Hot and Not 2011

As the year 2011 draws to a close, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at this year and determine what was "Hot" and what was...well, "Not". Looking forward to a great new year in 2012. Check back soon for a post on New Years resolutions.

Hot

1. Ryan Gosling. Starring in Crazy Stupid Love, Blue Valentine, and Ides of March, Ryan Gosling had a stellar year of films. With all of these films making headlines and getting great reviews, it looks like Ryan Gosling is back from The Notebook and going strong. And...he's not too bad on the eyes either ;)
2. Emma Stone. Hollywood's new favorite actress. Audiences and producers first fell in love with Emma Stone in the movie Easy A. Her charismatic personality and unforgettable role has landed her in countless movies since including: Crazy Stupid Love and The Help. 
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. As the Harry Potter phenomenon drew to a close, millions of fans lined up outside of theaters on July 15th and came together to enjoy the last Harry Potter movie. Forever. This movie earned over 378 million dollars in the box office, definitely qualifying it as "Hot".
4. X Factor. Simon Cowell decided to bring his hit show "The X Factor" to the USA this year, and it was a hit indeed. With an entertaining and all star panel of judges: Simon Cowell, L.A. Reid, Nicole Scherzinger, and Paula Abdul, the judges tended to steal much of the spotlight. The talented contestants on the X Factor proved to be much better than the contestants on American Idol, and the 5 million dollar prize was no joking matter. Melanie Amaro was this season's winner and she looks like she could be the next Mariah Carey. 
5. Osama Bin Laden dead. After ten years of searching for this terrorist responsible for the attacks on September 11, 2001 Osama Bin Laden was killed on May 2nd by US Navy Seals and CIA operatives on a secret mission ordered by President Obama. His body was buried at sea shortly there after. Bravo Obama, bravo. 
6. Royal Wedding. Prince William and Catherine Middleton were wed on April 29, 2011 in the biggest wedding of the year, and mostly likely the decade. With global coverage for weeks, audiences were updated on outfits, pictures, videos, and more. Prince William and Catherine are now the Duke and Dutchess of Cambridge. Perhaps the "Hot" part of this wedding was Catherine's sister Pippa who stole the show with her form fitting dress. So hot.
7. Mayhem. If I were to buy insurance on convincing and clever commercials alone, I would buy Allstate. Their "Mayhem" actor and the commercials are absolutely genius. He's the best thing since the Slowsky's. 

Not

1. Casey Anthony. By far the most controversial trial of the year, Casey Anthony was the face of every news channel for weeks until the verdict was finally decided. Anthony was found not guilty. Months later, she is still one of the least favorite people of the American people. Not hot.
2. Steve Jobs. I couldn't decide whether to put Steve Job's death on "Hot" or "Not" because he died, so that sucks. But his accomplishments as the head hancho of Apple are so "Hot". Steve Jobs brought the world the iPod, iPad, iPhone, and made the Apple name one the biggest (if not the biggest) in the industry. A true genius and legacy, he is greatly missed. 
3. NASA. In July of this year, NASA safely launched their last space shuttle mission into orbit. After decades of space missions, NASA's government funded program has come to a close, for now. 
4. Jack and Jill. Dear Adam Sandler, please stop making movies. Nothing since 50 first dates has been remotely entertaining, and Jack and Jill had two Adam Sandlers. We all know that the only actor that can pull off playing multiple parts in a movie is Eddie Murphy. 
5. Government "Shutdown". Just an hour before the government would literally shut down, the House, Senate, and Obama administration came to an agreement on a budget deal. But for the American people, waiting until 11 o'clock at night was too late, putting lots of stress on government workers as they wondered if they would have a job on Monday or not. 

Southwood Christmas Lights

Well, hello everyone! So sorry for not posting for over a week now! I have been super busy, and we haven't had internet for the past few days. We have been moving houses and all over the place. Move in day was yesterday, and let me tell you, my parent's new house looks like it should be on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. I've had a great vacation here in Tallahassee, and tomorrow, I head back to Gainesville. I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a great new year.

While in town, my parents took me to a house in Southwood that had an amazing Christmas lights setup. Set to American music, these lights flash red, white, and blue and will take your breath away. The family that set up these lights did so to raise money for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, and I would venture to say that they raised a pretty decent amount of money. This house was one of two houses mentioned in the entire nation for their display of Christmas lights. As the nights grew closer to Christmas, the line to see this house was backed up for miles, literally. On Christmas Eve, it was probably a good hour wait to see these lights, and most would say they are well worth the wait. While the video does not do this house justice, I still hope that you enjoy it.

Christmas Movies

One of the best parts of the holidays is the 25 days of Christmas movies on ABC family. From December 1st to Christmas day, each night, a famous Christmas movie is shown. Titles range from How the Grinch Stole Christmas to the Christmas Story. I thought that I would share some of my favorite Christmas movies with you all, starting with How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

The new Grinch movie debuted in the year 2000, staring Jim Carrey as the Grinch. Jim Carrey is one of my all time favorite actors, and he plays the Grinch PERFECTLY. His classic facial expressions and great one-liners truly turn this old classic film into a modern success. If you are looking for a heart warming movie with some catchy tunes, be sure to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas. You're sure to be singing "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch" for a few days. 

Elf, starring Will Ferrell is one of the most popular modern day Christmas films. I am not a fan of Will Ferrell generally speaking, but he is wonderful in this movie. Elf tells the story of a young boy who was raised by elves, but headed to New York one day to try and find his real father. As you follow Buddy the Elf (what's your favorite color?) through all of his adventures and mishaps, you fall in love with the giant kid he is and his even bigger Christmas spirit. For all of you big kids at heart out there, this is the Christmas comedy for you!

Perhaps two of the most famous and acclaimed Christmas movies are Miracle on 34th Street and The Christmas Story. While I do love the heart-warming, classic story of St. Nick in Miracle on 34th Street, I didn't fall in love with The Christmas Story as the rest of the world did. It may be because it is played on television more than any other Christmas movie, or all I remember about the movie is the Red Rider bebe gun. Either way, it's not my favorite Christmas movie. 

As Christmas approaches in exactly one week, be sure to find a Christmas movie to curl up with a bowl of popcorn on your couch and enjoy a relaxing night! 

Updates!

Hey all!

I know I haven't put up a new recipe in a while, but that will change come tomorrow! Since I got home for Christmas break, I haven't stopped moving and won't stop until tomorrow around 2. When I finally get a breather, I will post a recipe called Instant Happiness Mac N' Cheese. It's one of the first recipes that I cooked by myself and it is definitely a keeper. So, be sure to check back for that!

I will also be creating a page called "On the Road". This page will be for all of my adventures while I am here in Tallahassee. I will be eating at some of our famous local restaurants and posting reviews as well as just reporting about any exciting day to day activities going on. I hope to be eating at our first restaurant in the next couple of days, so be on the lookout for "On the Road"!

Today, when I got home from work, my dad had gone out and dug our Christmas trees, stockings, reindeer, and other holiday items out of storage and decorated the house. Our home finally feels like Christmas and I am so happy! Thanks, Daddy :) I went Christmas shopping again tonight...and I'm still not done. I have 1 person left though, so I think it's manageable. I work at Paisley Daisy (a fun fashion jewelry store) and we were swamped today. Everyone is out trying to buy those last minute gifts before next Sunday and the mayhem will continue to grow as the week goes on. I would like to know how you all Christmas shop so please answer my poll to the right!

It's getting late here in Tallahassee, and I won't be writing a full out post until tomorrow, but I thought you might like a sneak peak of what's to come.

"Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville - did not. The Grinch hated Christmas - the whole Christmas season. Now, please don't ask why; no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. Or it could be that his head wasn't screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all... may have been that his heart was two sizes too small."

Christmas Shopping

I'm stressed out just by the title of this post. Christmas shopping is probably one of the most fun, frantic, and down right overwhelming times of the year. Malls are packed, people are rude and pushy, and you have no idea what to get for the people on your list. One of the most confusing parts of Christmas shopping for me is trying to figure out who I am expected to buy gifts for and who I'm not. Usually, if I'm in doubt, I don't. Unless...they give me a gift and then I feel obligated. And the budget...how much do I spend on my parents? My roommate? My best friend? My boyfriend?

When you ask someone what the want for Christmas and they answer with "Nothing", it's a lie. They are expecting something from you, and they want you to know what they want. Well, I have no clue, so just tell me please. And if anyone has the funniest (and most accurate) comments about Christmas shopping it's Ellen Degeneres. Check out this clip from her show below!

 I spent much of my day today Christmas shopping, and I am happy to say I am almost done. Only three more people to go. (I think) As much as I stress over Christmas shopping, there is nothing better than watching someone open their gift. I truly enjoy giving gifts rather than receiving them, and not because its the trendy, right thing to say, I just enjoy surprising people. (I do like getting gifts too, though) Every year, I play Santa for my family's Christmas morning and hand out all the gifts. I love sorting them under the tree and counting how many gifts each person gets. I create a pattern/routine of handing out gifts to make sure that no one goes too long without opening a gift....I suppose that part comes from my slight OCD. This year it will be different as we don't have a tree and my brothers won't be in town. We are moving houses this month, so our Christmas decorating is non-existent. It's definitely sad, but I think that it will all be worth it next year when we have Christmas in our new house!

Well, there's only 10 days until Christmas so if you haven't done your Christmas shopping yet, get out there! Gifts are going fast, and it's only going to get more stressful. Merry Christmas! :)

Super Size Me

It's official. I am done with my first semester of college at the University of Florida and I made straight A's! Pretty good way to start this whole college thing I think! As Gainesville no longer provides me with a reason to stay here any longer, I will be heading home tomorrow for Christmas. As you all head home for the holiday break, drive safe and have a wonderful time!

Now enough of that college talk, the semester is over. I recently watched a movie called "Super Size Me" and for those of you who have not seen this movie, here's a quick run-down. A New Yorker decides to eat McDonald's and only McDonald's for 30 days and examine the effect it has on his health. This movie is actually a documentary, and generally speaking, I hate documentaries. I get bored really easily, and although this movie was no Bourne Identity, I was certainly intrigued. I always knew that fast food wasn't good for you, and that it causes obesity and all the jazz, but I never had any idea of the magnitude of these problems.

More than 20% of people eat out at fast food at least twice a week, and many of these people eat at McDonald's two or three times a day. By eating at McDonald's every day for one month, the New Yorker in this documentary gained over 15 pounds, and his cholesterol, fats, and sugars shot through the roof. He became depressed and lazy as the sugar and fat infested food took over his body. It's nearly impossible to say that the amount of fast food that one consumes has no link to the growing obesity rate It does. In the next ten years, obesity is predicted to overtake smoking as the leading most preventible cause of death. The rest of the statistics found in this documentary are staggering, and rather startling. If you haven't seen this movie, I'd strongly recommend it. But eat all the fast food you want first. You might not want anymore after watching it.

Watch "Super Size Me" Here

So what does this all mean? Are we supposed to completely forgo fast food? Researchers say yes. I say no, it's not realistic. I have a special place in my heart for Chikfila and Zaxby's, both fast food restaurants. For some reason, I qualify them as "high-end" fast food restaurants...but they still serve fast, fried, (delicious) food. Fast food is fast food. I think the key is to eat a well balanced diet and exercise regularly so that you can splurge on fast food every now and then. There's no denying the convienence and appeal for road trips, and in the mornings, there's nothing better than a hot Chikfila chicken biscuit. Just watch the frequency I suppose. Since watching the movie, I have tried to start eating healthier and become more physically active. (We will see how long this lasts..) I am drinking Bolthouse Farms veggie juice (looks gross, tastes delicious), cutting back on the Zaxbys (*tear*) and just trying to be more physically active. I am hoping to get a pedometer soon to track my steps each day. The average number of steps the average American takes a day is around 5000, significantly less than the 10000 recommended.

So get pumped. Get active. And join me in Walk with Walgreens as millions of people across the nation try to live a little bit healthier life. After all, you only get one. (As far as I know)

Finals Week

Hey everyone,

I'm sure you've noticed that I didn't blog yesterday and haven't been blogging as much as I have in the past. This is because it's finals week here at UF and from now until Tuesday, I will be spending most (all) of my time studying for these exams. I will do my best to get on Gainesville Goodies and post a couple recipes and such, but I wouldn't expect any long posts until after Tuesday. Sorry guys, but I am a college student after all. Just wanted to give you all a heads up so you knew what was going on. Thanks for understanding!!