Dancing With the Stars: Instant Reactions

I'm watching the live "press conference" announcement of the new cast of Dancing With the Stars.  Here are my instant reactions to the new cast:

• Brandy - should be good!
• Jennifer Grey - Well, we know she can dance.  And nobody puts Baby in a corner.
• Margaret Cho - she's funny!
• Audrina Patridge - Well, at least it's not Heidi Montag.  I'd have to stop watching the show if it was.
• Florence Henderson - Love her! 
• Bristol Palin - ugh.  Please get kicked off first.

What?!  I have to wait to hear the guys?  NO FAIR!!!!  I really don't appreciate ABC forcing Bachelor Pad on me just so I can watch this announcement live.  I have so many other things I could be doing right now.  Okay, I really don't.  *sigh*

• Michael Bolton - Interesting.  I hope he doesn't sing opera again.  That was a bizarre experience I hope never to repeat.
• Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino - Oh, dear.  Why do I see this ending badly?
• David Hasselhoff - I have this feeling that Len is going to hassle the Hoff.
• Kurt Warner - Excellent!
• Kyle Massey - Cool!
• Rick Fox - Wasn't he married to someone famous?

Looks like it's going to be an interesting season!  I can't wait to see which Pros will be on this time around.  It's no secret that I like the Pros better than the Celebrities!

The Live Emmys Blog

Okay, it's not quite live.  We started watching at 7:30.  Thank heavens for DV-R!!!!

• OPENING NUMBER ROCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• I ♥ Jimmy Fallon.
• The Year in Comedy?  Apparently, this year was only about half funny.  Hmmm...
• I hope I'm as awesome as Betty White when I'm 88.
• Hey!  It's the PC guy again!  He's funny!
• If Jane Lynch does not win Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, then the terrorists have won.
• YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!  Jane wins!!!!!!
• Not liking Lauren Graham's dress.  It's...uh...not pretty?
• Yay for Ryan Murphy winning best director!!
• I don't watch Big Bang Theory, but I understand that the Emmy is long-deserved for Jim Parsons.  Steve Carell should win next year.
• Edie Falco says "What?  I won?"  I love genuine reactions of surprise as opposed to "Yes, I won.  You may worship me now."
• Kim Kardashian...please don't sing.  Thank you.
• The Amazing Race.  The best reality show.  Ever.  Is there a question?  And it didn't win this year?  What is this "Top Chef"?  I don't follow.
• Why why WHY?!?!  Why do the Emmys snub Bones?!  NOT COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Every time I see Christopher Meloni, I think of him as Bob the Gym Teacher in Runaway Bride.
• I just realized that they never explained why the big statue only had 4 toes on Lost.  Hmmm...
• Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn didn't win.  Boo.
• Matthew Fox didn't win either.  Sad day.
• Too bad Hugh Laurie didn't win.  He always has the funniest speeches!
• Is that a pink piano.  Holy crap!  Is that Jimmy dressed as Elton John?  Good heavens!
• Loved the tribute to shows that went away.  
• Jimmy's Report Card so far:  A
• I like Tina Fey's dress.  Can I get it in red?  For free?
• Oh, my gosh!!  Wouldn't it be sweet, sweet justice if Conan won tonight?!  LOL!
• Ahhhh...there's just something so awesome about the Tonys winning an Emmy.
• I ♥ Ricky Gervais.
• I don't like January Jones' dress.  The skirt is bizarre.
• I ♥ John Krasinski!
• Claire Danes doesn't really make a great blonde.  Either that or her spray tan is a little off.
• Wow!  Alexander Skarsgaard is TALL!!!!  
• Just added "Temple Grandin" to my Netflix queue.
• I thought Jack Kevorkian was in jail.  Guess not!
• I ♥ Tom Hanks!
• Here we go:  Outstanding Drama Series.  Deep breaths, deeeeeeeeeeep breaths.
• Schmeh.
• Outstanding Comedy Series.  Heeee heeee hoooooooooooooooooo....
• Schmeh again.  Well, at least Jane Lynch and Ryan Murphy won.
• Jimmy Fallon's Report Card:  A

Aaaaaaaand....that's a wrap!

Blessings

The Lord works in mysterious ways.  And often times we are blessed for exercising a little faith.

I paid tithing on my severance pay, even though it was a lot of money.  There was no question!  I had to pay it!  I now have another part time job, but I'm still working, in total, about half the amount of hours I used to.  This is going to mean about half the pay (I'm working about 3 times as much for LOT as I was before, but my new job pays less that my old job.  I haven't figured out what it works out to.  Too much math.)  Anyway, I've limited myself to the bare necessities, with a little splurge now and then (for special occasions.)  I made a baby shower gift from scratch instead of buying something they registered for.  I've really tried to cut corners.  And I'm putting a little too much on the credit card, but I'm getting better about that.

So where am I going with this?  Well...here's the blessing:

I got my credit card statement for the card that is connected directly with my bank accounts today.  I got a cash reward.  So basically, I have about $25 of free money on that card right now.  HOORAY!!!!  Thank you for the blessing!!!  I don't know how I'm going to spend it yet.  Probably on groceries.  But I might use it to get my hair cut.  (That's one thing I can't do without!!!)

Just one more reason to know that Heavenly Father is watching over me during my time of lessened employment!

Why I Love "The Office"

From the Season 4 episode, "Chair Model":

Michael:  You know I used to think that I had this perfect person out there waiting for me, but now I know that's just silly. Because she's dead. What do you do.

Dwight:  Wait 'till next year's chair catalog comes out and find someone who's still alive. Yeah.

Funny!  Random!!!  LOVE IT!!!

Defining "Necessity"

So, since I lost my full time job, I'm a little short on cash.  I got severance pay when I lost the job and that went right into the bank.  It was the equivalent of a month's salary.  So now I have to stretch that money out over who knows how long.  It's been 2 weeks and I don't have a new job yet.  I filed for unemployment, but if that goes through it won't come for awhile.

I now have to go beyond Want vs. Need and actually DEFINE "Necessity."

Normally, I have no issues paying a lot of money for theatre tickets.  I say that I'll go without eating for a couple of days because seeing live theatre is "research".  But now, I'd have to give up eating for a week.  Makes me stop and consider: "do I REALLY need to see this show?"

I bought a book today.  I may be able to give up eating for a couple of days, but I CAN'T give up reading.  Especially because I have all kinds of spare time at the moment.  I can only watch so much daytime TV.

I bought a package of scrapbook paper and two scrapbook albums.  I am in the middle of scrapbooking my England trip and have "42nd Street" and my Yellowstone trip still to go.  Necessity.

We've talked about going to Elitches this summer.  I'm going to have to pass.  Can't afford it.

New clothes?  I can wait.  I'm good for now.

Movies...well, that's tricky.  I'm keeping my Netflix subscription.  It's only $10 a month.  And I watch at least 2 a week.  I'm getting those DVDs for cheap, yo!  But in the theatre?  I'm missing a lot.  Some I won't miss, but I'm letting most pass for now and I'll catch them on DVD.

I have cut fast food out completely.  I'll go hungry and wait until I get home, if at all possible.

If I run out of cleaning supplies, I'll just go make them magically disappear from my parents' house.  HEY-OH!

Gas for the car = Need

Rent = Need

I'm thinking I'll cut out buying soap.  Just kidding!!!!!

GOOD THING I DIDN'T BUY A CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (Although, the dealership that I almost bought the Aveo from called me today.  I told him that my car hunting had come to a screeching halt when I lost my job.  He said he was sorry to hear about my job, but he wanted to be sure to let me know that I was still approved to buy a car.  SERIOUSLY?!  Dude, I am making a 4th of what I was making before.  I'm pretty sure I'm not approved to buy a car.)

Anything else that comes up, I'll just put it on my credit card.  Oy.  So much for that whole "debt-free" thing.  *sigh*

Ironic Twitter Feed Funnies

I've found there are some funny trends that happen on Twitter and Facebook.  Because I follow a lot of people, there sometimes tend to be the most interesting things that post right next to each other on the feeds.  Sometimes 4 people in a row will talk about the same thing!  Other times, like what is currently on my Twitter feed, you get stuff like this:

grantimahara:  Ever wonder what 5000 maggots look like? #fromset #Mythbusters http://twitpic.com/2edy20
(posted 20 minutes ago)


reba:  Going to get a bite to eat.  Talk to you all soon.
(posted 19 minutes ago)

I'm pretty sure that looking at the picture of 5000 maggots would not make me want to go out immediately and eat lunch.  I guess Reba isn't following Grant, or she wouldn't be racing out for lunch, either.

Okay, so maybe you had to be there.  But it was funny to me!

Critical Opinions

There is something that has been bugging me for a really long time.  I don't know why it's bothering me so much,  but it is.  I can't believe how extremely critical some people are.  Who made them the judge of the world?  It's one thing to share your opinion, but it's another thing to openly bash someone or something.

I try really hard to see the good in everything.  I also try to remember that there are things that I don't like that others do.  Do I openly tell them that what they like is wrong or bad?  No!  For this very reason, I rarely discuss political issues. 

But what's really been bugging me recently is people who are very vocal about not liking a certain book or a certain movie.  They make it clear in no uncertain terms that the book/movie/whatever is horrible and how in the world could ANYONE like them?  Well, gee, I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy it, but what gives you the right to be so judgmental?  Do you know how much your comments might hurt the people who like what it is you are criticizing?  ESPECIALLY if it's an unprovoked attack.  It's one thing to be asked "What did you think about [fill in the blank]" and to reply with your honest opinion of why you didn't like it.  It's another thing to just come out with "[Fill in the blank] totally sucked and is the worst [fill in the blank] ever."  I just want to say "Could you do better?"  Seriously, if you couldn't do a better job, then keep your mouth shut.  You are in no place to judge.  (I could write an entire blog about why I think theatre critics should have some theatre experience.  But that's a blog for another day.)

I'm not saying that you can't have your own opinion, but just be careful about what you say.  You never know who's feelings you might hurt because they really liked what you didn't like.  Saying mean and hateful things just makes you seem like a jerk.  If we all liked the same things, the world would be very boring.  It's what makes the world what it is that everyone likes different things.  But just be conscious of the people around you.  Be respectful of other people and their opinions.  And seriously...follow the advice of Thumper's dad:  If you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all.

Yellowstone in a Day!

Here is the Trip Journal from our weekend trip to Yellowstone.  Original journal entries are in bold and added commentary is in italics.  Oh, and it is our tradition to include the song that was playing at the time, so we have a soundtrack for the trip.

Friday, August 6, 2010

12:12 pm  "Life is a Highway" Rascall Flatts
Depart from Craig and Robin's house

12:32 pm "Clocks" Red Hot Chilli Pipers
Welcome to Wyoming...Farewell to Trees

12:41 pm "Bad Romance"  Glee version
Now entering Cheyenne

1:15 pm "Just Let Me Cry" Hilary Weeks
Pit stop in Chugwater.  Strangely, it looks nothing like Austria
Explanation:  When LHS did "The Sound of Music" in 2002, we used a backdrop that we lovingly called "Chugwater".  The center was some mountains that looked like the Alps, but the sides had some sandstone cliffs.  We covered up the cliffs for purposes of the show, but the name stuck.

2:05 pm "My Immortal" Evanescense
Huge rainstorm in Glendo.  We can barely see!!!  It lasted about 5 minutes or so.

3:09 pm "I Dreamed a Dream" Susan Egan
Gas stop in Casper.  Driver Switch!

4:45 pm "Lessons Learned" Carrie Underwood
Stuck in one land only traffic, 95 degrees outside!

5:00 pm "My Life Would Suck Without You" Glee Version
Pit stop in Shoshoni, WY.  We have been told to get milkshakes.  We didn't get the specifics as to WHERE to get them, so we got ice cream bars at the gas station.  Almost the same, right?

5:14 pm "Beyond My Wildest Dreams" The Little Mermaid - Broadway
Entering Boysen State Park.  Pretty sure boysenberries won't grow here.  Also, don't drink the water in Bad Water Creek.

5:23 pm "We Will Rock You" Red Hot Chilli Pipers
Sign - "Slow Flagger Ahead"  Laughed long and hard over that one.  Especially when we saw the flagger.  Not to judge, but he did look a little slow.

7:04 pm "True Colors" Glee Version
Finally in Cody...now to hunt for food!

7:24 pm "I'll Walk"  Bucky Covington
Got our tickets for "Quilters", now the hunt for food.  Wendy's drive thru.  Original, I know.

8:18 pm  "You'll Be in My Heart" Tarzan - Broadway
Arrival at Rex Hale Campground.  We got the camp set up with no problems.  Enjoyed s'mores and hot chocolate and went to bed around 10 or 10:30 pm.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

7:10 am  "Get Out and Stay Out" 9 to 5: The Musical
On the road for Yellowstone.  First epic fail:  We were going to have cereal for breakfast and I brought a quart of milk, packed in the cooler.  The ice packs kept other things cool and not the milk.  Lame.

7:57 am "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" Glee Version (Matthew Morrison)
4-Wheeling by Yellowstone Lake!

8:22 am "Tell Her I Love Her" Urinetown
Mud Volcano The first of many really cool thermal features in Yellowstone!

8:45 am "Heaven Help my Heart" Chess
First sighting of a "Dude Animal"

8:50 am "Forget About the Boy" Thoroughly Modern Millie
BEAR!!

10:15 am "Shine Like the Sun" 9 to 5: The Musical
Angela almost dies coming up from the Lower Falls.  Okay, so I wouldn't have actually died, but it sure felt like it.  That was over 300 steps down to the falls.  Going down was no problem.  Coming up was another story.  We didn't have our water (we hadn't realized what the hike would be!) and I got a little bit of altitude sickness (which I have never gotten in my life!).  When I finally made it back to the car, I drank a Gatorade and ate some beef jerky and then I was fine.  Seriously, though, it's super easy to see the Upper Falls, but a chore to get to see the Lower Falls.

Upper Falls

Lower Falls

10:45 am "Suds in the Bucket" Sara Evans
Angela develops a testimony of Gatorade.

11:16 am "Feel it Comin' On" Sara Evans
Stuck in traffic - turned the car off and read the paper.

11:38 am "Honey Bun" South Pacific
Elk spotted! Big deal. We have those at home.

11:47 am "Find Your Grail" Spamalot
Entering Montana, just because we can.

11:49 am
Entering Wyoming. YESSSS!

12:20 pm "Rasputin" Barrage
Bear sighting. Mama Bear, Brother Bear, Sister Bear. They were up on a hill, across the river. There was a traffic jam, because everyone just stopped their cars and jumped out. The bears were going in and out of the trees, so it was hard to get a picture of them.

1:40 pm
Old Faithful erupts.  I was a little disappointed.  We waited for a long time for it to go off and then it was not nearly as exciting as they have built it up to be.  Seriously, it looks bigger on TV.  It was still pretty cool.  But it was really funny because another geyser went off about 200 yards away before Old Faithful, and it was taller!

Preshow Geyser (We aren't exactly sure which one it was!)

Old Faithful

2:35 pm "The Impossible Dream" Man of La Mancha
Leaving Old Faithful

2:40 pm "Dream a Little Dream" Glee Version
Sign: "Craig Pass - Drive Defensively" We find this sign oddly ironic.

4:23 pm "Temporary Home" Carrie Underwood
Goodbye, Yellowstone! We will be back, because we didn't see a moose.

4:32 pm "Black Roses Red" Alana Grace
MOOSE!!!!!!

5:03 pm "Bohemian Rhapsody" Glee Version
Epic Fail at the campsite:  Fought a rain/windstorm to break camp early.

 5:45 pm "Devil Went Down to Georgia" 
Back in Cody, organized car.  On the prowl for food.

We ate dinner at an Italian Restaurant, then walked around Cody a little bit.  It reminded me a lot of Estes Park, except the street was wider.  We then drove back up to the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum, where "Quilters" was playing.  The show was FANTASTIC!!!  We love this show to begin with, and this production was wonderful!  After the show, we went to the cast party for a little while with Katrina and then it was getting late and we needed to figure out exactly where we were going to sleep that night.

11:00 pm
Search for hotel = fail. Sleeping in the car in the AmericInn parking lot it is.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

5:30 am "Somebody to Love" Glee Version
Leaving Cody.  Stopped for gas and breakfast.  Angela asleep in back.

6:12 am "Saints and Angels" Sara Evans
Sunrise!

6:16 am "Watching You" Rodney Atkins
Pronghorn!

7:00 am "Running Horses" Barrage
Angela wakes up in Thermopolis.

8:38 am "Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)" Josh Groban
Waltman Rest Stop - Switch drivers.  Shauna is falling asleep.

9:25 am 
Casper - called home

10:10 am "The Lord Bless You and Keep You" John Rutter version
Ran out of songs on Shauna's iPod.  Switched to Angela's

11:27 am "Jesus Once of Humble Birth"
Took scenic route through Chugwater, looking for a gas station.  Such a cute little town.  We took the "Business Route" but there were no businesses.  Is this false advertising?  I think so.

12:16 pm "Man in the Sun" Kenneth Cope
Colorado Colorado once again!

12:22 pm "I am Another Witness" Steven Kapp Perry
Larimer County!!

12:39 pm "Teach Me to Walk in the Light"
Wellington!  We stopped at Craig and Robin's house to drop off the stuff we had borrowed.

1:22 pm "Though Deepening Trials"
HOME!!  Trip odometer reads:  1218.7 miles!