Well all cash November is over. I was able to take out a lump sum of money on Nov 1st and make it last the whole month. When I went to the bank to take out the lump sum, I was standing in line trying to think of a great story about why I was taking out all of this money. I guess I expected the teller to say "wow you want to take out how much?" I thought about saying I was using it to join the secret service, travel to Africa and help underprivileged children etc. When I stepped up and asked him for the money he said "how would you like that?" I told him twenties were fine and went on my way...
I think the hardest part of this experiment for me was to remember to bring cash with me when I left the house. I also really had to think about what I was going to buy, when I was going to buy it and how much I wanted to spend on one thing versus another thing. I also went on an unplanned trip to Reno for a football game and that was not budgeted into my plan. Lucky for me most of the trip was free and I hit Red 23 playing roulette so I was able to make it rain…well kind of.
A fellow blogger informed me that I should separate my money. I did this by creating a “food” envelop, a “gas” envelope, and an “other” envelop. It worked for awhile but by the end it just became the “everything” envelop.
Overall it was a good experience for me. I don’t think I have ever tracked what I spend money on in every facet of my life. I typically will spend the money and then track it afterwards. I want to believe that I spent less money this month than I typically would have if I used cards but I found out that my month to month spending really does vary. What I can say is that I spent smarter and I now have a better idea of what I spend on food, gas and extra items.
Do I recommend going cash only for the rest of my life or for other people? Probably not, truth is it is not very realistic due to the fact that some places don’t take cash anymore or “frown” upon it. I do recommend carrying some cash on you at all times. Many articles I read said that people who use credit cards to pay for everything especially the people who use them to pay for things under $10 typically spend more money overall than people who use cash.
The fact is credit is even more important today than it ever was. To build that credit you need to have a credit card and spend "fake money." I am not sure who invented credit cards but I can just see that conversation now “guys lets make people spend our money, if they don’t pay us back we will charge them an arm and a leg but at the same time if they don’t spend our money we will give them poor or no credit." Brilliant! In the end I guess it just means we soon will be saying goodbye to cash and goodbye to change. I remember when I used to see a penny on the ground I would pick it up, now some people don’t even pick up quarters let alone pennies. I have to admit it is easier to just swipe your card, I mean who needs math anymore…I am surprised they still teach it in school. haha
Moral of this story is that we now live in a Visa and MasterCard world.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
S.T.Y.L.E
Personal Stylist - Karri Grant @ http://www.karrigrant.com/
What does a black dress, a pair of boots, dark straight leg jeans, black heels and a blazer have in common? These are the top 5 things I was told every girl should have in their wardrobe. Last week I met with a wardrobe stylist as part of the package I won at a Metro Edge (young professional group) event in the beginning of the year. I won’t lie I was a little hesitant to go at first due to the fact that I know my style is...well how should I put this...simple.
As I expected after showing Karri a few different outfits I typically wear she informed me that I need to branch out a little bit more. She even let me know I should get rid of a few things..ouch. I was told that I not only needed to dress in more color but I should also wear more patters. I think the hardest pill to swallow was when I was told I should shop a little less at Loft, Express and Banana and try to branch out more. Unfortunately a lot of the good questions people gave me to ask her she answered them on behalf of my body type. (Sorry Caitlin, I had to be selfish)
For those of you who look like me here we go...I was told I need to wear less black and more charcoal gray, slate gray or caramel colors. I need to wear at least a thinned out wedge for my height. That all my suite jackets should be 2 button not 3. I need to wear more polly blend shirts and jewel tones. I also need to wear more dresses or shirts that look like paintings (this might be tricky for me) and I need to cut myself in half when dressing.
That being said here are some tips for everyone...
*Tip 1 – When shopping for patterns you want to make a fist, no pattern you wear should be larger than the back of your fit.
*Tip 2 – If your outfit is black, brown, or gray one way to “color it up” is to buy a small scarf and tie it around your purse.
*Tip 3 – I was told that jewel tone colors are the best colors to wear if you want to be remembered.
*Tip 4 – Shop with a purpose. Instead of buying a piece spend a little extra and buy a whole outfit. Many clothes end up not being worn enough because they serve no purpose.
*Tip 5 – For people who need to wear petite (me). The best way to shop is go to the store and then find what you like and try it on. If the item does not fit (too big) the best thing to do is go online to their website and typically they will have more petite sizes. This way you know you like it and you can get it in your size.
*Tip 6 - For winter looks you can still wear dresses (maybe just CA) just try to find a good pair of leggins and large boots.
*Tip 7 - Buy clothes you can wear all year round.
*Tip 8 - Some people like to paint but that doesn't make them a great artist. It is the same thing with style, some people have "it" and some people may not. It is okay to sometimes buy what is on the manikin or ask friends or someone working what items work well together.
Places to shop: Kenneth Cole, DKNY, BCBG, H&M, Black and White, Teez-her.com, and Nordstrom’s.
Places in Sacramento: Legacy (J and 22nd?), Renaissance (upscale), Denim Spot (20th) and Hearth Boutique.
Overall I left more informed (good tips), a little sad (now I feel like I need a whole new look) and motivated (not to change myself but to enhnace myself).
I hope this helps, if anyone has any questions feel free to ask. I did try to answer all of your questions you asked, but if I didnt in the blog please feel free to ask me.
As for my Cash November - it is going well, I might try to do this more on a regular basis, I find myself spending less and thinking more about what I spend my money on. That being said we are only half way into the month haha.
What does a black dress, a pair of boots, dark straight leg jeans, black heels and a blazer have in common? These are the top 5 things I was told every girl should have in their wardrobe. Last week I met with a wardrobe stylist as part of the package I won at a Metro Edge (young professional group) event in the beginning of the year. I won’t lie I was a little hesitant to go at first due to the fact that I know my style is...well how should I put this...simple.
As I expected after showing Karri a few different outfits I typically wear she informed me that I need to branch out a little bit more. She even let me know I should get rid of a few things..ouch. I was told that I not only needed to dress in more color but I should also wear more patters. I think the hardest pill to swallow was when I was told I should shop a little less at Loft, Express and Banana and try to branch out more. Unfortunately a lot of the good questions people gave me to ask her she answered them on behalf of my body type. (Sorry Caitlin, I had to be selfish)
For those of you who look like me here we go...I was told I need to wear less black and more charcoal gray, slate gray or caramel colors. I need to wear at least a thinned out wedge for my height. That all my suite jackets should be 2 button not 3. I need to wear more polly blend shirts and jewel tones. I also need to wear more dresses or shirts that look like paintings (this might be tricky for me) and I need to cut myself in half when dressing.
That being said here are some tips for everyone...
*Tip 1 – When shopping for patterns you want to make a fist, no pattern you wear should be larger than the back of your fit.
*Tip 2 – If your outfit is black, brown, or gray one way to “color it up” is to buy a small scarf and tie it around your purse.
*Tip 3 – I was told that jewel tone colors are the best colors to wear if you want to be remembered.
*Tip 4 – Shop with a purpose. Instead of buying a piece spend a little extra and buy a whole outfit. Many clothes end up not being worn enough because they serve no purpose.
*Tip 5 – For people who need to wear petite (me). The best way to shop is go to the store and then find what you like and try it on. If the item does not fit (too big) the best thing to do is go online to their website and typically they will have more petite sizes. This way you know you like it and you can get it in your size.
*Tip 6 - For winter looks you can still wear dresses (maybe just CA) just try to find a good pair of leggins and large boots.
*Tip 7 - Buy clothes you can wear all year round.
*Tip 8 - Some people like to paint but that doesn't make them a great artist. It is the same thing with style, some people have "it" and some people may not. It is okay to sometimes buy what is on the manikin or ask friends or someone working what items work well together.
Places to shop: Kenneth Cole, DKNY, BCBG, H&M, Black and White, Teez-her.com, and Nordstrom’s.
Places in Sacramento: Legacy (J and 22nd?), Renaissance (upscale), Denim Spot (20th) and Hearth Boutique.
Overall I left more informed (good tips), a little sad (now I feel like I need a whole new look) and motivated (not to change myself but to enhnace myself).
I hope this helps, if anyone has any questions feel free to ask. I did try to answer all of your questions you asked, but if I didnt in the blog please feel free to ask me.
As for my Cash November - it is going well, I might try to do this more on a regular basis, I find myself spending less and thinking more about what I spend my money on. That being said we are only half way into the month haha.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
"We are the 97%" - OMR
Update 1: Today I started my first day of not being able to use debit and credit cards. At lunch I drove to the bank and took out a lump sum of money. I don’t really know what I expected but part of me thought it was going to be a big deal that I was taking out hundreds of dollars. While I was standing in line I was thinking of all of these crazy stories I could tell the teller as to why I was taking out this money…but it turns out the teller didn’t care. I know I won’t have a problem with not using my credit card because I don’t use it very often but I use my debit card at least once a day so I can see where not being able to use it might get tricky. I appreciate all the feedback people have given me. I received a lot of tips from people who use cash a lot and even some reasons as to why using cards is better. That being said I am excited to try this out and hopefully by the end of the month I will still have some money left over :)
Update 2: After a lot of thoughtful consideration I have decided that I am no longer going to get Netflix DVD’s in the mail. I thought about cancelling all together but I just couldn’t do it and I still do stream movies sometimes. I wanted to be able to say stick it to the “man” like everyone else but I can't quite kick my movie habit all at once. As a few of my friends know I have talked about starting a “We are the 97%”…you might ask how I came to that number so I will tell you. 1% is DVD rental stores, 1% Netflix and 1% Redbox. Who knows maybe I will start an Occupy Movie Rentals. I remember “back in the day” when companies would answer to their movie customers not to their wall street investors. They all have failed me in one way or the other so all I have to say is...watch out OMR may be coming to the city near you!
Update 3: Due to the fact that I no longer will be getting DVD’s by mail I am sad to say I have to stop my movie critique. I will still watch movies it just might not be all his. It is hard to find older movies these days…I can’t believe I am saying this but I kind of miss Blockbuster.
Until next time...
Update 2: After a lot of thoughtful consideration I have decided that I am no longer going to get Netflix DVD’s in the mail. I thought about cancelling all together but I just couldn’t do it and I still do stream movies sometimes. I wanted to be able to say stick it to the “man” like everyone else but I can't quite kick my movie habit all at once. As a few of my friends know I have talked about starting a “We are the 97%”…you might ask how I came to that number so I will tell you. 1% is DVD rental stores, 1% Netflix and 1% Redbox. Who knows maybe I will start an Occupy Movie Rentals. I remember “back in the day” when companies would answer to their movie customers not to their wall street investors. They all have failed me in one way or the other so all I have to say is...watch out OMR may be coming to the city near you!
Update 3: Due to the fact that I no longer will be getting DVD’s by mail I am sad to say I have to stop my movie critique. I will still watch movies it just might not be all his. It is hard to find older movies these days…I can’t believe I am saying this but I kind of miss Blockbuster.
Until next time...
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Life without Credit Cards
For the month of November I am only going to use cash to buy things. I am going to say goodbye to my debit and credit cards and say hello to dollar bills and change. I started thinking about this idea when Bank of America announced all of their extra fees they are going to start charging people to use cards. That being said, I don’t use Bank of America so the extra fees don’t affect me. I have received mixed reviews from the people I spoke with about this idea. There responses were: “How are you going to do that?”, “How much are you going to have to take out?”, “Why?” etc. After hearing all of these reactions I knew I could call one person who would be able to support this effort. That person would be my dad; my guess is that he has probably used a credit card maybe 4 times this whole year. Since I was little he has always used cash to pay for everything; my mom on the other hand...that is a different story. :)- He told me that he knows I can do it, I just have to really budget how much I am going to spend.
This is where it becomes tough…a budget. I think half the reason I am doing this is to really start to think about what I am spending my money on. I do have a habit of not even looking at prices sometimes and I thought maybe if I start thinking more about it I could save some money. The second problem other than the budget is trying to figure out how much I should take out. I looked at my bank account and started to figure out how much I have spent for the past 3 months. It made me realize this is going to be tricky becuase I have spent different amounts of money each month…I also have to take into account that its a holiday month.
Here are my rules:
1. I can only take out money once
2. If something really bad happens (i.e. hospital visit) I can use my cards
3. I am paying for bills via direct deposit/cards i.e. Rent, Direct TV, Taekwondo ext.
So I will keep you updated on my ventures. I still don’t know how much I am going to take out. It should be an interesting month.
This is where it becomes tough…a budget. I think half the reason I am doing this is to really start to think about what I am spending my money on. I do have a habit of not even looking at prices sometimes and I thought maybe if I start thinking more about it I could save some money. The second problem other than the budget is trying to figure out how much I should take out. I looked at my bank account and started to figure out how much I have spent for the past 3 months. It made me realize this is going to be tricky becuase I have spent different amounts of money each month…I also have to take into account that its a holiday month.
Here are my rules:
1. I can only take out money once
2. If something really bad happens (i.e. hospital visit) I can use my cards
3. I am paying for bills via direct deposit/cards i.e. Rent, Direct TV, Taekwondo ext.
So I will keep you updated on my ventures. I still don’t know how much I am going to take out. It should be an interesting month.
Friday, September 23, 2011
If It's Not Broke....Fix It?
Change: to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone.
I hear people say “if it’s not broke don’t fix (change) it”. My first thought is “yeah you’re right” why would you want to change something if it is working. After thinking about it a little more I have realized that I don’t fully agree with this mantra anymore. I am starting to think that anything worth keeping needs to constantly evolve or it will die off to the next best thing. I think maybe that’s the problem congress is having right now. We have so many programs that for awhile have worked and people at one point said well why re-think or re-look at this program when it is working. Well now we see that we need to re-work and re-think and “change” many of these programs. I think without change you can’t grow and that fear prevents a lot of things in life from being great. So this week my goal is to think of things that I would like to change. First order of Business: should I get rid of Netflix all together because prices have gone up or should I stick with just the DVD or just streaming or both?
Blind Spot – James Franco
Funny story about this movie, when I got Blind Spot in the mail my first thought was “this movie doesn’t sound that interesting to me”. I ended up watching half of the movie, it was a documentary about fossil fuels and basically scientists and researchers telling everyone that we are bound to run out and are screwed. Don't get me wrong I think this is an important issue and that we need to look into renewable resources. Well it wasn’t until I was half way into the move that I thought "where is James?”. I then look at one of my favorite sites (IMDb) and realized that I was watching the wrong Blind Spot. That being said I hope to watch the real Blind Spot soon. I am also no longer going to post a movie every blog because it prevents me from blogging more since I sometimes cant find time to watch movies (crazy I know).
Special Shout out to Avery…I hope you have a Happy 1st Birthday!
I hear people say “if it’s not broke don’t fix (change) it”. My first thought is “yeah you’re right” why would you want to change something if it is working. After thinking about it a little more I have realized that I don’t fully agree with this mantra anymore. I am starting to think that anything worth keeping needs to constantly evolve or it will die off to the next best thing. I think maybe that’s the problem congress is having right now. We have so many programs that for awhile have worked and people at one point said well why re-think or re-look at this program when it is working. Well now we see that we need to re-work and re-think and “change” many of these programs. I think without change you can’t grow and that fear prevents a lot of things in life from being great. So this week my goal is to think of things that I would like to change. First order of Business: should I get rid of Netflix all together because prices have gone up or should I stick with just the DVD or just streaming or both?
Blind Spot – James Franco
Funny story about this movie, when I got Blind Spot in the mail my first thought was “this movie doesn’t sound that interesting to me”. I ended up watching half of the movie, it was a documentary about fossil fuels and basically scientists and researchers telling everyone that we are bound to run out and are screwed. Don't get me wrong I think this is an important issue and that we need to look into renewable resources. Well it wasn’t until I was half way into the move that I thought "where is James?”. I then look at one of my favorite sites (IMDb) and realized that I was watching the wrong Blind Spot. That being said I hope to watch the real Blind Spot soon. I am also no longer going to post a movie every blog because it prevents me from blogging more since I sometimes cant find time to watch movies (crazy I know).
Special Shout out to Avery…I hope you have a Happy 1st Birthday!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Is it fate?
Do you ever wonder if fate is real? Lately I have heard people say, “this is my destiny” or “this is what I am meant to do”. I wonder sometimes what my fate is? Is it to invent something? Is it to become someone? Is it to love more? The reason I started to think about this lately is because of a pair of sunglasses and sandals.
Object One: My friend Britt had sunglasses that fell into the water and then into the muck. I of course felt bad and jumped into the muck but had no luck finding them. The next morning while looking under the dock Britt saw them and was able to pick them up out of the muck. Was it fate that Britt found those glasses…next week will she be wearing them and have a bug fly into her face but the glasses stop the bug from hitting her eye? Maybe!
Object Two: It all started because I was trying to bring a Jet Ski from one dock to another. I kept my sandals on my feet to run over to the other dock and then I didn’t want to get them wet so I put them on top of the Jet Ski. I had to wiggle the Jet Ski because it was beached on the sand. I finally got it free and took off. I went on a few rides and got off the Jet Ski and soon realized I did not have my sandals. I went back over to the other dock to look for them and found one floating in the water. After 15 min of looking for the other one I gave up. The next morning I was on the dock and I yelled out “shut the front door”. There was my sandal floating in the water 6 docks from where I had lost it. It is fate? Would I have been walking and cut my left big toe due to the lack of sandal. Maybe!
What role does fate play in your life? Do fate and destiny go hand in hand or are they two different things?
James Franco – Mother Ghost - 2002 – Skateboarder Guy
If I ever pick a new person I might start with movies where they appear for more then 10 min in the film. Mother Ghost stars Mark Thompson. The story is about his mother passing away and him being haunted by it and unable to move on with his life. He ends up calling into a radio station and talks to a popular psychiatrics who helps him realize things in his life that have been preventing him from moving forward. James Franco plays a skateboarder who Mark encounters on his way to the radio station. I think he asks for a smoke and gives him some cheap advice. It was a okay movie, had some funny parts and a overall good message. It was not a must see.
Object One: My friend Britt had sunglasses that fell into the water and then into the muck. I of course felt bad and jumped into the muck but had no luck finding them. The next morning while looking under the dock Britt saw them and was able to pick them up out of the muck. Was it fate that Britt found those glasses…next week will she be wearing them and have a bug fly into her face but the glasses stop the bug from hitting her eye? Maybe!
Object Two: It all started because I was trying to bring a Jet Ski from one dock to another. I kept my sandals on my feet to run over to the other dock and then I didn’t want to get them wet so I put them on top of the Jet Ski. I had to wiggle the Jet Ski because it was beached on the sand. I finally got it free and took off. I went on a few rides and got off the Jet Ski and soon realized I did not have my sandals. I went back over to the other dock to look for them and found one floating in the water. After 15 min of looking for the other one I gave up. The next morning I was on the dock and I yelled out “shut the front door”. There was my sandal floating in the water 6 docks from where I had lost it. It is fate? Would I have been walking and cut my left big toe due to the lack of sandal. Maybe!
What role does fate play in your life? Do fate and destiny go hand in hand or are they two different things?
James Franco – Mother Ghost - 2002 – Skateboarder Guy
If I ever pick a new person I might start with movies where they appear for more then 10 min in the film. Mother Ghost stars Mark Thompson. The story is about his mother passing away and him being haunted by it and unable to move on with his life. He ends up calling into a radio station and talks to a popular psychiatrics who helps him realize things in his life that have been preventing him from moving forward. James Franco plays a skateboarder who Mark encounters on his way to the radio station. I think he asks for a smoke and gives him some cheap advice. It was a okay movie, had some funny parts and a overall good message. It was not a must see.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Harry Potter Facts
Here are some random Harry Potter Facts. If you have not gone to the last movie yet you must go before it is out on DVD.
• The film’s budget is estimated to have been £150 million. John Hurt (Mr Ollivander in the films) ranted recently about the ‘quite absurd’ amount of money spent on ‘Harry Potter’ films. He said: ‘I look around and there are three costumes there, none of which are likely to be worn, and they’re all replicas of each other. It’s a vacuous waste of money and it drives me insane.’
• It was all drama at Leavesden as in March 2009, soon after Holmes’ injury, a fire started on set. The fire started during the filming of ‘a big special effects scene’ and took 40 minutes to extinguish but caused no injuries. Apparently there was no damage to the studios and the actual set was ‘due to be rebuilt anyway’ for a new battle scene in ‘Deathly Hallows’ Part 2.
• In the first film, Griphook the goblin was played by Verne Troyer, one of the few Americans in the cast, but voiced by Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick). In ‘Deathly Hallows’ Davis is both Griphook’s body and his voice, whilst continuing to play Flitwick,
• ‘Deathly Hallows’ is the first time Brendan Gleeson and David O’Hara have acted in the same film since ‘Braveheart’ in 1995. Gleeson plays ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody and O’Hara plays Albert Runcorn – the Ministry of Magic official who Harry impersonates with Polyjuice Potion in order to enter the Ministry.
• Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) considered not returning for this film as he feared he would have little or no time on screen, after his character was imprisoned at the end of the fifth book, but on meeting J.K. Rowling and begging to be released from prison, she told him ‘You’re out. Chapter One.’ and he signed on for ‘Deathly Hallows’.
• In the epilogue in ‘Deathly Hallows’ Part 2 the cast play their characters in the future, using a combination of prosthetics, computer generated imagery and convincing acting, as in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’. In this epilogue the wife of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), Astoria Greengrass, is played by his real life girlfriend Jade Olivia.
These facts were provided to you by Livy Watson a writer for the Telegraph
Movie: Deuces Wild (2002)
I was pretty excited because I thought I had never watched this movie before. I had. The movie takes places in the 1950’s in New York City; it is about two different street gangs who battle it out for “turf and pride” ha-ha. The Deuces are the “good” gang. They are there to protect the streets and the people, while the “bad” gang or the Vipers are determined to keep dealing drugs. James Franco plays Tino who is on the Deuces. He once again only has a few lines but is one of the close confidants to the main character Leon played by Stephen Dorff. His acting consists of “lets get them Leon” “someone needs to pay Leon” etc. It is a very bloody movie with a lot of swearing. Not sure if I would watch it again. The 50's would have been fun though.
Next up is: Mother Ghost (not sure what it is about). IMDB says his name is “skateboarder guy” sounds promising…ha-ha
• The film’s budget is estimated to have been £150 million. John Hurt (Mr Ollivander in the films) ranted recently about the ‘quite absurd’ amount of money spent on ‘Harry Potter’ films. He said: ‘I look around and there are three costumes there, none of which are likely to be worn, and they’re all replicas of each other. It’s a vacuous waste of money and it drives me insane.’
• It was all drama at Leavesden as in March 2009, soon after Holmes’ injury, a fire started on set. The fire started during the filming of ‘a big special effects scene’ and took 40 minutes to extinguish but caused no injuries. Apparently there was no damage to the studios and the actual set was ‘due to be rebuilt anyway’ for a new battle scene in ‘Deathly Hallows’ Part 2.
• In the first film, Griphook the goblin was played by Verne Troyer, one of the few Americans in the cast, but voiced by Warwick Davis (Professor Flitwick). In ‘Deathly Hallows’ Davis is both Griphook’s body and his voice, whilst continuing to play Flitwick,
• ‘Deathly Hallows’ is the first time Brendan Gleeson and David O’Hara have acted in the same film since ‘Braveheart’ in 1995. Gleeson plays ‘Mad-Eye’ Moody and O’Hara plays Albert Runcorn – the Ministry of Magic official who Harry impersonates with Polyjuice Potion in order to enter the Ministry.
• Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy) considered not returning for this film as he feared he would have little or no time on screen, after his character was imprisoned at the end of the fifth book, but on meeting J.K. Rowling and begging to be released from prison, she told him ‘You’re out. Chapter One.’ and he signed on for ‘Deathly Hallows’.
• In the epilogue in ‘Deathly Hallows’ Part 2 the cast play their characters in the future, using a combination of prosthetics, computer generated imagery and convincing acting, as in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’. In this epilogue the wife of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton), Astoria Greengrass, is played by his real life girlfriend Jade Olivia.
These facts were provided to you by Livy Watson a writer for the Telegraph
Movie: Deuces Wild (2002)
I was pretty excited because I thought I had never watched this movie before. I had. The movie takes places in the 1950’s in New York City; it is about two different street gangs who battle it out for “turf and pride” ha-ha. The Deuces are the “good” gang. They are there to protect the streets and the people, while the “bad” gang or the Vipers are determined to keep dealing drugs. James Franco plays Tino who is on the Deuces. He once again only has a few lines but is one of the close confidants to the main character Leon played by Stephen Dorff. His acting consists of “lets get them Leon” “someone needs to pay Leon” etc. It is a very bloody movie with a lot of swearing. Not sure if I would watch it again. The 50's would have been fun though.
Next up is: Mother Ghost (not sure what it is about). IMDB says his name is “skateboarder guy” sounds promising…ha-ha
Friday, July 1, 2011
NPR - PART 2
Tomatoes: I love tomatoes so when this pod cast came on I was very interested. Did you know that 1/3 of all tomatoes come from Florida? That Florida uses 8 times the amount of pesticides than most other states do including California. I found out that most of the tomatoes you buy from your local grocery store have very minimal nutrition. We have actually lost 30-40% of the nutrition in tomatoes since the 1960’s but that we have added 14 times the amount of sodium. Do you ever wonder why tomatoes that you buy from the store don’t crack ever but you can’t carry more than a few tomatoes from your back yard to your house without a few breaking? The podcast talked about the fact that tomato farmers no longer get paid for taste they get paid by the pound. Is this the consumers fault for wanting perfect tomatos in November? Is this the price we pay for not buying local?
This information was provided to me by Barry Estabrook, for more information about him please check out his blog - http://politicsoftheplate.com/.
Job Creating vs. Education: Politicians today all talk about needing “job creation” yet the first thing that is cut today is education. I watched the GOP debate earlier this month and the whole time not one candidate brought up education. They talked about job creation a lot but not education. How can you talk about one without the other as if they were not connected? America is ranked 29th in the world in math in science, will that ever change if our focus isn’t on the future? I understand the need for short run fixes but at some point shouldn’t we focus on the long run?
James Franco - Spider Man 2002 This movie is a classic Marvel Comics movie about Peter Parker (Toby Maguire) getting bit by a spider and turning into Spider Man. This is one of this first movies where James Franco who plays Harry Osborn actually shows us he has some potential. Although Franco wanted the part of Spider Man he played the next best role as the best friend/son to the evil Green Goblin. If you have not seen this movie I would say it is a must see Marvel flick. His famous line in the movie is "What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? after finding out about his fathers Death. More to come for Mr. Harry Osborn.
This information was provided to me by Barry Estabrook, for more information about him please check out his blog - http://politicsoftheplate.com/.
Job Creating vs. Education: Politicians today all talk about needing “job creation” yet the first thing that is cut today is education. I watched the GOP debate earlier this month and the whole time not one candidate brought up education. They talked about job creation a lot but not education. How can you talk about one without the other as if they were not connected? America is ranked 29th in the world in math in science, will that ever change if our focus isn’t on the future? I understand the need for short run fixes but at some point shouldn’t we focus on the long run?
James Franco - Spider Man 2002 This movie is a classic Marvel Comics movie about Peter Parker (Toby Maguire) getting bit by a spider and turning into Spider Man. This is one of this first movies where James Franco who plays Harry Osborn actually shows us he has some potential. Although Franco wanted the part of Spider Man he played the next best role as the best friend/son to the evil Green Goblin. If you have not seen this movie I would say it is a must see Marvel flick. His famous line in the movie is "What have you done? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? after finding out about his fathers Death. More to come for Mr. Harry Osborn.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
NPR Food for Thought Part 1
I listen to NPR podcasts everyday. I thought I would write this blog on a few things that I have found interesting and maybe give people a little Food For Thought. If you want to give me your feedback (good or bad) to my questions or just say hello feel free to leave me a comment in the comments section at the bottom. I would like to thank NPR for giving me this information and some of the questions.
Time: They talked about the evolution of time and how people have evolved from living in a world with just hours to then having minuets to then dealing with seconds to now having milliseconds. Now people use time to tell them when to eat, people rely on time to get places like taking a bus and some people even see time as something that gets in their way. I guess in the end the only thing everyone has in common is the fact that time affects us. How does time affect you? Do you think you could go a whole day without being affected by time?
Less Government: Our country has taken many different turns in the past few years. We are facing challenges that have never been faced before. I believe that we are not only a country that is divided but we are a county who doesn’t really know what we want. I talked to small business owner who was very adamant about wanting less government but then also talked about needing more police by his store and wanting a faster permit process. Does that make sense? Who represents “good government” and “bad government”? Do people only like government when it affects them for the better?
Morally Bankrupt: Our country is bankrupt but have we become morally bankrupt? There is a fine line between achieving goals and stepping on people to get there. The lack emphasis on what is better for the whole has somewhat left our society. Some people hold the mind set that stepping on people as long as they succeed is okay. In the podcast someone said well “that’s capitalism?” Is it? Is ths the new America?
This blog has become a little longer than expected. I post another blog tonight and add onto that blog my MOVIE portion.
Happy Birthday Jo!
Time: They talked about the evolution of time and how people have evolved from living in a world with just hours to then having minuets to then dealing with seconds to now having milliseconds. Now people use time to tell them when to eat, people rely on time to get places like taking a bus and some people even see time as something that gets in their way. I guess in the end the only thing everyone has in common is the fact that time affects us. How does time affect you? Do you think you could go a whole day without being affected by time?
Less Government: Our country has taken many different turns in the past few years. We are facing challenges that have never been faced before. I believe that we are not only a country that is divided but we are a county who doesn’t really know what we want. I talked to small business owner who was very adamant about wanting less government but then also talked about needing more police by his store and wanting a faster permit process. Does that make sense? Who represents “good government” and “bad government”? Do people only like government when it affects them for the better?
Morally Bankrupt: Our country is bankrupt but have we become morally bankrupt? There is a fine line between achieving goals and stepping on people to get there. The lack emphasis on what is better for the whole has somewhat left our society. Some people hold the mind set that stepping on people as long as they succeed is okay. In the podcast someone said well “that’s capitalism?” Is it? Is ths the new America?
This blog has become a little longer than expected. I post another blog tonight and add onto that blog my MOVIE portion.
Happy Birthday Jo!
Friday, June 3, 2011
All Things Considered...Change Is Ok
A friend once told me that a blog is “a great resource for stuff no one else wants to hear about”. That being said here is something I found interesting this week. I listen to NPR everyday and there was a story on All Things Considered. They talked about what employers are looking for in today’s market. One of the main qualities they talked about was if a person deals well with CHANGE. It wasn’t where they went to college or past job experiences or office skills they have. My first thought was “well that’s not that hard” but then I started to think about it more and more. This past week I tried to talk to a variety of people about change to see how they felt about it. I found out that people deal with change in many different ways. Here are just a few.
1. There are people who are constantly looking for it. The problem is they might not know how to just live life because they are constantly seeking that change.
2. There are people who don’t seek out change but don’t mind change when it happens, they acknowledge that it’s a necessary step in growth.
3. There are people who really don’t like change and will avoid it at all costs.
4. Then there are people who understand change is good but fear change which in turn can paralyze them from growth.
I want to think I am good at change, I mean I moved from Wisconsin to California. I guess just like everything in life, people deal with change differently. Last week I decided to give up chips for a month I am on day 5 and let me tell you it’s hard. I am starting to think giving up chips is going to be harder than moving to California.
How do you deal with change? Are you either of those numbers or a combination of a few of them?
_________________________________________________________
Whatever It Takes (2000)
This past week I watched the movie “Whatever It Takes”. I am actually really surprised I had never seen it before. This movie is about Ryan (Shane West) who thinks the hottest girl in class (Jodi O’Keefe) is his dream girl. Ryan makes a deal with her cousin (James Franco) to have him set her and him up if in return he will set James Franco up with his best friend (Maria Sokoloff). In the end we find out James Franco is just in it for sex and Ryan falls in love with his best friend. It was oh so typical and James Franco once again played a great “I am hot, rich and the coolest guy in school” role. I am not sure if I would really recommend this movie but if your goal in life is to see 90’s/early 00’s chick flicks well then you should watch it.
Next Movie: Spider Man
*He did a few short films in 2001 but they are not on Netflix so sorry.
1. There are people who are constantly looking for it. The problem is they might not know how to just live life because they are constantly seeking that change.
2. There are people who don’t seek out change but don’t mind change when it happens, they acknowledge that it’s a necessary step in growth.
3. There are people who really don’t like change and will avoid it at all costs.
4. Then there are people who understand change is good but fear change which in turn can paralyze them from growth.
I want to think I am good at change, I mean I moved from Wisconsin to California. I guess just like everything in life, people deal with change differently. Last week I decided to give up chips for a month I am on day 5 and let me tell you it’s hard. I am starting to think giving up chips is going to be harder than moving to California.
How do you deal with change? Are you either of those numbers or a combination of a few of them?
_________________________________________________________
Whatever It Takes (2000)
This past week I watched the movie “Whatever It Takes”. I am actually really surprised I had never seen it before. This movie is about Ryan (Shane West) who thinks the hottest girl in class (Jodi O’Keefe) is his dream girl. Ryan makes a deal with her cousin (James Franco) to have him set her and him up if in return he will set James Franco up with his best friend (Maria Sokoloff). In the end we find out James Franco is just in it for sex and Ryan falls in love with his best friend. It was oh so typical and James Franco once again played a great “I am hot, rich and the coolest guy in school” role. I am not sure if I would really recommend this movie but if your goal in life is to see 90’s/early 00’s chick flicks well then you should watch it.
Next Movie: Spider Man
*He did a few short films in 2001 but they are not on Netflix so sorry.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Sister Marie Therese Kluthe
This past week has been a week of many ups and downs. I feel like I have been on a constant roller costar of various emotions. My really good friend Sister Marie Therese Kluthe who was with the School Sisters of St. Francis passed away on Mothers day. Sister took care of me from the time I was very young till really the day she passed. Sister was one of the greatest people I have ever met, she truly was a saint; at one point she even saved my life. She taught me so many things and really shaped who I am today. I was lucky enough to be with her the day before she passed and I know now she is in a better place. I just want to thank her for everything she has done for me and for allowing me to see my mom on mother’s day. God Bless.
Movie 1:
“Someone once told me that to write well you have to write what you know, this is what I know, I am 25 years old and I have never kissed a guy”. The truth is I have kissed a guy and I took this quote from the movie “Never Been Kissed”. This was the first movie I watched with James Franco in the movie. It was made in 1999 and stared Drew Barrymore as a young journalist who goes undercover as a reporter to her old high school as research for her story. As the story develops you find out she has never been kissed and that in turn becomes her story. I would love to tell you more about the movie but the truth is James Franco’s lines consisted of “that’s right, rufus” and “rufalicious”. He played one of the sidekicks to the main “cool” guy in high school. The movie points out that overtime high school never really changes. There are always going to be clicks but in the end people step into the real world and at some point no one really cares who you were in high school because everyone moves on.
Movie 1:
“Someone once told me that to write well you have to write what you know, this is what I know, I am 25 years old and I have never kissed a guy”. The truth is I have kissed a guy and I took this quote from the movie “Never Been Kissed”. This was the first movie I watched with James Franco in the movie. It was made in 1999 and stared Drew Barrymore as a young journalist who goes undercover as a reporter to her old high school as research for her story. As the story develops you find out she has never been kissed and that in turn becomes her story. I would love to tell you more about the movie but the truth is James Franco’s lines consisted of “that’s right, rufus” and “rufalicious”. He played one of the sidekicks to the main “cool” guy in high school. The movie points out that overtime high school never really changes. There are always going to be clicks but in the end people step into the real world and at some point no one really cares who you were in high school because everyone moves on.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
James Franco Edition
Random number 1) One of my favorite parts of my taekwondo class is every class we learn a self defense move. My teacher believes that you should take time to learn how to defend yourself because you never know what could happen. I especially like it because as a young girl who is not the strongest person it’s important to me (and half the reason I started to taking taekwondo) to be able to defend myself. I would suggest everyone to take a self defense class because you never know when you might need to kick some butt.
Random number 2) I know that some people only read my blog because well I send it to them and or they are just being nice because they are friends or family but I thought I would provide a couple shout outs to two other blogs that I like to read and if you like mine you might like theirs also. Please don’t be hurt if I don’t give your blog a shout out, if you want me to just let me know.
1. Girl on a Mission - http://quartercenturydown.blogspot.com/ Her blog is sharing what she has learned in the last 25 years. It is funny but at the same time has a very good message every blog. Check it out!
2. Smart Ass Sara - http://strandupdate.blogspot.com/ Sara wrote a blog the other week about all of the gifts her followers have sent her. The fact that she even got one gift makes me need to shout out her blog. She has like a million and one followers this is due to the fact that she is super funny and writes everyday which to me is unthinkable but more power to her. Check it out!
Random number 3) I thought about doing a movie segment on my blog. The other day I was sitting in my bed watching a really bad movie and thinking maybe I should pick an actor/actress and watch all of his/her movies. I had a hard time. I wanted to pick Natalie Portman but she has been in too many scary movies. I thought about Diane Lane but then I realized I really have already seen all her movies so that wouldn’t be as much fun. I landed on James Franco.
Bio: He is best know for “freaks and geeks” Was born in Palo Alto (which is close to me). Two younger brothers…went to UCLA. He has played in a mix of movies from “James Dean”, “Pineapple Express”, “Nights in Rodanthe”, “Milk” and “Spider Man” to name a few. Hopefully every blog I will give you a movie update….or at least try to depending on my Netflix shipping days.
Random number 2) I know that some people only read my blog because well I send it to them and or they are just being nice because they are friends or family but I thought I would provide a couple shout outs to two other blogs that I like to read and if you like mine you might like theirs also. Please don’t be hurt if I don’t give your blog a shout out, if you want me to just let me know.
1. Girl on a Mission - http://quartercenturydown.blogspot.com/ Her blog is sharing what she has learned in the last 25 years. It is funny but at the same time has a very good message every blog. Check it out!
2. Smart Ass Sara - http://strandupdate.blogspot.com/ Sara wrote a blog the other week about all of the gifts her followers have sent her. The fact that she even got one gift makes me need to shout out her blog. She has like a million and one followers this is due to the fact that she is super funny and writes everyday which to me is unthinkable but more power to her. Check it out!
Random number 3) I thought about doing a movie segment on my blog. The other day I was sitting in my bed watching a really bad movie and thinking maybe I should pick an actor/actress and watch all of his/her movies. I had a hard time. I wanted to pick Natalie Portman but she has been in too many scary movies. I thought about Diane Lane but then I realized I really have already seen all her movies so that wouldn’t be as much fun. I landed on James Franco.
Bio: He is best know for “freaks and geeks” Was born in Palo Alto (which is close to me). Two younger brothers…went to UCLA. He has played in a mix of movies from “James Dean”, “Pineapple Express”, “Nights in Rodanthe”, “Milk” and “Spider Man” to name a few. Hopefully every blog I will give you a movie update….or at least try to depending on my Netflix shipping days.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
A Duck With Cancer...
I wanted to start off by saying I passed. I am now an orange belt. I found out pretty quick that this means I now have to start competing in tournaments. My instructor signed me up for one this Friday to do 3 different combinations in front of 4 different black belt judges…should be interesting.
Throughout the week I try to come up with different blog ideas and I usually have a few good ones that pop into my head. If I am smart I will write them down or type them into my phone. A few days ago I typed one into my phone and I just looked and all it said was “Think...ha ha”. I have no clue what that means now or why it was so funny.
I am going to tell two stories, I hope you find them as funny as I did.
My sister:
I get a call last weekend at 12:00am and it is my sister. The conversation went as followed:
Me: Hello
Cait: Kennedy….Kennedy….I feel so violated…*sob* *sob*
Me: What, Cait…what are you talking about?
Cait: Oh mom is calling, I have to go *hangs up*
Hour later
Me: Cait you called me and then never called me back
Cait: Kennedy, I am so mad right now
Me: What happened?
Cait: Well someone at a party stole my money. I am so sad.
Cait: I am mad at you, you didn’t pick up
Me: What are you talking about? We talked and then you hung up
Cait: No you didn’t pick up
Me: How would I know to call you at 1am if I didn’t pick up
Cait: Oh, ok.
Me: Why did you bring a lot of money to the party?
Cait: Now you are sounding just like mom, can’t you tell I am hurt.
Me: I am sorry you are hurt, but you will be ok
Cait: Do you know how many Jamba Juices drinks I just lost?
My co-worker:
I was out with my husband and decided I wanted to buy some ducks. I picked out three different ducks who were $1.50 each. One of the ducks had a huge bump on its head and at the time I thought I was doing a nice thing for this duck because it had cancer and who would want a cancer duck. I soon found out all ducks of his kind had this kind of bump. The ducks started to get bigger and one day one of the girl ducks started to quack and I looked over and she was limping. We took him to the vet and he then told my husband and I that we needed to see a specialist. We took him to the specialist and we found out that she had part of a stick in her foot. They would have to put her under and do surgery. I had to beg my husband to let me do this few hundred dollar surgery on my $1.50 duck. He finally came around and the doctor was able to fix my girl duck. He finally let me know that she was actually a he so we should switch the name around. The DR also said we had to keep him away from the other ducks for a week. I decided that after the week was done I was going to have a little party with some close friends who also have pets and celebrate. Well that Friday came and we had a little party. I let all the ducks play in the yard with all the other animals (chickens, dogs etc). As the party was going on my granddaughter came up to me and said “he’s going to be in trouble”. I asked her what she was talking about and I look over and one of the dogs had two feathers sticking out of his mouth. He ate my duck whole. I was so sad…I didn’t even get to name him a boy name yet.
I couldn’t help but laugh at both of these stories so I thought I should share them.
Throughout the week I try to come up with different blog ideas and I usually have a few good ones that pop into my head. If I am smart I will write them down or type them into my phone. A few days ago I typed one into my phone and I just looked and all it said was “Think...ha ha”. I have no clue what that means now or why it was so funny.
I am going to tell two stories, I hope you find them as funny as I did.
My sister:
I get a call last weekend at 12:00am and it is my sister. The conversation went as followed:
Me: Hello
Cait: Kennedy….Kennedy….I feel so violated…*sob* *sob*
Me: What, Cait…what are you talking about?
Cait: Oh mom is calling, I have to go *hangs up*
Hour later
Me: Cait you called me and then never called me back
Cait: Kennedy, I am so mad right now
Me: What happened?
Cait: Well someone at a party stole my money. I am so sad.
Cait: I am mad at you, you didn’t pick up
Me: What are you talking about? We talked and then you hung up
Cait: No you didn’t pick up
Me: How would I know to call you at 1am if I didn’t pick up
Cait: Oh, ok.
Me: Why did you bring a lot of money to the party?
Cait: Now you are sounding just like mom, can’t you tell I am hurt.
Me: I am sorry you are hurt, but you will be ok
Cait: Do you know how many Jamba Juices drinks I just lost?
My co-worker:
I was out with my husband and decided I wanted to buy some ducks. I picked out three different ducks who were $1.50 each. One of the ducks had a huge bump on its head and at the time I thought I was doing a nice thing for this duck because it had cancer and who would want a cancer duck. I soon found out all ducks of his kind had this kind of bump. The ducks started to get bigger and one day one of the girl ducks started to quack and I looked over and she was limping. We took him to the vet and he then told my husband and I that we needed to see a specialist. We took him to the specialist and we found out that she had part of a stick in her foot. They would have to put her under and do surgery. I had to beg my husband to let me do this few hundred dollar surgery on my $1.50 duck. He finally came around and the doctor was able to fix my girl duck. He finally let me know that she was actually a he so we should switch the name around. The DR also said we had to keep him away from the other ducks for a week. I decided that after the week was done I was going to have a little party with some close friends who also have pets and celebrate. Well that Friday came and we had a little party. I let all the ducks play in the yard with all the other animals (chickens, dogs etc). As the party was going on my granddaughter came up to me and said “he’s going to be in trouble”. I asked her what she was talking about and I look over and one of the dogs had two feathers sticking out of his mouth. He ate my duck whole. I was so sad…I didn’t even get to name him a boy name yet.
I couldn’t help but laugh at both of these stories so I thought I should share them.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Orange Belt
Tomorrow is a big day. I have my taekwondo class I am testing to get an orange belt. I have to memorize 6 different combinations for my class and do some strength tests. So instead of practicing them I am blogging right now. I hope to get enough motivation to practice my sweet moves after this blog. Especially since when I left my class on Monday the instructor who owns the company ran outside into the parking lot and the conversation went as followed:
Instructor (Him): Kennedy
Kennedy (Me): Yes Sir
Him: Are you coming on Wednesday?
Me: Yes, I will be there
Him: Are you scared?
Me: I don’t think…so
Him: Well you should be. *Walks away*
So....I will be practicing tonight. I will let everyone know in my next blog how I do.
A quick update, the iPad2 is totally sweet and I would definitely recommend one. I have been asked many times if it could replace my computer. I have realized that it could not replace my computer for 3 reasons 1. Lack of Hulu.com 2. Can’t make sweet CD mixes 3. Unable to write my blog in an affective amount of time (I tried). I have not purchased a keyboard yet but once I do there will only be only 2 things I need my computer for. The iPad2 is a lot faster and now I have a lot of sweet apps (thanks Jenna). That being said I have yet to find an app for “growing, learning and living” more. I guess like my friend Anna told me I just need to chill out and live life. That is my new goal.
I should go practice my combinations now and my push ups I have to do 30 real pushups that might be the hardest part…I start to shake after about 20 now….wish me luck!
Instructor (Him): Kennedy
Kennedy (Me): Yes Sir
Him: Are you coming on Wednesday?
Me: Yes, I will be there
Him: Are you scared?
Me: I don’t think…so
Him: Well you should be. *Walks away*
So....I will be practicing tonight. I will let everyone know in my next blog how I do.
A quick update, the iPad2 is totally sweet and I would definitely recommend one. I have been asked many times if it could replace my computer. I have realized that it could not replace my computer for 3 reasons 1. Lack of Hulu.com 2. Can’t make sweet CD mixes 3. Unable to write my blog in an affective amount of time (I tried). I have not purchased a keyboard yet but once I do there will only be only 2 things I need my computer for. The iPad2 is a lot faster and now I have a lot of sweet apps (thanks Jenna). That being said I have yet to find an app for “growing, learning and living” more. I guess like my friend Anna told me I just need to chill out and live life. That is my new goal.
I should go practice my combinations now and my push ups I have to do 30 real pushups that might be the hardest part…I start to shake after about 20 now….wish me luck!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Big 2-5
Question of the day: If you wear something on a Monday and wash it that night and then wear it on again on Tuesday, does that still count for wearing the same thing twice? Or better yet, is it worse to wear something twice in a row or worse to wear it again because its dirty?
My birthday is on Tuesday and I don’t know what it is about turning twenty five but it makes me want to figure out my whole life. It might be the fact that I can no longer say I am in my early 20’s or the fact that people who play college sports are no longer my age anymore. On a more positive outlook they say that as you grow older you become wiser. This year I will hopefully grow more, learn more and live more. Maybe that should be my new birthday resolution. I should some how figure out how to track growing more, learning more and living more. I am getting the new iPad2 on Friday (hopefully), maybe the “oh so powerful” iPad2 will have an app for tracking growing more, learning more and living more. I will look into that and let you know. Growing old definitely makes you think about what is important in life and what you want out of life. Maybe the truth is I don’t really want to figure out my whole life but I want to know I am on the track that is going to be the best for me. I guess God really is the only one who knows the whole story and I am ok with that. Don't worry I will keep you updated on the app situation.
My birthday is on Tuesday and I don’t know what it is about turning twenty five but it makes me want to figure out my whole life. It might be the fact that I can no longer say I am in my early 20’s or the fact that people who play college sports are no longer my age anymore. On a more positive outlook they say that as you grow older you become wiser. This year I will hopefully grow more, learn more and live more. Maybe that should be my new birthday resolution. I should some how figure out how to track growing more, learning more and living more. I am getting the new iPad2 on Friday (hopefully), maybe the “oh so powerful” iPad2 will have an app for tracking growing more, learning more and living more. I will look into that and let you know. Growing old definitely makes you think about what is important in life and what you want out of life. Maybe the truth is I don’t really want to figure out my whole life but I want to know I am on the track that is going to be the best for me. I guess God really is the only one who knows the whole story and I am ok with that. Don't worry I will keep you updated on the app situation.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
How To Serve Wine:
(Napa Valley - Stony Hill Winery)
I just realized that I have not written a wine blog in awhile, for this I am sorry. I thought I would bless you with more fun facts from Quamut.
Wines should be served at different temperatures depending on the type:
- Sparkling Wine: 45-50 degrees F
- Inexpensive White: 50-55 degrees F
- Fine White: 55-60 degrees F
- Most Red Wine: 60-55 degrees F
- Dessert Wines: 60-55 degrees F
Aerate and Decant Wine: To aerate the wine you should purchase a carafe, which is a wide-mouthed pitcher that holds a whole bottle of wine. Quamut says that a young, tannic red wine typically needs at least an hour of aeration. Where as full bodied white wines typically only needs a half an hour.
Older red wines can develop sediment over time where the tannins join together, harden and drop out of solution. This isn’t bad but can stick to your teeth. These wines need to be decanted in order to remove that sediment. How you decant a wine is stick it upright for a day or two then pour the wine carefully into a decanter leaving the last inch behind.
How to serve wine in sequence:
- White wine before red
- Dry wine before sweet wine
- Light bodied wine before full bodied wine
- Straightforward wine before complex wine
How to pull a cork out:
- Waiter’s corkscrew: The key is to make sure you twist the worm down through the center of the cork. Once you do press the level onto the lip and lift.
- Screw pull: Twist the corkscrew in the same direction and the screw will insert itself into the cork.
- The Rabbit: Just push and pull on the level and the cork comes right out.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Highs and Lows
Last night was a night of many highs and lows. I will tell you about them.
High: I got to watch the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl!
Low: At the end of the game I realized that it was just like the day after Christmas all of the hype leading up to the big day and then its just over.
High: I got to watch the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl!
Low: I realized it was Sunday.
High: I got to watch the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl!
Low: Its 10:15pm and I hear someone walking around in my house. My first thought is…who is in my house? My second thought is…I should have started my taekwondo lessons sooner. My third thought is…what kick I should try out on my intruder (roundhouse, side kick, or front kick). My fourth thought is…should I turn on light so I can face my intruder? My fifth thought is…maybe I should keep my light off and act like no one is home. My sixth thought is…maybe Simon will scare away my intruder. My seventh thought is…maybe I should scream. My eighth thought is…no one would hear me, I have a weak scream. My ninth thought is…if I live I need to tripple check the locks on the doors. What came out was: Who is there? (In the deepest voice I could come up with)
High: I got to watch the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl!
Low: At the end of the game I realized that it was just like the day after Christmas all of the hype leading up to the big day and then its just over.
High: I got to watch the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl!
Low: I realized it was Sunday.
High: I got to watch the Green Bay Packers win the Super Bowl!
Low: Its 10:15pm and I hear someone walking around in my house. My first thought is…who is in my house? My second thought is…I should have started my taekwondo lessons sooner. My third thought is…what kick I should try out on my intruder (roundhouse, side kick, or front kick). My fourth thought is…should I turn on light so I can face my intruder? My fifth thought is…maybe I should keep my light off and act like no one is home. My sixth thought is…maybe Simon will scare away my intruder. My seventh thought is…maybe I should scream. My eighth thought is…no one would hear me, I have a weak scream. My ninth thought is…if I live I need to tripple check the locks on the doors. What came out was: Who is there? (In the deepest voice I could come up with)
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Building A Moat To Keep A Cat Out
My 2011 goal to take a kickboxing class is not going to happen, I looked into it and I found out that kickboxing is not for me. I am taking a taekwondo class though, I am on my 3rd class and so far I have learned many different kicks, the crescent kick, front kick and the round house kick. Next week I will be learning different punches. My new goal is to make it past green belt because my dad didn’t make it past green belt. I will keep you updated on my progress.
On a totally different topic. My roommate has a cat named Simon. I am not sure if I have talked about Simon before but he’s a cute orange cat. I enjoy Simon in my life, he is a good friend we take naps together. That being said Simon tends to scratch at my door in the morning if my roommate is not home because he wants to be fed. I tried many different techniques at first, I tried putting boxes along the side of my door but he would just move them. I tried spraying Febreze but it would just give me a head ach smelling it under the door. I then read online about building a mote in front of the door because cats do not like water. That night I set out four different bowls in front of my door and filled them with water. I woke up at 6:30am and there was no scratching. I went back to bed for 15 min and I woke up to scratch scratch scratch. I walk outside to see one bowl moved away from the door and no water on the ground. Simon had spent all night drinking the water out of the bowl and then was able to move it with ease. I couldn’t even be mad, he out played me.
Now Simon sleeps on the end of my bed with me when my roommate is away or if I don’t want him in my room I was able to purchase a spray from PetSmart which is a smell cats don’t like and it works like a charm.
On a totally different topic. My roommate has a cat named Simon. I am not sure if I have talked about Simon before but he’s a cute orange cat. I enjoy Simon in my life, he is a good friend we take naps together. That being said Simon tends to scratch at my door in the morning if my roommate is not home because he wants to be fed. I tried many different techniques at first, I tried putting boxes along the side of my door but he would just move them. I tried spraying Febreze but it would just give me a head ach smelling it under the door. I then read online about building a mote in front of the door because cats do not like water. That night I set out four different bowls in front of my door and filled them with water. I woke up at 6:30am and there was no scratching. I went back to bed for 15 min and I woke up to scratch scratch scratch. I walk outside to see one bowl moved away from the door and no water on the ground. Simon had spent all night drinking the water out of the bowl and then was able to move it with ease. I couldn’t even be mad, he out played me.
Now Simon sleeps on the end of my bed with me when my roommate is away or if I don’t want him in my room I was able to purchase a spray from PetSmart which is a smell cats don’t like and it works like a charm.
Monday, January 10, 2011
2011 - A New Year
I am not trying to say that 2010 was bad, but I have high hopes for 2011. I typically think of myself as a lucky person and I felt like in 2010 I was not very lucky. I see things turning around soon. There are many different reasons why. Let’s see the Packers made it into the playoffs and won their first game and I am looking into kick boxing classes at a gym near my house to get buff. I realized in 2011 I need to do some things different, so today I started doing a few things differently. Here are three examples.
1. When I was looking for food in the fridge I looked for the expiration date on an item. Let’s be honest if it doesn’t have mold on it I don’t typically care what date it says…which is probably bad. I realize that most people typically do look at expiration dates. Maybe I should start now? This can be part of the new me.
2. I went for a run in the dark. I may have just lasted a few blocks but I saw that my friend Katy is training for a 10k and it made me realize I am out of shape. I feel like if I do end up taking kick boxing classes I don’t want to be the dud in the class. I realized I should start preparing for my potential future class.
3. I cracked an egg which I thought was hard boiled on the table and well it wasn’t. I have never done that before. This may not help me in the future but it was funny and I did laugh out loud.
It looks like 2011 is going to be a great year.
1. When I was looking for food in the fridge I looked for the expiration date on an item. Let’s be honest if it doesn’t have mold on it I don’t typically care what date it says…which is probably bad. I realize that most people typically do look at expiration dates. Maybe I should start now? This can be part of the new me.
2. I went for a run in the dark. I may have just lasted a few blocks but I saw that my friend Katy is training for a 10k and it made me realize I am out of shape. I feel like if I do end up taking kick boxing classes I don’t want to be the dud in the class. I realized I should start preparing for my potential future class.
3. I cracked an egg which I thought was hard boiled on the table and well it wasn’t. I have never done that before. This may not help me in the future but it was funny and I did laugh out loud.
It looks like 2011 is going to be a great year.
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