my life, as i know it. how busy i get. how productive i can be. how laziness creeps in after being under pressure. how appreciative i am. how something makes me smile. how stopping to truly treasure a moment is rarely done, but should be more often.
for those who don't know or remember, the "freebie list" was from an episode of friends where the characters discussed having a list of five celebrities that, given the opportunity, the person could sleep with without their significant other getting upset. chandler introduced "the list":
"we have a deal, where we each get to pick five celebrities that we can sleep with, and the other one can't get mad," he chose: kim basinger, cindy crawford, halle berry, yasmine bleeth and jessica rabbit ("i just always wondered if i could get her eyes to pop out of her head.").
for her list, rachel picked chris o'donnell, john f. kennedy jr., daniel day lewis, sting and parker stevenson. among ross's choices was isabella rossellini, who, he later tried (and failed) to impress at central perk. here's a video of the scene where isabella walks into the coffee shop:
here's my list:
david beckham
josh duhamel
eric dane
chris evans
henry cavill*
*newly added.
so i'm curious how many people out there have their own "freebie list" and who is on it. a few guys on here are pretty consistent choices, others jump around depending on what i'm watching, noticing, etc.
so last year it was a disney princess christmas, this year it's barbie. but not bratz...oh no, tay will immediately say, "mama says their *naughty* girls!". which is true, that's what i say...even though she has requested them over and over again. tay had a great christmas! lots of toys and fun things. it was another marathon this year though. we started opening presents at 7am and it was still going on at 8:00 at night (had to take numerous breaks in between to ease tay's torture of seeing all these new toys and not being able to play with them because of being cajoled into opening the next present). thanks to everyone for their thoughtfulness and generosity with our christmas gifts! here is a picture of her letter to santa on the 13th and a few shots of opening presents on christmas morning:
all of the barbies/barbie accessories tay got for christmas
tay scurried from her bed to see what santa left her-the castle from barbie: the princess and the pauper movie
the princess and the pauper wedding carriage
uncle stacy's gift: a pony for tay's barbies
barbie mariposa (the newest barbie. the movie comes out in the spring)
giselle from the movie enchanted
hannah montana get up for tay and her "princess rainbow" cat
santa left tay some make-up in her stocking. "it's for your eyebrows, right mama?!" sure, why not?!
sleeping beauty bathtub doll that changes color with the temperature of the water.
aunty mere and maria helping tay test out sleeping beauty's color changing abilities
ok, so we're not *totally* past disney princesses!!! we have played this game more times than i can count!!!
also on tay's list: playdoh center. she is the *ultimate* playdoh fiend.
our cookie-making expedition was fun. tay got super creative and made tie-dye stained glass window cookies instead of the traditional single color like her mama. santa lucked out with some fancy cookies this year!!!
ok, so i know i haven't blogged about christmas yet...promise i'll get to that. i have to upload all of my pictures onto my computer first. i think there's 200 or so, so you can understand why i'm saving that for when i have a chunk of time. probably tomorrow...
anyhoo-i wanted to share my thoughts on a new show. yup, *another* show. (tv is good, remember?!?!) dude, the tudors on showtime is AMAZING (click on the link to the right -->). it's about king henry the VIII and his court. there are liberties that they took with some facts (like combining henry's two sisters into one for the show and some timeline stuff) but a lot of it follows history. like dexter, it premiered last year but i missed the first few episodes, so i decided to wait until they replayed them during the off-season. well, instead of waiting for showtime to get on the ball, i discovered that the episodes were on "video on demand" and i knocked all 10 of 'em out. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. it interested me so much i found myself researching king henry, anne bolelyn, wolsey and others. {my college buds will know this is HUGE because of my overwhelming *affection* for history...NUH-UH! i so waited until senior year-undergrad to take history 103!!! but, i digress...} this show got my attention. it's compelling & racy. examples? well, it seems like in every episode a major character is getting their head cut off...just like that. it's pretty brutal. mere informs me that that's how it was...(she's a history buff) no tolerance at all for even *rumored* treason. in the infamous words of homey the clown...i guess "king henry don't play that." (for those who are unfamiliar with homey the clown, click on this)
another example: there are sex scenes that are SO convincing that i blush for the actors. i know...what do i expect...after all, it is on SHOWTIME. so, if that's not your thing...you've been warned-this show *really* pushes the envelope and leaves very little to the imagination.
and of course, there's this *one* guy {grins} on the show that makes you gulp, focus your eyesight and sit up straight:
he plays charles brandon. mmm-hmmm. i may have to rearrange "my list" {smiles}. his character's a lot like mcsteamy in that he keeps himself pretty busy with a lot of different ladies, but nonetheless, he's sure nice to look at. for those of you who don't know what "the list" is, i'll have to explain it in my next post (this one is getting too long).
so back to the tudors. here are some promotional videos to spark your interest (oh, as i mentioned earlier, this show is rated r on showtime, so if there are impressionable minds around, wait till later):
the opening credits:
season 1 promo: watch for henry cavill @ :34 {winks}
season 2 promo:
if you have it, showtime is re-airing season one starting january 20th. season two premieres march 30th. you know what i'll be doing that sunday!!! :)
tay and i caught part of the kennedy center honors on wednesday. had never caught the show before, but we found ourselves unexpectedly rocking out. it was hootie and the blowfish's rendition of "i get around" and "california girls" to honor beach boy brian wilson that got tay and me dancing in front of the tv! although the beach boys were before my time, their songs are among the classics!!! despite being bashed by some of the journalists, i think hootie's updated, revved up version was *awesome* (no other performance had the whole audience on their feet like that). some things to look for on the video:
1. @:59 - "w", trying to play it cool while presidentially bobbing his head
2. @ 2:48 - no, you aren't imagining things...that's wonder woman (lynda carter) being one of the first on her feet to rock out
3. @ 3:00 - loved it when brian wilson signals the guitar riff, you can tell he was into it! (i had read that of all the beach boys' songs, "california girls" was his favorite)
tay just picked up my camera and started snapping away. she got me while cookin' dinner tonight. she giggled after the flash went off and said "i got you mama!!!" she *loves* taking pictures (aka, playing with the camera). hmmm, i wonder who *that's* like?!?!!
monday was parent observation night. was *all* over that, seeing as we are not allowed to watch classes. as a teacher, i understand that rule but as a parent...i was bummed to learn of it. tay's recital is in may. i'm soooo excited for it! miss malika (tay's teacher) said they'll do both tap and ballet and that we only saw tap in class because the girls are still building up their balance for ballet. had a blast watching tay-tay. was tickled to see that she was excited to see me watching her. enjoy the video! will be posting another vid this weekend or next...tay's school christmas program is tomorrow!!!
this is what a man i struck up a conversation with during my ordeal this morning said to me as we parted ways. a significant chapter in my life ended today.
sometimes, strangers have a way of bringing comfort in trying times. thanks to my brother, sis and friends who checked on me today. thanks to meredith, who didn't judge my method of coping and among lots of other things, would have held my hair back if i had had one more. and lastly, thanks to kai. who immediately felt my vibe & hasn't left my side since i walked through the door.
a conversation in the car as we saw some really fancy houses decorated very elaborately for christmas:
me: wow, look at all the pretty decorations. there is some silence and then... tay: i didn't realize that if you don't decorate your house that santa won't know where to come to bring your present. me: {stunned, mouth gaping open} you didn't *realize* that? wow tay, what does realize mean? tay: it's when you don't know, mama. me: that's right tay! tay: if you don't decorate your house, he won't recognize it.
this past saturday, tay and i met lesli and her daughter ava to go see the neiman marcus children's parade in downtown dallas. needless to say, it was a *big* time!
*the* girls! :) oh, and before you wonder, no...tay and ava didn't plan their outfits!
it was *extremely* difficult, but i fought off the urge to maul this man for the cotton candy!
love my monkeys! :) curious george
a marching band i'm used to seeing
a marching band i'm *not* used to seeing! only in texas.
darth vader's appearance. he was goooooood.
medieval times characters
taylor hadn't seen the movie the grinch yet. ava explained to her who he was. with wide eyes and a very serious face she said, "he stole all the presents"
the man of the hour...
after the parade, we enjoyed lunch in the west end at friday's
look @ what came in the mail today: during her visit back in october, my sister and i ventured out into the night...dallas night, that is. while at carson's live, the dj announced a special fundraiser event that was going on. for $20, you could take your picture with some playmates. one of carson's workers found out that she had a tumor, had to have emergency surgery & her bosses were doing this to raise money to help her pay for it. {can i just tell you that her boob and my arm became *very* acquainted?!?!}
thanks ann, for a fun night out. i enjoyed hangin' wit cha and breakin' it *down*! :p
yup!!! i'm so excited!!! tay was chosen for the female lead part for her class' performance in the school's christmas program in 2 weeks. if you remember, i uploaded video from her performance last year. tay's class did run run rudolph and rudolph the red nose reindeer. she's been practicing her songs & hand motions in the car. can't wait for the program!!!
still tied @ 28...we are now in OT!!! the commentators are saying this is only the 2nd time time civil war (the 7th oldest rivalry in the US) has gone into OT. the first time was in '98. OMG, i was *totally* at that game! we won that day...44-41! :)
just thought i'd reveal the secret to the winning performance of the cowboys...the pungs were added to the roster in october. shh, keep it on the down-low.
{Grandma: "The Down Low" or "DL" or "on the DL" is an urban phrase used in the United States for "secret information," as in "Keep it on the down-low" (meaning "Do not make it known"). It can be used between two people, as in "let's keep this between the two of us." More commonly, however, it is used in a group context - as in to hide information from a public, authoritative, management, or establishment group by those that are considered "trustworthy," "on the inside," or "in the know."}
oh, and when it comes down to it...we are *all* "romo-groupies"...even if you didn't know it-like me! :)
here's the most viewed video on youtube (over 65 mil hits). it is called "the evolution of dance" and it is hilarious, especially if you recognize the dancing from the music videos. enjoy! :)
as thanksgiving comes to a close for me, i am thinking about grey's anatomy & their christmas episode last year or the year before. its focus was on meredith and her dislike for the holidays. she shared that instead of the time representing an abundance of joyfulness, family traditions and gatherings, it was a painful reminder of what she did not in fact have. it was difficult for me to relate to her in that episode, but i remember feeling sorry for her. i just thought, i couldn't imagine hating the holiday season. probably because i was fortunate enough to have always had that abundance of togetherness & joyful familial traditions during the holidays. until this year. this year, i am on the other side of the fence. with meredith grey. thanksgiving sure felt differently on this side. gone are the feelings of "going all out" and perpetuating little habits that were a part of making the holidays such a special time of year. instead, no matter my effort into finding joy in the generosity and loving spirit of the people who have shown me nothing but love this past 9 months, pockets of melancholy creep in and out. i try to focus on how lucky i am to have a healthy daughter & family and friends who love and support me. how i have a successful career. how i am able to fulfill my financial responsibilities and still indulge a little. and yet, i find myself wishing the day was over. so that it would be just another day.
tay and i just got back from seeing the new disney movie, enchanted. extremely entertaining, especially since mcdreamy's so darn mcdreamy in it:
::swoon::
amy adams is excellent in it too. i loved her in the wedding date (she was the sister getting married). on the way home, tay and i agreed that we would have to go see it again. we talked about our favorite parts. mine was when giselle (adams) and robert (dempsey) were walking in central park and then the movie began mocking fairytale characters' tendency to break out into song. it had me seriously cracking up. tay's fave part? "the whole thing." :)
we're on our 3rd showing of "a charlie brown thanksgiving". taylor is embracing thanksgiving, even though it was in the 80's today. good-at least someone around the metroplex is. saw christmas lights out on some houses last week. yeah, christmas lights. like all turned on at night. just wrong. no respect. here's some aretha to punctuate my feelings:
so we had a big day at school today: tay made an appearance. it was like elvis was in the building at recess. big 3rd graders all enthusiastically running after and following a 4-year old around the playground. tay was one popular chick (either that or verizon wireless was out at our school filming another installment of their catchy network commercials). school let out at 1:15 and we were outta there by 1:45. it was so nice to have the rest of the afternoon to tackle some tasks and chill. been overwhelmingly busy and preoccupied this past month. too much personal and professional stuff going on and required of me-most with sudden deadlines. there were days i barely held it together with getting things done that needed addressing that day. this is when my mom's and step-dad's voices enter my head: "manage your time, jonelle." yes, i heard this one the most. mostly it was in reference to my learning to prioritize things...and sometimes it was in regards to time spent. i don't think i was bad at it, just that i was being a normal teenager & pushing the limits with curfews and such. yup, that's one of the more vivid memories i have of them teaching me one of life's lessons. which, i am thankful for because i think as an adult i do pretty well in that area-even complimented by some for it. so thanks mom and uncle jake, for drilling that in my head even when i didn't wanna hear it at the time. so...what do *you* still hear in your head that your parents said often while growing up?!?!?!
david 
beckham 
