2010 Holiday Movie Reviews

Any regular reader of my blog knows that I love Christmas movies and regularly provide reviews of them at this time of year. Which I will do again this year but there is one small obstacle I'll have to overcome... I no longer have access to the Hallmark Channel. And, 80% of each year's new Christmas movies are broadcast on the Hallmark Channel - it's the "biggest holiday destination on television," according to this press release. It looks like they have 11 new movies debuting during this holiday season and some of them sound really good. So, I will have to review all of the new movies that air on other channels (Lifetime, ABC Family, CBS) plus I'll possibly review any older movies that I might have missed along the way and who knows, maybe I'll be able to find some of the Hallmark movies on iTunes or YouTube or something. Or have a friend who has the Hallmark Channel record some for me. Or, maybe AT&T Uverse will resolve its issues with Hallmark and get the network back on its schedule. So, in sum, I guess this is kind of a warning that there may be fewer movies reviewed this year, my fifth year of doing these reviews.

Groupon

I used my first Groupon today! It was a spend $25, get $50 coupon for The Gap and it expired today, which is probably the only reason I used it because I have bought quite a few others and have yet to use any of them. I just tend to forget that I have them. Or, as was the case with this one, I printed it out and proceeded to misplace it for like 2 months. Anyway, it was quite a deal because it's basically like getting $25 free. I bought this dress (pictured below). I think it looks cuter in person than it does in the picture and looks really good on me so I'm excited. It was either that or two sweaters that were both on sale so the total was just over $50 but I figured that I already have so many sweaters so the dress was a better option. Very pleased!

Cool site: I Can't Find My Phone

I can't tell you how many times I misplace my phone and when I'm with someone and that happens, the first thing they always say is "Do you want me to call you?" You know, so that the ringing of the phone might help me find it. This site, therefore, is perfect for those times when I am alone. And clearly I'm not alone in having a need for this site.

Of course, the problem for me is that I almost always have my phone on vibrate so even when it rings, it's not like I can hear it.

Shopping Trip

I'd been in the mood to go shopping for a few weeks now but haven't really had the time, until today. I headed to the mall this evening with my 30% off everything pass for the Gap/Old Navy/Banana Republic and got some really good deals. I spent $170 and got two dresses, four sweaters, three t-shirts, a pair of shoes, yoga pants and a fleece jacket. Not bad for a few hours, right? Not only that but shopping raises my endorphins.

Currently Reading: L.A. Candy

Should I be embarrassed that I'm reading L.A. Candy? Not only is it a teen book but it's written by The Hills star Lauren Conrad. I'm curious and it should be a quick read, so don't judge me!

I've Got a Good Feeling About This-Wheel of Fortune-2010

This clip from Wheel of Fortune is making its way around the Internet and it is pretty remarkable that she was able to guess the puzzle with only one letter revealed. However, if she had a feeling that she knew what the puzzle was as she claims... why not pick a letter that appears more than once in the puzzle to 1.) truly verify that her feeling was correct and 2.) win herself more money. "G" would have been a good choice. Sometimes I'm baffled by the strategy of these Wheel players.

Re: Lebron James Nike "Rise" Commercial

Yeah yeah, everyone thinks Cleveland should get over it already but that doesn't mean we can't still make jokes about it. This "response" video to Lebron's newest Nike commercial is funny. (via)

Cool site: Wakerupper

I haven't tried Wakerupper but it seems like it could be useful. You fill in the information of when you want a call, including a message if desired, and lo and behold your phone will ring at that designated time. You can use it for an alarm or a reminder or my favorite uses from the Web site - "Escape from a boring date or meeting" and "Remind child or spouse to do chores." Cool.

Book Review: Addition

Our book club met tonight and the book was Addition by Toni Jordan. It tells the story of a girl who is obsessive-compulsive about numbers. She counts everything she owns and times everything out to the minute. Her life is very controlled and borderline insane. She's lost her job and can barely function in society at times. Then she meets a guy (she steals his banana at the grocery store because she had an uneven amount of bananas) who is willing to put up with her wackiness but also suggests she go to a therapist, who promptly puts her on some drug therapy and sends her to group sessions. Slowly, she becomes "better" and turns into a TV addict, gains a lot of weight and barely remains conscious. But at least she doesn't count things anymore!! I guess it plays into the definition of what's healthy and what isn't healthy. One day, she kind of just snaps out of it (there is a reason I guess but it's really not worth getting into) and dumps the boyfriend, dumps the pills and gets back to who she was and finds out life wasn't so bad with her OCD. It's kind of an odd book, difficult to read at times when she's in full-on OCD mode and none of us particularly liked it. Bottom line, I do not recommend it.