My Crush of the Week

After a very long absence...in fact it's been 9 long months since I wrote about my last crush here, I came across someone today I thought was "crush worthy."

Now, you may think it's a bit odd that I have a crush on a 66 year old, married man...but I don't.  He's an awesome actor with a long list of credits to his name. He's been know as Hank Simpson, Howard Hughes, Elmore Pratt, Gary Mark Gilmore, Samuel Gerard, Agent K, Travis Lehman, and Thaddeus Stevens, to name just a few. 

Can you guess who it is? I bet you can. Yup, This fine looking fellow is Tommy Lee Jones.  I saw him today in "Lincoln."   It was a great movie, and he was awesome in it. 

Here are a few of his different looks from over the years. In my humble opinion he gets better looking with age.

Prisoner 24601 & day 27 of the photo challenge.

The prompt for today was "how you relax"

I love going to the movies, whether it is with friends, family, or by myself, as I did this evening. Tonight I saw

I.LOVED.IT.

If you are a fan of musicals I HIGHLY recommend this movie. It's the best one I've seen in a LONG time. I hate to admit, but I was not at all familiar with the play and the only song I'd ever heard from it in the past was "I dreamed a dream." 

I have nothing but praise for the movie, and the first thing I did when I got home was to purchase the entire soundtrack.  This is a movie I won't soon forget. Kudos to Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Amanda Seyfried, and most of all, in my humble opinion, Hugh Jackman. What a spectacular performance! I was extremely impressed and I'd see this again in a heartbeat. If you have a couple of minutes, check out this trailer (and be thankful you can't hear me singing along.)

Whew!

Almost 3 days and no update! What the heck is going on? Just the usual. Therapy visits, another graduation, and graduation party to attend, a visit to the cemetery, a Broadway show ("Wicked"-it was AWESOME!) a visit to the fair, dinner with Mom, a Halloween planning party (yes, already) another visit to the fair for ideas for the party, playing catch-up on tons of emails (I'm down to only 272 from 428 I started with this morning, whoo-hooo!) a movie with the kids and a couple of other things here and there. That just about sums up my last couple of days. Whew!

We got to see Pickle's bf Josh graduate. It was a wonderful day.

 Hmmm, I bet you can tell what the theme to this year's Halloween party will be.

 Yup, there were just a few other people at the fair. Yikes!

 Wicked was just that - wicked indeed! Wicked fun that is!

 Not a bad movie...some good, no-brainer fun.

 My new boyfriend? Maybe...

Tomorrow I take Pickle to Long Beach for her college orientation.  How did that sneak up on us? We are heading out at the crack of dawn...no, even earlier than that! Good night, sleep tight my friends, 5:00am will come quickly!

"Movie" the Movie

For all of us who love the movies...

Whoosh! And the week is half gone!

This week has been FLYING by! I seriously can't believe it's Wednesday! Monday AJ and I spent the day together and had a great time. It was really the only time we'd gotten to really talk since he'd gotten home Friday evening. We went shopping, had lunch and saw a movie ("Moneyball" with Brad Pitt - we both thoroughly enjoyed it!) It was a really nice day, but it went by way too quickly. Yesterday it was already time for him to head back to Indiana and Purdue.

Before his flight yesterday, we managed to squeeze in a quick breakfast out. Hubby couldn't join us, but the girls did, and it was fun, with the typical sibling interaction.

Although it was hard to say goodbye again, it is comforting to know that he will be home again in 6 weeks for Thanksgiving. For that, I truly am very thankful!

"Date Night" with AJ

Tuesday night, I treated AJ to a "Mom and Son" date night. The rest of the family is spread far and wide right now - Bear is in Montana, Hubby is traveling to Minnesota and New Mexico this week, and Pickle was at a youth group bond fire.

AJ and I started off our date with a nice, casual dinner at Sammy's Woodfire pizza. We shared some hummus with spiced Kobe beef, and a BBQ chicken pizza. Delish!

After dinner we went to check out a new theater in town - Cinepolis. Talk about cool! They gutted an older theater, and made it into a new "luxury" theater, complete with leather recliners, reserved seating, wait service, a full bar, and some awesome food.

Aside from the normal theater fare of popcorn, soda and candy, they offer sushi, gourmet salads, wraps, panninis, etc., and one heck of a dessert menu. We ordered a medium diet coke, a large popcorn, and a piece of chocolate thunder cake to split. Everything was really good.

Now granted, this place is NOT cheap, and wouldn't be conducive to a large family out for a Sunday matinee - tickets vary in price per movie....we saw "Cowboys and Aliens" and our tickets were $19.50 each. BUT, if you are looking for something a little different to do, have a couple of bucks to spend, and want to thoroughly enjoy a movie experience, give it a try. We did, and we loved it.

Dinner before the movie = $38.00

Movie tickets = $39.00

Movie snacks = $22.50

Making memories with my boy = priceless.

Guy-liner? No complaint here...a new crush of the week.

When did it become acceptable for men to where eyeliner? Don't get me wrong...I'm not complaining, but rather just asking the question. I guess I really hadn't noticed it too much, until recently.

Oh sure, there was Kurt Cobain in the early 90's. He doesn't look bad...

I'm sure it goes a lot further back than him...

In recent memory, I've noticed it on Johnny Depp in the Pirate of the Caribbean movies, Johnny wears it very well....

Russell Brand, not a favorite of mine. Jared Leto, he kinda looks greasy...

and Marilyn Manson, who just is a freak-show all around...Yesterday I saw "Burlesque" with Cher, Christina Aguilera, and Cam Gigandet. Cam Gigandet played James (the bad vampire) in Twilight. Cam plays one of the male leads, Jack, in "Burlesque." Cam wears a lot of eyeliner as Jack. Cam can carry off the guyliner with the best of them. Me likey Cam...

Look out Brad, and Robert Downey...there's a new man in Sue's site...and he looks great with or without fangs and/or eyeliner. Ladies, and some of you men out there, if you've seen "Burlesque" you know what I mean. I'd love a Famous Amos cookie please...

Cutting Loose, Foot Loose

I needed something fun and light this morning. Thanks Carol, for sending this!

Long Day

Today started out early...too early after not getting to sleep until nearly 2 am. I was at the lake and walking by 7am. It felt good though, to get my body up and awake.

Frustration set in shortly after that, but I can't give details on that right now...suffice to say, it was a long day, and I'm glad it's near the end of it now.

Hubby and I went to see Toy Story 3. Don't ask me why, I'm not an animated movie fan, and although I did somewhat enjoy it, I found it more depressing than anything. To add to that, I'm about to sit down and watch the 2 hour special of "Deadliest Catch" where Capt. Phil passes away. As if I wasn't in a foul enough mood! Yikes!

I just remind myself that not everyday can be a great one, and you've got to have some bummer days to be able to appreciate the good ones. Tomorrow, I'm sure, will be a good one.

I've got something up my sleeve to share, but can't let you in on it until tomorrow afternoon.

Stay tuned!

Feelin' Famous - I'm on the "Tube"

I've been lucky enough to be on the tube a couple of times in the last week. Once, on Thursday evening in the background of a "10News Leadership Award" for my friend Shirley Colman, (I'll post that video soon) and again today as part of a news segment for a local station that was covering the surf competition we participated in.

Please folks...no applause. Really, come on now, it's embarrassing...(Thank you Valerie for recording this for me!!)

I also got to hang out with (OK, so not really hang out, but rather see from afar) a couple of Hollywood semi-big name stars. No, not my boy Brad, or even Robert D.Jr., but it was cool to see Owen Wilson and George Lopez up close. They were there for the premiere of the movie Marmaduke, about, what else, a DOG!

It was, to say the least, a pretty cool day. I'll have LOTS of pictures to post soon, but right now I've got to get myself cleaned up and ready to head out for dinner.

Momma's way too famous tired to cook tonight!

A Menagerie of Minutiae

In other words...a random collection of a bunch of stuff that's been going on...

We snuck in a quick visit to Fiesta Island last Sunday, just before the rain hit. Jack played ball...All of the dogs enjoyed a good run in the wide open space... And everyone was having a great time, until Jill and Kona decided to take a swim without permission...Hubby was NOT happy.

Wet dirty dogs...with no towels to clean them up before getting them into the car.

They know they are in trouble.

Harley and Jack had a great time, and (thankfully) listened well when we told them NOT to swim!

We saw the moon high, and gorgeous in the sky that night...
< Kona and I have been going on lots of therapy visits in the last few weeks. Here he is with his buddies Caleb, Shad, and Happy.

I hit a milestone this week, and have now officially lost 5o lbs! Only 50 more to go...(ok, maybe thirty... or 25-ish...)

Kona and I visited the VA hospice again this week...it was a nice visit, and we were able to bring one gentleman from tears to smiles in just a few minutes. Kona is an angel, and I am honored to be his partner in these visits.

We've had rain...lots and LOTS of rain. (Notice the car in the huge puddle!) I really like rain...

...but not this much, this fast!

I had a mammogram today...oh joy! One of life's little pleasures...(not)...gotta do whatcha gotta do, right girls! I also saw a movie called "A Single Man" today with a friend. It stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, and Nicholas Hoult. Nicholas Hoult was the little boy who starred with Hugh Grant in "About a Boy" in 2002. I loved that movie, and Nicholas Hoult in it. This was a different kind of role, to say the least. Let's just say that little Nicholas has grown up, my oh my. It was a good movie - different, terribly sad, artistically interesting and not at all what I expected. The story is about a gay couple, one of whom dies at the very beginning of the movie, and how the other partner copes, or doesn't. It is NOT the feel-good movie of the year, but very, very well done. And did I mention Nicholas Hoult? Yeah, I thought so...

Let's see...what else...oh yeah, I am starting a part time job....a rep. for a new company here in town. More on that another time.

Tomorrow I have about 600 things to do, so I'm really looking forward to that....and I'm hoping we have a break from the rain soon. I had to postpone a Golden meetup that we had scheduled for Saturday. We had over 70 members RSVP'd for a hike in a local canyon....um, yeah, that's not going to happen with this rain. The ranger actually called me to tell me they closed the canyon to the public, but they would allow our group in if we were really set on going. Thanks for that, but I think we'll pass. 70 wet, muddy dogs? No thanks!

One of those days...

At last, December, the last month of the year.


I am happy that it's December. Not for reasons that most people are probably happy that it's December, but for selfish reasons of my own. 2009 has been a crappy year. I will be glad, make that VERY glad, when it's over.

I know that there are a lot of things I am thankful for, as I talked about in my Thanksgiving day post, but, you know, some days, it's just a little tougher than others to keep my chin up. Today was one of those days.


The day started of lovely enough...with a nice long line at the DMV. Oh, come on now, who wouldn't want to start their day by getting to the DMV nearly a half hour before they open, only to find that about 40 people already had your brilliant idea and beat you to the punch.

Yup, that was fun. Surprisingly though, it only took me about an hour to get done with my business there (renewing my driver's license) and I was on my way. Speaking of "on my way" while I was out and about I saw this in front of me...

I didn't realize that Batman drove a Scion. See, you learn something every day! He drove like a bat out of hell too!

I also came across this today. Shoot, I didn't know that Heinz put this stuff in a can...I think maybe someone should see a doctor. Spotted Dick pudding? Um, I'll pass.The day wasn't a total bummer. I spent a good part of the afternoon in a movie, which I actually really enjoyed. I saw "Blind Side" with Sandra Bullock (Hubby's favorite girlfriend...besides me). It was a great movie, and it was nice to see something based on a true story that was an uplifting story with a great ending. That was my feel good time of the day.

After the movie, things went downhill. Not like horribly, screetchingly terribly downhill... but downhill nonetheless. A bit of bad news that has sent me into a funk. Nothing to do with anything seriously important like someones health, thank goodness, and nothing I can't get over, but it will take a little processing, thought and reevaluation. This is NOT how I wanted this particular "something" to go.... Sometimes life sends us lemons, right? Time to start finding a way to make lemonade, right?

By the way...I'm not a fan of lemonade. OK, maybe with a little vodka. Got a juicer I can borrow?

Tomorrow will be a better day. I'm sure of it. I get a new refrigerator delivered tomorrow.

Whoopee.

I wanted a couch. (How's that for sour lemonade?)

It's Beginning to Look and Feel a Lot Like Christmas...

Yes folks, it's finally time for it to start really looking like Christmas! It's not August anymore, so it's actually acceptable (at least in my book) to see Christmas trees and decorations starting to pop up.

Black Friday was awesome! Although Hubby and I didn't get our super early start on shopping like we have in the past, we still got out there nice and early and scored all of the items we wanted to get. I'd tell you some of the killer deals we got, but since I know that Bear, AJ and Pickle occasionally browse through my blog, I'll have to keep that to myself. Suffice to say, "we done GOOD!"

After a break from the shopping to visit the hospital with Kona for our regular visit, it was back out to brave more crowds. (While I was gone at the hospital Hubby and AJ put up all of our outdoor decorations. Sweet!) This time when we headed out to shop though, we took the kids with us. Everyone was off of work and school, so it was fun to do a little something out of the ordinary. We bundled up, and headed out to the Viejas Outlet mall, about 30 miles or so east of where we live. It was a brisk evening, in the low 50's (which, you know, is like FREEZING for us Southern Californians!) and it felt nice and wintery. They had a gorgeous Christmas tree set up, surrounded by an outdoor ice skating rink. It made for a mini winter wonderland!

The kids are at ages now where they actually enjoy getting new cloths for Christmas, especially if they can pick them out, and make sure they fit. We had a really fun time, scoring great deals at the Tommy Hilfiger store, the Gap store, Nautica, etc. We stretched every dollar and didn't buy anything that wasn't on sale. And, boy or boy, did they have some great sales! I got a pair of Gap jeans for myself for 70% off - only $15.99! What a bargain! I'm going to wrap them up and put them under the tree!

Saturday was a fun day too. The kids got all of their home work caught up while Hubby and I finished off a little shopping, and a few errands. We've been him-hawing around about getting a new refrigerator too, and finally gave in and bought one last night. Our current one (13 years old) is still hanging in there, but we both have the feeling it won't last much longer. With the current great sales that were going on, we felt that it was the opportune time to get it. (But when in the heck did refrigerators get SO dang expensive? Holy Moly!) I would have rather have had a new couch I've had my eye one....but a couch can't keep the milk cold. Oh well. The new frig gets delivered on Wednesday, and I'll consider it an early birthday present.

We had a great family night last night, and played several different games, which we haven't done in a very long time. After the expenses of the last couple of days, (especially that frig!) we wanted to do something fun and FREE! We all had a really good time, and it was nice to remember that sometimes just doing simple things can make for the best times together. After games we made some popcorn and settled in to watch a silly, quirky movie, called "Death at a Funeral." It came out in 2007, but I'd never heard of it before. It was on HBO for free and we gave it a try. Other than the raunchy language, it was a pretty mild movie, with a funny plot. You might want to give it a try if you come across it, but it's a dark British comedy - so just keep that in mind...

Also on Saturday, we experienced something really out of the ordinary...RAIN! It had been 164 days since there had been any measurable precipitation in San Diego county. That's a long time with no rain! Needless to say the news stations were in a frenzy, finally having something to put in the weather report. Flashes of "Storm Watch 09" filled the airwaves...gimme a break! We had about a half inch in our part of town, and in the nearby mountains they got about an inch. Whoopee! Sure it was better than nothing (although I did have to cancel a scheduled Golden group meetup, which was a bummer) but it certainly wasn't worth getting into a tizzy over.

All in all, it's been a great couple of days. I've enjoyed having everyone home and spending the time together. Even Hubby had 5 days off, which has been great! Bear had a few days off from her salon, and we've all gotten the chance to spend some quality time together. Sure it's fun to shop, and give and receive gifts over the holiday season, but in the long run, spending time with those you love is the best gift of all.

The Week in Review

My, my, what a busy week! Here is a brief (OK, maybe not so brief) overview of everything that's kept me busy this week!


Monday - Bear's 23rd birthday. She and I spent the morning together, with brunch out, and an early movie. We saw "Law Abiding Citizen" with Gerard Butler, and both of us really enjoyed it. After the movie, Kona and I went to our regular VA visit, and had a grand time. We met up with some of our other Golden friends, and a Golden Doodle friend, Caleb. (Kona is on the right, I'm taking the picture.)
Monday evening my parents joined us for a casual dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory in downtown San Diego. After dinner Bear went out with some friends to continue her birthday celebration.
Tuesday was the day we had to say goodbye to some wonderful new found friends. Simona and Marco (Mom and Dad of Paco, Milo and Maya) from Italy had been visiting with our friend Val, just across the street, and we were able to spend some brief, but very fun time with them. I haven't said much about their visit because I have been so busy and don't want to rush through the post about them. They are such wonderful, sweet and warm people, I just fell in love! Meeting them both, and instantly making a connection reinforced my belief that the world is basically a wonderful place, with fantastic, warm and loving people in it. I will post more about their visit very soon, I promise. But in the mean time I wanted to share these few pictures from their last day here in San Diego. We did a little sight seeing, I took them to the Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma, and visited the tide pools. It was a lot of fun, and a nice way to spend the afternoon.

Tuesday evening we got together with another blogger friend, Milo, Laverne and Shirley's Mom, and we had a wonderful dinner at an Afghani restaurant close by. It was great food, but the company is what made the evening so magical. It was the perfect send off for our new friends - and an evening I'm sure we'll all remember!

The Four Blogger Buddies!
A last hug with Simona and Marco, our new found friends from Italy!

Wednesday was AJ's 17th birthday. He is such a great kid - low maintenance and very easy going. I made a special birthday dinner for him, including his favorites - bone in rib eye steak, cheesy hash brown potato casserole, and marzipan cake. He was tickled with his presents, and it was a pleasant evening. Can you tell what his other nickname is?

My parents came over to celebrate with us, and the only bummer was that my Dad wasn't feeling well. I mean seriously wasn't feeling well at all. Shortness of breath, very low energy, minimal appetite...all red flags...I began to worry.

Thursday was another movie day for me. Yay! Two movies in a week was a real treat for me. I went to see Michael Jackson's "This is It." I thought it was really great. I'm not the biggest Michael Jackson fan, and I know a lot of people have very strong feelings one way or the other about him, but I went with an open mind, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I don't think anyone can deny his huge talent.

Friday started off with Pickle getting her wisdom teeth removed, and ended with my Dad going into the hospital. Needless to say, I've had better days. Pickle was in quite a bit of pain, but never complained once. (She still hasn't!) What a strong girl she is!

Here she is on the way home from her oral surgery - glassy eyed and puffy-cheeked.

My Dad's breathing was becoming more labored throughout the day, and when his doctor called to give him some test results of procedures he'd had done earlier in he week, he decided it was time to get him into the hospital. Trouble getting a deep breath, fluid retention, etc. are all big red flags, and it was time to do more than just sit around. In he went, where they've been giving him oxygen, and adjusting his meds ever since.

Saturday Hubby and I got rolling pretty early and decided that it was time to get the rest of the Halloween stuff put away. We took our time, arranged, sorted, and threw out some stuff. We made a run to the donation center, returned some stuff to Home Depot, and made a stop at the recycle center, where we turned in all of the bottles and cans from the party and got back $31.00. Not too bad! By the late afternoon we were ready to get everything back up into the attic, so with the help of our neighbor, "The Tall Guy" and another strapping young teenage boy in the neighborhood, all of the bins and boxes got put up and stored away until the next party.

Saturday evening it was time to go to visit Dad in the hospital. Pickle was up for a little change of scenery, and I thought it would be nice to take Kona with us too. Pickle was funny and made herself a T-shirt that says, "I know my face is swollen..." on the back it said, " I just got my wisdom teeth removed." She wore it to the hospital, and got a kick out of the reactions she got.

Poor thing, the swelling has really kicked in today, and she looks like a chipmunk! Still not one complaint from her though.

And finally, today....Sunday. Again Hubby and I got an early start, and with AJ we loaded up all of the left over wood from the Halloween sets we'd made. We borrowed "The Tall Guy's" truck and took a VERY full load to the dump. They weighed the truck going in and coming out...We got rid of exactly 1,200 lbs. of stuff! Incredible! Thank goodness for neighbors with trucks! It felt great to get everything in the back yard cleaned up and back to the way it is supposed to be.

Shortly after our return from the dump, I decided it was time to get the pups some long missed exercise. Val and I got in our cars, and both headed down to Fiesta Island. It was a beautiful day to be out and about with the dogs, and they all really enjoyed their walk and swim. At first it wasn't my intention to let them swim, but once we were there, there wasn't much stopping them. They ran and swam and ran and swam some more! It was a nice treat for them, and Fiesta Island is such a great place to take them this time of year - all of the weeds have been mowed down, and there aren't many fox tails around.

Heading back towards the cars...they were done!

Of course giving them all a bath once we get home isn't the most fun thing to do when you are tired, but seeing them have so much fun, and wearing themselves out was totally worth the work we had to do once I got them home. Thankfully Hubby helped get them all cleaned up, and we were done in no time.

This evening we'll be heading down to the hospital again, and hoping to see some improvement. Please send good vibes this way.

Have a great week!