five friday favorites #3: week of oct. 24, 2014

Welcome to another Friday Favorites ... on Saturday! My book review schedule was a bit crazy this week, so I didn't have time to work on this until today. Once again, I'm linking up with Heather at Housewife Glamour.




1. Spotify's "Ultimate Covers" playlist
I've recently been listening to a lot of Spotify at work--mostly movie scores with some music from my youth thrown in for good measure (dcTalk, anyone?). But yesterday I discovered an absolutely fantastic playlist: Ultimate Covers. Most of these covers are acoustic, and a few are inappropriate for work, so you've gotta stay on top of things. But it's such a soothing way to spend your day--especially when you've been fighting with the html on your company website for hours and you just want to throw something!



2. Walks with my mom
My mom and I have recently been walking the Dark Island Trail, this trail just outside of town that crosses the Platte River. We've seen lots of deer, a few owls, an eagle, and a heron ... as well as beautiful fall colors! The pictures below are ones my sister took on a recent walk, as she's home for fall break this weekend!!!

3. Friends who give me GF stuff
I have two friends who used to be gluten free and don't need to be anymore, and they've both given me gf goodies! Earlier this week, Steph brought in a sack of stuff. My favorite? The Pamela's Bread Mix. I made a loaf of bread, and, to someone who hasn't had bread since Memorial Day (except for some horrible hamburger buns that tasted more like cardboard than bread), it was fantastic! I made toast, grilled cheese, and used the last two slices for pumpkin French toast this morning. I think there's a Pamela's purchase in my future ...

4. Listerine Healthy White
Listen, I'm not really into teeth whitening. I mean, I know my teeth aren't nearly as white as they could be, but I could never justify the purchase of a quality teeth whitening product. Then I saw a commercial for Listerine Healthy White, and I thought, "Why not?" The package claims you'll see results in five days, and I really have. I adore online shopping, but this is one product you should get at Walmart or your local drug store, as it's much cheaper there than online. Plus, you can get a coupon from Listerine's website--I wish I would have thought to check there before I bought mine!

5. Pill Organizer
So this one isn't too glamorous, but it's probably my favorite thing this week. After I finally saw an endocrinologist for my Hashimoto's, I started taking a new thyroid med in addition to Synthroid. It's helping tremendously, but I also have to take it first thing in the morning at the same time every day. Since I get up at 6:30 on weekdays, I leave my alarm set on the weekends, too, and then I go back to sleep after taking the pill. Except sometimes, in my grogged state, I don't actually take it after slapping the alarm ... and when I wake up, I'm not sure if I've taken it or not. After having this happen a couple times, I decided to bite the bullet and get a pill organizer ... even though I've always seen pill organizers as something for old people. Then I found this one. It's attractive (for a pill organizer), and I like that it's seven individual pill holders that fit in a stand. Right before I go to bed, I pull the next day's out and set it right by my water. And in the morning, I can easily tell if I've taken my pill or not. Win!

What are you enjoying this week?

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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movie mondays: movies to avoid (amazon prime)

If you have any streaming services, you know your options often seem limitless. You also know that the majority of films available to stream are not the blockbusters everyone's heard of. No, most of the films are independent films, and their covers often announce all of these wonderful film festival awards. But how do you know if they're worth your time?

That's where I come in.

I have this incredible knack for picking out terrible films. Every once in a while, I'll hit on a gem, but usually, I strike out. (I'll tell you about the gems in an upcoming post.) So here are some Amazon Prime offerings that I've recently suffered through. Don't make the same mistakes I did. Or do--but don't say I didn't warn you!

Please Kill Mr. Know It All (NR)

This film actually inspired this post. The other night, I was looking for something to watch, and it popped up as a recommendation. It was awful ... yet I watched the entire thing.

Sally is an aspiring author who writes an advice column, Mr. Know It All, to pay the bills. For some unknown reason (or perhaps it is known, and I was just too bored to note it), no one knows Mr. Know It All's identity. Eventually, Sally has to come up with a "face" for Mr. Know It All, so she sketches Albert, a man she notices at the movies. Turns out he's a hit man, and his sudden notoriety makes it difficult for him to do his job, so he sets out to kill Mr. Know It All. In his quest, he meets Sally, and they fall in love. Throw in contracts on both Albert's and Mr. Know It All's lives, and Albert & Sally's romance may be over before it even begins. The resolution makes zero sense (how does putting a dead hit man's prints on Sally's coffee mug identify him as Mr. Know It All? And if Albert has already been identified in public as Mr. Know It All, wouldn't his reappearance a year later cause people to talk?)--but that's OK, because the resolution meant the movie was over.*

*I do have to say that I found both leads to be charming. But the script? Awful.

I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore (PG)

I honestly don't know what possessed me to watch his film, except that I always love the underdog gets the girl story. It had some good reviews, and I guess I was in a sappy mood.

Anyway.

Bernie is a down-on-his-luck, overweight bachelor who still lives with his mother and runs his father's store. His whole family views him as a loser, and Bernie buys into that mentality himself ... until he meets Theresa. He is immediately drawn to her, and he finds himself transforming for her--he comes out of his shell, joins a gym, and stops buying Hershey's Kisses at the local drug store. Meanwhile, Theresa is using Bernie as the topic of her thesis ... something about overweight men. But of course, they fall in love, blah, blah, blah. Dumb.

Madea's Witness Protection (PG-13)

This film is the most "mainstream" film on the list--I recall seeing commercials for it on TV, and Tyler Perry is a pretty reliable "brand," love him or hate him. But chances are good that you haven't seen it, and you might be curious ... thus its inclusion.

As a general rule, I love Tyler Perry movies, especially the ones with Madea. But Madea's Witness Protection is a total bomb. I think maybe it tried to be too broad, with Eugene Levy, Doris Roberts, and Denise Richards as members of a family in witness protection who end up staying with Madea, instead of sticking with the normal formula of members of Madea's family in trouble. Perhaps the classic Perry morality lesson comes in at the end, but I couldn't force myself to watch the entire thing. I tried--multiple times--but ultimately, I decided the it just wasn't worth my time.*

*Looking for a Perry movie that is worth your time? Check out Madea Goes to Jail, Meet the Browns, or, if Madea isn't your thing, Why Did I Get Married? Unfortunately, they aren't available to stream for free.

A Big Love Story (NR)

This movie baffles me. As I said before, I'm a sucker for the geek/nerd/ugly girl/underdog falls in love story. And A Big Love Story has some absolutely amazing reviews on Amazon. But it is so, so terrible. While it's not rated, it definitely would be rated R if it had gone through the MPAA.

Sam is an obese former football player who decides to get in shape. He hires Cassie to train him. They both have train-wreck lives, and I'm pretty sure they fall in love. I watched the entire film, and, two months later, I can't even remember the end. I do remember some sub-plot about Sam's roommate and his girlfriend, who thinks she's pregnant, but she's not. This won a bunch of film festival awards, so obviously some people liked it--but I am certainly not one of those people. (It appears more and more people are agreeing with me, as many of the recent Amazon reviews are not so complimentary.)

The World's Oldest Living Bridesmaid (NR)

Yes, the title should have warned me off, and if not the title, then the picture. But this was a 90's TV movie, and I have such fond memories of other 90's TV movies with semi-bad to horrible titles (Our Son the Matchmaker, Chance of a Lifetime, Forever Love) that I thought I would give this one a chance.

I probably should have passed.

Brenda is a 40-something lawyer who can't seem to keep a secretary--they keep getting married. She ends up hiring Alex, a 20-something artist who works as a secretary because his art career hasn't taken off yet. They fall in love. She's embarrassed to be seen with him in public. He dumps her. She realizes the error of her ways and apologizes. He proposes. The end.

And the title? It's just a throw away line that Brenda utters at a cafe. She's really not obsessed with getting married; in fact, she shows no interest in it whatsoever until Alex proposes. The best part though? The waiter that she says the line to is Colin Mochrie of Whose Line.

Have you seen any of these films? What did you think? Can you give us other Prime offerings to avoid? Let me know in the comments!

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five friday favorites #1: week of oct. 10, 2014

My sister (who has become my blogging champion of late and should really begin blogging herself) recently came up with a list of things I should blog about. On that list? Friday Favorites. I've noticed other bloggers doing them, but I'd never really thought about it. Until now. So today begins my Five Friday Favorites--five things I'm enjoying this week. I'm linking up with Heather from Housewife Glamour, so when you're finished here, head on over and check out the other Friday Favorites posts!

1. The Flash
I am absolutely loving Forever, starring the always dashing Ioan Gruffudd, and until earlier this week, I would have said that was my favorite new show. Then I watched The Flash. It's so fun! Within the first 10 minutes both Dawson Leery's dad (who played the Flash on a short-lived series in the early 90's) and Ed showed up. And I know that Michael, Linc, and T-Bag from Prison Break will be on later this season. It always makes me happy to see actors from dearly departed shows! And Grant Gustin as The Flash? He's just so darn likable! But what captured me most was the tone of the show. It's light and fun. Even though this is a DC show, it has that Marvel movie feel to it--think The Avengers.

2. Dutch Butter Cake--GF Baking Fail
The other day, this recipe from Kevin & Amanda popped up in my Facebook feed. It looked so good ... but it wasn't gluten free. I decided to make it anyway and just substitute in the same amount (by weight) of my gluten free flour blend. I did this even though I've yet to successfully adapt a recipe--I do much better when I make a recipe that's been designed to be gluten free. Well, this recipe most certainly didn't turn out like it was supposed to. It's very soft on the top and bottom (like fine sand) and really hard in the middle. But boy does it taste good! Obviously, I won't be taking it to any potlucks, but I'm enjoying eating it at home. (And I bet the kind made with all purpose flour is to die for ...)

3. Orange & Spice Herbal Tea
I lived with my grandparents for a semester after high school, and my grandma had this cupboard that was full of tea. I can't recall her ever drinking tea except for plain iced tea, but her cupboard was well stocked. (Come to think of it, maybe she had her tea at breakfast and I just never knew because my grandparents ate breakfast way earlier than I did!) At the time, I was just discovering a love for coffee, and I had no interest in tea if it wasn't iced. Now, though, I love tea. I recently purchased an herbal tea variety pack, and I discovered that the Orange & Spice tea tastes exactly like my grandma's cupboard smelled! I miss my grandma a lot, and now when I drink my tea, I think of her.

4. Fresh Prince Online Quiz
If you're a child of the 90's, then this quiz is very easy ... but it's oh so fun! Thanks to Jen for sharing it on Facebook!

5. Big & Daring Volume Mascara
In the past several years, I've become a big fan of Avon cosmetics. I used to think Avon was just for old ladies (probably because my grandma had lots of Avon products), but I've since learned that Avon is awesome! My most recent find is the Big & Daring Volume Mascara. I tried it simply because it was cheaper than my regular mascara, but I've fallen in love. Here's the thing: it actually stays on! My mascara always, always, always winds up under my eyes. Think raccoon eyes. But this stuff stays in place!

There are my five! What things are you enjoying this week?

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