Christmas For Britney

I worry about her, I do. Britney is a wreck and the whole world is watching. According to the tabloids, she has alienated everyone in her life. That got me to thinking. Who is going to get Christmas presents for Ms. Spears? Well, I am going to volunteer myself for the task. I look at it as kind of like those mall "secret Santa" projects. You know the ones. The poor kids put their names on paper angels on a Christmas tree and you pick out an angel, find their list and get all the stuff for the kids. So this year my paper angel has one sad little girl's name on it. Here is my list of

6 Things To Get Britney For Christmas

1) Common Sense & Self Esteem- I know, you can't really give these to someone but it is what she needs the most. If Britney had these 2 things, I doubt I would be reading about her every single day on Perez Hilton.

2) An Island- this girl needs to be alone. I mean really alone. I think if she could get out of sight for a month or 2 then she could possibly get it together. Possibly.

3) A Coffee Maker- does she really need to go to Starbucks every day? Learn how to make your own coffee so you don't have to cause utter chaos at your local coffee house.

4) Supernanny- this would be the gift that keeps on giving. I love Jo Frost and I think she could whip Britney into Super Mom shape. Those poor kids.

5) Yoga Classes- everyone needs to breathe. Yoga changes people in a lot of ways, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually too.

6) Lifetime Supply of Victoria's Secret- I want to know that Brit's bits will be covered for all eternity. I can only pray that they bury her in underwear when the time comes.

Huh? Cinema

I like movies and I like just about every cinema genre out there. I am a girly girl who can quote practically all of Steel Magnolias but I also happen to think Hoosiers is a great movie. There are some movies I can't seem to plug myself into. I have tried. Some of these movies are on my shelf at home. Jay-bee is a fan of some. I have watched some of them several times in an effort to get it. Here is my list of


5 Movies I Don't Get

1) Fight Club- too violent? too testosterone driven? I like David Fincher and Brad Pitt. This is one of those movies of "my generation" and I just couldn't get into it.

2) Tomb Raider- I just thought this was boring from beginning to end. Yet when I saw it at the movie theater it was packed. The box office take was huge. This movie made me feel removed from mainstream culture and I am ok with that if this is what mainstream culture has to offer.

3) Boiler Room- another guy movie that I own and just can not get excited about to save my life.

4) Titanic- even Kate Winslet can't save this bloated piece of crap. Ugh and that awful Celine Dion song.

5) Meet The Parents/ Fockers- in idiot making the same idiotic mistakes and accidents over and over again just isn't funny to me. However, Ben Stiller is laughing all the way to the bank I am sure.

The Little Things

Just like things can make a day head south quickly, I have found that it works the other way too. A crappy day can be turned around by the smallest thing. In the spirit of the season, here is our list of

5 Things That Can Make My Day

1) Surprise UPS- getting an unexpected delivery from the UPS man is the best! First, it is a gift. Second it is a surprise and third I don't have to lug it anywhere. What is not to like?

2) Hot Noon News Item- Thud and I watch the news every day at noon during our lunch. What can I say I am a creature of habit. I love it when there is breaking news around this time. I can watch things unfold as they happen. I guess it engages my intellect more than doing the same truck puzzles over and over.

3) Watching Martha's Craft Show- I am always inspired and feel creative after it is over. I feel as if I could do some of the projects. I should do a list of all the Martha crafts I think I can do. I hope Santa brings me a sewing machine so that I could actually attempt some of them. I tried making hair bows and I don't think they went over well.

4) A Jay-bee Phone Call- I am always the initiator of most phone communication between us. It is nice to be receiving the call every once in a while. It makes me feel special and less needy!

5) Nap- not just any nap, a good nap. The kind where I wake up on my own and sleep just the right amount. Nothing beats a good nap. Nothing. Ask Michellephant. She knows.

101 Uses For Tomato Paste

I have this tendency to over shop and over cook for just about everything. This summer, Thud's 2nd birthday proved to be no exception. For the party one of the things I made was BBQ sauce and I made the classic mistake of buying one of the ingredients from Costco. Long story short, I still have 7 cans of tomato paste in my VERY small kitchen. Now I am a woman with a mission. Use up my cans of tomato paste before I take off for the holidays. Here is my list of

9 Things To Make With Tomato Paste

1) Mom's Killer Sauce- my mom makes this AWESOME red sauce and the recipe calls for tp. Maybe I will make a double batch.

2) Chili- this was what I made for dinner tonight and just put a whole can in for fun. It turned out well!

3) Soup- you can make any tomato based soup with tp- tomato, minestrone, etc.

4) Gumbo- I heart gumbo. Also, it freezes well.

5) Pizza- use the tp in place of regular sauce. Try it- you might like it!

6) Pot Roast- using the tp in the braising liquid will add some great flavors.

7) Enchiladas- it goes in the enchilada sauce. I am making these tomorrow night.

8) Coq Au Vin- every once in a while you need to cook something classic and classy. Also, I have been dying to make something French since I read Julie and Julia. Thanks, Tinselteeth!

9) Sloppy Joes- a classic in my house. I didn't grow up eating these but I used to have sloppy joe and tater tot night at my house when I first moved to NYC. I think I am long overdue for another one of those nights.

My Christmas List

While everyone is putting together a wish list of presents for Santa, we here at the LL have been dreaming up another list. At our house, Christmas means hauling ourselves to Florida. Hauling ourselves to Florida means babysitters and babysitters means that I can go to the movies!!! Over the past few days, I have been making a mental list of all the movies I want to see. Maybe we will even take Thud to his first movie. Here is my list of

7 Movies I Want to See in Florida

1) I'm Not There- this movie looks brilliant. It is the story of Bob Dylan's life where Dylan is played by several different actors, including Cate Blanchette!

2) Sweeny Todd- who doesn't want to see this? Even Jay-Bee is interested and he HATES musicals. This thing has cult classic written all over it.

3) Juno- this may not be playing in O-Town when we are there. It is an indie comedy that looks really smart. Everyone thinks teen pregnancy is funny and smart, right?

4) Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story- looks funny. Maybe not as funny as some of the other films from the same crew ( Talladega Nights, Anchorman, etc) but who cares. I would still be at the movies!

5) Atonement- the story of this film looks very intriguing. I am not a fan of this director so far- I thought Pride and Prejudice was over done. Oh and I do not like Kiera Knightly. Hmmm. Maybe I will wait for this one to come to cable.

6) Enchanted- looks cute and fun.

7) Bee Movie- if we take Thud to a movie, this would be it.