Soooo.... It's been, like, 3 years.

Hey y'all! I like how I created this blog and then just completely neglected it for 3 years. It's ok though, I've been busy. Since I last was here... I've had a child, who is now almost 2! And, I've had some job changes. I now work full-time as a therapist in a mental health clinic with the local Air Force Base. I love it. I also do some private practice on the side. Career-wise, I am content. Family-wise, I am beyond content. My husband and I are absolutely in love with our daughter, Ella.

As you may know, having a child changes a LOT of things. I found that reading books and watching movies were put on the sidelines for a while, and were replaced with not only newborn care, but reading What To Expect books, blogs about breastfeeding, and waking up 3 times a night. Still, I am finding things that make me excited and happy. I'll mention some music I've been LOVING in the last week. The group is Echosmith. Their album, Talking Dreams, is so much fun. To me, they sound like Paramore, but mixed with a little Coldplay emotion and pop-like melodies. The song that got me was "Cool Kids." Listen to it here.  If you don't like this song just a little bit, then there is something wrong with your brain.

Until next time! Hopefully it won't be another 3 years... :)

Beastly

I was hoping this movie would be better. I was hoping this would feed my inner teenage girl. I have not read the book, but I'm sure the book was probably better. Don't get me wrong, there were some cute, heartfelt, and funny moments. I loved Neil Patrick Harris as the blind tutor. He was excellent. But, I felt like there were details missing from the story. There wasn't quite enough build-up before Kyle was cursed with his beastliness. I needed more time to hate his shallow character before I really believed he had changed by the end of the film. Alex Pettyfer is ridiculously gorgeous, but acting is not his strong suit...at least not yet. I liked him much better in I Am Number Four. Pettyfer, who is from England, sports an annoying American accent that gets under my skin for some reason. This was the first movie I had seen Vanessa Hudgens in. She was okay, but all I could keep thinking about was how she cuddles with Zac Efron every day (or at least used to). If I'm distracted by the actors' love lives and fake accents, the story didn't grab me like it should have.

Firefly and Serenity

Just last night, I finished my Firefly marathon. I'd heard of Firefly's popularity and so began watching the cancelled-too-soon TV show on Netflix, immediately followed by the film Serenity. This TV show, created by Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, is a sci-fi western, with lots of comedy, action, and compelling characters. Serenity is the film that wrapped up the Firefly story and answered fans' burning questions that were left unanswered when the show was cancelled after only 14 episodes. Loved every minute of it!

I have to say, I have never seen a show quite like this. I liked the dialogue and the cursing in Chinese, the sexual tension between Mal/Inara and Simon/Kaylee, and the stupid but strong essence that is Jayne (Adam Baldwin--also love him on Chuck). It's difficult to pick my favorite character, but I might go with Mal. Nathan Fillion makes a great captain and now I think I may have to start watching Castle because of his Firefly performance. Makes me curious as to what he can do.

I can see why this show and movie reached cult status. Fans can do so much when they are enthusiastic about a story and its characters.

Apparently I blog in spurts...

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I blogged last. And I see that my last post was right before I went on my yearly vacation to the Black Hills, SD. Where am I now? Yep, same place. Vacation in the Hills provides me with the most free time. Free time = movies, books, TV shows, and motivation for blogging. :-)

Life has been busy for me. Since I posted last, I have graduated with my masters in Social Work (go me!) and I landed a therapy job. I've worked at the same hospital for 3 years, and now I've moved up from tech to therapist. Feels good to use my degree and get paid more! Yay!

Of course, I have been reading and watching movies and TV for the past year too, when time and energy let me. It will be overwhelming to try and cover everything I've seen, but I can touch on the main cool stuff. Let's start with last summer's reading list. I actually read three of the books I posted about last time:

Spells
This was the sequel to Wings. I did not like it as much as its predecessor. Spells was not as fast-paced. I thought the story didn't move along quite like the first book did. The prose was still very pretty and enchanting, but I wasn't as thrilled with it. I'm hoping the third book in the series is better.

Marked & Betrayed
I read the first two novels in the House of Night series. I really enjoyed them, especially the voice of the main character, Zoe. These books actually read like it was written by a teenager--lots of spunk, attitude, and fun. I need to continue the series! Time to borrow from a friend...

Catching Fire
This is the third and final book in the Hunger Games trilogy. What an amazing finish to a thrilling series! Absolutely loved it. Books like Twilight and Marked are fun and fast YA novels, but The Hunger Games is in a whole other category. It's been rated some of the best YA fiction in the past decade.

Right now, I'm in the middle of Beautiful Creatures. Next, I plan on reading Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. :)

I wish I was a fast reader... My summer reading list.

I've got a vacation coming up in a week... 2 weeks at our cabin in the Black Hills, nothing but time to read, watch movies, relax, and watch deer cross the meadow. I've got a lot of great books that have been sitting around, calling my name. I hope to get a lot of reading done, even though there's no way I will read all of these by the end of summer. These are just plain fun and I have heard great things about them. In no particular order:


Spells by Aprilynn Pike. It's the sequel to Wings, which I looooved. Simple, pretty prose... fun and adventurous faerie story. I've never really read faerie books, so this series has my interest peaked.


The Dark: New Ghost Stories, edited by Ellen Datlow. I bought this anthology over a year ago, read a couple of stories, then put it down for some reason. Gotta finish it. The cover alone is reason enough.


The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Struggle, by L.J. Smith. I absolutely love the show, so I want to know how the books compare. Interestingly, the copyright date on this 2-in-1 book is 1991. Took them a while to make the show, eh?


Marked (A House of Night Novel) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast. I always see these books while hanging out in the YA section of the bookstore. My friends love them, so I bought the 1st in this series.


The Host, by Stephenie Meyer. I'm such a big Twilight fan and yet haven't read this adult novel by Stephenie. I think it's time, don't you?


Now, those books I have in my little hands. There are a few books I want to read that I haven't bought yet, including The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Water for Elephants, and Catching Fire.

Better get reading!

God Bless Pandora radio.

I just love Pandora. I listen to it at home and work and it introduces me to great songs and artists that I either forgot about or had never heard of before. I have one station--based on A Fine Frenzy's music--and two songs came on today. Just very chill songs.

The first song was "Cut" by Plumb. I knew I had heard this song before and it was killing me that I couldn't remember. Where have I heard this before?!? Then it hit me: This song played during a romantic scene in The Vampire Diaries. Ah. Click here to watch the scene with the song, or just listen to the full song below:




The second song was "Claustrophobe" by Katie Todd. I'd never heard of this girl before. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the exact song anywhere online to show you... but click here for her website and a list of her releases.


I love it when I find good music... I'll have to download both of these albums on Rhapsody when I get home today! :)

Sia

Can't get this song out of my head. "Don't Bring Me Down" by Sia

Alice in Wonderland was...weird.

I'm not sure what I think about Tim Burton's take on Alice in Wonderland. Let's see... I loved the music. Johnny Depp's eyes freaked me out. The Red Queen was excellent. Other than that... it was a bit too much and hard to follow at times. I understand the story and all, but some of the dialogue was fast and hard to understand.

Overall... Kinda trippy.

Emotional Rollercoaster: Remember Me

I've been meaning to watch Remember Me (starring Twilight's Robert Pattinson) for a while now. Motivation struck the other night and I took a trip to my local Redbox. 2 hours later I'm wiped out from everything that I saw in this film. (Don't worry, no major spoilers)

Remember Me really got under my skin and had me thinking about certain scenes for some time afterwards. The movie is sad, but funny and compelling. There is death, passionate romance, school bullies, sex, smoking, drinking, bar fights, grieving, and laughing. I was surprised by the emotional depth of this film. Was there too much? I don't know. Maybe. It was a lot to process, but I was pretty riveted. I was actually surprised it was only rated PG-13.

Robert Pattinson was really exceptional in this film. He plays Tyler--a real guy with real problems. And he's believable. He's got anger issues that land him in jail on more than one occasion. He falls in love with a girl who shares a similar tragic past. Here's a clip from the movie:




The ending didn't surprise me because I knew it was coming. I had accidentally read something online about it, so I had a feeling. But, I probably would not have been prepared for that ending. Despite it, I understand now the purpose of the ending.

Oh, and by the way, the guy who plays his roommate, Aiden, is quite annoying. I don't know if it was the character or the actor, but he was loud and obnoxious. LOL

Looking forward to watching it again with some friends!

Paranormal Activity 2? Yes, please!

Yes, they have made another one! *claps in excitement*

I was pleasantly shocked when I saw the trailer for Paranormal Activity 2 at the theater recently. Scary movies are my faaaaaaaavorite types of movies, and the first Paranormal Activity scared the holy hell out of me. Probably the most scared I've been watching a film since The Blair Witch Project.

Now, these types of movies (scary amateur/documentary types made to look authentic) are not everyone's cup of tea. You either love 'em or hate 'em. I have seen a tremendous amount of scary films over the years. Paranormal Activity brought me to the point of covering my eyes and ears, which I NEVER do. I thought I was just about desensitized because of all the blood, guts, ghosts, and devils I've seen in film. Paranormal Activity shocked me and the only thing I kept thinking while sitting through it was, "When is this going to end??!?"

Being scared in a movie is fun for me. You have to admit, Paranormal Activity was a pretty unique film. I loved reading about how it was made and the experience the actors had making it.

Now, here is the trailer for Paranormal Activity 2. Prepare yourselves:



Crazy!!! Watchers of this trailer have debated whether or not the girl standing in the bathroon doorway at the end of the trailer is Katie from the first film. I think it's unlikely. My opinion is that the powers-that-be have probably created a whole new story line for this sequel.

Did you notice that both the baby and the dog are missing in that very last shot? So scary!