Hook Uppercut Wacky Jack

This summer was pretty warm and I know being a native to Arizona I could say this about every summer but there was something special about this summer. Not sure what exactly it was but all I know is that it was warm and I didn't feel like running. Last summer I was able to run in 110 and could handle it. This summer was another story. After Pat's Run in April I pretty much took the summer off from running and lets just say any type of exercising all together. I was not happy about this and actually now that the clothes seem a little more snug than usually I am really not happy! So rather than stuff my face and eat my feelings of frustration. I decided to get off my toosh and start running again. So last week I did about 3 miles total. Not happy with it as I could usually due 2-3 miles as a run after work for the heck of it before summer came. I am a glass half full type of girl so I am going to be happy that I did something rather than sitting on the couch. It does help to have friends and family to encourage you to stay in shape. Both the Michael's in my life have helped me with that recently. First thanks to Michael who egged me on last week and annoyed me so much so that I realized I was more lazy and whining and needed to divert that energy to actual excercise! Thanks to Mike who is not human and somehow was able to run his first Marathon after being out until midnight or later. Crazy kid. So again, thank you to the Michaels!

Part of getting back in shape also involves me starting up the P90x program. I started yesterday and hopefully you will be lucky enough to hear me whine about it the next 90 days! Not true....only about 30 of those days and I will finally be strong enough to not even notice the muscle spams which I am pretty sure are occurring in my quads as I type this. Since tonight was my second night of my 90 day transformation I was doing the cardio DVD. Towards the middle of the workout we had the combination of punches and my husband laughed as he could see me thinking so hard while I did the Jab, Hook and Uppercut combination through the air. What he did not realize was that it wasn't that I was intense, I was actually thinking so hard to make sure I didn't hit myself! I certainly did not look anything like Muhammad Ali! HA! Shortly after the punching we did this move called the Wacky Jack and I had to focus because I was laughing when I saw it demonstrated. It was a great move but every time I looked at the television I was immediately reminded of The Freddie! Do you know what I am talking about? There is a scene from Troop Beverly Hills where Shelley Long teaches her troop dance moves. The scene is below and it was exactly what was going through my head as I did the move. Whatever makes you laugh right?

I guess we will see what tomorrow's exercise will bring us. It's suppose to focus on shoulders and arms so I guess I will have to float like a butterfly and stink like a bee if I am going to survive the next round! ♥

La Luna

When I was younger I use to have a telescope and stare up into the night skies. There were many nights I would grab a blanket and gaze into the beauty of the heavens. It is the dreamer in me, you can often catch me day dreaming. I am so thankful our imaginations and the places it can take us. The moon for example, so far away yet it looks like we can reach up towards the sky and grab it. Right now I can think of so many classic songs which reference the moon and so many movie clips and/or commercials with moon references as well. This blog is dedicated to that big bright ball of cheese in the sky!

Andy Williams passed away recently his version of Moon River is actually in my top 10 favorite songs. It can make me stop in my tracks when I hear it. Simply beautiful.

I heart this scene from Its a Wonderful Life!

Oh who can forget Fievel singing Somewhere Out There?

Or the Classic McDonalds Moon Man from the 80's?

 

Hope you enjoyed this little tribute to the moon! Remember to say Goodnight Moon ♥

Waffles

I really like Waffles, I mean REALLY like them. They are the perfect little treat on the weekends during a beautiful Arizona morning. I wake up so happy on Saturday and Sundays, I am thankful for the weekends and the time I have to relax, do nothing or whatever else my little heart decides. Now I need to figure out how to capture that same level of exuberance I have on the weekends and bottle it up and use it for the weekdays! >>RANDOM ON<< I really have the urge to go to Disneyland right this second and ride the Pirates of the Caribbean! >>RANDOM OFF<< So back to the waffles, I have decided this morning that besides waffles I will be attempting something I saw on Pinterest! I know, that is a very dangerous phrase but you never know unless you try right? I will take pictures and if its ok than I will post an update to let you know how it went. Oh and even if I fail I will most pictures so others can learn from my mistakes BUT I don't plan on failing. Yep, my mind is currently all over the place. Let me tell you why. As I try to write this blog I am currently texting with two friends, on Facebook, making a mix on Spotify, singing along to all the songs on my mix while looking at Pinterest. You can't say I don't know how to multitask! OK again, back to Waffles, geeze in person I am not like this but apparently I am an ADD blog writer. I tend to struggle with what I want to write about and then I start writing and it turns into EPIC randomness!

How do you prefer your waffles? I am pretty simple, I like a nice Belgium style waffles with a little butter and syrup! Yummy! All this talk of Waffles and I am sitting here still typing! Time to move to the kitchen! I hope you enjoy whatever meal is headed your way next and if it happens to be WAFFLES....yay for you! ♥

Post musically inspired by:

Teenage Angst

I really should have made this blog about music because its seems that every time I want to write about something it's usually music which stirs up my next blog. So this post began while I was listening to the song Come On by Ben Jelen. Back in the late 90's early 2000's I fell in love with a lot of music from television shows form the WB station. I was a huge fan of the WB back in the day. It started with Dawson's Creek and probably ended somewhere between Smallville and Gilmore Girls. 

The memories and teenage angst from these shows started to flood my mind. When my husband I started dating and he was woo'ing me he would come over, order a pizza and watch Dawson's Creek with me. Yep, he was a good boyfriend, spending time with me watching my silly shows. I love those memories and cherish them to this day. I mean every episode we were just on edge waiting for Dawn to open up his eyes and realize Joey was right in front of him! I own the box set now and a couple years ago I decided to watch them and relive the emotion of it all and I have to tell you that it still stirred up the same feelings. Good times. Another show popular at the time which my sister was actually really into but I didn't get into until later was Felicity.

Did you know that the creator of Felicity was in fact J. J. Abrams who went on to create Lost and direct the latest Star Trek  movie which is one my favorites. Back to Felicity, I watched all the episodes except for the last two last year and fell in love with it again. I had to stop myself with the last two episodes because I was very upset with how the series ended and I didn't want to go through again! I was happy with the parts I did see and wanted to keep it that way. Well, talking about all this teenage angst makes me want to read Twilight again, hehehehe ♥

Moulin Rouge

All day long I have had a song stuck in my head.....can you guess what it is? No? Ok, fine I will tell you. It is Come What May by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. Random right? It was pouring out of me all day. I would start humming it or even blurt out the song in front of my co-worker. So I decided while watching Episode II Attack of the Clones tonight with Ewan playing Obi Wan Kenobi that I needed to find the video and watch the scene from the movie. Have you ever seen Moulin Rouge? Oh I still remember the first time I saw it and how weird it was! I didn't know what I had just seen but I knew I liked it. Here is the song that I have not been able to get out of my head. Its not the best video because of the ads but you can minimize them. I hope you allow this romantic song to get stuck in your head! Someday I will go to the city of lights and experience the magic of Paris. Until then I will keep singing the songs in my heart! ♥

All I Ask of You

I grew up watching musicals, I know the classics and I appreciate the new ones as well! I love when you add singing and dancing at random it just makes the world a happy place! This week I have been listening to a classic song from The Phantom of the Opera, All I Ask of You. It is one of my most cherished songs. The lyrics say every thing a woman wants to hear and say. Granted everyone is different but this woman agrees with every lyric of this song. I am listening to the song right now and I have to focus on what I am typing because I am consumed by all the emotion it stirs up. There is so much beauty in music, I could sit and listen to an orchestra all day. Oddly enough I have never been to the symphony but I will be adding that to my list this year.

I am very excited for tickets to go on sale for Les Misérables because I have never seen it and since the movie is coming out this winter I need to make sure I see it! Here is a clip from All I Ask of You which can be seen in the Phantom of the Opera the movie. I think the movie did a fine job but I encourage you to see the live version. The colors, the music, acting all of it on stage in front of you is amazing. I was 12 years old and saved up my money for the summer to go and see the Phantom with my aunt and we sat in the first few rows and I remember everything about it. Enjoy the arts people! Get out there and do it, do it! hehehehe ♥

Ok here is the song which I have been singing all week. What do you think?

Starlight, Starbright

I have a fascination with stars, did you know that about me? When I was younger I subscribed to Astronomy magazine and I couldn't get enough of it. I use to go to on constellation night walks and stuff like that. I had my very own telescope and would sit outside looking at the stars. I was the kid who had all the glow in the dark stickers all over the ceiling in my bedroom. I remember my Dad taking me to Lowell Observatory when I was little up in Flagstaff and I was in awe of all the beauty in the night sky. One of my most favorite memories was the one time I wanted to go and watch a meteor shower, well my wonder Mother being a Mom was not going to let me go outside by myself at 3am. Instead I remember laying on the back of her brown Mazda 626 and watching the meteors crash into our atmosphere but looking like shooting stars with her. Its funny because I think she may have fallen asleep at some point but she stayed out there with me until my heart was content and I had seen all the beauty that painted the sky that night. Pretty sure my love for the stars comes from my dreamer personality. I always have my head in the clouds and my feet when they should be on the ground! ha! You know what is kind of funny, I am sitting writing this blog and I am thinking about "stars" and some of my favorite movies involves stars! Star Wars, Stargate, Starship Troopers....ok maybe joking on the last one but I did enjoy it. There is a famous star in Disney's Pinocchio, Peter Pan and there so happens to be one big famous star that led the way at Christmas.  Disney, movies and my faith, safe to say that my love for stars are in all areas of my life! One thing I have never done but always wanted to do was get my own star. You know where you can name a star after yourself and have a certificate made? Believe me I know that it may not be "for reals" but still its something I have always wanted just because. Did you also know the meaning of my name? Yep, you guessed it! The meaning of my name is Star, so no matter what we truly have a connection, I think it is interesting! Have you ever looked up what the meaning of your name? I love stuff like that, here is a link. Take a look and see! http://www.name-meanings.com/index.php

The Glad Game

The Glad Game? Ever heard of it? In the movie Pollyanna, there is a young girl who did not have a favorable upbringing. Through everything she had gone through she realized that there was always something to be glad about. Call it the silver lining approach. I bring it up because I think it is a good perspective to have on life. You can always find something to complain about and its easy to get sucked into all the negtivity out there but maybe our society wouldn't be so bad if more people took the Glad Game approach. Yes, there I go again with the glass is half full perspective but its the hope instilled in me. The hope that things can get better!  So the next time you find yourself complaining take  a minute to find something good about your situation. It couldn't hurt right? My Bestie and I do this all the time, we call each other to vent and while every once in a while it turns into complaining , we have learned to make it stop as soon as possible because it is a slippery slope into the land of negativity. If you haven't caught on just yet, I am a very positive upbeat person, so I will be expressing a lot of the optimistic approach throughout my blog!! So I encourage you today to find something to be glad about! ♥
 

I think I'm Getting the Black Lung, Pop!

Do you know what movie I am quoting? Yep, you guessed it Zoolander, a classic film! Last week I came down with Acute Bronchitis! As my Dad and friend told me, "there is nothing cute about bronchitis!" I would have to agree, it is not pretty ladies and gentlemen! I just thought my sinuses were bad but when I could not breathe and had to see a doctor right away they discovered I indeed have an issue. I spent many days home from work, luckily I caught up on my DVR and movies but still there is nothing fun in staying home doing absolutely nothing  just because you can't breathe. The best part I would have to say was the medicine, they put me on a steroid and let me tell ya I had an appetite like no other. It was crazy, it was as if I knew what a teenage boy felt like. Nothing could cut it. Needless to say I am on the mend and for those of my friends who had to put up with my coughing attacks either in person or on the phone I apologize and thanks for dealing with me! Now back to gearing up for the Pat Tillman run which I will be participating on my birthday this year! Hopefully I can start running again or it just might turn into a walk. Either way I am participating and looking forward to it! ♥


I think I'm getting the black lung, pop

What makes you twirl?

twirl

v. twirled, twirl·ing, twirls

1. To rotate or revolve briskly; swing in a circle; spin

2. To twist or wind around

What is it that makes you twirl and by this I mean what is it that makes you jump or shout or whatever it is you do when something makes you so happy that you have to find some way to express it? Personally I smile all the time, I am naturally a happy individual and find smiling as a wonderful gift to pass on to others. Makes it even better when I can make some one who doesn't smile often to pick up the sides of their mouth and shoot one right back at me. So where does twirling come along. Normally its what I do when I am all by myself. Its that moment in a song, a moment when I hear some good news or when everything just seems right with the world. All at once, usually after a skip, I automatically begin to spin myself around until I complete several twirls. It is the way I express true happiness. So what is is that makes you twirl?

Below is a clip from one of my favorite movies. Enjoy!
Twirling

Fairy Tales and The Princess Concept

Once Upon a Time......wait hold the phone, is this blog really starting off this way? Well I can't read this, Fairy Tales are bad. I refuse to read the rest.

Is that how you started to read my blog? If so, then you might be in the category that does not believe in the magic of fairy tales. I on the other hand do believe in the magic of Fairy Tales.

Yes, I have a vibrant imagination, I love stories that involve fantasy, they take us away from reality. Now I am not saying reality is so bad, I have a thing for reality too. Did you know that Fairy Tales originally started as stories told to adults just as much as children? It was away to escape the mundane and give life to the imagination.

We live in a generation where media and marketing are in our faces all the time and they have taken these pure stories to use for their financial gain. I see it every day. Here is the thing, I am talking about the stories themselves. I know it may be hard to eliminate marketing for now but it is a story for next time.


"As the fairy tale Cinderella shows, sometimes things happen in a world that we have no control of," wrote Bettelheim. "Parents die unexpectedly. Remarriages occur. People can be cruel." These are the messages we can discuss with our children. Perhaps it is possible to use tales of fantasy, romance, and adventure to help our children gain an understanding of the behavior and events in our lives that, somehow, never seem to change. (Reference)

I love the passage above because it is so true, we learn lessons whether they are big or small through all aspects of our life. This includes stories/movies. Aren't movies just a dramatic version of the oral story telling which was passed down generation to generation to teach lessons? With that being said who is responsible to pass down those lessons?

So here it goes, my perspective. Parents should be the example and strongest influence in their child's life. You can't leave it up to the TV or anyone else to train the child in the way they should go. Nowadays its already happening and we are left with a group of children that feel "entilted." Oh and let me tell you that generation has some hard lessons to learn. Hopefully we don't continue to be so PC about evertyhing that we just roll over for any little thing that may make someone not feel so great. Suck it up cupcake, sometimes you have to learn the hard way! Ok, I digress, that is for another time and another blog.

Back to the magic of fairy tales, I had a friend of mine mention to me that they wouldn't take their little girls to Disneyland because of the Princess Concept. Again, it comes back to parenting. "Studies show that the strongest influence in a child's life is her (or his) parents." (Reference)

According to Dorothy Singer, professor of psychology at Yale University and co-author of The House of Make Believe: Children's Play and the Developing Imagination, children who actively use their imagination reap a host of benefits, such as playing cooperatively and being successful in school. (Reference)

Guess what folks? Part of  imagination is dressing up and pretending you are a princess. Yes, sorry to break it to you but it is true. Now I am sorry I don't have more perspective on boys and their imagination but it just so happens I am a girl so that is the side of the story you are going to get on this one.

You could also look at it two ways, as a realist or blissful thinker. I don't think either is bad, the fact that we are all different and not the same is a wonderful feature of the human race. A realist could take the stories and say it doesn't teach children anything they are just for entertainment and can pick through the stories to find any negatives. A blissful person sees the stories as entertainment and can find the positives! I think we all know what side of the fence I am on.

Unfortunately there are many articles on the harm of fairy tales and the wrong images they portray. I read several before writing this blog. I will be honest, there were a few times I could find myself getting irritated with the authors and the negatives they chose to point out. I had to take a step back (way back and breathe) and see their perspective. So I did....well this is my blog so I will say what I think. I think they are all unhappy. Every article was so negative, I was searching for one of them to say one positive thing and it was like I was looking for a needle in a haystack. Apparently their magic has already been stolen? I think if you are going to look at something you have to look at both perspectives. I didn't sit and write this blog with only my perspective. I took the time to read the opinions of others and chat with friends about it. For example, one author stated that the Stepmother in Cinderella promised Cinderella that if she performed her chores she could go to the ball. In the end the Stepmother changed her mind and didn't allow her to go. In the article the author states that the Stepmother"she just lied, portraying yet another bad image of women." So are you telling me that men don't lie? That someday you may have a boss promise you something for a task to be completed to only find out hey they lied and are not following through? So what do we end up doing? Well I guess that depends on what side you fall on. Again, you can spin anything to your perspective and what you believe but personally I found many of the undertones to these articles to be filled with sadness. I hate to see anyone unhappy especially when they find themselves in a position to have completely lost the "magic" themselves.

 Conclusion, don't lose the magic of fairy tales but be smart about it. Don't assume you can't find anything good or positive in a story. There is always something positive to be found. If you are reading a story with a child or a friend then you already have a positive. You have that memory of sharing a story! Be smart don't count on media to instill values, don't fall for the marketing that is our world today, so don't become bitter and lose all hope in your happy ending, once you lose the magic you will just end up like one of the villains in a fairy tale waiting to steal the joy and magic away from anyone else you encounter.

The End ♥

Lounging Around

You enter a room, suddenly you walk into a beautiful restaurant/lounge with the sound a crooner singing along with a live band weaving his words into a romantic melody that just fills the air with excitement. Can you picture it? If not let me help you. Do you remember the movie The Rocketeer? One of my personal favorites, anyhow I was thinking about that movie the other day and as I was remembering the South Seas Club scene...Then I started thinking of how many movies have those "lounge" scenes. There are quite a few. I have listed a couple, well the ones that I can remember.  However, I did notice a trend in the movies of a curvy blonde female singing almost every time! Can you think of any others, I know there has to be some I am forgetting! ♥

The Rocketeer

Indiana Jones

Who Framed Roger Rabbit 

The Mask

 

Dick Tracy

 

And the winner is...Nana!

Something is in the air, can't you feel it. Tuxedos rented, jewelry handed out left and right, designers, make-up, envelopes, trophies and of course the red carpet! Yes, it is Award Season. The beginning of the new year brings the award shows for the previous years films and ends in late February with the Oscars. I am what you may say a movie buff so I typically enjoy everything that comes along with it. The Golden Globes were on tonight and I enjoyed watching as I always do. This time was slightly different, tonight I took a minute to evaluate where my love of these shows began. It took me a second and while thinking back to all the times I have sat down in front of the tv, usually with ice cream I was immediately taken back to a memory that  brought tears to my eyes. I was a little girl in my tweens (of course we didn't call it that back then) and I was sitting on the edge of my grandma's bed watching the Oscars with her. I had not thought of that memory in a very long time, it just came out of nowhere. I could describe her room, what she was wearing, what I was wearing. I remember my grandfather just going along with it just to hang out with us but knowing he really wasn't interested. I can hear her voice as she was talking about the movie stars and what they were wearing. It is a memory I cherish and never want to lose. I am keeping that one close!

My long hair, had it that way until 6th grade.

One thing you will learn about the way I work is the fact that my memories are very important to me. This one of my Grandma (my Nana as I call her) stirred up a lot of feelings tonight. I was named after my Nana and I always had a strong connection with her. She died while I was in high school and I miss her more and more every day but so thankful to have the memories that I do. I bring her up because this is my connection to award shows. I love the glitz and glamor of it all because I shared it with her. My Nana was enchanting herself and while she was super strong she was graceful.

I imagined tonight what she would think about the dresses, the speeches and myself asking her if she could do my hair just like actresses on the red carpet. She always did my hair as a kid and she was pretty great at it. I mean she had like a whole 4 feet to work with since I had hair like Rapunzel growing up!

So, why are award shows fun for me? They allow me to cherish my memories with someone who meant the world to me. I could care less about the personal agenda's of the actors, who believes what or how much money they make. I enjoy it because for those of us who don't live in Hollywood its another world, its dress up, its the imagination of the films and how they make you feel inside. For me, its all of that and my memories of my Nana ♥

My wonderful Nana and Tata

Sisters, Sisters

Before I begin let me start of with a little history. In the movie White Christmas (a classic movie you should watch) There is a scene with the Haynes Sisters and they sing a song called Sisters. I love this song and I have since I was a little girl. Growing up I would sing it to my little sister Julie. I was the loud one and believe it or not and I am pretty sure I still embarrass her to this day.  Anyways here is the clip.

Now that you have a little history let me introduce to you the reason for this blog. Julie, Alexis and Lauren. I am very blessed to have three sisters in my life. Julie my sister and when my Dad re-married I was blessed with two more. There are some years between Julie and I and Alexis and Lauren. Watching them grow up has been fun because they are just little versions of Julie and myself. I am sure they are all another reason that I stay young in heart. Since I am the oldest I know that at times they have might  have been annoyed with my "motherly over protecting" nature but it happens. You mess with them and you mess with me. If I don't tell them enough then I will again. Julie, Alexis and Lauren: I love you dearly! You are all amazing and talented and God has blessed me so much with you in my life. Again, I am so blessed by all their personalities and talents and have such wonderful memories. Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of all of us, well that I am allowed to post because if I posted the ones I really wanted to I am sure I would get a sister beat down! ♥

 

Music that changes me

Do you ever have those moments when you hear a song and it is just so badass  that you just get pumped up hearing it? (haha I said ass, I never say that but it was needed to get my point across) Well one of those songs for me is Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. The original version I have always been in love with. Well yesterday I went to go see the new Mission Impossible movie and doing the preview they played a remix of that song and I have to admit that my foot starting tapping right away while I was listening to it. I was immediatly sucked into the movie trailer. I have to admit it was the new trailer for the next G.I. Joe movie. I thought the first one was entertaining so I will probably see this one too.

  
Anyways back to the music, I always know a good song, well a good song in my opinion, if my foot starts to tap right away or if I feel like I can sing along with not even hearing the words yet. Sounds a little odd but that is the only way I can describe it.

I started to think of what other songs get me pumped up like that and I also thought of this song.

Clubbed to Death as seen on the Matrix

 

Finally Blue Monday by Orgy

This blog was initally going to be about Dolphins and then it somehow turned into this.  Funny, I really want to go and run now. Anytime I hear these songs I just get pumped up. It is time go to sleep and all I can think of is hitting the pavement and reaching that runners high! What are your favorite pumped up songs or what is your opinion on the ones I posted? Later Skaters!