Book and Movie Reviews

Since I'm doing blog catch up, I thought I'd add some more book and movie reviews. Here goes:

Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith
Solid 4 out of 5 stars. This book is about the ending of the War of the Roses (the house of York versus the house of Lancaster) and the life of Margaret of York, who becomes Princess when her brother claims the English throne and then is married to Charles, the Duke of Burgundy. It's very interesting and gave me some more to research and think about in Tudor England. Anyone who like historic fiction and is an Anglophile would like this book.

To Hold the Crown by Jean Plaidy
Another solid 4 out of 5. This book takes place right after the Daughter of York ends (conveniently) and follows the joining of the houses of York and Lancaster through the marriage of Henry the VII and Elizabeth of York (the niece of Margaret of York). It provided some insight (and vast assumptions) about the father of Henry the VIII (who I know most of my friends have read about) and the stability that Henry the VII really brought to the country, which helped solidify Henry the VIII's reign. I'm sure I'll read it again.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - good movie (3.5/5) Set in WW2 Britain, an old-fashioned governess arranges to work for an American cabaret singer. Situations between 3 men and the cabaret singer, who keeps asking the governess for help in picking the right man, keep your interest and have you rooting for the governess to find happiness. I strongly suggest adding this to your NetFlixs cue.

Run Fat Boy Run - awesome (5/5)! I have watched this movie over and over and have not gotten tired of it. It's about a fat security guard who decides to run the British marathon in order to win back his ex-girlfriend (with whom he has a son and who he left at the alter when she was pregnant). This definitely has British humor (a little dry at times) but it has me cracking up every time I see it. You all must watch this movie!

I'm working into a series of historical fiction books on Ireland next (I had to take a Brit break by reading the Twilight series for the 18th time again . . . I know, it's ridiculous really) so I'll let you know how they turn out.

Realtor Reality Bites

I have lots of catching up to do in this posting, but let's get started with the housing situation in Royal Oak. Now, I know the economy and housing market sucks right now. I get that. What I didn't get until we met with a realtor last Thursday was that if I want to sell my house right now, we need to a) take a substantial loss on it (which we found out is not tax deductable), b) short sell the mortgage and screw up our credit rating, or c) rent the house. I was ready to lose what we invested (which luckily wasn't too much) and accept a little below what we bought it for - just a little - and head on down south. Not so much. Because of the banks owning so many houses right now, we just can't compete with the pricing. So, we might become slum lords as rentals are still really good in Royal Oak right now and we could make the mortgage that way. We are going to get a couple more opinions and go from there. On the plus side, the realtor said that we had the place decluttered and staged really well (quite a feat for us - we worked really, really hard Wednesday night). So, that made us feel slightly better.

Lots of other things have been going on, so I'm going to backtrack. This past Easter Sunday we did Will's first ever Easter Basket - I was getting him all hyped up about finding the eggs; at first he didn't care, but when he found out there was candy in there, he was all over the eggs. So, I had 6 eggs in our living room and just set the basket out. As soon as he saw the basket and the goodies in there, he just wanted to go through that. We helped him find the eggs and told him he could have one piece of candy for breakfast (along with some cereal). We actually got the whole family out for church and their Easter egg hunt - Will had picked out a tie for Easter and looked so cute! Will enjoyed his first egg hunt and our church did a great job. I'm proud to say I got it all on video tape, and as soon as I can figure it out, I'll post it.

Will has also started singing all kinds of songs, all on his own. I love it! He just bursts out and wants you to join in (sometimes - other times, he waves his hands and shreiks, "NO!"). It started with "Baa, baa, black sheep" and has now progressed to songs from the Backyardigans (his favorite CD and TV show) and even songs from "Hairspray."
Not to be outdone, Sofia has started standing all by herself and is "cruising" on everything. She really likes to walk by holding your hand and we think she'll be walking by herself soon. And, she's become more of a climber too, which is not good. She tries to climb EVERYTHING - the baby gate, furniture, the oven . . . I don't remember Will getting into as much as Fi does. We have to watch her on the stairs all the time because she gets up them so fast. It's exciting and a little scary at the same time, but from our experience (and what everyone else tells us), that's parenting. :)

On another good note, I think our house is finally cleared of all sickness. Brent and I are both feeling better; the kids never caught anything (thank goodness); and my foot is getting better every day. It's still pretty sore at the end of the day, but that's to be expected.

Oh - during my sitting phase, I caught up on some of our DVR backlog and finally got to watch "Tin Man" from the SciFi channel. It was totally awesome! It's a futuristic take on "The Wizard of Oz" and is just really well done. I highly recommend it. And, I finished the "Dark Materials" book series. It starts with "The Golden Compass" and goes through 2 more books. They were Ok - it was a bit more theological and of a war on church mentality than I thought "young adult" books should be, but that's just me. I'm glad I read them, in case the kids ever want to (we really don't think we'll limit what they want to read) but I don't think I'll ever read them again.
I am excited to start on my stack of books from B&N - I got a gift card there for my birthday (such a great present). I'm not sure which one I'll read first, but I'll let you know what I like.

That's the long and short of it for now. Everyone take care and we'll talk to you soon.

Some Good Things

While I was whining yesterday, I realized that I should have put in some positive media I've seen and read recently. First off, I finally got to watch Enchanted and Penelope - can you tell Brent was on the road this week? :) They are both such cute, happy movies and I really enjoyed them and can't wait to watch them again on cable. I also finished reading The Island, which Ann loaned to me. She always has wonderful book recommendations/loans for me. In any case, The Island is about a leper colony in Greece and 3 generations of women - very good book and makes you fully appreciate the love of family.
Other good things - I got to spend Monday with my friend, Kristi, and her great 3 kids. She has 2 darling twin girls and a new baby boy - she's such a super mom and I don't know how she manages. I'm always amazed when we hang out. It was lots of fun and great to meet baby Tae - he's just beautiful! We're going to miss them - Will and the girls have such a good time - he gets them so riled up! It's total chaos and tons of fun.
Today's good thing is my first shamrock shake of the year - I love them and wish McD's would have them all the time. I plan on indulging in them this weekend too, all the way up to St. Pat's Day. Yum!
Have a great weekend everyone and enjoy some good things!

Dashing Expectations

I decided last week, with Brent being out of town, that I should start taking a "technology break" at least once a week - I love to read, but TV and the internet seem to take up most of my evenings after the kids go to sleep. So, I spent 2 nights finishing "Revolutionary Road" instead of watching TV. I was SO excited to read this book - I love Kate Winslet and the movie seemed to be getting rave reviews (I have not seen it - we don't get to a lot of movies). Oh my gosh! What a let down! Not to ruin anything for those of your interested in reading it, but it was so intense and morally bankrupt . . . I was so bummed! I had to read a teen book to get over it. I thought it was going to be like Mad Men (AMC plug here) - I love this show about the '60's advertising agency, NYC, and family life. The show is great - well written, well acted, lots of good drama - and it's not exactly fluffy bunnies, but it seems like a kiddie story when compared to "Revolutionarly Road."
To follow up this disappointment, Brent and I decided to watch "In Bruges" Saturday night because it looked like a comedy. NOT! Again, not to ruin anything, but it was way more intense than I bargained for. However, I will say it was a good movie and totally made me want to go back to Europe. So, there's that.
So, I am now on the hunt for something new to read - my friend, Ann, always lends me great books but I am done those now. Readers (if there are any), please leave me some suggestions.