Gothic Movie Mania....

I haven't been doing a great job of reviewing all the movie I have seen lately, so I thought we would play catch up today! As I was uploading the pictures I realized they are all kinda dark and gothic.....weird.

So Sinister stars Ethan Hawke and I rarely see horror movies anymore... Why? I am not into the awful torture and gore that they all must have now..... but we decided to rent this one and give it a try.......and I really liked it! It was dark and it has a huge twist but as far as a scary movie goes this one kept me on my toes a thinkers scary movie. The "jest" is Ethan Hawke plays a true life crime author who moves into the house of a murdered family.....and well, that doesn't go as planned! If you want to have a scary night in then you should rent this one......anyone else seen it?

 Last Friday night Matt and I saw Dark Skies which was a alien "thriller/horror" starring Keri Russell! This was PG-13 so talk about the perfect scary movie for me to see.....the only problem is that apparently we were the only adults in the theater and the "tweens" talked the WHOLE time! UGG! Anyways this movie is about one family and the horrors they go thru at the hands of something supernatural! I enjoyed the movie, I don't think you should run out and see it but definitely rent it when it comes out!

 When the trailer for Beautiful Creatures came out it made me push the book to the top of my list...it looked so good! So I read the book and then went to see the movie........mistake. I spent the whole movie trying to figure out what was happening and why I didn't remember so much from the book. So like my friend Becky told me.....pick only ONE....book OR movie. I wasn't into this movie and I know it was set in the south but I hated that everyone sounded like Paula Deen to me. It is about teens, witches, dark magic and love! Did you see it? thoughts? Honestly this movie didn't make me want to run out and read the next 3 books in the series either....it was "eh"!

Lead Role...

 Matt has the lead role in my life and for the most part you all know so much about him....but I thought that in today's "Cast of my life" I would share his positive attributes with you.

Last week Matt and I were watching a Life sermon online about marriage and Craig talked about how before you are married your spouse's attributes are what you love but once you are married those can become something you loathe. And it is true.....Craig's example was:
"I love how laid back my spouse is" which turns into "You are so lazy and don't do anything"....don't act like you haven't thought something like that before. And it is true we can so easily turn negative or see the bad that we (me included) have to make an effort to remind ourselves about the positives.

Here are somethings you may or may not know about my hubby Matt......
* He is tender hearted
* He loves animals like I do and will go out of his way to help when he can.
* Matt is silly, I love that Matt will chime in on some silly song I have made up for our animals or that he doesn't judge when I do!
* Matt is a hard worker
* Matt is understanding, he knows for example that life is hard and he understands why I feel the way I do sometimes
* Matt loves my family and they love him
* Matt is creative and artistic....he doesn't get to utilize that part of himself very often but he is talented. Matt can paint, draw and yes ladies even make a mean scrapbook page!
* Matt accepts my "quirks/weirdness/hobbies"....I mean Matt went with me to stand outside a haunted location in KY (Bobby Mackey's)...he didn't like it but he did it for his weirdo wife.
* Matt lets me be in charge of the remote! I am spoiled when it comes to this and I am realize how lucky I am .....I don't thank him enough for this silly little trait!
* Matt is positive and yes sometimes this drives me insane....how can he be so upbeat and positive towards certain situations.....but I am lucky I have a positive husband and I wouldn't want him to change.

I could go on and on I am sure but I will stop here and no matter what we face I am lucky to have Matt as my leading man.

Cast of my life....

 Roonie-
Today is all about Marissa, my baby sister. I know I have talked and bragged about her so many times on this blog and it is easy to do when she excels in so much. But I am getting ahead of myself, lets start at the beginning......
We are 11 years apart which is HUGE and I was called "Junior Mommy" when it came to her. When she was a baby I remember always being the first person up in the morning so I could be the one to go into her nursery and get her up. Memories like that are burned into me like the day I knew I was going to have a baby brother.

 I am not even sure Marissa would remember all of this but growing up on Sundays I worked the nursery at church because when we dropped off Marissa she cried. And yup, I couldn't take it....so for years I worked in the nursery every Sunday so my Roonie wouldn't have to cry. When she first started taking dance I also became the "self appointed" class "demonstrator" because I didn't want her to cry or be without one of us. Can you say spoiled much? And I am pretty sure I took a spanking or two on her behalf....I wouldn't ever let her cry. (Don't act like you never got spanked a time or two)

Marissa was everything you could be in High School and watching her graduate at the top of her class and as Sr. Class President was so amazing for all of us. Did I mentioned she was in Choir? 3 Musicals?

When Marissa went to OU (Boomer Sooner) she became my sister twice over........Delta Delta Delta! Getting to initiate her was very special and I love that she has flourished in the house! This year my sister is Scandals Director......which for those who don't know is a huge musical competition between all the Greek houses! It is so fun.

My sister just this past year has really come into her own......I think she has blossomed into the tall beauty she always will be. You know how you continue to change while you are growing up... I didn't think she could be any prettier but she is! 

Marissa is a Okc Thunder loving, silly, tender hearted, God Loving, hard studying, shabby chic, wonderful girl!

Would you believe that she is going to be 21 next month? Lucky for me she is coming to visit during her Spring Break so we can celebrate her Birthday early.....this will be the first one EVER I will miss. I swear I say it all the time but if I could be anyone I would want to come back as Marissa.

Baby sisters are the best aren't they? Something I love is that just recently our relationship has developed into more of a friendship and our 11 years don't seem so far apart anymore.

Cast of my life....

This week I thought I would divulge a little more into the "Cast of my Life" and I won't be able to do everyone but I think you might enjoying getting to know my family a little more. ALSO....I will be answering any questions you have about me, my life, my anything so leave a comment and ask away!

First up Curtis........

"Pancakes"

One of my earliest memories is about my baby brother Curtis. I remember it like it was yesterday my Mom and my 5 year old self were in my parents master bathroom one morning and my Mom asked me what is something I have been wanting really bad......my answer...PANCAKES! That explains so much doesn't it? HA! But the correct answer was a little brother. So it is true I prayed for a brother so hard it came true..........And there have been many times growing up that my mother reminded me of that wish! 

Growing up we fought like crazy....I am talking full on contact out for blood fighting. But I guess that is what happens when a little sister comes along forcing Curtis and I to share a room. It was so crazy our "mad combat skills".....did I mention he stabbed me in the eye with a pencil once? And ya, I am sure I deserved it. But when we weren't out for a kill we were playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with our pizza throwing machine! Isn't that what little brothers are for? I swear to this day we love a little verbal battle but that is something we will always do and we will always fight with love! This picture below is one of my favorites and the love that Curtis and I both share for our beloved Rusty knows no bounds. 

 Curtis and I are so different but we are also the same in many ways...........we both have big hearts, we both have tender hearts and we both might lack in the patience department a little bit. But other traits my brother possesses is a drive, a drive to get things done. My brother is very smart, he was always so good at school and in fact he got accepted to Optometry School and starts in St. Louis this fall. And I know 110% he will breeze thru. Curtis is also determined, once his mind is set on something it is practically a done deal. One trait Curtis has that we all have is silliness! When I met Matt and he could show his silly side I knew he was going to fit in perfectly with my whole family. My brother is a tough-go getter but when he is with us he doesn't hesitate to use words and phrases that are only ours. Yup, my family has a pretty big vocabulary of made of words!

My brother graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University, he then put his dreams of medical school on hold to enlist in the Marines where he quickly became an officer. This past fall his time in the military was over after a lengthy deployment and he moved back to Oklahoma City.

You know it is crazy that after so many years of living in California while being at Pendleton that when he moves home I actually moved away. Marissa and I were talking over the Holidays we never thought we would have a family that would be spread out everywhere. But I guess that goes to show you never really know what the future has in store for you. 

One things we all have in common is features......we are all different but the same.........

Curtis married his love Jordan just this past November and our small family grew by one! They honeymooned in Germany over the Holidays....how fun! My brother rarely ever smiles in pictures....ever....but since his wedding day you can see a smile across his face in so many pictures. That is something so wonderful to see... I can see that he is happy.

WW Week in Review....

Can you believe it is Friday already? Another week in the books and another week of WW under my belt! This week I wanted to make a goal so bad, I swear every time this week I was hungry I thought....man, I hope my body is feeding on my fat! Yup, I really think that! 

I have only been doing WW for 6 weeks and it seems like so much longer! This week I lost 2.9 pounds!! yay me! And.........drumroll please...............I have lost a total of 10 pounds! I am 166 now! I am very proud and this is exciting because this is really the first time I have lost weight and even tried to! I am also aprehensive because I know I could gain a pound or two back and although I will try everything not to I don't want to set myself up for disapointment! 

I have a few recipes to share with you all, last night I made WW Lobster Mac-n-cheese and it was so good! Matt loved this dish and we are excited to have the left overs today! This is 8 WW points for 1 generous cup!

This is from the WW One Pot Meals cookbook I have......

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 can Fire Roasted tomatoes
1 cup Reduced-fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
⅓ cups Parmesan Cheese, Shredded
½ cups 1% Milk
⅛ teaspoons Ground Nutmeg or mustard powder
¼ teaspoons Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Parsley Flakes
3 cups Whole Wheat Elbow Noodles, Cooked (I used fusilli)
¾ pounds Lobster Meat, Cooked And Chopped

Make
In a large skillet on medium/high heat, melt the butter and then stir in the flour. Keep stirring the roux for about 30 seconds and then add in the tomatoes. Stir and cook the mixture for about 1 minute.

Add in the cheeses, milk, nutmeg, pepper, and parsley and stir until the cheese is melted and smooth. Pour in the noodles and lobster and mix until everything is well blended. Top with fresh parsley.

 This dessert is my favorite dessert and it is also from a WW cookbook! This dessert is 2 points but the amount below I doubled (go figure) and it is 4 points!
Chocolate Quesadilla
Ingredients
2 tablespoons milk chocolate chips
1 whole wheat tortilla
1 teaspoon sugar
Cinnamon
Powder Sugar

Make
Just put the chips, sugar and cinnamon into the tortilla then fold it over. In a pan warm the tortilla until chips have melted then dust with powder sugar! LOVE IT!!!

 This next recipe below is easy peasy and I LOVED it! And once again it uses whole wheat tortillas so that is a easy WW staple to keep in your fridge! (I do in mine)
This is just like above as far as the "cooking method" you heat in pan until cheese has melted!
This is 8 WW points.....
Inside the tortilla is......
2 Tablespoons WW cream cheese
Chopped sun dried tomatoes
Great Northern white beans (drained and rinsed)
Arugula
Goat cheese (only 1 oz)
S&P
Enjoy! I had this with a salad which is essentially no points to help fill me up!

Let me know if you try any of these recipes! TGIF!!!

Throwback Thursday...

I have decided to jump on the Throwback Thursday bandwagon....at least for this week! I got really excited and didn't know what I wanted to share with all of you so I thought I would make it be my favorite thing.......dance! Many years and pounds ago I was a dancer and have been my whole life, you probably know that unless you are new to my blog! I danced for 24 years....Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hip Hop, Pom, Lyrical the whole shebang! I taught dance, competed, judged, choreographed as well as danced for the Arena Football League and the NBA! Here are a few of those memories............

 I was a Honeybee (When New Orleans moved to OKC) and this is where my family and I fell in love with the NBA!

 This picture was from our "Risky Business" dance and this actually came from Sports Illustrated.com.....No joke! They have photo albums for dancer teams and it is still beyond cool to me that this was one of the pics!

 Many of these awesome girls went on to dance for the Mavs, Rockets, Thunder and do many more amazing things. After my Honeybee season I "retired" I was 27 which is old for a dancer and I wanted to spend time with Matt.

 I have to tell you a story about this picture below.......This picture captures the busiest day in my entire life. This was some of us YD dancers/mascots in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We drove there to watch our Dawgz take on Tulsa in AFL. It is about 3 hours round trip might I add.
Here is exactly what I did that day prior to this picture and I remember it as if it was yesterday..........
5:30am- Rise and Shine get pretty time.
7am-10am - Round 1 Honeybee Auditions
10am-12pm- I made it to round 2 Honeybee Auditions
1pm- Made it to the Honeybee finals
1:30pm- Run across the street from one Okc arena to another.....quick change and then I performed with the Yard Dawgz at an event and signed autographs
We then changed......drove to Tulsa.....went to eat.......watched the game.......went to a late night BBQ at the coaches Tulsa home and then drove home at 1am.
Literally that happened!

I hope you all enjoyed a little walk down memory lane!

What I am Loving Wednesday....

 It has been SO LONG since I have done a WILW post and today is the perfect day to get back on the wagon!! I thought today I would share a few Pins that have made me laugh and then a few Pins that are inspirational....it seemed fitting this week! I hope these will bring a smile to your face..........

 (Usually me.....)

*More on this Pin another day, I have VERY strong feelings about expectations*

I am always sad to see shows have a season finale in January but I love that new shows will be premiering! Here are a few of my favorite new mid-season shows....

* Our America, this isn't new but I love this show and I love Lisa Ling. This show is eye opening and honest.

 * The Following, holy crap-o-lee this show rocks! This is one of my favorite shows, finally a show that is complex and leaves you guessing. I love the depth of this show and how each week plays out like a movie!

 * The Americans, this so is unique and it has pulled me in. Did I mention it is set in 1981? This is a far cry from Felicity but FX knows how to do shows right!

What are you loving today???

3 Weeks out.....

Yesterday Oscar spent the day at the MedVet hospital having a full day of physical therapy! This full day was included in the massive amount we paid for his surgery (Thank God)! It absolutely amazed me the things they did with him, we 100% felt as if he was getting the same care a human would have recieved. He did the underwater treadmill which he loved and then he had laser light therapy. This is where he sat under a red beam (photons maybe?) and what this light does is give him a deep tissue massage, stimulate his nerve growth and break up unhealthy scar tissue on his spine. I mean how amazing! Luckily Matt was home yesterday (He left this morning) and we had a 45minute appt. with his therapist to go over his new at home recovery plan!

We know that he is trying to use his back legs when we take him out at home..... but when they had him walk in for us I was shocked, sadden to see him like that and unbelievably happy all at the same time! Watch this video....

The plan is in 4 weeks we hope to have him walking alone and being able to balance his weight evenly! This little guy is a fighter and we are all so happy to see how far he has come in only 3 weeks!

What am I doing?

I have started to write this post many many times but ending up deleting it, but this nagging in my head will not go away.
I am timid to share because:
1. I know I am blessed in many ways so I don't want people thinking I am a brat
2. I don't want to be a Debbie Downer and have one sad sack of a blog
3. I worry about people judging and reading in between the lines. Reading emotions in a post can go right or wrong.
4. People move all the time, I get it.....we are not the first couple to move away from home but this is new to me.
5. I do love Columbus, a lot don't get me wrong.

BUT I am writing this post because:
1. This is my outlet and you all are the best free therapy around
2. I have found that honest and emotion charged posts at times seem to be relatable for so many of you.

I won't lie these past 10 months have been hard and you all know that for the most part .....but things don't seem to be getting any better either.....they are getting worse. We moved for Matt to have a Farmers district but things changed and the change hasn't been all positive it has effected everything from our finances to our marriage. We are going thru a very tough time.

I have applied to every job under the sun including giving my resume to people I just met at Junior League functions. I have applied at retail places but I have been in the "office world" so long I have no retail experiance. I can't seem to even get a foot in the door at any office job and I have literally applied to over 50 jobs from Banks to office work. So this has been hard on us, I came here thinking we would have freedom to enjoy life and go home often but we can't now.....we have no extra money. And it isn't just me who is having a hard time this effects Matt too...but this post is geared from my point of view!

I am deeply sad.....it all sounds so trivial while writing this post but I can't seem to focus on anything good. I feel like I have no purpose. Really......I don't have a "career" like doctor or something that matters, I don't even have a job, I have no family here or children and I have no idea what I am doing. I literally feel like there is no purpose for me to get up. (Side note, I am on a low dosage of meds....so I have sought out help with my anxiety). In my head I am missing the positive thoughts/vibes towards our/my future and I feel hopeless most days. I mean I literally have no purpose in life....and I am not being dramatic I am just spilling out my private thoughts onto this post. I mean what am I doing? I don't see things getting better for a long time and I have nothing in the future to work towards.

Something even sadder is I am SO focused on my own life and crawling out of a hole that I am an awful friend. I mean the people who are there for me I can't seem to do the same for them. I am failing at life pretty much. I burden my Mom daily with my inner melodrama and I have nothing positive to say to my friends and how can I even make new friends when I am such a "negative Nancy". I missed a friends Birthday a week or two ago (Happy Belated Birthday BK) because I can't crawl out of the hole I am in. And the worst part is that feeds the cycle.........I then get down for being a crap friend, a bad daughter-in-law and the evil cycle continues.
I also think that is why I have been slacking at blogging because I don't want to lie to all of you and tell you things are great when they are not. I am too honest and I share too much so when I don't want to lie I pull back. That is what I do in general....pull back from everything.
Gosh, this sounds so stupid. I mean I have good days, I love to cook and try to do things for Matt but it's hard. Matt traveling every week M-F was not the plan and I am very independent thank goodness....I can eat alone but the loneliness if different, it comes from a deep place. And with all the pieces of life that are falling apart it is easy to take it out on one another when we finally see each other.

I pray, I pray, I pray and pray some more. I am trying. I got Matt and I both copies of the Love Dare which my friend BB said is a huge help, so I am hoping that will bring us back to where we need to be.
Have you ever had such a bad place in your life?? For women without children how do you have a purpose? Is this stupid? Be kind...... I am strong and I will keep on keeping on.

WW Friday....

 It's Friday........did everyone have a good Valentine's Day? Matt has been in Chicago all week so I caught up on my DVR last night and I think we will celebrate this weekend!
Today is another WW weigh in day and I lost 1 pound! Not great but it's something.......that brings my total to 7 and it has been 1 month! I would LOVE to loose 3 next week to make that number 10 pounds lost and I am going to try my hardest! How are you fairing? Anyone else trying to "re-commit" like I am? But I think that is ok, dedicating myself to trying harder and not giving up. I am ok with that.
NOW...I have to share with you my favorite WW go-to meal.....Easy Pad Thai! I have combined several WW recipes to come up with my own version that is 7 WW points!! (Add 2 points if you add a protein)
The easy thing about this is I use whatever is in my fridge......different everytime. This is the perfect dish to use up leftover produce and I always make double for lunch the following day!
Here is what I used this time.......
Shredded Carrot
Red Pepper
Mushrooms
Cabbage
Egg (scrambled no cream)
Bean Sprouts (in the can on the Asian aisle)

The sauce is really easy......

2 Tbl of brown sugar

3 Tbl low sodium soy sauce

dash of tabasco (or Asian hot sauce if you have it)

Lime juice

S&P

And you don't add this until the end when you add your noodles to the pan!

The rice noodles come hard and all you do is put them in any dish and pour warm water over and let them soak for around 45minutes. You don't want them real soft yet or they will become mush in the pan! Drain when they are ready.....

Sautee all your veggies in 1 tbl Sesame oil on med-high and then you will add in your noodles and sauce! The noodles will magically soak up all the delish sauce and there you have perfect Pad Thai!

Oh! Did I mention I added 2 tbl of chopped peanuts? I did and it works!!! Let me know if you try this! Yummy!