THE AMUSED LIFE BLOG

On the third week of my Best Picture A-Z Challenge whereby I watch an Academy Award Best Picture Winner that I have NOT yet seen for each letter of the alphabet plus a numerical entry. This week's challenge features films starting with the letter B and so here were my choices: And after all the votes were in my challenge was to watch: In 1889, adventurous lawyer and newspaper editor Yancey Cravat (Richard Dix) convinces his genteel wife, Sabra (Irene Dunne), to join him in the rush to populate Osage, Oklahoma. After they begin to settle into the community, Yancey leaves to go further west. Alone, Sabra inherits his editorial duti es and struggles to bring civilization to the rough frontier town. Over a tumultuous 40 years, the couple are repeatedly separated and reunited as Oklahoma makes its long journey to statehood. And let me tell you...this was a challenge...listen to our TWO CENTS here at:

It's a routine I've known for at least 30 years. I know it like I know the feel of each bump on my skin as I rub my arms. A familiar 8 count of part self-flagellation, part-curiosity it's a dance I do in the wee hours of the morning when my mind is still running around like a kid on pixie sticks at a birthday party rental at the dance studio. I point my toes and leap, deep diving into the familiar dance routine and steps...search google, look up "XYZ" and just tap dance through posts to see how life is treating them.  It's when you stumble trying to remember dance steps that you did when you were in your twenties that you realize you're getting too old. The bones hit the floor harder these days and when you come across a post dated 2015 where you are referenced as a "much-needed and much-desired divorce", you realize that the old wounds from your early years still throb a bit every now and then. Mind you, I wasn't completely floored by that ...

Thursdays are for Tunes, and I was inspired by a Rolling Stones story about terrifying music and songs. So the pre-halloween playlist is dedicated to creating a playlist that is UNSETTLING to say the very least. This seriously isn't something to play around kids or you're going to be up for a lot of nightmares. Enjoy! CREDITS: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/25-songs-that-are-truly-terrifying-110099/

Plasma. No, not a character from Star Wars. The plasma that exists inside our bodies...or more specifically our blood. For those unfamiliar, let me give you some more details. " What is Plasma  in Blood?  Plasma  is the liquid portion of blood. About 55%  of our  blood is  plasma , and the remaining 45% are red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets that are suspended  in the plasma .  Plasma  is about 92% water." 1 2 It's the part of our bodies that doesn't require a black market to sell, because there are options to sell it legally in plasma centers probably in every major and minor city in America. In fact you can make a decent amount of "not so quick cash" in your first few donations where afterwards the price does go down for what you exchange. Is it blood money? I mean in a roundabout way yes.  You go into a plasma center, you read about all the potential restrictions and the potential risks of donating. You learn why your pl...

FIRST TIME RECIPE ATTEMPTS FOR THIS WEEK: Cheesy Spinach Pesto Flatbread   *****out of 5 Stars! Ina Garten's Baked Shrimp Scampi    *****out of 5 Stars! I've decided to make this more of an open format blog adventure and not feel like I have to "fail" anything per se. So instead I'll focus on the week of culinary adventures in my household. First of all, the two recipes I picked out to try were knock out of the ballpark AMAZING (links are above to the recipes). Seriously, they both were just sensational and the shrimp scampi was even better on day 2. However a word of, ahem...warning. Look, I'm just going to be real. I've been cooking A LOT lately. I've also discovered how much I use garlic in the meals I cook. I LOVE GARLIC. However...if you eat a LOT of garlic (as I have been doing)...your ahem, smelly bits may begin to smell like...GARLIC. Seriously, I was starting to worry that the garlic smell was just imbedded in the air, then I realized it was l...