Girls' Night Out (I'm not going to call it a GNO because it always makes me think "gyno")

I swore I was going to post about this sooner than today to give more notice,
but you know how life gets....

But if you can, COME JOIN US!!!

Tonight at Fairchild at 9:15

We will be watching a little bit of Cameron and a little bit of Ashton.

If you can think of anyone who might not read my blog who would want to come,
please tell them! All are invited! Bring a friend!
I know I always say this, but that's only because
I MEAN it!! THE MORE THE MERRIER!

I think it's time to stop, my exclamation point key is wearing out.
Seriously, hope to see you there.

Aaaalllllllrighty Then

I know I just did a hair post, but this was too good to not blog about. I kid you not, this was not a set up. This is how Bill's hair looked when he came home from work yesterday:

Remind you of anyone?

"The Swirl"

It's been called a tornado. It's been called a halo. It's been called Hurricane Katrina. But we fondly refer to it as

"The Swirl."

The swirl resides in the middle of Payson's forehead. When we buzz his head, you can't see it very much. But when his hair grows out...

We always know when it's time for a haircut, because everyone starts pointing it out, talking about it, putting their finger in it...luckily, Payson doesn't care. The weirdest thing for me is that Payson is the one known for it. What most people don't know is that both my kids have The Swirl. Obviously, Macy had it first, and was famous for her swirl as a baby. All the doctors and nurses commented on it in the hospital, and people would always comment on it when she was a baby.

And although Payson had it too, he didn't have enough hair to show it really.

As you can probably imagine, The Swirl made for some insanely crazy bangs on Macy. So when she was three we grew them out. Now her swirl is well hidden under that crazy mane on top of her head. She begs for bangs all the time. I tell her she can have them when she's 16. I figure by that time she'll be old enough to realize she can never have bangs, due to The Swirl. But poor Payson....he's cursed for life.

THIS WEEK IN HOLLYWOOD: MOVIE EDITION

With all the buzz about new and upcoming movies, my head is swimming with thoughts and opinions about them all. I realized today it was a perfect post in the making. So here goes:

What Happens In Vegas
in theaters now

I can't wait to see this. I know it will be another cookie cutter romantic comedy, but at least it looks energetic and funny instead of limp and sappy. I'm sure it will border on obnoxious, but I'm not afraid to admit I don't care.

The Dark Knight
in theaters July 18th

This movie completely intrigues me. This new wave of Batman movies has left behind most of the corny humor that filled the old ones and taken on a darker, more intense tone. I love it. I can finally take them seriously. The latest installment, The Dark Knight, seems to live up to it's title, or at least the play on words. The few previews I've seen show The Joker, (infamously played by the late Heath Ledger, who was said to be so tormented by playing this character he stopped sleeping at night) not as a smiley-faced Jack Nicholson type, but a psychopathic freak show with a mutilated face. Basically the freakiest thing I've seen onscreen in a long time. The previews alone scare the crap out of me. I can't wait to see it.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
in theaters now

I have no idea why I am so excited to see this. Maybe it's because I have fond memories of watching the original trilogy as a family when I was young. Maybe it's because there's been so much hype about the return of Harrison Ford to the role he hasn't played in almost 20 years. I don't really know why, but I am, nonetheless. I was so pleased to see the previews looked as if they didn't stray very far from the classic format that made them so successful in the 80's. And hey, if the special effects seemed amazing back then, how great would they be now? And with the addition of Shia LeBeouf and Cate Blanchett, how can they go wrong? As long as there are no melting faces, it's sure to be a winner.

The Love Guru
in theaters June 20th

I'm already laughing just thinking about watching this. It's about time Mike Myers put something out where he wasn't wearing a cat costume or doing a voiceover for an ogre. Seriously, where did he disappear to after Austin Powers? Well, he's back, and that's all that matters. (How hilarious was he playing "Sitar Hero" on American Idol?)

Sex and the City
in theaters May 30th

How soon can I get in line to NOT see this?

Speed Racer
in theaters now

When I saw this preview I thought to myself, "That looks really weird. Even if the movie was good, I don't think I could stand watching 2 hours of that trippy, acid-laced set design." When I read the review in People, it said that not only was the movie not good--at all--but that she couldn't handle the psycho cartoon-esque set design. Hmm. Thanks, Leah. I can always count on you.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

in theaters now

This should be really good. The first one was excellent, and the special effects on the previews for Prince Caspian look amazing. The interesting part is that I will be going into this one having no clue what it's about. (I had read The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe many, many times. Never could get past the first book, though.) I can't decide if this makes it more exciting for me, or less. I guess we'll find out.

Hancock
in theaters July 2nd

I am so undecided about this movie. I have a really hard time with movies that can't seem to make up their minds if they're a comedy or a serious action/adventure. I know a movie can be both, but there are some previews that try to show both sides, and that just kills it for me. In one scene he's tossing a beached whale back into the ocean, accidentally throwing it right into a boat, smashing it to pieces. Funny. In the next scene, he's Mr. Serious who has to decide if he's up for saving the world. Not funny. However, it stars Will Smith, which means I will be watching it.

The Happening
in theaters June 13th

Oh, M. Night, how you torment me so!! Why, oh why, would you go all "R" on me now?! We've had such a great run all these years, with The Sixth Sense, Signs, even The Village, which lost you many a fan but not this one. No, I stood by you and this is how you repay me? I guess now I'll never know what is happening, will I?

The Incredible Hulk
in theaters June 13th

I'm so confused. Didn't they just make this movie, back in 2003? What? Oh, that was just The Hulk? Oh, I see, it's completely different. Well, okay then, by all means, make your movie. I'm sure there's no way it's also about Bruce Banner, the man who turns into a giant green monster when he gets angry. What's that? Oh, it is? Oh, well, you can never have too many movies about the Incredible Hulk, right? I can't wait for 2013's release, The Green Incredible Hulk. Now that's one I'll be holding out for.

Twilight
in theaters Dec. 12th

Oops...how'd that get in there?

Baby Mama

There's something that you should know about my love of movies: I love all types, kinds, genres. Although I favor the dramas, I LOVE me a good, no-commitment, cheap laughs comedy. And this one...

...takes the cake. I expected to laugh. I just didn't expect to laugh from the time it started til the credits rolled. (My movie-viewing companions can vouch for that. Oh, if you've never watched a funny movie with me, it's definitely something you need to witness before you die.) This movie was just plain funny. I should have known, being Tina Fey. She was the mastermind behind Mean Girls, which I loved. The previews for Baby Mama just made it look cute, not hilarious. So I went in expecting it to be a chuckle, not a side-splitting cackle. But cackle it was. (If fart humor and social stereotype jokes aren't your thing, you may disagree.)



Kate (Tina Fey) is a successful woman who desperately wants a baby but finds out she can't get pregnant. Weighing her options, she finally decides on surrogacy (using a sperm donor). Enter Angie (Amy Poehler), a financially-challenged, dim-witted girl from South Jersey who is, well, a bit further down the social ladder.

After Angie chooses Kate's baby to carry, the two immediately begin bumping heads with their different lifestyles. Soon Angie is living with Kate, (I don't think I'm giving too much away here, it was pretty clear from the previews.) and it's laugh after laugh watching them cohabit.

Tina Fey was likable as always as the straight-arrow, responsible adult learning to let loose a little. (See dance club scene.) Amy Poehler is adorable and hilarious as the fun, care-free wild child who is forced to learn to grow up. I loved watching her character unfold throughout the movie, unveiling a sweetness and innocence you can't help but fall in love with.

But of course the reason to see the movie is for the laughs. And they are a'plenty. All I want to do is quote my favorite parts, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it. Oh, what the heck, I have to put at least a few.

"You people and your space age cars." -Angie

"I'm sorry I farted into your purse." -Angie

"He didn't ask me to be his wife, but he didn't ask me not to be his wife." -Angie
(Maybe my favorite right there.)

I can't wait to see this movie again! HILARIOUS!

Fair warning: Obviously being SNL-affiliated, the humor was crude at times and there was some language. But I was actually very pleasantly surprised that it was not as crude as I expected.

The Official Winner of my Birthday Quiz is......................................................

Marilyn!!


Marilyn remembered 9 of my movie reviews. Way to go Marilyn!
Just name the movie, the time, etc. and we are there!

Thanks again to all who played. It really made my birthday so fun.

The Results Are In

*Editors Note: Please excuse the absolute heinous spacing of this post. Blogger and I are going to have words.





Well, the end of this week is bittersweet. Bitter because my birthday is over and I HATE it when my birthday is over. Sweet because the stomach bug is gone (knocking....no, pounding on wood) and I have the best birthday memories ever to sustain me for the next year til my next birthday. I truly have the best friends anyone could ever ask for.


So, I guess it's time for the big reveal. First I want to thank everyone who participated in my birthday quiz so much. It seriously was the best birthday present to me. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed reading your answers and maybe even more so, your fake names and trying to figure out who was who (before checking my email). My goal was to see how well everyone knew me, but I'm pretty sure I butchered that with my impossible questions. I went through and tallied up how many people got each question right, and threw out the ones that only 1-3 people got right, the ones I realized no one would have ever gotten unless they guessed. The interesting thing was, it didn't change who had originally scored the highest. So I guess I didn't need to worry about it after all! So, here are the winners. Yes, we have a three-way tie! (Well, 4 if you count Bill, who was Shavonda, but we're not going to. He better have known those answers!)

(in the order that they answered)

1. Anonymous 1st Commenter (my cousin Jen)

2. Boosie Bug (Marilyn)

3. Big Momma (Kristen H.)

Yay to you all!!! You all tied with 6 correct answers (based on the original quiz, counting all the questions)! However, since a bucket of popcorn and a drink cost around $50 at the theater, I can only afford one winner. So, I am having a tie-breaker round.

I have temporarily deleted all of my movie reviews off of my blog, including my link list on the side. The person to name the most movies I've reviewed on my blog wins. However, if you put the answers in comments, it wouldn't make it very hard for the people following you to answer, would it? So, email me your answers. Remember, this is only for Jen, Marilyn, and Kristen, and you guys are on your honor to use your own memories! As soon as I have recieved all three answers, I'll post the winner. Woohoo, I am having too much fun with this.

So you wanna know the answers to my quiz questions? Here they are:

1. What is my favorite movie? D. I don't have a favorite movie It's the curse of being a movie critic, I guess.

2. What is my favorite carbonated beverage? D. All of the above First question I threw out. Apparently I only ever talk about Fresca.

3. What is my biggest pet peeve? B. Bad Drivers Second question I threw out. I guess it was pretty unfair of me to pick one when I have listed all of the answers as equal pet peeves before.

4. What is my preferred brand/flavor of gum? A. Extra Spearmint (green) Almost everyone got this right. Weird.

5. What is my favorite cereal? C. Honey Bunches of Oats Yeah, so I don't know what I was thinking on this one. I have never mentioned my favorite cereal, ever. Only my husband and Lisa L. got this right, and Lisa's was a lucky guess. Nice twy, Lisa, nice twy.

6. What is my favorite song? D. All of the above Oh, did the Britney Spears song throw you off? Nope, I was dead serious. Love. That. Song. (And I've even blogged about it before.)

7. What is my favorite color? B. Black Okay, so a few of the people who know me all too well came running at me with pitchforks and knives on this one. And they had every reason to. My favorite color is brown. What?! I know, I'm ridiculous. This is a classic example of how I overanalyze everything and it often leads to no good. I'll try and sum it up: So I went to put "brown" as my favorite color, and then stopped and thought, wait, I can't put brown, because back when I did my "Split Personalities" post (you know, the one with all the names, like my rockstar name and hippie name, etc.) I put "black" as my favorite color because I thought Black Whale sounded better than Brown Whale. (And black really is one of my favorite colors.) I didn't want to throw anyone off who may have remembered that, so I just put black as my favorite color. Not only did people totally call me on it, but it turns out, I did put Brown Whale after all. Seriously, I embarass myself. Often.

8. What is my favorite food? C. Fast If you didn't get this one right, lift up your right hand and hit yourself in the head with it.

9. What is my favorite pastime? A. Sleeping Another trickster. All of the choices are favorites of mine, but I thought everyone knew not much beats out sleep for me. Even going to the movies. I know, it's sad, but I love me some sleep.

10. If I were stranded on an island and could have only one item with me, what would it be? I couldn't choose one thing, so there really is no right answer. I really just wanted to see what everyone would come up with! I gave anyone a point for answering. I loved these answers, by the way!

And I'm sure you're all dying to know who was who, so here it is, in order of scores:

(Top four scorers listed above) Wishing I Was Still In My 20's (Tiffani) -5 D2theR2theM (Sara S.) -5 Lauren Conrad (Rachael) -5 LC Lover (Nicole) -5 Unmovie Queen (Heather B.) -4 Seriously?! (Shayla) -4 Anonymous 2nd commenter (???) -4 Lost My Marbles (Amy J. aka my sister) -3 Totally Guessing (Jessica T.) -3 Babybababoo (Jan) -3 Maxine Wayne (???) -3 Your Biggest Fan (Lindsay B.) -3 Crystal Chandalier (Lisa L.) -3 A Shot in the Dark (Brenda M.) -2 Coco Pop (Kim M.) -2 Mother of Monkeys (???) -2 Happy Day (???) -1

Those of you who still have not revealed your true identities to me, I'd love to know who you are! And again, thank you so much for playing, especially those who didn't think they'd ever win, I'm so glad you still played. Oh, and I have to give Honorable Mention to my two favorite answers to question #10: Heather's, about the lame Dharma Initiative movies, and Bill's for the the chapstick I could also chew on.

And because I don't think this post is yet long enough, I have to send you over to Jan's, in case you haven't seen it already. I was considering doing a This Week in Hollywood, but now I don't have to! Thanks Jan!