A cold goodbye to 2014

So long 2014!

It's a bit cold this morning in Wisconsin

Steam coming off the fresh cement poor this morning...

Money Cake!

So I owe my father a decent amount of $$$ for all the work that's been going on in my backyard.  I decided that I would give it to him for Christmas, but since I owed him it, I felt bad it wasn't necessarily a "gift".  So I decided to at least make it look pretty, and then threw in some Neil Diamond tickets for a boost.

Paris Day 2!

The second day in Paris and we used every minute of it! Completely exhausting but here was the itinerary:

• Catacombs with a hired guide that was excellent
• The Pantheon
• Love Lock Bridge
• Shakespeare & Company
• Saint-Severin
• Musee D'Orsay
• Champs-Elysees
• LaDurre
• Arc de Triumphe

 Stop 1: The Catacombs

This was my number one must see here and while I throughly enjoyed it, it ended up being a bit sad for me.  While the front of the bones are stacked and organized in instricate patterns, behind them the bones are just tossed and scattered.  It made me feel sad for the people who were brought here and scattered.  I understand the reasons why it was done and it makes sense, it just makes you think...

Behind our guide Callaway - booked a group tour and noone else joined so we got a private tour

Paris Day 1

Let me start off by saying how I wish I could have blogged more this year, hopefully I can get back into doing it more because it makes me happy.  Long story short, lots of work (2 jobs plus overtime to earn extra money for vacation) and some health issues that are thankfully not serious, but exhausting and life-lasting.  But I am back and you may have guessed from the title of this post - I went to Paris!  Here are way too many pictures from Day 1!

Flying in over France

Early Morning in Milwaukee...

At least I got a view

Stuck at work on a Saturday, but at least it's pretty out!

The Hoan

Milwaukee Sunrise

Taken 7:30 am on September 26th over Lake Michigan

Love Letters from the past

I'm a very lucky granddaughter.  My grandmother was thoughtful enough to keep all the letters my grandfather sent to her in 1948 from Milwaukee to her in Spokane, 66 years ago.  My mother keeps the originals for safekeeping, but she lives a few states away.  In the meantime, my grandmother keeps typed copies of the letters in a big scrapbook.  For her birthday this year I decided to scan the originals (got to keep up with the digital age now-a-days) and make a book with them. That way she can still see his typed and handwritten notes from him.  Now I've never made a book before, but thanks to the handy instructions here Instructables this way a fairly easy process.

The Countdown Begins!

The countdown to Paris has begun!  And naturally, in true Hello Kitty form, and yes, I'm 31

Movie Review: Into the Storm

Oh Into the Storm where do I even begin?!?  This is *ahem* one gem of a movie I tell you.  As a huge fan of Twister, natural disaster movies, and of weather overall (I thought for two seconds in college I'd become a meteorologist and storm chaser myself), I was super excited for this film.

The premise is pretty simple, the movie follows two high school boys documenting the day of graduation and also a team of storm chasers making a documentary.  The movie starts out way too slow and then naturally the two groups eventually converge when the town is pounded by an unheard of amount of tornadoes and storms.  I don't think this movie would have been as laughable (as in the pathetically awful bad acting) if the story just skipped the high school boys and their father (Richard Armitage - who gives the worst performance of CPR I've ever seen).  However, take them out, and you just have a retake on Twister.

As for the CGI, some of the scenes are respectable but others border on cartoonish.  This combined, with the laughable acting, makes it appear that Into the Storm really should have been on the Syfy channel or some movie of the week on NBC.

Going in I expected this movie to be hokey, over-the-top, ridiculous, and full of bad acting just from the preview.  Coming in with those expectations, Into the Storm did still manage to be some-what entertaining, even if I was laughing at the acting.  However, I say save your $10 and wait for Redbox, unless you love horribly bad movies (hello me!), but seriously - wait for DVD.

Into the Storm opens Friday, August 8th.

2014 Waterford Balloon Festival

 This weekend was the annual Waterford Balloon Festival in Waterford, Wisconsin.  It's a great family friendly event that is free (you'll have to probably pay to have to park, but all the lots I saw were $5 which I believe is very reasonable).  The event has hot air balloon launches, glows, local food vendors, helicopter rides, and more.  It's a really great local event to go to!

Bastille Days

Photo from Milwaukee's 2014 Bastille Days! I accidentally did the 5K that night...I know, how does someone accidentally do a 5K? I honestly missed the 2K turn off! haha, mistakes happen

Happy July 4th!

I spend this year's July 4th sick with a double ear infections and sinus infection.  Boo!  I did manage to make it out to Lake Waubeesee with my big old box of tissue for a ride on the lake.

One Republic at Summerfest

Last night I was able to make it out to see One Republic at Summerfest and wow what a show!  American Authors and Mayer Hawthorne opened, two bands I've never seen or heard before and both put on impressive shows.

Here are some initial pictures, more to come soon!

Movie Review: Godzilla

Although it is not officially summer yet, Godzilla sure hits the mark as a big action summer blockbuster and kicks of the season.  Admittedly, I know nothing of the Godzilla back story, nor have I seen any previous Godzilla movies.  With that being said, Max Borenstein and Dave Callaham have written a script that allows even the novices like me to easily follow along.

The film starts out in 1999 in Japan surrounding the Brody Family (Bryan Cranston, Julie Binoche, and CJ Adams/Aaron Taylor-Johnson).  A devastating accident happens at the local nuclear power plant that permanently fractures the family.  Fast-forward 15 years to present day and once again the Brody family lands themselves back at that same nuclear power plant looking for answers.  From here forward the action starts to roll with “creatures” raining havoc on major cities.  It takes some time for Godzilla to appear, but when he does he makes his voice heard.  The action sequences between Godzilla and the creatures are pretty insane and fun to watch.

The special effects in this movie are really well executed, sometimes I wondered “How are there still buildings left to destroy in this city?” but that’s only because there was so much destruction and mayhem.  Overall Gareth Edwards did a great job directing this film, while it runs over two hours long, it never felt like it and a number of the shots felt like a tip of the hat to old Hollywood movies (which I highly enjoyed).     Aaron Taylor-Johnson does a pretty good job helming such an enormous movie.  While the character Ford isn’t too deep, he portrays loyalty as a soldier well, compared to Elizabeth Olsen (playing Elle Brody, Ford’s wife).  Her character was not deep at all and some of the acting was a little uncomfortable to watch, but she wasn’t exactly given a lot to work with.  Thankfully, her role is not that big and doesn’t distract from the overall movie.

So if you’re a lover of summer blockbuster movies with tons of action, devastation, and mayhem, this movie is for you! 
 

Movie Review: Neighbors

Neighbors is an awesome, fun, hilarious movie.  I was a bit afraid going into it that it would have the typical cliche trappings of a fraternity movie, but it steered clear of those completely.  Neighbors is about Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly (Rose Byrne), a married couple with their first child (the incredibly adorable Elise and Zoey Vargas), not sure where they want to stand in life.  They have a child but are afraid to be the old stuffy married couple.

Cue their new neighbors, a fraternity!  Zac Efron and Dave Franco play Teddy and Pete, the heads of the fraternity on a mission to have the most epic senior party and to become legends.  Mac and Kelly meet their new neighbors and try to be "cool and young" and party it up for the first night, but the next night the friendship is broken and hi jinx ensue.

As I mentioned before, the movie doesn't fall into typical behavior, the pranks and jokes are fresh and had me laughing out loud in the theatre (along with the other movie goers).  Without getting too deep, it's easy to identify with both sides, the young couple afraid to admit they are growing up and the fraternity brothers who hold true to their brotherhood because it's the family they choose to be in.

I highly recommend this movie, it'll have you laughing at loud!

Neighbors is out today!

 

Love Letters from Milwaukee

I started a new project today that will take some time to complete.  They are love letters from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Spokane, Washington from 1948.  Amazing they are still in tact!

I Picked The Wrong Saturday To Work

Looking beautiful Milwaukee...

 

 

 

Movie Review - The Other Woman

The Other Woman was the type of movie I needed after a long stressful two weeks, a mindless but entertaining chick flick.  The title pretty much sums up the movie, Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) gets caught cheating on his wife Kate (a hilarious Leslie Mann) with Carly (Cameron Diaz) and Amber (Kate Upton).  None of the women know that they are the “Other Woman”.  Once they find out, all want revenge. 

Nothing about the plot of this movie is all that surprising, but it was an entertaining movie.  Leslie Mann gets the most laughs in this movie as a Connecticut housewife who goes a bit crazy, a bit over the top, but nonetheless funny.  Cameron Diaz plays a power lawyer, and while I’ve seen better performances from her, she has a few funny moments here.  Kate Upton, well she’s Kate Upton, that about summaries that performance!  Don Johnson also makes a small appearance as Carly’s father and a very charming Tyler Kinney is in this as well.

Overall The Other Woman is what you expect from a chick flick, comedy, music montages, high school pranks (Nars in the shampoo, really?), and “sisterhood”.  This movie can really wait until DVD or even TV to watch, I’d give it a 2 of 5 stars with an acknowledgment that I did laugh a number of times during this flick.

The Other Woman opens today.

Movie Reivew - Brick Mansions

I really, really wanted to love this movie, the trailer made it look intense and fun, but sadly that is not exactly the case.  Brick Mansions stars the late Paul Walker, David Belle, and RZA.  It takes place in Detroit, after part of the city has fallen and is kept behind a 40 foot wall.  This contained, beaten down area is called Brick Mansions.  Walker plays Damien, a copy seeking revenge, who just so happens to get paired with a convict Lino (David Belle), because both men are going after the same drug dealer, Tremaine (RZA).  And while they're at it, oh there just a bomb too.

The first third of the movie sets up the back story and is very sloppy writing combined with bad acting of RZA and his followers.  After we get to the meat of the story, when Damien and Lino get paired together, the movie picks up and improves.  The two characters clearly don't like each other but there's a surprising comedic element to it, each man does his own thing his own way (and thankfully this wasn't droll buddy cop humor, it has a natural feel to it).  The fight scenes were impressive, fast passed, and shot well.  However, the acting of the "bad guys" was just so overwhelming, which is sad because it dampers what could have been a really entertaining movie.

In normal circumstances I would say wait for the DVD for this one, but as a long time Paul Walker fan I would still recommend seeing it, if for anything, the action scenes and the laughs you'll find along the way from this great actor that will be deeply missed.

Brick Mansions comes out April 25, 2014

Miley Cyrus Bangerz Tour

For my 31st birthday, yes my 31st, I asked for Miley Cyrus concert tickets and luckily, received what I asked for!  I saw her at Milwaukee's BMO Bradley Center with the opener  Icona Pop.  I love a good show that gets everyone up on their feet and dancing and both Icona Pop and Miley Cyrus delivered.

Sam Smith - Stay With Me

I had never heard of Sam Smith before last week's Saturday Night Live and wow, was I missing out.  Such a pure simple and beautiful vocal.  His album doesn't drop until June 17, 2014, but until then we get this gem of a song - Stay With Me

Movie Review - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Full disclosure – I have not seen the first Captain America movie, but I have seen all the Iron Man’s, Thor’s, and the Avengers, so I do have some general knowledge of Captain America.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier was overall an entertaining movie.  Keeping up with what seems to be a theme of the Avenger movies, there was plenty of action and comedy.  It’s hard to describe fully what the movie is about without giving too much away, but basically it’s the Cap in present day dealing with (obviously) the Winter Soldier, and the issue of who to trust (it’s way more complicated than that, but that’s a nutshell overview). 

There is a ton of action in this film and while 90% of it is awesome, I had particular issues with the sequence regarding a bus (again, trying not to give anything away).  The sequence almost looked as if it was filmed in a faster speed and just did not match with the rest of the movies action sequences.   Besides that one scene, the rest of the action was great.  A lot of hand to hand combat, gymnastics, and a pretty awesome elevator sequence.  I also enjoyed how much they used Cap’s shield as a weapon.  

A welcome new edition to the cast is Anthony Mackie as Falcon.  Now he’s one of my personal fav’s so I’m partial, but he fits in well with the cast and the relationship between Cap and Falcon seems like a genuine fit.  I don’t know much about the comics, but I sure hope Falcon is in future movies. 

Scarlett Johansson is much better as Black Widow this time around (compared to Iron Man 2 where I wasn’t sold), she brings some humor and badassesness, if that’s even a word?  While a fan of Chris Evans, sometimes I’m not completely sold on him as an action star, I think he’s much better suited in comedy and drama, his overall performance as Cap was good.  And of course Samuel L. Jackson…he has a much bigger role in this installment as Nick Fury and is great as always. 

Overall I give it a 3 out of 5.  I was entertained, not blown away, but it’s worth the admission price and seeing it in the theatres.
 

First Movie Review - Bad Words!

Hey there, on advice of a friend (you know who you are) I've decided to start doing movie reviews, and maybe on occasion TV shows (let's start small now).  If you're wondering why, well I love movies!  I know, I know, who doesn't?  My mom was very influential in this love, my earliest memories were being so excited to go to the theatre to catch a flick or staying up late watching them at home, and even at times, laying quietly in the hall way peaking around the corner and watching the R-rated movies I wasn't technically allowed to.  In college I ended up working at a now defunct movie rental place, I worked there all through college and took advantage of the 5 free rentals a week, needless to say, I've seen way too many movies.  Now I'm no expert, but these are just my everyday woman's opinion and don't be surprised if they are only a few sentences long, if you've read my blog before I'm not the biggest on words!

And if you're wondering, I tend to love comedies and action.  Think Air Force Once, Another Stakeout, Broken Arrow, Bad Boys type.  And when a movie is really horrendous, I kind of love it even more...so proceed with caution knowing that!

For my first review now, it's Jason Bateman's new movie Bad Words!

I thought this movie was hilarious.  It's about an adult man taking the National Spelling Bee on when he finds a loop hole and wants revenge.  If you are at all easily offended, don't see this movie.  If you love a good laugh and appreciate dark humor, this is for you!  The audience at the screening actually physically gasped a number of times at how offensive some of the jokes are in the movie, but those gasps were also followed up by laughter.  Bateman, who normally comes off as the good All American type of man, plays his role hysterically and sheds that good guy image in a believable way.  The movie's other costars besides Bateman are Rohan Chand (a non-annoying child actor, thank you!), and two of my favorite comedy actresses: Allison Janney and Kathryn Hahn. 

For Bateman's first directorial debut I thought he did an excellent job.  I tend to get annoyed when there are pointless unnecessary shots in a movie and Bad Words contained none of those shots.  The movie moved at a quick pace (89 minutes) and I laughed for most of it.  At the end I'd give it 3.5 out 5!

Here is Bad Words Red Band Trailer:

 

Bad Words was also a great stress relief after a long a stressful few days for me - it definitely lightened up my mood and made me smile!

Banks "Waiting Game"

This song is pure awesomeness...

Revamped Folding Chair

In true me fashion, when painting my bedroom last year, I dumped a lot of paint on a folding chair. I didn't do anything the past year to fix it, it's super old, so old I think it's from the 80s or 70s, but then I got bored this past weekend. I had spray paint....I had extra fabic, so why not fix it? Here's what I used: 2 cans of spray paint and extra fabric I had laying around.

I unscrewed the seat and the back rest and stretched the red fabric over the old fabric and staple gunned it to the back of each section.  I took three coats of spray paint to get the chair good, but I thought it turned out pretty good overall.  I keep this chair in my spare bedroom for quick fixes around the house and now I'm not embarrassed if people see it!

Red Bull Birthday "Cake"!

My brother turned 30 this past week and I couldn't figure out what to get him and naturally he really didn't ask for much besides some video games.   For his 30th I wanted to do something a little more special.  Given that we both share a love of Red Bull, I thought I'd try a Red Bull cake!

I got a 12-pack of Red Bull and layered them on a silver tray ($1 from the Dollar Tree), tied each level together with ribbon, added more ribbon on top, and then got glittery scrapbook paper from JoAnne's and created the Happy Birthday and 30 sign.  I probably put way too much time into this considering he'll most likely rip it up for the Red Bull, but what can I say? I had way too much time on my hands on Sunday and silver and blue were my high school colors (Go Knights!) and the former cheerleader in me took over and wanted everything sparkly and shiny!  His reaction was: "What is that? A tower of Red Bull? That's awesome!".  I also snuck some lotto cards in between the cans after I took this picture and made him promise me 10% if he wins big!

Apostle Island Ice Caves

For my 31st birthday I decided to take a trip up north and see the Apostle Island Ice Caves, located along the Apostle Island National Lakeshore.  The caves were gorgeous and beautiful to see.  It's a mile hike across the frozen Lake Superior to get to them, but well worth it.  All the pictures were taken by myself or my father.  Hope you enjoy!

Lake Michigan Sunrise

Lake Michigan from Downtown Milwaukee, January 6, 2014.  -12 out with a windchild of -39

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!  If you've been following along the past month you'll notice that my effort to post more kind of failed short, but I'm going to continue to try to do more.   Expressing myself on here, whether it's through pictures, recipes, crafts, or travel, has been cathartic for me and I was a bit disappointed in 2013 that I feel off.  I started a new job that was much more demanding than anything I've done in the past, it's been six months though and I feel like I'm starting to get a better handle on it so hopefully I can be on here more!

I've never really been a New Year's resolution type of person, I've always made jokey ones, but this year I've actually made three that I want to really go for.  They are:

1. Swear less - I rarely, if ever, swear in front of people, but I have a hugely massive dirty mouth while driving or just alone in general.  My favorite is C---MotherFu---.  Classy I know.  
2. Learn some French - I have some huge plans coming up later this year*hopefully* and I'd like to learn a little basic French.  It will hopefully be very helpful.  
3. Workout at least twice a week - I know this doesn't sound like much but you have to start somewhere right?  In the spring, summer, and fall I do great walking outdoors, but now in the winter of Wisconsin, it's way too cold to walk outside.  I don't have a treadmill or a gym membership, so I have a feeling I'll be investing in a gym membership.

So those are my resolutions.  I think they are all manageable but we'll see!