Top Ten Movies of 2008

To see my Top Ten Movies for 2008, simply click here. Thanks!

A few movies that almost made the Top Ten include: Prince Caspian, Tropic Thunder, Kung Fu Panda, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Yes Man, Bolt.

And the movies that never stood a chance at making the list include: Twilight, Indiana Jones, Hancock, You Don't Mess With The Zohan.

Winter Wonderland!

I can say that it wasn't too much fun to drive home in last night, but it was nice to wake up to a winter wonderland outside this morning. Or perhaps I just felt that way since I didn't have to go out into again.

Twas The Night Before Christmas...

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

I'll be Gnome for Christmas!

This is what happens when I get my very own Travelocity roaming gnome and have too much time on my hands...

Made For Each Other

This year for my birthday my family went way above anything I was excepting. Perhaps this is because I told them they didn't need to get me anything, clearly they need to work on their listening skills as they got me this...

So then I had to get this...

Why have a Blu-ray Player and not have Planet Earth. I have been wanting to get Planet Earth for quite some time but due to the price found at stores I could never bring myself to get it. Then I found it for Blu-ray, for $20 bucks less then what I had seen it for on DVD at most stores, on discovery.com. It is going to be a geek filled Christmas for me once it arrives!

Happy Birthday Mellissa & Bob!!

Since Mellissa refuses to let me take a picture this is what you get:

Happy Birthday Mel!!

And here is the most serious picture of Bob I have:

Happy Birthday Mr. Selle, your lack of woodcraft is....ahhh!!

A Guamese Weekend

The title will make sense to most of you who know me and I want to thank all of you who helped make this years Guamese Weekend so much fun. Friday, Bonnie & Jon took over Caity's party (since she was sick) at the last minute and it was a very nice, relaxing, intimate gathering filled with way too much delicious food.

Then on Saturday morning the group from the night before (Bonnie, Jon, Gav, Jess, Diana) plus Ciaty and Bob, went to Johanna's Kitchen for breakfast and more importantly...scones!


Then later that afternoon it was downtown with the whole fam for Benihana's. We went for the lunch special and unfortunately I think the "lunch special" just meant that they had limited staff as we saw our waiter once at the beginning and that was all. But it was still a good time and I love the food even if the service is sub par.





Then it was off to The Gateway to wait until it was dark enough for the lights to come on at Temple Square.

Thanks to everyone who made this years Guamese weekend so much fun!

Things I Love This Week: This Music Video

My brother first showed me this video to The City is at War by Cobra Starship and it just made me happy. You might want to clear the kids out of the room first as this has some PG-13 language. Still it makes me laugh! Enjoy.

Thanksgiving Roundup

This year I had my very first deep fried turkey, I know like we need to add any more calories to Thanksgiving but hey lets deep fry the bird anyway! And I have to say when I first saw the deep fried bird I was a bit concerned.

I mean the thing looks like it might be Cajun (which might not be bad come to think of it). But under the hard salty skin this bird was great. The problem with turkey is that it almost always is dry, which is why I head for the dark meat, but with deep frying it the whole bird comes out nice and moist. Luckily I didn't have to deep fry the bird, as it was a collective effort on my cousins part and some friends of theirs, so I don't have any horror stories to report back.

As for the table it is amazing how far plastic dinnerware has come. I had to pick up one of the plates to figure out that it wasn't china. Oh, and the silverware was plastic as well. You can't beat that come clean up time.

After dinner it was time to go see Bolt. It is scary how much 14 movie tickets cost these days. Here I am counting what remains of my savings after getting the tickets. That being said the movie was really quite enjoyable and for the first time in quite sometime an animated Disney movie has a complete well thought out storyline, go for the antics of the hamster stay for the street wise cat. Overall it was a great Thanksgiving filled with family, food and fun. I hope all of your Thanksgivings were just as enjoyable! There truly is much to be thankful for.

Instructions for Life

Supposedly this is from the Dalai Lama, regardless it is still good advice.

1. Take into account that great love and great achievement involve great risk.



2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.



3. Follow the three R's: Respect for Self, Respect for Others, Responsibility for all your actions.



4. Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.



5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.



6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.



7. When you realize you have made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.



8. Spend some time alone every day.



9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.



10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.



11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.



12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.



13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.



14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.



15. Be gentle with the Earth.



16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.



17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love each other exceeds your need for each other.



18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.



19. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Greetings From Utah's Dixie!

This past weekend I went to St. George with part of my family for a cousins softball tournament, which they won! Here are a few pics from out and about on our weekend adventure.

Let It Begin

The hamster cracks me up every time! I know, I have issues.

Just Another Day at the Dump

Let me set the scene for you. It is your average Saturday morning and after looking around my house in search of foodstuffs I head over to the parents to raid their pantry. So just another normal Saturday so far. I get to the parents and am enjoying my Pop-Tart when I am put to work moving a mattress that my mom is donating to a good cause. I am fine with doing this kind of labor for food program, it has served be well in the past. Then I am asked to go with Russ and Jeff over to my Grandmas to pick up a few things that she needs taken to the dump. Again not a huge deal and the three of us load into the truck and head over the railroad, sorry no river and woods, to Grandma's house. Then it is back to the parents where my Mom decides to take the stuff to the dump right then and recruits the three of us, with an offer of lunch, to help unload when we get there.

Everything is going to plan and as a bonus we are not charged to get into the dump. Why? No idea maybe it is because we are only dropping stuff off that can be recycled, I don't know and we didn't wait around for the nice dump lady to change her mind. We pull into the drop off area at the dump where a large bearded fellow tells us to take the old electronics over to the far wall and back up to drop them off in bins. He tells my Mom not to worry about the glass, just back over the pieces, as they won't pop the tires of the truck. So she does as she is told and backs up by the bins on the far wall. We can feel the truck going over the glass and it meets a little hesitation. Russ, in the front with my Mom, tells here to just gun it since he assumes that the truck is just battling for friction over the glass, so she does. We get out of the truck and I instantly hear the sound of hissing air but don't think anything of it as we are out the dump and there are plenty of other noises and smells to distract oneself. Then the two fellows next to us tell us that they think we popped a tire and then the four of us all see it at once, the instrument of the tires demise...

...What is it you may ask. Well it is none other then the much talked about kitchen sink! Turn this piece over and you can see what used to be a kitchen sink, or at least what is left of it. And what is left is a nice sharp point that infiltrated the inside of the tire in no time what so ever. The hesitation mentioned before was not a lack of traction due to glass but the tire trying it's best to beat the infamous sink. The tire lost! Now for the fun part of this story. We are in my Dad's relatively new truck that none of us have spent much time with, let alone enough time to go over it's standard tire changing procedures. We find the tire rods, jack and spare tire and set about changing the tire. By this time my Mom is on the phone with my Dad, who works with tires on a daily basis while Russ sets to work jacking up the truck and Jeff and I work on getting the spare out from under the truck. Now here is the part where I tell you I have changed a tire before...on a car...never a big full size truck. Russ and Jeff are in the same boat. Jeff is now talking to my Dad trying to find out how the spare drops down and says something about putting the key into the cup holder, which is when I take the phone away from him. Turns out the nice folks at Ford, fearing a rash of spare tire thefts, have locked the spare up under the truck. You have to insert the key into what I always assumed was the electrical inputs for towing a trailer and insert the tire rod into a hole about 6 inches behind said lock to lower the spare. That part done we head over to help Russ with the jack. Remember before when I said none of us were familiar with changing a tire on a truck? Not anymore. After some trial and error we go the truck jacked up and the tire changed, all the while we were on the ground at the dump and now covered in what I will hope is dirt but am sure is a mixture of many, many things that I don't want to know.

It was just another Saturday where we learned that my Mom doesn't know how to change a tire and has a fear of the new tire flying off the car once it is back in motion. This fear we learned, is the result of having lived through that scenario when she was younger with her parents. We laughed, we yelled (in what we decided was a kind way), and about an hour later then planned, we ate lunch covered in dump dust! It was just another day at the dump! Thanks bearded man for telling us not to worry about glass popping the tire but failing to mention the sharp pointed edge of the kitchen sink right next to the glass.

Sally. JP Sally.

JP Sally is getting ready for the new Bond movie. Are you?

If I have to explain this then you are not ready!

Holiday Movie Must Sees

Okay, this post may be a little early but it seems like there haven't been any good movies in the last little while. To help get you (and me) excited I am listing the Top 10 movies that I can't wait to see this Holiday season.

1. Quantum of Solace -After Casino Royale the next Bond movie is a must see.

2. Bolt - Yes I realize that this is a kids movie but the hamster makes me laugh every time!

3. Australia - I could watch Nicole Kidman read the phone book.

4. Role Models - Paul Rudd describes this as "a kids movie with a ton of bad language." I am sure I will be laughing the whole time.

5. Four Christmases - Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn make a Christmas movie!!! Holiday stress is always more fun to watch then take part in.

6. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - I am intrigued by the concept of reverse aging and the cast is top notch. Love Cate Blanchett.

7. Frost/Nixon - If this where on the History or Discovery channel I am sure I would be sucked in very easily. This story based on true events is directed by Ron Howard. Yes I am a geek.

8. Doubt - It looks very intense in the previews I have seen. But with Meryl Streep , Amy Adams and Philip Seymour Hoffman what else would you expect.

9. Yes Man - Jim Carrey has been absent for awhile and I am hoping that it makes the heart grow fonder. But at least it has Zooey Deschanel who should be a huge star by now!

10. Rachel Getting Married - I just can't imagine Anne Hathaway in a serious role, so that fact alone makes this one I want to see. Plus she as gotten great reviews.

A Good Message and Fun Celebrity Spottings

Thanks to Jess whose blog I stole this from.

Remember, Remember...

...the first of November. Why? Because it is 4:30 am and I have been up since 3:30 am! That's why. Oh, and I just realized that October has ended before I even got used to writing 10 on everything. Switching to 11 is not going to be any easier. Happy November Everyone!!

After a Half Hour in Line....

I am so glad that this election is now over for me!

Yeah for Early Voting!!!

No Sleep!

As some of you know I have not been sleeping all that great lately and I thought I had been managing it fairly well. Well last night a perfect storm hit that finally did me in. I figured I would go to the gym on Monday to try and wear myself out. This should have been a easy thing to do since I haven't been there in quite some time and just walking up the stairs would have been a workout. Well after an hour of putting myself through that paces I called it a night. Then it was off to eat some dinner and hopefully go to sleep. Well the dinner part went as planned but the sleep part was a little off. I had no problem going to sleep but I woke up at four with an upset stomach that was more then a rude awakening. So after about an hour and of half of lying in the fetal position I came to the decision that Tuesday was going to be a sick day. I haven't been up at 5am in quite some time and now know why. There is nothing but news on and that really doesn't calm one to sleep, so I switched over to Friends and slipped in and out of sleep during the final season. Then I watched the first half of Ironman before finally getting back to sleep around 10. Now I am just waiting for the sleeping pills to kick in (I had been hoping to avoid taking them) so that I can get some sleep and go to work in the morning. I have heard just about every cause and effect that may be causing this, but if you feel like you may have a suggestion I haven't heard by all means comment away. I am sure this post will make no sense when I read it later, oh well at least you all will have been entertained.

Things I Love This Week: TiVo

Ah, Tivo where would I be without you. Probably not sitting on the couch basking in your warm glow. I know there are other DVR options out there, but once you go Tivo you never go back. Teddy Tivo, as I like to call him, is so user friendly and makes all sorts of happy sounds that I just can't imagine my life without him. Is it sad that I am referring to an inanimate object as a person? Yes. But really I don't care; I get to watch tons of shows when I want without commercials. Really it is a time saver, for each hour show I get 20 minutes back. Think of all the things I could do with that saved time... Yeah, who am I kidding, I will just watch another show!

JP Sally Meets Fall. And a Bit of Winter.