2/19/2011 - 2/25/2011

2/19/2011 (It is beautiful outside and I am stuck inside with a last minute studying/cram session. Good luck to me tomorrow on BEC!)

2/20/2011 (Brunch with D, post-exam, at Canopy. It was alright. The ambiance and photos had me more excited than the food and drink. Thanks for the fun chat, D! I look forward to many more!)

 

2/21/2011 (I hate that I love this show.)

2/22/2011 (Spent way too much time with this machine today trying to figure it out and get it working with my computer. IT eventually gave up.)

2/23/2011 (G made spaghetti and my parents made a salad and we had big family dinner at the bro and SIL's house with Baby G!)

2/24/2011 (Solo time with Baby G! Her spit up did not end up on me tonight. Hooray!)

2/25/2011 (One of my all-time favorite games. Had to break out my old laptop to get it to run! Totally worth it!)

Oh, Amazon

Anyone else a frequent Amazonian? I am.

And now, guess who's hot on the heels of Netflix, nipping and ripping and tearing? Yeap, Amazon just stated today that it will be offering instant streaming with the subscription to AmazonPrime. So now, not only can you get two days shipping on everything for $79 a year (which can save you significantly per item if you order frequently) but you can now stream like Netflix. Let's break it down mathematically:

Current Netflix subscription for instant streaming and discs: $10.81/month = $129.72
Subscribing to Amazon Prime which can be shared with up to 4 others: $79/year ($15.80/person)
How much money I could be saving annually: $50.72 with the potential to save up to $113.92

There had been inklings in the news of Amazon merging with RedBox to offer this service. I'm not sure if that is what has happened and just isn't in the news that I've been perusing all day or if it's Amazon taking its low-cost, low-overhead game to the playoffs. Methinks if Netflix doesn't shape up, e.g. keep the discs option or really up the ante on what it offers via instant streaming, it will begin to see cracks in the foundation it has so solidly stood upon for years.

Too many of the shows and movies I wish to see are just not made available via instant streaming with Netflix. If AmazonPrime is going to give those to me and earn me free 2-day shipping, see you later, Netflix!

Once upon a time...

There was this wonderful modern-day musical that wasn't pretentious or annoying but was rather sweet and inspiring.

It was a few Academy Awards ago when I decided to watch for some reason and a performance came on like no other I had ever seen. Just a boy and a girl, a guitar and a piano and I was moved. I was transported.

From the movie Once came this incredible song that was deep, dark, beautiful. I vowed to watch that movie whatever it took.

And then I forgot about it until recently. Cue Netflix queue. Once arrived today and the first thing I did was put it in my player and proceeded to sit and absorb the beauty. It was fabulous. It was sweet and quirky and truly felt like a documentary rather than a fictional story-telling experience. And the music, my goodness, the music!

I am blown away by people's natural gifts and talents and when they strive to utilize them and create something to share with others. That's what these two people did. I highly, highly recommend this movie.

If you want a taste of the music, go YouTube the song Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.  If you and I share musical taste, then I can honestly say you will not be remiss in this decision!

2/12/2011 - 2/18/2011

Another week has passed and this one was one of the best in awhile, despite the persistence of what I believe were bad allergies courtesy of the arrival of incredible weather. I love it and all but it usually doesn't love me, at least at first. :-(

I had a new beginning at my new work abode in the Galleria and was reminded why I always said I never wanted to work in the Galleria because the traffic was so terrible. But I'm learning tricks courtesy of family members who've been working there for years now. On that note, I was crossing the street to Yia Yia Mary's and my sister turned the corner and drove right past. Too funny!

I finished a few things, some good and some depressing. 30 Rock was a laugh riot to the very last minute. I am sad to be a season behind and impatient in having to wait for the next season on Netflix. Sadsad. I wrapped up Reaper and in accordance with several friends via FB it was a disastrous ending. It was sudden and stuttered, faltering and tripping in its final few minutes. Fail. Lame, totally lame. And no movie anywhere in sight. Sock and Sam are on new shows due out soon, which I'm glad for them and all...but...Reaper! As I showed last week (I think) I was reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I wasn't sold at first read, but as I forged ahead (wish I could make myself do the same with LoTR) I was entranced with the little boy narrating. I was heartbroken for his aches and pain and wanted to hug his mom and Grandma. When the final revelations unfurl in the final pages, it was sweet and special and gut-wrenching. Your tears were matching his and your heartache could never equate his. It may have been difficult at times to read and understand who the narrator was (it shifts focus between characters and even time) but overall an interesting and achingly beautiful story.

Here are the photos!

2/12/2011 (Happy Birthday, Honest Abe! Read here for more details about this President.)

2/13/2011 (Finally made the Sprinkles cupcakes whose mix was given to me for my birthday. Didn't make the icing, but it was not necessary at all! Quite delicious!)

2/14/2011 (Mamma Mia! tickets arrived and I am so excited! My first foray to the theater in Houston with a great group of friends...in May. Hurry up!)

2/15/2011 (Wrote short cards to my former co-workers in IA. Will miss them!)

2/16/2011 (Finished Reaper, read above for thoughts. :-( )

2/17/2011 (Hobbit for dinner, friends from across the pond back in town. It was so great to see Tara and to have Rosa back in the states. She got me all this kitschy stuff from China and I cannot wait to give it a go!)

2/18/2011 (Goodies arrived! I love deliveries!)

Happy birthday, Mr. President!

President Lincoln was born on this day in 1809 in the great state of Kentucky.  Here are few fun facts about our 16th President of these United States.

1) He was the first Republican President, though by the sound of it the two parties were switched back then. Democrats were for state rights and the Republicans were anti-slavery...
2) It wasn't a mere progress report (six weeks) before the Civil War started at Fort Sumter (in South Carolina).
3) Issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, freeing slaves, and heavily promoted the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which would abolish slavery. I didn't know this, but the Proclamation was written to outlaw slavery in the 10 confederate states still in rebellion at the time of its issuance. It wasn't until the passage of the Amendment that slavery was totally abolished. But it was this Proclamation that was the kick-start to changing all aspects of racial discrimination, at least legally, among other racially driven issues.
4) He is portrayed on the five-dollar bill and the penny.
5) He is one of the four presidents depicted on Mount Rushmore.
6) He was (and potentially still is) the tallest President standing at 6'4''!
7) He was assassinated at the beginning of his 2nd term as President while viewing a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C.

Some more fun facts are how he is considered one of the best presidents of our country's history along with Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Each led us through our most major wars and revolutions.

He and his wife, Mary Todd, had four sons, but only one lived past the age of 18. So sad! This son, later in life, committed her to a mental facility for melancholy. Egads!

I was curious what happened to this son and he apparently went on to have three of his own children. Each of them, two daughters and one son, all proceeded to marry but remained childless.

Lincoln's (known) line died out in 1985 with the death of his great-Grandson.

Fascinating man. His personal history detailing where he came from, how he educated himself to become a lawyer and rose the ranks within politics are just amazing.

Happy birthday, Honest Abe!

PS. It's totally fun to say Baberaham Lincoln. Just saying...

2/5/2011 - 2/11/2011

Another week has flown by and I'm off to embark on a brand new chapter of my life come Monday. Get excited!

2/5/2011 (A) (Hanging out with Carrie and her boys at Brazos Bend State Park! We saw an alligator, but I think I thought it was cooler than they did. Does that make me a 9-year old boy? :-/ )

2/5/2011 (B) (Celebrating my dad's birthday! Our family groweth!)

2/6/2011 (Played Superbowl Squares for the first time...and won in the first quarter. In Vegas this typically equates to you needing to walk away from the machine because no way it's going to pay out big again while you're sitting there!)

2/7/2011 (Was recommended to me, this book. It's stream of conscious narration which can make for a confusing read, but I'm still interested. Challenge for me: I'm not going to read the book flap. I always read the book flap and then subsequently figure out the story. Not this time!)

2/8/2011 (I may make money but that doesn't mean I see Benjamin very often. Hooray for beginner's winning luck!)

2/9/2011 (Made sammiches for my bro and his wife to help out at the house. Tasty, tasty sammiches!)

2/10/2011 (Happy birthday, bro! Mmm...Cupcake truck was incredibly helpful in having a full inventory of cupcakes for my purchase! Plus, they sold them to me half price because "You're awesome!" and it doesn't hurt that I brought my entire office on several occasions to buy cupcakes. You're welcome, Mmm...Cupcake.)

2/11/2011 (A sweet surprise from my mama when I got home for Valentine's Day. Isn't that rose just gorgeous?)

Grocery Savings

I really liked today's article on Yahoo! concerning saving money on your groceries, so I though I'd share my favorites from their list of 14 things you can do.

1) Put paper towels at the bottom of your vegetable drawer in your refrigerator. It soaks up excess moisture which is what causes the veggies to rot.
2) If you use fresh herbs, store whole bunches (washed and sealed) in the freezer. They defrost immediately upon hitting the frying pan.
3) Don't separate bananas until you are ready to eat them. Apparently they spoil less quickly when bunched together.
4) To make sour cream last longer, flip the container upside down in the fridge. It createst a vacuum that inhibits bacteria growth!
5) Honey is nonperishable! Heat it in the microwave in short bursts to clear up the cloudyness and remove the crystals when it's aged.
6) If you're cooking with lemon juice and don't want to spoil an entire lemon, puncture the fruit with a metal skewer and squeeze out what you need from there.
7) If you’re unsure of an egg’s freshness, put it in a little bit of water. Fresh eggs sink; bad ones float.

Number 7 is my favorite! Check out the entire article here.

Cheers and happy Tuesday!

1/29/2011 - 2/4/2011

Another week! I'm finally starting to the get the hang of this picture taking business. My memory has vastly improved!

1/29/2011 (Learning to use the newfangled machine that is the washer. My dad made it sound so complicated I got nervous to use it!)

1/30/2011 (Re-reading The Host. I truly consider this her best piece thus far. It's far less juvenile and the story concept is very unique and keeps you intrigued throughout the story.)

1/31/2011 (Predicting snow for Thursday! How exciting...sort of. Big kid day off, please?)

2/1/2011 (Ever wondered what to do with those old business cards of yours? I now have two sets of several hundred. One idea: make a deck of cards. :-) Don't judge my spade and club drawing skills! Other ideas: Notecards to jot ideas or phone messages onto and a cube [which I also created]. Great way to spend some time.)

2/2/2011 (G met Annabelle! Hanging out with my niecey! She is too precious!)

2/3/2011 (One bonus to your company being the only one not to release you early on account of impending ice, there was very little traffic on the road and I made it home in record time. Holler!)

2/4/2011 (Ice!!! I'd have preferred snow...ice is much more dangerous! Regardless, stayed home from work as I did not feel comfortable driving on those roads!)

Groundhog Day, not just a great movie

I love themed movies. Movies associated with a particular day or event. Ergo, Scrooged and Groundhog Day as well as The Boondock Saints are all some of my favorites. I may just have to watch the relevant movie for today...today!

Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow this morning, meaning an early spring for us!

But did you know that it isn't really Phil that decides whether or not he's going to see his shadow. It's actually a group of suited men in top hats who decide as a panel whether he'll predict spring or snow. Well, that just takes the fun out of the whole process!

Phil's annual debut occurs on Gobbler's Knob (Harry Potter-esque, anyone?) located in Punxsutawney, a small town Northeast of Pittsburgh.

This tradition stems from European weather lore and was brought over to the States by a group of Germans living in Pennsylvania.  Their tradition involves a badger or a bear seeing their shadow when they emerge from their burrows.  It is closely tied to the Christian holiday of Candlemas (the day Jesus was presented at the Temple) which occurs on February 2nd.

If Phil "sees" his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter and an early spring if he doesn't.

According to Yahoo!, there have been 114 predictions made (on record) since 1887.  98 of those times, Phil saw his shadow.  He's only seen bare ground 16 times.  Apparently this year was his 125th prediction, but records were only kept since that year. Snooze, you lose.

For those out there who have not seen Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray, watch it. Immediately. Own it, in fact. It's funny and clever and typical Bill Murray. The poor man must relive Groundhog's Day until he "gets it right". It's funny to watch him try and fail and ultimately succeed. Just watch how he attempts to end the cycle over and over...it's truly hilarious.