Ten on Tuesday

10 Great Ewan McGregor Movies

*First, a disclaimer:  I haven't seen every Ewan McGregor film, which is why the title isn't 10 Best Ewan McGregor movies.  This list is based on the movies that I have seen! 

I love actors who can do all genres of movie:  comedy, thriller, drama, action, musical, and make it look simple.  In my opinion, Ewan McGregor is one of those actors.


A Life Less Ordinary - 1997
I just recently saw this movie.  I didn't know if I was going to like it, seeing how it was such an odd movie concept.  Angels come down to help Robert (McGregor) and Celine (Diaz) fall in love.  Robert is a down on his luck guy who kidnaps Celine, and she finds that she enjoys the ride.  However, I laughed throughout this entire movie!  The telephone booth scene along with watching him sing made this movie worth it.





Moulin Rouge - 2001
Holy cow, this movie is AMAZING!  Not only is the music so creatively put together, but who knew that Ewan could sing, and sing well!?!  Visually stunning, with a wonderful story of how love can conquer all, this musical easily tops my list.  Ewan simply melts my heart throughout this entire movie.  His incredible voice, the way he looks at Satine, all of it.  This is the movie where I fell in love with Ewan.  Elephant Love Medley, Come What May, and Roxanne are three of the musical highlights for me.





Down With Love - 2003
I could watch this movie every week!  I love Ewan in these types of roles.  Playing "the ladies man", Catcher Block, he charms his way through this entire comedy...and I love every minute of it!  A great throw back to the 60s movies with Rock Hudson and Doris Day, Ewan and Rene Zellweger have amazing chemistry.  It looks like Hollywood has caught on that this man can sing....I believe this is his 4th or 5th time singing in a movie!  Below the trailer is the song Here's To Love, found on the DVD.









Big Fish - 2003
This was such a sweet movie.  Directed by Tim Burton, it was very unique, often odd, but a great story.  Ewan plays the younger version of Edward Bloom, a man who tells his life story to his son.  However, his son believes he is lying, as his stories sound like "tall tales".  I cried my eyes out at the end of this movie, and even Nick liked it....and that's saying A LOT since it's hard to find movies that he enjoys!





Revenge of The Sith - 2005
Of the all the Star Wars prequel movies, this was my favorite.  I loved how Ewan McGregor set out to mirror Alec Guiness (the original Obi-Wan Kenobi) as much as possible since it was his last time to "get it right".  Click here to watch that wonderful clip.  The fight between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader/Anakin was great.  Where they technically should've fried many times while fighting directly over lava, you could feel the emotion Obi-Wan was feeling.





The Island - 2005
*There will be spoilers here, sorry!

I love a good action movie, and this was just that.  I didn't have to think too much, I could just sit back and watch.  At one point the movie gets a little wrapped up in the action....the main characters should've died many times!  I love when Ewan plays roles without his accent.  And then half way through the movie we get to see TWO Ewan McGregor's...my heart skipped a beat!  I had this movie figured out pretty early, but it was a blast to watch.





Miss Potter - 2006
Teaming up again, but this time for a wonderful children's movie, Renee Zellweger and Ewan star in this movie about the writer of the Peter Rabbit books.  She plays Beatrix Potter, and he plays her publisher/beau, Norman.  I LOVED this movie.  Renee and Ewan have brought back their fantastic chemistry, and I just found myself completely caught up in this wonderful story.  To my delight, Ewan sings again, and to sound totally cheesy:  I laughed, I cried, and I cried some more!  I wish Ewan would do more movies like this!





The Men Who Stare At Goats - 2009
This was a very odd movie.  Supposedly based on a true story, McGregor is a journalist off to cover stories about the war in Afghanistan.  It was funny at times, but there were WAY too many Star Wars references, and that's saying a lot coming from me!  (The army called certain soldiers "Jedi Warriors")  Maybe if the man who had just finished playing Obi-Wan Kenobi wasn't in the movie it wouldn't have bothered me so much!  George Clooney was hilarious, and I give them props for using Boston's More Than a Feeling!







Angels & Demons - 2009
*There may be a spoiler here....sorry!

I didn't see The DaVinci Code, so I was unfamiliar with this story.  Yes, I was only interested in it because of Ewan McGregor!  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  I found myself enjoying this movie.  From the very beginning, something seemed shady about Ewan's character, Camerlengo Patrick McKenna.  I won't tell you if I was right or not, but he delivered another great performance.





The Ghost Writer - 2010
This movie drew my attention because not only did it have Ewan McGregor in it, but Pierce Brosnan as well.  I loved this movie, it was a great thriller.  It was obvious from the beginning what the fate of the first writer was, but the ending still was a surprise to me.  (I don't always catch on quickly!!)

Ten On Tuesday

Ten...well 15 Things I've Learned Since I Began My Weight Loss Challenge

Since beginning my weight loss challenge seven weeks ago, my mind has been opened to many new things.  Here they are, in no particular order.

1. Vegetables are my friend, not my enemy!

Growing up, I didn't eat vegetables at all.  My grandmother forced my mother to eat them, making her hate them; so we weren't forced to eat them.  Unfortunately that meant we didn't eat ANY.  I've discovered the best side dishes in the world involve asparagus, red and green bell peppers, and red potatos.  I also LOVE tomatos, but aren't they considered a fruit?  Hardly any calories, but full of taste, they help fill your stomach up and provide you with the nutrition you need.

2.  You have to splurge occasionally or you will go insane..and there is such a thing as "healthy" junk food!

We all know how much I love Dove chocolate.  I still eat it, but only occasionally.  Instead of buying bags of it like I used to, I now buy the candy bar, break it into two or three helpings, and put them into individual bags.  Then I can have two or three days worth of glorious chocolate without eating 1,000s of calories in one sitting. 

100 calorie bags of Pop Secret popcorn are FANTASTIC.  I've been eating them for years now.  They are light and don't have all the garbage on them that other bagged popcorn has.  One time I couldn't find Pop Secret in the store, so I bought the "normal" Orville Redenbacher kind.  I wanted to throw up!  It was so full of grease and butter, it was disgusting.

I've also found healthier ways to eat ice cream.  Weight Watchers sells 100 calorie English Toffee Crunch bars and they are SO GOOD!  Healthy Choice also offers a delicious, low calorie chocolate bar.

3.  While eating out, it is possible to eat healthy and not leave the restaurant starving

On our anniversary we decided to go out to eat.  I did a lot of research before we decided to go to Applebees.  They have a Weight Watchers menu that offers dishes that are a total of only 550 calories...that is amazing.  I was able to eat steak, covered in a fantastic sauce, and steamed vegetables.  This is when I was introduced to red potatoes and became hooked on them.

Before I go out to eat, I always check the nutrition content on websites.  I love that feature and I'm thrilled to see so many restaurants have it.  I went to McDonalds the other day, and my dinner was about 800 calories.  That's a bit much, but I hadn't eaten a lot that day, so I had the calories to spare.

Another way to cut calories when you're in a restaurant....DON'T DRINK SODA!  Just keep drinking water.  Not only will it help fill up your stomach, but it can help you not order an appetizer, which is always difficult for me.

4.  It's amazing all the foods you discover you love when healthy eating is your goal

I've never been a real fan of fish....unless it was a fish stick!  My mom eats salmon all the time, but I always thought it smelled horrible; and I do mean horrible.  Then I began loosing weight.  Salmon is very healthy, and doesn't have many calories in it at all.  I found a seasoning that tastes great, and now salmon has become a staple to my new eating habits.

5.  Exercise seems like a horrible chore at first, but once you make it a routine, you feel empty if you haven't done it

When I started out, I wanted to DIE.  My body ached, I couldn't breathe, I felt like a moron!  But over the past seven weeks something interesting has happened.  Not only has it become easier to exercise (which is expected), but if I don't exercise, I'm finding that I WANT to!  I mentioned in another post that last week after spending the day at my sister's house I came home and found myself bored.  I hadn't exercised that day, so at 7pm I laced up my shoes and put my hour in.  Not only did I feel great, but I felt like I accomplished something good.  And the next day the scale went down.

6.  Water is the greatest gift in the world...and your bladder will adjust!

Water is a great way to be refreshed, and fill up your stomach.  I have two liter bottles that I fill up throughout the day.  When I wake up in the morning, I begin drinking water.  Instead of milk with breakfast, it's water.  I'm usually able to drink a liter of water before I exercise around 9 or 10am.  I drink another liter during and after my exercise so that by the time I'm done, I've already fufilled my water intake for the day.  I'm sure that will change once school starts, but for now, it's great.  I also keep a water bottle with me after dinner.  Instead of munching on junk food, I continue filling up on water. 

It was difficult at first, and my bladder wanted to explode, but my body has adjusted.  I've always enjoyed water, so I've never felt like I was drowning myself.

(Oh, I wish this was my weight!)

7.  Once the scale starts to move down, eating junk food just doesn't seem worth it anymore

I've found that as I started loosing weight, when I would go to eat REAL junk food, I'd suddenly remember how hard I worked to loose that weight.  The junk food didn't look as tempting anymore.  Again, this doesn't happen all the time.  But when I do splurge on "real" junk food, I get smaller portions instead.  A mini blizzard from Dairy Queen, the smallest cup of ice cream from Cold Stone.  Let's face it:  a girl has to have to good stuff once in a while!

8.  Exercising with weights (aka Circuit Training) is the greatest discovery since sliced bread!

I began using The Firm during week six of my challenge.  From 7/11/2011 until today (7/18/2011), I've lost 3 pounds.  That's 3 pounds in one week...it's also the most weight I've lost in one week since my very first week.  You burn more calories when you use weights, and you begin to sculpt your body.  Needless to say, I'll never use another program again!

9.  Fat free/Low Calorie doesn't mean it has no taste

I was afraid to try fat free sour cream, fat free cream cheese, and skim milk.  I always joked that skim milk was just water.  But when I tried them, I discovered that they didn't taste any different than the regular versions that are packed with calories and fat!  And since I wasn't eating big portions of these products like I did before my challenge, my taste buds easily accepted the new version.

10. Calorie counting is extremely important

Not everyone may feel this way, and that's fine.  I've found that if I don't keep track of my calorie/fat intake for each day, it's too easy to go over the alotted amount, halting my weight loss.  I've also discovered that by paying attention to the calories and serving size of the foods I eat, I make better decisions about what goes into my mouth.

11. Chew your food until it's almost mush in your mouth

Believe it or not, but doing this will help you eat slower, which in turn makes you feel full faster.  As a whole, people inhale their food and eat too much of it.  We're advised not to eat while watching TV because we'll keep eating; sit at the table as a family when you eat because it encourages conversation that will help you eat slower.  Your stomach and brain need about 20 minutes to talk with each other before you finally start to feel full.  Help the process by really chewing up your food.  You'll find that you aren't eating as much.

12. Whether you weigh yourself daily or weekly, do it at the same time

This will differ for every person.  I weigh myself first thing in the morning, before I've had anything to eat or drink.  Out of curiousity I've tried weighing myself in the afternoon...it wasn't pretty.  From first thing in the morning til the afternoon I'd put on about two, maybe three pounds!  I decided, for the sake of my sanity, that it was best to stick with the early morning weigh in!

13. When you step on the scale, assume that you've probably gained weight. 

I weight myself each and every day.  Some people might think this isn't healthy.  I've found that it helps motivate me.  If I've gained weight, I look back at what I ate the day before.  Doing this helps keep me honest and away from junk food.  The LAST thing I want is the scale to creep up.  But if it does, I'm the one to blame.  And by keeping the mentality that the scale will probably go up, I'm not as disappointed if it does, and I feel even better if I've lost weight!

14. Loosing weight is the "easy" part, maintaining is the struggle

How many times have we all been here; we loose a significant amount of weight, only to find that we can't fit into our clothing anymore?  (I've been there PLENTY of times!)  What we forget is that this isn't just a diet, it's a lifestyle change.  Once we hit our goal weight, if we stop exercising and eating correctly, the weight will all come back! 

15. There's no rush to weight loss. 

Set realistic goals and be prepared to revisit them throughout the journey.  The hardest part of all this is the fact that I want to be 60 pounds lighter RIGHT NOW!  All that mentality does is frustrate me because that simply isn't going to happen.  Taking it slow is better, and will help me maintain in the future.







I'm officially done preaching, but I hope this was helpful in some way!

Ten On Tuesday

Ten Favorite Things to Snack On

1.  Cheez It Snack Mix

2.  Cashews

3.  Almonds

4.  Popcorn

5.  Dove Chocolate (it will be the death of me!)

6.  Tomato and Basil Wheat Thins

7.  Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Sorry, I could only come up with seven!

Ten On Tuesday

10 Favorite Blogs/Websites

1.  Free Stylin'

My college roommate, Beth started this blog last year.  She is an AMAZING decorator, and comes up with the most facinating things.  And she does it all by spending very little money.

2.  Cake Wrecks

People who make mistakes baking cakes and other pasteries often provide a lot of laughs!  This blog is all about that.

3.  78 Reasons to Hate Star Wars Episode 1

I reference this website a lot, especially when it comes to my Star Wars Saturday postings.  I LOVE THIS WEBSITE! 

4.  Sneaky Momma Blog Design

When I first started blogging last September, this blog helped me figure out how to do all of this. If I hadn't found this blog, I probably wouldn't still be doing this...I would've died of frustration!

5.  A Little Pink In A World Of Camo
This was one of the first blogs I found, back when Nick was thinking about joining the Navy.  It's all about a woman whose husband was killed last year in Afghanistan.  He never met his baby girl.  I found the blog right after her husband was killed and it has been heartwrenching, and exciting to read about her life story.





    6.  SDesigns Photography
Another friend from college has become a fantastic photographer.  This blog is devoted to the wonderful work that he does.

7.  The Cutest Blog On The Block
This blog provides backgrounds, blinkies, buttons, all the things you need to make blogging fun.

8.  CBS
I know, it sounds really lame, but if this website didn't exist, I wouldn't be able to watch new episodes of NCIS, or Survivor!  I would be LOST without this website!

9.  StarWars.com
This website isn't here for me.  I thank StarWars.com for providing kid friendly video games for Brandon because not only can I send him away to play when I'm ready to kill him, but I don't have to buy a Wii and all the stuff that comes with it!

10.  Disney Junior
Another website with kid friendly, teaching games that Brandon can play and actually learn from, while not driving me crazy in the process!

Ten On Tuesday

10 Movie Sequels That Almost Killed Their Franchise


The Phantom Menace

We waited 14 years from the time Return of The Jedi was released in theatres to find out how Darth Vader came to be.  Crazy fans, myself included, went bananas when we heard that George Lucas was FINALLY going to tell us the story of the first three episodes of his phenomenal story.  Expectations were very high, and for good reason.  And then it was released.  Are you kidding me?  Yes, Jar Jar Binks is one of the worst characters ever created, but this movie just sucked from the moment it started til the moment it FINALLY ended!  People were so disappointed that it was simply a CGI movie, and there was really no story.  We all hoped that the next movie would redeem this horrible, depressing, complete waste of time.

Attack Of The Clones

The next movie did nothing to help us feel any better! 

Our expectations were MUCH lower after the horror that is now known as The Phantom Menace, but there was still a lot of hope that the franchise would be able to break free of the previous movie.  The ridiculous, creepy "love story", completely stupid Roman Gladiator battle scene, and Yoda fighting like an idiot proved to us that George Lucas had lost his ability to tell a great story...and that everyone who works for him is afraid to speak up and tell him that! 

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Gee, I see a George Lucas patttern here!

It hurts my heart to put this movie on this list, but it simply has to be here.  Again, fans of one of the greatest adventure heroes waited 18 years for another story.  We were teased, being constantly told that once Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and Harrison Ford could come up with a great story that everyone agreed on, Indiana Jones would be back.  20 years later and this is what they came up with?  A nuclear explosion that should've killed Indiana, (even if there happened to be a lead lined refridgerator handy), killer ants, and mythological crystal skulls that make people crazy?  COME ON!  I know many people thought the franchise was dead when Temple of Doom came out and was much darker than Raiders of the Lost Ark, but it recovered and The Last Crusade was, in my opinion, the greatest movie of all four.  Let's face it, Harrison Ford is no spring chicken, and where he continues to say he'd make another one, I think audiences will be EXTREMELY skeptical.  So, so sad.

Batman and Robin

Finally, we break the George Lucas streak! 

Were these actors so desperate for money that they thought this script would work?  One look at the "newly improved" genetically enhanced costumes should've been a big warning!  There is always a lot going on in the early Batman movies, (plots and subplots) but this one was simply all over the place.  Poorly acted, a ridiculous plot, this movie made it clear that the Batman franchise seriously needed a reboot if it was going to survive! 

Men in Black 2

When "K" (Tommy Lee Jones) had his memory wiped in the first movie, I figured a sequel would be pointless.  How, and why, would he come back?  But, the inevitable happened:  the movie was a success, so a sequel HAD to be made.  Why?  To make more money, of course!  But the sequel was AWFUL!  10 years later, we await the release of yet another Men in Black movie.  I am already skeptical, and unsure about whether or not I'm going to pay too much money to see this in the theatres.

Back to the Future 2

Is it just me, or was this movie too confusing to keep up with?  Between constantly going from past to future, and switching from one possible reality to another, it was just too much.  Luckily, the third installment, when they travel to the old west, redeemed this franchise for me, and again, I felt it was the best of all three.

The Lost World:  Jurassic Park

Why is it that when the first movie makes zillions of dollars a sequel must be made?  Has Hollywood learned nothing from past experience? 

Such was the case with the Jurassic Park franchise.  First movie:  one of the most incredible movies ever made.  Second movie:  was this made by the same director?  Does this now mean we have a Steven Spielberg pattern?  Jeff Goldblum coming back as Malcolm was great.  I always thought his character was hiliarious.  But the whole concept of his daughter being there, simply to provide reasons to have to rescue her, and her being a gymnast, to provide the opportunity for her to "show off" her uneven bar skills, was really stupid.  And are we really supposed to believe that there are people dumb enough who would actually bring dinosaurs back to San Diego?  Oh boy, I hope not.  The movie just didn't work.  Jurassic Park 3 was slightly better, simply because it was shorter in length, didn't have much dialogue, brought back Sam Neill as Dr. Grant, and was 90 minutes of being chased by dinosaurs.  Oh, and it wasn't directed by Steven Spielberg.

Shrek The Third

Why, why, why?  I love Shrek.  Talk about a fairy tale that had never been made, this is hilarious, and it has a lot of heart.  After its success, they tried a sequel which actually turned out to be just as fun as the first.  New characters, Fiona's father was actually a frog, turning the fairy godmother into the villian, it was great.  And then came the third installment of the franchise.  Shrek goes looking for the true heir to the throne since he doesn't want to be king, and finds Arthur.  This movie lacked the excitement and fun of the first two, and simply made me wish it had never been made....or that I had never seen it.

Wayne's World 2

Saturday Night Live struck gold with Dana Carvey and Mike Myers.  I was a teenager when they were on the show, and in my opinion, those were the best years of that show.  Wayne's World was a skit that they did periodically, and they were always very funny.  So the natural thing was to make a movie about them.  The first movie, Wayne's World, was hilarious.  They managed to find all the elements that made the sketches so funny, and bring them into the movie.  It was a hit.  So, why not make a second one?  Ooops, I guess they missed that memo.  The second one was not funny.  It felt like they were using jokes we'd already heard, and just didn't have the same magic to it.  Consequently, most movies made from Saturday Night Live sketch characters have also been awful.  Just shows that you can't always strike gold twice.

Revenge of the Sith

I tried SO HARD to keep this title from appearing here.  Where there are MANY problems with this movie too, I don't feel like throwing up when I'm done watching it like I do if I have to sit through The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones (unless I get into a mood where all I want to do is talk about the stupid things that are happening during the movie:  then I want to puke). 

General Grievous is a dumb character.  Why does a machine have whooping cough?  And why does it have a heart? (and I mean that literally for those of you who aren't familiar with him)  It could've been a great villian if not for the cough that constantly reminded you of the stupidity of the character.  Padme dies because she "looses the will to live"?  Seriously, that's your reason?  Anakin changes all his values, beliefs, his entire upbringing, within five minutes because he doesn't want Padme to die?

Anyway, the reason this was almost spared from the list was because of Ewan McGregor.  Best performance of the movie as Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Star Wars fans who had been waiting years for the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin finally got to see a pretty decent fight.  Even if they both should've caught on fire because of how close they were standing to the lava, that battle lived up to the standards that Star Wars fans expect.

Ten On Tuesday

10 Things You'd Buy (or do) If You Had 1 Million Dollars

OOOO, this question.  This is an evil, but very fun question!  Sorry, I'm not going to say that I'd give all the money to charity because, let's face it, right now I wish that money grew on trees!  What would I buy, well here we go!

1.  It may not be the most glorious thing, but I would pay off debt first.  Then the fun would really begin!

2.  Purchase / build a nice house.  Not a mansion, but the house of my dreams.  ( this isn't the house of my dreams...I haven't found it yet!)

3.  Put money away for Brandon's future

4.  Give money to both my sister and mother

5.  Buy a nice new car.  I've always wanted a blue F150

6.  Splurge on all the latest technology that I don't have:  Ipad, Ipod, new cell phone (with the internet!), all the good stuff!

7.  I would hire Jillian Michaels to come and whip me into shape and teach me how to stay that way!

8.  Receive a much needed makeover....and I wouldn't cry about it like the girls on America's Next Top Model!!  Let's face it, they ALWAYS look better after the makeover.  Why they continue to cry instead of trust the world famous people helping them is beyond me!!

9.  Go on an awesome vacation.  However, I don't know where I would go.  Hawaii, Paris, Australia; it depends on how much money I had.  Maybe go all three places!

10.  Finally, if there was any money left over, I would put it away in savings so that someday when I need it again, it will be there!

Oh well, a person can always dream!!