My Life in Movies

I was reading a guest post on the Dooce blog the other day, in which the guest blogger (Sarah) posted about movie-milestones in her life. It was quite the fun read, and it inspired me to steal borrow her idea and give you all the Tinalicious perspective of My life in Movies. And it's perfect for a Flashback Friday. So grab some popcorn and lets get to it, shall we?

First animated movie that made me cry, even though I denied it at the time, that I watched at the drive-in from the back of my grandparents' station wagon:

Bambi

Movie that I saw at the theater with my mom and my sister, which I didn't want to go see and raged quite a protest, only to fall in love with it:

Gone With the Wind--it was a special showing at our local theater at the time, probably due to an anniversary of the movie or something. I was around 10 years old at the time, I believe. And dang that movie was long! It even had an intermission.

 
Completely inappropriate movie that my mom took me to, thinking that is was a movie about a superhero, and that she had to cover my eyes in several parts before we finally left the theater:

Superfly.  Note: it was not about a superhero.

One of my favorite movies as a teen, that was just a random movie pick when several of my friends and I hit the theater one weekend, that we almost didn't want to see, and yet we loved so much during the show that when the film broke during a crucial moment we all went wild in the theater in protest:

On Golden Pond

Least favorite movie I saw as a teen, in which I WISHED the film would have broken so I would have had a good excuse to leave the theater:

Absence of Malice

Movie my best friend and I tried to go see at the theater, even though it was rated R and we were under age, and that we lied to our parents and told them we were going to see something else when they dropped us off at the theater, and still tried every way possible to sneak into, to no avail:

Endless Love

Movie I have still never seen to this day after the underage, rated R movie fiasco:

Endless Love

Movie that I saw repeatedly in the theater, and that still is my most viewed theater movie (10 times) to date, and that my sister, my cousin and I sang and danced to its soundtrack album in our living room to the point that our neighbors must have thought it was the only album we owned:

Grease

First action movie that I ever loved, that my awesome Uncle Bobby took me to, and that made me want to become an archaeologist for awhile:

Raiders of the Lost Ark

80's Movies that I adored that I still watch to this day:

The Breakfast Club

Pretty in Pink

Say Anything

16 Candles

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Movies that made me fall in love with the leading men back in the day:

Risky Business

Lethal Weapon

Dirty Dancing

Die Hard

Movies that I hated, and I do mean HATED, and that I would never, ever--don't even bother to offer me money 'cause it ain't happening--watch again:

Pulp Fiction

Gone Fishing

What Dreams May Come

Any of the Star Wars "prequels"

Recent movies I can't stop re-watching:

Bridesmaids
Pitch Perfect

Not-So-Recent movies that I love to re-watch, no matter how many times I've seen them:

National Treasure
Tomb Raider
Titanic
The Mummy
The Big Chill
Pirates of the Caribbean
Ghost
Charlie's Angels

Chick Flicks I can watch over and over, that the Hubs can't stand, so I watch them after he goes to bed (unless I'm mad at him, in which case it would do him good to watch them so I have a chick flick marathon instead):

Hope Floats
Ever After
The Notebook
Message in a Bottle
The Twilight Saga
Pretty Woman
Never Been Kissed
Notting Hill
Sweet Home Alabama

Movies I probably shouldn't like, but I actually love:

What a Girl Wants
Peggy Sue Got Married
Xanadu
Along Came Polly

Some movies I absolutely adore, but that you probably haven't seen--but should:

Paradise (starring Melanie Griffith)
The Man in the Moon (starring a young Reese Witherspoon)
Mystic Pizza (starring Julia Roberts, in one of her first movie roles)
While You Were Sleeping (a sleeper hit, starring Sandra Bullock)
Somewhere in Time (starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour)

OK, well, that's a LOT of my life in movies, isn't it? I should end this here, because hopefully, I've inspired you to watch--or re-watch--a movie or two after reading this. As for me, the next movie I'll be watching this weekend is Meet the Millers. How about you?

 

Your Move, Internet

Just a little meme for your Semi-Wordless Wednesday, peeps.

Dude. I know. It's either hilarious, or just stupid enough to be funny. I'm still debating it.

Mini Dutch Apple Pies

The Hubs' favorite pie is Apple. Dutch Apple, to be precise. And though he may eat the occasional slice of pumpkin pie around the holidays, he loves Apple Pie the most. Like, the mostest. What does he want?

And if there is no apple pie?

And if I should happen to eat the last piece of his pie?

Yeah, he just loves his pie. So I decided to make him an apple pie over the weekend, but I wanted to change it up a bit. I mean, anyone can make a regular old apple pie. I can do that in my sleep. OK, not really, but still. It's boring. So I decided to go out on the edge and instead make 12 mini apple pies.

Oh yes, I'm serious.

And since they turned out so yummy, I decided to share my easy peasy Mini Dutch Apple Pie recipe with YOU! Dude, I know. Awesomeness.

So here's what you need for the Pie Crust and Filling:

2 Pillsbury Pie Crusts (because making your own does not = easy)

1 Can of Apple Pie Filling (again--easiness)

And for the Streussel Topping:

1/2 Cup of Flour

1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar

1/4 Cup of Butter, cold and firm

And:

A 12-Muffin Tin

Lid or Cup to use as a cutter 

And here's how you do it:

Preheat your oven to 425° (or 400° for darker pans). Let your pie crust come to room temperature and then roll it out (I did that on wax paper). Use a large cup or lid as a "cutter" for your crusts--use whatever makes a crust big enough to fit inside and fill one muffin cup in your tin. Just cut out the crust dough until you have 12 circles. I had a little dough leftover. 

Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray and then gently press in your crust dough. Be careful not to rip them, and work out any air bubbles. I poked the bottom of mine with a fork to be sure to get the air out.

Open your can of pie filling. I cut most of the apple slices in half so they'd fit in the tin better, then I just spooned in the filling into each of the 12 cups of the muffin tin. It took my entire can to fill all 12 muffin tin cups.

Make your Streussel Topping, combining with a fork (or a pastry blender) until it's good and crumbly. Then sprinkle it over the top of each awaiting pie.

Pop your pies in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool and then remove from pan.

Your Mini Dutch Apple Pies should look something like this:

And after you feed it to your hubby, he should look like this:

And if those delicious little pies don't make for an incredibly Tasty Tuesday, then seriously, nothing will. Now go forth. And get baking.

What's In a Name

After joining in a linky party on my last post, I was reading some other bloggers' posts and one inspired me to check out my name on the Urban Dictionary site. I checked out 'Tina,' since that is the name I go by most often (even though my given name is Christina--but I only ever got called that by my mom...when I was in trouble). And according to the Urban Dictionary, Tina means several things.

Apparently, my name is slang for Crystal Meth. So I guess you need to be a little suspicious if any of your friends say they're gonna meet "Tina" at the club this weekend. Word to the wise: they may not be talking about moi. On the plus side, this does make me think of a line from one of my favorite movies, Pitch Perfect.

Fat Amy is the best. And I can't wait for Pitch Perfect 2, which is due in 2015. Prepare to be pitch slapped again! Yay!

But back on topic...Tina also means "little one, a leader, independent, strength, creative, and original." One of those things is completely inaccurate. I'll leave it to you to guess which one.

I looked a bit further on the U.D. and found something else related to my name. Example:

"You just got Tina'd."

Meaning: When a girl gives you a "WTF?" look.

So, when someone gives you this look:

You've just been Tina'd. So yeah. Think of me.

I'm not even gonna tell you what Tinahead means. Just use your imagination. 

And then there's Tina Bong Bong, which means someone who is "totally crazy random, mad as a box of frogs, but loveable, likeable, sincere, and special." I guess my conundrum with that description is: how did the box of frogs get mad in the first place?

Ahem.

That was an interesting bit of education for your Friday, courtesy of the Urban Dictionary. But since they were missing "Tinalicious" from their database, I submitted it to them and it's pending review. It'd be wrong of them not to add it, don't you think? If they refuse to, they are soooo gonna get Tina'd.

Obligatory Thankful Post

So it's November, folks. And you know what that means, don'tcha? No, I'm not talking about turkey, or parades, or football, or the award I deserve after I yet again endure 3 days of cleaning, baking, and cooking for a meal that will take all of 15 minutes to consume and that will be enjoyed by everyone but me. 

No, no, I'm talking about gratitude, and the obnoxious onslaught of gratitude posts that appear on Facebook and Twitter and the like as the countdown to Turkey Day continues throughout the month. Everyone is posting what they are grateful or thankful for. Repeatedly. Like, every day. And while that's all well and good, it can get a bit...annoying...to say the least.

People are spreading the virtual love and thanks for their families, their homes, their dogs, their health, their jobs, their kids, and all their many bountiful blessings. And don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for all those things too. But I thought I'd create just one post to share just a few little things that I'm thankful for that are, perhaps, overlooked by the rest of you.

So here goes.

I'm thankful for Fall and Winter--because not only do they mean a break from heat, humidity, and sweat that the warmer months bring, but they also mean that I don't have to shave if I don't want to. You ladies can't pretend like you aren't thankful for that too.

I'm thankful that November is Sweeps Month--because that means some good sh*t is gonna happen on my favorite shows. And The Vampire Diaries is at the top of that list. Ah, who am I kidding? It's the only show I really care about right now. So bring it on, Julie Plec: shirtless Damon, Damon in a towel, or maybe Damon playing Naked Twister. Surprise me. I'm waiting.

I'm thankful for International Delight Iced Coffee--because that stuff is just freaking G-O-O-D. And alternative ways to drink coffee are always something to be thankful for--especially considering there is no Starbucks in my town. I know. The horror.

I'm thankful for Game of Thrones--because Winter is coming. And because it makes me like people I hate and root for the Mother of Dragons and want to answer every question people ask me with, "Not Today!"  And if you don't understand any of that, I highly suggest you watch Game of Thrones. Like right now. Go ahead. I'll wait.

And finally, I'm thankful for turn signals. Or, more precisely, for people who actually bother to USE their turn signals. Because it's just kind of cool to know when the car ahead of me is going to suddenly change lanes or direction. You know, just for sh*ts and giggles. 

So there you have five things I'm thankful for. I'm sure I could come up with more. Lots more really. But I don't want to overdo it.

You can thank me later.

Linking this post up to Mama Kat's

Reality Check 80s Style

As a former teen of the 80's, I've gotta visit The 80's once in awhile, so for today's Semi-Wordless Wednesday I thought we'd go 80's at the same time.

Now put on some Madonna, grab some leg warmers, and lets kick this Hump Day's ass, 80's style!