New Movie January #18-31

#18 Warcraft: The Beginning (2016) "As an Orc horde invades the planet Azeroth using a magic portal, a few human heroes and dissenting Orcs must attempt to stop the true evil behind this war." -- For a fantasy movie based on a game, this was pretty good. Don't think about it too much, just enjoy kind of movie.

#19 The Last Unicorn (1982) "A brave unicorn and a magician fight an evil king who is obsessed with attempting to capture the world's unicorns." -- J was amazed that I had never seen this movie, so we watched. Not as trippy as Wizards or The Point, but definitely weird. Not really a fan...

#20 Lego Scooby-Doo!: Haunted Hollywood (2016) "The Scooby gang try to rescue an old movie studio, which is not only threatened by developers, but a series of movie monsters too." -- Arthur's pick from last week. For a silly Lego movie, this was pretty good. And we even get character voiced by Elvira. Added bonus points for not being super annoying.

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

Title: Just One Damned Thing After Another (The Chronicles of St. Mary's #1)

Author: Jodi Taylor

Publisher: Night Shade Books 2013

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsguar - Set in two different time periods; New to Me

At St Mary’s Institute of Historical Research, the historians don’t just study the past, they revisit it.

Behind the strait-laced façade of a conventional academic institution, the secret of time travel is being used for ground-breaking and daring historical research taking the historians on a rollercoaster ride through history: from the destruction of Pompeii to the Normandy trenches; from the Great Fire of London to Bronze Age Troy and even to the time of the dinosaurs…

Meanwhile, within at St Mary’s itself, there are power struggles and intrigues worthy of a book in themselves.

A friend told me I had to read this one and lent me her copy. She was right! This was such a fun adventure story. I loved the main character of Max, but all the side characters were also great. I fell right into the fun storyline in the first chapter and almost couldn't put the book down to sleep. The pace is fast and the twists and turns just keep coming. There are some pretty far out happenings, but the way this book is written, I didn't stop to shake my head at the crazy. I was fully immersed in the world. So much fun and a great needed escape from the events of the past few days. Now I need the second book.

The Chronicles of St. Mary's:

• #0.5 The Very First Damned Thing
• #1 Just One Damned Thing After Another
• #2 A Symphony of Echoes
• #2.5 When A Child is Born
• #3 A Second Chance
• #3.5 Roman Holiday
• #4 A Trail Through Time
• #4.5 Christmas Present
• #5 No Time Like the Past
• #6 What Could Possibly Go Wrong
• #6.5 Ships and Stings and Wedding Rings
• #7 Lies, Damned Lies, and History
• #7.5 The Great St. Mary's Day Out
• #7.6 My Name is Markham
• #8 And the Rest is History

Quentin: 18 Weeks / 4 Months

Somebody is 4 months old this week! Silly bug!

Why so serious?

Likes: Toys (anything that makes a noise when he grabs it), being outside, Arthur, snuggles

Hey Q

Dislikes: Not being fed immediately, loud noises

Little smiles

Big laughs

Sleeping: We've settled into a decent routine of bedtime around 9pm, sleeping until at least 2am, and then back down until 6 or 7am. Daytime naps just don't really happen on any schedule.

Coming to get me!

Eating: Big eater right now! Wonder if this means he's gearing up for a growth spurt.

Grumpy selfie

Playing: He's really starting to manipulate toys and grab things. So cute to watch him "play" with things now.

Loving the play mat

Brother play time

Doctor Visit Stats: Q had his 4 month check up this morning. Three shots and one oral vaccine. He was a champ. Only cried for about two minutes and then was fine after some snuggles. I have a long long little boy. Stats:

• Height: 26 3/4" (97th percentile)
• Weight: 16 lbs. 12 oz. (74th percentile)

Won't let go of mommy

While Arthur rode his bike

Milestones: Officially rolling over and scooting in circles.

His new friend Tigger

Living with the gorillas (not so sure about it...)

Schedule: We've settled into a pattern of just trying to listen to Q's cues. No really schedule other than bedtime.

Getting ready for bed

He was talking to his baby until I tried to snap a pic...

Out and About: This past week we got outside for a few activities. Multiple times we accompanied Arthur when he went to "ride" his bike. We're still working on it. On Thursday, we joined friends at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. So much fun! On Saturday we had brunch at the Black Bear Diner.

Brunch selfie

Always staring at Arthur

A Winter's Respite Readathon Finish Line

Pages Read:  15 (The Colour of Magic)  +  21 (The Daily Show) +  295 (Just One Damned Thing After Another)

Pages Read Total: 1039

Books Read: 1

Books Read Total: 4

Comments: I didn't quite meet my page goal, but I did finish four books. I'm a little disappointed to not have finished Voyager, but other books keep distracting me. All in all, I'm going to call this readathon a success.

Goals:

• Read 4 books/1200 pages √
• Review all books read √
• Finish Voyager

TBR:

• Finish Buffering by Hannah Hart √
• Finish The Bargain by Jane Ashford √
• Finish Voyager by Diana Gabaldon - in progress
• A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
• The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett - in progress
• A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron √
• The Daily Show: The Book by Chris Smith - in progress
• Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor √

Life Right Now #2

As I look outside my window: It's dark because I'm writing this on Saturday night...

Right now I am: Taking a minute to relax after dinner and before the bedtime routine.

Thinking and pondering: I seriously need a bit of a break from the kiddos. I need a few hours to myself without having anyone crying/screaming at me.

On my bedside table: Hark A Vagrant by Kate Beaton; Scarlet by Marissa Meyer; Tales of Peculiars by Ransom Riggs

On my tv this week: I finally finished the regular series of Gilmore Girls! Next week I get to watch the mini series. So excited!

Listening to: The Lumineers Pandora Channel again. I love the mix of indie rock and acoustic tracks.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Baked Potato Soup
• Tuesday - Buffalo Chicken Nachos
• Wednesday - Fresh Tomato Sauce Spaghetti
• Thursday - Bacon and Egg Hash
• Friday - Chicken Parmesan
• Saturday - Leftovers
• Sunday - ????

On my to do list: Lots of craft projects, a few emails that need to be written, a big clothing resort (for eventually charity drive), groceries and other errands...

Happening this week: Q has his 4 month doctor's appointment tomorrow. Lots of vaccines... Hope it all goes well. Other than that, I am hosting a baby sprinkle and stamp club on Saturday.

What I am creating: Working on the rest of January's memory planner pages, Project Life spreads for November and December, and SSINK cards for February. So many crafting projects!

My simple pleasures: A good book, snuggly sweaters, and my bed.

Looking around the house: The dining room table is full of crap right now. Really need to clean that off tomorrow.

From the camera: Brunch at Black Bear Diner yesterday. Such attitude from the 3 year old.

December 2016 Clothing Summary

Summer 2015 I participated in a capsule wardrobe challenge. I learned a lot from three months of wearing ~40 pieces. One of the biggest things that I learned was that I hate most of my wardrobe. I have so many ill-fitting and/or not my style pieces cluttering my closet. After completing the summer capsule wardrobe, I decided to take the fall off from that particular challenge and work on building a wardrobe I love. To that end, I started buying clothes agin. But not just any old clothes. No more purchases from the clearance rack “just because it’s cheap.” No more keeping things that don’t quite fit. No more buying things that i love on the mannequin but look silly on me. No more buying clothes that I realistically won’t wear. Instead, I’m trying to be very selective in my buying. So, dear readers, I am going to share with you what I bought during the past month. I will post links if the item is still available and prices i paid. I don’t have a specific budget, but definitely don’t want to spend more than $100 a month. (Realistically I’m aiming for around $40 a month). You will also get to see pieces I bought that I ended up returning. By December, I want to be able to say that I bought some great pieces that I wear often. I also want to plan for a possible winter capsule wardrobe… I decided to add a running total for 2016 at the bottom. I know some months I won’t buy anything and other months I’ll splurge. I would like to monitor my total spent…

Target — Black booties $18.78 (50% off!!)

Christmas gifts -- My mom usually gets me some clothes for Christmas. This year I got some basic layering tees and camis, an classic MTV logo tee, and some owl slippers. No pics, but I'm glad for the layering camis. My old ones were worn out.

December Total: $18.78

Total for 2016: $335.80

A Winter's Respite Readathon Update #4

Pages Read:  37 (The Colour of Magic)  +  75 (The Daily Show) + 40 (Just One Damned Thing After Another)

Pages Read Total: 708

Books Read: 0

Books Read Total: 3

TBR:

• Finish Buffering by Hannah Hart √
• Finish The Bargain by Jane Ashford √
• Finish Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
• A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
• The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett - in progress
• A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron √
• The Daily Show: The Book by Chris Smith - in progress
• Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor - in progress

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• I love the rain, but we need a couple of days of sunshine so we can get out of the house!
• Q smiles so much! I love his little smirks.
• Trying to sneak in some crafting time this week has been hard...
• I need to settle on reading one book at a time instead of the three I'm currently in the middle of
• Can't wait to rush home today and check out my stamp club order. So many goodies!
• Thinking about what I want for my birthday (I know over a month away). I'm leaning towards a day by myself. Maybe see a movie solo, get a coffee and pastry, browse at the book store, etc...

Currently #1

Watching: I blame my mother for getting me hooked. Just for the record, my picks are Vanessa, Danielle M., and Rachel.

Reading: The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett. I finally started the Discworld series.

Listening: Here to Make Friends podcast. Claire and Emma recap The Bachelor every week with just the right amount of snark. I love their deconstructions of the situations.

Making: Attempting to catch up on my PL spreads. Currently working on October. I'm hoping to knock out the rest of 2016 by the end of January.

Feeling: The political events of the past two months have really put me in a weird mood. I'm feeling very detached. I have flashes of anger, and then I get sad, and then I'm okay with everything that's going on. It's a weird situation.

Planning: Working on getting all the elements for a friend's sprinkle. Can't wait to celebrate the impending arrival of her little girl!

Loving: I may be crazy, but I joined a friend's 7 day squat challenge. After every session, my legs feel like jelly. But they also feel great!

A Winter's Respite Readathon Update #3

Pages Read: 46 (The Bargain) + 250 (A Flaw in the Blood) + 26 (The Colour of Magic)

Pages Read Total: 556

Books Read: 2

Books Read Total: 3

TBR:

• Finish Buffering by Hannah Hart √
• Finish The Bargain by Jane Ashford √
• Finish Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
• A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
• The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett - in progress
• A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron √

Quentin: 17 Weeks

Likes: Snuggles; chewing his blankies; bath time

Dislikes: Rain and cold; Arthur getting too close to his face

Selfie with mom at the play place (it was raining outside)

Sleeping: We settled into a decent routine of bedtime at 9:30ish. Sleeps until at least 1:30am, but usually more like 3:30am. Wakes up to eat and goes back down for 3-5 hours. Daytime naps are sometimes nonexistent, but here's to hoping we settle in to something soon.

Eating: Consistent with 6 ounce bottles lately

Watching big brother

Playing: Q has recently started playing with his toys. Mostly he grabs things and tries to eat them, but it's a start. He's also gotten interested in "reading" his little books, especially the one pictured above. The one page is crinkly and he can chew on the book itself. I am hoping to clean the jumper this week and introduce him to the big toys. (It's in the garage and a bit dusty from being stored out there for almost two years.)

Doctor Visit Stats: Q's four month doctor's appointment isn't until Jan. 30th, but we made a visit on Thursday. Everyone in the house has had a nasty cold and I was concerned that the baby was developing bronchitis or RSV or something of the like. He was very wheezy at night. I took him in, doctor checked him out, and he was diagnosed with a mild case of the croup. Nothing super major and nothing that needs antibiotics. So far, he's slowly getting better... On a side note, they weighed him and Q is now 16 pounds!

Baby in motion!

Milestones: Rolling from back to tummy. He can probably roll the other way, but hates tummy time with a fiery passion. He's also started moving around in a circle while on the floor. He's never in the same place as I put him.

Schedule: Eh. Other than bedtime, we don't really have one.

I put him on the mat facing the other way

Out and About: The rain has discouraged our outings. It's just too crazy to attempt to get a toddler and and baby in and out of our tiny 2 door mini cooper in the rain. We did get out to the grocery store earlier this week and a visit to the indoor play place on Thursday. Q went with mom to book club in Redwood City on Sunday. He got to visit with Miss Janine and Miss Amanda and baby Esha. We have an actual outing planned next Thursday to the Bay Area Discovery Museum. Here's hoping it doesn't rain.

Joy! (moving in a circle)

A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron

Title: A Flaw in the Blood

Author: Stephanie Barron

Publisher: Bantam 2008

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 289

Rating: 2/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Read Your Book Shelf; Popsugar -- On my TBR for too long

The acclaimed author of the bestselling Jane Austen mysteries brings rich historical immediacy to an enthralling new suspense novel centered around Queen Victoria’s troubled court…and a secret so dangerous, it could topple thrones.

Totally struck out with this one. My first sign of trouble was that a blurb from Booklist compared it to Carlos Ruiz Zafon. His writing is gorgeous. This writing is mediocre. I didn't get the same feel for a world as I do in Zafon's novels. Beyond that, I hated the switching from 3rd person narration from Fitzgerald to 1st person narration from Victoria. The transitions were abrupt and very annoying. The storyline wasn't very interesting or intriguing. I was bored with the novel. Definitely not worth my time.

New Movie January #11-18

#11 The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box (2013) "Seventeen-year-old Mariah Mundi's life is turned upside down when his parents vanish and his younger brother is kidnapped. Following a trail of clues to the darkly majestic Prince Regent Hotel, Mariah discovers a hidden realm of child-stealing monsters, deadly secrets and a long-lost artifact that grants limitless wealth - but also devastating supernatural power." -- I loved this family friendly action adventure story. It was just the fun movie I needed the other night. Apparently the movie is based on a book. I'll have to check it out.

#12 Burying the Ex (2014) "A guy's regrets over moving in with his girlfriend are compounded when she dies and comes back as a zombie." -- Such a fun little twist on the zombie trope. This was a ton of fun. Definite must-watch movie.

#13 St. Vincent (2014) "A young boy whose parents have just divorced finds an unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door." -- Been on my list for awhile now. Glad I finally got around to watching this one. Bill Murray is great at playing the asshole.

#14 A Royal Night Out "On V.E. Day in 1945, as peace extends across Europe, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret are allowed out to join the celebrations. It is a night full of excitement, danger and the first flutters of romance." -- A silly little movie for overnight feedings. This was a fun movie. Plus the costumes are amazing!

#15 Interstellar (2014) "A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity's survival." -- I enjoyed most of this movie. The look and sound are amazing. Very 2001-esque. I liked the premise of the movie. What I didn't like was the conclusion that someone love transcended all the obstacles. A little hooey for my tastes.

#16 Jason Bourne (2016) "The CIA's most dangerous former operative is drawn out of hiding to uncover more explosive truths about his past." -- We felt like we had to finish the series, but I must say that I was disappointed in this movie. Acting was so-so, plot was predictable, and worst of all, the shaky cam continued.

#17 Invaders from Mars (1953) "A young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings." -- Part of our 100 best science fiction films. Properly cheesy scifi. J and I had a lot of laughs from the unintentional comedy. Definite must-see for scifi fans even if the film doesn't have the same impact as in the 1950s.

The Bargain by Jane Ashford

Title: The Bargain

Author: Jane Ashford

Publisher: Sourcebooks 2014

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 416

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; New to Me

Lord Alan Gresham is the sixth son of the Duke of Langford and, as such, has been allowed to remain at Oxford to pursue his scientific studies. When the prince regent asks him to debunk the "ghost" of a dead actress haunting Carlton House, he cannot refuse, and is forced back to the Society he deplores. But upon meeting the daughter of the alleged ghost, his calm, logical investigation is disrupted.

A fun fluffy romance that turned out to be not so fun. The first 60% of the book was just fine. I enjoyed the characters and the story line. But then things started getting weird. The book tries to stick too many twists and situations into a few pages. Thoroughly disappointed in the last few pages. Really turned me off to the entire book...

A Winter's Respite Readathon Update #2

Pages Read: 28(Buffering) + 32 (The Bargain) + 22 (Voyager)

Pages Read Total: 234

Books Read: 1

Books Read Total: 1

TBR:

• Finish Buffering by Hannah Hart √
• Finish The Bargain by Jane Ashford
• Finish Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
• A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
• The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
• A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron

Buffering by Hannah Hart

Title: Buffering: Unshared Tales of a Life Fully Loaded

Author: Hannah Hart

Publisher: Day Street Books 2016

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 272

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - Librarian Recommendation

By combing through the journals that Hannah has kept for much of her life, this collection of narrative essays deliver a fuller picture of her life, her experiences, and the things she’s figured out about family, faith, love, sexuality, self-worth, friendship and fame.

Revealing what makes Hannah tick, this sometimes cringe-worthy, poignant collection of stories is sure to deliver plenty of Hannah’s wit and wisdom, and hopefully encourage you to try your hand at her patented brand of reckless optimism.

Picked this up before Christmas from the librarian recommendation pile. Originally the ARC was offered as free book for Labor Day. I love watching Drunk Kitchen and was very interested in learning more about her personal life. After reading, I had to take a bit of time to digest everything. Hart unpacks a ton of hard topics within a very short book. I was floored by the amount of stuff she has had to deal with in her fairly short life. Somehow Hart injects a bit of humor into these sometimes dreary stories. I feel like this book is in the vein of Jenny Lawson's Let's Pretend This Never Happened. And I absolutely loved Lawson's book. I don't think Hart has quite the same self-depreciating humor, but she has a few great messages through this book. A very interesting read!

Wintertime Videos

Totally in love with this entire album 

Love Wes Anderson

Going to miss Luther...

A Winter's Respite Readathon Update #1

Pages Read: 45 (Buffering) + 68 (The Bargain) + 39 (A Flaw in the Blood)

Pages Read Total: 152

Books Read: 0

Books Read Total: 0

TBR:

• Finish Buffering by Hannah Hart
• Finish The Bargain by Jane Ashford
• Finish Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
• A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
• The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
• A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron

Books to Movies

Since it's New (to Me) Movie January, I've been thinking a lot about movies. Specifically I've been thinking about all the books that I've enjoyed that I would love to see come alive on the big screen. So today's let's talk books to movies. Let's start with those that have already been made into movies, there are a few standouts to me.

Stardust and Coraline from Neil Gaiman -- I though both of these movies were great adaptations of Gaiman's work. The visuals in Stardust are great. And the Other Mother from Coraline is terrifying even in animated form.

Pride and Prejudice from Jane Austen (obviously!) -- The BBC version is the definitive, although I do enjoy the Keira Knightley version on occasion. Jennifer Ehle is Elizabeth Bennett and Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy is perfection is itself.

All the Harry Potter Movies from J.K. Rowling -- I know they had to cut a lot out of the storyline to fit into the movies, but I still really enjoyed all of these movies. My favorite is the Prisoner of Azkaban.

Outlander series from Diana Gabaldon -- I know it's not a movie, but a tv series was the right way to go with these books. The story is just too extensive. So far, I've loving the series and can't wait until it returns. But I better get reading so I can get ahead of the storyline.

The Prestige from Christopher Priest -- Christopher Nolan really captured the feel of this book. Oh so good.

On to those that I'm looking forward to seeing sometime in 2017.

The Handmaid's Tale from Margaret Atwood -- This book gutted me. I can't wait to see what they do to bring it to the big screen.

The Circle from Dave Eggers -- I actually haven't read this book yet, but it's on my short list.

Murder on the Orient Express from Agatha Christie -- A new adaptation of this classic story. This time directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. I love a classic mystery.

Annihilation from Jeff VanderMeer -- OMG! This trilogy was so weird, but oh so right. I am concerned that the movie won't do the weirdness of the book justice, but I guess will just have to wait and see.

Ready Player One from Ernest Cline -- For all the video game lovers out there. I'm so interested to see what they do with this book...

And finally I turn to those books that I would love to see turned into movies. Did you know that there are actually people that set up odds for which books will become movies in the coming year? I think this kind of speculation is fascinating!  As to my own thoughts, I would love to see the following books turned into movies:

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Cinder (all of The Lunar Chronicles series) by Marissa Meyer

Saga series by Brian K Vaughan

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (series) by Lauren Willig