Die Hard!

You know that episode of Friends where Joey rents Die Hard?

The boys all gather to watch it at Ross's apartment and constantly yell "Die Hard!"

Even when they find out Joey has not rented Die Hard and Die Hard 2...just Die Hard two times?

Well, over the weekend Matt made me watch Die Hard.  He was astonished that I hadn't seen it.  Sometimes I think he forgets I'm a girl.  So like the good wife that I am, I sat through the entire thing.

And yelled "Die Hard" approximately 40 times.

I was sure I was annoying Matt...until he started yelling it too.

I love that man.

DIE HARD!

What I'm Watching This Season

I've been a bit Christmas movie obsessed this year. I usually try to catch the old standbys....Rudolph, Charlie Brown, Frosty...that sort of thing. But this year I check the guide nightly just to make sure I am not missing any movies on Hallmark, ABC Family, AMC, or Lifetime.

Here are some of the ones I have already watched:

Home Alone

White Christmas

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Prancer

A Garfield Christmas

These will also soon be watched...as they are scheduled on my DVR.

To Grandmother's House We Go

I can't believe I just admitted that I am excited to see a Mary Kate and Ashely movie...but I used to love this one! I tried to watch some of it yesterday and it was entirely too lame to watch in front of my husband, so I think I will finish this today before he gets home.


Home Alone 2

But I cannot find one of my very favorite Christmas movies! It's called Christmas Every Day. Have you seen it?? Ha! It's similar to Groundhog day...and pretty cheesy...but I love it! Here's hoping it's on this year somewhere!

What are your must see movies??

ETA: So many people have mentioned Elf! I totally and completely love Elf and I cannot believe I forgot it! Love, Love, Love!

Elf

Monday, Monday

Oh Monday. Why do you come so quickly?? And so early??

Our weekend was super relaxing and fun! Saturday we slept in and cooked a nice breakfast of eggs, sausage, and bacon...yum! It was so much better than our usual cold cereal. I tagged along to Lowes with Matt to pick up some odds and ends and we checked out our fantasy cabinets and granite counter tops while we were there. Do you ever do that?? It was too fun! Oh I can't wait to shop for things like that!

I did nothing else but lay around and read for the rest of the afternoon. Pure bliss! Then we had plans to go to a bowling party! Two of our guy friends...husbands of women Matt works with...were the birthday boys so we had a bowling party for them! It was SO much fun! And...look what Matt and I wore to the event:






Seriously girls, I have never seen this man look better! Those boots totally do it for me! AND...everyone loved them! We both got so many compliments it was ridiculous. One girl even said that Matt and I were the only people in our group who could pull them off. Who knew I was so fashion forward??

Here's an action shot of Matt. Don't let his good form fool you. On his first shot, he almost fell over and had to jump into two other neighboring lanes to keep from landing on his face. He blamed it on the shoes :)

My first game was rough...I believe 70's rings a bell. Yikes! But I rallied and kicked Matt's butt in the next game by 2 pins with a 128! And my third game was around 115. I think the 2 Bud Light Limes I had helped!


Matt played golf Sunday morning so I slept in, watched March of the Penguins on Netflix, and read. We rented Charlie Wilson's War on RedBox and it was super good. I would definitely recommend it. Who doesn't love a little Tom Hanks??

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Hope everyone else had a fabulous weekend!!

A Book/Movie Extravaganza!

This weekend was jam packed with fun...but we did a lot of relaxing too! Aren't those just the best weekends!?!

Friday evening, I talked Matt into checking out a local church carnival in search of elephant ears. They are my weakness. I know, I know, I'm dieting. But I NEVER get to have these...and it's the only time I screwed up all week! And one can't hurt, right? And I split it...so it's really like I hardly even ate one, right? And they totally skimped on the cinnamon and sugar...so that's practically 0 points, right? Thought so!

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By the way...I was totally shocked to find out these delicious treats now cost $5! What!?! I was outraged! And it ALMOST stopped me from getting one. Almost.


Friday evening I busted my way through the last half of My Sister's Keeper. I don't know what got into me. I just couldn't seem to stop reading. I must admit, though, it was more about getting done than loving the book so much I couldn't put it down. Don't get me wrong, I think the book is worth reading...and the story was quite the thinker...but for some reason...I completely had the ending figured out before it happened so the shock factor was lost on me. I have heard the ending in the movie is different, so I think it will be a Netflix rental in my future.

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Saturday we hit up the grocery and then I dragged my dear, dear husband to see The Time Traveler's Wife. I was completely excited for weeks to see this...as I just finished the book not long ago. Truthfully, I was just disappointed. The movie was SO different than the book and there was a significant amount of material left out...integral story lines I thought were important and made the book so great. It was extremely hard for me to separate the movie from the book...and poor Matt had to listen to me throughout the entire movie saying, "That's not what happened in the book..." I was even annoying myself! And it's all I could talk about afterward. I owe that boy something really great after that.

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But what did I expect? Of course they were going to leave things out...I knew that. I also know that books are traditionally better than their movie counterparts...but I was still let down.

So now I'm torn. I can't even tell you if I would've liked the movie without reading the book first. Probably. But now what do I do? Do I read the books before the movies and risk ruining the movie...or see the movie first and know what's going to happen in the book before I read it?? What do you ladies recommend?

My Saturday was not all bad...as I spent the remainder of my evening scaring myself silly watching old episodes of Are You Afraid of the Dark on YouTube. I can't remember what started this...but I ended up staying up to see midnight because I couldn't sleep. That freaking ghost that wrote HELP ME on the wall through the mirror was creepy!


Sunday was the laziest day of all time and it was lovely. We watched golf and I started reading Pretty in Plaid. I decided I needed a light-hearted read after my last book.

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We ended the evening with a little cookout for two. I love when Matt comes inside smelling like the grill. It's pretty much my favorite thing.


And now it's Monday again...and I'm back to thinking about work...working out...and dieting. Something needs to change!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

It's Friday! Luckily this week has flown by and I am loving that it is almost the weekend! I have plans to drag my husband to see The Time Traveler's Wife on Saturday and I am so excited! We just watched The Notebook this week...so I am on a Rachel McAdams high! Oh I just love her!

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Other than that...we have no plans! I just love relaxing weekends where we can simply enjoy the extended amount of time we can spend with just each other! I'm inching my way through My Sister's Keeper...so hopefully I can finish that this weekend. Oh what I would give to be a speed reader...


Now onto the winner of the garden stakes giveaway!! And I actually did make chicken for dinner last night...just saying.


And the winner is...

Annie from Chapters of Our Life!!

Congratulations Annie!! Please e-mail me at mavester34(@)hotmail(dot)com with your name, e-mail address, shipping address, and phone number as soon as you can and I'll get you your new garden stakes!

Thanks for entering!! Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!! XOXO

A Weekend to Remember!

Ah, this weekend was filled with a whole lot of nothingness that meant a whole lot of somethingness! Do you ever have one of those weekends where you have nothing on the calendar...but then it turns into lots of fun little events that make it really special??


Friday evening, we joined some of Matt's work friends at Bubba's! It's a BBQ joint here in Cleveland that is owned by a former Cleveland Browns football player. We actually got to see Bubba when we were there...so it was kinda cool :) Afterwards Matt and I headed out to try to find a movie to rent...but to no avail. We checked out the on demand channels when we got home...and discovered this!

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I am by no means ashamed to say that this was one of my favorite movies growing up! I love me some John Candy! And who doesn't love The Old 96er??


We started Saturday out right with a trip to Chick-Fil-A for breakfast. This was my first breakfast venture there and my chicken biscuit was quite good. We stopped by several garage sales on the way home but left empty handed.

Later on, I started to make a real dent in my new read, The Time Travelers Wife, as Matt whipped up some blueberry fried pies! I'm usually not one for cooked fruit...but I guess I'll eat anything that's fried! These babies were delicious!






Since I had already blown the day on such great food, I decided to host an impromptu fondue party for two! We made the Fiesta Cheese from the Melting Pot (which we get every single time we go) and had french loaf and tortilla chips as dippers! What a great dinner!



Sunday was filled with some serious cleaning and more reading. At first the book was REALLY confusing...but it's starting to flow a little more now and I am putting things together slowly but surely. Hopefully I can finish it this weekend when we are out of town...but more on that to come later...

I Heart Weekends

We had such a lovely little weekend!

Friday evening we watched Gran Torino. Have you seen it yet? Excellent flick. That Clint Eastwood sure is a talented man. Those kind of movies always make me a litty edgy but I thought overall it was really great. And hubs liked it too...which is always a plus.




On Saturday, we headed out with the intention of simply going to the post office, but ended but driving all over the city hitting up little shops and department stores along the way that we have been meaning to go to. Ha! We didn't even buy anything!! It was just wonderful to be outside in the nice weather. And we lunched at Chick-fil-a which is always a treat. They seriously have the best chicken sandwiches on the planet, don't you think?? They were also giving out samples of their new peach milkshakes, which I must say, were simply delicious. And this is saying a lot coming from a girl who really doesn't like fruit in things. By itself...great! In stuff...ick!




That evening I began the dreaded task of updating my iPod. All of my music was on my old laptop which is a huge piece of poop. My dog jumped on it so the monitor will not stay up on its own and it is SO slow! It took me about 90 minutes to finally get to the point where it was transferring songs to my flash drive! Nuts, I know. But I finally got everything transferred and it was such a feeling of accomplishment!

Sunday morning, I copied a few CDs into my iTunes and now I am all set! I even made a workout mix which I have desperately been in need of for months! Let me tell you, it is not fun hitting a wall in your running and then hearing Tim McGraw and Faith Hill belting out "Let's Make Love." Not really a big motivator if you know what I mean.

I went for a little run and spent the rest of the day reading. I finished Something Borrowed! Again, bloggy buddies and their reading suggestions come through. I really enjoyed the book and I am looking forward to beginning Something Blue soon!

Hope everyone's weekend was fantastic! Can't wait to hear about them!

Rookie of the Year

Monday night, we caught the last half of Rookie of the Year. Have you ever seen that movie??






I'm a sucker for baseball movies...Little Big League, The Sandlot, Angels in the Outfield, Major League. The list could go on from here...

Well, even though I LOVE all of those movies, little Henry Rowengartner holds a special place in my heart. No, it's not because he grew up to be the cutie-pa-tootie in American Pie:



It's because I was his co-star!

Yep, you heard me right, I was IN Rookie of the Year! It's hard for me to say that I was in a movie cheering on the Cubs, seeing as I am a White Sox fan to the core; however, it was pretty much awesome!

When I was about 10 years old and my dad took me to Chicago for the day to see a game. We actually did go see a Cubs game, and I can't for the life of me remember why, except for they must've been playing the White Sox. At my very first Major League Baseball game that I can remember, I proceeded to spill my entire serving of nachos on the two old women in front of me and get very sick...the kind of sick only ice cream can heal.

Well, when we got back to our seats the scoreboard said, "You're all going to be movie stars!" I was beyond excited! They brought out the "Cubs" from the movie and to get some shots. Then it was our turn. Want to know what my line was?? "Henry! Henry! Henry!" Yep...we were the crowd that cheered for Henry! Pretty neat huh?

So...although small, I do have a claim to fame. I wonder if my name is on IMDb??

Just checked...answer...no.

Randomness of the Weekend

Good Friday...off work!!

1. Worked out with Jillian and did some weights at the gym
2. Showered up and finished all of the grocery shopping for TWO weeks!
3. Made some fabulous Oreo Truffles with Tammie...and DID NOT have to take her to the ER...no baby for her yet...but she's due today!!
4. Relaxed!!

Saturday...my usual grocery day (notice...that is not listed!!)

1. Zumba at the gym
2. Took Matt's car to the shop to take the snow tires off...NO MORE SNOW...DO YOU HEAR ME!
3. Taco Bell!! You have no idea how long it has been since I have had Taco Bell...let alone fast food...oh how I missed you!
4. Movie! We NEVER go to movies...but we had free passes from Christmas that we still hadn't used (see...we never go!) so we went to see Adventureland. It was pretty good....I'd recommend Netflix-ing it.

Easter Sunday

1. Early Church
2. Did my very 1st run outside!! Oh my...it was wonderful. I have NO IDEA how far I ran...but I did my "running 5 minutes walking 2" thing for the last time that week! Now today I'll be up to 8 minutes...yikes!
3. Watched about 4 episodes of Property Ladder we had on the DVR. I think it's our new favorite show!
   
4. Made a budget in Microsoft Money (VERY exciting...actually...it kinda was...I know...I'm sad)
5. Grilled out! Please do not think this means that it was warm...um no...it was only 40! But...it was so sunny! We just couldn't resist. I'm a sucker for that grill smell!

It. was. wonderful!

Swim? Swammi? Slippy? Slappy? Swenson? Swanson?

Matt and I have been lucky enough to have met this sweet little old couple at our Sunday school class who have pretty much taken us under their wing. They seem to know everyone...but they always sit with us. They introduced themselves the first week we were there and they were just so warm and welcoming. They're wonderful because they give me the accountability to be there every week.

Well, they live right around church and have asked us to go to breakfast on Sunday. I'm super excited to spend more time with them outside of church. They're our first church friends! (Okay...is it weird that our first church friends are like 70?? I'm going with....no!)

My whole point...their last name is Swanson. Want to know what I always think of when I see their name tags?? Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly) of course...from Dumb and Dumber. Has anyone ever seen that movie? Well my brother and I grew up thinking this was the best movie on the planet (confession: a little part of me still does!) and quoting it every chance we got. You'd be surprised how many opportunities there really are!

The main girl in the movie is Mary Swanson. She meets Lloyd (Jim Carrey) when he drives her to the airport. She "accidentally" leaves her briefcase in the airport....Lloyd rushes in to claim it...but misses her before her flight leaves. Lloyd and his roomie Harry (Jeff Daniels) embark on this hilarious journey to return the briefcase to Mary and to make a better life for themselves in Aspen, CO.

If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it. I would also say...give it a couple times to really sink it. I didn't like it the first time I saw it...but I gave it a chance and eventually saw the awesomeness that is Dumb and Dumber. I have even brought my husband around to becoming a fan! And that, my friends, is a feat!

These are some of my favorite quotes from the movie:

[after Lloyd trades the van in for a moped]
Harry: Just when I thought you couldn't get any dumber, you go and do something like this... and totally redeem yourself!

Lloyd: We got no food, no jobs... our PET'S HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!"


Lloyd: This isn't my real job, you know.
Mary: No?
Lloyd: Nope. My friend Harry and I are saving up money for a pet store.
Mary: That's nice.
Lloyd: Igot worms!
Mary: Ibeg your pardon?
Lloyd: That's what we're gonna call it. I got worms! We're gonna specialize in selling worm farms. You know, like ant farms.


Lloyd: What are the chances of a guy like you and a girl like me... ending up together?
Mary: Well, that's pretty difficult to say.
Lloyd: Hit me with it! I've come a long way to see you, Mary. The least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?
Mary: Not good.
Lloyd: You mean, not good like one out of a hundred?
Mary: I'd say more like one out of a million.
[pause]
Lloyd: So you're telling me there's a chance.

[coming out of the 7-11]
Lloyd: Hey guys. Oh, big gulps huh? All right! Well, see ya later.

Sea Bass's Friend: Kick his ass, Sea Bass!


Harry: What's her last name? I'll look it up.
Lloyd: You know, I don't really recall. Starts with an S! Let's see. Swim? Swammi? Slippy? Slappy? Swenson? Swanson?
Harry: Maybe it's on the briefcase.
Lloyd: Oh, yeah! It's right here.
[He reads the manufacturer's name, which is Samsonite]
Lloyd: Samsonite! I was way off! I knew it started with an S, though.




Do you feel like this about a movie?? I'm also completely obsessed with Dirty Dancing, Juno, Finding Nemo, and Lilo and Stitch. I'm big into the quoting...which can probably get annoying...but I heart it!