Random Tuesday Ramblings

• I'm on the Lenten home stretch, folks!  Only a few days left of no chips + 10k steps a day.  I have to say, one has been harder than the other.  The steps.  Getting the steps has been harder.  But I have done it.  And while I had deep down hoped for some kind of magical weight loss that has not happened, I do believe I've accomplished my main goals with these Lenten promises:  to make myself healthier and more active, and to break the habit of snacking at night.  We'll see how the rest of the week plays out, but I'm pretty sure I can call this a success.
• Lent seems to have flown by this year.  The year I gave up sugar and artificial sweeteners, it felt like it went on forever.  I was daydreaming of sugary treats by this stage in the game and counting down the days.  I suppose because I'm planning/hoping to implement these current Lenten promises permanently (at least, sort of), I'm not really looking at this weekend as the finishing line.  I do plan on having some chips as a treat, but otherwise, my goal is to continue with cutting out night time snacking and trying my darndest to get 10k steps a day.  Not much should change after Easter arrives!
• I had been so hopeful that I'd escape any big water in my basement this year, and as the snow has been disappearing with only small traces of water seeping in over the past few weeks, I thought I'd made it through the worst of it.  Then on Sunday evening, we had a monsoon, and I woke to a good 3 inches of water down there.  ugh.  It's not a finished basement, but there are some important things down there - furnace, hot water tank, freezer - so I have to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get too high.  And yes, I have a sump pump, but it just couldn't keep up.  The water was coming in faster than it could get it out again.  Thankfully, Bill came and helped me last night, and he got rid of most of it, and then brought some big industrial fans to dry the basement out more quickly.  I just hate that musty smell that has started creeping upstairs due to the wet cement.  blech.
• I'm easing my way into working full-time again.  The weather still hasn't permitted the usual "spring boom" around here yet, so I've been lucky I have the time to do this.  Last week I worked 4 days, and I will again this week and next.  (Off for Good Friday and Easter Monday).  It's nice that I can get re-adjusted slowly, and so far, it's going well.  The worst part is re-learning how fast a weekend can go by when it's only 2 days long!  I'll definitely soak up and enjoy this last 4-day weekend coming up!!
• Last weekend was spent celebrating my mom's birthday, and it was so nice!  My sister, niece, and I and a few friends and family members took her out for tea on Saturday, as there was a fundraiser tea happening in Shawville.  Everything was delicious, and they surprised her by putting a birthday candle in a plate of squares for her.  That evening, we continued celebrating with dinner at Baton Rouge.  On Sunday we went to church and out for brunch, and then I just went home and vegged for the rest of the day - my usual of watching TV, reading, crocheting, and napping.  It was fabulous.
  
  
  
  
• So, a few weeks ago, I shared a post on FB, one of those "Share if you remember" things - and it was about watching The Wonderful World of Disney on Sunday nights.  And oh, how I remember.  So do a lot of people, apparently, based on the comments I got on that post!  For me, it was a highlight of my childhood.  First of all, Sunday evenings were (and probably still are) my least favourite night of the week. Not only did I dread Mondays, but it was also "steak night" in our house when I was a kid, and God, I hated steak.  (Still do.)  So it was a special treat on the odd occasion when Mom would let us eat in front of the TV if something really good was on Disney.  It made Sunday nights - and the steak - more tolerable! haha!!  Since reminiscing about that, I have started up the tradition of Disney Sunday nights again.  I own a lot of Disney movies on DVD, so a few weeks ago, I watched Dumbo, and last Sunday, Alice in Wonderland.  The only difference now (aside from my age lol) is that I make a "fun" supper to have while watching.  Pizza, or pasta, anything like that that I love.  Definitely not bringing back the steak tradition!!!
  
• I finished watching The Handmaid's Tale last weekend, so I have now started into Castle Rock.  It's a show written by Stephen King and draws reference to some of his most famous material.  (The Shawshank Redemption, Cujo, and It are all references I've caught onto so far, only two episodes in.)  It also stars some of the actors from his movie adaptations from the past - notably, Sissy Spacek (who starred in Carrie), and Bill Skaarsgard (he played Pennywise in the new version of It).  I haven't really watched much "scary" since leading up to Halloween last year, when I spooked myself silly and swore off any more scary stuff for a while.  I'm in the early stages, but Castle Rock is definitely giving me the creeps.  Nothing really outright horrifying yet, but if I know Stephen King... it's coming.
  
• Part  of my reason for opting for Castle Rock next was to go hand-in-hand with an anticipated trip to the movies to see the new version of Pet Sematary this Thursday.  Plans have kind of changed though, and that trip is now up in the air.  I'm really hoping it still works out, because I really want to see it!  I'd probably classify Pet Sematary as my favourite Stephen King of all-time.
• To balance out the creepy and scary, I'm reading a total fluff book right now on the recommendation of a friend.  I spent the past few months reading all of our book club selections for the year, and that was some pretty heavy material.  Even the last book, "All We Ever Wanted" by Emily Giffin, which I anticipated as light chick lit, was a little on the heavy side.  So yes, I'm quite enjoying "Make Me Bad" by RS Grey right now.  Can you even get over that title? LOL!  It took me a while to get into it, but I've officially hit the - errrr... fun stuff ...and it's exactly what the doctor ordered!
• Last but not least of the random today... I bought an Echo Dot a few weeks ago, but didn't get around to setting it up until this past weekend.  I now have Alexa in my house.  Honestly, I'm not sure how much use I'll get out of her. lol  I've asked her the weather a few times, and I've asked her to play music for me now and then, but that's about it.  I was a little disappointed she couldn't just drum up the podcast I wanted to listen to last night.  I guess I'll give her time to prove to me she's valuable, but so far, I'm just kind of "meh" about it.

Hope you're all having a great week so far, friends! :)

It's April! (It doesn't look like it, but it is!!)

Welcome to April, friends!  We're 4 days in, and it still kinda looks like winter out there, but we're hanging tough and hoping the snow keeps going down a bit each day.

Here's what's up with me these days...

• I'm on Book Club book #6!  The last one!!  And it's just gonna fly by, I can tell.  I usually really enjoy Emily Giffin books, and 6 chapters in, I can already tell this one has me hooked.  The last one, Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, was excellent.  One of my favourites in recent memory.  I was absolutely intrigued that it was based on a true story, and the horrible things that happened to these families and children who were torn apart by the Tennessee Children's Home Society.
  
• I'm watching The Handmaid's Tale on Crave, and it is all kinds of creepy and intense.  I can't say I'm "loving" it - it's not like I'm dying to get home to watch it - but it really is bringing the book to life, and making "real" the disturbing dystopian concept of Margaret Atwood.  The book was disturbing enough on its own, but this has brought things to a whole 'nother level.
  
• I had been collecting seasons of The Big Bang Theory on DVD, but I stopped a few years ago (probably around the time I got Internet in my home and got Netflix and stopped watching DVD's in general lol).  Now that the show is winding down, though, I really want to catch up and see what I've missed since Season 7.  It would make sense to watch it on Crave, right? But I have talked before about how stupid Crave is when it comes to being user-friendly.  I can't skip episodes, I would have to fast-forward through each one until Season 8.  And the fast-forwarding is SLOW.  I would literally spend hours having to fast-forward through 7 seasons.  No thank you.  So I'm back to buying seasons of BBT on DVD, and looking forward to cancelling Crave once I'm done watching The Handmaid's Tale and Castlerock.  Oh, and True Detective.  If new things are added that I want to watch (the latest seasons of Game of Thrones, for example) I'll just renew on a monthly basis when that happens.
  
• Did I tell you guys I got Marie Kondo'd?  I totally got Marie Kondo'd.  A few weeks ago, my friend Lindsay came over and helped me empty out my closet and dresser drawers, and then go through everything and re-organize.  It was a massive job in my eyes, and one I was dreading, but now that it's done, I'm SO happy and relieved.  It has also nudged me to do some tidying up in other areas of my house that I've been neglecting (junk drawers, closets in other rooms).  My junk room is still an issue - one that I may wait to tackle next winter - and I also want to remove a bunch of old crap from my basement, but otherwise, my house is tidier than it has been in years.  It's a good feeling!
• I'm going into my last "long weekend" of the winter, so one might think it's a last chance to dive into tidying some of those other rooms/spaces, but no way José.  I'm going to enjoy this weekend!  Tonight is our year-end curling party.  Tomorrow night is Book Club. Saturday I want to crochet, and try to finish the jigsaw puzzle I started two months ago, and watch TV, and read.  On Sunday, I have the fam coming for a birthday supper for my nephew and my mom.  And on Monday, I have to take my car in to get it fixed (my trunk won't open, yet I get a "trunk ajar" warning every time I start my car), so my mom and I may head to Renfrew to do some Easter shopping while they work on it.  I'm so looking forward to this last "winter weekend"!!
• I'm also really excited to being done curling after tonight.  It's nice to think of having my Thursday nights back to do as I wish.  I already have plans for next Thursday night, actually!  The new version of Pet Sematary comes out this weekend, and I really want to see it.  It's probably been my favourite Stephen King book to read (I read it when I was in Grade 10, I think), and I also loved the original film adaptation, so I'm anxious to see what they have done with this new rendition.  Can't wait!!
  

Happy Thursday, everyone! :)

Wednesday Medley: On Films (one of my fave subjects!)

I couldn't resist playing along with this week's Wednesday Medley.  The subject this week is film, and there's nothing I love more than going to the movies.  The movie theatre is one of my happy places!

The topic today was selected because it is National Film Score Day.

1. Let's talk about film scores/songs.  What is the first one you thought of when you saw today's subject?
OK, this is probably going to sound ridiculous, but the first one that comes to mind is the Michael Jackson song from the movie Free Willy. LOL!  It's not really a song I'd normally think of, but it recently came up as our cool-down song for Pound class, and as soon as I heard it start I thought, "Ahhhhh I LOVE this song!!"  (We watched Free Willy a lot when I was a kid, it was on of my favourite movies.)

2. Do you remember the first movie you saw on the big screen?  Would you tell us about it?
I sort of remember it... I believe it was Honey I Shrunk the Kids.  My parents, my aunt and uncle, my siblings, and my cousins all went together.  I don't remember much about it, other than going with my cousins to sit in the front row because that was the cool thing to do.  I didn't stay there long, because it hurt my neck. haha!  I vaguely remember being scared, especially of the giant ant scene.  And I do believe I fell asleep before it was over.  We didn't go to the theatre much when I was young, so the memories of it stick out.

3. Who is your favourite female movie star?  Who is your favourite male movie star?  Go ahead and list more than one if you must.
Currently, I'd have to say Emily Blunt is my fave female star.  In the past 12 months, I have seen both A Quiet Place and the new Mary Poppins - she stars in both - and I thought she turned in pretty wonderful performances.  Plus she's married to John Krasinski... lucky biotch!!
Very hard for me to pick a favourite male star, because I have so many, or have gone through so many phases.  Might as well start with John Krasinski. lol!  As a kid, I adored Tom Cruise (and still kind of do.)  My first teen celeb crush was Chris O'Donnell after watching Mad Love.  Others I'd rank on my fave list over the years include: Josh Hartnett, Ryan Reynolds, Ryan Gosling, Chris Pratt, Chris Pine, Matthew McConaughey, Channing Tatum, Josh Duhamel, James Marsden, and of course, Jimmy Fallon (if only for Fever Pitch!!) I could literally go on and on.  The boys make me drool.

4.  How about those old black & white movies!  Which one do you always stop and watch, even just a little, while channel surfing?
I honestly don't have a lot of black & white faves.  I've only seen a few that I can remember.  But there is something about Miracle on 34th Street in black & white and Christmas time.  It's A Wonderful Life, too.  When I think black & white movies, those two instantly come to mind!

5. Is there a movie quote that makes you laugh or one that you repeat often in life that you can share with us?  Will we know what movie it comes from without you telling us?
I don't really consciously think about movie quotes, but I know there are a few I use on occasion...
"Show me the money!!"
"For-ev-ERRRRR... For-ev-ERRRRR!"
"Nobody puts Baby in the corner."
"Houston, we have a problem."
Probably one of my favourite "movie quote" real-life moments was at Gavan's (I think maybe on St. Paddy's Day?) a few years ago and I was talking to my cousin about something, and whatever it was, she said, "Big mistake.  Big."  And a random guy walking by heard her, and added, "HUGE!!"  We both burst out laughing.

6. Please share something random about your week with us.
Remember last week when I was talking about the pep in my step and feeling so much better about myself?  Well... this week has knocked me back down a peg or two.  I mean, I'm still feeling much better physically, noticing less pain in my knees as I continue my 10K step challenge and I move more.  But there are still no noticeable results in weight loss, and that's kind of depressing.  I know it's my own fault - I might be moving more, and I'm not snacking in the evenings, but I'm still eating too much junk in general and eating out way too often.  I can't expect miracles when I'm not putting in more effort with the eating habits.  But I was disappointed when I tried on samples for new work shirts and found the XXL were almost snug.  Then I got an order of bathing suits from La Vie En Rose and NONE of them fit.  *sigh*  It just brings me down to think of all the weight I lost six years ago and how I just let it all come back on.
I keep telling myself that this Lenten quest was never about losing weight.  It was always about being more active, and the benefits for my health.  It was about feeling better physically.  And that has definitely improved.  I should just be thankful for that.  But I guess part of me thought that miracle might happen anyways.  Wishful thinking, Jill!!!