I Think I Love the BBC

This has been a great year to watch PBS. Back in January I saw a preview for a Masterpiece Mystery that looked pretty good so I set my DVR to record it. Since then it has recorded every Masterpiece movie that comes on Sunday nights: Masterpiece Mystery, Masterpiece Classic, and Masterpiece Contemporary.  I’ve pretty much deleted the Contemporaries; the Mysteries and the Classics are the best.

First of all, have you seen the Masterpiece Mystery: Sherlock Holmes?  Well, if you haven’t, watch it quick! Click here. It’s the first version of Sherlock that is in the 21st Century not the 19th. Very clever too if you can understand what they’re saying. Also, Watson is kinda cute.  I think that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would approve.

Second, did you miss the latest Masterpiece Classic, Downton Abbey? Because if you did, then you are seriously missing out on something awesome. It’s got romance, intrigue, and all sorts of yummy British accents.  Luckily its even an Instant Queue movie so if you want to watch it over and over again while you wait for the one you purchased to be shipped, then you can! Oh wait, maybe that’s just me. Also, to save you the searching online -  the 2nd season won’t come out until February of next year – in America anyway.  It will be rough to wait that long, but we can pull through if we have each other.

In the meantime I’ll be starting the next Masterpiece Classic, Any Human Heart. I’ve only watched the first 15 minutes so far but it sounds intriguing. Well, right up until I fell asleep on the couch.

Room Makeover!

Everything in my house is brown. Brown wooden floor, brown cabinets, brown countertops, brown furniture, even the walls are a light shade of brown.

In a two week crash course in decorating, my friend Jennifer and I redecorated my bedroom.  It didn’t turn out the way that I expected it too. In fact, it turned out much, much better.

Here are some pictures of the room before we began:

Yes, I realize the bedspread was blue. But it was beginning to get holes in it and needed replaced.

Please notice the blank walls. And the strange pinky brown color of paint.

Here are some pictures of “The Project.”  We spent one weekend just working on the paint. This was quite the project because we had to also find a new comforter and then pick out paint to match.  We saw two midnights in a row trying to get this all done, and that’s really saying something!

Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better.

Sammy did a fairly decent job of staying out of the way. He only ended up with a little bit of paint on his tail.

Jake was giving directions and encouragement from the other side of the world. Yea for Skype!

Paint central. Also give a YEA for having a bathroom right off from the bedroom.

Yes, Jennifer and I took turns climbing to the top of the ladder to paint by the ceiling. Guess which one of us spilled an entire bowl of paint on the carpet?  Hint: not Jennifer! No worries- the carpet is fine.

Finally the painting was done and we were able to put the furniture back in place.

This weekend Jennifer came back and we finished the decorating. We spent the morning shopping and then got busy sewing, drilling, hammering, measuring, leveling, and gluing.

 

Here are the end results. What do you think?

I owe a HUGE thanks to Jennifer for all of her wonderful ideas, enthusiasm, and help. I also owe a huge thanks to Alex for helping us pick colors, Sherry and Aunt Margo for helping us figure out what the heck we were doing, Mom for helping find the decorations, and Dad for bringing us dinner to keep us going. Also, the Quilt Barn, TJ Maxx, Pier 1, Macy’s, and Lowe’s for being so convenient and having cool stuff. 

Movie Mania

Back in September I set a goal to watch one movie a week for an entire year. I’ve done okay, not great, but okay. At first I was calling it my Monday Movies. And while I still strive for Monday nights sometimes it gets moved to the weekends when I have more time. All in all 22 weeks have gone by since I first began. Some of the movies were lame, some were interesting, some made me cry, some were just plain fun, and some I loved so much I went out and bought my own copy. In the last 22 weeks I have watched the following 21 movies:

1. Only Angels Have Wings
2. The Glass Bottomed Boat
3. The Time Traveler’s Wife
4. French Kiss
5. Benny and Joon
6. Mansfield Park
7. How to Train Your Dragon
8. In Love and War
9. When In Rome
10. August Rush
11. Anna and the King
12. The Shop Around the Corner
13. Amelie
14. Last Chance Harvey
15. The Duchess
16. In Love and War
17. Oscar
18. Inception
19. When In Rome
20. One Fine Day
21. Let’s Make it Legal

Silly Time–Make Up Your Mind!

Okay, I need some help from my science-fiction fan friends.

I am really confused about the concept of TIME.

Today is the first day of February.

Part of me is saying, “What the heck. . . it’s already February? Wow! Where did the time go?!”

But another part of me is saying, “It’s only February? Why isn’t it, like, April or something? Sheesh, this year is taking forEVer!”

Please explain.

A Sammy Update

I fell asleep around 7:00 last night. Then around 10:00 PM I woke up just long enough to put Sammy in his kennel and then go back to bed. This morning I woke up to assess the damage that happens when the puppy is left unattended for 3 hours inside the house.

Keep in mind that this is the puppy that has chewed up my hardwood floor and my hope chest, has broken a gel pen all over my carpet, has smeared pink play-doh into the carpet, has bitten into and exploded a can of white spray paint in the middle of my living room, has destroyed/shredded about four pairs of shoes, three dog beds, two of my bras, an entire garden hose, a couple of books, several sponges, many newspapers, and the barbecue cover.

My back porch currently looks like this:

That is not snow on my lawn, its fluff. And yes, that is a carpet sample hanging from the picnic table and the hose is in two quite small pieces. You may understand why I would be worried about the state of my furniture.

But my house this morning, well, it looked like this:

 

That’s right, its spotless! Nothing was damaged, not one item was out of place. I think my little guy may be growing up!

He sure is getting bigger. Remember this little guy:

Now its more like this big guy!

Sammy can “sit”, “stay” (for a minute), “come”, “lay down”, “shake hands”, and “go to bed”. He thinks that “out” means go out or come in. For example if he is outside and I want him to come inside, I say “out” because to him that means ‘walk through the doorway’.  He knows not to jump on people (though sometimes chooses not to remember), and is horrible at carrying in the groceries. He often jumps up on the couch and then poses like a swimmer on a diving board just waiting for the “down” command, which he promptly obeys.  He likes to go for long walks on his leash, gives good hugs, and will give kisses if you let him. He wants to grow up to be a lapdog someday. He likes to play hide-n-seek.

In his free time, he enjoys having staring contests with Frank, chasing Frank, and petting Frank. 

Frank, for the most part, seems a bit paranoid lately. I don’t know why. . .

Sammy makes friends easily. His two best friends are Norma Jean and Darco (spelling?).

  

Well, I’d better go.  Looks like it must be play time. Wanna play with us? 

What Is It?

It’s just sitting there.

Tempting me. . . Taunting me. . .

 

What is inside you little brown cardboard box? I want to know your secrets.

Is it my birthday yet?

Movie Reviews – if I can make the time

I haven’t posted any movie reviews for a while so I thought maybe it was time.  It’s been so long I actually had to go back to my Netflix account just to remember which movies I’ve watched!

I should have about four weeks worth of movies to update but I only have three. Unless you count the fact that I watched two movies in one week. I was going to watch a movie this week but there was a 2 hour special of Lie to Me on FOX and a new Castle on ABC and so basically my television watching got in the way of my movie watching.  This is going to be a continuing problem for me.  You see, I watch a lot of television.  Monday nights are Lie to Me and Castle. Tuesday nights are NCIS, NCIS:LA, and White Collar. Wednesday nights I go to mutual but I DVR Criminal Minds to watch on Friday nights. Thursday nights is Bones. Burn Notice was on Thursdays but that season just ended.  Justified will begin in February. That doesn’t even include Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, and The Defenders, all of which I’m considering watching as well. 

All of this leaves very little time for watching movies as you can see.  I might have a television addiction, but I’m not about to give it up.  It gives me something to look forward to every single night of the week.  Plus, its not like I totally rearrange my life around the TV (except for Thursday night, Bones, but that is SOOO worth it). I am perfectly okay with missing an episode. It’s not the end of the world – that is why the DVR and Saturdays were invented.

 

Anyway, despite my excessive television watching I have also seen some actual movies.  Here are the reviews:

In Love and War

Wow! Chris O'Donnell is cuter in this movie than he is in NCIS:LA and that is really saying something! I liked this movie a lot. It was loosely based on the story of Ernest Hemingway and his experience during WWI.  I don’t know how accurate it is but I do know that if Jacob hadn’t called me just as the movie ended I probably would have cried all night long.  It is a sad story. It is a love story. It is a war story.  (What was I thinking?) It was a very good story.  It gave me a greater appreciation for Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms and to his life in general.  As an English major I have read most of Hemingway’s novels and short stories. I can appreciate his talent but this story – however fictionalized- gave me a greater appreciation for his life.  I’d give it a 3/5 stars but only because it was so sad, and I really shouldn’t watch sad war love stories.

 

Oscar

While I was in Albuquerque over New Years, we watched Oscar. I give this movie 5/5 stars. It was really cute and very fun.  I think Sylvester Stallone did a great job in his comedic role.  This movie borders on slap stick comedy about a man who is trying to give up the life of an Italian gangster during Prohibition but can’t seem to get out of the business. He works it out to his advantage of course.  If you haven’t seen this movie I recommend adding it to your queue instantly. It’s a keeper!!

 

Inception

This is the other movie I watched the week I was in Albuquerque. We’re not going to count it because I’m still not sure I understood it.  It was exciting. The actors all did a good job. But just thinking about it makes me a little cross-eyed. I’ll watch it again someday with Jake. And we’ll pause it every five minutes so he can explain to me what just happened. Won’t that be fun, Jake?

 

When in Rome

What is not to love about this movie? It is a perfect cookie-cutter stamped chick-flick movie.  The stars were cute. The plot was romantic. There was love at first sight. There was a miscommunication.  Then there was love again.  Yea for Happy Movies!!  I had never realized how tall Josh Duhamel is. He’s 6’3” according to IMDB.  He looks taller than that in this movie. I give this movie a 4/5. It made me happy.

 

Now, what’s on TV?

Farewell 2010 – Welcome 2011

Dear 2010,

You are leaving and to you I say goodbye, and good riddance.  Never before have I counted down the days until a year would cease to exist with such excitement.  I have never been so anxious to see a year end, as I am to say adieu to 2010.  As December is coming to a close I am ready to herald your leaving with trumpets – or at least one of those party noise maker thingies. 

Not every moment of 2010 was bad. Some of my most cherished memories have occurred during this year. Two weddings,two births, a death and a deployment all in one year! Whew!! But to be quite frank, that was exhausting. And I’m glad that it is over.

Adios!

 

Dear 2011,

Welcome!!  

I look forward to your arrival as it marks an opportunity for a new beginning.  You are fresh and untainted. You are full of potential just waiting to be discovered.  I acknowledge the truth that you may not live up to my expectations, but that thought does not concern me right now. Actually, my expectations aren’t really all that high anyway. I am just glad you’re finally here!

Sincerely,

Katie

This Is Why . . .

When we suffer a loss, of any kind, it is common to ask "why". Why did this happen to me? Why do I have to go through this? What have I done to deserve this? It's an easy question to ask, and an impossible one to answer. For some reason, we think that when something bad happens there must be a reason. However, when something good happens how often do we stop and ask, "Why? Why did this wonderful thing happen to me?"

Whether good or bad, the experiences that we have in this life are for one reason and one reason only: to help others. Christ suffered scorns and pain throughout his life and never asked why. He knew why. He knew that he was doing it for us. He suffered so that when we suffered He could be there to help us. We, too, suffer so that we may feel empathy for those who will also suffer.

When we lost Julia, Jacob and I were comforted by friends and family who had experienced similar losses. Our social worker in the NICU had lost a young child, both of our mothers had suffered late-stage miscarriages, and a good friend of mine had a baby with disabilities and so in her own way she was mourning the loss of the healthy baby for which she had hoped.

I was snuggling with my precious newborn niece today, but online I was watching and following another tragic loss of a newborn baby. I have been digitally following along as this young family and their extended relatives mourn and grieve for their loss. I feel their pain. I understand, in my own small way, their grief. I can appreciate the overwhelming magnitude of their sadness. I can appreciate it, I can even attempt to shoulder it for them for a while. And I can do that because I know the pain and I understand.

And this is why . . . this is why I lost my little girl. This is why I have felt sadness. It is so that now I can truly mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. Now, this young couple doesn't actually know me. They may not want me interfering in their lives, but I know that I can be there for me if they need me. This is why.

Confectionary Cheers

I love to learn new things. This week I have learned that my Sara has been holding out on me. She is a confectioner of fine chocolates and candies, and I never knew!

We've made chocolate covered caramels (pictured below), English toffee, chocolate fondant, and chocolate fudge! Yum!!!

She's been trying to teach Z and I how to do it too.

It's messy!