Rear Window (AFI #42)

Going in order wasn't working, so I just decided to watch what I want to when I want to. Big shocker, I know!

Rear Window is the Hitchcock movie that scared me the most the first time I watched it. (Probably because I didn't see Psycho until many years later.) SPOILERS AHEAD!!! I think it was the whole knowing someone is coming, but being incapacitated so you can't do anything about it. That freaks me out-seeing the lights go off in the hallway and hearing the footsteps. It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

Watching Rear Window this time, I was struck (and re-struck) by several things . . .

• I love that it was a scary movie without all sorts of special effects.
• Um . . . Grace Kelly is gorgeous.
• If I turn into Miss Lonelyhearts and start having pretend dinners, please do something. I give you permission to send in the white coats.
• I'm so used to seeing actors have smokin' bodies, that it was almost a shock to see Jimmy Stewart's old man body. It wasn't a bad thing necessarily, it was just a jolt to the system.
  
• Is blog stalking and such the modern day equivalent of what Jimmy Stewart was doing?

official bum wiper

Yesterday, I heard Sariah shouting from the bathroom, "Kimbuhwee, come wipe my bum!" Obviously, I tried to ignore it and let my mom go help her, but she just said "No, Grandma, I want Kimbuhwee to wipe my bum." So I did and oddly enough, I felt quite special.

What?!?

The Donner Party may not have actually eaten each other? Was nothing we learned in school actually true? I feel like my entire childhood has been a lie! Next they're going to try to tell us that the first Thanksgiving wasn't really a harmonious settler-Indian gathering involving mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Or that Jesus wasn't really born on Christmas.

so excited

I'm going to Vegas tomorrow to see these guys . . .


and probably most of these guys (same event, different child, 3 years later) . . .



and I just decided to stay a few extra days to see these guys . . .



I can't wait for . . .

• baby snuggles
• little girl snuggles
• some Scooby Doo watching
• hanging with my family
• seeing my sister-in-law's family (I quite enjoy them.)
• movie watching with Traci
• not having school or work
• baby and little girl snuggles (Did I already say that?)
  

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (AFI #99)

Wow. Unlike Yankee Doodle Dandy, I loved this movie and can absolutely see why it's on AFI's list. Unlike the recent(ish) remake, Guess Who, this movie focused more on social prejudices and family relationships, instead of just trying to get laughs. Katharine Hepburn played the loving mother perfectly. The scene at the beginning where she's in the bedroom talking to her daughter is so sweet; and the part where she sends Hillary on her way made me gasp, and at the same time, made me wonder if that's something Katharine Hepburn would have done in real life! Spencer Tracy was also perfect in his role as the cantankerous father who (spoiler alert!) eventually comes around. His final speech made me a little teary and actually seemed quite relevant, given the current issues surrounding gay marriage. And as for Sidney Poitier . . . what can I say? Perfection, as always. In another moment that seemed oddly relevant and current, his character remarked on, and chuckled a little bit about how his fiance thought their (half-white, half-black, in case you haven't caught on yet!) child would some day be President. Oh, how naive he thought she was being!

So . . . long story short, rent this movie. It was much better than most of the movies I've seen lately.

Next up on the list is Unforgiven. I'm not a big fan of Westerns, so we'll see how this goes. I blame my dislike of them on an unfortunate childhood viewing of the movie, Shane. I can still hear that obnoxious little kid saying "Shaaaaaaaaaaane!" If you've seen it, you know what I mean!

song of the day

Kyrie-Mr. Mister. One of my favorite 80s songs. Is it just me or does the drummer look like Perez Hilton to an almost frightening degree? I had to watch the video several times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

I decided to just do the basic 100 years, 100 movies list, and number 100 on the list is Yankee Doodle Dandy. I'm watching it right now, and I don't foresee myself finishing it. I just can't get into it. I don't care about the characters at all and I can't get involved in the storyline. It just isn't happening.

Next up on the list is Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. You can't go wrong with Sidney Poitier. Or Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, for that matter. Of course most people would probably say the same thing about James Cagney. I really am kind of disappointed about the whole Yankee Doodle Dandy thing. Oh well, what can you do?

vietnamese salad

This was delicious. I based it on this recipe on Goop.

bok choy
Napa cabbage
watercress
fresh basil
fresh mint
fresh cilantro
carrot matchsticks
cucumber slices
Thai red chili, sliced thinly
peanuts, roughly chopped
handful of bean sprouts
diced avocado

Roughly chop the greens and herbs. Toss all of the above together.

1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1 T. rice vinegar
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 c. fish sauce (Obvs not vegan-I have no idea what would work as a substitute, flavor-wise)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2-3/4 tsp. sesame oil
a few drops of Siracha chili sauce
a couple spoonfuls of brown sugar
minced garlic to taste
minced ginger to taste
finely diced shallot

Whisk together, drizzle over salad, then toss together.

song of the day

Shame On You by the Indigo Girls

in lieu of being productive . . .

I love movies. Love 'em. But unfortunately, I feel like the only ones I watch these days are bromances or rom-coms. So . . . I'm going to change it up a little. You know all those AFI's 100 years, 100 . . . lists? I've decided my goal for the summer (since I'm not taking any vacations and so will need something to do) is to work my way through one of the lists. I can't decide which one though. There's:

100 years . . . 100 movies
. . . 100 laughs
. . . 100 thrills
. . . 100 passions
. . . 100 cheers

My original thought was to just do the original 100 years . . . 100 movies, but watching 100 years . . . 100 cheers (all inspiring movies) sounds like more fun. 100 passions would be fun too, as would 100 laughs and 100 thrills. I just don't know. Anyone have any thoughts? Anyone wanna watch a movie with me?

song of the day

Waiting in Vain by Annie Lennox

Love the ensemble!

tales from junior high

Since today’s Song of the Day is from Green Day, I thought I would tell you a little story about how I came to enjoy Green Day.

So you know how I have kind of an obsessive personality? Well this was never more obvious than in junior high. You see, there was this guy named Paul and pretty much, he was beautiful. He was a year older than me and had the bad boy vibe going on, which obviously made him that much more attractive. Because of this, I pretty much stalked him every day during lunch. My little group of friends and I followed him everywhere he went, from one end of the school to the other, although he usually just hung out by the vending machines.

Besides being artistic and having great hair, Paul also liked Green Day. And since no 14 year-old girl’s life is complete without changing herself for every guy she has a crush on, I decided that I needed to like Green Day as well. This was like 1994ish, and the album Dookie had just come out. One of my BFF’s, Dawn, had the tape (yes, children, this was before CD’s), so I would go over to her house all the time and listen to it, fast forwarding to the songs that were on the radio and were cool. (Side note-remember how tedious it was to have to fast forward and rewind tapes?)

I soon decided that just listening to the songs wasn’t enough, since obviously Paul didn’t know I was listening to the tape because I never actually spoke to him. Fortunately, he had a Green Day t-shirt that he wore all the time and, as luck would have it, Dawn had the exact same t-shirt. (I tried to find a picture of said t-shirt, but I can’t because it was just that cool and that special and rare. And it was a really long time ago.) So, of course, I borrowed the shirt from Dawn and started wearing it all the time. And before long, Paul noticed and actually started talking to me, and then not much later, asked me out!

Hahahaha! Actually, no. I continued wearing the shirt and stalking him, and Paul continued ignoring me. And that is how I came to enjoy Green Day.

song of the day

First, because it's Wednesday morning and I'm dragging, a song to wake me (and you) up . . .

Just a Song About Ping Pong by Operator Please. Unfortunately, the YouTube video is unembedable (pretty sure that's not a word!).

And now the song of the day



21 Guns by Green Day

song of the day

Jungle Drum by Emiliana Torrini. Kinda weird, but completely infectious. I can see my nieces enjoying this-I'll have to introduce it to them later this week when they come up for a visit.

you didn't get mad when . . .

Saw this on a blog and thought it was interesting. I don't agree with all of it, but I like the general gist of it.



You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.

You didn't get mad when you saw the Abu Ghraib photos.

You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.

You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.

You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.

You didn't get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.

You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.

You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans...oh hell no.

This morning I was wakened by an alarm clock run on electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US Department of Energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the national weather service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US Department of Agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined safe by the Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time as regulated by the US Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory, I got into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. On the way out the door I deposited any mail I had to be sent out via the US Postal Service and dropped the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again did not kill me because of the USDA, I drove my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which had not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which had not been plundered of all its valuables, thanks to the local police department.

I then logged on to the internet, which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration and posted on freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.

song of the day

Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates by Andy Osenga

green screen fail

While we were in Vegas last weekend, my mom, aunt and I took my nieces to the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay. As you go in they make your group take a picture in front of a green screen, and then there are various backgrounds to choose from. Unfortunately, I was wearing a green shirt, and a green shirt and a green screen do not a good combination make. Fortunately, not being able to see half of my body makes me look a lot skinnier!

Attention all mothers

If you do this I will shun you and talk about you behind your back because it is creepy.

more sassiness!

Menergy!

how very, very cool

Click here for a virtual tour of the Sistine Chapel.

giant poop bubbles

Just when you thought it was safe to go outside, the Midwest is apparently rife with giant poop gas bubbles.

I swear . . .

I find it interesting that people are taking the passing of the healthcare bill as a sign that Jesus is coming. How many other countries in the world have universal healthcare? Apparently Jesus only cares about what happens in the United States and will base his triumphant return upon what happens here and only here. I can't imagine why Americans are thought of as arrogant! And what's even more arrogant is that as I typed that, I seriously thought "Now watch, Jesus will come back just to spite me because I wrote that." Yeah, because Jesus cares about my blog!

giant gay repellent umbrella

A Gaythering Storm from Jane Lynch

There is a storm being caused by gay marriage and we are all in serious trouble. This is a parody of NOM's Anti-Gay Marriage PSA. Watch the original http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp76ly2_NoI&e

more wedding pictures

Me and Erin (Erin and I?). Do you see the family resemblance?


Night before the wedding, hanging out with Erin's friends.


Lindsay, Erin, me.


It was this big!


There may or may not have been alcohol consumed before the following picture was taken.


Ditto.


Yup, they're still there!


A common theme. I believe every single second of this weekend was documented by multiple cameras!

awesomely bizarre

Something about this is just wrong . . . and yet so right. Make sure you watch the whole thing.

give it to me!

As you may have noticed, I'm going through an obsessive blogger phase. Don't worry, I'll make up for it later by not blogging for a couple months.

When I first started reading this tribute to the movie The Monster's Christmas (don't worry, I had never heard of it either) I was slightly intrigued and then I saw the following and it is now my mission in life to find this movie.

I can't stop watching this; it's hypnotic. In my mind, when she makes the face, there are sound effects.




And this may just be my new favorite song.

careful!

I once had a roommate who accused me of being a hypochondriac. This was ironic because for everything I thought was wrong with me, she had already had it and most of the time, had it worse. But I digress . . . here's an article about 6 Things Your Body Does Every Day (That Can Destroy You). So, since you could die at any second, let us eat, drink and be merry. Or are we not supposed to do that? I can never remember if the Bible tells us to do something or not to do something, hence that whole coveting my neighbor's ass debacle.

pure genius

A Trailer for Every Academy Award Winning Movie Ever -- powered by Cracked.com

entertaining

I have just discovered Cracked.com. Prepare to be inundated with funny/interesting articles. First up-the Disney model for relationships. Here's just one gem from this article:

Where does the incest come into play? That would be compliments of The Lion King. Oh yeah. Extending beyond the realm of the back-water hills of Appalachia, digging your sister stretches over the Atlantic and hits the Savannah. There is only one male in the pride. That would be the beloved lion king, Mufasa. Simba and Nala grew up in the same pride. Again, I reiterate, there are no other males making babies in the pride. That would make Simba and Nala half siblings. That's right. They used the British royalty method of keeping the King's bloodline pure. The punishment of such a relationship? A half-baked sequel staring your mutant off-spring that introduces new blood (in the form of one new male) into the pride. I'm not even going to tread near the notion of how Simba inherited all those females. Neither The Lion King or The Lion King II: Simba's Pride seem to have any scruples concerning raising children in a harem of sex partners. An orgy is simply quality "family time."

good song

I hate it when you can't embed YouTube videos. Anyway, I'm really into the song, "Painkiller" by Turin Brakes right now. I can't get enough of it. I wake up with it running through my head.

interesting experience-long, but please read!

The other day I was at the grocery store, going through the check-out line, when the cashier asked me if I was ready for Easter and started talking about wanting to color eggs. I told her I don't eat eggs, which then led to a discussion on being vegan. She said she could understand not eating meat, but she would never be able to give up cheese and milk, and then she said that dairy cows were probably treated better than the cows for slaughter anyway. I said no, actually they're not; for starters, they're kept pregnant so they'll produce milk. The cashier couldn't believe that. So my question for anyone reading this is do you think dairy cows are special cows that just magically produce milk? I would like to share a little secret with you; cows are mammals and just like humans, only produce milk after giving birth. There is no such thing as a cow that produces milk constantly, which is why dairy cows are constantly impregnated. And don't go thinking that pregnant cows are treated well. They are kept in cages and they are barely able to move. Then, once they give birth, that calf is immediately ripped from them. If it's a male cow, it's sent to the veal factory. If it's a female cow, it will be subjected to the same fate as its' mother. Now you're probably thinking well it's just an animal, it doesn't know or care when it's baby is taken away.

• "The terrible sound one hears on any dairy farm after a cow has given birth is the call of a lost calf, calling her mother, and the mother answering in desperation. If that is not suffering, I don't know the meaning of the word. . . . the removal of her calf is the single worst incident in the life of a dairy cow. . . . We saw one cow outside the stockade, roaming, looking for her calf, and bellowing. 'That's not a happy cow,' Temple said. 'That's one sad, unhappy, upset cow. She wants her baby. Bellowing for it, hunting for it. She'll forget for a while, and then start again. It's like grieving, mourning--not much written about it. People don't like to allow them thoughts or feelings.'"*

If that sounds unpleasant, keep in mind that the same scenario is repeated over and over again, with calf after calf, until the dairy cow is finally too old, at which point they are slaughtered. And of course since they are now older cows, the only thing their meat is good for is hamburger meat, which is a whole separate topic. Now I am certainly not going to tell you not to eat animal products, because that's a very personal decision, but I would like to ask that you think about where the food that you eat comes from, and perhaps educate yourself on the topic. If, after finding out all the facts, you still want to eat meat, drink milk, etc., that's fine, at least you know what went into what you eat. So please, do some investigating. Find out where your food comes from. Find out what it takes to get it to your plate and then make an enlightened decision about what you will choose to feed you and your family.


*Taken from "The Face on Your Plate: the Truth About Food" by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, pg. 80.

stuff I'm enjoying at the moment

The soundtrack to Spring Awakening. So good.












Whale Wars



"Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" by Rufus Wainwright




any book by Susan Jane Gilman


baby bok choy



eos smooth sphere in sweet mint

pics from dinner

Here are some pictures from dinner our first night in Georgia.

Me and my cousin, Becky


Top Row-Lindsay and Erin. Bottom row-Jenny, Becky and me.


Left to Right-Uncle Don, Aunt Debbie, my dad, Becky, me, Lindsay, Lindsay's boyfriend Matt, Jenny, Jenny's fiance Kevin, Jon, Erin.

a blog I enjoy

I just discovered the blog Rurally Screwed and love it. I especially enjoy the post "Rumble at Wally World." You should go read it. This is one of the (many) reasons I hate shopping at Wal-Mart. If only I had the guts to stand up to people like she did!

miracle workers

Here's what I bought to tame the humidity-induced frizzies while I was in Georgia:

Garnier Fructis Style Sleek and Shine Anti-Humidity Hairspray

John Frieda Frizz-Ease Weather Works Weather-Proofing Style Sealant Creme (that's a mouthful!!!)


These products were miracle workers. I highly recommend them if you're going anywhere that's humid. I only wish I had found them earlier than our last day in Georgia.

What exactly is that???

Mark's email today contained this gem:

I'm assuming that is a dog, but I'm not 100% sure. I think maybe there's a little warthog in there too.


But then again, the face is a little hyena-ish.

Tom's Shoes

Have you heard about Tom's Shoes? For every pair of shoes you buy, they donate a pair to a child in need in a developing country. According to the website:

Many children in developing countries grow up barefoot. Whether at play, doing chores or going to school, these children are at risk:

• A leading cause of disease in developing countries is soil-transmitted diseases, which can penetrate the skin through bare feet. Wearing shoes can help prevent these diseases, and the long-term physical and cognitive harm they cause.
• Wearing shoes also prevents feet from getting cuts and sores. Not only are these injuries painful, they also are dangerous when wounds become infected.
• Many times children can't attend school barefoot because shoes are a required part of their uniform. If they don't have shoes, they don't go to school. If they don't receive an education, they don't have the opportunity to realize their potential.

I got these ones:
I know the shoes are a little pricey, but honestly, I would rather pay more and know that my money is helping a child in need, instead of just getting a cheap pair of shoes.

Georgia Day 3

Saturday was the big day-Erin was finally getting married!!! Other than a last minute run to the Rite Aid to try to find some products to deal with the humidity (It wasn't an afro, and I'm not Jewish, so it wasn't a Jewfro, so maybe I'll call my situation a MoFro.), we didn't do much except get ready for the wedding. Everyone looked great-the bride was gorgeous, the bridesmaids looked fabulous in their dresses, and the mother of the bride looked beautiful. The guys looked good too, but you can't really say much about a tux. I did manage to light the memory candle without tripping along the way or knocking the candle over and burning down the church. I was quite proud of myself. The ceremony went off without a hitch, and after pictures, we headed out to the reception site. This is when things started to go terribly wrong. So remember how I'm vegan? And remember how I said I was taking a break this weekend, and just eating what was available? Yeah, well that ended up not going so well. On the way out to the reception, my stomach started to feel not so great. I downed a couple of stomach pills, hoping that would help, but unfortunately, it didn't. Shortly before we started eating (the reception food was delicious, btw), the pain started to really hit. I took another pill, praying that they would start to kick in, but after a little while, I realized that was just not happening. I wanted to stay to see Erin and Jon off, but I only lasted through the toasts, cake cutting, and first dance, and then I had to hurry and say good-byes (It's possible I got teary eyed each time I hugged someone good-bye.) and get out of there. I was seriously dying the whole drive back to the hotel. I've cheated and eaten non-vegan a couple of times before and had a pretty bad upset stomach, but this far and away put those moments to shame. I'll spare you the details, but I will say that there was internal intestinal bleeding involved, and that is why I will never eat meat again. Never ever ever. Never.

Georgia Day 2

Yesterday we all went to get our nails did and . . . AND . . . I got my very first pedicure! I know, you would think that with my obsession with all things beauty related, this would have happened a long time ago. I now plan on making this a regular occurrence. Well, as regular as my budget will allow.

Later we did the wedding rehearsal and I'm happy to report that my whole lighting the memory candle thing is not quite as scary as I had thought, and fortunately, there will be someone there to supervise all flame-related activities, so if I do manage to burn down the church, it won't be solely my fault. After the rehearsal, we went to the rehearsal dinner out at Jon's (Erin's fiance) property. They had it catered by The Varsity and it was delicious. I've gone off of my vegan healthy lifestyle for the weekend because really, I don't think it's possible to be vegan in the south. Or at least it isn't if you're just visiting and aren't cooking for yourself. Anyway, at the rehearsal dinner I had chili dogs and onion rings. Best chili dogs and onion rings ever. During the dinner I hung out with my cousin, Jenny, who I don't think I had ever really talked to much before. Erin and Lindsay are more my age, so I've always hung out with them. It was nice to visit with Jenny and get to know her a little bit better.

After the dinner I went with Erin, Lindsay and several of her friends to a hotel bar for drinks, then we went back to the hotel room and hung out for a little while. It's been nice getting to know some of Erin's friends. I always see their names on email forwards and their pictures on Facebook, so I was excited to get to actually meet them.

Being here has actually made me think about moving down here. I have this itch to do something and move somewhere when I'm done with school in August. I think the only thing stopping me would be having to find new products for the whole hair/humidity issue. Well, that and finding a job and a place to live, I guess. We'll see what happens. I do really like it down here. Maybe I'll do it for like a year and just see how things go.

Georgia Day 1

My dad and I flew to Georgia this morning for my cousin Erin's wedding. When we arrived at the airport and tried to check in, I learned that since my last flight, I have somehow managed to earn a spot on the no-fly list. Yeah. We had to go to a special line to check in and I had to go through a rigorous process of verifying my identity (meaning that I had to verify my date of birth). The lady at the counter told me the next time I book a flight I should use my middle initial. Unfortunately, I have no middle name. Maybe all common and generic names are put on the list or something, I don't know. At dinner we all decided that I should go ahead and give myself a middle name, and that it should be Hussein, because what are they gonna do-put me on the no-fly list? Oh that's right, they already did.

Anyway, we finally made it to Georgia and met up with my aunt, uncle, and cousins for some good ole southern BBQ. It was great to see everyone and it's great to be down here. The last time I was in Georgia was like 1992. My hair apparently has missed the humidity since the moment I stepped off the plane (not even out of the airport, mind you), it immediately started to frizz. I think it and my skin have just been soaking up every bit of moisture they can. Ahh, the joys of living in the desert!

I also decided that since my mom is from North Carolina, I am only half Yankee, and therefore I have the right to freely use the word y'all, and to discuss, with righteous indignation, the war of northern aggression. It is my birth right.

today's highlights

1. I finally got my dress for my cousin's wedding. Also got a little black shrug to wear with it and black heels. I'm not entirely sure about the shoes, but at this point I've already started breaking them in and I just can't be bothered to find shoes that will not only match a little bit better, but that also come in my size and are actually at the store and don't have to be ordered. (I have big feet-size 11. Oprah wears 11 too. And so does Paris Hilton, but she doesn't get to be in my big foot club because well, she's Paris Hilton.)



2. I watched yesterday's episode of Kell on Earth and loved that Kelly and Andrew crashed Tandrew's blind date. If you aren't watching this show, you need to be. Not getting Bravo is no excuse-they put the episodes online.

3. While I was in Vegas over the weekend (don't you love how I just threw that in there, nonchalantly, like I'm this world traveler and have this fabulous life!), I stopped at Trader Joe's because they have a great vegan selection. One of the things I got was a Vegetable Panang Curry (third item down), which I ate today. It was so good. So good. BTW, Trader Joe's needs to be opening up a store somewhere along the Wasatch Front ASAP. If you can open stores in Wisconsin and Minnesota, surely you can branch out into Utah.

4. This actually occurred last night, but I'm still riding the high from it . . . Gossip Girl is finally back after an exceedingly long hiatus!!! And if Gossip Girl's back, that means Daily Intel's Gossip Girl Recap is also back!!!

5. Even more sassiness!!!!

Best news ever!

My prayers have been answered! A Sephora will be opening at the Fashion Place mall in June!!! No more having to wait until I go to Vegas! A little danger warning is going off in the recesses of my mind. I have a feeling this could be a slightly bad thing for my bank account. Maybe I'll have to get a part-time job there, just so I can get a discount.

sassy gay friend

Hamlet would have ended much differently if Ophelia had a sassy gay friend!

baby!

So excited to announce I have a new nephew. His name is Trevor Walker. I shall commence with calling him T-Dub immediately.

Finally!

We've been waiting all weekend to hear from my brother, who's on a mission in Chile right now, and he finally emailed this morning!!! I'm so glad to finally hear from him-needless to say, this last weekend was a bit stressful! Here's part of his email . . .

So, just so you know, I´m perfectly fine! Saturday morning I woke up because I heard a bunch of weird noise, and all of the sudden, everything just started shaking like crazy. I realized what was going on, and I hopped out of bed and shook Elder Barreiro awake, and we ran/stumbled out of the house. I really don´t even know how to explain it. Sirens everywhere, dogs barking, people yelling, the world moving. It was madness. I was in socks shorts and garments so it was a little chilly. The earthquake part lasted about a minute and Luckily nothing happened to our house(besides all the stuff inside had been thrown all over the floor), so after while in the street we went back in, but then everything started shaking again so we naturally left. The tremblors kept happening all throughout the night and our neighbors, and members kept coming by to check on us so we didn´t get any sleep. At about 7 the Assistants to the president came and told us to stay put in case they called, which was pointless because the phones weren´t working either. And the lights and water didn´t work in Con Con so there wasn´t much to do. We did end up leaving to go check on some people that live close by and everyone was ok. We spent the day passing by members and investigators to see if they needed help with anything but Con Con didn´t really have to much destruction. There were a couple of apartment buildings that had the roofs and a couple floors fall in though. We also have orders to call our families, but none of the call centers are working still so I don´t think that will be happening. We got water and power back yesterday, but the power is like, half the strength, and the water was orange, and now they´ve cut it till tomorrow, so yea. Fortunately we have about twenty big bottles stored up of water in the pension so all is well. I just stink.

this hurts my heart

So remember when I said I wanted to unfriend someone on Facebook because of the non-stop political commentary? Well, this is what greeted me when I logged on to Facebook today . . .


I don't know if I have words for how f*cked up that is. No matter what my personal beliefs on this issue may be, I would never NEVER presume to judge someone who has to make that decision. I would venture to say that women who have to make this choice don't do so lightly, and they certainly don't need your condemnation. I don't understand people who think that shaming another person will make them believe what you believe. And I'm going to go ahead and stop there before I get all riled up and start bringing other issues (religion) into it.

made me chuckle

The 20 Funniest Figure Skating Faces

best commercial ever

Best line ever . . . I'm on a horse.

One more . . .

Is it bad that when I stumble upon the blog of a guy who I had a mad crush on in high school, but who never acknowledged my presence, and I find that he really has not aged well, it makes me happy and I do a happy little jig in my mind?

Is it bad that . . .

• I want to delete a Facebook friend because I'm sick of the incessant political commentary?
• I can't fully get behind this new Haiti-fied version of We Are the World because it opens with Justin Bieber? I can get past the rap section, but I can't get past the Bieber.
  
• I actually liked When in Rome?
• I refuse to believe that male ice skaters are straight? Most male pairs skaters and ice skaters from China, Russia and any Eastern bloc country are an exception, but even then, are still under suspicion.
  

snow

I finally sucked it up and went to Wyoming in the dead of winter. I've been avoiding it because somehow I got it into my head that Wyoming is just like Alaska. Nevermind that 1.) I've never even been to Alaska and 2.) Wyoming and Alaska aren't exactly neighbors. There was a lot of snow, but definitely not the Day After Tomorrow type snowdrifts I had been imagining. Sunday morning was especially gorgeous-everything was frosted over and very winter wonderlandish. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera with me, so when you look at these pictures from my cell phone, keep in mind that it was about fifty times more impressive in person.

awkwardness avoided

I was sitting around waiting for a meeting to start tonight when a girl walked in who I knew. I gave her a big smile and was about to talk to her and ask her how her mom is, but the meeting started just then. About twenty minutes later I realized that I don't actually know her; I just saw her on Intervention.

nothing exciting to report

Nothing really blog worthy has been going on. Life is dull, which is probably a good thing. Here are some tidbits:

• Went to see When in Rome, despite the fact that the critics hated it, and I actually enjoyed it. It was cute and had some funny moments.
• My latest viewing obsession is all of those PBS/BBC "House" shows. Frontier House, 1940's House, etc. I've found that I don't like them so much when it's just one family. I like the drama and bickering of Manor House, Regency House Party and Frontier House. I have yet to watch Colonial House, which I hear is pretty good.
• My new favorite tv show is Kell on Earth. Kelly Cutrone is pretty much my idol.
• I'm going to Georgia next month for my cousin's wedding. Should be fun.
  
• The spring-like weather we've been having lately is making me very happy.
• Veganism is going well. I'm quite enjoying it. I have much more energy and feel less sickly. (TMI, but when you go vegan, your poop doesn't stink.)
• Thoroughly enjoyed Jon Stewart on The O'Reilly Factor. Actually, I enjoy whatever Jon Stewart does. He could just sit at the desk eating a sandwich and I would applaud. I thoroughly concur with, appreciate, and admire his mockery of Glenn Beck (and many others).
  
• Am missing the little brother . . .

delicious

For dinner tonight I made:

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

fingerling potatoes
olive oil
sea salt
pepper
garlic
seasoning of your choice

Peel the potatoes and parboil for like 8-10 minutes, then drain. Put them in a baking dish, then drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic, sea salt (you can use regular if you must, but I really like the bursts of flavor from the little salt chunkies), freshly ground pepper, and whatever seasonings you like (I used Greek seasoning because it is my favorite of all time.). Cover with foil and bake until done. Mine took about 20 minutes for about a dozen potatoes. BTW, I got a bag of fingerling potatoes at CostCo and it had several different varieties, including a purple one. I thought the purple potatoes were a lot more dry than the others, so next time I think I'll use those for something else that maybe has a sauce with it.

Italian(ish) Bread Salad

good bread (I used a baguette)
artichoke hearts
roasted red peppers
shallots (You can use onion; I had a shallot that needed to be used.)
garlic
tomatoes (I only had regular, but I would recommend that you use grape.)
spinach, torn into bite-sized pieces
olives (I used kalamata, it was just what I had on hand.)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt (I used kosher)
pepper
seasoning

Rip the bread into bite-size pieces and combine in a bowl with the artichoke hearts, peppers, scallion, garlic, tomatoes and spinach. Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar, then season with salt, pepper and other seasonings to taste. I think for this kind of salad, you're supposed to wait a while to allow all the flavors to combine, but I liked the bread better at the beginning, when it was still a little chewy. It definitely had more flavor after it sat for a while, but I didn't like the texture as much. Fresh basil and other herbs would have been awesome in this, but alas, I was using what was around the house and I didn't have anything like that. (And yes, I did just use the word alas.) This would have also been delicious with fresh mozzarella, but that doesn't jive with the whole vegan thing, so yeah.


I'm sorry I don't have measurements for anything. I was just kind of messing around, using what sounded good.

Dear Facebook,

In addition to the "like" button, please add the following buttons for my convenience:

• Dislike
• Um . . . are you high right now?
• WTF?
• Please explain . . .
  
• Please spellcheck.
  
• Your status is far too long for me to read and/or care about.

Thank you kindly,
Kim

thoughts and stuff

• My Felicity/Miley Cyrus motivation is officially gone.
• This season of Celebrity Rehab is awesome. Officially the best (meaning most drama-filled) ever. If you don't watch it, I would highly recommend that you check it out. It can be watched on Vh1 or online here.
• So do you remember that 8 am class that I stayed in because the teacher was hot? Yeah, well the more I get up early, the less attractive he becomes.
• I added my book list to the sidebar again, so if you want to see what I've been reading, you can check it out there.
• I'm currently rereading a memoir about these people that buy/renovate a place in France. It talks about food a lot, specifically meat, butter and cheese. This does not make my life any easier.
• I've seen a couple of good movies lately-Up in the Air and The Lovely Bones. Up in the Air was fabulous, I highly recommend it. I think it's probably the best movie I've seen lately. My parents really liked it too, as did the rest of the audience, almost all of which seemed to be geriatric. It must have just been the time of day I went that drew in the more mature crowd. The Lovely Bones was pretty good, but if you're a fan of the book, I think it's best that you go in with fairly low expectations. Stanley Tucci was awesome; he was beyond creepy in it.
  
• Did anyone watch the Golden Globes? I cheered when Glee and The Hangover won. BTW, I just bought The Hangover and it just gets more and more funny each time I see it.
• You may have noticed, but I changed the feed settings so that you have to actually click onto my blog to read the post. This is only temporary.

That's all.

cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!

So you know how I've mentioned that I've been doing the vegan thing? Well, I stopped by the store this morning to get a banana for breakfast, but all the bananas were green. Do you hear me? ALL THE BANANAS WERE GREEN! And an orange didn't sound good and I can't eat an apple without washing off all that waxy crap first, so I had no choice but to get a doughnut. Yes, that's right, a doughnut that was most likely made with dairy products. My justification was that there was no nutrition label, so technically I didn't know for sure that said doughnut actually contained milk or eggs. I was feeling semi-good about my decision, but then I ran into someone I know. Someone who reads my blog and who has possibly read about me going vegan. And I ran into this someone immediately after grabbing my doughnut from the case. Why, oh why is there always a witness to my secret shame? Now granted, she probably didn't even think about my healthy lifestyle for even a second, and she probably would never have thought about it had I not been blogging about it, but still . . . I knew. Oh, and to top it all off, I'm having a bad hair day due to the water heater malfunctioning. Oh well, the deliciousness of the doughnut made up for it all.

And since I'm being honest . . . when I say a doughnut, I actually mean two doughnuts.

100 things

I'm stealing this 100 things about me thing from several people whose blogs I read . . .

1. I have a very active imagination. This is why I don't like scary movies.
2. I really want a tattoo.
3. I have problems with doing things in moderation.
4. I don't think I want kids anymore. I am content with nieces and nephews.
5. I love to cook but I don't like to bake.
6. I don't like to talk on the phone.
7. I love my handwriting.
8. I tend to talk about how great something is, and then have a panic attack when I share that thing with someone else because if they don't love it as much as I do, it will devastate me.
9. Few things in life irritate me as much as when people say "I seen it."
10. I recently ate a mushroom and after 28 years of hating them, discovered that mushrooms aren't really that bad.
11. I still believe that I can do/be anything I want when I grow up. Unfortunately, I don't really want to do/be anything.
12. I use eyeliner on my upper waterlines. It just looks better.
13. Walking into a Sephora makes me tear up a little bit.
14. I love purses, especially big ones.
15. The web cam on my laptop freaks me out. I had to cover it with stickers because I felt like I was always being watched.
16. I tend to be slightly paranoid.
17. I wish I were more fashionable.
18. I hate sweet pickles.
19. I have many late night epiphanies that don't seem quite as amazing in the morning.
20. I am not content to have a nice, ordinary life. I crave more. This, combined with my lack of motivation, is not a good thing.
21. I have come to realize that my memory is possibly not as accurate as I have always thought it was.
22. Sometimes I think I shouldn't be as honest as I am.
23. Lately I've been sleeping with my window wide open, just so I can burrow underneath two down comforters and a quilt.
24. I have trouble letting go.
25. Humane Society commercials make me sob. I have to change the channel.
26. I love, love, love to read, but I have a hard time finding books that hold my attention.
27. I reread all the Little House on the Prairie books every couple of years.
28. I believe 100% that things work out the way they're supposed to.
29. I love in the shell sunflower seeds. I tend to sit and eat them until the inside of my lip is raw.
30. I have an 8am class this semester that I am staying in solely because the teacher is hot.
31. I own a mahjong set from Chinatown, but nobody will play it with me, and now I don't even remember how.
32. I love to wear fun, colorful socks. I think I have more Tinkerbell socks than I do normal socks.
33. I don't believe in nylons.
34. I gave myself a trim a while ago. It looks fine to the untrained eye, but now I'm afraid to get a real haircut because I know it will be obvious to the stylist.
35. I like the idea of camping.
36. I really want to go do humanitarian work in Peru.
37. I'm afraid that the second I get rid of something, I'll need it.
38. I own my own full size freezer. It's one of my prize possessions.
39. I like to keep my college textbooks because I think they make me look smart.
40. I enjoy carrot juice.
41. I like the Disney villains. Maleficent is my favorite.
42. I spill all over myself all the time. I really should wear a bib.
43. I am a list maker.
44. I suck at taking out the trash. There is a big bag of trash sitting in my room and it's been there for a couple of weeks now.
45. I miss the early days of The Real World when it was about issues instead of getting drunk.
46. I laugh a lot. I find humor in almost everything.
47. I require significant amounts of alone time.
48. I record The View every day just for the first 20 minutes.
49. I can't stand David Letterman. I also don't care whether Jay or Conan stay or go. I'm a Jimmy Kimmel fan. His show is also recorded every day.
50. I love peanut butter.
51. I don't like mandarin oranges.
52. When I eat Chex Mix I always leave the rye chips and wheat Chex.
53. The Mamas and the Papas are forever ruined for me. Now I just think of incest.
54. I love Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and I watch faithfully, despite the fact that it irritates the shiz out of me that they're only in there for 21 days and they haven't even detoxed when they get there. That's not nearly enough time.
55. I read a lot of young adult books for my mom (9th grade english teacher) and I am so unbelievably sick of vampires, werewolves, demons, etc. Let's use our imaginations, folks, and move on.
56. My favorite place to buy books is D.I., and within the D.I. arena, I have favorite stores that I swear have better selections.
57. I want to open a farm sanctuary.
58. It has taken me days to write this and I'm only on 58. I'm having a hard time thinking of things that I haven't already discussed on my blog.
59. I inherited my grandpa's seashell collection. He was a Marine and was stationed all over the world, so I have shells from all over.
60. I also have a collection of dolls from all over the world. My grandpa would buy a doll (a decorative one, not a play one) wherever he was stationed, for both my aunt and my mom. My parents then started buying me a doll wherever they went, which was a lot of places. I also now buy dolls whenever I go somewhere cool.
61. I love dog and kid snuggles.
62. I have a thing for koala bears. This stems from a traumatic childhood experience involving accidentally leaving a favorite stuffed animal in a hotel room in Spain. I have never recovered.
63. My dream vacation spot is Thailand. The mom of one of my best friends growing up was Thai and she was amazing. I've wanted to go there ever since.
64. I am a big believer in homeschooling. No amount of making fun of me will change this.
65. One thing that may make me reconsider my belief in homeschooling is that I read lots of blogs written by homeschoolers and a lot of them use incorrect grammar. This breaks my heart a little bit each time.
66. One of my favorite celebs of all time is Graham Norton. I record his show too.
67. I can't listen to Hugh Laurie speak with his British accent. It just seems wrong to me.
68. I'm pretty sure Jennifer Garner and Reese Witherspoon are not nearly as pleasant as they seem to be. My guess is they are the complete opposite in real life. I have no basis for this suspicion, but there you go.
69. I can't see this number without thinking of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.
70. Mother Teresa! Are we really only on number 70???
71. The song that just started playing in my iTunes is "Mockingbird" by James Taylor and Carly Simon. This song will forever make me think of Dumb and Dumber.
72. I can't stand to read the blogs of people who are too self promoting. If you're really that great and fabulous, it should just come through; you shouldn't need to tell us every other post.
73. I swear I saw Shia LaBeouf at the University Mall yesterday. It's possible I'm losing my mind.
74. I really wish my favorite movie was something super impressive, like maybe a foreign film or something. It's actually Sixteen Candles.
75. I don't like nuts in baked goods or candy.
76. Movies that have made me laugh so hard I cried (in the theater; this does not include really late nights whilst on a sugar high): Wedding Crashers, Dumb and Dumber, The Hangover.
77. The only movie during which I have fallen asleep in the theater: the second Lord of the Rings movie. The whole thing with Viggo and Liv Tyler killed me. I could not stay awake.
78. I swear a lot in my head.
79. I resent the pressure of having to respond to emails in a timely fashion, yet at the same time, I fully expect my emails to be replied to in a timely fashion.
80. I think people who don't have text messaging and who are under the age of like 40, should be forced to have a psychological evaluation. You know who you are. Cough, Betsy, cough.
81. I enjoy Melissa Etheridge. She's probably one of my favorite singers of all time. So, it understandably drives me insane when I'm listening to Melissa with my mom in the car and, without fail, she asks who that guy singing is. The last time she thought it was Rob Thomas.
82. I moved to Utah when I was 10. My cousin, Wendy, was like 14, and I pretty much wanted to be her. Things that Wendy did/had that I copied: hair parted on the side instead of down the middle, pop music and then later country music, Caboodles, and Lee press on nails (half of which fell off after half an hour).
83. Wendy and I actually used to do our own "cooking show" too. It was called Cooking Cousins. I remember making nachos and orange juliuses.
84. My neighbor and good friend from when I lived in Michigan, is now a stripper in, I think, Gary, Indiana.
85. I have had 7 friends die from drug overdoses.
86. I have been a vegan for 2 weeks now and, against all odds, have come to enjoy tofu. Believe me, I never thought those words would come out of my mouth.
87. I am slightly obsessed with flossing.
88. I haven't been on a road trip in a while and it's bothering me.
89. One of my (many) guilty pleasures: The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family. It's totally ridiculous, but I love it.
90. I am not very patient. I want what I want when I want it, and I want it now.
91. Michelle Duggar is one of my heroes.
92. So is Dwight Schrute.
93. Dishrags creep me out. They always smell funny. I would much rather use a Clorox wipe to wash off the counter. They tend to kill germs instead of spreading them around.
94. I don't believe in getting ready first thing in the morning. I don't get ready until I have to actually go do something. If I don't do anything for days, I also don't get ready for days.
95. I watch Hoarders solely for the purpose of keeping myself in check.
96. Same with Intervention.
97. I love my hair.
98. I cried when Kerri Strug made her second vault in the 1996 Olympics and the US won gold.
99. I'm pretty sure I've been blessed with far more than what I deserve.
100. I have to go get dressed now.
101. I can't leave that as my last thing. It's not a proper ending. Hmmm . . . what else? I just saw the movie All the Right Moves and was slightly traumatized by glimpsing Tom Cruise's peen. Yeah, that's a much more fitting ending!!!

P.S. This post was far too long to go back and proofread, so I apologize for any spelling and/or grammatical errors.

the extent of my laziness

I just realized that in the last week or so I've only been on YouTube once and Facebook maybe twice. Know why? Because the shortcut buttons on my taskbar all of a sudden stopped working and it just seems like far too much effort to actually type in the web address.

Miley Cyrus and Felicity

The new semester started last week and instead of being productive and studying (yawn), I watched all four seasons of Felicity on DVD. You may think this is a bad thing, but it actually turned out to be really good. I've been feeling slightly depressed about school because it just seems never ending and all of my stores of motivation ran out about a year and a half ago. Basically, I'm over it. But watching Felicity totally re-motivated me because Felicity managed to do well in all her classes and finish in a normal amount of time, despite the fact that she had to deal with Ben/Noel drama, Noel/Hannah drama, pre-med/art drama, crazy Wiccan roommate drama, Ben/baby mama drama, being caught in a fire, plagiarizing a paper, Ben constantly getting into fights, etc. So . . . last night at like 1 am, when I was tossing and turning and singing, alternately, the Felicity theme song and Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind Part II", I decided that I can do this. I can suck it up, be an adult, finish school, and move on. So this morning I put on "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus to get myself all psyched up, and I went and made an appointment to apply for graduation and (this is the most exciting thing) got permission to substitute my Neuroscience research experience for the Capstone class for my major. That doesn't sound hugely exciting, but it is because that was the only class I was going to have left after this semester, but now, since I don't have to take it anymore . . . wait for it . . . I'M GOING TO BE DONE IN APRIL!!!!! Now I don't know if I'll actually be able to graduate in April because I think the deadline for that is long gone, so it might still be August, but still . . . no more classes after April. The countdown has officially begun!

Oh, and if I should suffer a nervous breakdown from taking 18 credits, working, and trying to survive without Glee, then I'm placing full blame on Miley. I would blame Felicity, but she's not real and all, so yeah.

Oh, and I recently went vegan and have already lost 5 pounds. Yay me!

2010 is seriously going to be the best year ever. Mark my words.

Johnny Appleseed!!!

In my last post I wondered about the Johnny Appleseed movie and Andrea was kind enough to point out that it's actually part of Shelley Duvall's Tale Tales and Legends series, not the Faerie Tale Theatre series. So . . . I am off to the library to check out the DVD!!! I fear that my level of excitement over this says something about the state of my life. Fortunately, I don't really care.

Shut the heck up!

I have just discovered that Hulu now has one of my favorite childhood shows . . . Faerie Tale Theatre!!! Did anyone else watch this? Remember The Snow Queen with Laura from Little House and Cinderella with Ferris Bueller and Jennifer Beals? Ooh ooh, and The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers? That one used to scare me. I also still think their version of Aladdin is much better than the Disney one. And I could have sworn there was a Johnny Appleseed episode, but I guess that must've been something else, seeing as how it's not actually a fairy/faerie tale. Anyway, you should all immediately watch these. If you don't like watching t.v. online, I believe the set is also available on DVD.