Sunday Sunset #22

Book finished: Journal Bliss; How to Sell Your Crafts Online; Pinterest Perfect; Handmade to Sell; A Long Way Down

Reading: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming

On the Nightstand: The Little Prince; Sunrise by Mike Mullin; Moonglow by Kristen Callihan

Making Lists: Grocery, tbr piles, picture book list, kitchen inventory, projects to finish list

Around the house: Everyday is a struggle recovering from Hurricane Arthur. Vacuming is a daily task, along with the dishes and laundry. I found time to dust and even rearrange some of our living room organization.

From the kitchen: I tried an easy recipe for chicken yakisoba that was incredibly yummy. It is being added to our regular recipe line-up. For next week, I've got a few more new recipes and even one for Guiness chocolate pudding.

Watching: In terms of television, we've been enjoying The Wil Wheaton Project, Star Trek: TOS, True Blood (finally catching up on S7), started Halt and Catch Fire (undecided so far)

For movies we'e been all over the map lately:

Bad Word - better than I thought it would be
Particle Fever - doc about CERN that I actually found interesting
Non-stop - crazy Liam Neeson movie
Game Change - somehow never watched it; very crazy
A Long Way Down -- for book to movie comparison; really enjoyed it; read my review here

From Nature: After some pretty high temperatures for our area, we're back to normal. Thank goodness. I was sweltering.

Shopping Scores: I used my Kohl's cash for a couple of cute comfy outfits for Arthur and a pair of capris for me. Yeah! I have another pair of pants that actually fit.

Project: I've been working on 11 Project Life card swaps this past week. They are almost ready to be sent out. I just need to put the finishing touches on them, label the packages, and get to the post office.

Picture: Climbing into his jumper... oh no!

Monthly Life Goals August 2014

Before I get to this month’s goals, let’s check in on July’s goals and my progress.

30 Day Challenge: Meal plan entire month – So close, I'm going to call this one a success. I had everything planned through when the boys left. The last week of the month, I had to redo everything. But that's still 3/4 of the month planned at the beginning.
30 Day Challenge: Daily picture book – Success! We read at least a book a day. And we managed to add 30 new books to our 1001 Books list.
Clean out twins’ clothes – Success! Right before they left, we cleaned out the closet filling one garbage bag with too small clothing. Anything right on the edge went back with them. I also included some more pants and shirts for Back to School wear.
Update Paprika with all routine recipes – Fail. Good intentions, I just never got there.
Finish two in progress television series – Success! I finally caught up with S1 of Reign and S3 of Once Upon a Time. There are many other in progress shows on the server, but they will have to wait.
Pinterest Challenge: Complete 5 techniques, sketches, challenges – Success! I completed cards for five different online challenges.
Pinterest Challenge: Get rid of 2 retired DSP boards – Fail. I didn't use any of my retired DSP this month. Good intentions, but it never happened...

30 Day Challenge: Daily picture book -- It went so well last month that I thought we should try again!
30 Day Challenge: Daily walk -- I tried this a few months back and failed. I really want to get back on board this month.
Prep TBR piles for rest of year -- I started this last month, but I want to get all my piles prepped, grouped, and readied on the blog.
Clean out my closet and random office bin -- The closet isn't in a bad shape, but it needs another clean out. And the random office bin is just an absolute mess.
Pinterest Challenge: Create and weed through a board for Arthur's 1st Birthday Party -- I've just pinned a ton of crap onto his Space Party board, but now I need to take a critical look at everything. What do I want to make/do/buy/keep?
Pinterest Challenge: Try 5 new recipes -- The twins are gone. That means that I can experiment with new recipes again. I've got an entire Pinterest board to chose from.

Bout of Books 11 is Coming. Are You Ready?

I'm ready, I'm ready! Can't wait to get my Bout of Books on this fall. And this time, I am determined to rejoin the Twitter chats and challenges.

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 18th and runs through Sunday, August 24th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 11 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

Title: A Long Way Down

Author: Nick Honby

Publisher: Penguin 2006

Genre: Fiction

Pages: 325

Rating: 4/5 stars Movie: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Monthly Key Word - Aug; 52 Books - W31; Books to Movies

Meet Martin, JJ, Jess, and Maureen. Four people who come together on New Year's Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Topper's House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives.
In four distinct and riveting first-person voices, Nick Hornby tells a story of four individuals confronting the limits of choice, circumstance, and their own mortality. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances.

This isn't High Fidelity. That was my initial thought when finished with the book. I started my Hornby journey with J's favorite and have found that this one just doesn't quite live up to it. This volume is a good novel. We get four interesting engaging characters. The switches in point of view are done well. Overall the storyline is okay. It just doesn't have the depth of High Fidelity. The overall voice of the book is not clear. In fact, I wasn't really sure of the point of the book once I got to the end. But I did enjoy reading it, so that's something.

Movie:

The movie fixed the main issue I had with the book: pacing. The movie quickly moves off of the roof of Topper House and into the characters. Very good decision. Once there, we get each of the characters' voices in a the telling of the larger story. I liked how they kept the voices, but didn't get stuck in each of the stories. Instead, the voices just narrate four different parts of the story. I thought the casting was very spot on, especially Jess. Jess can be very grating in the book. Imogen Poots toned her down a bit, but kept her inappropriate comments and impulsive nature. Toni Colette was perfect as the dowdy Maureen. I really believed her to be the meek mouse of the group. The only thing about the movie that I wasn't sold on was the ending. It was a bit too happy for me. I like the more ambiguous ending of the book. But that's it. I really enjoyed the rest of the movie.

FF #27: Museum Visit

I love going to museums, but what to wear? I don't want to show up in a tank top or shorts or a formal dress. Something a bit dressy, but quirky seems just right. I love the unsual combo of black and tan to keep the outfit youthful. The bag is the perfect size to carry the essentials and not have to check the bag at the security desk (the worst thing!). The earrings remind me of a piece from a natural history museum and the boots from an art museum. Perfect pieces!