought back from his trip. I watched SocaMan while he was gone. I also wrote one to Daryl for letting me carpool to a wedding over an hour away. Very cool, my friends.
#24/#25 Round two. I started a vege and herb garden AGAIN. Apparently, my black thumb of death was too much for the unsuspecting first garden and they were lost. Well, it was that and the scorching Florida sun and torrential downpours. This time I moved the garden to a semi-shaded zone. Mark dug up the ground for me and also built a barrier to build up the soil. This time I have 2 cherry tomato plants, 2 prince tomato plants, 1 rosemary bush, 2 thyme plants, 1 oregano plant, 1 purple basil plant, 1 pepper plant (I think is is jalapeno) and one green pepper plant that survived the first planting last year. I did not start any of these plants from seeds. I bought them at the local farmers market already started. I need all the help I can get!! I did lay down some mulch in the garden. Someone told me that this will help retain moisture in the soil and deter weeds and some pests. We will see if I can keep this one going.
I have a green thumb.
I have a green thumb.
I have a green thumb.
I have a green thumb.
#29 Went to a great little Mexican place with Cathy. The sandwich place we wanted to go to was packed, so we walked over to this place. When I say small--it was about the size of my living room. There are only 4 tables, 4 seats at the counter and 4 items on the menu. We had fresh tacos and Aye Ca-rumba were they stunning. Definitely going back!
#46 Mark and I went to date night at our local botanical gardens. We watched Star Trek outside on a blanket with a picnic dinner. It was really fun to watch a movie under the stars with the night breeze and fragrance of the gardens. If anybody has an opportunity to do this--do it. It is a completely different experience from going to a theater. The place we went to does date night once a month and it is very cheap to get in. Way cheaper than a theater and the payoff is very unique. Side note--usually they show girlie movies, so we were very glad to see a "boy" movie pop up on the schedule.
#2 I developed a data base of friends and family birthdays and special events. I just used a calendar program and I put in dates as they come to my attention. Now I can send cards, flowers, gifts, etc., when the time is right.
#40 Got three movies in this week:
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. So this movie came out when I was 8 and I desperately wanted to see it. Due to an unfortunate combination of a toilet and a lotion jar, it did not happen. Twenty-seven years later, I got to see it. It would have been better at 8. Seeing it as an adult, the movie had a lot of inconsistencies in the plot and a lot of unanswered questions. If I saw this when it came out, however, it would have been my favorite movie and I would have made my parents sick with demands to see it again and again. I will say that the special effects were very slick in this movie for the time it came out. And yes, it is very sad at the end when you think ET is dead. I almost cried, ALMOST.
The Maltese Falcon. Humphrey Bogart plays Sam Spade in this crime drama. He is charged with following cheating spouses until a dame saunters into his office. She wants him to find her sister who has gone missing. Bogart sends his partner out. When his partner turns up dead, Bogart realizes that there is more to this story. He finds out the missing sister is really a statuette in the shape of a falcon that is worth a ton of dough. Pretty soon, he has his hands full with the dame, the cops, the goon, the creepy guy(Peter Lorre was awesome), and the Fat Man.
In the end, he got the bird and everyone else became jailbirds. Great flick. Question, Why is it that Bogart always gets the girl he just met to fall for him 10 minutes into the movie? I guess he is just suave.
Duck Soup. OMG!! What a great movie. I laughed through the whole thing. It was slapstick and zingers for an hour fifteen minutes. It was hilarious. The Marx brothers definitely delivered in this flick. Groucho Marx takes over a country that is in bad financial shape and proceeds to drive it into the ground even more. His assistant only writes letters to other people, Zeppo. A neighboring ruler wants Freedonia for himself and sends spies to gather information, Harpo and Chico. One great scene in the movie is at the end when Freedonia is being attacked. All the guys are in a country house trying to win the war. Every cut shot shows them suited up in a different war uniform from various areas and times. The big fluffy french hat is the best! But who am I kidding? The whole movie was hilarious--the mirror scene, His Excellency is Due, the infamous Lemonade vs. Peanuts--the list goes on! Fun fact: Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera are considered national treasures by the Library of Congress. Not bad for a movie that was an economic bust at the box office and the cause of the Marx brothers getting fired from Paramount.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Up to week 38
So I was a slacker last week and did not post. Really, it was not about lack of time. It was really embarrassment over not doing to much. Here is what I did do:
#37 Painted nails a bright, electric blue. I thought the color would be lighter, but what can you do. It was my last fun color before my friend's wedding. I did not think that blue would suit the occasion, so it lasted about 2 weeks and then got switched to a very neutral tan. I somehow feel naked at this point. All the colors are gone and have been replaced with basics. I will say that I am more apt to try different colors and finishes on my manicure from here on out. They were very liberating to wear!!
#35 Planted a love note to Mark. He was travelling for work and I saw the suitcase before he left. I put a card in his pants that said I loved him and I was proud of him. I placed the card in a way that it would fall out when he hung up his pants. It worked like a charm and he discovered his note at the appropriate time.
#72 Gave a gentleman $5.00 on the street. That was all I had. He was very nice and said he was down on his luck. After I gave him the money, I noticed that 2 other cars also spared some money. Maybe I am rubbing off.
#74 Listened to one CD--Beach Boys Greatest Hits--very beachy and summery!
#40 Watched 3 more movies:
"12 Angry Men--So I watched this in high school, but I vaguely remembered it. Too much partying. Anywho, great movie. It shows that not everything is as it seems and how quick we are to pass judgement. A star-studded cast presented a fantastic tale set in a jury room. They have heard the case against a young boy accused of murdering his father. Henry Fonda was the sole juror that had reasonable doubt that the boy had commited the murder. He then spends the next couple of hours trying to convince 11 other men that there are other possibilities. He has the odds against him, but manages to convince a bigot, an angry father, a man who doesn't sweat, an old man with a strong memory, a wallflower with a cough, a grown version of the accused, a sports fan, a frustrated foreman, a refugee watchmaker, a typical working man, and a cereal-box doodler. Awesome flick--must see for all. Fun little tidbit, this movie was a financial disaster when it opened, but received 3 Acadamy Award nods for Best Picture, Director and adapted screenplay. It lost all three to The Bridge on the River Kwai, but recognized financial success because of the nominations. I guess you could say it was the sleeper hit of its time.
Swing Time--Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire star in this gay romp centered around, you guessed it, dancing. The story moved quickly, but there were some unanswered questions and gaps in the plot. Some things just did not make sense. I guess people were so enthralled by the dancing that the continuity of the story was not a concern. Some memorable songs that came from this flick included "The Way You Look Tonight", "Waltz in Swing Time" and "A Fine Romance". I love watching old movies and hearing standard songs that came from that movie. It is like you hear the song for so many years and you know that it a famous song and then you here where it came from and it all blends together.
Some Like It Hot-- Marilyn Monroe played a drinking ukulele player looking for a millionaire. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon were running from the mob while wearing dresses. When both sides meet, shenanigans ensue. Very funny movie, very tongue in cheek. One of the things about this flick is that I noticed how full-figured Marilyn really was. She had some rolls. I love that she owned her body image and the public adored her for what she was. It is amazing to me how our perception of beauty has changed over the years. Would Marilyn with her curves and rolls and out-of-control hair be considered a bombshell now? I would love to say yes, but I fear in the age of size two twigs, she may not get the same label.
#37 Painted nails a bright, electric blue. I thought the color would be lighter, but what can you do. It was my last fun color before my friend's wedding. I did not think that blue would suit the occasion, so it lasted about 2 weeks and then got switched to a very neutral tan. I somehow feel naked at this point. All the colors are gone and have been replaced with basics. I will say that I am more apt to try different colors and finishes on my manicure from here on out. They were very liberating to wear!!
#35 Planted a love note to Mark. He was travelling for work and I saw the suitcase before he left. I put a card in his pants that said I loved him and I was proud of him. I placed the card in a way that it would fall out when he hung up his pants. It worked like a charm and he discovered his note at the appropriate time.
#72 Gave a gentleman $5.00 on the street. That was all I had. He was very nice and said he was down on his luck. After I gave him the money, I noticed that 2 other cars also spared some money. Maybe I am rubbing off.
#74 Listened to one CD--Beach Boys Greatest Hits--very beachy and summery!
#40 Watched 3 more movies:
"12 Angry Men--So I watched this in high school, but I vaguely remembered it. Too much partying. Anywho, great movie. It shows that not everything is as it seems and how quick we are to pass judgement. A star-studded cast presented a fantastic tale set in a jury room. They have heard the case against a young boy accused of murdering his father. Henry Fonda was the sole juror that had reasonable doubt that the boy had commited the murder. He then spends the next couple of hours trying to convince 11 other men that there are other possibilities. He has the odds against him, but manages to convince a bigot, an angry father, a man who doesn't sweat, an old man with a strong memory, a wallflower with a cough, a grown version of the accused, a sports fan, a frustrated foreman, a refugee watchmaker, a typical working man, and a cereal-box doodler. Awesome flick--must see for all. Fun little tidbit, this movie was a financial disaster when it opened, but received 3 Acadamy Award nods for Best Picture, Director and adapted screenplay. It lost all three to The Bridge on the River Kwai, but recognized financial success because of the nominations. I guess you could say it was the sleeper hit of its time.
Swing Time--Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire star in this gay romp centered around, you guessed it, dancing. The story moved quickly, but there were some unanswered questions and gaps in the plot. Some things just did not make sense. I guess people were so enthralled by the dancing that the continuity of the story was not a concern. Some memorable songs that came from this flick included "The Way You Look Tonight", "Waltz in Swing Time" and "A Fine Romance". I love watching old movies and hearing standard songs that came from that movie. It is like you hear the song for so many years and you know that it a famous song and then you here where it came from and it all blends together.
Some Like It Hot-- Marilyn Monroe played a drinking ukulele player looking for a millionaire. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon were running from the mob while wearing dresses. When both sides meet, shenanigans ensue. Very funny movie, very tongue in cheek. One of the things about this flick is that I noticed how full-figured Marilyn really was. She had some rolls. I love that she owned her body image and the public adored her for what she was. It is amazing to me how our perception of beauty has changed over the years. Would Marilyn with her curves and rolls and out-of-control hair be considered a bombshell now? I would love to say yes, but I fear in the age of size two twigs, she may not get the same label.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Week 36
Holy Crikey!! I got a ton done this week!!
#36--I rubbed my man's feet this week. He played a disc golf tournament and he felt like an old man after he spent all weekend on his feet. I made him comfy on the sofa and started rubbing. Shudder. I don't know that this exercise will cure me of the foot creepies.
#40--Watched 2 more movies this week:
-All the President's Men. This is a docudrama that chronicles the journey of two reporters for the Washington Post that are uncovering the events leading up to the Watergate Scandal. Dustin Hoffman was great and Robert Redford, well, just plain yummy. Interesting fact about this flick is that Redford wanted to produce this movie with no-name actors. The studio not only refused, but told him he had to play one of the leads. That's showbiz.
-Bridge On the River Kwai. So, the only thing I took from this movie is that acting stubborn and hard-headed will only result in exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, and death. Alec Guinness is a British officer that leads a group of POW's in a Japanese work camp. Guinness doesn't want his officers to do the manual labor of building the bridge, so he starves himself until he gets his way. Then he takes over the bridge building and becomes so enamored with his ability to build and protect the perfect enemy bridge that he ends up blowing up the bridge and getting shot. It was a very entertaining flick, but it was long. Took two sittings to get through.
#10 Compiled my favorite recipes in a folder. I used an old binder and put about 50 recipes in plastic sheets. I have apps, dinner, desserts, sauces, pasta, and all sorts of goodies. Very excited to have my favs all in one place now.
#37 I painted my nails a gorgeous shade of spring green. Trying to get the green to come my way!!
#92 I completed a 1000 piece puzzle. Mark helped. Mom sent the puzzle for my birthday. We put it together within the week. It was fun and we worked well together, except I kept stealing the sections that Mark was working on. In my defense, they worked in the same section that I was working on.
#27 Completed another Pogo Badge album this week. I spend entirely too much time on Pogo.com
#78 I submitted another answer to Games Magazine on their website. This month's contest was very challenging. I got down to 4 answers that were very puzzling. They finally came to me and I submitted today. Basically, I had to combine movie titles, old and new, given only the first letter of every word. The last word of one title was the first word of the next title. Also, they removed 2- and 3-letter prepositions, articles, and conjuctions.
For example, I was given C __ A__ __ O (2*)*Number of movies. The answer is City of Angels in the Outfield.
Some were very challenging and used very obscure movies. I proved to be smarter than the contest.
#77 I found all the Waldos in a Where Waldo's Book. Those suckers are small and hard to find. I am still having nightmares in shades of red and white stripes!!
#74 And finally, here are the CD's I listened to:
Cheap Trick-Authorized Greatest Hits: Great CD with lots of classics
Steely Dan-Countdown to Ecstacy: Yeah, kinda boring and not my favorite. I always thought Steely Dan was a little more rock.
Candlebox-Candlebox: Yea Rock and Roll
Dire Straits-Alchemy Part 1: This was pretty good. I did not recognize a lot of the songs. Weird.
Earth to Andy:Very obscure band that sounds hacky
Dread Zepplin-Un Led Ed: What a great CD. Think Led Zepplin meets Reggae meets Elvis.
Bad Company: I don't remember listening to this one-That is not good.
Bush-Razorblade Suitcase: I love Bush, not like I love STP or Led Zepplin, but I love them.
Doobie Brothers-Best of the Doobies: Fun, Classic Band
STP-Core: These guys rock!!
That is a lot of stuff--pat on my back!!
#36--I rubbed my man's feet this week. He played a disc golf tournament and he felt like an old man after he spent all weekend on his feet. I made him comfy on the sofa and started rubbing. Shudder. I don't know that this exercise will cure me of the foot creepies.
#40--Watched 2 more movies this week:
-All the President's Men. This is a docudrama that chronicles the journey of two reporters for the Washington Post that are uncovering the events leading up to the Watergate Scandal. Dustin Hoffman was great and Robert Redford, well, just plain yummy. Interesting fact about this flick is that Redford wanted to produce this movie with no-name actors. The studio not only refused, but told him he had to play one of the leads. That's showbiz.
-Bridge On the River Kwai. So, the only thing I took from this movie is that acting stubborn and hard-headed will only result in exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, and death. Alec Guinness is a British officer that leads a group of POW's in a Japanese work camp. Guinness doesn't want his officers to do the manual labor of building the bridge, so he starves himself until he gets his way. Then he takes over the bridge building and becomes so enamored with his ability to build and protect the perfect enemy bridge that he ends up blowing up the bridge and getting shot. It was a very entertaining flick, but it was long. Took two sittings to get through.
#10 Compiled my favorite recipes in a folder. I used an old binder and put about 50 recipes in plastic sheets. I have apps, dinner, desserts, sauces, pasta, and all sorts of goodies. Very excited to have my favs all in one place now.
#37 I painted my nails a gorgeous shade of spring green. Trying to get the green to come my way!!
#92 I completed a 1000 piece puzzle. Mark helped. Mom sent the puzzle for my birthday. We put it together within the week. It was fun and we worked well together, except I kept stealing the sections that Mark was working on. In my defense, they worked in the same section that I was working on.
#27 Completed another Pogo Badge album this week. I spend entirely too much time on Pogo.com
#78 I submitted another answer to Games Magazine on their website. This month's contest was very challenging. I got down to 4 answers that were very puzzling. They finally came to me and I submitted today. Basically, I had to combine movie titles, old and new, given only the first letter of every word. The last word of one title was the first word of the next title. Also, they removed 2- and 3-letter prepositions, articles, and conjuctions.
For example, I was given C __ A__ __ O (2*)*Number of movies. The answer is City of Angels in the Outfield.
Some were very challenging and used very obscure movies. I proved to be smarter than the contest.
#77 I found all the Waldos in a Where Waldo's Book. Those suckers are small and hard to find. I am still having nightmares in shades of red and white stripes!!
#74 And finally, here are the CD's I listened to:
Cheap Trick-Authorized Greatest Hits: Great CD with lots of classics
Steely Dan-Countdown to Ecstacy: Yeah, kinda boring and not my favorite. I always thought Steely Dan was a little more rock.
Candlebox-Candlebox: Yea Rock and Roll
Dire Straits-Alchemy Part 1: This was pretty good. I did not recognize a lot of the songs. Weird.
Earth to Andy:Very obscure band that sounds hacky
Dread Zepplin-Un Led Ed: What a great CD. Think Led Zepplin meets Reggae meets Elvis.
Bad Company: I don't remember listening to this one-That is not good.
Bush-Razorblade Suitcase: I love Bush, not like I love STP or Led Zepplin, but I love them.
Doobie Brothers-Best of the Doobies: Fun, Classic Band
STP-Core: These guys rock!!
That is a lot of stuff--pat on my back!!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Week 34-35
So here we are again...
Missed last week, but got some things crossed off the list.
#35-Left 2 love notes for Mark. There was a little film left on the counter after it was cleaned. I "wrote" I love you in the film. He saw it when he came home and thought it was very clever. Not my best cleaning moment, but some good came out of it.
Second one came in the form of owl mail. Universal Studios is opening the Harry Potter part of the park soon. Because we have annual passes, we get all the updates on the status of the opening. One of the gimmicks going on is the ability to send owl mail to someone. This is really a fancy way of sending an email. Basically, you type the message and it gets sent and the recipient goes to the owlery on the Universal Studios website to retrieve the message from the owl. Corny, but another clever way to tell my man I love him!
#37-Painted my nails in the first of three funky colors. Yellow was the color of the week and boy, it is bright! I have gotten compliments and kudos for wearing a great color such as yellow. I might have even encouraged others to break away from the bonds of browns, reds and pinks on their nails. I stand before you, not as a polish conformer, but as a polish boundary-breaker. I have seen the injustice of fun colors on nails and I will...sorry, got carried away. But, my nails did look great.
#77- Found 3 Waldos in a "Where's Waldo" book. Man, those guys are small and hard to find. My little eyes are straining to find the red and white striped fellow.
#27-Completed one of the pogo badge albums that I have. Not sure how many I have left cause there are so many.
#85-Put a light on the bike today. It was very exciting. I will be able to safely ride at dusk. This is big because I will be riding more often locally now and I don't want to get caught after dark on the bike. After all, car drivers are scary. Bike lanes are not your personal turn lane--but I digress.
#40-Watched "It Happened One Night". Great flick with Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable.
The cool thing about this movie is that it swept the five main awards at the Oscars as a comedy. That doesn't happen even today. The Academy loves them a drama. Best actor, actress, movie, director, and adapted screenplay awards were given to a movie that was thought of as the worst movie she made by Colbert and as a punishment to Gable for refusing a previous script. Go figure. This movie was widely considered the first screwball comedy and contains the famous show-off-some-leg-to-get-ahead-hitchhiking scene. It was highly entertaining!!
#5-Paid $3000 to the principal on the second mortgage. Yippee!! Somehow, it feels liberating to write out a big girl check like that. The sooner we get the house paid, the better.
Signing off for this week--L
Missed last week, but got some things crossed off the list.
#35-Left 2 love notes for Mark. There was a little film left on the counter after it was cleaned. I "wrote" I love you in the film. He saw it when he came home and thought it was very clever. Not my best cleaning moment, but some good came out of it.
Second one came in the form of owl mail. Universal Studios is opening the Harry Potter part of the park soon. Because we have annual passes, we get all the updates on the status of the opening. One of the gimmicks going on is the ability to send owl mail to someone. This is really a fancy way of sending an email. Basically, you type the message and it gets sent and the recipient goes to the owlery on the Universal Studios website to retrieve the message from the owl. Corny, but another clever way to tell my man I love him!
#37-Painted my nails in the first of three funky colors. Yellow was the color of the week and boy, it is bright! I have gotten compliments and kudos for wearing a great color such as yellow. I might have even encouraged others to break away from the bonds of browns, reds and pinks on their nails. I stand before you, not as a polish conformer, but as a polish boundary-breaker. I have seen the injustice of fun colors on nails and I will...sorry, got carried away. But, my nails did look great.
#77- Found 3 Waldos in a "Where's Waldo" book. Man, those guys are small and hard to find. My little eyes are straining to find the red and white striped fellow.
#27-Completed one of the pogo badge albums that I have. Not sure how many I have left cause there are so many.
#85-Put a light on the bike today. It was very exciting. I will be able to safely ride at dusk. This is big because I will be riding more often locally now and I don't want to get caught after dark on the bike. After all, car drivers are scary. Bike lanes are not your personal turn lane--but I digress.
#40-Watched "It Happened One Night". Great flick with Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable.
The cool thing about this movie is that it swept the five main awards at the Oscars as a comedy. That doesn't happen even today. The Academy loves them a drama. Best actor, actress, movie, director, and adapted screenplay awards were given to a movie that was thought of as the worst movie she made by Colbert and as a punishment to Gable for refusing a previous script. Go figure. This movie was widely considered the first screwball comedy and contains the famous show-off-some-leg-to-get-ahead-hitchhiking scene. It was highly entertaining!!
#5-Paid $3000 to the principal on the second mortgage. Yippee!! Somehow, it feels liberating to write out a big girl check like that. The sooner we get the house paid, the better.
Signing off for this week--L
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Week 33
Watch out--only one day behind. I am getting better at this regular blogging thing.
Anyhoo, this week was all about movies and setups for later dates.
#40 This week, I watched 3 movies:
Sunset Blvd.--OMG what a great flick. Gloria Swanson played Norma Desmond's crazy cat lady persona perfectly without the cats. She did have a dead monkey though. That was creepy. The story is about a busted silent film star that is always waiting for her comeback role. She lives in this old busted mansion with hundreds of pics of her in her heyday. Her "butler" or husband, whichever, is her only human touch until Joe careens into her driveway after a high-speed chase from the repo guys. Joe is mistaken for the undertaker for the dead monkey and then the downward spiral starts. It was a fantastic flick--you must watch it!!
Chinatown--Maybe it was just me, but this movie was weird. It started going one direction and then the ending was something completely different. I am not going to lie, I was totally lost. There was incest, larceny, dead bodies, and cut noses. I could not see how the ending justified the movie. It did not suck, but I would not put this on top of my list again. Jack was a hottie though--smooches Jack!!
Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?: Wow, this flick surprised me. I thought it started really slow, but by the end, I was totally sucked in. It is one of those movies that you watch and you think you know what is going on and then BAM--plot change and you are saying "no way" on your sofa. Elizabeth Taylor was stunning in her role of Barbara. Definite recommend to watch.
I did get some things started. They haven't been completed, but they are started and I will absolutely be off the list by next week. Stay tuned for those exciting developments!!
Anyhoo, this week was all about movies and setups for later dates.
#40 This week, I watched 3 movies:
Sunset Blvd.--OMG what a great flick. Gloria Swanson played Norma Desmond's crazy cat lady persona perfectly without the cats. She did have a dead monkey though. That was creepy. The story is about a busted silent film star that is always waiting for her comeback role. She lives in this old busted mansion with hundreds of pics of her in her heyday. Her "butler" or husband, whichever, is her only human touch until Joe careens into her driveway after a high-speed chase from the repo guys. Joe is mistaken for the undertaker for the dead monkey and then the downward spiral starts. It was a fantastic flick--you must watch it!!
Chinatown--Maybe it was just me, but this movie was weird. It started going one direction and then the ending was something completely different. I am not going to lie, I was totally lost. There was incest, larceny, dead bodies, and cut noses. I could not see how the ending justified the movie. It did not suck, but I would not put this on top of my list again. Jack was a hottie though--smooches Jack!!
Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf?: Wow, this flick surprised me. I thought it started really slow, but by the end, I was totally sucked in. It is one of those movies that you watch and you think you know what is going on and then BAM--plot change and you are saying "no way" on your sofa. Elizabeth Taylor was stunning in her role of Barbara. Definite recommend to watch.
I did get some things started. They haven't been completed, but they are started and I will absolutely be off the list by next week. Stay tuned for those exciting developments!!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Week 32
On time this week--I think that is a first. This was a short week. I updated this blog on Thursday of last week, so only 4 days have passed. Believe it or not, I did get some things done in that four days.
#36 Gave my man a well-needed foot rub. It was on V-day by default. I made a great dinner and then, when he was fat and happy, I took advantage of his slothiness. He could not tell me no. I used the foot lotion that mom gave me and rubbed away. He was very happy.
#78 I figured out the solution to the Games online contest for the month. The solution involved finding a hidden message that was related to top-level domain abbreviations for various countries. Once you figured out the correct domains, you had to put them together to form a sentence about a well-known board game. The solution was "There's really no luck in Checkers". I submitted the answer just in time as the contest ended today. One down and 4 to go!! See Dad, I am smarter than the top-level domain abbreviation puzzle!!
Not too much this week, but like I said, it was a short week.
#36 Gave my man a well-needed foot rub. It was on V-day by default. I made a great dinner and then, when he was fat and happy, I took advantage of his slothiness. He could not tell me no. I used the foot lotion that mom gave me and rubbed away. He was very happy.
#78 I figured out the solution to the Games online contest for the month. The solution involved finding a hidden message that was related to top-level domain abbreviations for various countries. Once you figured out the correct domains, you had to put them together to form a sentence about a well-known board game. The solution was "There's really no luck in Checkers". I submitted the answer just in time as the contest ended today. One down and 4 to go!! See Dad, I am smarter than the top-level domain abbreviation puzzle!!
Not too much this week, but like I said, it was a short week.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Week 21-31
Ok, So I am desperately behind but what else is new? I have been crossing things off the list however, so that is a good thing:
#98 Went to a Capitals Game with Mark. He works with guy that has Tampa Bay Lightning season passes. The Caps and the Lightning are in the same division, so he was nice enough to let us have 2 of the tickets and we made the trek to Tampa. It was a very exciting game. Started slow, but by the 2nd period the scoring was beginning. The final score was 4-7 for the Lightning. There were some fisty-cuffs. One brawl in particular involved Oveckin and one of his team mates off of the bench. There were shenanigans!! Although we lost, the game was awesome!!
#3 I continued to write thank you notes. Most recent were the ones for Christmas and my birthday.
#72 I gave $1.00 to a gentleman in the Publix parking lot.
#5 After much consideration, I decided to pay the $3000 toward the mortgage and then start the Roth IRA. With that said, I have saved $2661 and will be able to make the next mortgage check with the extra $3000. Yippie!!
#11 I have been the hostess with the mostess over the last couple of weeks. I volunteered to host a party for the Disc Golf Club with 20 in attendence. I also hosted the best Superbowl Party ever for about 25 people.We had great food and great people and, of course, the Saints won!!
#57 I hosted a stress-free holiday for the in-laws over Christmas. I planned all the menus well in advance and prepared dishes that I knew I could execute in the time allowed. I decorated the house and cut out tons of paper snowflakes and angels to decorate their room. No stress was involved. We had a great time and drank lots of wine, which attributed to the absence of stress!!
#70 Bowled a couple of games and my score went up to 114. Not quite there, but it is an improvement.
#40 I watched Cabaret. It was OK. To be honest, it took me a couple of sittings to get through it. I was a little bored and a little lost. Also watched Network. Awesome flick! The vocabulary used in the writing was brilliant. The lines were better than the plot! What I found interesting was the idea that when this movie was made in the seventies, it was considered a satire. This classification was because at that time, people thought the foreign buyouts and sensationalism could never really happen. The interesting thing is that a mere 30 years later, that plot is not sensationalism. It is now the norm. All I can say now is "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore". Go on Peter Finch, go on.
#35 Gave my main squeeze two more love notes. I threw the pink "I love you" card over the computers at him. Second one was more creative. I was going through the wedding cards and realized I did not send him any of the cards on our wedding day. Stupid lack of schedule. Since I already wrote in them, I decided to give him the beer mug card. I was showing him the cards I got for my birthday and stuck it on the bottom. He was very surprised and loved the effort.
#16 I had a picnic with my good friend Michele last week at Lake Eola. After yoga, we went to Pom's and got take out. We drove to Eola lake and set up shop at a serene section. The only bad thing was the weather. It was a bit chilly, so we did not stay for long.
#83 Canned chili for Christmas this year. Big hit. I even had friends return the mason jars for refills. One friend bought me a case mason jars to keep the chili coming. I did not have the heart to tell him that the next round is soup!!
So I guess that is it. I think I did well despite the fact that I have no discipline to write a blog every week. I should put that on my list. Oh wait....
#98 Went to a Capitals Game with Mark. He works with guy that has Tampa Bay Lightning season passes. The Caps and the Lightning are in the same division, so he was nice enough to let us have 2 of the tickets and we made the trek to Tampa. It was a very exciting game. Started slow, but by the 2nd period the scoring was beginning. The final score was 4-7 for the Lightning. There were some fisty-cuffs. One brawl in particular involved Oveckin and one of his team mates off of the bench. There were shenanigans!! Although we lost, the game was awesome!!
#3 I continued to write thank you notes. Most recent were the ones for Christmas and my birthday.
#72 I gave $1.00 to a gentleman in the Publix parking lot.
#5 After much consideration, I decided to pay the $3000 toward the mortgage and then start the Roth IRA. With that said, I have saved $2661 and will be able to make the next mortgage check with the extra $3000. Yippie!!
#11 I have been the hostess with the mostess over the last couple of weeks. I volunteered to host a party for the Disc Golf Club with 20 in attendence. I also hosted the best Superbowl Party ever for about 25 people.We had great food and great people and, of course, the Saints won!!
#57 I hosted a stress-free holiday for the in-laws over Christmas. I planned all the menus well in advance and prepared dishes that I knew I could execute in the time allowed. I decorated the house and cut out tons of paper snowflakes and angels to decorate their room. No stress was involved. We had a great time and drank lots of wine, which attributed to the absence of stress!!
#70 Bowled a couple of games and my score went up to 114. Not quite there, but it is an improvement.
#40 I watched Cabaret. It was OK. To be honest, it took me a couple of sittings to get through it. I was a little bored and a little lost. Also watched Network. Awesome flick! The vocabulary used in the writing was brilliant. The lines were better than the plot! What I found interesting was the idea that when this movie was made in the seventies, it was considered a satire. This classification was because at that time, people thought the foreign buyouts and sensationalism could never really happen. The interesting thing is that a mere 30 years later, that plot is not sensationalism. It is now the norm. All I can say now is "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore". Go on Peter Finch, go on.
#35 Gave my main squeeze two more love notes. I threw the pink "I love you" card over the computers at him. Second one was more creative. I was going through the wedding cards and realized I did not send him any of the cards on our wedding day. Stupid lack of schedule. Since I already wrote in them, I decided to give him the beer mug card. I was showing him the cards I got for my birthday and stuck it on the bottom. He was very surprised and loved the effort.
#16 I had a picnic with my good friend Michele last week at Lake Eola. After yoga, we went to Pom's and got take out. We drove to Eola lake and set up shop at a serene section. The only bad thing was the weather. It was a bit chilly, so we did not stay for long.
#83 Canned chili for Christmas this year. Big hit. I even had friends return the mason jars for refills. One friend bought me a case mason jars to keep the chili coming. I did not have the heart to tell him that the next round is soup!!
So I guess that is it. I think I did well despite the fact that I have no discipline to write a blog every week. I should put that on my list. Oh wait....
Monday, January 4, 2010
week 20-21
So even through the holidays, I was able to get some things crossed of the list.
I watched 2 more AFI movies. Psycho(wee wee wee wee wee) -- great flick. I can't believe I have never seen the whole thing until now. Not gory, which was nice.
I also watched Goodfellas. Yes, I am a loser since I never saw Goodfellas until this weekend. I always steered away because it seemed to be a macho gangster movie. It was, but it was very good. According to my hubby, I am not a loser anymore!!
Sent Mark a love note. Wrote "Rawr" on a page and made a paper airplane and sent it across the desk--too fun.
I hosted a holiday dinner with M's parents this year. They wanted us to come up, but after the wedding and other financial outpourings we decided to stay home. Empty nest syndrome set in and we decided to invite them down to spend the holiday with us. No stress!! I planned all of the menus and reviewed recipes for timing. I prepped most dishes on the 24th so they were ready to go. (Thank goodness for the 2nd fridge!!) We had the guestroom ready and the activities were planned well in advance. This was a total change from a couple of years ago. I don't want to relay the whole story, but blood, sweat, and tears were involved. This year was great.
CD's I listened to:
Dire Straits--Alchemy live
Best of Dio (as in Ronnie James-aka rock god)
Dire Straits--Brothers in Arms
I watched 2 more AFI movies. Psycho(wee wee wee wee wee) -- great flick. I can't believe I have never seen the whole thing until now. Not gory, which was nice.
I also watched Goodfellas. Yes, I am a loser since I never saw Goodfellas until this weekend. I always steered away because it seemed to be a macho gangster movie. It was, but it was very good. According to my hubby, I am not a loser anymore!!
Sent Mark a love note. Wrote "Rawr" on a page and made a paper airplane and sent it across the desk--too fun.
I hosted a holiday dinner with M's parents this year. They wanted us to come up, but after the wedding and other financial outpourings we decided to stay home. Empty nest syndrome set in and we decided to invite them down to spend the holiday with us. No stress!! I planned all of the menus and reviewed recipes for timing. I prepped most dishes on the 24th so they were ready to go. (Thank goodness for the 2nd fridge!!) We had the guestroom ready and the activities were planned well in advance. This was a total change from a couple of years ago. I don't want to relay the whole story, but blood, sweat, and tears were involved. This year was great.
CD's I listened to:
Dire Straits--Alchemy live
Best of Dio (as in Ronnie James-aka rock god)
Dire Straits--Brothers in Arms
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