Guilty Pleasures: MOVIES

The other day I was blog hopping and on one blog a song from Moulin Rouge was playing. Instantly I felt happy because I had flashes of my life back when I saw the movie and what a great time it was. Now, I keep wanting to sit down and watch it. It is remarkable how sights, sounds, smells and music can transport you/your mind to a different time that you experienced.

My question: What movies from your past do you love because it brings back exciting/happy/positive feelings? Maybe it was just the soundtrack you loved. Tell why please.

My guilty pleasure is Moulin Rouge. I saw it at the dollar theater in Provo when I still lived there. I heard from some women that it was good. I went with my girlfriend, Meghan. At first we didn't get it, it was too in your face. A day later we both kept talking about it and then we went and saw it again. The weirdness made it unique (ie. Napoleon Dynamite). I admit it is not for every taste. Anyway, we burned the soundtrack and then became huge fans of the music, movie and actors (especially Ewan McGregor). When I think of that time, it was a fun, young, kid free, mortgage free, poor married student time in my life. :0)

Dream House

Thanks to everyone who participated in the last post, it is so fun getting to know a little bit more about everyone. Here's the next question.....

What would be you're ideal dream house..... That is what style and where would you want it to be. The reason I came up with this one is because my parents have just finished building a house this year and it is more of the Spanish type, and that got me thinking.... if I could build my own dream house, what would it be, and where would I live?

OK girls go for it, let's say money's no object, any place in the world, and any style of house... this does not have to be realistic. Have Fun!!

Dream Job

If you could do any job in the world, what would it be.... and I mean in a perfect world where you can have kids and still get everything done that you want to in the day. Maybe even have a cook or house keeper, in your most perfect situation, what would you do?

I'll give you a few examples.....

doctor, lawyer, zoo keeper, dentist, school teacher, librarian, lunch lady at school, the walmart guy that hands out the carts and says hello, nurse, artist, photographer, just to name a few....
now remember, you can be as creative as you like, as for me.....

I would be a CSI.... Crime scene investigator.... I love that kinda of stuff, it's kinda like a puzzle and you get to figure it all out.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name . . .

. . . and they're always glad you came . . . You wanna go where people know, people are all the same, you wanna go where everybody knows your name.

So I had a SUPER awful day yesterday full of lame drama and I was feeling really bad about something that happened and then that made me feel bad and sad about other stuff. I spent a lot of yesterday crying and ended up with a GIANT headache. It stunk! Plus, I hardly ever cry. Seriously, I can count the times I cry each year on one hand. It kind of takes a lot of stress and drama to make me cry.

I had to return some books to the library and no joke, as soon as I stepped through the doors I felt a little weight slide off my shoulders. I browsed the cookbook section and new non-fiction and looked around in the kids' books as well.

When I went up to the circulation desk to present my card and check out my books, the librarian said, "Oh, I already pulled you up on the computer, Tara." Then she smiled her warm friendly librarian smile. A few days ago a book I requested and had been waiting for for about a month came in and when I went to pick it up one of the librarians said, "we knew you would be really excited that this finally came in!" I know they are just doing their job, but they really make me feel like they actually know me. I know this sounds really sentimental, but it is true and with all the dumb haterade in my life right now, it just feels good to know that there are people out there in my community who care about me, even if it is just book related.

The library is my home away from home. I go there a few times a week and check out at least 50 books at a time. The librarians call me "the lady with the bottomless bags" and always laugh when they give me a 6' long receipt of all the books I've checked out and say, "this one is even longer than the last one!" I can put my feet up and read while the kids look at books or play with toys or play on the computers. I feel so relaxed in the library, even the smell of books is soothing. The librarians are my Sam, Cliff, Norm, Diane, Carla and Woody--the books my addictive relief.

Is there a place you go where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came? Do you have a home away from home or a peaceful spot you can escape to when everything in your life seems stressful?

Me? The Public library for Union County, ahhhhhhhhhhh. . . . 

Just for fun!

http://transformationteam.net/video/perceptual_experiment_tc

Click on the web address and follow the directions.  Some of you may have already done this before, but here it is anyway..

Sleepover Kit

I saw this on my Joann's coupon and I really want to try it. Ollie is totally into forts and I think he would love this just to play in at home. Unfortunately I don't know how to sew, so I may have to recruit some help. I also couldn't get the instructions to open (maybe I need to update Adobe Reader?) so if anyone else has better luck, let me know.

College Student Cleanout Freebies

At the end of the school year the college students around here throw out perfectly good and mostly almost new items. They literally put lamps, desks, rugs, chairs and the like in and around dumpsters. This year I picked up some really good stuff. Anything I don't end up using I can sell at the Neighbors and Newcomers' annual yard sale. A lot of professors and people in the community will dumpster dive for stuff and also a lot of people who live in vans down by the river (no joke!). I didn't actually come to blows with any river people, I just asked them politely if they were going to take a certain item and it not, could they help me take it out of the dumpster. I did have to power wash a few items to remove a year's worth of grime, but I think it was worth it. My husband said he would only get stuff if there was no one around and if it wasn't actually in the dumpster. I had no such reservations.

Here's what I found: cotton candy machine (which we have had endless fun with), desk from IKEA, small trash can, dolly, clothes drying rack, hat rack, set of plastic drawers, white flower pots, basket, chair, beanbag (not pictured), small area rug (not pictured), microwave (not pictured), cooler, 2 mirrors, electric kettle, four slice toaster, Hamilton Beach single serve blender with travel lid (perfect for protein shakes), corduroy purse, practically new broom and dustpan, shoe rack, small plastic shelves, and  some kind of tupperware with lid and compartments and handle for carrying (not pictured). 

I would also have had a new aquarium, but a river person got it first. I would have gotten a brand new futon, but my husband wouldn't let me load it into the mini van because he was afraid one of his students would see him. Don't tell him, but one of his students (that I have actually met before) did see me pull a beanbag out of the dumpster. Next year I am getting a babysitter and camping out by the dumpster on College Student Cleanout weekend, who knows . . . I might luck out and get a mini fridge.   

Mantuary, a Room of His own

So Collin showed me this article about the Mantuary phenomenon. It is basically that your husband has a room to himself that he can decorate any way he wants and fill with things he likes to do: pool table, old sports trophies, poster from Star Wars, etc., and women and kids are not allowed in there unless they ask first or are invited. I actually think this is a cool idea, but only if wives can also have some sort of womantuary. 

Collin's mantuary would contain: first and foremost the ultimate TV-watching LaZboy, A nice big HDTV and he means big,  cable package that includes European soccer, mini-fridge stocked with lemonade and chocolate milk plus a  cabinet stocked with Snowballs and donut gems, a toy basketball hoop in a corner and several blow up balls for kicking and shooting around the room. The decor would have stuff from his travels, he is a world traveler after all, as well as paraphernalia from his glory days (pictures of himself playing soccer, trophies, a shrine to himself), props and costumes and other items for his movie making, computer with iMovie on it and a Fusball table with a ping pong top that can cover it to save space table.

If I had a womantuary it would have built-in shelves for all my yarn and books and craft stuff. A computer to assist me in scrapbooking, etc. A comfy couch I could lay on while I read. A huge table I could use for sewing or scrapbooking. I would decorate it really fun and funky and colorful and modern with tons of pictures I have taken on the walls. It would have a normal size TV and its own cable box so I could record all the shows that conflict with Collin's shows and watch them while I do crafts. I am thinking that this sounds kind of boring so I will add a rock climbing wall and a spin bike and a kickboxing dummy and somehow I will be able to take virtual group exercise classes from my TV.

How about you all? What would go in your womantuary? What would your man put in his man cave?

Favorite websites

I know I'm not the only one who enjoys surfing around the internet. What are everybody's regular and favorite sites to visit. Here are some of mine (besides suppermommies obviously)...

http://dooce.com/
http://www.babycenter.com/
http://www.themoviespoiler.com/
http://www.imdb.com/
http://www.msn.com/
http://www.eonline.com/

There are others that I enjoy shopping at like amazon and old navy but I don't visit them as often.

According to this quiz...

Take the Quiz here!

Bag Lady Mach 5

My bag is small but also has a Mary Poppinsesque quality. I was amazed to not find a rock or marble, evil doll in progress or matchbox car. I also did not have tampons or extra underwear for Ian, which I should. 

Here's what I did have:

size 6 knitting needles

knitwise superswish yarn in taupe

measuring tape, the book At Knit's End

Meditations for Women who KNIT TOO MUCH by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee the Yarn Harlot

small mirror

phone

calendar

keys 

hand sanitizer 

Burt's Bees Honey Lip Balm 

Burt's Bees Hand Salve

Aveda Hand Relief lotion

American Girl lip shine (it belongs to Emma)

mentha lip tint

pack of Kleenex

bag of roasted almonds

Advil

calculator

checkbook 

change purse containing prescription and medical cards

eraser (but curiously NO pencil)

SpongeBob bandaid

various wrappers, receipts, scraps of paper and coupons

watermelon frost throat lozenges (they are Chinese and taste like mold, but they work)

a burnt out light bulb

two pens

Girl Scout cookie money

My 2 Baby Bag

I got this bag when I had Gwen a year and a half ago and thought I'd have to get something bigger when this 2nd little one came along, but some how it handles the load. 

Here's the list:

Wallet

Planner

2 Phones (the black one is a broken one for Gwen to play with)

Change (mostly just a bunch of pennies)

Drink Cup with a Straw

Bottle

Butt Balm (prescription strength)

Nystain Cream

Watch

Brush

Goldfish Crackers

Keys

Gwen's Glasses

Glass Cleaning Wipes

Diapers (Sizes 5 and 2)

Wipes

First Aid Kit

Happy Face Stickers

Receipts

Car Seat Dangly Toy

Lip Gloss

(the changes of clothes are in a 2nd diaper bag that I keep in my car so I don't have to worry about remembering that every time)

Why does everyone have socks in there bags? is there a secret that I'm missing out on?

My Black Hole

I actually clean my bag out pretty regularly...I hate a dirty diaper bag. It's the OCD in me coming through!

diapers and wipes

extra panties for Callie (we are potty training)

a dirty bib from lunch today

socks

extra clothes for Cole

burp rag

my planner/wallet/life

cell phone

keys

chapstick

lipgloss

hand salve

hand cream

tampon

Madela PureLan 100 (soothes sore nipples)

point and shoot camera, so I don't have to lug around the monster

raisins

animal crackers

fruit puffs

hand sanitizer

butt paste

toys

a book I am borrowing from a friend; "The Friday Night Knitting Club"

"Marry Poppins" bag

Aaron always teases me saying I have way too much stuff in my bag.  He can never find anything in there so he calls it my Marry Poppins bag.  Here's what's inside (very funny by the way Katy):

water bottle

wallet

Sevrie's socks

Coral's hat

pen

gum

coupons

random papers

diapers and wipes (diapees and wipees)

lip gloss/lip sticks (in black make up bag)

sucker

tampons (just in case)

bracelet keychains

mini doll keys

doughnuts from this morning

sun glasses 

flouride (don't ask me why)

mini manicure kit

baby bottle

Sevrie's keychain photo album

Kleenex

Sevrie's clip

two black hairbands

antibacterial soap

3 plastic wrappers

This actually gave me then opportunty to organize my bag and throw the trash away.  I must say though, the majority of my stuff is still in there.

Bag Tag

I came across a friend's blog and for one of her posts she had been "bag tagged." So she had to take a picture of her bag and its contents and list everything in it. It was funny, so I checked out a couple of the girl's blogs that she then bag tagged. I probably saw 3 or 4 bags and it was obvious (because all of their bags were little and super cute with only a few essential items-phone, wallet, lipstick...) that none of those ladies have kids. I thought it would be much more amusing to see what kinds of things we moms fill our bags with. Here's my diaper bag that I've been using for about 3 years now. I was going to remove the items that don't belong before I took the picture, but I decided to give you guys a true idea of what my bag usually looks like, so I included everything that was in my bag at that moment. Luckily, there was nothing too embarrassing.

Contents:
my planner
checkbook
stamps
wallet
coin purse
ipod
cell phone
gym pass
keys
picture book
pen
diapers
wipes
library pamphlet
a pair of Ollie's socks
a rock
a marble
Ollie's toothbrush
pile of gum and candy wrappers and other trash
one of those paper clip things
antibiotics that I never finished


So for anyone who wants to share the secret contents of their bag, I (diaper)bag tag you.

It's a good excuse to clean your bag out too:)

Valentine's Day

So how do you all celebrate Valentine's Day with your hubbies? (I'm talking pre-bedtime). Do you give gifts? Go out on a date? Who is in charge of planning it? How about some ideas for us that are on a budget. I'm thinking a sweet love note would be nice.

Play room

Awhile ago we set up the small living room in our house into a play room and it's finally turning into the room that I hoped it would be. Kendall's old enough and independant enough that she can go in there and entertain herself and anytime friends or cousins come over they all spend most of the time in there. When Gage is in there I don't worry that he's getting into anything he shouldn't be. Which when he's not in there that's almost certainly what he's doing. I still need a few bins or chests for the dress up clothes and the dolls but otherwise, it's a wonderful room.

Rock Band

I'm not really a fan of video games in general. If I'm going to waste my time I'd rather do it watching tv. Plus I'm really bad at them and it's never fun to do things you're bad at. My husband though is a techy through and through and we've got two gaming systems, a wii and an xbox. We recently got a game called Rock Band and it is so much fun. My parents came over tonight to play it and I think they both enjoyed it. There's a guitar, drum set, and microphone, and everyone has a role to play. I'm terrible at the drums but the guitar/bass and the microphone are a lot of fun.