Love the one you're with

This is the latest book I’ve read by Emily Giffin. It’s another easy read and Giffin seems to be sticking with the same theme in all of her books, but I guess that’s also what makes them so interesting.

This one took me the longest to get into, but I’m glad I stuck with it. The book is focused around a woman who becomes conflicted when her past comes back and stirs up old emotions. It’s about how hiding your emotions/feelings/attitudes can cloud your judgment and make you act in ways foreign from your true self.

Like the others, I would suggest reading this if you like chick-lit. Has anyone else read this? What did you think?

Giffin has one more book (her third book actually…not exactly reading these in order am I?!?!) in her collection called Baby Proof which I plan on reading before her brand new book comes out.

Lone Star Series!

2nd half of the series...Let's bring the boot home boys!

(guess that'll happen when pigs fly...right?!?!)

Movies I've Seen so Far this Summer

May 7: Something Borrowed - cute movie, book is better of course, read my review here

May 22: Fast Five - Liked it...if you like the others you'll like this one...stay/watch through the credits!!

May 29: Hangover 2 - same as the first just in a different city, still funny though (and disgusting...trust me you'll know what I'm talking about)

June 2: Pirates of the Carribean: On Stanger Tides - Again if you like the first 3 movies, you'll like this one as well...typical Pirates, but Depp is just so good at playing that role...ha ha

June 11: Bridesmaids - so FUNNY! It had its real moments too which made it all the better

June 21: X-men - read my review here

June 25: Bad Teacher - read my review here

Office Space Re-enactment Anyone??

So we have this new copier at work and at least once a week
I feel like going all Office Space on it!!

We had an old and outdated scanner/copier/printer and yes it had its problems but not like the new one. I want my old one back! Is that too much to ask?!?!

For everyone's enjoyment I wanted to insert the video of this scene from Office Space, but couldn't find an original version from a decent looking website source (don't want to fry the hard drive again). So y'all get a picture to enjoy instead.

SYTYCD Season 8: Top 20

So if you know me, you know how much I love dance. If you don’t know me, within 5 minutes of meeting me you’ll probably know how much I love dance.

I’ve been a huge fan of So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD) since it started since season 2 because I didn’t know about it during the first season.

Since there were 2 weeks of the Top 20 performers, I’ve decided to put them all into one post.

Week 1 Performances:
Favorite Dance – Performed by Sasha and Alexander, Choreographed by Travis Wall
Favorite Girl – Ryan (her performance was ok, but I’ve been rooting for her since last season when she just missed out so I’m a little biased right now)
Favorire Boy – Wadi (he seems to have a really good personality)

Week 2 Performances:
Favorite Dance – Performed by Miranda and Robert, Choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon
Favorite Girl – Sasha (she may have a bit of an attitude, but she’s a fabulous dancer)
Favorite Boy – Tad (he’s reminding me of Joshua, winner of season 4)

Does anyone else watch? Who are your favorites so far?

Easter Egg

So you may notice I'm playing catch up on several of of my posts. But what's a girl to do if she has all this stuff to post from earlier in the year and wasn't blogging at the moment.

So I saw these giant plastic Easter eggs at Hobby Lobby and was like I have to get this to use as B's Easter basket! It came with two smaller eggs inside that were just perfect for the ideas I had.

So after I had the eggs stuffed with candy, movies and a flip book I made at a financial conference (if you ever get a chance to make a flip book I suggest doing it...it's a lot of fun...this was my fourth one...the other three were at the Rodeo) I decided the outside needed a little face lift. So I got out my white paint out and went to town. However, I suggest if you are going to paint an egg to put it in something stable so it doesn't fall and get all over you (I set this one in a trash can to let it dry after it fell on me ha ha). To finish it off, I tied some teal tulle around it. And there you go.

Bad Teacher

You know how they say "You should always listen you your momma"? Well I should have. This was just bad...

I was excited to see it because the previews looked funny and I thought JT would be showcasing his comedic chops...sadly I was mistaken. :(

I probably should have done a little more research through reviews, but the ones I saw gave it an un-squished tomato and B's friend gave it a thumbs up and he tends to like the movies we like.

Well we don't know what these people were thinking?!?! I should have listened to my mom when I told her what I was doing this afternoon and she was like "oh...I heard it got terrible reviews"

Oh well...if you're a Jason Segel fan he's actually pretty funny in the movie...I'm even going to go as far and say he was my favorite...ha ha.

Did anyone else see it? What did y'all think?

Cest La Vie

This is another card I made just to make using my Cricut machine...ha ha. It was the the showcased DIY card in the Wall Decor and More cartridge booklet. This was also my first time trying to use ribbon as decoration. The ribbon I used came from a Godiva chocolate box that I just happened to save for once and I think it goes well with this card. One of the coolest things about this card, I think, is how it opens. It folds down instead of opening like a regular card. Kind of cool huh?

Heart of the Matter

At the end of April, I read Heart of the Matter; the most recent book by Emily Giffin. I borrowed the book from the same co-worker who lent me Something Borrowed and Something Blue. This book captured my attention right away just like the other two. It’s another good and easy read.

It’s told from the perspective of two women living completely different lives, but become connected in a way you probably don’t want to be connected to another person. Let me know if you read it and what you think! Enjoy!

X-Men: First Class

Last night I finally went and saw X-Men: First Class!

My Brother and Dad had seen it over the weekend and liked it so I knew I would too. I really enjoyed learning the back stories of all the characters and how the two sides came to be. There were some funny parts too. Those little one liners…so to speak…get me every time…ha ha

Whether you are a fan or not of the X-Men movies, I would recommend watching it. However, it is a long movie (2hrs. 11 mins) so take that into consideration before you go. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Garlic Butter Sauce Disaster

Last night I wanted to create a quick garlic butter sauce to go along with the shrimp my dad grilled over the weekend and the pasta I was currently boiling.

Well it started out okay…I guess. I probably used about 2 tablespoons of butter and ½ a teaspoon of crushed garlic. It looked a little wimpy so I was like…hmmm…I have half and half…I’ll add some of that! Then it still didn’t look right…so I busted out the corn starch. BAD IDEA! After that, it was never the same. It was lumpy and tasted like paste.

So today I actually looked up a recipe and found one that was simple enough from allrecipes.com. It calls for 1/3 cup of butter, 1 clove of garlic (crushed), ¼ tablespoon of dried basil and 2 teaspoons of dried oregano. I may substitute butter for olive oil this time and maybe add some lime juice. Here’s to hoping it turns out better :)

Best Picture Winners

For anyone who is curious, here is a list of the moives that have won the top award at the Oscars.

1928 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Wings (2 winners)
1929 The Broadway Melody
1930 All Quiet on the Western Front
1931 Cimarron
1932 Grand hotel
1933 Cavalcade
1934 It Happened One Night
1935 Mutiny on the Bounty
1936 The Great Ziegfeld
1937 The Life of Emile Zola
1938 You Can't Take It With You
1939 Gone with the Wind
1940 Rebecca
1941 How Green Was My Valley
1942 Mrs. Miniver
1943 Casablanca
1944 Going My Way
1945 The Lost Weekend
1946 The Best Years of Our Lives
1947 Gentleman's Agreement
1948 Hamley (1948)
1949 All the King's Men
1950 All About Eve
1951 An American in Paris
1952 The Greatest Show on Earth
1953 From Here to Eternity
1954 On the Waterfront
1955 Marty
1956 Around the World in 80 Days
1957 The Bridge on the River Kwai
1958 Gigi
1959 Ben-Hur
1960 The Apartment
1961 West Side Story
1962 Laerence of Arabia
1963 Tom Jones
1964 My Fair Lady
1965 The Sound of Music
1966 A Man for All Seasons
1967 In the Heat of the Night
1968 Oliver!
1969 Midnight Cowboy
1970 Payyon
1971 The French Connection
1972 The Godfather
1973 The Sting
1974 The Godfather Part II
1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1976 Rocky
1977 Annie Hall
1978 The Deer Hunter
1979 Kramer vs. Kramer
1980 Ordinary People
1981 Chariots of Fire
1982 Gandhi
1983 Terms of Endearment
1984 Amadeus
1985 Out Of Africa
1986 Platoon
1987 The Last Emperor
1988 Rain Man
1989 Driving Miss Daisy
1990 Dances With Wolves
1991 The Silence of the Lambs
1992 Unforgiven
1993 Schindler's List
1994 Forrest Gump
1995 Braveheart
1996 The English Patient
1997 Titanic (1997)
1998 Shakespear in Love
1999 American Beauty
2000 Gladiator
2001 A Beautiful Mind
2002 Chicago
2003 The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King
2004 Million Dollar Baby
2005 Crash
2006 The Departed
2007 No Country for Old Men
2008 Slumdog Millionaire
2009 The Hurt Locker
2010 The King's Speech

I've seen most of the winners from the 2000's and a few more from previous years. I just finished watching the very first winner, "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans". It was made in 1927 and is SILENT! I rented it from Netflix and luckily it came double sided so I could watch the side with music attached to it.

Overall, I don't think it was that bad. It was the same story you still see today, there's the married couple who are happy until "the other woman" comes along and ruins things...shame shame.

Another Lake House Story

This past weekend was another beautiful weekend at the Lake.

After 2 days filled with lots of jet skiing, it was time to head back home to celebrate Father's day with the fam. Well if you know me, then you know anytime I go to the lake without the rents, something always happens. My very first post was probably the worst, but others have included setting the smoke detectors off trying to fry bacon (in my defense I've never used the stove for bacon...always the microwave), burning about everything I put in the oven (I swear the ovens have a mind of their own) and being so sick I just slept the entire time...

Let me back up to Saturday morning...when we got there I decided I would back into the drive way. Why...you ask? Well I don't really have a good reason...maybe for a change of pace. Now fast forward to Sunday afternoon with a fully packed car and B and his brother ready to get on the road. Forgetting that I'm "parked to drive" I throw the car in reverse and gun it! (Side note: I tend to always gun it out of that drive way because it's so steep and I don’t want to roll). I literally came 2 inches away from slamming into the garage door!! How I realized/stopped in time I will never know, but boy am I glad I did. Whew! Talk about a close call!

Anyways, I got made fun of the rest of the way home, but that was to be expected. I told my Mom and Brother the story and they laughed, but I don't think my Dad would find it as funny.

P.s. This isn’t the first time I’ve had a war with a garage…ha ha…the garage was fine the last time as well, my car not so much…ha ha…oh well live and hopefully learn right?!?!

YAY!

Erica over at The Edwards Editorial (and sitting in the cube across from me) made the Rolo pretzel turtles! Her's are so cute and so is her blog!

My "Bucket List"

So you might have noticed I mentioned having a "bucket list" in my last post. Well, I thought I should expand on that a little...

Now I don't consider myself old by any means...unless you're my Mother who thinks that I'm turning HALF a CENTURY in a month...ha ha...oh silly Mom that means you would have had me when you were 5!!! ha ha I will, however, be turning a QUARTER of a CENTURY in a month's time...and I don't consider that old!!

Anyways, I don't know many people my age who have started a "bucket list" but I figured some of my goals are more life long than a year long like a New Year's resolution...so I thought why not start one?!?! Am I right?!?!

My two main ones right now are:
1. Watch every Best Motion Picture Winner (First Oscars was in 1927)
2. Visit all 50 states

So not much on the list, but still I can't possibly finish those two in a years time (especially traveling...I don't exactly have a money tree in the backyard). I did finish one of my goals last year and it was to see every professional home team play within a years time and I DID IT! It was soooo much fun.

Have any of y'all started a "bucket list"?

The King's Speech

Friday night I had a dad and daughter night with homemade sweet chipotle chicken cheese-less nachos (any waiter at a Mexican food restaurant: “No cheese?!?!” me: “No cheese”) and a good movie. The movie of choice was "The King’s Speech."

My Dad and I opted out of going to see it with my Mom, Aunt and Mimi earlier in the year and when the Oscars rolled around we were really wishing we had gone with them. Especially since it won and was now part of my “Bucket List!” Ha ha

I can’t express how much I enjoyed this movie! The acting was phenomenal, the story was great and hadn’t really been told before (or at least to my knowledge) and it had its funny parts. I had seen Black Swan as well and really thought it would win the Oscar this year for its “artfulness”, but I’m so happy “The King’s Speech” won instead.

If you haven’t seen this movie, I would highly recommend you rent it…maybe even watch it with your own dad!

My Craft "Room"

You may notice that some of my crafts will be photographed on the carpet, couch, pillows or the kitchen counter. This is due to the fact that my craft room is a small corner in my bedroom. One day though I will have an entire room dedicated to crafts! (One can dream right?!?!)

I should also say that all my photos have been taken with my iPhone 4...and since I never remember to hook it up to my computer to upload pictures, I'm hoping that keeping up with this blog will help me remember.

Cricut Expression

Speaking of Christmas...I mentioned in my "I'm Back" post that I received a Christmas present that really got me in a creative mood. So here it is..my wonderful Cricut Expression machine given to me by 2 of my Aunts!

Isn't it pretty?!? It came with two cartridges and then I decided I had to have more! Here are all of my cartridges (minus my brand new one...Ashlyn's Alphabet).

I have to say my favorite one so far is the Wild card cartridge.

These were the first cards I made with the Crucit...pretty plain jane

I tried making cards a little more exciting for the next go around.

I think the owl card is really cute, but my favorite has to be the star one. But anyone who knows me knows how much I love stars!

Christmas in June?!?!

I made these little suckers Wednesday night. They are called Rolo Pretzel Turtles (mine are with out the turtle part...)

The first time I had these was when my neighbor made them for a Christmas party and I pretty much ate the entire plate that night. Then I saw them again on the site howdoesshe.com and decided I wanted to make them for myself.

They are super easy to make and only require 3 ingredients!!

1. Tiny twist pretzels
2. Package of Rolos
3. A nut or little candy to put on top (or nothing if you forget like me)

Place the pretzel with an un-wrapped Rolo on top of it on a cookie sheet and bake for 3 minutes. That's right only 3 minutes!!! Take them out and smush the little topper on (or if you don't have a topper smush them with a spoon) and that's it! I literally made these while my dinner was heating up in the microwave.

I wanted to plate them all pretty like but then decided on just using a paper plate so it would be easier to transfer them to work to share and I wouldn't have extra dishes to clean. Well in my search for a paper plate the only ones I could find were Christmas ones...so I was like why not?!?! The first time I had them was at Christmas so let's just pretend it's Christmas all over again.

Something Borrowed and Something Blue

I borrowed these two books at the beginning of the year from one of my lovely co-workers. She said her and her daughter absolutely loved them and if I like chick-lit with lots of craziness then I would love these too. She was right! I couldn't put them down! Seriously...I was thinking about pulling an all-nighter just to finish even though I was working the next day...ha ha

I'm not going to go into detail about what they are about (just in case you haven't read them yet or you are in the middle of one...don't want to give anything away) but what I will say is that they are very easy reads and all you need are the first few pages and you will be hooked!

Then the movie adaptation came out and boy was I excited!! I love chick flicks (especially anything Kate Hudson related) and this was a good one, but I will say that the book was much more dramatic. However, I still enjoyed the movie and loved John Krasinki's character...he really does steal the scenes sometimes with those one liners.

p.s. I would have done each book in its own post but I can't talk about one with out talking about the other one...it's like I think they are one book or something.

Mud Bugs or Lobsters??

Way back in April my brother and I headed out to "Get shellfaced" at Willies and these fellas were part of our 2nd batch!! These were the two big daddies in a batch of what were already pretty good size crawfish. Oh how I love crawfish season...yummy

I'm back!!!

Ok well I didn't actually go anywhere...ha ha. It's been well over a year since I've written anything on here, but I'm back to give it another shot!

For those who read this blog the first time around can probably tell that I didn't quite complete my 365 photo project. That happened for a couple a reasons. First and foremost, my camera stopped working!! I haven't replaced it yet, but I know which one I want (I think...I can never fully make up my mind). Secondly, it became more of a chore and I just wasn't feeling the creativity with the project anymore and I didn't feel like my photography skills were improving. I do hope to give it another go one of these days (maybe when I get my new camera or learn how to use my Dad's fancy one).

Since I last left y'all...I've become little miss crafty thanks to a great Christmas present I received and some wonderfully creative blogs and people to inspire me! I've taken pictures of most of the things I've done or started working on and will be posting them soon (hopefully)!

I've also started baking more! AHHHHH! I've never been too keen on making sure everything is measured out to the tee, but my sweet tooth is getting the best of me. I will defintely keep y'all updated on how my baking adventures go. Wish me luck!

Other than that, life has pretty much been the same. I still have plenty of random things happen to me and will gladly share those stories once again.

I hope y'all enjoy!