martha's blunders

today begins the first installment of 'martha's blunders' and was inspired by martha's question to emmy rossum. emmy was explaining that she is studying french in college and that she knows enough for the essentials in france: shopping and ordering food. and martha says.... 'what about making love?' wow. that was uncomfortable. emmy said: isn't this a daytime show?

tasting

Last night, Ryan and I went for our first tasting for the wedding! Wow - it was delectable but so rich that I was up for part of the night with a stomachache. Is that a bad sign? I think it was just a visit from the anti-dairy fairy after having the pumpkin ravioli in cream sauce ....wow.... Are you guys looking forward to it?

back attack

On Thursday, at the gym, I worked out on the elliptical machine which indicated that I had "run" for a mile and a half so I felt happy with myself. On Friday, I decided that I should kick that "running" into high-geer by actually running so Ryan and I went for a run. I felt awesome until Saturday when my back started hurting to the point that on Saturday night I was unable to lift myself out of a chair. I am only starting to regain my mobility this evening!

You Were Never Lovelier

Today I watched one of my favorite types of movies... a Fred Astaire movie! I saw "You Were Never Lovelier." It was great - Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth - how could anything be lovelier?

Crimes and Misdemeanors

This is a good one too.

My Movie Journey

Rope and King Creole

Too many movies. I really shouldn't be recording these ahead of time because then I watch them.

Rope is a Hitchcock movie about two thinly veiled (at best) gay guys who choke a friend to death and then throw a party over the trunk they placed him in. It is known for an early example of homosexual characters in film and also for very few film cuts.

King Creole is an Elvis movie with Dolores Hart as his co-star. It is pretty good. An interesting fact is that Dolores Hart is a nun now in Connecticut.

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Today the movie is "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (1941). Pretty Good.

Good Weekend!

We had a great weekend! We drove out to Tinton Falls to buy a little retro 70's mid century modern type dresser from someone who posted on craigslist - for 20 bucks! Saturday we went apple picking with my sister and her fiance and then I made an awesome veggie stew w/ dumplings. Sunday we went to start registering.

Watched the Whole Thing!

Wow - that was a weird movie. Marilyn Monroe plays a woman who definitely has some psychological problems who is deeply haunted by the memory of her sweetheart who was killed in war. Her uncle, who operates the elevator of a hotel, refers her as a babysitter for the evening. She meets a man who has been hardened for unexplained reasons and has had a falling out with his woman just that evening. Marilyn Monroe's character invites this man into the hotel room and begins to mistake this man for her dead sweetheart, Phillip. She gets so obsessed with him that she thinks that the child she is babysitting is trying to get in between her and "Phillip" so she gags and binds the child in the adjacent bedroom. She also bashes her uncle over the head with a brass umbrella stand.... and then she gets carted off and the man finds love with his woman. Just so you know, the child is fine.

Don't Bother to Knock

I keep trying to watching this movie but... it is kind of uncomfortable and creepy so I just watch it in 5 minute increments. It is going to take me just as long to watch the movie as it would take me to read the book... if there was one.

Other than that, I might drive out to Tinton Falls to buy a little 3-drawer telephone table. That's an hour. I'm very torn because I want to buy already existing furniture because it is better for the environment (and I prefer it) but when I drive an hour to buy it that kind of defeats the purpose.

Speaking of things good for the environment, I tried to use a homemade house cleaner I made out of white vinegar, water, and essential oil (tea tree oil) but it STINKS. I smells like I'm making an old moldy salad. And then I had the bright idea (because I didn't have any other essential oils) to put cloves in it to spice up the smell. Unfortunately, I only had the powder for so it jammed up the spray bottle. I had to abandon ship after that and I just picked up my "Method" cleaner instead. I think I might need more essential oils to mask that vinegar smell... pee-yew!

Flippin' Bavarian Preztels!

I ate pretzels over my keyboard and now the R key is jammy...

More Movies

I don't know if you have noticed but I've been watching old(er) movies. Probably the biggest fascination for me is the way the world looked then. Not only the buildings but also the design. Like in Beauty and the Beast yesterday, it was supposed to be a timeless fairy tale but the interior design was 60's meets the Dark Ages. Actually, I was reading that the director was Edward Cahn who directed all these cool b-movies like "Invasion of the Saucer Men" and "Creature with the Atom Brain." Awesome! I wish AMC would show those... maybe for Halloween.

I just watched "The Only Game in Town" with Liz Taylor and Warren Beatty from 1970. I found it really sweet but there was a little too much gambling in it -- a lot of close up on the dice. Most of the movie was set in the apartment which had a lot of funky mid-century modern furniture that she so didn't care about that she was putting her high heals on the ottoman.

Next I'm watching "Don't Bother to Knock" with Marilyn Monroe. That was filmed in 1952. Update to follow.

Does anyone know if Netflix or something like that has old movies? I think they have a few but I'm looking for a huge almost unlimited selection.

Bad Freakin' News!

So it turns out that the church is not available on 10/27/07. We either have to find another church, another ceremony location, or another date!

Beauty and the Beast

I saw Beauty and the Beast from 1963. It was very... 60's... and I kind of liked it but it was definitely funny how Mark Damon couldn't speak very well because of all the beast-make-up...

obsessed with my dog

I'm obsessed with my dog, Franklin. I spend almost every moment of the day with him and I dread plans that do not include him. He is such a great buddy. We are great friends.

What I Do With My Time

I'm writing this book about procurement law and I don't know anything about it.

I'm also watching some movies on television -- like Silver Streak with Gene Wilder.

Do you like the new colors on the blog template? I made some changes.

The Bachelor

that sucks that he didn't keep sarah. really sucks. and he should never have picked erica. it is clear that she is a moron.

The Ryan Dinner Review

It appears, based on his subtle hints of inflection, that Ryan did not prefer the quinoa dinner. I think it might be because I did not have roasted pepper on hand so I just put some different types of squash in the dish instead. Squash just doesn't add that toasty flavor you might need. As for the creamy tofu pesto, he loved it. He wants to put it everything from fish to salad. He's taking the leftover for lunch tomorrow! Personally, I really think it needs to have the pine nuts that the recipe calls for and I think that some chopped scallions would be good on top.

Other than that, we met with a monsignor today and talked about the wedding. He was so nice and we're going to go to church at his parish on Sunday.

Awesome Dinner

Tonight I made quinoa with shitake mushrooms and 2 types of squash and a salad with organic carrots! It was delicious! Tomorrow night we're going to have creamy silken tofu pesto with (probably) jasmine rice!

Wedding Plans

It is looking likely that the wedding date is 10/27/07! That's a nice date right?

Bachelor Results - Episode 1

Hmmm... there were definitely some of the ladies there that might have been good for him... I really liked Rosella...

WOAH - but the other episodes look GrEAT!

update!!!!

lisa is very drunk and she should have stayed sober!

A Note

Things here are going fine. We're putting together the house and making a lot of changes. We're going to be putting down wood floors (mahogany on the first floor and bamboo on the second) and completely gutting the kitchen (cherry cabinets and slate floors). But we've also been enjoying ourselves and sitting cozily by the fire. And I've been cooking some awesome meals and have been watching a great cooking show called Christina Cooks!. I am thinking about trying out quinoa.

Right now I am watching the Bachelor! YAY! I love this show! But oh gosh the first few weeks are very uncomfortable. So far I would narrow it down to Claudia, Sadie, Lisa, Meri, Rosella, and Sarah. I might have chosen some of them because those are pretty names... Speaking of names... here is a preview in the crazy-planning that is Mary... here are the female names selected for if I have a daughter:

alice
amelia
camille
eve
fern
frances
gina
gloria
grace
hazel
jane
joanna
judy / judith
martha
olive
sarah
ramona
rosanna
rose
ruth
sadie
sylvia

I've been working on the book and working out. And I've been enjoying the heck out of my sweet dog, Franklin.