Happy Birthday Alison!

Today is my baby sister's 27th birthday. Alison and I are only 20 months apart so we grew up together. We've definitely had our fights over the years, but somehow being an ocean apart has brought us closer together. She put her heart and soul into planning my wedding last year and I really couldn't ask for a better sister! So let's celebrate Alie's birthday with photos of the lovely W sisters!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISON!!!

94/239

I'm a lazy blogger...

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and click post at the bottom. Have fun!!!


(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
(x) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
(x ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total: 8

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Anchorman
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 16

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
(x) Scary Movie
(x ) Scary Movie 2
(x ) Scary Movie 3
(x) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 26

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 33

(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
( ) Signs
(x) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
(x) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far: 37

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(x) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
(x) Kingpin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
(x) Eight Crazy Nights
(x) Joe Dirt
(x) King Kong
Total so far: 47

( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
( ) The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber
Total so far: 48

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
(x) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 52

( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
(x) Just Married
( ) Gothika
( ) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
( ) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 56

( ) Bad Boys
( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
( ) Bourne Identity
( ) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
( ) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 59

(x) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss' Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
( ) War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 62

( ) Best Bet
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(x)Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
( ) The Terminator
( ) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
Total so far: 68

( ) X-Men
( ) X-2
( ) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 76

( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
( ) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 79

( ) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
( ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
( ) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
(x) Basketball
( ) Hostel
(x) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
Total so far: 85

( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 89

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
( ) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 Days Later
(x) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
Total so far: 91

( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
Total so far: 91

( ) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
( ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
( ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
( ) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
( ) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
( ) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 91

(x) The Matrix
( ) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(x) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal

Grand total: 94

18/100

1) Look at the list and put an ‘x’ after those you have read ENTIRELY
2) Add a ‘+’ to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total at the bottom.
5) The "average" person will have read 6 says the BBC.


1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen x
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee x+
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell x
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis x
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens x
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott x+
9. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell x
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck x
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll x
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl x+
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery x
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald x+
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell x
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens x
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett x+
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding x+
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding x+
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce x
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

TOTAL: 18

The list was compiled by the BBC in 2003 as the UK's favorite books. To be honest there are some here I think I maybe read, but I can't remember. I think I need to search out the USA's 100 favorite books, because I'll have probably read a lot more of them.

4 x 4

I’ve seen Abby, Lorry, Emily and others do this "meme" and thought I’d join in!

All you need to do is look into the 4th folder where you keep your pictures stored and post the fourth picture in the file and then explain it.

You see Robert Indiana's Love sculpture all over the place now, but I liked that this one was in Spanish. This is from our May 2007 trip to Bilbao, Spain. It was a joint birthday present for us both from NBH's family and one of my favorite trips because we drove from Santander to Bilbao and Bilbao to Pamplona.
I love a good road trip and the north of Spain is a beautiful drive. I'd love to go back and stay on one of the many gorgeous cliff side beaches we drove past.
Maybe if there is demand I will start back-blogging some of our trips and share pictures. So if you fancy hearing my "old" stories and seeing pictures let me know.

Welcome wee Liam

My cousin Betsy gave birth to a lovely wee boy on Valentine's Day.

Liam Anthony, 7lbs 9oz, 21 inches

We think he looks like Luka

Big Brother Luke, Liam & Big Sister Molly

Congratulations Bets and family. These are the times I miss living at home :(

Valentine's Day

Did you know you are only supposed to ask for St. Valentine's help if you already have a lover? If you are single tough crap, ask St. Raphael. Since I'm married, it's all good for us to celebrate Valentine's Day.

I was going to surprise NBH tomorrow and take him to see Russell Brand, but the libidinous Brand cancelled all his dates this weekend, so we won't be seeing him until April and it won't be a surprise.

NBH, however, did not disappoint and made me a 3 course dinner of his own design:

Starter

Caramelized Red Onion and Goats Cheese Bruschetta

Main

Steak with Honey Mustard Sauce, Cauliflower with Cheese and Boursin Mashed Potatoes

Dessert

Chocolate and Mascarpone Pots

He made up all the recipes himself, with the exception of dessert, which was Gü. It was all really tasty and I can't wait to have the carmelized onions again maybe on salad or with pate.

I ♥ my husband!

I ♥ Sabrina

♪♫♪My best friend is better than yours! ♪♫♪

Today, the Royal Mail got something right and I got a lovely Valentine's package from my BFF. I freaking ♥love♥ care packages!




It contained lots of American Valentine's candy including NBH's favorite Peeps, make your own candy necklace, Kisses, Jelly Belly Conversation Beans, SweetTarts conversation hearts and a plush set of lips for Miss Emma. It really brightened my day.




Emma gave the lips a good sniff (mmm candy smelling) but preferred to have a good chew and cuddle with the tag we cut off it.

And the winner is...

UPDATE

Random number between 1 and 10: 2

And the new winner is Christine! Send me your address (Facebook is fine) and I will post off your prize; a a true 80's treat: the VHS version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers: 5

Timestamp: 2009-02-13 18:52:49 UTC

Congratulations Caitlin! Send me your address (Facebook is fine) and I will post off your prize; a a true 80's treat: the VHS version of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

Sick Girl

I started to feel crappy on Tuesday so over 48 hours I had:

Yet here I am with a cold/flu/nastiness. So I'm on my couch being moany and snotty and generally hating the world.

It's been a while since I had my last comment contest, so comment with your best under-the-weather treat or cold remedy and one winner will win:

Much to NBH's dismay, I watched my favorite 1980's movie in bed last night and it could be yours if you are lucky!

♥ 6 months ♥

Today NBH and I have been married for 6 months. We have celebrated so far by going to Tesco and watching football, don't be jealous. I stole this from Christie's blog, but here is a little survey and photos in honor of the day:

Answer these questions about you and your significant other:

1:: What are your middle names? B--- and R-----.
2:: How long have you been together? 5 ½ years
3:: Do you have any children together? No
4:: What about pets? Emma dog

5:: Did you go to the same school? He was an undergrad at Strathclyde Uni when I was postgrad.
6:: Are you from the same hometown? No, not even the same home country.
7:: Do you live in the same town now? Yes, in the same flat.
8:: Who is the smartest? I’d love to say me, but it is probably NBH.
9:: Who is the most sensitive? NBH says me.
10:: Where is the first place you went to eat as a couple? TJ’s gourmet deli in Georgetown for tuna melts; if you mean “sit-down” then J Paul’s.
11:: Do you wear matching clothes? No
12:: Where is the furthest you have travelled as a couple? Glasgow to LA is the longest single journey by plane, 8+ hour car drives and then a cruise of the western Caribbean probably logged a lot of nautical miles.
13:: Who has the craziest ex[es]? That would be me.
14:: Who has the worst temper? NBH says me and I said equal. He said that “Any answer in [my] head that [I}think is equal, assume [I am] worse. Anything [I] think [he is] worse we are equal.”
15. Who does the cooking? Probably leans slightly more towards NBH these days, but we generally split it. NBH makes mains and I tend to make starters and sweets.
16:: Who's more social? Depends; NBH goes out more often, but I am more outgoing.

17:: Who is the neat freak? Neither of us, unfortunately.
18:: Who is the most affectionate? NBH says he is, but I do more PDAs.
19:: Who is the most stubborn? We are both pretty stubborn.
21:: Who wakes up earlier? Me for work, but NBH at least one day on the weekend.
22:: Where was your first date? We never really had one. We met at Garrett’s and then ditched our friends to go to Rhino but it was heaving.

23:: Who said "I Love You" first? NBH.
24:: How did you spend your 1st year anniversary? We went to Paulo’s for dinner and NBH laughed at me when I asked a homeless man if he had any allergies before I gave him my leftovers.
25:: Who has the bigger family? We each have one sister and both our Dad’s have fairly big families, but NBH has way more cousins.
26:: Who is younger? Me, by about 2 months and 6 days.
27. Who is the life of the party? We’ve both been known to have a good time.
28:: Who do you hope your kids turn out more like? Never thought about it.
29:: Who wears the pants in the family? Emma (it says family).
30:: What's your favorite thing to do together? Travel.

31:: Do you have the same political views? Yes, pretty much. We are both liberal.
32:: Who has the most stuff? NBH  probably, but a lot of my stuff is in my Dad’s attic. We both have way too much stuff though in general.
33:: Who controls the remote? Me, except when there is sport on which is more often than you would think.

34:: Who does the driving? Mostly NBH unless I’m the DD.
35:: Who takes out the garbage? NBH
36:: Who does the cleaning? Neither of us.
37:: Who does the laundry? Neither of us.
38:: Who is the funniest? NBH thinks I’m the funniest and he says I think he is.

♥ 08/08/08 ♥

Wedding photos © White Imagery (click for more).

Obamarama

On the 18th we left Cincinnati and hit the road for DC with some Dunkin Donuts and Diet Mt Dew to help us along the way. NBH drove the first 4 hours and I drove the second.

The drive was snowy most of the way (OH-WV-PA-WV-MD-VA) but alright until we crossed over into Maryland. The road got really bad and we saw lots of accidents. The next day there was a pile-up involving 7 tractor-trailers and 35 passenger on the same stretch of road in the opposite direction. We made it to Dulles to return the car in one piece and Sabrina was kind enough to come and pick us up and let us stay at her house in Silver Spring.

We cleaned up and met my friend Chrystal and Sara at Rocket Bar in DC. Things were already busy and crazy, but the bar wasn't that bad and we got a table. It seemed really fun with SkeeBall, Pool, Darts, etc.

Sabrina and I

NBH and I

On Monday we headed into the city to go pick up our tickets for the inauguration. We requested tickets from every state we could and got some from my Mom's Rep in California. The lines were wrapped well around Canon so I called the office to see if they'd run the tickets out, they said "no."



I kept seeing people getting their tickets brought out to them though. So I figured, maybe if I call again and get an intern rather than a staffer, they will run them out. Sure enough a rather young chap scurried out with them lickity split.




The invitation, tickets and program were all on heavy paper and embossed. It reminded me of a wedding invitation; if your wedding invitation came with 'autographed' photos.














On the 20th Sabrina's husband Andy dropped us off at the Wheaton metro station at 7:30am, we got seats on a red train and then transferred to the green line, where again we got seats. The further into the district we got the more crowded it got. The conducter came on and said that L'Enfant plaza (where we planned to get off) was closed. So we decided we'd get off at the stop before, Metro Center, and walk. As we pulled up to Metro Center, the conductor said that L'Enfant was open again so we stayed on the train. Of course as we pulled into L'Enfant we were told it was closed. So we had to take the train to Pentagon and catch a train (after two full trains passed) back to Metro Center. So our metro journey went: MD-DC-VA-DC.

Bundled up and waiting for a train at Fort Totten

So we finally got out off at Metro Center and I have never seen a station so crowded ever. Luckily they decided to leave the turnstiles open so it took 15-20 minutes to get out and then we started to walk. Lots of streets were closed and you couldn't cross Pennsylvania Avenue so we ended up going through all 4 quadrants of DC that day: NW, NE, SW, SE.

Ridiculously crowded Metro Center (a woman fell onto the tracks!)

We made our way to the line for silver tickets and waiting in line for over an hour when people started coming back saying "they aren't letting anyone else in." So we decided it was best to try and head back. We walk down past the Holocaust museum and down around the Tidal basin. We ended up behind the Washington Monument just before Biden was sworn in. We could see Obama on the big screen, but we couldn't hear anything. At this point we decided to beat the crowds and get back on the metro out to Maryland. Streets were still closed so we walked by where we used to live in Foggy Bottom and up to Farragut North.

Waiting in line

The Capitol

Washington Monument from the Tidal Basin

Tidal Basin

So many people around the monument

Tons of people on the mall

All in all we walked about 6 miles. The train back was empty and Sabrina picked us up and we got subs and thanks to her Tivo watched the swearing in and parade on TV.

NBH jumping for joy outside of Farragut North


That night we had my favorite DC takeaway, Manny & Olga's. Sabrina and I used to order from them all the time in college and I was very happy to have my Steak & Cheese sub with fries. Sabrina also got some super cute Obama cookies for us!

All in all, we were part of history. If we'd known about the drama getting into the ticketed areas, we would have gone to the unticketed areas immediately. We were still there, we still got the atmosphere and the experience and I'm very glad we went.
If you've lasted this long, sorry for the longest post ever!