Books and Movies of 2012

It's not possible for me to rank the top three (of four) books I read this year. The Fiery Cross, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, and An Echo in the Bone (the 5th, 6th, and 7th books in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon; the 8th book comes out next fall) are all equally great. (Each book is about 800-1000 pages long and hard to put down.) I love the Outlander series and can't wait for the eighth book to come out.

So that means that the fourth book I read this year, A Biltmore Christmas (by four different authors), is ranked last. It's a series of stories, each about a different sister who lives in Asheville and goes to Biltmore Estate as an employee and finds love while there. I didn't dislike it, but I can't say that I'd recommend it.

There were a few other books I started this year. I lost interest completely in two of them after a few chapters (Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin and Jasmine Nights by Julia Gregson) and stopped reading them. I also started reading Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (I'm less than 50 pages in after starting the book in September) and Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, which isn't holding my interest as much as I'd hoped or expected. I'm not ready to give up on it yet though.


So, this is how the list looks, for those who like things in list form:

1. The Fiery Cross
    A Breath of Snow and Ashes
    An Echo in the Bone
4. A Biltmore Christmas

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And now for the movies I saw this year for the first time. I normally rank the movies between December 31st and the first few days of January, but there are no other movies coming out in theaters or on DVD this year that I'm interested in seeing. So, let the ranking begin.

I saw a total of 33 movies this year that I hadn't seen before. Here are my top 10:

1. The Avengers
2. Breaking Dawn part 2
3. Les Miserables
4. The Hunger Games
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
6. Fireproof
7. Batman: The Dark Knight Rises
8. The Bourne Legacy
9. Hope Springs
10. War Horse

Some of the movies in my top 10 could easily switch places with the movie above or below them. Les Miserables might get a second or even a first place ranking on another day. I went back and forth with the The Hunger Games and The Hobbit. Batman: The Dark Knight Rises had better acting than Fireproof, but I love the message in Fireproof. And I went back and forth with 8 through 10. Ranking these movies was not easy for me.

Honorable Mention: Brave

These were okay (2½ - 3 stars out of five): Public Enemies, Cowboys and Aliens, Dolphin Tale, Courageous, Gran Torino, Hugo, Wrath of the Titans, We Bought a Zoo, The Vow, Snow White and the Huntsman, John Carter, This Means War, The Lucky One, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Men in Black 3, Playing for Keeps (would've been better if Gerard Butler's character had been more mature [though he gets better at the end] and if the soccer moms hadn't been so desperate and ridiculous), The Good Doctor, and The Words.

Most boring movie of the year: Moneyball. zzzzzzz

Disliked: Red Tails and Journey 2: Mysterious Island

Hated: Tower Heist

Movies I'm looking forward to in 2013:

Warm Bodies
Safe Haven (So excited to see my beloved Southport on the big screen!)
Star Trek: Into Darkness
Now You See Me
Man of Steel
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

More movies could be added to this list as I find out about them and see their trailers.

Christmas Day

I didn't put all the ornaments on the tree this year since I didn't get started decorating it until Christmas Eve.

Because I had slept so long Sunday night/Monday morning (11½ hours, plus I dozed on the couch a couple times), I wasn't tired at all Monday night and didn't go to sleep until after 7:00 AM Tuesday morning. I was up before noon (less than 5 hours sleep) and since my kids were still in bed (seriously), I had time to get myself ready for the day before getting the kids up to open presents.

Sean had already been given his golf clubs and, as I said in my previous entry, he and Kelly had also already opened their stockings. Sean's other gifts were four video games from us (Star Wars: Force Unleashed I and II, Spider-man Edge of Time, and a Need for Speed game) and money from my mom.

Kelly's gifts from us were 3 Twilight dolls (Bella, Edward, and Jacob), 5 CDs (a set of 3 nature sounds CDs, the Breaking Dawn part 2 movie score, and relaxing Celtic - all of which were on her list), a video game (Final Fantasy XIII, which she opened last week since Sean had already been given his golf clubs), two Nerf guns (one of them doesn't work, so we'll have to bring it back to Target), and two Dear America books (Christmas After All and The Journal of Scott Pendleton Collins: A WWII Soldier, Normandy, France, 1944). Mom gave her money.

Charlie got me a large red pot (I had been wanting one) and money for shopping. I got him two car books he was wanting. Mom gave us both money a couple days ago.

After opening presents, I put the frozen chicken in a sink of water to thaw and the plan was to get it in the oven by 3:00. Mom was working half a day for one of her co-workers so that her co-worker could spend some time with her baby and family on Christmas. But then the co-worker decided that she wasn't going to come in at all and since Mom works at a hospital she couldn't just leave. She had to wait until they could get someone to come in. She said she'd be here by 7:00, so that meant I'd have to wait until 5:00 to get the chicken in the oven.

My brother, his wife Jennifer and their baby son Drake (who will be 2 on Thursday) came by after 4:00, but since she has to get up at 5:30 AM for work, they didn't stay for supper. :-/ They left before 6:00.

I got the chicken in the oven a little after 5:30, but completely forgot to put the red potatoes in with it. I didn't remember the potatoes until about 30 minutes before the chicken would be done, so I cut them up in bite-sized pieces and cooked them in a large frying pan in olive oil. I seasoned them with salt, pepper, and rosemary and they turned out delicious. One of our favorite ways to eat potatoes.

The food I was cooking (whole chicken, yeast rolls, rosemary potatoes) was done by 7:30, but Mom didn't get here (with the stuffing, green beans, and fried chicken tenders; she forgot about the black eyed peas) until after 8:00.

The food was very good and we had a good time of talking and laughter. We laughed quite hard when Kelly shot Charlie in the head with her Nerf gun (round, glow-in-the-dark discs) and then when I shot Sean in the butt when he was bent over. And again when Charlie said something to the kids about them needing to cut it out and Mom said he sounded like an old man when he said it. It didn't help that Mom and I were so tired and were therefore easily amused.

Mom left around 9:30 and after spending a little time at Facebook uploading Christmas pictures and catching up with friends (and eating a piece of pumpkin pie), I watched the season finale of Rizzoli and Isles before falling asleep on the couch. I slept for about 3 hours and then got up and did a little cleaning. I still need to clean the kitchen and then I can go to bed and get a few more hours' sleep.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!

Kelly and Sam. We have two more cats named Sadie (black) and Evie (black and white).

 Sean and Milo. We also have a cream-colored toy poodle named Pippin.

Our Weekend, Date Night, Getting Ready for Christmas

 Friday evening, Charlie and the kids went with me to do the grocery shopping. (It's usually just Kelly with me.) Of course, having Charlie with me meant that much more than what I had on the grocery list got put into the buggy. Instead of the usual $150 (give or take), groceries ended up costing about $240. Goodness. lol

After bringing the groceries home and putting the refrigerated and frozen foods away (I put the rest away later), we went to Red Robin for supper and then saw The Hobbit. This was the third viewing for me and my kids, the first for Charlie.

Saturday afternoon, I went shopping for stocking stuffers (found several at Party City), as well as a gift for our mail carrier (mug that came with a spoon, hot chocolate mix and marshmallows), and after coming home, Kelly and I went to see Breaking Dawn part 2 again (fifth viewing for me, fourth for Kelly) and then we went to Olive Garden for a late supper.

Sunday was church. There was mostly singing (Christmas songs, of course). Even my pastor sang a song, which is rare. When he stepped up to the mic, I thought the singing was done and that he was going to speak for awhile, but then the music started and everyone cheered and applauded. We cheered and applauded a couple times during the song and again at the end of it. Many of us got out our cameras, cell phones, and iPads and took pictures and video of him singing. Pastor did speak about love for a few minutes after he was done singing and then he asked us all to come to the altar and pray with our family members who were there with us before dismissing us.

Sunday evening, Charlie and I went on a date for our anniversary (which was on the 17th). When we went out to the car, Charlie opened the door for me. :-) He hadn't done that in years. He opened the door for me most of the night. Aww. :-) We went to the movies first and saw Playing for Keeps. Cute movie. We then went to Red Lobster for dinner.

We went to my mom's after eating and hung out at her place with her and the kids for a little bit before coming home. Once it got to be after midnight, I let the kids open their stockings since it was technically Christmas Eve. They loved what they got.

Sean - UNC Tar Heels golf balls (we already gave him his new set of golf clubs since he went with Charlie to pick them out and was really excited to have them), UNC "tattoos", UNC decal (overlapping NC w/ #1 Fan below that), 2 packs of Kit Kats, a small thing of M&Ms, a green silly whistle (I don't know what they're actually called lol), a $10 Target gift card and a Tar Heels toothbrush.

Kelly - a Jackie Evancho Christmas CD (she's been wanting a Jackie Evancho CD for a long time), Hunger Games book light, Lindt chocolate bear, 2 packs of gold coins (she really wanted those in her stocking lol), a silly whistle (blue), a dolphin key chain, gummie bears and gum.

I started getting a headache Sunday evening and by late that night, my head was killing me. Even after taking 3 or 4 ibuprofen. I slept about 11½ hours that night/yesterday morning and woke up with my head still pounding. I took four more pills and still my headache didn't go away. My head hurt all day and I didn't feel up to doing much of anything, despite having a lot that I needed to do. I did get a load of clothes washed, cooked supper and cleaned the kitchen.

By late last night, I couldn't put things off any longer and decorated the tree and wrapped presents, with Charlie's help. Charlie and the kids helped me out some by clearing off the dining room and coffee tables and Charlie swept the kitchen and dining room.

I still need to do some more cleaning (vacuum the floors and clean the bathrooms mainly) and of course cook Christmas dinner. I'm baking a whole chicken (seasoned with Sylvia's chicken rub seasoning - so good!) with red potatoes. My mom is making the stuffing, cooking the vegetables and I think the black eyed peas. If not, I've got some I can cook. I'm also cooking the yeast rolls and a pumpkin pie. Mom's already made Christmas cookies and we've been enjoying those since Sunday night.

Looking forward to the kids opening their gifts and having family (my mom, my brother and his wife and baby son) over for Christmas dinner.

Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Music - My Childhood Favorites

There were a couple Disney Christmas albums that my mom bought (ordered from TV, I think) when I was a little girl. I think she bought them when we lived in Tulsa, OK, because I don't remember listening to them before we moved to Tulsa and whenever I hear songs from that album it's memories from Christmas in Tulsa that come flooding back to me. We also got a stray female Siamese kitten that first year living in Tulsa. (We named her Smokey.) She loved biting on one of the album covers and it brings a smile to my face when I see her little teeth marks on the album cover. Yes, my mom still has those Disney Christmas albums.

Here are the songs that were my favorites and/or that bring back the strongest memories from those two Christmases in Tulsa.

Pause the music player at the bottom of your screen first.



This next song was my favorite Christmas song most of my life. My favorite now is O Holy Night.






I always liked this version of The Chipmunk Song better than the version with Alvin, Simon and Theodore. Probably because it's the one I grew up listening to.


This is usually a pretty annoying song, but I always liked this version.




I think this one came out in the '90s. I've always loved it.

18 Years

 
Today is my and my husband's 18th wedding anniversary. We were talking the other day about our anniversary coming up and how it doesn't feel like it's been 18 years since we got married. He said it feels more like 4 or 5 and I said it feels more like 10. Even though I'm almost 40 years old, I don't feel old enough to be celebrating 18 years of marriage. lol

So much has happened in these 18 years. Some bad, but most of it good. We started off with very little. We lived with my parents when we were first married. And then when my parents separated shortly after we got married, we lived with my mom. We all helped each other.

In April of 1996 we left Greensboro and moved to La Grange, NC. A small town (population less than 3000) between Kinston and Goldsboro. Other than my husband's boss, we didn't know a soul there. All we had was each other. We missed Greensboro a lot, but moving to La Grange, where the cost of living was lower and my husband could make a bit more money, was the best thing we could do to get caught up financially.

The first house we rented in La Grange was a really old two-bedroom house in the country. We were literally surrounded by farm fields. The house was in bad need of renovations (which they did after we moved out), but I tried to make the best of it.

The refrigerator was missing a handle, only two of the burners on the stove worked, the oven didn't work at all, we had no washer or dryer (I washed clothes in the bathtub and hung them up in the bathroom to dry until Charlie's boss's wife said we could use her washer and dryer), there was no air conditioning or heat (I'd wake up cold and then later in the day it would be so hot I'd go sit in the car with the a/c running). The carpet was so yucky and matted down it felt wet, so I never walked on it barefooted. The water in the bathroom was so full of rust that sometimes I'd have orange, sticky gunk in my hair and would have to rewash it. We didn't have a bed to sleep in, so we would take the cushions (all were removeable) off the couch and chairs and make a bed out of them on the living room floor.

One day, about a month after we moved, I had had enough and immediately took down the pictures from the walls and began packing. I told Charlie I wasn't going to live in that house anymore. I didn't care that the rent was only $250 a month. We found a house in town shortly after that for $350 a month. A cute two-bedroom house (white w/black shutters) that had just been completely renovated. I was so glad to get out of that house in the country.

We started our marriage with almost nothing, but we had each other and God.

In the summer of 1996, I found out I was pregnant. We hadn't been trying. I didn't even think I could get pregnant and I didn't want kids, but I was so happy when I found out I was pregnant.

In March of 1997 (I'm leaving out a lot of details), when I was 9 months pregnant, we left La Grange and moved back to Greensboro. We were so happy to be back home! I gave birth to my son Sean about 2 weeks later on April 9th.

Summer 1998, we bought our first house. That October (Halloween), we moved in. We still live in that house. We did try selling it once (November 2007 - November 2008), but though a lot of people said they liked our house, no one ever put in an offer. We'd like to try again next year.

In early summer 1999, we found out I was pregnant again. This one we did try for for 6 months. February 8, 2000, the day after my 27th birthday (I had gone to the hospital the night of my birthday to be induced the next morning), I gave birth to my daughter Kelly.

I've loved so much being Sean and Kelly's mother. As I read somewhere, they are my heart walking around outside of my body.

In early 2001, we nearly lost our home to foreclosure. The mortgage company sent a letter wanting us to write to them and tell them why we were behind. There were several reasons why (the expenses that come with kids like diapers, prescription for Kelly, etc., a cut in Charlie's pay, increase in how much was taken out of his paychecks for insurance, etc.), which I explained to them. Then the waiting and the praying began. I remember being so afraid and being in the shower crying. I felt like God spoke to my heart and said, "Don't you trust Me?" And then I knew that no matter what happened, we would be okay.

The mortgage company decided to work with us and we didn't lose our home.

There have been other hardships (much more personal) as well as the loss of too many loved ones since we got married (my father, Charlie's mother, [his father died before we knew each other], 3 of my grandparents [one died before I knew Charlie], a few of my uncles, one of his sisters, his oldest nephew, one of my cousins), sickness (endometriosis, PCOS - me), and of course just the daily responsibilities of working, paying bills, and taking care of our kids.

We've had our struggles just like any other married couple has, but I can say honestly and without any hesitation or doubt that I love Charlie now more than I did the day I married him. Every day I love him more.

Unfortunately, Charlie is in Mississippi working (he's been there nearly 2 weeks), but should hopefully be home by the weekend.

I close this entry with one of the songs from our wedding:
Pause the music player at the bottom of your screen.

Tea Party, Christmas Shopping and Movies

Sunday evening was the Christmas tea party for the ladies (and teen and pre-teen girls) at my church. We had a lovely time. Each table was beautifully decorated and we each voted for our favorite. The one I voted for won. My daughter Kelly (age 12) was chosen by the lady (Theresa) who organized it to collect the votes and I helped her tally the votes. (Sean [age 15] also came with me and was paid to watch the kids in another room who didn't attend the tea party.) There were over 50 ladies there and we enjoyed fellowshipping with one another.

When it was over and most of the ladies had left, my kids and I stayed later with a few others to clean up and put the tables away. Sean worked really hard and I was proud of him. Theresa and others sang his praises: "He's such a good boy." "What a sweetie."  They also said how sweet and pretty Kelly is and Theresa thanked her for helping with the votes.

It was after 8:00 when we left the church and came home, though it felt later.

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I went Christmas shopping for my kids yesterday evening after getting gas and going by the DMV. (I dropped my kids off at my mom's. She took them to Olive Garden to eat and then they hung out at her house.) I was only out for about 3 hours, shopping at Target, Best Buy and Walmart. I expected it to take a little longer. I was glad that it didn't. It was after 7:00 when I finished and since I hadn't eaten yet and was starving, I stopped by Subway and then went to my mom's where I ate my sub, talked with my mom and did some things to her computer. She's bad about not keeping things updated.

Anyway, I wasn't able to get everything Kelly wanted. I'll be getting on Amazon after finishing this entry so that I can order the things I couldn't find in stores.

Charlie will be buying the golf clubs Sean wants for Christmas sometime after getting back from Mississippi. Mom is paying for half and said she'll be giving Kelly money to buy whatever she wants. I personally think it's more fun for kids to have presents to open, but whatever.

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I just added three more movies to my list of movies I've seen this year for the first time on the right side of my blog, bringing the total to 28. Check that out if you're curious. I should be adding a few more movies to that list before the end of the year. (The Hobbit, Playing for Keeps and Les Miserables.) I look forward to doing my annual movie rankings here on my blog around New Year's, as well as my annual book rankings. That list will not only be considerably shorter than my movie list (partly because most of the books I read were thick), but will also be considerably shorter than my book lists in years past. I hope to read more books next year.

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"Sweet Little Jesus Boy" by Natalie Cole
Pause the music player at the bottom of your screen first.

Christmas Activities and a Song

Here we are, a week into December, and I don't have my tree up yet. I seem to remember it being well into December before I got the tree up last year, too. I love Christmas and Christmas decorations; I just don't enjoy the work that goes into decorating anymore. I wish I could just snap my fingers and it would be done.

I haven't done any Christmas shopping yet either. I really need to get started soon. Sean wants a set of golf clubs (*choking* expensive!) and a couple video games. Kelly wants Twilight dolls (Bella, Edward, Jacob), an ipod (I think my mom is getting her that), a Nerf gun, Halo (the book; not related to the video game), nature sounds CD, relaxing Celtic music CD, a video game, ear phones (not ear buds - they hurt her ears), Breaking Dawn part 2 score CD, a black cell phone cover, and a blue ipod cover.

I just want money for clothes. My taste has changed a little and I don't like most of my church dresses anymore. :-/

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Some singers from my church will be singing downtown this evening, starting at 6:00 PM. So if you live in Greensboro or Guilford County and are planning on going downtown for the festivities, look for my church group, The Pentecostals, singing next to Natty Green's. Which kind of cracks me up since Natty Green's is an Irish pub and we don't believe in drinking alcohol. lol :-)

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The ladies at my church are having a Christmas tea party this Sunday evening at 5:00. Several people, including the organizer of the event, are really after me to be a part of it. They asked me if I was going (and Kelly too) and I told them I was thinking about it. They're all like, "Oh, you have to go! Please, come!" *sigh* :-) (Socializing can be intimidating and draining for introverts, but I'm trying to come out of my shell more.) So, I've added some little things to my grocery list to bring for the tea party. Everyone is supposed to bring something. I'm thinking fruit or angel food cake or almond thins (cookies) or biscotti.

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Charlie went to Mississippi on Tuesday. He said he could be gone for a couple weeks. Our anniversary is on the 17th. (18 years of marriage.) I hope he's home in time for that.


My favorite version of my favorite Christmas song:
Pause the music player first.




Oh, and you have  to listen to this song! What Child is This? by Christopher Kincaid. (Give the page a few seconds to load. Then scroll down and click on the album "And Winter". Click on track 5, "What Child is This?") Gorgeous, gorgeous song. The best version I've ever heard.