Winner!

I won the fishbowl drawing at Chipotle! So fun!! It is 5 items and chips and salsa for free. I love this and I love Chipolte. I won this last year and it was 10, but who can complain about 5 free burritos?

PS The Chipolte on Central in Sylvania is awesome. They have a great manager named Lisa that gave DT and me free burrito coupons the other day, just because we are there often and she knows us by now. Now, that's customer service!

Gran Torino

It's a good one, that's for sure and I have to rip off a line from my friend who told me, "it was not as dark or nearly as depressing as other Clint Eastwood movies." Good movies don't have to be depressing right? After I saw Million Dollar Baby, I was crying and wanted to throw myself off a bridge. This movie was quite different. Don't get me wrong, this is no comedy.

Gran Torino stars our surly, unwilling hero Clint Eastwood as the last of the old school white guys in an Asian neighborhood. You know the story line. What you don't know is that this movie is going to make you laugh (even though you know you shouldn't) at Walter's (Eastwood) crazy racial insults and razor wit. He has looks that can kill and one liners that make you know you don't want to mess with this crazy bad ass. It's sad without breaking your heart and touching without ruining the grit of the movie. Great casting of the priest is the guy you know from the cell phone commericals "Thomas Schmidt," the first guy out of his college buddies to get a job. "Guess how many Oreos I have in my mouth right now?"

Two thumbs up from me.

24

1) Well, we knew she's get out alive, and I still really like Renee Walker's style. I wonder when she and Jack are going to hook up.

2) I am a little nervous about Tony - he doesn't seem to be all good.

3) Chloe's "I'm a stay at home mom," remark to the Prime Minister was classic.

4) I feel terrible for President Taylor.

5) Mr. Taylor is a weenie and it may have been better if he died. I feel bad for saying that, but you know you were thinking it.

6) Where is the Vice President and who is he? Have we even seen him in this season?

The Office

Do you know someone that tells you way too much information? This is the kind of person that just goes way overboard and sometimes even volunteers information you did not ask for in the first place? You know someone like that, I know you do, and I hope you are picturing them now.

Well, I see such a person Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm. She really is a sweet lady, but just cannot help her word vomit and information plaque. Yesterday's event went something like this:

Me: Just walking by the reception desk.
Receptionist: "I don't think Matt's coming back to work today. Oh Dear."
Me: Eye roll, "Why not?"
R: "Well, he went to the doctor at 11 and it's 3:30 now. I bet he is really sick."
Me: Not concerned, "I bet he's fine."
R: "Well, he has been vomiting and having diarrhea all over the place for days."
Me: All over the place?
R: Continues, "Yes, and I asked him if he had blood in his stool and he said he did. I thought, Oh, Crap." She said crap with quite a bit of fervor.
Me: You said it.

Why in the world would you tell someone about a co-workers intimate sickness? Note to self, don't tell receptionist about my rash.

Craigslist - whoring edition

Whoa. Sometimes, if you are looking hard enough, you will find one of these. Yep, a cyber-prostitute under the massage guise. This one isn't that subtle either, she offers prostate massages, features a hot shower, and under her credentials lists her cup size. 38C - Nice.

Read the whole thing here. In my head, that bad porn music was playing, bow chick-a-wow-wow.

Thank you!

I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone that reads my blog and (hopefully) gets some enjoyment out of it - I enjoy writing it!

Some of you have said to me that you are not sure how to comment, so I wanted to post a "How to Comment" PSA:

• Under the actual post it will say "3 comments" (or however many)
• Click on that link and another box will pop up
• Options:
• You can log in if you have a gmail account
• Or hit "Name/URL" if you want to enter your name
• Or "Anonymous" if you don't want to put your name, either works fine

I love comments!! Don't be shy!

The Best Job In The World

Have you heard about this? Tourism Queensland has opened up an international search for the perfect person to be the caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef for 6 months (full job description here). Now, I am not sure exactly how many people have already applied, but if I had to guess, it would be one bazillion. In order to apply, you have to submit a video explaning why you are are the best person for the job in less than 60 seconds. Some of these are really inventive and clever and others are not (read hilarious). Click here to look at the applicants.

This would be the best job in the world! You go to Australia and blog about it for 6 months? Uh, ok!

24

1) The President has a lot on her plate, for sure.
2) Best line of the show by Jack, "Shut up or I will shut you up."
3) Who is the mole at the FBI? It isn't the obvious wife-cheater mopey guy. I still don't really trust the Chloe-clone either.
4) The President's husband is such a weenie. I feel bad for him, but he sucks.
5) I saw his body guard double-cross a mile comin'.
6) Jack is an amazing shot - plain and simple.
7) Where were Chloe and Bill Buchanan this hour - and where is Karen Hayes???

Critics Choice Awards

Up close and personal, here is Sally's coverage of the event for GossipGirls.com. It's amazing! Sal, you are my hero.

Changing of the Guard

Just in case you are wondering about tomorrow's events. TVguide.com reports:

Tuesday, January 20:
All major networks will bump regular programming throughout the day for coverage of inaugural events:

• 10 am/ET: Inaugural festivities kick off, including invocation by the Rev. Rick Warren and a performance by Aretha Franklin. Biden will be sworn into office by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, followed by musical selections of John Williams
• Noon ET: Obama takes the Oath of Office, delivers inaugural address
• 8 pm ET/PT, ABC: watch the action at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball, where Beyoncé will sing the first song when the new president and first lady take the floor at their first stop on their party circuit. Performers will include Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Shakira, Sting, Faith Hill, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder and Maroon 5. At 10, programming will turn to inaugural balls
• 8 pm/ET, BET: The pre-taped Yes We Will: BET's Inauguration Celebration, hosted by Nick Cannon
• 9 pm/ET, CBS: Katie Couric hosts a special on Obama's road to the White House, followed by a live webcast reviewing the day's events on CBSNews.com and CNET.com
• 10 pm/ET, MTV: will broadcast the Youth Inaugural Ball
• 10 pm/ET, NBC: Brian Williams takes viewers into several of the night's inaugural balls

Cake Wrecks - LOTR section

Two Pretzels turned me on to this fantastic blog, Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong. Sunday's post was particularly interesting as it relates directly to the theme of my blog highlighting Lord of the Rings themed cakes (which are quite amazing). Please visit this blog, it's extremely entertaining.

Minas Tirith for reference above.

Pandora Radio Rules

Yes, I have posted about this before, but Pandora Radio rocks my face off. If you have not tried Pandora, do it today! It's free, it rules, and the hits just keep on comin' (this is particularly helpful if you work in an environment where it is silent and/or no one talks to you).

Eagle Eye

Eagle Eye came out in theaters in September and is one that I never got to, but rented it over the weekend. For my taste - two thumbs up!! Loved it! My boy Shia LaBeouf will not let you down, he is a great leading man - he can be intense, certainly funny, and sincere. Others to mention: Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson and Michael Chiklis. I even liked Billy Bob Thornton in this movie and usually he creeps me out.

This is a "techie thriller" so you just have to go along with it, not pick out stuff and say, "Oh, like THAT would happen." It really makes you think about how the government can see and hear and document everything we do...and I believe it. The only thing that makes me feel better is that I know that there are others out there whose lives are way more interesting.

Eagle Eye moves fast and is pretty slick. Rent it!

Applebee's Weight Watcher Menu

Have you had any of Applebee's WW menu items? They are really pretty good and you don't feel like you are missing out. Today I tried the Italian Chicken & Portabello Sandwich and give it a 7 out of 10.

Features:
Chicken was really juicy
Mushrooms were big and nicely grilled
Substituted broccoli for fruit
Whole wheat soft bun

Downsides:
Chicken was the size of a business card
Also, they gave me about 5 little broccoli florets
I had to add ketchup, they forgot the marinara sauce

Overall, a it was a 7 point lunch that you KNOW is 7 points and it was tasty. I was happy and would recommend this sandwich.

Craigslist

I haven't found a good one in a while, but today I stumbled upon this furious animal lover's post to the entire world ( aka everywhere). I love how this person ends their crazy, hate-filled run-on sentence with a "thank you." Have a Blessed Day.

JERKS (EVERYWHERE)

---

Reply to: comm-974992801@craigslist.org ^[?]
Date: 2008-12-30, 8:15PM EST


TO ALL THE PEOPLE THAT FIND A DOG AND DONT TURN THEM IN OR CALL TO FIND OUT IF SOMEONE IS MISSING THEM YOU ARE ALL DIRT AND BREAK PEOPLES HEARTS A------- THATS ALL I HAVE TO SAY THANK YOU

Everyone's talking about it, but I have to say something too

It's cold out. Today when I started my car (and I didn't think it was going to start), my temperature gauge read -15 degrees. It's cold out.

Side note: It is at this time of the year when I become severely addicted to caffeine. It is so hard to drink water when it is this cold out. Drinking cold water when you are already cold doesn't help your cause, but jacking yourself up with caffeine seems to have a warming effect.

Blue Pacific

Blue Pacific is an Asian style restaurant in the Kroger Plaza on King and Sylvania, featuring both sushi and Chinese type meals. We braved the cold last night and had a really nice meal there with good service and decent prices. Two observations:

1) The waiter recommended an appetizer that we liked. I let him know it was good and he replied, "Yes, that is what I am talking about," (read: thass wha I'm talkin bout!) but in a Chinese accent. It was so cute.
2) DT mentioned that most Asian restaurants have a fish tank of some kind but pointed out to me the LCD screen playing a sea scape. Very clever.

Out of minutes

I tried to save money and switch my plan from unlimited everything ($100) to 900 minutes for $60.00. It seems that I am at my limit until Saturday :( So, you will need to text me before 7pm if you need me because I will simply not pay 40 cents per minute overage (yikes!).

Yes Man

Any movie that opens with the amazing riff from Journey's Separate Ways just makes you want to shout - YES! (and perhaps fist pump until your embarrassed boyfriend tells you to stop).

I liked it. I laughed (and sometimes laughed really hard). It's funny without being too outrageous, and it's also not preachy (which I think we can all appreciate). Jim Carrey is perfect for the role as a man who is just coming to life. I personally like Carrey, but for the haters, I think you will find him tolerable. Zooey Deschanel is adorable.

John Michael Higgins gets his own separate paragraph because I love him so much. For those of you that know him as Philip Leslie Knight, he is amazing, playing his typical, ENTHUSIASTIC, lovable passionate character. You will find yourself yelling YES! along with him (unless you are getting a dirty look from aforementioned boyfriend).

Overall, it's good. Probably a renter though.

As always, visit GossipGirls for full, more serious movie-critic review.

Good-bye, Ruby Tuesday

What's with all the restaurant closings* in Toledo? Tonight, just before seeing Yes Man (very funny, review to be posted tomorrow), DT and I went to Ruby's only to find its doors shut, lights off, and a note on the door. What! No salad bar?!?! No ruby minis?!?! As if! Ruby Tuesday has been at the mall since I was in high school, maybe grade school and always seems to be busy. I don't get it.

*Mezzmerize on Dussell just did the same thing, closed its doors. I heard that Navy Bistro is going under along with Tango's on the Docks. The signs of the times are apparent, and they are depressing.

24

1) We knew it, we KNEW it. Tony couldn't really be on the terrorists' side.
2) The busting out of the FBI building was amazing. I found myself yelling and fist pumping.
3) Bill Buchanon AND Chloe? Awesome. Her one liners are excellent.
4) I don't really trust Janis (Garafalo).
5) That Rene Walker is going to get herself killed (but I like her style).

Pot Jelly...

...aka lip balm. It really is addictive. I know people that never, ever use it and are fine, however, if I go approximately 4 hours without it, my lips are chapped and I am miserable. It all started out with that Body Shop stuff we called "pot jelly." I had it in kiwi and I loved it - loved it! Everyone at SUA had at least 2 in their bookbag at all times. I think the administration even invented a rule that you couldn't apply said pot jelly in class it got so bad.

Do you think lip balm is addicting?

24

Well, a new season has begun as 24 kicked off last night in a two hour premier. Highlights for me:
1) The return of Carlos Bernard aka Tony Almedia.
2) Jack not giving a crap about anyone's agenda and just being Jack.
3) The lady President - I like her. Ever since President Palmer, I have not liked the President, so I am happy about Allison Taylor.
4) Two more hours tonight!

Quote of the Day

"Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas."
-Marie Curie

Why Coach is full of s%*&!

I have been patiently awaiting my newly fixed Coach purse, see original story here. Yesterday I got a call from Shashana (Sha-shan-na) at Westfield Coach who tells me the purse cannot be repaired but they have a coupon for me.

She says, "Coach headquarters did not say why the purse could not be repaired, but they have included a generous 40% off discount coupon for you."

My thoughts: No explanation on why a guaranteed purse cannot be fixed by the craftsmen who constructed it in the first place. Uh, ok. Next, thanks for the coupon. Let me get this straight... not only have I not had my purse for 4-6 weeks, but now you are sending it back to me in the same condition and you want me to spend more money in your store because you didn't fix it? Yeah right. Nice work. Maybe I am not your typical Coach customer that has a bag for every season or wardrobe or husband. I have one and I like it, and I would like it fixed.

PS I'm mad about this in case you couldn't tell. Snobby Coach.

Going Green

Always looking for new recipes and trying to be healthy (those margaritas last night didn't help), I found what Oprah drinks each morning. Even if you don't like her show, you have to respect her - especially for putting it all out there on her weight loss journey. She has called it, surprise surprise, Oprah's green drink.

• 3 stalks celery
• 2 cucumbers
• 1 apple
• 1 chunk fresh ginger
• 1 cup fresh spinach

Combine all ingredients in a juicer and blend until smooth.

Do you think this would be good? I just might try it - why not. Een's green drink of choice is margaritas, but that's why I need to work on the waistline all the time.

This kid loves school

Wow. This little guy really was determined to get to school. He must have been pretty tall for his age to somewhat operate a car. Also, what a sense of direction!

• Missed the morning school bus
• Drives family car almost 6 miles
  
• Crashes and then starts walking

Read this SIX YEAR OLD's story here.

Tell me what you don't like about yourself

Last night's season premier of the scandalous drama Nip/Tuck lacked a bit for me. I was expecting more shocking events but it was more sad than anything. Don't get me wrong, there was the necessary sex and humor, but it seemed almost ordinary - for this show anyway. We're going to need Kimber to spice/mess it up.

Did you watch?

I think I just ruined someone's day

On my lunch hour today, it snowed. It snowed quite a bit. I noticed a person riding a bicycle looking very cold and I felt bad for the dude.

Lying ahead of me in the road was some sort of orange thing and there was no oncoming traffic so I could straddle it and not completely run over it, but I slushed it pretty good. Just as I was about to run it over, I noticed it was a hat :(

After I passed it the poor man on a bike went to the middle of the road to retrieve his cold, soaked hat. I feel terrible.

Look out Steve Carell

While perusing jobs, I found this listing. This is not a joke. I love the serious tone of this ad. Read the whole thing...fo reals. Action figure collecting community? I love it.

ACTION FIGURE COLLECTING GUIDE (WORK FROM HOME)

QUALIFICATIONS:

The ideal candidate is a long-time action figure collector with a broad knowledge of the topic, as well as writing experience and connections to the action figure collecting community.

PRIMARY AUDIENCE:

The primary audience of the Action Figure Collecting site is the beginner and intermediate collector. This audience wants to know what the action figures they have are worth, where to buy and sell action figures, and how to identify a valuable action figure.

Read the entire description here - it's worth it.

Cell poll

My contract is up with Sprint next week and I will be free. I have been shopping around to find the best deal and best service. I have looked at the major carriers and some of the weird ones (Revol, etc...) and think that Sprint still might have the best deal for what I need.

Most people with whom I frequently converse are on Verizon, so that makes sense, but their plans are more expensive and they only offer a 450 minute and then a 900 minute package. I need around 900 and unlimited messaging but don't want to pay a ton for it. Since when does a cell phone bill need to cost $100 a month?

What service do you have? Do you like it?

2009 - Celebrity Resolutions

Celebrity gossip site omg! posted this hilarious list of celebrity resolutions. I was both amused and disgusted with most of them (except Kathy Griffin - she cracks me up).

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Amazing! I give this movie a solid 10. It is a long one - 2.5 hours, but it is worth every minute. Brad Pitt is an absolute adonis and a pleasure to watch (as are Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton and many others). Even as an "old" man, he is adorable.

BB is such an original film and tells an amazing story, with cool places and interesting history. The way it is put together is like art. How they age a person and how they make some look younger is really incredible. This movie is based off a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald and produced by David Fincher who did Se7en and Fight Club.

This movie reminded me a bit of Big Fish or Forrest Gump in the way in which it was told - a story within a story. It is bittersweet, often humorous and wonderful. You are going to love it. As always - you can read my full review at GossipGirls.com.