The A Team

It's been a while since I've done a movie review (understatement of the year), but since I'm trying to blog more, this seems as good a time as ever to start it up again. The movie of choice: The A Team. Disclaimer: I LOVED this movie.

Starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Rampage Jackson, and Sharlto Copley (who??), the A Team is about a group of Iraq War veterans who dishonorably discharged for a crime they didn't commit and have to prove their innocence. I've never seen the original TV show, but if it's anything like this movie, I want to. It was my kind of action movie - action-packed, very little gore, hilarious. And who doesn't want to look at Bradley Cooper for a couple of hours?

Holiday Weekend

Like many of you, I'm sure, I love three day weekends! This weekend is off to a good start. After work on Friday, I joined some friends for happy hour at the Parlor, followed by dessert at Yogurtland (yum!), and a movie at my place. Nice and relaxing.

Yesterday was my friend Paul's birthday. His girlfriend organized a big dinner at Casablanca, complete with fake mustaches for everyone, followed by drinks in downtown Santa Monica. The restaurant had really good food - though the tortilla appetizers with salsa filled everyone up so by the time the main course came, no one was hungry anymore. There were quite a few of us who were suffering from food comas after the meal! All in all though, it was a fun night with good people.

Tonight, I'm headed to my first MLS game (LA Galaxy vs Seattle Sounders) followed by my first 'official' 4th of July fireworks show in three years, so it should be a good time. Even after all of the World Cup games, I do not understand the game of soccer, but I find it fun to watch. Except when it ends in a tie. Then it's just annoying ;)

Happy 4th of July! Hope everyone is spending the holiday with family and friends, eating plenty of good food, and watching fireworks!

Mom's Weekend!

My mom came to visit this past weekend. Here is a picture of us:

No, this picture was not taken this past weekend, it's from Vegas. But all of the pictures from this past weekend are on her camera and I forgot to put them on my computer. Oops.

The weekend was FANTASTIC. Action-packed, sleep deprived, and lots of fun. She got in late on Thursday, so we just went to the hotel, had a glass of wine, and went to bed. Friday morning, we woke up and went golfing with my roommate and a 9-hole course in Venice. The course was ok - no water, few obstacles, but decent yardage. Plus, it was my first round using my 'new' (aka dad's old) clubs. Let's just say that I like the clubs. A lot. Moving on. After the game, we had a couple rounds of drinks at the 'clubhouse' then dropped the roommate off at the apartment. That night we went to dinner at the Stinking Rose (amazing!) and saw South Pacific the musical, which I enjoyed a lot.

Saturday, we woke up early and took went to my favorite breakfast restaurant, the Griddle Cafe. Now Dad is the only immediate family member who I need to take there. After breakfast, we went hiking at Will Rogers State Park and checked out Inspiration Point, which was a really nice view, though it was a little cloudy. Then it was off to Mom's first pedicure at my favorite place in Santa Monica, a little shopping, and I made Tyler's Ultimate Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri, Pioneer Woman's Crash Hot Potatoes, and Mom made her tomato/mozzarella/balsamic vinegar salad. All in all, a very tasty dinner.

Once again, we woke up early on Sunday to play softball. My team was one female short, so Mom got to play, which was fun. Then we played tennis (I won!) and headed to see the Anaheim Angels play. Somehow I picked seats that were right in the sun and the genius that I am sat cross legged for most of the game, so I am now the owner of 1/2 a sunburned leg and a wonderful shorts line. I look like a freak. After the game, we headed to the Block in Orange County to do some shopping and grab a snack at the Alcatraz Brewing Company before heading home and lounging on the couch for the rest of the night.

Like I said, action packed weekend, but TONS of fun! Mom, come back soon, I miss you already!

And Dad, if you're reading this, I think it's time for a Dad's weekend :)

You Tube

For those of you unaware, I am NOT a Lakers fan. I was raised a Pistons fan, worked for the Palace when the Pistons beat the Lakers for the NBA Championship in '04, and regardless of how long I end up living in Southern California, I will never be a Lakers fan. That's right, I said it.

Anyways. I found the following video courtesy of another friend's blog and thought it was absolutely hilarious. I remember watching JJ Redick battle it out with Adam Morrison in college over some national award or another. They were both big names and now they battle out the NBA in relative mediocrity. At least in my world. I don't follow the Magic or the Lakers if I can help it. But back to the video. It may be the only Lakers anything you find on this site, so enjoy :)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, but especially to mine. I realize I'm completely biased, but he's pretty much the best :)

Happy Father's Day Dad - I love you!

Indecisive

In case you haven't noticed, I'm having a hard time designing this blog. I really don't like the background color of the posts being white and this gray isn't really doing the trick right now either. I would prefer the post background be transparent, but that would require a non-patterned background, which I'm not so sure about either. So I'll keep playing around with it. If you have any suggestions, feel free to comment away.

Will he or won't he?

As you know, there are many events going on in the wide world of sports:  

• World Cup - I know very little about soccer, but I do enjoy 'reading' about it. Exhibit A and Exhibit B
• NBA playoffs - Go C's! That's right, I said it.
• NCAA conference realignment - The Big 10 will have 12 teams and the Big 12 will have 10 teams. Huh?
• College World Series - this story is unfortunate
• USC gets a 2 year ban from post-season football - I think it sounds worse than it is. It might temporarily hurt recruiting, but not for as long as everyone thinks. As much as it pains me to say it, USC is like the field of dreams - people will come. 

But let's get the MOST IMPORTANT issue in sports: Is Izzo leaving Michigan State or not? Rest easy Spartan fans - he's staying in East Lansing!

An interesting move considering he could have made twice the money and possibly coached LeBron James, but as a Spartan fan, I love it! (Spartans are second to my Hoosiers but that's a different posting) I almost said it was a gutsy move, but he was not guaranteed King James would be there. Anyways, the namesake of the Izzone has a lot more job stability at MSU and I hope he remains a 'lifer'. Now, he just needs to get back to the Final Four and come home with a championship. GO GREEN!