Love Lockdown

Kayne's new music video...Love Lockdown . Love the song and beat. But don't get the video. Why so tribal? Your thoughts?

Fruit Good.Cake Great.Fruit Cake?Nasty Crap.

I don't get people's obsession with fruitcake. What's good about it? Nothing. I visited the Hurricane Pioneer Museum a couple of months ago and saw a 100-year old preserved fruitcake? WHY? What would possess someone to want to preserve a fruitcake? According to wikipedia, fruitcake is "a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices, and optionally soaked in spirits. Fruitcakes are often served in the celebration of weddings and Christmas." I guess people like it because it's typically drenched in spirits. But what bride would have something like that at her wedding. Give me a chocolate cake rich in icing any day! I also learned from our somewhat trusty souce wikipedia, that "starting in the 16th century, inexpensive sugar from the American Colonies, and the discovery that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits, created an excess of candied fruit, thus making fruitcakes more affordable and popular." I still think that no matter how much sugar you use, fruitcakes should be banned. Here's some facts about fruitcake to think about....47-Percentage of people who say they’d toss a holiday fruitcake in the trash without delay

11-Percentage of people who say they would make time to re-gift a fruitcake

25-Years that fruitcakes can age and still be enjoyed, as long as they have the right preservatives and are stored in tightly closed tins

2,952-Pounds of fruitcake delivered to U.S. troops in Iraq for the holidays last year

25 years! Who wants to eat a 25 year old fruitcake?!

I leave you with one of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan, talking about cake. Enjoy!

Bad Signs

One of my biggest pet peeves is when something is either misspelled or the wrong word is used! However, this is pretty funny, given the context. Taken at St. George's own Holiday Inn. I passed this sign on two different days and it still hadn't been changed. I couldn't resist taking a picture. It totally made my day! Awesome!

"Last Christmas"

This song is really starting to drive me nuts! I think it all began when Karyn called me from Hawaii's Iolani Palace and as she was walking or in a store or somewhere, this song came on and she started singing it. It's one of those songs that gets stuck in your head. Much like "It's a Small World..." Anyways, it seems like everywhere I go, this song is playing. I didn't really know what the lyrics were except for "Last Christmas I gave you my heart/but the very next day you ripped it apart." Okay, so those aren't the EXACT words--they're the words that I would've sung. I think they're more melodious. And this song has been sung by everyone: George Michael, Ashley Tisdale, Jimmy Eat World, Savage Garden, and Wham!. I can't remember giving anyone quite a gift as my heart, only to have them give it away. Have you? The actual lyrics are below:

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone
I'll give it to someone special

Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance, but you still catch my eye
Tell me baby, do you recognize me?

Well it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me

Happy Christmas
I wrapped it up and sent it
With a note saying "I love
you", I meant it
Now I know what a fool I've been
But if you kissed me now, I
know you'd fool me again

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
Special
Yea yea

A crowded room, friends with tired eyes
I'm hiding from you, and your soul of ice
I thought you were someone to rely on
Me, I guess I was a shoulder to cry on

A face unlovin', with a fire in her heart
A man under cover but you tore me apart
Now I've found a real love,
you'll never fool me again

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special

Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special

I'll give it to someone special

Chiropractors Make...

Better Lovers. I saw that scrawled on a bumper sticker as I was driving to work this morning. I got such a crack out of it! To accompany the words, there was a picture of an curved spine. Does that mean it's because they're more bendy and get kinks out? ;) I wonder how many more bumper stickers are out there that relate to a person's profession?

The One With...

I love the Thanksgiving 'Friends' episodes! They're my absolute favorite. Oh, besides the Gilmore Girls episode where Lorelai and Rory go to four Thanksgivings (you can't forget the tofurkey!) How well do you know them? I can't take credit for this, I found it online via TV Guide. Enjoy! ;)

How well do you know the ‘Friends’ Thanksgiving episodes?

Thanksgiving signals that wonderful time of year when family and friends get together to appreciate the things we have — not to mention stuffing our faces full of yummy turkey goodness! No TV show exemplifies this better than Friends, as every year the gang would gather to feast on one of Monica’s outstanding meals — and get into a few mishaps along the way!
See how well you remember their hilarious holiday shenanigans with this Thanksgiving quiz. Good luck!
1. One Thanksgiving afternoon, the gang decided to play a pick-up game of football in the park. What was the name of the trophy Ross and Monica were fighting over?
2. Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joey all arrived late to Thanksgiving dinner. What did Monica and Chandler do when they finally showed up?
3. Monica invited Will, an old friend, over for dinner. What’s the name of the club he started with Ross back in high school?
4. One year, Rachel’s sister Amy showed up for dinner. Which well-known actress portrayed her?
5. At dinner, Chandler is depressed over something that happened at Thanksgiving when he was a boy. What was it?
6. Phoebe developed a crush on one of Monica’s dinner guests. Who was it?
7. To make up for kissing Joey’s girlfriend, Kathy, what did Chandler do?
8. During dinner, Joey accidentally spilled the beans about Rachel’s love interest. Who was she pining for?
9. One Thanksgiving, Rachel decided to make a trifle. What recipe got mixed up with the dessert’s?
10. Monica has never burned Thanksgiving dinner. True or false?
(scroll down for answers)


ANSWERS:
1. The Geller Cup
2. Locked them out
3. We Hate Rachel
4. Christina Applegate
5. His parents’ divorce
6. Jack Geller
7. Spent Thanksgiving in a crate
8. Tag
9. Shepherd’s pie
10. False

SCORE:
0-3: Could you be any more forgettable?
4-7: Were you on a break from watching?
8-10: How you doin’? Awesome, that’s how!

Emergency Evacuation Device

Sara--This one's for you!
Every Monday morning I go to a meeting with the Sunshiners. They're the Chamber's ambassadors. I pretty much sit there for 30 minutes listening to them tell stories, or sing Happy Birthday, or vote on whether or not to throw candy during the parade (even after our 'legal council' advised against it!). Then the last minute of our meeting, I get up and tell them what ribbon cuttings or groundbreakings we have that week. It's all so thrilling. Anyways...as I was leaving this morning, I came across this sign. It is by far one of the funniest signs I've ever seen! I love that there's a guy pushing another on what looks like to be a stretcher down some stairs. Why doesn't it say, "In case of an emergency..." or "In case of elevator malfunction..." or "For wannabe EMT use only..." What would be even better was if there was an adjoining picture that showed what type of emergency to use this device for. I went to the website that's posted under the stairs, and it's some German website that gives you "Mountain Expertise 365 Days a Year." They apparently make chair lifts and aerial ropeways. Unless of course you're in the desert. :) Check it out! garaventa.com. This sign is like a two for one!

Gentle Persuasions

Welcome me to the wonderful world of blogging! YAY! I know, some of you may be thinking, "Um...hello Susi?! It is the 21st Century. The age of technology. How is it that you are barely starting a blog?" Well, the answer is...I don't know. Some who know me know that I am not one to jump on the proverbial bandwagon. And if I do, it takes me a while. So, after many "gentle persuasions," here I am. Besides being pressured by many to create a blog, I felt compelled to start one, only after seeing something that would make any one person blog: "Twilight." That's right. I saw it. Nevermind that I refused to read any of the books despite the many people in my life who told me it was such a good book. That they couldn't put it down. That the descriptions are fantastic! Even the lady who gives me a massage tried to convince me to read them! I was not going to be swayed! And maybe because there was the added pressure that the author is a BYU grad and Mormon and many in Utah think that "our kind need to stick together and support one another," (gag) did I absolutely refuse to read the book. But I did attend the midnight premiere of the movie here in St. George. Mind you it wasn't my decision. I just casually mentioned to my sister-in-law Britni after work that the movie theatre had opened up another showing of "Twilight" and that she may be able to get tickets. In my head I was secretly guffawing "Ha! Good luck with that one!" Britni's tenacity won out against any kind of common sense and that's how I happened to go to a midnight movie. Thanks Britni! For someone who had no real burning desire to watch the movie (especially on a premiere night), I was completely out of place. I arrived at the theatre at 11, in my most comfortable pants and sweater, slippers, glasses, and my latest read: "Pride and Prejudice." I know right? Amid the throngs of teenage girls and young adult women in "Twilight" and "I Heart Edward" t-shirts, I was quite out of place. I wonder if Elizabeth Bennet felt that way when she went to attend to a sick Jane at the Bingley's. Hmmm....Anyways. The lights dim and the previews begin. Cue thunderous applause and cheers. I roll my eyes. The previews end and the the event that many have been waiting months, nay years for, has started. Cue more applause and screams. I shift in my seat. You hear Bella's voice and see a cactus. Apparently, she's moving. You go maybe 15-20 minutes without ever seeing the whole reason you're there. Edward. If I were as enthralled in the books as so many of you, I too may be getting anxious. Like a girl waiting for her first date. My palms would be sweating. My heart beating rapidly. Would he look just like I've pictured him? Would he be that cute, adorable vampire that I secretly would want to bite me, so I too would be an immortal? Ugh...And then, before I know it, here comes Edward in all his glorious pale splendor! Cue applause and screams that would awaken the dead. This time I verbally speak my thoughts--wishing that some people would just be considerate and keep their mouths shut during a movie. There was one woman in particular who seemed to laugh at everything. I couldn't figure it out. There was nothing really funny about the movie. Sure, there were a few one-liners that had me snicker. One in particular where Bella tells Edward that "your moodswings are giving me whiplash." That's a good one--I may have to use it. What I couldn't figure out (and maybe it's because I haven't read the books), but why is Bella so pale? It's all a little too ghostly for me. The best part of the night however, wasn't the fact that I may be intrigued enough to actually read the novel (I know, take a moment to gasp), but it happened when I was mentioning to Britni that I thought that Stephenie Meyer had to have made a pact with the devil for the books to be such a worldwide success and to have a movie made in such a short amount of time. In a recent Reuters article I read, it reported that Meyer's four books have topped 25 million, in 37 languages including Vietnamese, Chinese, Croatian and Latvian. Really? 37 languages? Meyer's is nearly half way there with J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series being translated into 67 languages. :) At least people are reading. And why is she slated, "Stephenie Meyer, a Mormon author from Arizona...?" Who cares what her religious affiliation is? So, pact with the devil. A gentleman sitting in front of me turned around and agreed! It seriously made my whole night! It's often the little things. However, I think because I didn't read the books, I didn't have any preconceived notions about Bella or Edward or the story. I was able to just enjoy the movie. And yes, I did enjoy it. Considering that the budget to make this film was relatively small, I thought the cinematography was gorgeous. It's nice that they got people who are kind of no-names in the business. It is kind of a chick flick, but albeit a good one. Again, why else would I be persuaded to start a blog? And cue applause.