Netflix has been putting out some of the best Christmas movies over the last few years so I was really excited to see this new film from them. The opening scenes of our lead character, Sierra, (played by Lindsay Lohan), and her 'dad' (go head Jack Wagner....still looking awesome!) were already giving you an idea that she'd earned this reputation of the rich, spoiled princess but was trying to figure out her own place in the world. It was a nice way to give us a mature version of this sort of story.
She has a boyfriend of sorts, Tad, (played by George Young who is hysterical) that is very funny in his portrayal of our obsession with social media. I couldn't tell if I was rolling my eyes from the corniness or how it was hitting home. LOL, probably some of both. After some tumbles and laughter, we get to meet Jake (played by Chord Overstreet). He's got some financial woes, a daughter, and a MIL, and doesn't know what to make of the lovely Sierra.
Will she change him for the better? Will he change her for the better? Will they discover Christmas? This is a Christmas movie.......but even though you should know, I won't ruin it for you. Lindsay Lohan is the lead for a reason, she's got everything you want in a lead. Presence, talent, and a way of noticing her even when the other characters are speaking. Can't wait to see what she does next.
Cute? Yes. Corny? Yes. Christmas? Yes. New storyline? Nope. Gave me the Christmas feels? Yes.
I'll give this one a solid 3 out of 5 shots. Yes, I'll be watching it again and again and again.
I don't want to be an asshole when it comes to reviewing things. I struggle with my words and tone when I don't agree or like something. I don't want to be mean or overly harsh. No one deserves to have their feelings hurt because I struggle with communication. So let me rehash this movie in the best way I can figure.
Man is engaged. She's not that nice, not really supportive.
But......man is engaged and should be sharing financial information and his private life instead of hiding it. He won money but is giving it away to strangers that need help.
Man wants to do good. (he gave a old homeless man a mattress.......um.....how about some long term help!!!!) For everyone but his fiancee.
Man meets Jason (kid is not really named Jason but he's a little evil manipulator in a hockey mask so close enough).
Did I mention this man has no emotions? He vaguely smiles, voice doesn't have highs or lows, he's so boring.
Kid manipulates him. Man meets Jason's mom and now he's in love with her instead of the fiancee. There is no sense of time or days moving so you can't figure out the time frame on how fast or slow this is happening.
The weirdest part is that the two main characters are played by talented actors Ashley Jones and David Blue. I don't know what was happening when this was being filmed but it feels like this film wasn't finished and we saw them rehearsing. They're both really good, very expressive. I'm confused.
At no point in the movie do they mention 12 Days. Not of giving, not of anything so the title confuses me. I was about 30 minutes into this life sentence and knew it was going to be dead last on my list. My rating is on a scale of 1 - 5 shots. 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. If I had really thought about this, I would have started at 0.
Today is Thursday, December 1, 2022. I'm only giving the date so I'll remember when I started this crazy list I'm hoping to fulfill. Over the years, one of the only genres of movies I actually make a point to watch is Christmas movies. Usually the sappy, romantic, nostalgic, etc. If it has a Christmas word in the title, happens near Christmas, etc........It's a Christmas movie in my book.
Anyway, below is my ongoing Christmas Movie (Ranked) List. This is not up for debate because it's only my opinion on creating my own list. But if you disagree........I would love to hear your thoughts on what movies would go onto your list. And if you're waiting for me to include your favorite movie, please send me your favorite Christmas movies to my email address prettyunlimited@gmail.com so I can find them and add them to my MUST-WATCH list of Christmas movies/films.
Criteria for this list is broad. When I was a kid, I thought those yearly animated Christmas specials were 'movies'. Because of that, I've decided to leave them within this list. And lastly, this list will be an ongoing list. As new movies come out, I'll be writing my reviews for them and adding them to this list. There are literally hundreds of Christmas movies I still haven't seen. My biggest problem is that I like to watch the movies I loved over and over and over. That's gotta stop so I can watch more movies to add to this list. This will be the most fun project EVER. As time allows, I'll try to make a link out with each title to my review of that movie. Just started this so it might literally take me a few months to catch up with my own list. LOL Merry Christmas!!!!
Side Note: If you're studio, channel, production company, etc are not INCLUSIVE......I'm just returning the favor.
To give you a bit of background information so this makes more sense contextually, I grew up knowing VERY well that my maternal grandmother hated the fact that my biological father, Ivan, is Puerto Rican. She made that very clear with remarks over the years that usually ended with her me that she was really happy I looked like her. This was very normal and I knew she hated that part of me. My relationship with my grandmother was not as close as I originally believed. But then it's difficult to have a relationship with someone that is as judgemental as she tended to be.
She was a very strong, dominant type of person. You knew she was in charge of any room she was in. Not because she was physically aggressive (although she could be) but she just carried herself in a way that felt like she was in charge of the show. She was very giving, very loving, and really let me know throughout my life that she thought I was special and I knew she loved me. Her love for me was very evident and she always made sure I knew she loved me.
I don't really remember my grandmother's exact words but I knew from an early age that she was racist. She talked negatively about my dad for being a Spic, about my Uncle Eli for being a Jew, about my Aunt Dot for marrying That Jew, about my (Italian) neighbors for being Whops, about my (Asian) neighbors for being Dot Heads. She often asked why I hung out with black kids instead of only white kids.
When I was really young, she would play with my hair, compliment my blue eyes and tell me that I would always be a white. I had always ASSumed she meant racially, I'd always be white. She said that to me many times throughout my childhood. It wasn't until I was in my 20s that I found out her maiden last name was White. All those years were based on her chatter regarding other ethnicities, races, and nationalities........I had mistakenly thought she was calling on me to never forget I was a white person. Nope, she was telling me that I was her family......a White.
Actually, as I'm typing that last line............. I'm not sure now. Did she mean white or White? Hmmmm
I gained a lot of my strength from her. I don't know how she felt about me over the last years of her life. I know I always loved her even though she despised parts of me. She still loved me in every way a grandmother will love their grandchild. She never told me to hate anyone. Never told me to stay away or not be anything other than myself to everyone around me. She's been gone quite a few years now and I still haven't resolved in my heart how I feel about her. I loved her and that's a fact. But looking back I think I don't have respect for her or that I even liked her that much when I have this filter of experience looking at her now.
Having grown up in a world of drug abuse and neglect the way we did, I think you took whatever love you were able to get in the moments you were able to get it. She loved me and I loved her. As I got older and had my daughters, she was really very nice to them the few times they were around her. She did the odd things you hear white folks doing with touching hair and being someone bewildered by them. But she hugged all over them, kissed them and treated them the same way she did my sister and I.....wiith love. I often wonder because of her about the various levels to racism. Some hate, and some are bewildered by the unfamiliar. I actually do miss her. She was a fighter of epic proportions and would kick the shit out of anyone........I LOVED THAT ABOUT HER!!!
I couldn't find any photos of my grandmother. She was a beautiful woman, I wish you could have seen that as well as know her strengths and not just her weaknesses. I'll write more about her as I ease into this phase. I think I'm ready.
Instead, I'm choosing to link out to the donation site for Black Lives Matter.
In every review I write or film, it's very important to me to be honest without being overly critical. I want to provide you with all the details I possibly can. I'd like to be a source you can depend on. Over the last few months, I have struggled with not wanting to give bad reviews in case I wind up alienating a company that could turn into a sponsor.
I'm about to blow all of that to the side. This lotion is not terrible for my skin and but it is kind of icky for my nose.
Smell: Its smell is fairly gross. It says it's Fragrance-Free. But since it smells so bad, I felt like I needed to know exactly what Fragrance-Free means.
According to the EPA's website: Fragrance-free means that fragrance materials or masking scents are not used in the product. Unscented generally means that the product may contain chemicals that neutralize or mask the odors of other ingredients.
Now, while I can understand wanting to be organic and natural for obvious reasons, I can't fathom anyone purposely selling something that smells like this. The smell is really hard to get beyond. On the plus side, the OBC does state this is really good for people with sensitivities or allergies. I'm lucky in that those things don't apply to me but if this is something that affects your life, give this a try!
Moisture:
It feels light and airy, absorbs well, and feels like a lotion. My hands were still feeling and looking dry after 5 days of continuous use. I like cocoa butter and shea butter which are both in this lotion. But I felt like there wasn't enough in there to combat winter dry skin.
I have decided to hold on to this and see if it's a decent summer lotion. Maybe in summer, the light and airy feel will be more complimentary and warrant an updated review. It's on my calendar for June. It's February as I'm writing this and maybe since it's a dryer point of the year and I'm getting older, maybe this isn't the lotion for me at this time. We'll try again in June and I'll update this review.
Here is a link in case you'd like to purchase this on your own. If you do, be sure to let me know what you think about this product. It retails on OBC's website for $22.
For now.....I give it 2 shots out of 5. It's not bad, but it's not close to great either.
I don't like to judge any company by only one or two products. I am purchasing a few more products from their website to get a better idea on if I might like something other than this lotion. I think I'll start with this Peaceful Lavendar Organic Body Wash. Stay tuned..... :0)
Adele's new album, 30, dropped about a month ago. I decided that today's the day I would listen to it in the way that she said to do it.......In order! This was so important to her that she asked Spotify (and they granted her request) to not let people shuffle the songs.
So. What else could I do but listen to the entire album in one shot in the proper order.
Strangers to Nature - this really feels like a long(ish) intro. I feel like she's setting me up for a roller coaster. Or maybe it's just because I know Adele always sets me up for a roller coaster of emotions with her music. It's really lovely.
Easy on Me - Like everyone else, I heard this single months ago and have played it many times on Apple Music. Her voice just has that touch of hurt innocence and begging not to be hurt again. Her vocals are really spot on her.
My Little Love - ok. Imma be honest. This song just broke me. I'm a crying mess over here. This is every parents' breakup feelings with their S/O and how they're struggling and dealing with children during a breakup. OMG, this is heart-wrenching. I just want to reach out to her and hug her anytime she needs one. Sometimes you want to have someone there to combat the loneliness.......but you need them to stay quiet. Just be here and shut up. Her little one's voice in there crushed my soul as a mom.
This is without a doubt, the most important song on this album. Please take a listen and tell me if this doesn't break your heart.
Cry Your Heart Out - that post-breakup jam we all needed! Hell-fucking-O!!! This is like all the stages of emotion you go through but with a funky little beat to get you through your feels and on to the next set of crazy emotions.
Oh My God - first of all, this is totally Rolling In The Deep vibes with that heavy drumbeat and I'm all about it. Yay! Ohhhhh post-breakup? Is this for the rebound dude? Or for the guy she's seeing now? Ohhhh so many questions! The first song on the album that I HAD to get up and move. That beat is hitting and the tune is just so catchy. After My Little Love.........this may be my favorite on the album so far.
Can I Get It - So flirty!!!!!! Go, Adele! Go Get It, Girl! LOL, this is so flirty and fun. Such a bop. Not as catchy and making me move around as the previous song, but the lyrics are so catchy.
I Drink Wine - this song? It's grown folks' music. Seriously. That part in a relationship where you can finally admit the problems are coming from you. It's the first step in being better for both of you. A bit on the church side with the organ music and that helps to create the feeling of when your praying / meditating to help get you through.
All Night Parking (with Erroll Garner) Interlude - very sexy, very adult. THIS is the song you'll call the radio station to dedicate to your man. It sort of reminds me of those back in the day songs where the singer is talking to you with that Jodeci kind of romance.
Woman Like Me - Best lines of this song are as follows: Complacency is the worst trait to have / Are you crazy? / You ain't ever had, ain't ever had a woman like me / It is so sad a man like you could be so lazy / Consistency is the gift to five for free / And it is key / To ever keep, to ever keep a woman like me. At the end of this song, I felt like she was talking to every ex I ever had and reminded me of why they were exes. The vibe on this track is really a sit back and relax while I hand you this lesson. (Although he was probably not smart enough to really hear it)
Hold On - eh. Not my vibe. I didn't really like it until more than halfway through when the beat upticked. The words are beautifully written but for some reason, this one didn't grab me. Although she does hit a big note in this one that gave me a chill. Wowza!
To Be Loved - Self-reflection is one of the hardest things we can do for ourselves. If you struggle with that as I do, listen to this song on repeat a few times and it'll for sure get you there. My god, this is a lesson in how to be a better person and we need this each and every one of us. Thanks, Adele, I need that. The last three lines......the pleading. Holy shit. And then the heavy piano keys to play it out, it's just genius.
Love Is a Game - although I definitely like this song, it feels like it's not on par for the rest of the album. It's just not on the same level as the rest of the songs. The message is still great, vocals are (duh) amazing. And the music feels like that old 70s vibe from the Bee Gees. This might be that one song I'll have to listen to a few times to let it grow on me. It be that way sometimes.
Ok, overall I'd give this 5 shots out of 5. Seriously, this album is killer from beginning to end. Not a sleeper song on here. And I feel like this is a huge self-reflection album. This is going to be that song list that makes you sit back, contemplate your place in your relationships, and if they're worth holding on to. It's really perfect that it came at the end of the year because now more than ever is when we look forward to what we want our lives to become. Adele has given us a chance to do it better. I hope we don't let her down.
Just one piece of advice with this album. Before you enjoy with friends, take the gift of the hour it takes to listen to this. And listen to it completely and in order the way she intended. It's worth the journey she's taking us on. Thanks, Adele!
Yesterday, I saw an ABC News piece regarding thousands of missing schoolchildren. When the country had to move to remote learning, many children simply never logged on. NOW, schools are claiming that they're doubling down to get these children back to school as many of our nation's schools are back in the classroom. We don't need to review all of this. There are dozens of reasons why these children aren't back in school.
With return to in-person learning, thousands of students still 'missing' from schools
School officials say there are still thousands of students unaccounted for.
Lack of internet, lack of a support system, no computer at home, parents/guardians that don't know how to handle the remote learning, parents/guardians that don't fucking care, etc. Here's my fear. Are they alive and healthy?
These children are hopefully known by someone. Someone somewhere knows about every child. If you haven't seen a child...........inquire. Ask about them. Reach out to the parents/guardians. If you can't or are in a position that you don't want to ask, call DYFS or whatever entity is in your area. Ask for a well visit.
THEN FOLLOW UP!!!! For weeks, for months. Whatever it takes.
My fear is that some of these children are being abused and neglected, maybe even killed. Do the right thing, look out and look after our children. On the State Child Welfare Agency website, you can find the contact information for all 50 states to the agencies you should contact if there is a child you can't be sure is safe and sound. Here is the link to the State Child Welfare Agency Websites.
Book Review: God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens
I very nearly didn't want to write this review because I purposely try not to discuss religion and politics publicly. The folks that like to lash out when you don't share their opinion can be a tad overwhelming and flat-out fucking annoying. Ah well. Fuck em.
The overall writing by Mr. Hitchens was able to hold my attention. It's a bit snarky, but since I love snarky....it works very well for me. I found myself stopping to re-read passages. Not that I didn't understand his points on the first reading, but because it was another opportunity to understand what I've always felt myself and thought inside my own conversations. I felt as though he gave me permission to have thoughts I'd kept hidden out of fear of judgment from those around me.
This does read as a more academic approach to the subject but it's not forced. It doesn't come across as (haha) holier than thou but you have no doubts about the author's knowledge and reasoning for his continued search for what amounts to a world belief in fairy tales.
Mr. Hitchens' book should be read by anyone on that border between not believing in a god and maybe just getting to the outskirts of the arena. I say arena because it is a game of sport and you are forced to choose a side. There are so many instances of fact-based thinking and ideals in this book, that you feel a need to gift it to those "others" for Christmas. In fact, I am planning to buy this book for those believers. I won't if even one of them would open their mind to the possibility. If they are open, Mr. Hitchens' words will bring them around. Of that, I have no doubt.
My favorite line is in Chapter 19, page 277, 1st paragraph:
In point of fact, we do not have the option of "choosing" absolute truth, or faith.
All in all, this was a pretty good book. It won't be donated so it can stay on my shelf. I wonder who I will leave this to in my will? Hmmmm maybe I'll pray on it. LOL not!
For years, I was able to sleep pretty well. I would be able to fall right to sleep when my head hit the pillow. I hardly ever yawned my way through a day. The biggest downside for me was being a light sleeper. Any and every noise would have me on alert. My youngest daughter, Kalila, still comments on how weird it was to quietly come into my bedroom and I'd just say "Yes, Kalila?" without opening my eyes. It's the Mom Hearing!
Nowadays, with all the extra weight causing my body to be uncomfortable, age settling into my bones and joints (hello arthritis!), not sticking to a good diet, not sticking to a nighttime routine, etc, etc, etc I just don't sleep as well anymore. I wake up multiple times all night long. I wake exhausted sometimes and just I am yawning now as I type this. Are you yaaawwwwwnnnnninnnngggg as you read this? They say a yawn is contagious.
I've decided to try products that are meant to help me sleep. But overall, I want to make sure I have a good sleep routine to also create the best chance for these products to work their magic. I do believe if I'm not helping the situation by creating an environment that's conducive to getting a great night's sleep, all products will just be a failure. I doubt that any product short of anesthesia would be able to help me fall asleep, stay asleep, and get in a full 8 hours of sleep.
That being said, I've decided to fall down the rabbit hole of sleep products, tips, and tricks. I'm going to really give them the fairest chance I can so I'm thinking two weeks for each product unless its own instructions tell me something different.
First up? A bedtime routine. I have to balance this with the rest of my household so I think the best idea for me is to be in bed between 10pm and 10:30pm. My son, Jayden, goes to bed at 10pm but he's 14 yrs old so of course, he can never get his ass up and getting ready for bed until I gently remind him (JAYDEN'S IT'S AFTER 10PM WHY AREN'T YOU GETTING READY FOR BED!?!?!?!?).
But let's backtrack a bit. I'm determined to be done with things like the dishes, kitchen cleanup, and having my meals prepped for the following day before 8pm. Then one hour to chill with my husband (and finish my clean up on my Animal Crossing New Horizons island!). By 9pm I want to be off of all electronic devices. Yoga (the routine I'm using is available if you click the word yoga at the beginning of this sentence) for about 20 minutes. I have found that this helps my body not be so stiff overnight along with helping me to relax so that's definitely gotta stay. Wash my face, brush my teeth, put on my nighttime 'please god help me fight these wrinkles' cream, comfortable jammies, a cup of Extra Sleepy Time tea, and reading from an actual book with paper pages. And lights out no later than 10:15pm.
I'm still working on the exact order this routine should go but over the next two weeks, I'll have it figured out and let you all know what I've found that works the best for me. I have a few devices that I've gotten my hands on to try out once this routine is figured out. So stay tuned for some continued energy in creating a good night's sleep. Until next time.......muah!
One of the most difficult things for me with trying to push out this blog is the content. Do I make everything a series? Do I keep it more spontaneous? How do I mix both ways? Do I make certain things a series? How long of a series? How about people? If I tell this story about my mother in law and maybe it's not in a good light, how will that be perceived? By her? By others? If I don't tell the stories and things that are most prevalent in my mind, why bother with this blog?
I want this blog to be a reflection of all the bits and pieces of who and what I am. It may not be important to anyone but me, but I should at least try to be important to myself. Maybe........when I'm dead and my remains are scattered wherever they might go..........my kids can read this and have a place to maybe understand me as a person and why I was the way I was.
So I did have to actually decide about content and after a bunch of back and forth arguments in my mind with me, myself, and I........... I have chosen to mix it up. Planning for some ongoing series and also keeping room for updated stories, current pop culture, and, yes, spontaneous posts. LOL
The first decision is hopefully the easiest one. A loose schedule for 12pm music. I love music. I listen to music all the time. It's my go-to spot as much as reading. And weirdly, this will be a series but it will also be spontaneous! Whatever my vibe is for that day........I'm planning to post a song within that vibe. This will coincide nicely with trying to go back through music genres to listen (actually re-listen) to full albums in the order it was meant to go in. My hubby mentioned to me quite a while back that sometimes artistic musicians have a specific reason for having the songs in a specific order.
So. What to look for? 12pm (noon to most of us) music posts on social media. And a weekly album review of old and or new albums. Does anyone still say album? Hmmmmmm
Here's what I'm actually jamming to as I write this post! RIP Teena.....
Essentially this is an aerosol can of spring water meant to hydrate your skin. When I received this in my summer 2020 FabFitFun package, I was fairly skeptical that it would be something I'd find useful. Obviously, using this when I have a full face of makeup (not waterproof!) on wouldn't be happening at all; I don't want to have water hit my face to ruin it more than I did when I rushed to put it on this morning.
Actually, I did try it once and my foundation looked really blotchy and my mascara on my right eye did run.........which caused my mascara to burn out most of my cornea for about 15 minutes. Not fun. Also, I'm not saying that it initially reminded me of spray cheese in a can.......but......ok, it did remind me of that.
However, after a bit of trial and error, I did find a time when this works GREAT for me. Hot flashes. Oh, my fucking christ.......hot flashes have become the bain of my existence in the last 8 or 9 months. I have a small fan on my side of our bed just in case a hot flash hits. That poor fan. My poor husband. Sometimes that fan just ain't enough!!! Enter: Avene Eau Thermale!
It really does feel great to spray that on my face, neck, and chest when I'm flashing red hot. Sometimes I'll add the fan to blow on my skin after the spray, but most times the spray is enough to cool me down and let me fall back to sleep. Sometimes I use it to just spray wet my pajama top so it'll keep me cool for a bit longer. Try to be mindful of the spray itself. It sprays a good 2 foot. It's misty, cool, and evenly sprayed. It's hypoallergenic and unscented as well. Let me add in that there is a calming effect and makes me feel less agitated in the middle of that damn hot flash. That's a big perk in my book.
I'm nearly done with this first can. Sooooooo yes, I'll be buying another one. Maybe too if we get to keep on track with our vacation next summer to the Bahamas. It does exactly what it says it does.
I decided that one of the things I'd like to do for this blog was to have something like a memory lane for the music, movies, shows, books, etc that meant something to me throughout my lifetime. Well after a bit of thought, I figured that I might take a look and a listen to things I've loved (or fucking hated) to feel if there was a different take on it for me now that I'm creeping up on a half-century of life (holy fuck!). One of the obvious choices for me was Hotel California by Eagles. (The Eagles? Eagles?)
On my way to work, on my lunch break and on my way home, I really listened to the entire album. I don't think I've listened to it straight through ever before today. You can't not know all the songs. But I don't remember hearing them in the order they're in on the album. I may have since it was one of my mom's favs. But definitely the first time on my own, on purpose. I really did like all of it. Not a snoozer among the songs. You can't listen to Hotel California and not get almost a movie in your mind as you follow along with the lyrics and the melody. They did a really remarkable job there. Total visual in your mind with nothing to go on but Henley's lyrics and Felder's melody.
Overall, you won't regret listening to this classic from beginning to end. I noticed the songs don't really seem like they should blend in and out of each other as well as they do but somehow it works. I don't pretend to know how musicians know about these things. I grew up listening to the album and remember the 33 sitting in its sleeve on my parents' record player in our living room.
But the one surprise was the last song on side A - Wasted Time. It really hit home for me. I felt like I was listening to my own internal struggle on if I'm really happy with my life, settling for my life, and if there's time (and energy) to keep striving for new things. Wasted Time is a must listen!!! Don Henley captures a much more soulful performance compared to the rest of the album. I'd even push to say his vocals are a much better example of his abilities compared to any other songs I've heard from him. I felt the song.
Give it a listen. Let me know what you think. Any favorites?
I was planning to do these quotes daily. But I think I want to hold on to each one for at least a week. Maybe these are little lessons that can help me more if I let them marinate..... "I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think, all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read, and all the friends I want to see. The longer I live, the more my mind dwells upon the beauty and the wonder of the world." ~ John Burroughs Who is John Burroughs? Via Wikipedia ~ John Burroughs(April 3, 1837 – March 29, 1921) was an Americannaturalistand nature essayist, active in the U.S.conservation movement.[1]The first of his essay collections wasWake-Robinin 1871.
In the words of his biographer Edward Renehan, Burroughs' special identity was less that of a scientific naturalist than that of "a literary naturalist with a duty to record his own unique perceptions of the natural world." The result was a body of work whose resonance with the tone of its cultural moment explains both its popularity at that time, and its relative obscurity since.[2]
I'm trying to keep myself positive. But so many starts and stops on this weight loss journey are upsetting me. I know exactly what to do except how to get out of my own way. The only thing I can do is worry about today and plan for tomorrow because I have a dental appointment coming up. Today is Sunday, May 10 and it's Mother's Day. I didn't do much today because I let myself have today to do nothing. I definitely earned this. I felt guilty about it this afternoon, but that's because I know I could be doing better for myself. It's about 9pm now and I'm ok with letting myself have an easy day.
I took these photos below about 3 weeks or so ago. My weight was 226.7 lbs. I've lost about 3 lbs since then. Not a huge loss but at least the scale is going in a direction I'm ok with for the moment. LOL, I just noticed my face in the forward picture......gee I was a happy camper in that one. LOL
Tomorrow, I'm going into work a bit early because I have to leave for an emergency dental appointment (cracked tooth ~ aaaggghhhh). So I will either not be working out tomorrow or if I'm up for it, I'll at least walk home if I make it back to work. It's kind of up in the air right now. The worst-case scenario is I'll hit the exercise bike if my head doesn't explode in pain.
I would normally have my food worked out for tomorrow but again, this is a dental thing so I'm just not quite sure what I should be doing and not doing. I did work out a few smoothie and protein shake drinks to keep me going in addition to water and my beloved morning coffee. I guess we'll see how it goes.
I'll keep you posted......I'm not planning for Tuesday until tomorrow when I see how I'm feeling. I will do my best to get my 30 minutes of exercise in for the day. What are your plans for this week?
I'm very much still struggling with the snacking and the workouts. Today, I did my workout (upper body and core) via FitnessBlender.com's free YouTube channel called Kelli's Abs and Upper Body Strength Training Workout - Chest, Back, Arms and Abs Superset Workout. (I think I just got a mini-workout typing that title.)
Yesterday, I snacked pretty much all day without eating any meals. I justified it in my mind that I wasn't consuming any other calories so I could do this without hurting my goals. Lies, lies, lies.
I don't know why I do this. It's like I'm a child hiding my candy bar in my room. I hide my eating all the time. I fight myself from and for snacking daily. I don't eat my veggies while getting on my kids backs about them not eating healthy.
For the rest of the day, I will be better. I will do better than yesterday.
Anyway, today's workout is done. I even got a badge from my Apple watch for it! Woo Hoo!
Review: Don't F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer by Netflix
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
Premiering today, December 18, on Netflix is a 3 episode long documentary on the hunt for the murderer of Jun Lin. While the documentary is completely fascinating and keeps you at the edge of your seat, there's an interview near the end of episode 3 with Jun Lin's best friend, Dong Dong Xu, which is what stuck with me the most. "The really sad thing is talking about "the killer" and nobody has ever remembered Jun Lin. Doesn't seem fair at all to my friend. He doesn't deserve that. "The killer" didn't just kill a person...but also destroyed an entire family's hope. People don't understand. In the Chinese culture, it's always the son that carries the responsibility to take care of the parents...when they.....when they become old. Now it's gone. And it's not fair." He is, of course, absolutely correct. We don't remember the names of the victims. Just the killers. Maybe remembering the victims is more frightening. Maybe concentrating on the killers and those details about those killers will give us enough information to avoid becoming a victim ourselves. I'm not sure why we don't concentrate on the victims more.
So yes, I'm writing this review on the story of a killer. A killer who took the life of Jun Lin. Out of respect to Jun Lin, I'll not use any names or likeness of the killer.
Jun Lin's father, Darrin Lin, crying at his son's funeral.
This film shows the craziness of the details that not only the killer was following in his crime spree but also how regular people using the internet were able to track him down. I've never seen anything like this before and I pray it's never repeated. The documentary is filmed in what is really a timeline of events as it unfolded. It's done very well. I'd already been aware of the case and the outcome. But the film really "took me there" if you get my meaning. It keeps you tied to your seat. Watching for the 3 hours it took, it was worth it to stay in that loop.
Many animal rights activists seeing the first videos of the killer torturing and killing kittens is what started this in the first place. But even those people question how their actions could be said to have stopped this killer............or did they push him into killing? This delves into their actions and conversations with each other. It tells of their ordeal with trying to get the police to understand what they were seeing.
The police didn't listen to these activists. It may or may not have had any change in what went down. But I do try to think about how many hoaxes, lies, and bullshit calls they have to deal with on a day to day basis in addition to the real calls. Real calls about real shit. And real calls about real bullshit. Once they were aware, they really were able to do the impossible and find him. Even that seems like a thriller of a movie plot and less like a real-life case.
Mom of the killer.................she's wrapped up in his lies. She believes what he says. I get where she's coming from. It's hard to believe the worst is possible about our children without reflecting on how we must have contributed to that personally. How did I as his mom fuck him up so bad that he became a murderer? What did I do wrong? How am I responsible? At some point, she's going to have to accept it what he's done......or maybe she won't. She's another victim but she's not really aware of it and it's very clearly conveyed in the film.
The film left me feeling like we should all be doing more. This now feels like a mission we should all be in on, helping to solve more crimes when we can instead of expecting the police to do it all. It's our duty to ourselves, our families, communities, etc.
I didn't want to watch this docu-series from Lifetime on R&B legend R. Kelly at all. So many women have come forward for years and many of us did nothing but support him by listening to his music. Nothing to get them their justice, nothing to prevent it from happening again. We just kept supporting his lifestyle of abusing and using girls and young women by continuing to listen and purchase his music. That funded his actions. We gave him the money to keep abusing our sisters, our friends.
This past weekend, he was brought up on even more charges. There's really not much to say on this. It's all been said. His supporters will continue to say he could never do this. They won't believe some girl they don't know. But they'll believe a celebrity they don't know, either. It's fucked up. Stop throwing away these girls and young women.
All R Kelly music that pops up in my timelines........fuck you, you lil prick. Thumbs down!
So the orange one is threatening to shut down the border between the USA and Mexico. If that happens, where will you get your next shot of Tequila? No more avocado toast for you folks that live on that for your breakfast each morning. Apparently, nearly 50% of all vegetables bought in the USA are imported from Mexico, as well as nearly 40% of fruits. This would include almost 100% of avocados as California's crops won't be ready for another month or so.
Supposedly, we would run through our current inventory within 3 weeks. If this happens, I'll be running to buy up all the tequila so it'll be more like 2 weeks. OMG, I might be able to make a lot of money if this happens...........hmmmmmm.
I mean, I guess I already knew he was an asshole..............but if I can't have a margarita because he continues to spill his lies and racist tirades to his shit-porters (see shitty supporters) someone is gonna be very unhappy when I can't get my chill on properly.
Joking aside, he's setting up businesses on both sides of the border to fail. There are tons of restaurants, grocery chains, suppliers, truck drivers, etc that are involved in this production. He's a not thinking it's what we need.........he's thinking it's what his supporters want to hear - WE'RE NOT GONNA LET ANYMORE BROWN PEOPLE HERE IN OUR LILLY WHITE COUNTRY.
Now the next step for them is how to keep enough brown people here to do the work the LW's don't want to do but still get rid of the excess brown people they don't want living here. To live in that sort of ignorant mind..............the hardest part of their day is trying to figure out how to explain they're not racist when they really are.
In her first stand up routine in 15 years, Ellen Degeneres hooks up with Netflix in this new original that was filmed live in Seattle, Washington. Ellen (who will be celebrating her 61st birthday next month) began her career in the early 1980’s doing stand up in her hometown, New Orleans, before touring the country and being named Showtime’s funniest person in the country (1984).
You can’t help but admire Ellen’s approach to her audience as she comes out on stage dressed COMFORTABLY! Black sweatshirt, black loose pants and white sneakers. One of my personal pet peeves with many performers is how many of them just look so uncomfortable in these outfits they need to wear for fans or themselves. I get it, but it is nice to see a woman comfortable in her own skin……..not to mention not really trying to worry about what others might think of her choice of attire.
She touches on many topics in her routine showing how we’re all relatable to each other. Definitely of a few moments where it just seemed like ‘eh, whatever’. But overall, I was glad to watch this. There was enough personal moments of her sharing her life, her views and who she is to make you feel as though you know her a bit better than you did before. Her favorite joke is also now my favorite joke, just very sweet.
I was ready to do a solid 3.5 shots out of 5. Her favorite joke and the way she closed her show topped it over to 4 shots.
At the end of this………...she made me cry. She’s a strong person and has undoubtedly inspired others to come out. Listen to her story about the finch. We’re all that finch at some point in our lives. Be who you are…….give yourself that gift. Whatever your gift is, unwrap it and live it the best way you can.
/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/news/canada/2012/07/26/luka_rocco_magnotta_jun_lins_mother_says_she_has_developed_sympathy_for_alleged_killer_magnotta/di_ranglin.jpeg)
