My Review of the VMAs...

…I’m not one to watch award shows much, maybe flip to them here or there, but Sunday night, I settled in the MTV Video Music Awards. It was an interesting event to say they least but let me give you my opinions:

*Fashion-what was everyone wearing? Really, wearing a block of cheese on your head, hot red pants and specs or a multi-colored face mask doesn’t really equal hip and with it in my book. Is it just me or since Gaga joined the scene does it seem like it’s a contest as to who can have the craziest outfits?

*Chris Brown dancing: Why was he wearing a mic when he wasn’t singing? Did you like how he didn’t have anything choreographed when Nirvana came on?

*I really think Britney was scared of Gaga when she presented her with her award, I know I was scared! I’m not a huge Britney fan but I felt kind of bad for her. Her award was overshadowed by Gaga’s freakiness.

*Gaga: Prior to the show, I didn’t really like nor dislike Gaga. Her music is good, I enjoy listening to it. When I’d seen her on Ellen a few times, I got the idea that she was just a quieter person but really down to Earth. After the award show, I am not a fan. She totally took it WAY too far and wouldn’t let it go. Okay, we get it…okay, we still get it…okay, it’s old.

*Beyonce’s belly rub hurt. That’s all I really care to share on that subject.

*I honestly can say I did not know over half of the people on the show, I thought the New Artist winner, was some kid on the street (really who wears a tie-dye shirt with a cat on it to an Awards Show?). I recognized most of their music when they played but if I passed them on the street, I’d have no clue who they were.

*Jared Leto-wth happened to him???

*Did anyone else think the Amy Winehouse tribute was kind of small? When I think of a tribute, despite how the person died, I think of it as sincere and serious but it was just laid back, not a whole lot of footage. Just odd but then again, the VMAs were odd so maybe that’s what they were going for.

*Jessie Jay singing with the band by herself was also weird and looked out of place. Maybe it was because she was sitting down the whole time. I did enjoy her singing because that was the only songs that I knew, it was more my time.

*And the reason I watched, “The Hunger Games” preview. Totally letdown! It was BARELY 30 seconds and since I follow blogs about it, it really wasn’t anything I HADN’T seen already.

Conclusion: 2011 VMAs were weird and made me feel old. What were your thoughts on the 2011 VMAs???

Movie Monday...

...pretend that this posted yesterday, ok? This weekend was a big, fat, lay around the house lazy weekend-it was glorious! I rented some movies for me (read on) but I knew I'd better get one for Mattie too so I picked up Lincoln Lawyer for him because of the storyline and for me because of Matthew McConaughey. :)

Basically, Matthew McConaughey is a lawyer who does all of his business out of his Lincoln. He thinks he's pretty hot stuff and can get most of his clients off. He takes on a new client (Ryan Phillippe-hello eye candy in this movie!) who is accused of attempted assault and, of course, there's lots of twists and turns. First off, it took us until about halfway through the movie to decide what decade this was set in. Matt thought the '80s because of the hair but I thought '90s, maybe early '00s because of the phone...nope it's set in 2011. Second, they're all about hookers like it's no big deal. Maybe because I don't deal with them on a regular basis, it isn't a big deal to those people who do? Anyways, it was a pretty good movie...it moved fast, kept my attention and was easy to follow. Would definitely recommend and I'm putting this book on my to-read list. 


Now for the other movies I watched...Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse, I'm not going to give you an overview because if you don't know what these movies are about, well then you've been living under a rock for awhile. I AM going to talk about these things...

• I used to like the Twilight books but after watching all three movies in one day, I'm not so sure I do anymore. It's all about the guys (Edward and Jacob) pushing Bella around telling her what she can and cannot do. As gorgeous as they both are, I would be like peace out.
• Kristen Stewart, you have ruined Bella Swan for me and your acting along with everyone else in the movies have too. If Hunger Games acting is anything at all like the Twilight movies, I will cry. 
• In these movies, we have the Cullen family who are very prim and proper and use good English, ya'll. Then we have Jacob and Bella who are telling each other "whatever" and "get over it." This movie really doesn't flow very well at all. 

All in all, I will NOT be looking forward to the future Twilight movies unless there are new actors. Speaking of, I'm pretty sure that Victoria in Twilight and New Moon was different than Victoria in Eclipse. Anyone else notice that or is it the same person?

I also rented Whip It with Ellen Page. It was kind of predictable but a really good movie. I would definitely recommend it. I know Drew Barrymore directed it so her character was more of a cameo but still, her character was weird. I also bought Valentine's Day for $1.99 but haven't watched it yet.

Also I rented them from Blockbuster. I had a gift card and was asking if I could use it at the kiosk and the guy informed me that I couldn't even use it in the store!!! Apparently, Blockbuster got sold and they're trying to figure out how to switch them over. How hard can it be? Whatever Blockbuster! I must admit though, I like walking in and having a large selection vs standing outside a gas station and paging through random screens especially if they're the same price!

Tomorrow Back to the Regular Program...

...sorry all! My brand new laptop had a crash...yep, after 3 weeks the hard drive crashed but Mr. Cash Cowan to the rescue!!! He has fixed it since I was past the 2 week return policy at Best Buy. So I apologize for the interruption but we'll be back to our regularly scheduled program tomorrow. Happy Monday!

Cake in a Cup!!!

...forgot all the other cupcakes I've ever posted about on this blog. Cake in a Cup is my new love! Alicia from Supper Club talked about these Cake in a Cups back in April and May. I told her next time to bring me one. Well, this past Tuesday about 5 o'clock, my phone rings and it's Alicia asking if I still wanted a Cake in a Cup (say it out loud, it's fun to say!). Without hesitation, I was like, "Yes please!" I told her nothing with fruit and here's what she brought me:

This picture doesn't even do it justice but I guess first I should explain Cake in a Cup. There's a bakery by her house called the Cakery. They make lots of wedding cakes. Well, as we've all seen on the cake shows, they always "shave" off some of the cake to get the shape right. So then the bakers take all the cake and put it in a cup with some icing and viola! Cake in a Cup!

Let me just say that this thing was AMAZING! Moist, delicious...everything you want out of a cake. I even shared it and let Matt have a bite. I've asked Alicia if she'll bring me one to EVERY Supper Club (it's only once a month), I'll have to start a tab with her for my new addiction. Seriously, I can't get this thing off my mind and I've told EVERYONE about it.

FYI-if you're wondering about dinner, we ate at 3 Monkeys. We had a blogger outing there exactly a year ago. The verdict: don't order an entree, they aren't fab but the pizzas and potato skins are FANTASTIC!

Thursday Tidbits...

...my tidbits for this Thursday.

*Do you remember Bloody Mary from grade school? Well, sometimes at work when I turn the light off before I open the door in the bathroom, I start to panic and get nervous about Bloody Mary. I refuse to look in the mirror and always swear that I see something green. I said this to some of the other gals at work and they said they do the same thing. Good to know I’m not crazy!

*The bank mailed Matt new checks and put my name on them. I’m LOVING it!!! I hope he doesn’t get mad when he sees I’ve already written 2 checks out of it.

*I’m working with a brand new , local organization Midwest Infertility Awareness. We’re offering a free conference here in STL in November and I’m really super pumped about it! We’ve already started confirming speakers and getting giveaways, now we just need people to sign up! Check out the blog because I’m the one updating it and designing it. I’ve learned a LOT about blogging and still am. Leave me some feedback!

*I’m planning on having a Twilight movie marathon this weekend, expect reviews next week.

*I had a Cake in a Cup on Tuesday night and I can’t stop thinking about it. See blog post tomorrow for more information and be prepared to drool.

*I have to Skype on Saturday. I never have and I HATE my voice on technology because I sound like I’m 12. When you Skype do the people see me? That means I’d have to get out of PJs…

*I have been trying to limit my spending…it’s not working very well. It’s like every time I turn around there’s a birthday gift to buy, a race to register for, food to buy, etc, etc, etc…I know you’re probably thinking you don’t HAVE to register for a race or you don’t HAVE to go out to eat but the race is for a good cause and I committed to it awhile back, just haven’t paid for it. And the eating out/food, well, I try my best to NOT eat out but sometimes all your social stuff line up in the same week!

*For all you dog lovers out there, go read this article but grab some tissues first.

Happy Thursday all!

Chicken Pasta Bolognese...

...so last week I was shopping at Schnucks. The one by my work has the little kiosk where they cook samples and have the recipe cards for them. I always sample but never take the bait to buy the cards. WELL, knowing we were in a dinner slump, I thought what the hey and I bought all the ingredients for Chicken Pasta Bolognese. It was a hit at our house so I thought I'd share:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package ground chicken (I used ground turkey)
3 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 medium tomatoes (about 8 ounces each), chopped (I used canned tomatoes because I can't chop tomatoes for the life of me!)
1 cup less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup orzo pasta (apparently Barillo makes some for cheap, I could not find so this was EXPENSIVE!)
1 small zucchini, coarsely grated
3/4 cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken, garlic, salt and pepper and cook 4 minutes, breaking up chicken into small pieces with side of spoon. Stir in tomatoes, broth and uncooked orzo; cover and cook 6-8 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and orzo is tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in zucchini, basil and cheese; cook 1-2 minutes to heat through. Toss until well combined.

Final product:

It definitely isn't the prettiest dish so when Matt walked in the door and saw it, he turned his nose up but we were both pleasantly surprised how delish it was. Matt didn't even add anything to it which is HUGE! We added some extra cheese on top of our own servings. Total for like a cup, it's about 360 calories so that's not bad. Definitely two thumbs up from the Mr. and Mrs. at our house!

Katie's 30th Birthday!!!

...this past Saturday, Matt and I headed out to Babler State Park to celebrate my good friend Katie's 30th birthday. It was awesome to see her and her hubby Kevin. Last summer, Katie and I saw a lot of each other but unfortunately, we've hardly seen each other at all this year. Her and her hubs are moving back to the city so hopefully we'll have more opportunities to see each other.

Here's Katie with her awesome cake from McArthur's:

Kevin forgot candles so he improvised with matches!

The kids went swimming and played football. There was a boulder wall and this is about as high as I made it:

Mattie made it to the top and was checking out the other side:

Me with the Birthday Girl!

Geez, we've been friends since way back in high school and although we may not see each other often, we always pick up where we left off which to me is the true definition of friendship. Happy birthday Katie! May the next 30 years be amazing.