Winners and Losers of the Super Bowl

Being a UT and Peyton fan I was super ecstatic over the Super Bowl. To be honest, even though I lived in Colorado for 10 years including the 2 years the Broncos won back to back Super Bowls I didn't really become a fan until recently. When Tebow became the quarterback I started to slowly get on the bandwagon and then when Peyton moved to Denver I was definitely a fan. This year I watched the entire game, all he commercials and the halftime show. There's a lot to discuss.

Just a tad excited!

Let's start with the winners:

The Broncos.
Duh. I love that Peyton got another ring and can retire on a high note. I equally love that it was the defense that really sealed them their victory. I don't think everyone was expecting that. 

The Ryan Reynolds commercial.
So hilarious! 

 

The Heinz Commercial.
Those wiener dogs are precious!

 

The Doritos commercial with the ultrasound.
I thought this commercial was too cute. Apparently NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) did not think the commercial was cute or funny. They tweeted that the commercial was an "antichoice tactic of humanizing fetuses and sexist tropes of dads as clueless and moms as uptight.” Seriously? Humanizing fetuses? What a novel idea! A baby, a human! This makes my blood boil. Even before having my son I was pro-life but when you hear a heartbeat at 6 weeks on something as small as a seed you know right then it's a human. The idea that people think this is not a child until birth and a woman has a right to get rid of it before then is totally and utterly barbaric. Disgusting. Now, I think almost everything has a political agenda. But if I had to guess I would imagine Doritos just thought they were making a funny commercial. Although I would love to think that Doritos made that commercial to show all the pro-choice for murder that a fetus is in fact a baby. I haven't found anything online showing a response from Doritos to NARAL's tweet. If any of you have, please let me know. 

Lady Gaga!! 

When I heard her do the tribute to the Sound of Music on the Oscars a few years ago I was blown away at how beautiful her voice was. When I heard she would be the one to sing the National Anthem I knew she'd kill it. She did not let me down. A lot of people made fun of what she was wearing and made references to the Hunger Games. What did you expect? Everyone has a gimmick. I love that she let her patriotism shine!

The montage video of halftime shows past.

I have to admit, when I heard "is anybody alive out there?!" I thought Bruce was going to come out. I might've jumped up off the couch. I loved seeing all the past entertainers. If the show was truly supposed to be a tribute to past shows they should've had more people come out and perform instead of the performers from just the past 2. Done get me wrong, I love Bruno too bad he didn't do the entire show. I'll save the rest of my thoughts on that for the losers column. 

Now for the losers:

Cam Newton. 

Yes, he's literally a loser because his team didn't win but that's not what I mean. He showed his you know what in the post-game interview. I get it you lost, but act like a man. You lost a Super Bowl! You didn't lose your job, your spouse, a loved one, your house, a limb, you lost a game that very few people ever get to go watch let alone play in. Get over yourself. You're not a brain surgeon. You're a football player. At the end of the day, you're not that important. 

What a pouty baby.

The Halftime Show. 

Seriously what kind of half-assed crap was that? The halftime show is a loser for a few reasons, here we go:

1: It was daylight.

They should always have a game in an indoor arena where they can make it dark or have it somewhere that gets dark by halftime. It just wasn't that magical in the sun.

2: Coldplay.

I'm not really a fan of them anyway, but that kind of music just isn't that "half-timey." You need something upbeat and loud and fun. You, like Bruno . They should've just let him do the whole thing instead of one song. Although, I do love that song! 

3: The rainbow/flowery/supposedly-referencing-San Fran-in-the-sixties-obviously-pro-gay-message throughout the entire show.

Ugh. Why? Why is that necessary? I will be the first to admit I'm super political. But even my super right-wing conservative self who loves to discuss politics just wants to watch a football game sometimes. I just want to be entertained. Let's leave the political agenda for another day. Oh, and guess what? In case you have been under a rock the past 6 months, the Supreme Court ignored the tenth amendment and and ruled in favor of gay marriage. Having a halftime show dedicated to this is irrelevant. It would be no different if the whole show had been dedicated to Obama becoming president 4 years ago or celebrating the Warriors NBA championship. You won, a while ago. Let's move on. 

4. Beyoncé. 

Congrats, Bey! You're the biggest loser of the Super Bowl!! So many thing things contribute to you winning this award. Dressed like a hoochie, and dancing like one too Beyoncé was nothing but tacky. The (literal) salute to the Black Panthers from her dancers who were festooned in black panther style berets was over the top. It's no coincidence that as the sang her new song "Formation," they were less than 50 miles away from where the formation of the Black Panthers took place 50 years ago. They also formed an "X" during their performance as a nod to Malcolm X. And if you think this is just me reading too much into it, you can see below that this is not the case. 

Fists raised evocative of the black power salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. 

Mario Woods was a stabbing suspect and was shot by police in San Francisco on December 2 after refusing to drop a knife and comply with police. 

Here is the video where Beyoncé shows a young black child dancing in front of police pointing to graffiti that says "stop shooting us," and also makes references to hurricane Katrina. 

 

Here are the lyrics (from lyrics,ode.com) Warning: contains obscenities. 

[Intro: Messy Mya]
What happened at the New Wil’ins?
Bitch, I'm back by popular demand

[Refrain: Beyoncé]
Y'all haters corny with that illuminati mess
Paparazzi, catch my fly, and my cocky fresh
I'm so reckless when I rock my Givenchy dress (stylin')
I'm so possessive so I rock his Roc necklaces
My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana
You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bama
I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros
I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils
Earned all this money but they never take the country out me
I got a hot sauce in my bag, swag

[Interlude: Messy Mya + Big Freedia]
Oh yeah, baby, oh yeah I, ohhhhh, oh, yes, I like that
I did not come to play with you hoes, haha
I came to slay, bitch
I like cornbreads and collard greens, bitch
Oh, yes, you besta believe it

[Refrain: Beyoncé]
Y'all haters corny with that illuminati mess
Paparazzi, catch my fly, and my cocky fresh
I'm so reckless when I rock my Givenchy dress (stylin')
I'm so possessive so I rock his Roc necklaces
My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana
You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bama
I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros
I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils
Earned all this money but they never take the country out me
I got a hot sauce in my bag, swag

[Chorus: Beyoncé]
I see it, I want it, I stunt, yellow-bone it
I dream it, I work hard, I grind 'til I own it
I twirl on them haters, albino alligators
El Camino with the seat low, sippin' Cuervo with no chaser
Sometimes I go off (I go off), I go hard (I go hard)
Get what's mine (take what's mine), I'm a star (I'm a star)
Cause I slay (slay), I slay (hey), I slay (okay), I slay (okay)
All day (okay), I slay (okay), I slay (okay), I slay (okay)
We gon' slay (slay), gon' slay (okay), we slay (okay), I slay (okay)
I slay (okay), okay (okay), I slay (okay), okay, okay, okay, okay
Okay, okay, ladies, now let's get in formation, cause I slay
Okay, ladies, now let's get in formation, cause I slay
Prove to me you got some coordination, cause I slay
Slay trick, or you get eliminated

[Verse: Beyoncé]
When he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster, cause I slay
When he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster, cause I slay
If he hit it right, I might take him on a flight on my chopper, cause I slay
Drop him off at the mall, let him buy some J's, let him shop up, cause I slay
I might get your song played on the radio station, cause I slay
I might get your song played on the radio station, cause I slay
You just might be a black Bill Gates in the making, cause I slay
I just might be a black Bill Gates in the making

[Chorus: Beyoncé]
I see it, I want it, I stunt, yellow-bone it
I dream it, I work hard, I grind 'til I own it
I twirl on them haters, albino alligators
El Camino with the seat low, sippin' Cuervo with no chaser
Sometimes I go off (I go off), I go hard (I go hard)
Get what's mine (take what's mine), I'm a star (I'm a star)
Cause I slay (slay), I slay (hey), I slay (okay), I slay (okay)
All day (okay), I slay (okay), I slay (okay), I slay (okay)
We gon' slay (slay), gon' slay (okay), we slay (okay), I slay (okay)
I slay (okay), okay (okay), I slay (okay), okay, okay, okay, okay
Okay, okay, ladies, now let's get in formation, cause I slay
Okay, ladies, now let's get in formation, cause I slay
Prove to me you got some coordination, cause I slay
Slay trick, or you get eliminated

[Bridge: Beyoncé]
Okay, ladies, now let's get in formation, I slay
Okay, ladies, now let's get in formation
You know you that bitch when you cause all this conversation
Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper

[Outro]
Girl, I hear some thunder
Golly, look at that water, boy, oh lord

Classy, no? Makes the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake debacle look like a kindergarten prank. WTH does "I slay" mean anyway? You're on a power trip and you're just not that dang important. Oh, and Red Lobster? Doesn't speak highly of Jay-Z's abilities does it?

What makes me the most mad, is if Kid Rock and Hank Williams, Jr. had performed the show and had red, white and blue cards in the audience spelling out "Believe in the 2nd Amendment," all hell would've broken out. There would've been total outrage, calling them child killers. So tired of the hypocrisy. 

References:

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/feb/08/beyonce-black-panthers-homage-black-lives-matter-super-bowl-50

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14745754/super-bowl-50-cam-newton-carolina-panthers-defends-walking-reporters

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/02/07/naral-attacks-doritos-ultrasound-super-bowl-ad-for-humanizing-fetuses/

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mario-Woods-had-21-bullet-wounds-drugs-in-6824871.php

New Year New Blog

Happy 2016!

I have made a list of New Year's resolutions just like I'm sure many of you have. My goal is to really try and keep them. As my dad has always told me, plan your work and then work your plan. So not only did I make a list of resolutions I came up with ways I was going to keep them.

1: Read the entire Bible. 

That's always on my list and every year I fail. So this year, I'm taking a new approach. In the past, I would try and read it out of a Bible I have that's marked by the date on what you're supposed to read. However, if I got behind it would bother me that it would be say,  January 29, and I was reading January 14. For Christmas, my parents got me and Christopher these journals through the Ezra project that help you read the entire Bible through the year without dates. So right now, I know I'm behind but I don't feel the pressure. It's cool because you read a few chapters from the Old Testament and the New in the same day. I love this because let's face it, reading the entire Old Testament straight throughout could be extremely daunting!

2: Blog consistently. 

Yes, this has been on my list for several years running with pretty poor results the last few years. I've decided I need to do it differently. Have specific things I always blog about instead of a mishmash of different things. I have decided to keep it to some fashion/beauty, domesticity (recipes, decorating, etc) and then just the things I have opinions on. (Oh, boy! You know I have lots of those!) I say that because I love fashion, makeup, cooking, etc but my passion is really current affairs and politics. Don't get me wrong, this will not be a political blog. I want to keep things light. But I will share my opinion more and be blunt. That's who I am. I want people to read it and think of it more as funny rather than mean. I mean seriously, people get WAY too offended these days. If you're one of those people, you won't like this blog. I want to make my blog stand apart, as fashion/beauty blogs are in abundance out there. My plan for this is to sit down every Sunday night and plan my blogs for the week. You wouldn't believe the post ideas that come to me in the shower. Be on the look out for a new blog name!

3: Be more politically active.  

As I said above, I am passionate about politics and current affairs. My degree is in broadcast journalism and I always thought I would be like Bill O'Reilly or Glenn Beck and get paid to tell people my opinion. I guess for now I'm just a volunteer. This upcoming election is so important, I want to know I've done my part to try to change this country for the better. I will volunteer locally for the primary and the presidential election as well as becoming more active in the local chapter of my political party. (I'm sure you can make a guess as to which one it is, although I'm not a die-hard one. I'm pretty anti-establishment, but I will post more on that later.)

This is C and I in 2012. I will admit I wasn't voting FOR Romney as much as I was voting AGAINST Obama. If this offends you, get over it or don't read my blog. Like I said in resolution #2 I'm going to be sharing my opinions more. (Side note: the jeans I'm wearing in this pic I can now fit into again. Woo hoo!)

4: Lose the rest of the weight I need to lose and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Since having our sweet boy, I have lost all the weight I gained during pregnancy (yea!). BUT, I still had about 20 pounds to lose before I got pregnant. I've lost part of it but have around 14 pounds to go. In the past, I've tried every weight loss plan and diet known to man. This time I've made a lifestyle change and this time it's really sunk in and stuck with me on how to think about food. I owe it all to Julie Gordon and her book, "Skinny School." Don't let the name deter you. It's not about being skinny, it's about being healthy and thinking differently about food. To meet this resolution I'm going to continue to follow the principles I learned in the book and continue to work out.





5: Read all the books I own that I haven't read yet before buying any new books.
This is going to be HARD. I love a new book! Look at all the books on our bookshelves. I've only read maybe a third of these. This doesn't include books I have downloaded on my Kindle either. I might not accomplish it before 2017 hits but I'm sure going to try!





What are your resolutions? Or have you already made and broken them since I'm posting this in February?

Christmas Traditions

A new baby brings new christmas traditions. While a four month old has no idea what is going on, we are beyond excited to have Santa come to our house this year. Today, let's talk about some traditions of the season. 

Stockings. Our first married christmas I made us some stockings. They don't have our names on them and they're really small. Of course H needs a stocking this year so I decided to get us all new ones. I searched everywhere for them. I really wanted the Landsend needlepoint stockings, so we could all have a different thing on them. However, the nutcracker stocking they used to have has been discontinued. C loves nutcrackers and I felt like if I couldn't get him one it wouldn't be the same. I found a few on eBay, but of course they had other people's names on them. I couldn't convince him to change his name to Jeremy. I found these at Kohl's and I really like them! They're classic and simple and no matter what I do for a theme, they'll go. 

Choosing what to put on them was quite a dilemma. Had we got them before we had H, ours would have our names. Putting our names seemed weird now that we're parents. I know most of my friends' stockings say "Mom" and "Dad." My parents' stockings growing up said "Mama" and "Daddy." We don't call them that now, but it's still cute to see. Having a 4 month old, I'm just not ready to be "mom." Makes me think I have a teenager. I know all you mamas out there can relate to the fact I'm not ready for my baby to not be a baby. 

Christmas movies. Like pretty much everyone we love watching Christmas movies! Our favorites are Christmas Vacation, 4 Christmases, Home Alone and Home Alone 2. I love the old movies like White Christmas, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, Going My Way and The Bells of St. Mary's (Bing Crosby plays the same character of Father O'Malley in both. These are great feel-good movies!). Christopher's Favorite is A Christmas Story. I think it's cute and I'll watch it one time but I don't see why it's shown for 24 hours. I mean it's no White Christmas! I love that movie so much I even used it for our "Dress as Your Favorite Christmas Character" bunco night.

Books. Every year I read "Promise Me" by Richard Paul Evans. 

 

It's so good! It's hard to explain what it's about without giving it away. Here's the review from Booklist:

"Popular Evans offers up another magical novel, this one set in the 1980s, in time for the holidays. Beth Cardall’s life seems charmed, until she finds out that her perfect husband Marc has been unfaithful to her, and that their beautiful daughter Charlotte is sick with a mysterious illness that baffles every doctor. Then Marc’s unexpected and swift death from pancreatic cancer leaves Beth in financial straights. So she’s in no mood for romance when she meets an enigmatic, handsome stranger on Christmas day, but the man, who tells her his name is Matthew, is both persistent and charming in his pursuit of her. He tells her he’s a widower still grieving over the loss of his beloved wife, whose identity will shock Beth––and readers––to the core. The unexpected twist propels the novel forward, making the book impossible to put down. Though the ending ties everything up a bit too neatly, Evans’ many fans will enjoy this inventive, heartwarming tale." --Kristine Huntley

I was surpsied when I read the reviews on Amazon.com. Everyone seems to hate it. It looks like however they're all big fans of the author and this book isn't typical of what he normally writes. This is the only thing I've read by him so I have nothing to compare it to. 

Last year for Christmas my mom gave us all a childhood gift. Mine was the book "The Pink Maple House," by Christine Noble Govan.

Here's the description from Amazon:

"Polly wasn't sure she wanted to move to the new house for she suddenly realized that she and her best friend, Jenny, would not be going to the same school. They would no longer share the same seat. They wouldn't be walking home together. How sad life would be! However, Polly found that life in the Pink Maple House was anything but sad. The fun of Jenny's visits more than made up for the daily separation. There were so many new and pleasant experiences to share. "The Pink Maple House" is the story of the childhood of almost any little girl who grows up in the country. The author has caught the feelings, the foolishness, and the anguishes of little girls. Such incidents as the attic adventure, the doll scrapbook, the playing at 'Indians' in the barn, the school experiences, the baking of cookies and wrapping of Christmas presents, etc., are not only amusing and interesting, buy heartwarming, satisfying and comforting. "The Pink Maple House" is somewhat reminiscent of "Little Women" in that it is a family story in which the characters are kindly, natural and sympathetic. The story moves right along for the incidents are believable and the details are those about which little girls especially, enjoy reading." 

I have added it to my annual Christmas readings. I got excited when I went in Amazon, as I saw there are 2 more books and it's a series! I better buy them soon as one of my New Year's resolutions is to read all the books I already own before buying or reading any others. More on that in another post. 

Christmas china. One of my favorite things about this time of year is getting put my Christmas china. I have Holiday by Lenox. We eat everything off of it, even pizza! Why have it if you're not going to use it? 

What are some of your family's Christmas traditions?