Buh Bye Netflix

I have been a loving Netflix customer for well over 2 years now. The moment I saw that first tv ad claiming I would never have to drag my 4-year old into a movie rental store again captivated me, and seduced me. I did my 2 week free trial, and I was hooked. I even upgraded to the 4-movies at a time plan so I could ensure I always had something to watch.

Then something happened. I don't know what it was to this day. About 6 months ago I noticed that it was taking my movies FOREVER to get back and get processed in their system. I tried switching up to a different post box to see if it would help. I even started dropping them off at the City's main Post Office (it's on my way to work so no big deal) but it was still taking forever!! The wierd thing is, it wasn't taking any longer for me to get my movies than usual, just for me to return them. I started actually writing down on my little desk calendar what days I was posting them back, and figured out it was taking well over 6 business days for my movies to get processed.

I emailed Netflix to ask what was the deal. I was even anal about making sure the little barcode showed through the little window on the return envelope if that made a difference (which they never said either way) And they only emailed me back a form email ststing thanks for my customer feedback and that my input was important to them, yada yada... Whatever.

I talked to a friend of mine who I knew was a Netflix junkie like me, and she said she was having a similar priblem, but not to the same degree... hers were taking 4 business days, which is still too long if you ask me. 2-3 business days should be sufficient. When I started Netflix it always took 2 business days, like clockwork. Basically, the whole system was slowing up, and I was being left without my movie fix.

Two months ago I cancelled my Netflix subscription. I figured for what I was paying, I could get more movies just going to the video store and never have to worry about not having something to watch. So I started going back to the movie rental place. After being forced to rent works of art like My Little Pony's Princess Promenade, (which of course got played ad nauseum until it was returned) by a screaming little brat I could not believe was my child. I was losing it. I love my daughter, but get any child under the age of 10 in a video store and I'll bet good money someone will want to slap the spit out of them within 10 minutes.

So what to do? I had seen Blockbuster's ad for their Total Access service, but after my Netflix I was a little gunshy. However, after having to scoop my screaming child off the floor of the video store one Sunday afternoon and having to refrain from SCREAMING at her until I got her to the car at least, I became desperate. So I put a good helping of duck tape around Katie's wrists and ankles, and over her mouth and went to my neighborhood Blockbuster Store. Just kidding... I left her with Mike.

Anyhow, I went to Blockbuster's and got the skinny on this new service. Basically, you pick your plan. They send you your DVD's in the mail. You can either mail them back, or take them to your local Blockbuster Store and trade them for free movie rentals. The best part... once you have taken them into the store... the next business day they go ahead and ship your noxt movie. You don't have to wait until your movie makes it back to them!!

Well, as you all know, I will never go into a movie store again. But, when I had Netflix, I had to keep some movies for Mike in the queue or he would whine. Now, I keep all my movies in the queue, and after I have watched them, he can take them back to the store and get a movie he wants to watch. Or, because he has infinitely more patience with Katie in public places, he can take her to get a movie for her! And it gets her out of the house for a good half-hour of quiet time for me!!

Anyhow, my trial is up with Blockbuster, but the jury is back in and we likes. This weekend I had 6 movies in my house to choose from. I felt so spoiled. I even cancelled my movie channel subscriptions with my cable company, because since I have had Blockbuster's service, I have really not watched it at all. So it is actually saving me money at my house.

So if you get sick of having to wait for a movie, I heartily reccommend this service. It's definitely worth it.

LEE RD

If you look up an online road map of Lee County Alabama, you will notice something strange, depending on which map you look. In the case of most of the roads in this county, either the roads are all not labeled at all, or all they have are numbers on them. Why is this, you ask? It's because ALMOST ALL THE ROADS IN LEE COUNTY ARE NAMED LEE RD. I'm not exaggerating. They are all named Lee Rd, and a number after them (e.g. Lee Rd 251 and Lee Rd 75) And if that is not confusing enough, they are in no particular order. Lee Rd. 2 is nowhere Lee Rd. 3. A few of the smaller roads and cul-de-sacs have evaded this fate but for the most part just about every road in that corner of Alabama is named Lee Rd.

Driving around this place if you don't know your way is a nightmare. Most people that live in Lee County either call the road by a made-up name based on a Landmark located on the road (think the Piggly-Wiggly road, and such) or they just tell you to get off on Lee Rd. Talk about frustration. But in their defense, they don't do this on purpose. I have found life-long residents of Lee County that cannot tell you how to get places based on the road numbers/names. People live by landmarks in this place.

The bad thing about this is that they don't always use PERMANENT landmarks. They will tell you to turn after a tree, or a red shed, and I've even been told to turn just after you see a mattress laying on the left-hand side of the road. God forbid someone cuts down the tree, decides to paint the shed, or if the mattress is hauled off. This whole system is madness.

I constantly get slammed because I don't give the people of Alabama a whole lot of intellectual credit. But come on, doesn't this just make my point?

Ace of Cakes

I have discovered my new addiction. You all know that I am in love with decorating cakes. Well, Food Network has a show on called Ace of Cakes. I'm only pissed I haven't dicovered it sooner. It comes on every Thursday night at 10:30.

The concept of the show is based around a Bakery called Charm City Cakes. They make the most spectacular sculpted cakes, and this show takes you through the processes and the drama of getting these cakes made. I feel the show would benefit by being an hour long, rather than the 30 minutes it currently airs, but all in all I am now in LOVE with this show.

I already got a few good ideas, and the best part is you get to see their process. I have to say, that the 30 minutes of this show I watched last night captivated me more than the last 4 or 5 episodes of Top Chef Season 2 have combined.

So if you're a cake worshipper as I am, tune in to the Food Network Thursday nights at 10:30!

Another good movie

I know, I have been watching a lot of movies lately. But up until this point I have really not had time, and this past week I have been a trifle ill, so I have been spending my time napping and watching movie rentals. YAY.

Anyhow: I know I may be one of the last people in the world to see this movie, but I was busy when it came out, so bear with me:

The Devil Wears Prada

This movie really reminded me of the feel of the book Sushi for Beginners.
Meryl Streep was of course divine, and Anne Hathaway wasn't bad.

Please tell me though that I'm not the only one disappointed with the ending. Well, I suppose it makes a good enough movie ending, but was the girl crazy? I hate it for whoever, but given an opportunity like that I believe I would have been all over it.

The moral of the movie:
The Fashion Industry is cutthroat... REALLY!?! Tres Naiivetee if you ask me...
(I know it had another moral about learning something about who you are or some crap, but this is MY review, so I really don't care to touch that)

But the movie was fun to watch and when you have a fever you can't ask for more than that.

Now I'm off to watch The Sentinel right after I spray my keyboard down with Clorox.

A Good Woman

I watched this movie this past weekend and enjoyed it immensely. The cast is an utter dream. I'm not usually a Helen Hunt fan, but with all the other talent involved I knew this film could not miss, and to be frank, Ms. Hunt very pleasantly surprised me in this role.

The stars of the movie, however, had to be Scarlett Johansson, Stephen Campbell Moore, and Mark Umbers. Three beautiful and talented people.

The screenplay is based on Oscar Wilde's play Lady Windemere's Fan, which I also heartily encourage you to see acted out in live theater, if the opportunity ever presents itself.

The costumes and setting for this movie are sublime. Get ready to be transported to Italy at it's finest.

I heartily reccommend this movie. Four brilliant stars!!

Author Highlight




Helen Fielding



Author of the Bridget Jones books, as well as the column that inspired the books published in the Independent.

Many people claim that she has knocked the 30-something single woman back into a place where she is teased and made fun of. My opinion? If you think that then you didn't read the whole story.

In my opinion the book was a very intelligent and witty remix of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. The movie did not follow the book to the letter, but the essence of the book is definitely captured. In my opinion this author and all her works are definitely a stop to be made by all girls needing a giggle.

Congrats Harold!!

According to Wikipedia, Wedding bells are in Harold's near future!

"In January, 2007, NBC's The Insider, reported that Dieterle was newly engaged to Meredith Davies, age 25, from Atlanta, Georgia. The two met at the Aspen Food and Wine Classic in June, 2006, in which Dieterle's participation was part of his Top Chef prize package."

From Mrs. Barker to Mrs. Barbie

I don't know how many widely known this is (I freely admit I may be the only person who did NOT know this until recently) but Bob Mackie designed the costumes for the TV show Mama's Family, and won an Emmy for it. I knew of his work on the Carol Burnett show (who could forget the curtain dress?) but I had no clue he was responsible for Ma Barker's rectangular dresses. Just goes to show how far you can go, eh?

I just found it kinda funny the transformation that occured over the years...

My Christmas

I know it is over, but here are my pics from Christmas...

This was my Christmas tree. I think I redecorated it a few times. Next year I'm going with clear lights. Katie wanted the colored lights so I tried them, but I just don't like them myself.

On Christmas day we had presents from Ireland, Luxembourg, France and Germany coming in for Katie. The pile in front of the tree is for her. The ones in front of the tv are for the rest of us. We are aware that she is spoiled.

But isn't she just so cute about it?

My Painting

This isn't the best picture in the world because I have very low lighting in my living room, but this is the painting I recently finished. The greens are a richer kiwi-color than this shows, and the background goes from a very pale yellow to almost orange. Hope you guys like it! I'll post pics of the painting I'm doing for my mom when I get it finished.

I've been unusually busy lately, and my life has been unusually dramatic lately. I can handle drama (though I don't have a flair for it that even comes close to comparing to Austin Scarlett, but who does?) but I'm ready for stuff to settle back down.

First of all: I got the results of my biopsy. It was cancer, but it had not spread and they got it all off during the biopsy. I'll go back in for further tests, but we are all quietly confident that I dodged that particular bullet.

Secondly: My mother and I have fallen out AGAIN... no big news there. My mother and I are probably the worst matched mother-daughter pair ever. She doesn't value anything about me that I value in myself, and I admit I don't value the things in her that she values about herself. Consequently, we spend a lot of time offending each other and refusing to take each other's calls. My daughter worships the very ground she walks on however (and to be fair the feeling is mutual), and for her sake I'm sure we will reconcile for a minute or two.

Thirdly: My best friend (who is more like the sister I never had) is getting divorced. The kicker: she is 6 months pregnant. She is married to probably the most ignorant and arrogant man in the South, and let me tell you that takes talent. Amazingly enough, she is one of the most fabulous people I have ever met. I have no idea how they stayed married for 3 years other than she just saw something no one else did (I certainly didn't see it). Of course because I'm divorced and we happen to be best friends, it's all my fault, says he.

Fourthly: I finished the painting for my living room, and I'm going to go ahead and finish the painting I started for my mom back in September. I'll post pics when I get home.

Fifthly: I finally got all of the cake crumbs and icing dollops out of my kitchen from the INSANE number of cakes I made over the holidays. The bad thing is, Valentine's Day is just round the bend... again, more pics when I get home.

Sixthly: I have been sewing up a storm. My daughter demanded a pair of gauchos to wear because it is not cold here and she claims she gets hot in long pants. The thing is, all the stores are selling arctic gear. But it's in the 60's outside in the shade. So I had to pick up a pattern and I made her first pair yesterday. Took me only 3 hours. I may even be getting fast enough to be a Project Runway contestant. Now all I need are some fashion design skills to pair with my sewing skills. I'm also working on a quilt made out of her dresses from last year. I don't have enough closet space for old clothes so I just cut them up and quilt them into blankets or accessories.

Anyhow, I am starting to think I'm going to have to drop a hobby. I just have too many irons in the fire. But I can't help it. I'm a creative soul, and if I could make a living off my art and my cakes, I'd never work a job with set hours again. I have tried a lot of different avenues to try and profit from my hobbies, but I don't have enough focus on any one outlet to really hone it into a marketable skill.

I am a compulsive hobby freak. In the past 5 years I have been involved with

Dancing
Horseback Riding
Cross-Stitching
Knitting
Crocheting
Painting
Drawing
Sewing
Quilting
Cake Baking & Decorating
Jewelry making
Beading
Bicycling
Web page design
Computer graphics
Pottery
Printmaking

To be fair, my dad is exactly like me. We roam from hobby to hobby, and do it until a new hobby catches our attention and ends up monopolizing our time. My dad is probably even worse than me. His have included learning to fly an airplane and getting his pilot's license, scuba diving, deep sea fishing, stained glass, painted enamel glass, woodworking, rebuilding classic cars, computer programming, gemstone cutting, you name it.

I think we are allergic to boredom.

HOW TO BE A "FANCY NANCY"

My daughter has this book, and I simply cannot gush enough about it. It is an adorable children's book about a little girl that is "fancy", and wants everyone around her to be "fancy" too. She uses the French term for just about everything because that's the fancy way to say it. She wholeheartedly believes lacy socks improve her soccer game, and that writing with a pen that has a fuschia (thats "fancy" for purple) plume on it helps her write better. Now this is my kind of chick!

I simply love the message of individuality this book conveys, and I had an idea. This is my Fancy Nancy Kit. Yours would probably be different, but that's the point.


Of course, you can't be fancy without a boa.

It can be pink (probably my choice) or purple, or green or whatever. You just need a boa.

The second Essential to being fancy is an appropriately gaudy hat. This is a must. The more ribbons and feathers, the better!

The third thing you simply must have is ribbons, and lots of them. Tie them to everything you can. More is always better when you're rying to be fancy.

The fourth absolute essential to being fancy is a tiara. Of course. Need I elaborate?


Now, to write, you of course need a pen with the most wonderful plume possible. Writing with a regular Bic pen just isn't fancy, and who doesn't want to be fancy?

And finally to eat... what else but parfaits (that's fancy for sundaes)

Now you have seen what I think it takes to be fancy. What do you think it takes to be FANCY?!?

Now for the rest of the state

Here are some stupid laws I looked up for GA.

Members of the state assembly cannot be ticketed for speeding while the state assembly is in session. (but some of the assemblymen obviously forgot that drunk driving isn't the same as speeding oops)

Donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs.
(This is a stupid law, who is the donkey hurting? I assume donkeys need baths too)

Signs are required to be written in English.
(Given how tolerant Georgians are of other languages, this law kinda came from nowhere, didn't it? cough)

You have the right to commit simple battery if provoked by "fighting" words.
(Like not having the right ever stopped Southern men from fighting at the drop of a hat)

No one may carry an ice cream cone in their back pocket if it is Sunday.
(Okay, WTF?? Are they smoking crack up there in the Capitol?)

It is illegal to use profanity in front of a dead body which lies in a funeral home or in a coroners office. (This one is actually enforced)

Acworth
All citizens must own a rake.
(Given how much pot gets grown out in those parts, they might want to rethink this particular law)

Atlanta
Against the law to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp.
(I hate to break it to them, but this isn't going to stop the traffic epidemic. Good try, though.)

One man may not be on another man's back.
(Exhibit A that homophobia makes you look like an idiot)

Columbus (My hometown)
Can't cut off a chicken's head on Sunday.
(are they worried about Satanic rituals occuring on Sunday or something?)

It is illegal to carry a chicken by it's feet down Broadway on Sunday.
(Oh honey, I go clubbing on Broadway, and there is far more they need to be worried about than chickens being carried upside-down)

Gainesville
Chicken must be eaten with the hands.
(I thought this was just understood all over the South)

Jonesboro
It is illegal to say "Oh, Boy"
(yeah, cause that's just the worst thing coming out of people's mouths these days, isn't it?)

Kennesaw
Every head of household must possess a firearm of some kind.
(The right to bear arms becomes the responsibility to bear arms!)

Marietta
Though it is illegal to spit from a car or bus, citizens may spit from a truck.(Eew)

St. Mary's
No spitting on the sidewalk is permitted after dark.
(I actually like, love and agree with this law... and feel it should be expanded to all stages of the day)

Quitman
Cars are not to drive on sidewalks.
(Unless the driver is drunk, upon which case another law claims jurisdiction)

It is illegal for a chicken to cross the road.
(Okay, why did the chicken cross the road? Because he was a felon!)

Living in GA (Atlanta Specifically)

No, I don't live in Atlanta. However, I have spent a lot of time there. Ever since my childhood it has been the most exciting place but still so much like home. However, for those of you that have never been, or have only been through the airport, here is my own little facts guide about ATL...

Atlanta is composed mostly of one-way streets. The only way to get out of downtown Atlanta is to turn around and start over when you reach Greenville, South Carolina.

All directions start with, "Go down Peachtree" and include the phrase, "When you see the Waffle House." Except that in Cobb County, all directions begin with, "Go to the Big Chicken."

Peachtree Street has no beginning and no end. It is not to be confused with:

• Peachtree Circle
• Peachtree Place
• Peachtree Lane
• Peachtree Road
• Peachtree Parkway
• Peachtree Run
• Peachtree Terrace
• Peachtree Avenue
• Peachtree Commons
• Peachtree Battle
• Peachtree Corners
• New Peachtree
• Old Peachtree
• West Peachtree
• Peachtree-Dunwoody
• Peachtree-Chamblee
• Peachtree Industrial Boulevard
  

Atlantans only know their way to work and their way home. If you ask anyone for directions they will always send you down Peachtree.

Something like 55 streets in Atlanta have the word "Peachtree" in their names. How did this mania begin? The first Peachtree was a Creek Indian village on the Chattahoochee River called Standing Peachtree. An army outpost built nearby took the name Fort Peachtree. The road that linked it to Fort Daniel in Gwinnett County was the first Peachtree Road. (The Old Peachtree Road Exit on the Northeast Expressway has confused many a traveler heading into Atlanta, since it's more than 30 minutes outside town.) From this has come a forest of Peachtrees.

The 8am rush hour is from 6:30 to 10:30 AM.
The 5pm rush hour is from 3:00 to 7:30 PM.
Friday's rush hour starts Thursday afternoon and lasts through 2am Saturday.
I-285, the loop that encircles Atlanta that has a posted speed limit of 55 mph (but you have to maintain 80 mph just to keep from getting run over), is known to truckers as "The Watermelon 500."

Don't believe the directional markers on highways. I-285 is marked "East" and "West" but you may be going "North" or "South". The locals identify the direction by referring to the "Inner Loop" and the "Outer Loop". If you travel on Hwy 92 North, you will actually be going southeast.

A native can only pronounce Ponce De Leon Avenue, so do not attempt the Spanish pronunciation. People will simply tilt their heads to the right and stare at you. The Atlanta pronunciation is "pawns duh LEE-on".

The falling of one raindrop causes all drivers to immediately forget all traffic rules. If a single snowflake falls, the city is paralyzed for three days and it's on all the channels as a news flash every 15 minutes for a week. All grocery stores will be sold out of milk, bread, bottled water, toilet paper, and beer.

Never buy a ladder or mattress in Atlanta. Just go to one of the interstates and you will soon find one in the middle of the road.

Gate One at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport is 32 miles away from the Main Concourse, so wear sneakers and pack a lunch.

Atlanta is the home of Coca-Cola. That's all we drink here, so don't ask for any other soft drink unless it's made by Coca-Cola.

You Have a Choleric Temperament

You are a person of great enthusiasm - easily excited by many things. Unsatisfied by the ordinary, you are reaching for an epic, extraordinary life. You want the best. The best life. The best love. The best reputation. You posses a sharp and keen intellect. Your mind is your primary weapon. Strong willed, nothing can keep you down. Your energy can break down any wall. You're an instantly passionate person - and this passion gives you an intoxicating power over others. At your worst, you are a narcissist. Full of yourself and even proud of your faults. Stubborn and opinionated, you know what you think is right. End of discussion. A bit of a misanthrope, you often see others as weak, ignorant, and inferior.

What Temperment Are You?

You Will Keep Your New Year's Resolution

You planning on making a resolution that's smart, attainable, and perfect for where your life is.

Will You Keep Your New Year's Resolution?