Things that make me happy

On my way to work yesterday morning, I was blessed with this view. My favorite flower. Everywhere. They looked so beautiful in the bright sunlight and I couldn't resist taking a photo. Thank heavens for camera phones. That photo got me through a rough day yesterday so I thought I would share it with all of you. Enjoy!

What's it called again?

ME: So yeah, I like it...

MOM: Ok, well I better get going cause I'm calling from the blueberry and it's a personal call so...

ME: HAHAHAHAH!!! YOU JUST CALLED IT A BLUEBERRY!

Washing dishes

Why is it that when I wash dishes I must see suds in order to believe that my dishes are actually being cleaned?

A confession

I never thought I would say this...but I am totally picky about my toilet paper. Oohh, that feels good. To get that off my chest. In my house growing up, all I really remember is having Charmin in the house. So, when I got my own place, Charmin it was. Living in New York City is quite expensive and there was this one time I got Scott because the fundage was low. Oh dear lord. That was like using construction paper. Sorry Scott brand, but your toilet paper sucks ass. So I went back to the beautiful Charmin. My friend who owns the pet boutique asked me to pick up some TP for the store. I went across the street to Duane Reade and they were restocking and all they had was Scott. I, of course, left the store without toilet paper. I refused to bring Scott back to my friend. Lo and behold, thats the brand of toilet paper my friend grew up on and is just dandy with it. She didn't understand my issues with Scott. She laughed at me. The other night I went to the 24 hour CVS by my house and went to the toilet paper aisle. The only brand that was left on the shelf was Cottonelle. I had never tried Cottenelle and I figured it's probably better than Scott so I gave it a try. It wasn't until I got home when I realized that it was only 1-ply. I think that is the secret. I have to have 2-ply toilet paper. This Cottonelle stuff does not do the job. AND I STILL HAVE FOUR ROLLS LEFT! I like knowing that I have one secure thing in my life. My love for Charmin. I can't wait to get through these four rolls of Cottonelle and back to my Charmin.

Inspiring. Beautiful. Touching.

Nouvelle Star

I stumbled upon this youtube video today. I am astounded! This is France's version of American Idol. Tell me what you think of this kid...

Will someone please explain to me...

how one can drop off their laundry at the laundry mat to then pick it up and find that the one thing missing from their laundry is a queen size mattress pad. Not a sock but a QUEEN SIZE MATTRESS PAD.

Please explain this to me!

Martial Arts

I have always been a fan of Martial Arts. It is not only an athletic but also very beautiful and can be extremely graceful. A stunning art. As I have gotten older I have grown more appreciative of it. And being the movie geek that I am, I find myself drawn to films of that nature. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Hero; House of Flying Daggers; Kill Bill Vol. 1; Curse of the Golden Flower etc. I am always astounded at the skill that the Martial Arts people have. Their agility, strength, lines...everything about their movement blows me away.

I recently told my friend that I enjoy this film genre knowing that he was a Martial Arts aficionado. If it were a musical, in that very moment, we would have burst out into song. He was very happy to hear that I too had such interest in that art form. We talked about Martial Arts for a good hour and every day continue to discuss it. I love talking about it with him because every day I learn something new. And I am introduced to movies that I never would have seen had I not said anything to him.

Sunday night was movie and take out night. We ordered Chinese food and watched Jackie Chan's The Legend of Druken Master. First of all, I need to tell you that I think Jackie Chan is brilliant. In this 1994 sequel, the tricks that man does will blow you away. And you watch knowing that he does all his own stunts. Fierce.

What is your favorite Martial Arts film? Why? Let the comments begin!

Pulling at my heart

When I first started my blog I told all of you out there that So You Think You Can Dance was a new hot obsession of mine. Well, it continued into this year and I was there, every week with each and every dancer. SYTYCD was announced as my FAVORITE TV SHOW. It still is. This dance piece moves me to no end. All of the emotions that roll through me when I watch this are unexplainable. Please watch and enjoy. The song choice, the movement...everything about it is extraordinary. I hope it moves you too.

Feet

Feet. I have a thing with my feet. I like my feet protected. I love socks and socks on my feet inside shoes. I am only barefoot in my own home or where I feel at home. I love getting pedicures and I love the way my feet look once the pedicure is done. This is generally the moment you will find me in sandals or somestrappy set of shoes. If I could, I would get consistent pedicures year round. But frankly, they are expensive. The good ones at least. Now don't get me wrong, I like my feet. I think they're actually a good set of feet. So why don't I show them off more? Cause I don't like my feet to feel dirty. I could have had the longest day of my life and if my feet feel dirty at the end of the day, guess what. I am gonna wash them. I think my disgust for dirty feet got worse when I moved to NYC. Because you take one step outside in sandals and you're feet are black. FOUL. Its bad because I cannot crawl into bed if I have dirty feet. I will wash them. And then crawl into bed. OCD , I know. But I still try to shake it up a bit and wear sandals every now and again to prove to people, "Yes, I have 10 toes." So yesterday, I wore my sandals. The sandals that show off my feet nicely. And what do you know, it rained. I was a half a block away from my house and I did it, I stepped into a puddle that engulfed my entire foot. GROSS. I think I stood in that puddle for a good 10 seconds before I pulled my foot out because I was so repulsed by the feeling of my foot immersed in a soggy puddle. The moment I got home, I ran into the bathroom and was washing my feet. I felt so much better after my feet were clean. It was like I was a new person.

Let's just say that today, I wore socks and shoes.

I love New York

Walking to the bus tonight I am just feet away from the stop when a man, who I am sure was drunk, opens his arms as if asking for hug and says.... "Come 'ere you!"

I think I just peed a little...

Briliant.

Seriously?

The video says it all.

Earthquakes? In New York City?

It feels like a rolling earthquake. I thought I had gotten away from those now that I no longer live in California. Who woulda-thunk that living on a major avenue in New York City on the 5th floor (the top floor of your building) would give you the same feel of a rolling earthquake every time an extremely large semi drove by. Strange.

Oh the joys of unemployment

You would think that since I am currently unemployed, I would have a multitude of things to blog about. Negative. I have tried to keep myself somewhat distracted so that I don't dwell on the fact that I have no job and no income. This is a great way to celebrate my birthday (which is 6 days away by the way).

On Monday night I did see Evil Dead: The Musical. Gotta love working in this industry...you get comp offers constantly! So I had a date with myself and trekked into midtown through the freezing winds and saw a very interesting piece of theatre. It was very comical and I enjoyed the campiness of the piece. BUT, the songs are not catchy and I was (I hate to say it) disappointed with the choreography. Hinton Battle is the choreographer. Most of you know him as the demon in the Once More With Feeling. The musical episode from Buffy The Vampire Slayer. I wanted, well expected, much more out of Battle.

There were some definite stand out performances. Jenna Coker was fantastic. Her comedic timing, singing, dancing, everything was just brilliant. Was totally blown away by her. Long story longer, I mean short, I would totally see this show again, with a large group and I would sit in the "splatter zone". ;)

A picture is worth 1000 words...

I have been some what thrilled that we are in the Christmas season. Back in California, I spent the holidays enjoying the lights on my neighbors houses. Watched my dad put up our small strand around the roof of our house. And I would go to Candy Cane Lane and walk down the block to look at the beautiful decorations.

Last Tuesday I went to Brooklyn with Sparky so she could show me her Christmas experience. I thought I would have this brilliant blog all written out to describe what I saw on those houses. But my words can't do justice. Luckily photos are worth 1000 words....

Movies all I can think about are Movies

Now I'm not your traditional woman. I do enjoy the occasional romantic comedy or drama but really gets me going is a good action flick. I go to the movies a lot. No really, I go A LOT. And I'm all about Netflix so let's just say, I love movies. But no movie does it to me like an action flick. And today I saw probably one of the best action flicks EVER. Casino Royale. Fantastic movie. I was blown away in the first 15 minutes of the film. There is this insane chase, on foot. It was breathtaking. I will own this movie. I will. Don't argue with me. Casino Royale has made it's way onto my favorite movie list in the action flick genre. I could seriously watch this movie over and over again. If you haven't seen this movie yet, RUN DON'T WALK. It really is a beautiful film.

Some of my other favorite action flicks....all the Die Hard movies (and can we please talk about how they're filming movie FOUR as we speak!?!), The Italian Job, The Bourne Identity series (phenomenal car chasing scene), and I hate to admit this one...but Mission Impossible 3. It really is the best one of those. And that's only because of JJ Abrahms and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. You can't go wrong there.

OH, and I saw the trailer for Spiderman 3. I'm so there on May 4th, 2007. With the rest of the world. And on July 13th, 2007 you better believe that I have a date with Harry Potter.

Now I know my ABCs

This video, from one of the blogs I read daily, (DOOCE) is one of the very things that confirms why I want children. It just makes my heart melt. She just turned 33 months and has perfected her ABCs quite well. Here is what she sounded like back in March. You, dear reader, have no heart or soul if that just doesn't make you into one mushy pile of goo. :) HAHAHAHAHA.

It's OK, you can watch it more than once. I have. I won't tell if you don't.....

Oh that smells really good!

I am hooked. On a hand creme. Laura Mercier's Mint Leaf Hand Creme. It feels amazing, smells amazing but is 15 dollars for 2 oz of creme. I can't bring myself to pay 15 dollars for hand creme but I can't stop thinking about it and is probably the best creme I have found in a VERY long time. When the winter hits here in NYC, I am a lotion fiend. My skin gets super dry and I am constantly dousing myself in lotion. Now, the beauty of Laura's creme is that you don't have to use a lot for it to go a long way. So I could probably make it last. But 15 dollars?! For hand creme?! I am so shocked about this price...but I might just cave. Cause I can't stop thinking about it. And I can still smell it on my hands... As Mom says "You always get what you pay for."

Global warming?

Yesterday and Today, New York City has been on a WIND ADVISORY. "Winds are up to 40 to 50 MPH". I'm sorry...but that's not an advisory. That's a bloody WARNING. Winds at 50 MPH is a WARNING! I live by the East River and I can't even begin to describe how the winds are by my house. Yesterday I was waiting for the bus and I literally was almost blown over. I had to walk against the wind, which was a task itself, and could barely keep myself upright. And to top it all off, it was raining. Rain and 50 MPH winds is not a pretty combo. Something tells me that Mr. Al Gore is not too far off with this global warming. Our winds and rain are signs of a hurricane. In New York City? Yes. Thank you, George W.