Impress your friends by being able to namecheck the actual source of the news, and feel better about spending most of your internet time today reading celebrity gossip instead of real news ;)
My Plan for Iraq
Barack Obama
New York Times Op-Ed
Several craft projects checked off the to-do list.
The first card was made with some fabulous Target Dollar Spot finds. If you haven't been scouring this section of your local Target store for low-priced scrapbook supplies, you have been missing out. The paper comes in packs of either 4 or 8 sheets for a dollar (as low as if not lower than Hobby Lobby's price), and they also have packs of ribbon, punches, stamp sets, chipboard sets, etc. This card includes some of the new paper, chipboard pieces, and ribbon.
The second card is a great way to create a less "girly" homemade card. All it requires is layering scraps of coordinating pieces of paper (this card features 2 patterned papers, and three basic colors). Bonus - this technique is a great way to use up paper scraps!
Other accomplishments of note today: library books returned, and Wisconsin packing list started. Zumba class starts soon, and hopefully tonight will include more productivity ;) To put things in perspective however, after NavyGuy did some flight school work this morning, and then wonderfully cleaned up the bedroom, the rest of his day looks to be shaping up like this:
Time to narrow down the options for a suitable bridesmaid hair-do for my sister's wedding. Vote in the comments for your favorites. All are updos because it's a July wedding, and I expect to be running around like a mad woman all day long. [Photos from theknot.com]
This one goes out to my future-brother-in-law, who requested more recipes (sorry, this one doesn't involve curry).
Bruschetta Chicken Bake
This was nice and easy - I substituted low sodium Stove Top, and used fresh basil instead of dried. Served with a caesar salad and the ever popular Pillsbury crescent rolls. NavyGuy, Marine #1, and Marine #2 were all impressed and appreciative (Navy and Marine aviators train together in Pensacola). They're now pouring over charts and maps, while I decide between a rerun of The Office, or my latest wedding magazine... always a difficult choice.
I've also included my suggestions for the coming week concerning music, movies, TV, books, websites, etc. (aka, the "Must List" - way cooler than Entertainment Weekly's version).
M's Recommendations:
1. Project Runway Season 5 Premiere (Bravo) Wednesday
With challenges that never cease to amaze, and contestants that range from eccentric to certifiable, this show never fails to entertain (note for the uber fan - Bravo is showing previews of the contestants and Challenge #1 sometime on Tuesday night).
2. Freerice.com
Another excellent way to spend time at work. This website quizzes you on vocabulary words, and for every correct word - they donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program. Build a meal and your brain in one.
3. iLove the New Millenium
In the vein of the other "I Love the decade" series on VH1, now they've taken to making fun of a decade that isn't even over (or properly named). It began airing last week, but I'm fairly certain that VH1 will be rerunning the show endlessly over the coming weeks.
4. The Dark Knight (Friday, July 18th)
Heath Ledger is already getting Oscar buzz, and the trailer has been a must-see since it premiered in December 2007. Get your tickets now folks - if it's half as good as Batman Begins, it's bound to be sold out before you get in line to see it on opening night.
5. 20 Most Bizarre Celebrity Baby Names
In honor of the latest in the string of what-the-hell-were-they-thinking-baby-names (Sunday, Nahla, and Knox), check out this list of the absolute most likely to get beat up on the playground if your parent wasn't rich and famous names. (Bonus points by the way, if you can identify the parents of the three bundles of joy name checked above.)
P.S. I've decided to go with The Office rerun. In case you were wondering :)
P.P.S. Baby Name Answers...Sunday - Nicole Kidman; Nahla - Halle Berry; Knox - Angelina Jolie (the twins were born late last night - Knox and Vivienne join Maddox, Pax, Zahara, and Shiloh... why so many names that include an 'x'?).
The following is a list of things that confuse me about my new home:
1. Tinted driver side windows. Apparently, outside of Wisconsin, it's legal to blacken your front windows. Allegedly, this keeps the car cooler in the Dante's-7th-circle-of-hell-heat that is Florida, but I don't think the polar ice caps could cool down a car that's been sitting in the sun for more than 20 minutes.
2. Bike lanes. I understand the general purpose for bike lanes. I even appreciate the arrows that are drawn on the road indicating in which direction a bike should be ridden. What I do not understand however, is why Pensacolians are confused by these clearly marked bike lanes. I swear to you - every other person I see riding a bike down here is riding the wrong way down the road. Why? I don't get it. If anyone has a hypothesis, please illuminate me.
3. Sweet tea. If you want to drink something sweet, have a glass of Kool-Ade. If you want to drink tea, then drink tea. Don't combine the two. End of story. [Side note: my favorite P-cola moment so far involves sweet tea. At lunch with a few friends, one guy requested sweet tea from the server. Server's response? "Unsweetened. Not a Southerner." The server then proceeded to fill the guy's glass with unsweetened tea, and told him the sweetener was on a different counter. Priceless. This has now become my standard reply to anything that displeases me about the South.]
4. Salutations. When did I become "Hun"? When did I become "Sugar"? When did I become "Dumpling"? I do not know how to respond when elderly waitresses, or car mechanics greet me this way. Do I ignore it? Do I sarcastically reply "Just fine, Peaches" in a terrible Southern accent? Do I start in on a feminist tirade about how I did not spend four years getting a college degree, and four more working as a highly respected teacher, just to be addressed as a variety of pastry?
5. Waffle Houses. 'Nuff said.
6. Drive thru-liquor stores (yes, plural). This seems to be a contradiction of sorts.
7. Mail. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the postal service is a federally run operation, suggesting that the service should be similar regardless of what zip code you live in. How then, does it take 10 days for a standard letter to get from Pensacola, FL to Jacksonville, FL? (And no, this wasn't over the 4th of July weekend or any other possible delay). That's a distance of 357 miles - approximately a 5 hour drive. I think with the proper hydration and sufficient maps, I could WALK the letter to Jacksonville faster. My Netflix movies now have a turn-around time of 6 days (as opposed to the 3 it used it take), and my Newsweek for this week has yet to arrive. What if by the time my Publisher's Clearing House check arrives, I've moved!?! Good grief.
On the plus side, gas is slightly cheaper (we're hovering at 3.99... what's it doing up nort' hey?), and because of the instant sweat that pools on one's body after stepping outside, I have an excuse not to bother attempting makeup of any sort. :)
After my last debacle at the fitness center here in Pensacola (a lunatic named Yuri - who looks like she possibly competed for the East Germans in the 1980 Olympics - tried to kill me with her high-intensity step routine), I decided I needed to go a different route if I intend to come back to Wisconsin for my sister's wedding in any type of shape (aside from rotund).
So, yesterday I attended my first Zumba class. After a quick Google search, I discovered it was some sort of Latin dance exercise. Well, okay - why not? I showed up to find a startlingly eclectic bunch of people spread out in a workout room (people my age, some moms, several 85 year old grandmas, one Danny Glover type old man, and the tiniest, oldest, Hmong woman I've ever seen in my life). A full-figured African American woman (complete with fancy nails and her hair 'did') handed me the class sign in sheet, and I must have looked uneasy. She leaned in and whispered, "Girl - if I can drag my fat ass out there and survive each class, you can certainly shake it!"
Damn if she wasn't right. Next thing I know, I'm shaking my hips, popping my hips, swaying my hips, sashaying, salsa-ing, and basically ghetto booty shaking my little white girl butt right off! It was fantastic! I'm certain that the more "cultured" (aka non-transparent skinned folk) people in the room were horrified at my lack of rhythm and general foolishness, but man did I sweat! And I swear to you, at one point, I smiled and laughed. It was fabulous - I'm a total Zumba convert.
As I did very little of note today (minus the nice phone conversations with friends), I thought today's post would be well spent reviewing a few movies I have seen recently. Now, I know you can get the reviews of an actual movie critic, but I'd like to think my reviews have a little something special :)
Wanted
(Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy)
I was mostly interested in James McAvoy (hottie from Atonement), and not so much the plot of this film. It turned out slightly better than expected however. Above average summer popcorn flick, with the requisite shots of Jolie exiting a bathtub, but solid plot, jokes, and the godly Morgan Freeman. I would consider this an even trade for making NavyGuy go see Sex and the City. So ladies, if you're angling to go see The Second Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants later in the summer, offer to go see this one with your guy.
Wall-E
(Pixar)
Why didn't I buy stock in Pixar years ago? Once again, Pixar scores with a great plot, inventive music, amazing visuals, and highly engaging characters. The little robot Wall-E is adorable, and overall the movie sends a good message without being too preachy. I especially loved the "Hello, Dolly" references, and the fact that NavyGuy is still walking around the house saying "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee."
Hancock
(Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman)
I do not care what Will Smith is staring in on Fourth of July weekend - I'm there. If he takes his shirt off, I'm probably there twice. Hancock is another good popcorn movie, but Will Smith's humor is a little less Men in Black, and a little more edgy. He plays a drunk, sarcastic, bitter superhero, who has no problem dropping a car full of criminals on top of a building. Best line: Hancock (to an over-nourished kid and a another with glasses after they've witnessed him throw the neighborhood bully 10,000 feet up in the air): "How 'bout you thickness? Goggles?" Okay, so perhaps Smith's delivery adds something, but I found it hilarious.
© Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008
Back to TOP
