13 Thursdays

13 Things Distracting Me

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on January.19.2012

So I’m only now realizing that it’s almost 20 days into the new year, and I haven’t posted a single thing. *laughs* I mean sure, I did take a week off for vacation and got caught up in some other things, but man – I could have sworn I’d posted something like already.

Here are 13 things that have me starting off the year so distracted:

  1. Skyrim. What an addictive game! This isn’t the first RPG I’ve played and enjoyed in this series or by Bethesda Game Studios, but it just may be the first one I actually complete. It’s that good. Bethesda  is well known for making HUGE fantasy worlds players can openly explore for hundreds of hundreds, and where you can pretty much play it any way you want. 
  2. My hormones. Not sure what’s been up with me lately, but sex has been on my mind an awful lot. Okay, by awful lot I mean WAY more than is usual. For me.
  3. My husband. Due directly to distraction #2. The poor man isn’t sure if he’s one lucky bastard or an unfortunate victim of marital sexual assault these days. I say the former (and its not like husbands get the right to say no anyway :-P )
  4. The job. I just deployed a new time and resource management software system to a new part of the business this week, and have been working overtime to get prepare before we went live and afterwards to support the kinks.
  5. Dance Central 2. Finding the motivation to get my daily cardio in has never been easier. This game is for the Xbox Kinect, which means you there is no holding any controllers or cheating by only moving your arms when you play – you are really, truly, dancing. And burning mad calories and breaking a sweat. All the while working to improve your score and top your friends’ scores or challenge them to dance battle. It even has 2-player mode, which make my husband and I the life of the party with we bust out the game and show off our couple-coordinated grooves. Love this game! 
  6. The bills. Let’s just say that somewhere between Halloween and New Year’s we spent way too much. Both the hubby and I have been working out a new budget plan for 2012 that will hopefully not have us in this same situation by the end of this year.
  7. My children. They’re at an age where they’re soaking up everything and craving interaction and attention, and there’s so much to show them, teach them and engage them in. I love how being a parent continuously challenges me to re-evaluate my outlook on and appreciation of almost everything on life, from the child’s perspective.
  8. The family. My family tree is more like a forest, and I swear that all of them were ready to party this holiday season. Every single weekend since like Thanksgiving there’s been a party, dinner or some other invite that I was harassed into attending.
  9. YouTube. Seriously, who needs to subscribe to cable television these days? There’s some seriously funny stuff out there (both unintentionally and brilliantly done) that I wish wasn’t so easy to watch over and over. And to add insult to injury the site has the nerve to recommend similar videos.
  10. The fiction writing. These stories are begging to get finished, and are complaining that it’s taking too long!
  11. Glee. It takes a special kind of teen show to not only hold my attention, but have me laughing or yelling at the screen and constantly craving more. This show is one of them.  Not sure why I avoided it for so long, but I am now several episodes into the first season and I’m absolutely loving it! 
  12. The news. Between grown men opening fire on teenagers, mothers sexually abusing their daughters and debates about the SOPA bill, 2012 has started off with some seriously hot topics. I try not to pay them too much attention, but it’s hard not to get sucked in.
  13. … I’m way too distracted to come up with a 13th one.

Tagged as: Thursday Thirteen

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13 Rom Coms I Watched in 2011

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on December.29.2011

Okay, so truth be told I watched way more than just 13 romantic comedies this year, but I randomly picked just 13 of them to list and share my brief thoughts on.

1. “27 Dresses”

 I didn’t think I was going to like this movie due to subject matter (weddings, wedding dresses and Katherine Heigl). Turns out that I rather like Heigl when she’s not in Grey’s Anatomy, and I found myself entertained. LIKED IT


2. Just Wright

The storyline was alright, but mostly this movie was worth watching just for Queen Latifah and Common. LIKED IT


3. Bridesmaids

Technically this is more of a screwball comedy than rom com. The romantic elements were pretty weak but I did laugh a few times. I probably enjoyed this movie mostly because I was watching it with friends and wine.  LIKED IT


4. “The Ugly Truth”

This movie solidified my like of Katherine Heigl. I loved that it was a little grittier than most rom coms, and that Gerard Butler’s character had a dirty mouth. I watched this movie 3 times back to back – 2 of those times with my husband who also loved the movie. LOVED IT

5. Gray Matters

I watched this movie purely because the description said it was about a brother and sister falling in love with the same woman, and I HAD to see what that was all about. It was okay, but I didn’t find it particularly romantic nor funny. JUST OK

6. “Pillow Talk”

This is one of those classic movies that I only just got around to this year. It made me laugh out loud, and I screamed at Rock Hudson for being such a jerk! For being a jerk and still making me swoon at him!  LOVED IT

7. The Prince & Me

This was a cute movie, but I never could get into the Prince’s character so it didn’t really move me.  JUST OK

8. The Other Sister

There’s not enough movies out there where those with disabilities get to find love. Funny, charming movie. LOVED IT

9. Barefoot In The Park

Another classic that I just got around to watching.  I’m starting to love older movies because they are simple and focus on great characters with lots of personality in order to entertain.  LOVED IT

10. “The Accidental Husband”

I have this huge crush on Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and so that made this movie entertaining for me. But because I have a hard time watching Uma Thurman and the implausibility of this plot, this movie fell a little flat for me.  JUST OK

11. “Beauty and the Briefcase” (Hated It)

I rented this movie because my husband thinks Duff is hot, and so I knew that’d get him to watch it with me. But my gawd, this movie was not funny, or romantic, nor even interesting.  HATED IT

12.  ”Premium”

I like Zoe Saldana, and so I wanted to really like this movie. I have mixed feelings about this movie. I felt like the acting was uneven and it suffered from poor quality production all around, but wasn’t completely without merit.  JUST OK

13. “The Proposal”

Another movie I didn’t think I was going to like, but I was highly entertained (and so was my husband). I didn’t know Sandra Bullock actually had personality (seems like she developed some just for this movie), and Ryan Reynolds did comedy with amazing subtlety. LIKED IT

Tagged as: Movies, romantic comedies, romantic movies, Thursday Thirteen

{ 108 comments }

13 Life Lessons – 2011 Brithday Edition

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on August.11.2011

Two days ago, I  just celebrated my birthday.  Another year lived.  Another year of lessons learned.  As part of my annual birthday blogging ritual, I’d like to take a moment to share a few of the ones I’ve learned this year (go here to see my previous ones):

  1. Do have a plan.
  2. Do have a backup plan in case the first plan fails.
  3. Don’t overplan. Be careful – it is possible to do so much planning, that you don’t leave any time for actual doing.
  4. Avoiding and ignoring are not the same thing. Avoiding is the prevention of something from happening. Ignoring is pretending that what already happened, didn’t.
  5. Avoid unnecessary drama and your life will be much less stressful.
  6. But not all drama is unnecessary … there are some things worth fighting over, worth getting upset and loud about, worth defending. Learn to tell the difference between what’s petty and what’s hefty.
  7. Sometimes, it’s not what you do that’s the problem. It’s who you’re doing it for and with, and why.
  8. The way you present or position something will drastically affect how it is perceived. Little girls dancing with a horizontal pole? It’s called Ballet and is widely praised. Little girls dancing with a vertical pole? It’s called Obscene and widely detested.
  9. There are some absolutely brilliant, amazing women in this world. Don’t underestimate the female persuasion.
  10. Rebooting fixes way more than just computers.
  11. It’s easy to be your own worst enemy. Stop fighting with yourself and become your biggest champion, your most generous supporter.
  12. Doesn’t matter what you look like – you will find it hard to see the pretty on the outside if you feel shitty on the inside.
  13. The better you understand something, the greater your potential to love it. This goes for works of art, skills, spouses, children, and yourself.

What are some of the lessons you learned this year?

Tagged as: life lessons, Relationships, Thursday Thirteen, writing life

{ 79 comments }

13 Ways Marriage Gets Better With Time

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on July.21.2011

Today is our 10th anniversary. We were a couple for about 6 years before we officially tied the knot, which puts us at 16 years of loving each other, but it very much feels as though we’ve been married for freaking ever. The good news is, at least for us, marriage continues to become easier the longer we are together. Here’s 13 ways it’s gotten better:

  1. Eventually, I learned to stop noticing the dirty towels and underwear he leaves on the floor.
  2. We’ve learned what each other’s strengths and weaknesses are, and work with it instead of against it. He can’t remember to balance the checkbook to save his life? Fine – we’ll make that my job. I can’t tell a weed from a flower? Fine – he’s got the gardening.
  3. What’s on our minds gets said immediately and gets dealt with, instead of letting it linger to harbor resentment and misunderstanding.
  4. Since I know he’s pretty much trapped now and can’t escape me, I have no qualms about sharing my kinkiest, dirtiest, naughtiest, most-taboo-iest fantasies with him and asking him to help me fulfill them. Yeah, even that fantasy.
  5. Having children who are walking, talking extensions of the two of us, has brought us even closer together.
  6. I don’t bother to ask him if an outfit makes my ass look bigger anymore. Either way, he’s still gonna slap it.
  7. My family is his family and his friends are my friends and vice versa. A lot of conflict is avoided because of this.
  8. Pooting in front of, or on him, is now something I laugh at instead of trying hard not to do.
  9. The line between “his” and “hers” has diminished to the point that it barley exists. There’s just “ours”. Unfortunately, this means I now have to buy pink socks if I don’t want him stealing them and stretching them way out of shape.
  10. We’re pretty secure in our relationship these days because we now know for a fact that we’re both absolutely crazy, and that no one but us would put up with us for long.
  11. After a while, we start developing the same tastes and habits. Which makes choosing what to eat for dinner, what to watch on TV and what color to paint the bathroom much easier than it used to be.
  12. It’s been so long that we’ve been going without some of the rights that marriage has deemed irrelevant, that we no longer even miss them. You know, like the right to come and go as you please, the right to say no, the right to remain silent.
  13. You get to make blog posts with both sweet and comedic commentary about your relationship instead of having to buy a sappy card for your anniversary ….

If you’re reading this babe, Happy Anniversary. I love you.

Tagged as: anniversary, marriage, Relationships, Thursday Thirteen

{ 87 comments }

13 Traits of a Great Father

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on June.16.2011

Father’s Day is almost here, and I’m fortunate to be able to say that I there are many wonderful fathers in my life: my own, my husband, my father-in-law and my friends. I’d like to share 13 charactertistics that I think make a dad stand out as a great one:

  1. Guides with a firm but loving hand
  2. Plays as much as he sets rules
  3. Shares responsibilities with his children’s mother, including things that are traditionally considered “mom stuff”
  4. Does more than just demand respect – he earns it
  5. Can admit to being wrong
  6. Says “I love you” out loud
  7. Respects his children’s mother
  8. Knows when to scold, when to instruct and when to let things slide
  9. Exhibits patience when required
  10. Provides security: physical, emotional and financial
  11. Allows his children to be who they are, while motivating them to be the best they can be
  12. Takes good care of himself
  13. Dishes out hugs and kisses

What do you think makes a great father?

Tagged as: fathers, Thirteen Thursday

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13 Things I’ve Been Up To

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on May.19.2011

Wowza – it’s been 2 weeks since I’ve posted anything here? Time to remedy that with this week’s Thursday 13. Here’s 13 things I’ve been up to:

  1. Took a 2-day business trip for work
  2. Working on transferring my responsibilities from my old job
  3. Getting started on some training for my new job
  4. Revising one of the books I have in progress
  5. Writing the first draft of another book I have in progress
  6. Exercising 5 days a week (treadmill, dancing, elliptical, Pilates, weights & resistance training)
  7. In the Emergency Room for dang near a full day (severe heart pain, possibly due to trying too hard on #7?)
  8. Playing puzzle adventure game Portal 2 (liked it so much, I blogged about it on Fly Girl Gamers)
  9. Working with my husband on blog/website designs for new clients
  10. Seducing my husband
  11. Read and provided feedback / advice on an aspiring writer-friend’s manuscript
  12. Watching the television show Bones (started with season 1 in February, just got caught up to the 6th season finale)
  13. Growing our first ever vegetable garden

With all of that going on, something had to give. Looks like this poor blog got neglected as a result. :-(

Tagged as: Thursday Thirteen

{ 79 comments }

13 Things I’ve Learned From My Mother

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on May.5.2011

My mother and I are very close. And we’ve always been like that since I was a little girl. We read the same books together, dance together, shop together. We talk on the phone for an average of an hour a day, 6 days a week, and have ever since I moved out of the house for college. Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and in celebration of the great relationship I have with my mom, I’d like to share a few of the life lessons I’ve learned from her.

  1. Money can’t buy love or happiness, but enough of it can fool you into thinking so.
  2. If your under garments aren’t right, the entire outfit will be off.
  3. Make sure that he is committed to you and deserves you – don’t give away your love too freely. Why would he buy the cow if he could get the milk for free?
  4. Spend a little, save a little, and you’ll be fine.
  5. There’s no such thing as having too many pairs of shoes.
  6. It’s not good to be too anything. Too frugal, too spendy, too loose, too uptight. Always try to find a balance.
  7. Sales and coupons are a savvy shopper’s best friends.
  8. It’s not about how much money you have, but how well you manage the money you do have.
  9. You don’t have to impress anyone but yourself.
  10. If you’re going to be a doctor, be a good doctor. If you’re going to be a mother, be a good mother. If you’re going to be a thief, be a good thief. Whatever you decide to do – put your all into doing it well.
  11. The easiest way isn’t always the best way.
  12. Don’t let a job stress you out – you don’t live for a job, you have a job so you can live. But it’s just one of many jobs – either let it roll off your shoulders or replace it when you’ve had enough.
  13. Mothers and daughters can be great friends.

I love you mom.

Tagged as: life lessons, mothers, Thursday Thirteen

{ 107 comments }

13 Rules of Marriage

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on April.28.2011

It’s no secret I enjoy reading, writing, and talking about love, marriage and relationships. I recently read a very interesting book by Terrence Real titled The New Rules of Marriage for making love work in the 21st century. For today’s topic, I picked 13 of the many “relationship rules” described in this book to share with you for your thoughts:

  1. Intimacy occurs when 2 or more mature individuals choose to share themselves with one another.
  2. One of the great paradoxes of intimacy is that in order to have a healthy, passionate relationship, you must be willing to risk it.
  3. Objective Reality has no place in close personal relationships.
  4. A good relationship is not one in which the raw parts of ourselves are avoided. A good relationship is one in which they are handled. And a great relationship is one in which they are healed.
  5. The difference between acceptance and withdrawal is resentment.
  6. Couples don’t have problems; they are problems.
  7. You think that your relationship will improve once particular stressful issues, like money, parenting, or sex, “Get Resolved.” But it’s actually the other way around. You’ll be able to successfully tackle tough issues only after your relationship improves.
  8. Few things diminish one partner’s desire for sex more effectively than the other partner’s demand for it.
  9. You have no right to complain about not getting what you never asked for.
  10. Great relationships mean more assertion up front and less resentment on the back end.
  11. The essential dynamic of all relationships is a dance of harmony, disharmony, and repair.
  12. Listening equals understanding.
  13. Understanding builds empathy, empathy builds compassion, and compassion ends combat.

What do you think?

Tagged as: marriage, Relationships, Thursday Thirteen

{ 109 comments }

13 Movies In My Queue

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on April.21.2011

I’m a big movie watcher. At present, I have over 800 movies in my Netflix queue (between my DVD queue and Instant queue). It will take me years to watch them all – or maybe forever, since for every movie I watch I seem to add another movie to the queue. But anyway, here’s just 13 of them:

  1. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
  2. The Tourist
  3. Million Dollar Baby
  4. Just Wright
  5. The City of Lost Children
  6. Real Women Have Curves
  7. Yesterday
  8. My First Mister
  9. The Manchurian Candidate
  10. The Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time
  11. Going The Distance
  12. Atonement
  13. Curse of the Golden Flower

Have you seen these? Any you recommend I not even bother with? (my queue could use some pruning)

Tagged as: Movies, Thursday Thirteen

{ 88 comments }

13 Guilty Pleasures

by ** Tatiana Caldwell ** on April.14.2011

Got guilty pleasures? I sure do:

  1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream
  2. Disney movies
  3. Naughty stories (in written, audio or visual format – doesn’t matter, it’s all good)
  4. Catching up on TV shows I missed
  5. Talking to my mother
  6. Being a tease
  7. Playing a video game that has strong romantic elements
  8. Singing while I’m alone in the car (if you ever heard me sing, you’d understand why I feel guilty about this)
  9. Vibrating toys
  10. Watching romantic comedies
  11. Spicy hot food
  12. Dancing in my underwear
  13. New technology and other gadgets

These are just some of mine. What are yours?

Tagged as: Thursday Thirteen

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