Thursday, April 30, 2015

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday and that can only mean one thing... it's Theater Thursday! This week's featured movie is a movie that I knew the whole back story by watching the original television show. This featured movie is, Miami Vice.
 
Miami Vice follows two Miami-Dade police detectives who are partners. They are Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Rico Tubbs (Jamie Foxx). They have been partners for a while and when they get a frantic call from one of their former informants that a drug bust has gone terribly bad they know they have to respond. What they find is not what they expected. When they learn that the FBI is involved and their looking at multiple drug cartels, the detective duo wants to get involved and help.

Sonny and Rico go undercover by posing as experienced drug runners who are looking for a bigger score. When they get involved with kingpin Montoya, Sonny runs into something he didn't expect. He meets Montoya's financial advisor Isabella (Gong Li) and is immediately attracted to her. He knows that she works to distribute drugs but he's still attracted to her. Immediately they begin a love affair both knowing that they have no future. At the same time his partner Tubbs is beginning to wonder if Sonny has went in too deep this time undercover.

As their collaborative effort with the FBI gets more underway, the danger grows. Will Sonny and Rico get out alive or will one decide to change sides? If you've never seen this movie watch it. If you loved the old television show, then you'll definitely enjoy this new movie.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday and around here that can only mean one thing... it's Theater Thursday! This week's featured movie is a newer release. I wanted to originally see it in the theater but the reviews weren't so hot so I waited until it came out on dvd. This week's featured movie is.... Interstellar.
 
Interstellar stars Matthew McConaughey as Cooper a former military pilot and ex NASA astronaut. Due to failing crops humanity is struggling to survive. The only thing that keeps harvesting is corn and even that is drying up. The Earth is dying and it's going to take everyone with it. When Cooper and his daughter Murphy discover an odd piece of gravity in her room they go out on an adventure to see where it leads them. It reveals to be an underground, super secret government operation that is trying to find a place for humans to go out in the galaxy.

It's being ran by NASA and one of Cooper's former professors. They have been sending astronauts out into deep space to find a new planet that can used to hold humanity. Being persuaded to travel through the planets which could take multiple Earth years, he willing agrees to go with three other astronauts into deep space. They will set out for a wormhole off Jupiter. His co-pilot will be Amelia (Anne Hathaway), which is the professors daughter. They will keep each other company for years to come. If they do not find a place for humanity to go everyone on Earth will die. Will they be successful?

This movie is almost three hours long and is incredibly confusing so you really need to pay attention. I thought it was really good but Beezy hated it.

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Fit Eats



In my quest to get fit, I have been trying to eat better. We've been meal planning all of our breakfast and lunches. At dinner we either meal plan it or make something healthy that evening. Some times we just don't have the time to make a meal each night. We work all day and every now and then the last thing that I want to do is make dinner. So when we heard that Sacramento had a healthy food option readily available we looked into it. It's called FIT Eats and it's located right down town where I work. What is it? It's healthy meals, portioned out and completely cooked. Their never frozen and placed directly into a fridge once it's been made. They also tell you how much protein, carbs, sodium etc that is in each meal. They put it right on the label so there is no missing it.

We've tried out a total of four meals. They divide their meals up into the three categories of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Then they make two portion sizes- regular and large. The latest meal that I've had is the large Surf n' Turf...
It comes with steak, shrimp, brussels sprouts and a mixture of red potatoes/mashed cauliflower. I thought the steak and shrimp were great. The Brussels sprouts...ehhh not so much but I ate them. I have never been a fan of them so I don't think it's Fit Eats. I also do not have a taste for cauliflower. Clearly I am a fan of the meat and seafood though.

Beezy ate their turkey burger and sweet potatoes fries. He really liked it and ate the entire meal. It smelled pretty good, I know that!

 
The meal that I've really liked the most has been their BBQ Pork Loin. It comes with corn, the mashed cauliflower/red potatoes and four pieces of pork loin. It's really good! I also got the large portion. The calories were under 600 but I can't remember exactly how many.
 
 
Beezy has tried out another one of their dinners but I sadly forgot to take a picture of it. Fit Eats updates their menu weekly so they are constantly adding new things to try out. They've added a new breakfast item that I'm really interested in trying. I might give it a try later this week. They also have a Turkey mac n' cheese that I'm wanting to give a try. While I feel the meals are a little pricey, they are extremely convenient and healthy. I have checked out a lot of online companies but all of their food is frozen and gets shipped that way. So for now, I'm sticking with our own meal planning and substituting in these meals when we are on a time crunch. Have you ever tried meal planning for eating healthy? What's some of the foods you eat?

Monday, April 20, 2015

Weekend Review

On Friday evening, I came home and literally just relaxed. I didn't want to do anything. All I felt like doing was sitting on the couch and watching tv. We did rent a movie from Red Box.

Saturday, I had to deal with a fix it list first thing in the a.m. We had our home inspection for the buyers and they came back with a few things they wanted fixed, repaired etc. While I was out there waiting on the guy to come down from my roof, I stopped to smell the roses. No really... I did. They are in full bloom right now. I've got red, pink and peach color.

Later in the day Beezy headed to San Francisco to catch a Giants game with some of his cousins. Since the last night game that I went to froze me half to death, I decided to stay at home. I spent my evening reading and watching some good movies. I watched True Lies, Romancing the Stone and American Dreamer. Beezy did send me a photo of the game giveaway...

On Sunday the moving started to feel even more real because we boxed up all the dvds. That's when you know things are getting real about moving in this house!

Since we really only have weekends to box things up, that took a large chunk of the weekend. Hopefully, next week I will have more exciting news.

Friday, April 17, 2015

The Fight of the Century

 
On May 2nd, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will engage in the fight of the century. Boxing fans have been begging for this match up for the last decade.  Now it's finally happening. Months of speculation, behind closed door meetings, major contract negotiations and then the announcement came. The fight is on!

Undefeated Floyd "Money" Mayweather will be taking on the Pilipino legend Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao. Only one will emerge as the winner and with Floyd and Manny both nearing the ends of their career it could also be either one of their last fights. This fight is going to be the most profitable fight that has ever taken place. The press conference had over 250 media outlets and a red carpet. To say that this fight is highly anticipated is an understatement. So of course, Beezy being the boxing fan that he is we've watched and followed the fight news closely.

The ticket that money can't even buy. It's a little over two weeks until the fight and the tickets have not went on sale to the public. The is unheard of in the boxing world. Usually the tickets would have went on sale shortly after announcing the fight to the public. People from around the world are awaiting the tickets hitting the market. Celebrities have been begging to spend up to $100,000.00 a ticket. High rollers, heads of state, boxing legends they all want tickets and there is only so many seats in the MGM building. Naturally, only a small amount of tickets will be going on sale to the public. The prices are said to be starting at $1500.00 a ticket (probably the nose bleed section). People are waiting with money in hand and they can't be bought. MGM is holding the tickets and haven't released them. They are also advising that there may be many copycat tickets so beware of who and where you buy them from.

Then there's the matter of the weigh in. The weigh in takes place at the venue the day before the fight. This event has always been free to the public. You get in line, wait for the doors to open and they fill up the venue and then shut the doors. Not this time.... for the first time ever the Las Vegas Boxing Commission is allowing them to charge $10.00 (which will go to charity) for each ticket. They are worried about the line and the crowds (since for lesser hyped fights crowds sleep around the hotel in line waiting to get inside). Those tickets haven't went on sale either.

So everyone is waiting. Their holding their cash in hand waiting for them to drop online for sale. MGM is charging $150.00 a person to even watch the fight on closed circuit in the hotel. It's one of the most expensive PPV fights of all history. So we wait.. just like everyone else to see when and where. It's like we are all in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and we are searching the chocolate bars for a golden ticket. Who will the lucky winners be and where will the next golden ticket strike?

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Theater Thursday


It's Thursday and that can only mean one thing... It's Theater Thursday! Each week I talk about a movie I've recently seen and is available to watch outside of the theater. This week's featured movie is... Basic Instinct.
 
Believe it or not, but I had never seen this movie until this week. I had always seen clips of the famous scene starring Sharon Stone but had no clue what the movie was actually all about. The movie stars Michael Douglas as San Francisco Homicide Detective Nick Curran who's just found a famous ex-rock n'roller murdered. He's back on the force after just having accidently shooting a tourist. His one and only suspect is the very wealthy writer Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone). Catherine had been dating the rocker for over a year at the time of his death and was the last person seen with him.

When Nick and the rest of the homicide department learn that Catherine had written a book depicting the crime matching down to the murder weapon they think they've already got the killer. When Nick and his partner Gus head to Catherine's house to question her, they find out that she's working on a new book. This time the book is about a police detective. Nick is immediately drawn into Catherine and while he finds her fascinating and beautiful he believes she also a murderer. Gus also thinks she's a killer.

When the department can't find any real evidence besides the book, they have to let her go. Now it's Catherine's turn to play a game. She let's Nick know that the new character in her book is actually based on him. In the meantime his life starts unraveling. In his obsession with Catherine, he starts drinking and gets in more trouble with a fellow cop. His on and off girlfriend also seems to have a unique history with Catherine.

Will Nick catch the real killer or will be just end up a story in a book? Watch and find out. It's definitely a movie that keeps you watching till the end.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Fitness Guru

What's the best thing to do when you're trying to get back into fitness and working out? You follow two major fitness people on Instagram. I've been following Marissa Rivero for a long time but I recently started following her mentor and coach Ingrid Romero. 
 
This lady is awesome! She has started an amazing company and competitive team called Team Edge. Her athletes win in almost every category they show up to compete in. She also has an amazing workbook and video that I got for Easter. This is a serious workout. It is no joke. I've only done one of the 4 workouts on it and it worked me out hard. I use her workbook every single day though alternating between arms and legs.
I also got more motivated by getting nice workout clothing...
 
 
And now I really want these shoes... does anyone know where I can find them? I've looked everywhere but it's hard to find the New Balance shoes without knowing their name or number.
I'm also meal planning. I've completely changed my meals for 6 days a week. I'm eating turkey bacon, egg white omelets, rice cakes, almond butter etc. It's been really hard but I'm going for it and working on it each day. Do I want to come home, eat a box of fudge rounds and never work out? Yep! But it's all about choices. And hello... I have a wedding to get in shape for!
 
I also need really fast music to work out to. I need upbeat music like Britney Spears, Lady Gaga etc. I can't listen to anything slow while working out or it slows me down. I slow down running with the music and then can't get going again until another song comes on. Any recommendations on good music right now?
 
So that's where I'm at my fitness. I'm working out, trying to eat right and following people on instagram who make me want to stay on track! What keeps you motivated?

 
 

Monday, April 13, 2015

Weekend Review






On Friday, I came home after a long day of work to a new Fitbit band from Beezy. I've been wearing the pink one I got since Christmas so it was a really nice change. This one seems very Spring/Summer.
 
We also went out to dinner and celebrate because the house finally got some offers and went into contract with one of the bidders! We are finally in contact and can move forward with our new home and getting out of our current one. We are so thankful. I really have to credit it to Saint Joseph. We buried him exactly as the instructions stated and read the prayer card. We believed, we asked him every day to bring us a buyer. The day after we buried him we started getting tons of showing. In the 5 days that we had him buried we had more showings than the other 21 days it was on the market. Then we had two people buyers who really wanted the house. We went with the best one and now we are in contract. I am so thankful and so is Beezy. I'm going to continue to thank Saint Joseph for his blessings.

On Saturday, we headed to West Sacramento to see a River Cats game...

We have been to the field before but not for an actual game. We had been there and on the field for the July 4th celebration but had never gone to a game. We went with about 10 people from Beezy's family and it was a lot of fun. The game went into extra innings but the Sacramento River Cats pulled out a win!

On Saturday, I also had another makeup trial done. The first girl that I had gone to did an OK job on my make up but I didn't like how she did my hair at all. I also didn't like the fact that she was cussing up a storm for the entire 2 hours that she did my hair and makeup. I mean really... we had just met and who wants to hear someone cussing every three words on their wedding day? No one. So I had another make up trial with a different person. This girl however, only does make up. I know her pretty well because she was in Puerto Rico with us last March. Now we are searching for a hair person!

Sunday, I booked our tickets to the Elvis Exhibit in Las Vegas, Nevada. 
It just opened this past week and I can't wait! I'm so glad that we got our tickets because the Saturday that we are there, they only had one time slot left open. That's how fast it's selling out. We also had a limited time frame of when we could walk through the exhibit because of our Britney Spears tickets and the fight. The exhibit is taking place at the Westgate which use to be the Las Vegas Hilton which was originally the International where Elvis first started his performances. SO excited! It's going to be a great weekend trip.

We spent the rest of Sunday getting the house ready to go for the inspections and the appraisal. The countdown is on and our fingers are crossed!

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday and that can only mean one thing around here... it's Theater Thursday! Every Thursday I pick a movie that I've recently watched and feature it on here. This week's featured movie is, Absolute Power.
 
Absolute Power stars Clint Eastwood as Luther, a master jewel thief who's just witnessed the murder of Christy a wife to a very prominent billionaire. The only problem is that he was robbing her house when it happened. When he starts to escape the house, the killer spots him and get's his license plate. Now Luther knows that he's already got to leave town because of the robbery but because the killer could already know who he is. The only problem is he doesn't want to really leave town. He has an adult daughter who he wants to remain close to even though they don't have a close relationship.

The D.C. police get involved and begin looking for the killer. They quickly realize that a robbery was also happening at the time of death. They only have a handful of suspects who could have pulled off such a complicated job. Luther comes to their mind as a suspect. The head detective Seth (Ed Harris), doesn't believe that Luther could commit murder. He pegs him for the robbery but not the murder. Once Luther knows that they've got him made for the job, he takes it upon himself to hid out and hunt for the killer. He knows who it is, he just has to catch them and get them to incriminate themselves.

When the killer starts to go after Luther's daughter that's when he draws the line in the sand and now it's every man for themselves.

Watch this great Clint Eastwood movie. It's a seat gripper all the way to the end.

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Monday, April 6, 2015

Easter Weekend

Friday night we kicked off Easter weekend by watching a classic Harrison Ford movie. It was the first time I had ever seen it and Beezy hated it so much he fell asleep 30 minutes into it. I thought it was pretty good for it's time. The movie...
 
On Saturday, we were surprised with an early morning showing of our house. We were able to get back into our own house to get ready since we were having an open house from 1-4:00 p.m. We also got a Saint Joseph and buried in the yard. We are really praying the house sells this week.

While the open house was going on, we had a baby shower to attend. Beezy's nephew is having a little girl in May so we headed to the park that they were having the shower in. They did a mermaid theme and the shower was really cute. I thought the cake was adorable!

A few members of Beezy's family lives in Las Vegas, a few were in town over the weekend so we went to dinner at Joe's Crab Shack with his family for dinner. It was the weirdest dinner I think I've ever been at. We had just ordered our meals and at the table behind ours, a guy fell to the ground and passed out. They got him up and revived him and he proceeded to vomit everywhere on the ground. 911 was called and EMT workers had to take him out. Apparently he was having some kind of medical issue and it wasn't alcohol related. Crazy! Needless to say my appetite was gone at that point.

Sunday, we celebrated Easter all together at one of his cousin's house. We had an Easter egg hunt for the kids and the adults had some fun too. Have you guys ever seen these confetti eggs? Their egg shells full of confetti and you can break them on each other for fun without it being gross egg messy. Well we had fun with them.
 Hunting for eggs
 

The guys also got together and took a group photo...

I got a visit from the Easter bunny. He left me a great basket filled with The Sound of Music 50th Anniversary Edition, CHiPs season 3, a wind chime and BRITNEY SPEARS tickets for Las Vegas!
 
I will be seeing Britney Spears in Las Vegas next month! Woohoo! I can't wait! The moment she announced her residency in Vegas, I wanted to be there. Beezy, my mom, his mom... everyone got an Easter basket this year! I hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

Friday, April 3, 2015

Five on Friday


1. Easter is here this weekend! It came fast this year. I'm very excited to see what the Easter bunny has in store.

2. Beezy's best friend's wife had her baby this week. Beezy loves babies and he can't wait to be a dad one day (far away). We went and visited them in the hospital a few hours after he was born. Meet Lennox...

3. Meal planning. All week long we have done meal planning. I'm not talking about just writing on a calendar what you're going to eat each night for dinner. Beezy made all of my lunches and dinner for the week on Monday and that's exactly what I ate. That also meant that we had to go to the grocery store and stock up on the exact things that a trainer has said to eat. We of course had to get meat...

4. Real mail. I love getting real letters in the mail. My Maid of Honor who happens to be one of my best friends sent us a really nice card in the mail. It made me smile. It's always nice to know people care about you as much as you care about them. I'll have to say even though she lives on the other side of the country she's been there for me this whole time!

5. Since I'm trying to get fit and look great for the wedding, I've cut out all kinds of fabulous foods but I know it will be worth it. I saw this meme the other day and totally laughed.

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Theater Thursday

It's Thursday and that means only one thing... it's Theater Thursday! Every week I like to pick a movie that's available to watch at home, watch it and then review it. Have a movie you love? Post about it and link back to here so I can see what you movie you watched this week!This week's featured movie is, The Sum of All Fears.
The Sum of All Fears stars Ben Affleck as Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst who uses the cover as a historian to everyone that he knows. When he's needed at the White House by Director Cabot (Morgan Freeman) because of his extensive research on a Russian man named Nemerov who's become the new President. They fly to Moscow to meet Nemerov and gauge his control over the country and his troops. What they don't know is that a nuclear missile was uncovered in the Syrian sand.

Jack and Cabot head back to the United States unsure if President Nemerov is completely in control of his armies. The answer is that he is not. Unknown forces are planning on starting a war between the US and Russia. When Jack and Director Cabot learn about the plot to start a nuclear war, they send Jack back to Russia to help another operative find out more about the bomb and it's location. Jack finds out that it's been moved and could be anywhere in the world. Now he's on the hunt for the most deadly weapon ever made.

The only people who might be able to stop it is Jack, Cabot and the Presidents of Russia and the U.S. What will happen if a nuclear bomb comes to U.S. soil? And what will we do if Russia is behind it? Watch and find out!

This is also one of many Jack Ryan films that has been made off of the books.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

The Good Guys

I've lived in Sacramento going on three years now. I grew up on the east coast and have seen a lot of major news events. Some things cross the country in news and in the 1990's news was very different than what it is nowadays. Major event's like the O.J. Simpson car chase is one thing that went across the country. We were all glued to the television as it unfolded LIVE! So when I heard about an incident that happened in 1991, I was intrigued. I became even more intrigued once I learned that it happened right here in Sacramento.

It all started at the brand new, just opened the weekend before The Good Guys store.
 
The Good Guys had just opened in South Sacramento. It was April 4th and they were having this huge sale. The store was surprisingly busy for a weekday probably due to the sale and the fact that the store was new to the area. It was around 2:00 p.m. when four young Vietnamese men entered the store. They were armed with hand guns and one shot gun. The men ranged in age from 17-21 years old. They proceeded to gather all of the customers and employees into a group at the front of the store and locked them in the store. The group of customers and employees was over 40 people and included men, women and children. Luckily, before the doors were locked and everyone herded to the front, a few people escaped and phone calls were made to 911 to alert the police that a "robbery" was happening.

The police immediately got on the scene but at this point the young men were already talking to the police and had a list of demands. With the door locked and only one other way into the store they were pretty much hunkered down and secure inside the store. The gunmen immediately demanded bulletproof vests, 4 million dollars and 1,000 year old Ginseng roots. They also wanted a 50 person helicopter to take them to Thailand. The negotiators couldn't get a clear idea of what they wanted because their demands constantly kept changing. They were able to give them vests in exchange for some of the hostages. Since the gunmen had moved everyone to the front of the store, it placed the hostages in front of two large, glass doors. Media ascended on the scene almost before the police. They caught the entire scene on live television.

Eight hours into the incident, the gunmen shot a 22 year old hostage in the leg and released him in exchange for telling the media exactly what they wanted. The gunmen had instructed him to tell the world they were on a suicide mission and bring light to the troubles of their homeland. Police knew they had to do something so they entered the building from the rear and simultaneously shot one of the gunmen through the glass in the front of the building. One gunman was able to get away from the gunfire and began shooting the hostages. This all happened on live television.

This event was the longest and largest American hostage situation on American soil. Three hostages were killed and three gunmen were killed. One gunman was caught and is in a California prison. Another 14 hostages sustained injuries ranging from gunshot wounds to major cuts from the shattered glass. One hostage was 5 months pregnant and suffered a miscarriage while being held.

My fiancé was only 9 at the time but he remembers this incident vividly. He had even begged his mom to take him to the store that week. His dad had been in the store the day before the incident. His mom knew and worked with one of the hostages that was shot and killed. No one had saw this coming. Everyone wonders why they didn't choose the bank that was right beside the store. They still don't know the real reasons behind the incident but the victims have said that they had to forgive to be able to move on.

Could you forgive after something like this? I don't know if I could...