RockTheDesert

Thursday Thirteen - 13 classic movies

Today, I'm joining a sort of blog carnival called Thursday Thirteen - actually, in blog terms, it's a meme...I'm not sure what a meme is, but I think it's something good. For bloggers that is. So, here's my list of 13 classic movies compiled with the help of the AFI lists of their top 10 movies by genre. I have to admit, I've not seen most of the movies on their lists...but I intend to see the following 13 classics before the end of 2008 - care to share some popcorn & a flick with me?

Thirteen Classic Movies I've Never Seen 1....Adam's Rib, starring Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn.  Romantic Comedy. 2....Roman Holiday, starring Gregory Peck & Audrey Hepburn. Romantic Comedy. 3....It Happened One Night, starring Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert. Romantic Comedy. 4....The Searchers, starring John Wayne & Jeffrey Hunter. Western. 5....Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, starring Paul Newman & Robert Redford. Western. 6....High Noon, starring Gary Cooper & Thomas Mitchell. Western. 7....The Pride Of The Yankees, starring Gary Cooper & Teresa Wright. Sports. 8....Vertigo, starring James Stewart & Kim Novak. Mystery. 9....The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart & Mary Astor. Mystery. 10..Dial M For Murder, starring Ray Milland & Grace Kelly. Mystery. 11..To Kill A Mockingbird, starring Gregory Peck & Frank Overton. Courtroom Drama. 12..Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O'Toole & Alec Guinness. Epic. 13..Gone With The Wind, starring Vivien Leigh & Clark Gable. Epic.

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Birthday...#42

Sunday was my b-day. Our new family tradition (started last year) is to spend the afternoon together eating out and then seeing a movie. Last year it was Talladega Nights. I don't recommend that movie. At all. To anyone. This year it was The Bourne Ultimatum. I LOVED IT! We got Cine Capri tickets which means we had the 500+ seat theater with the massive screen. I saw the 1st Bourne movie - loved it. Didn't see the 2nd one, but I'm told we have it on DVD. So, now I've got to watch it. The Ultimatum was fast-paced, intense, suspensful, and triumphant! I recommend this movie. Totally. To everyone!

We also enjoyed 2 awesome meals together. Our Kenya reunion was scheduled right at lunch time and David Mitchell went all out preparing a succulent feast for us. We had spicy beef shish-ka-bobs, wild rice salad, baked cheesy bruschetta, chocolate dipped strawberries, and other yummy stuff.

Then we went to the Outback for dinner. I had the pork chops and they were great as usual. Everyone else had steak except for Alyssa. She had the mac & cheese off the kids menu because she could barely open her mouth after having all four wisdom teeth removed on Thursday. We shared a Sidney's Sinful Sundae which the server mistakenly (what a great mistake) rolled in cinnamon pecans before rolling in toasted coconut. That's my favorite dessert in the world. How does the chocolate sauce become chewy? It's so good and so good for you!

Independence Day 2007

(Photo is a watercolor done by Randy Elrod earlier in the week...randyelrod.typepad.com)

We started our July 4 celebration pretty early - YESTERDAY. We attended a gathering with friends in Scottsdale. Food, swimming, yummy cupcakes decorated with blue sugar. Then we piled in cars and headed to the town of Cave Creek in search of fireworks. We had heard rumors of a show sponsored by Harold's Restaurant. Cave Creek is sort of a hick town, not much to see or do, kinda artsy, big biker crowd, very eclectic. So we were pleasantly surprised by a 30 minute fireworks display that lit up the sky right in the middle of downtown. There were three grand finales...really cool sparklers that looked like a never ending silver, white, red, blue fountain. Then the last finale which filled the sky with color. Then we were done. Packed up the kids. Headed back home.

Today Dan and I took Ashley to the airport. She's heading back to Orange County, ready to resume work and school and normalcy. We had a great visit. Her health issues weren't totally resolved, but she's moving forward with new meds and a follow-up visit in 2 weeks back at Mayo, so we'll see her then.

Dan and I snuck off to La Grande Orange, a local grocery, bakery, breakfast hotspot. It is a very vibey little place tucked away at 40th Street and Campbell. We had an awesome breakfast sandwich made on a homemade sourdough english muffin, spread with mayo, layered on freshly scrambled eggs, vine ripe tomato slices, bacon for Dan, avocado for me, sprinkled with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. WOW!

Then Dan, Mike and Steve headed up to Desert Ridge to see "Live Free or Die Hard" at the "before noon" showing (only $5 every day). They were a little bit late and they were in a 30-seat theater so they ended up in the 2nd row. Dan said he felt like he was in the movie. They had a unanimous review of "best movie of the year so far". They brought home a bag of $1 items from Jack In The Box for lunch. Total for a movie and lunch = $22. Not a bad morning! They are eating their feast in front of the TV which immediately went on when they walked in the door - they have to watch their annual movies - "The Patriot" and "Independence Day"!

Our next July 4th celebration begins at 4pm at another friends' home in Scottsdale. We will hang out with friends, bbq, swim, watch fireworks from the patio (their house has a panoramic view of most of Scottsdale and Phoenix). I'm taking a dessert. Probably buy a fresh fruit pie at Marie Callenders.  All in all a perfect 2-day celebration of our country's independence.