Sharp Dressed Man

Last night was the Oscars!

I watched the whole thing from beginning to end for the first time in a long time.

Thoughts?

I thought James Franco was the weirdest host they've ever had. He had a strange look on his face the whole time.

Kirk Douglas cracked me up, but at the same time, he made me uncomfortable. Might be a creepster.

Anne Hathaway was not funny, but adorable.

And I haven't seen ANY of the movies they nominated.

What else?

OH YEH!!!!!

KATIE'S ACADEMY AWARDS FASHION REPORT!!!!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!

BEST DRESSED NOMINEES ARE...

Halle Berry

Hello, Bombshell. She's definitely THE most beautiful woman in the world.

Jennifer Hudson

Jenny Craig works for her. DANG she looked good. Perfect color.

Gwyneth Paltrow

I am in love with this dress. So modern, yet so effortless.

Haleigh Steinfeld

Didn't see her movie, but this is how a teenager should dress for the Oscars.

Sandra Bullock

Beautiful gown. I wish she'd had just a little more accessories, but this is gorgeous.

Celine Dion

WOWZERS. She just had twins in October.

BEST DRESSED COUPLES

Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz

That's a whole lot of Spanish gorgeousness right there.

Matthew McConaughey and his girlfriend

I think this is the first time this Texas boy has been shown up.

Mark Wahlberg and his wife

Markie Mark is gorgeous. And so is his wife.

WORST DRESSED NOMINEES ARE...

Reese Witherspoon

I'm so upset. I love her so much, but this looks like a bridesmaid's dress. So sad.

Scarlett Johanssen

Oh, ick. Why?

Mila Kunis

Lavender pasties? No, thanks.

Jennifer Lawrence

1. Who are you?

2. What's with the hoopla over this dress? There's no accessories - no wow factor. I don't get it.

Florence Welch

Love your music. Hate your fashion

Natalie Portman

Granted, it is hard to find maternity couture, but mix it up with the accessories. It's all one color and I strongly dislike the hair.

All images via.

So, that's all. Who did you think was best dressed?

Oh, and I haven't done a Grammy Fashion Report, mostly because I haven't mentally processed Lady Gag - Gag and the egg. What was that?

RANDOM TRIVIA FACT: The last living American WWI veteran died today at 110 years old. Thank you for your service.

All Things New

Lord, grant me patience.

I'm not going to go into stinky details, but I will tell you that it has not been a fun week in the Parrish household.

Ben and I have been at each other's throats all week. We've been putting a lot of pressure on each other and the bottle exploded.

On top of work, home, Charlotte, time, and everything else that strains us, we forgot about marriage.

We both have so much to work on.

I tend to blame Ben for my problems, when it's not him at all. Ben has to have patience with my while I sort this out.

Ben has some stuff he has to work on, too, none of which are easy obstacles to overcome. I need patience to wait for him and support him while he tries.

Lord, heal my heart.

A lot of really awful things were said to each other on both accounts.

Actions were taken that need to be forgiven.

Somehow, we became people that we aren't, and it's created a rift between us that feels like a giant canyon a million miles wide.

It's amazing to sit right next to my husband and yet feel so distant.

Our hearts need to heal and forgive each other for the mistreatment we both caused for each other.

Lord, thank your for your constant commitment and our many blessings. Remind me daily of these things, especially when I am feeling less than confident.

Yesterday, I felt like a rock rolling down a hill.

I started out fine.

Then, I got that gentle push downwards.

So, I started rolling.

The farther I got, the faster I went.

Then, I would go SO fast, that I couldn't keep up with myself, so I started flying.

I literally made myself sick from the worry.

But, I am so blessed.

I am blessed to live in a home, have food to eat, and a car to drive.

I am blessed that I can pick up the phone and call my mom when I need her.

I am blessed that I have a husband who loves me despite my faults and shortcomings.

I am blessed to have a God who created me to be me.

Lord, thank you that you make all things new.

Today is a new day.

I will choose to be positive and forgiving.

I will choose to love my husband the way I am commanded to.

I will choose to express myself rationally and like an adult.

I will choose to be the best ME I can be.

Praise the Lord for brand new days.

RANDOM TRIVIA FACT: I heard on the news that a 400=pound lady somewhere stabbed her roommate in the middle of the night for eating her Girl Scout Thin Mints. She really loves her some Thin Mints.

Beautiful Girl

Terrible, terrible blogger am I.

I honestly haven't had a chance to sit down and write anything.

We did this for Valentine's Day:

I don't know if you can see this because of my terrible point and shoot camera, but we went to the beautiful Alabama Theatre on Valentine's Day to see Casablanca!

Neither Ben nor I had seen it before, and we thought this was the perfect opportunity!

And it was CHEAP! $7 for each ticket! Unbelievable, considering today's normal theatre prices!

It was so romantic. A beautiful old theatre with a beautiful old movie and a handsome young man. I felt like I had stepped back in time.

This last weekend I did this:

The adorable little girl on the right is the new Little Miss Houston County, and the unrecognizable girl on the left is...ME.

I am a former pageant queen. A former Miss Houston County, in fact. I've been emceeing the pageant ever since I gave up my title.

It's a wonderful program full of wonderful people and I am proud to be a "has-been."

Being a pageant queen is a blast. Being a former pageant queen is depressing. One of the teenage girls called me "ma'am" when she answered her onstage question.

Sigh.

It is what it is, I guess.

Random Trivia Fact: The reigning Miss America (crowned in January) is the youngest Miss America ever (17 YEARS OLD!!!!) and the only Miss Nebraska to ever win the title of Miss America.

On the Road Again

It has arrived.

My husband waits and waits and waits.

He counts down from November to February.

He has his #88 polo on while he sits on the couch.

We've watched the practices and the press conferences.

The suspense is killing him.

NASCAR.

Redneck, you say?

Absolutely.

Do we care?

No.

I was a skeptic at first, probably like you. I thought, what's the big deal? They go round and round and it's really loud and sometimes they wreck.

There's so much more to it. There's points and strategy and teams and rules.

Pretty interesting, if you bug your husband with questions about the sport until you learn all the stuff.

Ben is a Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fan.

I am a Carl Edwards fan.

Can you figure out why?

Tonight is the Bud Shootout, a race with no purpose except that the winner gets $1 million.

And my husband is content.

RANDOM TRIVIA FACT: This Daytona 500 marks the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt, Sr's death on the track. A sad moment for all of sports, not just NASCAR.

Lessons Learned

I was saving this post for my birthday in October, but that's a long way away and I feel like I might forget what I want to say, so here goes...

I turn 25 this year.

That's a quarter of a century old.

Ben has already beat me there (he turns 26 in July!).

When did I get older?

I used to feel like a baby. I was always younger than everyone else (the youngest in my freshman college class, in fact) and had to wait for everything to come my way, sometimes an entire year after everyone else (one of my best friends in high school was exactly a year older than me).

I used to think 27 was sooooooo old. Now I realize I'm only 2 years away from that.

Point in case: I thought Aaron Rodgers was at least 30. He's 27, two years older than me. He's now won a Super Bowl.

Then, I realize that I've learned a lot in my 25 years.

1. Liars, cheaters, and bad pizza are facts of life - you just have to search and search until you find people who don't lie or cheat as much and can cook pepperoni correctly.

2. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

3. There is always that one person who wants your job and does everything they can to make you look bad. Your boss knows, and is watching how you handle it to see if it's worth giving your job to the other person.

4. Peanut butter M&Ms and a good episode of The Office make a bad day better.

5. The most loyal part of your life will be your dog. Everyone else will let you down at some point. The dog will be beside you no matter what.

6. High school really didn't matter.

7. Girls will be catty and boys will be stupid. Always. Even into the adult years when you think everyone got over that.

8. You'll always know which friends are going to be your lifelong friends because you won't talk for MONTHS and then when you do, it's like you just talked yesterday.

9. The Bible says, "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord." It doesn't necessarily say it has to be good.

10. There is a difference in "loving" someone and "caring about" someone. You can love someone, but not care enough to take the time to show them you love them. (This is a very important lesson learned.)

11. Just when you think you've got it figured out, God lets you know you don't.

12. Men actually don't care about what women wear. Women care about what women wear.

13. The line between love and infatuation is often blurred.

14. God gave us the ability to discern for a reason. Use discernment.

15. Your past doesn't have to reflect in your present.

16. It's ok to laugh when you don't think you should (i.e. a funeral or that awful wedding reception). Other people might be glad you broke the ice.

17. Before getting married, every Southern woman should know how to make the perfect pitcher of sweet tea. Your husband will appreciate it.

18. Things get more expensive, but your paycheck remains the same.

19. Let your freak flag fly. Everyone is a little odd. Be shameless.

20. Facebook and Twitter are for fun, not for you to tell us all about your illness, reminding me of your child's {insert recent accomplishment}, or that you just went to the bathroom.

21. Hang on tooth and nail when you find a good man, a good job, and a good hair stylist. They are usually hard to come by.

22. There isn't anything that a chilled bottle of Riesling can't fix.

23. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid. No, I'm not calling you stupid.

24. Spend your money on memories made. Take a trip instead of buying that insanely large TV. The TV will be outdated in a few years, but you won't ever stop laughing at the time you had spinach in your teeth at that awesome restaurant out of town.

25. God already has everything planned out for you. Keep your ear tuned so that you can get there the way He wants you to. You'll get there eventually.

There you go...25 lesssons for 25 years.

I really could write more.

Feel free to contribute.

RANDOM TRIVIA FACT: Christina Aguilera forgot the "ramparts we watched" while singing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl Sunday night. She says she got "caught up in the moment" and forgot where she was. At least we know she wasn't lip synching.

RANDOM TRIVIA FACT #2: I'm giving you an extra one because I haven't blogged in over a week! Whitney Houston's famous National Anthem during the World Series WAS lip synched. That's why it was so good.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

Linking up again with Jamie at This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday!

1. Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Acne Scrub

I usually wash my face with bar soap (GASP!), but as part of my Giselle diet, I'm trying to be healthier all over, including my face. This smells sooooo good and leaves my face smooth with a pretty glow! Not sure if it helps with the acne so much yet...I've only used it 3 times!

2. National Signing Day!

RRRRRROOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL TIDE! ESPN rates our recruiting class #2! Take that!

3. Pretty Little Liars

LOVE THIS SHOW. I know it's just as bad for my morality as Gossip Girl, but I just can't help it. So addictive.

4. Seeing this in a month

I bought Lakers tickets for Ben for Christmas. We're headed to Atlanta March 8th to watch Kobe whoop it up on the Hawks!

(What I'm NOT So Loving Wednesday - The Lakers haven't been playing too hot lately...They'd better freaking win against the Hawks, or I will march my little butt down to the court and yell at Kobe myself instead of Phil Jackson. Maybe I won't. I'd probably get arrested.)

5. Super Bowl Sunday!

We're watching the game with a few people at our house Sunday night. Although we're Saints fans, we'll be pulling for the Steelers!

That's what I'm loving today!

Oh, and of course, I'm loving this guy and this girl!

Yes, I know the picture is old (it was the first day we got Charlotte and she was only 10 pounds and 2 months old), but whose heart isn't fuzzy from this?

LOVE IT.

RANDOM TRIVIA FACT: John Wayne still holds the record for the most leading roles in movies. 142 to be exact. Thank you, Pawn Stars, for this useful information.