Calphalon wok from Williams Sonoma - 49.99
Groceries from Publix - 32.26
Cooking implements from Alberstons - 20.21

Homemade Tulip dumplings and Pad Thai with peach cobbler for dessert - priceless

I've been wanting to do something special for my boyfriend for a while. He's been wining and dining me for weeks and I just wanted to do something he'd enjoy and that would help warm his new house. So last night I got all up in his kitchen, cleared the counters (which he has a lot considering his kitchen isn't all that big) and whipped out the brand new wok and cleaver and got to work. As much time as it took to chop everything, stuffing the dumplings, steaming the dumplings, stir frying the veggies and shrimp, and then putting them aside to stir fry the rice noodles, baking the cobbler for an hour and letting it stay warm in the oven, was all worth while.

Sure, we could have gone out to a Thai restaurant for less than 50 bucks. But it was nice to spend the evening together, he working on cleaning and unpacking, while I filled the kitchen with the scents of cinnamon, ginger, lime and garlic. We listened to U2, sang along, loudly, laughed, made our own naughty lyrics and just had a good time at home. That in itself made the whole evening worth while.

Nothing says you have to go out for a good time, a good time is sometimes right in your own back yard, or kitchen!

Little Miss Sunshine is a funny, touching, well acted, well-written, super joy of a movie. Short and paced to perfection, I had a blast following the characters in their really wacky journey in a beat up Volkswagen van from home to a beauty contest for 7-year-old girls some 700 miles away.

In for the ride with Olive, the 7 year-old-girl, is her motivational speaker father, her mother, the coke snorting grandfather, an uncle who days earlier tried to commit suicide, an older brother who refuses to utter a word, and of course, the van.

The jokes are plenty, the touching moments few but played to perfection, a script that is a pure gem, a pair of directors that know they aren’t the stars of the movie, and a cast that plays their roles to perfection. And boy oh boy, do they rip into beauty pageants of this sort.

If you only see one of the movies that are out now, make it this one.

It happened. I knew it would. I knew it was coming. There was nothing I could do though. I was helpless. I mean, the opportunities were there, and I couldn't say no. I've never been able to say no when it came to those kind of opportunities. Even now, I still have more. There's more, I have it tucked away here and there. But I haven't put it on yet. Oh, believe me, I want to. I really want to. I just know that the moment came quicker than I wanted it to.

Last night I had to take the Harry Potter audio books off my iPod to make room for the rest of my CDs. And I still have music from another two people to put onto it. Before I took the Harry Potter off, I only had 200 MB left. After unchecking it I had 2 gigs. I know it! My days are numbered! I'm going to have to suck it up and get a bigger iPod!

I saw Shopgirl on DVD with Claire Danes in the title role, and Steve Martin and Jason Schwartzman as her unworth suitors. Yeah, you heard me, even Steve Martin is an unworth fop in something HE wrote. Mind you, I've always been rather charmed by Steve Martin, particularly in roles where he plays the loveable underdog to the wiles of the ingenue. I started off laughing at Jason Schwartzman's failed attempts to woo the shy former art school girl that Claire depicted everso well. This guy had no clue, no class, hardly looked like he even washed himself, and definitely didn't know how to treat a lady. I expected he could flop. But then, when she meets Martin, I was happy and excited for her, thinking yeah baby, now you're gonna get some good loving. And yet, love wasn't where you thought it might be. Definitely expect the unexpected if you rent this gem. Happy endings abound, just not where you might expect them

According to my TV, I walked out of the number one movie in America. Talladega Nights sucked ass. It was dumb, dumber, dumbest. It didn't even really have any cultural reference humor in it. Want to laugh at Talladega Nights? Watch the previews. Yup, that's it. Those were the laughs.

I just Stumbled Upon this and feel a strange combination of nostalgic and high. Maybe Seasame Street's creators were all tripping balls when they put this little gem together.

The Twelve Pinball song from old school Seasame Street