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Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist ) and GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10 ) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? That everyone is healthy and together.

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? Wake up, eat Cinnamon rolls, open all the presents from myself, brother and sister before opening up Santa's presents.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? An all expenses paid trip to London.

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? Get creative with the food that you have in your cupboard, spend time with family. Make homemade, give homemade.

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? Didn't really play any.

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? Christmas PJ's given out by "Santa" on christmas eve.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? London!

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10 ) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year?
Wii, Playstation 3, or a bunch of movies!

Recent Viewings...

First up, Eclipse!  LOVED this!  This series just keeps getting better and better.  Certain scenes seemed to be right out of the book, which is fantastic to fans of the series.  Lots more romance in this one, of course, but some darker scenes as well.  I actually went to the midnight showing on June 29th, and went again on July 3, to a Saturday morning matinee because I couldn't get the movie out of my head, since I enjoyed it so much.  Great soundtrack and musical score.   Can't wait to get a copy on DVD!

I just recently saw a movie from my list of classics, movies that I've never seen but am sitting down to catch up on now.  Casablanca wasn't my favorite classic thus far, but the actors were better than other movies.  Humphrey Bogart has just a hint of humor and sarcasm in his voice, but is certainly charming too.  Ingrid Bergman was perfect for her role, her voice is extremely distinct.  Even though I already knew how the movie was supposed to end, I still wanted the main characters to end up together; it's the idealist in me.  "Here's looking at you, kid..."

 
Last night I saw Brooklyn's Finest.  It was every bit as gritty and dark as I expected it to be, but the story was developed differently from how I anticipated it to.  It was a powerful ending, having all of the characters end up in the same place, because they really don't interact amongst each other in the story.  It was good, but nothing I ever care to see again.

Hot Tub Time Machine.  Honestly, the title tells you everything you need to know.  It was funny, raunchy, and goofy, just like I expected.  Nothing too unpredictable happened, but glad that I saw it just the same.  Just about any movie with John Cusack is worth seeing!

Another move on my list to see was Love in the Afternoon, with Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn.  Honestly, I wasn't a fan of this movie.  There were charming moments, but I almost struggled through the second half of the film to continue watching.  Perhaps I was just distracted, but it seemed boring and repetitive.  

 

 
 
 
 
 

They call me "The Enabler"...

LOVE this movie, love this soundtrack.  I've had a copy of the movie for awhile now and after recently watching with my sister, we commented on just how great the songs in the movie were.  So I looked this soundtrack on Amazon and found a new copy for only $ 2.25!  The shipping cost just about the same.  If you know me, you know I love a great deal, so I promptly ordered a copy and it was here in about 2 days.  And I can tell you, it really is an amazing soundtrack.  Ray LaMontagne's "Trouble" and Anna Nalick's "breathe 2 am" are haunting and will stay with you long after you've heard them.  The first 3 songs by Smashmouth, Third Eye Blind and Eagle Eye Cherry are straight out of the 90's top 10 most-played songs, but are great in the compilation none-the-less.  Recommended!

 

New favorite...

It's no secret that I love movies... romantic comedies to be specific.  When in Rome is one of those movies that jumps right up into my top 25 favorite movies of all time list.  The characters have great chemistry, it's funny, believable (when you set apart the "spell" storyline) and just think of the main characters, and it's set in gorgeous locations.  I really adore this movie, and I'm sure I'll be watching it over and over again. P.S. LOVE that dress!

 

Another movie that I wanted to see was the sequel to Romancing the Stone which I saw last weekend.  The Jewel of the Nile wasn't nearly as good, but I didn't expect it to be.  I wasn't a huge fan of where they took the plot, but I just wanted to see how things ended up between the main characters.  They journey to get there was pretty funny.  Not a set of movies that I ever really care to see again, but I'm glad that I saw them.

 

New writers...

I'm always on the lookout for new authors since I love to read so much.  I was very lucky recently, find these two amazing authors in the clearance section at Barnes and Noble. 

I'll admit, I judge books by their covers.  This one certainly looked interesting, so I picked it up and checked out the storyline.  I was hooked, the blurb seemed really funny. So I decided to read the first few pages to get a feel for the author.  3 pages in and I was laughing out loud in the middle of the store. I took it home with me and thoroughly enjoyed this book.  The main character has a great voice telling the story. I looked up Eileen Cook to see what else she's written and was disappointed to only find 3 other young adult novels.  Hopefully she'll write another adult novel soon!

This was another cover that really grabbed me.  The book really has nothing to do with the cover in this story, but that's okay.  The important part is that it got my attention.  Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs is about a woman who loses her job, is artificially inseminated with her husband's donation the same day discovers her husband's infidelity, and the marriage ends.  She moves back home and then discovers that she is pregnant with her ex's twins, while falling in love with her high school crush.   Right before I found this book, I had just been to the theater to see The Back Up Plan with Jennifer Lopez, which is about a woman who is artifically inseminated the same day she finally meets Mr. Right, and she then later finds out that she has twins. 

I was surprised that two similar story lines were jumping out at me the same day, so I went ahead and picked this up.  Another book where the main character has a fantastic voice, interesting plot lines, and believable situations for the characters.  Upon looking up more books by Susan Wiggs, I was dissappointed to find that she is primarily a romance novelist, but I might try a few of them, she's a great author.  I hope that she writes more contemporary novels soon!

More reviews....

 
First up, the A-Team.  Ben and I went to the theater to see this on Saturday evening.  As someone who's never seen a single episode of the TV show, I didn't really know what to expect.  But I thoroughly enjoyed this film, it was really funny and had good action sequences.  A few twists here and there kept the story interesting. 

I rented Extraoridinary Measures last week.  It was good, not great.  This movie is completely predictable, but I wanted to see what measures had to be taken to save these little kid's lives.  That was the important part of the story.  The actress who played Brendan Fraser's daughter stole the show.  Overall, I don't really ever need to see this again, but I'm glad that I watched it.

Another movie that I rented last week was The Young Victoria.  This was better than I expected it to be.  I have followed the Tudor's line more than the Victorian era, but seeing this movie made me want to research more on how she became queen and her relationship with her husband.  How amazing for her that she was able to find someone who really loved her and not her crown.  The sets and costumes were beautiful for this movie.

I saw Romancing the Stone on several lists of "best romantic comedies" so I decided to give it a try.  This was funny and sweet, but reminded me a lot of the Crocodile Dundee movies that I loved to watch growing up.  Loved the parts specifically about Turner's character being a writer... the opening scene when she's writing her novel, and in the middle of the movie when she finds fans in the strangest of places. Looking forward to seeing the sequel, The Jewel of the Nile.

On my long list of classic movies that I've never seen, the original Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn is near the top.  I didn't want to see that one without my sister (who's on this classic movie watching journey with me), so I rented the 1995 version with Julia Ormond, Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear.  This was a great movie, a little slower pacing than I expected, and I can't wait to see the original.  Harrison Ford is a better actor than he portrayed here, I would have liked for it to seem like he was trying harder in the role.  Julia Ormond was fantastic.  I believe she made this movie right after Legends of the Fall, in which she is absolutely amazing.
 
 
 
 

Recent Movies

Killers... Saw this in the movie theater on Sunday and just loved it!  Another one that didn't receive great reviews, but I laughed quite a bit.  Sure, the movie is predictable, but I enjoy putting my criticism in check and just sitting and enjoying a funny film on a weekend afternoon.  I definitely recommend it!

My sister and I have decided that we're going to start watching older movies, the popular classics that we've just never had the chance to see.  This past weekend, I got to see 2 on our long list...

 

Some Like It Hot - Very funny movie, wasn't sure what exactly to expect, and I can see why it's a classic!  It was definitely a good film to start out on, it gives me hope for the rest of our list!

Roman Holiday - I wanted to see this one because there are references to it in one of my favorite movies of all time, Only You, featuring the Mouth of Truth.  This was a beautiful movie, Audrey Hepburn is quite captivating and Gregory Peck is an upstanding gentleman, both soft or strong depending on what the situation calls for. I admit, I hoped for a different ending, but was left satisfied just the same.
 
 

From Paris, With Love

Just saw this movie last night.. better than I had expected, since it didn't receive great reviews at the box office.  I'm a Jonathan Rhys-Meyers fan, altough I'm not sure he's an action movie star just yet.  John Travolta was almost unrecognizable phyiscally, but pulled of the crazy character's personality quite well. 

New fall decor...

Absolutely love it.  I got these pumpkin candles last year from Pottery Barn, waaay after fall was over, and am so excited to have them out!  I think fall is my favorite time of the year!

Recent Movies...

Just a handful of the movies that I've seen lately:

 

Absolutely LOVED this one... I think that I watched it like 3 times in one weekend when I rented it.  Just so funny, and heartwarming.  I know this will be a favorite for years to come. 

 

I thought that Adventureland would be funnier, considering the cast.  But it was a decent coming-of-age movie, and I'd definitely recommend seeing it once.  Probably not going to buy this one though.

 

I am a huge Channing Tatum fan, and I think that he did well in this role.  He seemed believable.  But I can't stand Terrence Howard's voice/acting in this movie.  I think they could have made it better as a whole.

 

Again, another movie that I was a bit disapponted with.  The previews for this make it seem more like a romantic comedy about spies.  This is more like a semi-boring spy movie with a romance in the background.  I prefer Julia Roberts when she's happy and glow-y.  And working with Richard Gere.

Seriously, what the heck were these 2 good actors doing in the seriously crappy movie?  Seinna, you're up and coming, so I forgive you.  James Franco?  You're way too hot to be in such a crappy movie. 

 

Just picked this one up in the clearance bin the other day.  It was a little cheesy, as I expected, but I am a really big Amanda Bynes fan, and can't wait to see what she comes out with next.  She makes me laugh so hard.  Chris Carmack has the ability to be a good actor in the future.  I loved him in the short-lived TV show Related, he was okay in Into the Blue 2.  He just needs his big break.