Thinking about 2013...

Over the weekend, I told Mike one of my New Year's Resolutions.  He threatened divorce.

You can do it!

There are 47 days left in this year; the busiest year of my life!  When I set my resolutions 300-some days ago, I never would have thought anyone would have taken any interest in them.  Now, with mere weeks left, I find myself with quite the "resolution watch" crew!

"What book are you on?"
"How many have you read this year?"
"Did you finish the book you were reading last week?"
"Are you going to make your goal?"

It's funny to me.  You see, I planned my 40 books out perfectly throughout the year. I knew that on November 14th, I would be reading book number 35. Just like I know that on December 14th, I'll be starting book number 39.  After having said that, I do admit that I haven't always been on track. This summer was the busiest time of my life! Insane. I got off track a couple of times but always was able to get back on.

Right now I am reading my way through book number 35.  I have 5½ books to go. I'm totally confidant that I can do it! You can follow my progress here.  I can hear the cheers!  I'm rounding the corner; the race is almost over! There's no stopping now!

I shop at The Hob

Like most of the world, I love the Hunger Games series.  I've yet to see the movie, but the books were so good!  If you're familiar, you'll totally get this:

I made a Hob shopping bag!  It was easy and fun, and I'm going to show you how I did it!

First, you'll need a plain colored, canvas bag and a bleach pen. Make sure you get the pen FOR WHITES because you want it to remove the color.  Also, the darker the bag, the better the outcome.

Put a piece of wax paper into your bag so the bleach doesn't soak through.

I found and printed a design I liked on the Hunger Games Mockingjay site.

I covered the back of the design with white chalk.

Then, I roughly traced the design, transferring the chalk to my bag.

I filled in the design with my bleach pen and waited! I made the bleach thinner in some areas for a vintage distressed look.

You can see how it started to change color.

When you have the desired color, rinse the bleach off in cold water.  I used the sprayer on the kitchen sink so I didn't smear bleach onto the rest of the bag.

Let your bag dry completely and then head off to the Hob for some of Greasy Sae's soup and bring home a bottle of Ripper's white liquor in your new bag!

I'm linking this up to all of my favorite linky parties!

Book vs. Movie: One for the Money

Close race... I'm giving it a TIE SCORE!  And that's big coming from this book worm!

 

One of my all time favorite book series is Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. I love love LOVE these books! When I found out that they were finally making a movie for the first book, I was pumped! I knew it would be great!

I was not disappointed!  The movie was pretty much spot on.  From the Burg neighborhood to Stephanie's apartment... and everything in between!  I loved it :o)

The Cast 

Katherine Heigl as Stephanie Plum

The characters were cast perfectly.  Katherine Heigl played Stephanie Plum.  I was worried about whether or not she could pull off a character like Stephanie.  In the book, she is portrayed as this go-getter Jersey girl.  She isn't the toughest or the smartest, but she knows how to get what she wants.  Katherine Heigl played the role perfectly!



Jason O'Mara as Joe Morelli

Jason O'Mara was great as Joe Morelli.  He had the perfect combination of sass and charm.  I'm excited for him to step into his cop roll in later films.

Daniel Sunjata as Ranger

Ah... Ranger :o)  When you read the books, you picture a big, hugely built, brown man.  Kind of like a mixture of The Rock and Vin Diesel.  Daniel Sunjata was great for the roll.  My only beef with him as Ranger is that he doesn't quite have the "bad boy" look to him that Janet Evanovich portrays in the books.

Sherri Shepherd as Lula

Nobody more perfect than Sherri Shepherd could have been cast as Lula!  She was awesome!  I so look forward to her in future movies, scrambling for some cluck in a bucket :o)

Patrick Fischler as Vinnie and Ana Reeder as Connie

Then, there is Vinnie and Connie.  They run the bond office.  Patrick Fischler was the perfect little weasel for Vinnie and Ana Reeder was just right for Connie. 

Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur

If you've read the books, you know Grandma Mazur!  Debbie Reynolds did awesome as Gram.  Again, she really comes into character later in the series.  She did do a great job at shooting the pot roast, though! :o)

Other cast members include Debra Monk as Mrs. Plum and Louis Mustillo as Mr. Plum.  They both seem like the right people to be cast as Stephanie's parents.

Overall, the movie was great.  Mike and I double dated with my parents to go see it.  Mom and Dad have both read the book but Mike hasn't (still trying to convince him!)  Mike still enjoyed it and was able to "get it" even without already knowing the story line and the characters.  It was awesome!  Go see it :o)

A Middle Schooler's Perspective

I recently found this book review.  It was written by a middle school boy.  Enjoy!

Monster by Walter Dean Myers


The novel Monster is a dull book with a flat plot and boring characters, and a very stereotypical dialogue. Overall I didn't like this book. When I first read the back, the teacher told me about the book and I thought we found a very good book to read, but I guess not.

Monster has a flat plot. I think this is due to the repetitive storyline. The author goes back into the past over and over again. Every day Steve Harmon goes to court and they say the same thing as the day before. After a while you start to figure out what they are going to say. I thought this would be a good book by what the teacher told me and by the way it sounded on the back, but I know that you can't judge a book by its cover. I felt like I was reading the same book one-hundred times! After a while it started to get real boring and I just wanted to put the book down. After a while I could say the line before I even read it because it said the same line three pages ago.

Secondly, the book has very dull characters. The author didn't describe the characters as much as I needed him to so that I can understand their background a little bit more. All the book really was to me is a bunch of talking and then it went on. I was hoping I could feel the characters more so that I could tell if they were guilty or not before I even reached when it told me. When I read the book, I wanted to be able to feel the characters, know what they are like, and what their families are like. I think that if the author would have explained the characters the book would have been longer and a lot more interesting than I thought.

I also caught a little distraction that I don't think that most people would have found. The dialogue was very stereotypical. Once again, it was a bunch of black males growing up in the hood. They have to talk slang. They have to be bad kids and have no respect or knowledge. I don't think much people would find that but I thought that it was a little wrong and the author should have written the book a little more different. I have always lived in the hood and I am a perfectly good kid and it isn't even really that bad.

I personally don't like this book because there were many things that I found wrong with it. I would not recommend this book to anyone, and I would not read this book again. In my opinion, I think this is the first book I have ever read that would be better as a movie because the settings and the dialogue. I hope you liked my book review, and I hope that you find a better book than this one.

:o)  This review just made me smile a little bit... Too cute.  Actually, I may have to read it just to see if he is right!  I know a few teachers read my blog... Have you or your students ever read this book?  What did you/they think?

Ghosts, Werewolves, and Vampires, oh my!

I don't believe in ghosts... or at least I didn't think I did... until we got one!  We have a ghost.  You know, they say that animals and small children can see ghosts.  Jaden used to call us in her room nightly because she saw a ghost.  Once, Mike even asked her if it was a nice ghost to which she replied, "No, he's an ANGRY ghost!"  Great.  Then she wanted to put glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling because, "they keep the ghosts away."  Humoring her, I brought out a box of my old stars from college (I love them, don't judge) and we put them all over her ceiling.  After that, we never had to go back in her room for ghosts.  Then, one cold December night (are you scared yet?), Tabitha was over babysitting for the girls.  Jaden came out of her room and in a quiet, somber voice, she said to Tabitha, "There's someone in my room."  If I was Tabitha, I probably would have run screaming!  Again, I just chalked it up to her being a kid.

Fast forward a few weeks... Mike and I were getting ready to go to bed.  We were both in our room when we heard a LOUD thud.  It sounded like something crashed into the side of our house.  Mike said it was probably raccoons or rabbits outside (yeah, with a wrecking ball!) and not to worry.  Yeah right.  I saw Paranormal Activity 2.

Wednesday night, Mike and I were watching a movie in the family room when out of our computer speakers, we hear an angry man yelling!  We couldn't make out what he was saying.  Mike said it was just interference picking up someone's phone conversation, but I've seen White Noise!  I know that the angry man ghost is trying to tell us something.  If I had to put money on it, I would bet that he is telling us to get the heck out of dodge!  Yes, sir!

Last night, Kalie came over to watch New Moon.  We were sitting on the couch in the family room when I heard, clear as day, a whispering... "I SEE YOU."  I fumbled for the remote and paused the DVD.  After freaking out for a short second, Kalie just laughed and said it was her phone... STILL.  I know we have an angry ghost.

Speaking of New Moon...

Book vs. Movie

The movie wins by a teensy tiny bit!

The book was definitely more detailed.  In a way though, I think that hurt it.  I kind of got lost in parts of the book.  I felt like there was too much focus on the history of the wolves and the tribe.  Also, I missed Edward like crazy in the book!  The movie was a perfect blend.  I also thought it was pretty awesome seeing the wolves phase.  I still recommend reading the book first, but definitely watch the movie as soon as you're done!

Oh, and in case you are wondering... I'm still Team Edward but Jacob was really starting to win me over in the movie!!  Seriously Bella, werewolves AND vampires?  Can you not find a hot HUMAN guy??

Twilight: Book vs. Movie

Book wins, hands down! 

What I love about books is the fact that you make the movie in your mind.  When I read Twilight, I absolutely fell in love with each character.  It was written in a way that I could get so lost in the story, I would literally find myself holding my breath.  Even if you've never read Twilight, you know basically what it is about -- vampires.  But, don't let that put you off.  I was picturing some kind of Buffy the Vampire Slayer type of story with people running around scared... TOTALLY not Twilight.  In Twilight, Bella Swan takes you into the secret vampire world and makes you fall in love with Edward Cullen and his family. 

The movie was good.  What I didn't like was Bella's character.  She was so skittish in an acting-too-hard kind of way.  Also, Edward can read minds.  I would've liked to have heard through his mind... actually, it would have been better if the movie would have gone more in depth with Alice and Jasper's special talents, too.  Another major difference was the book talked a lot about the Cullens' "vegetarian" diet, meaning they only drink the blood of animals, not humans.  It would have been neat to see Edward and Emmett hunt.  Having said that, I do realize that the book was narrated by Bella, as was the movie.  Bella did not get to see them hunt in the first book... I don't know. 

Oh yeah!  If you have seen the movie, did you notice Stephenie Meyer sitting at the bar in the diner?  I saw her right away!

Both movie and book were great.  If you haven't read/seen either, definitely read the book first!

Next week, Kalie and I are watching New Moon :o)

I DID IT!

Can I do it?

Read 10 whole big-girl chapter books from
September 1-November 30?

Challenge accepted.

I did it! 

As a reward for myself, I bought these lovely black boots from Old Navy... because really, I needed an excuse ;o)

It was a difficult task but Mr. James Patterson made it a little easier with his sitting-at-the-edge-of-my-seat mysteries!  Not only did I finish these 10 books, I also watched the movies, Along Came A Spider and Kiss The Girls, based on these novels.  Personally, I thought that deserved two pairs of boots but my paycheck thought otherwise.

The Women's Murder Club series was awesome.  I can't wait until number 9 comes out in paperback!  This series is about Lindsay Boxer, Clare Washburn, Cindy Thomas, Jill Bernhardt, and Yuki Castellano.  They work together over margaritas at Susie's to solve the tough murders of San Francisco. 

The Alex Cross series is proving to be just as good as the WMC series.  Cross is a D.C. detective working high profile cases in the nation's capitol.  I'm only two books into this series and can't wait to read more!

Although I LOVED every one of J.P.'s novels, I think it's time for a change.  I'm dedicated the winter months to some light, cozy girly books!  First, I have a couple of novels to read and review.  Any suggestions on fun, comedic books?  What are your favorites?  Which authors do you like?

I Double-Dog Dare You!

Remember back at the beginning of summer when Borders double-dog dared Jaden??  The challenge was for her to read 10 books this summer, document them on the provided form, have a parent sign the completed list, and she gets a free book! I wanted to make this more of a challenge because Jaden reads at least 10 books a DAY on her own, and I read a different book to her every night. We only listed books that, 1) she hasn't read before either on her own or with me, and 2) took more than one night to finish. Well, she did it!

Jaden with her completed reading list!

She picked Miss Daisy is Crazy for her free book!

After cashing in on all of her hard work, we stayed and played a little...

Great job J!! I'm so proud of you!!

If you recall, I also took the challenge.  I didn't quite make it though... Labor Day was my goal for my 10 books and I only completed seven.  I'm going to push myself and give it a shot for fall though!  By December 1st, I hope to have read 10 more books!  I'm starting with James Patterson's 2nd Chance.  Now, what shall I reward myself with if I succeed???

Currently, Right Now, As of This Moment

Currently Watching

BB12 Cast.....getracheloutgetracheloutgetrachelout....

Big Brother 12!  I LOVE BB :o)  I am SO applying to be on the show next summer.  Right now, my favorites are Enzo, Brittany and Lee.

Currently Reading

Jodi Picoult's The Tenth Circle. Loving Jodi Picoult right now but I think that after this one, I'm gonna dive into some more Janet Evanovich.

Currently Listening

Whoever You Are by Geggy Tah... an oldie but goodie!  It reminds me of junior high :o) 

Currently Rocking

Old Navy's Petal-Trim Perfect Tank in Lemon Chiffon

with

Maurices Ani Flare Low Rise Jeans

What are your "right nows"?

Thanks for the fun post idea, Hannah!

DO I Make You Proud

Ah yes, she is definitely my daughter :o)  Are you proud, Dad?  Jaden was brushing her teeth this morning and she came out with Mike and wanted to show me her new trick! 

Here are a couple more proud moments :o)

"Jaden to the RESCUE!!"

Taylor is drinking juice out of a sippy cup now!

He is such a good dad.  The girls ADORE him!

Playing with my babies :o)

Reading is a big deal in this family!

Taylor is learning to love books just as much as Jaden!

She is eating a PB sandwich!!

J is NOT scared of the water this year!  Not even when it is freezing cold!

Ok, she either needs a longer slide or a bigger pool... or both.

Taylor has a pigtail (kinda)!!  After the great poop fiasco, she had some hair standing up Alfalfa style.  I clipped a bow on there and she actually kept it in!!

You thought I was joking?  Nope!  Here is proof that J pulls Taylor away from the books by her ankles :o)  Jaden gets a little nervous because she thinks she is going to hurt Taylor but Taylor just laughs!

Have a great day!