This is my new favorite quote. I finally got to watch "The Help" last weekend. It was an inspiring movie. I laughed. I cried. I felt shame and disgust. I think my most favorite part of the movie was Minny telling her "BIG" secret to Skeeter and Aibileen. HAHA!!! I love it!!! Attention to all you Mrs. Hilly want-to-be's it's in chapter 12. LOL!!
Seriously, in God's eyes we are all important. No matter where we come from or what color we are. We are no better than the person sitting right next to you. We are all equal and have a purpose for His glory. All you need to do to get started is one random act of kindness a day. Before you know it, it spreads like wild fire.
Thank you so much for all the birthday wishes today. I had another wonderful birthday. It started off with my beautiful children wishing me a "happy birthday." I love my snuggle bugs. Poor Colton has been battling a cold. Millard and Peggy brought me lunch from my favorite restaurant, "Sweet Peppers Deli." Yum! On top of that, they picked up my favorite plate - chicken salad on a croissant with a side salad. Ahhhh! Y'all it's soooo delish. They also gave me a slice of one of my favorite desserts - chocolate eruption. It's basically a chocolate cheesecake on a chocolate cake bottom. Doug surprised me by leaving work early enough to pick up Katie from school. He apparently likes my photography because he purchased a new lens for my camera. It's different and I've had my other one for so long that it's just going to take time to adjust. We did try it out tonight and I have to say that the pictures were brighter and have more clarity.
I hope you have a very blessed week and remember "You is kind, you is smart and you is important."
Can you believe the year is half over? It's July! Our very involved and busy June is gone. With the 4th of July being over, I can actually sit back and breathe a little before we have to get ready for school to start back. We have enjoyed our summer, good and bad.
We found out today that one of the little neighbor girls, S, will be moving away Saturday. I'm allowing Katie to spend as much time with her as she wishes because I know it will be hard on her when she is gone. I had a little friend like that when I was her age, Mandy. We were the best of friends until her dad accepted a job in Texas. It absolutely killed me when they moved. I was 4 or 5 years old when we first met and 6 years old when she moved away. Her grandparents didn't live very far, so from time to time I would get to visit her. Saturday, Katie had a complete breakdown because S would be leaving soon. Doug and I had to have a serious talk with her because S convinced Katie into running away with her. Katie was just sobbing when we talked. S doesn't want to leave and Katie doesn't want to see her go. It's so sad. Of course, S still comes up every day to our place for as long as I will let her. Please pray that S will receive the love and attention that she needs. I also hope that someone will put her under their wing and get her into church.
It's beginning to be the dawg days of summer, sooo hot. I absolutely dread August. With the heat comes dreading to cook. I do not like to cook inside during the summer months because it makes the whole house HOT. On the other hand, I don't like to cook outside because as soon as I open the door to check the grill, I turn into a puddle of water. I've been so use to the air conditioning for too long that without it I'm miserable. Last month, I tried to do some cooking in the morning that way the house wouldn't be so hot at night. Well, it's hard to do that we have gotten into a habit of staying up late and waking up late. LOL! (I'm going to try to get everyone back on the clock) Yesterday, I decided that I'm going to break out the ol' crockpot and roaster. Tomorrow, I plan to make barbeque chicken with white sauce, sauteed squash and zucchini, baked beans and toast. Don't be surprised, if I try a bloggers recipe. When I get in these moods, I tend to try different recipes because want a change from the same old, same old. I'm hungry for summer time suggestions.
Please feel free to leave me a suggestion.
Movie Review Transformers, Dark of the Moon
If you're a Transformer fan, you'll love this movie. If you're a Josh Duhamel fan, you'll love this movie. In my opinion, this movie ties the other two movies together. Before the movie was over, I was thinking "oh, okay. That makes sense now." Doug, Chuck and myself went Sunday night to see it at the Monoco in 3D. This was the first time I've seen a 3D movie before inside the Monoco. Oh and get this, we had balcony seats that reclined. LOL! I'm afraid this movie theatre could easily spoil me. The guys were so nice to let me dine at "Connor's Steakhouse." It was so good! And get this, I got to do a little shopping before we ate. YAY! I had a lovely day.
I believe this is the first time, I've every had Katie pick out just about everything she wants for her birthday. Ugh! She is so picky and sometimes it's just best to have her pick everything out. Of course, I believe I've gone over my limit. I did order a couple of things online that she doesn't know anything about. The Gymboree pair of wedges that she begged me to buy her in Leeds and a Wii game that had lots of positive reviews "Animal Crossing." I think she'll like it. I gave her a choice of having a family party or doing something with a few of her friends. She absolutely loves Air It Out. She wanted me to rent their party room for her big day. I hated to shoot her down, but momma's not made of money and $200 for 2 hours (1 hour playing on inflatables and 1 hour party room) just isn't worth it. I promised her that I would pay her and her friend's way in for an hour and then we might go somewhere to eat (DQ for ice cream). She told me that she didn't want to go eat. I think she'll change her mind when she finds out that we'll go to Dairy Queen, which is one of her favorite places to eat. Her actually birthday is on Saturday this year, so I plan on having the grandparents come over for dinner and a small birthday celebration for Katiebug. I think the hardest part about it is that she has to decide which 3 girls are going to be invited to spend sometime with her on her big day. I chose the number 3 because anymore than that I might as well rent the party room for $200. We don't want an odd number of girls because someone will always get left out. She's just going to have to decide and get back with me.
With these hot summer days, we've been really using the Wii and Xbox. They've been very good purchases thus far. I need to do them everyday because before we get through playing, I'm a puddle of water. It's good, fun exercise, especially playing Xbox 360 Kinect. Oh my gosh! I'm thinking about purchasing the Zumba game. I've heard good things about it.
Oh, speaking of school starting up soon. The reality hit me like a tons of bricks, while we were at Walmart today. The aisles that they were using as their summer fun aisles. You know the ones. You've got sunscreen, coolers, snacks and beverages. Well, they are all cleared and clerks were stocking notebooks, binders and pencils. I had to take a swallow. It's nearly here. I asked Katie if she was excited about starting back to school. "Yeah, but I'll be at a new school." she answered. I think her changing schools before really confused her. I reminded her that she won't be changing schools this year. "Will I get to see Mrs. Moore?" her eyes all bright with excitement. "Yes," I reassured her and she was all excited. She said can't wait to get back to school and find out who her new teacher will be and who will be in her class. I hope she understands that the kids in her class last year, will not necessarily be in her class this year. I've been trying to prepare her, but all she does is just look at me like I'm wasting her time.
What got me a little excited was when I got to go to Hobby Lobby last week and they were putting out Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations and crafts. Yay! It just gets me all getty inside. I have to slap my hands when I see things such as these. LOL! I also have to remind myself that I've got to put together at least 3 ribbon trees, make spinach dip and help host Whitney's baby shower in little over a month. I've bought some ribbon because HL had them on sale last week. Who knows if it will be enough. I've got to purchase the other supplies before I can even start. I'm hoping the remaining supplies will go on sale fairly soon. With traditional summer weddings coming to an end, I'm hoping they'll be putting it up for 50% off soon. I am getting a little antsy about it.
Movie Reviews
I haven't done a movie review in a long time. I had to share these with you. You know,
Laughter is the BEST Medicine
Just Go With It
with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler
I had this movie on my Netflix queue for some time, but it wouldn't be available until the first of July. Doug couldn't wait. He brought it home from Redbox. Oh my gosh! This movie is hilarious. Doug and I laughed so hard, I guess it's a true testiment to our twisted humor. I have to admit that Doug and I enjoyed this movie so much, we went the next day and bought the Bluray for our library.
Just Friends
with Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart
I think Ryan Reynold is a great comedic actor, so I couldn't believe that I let this movie slip through my radar. "Just Friends" came out in 2005 and it is a funny romance comedy. I turned this side splitting film on the television the other night as we were getting ready for bed. I couldn't force myself to turn it off. I stayed up until midnight just to find out if Chris would ever end up with the girl of his dreams. So funny!
A stomach virus has been running rampant in these parts. I was so hoping that it would just skip right over us. No such luck. When Katie came home after school last Thursday, talking about how Sam got sick in the cafeteria, I just knew that we would be next. Sure as the world, Katie got sick Friday night into early Saturday morning. I have to say that it's a very aggressive virus. Poor baby, I didn't think she would ever get a break and it left her extremely weak by Saturday morning. Thankfully after a good rest, she was right back to her old self. She didn't like the fact that she was quarantined in her room for the rest of the day. We didn't want to risk Colton or anyone else getting sick. I knew I would come down with it because that's what moms do.
I kept Katie and Colton home from church yesterday because I didn't want to take any chances. I think the other mommas would have appreciated me for it. I know I would if it was my child being exposed. Katie was doing so well. You never would have known that she had been so sick. It was such a beautiful day Saturday and Sunday with temps in the upper 60s and lower 70s. We disinfected the whole house, but I was raised to air out your house. So, we turned off the heat pump and opened all the windows that we could. I love the smell of fresh air. I thought too it would do Katie and Colton good to get outside and breathe that fresh air and get some sunshine on them. They loved getting outside because it's been quite a while since we've had the chance to do so, with all the cold snaps. We thought we dodged a big bullet last night, the virus was out of the house with only one person getting sick. Peggy and Millard came over to see how Katie was feeling and spend some time with the kids. I made a big pot of spaghetti, side salad and toast. I think it was the first time Millard and Peggy ate ground turkey in the meat sauce, instead of hamburger. I think they kind of liked it or they were being nice getting seconds. Everything was good and as I was giving Katie her bath, something came over me like I knew I wasn't right. I finished getting Katie ready for bed and I warned Doug that I could be getting sick. Sometimes, I don't think Doug believes me when I tell him that I'm not right. He always starts the long list of questions. Bottomline, I just know these things and when I finally do get sick, I have to tell him "I told you that I wasn't right."
I got Colton laid down for the night and as I'm getting myself ready for a long night of unhappy times, I hear Colton in his room - sick. Ugh! I knew this was not going to be pretty. I finally came down sick and then I hear Katie getting sick. Ugh! This is not pretty for Doug. Bless his heart, I felt so bad for him. I'm trying to help Doug clean up Colton and it's not making things easier for me. Needless to say, we all got the blessid virus and are recovering today. I believe this was the worst stomach bug that I've gotten in a very long time. Oh my gosh!
Besides getting sick, this is what I've been up to. My mother will be celebrating her 74th birthday in the next few days. A few of us have reservations at a Chinese restaurant in honor of her big day. My mom loves Chinese and Mexican food, but she hardly ever gets to go to one of these restaurants with my dad because he is not a fan at all. So, the only time she gets a treat like this is if one of us girls take her. I think she'll enjoy. My sister convinced me to make mom a ruffled felt heart wreath as well for her birthday. Do you remember my Heart Felt Wreath version? I wasn't expecting to get sick, so I haven't gotten my material and supplies yet. I've got to get on the stick. I think she'd like one of these wreaths to hang on her door.
I've been catching up on my blogs that I follow. I just love seeing other people's ideas and craftiness. There are so many talented women out there. I love Bakerella's website! I'm always excited to see what new creation she has whipped up for us. I had to share these sweet Valentine treat tags with you. If you are not the cake pop connaisseur, I think these tags would look great on lollipops. She has these tags for all occasions. The pdf file is free to download.
Click HERE for instructions and downloads. Happy treats!
I've been slowly reading my new book, "Roses" by Leila Meacham. I'm currently at the point where Mary Toliver is remininscing of when her father passed away and all the events that followed. This early in my reading, I have so many questions.
I'm still trying to work on Colton's birthday party decorations. I've got some ideas for Colton's cake, but I still may have Walmart make it. I ran out of scrapbook paper for my dot garlands. I came across paper globes. Have you seen these before? I LOVE THEM! I'm so hoping to be able to make them. They seem fairly simple to make. I was poking around in new blogs and discovered these paper globes.
The creator of this jewel is Heather Bailey. I believe Heather used origami paper or scrapbook paper to create these globes. To get her patterns and instructions, you'll have to click on her link, scroll down to the subtitle on the right side "Free Patterns". It has a list of hot links to what type pattern you're interested in. Click on "paper globes" and the pdf files will come up. Click the second pdf file from Heather. I think she made a mistake on the first file because nothing comes up. One of the blogs that I walked into, which I can't remember the name now. Anywho, she made a bunch of these globes and hung them from her ceiling on her baby girl's first birthday. I think that would be a grat idea for Colton's party. Now, I've seen these paper globes made from colored paper plates before as well, I just don't remember where I've seen them.
Doug brought home some movies to watch this weekend.
This is such a nice family movie. We all enjoyed watching it and I've always liked Diane Lane.
Viewing the previews, I thought this movie would be just silly. I love Steve Carrell. I have to tell you that it was silly, but hilariously silly. Doug and I laughed so hard. It's a must see.
It's day 7 since our big Winter Blast and there are only traces of snow left to remind of us of the miraculous day. Katie was so sad last night when our snowlady, Ella, lost a LOT of weight. Her hat didn't fit anymore. Her sunglasses fell off of her face. The purse she once held high was now laying lifeless on the dead grassy ground. "Aww, mom, look at our snowlady." Katie said as we were driving up the driveway. She's been so use to greeting Ella everyday and now it's time for her to go. Such sad goodbyes from Katie. She told us that she wanted it to snow, so Ella wouldn't have to leave us. Sometimes, it's just hard for a child to understand life. We told her that it would snow again someday. Shoot, Peggy and Millard were telling us an ol' wives tale that if snow covers the ground after 3 days, it will show back up. Meteorologist are already predicting snow flurries by the end of the week. Nothing big. Needless to say, Katie sadly picked up Ella's button nose, the buttons from her white dress, sunglasses and purse off of the ground. She went ahead and took off her hat, scarf, and flower that was pinned in her white hair. Then with a sneaking grin on Katie's face, she asked me if she could knock Ella down. "Sure, go after it." I told her, granting permission for her to demolish the once Ella the snowlady that we created just 5 days ago. I think she had more fun kicking, hitting, and knocking her down then when we created her. It did take a long time to gather up all the snow and shape her, about an hour, compared to the few seconds it took to knock her head off onto the ground.
June and Pat came over Saturday night telling us about this house close to Doug's parents home that was for sale. They went on to tell us how we needed to act on it because we could probably get a very good deal on the property. A 3 bedroom, 2 bath, full basement, garage, a couple of storage buildings, stocked pond and 39 acres for $300,000. Not having that kind of money, I rolled my eyes. They told us ways we could afford it, using our home equity from our house. Anyway, like crazy people with no money, we meet with the homeowner to checkout the house and property. The property is beautiful and the house is nice on the outside, nice manicured lawn. Doug didn't like the inside of the house. She had put a lot money into decorating it. Etched glass doors, portable gas fireplace, expensive fans in the Kitchen and Living Room. The bedrooms were a little bigger than ours, but overall you still had this sense of being cramped. Doug didn't like the house because he felt it was still too small. June, Katie and I walked up to the pond. You could tell it had been taken care of. On a funny note, as we were walking up to the pond, June saw something moving in the weeds. At first, I asked if it was a snake. I HATE SNAKES! "No," she said. She thought it looked like an armadillo. By that time, I saw the tall weeds moving. It had an appearance of running away from us. So like any redneck girls, we ran after it. {haha!} Still thinking it was an armadillo. The creature stopped at the edge of the pond, turned around and looked at us. We all stopped in our tracks, I grabbed Katie and backed up. It was a oppossum. LOL! It wasn't hissing at us, but I was afraid that we would give it a sense of being cornered and that it would try to attack us. We backed away far enough to stop and allow Katie to get a good look at him. He was a big fat oppossum. I couldn't believe it because you normally don't see them during the day. On the way back to the house, we were laughing while trying to catch our breath. Us walking around this place, reminds me of home. The house, I grew up in, were basically surrounded by woods and pasture. I lived on 10 acres of fun rolling fields and trees to climb. I loved making forts and climbing haystacks into my clocktower. Like Katie, I had a huge imagination. I practically lived in the woods to the side of us and across the road. I wouldn't go home until my mom rang the cow bell, for me to come home. As a parent, I wouldn't dream of allowing my children to go off without any supervision, but the world is different today. I could see Katie and Colton running along the terrace rows or climbing up the trees in the back of this house or building forts and castles in the woods. Saying all this, honestly I don't think this is the place for us. Like I said, we do not have this kind of money and I'm afraid this house would still be too small.
Katie is out of school again today. She has missed a lot of school days and she's at the point to where she doesn't mind. At first, she missed Mrs. M and all of her friends. Seven days later, she doesn't care to go back. She's gotten use to me being her teacher and staying at home. This is not a good thing for any of us. It will be hard for Katie to get up tomorrow morning and go to school. All last week, I've had a terrible time keeping her in her bed during bedtime. Last night, I finally gave in and let her come into our bed for a little bit, as long as she would not get wound up. I turned on the radio and the next thing I knew both Katie and Colton were on the floor dancing. It was pretty funny to watch them. I'm such a push over.
Doug has given me such a hard time about Colton's hair. In my mind, I thought he would look cute with a short short hair cut. Besides, his hair grows so fast. I've cut his hair a few times and the lady that does my hair has cut his hair a of couple times. Normally, I use my hair scissors to trim him up, but I worry Doug everytime I bring them out. He told me that he wished I would use his trimmers to cut Colton's hair. Well, this time I did. I set the guard at 7 and went at it. At first I was thinking to myself, "what am I doing? I'm ruining his hair." Of course, when you start you've got to finish. Right? Please keep in mind that his hair was really shaggy and long. Once I finished, it took some getting use to it. Yesterday, I put a little hair putty (I used when I had short hair) in his hair. Awww! It is so cute and I really like it. On a sad note, he doesn't look like a baby anymore. He is a little man now with his clean cut do. The next time, I wouldn't mind keeping the top a little longer and trimming the back clean cut. Back to Doug, I don't know if he likes it or not. He tells me he likes it, but to hear him talk to other people about it keeps me confused. He tells others, "you've got to see Colton's new hair cut that Mirya did." This sentence seems to be always followed by a laugh from him. Hearing this makes me automatically drop my jaw and push the sound "ugh!" out of my throat. Well, I like it and it will grow back out.
Movie Review
Doug brought "Knight and Day" home the other day. I have to say this was a pretty funny movie. I wish Tom Cruise (as wacked out as he has become) would do more comedy movies. There were so many twists and turns in this movie that it kept my attention, but not too much to where you don't know what's going on. "Knight and Day" would make a good datenight.
I hope to find that you have had a wonderful weekend. Ours has been busy of course. Friday, daddy insisted that we go to Martin's to view their mega supply of Bama football accessories, apparel and other stuff. Oh my gosh! If I had to guess, I would say that half of this store's inventory was Bama stuff. I would also add that it was all reasonably priced. I knocked out a couple Christmas gifts. Woo Hoo! You just can't imagine the stuff.
My children will not stop growing long enough for us to replenish our bank account. I had to pass down the new Levi jeans that I bought Katie for this Fall. I made a mistake buying slim, but they fit her in September. Last week, they were tight across the thighs. You talk about sick. Colton is in between sizes 18 and 24 months. One piece outfits like jon jons or overalls, he has to wear a 24 month. Separates, he could wear a 24 month, but he has a little waistline. I had to take in a couple of his pants around the waist, so he can wear them. Ugh!
As soon as Katie got out of school Friday, we headed for Belk. They have their girls Levi's 4-6x $18.99. I think this is a great deal because Levi's are normally $30 something and they fit so much better on Katie than other jeans. This time I had her try on the jeans before I bought them. The 6 regular fit fine, but thinking of next month I thought it would be best to go with the 6x regulars. Thank goodness for adjustable waistlines. The length looks great on her. Her other jeans size 5 made her look like she was wadding in water, if you know what I mean. Belk has so many pretty dresses for church and sweet Christmas outfits. Peggy picked up the pink and red corduroy snowgirl pants set for her. Sooo cute! While we were there, we had to check out the sea of Nutcrackers. That's one of many things Katie and I love is looking at all the different styles of Nutcrackers. She absolutely loves them. I've started her a small collection. When she's older and still loves them the way she does now, I'll have to get her a real Nutcracker from the German store here in town called "A Touch of German." I've started a tradition with Katie. Around Christmas time, we go to the store and just look at all the Nutcrackers. They are beautiful and to watch her eyes light up makes it much more special for me.
Ballet
Speaking of "The Nutcracker," Maryann, Katie and I went to Katie's Ballet School to pre-order our tickets for December. Peggy, Mom, Whitney and Natalie are hopefully going with us. This pre-order is suppose to guarantee us the best seat in the house. While we were there, we got a sneak peek of some of our dancers practicing. They've been hard at it, learning the performance since the beginning of the month. I just hate it that Katie wasn't eligible to audition for a part. One of her girlfriends from school was there practicing. Katie wanted to know why she couldn't dance, if "A" got to dance. Aww! I felt bad for her, but had to explain that she had to be at least 6 years old to audition. This wasn't Mrs. Elaine's rules it was the director of the Montgomery Ballet, which are the professionals that will be the main performers. Us ballet moms and dads are hoping this performance will be a great success, so they will come back. Maybe Katie will be able to audition for a spot then. We are pretty excited to see it, especially because we know the young lady that will be playing "Clara." If you live in the area and would be interested in purchasing tickets for this ballet, Ballet School will give you one more opportunity to pre-order tickets next Saturday, October 30th.
Halloween
As you know, I bought a gingerbread Haunted House kit for Katie and I to put together. I figured we would put it together next Saturday, but she has been aggravating me since I got the thing. "When are we going to put together the Haunted House mom?" "Are you ready to put together the Haunted House?" "Mom, you promised we'd put together the house today!" Ugh!!!! Katie is so much like me IT SCARY! She is so impatient and when she wants something done, she wants it done yesterday. I know, I'm paying for my raising. Or that's what my mother loves to bring up from time to time. After church today, I finally gave in. I haven't seen Katie move that quick. By the time I turned around, she had on her apron and wanted me to tie it. I had to give her the dreaded "we've got to prep our area first" speech. She absolutely hates prep work, but it's got to be done. My prep work means, clear off our work space, clean our work space, get all the utensils we need ready and within hands reach, mix up the ingredients that we'll need and have it at hands reach, pull back the hair and lastly WASH YOUR HANDS!
Once prep time was finished, I pulled out the gingerbread house and placed it on the cake dome. Katie picked out a picture that she wanted her haunted house to look like. Maryann told me yesterday how she had fun putting together a gingerbread house with Natalie last year for Christmas. I told her how much fun I had putting this house together when I spoke to her on the phone. Ugh! All she could do was giggle at me and remind me that I was dealing with a 5 year old, while Natalie was 19 years old at the time. It's not like it was difficult or anything, it's just that Katie wanted me to finish as soon as I started, so she would put on all the candies. She lost interest quickly when I told her she couldn't eat the icing or more importantly the house right away. Of course, Colton was right there in the middle of it all. He tried a time or two to snatch a few candied M&Ms. Thank goodness Peggy and Millard came by to visit. They were able to hold him off of my project for awhile. It wasn't long before everyone headed outside for a little bit and here I was, by myself, to finish the bless'd haunted house. I didn't take any pictures tonight because I want to get some dyed coconut to put around it for appearances. I must warn you, it looks like I was drunk putting this thing together. Katie kept moving the table, while I was piping in the windows and door. Yeah, it's one silly, wacked out haunted house. LOL! But Katie really likes it and more importantly she wants to EAT IT. I'm hoping to get her to hold off until next Friday or Saturday before she eats the house. I also told Katie and Colton that they had better enjoy this haunted house because it will probably be my last for a long time.
Movie Review Letters to Juliet - starring Amanda Seyfried and Chris Egan. Rated PG
Wow! I absolutely love movies like this one. Sweet romance that blooms overnight. I don't want to give any of it away. I thought it was a really good movie and of course I enjoyed getting to see the Italian landscapes, so beautiful. I would recommend it to all romantics at heart. By the way, Chris Egan "Charlie" isn't too bad to look at. ;) The British accent is an added bonus.
The Backup Plan - starring Jennifer Lopez. Rated PG-13
This is a definite Chick Flick! I loved this movie, so funny. You've got to see it!
Prayer Request
Doug and I ran into one of our former co-workers this weekend. Since the last time I saw "MJ," I found out he changed jobs, he and his lovely wife had two more children and they built a house. When we saw him this weekend, he told us that he has been layed off and is having a tough time finding a job. Man! It absolutely kills me how the economy is still down the stinker. I really wish it would pick up and everyone has their many opinions on how it got this way and what we need to do in order to change it. Bottomline, so many good, honest citizens are losing their only means of income. Thank the dear Lord above that MJ's wife still has her job, but with three small children and a huge mortgage, it's got to be hard. I just ask you to please remember them along with so many millions of other people that are having a rough time right now finding work.
Movies In Review
Grab the popcorn and chips y'all, it's movie night.
"The Last Song" starring Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth
I finally got to see the movie after reading the book. I don't know if there is a specific reason why the movie directors or producers, who ever is over the script, have to chance the location from what the book says. Why? Nicholas Sparks, author of "The Last Song" has the main scene located in the Carolinas, but in the movie it's Georgia. Why? I understand why the movie directors/producers leave out a lot of information from the book because they are pressed for time, but DON'T change the script. PLEASE! It's an automatic turn off for me when you start REALLY messing with the script. If they had not messed with the script, this movie would have been absolutely awesome. Don't get me wrong, it was still a good movie and I enjoyed it despite the changes. Bottomline, I still cried like a baby towards the end. It's a sweet romantic drama.
"A Death At A Funeral" starring Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Tracy Morgan, and Danny Glover
Doug brought this movie home. I'm not a Chris Rock fan (at all) because of his potty mouth and this is my opinion, I feel he is a racist against caucasians. Honey, I haven't laughed that hard since the movie "Old Dogs" starring Robin Williams. I probably laughed harder. Oh . . . my . . . word! I thought I was going to PIMP watching this movie. This is an adult "You've Got To See This" movie. Of course, it is strickly an adult movie.
Post Follow Up
Thank you so much ladies for all your imput on Snacks that Begin with the Letter "Ff" suggestions for Katie. I received so many great ideas and it's going to be a very hard decision because of all the choices. Mrs. M has informed us parents that she is running a little behind on preparing for the literacy project, which includes the "Letter Expert" part. When the time comes, I will have to go back over the list again and make a final decision. Of course, I'll have to get approval from the diva. Thanks again and I'll let you know as soon as possible on what we've decided.
Parent/Teacher Meeting
I thought our Parent/Teacher meeting was very productive tonight. I love how Mrs. M is so organized and pretty much has an answer for everything. LOVE IT! As soon as I sat down, there was a syllabus in front us. I glanced through it and there were lots to cover. Our meeting lasted maybe an hour, but we went over what the kids will be covering the next several months - READ AND WRITING.
According to Mrs. M, next week all of the children will be getting into the meat of the Kindergarten experience. They all have taken their class assessments on literacy. We will receive the results as soon as she gets them back. She did warn us to not get upset if our child scores low because this is the first time they've been exposed to testing. It basically tells where the teachers need to begin and when they are tested in January, it will give them a better understanding as to their teaching skills.
To help out with letter and sound recognition, each child is to be responsible for being a specific letter expert. For instance, Katie is assigned the letter "Ff." She has to tell the class, with Mrs. M's help, what the letter is, how it sounds, have a show and tell that begins with that letter and to recite a poem Mrs. M has assigned. Mrs. M said it is totally optional if the parents want to give a treat out to the students that begin with the specific letter. My question is what GOOD treat could I share with the class that begins with the letter "F"? I need your help. Doug suggested, Fish (Goldfish crackers), Frosted Flakes and fruit. I can't give fruit because it will need to be kept cold. I thought of Frosted Animal Crackers, but would that be too much sugar? Please let me know. I value your opinion.Thanks!
Next week, Katie has to turn in a poster all "About Her." Mrs. M gave me a sheet of tan construction paper with a little girl/boy traced out. This girl is suppose to represent Katie. I have to cut it out and dress it up to be her. I'm not an artist by no means, so I need your prayers to get this project accomplished. I do know we have to have a lot of ballet and pink. Stay tuned . . .
Katie will be bringing books home every day next week to read and have projects to complete. I'm so glad I started her on the "Bob" books this past Summer. She is comfortably reading the pink books to me and she read, with help, one green book tonight.
I think I've bumped my head because I signed up to help out with two out of SEVERAL activities this school year. I'm going to try and help out with the Christmas party and the field trips. I'm kind of excited about the field trips. No, we're not going to have one every month. When it is much cooler, we are going to the zoo. This is awesome because I didn't find the time to take the kids this past Spring, so I'm happy we'll be able to go at this time. An added bonus, Birmingham has been doing some updated to the existing exhibits and adding some new exhibits. I hope to be able to go with them, but we will see. The second field trip will be to see this guy . . .
I think Katie will enjoy this. Mrs. M said he is really great entertaining the children.
Calling all local aunts, grandparents and cousins!
I need your BOX TOPS. If you don't know what "Box Tops" are they look like this . . .
You can find them mostly on cereal, instant meals and Ziploc boxes or that's where I've found them. I have found them on toilet tissue packages in the past. Katie's class has the opportunity to keep the money from Box Tops this year for things that they need in their classroom. Right now until early October, Mrs. M has a contest going on Boys vs. Girls. Whomever gets the most Box Tops (Boys or Girls) that group gets to choose the theme for the party to celebrate. If you live locally, I'd be more than happy to pick them up from you. Thank you!
Fresh Ripe Tomatoes
There is a great little produce farm a little over a mile from the Eva four-way stop. You can't miss it because there's a sign "PICKIT." His fields are irrigated, so his crops are really pretty. Dad, Mom, Colton and I went tomato picking today. The guy charged us $8 for a 5 gallon bucket of tomatoes that we picked. I like to pick them because it's a great experience and you know what you're getting. Unlike the pre-wrapped produce that you get from the store, you are not going to pick a rotten or too ripe vegetable or fruit. We had to drive around the fields to find the ones that had not gotten too old or picked through. He said that he should have tomatoes up until beginning of frost. I'd like to thank Millard and Peggy for bringing this farm to my attention. BTW, he had other produce for sale. I bought Doug a cantaloupe from his fruit stand. Doug said it was delicious. If you're interested and you live locally, please send me a message and I'll give you directions.
Movie Rentals
I have a feeling we are going to have to break down and order NetFlix. My friend, A, told me how much her and her family have enjoyed it and it's only $8 a month. WOW! I don't mind the $8 a month thing, but according to my dear beloved husband, you have to purchase a PS3 in order to set up for the NetFlix. Surely there's got to be another way? Doug insist there is not another way, this is IT. I don't see why we would have to spend $300 just to get a monthly subscription for movies. Is he just jerking my chain? Is this really the ONLY way to get a subscription to NetFlix or is it he just REALLY wants a PS3? Please let me know.
Now I say this because I walked into Blockbuster this afternoon to pick up the new release "The Last Song." As you remember, I recently did a review on this book here and was excited to see that it was on it's way to the shelves. First, I went straight to the Blu-ray rentals and to my disappointment they only had one spot for this movie. Of course, the Blu-ray movie was gone. The regular DVD movies, which were a whole lot more than just one spot for this movie. Unfortunately, they were all gone as well. Disappointed, I headed out the door. Well, one of the clerks stopped me and ask if there was a specific movie I was looking for. When I told her, she asked clerk #2 to check her bin to see if any came back today. While she's looking, I thought I would chit chat. I told clerk #1 how disappointed I was that there were only one Blu-ray movie out of all these other DVD "The Last Song" movies. She gave me a pretty lame excuse, but I just let it go. Then, I asked if either one of the girls had seen the movie. "Oh yes," I got from both girls. "You'll really like it" clerk #1 said. I told them how awesome the book was and how I would love to see the movie because I feel it will be just as good. Clerk #1 pipes up and says "oh, well the books are always better. I mean, this was an okay movie, but it's not that great." Ok, first off how does someone go from "oh, you'll really like it" to "it's not that great" just because I said that I read the book. Everyone knows the books are better than the actual movie, but that shouldn't stop you from wanting to watch the movie. Clerk #2 made a face when the clerk #1 was expressing her disapproval. Clerk #2 mouthed to me that I would still like it. Unfortunately, neither clerk had the movie in their bins. I hated having to go home empty handed.
Date Night Starring Steve Carrell and Tina Fey
I think Steve and Tina are really good actors/actress. I've never been disppointed in a movie with them in it. "Date Night" is a movie to wake up us old couple per say. We find our comfort zone, schedules, and normal everyday routines and we think we are happy. A lot of us don't like to change because you don't know what to expect. Will we regret it? Will it be a moment that we'll never forget? When we do decide to venture outside these comfort zone, put a little spice back into our marriage, some times it doesn't work out as planned. That's what I've always thought of marriage, something to always be working on. Never give up. Well, this movie reflects the average run of the mill couple with children and what happens when they decide to spice up their marriage by doing something so off the wall that it leads them into a world of trouble. It's a good entertaining movie. I thought it was humorous in a lot of spots, mostly dry humor.
This movie is strictly for adults. Eventhough there are no sex scenes, it is very suggestive and bad language.
My Life In Ruins starring Richard Dreffus and Nia Vardalos
My fascination with Italy and Greece automatically reeled me in when it came to this movie. I loved Nia Vardalos in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and she is awesome in this movie as well. This isn't a double over, split a gut hilarious movie, but it was lots of fun. Most importantly, they introduce to you the beautiful and fascinating landscape of Greece. The amazing ancient architecture, breathtaking Mediterranean and clusters of bright white limestone houses perched up on the mountain tops. So beautiful! This story tells how a professor loved a country such as Greece so much that she moved there in hopes to teach ancient Greek architecture, but she wasn't able to find a job. She wouldn't give up. She sent resumes all over the world, in hopes to teach others what she knows and loves. Teaching wasn't in the cards. It's very important in Greece to find your happy spot. I forgot what they called it, but it where you're cup is flowing over with happiness, peace, laughter and yes DANCE. I don't want to spoil it for you. Will Georgia find her happy spot? I thought it was a great story.
Eventhough there were no scenes, it was suggestive. I wouldn't recommend watching this movie in front of small children.
Movie Review Eclipse
Allison and I had a girls' night out last Friday. We both meet up at the theater and watched "Eclipse". It wasn't announced that they were sold out. Just looking around, I could see it was packed. The movie was awesome and it went right along with the book. It was great! So, far I would have to say that it was my favorite of the movies. Now, to wait and see the two Breaking Dawn movies. I'm glad they decided to break the book up into two movies because it was a very LONG book to read. It was a book that something new was going all the time, so I really didn't realize it was that long.
Doug brought the following movies home for us to watch. The Bounty Hunter
Gerard Butler is rubbing on me. It's kind of funny how Milo is loving having to turn his ex-wife, Nicole, into jail. Poor Nicole, all she wants to do is find her source/friend and Milo is making it very difficult for her to do so. I love how they pretend not to be in love anymore, but you know that they are. How Nicole's reporter intuition is so much more sensitive than Milo's ex-cop intuitions. I really enjoyed watching this movie and would watch it again.
The Wolfman
This was a traditional so big it's unrealistic type movie. So not scary and in fact I didn't like it at all, which was a huge disappointment for me because I normally like Anthony Hopkins' acting.
Letters to Juliet
I'm just a big romantic at heart. Anything that has both Italy and romance, tugs at my heart. I've got to see this movie. It came out in May, so who's seen it? Was it as good as the trailer?
Movie Review Remember Me starring Robert Pattinson
This movie didn't touch me on a personal note, but I thought it was very heartfelt. I mean, my life couldn't compare to the storyline, but it was touching. I will try to be careful, so I won't give any details away. The relationship Tyler had with his little sister was so powerful that I don't believe any force could break. I felt so bad about the relationship they had with their father. You just wanted to shake Charles and tell him to wake up. In the end, I think Charles Hawkins realized what he had missed in the years past and all of his regrets. But was it too late? IT'S A MUST SEE! Please let me know what you think about the movie. {I cried in the end}
Featured Bloggers
I love to visit my fellow bloggers. For the past few days, I've stopped writing on my blog to take in what other bloggers are writing about. Sometimes, we need to just stop and read whats going on around us. I recently joined Southern Mommas. What I think is so cool about Southern Mommas is that they have subgroups by your favorite state. Me being from the south, I was so happy to see all the Southern Belles, especially in Bama and I got to meet a dear lady from this group Land of Mama Grits. If you have a chance, you've got to read her testimony. You talk about a tear jerker.
Another blogger, I enjoyed walking into today. Thanks to Alabama Bloggers, I got to meet Life in Bunny Slippers. She seems like quite a funny character and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her funnies and videos. Below are a couple, I'd like to pass along to you.
I'm still thirty something, so I'm not that old. Watching this funny video relates to me some days. I forget where I leave things, I don't know what I was doing or going before I woke up out of my trance and I'm always getting family members names mixed up. My sisters and mother try to ease my mind (make me feel like I'm not loosing my mind) by saying that I've just got a lot on my mind. {blahahaha!}
I'm sorry, but I found this hilarious! Honestly, it's so true. Carol, if you might be reading this, I want to thank you for the laugh.
I got an email today from my favorite restaurant "P.F. Chang's". They are having a good deal going on right now until July 30th. Just click on their WEBSITE HERE for the Briny Golf Challange 2010, submit your email address and you'll get a coupon for one free lettuce wrap per person with your next entree. SWEET! I'm all ready to go.
Speaking of P.F. Chang's, I am loving their new meals that you can pick up at your local grocery store for $7 a pack. We've tried their "General Chang's Chicken", "Beef and Broccoli" and "Shrimp Fried Rice". We didn't care for the "Shrimp Fried Rice" and the "General Chang's Chicken" tasted just like "General Tso's Chicken" to me.
Movies In Review
Beings that the heat index is around 100 degrees, we have no Movie Gallery anymore and we have three Redboxes in the area. Doug, Katie and I have been viewing quite a few movies lately.
It's Complicated
Sure, I may not relate to this storyline, but it was so hilarious! Grant it, I've never been a big Alec Baldwin fan, but he and Meryl Streep were awesome in this movie.
I have to tell you, this movie isn't a family movie.
When In Rome
This is such a sweet and funny romantic film. I really enjoyed the storyline and Josh Duhamel is your basic eye candy. This is a PG-13 movie and not suitable for the whole family.
The Book of Eli
Right off the bat, I didn't know if I would like this movie at all. I gave it a chance because Denzel Washington was the main character. I'm not too much for the end of the world type movie and how everything turns to dust and how life as we know it is gone. How depressing is that? The story of Eli (main character) was nice and good; however, I think they could have done a lot without the cussing. It wasn't my favorite movie.
The Spy Next Door
It was cute and Katie found it a humorous movie, starring Jackie Chan. I really like Jackie Chan movies. It's rated PG, so I watched it carefully with Katie. The only thing that I saw was the fighting, which makes me think that's why it was rated PG.
Valentine's Day
This was a sweet movie. There are twists and turns. One thing is true, love hurts and there is hope for even the loneliest on Valentine's Day. I really like the soundtrack for this film, I'll have to check it out in the store. It was kind of funny how they had Taylor Swift as a ditzy blonde.
Prayer Request
My cousin just contacted us this morning to let us know that she heard from my great aunt Mary's daughter-in-law. Mary's home from the hospital this morning, but is too weak to celebrate her 100th birthday. Thank you for all the prayers.
Great Finds
If you have a Movie Gallery close by you, you probably already know that they are going out of business. It has made Doug and myself so sad because it was the main movie rental place, we would rent our movies. As you probably know about me is I don't really care to go to the movie theaters. Doug practicely has to drag me to the theater or it would have to be a movie that I really really want to watch. Anyway, Movie Gallery has all of their movies and games on sale. We were out riding around the other day. While waiting to pick up our pizza order, Katie and I walked around the store to see if there was anything we had to have. We picked up a Blu-ray of "Marley and Me" and "Made of Honor" both for $20. While we were being checked out at Movie Gallery, the clerk and I were talking about the closure. I asked him what happened to make them all of the sudden go bankrupt. He agreed with me that they were doing great. That is until the company decided to buy out Hollywood Rentals. He added "that's when everything went downhill."
Doug and I tried out Redbox this past weekend. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality for the price $1.07 each movie. The only bad thing is it's a one day rental. I got to reserve the movies, "The Young Victoria" and "Tooth Fairy" online and it had an option to rent the movies for an extra day. The closest Redbox to us is Walmart and Walgreens. So far, I like the Redbox because the online option. You can see what they have in stock and go ahead and reserve the copies, you want. So nice! No lines or leaving empty handed. They also have Blu-ray available for $1.75 per copy.
Gymboree is getting ready for Fall because a lot of their past styles are 70% off. There are some really cute outfits for 70% off the original price. CLICK HERE for Gymboree savings.
The Children's Place sent me an email message advertising that they had a lot of their Summer clothes on sale. There are select items for $3.99 each. You'll have to check it out.
Katie & Colton Story
As of today, my official nickname for my children are "Diva" and "Flash". Can you guess which name matches which child? As Colton gets a little older and better at running, he is as quick as lightning. I have to be extremely quick when it comes to getting groceries in or out of the fridge and cabinets. It's like a blurr when his hands get in there and grabbing stuff. If he can successfully grab any object, without me catching him, {with a smirk on his face} he'll run just as fast as he possibly can.
When we use a cooler during the weekend, we have a bad habit of leaving the cooler in the house and just take the drinks out of the cooler instead of the fridge. This habit we're going to have to stop. I placed the cooler up underneath the Dining Room table, so Colton wouldn't be climbing on it. Well this afternoon, Colton decided to pull this very full (of melted ice) cooler over. Yeah, he is our little Hercules. The cooler was a small Igloo, but still. Of course, most of the water poured out onto the carpet. COLD ICE WATER! As soon as I put the cooler outside, I went grabbing towels to clean up all of Lake Erie in our Dining Room. Very humble and sincere, Katie folds her hands, looks up at the ceil and says, "Oh dear Lord, please help me!" LOL! Trying to hold back the spurts of laughter, I told her that she is listening to mom way too much. 'Cause when things get a little stressing around here and I feel like I'm living in a zoo instead of a house, I pray A LOT.
Have you ever seen the new Snickers commercials with Aretha Franklin? That is Katie all over at times! I love the new Snickers commercials -
Father's Day Crafts
Katie worked on her Father's Day crafts today, in between her studies.
Katie colored some really nice coloring pages, we created some Father's Day coupons and each greeting card with a story to each one. After she finished her picture, she would tell me what's going on in the picture and I would write it down. She also insisted on writing Colton's name inside each card. I'd spell his name out and she'd write it down.
Movie's In Review
Tooth Fairy with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Julie Andrews was a sweet children's story with a great moral to the story. Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not real. Keep your childlike faith and the belief in your imagination alive.
The Young Victoria with Emily Blunt was interesting to watch and very entertaining for me. I've always been interested in the Royals, most of my life. Doug says I'm crazy for watching something like this, but I enjoyed watching it. Isn't it amazing how history continues to repeat itself, especially when it comes to corruption in any administration? It doesn't matter who you are, where you live or where you work, there's always at least one rotten apple ready to infect the barrel full of beautiful ripe apples. I thought the romantic story between her and Prince Albert was sweet, despite the fact they were cousins.
I compared the storyline with her biography and it seemed to be fairly accurate.
Katie's Art Class painted butterfly faces yesterday. You should have seen all the butterflies coming out of the school building. Too cute!
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Finally, The University of Alabama has "The National Championship" coca cola bottles out now. If you want one, you need to hurry because not many were made.
Colton has learned to sit in chairs now. I caught him twice standing in this chair in the Living Room yesterday. Ugh! So, I've been trying to teach him to turn around and sit as soon as he gets in the chair, instead of standing. He sat in this chair by himself. Katie was amazed. She came running after me because she thought Colton did something wrong. I had to take a picture. He sat there for quite sometime, looking at his book.
Movies In Review
Last weekend, we rented "Did You Hear About The Morgans?" with Jessica Sarah Parker and Hugh Grant. I loved this movie! It is so funny.
I would love to see "The Bounty Hunter" with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. I hope it's as funny as the preview.
Garage Sale
Saturday, May 1st
7am - 3pm
My House
Items includes: baby clothes (boy and girl) in good to excellent condition for all seasons. Girl clothes/dresses (sizes: 3-5 years old) for all seasons. I've priced the good condition dresses $8.00-$25.00. Children shoes (size: crib-youth 9). You Alabama fans, I've got a beautiful smock dress, size 2T, in the sale. It's in excellent condition, retail $45.00. I've got it priced for $35.00. Name brand clothes: Smart Britches, Rosalina, Rare Edition, Flapdoodles, Nike, Stride Rite, Keds, Gymboree and The Children's Place. Pink toddler bed (excellent condition) $15. Toys of all kinds, a baby jumper station, pack-n-play, stroller, Avent & Playtex bottles, Maternity clothes (size: M-XL), two battery operated/electric breast pump with all the accessories (great condition) and other knick-knacks.
My sister, Maryann, is selling a nice bedroom suite and beautiful Prom dresses (sizes: 6 and up). I'm going to try and sell my wedding dress and veil again (size 12). I'm asking $100 for both, but will consider any offers.
Have you seen these? I received my "Learning Express Shop" Spring catalog yesterday and these "Hide 'Em & Find 'Em Eggs" were advertised inside as a great child's gift for Easter. The kicker was they wanted $4.99 for 1 egg. Instantly it caught my attention because why would you want to pay $4.99 for an egg. Apparently, you turn the egg(s) on while hiding them for your children. While the kids are hunting for them, the eggs make noises like "I'm over here" or something similar. Once the child finds the egg, they open it up to find a cute bunny or chick inside. You can use these eggs over and over again. What's great is if the egg is left on for so long, it will shut off automatically. Well, I did a little digging on the Wonderful Wide World of the Internet and come to find out, Walmart is supposed to be stocking these little treasures. I didn't notice them at Walmart, but then again I wasn't really looking for them either. They are also supposed to be at Rite Aid and Target (I believe). If you've got to have some and can't find them at these places, I also discovered them through "ABC Distributing" at $7.95 for a set of 2. I'd like to get a couple, depending on the price for the children for Easter. Do you have these cute little noise makers? Are they worth the money?
Now comes the reason for today's title. These cute little furry creatures are called "YooHoos" and no I'm not mistaken them for the famous chocolate drink "Yoohoo" that I love so dearly. I was introduced to these cuddly chatter boxes from none other than "Learning Express." Yep, I've been learning lots from this little toy store. I think these YooHoos are adorable! Each one makes different sounds (giggle, chatter, or magical sounds) once you squeeze their tummies. I don't remember which one does which sound, so please don't ask.
I found out the name of the company responsible for these little darlings, "Aurora." Apparently, they are quite the hot collectible item with children. You can get them small 5" or large 8", with sound or without. I found an eBay store that sells these creatures new with tags at "Buy It Now" prices and FREE SHIPPING, which is still cheaper than you would buy them from "Aurora." All I can figure out is he/she must be buying them in bulk at a wholesale price, in order to make a profit.
The seller from eBay currently is selling the large YooHoos with sound for $15.95. I would prefer to get a small one for Katie. "Aurora" sells the small YooHoos for $7.00 each and domestic shipping is $3.99. According to the website, the company is based out of California. The YooHoos shown above with the red hearts on their chest, their sound is smooching. Cute! Do you own a YooHoo? If you own one, where did you purchase yours? What would you recommend? I think Katie would love them, especially the pink sugar glider squirrel because it's pink and gray. So cute!
Movies In Review
I have to apologize for not giving you any new movie rental review lately. Oh my gosh the movies Doug has brought home for me to watch. It's something else.
Serious Moonlight with Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton is so not worth the rental fee. This has got to be one of the worst Meg Ryan movies I've every seen. It absolutely pains me to say that because I think Meg is a great actress, but the whole movie was taken in the bathroom with Timothy Hutton's butt duc-taped to the toilet. Sure, that part was a little funny. I will give them that, but I hope they didn't spend a whole lot of money on this film because it TANKED.
Law Abiding Citizen with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx
I'm not much of a Jamie Foxx fan, but I have to say this movie really got to me. I believe the way the judical system worked in this movie is to be very close to the way the current judical system operates, CORRUPT. This movie is not for the faint at heart. Of course, my human side came out and I found myself at one point routing for Clyde Shelton. As a flesh by nature, it's normal to want revenge for the one's you've lost to a horrifying crime. You expect Justice, but it doesn't seem to happen. In some cases, it doesn't seem to be enough once you look back at what had happened. I can't say I would know what the character, Clyde, was going through or how I would feel. I've never had something so devastating like that happen to me before. Honestly, I don't want to imagine it. That's when you have to give it over to the Lord and know in your heart and mind that even though the justice you were searching for didn't occur, it will when the Lord deals with him. You can't take a life into your hands and feel at peace. In fact, I think it would haunt you for the rest of your life and you would already have enough to grieve over.
2012 with John Cusack
Let's just put this way, when December 21, 2012 comes around, I'll be vacationing with my family in Africa. LOL! I remember seeing the previews on television about this being a "DOOMS DAY" film. It was based from a Mayan myth. The tribe predicts that there will be a polar shift causing great earthquakes, worldwide; thus the end of the world as we know it. (Is that a song? HA!) Can you believe we watched this today with my parents? Of course, dad talked all throughout the movie. Mom and I didn't really get into the movie until the action began to really HEAT up. We started off catching up and showing pictures of the kids and it was as if someone took our chins and turned them to the tv at the same time. From then on, we couldn't focus on anything else. Mom was going on about how horrible the movie was and how she'll probably have nightmares because of it. I had to remind her that we won't be here when and if it happens. I'll be with God, having the backyard party of a lifetime.
New Moon with Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart & Robert Pattison
Yes! It's finally coming out on the shelves! I've been waiting anxiously since January for this movie to come out on DVD/BluRay. I can't wait to grab it up next Tuesday, March 20th. I found out some information on one of the cast members, Taylor Lautner. Did you know that he is a Karate Champion before he took to the acting path? I couldn't get over that the boy is only 14 or 15 years old.
Happy St. Patty's Day
I know, it's not St. Patrick's Day yet. Doug, dad, mom and myself celebrated a little early today. First, let me back up. Last night, I received my Betty Crocker email, featuring all the St. Patty's Day recipes. Of course, I scanned through them and found a couple interesting recipes. One just so happened to be for "Corned Beef Brisket and Veggies." I like Corned Beef Brisket, but it's not my first choice. I know Doug really like it, so I mentioned it to him. He noticed in our Shopper's Guide that Piggly Wiggly had a sale on their Corned Beef Brisket $1.99 a pound. We guessed that they were getting ready for all the Irish meals this next week. After dropping off Katie at school, Doug stopped by "The Pig" and picked us up some brisket, red potatoes, carrots, onion, and cabbage. Can you say "Yum"? Oh, he also bought me a new Crockpot to cook it in. It's so nice! We washed and put in all the ingredients, including Tony Chachere's seasoning, black pepper, salt, tablespoon of worcestershire sauce. It had a really good flavor. I know both mom and dad went back for seconds, but we still have enough leftovers for an army. Who wants to come over for supper tomorrow? We've got plenty!
I want to wish my niece, Liz, a very Happy Birthday! I hope she had a wonderful weekend with her family and a special day today. For those who don't know, I am going to be another Great Aunt because Liz and her husband are expecting their second child. The picture posted is of Katie's new play set. A couple of you wanted to see a picture of it. Today, Katie warmed up to it a little better. I think it was because our neighbor's grandson, Will, came over to visit and had to try it out. Well, Katie was right behind him and wanting to do everything Will did, including all the bad habits. Kids will be kids! Katie hated to see him leave and Will didn't want to go. He kept asking his Mom and Grandma if he could stay with us and eat Supper with us. I told him to come over another time (we didn't have enough to eat) and we would all have a picnic on the picnic table. He was all for that and knowing him, he won't forget it. He has a birthday in June and wanted us to make sure we were invited to it.
The house at the end of our street is for sale, which is only four houses down from us. I don't know what they are asking. I just hope whoever moves in will be good and descent neighbors. The neighbors before, I could hear them from my front porch cussing and screaming at one another. Loving bunch don't you agree?
I worked all day long with the front yard and cleaning the house. Would you believe I still have one more flower bed to clean out. Ugh!!!! When will it end?!? What possessed me to put in so many flower beds? I'll never know! I actually forgot this one. It's just a little one with monkey grass around one of Weeping Cherry Tree. It shouldn't take long to do, but my Aunt Sherry is in town and I wanted to hurry up and get all this done so I can visit with her. Her and her husband got in from FL this morning and are headed home TX. We, Mom, Sherry, Katie & I, are to have lunch tomorrow at Sweet Peppers. I love that restaurant.
I finally got to watch "The Nativity Story." I cried and cried. It touch me so much and I can't even fathom what it must have been like in those days. Can you imagine what the Sheppards, Joseph & Mary must have been thinking when the Angel of the Lord appeared to them? I probably would have fainted there on the spot. How they could have heard and understood what the Angel was saying. I would have been so frightened and wondering in my head - what is this Angel doing here, talking to me? I wouldn't be able to pay attention for all the noise in my head. I guess that's why I've never seen an Angel because God would know what I would do or say. tehe!
