Valentine's Day

Starring: everyone that is anyone

I was hoping for an American Love Actually. I thought that with Garry Marshall directing and a star-studded cast, it could happen. Not so much.
I always love movies that have several small plot lines that all mix together and there were some great moments and a few laughs but overall, I was disappointed. There was never much of a climax; all the stories just resolved themselves. The best part was the soundtrack, I did love the music throughout the movie.
Favorite characters: Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Jen Garner, Emma Roberts, and the adorable kid who played Edison.
Least favorites: Patrick Dempsey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Biel. They did a fine job, I just didn't like their roles.
If you still want to see it just because I would wait for the DVD release.
Enjoy your weekend!

The Wednesday Wars

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt

This book was unexpected. I'd never heard of it or the author. I was at the library picking out books for Emery and this one caught my eye. It reminds me of the honing instinct of books I quoted on the Guernsey post.

In The Wednesday Wars we meet Holling Hoodhood; a funny boy who narrates his life during his seventh grade year. He's growing up near New York City during the Vietnam crisis. He has an older sister who frustrates his father because of her "flowerchild" mentality. All his father is concerned about is becoming the Chamber of Commerce Businessman for two years running. While reading the passages including Holling's father, I pictured a mix between the fathers from A Christmas Story and The Wonder Years. Holling's mother was not heard from much except to say she did all the "dutiful" jobs of a wife and secretly smoked when she thought the kids didn't know.

On Wednesdays when the Jewish students went to Hebrew school and the Catholic students went to Catechism, Holling, a Presbyterian, stayed at school with the dreaded Mrs. Baker. He was convinced she hated him but the reader quickly realizes that was only because she was a good teacher. She made Holling do things he didn't want to do like read Shakespeare. Each month of the school year she made him read one of Shakespeare's plays and then they would discuss it and he take tests and write reports.

Through Hollings eye's we get to read stories and events that vary between hilarity, horror, poignancy, and triumph. Whether or not books really have a honing device, I'm glad this one found me. Do yourself a favor and check it out!

Stay tuned next week for a tribute to Mo Willems as we ring in a new month!

Inventive

I've been following a certain blog recently and I had to share one of her recent posts. She's a stay-at-home mom like me except she's way more creative and talented than I am. Luckily, I can glean ideas from her and then share them with you! Thank you to my sisters-in-law for turning me onto this site! I truly appreciate this woman's ideas and creativity. She has great style and is willing to share tips on how to live stylishly on a modest budget.I cannot wait to try this out with Emery's clothes! Here's a teaser:

You can switch over to Disney's site now! Don't forget to check back in for part two!

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

By Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

I first saw this book listed on many "must reads" from members of my online book club. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I am so glad I did! I love this book! I also love lists so let me make a list of my favorite things about this book:
1. All the literary references from Oscar Wilde to Jane Austen.
2. The format. The entire book is made of letters sent between the herione, Juliet to her best friend, her publisher and good friend, her suitor, and from a man who begins as a stranger but introduces her to a makeshift 'literary society' who ultimately become her best friends. It's fun to read each character's perspective and it makes the reading go by quickly.
3. The history. The book takes place in England and Guernsey in 1946, directly after WWII and Nazi Occupation.
4. The quick wit. This book is full of it and I love it!
5. The writing of this book made me feel like I truly knew these characters. I cared about them and feel like when I reread this book I'll be catching up with old friends.
6. I like that the author, Mary Ann Shaffer is a librarian and had never written a book before. That's great! I would love to do that someday. Not so I can get fame but so I can create a story and characters that people want to remember and know.

Here are some of my favorite lines from the book:

• That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive--all with no end in sight and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.
• Perhaps there is some secret sort of honing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.
• We clung to books and to our friends; they reminded us that we had another part to us.
• He thinks that if one cares deeply about someone or something new, one throws a kind of energy out into the world, and "fruitfulness" is drawn in.

Where the Wild Things Are

I know a full-length movie just came out about this book but we haven't seen it yet. I read a lot of books growing up and I don't remember having a love for that one. I do remember watching the video at the library and I think the 'wild things' scared me a bit. We've been renting the Scholastic Collection movies from the library so I thought I'd give this one another chance. I was worried that it might scare Emery but as it turns out, she's braver than I was. Plus, this video has other Maurice Sendak books put to animation and Em loves it! Her favorite is "In the Night Kitchen" and I enjoy watching that but I will warn you there is a little nudity; obviously not profane but thought I'd let you know. My favorite part of this particular video is the medley of Sendak's books set to music. There's Pierre, One Was Johnny, and my favorite, Chicken Soup with Rice.

I can't recommend these videos more highly; not just this one but each in the collection. Go check them out!

Baby Names

I've got babies on the brain. In that case, I'm going to make a short list (I love a good list) of the names swimming around my head as of right now. If any of my subsequent babies come out not having any of these names, remember I change my mind. A lot.
Boys
Finley
Archer
Rowan
Myles
Asher
Cole
Carter
Girls
Cara
Amelia
Nora
Charlotte
Everly
Avery
Tess

Two of my favorite baby names sites are Nymbler and What a Lovely Name.
Have fun and enjoy your weekend!

Paper Heart

Starring Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera, and Jake Johnson

Let me explain why I wanted to watch this movie. I love Michael Cera. I have to say that I'm a little bit disappointed in the movies he decides to be in (Year One and Youth in Revolt for example) but I still enjoy watching him. Yes, I know he's pretty type-casted now as the soft-spoken loser right now but give him a chance, I think he could be great. I love him as George Micheal in the cancelled series Arrested Development--oh does that show make me happy.

Enough of Mr. Cera though. On to Paper Heart.

It was confusing to me but I think I now have a handle on it. At first I thought it was going to be a love story between the main characters and in a way, it is. It's also a documentary about love in general though. Charlyne Yi doesn't believe in the Hollywood-made romances portrayed in movies so she's not sure she is capable of romance or love. She goes on a quest for the definition of love. She interviews bikers, a divorce lawyer and her husband a family courts judge, high school sweethearts, young couples as well as middle-aged and older. She also goes to Vegas and interviews a few 'little white chapel' officiates (including Elvis).Then she meets Michael Cera and by the end she still doesn't know exactly what love is but she wants to risk the hurt in order to find out.

A few scenes were really great and fun. I have to insert here that Jake Johnson who plays Charlyne's friend Nick (also the director of the documentary) is great to watch. I don't think I've seen him in anything else but there's something entertaining about watching him too; he was very likeable. I have to also say, a few of the scenes are painfully awkward. My favorite parts were the real stories told by interviewed couples and I liked the silly ending.

Overall I'd give it 3 out of 5 stars if I had to rate it. I'd like to give it more but the awkward scenes were too squirmy to ignore.

Bacon & Cheese BBQ Chicken

I know what you're thinking. Two recipes in one week?! Well I felt the need to share this recipe because I made it last night and it's delicious. The original recipe came from AllRecipes (which I adore). Here's the original and then I'll tell you how I modified it:
Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 Tbl. vegetable oil
1/4 cup BBQ sauce
2 Tbl. prepared mustard
4 slices bacon
2 cups shredded cheese
Directions:
Pour oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place chicken breasts in the oil and cook but don't brown.
Place chicken in a baking dish and cover with BBQ sauce and mustard. Then wrap each chicken breast with a slice of bacon. Cover with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Here's what I did:
I did not pre-cook the chicken. I skipped the skillet business as someone suggested on the website (which is why that site is so great!)
I mixed the BBQ sauce and mustard in a small bowl before pouring over the chicken. Also, I did 1/3 cup of BBQ sauce instead because we like our BBQ sauce around here. I also used Sweet Baby Ray's Honey & Brown Sugar BBQ sauce but use whatever you like. Before I poured that mixture on the chicken I seasoned each chicken breast with a little bit of Lawry's season salt. Just a bit.
I added about 3 tablespoons of butter, melted over the chicken too. Then I baked just the chicken with the sauce for 30 minutes (at 350).
When the 30 min. was up I added the bacon (I would've liked to use real bacon slices but I used the microwave-ready bacon since that's what I had on hand).
Then I put a slice of provolone and a 1/2 slice of colby jack on each chicken breast because I didn't have any shredded cheddar.
I put the dish back in the oven for 10 minutes to let the flavors meld and the cheese melt.
If I had used "real" bacon I would've cooked it along with the chicken like the original recipe but the other stuff worked just fine.
I've tried BBQ chicken in the crockpot before and I can never get it to stay juicy. Plus the sauce reduces and doesn't taste good to me. This dish was different--the chicken was incredibly juicy and the flavors all tasted well! I think I should've just used a full slice of colby-jack instead of the provolone but it was okay. I will definitely be making this again and I'll probably experiment with different cheeses and sauces.
Hope you enjoy it!

ABC

ABC: A Child's First Alphabet Book by Alison Jay

Emery really loves ABC books because she enjoys singing the song. This is a great one to read to the child in your life. Alison Jay's illustrations have a crackled-varnish-antique look to them and the main picture is large & captivating. I also enjoy this book because of the way her illustrations flow. In each picture she adds a small snippet of the illustrations to come. It's fun for me to find the hidden pictures while I'm reading to Emery. Plus, she has one main picture for each letter but then adds smaller items to fill the page. For example for the letter P, the main picture says "P is for Panda" but you can point out all the other "p" words to your child. For example, the panda is on a picnic and there are pears, peppers, a pumpkin, and a plate scattered on the picnic blanket. I could see us revisiting this book when Emery is older so she can find the other items herself. As I was searching for an image of the book I came across a few more titles by this illustrator that we'll have to check out. Here's some samples:

Valentine's Crockpot Cake

I stole this photo from CJane (along with the recipe). I tried out the recipe as my Valentine's gift for Nolan. I did take a picture of my own but my camera is not so great. Just imagine it looked like this with a scoop of ice cream, sitting in a cute I [heart] You bowl from Target.

Here's the recipe:
1 pkg chocolate cake mix
1 pkg chocolate pudding mix
1 8 oz. container sour cream
4 eggs
1 cup water
3/4 cup veggie oil
1 cup chocolate morsels
Directions:
Spray crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand then transfer to crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours.

Nolan said he liked it a lot--plus we added ice cream. The mixture of cool vanilla ice cream with the warm chocolate cake was perfect! I think I'll add more chocolate or perhaps add some caramel drizzle next time. It tasted good but not the exact amount of richness I was expecting/wanting. It was my first experience with dessert in the crockpot and it all turned out perfectly fine!

Modern Family

This has to be my favorite new show. Yes, it can be a bit cliche and yes Ty Burrell's character, Phil makes me cringe in the same way Michael Scott does, but it's totally worth it! Actually the show has the same mockumentary style much like NBC's The Office and Parks & Rec. This week's Valentine's Day show was particularly hilarious. I can completely relate to Phil & Claire's struggles as they try to have fun but reality comes back to bite them in the backside. They had me cracking up this week! Fave characters: Cameron & Manny; but they all have their specialties! I know you can watch most of the episodes on ABC's website so check them out!
**For one of my favorite moments, watch this YouTube video

Caramel Frappes

I have to give credit to McDonald's. Their Caramel Frappes are delicious. I was skeptical because I'm a tried & true Starbucks girl. So when Nolan ordered McDonald's I got a Dr. Pepper, just in case the frappe was disappointing. The only disappointing thing was that my Dr. Pepper couldn't turn into a frappe. Now they are my weakness. The only thing that was stopping me from ordering Starbucks every day was the distance but McDonald's is right here! This is great for my tastebuds, bad for Nolan's wallet. I'm even enjoying one as I type! Give it a try! I've been told by a trusted source that the mocha ones are delicious as well! You can't go wrong!

The Perilous Journey

What a great series! Opening this book was being reunited with old friends. I enjoyed the first book but of course, there's a lot to learn in the first book of the series. You have to meet the characters. This time, I already knew the history so I was able to simply enjoy the adventure. Mr. Stewart has developed a well-written group of kids and sets of challenges. It's not as intense for me as Harry Potter but it certainly made a me jump and raised my blood pressure a couple times! Other times Constance made me laugh out loud--what a great (albeit frusrtating) character!

This book and the series in general packs a lot of punch. You get adventure, mystery, puzzles, comraderie, loyalty, self-development, and a lot of fun! This is one I'll be passing on to Em when she's ready!

Sarah Jane

Right now I am exploring and LOVING this website: http://www.sarahjanestudios.com/
It's been around for a couple years now but I just stumbled across it this evening. I love her vintage designs, her links to other great illustrators/creative people, and her story. She's an average woman who had a goal and a dream and went for it. It didn't stop her from getting married or having children, those things may have postponed her dream but she got back on track and is now illustrating a children's book and doing really well on her Etsy shop. By the way, if you haven't checked out Etsy, change that. It's so great and you can spend hours looking over everyone's creativity! Happy exploring!

Emma

Starring: Romola Garai, Michael Gambon, & Jonny Lee Miller
3-Part Miniseries that just aired on PBS.

Every Sunday evening for the past three weeks, I've been excited to check my DVR! This program was fantastic. I loved this film version as much as I love the BBC's Pride & Prejudice (w/ Colin Firth). It was wonderful!
All the actors did a great job and the screenplay was well-written. I even loved the 'lesser' characters such as Miss Bates and the horrid Mrs. Elton. Of course the scenery and costumes were fantastic as well. The movie was very true to the book and was very entertaining.
I know you can order the DVD at http://www.pbs.org/ or try to catch an encore presentation--it's worth it!
I love every opportunity to escape into Jane Austen's England and this experience was no different! Next week, Northanger Abbey!

Me With You

I realize I "review" a lot of children's books but as it turns out, I have a small child and we read lots of books so I have a seemingly-endless supply. I stumbled across this one and have enjoyed it as a bedtime read the past couple weeks. It's beautifully illustrated by Christopher Denise and portrays a relationship between a grandpa and his granddaughter. I have to promote those when I find them because how many books include grandpas? Not as many as grandmas, I'll tell you. Without further ado, let me share a couple of my favorite passages from this book:

We're a pair beyond compare,
a rare and special two,
in all the ways that I am me
and you're completely you....

On days when being me feels like
the sky was painted black,
you and I together roll
along a brighter track...

And though I'll find new ways
of being me my whole life through,
my favorite me will always be
when I am me with you.



Sweet. Charming. Delightfully illustrated. Check it out!
*photo courtesy of http://www.kristydempsey.com/

Last Amen

Last Amen by DownHere

This is a fun song to dance too-they've only recently played this on my local Christian station but I already like it a lot! Of course I like the message but right now I'm just enjoying the beat!
Here's the lyrics (if you're interested). Enjoy!

*My fave lines:
And while the thrills are fading
The joy is in the waiting
Somewhere in the grand design
It's good to be unsatisfied
It keeps the faith and hope a little more alive

Same Kind of Different As Me

By Ron Hall & Denver Moore

I read this book to participate in my online book club. In fact, at the time it was announced we were reading this I didn't think I would be able to read it because we couldn't afford to purchase it. I put in a request but hadn't heard from any one in the book club but a week before the discussion started I received a package all the way from Surrey, England! A fellow book club member was gracious enough to donate a copy! Thanks, Rebecca!
I was warned that this book is a tear-jerker but that always sets my defenses on high. Same as the movie P.S. I Love You. All anyone ever told me was that I would weep so of course I didn't since I'm stubborn like that. I digress...
This book was an uplifting story and I greatly appreciated hearing how a simple act of caring was able to change lives. Deborah did not do more than have a will to serve and a lot of determination but God was able to use that in might ways. I also appreciated the juxtaposition of a black homeless man's struggles set against an affluent white man's. It reminded me that struggles are struggles. What is difficult for one man may not be the same for another and yet, each struggle is validated. Each person has his own path but God is sovereign.

SparkPeople

My sister-in-law is visiting and we started talking about fitness and weight-loss. She told me about SparkPeople which is a free website dedicated to helping people track their fitness and weight-loss. You can find the website at www.sparkpeople.com and I'm looking forward to checking out all it has to offer! It helps you track your food for the day as well as makes grocery lists for you based on your own weight-loss goals. I have not had a chance to explore all the features but thought I'd pass on the information! Hope it helps!

All About Steve

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper, Thomas Haden Church, Ken Jeong

I was caught off-guard with this movie. I was expecting a chick-flick but it wasn't the typical one. It could be categorized as a CF in that the movie was about feelings, a story, and a little about love but not in the girl-meets-boy-happily ever after sense.
Sandra's performance was awkward and heart-warming all at the same time. The dork side of me enjoyed her trivia knowledge and love of crosswords. The men-folk provided plenty of laughs; I've had a love of Thomas Haden Church's humor since Wings and he didn't disappoint.
Overall I can see why the movie didn't get the ratings as others but it was generally entertaining. I have to say, I've seen worse.