There are about five movies (or sets of movies) that I would watch, any time. Intellectually I know that these are not the best movies of all time, but they are so highly entertaining that I can view them over and over and never get tired of them. Any time USA or TNT or one of the other cable channels is showing one, I will leave it on that channel. Even if I’m not actively watching it, I will enjoy it while I’m, say, folding laundry or cleaning the kitchen. Writing my list down, I’m realizing there is a theme….. Here are my top five:

1)      The Princess Bride. Best dialogue ever. My Number One movie of all time.

2)      The Mummy, The Mummy 2. Don’t judge, please. Brendan Frasier is a hot, smart, tough action hero who loves his girl. Rachel Weiss is gutsy and clever. What’s not to love? (The Mummy 3 was terrible. Terrible. Made me very sad.)

3)      Independence Day. Will Smith. Enough said.

4)      The Bourne Trilogy. Matt Damon is the baddest action hero around, IMO. And the car chases are so awesome they hurt my brain.

5)      True Lies. Hysterical plot, great special effects, bad guys get it in the end. And Jamie Lee Curtis doing a strip-tease.

At Blog World, I stayed in the Westin Bonaventure in downtown LA. It was my first time in LA, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But imagine how excited I was when I saw this plaque on the elevator leading to my room:

In case you can’t read it, it says, “This is one of two elevators used in filming “TRUE LIES” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. September 1993.” Staying in the hotel where part of one of my top five movies was shot? Yes!!!

Readers, what are your top five movies? What kind of super cool things have you seen while traveling?

The last time I asked this, I got a bunch of great recommendations, so here it goes again! I will be traveling a ton next quarter, so I will need some new books. In the last few months, I’ve been reading a lot of fiction, with a memoir thrown in here and there, and a few business books. Here are several recommendations.

The Princess Bride (William Goldman). My favorite movie of all time, recently found out there is a book, so of course I had to read it! I loved it. It’s written in a very interesting way, with the author interjecting stories about his “life”. Big blocks of the dialogue are taken directly from the book, so it was very easy to hear the voices of Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin in my head as I read. Highly entertaining!

The Help (Kathryn Stockett). Could. Not. Put. Down. I still haven’t seen the movie, but I looooved the book. You’ve probably heard the premise—in the fifties, a white woman writes a book about the African-American domestic help. Very well written.

Yoga Bitch (Suzanne Morrison). My sister slipped this in my bag as I was leaving Chicago the last time, and I’m glad she did. It was so good! I want the writer to come hang out with me and be my friend. It’s her story of going to Bali and going to yoga teacher training, and figuring out her relationship with her teachers. Fantastic!

American Wife (Curtis Sittenfeld). I’ve had this for a while, and recently re-read it. A fictional story based on the life of Laura Bush. Very well written, with a great story, and great sympathy for her characters.

Knitting Mystery Series (Maggie Sefton). Quick, light reads, but fun stories. If you’re a knitter, it’s fun to hear about the various projects and yarns the characters are working with. At the end of each book, the author gives a knitting pattern and a recipe.

Mom, Incorporated (Aliza Sherman and Danielle Smith). I haven’t finished it yet, but I am learning a ton from Aliza and Danielle. They give great advice for taking charge of the work-life balance and starting your own business. (And check out the interview I did with them!!)

Next up: My Stroke of Insight (Jill Bolte Taylor), about a brain scientist who had a stroke and recovered from it.

So what have you been reading? What do you recommend? I think I’m ready for some more nonfiction and memoirs, so bring on the suggestions!!

I am currently working on a lace shrug, and I need to consult the pattern on every row. In the middle of the flight, that’s not too hard—just lower your tray table. But during takeoff and landing, it gets a bit trickier. You can’t use your tray table to hold your patterns, but you still want to use that time to knit (or crochet, or crossstitch, or whatever your craft is). Enter crafty creativity. I figured out that I can hang my pattern from the tray table clip. This puts the pattern right at eye level, so it’s easy to glance at it without breaking your rhythm. I actually like that more than putting it down on the table.

In coach, this works great, and actually one of the few places where something is easier in coach than in first. Since there aren’t tray tables on the seat in front of you in first, I used the pocket that holds the blanket. The idea is the same, but the execution isn’t quite as good. Still, easier than no pattern at all!

With a lot of travel coming up, I am looking for reading recommendations. My Kindle needs new books! In the past few months I have been reading a mix of things, from complete escapist fun to end of the world mystery to memoirs. A few things I would recommend:

Something Borrowed, Something Blue, Love the One You’re With (Emily Giffin). I have really enjoyed Emily Giffin’s books. They are not true romance novels, but more about exploring relationships in general. Something Borrowed was recently made into a very entertaining movie with Ginnifer Goodwin and Kate Hudson, about a girl who falls in love with her best friend’s fiance. Something Blue is the novel that follows, detailing a woman’s journey to becoming a better person. Love the One You’re With makes you think about first love, and what constitutes a fulfilling relationship. Fluffy? No. There were definitely parts of all of these books that made me sad, but in the end you feel hopeful. So I would definitely recommend them.

The Southern Vampire Series (Charlaine Harris). I will be honest–I read these books for the first time last summer, and literally could not stop. After finishing one book, I would immediately download the next onto my Kindle. Reading all ten of the books out last summer only took about a week and a half. I loved them, really loved them. The series is about Sookie Stackhouse and her magical world of vampires, shapeshifters, witches, faeries, and other magical creatures. It is incredibly entertaining, and I would recommend them to men and women alike. Unfortunately, I hated the most recent book, which came out in May. I’ll keep reading, as the series is set to only have two more books, but I’m not sure how happy I’ll be.

Sigma Force Novels (James Rollins). There are seven or eight novels in James Rollins’ Sigma Force series, and they are fascinating. It’s a bit of Robert Ludlem end-of-the-world-if-we-don’t-solve-this-great-mystery combined with Michael Chricton technology-so-advanced-it-can’t-be-real-or-can-it mixed with a little Dan Brown greater-meaning-religious-mystical-symbolism. The most recent, The Devil Colony, sucked me in and I finished it in two days. I’m not a huge fan of his other books though, as they all involve scary killer animals that have been altered in some way to make them monsters.

Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses (Claire Dederer). I am in the middle of this yoga memoir, and so far it is great. A balance of yoga and personal musings that many can relate to.

So, readers, what books have you been reading lately? Anything you can recommend? Anything you would not recommend?

A few trips ago, I packed all of my normal stuff for a plane ride: iPhone, Kindle, magazine, snacks, and knitting. It was only once I was on the actual flight that I realized I had forgotten to wind my yarn, and so had a pretty much useless skein. In my early morning purse packing, I had simply grabbed the nearest mass of yarn, not the pretty, ready to use ball I meant to get. (For the non-yarn crazy: Yarn is often shipped in a skein, which is basically a really long strand looped over and over, then twisted and folded.  You can’t knit or crochet when yarn is like that, as it would become a tangled mess. So you have to wind it into a ball. Imagine the scenes you’ve seen in old movies of someone sitting with yarn looped around their hands, and someone else winding it into a ball. That’s what I’m talking about.) Pictured: A lovely example of a skein from the Etsy store ByMelody.

So what is a girl to do? There I sat, mid-row, with plenty of yarn but no way to wind it. I looked around, thinking, can I use my purse? Or my knees? How about my arm rest? After a number of unsuccessful tries, and with mounting frustration, I finally was struck with inspiration. The tray table! I wrapped the yarn around it, then closed and locked it. I slowly started winding the ball around my hands, and it actually worked! It wasn’t perfect, but after about ten minutes I was able to get back to my actual knitting. So if you forget to wind your yarn before your trip, don’t despair! The seat back table in front of you will work in a pinch.

Even though this was posted on Youtube over a year ago, this is the first time I’ve seen it. And I immediately had to post it so all of you can enjoy it as well. This is so great! I hope I fly on this guy’s plane sometime.

Happy Friday everyone!

I love this passport cover from Modcloth. It is irreverent, not too dignified, and super cute. It will also make you laugh–something that is becoming increasingly important while traveling these days. A great gift for the Road Warriorette in your life!!

I think this blurb from The Frisky says it all:

“This passport holder is more than a mock airplane safety brochure. From “consult nitrous mask for in-flight comfort” to a very necessary “no clapping” sign, this passport wallet is sure to cause a chuckle while you travel. Its humor will lighten your traveling load, and the bright colors make it easy to locate in your bag. What a humorous way to explain your plane etiquette preferences to your seat mate!”

I just arrived in Chicago for the weekend to visit my sisters. I settled in to my older sister’s condo, putting my suitcase in the guest room and then getting out the laptop to get some work done. For most of the morning, the kitties (Mr. Freeze is gray, Corey is orange) wandered around me, letting me pet them. A few minutes ago, though, I realized they were missing. I stood up to look around, and here is what I found. Sorry as usual for the craptastic iPhone pictures. Someday soon I really will get the 4G. Really.

If I can just get my arm in there a little more……

Wait! I think I see something…….

Corey: Uh no, I was NOT just in your suitcase. I didn’t even realize there was a suitcase right here.

Mr. Freeze: Mmmmmm, suitcase.

Tomorrow the Home Warrior and I leave for Vegas. We are very excited about our long weekend! We finally get to go somewhere together, plus we love Vegas in general. The shows, the food, the blackjack, the people watching, the blackjack, the carnival-like atmosphere, and did I mention blackjack? When we went to Vegas last year, we went with my family and had many interesting random conversations with random people. This year, we are going with his family, and any interesting conversations remain to be seen. Not totally sure if we are going to see the Cirque du Soleil Beatles LOVE, or try something new and go see Viva Elvis. Decisions, decisions…..

For some reason, this time I haven’t been planning my packing list for weeks like I have on prior fun trips. Maybe I am finally incorporating my work-travel-packing mindset into my personal trips? Who knows. Unfortunately, even with my awesome packing skills, we will not be able to carry-on our bags because we are bringing bottles of wine. However, I am trying (really hard!!) to not use that as an excuse to bring too much stuff. We will be gone Saturday-Tuesday, which is basically four days.

So, here is my packing list for Vegas this weekend:

• Two pairs of shorts.  One super casual and one a slightly nicer pair.
• Two dresses. Again, one casual and one nice for dinner.
• Five cute tops. I know this is more than for the four days needed, but come on. I have to go a little crazy!
• Two swimsuits and a cover-up.
• Yoga pants and tank. For sleeping or yoga or whatever.
• Cardigan and pashmina. For the plane and the super highly air conditioned casinos.
• Jewelry, toiletries, makeup, curling iron, undergarments (the usual extras)
• Normal sized purse and a small purse.
• Stuff for the plane.
• Shoes. No more than three pairs, including sandals, nice shoes, and flip flops for the pool.

It seems so calm and under control! Of course, I am going shopping this afternoon…..

I am currently in Pittsburgh, practically ground zero for Snowmaggedon 2010.  I look outside, where I refuse to drive because the ground is covered in many feet of snow and I am from Texas so I don’t know how to drive in snow. Maybe it is my (somewhat?) perverse personality, but because I can’t go anywhere I want to go shopping. So here is a list of a few things I am currently lusting after.

TravelSmith Stripe No-Iron Shirt. Just another in a great line of shirts from TravelSmith that don’t have to be ironed. Plus the subtle striping adds some interest to a white button down. Love it!!

BeneFit Legally Bronze. Not necessarily travel related. But it looks so pretty and shimmery, and reminds me of summer. And since I look outside and see tons of snow, I want to be reminded of summer.

Old Navy Watercolor Tote in Flowers. This is not really work related. But how cute would it be carrying your stuff around? Reminds me of spring.  Maybe I just want to be in any season that is not the current one?

Thanks for playing! Maybe I will go shopping when I’m back in Texas….. And maybe it will be warm and sunny when I get back to Texas. Fingers crossed!!

It can be hard. You fly in Monday night, have meetings all day Tuesday, fly out Wednesday morning. Clearly there is not a lot of recreational time in that schedule. Be that as it may, one of my Travel Resolutions for this year is to see more of the cities I am visiting.

I ran across this GREAT article in ForbesWoman that has a list of 26 common business trip destinations, and something you should see in those cities if you have an extra 2-3 hours. The cities range from LA to Indianapolis to Boston, including several cities in my home state of Texas. It’s a great read! And it has inspired me to go see Fenway Park when I am in Boston next week, as well as (assuming the weather isn’t horrible) possibly walk the Freedom Trail.

After all, what’s the point of having a job that sends you places if all of the places are the same because you never get out of your hotel room or office?