Rally for Todd!

Read it all (it makes sense!)

Today I watched a baseball game that I would call disgraceful! No wait, that's not all. I have more words to describe it: disappointing, mind-numbing, blood pressure rising, aggravating, LONG! I have more but you get the picture. Yet, as I watched my Colorado Rockies get beaten 16-8 by the Kansas City Royals, THE WORST TEAM IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE!, I had one thought: Get Todd Helton to the All-Star Game! OK, I also had some angry thoughts and lots of bad words flying around but I spent the game voting to get Todd Helton to the All-Star Game!

Yes, as I watched my favorite outfielder get hauled off on a cart, our third baseman become an outfielder, our catcher become a third baseman and our WHOLE pitching staff fall apart, I thought of Todd. Todd Helton has been with this team his entire career. Helton is not just a player on the Rockies, he IS the Rockies! When he retires they will have to find someone to fill his shoes, a hard job to say the least. Many say Tulo will take over as the face of the franchise but I think he has a bit of growing up to do. People always ask why Helton is my favorite and not Tulo or Cargo, two close favorites but no go. My answer is simple: Helton loves the game and you can tell! Todd Helton jogs onto the field every game, he plays with a smile on his face. He shrugs off the errors and tries to do better, he rallies the team, he cheers on his teammates; Todd Helton leads his team! He doesn't go around tossing Gatorade jugs and hitting them with bats after a WIN (cough: Giants' player Brian Wilson: cough) He plays the game and he does it with class! You don't just replace a player like that. Luckily we won't have to for a few more years but Todd is turning 38 this year and that usually signals nearing the end of a baseball career. 

Todd Helton has been to 5 All-Star games and has won 4 Silver Slugger awards and 3 Golden Gloves!  He also holds almost every record for the franchise. He's also climbing the ranks for leaders in the category of "All Time Doubles," passing the likes of greats like Lou Gehrig. He is missing only one thing from his mantle of glory: THE RING! This man could have left us long ago and gone on to play for "better" teams but he stuck by us and helped lead us to the 2007 World Series. Yeah, I know, we didn't win. That's the point! Helton needs his ring! Now, the fans can't do anything about that. That is purely up to him, his teammates and his coach. That is up to how they play the game. Right now they are 6.5 games back from leading their division so they better get to work so they look good before the All Star Break. We can't control Todd getting a ring...What we can control is Todd going to his 6th All Star game!

Todd is up for the final vote for the 2011 All-Star Game. He is up against 4 other players for a spot on the National League team and he deserves it! I don't care if you are a Rockies fan, a Yankees fan, a Dodgers fan, a Twins fan or whatever, when you see a unique player you give them the praise and respect they deserve! Even when my favorite teams play their rivals I can accept a good play from the other team with painful dignity. Todd Helton accepts mistakes and losses and keeps on going. He looks to the future and you can always see him enjoying the game because he gets to play his favorite hobby as his career and you can tell he knows how lucky he is! It's not just luck, it's pure talent but he never flaunts it.

SO, my point: VOTE! It's not difficult and it doesn't cost anything but a few minutes of time. There are no limits to the voting either! Tell your friends, family, whatever. This may seem extreme but look at the one player we've had who hasn't abandoned our team but led us with dignity; Helton deserves another trip to the All-Star Game!

Yes, Helton is my favorite player but he is for good reasons. He deserves this trip. Vote and send him there! You won't be disappointed!

 

Vote For Todd!

That link will take you right where you need to go, the rest is up to you! I've made my case, now do the right thing ;) He wears the purple proudly, now show him you are proud of him! (Yeah, I went there!)

Bad Teacher- P.P.M.R (Positively Positive Movie Review)

Bad Teacher

This movie depicts what I am sure every teacher wants to do at some point in their career: totally give up, tell kids to leave them alone, completely skirt through their career on luck and, oh yeah, hit dumb kids with dodge balls! However, good teachers don't actually do this, thus the title, "Bad Teacher."

Cameron Diaz is hilarious as Elizabeth Halsey, a gold-digger who hoped only to "teach" for one year until her rich boyfriend married her and paid her way through life. When life throws her a curve ball she is forced to keep her job, a job every audience member wonders how she managed to get in the first place! This woman not only drinks on the job but openly criticizes middle-schoolers and teaches them through movies. One has to wonder why she ever thought getting a degree in this field was a good idea but you suspend that moment of disbelief for the hilarity of it all.

Alongside Diaz is a personal favorite of mine,  Jason Segel, who plays gym teacher Russell Gettis. Russell stands as the only character who knows Elizabeth is a rotten teacher as the rest of the school seems completely oblivious. That is until perfect teacher Ms. Squirrel, yes that's her name and it fits, starts to catch on and makes it her goal to bring Elizabeth down. Squirrel, played by Lucy Punch, fights Elizabeth not only for the title of "Best Teacher," which includes a monetary prize that Elizabeth wants, but for the affections of the new substitute teacher Scott, played by Justin Timberlake. Elizabeth sets her sights on Scott after she finds out he is from a rich family but finds he only seems interested in girls with big boobs. This is when sets Elizabeth's sights on the "Best Teacher" money that guarantees her big boobs and big money from Scott's love. Yes, this is the plot. It sounds absurd and it is but it works somehow.

Perhaps this strange plot is carried by it's absurdity or the non-stop laughter that ensues from the many tactics Elizabeth uses to get her way. Maybe it's carried by the hope that teachers like this really don't exist. Either way, it works! Diaz and Segel make a great on-screen pair as she plays the anti-teacher and he plays the adorable-yet-sarcastic guy who roles his eyes and openly mocks her and anyone else on screen. Lucy Punch plays a great obsessive nut-case as Ms. Squirrel and it's even great to see Phyllis Smith from "The Office" on the big screen as Ms. Davies, a sweet but naive supporter of Elizabeth. Now comes the one thought in my mind that troubles me: why is Justin Timberlake SO weird in this film!?

Yes, this film is a comedy and yes, it is full of CRAZY characters, heck, they have a scene where the teachers are smoking pot in the gym, yet Timberlake annoyed me at times. It wasn't his acting, it was the character. Mr. Goody-Two-shoes, who is simply happy about life, also has a VERY weird side to him that I'll let you find out for yourselves. I know this character is supposed to be off but he is way off the deep-end at times! We can blame the writing staff or Timberlake for this but you learn to accept it along the way. For the most part, his quirks are fun to point and laugh at. There is only one moment where you cock your head to the side and think, "who thinks of this?" I don't need to tell you when this happens. When you see it you will know exactly what I mean!

I loved the acting, loved the twisted jokes and crazy moments and I even found myself rooting for a person I would never root for in real life. You have to love fiction right? You will love the "bad teacher" as you see her softer side, which isn't really all that soft and find yourself wanting her to get away with everything. At the very least men will love her the antics she uses to get her way:

Yeah, we all know that every father wants to go to THAT car wash! Warning, some teachers may find her offensive if they don't simply take this movie for what it is, a comedy! I've heard some people found this movie to be over the top. To them I say, stop suffocating your funny bone and just laugh, it's funny! I was laughing almost constantly from start to end. Also, let's give Diaz and Timberlake some props here; it had to be terribly awkward to play alongside each other, let alone as love interests, since their "big breakup" a year or two ago. If they can put aside their awkward feelings to make this film then people can pull the stick out of their butt to laugh at the hilarity onscreen! Go watch it, laugh and enjoy!

Movie rating: 1 Spoonful- We needed a little sugar-coating.

And the Yankee Dynasty Lives On!

Before any of my family or Colorado buddies start hounding me: yes, I am still a hardcore Rockies fan! However, Bill and I made a deal, we root for each other's teams as long as they aren't playing each other. It's a simple deal because I have never had a problem with New York teams. I am just glad he isn't from California (Dodgers, Raiders, Chargers....need I say more?). 

As part of my girlfriend duty, I actually pay attention to what he says about the Yankees. Plus, let's face it, it's not hard to know facts about the Yankees as they are a dominating team in baseball and have been for many, many years! So, when a Red Sox fan approached us today I was ready! It's odd because I have never had any horribly harsh feelings against Red Sox fans aside from my yelling at one when Giambi hit the homer to win a game against them last year (good times!). However, since dating Bill, it's like I have been injected with this Yankee Blue Pride or something and the sight of a Red Sox hat makes me cringe. Oh yeah, I am ready for New York!

Today Bill, my parents and I went couch shopping for our apartment. After a tremendously long battle with the saleslady from hell we were finally making our way to the counter to pay. Note to salespeople: Yes, we want your help. NO, we don't want you to hound us, follow us and badger us incessantly! Needless to say, we were already on edge when we reached the front and an inbred Boston fan approached us. I am not being mean, if you saw this man your mind would have screamed, "INBRED," too!

Bill was wearing his "Got Rings?" t-shirt that I bought him for Christmas and he was turned and about to walk away when this weird, half-toothless guy says, "Go Boston! Yankees suck, their time is over!" Of course, Bill turns around, ready for battle. He doesn't make a move at the guy of course but simply says, "Yeah, I'll let our rings do the talking." The guy starts in on how the Yankees' time has ended and their only memorable players were Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig!  Seriously?! Bill's fists clench just out of habit and he begins to argue when my big mouth actually opens and says, "Are you kidding me? What about Mantle, Maris, Jackson?" I am about to name more when he says, "You got nothing now." Once again I am at the defense, "Seriously?! What about Jeter, A-Rod, Swisher, CC?" The guy looks at me like woah, she knows baseball and he is obviously stumped. He starts mumbling about how it's all about to end and I say "Yeah, keep dreaming," as Bill says "Yeah, who's in first place?" The guy walks away mumbling and I am left standing with this odd proud feeling: Holy crap, I'm a Yankees fan!

No, I am not Yankee born but I am also not a bandwagon follower. Yes, the Rockies will always be my number one, win or lose, but I was able to take on a Boston fan today and win. No, not just win, I verbally kicked his ass! After the loser walked away I turned to look at Bill and he looked at me with pride and said "That's my girl!" After the guy walked away I was still naming players and I scared him away because he knew he had nothing. It felt good! It made me realize I'll be just fine in New York. Heck, I'm going to thrive, because I may not be Yankee born but I got me some Yankee Pride!

And My Filter Flew Away....

Anyone who knows me knows that I have always been opinionated and ready to share what's on my mind. However, before my car accident, I had a bit of a filter so that I would keep inappropriate things to myself, or at least under my breath. Since the accident this tiny filter seems to have become non-existent. I promise I am trying to get it back, if only so I don't get my butt kicked for calling people stupid. In my defense, I only say what I believe to be true but my mother also taught me to be respectful and say it in my head so I'll work on that. I also need to work on getting my muscles back so that I can defend myself when I make a slip up...we will put these on my list of goals.

True, before the accident I openly told people they were ridiculous but back then I seemed to be better at pretending I was joking. I've never felt the need to censor myself too much but as of recently I think it's become a slight necessity. Calling teenagers idiots as I pass them in stores seems harsh, even if they are in fact idiots. I thought teenagers were idiots when I was one so I guess not much as changed there either but when a size 0 teen walks by me, talking about how embarrassed she is that she has to go to the check out stand with her load of bad-for-you-goodies, because self-check out is closed, I am going to comment. Yes, I should keep it to myself until said teenager walks away but it popped out. "Heaven forbid you gain an inch on your size 0 ass!" Yeah, I said it. Luckily, she didn't hear me. I wouldn't want to be the reason the poor girl enters therapy, that's her parents' job. I know it was mean but come on, every single person in the world knows that teenage girls get together, have sleepovers and eat like maniacs! In fact, we eat worse than boys usually! Oh, shocker! If it had been a heavy set girl embarrassed and saying it like a normal person rather than "oh my gosh, I'm so totally embarrassed...why did they close self check? I totally feel fat," I would understand. Sweetie, we ALL know you just want your other size 0 friend to say, "you totally aren't fat! You are gorgeous!" Get over yourself so me and my filter can take a break. Yeah, I know, filter should kick in....my bad.

I'm really sitting on the fence on this one. I'm moving to New York where I am told I can be as blunt as I want but I have also been told they will be willing kick my butt....hmmmm, I like my butt so I may want to keep my mouth shut or at least slightly shut. Also, I'm not into embarrassing my boyfriend, he's too cute for that :) Perhaps I should work my muscles back into place before I open my mouth...or exercise my mouth into the position of CLOSED. Nah ;) I'm not sorry for saying the things I say, HOWEVER I am sorry that I at least don't wait until that person is out of earshot. My mommy always said, "if I can't say something nice, don't say anything at all," but my daddy always said, "if you can't say something nice, make sure they don't hear you." I only say what I believe to be true but from now on I need to at least make sure that I keep it to myself until they are gone, at least where strangers are concerned. I don't need unnecessary conflict when it comes to strangers. However, family has always been fair game, so why stop now? ;)

Bridesmaids- P.P.M.R (Positively Positive Movie Review)

Bridesmaids

This is NOT your normal chick flick! This is a laugh-from-beginning-to-end, pee-in-your-pants-laughing, bag of fun but what else would you expect with Judd Apatow as producer, Kristin Wiig as co-writer and co-producer and an ensemble of actresses who usually play the crazy side-kicks? This is a recipe for hilarity that did not disappoint! You get 2 hours and 5 minutes of laughter, with a side of warm fuzzy feelings, poignancy and deeper meanings about getting up when life shoves you in the dirt. Also, this is not just a movie for women. Yes, women will relate but, to my male readers: you will laugh until you are doubled over!

The cast is packed full of talent. The leading ladies are usually the show stealers and I love it! Kristin Wiig and Maya Rudolph, usually known from Saturday Night Live and as the crazy side-kicks, play best friends Annie and Lil. Lil (Rudolph) is proposed to and asks her life-long friend Annie (Wiig) to be her Maid of Honor. Simple right? Any woman who has been in a wedding now shouts, "NO!" Annie soon finds being the Maid of Honor is a difficult job, especially when one bridesmaid is trying to steal her thunder, Lil's new friend and bridesmaid Helen, played by Rose Byrne. You will love to hate Byrne as she plays the Little Miss Perfect that every normal girl despises! Annie's life has already been spiraling into rock bottom ,this wedding, and Helen, just gives her the final push.

Among the other talent is another personal favorite of mine, Melissa McCarthy as Megan. You might recognize her from "Mike and Molly" but she will forever be Sookie from "Gilmore Girls" to me. However, she is far from sweet, down to earth Sookie in this movie. She is over-the-top, borderline manly and hysterical Megan! In a movie full of scene stealers she manages to grab her fair share. The final two bridesmaids are played by Ellie Kemper from "The Office" as Becca and Wendi McLendon-Covey as Rita, an actress previously unknown to me but she will now be forever stuck in my memory. Each girl  portrays a typical staple of every wedding. You have your perfect bridesmaids, your innocent ones, your crazy ones and the ones you wonder how they EVER even got invited to the wedding. The ladies of this movie make it amazing and, as Jen Yamato from movieline said, they prove that, "Chick Flicks don't have to suck!"

As usual, there are of course a few men in this movie. The one worth mentioning is not Jon Hamm as some ladies may assume. Chris O'Dowd plays the adorably awkward man to root for alongside Hamm who also catches Annie's eye. Let's face it, it's a romantic comedy and no matter how much you emphasize the comedy you will still know who will end up being together. Maybe someday I will find a way to write an unpredictable love story but I have yet to find one. O'Dowd plays the police officer who pulls Annie over on one of her many bad days and falls for this mess of a woman. However, Annie must overcome her demons and insecurities before they can have their happily ever after. That said, they make it interesting along the way and even though you know (or I knew) that they will end up together, you love it anyway. O'Dowd is adorable and loveable and you root for him throughout the movie. Don't worry, it's not boring, predictable crap as usual for this film, you even to get see Wiig perform almost every illegal act a driver can commit!

This gets us to the plot. Is it original? Actually yes, many parts are original. Is it hilarious? Oh yeah! However, the great thing about this film is it doesn't shove meaning down your throat or give you a long line of laughs with no plot, it blends the two together so that you are laughing and then you have the "aww" and "oh wow" moments. Want an example? Annie's life finally hits rock bottom and she feels she has no friends when Megan (McCarthy) comes over and knocks some sense into her...or should I say bites some sense into her! Megan tires of Annie's complaints about life and, instead of calmly telling her it will all get better, she tosses tiny Annie over her shoulder and literally bites her in the ass while saying "I'm life, biting you in the ass!" I was laughing so hard that tears were about to run down my face but this also posed a wonderful message, yes life is going to kick you to the curb but you have to get up and keep going if you ever want it to get better. You might never expect the character of Megan to be the one to kick Annie back to life but I knew from the beginning she had more purpose than shock-and-awe laughter. This moment is imprinted in my brain not only because of the humor but because what Megan says can be true for anyone: you have to get up when life knocks you down, or bites you in the ass in this case.

So does this "chick flick" have hideous bridesmaids dresses and the common female turmoil that is associated with weddings? Of course, but just wait for the scenes where they look for those dresses and you'll know this is not your average chick flick. Does it end happily? Of course! We all know that if you don't end a movie like this happily people will be pissed (cough: My Best Friend's Wedding). The point is that this movie is is not the norm and you figure that out after just a few laughs.

It was great to see Maya Rudolph and Kristin Wiig in staring roles that were suitable for their comedic talent and even better to see a female dominated cast that wasn't surging with unneeded hormones and tons of sappy moments. They have their emotional moments and then they get on with the funny! Don't worry, I didn't even dip into all the hilarious moments.  I didn't even share a small percentage of the greatness that is "Bridesmaids!"Go see this movie, you won't be disappointed! Oh and just a small additive, be prepared to end it Wilson Phillips style! If you have no idea what this means then you are probably too young for the R rating. I loved this movie! I plan on buying it when it comes out and yes, I will go see it again with others!

Movie Rating- No Spoonfuls- No sugar needed to sweeten this review.

I'm Movin' On!

For the past few months I've been watching the days until I move creep closer and closer. Now suddenly they are racing past me! I've been waiting and wishing and hoping for the time to speed up and now it's here and, surprisingly, I'm ready! A couple nights ago I went to a movie with a really great friend who has made sure to spend time with me before I leave (movie review to follow) and I realized that I may be moving away but those who care about me will keep in touch. I'm sick of caring about other people's opinions and being put on the back burner. A friendship works two ways, not one, and I am tired of carrying most of them despite being stuck on bed rest half the time!

I'm finally going to where I've always felt I belong and I am doing it with the man of my dreams! I'm going to live my dreams, become the person I want to be and I'm going to prove every person wrong who ever said I couldn't get better and I'd be stuck in Colorado forever! (No offense Colorado). This move has made me realize many things. First, I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Second, I have the best boyfriend in the world, best family and a few amazing friends. Third, your real friends shine through when things change. They roll with the punches and insist that distance won't change a single thing. Others pull away out of fear or don't care enough to even see you before you leave. This brings me to my biggest realization: The moment you become a true grown-up is when you stop caring what others think! Yes, I should have realized this a long time ago but it was something I once knew and forgot. Don't worry, my memory has been renewed!

I've spent my life trying to make everyone happy and it's time to make sure I am happy. I can't let other people's opinions deter me from my dreams and goals. It's time to take care of me! I don't care what people think anymore because it is my life and I am going to live it instead of sitting on a couch, watching it pass me by like so many people I know. I'm happy, that's all anyone should care about if they care about me. It's my life and I'm going to live it, those who love me will support me and be there no matter what! I'm moving on with my life, take it or leave it because I don't care anymore. :)