Miscellaneous Monday Musings

Not going to lie, we are on the cutting edge of pop culture and entertainment media over here. We know what's going to be cool before you've ever even heard of it. Don't feel bad, that's just how we roll.

OR NOT.

We are lame.

We only recently watched two of last year's most critically acclaimed films - The King's Speech and Black Swan. I am sure I don't have to tell you they are very different films.

I enjoyed them both, but The King's Speech was my favorite and deserving of its Oscar win for Best Picture. The acting was wonderful, and I felt like Geoffrey Rush stole the show as the quirky, witty speech tutor to Colin Firth's stuttering King. The historical aspects of the story were also interesting and provided an additional dimension to this remarkable story.

On the other hand, Black Swan was a psychological thriller and Natalie Portman's exceptional portrayal of a ballerina spiraling out of control earned her the Oscar for Best Actress. The film was intriguing and left me riveted as the story unfolded. The director's unique way of filming includes use of close-ups and follows the characters from behind and I find this adds heightened drama to the plot. I was somewhat disappointed by the ending of the film as I felt it just stopped.

What did you think of these films?

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Can anyone tell me if the proper way to say Realtor is Real-A-Tor or Real-Tor? It really annoys me because it seems like it should be pronounced the way it is spelled: "Real-Tor" but I hear people say it "Real-A-Tor" all the time.

Help a girl out!

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 In exciting personal news, I have a new niece. Miss Harper was born today and mother and baby and daddy and big brother are all fine! Sending much love to Virginia. Wish we were there!

America's Pastime

Best part about our seats? They were in the shade!

Last night, my husband's office hosted a night out at our local Triple A baseball park to watch the OKC Redhawks take on the Omaha Storm Chasers.

It was scorching hot as we arrived to enjoy a cookout before the game started. Although it was outside, we were able to eat in a shaded area. The food was less than good, but the company was excellent!

After eating and socializing, we headed to our seats. My husband had the good fortune to trade with a co-worker who was not able to go and we ended up with front row seats down the third baseline just behind third base.

Full disclosure, I am not a baseball fan at all. The games are boring and go by slowly, plus there is little scoring. But going to the ballpark makes it slightly more fun and sitting in the front row makes it even better. Also, we got to sit with some good friends so there was plenty of entertainment, regardless of how the game was actually going! All in all, it was a fun night and my highlight was catching a souvenir t-shirt thrown into the stands.

Road Trip Recap: What we ate

My trip to Chicago included the obligatory foods Chicago is famous for: deep dish pizza and hot dogs!

We were all excited to try deep dish pizza. The crust is thick and the cheese and toppings are on the bottom while the red sauce is on top. The result is very cheesy and delicious!

We decided our deep dish pizza research was not complete without a trip to Geno's East. Lucky for us, there was a Geno's East just next door to our digs at the Hotel Affinia.

Picture courtesy of my friend! Thanks, K!

Geno's East pizza was slightly different thanks to their unique "golden crust" that is reminiscent of cornbread but not as dry and crumbly as cornbread. I preferred the red sauce used by Geno's East, but I liked the crust of the first deep dish pizza we sampled better.

Portillo's Hot Dogs was another stop on our eating tour of Chicago. I ordered the chili cheese dog and the hot dog "with everything" that included mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes, pickle, and peppers. Both were yummy and the poppy seed hot dog buns were a fun change.

Another important stop was at Sprinkles Cupcakes. We are not lucky enough to have one of these in OKC, and as a cupcake connoisseur, I had to try it out! It was the perfect snack. I heart cupcakes.

Mmmmmm. Lemon blueberry. I only wish I had bought a dozen few extra to bring back to OKC!

These were the big highlights. I did eat a little salad, a few vegetables, and there was definitely more than one trip to Starbucks.

Road Trip Recap: What we saw

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. June ended on a high note with a road trip to Chicago! My friend invited me to travel with her family to explore the Windy City while her husband attended a conference.

We had a fabulous time and the weather was a welcome break from the extreme Oklahoma heat.

Here's a quick recap in photos of where we went (all taken with my cell phone).

We toured the Field Museum of Natural History, home of Sue, the world's largest and most complete T-Rex:

We explored Navy Pier and the nearby beaches of Lake Michigan:

We did a lot of walking and sightseeing, including a special trip to the Harold Washington Public Library:

Check back tomorrow for a post about some of  the delicious food we sampled!

I Scream, You Scream

We All Scream for Ice Cream!!

Who doesn't love that cool, refreshing taste of creamy, dreamy ice cream on a hot June day in Okieland?

I have to say I honestly don't trust people who do not like ice cream. There MUST be something wrong with them mentally or emotionally or psychologically or nutritionally. One of those afflictions for sure!

There are a lot of different flavors that I like - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Cake Batter, Banana Split, Strawberry, Butter Pecan, just to name a handful.

Also, I don't discriminate against brands, give me Braum's or Blue Bell or Baskin-Robbins or Marble Slab or Edy's or Haagen-Dazs, I will eat them all happily.

Just like you shouldn't have a favorite child, you shouldn't have a favorite ice cream brand. You should love them all equally.

But I do not. I have one ice cream brand that I love over all others.

Come closer, I'll tell you my favorite. . .

Can you guess?

Are you dying to know?

It's made by two men in my most favorite state in the Union - Ben & Jerry's!

In 2007, the hubby and I took a wonderful trip to Vermont and I dragged him to the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, VT. It was fabulous and a great stop on our trip!

I recently discovered a new Ben & Jerry's flavor that I absolutely LOVE - Red Velvet Cake. It features pieces of red velvet cake and red velvet cake batter ice cream with a cream cheese frosting swirl.

If you like red velvet, it is a must try! Now that summer is officially here, grab a scoop or two and enjoy!!

Miscellaneous Monday Musings

June has been a weird weather month so far. We have had record-breaking heat, severe storms, lots of wind, and last week's unexpected hail storm.

Today, the weather anchors have been salivating, warning that conditions were ripe for severe storms and urging us all to be "weather aware."

So far, we have had some rain and we even had a few minutes of small, pea-sized hail. I can't remember the last time it has hailed twice in less than one week! The bright side is that the storms are supposed to cool temperatures down for the rest of the week.

Can you tell I am a "glass half full" kind of girl?

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Summer television is pretty much a wasteland, but I have been able to find some entertainment anyway.

Matt Bomer (from White Collar)

ABC's The Bachelorette is usually guaranteed to be somewhat of a train wreck between the tears, the testosterone, and the "most dramatic" rose ceremony. This season is especially annoying with Ashley the dentist as one of the most bland Bachelorette's in recent memory.

USA's White Collar is back with a new season and it offers clever characters catching the bad guys in New York City. The show is a fun concept with the lead character being a (reformed?) con man who must help the FBI catch white collar criminals. Plus, the eye candy of Matt Bomer is an additional perk!

Finally, I am looking forward to Rookie Blue starting up again on ABC this week. It premiered last summer and was the surprise hit of the season. It is filmed in Canada and features rookie cops learning the ropes from seasoned partners. It is fun, flirty, and light - the perfect summer show!

What are you watching this summer?

Happy Father's Day!