DAY 5 – THANKSGIVING DAY
Sleep interrupted. Ugh. Riddled with random people, too. My first wake up was at 5 – I went to sleep finally at one, and awoke at 5. I t was raining, but no snow. Brian and grandpa were getting up because they had to start smoking the turkey. I tried to go back to sleep and woke up at 7, 8, and finally 10, with a brief fall asleep/wake up at 6:15ish because Hank decided he needed to be petted.
I got ready after a while and we had breakfast – and then we looked outside, and it was FINALLY snowing!!! Wahoo!!
As for Thanksgiving, there was a thread asking us what we were having. We’re having 2 turkeys – 1 smoked and 1 traditional, 1 kind of stuffing (we usually have 2 but my dad forgot our recipe), homemade rolls, 3 – 5 pies (Cherry, Pumpkin, Apple, Caramel Apple, and something else), some pink stuff that looks nasty but tastes awesome, Pasoli (a spicy type of stew/soup with pork and stuff in it), Green Bean Casserole (yuck!), and mashed potatoes. We’re also having the most people over I’ve ever spent Thanksgiving with. There are going to be 17 of us in all – and we’re all related one way or the other… lol. 0_0 Keep you updated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We all piled into the front room and watched the football games… some were absolutely heart breaking (oh my Seahawks, what happened to you this year??? Can the 49ers have Matt Hasselbeck, please?), while others were predictable (GO TITANS! GET ME SOME POINTS! Haha), and we had a lot of fun watching it. Demi Lovato and Mario both sang the national anthem – I think Mario did a better job, and the Jonas Brothers were the half time for the Cowboys/Seahawks game… I think. *shakes head*
We also watched the parade, which we do every year… and I’m sorry, but what is up with the teeny boppers this year?? The Clique Girls?? And Varsity Fanclub?? Look… just because New Kids came back and all of us love them as if they had never left, doesn’t mean you can get 4 of your friends to join a band with you, call it a boy band, and be an instant hit. There are reasons we love New Kids, you know – and there were reasons why we loved N’Sync and Backstreet Boys. Just because they were boy bands didn’t mean they weren’t talented – there’s a lot more to this than one would think, I promise… And the Clique Girls – really?? When did we decide that it was great to have a trio of blondes all look the same, and then market them toward young girls and have them sing about how the only way you’re going to get anywhere is if you have looks??? Get Up and Go – out of my stereo cuz that’s BS and I’m not exactly thrilled about it. Music has seriously gone down hill… *sigh*
Dinner was a hectic feeding frenzy – the Pasoli was SO spicy I couldn’t eat it all, and I wouldn’t go near the Green Bean Casserole… for serious (wow, haven’t said THAT in a while), I’m not an extremely picky eater, and when it comes to veggies, I’ll eat just about anything. I even like Lima Beans!!!! But Greenbeans… no thank you. I try to eat them, I really do – every time they’re put in front of me I try but I can’t stand the taste and never finish them. But there’s just something about Green Bean Casserole… I can’t even look at it without feeling nauseous… other than that, everything was great. The smoked turkey was really good, and the stuffing was phenomenal as it was every year. I really hope we have bread because I am dying for a turkey/stuffing sandwich!!!
After dinner, it snowed some more – harder than it had earlier. It actually stuck to stuff, and noticeably… But I was extremely tired and actually retired to the bedroom at about 8 o’clock, with hopes that I could stay awake for at least an hour and not feel like an old person… lol. We ended up watching Mirrors and then crashing at like, midnight or one…
DAY 6
I woke up this morning and shuffled out of bed only to realize it was snowing harder and more than ever! Various things had a nice white coat on them… not feet or anything, but it’s still nice to look out and see snow everywhere! It’s gonna make the roads slippery, though, we’ll probably end up driving in a ditch or something…. Lol. IF we go anywhere. Anyway, it’s like 10 and I haven’t had any breakfast yet, so I’m gonna go eat. I’ll keep you updated!!
We went to town today – Gallop… we were chilling and talking after breakfast, and my mom said she wanted to go to Walmart. There were a couple of mumbles of agreement, then I piped up. “You want to brave Walmart on Black Friday?? Are you crazy?” Apparently, we were, because we went. It wasn’t that bad, to tell the truth – most of the shoppers were finished, and we had little to no resistance. I rode up with Brian and April and Steven, and we had a fun conversation on the way up, and tons of laughs on the way home. Walmart had a few deals worth picking up on – the most notable being their pies for a dollar each…. Pretty substantial pies, in all honesty. I bought one, but I’m presently not feeling well and haven’t been able to try it.
The roads are insanely slick – as you can see from some of the pictures, the road leading to my grandpa’s house is a dirt one, and after substantial amounts of rain and snow, the dirt turns to mud, and the mud is slippery. We tried our best to stay out of the ditch – my grandpa’s truck went in but Brian did a good job of keeping his out… on the way home we had to play chicken with some cows who decided to chill on the road. XD Also, we stopped to get some tamales. Jake the Yakama man wasn’t there, so we bought them from a random van on the way home… lol. Sounds shady, I know. But they were good. Not extremely spicy – my tongue objected but I was able to get it down with the aid of a glass of milk.
For dinner we had Corn Beef Hash & Potatoes with flat bread… Grandma Betty made them, and made the flat bread from scratch… it was SO good but I think I ate too much because I’m not feeling very well. I’ll probably call it an early night. No vlog today, either. *sigh* Sorry.
Get ya mind right.
~L
Thanksgiving at Hever - Days 5 & 6
Thanksgiving at Hever - Days 3 & 4
There is no structure to my day. I get up and do as I please… but everything is rather unexpected and I have much less time to write than I previously thought I would. I’m now going to have to blog when I’m in bed, as I am now. My dad is reading from Joshua, and I still think it’s a rather depressing book (I’m not one to judge the Lord, but I think it’s a tad harsh to stone the WHOLE family for the Father’s sins).
Yesterday was a great day – relaxing to say the least. I got quite a bit of my reading done – I have less than 300 pages to read. Hank adores it out here – he’s been VERY well behaved. My family went into town yesterday, but we didn’t have enough room so I stayed behind… got some reading and blogging done, and then went outside. Hank had done a good ob of not running passed the gate, but I felt it would be beneficial to acquaint him with the area just in case he ever chased Foxy and couldn’t get back. SO – Foxy, Hank, and I went for a leash-less walk. Hank did a good job of listening and never went too far ahead without turning around and barreling back. He almost took my feet our from under me a couple of times! We went down the dirt road to the fence and back, and I ran with him most of the way. It was great watching him run around – he’s never had this much space before and he’s absolutely loving it.
Today (the 26th) was a lot more eventful and way more spontaneous. I went down to the Chapter House with my mom and Grandpa and played Bingo. It was some senior event thing and we had a blast, saw my grandma Leigha there (my mom’s aunt) and my grandpa Tony (my mom’s aunt’s husband, but not Leigha’s husband. There are a lot of relatives on my grandma’s side). We sat with Tony and played Bingo with him – he was funny. We all played until we ran out of money – I won one for my grandpa but other than that I just got real close. There was one game where all I needed was G 46, and someone called Bingo, and I SAID “dang! I just needed G 46!” and the Bingo caller went, “oh, that was the next one!” XD One of the Bingo prizes was a bottle of Big Red, that was my favorite soda in Texas and I about choked on my tongue with excitement. I all but begged my mom to let me go down to dzi’ de cloy (I spelled that wrong, I’m sure) so I could buy some. I’m gonna have to get some on the way home, too. J We came back and I got a bit more reading done, and then company started to show up. First it was my Papa Nate and Grandma Betty (Nate is my grandma’s little brother). We talked with them a bit, then Auntie Jean stopped by – unexpected but awesome. Then Nate’s son Brian showed up with his wife April and their kids, followed by Brian’s brother Daniel and his family. I stole a quick moment outside – which I had done the night before – to chill with the dogs and get a break from all the people… and spend some time with the dogs. But, unlike last night, it was short lived and everyone else came outside as well. Not a big deal, really, I didn’t mind visiting with them, just got a tad claustrophobic. I played outside with the dogs before I went inside to read, and was informed that I was forbid to read while company was here L . But it was fine – I visited with everyone, and I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving.
In non-related other news – Damian Lewis. Wow. Can’t get him off my mind and I don’t know why. Probably because I’m pushing through Band of Brothers and absolutely love him in that, who knows. Anyway, I’m excited for tomorrow – no snow yet.
EXTRA! EXTRA! MEET TONY SPALLELI PART 2!!
Find more videos like this on New Kids on the Block
Seriously... I hope Mr. Spalleli is single... he'd be a great catch for ANY woman! HAHA! ((This is by far my favorite Donnie Wahlberg character EVER!))
Thanksgiving at Hever - Days 1 and 2
DAY 1
- 12:30 – We left the house at about 11:30 – not bad considering our planned departure time was 10:30. We were only an hour off. We’ve been on the road fro about an hour – Hank is handling it fairly well, barking only when we’re stopped. He had a bit of a panic attack when we started off, but has since calmed down. I haven’t settled on something yet to pass the time – usually I’ll spend the first few hours just staring out the window. Helps me get my thoughts in order, and in this case I think it helps Hank to have someone pay attention to him when he gets upset. I’m functioning on about 4 hours of extremely interrupted sleep, so napping will most likely be my first course of action.
- 2:30 – Jalapeno Poppers. Had one for the first time in Azusa the other day – Jalapeno, some sort of processed chedder cheese, fried in batter… not exactly something I’d pay money for with only description to go by. The only reason I had one to begin with was because it was offered to me. They’re surprisingly good, which is why I just bought some more.
We’re in Bakersfield now – picked up my issue of People @ a gas station. (mmm… Zac Efron)
Nap hasn’t happened yet.
- 6:04 – and it doesn’t feel like it. I’ve had to revert to writing on my laptop because I can’t see a bloody thing…. It’s that dark. AT SIX O’CLOCK! I will NEVER get used to this – thank goodness it’ll be over by December and normal days will start coming back. I’ve had a bit of time to think about things – mostly because I fell asleep listening to Fall Out Boy a bit ago. I figured sleep was going to happen, but I actually hate doing it on a trip because I wake up not knowing where I am. I had a conversation with my mom when I woke up. We stopped at a Valero, and I had no clue where we were.
ME: Where are we?
MOM: Barstow.
ME: Maybe we should eat here – if we wait till Mojave it’ll be too--
MOM: We already went through Mojave.
ME: What? Damn… where the hell are we?
I get EXTREMELY disoriented when I sleep on trips, and I think I slept for a good couple of hours. It was fine though, I needed it. I didn’t go to bed last night till about 4 and got up at eight so I could finish packing and what not. It’s been a rather uneventful trip – not a lot of fighting. There were a few harsh words between people but it was quickly resolved… and presently, though the temperature OUTSIDE the car is rather low, it’s fairly hot IN the car. Hank’s been doing really well, freaking out only when we stop, because he decided that he has to pee every time the car ceases forward motion. We’re about an hour and a half to 2 hours out of Laughlin. It’s too dark to do much of anything, so I’ll probably go back to sleep and risk another momentary disorientation.
Oh – I’ve been informed that the New Kids are performing on the AMA’s… and I just realized I’m missing the AMA’s. I NEVER miss the AMA’s… but I guess it’s a year of firsts – I missed the CMA’s, too. *sigh* so I’ll have to look that up when I get home…
As promised – and mentioned earlier – I picked up my issue of People’s Sexiest Man Alive. I haven’t had time to give it a proper look through, but some of the hotties in there are absolutely to die for… while others just DON’T belong on the list. I’ll give you a list of all 129 (or is it 130?) of them when I have light enough to read, and time enough to go through and list all of them. New Kids made it, though… so our e-mails were not ignored girls! J The few things I will point out is – I’m miffed that Javier Bardem gets half a page when Mark Wahlberg only gets a little thumbnail, that should DEFINITELY be the other way around. Shia LaBeouf only received a thumbnail, as well – and let’s face it… whether you like his acting or not doesn’t matter, he’s sexier than Javier Bardem and deserves more than a little thumbnail. As does Mark. Who decided Bardem was sexy, anyway?? Probably the same people who decided No Country deserved every award this year. *shakes head*
OH! While I remember! HBO is FINALLY making another Band of Brother’s series. Don’t think it’ll focus on Easy Company, which is a shame, because I LOVE the Easy Boys (Yes, I realize how that sounded, NO, I didn’t mean it that way – it’s a Band of Brothers thing. You’d understand if you’d seen it). I’m a bit iffy about this one, but chances are I’ll love it. I’m pretty much a sucker for anything war-related, and anything holocaust related. Band of Brothers had both the first time around and I couldn’t help but fall in love with each and every one of the soldiers. (Having Donnie Wahlberg in it didn’t hurt – and Damian Lewis and Ron Livingston CERTAINLY didn’t hurt it… lol) I’m sure I’ll fall just as in love with the boys of whatever company they choose to focus on… and if Tom Hanks is still involved, it should be awesome. J So it’s something to look forward to.
And, speaking of Donnie Wahlberg – I’ve decided that I straight up just like Toby Mac (it’s related, I promise). We were listening to him today – I’ve expressed an interest in him before, and have a few of his CD’s… but I didn’t realize how much I genuinely LIKED his music until we listened to Portable Sounds today and I realized I knew all the words to Boomin. I was thinking about it, and I think he’s my favorite rapper outside the Wahlberg bros. (See?) And he’s Christian, but not condemning Christian. He’s more uplifting than anything and that’s always good, and his music is fun without sacrificing it’s message. I miss DC Talk… I laughed when Daniel Kimmie brought up the fact that most girls in junior high and high school are too young to know who DC Talk is – she had to call them “the band Toby Mac was in before.” Haha! Oh, what these kids are missing out on! But Toby has done alright with himself since the DC Talk split – and he has a few DC Talk-esque songs on each of his albums, so you get a small taste of what once was.
I just realized I got EXTREMELY side tracked from my PSMA topic. The other thing that I’m going to point out is – and it’s something my mom commented on – Zac Efron seriously gets hotter the older he gets. That boy is absolutely scrumptious now. He’s in a movie with Matthew Perry and it’s like… wow… he’s come a long way from High School Musical… if Donnie hadn’t scored a spot in that issue, I’d have to say Zac is the hottest guy in there… and I mean that. Don’t judge me!
Both boys are asleep now, and it’s getting hotter in here… I think my lap top may have something to do with that, so I may just power down and get some more sleep myself now… It’s amazing how much easier it is to blog when you have a computer in front of you and you don’t have to write anything. Biggest problem in life is that my hands can’t keep up with my brain… it’s easier when I’m typing but even then it’s a problem… I can’t believe it’s only 6:30 and it’s THIS dark out… I think even Hank is asleep so I’m going to follow suit. I’ll update you all when we get to Laughlin! Colorado Belle, here we come!!! J
- 8:00 – We hit the Nevada state line. My brother and I have been watching Brian Regan (funny, FUNNY guy), and when we hit the line, I finally looked out the window and was reminded of why I love this drive. Lights – everywhere. It’s pitch black, and dotted with lights. It looks like a giant lite brite board. You can see some of the lights reflecting off the river – even the reflectors on the road are 3 diff colors. The drive to this point was fun – there were more dips in the road than I remembered… there were a LOT more when I was little, but they fixed the roads as we grew up and took out most of the really good ones. Still – there were some fun ones. J This is by far the most fun trip I’ve had with my family in a long time – I think it has something to do with the fact that we don’t have to be home in T-minus so many hours. We’re on VACATION… I’m relaxed just saying it. You can see everything off in the distance, the lights are beautiful.
Ah – I miss Nevada.
- 9:00 – I’m sitting in the hotel room. The family decided to go to Walmart – I think it’s in Bullhead city a few miles away, but I decided to stay in the room. You kidding me?? We just got here, I’m in no hurry to leave! It was amazing pulling up and seeing all the lights. A lot has changed since I was here last – a few of the hotels changed… the Ramada Express is now the Tropicana Express, and it looks like the Flamingo is now the Aquarius. The Edgewater is still standing strong – it’s right outside my window. The view from the rooms isn’t fantastic – it’s of the parking lot, but you can see the other hotel/casinos all around us, and you can watch the cars drive by. I’m not sure I’ve ever been here in the winter, so I’ve got the window cracked open and I’m pretty much just chillin’, glancing out every once in a while as I type this. I still can’t believe I’m here – it’s been so long and everything inside the Belle is the same – the smells, the river, the rooms, the sounds – even the fish at the front! The room has a painting of the belle on the wall like it always has… it doesn’t look like a lot has changed, and I’m perfectly fine with that. We aren’t in the Belle itself – our rooms are in the Bourbon Tower, just to the left of the Belle… this is where I spent most of my summers out here. New Orleans, or Bourbon… I’m not sure if we’ve ever had a room in the Belle itself except maybe once, but that’s fine. I like the Bourbon tower. Memories. That’s what it comes down to. There are more memories here than there. J
Walking down the hall was a trip – I remember the ceiling being much higher… it took me a bit to realize that it was because I grew and the building didn’t. Even though a lot has changed, so much hasn’t. I can still look out my window and see the Free Parking sign on the parking lot across the street – We still use the same elevators we were so familiar with before – even the walk from the back of the building to the parking lot is the same. I’m so excited to finally be back – and now I’m anticipating dinner.
The reasons are 2 fold – 1. I didn’t eat anything substantial all day. Like stated earlier, I only got a few hours of sleep, and immediately finished packing and getting ready to leave – right up to the second we walked out the door. So – no breakfast. When I don’t eat breakfast, I’ve found my eating patterns are whack… we stopped and had some chicken nuggets but my body was still mad at me for not having breakfast – I had about 6 of those, a few chips, some jalapeno poppers, and some beef jerky. Not exactly a square meal… lol. And it was scattered eating, just something to keep my stomach at bay – but now I’m really hungry.
2. We’re eating at the Paddle Wheel – it’s a restaurant inside the Belle and I remember loving it as a kid. I’m really excited to go back – it was great, we almost didn’t have to talk about it. My mom asked where we wanted to eat – Paddle Wheel or Captain’s Food Fair, and we all agreed, Paddle Wheel was for dinner, and Captain’s Food Fair was breakfast. That’s how it’s always been. I’ll probably wander around a bit, too. As I type this, my mind is trying to remember where everything is… it really is exciting to be back. I’ll try to get as many pics as possible. J
DAY 2
- 12:30 - We're sitting in the parking lot of the Aquarius, waiting for my dad. We've got about an 8 hour drive ahead of us... I'm mildly disoriented - I keep trying to buckle my seat belt when it's already buckled.
Hank is mad at me. I took him running/walking this morning, and he got in trouble because he broke the boundaries and almost got hit by 2 cars. Now he won't "kiss" me because I yelled at him - he's such a brat.
It's trippy - we were just in Nevada, but because of Laughlin's lovation, we crossed the river and were immediately in Arizona. Trippy. - ????? - I'm not entirely sure what time it is. I think we went through about 4 time changes. My phone doesn't get service - but surprisingly I don't feel as isolated as one would think. It's real refreshing - it's pitch black outside, and the air feels clean - it's about 23 degrees. Not a biting cold, but an inignorable one.
Hank's excited to be here - he's sniffing everything and talking to all the dogs. He's happy to see his sister - they always act like it hasn't ben forever since they've seen eachother. He's sniffing around a lot... seems so excited he won't eat. (Just checked, it's 10:30 XD)
It's relaxing just being here. I have things to occupy my time, but I won't be shoved into a car tomorrow - I have books to read, lines to memorize, and stuff to mildly stres about... and Thanksgiving is in a few days. More family is coming out soon - tomorrow I think. That'll be fun, too.
I can't focus at all - I have Donnie Wahlberg in all shapes and forms on the mind - Band of Brothers, New Kids, Boomtown, and Dreamcatcher. I've also got Ron Livingston and Damian Lewis on the mind. Means I'm tired, (honestly, I just said flair, an dit made me think of Ron Livingston, which in turn made me think of Nix, Lipton, and Winters XD) so I'm gonna read a bit and get some sleep.
For those that are wondering, Mary Boleyn went to Hever and returned a wicked, wicked person - not as wicked as Anne, but wicked enough to give her a run for her money. Character development is fascinating.
I've since retired to the back room and have found myself anticipating sleep like I never have before.
For starters, I have nothing to anticipate tomorrow. I have a small fear that Hank may take off tomorrow - It's dark now, but with the revealing light of day he may finally witness the vastness of land we own and take off, failing to return in time to make the trip back with us. Outside of that I am as carefree as a child. It strikes me as fascinating how age affects things. With things to get done and deadlines to meet, sleep gradually became the enemy, until finally we hardly danced at all. With a blank slate ahead of me, I have leaft into Sleep's warm embrace, friends reunited after years of seperation.
The other factor is the house itself. It may have been a while since my last visit but that doesn't change the fact that I've slept in this bed many times before. The room is dimly lit - I feel as if I am writing by candle light, but even that is warm and inviting. All 5 of us are in this room, but I feel just as comfortable as if I had the room to myself. Possibly more so. It's a comfort that only familiarity can bring.
I hope to do something productive tomorrow, but the fact that I don't HAVE to makes it all the more promising. I love it out here, I really, really do. It's that love that made it easy to devour even more of my book. Mary's trip to Hever - her LOVE of Hever - is very similar to how I feel about Crystal.
I'm comfortable enough to remove my earrings - I'm not even that comfortable at home sometimes - Never on the road. I pray I will wake up to snow, so I'm keeping my necklace fastened around my neck. It bears the word BELIEVE and serves as a constant reminder, as well as a part time good luck charm. Here's to hoping - and here's to my own personal happy place. I am Mary Boleyn, and this is my Hever.
I can't hold sleep off any longer. I'm surrendering to his embrace and allowing Donnie and the others to sing me to sleep. I'm happily awaiting tomorrow.
People's 2008 Sexiest Men Alive
So - as most avid magazine readers know, PEOPLE has a yearly "Sexiest Men Alive" issue, that tells you who they think the Sexiest Men Alive are. 20 people have won the honor of Sexiest Man Alive - 2 of which won the award twice. They started their contest in 1985 and have done it every year since, with the exception of 1993 (they took a break and instead gave Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford sexiest couple alive *shudders*). Here are the previous winners:
1. Mel Gibson, 29
2. Mark Harmon, 34
3. Harry Hamlin, 35
4. John F. Kennedy, Jr., 27 (Youngest winner, only winner now deceased, only non-actor winner)
5. Sean Connery, 59 (Oldest Winner)
6. Tom Cruise, 28
7. Patrick Swayze, 39
8. Nick Nolte, 51
9. Brad Pitt, 31 (won again in 2000, 36)
10. Denzel Washington (only African American to win the honor)
11. George Clooney, 36 (won again in 2006, 45)
12. Harrison Ford, 56
13. Richard Gere, 50
14. Pierce Brosnan, 48
15. Ben Affleck, 30
16. Johnny Depp, 40
17. Jude Law, 31
18. Matthew McConaughey, 37
19. Matt Damon, 36
The issue is usually full of other people who garner a noteable mention. From what I've heard, 2008's issue hits newsstands Friday - tomorrow. But if you JUST CAN'T WAIT, here's a sneak peek at this year's hotties! Here are the top 15:
1. Hugh Jackman
2. Daniel Craig
3. Jon Hamm
4. Zac Efron
5. Robert Buckley
6. Blair Underwood
7. Ed Westwick
8. Michael Phelps (go figure)
9. Blake Shelton
10. Lang Lang
11. Mark-Paul Gosselaar
12. Javier Bardem
13. Robert Pattinson
14. Joshua Jackson
15. David Beckham
There are a few of those I'm extremely upset about, especially when you look at who DIDN'T make the list (ED WESTWICK? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???). And you know they made Michael Phelps #8 on PURPOUSE. Also - if you go to the People website, they have a video - 100 sexy people in 1 minute. Now, I'm fairly certain they're lying - I've only been able to count 98... but - for anyone who wants to know, here are them and their names: (keep in mind, there are 16 I couldn't name)
1. Matt Damon
2. David Beckham
3. James McAvoy
4. Zac Efron
5. Hugh Jackman
6. Jon Hamm (I think)
7. Shia LaBouf
8. James Franco
9.
10. Blair Underwood
11. Channing Tatum
12. Brad Paisley (split screen)
13. Daniel Craig
14. Chris Brown (split screen)
15. Orlando Bloom
16. John Mayer
17. Patrick Dempsey
18. Ryan Reynolds
19. Usher
20. Zachary Quinto
21. Aaron Eckhart
22. Colin Firth
23. Gerard Butler
24. Adrian Grenier
25. Adrian Pasdar
26. Donald Faison
27.
28. Chad Michael Murray
29.
30.
31. Andy Samberg
32. Ben Affleck
33. Christian Bale
34.
35. Casey Affleck
36. Chris Evans
37. Clive Owen
38. Brad Pitt
39. George Clooney
40. Jamie Foxx
41. Daniel Radcliffe
42. Jeremy Piven
43.
44. David Boreanaz
45. James Denton
46. Javier Bardem
47. David Cook
48. Jared Padalecki
49. Denzel Washington
50. John Krazinski
51. Joaquin Pheonix
52. Eric Dane
53. John Stewart
54. Hugh Laurie
55. Josh Duhamel
56. Josh Holloway
57.
58.
59. Kal Penn (really?)
60. Jude Law
61. Julian McMahon
62. Justin Chambers
63. Jonathan Rhys Meyers
64. Keith Urban
65. Kanye West
66. Leonardo DeCaprio
67. Luke Wilson
68.
69. Mario Lopez
70. Mark Wahlberg
71. Matthew Fox
72. Michael C. Hall
73. Milo Ventimiglia
74. Neil Patrick Harris
75. Peter Krause
76. Paul Rudd
77. Johnny Depp
78. Michael Phelps
79. Pete Wentz
80.
81.
82. Prince Henry (?)
83. Ryan Gossling
84.
85.
86.
87. Tay Diggs
88. Terrance Howard
89. Tim Gunn (?)
90.
91. Toby Kieth
92.
93. Justin Timberlake
94. Robert Downey Jr.
95. Will Smith
96. Ashton Kutcher
97. Matthew McCaughnahey
98. Jake Gylenhaal
I'm not linking all of them... because I don't want to make the magazine lose sales... I'm not sure if I'm mad at them yet... lol. Also - there are 129 total - add that to the 16 I didn't get on the top 100 list, and the 2 that AREN'T IN THE VIDEO (I'M ONTO YOU PEOPLE), that makes a total of 47 I don't know. If the rumors are true - all my boys made it, so... yay!
I encourage you all to get it... cuz I like the contest. lol!
Congratulations to Hugh Jackman for FINALLY winning the honor - everyone knows he should have got it SOONER!! And congrats to Daniel Craig - 2nd place is nothing to scoff at! :)
I officially start my vacation tomorrow... so... no updates for a while. I'll get back to ya'll.
Get ya mind right, and have a great Thanksgiving!!!
~L
5 Things I Hate About Life
I've been really stressed out lately... REALLY stressed out. For a while, I was just saying it was because I had so much on my plate, and I would feel better when things slowed down. Unfortunately, that isn't happening. I then just told myself it was because I had so much off in the distance, so much that was going to happen, so I was still stressed... that I would feel better when everything was over and done with. But I don't think that's it, either... I've had a bit of time to myself in the past week, and I've been doing a bit of cleaning - which is when I normally get a lot of my thinking done - and I've come to a few conclusions as to what may be causing this stress.
1. I don't know what I'm doing with my life. I have some plans and ideas, but nothing really amazing... nothing concrete... nothing PRACTICAL. I honestly can't see myself making it big as an actress, no matter how hard I try - no matter how much I love it, I just don't see it going anywhere, and I've been struggling with that. I've entertained the idea of giving up on it, too - but I can't picture myself behind a desk for the rest of my life, either. I REALLY can't picture myself in an office... there are really only 2 things I'm really passionate about - acting and children, and I don't know how much of a living I can make with either. I just don't want to be stuck doing something I absolutely hate.
2. The whole being single thing is bugging the HELL out of me. I know it shouldn't, but it is. There's always that one thought in the back of my mind, telling me that I'm going to be alone forever if I don't get a jump on this now. I'll joke about it and laugh it off, but it really does bother me... at this rate, I'm going to end up in a job I hate, without anyone special to complain about it to.
3. People in leadership roles that won't take leadership initiative drive me batshit crazy!!! I realize I'm not an exceptional leader - but as indecisive as I am, I'm at least organized. I can take a situation and map out a game plan, a course of action. I can pick out the most time efficient route while cleaning or putting stuff away. I'm all about diagrams and graphs, drawing out charts to figure things out. And I'm not afraid to jump in and pick up someone's slack, even though I don't want to. How hard is it to take a little initiative? I realize not everyone has the leadership gift, but COME ON, PEOPLE. We can't all sit in a circle and cry about how NOTHING gets done, then refuse to do it ourselves! If you want something done the way you want it done, get up and do it! If you don't like how something is being done, do it yourself! Quit crying about how nothing is meshing - MAKE IT MESH! People are goofing around? LAY DOWN RULES. Nothing is going to happen at the drop of a hat - Rome wasn't built in a day! - but NOTHING is going to happen ever if we just sit and cry about how no one listens, or nothing is done, no one wants to do anything, blah blah blah. You've got hands, feet, a voice - take care of the problems. It's really not all that hard. I can feel myself getting short with these people - but you know what? I'm not even going to apologize for it... do not - I MEAN DO NOT - cry about problems, then be a complete and total Debbie Downer when I offer suggestions on how to fix it. Do not tell me something won't work until AFTER you try it. If I offer you suggestions and you refuse to do them, then I AM going to snap at you, I am going to be short with you, because it shows me that you don't want anything to get done, you just want to cry to me and have me stroke your ego and tell you you're doing everything you can - and I won't do that if you AREN'T DOING EVERYTHING YOU CAN. I'm sorry. I don't mind you complaining to me, but be prepared to take action... and STOP MAKING ME WANT TO PULL MY HAIR OUT. I'm seriously surrounded by people like this.
4. Hypocrites. That's all I'll say - I can't get into this one because I will lose my mind. You all know who you are - if you don't... you will know soon.
5. Having absolutely no control of my life. I realize I'm supposed to let go... but is it really supposed to be THIS stressful?? Ugh.
The thought of SUMMERTIME just makes me CRAZY!!!
It's 11:30 at night, and I can't sleep. I was planning on going to bed, but I'm so excited right now that I don't even know what to do... I'm afraid to blog because I know the grammar will be horrible, and the whole thing will consist of few paragraphs and a plethora of run on sentences and mispelled words... but I have to do something, and dancing around the living room to Akon only lasted till the end of the song.
It's incredibally difficult to do the happy dance of grapes and awesomeness to Disturbia.
There are a number of my blog readers that won't care to read this - won't understand why I'm so excited, but there are also those of you that will dance around their living rooms with me, until Akon is done singing... lol.
Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, blockheads, DCGs, and Sweet Potatoes alike -
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK HAVE CONFIRMED THEY ARE HAVING A SUMMER TOUR!!!
Don't get me wrong - I pretty much knew it was going to happen. You may remember, in an earlier post, I noted that there was a juicy piece of information I wasn't going to release for fear it would cause an uproar and get any tour cancelled. Well, here is the piece of information:
((I'm mildly distracted because Miley Cyrus is on the tv talking about how she is an obsessive texter and right now her voice is REALLY ANNOYING... OH BRB HOT AND COLD IS ON I GOTTA DANCE TO THIS ONE...that's why I didn't want to blog...))
I have it from a VERY reliable source that the New Kids' bus drivers were signed on from June to January of next year... this tour ends in Feb of '09... so why have bus drivers AFTER the concert? ((The bus driver told them themselves... said they were signed on then said, oops, probably shouldn't have said that. :P))
BUT NOW I'M NOT AFRAID TO SAY IT! DANNY WOOD CONFIRMED IT ON A RADIO SHOW - THERE IS GOING TO BE A SUMMER TOUR IN THE STATES FOR ALL OF US THAT LOVE THEM TO NO END!!!
AND JORDAN SAID "SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!!" AT THE END OF A CONCERT RECENTLY.
IT'S HAPPENING, GIRLS! WE GET OUR SUMMERTOUR!
I'm seriously so excited, I don't know what to do with myself. I'm going to get to go to a concert!! FINALLY! IT'S HAPPENING!
I can't even think about sleeping right now, I wish they would play better music so I could dance more and get the excitement out... I'm having to pause between each flurry of typing to shake the wiggles out of my hands!
ANA!!!! SUMMERTIME IS REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!
I CAN'T EVEN THINK RIGHT NOW!!! I'M SO EXCITED!!!
For those of you who absolutely despise the new kids, I apologize if you've read this far - you probably won't care but it's a big deal for me, I can't even begin to tell you.
This blog is probably nothing but an eye sore so I'll let you all go...
I THINK ABOUT YOU IN THE SUMMERTIME, AND ALL THE GOOD TIMES WE'LL HAVE!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!
GET YA HEAD STRAIGHT, GET YA MIND RIGHT, GET AT YOUR GIRL, AND SAY HI TO YOUR MOTHER FOR ME!
~L
((finall, danceable music!! PEACE!))
You know that one thing they say about books?
I enjoy reading... a LOT. There's just something about sitting in a comfortable chair and immersing yourself in a literary world. I'm fairly open minded, too - I'll give just about anything a chance, and if a book is REALLY good, I won't hesitate to read it over and over again (my copy of THE OUTSIDERS is so worn, I'm surprised pages haven't started falling out!).
I've been let down by books before, sure. Most recently would be the Twilight series - I won't even get started about that... plenty of books have had potential and just didn't cut it, and that's depressing. It's depressing to think that you spent hours, maybe even days, working through a book, only to wish you had read something else when you're done. But there is never a time that I've ever regretted reading a book - when it's all said and done, the more literature one familiarizes with, the better off one is.
And then there are those books that you finish and wonder why it had to end. Harry Potter comes to mind (though I feel they could have given me a more thought out ending for that one - but I still cried to see it go), as well as Stephen King's IT, and of course, The Outsiders. Those books, you can read for hours, and not realize it's been that long. You get lost amidst the pages, because the writing is done in such a way, it engulfs you entirely. It's not hard to picture what's happening - it's not hard to put yourself in the shoes of one of the characters, and more so than that, it's just a good story. The idea is genius, and the fact that someone thought it out is mind blowing. These books are incredibly easy to read - and when I say that, I don't mean they're EASY. They still have exquisite tone, wonderful vocabulary, and simply captivating imagery... it's these things that make them an easy read - by which I mean, they're easy to get through. Reading through them is not difficult, you don't have to force yourself forward - you have to force yourself to stop. In books like this, I've found myself gaging chapters, checking forward to see how long it is. "That's short," I'll think, "I'll read it, and then I'll be done." But when I finish the chapter, I want to read the next one. "It's fairly short, too, I'll read it, THEN I'll be done." But that still isn't enough. If the chapter is long, I'll tell myself, I'll just read to the next paragraph break. But, when I get there, I want to push on further.
I've never been able to pinpoint exactly what it is in a writing style that makes me want to delve further between the pages - makes me want to dissolve into the book and be surrounded by it's literary genius... it's just there.
I'm suffering from this again. I've been mulling through The Other Boleyn Girl as of late - the book started out fairly slow, and I honestly only picked it up because I saw the movie and simply adored it. Within the first few pages, I learned that the movie and the book were nothing alike, save for the basic outline and the names of the characters, but like I said before I can't leave a book unfinished. The deeper I got into the book, the more I found I was intrigued by the literary character of Mary Boleyn. The movie character didn't appeal to me too strongly, but for whatever reason, the Mary Boleyn they had down on paper was absolutely captivating, and I found myself mildly enjoying reading about her. She's a much stronger literary character than she is on film.
But - the book moved incredibly slow, and I read maybe a total of 50 pages in a couple of months, only picking it up when I felt like it. As you may have read in an earlier post, I took the book with me to jury duty. The book had hit a dull part, so it was hard to get through, but I figured the best way to force me to read it would be to put myself in situation where the only thing more boring than reading the book would be NOT reading the book. Even then, I only read about 5 pages before I was able to leave.
I went back to Jury Duty today - and brought the book with me. I didn't think I'd get much read, but as soon as I sat down, the book was in my hands. I couldn't not read it - the room was thick with a sort of uncomfortable tension. People were filling out paperwork or writing in journals - the whole place felt like detention, and I felt I HAD to read the book for fear the teacher would come by with her ruler and bust me if I didn't. I began scanning the pages lightly, reading them at a slow pace, taking in some of the sounds of the room more than reading... but then something happened - I found one of those hooks that I had found in books before, and in this case I can tell you what it is.
I'm completely and hopelessly intrigued by the wickedness of Anne Boleyn. Her calm, calculated darkness had been presented in the story already, but began to show through even stronger, proving to be even more calm and calculated than previously let on. Within a few minutes I was no longer scanning pages but devouring them, yearning for the words to process in my mind faster so I could push forward. My eyes never left the pages to check the clock or look around the room - I simply tore through the book until the judge came on the intercom, and even then I had to TEAR my eyes away. I was irritated by the interruption, wanted to know more about the girls' plights, and was even more irritated by the fact that the judge was interrupting my literary adventure to tell me that they wanted me to come back tomorrow. My mood was slightly improved when she announced that there were some people that didn't have to come back, and everyone pulled out their jury badges. The uncomfortable tension in the room dissolved, giving way to the care free air of a raffle as people sat in joyous suspense, waiting for their number to be called, hoping they would luck out and earn a "get out of jail free" card. It was as if the entire room instantaneously decided that we were all friends, united in the same annoying plight. The need to get back to my book was comfortably tucked into the back of my mind as I told the girl next to me that I would hug someone if they yelled "BINGO!" when their number was called. I was unfortunate enough to not have my number called, and had a pleasant conversation with a disgruntled woman who had to drive in from Los Banos only to sit in a stuffy room for half an hour... and that's when my book was brought back to my attention. HALF AN HOUR! I checked how far I had gotten and realized I had read 60 pages in half an hour, averaging 2 pages a minute and destroying my pathetic record of 50 in 2 months. But even that wasn't the end. As soon as I stepped outside, the need to delve back into the Queen Katherine's court leaped from it's hiding place in the back of my head and demanded I open the book again. I plopped myself on the cement next to the flag pole and happily obliged, wasting no time and quickly falling back into the enthralling world that was 1523 England. I found myself constantly looking ahead, telling myself I would only read so much but knowing I'd read more, until the chilled air and cold pavement broke through my clothes and made it impossibly to concentrate. Within an hour and a half I had managed to read nearly 200 pages of a book I had deemed boring and trite just that morning.
I'm not entirely sure what the point of this blog was - I guess you can take away from it what you want. Some of you may think I'm trying to tell you to read the Other Boleyn Girl - which I won't deny. It's so far a captivating book and should definitely be read. Others may thing I'm trying to support the old "don't judge a book by it's cover" thing, which may also be true... but I guess I'm just writing to make myself feel better. It's why I started this blog, and I kind of need it today... just... well... Just because something isn't your taste, or doesn't look like it's going to meet your expectations... don't give up on it. You could be pleasantly surprised. :)
Get ya mind right.
~L
Memoirs of a Nanny
I wish I was three years old again.
News Kids on the Blog (a Word from Jon)
"THIS ISN’T FOR EVERYONE JUST A SMALL FEW!!!!!!!!!!
I saw a post about my bus driving down the wrong side of the
expressway. Yes, this did happen, and I am not happy about it. I was in
the front seat sh***ng my pants. Every night leaving our shows people
like you who posted are going to kill us or yourselves!!!!! You need to
stop driving up on our buses like you do. You are dealing with 22 tons
of steel that cannot stop or change lanes on a dime. Half the time you
are hanging out your windows and flashing your camera flashes into our
drivers eyes, paying no attention to what you are doing! You caused my
driver to become so disorientated that night. A certain few of you need
to chill out and be more responsible adults! What are you trying to
gain by doing this. Do you think we are going to pull over and say hi?
Do you think you are going to follow us to our hotel? 99% of the time
we are heading on to the next city several hours away! Please pull it
together. I don’t want to die in some stupid accident. I appreciate you
coming to the shows, don’t get me wrong. I just had to address this
post because it is real and not some cute fantasy! Please spread the
word to everyone. This is a serious matter. As an adult I am going to
keep it real with you. If you’re acting stupid I will flat out tell you
to your face, “you’re being stupid”. So, in this instance, A VERY SMALL
FEW OF YOU ARE BEING STUPID!!!!!!!!!
Much respect and appreciation!
now that that is off my chest………….happy blogs coming soon!
Jon"
Look, you guys - I know this blog post probably isn't directed at any of you that read my blog, but I do want to point out that, while it is our job as blockheads to freak out and scream and cheer and sing and love our boys to no end, it's also our job to respect them and their space, and not do anything that would endanger them, or ourselves! We can't go to the New Kids concerts if any of them are hurt! I think it's safe to say we all care about the boys - this was proven when Jordan pretended to sprain his ankle, and everyone really freaked out. We obviously don't want our boys to be hurt, so let's do what we can to keep them safe!
I'm not saying don't swarm them, don't love them - just swarm them when they say it's okay. When they're on their bus and leaving, when they're at their hotel, when they say no more pictures and no more face time, we need to respect that. They've proven that they're more than HAPPY to oblige us with all the face time we could ever hope for, so when they've retreated to the solitude of their bus or hotel, it's time to back off and give them their time. :) Like I stated before, and Jon said as well, you aren't only endangering them, but yourselves as well. He's right, we ARE adults, and there are times when we need to act like it.
I really respect Jon - he was never my boy of choice, but he has always drawn respect from me - still does. I've seen him on countless interviews, on stage, THS, BtM, all of those things, and know he's a sweetheart. Countless friends that have met him have told me he's a sweetheart - but I have also seen those same things where his emotions take control... but those instances, at least shown to us, are few and far between. He's really angry in his post, so I think it's safe to say this isn't another hoax, and we need to take it seriously (he won't even let anyone comment on it!). I'd appreciate it if everyone that read this, either here or on the NKOTB site will have the same respect for Jon to respect his wishes. I realize he's speaking of a certain instance, but he's also speaking to everyone when he says to not do anything that would endanger anyone's lives.
We ALL love our boys, and don't want anything to happen to them, so please be responsible!!!
On a happier note, I watched a special Behind the Music yesterday... I thought it was going to be an old one, but to my surprise, it was new!!! Covered a lot of stuff I didn't know, and had a lot of priceless moments in it, including a lot between Donnie and Joe. But it was absolutely a pleasant surprise to have a NEW Behind the Music - I checked my local listings and it isn't on again in the next week... but if anyone else watched it, I would LOVE to talk about it! :)
Also, this Friday on VH1 is a "100 Biggest Teen Stars" or something to that effect. It's Friday at 1pm and it goes until 6pm.... no promises, but I highly doubt you can get through a top 100 teen stars countdown and not talk about the New Kids... I can think of 4, MAYBE 5 other teen stars... there's no way they won't garner a mention. So keep your eyes out for that.
Finally - rumours of another tour after this one are becoming more and more realistic as time goes on. When asked, Jon Knight's response was "Lets get through this one first! We are all open to the idea, I guess that’s up to you to make it happen."
Others have also commented on it, and I have it from a VERY reliable source that **I'm actually not going to release this bit of information yet - don't want to spread it around because 1. don't want to get anyone's hopes up, 2. Don't want it getting out, being true, and having them decide to not do the tour cuz the surprise is ruined, 3. Don't want to get anyone in trouble** I'm sure the boys COULD come up with a reason, one that we'd be perfectly happy with, but nothing would please us more than another tour!! Especially me, so I can get my face time!! :) ((I'M STILL COMIN' FOR IT, DONNIE! NOW MORE THAN EVER!))
