How do you say weird in Italian?

It was a weekend filled with highs and lows.  Overall, it was good, but it has some unsettling moments.  It was the first weekend we haven't had company in, well, I'm not sure how long.  Several weeks.  It was kind of good to be alone.  Teen Angel had a roller derby bout in Bloomington, Illinois so it was just Hubby and I.  We quietly floated in the pool Friday and Saturday afternoon because that was about the only way to stay cool.  Even then, you had to stay mostly submerged to escape the 105 heat we had.  We had a regular cold snap today as our high was only around 99.  Aye, yi, yi it's warm.  It's hotter than a elephant's butt on the equator.  And dry.  We haven't had rain in a long time.  Everything here is burning up.  Hubby finally quit watering the grass because it just seemed futile.  And expensive.  We did stay cool though and trotted downtown Saturday evening for dinner and the opening reception of an annual photo contest held at our main local art gallery and the independent theater next door.  There are two parts to the show, one featuring regional photographers, and one on my photos was selected for it. 

I took it in China Town when we were in New York last year.  Much MUCH to my surprise I won second place and a $100 prize.  Money for our Italy fund!  They said I was brave and controversial.  I rather like that.  We celebrated with a nice dinner and homemade ice cream at the local ice cream shop.  I NEVER eat the ice cream.  Hubby always does.  I found it to be a special occasion so I splurged.  I was feeling, um, brave.  As we ate dinner, Teen Angel texted me to tell us they won their bout and she hadn't kocked out any teeth or broken any bones.  Winners all around in the Hula-gen household Saturday night.  As the world usually doesn't spin in that direction for us, we were all pretty thrilled with our good fortune.

The bad news came yesterday morning when we found out that a classmate of Teen Angel's who she graduated with last year died in her sleep Saturday night.  The young woman was just 19 and it appears there was a medical issue that caused her death.  It was a shock to Teen Angel and all of her friends.  What a loss.  We had just seen the young lady at the movies Thursday night when we went to see Magic Mike. 

And yes, Teen Angel and I went to the midnight showing of Magic Mike.  It was a packed house, I might add.  Mother daughter bonding at its best.  It was exactly as I expected, a thin plot and lots of mostly nekked hot men dancing around.  I give it four stars just for the last fifteen minutes.  And while I won't spoil the fun for you ladies who haven't seen it, let's just say that if you're a Matthew McConaughey fan, you won't be disappointed by those fifteen minutes.  Fifty shades of what?

The second really weird moment came yesterday when Teen Angel realized that the man arrested this weekend for murder was a dishwasher at the bakery where she works.  The man was arrested after someone spotted him pushing what appeared to be a body in a shopping cart down the street in the wee hours of Sunday morning.  The police say he actually killed the man early Friday morning and kept him in a storage container behind his house until he tried to move the victim.  He then went to work at the bakery Friday.  Which means when Teen Angel was at the bakery Friday and saw him, he had the body of someone he'd killed stuffed in a box at his house.  Now, if that doesn't ruffle your never endings, what does?  Yikes.

See?  Good weekend with weird moments.  I have lots of posts floating around in my head since I haven't posted since last Wednesday, but honestly, I just needed to take a break from writing long enough to catch up on some picture editing.  The summer photo season is in full swing, and I can't wait to show you some pictures I took recently of a six month old.  Two words-mud puddle.  It was great fun, and I have maternity pictures this week and a wedding next weekend.  It's keeping me busy, but ya'll it's MONEY FOR ITALY!  Ciao!  (I'm practicing my Italian. Let's hope it's better than my French.)

The Lord Answers Prayer

I've taken to randomly shouting "We're goin' to the Book Club!" to no one in particular at my house lately.  And if you don't know the reference then you haven't seen the trailer for Matthew McConaughey's new movie, Magic Mike.  Can I just say I'm grateful he's finally decided to embrace his sex symbol status and run with it in a role as a male stripper. 

Photo Courtesy of:  I don't know.  I got distracted.

Sweet mother of Mabel, I may actually go to the movies for this one instead of waiting for it to hit HBO.  God is good.  All the time.

Favorite Flicks

I was reading the new movie section of the Pioneer Woman’s website the other day, and from a marketing aspect I find that a bit of an odd addition to her site. But she didn’t ask my opinion before she did that, now did she? Imagine that. Anyway, I did find it interesting to read her post about movies that always make her drop what she’s doing and watch them. It made me stop and think about the movies that grab my attention each and every time they float across my television, and even though my movie viewing time could probably fit into a thimble these days, there are some flicks for which I will let dinner burn. Or stay up way past my regular bedtime. Or eat into my valiant efforts at keeping up with the laundry. I thought it would be fun to share them. It was either that or rant about the sorry state of the U.S. government right now, and I figure we all have enough rant in our lives, so movies it is!


In reviewing this list, I realized two things: First, they’re all total chick flicks. Secondly, with maybe one or two exceptions, Hubby could probably predict every one of these. Of course, I could list his too, but all I’d have to do is write down everything starring John Wayne, putting the ones with Maureen O’Hara at the top. I have many favorite movies, many of them shot before 1970, but these are the ones I can never pass up. Here we go folks. Feel free to share yours. I’m starting at the bottom and working my way up.

8. Forrest Gump-I just love this movie. I love how Forrest never gives up on his love for Jenny and how he finally gets his girl. The screenplay is just fantastic, and who can’t recite at least ten lines from this movie? Also, I want to live in that big white Alabama house with the wraparound porch. Minus the humidity. I always tear up when Jenny dies, and I actually drop the tears in the exact same place every time, “I miss you, Jenny”. Me and Forrest Gump? We go together like peas and carrots.

7. Gone With the Wind-I guess because I was raised on this movie. Mama was a fan, and I remember going to the movie to see it in the 70’s when it was trotted out to theaters again, and there was a fifteen minute intermission between two hour sets. As an adult, the racial stereotypes make me cringe, and I know that it contains a lot of historical inaccuracies, but gosh darn it, I still love that movie. Scarlett O’Hara was a headstrong and independent businesswoman before it was cool, and I always wanted a prom dress like that red velvet number Rhett makes her wear to Ashley’s birthday party. Truth be told, I’d put on that dress today if I had a place to wear it.

6. To Catch a Thief-Two words: Cary Grant. I still think he’s the epitome of sexy. He was funny, handsome and sharply dressed. The only person who comes close to that these days is George Clooney, and he’s no Carey Grant. I’ll watch anything with Carey Grant. I’m a big Grace Kelly fan, too.

5. Rear Window-I love, love, love Jimmy Stewart and I always wanted to be Grace Kelly. Cool, sophisticated and stylish, she was the glamour queen I wanted to be. That black and white number with the wide brimmed hat she wears in that movie? Fantastic. And the sexy chit chat between her and Jimmy is just great. I’m a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan, so I get excited any time one of his movies is on, especially this one.

4. The Rocky Horror Picture Show-Don’t laugh. It is a part of my past, and I guess it will be in my heart forever. It’s campy and goofy and really just a bad movie, but I was in college when this was big, and I used to attend showings of it in full costume. My very gay friend, G., made the perfect Frankenfurter, my buddy V. was Columbia, and I played Magenta. Keep in mind I had a long curly perm back then. We trotted around to different theaters, throwing toilet paper, dancing the Time Warp and having an all around good time. In fact, one time we ended up in the middle of a riot. Remind me to tell you about that some day. G. has been dead for many years now, a victim of AIDS, and watching this movie brings back great memories of those good times. I know the soundtrack by heart and play it often in the car. Call this one guilty pleasure #67, but I think it’s more about the memories than the movie.

3. Bridges of Madison County-I don’t know why, but I am a sucker for this movie every time. I think it’s because it explores that issue of women losing themselves in their families and what happens in their heart when they give up their dreams to nurture their kids and husbands. Whether they admit it or not, I think all women struggle with this (the dreams part, not the adultery) at least a little, and this movie presents it in a very down to earth way. Never mind that I adore Meryl Streep. This one makes me cry, too when she sees Clint Eastwood in town and watches him drive away. Sniff. I get misty just thinking about it.

2. Fried Green Tomatoes-What is not to love about this movie? I’m a sucker with a flick about strong southern woman, and this could probably tie for the #1 slot on this list. I will watch it EVERY single time it comes on. Fannie Flagg is one of my favorite authors, and while this isn’t my favorite book of hers, it IS one of the movies I can’t resist. The casting is wonderful, and I adore Jessica Tandy. I cry when Buddy gets hit by the train, I cringe when Ruth gets knocked down the steps, I cheer when Idgie is acquitted and I cry when Ruth dies. And I’m not even worried about spoiling it for you because I know you’ve seen it, too.

1. Steel Magnolias-No surprise here. Again, chick flick about strong southern women. I have lost count of how many times I’ve seen it, but it’s got to be dozens. Hubby likes it too, although he has to leave the room when Shelby dies. I think that’s because he doesn’t want me to see him tear up. I, however, just roll right with it and have a big old sob fest every time. As Truvy says, laughter through tears is my favorite emotion, and this one makes me laugh and cry, laugh and cry. One day, when Teen Angel is raised and things have slowed down, I’m going to return to community theater, and I’d love to be in a production of this. I want to play Truvey. I’d better hurry though or else I’m gonna be so old I’ll have to play Ouser.

PS-I just realized I forgot to add Driving Miss Daisy to this list. Sister mercy, is every movie I watch about people dying in the south?

Guilty Pleasures

Somehow I’ve managed to avoid getting hooked on any of the “Housewives of” series on the Bravo network. I know just enough about them to be appalled that Snookie and the gang were recently allowed to ring the bell at the Stock Market Exchange and that the Housewives of DC stirred up controversy before the season even started, thanks to White House gate crasher Michaele Salahi’s participation on the show. I was amused at the story the other day about Michaele’s little faux smackdown with Whoopi Goldberg on The View. What was girlfriend thinking, picking a fight with Whoopi? Whoopi is old school. She’ll whoop your arse first and ask questions later. She’s got street cred, and you don’t go messin’ around with someone who had to fight her way out of poverty. Duh.

Anyhoo, the series is likely to garner plenty of watchers since it’s like a romp through a Jackie Collins’ book, and who doesn’t enjoy that kind of trashy entertainment every now and then? I’m just basing that on the fact that those books are always checked out at my local library. So I’m told.

While I’ll admit to being curious about this season because of the DC setting, I refuse to get lured into that hot mess. I’m not judgin’ those who do though. We all have our little guilty pleasures. Oh, we can cite a long list of literary icons as our favorite authors or gloat about our contributions to public television, but the fact is we all have some skeletons in our entertainment closets. In the interest of keepin’ it real, I thought I’d share a few of mine with you. And if you ask me about these in public, I’ll swear I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.

1. Lady Gaga-I LOVE Lady Gaga. She’s outrageous. She’s bold, and she knows how to make a radio hit. The Cher’s and Cyndi Lauper’s paved the way for her, but she’s taken fashion and pop to a level that makes Madonna seem a little tame. We used to think Madonna’s silk cone bra was outrageous until Lady G. set her boobs on fire. And then her hoo hoo. I tried and tried to get me and Teen Angel tickets to her St. Louis concert this summer, but I got started too late and could never score any. I was bummed ‘cause what a spectacle that would have been. And it was on my birthday weekend. I may be 46 years old (forget I just gave you that number), but I love her music and her drama.

2. ABBA-Hubby bought the Best of ABBA CD at Wal-Mart recently, and when I saw it in his hands, I fell in love with him all over again. Seriously, our eyes locked and we had this, “You mean, you like them, too?” moment that was as good as renewing our wedding vows. All these years, we never knew how much we each loved the singing Swedes. We stuck the CD in the player as soon as we got into the van, and sang Dancin’ Queen together at the top of our lungs. Well, I sang at the top of my lungs. He hummed. He loves Fernando, hates to watch organized sports on TV and knows how to pick a diamond. God, I’m a lucky woman.

3. Dr. Drew’s Celebrity Rehab-I’m addicted to Celebrity Rehab. Pun intended. It’s like driving past a bad car wreck. You don’t want to look, but you can’t help looking. Maybe it’s because I’ve dealt with addiction in a loved one and been there for the interventions, the rehab, the relapse and all of the hurt and craziness that goes with it. I just love watching that show. (And A & E’s Intervention, which I think is very well produced for a reality show.)

I never missed an episode of Season 3 of Celebrity Rehab. I folded many a towel and pair of drawers on Saturday morning while watching that show. I cried with Mackenzie Phillips when she had to put her dog to sleep, and I followed all of the celebs into the next season’s Sober House. I laughed at their fights and shook my head at Heidi Fleiss every weekend. I just love Dr. Drew and find it ironic that they announced the cast of Season 4 on my birthday. I can’t wait to see if he finally gets Leif Garrett straight. Bonus Skeleton Reveal: I think Dr. Drew is a little hot in a weird, clinical kind of way. I know, I know.

4. Saturday Night Fever-“Watch the hair!” I love it when Tony says that. It’s a goofy, dated movie but it came along as I came of age, and it brings back fond memories of satin pants, Candy’s shoes and Bee Gees’s music. Sigh, I miss the 70’s.

5. Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory-I know the songs. I know the lines. And I will watch the entire dadgum thing when I happen across it while flipping the remote. And now that I’ve typed this I’ll be playing the Oompa Loompa song in my head for the rest of the night. Do not laugh, ‘cause I know you’re singin’ it now, too. You can’t help yourself.

6. The Rocky Horror Picture Show-I know the songs. I know the lines. I can do the Time warp. I have the extended version of the Time Warp and the rest of the soundtrack on my iPod, and we shall not talk about how high those songs rank on my playlists. This movie was huge when I was in college, and I dressed up and performed the part of Magenta many times in various cities when I was younger. It always brings back memories of a good friend of mine who played the part of Frank-n-furter to the hilt. A group of rednecks beat him up one night behind the theater because he was gay and wearing fishnet stockings, and it was my introduction to homophobia. I’ve never forgotten that. He died of AIDS at the height of the epidemic, and I often think of him when I watch that movie. Always with a smile though. Somewhere out there are some pictures of me, him and our friend V. in full costume, puttin’ our hands on our hips and knees in tight. And I’m thankful we never had Facebook back then ‘cause any hopes of a successful senate confirmation hearing for me would be doomed by those pictures alone.

Speaking of senate confirmation hearings, I’ll bet Elana Kagan knows who Michaele Salahi and the other Housewives of DC are. She may not admit it, but I’ll bet she does.

Don't Tell Mama I Said This But....

Every time I look at this picture of her and Special Delivery

I think of this scene from Forrest Gump:And then I walk around all day trying to work into conversation, "We wus like peas and carrots."

Stayin' Alive

I have a confession. I never watch the news in the morning any more. I guess after spending seventeen years immersed in news and watching it all day, every day, I got burned out. Also, I’m pretty frustrated with the way TV news has deteriorated in recent years. I still turn on the TV when I’m getting ready each morning, but I usually pick one of three options: something historical on Biography or the History Channel (lawsie, my knowledge of the civil war and Doris Day has greatly expanded because of those channels), music videos or an old movie. This morning it was an old movie and great balls of fire, guess what was on! Saturday Night Fever. So deliciously bad. It made me want to reach for the blue eye shadow and my hot rollers. Thirty seconds of the BeeGee’s Stayin’ Alive had me drifting back to 1977. I was in 8th grade and too young to see an R rated movie, and mama wouldn’t take me for which I cursed her behind her back. I lived vicariously through a friend of mine who talked her mother into taking her, and she shared all the smutty details with me over the phone the very next day. We reveled in the music and by the time we reached high school disco fever was still hanging on. Yes friends, I managed to get in on the tail end of satin pants and the Hustle. I wish I had a picture to share with you of the ivory satin pants, satin shirt, satin baseball cap AND satin purse I wore to a freshman dance. I was so shiny you needed sunglasses to stand next to me. The pants were so slick I couldn’t stay in a chair. They were my favorite pieces of clothing that year next to my Candies shoes and green cowl neck sweater.

Saturday Night Fever reminds me of doing the Bump and the Hustle and the Ladies Night Slide. Good times. And in honor of that, I thought we’d do a little quiz. Come on. I know most of you are old enough to remember this movie, so let’s see who can answer all of these correctly. The winner gets the title of Disco Queen (or King).

My second confession? I DVR’d the movie this morning. Third confession-I have the best of the Bee Gee’s on my iPod-and I like it-a lot.

1. What item does Tony want to buy with an advance on his paycheck from the hardware store? Shirt
2. Who is the actress who appears as the woman Tony gets paint for in the opening scene? his mom, Helen Travolta
3. What movie poster is on the wall of Tony’s bedroom? Rocky
4. What was the name of the sequel to Saturday Night Fever? Stayin' Alive
5. Which actor wrote and directed the sequel? Sylvester Stallone
6. What is the name of the club Tony and his buddies dance in every weekend? 2001 Odessey
7. What famous “nanny” made her movie debut in the film? Fran Drescher
8. What’s the name of Tony’s friend who dies in the end? Bobby C.

*Image courtesy of allposters.com

Toe Shoes & Water Wings

Last Thursday I went to the ballet, dahling. I love that I can say that. I may live in rural Kentucky, but our city is loaded with the arts. A few years ago, some very forward thinking folks got together, raised a ton of money and built a fabulous performing arts center in our city. We have one of the most beautiful performing arts centers in the United States, and at any given time of the year I can drive fifteen minutes from my house and see a touring Broadway show, a ballet or a great concert, which is pretty incredible given the fact that the population of our city is 30,000 people. We don’t always know when to clap or what to wear, but we have taken to the arts like a duck on a June bug. Last week Mrs. Scrubs and I saw the New York Theater Ballet for just $11 each. Giddy up. How could we pass on that? It was their interpretation of Sleeping Beauty, so the audience was full of children, squirmy excited children in awe of their surroundings.

There were several hundred little aspiring ballerinas dressed in tutus, leotards and toe shoes asking questions too loudly and giggling at each other. Mostly, they were glued to the action on the stage. It was another one of those times when I wished I’d had my camera. I would have certainly snapped a picture of the little girl sitting on her daddy’s lap peering over the first balcony to the stage below. And the little girl in the center of the first row who stood on tip toe the whole time with her nose pressed above the edge of the stage. I don’t think she ever moved. For $11 we got a show and the show within the show. As we left, a little girl in front of us pranced across the parking lot imitating the dance moves she had just seen. Mrs. Scrubs and I giggled at her ambition. It whisked me back to my childhood and memories of the dreams inspired by dancers and celebrities.

I didn’t dream much about being a ballerina. Oh, I was always fascinated by toe shoes, and I remember sticking tacks in the bottom of an old pair of Mary Janes and jumping around on the sidewalk at grandma’s trying to create some makeshift tap shoes. My dancing moves were inspired by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I loved those dance scenes in the old movies. I even remember doing my own version of Singin’ in the Rain with an umbrella, but those were just fun and games. What I really wanted to be, WHO I wanted to be, more than anything in the great big whole wide world was Esther Williams. I wanted to be the Million Dollar Mermaid. The Bathing Beauty who starred in those big, showy Busby Berkley water ballet movies and swam in a flaming pool.The one who slid down a huge water slide while standing up or dropped from dangerous heights into a ring of bobbing beauties. As a kid, I stayed up late many a night watching her old movies. For me, she had it all. She was beautiful. And athletic. And she got to swim all of the time. My swimming time was limited. When you grow up in the sticks, you don’t get much time in the city pool. Our city pool was less than a block away from my grandma’s house, and in the summer I spent plenty of time standing at the fence watching the swimming, but we were rarely there long enough for me to jump in. I think maybe that’s why I was so fascinated with Esther and her movies. We always want what we can’t or don’t have, and Esther had a big fancy pool at her disposal all of the time. She had great swimsuits. Cute swim caps. (Yes, I’m old enough to have had one of those.) And she always got the man. By the way, she always got the man in real life, too. I read her autobiography a few years ago, and she had quite the love life. She was one hot mama.

Yep. You could keep your toe shoes, I wanted the fancy swimsuit. I wanted to be a mermaid. And ya’ wanna know a secret? I spend a fair amount of time scouring TMC, AMC and all of those other old movie channels for her movies now. It’s one of the few things that will keep me up past 11pm anymore. Well, that and eating popcorn too close to bedtime. But that’s another post.

*Images courtesy of DVDTalk.com and HollywoodBlog.com

Crazy Eights

Well, I was chasing lightning bugs, but everyone else was playing tag, including Jan who slipped up behind me when I wasn’t expecting it and hit me with this meme. It’s just as well. I didn’t have a good idea for a post today so I'm happily playing along:

8 THINGS I'M PASSIONATE ABOUT

1. Freedom of speech
2. My family
3. Fitness
4. Books and reading (and putting books in the hands of children who can’t afford them)
5. Writing
6. Lifelong learning
7. Raising Teen Angel to be independent, confident and sure that she doesn’t have to rely on a man for her emotional or financial well being.
8. Music. I love all kinds of music and rarely go anywhere without my iPod or a radio.

8 THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE (just 8?)

1. See the Eiffel Tower
2. Lie on the floor of the Sistine Chapel and look at the ceiling
3. Own a convertible
4. Write a book
5. Run a marathon and finish
6. Own an English bulldog
7. Visit the small railroad town we lived in when I was very young and see our old home and hangouts.
8. Own a small home in the Caribbean

8 THINGS I SAY OFTEN

1. "Puddin"-It’s a substitution for any and all swear words that usually come to mind first
2. “This is NOT a democracy.”-Usually reserved for Teen Angel, although I have used it on at least two argumentative employees in the past.
3. “You know I hate a whiner.”-Again, usually used on Teen Angel when she’s playing the pity card.
4. “Hateful!”-Hubby and I use this with each other when one of us has slipped into a tone of voice that is not nice or respectful.
5. “Sucks to be you.”-I jokingly use this only on friends when they have to do something that is not fun.
6. “It is what it is.”-Used frequently on the rest of my family who tends to worry excessively about everything and tries to suck me into their fretting frenzy. I refuse to worry about things I cannot change. It doesn’t always work with these people.
7. “Don't have sex. Don't have sex. Don't have sex."-I like to throw that out to Teen Angel in random conversation, kind of like those subliminal messages slipped into advertising.
8. “Bless her heart”-that old southern phrase that is intended to soften the blow of the derogatory comment that is about to follow. For example: “Bless her heart. She’s really put on the weight.” There really isn’t any blessing behind it.

8 BOOKS I'VE READ LATELY: Heavens to Betsy (who is this Betsy, anyway?) I read so much I have trouble remembering what I’ve read. I always have a book handy. Here are a few I’ve read in recent months.

1. The Doctor’s Wife by Elizabeth Brundage-Excellent page turner.
2. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Very interesting but disappointing ending.
3. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gains-Love the plot and the prose.
4. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. Couldn’t put it down.
5. Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs-Fascinating but slightly repulsive at times.
6. Icy Sparks by Gwen Hyman-excellent read.
7. White Oleander by Janet Fitch-another great book. Heavy topic.
8. It Ain’t All About the Cookin’ by Paula Deen-Honest and colorful autobiography.

8 MOVIES I'VE WATCHED EIGHT OR MORE TIMES

1. Steel Magnolias-Maybe my all time favorite.
2. Fried Green Tomatoes-Maybe my all time favorite.
3. Terms of Endearment-When I need a good cry.
4. A Trip to Bountiful-When I need another good cry.
5. All the President’s Men-Helped to inspire my interest in journalism a very long time ago. That and Jessica Savitch.
6. The Shawshank Redemption-Love the part where he plays opera over the sound system.
7. Animal House-When I was in college I got a bid to be a little sister for the animal house fraternity on campus. I passed but was flattered in a weird way.
8. The Rocky Horror Picture Show-In my younger days I spent a fair amount of time traveling around the Midwest in my RH costume dancing and throwing toilet paper in theaters. I portrayed Magenta with voyeuristic intention.

And now for the hard part, tagging 8 other people for this. I’m not good at tagging, so I’ll throw out some names and if you want to play along, okay. If not, I’ll understand. Okay, I’m closing my eyes, turning around and picking……

1. Cruise Mom
2. Amy
3. Heather
4. Pamela
5. Oreneta
6. Faye
7. ChrisB
8. Molly