I want to see these films!

These are the films I'm looking forward to seeing this fall/winter...

Avatar
James Cameron is a pretty reliable guy when it comes to movies. After all, he's got a impressive resume: Aliens, True Lies, Titanic... just to name a few. This one looks like it will be a great movie as well, even if it is a little different than what I'm used to seeing from him.




 Fantastic Mr. Fox
I love-love-love everything about this film so far. The impressive cast. The stop-motion animation. The music. And of course, the fact that it's based on one of Roald Dahl's books. I can't wait!




New Moon
Yeah, like you're really surprised I included this movie. ;)




Sherlock Holmes
 I was cautiously optimistic when I first learned this movie was being made. I love Robert Downey Jr., not so much Jude Law and Rachel McAdams. The first half of this trailer is a little too action-y for my taste, but the second half more than makes up for it. I hope this doesn't suck!




What films are you looking forward to seeing this fall/winter?

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My Adventures on the Cookie Diet



I recently started a new blog documenting my adventures on the Cookie Diet (as if I didn't have enough blogs!).

I hope maintaining an online journal of my trials and tribulations whilst on this diet will encourage me to stay on track and hopefully inspire others who are dieting, too. I am now on day 2 of this strange new diet and hoping to lose 40 pounds.

Please visit my new blog and say hello! :-D

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Lolcat of the Week


Have a great week, everyone! :-)

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Craving

Tomorrow I'm starting the Cookie Diet in the hopes of losing weight and regulating my blood pressure.

That's tomorrow. Let's talk about today, because today I'm craving this:



It's almost like my body knows I'm about to inflict pain and suffering on it and wants all the bad stuff it can get beforehand! Hehehe. What are you craving today?

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Lolcat of the Wednesday (So funny, I couldn't wait till Monday!)

Yeah, okay, so it's not Monday. And you shouldn't be getting a Lolcat in the middle of the week. But this is so funny, I couldn't wait until next week. Enjoy! :D

*WARNING* There are no four-letter words in this, but it's still pretty suggestive. NSFW or for kiddos!


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The greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing...

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool,
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

--William Arthur Ward


I need to be less afraid of life, more willing to take those risks. I need to be braver with myself and with others. So many times, I feel like the little engine that could, except my mantra sounds more like, "I wish I could, I wish I could..."

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These are a few of my (current) favorite things...

Grizzly Bear
Um, so I love this band called Grizzly Bear. Yes, I know they have a ridiculous name. No, they are neither grizzly nor bears. But they do rock.

I first discovered Grizzly Bear thanks to the soundtrack for "New Moon," which I bought on Friday (and reviewed last night here). They may be a recent acquisition, but that doesn't make me love them any less!

After I listened to their contribution to "New Moon," this song called "Slow Life," about a bazillion times, I decided to buy their most recent CD. It's called "Veckatimest." No, I don't know what the heck it means. But I do know I'm in love with the track called "Two Weeks." They remind me of another recent musical love of mine, Phoenix, but they have a very unique sound otherwise. Below you can hear the song "Two Weeks" and judge for yourself. Let me know what you think! :-)



(To learn more about Grizzly Bear and listen to more songs, visit their lala page.)


Scribblenauts

As you read in my birthday post, I received a ton of Twilight-related gifts this year for my birthday. Not that I'm complaining! ;) I did receive some non-Twilighty gifts, though, one of which is the DS game Scribblenauts which was given to me by my beloved boyf.

What is Scribblenauts? It's been described as a "puzzle action game." I just call it fun. The purpose of the game is to complete puzzles and collect "Starites." The way you complete the puzzles, however, is what makes this game so innovative -- you have to summon objects to help you complete the given objective. You can summon almost any object by writing the name of it on the screen.

Some cool objects I've summoned in the game thus far: vampires, black holes, God (seriously!), wizards, and Lolcats (!). It's an addictive game -- you lose all sense of time when playing it. I suggest you pick it up if you have a DS and are looking for a cool game!

Domo

My ever-loving boyf also got me the little monster at your left. If you don't know who Domo is, frankly you should be ashamed of yourself. They started selling him in Target last year and it was love at first sight. Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to pick him up when I first saw him, and when I returned to Target again, he was sold out.

It was a long time before I saw him in Target again. It appears he became very popular! I even saw some of my students carrying him around in school. :D

I began wanting a Domo of my very own again, never dreaming I'd be getting him for my birthday. Honestly, out of all the awesome gifts I got this year, this just might be my favorite.

What's that? You say you still don't know who this Domo character is? Well, then go and educate yourself with this informative FAQ.


Where The Wild Things Are
I saw this film on Friday with le boyf. I was sick and tired (literally) and not in the mood to leave the comfort of home. But le boyf convinced me to go with him to eat dinner and watch a movie. He wanted to watch "Where The Wild Things Are."

I'm so glad I did. Because I may not have gotten the chance to see this movie otherwise. It's a live action adaptation of the beloved children's book by Maurice Sendak. Originally written in 1963, Where The Wild Things Are is not a very long book. There's not much plot or narrative, so it is impressive that director Spike Jonze was able to craft such a memorable film from it.

Jonze's wild things are each amazing and frightening in their own unique ways, none more so than Carol. I saw them all as individual facets of Max's personality -- Carol represents Max's anger and fear, KW represents Max's tenderness and openness, Judith his insecurity and standoffishness, and so on.

While I can recognize how children can appreciate this film, I do think it was intended for adults. There are moments of incredible ebullience, when you can almost remember that lightweight feeling of childhood, but there are also moments of great sadness and loss, when you can recall how large and threatening the world can seem to a child.

I love the catchphrase for this movie: "There's one in all of us." You can take this in so many ways... Yes, there's a "wild thing" in all of us. But along with the wild thing there is also a tender thing, craving love and attention.

Here's the trailer for the film. Go see it if you get a chance -- you won't regret it.




Root Beer Floats
So I've never been one for root beer. I liked it all right, but it was never really my thing. Not how it is for le boyf, anyways.

Recently, I started loving the heck out of Dr. Pepper. I think that is what has me loving root beer all of a sudden, too! I'm especially liking root beer in those floats Wendy's makes. They are to die for. Srsly. Go try one if you haven't had one before. I used to get the floats with vanilla frosty and coke, but the vanilla frosty and root beer floats can't be beat.

Great, now I made myself crave one. :p



Autumn
Autumn, I love you.

I love you for your multicolored foliage that adorns the treetops like so many flickers and flames. I love you for your early nights and late mornings. I love you for your cool winds that tickle my skin. I love you for the way you make my hair lay shiny and sleek down my shoulders. I love you for bringing my birthday and my second-favorite holiday after Christmas, Halloween.

I know Miami doesn't really get a true autumn. Not really. Our trees stay green all year and the coldest it gets is maybe 40 degrees. But still. I'll take 70 degrees over 90 any day! And I can get used to the good hair days no problem. ;)

What are some of your favorites this month? Let me know in the comments!

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Lolcat of the Week


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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Lolcat of the Week


Have a great week, everyone! :D

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

My Twilight Extravaganza of a Birthday

(This was originally posted on my TwiBlog.)

Today is my 31st birthday (cue balloons and fireworks). I think I just might christen this birthday the "Twilight Extravaganza" because I keep getting nothing but Twilight-related gifts. And all these gifts came before my actual birthday. NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING! ;)

The first thing I got was a little sumthin-sumthin I bought myself: The Illustrated Movie Companion (Of Awesomeness) for "New Moon" plus a bookmark of Robward.

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The second thing I got was the following handmade bag of Jacksper awesomeness. This was from one of my coworkers, Tara, who knows about my Jacksper love and wanted to get me something in honor of it. The bag is awesome, as you can see from the pictures below, and Tara bought it from the uber-talented Etsy seller bellasfriendalice. Check her out, she's super gifted.


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The third thing I got was a set of two books from another coworker friend of mine, "Greasy." I'm so stoked I own these!


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And the last thing I got that was Twilight-related was a complete and utter surprise... a handmade card from some of my students that literally made me want to cry and laugh at the same time:


The Front

(Check out how they managed to get the font right!)


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The Inside

(My students are so punny...)

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I feel truly blessed to have such great friends and students. And I can't believe I got this embarrassment of Twilight riches before my birthday! It makes me wonder if there's anything else Twilighty waiting in the wings for me... ;)


Do you want to make my birthday EVEN BETTER? Of course you do. Here's what you can do! :-D


  • Join in on the Twilight Movie vs. Book discussion that is currently being held by my bloggy friends Mrs. Vanquish and Betti over at Let's ride the Vanquish!

banner_fanny


follow


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a Rose by any other name...

So I have this gorgeous bloggy/Protagonize friend named Roseanna who is competing to become the next face of Zuneta. She's seriously gorgeous. I mean, just look at her:


She's got 71 votes so far, but she needs 65 more to make it into the top ten. Please do me a favor and vote for Roseanna! Not only is she beautiful on the outside, but she is truly a lovely person on the inside, where it counts most. :-)

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I can has wish list?

Is 30 too old to be making birthday wish lists? Yes? Too bad! *sticks out tongue* I'm making one anyways. :p

I'll be turning 31 this Saturday. Normally I'd be all verklempt about this, googling Botox and trying to "fix" my ID so that it says I'm really ten years younger (hey, a girl can dream), but this year I decided to just enjoy my birthday and let my inner child have a good time.

Hence the birthday wish list of awesomeness.

Here is a sampling of the goodies I want for my birthday this year. To see my complete wish list, go here.

Hello Kitty Toaster Oven
(Why? Why not?)



Looking for Alaska

(I hear good things about this book...)



Revolver
(My favorite Beatles album. Why I don't own this is a mystery!)




Anne of Green Gables

(I absolutely loved this growing up...)



"New Moon" Movie Companion
(Yep, I'm a fan. Oh like you didn't know...)



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Lolcat of the Week

funny pictures of cats with captions
see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This Lolcat is in honor of my upcoming birthday. I'll be turning 31 this Saturday, the 10th! (And um, I see nothing wrong with celebrating it all week ... do you? :p)

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All content on this site is the sole property of Ana Cristina Simon, unless otherwise stated, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.