I'm famous (again)... sorta, kinda

Remember this post about me taking the day off work to drive to Atlanta to meet The Pioneer Woman. Well, Lacey and I eagerly checked her blog on a daily basis after our meet and greet with her because we just knew that she would put a picture of us on her blog.

Now for those of you who are unfamiliar, in the "blog world" The Pioneer Woman is a huge deal... to put it into perspective her blog beat out Perez Hilton's blog last year for most read blog. What I'm trying to say is... her blog is big time.

After several weeks and no sign of a blog post about her trip to Atlanta Lacey and I decided we that the Pioneer Woman must not care enough to write an entire post about Atlanta. We let our dream die.

Well, a few days after New Year's Lacey called to inform me that Pioneer Woman had written about her Atlanta visit and WE WERE ON THE BLOG. I know this isn't huge to some of you, but in my world it's yet another famous moment. (you may also reall this famous time in my life)

Check out the picture that made the pioneer woman's blog.

Click here for the full recap of Pdub's visit in Atlanta.

Just call me Gene Shallot

Or better yet, don't call me Gene Shallot... just know that I am about to review a few movies.

Over my holiday vacation I really took advantage of my free time. I worked out, I napped, I read, I ate sushi, and above all I went to the movies- not once but three different times. I realize that this might be a bit excessive, but it was my vacation.

The first movie I went to see was Sherlock Holmes. Ryan and I had been anticipating the opening of this movie for a several weeks.

Guy Richie films tend to be entertaining- I'm mean have you seen Snatch? The previews in the weeks leading up to the release looked as though the movie wouldn't disappoint. So on my birthday Ryan and I decided to check it out.

At one point I began to think that it was a bit far fetched, but it came together in the end. Loved Robert Downy, Jr. and Rachel McAdams. Normally, I would say I loved Jude Law (hello- who has seen The Holiday), but in this film he gets a bit lost. I give this movie 4 stars. Ryan and I both thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon at the theater.

Later that same night my mom called to inquire if Ryan and I would like to join she and my dad the following evening for dinner and a movie. To which we gladly accepted. I love to eat and I love to watch a good movie... perfect set-up if you ask me.

So the next night we went to the theater to see the much talked about AVATAR in 3D.

I didn't know what to expect going in to this one. It was an interesting experience to say the least. The 3D aspect of the movie was sort of cool... but three hours of that got a bit old. Overall, this movie was okay- maybe worthy of 3 stars (in my opinion).

However, I really liked the main character.

(I blurred out the others so you would know exactly which one I was talking about).

He played this character....

(the one looking at us- kind of crazy looking, huh? How did someone come up with all this stuff?)

Now, I haven't seen this actor any other movies, but he narrates the story and his voice was so nice. Is that weird? He had a real raspy voice (or at least in the film he did) and I thought it was sexy... so bonus points to Avatar for that!

Overall, AVATAR was a unique experience. Very, ummm, creative...

The third and last movie I saw over the holiday was It's Complicated, which is about a divorced couple who rekindle their romance and begin an affair. To say the least it becomes quite complicated.

What a movie! I loved it. LOVE LOVE LOVED IT! Laugh out loud funny.

Alec Baldwin makes this movie what it is. Just look at him. He's so funny. Please go see this movie...

I hope this little movie review helps you in deciding what film you would like to see next!

Fashion Do or Don't?

I hopped on the printed leggings bandwagon for our New Year's Eve Celebration.

It made me feel very catlike... I think at one point I may have creeped around on my tip toes while purring, as I felt like a real leopard...

So what do you think? Is it a fashion do or don't?

The Holidays- Part 2

For Ryan and I to be so different in so many ways, we do have some common ground. An example of something we share is he and I were both born right after Christmas. Now, if you are not someone who has a birthday right after Christmas then you do not know what that means.

Allow me to explain... Birthday gifts should never be wrapped in Christmas paper. Would I give you a birthday gift wrapped in Easter paper if your birthday landed in the same month as Easter? No. I wouldn't. Another thing that makes a birthday after Christmas a little tough is that you can pretty much bet that a good portion of your friends haven't gotten back into town from Christmas holiday or they have already left town for New Year's.

Now, I must say that my friends tend to make a great effort in celebrating my birthday. Never a huge crowd, but I embrace it all the same.

So my birthday is on December 27, which fell on a Sunday this year. Making the best of the situation we decided to celebrate on the Saturday night before. The restaurant I wanted to eat at was closed... still on holiday if you can believe that. Didn't they know it was my birthday??? So we took it on over to a new mexican restaurant here in town for a few margaritas.

After dinner the folks who weren't too tired from all the holiday festivities (huh uhh) came back over to Ryan's for a mean game of Taboo.

[side note here: Taboo is so fun. I love it. You should go out and purchase this game right now]

Ryan's birthday is December 30... he tends to lose birthday attention to New Year's Eve, as it is the following night. Bless his heart... he can count on me feel his pain. In an attempt to make his birthday special I called up the few friends who were in town and made reservations for dinner (at the restaurant I tried to go to on my bday). 

At dinner I told Ryan to order anything he wanted... Go Big, I told him. Have as many drinks as you would like... because mama's paying for this one. I even celebrated big myself, by ordering whatever I wanted- it was a party after all and I was paying! Sadly, however, when the check came... I realized that I didn't have my wallet! Oh no. I ran out to the car- no sign of it. I went back in, with my head held in shame and told Ryan I couldn't find it. Sadly he purchased his own birthday dinner. (and I don't think he's going to let that one go for a while) I felt terrible about it, but we pushed through (and I later located said wallet).

Once we had officially celebrated our two birthdays, it was time to celebrate the coming of a New Year (or is it the ending of an old one?).  We were invited to join several of our friends in Florida, but Ryan and I felt as though we shouldn't spend that extra money. At first this made me a little sad. It was going to be the first year I hadn't been on a fun-filled adventure to bring in the New Year in a long time.

After some much needed coaching... I came to terms with it. I began to embrace it even. I decided to have a party at Ryan's with several of our closest friends. Alana (pictured below with red hair) and I headed to Party City to stock up on supplies such as confetti, noisemakers, party hats, and so forth.

We even took the time to strand lights all over the place. I called Kyle and told him to hook us up with some narley fireworks and told everyone to arrive around 7:30pm.

We had so much fun, and to be quite honest it felt great not to have to drive four hours or spend lots of money. I might embrace low-key New Year's celebrations from now on....

With this New Year I hope for big things. I hope for new careers for some, for others I hope for them to find their way. I hope that some find true love this year that will last a lifetime. I hope for others, good health. For Ryan and I 2010 will always be a special year. It will forever be the year we got married. It will be the first year we lived together [we have got to get the other TV working properly for us to survive], the first time for lots of new things and for that I am excited.

Here's to 2010 y'all!

The Holidays- Part 1

I apologize for being m.i.a. for the past couple of weeks. I took two weeks off from work to celebrate the holidays and in doing so I took two weeks off from the Internet. I didn't check my email, facebook, or blogs- I just lived in the real world. I spent time with real friends- didn't just stalk their facebook page.

I was on holiday and it was great!

The two-week vacay was supposed to start out with a small "holiday party" at Ryan's house. I had even sent out an email informing folks to prepare to sing Christmas carols and to bring an appetizer of sorts. A few days prior to my party my friend John called and had the nerve to inform me that he was canceling my party. I thought to myself... he better have a damn good reason to be canceling my party because I have already hung the mistletoe!

Well, John did have a good reason. He was asking this kid to marry him and wanted us to celebrate at his parent's house. It was a lot of fun. Congrats to you guys!

*For some reason I have no pictures of the lovely couple. I took crazy pictures that had nothing to do with what the party was actually about. I'm random.*
The next day was Christmas Eve... Let the family fun time begin! On Christmas Eve Ryan and I headed over to my grandmother's house for dinner and fun. On Christmas Day Ryan and I didn't even get to see each other because our schedules didn't quite jive. [We don't exactly know what to do about this once we're married... I think I'm going to have to learn a tough lesson in being selfless, but I don't want to]

At my Dad's family Christmas we had somewhat of a photo shoot, which followed a mean game of Catch Phrase.

Warning: There will be at least one awkward photo that will stem from a holiday photo shoot with family!

Here's ours:

The angle was all wrong. Please note how big I look in comparison to Celinda (to the left) and Leslie (to the right) is very upright. Fear not, as we were able to get some pretty good shots as well.

What's that? How was Harley and Charlie's Christmas? Well, they had a great Christmas too! Here they are posing on Christmas Day with my brother and myself.

Stay tuned for part 2... Two birthdays and a New Year Celebration coming up!

A Christmas Carol

At the Engagement Party in Ryan's hometown (see post below) our friend Kyle decided to rock out to Rudolph. I have to say he really owned it...

Enjoy!


Rudolph from Jessica Toland on Vimeo.


Merry Christmas!

And the Parties Begin...

Ryan and I had our first official wedding party this past weekend. Three couples (including us) from Ryan's home town are getting married within the next six months. So a group of Ryan's closest friends got together to host one big shindig in honor of the three couples.

Dee and I (she's the M.O.H.)

Being that the party was the weekend before Christmas I didn't know if many of my friends would be able to come, however, they didn't let me down.

We danced the night away, I may have sang a Janis Joplin song acapela while I was supposed to be making a 'thank you speech', and we laughed a lot!

Can you tell these two are brothers?

Showing off my cool "crown like" head band.

Apparently Lacey wanted a cool head band, as I must have really been rocking it!

I wanted a picture of Ryan and I with the other two couples the party was for, however, this what I ended up with:

... a picture of one person from each couple. That's Nutt on the left and Austin on the right.

Group Picture of the Guys

What was left of the girls at the end of the party!

The party was a huge success! Every one that helped host it really out did themselves. Here's to all the parties to come!! 

In the Georgia Dome on the Fifty Yard Line while the Dirty Bird Kick for T'ree

(what song is that from?)

Ryan and I did see the Dirty Birds (Atlanta Falcons) kick for three this past weekend in a game against the New Orleans Saints!

If you are a frequent reader of this blog or if you have ever met Ryan then you are well aware that football is his #2 love in life... (I'm declaring that I'm his #1). In any case, he loves high school football, college football, and even the NFL. I won't even get started on his "man crush" on Peyton Manning (the Colts are his favorite team). I'm just sayin'

Needless to say, Ryan watches all the NFL games on Sunday and Monday nights. I don't love this, but I work with him on it.

Although Ryan loves the NFL he'd never been to a game until this past weekend.

You see my cousin Celinda's boyfriend, Matt purchases season tickets for the Atlanta Falcons... which means he has two tickets to every game (duh). Well, over a few drinks back in October Ryan and I were talking to Celinda and Matt and we decided that we would have to come over to Atlanta for a game before the season ended. So that's what we did this past Sunday. We were able to score two more tickets for a reasonable price so we headed over the GA Dome for a game.

It was so much fun. The atmosphere is intoxicating and if I'm honest here (and I always try to be completely honest with you guys) it made me want to drop it like it was hott (or at least purchase some tighter pants)! The beers were flowing, the jams were pumping, and folks were cheering for their team of choice. I was loving it and so was Ryan.

(you might not be able to tell by the picture, but the photo above is of Reggie Bush after he dropped the ball and then recovered it...  I can only assume he got distracted by thinking of Kim Kardashian's big ole booty.)

The half-time performance was by none other than Atlanta Native, Big Boi, of the rap duo Outkast. Let's just say, "Ain't nobody dope as me- I'm just so fresh and so fresh and so clean, clean."

The game should have been a blow out (according to football talk leading up to the match up) because the Falcons had several key player who were hurt, however, the game was close right until the end. The final score was 26 to 23- with the Saints claiming the victory.

After the game we ventured over to The Varsity (What'll ya have? What'll ya have? What'll ya have?) for chili dogs, fries, and onion rings. It was a great way to top off the day.

A big thanks to Celinda and Matt for graciously hosting us! You two made a little boy's dream come true!

**** Disclaimer- sorry about the picture quality. My camera battery was dead so all pictures via blackberry and iPhone.****