Annie is almost like an action flick

So, have you been wondering where Amanda is? No, I didn't jet off to Bora Bora to date three guys because 1) I'm married 2) I'm not a fame seeking whore and 3) I work for a non-profit. That's definitely not where I've been. I know you're all missing my delightful recap, but the truth is I just didn't have it in me to watch it on my birthday because it sucks the energy right out of my body. I watched the Bachelorette online with my pal JP and I saved our conversation and will post it maybe this weekend. It's good times.

I'm here tonight to drop off some funnies from my dear Husband. The scene: I was sleepy when I got home from work after eating way too much at lunch at the Pizza Hut lunch buffet. After struggling through a pizza coma all afternoon, I needed a resty-poo. When I woke up we went to McDonalds for dinner because my baby? He loves him some Filet of Fish sandwiches. What the heck? What kind of baby did I make? At any rate, after naps I tend to suffer from a little foggy brain, probably exacerbated by all these hormones.

While we're there, the following conversation occurs regarding, hands down, my favorite movie of all time, 1982's Annie, staring Eileen Quinn and the incomparable Albert Finney as Daddy Warbucks.

Me: Davey [Sister's husband] watched Annie with Sis.
Hub: *snickers*
Me: What? He did!
Hub: Yeah...right.
Me: Why wont' you watch with me?
Hub: I don't think I'll like it.
Me: I watch stuff with you that I don't like! Besides, Davey liked it! He said he liked the car chases!
Hub: Car chases, I'm so sure.
Me: *getting angry* What if my only dream in life is for you to watch Annie with me????
Hub: Then I'd say you have a sad life, if that's your biggest dream.
Me: *sigh* [pause] But there *are* car chases.
Hub: *laughs at me*
Me: And thievery and kidnapping. And helicopters. It's veerrrry exciting!
Hub: *head in his hands*
Me: You know what it's like? It's like that movie Taken. *wiggles eyebrows expectantly*
Hub: I'm going to Tweet that you just said Annie is anything like Taken.

So he's not only funny, but he puts up with my nonsense. I think he deserves a medal.

Have you seen Annie? Isn't it the best? On a scale of  1 to 10, how close is it to being like Taken?

How I Met Your Mother -- Best show on TV right now

For the past couple seasons, I've been absolutely obsessed with the show How I Met Your Mother. A "love story in reverse", How I Met Your Mother is about Ted, an architect in NYC, and his quest to find the future mother of his children (the show is narrated by "Future Ted" as if he's telling this story to his children -- BTW, although you never see "Future Ted" is voiced by Bob Saget).

The show is an ensemble sitcom, featuring other characters like Barney (smooth womanizer and Ted's best friend), Marshall and Lily (Ted's other best friends from college -- Marshall and Lily are college sweethearts and got married in the second season), and Robin (Ted's ex-turned-friend-turned-Barney's-girlfriend; her facebook relationship status would be "it's complicated"). You've got a bunch of pretty, late-20s-early-30s people living in NYC and spending every day hanging out in the same place? So with all these characters, are you getting a sense of deja vu? Like you've seen this show before, 15 years ago and with different characters?

Well they aren't the same, primarily because they hang out in a BAR instead of a coffee shop, AND there are 6 Friends and only 5 characters on How I Met Your Mother. So there, smarty pants.

The show is brilliantly written, funny, touching and just the right amount sitcom-y without being cheesy. The theme of "everything that happens, happens for a reason to put you where you need to be" -- or more concisely, where fate leads us -- is something I (and lots of people my age) can relate to.

Sometimes I look back on my life and think about what might have been...if I sat in the back instead of the front; if I left 10 minutes later from a party; if I hadn't been dating someone long-distance during college; if I had gone to a different college altogether. I think of all the events that were tragic when they happened; things that kept me up at night, caused me to shed thousands of tears; good times, bad times, times when I was anxious beyond all reason or so happy I could burst; friends I met, friends I lost; boys that called me back and boys that didn't; jobs I loved and jobs I hated; they are all part of the journey I needed to take for me to be where I am right now.

That's the crux of this show -- the choices we make and the choices that are made for us, although they may be tumultuous when they happen, turn out the way they do for a reason. And during times of change and uncertainty, friendship, love and life just seem to happen. And every step along the way, you'll be making memories that someday you'll be able to wrap up in a nice package for your children.

How I Met Your Mother is worth a watch or read the recaps. Because someday we'll all look back on the life we're living right now and it will make perfect sense.