Mmmmm part 7: M is for Music

M is for Music and is evidenced by my F drive...I *REALLY* LOVE my music. I have an extremely ecclectic taste in my tunes. There are music files from 12 Stones all the way to ZZTop and a great deal in between. If I was to list everything, this entry would be pages and pages long. However, in the spirit of this game I'll limit my favorites to just my M file.

Mendelssohn

Mozart. I also love Chopin, Vivaldi and Beethoven...but unfortunately, they dont fit the rules I've been following.

MiG Ayesa.

Magni. MiG and Magni were both participated in the RockStar program that aired for 2 years. MiG is an Aussy that competed in the INXS version of the show, while the Icelandic Magni performed in the SuperNova version.

Monkees! The album pictured is one of the two my mom had. It's the one that introduced me to their music and one that I played as often as I could get my hands on it.

Mamas and the Papas. I have such wonderful memories of my mom and I singing along to this group...in two part harmony. There was a time I knew every song by heart..

Manhatten Transfer. I was introduced to this group in highschool by my senior year choir teacher. He had us singing their version of Birdland in the select vocal ensemble.

Mary J Blige. Some of her songs are just so powerful and can touch you right to your core.

Miles Davis. Love his instrumental work. When Im playin jazz, some of his songs are inevitably in the playlist..

Marvin Gaye. This one needs no explanation...LOL

Michael McDonald. Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan or as a solo artist, this "blue-eyed soul" singer is a must listen. For the younger set who dont know him....if you like Taylor Hicks, you'll LOVE Michael McDonald.

Moody Blues. Gotta love me some English rock!

Mmmmm part 6: M is for Movies

M is for movies. Most of the time M stands for matinee movies, because they're a bit cheaper and not as crowded. We dont go as often anymore because there's rarely anything the both of us would like to see (or be willing to be seen at considering we dont have kids..), or the feature is too long (I can only site through a 2-2.5 hour movie without getting antsy...strange because I sat through each Lord of the Rings movie the other day without a problem here at home), so most times we just wait until the video comes out and watch them here. The following are my favorite movies and staying within theme they all start with M.

My Cousin Vinny. Have only seen this a small handful of times but it makes me laugh each time. My favorite line is when when Vinny asks the judge if he can declare his own girlfriend a hostile witness...LOL. Maybe it's time to revisit this one...

Moulin Rouge. Nicole surprised me because her voice was a whole lot nicer than expected. I like the way they used modern music to set the mood, much like A Knights Tale did. The funniest scene has a reworking of Madonna's Like a Virgin. Trust me, like when iggy reworks the lyrics to a song....you'll never EVER hear that song the same way ever again!

Miss Congeniality. Candice Bergen playing a bitchy ex beauty queen, William Shatner as a relatively clueless show host, Michael Caine as a stylist and Sandra Bullock as an ugly-duckling-turned-swan federal agent sent under cover to catch a criminal....what more could you ask for? Her character dolled up and exiting a hanger to the tune of Mustang Sally and then tripping? Check. Her character not having a clue as to what to do for the talent portion and beating up on her partner infront of an audience to teach self defense (as her talent mind you)? Check. Havent watched the follow up to it yet, maybe it's high time to.

MIB first AND second movies. Love em! Tony Schalub (Monk) as a head re-generating alien is a total hoot. If you must miss one of these, do NOT miss the first one with Vincent D' Orofino (Law and Order:Criminal Intent) as the Bug. You think his acting in L&O is off kilter, his acting in this is a must see.

Mask of Zorro. I enjoyed this one alot...actually both that I saw were great. I usually dont sit through dramas as well as comedies so it was a real surprise. Oh and that song on the first soundtrack....*sigh* with Tina Arena and Marc Anthony is simply b-e-a-utiful.

Mummy... first two movies (havent seen the other one yet). I dont generally much get into monster or horror movies much, but this seems to be more action than "lets scare the pants off of some people". Maybe it's the slash and gore I dont like...hmm. Yes, these movies had a couple moments when I was peeking from between my fingers....but nothing like the movie Doom (which found me cowering behind my hands most of the way through....*sigh* they were free tickets though...). A real shame they couldnt get the same actress to play in the 3rd movie opposite Brenden Frasier.

Miracle on 34th Street. The version with Mara Wilson is my absolute favorite. She's a real joy to watch up on the screen. One of my utmost favorite lines comes out of this movie. Im sure many of you have seen my shorthand for it many times. Instead of saying "You're welcome" when someone thanks her, she says "You're Entirely Welcome". I always loved that and started using it in chat....so instead of the customary yw to a ty became a yew.

And representing the animated films is Mulan. A wonderful story of a young girl that sneaks off with her father's armor to go to war in his place.

As with the M is for Men... feel free to play along. List your favorites for any of the categories in their respective blog entries. If you've played the "10 things I love starting with the letter" game already, use the letter you were given....if not feel free to use the letter I was given.

So far we've covered 7 of my favs. Three more to go....

Mmmm part 5: M is for Mealtime!! (FD warning stamp)

***Last chance to grab a snack before reading...Im serious...food IS discussed!***

well ok...you've been fairly warned...

M is for Mealtime.

What M list would be complete without one of the most necessary of items...FOOD!! OOps. MEALTIME!!! ~grinz~ As you can tell with any of the pictures you've seen of me, I love my mealtimes and rarely miss one. Im not big on veggies, even though they make up a good part of my eating modification right now, but I LOVE my pastas, sweets and meats. I love to cook, bake and eat, but hate the clean-up. Anyhow, the following pictures are my tribute to this special time of day (again, all within the theme):

Melons. Everytime a dr has attempted to put me on an eating modification, watermelon has been the one thing I was allowed as much as I wanted of. In season, it's so sweet that it easily takes place of popcicles and it's better for you too! Honeydews are my next favorite, I prefer them to the cantalopes any day of the week. None is as good as chocolate, but they all take care of a sweet tooth pretty well.Mangos! Ok, I wont pick a fresh one up in the store to eat but I have no problem reaching for it in the frozen food section. I may like cooking but I hate having to process fruits and veggies. I think that's one of the reasons I dont eat them as much as I should. If Im going to eat well, it needs to be handy and easy to throw together...then Im more likely to eat it. Ive discovered the frozen fruits section of the store. All I have to do is pour it into a bowl and let it thaw as I bike, then toss it with some sliced banana and voila...a nice fruit salad for dessert! Plus the mango is sweet enough where I dont even want chocolate afterwards.. *gasp!*

Mushrooms. Oh I hear some of you going "YUCK!" but I love me some sliced mushrooms. They go with nearly everything. Toss em on a salad or warm them up with a little bit of butter and they make a nice side dish. Batter and fry them up and they make an awesome appetizer with some light ranch dressing. Yummy!

Speaking of appetizers, how about those mozzarella sticks? Mozzarella's good melted on almost everything (and if you dont have that, a nice Provolone works as well). Mozzarella's most fun when it's all drippy and gooey but it can be almost as much fun as a cold string cheese that you can pull apart piece by piece.

Moving into the sidedishes there's mashed potatoes! Creamy, lumpy mashed potatoes. Not much beats a good, homemade mashed tater. I like to use a little chicken broth in mine to help cut down on the butter and of course skim milk. However, the best ones are made with real butter and full on cream! Ohhh and fattening but delicious...

....mac and cheese! Im not much on those little boxed with the powdered cheese (can ya say ew?) but Kraft Four Cheese Mac and Cheese dinner? Heck yeah, I could eat that nearly everyday! A close second in the boxed meal is the Velveeta and cheese. If I had my choice, it'd be the homemade kind...there's just something different about it. The closest I've found to homemade is the the Stouffer's brand.

Moseying into the main dishes, there's meatballs and spaghetti. These days I have to use the Smart Taste pasta, which is ~almost~ as good as the regular ol' white pastas...at least it's better than most of the wheat pastas out there. Another substitution I've had to make is to use ground poultry for the meatballs. My favorite meatballs are so fattening Im not allowed even one so why make them. I used to make them with 90% (or higher) lean beef but then I'd mix in a 16oz tube of Owens Italian sausage (Jimmy Dean's Sage works good too)....add a little onion, garlic and parmesan cheese (Romano works too). After it's mixed, I'd stick them in the oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes...then pop them in the sauce. It cooks a great deal of the grease out ...if you dont, then your sauce becomes an oily mess.

Manicotti. Take about filling but fattening! This is my favorite Italian meal second only to fettucini alfredo with chicken strips on it. Pasta cooked with a cheesy yummy filling....mmm. The only Italian meal I know how to cook with any major prep time (not to mention all those other cheeses...like ricotta) is lasagna. I'd love to learn how to make manicotti, raviolis, etc etc some day. I suspect I wouldnt have the patience for it though.

Heading into desserts we have muffins. Actually, muffins make a good breakfast item too...with a nice hot cuppa breakfast drink (tea, coffee, whatever). I love most kinds of muffins.... blueberry, cran-orange, lemon creme, cherry....but my absolute favorite muffins lately have been the cinnamon chip ones. Ohhh yummy. One of the hardest departments to walk by in the grocery store these days has been the bakery with the freshly baked breads and muffins. *sigh* Oh hell, it's ALWAYS been the hardest department to walk through!! Frozen foods arent as bad as it's just visual but the bakery department is not only visual but it grabs your olfactory gland's attention as well. Who can truly fight it when 2 of the 5 senses are under attack?

Another good dessert item that tastes great as a breakfast item is monkey bread. Im only guessing on this one as it looks much like the coffee cake that mom used to make twice a year when we were growing up. It was made on Christmas Eve, and we'd have a few of those yummy, warm, gooey, heavenly pieces while watching the Nutcracker. The next morning, it was warmed up a bit and served for breakfast. It was then made again for New Years Eve. Since it was time consuming to make, it was a treat item... especially once mom's hands developed arthritis.

Mint choclate chip icecream. The smooth, creamy taste of chocolate married with the cool taste of mint....it's a match made in heaven. A real pick me up for days when things just aint going right.

Of course, we can't leave M&Ms off the list (betcha thought I forgot, eh iggy?). That melt in your mouth but not in your hands chocolatey goodness. Unfortunely, like with Pringles, you cant eat just one! Well, at least I cant....we wont go into THAT again...that was another whole blog entry!

Microwave. Wait, what? That aint a food! Well it counts because I use it to prepare a good many of my meals...leftovers! I also use it to prepare my most favorite of nightly treats in the wintertime.......

Marshmallows and hot chocolate!! (see...I worked it in there Tori!). I cheat with my treat though as I use the powdered mix and make due with the little marshmallows they tuck in there. I dont dare put the real deal in the house as I'd not have any for my cocoa if I did. The one thing I dont cheat on is what I mix the mix with. I dont use water. I use

MILK, of course!! Only time I use water is if there is no milk in the house....and only if I MUST have the cocoa....

Mmmmm part 4: M is for meandering on the internet and mah-jongg

M is for meandering on the internet. Which is something I do quite frequently as I have nothing really better to do all day long. I really need to get a life sometime...

Some of my favorite places (keeping to the M theme of course) to visit are:

My MySpace, of course! Actually, Im one of those lame-o people that has 2 MySpaces. One is personal and for family and really close friends. It really doesnt matter as what I post here, I pretty much post there as well. The one pictured is the one that I blog my American Idol thoughts in. Right now, there isnt much going on with the exception of the new music that goes up every Saturday. Each week, a different band/artist gets promoted. Some bands, have made it in there a couple times. If there's a new album that was released that I really like, I try to make sure their music is what's featured for the week.

My Side of the Story @ http://abigmacattac.blogspot.com/

What a wonderful idea to get both sides of the story. Once from Wifey and now from her man's eyes. Oh and check it out, his name matches the theme as well! He hasnt been writing in Blogger long, but he's quickly become one of my favorite places to visit for the laughs.

Momma Needs a Time Out! @ http://mommaneedsatimeout.blogspot.com/

A great place to go for heads up on contests, giveaways and memes (if you're into that type of stuff... I go to read the entries HONEST)! Anything of interest that comes her way, she shares the info on her blog and boy does this gal love her bloggy love (as do several others I read...)!

Marmite Toastie's blog @ http://marmitetoasty.blogspot.com/ .

This is another one you definitely want to read for a good time. She just has this awesome way of expressing herself! You never know what she'll say. The language can be a bit of a barrier sometimes so pack your American-UK dictionary. At all times, this blog warrants a "No food or drink while reading" warning....oh and add a thick thirsty towel to the chair lest you let go of a tad bit of wee while laughing.

http://www.meez.com/ Ok, so? I go to play with the electronic dolly and dress her up! Well...that and some of the games are addicting too....

M is for mah-jongg.

I love many computer games in general but those that I play most often dont exactly fit the theme. Mah-jongg is the only one that actually fits the theme. I've only played it on the computer as a solitaire game . My mom, however, used to play the "board" version quite often with friends in the neighborhood. She was extremely good at it.

Mmmmmm part 3: M is for menageries and mustangs

M is for menageries.

Ever since I've been little, I've really loved animals and the best place a suburban girl can see animals she'd not normally see is in a menagerie (better known as a zoo). I have several favorite animals, but Im partial to the wild cats so to keep to theme, I'd say my favorite is the mountain lion. It's followed closely with mooses, manatees, monkeys and mallards.

I love taking pictures in menageries and every so often can managed to get a really great shot. I cant take credit for that one on the left though.

The definition of menagerie usually states that the animals are live in the exhibit. However, since Tennessee Williams chose to use the title The Glass Menagerie for one of his plays, I suppose that my list can extend to non-living animals as well!

I love stuffed animals but I also love models of them. In particular, I love the Breyer models of horses. They are so realistic. I wish I could manage to get my models to look that good. I get pretty close but not nearly close enough. The eyes just arent quite right. Oh hey! That picture to the left can double for another M!

M is for Mustangs ! Ok yeah, so it could be included in the menagerie M but it also is the name of one of my favorite cars! Shelby style, of course. The one below is gorgeous. It's just gotta lose the racing stripes. Mine would have a white interior and a ragtop...oh yeah.

Mmmmm part 2: M is for MEN

What a better way to start off the LOVES listing by the one thing most gals (and some of those "special" guys love...MEN. I could go with majorly hot men (my eyecandy?) and really do this up right, but Im not going to. In fact, Im going to stick completely with my theme and makes sure the guys are all starting with the letter M. So sorry Chicago, there wont be any naming of Jensen nor Jared in my list. Please accept the email I sent ya and this picture as consolation:

Oh yeah....towels are *DEFINITELY* evil....

So..umm..where we we again? Oh yeah....MEN with the letter M.



M is for Michael J Fox. I gotta admire the work ethic this man had (or is it has?) that he kept on going even after the Parkinson's hit him. He didnt even let on there was a problem until a good many years AFTER he'd been diagnosed and semi-retired come the year 2000. Even with this disease, he's kept on working by establishing the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.






M is for Michael Gross. What? You dont recognize him? Ahh it must be because he's a bit older and is clean shaven (not to mention that little bit of bling in his earlobe). For this one I dipped into the same tv show as Michael J Fox....that's right, Michael Gross played his dad. He's also been in all the Tremor movies as well. This shot was actually captured by my husband while we were at a Sci Fi convention and the brown shirt and the lock of hair belongs to me ~grinz~. It's a horrid shot of me so I cropped it out for posting in here. Of all the actors and actresses we met that day, only 3 were even the least bit pleasant and took the time with each person (it also helped that their lines were slower..unlike poor Gates McFadden who was simply overwhelmed) . This was Michael Gross's first convention and he was just plain happy to be there. We must have chatted a good 20 minutes before my hubby caught up with me and another 10 minutes afterwards!


M is for Mikhail Baryshnikov. Any man who has the confidence (not to mention the guts) to get into those tights and prance around with the power of a bull and the grace of a gazelle definitely deserves a spot on my list. One of my favorite Christmas season tapings is The Nutcracker with him dancing the lead. As fair in the face as he was in his youth, recent pictures of him now (he's in his 60s) show he hasnt really lost any of those wonderful good looks. I would have LOVED to actually see this man dance on the stage (as opposed to watching via a TV) when he was in his prime. Im betting even now, his dancing is more than likely spectacular.


M is for Mark Harmon. NCIS is an awesome show, so coming back and seeing the reruns repeatedly is no big thing. However, if the show was lame, I'd still come back just to see those pretty blue eyes of his. So the fact that it's a really great show and wonderful story lines is all pretty much gravy.





M is for Masi Oka! Right now he's best known for his time manipulating Hiro Nakamura on Heros and for his part in Get Smart with Anne Hathaway and Steve Carell. However, we've seen his work much before he became known for his work in those two projects. His first job after graduation from Brown University was for Industrial Light and Magic, which is George Lucas's motion picture visual special effects company. Maki Oka's work through this company can be seen in movies such as : The Perfect Storm, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Deadman's Chest and the Star Wars prequel trilogy. He's here simply because his character Hiro is so sweet, I just wanna pinch his cheeks....even if he DOES look constipated when he's doing that time manipulation thingy.

Also making this list is MY HUBBY. I wont post the picture here as Im using his picture elsewhere in the M list.

Ok. For those that want to, here's a challenge for today:


Find 5 men (ladies for the guys) that you think would make a list like this. Performers only...actors, actresses, singers, Broadway, etc...

Rules:

01) If you previous played this game with another letter, use that letter for your listing here.

02) If you didnt play before, use the letter I was issued.

interlude: Signs of the times

Calories Burned: 367.8
trip miles: 10.5
ave mph: 21.00


Tension level 4 and what a decent ride to start with! You know what makes it so good? It's because Im just about on average for last month's rides even though Im a whole level higher.

Last month's averages:
Ave calorie burn per day: 368.64
Ave trip miles per day : 10.53
Ave mph per day for the entire month: 21.06




Times have gotten rough here for some stores. Infact, several are going out of business along the main strip where I live. I got this shot while we were on the way home from the doctor's office. Three people, from three different stores , on the one corner holding "Store closing sale" signs. The sign on the left is for the furniture store in the strip mall behind our townhouse. The Circuit City store is closing because there's a Best Buy right down the road from them. It doesnt help that the Best Buy actually has better service in their store... The Tweeter sign on the right, Im not entirely sure why they're going out of business around here because there isnt another store that deals with the automotive stereos and installations that Im aware of. I could be mistaken. Anyhow, with people tightening up their belts with the economy the way it's been, it really shouldnt be a surprise that a specialty store like that is closing it's doors.

When were almost home, we spotted this SUV and plate pairing. Nice to know this person has a bit more than the average person, but did they really have to brag about it on their plate? EXESSI So is this the first of many EXESSes? Or is that I actually an I and not a Roman Numeral 1? I wonder if those people stuck in the cold on the corner holding those "Store Closing" signs got to see it? I wonder what THEIR thoughts on it were?

.oO(gotta love when I get the entry ready the night before...just gotta add the trip info....)

Mmmmmm part 1: the Dislikes

That 10 favorite things game looked to be so much fun, so I asked Wifey @ http://wifeoriley.blogspot.com/ to go ahead and get me a letter so I could play along. Within a day or so, I got a comment from Wifey in drag (ok, so she signed in under her hubby's account) and was issued the letter "M". So last night, I got brainstorming on what could possibly be my favorite things that start with the letter"M". Unfortunately, my brain wouldnt stop when it was time to crawl into bed!! Actually, it still hasnt stopped...


It was actually easier to find a short list of dislikes than it was to find likes. With my luck, my brain will go into overdrive again tonight and I'll have a longer list of dont likes. *laffz*

Mondays. Who in their right mind likes Mondays? I surely dont. It doesnt matter whether the hubby is working the front end of the week or the back end, Mondays suck. If he's working the front end, it means at least 1 if not 2 more days of work before he's home for time off. If he's working the back end of the week, then it's only one more day off and then it's back to the treadmill.

Misunderstandings. Nothing like a misunderstanding between people to break up a wonderful friendship. Misspoken or misheard words....worse yet words not said and intensions not clarified can really drive a wedge between people. Hurt feelings ensue and if not rectified, rifts become nearly impossible to repair.

Meddlesome people. I dont care if they're bureaucrats, neighbors, or family (blood or related by marriage). Period.

Medicines! Especially those that you dont see any appreciable use for, like allergy pills which OBVIOUSLY help you breathe. Worse yet are the ones that you have to arrange your eating schedule around. Worst yet is when the doctor puts you on 2 different medicines and one is an "empty belly" type pill and the other is one you need to take with food....top things all off, one's every 6 hours while the other one is every 4hrs. Yeah....I dont like medicines.

Math. I never enjoyed it because I had trouble wrapping my head around many of the concepts. Top things all off when I get tired, I tend to transpose numbers. Strange because I love music and that's nothing but numbers and fractions....working on my web pages which require a general working knowledge of percentages. I think the worst thing is that my brother is a math genius and made me feel dumb one too many times. I also hate history... not only for the memorization but for the dates (so yeah, I hated it long before that jerk came along). I never could keep them in my head. However, history doesnt exactly fit this theme now, does it?

The middle finger. This one falls into a grey area though in as much as Im prone to letting it fly when Im really pissed, I really hate when it's flipped at me. So expressive this one digit...