Whether You "Wanted" It or Not...

This evening we went and saw "Wanted," with Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, and Morgan Freeman. So how was it? I wanted... more. I'm a big Angelina Jolie fan--of her looks, mostly, and she didn't disappoint. In this movie she was a mix of badass Tomb Raider and Original Sin hottie. The rest, was mediocre. There were some gaps in the plot that jumped around, and they seemed content to fill with car tricks and fight scenes. Also, while James McAvoy-- who lateley has only done period dramas and a Narnia faun-- did a decent job, he can't hold a candle to the wit, humor, and raw penchant for action of Shia LeBeouf. James was decent, but Shia would have rocked the role. Overall, fun action scenes, killer gun work, nice eye candy, and a decent plot line, even though in parts it just falls short. My recommendation? Go for it as a matinee to truly appreciate the explosions and action sequences.

Playlist of the week, 06/29/08

Some things are better said in song. I truly believe that's true. There are often things that I don't know how to say or how to express, but when just the right song comes on.... perfect. So I will share for you the first, in what could be a weekly thing depending on my boredom quotient. The following 10 songs really encapsulate the last 7 days for me. Read what you like into them, read them like a painting. They are what they are, and some go deeper than others.

Haunted, by Evanescence
Going Under, by Evanescence
Weight of the World, Evanescence
Imaginary, by Evanescence
Lithium, by Evanescence
Taking Over Me, Evanescence
Bleeding Love, by Leona Lewis
Say, by John Mayer
I'm Yours, Jason Mraz
Be Like That, by 3 Doors Down

If you choose to indulge, happy listening!

Sticking Up for the Fat Girl

I have a bone to pick with certain people out there. Or perhaps not a bone, but just something I'd like to clarify. Us big girls, we know we're big. We don't need reminders, stares, or intentional avoidance of eye contact to remind us that we're big. What I want to point out, is not to these strangers, but to you thinner friends, acquaintances, and family members. I know you're trying to be nice when you make comments like "you look thinner" or "you look like you've lost weight." I look in the mirror every day (as little as possible, but I still look). I know what I look like, when I look better, when I look worse. So on the days when you say this, and I know that I am not thinner and my outfit is not more flattering than the last time I saw you, what you are really saying is "in my head I remembered you as an even bigger girl, and right now you look smaller than I imagined you." It isn't something that I take as a compliment, but rather as a little bit of horror at what kind of giantess you saw me as in your head. So all I ask is that you please stop and consider your well-intended compliment. Big girls are SO much more aware of their size and how it presents itself from day to day. If you're not sure, keep it more generic. Only offer the "you've lost weight" compliment when you're confident it's well-placed, and you're sure you're remembering the "real" girl. We do like to hear it, certainly our fragile egos need all the confidence boosters we can get. Just make sure it's truly sincere.

Supermarket Showdown!

For my new thing for today (see Spiced Up blog for details), I decided to make a pasta sauce from scratch for dinner. Before I began, I got to wondering, which grocery store was really the cheapest? I have been waffling over going more organic or more natural with my shopping, and tend to phase in and out of my loyal Au Natural grocery shopping-- mainly due to cost. So I decided to compare Safeway-- my staple store, to Whole Foods-- the new natural food super-supermarket, and Trader Joe's-- a place all its own. My next step was to design a shopping list. Now bear in mind-- this wasn't a list of canned chili and cheese-its. It was a list of more wholesome items, items from the deli and the fresh foods section.* List in hand, I patrolled the isles of the three stores, marking down the base prices (not sale prices) for each item. I have to tell you, I've never been asked so many times if I've needed help before! Crazy lady with the pen and paper... can I help you find something? It was an interesting experience.

What did I find? Well... While Trader Joe's does not have rotisserie chicken, and Safeway has the cheapest chicken breasts per pound, and Whole Foods was the most beautiful inside, the winner of the lowest total for the 18 items I purchased was.... Trader Joe's! My grocery list cost $66.55 at Safeway, $69.69 at Whole Foods, and only cost $53.23 at Trader Joe's! While their selection is definitely the smallest of the three stores, it also keeps your shopping list the most concise. Super cool bonus? They have BEAUTIFUL flower bouquets for the BEST prices! I know where I'll be doing the majority of my shopping from now on!

*My shopping list included: fresh pasta, 8oz mushrooms, 1 can tomato sauce, fresh garlic, evoo, fresh basil, fresh mozzarella, a roasted chicken, 1 lb chicken breast, salad mix, pesto sauce, Italian dressing, loaf of fresh baked bread, fresh Parmesan, 1 onion, 1 box of Cheerios, chocolate soy milk, and 1 dozen large brown eggs.

Get... What?

Get Smart! Paul and I went to see this movie tonight, on a whim. It was pretty good. I am not a huge Steve Carell fan, though I place him miles above Ben Stiller on the humor scale. He's a bit more understated in this movie, and I think that makes him even more likeable. The former Rock, Dwayne Johnson, did a mediocre job in his role as Agent 23. I expected more from him, and was disappointed. A decent performance from Anne Hathaway, though if you're hoping for an Angelina-esque super sexy badass, she hasn't quite made it. A fun comedic element added by "Heroes" Masi Oka and Nate Torrence. Overall, a fun little action movie that is enjoyable with quite a few good laughs, though it doesn't quite live up to it's big brothers (such as Die Hard 4 or Casino Royale).

** Don't agree with me? Get your own blog.**

Why do we make these pages anyways?

So, I'm kinda wondering what I'm getting myself into, now having 3 blogs to upkeep. What is the appeal for people to want to put so much of themselves out there on the internet? I have a theory. We don't do as much talking, nowadays, as people used to do. We text, we email, we IM. We abbreviate everything, from OMG and LOL, to using DVR to cut out commercials and down time on TV. All this abbreviating and shortening, doesn't leave us room to open ourselves up and share. If we're always making things shorter, how are we going to remember to stop and take the time to share more of ourselves, when it would make a conversation longer? I've seen many, and been guilty myself, of spending an extra 10 minutes texting plans with someone, rather than picking up the phone for 2 minutes and talking it out. I've known people who have missed opportunities, been left without a ride, and gotten their feelings hurt, all because they relied on text messages or emails instead of picking up the phone. When did we become so afraid to pick up the phone? Anyways, I think that this reason is a big contributor to why we spend our days and hours creating pages and upkeeping blogs and myspace pages and such. Because, though our lives have become so techno-savvy and efficient that we find a lesser need to talk to each other, we all still want to be heard.