Books!

I figured I'd better do a brain dump of the books I've read recently and what I thought before I read Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling.

I did finish reading Game of Thrones, actually I finished it a couple months ago. Um. I don't know. It was good, well-written, and riveting. But my problem is this: I like happy endings. I'm not ashamed to say it. And this book did not have a happy ending. I have the next book in my Amazon wishlist because I did like some of the characters and want to see what happens with them. But it will probably be a while before I read it. It's not on my bucket list of books that I must read.

Also read New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb. Severely disappointed in this book. Will probably never read it again and that's saying a lot since I read every J.D. Robb book and novella multiple times. I've loved Eve and Roarke since I picked up the very first In Death book. But I ended up hating this book. I love the "minor" characters in the series: Peabody, Feeney, McNab, Somerset, Morris, Mira... The list goes on and on. And they were barely in this book. There's a couple phone conversations and Mira does make an important appearance near the end. But the absences of all the wonderful background characters are felt very heavily in this book. Even the discover of more of Eve's personal story wasn't enough to save this book for me.

But! I did read Celebrity in Death a couple weeks ago. That's the J.D. Robb that I know and love. I like how this book really brought out all the reasons why everyone loves Peabody. Morris kissing Peabody smack on the mouth in the morgue is one of the funniest things. And of course Mavis, Leonardo and Bella make appearances in this book. Freaking love that kid and how she loves her Das.

I've also been rereading the Harry Potter series along with the Alohomora podcast. Nothing new there. It's fun to do the close-read on the series though. J.K. Rowling is the master of foreshadowing and you don't even realize it until you purposely reread for it. I hope that Casual Vacancy is as amazing as the HP series. I want her to prove that she's not a one-trick pony. I feel like it will not only validate her in the literary world but it will also be a win for her fans; especially those of us who discovered Harry as adults. We'll be able to stand up and say that we always recognized her brilliance, even though it was just a "kids" book.

That's it. I'm off to Wal-Mart to buy Casual Vacancy. Will let you know what I thought when I'm done.

Movie & TV Reviews

Have decided to go back to doing a weekly review of what I watched movie and tv-wise. So here we be for this last week. Some spoilers. Sorry.

Angel (season 5, disc 5) - Oh Fred! I'm heartbroken that Fred and Wesley never got to be together. In one episode they finally kiss! Finally! After all these years. Then in the very next episode, she dies and her body is taken over by some old demon. Illyria is a cool addition to the show, and Amy Acker is really good at playing up the difference between Fred and Illyria. The show is getting quite a bit darker as it winds down for the series finale. Only one more disc. Sad. But! Christian Kane is back in the last few episodes. Yaaaaaay!!! AND Adam Baldwin joined the show too. Yay! I love him but not as much as Christian. Which leads me to...

Leverage (current season) - Noooooooo. I have to wait till November for a new episode. Ugh. Too far away. Love the two hour season finale though. Last week's Parker-centric episode was awesome. And I liked the split this week of Parker-Hardison-Eliot in the first hour and then Sophie-Nate in the second hour. But I really hope this isn't a trend that they continue when the show comes back in November. Plus on top of that it's still unknown if the show is going to be renewed for a new season. So the first hour was the trio trying (and succeeding) to stop a terrorist attack in Washington D.C. And guess who guest starred: Adam Baldwin! That was awesome. Although, when you go from watching Angel from 2004 to watching a new show, you can really see how Adam Baldwin has aged. Wow. Christian looks the same but Adam's showing some wear and tear. Or at least they made him look like he was. And by the way, love Christian's new hair cut. The second hour was Sophie and Nate trying to prove to Sterling that they didn't steal a painting and help him find the real thief and a murderer. Of course they pretty much do his job for him. Best part is when Sophie sits on Sterling's lap and pretends like they're engaged when they're questioning someone. He's got the best facial expressions. It's going to be a long two months before this comes back.

The Bourne Identity - Finally getting around to watching this movie. First let me say that I love Matt Damon. I think he's an amazing actor, easily one of the best right now. But I didn't love this movie. I'm not quite sure why. It was good. I liked the story. I liked Bourne and the other characters. But I just didn't love it. I liked it okay. Enough to put the next movie in my Netflix queue and even add the novel to my Amazon wish list. But... I dunno. And I've been trying to figure out why I didn't love it and am striking out. I liked the amount and style of the action movie. I get bored with lots of CGI-ed, over-used explosions. And it wasn't extremely violent. Not lots of blood and guts. I can't figure it out. This movie had what it takes to make me love a movie: a great actor, great supporting cast, interesting storyline, engaging characters. But I didn't love it.

Bones (current season) - Monday was the return of Bones. So confession, the only episode I saw of last season was the season ending. But I'm not sure if I'm going to like the season ahead. The show Monday was good. But then in the previews of next week, Bones and Booth are fighting like crazy.  I know there was a bit of a Will-he-won't-he-come-back earlier this summer with David Boreanaz. I don't know what the final outcome of that was so we'll have to see what happens. But why can't they just let Booth and Bones be happy together?

White Collar (current season) - I've been telling my mom since Sam's first appearance that he was Neal's father. And I was RIGHT! Ha! Man, when will my mom learn to stop doubting my predictions? I'm almost never wrong when I make a prediction about what's going to happen on a tv show, in a movie or even in a book. I don't like the character of Sam. I don't trust him at all and want to be rid of him. He's eating into the Mozzie and Elizabeth time. Since he's been on the show they barely show Elizabeth. I hope that they wrap up his story lines in the second half of the season and then he disappears off the show. I like Diana more this season. I think they waited too long to show her humanity, struggling with her relationship with her girlfriend. Sucks that this show goes on hiatus at the same time as Leverage. And this one doesn't come back till January. Crap.

Project Runway (current season) - Oh my god. I love Dmitry. So much. I just can't even tell you how much. He makes the most gorgeous clothes. And his sense of humor is so freaking hilarious. He was full of glittering wit last night. See what I did there? Ha! First he was commenting on Heidi's dance moves and said "Oh baby" as bland and monotone as could be. Then he was talking about Elena apologizing and Ven opening up. And he honked like a geese talking about Sonjia's dress. THEN the best moment of all of them, when he said "Listen to Tim and put some glitter on it" about someone's dress. I can't even remember whose. Oh my god. My mom and I were cracking up. I would love Dmitry just for his bland, monotone but freaking hilarious commentary. But he's also an AMAZING designer. He deserves to win the whole show.

The Incredibles - This is hands-down the worst Disney movie I've ever seen. I thought it would be awesome because hey, Disney and superheroes. But it's not. The set-up is way too long. Seven minutes in and I was bored. The whole movie is way too long. It was nearly two hours. What normal kid can sit still for two hours? I didn't love the characters. Elastigirl/Helen had some sort of speech impediment thing that wasn't endearing, it was annoying. The kids had the potential to be really amazing but were duds. I never felt any connection to any of the characters or any of the story.

Angel (season 5, disc 6) - It's done. I've watched all of Angel. I'm happy with the way the show was left. Yes, some of the characters I loved died but I was okay with it in the end. I guess there's some comic books that continue the story but I'm not sure that I'll ever read them. First, I'm not a comic book person and second, what if I don't like what they do? I'm satisfied with the way they left the characters at the end of the show.

Criminal Minds (season 7, disc 3) - This isn't the show I know and love anymore. Sigh. The cases are getting gruesome just for the ick factor. So I've been fast forwarding through the shows. If I turn captions on and use the slowest fast forward speed, I can still read the captions to keep up with the case. Then I stop if there's something I want to see. Like the interplay between the profilers. And this disc pissed me off. First, I can't stand this Beth chick that hit on Hotch. She played all stupid: Oh I need a big strong man like you to help me ride my bike I can't possibly do it on my own. And Hotch deserves a woman who knows what she's about and doesn't play games. Second, they've all worked with Reid for how many years now and EVERY SINGLE PERSON forgot his birthday? I don't buy it. At all. Third, they're not using Reid to his full potential. The character deserves more than that and Matthew Gray Gubler is a better actor than that. It's crap.  Fourth, JJ as a profiler is ridiculous. She doesn't add any value to the team. She asks more questions of the others than she does make her own assessments and when she does make an assessment, she immediately turns to whoever is with her for confirmation. I don't understand why they made her a profiler. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in a previous season didn't she have a conversation with Hotch about how she liked being the liaison and helping with the families? She didn't want to be a profiler. And last, I admit that I'm a Hotch/Prentiss shipper. I want to imagine that they live happily ever after together.. And in one of the episodes I watched, there was a really sweet moment when you could really see the potential for the relationship to start developing. They were talking about how she had let her therapist believe that she was in a relationship with a man by describing her cat. And she remarked that the cat was the perfect man, he poops in a box. Hotch grinned and she was laughing, and it was nice. Definitely one of those moments that could have been referenced later somehow to imply that they were in a relationship together.

Gidget - Hm. This movie is... interesting. It's kinda cute. The idea of the adorable tomboy charming her way into the gang of rough, tough surfers was fun. And Sandra Dee was okay and wow, James Darren was gorgeous and a good singer. I just felt unfulfilled. The set-up and first half hour were kind of tedious. And I would have liked some more after the whole Gidget is Francie/Moondoogie is Jeff reveal. That should have been at about the halfway point rather than at the end with a shorter lead-in to Gidget being accepted into the group. Maybe a couple more parent-arranged dates before he gives her his class pin. It was cute and mindless entertainment but what could have been a great movie was just okay.

Alright, that's it for this week. Anyone watch anything I absolutely must check out?

One Goal Down, Onto the Next

So I weighed myself yesterday. The goal I set last week was to get to 260 pounds.

Weight: 258.6
Pounds to Goal: 8.6

As you can see, I bypassed that goal. My next goal is 250 pounds. No date to achieve this by because I want to keep concentrating on each day as it happens. I was really hard on myself this last week. Almost every day at the end of the day when I looked at the stats for the days and wrote in my journal, I wasn't happy with the results of the day. I was going over on calories and I felt like I wasn't doing enough physically. But in the end, looking back, I did pretty well. I wasn't perfect. But I made more progress than I thought I had. Out of seven days, I tracked my calories four of them. Yes, I went over every day. But I tracked my calories diligently. I also ended up with four days that I exercised, two planned rest days, and one day that I took off because my back hurt. Since I'm giving myself a couple weeks of only exercising every other day, that was the result I was looking for.

In the end, I'm happy with last week and looking forward to this week.

Garden Pictures

And here's some more photos that I rescued off my camera. Took these in my garden a few weeks ago. As you can see, I messed around with them. I played with the editing tools that are available in the Google+ photo galleries. I think my favorite is the last white flower. I only cropped the picture, no other editing on it.

Noel

Don't you just think my child is the cutest ever? You do realize the only acceptable answer is Yes. Found these on my camera and had to share them with you.

The grey shirt she's wearing in the first one is a Thundershirt. This shirt is absolutely worth every penny we paid for it and more. It provides a gentle compression that soothes and calms your dog in times when they're stressed out. Thunderstorms, vacuuming, car rides. Whatever. Before we bought it, Noel would shake uncontrollably during thunderstorms and never be able settle down. In the two to three hours ahead of the storm, there was absolutely no way in hell she would go outside to go potty. But since we've had the shirt, getting her outside before (and even during a couple times) storms is easy. We've been able to just walk her outside. And during the storms, she just lays down, calm as can be. I don't even have to put the shirt on her every time it storms anymore. I leave the shirt hanging off a doorknob or chair arm where she can see it. If she feels like she can't tough it out anymore, she'll start pacingin front of the shirt and I know that she wants it put on. But until that point, she just remains calm and lays down.

If your dog suffers from anxiety, you have to try this shirt. It's easy to fit the first time and then to put on them after that. You don't have to try forcing legs into holes. It slips over their head then you bring a flap around their belly and velcro it shut. The biggest thing to remember is not to mess with the shirt once it's on. It's a snug, gentle fit. My mom has a habit of tugging at it which causes it to shift and bunch which then makes Noel snork and breath funny. Just put it on and leave it alone.

I didn't intend for this to turn into a Thundershirt love-fest, but seriously, this is the best dog invention. Ever.

Here's a link to learn more about and then buy the Thundershirt http://www.thundershirt.com/

Smoke

I can't believe that it's been nearly three months since the Waldo Canyon Fire. I find it horribly sad that such a devestating event has faded from the collective conscious of society. I know that life moves on. But it seems like as a result of internet and television news coverage being RIGHT NOW, if something isn't actively happening, society completely forgets about it.

Anyways, I was clearing off my camera and got these two pictures off. I took them on June 27 to create a record of how thick the smoke from the fire was. I live about 8.5 miles as the crow flies from the eastern edge of where the fire was. Normally, I would see the mountains in the distance at the right hand side of the frame. As you can see, the mountains weren't visible at all. Those trees that are obscured but still visible as outlines through the smoke are maybe a mile away. At one point I could stand in my front yard and watch the smoke literally roll up the street like fog. I tried to get a picture of that but was never able to.

You Reap What You Sow

So this last week was a rough week weight loss wise. Couldn't get my act together and in the end had a horrible weigh in yesterday. I know that the blame falls on bad eating and exercise habits and eating pizza for three meals and Del Taco for two.

Weight 263.9
Pounds to Goal: 3.9

Yes. With that weigh in I changed my goal from 250 to 260. I think that part of the weight is water retention. But just in case it's not, I'll concentrate on getting back below 260 before I move on to getting below 250. Baby steps.

Also, I finished playing with the looks of Oh Frog It. It's so pretty now. Nice and streamlined. Organized. I think in the end the look will be good for the blog. And I got my other blog made! The new blog is a style blog. I don't have any posts up yet but you can always bookmark it to check out later Out of This Rut.

Weigh In

Hey! So I thought I'd check in about my weight loss. I think over all the week was decent. I only counted calories two of the six days since my first weigh in, one over and one under, but I don't think I was horrible about eating. I only exercised on the elliptical once for 15 mins. I'm disappointed that I didn't push myself longer and didn't exercise more. Two days I didn't exercise because I was doing other things that I knew would burn calories. One was laundry (up and down stairs with baskets all day) and the other was mowing the lawn. So... In the end I thought the week was okay and prepared myself to weigh in yesterday at the same weight or possibly gain a little bit. But...

I didn't.

Weight: 258.4
Pounds to Goal: 8.5

Ha. I lost 1.1 pounds. I'll take it!

I did almost fall back into the old routine of a few days on track then falling off the wagon and just blowing it. But I managed to claw my way back on track in time to get a loss. Extremely happy with it.

As a side note, I wanted to warn you that I'm going to be flaky about posting over the next couple weeks. I'm going to be redoing Oh Frog It finally and then I'm going to set up ANOTHER blog. Ha. This one is going to be about fashion and my efforts to redo my wardrobe so that I'm not a jeans and t-shirt girl anymore. I'm having trouble naming it. Everything I come up with is taken by other blogs or even businesses. Hmph. So if you have any ideas, let me know.

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