Thursday, August 9, 2012

Primarily posting on tumblr...

Just a little note to let you know that I'm primarily posting on tumblr these days...come join me over there!

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Blogging the Super Bowl Commercials

SUPER BOWL XLVI - THE COMMERCIALS

PRE-KICKOFF:

Hyundai - Eye of the Tiger: a little cheesy but I liked it; still didn't make me wanna buy one of their cars though...just proved to me that their employees can sing...sort of...

FIRST QUARTER:

Bud Light Platinum - Unveiling: Really? Kanye's music was the highlight and that's not saying a whole lot.

Audi - Vampires: Saw this one online earlier in the week; like the idea, but they should have had hotter vampires - Damon anyone? Still, it was clever but again, not sure it makes me wanna buy an Audi, no matter how bright the headlights are...

Giants get a safety. 2-0 Giants.

Pepsi - No Pepsi for You: LOVED King Elton...not sure who that singer was, but she was excellent! Pepsi always has good ads but they will never ever make me switch from Coke.

Hyundai - Cheetah: HA HA HA HA! That was funny. Is every ad going to have a big cat theme? Curious...

Giants score a touchdown. 9-0 Giants.

Bud Light Platinum - Building of People: Even if I drank beer I wouldn't drink this because their ads are LUH-AME. What possessed anyone to think those ads would make people want to drink that?

M&Ms - Naked: HA HA HA HA! Loved that! Brown was extra snarky and awesome.

Best Buy - Smart Phones: The Words with Friends part was funny. Cute ad. Nice to see all the inventors of the stuff we use every day with our phones.

Celebrity Apprentice - Promo: Blah. Why is this still a show?

Coke - Bears: LOVE the polars! And I love the Coke, so, WIN!

Chevy - End of the World: Love the Barry Manilow! Also, the dog was cute. Poor Dave. Liked it. Also, I now want a Twinki.

Bridgestone - Performance Football: Giddy up now D. Funny.

GoDaddy - Hot Model: This whole company should be banned from the planet. I just can't. Always tacky.

Lexus - Change Can't be Contained: Snooze.

Battleship - Movie: I can't believe I just had to sit through that. I'll never get that minute of my life back.

Top Five Advertisers (in my opinion): 

  1. M&Ms
  2. Hyundai
  3. Pepsi
  4. Coke
  5. Chevy

SECOND QUARTER:

Patriots kick a field goal. 9-3 Giants.

Budweiser - End of Prohibition: Anything with the Clydesdales is awesome. FACT. When the Dalmatian is added in, it's a complete win. The music from The Natural didn't hurt either.

Doritos - Dog & Cat: HA HA HA! That dog could not be cuter. And now I want Doritos.

Camaro - Graduation: I've seen this one before but it's pretty cute. And that Camaro's not too bad-looking either. Although I'd want it in a different color. Yellow? Really?

GE - Turbines: I think I just fell asleep. Wait, is this a GE ad or a Budweiser ad? I got confused after I woke up.

John Carter - Movie: No thank you.

TaxACT - Gotta Pee: This ad was cuter before I knew what it was for. Also, peeing in the pool is gross.

The Lorax - Movie: Definitely looks better than the other two movies they've advertised. Loved the book...not sure about the movie...still, the creatures look pretty good animated...

VW - Dog Exercise Program: Saw this earlier this week too and loved it. The dog is cute, and I love that he's motivated so he can chase the car. The bug's not bad looking either but the best part is the end in the Star Wars Cantina. HA!

America's Got Talent - Promo: Howard Stern? Gross. That just guaranteed I won't be watching that show.

H&M - Body Wear: Oh hello Mr. Beckham. Delicious. Also, swoon.

Coke - Bears part 2: Seriously, I LOVE the polars! Why don't I have any Coke in my house???

Chevy Sonic - Stunt Cars: Love the song! Cute idea. Not gonna buy the car though.

Star Wars 3D - Movie: I have no time for episodes 1, 2 or 3. Just tell me when the REAL movies start.

The Avengers - Movie: Can't WAIT to see this!!

Teleflora - Valentine's Day: Really? Cliché much?

Skechers - Dog Race: HA! Yes. That was good.

Kinect for XBox - NFL Play 60: Meh.

Cars.com - Confidence: Kinda clever but mostly creepy.

Doritos - Baby Slingshot: Another excellent offering! That's what you get for taunting, kid.

E*Trade - Baby: I'm tired of the baby. There. I said it.

GI Joe - Movie: Did we really need another one of these movies? No. We did not.

Patriots score a touchdown. 10-9 Patriots.

Top Five Advertisers (in my opinion):

  1. Doritos
  2. VW
  3. Coke
  4. H&M
  5. Skechers

HALFTIME

NFL - Millionaire: People are seriously delusional about what they'd be able to do with a million dollars. Lame.

Citibank - Financial Tools: Sorry, I fell asleep again.

Xfinity - Fastest House: Not a new ad. Sorta clever. I guess.

Round Table Pizza - Pepperoni: Pretty sure this is a regional ad and nothing about their pizza ever looks good to me.

America's Beverage Companies - Portions: Okay, so the beverage companies are trying to help us? Sure they are.

Citibank - Yardwork: Lazy husband pays kid to do yardwork? Whatever.

Toyota - Life in a Car: Nope. Still not buying your car.

Hulu - Hulubratory: Love Will Arnett. And Hulu's okay too.

Bud Light - LMFAO: Kinda funny.

Leno - Promo: Wow indeed Madonna. Wow indeed.

I'm not even going to waste my time ranking the halftime ads because they were all weak. I will, however, provide my opinion on Madonna's show...this was my running commentary to myself as I watched...enjoy...

  • Okay, Madonna is definitely a showman - show-woman? show-person?, no question about it. Not sure about all the warrior people at the beginning though and definitely not sure about her outfit. Still, she sounds great. Love the 'Vogue' light box things. That's always been one of my favorite songs of hers.
  • Never liked that 'Music' song. It's just kinda blah. And what was with the creepy guy on the wire? Did not like.
  • Okay, so LMFAO is actually performing with her? Weird. She dances a lot better than they do, that's for sure. 
  • Wait, did i just see Nikki Minaj?
  • Pom poms? Really? This went downhill fast. Madonna's older music is just so much better.
  • And there's Nikki. I just can't. And I don't even know who that other one is. I do know that I do NOT like this song. At all. Also, love is spelled L O V E, not L U V. 
  • OMG, Cee Lo leading the band? He's crazy. And I love him! See? The older music is just better!
  • Hmm...I wonder which groups will protest against her singing about prayer? You know someone will. Have always loved this song too.
  • Okay, the World Peace thing at the end was too much. Come on people. Overall, I give the performance a C. Very average.
The Voice - Promo: Betty White for the win!! So ready for this show to start again!

Detroit - Clint Eastwood: Umm, isn't Clint from California? Doesn't he know our economy is in a giant hole too? Oh right. No one cares about us. I forgot. Good job Detroit. I still don't want to buy any of your cars.

I take it back. The ad for The Voice wins halftime.

THIRD QUARTER:

Patriots score a touchdown. 17-9 Patriots.

Smash - Promo: I know a lot of people are excited about this show but I just can't get excited about it. And Katharine McPhee, you will NEVER sing that song like Christina did. Sorry.

NBC Bay Area - Promo: Clearly a regional ad. Didn't know this guy graduated from SJSU...hey, I learned something from TV!

Xfinity - Fastest House: Again? Blah.

Chase - Drew Brees: Cute.

Giants kick a field goal. 17-12 Patriots.

Fiat - Sexy Girl: OMG. Someone's kidding me, right? It is now confirmed that I will not be buying a FITA.

Pepsi Max - Coke Guy Wins: I'm tired of Coke vs. Pepsi. The fact is, people like what they like and that's that. Trying to make people believe that the Coke guy would sneak away to drink the Pepsi is just silly. Okay, stepping down from soap box.

Toyota - Reinvention: Still not buying your car. And I feel kinda annoyed by your ad.

Coke - Bears part 3: Yep. I still love them. And the added bonus of the penguin and the seal was very yay.

Oikos - John Stamos: So this yogurt makes some people taunt and some people head butt? Neat.

Century 21 - Famous People: Wow. So didn't get that. Am I supposed to be impressed by the famous people? I don't think I am.

Acura NSX - Seinfeld: Saw this one earlier too and loved it. Very clever. Especially the end. LENO! NEWMAN!

GE - Appliance Park: I would like to see the numbers for GE to understand what these ads did for them. Are they supposed to make me feel good about people working in the US? I'm just not getting the point.

Budweiser - Prohibition Ends part 2: Okay, kinda like it. Good music. Apparently Budweiser makes you dance and party and get excited about all sorts of things. Well okay then!

Bridgestone - Performance Basketball: Timmy D! One of my all-time favorites. I've always thought Bridgestone Tires were the best. Having Tim Duncan in the ad confirmed it.

The Voice - Promo: Give me this show already!

Giants kick a field goal. 17-15 Patriots.

NFL - History: Actually really liked that ad.

eBay - Jeans: Kinda cute, but mostly boring.

Toyota - Prius: Still not buying your cars. Did I say that already? Well, I meant it.

Jack in the Box - Bacon: Oh Jack. You're crazy. And now I want bacon.

Top Five Advertisers (in my opinion):

  1. Acura
  2. Budweiser
  3. Coke
  4. Bridgestone
  5. NFL


FOURTH QUARTER:

Honda - Ferris: Oh yeah. Saw this earlier in the week and it is excellent. Now I must watch Ferris Bueller's Day Off. And visit Chicago. I think it's only right.

Act of Valor - Movie: The only good part about this ad/movie is the Eminem song.

MetLife - Cartoons: I miss the old cartoons. Oh, this is about insurance? Okay.

Smash - Promo: This still isn't making me want to watch the show.

Hyundai - Bob: Another clever ad that doesn't make me want to buy your car.

Bud Light - Here We Go: Now that's the kind of clever Bud Light ad I've been waiting for. You go We Go.

KIA - Dreams: Clearly they only want guys to buy this car. They've succeeded. I will never buy this car.

CareerBuilder.com - Chimps: Cute. But haven't we seen enough of the chimps? I feel bored with them.

Comedy Thursdays - Promo: Lame.

Samsung Galaxy - Believe: It doesn't make me want to buy it but it does look kinda cool. And it was a clever ad. I've never understood the people that wait in line for the new Apple toys. I love Apple but I'm not camping out for it.

The Voice - Promo: GIVE IT!!

Cadillac - Green Hell: No thank you.

Swamp People - Promo: No guts. No gator. Well okay then.

GoDaddy - Internet Cloud: Seriously, why is this company still in business? I want to punch all of it in the face!

Awake - Promo: Never heard of this show but it looks kind of interesting.

Giants score a touchdown. 21-17 Giants.

GIANTS WIN!!


Top Three Advertisers - yeah, that's all I have for this quarter (in my opinion):

  1. Honda
  2. Bud Light
  3. Samsung Galaxy

I'm not sure I can pick a favorite, but M&Ms was definitely a good one, and I loved both Doritos ads. You really can't go wrong with Ferris. EVER. And Seinfeld proved he was still funny. And then there was VW...see? Too hard to pick just one!


What about you? What were your favorites?

Friday, February 3, 2012

Birthday Eve

It's Birthday Eve and therefore time to blog. Yes, I just made that rule up. I can do whatever I want because it's my Birthday Eve. When it's your Birthday Eve you can do whatever you want. I suppose you can do whatever you want on any sort of Eve but I've now gotten carried away with this whole thing and just need to move on.


I have a feeling this is going to be one of the most blah birthdays I've ever had. Being home with pneumonia for the last two weeks pretty much ensured that. My only plan for the weekend is to stay in and rest and open the cards and boxes that have been delivered this week. I'm certain that will be the highlight and send my thanks in advance to everyone that sent them!


I was supposed to have birthday dinner with friends tomorrow night but that had to be cancelled. I'm sure we'll reschedule but it's definitely strange to have no plans on my actual birthday. I just felt it was best to stay in a little longer. This pneumonia is really not interesting at all but it has definitely made me even more certain that I need to do something spectacular and awesome for my birthday next year. After all, it's divisible by five and someone once told me that any birthday ending in a zero or a five is a big deal...or maybe I made that up...either way I'm pretty sure it's true. I'm also pretty sure those birthdays are supposed to involve jewelry. Just FYI.


As I was contemplating the birthday I remembered a silly tradition I started three years ago on this blog and decided to do it once again just to see how things have changed. I selected this year's songs from the Recently Played section of iTunes (as I did last year), so this is what I've been listening to obsessively for weeks, months, maybe even since last year. You can check out 2010's songs here and 2009's here


Ready 2012? Let's do this!!


Opening Credits:
Born to Love You - Nathan Angelo

Waking Up:
Miss Me - Andy Grammer

First Day at School:
You Can't Win - Kelly Clarkson

What Your Friends Think of You:
I Saw - Matt Nathanson

What You Think of Your Friends:
Blinding Light - Switchfoot

What You Think of Your Best Friend:
Bent - Matt Nathanson

What You Like in a Boy:
Little Wonders - Rob Thomas

Falling in Love:
Sing it Out - Switchfoot

Fight Song:
What You Mean to Me - Christopher Wilde (a.k.a. Sterling Knight)

Breaking Up:
Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds to Mars

Prom:
Angel - Matt Nathanson

What You Wanted to Be When You Grew Up:
Back to You - John Mayer

Life:
Ladies - Andy Grammer

How You Describe Yourself:
Ghost - Parachute

How You Feel Today - Your Birthday!:
So Much I Don't Know - Nathan Angelo (wow, if that's not perfect, I don't know what is)

Mental Breakdown:
All I Have to do is Dream - Matt Nathanson

Your Life's Purpose:
Now Comes the Night - Rob Thomas

Your Motto:
Masterpiece - Todd Carey

What You Think About Often:
I Give My All - Nathan Angelo

Your Hobby/Interest:
Come Around - Nathan Angelo

Your Biggest Fear:
Philadelphia - Parachute

Your Biggest Secret:
American Secrets - Parachute (hmmm...)

Driving:
Your Name - Zach Chance

Flashback:
Photograph - Todd Carey (well okay, here's my TC Photograph flashback)

Getting Back Together:
Drop to Hold You - Matt Nathanson

Wedding Scene:
Kiss Me Slowly - Parachute

Your Wedding Dance:
Breathe - Ryan Star

What You Think of When You See the Love of Your Life:
Count On Me - Mat Kearney

Birth of Child:
Make it Without You - Andrew Belle

Life Story:
Save You - Matthew Perryman Jones

Final Battle:
All We Ever Do is Say Goodbye - John Mayer

Death Scene:
In My Veins - Andrew Belle

Funeral Song:
Watching Waiting - Todd Carey

End Credits:
Hope You Found it Now - Jason Walker


Well there you have it...another year of music I love. If you don't know some of these artists I would definitely encourage you to check them out. I've been discovering a lot of great musicians in the last couple of years and have loved expanding my collection of music. If there's one thing that can almost always make me smile, no matter how bad I feel, it's music. Sometimes I can't even explain why a song moves me but so many do and I absolutely love that. I hope you're all enjoying whatever you're listening to these days and I hope it moves you and makes you smile.

Goodnight!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

The end...or the beginning...I don't know anymore...

So, yesterday was a double doctor sort of day. I finally got to my post-op appointment with my ob/gyn - after being put off last Friday and now have a plan of action for moving forward. It's called taking hormones to counteract the extra estrogen my body is apparently producing, which caused numerous polyps to form. Those got removed during the surgery a few weeks back and were all benign. But because of the extra estrogen they could easily form again so thus, the hormones. Neat.

Doctor number two sent me for a chest x-ray because I've been feeling sick since last Wednesday night and had a fever of 102ish on Sunday and between 101 and 102 yesterday coupled with a cough that would scare small children. The chest x-ray confirmed her thoughts...pneumonia. Well sure. Because I can't go a week without something being wrong. I was already on antibiotics, which she assures me are going to bring the fever down. So far today I still have it and will be retreating back to my bed shortly. I had to get up to eat but I'm starting to think that was completely overrated.

So I'm home for a few days...not sure how long...depends on the fever and how I feel. So, I'm recovered from one thing only to be thrown into another thing. I'm more than ready to be healthy again!

On the up side, I got these gorgeous flowers from my mom...she's the best.


Saturday, January 7, 2012

Day 68

Or as I like to call it...after the morning after (one of my favorite Todd Carey songs)...if you're behind on this little saga, feel free to catch up with the prior installments...

Day 65 . Day 64 . Day 59 . Day 58 . Day 52

The words of the day are "mild discomfort". It's definitely not pain, just annoyance. Which I'm pretty sure is good. And it's better today than it was yesterday. Mainly, I just feel like doing nothing. And I'm really good at it.

I started to blog on Thursday evening, after the anesthesia was mostly worn off, but I just couldn't do it. It seemed hard to be pithy. It still seems hard but I figured it was time to just do it and not worry about the lack of pith. Bottom line, things went as expected and now it's all about recovering and waiting for results. Whee!

Many, many thanks to my friend Marcie who chauffeured me to and from the surgery center, brought me McDonald's and hung out all afternoon to make sure I didn't fall down the stairs or anything. She also got the special pleasure of seeing me after I took the pain pill. I hoped it would make me sleepy but it did exactly the opposite. I was loopy and bouncy and am pretty sure I was talking really fast. Mostly, I paced around the upstairs of my house, wandering from my bedroom to the bathroom and back. Every now and then I tried to lay down but it just wasn't comfortable, neither was sitting, so standing and pacing was it. I kept thinking I'd just drop at some point but it didn't happen until much later in the night. Overall it was a fairly calm afternoon and evening. Also, I got some awesome flowers from my mom and a most excellent t-shirt from my friend Colleen.



Yesterday, I called the doctor's office twice in about ten minutes...I had to make a follow up appointment then kept asking questions...

Question One: Is there anything I can take for the sore throat from the breathing tube? And how long will the soreness last?
Answer: Just a few days. Drink lots of hot liquids, tea, water, etc. Throat lozenges are fine too. Cepacol are the best ones.
Reaction: Cool.
Outcome: Hot tea rules. Lozenges are lame. Friend bought them at the store but they have made no difference. I'm going to make more tea. Which only makes me have to go to the bathroom more.

Question Two: How long will the burning last and is there anything I can do about it?
Answer: Just a few days. When you're going to the bathroom, pour 32 ounces of cold water down there at the same time.
Reaction: Seriously?
Outcome: Water on the floor. Every time. But, less burning too.


Bonus of today so far: I can go to the bathroom without anything burning. Yes. I know it's graphic but hey, this whole thing has been graphic so you'll get over it. Or you'll stop reading. And that will be that.

Thanks to my friend Stacy who brought me the Cepacol yesterday, as well as Extra Strength Tylenol and McDonald's. I'm not sure what helped me the most but I think it was the McDonald's. It seems to be the only thing I'm actually craving. And I want it right now! Maybe I'll get dressed and go get it. Or maybe it will magically appear in my kitchen when I walk downstairs. It could happen. 


Anyway, mostly I'm good. I won't have any results for a couple of weeks but there's no reason to think things aren't fine. Thanks again to everyone who called, emailed, messaged, etc. I am extremely blessed.