Lighten Up

So, it's been awhile -- I've been busy. For those of you familiar with Fox 13 News you may have already seen it. For those of you who are not -- well, it's been an adventure. I'll be "Lightening Up" with Big Budah. So if you'd like to track my weight feel free to tune in. If you'd like to follow my blog on their website, here's the link. http://community.fox13now.com/view/displayManageBlog.kickAction?as=96363 If you'd like to watch the video clips it's easiest to select Good Day Utah then video then Big Budah. Oh my. What have I done?

Movie Math

I have a class to prepare for tonight so naturally I thought now would be a great time to make my top ten list. I used a careful scientific procedure to determine my tops and bottoms. First, I checked online to find all the movies that were released in 2009. Then I highlighted the ones I saw and put a star, left it blank, or a down arrow. Following that process there was a clear bottom ten but I had to go through and give double stars to my favorites so I could narrow down my top ten.

In 2009 I saw 59 movies. I averaged a little more than a movie a week. (I think Christmas break helped me boost the average.) Of the 59 movies 22 were targeted towards kids/tweens. (No, New Moon did not make the list.) The remaining 37 movies had nearly a 1:1 ratio. For every favorable movie I watched there was one that was unfavorable or so-so. The same ratio appeared when I analyzed the kid flicks. Overall, I'd say I enjoyed 2009's year in film. So here goes the list:

2009 Best Films

1. The Blind Side
2. (500) Days of Summer
3. Away We Go
4. Capitalism: A Love Story
5. The Proposal
6. Julie & Julia
7. State of Play
8. Sherlock Holmes
9. Star Trek
10. Invictus/End Game (Technically, two movies but they are both set in South Africa so I figured I could group them together.)

Honorable mentions go to: Up in the Air, Avatar, and He's Just Not that Into You. I figured if I write them small I can get away with adding them. Renumbering the list to a top 13 just doesn't sound right.

2009 Worst Films

1. The Invention of Lying
2. The Ugly Truth
3. Public Enemies
4. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
5. Ghosts of Girlfriends Pasts
6. Obsessed
7. Push
8. Duplicity
9. Taking of Pelham 123
10. The Soloist

2009 Best Kid/Tween films

1. Up
2. Where the Wild Things Are
3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
4. The Princess and the Frog
5. Monsters V. Aliens
6. Shorts
7. Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs
8. Ponyo
9. Race to Witch Mountain
10. Hannah Montana the Movie (I really liked the little dance song.)

2009 Worst Kid/Tween movies

1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
2. Land of the Lost
3. Coraline (This movie was freaky and a lot scary)
4. G-Force (I have an unhealthy relationship with guinea pigs. There are about 15 buried in my mom's back yard)
5. Imagine That (Technically, I didn't see this movie but I "bought" it from Red Box because I forgot I checked it out and stuck it in my DVD player, so 25 days and dollars later I decide maybe I'll watch it and sure enough -- nothin. Blank DVD. So it makes my worst list by default.)

So there you have it. I didn't see any of the lame raunchy comedies that seem to be all the rage but still make critics' top tens. I like mainstream but I'm not afraid of mainstream/indie. I absolutely HATE horror or scary movies. I do not like to be scared. When I am I do stupid things. That's how I got Dudley.

Here are a few movies that were released in 2009 that I didn't see but want to:

Bright Star

The Boys are Back

Whip It!

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Adam

Food Inc.

and Dance Flick (I'm a sucker for a good parody.)

Something's Wrong With This Picture

I guess Christmas was a little more difficult than I thought. All I remember is sitting down to watch Santa Baby 2 on Lifetime or Hallmark or whichever channel I watch and waking up to this. Bummer. Have you tried the peppermint kind? Little burst of yummy peppermint heaven. Maybe I can whip it up in my magic bullet? Right now I have peppermint soup.

Note to self

If a recipe calls for frozen rhodes rolls, pop and serve biscuits are not an equivalent substitution.

Butterscotch bubble bread is now raw, doughy mess.

Also, if it calls for a bundt pan, a loaf pan probably isn't a good idea either.

Hip Hop Dog

So you don't have to look at the contents of my purse anymore. Blame Kiley.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Problem

I have a problem. My purse is messy. Seriously messy. So messy that when my phone rings it often goes to voice mail before I can find it. Within the last week and a half I have had my purse dumped out upside down twice. The first time was at the Conference Center. I was not happy. I knew they were going to search my purse but seriously this was like a cavity search for purses. The second time I was with my mom and I heard a distant ring. I thought it was my phone. I looked and looked for it but I couldn't find it. My mom was with me so she looked and looked for it too. My mom ended up dumping the whole thing out in the front seat of the car. I still couldn't find my phone. It turned out my purse was so messy it jumped out and went under the seat. I took this as a sign. It was time to clean out my purse. So forty-five minutes ago I told myself that before I could go to Target and buy that shoe rack I want, I must clean out my purse. What I found was slightly embarrassing so when I'm embarrassed I like to write about it and post it to the internet. Here are some of the contents. You might like to play along Eye Spy style.

• A toothbrush
• Important receipts for school
• 13 Post it note lists
• Flex spending letter that should have been mailed last month
• Missing ID tag
• Computer cord for projector
• Sucker
• Two tampons
• $437 dollars in cash and checks (what? Who has $437 in their purse?)
  
• Another purse
• punch cards from every place that gives out punch cards (most with only one punch)
• two ticket stubs
• 47 assorted pens and pencils

Yup, I'd say I have a problem.

Anyway, I think I've earned a trip to Target and with $437 I think I can buy a pair of shoes to go with that rack.

CCRs

I'm pretty sure the person growing corn in their front yard is violating a rule in the CC&Rs.  Oh the joys of living in a planned community -- Only a few more days.  Let the packing begin!