Cute Halloween movies

Halloween seems to be full of slasher and monster movies. Don't get me wrong, a good scare now and then can be fun but I still have a soft spot for "scary" movies that are really more funny than frightening. Here are three that I like:

•  Adams Family Values: Adams kids go to summer camp and create mayhem as only they know how, Uncle Fester gets married to a murderess (who of course fails to kill him) and Morticia and Gomez Adams have a baby they name Pubert who is so (unfortunately for them)...cute! There are some frightening parts (at least in my mind) but it's a really funny movie.
•  Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Ware-Rabbit: an inventor (Wallace) and his dog Gromit (who is wicked smart) combat an awful monster that is eating their village's vegetables! It's a clay animation cartoon and also really funny (and very British!
• Young Frankenstein: Mel Brooks movie about Victor Frankenstein (pronounced "Fronkensteen") -Dr. Frankenstein's grandson inherits his granddad's castle and despite denying he's Frankenstein's grandson, he goes on the repeat his granddad's greatest experiment! (With help of course from Igor-who has a lump on his back that keeps changing sides, a housekeeper named Frau Bloucher-that makes horses neigh whenever she says her name, and a beautiful milkmaid named Inga, who becomes Frankenstein's lover.) 

 Happy Halloween everyone!

Go Sox!

There's Something about the Sox
Maybe it's the fans that cheer
And paint their faces and sing
Sweet Caroline for everyone to hear

There's something about the Sox
That makes me stand up and cheer
Even if I don't know all there is to know
About the game they play

Whether they score or strike out
There's always something to look forward to
Regardless of what happens it's nice to celebrate
Or otherwise wait in anticipation for another season to appear

Even though I'm not Boston born
It's still a city where I live close to now
And I can't help hoping the Sox will win
Because I'm a Sox fan anyhow!

Things I think should be Olympic sports

Apparently there are 100 days left until the start of the Winter Olympics. This got me thinking about things that should be added to the sports included in the games.  Here are 3 I think would be fun:

1. Snowman making: Rules:  Whoever makes the best looking and/or most creative snowman the fastest wins! Olympians could be given only a few odds and ends to make a snowman and win more points if they can make one in 3 minutes or less.

2. Snowball fighting: Rules: I envision this to be something like a darts competition. Whoever makes and throws the most snowballs that accurately hit a designated target in the shortest amount of time wins.

3. Christmas tree decorating! (sometimes this practically is like an Olympic sport at my house!) Rules: whoever decorates a tree the most creatively and the fastest wins.

Now I'm thinking of setting up a petition to make these sports official. Anyone with me? If not, well at least I can dream! :)

If I Had Words

A friend played this song for me today called If I had Words. (Side note: although the song is from the 70s the version of the song I like best is actually from a movie I used to love as a child called Babe which is about a pig that is raised by sheepdogs and learns to herd sheep as a result.)  I thought I'd share it because I think that if my words had the ability, then I'd use them to make good days for everyone. I'd make mornings golden and happy like the song says and I'd make good days last longer.  Since I'm still working on making good days for everyone, I'll start out small and hope that I have words to make each day happier for at least one person, then maybe someday I'll help bring a happy day for everyone. So now you know that there really is a method to my madness!

 

5 Things I'm happy about today!

I was inspired by a woman in Missouri who was on the news the other day. While the story on the news was about how the woman won Cardinal's World Series tickets, what inspired me was how every day  this woman writes down 5 things that she's thankful for as thinking about all that helps her feel better. I like the idea because even if you don't believe in a higher power to be grateful to,  I feel like there's always something to be happy about and thinking about those things does (at least for me) make the days seem brighter. To follow her example here are 5 things I'm happy about today. (These are in no particular order as they all make me equally happy.)

•  I'm happy I could do some baking today.
• I'm happy I could meet up with some friends and make fun plans for Halloween.
• I'm happy I can talk to my parents because I love my family very much.
•  I'm happy I could do some reading for fun today. 
• I'm happy I could write in this blog again today and I hope someone reads this so the happiness can spread! 

If you would like to read more about the woman's story click here.

You matter! :)

Of all the things I might want
What I want most
Is just for you to know
That you matter to me

You matter to me enough
That no matter how things are going
And even if my day hasn't been the greatest
I still want to write to you

You matter to me
Not just because you read this
But because everyone deserves to matter
At any rate, everyone means something to me

I send this message to you
So you can be certain
That someone cares about you
And in my heart and my thoughts you'll always be!

Something Beautiful

I went to see the Boston Ballet perform last night for the first time. The performance was a story called La Bayadere. It's a love story and it was beautiful. There's something about the dancers' sparkling costumes and how they twirl and jump. Seeing them made me hope everyone has the chance to see something beautiful. Even if it isn't a ballet or any performance at all. I hope everyone finds that beauty because it is all around us. I believe everyone deserves to find and enjoy that beauty because it makes life just that much better.

Jokes I like from movies

Movies and jokes are fun so I figured I'd find some jokes from movies to double the fun. Hope you enjoy!

Joke 1 (From Jurassic Park): What do you call a blind dinosaur?
Answer: Doyouthinkitsorus

Joke 2: (From Mary Poppins): Yesterday when the lady next door answered the bell there was a man there and the man said to the lady: "I'm terribly sorry I just ran over your cat." and then the man said "I'd like to replace your cat." The lady said "that's all right with me but how are you at catching mice?!"

Joke 3 (From Lethal Weapon): “What did one shepherd say to the other shepherd? 
Answer: Let’s get the flock out of here!”
    

Answers to riddles

Hello Folks! The answer to yesterday's riddles are below!

Riddle: When Miss Mae purchased her new parrot, the salesman assured her that it would repeat any word it heard. About a week later, Miss Mae returned the parrot complaining it hadn't uttered a single word. Given that the salesman had spoken the truth about the parrot's abilities, why wouldn't the bird talk?
Answer: The parrot was deaf.

Riddle: In a large grass field, there was a pear tree. On the tree were pears (logical.) But one day, a heavy wind blew. After the wind had ceased, there were not pears on the tree, or pears on the ground. Nobody picked them up and they are not in the water or flying. How could this be

Answer: There is one pear on the tree, and one pear on the ground. But there are not pearS on the ground, nor pearS on the tree.

Riddle: A man leaves home and walks for 3 blocks. Then he gets tired and heads home. When he arrives there are 2 masked men waiting for him. Who are they?  Answer: The catcher and the umpire. the man was playing baseball.

I'm suddenly in the mood for more brain teasers -here are 3 more

I have this sudden urge to exercise my brain and because I feel like helping to give other people's brains a chance for some exercise, here are 3 more riddles for you all to think about!

1) When Miss Mae purchased her new parrot, the salesman assured her that it would repeat any word it heard. About a week later, Miss Mae returned the parrot complaining it hadn't uttered a single word. Given that the salesman had spoken the truth about the parrot's abilities, why wouldn't the bird talk?

2)  In a large grass field, there was a pear tree. On the tree were pears (logical.) But one day, a heavy wind blew. After the wind had ceased, there were not pears on the tree, or pears on the ground. Nobody picked them up and they are not in the water or flying. How could this be? 

3) A man leaves home and walks for 3 blocks. Then he gets tired and heads home. When he arrives there are 2 masked men waiting for him. Who are the two men? 

Help my friend Caroline Booth get on Law and Order Special Victims Unit

My good friend (and roommate)  Caroline really really wants to be an a guest star on Law and Order Special Victims Unit so I'm beginning the campaign to get her there! As you can see from the photo below where she's holding a python, she's a very brave and daring person. Since SVU episodes seem to be full of people who are pretty bold and daring (and I'm sure Caroline would be the boldest guest star yet!) I think Carline would fit right in! I'm still trying to figure out exactly how to get her on the show but I thought blogging about it would be a start. I'm starting out this appeal on this blog because I'd like to make someone's dream come true at least once in my life. It is Caroline's dream to be on the show and I'd like to help make it a reality! If you have any connection to Law and Order SVU and could help with this, that would be awesome!

Yay Red Sox!

The Red Sox won the Pennant!  They're in the World Series! Yay!  I know I'm late in declaring this to the masses but I think it's still something to celebrate even after the fact.  I'm so excited about this! Sometimes there's something in me that just wants to stand up and cheer for something and the Red Sox have now given me a unique opportunity to do just that! There's nothing like getting all excited and happy whether it's about sports or something else. I hope everyone has (or finds) something to stand up and cheer about on a regular basis as it makes the days seem brighter!  Anyways, today the Red Sox is that "something" for me! Go Sox! 

Maggie has a latte

I went to the Boston Book Festival this afternoon which was a lot of fun in itself because I really like books. Plus they had fun competitions like one to win Boston Ballet tickets. How does this have anything to do with coffee? I'm getting there. One of the best things about events like the Boston Book Fair (aside from the books and everything else,) is that there's usually one vendor offering free food. In this case it was Dunkin' Doughnuts who were giving out little cups of pumpkin spiced latte. I usually really dislike coffee. (I think that started when my parents let me try some of their coffee which they still drink black. It smelled good so I thought it would taste good too. Unfortunately, to me it tasted a bit like dirt. So I didn't drink coffee again until today.)  Anyway, because I felt cold I tried the latte and I actually really liked it. I guess the moral of my story is the next time I'm in doubt (or just cold) I'll try something new and even if I think it might not be the best idea, it could lead to a lovely result! Hooray for lattes!

Maggie endeavors to smile for a day

Yesterday I decided to try an experiment and smile for a whole day. Then I realized that in doing so  I'd probably creep a few people out so I resolved just to make a conscious effort smile more than usual. I thought about doing that experiment because I'd really like people to smile at each other more. I think smiles are contagious and they never cease to make me feel good. Since I want other people to feel just as happy I decided to smile more. Plus, did you know that it takes more muscles to smile than frown? (According to an article I read,  Dr. David Song from the University of Chicago Medical Center did a study on the topic and discovered that a frown requires approximately 11 muscles while a smile requires about 12.) See, smiling can help you stay fit! Yet another reason to smile more! In any case,  wherever you might be, please know that I'm always smiling at you through writing this blog.

To read the article about the smile study from the University of Chicago Medical Center, follow this link: http://zidbits.com/2011/09/does-it-really-take-more-muscles-to-frown-than-to-smile/

Answers to riddles

Here are the answers to yesterday's riddles:

What comes down but never goes up? Answer: Rain

Take away my first letter, and I still sound the same. Take away my last letter, I still sound the same. Even take away my letter in the middle, I will still sound the same. I am a five letter word. What am I?  Answer: EMPTY 

A boy was at a carnival and went to a booth where a man said to the boy, "If I write your exact weight on this piece of paper then you have to give me $50, but if I cannot, I will pay you $50." The boy looked around and saw no scale so he agrees, thinking no matter what the carny writes he'll just say he weighs more or less. In the end the boy ended up paying the man $50. How did the man win the bet?  Answer: The man did exactly as he said he would and wrote "your exact weight" on the paper.

More Riddles

I'm suddenly in a riddle state of mind here are some riddles I liked:

What comes down but never goes up?


Take away my first letter, and I still sound the same. Take away my last letter, I still sound the same. Even take away my letter in the middle, I will still sound the same. I am a five letter word. What am I?

A boy was at a carnival and went to a booth where a man said to the boy, "If I write your exact weight on this piece of paper then you have to give me $50, but if I cannot, I will pay you $50." The boy looked around and saw no scale so he agrees, thinking no matter what the carny writes he'll just say he weighs more or less. In the end the boy ended up paying the man $50. How did the man win the bet?

  

I'll post the answer in the next post. Enjoy!

Favorite Recipes

Since I enjoy cooking, I was thinking it would be cool to have people share recipes they love. After all, food and fun are so much better when they're shared. So if anyone that has simple recipes for foods they like, whether it's a salad, soup, main course or dessert, I hope that you'll share them so even more people can enjoy them! If you'd like to participate please comment on this post. Once I get a few comments then I'll post them on a new post. Bon Appetit and happy cooking!

Happy National Dessert Day!

Apparently today is National Dessert Day! Yay! (No idea who came up with this-probably Hallmark but who really cares-I found out through this website: http://tinyurl.com/ptmdbgg.) So  because it's  National Dessert Day I made banana bread because it's something I really like to bake and it always comes out really well. The best part is it's something I can share with a lot of people.  In honor of National Dessert Day I made and ate some of the banana bread and shared it with friends. Somehow it seems to taste  even better when shared-I guess it's collective enjoyment. Even if you don't like/eat banana bread I hope that you did eat something sweet today. After all, what's life without a bit of sweetness in it? DULL!

I know I posted it before but in case you want the recipe for the banana bread I made see below:


Banana bread recipe

1 cup sugar
4oz butter
2 eggs
3 tablespoons  milk
1teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 cups self rising flour
2 ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips (depending on preference.)

Cream butter & sugar & add well beaten eggs then mash bananas & add them with flour bicarbonate of soda with milk & vanilla essence & add chopped nuts or chocolate chips
Bake in greased baking tin at  350 degrees for 1 hour then let cool. You'll know it's done if you can stick a toothpick in & it comes out clean.

My Dad the Race Car Mechanic!

I just got back from seeing the movie Rush which is about two race car drivers, one of whom, a man named James Hunt raced for McLaren and the other, Niki Louda, raced for Ferrari. It just so happens that my dad worked as a mechanic for McLaren for a time where he traveled all over the world repairing cars for race car drivers. I'm pretty sure that some of his race car experiences stuck with him because he's always been good at driving fast and yet, somehow he's always made sure everyone in the car was safe. 

There's a part in the movie Rush where Niki Louda is in a regular car and his girlfriend asks him to drive faster. It reminded me very much of when my dad would take out out for fast rides like that.  There used to be a rather large hill down one road close to our house and it had a large bump at the top of it.  When my sister my brother and I would  my dad to drive fast so we'd fly over the bump. Although it made my mum nervous to no end and made the rest of us feel giddy, my dad would go zig zagging down the road up to the hill and then he'd go fast over the bump. It really felt like we were flying and although it might seem a bit reckless, I always felt safe even when we were zig zagging down the road at top speed. To me it showed that sometimes living a little dangerously can be fun and at the same time it showed me that in times of danger my parents would always make sure my siblings and I were safe. The bump on the hill has since been paved over but it's still nice to remember it and how it felt to fly. It's just something I'll never forget. 

Maggie stands up to Evil Writer's Block!

Today I embarked on an epic battle against the ultimate super enemy: Writers Block. I was on a quest to write a good enough thing for this post. (Yes I have standards for this blog!) and Writer's Block was the only thing standing in my way of a totally great thing to write! To fight off the evil that is Writer's Block with a most excellent blog post I decided to put on my most excellent superhero cape because (despite what Edna from The Incredibles claims)  capes are just so....so...SUPER! Take that Writer's Block! You won't win the day! Bye for now folks,  gotta fly away!

God Bless Ruth Graves Wakefield

If you must know, the marvelous Ruth Graves Wakefield invented the equally marvelous chocolate chip cookies-which coincidentally is something I especially like to bake. There's something so amazingly lovely about a chocolate chip cookies and about how baking said cookies makes one's house smell heavenly! So I made cookies today because it's Friday and now I have an apartment that smells so good and yummy cookies to eat with my roommates and a glass of milk! My life (at least for tonight) is complete! God Bless Ruth Wakefield-I salute her!

To read more about Ruth Graves Wakefield click Here.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

I hope Malala wins the Nobel Peace Prize

A lot of people inspire me but one such person is Malala Yousafzai. No one should ever be denied an education for any reason. The fact that Malala was willing to speak out against the Taliban and about going to school and almost lost her life because of her actions and the fact that she's still going strong despite all that she's gone through is truly amazing to me.

 In some ways I identify with Malala in the sense that education was not always seen as an option for me. I was born with a severe medical condition and for a time it was thought that I might not be educable. I think because my family believed in me and refused to give up and never let me give up, I did get a really good education and I'm better for it. Similarly, because Malala can can go to school and because she believes in education for all, I believe there's no limit to what she can do. I think the more opportunities she has to speak out, the farther her message will spread. I saw her speak on the Daily Show and she told Jon Stewart that if the Taliban tried to kill her again she'd tell them how important education is and that she'd want education for the Taliban's children as well. That statement to me seems to embody peace or at least peaceful resistance. I hope that no matter what happens she never lets anyone silence her. 

See below for her interview on the Daily Show.

 

Get Lost!

I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way.

Carl Sandburg

If Mr. Sandburg is correct I guess it's ok to have no sense of direction. After all if you have no sense of direction to me it means you'll typically find yourself in some place new. Plus a bit of adventure makes life more interesting to me. So if you find you feel lost I hope that being a bit lost helps you find some place new. Or at the very least at the end of the adventure that getting lost can be, I hope you always ultimately find your way home again!

Maggie tells fear to sod off!

I had this nightmare the other night that I'd forgotten to do something that was really important. I woke up and was all upset because I still couldn't remember whatever it was that I had to do in the dream.  I started really wishing I had one of those "Remember All" thingys that this guy in one of the Harry Potter books had to help him remember stuff. (Of all the things that could come to my mind at ungodly hours of the night- it's of course logical that Harry Potter is one of them!) Then I had this miraculous brainwave that there was in fact nothing of terrific importance that I really had to do at 3 a.m. and I'd be ok if I just went back to sleep. I know, it was just a little thing but I think I appreciated sleeping more because I could do so without worrying anymore. I guess it speaks to the idea that all we (or maybe I) have to fear is fear itself. So fear  be damned, I'm going to sleep and you can't stop me! So there!  (However, I still wish I had a "Remember All" thingy!)

Maggie crashes a party

When I think of crashing parties my mind turns to the movie Wedding Crashers and how the characters in that movie who crash weddings, crash one last event and find they get a lot more out of doing so (both good and bad things) than they bargained for. Today I crashed a party and got a lot of good from it! Well all right it was a conference but still, it feels kind of fun to say I crashed it. In truth, I went planning to volunteer at the event but when I got there, there wasn't any more need for volunteers. Since I was genuinely interested in the conference's proceedings the event coordinator finally said "why don't you just go and enjoy it."  So I got into this conference that was in part meant to help grade school teachers learn about how to help students with epilepsy. It was interesting to see and learn about how teachers view this condition. I learned a lot from being there. Plus I met some great people as well.  

Ok I know, I was let into the conference so I didn't really sneak in but maybe one day I'll graduate to really sneaking into an actual party just so I can mix and mingle with people. I think I'd feel a strange sense of glee that I was doing something I shouldn't do and getting away with it! ( and I'd make sure I did get away with it!) Maybe I get this urge to crash events from my grandfather who once went to a wedding reception at a hotel and somehow wondered off and wound up being included in wedding pictures for another wedding he was not in fact invited to. As you see, I come from a proud tradition of party crashers and I intend to carry on that tradition with gusto!

Have a Serenity Day!

The Huffington Post today asked its readers to take a "Serenity Saturday"-a day where they just relaxed and didn't bother with things like cell phones and technology too much and just de-stressed. The article I read about it challenged people to take this action as part if a mission to redefine success as being more than just money and power. So I'm going to take one day out of the week and spend at least part of it just doing the things that make me happiest. I realize that one such thing is keeping this blog so I guess  just for that one aspect of the day I'll just have to break the "no technology" rule (After all, I do think some rules are meant to be broken.) However, I think it would be lovely to spend the day writing, hanging out with friends, reading books and maybe (if I feel really virtuous) go to the gym. Not that I don't do these things normally, but I think the idea of just doing all that in one day sounds exciting! So whatever it is that makes you happiest, I hope you can go out and spend one solid day doing it all too! Happy Serenity Day!

If you're interested in reading the article I read about all this-click here.

Oh how I wish life was set to music!

So I'm sitting here writing while watching the movie Les Miserables. I think musicals are some of the best things to watch, I just think it's cool how people can spontaneously burst into song and express a lot of emotion in it. Frankly, I wish people could burst into song like that in real life especially when they feel so much emotion that they have to sing about it. Loads of things seem more interesting when set to music. 

Anyway,  The first musical I ever saw in an actual theater was the Phantom of the Opera. I still remember it because  going out there was kind of like a party in itself. I liked getting all dressed up to go and watch this big production of a play. The music made me feel like I was part of it all somehow. After all, what good's a musical (or any performance for that matter)  without an audience? An audience makes things even more fun. When everyone laughs the jokes or funny parts in the plays seem funnier and when people cry out when something more frightening happens it seems even more frightening. So the audience combined with the play itself makes the experience of a play in a theater a great experience. I realize musicals aren't everyone's cup of tea but still I hope everyone gets to see at least one once in their lives, it's the experience that counts! 

The friendliest flower

I got some daisies today! I really think that like Meg Ryan says in the movie You've Got Mail, "Daisies are the friendliest flower." It's like each one is a bit of sunshine which is the thing I love most about those flowers. They never cease to make me smile! :)

 

Happy International Day of Nonviolence!

As of 2007, the UN declared October 2nd an International Day of Non Violence. They picked October 2nd because it's Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. (Fun fact, if people lived very long lives, then today Gandhi would be 144 years old.) The purpose of this day is like its name suggests, to promote nonviolence through education and by raising public awareness. I don't expect everyone will start holding hands and all wars will cease just because it's Nonviolence Day. I just know that violence  or rather the thought of violence makes me tired. Maybe someday people might get tired of violence too. There's so much to love about people which is why I hope that someday people will just shoot for the moon and stop shooting at each other. A final note: whoever you are and wherever you might be reading this, I wish you peace now and always and I send you my love in the hope it makes your day brighter.

So proud of ADAPT!

I want to take this opportunity to give a shout out to my good friends who are members of a disability rights group called ADAPT who on Monday peacefully protested outside the Longworth US House of Representatives Building against the House's failure to support the US's healthcare law that just went into effect today! I have a soft spot for these individuals not only because my friends are part of this group but also because I'm really proud of them! They send a powerful message that even though they might not be able to physically stand, gosh darn it, they can still stand up for what they believe is right! They show me that having a voice and shouting it loud has never been more important. Politics aside, the fact that they can (and do) express themselves and refuse to be ignored never ceases to inspire me. They show me that everyone has the power and the right to be heard and that is something that should never be forgotten. I send my love and support to everyone who (regardless of the difficulties they might face,) has the courage to speak out for what they believe in and to get the services they really need. Best wishes to all of you!

To read more about their protesting activities click here.