The boys: at Monster Jam 1/17/09

I took my godson Xander (3), my nephew Shaun (9) and my nephew Brandon (6) to the Monster Jam truck show at Reliant Stadium Saturday 1/17/09. As always Aunt Jamie had a good time and I think they did too!!

Ultimate Monster Jam Freestyle and Thrill show offers something unique for fans in Houston. With three shows at Reliant Stadium in the month of January, delivering non-stop action with no limits, and no restraint. In this Thrill show, there would be no limit on the number of Wheelies or Cyclone Donuts, and no clock to limit the drivers in Freestyle. To make it even more exciting, they brought in twice as many crush cars to build more obstacles than ever. They even brought in an extra 100 dump truck loads of dirt to build a massive “Step Up” ramp for the drivers to devour.

Pastrana 199 and Safe Auto Minimizer were our favorites. With more obstacles and crush cars to demolish, Paul Cohen kept cross-threading the track back and forth in every direction until he finally flipped Pastrana 199 end over end, leaving it on it’s side. The crew was able to turn him over, and Paul just took off again, and continued to tear it up. Marc knew that he would need something special to take the win after seeing how much the fans loved Pastrana. And sure enough, Safe Auto delivered. Marc flipped the truck over, and landed it back on all four tires. A short time later, he blew out his right front tire, but even that couldn’t stop him. Only after the tire fell completely off the truck was Marc forced to stop with his truck wedged deep into one of the obstacles.

In the video I am on the end with the camera then Xander, Shaun, Brandon, Seth (my brother) and Elisha (his fiance). We were watching the Robosaurus. He was pretty cool. I thought his part went on a little long and the music was very heavy. The kids loved when they uncovered the dino and he came to life. There was a scare with the Mutt truck. On one of his runs it caught on fire and flames blew out the top and side windows. I was really scared but the driver jumped out and seemed to be fine. I was amazed ... I mean the flames blew out his driver side window but he came out OK! Whew! And to think I almost forgot the motorcycle stunts. They were awesome!! There were 4 cyclists doing flips and wheelies off the tall ramps and some of the stunts were synchronized.

If you've never taken your kids to a monster truck show you are missing out. See their link for show near you http://www.monsterjamonline.com/home. Bring earplugs for the little ones. My guys didn't need them bc they're bad to the bone, lol! Oh and caution-It's really loud in there so you may want to gauge whether or not your kids can hang.

I included a slide show of a few pics I took as well to your right.

*If you are ever traveling to Houston we have 3 events at Reliant Stadium in January-March. The moster truck show(s), then The Supercross http://www.supercross.com/, and the Rodeo http://www.hlsr.com/. Also during this time is usually the Harlem Globetrotters at Toyota Center http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/ and some sort of Disney on Ice http://disney.go.com/disneyonice/ or Sesame Street live. This year is Sesame Street http://www.sesamestreetlive.com/ . Be sure to visit each of these sites and join their email list so you don't miss out!

Food: Hungry Girl - Don't "treat" yourself badly

www.hungrygirl.com is a great website for creative lower calorie cooking. You want a chocolate mint shake? Well go to her website and there is a recipe with half the calories without losing the flavor! You can join to get her free emails. I have eaten the last item, parmesean sole, and it was ok but damn it wasn't worth 2,190 calories!! To me it tasted like glorified fish sticks and the sundried tomatoes were hard to chew. Here's what she sent me via email today:

We ALL like to treat ourselves now and then. However, there's a big difference between treating yourself and treating yourself BADLY. Here are a handful of entrées that are WAAAY heavier than you (or any of us) ever suspected. Are you SITTING DOWN?!?

Olive Garden, Spaghetti & MeatballsPER SERVING (dinner portion): 1,110 calories, 50g fat, 2,180mg sodium, 103g carbs -- POINTS® value 26*For anyone who missed the big news, Olive Garden now posts its nutritional info online. We flipped when we heard and were brave enough to scour the site in search of shocking new info. Some of the meals are what we like to call "DUH!" items (a dinner portion of Chicken Alfredo over fettuccine has 1,430 calories and 82g fat... DUH!), but others surprised and horrified us. Specifically, the most basic of all Italian food -- Spaghetti & Meatballs. Over 1,000 calories for spaghetti in a tomato-based sauce and a few balls of meat? COME ON!Better Choice: If you want that classic tomato goodness, o pt for the

Linguini alla Marinara, with 430 calories and 6g fat for a dinner portion (POINTS® value 8 - 9*). And if you really need a ground beef fix, start with a serving of Pasta e Fagioli for just 130 calories, 2.5g fat, and a POINTS® value of 2 - 3*. (With two types of fiber-rich beans, it's most likely a POINTS® value of 2*.) Those meatballs are SO not worth it.

Red Lobster, Parrot Bay Jumbo Coconut Shrimp with Creamy Langostino Lobster Baked Potato and a Caesar SaladPER SERVING (1 dinner portion with accompaniments): 1,620 calories, 69g fat, 2,708mg sodium, 111g carbs -- POINTS® value 37 - 38*One of the things we LOVE about Red Lobster is that you can customize your meal by picking your sides. However if you're in one of those "throw caution (and diet) to the wind" moments, you can get in SERIOUS trouble. Say you decide to be a little adventurous and get those coconut shrimp (they sound so special). The dish comes with a salad. You ask for Caesar (it's still a salad, right?). For your side, why not get the baked potato (smart!) topped with lobster? WHY NOT?!? Because the combo meal you just ordered has now tipped the scales at over 1,60 0 calories... AHHHHHHH!Better Choice: If it's shrimp you crave, go for the dinner portion of Wood-Fire Garlic-Grilled Jumbo Shrimp -- only 365 calories and 6g fat (POINTS® value 7 - 8*). It comes over wild rice pilaf, and if you go with the garden salad and fat-free ranch, you'll clock in with a total of 495 calories and 9g fat (POINTS® value 10 - 11*). WAY better!

T.G.I. Friday's, Sizzling Fajita ComboPER SERVING (1 order): 1,590 calories -- POINTS® value of at least 31*Of course the Jack Daniel's Ribs & Shrimp is gonna be a calorie-fest (1,910 calories, to be exact), but fajitas seem so simple and grilled and guiltless. How bad could they be? Ummm, BAD. For a meal that consists mostly of grilled meats and roasted veggies, that sky-high calorie count probably means that a) the tortillas are plentiful and a little high in calories, b) it's served with the heaviest possible toppings, and c) this is an OILFEST!!! One of these days, we'll get that fat content from you, T.G.I. Friday's...Better Choice: You've got the right idea going with a grilled entrée, but instead go for the Dragonfire Chicken. It's glazed with spicy Kung Pao sauce and it comes with stir-fried brown rice, broccoli, M andarin oranges, and pineapple pico de gallo. All that for 510 calories. Not bad.

Outback Steakhouse, Alice Springs ChickenPER SERVING (1 order): 2,000 calories -- POINTS® value of at least 39*Alright, we recognize that nobody really walks into an Outback Steakhouse and expects to leave feeling like they ate healthy food, but COME ON! If you think you're dodging a big fatty bullet by getting this not-beefy, not-deep-fried dish, you are just plain WRONG. It's a grilled chicken breast, sure, but it's buried under bacon, sautéed mushrooms, honey mustard sauce, and two kinds of cheese, and it's served with "Aussie Chips." Wow. It takes a lot of work to get a grilled chicken dish up to 2,000 calories. And Outback, you are putting in OVERTIME!Better Choice: If you're determined to eat well at Outback, go for the Ahi Tuna Chopped Salad. You'll get seared tuna on a big pile of greens with wasabi vinaigrette and crispy wontons for 590 c alories. Save some calories and fat by ditching the wontons. Save more by ordering that dressing on the side -- even better, get the fat-free Tangy Tomato Dressing -- then dip, don't pour! Click here for more suggestions on how to cut calories and fat from Outback's menu -- pretty impressive. Guess you can eat smart at Outback... it just takes a little effort!

Romano's Macaroni Grill, Parmesan-Crusted SolePER SERVING (1 dinner portion): 2,190 calories, 141g fat, 2,980mg sodium, 145g carbs, 9g fiber, 82g protein -- POINTS® value 55*Friends, we're scared. This meal, at first glance, seems like a pretty safe option. "Filets lightly hand-breaded with Parmesan cheese and garlic, sautéed and topped with lemon butter sauce and capers." Oh! It's only lightly breaded. And at least it's fish and not beef. "Served with sun-dried tomato and spinach orzo pasta." Well that sounds lovely and not heavy at all. The ugly truth? You could eat an entire Layers of Lasagna dinner AND a Brick Oven Meatball Sandwich and STILL not have consumed as many fat grams and calories as there are in this dangerously deceptive dish. (Don't do that.) Sad times!Better Choice: Go somewhere else. Seriously! But if you're stuck there for dinner, stick with the Pollo Magro "Skinny Chicken" -- 320 calories and 5g fat (POINTS® value 6*). If you swore off that dish after last year's nutritional controversy, your next best bet is actually the Simple Salmon, with 590 calories and 32g fat (POINTS® value 14*) -- and stress the word SIMPLE when you order, because the Grilled Salmon has a LOT more calories. Both the Pollo Magro and the Simple Salmon come with grilled asparagus and broccoli.

Nifty Thrifty: Savitz Field and Focus

Savitz Field and Focus is a company that conducts research through focus groups for other companies. They have 16 offices across the country. If there is one near you sign up to receive their emails and if you are picked to be in a focus group they will pay you. Yeah! They did research on beer recently and I heard it paid $200. Can you imagine, lol?! (I heard that on the elevator in the building where they are located in Houston). In their emails they will tell you what they are looking for to qualify. Good Luck!!
http://www.savitzfieldandfocus.com/

* The email I got today- Looking for males and females ages 25-65 in the Lake Charles, LA area, reference: media

Video and Book: John Lewis

My bestest friend, M. Yvonne Taylor the writer, shared the following video with me today-
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=11903430. I really connected with the video bc it speaks to the power of spoken words to heal. I believe you should say what needs to be said regardless of how uncomfortable it may make you feel or the length it takes you to say it. In this video one man wronged another man and 28 years later he apologized for his horrible actions. Through two words- I'm sorry- both men were able to put some closure or acceptance to chapters in their lives. So, next time you see someone you value take a minute and say, "Hey, I just wanted to let you know I appreciate you." It may be uncomfortable but words like those really touch the receiver and help to bring purpose and value to their lives.



* For more about John Lewis read his memoir Walking with the Wind. Here's a link
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?cl=11903430
Other books on freedom riders and the civil rights movement
Parting the Waters by Taylor Branch
http://www.amazon.com/Parting-Waters-America-Years-1954-63/dp/0671687425/ref=pd_sim_b_2
The Children by David Halberstam
http://www.amazon.com/Children-David-Halberstam/dp/0449004392/ref=pd_sim_b_7

**Read more on the issues U.S. Congressman John Lewis supports
http://johnlewis.house.gov/

***Those parts of history that are the ugliest and most disturbing are the most important moments to educate yourselves about because those are the moments in history we don't want to repeat.

****Have you touched base with your Congressperson lately? Click http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/and find out who represents you and you can even send them a message by clicking their name. (Note: if you live in a metro area you may need the four digits that go after your zip code. You can easily get that by looking up your address on http://www.mapquest.com/ bc when it pulls up the map it will have your complete zip.) Also after you click congress.org and have entered your zip and you see your reps look on the right hand side and you can sign up for Vote Monitor: Get Your Representatives' Votes sent to you by email weekly. How cool is that? If you don't like something you see you can use that same link above click the reps name and fire off a message or you could email the issue to all our your friends and start a riot! See it doesn't take a lot to be involved you can be like me and be an armchair crusader, lol. It's interesting to see what issues your reps are supporting or not supporting for that matter. You might be surprised.

*****Funny for the day: When life kicks me it kicks me so hard I have to laugh ... Tomorrow the appliance repairman is coming to fix my fridge (which isn't cooling bc the freezer is freezing over), the yard man is coming to do my yard (and possibly fix my fence since part of it fell down that is if he does that sort of thing), the phone man is coming to put in a phone jack (my guest room doesn't have a jack, what's up with that?!?) and the cable man is coming to install cable allegedly, lol ( he was a no-show last weekend) ... so see I am lucky to have enough change in my pocket to pay for these things and all of them are not life threatening,lol.

Adopt a Pet days at Petsmart

You know I love to support pet causes so here's something going on at Petsmart.

As always please adopt responsibly. They also have $6 shipping on orders of $60 or more, that's pretty good. Here's a link to their specials http://www.petsmart.com/sale.jsp.

Here's a link to their "Second Chance for Love" http://adoptions.petsmart.com/adoption-events/?&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=020609Perks&utm_campaign=Adopt . Even if you can't adopt a pet you can go by and make a donation to the animal charity that is at your local Petsmart. Skip a fast food meal this week and instead donate $5 to a pet charity. If you are a homebody or too busy to go out to Petsmart you can donate from your computer to SPCA http://www.spca.com/donation/ or google SPCA, your city for your local chapter. Or take it a step further and google your favorite breed, your city and donate online to a rescue group. My personal favorite is Dachshund Rescue of Houston. Their home page is http://www.dachshundrescueofhouston.org/and their donation page is https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=iyq0RIXlTafifZKVjvfJenm89WMGFVK6CVlcnSzbBoma1Nw7oisuVPIOua0&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f9fecf49521b3f5afc18ba9034b1c79cbd5929eac28412d99 .

Book: Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich

Title: Hard Eight
Book 8 in the Stephanie Plum Series
Author: Janet Evanovich
Chick Bounty Hunter Mystery/Thriller
As a member of the Plum Series-this book a 5 out of 5

If you don't mind formulaic writing or heck if you are looking for a good formula Evanovich can always deliver. Some readers diss Evanovich bc her novels are very similar but for me that's what makes them good. I don't get to watch much T.V. and I don't have cable (but I might by this weekend if the cable company ever shows up). So for me this kind of series is just like watching a sitcom, the characters are reliable-the funny ones are funny, the sexy ones are sexy and the dumb ones are always good for a laugh. Reading Evanovich is a cross between Magnum P.I., Home Alone and James Patterson. The Stephanie Plum series has comedy (especially slap stick) and adventure/thrill provided mostly by her job as a bounty hunter which she often blunders through. Also, Evanovich writes my kind of sex, lol. I don't need to read about his throbbing member or a play by play that goes on for pages. Now, don't get me wrong I love a good piece of erotic fiction but through the erotic genre you get to read sex and sexuality in way that realeases your imagination. In the romance department Plum has a on again off again boyfriend, Morelli, and her fellow bounty hunter, Ranger. Through these two characters you get lust, sex and even love. As far as the usual story line, this book is a little different in that she is not picking up people who have missed their court dates thus revoking their bonds but is instead investigating a family bond for her parents neighbor. The neighbor's daughter was ordered to put up a bond during her divorce to deter her from fleeing with the child. Her mother, the neighbor, put her house up as collateral for the bond. The daughter and child go missing and Plum is asked by the neighbor to investigate. There's an added bonus to this book and if you read Seven Up (the previous installment) you'll know if deals with Ranger. Yummy!!!

*I read some reviews on this book on the web and a few readers felt this book was lacking in plot and two predictable. I disagree. I thought this book was just as good as her previous books in the series and really funny. Of course, I also like the parts with Ranger ... did I say that already, lol.

** Funny for the day: My boss comes to me with the supplies bill and says, "Do we really need to order small paperclips? We have hundreds in the copy room." I reply, "The reason we have so many is bc I keep filling them up." He replied, "Well I think people are just too damn lazy to look for a paperclip around here and we need to quit ordering paperclips to force them to find some." To myself I thought, You're an idiot we just wasted more of your billable time to disucss paperclips than it cost to buy them. Secondly, where do you just "find" paperclips? Are there paperclip bunnies who magically reproduce paperclips?

Movie: New in Town (2009)

Harry Connick, Jr. and Renee Zellweger

Directed by Jonas Elmer

Screenplay by Ken Rance and C. Jay Cox

Review I agree with http://reelloop.com/reviews/310-new-in-town.html

3 out of 5 stars, DVD worthy

Chick Flick Romantic Comedy

Synopsis: In this romantic comedy, Renée Zellweger stars as Lucy Hill, a powerful businesswoman who feels right at home in glamorous Miami. But soon a business opportunity takes her to small town America,... In this romantic comedy, Renée Zellweger stars as Lucy Hill, a powerful businesswoman who feels right at home in glamorous Miami. But soon a business opportunity takes her to small town America, and she realizes that she may have found more there than just another way to climb the corporate ladder. Harry Connick Jr. costars as the object of Lucy's affection, and JUNO's J.K. Simmons also plays a role. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1196344-new_in_town/

Wow, this movie got a 3.9 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes. I didn't think the movie was that bad. I mean I wish I had seen something else since it wasn't "movie theater" worthy but I would have given it a 6 out of 10. The movie just falls short of being a great girl classic like Two Weeks Notice, Maid in Manhattan, The Wedding Planner, Wedding Date, and Sweet Home Alabama. I enjoyed the movie but could have waited too see it on DVD.

Not to be superficial but Renee looked a little strange in the movie (face too shiney, hair too harsh or not smooth). She still looked better than me on a good day, lol, but not her best look so far.

What went wrong with this movie? Since I didn't really see any fault in the acting I decided to check out the Director- Jonas Elmer. This could be part of the problem- with the exception of this film it looks like his past stuff has been German films/TV so maybe there was somthing lost in his translation. This movie didn't leave me with the happy, all is well in the world lovey dovey feeling I had expected. The thing that impressed upon my mind the most was the snow and cold in Minnesota and of course the comedy based on their accents which I appreciated bc people always make fun of my southern accent and you know who ya'll are, lol!

Next, I looked up the screen writers, Ken Rance and C. Jay Cox. First thing I learned about Ken is that he is a native from Minneapolis, Minnesota. So, I will give him props for the funny Minnesota accents and the loveable family focused characters. I really enjoyed the family portrayals in this movie it definitley had a homey feel. Next, I see this is his "first rodeo" as well. His previous experience has been as assistants or with movies I haven't seen or heard of. On to C. Jay Cox who you know as the screenwriter for Sweet Home Alabama (2002) and Kiss the Bride (2008) (with Torri Spelling). So, now with that info I am disappointed. This movie should have been better with Cox as a writer since he wrote the screenplay for Sweet Home Alabama. So I guess I am gonna play the director for this movie missing it's mark. Better luck next time!!

*I put Kiss the Bride on my netflix list so maybe you'll hear about that one soon.

**Funny for the day: My boss walked by me today and said, "Don't you look nice today ... all colorful and shit". LOL, that's the way we roll here in Texas.