Kung Pau Take-Out

Battle of the Snow Whites

2011-11-15T09:23:00.001-08:00

Ok so I heard that there will be 2 adult, live action Snow White movies coming out. Mirror Mirror seems...like not my cup of tea. It looks like Julia Roberts playing dress up and has the mood of the wonderfully depressing and drab Alice in Wonderland. Snow White and the Huntsman actually looks like a good action piece with the feeling of Lord of the Rings behind it. Too bad it doesn't come out until June or so of next year. We need some good movies now! Nothing I am really looking forward to coming out right now so I'll wait for the following on DVD

-Blue Valentine
-Drive

And whatever other indie pick jem that I can find.

DWTS

2011-11-15T09:13:00.001-08:00

This season has been a let down in more ways than 1.
1. No fun Maks --more angry, bitter Maks :(
2. Outside drama that has nothing to do with dancing :(
3. Not a season full of great dancers (exception being JR and Ricki).

Sigh. Just feeling weary and exhausted. Is this season over yet? Judges made it clear that they want Rob in the final. Not hating on Rob but I guess I am not as in love with him as the judges. He's ok....but nowhere near as good as JR or Ricki. I am never Wowed by his peformances but appreciate the effort he has put in. I wish the judges would recognize Hope for the same.

Anyways I need to find another reality show to tune into as this one is winding down. I just want to cast my vote for the following people to do DWTS (unlikely as it is!)

1. Meryl Davis
2. Charlie White
3. Johnny Weir
4. Cedric the Entertainer
5. Nastia Liukin

Hmm. Can't think of anyone else at the moment but PLEASE get some dancers on the show for the love of humanity!

Work Stress

2011-10-31T08:06:00.000-07:00

Can I just say that it sucks when you have a co-worker that refuses to pull their own weight. I am patting myself on the back for saying no though. I refuse to help you accomplish your goal of not doing work. The countdown begins to when it is no longer my problem!

Dancing With the Stars

2011-10-31T08:02:00.000-07:00

Who knew that ballroom dancing would interest me so much? Maksgate has seemed to be dying down thank goodness. Yeah I wasn't feeling him 100% in what he had to say. More had an issue with how and when he chose to say it. I'm annoyed but now I'm over it. In checking out other blogs it seems that the Maks haters have come out the woodwork. The consensus is how dare Maks bring Derek into this in his GMA interview. I agree he should have kept his mouth shut on that one. Trust me I think Maks give people reasons to dislike him. What I find weird is the whole Maks v. Derek thing. Actually is more Maks fans v. Derek fans. That battle is so....I don't know...lame. Maybe because I haven't watched the show since season 1 but dear lord people are getting real vicious all in the name of protecting Derek. My guess is that Derek and Maks know each other....have know each other and are guys. Guys have beef then 2 minutes later they are all good. My guess is they were over it 5 minutes after it happened. Can't wait for a Halloween themed show tonight.

Maksim Chmerkovskiy

2011-10-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

The reason I'm watching Dancing with the Stars.

And I'm Back...

2011-10-24T10:28:00.000-07:00

Wedding is done :) So happy with how it turned out. Will probably blog about that later. It was my life for the last year so I am glad the planning is done. Major shake up on the job front. I am changing offices and I looking forward to being in a new environment...though I will miss the old one :(

take the drama to your mama

2010-10-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

Ok it's starting to become clear why brides turn into bridezillas! There is a constant battle (world war III) level between what I want, what hubby wants, what hubby and I want, what my sister wants, what my dad wants, what my relatives want!

I can't take this all on and still be sane! In my perfect dream reality everyone would just back off and let me plan the wedding that I have really wanted for a long time. Why is that so difficult? Instead of telling me what I need to do for this wedding I WISH people would come up to me and say, "Hey were very excited for your big day. What did you have in mind for xyz?"

I'm getting a lot of "this is what we are doing" and my response is "um well since I never in a million years wanted that or thought that looked cute I'm not doing it on my wedding day."

Don't get me wrong I'm a people pleaser but I have to put my foot down otherwise I'll be SOOO miserable on my wedding day.

I'm starting to have a "I don't give a f$#! attitude. I am not being rude or mean about it. I'll listen to your 2 cents but will decide on my own what I really want.

As the crazy train trudges forward I'll keep you posted.

Wedding Industry Standard BS

2010-08-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

Veils: Why on earth would a piece of tulle and a comb cost $300??? Has anyone in the WORLD ever gone to a wedding and said afterwards, "Her veil was sooo tacky." Um I doubt it. Especially when we are not talking about designer veils people. I'm talking about plain veils. Sure if you want yours bedazzled to the floor it might cost you...but a plain veil at anything more than $25 is a rip off! Slap "wedding" on something and the prices get insane!

I am determined to have a nice wedding that won't make us broke. I know this will be a fight but I am determined to make it happen. Operation: not getting ripped off is in full swing.

Wedding Industry Standard BS

2010-08-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

I'm calling BS on a lot of things wedding! I know when most people think of weddings they get warm mushy feelings. I get that feeling at the thought of marrying future hubby :) But the wedding planning itself is kind of a pain in the arse.

I'm a fairly up front person and I feel that "wedding industry standard" is full of hiding stuff from the bride! Examples you ask? Here we go:

-Venue minimums. Many hotels and other venues will have a Saturday minimum that you have to spend if you want to use their venue. In my neck of the woods I've been quoted from $12,000 - $15,000. That's fine with me...I understand that they are running a business. I take issue with me calling you on the phone....we talk for 30 min. about how great your venue is....you send me menu options (leading me to believe that this sums up the costs for the venue)...insist I come take a look at the venue. I leave work early to take a tour and only after further digging do you drop the venue min. Why on earth would you waste both your time and my time by not disclosing that from the jump? You know I'm not a wedding planner! Fill me in. Now I've wasted all this time when I could have been taking a tour of another site!

color scheme and other headaches

2010-08-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

Why is everyone sooo eager to get details about the wedding? I work full time and so does future hubby people. I am planning this thing myself so far. Kinda annoyed with the constant barrage of questions and needed updates...especially from people that should know that I had not planned on inviting them! Sigh.

Issue at hand - color scheme. Platinum & Plum. loves it! future hubby needs to be convinced though.

My current angst is trying to figure out how to save on the DJ. Music is crucial to a wedding. I've been to some BEAUTIFUL weddings that were not that fun because the music was not good. Some of the industry recommended are pricey. I'm kinda of scared to trust craigslist...but maybe if I do my homework and a try-outs I could find a reasonably priced one?

Wedding Planning

2010-08-16T08:53:00.000-07:00

Um. The way they make it look on t.v. is so NOT how it really is. I'm stressed...but I think I can do it. Ok so I was drowning in planning process and spoke to a planner. Started to feel like this person got me and could help me put this thing together... Feeling great until she blew me off! Ok she gave a reason but I'm not sure I'm buying it.

I am determined to have a NICE wedding that doesn't bankrupt us! It can be done in these expensive neck of the woods. You just have to be SUPER creative.

Ways to save
-Do the invites, menu cards, seating cards yourself
-use unique material to make your own aisle runner (wallpaper, Indian fabric?)
-use a free lance photographer to do your wedding (instead of the super expensive wedding crew)
-buy a sample sale dress then sell it
-get your veil (and other accessories) off etsy.com
-do the favors yourself

more cost saving ideas to come

Engaged!

2010-06-22T08:13:00.001-07:00

Very excited. Now I can go crazy with my wedding ideas!!! Well I have been thinking about this for a min.

Reality Show Junkie

2010-06-03T08:08:00.000-07:00

Ok I don't even watch real t.v. anymore. My latest reality show run was "What Chilli Wants" on VH1. This guy aka Farmer D aka Daron Joffe was in the final two. Can we say HOT. There will be a Season 2 and I hope he is brought back somehow. He is amazing. Watch the show and you'll see what I mean.

Angels & Demons

2010-04-03T19:47:00.001-07:00

Starring Tom Hanks. I just saw this on cable. Not as good as The DaVinci Code. Lacked the suspense that the first movie had but not bad...just okay. B-.

cake toppers

2010-04-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.etsy.com/ has the cutest cake toppers. These are made out of paper and I just love them. Kind of on the pricey side at around $75-$100 but so unique. Just got to figure out how to perserve them?

Musing

2010-04-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

Life is good. Got a smile on my face...(life not perfect...many things I COULD be stressing about) but you know what... I've gotten this far in life by just figuring it out I'm sure I will be just fine.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White

2010-04-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Ice dancing! Who knew that this would be the sport I HAD to watch during the Winter Olympics. My new obsession is Meryl Davis and Charlie White. I love everything about their dance style. I always liked skating but never paid attention to ice dancing. Mainly because in the early 90's the sport was dominated by Russian teams with alot of tattered costumes. These guys are young and dynamic. Looking forward to their upcoming season.

Movie Review: 500 Days of Summer

2009-12-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

LOVED IT! Joseph Gordon -Levitt was great. I ended up running out and watching other movies he was in. Saw the following movies:

Manic-Angry young Joeseph. Also stars Zooey Dechanel.

Brick - Very interesting and different. Need to watch with sub-titles because the dialouge is hard to keep up with sometimes.

Mysterious Skin - Depressing but good. If you don't cry you have no heart.

The Lookout - Good movie but not as unique as his other films.

Okay back to 500 Days of Summer. Another actor would have made this performance flat. He really brought the character to life. I was feeling for Tom the whole movie! I want this DVD for X-mas.

Movie Review: The Wrestler

2009-04-25T06:58:00.001-07:00

Very good movie. I was hoping it would make me cry. It didn't but I still thought it was touching. Mickey Rourke is a very good actor with all the drama in his life I think I forgot about that. If you can get past the exterior (which isn't that hard to do) his performance was awesome. I hope to see him in more stuff.

Movie Review: 17 Again

2009-04-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

From what I've heard this movie has been getting trashed. It wasn't that bad. Creepy in some spots when the daughter is attracted to the teenage version of her father. What was actually kinda touching and not creepy was teenage Zac Efron falling for his adult wife. Now don't get me wrong I am too damn old to be into Zac Efron but the kid is appealing. Cute boy but not really feeling the side swept hair do. I have to say I wrote him off especially with all the HSM publicity. He's a cute guy and as he gets older I think his fan base will include an older demographic.

Movie Review: X-Men Orgins - Wolverine

2009-04-19T07:01:00.000-07:00

Hugh Jackman did make this role. They could have done more with the Gambit character...in the comic book he was so much fun. I mean really powers that include gambling! But then again the comic goes into greater detail on all the characters. Overall I liked it but kinda predictable in some spots. I give a medium warm thumbs up.

where ya been?

2009-04-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

it's been tooo long. i need to get back to my thoughts so i'm back. did anyone miss me? blogging is definately a much needed escape from the drama of work and office politics. Now i just got to get creative and start blogging again.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T16:37:00.001-07:00

Joaquin Phoenix: Just Cause

2008-03-13T21:00:00.001-07:00

I don't smoke...just really like and appreciate joaquin phoenix. I could look at him all day. He's attractive in a dark mysterious kind of way. Lovely man...but I wish he would do more movies, I think he's a very talented actor. I don't even love all the movies he's in but I appreciate his qualities as an actor.

Beckams: Together Again

2008-03-13T15:04:00.001-07:00

David Beckham is back in the states after the LA Galaxy Asian Tour. I have to say that I think I will at least attempt to watch an upcoming soccer game. Watching Beckham highlights is fun...so a full game should be exciting as well, right? This is not a recent picture but I like it because I'm loving the casual laid back look of D & V. Cute family.

Jean-Leon Gerome: Pygmalion & Galatea

2008-03-08T12:11:00.000-08:00

I first saw this painting while in NYC at the Metropolitian Museum of Art. The painting depicts the greek myth of Pygmalion, King of Cyprus after he has scultped his ideal woman. He named his sculpture Galatea and it was so beautiful that he fell in love with his own creation. Aphrodite, Goddess of love brought the statue to life. Everytime I look at this piece I can't help but smile.

John Mayer: Cartoon

2008-03-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

Okay I used to like John Mayer. I liked him best when he was a fresh faced newby in the music industry and won his first Grammy. I really liked his song writing and his message. Is it just me but his newer material I just can't relate to? Not to mention I know more about John Mayer the person vs. the artist. I'm starting to realize maybe I don't like John Mayer the person. It just makes me shake my head when a person claims to want privacy then decides to put some stuff on their blog that will peak the media's attention. It's like he's asking for it. Oh well I can't feel too bad for him anymore.

Rihanna

2008-03-07T20:50:00.001-08:00

The make-up is great in this picture. Also I think this hair color suits her. This must have been after she was a dark blonde but before the cut and going black. I like the black bob too especially when she had some curls in it. Very natural look here though.

I just liked the photography here. I love black & whites and here she looks so much older...I almost didn't recognize her.

Gwen Stefani

2008-03-07T20:40:00.000-08:00

Gwen Stefani usually see her is some preety outrageious stuff but I really like her make-up here. Much softer look...I think because there is no red lip which is her usual look. I love the pink simple lipstick and the great bouncy curls.

Movie Review: Jumpers

2008-03-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

Okay so I saw it. Afterwards I felt like it was missing something....like a plot. Hayden comes off to me as being so stiff and wooden I don't believe him in any of his roles (I'm not just saying that I've seen him in the Star Wars trilogy and Awake). The time line of events was kind of ridiculous. I really miss well made quality movies with smart plots. Next time I see one that has those qualities I will let you know.

Not to be totally negative I'll suggest a movie in this genre that was pretty good. X-Men. Mainly because we met Hugh Jackman for the first time. The first one was the best (IMHO)...good plot (as far as comic book characters go). I hear that there will be another one coming out that will focus on Wolverine. Can't wait!

Cocktail Lounge Area

2008-03-07T17:23:00.000-08:00

I like the lounge nightclub vibe. Now how do I re-create on a budget?

Victoria Beckham: Vogue UK Cover March 2008

2008-03-07T11:33:00.000-08:00

She needs a US image consultant for real. Because the perception of her is so harsh and negative but this beautiful cover really let's people see another side of her. Americans want to like her and I think we would with more covers like this. She is so used to being attacked by the British press it's no wonder she may not even want to try to let us know her. BTW she was so nice and friendly on Project Runway...she needs to more things like that in the future.

Wedding Table Arrangement: Pears

2008-03-06T16:52:00.000-08:00

What girl doesn't think about her wedding? I love this table setting. Simple but beautiful...I love the pears, the color and the overall design. I'm taking notes for my big day.

2008-03-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

This is one of my most favorite pictures of Victoria Beckham. She really looks nature and super cute and stylish. Very beautiful picture. I really like her and appreciate her honesty and just like who she is. She has soooo many haters though. People complain that she can't sing and say nasty things because she got out of the music industry and started her own clothing line, fragrance and sunglasses collection. I don't understand the haters though? She has said numerous times that she was never the best singer or dancer. I'm not sure what people expected her to do after the Spice Girls broke up but I would have done the same thing and tried to have my own solo career. She eventually moved on into fashion which is great. I think people expect her to sit at home and just be thankful to be married to David Beckham. To me that is the most sexist logic I have ever heard. From what I've seen she is a loving mother and wife. In the crazy world of celebrity she has 3 kids and has stayed married! Why hate...why not appreciate?

Halle Berry & Gabriel Aubrey: Versace

2008-03-05T21:11:00.000-08:00

I came across these photos Halle Berry did for Versace. She is beautiful. I love the photography...also how cute is it to know she met the father of her child on this day and she has pictures to show thier child!

Joaquin Phoenix & Royston Langdon

2008-03-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

Just hanging out with his ex-girlfriend's (Liv Tyler) husband, Royston Langdon. See people, they can all just get along. Joaquin directed some of Royston's band (Spacehog) videos.

Joaquin Phoenix: Two Lovers

2008-03-05T08:58:00.000-08:00

The lovely Joaquin Phoenix (where has he been lately) will be starring in an upcoming movie called Two Lovers with Gwyeneth Paltrow. Can't wait!