Big Punch

That's for the woman with the big mouth. Don't I look like a big bad ass?

Big Pivotal Pics

I am borrowing an idea from my good friend Lisa over at Grandma's Briefs for this post. She wrote about 12 movies that had an impact on her life so far. At the end of her post she asks for our pivotal pics. Because I thought the subject deserved a bit of thought, I decided to post here rather than just comment there. (But please do visit Grandma's Briefs if you don't already.)

Without further ado, here are my:

10 Pivotal Pics

1. Grease (1978) -- I had no idea I could love a musical. Before this movie, I thought all musicals were in Technicolor with lots of old people dancing to songs that were oh-so boring.

2. and 3. Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986) (but not the others in the franchise) -- These movies have a tough chick as the main character, thrust into a situation beyond her control, totally kicking ass. They inspire me to be tough.

4. The Breakfast Club (1985) -- This movie helped me realize the "cool" kids don't have the answers either.

5. Say Anything (1989) -- Although pivotal, I'd have to say pivotal in a negative way. Why can't every man be Lloyd Dobler?

6. Chasing Amy (1997) -- This movie helped me get over a bad break up and made me fall in love with Jason Lee and help my friend write a song.

7. Dawn of the Dead (2004) -- In the past, movies about the undead gave me nightmares -- yes, even the silly ones. This movie kicked off a spree (for me) of zombie movies that helped me put that fear to rest.

8. Shaun of the Dead (2004) -- This one completely eliminated the fear and sealed my love for all things zombie.

9. Roman Holiday (1953) -- I'm embarrassed to say I saw this for the first time just a few short years ago. Suddenly, I wanted to be Audrey Hepburn. I wanted to be a princess in disguise flitting around Rome with Gregory Peck. The movie is fun and romantic and sad and really beautiful.

10. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) -- I saw this movie on PBS in 2002 or 2003. I didn't have cable so I watched what I could. This movie awoke my love for classic films. It's hilarious. Also, they don't make Hollywood movie stars like Cary Grant anymore.

Big Mouth - A Rant

I work with a woman who is an obnoxious know-it-all. The one good thing is I only have to see her about once a month, but in that hour or so, I really want to punch her in the face. Yes, I know how violent that sounds, but she is horrible -- and totally disrespectful.

Yesterday, during our monthly meeting, she interrupted people, put in her two-cents worth whether it was wanted or needed, rolled her eyes at other people's suggestions and told her bosses their idea was a waste of her time.

One of the things she loves to do is going to stop, and she is not happy about it. The funny thing is she somehow thinks this thing that's actually a totally separate thing and takes extra time is better than the new thing that will be integrated into our daily schedule. She actually said she doesn't have time to do anything extra, yet that's exactly what she's doing now. And I happen to know that the thing she's doing is totally stressful for the other people who have to do it.

Our bosses asked us to have some thank-you cards made for donors. It's a nice thing to do and shouldn't take more than a few minutes, and it's not even something she herself has to do. That was when she did the most appalling thing, she said to our boss, "When I saw that come through my e-mail, I said, 'Screw that. I don't have time for that.'"

My jaw almost hit the floor. You don't have time to ask someone to make a thank-you card for the people who essentially pay your salary? Holy crap! I seriously almost came out of my chair and I can't believe she wasn't asked to leave. She must be really good at her job otherwise. She sort of changed her tune when pretty much everyone there berated her for her attitude. Yet, even then I don't think she thought we were right.

Thank goodness I don't have to see her for another month. In the meantime, I know whose face I'll picture next time I take a boxing class.

Kind of a Big Deal

So, my new guitar teacher told me he heard from my old guitar teacher, and my old guitar teacher is playing with a band that opened for Willie Nelson over the weekend. My six degrees of Willie Nelson just got smaller.

And even though I'm not really a big country fan, I do love Willie Nelson. So, just because I do, here's a video. Which has nothing at all to do with my old guitar teacher.

One More Big Brother

I have one more big brother to tell you about. Joe was the middle brother of the three. And I think he watched one too many episodes of the Brady Bunch and took that whole middle child thing to heart. He always thought he got the short end of the stick. But he was also the trouble maker.

"Santa" had to start wrapping the presents he left under the tree or Joe would wake up early and announce to everyone what they got. Joe would find everyone's Easter basket and tell us where they were hidden. Joe would pick fights with Jim who was bigger and wasn't allowed to fight back -- until Mom finally had enough and said go for it. Then Joe moved on to Mike, who fought like the Tasmanian Devil and could inflict damage. So it was on to me who was too small to fight back and just cried to Mom or yelled, "Quit it!" a million times.

But Joe was also the star, earning Athlete-of-the-Week honors from our local paper for his pitching skills. I remember hearing how his fast ball was on par with professionals. And he and his beautiful wife produced the first grandchild of the family. (And yes, I do love his wife. She's been in the family longer than not and probably deserves her own blog post. And I'm not just saying that to suck up in case she reads this. I mean it!)

This photo (taken many, many years ago) shows four generations of our family: My maternal grandmother, Mom, Joe and his daughter, Heather.

It's true we fought a lot. A lot. But I think I'm tough because of it. With three older brothers I learned not to take crap from anyone.

Big Nap

Irrefutable proof that I am not -- as originally believed -- queen of my castle.

Big Butts

Last summer, when my niece came to visit, we went to the zoo -- twice. As we looked through the photos, we found that many animals did not want their picture taken. So we ended up with a lot of pictures of critter rear ends. Then, it became our goal to photograph as many animal behinds as possible.

We got zebra butts:

And elephant butts:


















And, of course, hippo butts: