2009 Faves

With another year coming to a close, it's time to whip out my list of favorites and not-so-favorites of 2009. And in no particular order...

Favorite Moments
Lolli's 1st year luau
Baja Cruise
Ry's graduation from UVU and being accepted into Westminster's MBA program
The birth of new nieces and nephews
Lake Powell and the creation of the LPK
Weekend trips to the farmer's market
Beach hopping in San Diego
Signing up for a marathon

Not-So-Hot Moments
Almost getting shot up at the Olive Garden
Lolli's RSV hospitalization
Getting kicked out of the 9th East house and being temporarily
homeless
Summer trip back to Sacramento
Family drama
Swine flu
Breaking up with Joaquin

Disappointments
Buying the BMW
Senate health care bill
Chicago Olympics fail
Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol
Being slighted by Goldman Sachs
New Moon and Where the Wild Things Are
Losing the King of Pop

Greatest Songs - According to the Billboard charts
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
Thinking of You -Katy Perry
Please Don't Leave Me - Pink (Though, the music video was disturbingly psychotic and creeptastic. No me gusta!)
Fireflies - Owl City
Bad Romance - Lady Gaga (This music video was just as psychotic as Pink's but some how, Gaga's level of crazy is more sophisticated and palletable. I loved it! But really, who wouldn't love Gaga in Alexander McQueen?!? Epic!)

Most Awesome Movies - There's actually quite a few movies that came out recently that I haven't seen yet; but if I had, they'd probably have made the list. As for the movies I have seen, these are the few that I actually enjoyed. Also, some movies listed were released prior to this year, however, I didn't actually see the movies until 2009. So, I figured I'd include those, as well.
The Blindside
Goodfellas
Zombieland
The Hangover
The Soloist
The Boondock Saints

Best Reads
Got Fight - Forrest Griffin
Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family - John H. Davis
Moloka'i - Alan Brennert
Skinny Bitch - Rory Freedman
Homeless Bird - Gloria Whelan

Now 2009, I bid you eff'ing adieu!!!!!

Poo Moon

The Scera Theater in Orem offers $4 matinee movie tickets. And even at such a low price, I think I over-paid to see New Moon.

First of all, who the hell is the makeup artist for this movie? He/She needs to be fired. The vampires' makeup was so horrible. The pasty-white, face paint and ultra red lipstick? Even better, Robert Pattinson's airbrushed abs? Give me a break. They should have concentrated more on airbrushing away his nasty hairy chest.

Second, it's one thing to read the cheesy lines of dialogue in the book, but it's another thing to actually hear them spoken and acted out in person. Who the hell talks like that? It was so cheesy and corny. I felt uncomfotable watching it. I almost had to plug my ears.

Third, Bella is a whiney b!*#%, but we knew that already. I just wanted to emphasize, one more time, how much I dislike her.

The only redeemable quality of this movie was Taylor Lautner. Call me a creeper because I'm 24 and he's a minor, but that boy is HOT!!! He had the body of a Greek god. No wonder he went around the whole movie shirtless. I would too if I had bulging biceps and perfectly sculpted pecs. Those ain't no spray-on abs! And the rest of the pack wasn't too bad, either. Though, they needed to keep their mouths shut. They couldn't act for crap.

Will I see New Moon again in theaters? Definitely not. Will I download it once it's on DVD? Most likely. Taylor Lautner is worth a few GBs.

Random Thoughts About Last Night's VMA's

• Taylor Swift is darling





• Kanye West is an über doucher and people need to quit giving that man an microphone
  
  



• Russel Brand should never be asked to host anything ever again
  
  



• Beyonce absolutely KILLED her "Single Ladies" performance





• Taylor Lautner should have taken off his shirt
  
  



• I'm still not convinced that Muse is that awesome





• I'm wondering what happened to Alicia Keys other earring





• Janet, dancing in synch with MJ, was a fabulous tribute performance





• Pink is a Cirque du Soleil fan

• Though New Moon was the most boring book of the saga, the trailer almost compelled me to preorder my matinee tickets on Fandango





• I was surprised to see Ms. Meadow Soprano all grown up





• Why the hell is Kristin Cavalleri even famous?





• Cyndi Lauper's cameo was priceless





• I think Eminem was just as shocked as I was that he won

• Lady Gaga...not even gonna comment

2008 Favorites

The other night, I caught some of the Golden Globe Awards. It got me thinking of the movies I enjoyed this past year and what my picks would have been. I then thought back to a post that my dear ol' Shavs threw up on her blog about her favorites and least favorites of 2008. With both of these thoughts in hand, I thought I'd create my own list. (I guess I should have created this list a while ago, since we're already 2 weeks in to the new year. Oh well. I'm doing it now.)

Favorite moments of 2008

• The birth of Lālea
• Graduating
• Spending the day at Glorietta Beach in Coronado
• Eating dim sum in Vegas
• The Deer Valley weekend
• Watching Sopranos while eating bread and butter
  
• Dancing hula for a ward activity
• Watching Ryan play rugby
  

Not-So-Hot Moments of 2008

• Quitting school and work to go on bed rest
• Weekly visits to triage
• Moku, poo blasting his cage and getting it all over the carpet
• The boys' attempts at building hydrogen fuel cells
• Trading in the 916 area code for the 801
  
• Thinking we might have to move in to my mom's
• Trying to get a hip hop routine together for a ward activity
  
• The Comp4x4 shopping cart breaking down
• Family DRAMA
• Sarah Palin

Disappointments of 2008

• Twilight movie
• Mitt Romney dropping out of the race
• Scarlett Johansson's album, Anywhere I Lay my Head
• Releasing Britney Spears from treatment
• Emergency bailouts
• The ignorance of Prop 8 supporters
  

Greatest Movies from 2008

• Dark Knight
• Be Kind, Rewind
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Sweeny Todd
• The Fall

Best Songs of 2008

• No Air - Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
• Kiss Kiss - Chris Brown
• Paper Planes - MIA
• New Soul - Yael Naim
• Disturbia - Rhianna
• Sensual Seduction - Snoop Dogg

Best Reads of 2008
(not necessarily books that were published in 2008, but those that I happened to read in 2008)

• The Last of the Menu Girls - Denise Chavez
• Pillar's of the Earth - Ken Follett
• Night - Elie Wiesel
• Caramelo - Sandra Cisneros
• Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyers
• Index to English, Eighth Edition - Ebbitt & Ebbitt

There you have it. In my opinion, some of the greatest and not so great moments of 2008. What were some of your bests and worsts???

Deer Valley Extravaganza!

Since baby and I are at home sick with the death flu, I thought I'd muster up all my strength and blog it out. Actually, Nikki inspired me because as I was reading her blog, I realized that I hadn't posted anything about our Deer Valley adventure.

My aunt Cheryl and her husband Mike had won a little vacation package to Deer Valley at a silent auction. It included some lift passes to go hiking and mountain biking, tickets to the Egyptian Theater to see Music Man and a two night stay in a condo. As Ryan and I LOVE to take vacations and play, Cheryl and Mike handed this awesome package over to us, and we couldn't have been more grateful! And apparently Lālea was just as excited to head up to Deer Valley because she was going CRAZY in her box as we loaded up the car!



We finally hauled up to our condo and realized how deluxe it was. There were 3 floors with 2 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 3 balconies, a hot tub, robes, an entertainment system, flat panel TVs, a fireplace...I could go on and on about the luxuries!! But our favorite luxury by far was cable TV! Since Ry and I canceled our DirecTV, we completely vegged out and just watched as much Discovery Channel as we could!!


When we weren't vegging, we were eating.
Lollipop enjoyed the table
while Ryan and I enjoyed a tastier fare.



And since the Huntsmaniacs are our best buds, we invited them to come up and party with us, too. Lolli was so happy to have her Keizya baby with her...and all of Keizya's new toys!


On our final day in Deer Valley, one of the best things happened to me; I saw Twilight.


And I was pleasantly surprised at how hot Cedric Diggory appeared in this movie. But I didn't fall in love with just him, since I'd prefer it if he'd have been a little more beefier, but I did fall in love with James. I mean, come on. Who wouldn't love this?!?!?


But honestly, I didn't think the movie was that great. I enjoyed it since I had read all the books, but I think it could have been a lot more epic and amazing. As a little treat, I found someone's husband's rendition of Twilight. And I must say, while I'm a fan of the saga, this rendition of the story is pretty dang funny!!!

Edward: I hate Bella.

Bella: I love Edward. Oh his eyes! What should I do? Whine, whine, whine.

Edward: OK, I don't hate you, I just have no self-control (typical guy), oh, and I want to kill you.

Bella: I love Edward. Oh his eyes! What should I do? Whine, whine, whine.

Jacob: I love Bella too, but I want to kill her. And Edward.

Edward: I want to kill Jacob.

Bella: I love Edward and Jacob. Oh their eyes! What should I do? I know, I'll lead both of them on and just whine the entire time.

Edward: Look, I'm shiny!

Jacob: Look, I'm strong!

Bella: Whine, Whine Whine.

Oh, and while Nikki and I were watching Twilight, the boys were watching Quantam of Solice. I bet their movie didn't have anyone sparkling and climbing up trees like freakin' spider monkeys. I'm pretty sure we picked the better movie. Either way, we had an AWESOME time and are so appreciative of Aunt Cheryl and Mike for the great gift!