Ted and the Toy Box

While many of us may have wished that our dolls or stuffed animals could come to life when we were children, we probably never imagined they would stay with us into adulthood. In "Ted", the title character transforms from a fuzzy and friendly Teddy Bear into a pint-size bad boy spewing foul language in his now deep voice. (And it's darn funny!) He and Mark Wahlberg are best friends forever, so it got me thinking about my favorite toys growing up. The first one I really remember was Baby Alive. I don't think I was hooked on it simply because it was the hottest doll at the time. It was my fave, because I could play jokes on my relatives! I remember one Christmas we were visiting Boston (where my family is from and incidentally, where "Ted" takes place) for Christmas. I might have been five years old. I went up to my Aunt Valerie and said "Baby Alive wants to sit on your lap." She said "Oh, that's so sweet." What she didn't realize is that I had just fed Baby Alive her bottle and this doll was so amazing that it actually peed!!! Yes, it peed on her lap! I thought it was hilarious. Sorry, Aunt Valerie!!! Apparently, I've always been a jokester. I, of course, was a HUGE Barbie fan. I mean, what little girl wasn't? I had the Barbie Corvette, Barbie Townhouse and the Barbie Airplane. I didn't think about it then, but dang! How did Barbie get so rich??? Anyway, when I was seven, we moved from Hermosa Beach, California to Malibu. We were moving from a house with an enclosed garage into an apartment, so we were getting rid of some stuff. I remember thinking "I'm seven years old. I'm too mature for Barbie now. So, I gave them all to my Aunt Nancy's friend's daughter. In hindsight, I wish I had kept them another couple years. It's ok though, because now, I have four little nieces I can play Barbies with! I had two beanbag dolls that I had gotten when I was really little - they had hard heads and beanbag bodies. One had an orange outfit, one had yellow. My plan was to keep them and hand them down to my future daughter or daughters; however, I'm sad to say that will never happen. I can laugh about this story now, but I was NOT happy at the time. When I was maybe eight or nine, my dad took my older brother out to Gorman to ride motorcycles. I wasn't around when this conversation happened, but my dad apparently asked my brother if he had anything for target practice. I guess they were shooting bebe guns. Now, in my brother's defense, I'm not sure that he knew I was planning on keeping those dolls and I had grown out of them, but still! My bro says "Yeah, let's take these dolls." When I found out, I was PISSED! THEY SHOT MY DOLLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REALLY?????????????????? Don't worry. I'm all right. I'm over it now. If only I could have made his G.I. Joe dive off a skyscraper onto a freeway. KIDDING! When I was a little bit older, my Aunt Nancy gave me a Pot Belly Koala Bear - a big, soft, squishy bear. I LOVED it. I slept with it every night. When I was in junior high school, my aunt died from breast cancer and I continued sleeping with it, because it reminded me of her. I'm pretty sure I had it through college, but unfortunately, it fell apart. Oh, I had a really unique name for it too. I called it "Koala." All in all, I was more of a game person than a doll and stuffed animal person growing up. Clue, Life, Sorry!, Yahtzee and my all-time favorite... CANDYLAND! In college, I did my field study at an elementary school and always tried to sneak in a game of Candyland. Even the kids would be sick of it, but not me! I was a freak about video games too. Every year, my Aunt Mal (all my aunts are getting a mention in today's blog!) would ask me and my brother for a Christmas Wish List. She would get us each a bunch of separate gifts (she's VERY generous) and one gift that we could share. One year, we asked for the PacMan handheld game. We wanted it sooooooooooooo badly. The gifts always arrived early and would sit under the tree until the 25th. My mom was working at the time and we were old enough to stay home by ourselves. We opened the gift at the beginning of our winter break and played it all day every day when Mom was at work, then we'd wrap it back up again before she got home. By the time we opened it on Christmas Day, we were tired of playing it! My Mom was puzzled, because she thought we'd be super excited to get it. I don't think we ever told her or our aunt what we did. I guess they'll know now! And by the way, I still play Ms. PacMan when I go to the car wash and I always get the high score. Now, here's when I have to defend that statement. Some of my friends give me a hard time saying that they disconnect the machine every night and clear the high score... BUT I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT. In my mind, I am the Ms. PacMan Master. Unlike Mark Wahlberg in "Ted" though, I wouldn't want Ms. PacMan to move in with me, because she'd eat me out of house and home! OK, now it's YOUR turn to share. What toys do YOU remember most???

Living Life Through Movies

THIS IS THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF MY BLOG, THOUGH THE ORDER IS MESSED UP NOW. THIS IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN. ENJOY.

For as long as I can remember, movies have inspired me, moved me, changed me. A boyfriend once asked me what it was about going to the movies that I loved so much. He just had to get to the bottom of it. Was it actually seeing the movie? Was it escaping from real life? Was it the actual act of sitting in the dark eating popcorn and Milk Duds? Was it that I liked to know what was out in theaters, so I could be up to date and carry on conversations about them? Was it to get away from the heat in the summer? Or was it because I simply had nothing better to do? Well, the answer... is none of the above... and all of the above. I like going to the movies, simply because I like going to the movies. Some people think it's strange that I not only don't mind, but actually enjoy going to matinees by myself. You just sit in the dark anyway, so seriously... what is the big deal?!? At night, different story. Feel like a loser, but that's just me. Totally don't judge others for doing it. Anyway, I have been writing in journals pretty much for as long as I've known how to write. Often times, I come home from a movie and write about how it made me think, how it reminded me of someone, how there was a part that really cut to the core. And today, the same thing happened; however, this time, I decided to start a blog and share my thoughts, instead of putting them down on paper and tucking that book of mine deep into a drawer. Now, if you ever come over (no, that's not an invitation), don't ruffle through my stuff looking for it. It's in a secret spot... though I may share some of it with you if you're worthy. (Insert Wayne and Garth here "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!") What's that? Cut to the chase? Where is this going? Clear and concise... clear and concise. Guess I've been out of news too long. Words to remember as I begin my blog, because let's face it... people are busy these days!!! I mean, I'm busy. Huh? Oh, well, yeah, I'm not too busy to write a blog, but seriously, I'm BUSY!!! I digress. So, back to today's feature presentation. It began with (shocking!) a movie trailer. It was for "Julie and Julia" with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. I've seen the trailer a hundred times, but for some reason, today, it hit me. The line when one of Julie's friends says "Showtime bought my blog for a mini-series" made me think. In fact, from what I understand, the movie is based on a true story about a girl who started a blog cooking her way through Julia Child's cookbook. Now, I'm not expecting Showtime or anyone to buy my blog, because IT'S NOT FOR SALE! Well, maybe. I'm really just doing this, because I've got somethin' to say (insert Def Leppard's "Rock of Ages"). After the trailers, the movie started; that's usually how it works. "(500) Days of Summer". It's a story about love, but it's NOT a love story! Here's the problem. Just as this blog is about to get really good (wait for it), I can't find the actual lines from the screenplay online to insert here. How can I wax poetic if I can't tell you the exact words from the film? You're killin' me, Smalls! I did find this, though, so let's see what I can do. Oh my God! I'm so fired! ***Tom (Joseph Gordon Levitt): What happens when you fall in love? Summer (Zooey Deschanel): You believe in that? Tom: It's love, it's not Santa Claus.*** O.K., I'm Tom! I keep believing in true love. I keep believing that I'll slip on a banana peel on a crowded street and some hilarious, gorgeous, intelligent, fantastic cupcake of a man will be there to say something perfect, so I don't feel like an idiot, then ask me out. Our first date will begin right then and there. We cancel all our important plans for the day, because THIS becomes the most important. We talk and talk and talk and talk for hours and I realize that YES - this is what I've been waiting for my whole life. THIS is what I've been holding out for. THIS is the soulmate I've been hoping would come along. THIS is fate. THIS is destiny. THIS is elation. But THIS doesn't exist. Does it? I always thought it did, but I'm beginning to think I'm wrong. I think it exists for some people, but do I have to wait until I'm 80? In the movie, Tom gets to a point where he loses all faith in true love. That's where I am now. I don't like being in this place - where I'm losing my optimism, but alas, I am. I'd like to tell you more about where the movie goes (you're waiting for a happy ending, right?), but I don't want to ruin it for you in case you haven't seen it yet. So, I'll leave you with this - like a Harry Potter film or "Friday the 13th", THIS story will continue... and if people continue to fill the seats, so to speak, there's a good chance I'll throw in a "Star Wars"-like prequel minus Jar Jar Binks. Thanks for watching and please discard your trash as you exit the theater.