I wanted to dedicate my post today to the men and women who fought for our freedom. I had two grandfathers that fought in World War II, one in the Coast Guard, and one in the Army. I also want to thank those who are still fighting and defending our freedom today. Sometimes I think that our freedom is taken for granted. I don't think a lot of Americans realize what an awesome country we live in. I could go on about that, but not today. Today, I want to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, so that I can Pledge Allegiance to the flag, sing our National Anthem, and proudly say, God Bless America.
I have some blogging friends that participate in Five Question Friday, so I thought I would give it a shot this week!! First of all, welcome to all of those visiting today, thanks for stopping by!! :)
Five Question Friday
1. Is there something you've always wanted to try but just can't muster up the courage to actually do it?
If I haven't mentioned it before, I'm not a fan of flying. I can count on one hand how many times I've flown in my lifetime. The longest flight was from Texas to New York City a few years ago (about 3 hours). I REALLY want to go to Europe. I just need the courage to be on a plane for 8+ hours. I'm gonna do it, one day.
2. If you had $100 handed to you in cash without your significant other knowing about it, what would you spend it on?
Well, seeing that at this moment I don't have a boyfriend/husband, I would spend it on whatever I felt like! :) Maybe a new outfit, or two, from Kohl's. Or perhaps I would finally buy a new DVD player, my old one is starting to show its age.
3. What was your favorite piece of playground equipment as a child?
I always loved the swings. I remember in elementary school we would see who could swing the highest, then jump off. It was a lot of fun, unless you landed wrong on your foot or ankle.
4. Do you prefer a sweet or hearty breakfast?
It all depends on what is available. We have a cafeteria at my office, and some mornings I get a plate (to-go- carton) of eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast, or a breakfast taco. But today, we had donuts in celebration of my birthday last week and a fellow co-workers birthday this weekend, so I pigged out on that! :) Yum...donuts!
5. Are you a Neat Freak or Messy Bessy?
I'm somewhere in between. I'm by NO MEANS a neat freak. Just ask any of my friends. BUT, it does get to a point where I go on a mad cleaning spree. I TRY and keep things neat and tidy, it usually lasts about a week or two. Don't get me wrong, it never gets to the point of "disgusting", I just have a lot of crapjunk stuff, and my apartment is small. So, it looks messier than it actually is.
Last night on Criminal Minds, Tim Curry was playing the killer (that's not a spoiler, you know from scene one he's the "bad guy"). I got to thinking, he plays a really good bad guy. I remember watching Stephen King's IT when I was younger and being petrified of Pennywise the clown (played by Tim Curry). So, for my Thursday Thirteen, I thought I would list 13 actors who I feel play a really good villain. Sometimes I like the actor so much I have a hard time cheering against him as a bad guy. :) And some of them, I can only seem them as a bad guy!
1. Kiefer Sutherland (I know, he was the hero Jack Bauer on 24, but seriously, the man plays a great "bad guy". Even in Stand By Me he was the jerky older brother.)
2. Anthony Hopkins (HANNIBAL LECTOR from Silence of the Lambs. Need I say more. His scenes from that movie still creep me out).
3. Tim Curry (if you have never seen Stephen King's IT, be warned. It will make you afraid of red haired clowns for life!)
4. Cary Elwes (To me, he will forever be Wesley from The Princess Bride, **sigh**, but he has played more than one bad guy since that movie. He was even a jerk in the movie Twister.)
5. Denzel Washington (He doesn't play one too often, but when he is the bad guy, he does it well, and with style. I don't think the man can look bad in any role!) :)
6. Christopher Lee (the man was Dracula for crying out loud! He was also the bad guy in Return to Witch Mountain, one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. And I just saw onIMDB that his birthday is today. Happy 88th birthday Mr. Lee!!)
7. Samuel L. Jackson (the "baddest" of bad guys). And I mean "baddest" in a good way! :)
8. Willem Dafoe (I think pretty much any movie I've seen with him in it, he's playing the villain).
9. Christopher Walken (After seeing him in Hairspray, I almost forgot he has played a villain a time, or two, or seven, in his career).
10. Anthony Perkins (To me, he will forever be Norman Bates from Psycho. Hard to believe he played opposite the beautiful Audrey Hepburn in the movie Green Mansions ).
11. Gary Sinise (I love him on CSI: NY and as Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, but when this guy wants to be bad, he is!)
Okay, I have a little venting to do about some crap stuff I've been dealing with this week (they are about a lot of random topics, I hope you can keep up!)
-For all that is righteous and holy in this world, turn signals were created for a reason. USE THEM!! And don't get mad at me if you cut me off and then have to swerve when you see me there at the last minute. Oh yeah, and thanks for telling me I was number one, buddy!
-Those parties on the elevator have the right away. I know you are in a hurry, but don't plow over me, then look at me like it was my fault because I was trying to get off onto the floor that you were on. Next time, wait a few seconds before barging onto the elevator. And if you do happen to run into someone, a simple "oh, I'm so sorry", would be just fine.
-If I'm sitting at my desk with a plate of food/a hot pocket/a Chick Fil A bag in front of me, then YES, I'm "at lunch". Please don't ask the obvious question. And don't try and make me feel guilty by saying, "I know you are probably at lunch, but can you take care of this?" I'm going to say yes because I'm a nice person, but in my head, I'm making a voodoo doll of you.
-Yes, I'm single. I love being single. I'm having the time of my life being single. BUT PLEASE ,for the love of Steve Avery, don't keep asking me, "why isn't a nice girl like you married?" I'll get married when I feel like, thank you very much. Right now, I'm having too much fun. A married girl can't drop what she is doing and go to a baseball game after work with friends because she was offered a free ticket.
-Yes, I have put on a little weight. Thank you SO MUCH for pointing it out.
-Oh, and thank you for telling me that I would look a lot better with shorter hair. If you knew my purpose for growing my hair out, maybe you wouldn't be telling me I need to cut it because it's getting hot (for those of you who don't know, I'm trying to grow my hair out to donate to Locks of Love).
**DEEP BREATH** Wow, I do feel better after going off about all of that. Thank you friends, for letting me vent. I don't want to leave my post on a "sour" note, so I wanted to post this funny picture a friend sent me. It makes me laugh!! ;) We are halfway through the week!!! Be blessed my friends!!
I know not everyone is a fan of the show, so I'll TRY and keep this post brief (but you know I had to post about it!) But just think, now that LOST is over, I won't be mentioning it (as much).
Again **SPOILER ALERT** If you ever plan to watch LOST, or the finale, please be aware there are spoilers below. Thank you!!
So, my closing thoughts on LOST. I liked the finale. It took me until this morning to come to that conclusion (yes, I thought about it for a while), but the verdict is in: I like how they ended the show. Could it have been better? Probably. Could it have been worse? OH YEAH. I already had some scenarios running through my head that I prayed they wouldn't use. But overall: after 6 years of numbers, the hatch, Dharma, time traveling, The Others, bright flashes, polar bears, black smoke, love triangles (and in some cases parallelograms) and Matthew Fox and/or Josh Holloway walking around shirtless (okay, I actually enjoyed that), I was satisfied with the ending. Were there questions unanswered? Yes, but that kinda leaves the mystery that was LOST to continue on (if that makes sense).
Examples of endings I didn't want:
1). I didn't want it to end with Jack (played by Matthew Fox), waking up on the plane, only to hear, "We are now arriving at LAX, thank you for flying Oceanic flight 815, and have a great day." Basically, I didn't want the whole show to be a dream. I joked for the past two weeks if someone woke up and Patrick Duffy was in the shower, I would be mad (if you never watched the show Dallas, that will make no sense to you!) I knew deep down the writers would never do this, but still, I have trust issues when it comes to finales of TV shows.
2). I also didn't want it to end with Hurley (aka Hugo) in a mental hospital, looking at a picture of an island and all of this to have been in his head (for those who remember the 80's show St. Elsewhere, the series ended with the hospital all being in the imagination of a little boy).Yeah, I'm full of random information!
3). I also didn't want it to end with everyone back on a plane, and it crash (or almost crash) on another island.
4.) I didn't want the island story to be a paper that Walt was writing for a college creative writing class. (FYI, Walt was NOT in the finale. Supposedly details of that reason will be on the DVD).
There are MANY articles/blog posts/comments on the internet talking about how the show ended. If you REALLY want to know, you are more than welcome to Google that information. I'm not going to spend time retyping what other people have already said. But, one blog post that I found interesting came from none other than Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson (who I will forgive for not having his "A" game yesterday while pitching. They lost by 1 run. On my birthday. It's okay, I'm over it! If he can have a good outing next time, I won't mention it again.) I'll also talk about the rude Cubs fans another day. So anyways, back to LOST. I think I posted a few weeks ago that C.J. was a big LOST fan. He had some interesting things to say that "summed" up the episode and what it meant. If you would like to read his theories, you can go here and here.
Quick side note to my Thursday Thirteen from last week: 10 of the 13 characters I wanted to see return for the finale were in the episode. Walt, Michael and Mr. Eko were the only three not there.
For the few LOST fans who might be reading this, I found some interesting articles I wanted to share. The LA Times ranked every LOST episode from "not best" to "best" (they didn't want to say "worst"). Go here for that article.
There are also some funny clips, including a group of cats giving a summary of LOST in a minute, as well as Jimmy Fallon interviewing LOST cast members. Go here for those videos.
So anyways, if you are a fan of LOST and have any theories/comments/ regarding the show and the finale, feel free to email me or comment below.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not on my blog, but I'm a weather nerd (and this has nothing to do with my admiration of Greg Fields, the greatest meteorologist ever!) For as long as I can remember, I have had a fascination with thunderstorms and tornadoes. I love them (**note**: I DO NOT like that they cause damage/destruction/death though). Maybe the whole tornado fascination started with watching the Wizard of Oz when I was little. Is it sad the twister scene was one of my favorite parts? I know it was just a movie (and it wasn't real) but I can remember even at a young age wanting to know more about tornadoes. I used to read whatever magazines and books I could find, and I also watched whatever specials might be on TV about them (long before the joys of the internet and YouTube).
At one point I even looked into studying meteorology and perhaps becoming a tornado chaser, but my lack of skills in math and science killed that career before it got started. FYI: I wanted to be a tornado chaser long before the movie Twister came out. To this day if tornadoes are reported in my area, I'll have a few friends call me, just to be sure I'm not out trying to chase it. I might try it one day (I have a few friends willing to go with me), but for now I'll stick to watching videos online. If you are interested in tornadoes as well, I've posted some videos below.
**SPOILERS** If you are not caught up on LOST, or, if you ever plan to watch it on DVD, the list below will provide spoilers! You have been warned! : )
With the LOST series finale airing this coming Sunday, I thought I would dedicate my Thursday Thirteen list to the show (I've already said that I'm a nerd, this pretty much confirms it).
So, here is my list of The 13 "Former" Characters from LOST That I Hope Make One Last Appearance in the Series Finale (either in the "island" world or "alternate" world). This includes characters who have "died". If you don't watch the show, it's too confusing to explain!
Sorry friends, it has been a rough week, so I haven't had the free time to update my blog. THANKFULLY the work week is half over. Tomorrow is my last "full" day at work since Friday is my flex half day. I have big plans for the weekend so I'm ready for this week to end. In case you don't know me personally, my birthday is this Sunday. I'll be the BIG 3-2. I'm not looking forward to getting older, but I am looking forward to hanging out with my friends. Saturday I'm having a birthday dinner at a local restaurant and then after that, we are going roller skating. Oh yes, you read that correctly. I might possibly break my leg, but I thought, hey, what crazy thing could I do for my birthday this year? Two years ago when I turned 30, one of my best friends and I rented a bounce house for our birthday party (her birthday is today actually. HAPPY BIRTHDAY PENELOPE!) It was fun (although we learned that four adults in a bounce house at one time is too much for it to handle!)
In case you doubted my story about the bounce house! :)
On Sunday (before watching the 2 1/2 hour series finale of LOST), I'll be at The Ballpark for the Rangers game against the Cubs. I know, you are shocked, I'll be at ANOTHER Rangers game. :) Speaking of which, I was there last night. During the 5th inning, my friend and I decided to sneak down closer. I guess it's not really sneaking when we walked right past the usher. It's not our fault they didn't ask to see a ticket. And at that point, the Rangers were losing so those less "faithful" fans had already left. We were able to get about 12 rows from the field near the Rangers dugout. After about an inning I noticed that Nolan Ryanwas sitting on the front row of our section (if you have to ask who Nolan Ryan is, please don't tell me. Just Google him!) ;) I snapped a picture after the game ended. Oh yeah, for those fans who left early, the Rangers rallied to win the game. :)
For those who don't know Nolan, he's the one in the white shirt and tie.
Anyways, hopefully I'll get back on track updating my blog on a semi-regular basis. Have a great one friends!!
I'm sorry I haven't had time to post over the past few days. I promise to write more tomorrow. It's late and I'm about to go to bed, but I just saw this new video by Tim Hawkins I had to post. I hope you enjoy it!! Have a great one!
I know the question for today on The Girl Creative is "What is your favorite childhood memory", but I'm pressed for time today and don't have time to go write about it right now (it's been a VERY busy day, and I have a busy evening ahead of me). I will try my best to post something this weekend about it! :)
BUT, I did want to have something for New Friend Friday. Welcome new friends!!
My sister Mary sent me an email with some funny pictures, so I'm going to post those for you to enjoy!! Happy Friday friends!!
I'm back in the land of the living after being sidelined yesterday with a sore throat. Feeling MUCH better today! Thank you for everyone who sent me well wishes! : )
For my Thursday Thirteen post, I thought I would list 13 of my favorite sports movies (now, I have way more than 13, so it was hard choosing which ones to list). So, in no particular order, I give you my Thursday Thirteen...
1. The Rookie: Of course a baseball movie would be the first one I list. This is one of those "feel-good-based-on-a-true-life-story" Disney movie. The only thing keeping it from being cheesy is that it really happened. I do just have one minor complaint (okay, two). During the scene filmed at The Ballpark in Arlington, they have the visiting team in the Rangers bullpen. Also, the scene was taking place in the 90s (when the Rangers were wearing their red uniforms). And in the movie, they were wearing blue. VERY minor, only a sports freaknut enthusiast such as myself would notice.
My favorite quote: "I'm a Texas woman, which means I don't need the help of a man to keep things running."
2. Remember the Titans: Even if you don't like football, how can you NOT like a movie with Denzel Washington in it? This is another movie based on a true story (yes, it was done by Disney).
My favorite quote: "A water break? Water is for cowards. Water makes you weak. Water is for washing blood off that uniform and you don't get no blood on my uniform, boy you must be outside your mind! We are going to do up-downs, until Blue is no longer tired, and thirsty."
3. Miracle: I swear, I'm not obsessed with Disney, they just seem to make a lot of sports movies! This movie tells the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team. I'm sure everyone knows that story and the outcome. But if not, I won't ruin it for you (in case you want to watch it). But, I will share a clip of the real hockey game (the "do you believe in miracles" moment).
My favorite quote: "Great moments... are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here, tonight, boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played 'em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It's over. I'm sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw 'em. This is your time. Now go out there and take it."
4. The Blind Side: I love, love, love Sandra Bullock in this movie. She so deserved the Oscar for her performance. This movie is based on the true life story of NFL player Michael Oher.
My favorite quote: "If you so much as set foot downtown, you will be sorry. I'm in a prayer group with the D.A., I'm a member of the NRA and I'm always packing."
5. Field of Dreams: This one never gets old. And I know more than one guy who admits getting a little teary eyed at the end of this one. How can you not?
My favorite quote: "At least he is not a book burner, you Nazi cow." I bet you thought I was going to put, "If you build it, he will come.", didn't you? ;)
6. Facing the Giants: I love this movie because of the determination of a man of God to get this story out there. No one in Hollywood would produce this movie, so a church group filmed/produced/acted in this movie. There are no "big names" or "professionals" found anywhere in it. Ticket sales and DVD sales exceeded everyone's expectations. The same group also produced the Kirk Cameron movie Fireproof.
My favorite quote: "Grant, we gotta do something about the car. The only thing it does faithfully for us is break down."
7. Rudy: A movie for someone who needs to believe that dreams come true. I also love Sean Astin in this movie! Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!
My favorite quote: "Son, in 35 years of religious study, I have only come up with two hard incontrovertible facts: there is a God, and I'm not Him."
8. Eight Men Out: This movie is based on the 1919 "Black Sox Scandal". And it stars three big names from the 80s: John Cusack, Charlie Sheen and Christopher Lloyd.
My favorite quote: 1st Cincinnati Reds Player: These guys don't look so tough.
2nd Cincinnati Reds Player: Yeah, that's what Custer said when the Indians took the field.
9. Hoosiers: I had to get a basketball movie in here somewhere! This movie stars two great actors, Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper. And I want to say it was inspired by a true life story.
My favorite quote: "I would hope you would support who we are. Not, who we are not. These six individuals have made a choice to work, a choice to sacrifice, to put themselves on the line 23 nights for the next 4 months, to represent you, this high school. That kind of commitment and effort deserves and demands your respect. This is your team."
10. Chariots of Fire: Even if you have never seen this movie, you probably have heard the theme from it. This movie is based on a true story of two British track athletes competing in the 1924 Olympics. (Quick side note to all my Lord of the Ring friends. A young Ian Holm, aka Bilbo Baggins, is in this movie!)
My favorite quote: "You can praise God by peeling a spud if you peel it to perfection. Don't compromise. Compromise is a language of the devil. Run in God's name and let the world stand back and in wonder."
11. We Are Marshall: I'll admit, this one made me cry (**tissue alert**). Based on the true story of the tragedy that hit Marshall University in November 1970 when a plane crash took the lives of virtually their entire football team and coaching staff. If you are a Matthew McConaughey or Matthew Fox fan, even if you don't like football, this is one you don't want to miss!
My favorite quote: "One day, not today, not tomorrow, not this season, probably not next season either but one day, you and I are gonna wake up and suddenly we're gonna be like every other team in every other sport where winning is everything and nothing else matters. And when that day comes, well thats, thats when we'll honor them."
12. Friday Night Lights: If you are not from Texas, or have never been in Texas during high school football season, you might not realize how true to life this movie is. This movie is based on a book with the same name. Of course, the first thing I noticed is how it reunited Billy Bob Thorton with his Slingblade co-star, Lucas Black (I know, I notice the weirdest things!)
My favorite quote: "Perfection is being able to look your friends in the eye and know you did everything you could not to let them down."
13.The Stratton Story: Of course I had to get a Jimmy Stewart movie in this list! This movie is based on the story of major league pitcher Monty Stratton. After a hunting accident, his career ended when he had to have his right leg amputated. I remember watching this movie with my mom when I was little. My mom actually had a baseball signed by Monty Stratton, but one day my brothers decided to play catch with it outside, and lost it. A few years ago a friend of mine was able to track down a Monty Stratton autograph, so I got it for my mom for Christmas. She won't let my brother's touch it! :)
My favorite quote:[after accidentally shooting himself in the leg] "I shot the wrong rabbit!"
I really enjoy reading Kristin's blog. She posts the cutest stories (and even cuter pictures) of her son. She also posts some wonderful recipes (one day when I decide to give serious cooking a try, I know where to go for recipes!) Thanks again friend!! :)
Anyways, once you receive the award you are suppose to give this award to 10 other sweet and friendly bloggers. Here are the rules:
-Make a post about the award including the picture and mention the person who gave it to you.
-Put the award on your blog.
-Let your nominated 10 know you've awarded them by leaving a comment.
-So, here's to 10 totally awesome blogs I enjoy reading:
I know on my Wednesday Ramblings I usually, well, ramble. But today I'm actually home sick, so I'm going to keep this brief. I've had a sore throat the past two days. I was worried it might be strep throat so I went to the doctor this morning. THANKFULLY it's just a side effect of my allergies. I got some new meds from Dr. B. (Dr. Pam was out of the office). Yes mom, I'm drinking plenty of fluids and I'm resting. In fact, I'm turning off my computer as soon as I post this.
I get many emails a day and don't always get to some of them right away (especially the forwards). My sweet friend Jami (aka, my "little sister") sent me an email on Friday that I didn't see until today. It was JUST what I needed to turn my day around (let's just say I wasn't having the best morning). I personally think that God had me not see this email until today. Of course I am going to share it with y'all!
First of all, welcome everyone from Tuesday Tag-Along! Enjoy your visit!!
God determines who walks into your life....it's up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.
Father, God, bless all my friends in whatever it is that you know they may need this day! And may their lives be full of your peace, prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer relationship with you. Amen.
Speaking of emails that made me smile today, my wonderful friend Forrest sent me a "song" that he wrote about me (to the tune of Take Me Out To The Ballgame).
First of all, I want to wish all of you who are mothers (or acting in the place of a mother) a VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Thank you for all you do! :) I'm actually going "home" today to spend the weekend with my mom.
Second, welcome everyone visiting from The Girl Creative, Happy New Friend Friday! Sit back and enjoy your visit! Bonus points are available if you can follow my crazy train of thought!! :)
Well, today marks the end of the two year run of The Bonnie Hunt Show. I'm sad to see it go off the air. It was the first and only talk show I ever watched. Anyways, this week one of her last guests was none other than Mr. Dick Van Dyke (for those new to my blog, he's my favorite actor). It seems that Mr. Van Dyke has team up with Chad Smith (yes, the Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) to create a children's album titled, TheRhythm Train.
Turns out not only can Mr. Van Dyke sing and dance, he can also rap. Not bad for an 84 year old!
Well, what would a post of mine be without mentioning the Rangers. **deep sigh** The win last night put us back in first place (it was an ugly, roller coaster win, but a win nevertheless). We'll skip over the UGLY, GORY details of how our bullpen blew an 8 run lead. BUT, thanks to back-to-back homeruns by Josh Hamilton and Vladimir Guerrero in the 8th, the Rangers pulled off a 13-12 win. Being a Rangers fan is sometimes like being in an unhealthy relationship. You can't help but love them, despite the pain and heartache they sometimes bring you! : ) But I'm here, I'm committed to them. In sickness and in health, for better or for worse, in cold weather and in 100 plus degree weather, in wins and in losses, until death do us part.
Oh, and this just goes to show that checking Facebook periodically on my phone does pay off (for all of you that say I'm too "addicted" to my iPhone). :) While at the game I noticed that a friend's status mentioned that said she was at the game too. I commented that I was there as well, and she told me we should meet up, so I called her (we hadn't seen each other in like a year). It turned out there were empty seats by her and her family, so me and the friend I was with moved over by them. Here is a view from where we ended up sitting (thank you again Christy!!)
Our new view
Ian Kinsler in the on deck circle. Good to have him back in a Rangers uniform!
Josh's homerun in the 8th to tie the game
Me and my friend Christy! I would like to think that me wearing my Hamilton T-shirt brought Josh good luck. He went 3-5 with 3 RBI's! :)
