After years of savings account interest deposits of $0.18, I finally saw the light and switched my savings account to HSBC Direct, an online savings account from one on the worlds largest bank, HSBC.  Now, before I chose HSBC I had to do some research, and you should too.  I ultimately chose this bank because 1) it had the highest interest rate2) Free transfers from my traditional ban...

Well ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, this is the one that started the phenomenon!  In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (or the Philosophers Stone if you're in the United Kingdom), we meet Harry, one of the most recognizable figures in recent literary history.  We get to learn along with him that he is a wizard, not just a boy who lives under the stairs.  We tra...

Installment number two of the Harry Potter series is probably my least favorite.  I can't put my finger on it, but something about a giant snake roaming through the pipes of Hogwarts just seemed too far fetched for me (even for a Harry Potter book.)  Also, the back story about Aragog just seemed unnecessary.  Maybe I am missing something but I just can't think of how that...

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is book 3 in the harry Potter Series.  To me, this book represents a big turning point (but not THE turning point) in the series.  This is where Harry really begins to understand that there are people out in the world that want to hurt him (unlike Professor Snape, who Harry thinks is there to merely make him miserable).  Of course, Sirius ...

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the fourth book in the Harry Potter series.  In this book, we learn about two other wizarding schools, Beaubatons in France, and Durmstrag somewhere in the North Sea. These two schools bring representatives to Hogwarts for a prestigious tournament, on that only happens every 100 years.  It is the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and in typical Harry Potter...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth book in the Harry Potter series, as well as the longest.  This is mainly because so much activity takes place outside of the Hogwarts grounds, which we are so familiar with after reading four books that takes place within its walls.  This book was frustrating to me, but only because of how well it was written.  The character ...

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Price follows the trend set in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by taking place mainly outside of Hogwarts.   Actually, while a good deal of the story takes places in Hogwarts, it is through the literary device of the pensieve, which transports Harry and Dumbledore to various places in Lord Voldemort's history without ever leaving the castle gro...

I recently read a book that my company has distributed to everyone.  If you're already rolling your eyes, you know exactly how I felt.   This book is titled "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson.  In short, I am not a fan of this book.  I'm sure that the fact that I had to read it and then discuss it during my department's weekly team meeting did no...

I have been lucky enough to visit the Walt Disney World Resort a number of times (I even got to live and work there for 5 months during college).  I love Disney World, to me its like seeing an old friend, but my favorite way to experience it is through the eyes of someone who has never been before.  After graduating from college in May, my boyfriend and I took a trip to the World for ...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final installation in the series, brought the end to an era.  I looked at it with mixed emotion when I got it.  On one hand, I was eager to get right in and learn Harry's fate.  On the other hand, I new that this was it, the last Harry Potter book.  Curiosity quickly got the better of me and I dove in.  Less than...

Seeing as how "Cars" was the number one animated movie of last year, I had to get the DVD and see for myself.  The results were, well, mixed.  See, I tend to fall asleep if I have to sit still for more than an hour after 9pm.  So, even though I was enjoying the movie, I still managed to fall asleep half way through.  I woke up long after ending credits went off and...

If you like spending an entire night in front of the big screen (which I typically don't), then you will probably enjoy the Bad Boys/Bad Boys II Double Feature DVD.  I like both of these movies, so this is one of my exceptions to the "one movie per night" rule that I usually try to enforce with my boyfriend.  Both Bad Boys movies crack jokes one after the other, with ple...

What can I say...Top Gun is a CLASSIC!  From the opening notes of "Dangerzone" you know you are in for a good time.  I love Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer, I mean, Maverick and Ice, in this moive.  This movie puts you right in the pilots seat of a few seriously fast jets, and the visuals are stunning.  Tom Cruise is on par, isn't it funny, thinking back to when ever...

I'll be honest.  I began watching this movie thinking that I would hate it.  I was wrong.  I'm not sure if its Daniel Craig's blue eyes or the fact that it was just that GOOD, but I found myself thoroughly enjoying it.I did get a little lost with all the different places that James Bond traveled to over the course of the two plus hours.  As the name implies, Jame...

National Lampoon's Van Wilder is a pretty funny movie.  That being said, its not the funniest movie ever, or probably even the funniest teen-gross out humor-nude scenes movie in recent memory. But it does have its moments.  I still laugh anytime someone goes "Write that down" because I think about Raj and his ever present notepad, writing down everything Van Wilder says....

I am not a fan of comic books.  Or cartoons based on comic books.  So I surprised myself when I actually liked this movie.  I actually saw X2: X-Men United first, some friends drug me out one night to the movies and we all liked it.  So I happily agreed to see how it all began.  I love the cast of these movies, I think Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is perfect.  Patrick...

I have a love/hate relationship with my digital camera.  For one thing, it really is easy to use.  I bought it with the docking station so that I could do one touch transfers and print my pictures from home.  I thought that this might be cheaper than taking it somewhere like a Wal-Mart or CVS, but turns out I didn't do my homework.  It is a little more expensive, unless ...

This review is for Bath & Body Works Anti-Bacterial Gentle Foaming Hand Soap.  This soap comes in many different scents, but the one I am currently using is Japanese Cherry Blossom.  I'm a big fan of this scent because it isn't too heavy, its light and only slightly sweet.  One of the biggest selling points to me about this type of soap is that it comes out as a foam,...

This review is on Clean & Clear Cooling Daily Pore Toner.  I use this twice a day (morning and night) as part of my daily skin care routine.  I really like it in the morning because I know that I am getting my skin off to a fresh start, and its great at night as well because it gets the last little bit of makeup that sometimes my facewash doesn't remove.  Its crazy how yo...

I have been a fan of cold cream for a long time.  It really helps keep my skin looking great and nourished.  Pond's the the classic cold cream brand, its name is kind of like "Kleenex" for facial tissue.  It's just what I think about.  My favorite type of Pond's Cold Cream is the "Cool" classic.  It is diferentiated by its green lid. ...