He's Baaack...Oscar, That Is

Happy Birthday, Oscar! In case you fell asleep before the 4-hour show was over, Oscar turned 80 last night! The stars were out in show, the dresses were hot and couture and amazing and where, oh where, can I find someone to distract Sarah Larson while I steal George Clooney from her? We watched Michael Clayton Saturday night in anticipation, and my love for him is still strong, despite the age and miles between us. *Sigh* In celebration of the 80th anniversary, there were clips of "80 Years of Oscar" throughout the show...the only one that interested me was the rundown of each year's Best Picture winner...and I'm proud? to say I've seen 30 of the 80 films. Not too bad, considering that's one Best Picture for every year of my life. Jennifer Garner was smoking hot, which I'm so glad for since she normally is mommy-geared to the hilt. Jessica Alba went from a little bit pregnant to ready-to-pop last night and Heidi Klum might be the most gorgeous person to walk the earth. Aside from George, of course, who really is doing himself a grave disservice by dating a Vegas cocktail waitress. Really. Oh, and kudos to Jon Stewart, who wasn't overtly comical but, as every host should, faded into the background and tried to pass the hours with a few good jokes.

In other news, Mom and I went down to the big metropolis of Clinton on Saturday, inevitably got lost trying to find a fabric store, and wound up spending far too much money on things we didn't need. One happy note: I found all the birthday gifts I need for Nieces Birthday Season, which officially begins in March. There are six. Whew. Also, BB and I rented Rendition (along with Michael Clayton) and I have to say, those are two of the best films I've seen recently. Both are very serious and dramatic, but super-good and totally worth it. Sometimes it's surprising to see movie actors outside of their roles, but none so shocking to me as poor Tilda Swinton. Boy.

And finally, TRiO Day is over! By the numbers, we had 63 students, 2 alumnae speakers, 3 vice-presidents, 4 James Sprunt guests, 70 faculty and staff and just enough slices of cheesecake to cover the crowd. I gave myself a huge pat on the back for not allowing my 7th annual TRiO Day to collapse around me despite the 30 extra people that showed, and took Friday afternoon off to show myself some appreciation. If you don't toot your own horn, who will?

Tip for the day: Those sticky strips of rubbery stuff that are supposed to anchor rugs to the floor don't really work on furniture, particularly if you're trying to dissuade your feline friends from using your fine nice new chairs as scratching posts. If anyone has a better idea, I'm all ears.