The Paper Ripper Extraordinaire

You're It!

2012-01-27T13:03:00.001-05:00

I used to hate tags about 4 years ago when I had blog relationships with at least two dozen people and got the same tags over and over again. But with my shrunken blog family (some people only see fit to blog monthly... *couSHABOOGIEgh*), I guess I'm ready to play again. I'm supposed to tell 11 random things about myself (I think because I don't share enough randomness LOL), answer 11 questions and ask 11 more. Answer those 11 on your blog or in the comments. These are from Nerd Girl. Now let's party!

1) I love ear muffs. Still. They're cute, they never mess up my hair & they keep my ears warm.
2) Stretching has become one of my favorite activities now that I'm a running machine. It feels grrrreat!
3) I love dancing. Line dancing, salsa, cha cha, Just Dance, aerobics class, Zumba. In my house, at the grocery store, at the club, at your wedding, my momma's house, your momma's house. Doesn't matter. Just gimme a beat. Oh and I'm good at it.
4) I told Rashan if I won tickets to the Super Bowl and the Falcons are there, I would leave him at home. I can't have him seeing his team there in person and I might never see mine (the Panthers). He claims this might be grounds for a divorce. *shrugs*
5) I leave Christmas lights up inside my house because I just can't let it go. I plug them in when I need a boost.
6) I'm going dairy-free, meat & egg-free & processed food-free for 28 days starting this past Monday. This week is just dairy and processed food-free. Everyone say a prayer for my continued sanity. Yes, this is self-inflicted. Details forthcoming.
7) I have four kinds of salt (table, sea, black lava, fleur de sel) and six kinds of pepper (black (whole & ground), pink, crushed red, white, chili, cayenne). I will be using the fleur de sel and pink peppercorns in the next month. CAN'T WAIT!!
8) I have never disliked a news anchor/reporter so much that I couldn't watch him/her deliver the news. Even the ones I knew in my old life as a journalist. Until now. There is a guy here I HATE!! He says the dumbest things. Whether he wrote them or not, he says them. It's almost worse if he didn't write them. No. Wait. It IS worse. I refuse to watch him.
9) I love getting pedicures but hate getting manicures. The nail techs ALWAYS mess up my nail shape no matter what I tell them.
10) I went on a free sample spree a few months ago and for a while I was getting something almost every day. I'm in a dry spell now and looking longingly at my mailbox.
11) I have stacks of books all over the living room that prompt others to offer me bookshelves. But I secretly like the way they look all stacked around. It makes me feel like my life is full of reading. Oh! It is again. :)

1. Is there anything you’ll eat one way, but not another?
Very similar to NG, I'm extremely tomato picky. I don't eat fresh tomatoes out of season. Summer only. I love most tomato products (sauce, KETCHUP!!, salsa) but HATE tomato soup & juice. Canned, fire-roasted, diced tomatoes are one of my top products. Love raw carrots, hate them cooked.
2. Where’s your favorite vacation spot?
Anywhere warm with a beautiful (preferably relatively uncrowded) beach.
3. What 5 things would you grab if your home were about to be destroyed?
Phone/charger, degrees, fave pumps, a Le Creuset, my hat collection. Yes I know these all sound ridiculous.
4. What are you listening to right now?
The dishwasher. I like quietude when I'm reading/writing blogs.
5. What’s the most you’d spend on a purse?
At this point 0. Within the next year, probably $200.
6. Do you think we’d get a long in real life? Yes! You're the best!
7. Do you have a monthly clothing budget? Nope. Not right now.
8. What do you do when you’re bored?
Tweet, play Words with Friends, tweet, watch tv/movies, bother Rashan, read.
9. What surprises you most about being an adult?
That I'm married and it's quickly become pretty normal. And definitely that I feel like the same person and not necessarily always like an adult.
10. Do you love your hairstyle? Sometimes. I'm impressed by the length!
11. Who’s your favorite Golden Girl?
I guess Sophia if I have to pick one. Surly amuses me on tv... and often in life.

Now here's a mix of her questions, Inner Diva's questions and mine. You may notice a slight food bias...
1) Is there anything you’ll eat one way, but not another?
2) What food do you absolutely refuse to eat and is there anything that can change your mind? Like if your favorite chef EVER prepared it, would you eat it?
3) Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
4) Where’s your favorite vacation spot?
5) How did you decide to live where you live right now?
6) What's the riskiest thing you've ever done?
7) If money was no object and all your bills were paid indefinitely, how would you spend the next year?
8) Do you like your family?
9) What's your favorite drink?
10) What's one thing you can eat and eat and never get tired of?
11) Is there a smell that instantly reminds you of something or someone else?

Encounters of the Masculine Kind

2012-01-19T15:45:00.000-05:00

In the last two weeks, I must have been wearing eau de 'how you doin' as I conquered the city. All kinds of riff raff saw fit to approach me. I think these things happen mostly to give me something to blog about.

A. Man Reeking of Alcohol at 3 in the Afternoon: (Looks me up and down) Unh! How you doin?
Me: Fine. (To clerk) Pump 2, please.
MRoAa3itA: I'll get it if you let me take you to dinner tonight.
Me: Nah. My husband won't like that.
MRoAa3itA: Aw man. All the good ones are taken.
Me: Yeah I guess so.
MRoAa3itA: Nah! I don't believe that!
Me: (Silence.)

B. Me: (Minding my own business sitting in my car waiting at the light with the window down enjoying the nice weather.)
Dude: (LAYING ON HORN) AAAAAAAAAAAY!
Me: (Horrid face.)

C. Toothless Elderly Man: (Looking pleased in my direction) Hey sweetheart!
Me: (Warily) Hi.
TEM: I think I love you.
Me: (Panicking letting my words come before I think them) No thank you.
TEM: No thank you?
Me: (As we pass each other) You can't love me! You don't even know me!
TEM: Says yo mouth!
Me: (Raucous laughter)

Why does a man 30 years older than all of you have the best approach? I know part of it is more practice but just FYI, laying on your horn and yelling out of your window and looking someone up and down making guttural noises aren't attractive means of communication. I thought we knew this already. You know what I'm gonna say, right? Do better.

#29: Watch AFI's Top 100 Films

2012-01-11T14:57:00.001-05:00

The American Film Institute has this list... 100 best films. As a filmmaker, I felt like this list included a bunch of stuff I should have seen (probably a long time ago). I also included this goal on my 30 Before 30 list because Rashan had seen everything on the list. It was not a goal I looked forward to completing. Part of that is my problem stems with my impatience with long films. If it's a comedy, it needs to be 90 minutes or less. If it's a drama, it needs to have a wonderfully fleshed-out plot for me to tolerate more than 2 hours.

I found some films I really, really liked and others I just found passable. I was surprised to learn how much I can appreciate a good western! I hated them growing up because it was all my dad would ever watch. That and Star Trek. Wait. And This Old House. And tennis. Okay that's enough. Then of course there were the ones I didn't like at all. Some of them will make you gasp. Dun dun dun... I warn you, I won't sound remotely like a filmmaker. Anything intelligent I had to say about these has already happened and may happen again but not today!

Likes
1) The Godfather. I avoided this one for YEARS. Turns out I really, really liked it!
2) Gone with the Wind. As a Southerner, this one was on my radar my entire life. I'd seen pieces but never the whole thing. You know the length is what got me. I liked it so much I watched it in one sitting!
3) It's a Wonderful Life. I don't know why my mom hates this movie. I'd seen bits and pieces growing up but never saw the whole thing until this past Christmas! I really enjoyed it!
4) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. I don't really like Jimmy Stewart. I think he's corny. But these two movies tried to make me a convert!
5) To Kill A Mockingbird. So cute and sweet. I liked the book, I liked the movie.

6) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I liked this film so much I need to watch it again.
7) Everything Hitchcock. I love that man.
8) Bonnie and Clyde. PAUL NEWMAN!!!! Faye was pretty awesome, too.
9) The Silence of the Lambs, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, The Shawshank Redemption. All 5 stars.
10) Bringing Up Baby. My favorite dead guy Cary Grant & Katharine Hepburn? Yes, please!

Dislikes
1) Casablanca. I KNOW!! I'm lucky Rashan married me for this one. I didn't get the hype at all. And I really hated that he said 'Here's lookin at you, kid' 7,000 times. Blech.
2) Citizen Kane. Eye roll again. I know as a recovering journalist I'm supposed to love this but I didn't. Not even a little bit. I wasn't into the story from the outset.
3) Goodfellas, Easy Rider, The Wild Bunch, Sullivan's Travels, Nashville, Intolerance.
4) A Clockwork Orange. One star. I hated this one most of all. Hated it.

Overall, I gave 67% of the films 4 or 5 out of 5 stars. Just 12 got one or two stars (meaning I would not want to watch them again). I think that's a great ratio considering the skepticism with which I approached this list! Goal complete!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 130

2012-01-09T10:44:00.001-05:00

1) I've decided I'm going to start finding fun free stuff for Rashan and I to do every week. We might not get to it all but at least we'll get to some. We chill at home a lot but I'm ready to go conquer the world together!

2) I'm going to stop trying to make fetch happen. I tried two different plans on my Bible app and neither one worked for me. I'm still trying to decide whether I'll use the Bible on my phone. I kind of like that. Even though it looks like I'm texting in church. LOL

3) I was in an AWFUL sleeping pattern for months. I would fall asleep around 11, wake up at 2 and not sleep again until between 8 and 10 in the morning at the worst and 5 and 6 a.m. at the best. I'd wake up at 3 p.m. and still not feel rested. I often woke up several times during the night and couldn't go back to sleep. Then I worked out five days last week and my body demanded rest. Even when I woke up I could GO BACK TO SLEEP!! This has been true for the last 4 days and I feel AMAZING! Now I just need to not wake up at 8 a.m. and life will be much better.

4) It must have been some GOOOOD sleep because I woke up with sore right ribs Friday morning and they haven't stopped aching yet. Do better, ribs.

5) I wish I still liked ribs. The food. Pork is almost dead to me. We're down to bacon and sausage. And when chicken sausage is cheaper, I buy that. But I don't believe in non-pork bacon. It is an abomination before God and man and should be banned from the earth. It was written...

6) I was supposed to make oatmeal butternut scotch cookies this weekend. Then our neighbor brought us delicious banana nut muffins. Desire gone! Oops... Maybe today.

7) I have turned a corner in this job application process after getting another rejection and realizing several things.
A. I am amazingly blessed to be able to stay at home while I find a wonderful job for me. It took me too long to realize this but I'm holding on to it while I have it.
B. I am in a season of preparation. I must use my time wisely. I know I'm meant to learn and grow from this experience. Look at me getting all zen on you.

8) I really try to keep in touch with my grandma more but she's so depressing and/or negative some days that it can really be hard to talk to her.

9) Speaking of negativity, my twitter and facebook timelines are doing the most. Facebook is about 10 minutes from going the way of MySpace. I'm not willing to give it up completely yet but I interact on there less and less. I'm basically down to food and running. I stopped regularly posting pics unrelated to those two things months ago.

10) I'm about to completely dump my running group. Ironically, because it's not meshing with my running goals. That's so beyond not the point, right?? Crazy.

Movies 2012: Week 1

2012-01-08T10:28:00.001-05:00

I'm well on my way to watching more documentaries this year than last year! I didn't actually go back and count but if I can maintain a 50/50 ratio, even at times above that on the documentary side. This was a great start to the year!

January 1-7, 2012
1) Winnebago Man. Documentary about this man who loses his entire mind on a commercial shoot for Winnebago. It's just as much about the filmmaker who's obsessed with the video. I was instantly exasperated by the Winnebago Man's prolific, over-the-top profanity and the filmmaker's insertion of himself into the story. With the filmmaker's participation in this film, it really should have been called Winnebago Man and Boy or something. For the amount of build-up to finding Winnebago Man, there had to be the ultimate pay-off. I think there was. I also think there are interesting ethical conundrums inherent in this film. (The idea of viral video victims setting the record straight; knowing when you're getting the real person while making a film; establishing your importance or worth in a film as the filmmaker? How could you tell this story without including yourself?) From the way it began, I was actually quite surprised to enjoy this film. But I did! 3.9 stars
2) Micki & Maude. A man finds out his ambitious wife (Ann Reinking from Annie!) and his secret mistress are both pregnant. It's shocking how long this charade went on. SHOCKING! I shook my head throughout but somehow still enjoyed it. 3.7 stars
3) The Opposite of Sex. Christina Ricci stars as a homewrecking trollop who moves in with her brother and seduces his boyfriend. So crazy. Lisa Kudrow has the most awesome and jerky personality! She's the best character! Amusing film and certainly not without twists. Really ridiculous ineffective music. 3.6 stars
4) Letters to Juliet. Amanda Seyfried plays an American girl who finds and answers a decades old letter to Juliet (improbable, I know but if you saw how it happened, you'd be even more skeptical). When her response leads to meeting the original letter's author, she joins the woman and her grandson on the search for a long lost love. It started off rather interesting and had interesting moments throughout but silly, unnecessary things kept happening to remove some of that interest. 3.2 stars
5) Gimme Shelter. The Maysles direct this Rolling Stones concert film that accidentally captures footage of a murder in progress. Pretty amazing documentary. It captures the freewheeling, frenzied and chaotic atmosphere of the concert before and during the murder. I feel like I could watch this dozens of times and still see something new every time. It certainly doesn't hurt that the music was great, too. 4 stars
6) The Other Woman. Wow. Natalie Portman stars as a woman who wins the affection of the one she loves only to find out that affection comes with a lot of baggage. The movie is so much deeper than that description but the ambiguity in the explanation is what makes the unveiling more powerful. I had never expected to feel a sympathy or affection for 'the other woman' but I most definitely did. Really beautiful film. 5 stars
7) Picture Me. A filmmaker follows his girlfriend on her rise to model superstardom. While it was interesting to hear some things from models, if you've been keeping up with stories in fashion, for the most part, it didn't break any new ground. The insecurity was disconcertingly bizarre. It was also pretty creepy how old these girls looked. A 16-year-old could easily pass for a 25-year-old. Even 30.
8) Love and Other Drugs. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway star as a drug rep and his early-onset Parkinsons-suffering sleep around buddy who go through all sorts of ups and downs together as they try to figure out life. Mostly amusing but harmless. Remember Vonda Shepard of Ally McBeal fame? Someone reprised her constant moans over music and under dialogue throughout this film to annoying heights. 3 stars

2012 Goals

2012-01-05T09:53:00.002-05:00

You guys know I LOVE goals! I live a much more ordered life when I'm setting and achieving goals! This year I turn 30!!! Wow! I remember when 30 seemed old. LOL It's so funny how your perspective changes. I've put my goals into categories to make them a little more manageable.

Culinary

Try some old recipes again. I cook several times a week. Almost always new recipes. Sometimes even when I'm making a sandwich. I need some standbys. I'm going to try to find some this year.
Re-vamp my food blog. The Record Dish is so far from where it started for me that it might be time to move. Get a fresh start.

Fitness

Run 750 miles, a 10k and a half marathon. That's about 14.5 miles every week. At the beginning I won't be there (this week will have about 9) but at the end I'll be beyond that... sometimes in a single run. WOW! I'm so excited about where I'll be this time next year!
Work out 3-5 times every week. Already on number 4 this week today!

Life & Career

Read 45 books. Since I'll be working a lot more this year than last year (claiming it), I'm only upping this goal to 45. I read 50 last year. I'll be cramming as many books as possible into the first half of the year. Now reading 3 books.
Make a real effort to find a church. I didn't attend a single one locally in 2011. Wow. I know my spiritual growth is stagnating without a church.
Use my time more wisely. That means creating a plan for my days and executing it. I have to have a plan and deadlines to get films created, books read and syllabi written.
Buy a camera and a new desktop computer. If I'm going to make more documentaries, I need the equipment to move it on forward!
Complete my professional website. Domain name purchased, waiting on the design.
Change my name. I've made a decision and I'm ready.
Volunteer. I've always wanted to be a baby cuddler at a hospital.
Complete at least 10 more 30 before 30 goals. I've done 11 so that will bring me to at least 22. I've had to revise my list to more accurately reflect my current lifestyle. Most of those goals aren't gone forever, though! Look for them on either 35 before 35 or 40 before 40. (LOL)

Career & Money

Budget our spending to make room for more things we like to do. And of course, we need to build our savings.
Save $1,500 on our grocery bill this year. We were at about $900 w/o even really trying the first 7 months of the year! Part of this savings will require me not wasting money on food that doesn't get eaten. I really hate that.
Get a magnificent job. I'm not sure if this will be filmmaking, teaching, a combination or something I haven't even imagined but I'm getting myself mentally ready for the next step.
Watch more documentaries. I didn't have nearly enough in my film diet. So far this year, almost half of the films I've watched were docs. I think that's a good ratio. And of course I wouldn't mind even more of a tilt toward the doc side.
Make more documentaries. I need to crank out some new things.
Attend at least 2 film festivals. I LOVE film festivals and I've only been to one! This is part of my version of attending professional conferences and I'm ready to get back out there!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 129

2012-01-03T02:38:00.002-05:00

1) I don't like Project Accessory. Molly Sims has no more credibility than any other person who wears accessories and I never understand what the judges are talking about when they like something. I almost never like what they like. But I can't stop watching it now that I've started. UGH!! I like some of the things they do and seeing the creation process but in general, the show annoys me. I'll finish out the season and be shocked if it lasts.
2) Speaking of shows, we've stopped watching Grimm and Person of Interest. It was the same thing every week with no overall story line progression.
3) December 26th is usually my least favorite day of the year after August 24th (day after my birthday). Christmas was so low-key this year, I was okay.
4) Did you know you can freeze store-bought egg nog? I'M ON IT!!!
5) My mom got her Christmas fish fry after all at my cousin's house for brunch. That fish was amazing! So delicious! I will allow Christmas brunch fish fries henceforth. But someone else has to cook it.
6) You know how I don't like mail addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Rashan last name? But I do like being called Mrs. Last Name. Mostly because it cracks me up! Who me???? LOL
7) I played 'spangles' clearing my tiles on triple word and double word for 161 points the other day!! It still makes me smile!!!
8) It's hilarious to me that the same people who will talk trash about Steve Harvey and Hill Harper dole out daily relationship advice. And I've yet to hear tale of their own successful relationships. Maaaaan look. By hilarious I mean annoying. Stop talking.
9) I had a colossal failure in the kitchen yesterday. Like no salvaging it, straight to the trash failure. WOW. First time in a long, LONG time that's happened. Years.
10) I ran 4 miles for the first time Sunday and it was amazing!! Not in the sense that it felt great because parts of it were torturous but amazing in that I knew I could do it and I did!
11) Remember I mentioned creating a food writing course? I'm reading "Will Write for Food" and it's AWESOME in the first 20 pages!
12) You know what January means, don't you? New goals!!!! I can't wait to share them with you! :)

Movies 2011, Weeks 51 & 52

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

2011 was an interesting year of films with I realized NOT ENOUGH DOCUMENTARIES!! Changes ahead in 2012.

December 18-24, 2011
222) The Good Witch's Gift. A criminal comes back in town as a good witch and the town's police chief prepare for their Christmas wedding. I guess it's cute enough and sappy but it didn't feel very Christmas-like. Not my favorite. 2.9 stars
223) Christmas Magic. A woman must help a man and his young daughter to get into heaven. I would've liked this film a lot more without the poor lip-synching on a terrible song played ad nauseum at the end. Ugh. Maybe not a lot more. It was too stripped of the things that make movies interesting; it was too predictable. 2.9 stars
224) Christmas Wishes. An orphan and a spoiled brat magically change places at Christmas time to the rich girl's chagrin. The plot was decent, the dialogue was bad, the acting was ABYSMAL!! You could feel everyone acting like a caricature of their character sketch. Bad. But the end? Outrageously bad. So, so bad. 1.5 stars
225) Comfort and Joy. A single woman (Nancy McKeon aka Jo from Facts of Life) is knocked unconscious and wakes up with a family she doesn't remember. Dixie Carter is pretty awesome as her mom. The biggest problem with these time loss movies is how much you have to suspend your disbelief. This was a bit better than others I've seen but it was still rather ridiculous. 3.2 stars
226) Broadcast News. The story of a network news producer, reporter and green, pretty boy anchor. It was pretty amazing how this story still rings so familiar 25 years after it was first told. You could still have the pretty face who knows next to nothing about making the news getting promoted for superficial reasons, massive cuts, a great worker getting hosed, newsroom romances ebbing and flowing. Wow. 4.3 stars
227) Mr. Lucky. Cary Grant stars as a casino operator and con man who convinces an heiress to host her ball for the war effort with his games. The set-up of the story was ridiculous. Just get to it and show me Cary, please and thanks. But I still enjoyed it. Even gangster Cary is still lovable and charming. :) 3.5 stars
228) Will You Merry Me? A Christian and his Jewish fiancée bring their families together to meet for the holidays. Some craziness ensues, of course, but not too over the top. The acting was pretty good. I enjoyed the film for what it was-- light-hearted Christmas hijinks. 3.5 stars
229) Three Wise Women. A woman's past and future selves have to help her fix her life now to make it better in the future... but she doesn't know who they are. Amusing, strong start. Didn't really hold my attention, though. 3.2 stars
230) A Very Merry Daughter of the Bride. A woman comes back from a trip suddenly engaged to a stranger and her wedding-planning daughter decides to break up the wedding. Meh. 2.9 stars
231) Prelude to a Kiss. Meg Ryan and Alec Baldwin star as a young couple whose life is changed by a kiss to the bride from an old man on her wedding day. I usually love magic, rom coms and Meg Ryan. But... this one didn't really do it for me. I'd probably have liked it better if I saw it 10 years ago. 3.2 stars
232) It's A Wonderful Life. An angel's sent to earth to help out a man ruined by a miser at Christmas. Aw! I don't know why I avoided this movie for so long. Maybe my mom doesn't like it?? (Turns out that was why.) I usually find him corny, but I thought Jimmy Stewart was very endearing. Feel-good movie for certain. 4.5 stars

December 25- 31, 2011
233) Apocalypse Now. LAST MOVIE ON THE AFI TOP 100 LIST!!! PUMPED!! Martin Sheen plays a Vietnam-era Green Beret sent on a secret mission to murder a rogue colonel (Marlon Brando). Pretty amazing film from Francis Ford Coppola. 4 stars
234) Fame. The original version of the story of the ups and downs of life for students at a performing arts high school. Quite entertaining. From my brief stint at a performing arts school, they sure minimized the competitiveness among the students. Still, an interesting film. 3.8 stars
235) The Dilemma. Vince Vaughn plays a man who has to figure out whether to tell his best friend his wife is cheating on him. Too long. There were a bunch of unnecessary moments. And to be a dark comedy, there weren't enough funny moments. 3.1 stars
236) Wild Cherry, A teenage girl plots revenge when she finds out her boyfriend's participating in a school get laid book. Wow. Really bad. Don't bother. 2 stars

#25: Read 10 Classic Books

2011-12-29T07:12:00.000-05:00

I was always an avid reader. I was that kid who read everything she could get her hands on. Yes, that included every book that was assigned. I found some I never would've read that I really enjoyed (The Count of Monte Cristo, All Quiet on the Western Front) and others I found horrid (Siddhartha). Okay okay. I didn't finish Siddartha. I finished Anna Karenina for AP English my junior year out of spite. I wanted to prove that I could do it. Especially once most of my class didn't finish it. I HATED that long, long book. I wanted to read ten classic books before I turned 30. I wanted to pick a mix of books that were on English teachers' book lists, things a lot of people I knew had read in middle or high school and classic works by black authors.

This list was just like a trip back to school. There were some I loved and wished I read earlier and others I never want to even think about again. Let's start with the highs. Number one hands down is.... PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!!!!!! I love this book!!! I want to read it again and again and again! It's so awesome!! I also loved Their Eyes Were Watching God. Awesome. The Grapes of Wrath. I did NOT expect to love this book! I was marginally optimistic about the first two but this was the sleeper hit! So good! I'll tie these at number two! The top three are COMPLETELY different books set in different times, different countries but they have one thing in common: they're all incredibly well-written.

I really liked Oliver Twist but it would come in fourth on the list of the ten books I read. Invisible Man was the most thought-provoking for me, though it got off to a slow start. After the first 150 or so pages (there were 400 more), it was quite good. It's number five. Coming in at number six, Uncle Tom's Cabin. It was just there for me. I liked it at times, other times didn't. Overall, it was fine. Number seven: Lord of the Flies was similar but more toward the don't like side.

Number eight is Catcher in the Rye. Not at all my kind of book. Overly-indulged rich kid goes around doing whatever he wants. Stream of consciousness. It made me exasperated with people who relate to this book. No thanks. Number nine is The Great Gatsby. I know! It's a true classic. Whatevs. I couldn't connect with the characters or relate to them. That normally doesn't matter to me. But in this case, the characters all felt frivolous. Number ten is Catch 22. I picked it because I've seen the cover blown up to poster size on the walls of Barnes and Noble. It took me months to read. MONTHS. No more picking books like that. Yech.

Overall? This was a great goal! AND my reading bug is officially reignited! For my 35 before 35 (LOLOL), I'm going to read 35 more classic books that I've never tackled. I only need 5 more. Suggestions?

5k Comparisons

2011-12-27T05:31:00.000-05:00

After running two 5ks, I'm definitely hooked on racing! I love the camaraderie, the energy and trying to hit a new personal record in some goal or another! So let's do a side-by-side review of this race and the first one.

Location
My first 5k was at the beach and therefore absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We didn't run on the actual beach, but rather along it and the intercoastal waterway. I couldn't see the beach during the run but I could smell it and enjoyed it before and after.
Result: Draw

Size & Atmosphere
Race one had about 350 people competing in a 5k and a 10k. Race two had about 3500!! Amazing to jump tenfold!! It was so cool seeing so many runners out and about. It was also a holiday-themed race and I saw Mrs. Claus AND an elf! At race number one, there was certainly a greater feeling of camaraderie even though I was running with people I knew at race two. The small size and friendliness of the volunteers at race one really helped.
Advantage: Race 2

Post-Race
Race one had free massages and delicious fresh bagels! There were lots of excited people around so that was fun! But I was most excited about the oyster festival. Unfortunately it was a horrible bust with limited oysters. WACK. The times were posted as people were coming in so it was cool to see your times as you came in and unwound. Plus it was my first race so I was SUPER excited!

Race two had lots of food but because of the crowd, there were way too many people in long lines trying to get to it. There were yummy Panera bagels and hot chicken and rice soup. Delicious. But there were no race times and no info on where to find it. What? Why? This was so incredibly frustrating. Even more so because we started at different times.
Result: Draw

Course
Race one was FLAT which was wonderful! I didn't even realize how wonderful until I started training on hills in the weeks after the race! And though it was at the beach, the course was pretty boring. It looped back before the first mile so I got to see all of these way who were way faster pass me in the first 10 minutes. Pretty demoralizing. But I quickly got over it.

Race two was hilly but near my normal route so I'd run it a few times. It was cool! And really pretty! I enjoyed it! It looped back later in the race so that was easier to take! Plus the last part of the route was mostly downhill which helps you really fly in the home stretch.
Advantage: Race 2

Swag
At race one, I got a medal. Who cares about the rest of it? I'm not running any more races without a medal.
Advantage: Race 1

Organization
This was the single biggest factor in my race. Race one went off without a hitch. It was on time. It was fun. I was ready to run! Race two? It started 30 minutes late without sufficient explanation. I found out later it was because they didn't shut down pre-race registration when they said they would and there were hundreds of runners still registering when the race was supposed to start. Thirty minutes doesn't sound like much but I got there at 7:25 for a race that was supposed to start at 8:35. It was 40 degrees outside and you see what I was wearing. It was fine for me to start running but not for me to be standing out there for an hour and a half. I couldn't feel my toes for the first 3/4 of a mile. That is not cool. I had also planned my food and water for an 8:35 start so by the time I started I didn't feel appropriately fueled or hydrated. So not cool. This category was a no-brainer.
Advantage: Race 1

Overall
While I loved the size and Christmasness of race 2, the organization killed it for me. I like things to be decent and in order. I'm feeling about done with 5ks. For a while at least. (Unless you know of a free local one...) I'm ready for my first 10k in March!
Advantage: Race 1

Christmas Movie Clichés

2011-12-23T07:24:00.002-05:00

With the help of watching 20 (so far) new (to me) Christmas movies this year, I've come to recognize some well-worn themes. With this list, I will never torture myself with (so many) horrid Christmas movies again! Despite some moments of torture, I'm still delighted to enjoy the magic of Christmas via film!

1) The workaholic. This is by far one of the most prevalent Christmas themes. The workaholic learns the magic of the holiday.
2) Santa injured/under fire/lost. Let's call this my least favorite Christmas cliché. Wait. So Santa has amnesia? Pass the peas. (I don't know why I said this either.)
3) Christmas in Peril. Sometimes this is forgetful Santa's fault, sometimes it's the Scrooge's. Whoever's at fault, we've got to save Christmas!
4) The Terrible Christmas leads to a sad season for some lovable person. Oh man. This is a person in deep need of learning the true meaning of Christmas! You've had a rough go of it at Christmas, eh? Well I guess that's why you need us!
5) Love fixes Christmas. This is actually my favorite Christmas cliché. Rom com and Christmas? Count me in!
6) Dead or deadbeat parent and/or the widow(er). A person who hasn't known love since their beloved dies finds it at Christmas. The struggling kids get a new parent that they finally learn to love at Christmas. I do not like this one at all. It's so unbelievable. I can't stand you but at Christmas I suddenly realize the error of my ways? Even as a surly teenager? Right. About that...
7) Absentee Mrs. Claus. Where is Mrs. Claus in these movies?? I saw so many Christmas movies with a santa but no Mrs. Claus. Bizarre.
8) A new Santa. Santa's retiring or dying and we've gotta find a new one! Now this one is also related to Christmas in peril because sometimes the search for a new Santa means if he's not replaced, Christmas DIES!!
9) Christmas wedding. Another fave! Everyone loves a Christmas wedding in the movies! In life I've never seen or known anyone who had one. Hmm...
10) Be careful what you wish for on Christmas... a little magic might make it come true. I like this one, too! But I like it better without the "magic" sounds. You know it. It also sounds just like a fairy getting her wings.
11) Big city guy/gal learns an important lesson in a small town. This is an important theme for all well-worn cliché-filled spectacles. Don't you know people in small towns are more real? And people in big cities only care about money and all things temporal? If not, you learned it in this magical money.
12) The Scrooge. There's always a person who thinks Christmas is terrible. This one is often rolled up into four or more other Christmas clichés. Its closest cousin is big city guy/gal learns an important lesson, the true meaning of Christmas, the workaholic and be careful what you wish for on Christmas.
13) The True Meaning of Christmas. Ah. The cliché to end all clichés! If at the end of the movie, you don't know love is at the heart of the true meaning of Christmas, then I guess you don't have a heart or a soul or you just weren't paying attention!

The Definition of Fall Back

2011-12-21T22:27:00.001-05:00

Sometimes people don't know how to leave well enough alone. Or how to mind their own business. This... is the definition of fall back. Long story short: I was good friends with a guy, we dated, broke up, talked a few times then I ignored him for a couple of years. He got the hint and hasn't attempted to talk to me in over a year. I got married this year and so did he. Cool.

We have a mutual friend who thinks ex & I need to be friends again. Wait. What?The two of them are actually much closer than her and I probably ever were. Me and this girl now talk about television occasionally. Like three times in a month via facebook and then nothing for months. Once a year or so, she brings the ex up to me. Monday was my lucky(ish?) day. She tells me she's not sure how we left things but she thinks ex needs his bud and we can probably talk about newlywed things.

Hol up ma'am. So ex and I haven't talked in years but because it crossed your mind and we got married in the same year, you think we should... What? Alright then. Do I attempt to tell you how to raise your children? Did you think about that message before you sent it? I assumed you didn't REALLY think about it which is why I didn't bother to address that with you. I'm pretty sure the newlywed stuff I need to discuss can be discussed with any of the FOUR 2011 newlywed couples I actually have a relationship with or...OR... and this is a long shot. Stick with me. I think I could talk to my favorite newlywed... my husband.

*drops mic*

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 128

2011-12-19T15:31:00.000-05:00

1) I've been internet ghost. Here's why. I called AT&T to remove auto-pay from my account to pay manually. They marked it as a disconnect. I call to have them fix it on Friday and talk to 7 people in an hour and a half. One told me it would be back on by 6. Another said he would find out what happened and have me compensated and he'd call me back. Never called back. Weekend w/o internet. PISSED. Last Monday after another half hour on the phone, I'm finally told they'll shut down that account and create a new one to give me the promotional rate which is $30 less per year than what I'm currently paying. BUT the internet will still be off until December 21st, TWELVE days later. Guess who has zero love for AT&T now. One guess.
2) I hate when cards are addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Rashan (last name). I promise my name is not Mrs. Rashan. It's Jameil. Promise. My mom doesn't get it. "You 21st century women." I am. I'm okay with that. The Last Names? Cool? Mr. & Mrs. Rashan & Jameil? Great. Mr. & Mrs. Rashan last name? Fail.
3) If you're over 25 and you think you can eat whatever you want and drink whatever you want and still have a good workout, you're wrong. If you don't drink water, you will cramp. If you don't eat things other than fast food, you can't perform at peak.
4) My mom suggested a Christmas fish fry. Y'all know I'm open-minded when it comes to food but, lady, you have lost your mind. Christmas Eve fish fry? Let's do it. Post-Christmas fish fry? It's on. But no to Christmas. THEN she mentioned SEVEN desserts for 4 people. One of them has diabetes, another high cholesterol and EVERYONE is watching their waistlines. I shut all of that down with a QUICKNESS. Yes, I'm the kitchen crazy at her house because everyone wants me to cook. Furthermore, if I don't take charge, we'll eat whatever my mom thinks of Christmas afternoon after I beg her to cook. Not on my watch.
5) Was Next Iron Chef awesome? Or was it awesome??? Loved it! And now I want to do a goat cheese-brussels sprouts puree for Christmas!
6) If you saw that movie post from the last two weeks, I've been on a Christmas movie binge of late. Tis CRAY. It's been so crazy that it's prompted a list of Christmas movie cliches. Thursday 13.
7) I want to make a beef wellington...
8) I wish I could eat parsnips. I see SO MANY great recipes! But last Thanksgiving I had an INSANE reaction to them. Itchy throat and snot faucet for HOURS. Carrots make my throat itch but parsnips (carrot cousins) make my body attack. :(
9) My favorite thing about watching food shows is calling out the unusual foods before the narrator can. :)
10) Rashan brought home chocolate-dipped sugar cookies topped with crushed peppermint. WHAT?!?! I could've easily eaten the whole bag! And I might have eaten 7/8 of it...
11) In some ways, Stacey and I are the same person and it is an awesome and hilarious experience talking to her. Can't wait to visit her in New York and rob the city of as much of its food as possible. LEGGO!!!
12) I've cooked three meals and prepared a salad dressing from one of my Rick Bayless books in the last week. So yummy! That man is ON IT!
13) I love my husband. BUNCHES! Tis all...

Hm... looks like I might be ever so slightly obsessed with food... I wonder if I could create a class on the evolution of food journalism... methinks I could and it would be awesome. *Mind twerks*

Movies 2011: Weeks 49 & 50

2011-12-19T15:29:00.001-05:00

*I apparently forgot how to count at some point in this journey toward millions of movies. Oops! You know what I meant. :)

December 4-10, 2011
202) Beginners. A graphic artist comes to grips with his father's death just a few years after learning the elderly man is gay and wants to act on it publicly. That's what the movie is billed as, anyway. And the moments where Christopher Plummer is on screen are wonderful. But too few. Quiet, sad indie film. It was very well-liked by many others. I was only lukewarm to this film. 3.3 stars
203) Mother is a Freshman. 1959 movie about a mother who enrolls in college and finds herself crushing on the same man as her daughter. Cute movie. A short and fun watch! 3.9 stars
204) In the Meantime, Darling. World War II-era film about a well-to-do woman who marries a military man and finds herself out of place when living on the base. Cute if propagandistic and a bit vapid. 3.7 stars
205) Easy. Indie film about a loose girl who always sleeps with the wrong guys. She then meets two nice guy contenders when she decides to impose celibacy upon herself. The gratuitous nudity was annoying but the story line was pretty good. 3.5 stars
206) Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. Silent film about the ups and downs of married life. I was very surprised to be into this story from the beginning. It was intriguing from the start and kept up the excitement despite being silent. If you look at Netflix, don't be alarmed. The film is 95 minutes. Their disc just includes two versions. I enjoyed the soundtrack version. 4 stars
207) Super. A husband fights crime after his wife leaves him for a drug dealer. This film stars Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page and Kevin Bacon. As strange as you would imagine. Moments of interest and wondering how it could possibly end. Outlandish. 3.4 stars
208) The Change-Up. Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds star as best friends with opposite lives (one married, one wild and single) accidentally switch lives. Some terrible and unnecessary computer-generated graphics. An outrageous amount of gratiuitous cursing and nudity. Just ridiculous. You expect a certain amount of unbelievability in a movie about a magical switch but this took things way too far. Worse, it was far too long. Almost two hours for a comedy??? Really??? Why?? 2 stars

December 11-17, 2011
You might notice a slight changeover to Christmas... :) I have no problem suspending parts of my sometimes snobby filmmaker-ness for Christmas. But only SOME parts... as you'll see.
209) 12 Dates of Christmas. A woman bent on winning back her ex-boyfriend is forced to relive a blind date 12 times until she gets it right. So cute! Even Rashan enjoyed it! 4 stars
210) Santa Incident. Two kids save Santa and nurse him back to health after his sleigh is shot down by a military plane. But they also have to enlist the town to protect Santa from agents bent on imprisoning him before Christmas. Blech. Some relatively amusing parts but really only a child will like this. And then only if they're younger than ten. 2.4 stars
211) Farewell Mr. Kringle. Christine Taylor stars in this Christmas movie about a widowed writer who's given up on love and Christmas until she's assigned to cover a town dedicated to Santa Claus. Probably overly mushy. I might listen to it if there was nothing else on but I would prefer to watch something else. 2.9 stars
212) Santa Who? A newsman tries to help an apparently homeless amnesiac find his family. Santa has amnesia! Extremely sappy. Leslie Nielsen is awesome as Santa, though. 2.8 stars
213) Eve's Christmas. Le sigh. Elisa Donovan stars in this film about an ad exec who wishes on a star to be able to fix things with her ex-fiancé. So Lifetime movie sappy. Do not want. 2 stars
214) Secret Santa. A reporter (Jennie Garth) goes in search of the Secret Santa who anonymously helps a small town. I'm sure it's heartwarming to someone. I drowned in sap. Here lies Jameil. 2.9 stars
215) Larry Crowne. Tom Hanks stars as a man downsized in the economic downturn who decides to go to college for the first time. He ends up falling for his professor (Julia Roberts) in this film at the confluence of several modern events-- foreclosure, texting in class, downsizing leading to a calling. Just okay. It's one of those films you can pay some attention to but you could also have running in the background and not miss much. 3 stars
216) A Holiday Engagement. A woman hires a man to pose as her fiance when she goes home for the holidays. Shelley Long plays a caricature of a mom in a very strange role. Just okay. 3 stars
217) A Princess for Christmas. A duke wants to finally meet his orphaned, estranged children so their caretaker aunt might as well come along. Looks like somebody's gonna be a princess for Christmas! Plot wasn't airtight but it was enough to be entertaining. 3.5 stars
218) Our First Christmas. Julia Sugarbaker (that's her real name) is the nervous family matriarch in a newly-formed family of a widow and widower and their children. Predictable... which is to be expected in Christmas movies. But with stilted acting and poor dialogue all over the place, it was absolutely wearying. 2.5 stars
219) A Christmas Proposal. Opposing counsel and one-time loves battle over the creation of a ski resort in their hometown. Not good. 2 stars
220) Christmas in Boston. Two longtime pen pals each send their best friends to pose as them when they meet for the first time. You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle & When Harry Met Sally rolled up into one. So cute! 4 stars
220) Annie Claus is Coming to Town. An elf interferes with Santa's daughter to make her fall in love. But there are two men competing for her affection. Cute. 3.4 stars
221) Unknown. Liam Neeson stars as a man who wakes up from a coma in a German hotel and no one knows who he is because someone's assumed his identity. Pretty awesome thriller. 4 stars

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 127

2011-12-13T19:30:00.000-05:00

I'm in internet purgatory. The sordid details coming later in the week but for now, Monday Mindspacing on Tuesday...

1) Etsy sellers who go on vacation around Christmas? Not bright.
2) Rashan and I decided Robert California can't last on "The Office" at this rate. He's getting too ridiculous. Not as bad as Will Ferrell last year but still. Those episodes are unwatchable.
3) You'll be pleased to know the Christmas menu is officially underway! There was great difficulty because no one has anything they must have for Christmas except dressing and sweet potato pie. Ummm... what? How do I narrow down a menu like that? Do better, people.
4) I wish I could block profanity from my twitter timeline. It would really help my quest to keep cursing out of my life.
5) My favorite thing about my new phone is app exploration. This week's fave is Pulse because it exposes me to news sources I wouldn't ordinarily see. Least fave? iPhone-only apps. Fix.
6) Did you hear about the proposed (essentially imminent) post office cuts? It will make mail even slower. Mine already gets here after 6 if at all. So wack.
7) I ran 3.5 on Thursday and 3.6 Sunday at faster than ever paces and felt AMAZING both times!!
8) I'm going to be saturating myself in Christmas music and movies for the rest of the month!! Can't wait!!!!!! I never let my filmmaker sensibilities get in the way of jolly Christmas films! Okay that's not totally true. I don't particularly like kiddie Christmas movies. I love a good romcom Christmas! Love it! There are 29 unwatched Christmas movies on the DVR and I've already watched for others!!
9) Have you ever seen a perfume spritzer just randomly spray someone in a store? Matter of fact, have you ever seen a person in the store spraying perfume on people? I'm convinced both of these only exist in the movies and on television.
10) I secretly want an arm full of slim diamond bracelets one day. I don't care if it's gaudy. The secret's out. Boom.
11) I love gifts in triplicate. I really don't think gifts should exist without at least two sidekicks. They don't have to be huge but those gifts need friends!
12) Christmas has made me remember I have cookbooks I've never cooked from. I've fixed that with two books since Thanksgiving and I still have at least SIX to go. But I still want a slow cooker cookbook... I have at least 150 recipes saved on my computer. I could use only saved recipes and those from cookbooks I own for at least 18 months without repeating. Out of control.

Christmas List 2011

2011-12-07T05:34:00.001-05:00

The theme for this year's Christmas is RUNNING! Surprised you, didn't I? LOL Those are the most reasonable things and turns out I really want them. I've gotten a few early Christmas gifts so that's extra exciting!

Running shoes!!! This is number one for a reason! I want this MOST of all! Done! Thanks Rashan!
Registration for this 10k or this half marathon. I want these second most!
An arm holder for my phone/i.d./key, a Black Girls Run! t-shirt (Got a sweatshirt, thanks to Mom!), running clothes (pants, jacket in indigo grey, long-sleeved shirt in black or fuschia, jacket in black or fuschia, running headband) compression socks, a head lamp & running gloves. A foam roller.
Other random workout stuff like a ball, a medicine ball and a kettle bell.
A job. What? God sees Christmas lists, too! :)
A stand or hand mixer. I currently mix everything by hand. Yeah. Nuff said.
Apple Corer. Chain pie weight. Both from Crate and Barrel. I'll probably use my gift card to get these for myself. Merry Christmas to me!
A slow cooker cookbook like this one primarily and this one secondarily.

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 126

2011-12-05T06:29:00.000-05:00

1) HGTV has clued me in to something: I don't like futuristic toilets. Tell me that toilet is not scary-looking. I think most of all I hate its squareness. Why does that toilet look like a box? But I'm also amused to think one day that might be a relatively basic/normal toilet.
2) I bet my mom's blood pressure skyrockets every time she thinks about her latest interactions with her mom. She always starts yelling. It's insane.

3) I ran my 2nd 5k on Saturday! But it was just okay... I felt like I could've run faster. :/ I was trying to stay with my running partner. But I did like my festive attire. I'll do a comparison with the first 5k later. For those of you who are in training, how's it going????
4) Rashan and I have been married 5 months AND we only recently realized we'll be married 6 months on New Years Day!!! Awesome! To bring in our 6 month anniversary every year, we get fireworks, champagne and a giant party! I couldn't have planned it better if I tried! And our actual anniversary is 4th of July weekend? PARTY EVERY SIX MONTHS!!!
5) I think I want to start painting my nails regularly again. I want OPI's Big Apple Red.
6) I only liked the first season of Dexter a little. Not enough to continue. But I'm really enjoying the current season.
7) I've started playing a game with Rashan. I do something big, noticeable and wait for him to notice. I put up a wreath inside and switched the one outside. He didn't notice until I mentioned it. I put a rather large sleigh full of gold and red Christmas ornaments on the DVR. He missed it for the first 2 hours he was home... watching tv. I had a bunch of papers I was organizing covering a large section of the living room that I put away. I had to call his attention to it. It cracks me up!! I can't WAIT for tonight! :)
8) I have lots of goals I need to accomplish before the end of the year. I'm on my way but I have to focus. I'm ready. I approach my goals like I approach a race. Head down, enjoy it as you go but most of all, FINISH.
9) I love watching Zakarian freak out every week on Next Iron Chef. I never expected him to become one of my faves! And I certainly didn't expect to not love Samuelsson as much as I once did. OR to really really like Faulkner!
10) I love my husband. I have a blast with him! He delights me, he supports me every step of the way, he adores me. That last one is why my mom loves him. He doesn't care who sees it. One day we'll be those parents embarrassing the mess out of their children with their love!
11) One of my mom's high school classmates doesn't have email. In 2011. Fix yourself. Right now.
12) Can you believe I haven't really thought about my Christmas menu? I'm pretty sure I'm going to cook whatever is on sale at my fave (Harris Teeter) that week. Ooh! I forgot I get to go to Trader Joe's since we'll be in Charlotte. There, too! :)

Movies 2011, Weeks 44-46

2011-12-04T16:42:00.001-05:00

I've been reading a lot so movie-watching is falling out of favor. I can't seem to get into a rhythm of doing both regularly. I suppose next year is the year of that.

November 6-12, 2011
193) American Teen. Documentary about teenagers at a high school in Indiana. It was an interesting story to watch and I really felt for some of the characters. It seemed like an accurate high school story for I'm sure many teenagers but without more diversity than a black kid with 2 lines, of course it could only go so far for me. Still enjoyable. 3.7 stars
194) The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls. The story of singing comedic lesbian twins from New Zealand is a concert film with touches of their activism. The comedy was enjoyable in spurts. I guess I was expecting less of a concert film and more of an exploration of the women. Beautifully shot but the story just fell a bit flat for me. 3.2 stars
195) Blair Witch Project. Wow. I hadn't seen this movie because so many people talked about how horrible it was. I already knew I wouldn't be afraid of it because it's one of those movies people either say "I was terrified" or they blank stare you. I'd be in the blank stare category. Pass. 2 stars
196) The Big Clock. This noir film is about a private detective who finds himself solving a murder where he is the suspect. Very interesting and a fun watch! The best thing about noir films is the irreverence for the characters. ANYONE is fair game to die. When you say it like that, it sounds terrible! But for films? It's great! 4 stars
197) The Harvey Girls. Judy Garland and Angela Lansbury star in this musical about a mail order bride who joins a group of waitresses at a new whistle stop restaurant when her marriage plans fall through. Then the towns puritans and rougher element battle for control. Amusing enough. 3.4 stars
198) CatchingHell. OMG. The longest documentary in the entire world about a single fraction of a second event. I didn't care anymore about SteveBartman being a scapegoat for the ChicagoCubs losing a trip to the WorldSeries in 2008. Unless you are the ultimate fan and you feel some need to relive this forever and in excruciating detail, I don't know why you would need to watch this film. 2 stars

November 20-26, 2011
199) HappyThankYouMorePlease. Josh Radnor (Ted on "How I Met Your Mother) directs and stars in this film about a struggling writer (I know) who finds and keeps a foster kid he finds on the train until he can figure something out (I know) and the women in his life and the intertwining relationships. As it unravels, some nice things happen in the plot. But there are some loose ends he never quite ties and others he ties too neatly to feel real or worthy. And still it's a nice movie to watch. 3.7 stars
200) Sarah's Key. A journalist finds her family history is entangled with the story of a Jewish French girl whose family was murdered by the French during WWII. Very moving story. The writer got lazy at some parts, relying on clichéd and overused language to push a story that really didn't need any pushing. There were times where I knew the exact line that was coming next. But for the most part, it was quite good if at times unbelievable. 3.7 stars

November 27-December 3, 2011
201) Due Date. Robert Downey, Jr. and Zack Galifianakis star in this film about two strangers who wind up driving across the country together after an airport mishap. I am SHOCKED by how much I laughed during this movie! And RDJ is PERFECT for this role! It got overly ridiculous after the first hour (of course) so that dropped it down a bit but still quite funny. 3.5 stars

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 125

2011-11-28T08:40:00.000-05:00

Welcome back! Thanksgiving left me feeling reeeeefreshed! Despite the non-stop noise of 4 kids at my mother-in-law's house. This is mostly Thanksgiving with a little bit of extraneous random.
1) Remember that episode of Scrubs where Elliot let Carla live with her while her and Turk figured out their issues? Remember when Elliot said to J.D. about Carla, "NO ONE IS EXEMPT FROM THAT RULE!!!"? This happened to me yesterday but with my own rule: STOP TALKING TO ME IN THE MORNING!!
2) My mom's reunion probably deserves its own post. In 1971, her 10th grade class was the first to be integrated in Jackson, MS. (Yes, schools were SUPPOSED to be integrated following Brown v. Board in 1954.) All the 10th graders in the city were in one school. They had their 40th reunion this weekend. It was segregated. Only the black kids were invited. Mom. SERIOUSLY!?! She couldn't understand my dismay. "We didn't like each other." Well maybe there are more of you that are ready to heal from that. When you know better, you do better. They need to do better. We're gonna have another discussion about this.
3) My mom also has a classmate who has 8 grandchildren and FIVE great-grandchildren. WAS SHE PREGNANT WHEN YOU LAST SAW HER 40 YEARS AGO!?!?! Off the chain.
4) It is reconfirmed that I don't know how to deal with sleepy children. "If you're tired, be quiet and go to sleep." -Thy Good Sir, Christopher of the Bridges Clan
5) I shall never tire of hearing my nieces and nephews (from Rashan) call me Aunt Jameil!!! Well at least not for a few years. So cute!
6) Speaking of the children, my 14yo niece can take and give verbal jabs and it is AWESOME! The sparring! I love it! My sister and I played Just Dance with niece and 5yo nephew and yes I did taunt niece every single song I beat her on. LOLOL I do NOT let kids win. Let's go! AND she's never had raw oysters but is willing to try. I can't WAIT to introduce her to them!
7) I finally met Rashan's only aunt and uncle this weekend. This is weird on many levels but let's stick with a. that he has one uncle and through him an aunt seeing as I have 13 blood aunts & uncles and b. that we're just meeting this weekend. Regardless, they loved me! :) I'd also never met his TWO living first cousins (to my 36...) so I met one of them. More love. :)
8) When we left, the kids said, "See you Christmas!" I might have objected a little too vehemently. Whoops. Rashan and I decided years ago Thanksgiving with his family, Christmas with mine. We deviated last year and I was miserable. I still love you and you can come to my mom's house but Christmas is in Charlotte until we have kids and then it's probably wherever we are.
9) It does make me sad that Rashan's brother and his two kids are all the way in northern Virginia so we don't get to see them much. I miss the munchkins! They are ADORABLE!!
10) Remember how I said after cooking all day on Thanksgiving I just want to lay down and take a nap and eat later? STILL TRUE!! Next year if Thanksgiving is with the in-laws? I'm cooking way less. Dressing, my now famous french onion soup & maybe a turkey. There's plenty of other food and though they are appreciative, it's not worth the work.
11) I was so excited to see Christmas trees at Whole Foods the other day that I tried to hug one... LOLOL!
12) I hate losing. HATE IT!! If I lose to you in anything, I'm coming back to win. I'm never stopping a streak on a loss. If I haven't yet beat you in Words With Friends... and there aren't many... I'm coming for you. I played a 105-point word against Rashan the other night after he set up quark and left a TRIPLE WORD space! He knew his mistake as soon as he hit send. I made QUARKS across and SIZE down then told EVERYBODY I KNOW!!!! :)

2011 Year End Goals

2011-11-16T18:35:00.001-05:00

With just a 7 weeks left in the year, I want to review and revise my 2011 goals and see what else I can make happen. You already know my 2012 goals are being created! Tis awesome!

1) Complete at least 12 30 for 30 goals. Whoa. I've done 5... I was going to say I don't forsee making it to 12 but after looking at them again, I'm pretty sure I can. It's on! The ones I want to tackle are take a cooking class/take a dance class, watch AFI's top 100 films, read 10 classic books, ride a mechanical bull, make & keep a budget and learn how to hem clothing.
2) Read 40 books this year. I will crush this goal! I've already read 38. I love this and I'm really glad I put this on my list. From fiction to nonfiction to professional development, I've read some great (and not so great) books!
3) Try at least 100 new recipes. Passed that late September, early October.
4) Get a full-time teaching position in a great program. I don't know if this will happen before the end of the year but I'm optimistic it will happen before the end of next summer. In the meantime I have varied my options.
5) Work out more. I can definitely say I've worked out more this year than in the previous year! Woohoo!!
6) Make sartorial magic. I didn't find a tailor but I did do some interesting things with the clothes I already own. Fashion blogs helped A LOT with that! In this last month or so, I want to continue to make interesting and intriguing fashion choices. I want to impress myself every time I leave the house!
7) Send Christmas cards. I'm thinking it might be semi-newslettery since we had a big year! :)
8) Complete two syllabi.
9) Complete two short films.

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 124

2011-11-14T00:29:00.001-05:00

1) Most hilarious film review I've read in a while: yeah, this movie is literally made of filth. It is absolutely terrible, don't even be curious, if you happen to rent this movie throw it in the garbage when you recieve [sic] it and then request it again and repeat the process until the movie is no longer in stock. (About a BlairWitch rip-off)
2) I got a new phone! I still don't believe in buying phones. That means I get a new phone every two years when my contract is up. Well Rashan and I have now merged our phone accounts [& car insurance (I guess this means we're really married now!!)] so I got a new phone and I LOVE IT! Droooooid. I've been Words With Friending (Jameil1922) it up for over a week! I also found and immediately made a recipe from an Allrecipes.com shake-up app. That app is definitely competing with WWF for fave! On a related note, Swype texting is AMAZING!
3) I finished Couch to 5k two weeks ago and I've run 2.5 or more miles 3 times since!!!!! WOOHOO!!! I feel magical!! In December, my running partner and I will start either the Bridge to 10k or a 1/2 marathon training program. I want to run at least one 10k and maybe a half before I turn 30 next year. Woot!
4) Every couple of years, bloggers fall off of the map which means blogging becomes boring because very few people comment and few still post regularly. It makes me want to post less as well. Sigh. I hate having to find new people to interact with. If I wanted to write and not care if anyone read, I would have a private blog.
5) One of my Hampton friends and two of my cousins are pregnant right now. Somebody better be left to be my pregnancy buddy in a few years OR ELSE!!!
6) I'm starting my Thanksgiving cooking today and I'm soooo excited!
7) I have a secret... after I cook my face off for Thanksgiving I don't feel like eating when everyone else does. I want to take a nap then come back later. Just gimme some fried oysters to tide me over and I'll see y'all in a couple of hours. No one else likes this idea.
8) Don't forget to read The Hunger Games for the blog book club on December 5th!

That Virtue...

2011-11-09T11:06:00.000-05:00

God bless my PATIENT husband. Through all of his jerkiness (some of it shocking in its hilarity), he really has a calming spirit. Even when I'm tense and at my nuttiest, I can relax around him. I am notoriously not a morning person. If I'm up in the early morning hours (see: any time prior to 9am), I always want it to be because I haven't been to bed yet, not because I'm up starting my day. But no matter how much sleep I've had or how close to my ideal waking hour I am, please don't talk to me in the first hour. You can feed me. As a matter of fact, please do! But please, please keep talking to a minimum.

Here's what I need you to do in the morning.

Please leave or do your thing as quietly as possible. This is to ensure you don't disturb me. I probably need two more hours of rest than you do. And unless I'm really tired, I am a light sleeper.
Don't say my name. No matter how asleep I am, I always hear my name and answer to it. My friends discovered this in undergrad. It makes me laugh! Unless I'm sleeping...
When you hear me stirring (or more likely see me on twitter/fb), begin to prepare or gather my preferred breakfast. Yes I did. I rarely stray from the classics when not dining at a restaurant. For fast food I either want a bacon, egg & cheese or a sausage egg mcmuffin with cheese. With hash browns. I don't trust fast food grits. Even in the south. If you're going to Chick-fil-a or Bojangles, I want a spicy chicken biscuit. Again, hash browns. If you have never had a Chick-fil-a buttery biscuit, fix your life immediately. At home I want eggs (over medium), grits & bacon or sausage. I can really have either bacon or sausage depending on the day and/or my mood. Sometimes I don't care. Sometimes I want a piece of each. It's weird to me that some days I can't decide. I like them both quite equally. Unless it's turkey bacon. I like all kinds of sausage (chicken, turkey, pork, veggie) but bacon shall only be pork. It was written.* Side note: I ~~made~~ cooked (my mom hates when I cook and say make) an egg last night and Rashan was jumping when I flipped the egg in the pan. Sir... please take a seat if you're going to flinch at me using a pan to flip a single egg.
Feed me said breakfast. Silently.
Check the clock. If one hour has passed since you heard the stirring or read the tweets, proceed with the day. But SLOWLY. You are never sure whether the sleeping bear has fully awakened.

My fave roomie in college was the exact same way. It plays a huge role in why she was my favorite roommate. The first thing we need to say when getting ready in the morning is good-bye as we walk out the door. I truly loved this about her. It makes me happy all over again reminiscing about it!

On my wedding day, BFF Stace was SOO excited for me! I was, too. But I wasn't awake yet. So I wanted her to calm down and keep it quiet. I feel like when I first wake up I can hear EVERYTHING. If we've not yet passed the hour mark and I'm chatting and seem almost like myself, it is still not time for loudness. I already hear quite well (everything if you ask my dad!) and have an outrageous sense of smell but when I first wake up? The slightest sound is magnified. Do I have a tumor? Please tell me that doesn't mean I have a tumor. Because I know it's not a hangover.

Fast forward to today and how this all relates back to my patient husband. He's not quite as stringent on his rules but he does need a little time to fully awaken before he's ready to interact with me. This is fine except on those days like today when I have been awake for hours. By the time he's up, I'm ready to have a party! And I've been waiting for HOURS to talk to him! He always fights valiantly to participate in these chats before asking me to turn it from 11 to 5.5. And he's so polite about it. If I have to ask you to turn down your enthusiasm... tisn't pretty. So bless him! LOL

*If you are surprised that the most detailed portion of this post was about food, welcome. This must be your first time here! LOLOL Peruse The Record Dish for my food craziness and later today... MY 2011 THANKSGIVING MENU!!!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 123

2011-11-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

*Update: I stopped in the middle of number 10 but I finished it! Oops!
1) You know the game Boggle? I LOVE IT!! And I haven't played in years. I want it for Christmas. I will play by myself if I have to!
2) Speaking of Christmas, I haven't gotten heavy into the music yet but I promise it's coming!! I finish the Couch to 5k program TOMORROW!!! I'll be moving to Christmas music on Thursday. :) And my Christmas list will be coming later this month as well!
3) My least favorite running encouragement, "If I can do it, anyone can." I think it minimizes what you did.
4) Old people on fb crack me up! "Hey Rashan! I sent you message when you got married. But I think I sent it to myself." What?!?! How would you send yourself a message you thought you sent to someone else??? OMG! I hope I'm telling this right. We laughed for like 15 minutes over this!!
5) It's daylight saving time, not daylight savingS time. No S. Yep. I'll say this yearly until I stop seeing it on fb & twitter. Educate the masses.
6) I wanna make cheese...
7) Are you guys ready for my Thanksgiving menu!?!? I am!! It's super time for me to share! This week! I shan't ... SHALL NOT... keep you in suspense much longer! I have a secret... I don't like cranberry sauce that much and I certainly don't see the point in making it. Did I tell you my sister-in-law is trying to go vegan? But she never ate that much so I don't really have to go crazy veganizing everything.
8) Every time I go to Rashan's mom's house, I always have free reign of her kitchen. (It's so nice to not have in-law drama.) I make mental lists of the gadgets I need to add to my arsenal when I get a bigger kitchen! It.is.AMAZING.
9) I asked Rashan if he had a pet rock. He said, "No. I'm not that old." LOLOL But close. Pet rocks started in '75. He was born in '74.
10) I love comedies and romantic comedies. I almost never care about the romance in dramas! OMG shut up and blow up something!!!
11) I watched the Voltaggio Thanksgiving special. I wanted it to be more than it was... I was most appalled when.... one of them BASTED a turkey with MAYONNAISE!!! Y'all. I don't like mayo anyway but you want me to baste a turkey with it?!?!?!?! I just... *drops mic*
12) You know what's ridiculous? How much better Quaker Oatmeal Squares are dry than in their intended purpose. They're awesome dry and disgusting in milk.
13) I think I'm gonna give Seinfeld another try. For the12th time. I might start at the beginning.
14) After watching this, I want Rashan to thank me for regularly attacking his eyebrows. I don't want him to have to go on television in defense of them. Oh Andy! LOL

Movies 2011, Weeks 41-43

2011-11-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

October 16-22, 2011
182) Little Fockers. Awful AWFUL film. The 10th (?) in this series that started out as a good one and has since veered horribly off track. 1 star
183) Bad Teacher. Cameron Diaz stars as a terrible teacher who will do anything to make the money for a boob job. Better than Little Fockers. That's something. Crude humor. Sad, predictable writing. Not worth your time. 2 stars.
184) Intolerance. D.W. Griffith's follow-up to the much-maligned "Birth of A Nation" about intolerance through the ages. Incredibly slow-moving 3 hour 17 minute silent film that intercuts four tales. I promise you I wanted this film to end before it even started. That's not fair but I felt justified by the incredibly long shots with little to no action in the first 10 minutes alone. It picked up toward the end and I even liked one of the story lines but that wasn't enough to make this film worth watching. 2 stars

October 23-29, 2011
185) Lawrence of Arabia. This epic film is based on the true story of a British soldier's conflicted loyalties during World War I as he helped Arabs unite against the Turks. Interesting but you know how I feel about long films. 3.3 stars
186) BrotherNumberOne. Foreign documentary about a NewZealander who traces the steps of his boating brother killed by Cambodia's KhmerRouge. The film follows the surviving brother as he testifies at the trial of a murderer. It was a take on one family's struggle to get justice for a murdered family member.
187) Brother's Keeper. A documentary about four reclusive brothers thrust into the spotlight when one brother is accused of killing another brother in the bed they shared. This was one of the few times I understood and even needed the inclusion of the filmmakers. You got the impression the Wards would never have spoken in more than a few words if the filmmakers hadn't spoken up to ask questions. With the ever-changing facial hair, often similar facial hair, it was very difficult for me to tell the brothers apart for much of the film. If not for bacon and burgers, the pig slaughter scene might have made me a vegetarian. The access to the brothers as well as the courtroom was magnificent! Really intriguing, well-crafted film. 4.4 stars
188) Facing Ali. A documentary about 10 men who faced Muhammad Ali, including his most famous fights. Pretty awesome weaving of the interviews and Ali footage. Great usage of fonts. There were times where the story got off track as the filmmaker looked at non-Ali moments in the boxers' lives. Sometimes it worked, sometimes not. But you know what I hate? When the wrap-up has a sad portion (Ali's Parkinsons) and there's emotional music that completely changes the tone of the film. This film would've been even better without that to detract. 3.7 stars

October 30- November 5, 2011
189) Beats, Rhymes & Live: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest. Michael Rapaport follows the famous group with communications issues. Though it was filmed during a 2008 reunion tour, most of the time spent in the film has no obvious connection to the journey the film's title implies. The conflicts between Phife and Tip were sloppily handled and given high credence in the film with a perplexing wrap-up. This film probably would have been better if it was not directed by a fan. Fandom got in the way of a story line. As someone unfamiliar with ATCQ music (Yes, I'm young), I enjoyed the music but that wasn't enough to propel me through the bizarrely loose "plot" points. I was frustrated and confused trying to piece together a narrative where none existed. Rashan is a HUGE Tribe fan; but through his musical excitement, he was still able to see the flaws in this movie. If you're a Tribe fan, I'm sure you'll want to see it, but if you are a student of film, you will find it lacking. 3 stars
190) Sing Your Song. A documentary film about the actor, singer & humanitarian Harry Belafonte. The access to the actor was magnificent as the film takes a look at his career and more interestingly for me, his activism in America, the Caribbean and Africa. It also explored his role as a husband and father. I have immense respect for what he and the people around him did. Amazing. 4 stars
191) A Little Help. Jenna Elfman stars as a recent widow who reaches out to an old boyfriend for support... but he's her sister's husband. It's actually quietly funnier and slightly less drama-filled than the description implies. What's that? Oh it's an indie film that's not trying too hard. Interesting. 3.8 stars
192) Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin. This documentary explores the life of a civil rights organizer at times marginalized because he was an openly gay black man in the 1960s. Fascinating subject I wish I'd heard about before reading Marable's Malcolm X biography. As for the film, scattered storytelling but some amazing footage and sound that allowed Rustin to tell his own story even though he'd been dead more than a decade before the film was made. Very abrupt ending. 3.5 stars

Thursday Thirteen: How's Married Life?

2011-11-03T02:09:00.000-04:00

I don't even see that many people that often. But everyone I see loves to ask me "How's married life?" -_- Y'all stop asking people that. What could you possibly want to hear other than "Wonderful!"? I think I have an idea...

1) "You can't be askin me no questions, yo." -The Mad Rapper
2) *whispers* "Have you ever seen the show 'Who the Bleep Did I Marry?' This is my life."
3) "It'd be better if he was a better person."
4) "It's cheaper to keep her."
5) "It's fine. How's bitter, single life?"*
6) "We're thinking of starting a cult."
7) "Every bit as excruciating as it was when we were dating."
8) "I've already applied to Wife Swap."
9) "It gets better... right? Please tell me it gets better."
10) "I want our long-distance relationship back. The longer the distance, the happier I'll be. Abu Dhabi, anyone?? Am I right??"
11) "If he knew as much about me as he knows about hip hop, we might make it."
12) "I started running to get away from him."
13) Fab Five Freddie told me everybody's fly/DJ's spinning I said my, my Flash is fast, Flash is cool/Francois sais pas, Flashe no deuxAnd you don't stop, sure shot/Go out to the parking lotAnd you get in your car and you drive real farAnd you drive all night and then you see a light/And it comes right down and lands on the ground/And out comes a man from Mars/And you try to run but he's got a gun/And he shoots you dead and he eats your headAnd then you're in the man from Mars/You go out at night, eatin' cars/You eat Cadillacs, Lincolns too/Mercuries and Subarus/And you don't stop, you keep on eatin' cars/Then, when there's no more cars/You go out at night and eat up bars where the people meetFace to face, dance cheek to cheekOne to one, man to manDance toe to toe/Don't move too slow, 'cause the man from MarsIs through with cars, he's eatin' barsYeah, wall to wall, door to door, hall to hall/He's gonna eat 'em allRapture, be pure/Take a tour, through the sewer/Don't strain your brain, paint a train/You'll be singin' in the rain/I said don't stop, do punk rock

*One of my friends said some of her married friends acts like you're automatically bitter if you're single. I said, "Well... you kind of are." She looked at me like, "Wow. You, too. Already." I looked at her like, "Really? That's me? Girl please! Who would say that to somebody??" Don't worry. She still loves me! We're going to dinner tonight!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 122

2011-10-31T13:00:00.000-04:00

1) I try new recipes constantly. 99% of the things I cook are things I have never cooked before. That is not in the least bit an exaggeration. I like trying new things but it can be tiring when I want something simple to cook. It's also problematic when I halve a recipe we really like. I often halve recipes so if it doesn't turn out well or it turns out well but we don't love it, we're not stuck with tons of leftovers. I need to fix myself.
2) I tried Kleenex's new Cool Touch and they're amazing! The coolness is so weird! And ultimately unnecessary. Ah well.
3) I have a recurring dream that I'm falling from very high. It terrifies me every time and sometimes starts me awake as I try to catch myself mid-air. Recurring like weekly. I hate it. Apparently it means I'm stressed about some part of my life. Um... yes. I want an income. Preferably from fabulous job.
4) I've been planning the Thanksgiving menu for weeks and I'm STOKED about it!! I'm thisclose to setting it! Our first married Thanksgiving. Awwww!
5) I have no patience for basic fitness articles that tell you things like eat small portions and don't start drastic diets you can't maintain for a lifetime. I know it's practical and there are still people who need to hear that but it wears me out to see them pop up with such regularity.
6) When I was in elementary school, I loved polysyllabic words. If I'd known the word polysyllabic, I would've liked it, too. In geography, my favorite word was archipelago. In language arts, onomatopoeia! (I liked to spell it, too.) Boo! My favorite dinosaur was triceratops. Apparently some people don't think this is a dinosaur anymore???? *weeps*
7) Can we have an age limit on tarted up Halloween costumes? I know there's this "movement" for women to be tasteful with their costumes this year (sigh... must we make everything a grand gesture?) but I feel like that applies quadruply if you're 35 and over. 30? If we agree on 30, I missed my last year. I'm okay with that. I saw some costumes that made me gasp in their inappropriateness in the 40+ set and I just want to try to stop it.
8) I think about running all the time. I got irritated Saturday and I wanted to go running. I don't want to mess up my schedule and risk injury, though so I stayed in the house. I'm thinking about changing one of my 30 Before 30 goals to run a 10k. These goals are making me a bit nuts.
9) Did y'all watch Next Iron Chef? Loved it!
10) The show "House Hunters International" has THE most stereotypical and borderline offensive music for every country. It's ridiculous.
11) I just remembered I bumped into Pharrell when I was at Hampton for undergrad. I was leaving a basketball game and walking backwards talking to my friends. He saw me coming but I didn't see him. One of my friends said, "Watch out!" I turned around and we were less than a foot apart. I gasped and apologized. He was very polite but as we continued in our separate directions I remember thinking, "What in the world? Why wouldn't you go around??? My group was on a collision course with yours... Strange."
12) The Tribe Called Quest doc made me remember that. The music was good of course but the film... meh.

Rowland... A Trip to the Country

2011-10-28T04:02:00.000-04:00

I learned something about my husband when we were planning our trip to the 5k... and it disturbed me. He wanted the 4+-hour trip to start from home the day of the trip. I knew the idea of me waking up to leave at 3 a.m. and sleeping on and off in the car before my first 3-mile run was a bad one so I began looking for alternatives. But that wasn't what disturbed me.

I realized my dad's hometown was en route to the festival and I was geeked! I hadn't been in a good 15 years so I asked my dad where we could stay. When he said my uncle has a nice trailer that he uses when he's in town, I was ready to hit the road! I told Rashan it was country... He didn't know I meant cotton field country.


Rashan was shook knowing cotton fields were in walking distance.

I was incredibly confused. I thought Rashan knew both of my parents have country roots. Straight country. Cotton fields, dirt roads. All of that. He was uncomfortable when we hit the first dirt road. And his nervousness started rubbing off on me. Not cool. And that was what disturbed me. So it's not that you just like the city, it's that you've never been to the country and it makes you uncomfortable. And most of all, there was nothing I could say to make him relax. Umm...

You know what's funny, though? He asked me if one field had tobacco in it. Okay. I know I spent part of my childhood down here and my grandfather used to grow it but what do I look like being able to recognize tobacco in the field??? So funny. After we dropped our bags, we went to see my grandparents' old house but couldn't find it. I called my dad and he helped us out. Turns out it was right around the corner. It looks nothing like I remember it. I had been warned it wasn't in the condition it was when my grandparents were alive so I honestly expected much worse but it was still strange.

My grandparents' graves

Next we went to "visit" the grandparents. I felt like the graveyard wanderer. Before December 2010, I hadn't seen any of my three deceased grandparents' graves in 15 or more years. But in the last year I've now seen all of them? I saw my mom's dad's grave while making my film about him over the last year months. That first visit was really emotional because I had learned more about him in a week than I'd known in my entire life.

At this grave site, I didn't get emotional in part because I kind of remember them but also because I was on the phone with my dad. You know what he said, though? That he was honored that I was visiting his ancestors. Awwww. I also saw my great grandma's grave (grandma's mom). She was a landowner and business owner (a store called Rag Mop). I didn't even know she was buried there. We also saw the grave of my oldest uncle. He died the same year as my grandma and used to call me JamesEllen (which at the time I haaaaated) because he said I looked exactly like both of my parents. I thought of him on my wedding day because of that. My SIL met my mom and said, "You look just like your mom!" I said, "Wait til you see my dad." LOLOL! My dad walked in and she goes, "Whoa." LOLOLOL! So hilarious! I definitely look like my dad's entire side. That's cool but sometimes I wish I had some features readily identifiable as belonging to my mom's side. You can see I look like my mom when I'm with her but I don't really look anything like her side.

The giant headstones

Back to the country in North and South Carolina... Have you guys heard of South of the Border? If you've driven anywhere near Interstate 95, you probably have. It's only 15 minutes from my grandparents' house so it weighs prominently in my memories of them. So of course a trip down there necessitated a trip to South of the Border. Dad gave me directions there, too.

I had talked to my favorite aunt, currently the family historian on that side, who told me we have another family graveyard right next to South of the Border... on yet another dirt road. Rashan was so put out!! At this point it was quite hilarious! Can you please calm all the way down??? Please??? Merci! At this family graveyard, there were two family headstones taller than me (granted I'm only 5'1 but still). Can I get one of those when I kick the bucket?? I don't know nearly enough about this side of the family so clearly I have some work to do on this side. My aunt has traced back to 1865 and has agreed to pass it on to me. Whee!

Sombrero tower ride

After grave time, we headed over to South of the Border! This Sombrero tower had super cheap rides... IDK why we didn't hop on. I went through phases with SOTB. As a kid, of course I loved it. The stores with trinkets, the rides, the bright colors. As a teenager, I was obviously too cool for it. I'll let you know, I've turned a corner into nostalgia. It reminds me of my childhood and the store is filled with things I would buy to amuse myself and others if not for limited space and varying levels of taste.

One thing my grandmother INSISTED when we visited her was that her children take her grandchildren to get ice cream. So you know I had to go get ice cream, right? Rashan was like, "But... you have to race tomorrow. You can't get ice cream." I listened to that about 7 minutes then I said, "Pleaaaaase can I get ice cream????" Why did I do that? Like he's my trainer and/or controls what I eat? I have no idea. LOL

WE GOT ICE CREAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!! So exciting! :)

The ice cream parlor

Coffee ice cream $1.95

Afterward, we went across the street and wandered around the "pantry". It was full of Southern jellies, jams, candies and snacks. Some I approved of, some I was dismayed by... Want to know some I was dismayed by? Beet eggs (WAY TO RUIN EGGS!!!!), chicken skin cracklins (I'm crazy for this since I like pork cracklins... it's just that I've never even heard of chicken skin cracklins), packaged boiled peanuts (wait... you BOILED THEM, then put them in a can/bag. no.) and packaged fatback (I love fatback but fatback in a bag????). I didn't want but was okay with scuppernong grape jelly. You know what I didn't know you could still buy? Candy cigarettes. I told Rashan he should buy some for his nieces and nephews and he declined. Then almost a week later, I realized they would've been PERFECT for my Donatella Versace costume! Hater!

South of the Border at night!

My friend pointed out that that picture would've been even better if I was a few inches higher. That sombrero would've been on my head... HILARIOUS!!!!

We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant about 5 miles south and it was quite good. Then we headed back to my uncle's place. Y'all. That happy face Rashan had? Gone. He couldn't get comfortable. He couldn't sleep for more than 10 or 15 minutes. Um... what? He was making me nervous. I had to go in a room and leave him to get some sleep. Then I woke up at 2 and couldn't get back to sleep for hours. I told him he needs to know we will be going to the country again when we go to Mississippi to see my mom's side. He's not ready. And I'm not ready for his nervousness. -_- Pray for us.

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 121

2011-10-24T07:30:00.000-04:00

1) Terra Nova really does nothing for me.
2) I don't know how I carpal tunneled my hand (did you know that was a verb???) Saturday night but I woke up Sunday displeased.
3) I'm so excited some of you guys want to go running now! We should do a blogger meet-up at a 5k!!!
4) We need more people at the Nerd Girl-hosted blogger book club. Read The Hunger Games by December 5th and join the discussion!
5) I need interrobang (‽) to become a thing. I love the word, I love the meaning, I love the punctuation mark! I also enjoy the snark ( ) punctuation! The future of punctuation article amused me greatly!
6) I have unnecessarily short patience right now. Tis bad.

I think he's ADORABLE in this pic!

7) Rashan and I went to two parties this weekend. Friday was a costume party. I was Donatella Versace & Rashan was static cling. He won most creative for an idea he found on the web and I assembled in five minutes. LOL Saturday was an Oktoberfest party so I made a cranberry apple pie that was a hit!
8) At the Saturday party, the hostess said we flirt like we just started dating. :) I thought that was the cutest thing ever!! Who else would I want to flirt with other than my husband?? NOBODY!
9) OMG! We found out my brother-in-law is coming to Savannah for Thanksgiving which should also mean our youngest niece and nephew (ages 2 & 4) are coming. I loooooove them!! They're so cute!
10) I missed Hampton Homecoming yet again. I've now missed it as an alum more times than I've been. Ah well. Plenty of time to right that imbalance.
11) I want to read more books. Have you read anything good lately?

#9: Run a 5k

2011-10-20T01:59:00.000-04:00

In July 2008, I found a 5k I wanted to run. Now finding a 5k to run and running a 5k or even training to run a 5k as you know are not the same thing. They don't even look like the same thing. One's all talk, the other is ACTION! For the last 3 Januarys, I've made a new year's resolution to run a 5k. What took me so long? I've never liked to run. Ever. Not even when chased. On the playground, I preferred to just say, "Okay okay! You caught me!" Seriously. LOL I never ran all the way through the mile in school. I just didn't like to run.

But back in 2008, Losangelista & 1969 ran a marathon and a 5k respectively. And I was like now wait a minute. I DON'T WANT TO BE LEFT OUT! And I felt like if Liz can run for 26 miles, I can run for 3, right? I'm already in great shape so it shouldn't be too big of a leap! Then I went to grad school. And not only did I not run, I barely worked out. Twas bad. I knew when I created my 30 Before 30 list, running a 5k absolutely had to be on there. It was one of my easiest additions.

Once again I found a race, I even hired a trainer (then fired her when I found out she wasn't a runner) and hired a new one who runs marathons to get me in shape to run. Then 7 weeks ago, I started the Couch to 5k (C25K) running plan. The general idea is that through interval training you build up to be able to run 30 minutes or a 5k. I was hooked from the first week! In week one, I felt very capable. Week 2 was a bit harder, but still cool. Each week I felt more and more proud of myself as I hit new milestones. Then I registered for my first 5k.

I decided to run the Oyster Festival 5k at Ocean Isle Beach partly because my family used to vacation down there but mostly because you got free entry to the Oyster Festival!!!! Do y'all know how much I love oysters? I love them as much as Bubba loved shrimp! I'll eat them however you'll serve them. Raw, steamed, broiled, fried, in stew, with toppings, with only a bit of lemon and some horseradish, with cocktail sauce, just gimme the oysters!! So I trained and trained but before the race, I'd only ever run about 1.6 miles, which is about half of the 3.1 miles required for a 5k. That made me a little nervous but I figured if I ran for the 22 minutes I was scheduled to run for Week 6, Day 3 of C25K, I could probably go a little further and if I needed to walk, I could do that, too. But I also knew if I stopped running, it would be harder to start up again. I went ahead and set a goal of 45 minutes.

Rashan and I spent the night in the city where my dad was born and raised (more on that later) and took this picture at nearby South of the Border so we'd only have to drive about an hour and 45 minutes as opposed to 5 hours before my race. I had oatmeal, a banana and water on the drive down. We picked up my race packet which included a shirt, a wristband for the festival and chapstick and I was ready to go... but there was still over an hour until the race started.

The ocean object of our ogling

I wasn't nervous, just READY! It was kind of cold when we got there but I knew it would warm up even without me running since the high was 78 that day. We ogled the ocean for a little bit then sat in the car, then watched the kids run the one-mile fun run, then I paced. Can we get started yet??? Please???

The horn sounded at 8:30 and we were off! Now I wish I could say I had photos of me running but the start and finish were at the same location and the official photographer was apparently only at the start and took sporadic pictures. That means I have 0 pics of me racing until the end. No matter.

I had carefully prepared my playlist so that I would be pumped and ready to go and keep going. I didn't have a watch but I hoped there would be some sort of timing system. Couldn't use my shuffle because it has no screen! But I knew most of my songs were about three minutes so that was my way of pushing myself through.

I'm wearing lipstick because I couldn't find my lip gloss.

I breezed through the first 10 minutes but then I see these two guys barreling toward me (one of whom I later found out finished the 10k in 32 minutes!!!). Part of the course looped back for both the 5k and simultaneous 10k so I got to see allllll of the people who were passing me about to hit the one-mile mark. That was a bit demoralizing. I immediately wanted to know how many people were behind me but I decided to just wait until I hit the loop to peep that. It turns out I was the slowest of the people continually running but there were a good 30 or so people behind me so I was cool with that. I was just so excited to be out there I really didn't care at this point! I was waving and smiling at all of the course-directing race officials. I did a little cheer for myself at the one-mile mark and said, "All right! Let's keep going!" I was sailing along smoothly here and feeling fine! I kind of lost count of where I was on time but I knew I was around 26 or 27 minutes. I did a big cheer when I hit 2 miles. That's both further and longer than I'd ever run! I felt like a rockstar!!!

I also realized that while some songs are fun and work for other workouts, they are not so much for me when running. One of those songs is Ciara's "Bang It Up." Love it for other workouts. Blech for my run. Outkast's "Bombs Over Baghdad" and "Pump It" by Black Eyed Peas? Got me dancing on the course. That's right! I was running and dancing! Lol. I was having a ball! And it helped that there were people standing on the decks of their beach houses cheering us on! Somewhere after mile two the inside of my ankle started hurting and I couldn't shake it out. Usually I can shake it, mid-stride and fix it but that wasn't working. Then the outside started acting up but I really didn't want to stop. Once I hit two miles I figured I might as well run the whole thing in.

Why do running & walking look the same???

At about this time I got to the water station where they did a great job of cheering me along! It is there that I discovered I need to practice running and drinking because I almost choked myself. Wait. I choked myself but managed to get it under control. That was scary, but then I went back to being my excited, self-motivating self. I knew I was getting close but I couldn't tell how close. A lady speedwalking said, "Almost there" as she passed me and I replied, "THANK GOD!!!" LOL Shortly after I passed the three-mile marker, gasped and cheered and looked ahead and wondered why in the WORLD was .1 miles so long??? I saw Rashan and smiled and waved, then looked at the back of the encouraging speedwalker and decided she wasn't gonna speedwalk and beat me across the finish line when I ran the whole thing. I kicked it into high gear and crossed at 44:12. Woohoooo!! I beat my goal!!! I was PUMPED!! And shocked! I kept saying, "I did it! I did it!" I guess it's a compliment that Rashan wasn't surprised that I ran the whole thing under my goal but I wanted him to be amazed with me!

Look! A medal!

My brother via text told me he was so proud he's gonna tell everybody his sister runs marathons. LOL. That is absolutely not my goal at this point in my life. I want to run my next 5k either at Thanksgiving in Savannah or a "Mistletoe" run locally in under 40 minutes. I'll do a few more 5ks, then do the Bridge to 10k, then run a few 10ks and see how I feel. I do need to stretch better after races and cool down. But overall, the race was very exciting!

Seafood Bog

The festival? A complete fail. It's an OYSTER festival, right? So why did the majority of the vendors serve 0 oysters? It was typical fair food! There were tons of beach-specific vendors which also included things I don't care anything about but the food was the reason we traveled that far for a 5k. We wandered over to the festival around 10 and many people were just setting up. We did a (disappointing lap) and saw $20 plates of fried oysters or steamed oysters you have to shuck yourself. I don't know how to shuck and do you know how many oysters I can get for $20 elsewhere? I just couldn't bring myself to do that.
There were some oyster gumbos and stews but the non-oyster food far outweighed it. AND NO RAW OYSTERS!!!!!! This murdered my poor little heart. I got a seafood bog that had shrimp, fish & oysters with a tomato, onion & celery seafood broth and rice. It was quite good but I was stuck on the lack of oysters. We left after less than an hour and I fell into a deep sleep in the car. Then the next day I slept for 12 hours!! Phew! I RAN MY FIRST 5K!!!!!!!!!!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 120

2011-10-17T13:50:00.000-04:00

1) I like Rashan's face scruffy.
2) Mild cheddar cheese is a worthless product.
3) You know what our next place MUST have? STORAGE SPACE!! It's extra ridiculous up in here. Sometimes that means a little creativity but right now it's about to mean WHERE DO I PUT ALL THIS STUFF??? Rearranging meant our hiding spots were eliminated in the front room.
4) I'm ADDICTED to the Couch to 5k Facebook Page!! Addicted!! I use it to encourage me to go run when I don't feel like it and I encourage others when they need it. I love it!!!
5) I get so excited when people ask me for recipe, cooking or baking advice! :)
6) I MIGHT break out the Christmas music this week. LOL! I know it's waaaaay too early for almost everyone I've ever known but when the temps stop being in the 80s and I know it's October, even MID-OCTOBER??? I get that itch!!!
7) I don't like it when people ask me why I'm awake (Because I am.) or tell other people to go to bed. If this is an odd hour to you, I'm may or may not be happy to be up. If you're telling me to go to bed... you know you're up, too, right? Oh okay.
8) It makes me giggle when people ask me where my husband is. I often forget I have one of those until they ask!
9) Have any of you had mincemeat pie before? It sounds really gross to me. I'm not saying I wouldn't try it but I'm kinda scared.
10) I ran my 5k & I can't wait to tell you all about it! Well... I can. And you can, too! Later in the week, my friends!

Movies 2011, Weeks 38-40

2011-10-16T20:48:00.001-04:00

September 25- October 1, 2011
168) Blade Runner. Harrison Ford stars in this sci-fi thriller about human-like "replicants" he's sent to track down and destroy. But sometimes his feelings get in the way. Pretty awesome at times but the narration? Oh the narration. Absolutely terrible. Definitely a thriller. 3.5 stars
169) The Deer Hunter. A film about a group of friends (including Robert DeNiro & Christopher Walken) excited to go to war until they get to Vietnam and are disillusioned by what they see. I did not get or enjoy the hour-long build-up to war. The actual war part was short but horrific. The aftermath included some amazing moments but also some plodding ones. Some absolutely useless characters in this one. I can see why people would love/respect this movie. It was pretty good in isolated spots but I wouldn't want to watch it again. 2.9 stars
170) Bill Cunningham New York. Documentary about the NYTimes photographer behind the street style column. He's an awesome guy and now a total superstar to me. I'll have to join the club on that one. If you like fashion at all, you should like this film. Riveting. 4.4 stars
171) Gone with the Wind. I definitely see why this is a classic despite the steppin and fetchin negroes. Of course there was a romanticized version of the Civil War but what do you expect about something written by a Georgian? This movie is awesome! Such a great story! Also, Clark Gable??? WOW!! Also the ending?? Yep! 4.8 stars

October 2-8, 2011
172) AClockworkOrange. Futuristic StanleyKubrick film about a violent psycho and his band of psycho friends. I really hated watching this creepy, disturbing film. It sticks with you, it's unique, which of course for many is a great part of the appeal but that is part of what makes it so disturbing. 1.4 stars
173) Ralph Nader: An Unreasonable Man. A documentary about the public interest man and presidential candidate. It made Nader a sympathetic character while still bringing forth some of the chief criticisms against him. But this film was full of far too much rhetoric and too many talking heads. 2.4 stars
174) Just Married. Ashton Kutcher & Brittany Murphy (RIP) star in this film about a couple who get married and then all heck breaks loose in their relationship, specifically on the honeymoon. Clichéd with some bad acting but not the worst movie I've ever seen. Some pretty unforgivable musical choices, though. 2.9 stars
175) Ben-Hur. Charlton Heston stars in the epic film set in the time of Jesus about a Jewish prince who vows revenge on a Roman friend who betrayed him. Pretty awesome throughout most of the movie. The end was a bit sappy but overall, an enjoyable (if obviously incredibly long) film. 3.7 stars
176) Taxi Driver. Robert DeNiro plays a deranged taxi driver who decides he must rid New York of scum on his mission to save a 12-year-old hooker (Jodi Foster). I can't understand why Foster was nominated for an Oscar. Because her parents let her play a child prostitute? She was barely in the film. Great cinematography. 3.3 stars
177) Prohibition. Five and a half hour Ken Burns documentary about making alcohol illegal in the United States. As you see, extremely long. It kind of made me question whether there was still a demand for these sorts of serial movies and if so, why and for how long? Of course there was amazing archival and some great storytelling but the music was a bit surprisingly cliché. I understand choosing music your audience can attach to the time but this seemed to go beyond that. The interviews looked like they were shot without the assistance of current camera equipment-- grainy. 3.5 stars
178) Scream 4. Wes Craven directs yet another Scream movie. I honestly went into this wondering why Rashan was getting this. But it was pretty awesome! Full of surprising twists and turns. 4.2 stars
179) Spartacus. Kirk Douglas stars as the titular character in this epic film from 1960 about the slave who led a revolt against the Romans. Directed by StanleyKubric, I liked this FAR more than his other film I saw this week. Slow at times but much of it was riveting. 3.8 stars

October 9-15, 2011
180) The Station Agent. Indie film about a dwarf who relocates to the country intent on becoming a hermit when his only friend dies. His plans are interrupted by his neighbors. Amusing, leisurely paced. I enjoyed it. 3.8 stars
181) Midnight. Claudette Colbert stars as a poor girl in Paris who poses as a Hungarian baroness. Cute, old school rom com. Very fun and somewhat unpredictable. 3.8 stars

Sunny Days

2011-10-12T08:43:00.001-04:00

As Rashan tried to sleep after his alarm today, I said, "Good morning, sunshine!" Then I spoke the words to "You Are My Sunshine," internally laughed at the high fructose in the air and it almost turned into this. Then I thought about how mad I would be if he woke me up rapping. Maybe mad is an understatement. No. Mad is an understatement!! I can barely tolerate his rapping fully awake and full of delicious food.

Speaking of delicious food, I had some salsa last night at my first ever pumpkin carving that was AMAZING!!! I probably ate 2 cups of it. Thou shalt not put a bowl of delicious salsa in front of me if thou shall like to have any.

The first pumpkin I ever carved! And free-handing it!

I also sampled pumpkin ales for the first time. Delicious! Most pumpkin-y and delicious awards go to Weyerbacher and Big Boss Harvest Time. And now that I know Big Boss is brewed in Raleigh? I feel the need to visit them ASAP! My sister would love that since it would mean me coming to hang with her. :)

The Rooster

2011-10-07T06:57:00.000-04:00

I think it's cute when Rashan and I find stories we've never told each other. It's particularly strange because we spent hours and hours in email before we spent hours and hours on the phone. This was after the years and years of blogging we both had done before we ever met. I managed to accidentally stumble on an untold story last night. For some reason the rooster popped into my head last night, a day when my daddy was DEFINITELY my hero! Our hero, actually. My sister and I.

We were at his parent's farm in Rowland, North Carolina. A town I was shocked to "learn" on Wikipedia last night has over 1100 people. Wow! That's WAY more than I thought it would have. Then I remembered he might actually be from Elrod which has just 441. Still sounds like 400 more people than I've ever seen there. The last time I went, admittedly a good 15 or so years ago, but still in the 90s, there were a few dirt roads around. As a Charlottean, this scandalized me! A dirt road??? In 1990??

My grandfather produced all kinds of things on his farm but I only remember squash (prickly things he told me to pick without gloves, then laughed when I yelped... I only have jerky memories like this of him), watermelon, pecans, muscadine grapes, pigs and chickens. My mom liked picking things out of the garden. My sister and I would run around in the dirt yard playing, chasing chickens and I was always seeking out a cat to pet. I had a favorite orange one, a stray, that I tried to take home but my mom hates cats. I just realized how hilarious it is that we chased chickens! What??? What year was this??? I promise it was the late 80s!

My grandparents were definitely of the school that children should go play outside instead of sitting up under grown folks. Stay out of grown folks business. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to enact this on other people's ill-mannered children but seeing as I'm childless and people don't generally take to kindly to such interference, I manage to keep my mouth shut. When we arrived at my grandparents' house, usually for the 4th of July when my dad and his 8 brothers and sisters would converge on the family farm with their families and the children were sent outside. I can still vividly see the entire house and most of the yard in my head and my grandparents died in 1989 and 1990.

One day, my sister and I were outside running around, chasing chickens (LOLOL) when suddenly the tables were turned. We noticed all of a sudden that one of the chickens, a rooster, was semi-chasing us. At the very least he was stalking us and that is not cool. I was probably 7 which means she was 5. And I was a small child. That rooster was probably half my size. Am I exaggerating? I have no idea. In my head I see a huge rooster only dwarfed when we were standing on the porch. This thing was out to assert its dominance. So what did it do? It chased us around that house! We ran inside screaming! "Daddy! That rooster is chasing us! We're scared!" "What??!! That rooster is out there chasing my babies?? I'll show him!" He stomps outside and gives chase, "Get outta here! Scarin my babies!" We cheered and jeered as the rooster ran like the rest of those chickens. Daddy saved the day!

October Goals

2011-10-05T13:00:00.000-04:00

September Goals
1) Read 4 books. At least one teaching book and make progress on two film and/or journalism books.
Surpassed! I read an additional book. It was a great month for reading and I'm so glad this is a part of my daily life again!
2) Read an additional 60 chapters of the bible to reach 1155.
Surpassed! I got to 1157 and only have 32 chapters of the bible remaining!!!!!! SO EXCITING!!
3) Watch at least 4 AFI movies.
Surpassed! I watched six and have only 8 left. Hmm...
4) Cook at least 15 new recipes.
Surpassed! I will smash my goal of trying 100 new recipes this year and my cooking and baking mojo remains.
5) Complete at least two 30 before 30 goals.
Erm... I got nothing. I made more progress but it's frustrating to have so many long-term or fiscally or geographically impossible things on this list.
6) Work out at least three times per week.
Done! 5k training is still awesome and I'm definitely getting my three workouts in per week.
7) Make progress on the job search daily.
Done! Daily may be a bit extreme but close enough for me to feel comfortable with my progress. Submitted two applications and found several other positions with various start dates.
8) Complete at least two syllabi for future courses.
Wow... this was a crazy and semi-unrealistic goal. I've made enough progress on two books that this goal might be worthwhile next month.

October Goals
1) Read 4 books. This will include completing the film/journalism books.
2) FINISH THE BIBLE!!! Once I finish, I'll move to daily readings of My Utmost for His Highest.
3) Visit 4 local churches
4) Watch at least 5 AFI movies. I have only 8 left but they are long and/or challenging films to watch so I don't want to tax the brain too much. So far I've already watched A Clockwork Orange which is enough to make anyone not want to watch any more movies again. Ever. Also one is on long wait on Netflix so I don't know when it will be available.
4) Cook at least 15 new recipes. I'm quite certain I can do this again. I need another food-related goal. Any ideas?
5) Complete at least two 30 before 30 goals. I have 7 completed, 7 in progress and 16 outstanding... in a little over a year. I have registered for a 5k this month and I'll finish the Bible. I'll try to add another in there as well.
6) Work out at least four times per week. That includes three days per week of 5k training and one day of cross training.
7) Make progress on the job search at least five times per week. This includes searching, writing letters and resumes and CVs, etc. I want to apply for at least 4 more positions near and far.
8) Complete at least one syllabus for a future course. I want to be ready when I get my next teaching position. Even if I don't get hired teaching these courses, the more practice I get making syllabi, the easier it will be for me to create them.

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 119

2011-10-03T14:00:00.000-04:00

1) I'm trying to finish this Malcolm X book for the blog book club and it is looooong. Biographies can be very difficult to read if they're not narrative enough. This one ventures off into non-Malcolm territory quite often early on in ways that for me can be tedious. Thankfully it picks up when his wife arrives on the scene.
2) I read some old posts from November 2007 and up popped a comment from Rashan. I got all mushy thinking about how I never could've imagined he'd be my husband 4 years later!
3) My heart aches for these "America's Sweetheart" types groomed then discarded. I MISS YOU, MEG RYAN!!
4) I have to remind myself daily not to make the people I love crazy as I go stir crazy from being in the house. It doesn't always work.
5) I have 3 running partners of sorts who show up on different days and have different fitness levels and of course personalities. It can be crazy-making because we're a part of a running group where I tell when I'm working out and someone shows up. I'm hoping at least one turns into a regular.
6) I miss sushi & Mexican food. I don't have either regularly enough i.e. at least once a week for each.
7) My plan for athletic domination is to outlive everyone. Then I'll win my age group every time! Woot!
8) "Happy Endings" is quite amusing! Rashan and I decided to try it out and we approve!
9) I don't get too bent out of shape over most changes. I see them as a part of life. But it takes me a while to agree to changes inside my house. We've lived here over a year and I'm finallly ready to have a new configuration in our living room. It's oddly-shaped so it was interesting to attempt but I like it. I was going to spend today rearranging things but I feel yucky.
10) I want some crazy bright colored fall/winter clothes!
11) I hate quotes... but I like this one! It fits my life right now and I found it on a blog I started reading recently.

"Press on; nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." -Calvin Coolidge

Charlotte Il Fabulosa!

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Y'all know I loooove my vicarious kitty! You also know I gave her a gift when her actual owners got married a few weeks ago. When she opened the gift, I got a video! So I turned that video into this video!

Rashan watched it in shock and said, "My wife is CRAZY!" That's a stretch, no? I think so! LOL

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 118

2011-09-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

1) Do y'all know that I hate pigeons? HAAAAATE!!! I think they are the nastiest thing on two legs. After Uncle Luke. And Too $hort. No wait. Too $hort, pigeons, Uncle Luke.
2) I love that fb sent me an email to tell me they'll send me less emails. LOLOL Irony is awesome! :)
3) I'm used to calling Rashan my husband to his face but I've had so little interaction with other people since we've been married (yes, I know that's weird) that I'm not used to calling him 'my husband' to non-family/Stace people. Still sounds weird.
4) I've been gorging myself on books & it's pretty great!
5) I have a very keen sense of smell. I really don't want that to increase when I get knocked up. You know, so life will be livable.
6) During my last run interval last Friday, my brain actually told me, "No." What?! You betta get on board! We are RUNNING! Now like it! (again) I'm getting back into it today.
7) I had the pumpkin custard with caramel mousse and gingersnaps at Cracker Barrel yesterday. WHAT?!?! This is the best ever and pumpkin custard with gingersnaps is this year's contribution for dessert courtesy of moi!
8) OMG Judah is even cuter in person! I enjoyed lunch w/MrsCount & her sister, Rashan & former blogger Coco! We went to Lupie's and got a mountain of yummy food. And MrsC tried to get me to change Judah's diaper but uhhhhh NOPE! Not the kid! Did y'all know I've never changed a diaper?
9) R & I watched more fall series premieres last week than I've watched in my entire life!! I usually like to let other people decide what's worth watching before giving it a chance. LOL
10) The first week of our marriage, Rashan gave me a kiss for every day we'd been married. Yesterday I insisted he give me a kiss for the 84 days we've been married. :) LOLOL
11) He's also agreed to buy me a bottle of champagne the first day I run 13 miles. Then he told me to just run 6 miles to the store and back and get it myself. I think that negates every mushy thing I just said!!!
12) If you ask me what your dream meant and you don't seem disturbed, I'm going to make up something outlandish. I can't help it!! LOLOL! A friend of a friend said he had a dream involving a pack of wolves, a dead eagle & a badger chasing him. MAN what I could do with that!!!
13) I hit 1200 posts and 6 years of blogging this month and didn't even realize it! Go me!

Movies 2011, Week 37

2011-09-25T19:46:00.004-04:00

September 18-24, 2011
I love movies more and more every week! That's good since I'm in the biz, huh? LOL
162) The Tillman Story. A documentary about the lies told in the wake of the death of former NFL player Pat Tillman and its impact on his family. Really awesome and thorough documentary. Great access to the family and some military insight. Oddly, I vividly remember hearing he had died. I was in the cafeteria at Hampton. I also remember not being surprised to later hear it was a cover-up. Extremely emotional film. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 4.5 stars
163) Win Win. Film starring Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan about an attorney/wrestling coach who becomes an elderly man's guardian then finds out the man has a wrestling prodigy for a grandson. I wish this film was a little shorter and had a less obvious ending. It took the route a lot of indie films do today of setting up a unique or interesting set of obstacles, then giving it a Hollywood-like ending. True it wasn't necessarily the happiest but it was tidy, which weakened the film overall. 3.4 stars
164) Out of the Past. Kirk Douglas stars in this 1947 film noir classic about a private investigator, a gorgeous girl and a mobster out to find her. I really enjoyed it! Noirs get my vote so often because they don't follow expected, happy timelines. Pretty great. 4 stars
165) The Blind Side. Sandra Bullock stars as the family matriarch of a white family that adopts a giant homeless black kid. At the beginning, it was like the scriptwriter couldn't overcome those white savior movie tendencies. It was eye roll-inducing but got much better when it just became a story about a mother trying to do the right thing. There were still some hokey, ridiculous moments but overall, much better than I expected. 4 stars
166) Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids. Academy Award-winning documentary about the struggles and triumphs of a California couple who had and adopted children, some with severe physical handicaps. The film is clearly from 1977 as evidenced by its over-reliance on sometimes trite narration but the story is told very well. It's not overly sad or emotional, but shows the reality of this family's life. The crews followed long enough to have some transformations for some of the kids and show some controversy. 3.7 stars
167) Medicine for Melancholy. Wyatt Cenac stars in this black indie film about two people who awake from a one-night stand they don't remember and wander the streets of San Francisco trying to figure each other out and what exactly they're doing together. Interesting, if slow at times. I can't necessarily say I was satisfied at the end, either. I wasn't dissatisfied. This movie, like many indie hipster movies, just was. 3.5 stars

Getting High

2011-09-21T15:10:00.003-04:00

Running is still awesome! Sometimes it's hard, but more and more frequently, I shock myself by doing something amazing like running for 3 minutes w/o stopping!! Y'all!!!

Three minutes!

And I felt like I could keep going!!

This from the girl who haaaaaated running. HATED!
1) I didn't see the point of it,
2) My little sister was a WAY better athlete so I ceded all things athletic to her (she's done basketball, soccer, softball, cheerleading, track AND field... yeah...),
3) I didn't like to sweat.

When I was little, I didn't even run when being chased. Chase starts, I scream & say, "Okay okay!" Why? I don't like the shock of not knowing when I'll be caught. And I WILL be caught. I'm not fast. This is young me. Old me says bring on the sweat, I've already run thrice in drizzle/rain and I. FEEL. GREAT!! ((high)) Now this last time running in the rain? Today? I did NOT enjoy this one. But I know what I did wrong-- not enough food but that's because it's supposed to rain most of the day so I had to run in the break... which happened to be 20 minutes after I ate. No matter. I'll be back in the grind on Friday.

I'm currently on an every other day schedule because most days I really want to run DAILY but I'm giving myself an off day in the mix to allow my body to adjust to the new amount of running we're about to be getting in! If there's pain (like after my first run when I had to take off 5 days!! (tight calves)), I'll add an extra day or more off but right now? I'm loving getting to know my body's running needs! Makes me feel awesome!!!

If you've ever considered running but didn't know how to start or felt intimidated by it, I highly recommend Couch to 5k! I'm definitely a convert! I had a running buddy for 2 or 3 days but she got injured. At the beginning it helped to have someone there and I think it will help again but right now I'm so pumped to get out there, I'm fine going it alone. Well, not totally alone because I have my fb & twitter friends AND the C25k facebook page. Great encouragement there! Love it! Also, a special shoutout to 1969, Liz, K. Rock & Aretha, my favorite runners who really inspired me! Runner's high is REAL! Now go run!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 117

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

1) I put in my first application for a full time position for 2012-13 school year. *Deep breath* My applications will be all over the country. Well... I haven't found a California position I like yet so Dallas is the furthest west right now but up and down the east coast and into the midwest. I'll go wherever God wants me. I just hope there's good food and a wonderful work environment.
2) Last week was ROUGH for us in terms of communication. P hit the nail on the head when she said "I hate when I'm mad at my husband. He's the cause & the cure." YASSSSS!!
3) We're going to be in Charlotte next week the same time as Mrs. Count so we get to meet JUDAH!!!!! AKA my blog nephew!! I'm so excited!! :) Oh I'm excited to meet his momma, too.
4) Did I tell you when I got my degree, my new last name was spelled incorrectly? I mean... why??? So I'll have to wait 4 more weeks to get a new one. On the plus side, transcripts are FREE!! Thanks a million for that!
5) The temperatures dropped on Friday and I was so not ready. How is it gonna be 75 in the middle of the day one day and 55 the next? DO NOT WANT!!
6) Today is the start of week three of my Couch to 5k training program AND I registered for my first 5k on Friday! WHEEEEEE!!!
7) I've been the bride whisperer on facebook this past week... and I love it! I don't like seeing people stressed while planning what is supposed to be a happy day so I try to spread some joy when they're angsting.
8) When Rah and I are bored/it's late, we watch House Hunters or whatever else is on HGTV. He started it and I'm now equally hooked! We invite you to test our drinking game. Bottoms up every time you hear someone say open, granite or stainless. WARNING: Do not play this unless you're drinking water or you will get ALCOHOL POISONING!!
9) I went nuts at my local Borders when everything was 90% off. I spent $28 and saved $239. PAROXYSMS OF JOY!!! But I'm sad Borders is gone. I don't really like B&N.
10) If I'd been on the birth control that got mixed up and got preg? O_O
11) You know how I'm the alleged internet bully? Guess what I don't care about at all? Hashtags on fb. Things transfer and no one dies. Really long blog posts on tumblr are a bit annoying but I can ignore those. When you post on tumblr 30+xs/day and post every single one to twitter, then you are the worst person on twitter and tumblr simultaneously. FANCY!!
12) Have you seen the latest cover of Ebony mag? AWESOME!!! Best I've ever seen from them! Looks like a fashion mag! I couldn't stop staring!
13) The latest Netflix announcement of Qwikster may push me over the edge. They are the epitome of doing too much. And so horribly, too. I realized, though handled poorly, I wasn't going anywhere with the price hike. It changed my subscription but how many options do I really have to get movies? I'm a filmmaker and I need access to a lot of films. But two separate sites for DVD & streaming?? That don't interface??? Really??? Please learn how to talk to your customers and FIX THINGS WITH FEEDBACK. I mean... unless being in business is bothersome or something. Hire a public relations firm IMMEDIATELY. If I taught PR, we'd be dissecting this in class THIS WEEK!

Movies 2011, Weeks 34-36

2011-09-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I posted but I'm back with a vengeance! I watched four movies in one day this week. There was enough of a mix of films to entertain me in the last three weeks. I only have 11 films left on the AFI Top 100 and I'm delighted about it! I think I'm going to have to finish in November because I have such lengthy films left.

August 28- September 3, 2011
145) Who Does She Think She Is? Documentary about the challenges of being a woman and an artist simultaneously. It starts out with a somber tone and moves to an empowering one. It confirmed that I don't expect to become less of a person when I become a mother. But I didn't need to hear and see that from a dozen people to believe that. And of course some stories resonated much more with me than others. This movie needed a focus. 2.8 stars
146) Just Go With It. Jennifer Anniston & Adam Sandler star as an assistant cajoled by her boss into going along with his plan to convince a girl he's married. Sigh. First of all, I would've passed on this movie if only I'd seen it was 1hr50 mins!! What?!?! For a romcom??? Get over yourself. You knew what was going to happen and there weren't really any actual complications. And is Sandler going to do the groin injury "comedy" for every movie??? Sigh. I just wish these two would get some good scripts. 2 stars
147) Zodiac. A thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a newspaper cartoonist trying to solve uncover the identity of a serial killer who calls himself 'Zodiac.' Very tense and awesome. I really enjoyed it. 4.4 stars
148) The Grapes of Wrath. Henry Fonda stars as an ex-con who unexpectedly finds himself on a journey to California when his sharecropping family is forced out of the dust bowl in Oklahoma. Wow. This is a really slow-moving film with no opportunity to connect with the characters. It really is no match for a stellar book. Even dirtied up Fonda doesn't look rough enough to be Tom Joad. I'm sure it didn't help that the book was so fresh in my mind. The movie? Didn't enjoy it. 2 stars
149) The Perfect Host. David Hyde Pierce stars as the titular character in this thriller about an ex-con who finds himself in a dinner party. It started off very interesting then veered bizarrely and badly off-course. Just... what?? It really could have been so much better... well somewhat better... with a few relatively minor changes. 2.9 stars

September 4-10, 2011
150) With Six You Get Egg Roll. Doris Day and Brian Keith star as the heads of a newly blended family that's having trouble gelling. Cute but silly. Light and easy comedy. 3.3 stars
151) Catfish. Documentary about a guy who meets this beautiful girl on the internet and then goes to track her down. It shows the evolution of a facebook relationship and his involvement with an entire family. Really crazy. It got pretty interesting in a different way toward the end in a way I liked. It just went on a little too long. 3.7 stars
152) The Godfather. Awesome Scorcese-directed classic about an Italian family controlling a neighborhood and the dangers associated with that business. Loved it! I wished I hadn't seen Godfather II first so I would be more surprised by more things. 5 stars

September 11-17, 2011
153) Saving Private Ryan. Matt Damon stars as the last surviving son in a family full of boys at war. It's Tom Hanks' character's job to save Private Ryan from death. The early D-Day landing scenes really reinforced the futility and horrors of war. No wonder people return so jacked up. You can't unsee that stuff. Still, those points were belabored in the script. Good, but a bit too long. 4 stars
154) The Long Kiss Goodnight. Samuel L. Jackson & Geena Davis star in this film about a spy with amnesia and the sidekick who helps her. This movie does not stand up to the ravages of digital production today. Nothing looks as good as it would today and therefore looks incredibly cheesy. Geena Davis' innocent face and simply fair writing erases much of the thrill of the action moments. 2.9 stars
155) Something Borrowed. Film adapted from a great book about a boring lawyer who finds herself entangled with her best friend's hunky fiancé. It actually combined ideas from the following book as well. First, I loved the books. And I think that was part of my problem with the movie. I could see Kate Hudson as her character but the rest kept me confused. Especially John Kransinski. Extremely perplexing casting. Like they were chosen for their recognition factor rather than how they fit the character. The story line was a bit too loose for me period, though, even accepting differences from the book. 2.9 stars
156) Contagion. This movie was awesome! It stars Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslett and Lawrence Fishburn. Their lives intersect as an international team of scientists, including those at the CDC try to figure out how stop an epidemic. They must also figure out where it began. If you are the slightest bit of a germaphobe, you probably won't even touch yourself on the leg w/o washing your hands for at least a month. I loved it! I'm all about a thriller that could happen to me! 4.4 stars
157) The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Documentary about a year in the life of a crazy clan of hell-raisers. Riveting. We couldn't turn away if we tried. For all of the flaws in the family, those flaws did not exist in the making of this film. Very well-written, directed & edited. 4.4 stars
158) Dante's Peak. Film starring Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton about a vulcanologist's effort's to save a town along Dante's Peak from certain volcanic activity. The volcano-related stuff was AWESOME! Great special effects and everything! The loving and people-related activity was terrible. Insert copious eye rolling. 3.5 stars
159) Dinner for Schmucks. Steve Carrell and Paul Rudd star in this remake of a (far better) foreign film about an aspiring exec who finds the perfect loser to bring to his bosses' monthly party for losers. Oh I wish this movie was better. But it wasn't. It was too long and too chatty. Get to the point. 2.7 stars
160) Love Potion No. 9. Sandra Bullock stars in a rom com about two nerdy scientists whose lives are changed by a love potion. They become hot commodities and then guess what happens? I won't spoil it for you... *snicker* One of those amusing-ish, outlandish 80s movies. I would watch it while cooking again! 3.3 stars
161) Baby Face. Barbara Stanwyck stars in this 1933 film about a woman who charms and manipulates herself to fame and fortune. You could absolutely see this film today. You might make a tv series... call it... basketball wives? But hopefully in a more well-written form. Extremely abrupt and confusing end. Jerky story line. 2.8 stars

A-T-L-A-N-T-A, G-A!

2011-09-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

As you guys know, we went to Atlanta this past weekend and had a BLAST!! Our primary goal was Bakima Wedding! Our 2nd favorite internet-joined couple (after ourselves) got married in Atlanta and we had to be there! We got into town around 2am and had to be up bright and early to go get the rest of their wedding present! The first part was a gift for my vicarious kitty! And the second part is something I also need! LOL I'm obsessed with gadgets!!

We don't have a Crate and Barrel here so we went to the one at Lenox and were there the SECOND it opened. The music wasn't even on and workers looked stunned we were in there. LOL But we got immediate help and secured these for them! I get these every time they're on someone's registry. I think they're so cute!

Their colors were navy, yellow & white with teal accents. So cute!

When I go to weddings, I like to look at the groom's first glance of the bride... AWWWWWWWW!

Here comes the bride!

Awwww! Officiated by one of their friends!

Cocktail hour!

The favors!

First dance!

Me & Rah!

Me & Mrs. Smithville!

Loved the mantle decor! And this picture doesn't even do it justice!

Peacock feathers are always a great addition to a bouquet if you ask me! :)

Damask was a part of her theme and I loved that her bridal bag put that touch in there! :)

One time for the internet!!

After the wedding it was nap time! After nap time?

La Fonda! One of our favorite Latin restaurants! I had paella! Soooo good!!

Rashan had a chorizo quesadilla. MMMM!

The next day we went to...

THE VORTEX!!!!!!!

I had a burger with horseradish sauce and it was delicious! We also started with what? Fried dill pickle spears! MMMMMM Love!

We met K. Rock & her husband there! :) I love blogger meet-ups! Rashan and I are tied 13-13 for blogger meet-ups! Now I need to go meet someone in secret! LOL

After lunch we did some window shopping in Little Five, then Rashan and I went to the King Center.

The homie, Gandhi met us at the entrance.

A mural on the wall

Close-up of one of my favorite posters

Awesome quote on nonviolent protest! "Passive physically... but dynamically aggressive spiritually." Deep.

Rashan in front of the wagon that pulled Dr. King's coffin.

The tomb for the Kings.

Then... THE FARMER'S MARKET!!!!

My carrot cake cupcake! :)

Rashan's creme horn

My cream cheese croissant... yo...

I could eat these DAILY!!!!!

SO GOOD!!!!

We got a Fellini's spinach & mushroom with garlic pizza for the road! YUM!

Wonderful trip and we can't wait to go back!!

#11: Go Wine Tasting in NC Wine Country

2011-09-14T10:21:00.000-04:00

For some reason, vineyards have exploded in this region in the last few years! I know some have been around for decades, while others have capitalized on a nation with a renewed interest in wine and the availability of wines at all price points. For my birthday, Rashan and I went to Raylen Vineyard right in the middle of harvest season! I LOVE driving past vineyards and this one was not a disappointment! Grapes were dangling from the vines on our drive up to the main building!

We did a tasting that you'll have to take our word for because there is no photographic evidence! He was really moving through those wines! They produce a ton of wines here. They were out of my fave, the pinot grigio. Sad face. But they had two of Rashan's faves aka any kind of sugar wine. They had a riesling he liked and a rosé. On the latter, the tester said was made for people here raised on Kool-aid & Pepsi. WOW. Then he (pseudo-snobbily) said he knows someone who mixes the rosé with frozen fruit and blends it. We looked at each other like, we shall be buying a bottle and doing that. Thanks for the tip. And we tried it and it was quite good. Here's one of the barrels they use to ferment the wines.

Here are the cases of wines stacked to the ceiling! They'd had a bottling session recently I believe.

Here's me!

Don't I look like I know EXACTLY what I'm looking at? It's a grape! For the wine!

So beautiful!

This dude here... LOL

Is he playing with the soil?? I can't... LOLOL

Yay us!

Tada! So that was my first NC wine experience and it won't be my last! There are at least 10 more within an hour drive!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 116

2011-09-12T01:22:00.000-04:00

1) Atlanta was so fun!! From the wedding to all the food we ate, Rashan and I had a blast! We even met K. Rock & her husband and K. Rock & I took a pic for bloggers only! None for you, Rashan!! LOLOL! ATL post coming later in the week! I saw a hat I can't stop thinking about but didn't buy. Aye.
2) My aol email address spammed a bunch of people on Friday. I had thought about getting rid of it just a few weeks ago and didn't. How annoying.
3) Hotels kill me charging for the internet. And parking. I don't know which is worse.
4) Can someone teach my husband how to look at the camera (and look like a normal person)???? He used to be able to do this but in the last few months, we've had to take at least 5 pictures every time I try to take ONE!! Seriously?? How am I the only person taking a picture AND counting and you're looking in the wrong direction or seem like I caught you completely off guard??? If I didn't have to live with him for 55 or more years beyond the next one, I'd show you an example but I'll have to keep the proof to myself. Le sigh.
5) My laptop is quickly running out of memory and I need to do something to fix it.
6) I'd really like to get a job. I got leads for two local ones ON FRIDAY that turned out to be duds. One fell through. The other was to drive an hour away five times per week to work a total of 11.5 hours each week. Yeah... the ad was not nearly specific enough or I wouldn't have even applied for that one.
7) I'm not ever going to stop believing Rashan is trying to kill me when he leaves his size 12 shoes in the middle of the floor.
8) Do me a solid. If you're going to comment on an article I post, at least skim it first.
9) Rashan took a serial killer quiz and got 9/9 questions right. I knew he would. Did I tell you he likes to fall asleep to true crime shows? He's almost turned me into a narcoleptic when I hear a crime show.
10) It makes me want to cry when people yearn for the next season! Unless the next season is spring. The only winter I can stand is a mild one. I like wearing my pretty coats but I don't like crying, rush from the house, below zero cold. I find it morally repugnant. I don't really like hot weather but I'd prefer that to cold as long as I have a/c.
11) I want some crazy high wedge heels. Like these! And I've been obsessed for months over these!!
12) Eeeeeevery time us black women get together in a large group we have to talk about natural hair? The conversation is so incredibly and unnecessarily tedious. And I don't really want to hear it in a running group. Can we just talk about running, please?

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 115

2011-09-05T08:48:00.005-04:00

1) Y'all. My sister ain't right in the head. She said, "I just re-read the 'I Have A Dream' speech, in my MLK voice. When I finished I got chills." You gave yourself chills??? In your MLK voice??? I can't.
2) It's well-documented that I don't love chocolate. But I reeeeeally don't like white chocolate. I refuse to eat that cocoa butter product. If I'm gonna eat chocolate, I want real chocolate.
3) Hey guess what! This is like the 90th incarnation of BasketballWives (nope, don't watch it) so you really don't have to say EVERY TIME, "But they're not wives." That isn't new information. Move on.
4) Whyyyyy are you providing your unsolicited relationship "advice" daily when according to you, you've yet to be in a functional one? Please stop.
5) The phrase 'needless to say' grates on my nerves. If you don't need to say it... don't.
6) We're going to another internet wedding (they met on the web, too!) in Atlanta THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE SOooooooo EXCITED!!!!!!
7) I'm cooking up a storm! I halfway wish I had someone other than Rashan to share it with. Sometimes I feel like he's bored with my cooking. Not bored but used to it. Maybe he needs to eat some bad food w/o me so he can love me again.
8) I'm starting to need spices in my food. My taste buds are increasingly rarely excited by just salt and pepper.
9) Guess who's started 5k training??? I loved my first run! I felt so accomplished at the end of it! I'm doing the Couch to 5k program. Wheeeeee!
10) I loooooove these teaching books!! I'm like a little baby whose head is wide open, ready to be filled with knowledge!! I feel so inspired! And ready to go change the world!!
11) Did you look out for the cook out? Because nobody told me where the cookout is today!!! For shame!! For those of you who are actually reading on Monday DESPITE not being at work, HAPPY LABOR DAY!! And to Nicole, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
[12) Avert your eyes, K. Rock! I'm just really, really excited by life this week!]

September Goals

2011-09-02T13:50:00.004-04:00

August Goals
1) Read 3 books. Done! I read 4! If you're teaching on the collegiate level or hope to one day, read Teaching What You Don't Know. Awesome book!
2) Read an additional 60 chapters of the bible to reach 1081. Got up to 1095. 94 chapters left!! I also finished Isaiah and read all of Jeremiah.
3) Watch at least 4 AFI movies. Watched five! Just 14 left!
4) Cook at least 12 new recipes. Love this goal. Done! Over and above!
5) Complete at least two 30 before 30 goals. Only did one this month. Not only. I did one and continued progress on 5 more. I now have 7 completed, 6 in progress and 18 outstanding... in a little under a year.
6) Work out at least three times per week. Done! Phew! I realized I need to have my workouts done by Saturday or I STRUUUUUGLE to make it.
7) Make progress on the job search daily. I was hit or miss on this one. I can certainly do better.

September Goals
1) Read 4 books. At least one teaching book and make progress on two film and/or journalism books.
2) Read an additional 60 chapters of the bible to reach 1155. I'll have 34 left!! I also want to finish Ezekial and read all of Daniel.
3) Watch at least 4 AFI movies. The closer I get to the end, the easier this becomes. Phew!
4) Cook at least 15 new recipes. My cooking mojo has returned and I don't want to lose it so I'm upping the goal!
5) Complete at least two 30 before 30 goals. I have 7 completed, 7 in progress and 16 outstanding... in a little over a year. I think I'm going to put out a public plea to get some help with the rest.
6) Work out at least three times per week. With my 5k training, this won't be a problem. I've only had one run so far and I LOVED IT!! It definitely made me feel like I can do this!! :)
7) Make progress on the job search daily. This includes searching, writing letters and resumes and CVs, etc.
8) Complete at least two syllabi for future courses. I want to be ready when I get my next teaching position so I'm preparing future syllabi now. Even if I don't get hired teaching these courses, the more practice I get making syllabi, the easier it will be for me to create them.

Birthday Fun: Year 29

2011-08-31T10:11:00.002-04:00

On the first day of birthday (the Friday prior), my sister came down to take me to dinner and a movie! Dinner was pretty good. I had fried oysters and fries and margaritas! The movie I did not enjoy (Tabloid). But we had a great girls' night!

Then on Monday, my mom took me to Asheville. I loved this view on our way up! Mountains in the distance!

For breakfast, we went to Early Girl Eatery. I had the Early Girl benny with a grit cake base, poached egg, tomato sauce and avocado. There was way too much tomato sauce. It was good if a little too acidic but it overwhelmed everything else. I really enjoyed my first grit cake experience. Also, I like toast.

Then me and mom walked around the city for a while, going to random museums until I got art saturated. Did you know art saturation was a possibility? I almost died from art overboard. Do you know what that is? It's when you see so much art (including plenty really bad art) that your eyes start trying to come out of your head. Here we are exploring the city!

We also went into a bunch of boutique-y shops and sat on benches and people-watched.

Then we hung out at the tourist center for a while trying to figure out what to do next. Y'all. I love my mom!! We had so much fun just wandering the city figuring out where to go next, asking strangers for directions.

We went to a beer and wine shop and got some souvenirs-- beer! and asked for directions to one of Asheville's many breweries. We said, direct us to the nearest one! So we ended up at Wedge. I tried the Witbier which has orange peel and coriander. Tasty, but I didn't think I wanted a full pint. I think I might have though. I decided on the Julian Price Pilsner.

This is the outside of Wedge which is covered in recycled parts.

After Wedge, mom took me to Asheville's Mexican Caribbean restaurant, Salsa's. May I say LOL @ that combo?? LOL!! Gotta love America. She had a pork quesadilla which she loved.

I had the impressive pork relleno! A giant poblano filled with shredded pork, carrots, sauteed onions and deep fried. It was served with two salsas, a traditional, spicy one and a pineapple salsa. I loved the traditional one, not so much with the pineapple. I just don't really like sweet salsas. This thing was GREAT! Even cold 4 hours later!

I also got a cocktail made with blackberries, brown sugar, gin, tequila and muddled lime. Good... they said it was a new cocktail so that would explain why it was a tad off. Needed some nuance, better blending of the flavors.

My souvenirs...

The next day, after BIRTHQUAKE OF AUGHT 11, Rashan and I went on the wildest of psycho, anger-inducing wild goose chases looking for Lexington Barbeque, which is supposed to be the best in Lexington and maybe everywhere.

This is it... we were not impressed. I thought it was fine, just not anywhere near the best I've ever had. Rashan was way past that to not liking it.

We followed it up with peach cobbler topped with a slab o' ice cream. Pretty good. I LOVED the crust, the peaches were a little too sweet for my taste.

When we came out, we were surrounded. Really??? THREE state trooper cars??? So this is their spot... LOL

After bbq, we went to a vineyard!!! I'll post about that Friday... After the vineyard, we went to
River Birch Lodge because I like to eat a new meat every birthday and they have elk burgers! This is what it looked like....

Yeah. What the heck??? When you said with provolone and mushrooms, I promise I didn't expect it to look like this. This is my birthday dinner? I really hate how the chains here have better food than most of the local restaurants. I just... I'm so TIRED of eating food that's lackluster. The mushrooms were delicious. The burger was just a burger. I don't ever want to eat just a burger. And I especially don't want it on my birthday. Guys, I can't have this next year. I don't care what I have to do, I cannot eat bad food on my birthday for a 3rd consecutive birthday. And not just because I'm turning 30, though that doesn't hurt.

Anyway... this is what I wore! Yay birthday girl! Minus the food (something I really hope to never have to say again), it was a great day! Loved spending it with my love! And having separate days with my mom and sister!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 114

2011-08-29T10:03:00.001-04:00

1) If asked to make a decision and I like all options, I always ask, "Can I have both?" I love to split the difference. If I don't have to choose, I see no reason to choose. If at Sonic I could have fries AND tots, I would really be a happy person. As such, I usually choose tots b/c you can get fries everywhere.
2) My cousin is the most disgruntled pregnant person right now and it is HILARIOUS!!! She's mad at the whole world because she's uncomfortable but she says it in such a way that all you can do is laugh. Love her!!
3) Shopping in traditional or easily accessible stores is becoming increasingly difficult for me. The clothes all look the same and many are too expensive and/or made from poor quality fabric. So not awesome. Can I get some unique, well-made, inexpensive clothes??? I'm gonna have to learn how to sew, aren't I? Or how to recruit design students who will work for food...
4) My fashion blogs are undergoing another upheaval. If you have ill-fitting clothing, I must unfollow. If you promote terrible items just to say you had a giveaway? I must unfollow. If you basically wear the same thing all the time... SAY IT WITH ME!! I must unfollow.
5) I took a break from "The Office" in favor of "Parks & Rec" and LOLOL.
6) I adore Rashan most when he's sleeping. I love him tons when he's awake but when he's sleeping? He's so QUIET!! That dude talks too much. As evidenced by his thrice daily blogging. Wait... that's somebody else's husband. He's not that quiet when he sleeps but he's adorable! Tis why I adore him.
7) The internet is DETERMINED to make me a bad speller! Determined!! And I won't have it! I just won't! This is why I'm reading books again. So I can remember how to spell. Otherwise I think I have to give back my 3rd grade spelling bee victory.
8) I found a list of baby names from only God knows how long ago when I was home. This was apparently during my "I hate my name" phase because I wouldn't use a single one now. Grace Alexandra, Thaddeus Phillippe, Tahara Sarai, Charlotte Ann Elizabeth, Eli David. Oh and there was also Amari Kani. Yes. Like Karl Kani. But the name of all names and the one none of us will ever forget, Nautica Alexis! Thank God I wasn't a teenage mother because I clearly had no sense!!
9) We watched "Love Jones" Friday night. I said, "How does Nia Long look the same age today?" Rashan said, "She doesn't look the same age. She looks two years older.' LOLOL
10) I hate when people make heaux singular and leave the x. If you don't know French, don't try to conjugate a fake Franglais verb. And if you pretend to know French and leave the x, you're the lamest of all. Toast!
11) It makes me uncomfortable when people call work 'the plantation' or any of its derivatives. There's no comparison.
12) Let's all applaud Rashan for making a change in his life! When people sneeze, he now says "Bless you." Yay!!! I used to always sneeze and then look at him like, "Cad!" He's a very polite person so I was confused by this thing.
13) It's official... unless I want to eat 90xs a day, I can't be a vegetarian. I'm always hungry no more than 4 hours later but usually about 2 when I have a vegetarian meal. Tis sad.
14) Aaaaand I've been cooking up a storm lately. If you need some recipes, take yourself on over to The Record Dish. There's plenty there and plenty more coming this week.

Movies 2011, Week 33

2011-08-28T15:09:00.003-04:00

August 21-27, 2011
Birthday week!!! I'm gonna call this a good week for movies!
139) Every Girl Should Be Married. Betsy Drake stars as a store clerk who sets out to convince a local pediatrician (my beloved Cary Grant) he should marry her. So nutty! This girl was a straight stalker! Entertaining when I wasn't gasping in shock at her antics. 3.8 stars
140) Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. Morgan Spurlock film about product placement in film and television. I could have done with a lot less exposition. I didn't need to know all of the background of getting this film off the ground. I really enjoyed the meetings with the company executives. Very amusing. It does make you think about how far you could go with advertising and still feel okay with yourself. He did some really interesting things. But did it need to be 90 minutes? Definitely not. It became incredibly redundant. I'm quite sure I could've gotten everything he wanted me to know in 60 minutes or less. 2.4 stars
141) Room for One Moore. Cute Cary Grant and Betsy Drake film about a couple that always finds room for one more child... or pet. Awwww! I so liked it! It's not on Netflix so try to catch it on TCM again. 4 stars
142) Crazy, Stupid, Love. Steve Carrell & Julianne Moore (I can't get into her) star as a couple headed for divorce when Ryan Gosling steps in to turn his life around and make him studly... you know... like an older version of him. I don't get the appeal of Gosling and yes I liked "The Notebook." But I really liked this movie and I the twist was AWESOME!! Neither of us saw it coming and as it was happening, I was still confused! Love that! Cute and sweet. 4 stars
143) Limitless. Bradley Cooper stars in this film about a man who takes drugs that give him limitless intelligence and all the trouble that comes as a result of that limitlessness. The end made me hate it. Some of the effects made me dislike it long before the end. I did not like this movie. I didn't hate it. But I didn't like it. 3 stars
144) The Wild Bunch. Please make it stop. The longest Western of my life about aging outlaws who hook up with a crooked Mexican general. I did not enjoy it. 2 stars

BIRTHQUAKE!!!

2011-08-26T11:27:00.001-04:00

There's no doubt that even if you were residing under a rock, you noticed there was an earthquake on the East Coast on Tuesday. If you had any contact with me on that day, you're aware that since it was indeed my birthday, I deemed it...

BIRTHQUAKE... OF AUGHT 11.

That's right, folks. The world shook because I was born. And on the east coast! For the first time in more than 50 years! (All Californians who want to act superior, please exit stage left.) Before I get into my birthquake experience, let's talk about how another one hit Denver, then one hit the Bay area! LOVE IT!! *chants* BIRTHQUAKE, BIRTHQUAKE, BIRTHQUAKE!!!

So it was my first ~~earthquake~~ birthquake and to say I was confused would be a bit of an understatement. I was sitting on my bed listening to Luke (HAHAHAHA! Who else among you can say that???) when the bed started shaking. I was like, "Now I know Luke is exciting but listening to it shouldn't be making the bed shake like that." I was so confused I started looking around for something that could be manually shaking the bed. Then I stopped the music like I was so excited about my birthday that I was imagining it.

Rashan was in the bathroom 10 feet away and I was like, "Rashan! Why is the bed shaking??" "What?" "WHY IS THE BED SHAKING??? Come here!" "What are you talking about? I don't see anything." "COME FEEL THE BED! IT'S SHAKING!" He's staring at me like I have 8 heads and just one nose. He walks over and touches the bed and doesn't feel anything. Then I'm REALLY confused. Now I think I might have discovered I have the palsy on my 29th birthday. IS THIS WHAT IT'S LIKE GETTING OLDER?!?! "Well touch me. Maybe it's just me shaking & I think it's the bed." He touches me, still nothin. By this point I glance at twitter and MrsCount, her sister & another DCer had all almost simultaneously said, "EARTHQUAKE!"

Y'all. I still didn't get it. It was my first earthquake! I THOUGHT I WAS CLAIRVOYANT!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I'm cracking up at this now!! I tell Rashan they said an earthquake in D.C. and he's still staring at me like I'm touched in the head. I was like, "I DON'T WANNA BE CLAIRVOYANT!!!" While actually thinking... well maybe sometimes. But I don't wanna SHAKE from it!! Then the tweets start coming in from a Charlotte station I follow (Winston stations were USELESS but this is no shock) that it was felt down there, too. That's when he finally started to believe me. This dude said, "I thought it was all an elaborate ruse." LOLOL!! I said, "Why would I do that??? .... But it would be hilarious..." "I know! That's why I thought you were doing it. I can't believe you felt it and I didn't! I'm jealous!" LOLOL So basically, I loved the quake!

Elsewhere in my family, my brother drives a truck so for him the ground is always moving. He felt nothing. My sister was in Raleigh at work and BAFFLED as to why it sounded like someone rolling a boulder outside. She was like, "They are really doing the most out there right now." LOLOL!! When the building started shaking and she was on the second floor, she was not pleased! They evacuated and went home early. And now that Irene is heading for the coast, she's off work today. Let me go call her to make sure she's leaving the area. She has the worst travel lust so I'm sure she is. (She did but went to DC for the King memorial as planned... side eye.)

My mom was also on the second floor of a building but in Charlotte. She was on the phone and felt the need to act like nothing was happening even though she was extremely confused. LOL!! Especially since there has been a lot of construction near her building in the last few years. She thought it was related to that but there was no one nearby to give her a look or anything. Then she got an email from her boss saying, "No, you did not imagine that. Yes, it was an earthquake." Oh man. What a fun day! More birthday updates coming over the next week! Want a preview picture? Us at the vineyard!

When You Know...

2011-08-25T08:35:00.001-04:00

Back in September, I wrote this but decided to save it until we got married.

On September 8, 2010, I had a life-altering epiphany. I knew I wanted to marry Rashan, but for the first time it was crystal clear why. That probably sounds crazy to somebody (and kind of to me) but it's true. I was watching a clip of a documentary called "Ahead of Time." A man was showing an old friend a picture of his now-deceased wife. The friend said, "She's very beautiful." He said (to his wife), "Good night Irene! I'll see you in my dreams" and tears sprang to my eyes. I was instantly sad that one day (since he's so incredibly old, you know?) I'll be saying the same thing. Far into our future... 70 years from now. I missed him already. I had told him before I guess it was okay if he died at 105. I'd only be 90 then but... lolol. I never stop digging him about his advanced years. But he's gonna be MINE! Til death do us part!

The tears almost come again just thinking about that moment. We'll have beautiful children, none of them named Aaliyah, much to his chagrin, and grandchildren and maybe we'll even get to meet our great-grandchildren! But in that moment, I thought, I can't wait to get started on our time. When I told one of my friends I want to get married this year, she said, "What's the rush?" (As though we haven't been together for 2 years and this man hasn't been trying to marry me for 20 months...) I finally got to use one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies, "When Harry Met Sally." "When you know you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." I can use another of my favorite lines from that film, "When you know, you know. Like you know a good melon!" Hopefully cantaloupe... his favorite.

Hey! You There!

2011-08-23T02:44:00.000-04:00

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

And I won't say 29 scares me but that number sounds weird attached to me. Also... I got carded several times in the last week. And yesterday someone asked me if I was a student. So I'm gonna go ahead and say I don't look 29. Let's just hope I don't get glared at like a teenage mother when I am finally with child. LOL With child. Have I ever told you guys I don't like euphemisms? Whoever can present the best birthday euphemism wins a hearty laugh FREE from me!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 113

2011-08-22T08:26:00.000-04:00

1) TOMORROW IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!
2) Netflix doesn't even know me anymore. It's been flat out wrong on multiple ratings after something like a 100-film streak. SMH Oh and my main issue with the Netflix thing is that it was ALL OVER Twitter for a good 2 hours before they sent an announcement to customers. Fail.
3) As you're reading this, my mommy and I are en route to or in Asheville for my birthday!!! YAY!!! Did I mention it's tomorrow??? I'm so excited!!!! She wanted to spend a whole day with just me since "it was just the two of us that day." I said, "And daddy. You want me to invite him?" LOLOL She declined. I could cry about being a child of divorce (their 30th anniversary would've been today!) and ask her to reconsider. Really bewilder her! :) In case you're worried, I've been okay with my parents divorce since before it was finalized more than 10 years ago.
4) Please make Rashan stop "talking" to me in his half sleep. He's really mumbling about nothing and can't remember what he said the second after it leaves his mouth. Sir...
5) I was thinking the other day I just can't imagine Brad Pitt still being a sexsymbol when he's old and gray. I'm not saying it won't happen but I would be equally unsurprised either way. I could see him just looking old. Now George Clooney? That man will be delicious till he dies! I can't call no nother man delicious... (7:35)
6) You know the most shocking thing about meeting people in person you've known on the blog? Height. Unless they talk about it all the time or you happen to see an 8 foot tall brother, you never know. Because I will forget in a minute! What I'm trying to say is K. Rock, how tall are you? You look short. & I don't want to get shocked. LOL
7) Since the pregnancy post, Rashan has asked me like 4xs if I'm pregnant. -_- I'm going to ban him, too.
8) I've been watching 'The Office' reruns on Netflix nightly or near nightly for like a month. I can't stop. The wedding episode nearly makes me cry every time! But Dwayne & Whitley was the best tv wedding of all time!!!!! I don't nearly cry, I bawl!! Simp.
9) I have been doing terribly with my teaching progress in the last week but don't you worry your pretty little head! Even though it's my birthday week, I'm going to gift myself with a great job search and some achievements!
10) I'm a psycho with an active imagination looking for disaster around every corner. Son... why do I prefer to listen to Rashan ~~snore~~ breathe loudly b/c at least that way I know he's alive? If he's quiet, I watch his back to make sure it's rising & falling or touch him. It's so crazy and I really want to stop. But now it's become a habit. Ugh.
11) Did I mention tomorrow is my birthday??? To celebrate, I'm going to have ELK for the first time! How exciting!!!! :)

Movies 2011, Week 32

2011-08-21T01:39:00.002-04:00

August 14-20, 2011
This was a great week for movie watching! I tried to average a movie per day since I'm not working at the moment and yay!!!
131) The Lottery. Documentary film about parents trying to get their young children into one of Harlem's best charter schools via the lottery and the disappointments that come with that process. It also encompassed the fight for and against charter schools. So sad to think about how many children don't get into a great school and are saddled with poor education that can't be supplemented by their parents because they also had a poor education. I don't know what I wanted from this film but I felt disappointed at the end. 4 stars
132) You Again. Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis star in this film about a woman who has to break up her brother's engagement to her h.s. nemesis. Then her mom realizes HER h.s. nemesis is also resurfacing. Very over the top acting and ridiculous story line. Cameos from Betty White and Kristen Chenowith were amusing. It was just okay. 2.9 stars
133) Gloria: In Her Own Words. Documentary on HBO about the face of the women's lib movement, Gloria Steinem. Riveting from the start! It's so easy to forget the types of things that were de rigeur for women just 30 to 40 years ago. It had my mind racing. I definitely identify more with my race than my gender. It definitely addressed some of the reasons I balked at changing my name but couldn't articulate. She'd probably hate that I say this but she looks AWESOME for 76!! Awesome! Great weaving of interview segments and archival footage at times. Quotes were overused as a transition between scenes. There were stories included that really added nothing to the narrative but overall, I really enjoyed it. 4 stars
134) Arthur. Remake of the 1980s comedy, this one starring Russell Brand, Jennifer Garner & Helen Mirren. Surprisingly funny. I really came into this one with lowered expectations. Definitely longer than it needed to be at 1 hour 50. I stand by my belief that comedies should cap at 90 minutes. There were at least 4 unnecessary montages. 3.7 stars
135) Man in the Moon. Reese Witherspoon stars as a little girl who falls in love for the first time and finds herself betrayed. I'm pretty sure I would've liked this at another point in my life. At this point, though? Meh. 2.9 stars
136) Love Chronicles: Secrets Revealed. Rashan saw fit to torture me with this bad black movie about dysfunctional relationships filled with misinterpretations of love. It was terrible. The script and the acting. 1.3 stars (Don't ask about the .3... Usually it means something, today it does not.)
137) The Best and the Brightest. Neil Patrick Harris is the star of this film about a couple trying to get their daughter into an exclusive private school despite cutthroat competition. Really quite awful with some funny moments that were way too few and far between. 2.8 stars
138) Tabloid. Errol Morris documentary about a woman accused of kidnappingAndRapingAM.ormon man. Cuh.razy. Because of the charges, she became a tabloid star. I cannot say I really enjoyed this movie. It seemed like the film started in the middle of the story and wanted us to just catch up and best of luck in that goal because there won't be enough clues for quite some time. It didn't help that I was distracted by the chick laughing at inappropriate times in 10 second intervals for the first 20 minutes. Seriously. But back to the movie, after I recovered from my disorientation, I found myself repeatedly saying, "So what?" I couldn't figure out why I was supposed to care about this woman. The cinematography, graphics and music all fit. There were great techniques but I just didn't care about this chick for the length of the film. 3 stars

Budget Conversation: Groceries

2011-08-19T09:44:00.000-04:00

Y'all already know I love food. I also love going to the grocery store!! It brings me great delicious joy! I could wander the aisles for hours! Especially when I have... COUPONS!!! So Rashan and I are constantly trying to spend the least amount of money possible at the grocery store. Between in-store deals and coupons, I'd really like to one day walk out frequently paying less than 1/3 of our bill. I know Rashan would love that, too. We usually end up paying about half. But sometimes... that dude is crazy. A conversation from Monday, if you will.

Rashan: Here's my debit card. How much are you going to spend?
Me: (knowing I'm going to at least 3 stores including Whole Foods) Uhhh... how much do you want me to spend?
Rashan: $40.
Me: (Thinking: I was thinking more like $50 but that's reasonable.) Okay. I can do that.
Rashan: Or less.
Me: Don't push it.

LOL

The day when I have an unlimited budget and a personal chef to cook them all when I just don't feel like it? It shall be a happy day indeed.

Sigh Another Announcement

2011-08-17T12:31:00.014-04:00

Yes, I intentionally did that title to trick you. Because you're waiting for a trick around every corner. Saying you're expecting it makes me want to do it even more. You're only making it worse for yourself by asking. You won't be able to predict it when it comes. That announcement is gonna come like a thief in the night.

Not like this one.

No this one you KNEW was coming.

Y'all. I have GOT to be able to talk about babies without you getting crazy. You're ruining my safe space!! Yes, I'm married. No, I don't want children right now. As I've said multiple times. The greatest offenders are the people who already know this. Yes, I'm talking about you. I need my blog to be somewhere where I can talk about people WHO ARE NOT MY HUSBAND trying to get me knocked up without you actually thinking I am. I don't want to have to say EVERY single time I mention baby or pregnant, "I'm not pregnant." Just assume I'm not until I tell you I am. I'm not putting a timeline on it, though I really had ideas that I would share with you guys from the beginning. Who knows. I mean real talk, there are things I want to just chatter about now but don't feel like the "Are you pregnant?" hassle. I mean heck! I shut down people who offer me their children for a few days. I'm straight, champ. Remember, I don't even know how to be an aunt.

It's like when you're single and people are always asking you why you're single or when you're getting married. NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. And it's extremely rude to ask about it. It makes me want to do ridiculous things like post pictures of myself in a bikini holding a newspaper. And we really don't need that. I'm trying to get a job. Why are y'all trying to get me fired before I even get hired (:55)? Gucci! That's really mean. You're putting a financial strain on my 6-week-old marriage (awwww!) by not letting me get a job. Way to not be there guys. I KNOW I can't do anything about people in life asking me about it, but you guys are supposed to be my blog la familia! You're supposed to have my back on this, if nothing else!

Let's make a deal. I won't make assumptions about your womb if you won't make assumptions about mine.

Great!

Now behave!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 112

2011-08-15T09:45:00.002-04:00

1) I used to be a stan for 112. I've seen them in concert at least 3 times. I think maybe 4 but I'm not sure. (Former stan fail.) I waited outside the student center when they were at Hampton to take a picture with them and got one w/my fave, Mike! :))))) I also got Room 112 autographed on another occasion! I've bought or had 112 (the first album) bought for me multiple times. Stan.
2) I want a brooch for every occasion. Love 'em. I own 8 or 9 now. MORE MORE!!
3) While we're talking about much-neglected accessories... can hats pleeeeeeeeease be worn more??? I'm going to start wearing mine regularly. They're mostly winter fabrics so I have a bit of a wait but IT'S COMING!!! As you can imagine from numbers 2 & 3, my grandma and I are on one accord when it comes to accessories. Last time I was there, she stole my hat! She probably doesn't remember it's mine so I'm going to have to steal it back.
4) I really want to go to Mississippi so my mom's side of the fam can meet Rashan. From grandma, to aunts & uncles to cousins, NOBODY on that side has met him. FAIL.
5) My sister says she knows I'm not preg b/c she wants it too bad and she never gets anything she wants... ROTFL!!! My father's on again off again gf says my dad can't stop talking about grandchildren. Please go sit down. If HE knew not to tell me that, you should do better and not spread that around.
6) Y'all know I don't know anything about hip hop and Rashan is Mr. Hip Hop, right? Well I've been diligently researching when the Tribe doc will be in a theater near us b/c that's his favorite group. We saw a trailer this weekend and I now want to see it more than ever! Because we live in a one doc a month town (okay it's not QUITE that bad...), we have to wait until September. Sigh.
7) I'm trying to get Rashan down with us going to the movies every week. HELP!
8) This man saved a corner of tequila in a 750ml bottle. I don't even think it's enough for a shot. It's been there for more than a month. You, sir, are a failure.
9) I am apparently officially an old lady and I'm still not even 29. 8 DAYS TIL MY BIRTHDAY!!! I slept wrong on my hip in some crazy position and it hurt to walk for two days! This cannot be.
10) Speaking of my birthday, I bought myself those spoon straws (and a silicone whisk)! Love 'em! I have also decided I would like to see 4 or 5 movies in the theater for my birthday. I found more shoes, too in 7.5 -- black or brown. These in black.
11) Why did we try to go to a 'seafood fest' here and there was NO MORE THAN 10 yards of street blocked off, a 'band' of two people with one person (their brother?) taking a photograph and no one else paying attention, and 15 people max there for the 'fest.' -_- Oh! And they were charging $5 per person to attend. That is not a festival and you are out of your mind.
12) We would've gone to beer fest down the street but it was $35pp. Ummm.... Rashan definitely doesn't like beer enough to go for that. Per person though?? It would've been nice if it was cheaper because it was walking distance from the house.
13) OMG I looooove Whole Foods! Every time I go there I find something that's cheaper than it is at Harris Teeter or cooler. They have a wine/large beer bottle chiller that chills your beer to ice cold in 7 mins. AWESOME!! Goat cheese, blue cheese crumbles, feta crumbles, fresh herbs, baguettes, frozen cranberries = all cheaper at WF than Harris Teeter. #win #win #win Also doesn't that list sound like the start to an awesome wine and cheese??????

Movies 2011, Weeks 29-31

2011-08-14T04:16:00.001-04:00

July 24-30, 2011
119) Midnight in Paris. I really, really enjoyed this Woody Allen film about a couple (Rachel McAdams & Owen Wilson) who begins rethinking life after traveling together in Paris. Great writing and great acting all around. If this is playing near you, definitely go see it! If not, put it on your queue! 4.4 stars
120) The French Connection. Gene Hackman & Roy Scheider star as two NYC cops who stumble upon a drug deal with a French Connection. For the first 20 minutes, I tried to figure out why this was lowly rated for me on Netflix. I never figured out why. This was an awesome movie! It had intrigue, some confusion, high-speed chases. "Move calmly, move cautiously and you'll never be sorry." Awesome quote. Great music. 4.4 stars
121) There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane. HBO doc about the wrong-way driver with a .19 blood alcohol content who in 2009 who killed herself, her daughter, 3 nieces and three other men. Good family access, graphic crime scene photographs. I felt like the story moved a bit slowly and redundantly. Rashan liked it more than I did. A good movie for doc ethics classes. 3.5 stars

July 31- August 6, 2011
122) Lincoln Lawyer. My old boo Matthew McConaughey stars as the titular character in this film about a lawyer who has to defend a rich playboy (Ryan Phillippe). The lawyer finds himself and his family at risk when he learns the truth about his latest case. Lots of awesome twists. Really enjoyed it! I'm shocked it hasn't gotten more buzz! 4 stars
123) Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? Amusing 1957 film starring Tony Randall & Jayne Mansfield about an ad man who accidentally finds himself the object of affection of a Hollywood star to the chagrin of himself and his fiancée. That annoying squeal they made blondes do back then (see: Monroe, Marilyn) was supremely annoying but not enough to get rid of the charm of the film. 3.5 stars
124) Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. The first Star Wars movie. I intentionally avoided it for more than a decade. I don't know that there's a point in my life that I would enjoy it but... this ain't it. Just not my cup of tea. Rashan even liked it less than he did as a kid which of course made him a bit sad. 3.2 stars

August 7-13, 2011
125) Shane. Western about tyrants in the west trying to run farmers and their families off of their claims... until Shane comes along. I really liked it! I was wide-eyed throughout and wanted to call my dad AKA Mr. Western and tell him I watched it! LOL 4 stars
126) Steam of Life. Finnish film about men who take steam baths and the stories that pour out of them in the humid air. I enjoyed it but found it a bit sad. I met the filmmaker at a festival last year and he was very cool. 3.7 stars
127) Modern Times. Cute Charlie Chaplin mostly silent film about a poor man who can't catch a break until he falls in love. Awww! I liked it! He really was a great filmmaker! 4 stars
128) Midnight Cowboy. Dustin Hoffman and John Voight star as a scheming cripple and his fake cowboy stud companion. Most ineffective filmwhore ever. LOL I expected to hate this since Rashan had long ago expressed his disgust for it. I didn't. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen but it certainly held my attention which is more than I can say for many many films. 3.7 stars
129) Page One: Inside the New York Times. Documentary about the New York Times. Cool inside look at a newsroom. Problems in story line arose when the directors tried to weave in too many disparate points of views and story lines. It was still riveting. It raised so many questions and issues, I felt like I could teach an entire course using pieces of this film. My mind was RACING! And full of ideas! I enjoyed it. 3.9 stars
130) Harper. Paul Newman and Lauren Bacall star in this film about a detective hired to find a missing rich man. I liked many of the twists and turns but I didn't love some of the details and drawn out scenes. Still, a decent watch. 3.4 stars

Orbs of Joy

2011-08-11T16:04:00.000-04:00

My husband broke a very important covenant last week. And I'm reasonably certain he may have broken a vow. I learned something about him that really hurt my heart. I found out...

Rashan...

doesn't....

know how to....

boil eggs....

*Moment of silence*

*use it to reflect on the gravity of this broken covenant and to pray for our marital bonds*

Y'all... it's time to talk about a subject very close to my heart. I know I told y'all I love eggs but no, I REALLY love eggs. I love almost everything egg. So much so that I could really eat eggs 6xs a week. I mean that.

Do you know how I found out he couldn't boil eggs? I asked him to boil one for me b/c I was on my way home. He asked how, I told him but do you know he said, "I cracked one of the eggs when I put it in the water." I was like HOW DID YOU DO THAT??? Did you drop it in from 5 feet?? He said "No, the water was boiling and it cracked." What???? You're supposed to put it on from the beginning. Lawd. I thought he ACTUALLY knew how to boil an egg and needed a refresher, not up to the minute instructions. Can you use the internet please??? I just... this is unacceptable. And then I find out it's a familial problem. His sister learned a couple of years ago. AND SHE'S ALMOST 40!?! Who the Bleep Did I Marry?? (Great show BTW)

Over medium is my absolute favorite egg. ABSOLUTE FAVE!! Poached as in eggs benedict is my 2nd. Boiled is number three. Boiled eggs go in my tuna salad, potato salad and you can't forget the standard deviled eggs! I can get with scrambled every once in a blue moon but they need to have something scrambled with them to strike my fancy. Smoked salmon scrambled? Ahhh yep! Hold the dill. My line sister introduced me to boiled egg, bacon & cheese sandwiches in undergrad and I'm so down!! Delish!

You know what egg product I can't get with? Mayonnaise. I've never liked it very much but it's gotten progressively worse in the last year. I now like it less and less with every passing week. A little as a binder in the aforementioned salads and maybe coleslaw but that's it. Sometimes the thought of it makes me shudder.

When I told my mom I didn't like mayo anymore, she said, "What's wrong with you?!" 19 months pregnant pause. Sigh. She doesn't say it but sometimes I hear in her silence, "Are you pregnant?" YOUR MOM'S PREGNANT! LOL That's how pregnant I am. Your mom and I are equally pregnant. She claims she was so not thinking that but I don't believe her.

Speaking of eggs... I really want a quail egg. This Asian market around the street from my place in Gainesville (I never walked to stores there b/c the streets were so busy but it was definitely walking distance) had quail eggs on the cheap but I was afraid to buy them because I was living alone and I didn't have a recipe off the top of my head. WELL I HAVE SEVERAL NOW!! I just need to go to my local Asian purveyor and get me some quail eggs!

**If you were skimming this and saw pregnant and got excited, READ. I am not pregnant. Just want to clear that up for you.

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 111

2011-08-08T10:21:00.000-04:00

1) I like the number 111.
2) There is not a single company I want to hear from daily. They have got to get their email subscriptions under control.
3) I hate those days where I wake up in a bad mood. It's like, "Really? Who hurt you in your sleep last night?"
4) I never iron. It just seems like an extra unnecessary step. But once I deem something unwearable without ironing and actually iron, I am suddenly in the mood to iron. And it has a calming, almost therapeutic effect. Repetitive motion or something.
5) I know it's supposed to be hot in the summer but this unrelenting heat over 95 degrees every day is evil. I want it to stop.
6) Me & Rashan are going to Atlanta for a wedding in September and WE'RE SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!
7) Next on my unsub list: Groupon & Living Social. I NEVER see anything I like on there. Going on a year w/groupon I've bought ONE. The deals of even remote interest come less than once a month. In months, I've never seen a deal on Living Social that I wanted. That was short-lived...
8) I don't really like soy sauce. I eat eel sauce with my sushi if anything other than wasabi. And I almost never eat Chinese food but when I do, duck sauce.
9) Facebook status of the week: Just watched inception... I'm now highly concerned I'm currently asleep and don't realize it.
10) The worst hashtag attempts? Things like #move it or lose it sister. Sigh. The point of a hashtag is to put an entire phrase as one word. It's #moveitorloseitsister. (We won't discuss the ill-advised usage of that particular phraseology in 2011.) Surely you realize that. You HAVE to have seen it enough places. If you can't comply, just don't use hashtags. Merci
11) Can everybody do me another favor? Don't post anymore blurry photos on fb. On your camera phone they probably look a "little" bad but blown up on my screen, my eyes try to compensate. Make that stop.
12) I went to M.adewell this weekend and got a pair of jeans... They were originally $115. I got them for $19.99. And it was tax-free weekend. And I had a $25 gift card. *pats back*

How to Plan a Wedding in 30 Days (OR LESS)!

2011-08-05T09:35:00.002-04:00

From the time Rashan and I decided to get married to our wedding day, there were 29 days. We had known for over a year that we wanted to be married but were waiting to have money for a ring and a large-ish wedding. And quite frankly, enough was enough. We did not want to spend a year's salary on one day. It was hectic and I will not delude you that it was stress-free but in the end, I'm quite glad we did it like that! If you're just joining, here are the basic details. We got married in a church by a preacher with about 25 people in attendance. I wore a traditional dress (other than the fact that it was strapless). Rashan wore a tux that he bought at a great price. We love Mexican food so our reception was at a Mexican restaurant with copious margaritas.

1) MAKE PRIORITIES. Decide what you ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE TO MARRY!! Budget the majority of your money there and try to get everything else free or cheap. For us, that was a fabulous dress, awesome food and alcohol. There was not a chance I was having bad food or a dry wedding. Or not wearing a fabulous dress. A week before we "got engaged" (we really just decided to get married), I dreamt we got married and I didn't have a nice dress and was so sad. LOL

2) Use online tools for budgeting and guest lists. I used Martha Stewart Weddings. The budget tool has lists for just about everything you need. I think it had left off license. Duh! Of course the license will cost! GA is really cheap if you get pre-marital counseling. $60 w/o counseling, $16 with. WHAT!? It was $70 regardless in NC.

3) Speaking of budgets... have a savings or people who will help you pay for things. Between my godmother and dad, my dress (including veil and alterations was $704 total), our reception and our mini-moon (day of and day after wedding) dinner were covered. They took care of more than half of our budget. I know you're dying to know... we spent less than $2,800 on our day including our hotel for Friday and Saturday nights. And really, I think we could've spent even less.

4) Dress drama is SO manufactured. You do not have to buy into that. Look, as we just discussed, the dress was one of my non-negotiables. I wasn't sure how typically bridal I wanted my dress to be but I knew I needed an awesome dress! I tried on about 12 dresses in 4 stores but didn't really feel stressed. I certainly didn't want to cry. I was extremely excited and felt beautiful! I couldn't stop smiling! I have talked to two other brides who felt the exact same way. Don't let tv make you crazy! Go with whatever emotions you have that day. You don't have to feel anything but love for your dress. The rest of the outward emotions can be whatever you want! Oh and it really helps if you can quickly decide what you want and be definitive. Since I wanted a white dress, that narrows down choices considerably, which I found to be a huge help.

My bouquet

5) Be creative. One of my non-negotiables was live flowers. I knew I didn't need many. And I just don't like the kind of flowers that are even passable when fake. Whole Foods and Trader Joes both have BEAUTIFUL flowers for very cheap. If you have a wholesale flower dealer open to the public in your area (there's one in Norfolk, VA), flowers will be an EXCELLENT price! I got mine at a grocery store and the farmer's market and I was quite pleased despite what wedding shows tell you! You'll save a ton of money not going to the florist. You or one of your people will have to assemble them, though, so take that into account. For you is it more worth the peace of mind to have someone else do it?

There are SO many resources out there!! TV, print, online. EVERYWHERE!! If you haven't already been planning for a while before you decided to jump in and do it, it can be SO OVERWHELMING!! Pick ONE site suggested from a friend whose wedding vision you trust (Martha Stewart Weddings is a personal fave but I on the flip side, I also really liked Offbeat Bride).

And don't forget to use your friends and family! Including blog family! Everyone has a friend who is wedding, party or DIY savvy. Or maybe is just a spendthrift. Pick their brains! A lot of people will offer to help. Ask them to be specific. Especially if you're not sure what you need.

5) Eliminate or minimize your bridal party. I created my party in my head my whole life and then I didn't have one. It's a good thing I didn't since two of the people who would've been bridesmaids couldn't come. Bridal parties are one more thing to wrangle. Dresses, flowers, shoes, accessories, getting everyone to the right place at the right time. You don't have the time. UNLESS you want to give them guidelines and can trust them to make it happen. But know that everyone won't prioritize your wedding like you prioritize your wedding, no matter how much they love you.

6) If when you budgeted, you didn't have a planner in there, consider at least a day of planner. If not, you need to have a point-person who knows EXACTLY how you envision everything should unfold and will execute it. That was the most annoying part of my day. People were asking me too many doggone questions. (Most of it was about stuff I really didn't care about.) I did know how I wanted things to go but by the day of I didn't want to be bothered with any of it. More of previous days could have been spent outlining everything and getting everyone in place.

Mom, me, Dad, My Sister

7) Accessorize with your guests. “There’s nothing that dresses a room like a crowd,” said Ian Parms, an owner of the Mulberry Project in a recent NY Times article. I so agree! I hate when people tell me what color to wear. And yet... it was the most cost-effective way to decorate our space. And gorgeous! I really wanted to spend next to nothing on decorations considering my priorities. I told our guests: pink, purple, magenta & peacock. So many options! And they likely already had it in their closet. (Yes, some people gave me the gas face when I said peacock! LOL) Essentially I wanted BRIGHT colors. Most people did a great job. Others? Let's just say I knew there would be some stragglers. Several people when they saw all the bright colors said, "I see your vision and it looks awesome!" Yessssss!!

8) You already know marrying on a day other than Saturday can save you money, and that marrying earlier in the day can save you money but let's talk about just how much money. Our reception was at a restaurant. The minimum spending on a Saturday was $1,000... at lunch. A Friday for lunch? $300. That, my friends, is why we had a Friday at 2:30 lunch instead of even a Friday at 6 dinner (still a savings of hundreds of dollars). We are absolutely night people and would have loved a dinner party but we love a $700 difference more. A three-course dinner with margaritas came to $856.

9) Understand that no matter how many people you do or do not invite, SOMEBODY will say to you, "I can't believe I wasn't invited." Even if you head them off saying, "It's small" or "We will have a big shindig later," somebody is going to be pissed and somebody is going to say something. These people may be one in the same. Someone on the guest list might be supremely irritated that they can't bring a guest. All of these people will have to get over it. But prepare yourself.

Our parents were GREAT. They didn't insist on adding a single person to the guest list or that we have any events or do anything other than get married the way we wanted to. That doesn't mean your pre-school babysitter that you haven't spoken to in 15 years isn't going to be miffed she wasn't invited. I guess count it as a compliment that so many people want to be included in your special day. I didn't quite make it to accepting it as a compliment in 30 days but you can! And regardless, what? These people will NOT ruin your day!

10) Realize things will not go your way AND THAT'S FINE. That doesn't mean there won't be things that stress you out. That doesn't mean there won't be people who show their entire backside, but always come back to one thing: YOU ARE MARRYING THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE!!! So all of those other things? They really don't matter.

Questions?

August Goals

2011-08-03T08:52:00.002-04:00

BIRTHDAY MONTH!!!! But first, let's review July!

July Goals
1) Read 65 more books of the Bible to reach 1020. I'm including the completion of the books of II Chronicles & Lamentations. How did I manage to be one short?? And write the goal wrong? It was supposed to be 120. Ah well. I completed the books and got quite far into Isaiah.
2) Continue getting at least 3 workouts per week. Let's get it! My word! I did the worst on this one that I've done in quite a while.
3) Make and keep a budget. Guess how I'm already fixing this? By actually writing a budget. Boom. The budget struggle is REAL, y'all! Le sigh.
4) Finish my films. I'm working on several right now and I need to be freed from a rut. If making this goal makes it happen, so shall it be done. I was freed from a rut but I didn't finish everything. I am very close to being finished with one. Hmm... I shall continue this goal.
5) Read at least 3 books. I'm reducing the goal this month because the books are much longer and/or more difficult. Done! And one of the teaching books was AWESOME! OMG! I started this free think thing based on what I read. So every morning where I just sit and think with pen and paper in hand and let the ideas come. LOVE IT so far!
6) Watch at least 4 movies on the AFI list. The movies are much longer now as well but at this rate I'll be done before the end of the year!!! WHEEEEEE!! Yay! Done!
7) Complete at least two 30 Before 30 goals. I.AM.RID.ING.A.ME.CHA.NI.CAL BULL THIS MONTH!!! It's driving me NUTS that I haven't done it yet. Okay I did one and it wasn't the bull. LOL. I entered a recipe contest! Cross your fingers!
8) Challenge myself sartorially. One of Kendi's 30 for 30 modifications is a 15 for 15, which I think will make me so much less crazy! The one 30 for 30 I did nearly killed me! I'm already not shopping other than gift cards I'm itching to spend. Yay!! I'm at least 10 outfits behind on posting... whoa but I have limited my closet to myself with clothes only, wearing as many of the shoes in my closet as possible and it's brought me great joy! I've put so many outfits together I NEVER would've paired
9) Cook at least 3 new recipes each week. It's been a while since I had a goal like this one so it's time! Considering we're halfway through the month already, I may be a tad behind but as long as I get in 12 recipes this month, I'll be happy! Yay!! 12 done!! I enjoyed this goal, too.

August Goals
1) Read 3 books. At least one teaching book and make progress on a film and/or journalism book.
2) Read an additional 60 books of the bible to reach 1081. I'll have just over 100 left!! I also want to finish Isaiah and read all of Jeremiah.
3) Watch at least 4 AFI movies. I know "Modern Times" will be one. We'll see about the rest.
4) Cook at least 12 new recipes. Love this goal.
5) Complete at least two 30 before 30 goals. I have 6 completed, 6 in progress and 18 outstanding... in a little over a year. Whoa. I need to get some stuff done before I turn 29 in three weeks!

6) Work out at least three times per week. Time to get back into the swing of things.
7) Make progress on the job search daily. This includes searching, writing letters and resumes and CVs, etc.

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 110

2011-08-01T08:31:00.002-04:00

1) There's this girl I went to middle school with who was held back once, her older sister was held back twice when she had each of her babies... in middle school. Both very nice girls. Just rough around the edges. The younger sister has made such open-minded strides!! I love watching her evolution and her beautiful family on facebook! I know there's no way to tell her I'm really glad she's progressed beyond middle school without sounding condescending so I'll say it here and continue to tell her how cute her kids are!
2) How excited am I that "Clarissa Explains It All" is back?? VERY!! I even enjoyed a little "All That." Can I please get some "Salute Your Shorts" and "The Secret Life of Alex Mack"!!??
3) Fb is not LinkedIn. It should used to build professional contacts. If we don't really know each other? What would be the point?
4) You know how there are people who would NEVER leave the house w/o earrings w/o feeling naked? I am not of this ilk. I never have been but now that I have hair long enough to cover my ears? Psssssh. Chile please. Now part of this is definitely that I don't have enough everyday earrings but the other part is I don't care that much.
5) I started a new page on the blog called 'Thankful' to try to help me out of my tendency to complain far too much.
6) I continued stretching my teaching muscle with some stimulating reading this week and it was awesome!!
7) Have you seen the Animal Planet show "Too Cute"??? IT'S TOO CUTE!! Me & Rah were all up in those cute kitties!!
8) I got a free Martha Stewart Living subscription, right? Why did I get three in one week??? Umm... June, July AND August... in July??? Where do they participate in that activity? Behind the preposition at?
9) I'm trying to cook up a storm this week. I'm aiming for at least 5 meals. One down! Wish me luck!
10) My brain tells me I'm fat sometimes. It's not even predictable. It happened the other day and I started telling Rashan I need to change my diet and pinching my sides. He blank stared at me. Then I looked in the mirror and said, "Oh... it doesn't look that bad." More blank stares. More Jameil chatter. Another look in the mirror, "What is wrong with me? I'm not fat!" Rashan, "I've learned not to get in the middle of your crazy." LOL I've married a smart man!
11) Speaking of which, Rashan and I have been married one month today!!!! :) What a joyous month! One of the girls in my program sent a note wishing us "eternal marital bliss." Beautiful!!
12) BIRTH MONTH!!!!!!!!!! AUGUST BABIES STAND UP!!!

Birthday List!!!

2011-07-27T08:11:00.008-04:00

It's no secret that I love my birthday!!!!!!!!!! And since it's coming up in less than a month (AUGUST 23RD!!), I figured I should do a list! Yay!!! I love unwrapping things so I think one awesome gift, an experience (see: 1, 2, 6, 11), a restaurant and a great day with Rashan would make it one of the best birthdays ever!! 29 HERE I COME!!

1) A helicopter ride...
2) A vineyard tour...
3) SHOES!!! Size 7.5, please. I love these from Coach.
4) Jewelry... like diamond studs.
5) An awesome meal in a cute, delicious restaurant! (A must and a guarantee!)
6) Ride a mechanical bull!!!
7) Something from my Amazon.com (books) registry. And/or something from my Crate & Barrel registry. LOVE! From C&B in particular, dishes, flatware, some of those kitchen gadgets/knicknacks (these spoon straws!!!! I can't even explain why j'adore them so... I might buy them for myself before my birthday!).
8) This watch.
9) STATIONERY!! I've decided on using my first maiden and our last name on stationery because just first and last name isn't long enough for me right now. It looks too weird. (But I have to think way too hard to write my signature right now.) I love this one. And this one in azure or eggplant.
10) This bag.
11) Hot air balloon ride :)
12) To spend a great day with Rashan!!!!!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 109

2011-07-25T08:42:00.000-04:00

1) I hate when I get these terrible lyrics in my head. I always try to drive them out with some gospel.
2) I don't actually listen to music that much. It's not that I don't like music. I just don't like to drive out all of the thoughts in my head and there's too much competition when I'm trying to think about the words. I don't think I'll ever be one of those people who listens to music as she works unless it's viewing footage or photographs, things that don't require me to write or think.
3) Dear grown people, Please don't post pictures of your food on paper plates when you're not at a large gathering. Translation: If you're eating at your house on a Monday morning, you need to be using real plates. Not just for the environment but that's a good reason, too.
4) There are some people I would never interact with w/o facebook and twitter and I tell you, I'm so glad to have those mediums around! They are so funny! They bring great joy to me and not (always) in the snarky way!
5) Sometimes when I write these, I try to balance the jerky with the nice. LOL I wouldn't mind having an overwhelmingly nice one but I feel like I far more often err toward the jerky side. I think it's a side effect of being married to Rashan. I was a much nicer person before that... Three weeks and he's already changed me... LOLOLOL!!!!
6) I think I'm getting too old for large platformed pumps. You know the ones with the 2+ inch platforms? They just don't look cute to me anymore.
7) I am seriously confused by people who complain about Monday alllll day Sunday. Please get that together!!
8) I didn't get this job I really wanted and I'm okay with that. I'm quite certain the job I need to grow is coming in due time. *cue Goodie Mob*
9) I made some good progress on my film in the last week but I need more! More! More!
10) I found a 5k I want to run! IT'S AT AN OYSTER FESTIVAL IN NC!!!!! ON THE COAST!!! BEACH + ME + OYSTERS = HEAVEN!! Ooh! I should see if my SIL wants to run w/me! She would embarrass me in time since she does half marathons and is training for a marathon but it would be cute for us to run together!
11) Sometimes I forget Rashan and I are married. I completely blame this on the fact that we lived together for 9 months before we got married. I ~~frequently~~ yep DAILY still think of him as my boyfriend and it shocks me when a few seconds later I remember OH ISH! THAT'S MY HUSBAND! LOLOL And still feel like an airhead every time.
12) I haaaaaaaaaaaate how much I procrastinate. It drives me CRAZY!!! There is seriously no reason why I'm not running the world right now other than my ability to wait until the last minute to do EVERYTHING!!
13) This week I'll be posting about how I planned a wedding in under 30 days. I would wait longer (procrastinator) but I already forgot once so if I don't do it this week, you might never get it.

Movies 2011, Week 28

2011-07-24T13:33:00.002-04:00

July 17-23, 2011
I'll count this as a good movie week though I didn't love the movies I saw. I got enjoyment out of film consumption! :)
115) Horrible Bosses. Jason Bateman and Jason Sudekis star in this film about three friends who make a pact to kill each others' bosses. Cameos from Jennifer Anniston and Jamie Foxx make for some amusing moments. Better than I expected. Quite funny at times. Slow start, loved the end. 3.6 stars
116) The Kids Grow Up. Documentary by Doug Block about his teenage daughter going to college and how her life has been growing up with a filmmaker father. Kind of veers toward self-indulgent as family films can do. A study of how to tackle some of the issues I hope to avoid in my own family film-- how do you make it interesting and relevant beyond your family? I can't say I really enjoyed this. I might have if it was shorter. 3 stars
117) Super 8. JJ Abrams (Lost creator) directs this film about a group of kids who catch something on their super 8 camera while shooting a film for a festival. Every time the kids were on screen? Awesome and fun. The adults managed to make it much less so. I also didn't like the mushy scenes. Rashan liked it. I was less enthusiastic. 3.4 stars
118) Nashville. OMG this is a boring movie. It meanders on and on and on with its 24 characters, centered around Lily Tomlin. Worst of all it was TWO AND A HALF HOURS LONG!!!!!!!!!!! You HAVE to be doing other things to be able to stomach it. 2.2 stars

Name Change

2011-07-20T09:33:00.000-04:00

Name change articles aren't exactly rare on the internet. But Sunday's WSJ installment was the first I'd read since marrying. As a child, I always assumed I'd easily and happily change my name once I got married. Why not? I even used to practice my first name with the last name of whatever boy I had a crush on. Yes, I was a teenage book series! LOL I also remember when after my parents' divorce, my mom considered changing her name and I balked because I wanted us to have the same last name.

Then as I got older and grew into the name I used to hate, not my last name as much as my first, I felt a great attachment to it. Then once I made my first film with my maiden name, things really became strange. My cousin the vet kept her name professionally when she married a few years ago. I thought, seems like it would work for me, too. And there's always the option of not legally changing your name, but occasionally going by it when it's most convenient. But I kind of don't want to be half in and half out. And I don't really want to lose any part of my name. But to go by all of it seems cumbersome and pretentious and just not me. My name was long enough already without adding another name to it. But it looks like professionally, at least for a while, I'll be just that long name person. Only one thing has remained the same from childhood to now-- I don't want a hyphenated name.

There is an unexpected joy, though in changing my name. I will field fewer friend requests from people I don't want to friend anyway and it's a chance to start over. I'm not running from the law or anything but the idea of disappearing a bit in a name change still has some appeal. It's almost like you get to become a new person. Like moving to a new city or state or country must do. It's a new start navigating the world as you now know it.

As exhilarating as it was the first time I made a reservation under my new last name (I texted people!) LOL... I still feel a little sadness when I use it. Like I say goodbye to old Jameil every time. This is so melodramatic. I really am mildly annoyed there's so much angst over changing your name. And halfway wish for the days when it was automatic. Then there'd be no problem.

But the mild feminist in me won't sit down. Why should I have to give up that part of me? She scoffed when I tried to get Rashan to make the decision for me. But he said he didn't care. Smart move. LOL I'm sure I would have been annoyed with his answer either way. So yes, I've changed my name on facebook, my grocery store rewards cards and a mag subscription or two. And yes facebook has actually helped me become a little more used to my new last name. But no, I have not tackled the larger name change tasks because I'm kind of still not sure.

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 108

2011-07-18T07:42:00.000-04:00

1) Please never call lake waterfront property "the beach." The beach requires an ocean. MIDWESTERNERS. And don't come in here with your technicalities. That is not a beach.
2) OMG! I think tall women are AWESOME!! I always wanted to be a tall woman. (I want to be 5'10 like Cindy Crawford. NAME THAT MOVIE!!!) My grandma was 5'11 before she started shrinking. Now she's like 5'9. It's hilarious that she shrunk and still towers over me. Her sisters are mostly giants, too. Her tallest sister is 6'1. The shortest is 5'7.
3) My favorite places to change my name? The ones that require no paperwork and therefore allow me to do it online. That would be Harris Teeter, Lowes, Facebook & Netflix. No I haven't tackled any of the big ones.
4) Why is every fashion blogger having epiphanies these days? And telling us all about them in angsty posts? Just live your lives, dears. Your readers will still ebb and flow. I've ebbed with many of them because I indeed was just reading it for the fashion. When it becomes about something else, I'm often less interested. But you should still blog about whatever you want. Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care.
5) It bothers me to see a perfectly beautiful piece of antique furniture painted. White seems to be the most common current trend but really any color can make my jaw drop. I'm not saying I haven't seen some great transformations. But I've also seen some that if I were a tad more dramatic would make me weep copious tears.
6) I don't like these muted or pastel nail polish colors that are all the rage right now. Makes sense. I don't like muted or pastel clothing either. Neutral? I can get with. Pastels? No. I see pastels and think, "Why'd you drain all the color out of it??"
7) Tried the pretzel M&Ms and pass. They don't taste like pretzel. They almost taste like peanut M&Ms/regular M&Ms. Very strange.
8) There are so many words I'm used to typing that when I start typing anything like it, my hands automatically type that word instead of the word I'm looking for. Example: I went to type 'strange' for no. 7 and just now and my hand automatically wrote stranger. Why do I write stranger more than strange? So weird.
9) Sometimes it takes a moment of self-awareness to realize how odd I can be. Another example: do I really have vicarious cats??? Cats that I claim as my own via THE INTERNET??? And have never met??? ...
10) Rashan and I are such word nerds. He was looking over my shoulder as I typed on fb and said, "I knew you were gonna say lexicon! Yes!" This is how we entertain ourselves. Knowing the 50 cent word (as my dad would say) the other will use. LOL
11) I've had a burst of teaching inspiration in the last few days and it is AWESOME!! I love it! :)
12) I promise I had no parts of caring about whether or not Jay & B were married when that whole thing went down. Now I totally get even more than I did at the time. Nunya business. What me and my husband or not husband have going on has nothing to do with you. YES! (Unless I decide to become a blogger and tell you about my relationship from the beginning until forever...)
13) I'm really shocked by my zen attitude toward having a wedding band only right now! Who is this person???

Movies 2011, Week 27

2011-07-17T03:01:00.000-04:00

July 10-16, 2011
It's been a while since I posted movies the week after I watched them, huh? Finally watched enough to justify a separate post! I enjoyed watching so many movies this week. Look forward to getting some in next week as well.
110) Shawshank Redemption. Awesome movie starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. Loved it. Can't imagine how and why I waited so long to see it. I honestly thought I already had. 5 stars
111) HallPass. This will shock you... this movie was incredibly predictable even from the outset. Oh my GOSH this movie was filled with unnecessary scenes. Why didn't they let Jenna Fischer wear any makeup? She looked especially ridiculous next to Christina Applegate. Unlike most movies, the end was better than the beginning. Still, you can skip this. 2.9 stars
112) Unforgiven. Clint Eastwood & Morgan Freeman star in this film about two cowboys out to avenge a cut up w.hore. Awesome start. Great middle, great end. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Though I must say the pre- and post-scripts made no sense to me. 4.5 stars
113) Hangover Part II. Ugh. I loved Part I! Loved it! I thought it was hilarious, universally hilarious and gave it 5 stars. This one was trying way too hard and was even predictable. It induced scoffing and eye rolls. Pass. 2 stars
114) Raging Bull. Scorcese-directed film starring Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci. The first fight looked extra fake. I never need to see another boxing movie again. I don't enjoy them anymore than I enjoy watching boxing on tv. I'm not denying that this movie has redeeming qualities for many people. It's just not for me. 2.9 stars

July Goals

2011-07-13T12:11:00.004-04:00

*Note: If you read these goals before July 14th, I added new ones to July.

Phew! June was a shocker since I made these goals before Rah & I up and decided to get married! Hilarious. So here are my June goals.

June Update
1) Read 65 more books of the Bible to reach 961 including the completion of the books of I Chronicles & Acts. Done. I actually read fewer chapters than I could have. I got sidetracked unnecessarily by wedding planning. I love my progress, though! I'll be finished with this goal by the end of October. AWESOME!!!
2) Increase my weekly workouts to 4 times per week. Nope. But I did get in 3 days a week. Somehow my ankle still occasionally annoys me so I don't even think I did 4 workouts a single week last month.
3) Track my meals to ensure I'm eating better. I didn't do this but I did something almost as good. I gave up fried foods. My skin was a lot happier! I still must have fries in my life so this can't continue but I'm pretty sure I can cut back.
4) Make and keep a budget. Now I thought the wedding budget might be able to fit in this category but I don't think I paid enough attention to it to make it count. We definitely came in at a good number for the wedding but I don't feel like it really counts as budgeting.
5) Read at least 4 books. I read three and struggled through but didn't finish another. I'm glad I got through three!!
6) Watch at least 5 movies on the AFI list. I watched 4. More than I remembered so I'm pleased with this progress. At this rate I'll be done by the end of the year.

7) Complete at least two 30 Before 30 goals. I did one of my favorite ones... GET MARRIED!! But I didn't do any others. Bah.
8) Challenge myself sartorially. Hm. I'm not sure how I planned to do this but it didn't happen. I need help with this goal. Maybe I need to do another 30 for 30. Ooh! July goal! See below!

July Goals
1) Read 65 more books of the Bible to reach 1060. I'm including the completion of the books of II Chronicles & Lamentations.
2) Continue getting at least 3 workouts per week. Let's get it!
3) Make and keep a budget. Guess how I'm already fixing this? By actually writing a budget. Boom.
4) Finish my films. I'm working on several right now and I need to be freed from a rut. If making this goal makes it happen, so shall it be done.
5) Read at least 3 books. I'm reducing the goal this month because the books are much longer and/or more difficult.
6) Watch at least 4 movies on the AFI list. The movies are much longer now as well but at this rate I'll be done before the end of the year!!! WHEEEEEE!!
7) Complete at least two 30 Before 30 goals. I.AM.RID.ING.A.ME.CHA.NI.CAL BULL THIS MONTH!!! It's driving me NUTS that I haven't done it yet.
8) Challenge myself sartorially. One of Kendi's 30 for 30 modifications is a 15 for 15, which I think will make me so much less crazy! The one 30 for 30 I did nearly killed me! I'm already not shopping other than gift cards I'm itching to spend.
9) Cook at least 3 new recipes each week. It's been a while since I had a goal like this one so it's time! Considering we're halfway through the month already, I may be a tad behind but as long as I get in 12 recipes this month, I'll be happy!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 107

2011-07-11T06:51:00.000-04:00

1) Please make people stop saying IJS. We KNOW you're saying it because well... YOU'RE saying it... on your fb page... or on twitter. Your face is right next to it... We know it's you.
2) Group colloquialisms ring so false to me. Folks, gang. Please stop. NO ONE talks like that.
3) Yo... 2 days after the wedding (or ever)... don't be coming to me #talmbout "Congrats... but too bad I wasn't invited." That is mad tacky.
4) Please also don't post 'baby time' on my husband's fb wall. (HUSBAND! :)) Can we please be married for 4 WHOLE days first? And don't any of you smart mouths go on there today saying that either.
5) You know how I find late bday greetings completely and totally out of order? It's never too late to congratulate me on our wedding! :))))
6) I love one of my friends dearly. But her staying at our house for hours one night last week is the reason I might not be sharing Rashan w/anyone else for the rest of the month. Figure life out on your own.
7) If you must shorten the word 'vacation,' it's 'vacay,' not 'vaca.'

8) I got free samples when Stace was here and she said "Ugh. I don't want you to be SO domesticated already." Like I'm a cat! Watching tv! Or only moms and wives get free samples! She quickly changed her tune and stole my coupon for a free full-size product. Hater.
9) I forgot to tell you guys I've turned into a freebie machine, huh? I was thinking of doing a whole post on it but Bluegrass Savers is my favorite site. Tons of links to free stuff DAILY. So awesome. Southern Savers is 2nd. Another thing, sometimes if you tell a company you love their product, they'll send you a coupon for that product. Nice! If you have a coupon but the product isn't on sale in stores that week, wait. It will probably go on sale in the next week or two, or before it expires, giving you an even bigger savings. Works like a charm!
10) Wait but do all companies also think only moms want coupons and freebies? B/c I really don't want another site to make this mistake. The worst? Jif. They make you fill out an entire survey from the POV of a "choosy mom." What?? And why??? Please fix.
11) Did I tell you I don't believe in getting too much sleep? I will wake up from 8 or more hours of sleep, eat breakfast, read blogs and take a nap. Matter of fact, I do it almost every Saturday.
12) You can leave me off of all #teamnatural everything. I don't think we need to be in a snobby cult because we don't have perms. Furthermore, I didn't stop perming my hair for solidarity or any other reason than I was bored with it and wanted to try something different.
13) I don't wanna be one of those annoying women who can only talk about her husband but gimme a minute, MK? My mom saw more of Rah's personality over the wedding weekend and she now likes him even more! :)))) My dad called Rah his new son & freaked him out. LOL

Movies 2011, Weeks 24-26

2011-07-10T15:04:00.003-04:00

*I originally forgot a movie so I added it-- Number 107.

June 19- 26, 2011
103) King Kong. 1933 version of the hilariously campy film about a giant ape who falls in love with a girl then takes over New York City. Amusing but I doubt I'd watch it again. 3 stars
104) The Prize Winner Defiance Ohio. An Ohio housewife with 10 children uses her wit and creativity to help bring in enough food for her family. This film stars Julianne Moore and Harrelson Ford as a struggling husband and wife. She makes you smile throughout the tension. Impressive writing and acting. Enjoy life to the fullest no matter what. Great takeaway. So good. I loved it! And I know my mom would, too! 4.4 stars
105) Biutiful. 2010 Spanish film starring Javier Bardem in an Oscar-nominated role. I have really got to learn that if an actor/actress is nominated for his/her performance and the film itself gets no other nods, I don't need to see it. Wandering. I kept wondering what was the point of this film. Yes, he's dying of terminal cancer and leaving two young children behind but and....? If you like movies to just be and want to drop into someone's life for a few months (over the course of 2.5 hours), then maybe you'll like this. Otherwise, skip it. You can see Javier being all smoldery elsewhere. 3 stars

June 27- July 2, 2011
I GOT MARRIED THIS WEEK!!! :) And in true Jam/Rah fashion, the first film of our married life was unintentionally a documentary!
106) Hot Coffee. Documentary about lawsuits and tort (harm) reform. Very black and white. You are either completely for erasing so called frivolous lawsuits or completely against it to the point that you will refuse to even SAY tort reform. It just looked ridiculous and unbelievable. The music was pretty awful. But I can say I learned something and it did inspire a bit of outrage so not all bad. 3.4 stars

July 3-9, 2011
107) She's Out of My League. A nerdy guy finds himself being pursued by a perfect 10 to the shock of all of their friends. Surprisingly entertaining. But you have to get back the lame profanity-laced early moments. 3.4 stars
108) Never Let Me Go. Depressing movie about children raised in a group home. That's extremely vague and in no way reveals anything about what makes this film unique. Really well-acted by leads Carey Mulligan & Andrew Garfield. Much less so from Kiera Knightley. She never ever does it for me. She felt wooden anyway but even more so next to the other two. 3.9 stars
109) Blue Valentine. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling star as a couple once in love now struggling to make their marriage work. Um. I really don't see why she was nominated in this role. There was a scene where I stopped and said, "Is she believable or do you know she's acting?" And the answer was the latter. Pass. 2.4 stars

Yay!

2011-07-08T12:50:00.000-04:00

I could be posting about all manner of things but the only thing I want to talk about today is that Rashan and I have been married a week and we're deliriously happy!!!! I had no idea the simple act of marrying the person you love could make you that much closer. I love this man!!! He's been working 10 hour days this week so I feel like I see him for 2 hours, then we fall asleep and he goes back to work. Well today? He gets off at 5:30, doesn't work all weekend AND is off on Wednesday!!! I don't want to notice anyone who isn't him so I won't! Yay!!!! Have a wonderful weekend everybody!!!!

Oh! Two things before I go.
1) We love seeing our rings on our fingers! :)
2) He told me not to tell you this BUT I don't care about his thugnificence so I shall! He gave me 7 kisses before he went to work this morning... one for every day we've been married! SWOON! I LOVE RASHAN!!!!

Our Wedding

2011-07-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

At my bridal shower cracking up

I was nothing but a ball of excitement the day before [spinning around the house, getting my nails and toes done, answering 6/14 questions about Rashan incorrectly LOLOL (Newlywed game-type stuff i.e. fave song, fave food), asking my mom if I could get married Thursday instead of Friday]. Also, our moms met Thursday and they got to see how much Rashan's mom & grandma love me! It was so cute. :)

Our wedding was AWESOME! Yes, I was slightly irritated by the fact that some of the 7/100 details I cared about didn't happen (or when after Rashan & I walked out for a moment alone, I looked around and said "Who left a bottle of water next to the flowers!?" and Rashan said, "That's mine." What?? LOLOL) but overall, I LOVED OUR DAY!!!!

Rashan came to see me when he got into town Thursday and it was AWESOME!! I was so excited to see him! Actually it was 12:02 a.m. on Friday. I had to kick him out after an hour and a half because I was so sleepy and there was still plenty of stuff to do!! Friday morning I was awakened four hours after I went to sleep by my mom's grass man CUTTING THE GRASS AT 6:45 AM!!!! I WAS HOT!!! What fresh heck? There is absolutely NO reason to cut the grass on the day of my wedding or at that time EVER!! Stace and I woke up and started our daily trash talk and stayed awake. I had breakfast courtesy of mom (bacon, eggs, cheese grits & toast) and decided I wanted to be a bridezilla for the first and only time. But it's not in my nature so it didn't work. Bummer.

Stace was AWESOME!!! There was a point during the pre-wedding detail questions that I was able to say, " I don't care, make an executive decision" and know that she would do exactly what I needed her to and that she would make it amazing! She helped decide the altar arrangements and did all the flower arranging.

One of the altar arrangements

My bouquet

I was fine getting my (awesome) make-up done by my new sister-in-law. She said most people want minimal wedding day makeup. I said, I want a dramatic eye and she got excited like all make-up people do. LOL.

My eyes matched my earrings and everyone was so excited! It looked AWESOME!! I was wincing getting my hair done. My sister shoved every manner of pin directly into my scalp. My photographer made me take that shot of the dress on the hanger before I put it on. I never understand that shot. But he had me take a bunch of shots I didn't understand at the time and then afterward, either everyone else or I was like, OMG that's AWESOME!! This post is a mix of his pics, mine, and pics Stace, my dad, sister or Rashan took.

Then I put my dress on. I was okay when they got it on, especially after no one could get the buttons buttoned. LOL It took Rashan a good five minutes after the wedding. I was like, "Can I get a magazine or something?" LOLOLOL

Anyway, back to before, everyone was running around, then when I put my veil on and I was standing in my dress (for a good 40 minutes before), everyone just stopped and stared. It was like the room stopped. And I was still okay for about 5 minutes. Then I started thinking about what was happening and I looked at my sister and we both started crying. LOL

Everyone staring at me like it was the most amazing thing ever was making me feel like I was gonna cry so I yelled, "Stop staring at me!" They all made up things to do. LOL. Except then my SIL kept staring at me going, "Awwwww!" Ma'am! I'm trying NOT to cry. Thaaaanks!

My mom was running around trying to organize and host. At one point I was like tell her to come in here and let somebody else do that. I think she enjoyed herself, though. She didn't cry which shocked us all but she said we cried enough for everybody. LOLOL Also did I mention we had a photographer (who did an AMAZING job!!) & a videographer & our videographer had 3 cameras set up? AWESOME!! I LOVE THAT OUR WEDDING WAS A THREE-CAMERA SHOOT!!!! FILMMAKER IN THE HOUSE!!!

When my dad walked into the room before he walked me down the aisle, I was like, OMG! I almost lost it again. Then he said something ridiculous and I started laughing.

There was a kids camp going on at the church so there were random adults walking around telling me I looked great. One girl also said, "I'm jealous." Ma'am... not the time. So ridiculous! I felt very conspicuous walking around like that. (Also, afterward the kids were in the family life center as I walked through and a little girl did a double take at me. It was SO CUTE!!!)

We walked up to the church, dad & his girls, Elaina (my sister), fluffed my train right before I walked in to John Coltrane's "In A Sentimental Mood."

WE LOVE THAT SONG!! If we'd had a first dance, it would've been to that! I boohooed the whole way down the aisle. When my dad & I got to the end, Rashan was wiping his eyes and I was reaching for tissues from my dad.

Rashan's sister did a reading from the Old Testament (Genesis 2 on the creation of Eve). Then my sister did the New Testament (John on love) reading. My sister is apparently a crybaby.

"I looked at you and you looked beautiful & I know you love each other and I was inspired. I probably would've been okay if I hadn't looked at you." Then she said she started talking to herself, "Okay get it together because I make fun of people like you." HAHAHA!! As do I! Then she said, "I read 'God is love' and I was like, "Yes he is!" and started crying again." LOLOL And let me tell you what the groom thought and said to me when he heard 'God is Love.' You already know. 'Rev. Run.' I HATE HIM!! I started giggling. He said he had more jokes in his head but when I started giggling, he didn't say any more. LOL

I started crying again as we exchanged our vows. Then he said, "It's okay" and I calmed down. When we exchanged vows, Rashan held my right hand, per the minister's instructions, and when the minister said, you can let her hand go, Rashan said, "Do I have to?" & everybody said, "Awwww!" So we didn't. He so disobedient!! LOLOL And then he kissed my hand. AWWWWWWW! I loved the ring ceremony. With this ring... I thee wed. When the minister pronounced us, he said "Mr .& Mrs. Rashan & Jameil Wellington" and everyone shouted out our correct last name. LOL. We recessed out and hugged and chatted in the vestibule.

Then we went back in and had the signing of the marriage license, greeted our guests and took pictures. And my dad made a big show of reading the license before signing the license. LOLOL Ye olde hater.

And we had to take a self-shot!

Then we had our Mexican fiesta!!! Y'all. The food was FABULOUS!! We had delicious guac and delicious chicken nachos for an appetizer.

Then we had two kinds of enchiladas for our entree, endless margaritas to drink and to finish it, we had cuatro leches cake topped with fresh whipped cream and a strawberry.

You know we don't like cake... SO GOOD! We both liked the cake. Yay!!! :) Rashan was quite impressed with my decision to have us eat there. Wheeeee! Overall, I'm overjoyed to be Rashan's wife!!

That pic of Stace? She decided to have Elaina take a picture of her. I snuck up behind her and photo bombed! LOLOLOL!!! IT WAS SO HILARIOUS!! Then me and Rah posed in front of the restaurant.

Our first weekend together as Mr. & Mrs. "Wellington" was awesome! We had 5 consecutive delicious meals together as our first meals as man and wife. We stayed at a beautiful uptown hotel, got free chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne.

GREAT START TO FOREVER!!

I love my husband! But I'm still not joining that fb group... LOL

Tease...

2011-07-04T13:26:00.000-04:00

I'm not doing MM today because a wedding post is forthcoming! Wanna see a pic??

TODAY!!!!

2011-07-01T01:28:00.000-04:00

I'M GETTING MARRIED TODAY!!! AND I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!

Me & Rah are SO excited! And we just can't hide it! We're about to... okay you get it. We're getting married!!! And by the time many of you read this... WE'LL ALREADY BE MARRIED!!

Thank you SO much for all of the love and support! We'll read your well-wishes tomorrow with JOY! And you ALREADY KNOW there will be pictures ASAP ASAP! :) BYE!!!!!

Wedding Ramble

2011-06-29T03:42:00.006-04:00

I'm tired of talking about details. I want to walk into the church and get married. I don't care about candles and flowers and dresses I'm not wearing. My mom said I need to call my future MIL and find out what color she's wearing. What the heck for?? I don't even care what color YOU'RE wearing. As long as it's in the scheme and she's not one to try to be a scene-stealer so I know we'll be fine. I had a bunch of other things to talk to her about so I asked and it was answered, no discussion. Someone tell me the point of that, please? Especially the week of the wedding. She already has her clothes at that point so it really doesn't matter. Wear whatever you want. As long as you're not wearing a veil, we'll really be okay. Yes. She could even wear white. Did I say I don't care? WEAR WHATEVER YOU WANT!! I trust your style and common sense enough to know you'll walk in there looking correct. I can say that about 97% of my guests. I'll be fine even if the other 3% look slightly crazy. What else would I do? Become a bouncer?
Rashan and I will be sequestered in an undisclosed location after the wedding. We'll probably be on the internet sporadically because that's who we are and we won't be talked out of it, but I'm not answering any phone calls from Friday at 1am (LOL) until checkout Sunday. Best of luck in your weekend endeavors.

How the heck am I gonna be able to sleep Thursday night?

It makes no sense to me that people keep requesting pictures... on the internet. Um... REALLY????? Have either of us EVER held out on pictures? Like ever. Let's all calm down now.

No, I don't need to be talked off of a ledge or calmed down, I just need to be able to fuss somewhere. No, none of this will matter Friday morning. Yes, I will enjoy my day. But right now? I just want everybody to leave me alone.

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 106

2011-06-27T04:44:00.002-04:00

1) I hate tweets simultaneously posted on fb. I said this at least a year and a half ago when it first started happening frequently as everyone was getting on twitter. It's starting to worsen again as the late adopters join. -_-
2) I always get this look when people say we're living in the last days. You have no idea when the last days are.
3) Please give me a warning when you're going to talk about bowels so I don't read that part of your post!!!!!
4) For future reference, makeup artists, when I say I want a nude lip, I mean nude for ME, not for a red-haired white woman of a certain age. Thank you ever so much. Also... I won't be filling in my bottom lip so that the pink part disappears in the center. That's how my lips are and it's fine every other day. So shall it be on my wedding day.
5) I love Giada's recipes. Howsomever... I can't trust her on the best fried thing I ever ate. I just don't believe her.
6) Y'all... I'm getting married on FRIDAY!!!!! THIS FRIDAY!!! Picking up Stace and the flowers on Wednesday (after looking at Whole Foods' selection, it clearly trumps the selection at HT so I'll be going with them!) and heading to Charlotte. Thursday Rashan's family gets into town. THEN FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7) Rashan has never had pork rinds... WHAT?!?!?! What kind of fake Southerner are you?? Trust and believe this will be fixed ASAP ASAP.
8) Savannah's Broughton Street thrift stores? OVERPRICED!! I am not paying $20 for a shirt that has already been washed and worn 30 or 40 times!!! Or $35!! I was hot. This was weeks ago and I'm just remembering it with disgust.
9) Please stop making me say this. If you watch awards shows, you MUST get on twitter before the next show!!! If you only use it for watching awards shows LIVE, GET ON TWITTER!! It is hilarious!! I would never ever watch an awards show w/o it!
10) But stop calling it an honor to present... or even be at the BET awards.
11) My DVR is oppressing me. THERE'S TOO MUCH STUFF ON THERE!!!!

Whispers Seven Days

2011-06-24T11:40:00.001-04:00

Were any of you frightened by "The Ring"? I WASN'T! I thought it was hilarious! And kind of boring. The first time I watched it, my friend got mad at me because I fell asleep and she was too scared to watch it alone so she had to turn it off. ROTFL!! My mom gave me the gift and the curse by not letting me watch scary or R-rated movies basically until I was in high school. One or two may have slipped in while at friends' houses (Jason's Lyric aka the first movie that ever made me cry) but in general, she's the reason there are tons and tons of films I had never seen. But the gift? I wasn't regularly terrified by things my little brain couldn't handle and now NOTHING scares me! LOL I don't like gory movies because they're just unnecessary but regular old "scary" films? Bah! I do like a good story that feels like it could happen to me with frights and startles at every turn. Those are the BEST!!!!

What's my point? My sister said she's gonna start calling me today whispering, "Seven days..." LOLOL!! DO IT!!! Also, she was approved for her vacation and she'll be in town several days before the wedding!!!! YAY!!!! WE SO EXCITED!!! For a minute it looked like she'd have to drive down Thursday night. The last 24 hours have been AWESOME!! Everything's falling into place!

Makeup...
My line sister and I went to the Mac counter to get my eyes done and it was AWESOME!! It took far too long at over 2 hours but it came out marvelously! Minus the brows. My brows were near Groucho Marx territory. I have kind of sparse brows (she get it from her momma) and she overfilled. Then my other product junkie friend went with me to Clinique and Sephora then Walgreens. I learned so many makeup terms my head is spinning! Actually the second one wore me OUT!! I literally had a headache and had to go home and take a nap!! LOLOL! Then I asked my future SIL, a long time makeup artist, to do my makeup and she said, "I'd be honored!" Awwww! Extra sweet!

Polish...
The two places I went didn't have any of the colors I was looking for but OPI was buy one get one half off so I got two colors, one for the fingers (pinkish white) and one for the toes (bright purple)! Did I ever tell you I hate manis? I never ever like how they shape my nails no matter what I tell them. I want my nails to look NATURAL. Not rounded, not square, just like they grow out of my nail beds!! (My nail beds suck... NAME THAT MOVIE!!)

Hair...
I asked my sister to do it and she looked nervous. It will come out marvelously. I'm not worried! She does a great job! And I know the style I want with pictures so everything should be fine!

Suit/Tux...
Rashan, God love him, has been working my nerves with his attire. We discarded any of the clothes he owns and decided to go the tux rental route. Until we got to the place and he HATED all of the vest options. He decided to just buy something... a nice suit most likely since tuxes can be so expensive. I saw some of those same tux vests online the next day and was like Oh heck no. Right decision for us. When I was looking for makeup Wednesday, I also decided to look for suit or tux options on sale for Rah. Yesterday, we hit the jackpot! Tuxes were on sale for $100 at Belk!!!!! FOR REAL!?!? The tux shirt, black tie, black bow tie, button covers, & cuff links came in a box set also on sale. The bright tie he'll wear in lieu of the black one? ALSO on sale! When the dude rang it up, we saved $183!!! And he spent just a little bit more than the cost of a rental and looks AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! He said, "Does this mean I have to take you to the opera now?" "IN NEW YORK!!!" LOL Porgie & Bess or Carmen, please!

Guests...
The list is shockingly shrinking as we get closer to the date. There are currently less than 30 people and that is how it will stay. MARGARITAS FOR EVERYBODY!!! Did I tell you we're doing a three-course Mexican dinner? I CAN.NOT WAIT!!! Rashan said I need to get someone on margarita duty if they're not strong so I don't have to yell at people to get better margaritas. I need a volunteer! LOL

Family...
My aunt left me the most awesome message this morning!! (She still doesn't know I'm not an earlier riser and thinks I'm just avoiding her calls when I'm asleep... LOLOL) She said essentially, "I'm so happy for you! Make sure you let me know the next time you're in Savannah. In the next week, things will get very hectic. Most of all, enjoy your day." AWWWWWWW!! LOVE HER!! SO the reason she's one of my favorite aunts!!

Flowers...
These doggone flowers have been the bane of my existence. I finally decided on Tuesday when I was told it was too late to special order............... that I'm just gonna have to give these flowers over to God and let him handle it. The next day a dozen roses were on sale at Harris Teeter for the week for $5. Thanks God!!! So I'll be buying my flowers there on Tuesday. They better make it last forever! OR ELSE! Or else nothing... if I can't get decent looking flowers, I'll really just have none and nothing will happen. I'll still get married to a marvelous man!

Music...
I almost forgot music! If you have some good, jazzy music suggestions, we're open. We like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald kind of jazz so if you have some good love songs or romantic sounding instrumentals, leave your suggestions in the comments. Also... I do not like Billie Holiday so leave her off of your lists. Thank you much!

Y'all... I can't wait!!! In a little over 7 days, I'll be his Mrs.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

People Please

2011-06-22T07:21:00.000-04:00

Just a thought: Writing me two lengthy (error-riddled) emails bringing up all of your grievances over the last seven years is not the way to show me you could care less about not being invited to my wedding and are a grown woman with better things to be concerned about. Rude. I really hate that weddings bring out the worst in some people.

However! I have a fantastic blog la familia! You guys have shown us such love online and offline and our house is filling with the love! So sweet and amazing! I had a quick, rather funny post fully written about my cousin who thinks she's showing me by reading my blog (umm... it's not a private blog and I hope you know enough about Google to be able to find it) and not pleased with statements I've made about her over a year ago... (email me and I'll send the post to you LOL) but I'm getting married to my beloved in 9. DAYS. (EEEEK!!!) and I'm so excited about that!!! Y'all... we got our license Monday!!

So excited that whatever else happens between now and then, all that matters, as my dad says, is that me, Rashan and the officiant will be there. Many of the people who love me best will also be in attendance and you guys most certainly do care about and love us and THAT IS AWESOME!! We really appreciate all of your support!

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 105

2011-06-20T07:54:00.000-04:00

1) My right hand is still killing me. Please make it stop.
2) I know two nail polish nuts and I asked them what colors I should wear for the wedding. SON! They came through with a vengeance! So awesome!
3) Close your eyes, MrsTDJ & GP! Vicarious kitty makes her triumphant blog return!! That Charlotte... LOLOL Love her!! LOLOL
4) I let my inner foodie run wild on one of our registries! I added fleur de sel, sea salt flakes, grey salt, black lava salt, truffle salt, SAFFRON(!!!) and nutella! LOLOLOL Man I love the internet!! Someone (probably multiple someones) will look at that and go WHO IS HE MARRYING??? The rest will say, "That Jameil has crossed a bridge... there may be no way back..."
5) Mrs. TDJ and GP, can you escape Charlotte's eyes? Or is she still staring at you? Tee hee hee!!!!
6) You know that wedding ring shot where the rings are balanced on/one tilted on top of the other? Yeah... about that. Mine is a size 5 and 2mm (see: skinny), his is a size 10 and 6mm (see: wide)... they look kind of stupid next to each other. LOL Mine fits inside his with room to spare.
7) I never get it when people are either cooks or a bakers... Isn't it all following a recipe until you learn?
8) I WANT TO WIN SOMETHING AWESOME!!! Either one of those fashion giveaways or magazine giveaways or a trip or like cold hard cash. Can we please make this happen??? Please??? Doesn't anyone love me enough to make it happen???? I've been entering contests furiously (at least 5 contests per week) for weeks now (and several times a week for almost a year I'm sure) and I WANNA WIN SOMETHING!!
9) I hate those family connection things on fb... but when Rashan's mom wanted to add me as her daughter... I just felt pressured so I added everyone who asked. I had like 4 lined up and I'm sure there are more ignored somewhere. Ugh.
10) I know it's been weeks since K. Rock hated on exclamation points but I have been called to speak in defense of exclamation points. PEOPLE! You need to express yourselves more fully! We've already spoken about Happy Birthday. Or the even worse HBD. LAZY. 'Congrats' is the same. DRY. If you're happy for someone, use an exclamation point! Or don't communicate on the internet. Then it will be clear how you really feel. Yes. I threw down the gauntlet.
11) Rashan cracks me up!!! LOLOLOLOL And I love the way he stares at me amusedly when I start cracking up uncontrollably. :) We can so often tell what the other is thinking that we are confused when one of us says something cryptic and the other one has the ill blank stare. LOLOL
12) Y'all. Some of the responses to terrible Terrible Father's Day statuses are as bad as the statuses themselves. You can't make people say what you want them to say. And are you really territorial about this Hallmark holiday? I couldn't count on some of my most frequent bad baby daddy ranters yesterday but others came through in spectacular fashion! There were even some unexpected ones! Some examples if you will:

A. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there and to all the moms who had to be dads. Response: Um, Mother's Day already happened. They got their due. :)
*Note: That smiley face doesn't make your response less unnecessary, just makes it passive-aggressive.

B. Happy Father's Day and much respect to all you daddys out there! And not to be too bitter but happy fathers day to all the moms that act as daddy too. And also to all the men that act as daddy to a child even if the child not their own blood.
*Not to be too bitter? But you're SO bitter every other day... Come on! Have some fun! Live a little! Also, it's daddies. Not daddys.

C. I refuse to say happy father's day to single moms. You are not a father. If anything give that child's grandfather, uncle, cousin or some male role model in that child's life some love. Women can't teach a boy to be a man and every girl needs a positive male to teach her about the knuckle heads to stay away from.
*Le sigh

D. Happy fathers day to all the real fathers not sperm donors or baby daddies!
*Hey! You don't know! That baby daddy may be better than your daddy!
13) If you have 'stay fly' or 'swag' or anything else like that in your name, I don't care how long we've known each other, you can't follow me on twitter. FB? Maybe. Twitter? Absolutely not.
14) 11 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Movies 2011, Weeks 21-23

2011-06-19T13:58:00.000-04:00

Oh my! I have not been watching movies of late! Ah well...

May 30- June 4, 2011
99) MASH. 1970 war movie about a medical outfit. I didn't enjoy this at all. I came in with a negative outlook because of the tv show and it was justified. 2 stars

June 5-11, 2011
Wow... I watched 0 movies this week.

June 12-18, 2011
100) Gigi. Musical about a girl who hangs out with an oldish dude and they progressively fall in love. Kind of creepy. I didn't enjoy it. 2.4 stars
101) Jaws. Steven Spielberg thriller about shark attacks. I love that any time people are in the water, you think, who's going to be the next victim? I LOVE being on edge! And I love that "That's some bad hat, Harry" comes from this movie. Ha! Toward the middle of this film, the Disney movie-like musical adventure swells are THE. WORST. BUT overall, the film was quite good! 3.8 stars
102) Sullivan's Travels. Comedy about a movie director who sets out to learn about poverty. Terribly boring and cyclical. And way too over the top. Trite ending. Womp womp. 2 stars

Solicitation

2011-06-17T10:12:00.002-04:00

Please don't arrest me! I'm soliciting! One day only!! (Okay two days...) I'm looking for some DIY stuff that costs less than $10 to decorate a ceremony or reception site or just general wedding stuff. Yep. I said that. Less than $10. Total. Not per table. Total. The theme is peacock but don't get too crazy. I don't want it to look like a peacock exploded. The colors are turquoise, magenta, royal purple. Basically colors of a peacock and that would complement a peacock. I want it bright and beautiful! I don't need it to look like we went to the country either. (Even though the ceremony is in the country.) And I promise I'll talk about something else on Monday! LOL

Before you go, though, from the some people don't know how to act files: one of my mom's friends. I knew there was gonna be a problem with some church folk who have known me for almost 20 years. If I can't invite my family (some of them, gladly), I can't invite you. It's not necessarily (depending on the person) that I don't want you there and don't care about you, it's that I am not having a big wedding. I really want people to get out of their feelings on this. I really, really do. Or at least stop making it clear that you are so put out that you, along with at least 100 other people I know, weren't invited.

The point. One of mom's friends does flowers. Mom said, "I'll ask her if you want me to." I said, "I don't feel comfortable since she's not invited." She says, "I think she would want to do it." I say, "I don't know..." She says, "I really think it will be okay." So I finally agree to let her ask. Mmhm. You already know. My mother is a lot less skeptical of people. As is Rashan's mom. Rashan and I are both far more cautious of people, him sometimes to an extreme, in other circumstances, I'm the more cautious party. But anyway, the friend after asking why we're getting married so soon, to which my mom replies, "She's not pregnant." Mom... SMH. You really don't need to throw that out there if it's not offered. Friend: I wasn't even thinking that. Me (in my head): See? But NOW SHE IS! I've really got to focus... this is like my blog posts used to be in the good old days. I can't believe September makes 6 years since I started blogging. That's insane to me.

The question of why so soon is irritating to me not so much because of the question but because of the implication behind the question. There's always a real question beneath. Does it matter why so soon? Are you coming or not? Our families may have looked or sounded shocked at the closeness of the date, but they've also known we were going to get married for over a year now. It's not really a surprise. Our next wedding (notice I said wedding, not marriage), we're inviting everyone to a big party and not telling them what it is. If you come, you come, if not, you missed ANOTHER wedding. LOLOL This is to stick it to all the people who couldn't act right. And don't think this is your warning! Nope! We will throw frequent parties. :P

Friend! So friend starts asking about all these details, what flowers (says one of them isn't in season now, she doesn't think, even though I know it is... also if one more person gives me the 1997 "tip" that flowers in season are cheaper...........................), what colors, what color ribbon do I want around my bouquet? I'm thinking this is done. One more thing to cross of the list. Matter of fact I think I did cross it off. You know what's coming, right? My mom asks me the details she doesn't know, calls friend to report back, friend doesn't answer the phone. Friend doesn't call for three days. Friend finally calls to say she doesn't work with live flowers. You know what? If I cursed, I would be cussin you out right now. Y'all don't have to cuss in the comments on my behalf but you're more than welcome to do so on your side of the screen. Are you serious with that? Really? You knew FROM THE BEGINNING that you didn't work with live flowers. You just want to be able to say you know something that nobody else knows so you can spread it around.

RASHAN DON'T READ THIS PART IF YOU WANT TO BE SURPRISED ABOUT MY BOUQUET. *snicker* Like this will make any sense in his head anyway. So all of the internet knows as well, I'm having white peonies and roses with peacock feathers, wrapped in a purple ribbon. Take that, friend. Ugh. UGH!!! Why do people act like that?!!? I'm not at all insinuating that she's trying to ruin my day but she is most certainly making part of it about herself. You're all up in your feelings so much that you have to basically steal time from me? #cmonson That is so unnecessary!! I am planning a wedding in 4 weeks. Why? So I can start my life with my husband!!! BECAUSE I LOVE THAT MAN AND HE LOVES ME!!! But you want to get petty. And do silly stuff. I could've had those flowers ordered elsewhere at least a week ago. Now I'm two weeks from my wedding with no flowers. But you wanted to... you know what? I'm done. Wait. I'm not done. And when we have this big surprise party wedding, you, friend, will be the only one not invited. NOW I'm done.

Well I Never!

2011-06-15T04:09:00.001-04:00

dress...
I always thought I'd get a dress made. But who on earth has time for all that in 30 days? So I went on the great dress search. I was pseudo-optimistic about what I'd find (I had the closest thing to success at Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus before landing at a bridal salon) then shocked by what I selected. SO not what I thought I'd want. I haven't put it on since I bought it two weeks ago. Guess who's RUNNING up the stairs of her mom's house Thursday? MEEEEEE!!! WE SO EXCITED!

Also, my mom hates shopping. So we were both quite surprised she was so game. I sprung it on her. I was like, "We're getting married... July first... Let's go shopping right now! Like put on your shoes right now!" Lol. Extra fun. It only took two days so that was cool. And we bonded. Awww. My mom's been the best throughout this. Not pressuring us at all to do anything.

ring...
I've gone back and forth on the ring I thought I wanted enough in the last 8 or so years that I'm extra glad I didn't get married at 22. I would've had a huge princess cut something or other. Princess cuts are pretty but no longer me. Especially once I saw my cousin's BEAUTIFUL round brilliant cut. Umm... yes please! Rah bought a place holder ring that is pretty but not my final ring. Also, I love skinny bands!! 2mm or less please! I can even get with 1.5 maybe. Can I see a 1.5mm somewhere???

reception...
I envisioned either a giant dance party or a small dinner party. I will MOST DEFINITELY miss the dancing as we've decided to go the dinner party route.

planning details...
people who know me didn't believe me when I said I wouldn't care. I so don't. I wish I could afford at the very least a day-of planner who can handle all of that stuff I do NOT want to think about. My mom's helping but pretty much no one else. I don't even really know what else to delegate. I don't really want our guests or moms to have to do anything that day but I certainly don't want to do it.

advice...
Unsolicited advice is annoying in the most leisurely of times. It's 10xs worse when you're planning a wedding. EVERYBODY can tell you how to plan. Even that person who's never held so much as a dinner party. Ugh. Please shut up unless I ask. I don't mean like an idea on who can plan for free/cheap... someone please tell me this? I mean like giving me ideas that will cost me hundreds or thousands of dollars. Don't give unsolicited advice. Why is this general rule of thumb ignored with weddings???? Why?

pregnancy...
one step at a time, people. the SECOND you find out i'm engaged is not the time to talk about procreation. know what? let's just make a blanket rule (though i know this won't help at all): that department is never your business. it is straight up RUDE to ask me if I'm pregnant. and that's why you're not invited. if you have to ask, you clearly don't know me. also... can we be reminded that it's 2011 and shotgun weddings are soooo 1953?

bridezilla...
I knew I'd never be this person. See: planning. I hate when people try to call me this even jokingly. It smacks of the 1800s when women were considered hysterical and irrational. Stop that.

Monday Mindspacing Vol. 104

2011-06-13T05:58:00.000-04:00

1) You guys, I LOVE the outpouring of support y'all gave us! It's so sweet! Rashan, however, does not love you. He was going to give me $3 to tell y'all on Friday that we broke up and we're not getting married. WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM!??! I might have considered it... But I love y'all more than that!
2) I sent a request for well wishes to our Prez and I'm hoping he sends us a nice letter! I will be SO excited! It'll be framed with our wedding photos! :) BUT when I did that, Rashan said, "You're just like my grandma." .... Just what every bride wants to hear.

3) Speaking of brides... I want one of those bride tank tops that just has bride bedazzled across the chest. Ooh! And a Mrs. MyNewLastName something or other. Shirt, apron. IDK.
4) My decision to hand-write our invites? Oh my haaaaand! Okay. Enough wedding talk. If there was more time, I'd start a wedding blog. This thing is working hard to consume my life. Raise your hand if you wouldn't mind hearing about it. More importantly, raise your hand if you would mind. Look at our stationery!!!
5) I love talking to people who don't like children. I like them in small doses when they're well-behaved but I totally get people who don't like them and their conversations amuse me!
6) If I'm ever making potatoes for us, I should just make at least 8 servings because 4 is never enough.
7) Please tell me to stop using recipes that don't have amounts on them, just the ingredients!!!
8) I want some really delicious food! That I don't have to cook. Thank God I'm going home Thursday! Get to work, mom!
9) I'm starting to like tomatoes. Whaaaaa?? Like raw tomatoes w/some salt and pepper. When I tell you I NEVER thought this would be me, I mean NEVER! But they do remind me of these (sometimes) sweet little old ladies from my church, a now deceased mother-daughter duo, who were some of the most awesome cooks and bakers ever!! Always served up raw tomatoes with fried chicken and homemade biscuits. They were awesome. Sometimes I really miss them when I go home.
10) Have you ever watched Match Game 74 on Game Show Network? It's like the celebrities on that show are drunk! It can be pretty funny.
11) Have I told you lately how much I love Dwight Shrute? Watching old eps of 'The Office' from my fave season (2) is cracking me up!!!