Thursday, August 31, 2006

Three Things

Three things I want to do this weekend:
- Clean the house for our guests next week
- Have friends over for a bbq
- get Elijah's big boy room painted

Three songs I can't stop listening to:
- Bright Future In Sales - Fountains Of Wayne
- Sunrise - Simply Red
- All These Things That I Have Done - The Killers

Three shows I want to see new episodes from:
- Scrubs (coming in January)
- Psych (coming in January)
- House (Tuesday!)

I was so surprised to find out that the Gin Blossoms released a new album (they disbanded in '97), and I listened to the snippets on iTunes, and now I have to get this album! It sounds great, just like always.

I watched some of the Emmys, even some of the Emmy pre-show crap. I just loved how Jeremy Piven was putting Billy Bush in his place for asking him dumbass questions. I love Piven, I was happy he won. He's very talented. And on that note, I'll close with a quote from PCU.

Droz: I don't know if you're aware of this, Gutter, but there actually was music recorded before 1989.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Book Book

I got tagged by Sharon, and she's so sweet, I had to do this for her.

One book that changed your life: The Bible

One book that you've read more than once: Season Of Passage (Christopher Pike)

One book that made you laugh: Girlfriend's Guide To Pregnancy (Vivki Iovine)

One book that made you cry: I probably haven't cried reading a book since I was a kid, and that would be Bridge To Terabithia (Katherine Patterson)

One book that you wish had been written: Sure-Fire Cures For A Colicky Baby

One book that you wish had never been written: Any book written by an idiot

One book you are currently reading: It's been a while since I picked it up, but I was reading The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (C.S. Lewis)

Here are 5 people I'm tagging: Geoff, Kelly, Lisa, Athena, Chris (either of my Chris friends) If you don't post it on your blog, at least email me your answers.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

this is an audio post - click to play

Vegas- In Detail

Okay, in case you didn't get details from Geoff's post, here is my post about Vegas.

We got in Tuesday night, and had dinner at the buffet. Then Elijah and I went to bed ('cause I was tired), and Geoff went to gamble and wait for his parents to arrive. They got in a little late, but the three of them enjoyed a beer when they got in. Geoff had lost some money at blackjack, and was a little disappointed. The next morning, we met up for breakfast and mapped out our morning. We went to the strip, and walked around the Forum shops at Caesars. We went next door to the Mirage, and Treasure Island. We headed to the Venetian for lunch. We walked back to the shuttle and spent some time at the pool. I went to the salon to get my hair cut before my big date with Geoff.

We had reservations at five for Delmonico in the Venetian. We caught a cab, and sat in the lounge until our table was ready. This is hands down the swankiest restaurant I've ever been in. The atmosphere was lovely, the food was unbelievable, and it was a wonderful night out. We returned to our hotel to say good night to Elijah before we went to play some blackjack. I have a plan you see. I have a number in my head of how much money I'm willing to lose, and I walk away when I get to that number. Then I can still have money in my pocket. I left when Geoff went out, and I was at $53 left of my $100.

Thursday we went back to the strip, heading right for Paris to get some coffee. We think we might want to stay there for a future visit, it has such a great atmosphere. We enjoy our coffee, resist the pastries and then walk around the Desert Passage shops at Aladdin. We go back to the Venetian to do the gondola ride. The outdoor version is cancelled due to the wind, so we go to the indoor ride. We're lucky enough that each family got to enjoy a private gondola. Our gondolier is Angeline, and she has a fabulous singing voice, she sings That's Amore and a lullaby for Elijah. It was a wonderful experience I suggest everyone take advantage of. We caught a cab back to the hotel to get some lunch. We settled on Sazio, an Italian restaurant. We had the whole place to ourselves. The food was tasty, even if we had to wait a little for it. After lunch, Geoff wanted to teach me how to play video poker. We hung out for a while, Glen & Diane got ready for their date night, then we all hopped in a cab to the Bellagio. We walked around the conservatory which was all decked out with trains and carvings of famous landmarks and buildings. It was Elijah's favorite thing to see I think. We went outside to catch the 4:30 showing of the fountains, but the wind had them canceling it. So we went to the Mirage to say goodbye to Glen & Diane (they had tickets to see LOVE), and caught a cab back to our hotel. Elijah & I went to try and relax in the room, Geoff went and played craps (and won over $100). We met up for dinner at Terrible Mike's (which isn't terrible) and then Geoff & Elijah went to relax in the room and I went to play VP and Blackjack. I got back to the room a while later, and we ordered champagne to surprise Glen & Diane as an anniversary gift. They got in, we heard how fabulous the show was and how they had a wonderful time, and then the champagne arrived. Obviously I didn't have any, but Geoff and his parents did.

Friday morning we hit the buffet for breakfast, which I wish we had done sooner. I really miss that now, all that selection. We shopped at gift shop and I played some VP with Geoff, while Elijah enjoyed Nana & Grampy time. It was then I hit 4 Aces and won $200 (on top of the $73 was still left in the machine). I cashed out immediately. After we checked out, we hung out by the pool in the shade until it was time to go to the airport. Since we shared a cab and had to go to two different terminals, it was a quick goodbye.

That was Vegas.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Vegas

I did an audio blog post yesterday morning, but it did not turn up. Sorry. I'm not quite ready yet to write down everything, I'm still kinda tired, so here's a short list.

- 4 Aces
- Gondola ride
- Delmonico
- Too windy for Bellagio fountains :(

I'll fill in the details later. I didn't take many pictures, because it was my 3rd time there. But here's one picture for you.

Monday, August 21, 2006

The House Always Wins

"If I wind up broke up well I'll always remember that I had a swingin' time"

All the anxiety I had about the trip to Vegas is gone, now I'm excited. I love the idea that if I wake up hungry at 1am, I can go downstairs and get some food. I can't wait to see the fountain show at the Bellagio again. It's one of the most wonderful things I've ever seen. This trip will also hold some new activities, like the gondola ride at the Venetian. Geoff and I will also get to have a date night. And Elijah will get a lot of Nana & Grampy time.

We're not bringing the laptop, so I won't be able to upload pics until Friday night/Saturday morning. But I will have my cell, so I'll be able to audio blog. Honey will be in good hands with Amy, I'm gonna to pack either tonight or tomorrow morning. Everything is set.

Are we there yet? I'm closing with a quote from The Simpsons.

Marge: If I had known that there were loose women in Las Vegas, I would've never let you go.

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Happy Birthday Mom!



You're gonna have a great time when you go to Vegas soon. I'll see you in March.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Raiders Of The Lost Ark- Bunny Style



I love Angry Alien Productions.

My Quiet Life

Not much going on here. Sunday I finally got to hear the new worship leader at church. He's awesome! After having the music be so all over the place, it's nice to have a permanent guy in the job (and who is super talented).

The weather has cooled off, I know I'll be missing it next week when we're sweating in Vegas. Speaking of Vegas, I've been practicing my Blackjack. Just trying to remember basic strategy.

The last week I've had to deal with some stress, but now it's someone else's problem, which makes me happy. It's just unbelievably frustrating when you have to check up that people are doing what you ask of them, and they aren't. But like I said, it's someone else's problem now, so I can let go of that stress.

I'm getting better at remembering to put the phone back on the charger, since I had two days in a row (a few weeks ago) where I got cut off from talking to my friends. I learned if I'm going to to have hour (or two hour) long conversations with my buds in Canada, I better make sure I'm working with a full battery. God bless the cheapness of Vonage. :)

I saw the video for Franz Ferdinand's Do You Want To, and I've got to get that song! It is so darn catchy. The video, on the other hand, could have been an episode of Kids In The Hall. Just my opinion.

My travel bug has been satiated, with my upcoming trips, and the visitors coming this fall. But I should stop watching the Travel channel, because Samantha Brown but the desire in my heart to go to Germany. It'll have to wait until the kids are older, to where they can go with us, or go to stay with family.

In honor of Bruno Kirby's death, I'll close with a quote from City Slickers.

Mitch Robbins: It's nothing to be ashamed of - I had the same problem.
Phil Berquist: Didn't you feel stupid; I mean, didn't you feel... inadequate?
Mitch Robbins: Yeah, for a while, but then I overcame it. Can I explain it to you again? I mean now promise me you won't get upset.
Phil Berquist: O.K.; it's not gonna to do any good.
Mitch Robbins: O.K., if you want to watch one show but record another show at the same time, the television set does not have to be on channel 3.
Phil Berquist: Yeah it does.
Mitch Robbins: No it doesn't.
Phil Berquist: It does.
Mitch Robbins: No, if you're watching what you're recording, then it has to be on 3.
Phil Berquist: What... the TV or... or the machine?
Mitch Robbins: The TV.
Phil Berquist: You're saying I can record something I'm not even watching?
Mitch Robbins: Yes, that's the point. You don't even need a TV to record.
Phil Berquist: How would I see it?
Mitch Robbins: Well to see it you need a TV.
Ed Furillo: Shut up! Just shut up! He doesn't get it! He'll never get it! It's been 4 hours! The cows can tape something by now! Forget about it please!
Phil Berquist: How do you do the clock?
Ed Furillo: You're dead. You are dead.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

My Free Day


The protesters who hi-jacked our fun afternoon.

I picked Amy around 9:45am, and we headed to downtown Denver. We parked near the Denver Art Museum (DAM) and made our way through the construction to go inside. They are currently building a huge new building, in a very odd shape. It should be interesting to see it when it is completed. They had a giant sculpture of a brush and dust pan outside (sorry, I meant to take a picture of it, I forgot). Having never been to DAM, I was excited, and then promptly disappointed. Only the first floor was open, and it was all art about the construction. The highlight of the museum was the bathroom sink. Seriously. When you go to wash your hands, the sinks sings to you.

We left and headed towards the 16th Street Mall & LoDo. While we were passing city hall, there was a protest rally going on. We couldn't really tell what their stance was, there were many signs, and the speaker was very dull. We moved past that and we on 16th street when I convinced Amy we needed to get milkshakes at Johnny Rockets. We sat on the patio, and even order some food with our milkshakes. Just as we were finishing up, here came the protesters. Now it was clear by their chanting what they were there for. "yay Lebanon. boo Israel. yay Hezbollah". Suddenly we didn't feel much like being near them, so we paid and tried to get away from the scene. One man was removed by police from the mob, he was carrying an Israel flag and a sign that read "Hezbollah killed U.S. Marines". I guess the police felt he needed to be protected. We tried to keep in front of the them, ducking into shops we wanted to see. Every time we'd exit, they were there. It was starting to get on our nerves. We eventually hopped on the free shuttle and took it to the Tattered Cover. I don't like that location as much as the old Cherry Creek one, but any Tattered Cover is a good one. :) We took the shuttle back towards the museum, and that's when I decided I need to snap a picture of the protest for the blog. You might not be able to see it, but they were turning to the right in front of us, so we went straight to skirt around them. We saw the one anti- Hezbollah guy again, he was following behind them. I heard him say he had at least 20 people tell him they appreciated his sign.

So that was my Saturday, my free day to go girl stuff. Amy suggested next time we go get pedicures. We decided since our nice Saturday was hi-jacked, our hubbies should let us have another go at it.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Friday's Random Ten

Felt like doing a random ten today.

When You Were Young - The Killers
Bent - Matchbox 20
It's Not Right But It's Okay - Whitney Houston
D'Yer Mak'er - Led Zeppelin
Plush - Stone Temple Pilots
Just The Two Of Us - Dr. Evil
A Little Respect - Erasure
Ride Wit Me - Nelly
Standing Outside The Fire - Garth Brooks
In Your Soul - Corey Hart

Man, I have some weird stuff on my computer.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Good Stuff

- Kelly is interviewing Zach Braff tomorrow. She leads a rough life. (*the interview has since been cancelled. I'm bummed too. But she tells me she's got an interview with Rob Zombie coming up.) You can find her work here or her other stuff on her blog.

- iTunes lets you pre-order The Killers' new album Sam's Town, so you can get the single When You Were Young and not have to buy the song twice when you get the album.

- I'm watching The Tube several times a day, a new music channel that shows only music videos. Revolutionary huh?

- Our trip to Vegas is in less than two weeks. I'm hoping to not lose all my money, and not to melt in the heat.

- Look at the nice stuff Chris had to say about me.."so melissa is the big winner everyone. ….there’s a big surprise ; ) she now has bragging rights, and must hereby be addressed by ‘oh great, wise contest winner who’s watched too much tv’." (Chris-I forgot to link to it, mea culpa. I fixed that.)

- Amy & I are going to the Art Museum on Saturday. No kids, no husbands. Geoff & Elijah are going to go to the farmer's market to get homemade peanut butter.

- I think our problems with ADT may finally be behind us. I realize I'm inviting trouble by declaring this. :)

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Everything Is Automatic

I'm not going to endorse a Tom Cruise movie, but there is a scene in Vanilla Sky where Tom's character is with Penelope Cruz' character, and she changes into Cameron Diaz. And he freaks out. I sometimes have that fear, that one day I'll open my eyes, and my life won't be real. But then I think that's silly. It's just something that crosses my mind every so often. (I won't say I liked Vanilla Sky, I didn't hate it either, I just felt confused.)

I love my life. When I look back at the person I was 10, even 15 years ago, I'm amazed at how much I've changed and grown. I never would have imagined the life I lead now was possible.

As I've mentioned, I'm watching a lot of HGTV, DIY, and A&E. I'm trying to get ideas for projects I want to tackle. We've decided to paint Elijah's room. I think I want to switch the furniture in the two bedrooms, but I keep wavering. We're also going to drywall the basement this winter (hopefully).

I've been watching Sports Night on DVD, I get the impulse to watch it, then I have to watch the whole series. I just can't leave it up in the air. And while I never got into The West Wing, I'm planning on checking out Aaron Sorkin new series Studio 60. I love his casting choices, not only because he's reuniting Amanda Peet & Sarah Paulson, but Matthew Perry is awesome.

Anyways, I'll close with a quote from Sports Night. Sharon, I get my quotes from the good people at imdb.com. Sometimes I have a specific quote in mind, sometimes I have a specific movie or tv show in mind. I'm not that smart. :)

Isaac: If you're stupid, surround yourself with smart people. If you're smart, surround yourself with smart people who disagree with you.

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Good Eats

I tried two new recipes this week, one was a skillet lasagne (or lasagna), and the other was peanut butter cookies. Both turned out very well. If interested, I can email them to you. The skillet lasagne I saw on America's Test Kitchen, I was looking for meals we could make that wouldn't involve using the oven. Since it cooled down later in the week, I was willing to make cookies.

Alton's show, Feasting On Asphalt (previously blogged about), is an awesome show! It does ignite a desire to do a road trip though. But we have enough going on in the coming weeks (Vegas, Cate & Kaisara's visit, Athena & Stephanie's visit), that a road trip will have to wait until next summer.

I miss Lisa, she's on vacation, and called today to say she was staying longer! :(

I'll close with a quote from Caroline In The City (gee sure wish I could watch it in reruns).

Richard: How could anyone not like the opera. Opera is transcendent. It is the most intense musical experience a person can have.
Caroline: Plus you get to wear those neat, long gloves!
Richard: You know, I'm certain that's what Mozart had in mind when he wrote The Marriage of Figaro. 'Oh, goodie, now women can accessorize!'

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Silly Little Quiz







Which Adult Swim Character Are You?




You are Leela from Futurama.Despite being tormented by the mystery of her origins, as well as the clumsy romantic advances of Fry, Leela remains a natural leader.
Take this quiz!






Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Dreams

Last night I dreamt that Geoff got transferred to a different magnet, so we had to pack a bag and move to Michigan. I was very sad, but luckily in my dream, Michigan was right next to Pennsylvania, so we would have been able to visit Hershey. I think my subconscious wants chocolate.

We got a wicked rain/hail storm blow through last night, it hit about 6:45pm. It was pretty remarkable to watch. It washed away some of the wood chips in our backyard, so now we have felt exposed. I hate the wood chips anyways. :) It was total flash flood, a perfect opportunity to crawl into a warm bubble bath. Since Pearl (my iPod) died, Geoff has lent me his (Squilliam). My favorite feature on his is the "on the go" playlist feature, which mine didn't have (my iPod is like 4 years old). Here was my bath playlist:

How Do You Love - Collective Soul
How To Save A Life - The Fray
Life's Rich Tapestry - Modern English
Why Georgia - John Mayer
Protection - Massive Attack

Sure I want a new iPod, but it can wait.

No plans set in stone for this week. I'd like to try and go to the Denver Art Museum, either with or without kids. I've never been, and it's free all summer. This means a trip downtown, so I'll be able to go to LoDo and check out the Tattered Cover.

I'm going to close with a quote from The Patriot.

Charlotte: You have done nothing for which you should be ashamed.
Benjamin Martin: I have done nothing. And for that I am ashamed.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Sins Of The Father

I hate the look of where our society is going. Hell in a handbasket.

Should we be judged by the sins of our father? Are we not held accountable by our own actions? There have been some racist remarks made by my family years ago. Does that make me a racist?

Why aren't people following everyone around, writing down everything that is said, by any given person, and then using it to cast them in a bad light. On any given day, I say at least 10 stupid things, that maybe I don't mean, and yet the lynch mob isn't hounding me.

Yes, Mel Gibson made a HUGE mistake. He's an idiot. Who the heck is dumb enough to drive intoxicated? And who is dumb enough to take someone's words when they are drunk and pass them off as truth? Did alcohol become a truth serum while I was sleeping? Then I know tons of people who love me. Really, they told me so when they were drunk.

I am sick and angry at a world that couldn't care less about news, and cares more about sensationalism. It makes me angry that people take it upon themselves to "make their own news".

These were the thoughts I had before bed, and even while I was trying to sleep. I was originally gonna post about my weekend, but who really wants to read about that? :) We went to Boulder, we had a blast, we saw our friends Jason & Nicole's new baby girl Colette. And we watched a lot of home improvement shows. I'm inspired now.

I had to delete a few blogs from my list, some people deleted theirs, or they just never blog (that's you Andrew!). I need more friends.

I find it fitting to close with a quote from Good Night, And Good Luck.

Edward R. Murrow: To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box