Quote I Love!

"I try really hard to put my phone down ever since my daughter pretended to take something out of one of her little purses and was like, 'I've got an email - hang on one second."


Jennifer Garner explained why she thinks twice about what she does and says around her little girl.

I, personally, don't know what JGar is talking about...

My daughter doesn't mimic her mother at all.

Masterpiece

So, this last weekend when Brother was here, we were playing cards like our family likes to do.  Then, we decided to play a board game.  Brother and I are huge board game fans.  Growing up on a farm with us being the only two siblings, we found ways to stay entertained, and board games on a Saturday morning was always a good time.

I don't know which one of us thought of it, but we decided to play Masterpiece.  Have any of you ever played this?

 

Here is the box, in all it's glory!

We have a very, very old version.  We don't have any of the moving pieces, so we just grabbed random things and threw them on the board.

The way it works, for those of you who have never played, is that you go around the board and follow the instructions.  You are trying to acquire paintings and increase your net worth.  Every time you buy or receive a painting, you get another card with a value.  There is one $1,000,000 card - the highest - as well as two FORGERY cards.  Sometimes you land on the spot where you inherit a painting.  Sometimes you have to buy a painting for a certain price from the bank or a player.  Other times, you can have an auction and you bid on a painting.  This is always tricky because you don't know exactly what the painting is going to be worth!  It's great if someone is bidding on a painting you know the price of, or tries to re-sell it later, unless you forget what it was worth like my husband did several times!  He ended up bidding huge amounts on cheap paintings he had already owned!  It was hilarious.

 

Tell me this doesn't look like the most fun you've ever had in your whole life!

 
 

 Check out the sweet characters you get to choose from!  They are WAY better than CLUE characters.

And the game never really gets stale because you have a stack of painting cards and a separate stack of worth cards, so it's totally random.  Paintings are never worth the same amount from game to game!

Anyway, I am now in search of this game online.  I would really like to own my own copy.  And I don't want to pay an arm and a leg.  Anyone have any ideas of where I could find this game?  I'm anxious to see what the new version looks like, compared to my mom's 1970s version.

YIKES!

Tomorrow is Grace's first day of pre pre-school.

I am beyond anxious.

I will take my anxiety out on my volleyball girls tonight so that I can get a good night's rest and be a cool cucumber tomorrow for my Tot.



Don't forget to enter my Oscar Awards Competition!  The Oscars are coming up quick!

Baby Shower

My friend has a baby shower coming up next month, and I could not be more thrilled for her!  She is one of the sweetest, most thoughtful people I have ever been around.  Not only that, but she is really clever and funny and one hell of a dancer!

She married her hubby in the summer of 2008, when I was pregnant with Grace.  She was so upset when she saw me because I was barely showing!  And then, she was pregnant with her baby at my wedding reception in November!  We are kind of kindred, in that way I guess.

So, next month I am going to her baby shower, and I want to get her something amazing.  But I also want to get her something she wants.  And I need to keep my amazing, needed gift within budget.  That last one is always the killer!

I have a lot of opinions when it comes to showers and gift registries.  I had someone print off my Macys registry for my wedding, take it to WalMart and buy me things I asked for.  I am not joking.  Instead of the stainless steel Martha Stewart measuring cups I registered for, I got plastic lime green Farberware measuring cups.  There was a whole gift basket of things I wanted from Macys that I received from Walmart!

What I wanted...

What I got!

Now, I am thrifty as the next girl and I can't afford to spend $100 on my friends for showers, but I like to get them the things they WANT!  Not just my idea of what they should have!

But, in the case of baby showers, I now have some experience in this area that my friend is lacking.  There are things that are not on her registry that I found very handy with my newborn.  I was very lucky to have a few new Mama's who knew the most current and most needed items I would want to have, even when I didn't know it myself.  So I want to pass on a couple of those items.

I had never even seen these WONDERFUL formula dispensers until my cousin, who is a proud Mama of three-under-5 (read: Crazy Woman!) got me one at my first baby shower, and this ended up being one of the most fabulous and used things I received!

So, any tips on how to put together the perfect baby shower gift?

Brother is Coming! Brother is Coming!

My little brother is coming to visit this week.  And by little brother, I am referring to my 6'5" younger-by-13-months brother.

Thanksgiving when we were both in college...don't know the year, but it was a while ago!

He is the most wonderful person!  And he is a wonderful uncle!

Uncle holding Grace when she was 1 day old.

My brother is living the dream right now.  He will be 25 in April, he's single, he lives in an apartment with three other guys - read: pays about $200/mo in rent! - he works from home as a computer engineer for a company based in Virginia (some sort of government contract) and he drives a Lexus.  Nice.

Uncle took us to a Mariner's game last summer.  Grace had a near-blowout situation right as we were pulling in to town, and Uncle didn't even flip out when I had to change her on his leather seats!  After I got her cleaned up, he propped her on the trunk and we took this picture.

Brother is my polar opposite.  I'm a Comm Studies major, he's a Computer Engineer major.  I'm an extrovert, he's an introvert.  I am not always the nicest person in the room, Brother is.  I have a wicked sense of humor, Brother has a playful sense of humor.  I'm chocolate, he's vanilla.  You get the picture.

Graduation picture I took for Brother.

And yet, with all these differences, we are best friends!  We have our sibling tiffs, but my parents did a wonderful job of giving us a foundation of mutual love and respect, so when times get tough that is what we resort to.

Love.

Respect.

I often joke that Brother is the favorite...and sometimes he probably is.  I've always been the one to push boundaries and have probably kept my parents up at night a few more times that Brother, but I know our parents love us the same amount, but probably just appreciate different things about us.  Right?!  Isn't that how it works?  I don't know yet, I only have one child.  Sometimes it's hard for me to imagine my heart having enough room to love another baby as much...so since I am the oldest and my parents loved me first, maybe love me more, right?!  I think all the first-born's might agree with me there!

Family Reunion with all the cousins...hmmm, might Brother be the favorite because he's the only boy?!  Nah.

Anyway, Brother is coming down to help me at volleyball practice on Thursday.  The girls are very excited.  But not as excited as Grace is going to be when Uncle lifts her up to the ceiling, like only he can do!!

The kid can play some ball, I'll give him that.

I can't wait!

Look What My Boss Brought Me for Valentine's Day!

That's right, I have the coolest boss ever.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Betsy's Birthday Bash Giveaway

My Cousin Betsy over at She Who Rides Many Ponies is hosting a Birthday Bash Giveaway!

Read about her incredible journey to find the things that mattered most in life.  And did I mention she's a fabulous cake decorator?  It's always fun to check her blog to see what amazing cake she's creating.  Here is one she did for my baby shower:

I'm telling you, my Cousin Betsy is extremely talented!

TMgm0 gm

TMgm0 gm

This is my very first text from Grace! Since I can't put it on my fridge, I'm putting it on my blog!

Talking on Nana's phone is a favorite hobby.

Top Moms

I saw a headline this morning for a countdown of the Top 15 Reality TV Moms.  I don't watch all of these shows, so I'm not sure if I agree...any arguments for or against any of these gals?

1. Kate Gosselin - Jon and Kate Plus 8 (TLC)

2. Michelle Duggar - 19 Kids and Counting (TLC)

3. Kris Jenner - Keeping Up With the Kardashians (E!)

4. Sharon Osbourne - The Celebrity Apprentice (NBC)

5. Tori Spelling - Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood (Oxygen)

6. Kim Zolciak - The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)

7. Sheree Whitfield - The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)

8. NeNe Leakes - The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)

9. Lisa Wu Hartwell - The Real Housewives of Atlanta (Bravo)

10. Alexis Bellino - The Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo)

11. Lynne Curtin - The Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo)

12. Tamra Barney - The Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo)

13. Vicki Gunvalson - The Real Housewives of Orange County (Bravo)

14. All the moms from The Real Housewives of New York City sans Bethenny Frankel who is expecting her first child.

 

15. All the moms from The Real Housewives of New Jersey (Bravo)

Okay, I must confess that I love me some Real Housewives of Orange County, but I do NOT consider them great moms!  Each one is more self-obsessed than the next.  As a matter of fact, probably the only mom I really like and think is a good mom is Tori Spelling!  If you had told me 5 years ago that someday I would think Tori Spelling was a good mom, I would have laughed and then thrown a drink in your face.

But, as it turns out, not only do I really like her, but I think we are very similar!  And my husband has a man-crush on Dean.  We are the Tori and Dean of Eastern Washington, let me tell ya!

When I saw this list, I also thought, "Aren't there more reality TV moms than all the housewives a couple of other attention-starved weirdos?!"  But I'm having trouble coming up with any.  Yikes.  I don't need Grace to grow up thinking this is how moms are...where have all the Claire Huxtables gone?

Is there a mom you identify with on TV these days?

-Grace's Mom

Cup O' Love!

Awww, my Starbucks loves me as much as I love it!

Oscar Awards Competition!!

Okay, I am going to take on hosting my very first blog competition!!  This should be...interesting.  I mentioned wanting to do this in a previous blog, and I have decided to go for it.

So here goes!

Listed below are the nominations for the 2010 Academy Awards.  Your challenge is to post a blog where you make your selections for who you think will win each award.  The person who makes the most correct guesses (and tells me that he/she is competing) will win...drum roll please...a $5 Starbucks Gift Card!!

And as if that weren't enough, the winner will also get the privelege of posting this beautiful, hand-crafted award button on his/her blog!

Nice, huh?  I made it all by myself.

Simply leave me a comment directing me to the blog posting where you have picked your winners, or email them to me (BeingGracesMom@gmail.com) before Sunday March 7th, 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET) and you will be entered in the competition!  After the awards I will add up everyone's scores and announce a winner.

So make your best picks!  Do your research!  Or take a shot in the dark!  Whatever you have to do to get in on the fun!

Here are the nominees:

BEST PICTURE

"Avatar"
"The Blind Side"
"District 9"
"An Education"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"
"Up in the Air"


ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique, "Precious"


ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christopher Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"


ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Sandra Bulllock, "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious"
Meryl Streep, "Julie and Julia"


ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"


DIRECTOR
James Cameron, "Avatar"
Katherine Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"
Lee Daniels, "Precious"
Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, "District 9"
Nick Hornby, "An Education"
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony RochE, "In the Loop"
Geoffrey Fletcher, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, "Up in the Air"


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker";
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, "The Messenger";
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "A Serious Man"
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, "Up"


ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"The Secret of Kells"
"Up"


FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Ajami," Israel
"El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Argentina
"The Milk of Sorrow," Peru
"Un Prophete," France
"The White Ribbon," Germany


ART DIRECTION
"Avatar"
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
"Nine"
"Sherlock Holmes"
"The Young Victoria"


CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Avatar"
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"The White Ribbon"


SOUND MIXING
"Avatar"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Star Trek"
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"


SOUND EDITING
"Avatar"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Star Trek"
"Up"


ORIGINAL SCORE
"Avatar," James Horner
"Fantastic Mr. Fox," Alexandre Desplat
"The Hurt Locker," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
"Sherlock Holmes," Hans Zimmer
"Up," Michael Giacchino


ORIGINAL SONG
"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog" Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from "Nine," Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett


COSTUME
"Bright Star"
"Coco Before Chanel"
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
"Nine"
"The Young Victoria"


DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"Burma VJ"
"The Cove"
"Food, Inc"
"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers"
"Which Way Home"


DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
"China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province"
"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner"
"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant"
"Music by Prudence"
"Rabbit a la Berlin"


FILM EDITING
"Avatar"
"District 9"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"


MAKE-UP
"Il Divo"
"Star Trek"
"The Young Victoria"


ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"French Roast"
"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty"
"The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)"
"Logorama"
"A Matter of Loaf and Death"

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"The Door"
"Instead of Abracadabra"
"Kavi"
"Miracle Fish"
"The New Tenants"


VISUAL EFFECTS
"Avatar"
"District 9"
"Star Trek"

 
 
Okay, there you have it!  Good luck everyone!  To see my official picks, read this post.

UrbanDictionary.com

Facebook users have been posting what their names mean according to UrbanDictionary.com all week - mine was too good to not blog!

Keep in mind, I put in my real first name, but for blogging purposes I have replaced it with "Grace's Mom."

1.  Grace's Mom
A beautiful and talented young women who is capable of singing, dancing, and looking great. Grace's Moms are known to be tall, kindhearted, and extremely witty.



A word of French Origin.


Wow, your name is GRACE'S MOM? You must be tall, beautiful, and dance like an angel!


Try to be act like a Grace's Mom, will you?

2.  grace's mom
an alien from the planet pluto. she has a wonderful voice and many boys fall for her. she eats mexicans.



casey: yo, im dating grace's mom.


mexicans: WATCH OUT MAN SHELL EAT YOU
 
 
 
Hahahaha!  Isn't that hilarious?  Okay, so then I had to check out Grace.
 
 
3.  Grace  Beauty, sunrises, singing birds, blossoming flowers. All those things that remind us why life is worth living.



Heaven on earth. A star to light your life.
 
 
 
Okay, so I skipped to the best one about Grace.  But I think that totally defines her, and I'm going to stitch it on a pillow!

Wish List cont.

Well, nothing to cross off my Wish List yet.  But maybe with that sure-to-be-large tax return?  A girl can hope.

Here is the full Wish List:

1.  Kindle + accessories (refer to first Wish List blog)

2.  Hair-on-hide picture frame.

3.  Western decor for spare bedroom.

I LOVE ItsACowgirlThing.com for awesome western decor and apparel!

4.  Square toe cowgirl boots.

5.  Barrel racing saddle.

6.  "Bling" tack.

7.  Saddle blanket for my Okie horse.

I love this Okie horse.  He deserves his own, special, SUPER bright saddle blanket!  Not Skyler (other horse) hand-me-downs, like the turquoise one pictured.

8.  Trip to Phoenix in May. (refer to first Wish List blog for details)

9.  Sterling Silver cowgirl ring.

10.  Coach "Hailey" handbag.

I really love having a hands-free handbag now that I'm also toting around a toddler - the Hailey bag comes with a long, removeable cross-body strap and a shorter shoulder strap!  Plus, the inside is BRIGHT purple!  So it matches my new blackberry!

11.  "Bling" watch.

12.  Sunglasses - I lost mine on a trek through the jungle in Puerto Vallarta!

13.  Frame for canvas wedding picture.

This is not the exact picture that we have on canvas, but we have a very nice print that has been sitting in a FedEx box for...almost 4 months now.  It needs to be on the wall!  Look how pretty we are!

14.  Appliances. (refer to first Wish List blog for details)

15.  Bathroom mirror.

My current bathroom mirror is cracked right down the middle.  Imagine how pretty I would look every day if I got ready with a mirror like THIS!

16.  Bigger TV.  I hear bigger is always better. ;)

-Grace's Mom

Momspotting

This is one of the best meme questionaires I have ever seen, so I just have to take part!

A little background:  I somehow happened upon the very entertaining blog VodkaMom, and she was taking part in this meme.  Apparently, a site called BlogHer.com is doing a little research on parenting in the digital age.  They have several moms enlisted to tweet about digital parenting.  It's a pretty interesting concept.  If I used Twitter more, I would be very fascinated to follow these tweets.  If you are interested in checking them out, just look for the hashtag #momspotting.  Or, read the blog here.

Anyway, BlogHer wants to know how normal, everyday moms use technology to interact with her family.  This meme is another way of looking for trends. 

Therefore, I feel it is my civic duty to educate BlogHer on how I use the digital age to raise my daughter.  Here we go!

1. Which expensive electronic device do you most often let your older children abuse?

My child is 13 1/2 months old...but that does not stop me from giving her my new blackberry when ever she wants it.  She also has free access to my old blackberry which I keep charged for her.



2. How many take-out restaurant numbers do you have programmed into your phone?

Two.  One for a teriyaki place that always takes a long time, another for one of my favorite mexican restaurants.

3. How many hours of television do you so totally not let your kids watch a week?

I encourage my daughter to watch TV!  She's not interested yet.  But I can't wait for the day that she will sit still for 20 minutes, totally engrossed in a program and I can organize under the sink, clean the china cabinet, or do some other project that I don't really want Grace's help with...but right now she is way more interested in helping me with everything.

4. Do you think people who say “we don’t watch television” at playdates but really mean “we just watch DVDs” are lying liars from Liarville?

You betcha.


5. How many miles have you driven with your child and not one device of electronic entertainment in a single car trip?

None.


6. What’s your record for calls to the pediatrician or Ask-a-Nurse in a single day?

Two.  But I also have some close friends and family who are nurses, so I have called each of them in a single day...and maybe sent a follow-up email after that.


7. What’s the sexiest thing your husband/partner could text you after a hard day?

Babe, I got you a massage appointment after work and they will have Starbucks coffee waiting for you.  Dinner is in the oven and Grace has had a bath.  See you at home!


8. What’s your favorite iPad joke?

I haven't heard any iPad jokes...I feel like the joke is on me!


9. What’s the dumbest parenting tool, gear, gadget or device you ever bought?

My husband bought a bottle sterilyzer and melted all of our bottles into one giant, plastic heap.


10. How many years will it take for your child to become more tech-savvy than you?

About 2 more years.  She already re-programs the TV and we can't figure out what she's done, and she pulls up screens on the computer that we have never seen before.  Baby Genius, I'm telling you.

Oscar! Oscar!

The nominees for the 2010 Academy Awards were announced this morning.  I used to love doing picks with my friends, but now I never have time to see my friends so I thought I would do them on my blog!  Does this count as a list?!  Haha!  Probably not.  Okay, the selections made in purple are who I think will win.  The selections in green are who I would like to win, if different than who I think will win.  I would love to see some other picks and predictions.  Maybe I'll have to host my very first competition?  Once I think of a grand prize, I might revisit that idea.

Okay, here are my predictions:

BEST PICTURE

"Avatar"
"The Blind Side"
"District 9"
"An Education"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"
"Up in the Air"


ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Penelope Cruz, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique, "Precious"


ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Matt Damon, "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson, "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer, "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci, "The Lovely Bones"
Christopher Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"


ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Sandra Bulllock, "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren, "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan, "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe, "Precious"
Meryl Streep, "Julie and Julia"


ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney, "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth, "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman, "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner, "The Hurt Locker"


DIRECTOR
James Cameron, "Avatar"
Katherine Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"
Lee Daniels, "Precious"
Jason Reitman, "Up in the Air"


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, "District 9"
Nick Hornby, "An Education"
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony RochE, "In the Loop"
Geoffrey Fletcher, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, "Up in the Air"


ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker";
Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds"
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, "The Messenger";
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, "A Serious Man"
Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Tom McCarthy, "Up"


ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"The Secret of Kells"
"Up"


FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
"Ajami," Israel
"El Secreto de Sus Ojos," Argentina
"The Milk of Sorrow," Peru
"Un Prophete," France
"The White Ribbon," Germany


ART DIRECTION
"Avatar"
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
"Nine"
"Sherlock Holmes"
"The Young Victoria"


CINEMATOGRAPHY
"Avatar"
"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"The White Ribbon"


SOUND MIXING
"Avatar"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Star Trek"
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"


SOUND EDITING
"Avatar"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Star Trek"
"Up"


ORIGINAL SCORE
"Avatar," James Horner
"Fantastic Mr. Fox," Alexandre Desplat
"The Hurt Locker," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
"Sherlock Holmes," Hans Zimmer
"Up," Michael Giacchino
***For the record, I loved the score for both of these films!***


ORIGINAL SONG
"Almost There" from "The Princess and the Frog" Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from "The Princess and the Frog," Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from "Paris 36," Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from "Nine," Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from "Crazy Heart," Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett


COSTUME
"Bright Star"
"Coco Before Chanel"
"The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"
"Nine"
"The Young Victoria"


DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
"Burma VJ"
"The Cove"
"Food, Inc"
"The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers"
"Which Way Home"


DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
"China's Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province"
"The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner"
"The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant"
"Music by Prudence"
"Rabbit a la Berlin"


FILM EDITING
"Avatar"
"District 9"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire"


MAKE-UP
"Il Divo"
"Star Trek"
"The Young Victoria"


ANIMATED SHORT FILM
"French Roast"
"Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty"
"The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)"
"Logorama"
"A Matter of Loaf and Death"


LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
"The Door"
"Instead of Abracadabra"
"Kavi"
"Miracle Fish"
"The New Tenants"


VISUAL EFFECTS
"Avatar"
"District 9"
"Star Trek"

So, I think it's pretty clear that I believe Avatar will win most of the technical awards it was nominated for.  James Cameron is a genius.  I haven't seen several of these movies - it's a little hard to get to the theater these days!  But I am really wanting to see Up In The Air and The Blind Side.  I can't wait until they come out on DVD!

Okay...Oscars on March 7th, 8 p.m. ET, 5 p.m. PT.

Quicky!

I have been MIA lately - a lot going on! 

My husband is looking at a new job opportunity that might mean relocating.  Hubby isn't known for his follow-through, so I think we might have finally struck up a deal that will be very difficult, but will provide me with a sense of security before I abandon everything I've come to love about our current life.

We live very close to my family; the new job would be in the same town as his family.  We both commute to the same town to work - it costs us a pretty penny in gas every month because we work totally opposite hours and thus cannot commute together.

There is just so much to consider!  I have never been in this situation before.  I really like my jobs, we have a wonderful childcare provider (which is absolutely priceless in my book) and my mom watches Grace whenever we need her.  Those are things you just can't take for granted!

On top of all this, I'm smack-dab in the middle of volleyball season.

My girls really brought it to our tournament last weekend.  It was two long days of volleyball, and unfortunately it ended on a pretty sour note, but I'm looking forward to really being competitive next weekend. 

I have a Relay for Life meeting on Wednesday of this week; I'm looking forward to meeting the other chairpeople and figuring out how I can contribute to making this year's event a huge success! 

Should be a busy, busy week - as always!

Oh, and today I took my Real Age quiz again.  I did one when I was 21, and my real age was a year or two younger.  My birth age is 26.8, my real age is 28.5.  LAME!  My friend asked what I was going to do about it.  I told her, "I'm not going to change anything.  I'll just plan on dying about two years earlier than I originally planned."  If you have never calculated your Real Age, DO IT!  It only takes a few minutes and it gives you some great tips about being the healthiest you.

 This is just a random picture that I found - pretty sure I had just had a baby, and was around a size 14!  These days, I'm rockin' a size 2-4 for the first time in my life - take THAT Real Age! 

-Grace's Mom