Archives for June 2010

Eclipse Review

June 30, 2010 by Amy Leave a Comment

OK, gut reaction while watching the first half of the movie: This is boring. I wonder if there’s somewhere I can lay down.

Gut reaction while watching the second half of the movie: OK, now I don’t have to completely slam the movie.

Gut reaction while walking out of the movie: That was a dumb movie. Can I see Jac0b again?

Ok, yes, maybe because I’m sick but ya’ll, that was disappointing. Yes, there were many redemptive qualities but it completely missed the mark of setting up any kind storyline between Edward/Bella/Jac0b. Any kind of work New Moon did to establish the connection between Jac0b and Bella was completely obliterated. For the first half of the movie, you wouldn’t have even known any of New Moon existed. Bella seemed to have made up her mind. It wasn’t until the kiss after the tent scene that there was any connection between them.

I guess I just felt like they stuck a bunch of our favorite scenes and put them together. I mean, the Florida trip was completely forgettable and pointless. Why even have that?

However, there was some really, really good stuff.

Taylor Lautner. Wow. Can I get a couple screenshots of that please?
I enjoyed Edward so much more in this movie. He actually smiled and I felt like Edward really loved Bella in a normal, non-stalkerish non-Ihatemylife kind of way. Rob really was Edward in this movie for me.
The meadow scenes were fantastic
The bedroom scene at Edward’s was great. I particularly awed over the proposal. Hello, ring!
I gladly give major props to Jackson Rathbone finally. He nailed Jasper this time and I really enjoyed him.
Ditto for Rosalie.
The guy that played Riley and the girl that played, well, the girl that they saved were spot on. Loved them.
Tent scene was my most anticipated scene and it did not disappoint. It delivered my favorite line of the movie, “I’m hotter than you.” Fantastic line. I also enjoyed the discussion between Edward and Jac0b instead of all glares or threats.

As you can see, there are many things I did like about the movie but I just don’t think it holds together as a movie very well.

For those that have seen it, what’d you think?

Cooking with The Pioneer Woman: (2nd) Weekly Update

June 29, 2010 by Amy 7 Comments

Alternately title: I’M FINISHED!!!!!!

I got so excited yesterday realizing I only had one left that I decided to go ahead tackle the end of the book. I also realized I’d never made the Pot Roast either! So I tackled both the Breakfast Bowls and Pot Roast as my last dishes of the book.

Breakfast Bowls

These were WAY yummier than I thought they’d be. However, this took a ton of prep time and I already had the sausage cooked, left-over from the burritos the other day. While I would eat this again I probably won’t be making it again.

Perfect Pot Roast

Here’s the thing with the pot roast. The roast my mom taught me to make in the crock pot is one of my favorite recipes ever. It’s so simple and yummy and I think I wrote this recipe off almost as soon as I saw it. Not fair but true. And while this take a lot more prep compared to my Mom’s version, this wasn’t as bad as it seemed. I still prefer the flavor of Mom’s version better but Scott was ooh-ing and aah-ing the whole time he was eating and I think he preferred this one. Simply because of the prep time, I’ll stick with the version I have but if I didn’t have a good recipe I’d definitely stick with this one.

So THAT’S IT! I’M DONE WITH THE BOOK!!!

I’ll probably do some follow-up posts on this but I have to say this is by far one of the best things I’ve ever done. I fell in love with cooking for the first time ever and I learned SO MUCH all while providing for my family. Can’t get better than that!

I’ve said it before but this was a life-changer. PW, I can’t thank you enough!!

Top Ten Tuesday: Mommy and Wifey Reminders

June 28, 2010 by Amy 6 Comments

Oh, I had written these as a regular post but it’s pretty perfect for Top Ten Tuesday…

Scott and I spent some time with a new friend tonight. She’s older and wiser and we talked a lot about parenting and marriage. Came away with the reminder that the basic stuff still matters and works. I made a list for myself as a reminder and thought I’d share.

Be up before or with the kids
Fix 3 healthy meals
Give your child your full attention, especially when he/she is asking for it
Give one-on-one attention to each child
Don’t send your kids off to an activity at every chance
Have their playthings organized
Make them clean up their messes
Don’t back down when your kids buck your authority
Don’t let the kids play you and your spouse against each other
Money doesn’t make a difference whether you are a successful parent

OK, so that’s ten but I haven’t even gotten to the marriage part!

Don’t emasculate your husband
Don’t emotionally detach from your husband
Husbands, lead your family and fight for your wife and kids
The health of your marriage is a choice, one that both parties make
Don’t give up

As you can see, a lot of these are quite convicting. It’s easy to say, oh yeah, of course I do that but I know I fail a lot. But the little stuff matters. It really, really matters. To those mommys and wifeys out there doing even some of these, give yourself a pat on the back! You’re doing your job well!

Check out more Top Ten Tuesday posts over at ohamanda.com

Cooking with the Pioneer Woman: Weekly Update

June 28, 2010 by Amy 3 Comments

Breakfast Burritos (although not exactly the same recipe I used in the cookbook)

As the second to last recipe I have to make, it sure did take a long time to get to. The recipe calls for TWELVE burritos and it’s not often I’m feeding more than 2 for breakfast at a time. So even at halved, it was a lot of burritos! My uncle and his family stopped in town on the way to Myrtle Beach and I sent them (and my parents and sister for the day) off with these burritos. I have to admit I was pretty nervous about making these. It’s not something I’ve ever had so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Plus, with red peppers, I was a little scared it would be too spicy for a breakfast dish. However, they seemed to be a big hit. Or, at least an edible hit! I didn’t eat one but everyone seemed to like it. Well, when I say everyone, all the adults. My younger cousins didn’t like the red peppers, Lexi didn’t try it and Emma would only eat the stuffing. So, if you have a hungry adult crowd, this would be a great way to fill them up.

OK, these weren’t in the book, but they were so good I have to include them. Both of them were featured by PW from her Tasty Kitchen site.

Coffee Cake

I’ve never made a coffee cake and I have to say this was yummy. But boy, oh, boy at the sugar. I mean, wow. I’m a sugarholic and let me say that was a lot of sugar. But in the end, it paid off. The cake was beyond belief yummy and moist. I have to say though that this cake was actually better the day after. When it was still warm, it seemed to fall apart and just hadn’t gelled properly. Also, I had to let it cook much longer than it called for because I used a different pan and I still had a little bit undone in the middle. However, you’ll never seem me complain about a little bit of cake batter.

Mystery Mocha

This was SUPERB. Quite possibly one of my favorite desserts ever. Restaurants included. I’m serious. OK, maybe not THAT serious. But, I mean, it was seriously yummy. I made it one day when my parents and sister were over swimming and the 8×8 pan was gone literally in minutes. The cake part was nice and crusty on the outside and the coffee mixed with the sugars to make the best fudgey gooey inside ever. It was perfect with some vanilla ice cream. The best part is it is super easy with simple ingredients. It was so good I didn’t even have time to take pictures.

ONE more recipe to go to complete the cook book!!

Sunday Highlights: Outlaws: 2nd and 3rd commandments

June 27, 2010 by Amy Leave a Comment

Today’s sermon was about the 2nd and 3rd commandments. You shall have no other idols before me and do not take the Lord’s name in vain found in Exodus 20:4-7

God has always used people to show who He is.

The God you elevate with your mind and speech is the God people will see

We like to elevate things that are just above us: celebrity, power, ghosts, horoscopes, athletes, the cross, the Bible (paper and ink, not the message). There is nothing like Him so treat Him like nothing else.

God’s name is significant. If you love Him, your speech will reflect that. In the same way, Matthew says some will say Lord, Lord but He doesn’t know them. They say one thing but their heart says another. Our love of Him should come out of our heart and into our mouths. The issue is hypocrisy. How do we show who God is? If you value Him so much, your words should reflect it. We are priests and communicate who God is. What name do you drop and what do people see?

Saturday Random

June 26, 2010 by Amy Leave a Comment

A few random bits to get you up to date.

Basically if I’m not blogging this summer, I’m either working or in the pool. Or running an errand. Or cooking. Or laundry. Or watching Netflix.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the girls attended their first full day summer camp this week. They went all week 9-4 to gymnastics camp. They had a theme of water week. They’d spend the day doing gymnastics in the morning, a water event of some sort (water balloons, slip ‘n slide), lunch, craft and more gymnastics. And I think they fit movies in there sometimes. They took lunch and snacks and clothes. They were responsible for picking out what to eat for snack and lunch and also got themselves changed to and from leotard to bathing suit. I am super proud of them! I was a little skeptical after Monday how it would work out because they had the option to do half days which they requested for Tuesday after a full day Monday and Emma said, “I want a half day because I miss Mommy.” Aww. But Lexi wanted to do full day so I told them they had to do full day Wednesday since Lexi left early Tuesday for her. They ended up staying full day Wednesday and the rest of the week. Lexi one day didn’t want to come home. I hope this bodes well for Kindergarten. Anyway, it was a fantastic week for them getting to do something with other kids and I had a great, quiet week of work. I have to say while I enjoyed the quiet, but come lunchtime, I was ready to go get my babies! I guess I’m proud of all of us!
My iPhone 3G came back from the repair shop. They couldn’t get it to turn back on. So it’s dead, dead and currently up for parts on eBay. The white iPhone 4 comes out next month so I’m just going to wait. I’ve waited this long.
I think I’d also be remiss not to mention I went last weekend to watch Melissa finish her first triathlon. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little choked up a few times. I’m so proud!
Today my uncle and his family are coming to stay the day on their way to the beach so the girls are heading to Chuck e Cheese for a party and then spending the rest with them.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

Make and Save Money Online

June 24, 2010 by Amy 5 Comments

OK, here’s the deal. Lately I’ve been enjoying a lot of really cool online deals. And not just deals. Free gift cards? Free clothes? Free CASH? Yep.

The best part is when you share it, it sweetens the deal. So yes, this is a lot of referral links but if you help me out and sign up, you can then earn your own money!! We all could use some extra cash right? Let’s help each other! Here’s how they work:

Cash for searching

Do you Google? Of course you do. Turn that googling into Paypal cash or Amazon gift cards or any number of gifts with Swagbucks.com. In just a few weeks, you can turn your searching into $5 on Amazon. So far I’ve cashed my points into $15 to Amazon. And it’s with LITTLE effort. Sometimes they share what they call SwagCodes on Facebook or Twitter and all you have to do is input a code into their site to rack up the points. The best part is when you have people sign up under you, you get earn when they earn. So that’s NO effort on your part and you’re earning serious points. People are starting to pay for their Christmases with Swagbucks!

So go help me out and then you can get some other folks signed up and we all win MONEY!

Cash back for shopping online

If you shop at all online you need to get clued into eBates.com and ShopatHome.com. I follow great coupon sites like MoneySavingMom.com and she’ll clue you into really good deals online and when you stack it with one of those sites, you get even sweeter deals. This includes places like Walmart.com and Target.com! Once you get to $20, they send you real live checks in the mail. Fun! So far I’ve earned about $25 back and I’ve just gotten started. Not only that they give you CASH for referring friends!

Cash for eating and shopping IRL

Groupon.com shows you a deal a day in your area to get a discounted gift card. Yesterday I got a $25 gift card for $10 to Oh! Scrap, a nearby scrapbooking store. This will be great for invitations or crafts for the kids. And Groupon gives you $10 for referring friends! 10 friends and you have $100! That’s serious extra cash!

Cash for reading emails

MyPoints.com is a LONG-standing site. Basically they send you an email or 3 a day and you click on it and earn points. Those points can be turned into GREAT gift cards. You can also earn by taking surveys, shopping online, etc. I’ve been a member since I was in college and have earned SO MANY gift cards. For the past several years I’ve been turning them into Starbucks gift cards! They don’t have a referral link, but if you are going to sign up, I’d love to send you an invite. Just to show you I’m not making this up: I’ve earned a total of 112,906 since 1998! A $5 gift card is 1550 points so that’s 72 $5 cards!! That’s a $5 card every 2 months! Hey, free Starbucks every 2 months isn’t bad right?

I know it may seem like a lot but once you have these things going, it’s really not much extra effort and you can earn real money and gift cards, not just points in some program. So help a girl out and go sign up!

Trash the Dress

June 21, 2010 by Amy 5 Comments

I don’t know why I’m in a wedding mood. Maybe it’s because my two cousins are getting married within a month of each other. But this is a PSA of sorts. I heard about this Trash the Dress in a blog this morning and I was confused and then intrigued. It certainly has not made its way to South Carolina yet and I thought I should share.

Basically what happens is a bride (and groom, possibly) trash the wedding dress by taking photos in water, on train tracks or in mud. I really wish I’d known about these because I certainly can not fit in my wedding dress right now. Look how gorgeous some of these turn out:

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*sigh*

Photos belong to owners as found on this Flickr group.