Take A Chance On Me

I just finished watching Mamma Mia and now realize exactly why my mom loves it so. I think it has a lot less to do with the quality of the film as it does with the fact that in a parallel universe, this would probably have been her life. An old hippy, living in Greece, reuniting with her band mates. But that's another story...

I waited all movie to hear this song, and it finally came at the end, bringing with it lovely little memories of me playing my mom's ABBA record on her windup record player in the basement of our cabin. To tell you the truth, I thought this video was much more entertaining than the movie. Perhaps because Pierce Brosnan isn't singing in it. (Who was the casting director for this film, anyway? Just because he's easy on the eyes does not mean he's easy on the ears.) Enjoy!

PS: Who knew crimping was born before the 80's?!

Theme Song

B: Whenever we figure out where we'll go for your internship, we'll need to find a theme song. (He's referring to the fact that we had a theme song in coming out to Pasadena - California by Phantom Planet. Yes, the same song for the opening credits of The O.C., snicker all you want - the first season was awesome.)
R: Oooh! If it's Colorado, I've already got one in mind.
B: What?
R: It's a song by the Dixie Chicks.
B: Hmmm....I was thinking if it was Colorado, we'd use Elton John.
R: giving Ben a confused look, then rolling eyes as as she realizes what he means
R: Yeah. That would be John Denver, not Elton John.
B: looking sheepish, but only momentarily thrown off: Nah-ah! We'll drive in singing Benny and the Jets!
R: And you're surprised that I blog about our conversations. How can I resist when you give me this kind of material!?
B: There should be some kind of release involved with your blog!
R: There was. It's called marriage. And you said, "I do."

I think I've created a monster.

Instead of battling the crowds at Target for after-Christmas sales, Ben and I headed north to the Carmarillo outlets to battle crowds there so I could make the most of my Banana Republic gift card. I was smack dab in the middle of the second book of the Twilight series and really, REALLY wanted to read it in the car on the way. So, to get my way, I offered to read it aloud so Ben would not feel so lonely. He agreed, and between the trip up, the trip to Ventura to have lunch with my good friend, Natalie (which accidentally turned into a trip to Santa Barbara), and the trip back to Pasadena, we read about 250 pages. When we got home, there was only 80 pages left and he refused to let me read it to myself, so I continued narrating until we finished the book.

Today, as I was making my way through the third book of the series while soaking in the tub (don't you just LOVE reading in the tub? I do.), I heard my phone ring, but was too warm and comfy to get out. When I finally checked my messages, I realized the call had been from Ben, who was down in Huntington, playing ball with some friends. This is what his message said:

So, I was just thinking that Jacob has a bad rap. He's just in a no-win situation. And I've got a feeling that he's going to turn into a bad guy soon. Just wanted you to prepare yourself for that. Okay. See you soon. Bye.

He's totally sucked in. Pun intended. I'll give you three guesses as to what movie we're going to go see tonight. And the first two don't count.

From our house to yours...

Last Night:

Wait! Did you hear that?! I think it's him!

Nope. Just the cats. I'll keep waiting.
Man, this waiting makes me tired.

There it was again! Santa?!

Today:

Merry, merry Christmas and a blessed new year to you all.

A Christmas Miracle!

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you're probably well aware of the latest craze that has swept the nation: Twilight. A couple of people recommended it to me while I was home, so I thought I'd give the series a try. Okay. So maybe one of those persons happened to be my eleven-year-old cousin. BUT the other person was a very well read professional. Besides, since when am I above reading young adult fiction? I was a fan of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books long before the movies came out.

Anways, there I was, wishing I had a copy of the first book while I was unpacking from our trip and putting some other books away when, what to my wondering eyes would appear?! That's right! The first book of the series was sitting right there on my bookshelf! My first thought was, "Santa?" Followed by, "It's a Christmas miracle!"

Later I found out that one of Ben's work buddies had loaned it to him, thinking he would like it. I'm pretty sure his friend is smoking crack. Ben? Be interested in a vampire love story? But that's besides the point. Because, in the timeless words of Alabama, "Santa Clause, I still believe in you." And that's all that matters.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

...a beautiful day for a neighbor. Because if you happened to be mine yesterday, you got:

and:

and:

and:

presented in:

There were a few other goodies that weren't as photogenic, including a disaster batch of butterscotch fudge (Ben claims this is an oxymoron) that refused to become any consistency other than that which would require a spoon to ingest. The bad news is that the whole affair began with this:
And ended with this:
But all's well that ends well...especially when it doesn't include me doing dishes!

10 Years Ago...

...yesterday. Precious Moments' Fountain of Angels. Our first date. Outside, in December. He wore a fuzzy, soft sweater. Smart man.