Booty dance

I've been examining the dance moves of my son and my nephew, and I think this video might shed some light on what the future holds for them.

Low-key Thanksgiving for three

There was some debate about what our main dish would be. I wanted to go for something like beef tenderloin. Justin said that it's not Thanksgiving unless you eat a bird, so we went with Cornish hens. His only other request: cranberry sauce. From a can. (By the way, did you know that a Cornish hen is literally a chicken that is less than 6 weeks old? That's just disturbing. I'm glad I didn't learn this nugget* before I ate my meal.)
*No pun intended.

The menu:
Roasted Cornish Hens
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Corn casserole (see recipe below)
Sister Schubert rolls
Cranberry sauce
Apple pie and ice cream

(This recipe is from my mother-in-law's family cookbook. Delish.)
Judy's Corn Casserole
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
8-oz container sour cream
1 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
Mix all ingredients together, and pour into a 2-quart baking dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Happy Thankgiving, everyone!

Can you believe this video is 15 years old? I guess some things are just timeless.

One afternoon, two movies

This afternoon we went to see two movies. That's right, two movies. We love going to the movies, and we haven't been together in about a year. It was everything I hoped it would be. The movies we saw weren't stellar, but both were entertaining. And let's be real: I can't possibly complain about an afternoon that involves Vince Vaughn, a bucket of popcorn, and lots of explosions.

I had very high hopes for Four Christmases. It was pretty funny, but it kinda dragged in parts. And it is only an hour and 20 minutes long, so that's a bad sign.
Then Leah and Heinz joined us for Quantum of Solace. You may have heard that you need a Casino Royale refresher before watching this movie. I didn't heed that advice and was a bit confused. Nevertheless, it was entertaining. Just what you'd expect from the new era of Bond (which, to me, looks a lot like the Bourne movies).

All in all, a great Wednesday afternoon!

I'm thankful for...

I know, it's not even the big day, and I'm already feeling thankful. Weird.
Today Luke and I doorbusted at Publix. We were waiting to check out, feeling pretty good about ourselves because we had beaten the crowds and were leaving the store at 7:30 a.m. with everything for our Turkey Day meal in hand (well, at our house it's going to be Cornish Hen Day. More on that later). Also, a kind grocery store employee had unloaded all of our food onto the conveyor belt for us.
Anyway, when the woman in front of us finished up, she gave the cashier $5 to put toward our groceries. For no reason. Just to be nice. So, thank you, anonymous Publix customer! Your kindness is greatly appreciated. And Happy Thanksgiving!

Seriously?

It boggles the mind that this show continues to draw a whopping 19-million viewers a week. Who watches this? Identify yourselves!

Just me?

Am I the only one cracked up by this commercial? I'm not sure what it is: Tony Hawk's goofy smile, ARod's super-serious expression, the fact that Kobe is wearing basketball shorts while everyone else is wearing underwear (I imagine he had a real diva moment about this). I can't explain it. Also, I wonder how much the Guitar Hero folks paid to get these four in a commercial together.

Aw, man.

Well, this certainly will free up some time.

According to Entertainment Weekly, ABC has canceled Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money.

I don't watch DSM, but I'm quite attached to the other two.

The Office: Discuss!

My sister sent me a 911 text asking me to recap The Office for her again. (Nat, did you really send that text before watching the episode? If not, weird! If so, funny.) Anywho, I didn't watch it with the intent of blogging, so I'll just mention a few things.

• The microwave. This scene must've been stolen from my workplace. There is literally a person who leaves notes like that on our microwave.
  
• Michael's reaction to Toby's return. NOOOOOO! NO GOD NO!!!!! Poor, sad Toby.
  
• Creed. Good grief, could he be any creepier?
• Michael's $500 Caprese salad. Hilarious. Anyone else have a hard time believing Michael keeps that kind of cash on his person?
• The house. I was afraid Pam was going to be upset. Loved her reaction.
• Ryan going to Thailand with friends from high school. Well, a high school. (Ryan is taking a leave of absence from the show to film the new Quentin Tarantino movie, so this may be the last we see of him for a while.)
• Best line: Sometimes the ends justify the mean.
  

Guess I'm going to have to watch this...

You probably think this post is about you

Vanity plates entertain me. First of all, I love how the name just gets it out there: These are for vain people. Second, I love the thought that you could go to purchase a license plate and think, "Hmm. How can I make this MORE expensive?" Where I live it costs an extra $50 a year. You really have to believe in your tag to add that charge.

I enjoy the ones that are like puzzles that you have to figure out. Some can be cute. My friend drives a pink scooter with the tag PRETTYN. I saw a little old lady driving a Jaguar with the tag MA'AM. Cute. (And who knew you could have an apostrophe?)

The vast majority are just obnoxious. And they really tell you something about the driver of the car. For example:

• DDYSGRL: Gotta admit, I wanted to rear-end her.
• 1SWTMOM: This one must be ironic, because Sweet Mom drives a minivan, sells Mary Kay, and seems to be afflicted with a nasty case of road rage
• LOST W8: Good for you, dude. Maybe I'll get one that says STL FAT.

There are a few good ones at work...but I should probably not post those.

Anyone have funny vanity plates to share?

Shake it like a Polaroid picture

Finally someone came up with a way to take a perfectly good digital photo and make it look like an old Polaroid!
Check out Poladroid.net.
NOTE: Currently they only have a download for Mac, but a PC version should be available later this month. I'll keep you updated.

When you download the program, a little Polaroid camera appears on your desktop. You simply drag a photo into the camera, and out pops a Polaroid. You actually have to wait while the photo develops before your eyes, and you can save it at any point during the development process.
I think someone could come up with a really cool Christmas card using this program!

Here's the normal picture:

Don't they look like they're from back in the day?

Virtually cool

Next time you're heading to a concert where you might feel compelled to hold your cell phone aloft (cause, you know, you can't do that with lighters anymore), be sure to have the Virtual Zippo app for your iPhone.


It's someone's job to come up with stuff like this.

More Dwight!

Last night's episode of The Office was painfully short on Dwight. This deleted scene from last week's episode helps.

G'day Mates

I know wishing for an ailment is probably ill-advised, but, I don’t know, Foreign Accent Syndrome might be kinda awesome.

Check it out: BookSwim

I heard about BookSwim, which is a Netflix-type service for Books.

In their words: "BookSwim is the first online book rental library service lending you paperbacks and hardcovers, Netflix®-style, directly to your house, without the need to purchase! Whether it's new releases, bestsellers, or classics, we have something for everyone, with free shipping both ways! Read your books as long as you want — no late fees! Even choose to purchase and keep the titles you love!"

I like the idea...but it seems a little too pricey. With their least expensive plan, you can get unlimited books (3 at a time). The first month is $9.95, but then it goes up to $19.95/month. Seems a little pricey, no? I realize that you'd pay $20 for a new hardback, but you'd have to read a lot of books to justify the price. Plus the library offers the same service (without the door-to-door delivery, but still) for free.

What do you think?

Check it out: Food Tidings

This is a great site to simplify the process of organizing meals for a friend or family member in need. When someone you know has a baby, surgery, or a death in the family, you can log in to Food Tidings and set up a schedule and have other people sign up for times to bring food. They even have a place to give special instructions, such as favorite foods or dislikes.

(This came from Brooke, via Stephanie. I waited to see if Steph was going to blog about it, but the statute of limitations is up.)

Pop Quiz: Name that former child actor UPDATE!!!

Kudos to eagle-eye Marilyn for correctly identifying these former child stars!

Recognize this face?

It's Anna Chlumsky from My Girl.

What about this one?

It's Jonathan Lipnicki of Jerry Maguire fame! (I always thought I might have a kid who looked like him.)

Both are trying to rekindle their childhood fame. Anna Chlumsky has been on two episodes of 30 Rock, and Jonathan Lipnicki and his mother have started their own production company.


Don't answer if you watched Good Morning America today.


P.S. Justin got both in about 4 seconds, so maybe they're not as hard as I think.

Funny electoral college map

This map cracks me up. (Click here to see the big version.) My favorites? Arizona and Louisiana. Oh, and all of the states weirded out by Biden's hair.

The Office: Recap

My sister is on vacation, so I'm covering for her slacker self. The Office seemed to be back in top form this week, with Dwight and Jim scoring poorly on their customer surveys. This is a problem for Jim, because it turns out that Pam is a golddigger. Also, Jim is trying to buy his parents' house, and he really needs his bonus. As he points out: "If recent history has taught us anything, it's that you can't go wrong buying a house you can't afford." Turns out Kelly was just upset that they didn't attend her America's Got Talent finale party (HA!), so she sabotaged their surveys. I loved the scene where Michael had Andy and Jim role-playing a sales call.

I thought all of the Jim/Pam Bluetooth stuff was kinda corny, and I've had about enough of Pam and her douchy coffee-buying friend. Come back to Scranton already!

I really can't figure out Angela's game either. (Side note: Be sure to check out Andy and Angela's wedding Web site.)

I'm sure you're agree that there was just one moment that stood out among the rest:

Kelly: "Dwight, get out of my nook."
Pam: "That's what she said!"

Don't forget to check out the deleted scenes on Nbc.com. Here's the first one:

Michelle's dress: Love it or hate it?

While I love the idea of having a young, vibrant mother for a First Lady, I gotta say, I'm not loving Michelle Obama's election night dress. I definitely don't think she needed to wear something stodgy or Hillary Clinton-esque, but something about the pattern and the awkward sash just don't work for me. My fashion-savvy friend Jen tells me that the dress is by Narciso Rodriguez and that it received critical acclaim at New York fashion week. My friend Marilyn, who likes the dress herself, said that detractors are saying that the dress makes it look like Michelle's crotch and chest are ablaze. Ahem. What do you think?

Priorities

It's 7:45 p.m. on the evening of the post important election in modern history. Surely I'm glued to the election coverage, watching the returns with baited breath....right?

Nope. Playing Rock Band.

Someone text me if they declare a winner (only if it's before my bedtime, obviously).

Judging a book by its cover

I hate to admit this, but in today's election I voted against someone based solely on her name. See, a woman named Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh is running for Alabama Public Service Commission President. I'm sure she's a lovely woman, and she my be the most qualified person to be president of the Alabama Public Service Commission (honestly I have no idea what that job entails or who might be qualified for the position, but I digress). I didn't vote for her because her name is Twinkle. Really, I blame her parents. You're just not setting up your daughter for a successful political career when you give her that name!

UPDATE: Too close to call! Looks like my arbitrary vote really did count...

Yay, Amazon!

I was doing some Christmas shopping on Amazon.com today and noticed their great new initiative: Frustration-Free Packaging.

In their words: "Wrap rage" describes the frustration we humans feel when trying to free a product from a nearly impenetrable package. Some products are hermetically sealed in plastic clamshell cases, while others (especially toys) use plastic-coated steel-wire ties.

Today we're excited to announce a multi-year initiative designed to alleviate wrap rage: Amazon Frustration-Free Packaging.

Amazon is working with leading manufacturers to deliver products inside smaller, easy-to-open recyclable cardboard boxes with less packaging material (and no frustrating clam shells or wire ties).

I love it! It looks like their starting with some of their best-selling items, and then will continue to expand in years to come. Great idea!

Check out their "Wrap Rage" gallery here.