The Best of Me Review {SPOILERS}

Let me start out by saying that I have committed a major sin by not having read the book before seeing the movie.  I am the type of gal who refused to go see ANY of the Hunger Games movies before I read ALL of the books.  I am the same gal who after seeing 50 Shades in theaters (almost by force) had to read the entire series, including the first book because I am OCD.  Needless to say, I will probably end up with the book on my Kindle before tomorrow is over.  That being said this review is based solely on the movie.

Have any of you ever seen a Nicholas Sparks movie or even read one of his books?  Well then you can be sure that there is going to be love, loss, and many, many tears.   Does he even write anything with a happy ending???  Does the guy ever get the girl???  Does someone not die???

This is your boy meets girl in high school, boy is from a rough family, girl is from a rich, aristocratic family.  Boy and girl fall in love, father disapproves and tries to buy boy out of girls life.  Boy refuses, things seem to be going well and BAM!  Boy ends up going to prison for accidentally shooting his cousin and killing him while trying to intentionally kill his father, who had just beat up pseudo father figure.  Are you guys still with me?

Flash forward twenty-one years and pseudo fathers death brings boy and girl together again.  Girl is in a bad marriage with a teenage son, and yet still finds herself in love with boy.  Girl calls boy to tell him she loves him and then her son gets into a car accident and needs a heart transplant.  Boy gets shot by actual father who was pissed about sending him and the entire family to jail after cutting a deal with the DA.  Boy dies and girls son gets his heart.  End Scene.

Seriously, Nicholas Sparks.  Enough with the dying and the tears.  I cannot continue to read and/or watch movies based on your books.  Too many emotions,

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb Review

Being a flight attendant keeps me on the road for at least half of the month.  During the summer months, even more.  I cherish the nights that I get to spend at home with my family and friends.  Tonight was no exception.  I spent most of the day on the couch trying to recover from a migraine.  When my mom got off work I went and picked up hibachi for dinner and Night at the Museum for us to watch.  To say she was excited would be an understatement.  

I have always enjoyed most of Ben Stiller's movies and the Night at the Museum movies are no exception.  I did however find Secret of the Tomb was not as entertaining or as funny as the previous movies.  Do not get me wrong there were plenty of laughable moments and heart wrenching ones to go along with it.  How can you not be heart broken when watching Robin Williams and Mickey Rooney perform in their last cinematic feature?   

The movie centers around the Tablet of Ahkmenrah and its lose of magical powers, which prompts a journey for Lawrence "Larry" Daley (Ben Stiller) to take the tablet and Ahkmenrah to the British museum where Ahkmenrah's parents are on display.  They hope to gain the knowledge of the tablet in order to preserve "life after dark" at the Museum of Natural History in New York.  

Without giving too much information away and spoiling the movie for those of you who have not seen it.  Nick Daley (Larry's son) has grown into a young adult who is about to embark on life after high school.  The movie goes through the struggles of Larry learning to let go because Nick is becoming an adult and reuniting Ahkmenrah with his parents helps to reinforce the Daley's relationship.

Ricky Gervais is funny and endearing.  Rebel Wilson can only be described as the one and only Rebel Wilson and the cameo with Hugh Jackman as King Arthur was a brilliant surprise, especially when he impersonates wolverine.

 

Overall, I would rate Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb a 2 out of 5 stars. 

I will leave you with this line from Robin Williams character Teddy Roosevelt when he is talking to Larry at the end of the movie.  Larry says, "I have no idea what I am going to do tomorrow." Teddy responds, "How exciting!"  Here is to wishing Robin Williams and his family the best because even though Robin has been gone for a time, the family is still left to grieve.  Here is to tomorrow.

Also, I should note that Mickey Rooney's career spanned over nine decades.  Rooney was the victim of elder abuse, which led to medical debts as well as other financial infractions.  CMG represented Mickey in his last years and has set up a way to donate money to help assist with the financial burdens of his estate.  If you feel compelled to help out you can donate at www.mickeyrooney.com.

Confucious Says...

A pint of example is worth a gallon of advice.

BINGO!

Seventh Avenue

I always enjoy looking through shopping magazines. It's like window shopping for a lazy person like myself. So when I picked up the Seventh Avenue magazine at my parents house I was pleasently surprised to find A LOT of things that I loved and if I had a house of my own instead of a small apartment I would definitely buy.

Seventh Avenue sent out their first magazine in 1983 and sell everything from funky home furnishings and electronics to crazy awesome kitchen items.

Their guarantee is that if you have an issue with any product that you've purchased from them OR if you just aren't satisfied you can get a refund, replacement, or a credit to your Choose N' Charge account.

The Choose N' Charge option allows you to purchase items and pay at a later date with no down payment and as little as $20 payment on purchases each month. The more you purchase and use your account the higher your credit limit will be, which means MORE SHOPPING!

As if this isn't enough to make you want to purchase items from their website they also provide information on recalls for products that they've sold. I don't know about you but I don't know of too many companys will own up to recalls on their own accord.

So without further ado here are some of the items that I fell in love with.

This Chaise Lounge is my favorite and is appropriately called the Drama Queen Chaise.

I am insanely obsessed with portrait paintings and huge gaudy frames

I think this Batter Pro is the coolest kitchen gadget EVER!

And then of course this reminds me of the Good Ol' Days so I couldn't resist

Keep Your Politics Out of My Chicken

Thank you Amanda Minton for such wise words. I know people on both sides of the coin and I can understand both sides. I am the Devil's Advocate because honestly I don't care one way or the other. I just want my chicken sandwich.

For those of you who like me, live under a rock and do not really get involved, or as I like to call myself a bench warmer because I watch from the sidelines I am referring to the Chick-fil-A vs. Gay/Lesbian community.

Now before I get stoned out of the city let me once again advise this post is not to offend I love all people gay and straight and chicken alike.

Today was Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day and because I love me some awesome chicken sandwiches my family and I went to our neighborhood CFA to show our appreciation and eat some waffle fries. It was WAY too busy for me to get pictures of the outside like I wanted so I will just describe the scene for you: One officer directing traffic into the entrance, one employee directing traffic in the parking lot for parking/drive thru, two police officers at the exit, and just for good measure one more officer at the stop sign beside the CFA to direct traffic onto the highway. This of course was nothing compared to the craziness that awaited us inside...

Since I'm obsessed with cows I had to post this:

Dad is updating his FB while waiting for our food

Mimi is trying to avoid the camera

And FINALLY!

Family Time

My cousin was home in South Carolina last week from Washington state. I don't get to see her often so I tried to spend as much time as possible with her beautiful self and her two adorable baby boys!

She came over to hang out by the pool with the boys for my dad's birthday (man is he getting old), we went to a Riverdogs game, and hung out at the one and only Alpine and Gatortail with some awesome folks! Here are some pictures from our week together.

My beautiful cousin

The Riverdogs vs Rome



Two of the prettiest southern gals I know!



My cousin and I

(You know I had to rock the Guy Harvey croakies!)

Of course I couldn't leave out the wonderful Alpine and I

MooCow!

Just a little laugh for the day :D