Marvelous Monday Update 6/16/08

Movie Monday

Because I Said So
Stars: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham & Piper Perabo. Daphne Wilder (Keaton) is a mother whose love knows no bounds or boundaries. As a single parent, she has raised three fantastic girls to become the kind of women any mom would die to have. The only problem is she drives her daughters crazy. In an effort to prevent her youngest, Milly (Moore), from making the same romantic mistakes she did, Daphne decides to set her up with the perfect man… through the use of a personal ad and doesn’t tell her daughter. She chooses a smart, sexy, rich, architect for Milly. While “interviewing” potential candidates, Johnny the lounge singer watches from afar. He suggests to Daphne that he could be a match, but was quickly shot down. He takes Milly’s business card and goes to meet Milly on his own. Daphne pushes, cajoles, suggests and nudges her way into Milly's smallest of decisions. Comic mayhem unfolds as the well-intended mom continues to do the wrong thing all in the name of love for her beloved daughter. Will it be the architect? Will it be the singer?

*** I really enjoyed the movie, and for once thanked my lucky stars that my mother isn’t that way. Although, she did make it known at the wedding reception I was single! Back to the movie… It’s definitely a chick flick, and had some funny parts.


Come Early Morning
Stars: Ashley Judd. Lucy (Judd) is a 30-something woman who keeps waking up with a stiff hangover and a guy she doesn't even want to look at. If coming to grips with why she keeps repeating this pattern isn't enough, Lucy also begins to realize that she needs to get in touch with her family past and, more importantly, with the person she has become.

*** This was an OK movie. The best part of it was her realization that she needed to come to grips with the past and to stop using it as a crutch for her behavior. She had a good thing going (in the movie) with Jeffrey Donovan and screwed it up. He's a cutie!


Hope Springs
Stars: Colin Firth, Heather Graham, Minnie Driver, Mary Steenburgen. British artist Colin Ware (Firth) discovers that his fiancee, Vera (Driver), the love of his life, is going to marry another man. Distraught and despondent, he gets on a plane for America and ends up in the tiny town of Hope in New England. At first, Colin is depressed, but he soon finds more than a shoulder to cry on when his innkeepers introduce him to Mandy (Graham), a beautiful nurse. All's going well and Colin has almost forgotten his old flame until Vera suddenly shows up with a surprise her own. Turns out she faked her wedding invitation in an effort to get him to wake up and marry her.

*** This, too, was an OK movie. I'm not a big fan of Firth's so maybe I'm biased. LOL Vera was a very manipulative character, and Mandy was too flighty for a nurse character.

Did everyone know that Blockbuster is offering non-new release rentals for 99cents? Maybe it's just my BB in an effort to keep up with competition since a new Family Video opened up and their rentals are WAY cheaper. I belong to the $9.99/yr BB club where I get a free rental each month and rent-one-get-one on Mon-Wed. So I got three movies for 99cents! Can't beat that.


Freecycle
I can hear it now... "Not the Freecycle speech again!" LOL Freecycle is great! First the good...

1. I received a small Toro battery-powered weedeater from a lady who bought a new one. She was really nice, and what a talker! It's kinda small, but it'll work until I can afford to buy a larger one. Snowblowers, hedge trimmers, lawnmowers... Can you say $$$?! I was so excited about the weedeater that I used it right away when I got it home. :)

2. I received a brand new 5-gallon bucket of paint from another lady. I had planned on painting the living room/dining room so this will come in handy! :)

Now the bad...

Some people are just plain rude. About 2 weeks ago, I offered a 5x13 piece of carpeting that was on my garage floor. Last week, a lady contacted me and said she wanted it so I sent her a pic just to make sure that she liked it. Toward the end of the week, she emailed me that she still wanted it. I emailed her back that I was busy with the wedding and I'd get back to her afterwards. Within a day, she sent me three other emails that said things like, "Do you still have the carpet or what?" And the scary one was: "I found your address on Freecycle and drove to your house to get the carpet, but didn't see it at the end of the driveway like you said. There was a blue one in the backyard but I wasn't sure if that was it." Now... First of all, my address is NOT listed anywhere on Freecycle. Secondly, it takes guts to go to someone's house UNINVITED. To walk around the property??? Lastly, I didn't tell her that the carpet was at the end of the driveway. I emailed her and told her it wasn't my house she was at and that she had me mixed up with someone else.

I just thought... W-O-W!


Stitchy Stuff
I've had a box of stash sitting by my computer since last year that needed to be scanned and put on my stash-for-sale blog. (There's also a link in my sidebar) I finally was able to get some of it added to my blog.

Over the past several days I've spent an enormous amount of time stitching and frogging... stitching and frogging... stitching and frogging on my June ornie for a SAL I'm involved with. Who sent the frogs???

No, Nancy... I wasn't frogging because I was drinking. LOL The problem was that I didn't thoroughly think through the lettering on the ornie when I charted a new set for over-one on aida. I'm working on A Christmas Wish for Health & Happiness by Blue Ribbon Designs. The design is really for linen/evenweave but I grabbed a piece of 18ct aida and started stitching before I realized there was over-one AND over-two stitches on it. Here's what it looks like after 16 hours (16 hours!!! LOL):




Skin's On Fire
What were 5 grown women thinking when they ventured out to sit poolside at a company function? Well, we were thinking it was going to rain and we wouldn't be out there long, that's what! Two of the women could be my mothers, btw! None of us were too smart on Friday.

Saturday was pretty rough for me. I felt ill and had tremendous pain shooting into my shins whenever I stood up, due to too much sun. My skin was on fire all day Saturday and into Sunday. With a big bottle of "Aftersun Aloe" next to me, I spent the bulk of the day on the sofa on Saturday. By the end of the day, the skin on my legs started feeling 'funny' so I got curious about what was in the Aloe. Looking at the label, the first ingredient was water. The second ingredient was ALCOHOL! No wonder my legs were feeling funny, I spent the day slathering alcohol all over them. Nowhere was aloe listed in the ingredients. I think it's a crock tha the name of the product even contains the word ALOE when it's clearly not.

I was finally able to put on shoes Sunday. Could you hear my Dad? "Did you learn anything?" I decline to answer that on the grounds it might incriminate me later. Trying to be helpful, he sent me home with two large containers of medicated heavy moisturizer that is supposed to be for his hands because they used to get so dried out while working. I've been using it, hoping that I don't peel too badly.

Today, Monday, the heat is gone but my shoulders and chest are still pretty tender. Comparing notes with my coworkers, I'd say I fared the worst. Lucky me! *This* is why I don't normally go out in the sun.


Father's Day
This year, I came up with a brilliant idea for a Father's Day gift. A month ago, I asked my Dad to figure out what size tarps he needed and I would get them for him for Father's Day. Guess what? He got too busy in retired life and never got around to it, LOL. So he got a gift card to Menards instead. I told him he'd have to buy his own. ;-) More about my Dad HERE.


Freebie



A Christmas Wish of Health & Happiness
by Blue Ribbon Designs