I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four

Grade: A

Profanity: Not bad... No F-Bombs that I recall

Graphic content (sex, murder,etc.): Some violence, but nothing too graphic

Okay, I was pretty excited to see this one... It looked good from the previews, plus it had a Glee cast member in it! Matt didn't think he'd like it, but afterwards he said he did. : ) One of these days he'll realize that I'm always right... (j/k)(or am I?)

 In case you missed seeing the previews, it's about this guy, who happens to be an alien, who is being hunted by other aliens. The bad aliens have to kill the good aliens in order, and this guy is #4 on the list... Throw in a little love triangle and high school drama, and you're all set! Ok, so that summary sucked. Here's what imdb.com says:

John is an extraordinary teen, masking his true identity and passing as a typical high school student to elude a deadly enemy seeking to destroy him. Three like him have already been killed ... he is Number Four.

Wow, that wasn't much better than mine, was it? Oh well... Just go watch it for yourself! ; )

Like I said, I went into it with high hopes, and I was pleased with the outcome. The effects were great, and the soundtrack was too. And I loved the chemistry between Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron. SO cute together!! I heard a rumor that they are dating in real life...

There were a few holes in the storyline in my opinion. But they weren't bad enough to ruin the movie, so I won't go into them... Just things my analytical mind thought of once the movie ended.

All in all, one of my faves so far this year. I'll most likely be getting the DVD, especially if it ends up being a series! And I hope it does! : )

Weigh-In Wednesday

Hiya! I did weigh in last night, but my internet was down so I had to wait until I got to work this morning to post this. Unfortunately, I was right about the whole "most of that is water weight" thing, because I gained 4 pounds this week... BUT, that means that I have still lost a total of 4.6 pounds, which is awesome! And it meets my healthy-weight-loss goal of losing 1-2 pounds per week. : )

This Week: +4

Total: -4.6

Total Weeks: 2

Avg. Per Week: -2.3

I was sick most of last week, so I didn't eat or drink much... which is why I figured that huge loss was just water weight. Being sick also kept me from the gym though, so I was a little worried about that. I can't remember if I mentioned it on here, but I joined Curves around the end of December. I really love it there! For those of you who aren't familiar, it's a women-only gym that utilizes a... well, here, I'll just copy the description from their website:

A Curves 30 minute fitness center is a woman’s gym that provides a total body workout. With both aerobic exercise for weight loss and strength training for toned muscles, a Curves workout provides an exercise plan that can burn up to 500 calories in just 30 minutes. Curves clubs also offer a nutrition program and diet solution that provides permanent results without permanent dieting. Curves provides a complete solution for women to reach their weight loss, fitness, and health goals. Curves is the largest fitness and health club franchise in the world dedicated to providing affordable, one-stop exercise and nutritional information for women. Curves provides gyms for ladies in over 85 countries including the USA, Canada, Australia, England, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Japan, Spain, Mexico, France, Greece, Netherlands, and many other countries in Europe, South America, Asia, and Africa.



I love it because it gives me a great workout in only 30 minutes! Plus the women there are super friendly! : ) AND they recently began incorporating Zumba into their workouts, which I was very excited about! I've enjoyed it so much that I went and got the new Wii Zumba game:

I've done it two nights in a row, and it's been really fun! It's pretty fast-paced, so it takes me a few tries to get the moves right sometimes, but it definitely gives me a good sweat! It was offered as just the game or the game and a belt that holds your Wii remote. I had planned on purchasing just the game, but they only had the one with the belt in stock, so I went ahead and got it. It was an extra $20... not sure if it's worth it if you have the choice. The belt catches most of my movements, but during the cool down at the end of the workout, I usually take the remote and hold it, because there are a lot of arm movements that aren't picked up while it's in the belt...

I plan on doing the Wii Zumba every day, on top of my Curves visits. I may wait until I finish my antiobiotic to go back to Curves, so I'm glad I have something to do in the meantime! : )

Weigh-In Wednesday

Hello there! So, a new blog friend of mine, Heidi over at Grin & Bear It, has started a "Weigh-In Wednesday" deal... and I've decided to join in! Exciting, right... Well, it actually was this week, because I lost 8.6 pounds!!! Isn't that crazy? I'm trying not to get too excited, because it's probably just water weight. I haven't been working out like I should, but I have been watching what I've eaten. So if I add some more exercise, maybe I'll keep it off and keep losing! : )

The Silver Spoon

The Silver Spoon by K. T. Archer

Grade: B-

Profanity: Minimal

Graphic content (sex, murder,etc.): None

February's Book Club choice was The Silver Spoon by K. T. Archer. She is actually a friend of one of our members AND she did my hair for my wedding! : )  Since one of my lifelong dreams is to have a novel published, I was very excited to read a book by someone local who had accomplished that.

The story is about a young woman who finds out her mother is dying of cancer, so she moves in with her to care for her in her final days. In turn, she also cares for her grandmother who suffers from Alzheimer's, who had previously moved in with the mother. To make matters worse, there is a lot of family drama with the woman's aunt, her mom's only sister, who seems to only care about getting her hands on a set of silver that belonged to the grandmother.

The book is 259 pages, but it was a very fast read. I actually read it in two days... It was pretty well written; it kept my attention the whole time, and I was drawn into the story easily. As you can imagine, it got pretty sad at times. And the aunt's character continuously infuriated me, so the book did well with drawing out strong emotions... in me, at least. Archer threw in a little comic relief at times, so that helped the book from being a complete downer.

I enjoyed the story line, but it didn't end how I was hoping it would. I don't want to give too much away, but I suspected that there was more behind the aunt's attitude and actions than there ended up being. There was also a mention of an ex-husband that really had nothing to do with the story. It was almost like she just needed to fill the page a little more.

Overall, it was a nice, easy read. And those are good every once in a while. I also believe it's healthy to work the old tearducts from time to time, and this book definitely helped with that.

Since K. T. Archer is a friend of one of our Book Club members, we were actually able to have her come to our meeting this month to discuss her novel. Unfortunately... I just so happened to develop a fever the night we were to meet. Sucks, right?! : (  So I missed it. I was able to score an autographed book though:

And that's it for this review... If you have any questions about the book, or if you've read it and have some further input, feel free to leave a comment! There's a link under the book's photo if you'd like to purchase it as well.

I'm almost done with Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, so look for that review soon...

Beauty is Love Unexpected

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone! The main reason I celebrate this "holiday" is because 8 years ago today, my now Hubby and I became an official couple. I think the story is super cute, so I'll share:


I met Matt when he moved in with a guy friend of mine in college. We hung out a lot all together, but I was never interested in anything more than a friendship. I recall one night though when we were out playing pool, and Matt started talking about this girl he had a crush on. I started to feel slightly jealous... but I had no idea why. I actually had a crush on a different guy at the time.


Then one night, we were all at their place watching a movie. Matt and I were sitting on the couch... he on one end and I on the other. I asked if he minded if I lay down with my feet towards him, and he said no. After a little while, he began fidgeting, so I told him he could lay down too if he wanted, figuring that he'd just put his feet behind me... Much to my surprise, he said okay and proceeded to lay directly behind me! I was pretty shocked, but I didn't say anything, and we ended up both falling asleep like that.


Over the next few days, that became sort of a routine for us. We both loved watching movies, so each night, we'd fall asleep on the couch together... but that was it.


It just so happened that after about a week of that it was Valentine's Day. I wondered if Matt would do anything since we hadn't really discussed the status of our relationship, but he did. He gave me a stuffed dog wearing sunglasses that played "Bad to the Bone," and with it there was one of those little cards that usually go with flowers. He had written on it "A cool pal for a cool gal." I thought it was so cheesy that it was cute! : )


Then later that night, he asked me what I thought of us being more exclusive. It actually went something like this:


Him: "So, do you uh... want to go out just me and you?"
Me: "What do you mean?"
Him: "You know... you don't see any other guys, and I won't see any other girls."
Me: "Have you been seeing any other girls?!"
Him: "No, no! Um... I mean... you know. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
Me: grinning from ear to ear b/c that was the cutest thing I'd ever heard "...Sure."


And the rest is history! : ) I woke up this morning to find that Matt was sweet enough to get me the bracelet I hinted to him about from Kay Jewelers:

I had only expected one charm today, but he surprised me with three... I can't wait to build it up over the years to come! : )


I hope you all are having a wonderful day, whether you celebrate Valentine's Day or not. I'll close with a few pictures of Matt and I over the years...

Beauty is a Release

Hey y'all. So, after several recommendations, I have finally begun to follow Paige Baker's blog (and twitter) and have loved what I've read so far. Particularly, she has started a 365-day challenge where she'll write a poem every day for a year. I used to write poetry a lot when I was younger... I found it was a great way to vent. Plus I'm much better at portraying my emotions through writing than through speaking. But when I read back over the poems I've written, it's sort of depressing. Mainly because I only ever write them when I'm depressed... or mad. So that got me thinking... what kind of message would that be to anyone who read my poetry on down the road? They would think I am/was just some whiny manic depressant! Which sucks since I like to think I'm a pretty happy person. And so, I've decided to copy Paige and do my own 365-Day poetry challenge. Starting today, I will (hopefully) post a new poem every day under the My Writing tab. And on the slight chance that I miss a day, I'll make up for it the next time i post. ; )


If you decide to check them out, be warned that I don't claim to be a great poet... I just enjoy writing poetry. Some, if not most, of them will probably suck. Especially if I don't feel like writing that day. But hopefully some of you will enjoy reading them. : ) And thanks again to Paige for the wonderful idea! Go check her out if you haven't already...