Late postings...This is for Thursday

So my postings will be probably late compared to normal...only because my Blogger is set up as east coast time setting. Where I am on the west coast right now...I am three hours behind. I was going to post something earlier today, but I just got busy.

My trip here in Oregon has been just perfect. I can not believe that on a normal trip, I would be pretty much flying in on a day like today and then flying home on either Sunday or early Monday morning. eeek!!! I am learning that I need to take more time for myself and not try and do these super short trips. Yesterday was spent alone for the most part. I just sat at my mom's and watched tv and got caught up on what I needed. Then I went over and got an hour massage, which was just amazing!!! I carry my stress in my upper back...and all on my left side of the most part. it was amazing...and totally what I needed!!

Today was spent with my best friend, Renee. We went to lunch at Olive Garden and then walked through the mall...then ended our afternoon at Starbucks back in town. Time like these are when I miss being so far away from my close friends and family. Dinner was spent with my parents and brother at Red Lobster. Yummy...oh yes indeed!!

Friday will be spent with my grandma and hopefully my best friend, Christy. So that is what I have been up to so far. :)

I have made it!!

Yup...even with my fear of flying...I have made it to Oregon. But with the help of some xanax I was able to fly with out any anxiety or feeling that the plane was going to crash and kill us all. *I am just real pleasent to fly with, really. hahaha*

When I checked in at the airport, I was given a seat assignment for Hartford to Minneapolis, but then a "Seat Request" for Minneapolis to Portland. (Yay!! I was put on stand-by!! Just what I wanted to deal with!) My flight from Hartford to Minneapolis was pretty smooth. There was a few bumps but nothing drastic...and why is it that it gets bumpy just when the flight attendants decide to come through and pass out some drinks? Never fails! Anyways...the flight was not extremely full, which was nice for a change! I had a window seat right on the wing (my favorite spot to sit in a plane because it is the most stable place inside the plane), and then there was a guy in my row on the aisle. it was nice to not have someone sitting in the middle seat!!

When we landed in Minneapolis I checked the screens to see where my next gate was. I was in terminal G and I had to go to terminal F. No worries...I had an hour and a half, so I went to find my gate then went and found some dinner. I was not super hungry but thought I should eat something so that I am not starving on the airplane!! When I got back to the gate, I was hoping that there would be a gate agent at the counter so that I could get a seat assignment. Well a gate agent didn't arrive to the gate until probably 15 minutes before the plane was suppose to board!!! Talk about annoying!! But I was given a seat and I was happy. OOh....Row 5A. Sweet...I will be nice and close...and oh is this first class? Well no...it was not first class but it was the row right behind first class. So I was given lots of leg room! Yay! I felt like the flight was not ever going to end. I was getting restless and just wanted to be out of the plane. I could feel the meds wearing off...but didn't want to take another pill as I knew I only had an hour or so left. So I just put my nose back into my "Confessions of a Shopaholic" book. btw...if you are looking for a fun fast paced book...you need to read that book!! Such a funny story!!

I arrived in Portland a little bit early, but had to wait awhile for my bag. This is the disadvantage of being able to get off the plane so quickly. I even took my time getting down to the baggage claim. *sigh* anyways...I found my bag and went back upstairs for my parents to pick me up at the curb.

So now I am here in Canby. I slept amazing!! I tell you there is nothing like sleeping in your childhood house. Maybe it is just me. I was wide awake around 630am...but then I ended up falling back asleep. Guess my body is still kind of on the east coast time.

Hope you all are having a fabulous Wednesday!

Going home to the City I love!

In about 5 hours I will be boarding a plane that will be part one of two for my trip to Oregon. I am so excited and this trip is long over due. Ok...so it has not been a full year...but that is a very long time for me to be away from my beloved state. :) I will be home with my parents for about nine days. Well less than that since it takes pretty much a whole day to fly and all. I guess that is better than driving or taking the train which would consist of a week or so. Oye!! 

I am looking forward to this trip. Like I said in an earlier post about my trip...this will not be a trip to be driving all over the state or city and back to see as many people as I can. It is a time to just sit and breath. I can not wait to see some of my closest friends and family, as well as the beloved pacific coast. My mouth is watering now about the thought of having a grilled cheese sandwich at Mo's over in Lincoln City and some fresh salt water taffy. yummy...yummy!!

I hope to blog everyday and keep up on my blogging while I am away. :)

Need a great Photographer in the Portland Area??

So I thought today I would help out a good friend of mine who just came back from Asia. She is one of my favorite photographers...and I thought I would give a shout out to Sarah Marie Photography in Portland, Oregon. If you all enjoyed my wedding pictures like this one...then you will love the rest of her work.

She is on Facebook and is hoping to build her clientele with more than just wedding stuff. Please look her up.

Ramona Quimby on the Big Screen!!!!

Last night while was watching the trailers for the movies that are coming out this summer one movie made me very excited. I grew up reading all of the Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary.

Well this summer, they will be releasing RAMONA & BEEZUS (which is the first book in the Ramona series) as a movie in all theatres!!! Oh I am so excited!! I saw the trailer last night and I felt like a little kid on Christmas morning!! Rob probably thinks I am a freak...but he didn't grow up reading these books. I feel as if a Harry Potter has just seen the trailer for their favorite book of the series. Ok, long stretch...but I think it works.

Beverly Cleary is from the Portland, Oregon area...and so Ramona and her family are from Portland in the books. When I was first reading these books when I was in grade school I didn't realize that. When I got older though, I found this out and loved the books even more.  I am tempted to go and buy the whole Ramona series so that I can add her back into my book library. I know...I am such a dork...but I can't help it!

Anyways....here is the trailer for the movie which comes to theatres in July. Oh I can't wait!!

Taking a Break...

Yes, you read that correctly...I am taking a break. I need a break from a lot of stuff and I am going to take care of myself. I had a break down a couple weeks ago on the phone with my mom. Her response was, "It sounds like you need to start working on you rather than trying to be superwoman!" I guess I needed that "ok" from my mom to really sit and look at everything. So with that being said, I have done a few things already!

I have put my schooling on hold until Rob and I get to the new school. I just hated going down to Iona fully knowing that it was my last semester. I felt overwhelmed, over worked, and getting nothing out of what I was doing. "But Amy, you dropped our classes in only the second week of classes!" Yes...I know I did! I just couldn't do it anymore. My classmates were driving me nuts and when I was in class I was counting down the minutes until I was able to leave. "But Amy, what about your internship?!! You can not just up and leave something like that!" I feel awful that I left my internship. It was good for me to just cut ties from everything that was part of Iona. I am hoping that the hours that I put in will count when I transfer into the new Social Work program at the new school. "But Amy, by doing this you are going to be behind when you go to your next school." Yes I may be a little behind, but I will go in with a good GPA from the Social Work Program from Iona. I didn't want to continue the classes, do poorly and ruin my GPA. I am hoping to get down to school on Monday afternoon to officially drop my classes. I would have done it all when I was down on campus this past week, but due to a large rain & wind storm that came through the NY/CONN area over the last weekend, the Arts & Sciences building was closed due to having no power. If I do not get down to campus on Monday then it will have to wait until I get back from Oregon. 

Yes, that is the second thing I have done. The same night after I got off the phone with my mom, I booked a flight to Oregon. I leave on Tuesday (March 23rd) for nine days!!!! Yes, I am very excited to see my family, a few best friends, and of course Kaylee. It will be a week of relaxation, rejuvenation, and evaluation. This trip will not be me driving all over the place every day to try and fit everyone in before I leave. I have kept my trip on the "DL" as I didn't want to fill up the week and running myself ragged when that is not what the trip was intended for. 

Another thing that I did is started searching for a counselor that I can talk to on a weekly basis. I am hoping to find one that is covered my insurance so that I am not paying out of pocket. I was hoping to call a few people this past week, but time got a head of me, I guess. 

So this is me. I am here to take care of me...and if you don't like it...well tough. My social work professors have all said, "You have to take care of you, before you can help someone else." I have heard that from other people as well, and so now I am getting off the train and doing what I need to do.

New Movies for weekend of MARCH 19, 2010

I realized that I forgot to do this posting last week. Oops!! I guess it was because I was not at work last weekend. So here...I will be getting back into the swing of things. Below are the new movies for this week. 

The Bounty Hunter - Rated: PG-13 - Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler - The Plot: A bounty hunter (Butler) learns that his next target is his ex-wife (Aniston), a reporter working on a murder cover-up. Soon after their reunion, the always-at-odds duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure with a bunch of New Jersey heavies in pursuit. **This looks cute...it was popular for today when I was working the box office.**

Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Rated PG - Stars: Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris - The Plot: Greg Heffley (Gordon) uses the journal his mother forces him to keep to plot his middle-school survival. **This movie is based on the children novel of the same title. I have seen the books in Target and they look really cute.** 

The Runaways - Rated R - Stars: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon - The Plot: A chronicle of the groundbreaking Los Angeles band The Runaways, who formed in 1975 and were led by teenagers Joan Jett (Stewart) and Cherie Currie (Fanning). **I don't know much about this movie to say yes or no on it.**

Getting a cold...

yup...that's right...I think Rob and I are coming down with colds. Oh I love how the weather is changing...but I hate how my body reacts.

So this posting will be short as I have a headache and probably should go to bed. I hope that my readers are feeling ok!!!

Baseball Hall of Fame

I can now say that I have been to Cooperstown, NY. What is in Cooperstown?? If you are asking this question then you must not be a baseball fan or a very serious one at that. Cooperstown is the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is where I spent the majority of my day. 

Last night, Rob was asking me what I wanted to do on a Tuesday where the weather was suppose to be so nice. I told him that I didn't really know. He asked if I would like to take a four hour drive north (one way) to see the Baseball Hall of Fame. I didn't see why this would be a problem...so I agreed. I figured since it was going to be a nice day, it would be fun to just be out and about rather than sitting at home all day. 

Cooperstown, NY is out in the middle of no where. I kept thinking, "Are we there yet?? How much longer? I really have to pee!" Finally we see a sign that says we have three and a half miles to go. Yay!!! We find parking up in this itty bitty town and try to find some lunch. Easy right?? Wrong! Not a whole lot was open at 11am, and we wanted to eat before going into the Hall of Fame. We found this little bar & grill that was serving lunch. Next stop, Baseball Hall of Fame (BHoF)!

Note, if you are planning a trip up to the BHoF, I would suggest going during the week and not during the summer, especially BHoF week when all the inductees are in town for the special ceremonies. Also, please allow at least three to four hours to see everything!!! I could not believe how much stuff they had in there. The museum encourages you to take flash photography and even video!! Now how cool is that?! It was pretty quiet today, and I was not going to complain. I think in three hours, I saw only about ten different people. I loved it!! Rob and I were able to go at our own pace with out people waiting behind us or trying to shove us through or shove in front of us.

I think my favorite part of the hall of fame was the area where they showed which movies have been around a baseball theme. Wow...there was a lot!! They showed some artifacts from those movies, and stuff like that. One of my favorite baseball movies is "A League of their Own". It is based on a true story, which makes the story even better. After walking through that section, makes me want to sit down and watch some of the baseball movies we have here at the house. 

All in all, it was a good trip. I am glad that I went...but don't know if I would go back only because it is really in the middle of no where and there is really no good way or easy way to get there. If you are a baseball fan, I encourage you to go.

The Old Spaghetti Factory

I grew up eating at this place and I miss it dearly! (The picture above is the Minneapolis, MN location) One may look at the menu at this place and say, "Well it is just another Italian place...what's the big deal?" Well the big deal is that this place first opened in Portland, Oregon in 1969 within an old warehouse. The decor was old antique mixed matched items. It had just a certain look for it. The owners wife helped set up the decor by picking up stuff from garage sales to give the restaurant a unique look.  I was never able to go to the original location as it closed down before my family went to it. I grew up going to the one that was in Portland and the building had a purplely-blue roof. It was always a big deal to go as it was just fun to sit in these different types of tables where the seat backs are old headboards, and footboards, old high back chairs.

Old Spaghetti Factory has low and reasonable prices for a meal that comes with bread, salad, a main course, beverage, and a scoop of icecream!! I grew up having spaghetti with meat sauce. Now that I am older I have been a little bit more adventurous. Since we were in Minneapolis this weekend, I was able to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory location there. I was extremely excited, as I have not ate at an Old Spaghetti Factor since I lived in Oregon. I got to looking at the table mat while waiting for dinner, and realized I have ate at many of the locations listed o the table mat. I even worked at one of the locations in Oregon when I was twenty-one years old.

Some people would think it is strange...but I think I want to try and visit each location. There are a ton in California...but I still think it would be fun. My sister does this with Hard Rock Cafe's and so I am going to do this for Old Spaghetti Factory.

To see if there is a location near you, or near a place that you are visiting please click on locations.

What a weekend...

What a weekend!! I had fun, but I am glad to be home for a little bit. Figured I should update my readers on what I did on the trip. As I mentioned...Friday I spent the day walking around the city on my own. Where I left off was for what happened Saturday.

Saturday was spent at the Mall of America (MOA). Rob and I got up early to get ready for the day. I wanted to get over there early to try and beat the crowds. We walked over to the light rail and unfortunately missed the first train. We caught the next train though and was down to MOA thirty minutes later. I was starving by this point and so we ate at Cinnabon. Ok...so shoot me...not healthy for breakfast..but I was on a mini-vacation. So leave me alone...ok?! Anyways...after eating a delicious Cinnabon, Rob and I decided we needed to get a game plan together on how we were going to do the MOA. We decided we would take one level at a time. We walked clockwise around the mall as it was easier that way. I didn't have any major stops that I wanted to make except for Lane Bryant and then a tourist type of shop to pick up a few things. Once I stopped at both of those which didn't take long, we just walked the mall. By lunch time the mall was picking up quite a bit and we tried to avoid the food court. It was extremely hard to even walk through the food court and decided to just eat at one of the many sit down food places that would be away from the food court. So no Chipotle this trip! yes...I was bummed too. The place we ate at though was pretty good. Yes spendy for what we would normally spend on lunch...but worth it to be away from so many people. After lunch we walked the top level of MOA and then decided to head back to the hotel. So what did I think about MOA?? I am glad that I went, but I don't know if I would go back. It had the same stores that you would see in any major mall through out the country. Yes, there were some specialty stores that are for only Minnesota people...but I don't understand how you could spend a week there.

Once we got back from the mall we ended up just relaxing. Walking so much tired me out, and it was nice to just sit and do nothing. For dinner we walked over to The Old Spaghetti Factory. We had ate there on Thursday evening with some of the interview committee, but I wanted to eat there again before we left. Plus the area that we were in, we didn't have many choices for food that was reasonably priced. Thinking it was 8pm and a Saturday night, I thought we would have a long wait for a place like this. I was surprised when the hostess told me that it would only a twenty-minute wait!! Really?! On a Saturday evening?! Where does everyone go on a Saturday evening for dinner in Minneapolis?? Just nuts, if you ask me! After dinner we didn't take a direct path home. We ended up walking over by the Mill City Museum again. There was a special event going on, so even if it was open, we would not have been able to go through it. That's ok, though.The rest of the night at the hotel we sat and watched LA Ink on TLC.

Sunday morning was spent packing everything up and getting out to the airport. Our flight was on time, and overbooked. We though were not on stand-by and was thankful as the next flight to Connecticut was not for another eight hours. eeek!!

I slept pretty good last night. I always sleeping in my own bed! There is the sense of security. I have not uploaded my pictures yet to Facebook or Picasa. I am hoping to get that completed tonight.

Just a tease...

Here is a tease of what my photos from my trip look like. 

I will post one picture....will blog about everything later. 

I am too tired. :) 

Looking down from the Flour Tower at the Mill City Museum.

Best place to eat?

Oh how I have missed this place!!! I will miss it tomorrow when I leave Minneapolis.

What did I do?

Since I had the day to myself today, I took it easy. I woke up around 9am...pulled up the blinds to be greeted with rain. I asked myself if I was in Seattle or Portland due to the fog, rain, and grayness of the city today. I took a shower and got ready for the day. After some email checking, catching up on last night's episode of Survivor, and a few other things, I decided I should get outside for awhile.

I walked down to the Mill City Museum. It is the old Gold Medal Flour mill. Such a cool place to walk through. I will post pictures when I get home. After spending some time learning about the old mill, I strolled down along the river front. Minneapolis is turning a lot of the old mills into urban apartment living. After the riverwalk stroll i went over to the Metrodome. By this time I was getting hungry and thought I could find something to eat. The only downfall to the area we are in does not have much grab and go type of food. I didn't want sit and eat some big expensive meal for lunch. I ended up going back to the hotel and grabbing a snack.

Rob got back from his interview and we headed downtown. While I was over at the Metrodome...I found that there is a light rail system that runs from the far end of downtown to Mall of America. So we rode the light rail downtown and saw Target Field which is the Twin's new field starting this season. After that we walked around down in the area, found a crappy mall with a little food court. I didn't want to spend too much since we are going to Mall of America tomorrow. I can't wait!!!

Made it safely...

Some of you know that I have a slight fear of flying. When I started flying to different places alone and I reached my destination...I would call my mom and tell her that I didn't die. Yes I get odd looks when I say that while walking through the airport...but it is has become a joke between my family and I.

So I didn't die today since I am here typing this while sitting in the hotel room in Minneapolis, MN. It was over-cast today, but I didn't mind. Rob and I spent the afternoon in the hotel room. It was good to just sit and not do much.

Tonight for dinner we ate at Old Spaghetti Factory. Oh my...how I have missed this place!!! So yummy!! I think this place is better than Olive Garden. I know...that is hard to say...but oh wow.

More to report tomorrow. I may try and go to a museum in the afternoon if the weather stays kind of ok.

All packed...

Yes, you read that correctly! I am all packed and ready to go. Rob and I are heading out in the morning for Minneapolis, MN. I am excited to get away for the weekend. Rob has an interview on Friday and so I will spend the day just relaxing and literally taking a personal day. I know that I sure need one!!

Tomorrow evening though will consist of having dinner with some of the people from the college. I am excited because dinner will be at The Old Spaghetti Factory, but yet nervous because even though it is just dinner it is a low key part of the interview process.

Saturday will be spent at Mall of America! Shopping here I come! I need another pair of jeans...so this is just perfect. :)

Sunday we will be flying back home. So yes it is a quick trip...but one that is well needed in a way for both of us.

Home movies

Last night, Rob and I spent quite a bit of time going through our video clips that were recorded from our digital camera. I am bad about transferring the clips over to the correct folder when I off load the pictures and videos from the camera after getting home from a trip or anything else. So last night was a time that we sat and renamed all the files for the videos.

I got to thinking that when I was a kid when we would want to watch something that we had recorded we had to dig out the video cassette tape that was labeled with what we wanted. Then I thought how kids today will just go to the family computer or television media center to find the videos they wanted to watch.

Rob and I got to laughing at some of the clips that we watched last night. Some were, "Why did you video that?!" or "I am so glad that I got that on video!" I thought I would share you a few. Enjoy!

City Slickers - no...not the movie

Ok...I have to get something off my chest. I really hate "city slickers", but I love the movie (if you really want to know). I am not speaking of the movie though. I am talking about the term that country folk use on people who are trying to "act" country.

City Slickers are the people who show up at country music concerts, rodeos, and county fairs wearing their country attire that they just bought at the store the week before for the special event. I can not stand these people...honestly. I know these people think they are just trying to fit in...but they really just stick out like a sore thumb if you ask me. I know people like this actually. These people are the ones who never grew up doing 4H, FFA, never sat in the pig barns on a hot summer day during the fair, and don't know what part of the pig is used for bacon, ham, or sausage. I was not in 4H or FFA, but I have sat in the pig barns on hot summer days during the fair and at one time I did know what part of the pig was used for what kind of meat.

I grew up in a small country type of town...but I lived in town. So I do consider myself a country girl...but I do not go around dressing like one since I lived in town. I had many friends who lived outside of the town limits...and so they wore the boots, felt and straw hats. I loved every minute of it. I miss the country way of living actually. I miss the slowness of it but yet at arms reach of the big city amenities.

I will get back to the country way of life one of these days somehow. But for now I will just be irritated at the City Slickers all dressed up at the fairs, rodeos, and country music indoor and outdoor concerts.

So I watched it...

 Last night at work was busy...but a controlled busy. It was pretty much only busy for one movie...yes you can guess what it was. Alice In Wonderland of course! Guests coming in kept asking me if I had seen it or heard anything about it, and I had to keep telling them no. When the busyness really died down I looked to see if there was a 3D showing around the time I was getting off from work With my luck there was! I called Rob on my break to let him know that I would not be home till real late since the showing I was going to watch was the midnight showing. I then texted my friend to see if they were busy or even wanted to see a movie. I figured they would be busy, but they said they would meet there for the movie.


12am rolls around and the previews start. EEEE!!! I am so excited!! First time watching a 3D movie in the theatre that I work in. Yes, my theatre has had 3D capabilities since late last year, but I waited until now to experience the beauty of this type of technology. The previews for the upcoming attractions looked somewhat interesting. They are sadly remaking the original Karate Kid movie. I am already shaking my head with the movie as they are really changing up the story. I don't know...will just have to see when it comes out. The new TRON Legacy movie looks interesting. I remember seeing parts of the old one and so I would probably see the new one that will make an appearance later this year. Then of course Toy Story 3. I am a sucker for this movie series and will have to watch this movie as well.  There were a few other previews as well.

Then the movie started!!! I was so excited. I felt like a child on Christmas morning to open the presents that has been looking at for three or four months.  About thirty minutes into the movie I started thinking, "This is going to pick up once Alice falls back down the rabbit hole and enters Wonderland, right?" Well that happened...and I said, "ok...well it will pick up when Johnny Depp comes into the picture right?" Ok...so it did...but ehhh...I was let down. Almost like the same child who had been looking at the presents for three or four months to just keep opening up presents that were socks or other unwanted clothing with maybe one little cool thing that they kind of wanted which was ranked pretty low on the wish list. I walked away feeling let down.

I think that if the movie could have been PG-13 and been able to develop something more...then it may have been ok. Or had even a bigger twist and did a movie only on the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp's role). Anne Hathaway was annoying as the White Queen. She just bugged me on how she talked and did everything in the movie. Helena Bonham Carter who played the Red Queen was pretty good. Tim definitely had fun with this character's role in the film. Johnny Depp was good for what was given to him. He just was not given a major role in the film. If I had to choose between Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter or Willy Wonka...I would choose him as Willy Wonka. At the end of the movie there is a scene where you see Alice on a boat headed off for a new journey. As cheesy as the movie was getting I was almost expecting Johnny Depp to appear as Captain Jack Sparrow. It may have worked in some odd way.

Tim Burton...I think you failed on this one. Good try...but stay away from Disney next time you want to make a movie.

Cheap Movies!!

I am always looking for a deal, especially when it comes to movies. A couple weeks ago, Rob noticed that the Hollywood Video over by the grocery store had a "going out of business sale" going on. He went in and saw that the older movies (probably 6 months or older) were all on sale for a discounted price. The next day I went in with Rob and probably picked up nine or ten movies. A lot of them were 3 for $20. Well today when Rob went to the grocery store he noticed that there were new signs up at HV. This time everything was on sale, including all new releases. He called me up to see what he wanted me to pick up. Well it is hard to say what I want when I don't know what is there. So I told him to pick up a few and then I would go down when he got home.

I went down alone (probably a bad mistake!) to see what I could find. Well I came home with 24 movies. Yes...I did say 24 movies. So what all did I get? A little bit of everything. Some movies that I have not seen, some that I have seen, and some that I have not seen in a long time.

Here is a list of what was purchased today:
MILK
THE SOLOIST
17 AGAIN
DUPLICITY
GAMER (which I purchased for a friend)
A NATIVITY STORY
W.
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
FAME (2009)
CHRISTMAS VACATION
ENCHANTED
LOVE'S ABIDING LOVE
LOVE'S ENDURING PROMISE
LOVE'S LONG JOURNEY
CITY SLICKERS
3:10 TO YUMA
NICK & NORA'S INFINITE PLAY LIST
POST GRAD
THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3 (2009)
STATE OF PLAY
BREACH
HOTEL RWANDA
JULIE & JULIA
CHARLIE & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005)
and a few more.

Rob told me today that is a sign. A sign that we will end up someplace cold where we can not go out of the house all winter and we will be able to sit and watch all of the movies that I just bought. I laughed and said, "No...this is the best time to pick up movies because it is cheaper than buying them online and paying for shipping and handling. :) Yay for an awesome deal today!

You're Late! Your Late, for a very special date!

This week there were only two new movies opening nationwide, but you would not know that since Tim Burton's "Alice In Wonderland" opened this weekend. The other movie this week was called Brooklyn's Finest. Below is the synopsis for both of these movies....

Alice In Wonderland - Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp - The Plot: 19-year-old Alice (Wasikowska) returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror. **Now you all know that I love Johnny Depp. I will be seeing this movie as I have been totally waiting for this movie. I am a fan of most Tim Burton movies as well. There are a few Tim Burton movies that I have not seen due to I was just not interested in then. But when it comes to Tim and Johnny working together I do like what I end up watching. I have not seen this new movie yet, but I will soon. Hopefully this weekend...but I may wait for the big hype die down a little bit. I don't know. I am not listening to what people are saying about the movie.** 

Brooklyn's Finest - Stars: Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke - The Plot: In Brooklyn, New York, three veteran cops (Gere, Hawke, and Cheadle) struggling with their own personal and professional dilemmas dispatched to a notorious housing project, where they will each collide with destiny.**This movie looks interesting. I am curious about this one. Maybe because I like the actors in this movie, I don't know.**

Well that is what is out this week. Still popular at the box office is Avatar, Shutter Island, The Crazies, Crazy Heart, and The Blindside.

Cheating, I think not!!

Last night was the first night of my Social Welfare Policy class. Before class started, a classmate from my Human Behavior class from last trimester stopped by to hand me back an item that she had borrowed. I thanked her and I went back to my desk.

STOP THE TAPE....time out...let's refresh from a couple weeks ago...

Remember how last trimester my professor informed us that she was strongly encouraged by a full-time professor that the class should read Tuesdays with Morrie?? *shaking your head...right? lol* Now, remember how my own professor had told us to go out and get the book on cd/tape and listen to it so that we could discuss it on the last day of class. The full-time professor had expressed that some type of paper should included with the book. Well my professor decided since it was so late in the semester and a different paper was already assigned to not worry about a paper. 

ROLL TAPE...back to my original story...
When I got back to my desk I opened the cd case to ensure myself that all the cds were in there. I knew where my classmate was going to be just in case one of the cds was missing. The guy sitting next to me who is taking the Human Behavior class this trimester looked to see what I had. When he noticed that I had the "Tuesdays with Morrie" on cd he looked at me and called me a CHEATER!! I was mad that he would call me that with out knowing why I had that!! My response was, "How am I a cheater?" He responded with, "You have the book on cd!" and I told him, "This is what my professor asked for me! So how is that cheating?!" Oh I was upset!!! I was thinking in my head...this is not cheating even if I had to read the actual book to write a paper. It is not like I am reading the Cliffnotes of this book. The audiobook was the entire book and not an abridged version. I drive a ton so why not listen to the book, buy the book as well so that I have page numbers to refer to in the paper that is probably required?? If this guy was smart, he would go out to the Borders store this weekend, get the cds, listen to them and be done with the book!!

I was thinking that I was going to have to take an English Lit. class last term. When I told my advisor that I am a bit leery about taking the class as I am a slow reader. She said, "well maybe you could find the books on tape and listen to them while you are driving to and from work or to and from school." So obviously listening to books on tape is not a form of cheating if my own advisor is suggesting such a thing to help me in a class!!

I am ready to be done with this group of students. I wish I was in with the Seniors. Not because I want to be done with school, but more because I like the group of seniors for the social work department. *sigh*

Just eleven more weeks left of classes at Iona. I can do this. I will ignore what people may tell me to throw me off course...I will stride through and get what I came here to do.

New Carpet

Late last month, we had new carpet installed to our master bedroom. One would probably not consider our bedroom to be the master only because it is not the largest bedroom in the house. When we moved into this house I wanted to have the guest bedroom on the main floor near the main bathroom, and so that opted for Rob and I to have the second largest bedroom which is located upstairs.

A person would say, "Amy if you are selling your house, why did you have new carpet installed?" Well to answer that question we must step back in time to last year about this time. Rob and I decided to have a neighborhood party at our house to celebrate the opening day of the 2009 baseball season. We placed each of our dogs in a separate bedroom thinking that this would help eliminate so much barking during the party. Well come to find out after the party was over, Casey has separation anxiety issues!! She had tried to dig her way out of the bedroom by the door, and destroyed probably a 2 square foot area of the carpet. We pretty much just cut the ruined part of the carpet out which now showed the old hardwood floors which looked pretty beat up. Jumping back into this year...when we decided to put the house on the market we figured we would get new carpet for that bedroom, as a selling feature of the house. I am glad we did because I had forgotten how stained that carpet was before we moved in. Nothing like moving into an old teenager's room. Need I say more, I don't think so.

The new carpet looks nice and I wish we would have done this sooner, so that we could enjoy the carpet a little bit longer. We only did the room itself rather than the small closet and the walk-in closet as we wanted to keep it as cheap as possible. By looking at the carpet you would not know that it is a cheaper priced carpet. Gotta love how I pick something that is cheap but still looks good. ;)

Here are a few pictures of what we have now.

 

Picture of room looking from small closet

 

Picture looking from Walk-in Closet

 

Johnny Depp = Strange?

 Since March's blogging theme is "STRANGE" I thought that blogging about Johnny Depp. When one thinks about Johnny Depp one would probably say that he was a pretty strange person. He chooses off the wall roles in movies but yet suceeds in all the roles he plays. I have personally loved Johnny Depp ever since I was an adolescent. I think my first exposure to Johnny Depp was the movie Edward Scissorhands. Now that movie could be a whole blog "strange" topic of its own. As dark and kind of creepy as that movie is...I do still like it.

So why is he in so many Tim Burton films?? Well, they are best friends! Two Hollywood outcasts that felt like they knew each other. And yes...any movie that Tim and Johnny create together are very odd...but I think that is why I like them. Johnny Depp is one of those actors who will not let Hollywood type cast himself. He said that he will pick which roles he plays and that is why we have seen him play many different roles. Take Edward Scissorhands and the role that he had in that...then look at him in the role in movies such as Don Juan DeMarco, Chocolat, or From Hell. All three of these roles are very different, but were pulled off very well because he makes the character more than what it was ever written to be.

I find it funny when people tell me that the Pirates of the Caribbean were Johhny's first movies. I tell them, "Nope sorry you will loose this argument. Johnny has been around a lot longer than these movies! Try looking back before you were born! I would classify myself as possibly a Johnny fanatic like some people may classify themselves as a Twilight fanatic. I can not believe I just gave that analogy. Wow...but yes...I do love Johnny Depp. I have watched his biography on the A&E channel a couple of times. When I watch that I realize that I have seen just about all of his movies. Yes I will admit that I have not seen some either because they were too scarey for me or I just didn't know about them.

One of my favorite Johnny Depp movies of all time is "Benny & June". I just love him...as the character and how if this was played by someone else...the movie would have failed. I also like the movie "Blow" which is based on the big cocaine drug lord back in the 70s. I think he makes this movie only because he was kind of going through his own druggy, scummy period of his own life at the time of this movie was film. I do love him in the Pirate of Caribbean movies as I can not think of anyone else who could play Captain Jack Sparrow! Well and who else could play John Dillinger?? What a fine looking man Johnny is in every movie he is in.

And yes, I will be watching his new movie, "Alice in Wonderland". shhhhhh...don't tell me that it looks bad or wierd, or anything you have read about it. I want to go and see it with out hearing what people think or have heard. It is best for me to form my own opinion. Of course though...this movie will be weird and strange because it is Tim Burton AND Johnny Depp together again.

CBS: Undercover Boss

Anyone else watching this show: CBS Undercover Boss??? Each week this show goes to a big business and the CEO goes undercover in their own company to see how the front lines are now currently running. I didn't tape the first episode of this show, but I was told by a couple of people that I should check out the show.

The following week, Rob had taped the second show with out me knowing. What an interesting show!!! I think that each and every CEO should step down and remember how they worked in the entry level positions of the company that they may have forgotten how it feels to be in that position. If every CEO of every large company did this...then I think there would be a lot more happy employees working their every day job! I also think that if a company is purchased by a new CEO, that the new CEO should seriously work the front line to really see how the company that they were handed over really works. AMC Theatres had a change in the CEO just this past year (2009). I remember sitting in the conference call listening to all of this and hearing the new guy say how much he loves going t the movies and how honored he is to work for a great company for AMC. I remember him saying, "...and I will be personally coming by to visit every theatre that I can." I also remember thinking, "ya right...like you are going to come to the AMC up here in Danbury Connecticut!" As far as I know he has not came to visit our theatre.

I do like how the CEOs on this show look for how they can improve their companies by either improving the quality of life of the employees or even the efficiency of the company. One show I thought that a manger of a store would be fired due to how he was treating his female employees!! 

This show is great though! If you have not seen this show yet, please do me a favor. Just tape one episode of it or find it online to watch one episode. You will not be sorry!