Happy Veteran's Day to everyone serving in the military past and present.

Thank you for your sacrifice and bravery.

It should come as no surprise that I went to see "Precious" opening weekend.

Come on, it has 2 of my favorite people in Hollywood attached to it: Mariah and Oprah.

However, I got waaaaay more than I bargained for from the film.

Let's start off by saying I saw this movie in Hollywood, CA. Not sure if it's the theater location or the fact that the best selling female artist of all time, Mariah Carey, was in the movie, but I was totally surrounded by gay men. Very handsome and funny gay men. I had a blast in the theater while we were waiting for the movie to start dishing about all the hot guys in Hollywood. During the movie, the guy next to me even patted my shoulder when I got a little weepy (or maybe he was just tapping me to tell me to be quiet...IDK).

Anyway, the movie is the tale about a young girl that grows up in a home filled with abuse: sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional. It tells her story of survival, heartbreak, and strength. It's an amazing movie that is sure to grasp anyone in the audience in some way. The performances are extremely powerful, and definitely Oscar worthy.

Without giving too much of the movie away, as a mom and a female, I must say that the biggest message I took away with me is the strength we find when we have children. It's amazing how much crap we will endure for ourselves or how we will stay in toxic and miserable situations, but there is something to be said about the power, wisdom, and strength women find when they become a mother. Motherhood is such an amazing and beautiful journey. For me, it's my obligation and pleasure to stand up for my kids and protect them. Seeing Precious reminded me of this.

Many people have said that Precious looks depressing and they don't want to leave feeling sad. That wasn't the case for me.

*I left feeling empowered that I am an advocate for my boys knowing I always put their happiness and well being above all else, even if it means my sacrificing.

*I left feeling blessed and thankful that I had such a great childhood and that I have a family that always loves and supports me unconditionally.

*And I left with a smile on my face knowing that Mariah has finally been redeemed from all the criticism surrounding her acting performance in Glitter (which really is a great movie, BTW).

And if none of that interests you to go see the movie...go to see the sexy/hot nurse!!!! That was an added bonus.

Enjoy!

If you've seen the movie, what did you think?

I always knew when I had kids I wanted to be a stay at home mom. I have loved being around kids ever since I was a child myself. I even dreamed of being a teacher, but changed majors when I found out how much money they make (sorry, I really like to shop, and didn't want to depend on a man to support me).

When I had Morris in 2004, it was an easy decision to give up my career in physical therapy and marketing. I've always strived to be the best at whatever I do. As a competitive person, being a mom, meant I had a new challenge to conquer. I had to be the "best" mom out there. So, I went into overdrive mode. I read every parenting book on the market, I experiemented with all the different parenting techniques, and listened to what the "experts" said on everything from sleep training to breastfeeding.

I became an out of control, control freak. All of Morris's activities of daily living (feeding, changing, sleeping, bathing, etc) were done by me just so I could ensure nothing would be done "wrong". It nearly killed me and practically destroyed my marriage. I was nursing 7-10 times a day for the first year, barely had enough energy to brush my teeth, lost all my baby weight and some extra within 4 months (thus dubbed The Olsen triplet by many Angelenos), and had little to no adult interaction for many days at a time.

I almost lost my mind.

Girls Night Out? What was that? Is it when all my girlfriends hang out and pop champagne while I was running into Morris's room 5x/night to soothe him the second he cried? I never spent one night away from him (sure sounds pathetic now, but I really believed I would be a bad mom if I wasn't there for him all the time).

Fast forward to 2008. Along comes Bronson. No more manic mommy this time. It wasn't a pre-meditated decision I made, it just happened naturally. I was much more relaxed.

I realized his brain would stlll grow and develop even if I didn't play Beethoven and Schubert 24 hrs/day. It wasn't necessary for his toddler social calendar to be filled daily with playdates and classes. Bronson wasn't already on mommy and me waiting lists before my placenta was delivered. 

No, Bronson got an old fashioned upbringing: he accompanied me constantly to Morris's school and social activities. He learned to play at home with pots and wooden spoons while I cleaned the kitchen and got stuff done. And I sleep trained him at 6 months old to learn to soothe himself and sleep through the night.

Don't get me wrong, I still had my overachiever moments like when I decided I was gonna puree organic vegeatbles every day instead of giving him baby food from a jar (yeah right, that lasted about a month, that food processor quickly got retired to the pantry to rust).

So, for the parents dealing with all the daily decisions we are constantly faced with: RELAX. Your kids will be fine.

Do you remember waaaaaaaaay back in June when I hipped you about H & M launching a Jimmy Choo line on November 14, 2009?

Well, the time has come!

Don't think you're just gonna waltz in there and grab a couple pairs though. They are anticipating a big crowd, so get there early (and stay out of my way!).

They will be selling ladies clothing, shoes, handbags, and accessories.

I'm mostly excited about the shoes, which will range in price from $69.95 for cute ballerina flats to $299 for some kick ass thigh high boots. If you're  not familiar with Jimmy Choo (seriously?...we can't really be friends!!!) their shoes normally range from $600-$1,200.

The shoes are AMAZING! I thought they would be some sort of lower quality styles. No way. I've got my eyes on 3 pair. 

They will also be selling their Jimmy Choo purses, clothing, and accessories.

But wait, the fun doesn't stop with the Jimmy Choo ladies line. They will also have Jimmy Choo for men: shoes, clothing, wallets, bags/briefcases, and belts.

Don't sleep on this one guys. Check their website before you camp out in your sleeping bag. The H&M Jimmy Choo debut will only be at a handful of select H & M stores.

See you biatches there. Hopefully I'll be in front of you at the checkout line.

It's photo Friday.

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought this one would be fun.

You know the drill....give me your best photo caption...

People always ask me if I eat anything besides sweets. Not usually.

But, when I do, it's probably pizza.

Rachel Ray's magazine "Every Day with Rachel Ray" did a frozen pizza taste test and here are their findings (as well as my 2 cents, of course).

BEST OVERALL

American Flatbread Cheese and Herb

I've never had it, but it sounds so good. Of course as my luck would have it, they aren't in stores in California. 

BEST CHEESE

Wolfgang Puck All-Natural Margherita

I've had this one...pretty good.

BEST PEPPERONI

Tombstone Pepperoni

I don't eat pepperoni. Gross.

BEST VEGETABLE

DiGiorno Rising Crust Spinach, Mushroom & Garlic

I've never had DiGiorno, and I don't like mushrooms. Guess I could just pick them off.

BEST SAUSAGE

Home Run Inn Deep Dish Sausage

I don't eat sausage and I haven't heard of this brand.

BEST CRUST

Amy's Kitchen 3-Cheese Pizza with Cornmeal Crust

BEST ODDBALL

California Pizza Kitchen BBQ Chicken

LOVE this one! All the CPK frozen pizzas are pretty good. They taste almost as good as the fresh baked ones in the restaurant.

I must admit that although I'm sure these are all great, my favorite frozen pizza did not make the cut. I love me a 99 cent Jeno's cheese pizza. Nothing like it! Soooo good. Take note Rachel Ray magazine people.

Wow! This is love.

Gotta love Nick for getting into the Halloween spirit.

What else would someone with an album titled "Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel" wear for a Halloween celebration? BTW, that is my all time favorite Mariah cd ever. It's amazing.

Mo is a Chicago Bulls fan. Let me re-phrase that. 

Mo is a Joakim Noah fan. It's probably the hair.

But recently, he put his team loyalities aside and chummed up with some "special" Laker fans.

Special thanks to Bria and Ashley, Morris's latest obsession. Although, by the time you're reading this, he's probably moved on to someone else...

The White House hosted about 2,000 trick-or-treaters this year. Can you imagine???

It was mostly children of military families ages 6-14 years old. 

Ms.Obama looked festive in cat ears and a leopard printed top. President Obama, was dressed as...himself. How could he top that??? (Although I think he would have looked extra handsome in some Yankee pinstripes, no disrespect Michelle).

The Obamas smiled, chatted and passed out cellophane goody bags that were filled with presidential M&Ms, dried fruit mixes, a butter cookie made by White House pastry chef, and a National Park Foundation Ranger activity book.

Wouldn't it have been funny if they gave away candy that really sucked? Like 1 little Tootsie Roll, or a single peppermint candy?

I wonder if anyone will be putting those little goody bags on ebay.

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween.

Here's something new I thought I'd try (READ: I'm getting lazy and tired of writing blogs when I could be on facebook).

Every Friday, I'm gonna post a picture and you come up with the caption in the comment section. Easy right? No rules. Just make it fun!!!!!

Here goes: