Blogging Fun Bad Wolf Style

As Roadtripper mentioned, lists appeal to my OCD personality so here goes. This is a shout out to CKD and Roadtripper, hope you are having a drink and some fun tonight! Oh, and I added one category of my own, the first one:

*. Songs that I could listen to one hundred times a day:
1. I Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For by U2 with the New Freedom Choir (Seriously, if you have not heard this version it is a spiritual experience. Or at least it is with me, every time).
2. And Your Bird Can Sing by the Beatles (the Anthology Cut, John is high and laughing through the entire thing and it never fails to make me laugh either).
3. Long Road to Ruin by the Foo Fighters (I long to belt this out during a drunken karaoke night, it makes me feel unstoppable).
4. I Don't Want To Waste Your Time by Over the Rhine (simply a great song, the band was introduced to me by she who won't be named and I thank her for that).

A. Jobs I have had:
1. Hostess at Italian Oven
2. Office drone at Deam Lake State Recreation Area
3. Office drone at Roche Diagnostics
4. Office drone in the Navy, currently Navy Manpower Analysis Center, Memphis TN

B. Movies I love and can watch over and over and over:
1. Shawshank Redemption (will watch it every time i see it on TV, every time)
2. Tombstone (part of my love affair with Val Kilmer)
3. Little Women (even though I cry every time)
4. Usual Suspects (what can I say, Roadtripper and I share great taste)

C. Places I have lived:
1. West Lafayette, IN
2. Bath, England, UK
3. Norfolk, VA
4. Memphis, TN

D. TV Shows I love:
1. LOST
2. Doctor Who
3. Bones (can be extremely gory but is funnier than most comedies and has the hottest chemistry on TV)
4. Supernatural

E. Places I have vacationed: (will exclude places I vacationed to while in the Navy, it would make it much harder to choose from)
1. Barcelona, Spain (and earned a broken wrist!)
2. Charleston, South Carolina
3. Bend, Oregon
4. Anyplace Roadtripper has lived

F. Favorite Foods/Dishes:
1. Mac and Cheese (but only if cooked by my dad, I swear it is so much better than any other mac and cheese I have ever eaten)
2. Tarte Tatin
3. Anything with potatoes
4. Brownies

G. Sites I Visit Everyday, or Almost:
1. CNN
2. TWOP
3. Entertainment Weekly
4. Blogger (just to see what crazy shit my friends CKD and Roadtripper have going on today!)

H. Places I'd Rather Be:
1. Back in the UK doesn't matter where
2. BFE North Carolina getting Roadtripper drunk
3. The Island
4. The Caribbean dancing on the deck of a catamaran

I. People I am Tagging:
1. Candace
2. Aw hell, everyone else I know who reads this is already tagged. Screw it!

Blogging Fun

Hey Bad Wolf! Looks like we have been tagged by our fave fellow blogger, CKD. Since lists appeal to Bad Wolf's OCD... and I will do anything right now to distract myself from the urge to punch a hole through a wall, here goes...

Four jobs I've had:

1. Summer job at a craft consignment store called "Friendly Crafts" (Yeah... you read that one correctly!)
2. Sandwich bitch at Wendy's
3. Soldier (like the commercials said "I am an Army of One.")
4. current job where I make video games for a living yet spend 90 % of my time convincing folks that they are "training aids, dammit!"

Four movies I can watch over and over:

1. Steel Magnolias
2. Dogma
3. North & South (technically, a mini-series but who cares?)
4. The Usual Suspects

Four places I have lived:

1. Barstow, CA (yes... that little desert rathole you passed on your way from SoCal to Vegas)
2. West Lafayette, IN
3. Kiev, Ukraine
4. Stafford, VA

Four TV shows I love:

1. LOST
2. Top Chef (Even though I am not one for cooking. Eating... yes!)
3. Mad Men
4. Any of The Real Housewives shows... Orange County, New York, Atlanta... cattiness abounds on all of them!

Four places I've vacationed:

1. Key West, FL
2. Memphis, TN (Elvis and Bad Wolf! Killer combo)
3. Nassau, Bahamas
4. Okinawa, Japan (technically a work trip but I tacked on a few extra days for leisure)

Four of my favorite dishes:

1. Sushi ("Hello, I am Roadtripper and I am a sushi addict")
2. Momma's gumbo
3. English sticky toffee pudding
4. Crawfish boil

Four sites I visit daily:

1. Jezebel
2. Facebook
3. Slate
4. Television Without Pity

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. eating sushi in Japan
2. at a spa retreat (Mmmmmm... massage... facial... pedicure)
3. at a sample sale where they only stocked my size (hey, a girl can dream, can't she?)
4. The Island!

Four People I am tagging:

1. Bad Wolf (can I even tag my own blog-mate?)
2. Draugr94
3. Supermadchen
4. Renae

When Reality Attacks

Sorry, dear readers. Reality sometimes even seeps in to fantasy lands like our beloved island. Due to a high level of douchebaggery (™ Roadtripper) seen displayed by members of Team Testosterone (once again, ™ Roadtripper), I can't even bring myself to enjoy the rippling muscles and dimpled smiles of island inductees. Maybe next week... I am too busy licking my wounds right now.

And, like a true friend, Bad Wolf is standing strong against Team Testosterone with me. Too bad she doesn't live closer. We would have a hell of a time getting drunk off cheap wine and fashioning voodoo dolls in the douchebag's likeness.

Welcome to the Island: Hugh Jackman

He was recently named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive and I think we can all see why. Sorry Eric but Hugh is my favorite Aussie. Even if you ignore the accent, smile, and versatility: huge romantic epics (Australia), big budget action flicks (X-Men), and even Broadway (I am ignoring the short lived Viva Laughlin) you still have one hell of a body. Just see exhibit A:



And who wouldn't want to run their finger through this hair:



Welcome to the Island Hugh, you will always have a spot on my sexiest man alive list.

Welcome To The Island: Eric Bana

It's been two weeks since I have posted an island pick so I owe ya'll a good one:

Momma needs her smelling salts after viewing this one!

Hailing from the land down und-ah, Eric Bana was my first pick for fave Aussie (slacker side note: he was supposed to be my choice for the men in uniform edition two weeks ago but a nasty computer virus sidelined my blogging activity). He has a cute smile, great pecs and hair that just begs to have my fingers running through it. Plus, he got his start as a comedian... and what girl doesn't love a man who makes her laugh? I would let him call me his Sheila anyday!

Where to? Who cares? I would follow him anywhere.

Thanksgiving Flicks

Ahhhh... the joys of being a grown-up. This marks the first year that I am hosting Thanksgiving at my house. Granted, 98 % of the cooking is still relegated to my mother... but that is what she gets for being such a damn fine cook! The folks roll in to town around noon tomorrow with Candace coming in later in the evening.



Thanksgiving is all about food, family and reflecting on all the things you are blessed with in your life. It is also the time of your father commandeering the remote to watch football, the pug (aka my little sister) acting like a spaz because she is in a new environment and your mom running the kitchen tighter than your drill sergeant ran a formation. Every family has their quirks. They may drive you a little batty but that is what you love them for.



To help you get in to the holiday spirit and to make you realize that your family isn't the only one who puts that proverbial fun in dysfunctional, here is my list of fave Thanksgiving movies:



5.) The Myth of Fingerprints - a tense family gathering where a dark secret is revealed. You will think your dad is a saint after seeing this one.












4.) The Ice Storm - Moody, dark period piece set in the 70s. Covet the cool clothes and sets while (once again) reveling in the fact that your parents are actually kind of normal in comparison.

3.) Pieces of April - What is up with Katie Holmes and Thanksgiving movies? (she also stars in The Ice Storm) Pre-Mrs. Tom Cruise, Holmes managed to charm as a quirky rebel trying to throw the perfect Thanksgiving for her estranged family. Excellent movie that strikes a good balance between humor and sappy Hallmark moments.

2.) The House of Yes - One of those movies that is so strange, you don't know if you love it or hate it... but you will talk about it for days. Tori Spelling, incest and JFK assassination re-enactments all rolled up in one dark, odd, sick, twisted and hysterical package.

1.) Home for the Holidays - Funny as hell, oddball characters and Robert Downey Jr. Need I say more?

What Are You Thankful For?

I am thankful for much this holiday weekend, including:

A new President!

Technology. I have no idea what I would do without my cell phone, ipods (yes that's plural), and laptop. I am still not sure if that is a good thing or bad thing.

Good TV: Bones, How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, and Doctor Who are all appointment TV for me. I.E. why I ignore your phone calls during those hours. They keep me entertained, make me think without being gimmicky (I am looking at you Heroes), and have some hot damn men to look at!




Even Better Music: Lately I have rediscovered old favorites (pick up Annie Lennox's new album now!) like Aretha Franklin, The Pretenders, and Patsy Cline, heard some great debuts (Adele, Duffy), and discovered established artists for the first time (Turin Brakes, Powderfinger, Fergie). Outside of the American Idol rejects pale imitations of music, it was a pretty damn good year.



Roadtripper and I's Island Men. Need I really say more?

The slow resurgence of decent fashion that embraces women with curves (and doesn't look like my closet from 1986)!

The slow but steady process to truly learn and love myself I am on.

Family and friends. Thank you to all of the old ones for putting up with me and listening to my endless ramblings and thank you to the new ones (shout out CKD!) who I am just getting to know. You all make life the insane, frustrating, utterly brilliant ride it is.



Remember, no matter how crappy the economy, or dim the current view seems to be, there is always reason to be thankful. Take a deep breath of the cool fall air, look around you and say thanks to whatever it is you believe in.

Welcome to the Island: Sean Bean

Men in Uniform: you know the old saying: no one can resist a man in uniform. And considering the fact that I am in the Navy and the Summer White Uniform looks damn good on E-7 and above, I am not one to protest too much. Especially when the first glimpse of Sean Bean was when he starred in Sharpe's Rifles. It was a little seen series (on the BBC (PBS) that he starred in and where he first got my motor running. Maybe it was the fact that he rose through the enlisted ranks or that he never forgot where he came from. Hell, it was because he looked so damn fine whether he was Sharpe, the enemy in a Bond film, or Odysseus in Troy, he made anything look good. He was my very first crush. He can storm my castle, ranks, or damn well anything he pleases anytime. He is mine, however you call it. Welcome to the Island, Sean. Consider yourself in my personal Infantry for the time being.