Book reviews

So I saw one someone else's blog that she reviews books for Thomas Nelson Publishers. And when I looked into it a little more, I found out that anyone w/a blog can review books for free. They send you a book every month based on ones you request or genres you're interested in. You read the whole book, write a 200 word review, and post it to your blog and a consumer website like Barnes&Noble or WalMart. So I signed up. I'm always looking for new authors or interesting new books. And I figured this would be just as good a way as any to do that.

After I initially found out about being able to review books, it got me thinking. I think I'm going to make it a goal this next year to read at least 25 NEW books throughout the year. And I specify NEW b/c I like to re-read my favorites. I've read the Harry Potter series several times. Like, at least 5 times. More for the first few books. I'm about to re-read the Twilight series too. (We went and saw New Moon tonight, so it's got me wanting to read it again.) So yeah, 25 new books a year. And they can be any genre. Fiction, self-help, religious, non-fiction, whatever. Then if I do 25 w/no problem, I'll up the number. So now that I've decided to review for Thomas Nelson, that'll help w/my new book goal. I'm pretty excited. So be looking in the next month or so for my first book review. =)

The move is still going pretty well. Not quite done yet. We should get everything out of the old apartment tomorrow. Getting everything situated here is another story. lol. I spent about 3 hours on it last night after we got in from HSV and made a decent dent in it. I at least found our bed and part of the living room. lol. And Micah got our dryer working again! So we're also going to tackle this mountain of laundry tomorrow too.

Things have been super crazy busy this week, so Micah and I went on a date tonight to just get away for a little bit. We went to O'Charley's and then to see New Moon. I liked it better than the first one, although it still had some cheesy moments. New Moon was my favorite book out of the 4. =)

And now I'm beginning to crash after the extremely long week that we've had. Gotta get some sleep so I can work on moving tomorrow. I also have to get my class ready for Sunday morning, which might prove to be a little difficult. So I'm gonna sign out. Have a great evening and weekend!

One more LOTR quote...

So as I kept watching the movie, I came across another quote, which is my number one favorite from the movie. I like it because a friend introduced me to it when I was going through a rough time, before I had even seen the movie. And it was just very encouraging to me at that point in my life. Maybe it will encourage you too.

Frodo: I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

That's all. I'm done for real now. Good night!

Sick days...

I was doing so good....so good. The year before Micah and I got married, I was convinced that the state of Tennessee was out to get me. For some reason, the allergy crud here is so much worse than in Alabama, for me at least. That year, I think I had the sinus crud 6 times. Yeah. That's every 2 months. Ridiculous, right? TN hated me. Well, since we've been married, I think I've only had it once. (I told Micah maybe he did do something good for me. lol) Until now. I've fought it off all year. Everyone at work and church has been getting sick. I guess TN was trying to make it up to me by not getting me sick. =) Until now.

I woke up yesterday morning with a really sore throat. My glands were swollen all day long. A little bit of sniffling, but not too much. Then after I got home from work it got a little worse, but it was still bearable. Micah went to the store to get me some medicine to try and keep the worst of it away. Along with the medicine, he brought me back a huge pack of Twizzlers. Those have been my favorite candy for as long as I can remember. He's awesome. =) Took the medicine last night. Woke up this morning feeling terrible. Sinus headache. Couldn't breathe too well. Throat still sore. So I took some medicine and headed off to work. That didn't last long. I was home by about 8. Good thing too, b/c it only got worse as the afternoon went on. The medicine that morning started working pretty well, but when it started to wear off, it wore off fast. And I crashed pretty hard. I am now on my 3rd dose of medicine today. Overall, I'm feeling better, but still can't breathe at all through my nose. I'll hopefully be able to go to work tomorrow. I only have one more sick day left this year. We'll just have to see how I feel in the morning.

One thing that has been pretty nice is getting pampered and waited on by Micah. lol. I'm usually the one taking care of him. Micah is gone to Memphis tonight, so I'm home alone. It's kinda nice though b/c I think this is the first time I've been here alone for any length of time since he has gone back to school. I decided it was a good epic movie night, so I put in The Fellowship of the Ring. =) I had the urge to watch it a few days ago. We were watching a show called the 50 Greatest Child Stars, and both Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) and Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee) were on the list. So tonight was a good night to watch it. =) Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie:

"A wizard is never late, nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to."

"I ain't been droppin' no eaves, sir. Honest!"

Busy busy week

So I haven't posted in a week and I am very very sorry about that. Things have been a little crazy around here this week. We got back from the conference Sunday night around 7. Then Monday I had to go back to work. Boo. That night was spent kinda recovering and such. We also got ourselves organized to get to work on our new business goals that we made coming out of the weekend.

Tuesday was work/school, then to Memphis that night for the business meeting we go to every week. Very productive, encouraging, and all that good stuff. And thankfully, the format of the meetings have changed a little bit, so we get out about an hour earlier. =D Which makes me much happier about going b/c it means that I get in bed before midnight, when usually we aren't even home by midnight. So that's really exciting.

Wednesday night was church, and we had potluck before, so we had to head out an hour earlier. I love the congregation we attend, but it is a little bit...I don't want to say frustrating or inconvenient b/c that sounds terrible...but it's 30 minutes away. Which is fine. And I'm not complaining, I promise. Just stating a fact. It's just that we already have to leave by 6.30 to get to church on Wednesday nights, but on potluck nights, we have to leave by 5.30. So by the time I get home at 3.45, shower, and get ready, it's basically time to turn around and go again. But once again, I'm not complaining. I mean, who can complain when it's free food?! lol. And it was Mexican week. Yummm.....
And I'm still teaching class on Wednesdays. This week was my second week. The topic was hatred. We only got halfway through it, so we get to finish the chapter next week. (Any comments on hatred would be appreciated. =)

Thursday was Star Wars installment #5. But before that, I got my hair all chopped off. =) I really like it. It's a wedge kinda, but it's not stacked in back, and it's still long enough in front that I can at least pull the top half up. So I got off a little early at 2.45 or so, ran home and showered, haircut at 4.30, movie night at 5.30. I was definitely not cooking. So we ordered pizza. =) It's kinda confusing b/c it's movie night #5, but we watched episode 2. The reason for that is that we are watching them in the order they were made, not the order of the plot. I think this one was my favorite so far.

Friday, we went to the $2 theater on campus and watched Harry Potter and the HAlf-Blood Prince. I haven't liked any of the other HP movies, but this one was good. Granted, they left a lot of stuff out. I had to fill in some of the details for Micah b/c they left out why certain things were happening. But nonetheless, it was still good. I'm actually kinda excited about #7, b/c I found out recently that they are splitting up book 7 into 2 movies, which I think is brilliant. There is so much happening in book 7 that they would have to take out half of the story to put it in a 2 hr movie.

Saturday was great. I slept in, which I desperately needed after the long weekend and week we had. Last night we went on a date to Zaxbys and to see GI Joe. AMAZING movie. Loved it. Definitely recommend it. It was funny and had tons of really good action scenes. So yeah, go see it. =)

Today was church day. We went out to eat w/some friends for lunch. It was the family that has the 2 little kids that Micah and I play w/all the time. Nap time this afternoon. Then back to church for singing night. Sometimes the congregation struggles on singing night b/c our numbers are usually kinda low, but tonight it was actually really good. Very encouraging.

Looking forward to tomorrow, b/c a good friend is coming up from HSV to visit. He'll be staying w/us for the next 2 nights. So it'll be good to catch up w/him.

Well, I'm gonna head out. I've rambled enough. I'll try to get back into posting every couple of days so that I don't have to catch you up on a whole week at a time. B/c I'm sure you're bored by now. =)

Successful recipe #2

Pizza Spaghetti Casserole. This one was very good. And it was pretty quick and easy too...(assuming that you already have aluminum foil on hand and don't have to send your husband out to get some halfway thru preparation. And that while your husband is gone you can actually open the jar of pasta sauce so that you can have it all ready to go into the oven as soon as he gets back. =) Here's the link:

http://www.southernliving.com/food/whats-for-supper/easy-one-dish-dinner-recipes-00400000045298/page10.html

Watched Return of the Jedi tonight w/Matt and Sarah. We've decided that after we finish Star Wars, we need to keep up our movie nights. The guys are threatening that Star Trek is next. I think that one might take a year or so to get thru at this pace. lol. The new movie that just came out was really good. I liked it a lot. But I'm sure a lot of you Heroes fans will understand when I say that I couldn't get over Zachary Quinto being Spock. All I saw was a sociopathic serial killer named Sylar. lol.

Well, I'm gonna go now. Micah is getting impatient to have his computer back so he can play some WoW before going to bed.

I must admit...

...I make a mean chicken chimichanga. My first new recipe was a success. I was full after 2...Micah liked them so much he ate 4. lol. The recipe was really simple. I got it online from Southern Living. Here's the link if you wanna check it out. Micah recommends it. =)

http://www.southernliving.com/food/whats-for-supper/whats-for-supper-chicken-dishes-00400000052554/page27.html

My first day of vacation was pretty uneventful. Slept til 9 or so. Got up and went to the grocery store. Micah and I watched a few more episodes of Heroes online. We're trying to catch up on season 3 so that we can watch season 4 on tv. After that, I cooked supper, and now Micah and I are watching tv.

Tomorrow is going to be a fun day. Casey is coming over around 11 and we're going to watch Evita. It's a musical based on a true story about Eva Peron, who was a very loved political figure in Argentina in the 40's and early 50's. She started off as the illegitimate child of some big shot (I don't remember exactly who he was...politician or something) and worked her way (albeit with questionable methods) to the top and married Colonel Juan Peron who eventually became president of Argentina. This is one of those movies that almost everyone has heard of, they just don't know they've heard of it. =) This is the movie with the song "Don't cry for me, Argentina!" Great song. I first saw the movie in drama class in high school, and I'm really excited about watching it again. It took forever to find though! I looked at 4 rental places in Henderson: Movie Gallery, Movie World, Freed's AV Library, and the Chester Co. Public Library. I was even going to try to buy it if I could find it, but alas, no one in the area keeps it in stock. Luckily, a friend had it and let us borrow it. (Janet is my hero!) So our movie date is back on.

Tomorrow night, we're having another movie night. It's installment #3 of our Star-Wars-culture-Val-nights. And I'm trying another new recipe. But I can't tell you what it is because it's a surprise! Teeheehee. =) I'll post the recipe tomorrow night, assuming it's a success. One part of the meal that I can tell you about is the honeybun cake I'm making for dessert. Be jealous. Be very jealous. =)

Free at last, free at last!

Today starts my 9 days of vacation! I'm really excited. I need a vacation so bad. It was funny b/c it was really easy to get out of bed this morning, and I was productive and in a good mood all day today at work. It was like I was already getting re-energized just anticipating my vacation. =)

So what am I going to do with all my extra free time??
-Tonight we've got a movie night planned with a couple from church. They're on a mission to culture me. (I usually talk about Micah being the uncultured one, but this time it's me.) I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies, so we're on Star Wars movie night #2. I blame it on my parents. They never watched/liked Star Wars. I had to marry a geek before I became even remotely interested. lol. (And I'm not being mean...Micah will admit that he is a geek. And I'm a nerd. We've come to terms with it. lol)
-Tomorrow, I'm going to the library with Micah to help him on some projects for school. Although I might have to ditch him for a little while to go watch the Bama/Arkansas game. (Roll Tide!) =)
-Other than that, I'm going to sleep in, read a lot, probably watch some TV series that I need to catch up on (we're almost done with season 3 of Heroes. and I'm borrowing the last 3 seasons of Friends from someone at church so we can finish those finally), organize the house a little, work on my lessons for ladies' Bible class at church, try out some new recipes, and whatever else I want to do.

I'll probably be posting something next week about the class I'm about to start teaching at church to get some feedback on. The book we're covering is about good and bad attitudes that we should/shouldn't have.

Now it's time to go get in the shower and then clean up the house a little bit before movie night. TTFN =)

UP!

Hello all! Val here! So we have decided to start all over with our blogging. We weren't too successful at it when we first started it, so we're going to try again. Most of our family lives a few hours away, and it's hard to keep everyone updated on what is going on in our lives day to day. So! If you want to keep track of what we're up to, subscribe to our blog!

Another reason we wanted to start a blog now is that we want to get into the habit now, before we're REALLY far away from everyone. The plan is to move back down to Brazil here in the next few years, and we want to keep everyone updated while we're down there too. This will be our tool for letting everyone know what is going on when we can't talk on the phone everyday. We can post pictures and tell stories that you might not hear in a 30-minute phone conversation.

Here are some things you might find in our blog:
~School. (Micah is finishing up his Bachelor's degree in Missions right now.)
~Work.
~Movie reviews. Both of us LOVE to watch movies.
~Funny happenings.
~Family events.
~Random thoughts.
~Quotes.
~Devotional thoughts.
~Sounding board for us to bounce ideas off of.
~And anything else we might come up with!!

So here's the thought for the day:
Tonight we went to campus and watched the new Disney/Pixar movie UP. Extremely cute movie. Hilarious. I laughed soooo hard. It was also a little different from other Pixar movies. There were a lot of sad parts in the movie. Pixar isn't exactly known for putting out tearjerkers, but this one definitely was. And very thought-provoking as well. Hence the blog posting. =)

Here's a quick summary of the movie (no spoilers! don't worry!). There is a young boy and girl who love the idea of exploring. They nearly idolize a famous explorer, and dream of one day going to Paradise Falls, a place in South America that this explorer discovered. They grow up and get married. Life happens. Their savings fund for Paradise Falls soon has to go towards new tires, medical bills, etc. Before they realize it, they are both old and have still not realized their dreams of moving to Paradise Falls. The husband goes and buys plane tickets, but just before he surprises his wife with them, she gets sick and dies. (Told you it was sad!) And that's just the beginning of the movie. So don't worry, I didn't ruin anything. That was mainly just backstory.

As funny as the movie was, it made me think about a lot of things. It is so easy to let life get in the way of our dreams. We plan on something, and then life happens, and our plans get pushed back. And then something else comes along, and they get pushed back more. And sooner or later, we've completely forgotten that we had plans to do it in the first place. For us personally, this means that our plans to go to Brazil need to be in front of us everyday. Every single day, we need to be taking action to make that happen. If it becomes a passive thing in the back of our minds, it gets forgotten, and it never happens. Or it happens years later than we had originally planned. So what are the steps we're taking right now? Well, for one, Micah has gone back to school to finish his Bachelor's degree in Missions. I am (sporadically) working on my Portuguese. I'm hoping to get the Rosetta Stone software soon to help speed that process up. And both of us are starting to get involved at church. We are both still trying to find our niche. I am about to start teaching the Ladies' Class on Wednesday nights. I am also leading a teenage girl's Bible study with another girl about my age. And we both plan on getting involved with the Lads to Leaders program that the congregation is trying to start. Micah participates in worship in many roles, and is hoping to start working on his speaking skills more as well.

Who knew that a Disney movie could provoke so much deep thought? I guess I've rambled long enough. If you've stuck with me this long, I appreciate it. Remember to subscribe to our blog!

Love you all,
Val