Saturday, March 28, 2009

SHAKIN', NOT STIRRED.....


If you know me you know of the deep admiration I have for a certain British MI-6 agent. To use two of my new favorite adjectives, he is both brilliant and magnificent! Yes, I am aware that he is a fictional character, but that is what makes it so much fun! He encompasses everything a super secret agent/superhero should be! He's strong, intelligent, mysterious and sexy. And there's something inside of him that has been broken. Therefore you can imagine the excitement I was experiencing on Tuesday when the newest installment of James Bond 007, "Quantum of Solace" was released on DVD. I know there are some out there that were not very fond of this newest Bond film, but I thoroughly loved it. Daniel Craig has in just two films, become my favorite Bond. He has not only brought everything that Sean Connery built Bond to be, but has added a new depth of mystery and personal agony I have not seen other than briefly with Timothy Dalton. He is able to portray the character of Bond as I picture him when I read Ian Fleming's stories. He is absolutely magnificent! And so, I will leave you with five of my favorite Bond films. I love them all, but these are five I tend to watch over and over.
  1. Casino Royale
  2. License to Kill
  3. Dr. No
  4. Live and Let Die
  5. Quantum of Solace

Monday, March 9, 2009

IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME BABY....WITH A CAPITAL "A"


Yes kids that's right, it's time to dust off those #2 pencils and get them sharpened because March Madness has officially begun! With Selection Sunday less than a week away most of the NCAA schools will face off in their respective conferences in what has fittingly been dubbed "Championship Week." With a season that has seen multiple teams clinch the #1 ranking and then lose it just as quickly, almost as if they were walking through a revolving door, it is anybody's guess who will bounce (no pun intended!) out on top. The next four weeks promise to be nothing short of magnificent. And so, as Championship Week, and a great deal of March Madness, looms ahead of us I have been contemplating why it is I love the game of basketball so much. Is it the perfect mathematical arc of the three-pointer. Is it that instantaneous adrenaline rush you experience while standing in an arena amongst thousands of screaming fans just as the lights go out and a spotlight illuminates center court? Maybe it's that perfect swishing sound the ball makes as it travels through the net, hitting nothing else on its way through? Or is that exhilaration you feel for days following your favorite team's triumph over its arch enemy? Could it be that jaw-dropping wonderment felt when watching a 6'8" center elevate 3 feet over two defenders to slam a ball through a hoop standing 10 feet high? And maybe it is simply that feeling of personal greatness as, no matter how terrible a basketball player you may be, you sink that one perfect shot. For me it is obviously every single one of these reasons and so many more that make the game so great! With that, I am wishing you a very wonderful and surprising March!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

S-I-S-T-E-R

My mother used to tell me that someday my sister would not annoy me so much and that we'd be fantastic friends and that I would even possibly miss her. My sister and I used to fight like, well.....SISTERS! I used to get so angry with her for stealing my clothes or my hair supplies. I would get insanely upset when she broke or lost something of mine that I considered to be priceless. And while she actually continues to do these things, somehow they aren't so annoying and frustrating. As most of us are probably painfully aware, mom usually tends to be right. Well in this case she was spot on. I love my sister with all my heart. She is my best friend and I could not imagine a world without her. Although we talk about every day, we do not get to see each other that often. And so you can imagine my excitement when we were finally able to get together yesterday and "play." It had been about a month since we had seen each other, so it was long over due. When my sister and I are together we tend to be a little....shall we say, animated! We laugh so much it's inevitable that one, or both, of us pees just a little! This little visit was much needed by myself. I've had a rough couple of weeks and really needed a long day of laughing. And while my little sister tends to be a little impetuous, irrational, immature, and the most stubborn person I have ever met, I love her and love everything about her. And so, I have compiled a list of the top 10 things I love about my little sister! For those of you who know her, I hope you love her as much as I do!
  1. I love her insatiable excitement for life.
  2. I love her seemingly unending amount of energy.
  3. Although I hate it, I love the fact that she continually wants to hug me!
  4. I love her deep love of the wide world of sports.
  5. I love her very extroverted personality.
  6. I love her booty!
  7. Although her taste is often questionable, I love that she loves movies and music as much as I do.
  8. I love that she is willing to try just about anything.
  9. I love how focused she is about her career goals.
  10. And I LOVE that she LOVES ME!!!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Playlist of the Week....

This weeks' playlist is based off of "Breath" by Breaking Benjamin for no reason other than than I LOVE THIS SONG! So enjoy!
  1. "Breath" by Breaking Benjamin
  2. "Just Like You" by Three Days Grace
  3. "Tears Don't Fall" by Bullet For My Valentine
  4. "So Far Away" by Staind
  5. "Faint" by Linkin Park
  6. "When I'm Gone" by 3 Doors Down
  7. "Drive" by Incubus
  8. "Whatever It Takes" by Lifehouse
  9. "With Me" by Sum 41
  10. "Crawling In The Dark" by Hoobastank
  11. "Sooner or Later" by Breaking Benjamin
  12. "Calling You" by Blue October
  13. "Breaking The Habit" by Linkin Park
  14. "Time Is Running Out" by Muse
  15. "Step Up" by Drowning Pool
  16. "The Hell Song" by Sum 41
  17. "Unknown Soldier" by Breaking Benjamin
  18. "First Time" by Lifehouse
  19. "All That I've Got" by The Used
  20. "Pardon Me" by Incubus
  21. "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional
  22. "Someday" by Nickelback
  23. "Crawling" by Linkin Park
  24. "Whispers In The Dark" by Skillet
  25. "Wait" by Earshot
Rock On Kids!!!!!

Monday, February 9, 2009

OdeTo The Shoe Gods


If there were anything "girly" about me, it is the intense love affair that I have with shoes. I LOVE them. Some would call it an obsessive love really. We're talking Carrie Bradshaw obsessive. Not many people are aware of this obsession, I keep it hidden very well. But just between you and me, I often go to Nordstroms or any place that sells shoes and just walk around and try on shoes. You would never know however that I harbor this intense obsession, because as strong as the love I have for shoes is, the rational and practical side that dominates my psyche is slightly stronger. I am such a rational person that when I see the price of a pair of shoes that I have fallen in love with, I remind myself over and over again what a ridiculous thing it is to spend that kind of money on something so impractical. In my line of work and the day to day bustle of my life, I have to wear practical, comfortable shoes like tennis shoes. You simply cannot work a 12 hour shift running around taking care of patients in a pair of brilliantly blue Manolo Blahniks. So unfortunately, I very rarely purchase a pair of shoes I truly love simply because I cannot bare to look at a lonely, beautiful pair of shoes in my closet that does not get it's fair share of time on my feet. Today was not one of those days. While I did express a certain amount of personal restraint, I also caved to an impetuous feeling, something I very very rarely do. But this was love at first sight, and love at first sight simply cannot be ignored. The second I laid eyes on this pair of shoes, I knew I had to have them! A pair of chocolate colored high wedge BCBGirls size 9 just waiting for me to slip my slender foot right into them. It was definitely magic! So today I purchased just a little bit of heaven and brought them home and wore them around my apartment for as long as my cold toes could handle it! I believe every girl should know this feeling, and if you haven't bought a pair in awhile, go!

Saturday, February 7, 2009

IF I WERE A GREEK TRAGEDY....


I would be Euridice.

The other night I went to the "Opera" with my friend Becca and we saw Orfeo and Euridice. This is one of my favorite Greek myths. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this myth, Orfeo, or as he sometimes referred, Orpheus, was the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. Apollo presented Orfeo with a lyre when he was young and he played constantly and with so much heart that it wasn't long before he reached perfection and there was not a God or human or creature who could withstand the charm of his music. Orfeo fell deeply in love with Euridice, a forest nymph and they were married. Shortly after the marriage, Euridice was wandering through the forest with her fellow nymphs and was bitten by a snake and died. Orfeo was overcome with immense grief and he played and sang out this grief to all that would listen. He was so overpowered by his despair that he made the decision to descend to the underworld and bring Euridice back with him. He descended through crowds of ghosts and presented himself at the gates to the underworld before Hades and Persephone. Accompanying the words with his lyre he sang "I come to seek my wife, whose opening years the poisonous viper's fang has brought to an untimely end. Love, Eros, has led me here, Love, a god all powerful with us who dwell on the earth, and, if old traditions say true, not less so here. I implore you by these abodes full of terror, these realms of silence and uncreated things, unite again the tread of Euridice's life. We all are destined to you, and sooner or later must pass to your domain. She too, when she shall have filled her term of life, will rightly be yours. But till then grant her to me, I beseech you. If you deny me I cannot return alone; you shall triumph in teh death of us both." As he sang, the very guests of the underworld were brought to tears. It is said that for the first time the cheeks of the Furies were wet with tears. Persephone could not resist and even Hades himself gave way. They brought Euridice forth. Orfeo was permitted to leave with Euridice on one condition, that he not turn and look at her till they should reach the upper air. In this fashion they made their way through dark and steep passages, he leading, she following, in complete silence. They had nearly reached the outlet into the upper world, when Orfeo, in a moment of forgetfulness, to assure himself that she was still following, cast a glance behing him. She was instantly taken away. Stretching out their arms to embrace each other, they grasped only the air. Dying now for a second time, she yet cannot reproach her husband, for how can she blame his impatience to behold her? "Farewell," she said, "a last farewell," and was hurried away. Orfeo tried to follow, but was denied. He stayed in the underworld for seven days in great despair. The Thracian maidens tried to no avail to entice him. They became so enraged at him that they tore him limb from limb, and threw his head and his lyre into the river Hebrus, down which they floated, murmuring sad music, to which the shores responded a plaintive symphony. The Muses gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Libertha, where the nightingale is said to sing over his grave more sweetly than in any other part of Greece. His Lyre was placed among the stars. It is known as the constellation Lyra His shade passed a second time to Tartarus, where he sought out his Euridice and embraced her with eager arms. They roam the happy fields together now, sometimes he leading, sometimes she; and Orfeo gazes as much as he will up on her, no longer incurring a penalty for a thoughtless glance.

Although I consider myself to be somewhat of a unique "Greek Tragedy," this just seems like a "Trisyn-esque" story in itself. I would find the perfect guy and then die shortly after we were married. One who was so deeply enamored with me that he would brave the very depths of the underworld to bring me back to him, only for him to cave at the last minute and cause me to die a second death! However, I can't ignore that they were re-united in death. There's a little hope for you. But I do love this one and wanted to share it with you!

Monday, February 2, 2009

"STRAIT MONDAYS"

If you know me you know my love for George Strait runs deep and spans a couple of decades(the couple I've been alive!). He gave me many of my "firsts" when it comes to music. The first concert I ever went to was George Strait and the first CD I ever owned was George Strait. My favorite song is a George Strait song. He holds a special place in my heart. In preparation for seeing him in July, at the beginning of the year I initiated what I like to call "Strait Mondays." For about 4 Mondays now I have listened to nothing but George Strait and I love every minute of it. And so, for this week's playlist I have compiled a list of some of my favorite George songs, although they are all amazing! For those of you who do not like country music, I respect that, but I urge you to not pass to harsh a judgment until you've listened, and I mean really listened, to some classic George. There is a reason why he has more #1 hits than any other recording artist in history, that includes Elvis and The Beatles.
  1. "Baby's Gotten Good At Goodbye"
  2. "I Cross My Heart"
  3. "Baby Blue"
  4. "Blue Clear Sky"
  5. "Nobody In His Right Mind Would've Left Her"
  6. "Wrapped"
  7. "She Let Herself Go"
  8. "A Better Rain"
  9. "It Just Comes Natural"
  10. "If It's Gonna Rain"
  11. "Run"
  12. "Carrying Your Love With Me"
  13. "I Can Still Make Cheyenne"
  14. "Carried Away"
  15. "How 'Bout Them Cowgirls"
  16. "Famous Last Words Of A Fool"
  17. "Ocean Front Property"
  18. "Desperately"
  19. "Give Me More Time"
  20. "Chill Of An Early Fall"
  21. "The Man In Love With You"
  22. "You Look So Good In Love"
  23. "King Of Broken Hearts"
  24. "I Ain't Her Cowboy Anymore"
  25. "A Heart Like Hers"
Now this is just barely scratching the surface, there's so much more wonderfulness out there! Enjoy!