Book to Movie

I love to read.  I don't have a favorite author.  I do enjoy fiction.  I love getting lost in a story.

Over the years, some of the books that I have read have been made into movies.  It's always fun to see how the movie turns out and how closely it runs along the book's storyline.  I have to say that sometimes I'm disappointed.  I have created a picture in my mind and the movie doesn't match at all.

You're probably wondering where this post is going.  I mean, why would I want to discuss books converted into movies on my blog?  It's not like I want to be a movie or book critic.

You see, I find these movies (on Netflix or at the library), RT is usually around and decides to sit and watch them with me.  He doesn't have any idea what the movie is about and I don't offer any information.  Well, maybe I will say that I read the book, or I liked the book, or I found the book to be interesting.  He sits with me to watch it and ends up enjoying the chick flick movie.

The last couple of movies we saw had sad endings.  I think I even saw RT tear up a little.  He does make comments about the sad ones (like, maybe I should read happier books...).

The next one is more of a thriller.  I think he will enjoy watching that movie.

Cleaning Up

Somehow, the stars were aligned and all of my ducks were in a row.  I was in the right place at the right time.  God was smiling upon me.

Yes.  It's true.

The boys decided to clean their rooms yesterday.

I was going to say something to them on Friday.  You know, something along the lines of, "Maybe you can clean your room this weekend."  Something I say every weekend and wait and hope that it happens.  It turns out, I didn't have to say anything!  Can you believe it?

It wasn't a complete cleaning for the rooms, but, it was a good start.  The things that came out of their rooms (and the things I learned....going to turn my hairs all gray or make me wonder if they are really mine?).

They will be home for a couple weeks and looking for stuff to do....maybe they will be inspired once again and finish the job.

We can only hope for the best.

Too Many Shoes

So, I decided to straighten up the shoes by the front door.  It seems like everyone has every single pair of shoes that they own, along with all of the neighbors shoes sitting by our front door.  It isn't a huge area and it can look really messy with mountains of shoes.

I thought I would leave one pair of shoes for each person by the door.  The rest could go in the basement.  Oh, and for the record, my shoes are in the closet at the top of the stairs.

As I am going through the shoes, I realize that RT has the most pairs of shoes there.  I bring them down stairs and notice there are even more there that belong to him.  I open up the closet in the basement and, guess what?  More of RT's shoes!  I should mention that in the upstairs closet where I keep my shoes, there are several pairs of shoes that belong to RT.

All of a sudden, I realize that I am married to Imelda Marcos.

I mean, how many thousands of pairs of hiking shoes does one person need?  And, gym shoes?  I think he has one hundred pairs.

And, don't listen to that, "Oh, I need different shoes for every activity that I do."  Do you have resting shoes too?  How about sleep shoes?

I jokingly brought this "problem" up to RT.  He said he "might" have a little problem.

In the meantime, I think he might have to build a temperature controlled room just to house all of his shoes so I don't have to trip over them see them all by the front door.

Cabin Fever

It's been a tad brisk here the last couple of days with temperatures in the single digits.  It's going to be cold for several more days with temperatures below 0F.

During times like these, it's very easy to get cabin fever.  You know, where you are stuck in the house all day long.  You don't go anywhere because it's too cold outside.  This happens a lot to older people.  Apparently, it also happens to dogs.

I've been working every day (retail, toy store, busiest time of year, etc.) and poor Pippen has been home by himself.  I think he misses following me around the house all day.  Some times one or all of the kids are home with him, but, they probably torture him.  When I'm home, Pippen will follow me around the house while I'm busy cleaning and doing laundry.

Last night, he was acting a little strange.  Bella was worried.  He wouldn't wander off the deck when we let him outside (can you blame him?  It was 4F outside!)  So, I decided to take him for a walk to get him out and get some exercise.  I bundled up and decided to make it a short walk, just a half loop around the park.  We get 3/4 of the way around the park and Pippen decides he wants to keep going.  I said no.  If his paws froze, I didn't have my phone with me to call RT to pick us up.

When we got back home, I gave him a (dog) cookie and he curled up on his blanket and went to sleep.

I'm glad I could help.  I'm hoping this will hold him over for a few days.  Especially since it will be below zero for the next couple of days.

Holiday Spirit

Nothing like trying to get your family into the Christmas Spirit by yelling and crabbing at them.

20 Miles to Empty

I try to keep my car's fuel tank at half a tank or more.  There are the few occasions where it gets down to a quarter tank.  I fill the car up right away when it gets that low.  Lately, my life has been a little crazy, so, stopping at the gas station isn't at the top of my "To Do" list.  Normally, I have an idea where the gas gauge is and try to plan on when I will take the car to fill it up.  My plan usually fails because "someone" else drives my car.  "Someone" is normally good about putting gas in the car, but, since he hasn't been working, it has affected his brain and he "forgets" to fill the car up.  I'm usually surprised by the fact that the tank is low and I rush off to the gas station.

Last night, it was a different story.

I let "someone" use my car after I got home from work.  I knew I was low on fuel but figured I had enough to fill up the next day before work.  The car was returned.  I had to run Bella to dance class (it's in town) and realized the fuel light was on and there was twenty miles until empty.  That's if the gauge is correct.

I went to the gas station by our house, only to find out that the Diesel fuel was out of order (my car takes Diesel).  I didn't leave much time before class, so, I dropped Bella off at class.  I called "someone" and told him to be on alert.  He might have to bring me some fuel if I run out.

I have to say, "someone" is very lucky that I made it to the gas station and was able to fill up the car.  We had a talk about giving me a little "heads up" that the tank is low and that I should add extra time before my next excursion.

Let's see if "someone" remembers.

St. Nicholas Day

There are many stories about the life of St. Nicholas.  I found my information here.  The following is a quick summary.  Click on the link to read more details. 

St. Nicholas came from a wealthy family.  His parents died when he was very young.  He grew up in his faith and strongly believed to give to the poor.  He became Bishop and was know for his generosity, love of children and concern for sailors.  Under the Roman Empire he was persecuted for his faith.  He went to prison.  He was released and died on December 6.  The anniversary of his death became a celebration known as St. Nicholas Day.

There are many variations of the story of St. Nicholas. He gave money for three poor girls dowries, he helped children, gave to the poor. Do a little research.  You will even see how Santa Claus evolved. 

We just started putting our shoes out for St. Nicholas in the last couple if years. It's a fun tradition and the kids love it. 

Do you have any special traditions you do with your family during the holidays?

Burnt Toast

I'm sure I have blogged about my toast making abilities.  If not, let me refresh your memory.  I'm really good at burning the toast.  It doesn't matter what setting I put the toaster on, it ends up burning my toast.

I don't like "bready" toast.  Yea.  That's a thing.  It's when the bread is still soft and bready-like.  I like my bread toasted.  Where it crunches when you bite into it.

Apparently our toaster is out to get me.  It burns my toast.  Some days it is worse than others..I can usually scrape some of the burnt part off.  The bad days are when there is very little left after a scraping.

The kids seem to be aware of this talent of mine.  When I make them breakfast and offer to make toast,  before saying anything, they pause and then say, "No, thank you."  or, "I'll make my own toast."

I really think it's the toaster.  I have no problem cooking fancy meals or baking desserts, but, when it comes down to making toast, I fail every time.

Car Dealer

Had to take my car in to the dealer today.  I ordered a new cover for the side view mirror and they had to put it on the car.

To answer your question (How did it come off?), Alex was pulling the car out of the garage (when he was first learning to drive the car) and got a little too close to the side of the garage and it popped off. Well, it wasn't completely off the car.  For awhile, I drove it around with it being held together by rubber bands.  After getting a goodwill package from the dealer, I decide it was time to take the plunge and get it repaired.

One thing I hate doing is visiting the car dealer.  This visit should have been a quick visit (snap off old housing, unhook old light, hook  new light and snap on new housing).  I was optimistic at first.  When checking in, the guy said he could do it himself.  Of course, after a couple minutes he said he was going to get the experts to help him out.  This led to something about needing screws for it and then the whole mirror might have to come out....

And there I sat in the waiting room.

To make my long story even longer short (and my life more complicated), they broke a clip on the mirror in the assembly process, so, they have to order an entire new part (including the mirror).  The new part (outer housing) has to be painted and I will have to return and go through this nightmare again.

The positive side is the dealer is paying for the new mirror, housing, painting and installation.  The clips on the mirror and housing are very thin and break easily, so, I'm glad that they will do the installation.

The downside is that the clips are very thin and this will probably all happen again and again and again and now a weekly visit to the dealer to have the outer housing installed on my car is just going to be part of my life.