GNO--GUY'S Night Out

Tomorrow night (Thursday) my hubby is going to see his very favorite movie of all time (well, up until Transformers came along). I'll give you some hints as to what it is.

"Tower, this is Ghost rider requesting a flyby."
"That's a negative Ghost rider, the pattern is full."

"Take me to bed or lose me forever."

"I feel the need..."
"The need for speed!"

"She's lost that loving feeling."

"Any of you boys seen an aircraft carrier around here?"

He is inviting all your hubbies to go too. It's at Regal at 7:45. If your husband can't figure out what movie I'm referring to, he probably shouldn't go, because all the other husbands will point and laugh at him.

Congratulations Kate!!!

I couldn't be happier for you.

Precious Moments

Me: "Payson, where's Jasper?"
Payson: "Playing in his sandbox." (Jasper was going to the bathroom.)

Payson, when Bill turned on The Biggest Loser: "Woah. Those people are fat."
Don't worry, we had a little talk after that one.

Macy, seeing a picture of Angelina Jolie in her Oscar gown online: "Hey! That looks like me!" Dream on, sista. Dream on.

This was the conversation that took place in my car on the way to school this morning:

Kenzie: "Sometimes our neighbor's dog digs up dinosaur bones. Seriously, he's done it before."
Macy: "Wow."
Kenzie: "I just don't know when we're going to get a new house. We're looking like crazy, but we just haven't found one yet."
Macy: "Well, you can just tell the builders to build you a new one."
Kenzie: "Well, I already found one that I love, but..."
Macy: "It's not on sale?"
Kenzie: "Yeah. I told my mom I want the one with the hideout."

I've never been so entertained on the way to school.

Not Afraid To Admit Defeat

My sister-in-law linked to a blog today that gave blogging tips. I gained great insight into the world of blogging. But more importantly, I stumbled across a post that seemed to have come straight from heaven onto my computer screen. It said EXACTLY what I have been thinking and feeling for the last few months. Please, before you read any more of my post, go read this post. Now.

NO! Go read it first!!!!

Okay. Now that you've read it, I can go on. I could have said every single thing she said. The anxiety, stress, fear of offending...I have it all.

So here's the thing. I am a MAJOR people pleaser. Like, no one knows just how bad it is. I have thought back through my childhood and dissected every aspect of it and tried to figure out what causes this obsessive need for people to like--no, LOVE me.

Also, I am a comment fiend. Yes, we all love comments. But I live and breathe comments. It's sad, really.

Hence, my temporary loss of sanity. Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking. I knew, even as I wrote it, that it was insane, and I was setting myself up for major failure. But I was so willing to try if it meant more comments. And it did. And I loved it. You have no idea how much I loved it. But within the first day I was already behind on blogs, and I would never catch up. And with each new comment I only had more blogs to add to my reader, knowing I was running a race I would never finish.

Now, I go into my reader, see that triple digit number of posts to read and shake my head in defeat. I read my closest family members' and a few blogs that make me laugh, and that's on a good day. With every "mark all as read" I feel a little lighter. Every time that slider bar shrinks a smidgen, I feel closer to success. But it's never enough.

And this was BEFORE I got a job. A job that requires me to be on the computer, writing.

I am also trying to write a novel. (Have I mentioned this before?) This puts me at my computer, writing.

Also, I'm gonna go ahead and admit this, my favorite part about blogging is posting. Not reading other blogs, not commenting, but posting. I love it. I am a writer and I thrive on writing whatever the heck I want and knowing people will read it and possibly tell me what they think of it. It's a high that I'm not ashamed to say I'm addicted to.

All of this, and a family, which sadly, should not have come after the other stuff. And a house. And what I kid myself into believing is a social life. And a church calling. And tv shows to watch. And hobbies that I still consider hobbies even though I don't do them.

But still, all...the...comments.........

And I promised everyone.............

And now I'll look like a complete loser going back on my word............

But it's not physically possible. Blogging is supposed to be fun, not stressful. And right now it's oh so stressful for me. I tried, I really tried. So, if my, comments take a major hit, I guess that's the price for enjoying blogging again, stress-free. I will still read whenever I can, and comment when I can, but it probably won't be much at all. Maybe you'll keep reading my blog because you enjoy it. Maybe you'll even comment because you love me. And if not, I'll deal with it. Or my therapist will.

Follow Ups

So my husband wanted me to make sure you all knew that he doesn't tell such lame jokes. Here's what happened: One night Bill was messing around with my camera, taking a bunch of pictures of Jasper, trying to get one of him yawning. Instead he got the one you saw, just coming out of a yawn. We were laughing so hard because it looked like he was grinning like an idiot. So we thought it would be funny to make it look like he was laughing at a joke about dogs being stupid. Apparently it wasn't as funny as Bill and I thought it was, although a few of you seemed to appreciate it. Anyway, for the record, my husband tells funny jokes, not dumb ones. (Although he usually brings his jokes home from work that I could never repeat on my blog.)

On a completely unrelated topic, I realized I have never done a follow up of my Writer's Block post. (I know, I know, how have you been sleeping at night?) I was expecting a bunch of silly ideas, but what I got was a bunch of really great advice. Thank you to all who gave it. It meant a lot. Some of you (or maybe none of you) may be interested to know that I am continuing on with my original story, although I am re-writing it so that I don't hate it. I can't let go of this idea, because I think it's pretty good. Hopefully soon I'll feel confident enough to share some of it with you. Special thanks to Cousin Jen, who apparently has made it her goal in life to help me and make my life easier and more wonderful.

Oh, and because all the advice was super good and there were no ridiculous plot suggestions, I won't be picking a favorite. Although Honorable Mention must go to Karen for her "werewolves" comment and Amy for her "soap poisoning." Made me laugh!

So thank you, again, for all your great advice and ideas. The writer's block has been removed and I am plugging away, yet again.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

I often worry that I'm going to become that person that people say "I don't read her reviews. She ruins every good movie," about. I've thought back through the movies I've reviewed and could count on one hand the ones that I said only good things about. But I'm not easily entertained, I guess, and even the movies I love have things that bug me in them.

So, I was very excited when I came home from Confessions of a Shopaholic and realized I could write a review where I do nothing but rant and rave. And believe me, this came completely unexpectedly.



I'd been told about the books and that I just had to read them. They sounded fun, but I'm more the type that needs real depth and emotion, not so much the fun chick-lit. I thought the same thing about the movie, especially after seeing the previews: I'm sure I'll see it, but only because it would make a great GNO movie. The previews didn't do the movie justice, at all.

Imagine my surprise when halfway into the movie I found myself thinking "I really love this movie!"

("Yes...I Googled.")

Interspersed among the aforementioned "fun-ness" (i.e. the brightly colored designer clothes, chick music playing in the background, and endless talk about shopping) were many surprises.

One was Isla Fisher as Rebecca Bloomwood, the shopaholic. I've only ever seen her in one other thing (which will remain nameless) and wasn't hugely impressed. However, she absolutely shined in this role. She was perfect as the sweet, vivacious girl with a weakness for Gucci. I completely fell in love with her (in a totally platonic way, of course).



Another was the humor. I was prepared for some soft chuckling, maybe a giggle or two. (Just kidding. I don't giggle.) I wasn't prepared for full-on laughing--the loud, boisterous guffaw that scares babies, the one my mom says sounds like a truck driver. I didn't expect to use that. But I did. Several times. (One time in particular is the scene in which Rebecca dances with a fan. Pure comedy.)

(Rebecca dancing with her fan)

Another surprise was romance. Now, call me blonde if you will, for not realizing there would be some kind of romance in this movie. Every movie throws in some sort of relationship. Even Speed had romance in it. But for some reason I didn't expect it, and was pleasantly surprised when not only did it show itself, but in a way that made me sigh girlishly instead of rolling my eyes. The end in particular, which I will not give away, actually made my heart go tha...................dunk, down into my stomach. You know, the very last scene involving a certain green item. The hopeless romantic in me was literally aching. Hugh Dancy, who played Rebecca's love interest (and is engaged to Claire Danes), didn't do much for me looks-wise until I fell in love with his character. By the end of the movie he was smokin' hot!

(Their first encounter)

But the biggest surprise, by far, was the morals and values this movie had. One aspect of this was its PG rating and its accompanying no language, no sex, no nothing content. (At least none that I can remember.) I thought for sure it would have been more of a Sex In The City type movie, and I was so happy to be wrong. Another aspect was the message of self-reliance. The whole movie screamed "GET OUT OF DEBT." It showed the hardship and pain that debt brings with it and the happiness and freedom that comes from being debt-free and financially secure. Although we definitely hear this more and more with today's economy, it's still shocking to see it coming from Hollywood.

(The look of financial freedom)

By the time the credits rolled, I had laughed, I had "cried" (you know, internally, with no tears), I felt uplifted and inspired and moved. And I knew I could--and would--recommend this movie to anyone who would listen.

(I had to throw this picture in because this character's name was Alicia, which is very cool.)

Funny Feline

Bill came home from work today and told us this joke:

"How do you know if you have a stupid dog?...........
If he chases parked cars."

Macy didn't get it.

Payson didn't think it was funny.

I was less than amused.


But Jasper enjoyed it.