I'D LIKE TO THANK THE ACADEMY

Nerd alert! Nerd alert!

It's become tradition in the past few years that we go up to a cabin in the Tennessee mountains this time of year. Our birthdays fall just a couple of days apart so we celebrate by chillin' in a hot tub in Sevierville. (February is always the perfect time for that.) No place I'd rather be!

Another reason for this special annual trip is the Academy Awards. I love them! (I admit, I doooo have an awards show problem). Boring or not, I watch them every year.

I have a very patient & indulgent husband who is willing to watch the Oscars with me. (Is there any doubt that he loves me?!) In the months leading up to the award show, I usually drag him to obscure "art house" theaters to see as many of the nominated films as we can. (I think he'll get an extra ruby in his crown one day in heaven. Ya know, for putting up with all of this potentially emasculating activity.)

Our exclusive Oscar party comes complete with ballots. Predictions must be made before the show starts & we keep score throughout the broadcast. In all honesty? It's not that we're really that competitive, it's just that it seems to help keep us awake.

I'm happy to report that, this year, I was 5 for 6 when it came to the top 6 "biggee" awards. (I missed the picture of the year award . . . figured Babel would win . . . wanted Little Miss Sunshine to win.)

Unfortunately, there are never any monetary bets placed. Maybe we need to make that part of the tradition.

I was happy with most of the choices this year. I thought Ellen did a great job. She's so adorable and easy.

Watching the Oscars is a bit like a marathon. I do tend to "hit the wall" around the third hour. That's when supplies come into play. This years supplies included cookies and Doritos. And caffeine. Plenty of caffeine.

OHMYGOSH Y'ALL! IT'S NOT FUNNY! I COULDA DIED!

Okay. Maybe my title's a bit melodramatic. But still!

I adore peanut butter. I literally eat it every day. But, oh no. I don't eat just any peanut butter. My sister turned me on to a heavenly product about a year ago called Naturally More. It's oh-so-much more than just peanut butter! It's natural peanut butter with honey, egg white and flax seed added to it! (Gagging yet?)

I promise. It may sound disgusting -- but it's not. It's deeeeeee-lightful. And yes, as you can imagine, these added ingredients definitely do jack up the cost substantially. The price tag on Naturally More is not for the faint of heart. But that's okay. We're fine with taking out a third mortgage to keep up with my daily peanut butter habit. Really we are.

I don't share my peanut butter with anyone. It's not the family jar of peanut butter. Nope. "Get your own!" I say.

I do keep a "reserve" jar of peanut butter in the pantry. You know, in case anyone gets a hankerin' for it. I can't say that the jar gets used all that often these days. I can't throw a pb&j at my two teenage boys and call it dinner (you know, the way I could when they were five). They seem to actually prefer meals that involve meat and salad, etc. these days.

The "back-up" peanut butter is Great Value brand. You realize what that means! It cost like 25 cents at Wal-Marks! (Gotta pinch pennies somewhere -- you know -- considering what I pay for my peanut butter.)

I was out of work for a couple of days last week . . . sick. As my tummy rumbled while I was on my death bed, um, er, uh, couch, I decided that only comfort food would do. I was craving a good old fashioned pb&j.

I broke into the "stand-by" jar of peanut butter to make my comfort sandwich. It satisfied my craving.

The next day, when I saw the news report (for the umpteenth time!) about the contaminated supply of peanut butter being recalled, I thought to myself, "Enough already. Why do they keep running that story? We're not idiots. We get it!"

Uhhhh -- I just checked my "cheap" peanut butter. Yep. You guessed it. Code 2111 right there on the lid!


The good news is that I escaped unscathed. Not so much as a burp! I willlll be getting my money back though. (I'll put it toward my Naturally More fund.)

"LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER!"*

*"Let the good times roll!"

At the end of January, we took a cruise to Mexico for our tenth anniversary. Although we've cruised often, we took a ship out of the Port of New Orleans for the first time.

Our vacation ended up being two vacations in one because we chose to spend a little time in N'Awlins before and after our cruise.

We got an amazing deal on a quaint hotel room right in the middle of the French Quarter. I lived in New Orleans for a few years in high school but David had never been. I was so anxious to show him around one of the coolest cities I've ever experienced.

We threw our luggage in our room and walked (okay, trotted very quickly!) about a block away to Cafe du Monde for beignets and coffee. I had no doubt that my husband would thoroughly enjoy the tempting pile of dough, grease and powdered sugar that isssss the little french doughnut called a beignet. He was not disappointed. He quickly devoured them like an old Cajun pro!

I'd be lying if I said that was our one and only trip to Cafe du Monde. It was not.

We woke up VERY early the next (rainy) morning and began our day with beignets.

The minute we got off the ship after returning from our cruise the following week, we (you guessed it) went for beignets.

(Ahem. Okay. Okay. We went to eat beignets again -- one last time -- before we departed for home the following morning. If you're keeping track, that's a total of 4 visits for an overall grand total of 12 doughnuts each! Enough confession, already!)

We've already talked about the fact that we can't wait to return to N'awlins for another visit. The locals were SO grateful to have folks back in their city. They truly are a proud and resilient people and we were treated very well by everyone we encountered.

I got home from work this evening to find that my husband had beat me home. As I entered the house, he was wearing a Mardi Gras crown and beads. In honor of Fat Tuesday, he had already prepared red beans and rice for our dinner. (They were great!)

Well, it wouldn't be TRUE debauchery without dessert, so to top off our own little personal Mardi Gras celebration, he actually made beignets.

Can you believe that?! Did his research and actually maaaaaade beignets.

And ya know what? They were fabulous!!!!!

Okay . . . now penance truly begins tomorrow . . . after all, it is Ash Wednesday. Think I'll "give up" french doughnuts for Lent.

ME AND EFFIE? OH YEAH. WE SLUNG A RING.

Today is Presidents Day.

To some, this is a day to reflect on past leaders of our grand country. To others, it's a day to hit the great sales at the mall. To me . . . it was a day off from work!

Nothing can remind you that you're footloose and fancy-free better than attending a matinee movie during a typical work day.

David and I finally got around to seeing Dreamgirls this afternoon -- it's been on our list for a while.

Wow. Wow. Wow-wow-WOW.

I totally get why Jennifer Hudson is quickly filling her bookshelves with various awards for her convincing portrayal as Effie. I'm a believer. It's a given that she's an unbelievable singer but I think she has a future as an actress as well. It's worth seeing this movie for her performance alone.

We were lucky enough to have the theater allllll to ourselves. Not another soul was around.

I couldn't help it . . . when the long awaited movie crescendo finally arrived (and I'm referring, of course, to the infamous And I Am Telling You solo) I just had to do it. I just had to stand to my feet and join in the moment.

Don't worry. I didn't actually sing with her. (Ohhhhh. I wanted to. Just thought it would be disrespectful to intrude on such a moment.) However, I did "act out" the song along with her. I swayed. I pumped my arms all Mariah-Cary-like. I threw my head back with abandon. I even pointed deliberately around the theater when she got to the infamous "and you, and you and YOU" section. (Hush. You're just jealous that you didn't get to do it.)

Needless to say, I had fun. In case you're wondering . . . no, I wouldn't have done this if anyone had been in the theater. Was just meant to be I guess!

At some point, during my, um, performance, one of my favorite rings flew off my pointer finger. Ever the professional, I didn't let it slow me down. I finished my big number. (David was kind enough to search the theater once the lights had come up. I was happy when he found my missing jewelry.)

Too bad that that my performance won't be able to be considered by "the academy" this year. Maybe next year's MY year.

WELL. THEY HAVE FEWER CALORIES THAN TRUFFLES

I wanna say up front, I have absolutely nothing against traditional flowers, candy, etc. when it comes to Valentine's Day. However, my husband has always been of the mindset that he'd prefer to save those particular gifts for other days of the year. You know, more ordinary/regular days.

We like to keep it practical. We give gifts that are more utilitarian in nature. We're just smart that way. Yeah. That's us. Smart and practical. (cough cough)

What did he give me this year, you ask?






Why . . . 4 inch heels of course!
Does it GET any more practical than that?!!! ;-}

MUSIC, MUSIC EVERYWHERE!

For as long as I can remember, I've always anticipated watching the Grammy's. It's an event that I, quite honestly, can't remember ever missing. It has often fallen on my birthday and I've been content to spend my "big day" watching the spectacle on TV in lieu of a party or celebration.

I'll admit, some years are better than others. I do enjoy the fact that they pack the show fuuullllll of performances from many genres of music.

On my 30th birthday, David and I were in New York City, staying one block from Radio City Music Hall. The Grammy's were held in NYC that year. Of course, we weren't lucky enough to have tickets to the show but it was pretty cool to watch it in our room and realize that it alllllll was goin' down just a few yards from us. We watched out our window as limos dropped off celebrities at a huge white tent (one of the many after-Grammy parties, no doubt). Sadly, we were 20+ floors up so the people looked like sparkly specs. We couldn't make out any faces.
(Sidenote: for you other Grammy nerds, um, aficionados . . . that was the year that the guy painted SOY BOMB on his chest and interrupted Bob Dylan's performance. Priceless!)

I totally enjoyed the Grammy Awards last night. LOTS of great music. It was a good night.

How could a show go wrong when it starts with a reunion of The Police? Hellooooo!!!! It was fabulous. I found myself smiling like a big ole dope during their whole performance. They rocked. (For the record, Sting is the only man that I'll allow to wear a vest with nothing underneath. Normally, his fashion choice would be considered a MAJOR faux pas in my book. However, yoga has been very, very good to that man. Admit it!)

Thought the Dixie Chicks were great. Their performance was dead on. Natalie's new brunette "do" was to die for. Was really glad they had a big night. I honestly don't care if you agree with their politics or not . . . that CD is incredible.

Justin Timberlake was the consummate performer, as usual. That boy is sooooo comfortable on a stage. He sang my favorite song from his CD. (No matter how many times he denies it, we all know that song is about Britney!!)

Loved, loved, loved the combined performance of Corinne Bailey Rae, John Legend, and John Mayer. Excellent ode to the singer/songwriter trend!

Mary J. is true R&B royalty. A diva. Was thrilled that she had such a big night.

Christina Aguilera made my jaw drop with her unbelievably genius version of James Brown's It's a Man's World. That little cotton-candy-haired pixie can flat wail!!! How does all of that sound come outta that petite body?!

Luckily, there were no real lulls this year. You know, the kind where they bring the broadcast to a screeching halt by doing a 30-minute tribute to polka players from the Middle East or some such nonsense. (*head scratch* I don't know. ARE there polka players in the Middle East? You've got me!)

WHAT I'M READING AND LISTENING TO

Just got back from vacation. Not just any vacation -- a great vacation -- a 10th anniversary getaway!

I'll blog about the trip later. However, one of my favorite parts of not having to deal with the everyday routine was the fact that there was more time to read and listen to my favorite music.

Here's what I had with me on my trip . . .


Water For Elephants
by Sara Gruen

This novel came highly recommended. Have to admit, I had absolutely no idea what it was about. If you had told me its premise, I'm still not sure it's anything I would have been interested in reading.

I was very pleasantly surprised. Really, really enjoyed this book.

It takes place on a traveling circus train (circa 1932). The author does a beautiful job of painting a colorful picture of the myriad misfits that were drawn to that particular lifestyle.

(The book also featured a beautiful love story--always a bonus.)



Little Children
by Tom Perrotta

Haven't finished this book yet (started it while laying out on a beach in Mexico!) but so far, I'm enthralled. It was a New York Times Bestseller and a movie based on the book came out recently. I'll be sure to see it once I've finished the book!







Imogen Heap
Speak For Yourself

This has literally been one of my favorite CDs since it came out last year. I listen to it constantly! I adore this Brit's voice. She literally uses it like an instrument. It's mesmerizing and ethereal . . . yet bombastic and intense at the same time.

I guess you'd classify it as pop/techno? Not sure.

She's my hero. I'd LOVE to be able to emulate her vocals. *sigh* A singer can dream.