Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Musical {Oliver}

Wow, so I haven't done a post since last Monday, and I am feeling kinda lame. These next few weeks are going to be crazy for me. I am studying for my upcoming Comprehensive Examination which will determine if I will graduate with my masters degree in May. So, I am sorry if I'm a little distant over the next couple of weeks.

1968 Version (All pics via google)
However, I still got my musical for the week in! Johnny and I decided to watch Oliver this week! I am singing a song from Oliver in an upcoming music recital, so I thought I better watch it! I am singing "As Long As He Needs Me", in case you were wondering :)

"As Long As He Needs Me" is song by Nancy
to Bill Sikes (Break my heart much?). 
So, now to Oliver! I had never seen it (ok, ok give me a break!). I am playing catch up with all the musicals I missed out in life, so I haven't seen a lot of the classics. But I can now say that there is a reason this one is a classic! It is phenomenal. It is so emotionally driven and breaks my heart that anyone ever had to go through things like these little orphan boys. Being an English major, I have read so much material based around this same time period and it always breaks my heart. 

"Please sir, I want some more"

We watched the 1968 version with Mark Lester as Oliver (cutest kid ever). Most people know the plot line of the story, so I won't go into much detail. But, it is about a little orphan named Oliver who runs away from an orphanage. He teams up with a band of boys and their mentor, Fagin, who pickpockets for a living. 

Dodger and Oliver

The show has some wonderful music accompanying it. My favorites to name a few are: "Consider Yourself," "As Long As He Needs Me," "Who Will Buy?," and "Reviewing the Situation." I honestly enjoyed all the songs, which doesn't happen for me in every musical. I think that you should all go check out this little melt-your-heart classic. It will be worth it, but make sure you set aside about 2 1/2 hours to do so. This musical can also be found on NetFlix! 


And, you could also check out Disney's "Oliver and Company!" As I was watching the show, I couldn't help but think of "Oliver and Company." It is actually one of my favorite Disney movies, and they did a pretty good job with the story. 

Until next time musical lovers, 

Monday, January 23, 2012

Musical {Annie Get Your Gun}

Being from Oklahoma, I am surprised I haven't seen this little Cowboy and Indian spectacular! I am beginning to realize how many great musicals I really haven't seen, like this one. Again, I didn't really know what to expect. I knew I would get to hear "Anything You Can Do", "There's No Business Like Show Business", and "You Can't Get a Man with a Gun." But just for those, I was pumped!


**Little side note ** The DVD I have included a mini introduction, so I was able to get the background for the musical and learn a few interesting facts - like Judy Garland was the original Annie but was unable to complete the role, so they replaced her with Betty Hutton (who I think did a fantastic job)!

Judy Garland as Annie before she got sick
This musical takes us back to the time of Wild West Shows and sharpshooters. When a local hotel owner sees Annie's shooting abilities, he signs her up for a shooting match against Frank Butler, the handsome star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. By happenstance, Annie meets Mr. Butler before the match and falls madly in love with him (not knowing she will be competing against him of course). 


The real story begins when Annie beats Frank at the match and Buffalo Bill invites her to join the show. As love blossoms, so does jealousy. The love story of Annie and Frank is portrayed wonderfully by Betty Hutton. She plays the part of a girl who is completely smitten by the handsome Howard Keel perfectly!


The musical is loosely based on the lives of the real Annie Oakley and Frank Butler. They really did meet at a shooting contest (which she won), and they did fall in love and get married - but all the show tunes and jealously between the two were of course added by Hollywood. Frank actually loved Annie so much that he became her manager and supported her whole heartedly (at least according to my sources)! Even after her death, Frank stopped eating and died 18 days after her. That is how much he loved her - so sweet but so sad at the same time.

Annie Oakley
After doing my back ground work, I love this musical even more. There is so much of it that is true to their "real" story that you can't help but like it. I will warn you though that you have to remember the setting and time period of the musical because to many viewers today they might find it racist and discriminatory towards Indians. So just keep that in mind! Also, the lyrics are by Irving Berlin, so you know they are good! I now feel like I have been rambling on and on, so musical lovers, go rent it and watch it! It is so worth it.




Bloglovin!

Just signed up for Bloglovin, so you can follow there too! 

I'm a Taco Bell Junkie! There I Admit It...

I like to eat - who doesn't right? But, I really like to eat, especially Taco Bell. Unfortunately, I can't eat three burritos a day and lose a few poundsies. So, I have to give up something. Either Taco Bell or my desire to be fit and trim.... tough decision. 

I am a big believer of the Mireille Guiliano's "French Women Don't Get Fat" plan! She teaches you how to eat what you love by making smarter choices. It is NOT a diet book! She HATES diets (weird, so do I). The book is hilarious, and she tells you how the French stay so thin. If you haven't read this book, you really should. It kinda changed my life!



Yet, I haven't lost any weight - not because of Mireille Guiliano, but because I haven't done what she suggests and I like to eat out! She would say that I can eat out, but I have to be smart when I do - which I'm not. Are you seeing my problem here? I get motivated by books like this (or New Years), and then I don't change. Story of my life. 

So what is my new remedy for my tragic love handles? A handy-dandy checklist, yep a checklist. Since I love food and I think it is one of the many pleasures of life, I think I should be able to enjoy eating out with friends and Taco Bell runs. However, I need to watch myself. What I think has been years since I ate at Taco Bell has really only been about two hours. 

With all of that being said, I decided to make a restaurant checklist so I could keep track of my eating out. I didn't want to eliminate eating out completely, but I did need to cut back. So I decided to make this!


It still seems like A LOT of eating out, but I had to start somewhere. Like I said, I eat Taco Bell numerous times a week, so cutting back to once a week for me is a big deal! I also go out with friends a ton, so I gave myself a little leeway there. I also gave myself 3 pop runs! I typically only drink water, but there is a little drive-in in OKC (Tim's Drive-in) that has the best pop in the world! And when I've had a bad day, Tim's makes it better. So, you get the gist. 

This is my start to a healthier me (cheesy, yes?)! I hope to keep cutting things back. 


Thursday, January 19, 2012

My Best Friend's Giveaway (yes, this is supposed to be clever)

The reason I started this here blog is because of my best friend, Kaleigh Hamilton! She has the cutest little blog that I check daily to make sure I haven't missed any of her posts. She is my fashion and style icon. Oh, and did I mention she is gorgeous! So, it is obvious that I am going to "push" my best friends blog, but she is different. Her blog is so funny and I pull it up religiously to make sure I am wearing my hair and clothes correctly. So, if you don't follow her you SHOULD! 

With all my best friend duties done, I will now tell you about her awesome giveaway she is doing right now! She is giving away this stinkin' stinkin' CUTE pillow! 


Her mother (who is as cute as her and a sewing genius) made this sweet little Valentines pillow for Kaleigh to do a giveaway with. Sonya's blog has other Valentines pillows if you are truly in love! 

If you love this pillow as much as me, you need to go RIGHT NOW to Kaleigh's blog and sign up for this giveaway! Do it! Do it! Do it! You don't have to do anything tedious to enter. You could win this pillow by just following her blog and her mother's! That is it! Who doesn't want this? 

And, you will love their blogs!



Photobucket





Monday, January 16, 2012

Musical {Seven Brides for Seven Brothers}




First off, this musical is so stinkin' cute! I had never seen it, and I honestly hadn't heard any of the music. My friends have talked about this musical over and over again, but some how, I never jumped on the bandwagon. And boy was I missing out! I absolutely loved it!

The story begins when Adam, a backwoodsman, goes into to town to find himself a wife. He meets Milly, a waitress at a local restaurant. They hurriedly get married and he rushes her off to his "peaceful" little life up in the mountains - yeah, not quite! On arriving at her new home, she is bombarded with Adam's six brothers, and she realizes that her marriage isn't going to be as lovely as her dreams. She quickly finds out that the reason she was married is to cook, clean, and take care of ALL of their needs. The true adventure starts when she decides it is time to reform the boys and make true gentleman out of them. In all of her efforts to make the boys the marrying-type, they mess up big time at the local barn-raising. Nevertheless, the meet six beautiful ladies. This musical is full of dancing, humor, kidnapping, and of course love!



If you haven't seen it, you need too! I seriously want to watch it again. Now, I just need to find a way to be in this musical because I want to be in the above two scenes! Overall, I think it is a must see for musical lovers, and I recommend it to all of you! 


Monday, January 9, 2012

Musical {South Pacific}

Ok, Monday Musicals start today (even though it is technically the second Monday of the year, oh well)! Like I said in my earlier post, my sweet friend Johnny and I have made a goal in 2012 to watch a musical a week. To stay motivated to do this, I have decided to post about each of them on this here blog for all of my readers (the hundreds I have) to enjoy. 

The musical that started it off was South Pacific!



I have been wanting to see this musical for some time just so I could sing along with "Some Enchanted Evening" and "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair!" So, I had some pretty high expectations. 

The plot of the movie is pretty cute: On a South Pacific island, during World War II, a cute little nurse from Little Rock and a mysterious Frenchman fall in love. Throughout the movie, she struggles with the fact that she doesn't know him that well, and she can't decide if she should be with him or not. There is also a side love story going on between a Marine Lieutenant and a Tonkinese beauty. I don't want to give too much of the plot away (because this blog is going to inspire you to go rent this little classic), but it isn't too hard to predict that a big jumble of love mess takes place in the film.

My feelings on the film are a little mixed. I watched the film extremely late and I had high HIGH expectations. So, I was a little disappointed. I loved some of the songs, but others I didn't like at all. I did however adore the two love stories. It was one of those musicals that when it hit intermission at an hour and a half, I thought it was almost over - but nay, there was another hour remaining. In most musicals I watch, I don't realize that they are so long, but this one I did. The first 30 mins or so was a lot of fun, but then it started to drag in the middle. It does pick up after the intermission, however. 

After all was said and done, I was glad that I had seen it, but it just wasn't all that I had hoped for it to be. Overall, it has a cute plot line and some stinkin' cute songs. So, if you are a musical lover, you definitely need to check it out (and you will probably love it). My two best friends almost crucified me when I told them I wasn't the biggest fan (oops), but Johnny was on my side! Oh well, it has won some major awards and is considered one of the greatest broadway musicals ever. So, musical lovers, go check it out and give me your feedback. 

I hope that these little reviews (if they can even be called that) inspire you all to go pick up a musical this week and watch it - perhaps South Pacific! I am a lover of musicals, so please suggest some of your favorites for me to check out! 




Yummy Chicken Pasta with Butter Sauce!

Christmas break for a teacher means, I'm broke as a joke. Which means, I am scratching the bottom of the barrel when it comes to making a scrumptious dinner. When I first looked in my pantry tonight, it looked like I was going to either have Ramen Noodles, a can of Wolf Brand Chili, or pasta noodles. I really wanted the pasta noodles, but this poor girl is sick sick sick of spaghetti. After staring into the empty abyss that is my pantry, I decided to take a ton of mis-fit food items and make something delish!

I had one little chicken breast left over and a ton of mis-matched noodles. I didn't want marinara sauce, so I got to googlin' a butter sauce recipe. Again, with my lack of ingredients, I finally found one that I had all of the ingredients for:

2 Tbs. Olive Oil
2 Tbs. Butter
1 Tsp. Lemon Pepper
1/4 Ts. Salt

Melt ingredients in microwave or on stove top. Pour over pasta, toss, and serve.  

It sounded pretty dang tasty to me, so I got to it. First, I cut my chicken breast in half (I had a friend over, so I was making for two). Then, I seasoned it with Lemon Pepper.

(Please excuse the poor image quality - gotta love camera phones)
I melted butter in my skillet and began to fry away. If you ever try this, continue to add butter as needed to the skillet.



The obvious next step is to boil your noodles and prepare the sauce. So, that is exactly what I did. For the sauce, I just combined it all in a pot and melted it on the oven. Now, since I was cooking for two, I doubled the recipe (I did a little less Lemon Pepper because I had seasoned the chicken with it).

I even used two different types of noodles.
This doesn't take long to melt, so keep an eye on it.
After the noodles were tender, I drained them, put them in a large bowl, and poured this scrumptious little sauce over them. 




I placed the chicken breast on top and voila, time to eat! You can eat it with the chicken breast on top, or you can shred it into pieces and mix with pasta.







Surprisingly, this little dish was very good and so simple. Hope one of you can enjoy it as well!



Sunday, January 8, 2012

An Unexpected Party (prepare yourself for many Tolkien references)

Well hellllllooooo blog world!!! I think I have put this off for far too long. I have decided in 2012 to enter the world of the tech savvy - should I mention that it took me two entire days to figure out how to add a header to this here blog?? No, I didn't think so either. If you can tell, I still have a lot of work to do with my page before it is all said and done, but I wanted to go ahead and start blogging away. It took me two days to get this far, so you do the math on how long it is going to take me to get the rest done.

So, first I will share what this wee little blog is going to be about...


ME!!!! 

Well, technically it will be about me, but I am hoping it becomes a place where I can learn and share new things. There are many endeavors that I am beginning and who better to share them with than the three people who will be reading my blog :) In the next few days, I will be doing a post over my goals for 2012 and it is then that I will reveal my plans (mwahahaha)! 

I will go ahead and explain a cheesy little project with you in case I get to it before my goals post. My sweet friend Johnny and I have made a goal to watch a Musical a week this year (yes, we are beyond nerdy)! So, I thought this would be the perfect place to tell you about them all! I will post them on Mondays (fingers crossed that I stick to something) and I shall call it, Monday Musicals! Woot Woot! The first musical has been watched and I will write about it on Monday (hint: lets just say, Bali Hai is not calling me to it).

(insert signature I have yet to make)