Breakfast Love

First of all, I proved yesterday that I can be sustained on breakfast items alone. Satisfied, no. Sustained, yes.

I started out the day with what I like to consider both breakfast and dessert because it is so delicious, Cocoa Pebbles. There is something about this yummy cereal. Is it the chocolate milk that is left when I am done eating the tiny pebbles of chocolate? Is it the way that a perfect ratio of milk to cereal makes for the perfect bite? At any rate, this was my breakfast followed by a Diet Coke...in this case, I am referring to Diet Coke as a breakfast item because I usually like to have one before the ten o'clock hour. When I was teaching, I would crack open that Diet Coke at 7 AM, so I have made improvements.

Thursdays are the one day that I have a small window to grab lunch somewhere between pre-school buildings. Usually, I stop at one of the multiple delis in the area, but yesterday, a co-worker brought in bagels and cream cheese. Perfect. I would not have to stop for a sandwich somewhere. So, breakfast item number three down the hatch.

I was ravenous after pre-school about 4PM so I got home and made a bowl of Fruity Pebbles. Not as delicious as Cocoa Pebbles, but still a fabulous thing. Then, Tim and I had some errands to do after work and we were going to grab some supper, but by the time we returned home, it was time for me to meet my friend Courtney at Starbucks for a coffee treat. So, breakfast item number five, a huge latte with Vanilla flavoring.

And so, I lived on breakfast alone yesterday. I love breakfast food, but I realized that I can't continue this pattern because I have a feeling that there is not much nutritional value in that stoneage treat Cocoa or Fruity Pebbles.

An Invitation

I have been quite lucky to have so many visitors to my new home...Amy, parents, and soon, my friend Rhiannon. My friends Scott and Sara will be spending a long weekend here in October. But for those of you that need a little more convincing, National Geographic Traveler has recognized Philadelphia as a fantastic place to visit. I loved this article because I knew a few of the places they were writing about.

There are so many other places that I want to visit. So, who is coming to Philadelphia to visit us?

Get Down, Girl, Go Ahead, Get Down

I am staring at a blank blogger's screen with nothing to say. This is rare for me, but I have absolutely nothing to say today. I think I will follow Melanie's lead and do a stream of consciousness blog post...so, I have no organized thoughts tonight. Sorry.

-I have lost ten pounds since moving to Philadelphia. I blame this on a few things. I can't be bothered to go to the grocery store because it takes 30 minutes to get there. Although we have many restaurants in our neighborhood, we do not have fast food besides McDonald's and since watching Super Size Me, it doesn't appeal to me. I had kind of forgotten about the first five pounds until I stepped on the scale for the first time in two weeks and I had lost five more pounds. I do walk a lot more than I used to in Iowa. I am not going out to eat with my friends or quick trips to the Dairy Queen after school.

-Today when I stopped by the grocery store on my way home from work, I ran into someone I knew! This is huge. I knew someone. This happened all of the time in Iowa and North Dakota, yet I go places now knowing that I will not know anyone.

-I struggle with seeming needy to my friends and family because I tend to call and email them a lot. If you fit into the friend and family catagory, you can take all that neediness as missing you...that is a good feeling right?

-I really like the Indigo Girls. I think their lyrics are so kind and thoughtful. I just listened to "Collecting You" and "She's Saving Me"...both such great songs.

-On the less sensitive musical side, I am also digging Kayne West's "Gold Digger"...the explicit version, of course. Get down, girl, go ahead, get down.

-I am attempting an east coast hair cut again tomorrow. If you have read this blog for more than a month, you know the tragedy that last haircut turned out to be. Well, I am going to be very direct and clear with the stylist. I won't be needing Tim's stylin' skills.

Well, you stuck with me. That was my stream of consciousness blog. Dig it.

Secret Stealers

One of my Sunday routines is to check out this website that I find both disturbing and fascinating. I may have even mentioned it before but it is called Postsecret. People write and create postcards with a secret and mail it to an address. The secrets range from the absurd to the devastating. I have always thought this was an original project.

On the other end of the creative spectrum, there is this band All-American Rejects. Normally, I do not find myself watching MTV, yet this morning, I was in the middle of one of those trances with the television where it doesn't really matter what is on the screen, just that I am staring at it with my morning tea in hand. Suddenly, I snapped out of it and recognized something in the video that was playing. The All-American Rejects stole the idea from Postsecret to use secrets on post cards during their video "Dirty Little Secret". You can check out the website of both All-American Rejects and Postsecret and compare.

I don't think I would be so annoyed but this is such a pattern for the entertainment industry. There are times I want to boycott the whole kit and caboodle. This is not the first time that art has stolen from art. I remember a few years ago when Madonna got into some heat for using images in her video "Hollywood" from a French photographer.

Bewitched. Dukes of Hazard. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Why can't Hollywood and the entertainment industry come up with something original. Granted, there are gems of originality out there, but I think we, as consumers, have to decide if we value originality and creativity, rather than being spoonfed something that they believe a non-thinking audience will eat.

My Girl Date

Last night I went on a girl date.

What is a girl date, you ask? Exactly what it sounds like. I went to dinner with a girl to see if we have a connection and maybe become lifelong friends, or at least, hang out again.

Courtney works with me at Borders and was a trainee with me. She is new to the area and starting her graduate school career. She gave me a call this week to see if I wanted to go to supper together on Saturday night. First of all, Courtney is terrible cool just for calling someone up who she hardly knows, I dig her risk-taking personality already. Of course, I said yes because I like going out to eat and I am in the market for friends.

She came over to our apartment. Right away, she started giving me some dish from the bookstore and it was another sign that we could be friends because I also like to dish. We intended on going to a Vietnamese restaurant, but we didn't find anything in my neighborhood, so we ate Chinese food. The service was mediocre, the food was below average, but the conversation was outstanding. My girl date was well on its way to being a success!

We walked back to my apartment discussing where to get our hair cut, our shared love of Dairy Queen, and the woes of being a new comer to the Main Line of Philadelphia. We had some dessert and coffee back at my apartment. Like a regular date, there comes a point when you have decide if you want to see this person again, but that was without question not an issue. We made plans to visit the Reading Terminal Market next Saturday for more food adventures.

Tapping with Tootsie

I had my first tap dancing lesson today. As I pulled up to the Berwyn Senior Center, that should have been my first clue that I would be the youngest by decades. I walked into the large room where I would be flapping and ball-changing. I sat next to this woman who eyed my high heeled tap shoes...

"Hey, you have high heels! Have you tapped before?"

I did not want to admit that I was not a novice tapper since I had 10 years of dance lessons when I was a child. Although I wanted to blend in and not be noticed, my high heeled tap shoes gave me attention before I even started tapping. Then, I had two other women looking at me for some type of answer...

"Well, I had some lessons when I was younger."

This response then seemed ridiculous. Then, when it was time to tap, I followed the directions of the instructor. She is terrific. Again, of retirement age, yet she was a Rockette dancer years ago and has fabulous legs and is a fantastic tap dancer. The instructor sniffed out the non-beginner in a quick fashion...

"Um...you have tapped before."

This wasn't a question, but a declaration to the class. Then, when it came time for some down the room exercises ...flap...flap...flap...no one wanted to be my partner. Maybe because I missed last week and they all had their partners, maybe because of my age, maybe because I was revealed as a non-beginner. It didn't matter because I just forced myself with a group already.

During the last half of the class, we were working on a quick routine when I recognized this woman. This was impossible since I do not know anyone in this state. I kept staring at her and realized that she looked exactly like Dustin Hoffman in the movie Tootsie! So, I am tapping with a Rockette, Tootsie, and several other retired people. I love it.

Truthin'

One of my favorite things that people can do is make confessions. These admissions are sometimes masked in a humorous anecdote or story from the past at a bar or late night party, but I think some people are more likely to confess than others. Sometimes people confess and they don’t even know they have done so. And then, there are some that will never reveal the secrets that make them the individual they are.

A declaration of guilt falls somewhere on the revelation continuum…for example, someone could confess to a guilty pleasure obsession of the for the 80’s soft rock band Air Supply.

“Making love out of nothing at all…”

The other end of that continuum of confession divulges past sins that expose a more criminal element to our personalities.

“I used to steal pies from the store I worked at in high school...”

Now, neither of these confessions belong to me, but mine fall somewhere along that continuum of confessions. There is also something about my personality that people just tell me things. From the tawdry to the ridiculous. I love it. I would like nothing better than to air some people’s dirty laundry out here on the blog, but that just wouldn’t be right. So, instead, I will air my dirty laundry.

- I have a soft spot for Dolly Parton.

- As a prank in high school, I used to put peanut butter under the car handles of people’s car with a girlfriend who shall remain nameless.

- I didn’t read an assigned book for any of my English courses in junior high or high school until the 11th grade and that was only because our teacher played the books on tape during class time. I’d like to defend my actions though. I was always reading, but took great bother with the choices of my English teachers…they always seemed like westerns or animal stories.

- I have no idea where our unity candle is from our wedding…I think it is the trunk of my friend, Jill.

- I still have all the mixed tapes from friends from high school and listen to them. They are good mixes. I hope my next car has a tape player.


I just read over my confessions and decided that I can be terribly boring in term of my crimes. I know that I have better confessions than this. But those are reserved for late nights and strict confidences.

I Love Arrested Development

I was never the type of girl who had crushes on television, movie, or music teen idols growing up. I didn't buy BOP or TigerBeat magazines. So, I am not sure how I can explain my new tendency to become a little obsessed with television shows and the people in the television shows.

Right now, I am obsessing over Arrested Development. I had heard about it last fall when so many people were trying to save this show from cancellation. I am not the type of person who can dedicate myself to a television show every week. I catch things in a hit and miss fashion and then, end up missing out on important episodes. So, I just watch the DVDs when they come out.

This show is so funny. I laugh out loud. It is inappropriate and is not politically correct in anyway. Clever and witty. Jason Bateman, some might remember him from the 80's...great then, great now...is the lead character but the show has so many quirky characters. I think I might have a television crush on Jason Bateman. We all should.

Another Philadelphia Weekend

With each visitor to Philadelphia, we get to see more and more. I am not sure what it is about living here, but we haven't gotten around to seeing too much of the tourist stuff until someone comes to see us.

Friday, I was recovering from my birthday flu. Unfortunately, I became very ill on Thursday and was out for about a day and a half, but Tim was a great host to my parents. He took them to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. They also went to my favorite Philly spot, Reading Terminal Market...remember the crepes?! By the time they had returned from the city, I was well on my way to recovery.

Valley Forge National Park became our next adventure. This is a really great place. Not only is it full of American history and artifacts, but it is a beautiful scene. There are several walking and biking paths throughout the park. There are so many deer that one can get incredibly close to watch them. We visited George Washington's quarters when he wintered at Valley Forge. In the photo, Tim and I are at Valley Forge.

Sunday, we went back into the city to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Seen Rocky, the movie? Well, that is the place where he runs up the steps and throws his hands in the air and makes some sort of grunt or sound. We ran up the stairs and yes, we threw our hands up in the air like many around us were doing. It is funny because all of these people come to one of the largest art museums in the country not because of their appreciation for Degas or Renoir, but because they love Rocky. But, we stayed and enjoyed a few of the exhibits. Of course, we also had to take a picture of ourselves doing the best Rocky we could be. Check out my dad!

Be Back Soon.

Check back on Monday...My parents are here to visit and I am being a tour guide.

Happy Birthday to Me

Happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday to me.

I could try to write something clever. I could try to write something profound. But today, I am just feeling very 29 years old. I am famous (only to myself) for having very high expectations for my birthday. I want a cake, candles, and a party. I think I will get one of the three essentials...the cake.

Since it is my birthday, I am going to be very self-absorbed...more than my normal blog self.

What does it mean to be 29 years old and Sara? Well, I ask myself that everyday. For five years so much of my identity was wrapped up in a classroom full of children. With all that I miss about that, I know that there is so much more to me than that. I sometimes think the people I have chosen to let into my life see so much more of me and my identity than I see of myself. Does that make sense?

I sometimes strive to make a difference in other peoples' lives...to make a mark, yet I don't always think that I put as much effort into making a mark in my own world. I am not well-read or well-traveled, yet I think I take it all in when I am right in the middle of it. I like to take risks even if I flounder a little through that risk...like right now in my life here in Philly. I am taking the risk. I force myself to see beyond my front door and are glad that I did.

This is a bit contradictory since I claim to be so self-absorbed...but I am more self-involved and reflective than the average 29 year old...I think, or am I just being self-absorbed??????? Paradox. Chicken or the egg.

I'll take my 29th birthday to say thanks for listening to me everyday and caring about what is happening in my little corner of the world. I know many read this blog because the other day, I checked my stats and 78 people had read the blog that day.

Go ahead and leave me a birthday wish!!! It would make me happy.

You've Got to Be Kidding!

It really takes very little to make me happy. Yesterday, I entered my car, put the window down because it was a comfortable 80 degrees. I turned on my CD player because I had just put in a mix of songs from the musical "Wicked" and some other singable tunes. I used to car about singing with the windows down when I lived in North Dakota and Iowa, but I no longer worry about that. No one knows me or will remember that crazy lady who was singing the showtunes.

I was returning home after an afternoon teaching pre-school. Things were pretty good in my world. I was sitting at a traffic light in the left lane when all of the sudden, I saw this man in the right lane roll down his window. I didn't think much of it until I saw that he was sticking his head out of the window.

Was he going to tell me to put a cork in it?

Was he going to ask for directions?

No. He spit all over my windshield. He was a large man who was smoking a big, brown cigar. Middle aged. I was stunned. I was left thinking about the decency of people. Someone asked me if this was an accident. Absolutely not. He spit in the direction of the left lane where the traffic was backed up for quite some time. He just didn't care where his business landed.

Now, how I handled this is the next question. No, I didn't honk or give the 'granny fist' that I am famous for using...I have since retired those antics since moving east for fear of the consequences. Instead, I quickly recovered from my shock at this display of grossness by spraying my windshield wiper fluid as fast as I could so that it could have either landed on this guys care, but even better, in his open window. I can't say either way which one happened, but it left me shaking my head back and forth.

A New Green Me

Jealousy is my new thing. I know it is one of the seven deadly sins and all, but as REO Speedwagon would say, I just can't fight the feeling.

And before you get too concerned about my fraying moral fiber, take this jealousy with a big grain of sodium chloride (salt...I am married to a chemist).

This envy can rear its ugly head at any moment, but it usually blossoms in conversations with friends and family. Even though I get jealous, I am more a sadist when it comes to my jealous tendencies. I love to hear about things from my friends and family and then, I get all jealous. I hear about parties that my friends in the midwest went to and get jealous, but must hear about them. I hear about even meetings that my friends have gone to and I am jealous. I hear about going to my old favorite restaurants in the midwest and become green.

I think most people feel jealousy over materialistic ventures, but not me. They can have it all. I just want some socialization. I want to go to a party. I want to sit on someone's patio with a drink in my hand having a terrific, once in a lifetime conversation where I never want the night to end, a night out with the girls for some margaritas, a long talk (in person) with a close friend. I keep it simple. My jealousy is not the type where I am not happy for people, I just want it too.

I am giving myself permission to be jealous of...
- my friend Steve who is on day eleven of his trip to London.
- my mom who gets to get her hair cut tomorrow by the same woman who has cut her hair for a few years...I would love that.
- my friend Kecia who went to scrapbooking camp where all she did was scrapbook.
- my friend Jodi who owns a Hyvee gift card that she uses strictly for Diet Coke, fountain style.
- my friend Jason who gets to go to meetings and discuss important things. I would love to discuss important things.
- my friend Jeff who is going to help with technology at my old school...super jealous.
- my friend Sara who went out to eat with her in-laws for dinner.
- my husband Tim who goes to lunch with his co-workers.

Forensic Backlash

I am so easily annoyed by the littlest things. The super-saturation of network television with forensic, crime-solving dramas has become the thorn in my backside. Of course, the networks' schedule doesn't affect my daily life, but I can be bothered none the less.

Let's take this one network at a time.

ABC-the network that was the ugly duckling of network television and has turned into what I think is the most risk-taking network with the exception of Wife Swap and According to Jim. They don't have a single crime solving drama in their fall line up.

NBC-the network that is having that feeling that most 13 year olds suffer from when they realize that their long time friend has dumped him/her for the much cooler and hip friends...

Crossing Jordan-Hot coroner who gets herself into danger and solves mysteries at the same time. She likes to say things like, "I think she was murdered."

Law and Order...Regular, SVU, and CI-Talk about milking a cow dry. I used to be a junkie, but I have detoxed.

Medium-She sees dead people...oh, and they help her solve mysteries.

CBS-the biggest offender in this crime-ridden primetime.

CSI...Regular, Miami, and New York-That is a lot of corpses.

NCIS-Do you see a pattern? You have to know your abbreviations to even start to investigate these crimes. CBS would like you to believe that this show is somehow different than CSI, but it is CSI with a military flava'. Long story short...Marines and Navy solve crimes.

Numb3rs-You know how you would never use that Algebra in the real world, well it helps you solve mysteries and crimes in LA.

Without a Trace-The FBI finds missing persons in NYC with a little office romance thrown in for good measure.

FOX-even the independent FOX has fallen into the crime solving business...

Bones-That is the best they could do? Since other shows already have detectives, mathematicians, cororners, and Psychics, FOX had to do them one better...Anthropologists. Now that is hot.

Skol, Vikings!

Although I had several concerns moving out to Philadelphia...finding a job, making friends, getting lost, getting found...Tim had one concern..."How will I watch the Minnesota Vikings every Sunday?". Tim keeps it simple.

I enjoy professional football too, but I can only devote three hours each week to the pasttime, not the entire day from 9 AM to 10 PM. I enjoy watching the Vikings, but do not really care about any other team. My mom cares about the Vikings, but she is concerned equally for the Green Bay Packers because she holds true to that Minnesota standard that a Green Bay Packer loss is as fullfilling as a Minnesota Vikings victory.

So, I got on the computer and made some calls and found a sports bar that will be showing the Vikings game tomorrow. It was like a present that I wrapped up in imaginary purple and gold paper when I told Tim that I had found a place not too far from our apartment. He is so relieved. Go Vikes!

Skol**, Vikings! Let's win this game. Skol, Vikings! Honor your name.
Go get that first down, then get a touchdown,
Rock 'em, sock 'em, fight, fight, fight, fight!
Skol, Vikings! Run out the score; You'll hear us yell for more.
V-I-K-I-N-G-S! Skol, Vikings, let's go!

**Skol is the Norwegian word for a salute or a toast, as to an admired person or group.

Hungry Like the Squirrel

Don't be fooled. He may look cute. He may look harmless, but he seems to me like a vicious rodent that makes my daily walk THE WALK OF FEAR!

There is a long line of irrational hatred for the red squirrel. My grandmother used to hop out of her chair and shuffle to the window when she saw the pesky red squirrel, grab the phone, call my 14-year old cousin from across the road, instruct him to bring his gun because she has another "damn red squirrel". Sure enough, he'd take his best shot with hopes of a kill, but usually just scared the red beast.

My parents go into detail when sharing about the kind gray squirrels that eat the seed they put out in their yard, yet when they start describing the greedy red squirrel and their bully tendencies, they show the acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree with their hatred of the red squirrel.

So, now, I am surrounded by trees that have squirrels poking out of every branch. Not just poking, but scattering...jumping...freezing...staring. I will be on a walk and without warning a squirrel will jump out at me stare and be very, very bothered with me. Sometimes, he will hold onto his acorn and give me a scornful look, like, "Back off." I walked my garbage over to the dumpster and as I threw the bag in, a gray squirrel jumped out and made the worst sound I have ever heard. Their little hands and their little claws disturb me. I am afraid they might mistake me for a tree. They might think I am a threat and attack me as I sit on my favorite park bench after my walk. You never know. If red squirrels can be mean, I have a feeling that the gray squirrel can too. And there are just so many of them in my neighborhood! It is a matter of playing the odds, I think.

Travel Vouchers Bug

The most annoying thing to me at this very moment are my free travel vouchers. I had never accepted free travel vouchers before, but accepted a bump in June because, hey, what doesn't sound good about free travel vouchers, right? Well, I didn't discover until tonight that they only reserve so many free tickets for flights. For example, we want to travel to North Dakota for Thanksgiving and we were unable to book a free flight because they didn't have any left. I wonder how many there were to start with? Then, we thought we'd try to schedule flights to Memphis for Christmas. Nope. Spoiled again.

I can understand and appreciate how we are trying to use these vouchers for the busiest travel time of the year, so I tried booking a flight to Des Moines at the beginning of November. Nope. They wanted to me to fly out Friday at noon and leave on Sunday at 6AM...that is not nearly enough time in Des Moines. So, we are left with vouchers that can be free...if you have somewhere to go where no one else wants to go and no one else has a voucher.

Target Adventure

I know it might not be a big deal for everyone, but going to Target yesterday was huge. It was so familiar and so known. I have not been to my favorite discount store in over four weeks. These big kind of stores just don't exist in my neighborhood and up until this point in my life, I have always been just minutes away from every kind of product a girl could want to buy at a Target.

So, with this trip to Target, I also went on the interstate by myself for the first time since living here. I know that sounds strange since I have driven many, many interstates, but I haven't needed to go on the interstate until yesterday. People have told us horror stories about the interstates and how backed up they get around our area so I was a little nervous, but hey, I didn't have anywhere to go except Target. They were fine. They were completely normal. I am sure like any area, they have their moments. But yesterday was not one of them.

After Awhile

After a while you learn the subtle difference
Between holding a hand and chaining a soul,

And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
And company doesn't mean security,

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
And presents aren't promises

And you begin to accept your defeats
With your head up and your eyes open,

With the grace of a woman,
Not the grief of a child

And you learn to build all your roads on today,
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.

After awhile you learn that even sunshine
Burns if you get too much

So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
In stead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers

And you learn that you really can endure...
That you really are strong
And you really do have worth,
and you learn and learn...
With every good bye you learn.

-Veronica Shoffstall

**I used to really like this poem in college. I sometimes wonder how these types of things change their meaning after a few years and a few experiences under our belts.

Music Love

I am in a downloading frenzy!! I am downloading music like crazy! Every type of music that I have ever LOVED...Ever.

1984-"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor-My brother Sean owned this 45 and we listened to it all of the time when we were hanging out in our basement. We'd alternate this record with "Its Only Rock and Roll To Me" by Billy Joel and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler and then play some floor hockey!

1986-"Sugar, Sugar" by the Archies-My childhood friend had an outstanding oldies collection and this was our favorite. We'd get down in the basement as we played school or Barbies.

1989-"Look Away" by Chicago-I am sure I danced in my junior high lunchroom with some boy. Nothing says teenage puppy love like slow songs and the fry line. It is such a pop-dramatic song. It is a terrifically guilty pleasure.

1990-"Goodnight, My Someone" sung by Shirley Jones. I saw The Music Man on television for the first time. I fell in love with Shirley Jones and the music! I never got tired of watching it. I think I was the only person who ever rented it at our local video store.

1992-"The River" by Garth Brooks-I know I have stated my disdain for country music, but Garth holds a special place for me. I really liked him back then. I had, like, three tapes! (Still do). I downloaded several other Garth songs, but this one is funny because my high school health teacher used to play it for us about once a week. I think we were supposed to feel inspired to exercise and abstain.

1994-"Star Wars Disco"-My friend Janelle and I tapped danced a routine at a recital to this underloved disco classic. Nostalgia at its best. Now that I am taking a tap class again, maybe I will break this routine out for guests. KIDDING!

1995-"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Gladys Knight and the Pips-This was the year that I began my love affair with Motown women and their songs. Now, that I think about it, I believe that this song should be added to my karaoke set. Awesome. I don't want to say it is better than Marvin Gaye's but it is my favorite version.

1997-"Bittersweet" by Big Head Todd and the Monsters-If I heard it once in the halls of my sorority house, I heard it 1,000 times. I didn't need to own the CD because it was always being played somewhere in the house.

2003-"Bridge Over Troubled Water" sung by Clay Aiken-I had a bit of an unhealthy obsession with Mr. Aiken that spring. I was mildly addicted to American Idol and took great offense and questioned people's character if they liked Ruben more then Clay.

2004-"You Can't Stop the Beat" Hairspray, the Musical-This is my first and only musical that I saw in New York when I went to visit. It was hard to stay in my chair during the musical numbers. This one is especially is a tune where I want to get up and shake it and shimmy!

2005-"Heat of the Moment" by Asia-After seeing "40 Year-Old Virgin", I had to rush home and get this sweet one. It is so pop-terrific in the car. It is one that needs to be played loud, often, and sung to in your best 80's pop star voice...don't be afraid to pump your fist...but only at red lights to get the proper effect from you audience (the car to your right).

The list could go on and on.

Movie Trailers...A Small Pleasure of Life

Just when you think the Internet has nothing else to offer you, it offers you one more great way to waste your time...or one more great way to enjoy this life!!!

So, if you go to Apple.com (Go Apple!), you can watch movie trailers. Sometimes movie trailers are just as great as a bad movie because you get to see something new, but you are left wanting more. So, I have compiled the movie trailers that have left me wanting more for you...to want more too. Check 'em out.

Elizabethtown

-I have a girl crush on Kirsten Dunst and a bit of a boy crush on Orlando Bloom...AND! AND! Paula from Paula's Home Cooking from the Food Network is in it. I love her accent. It is so very southern.

Jarhead

-I can tell already that this one looks difficult to watch but something that I should watch.

Shopgirl

-I read this book about two years ago and I think I will have to reread it before I see this. I love Steve Martin when he is funny and I love him serious. I have no idea what this is supposed to be. I want to say romantic comedy, but I never see romantic comedies, but this is the second on the list...what is happening to me?!

That is it for now, but I will let you know if I see more...

A Slight Rant

I know I have ranted in the past about how I despise "people" that post stupid advertisements/spams on my comments, but BLOGGER is trying to stay on top of it. Now, in order to post a comment on this blog, you'll have to type in some letters...this doesn't do anything except verify that you are an actual person and not just some computer that is programmed that goes from blog to blog and post spam advertisements. So, post away!

Spidey

Today, I my task was simple...cook a delicious meal for my dinner guests, Alli and Paul. Paul is my cousin who lives only 45 minutes away from me. My second task, clean my apartment from top to bottom. I keep a pretty tidy apartment as it is, but I wanted to do some heavy-duty cleaning. Little did I know that my heavy-duty cleaning would disrupt the living quarters of the largest, biggest, most ferocious spider I had ever seen in any of my actual homes.

Being from North Dakota, we don't grow our arachnids large. We think if they are about the size of a dime, that is big...but this spider was a little bigger than a quarter. Its legs were thick too, no visible hair, which is good. When I stumbled upon this spider, I was by myself and I yelled, "Oh My God!", froze, abandoned my first instinct to grab my digital camera because I feared my new eight-legged friend would disappear only to reappear crawling across my body as I sleep, and grabbed Tim's big brown shoe and smashed it. Its guts went everywhere...it was a juicy one.

I did not clean it up until Tim arrived five minutes later because I was like a dog...I wanted some praise for my kill. I am disturbed by the fact that such a large spider was living among us, but like GWB says, I will stay the course. I will keep up on my cleaning in order to head off any spider dwellings.

Pretzel Nirvana

I cannot believe how cheap it is to eat out here. I am not talking about the type of restrauant that you have a waiter/waitress, but the quick pizza and cafes in our neighborhood. In my neighboorhood alone, there are at least four cheap pizza places where you can go and get a slice for under two bucks. Today, I picked Tim up from work and we went to the Main Line Pretzel Factory. I thought it would be like one of those places like in the mall, but there wasn't a table in the joint. Just a counter, some pretzels, and a lady who sells them. We bought three awesome pretzels for $1.50! They were the perfect pretzel with soft insides and slightly tough outside. We bought the pretzels, two cups of cheese, and one pop and our total was $3.75!

I have also come to know that the money we save on cheap places to eat we spend on other things on the east coast. groceries themselves are a lot more expensive. For example, I used to get all of our sandwich meat from the deli for about $5-6 a pound in Iowa. Now, it is about $8-10 a pound.

The pretzel really made my day.

Mr. President, Tell it like it is, Please.

I don't understand why President Bush talks down to America?

When he is asked a direct question, he vague and dumbs down the answer. He thinks we will be fine with a cliche line like "Help is on the way" when asked a direct question about why it is taking so long? That is not what Diane Sawyer asked, President!!!

You have to watch this interview. Maybe my tendency to be disgruntled with the man is clouding my objectivity in this interview, but for Pete's sake, President...quit smiling and laughing...your people are dying and sick and you need to be honest with them.

GWB Good Morning America Interview