Funny Kyoshi and a Review of The Pacific

The owner/kyoshi at the Karate dojo where Sean is learning is always making us laugh. Yesterday he was looking at one of the kids' report cards when a little girl (6-8ish) came in. He asked for her report card and she said she didn't get it yet. He told her she would grow up to be beautiful, but that it's important to be smart too.

Then the subject of boys came up and he said, "What have I told you about men?"

Girl: "Never trust them."

Kyoshi: "That's right, never trust them. What else?"

Girl: "Don't believe anything they say."

Kyoshi: "Right. And?"

Girl: "Make them pay for everything."

Kyoshi: "Make them pay for everything. Good girl."

I and the other parents who heard this couldn't help but laugh.

Later, he had the kids practice their balance skills by walking on narrow boards a few inches off the ground. "If you fall off, you stink." "If you fall off, your dad is ugly." "If you fall off, your canary will die." lol The kids get a real kick out of him, as do the parents.

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The Pacific came out on DVD and Blu-Ray last week. I rented the first three disks on Friday and then the last three on Monday. It's an HBO mini-series done by the same people who made Band of Brothers (which I love), including Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks.

As you can guess from the title, it's about the war in the Pacific during WWII. It's a true story about a group of men in the Marines and what they went through fighting on small islands in the Pacific, including Peleliu, Cape Gloucester, Guadalcanal and Okinawa. It also shows some of the fighting on Iwo Jima.

I didn't like The Pacific as much as Band of Brothers, but I did like it. Especially the last few episodes. What I didn't like about it was the excessive use of the F word (BoB didn't use that word nearly as much; one of the real mean of BoB said that they didn't really use that kind of language), the sex scenes (BoB only had one brief sex scene; The Pacific had a few) and I didn't care as much about the characters as I did in BoB.

The violence in The Pacific is brutal, horrific and shocking. If you have a weak stomach you won't be able to handle this. (I won't go into specifics. It's too horrible to write.) Many would ask if showing such violence is necessary, but it's accurate. They really did experience these things, including seeing what the Japanese had done to their fellow Marines, as well as having to deal with being surrounded by mangled and rotting bodies that couldn't be buried and seeing civilians being used as shields and bombs by the Japanese.

I had heard many times that things were bad for those fighting the Japanese, but it's hard to imagine or picture what it was like without seeing it. I have a new and greater respect for these men and what they went through. It was hell on earth. Things were bad for all involved in WWII - in Europe, the Pacific and Africa. But what happened in the Pacific is unimaginable and inhuman.

Unlike Band of Brothers, The Pacific had a lot of scenes from the homefront and what their lives were like at home before, during and after the war.

If you have an interest in WWII history and can handle very graphic violence, then I recommend The Pacific. Be sure and check out the extra features on each disk.

I won't be buying The Pacific. I can't imagine ever watching it again. I'm glad I rented it, but once was enough for me to understand what these men went through.

Sick girl, Sleepless me, and a Movie Review

My Banana (that would be my daughter Kelly, middle name Brianna, hence the "Banana") is sick. :-( Fever, headache, sniffles, feeling miserable. Sometimes she'll play with Sean (aka "Lump", shortened from "Honey Lump" and "Sugar Lump"), but then she'll start feeling bad and go lie down on the couch. Of course, it being after 3:00 AM (an hour of the morning I'm normally not awake for anymore), she's in the bed, humidifier running. But she did get up once sometime after 1:00 and I gave her another dose of medicine since it was past time for it.

Thankfully today's a holiday, so I don't have to worry about her missing school. I hope she'll feel better in time to go back to school tomorrow. Not that I want her, or Sean, out of the house or anything. I'm one of those parents who doesn't look forward to the school year starting. One of those who doesn't say, "I can't wait 'til school starts so that I can get them out of my hair" or "I'll be glad when they turn 18 and move out."

Summer vacation is a nice worry-free time for me. I don't begin worrying about them until they go back to school. I say a lot of prayers for them while they're at school. And I certainly am not looking forward to them moving out. If I could, I would keep them with me forever.

You might be thinking, "Oh, you'll change your mind one day."

Really? They're 13 and 10 now, and though Sean (the 13-year-old) does get that teenage attitude sometimes, I'm in no hurry for him to turn 18 and leave. Kelly has yet to show real attitude, being only 10. But still I can't imagine looking forward to her moving out. Ugh. Just the thought of my kids leaving puts an ache in my heart.

So anyway, we missed church for the second Sunday in a row yesterday. I really hate missing church. But of course Kelly can't help it if she's sick.

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I've had a hard time sleeping the past couple nights. It's been taking me a little longer than usual to fall asleep and then I wake up a lot. My sleeping troubles ended months ago when peace finally came to me. I have been a little down and frustrated lately. Okay, more than a little. As in, to the point of tears. So that's probably why.

*sigh*

I just want life to be good again - all the way around. I know life has its ups and its downs, its mountains and its valleys, its good times and its bad times, its easy times and its hard times. But this hard time has lasted far too long. I told God the other day, "I need for this to be over and for life to be good again for awhile. More than awhile. I'd say I deserve at least 3-5 years of life being good before the next hard time comes along."

Will God grant me such a wish? Will He agree with me that after what I've been through, and how faithful I've been through it all, that I deserve for things to be good in my life for a good long while? Time will tell, I suppose.

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The kids and I have been on a sort of Lord of the Rings trilogy marathon these past few days. (Extended editions, of course.) We watched Fellowship of the Ring on Friday night, the first disk of The Two Towers on Saturday night, disk two of TTT and disk one of Return of the King yesterday. We'll finish ROTK sometime today or tonight.

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On the subject of movies, Mom let me borrow her copy of Why Did I Get Married Too? the other night.

Big time spoilers!! Do not read this review if you don't want the movie to be spoiled for you!

I liked it, but the first one is quite a bit better, in my opinion. Angela is still crazy and for some reason drinking alcohol again. As usual, she's the funniest character. I love when she goes into her bedroom expecting to find her husband in bed with another woman and begins shooting her gun while she's yelling at them. Only it's not her husband. That scene was so funny to me.

Janet Jackson's character (Patricia?) and her husband decide to get divorced and Janet's character is determined that the divorce be civil, saying that she still loves her husband, but things quickly become anything but civil. In fact, they get down right ugly. Alcohol, physical abuse, property destruction, greed, hurtful words.

In a climactic scene, as Patricia is yelling at her husband, calling him a greedy b*****d and so on (after she'd just embarrassed him at work in retaliation for him taking the money she made on publishing her book), her husband gets in his car and drives away and as he pulls out onto the road, apparently not watching where he is going, what looks like a short moving truck slams into his car. I literally gasped out loud.

As Patricia and her and her husband's friends are sitting in the hospital waiting room, Patricia, with tears streaming down her face, tells her friends, who are all having marital issues, to work things out and don't let things lead to what has happened to her and her husband. Don't let it get to separation and divorce. It's not worth it. Their marriages are worth saving because they love each other and because it's right. Patricia is full of regret for allowing things to become the way they did with her husband - the divorce and all the ugliness that came with it. Don't fight each other. Fight to save your marriage.

Sheila's ex-husband comes back around, wanting forgiveness for cheating on her and for treating her so badly - verbally abusing her, ignoring her, breaking her heart. But there's another reason that he's come around, besides a desire for forgiveness. Even though he was one of the world's biggest jerks in the first Married, you can't help feeling some sympathy for him.

Terry (Tyler Perry's character) begins feeling suspicious about Dianne and how that she's different lately and suddenly seems so happy. What's she up to? Her friends notice the change too, saying that she's glowing. Terry's suspicions are confirmed when Dianne finally confesses after he questions her. She swears she will change, but will he forgive her and stay with her?

This second Married is much more serious than the first and has less laughs. I'll probably get it on DVD eventually. I can't help it. I love Tyler Perry's movies. Besides the first Married, I also have Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Madea's Family Reunion on DVD.

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So this was a pretty long blog entry. I reckon I was feeling especially chatty tonight. Maybe I need to call a friend today and get in some real adult conversation. I can't remember the last time I did that.

Y'all have a great Labor Day! No special plans for me. I'll be hanging out with my kids and tending to my sick daughter.

First Crush and a Book Review

It's been a week since the new school year started and Sean and Kelly still seem to be enjoying it. I'm sure it'll get old soon, but I hope this will be a successful year for them both, in spite of the boredom they always feel at school.

Sean said he took a reading test today and got a very high score. I'm proud of him. Because of the high score, he may be able to drop one of the reading classes (two are electives that were chosen for him) and get back in the band. I'm hoping that's the case.

In other Sean news, he has his first crush - the pastor's daughter, Savannah. Mom said that Sean asked her on the way home from church Sunday if it's okay to like an older girl. Mom said, "Yes". Sean is 13 and the pastor's daughter is 16. At this age, there's a big difference in maturity levels. Most 16 year old girls aren't interested in 13 year old boys. But I still think it's cute that he likes her. She's a very pretty girl. She sings on the platform at church with the praise singers and the choir. Of all the girls he could have a crush on, the pastor's daughter is a pretty good choice. But not because she's the pastor's daughter. She's just a very good girl, loves God, dresses modestly.

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I finally finished reading Eat Pray Love last night. I couldn't help but roll my eyes sometimes while reading this book. Elizabeth Gilbert never goes into why she decided she didn't love her husband and wanted to divorce him, that I can remember, but it really bugged me that there seemed to be no real effort to work things out and save their marriage. If you've been reading my blog long enough you know what I believe about marriage and divorce.

I enjoyed the Italy/Eat section of her book, probably just because I'd love to go to Italy myself and because I love Italian food. The India/Pray and Indonesia/Love sections of the book annoyed me. I especially couldn't wait to get past India. I personally just don't like or believe in the rituals and teachings that Ms. Gilbert talked about admiring or believing or participating in. But then I don't have to and it's her life after all. She has the right to believe whatever she wants.

Throughout the book she seems a little obsessed with either wanting a certain man back (a man she had an affair with while still married to her husband) or finding a man or wanting sex. Then she focuses on attaining some mystical, other-worldly experiences, while still missing sex and occasionally thinking about her ex-lover. :-/

At GoodReads and Visual Bookshelf, I gave Eat Pray Love two stars out of five. It was just alright. Not as amazing or inspiring to me as many others believe it to be. I personally don't think it's necessary to divorce your husband and take off to another country to "find yourself". I read that she was paid to travel to Italy, India and Bali and to write about her experiences there. Maybe she wouldn't have gone otherwise. I wonder if she could've found herself then.


"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance, the wise grows it under his feet." -- James Oppenheim

"If the grass looks greener on the other side, fertilize yours."

Eclipse and a Family Gathering

I dropped the kids off at my mom's house this morning before going grocery shopping and going to see Eclipse. While I was standing in line to buy my ticket, I had to kind of laugh and subtly shake my head at the two women in front of me, who were also seeing Eclipse and both of whom appeared to be in their mid to late 20s. The second one may have been around 30.

Anyway, when the first one was asked if she wanted to contribute a dollar to a charity, she said, "No, I did that already." That surprised me. Then the next woman, who had her son with her (he was probably around 9-11 years old), stepped up after the first got her ticket and when she was asked the same question, she said, "No, my dad did that last week. His name is probably all over the wall from donating." I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows. So if a family member donates to charity, you don't feel like you should too? He or she donates for the whole family?

I could maybe see if they were asking for $10 or $20 or $50, but it's just one dollar. It just kind of surprised me. I guess I just assumed that people always donate when asked if not much is asked for. Obviously I was wrong.

And, yes, I did donate and sign my name on a paper star. And, no, I didn't do it loud enough for them to notice. They were already inside, and even if they hadn't been, it's not my style to do such a thing.

So, Eclipse. I liked it. The book Eclipse is my favorite in the series and I had really been looking forward to seeing the movie version. I read the books once two years ago, so I don't remember everything that happened that may have been left out of the movie. I suppose that's a good thing. It kept me from feeling disappointed or annoyed at any changes there may have been since I couldn't tell what was different and what wasn't.

The fights were cool, though I would've preferred it if there wasn't the sound of stone breaking. I know the vampires are supposed to be like granite or marble or something, but I found the stone-breaking sound effect a little annoying. Other than that, I liked the fights.

Loved Emmett (I hope there's more of him in Breaking Dawn) and Charlie, and it was nice that they showed some of Jasper and Rosalie's back stories. Really liked the tent scene. I'm lukewarm on Bryce Dallas Howard as Victoria. Maybe if there'd been more of her I would have a different opinion. In some ways it feels like there wasn't enough of the vampire army prior to the battle, but at the same time when they were on screen prior to the battle, I wanted the story to go back to Edward, Bella, Jacob, the Cullens and the wolfpack.

Though I liked Eclipse, I'll probably wait for the Blu-Ray before I watch it again.

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My mom dropped the kids off shortly after I got home. Her and a friend are going out to eat tonight, I think.

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An aunt of mine, my dad's youngest sister, is having a family cook-out tomorrow at her house in Fuquay-Varina. Her and Uncle Mike have a swimming pool that everyone will be swimming and playing in before we eat. I won't be in the pool though. It's not my thing really. I'll be bringing swimwear and so forth for my kids though. They're really looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing my family. Some I haven't seen since my dad's funeral in May of 2006. Others I saw at my brother's wedding in September of 2008.

I don't know if there'll be fireworks at my aunt's house or not. I may or may not take the kids to see fireworks somewhere on the fourth. Definitely not downtown. It's way too crowded there on the fourth. There's a place not far from our house where you can park and see the Emerald Point or High Point fireworks from a distance.

Movies

The Blind Side: Great movie. I definitely recommend it. That Southern Christian Republicans aren't portrayed as intolerant, cold-hearted, ignorant bigots is a pleasant surprise in something that came out of Hollywood. Which is more in line with the Southern Christian Republicans I know. But of course that's not at all what the movie is about.

A tough, Southern woman with a warm heart takes in a homeless boy and greatly improves his life. But he makes a difference in her life as well and the lives of her family.

One of my favorite lines, said by Tim McGraw's character: "Who would've thought we'd have a black son before we knew a Democrat?"

Sherlock Holmes: I've never read any of the Sherlock Holmes stories, so I don't know how different the movie is from the book(s). I suspect though that the Sherlock Holmes of the books was not as brawling and sometimes dirty as the movie Sherlock Holmes.

My kids and I liked the movie. There's a lot of humor in it and the action is fun.

The Young Victoria: Visually beautiful film. I loved the costumes and the palaces. I also loved Emily Blunt as Queen Victoria and Rupert Friend was good as her Prince Albert. Queen Victoria's love for her husband was true and strong, just as love should be, and it never died even long after Prince Albert's death.

Did You Hear About the Morgans?: Not nearly as funny as I hoped it would be. There were very few laughs. But it wasn't a bad movie. It passed the time. My favorite thing about the movie is its message that if you really love someone, you can make it through the mountains and valleys that are not only normal in a marriage (though there's nothing normal about adultery), but should also be expected.

The Notebook

I started reading A Summer Affair back in early February, but have had a hard time really getting into it. It's not bad, it just isn't holding my attention. My mom has gotten interested in Nicholas Sparks' books and recently finished reading The Notebook. I asked to borrow it and she brought it over. I had never read any of Sparks' books before. Of course, I'd seen the movie The Notebook (most romantic types have), and while I didn't fall in love with it as many did, I was still interested in reading the book. The Notebook is quite short, so it didn't take long at all to read.

It's a nice, little love story, set in coastal North Carolina, as all Sparks' books are. There were times when I quite enjoyed it and didn't want to put it down. Though I wouldn't list it among my favorite books, it was still a nice read.

What I enjoyed most about the story was its message that true love lasts forever. That time and distance cannot kill it. And when two people are meant to be together, they will be together even if there is a period of separation. Regardless of how long the separation is and regardless of why the separation occured. Love will bring them back together.

Altogether now - awwwww. :-)

Purging, The Lovely Bones, An Idea

Late Tuesday night/very early Wednesday morning, I felt this sudden urge to purge. So at around midnight I went through drawers, closets and cabinets looking for things I could get rid of. I ended up with four large shopping bags (the kind you would get if you bought something like a comforter) and two very small boxes of books, decorative bed pillows, sconces, knick-knacks, girls clothes, a pair of girls dress shoes and a few other things. I also got some laundry washed and put away, and did some slight rearranging in my closet.

Just where the energy came from to do all that, considering how much I'm not sleeping, I'm not sure. But if you're not going to be able to sleep, you might as well do something productive. I finally went to bed around 4:00 or so yesterday morning. And, yes, I did take a nap after bringing the kids to school.

I brought everything to Goodwill yesterday. It felt good to get rid of some things. It makes me wish I had more to get rid of. But I think that's all for awhile.

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I finished The Lovely Bones a few nights ago. Really good book! I highly recommend it. You know from the very first page that the main character, 14-year-old Susie, was raped and murdered. And you find out very early on who her killer was. Susie watches from heaven (she calls it "my heaven") as her family, classmates and neighbors cope with her death.

This book caused me to cry a few times. Especially as Susie describes what happened to her and especially the last line of the story. It's just a powerful, moving book, in my opinion.

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Late last night I was sitting on the couch watching Julie and Julia (and waiting for some laundry) when this idea occurred to me. An idea I will not give any details on here in my blog. (Unless it happens.) It is an idea that excites me. I immediately grabbed my notebook and a pen and began writing things down. I will have to do some research to see if it's already been done. Hopefully things will work out so that I can do what it is I'm wanting to do. I will need money, my husband's support, certain tools, a lot of patience and certain someones to believe in my idea.

Wish me luck!

Outlander - Review

I finished reading Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon, awhile ago. I was completely drawn in by it, often staying up much later than I should have. Aside from all the sex, it was a really good book. That doesn't mean that I don't like sex. lol I like it as much as the next woman. I just prefer not to see it or read about it in detail. Not that it was overwhelmingly detailed, but whenever Claire (the main character) and her husband were having sex, I would've preferred things faded to black sooner than they did.

There's also a brutal rape scene (Claire isn't the victim) that gets described by the victim a week or two after it happens.

Anyway, the story starts off in Scotland. The year is 1945 and Claire and her husband Frank (who are English) are on a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands, having not spent a lot of time together after their wedding before WWII began. Frank had been in the military and Claire had been an army nurse.

One day Claire is visiting a stone circle (similar to Stonehenge) and when she touches one of the stones, she is taken back to the year 1743. She immediately finds herself in a clash between Scottish Highlanders and British redcoats. She is taken away by a group of Scotsmen (who are suspicious of her, w/her British accent and strange ways) and tries to come up with a way to get back to the stone circle, hoping that if she touches it again she can return to 1945 and to her husband Frank.

In Outlander, Claire endures many hardships, but also finds new love. Though she's sometimes in situations that are hard to imagine anyone having the strength to endure, Claire is always strong. Even when she's trembling with fear, she stands up to whoever is assaulting her or threatening her. I like that the author didn't make her weak or a woman always in need of rescue.

The story ends with something of a cliffhanger. Though I knew before I started reading it that it was only part one of a six-part series. I'll probably start reading part two, Dragonfly in Amber, after I've read another book or two.

Sean, Shopping, Book, DH

I haven't been feeling that great since Thursday, but have managed to get a little done around the house. Not that you could tell it now. :-\

I met with Sean's teacher after school yesterday. (Mom picked the kids up from school and they went with her to a big church conference.) We filled out the paperwork to get things started on testing Sean for ADHD. He (Sean's teacher) said it could take a little while.

After leaving the school about 25 minutes later, I went to Target for what grocery items I could get there, got gas ($3.13 a gallon unleaded) and then went to Macy's (which is across the street from the shopping center Target is in and from the gas station). I wanted to get a new gray sweater. Something more stylish and better fitting. (The one I have now is a little big on me and doesn't really have any shape to it. It's not very flattering.) I couldn't find a sweater I wanted, so I walked towards the shoes. (I needed a pair of comfortable black flats.) On my way to the shoes, I came to the coats. I browsed the coats and found a gray one I really liked. It's a nice wool coat that goes down about to my shins. It was on sale for $100 marked down from $200. I could use a new coat also, so I bought one. I then looked at the shoes and found a cute pair of black flats on sale.

From Macy's, I headed to Food Lion and got the rest of the groceries. I was pretty hungry since I hadn't eaten yet that day and picked up a few things that weren't on the list.

I was too hungry to cook anything, so I ate a bowl of the Target version of Lucky Charms for supper. It was pretty good, especially since I was practically starving. :-)

I watched my Friday shows - Life and What Not to Wear. I also watched House Hunters and House Hunters International. I tried to watch the new show, Crusoe, but I fell asleep less than an hour into the 2-hour premiere.

Mom brought Kelly home some time after 10:00. Sean is spending the night with Mom. They're having some kind of carnival where Mom works and she's supposed to bring the kids there. I might go watch a movie if I feel up to it. I'd like to see The Duchess. Kelly and I will probably go out for supper tonight.

I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns yesterday. Really great book. Moving and powerful and real. Full of turmoil with just a few bright spots. The ending was sweet and brought a lump to my throat. I haven't decided what book I'm going to read next. I was thinking maybe John Adams or The Bourne Identity. Or I might read an older classic. We'll see.

Charlie is still in Texas. It'll be a month this Tuesday since he left. He thinks he could be home by Wednesday. I'll be so glad when he gets home. Since he couldn't get home this week, we obviously didn't go to Asheville for the weekend. So now we're going to try to make it the coming weekend. I really hope we can.