The 'BIG' review (without spoilers)

Well let me first of all say I am a Sex and the City utter devotee/afficianado and we re-watched all six series this year ready for this movie and so the Hubster could see it for the first time. I have been waiting for this movie for years and I was worried it might be a disappointment.

It's fabulous! In fact that's all I thought I was going to write as I walked out of the theatre, because that's all I needed to say. But then I read your comments and knew you needed more! LOL

So as a #1 fan of the series let me assure you, if you loved it on TV this will not disappoint. The Hubster and I both agreed they did a great job on getting the same feel, and a good storyline. They moved it along quicker being a movie, but not too fast and unlike some of the reviewers, we did not feel it was overlong but just right. All the original actors have returned which makes it seamless from the TV show. Obviously having to squeeze so much into a movie, means some of the ancillary characters like Anthony, Stedman & Harry have small parts though.

Although the story mainly revolves around Carrie's life, it also brings you right back into the other girls lives too and the various issues they are dealing with. They are all older and allowed to be, which is wonderful; all a bit more hardened by life and less frivoulous....but then aren't we all as we hit our forties.

We thought Samantha despite being the oldest looked the best and to be honest she just about steals the movie with the funniest lines and scenes. Jennifer Hudson does great as the only addition to the cast and Big is just a softer even more lovable version of himself.

The old laugh out loud humour is a big part of the movie and at one point the audience in our theatre even applauded with the characters on screen! It's funny, realistic, heartbreaking, affirming, it made me cry twice (the Hubster only caught me once though) and it made us all rock with laughter alot.

I LOVED IT :-) and will be first in line to buy it when it comes out on DVD, I may also go and see it again when it reaches our local town - it was that good!

I asked the Hubster for his thoughts; he thoroughly enjoyed it too but he had one complaint and I quote him here "not enough titties from Samantha"!

Girls just go see it and escape for awhile :-)

Today's the day....

We're off to Dodge City today to pick up a spare key for the new car and it just so happens that there is a matinee of Sex and the City at 1pm :-)

It's not on around here yet so lucky for the Hubster we were going there anyway today! After the movie we'll also have a little tour around the infamous Dodge City, although we have Brit's visiting later who want to the tourist stuff.

Have a good Saturday y'all ;-)

Naming Baby?

We're expecting a new arrival on Sunday! And although this isn't her, it's very close to what she looks like, even down to the eye colour and pink nose. I am soooo happy and soooo excited at having a new pretty grey/white baby kitty :-)

It's my birthday in a couple of weeks and there really isn't anything I need. So when I visited a friend with kittens today, I found my perfect gift from the Hubster, not that he was at all sure at first mention. But he soon came around, as he's as big a softie as I am where kitties are concerned!

Tomorrow I am off to get just a few kitten essentials to make her right at home, as initially she will have her own room for a week, in order that we have a peaceful transition. We already have Sukie and Cal-Jo (Callie), so we are now about to become the minority in our own home and have a new little one for us all to adore. Well after a short period of adjustment on the part of the girls I'm sure!

So we have been trying to think of names, but ones that have a different first letter and syllable sound to the other 2, as it makes it easier for the cats to then recognise their own name. Here are a few I found online tonight that I kinda like:

Daisy Mae, Fia, Gia, Ziya, Gigi, Lola, Mai Tai, Pasha, Mimi, Punkin, Purrsia, Rhea (Rayur), Loubyloo, Shiloh, Roxy, Toyah, Willow, Xena

What d'ya think guys and girls, please give us your ideas too?

Handbag of the day....my first one!

What can I say! This is the first known photo of me holding a handbag that was obviously mine.

Even at an early age it appears my taste in bags was fairly exotic and not run of the mill. Note the elaborate pattern, intricate stitching, funky fringe and pink handles. To this day I still have handbags of a similar design and it even co-ordinates too!

I know nothing about this little bag, whether it was a gift, or I spotted it in a shop and wouldn't let go, or maybe someone made it for me. I am not even sure how old I am in this piccie, but I would hazard a guess at maybe nearly 3yrs old? We will have to hope my mum wanders in here and can post a comment on this for us, shedding some light.

I was obviously already a 'pink' girly and that hasn't changed either, get a load of those cool pink dungarees!

Brit' Word of the Day....

Today's BWOTD is a term you often hear people use in relation to work and theirs or a colleagues position!

"Oh I'm just the general dogsbody around here"

'Dogsbody' = a lowly servant or the person that does all the yukky jobs nobody else wants to do.

It's not uncommon to hear someone say that they are treated like a dogsbody or know someone who is, it's just a common term in England. So if you're fed up at work and have a good relationship with your boss, you might want to try accusing him/her of treating you like their dogsbody!

If ever anyone asks me to do something I know they don't want to do and it's not a boss, then I will just say to them "Oy what d'ya think I am, your dogsbody?"

Bounteous Blooms

I thought I would share the beautiful blooms my garden is currently overflowing with in all areas. As you can see I love roses and clematis like most Brit's, but also have a passion for Asiatic Lillies.

Except for 2 of the roses, these are all plants I have put in myself since early 2006. All the roses were bought from Cottage Farms Direct which is linked in my 'Cool Online Places' down on the right and they all had a 1yr guarantee.

The final 2 pictures are of my all time favourite flower Alstroemaria in 2 different colours, I planted these last year and am delighted they have taken so well.

Sarcasm tune up required!

An American friend sent me an email last week, that I read with some disbelief before responding along the lines of "you're not serious are you"?! A little while later she replied saying "uh no, that was sarcasm actually"!

Well once I got over the appalling shock that an American had fooled me with their irony, especially as we say in the UK that Americans don't do sarcasm. I was truly horrified that my life has changed so much I am losing a well-known trait of the British.....the ability to recognise sarcasm, or be sarcastic at the drop of a hat!

I was a 'Queen' of sarcasm back home, it was just part of my daily conversation at work, out and about and at home. Usually it wasn't used in a spiteful way but just to jest with one of my colleagues/aquaintances or keep them on their toes. And I would receive just as much as I dished out; us Brit's may be aware that sarcasm is considered the lowest form of humour, but it's still the most entertaining and a national pastime.

I would utilise it the most when dealing with statements associated with 'the bleeding obvious' as we fondly refer to it. Examples might have included "Did you get a new car" - "No I stole this one in my lunch hour, what d'ya think!?" or "Did you get your hair cut" - "No I think it just shrunk when I dried it last night" or "Did you give that report to the boss" - "Nah I shredded it instead".....oh I could go on and on endlessly battering the recipient into submission with my smart Alec remarks.

When I first got here I quickly found those same remarks would either just make the Hubster mad, or result in a blank look from some unsuspecting American. So I just quit with the sarcasm, after all part of the fun was duelling with another expert proponent of the sport and I haven't found any here yet! In my experience I have found that it's generally not used and can be viewed as very rude, so wanting to make a good impression I gave up my addiction.

So last weeks email event was like a sharp slap being administered and has made me wonder whether I will be able to keep up with my friends the next time I am home. Or are they going to view me as this once driven ambitious woman, always ready with quick wit and a smart rejoinder; who returned happier, calmer but also a totally different and quieter personality type?

Some change is good and I needed to calm down certainly. But I don't want to lose my British character traits. And so lookout, I am going to be exercising my sarcasm back into existence and am getting my radar retuned ;-)

Feel free to test my progress or challenge me to a duel in comments!

Handbag of the day....Bella!

Turquoise is one of my favourite colours and I wear it alot and have alot of jewelry made from it. So being the co-ordination Queen that I am, a turquoise bag became an essential shortly after I arrived here.

I bought Bella from a local Brighton stockist and love both her style and size. She's pretty compact with a long strap, back zippered compartment, cellphone pocket, card storage slots and zipped change purse on the front. She is made of leather, with the cool looking alligator effect as an accent and a pretty floral print interior lining.

Bella is just a handy little bag for trips out where I don't need to carry much and want to make a stylish and co-ordinated statement.

Be warned if you click on the Brighton link above, temptation is gonna be a problem, I have already found out firsthand! I was a good girl and resisited though, the Hubster will be sooo proud ;-)

I'm officially an Old Cow!

Because I am certainly not breastfeeding and Mastitis is rare otherwise! I went to the ER tonight as my Dr is out of town and I was getting very tender and pink, and sure enough that's what I have. In this instance it has been caused by a staph or strep bacterial infection that's gone through the skin. Last week Callie caught me on this 'boob' with her claws, so that was probably the cause.

So it's antibiotics and painkillers, rest and warm compresses for a few days. If you've ever had it you know how uncomfortable I am, if you haven't then avoid at all costs. Needless to say in this instance no piccies will be posted for added interest!

Oh quit your complaining boys!

Yesterday we had friends over for a grill and I was very relieved they all arrived after the agreed time, as we had unexpected visitors 30 minutes beforehand. Plus as my regular readers already know, being a Brit' I am used to guests being a little late. One of my friends confided that her hubby had been a little testy when she wasn't ready on time and thus inspired this post!

This is a regular source of heated exchanges in our home. I am the first to admit I am easily distracted and tend to lose track of time, but I am not that bad! But thinking back I can only remember rare occasions when I have heard a woman say "Oh he made us late, he just took so long to get ready!" Lets just break this down into reasons women can't help but take longer.

Ok we have a planned outing and I don't like to leave my home in a mess that I will have to face when I come home. So if there are dishes in the sink I will deal with them, if the cats need tending to with food or litter cleaning, I'll be the one who will check and then do what needs to be done. It will generally be me that notices things we may need to do before we leave and I will often ask the Hubster to take care of them, as he gets ready quicker. But he also just doesn't seem to see the things I see that need doing!?

Okay so now I am off to get ready, first there's a shower. Now men seem to be able to jump through the shower in 5 minutes generally. Women have way more to do in there; washing, exfoliating face and body with a scrub, shaving legs and armpits, conditioning hair for a couple of minutes. Then after drying off I apply a body lotion to keep my skin soft (for my man), deodorant, select and spray perfume and then we come to the hair. In my case this is a major undertaking as it's naturally curly but sometimes I like to go straight. So I have to make that decision and then apply the appropriate hair products. By this time the Hubster is showered, lotioned, after-shaved, accessorised and dressed already!

Apply hair products, then it's anything from 5 minutes to 30 minutes for hair drying and styling - curly is fast, straight is a major undertaking, apply more hair products to hold it in place. Apply face cream, brush teeth, study face and tweeze any stray eyebrow or chin hairs and attack my "hello, I'm almost menopausal" moustache!

Decide what I am going to wear and then select underwear based on decision and trust me most women have at least 3 bra's in different colours or styles/effects to decide from. For instance I am not going to wear my 'Hello Boys' cleavage enhancing bra to go bowling, in case of overspill! Knickers also present similar decisions on colour, style and avoiding the dreaded visible pantyline or white knickers under white trousers disaster!

I usually have some idea in advance on what to wear, but this will often change as I dress. So yep I'm going with jeans but I'm having a 'fat day' so the top I planned to wear looks awful. I try another but 'my bat wings are in full flap in this one' and so it goes on until I find the perfect combo and dress. Next up is make-up, I will consider what I'm wearing and where I am going then go and dig out the perfect make-up and apply. I rarely wear foundation so I really only have my eyes to do and maybe a sweep of highlighting powder - but that's still 5 to 10 minutes usually.

Onto accessories and as y'all know I have alot of choices in shoes and handbags. I am a big colour co-ordinator so this will be my main focus, shoes on and then transfer contents from the previous handbag to the 'chosen one'. Jewelry is up next and again I am not short on choices, so this can take a few minutes. By now the Hubster is hovering and giving me 'the look'!

The mirror check finishes me off, sometimes literally when I catch sight of my butt or thighs and go back 5 steps and restart! Which will cause muttering and occasional outbursts from the other half.

So I am ready; well not quite actually....use the loo, I have to find my cellphone, have a last scan of the house and cats, fill my water bottle and run out the door.

Now let's look at what the Hubster will do to be ready; shower 5 mins, shave somedays 10 mins, hair 10 seconds, lotions/after-shave 1 minute, clothes choice is always jeans and a shirt 5 mins, accessories are a belt and boots 2 mins, put on watch, ring and chain from a very small selection. Billfold, cellphone, keys and he's good to go!

And I am married to a man who notices if a woman hasn't made any effort or looks a mess, so I'm sorry but I feel the need to make an effort being his other half! Plus I have always just been a girl who likes to look well presented and co-ordinated.

So boys the next time you are tapping your watch and waiting on your woman, remember looking our best takes alot more effort and time! Oh and wandering in every 10 minutes to ask how we're getting on, how much longer or saying "great now we're going to be late" ain't gonna make us any faster. Plus men aren't judged nearly as much by others on their appearance and don't care as much as women do about this.

The Hubster will probably comment on here that I should start getting ready earlier. Well damn that wouldn't make a blind bit of difference, I still know what time we need to leave, so I'll just take my time and use it all anyway...LOL!

Brad Paisley has an excellent track on his album 'Time Well Wasted' entitled 'Waitin' on a Woman' and I suggest a few more men take note of his lyrics!

Sittin' on a bench at West Town Mall
He sat down in his overalls and asked me
You waitin' on a woman

I nodded yeah and said how 'bout you
He said son since nineteen fifty-two
I've been
Waitin' on a woman

When I picked her up for our first date
I told her I'd be there at eight
And she came down the stairs at eight-thirty
She said I'm sorry that I took so long
Didn't like a thing that I tried on
But let me tell you son she sure looked pretty

Yeah she'll take her time but I don't mind
Waitin' on a woman

He said the wedding took a year to plan
You talk about an anxious man, I was nervous
Waitin' on a woman

And then he nudged my arm like old men do
And said, I'll say this about the honeymoon, it was worth it
Waitin' on a woman

And I don't guess we've been anywhere
She hasn't made us late I swear
Sometimes she does it just 'cause she can do it
Boy it's just a fact of life
It'll be the same with your young wife
Might as well go on and get used to it

She'll take her time 'cause you don't mind
Waitin' on a woman

I've read somewhere statistics show
The man's always the first to go
And that makes sense
'cause I know she won't be ready

So when it finally comes my time
And I get to the other side
I'll find myself a bench, if they've got any
I hope she takes her time, 'cause I don't mind
Waitin' on a woman

Honey, take your time, cause I don't mind
Waitin' on a woman

Indiana Jones Texas style!

Why Texas style, well we went to Canadian in Texas to see this at the beautiful restored old movie theatre. Seeing as we can't seem to get through a night without yet another tornado watch, a matinee seemed a safer bet and sure enough we are again tonight! Canadian itself is an old historic town about 50 miles from home and the cinema is just wonderful and full of authentic features, like the ticket kiosk below.

So onto the long awaited Indiana Jones fourth adventure, directed and produced by Spielberg and Lucas after a 19 year break. I know alot of people haven't seen it yet so I am not going to give any specific details or spoilers. Firstly let me say we both found it highly entertaining and I didn't want to have to miss a moment to visit the loo, always a good barometer of a movie!

Harrison Ford is as good as ever, I love that they have let him age and it shows, but he has lost none of his charisma and humour as Dr Jones. He is also surrounded by a strong cast and a one new character in particular, that the ending suggested may represent the possible future of this franchise? The action sequences and special effects are as good as they ever were, there are 2 chase scenes in the movie that have you on the edge of your seat. The enemy is played by Cate Blanchett and she made a good rival, although slightly OTT for my taste. It was good to see three great British actors in leading roles with John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Jim Broadbent all acting their socks off.

My disappointment though was in the underlying plot, which for me was just too far fetched. I came out feeling like Spielberg/Lucas had tried to combine their two most successful franchise 'themes' but they just don't work together! As a result the movie ends like a fantasy adventure and Indiana Jones basic plots were always at least somewhat believable in the past. I am not going to say anymore than this as it will give too much away, but I will be interested to know if others felt the same way?

But I can't deny we were entertained and enjoyed it, I just came away feeling letdown by the plot. Over dinner we discussed it and agreed we want to get the boxed set of the original movies, but this one we will pass on probably. We both feel that when the original movies were made they were different for their time, but the 'National Treasure' franchise has successfully stolen the style of Indiana Jones. We both preferred National Treasure 2, but we'd still highly recommend this if you enjoyed the originals, as it's undeniably good entertainment.

Tornado near Fort Supply Oklahoma.

This is film of the tornado that came out of the storm that crossed us Friday night and then produced this tornado 25 miles away.

It sadly destroyed three homes, two from one family and we know the owner of one of them. Luckily nobody was home except Emitt the dog and they found him uninjured. But the family from the other were trapped in their basement and had to be dug out, all okay though. The film-makers think it's "cool", I used to think that too until I moved here and have a home, family and friends I cherish!

Worn down by Watches and Warnings!

This is the fourth night in a row we are having storms and are under a tornado watch. To say it's wearing thin on me would be an understatement at this point! I have had the same small emergency bag packed since Thursday and tonight has been the worst for thunderstorms so far. We are finally getting some much needed rain, but we could do without the 50+mph straight line winds and all the lightening. 12 tornadoes have touched down in Oklahoma in the past 48 hours!

If you're in the UK reading this, trust me you have no idea what a severe thunderstorm is like unless you have ever visited the US Plains! The lightening in the UK is pathetic by comparison, but the thunderstorms do not frighten me and I often go out to watch the show, it's just the tornado threat that makes me nervous.

This is the worst continuous spell of storms we have experienced since I arrived here in 2005. I am so ready for it to be over, but looking at the radar of Texas where our weather comes from usually, it's going to be another noisy night.

Already forecasting the same risks for tomorrow, deep joy!

My Mum is coming to stay....

I got a call yesterday from my mum in England to say she had decided to come for a visit in July :-)

The last time we saw each other was April '07 when she was visiting, but it was just after I was diagnosed with Graves Disease and so she spent most of her visit looking after me as I was pretty sick. She is flying in for just over 3 weeks from July 1st-26th and will experience her first Independence Day in the USA, amongst other things.

I am very excited, lots of things have changed around here since her last visit - the yard, my car and the size of my butt! Now I need to start thinking about what I need her to bring for me that's not illegal - like British Sausages! ;-)

Above is a piccie of us taken about 2 years ago at Will Rogers Airport in OKC, as she was heading home. Happy, Happy, Happy!

Lewis Wins Monaco!

Lewis won the greatest race in Formula One today with a brilliant drive in Monaco. It was action packed race from start to finish, with rain having a big affect on strategy, lots of shunts and poor old Adrian Sutil in an awesome 4th being taken out by the Kimster!

But Lewis reigned supreme, his Dad said this is the race he has always wanted to win the most and his joyful reaction said it all. The first English driver to win it since 1969 and he now needs leads the World Championship again....goooo Lewis!

What a fun, fantastic idea....

London and New York City have been connected by a huge telescope! Now you can wave and signal to Americans on the Brooklyn Bridge from the bank of the River Thames in London.

Read all about it HERE

This is definitely something I will be doing the next time I am home

It's Monaco!

Yep the most famous Formula One GP of all is this weekend on Speed TV at 7:30am (cet) Sunday. The F1 circus has landed in the tiny principality of Monaco, apparently the whole country will fit inside the Indy 500 venue!

If you have never watched an F1 race this is the one to watch. They race the 200mph + cars around the streets of Monaco with the crowds, casino's, sea and super yachts feet away at times. It's glamourous, celebrity packed, stunning to watch and always exciting and after the practice session Lewis Hamilton was fastest :-)

We're under the gun!

Well we're home after going out to eat in the next town 7 miles away. Whilst we were there the news came on and said there was a storm capable of producing a tornado right over our hometown! We got lucky and it passed over and is still heading north, with lowerings appearing frequently but so far no sighted tornado.

Now there is another storm heading in our direction but it may just skip north of us. Needless to say we're staying home!

*Update* The same storm now has put a vary large tornado down 25 mins from us in Fort Supply - DAMN it's big, we got sooo lucky tonight!

*10:50pm* About to shutdown the PC as another big storm is throwing spectacular lightening all over, not very condusive to sleep!

Da dada daaa Daaa dadaaaa....

Yep that's what I'll be singing along to just after 7pm tonight when we get to see the new 'Indie' movie, that's assuming the storms stay away from our area!

Back with a review tomorrow, can't wait as we loved the originals :-) Anybody else planning a trip to see it this weekend?

**5:31pm TORNADO WATCH again, so we are under advisement at the moment and may decide to do this Sunday instead!

Close your eyes Weightwatchers!

It's a small chocolate chip pizza and it was scrummy! ;-)

20 years on.....

and 'Madge' is still the person I'd most like to be if I could swap for a day/month/year!

Saw her on 'Nightline' last night and she looks amazing at almost 50 (although there's no doubt she's had help!), she's witty, intelligent, driven and alot more caring than her image projects.

Plus I'd love to have her willpower, self-discipline, that body, her career and fill a few stadiums here and there. Yep I'm a total 'wannabe' Madonna and always have been.

Guess I'll make do with similar hair and the gappy front teeth! Here I am doing a little 'Vogueing' with my Madonna pose! ;-)

Never too old to learn!

Whilst wandering around Walgreens last night, we spotted this and both assumed somebody had made a huge spelling error and put 'Bat' instead of 'Bar'! We were tickled enough we took this piccie as neither of us, despite being pretty knowledgable, have ever heard the term 'Bat Mitzvah'.

Well we got home and 'googled' as you do and lo and behold it's correct! This is the term for a Jewish girl coming of age at 12yrs, as opposed to a boy who is a 'Bar Mitzvah'.

You really do learn something everyday!

Here we go....Tornado Watch!

Well we are under a tornado watch until 10pm, no big deal generally except the NWS seems to think there is a pretty good chance of supercells developing and isolated tornadoes. We have a better chance for hail to the size of baseballs though and it is 89 degrees here and windy as heck, so the conditions are good.

I just got home from school and we have to go out tonight, so we're taking the Pickup in case of bad hail as it would be replaced if need be. And between now and when we leave I am going to put the VIP stuff in the cellar just in case. Send anti-tornado thoughts our way for us please.

**UPDATE** Ok it's definitely kicking off in our direction, even the Hubster has said we need to stay home and I am now running around moving stuff to the cellar - prayers please!

**UPDATE** It all slid south of us and apart from seeing some impressive lightening as we drove back from town, and the TV Storm Trackers in our town, we are all good :-)

However we are already under warning for the same tomorrow!

Handbag of the day....Barbie!

Well I think it's pretty obvious why this snazzy little bag is called Barbie! She's what I refer to as Barbie Pink, my own personal favourite shade and she is small but cute.

I've actually only owned her about 6 weeks and she was cheap but cheerful and goes with alot of my clothes. I also like the silver accents as I am either a silver or white gold jewelry girl.

Brit' Word of the Day....

The Hubster tells me today's BWOTD means something very different here:

"He was totally diddled out of everything he had"

'Diddle/d' = Swindle/d

However this was a FAR bigger win....

Manchester United were crowned the soccer European Champions tonight in Moscow after beating Chelsea on penalties.

This was historic. The 3rd time they have won the top prize in the 'club' soccer world, 40 years since their first win and far more significantly 50 years since the Munich air disaster, when the majority of the Man Utd team at the time, known as the 'Busby Babes' were killed in a plane crash.

The last time they won and they came home for the parade, I drove 4 hours (due to traffic) from Watford to Stoke on Trent and then had to dump my car because some twat had overturned a lorry and the M6 was blocked. So then I caught a train into Manc’, spent 2 hours sprinting around the streets to get the best viewpoints along the route, wave, sing, chant and cry. Then I climbed back on a train, with an