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Album Review: Phillip Phillips "The World From The Side Of The Moon"

FINALLY, "American Idol" winner Phillip Phillips released his first album, "The World from the Side of the Moon". I absolutely loved this guy on the show... I think his takes on some pretty big songs were really great. If you like Dave Matthews Band, you'll love him. He also sounds a little bit like Mumford & Sons at times... it's a unique blend. I was really worried that coming off the show they would try to "popify" him, but they really let him stay true to his sound and unique style. This is definitely a must buy album (a great stocking stuffer)!

Favorite songs: "Home" and "Get Up Get Down"

Movie Review: Lincoln

Last night my parents, Mike, and I went out to dinner and the movies - we saw "Lincoln".

Director: Steven Spielberg

Main Actors: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, and Tommy Lee Jones

Synopsis: (from IMDb) In 1865, as the American Civil War winds inexorably toward conclusion, U.S. president Abraham Lincoln endeavors to achieve passage of the landmark constitutional amendment which will forever ban slavery from the United States. However, his task is a race against time, for peace may come at any time, and if it comes before the amendment is passed, the returning southern states will stop it before it can become law. Lincoln must, by almost any means possible, obtain enough votes from a recalcitrant Congress before peace arrives and it is too late. Yet the president is torn, as an early peace would save thousands of lives. As the nation confronts its conscience over the freedom of its entire population, Lincoln faces his own crisis of conscience -- end slavery or end the war.

Rating: Overall, this was a good movie. I think it ran a little long and was a bit drawn out. Daniel Day-Lewis played a phenomenal role... he brought Abraham Lincoln to life. Mike and I were talking in the car on the way home and almost wish that rather than the story of the end of the war and slavery they would have focused the storyline on the Emancipation Proclamation (which is far more interesting in our opinions). The acting was very good and it was neat to see so many familiar faces make appearances (John Hawkes from "Deadwood" and Walton Goggins from "Justified") in unique roles. Tommy Lee Jones was amazing as well. This is definitely a movie you should see, although I don't know that it has to be seen in the theater - it might be nicer at home.

Needs More Cowbell

This evening as I was driving home from work, "Don't Fear The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult came on the radio. Thanks to this lovely SNL sketch, I can't listen to this song without thinking of Will Ferrell and Christopher Walken. You're welcome.

I don't know what it is, but there's something about Will Ferrell playing cowbell in a too-tight shirt that seriously cracks me up every time I see it. And every time I hear the song, I listen in for the cowbell.

Click HERE to see the video (scroll to the bottom of the page - it's the last video).

Good night!

Kati's Baby Shower!

Yesterday Mom, Elizabeth (Kati's SIL), and I threw Kati's baby shower! It was really fun! Kati and Nate are decorating the room with lavender as well as butterflies and flowers, so we kept to that theme for the shower.

Welcome banner

We played several different games - the nursery rhyme game (fill in the blanks), the basket game (they get to look and then have to write as many items down as they can remember), and my favorite, the "When Will My Water Break" game? We froze little babies in glasses and each player had to write down the time she thought her water would break (the ice around the baby melted). It was a fun twist to the normal game where people try to melt theirs the fastest - there was some serious strategy going on!

Frozen Babies

Kati & Her Loot!

One Of The Quilts Mom Made Kati

Now for the people shots:

Mom, Kati, & I

Dad, Kati, & Aunt Sandi

Me, Mom, Kati, Cyndy, & Elizabeth

The weather was absolutely beautiful and I think everyone had fun! Another event that went off without a hitch! I swear, my friends and family are giving me lots of event planning practice with all these babies and weddings! :)

Things I Love: Wilson Sleek Cell Phone Signal Booster

You all know I live in a fairly rural area and work in the city. I spend about two hours a day in the car. Those of you who have ever called me during my commute know that about seven or eight times in that trip I usually lose cell reception.

I decided to give the Wilson Sleek a try.

I'm typically a little leery of those "as seen on TV" products, but this is one that actually works! First of all, it's super easy to install. I took a little more time because I ran the wires all nice under the plastic pieces. I bought the goose neck suction cup thingy for my window because I don't really have a great flat spot on my dash.

I was amazed at how well this thing works! There is still one spot on my drive that I drop calls, but this does exactly what it says - it takes everywhere that there is signal and amplifies it. You can't make something out of nothing, so that one spot must have absolutely no signal (it's right when you're behind a hill, so I suspect that the signal gets blocked).

This has made my drive much nicer (now I can listen to music OR talk to people). If you do a lot of driving, this is a definite must!

Book Review: War Brides

I know, it looks like I read a zillion books in like 2 days - in reality, I was too lazy to post them all while I was on sabbatical. The next book is "War Brides" by Helen Bryan.This book was a top seller that I tried on a whim... A very rewarding whim!

Synopsis: (from amazon.com)

With war threatening to spread from Europe to England, the sleepy village of Crowmarsh Priors settles into a new sort of normal: Evacuees from London are billeted in local homes. Nightly air raids become grimly mundane. The tightening vice of rationing curtails every comfort. Men leave to fight and die. And five women forge an unlikely bond of friendship that will change their lives forever.

Alice Osbourne, the stolid daughter of the late vicar, is reeling from the news that Richard Fairfax broke their engagement to marry Evangeline Fontaine, an American girl from the Deep South. Evangeline’s arrival causes a stir in the village—but not the chaos that would ensue if they knew her motives for being there. Scrappy Elsie Pigeon is among the poor of London who see the evacuations as a chance to escape a life of destitution. Another new arrival is Tanni Zayman, a young Jewish girl who fled the horrors of Europe and now waits with her newborn son, certain that the rest of her family is safe and bound to show up any day. And then there’s Frances Falconleigh, a madcap, fearless debutante whose father is determined to keep her in the countryside and out of the papers.

As the war and its relentless hardships intensify around them, the same struggles that threaten to rip apart their lives also bring the five closer together. They draw strength from one another to defeat formidable enemies—hunger, falling bombs, the looming threat of a Nazi invasion, and a traitor in their midst—and find remarkable strength within themselves to help their friends. Theirs is a war-forged loyalty that will outlast the fiercest battle and endure years and distance.

 

When four of the women return to Crowmarsh Priors for a VE Day celebration fifty years later, television cameras focus on the heartwarming story of these old women as war brides of a bygone age, but miss the more newsworthy angle. The women’s mission is not to commemorate or remember—they’ve returned to settle a score and avenge one of their own.

 

I loved the story. The more you read, the more you fell in love with each woman, with her different quirky characteristics. I absolutely loved how the book ended... it is and isn't what you would think. Definitely a two thumbs up for this one!