Happy Tunesday: Soundtracks

Bravo bloggers! I got great responses last week from all of you. Keep up the good work! (Hint, hint)

So not only do I love movies, but I love soundtracks. Here is a playlist from some of my favorite soundtracks:

You Don't Know Me by Jann Arden (My Best Friend's Wedding)
Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls (City of Angels)
Flashdance...What A Feeling by Irene Cara (Flashdance)
This Time by Jonathan Rhys Meyers (August Rush)
Maneater by Hall & Oates (Runaway Bride)
Kokomo by the Beach Boys (Cocktail - you know, when Tom was still hot?)
Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen (Dirty Dancing)
Take My Breath Away by Berlin (Top Gun)
Must Have Been Love by Roxette (Pretty Woman)
Footloose by Kenny Loggins (Um, duh - Footloose)
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship (Mannequin)
A Kiss to Build a Dream On by Louis Armstrong (Sleepless in Seattle)
Man of Constant Sorrow by The Soggy Bottom Boys (Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?)
Sweet Home Alabama by Lynard Skynard (Forrest Gump)
Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini (Somewhere in Time)

Obviously, many of these soundtracks have more than one great track. In fact, most of them I could listen to all the way through over and over.

So what's your all-time favorite soundtrack?

Meet the Cullens

Check out the yummy vampire family. I am so excited for the Twilight movie. I really hope it lives up to its expectations. So far, I think the casting's pretty good. And all you Grey's Anatomy fans out there, recognize Esme? She's our one and only Ava. This just keeps gettin' better...

Tunesday

Hello Mooches! I continue to list these playlists, but no one ever leaves anything new for me. You all must be under the dillusion that I started this for someone other than myself. Step up people!!! If you are reading this post, I hereby command you to leave me your top three favorite songs of this moment. (Please?)

This playlist is actually a Valentine's Playlist I did for some of my peeps. All love songs:

Love Song by Sara Bareilles
Way Back Into Love by Hugh Grant (From Music & Lyrics)
Fall For You by Seconhand Serenade
Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg
Super Duper Love by Joss Stone
L.O.V.E. by Ashlee Simpson
If I Ain't Got You by Alicia Keys
Bubbly by Colbie Caillat
The Story by Brandi Carlile
When You Say Nothing At All by Ronan Keating (Notting Hill Soundtrack)
Everything by Michael Buble
The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson
No One (2007) by Alicia Keys
Bottle It Up by Sara Bareilles
Love by Matt White
Take Me There by Rascal Flatts
Love Like This by Natasha Bedingfield
Slow Dance by John Legend
Her Eyes by Pat Monahan
I Need You by Time McGraw

Baby Got Back

Why yes, yes I have. Thank you for noticing. Had to haul my ars back to the gym today for a grueling 1 hour weight session. I can't even begin to describe the level of jello I am right now. If Bill Cosby were here, he'd eat me. But it had to be done.

I'm not that concerned with losing weight, but I'm not crazy about gaining either. So in addition to starting back up at the gym, I'm back to using Sparkpeople.com to keep track of my calories and exercise. Try this site if you haven't already. It's totally free and will tell you exactly how many calories you need to be eating, if you're getting enough protein, getting enough water, etc. They also have lots of great recipes, tips, support groups and more. And it gives you points for everything you do. And even though the points don't really mean anything, I'm a big enough loser that I get really excited when my points reach the next level. I've used it in the past as a motivator for buying stuff. Like when I got to 500 points, I got a new gym outfit. My next level is 1000 points away. My new running shoes are so far in the distance I can't even see them.

Baby steps... (in my old running shoes.)

"Getting Even" - Fact or Fiction?

I got this great e-mail from Bethany, and had to post it. I love this!!!

My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas, and we decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the 'Neiman-Marcus cookie.'

It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe, and the waitress said with a small frown, 'I'm afraid not, but you can buy therecipe.' Well, I asked how much, and she responded, 'Only two fifty. It's a great deal!' I agreed to that, and told her to just add it to my tab. Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement, and the Neiman-Marcus charge was $285.00! I looked again, and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, 'Cookie Recipe-$250.00'. That was outrageous!

I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress said it was 'two fifty', which clearly does not mean 'two hundred and fifty dollars' by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge.They would not refund my money because, according to them, 'What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will not refund your money at this point.' I explained to the Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes which govern fraud in the state of Texas. I threatened to report them to the Better Business Bureau and theTexas Attorney General's office for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, 'Do what you want. Don't bother thinking of how you can get even, and don't bother trying to get any of your money back.'

I just said, Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250 worth of fun.' I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus..for free. She replied, 'I wish you wouldn't do this.' I said, 'Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you ripped me off!' and slammed down the phone.

So here it is! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to EVER make another penny off of this recipe!

************************************************************

NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES

2 cups butter
24 oz. chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)

Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the
butter and both sugars.
Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking
powder, and soda.
Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar, and nuts.
Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Makes 112 cookies.


However, after a little research I did find that on the Neiman Marcus website they are refuting that this story ever happened. And they list the "recipe" for free - but it's a different recipe. My advice - try them both!

I'm Giddy

Pathetic, but giddy nonetheless. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I get seriously over-excited when I find a great deal. Some women get excited over diamonds,


presents,


or even this:


and though I too enjoy a couple of these things (not saying which ones), nothing gets me wired like a successful shopping spree. My fingers are shaking with joy even as I'm typing this. Come and bask in the glory of my meager spending:

I got this:


to go here,


Old urn, new flowers:




New centerpiece for the table:



It looked a little unfinished, so I added tule and ribbon.

New wreath for the front door:

I'm ashamed to say it's been bare since the Christmas one came down. The wreath was also looking a little unfinished, so I added the butterfly. I wish the wreath was bigger, but it will do for now. I love how springy it looks. I realize it's only Feb., but I've got Spring Fever early this year. BAD!

And speaking of Spring, this vase is just screaming for a bouquet of wild flowers, is it not?


And the grand total? Hold on to your hats folks... $30. SHAZAM! Unbelievable, even for me. But wait it gets better!

My printer died (RIP you old hunk of crap!) and a while back, Aby posted about how much she loved her new printer. After doing some research, I found she's not the only one. This printer seems great. So I shopped around in-store and on ebay. It retails for $150.

I'll spare you the long boring details, but I ended up buying it at buy.com, brand new, for $89.99 and FREE SHIPPING! Then I got $10 off because I was a new customer. Then they offered a $70 rebate. When all was said and done, I got my fab new $150 printer for a cool $20. BOO-YA! Who needs weed?! Right now I'm high as a kite!

*UPDATE* As Aurora pointed out, I so rudely excluded where I got my fab finds. The goods came from Norma Stone, and I must give this nod to Rochelle, who introduced me to that place when I moved down here a couple years ago. It's the perfect place for finding diamonds in the rough. Thanks again R!

Love Is In The Air

I came across this fun list of the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Love Stories and with Valentine's Day right around the corner, I found it quite appropriate. Here are the top twenty. If you start this weekend and watch one a day, you can be done by the end of the month!

1. Casablanca (1942)
2. Gone With the Wind (1939)
3. West Side Story (1961)
4. Roman Holiday (1953)
5. An Affair to Remember (1957)
6. The Way We Were (1973)
7. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
8. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
9. Love Story (1970)
10. City Lights (1931)
11. Annie Hall (1977)
12. My Fair Lady (1964)
13. Out of Africa (1985)
14. The African Queen (1951)
15. Wuthering Heights (1939)
16. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
17. Moonstruck (1987)
18. Vertigo (1958)
19. Ghost (1990)
20. From Here to Eternity (1953)

Should've Been A Critic

I am absoutely passionate about movies. I love going to the movies. I really wish I could get paid to watch movies. (Can you believe that's a real job?! Some people have all the luck.) Craig and I USE to go all the time. Now, not so much. It's just too hard to find the time and too expensive once we pay a sitter and all. But I don't love it any less. So imagine my glee when, in Utah, I saw not one, but TWO movies. OK, so one was already at the dollar show, but it still counts.

I saw this:

Really liked it. It was a little slow, but the music is amazing, the guy in it is totally swooney, and the passionate last 20 minutes will knock your socks off. Plus you just leave with a really good feeling. I love that.

I also saw this:

So the critics are tearing this one apart. And I admit, it was a little cheesy. But I still loved it. It may be because of the company I was in or because I was just in the mood for that kind of cheese, but I laughed my butt off and still teared-up a little at the end. Just for me, on that night, definetly worth $10. Take it as you will.

And in enjoying a couple girls-nights-in, watched a couple classics: "Somewhere in Time" (ah sigh)

& "Pillow Talk". Ahh Rock Hudson... if only you weren't 60 years older than me...and gay...and dead...ahh then....


Any other great movies out there I've missed?

Back home, with a little less hair

Hair style is the final tip-off whether or not a woman really knows herself. ~Hubert de Givenchy, Vogue, July 1985

Bloggers - I Know Myself. I don't know why I ever try to grow my hair long because when I get a great short haircut, I am on top of the world.

A.J. and I have been out of town for the last few weeks, visiting family and friends in Utah. It was a great trip, but we are glad to be home.