Go Cloris Go!

Even though Cloris Leachman has been at the bottom of the leader board with very low scores the past 2 weeks she has managed to maintain her place on Dancing with the Stars. Unfortunately, Mark was kicked off this week with Kim, but you figure after the amazing season he had last year with Kristy, it wasn't likely to be that good again.

And as much as I hate to say it... Warren Sapp is actually doing well... it doesn't mean I have to like him though.

Shopping for a dress..

So Ricky and I went to the mall today because I wanted to look for a dress that I could wear to Ashley and Bryan's wedding as well as to the Golf Channel Christmas Party this year and Ricky was in need of some new pants for work. We had a nice lunch at the mall and found some really good deals on pants at a couple different department stores. One of the pairs of khaki slacks that Ricky foud normally retail for $100+ and we got them for $14.99 at Macy's. Yay for the clearance rack!

Meanwhile, I had been looking for a dress that would work for me. Unfortunately, I have always had an impossible time finding dresses that actual fit AND looked flattering on me. One size that fits in one store wont fit in the next. As we were in JCPenneys, Ricky suggested that I look at what they had in stock. Having been dress shopping there before I was hesitant, but figured why not. As we were walking around, we came across a cute little brown dress that Ricky really liked. They didn't have my exact size, but they had the size right below. I pulled it off the rack and decided to try it on. I didn't think it would fit, but to my surprise it fit perfectly fine and actually looked good on me. I couldn't believe it. I actually stood in the dressing room for a minute because I was so shocked. Of course we bought it and managed to save $30! All in all it was an extremely successful and surprising shopping experience.

A day at Universal...

Ricky & I with the Cat in the Hat

All wet after the Popeye ride

Ricky & I at Universal

David & Annika before riding Spiderman

Awww... he's thinking of me.... =)

Choked...

Yeah... so those of you true Chuck fans out there who really loved the book Choke might find yourself wanting to leave the theater after the first 5 minutes of this loose "representation." For a film that is only supposed to be 92 minutes long, it felt like an eternity. When we found out that the movie was only 92 minutes long, we were confused. How could a book that is 100 pages longer than Fight Club be half the length of the Fight Club movie?

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Choke, it is another novel written by Chuck Palahniuk (the author of Fight Club). Many people have seen the Fight Club film, and haven't read the book, but if one were to read the book, they would see the direct correlation between the two a would be able to say that the movie maintained the integrity of the book. This is not true for Choke. All I can assume is that Clark Gregg didn't truly understand the book and the overall theme it presented in its pages. He basically had an idea in his mind of the type of film that he wanted to make and pretty much ignored the integrity of the book.

To be honest, I don't even know where to begin. Well.. I take that back... the perfect thing to say is that the movie was the total disappointment that I thought it was going to be. The storyline didn't flow, the actors didn't do the characters justice, and above all... it was boring. So much of the book was left out of this film, that the only thing I can say reflected portions of the book were the names of the characters and the title of the film. The satirical and smart book that I have loved since I first opened to the first page was completely absent in what can only be called a stupid stoner movie version loosely inferring connection with a masterpiece in contemporary literature.

Ok.... ranting aside... the film as a movie was not successful. Several storylines flow throughout the movie, but none of them are ever resolved. They seem to start in the middle and end in the middle. There seemed to be no beginning-middle-end structure and to be honest, lacked a climax and closure. I felt that it was very hard to connect or feel for any of the characters. I didn't care about Victor or his mother, and I definitely didn't feel a sense of accomplishment for Denny. They didn't even end the movie correctly. Bad.... just bad sums it up.

What it comes down to is this... the movie was disgrace to the integrity of the book I have been such a fan of and to be honest this is one I don't even plan I purchasing the DVD if and when it ever comes out.

What will save this evening of bad movie watching?? The debates are on in 45 minutes... finally something interesting.

Running Hot and Cold...

There are many times where you just feel like nothing is going your way and everything is about to collapse. While other times you are so filled with excitement and happiness that you wonder why you ever worried in the first place. My mom and Ricky always tell me that things are going to work themselves out and although I know this to be true, I worry anyway. After all the dust settles and I hear all of the, "I told you so's" all I can say is, "I know I know."

As an update to my prayer request... I didn't receive the unemployment in my account this morning, but they did issue me a check for the full 8 weeks worth. So I should be receiving it in the next couple of days. =)

So for all of you who have put up with my worrying for the entirety of my life thank you! It's probably not going to get any better, but will promise you one thing.. I will always be appreciative of all of your support, love and understanding.

In need of a little miracle....

A quick request...

Ricky and I would just like to ask for your prayers and thoughts this evening for my unemployment to go through tomorrow. If you didn't read my earlier postings back in August, Bush decided to initiate an Emergency Unemployment Compensation plan to give previous unemployed individuals 13 extra weeks of unemployment. Because I was laid off in 2007 and am still unemployed I qualified for this compensation. Unfortunately, because I worked for a school system they have been holding my benefits for over 8 weeks now. That's a large sum of money that we were hoping for in order to pay several bills and to buy groceries. Still, every 2 weeks I claim my weeks and do everything I am suppose to do and when Friday rolls around..nothing.

It may not seem very significant and with all of the other issues our government and economy are facing I know it may not seem that important, but to our family it is very important. So any thoughts and prayers you can send our way would be greatly appreciated. I am sitting on pins and needles in hope that tomorrow will finally be the day.

Thank you for all of your support and prayers thus far.

Dancing with the Stars Update..

Well, 2 down and 11 couples to go. To be honest this season I haven't been able to pick a favorite couple yet. There are several couples that look like they have the potential to be really good, but unlike last year, there isn't really anyone who you look at and say "I know they are going to win." Last year Kristy was just that good.

All I can say is that I am so glad Rocco did better on his Latin dance and that he gets to come back next week. I would really like him to succeed since I do enjoy watching his cooking show. One person I wouldn't mind going home would be Warren Sapp. Ever since I met him at Disney while I worked at Blizzard I have never really been a big fan. Nevertheless, we will miss Jeffrey and Ted, but hopefully the rest of the season will prove to be an exciting one.