Oh What A Night

Oh, the Oscars. Every year as I watch I wonder what it is about them that I love so much, and every year I have a harder time figuring it out. I don't really know why. They are superficial, incredibly self-indulgent, and often times painfully awkward to watch, and yet there I am on my couch every March, filled with excitement as the first glammed-up stars make their way down the red carpet. Isn't it great?

Here is my own personal list of Best and Worst of Oscars 2010:

BEST

Sandra Bullock's Best Actress Win - For being an actress I once couldn't stomach watching, she sure has made it high on my list of favorites. Although I still have not seen The Blind Side, she says bitterly, I think she deserves it just for being an amazing actress and starring in so many great movies. Her acceptance speech wins my vote for best acceptance speech of ALL TIME, and completely summed up what I love about her: She was emotional, endearing, and funny all at the same time. LOVED IT.

Gabourey Sidibe - When she sat and listened to Oprah's tribute to her with tears streaming down her face, I wanted to cry with her. I loved seeing what she was feeling: a young girl plucked out of obscurity to become this epic star over night, sitting at her very first Oscars, possibly about to win the award for Best Actress (she didn't). I love that she was able to put aside the plastic-y show that all stars encompass at the Oscars and...feel. It was a very real moment.

Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin - As co-hosts, these guys had me cracking up every time they were on stage. Their casual banter was soooo much funnier and easier to watch than the put-on, rehearsed jokes that the usual non-comedian hosts do.
Kathryn Bigelow's Best Director Award - Only because I love witnessing history. The first female to ever nab this award, she was shaking like a leaf as she accepted both this and the best picture award (for her movie The Hurt Locker) and was gripping her Oscars like her life depended on it! So sweet.

WORST

The Best Actress/Actor peer tributes - Does anyone else HATE these? In theory, it's a swell idea to have someone the actor worked with introduce them. But four minutes of a "peer" gushing over the nominee while the camera parks itself in front of said nominee for the duration is painful!! What ever happened to just good ole"and the nominees are..."??

John Hughes' tribute - Sure, I liked Ferris Bueller's Day Off as much as the next girl, but, seriously? I lot of great people in the movie industry died last year and all they got was a blip on the In Memoriam montage. I was left wondering why this guy deserved so much air time.

Sean Penn - Presenting for something (I can't even remember), he made a confusing, uncomfortable comment that I'm sure if I understood would have been controversial.

Sandy Powell - Accepting her award for Best Costume Design, she began by saying, "I already have two of these." (meaning Oscars.) Hey, Sandy, maybe hide the plethora of Oscars you have, because I know of at least four other people who would gladly bludgeon you to death with them.

And that was my take on the 82nd Academy Awards.
What did you think?

I Hate To Admit...

Some great (and creative) friends of mine, a trio of sisters, have been coming up with genius ideas to blog about lately, and yesterday they invited their readers to join in this one, I think because they knew it was an especially stellar idea that would be hilarious. (At least, theirs were.) So here is my list of things

I Hate To Admit...

*That I read Baby-Sitters Club books until my sophomore year of high school.


*That if my kids wanted to rob a bank and get tattoos to celebrate, I would totally let them if it meant I could extend my nap.

*That I don't really like other people's kids. I've learned to love a few of my kids' friends and a few of my friends' kids, and of course my nieces and nephews, but it wasn't easy.

*That I can count the number of times I've made our bed in our married life on my hands.


*That I average making one dinner a week...and that I am so proud of myself when I meet that quota.

*That I would literally eat dessert for breakfast, lunch and dinner without shame or hesitation if it wouldn't eventually kill me.


*How much I worry about people liking me.

*How many times in a week I try to start eating healthy...and epically fail.

*How much of a chore it is for me to read my scriptures.

*How much of my day is spent counting down 'til the next time I can sleep.

*How much I thrive on other people's controversy and drama.

*That I secretly love the song Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus.


*That I once got two speeding tickets in one week.

*That I dream of one day being a household name.

*How much I love lists like these, and how long I could actually make this list.

It's All About Me

Because I have new followers of my blog that don't know me and more joining every day, I thought I'd do a little Alicia 101. Me in a nutshell, if you will. (Simon would probably call me self-indulgent, but whatever.)

My name is Alicia (pronounced uh-LEE-shuh).
I'm 30 years old.
I live in Washington state.
I married my soul mate.
I have two awesome kids.
I suffer from migraines. A lot.
I'm writing a novel (as seen on Teaser Tuesdays).
I love movies and all pop culture.
I have the best friends in the world.
I love junk food.
I have a ginormous vomit phobia.
I secretly dream of fame.
My favorite colors are red, black and white.
I was once obsessed with Twilight but the worldwide craze killed it for me.
When I was little I wanted to grow up and be a writer.
I have a cat that despises my very existence.
I can't say no. To anything.
I belong to this church.
I love to sleep. Like, looooove it.
I have suffered from anxiety my entire life.
I laugh like a truck driver.
I am literally (not joking) addicted to gum.
I dream of being skinny again.
I am a hardcore hopeless romantic.
I am all over the place when it comes to my blog.
I hate vulgarity.
I hate things that are fake (including people).
I am in love with my iPhone.
I'm still trying to find my place in this world.

Hope that fills you in. Hope you like what you read. Hope you'll decide to stick around.

Making Me Smile Today...

*My kids outside practicing their dribbling skills together.

*Macy repeatedly saying her stomach still felt "oozy" after getting sick.

*Sahara BBQ pizza on it's way to my doorstep

*Payson demonstrating the Flippity Flip--the ONLY way to serve a tether ball.

*Hearing Payson say "Flippity Flip."

*Falling in love with my husband all over again when he asked Macy on a date this weekend.

*Going on a long walk this morning and talking with a close friend.

*New followers on my blog (welcome!!) that I have never met.

*American Idol tonight

Teaser Tuesday

I just searched back through my blog to see what I last "teased" and was shocked to see I haven't done a teaser since AUGUST!! What the crap?! That's crazy! But then I starting thinking about it, and realized it shouldn't have shocked me because a) up until recently I hadn't been writing at all since August and b) I was barely even blogging there for a while. But still...I say I'm long overdue for a teaser, don't you? Here ya go.

We stood, facing each other, staring into eyes that were barely perceptible in the dark. No less than a million thoughts and questions flooded my mind, and I had not one thing to say. The shock of his revelation had stopped the flow of tears, but I did not move to wipe the residual moisture from my cheeks. I couldn’t even feel that they were wet anymore.

Finally I shook my head. “I don’t understand. Why? Why are you doing this?"

© A. Leppert

Just Peachy

Yesterday Macy and I were in the toy section at Walmart picking out a birthday gift for a friend. We were in the doll aisle, scanning for something good to get, when suddenly I glanced down and saw this:





I literally gasped. "Peaches & Cream!!!" I cried. Macy looked at me like I was crazy, but I had already picked it up and was admiring it in all it's NIB glory.

You see, Peaches & Cream Barbie was the last Barbie I received before moving from little girl into way-too-cool-for-Barbies. It was also the Barbie I decided to hang onto, and still have to this day! Yup, here she is:







Obviously, 25 year old P&C has seen better days. But oh, how I remember loving that doll. Wrapping and re-wrapping her peach colored wrap that was inexplicably long enough to go around her at least four times, admiring how her sparkly, spaghetti-strap dress fit perfectly over her mom hips (back before they updated Barbie and gave her hot little 18 year old hips that are perfect for ultra-low rise jeans and boy cut underwear), turning her back and forth slightly so the skirt of her dress would swish, swish, swish. Oh, those were the days.

Seeing her sitting there on the shelf at Walmart was like getting in a time machine. It was such an unexpected surprise, and I enjoyed waxing nostalgic for a few minutes. However, nothing makes you feel old like finding out the Barbie you used to play with is being re-released as "vintage."

Valentine's Day

This was the perfect movie to see on my Valentine's date with my husband. I know what you're thinking: duh. But I say this because the movie is so 100% about Valentine's Day, I can't say I would have liked it as much if I saw it, say, next weekend. It would somehow seem irrelevant. But maybe that's just me.

Either way, I did see it last weekend, and I did enjoy it. While it wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, it was definitely worth seeing, even if only for the all-star cast. There are no less than 20 top billed actors and one can't help feeling a little star-struck as scene after scene revealed yet another celebrity. I kept thinking "they had to have shown them all by now," and then another one that I had forgotten about would suddenly appear.

With so many stars, the movie obviously has multiple, interweaving story lines, in the vein of He's Just Not That Into You. You know, the kind where you have to keep notes throughout to remember how each person is connected. Some roles were bigger than others, with Ashton Kutcher (in a refreshingly subdued, heartfelt role) and Jennifer Garner taking the most screen time. Others (Kathy Bates?) made me wonder why they agreed to sign on for all of four lines.

In case it's not glaringly obvious, the theme of the movie is love, love and more love, examined from every angle possible. Teenage love, love that ends in heartbreak, love that began as friendship, love that endured the test of time, motherly love, new love, unconditional love, and of course, (because this is the 21st century) same-sex love.

Like Garry Marshall's other films (Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Princess Diaries), the best way to describe Valentine's Day is to picture a woman sighing at the end and dabbing at her mascara-streaked eyes with kleenex. He is also one of "those" movie-makers that recycles actors, something I can't decide if I like or find annoying. It's like playing Where's Waldo every time you watch one of his films, wondering where his sister will pop up, and who Hector Elizondo will play this time. (Adam Sandler would be proud.)

The movie is comical (I use that word when I'm trying to say there were a few chuckles throughout, but that the theater was spared from hearing my boisterous, let-it-all-out guffaw) and entertaining, but overall is sweet and has some great messages about fidelity, teenage sex and the true meaning of love. Oh, and the two Taylors add some great humor as a high school couple who understand love about as much as...well, a high school couple.

All in all, worth the watch, definitely, preferably with your significant other, but a gal pal would suffice. As a warning, there are MANY sexual references and scenes containing sexual content, but no actual love scenes (that I can think of!).

Movie Queen Rating: PG (pretty good)