It's My Blog and I'll Type if I Want 2

Candy making 2010

2010-12-07T07:21:00.000-08:00

Hard tack candy making is not for the meek. It's hardcore and not to be taken lightly. Good times.

Lights, Camera, Scrap!

2010-11-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

Well another Scrapbook Extravaganza is gone.... :(

first pic of the day!

I looked forward to this crop all year. It is so much fun for me and Nikki. Two days of scrapbooking and taking it easy after busting it out to get the new lines done. It was a much needed trip and although I lost my voice for three days it was totally worth it!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

Had the best time with some great friends for Halloween this year! We danced all night like we were young folk!!!

American Idol 2010!

2010-10-05T07:43:00.000-07:00

This year's American Idol Tour was so special. I took my Mom to see it for her birthday! We met up with my friend Regan and had a BLAST!

Ok what to catch up on...

2010-10-05T07:35:00.000-07:00

Well I'm just terrible at keeping up with this thing but in case you live in a cave and don't have Facebook here is what you missed....

Justice Jewelers Diamond Dash!

Peggy's Birthday!

Billy and I seeing 'Cats'

Marshall's visit and re-hire!

Shall we DANCE!

2010-08-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

Everything we do is an event, even the movies! Yes that is us taking our picture at the movies... Saw Step Up 3D. No review neccessary, hot guys + dance = awesome.

Did someone say floatin!

2010-08-20T07:31:00.000-07:00

Well if I wasn't tired enough for one weekend Billy and I went floating with my work friends! It was crazy fun and we had a blast!

Dog Days and Bar-B-Que

2010-08-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

We had a pretty cool event at the JJ Ranch. Dog Days of Summer! I was on hand to take pictures of all the dogs and MAN that was a long day. 85 dogs came through the store if you can believe it! I was up and down and on the ground all day shooting these furry little guys. Afterwards Jess had a get together to celebrate being done with school and getting her awesome art job in Republic.

Eclipse!

2010-07-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Yes I finally saw Eclipse! It was awesome to say the least! Those boys I didn't think could get any hotter! My friend Jess and I wanted to go see it together but her husband insisted he wanted to see it with her! So we made compromise and I made my husband come too. Let's just say half way through I had to nudge Billy awake..... geez!

Nikole

2010-07-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

As if Lori being here wasn't great enough so is Nikole and the boys! Hope to see Wade this week. These boys are growing up so fast!

Lori's Here!

2010-07-19T07:06:00.000-07:00

Well we don't get to see each other very often but it is always great when we do hang out. The kids were amazed by my iphone and especially the front camera so we could see ourselves as I was shooting! It was nice just to hang and chat. Sunday we got away for a few hours and did a little shopping and went to see Inception. I really liked the cast and the fact that it had a real world feel to the effects, not so much CGI. Recommended.

Springfield Cardinals Game

2010-07-16T09:56:00.000-07:00

One of my mother's coworkers invited us to the Cardinals game on the 12th to celebrate her husband Don's birthday! It was a great time! We got free hats and bobble-heads.

More dogsitting photos

2010-07-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

Billy's camera is so amazing compared to mine so here are his pics.

New iphone 4!

2010-07-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

We were dog sitting a friends puppy last night so we had some fun taking some cool photos.

Scrap-a-palooza

2010-06-28T07:09:00.000-07:00

What a great event Sat. Thanks to all the wonderful women of Scrapbook Generation for all the work they put into this event.

One of the best things about doing crops is meeting amazing talented scrappers. Here is Nikki's local design team Laura, Karen, Stacey, and Katrina.

Special thanks to Laura for making these amazing cupcakes!!!!!!! So good and goodlooking we all took our picture with them. hehehehe

Well aside from a small bump where the lights went out...... great day!

Nikki was on her game taking pictures and posting to Facebook during the whole event!

I got some great new papers and this amazing kit from Allison!

It's hard to believe that Nikki and I met at a function much like this one. The stars really aligned to bring us together and it has been an amazing journey! Love ya girlfriend!

Got my hair did

2010-06-24T12:45:00.000-07:00

Got some reddish purple put in my hair. It shows up better in person but oh well thought I would post some pictures anyway.

Downstream Casino

2010-06-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Billy and I took a little trip down to the Casino to see Christopher Cross and America play at Downstream. It was a really great concert and I even won $17 bucks on the slots! You can't hate on that!

Father's day we went to Harrison to spend it with my Dad and both sets of Grandparents. Oscar was such a little boy. He tried to drive but then got pooped out and just wanted to be held.

What a week!

2010-06-10T09:54:00.000-07:00

Well this has been a crappy 7 days..... I got a terrible case of sun poisoning my JUST my bottom lip. It is super painful and totally gross. I would post some pictures but they are not for the faint of heart and I'm not that cruel. I do however how some posted on Facebook if you feel the need.

In other news we finished the next 6 lines for Nikki Sivils and this was a bumpy road but I think the lines are stronger for it. I always love and hate this part. I'm so excited for people to see the new stuff but nervous at what they will think. As soon as I get the word I will post some sneak peeks.

Memorial Day

2010-05-31T08:21:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say thanks to my Grandpa for everything he has done to serve his country.

Catching up with school friends

2010-05-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

Had a great time Sat. for dinner with Lisa, Erica, and Tara. It's so nice to play catch up with people you've known for soooo long. Lisa and I have go to school together since Kindergarten!!

Another great cover!

2010-05-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

We just got word that we made another cover! Thanks to everyone for your support!

Cover layout by: Liz Qualman
http://scrapbookingandbeyondmag.com/kitkrazy/index.shtml

Cool Stuff!

2010-04-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

How cool is this? Nikki Sivils Papers on a COVER!!!

More movies from the weekend.

2010-03-29T14:15:00.000-07:00

2005 film done in Belgium is the story of a old hitman hired to take out some corporate dude. While in Belgium we discover a little about his past ie that he has a brother in a old folks home and suffers from sever Alzheimers. He is the contrast to the other hero of the piece, a cop who has saved a girl from prostitution from her father. Next hitman gets a file to take out the girl, she's 12. It's a no go for him and from there things spin and twist and turn for a good time. Add in the hitman's own memory problems and you got a pretty good sit. I usually don't like to see movies turned into hits here in the states but I could see this making the transition pretty easily. We have so many older actors that could really get behind this role. Recommended for all

Next is Psycho Beach Party
"a Spoof of 1960's Beach Party/Gidget surfing movies mixed with slasher horror films stars Lauren Ambrose as Florence Forrest, a not-so-innocent girl in 1960's Malibu who becomes "Chicklet" the first girl surfer at Malibu Beach, only Florence suffers from dissociative identity disorder and occasionally her alter ego Ann Bowman, a sexually aggressive, foul-speaking girl, comes out in which during that time several beach goers are found murdered. The suspects include Chicklet herself, surfer Kanaka, B-horror film actress Bettina Barnes, exchange student Lars, and even Chicklet's own mother." Written by Matthew Patay

Do you love quirky cult movies? Then check out this fun little flik.

Now we have "How to Rob a Thief"
Immigrents don't steal from one another. It's supposed to be a rule, not for Claudio Silvestrini. He's made a fortune in the infomercial market conning people with promises of hair, size, weight loss and even life. Well former colleges decide to do something about this and away we go on a little caper much like Ocean's Eleven movies. No real surprises here but enjoyable none the less. Funny and well paced with interesting characters keep you invested even though you pretty much know what's going to happen. Also nice to see "Parker" from the Veronica Mars show doing a nice turn. Recommended to all.

Last but not least is "Chrysalis"
Paris 2020, a high tech surgeon and her daughter are involved in a horrific car accident, the surgeon saves her daughter's life at the cost of manipulating her dreams and memories.

Meanwhile gung-ho police officer Hoffman loses his wife and partner in a pitched gun battle with an escaped thug. When the shattered cop gets a new partner the hunt is on as Hoffman seeks revenge and justice, his investigation takes him all the way to the surgeon and clinic run by the iron hand of technology where all is not as it seems. - IMDB.com

I am a little conflicted on this movie. My husband really liked it and if you know him he is NOT easy to please. I however felt a little disconnected from the characters. It's like a slow thoughtful Steven Sagal movie. Fight scenes that we great and nice visual effects and an interesting story that ended up in a place I didn't expect. I guess I just didn't connect with the main character so I didn't feel invested in what happened to him. I think I may have to watch this again to see which side of the fence I fall on.

Birthday gift from my brother Adam

2010-03-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

My talented brother Adam. Got me this cedar box and burned all of this amazing Buffy art all over it. So cool!

Schultze gets the Blues

2010-03-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

Next was the quiet "Schultz gets the blues" German movie by director Michael Schorr. If you don't have extreme patience then you might pass this one up. It's a sweet movie but very, very slow paced. I kept expecting something to happen or for there to be a climax of some kind but it never happens. Schultze lives in a small town in Germany and has just retired from the mine. In his spare time he plays his accordian. One night on the radio he hears a upbeat blues diddy and he is hooked. After winning a trip to Texas he takes a little journey to experience the Louisiana swamps. Like I said before it is a slow turn and almost no dialog. A sweet little film but only for the hardcore art house crowd.

Movies, movies, and more foreign movies!

2010-03-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

Well Billy and I kicked off a weekend of foreign movies with a mind bender. "Day Watch" director Timur Bekmambetov. This Russian mega hit is the sequel to "Night Watch" which apparently blew out the box office. We did not know this was a sequel which might have made this a better sit. Amazing visuals keep you glued to the screen but I'm not sure I understood one single moment of the movie. Again this maybe because we didn't see the first. Now that I know this and that it is supposed to be a trilogy I will have to netfilks the first and get back with you.....

Birthday decorations!

2010-03-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks for my cupcakes and decorations at work. It made my day!!!

Birthday gift from the Saints

2010-03-29T07:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks to thesaintsreturn for the amazing gift I got in the mail.

Little more Boondock stuff

2010-03-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

Do you wanna see what I got for Valentine's Day? Billy framed my Boondock Saints autographed poster. Awesome yes! Here's me looking coy with my poster and copy of the DVD :)

Hurley Con Part 2

2010-03-19T07:19:00.000-07:00

Nathan Fox did this amazing drawing for me at Hurley Con. I was pondering what to have him do when my husband chimes in "He should do Buffy as a Sugar Bear" Well Nathan jumped on the cheerleader thing and we have a Vamp killing Buffy cheering for our own MSU Bears!

Hurley Con Part 1

2010-03-09T12:24:00.000-08:00

Went to Hurley con with my Husband Billy and met up with my brother Adam and his wife Paige this past weekend. Some much fun! It was great to meet some of the artists and get some kick commissions! Check out this one my brother had Jeremy Haun do!! Soooo sick!!!

This is done by Nathan Fox

BUY YOUR TICKETS!!!

2010-03-04T07:09:00.001-08:00

Let's all get together and go see the best movie ever!! Don't wait to get tickets to this once in a lifetime chance to see the boys on the big screen!!!

Boondock Saints Videos!

2010-03-02T06:37:00.000-08:00

"http://www.youtube.com/v/h8iNfQaJr5Y&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1

Boondock Saints in Chicago

2010-03-01T06:53:00.000-08:00

2010-02-26T12:51:00.000-08:00

Check out the trailer for the #boondocksaints anniversary event: Boondock Saints. http://bit.ly/BoondockTrailer

Eliminations

2010-02-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

Well American Idol sent 4 packin last night. Janell Wheeler was the first to go and Yeah! I never thought she should have gotten through in the first place. Next Ashley Rodriguez! I was a little shocked. I think being at the beginning of the show hurt her. She is super cute and someone should put her on a TV show.

Next the boys..... Joe Munoz! What!? He did very well the night before and I think Tim should have gotten the boot. You hear that Tim, you better bring it or I'm going to hand you your ass. Then it was down to Tyler and Alex. Personally I didn't want either of them to go home but Alex pulled it out and sent our 70's rocker home to roost. Tyler seemed shocked and I agreed with him that the stuff that he got from the judges seemed a little too late. Don't tell the guy you love his look and style and then tell him on performance night that he needs to change his look and stye... weird anyway he will be fine and I'm not too broken up about it at this stage in the game. Allison and Kris both performed and killed it. If you don't have their albums go get them. They are both really good. Ally is a rockin chick and I hope she does really well.

Peace out yo,

American Idol!

2010-02-24T12:56:00.000-08:00

Well last night was the first night of the top 24. We started with the girls and typically this first night totally blows. Everyone is too nervous and last night wasn't too much different. Granted the girls are stronger this year but I'm not sure I saw a star in the mix. I did however see some potential in Didi, Crystal and Lily.

First I have to say I didn't get the judges problem last night. Didi did an amazing job with her song and they trashed her. WTF? She looked great, seemed very comfortable on stage and sang the crap out of the song. I don't get it sometimes. She sang the most current song and sang it well and that didn't seem to be enough for all of them. Crystal did her thing and although that wasn't my favorite performance from her she is still a top girl for me. Lily surprised everyone by doing an unknown Beatles song "Fixing an Hole" I literally screamed cause that happens to be one of my favorites! So bonus to her for pulling that off.

Tonight the boys try to knock it out of the park. Let's see who has it and who chokes.

Peace out yo!

Boondock Saints on the big screen!

2010-02-23T07:17:00.000-08:00

Check out the trailer for the #boondocksaints anniversary event: Boondock Saints. -http://bit.ly/BoondockTrailer

Boondock Saints on the big screen!

2010-02-10T12:38:00.000-08:00

Listen people if you by some crazy chance have not seen Boondock Saints then run don't walk to the Hollywood 14 and buy your ticket for the big screen re-release on March 11th at 7:30. One time only!!

CHA!!!

2010-02-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures from CHA!

Boondock Saints 10th Anniversary Party

2010-01-29T12:37:00.000-08:00

Well the best night ever is all I can say. HUGE fan of the movie for anyone who knows me and it just happened that I was in LA at the same time as the party. My roommate Lanie was kind enough to drive us downtown to go to the amazing party. EVERYONE was there! Here is the proof. Boo to the ya!

CHA!!!

2010-01-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

Just a quick Hello to everyone I met in California at CHA! I will have more photos later! Here is a picture of me and the best roommate ever Lanie!!

My design up at Action Flick Chick!

2010-01-20T13:34:00.000-08:00

http://actionflickchick.com/superaction/

CHA!!!

2010-01-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

Getting ready for Sat. - I'm excited to see how the lines are received. Obsessed with Twitter - thanks a lot Jessica.....

First two lines

2010-01-13T10:59:00.001-08:00

Here are the newest lines from Nikki Sivils! Willow Bee and Flaming Butterfly!

Nikki Sivils Day!

2010-01-12T10:10:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us it was soooo much fun!!!

Nikki Sivils Day!

2010-01-07T08:19:00.000-08:00

The wonderful folks at Scrapbook Generation is hosting a Nikki Sivils Day Sat. Jan 9th. Come and meet Nikki if you haven't already and do some great make-n-takes with me and Katrina.

http://www.scrapbookgeneration.com/id162.html

Christmas is over!

2009-12-30T07:39:00.001-08:00

Well I survived another holiday season at the JJ Ranch. We had a lot of fun dressing up each day in crazy and fun stuff for the holidays....

2009-12-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

http://www.scrapbookgeneration.com/id162.html

Scrapbook Generation has been gracious enough to host a Nikki Sivils Day!! Be sure and check it out. I will be there as well teaching some great make-n-takes! Hope to see you there.

Digital Scrapbooking

2009-12-02T06:46:00.000-08:00

Of course I love to scrapbook... that goes without saying but, I'm not really that good. Not like some of the people on Nikki's design team or Nikki herself for that matter soooooo.

I just finished my second digital scrapbook and I thought I would share a little.

LIttle guy

2009-11-27T07:32:00.001-08:00

Look at this guy! Have you ever seen a dog that site like a person? I swear he is just like a little kid, he has to get every one of his toys out...hehehehe

More Scrapbooking!

2009-11-17T10:27:00.001-08:00

Scrapbook Extravaganza!

2009-11-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! Nikki and I traveled to Sercy Arkansas to a huge Scrapbook Extravaganza. We drove in Friday and taught a class using Nikki Sivils papers "U R My Favorite" It was a fun little class and the best one was a girl that was 8! It was so much fun to just sit and scrapbook. Nikki and I took full advantage staying late into the night to get caught up on some projects. Best part is we had the best table there! Some of the nicest women we could have met were on either side of us and we had a blast! I promise I will actually take some photos of some of the work I did but no laughing!! I made do paper but I have never claimed to be good at scrapbooking it!

Halloween

2009-11-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

Halloween how I love thee.....

This year my fav. holiday fell on a Sat. which meant I didn't get to dress up at work :(

me very, very sad. Oh well Billy and I took our frustrations out on our little one. How could we NOT dress him up. He is just so darn cute!! Oh sad that Mom and Dad want their picture taken with Oscar because he is the closest thing to a grand child they will get from me.

Boondock

2009-10-30T14:28:00.001-07:00

What the crap! Boondock Saints 2 is not showing anywhere near here!!! Oh the humanity!

Press Check

2009-10-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it but it is already time for Nikki to go on the press check! I can't wait to show you guys the new papers! They are a little out there but as Nikki says to me all the time..."if it's safe it goes" hopefully you will like the new lines and buy them up!!

Creating Keepsakes

2009-10-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

Check out Nikki Sivils on another blog!!!

http://creatingkeepsakesblog.com/

2009-10-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.examiner.com/x-9098-Scrapbooking-and-Stamping-Examiner%7Ey2009m10d15-Make-your-Halloween-layouts-and-crafts-Bootiful

Another wonderful article about the company! It never fails to give me chills.

Evil Dead

2009-10-15T07:15:00.001-07:00

Billy got us tickets to see "Evil Dead the Musical" this friday. Wish me luck as we are sitting in the "Splatter Section"

http://www.springfieldcontemporarytheatre.org/

After Party

2009-10-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

Well along with the Diamond Dash we had our Fall Bridal Show and of course we all went out after... I always feel sorry for the people sitting near us...... oh well :)

DIAMOND DASH!

2009-10-14T14:21:00.000-07:00

Well what a day it was! Justice Jewelers hosted the 1st annual Diamond Dash and I was on hand to help out. We had a ton of fun.

SNAKE!

2009-10-03T18:59:00.000-07:00

So I'm minding my own business at work on Friday and this little guy decides to make an appearance.... Let's just say I spent the rest of the day with my feet up on my seat.

Paper Lines

2009-09-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

Well Nikki and I finished the paper lines and they are one their way to the printer to be done. Very exciting!!!

New Movies

2009-09-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

New movie reviews for this week....

Sunshine Cleaning:
Stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters who get into the business of cleaning up after dead people. Alan Arkin is the funny Dad who is trying to make money with get rich quick schemes and Oscar is Amy's little son to add some sweetness. Seems funny.... well it's a great little movie but don't expect a barrel of laughs. This is a deeper movie with plenty of tear jerking moments. Probably not for the dudes but the chicks should love it.
Rating:*** (I didn't think it was possible to love Amy Adams any more)

The Fall:
In Los Angeles, circa 1920's, a little immigrant girl, Catinca Untaru, finds herself in a hospital recovering from a fall. She strikes up a friendship with a bedridden man, Lee Pace from "Pushing Daisies", who captivates her with a whimsical story that removes her far from the hospital doldrums into the exotic landscapes of her imagination. What surprised me about this movie was I had little interest in the fairytale part. Usually with these types of movies the dream world is more fantastic but this one seemed to make little sense. I did however love the two main characters even if the story itself was flawed. I have to say a little about child actors from other countries. As much as I love Hallie Joel and Dakota most American child actors are simply that, acting. Watch the Devil's backbone or Cinema Paradiso. Just like this movie you forget they are acting because it is so natural. Not because they are so good at portraying emotions but because they act like kids. They pick at themselves when they talk, they act silly. Not so much adult drama. It's nice....
This isn't for everyone but if you seek out films that have interesting actors then this might be for you.
Rating:**1/2 (the half only for that ridonculous little girl)

The International:
I would tell you the plot but after seeing it I'm not sure I understood it or really cared to. The gist is a big bad bank is trying to control the world and killing anybody who gets in their way. People die, our heroes Naomi Watts and Clive Owen try to stop them.... do they succeed? Well the end isn't a big bow if you know what I mean.
Rating:*1/2 (Enough Hollywood with the downer movies for no good reason our lives suck enough without having to watch it too)

JCVD:
He's back folks, John Claude Van Damme. After years of becoming a mockery he comes back with this very unusal film. Independent and with subtitles it's about... well it's about him, sort of. He plays himself, down and out, fighting in court for his daughter he needs money. He goes to the bank and something goes wrong. I won't spoil it but I really liked it. Interesting and gave me hope that JCVD wasn't gone for good.
Rating:***(Don't expect kicks and punches)

That's all for now folks....

Scrapapalooza

2009-09-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

Nikki and I had a great time scrapping the day away at Scrapapalooza!!! Scrapbook Generation was the store on site and they had some of Nikki Sivils papers. We even took a picture of a lady buying something from North Pole Nights.

Adam's Reception

2009-09-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

My little brother got married a couple of weeks ago in Mexico so we had a little reception for him and his wife Paige. Here are some pics....

American Idol!

2009-09-02T09:02:00.001-07:00

Ok, Nikki and I went to see American Idol Live Tour Sunday night. HOW FUN!! She isn't as seasoned as me but I walked her through the process....hehehe check out the amazing pics!!!!!

Website

2009-08-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I needed to have a better way to display my design work so I did one of those free websites Weebly. It's easy and it works pretty good. Eventually I will build my own but for now this is it....

Hope you like.

http://heatherschroeder.weebly.com/

Tuesday Morning

2009-08-25T07:27:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Well I have another slue of movies to talk about so let's get started....

A Dark Place/ The Innocents

Well as chance would have it I rented The Innocents with Deborah Kerr Sat. and before I watched it I saw a little known movie called A Dark Place with Leelee Sobieski. Guess what, they are the same movie.... crap. Simple break down of the plot. Woman gets a dream job of being the Nanny to two little children. Their parents are dead and they live in the country home of their very wealthy uncle. He has no time for them so the Nanny is in total charge of Miles and Flora. This is the same in both movies. When they get to the country is where it splits into a good movie and into a horrible movie. Guess which one is crap... Leelee's movie was so bad I don't wish to discuss it any further so let's stay with Deborah. When she arrives she befriends the older woman who kinda runs the house. She soon finds out that the previous Nanny has died along with the house handyman. Deb starts seeing ghosts and things get progressively creepier. So, are the ghosts real? Are they there to hurt the children? Can she save them? The ending leaves you with more questions then at the beginning which can be good. If you like things tied up in a little bow like my Mother then you'll hate this. If you like old black and whites with good acting and creepy suspense then give this a watch.

Rating: **3/4 (Wish I could have seen this BEFORE the stupid Leelee version)

Ghost Town

Well sounds like another horror flick but actually it is a funny movie with some of my favs. Greg Kinnear is a playboy husband to Tea Leoni when he unfortunately dies. Enter snotty, off putting Ricky Gervais, dentist and basic rude human. After a little stay in the hospital he gains the gift to see dead people. They need favors and he wants none of it. Greg manages to gain his ear and wants him to break up the engagement of his former wife to some new guy. That's all you need to know. If you like any of the names above then you in for a good time.

Rating: *** (Funny, funny, funny)

Type to you later

Happy Thought!

2009-08-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

How cool is this...

Last week people here at work have been getting secret "Happy Thought for the Day" gifts. Someone got cookies, one got a beautiful plant and so forth. Well today was MY day!! Whoo Hoo!! Is there anything better? Getting gifts at work is awesome but secret gifts is even better!!

Happy thoughts to you and yours!

Movies, movies, movies!!

2009-08-19T07:26:00.000-07:00

Hello again! I had a lot of work to do this week but I managed to sneak in a few movies too!

Death Note II:

Well pretty much if you haven't seen the first one you won't see this one. All the same characters return plus a couple of new ones to wrap up this tale of the notebook that kills. The second run adds more notebooks and more owners. The story gets very complicated and tries a little too hard to be clever. I much prefer the first with the head to head between L and Light.

Rating: **1/2 (if you see the first you have to see this one)

Space Chimps:

Animated chimps get the chance to go to space to save the world! Just kidding! They go because they want to make sure the humans don't die if they do it... Talking chimps take a whirlwind trip to another timewarp where they fight all kinds of alien life. I'm a lover of all things animated but this was funny as well and was paced well to keep you interested.

Rating: **1/2 (Kids will love it and you probably will too)

Nikki is mentioned again!!!!!!

2009-08-18T08:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.acherryontop.com/article?a=7906

You must check this out! Talk about great advertising! I am so excited to see all of these products being accepted so well.

What a great interview!

2009-08-13T07:25:00.000-07:00

Nikki had an amazing interview yesterday and you can hear it here!

http://www.divacraftlounge.com/#ThisWeek

Keeps getting better

2009-08-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Today, Wednesday, Nikki is going to be featured on the Diva Craft Lounge!! For those of you that don't know it's a great radio show that's broadcast's in 107 countries. Danielle and Rayme are the host and are so fun to listen too!! Nikki met Dainelle at her booth at CHA and she knew who she was immediately!! Once she got back home she asked if Nikki would come on her show and soooo tomorrow at 2pm central time I'll be on!

How cool!

2009-08-11T13:50:00.001-07:00

Nikki got an email today that she is being featured in an online article. Check this out!!

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-9098-Scrapbooking-and-Stamping-Examiner%7Ey2009m8d11-Registration-opens-for-Great-American-Scrapbook-Convention-in-Chattanooga

Sun and Movies

2009-08-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hellloooo

So I got 4 movies in the mail from Netflix this weekend so I thought I would catch ya'll up.

Transporter 3:

First I have to mention that I love Jason Statham. Second, I have to mention that I thought the first one was ok with a couple of great moments but not enough. Third, the second movie sucked with less great moments and not enough to warrant more viewings.

Transporter 3 is just like the others, same complaints I had with the first two. Lousy music with no drive through the action parts. LAME female leads that can't speak the language and have to be dubbed and a stupid plot. The chick in this is the worst. I guess she is eye candy but she keeps talking and sucks the sexy right off her. Jason PLEASE get a decent script and do a great movie you can be proud of!

Rating: ** (If you love Jason you will be forced to see this out of principle but you won't be happy)

Midnight Meat Train:

I've been wanting to rent this for a while. It stars Bradley Cooper who I just love. If you can't place the name he is the jerk in Wedding Crashers and the hot dude in the Hangover. I know him as Will from the first season of Alias. Horror movie starts out with Brad as an aspiring photographer who's live in girl gets him a shot at a big time gallery owner. The big time gallery owner Brooke Shields tells him that his work is good but he is just missing that one shot, you know right place right time. That night he is out looking for that shot. He ends up in a metro station and sees some guys harassing a girl. He takes some shots and THEN breaks them up. Sweet guy. She thanks him and gets on the train. Oh no it is a train of death and there is a crazy dude on there that beats you to death with -- you guessed it, a meat tenderizer. What you didn't guess that! Anywhooo what could have been a simple horror premise gets complicated and though it is creepy and super bloody the pay off was way lame.

Rating: ** (for Bradley and for the super oooz)

Madagacar 2 - Escape to Africa:

Simple did you like the first one? You'll love the second, funnier, cuter and better story.

Rating: *** (two words - Penguins Rock)

Death Note:

Japanese movie that again I happened across some time ago and am just now getting to see.

Great premise. Genius law student, Light, finds a book - "Death Note" inside are the instructions for use. You write someones name in the book and within 45 seconds the die of a heart attack. Very cool. Along with the book is a super creepy looking dude name Ruuk. He is a demon that kinda comes with the book and loves apples. Well said law student going by the code name Kira begins what he think is a cleansing of the city. Killing death row inmates and murders who get off. He must know their full name and be able to picture their face so as not to affect people of the same name. This comes into play when he needs to eliminate someone following him but darn it he doesn't know their name. How he finds out is pretty clever. Light's Dad just happens to be the lead police detective. Add another super genius "L" that is hot on his tail and you are in for a great ride. Clever and smart and great characters.

Rating: *** (Seek and find this great little gem)

Morning

2009-08-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

So I thought I would catch up on some movie reviews....

The Spirit -

Wow talk about missing the mark. Visually it was interesting and Scarlet and Eva looked great but the jump between serious and total camp was weird. Of course the biggest problem is that the leading man was not leading at all. I didn't care about him, I didn't care about his backstory, I plain didn't care. The dynamic between him and the villain Sam Jackson was super lacking. Plus did anybody get why he was Dr. Octopus? Waste of time.

* (watch if it is on TV and nothing else is)

The Haunting in Connecticut -

Set up, family has son with cancer they need to move to be closer to where he gets treatments so they take a house that is a real deal. Unfortunately it's a real deal for a reason. While I appreciated that this movie tried to have a real story and character development it just didn't seem to quite connect. I can't say I didn't like it but I didn't love it. I couldn't tell you any of the characters names and that isn't a good sign. There was a subplot with the drinking Dad that seemed put in for no reason. It didn't contribute in any way so I thought they should have cut it. Marks for some spooky moments and no bathroom moment with a medicine cabinet mirror.

** 1/2 (rent if you like Amityville)

Next -

What a perfect title! Next movie please! Ok, guy works in Vegas in a two bit magic act. Thing is isn't not magic, he can see two minutes into the future. In comes the FBI, they want him to do a little looky looky for them. Add Jessica Biel and you have a decent premise. I like Nick Cage but at no time in this movie did I look at Jessica B. and think she would give him the time of day for even a second, much less fall in love after a day. For me this kinda ruined everything else. Nick's hair didn't helped. He needs to call Sean Connery's guy cause I don't know what he was thinking in this. It's too bad cause I liked the idea and some of the effects. Better, hotter, leading man would have made this a hit.

** 1/2 (rent if you love Nick)

Jessica abandoned me!

2009-08-03T12:10:00.001-07:00

Well Friday was Jessica's last day at work and I will miss her ever so much.

More from CHA

2009-08-03T11:43:00.001-07:00

I stole some more photos from Nikki's blog if you haven't been there yet of the show. Jenni Bowlin came into the booth and Nikki got to meet her and get a picture. Apparently Nikki cried her eyes out but she said she was wonderfully sweet.

Also Jill from Jillibean soup came in. Her booth was next to Nikki's and Nikki said she was so helpful and kind the entire time.

We are so proud of how well we were received and I know in part it is because of Nikki's amazing personality! Great job Nikki your dream is officially a reality!!

The word from CHA

2009-07-31T06:51:00.001-07:00

Good morning and I FINALLY got to talk to Nikki last night. We have been playing phone tag and the wait has been killing me! We this is the response I got "We rocked CHA" can't get much better than that. Nikki said the response was amazing! I can't wait for them to get back so I can get all the details but I wanted to pass the word.

Special thanks to Charity and Susan. Nikki couldn't say enough nice things about the two of you and it made things so much easier for her that she could trust people right away. Susan thanks for helping set up the booth again! In Nikki's words, your a trooper!

I will post pictures as some as I can steal some from Nikki.

Great day at CHA!

2009-07-29T06:57:00.001-07:00

Well I missed Nikki on the phone but she left me a message to say that if waswonderful day! They had a steady stream of people all day and people really seemed to love the products. I want to say a special thanks to Vicki, Susan and Charity for helping out this week. I HATE that I'm not there and Nikki and Dan both remind me that I should be....hehehe

Here are a few pictures from Nikki's blog of the booth. It looks so amazing, Nikki did the greatest job putting that all together.

CHA!!!

2009-07-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well Nikki and Dan are hard at it. I hate that I'm not there to help and see all the other booths. Here are a few pictures Nikki posted of them putting up the booth.

Lorio the Oreo

2009-07-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

I got to spend some time last night with my BFF Lori. She abandoned me and moved to Kansas City a long time ago and so I don't get to see her as much as I'd like. I can't believe how big her kids are getting.... they are the cutest and I want to squeeze the every time I see them!

Last minute

2009-07-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Well Nikki and Dan leave on Thursday for Florida! CHA here we come. Now it is just all the little last minute things to wrap up. I just know things will go great so no more tears from a certain someone.... you know who you are.

On another note I just finished rewatching the second season of Psych. I swear they wrote this show specifically for me. The 80's references are perfect and Sean and Gus have the best comedic timing. Love, Love, Love this show.

I watched Push on netflixs and I really wanted to love this movie but the plot was all over the place. Dakota Fanning is growing up nicely and seems to have made a nice transition into older actress. I hope she keeps working cause she talented. The abilities were cool but we didn't get to see them used much and there was A LOT of down time.

Rating: **1/2 (I'm a sucker for super hero power stuff)

Type to you later,

Very exciting stuff

2009-07-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well some of you know that I have been doing the graphic design for a new scrapbook company started by my good friend Nikki Sivils. I just wanted to post some pictures of our products in the store Scrapbook Generation located here in town. I can't tell you how giddy Nikki and I were when we went in to see the stuff actually in a store and selling! This has been an amazing opportunity for me and I just wanted to shout out to Nikki and Dan for allowing to take this ride wit them. It has been great so far and I know CHA will be a great success.

Check out our website to see all our super awesome products!

www.nikkisivils.com

Well I guess I had to start sometime...

2009-07-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

Well I have finally given in and started a blog. Now I know what your thinking... it's about time! I can't imagine how I got along without your constant words of wisdom before. Ok, that might be pushing it a bit but anyway....

I feel slightly lost now that I'm pretty much done with design stuff for Nikki. She and Dan are working their tails off getting ready for the CHA show and I'm soooo excited. I actually went home last night and DIDN'T turn on my laptop. I watched 3, yes 3 movies last night. Sooo for you reading pleasure here are my reviews.

New in Town:

Cute, sweet, and Harry is a lot of man. Renee is funny and charming but the eyes and the pursed lips make me nuts. Watch this for the side characters - Blanche steals the show.

Rating - * 1/2 (rent)

Indiana Jones and the crystal something or other: (wouldn't 4 just have been easier?)

Well the beginning makes me want to turn away. They dubbed in Harrison's voice for some reason and it feels like a joke. There are a few moments that made me all giddy but for the most part I felt like I was watching something a film student put together. The jeep fight is awful... how fake! but the temple was cool and I like Mutt. Indy's fight scenes were actually pretty believable which for his age was a feather in his cap. I won't ruin the end but I looked around and thought "Where's Aston cause I have to be getting Punk'd" It's that dumb.

Rating - ** (mainly cause I'm a sucker for Indy but got back and watch 1 and 3 instead)

Taken:

Wow, what to say... Well my husband loved it and if you know him that is saying a lot! Simple story, not a lot of twists that don't make sense. Dad goes and gets girl. Done. Oh and he kills pretty much everybody on the way. Awesome, finally someone who isn't conflicted about hurting bad people....paging Jason Bourne....

Rating - **** (watch and be ready for the ride)

So that's it for today....

Type to you later