Top Five: The Comedy Movies I Never Get Sick of Watching Edition

While I finish thinking up my "30 Before 30" list, I am going to take another page from Slice of Pink Janet's blogging playbook. She listed the top five movie she never gets sick of, but when I tried to think of those top five, I realized that I like way too many movies to just list my top five in whatever genre. So, I narrowed my focus to comedy. Because I watch way too many movies, and I put way too much thought into this post.

So, here are the top five COMEDIES I never get sick of watching.

Groundhog Day (1993)



Don't drive angry. Don't drive angry!

Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)



Great. I was wearing a carpet.

Something’s Gotta Give (2003)



I'm so glad they still work. I haven't used them for kissing in such a long time, more like for wearing lipstick... and whistling.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)



Milk was a bad choice.

Shaun of the Dead (2004)



As Mr. Sloan always says, there is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team... I don't know what he's talking about.

What's on your list?

2009 looks bright

When 2008 came to a close, I had big plans of wrapping everything I have done this year in a nice, neat package. But as anyone who knows me can attest, I suck at wrapping. So, instead, I will just summarize my 108 in 2008 list.

In 2008, I attempted to do 108 new things, or things I just haven’t done in a really long time. Let's see how I did.

1- Learn to knit (Thank you, Sherrie!)(1/09/08)



2- Hang something on my bedroom wall - a photo, a candle holder, some art, a calendar - something!

It was a calendar. Maybe I need to set my sights higher this year - like a photo frame.

3- Volunteer for a worthy cause


This had to be in addition to English School, because I began volunteering there in 2007. So, during December, I helped out at Clark's Christmas Kids with Clark Howard (from AM 750 WSB). You can see more photos from the event in this post.

4- Sing karaoke


(Me and one of my best friends, Bryan) I did this while playing Rock Band - it counts, right?

5- See a play or ballet performance


Cam took me to see A Christmas Carol at The New American Shakespeare Tavern on Peachtree Street. The show was wonderful! I also had food there for the first time and it was very tasty (and reasonably priced!).

10- Go to an opera I saw a live feed from the New York Metropolitan Opera of La Fille du Régiment. It was wonderful.

11- Try a new game


Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 on Wii - hilariously fun! - and Rock Band!

13- Run a half marathon (10/25/08)


I couldn't believe how accomplished I felt after finishing. And how painful a stress fracture can be.

17- Have a taco night


Cam and I made The Food Network's Turkey Tacos Picadillo one night at his place. They were very spicy and delicious. And see that guacamole? That is one of Cam's specialties. You'll have to ask him for the recipe. And just for fun, here is a photo of Cam (with his cousin, Brandon, in the foreground) fixing the infamous guac.


Handsome and he likes to cook. Or as he puts it, he likes to eat.

18- Read the entire Harry Potter series

I bawled reading the last couple of books. I didn't want it to end. I think the Twilight series might make my 2009 list...

19- Visit a state I have never been to, and not just a drive-through.


I went to Arizona for the first time in my life on a mini-vacation in September.


It is incredibly beautiful, I had a wonderful time and want to go back for another visit. You can read about the entire trip here.

23- Throw a party


I helped plan the annual Christmas party thrown by a political group I am heavily involved in.

25- Go on a trip with my sisters


I went to Florida with my beautiful sisters (L-Steph, R- Barb) to visit some family. You can read about the entire trip here.

26- Take a dance lesson

Kole and I took a very special dance class. If you want more details, you'll have to ask me personally. Or Kole.

32- Go to a concert (7/12/08)


Me and Abbs hanging out while watching 7 Sharp 9 in July. They were great!

36- Create a scrapbook

As Cam pointed out, I have referred to this blog as my online scrapbook.

41- Read Son of a Witch: A Novel by Gregory Maguire

I didn't enjoy this book at all. Boo.

46- Read Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides

I recommend reading Middlesex. It was very interesting and kept me engaged until the very end.

49- Read The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

This is one of my new favorite books. I hear the movie is pretty good, too.

50- Read Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire

I LOVED the play when I saw it in London, the book, however, SUCKED.

52- Watch the movie Juno (10/02/08)

Over-hyped, but good.

55- Watch Stardust

I really enjoyed this film, but I'm a huge fantasy & science fiction fan.

56- Re-watch the entire British version of The Office, including the two Christmas specials

And I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You think Pam and Jim are cute in the American version, just wait until you see Dawn and Tim in the UK version. *sigh*

57- Try a new restaurant in Marietta

It was Wild Wing Cafe - VERY tasty wings!

58- Try a new restaurant in Atlanta

Cam took me to La Tavola Trattoria Restaurant in Atlanta. It was absolutely wonderful. I wish we had taken photos!

60- Run three miles without stopping

Please see half-marathon information above, and I ran a lot of miles while training for that half-marathon. :)

64- Have a facial

And it made me melt.

66- Participate in a Texas hold ‘em tournament

I didn't win, but it sure was fun!

68- Go to a comedy club(April 13, 2008)


My friend, Travis, being, erm, friendly with the comedian, Nick Guerra (who I highly recommend seeing, if you get the chance).

I LOVE live comedy and frequent the local clubs. I highly recommend you visit The Funny Farm and The Punchline to see great comedy in Atlanta.

70- Go to the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern

Please see #5 above.

73- Try a new haircut


Do you remember this post?

I decided on long layers, with side-sweep bangs:


Me showing my hair to Coach Bill Curry.

79- Buy a new dress & 80- And matching shoes

I did, but I don't actually have a photo with me in the outfit. New Year's resolution: Take more photos.

83- Eat breakfast for dinner

This actually happens all the time. In fact, we had breakfast for dinner with Cam's family last night that consisted of country ham, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, biscuits and grits. Man, now I'm hungry!

85- Try a new fru-fru drink [a.k.a. fruity alcoholic beverage]


I had lots of new fru-fru drinks this year, including a peach martini (YUM!) on New Year's Eve, but I don't take a photo of any of them. Though I did have a new drink the night the above photo was taken. And I just wanted to post it again.

87- Have a girls’ night


I have one pretty much every Wednesday.

90- Help someone find a job

I helped a couple of my friends unsuccessfully try to find jobs. Maybe this year they will be successful in finding them!

91- Watch home movies with my family


For some reason, my sister loves to show off the angel above. I've seen her a number of times on the TV at my parents' house.

92- Cook with my mom

We made French toast together - yum!

96- Pay off my student loans (3/14/08)


The idea of debt scares me, so I was so happy to pay this off before it went into payments.

100- Be at the hospital when Steph’s baby is born


Ava Gabrielle stole my heart the moment I touched her.

101- Be at the hospital when Barb’s baby is born


Nola Ashlyn is my sweet little angel. I couldn't love my nieces more if I tried.

102- Make a key lime pie


Key lime pie is my absolute favorite dessert. And this was the EASIEST recipe to make. And honestly, not to toot my own horn, but it was the best damn key lime pie I've ever had. I like to think that Cam agreed.

Groceries needed:
9-inch graham cracker pie crust (Deep-dish if you can find it)
Four eggs (you will just use the yolks)
2 (14-ounce) cans condensed milk
1 cup of key lime juice (you could probably use regular lime juice, but the key lime is what made the flavor for me! We found ours at the local Harry's Farmers Market)
Sour cream
Powdered sugar
One lime for zesting (optional)

Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the condensed milk, key lime juice and egg yolks. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in the pie shell. We had so much mixture left over that we put them in tiny bunt cakes (please see photo above) and sampled them later that night after cooking the little bunts with the big pie and then chilling the little bunts for a short time - yummy sampler!) Bake for 30-35 minutes and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Once chilled, combine about a cup of sour cream to three+ tablespoons powdered sugar (do it to your taste) and use to dollop on the top. Some people spread the topping over the whole thing before serving, but I like to give people the option, though I personally love the sour cream/powdered sugar mixture. Cuts the tartness of the pie. Then sprinkle lime zest as a garnish on top of the sour cream and serve chilled.

What I won't post is the video that Cam took unbeknownst to me while I whisked the key lime pie mixture. Let's just say I look like a hula dancer from behind.

107- Try a different dish at my favorite restaurants (at Murphy’s Deli, La Parilla and Outback)

Well, two out of three isn't bad. Cam, you want to go to Outback this year?

108- Finish a knitting project


My friend, Sherrie, holding the dishcloth I knitted for her.

And it is usually during these 'wrap-ups' that people talk about how thankful they are for everything in their life. And I'm not going to break that tradition. Because I am incredibly thankful.

I'm thankful for my sisters, their husbands and my incredible nieces.

A Christmas photo we had done for our parents.

I'm thankful for my parents.


At Steph's wedding rehearsal.

I'm thankful for my friends.


Some friends on New Year's Eve.

So many things happened in 2008 that weren't on the to-do list. Well, at least they weren't on my list. Items like having two nieces and falling in love. But those are the best things in my life. And I'm so glad I can add them to my life list.


Ringing in the New Year. Properly.

Happy New Year, everyone. May be it filled with as much love and hope as I feel at the moment. Which is a lot.

Fried Green Tomatoes

Have you ever seen the film, Fried Green Tomatoes? Well, I haven't. And believe me, last week I took some flack for it when I went on a business trip that involved a stop for dinner and shopping in Juliette, Georgia.


A shot of Juliette.

Yep. The same Juliette where the movie was filmed. And The Whistle Stop Cafe? Where they eat the fried green tomaotes? Yep. I ate there. They opened the cafe up for our group and had a special dinner prepared.


Me and my friend Sally in The Whistle Stop Cafe.

The whole town was wonderful. I highly recommend visiting for the shopping and for the delicious food at The Whistle Stop Cafe. And oh.my.goodness. The fried green tomatoes? They were AMAZING. Now all I have to do is see the film.

AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies

So, last night at knit night (hi ladies!) the topic of AFI's Top 100 movies list came up. Apparently this is THE list for best movies of all time. And when Katey began listing the movies I realized that I had seen hardly any of the ones she said. Katey assured me that I have probably seen at least 50 of them, so I decided to investigate.

According to the American Film Institute's website, "Each year, AFI presents another episode in its widely acclaimed series of CBS television specials - AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - which launched AFI's on-going celebration of the cinema centennial. Each special honors a different aspect of excellence in American film. In 2007, we celebrated AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition."

Sounds good to me. I had to sign up to the website to get an email that included a link to download the list of movies. Phew! All this to waste time seeing if I have seen THE 100 GREATEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME. And this list is from 2007, and the 2008 list comes out in June, so I had to get crackin'.

And because I LOVE lists (please see The Best Movies from the 80s or The 108 in 2008 as examples) I decided to paste the list below, cross off the ones I have seen and tell you if I enjoyed it using a star system. 1 star being the worst and four stars being the best.

And I do this all for you.

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. The Godfather (1972) ****
3. Casablanca (1942)
4. Raging Bull (1980)
5. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
6. Gone With the Wind (1939) ****
7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
8. Schindler's List (1993) ****
9. Vertigo (1958)
10. The Wizard of Oz (1939) ****
11. City Lights (1931)
12. The Searchers (1956)
13. Star Wars (1977)
14. Psycho (1960)
15. 2001: a Space Odyssey (1968)
16. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
17. The Graduate (1967)
18. The General (1927)
19. On the Waterfront (1954)
20. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) ****
21. Chinatown (1974)
22. Some Like It Hot (1959)
23. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
24. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) ****
25. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
27. High Noon (1952)
28. All About Eve (1950)
29. Double Indemnity (1944)
30. Apocalypse Now (1979)
31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
32. The Godfather Part II (1974) ****
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) ****
35. Annie Hall (1977) ****
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) ****
37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
40. The Sound of Music (1965) ****
41. King Kong (1933)
42. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
45. Shane (1953)
46. It Happened One Night (1934)
47. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
48. Rear Window (1954)
49. Intolerance (1916)
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) ****
51. West Side Story (1961)
52. Taxi Driver (1976) ****
53. The Deer Hunter (1978)
54. M*A*S*H (1970)
55. North by Northwest (1959)
56. Jaws (1975) ****
57. Rocky (1976)
58. The Gold Rush (1925)
59. Nashville (1975)
60. Duck Soup (1933)
61. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
62. American Graffiti (1973)
63. Cabaret (1972)
64. Network (1976)
65. The African Queen (1951)
66. Raiders of The Lost Ark (1981) ****
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
68. Unforgiven (1992)
69. Tootsie (1982)
70. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
71. Saving Private Ryan (1998) ****
72. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) ****
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
74. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) ****
75. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
76. Forrest Gump (1994) ****
77. All the President's Men (1976)
78. Modern Times (1936)
79. The Wild Bunch (1969)
80. The Apartment (1960)
81. Spartacus (1960)
82. Sunrise (1927)
83. Titanic (1997) ***
84. Easy Rider (1969)
85. A Night At The Opera (1935)
86. Platoon (1986)
87. 12 Angry Men (1957)
88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
89. The Sixth Sense (1999) ****
90. Swing Time (1936)
91. Sophie's Choice (1982)
92. Goodfellas (1990)
93. The French Connection (1971)
94. Pulp Fiction (1994) ****
95. The Last Picture Show (1971)
96. Do the Right Thing (1989)
97. Blade Runner (1982)
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
99. Toy Story (1995) ****
100. Ben-Hur (1959)

Um, so. Wow. I watch a lot of movies, but obviously they are the wrong movies. I have seen just 23 of the AFI's top 100 movies. I was happy to see my favorite movie of all time, 'The Shawshank Redemption', made the list but Titanic? Seriously? Maybe one of the most expensive movies of all time, but definitely not one of the best.

So, of the 77 movies I haven't seen are there any that you think I should definitely see? How many have you seen? And who is up for a movie night?