Oscar, Oscar, Oscar…

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Yes, it’s that time of year again…Oscar time!  I love movies, but some of the Oscar nominated films are so far from mainstream, I don’t get them!  And let’s talk past winners…Titanic for example…guess what folks…the boat sinks!  and I didn’t need 3 hours and 15 minutes to know that!  Truly, I just love the fashion, from the horrific (Bjork and the swan dress) to the fantastic (seriously, does Helen Mirren EVER make a misstep???)    I watch bits and parts of the awards, but I’m checking out all the arrivals!

Have you seen any of this year’s best picture nominees?  For full synopsis and more information, click here to visit MSN Entertainment’s Academy Award section, for now…here’s my very short synopsis…

12 Years a Slave – Southern living in the 1840’s

American Hustle – drugs, boobs, comb-overs and scams!

Captain Phillips – Pirates…but not Jack Sparrow!

Dallas Buyers Club – AIDS and HIV treatments

Gravity – Lost in space

Nebraska – Father, son and those pesky sweepstakes

The Wolf of Wall Street – Crooked banker with a penchant for overindulgence

Her – Strange man in love with a computer

Philomena – Unwed mothers, adoption and mean old nuns!

How about Actor and Actress?  Suporting roles?  Here are your nominees:

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Bruce Dern — “Nebraska”
Leonardo DiCaprio — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
Chiwetel Ejiofor — “12 Years a Slave”
Matthew McConaughey — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Christian Bale — “American Hustle”

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett — “Blue Jasmine”
Sandra Bullock — “Gravity”
Judi Dench — “Philomena”
Meryl Streep — “August: Osage County”
Amy Adams — “American Hustle”

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Barkhad Abdi — “Captain Phillips”
Bradley Cooper — “American Hustle”
Michael Fassbender — “12 Years a Slave”
Jared Leto — “Dallas Buyers Club”
Jonah Hill — “The Wolf of Wall Street”

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Lawrence — “American Hustle”
Lupita Nyong’o — “12 Years a Slave”
Julia Roberts — “August: Osage County”
June Squibb — “Nebraska”
Sally Hawkins — “Blue Jasmine”

And we musn’t forget Best Director

Alfonso Cuaron — “Gravity”
Steve McQueen — “12 Years a Slave”
Alexander Payne — “Nebraska”
Martin Scorsese — “The Wolf of Wall Street”
David O. Russell — “American Hustle”

Who are your choices?  I’m sure Ellen will do a great job hosting, I just don’t have the attention span to sit through it all, but I love reading the highlights and you know I’ll be checking out the fashion!

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What is Brickworld Indy 2014?

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There is always something interesting going on in Indy and with the popularity of the Lego movie, I shouldn’t be surprised to learn about this annual event…Welcome to Brickworld Indy 2014!

Brickworld Indy 2014 will be held March 8 & 9 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in the Agriculture Horticulture Building and will be open to the public on Saturday 10 am – 6 pm and Sunday 10 am – 5 pm. Ticket Prices:

General Admission: $8.50 on line in advance
$9 after March 5th and at the door
Military Personnel/First Responder:  $6 (At the Door Only.  Must Show ID)
Kids 3 & Under:  Free
All tickets are single day passes.
Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.

From their Website:

Brickworld and IndyLUG (Indiana LEGO User Group) are excited to be bringing a premiere LEGO display and exposition to Indianapolis for the fifth consecutive year!

Bring the entire family for a day of fun!  See 45,000 square feet of spectacular creations all built from LEGO bricks by local LEGO enthusiasts. Enjoy interactive activities, such as the LEGO and DUPLO play brick areas, seek and finds, and fighting robots.  Buy your favorite LEGO sets, minifigures, and LEGO accessories from various vendors.

How does something like this even get started?  This is the History from their website…this is interesting stuff!

Brickworld began with a single convention/expo event in the Chicago area in 2007.  Our original home was the Westin Hotel in Wheeling, IL.  Brickworld expanded to hold a second expo in partnership with the Indiana LEGO User Group (IndyLUG) in 2010.  A third event (Brickworld Fort Wayne) was started in 2011.

Brickworld was founded under the prinicples of getting together with existing friends and making new friends.  Our motto (Share – Learn – Explore – Discover) reflects our intent to be not only a fun event, but also an educational event where LEGO artists and engineers learn from each other.

A major element of the convention is the spirit of giving.  Registered attendees come to share their knowledge with others through seminars, workshops, and impromptu discussions.  But the spirit of giving does not stop there.  Each year we hold an auction to raise money for charities.  Items in the auction are also donated by sponsors and attendees.  Over the years, the charity auction has become more and more prominent at the event and adds a lot to the fun.

As the event has grown, so has the team running the event.  In 2007, a team of 14 people led the way through the convention.  That team is now 37 people and all their efforts help bring the event to the attendees and public each year.

This event sounds like a great family thing to do…buy your tickets early and head out March 8 and 9 to check out this great family event.

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Vicki Reed

The Greatest Movie Romances…Happy Valentines Day!

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MSN has published it’s Top 50 Greatest Movie Romances, from Notting Hill (#50) to An Affair to Remember (#1) what is your favorite movie romance?  There are some obscure…have you ever heard of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg or That Obscure Object of Desire…me either!  Many of my favorites were on the list, who doesn’t love Say Anything?  So…counting them down from #50…

50.  Notting Hill…”I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”  love this line!
49.  Sleepless in Seattle
48.  Ghost…”ditto”
47.  Four Weddings and a Funeral
46.  That Obscure Object of Desire
45.  Two for the Road
44.  Barefoot in the Park (one of my favs!)
43.  That Hamilton Woman
42.  Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (actually 2 movies made 10 years apart!)
41.  Harold and Maude (May-December was never like this!)
40. Now, Voyager ( this is the movie that introduced the gesture of lighting two cigarettes in one mouth and giving the other one to the person you were being intimate with)
39.  The Bridges of Madison County
38.   Jane Eyre
37.  Pretty Woman
36.  Rebecca
35.  Brokeback Mountain
34.  The Apartment
33.  Sense and Sensibility
32.  Jerry Maguire…”you had me at hello”
31.  The African Queen (Love Humphrey Bogart)
30.  City Lights
29.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
28.  Reds
27.  The Crying Game
26.  Vertigo
25.  The Philadelphia Story (I loved the remake…High Society with Grace Kelly!)
24.  An Officer and a Gentleman (who didn’t dream of being swept away by a guy in uniform!)
23.  Love Story
22.  The Way We Were
21.  Say Anything (do kids today even understand the boombox?)
20.  Notorious
19.  Moonstruck (another fav!)
18.  In the Mood for Love
17.  A Man and a Woman
16.  Jules and Jim
15.  The Awful Truth
14.  Wings of Desire
13.  Splendor in the Grass
12.  Make Way for Tomorrow
11.  Titanic (guess what folks…the boat sinks and Leo looks like he’s 12…I just don’t get this one!)

and now for your top 10!!!!

At Number 10…Gone with the Wind…it’s the story of a girl, standing in front of a boy with big ears and a pencil mustache, asking him to love her, and him telling her he frankly doesn’t give a damn.

Number 9…Wuthering Heights…Those crazy kids Heathcliff and Cathy and the moors and the brooding.

Number 8…Annie Hall…a film of love among neurotic New York intellectuals

Number 7…When Harry Met Sally…just love Sally’s oft-parodied fake orgasm in Katz’s

Number 6…Casablanca…”Here’s lookin at you kid”

Number 5…Roman Holiday…A weird reverse Cinderella story, but Audrey Hepburn is great!

Number 4…Doctor Zhivago…the love story is a beating heart

Number 3…Breakfast at Tiffany’s… the ultimate in Manhattan romance

Number 2…The Umbrellas of Cherbourg…it’s French…need I say more?

And finally…Number 1 of the greatest movie romances…An Affair to Remember!  Directly from the MSN captions:  “Yes, this IS the movie that Meg Ryan and Rosie O’Donnell go on about in “Sleepless in Seattle,” and indeed the movie that “Sleepless in Seattle” adapts its climax from! This film’s place at No. 1 ties Leo McCarey with Alfred Hitchcock as the most cited director on the list, with three titles each. This 1957 film is itself a remake of McCarey’s 1939 “Love Affair,” and while some believe the original’s still the greatest, it’s an arguable point. This particular viewer is highly taken with the remake’s lead actors, Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and its sumptuous color and widescreen look. And, yes, the Vic Damone-crooned theme song, so there. For all intents and purposes, the perfect Hollywood heartbreaker and, for all its gloss, another proof of McCarey fan Jean Renoir’s observations that Leo understood people better than any other filmmaker of his generation.”

Did your favorite make the list?  Who did they miss?  Happy Valentines Day everyone!

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Vicki Reed

K at C

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No, not K of C (Knights of Columbus) or KFC (KY Fried Chicken)  – this is Kids at Casino.

Took a trip to the ‘boat’ in Southern Indiana this week to celebrate a friend’s birthday. He enjoys it and a group of us have been doing it for several years.  This year it sounded even better since they have an indoor pool & hot tub. Warmth!  Steam! Wear flip-flops and not snow boots!

We got to the pool area around 8:35 p.m.  We were going to hang out and play some cards and soak up the warmth. I put my things at our spot and walked over to the hot tub. There were people sitting in the hot tub holding babies. And they were little babies – maybe a month old.  Head shake #1.

There were a couple of kids, 10-12 years old in the pool splashing around, throwing a ball. They were playing and not making much noise.  Mini-head shake #2.

Around 9:00 two guys came in with 5 little kids, ages 3-8.  The kids all jumped in the pool, screaming and splashing each other. Note: neither of the guys had on swim suits so don’t know what they’d have done if they had to grab one of the kids out of the pool.  Head shake #3.

Well, the screaming was echoing off the walls so we packed it in and headed back to our rooms. After changing into dry clothes, we headed back over to the boat. An employee was on the elevator and said, “Did you hear they had to close the pool? Some kid pooped in it!” Big head shake #4

WHY would you take kids to a casino?  What do you do with them while you’re gambling?

I used to shake my head at all the “old” people on the boat – walkers, wheel chairs, oxygen tanks – wondering if they had so much pension they could afford to gamble. Maybe.

I forgot they still allow smoking (I spent my time on the non-smoking deck which was OK) and wondered if they’d ever had someone ignite an oxygen take when they lit up! Maybe.

I can understand a taking a day out on the boat to meet friends, enjoy a concert, share a meal. But, if you can call the employees by name, maybe it’s time to get some help!

I guess I’m too frugal – I spend my allotted $40 and take a book to read!  Watching the scenery that shows up is a good time waster too!

WHAT?!? It’s February already?

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It’s true: the older you get the faster time goes by.  Wasn’t it just yesterday I put up the Christmas tree? Oh, no – I just took it DOWN yesterday; JK – that’s my New Year’s Day task. 

We’ve had two holidays in January.  I think it’s the only month with two that business and schools are actually closed for.  Someday the powers that be will realize they need to make the day after the Super Bowl a national holiday also. There are “special days” created that you could celebrate for each day of the month:

Check it out: http://www.holidayinsights.com/moreholidays/january.htm

I’m so sorry I missed Houseplant Appreciation Day on the 10th. or National Penguin Awareness Day on the 20th.  I’m really sad I missed National Pie Day on the 23rd.   Where were all those FB posts and event notices to inform me?

Then there’s the whole MONTH of ‘something’.  For January, it was

  • National Bath Safety Month
  • National Blood Donor Month
  • National Braille Literacy Month
  • National Hobby Month
  • Hot Tea Month
  • National Oatmeal Month
  • National Soup Month

Look at February on the link and you’ll surely find something to celebrate besides Groundhog Day and Valentine’s Day.

LIKE: the New 4-Letter Word

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Yes, it’s a verb AND a preposition but does it have to also be used as an adjective and adverb and a filler?  I thought ‘uuummmm’ and ‘you know’ were irritating but “like” has moved to the top of the list.

On a recent elevator ride in my building I heard it 10 times from the 2nd. floor to the 12th. floor in two young ladies’ conversation. Yes, I was counting.

Even news reporters use it and anyone they interview throws it out several times.  Politicians and political pundits are hard enough to listen to let alone when they start inserting “like” as often as they change their stance.

I find myself slowing down when speaking to someone trying to make sure I don’t put a “like” in front of every other word.  It’s causing folks to think I have an early on-set of dementia; believe me, there’s lots of other signs that may be happening!

At a family wedding in the fall, I was prepared for the vows to be spoken as: “for like, richer and poorer, and like healthy and like forever” since the proposal posted on FB included “will you, like, marry me ‘cause we like, love each other so much.”

It’s become a habit and we know how hard those are to break. But give it a try and “like” things a little less – especially when you’re talking to me.

New Year, New Snowfall, Same Old Idiots!

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I’m talking about the drivers not turning on their headlights at 5:30 p.m. –there’s not enough daylight then to see your dark colored car/van/suv/truck.  And the ones who don’t know what that lever on the left-hand side of the steering column is for.  I can’t read your mind, I just have to slam on the brakes when you decide to change lanes or turn at the next street. Given the terrible condition of the roads, that’s not easy.

Then there are the usual suspects that come out when the snow falls:

The ‘Look at ME – I have 4-wheel drive’ idiot that goes flying by.

The ‘Oh gosh, there’s snow on the ground’ idiot that goes 10 miles an hour on a clear road.

The ‘Let me keep turning the wheel AND braking’ idiot trying to figure out which end of the vehicle will actually be headed in the right direction.

The ‘I can’t see any lines marking lanes so I’ll just drive wherever I want” idiot that makes a left turn from the far right lane.

I know we add new drivers every winter so remember to pass on some of your knowledge to those around you:

–           Carry a blanket, scraper, shovel, kitty litter and working flashlight in your vehicle

–           Start slowing before you try to stop, don’t slam on your brakes

–           Take your foot off the gas & brake when fish-tailing

–           If you’re stuck in snow, rock the car back & forth to get some traction

–           If no one’s coming at a 4-way stop, coast on through

–           Don’t pour hot water on a frozen lock or windshield, heat up the key then insert into lock and use rubbing alcohol to loosen ice

–           Show some leniency toward your fellow man/woman

Yes, it’s winter in Indiana and that means snow and slush and icy conditions. I’m sure you have an ‘app’ that tells you the weather or a co-worker that keeps IM’ing you with updates.  It won’t be any better till after the IHSAA Basketball Champion games so get over it!

Wow…it’s the end of 2013!

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So what did you accomplish in 2013?  I had my best year to date in Real Estate and am moving into 2014 with 4 active listings, 2 pending sales and 2 active buyers!  My volume as a single agent was $2.5 million in homes sold!  I want to double that in 2014…anyone want to take a bet on it?

The biggest deal for me personally is one of the pending transactions (and one I’ve mentioned several times) and that is the sale of my Grandparents farm.  The last few weeks have been challenging as we remove my family‘s stamp on the farm and ready it for the new owners…the main reason I’m so excited about this is that it removes a worry from my Dad and Uncle Bob and takes a responsibility off their already full plates.

This year has been challenging in other ways, I found out that I’m going to be a Great-Aunt…yeah, I already know that I’m a great aunt, but my beautiful niece Jordan Pyles is expecting March 25…we have a family pool going for date, weight and length…hope I win!  Jordan also completed her high school education in December and will go through graduation ceremonies with the rest of the class in June.

I’m working on selling my home, haven’t quite accomplished it yet, but I know I don’t want to carry the burden of that too big house for another year.  I’ve paid off debt and am working through the Dave Ramsey Total Money Makeover…by the end of 2014, I will be debt free and living a cash based lifestyle – so excited about the next chapter in my life.

What’s amazing to me is that I will turn 50 in August of 2014…I remember when 50 seemed so old, now it feels very young!

2014 is going to be an amazing year for all of us and for the first time in a very long time, I’m babysitting on NYE – well, they aren’t babies, they are 11, hanging out with Riley Ray tonight and one of her friends while my sister and brother-in-law go out for a few hours!

So for 2014, the family will have a new baby, 2 high school graduates (Allyson is graduating too!), my 50th birthday and my Dad’s 75!  Sounds like a good year already and it doesn’t start until tomorrow. Happy New Year everyone, I hope your 2013 was great and your 2014 will be even better!

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Vicki Reed

Ah…memories…

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Many of you know, I’m in the fortunate position to be the Realtor who sold my Grandparents farm recently and as any full service daughter would do, I’ve been working alongside my parents and uncle to clear out the house, garage and barns for the new owners, looks like we might be ready to close in early January!

I know I’ve written before about the tears and memories, and the weekend before Christmas was especially exhausting because we were just getting started, but today was the first time I didn’t feel like crying most of the day.  It’s been a lot of work and we have so much more to go…but I thought I would share of few of my favorite memories with the next few posts…since it’s Christmas, let’s start with a few Christmas memories…

Growing up, our Christmas followed a very strict routine…Christmas Eve at Aunt Ruth and Uncle Loren’s…with the entire McKay side of the family.  For most of my youth, that meant a big brick house painted red on Main Street in Vevay and later a much smaller home overlooking the river – boy did that house ever seem small with so many of us crammed into it!

Dad worked 2nd Shift most Christmases, so Mom and my sisters, brother and I would go for dinner and gifts then come home and watch the Sound of Music on Channel 3…for you youngins out there, that was before we were able to get satellite out in the country and we only got 2 channels!  Then off to bed with us!  A lot of the time, we would all sleep in the upstairs bedroom that belonged to Paula and I…then it was Christmas morning!  So much fun!  Mom always worked really hard to get us each exactly what we wanted, heck she still does!

After a quick breakfast, it was off to Mamma and Pappa Reed’s for Christmas lunch, gifts and and our annual picture of Dad stretched out on the couch asleep…we added a Christmas bow for an accessory and took a picture…we have one for every year up through 1988…He was always exhausted because he never got enough rest at Christmas.  It was always a great time, my favorite year was when the “old” pond was frozen over and Pappa dug out his ice skates and we all went ice skating – he was really good!  So much fun, then back to the house for hot chocolate and pie!

Then after a great afternoon there, we went back home and Mom’s parents – Granny and Pappa Howie would come up to see what we had all gotten…I have a picture somewhere of Granny sitting on our bean bag chairs we had gotten one year – a better pic would have been her trying to get up!

Bear with me, more memories to come…let’s talk about Easter next time!

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Vicki Reed

Recap of 12 Wishes of Christmas from last season….

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It seems like yesterday that I was writing the 12 Wishes of Christmas series, hard to believe it’s been a year!  I thought it was time to run through them again and see where we are in 2013…

Wish # 1 – I wish for my family and friends to find happiness and success in their everyday lives….let’s see…we’ve had a few job changes and promotions, a pregnancy (slightly unexpected), a wedding (no it’s not the same one), a couple of deaths and a more successful year in real estate for me.  All in all, things improving or at least moving in the right direction…

Wish # 2 – My second wish is that everyone feel loved and valued…I found that over the last year, I have made an impact on a number of lives of friends and even the new agents in our Keller Williams office…I simply do what I do and several have graciously shared with me that I have had an impact on their lives…makes me cry tears of joy, but I’m weepy at this time of year anyway!

Wish #3 – Everyone remember to be human, not just during the holiday season, but all year long.  I have tried to pay more attention to those around me this year, held doors for others whose load was greater than mine, taken the time to speak when in the past I might have been caught up in my mind (or my phone!) and not paid attention.  I intend to continue this trend, it gives me a warm feeling inside and I’m sure it translates to my outside!

Wish #4 – we, as a society, remember the victims of senseless acts of violence and make changes in how we treat ourselves, our loved ones, and one another.  This was written immediately following the Newton school shooting.  I struggle with our media as it creates a “psuedo-celebrity” of those who commit the crime and doesn’t focus enough on the victims.  They are looking for their “15 minutes”, let’s not give it to them!

Wish # 5 – is that society curb their consumerism.  I don’t know about you, but I truly need…nothing.  I have clothes, furniture, shoes (way more than I need, but love them all!), bags, accessories, well, just everything!  in 2013, I bought 2 long-sleeve white t-shirts (on sale total was $21) and a pair of black sandals on sale for $20 – mine broke in the middle of my day and Payless was closer!  That’s it…what did you buy?

Wish # 6 – goes along with Wish # 5 is that we as individuals work to reduce our debt on a path to eliminating it.  I have!  I can say that I no longer carry any credit card debt!  I do still owe my Dad for a few things, but he will be taken care of by the end of 2014…on thing at a time.  I’ve also working on The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey – the man makes sense, wish someone had introduced me to this years ago!

Wish # 7 – that we turn off  the television more often and lessen the constant bombardment of advertising, noise and a 24/7 news cycle.  I’m the first to admit, I am a TV junkie…but only for the noise! I am one of those people who have the TV on all the time, I am likely not really watching it, but it is on while I’m reading, working at home, or cooking, eating…I’m still working on this one!

Wish # 8 – that I would win the lottery…I’ve won about $12 this year, haven’t been able to make a big change with this, but I’m still wishing!

Wish # 9 – that we open ourselves to receiving help from others when we need it and not being shy about asking for help from our family and friends.  This can be humbling, but sometime necessary…be grateful that you have people in your life who are so willing to share what they have and be ready to share with them in the future.

Wish # 10 – that we curb our excess eating and drinking and work toward a healthier lifestyle.  I have failed miserably on this one…my 2013 has been very stressful, the hope is that 2014 will be easier and I can get myself together!

Wish # 11 – that we allow ourselves more spontaneity in our lives and be more lighthearted, it is important to see the joy in your life.  I have continued to enjoy this aspect of my life as a Realtor – if I have a “break” in my schedule…I love the ability to pop in and have lunch with a friend or stop by a clients home…try to find it for yourself next year!

Wish # 12 – I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and my wish is that all your wishes for positive change come true.  Ditto for 2014!

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Vicki Reed