Blenders, Cheesecake, and Sneakers . . . Oh my!

Some people hop out of bed ready to greet the day (like that man in the McDonald's coffee commercials who takes the stairs), but if you're like me it's more likely that you crawl out of bed, shielding your eyes from any light source and stumble to the nearest caffeine source. One unfortunate morning I deviated and attempted to make a smoothie in place of my beloved coffee. Big mistake! It soon became apparent that appliances and I do not mix well before noon. The blender had been used the day before so my first obstacle was to find all the necessary pieces which were hidden among the other clean dishes drying in the sink. After several forays into the pots and pans I emerged triumphant with the necessary pieces. After fitting them together as best I could I added my chocolate milk to the blender only to have it come pouring out of the bottom seconds later. Apparently, I greatly overestimated my blender construction skills. So instead of a refreshing smoothie to start my morning I had spilled milk on a clean counter, spilled milk on clean dishes and then spilled milk on a clean stovetop once I moved the leaking blender to the stove in order to clean the counter. Chocolate, chocolate everywhere . . . I never thought chocolate milk would cause such sadness and disappointment. I had to succumb to boring breakfast of toast and a banana, while the ruined blender mocked me from across the room.

Later in the day however, chocolate came to the resuce in the form of Adam's Chocolate Peanut Butter Ripple Cheesecake at that nirvana of restaurants, Cheesecake Factory. O the savory goodness of peanut butter, chocolate, and copious amounts of whipped topping! Forget the meal, just have dessert. After all, cheesecake gives you calcium, chocolate has antioxidants and peanut butter provides protein, so your daily nutritional needs are no longer a burden.

I love shoes, I mean what woman doesn't? However, sneakers don't usually interest me; being merely functional, not fashionable. However, a recent sojourn to Finish Line and Lady Foot Locker changed my mind. The neon rubber of Nike shocks and metallic finishes of the higher end sneakers called to me the way a pair of stilleto heels usually does. There's something about new sneakers that gives you a feeling of strength and power, as if you could go to the gym faithfully every day for a month, running the dreaded treadmill and lifting the weights with no complaints whatsoever. These gym shoes have not witnessed your sorry attempts at cycling, and the occasional stretches where they sit in the closet unused. Unfortunatley, this trip to Lady Foot Locker was inspired by a very functional desire for sturdy running shoes, so the metallic Nikes remained on the shelf. Maybe next time.

Guilty Pleasures

We all have guilty pleasures, right? At least, I hope we all do because I'm about to out mine. Some find solace in daytime soaps, comic books, Barry Manilow, chocolate, well I'm guilty of that as well, but the point is we all have our thing. Mine is mystery. I'm down with it all, from Agatha Christie to Nancy Drew. Which leads me to my next outing: I saw the latest Nancy Drew movie starring Emma Roberts and I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. I idolized Nancy Drew as a little girl and was more than a little anxious about what the movie would do to this classic girl detective. Nancy drove a sweet blue roadster, discovered secret passageways and stuck it to the bad guys every time. This movie delivered all that and more, with an old-school style the likes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan would do well to notice (sorry, soap-box stowed away for now).
More than copying the books, this movie made Nancy a believable teenager living in 2007, while retaining what made die-hard Drew fans love Nancy from the beginning. Nancy Drew is more than a book for young girls, and I suppose for me too, although I wasn't conscious of this as an eight-year old reader. Nancy Drew is the promise that girls can have adventures just like boys do. Nancy was independent and strong at a time when girls weren't supposed to be either. Nancy Drew the movie is just as promising as the original Nancy was in the 30's. The Nancy Drew of 2007 is much more interested in solving mysteries than her somewhat wimpy love interest, Ned, and more about being true to herself than fitting in and following trends. Nancy Drew is smart, strong, brave, and the anti-Paris in every other way imaginable. However, just because Nancy is a good girl doesn't mean that she avoids danger and does as she's told. In fact, she survives car bombings, kidnappings, and creepy old men, all the while keeping her sleuthing a secret from her stressed, overworked dad (Tate Donavan), a nice update on the 'father-knows-best' Carson Drew of the original books.
So whether or not you like Nancy Drew you at least have to admit that she's a pleasant departure from the ubiquitous party girl the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton have shown us both on and off the big screen.
-----If you're a hardcore Nancy Drew fan check out Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak, and for a much edgier version of the girl detective watch Veronica Mars, Seasons 1&2 on DVD, not sure if/when Season 3 will be released.