Word of the Day 8/20/2010

Jovial (adjective)
1 : of or relating to Jove
*2 : markedly good-humored especially as evidenced by jollity and conviviality

Example Sentence: Andy remembered his Uncle Jim as a jovial, easy-going man with a ready smile, a firm handshake, and a cheery greeting for all.

Did you know?: In Roman astrology, planets were named after gods, and people were thought to share the personality traits of the god whose planet was rising when they were born. Jupiter, also called Jove, was the chief Roman god and was considered a majestic, authoritative type who was the source of joy and happiness. The Late Latin adjective "jovialis" meant "of or relating to Jove." In Middle French this had become "jovial." English speakers picked up "jovial" in the late 16th century and began applying it to folks who shared the majestic or good-natured character of Jupiter (regardless of their birth date).

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

More of My Telephone!

3rd Hello Kitty Telephone post! I'm on a roll! lol

A Little About Me

I Heart the Sea

Word of the Day 8/18/2010

Insouciance (noun): lighthearted unconcern : nonchalance

Example Sentence: The teenager’s careless insouciance about her schoolwork does not bode well for her grades.

Did you know?: Don't worry -- be insouciant. Perhaps your mind will rest easier if we explain that English speakers learned "insouciance" from the French in the 1700s (and the adjective "insouciant" has been part of our language since the 1800s). The French word comes from a combination of the negative prefix "in-" and "soucier," meaning "to trouble or disturb." "Soucier" in turn traces to "sollicitus," the Latin word for "anxious." If it seems to you that "sollicitus" looks a lot like some other English words you've seen, you're right. That root also gave us "solicit" (which now means "to entreat" but which was once used to mean "to fill with concern or anxiety"), "solicitude" (meaning "uneasiness of mind"), and "solicitous" ("showing or expressing concern").

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

Day 2 - Detox/Cleanse

Day Two of the Happa Detox/Cleanse!

Not going to lie, this cleanse takes a lot of energy. Energy I've never had to give up for making every meal (bye-bye fast food), exercising when sore from the day before (I usually take workout day-breaks, do it every other day), making an effort to drink all the water that is recommended (I was prou d if I had one glass a day, let alone 4)...

But I have to say lunch today was pretty damn good!

I made a Bean & Cheese Burrito... organic/vegan style!

1 8" whole wheat organic tortilla

1/2 cup of black beans

1 tbsp shredded soy/vegan cheese

1/4 cup of chopped onions

1/4 cup of chopped tomatoes

1 tsp of fresh, chopped cilantro

+ with a cup of fresh squeezed fruit juice = Awesome lunch!

At least the first two days are done... meaning I don't have to drink that green liquid, citrus tasting stuff no more!!! Yeah!!!

2 down... 5 to go!

Word of the Day 8/17/2010

Ponzu (noun): a tangy sauce made with citrus juice, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce and used especially on seafood

Example Sentence: "Alternate slices of avocado with seared tuna on a plate and drizzle with store-bought ponzu sauce." (Marlene Parrish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 15, 2010)

Did you know?: The word "ponzu" is relatively new to English; our earliest English-language evidence of the word -- which we borrowed from Japanese -- is from 1972. But the word's history isn't as simple as that fact suggests. The Japanese word, which literally means "juice squeezed from sour oranges" is itself from the Dutch word "pons." And "pons" comes from (and shares the meaning of) the English word "punch" as it's used to refer to the beverage concoction that's often served at parties, weddings, and wakes.

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

Day 1 - Detox/Cleanse

Day One of the Happa Detox/Cleanse!

So since I bought that GNC WELLbeING® Web Bundle, I've tried everything except the Cleanse. Now I was hesitant to start this because A: I hate following a diet meal plan, B: I'm not the best 'organic' eatter, C: & I'm just plan scared of that green stuff I would have to drink!! But yesterday's sunny Sunday perked me up out of the fears and I headed out to Whole Foods Market (which I'm totally in LOVE with now btw). I bought enough for the week, focusing on 3 days of the 7-day meal plans... I had my doubts of doing a week of "variety". That's a lot of food!

I'm proud to say I followed today's meal plan, and drank those green liquid stuff, and still took all my vitamins! By the end of the day, I ate my dinner and really didn't feel hungry an hour later. (like what happens when you eat chinese food or something! oops! my bad! mentioning that kind of food during my organic cleansing!)

This is the stuff tho, we'll see what happens come Sunday!
GNC WELLbeING® be-CLEANSED™ Complete Detox Kit

Need an Excuse to Shop?

Not that I need it... but if someone needs an excuse to hit the mall or search through your favorite shopping website (like mine is Amazon or Ebay), this is what I always say...

Just for laughs :)

... Love Me Do

“There is no greater feeling than when two people who are perfect for each

other overcome all obstacles and find true love.”
— The Office

“A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it,

is to love whoever is around to be loved.”
— Kurt Vonnegut, “The Sirens of Titan”

“Truth is everybody’s going to hurt you,

you just have to find the one worth suffering for.”
— Bob Marley

Choose Happiness

“Ask what most people want out of life and the answer is simple; to be happy. Maybe it’s this expectation though, the wanting to be happy that just keeps us from ever getting there. Maybe the more we try to will ourselves to the state of bliss, the more confused we get…to the point where we don't recognize ourselves. Instead we just keep smiling…trying like hell to the be the happy people we wish we were. until eventually it hits us, it’s been there all along…not in our dreams or hopes but in the known. the comfortable. the familiar”
— Grey’s Anatomy. Shiny Happy People. Season 6 Episode 22

Word of the Day 8/16/2010

Liminal (adjective)
1 : of or relating to a sensory threshold
2 : barely perceptible
*3 : of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : in-between, transitional

Example Sentence: "The Texas/Mexico border region is a liminal zone where one culture blends into another." (Dan Goddard, San Antonio Express News, November 16, 2005)

Did you know?: The noun "limen" refers to the point at which a physiological or psychological effect begins to be produced, and "liminal" is the adjective used to describe things associated with that point, or threshold, as it is also called. Likewise, the closely related word "subliminal" means "below a threshold"; it can describe something inadequate to produce a sensation or something operating below a threshold of consciousness. Because the sensory threshold is a transitional point where sensations are just beginning to be perceptible, "liminal" acquired two extended meanings. It can mean "barely perceptible" and is now often used to mean "transitional" or "intermediate," as in "the liminal zone between sleep and wakefulness."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

#98 DZP - Funny People

George Simmons is a very financially-successful comedian and actor. However, George is self-absorbed, lonely and estranged from his family, by choice. He is subsequently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia and is informed that traditional treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation would be unlikely to benefit him, therefore George is offered an experimental treatment which has an eight percent chance of therapeutic response. This development causes George to descend into a depression and upon seeing old videos of his stand-up days, he decides to return to his roots and do stand-up comedy.

Ira Wright (né Weiner) is an aspiring stand-up comedian who dreams of quitting his day job at a supermarket delicatessen department, and who lives with his two friends, Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman), a moderately-successful sitcom actor, and Leo Koenig (Jonah Hill), who is referred to by George to Ira on two occasions during the movie as “that triple-X-L version of you” (Leo later angrily learns that George was interested in employing Leo, in addition to Ira, but that Ira had intentionally and purposefully kept this from Leo). After an interesting conversation with Mark about Mark′s twenty-five-thousand-dollar weekly paychecks, a fellow stand-up comedienne, Daisy, (Aubrey Plaza), visits, and Mark magnanimously tells Ira that Mark will hold off having sex with Daisy for ten days in order for Ira to. Ira has an interesting conversation with an ex-convict fellow employee (RZA) about dental benefits and the unfortunate effect Ira′s comedy routine had on the ex-convict′s wife. George and Ira meet at a comedy club, where George takes the stage to deliver a dark routine. Ira is “up” next, and draws some laughs by mocking George′s morbidity (even though George is part of the audience). George calls Ira the next morning and asks him to write jokes for George's upcoming gig at a MySpace corporate event.

The event goes well and George hires Ira as his “assistant”. George mentors Ira with regard to some perhaps funny but ultimately self-defeating aspects of Ira′s comedy routine, involving certain bodily functions—Ira′s fascination with which, George comments, is sure to have a chilling effect on Ira′s romantic and sexual potential. Informed of his condition, Ira cares for George through the treatment. After an interesting walking conversation between Ira, Mark, and Leo, in which Ira and Leo declare that there is compelling evidence that Mark′s deceased grandfather is “in hell playing backgammon with Hitler”, eventually, Ira implores George to tell people about his disease. George does call his ex-girlfriend, Laura, to apologize for his continual infidelities when they were together, but does not tell her why he is having a change of heart. Meanwhile, at Mark’s, Ira′s and Leo′s home, Ira sees Daisy come out of Mark′s bedroom. Ira decides that, even after Ira had asked Daisy to a Wilco concert, that Daisy has had sex with Mark. Ira confronts Daisy, in what Daisy observes to be their lengthiest conversation to that point in time, about having had sex with Mark while in the planning stages of attending the concert together. Meanwhile, Leo arrives, and comments, on seeing Mark and Daisy standing next to one another, declaring that Leo is himself “getting” a “vibe”, and has therefore developed a “quarter-chub”. Laura comes to one of George′s shows. She later tells George that her husband, Clarke, cheats on her as well when he travels to China on business. She regrets leaving George, and they end up becoming reconciled.

George′s physician (a Scandinavian George and Ira previously mocked for the physician′s ethnicity in common with actors who appeared in the movies Die Hard and The Matrix Reloaded, and for his common ethnicity with the founder of IKEA) tells him that the medicine has worked: George, almost miraculously, has no traces of the disease, but that it could resurface. Ira is happy; however, George is unsure what to do with his life. He decides he wants a long-term relationship and calls Laura, but does not tell her the news. George and Ira go to San Francisco to perform; Laura meets them there. George makes Ira tell Laura during intermission that he is free of disease. George later explains that he didn′t want to jinx it. They embrace and she invites George and Ira to her house in Marin County.

George and Ira spend time with Laura and her daughters. George and Laura sneak into the guest house together, and indulge in some extramarital sexual activities. Ira tells both daughters that George is healthy now. Clarke (Eric Bana) unexpectedly arrives home; Laura asks George and Ira to maintain the façade of George being deathly sick.

In the morning, Clarke bids George a tearful goodbye. His daughters reveal that George is actually healthy. Clarke confronts Laura and suspects she is cheating. Laura tries to explain that George may not be entirely free of disease and “calls Clarke out” on his infidelity; he drives off. Laura decides to leave him. Ira thinks George should leave because it is not worth it to ruin a twelve-year marriage, but George threatens to fire him.

The next day, George, Ira, and Laura watch video of Laura′s daughter, Mabel, performing the song “Memory” from Cats. Ira and Laura find the performance moving, but George inadvertently mocks it. Laura leaves for the airport to tell Clarke she is leaving him. Ira lies to George and follows her. Clarke tells Laura that he wants to give their marriage another try and that he only cheated on her twice, ostensibly with two Chinese women, that “couldn′t even speak English”. Laura agrees and says her fling with George was a mere flirtation. Ira, having followed Laura and Clarke to the Taiwanese Great China Airlines First class lounge, gets caught by Clarke trying to sneak away (Ira protests that he was merely looking for “Panda Express”). Laura is then forced to tell Clarke she slept with George.

Clarke chases George out of his house, throwing his fists at him. George asks Laura to explain; however, Laura “sides” with Clarke. Heading back to Los Angeles, George berates Ira for his betrayal, and George terminates Ira′s employment. Ira upbraids George for not learning anything from his experience, saying that his insensitivity hasn′t changed.

Ira returns to his old job at the deli department. George attends Ira′s stand-up and watches him being more confident on stage. The next day, George finds Ira at work and admits that even though he is no longer sick, his attitude needs improvement. George offers Ira jokes he wrote down, proving he is making an attempt to become a better person.

Okay, now after watching The Tale of Two Cities, and all that sad-waah-wahh French Rev stuff.... I thought Funny People would be a very nice pick me up.... oh but from the beginning when Adam Sandler's character is diagnosed with cancer, and George's attitude towards his life and what he accomplished in it just makes him angry and cynical. This movie wasn't the pick me up that I wanted.

With the "funny people" stars in this film, I thought this would be the next Billy Madison or Superbad... my mistake. I was glad to see a change in Adam's character when he started connecting with old star-buddies, family, and the love of his life. And I love that Eminem made an appearance, and even Ray Ramano fighting him too! And I loved Eric Bana's real voice/accent. At least the ending was not wah-wahh.

"Underneath anger is hurt, underneath hurt... is love." so true.

#6 DZP: A Tale of Two Cities 1935

A Tale of Two Cities is a 1935 film based upon Charles Dickens' 1859 historical novel, A Tale of Two Cities. The film stars Ronald Colman as Sydney Carton, Donald Woods and Elizabeth Allan. The supporting players include Basil Rathbone, Blanche Yurka, and Edna Mae Oliver. It was directed by Jack Conway from a screenplay by W.P. Lipscomb and S.N. Behrman. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Film Editing. The story is set in the French Revolution and deals with two men who are alike, not only in appearance, but in their love for the same woman.

On the eve of the French Revolution, Lucie Manette (Elizabeth Allan) is informed that her father (Henry B. Walthall) is not dead, but has been a prisoner in the Bastille for many long years before finally being released. She travels to Paris to take her father to her home in England. Dr. Manette has been taken care of by a friend, Ernest Defarge (Mitchell Lewis), and his wife (Blanche Yurka). The old man's mind has given way during his long ordeal, but Lucie's tender care begins to restore his sanity.

On the trip across the English Channel, Lucie meets Charles Darnay (Donald Woods), a French aristocrat who, unlike his unfeeling uncle, the Marquis de St. Evremonde (Basil Rathbone), is sympathetic to the plight of the downtrodden French masses. Darnay is framed for treason, but is saved by the cleverness of the dissolute Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman). Carton goes drinking with Barsad (Walter Catlett), the main prosecution witness, and tricks him into admitting that he lied. When Barsad is called to testify, he is horrified to discover that Carton is one of the defense attorneys and grudgingly allows that he might have been mistaken. Darnay is released.

Carton is thanked by Lucie, who has attended the trial of her new friend. He quickly falls in love with her, but realizes it is hopeless. Lucie eventually marries Darnay, and they have a daughter.

By this time, the Reign of Terror has engulfed France. The long-suffering commoners vent their fury on the aristocrats, condemning scores daily to Madame Guillotine. Darnay is tricked into returning to Paris and arrested. Dr. Manette pleads for mercy for his son-in-law, but Madame Defarge, seeking revenge against all the Evremondes, regardless of guilt or innocence, convinces the tribunal to sentence him to death.

Carton comes up with a desperate rescue plan. He first persuades Lucie and her friends to leave Paris by promising to save Darnay. Then he blackmails an old acquaintance, Barsad, now an influential man in the French government, to enable Carton to visit Darnay in jail. There, Carton drugs the prisoner unconscious, switches places with him, and has Darnay carried out to be reunited with his family.

Madame Defarge, her thirst for vengeance still unsatisfied, goes to have Lucie and her daughter arrested, only to find that they have fled with Dr. Manette. As she goes to raise the alarm, she is confronted by Miss Pross (Edna May Oliver), Lucie's devoted servant. In the ensuing struggle, Madame Defarge is killed.

Meanwhile, only a condemned seamstress (Isabel Jewell) notices Carton's substitution, but keeps quiet. She draws comfort in his heroism as they ride in the same cart to the execution place.

Well if that wasn't depressing. I understand those might have been the times, but all the thirst for blood from the Reign of Terror of France was just so sad. They were slaves, but to kill innocent people or people that had spoke to a Aristocrat once in their life, would have to pay with death. Makes me wonder if politics will lead us to that same suffering one day...

It was very brave of Carton to take the place of Darnay, and to keep the poor seamstress company will they come down to the last minute of their lives. I wasn't sure about him, and I couldn't keep up with the names at first, but slowly when he fell in love with Lucie, you saw more of his character and started to feel the pain and suffering he was going through; a wonderful job by Ronald Colman indeed.

I did like the Christmas parts and of course seeing all the ladies fashion back then. And the way movies were filmed back then was interesting too. I never read Dickson's book, but this movie had enough emotion packed into (the less than 3 hour movie) it.

I'm Feeling "Shoey!"

Let's face it, when am I NOT feeling shoey!

I'm always up for shoe shopping!

What I'd give to have this closet, and yes, just for MY SHOES!

I have a pair like these, and yes they kill my feet, but I love them and they're just plan fierce!

& this pink lovely just stole my heart

I found this image from my Tumblr and couldn't stop "awwww"ing

Happy Friday the 13th!

Hope it's a lucky one for ya!

Word of the Day 8/12/2010

Dog Days (noun)
*1 : the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere
2 : a period of stagnation or inactivity

Example Sentence:
"In the sapping heat of the dog days, everyone is at the beach or relaxing on the porch with iced tea." (Barbara Damrosch, Washington Post, July 15, 2010)

Did you know?:Dogs aren’t the only creatures uncomfortable in oppressive heat, so why does a dog get singled out in "dog days"? The dog here is actually the Dog Star, which is also called "Sirius." The star has long been associated with sultry weather in the northern hemisphere because it rises simultaneously with the sun during the hottest days of summer. In the ancient Greek constellation system, this star (called "Seirios" in Greek) was considered the hound of the hunter Orion and was given the epithet "Kyon," meaning “dog.” The Greek writer Plutarch referred to the hot days of summer as "hēmerai kynades" (literally, "dog days"), and a Latin translation of this expression as "dies caniculares" is the source of our English phrase.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

#14 DZP: Get a Tattoo

#14 DZP COMPLETED!

That's right! Thanks to Hillary at English Ink I gots me a tattoo!

Now this isn't my "first" tattoo, but it might as well be! The first one was when I was visiting Julie in Ohio, and I got a small Gemini symbol on the inside of my right ankle, but now I have big feathers!!!

It all started when I saw this picture from google, and fell in love.


I gave the picture to Hillary and she totally ran with it. I told her I'm open to her ideas to create this artwork, I just loved the look of these feathers... just maybe some feminine touches could be added. She sent me a rough draft of my feathers, and with visions of shading... I was so stoked!

This tattoo means a lot to me.
First of all my father has tattoos (and practically everyone on his side of the family) and my father spent a good portion of his younger years "running" with the Indians and being apart of the "modern" tribes.

When I first saw the drawing from google, it reminded me of him and I can see the feathers hanging off the dream catchers he'd bring home for me. He used to tell stories to me about those days, like his version of bedtime stories.

Now the broach that Hillary added was a wonderful feminine touch! It's like an antique from those times and I love the ribbon from it. It reminds me of my necklace from the 1800s that Julie gave to me. Julie gave each one of her bridesmaids an antique necklace/locket from different time periods, mine being the oldest (and the best! duh!)

Now let's talk pain... it took about 2 hours, and I do NOT wish that kind of pain on ANYONE! The outlining hurt and especially at the top of my ribs and the bottom of the feather (stupid internal organs!) The shading wasn't too bad in the beginning, but after a while my right hip got restless and I had to take a break. After the break, the pain just got greater and greater, towards the end when she was doing the highlighting, it was damn there unbearable, I wanted to scream at several points! I know I let out some whimpers out and I squeezed my eyes shut so tight.
But I'm just proud I didn't cry!!! I'm one tough cookie damnit!

However when I got up off the table (took like 5 minutes to do), and I looked at the finished artwork in the mirror, I then started to cry. It is so amazingly beautiful and it's on ME!

Super Uber Thank You's to Hillary for the amazing job & Boss Lady Netters for being there for me: making sure I was breathing, letting me break the bones in your hand and leaving finger imprints (and thanks annette for wearing stretchy exercise pants...)

Word of the Day 8/10/2010

Wildcatter (noun)
1 : one that drills wells in the hope of finding oil in territory not known to be an oil field
*2 : one that promotes unsafe and unreliable enterprises; especially : one that sells stocks in such enterprises

Example Sentence:The feature story is about a husband-and-wife team who made their billions as property wildcatters in the real estate bubble.

Did you know?:Messing with a wildcat, such as a lynx, can be a pretty risky undertaking, but ferocious felines played only an indirect role in the development of the word "wildcatter." That term has been used in English since the late 19th century, along with the verb "wildcat," which refers to the risky practice of drilling experimental oil wells in territory not known to produce oil. English-speakers associated "wildcat" with risk-taking ventures after a number of U.S. banks fraudulently issued banknotes with little or no capital to back them up. Supposedly, the banknotes issued by one particular bank bore the image of a panther or, as it was known locally, a "wildcat," and it was those risky notes that led to the financial risk-taking senses of "wildcat" and "wildcatter."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

Word of the Day 8/9/2010

Flotilla (noun)
*1 : a fleet of ships or boats; especially : a navy organizational unit consisting of two or more squadrons of small warships
2 : an indefinite large number

Example Sentence: "Just offshore was anchored a flotilla of small motorboats -- Zephyr Cove's rental fleet…." (John Flinn, The San Francisco Chronicle, July 25, 2010)

Did you know?: "Flotilla" comes from the diminutive form of the Spanish noun "flota," meaning "fleet." "Flota" derives via Old French from Old Norse "floti" and is related to Old English "flota" ("ship"), an ancestor to our word "float." Much like other words referring to groups of particular things (such as "swarm"), "flotilla" has taken on expanded usage to refer simply to a large number of something not necessarily having to do with nautical matters, often with humorous effect (e.g., "a flotilla of rather mature-looking male models" -- Jed Perl, The New Republic).

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day

#67 DZP: Go to a wine vineyard

#67 COMPLETE!!!

Not only did I get to go to one vineyard... I went to TWO!

"Score!" (you know it!)

The first winery the gang and I went to was a smaller vineyard out in Temecula called Cougar!

Not quite sure why it was called Cougar... maybe they get a lot of older women with their younger beaus... ??? But the staff there were awesome! Our server who not only explained the difference between our 9 wines we tried, she also "swirladoodle" and gave us temp-tattoos!!

The next one we went to was the beautiful Mount Palamar Vineyard!
Gawd this place was simply gorgeous!!

At Mount Palamar, we could try 6 different wines (out of a list of like 50!). By then I was tipsy, so I'm not for sure which wines I tried that day, but the Port dessert wine (with chocolate kiss) was awesome! Also the Rose, and the white zinfandel were pretty tasty!
It was a wonderful time, filled with delicious wines, tasty cheeses & crackers, and great friends.

**Thank you Jenn for your wonderful pictures! You're Awesome!**

#13 DZP: Go fishing

#13 COMPLETE!!!!

So yeah, while celebrating Annette's birthday at her family's beautiful ranch, the gang and I went down to the reservoir to swim and do some FISHING!

I haven't fished since I was a little girl with my father, so casting and baiting... completely forgot how to do, but it was easy to catch on to.... get it, get it... catch on! hahaha

So after a little while, I changed up the fake bait and caught myself a small/young bass!!

Not gonna lie (neither do the pictures) I was freaking out... I didn't think I'd actually catch something!!! (oh that frightening face of mine...)

But lo and behold, my catch of the day!

It was so exciting and super fun! I wasn't the only one to catch a fish either, Krystal caught a bigger/adult bass fish... in just 3 minutes of getting to the reservoir! & special thanks to Jody for "de-hooking" our two slimy flipping fish for the "catch and release"... Jody's a bad ass like that!

**Thank you Jenn for your wonderful pictures! You're Awesome!**

#98 DZP - WALL-E

In a distant, but not so unrealistic future, where mankind has abandoned earth because it has become covered with trash from products sold by the powerful multi-national Buy N Large corporation, WALL-E, a garbage collecting robot has been left to clean up the mess. Mesmerized with trinkets of Earth's history and show tunes, WALL-E is alone on Earth except for a sprightly pet cockroach. One day, Eve, a sleek (and dangerous) reconnaissance robot, is sent to Earth to find proof that life is once again sustainable. WALL-E falls in love with Eve. WALL-E rescues Eve from a dust storm and shows her a living plant he found amongst the rubble. Consistent with her "directive" Eve takes the plant and automatically enters a deactivated state except for a blinking green beacon. WALL-E, doesn't understand what has happened to his new friend, but true to his love, he protects her from wind, rain, and lightning, even as she is unresponsive. One day a massive ship comes to reclaim Eve, but WALL-E, out of love or loneliness hitches a ride on the outside of the ship to rescue Eve. The ship arrives back at a large space cruise ship, which is carrying all of the humans who evacuated Earth 700 years earlier. The people of Earth ride around this space resort on hovering chairs which give them a constant feed of TV and video chatting. They drink all of their meals through a straw out of laziness and/or bone loss, and are all so fat that they can barely move. When the auto-pilot computer, acting on hastily given instructions sent many centuries before, tries to prevent the people of Earth from returning, by stealing the plant, WALL-E, Eve, the portly captain, and a band of broken robots stage a mutiny. Written by Anonymous


Let me just say: CUTEST MOVIE EEVV-AAAA!!!!!
Probably the cutest Pixar movie I've seen... since like Cars! I still can't believe that I didn't see this movie sooner. It was on the list of movies needed to see, but just haven't gotten around to getting it.

Now of course everyone LOVES Walle, but there are quirky habits of collecting knickknacks from the mountains of trash, domesticating a lone cockroach (the ONLY cockroach I find cute), and singing to the show tunes of Hello Dolly! Makes you wish you had a Walle of your own! I loved the lunch pail, wipers on his eyes, the cockroach's twinkie, him dancing around, sunning himself...

I'm super excited to buy this movie and watch it over and over again! (Yes, I do that... just like I did that with Cars and Monsters Inc.)

August 2010 Road Trip - Day 3

Day 3: Tuesday August 3, 2010

Drive from Merced (A), to Gilroy (B), to Santa Cruz (C)

Headed out to Gilroy to do some major shopping at the Premium Outlets! I went nuts of course, and packed more shopping bags in the trunk, that was completely full to begin with!
Then we headed through Watsonville to Santa Cruz and headed out to shop and eat dinner on the fisherman's wharf!

(My computer is being stupid and all my pictures are in it, so I have to wait a bit to get it up and running again... hopefully I won't loose them...)

August 2010 Road Trip - Day 2

Day 2: Monday August 2, 2010

Drive from Oakhurts (A), to Mariposa Grove (B), to Glacier Point (C), to Yosemite Vally/National Park (D), to Merced (E)

Here's some pictures:
Photobucket Slideshow

August 2010 Road Trip - Day 1

ROAD TRIP: YOSEMITE - GILROY - SANTA CRUZ - MONTEREY BAY

Background for the road trip:
My Grandmother's Japanese friend/relative (from Japan, duh...) and her nephew made arrangements to fly out to California to stay with my Gma. Now only staying a week, the Auntie wanted to see Yosemite & Santa Cruz. So my Gma's brilliant idea was to drive up to Yosemite, cut across to Santa Cruz, and head back home. Now that sounds okay to do... but that's a LOT of driving for my 83-year-old grandma. So my dearest Mother called me up 2 days before they plan to leave, and forces me to take control of the situation and drive them the whole road trip.
Now I would be cool with this, only it was the WORST timing ever! My boss was taking some personal time with his family and we have a newbie in training... but with my Mom being out of commission (leg surgery) she couldn't drive them herself. So I made the road trip plans, hotel reservations, and became the travel agent with plenty of brochures of sites to see and event happening this coming week.

Day One: Sunday August 1, 2010

Drive from Los Angeles to Oakhurst: 4 hours & 45 minutes

Well, thank gawd for iPod headphones... and diet coke. The two Japanese passengers passed out just out of Los Angeles. Grandma (pissed that we all thought she wasn't "fit" to do the drive) stayed up and just "sat there, bored"... oh well. I was proud that my car was able to make the whole 275 mile drive in one tank of gas!