"These are a few of my (new) favorite things"

*Note: New to me. Some of them may be old news to you. If that's the case, way to be ahead of the curve. And if it's new and I'm the one to introduce something new and awesome to you, you're welcome.

1. Sporcle.com How no one came up with this before, I have no idea. As the tagline explains, "Mentally Stimulating Diversions". Think you know all fifty states? Chances are you'll probably forget at least one if you weren't taught the state song back in elementary school. Do you know all the presidents? I do not but I did back in the 11th grade. Along with their party and years in office. So that should count for something right? How many of Shakespeare's plays can you name? It's all on this website. One weekend my family broke into teams and competed to see who knew the most or could get all the answers in the fastest time. It was awesome. I highly recommend this website to anyone who loves a little bit of trivia. Or just if you want to be able to brag that you know all of the movies starring Ben Stiller/Julia Roberts/ Matt Damon.

2. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I really enjoyed this book. Being a fan of LOST and the fact that time travel has become a huge component of the show, I read that a lot of people who were fans of time travel on the show were also fans of this book. It helped in putting a lot of things in a new perspective with the whole "whatever happened, happened" aspect. I thought the first person perspectives from both the time traveler, Henry, as well as his wife, Clare, was brilliant and it really makes you feel for both of the characters because they have very different struggles when it comes to Henry's "condition". But at the heart of it all, this very much in love couple hates being apart and dreads the fact that the separation may be permanent one day if Henry fails to find his way back to the present. I really loved the character of Clare because she was strong even though the character could easily have been viewed as weak since she sat around waiting on a guy for most of her life. The book had some surprising twists (considering it pretty much lays it out there in the title that Clare does in fact become Henry's wife) and it was one of those "I'm exhausted but I have to know what happens next so I'll read one more chapter before I go to bed" books. The only downside for me was when Niffenegger talked about the paper making process in relation to Clare's profession. I didn't understand, it was hard to imagine, and I didn't see how it added that much to the story. Well the paper creations in general did, yes, but not the actual processes. Overall, a great book and I highly recommend. P.S. They are also coming out with a movie starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams later this year. Loooove her so I am excited to see it even if it does take on more of a sappy tone than it contains in the book.

3. Parachute's Losing Sleep (Bonus Track Version). I found out about this band because their song "Under Control" was one of the free singles of the week on iTunes (another of my favorite things!) a couple months ago. I loved the song (even if I did lose a little respect when I heard it in a Nivea commercial a few weeks ago but, hey, you gotta make money somehow these days) and sampled a few others on iTunes. Once I saw that the album, the bonus track album, was only $6.99, I was sold. They definitely have a Ben Folds/ The Fray/ Maroon 5 feel to them but I happen to enjoy those bands so that's a plus in my book. "She (For Liz)" and "She is Love" are the standouts thus far in my few listens, along with the one that started it all, "Under Control". Plus you are getting 12 songs for the price of seven. Holy sweet steal Batman.

4. Extras the t.v. show. It came from the minds who created The Office so of course it is bloody brilliant. Ricky Gervais is absolute perfection in his role. I also found it amazing he was able to create an even more socially unaware character than his alter ago, David Brent, but he succeeds with Maggie. She is my slight hang-up about the show. No one is that stupid. I understand a lot of the time it is a device to further the plot, but come on! And they gave her a slight chance at redeeming herself at the end of the first season but then any sign of that seemed to go away by the beginning of the second. But seriously, great show. Absolutely hysterical. The guest stars are amazing because you know they are having a blast playing the complete antithesis of themselves, or at least the antithesis of their public image. Chris Martin and Orlando Bloom are my favorites and not just because they are fun to look at but because they play the extreme of what they potentially could be in their profession but you highly doubt they actually are (or at least not to that extent). Chris Martin hypes up his rockstar image and the whole "caring about third world countries" deal is just an act to get more publicity. Orlando is obsessed with being better than Johnny Depp and making sure that women find him more attractive than his Pirates of the Caribbean counterpart. Brilliant. Hysterical. The guest stars must have had an absolute blast being a part of this show. It is British so it is a bit more "cutting edge" but, man, is it funny. Love it.

5. Twitter. I know, I know. I was one of those people who just didn't understand the appeal of Twitter. Why would anyone care what I was doing/thinking (You could say the same thing about this blog actually)? But seriously, people do! Well at least I do. You mean I can know what John Mayer thinks about Guitar Hero? I can see pictures that Lauren Conrad posts from her book tour that she takes herself? Kevin Spacey can squash rumors that Jeff Goldblum died in an accident so I can sleep in peace? YES to all of the above! I can also stay in touch with my siblings in Seattle or know what my friends are up to at their summer jobs. You know, the people I actually know. But I already admitted to a slight celebrity, um obsession, so this is heaven to me. It's constantly updating, you can do it from your phone-- it is just awesome. Not that I think anyone cares about me or what I have to say, but it is strange when I posts photos and see the view count in the double digits. Granted I am sure that is my family/friends but still there is a chance that somehow I come across Andy Roddick, Rainn Wilson, or Rachel McAdam's radar. Exciting!

You were a child/ Crawling on your knees towards it/ Making mama (not) so proud/ But your voice is too loud

So my adorable niece, SD had her birthday party last week. Simple concept: Party at the pool in my mom's neighborhood and then back to the house for cake and games. Oh how I wish things would have been that simple.

The guest list was small considering eight kids from SD's class were coming so including the birthday girl and her little sister MG, there would only be ten kids. Yeah but hop those kids up on cookie cake and it seems like there are a lot more running around and screaming their heads off. (The cookie cake was the true highlight of the party for me and the other adults. Sidenote: This is the second year in a row I have picked up the cake for my sister. Both years as I am waiting in line, I seriously have to fight the urge to buy a "Double Doozie". They look amazing. One day, one day. You know, when I have 13,000 calories to spare.) But seriously, is this what I was like in the first grade? Did I repeat the same joke as the funny kid twenty-five times along with everyone else (Example: My brother-in-law, BR, arrived at the pool after the kids had. SD and MG, excited to see their father, ran up to hug him saying "Hi Daddy!" and then the one class clown.. oh yes they have already fallen into these stereotypes in the 1st grade... ran up and did it too. This caused the seven other kids to start yelling, and I mean yelling "hi daddy" to each other for five minutes and hysterically laughing. Do I get why it's funny? No. Is it cause I'm not six years old? Probably)? Did I make gross noises along with the rest of the class? Did I smear icing on the other kids' faces in front of 10 adults? I just don't think I did. I was a well-behaved kid in the realm of school and parties and stuff like that. But who knows? Maybe mob mentality kicks in and you just start going crazy. But if I did act like this back in the day, I sincerely apologize to Mrs. Moore and all of my other elementary school teachers.

And it's not like I don't like little kids. I always have. I use to beg my sister to let me go with her on baby-sitting jobs when I was younger. I worked at a camp for three summers with kids ranging in age from 6 weeks to 10 years old. I have nieces. I like little kids. Well maybe I should rephrase that to "I like well-behaved little kids". My nieces are well-behaved. They don't cause scenes in public places. But these kids-- goodness. I understand it's summer, a birthday party, and they are 6/7 years old. But come on! The pool part wasn't too terrible. Minus the fear of a child drowning on your watch (I did find it funny that the rest of the adult family members supervising were extremely focused on which of the fifteen or so kids at the pool were in our group. Cause if you see a kid drowning but he isn't a part of the birthday party, you aren't going to jump in and save him? We shouldn't discriminate). They played some games like seeing who could jump the farthest and took turns pushing BR into the pool. Good times all around. Little did I know, this was the calm before the storm...

Then we walk the short distance back to my mom's house for lunch and cake and a game or two. My mom has a pretty well-stocked playroom upstairs for my nieces and the girls were told to go and change in there while the adults set up lunch (pizza and fruit salad) for the kids. So a couple of minutes later I noticed some of the little girls were missing from the table when lunch was being served. So I go upstairs and find the Mean Girls trio in-training playing with "The Littlest Pet Shop" and Disney Princess toys (Sidenote: I don't get the deal with Littlest Pet Shop. My nieces are obsessed. Maybe I would have been too at their age. But I don't get it. They are so freaking tiny! What's the point when you lose the things half the time?). I put on my excited aunt/camp counselor voice and told them that it was lunch time and they needed to come downstairs. So the girls started whining and complaining about how they wanted to stay and play. I then told them (nicely) it was time to eat and they could play afterwards. The girls tried to bring the toys downstairs and I told them to leave them upstairs because there was no point in making a big mess upstairs and downstairs. Then one little girl turned to me and gave me a look as she snidely explained, "That's the whole point of birthday parties. To make big messes". There may have even been a "duh" attached. But most certainly there was an exasperated sigh as she had to explain this to an obviously incompetent twenty-two year old. Well, excuse me for not knowing that was the whole point of birthday parties these days. I thought it was to see friends, eat cake, and play some games. But apparently, according to Little Miss Priss, times have changed since I was a kid. It took some (read: a lot of) effort to not quip "Well then I am sure you won't mind coming back upstairs with me later and helping me pick up all of the impossibly small toys you have strewn about the room in the five minutes you've been in here" and simply said they could come back and play after lunch. That didn't stop them from hiding a few choice princess dolls in the dress-up box to ensure that no one else would get a shot at playing with them. Oh and when it was decided by other adults that it would be best for the kids to play outside rather than upstairs (because the room would have been demolished in 38 seconds flat) Little Miss Priss was annoyed that I did not fulfill my promise of returning to the playroom. And she let me know it by trying to call me out like I could get in trouble or something. Kids today, sheesh.

So lunch and cake finally started. Honestly, I have no words. It was so loud and so chaotic, I had to walk away after a few minutes. The noises and the yelling: the completely typical behavior of 6/7 year olds I'm sure. I feel sorry for the teacher (saint?) that had to put up with this for an entire school year. That's another thing! These kids all go to a relatively small private Christian school in the atlanta area. Two of them were the Pastor's kids! And this is the behavior they exhibit? It was unbelievable. Oh and one boy had a punctured eardrum so he had to have wax in his ear in the pool. That's cool. What's not cool is the fact that he changed in our downstairs bathroom and then... oh I cringe as I write this... apparently pulled the wax thing out, rolled it up in a ball, and threw it on the floor near the mat in the living room where my three-month old niece was happily playing. I walked over thinking it was a ball, stooped to pick it up, realized what it was, and recoiled in fear as well as disgust. And while my siblings made fun of me for freaking out, none of them were willing to pick it up either. We had to call my mom in to handle it since she wouldn't be fazed and is a professional in all things gross after having five kids and seven granddaughters.

Then they played a version of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey where I did feel bad for the second kid that went because he got it close to the right spot and then all the other kids used his as a guide to get even closer the correct spot. But there were no prizes so no tears were shed. And then the best part of the whole ordeal-- the parents came! But man, some of those kids are sassy to their parents, so of course why would they be any better in the presence of absolute strangers? That's another thing: When I was little I can remember being in absolute awe of people older than me. I idolized the 6th grade safety patrols when I was a mere first grader. Anytime we had a special helper who seemed to be a high schooler or, gasp, a college student, I would try to be on my best impressive behavior around them. These kids couldn't have cared less. They also thought my 30 year-old sister was my mom so they might be bad at guessing ages. Not saying they should worship me or my siblings but maybe try to, you know, not act like a little hoodlum.

Now I know I shouldn't judge so much because I don't have kids of my own but I do have brothers and sisters that are raising well-behaved kids so I can use them for comparison. But attending a variety of parties for my nieces over the years, has made me realize that my child will be having one kid over for their birthday parties. I will also ask who is the quietest and shyest kid in their class and he/she will most certainly be the sole guest. And best case scenario (for me), the kid will be mute.

Disclaimer: The party was an overall success. The birthday girl had a wonderful time, the cake was delicious, the decorations were topnotch, and my sister MR sure does know how to throw an eventful and memorable party.

"Getting to know you, getting to know and to love you"

Remember those "25 Random Things About You" lists/notes that were popping up like crazy on your Facebook newsfeed a few months ago? Well I never did one then. But something similar seems to be appropriate for a first blog post. So I present to you: Fifteen Random Things About Me.

1. Like the header says, my name is Annie and I just graduated from the University of Georgia on May 9th which coincided with my 22nd birthday. Quarter-life crisis? Almost. However, was UGA one of the best experiences of my life (with some of the worst moments thrown in)? Absolutely.

2. I come from a big family (what can I say? We're Italian). I am the youngest of five and have three in-laws thus far. We are growing quite rapidly and that brings me to my next point....

3. I have seven nieces under the age of seven. SEVEN. They are beautiful, precious, amazing girls and I love each one of them an extraordinary amount. They are also hilarious so don't be surprised if stories about them pop up on here.

4. Since I was an english major at UGA, it shouldn't be a surprise that I love to read. One of my favorites is "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin. I think I have read it four times in approximately a two year time span. My mom recently moved to a new neighborhood and we heard that one of our neighbors had written a book that was being made into a movie for the Hallmark channel. My sisters and I freaked thinking that it could be Emily Giffin since she lives in the Atlanta area but we have since been disappointed. Somehow we found out that wasn't the woman's name.... unless Emily Giffin is her pen name. Here's to hoping!

5. I am a little bit of a celebrity gossip guru and I don't know why. But when my friends have questions about the cast members of "The Hills" or my mom wants to know the latest scandal with "Jon and Kate", I am the one they ask. And I usually can deliver a recent update from a supposed credible "inside source" (aka whoever emailed it to US Weekly or Perez).

6. I am obsessed with the show LOST. I got into the game late (during the hiatus between the 3rd and 4th seasons) but I have more than made up for it. Between watching all three seasons during my three-week Christmas break junior year and scouring the internet after episodes simply to be amazed at what people pick up on that I completely missed, I can say that I absolutely adore this show. If you're a fan of LOST, you're a friend of mine and I won't mind speculating and discussing with you like I already do with numerous friends and family members.

7. I like making lists (obviously) and ranking things. I annoyed my roommate more than once by asking her to rank her top moments of college throughout our four years together.

8. I only cheer for UGA when it comes to college sports. Sometimes I'll root for the underdog, the team that will help our BCS ranking, or if I am watching a game, bored, and have to pick a team to root for in order to stay interested. I've cheered for UGA since the 4th grade and that's not changing anytime soon. That being said, meeting David Pollack the weekend of the UGA/Auburn game in 2007 was one of the highlights of my life.

9. Do you ever find you look at a certain time on a clock a lot? For me it is 12:34 (am and pm). I especially noticed it this past semester. Maybe that was the point in my entomology class that I'd get a little fidgety and check the time but I swear it was ALWAYS 12:34. And I've noticed it on the weekends and at night too. Just strange.

10. I am addicted to Reese's peanut butter cups. I am certain there is nothing better on this earth. My mom said she ate them a lot when she was pregnant with me so I am blaming it on genetics.

11. I think I could be very good friends with Taylor Swift. And John Mayer. I think we have a lot in common. If the two ever collaborate on a song: a) it might be the best (and most depressing) song ever. b) I might explode from excitement. So maybe... this shouldn't happen in order to prevent that from occuring.

12. Editing has always been a problem for me because I sort of, well, love it. I would spend almost as much time editing a five page english paper in college as I would actually writing it. But a disclaimer: that might not apply to this blog. I'm not getting a grade on this, the HOPE scholarship isn't dependent on it, and I think a lot faster than I type. So while I am a bit of perfectionist and it will probably bother me if I discover an error after I've posted something (for example, I've already edited this post about three times), I just ask that you don't jump on me if there are grammatical errors or comma splices.

13. I already said I was an english major but I was definitely the atypical english major. William Shakespeare doesn't send me into a tizzy, I don't get Faulkner at all, and I haven't read every single Jane Austen novel (but Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorites. Oh Edward...). I love to read but definitely more contemporary stuff and english was always my strong suit in school. So a love of reading and the ability to write a decent five page paper resulted in my Bachelor of the Arts in English from UGA. Thanks Franklin College, preciate it.

14. I am a little obsessed with being organized. It's not so much that everything has to be clean (though it doesn't hurt) but everything has a place and it should stay there. Once I got my own room in the 3rd grade when my messy sister moved out, everything in my room found a place and stayed there. I always straighten up before I go to bed. But this rule mainly applies to my room and living space since I'm sure my family would argue they cleaned up quite a few of my messes back in the day (like maybe last week).

15. iTunes and Target greatly profit from me. I should really be a shareholder and get some of that money back.

Well, there you have it. That list should give you an idea of what to come on this blog. Some family stories, a list here and there, reasons why UGA and Athens are amazing, and probably some LOST and other pop culture speculations and observations.