I’d like to thank The Academy...

...for an evening of great entertainment. I did not know Hugh Jackman can sing, but he did a great job, very entertaining. Hugh was looking good too, sorry Matthew McConoughey my love. I'm telling you when I win a bunch of money I think I'll take a trip over to Australia and look for a date. All of these Australians are amazing!
I can’t say there were many incredible dresses this year; I wonder if we were toning down because of the economy? Of all the dresses of the night, Halle Berry had the number one dress of the night. Penelope Cruz had the second best dress of the night; it was a sixty-year-old antique dress. I think it would have been an incredible wedding dress actually. Now Reese Witherspoon (love her) was her dress on backwards? Just kidding the dress was gorgeous, except for those black sash strap things, what were they all about? Love to the Queen but what the hell did she have on, it was too much, too much fabric, too much royal blue, too many ruffles, just way too much. Alicia Keyes, who I love to listen to, looked amazing too, as did Angelina Jolie. Her earings were incredible, were they real emeralds? Gorgeous.

All fashion aside, okay almost, what in the hell happened to Mickey Rourke? He was so hot back in the day. I had to Google it and he had plastic surgery. Well, I just hope he sued. For real. And then that white tux with the black cowboy boots and the shades, really, as if enough attention wasn’t going to be on him for his nomination. Because if that look was supposed to be cool, well excuse the rest of us we are just not striving to be that cool.


Before and After



Okay most memorable moments, I had two. The first was when the screenplay writer of Milk was giving his acceptance speech and spoke to the gay children who have been told they were not as good (I can’t remember his exact words) but that they were important. It was important what he said, teenagers who know they are gay have such a hard time if someone doesn’t let them know they are okay and needed just the way they are. That was my favorite moment. The second memorable moment for me was when the singer/songwriter from Slumdog Millionaire was giving one of his acceptance speeches and he said that all of his life he had a choice between hate and love and he chose love and here he was. “Nuff said, right! Love on!

Oh I can’t talk about memorable moments without mentioning Heath Ledger’s family, that was so heartbreaking. I loved Heath Ledger, especially in Brokeback Mountain, what an incredible actor he was. His family was so poised and demonstrated to us all grace in loss and celebration.

Did you see the man balance the Oscar on his chin? What was that all about? That was a little ridiculous, I think, but completely normal compared to Ben Stiller’s performance. Ben, seriously, what the hell were you doing, just present the darned award because you were not funny. Not funny! Natalie Portman though looked gorgeous. I love her so much, did you see her in the Wal-Mart baby movie; she was so good in that. That is my secret cheesiest favorite movie of all time! Anyway, I felt bad she had to present an award with Ben Stiller, but she gets kudos for the funniest joke of the night. She told him he looked like he worked in a Hasidic Meth lab. Ha Ha Ha. I’m still laughing when I think of it! Great awards this year! I like everyone else, loved that the old winners presented the new people with their nominations, which was well done. My kid and I enjoyed watching although she fell asleep early, it was a great TV night.

My Email from the our kick ass Pres. Thought you'd like to read!!

Rachel --

Today, I signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law.

This is a historic step -- the first of many as we work together to climb out of this crisis -- and I want to thank you for your resolve and your support.

You organized thousands of house meetings. You shared your ideas and personal stories. And you informed your friends and neighbors about the need for immediate action. You continue to be a powerful voice for change throughout the country.

The recovery plan will create or save 3.5 million jobs, provide tax cuts for working and middle-class families, and invest in health care and clean energy.

It's a bold plan to address a huge problem, and it will require my vigilance and yours to make sure it's done right.

I've assigned a team of managers to oversee the implementation of the recovery act. We are committed to making sure no dollar is wasted. But accountability begins with you.

That's why my administration has created Recovery.gov, a new website where citizens can track every dollar spent and every job created. We'll invite you and your neighbors to weigh in with comments and questions.

Our progress will also be measured by the tens of thousands of personal stories submitted by people who are struggling to make ends meet. If you haven't already, you can read stories from families all across the country:

http://my.barackobama.com/yourstories

Your stories are the heart of this recovery plan, and that's what I'll focus on every day as President.

With your continued support, we'll emerge a stronger and more prosperous nation.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

Wow

Do you know what I just realized?
Yes, I am kinda slow sometimes...

But - The President of the United States spoke at my college graduation!!!

Um, Yes I do rock that much!


So do all of you. Happy VD Day!

Do something unexpected and kind for someone else this week, hey you never know...

Tear Jerker

I recommend to girls Nights in Rodanthe. It was such a tear jerker. It made me think about love, maybe someday, someway I'll meet someone again, no matter how long it lasts. Maybe, scary...

War of the Water Purifiers

Well, the war of the water purifiers is over and we have a clear winner! The Britta faucet mount water filter is on the faucet and the Pur water filter is in the dump.

Since the first day we put the Pur water filter on the sink it would pour water out the little tiny oval shaped window on the front. The Pur website stated that you should seal it with silicone. Funny they knew that and kept selling them unsealed. Why didn’t they seal the little window with silicone at the factory? The refills for the Pur are 19 dollars each and the refills for the Britta are 27 dollars for two. It’s not much, but it’s less. They both cost the same amount to begin with about 20 dollars. I was ready to throw out the Pur piece of junk and saw the Britta at Home Depot with a mail in rebate for $10. I will be mailing that out tomorrow. The only downfall of the Britta is that it drips a bit after you turn it off on the filtered setting, but it’s better than squirting out all over me.

Yay Britta, Nay Pur. And that is the news from the war of the water filters!

Good news

Oh excellent news, the website I have listed as very funny in the Links I Love section,

In the Motherhood

is going to be a television show starting in March. The website clips are hysterical, so I have to assume the show is going to be a riotous hit. Excellent.

The Chocolate Cake Story

We went to the Outback and they no longer have my favorite dessert, so the waitress told me to write an email because everyone was saying they were disappointed and maybe they'd bring the dessert back. So I did, feeling silly and writerly I wrote the following email:
"We went on down to our favorite restaurant, The Outback, as hungry as bears. We had the most delicious dinner imaginable and then were ready to satisfy our sweet tooth for dessert. I don't think you can imagine our dismay to find out our favorite item had been removed from the menu. NO CHOCOLATE TOWER! It was as if the whole experience was suddenly sour and the dinners we had didn't even taste good anymore. The chocolate tower is one of the best reasons for even going to The Outback, you save calories for days to go eat that. It is the best treat ever! Or at least it was. The Outback doesn't even sound exciting anymore knowing you can't top of your meal with the king of special chocolate treats. In the spirit of trying to be good Outback customers, after we whined and cried to the server (who shared our dismay), we order the new Peanut Nutter Butter Pie thing and the carrot cake. Well the carrot cake is good, it's no chocolate tower and is probably not worth the calories like the tower was, but the Nutter Butter Pie thing - yuck! Was the person who decided to replace the tower with that strangely textured unpallatable pie mad as us as customers? On a diet? Fighting with his or her spouse? Or perhaps got an expensive unwarranted speeding ticket on the way to work that day? Please don't punish us for your bad day. I beseech you to bring back the Chocolate Tower. Outback = Chocolate Tower - they just go together! Thank you for listening."

Well I got a response from my Outback restaurant. They are not putting it back on the menu, bummer. But, they shipped a CASE of this cake from North Carolina or someplace and it is in the freezer for me. They are so crazy! I can't tell them I just went on a diet. We actually went last weekend and had a piece. It is so insane and funny! I am now VIP at the Ouback, for cake anyway :) And seriously that pie really isn't good. I kind of feel like an ass now though... Hee Hee Hee