The Must List, July 15

This week's Must List has a little Christianity, a little book reading, and a little romance.

1. Bethlehem Baptist Church podcasts
I couldn't get by without these!! I still haven't found a church for me in my new community, but I can always rely on these podcasts. Rev. Dickie Spargo preaches nearly every Sunday at the church where I found the true meaning of Christ and through these podcasts, I never miss a sermon. They download directly to my iTunes every week. I would definitely, definitely recommend the "Why I..." sermon and my absolutle favorite "Marry Well" from September 2010.

2. Surprise flowers
Yesterday, I had a down day. I was consumed by this horrible mood swing that lasted all day. I got nearly nothing done and basically spent my entire time rebuilding my unhealthy relationship with my Instant NetFlix account. I sent Stuart a warning text that I was having a horrible day and that to bring home something nice would be very much appreciated. And, that boy delivered! I got a small Cherry Berry Chiller, Bojangles for dinner, sliced watermelon for dessert, and a beautiful, vibrant bouquet of flowers!!! :)

3. The Devil Wears Prada, the novel
I can't put this book down! It took me a few pages to get into it, but once I did... it's addicting!!! I even had a dream that I had an evil boss who called my cell phone constantly with absurd and rude requests on her behalf. You definitely want to read this. Then, go out and rent the movie even if you've already seen it.

4. Homemade pizza
Stuart and I made homemade pizza the other team, and it was DELICIOUS!! Get yourself a can of Pillsbury pizza dough in the refrigerated section, mozzarella cheese, whatever toppings you want, and sauce. Since the official "pizza sauce" is usually too sweet, Stuart tried our usual spaghetti sauce: Ragu Robusto! Parmesan & Romano. It's the perfect spaghetti sauce, and I say that with the full knowledge that Stuart enjoys it and he knows that it comes out of a can. Still, I was skeptical that it could work as a pizza sauce, but hey...  it did! It had a familiar taste with a restaurant pizza that I can't place. Success!

5. A-Team on DVD
Both Stuart and I were skeptical about the quality of this movie, but once again, Liam Neeson didn't let us down!! It was incredibly witty, intense, action-packed, and surprisingly intelligent. Even Stuart had very few criticisms about the weaponry use and tactics that occurred on-screen. Check it out!!

6. Wii Sports Resort game
This is the latest purchase Stuart and I plan to make!! Our choices of Wii games have grown a bit stale, and two of them cannot be played by more than one person, and one has games that are only single player as well. So, we have decided to pool our money together for the action-packed, intensely fun, and gets-you-off-your-butt game of Wii Sports Resort!! We haven't been this excited about spending money since purchasing a hamster... and I do believe that excitement was mostly one-sided. But seriously, how can you not be excited about a video game that lets you throw a Frisbee to a dog? That's just awesome!! Stuart and I desperately want a dog, and here's a video game that lets us have one for as long as we want to play without making our landlord upset. Plus, archery!!! WOHOO! Seriously, we're excited!! Wii party at our place!

God has Left Hollywood

JC didn’t know the situation he was getting himself into when he picked up a satellite cable box for my TV a few days before the broadcast of the 69^th Annual Golden Globe Awards. I am a huge fan of movies, Hollywood, celebrities, and the awards season!! I look forward to the Golden Globes, People’s Choice, Screen Actor’s Guild, and the Academy Awards like I look forward to Christmas! Tis the best, most glamorous season of the year!!

Starting at 5 p.m., JC and I settled in to watch first the pre-red carpet segment where three fashionistas commented on who they believed would dress the best, then two hours of red carpet interviews and fashion, then the three-hour award show! I felt sorry for Justin who had to listen to me say “That dress is ugly!,” “Ohmigosh! Why is she wearing that?”, and “OMG! I LOVE HER DRESS!” about thirty times as celebrity after celebrity filed onto the red carpet. He patiently listened… or appeared to listen to me ramble on and on about red carpet fashion, who was who, who was dating who, and why they were nominated. Really, he was just waiting for the chicken thighs I was baking to hurry up and be ready to eat.

Two things I noticed about this year’s red carpet:

1.       1. Only three or four couples made an appearance together. Many celebrities were man-less or chick-less.

2.       2. WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON WITH THE DRESSES???!! They were downright ugly this year. Mila and Emma took the win in fashion for sure.

Then it was time for the actual awards ceremony. Out came the rum and Coke. Unable to watch football, Justin kept me entertained as I created a drinking game for him. One must drink when:

1.    A celebrity thanked the “amazing talent” in his or her category that they just smoked them in
2.   A celebrity was cut off by the music because they rambled on too long
3.  A celebrity thanked God

Quite often, Justin had to drink because the music cut off a star, like Kate Winslet who always goes over. One thing we noticed, however, was that no one wanted to thank God this year! We waited two hours and 45 minutes before Meryl Streep, God bless her, got up on the stage for her Best Actress award for The Iron Lady and thanked the good Lord upstairs.. sort of! It was actually a joke, but JC drank anyway! Meryl refers to one of the members of the audience as God, but at least there was some mention of religion somewhere. Ms. Streep also took home the prize of Best Speech and The 3-in-1 Drinking Award, bestowed to her by JC and me, as she thanked a type of god and thanked not only the other females in her category but every woman who was nominated in all the categories, and she ran out of time after stumbling through her speech because she left her glasses at her seat and couldn’t read what she wrote!!!

Congratulations, Meryl Streep!! You not only know how to give an amazing performance on the silver screen, you can also give one heck of a speech!!

“Why don’t you make a film our daughter can see for once?’” — Martin Scorsese, accepting best director for “Hugo,” referring to how his wife, Helen, urged him to make a children’s movie.