I am the one that got to choose the MOMS Club Movie MOMS movies for this month, and host the activity at my house. I am always tempted to host it at the Starbucks in Target, but I refrain (I spend too much time there anyway).
This month we watched Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead. I LOVED both of these zombie movies. Zombies aren't something that usually interest me, but I think because each of them were making light of the world being taken over by Zombies, they made for great Zombie movies.
Everyone else loved the movies too...there wasn't much of a discussion of plot line (other than a bit of talk about the "rules" in Zombieland) and there wasn't anyone that disapproved of my movie choices. In fact, someone new joined us, just because she loved the movies (Hi Mel!)
Anyway...hope you've seen them...if not go rent them, or steal them off the internet (I do NOT condone the stealing of movies off the internet...really I don't) but go watch them!!!
Next month's movies: The Adventures of Priscillia Queen of the Desert and Puccini for Beginners, in honor of Utah's Pride Month.
Oh, and just a note, if you want to know more about any of those movies...you can look them up at IMDB or Netflix. I'm too tired to link to all of them. Yeah, call me lazy. I don't mind.
No, really, I AM! Many things make me happy, multiple times a day even!
I've been invited to join a new linky party on Tuesdays called The Happiness Project over at Leigh vs. Laundry. Leigh's project is meant to bring happiness to the blogosphere, and I'm going to try to help out! All I have to do is post a picture of something that makes me happy. Some weeks that might be hard to accomplish, but I am going to try.
I'm still doing pretty good at working out, and eating well. I haven't stuck to a salad every day, but I've tried. Saturday we didn't have much in the house to eat, and no one wanted to go get take out, so I rummaged through the pantry and realized I had all the ingredients for a recipe my friend Katie has share with me a few times (first she just gave me the recipe, then she put it on our Facebook group page as a low fat/low calorie recipe).
This Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is very tasty! I topped mine with low fat cheese, light sour cream and 1/2 an avocado. But top yours with whatever you'd like! The recipe makes a lot, so it would be a great dinner for the whole family, or you can save it for lunches for yourself through the week (I'm having some after Zumba tonight!) Thanks for sharing Katie!
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
2 cans (10 oz each) Ro*Tel® Mexican Diced Tomatoes, undrained (or plain diced tomatoes if you don't like spicey foods)
1 can (16 oz each) Rosarita® Fat-Free Refried Beans
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
2 cans (14 oz each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
Fried corn tortilla strips or chips, optional
Shredded cheddar cheese, optional
Place undrained tomatoes, beans, corn and broth in medium saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. Stir until combined. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.Add chicken; heat until hot. Serve topped with tortilla strips and cheese, if desired.
For each 1 1/3 cup serving: 151 calories, 3 grams fat (1 g saturated), 3 grams fiber, 856 mg sodium, 16 grams protein, 34 mg cholesterol, 15 g carbs.
I am addicted to the Internet. I subscribe to many different blogs, but most of them can be categorized at "Mommy Blogs". Some people take offense to that category, but those are the blogs I relate to most. Because even though I'm Not JUST a Mom, that IS first and foremost what I am.
Anyway....in honor of US Mother's Day (yeah, yeah, I know, this post is a little late) I'm sharing some of my favorite Mom blogs with you. NOTE: Some of these are not safe for kids. So if you are a kid, don't read them.
I have started frequenting a site that hosts giveaways every day. Comments are only open for 24 hours (or less) and you have to check back everyday to see if you won, and of course to see what the next giveaway is. My Giveaway Today rocks! There are usually only 3 or 4 ways to enter, and it is really easy to do so.
I entered a giveaway a week or so ago, and I only entered one of the ways and I WON! SWEET! I really don't enter as many giveaways as you might think (I only enter the ones I really want to win) and sometimes I don't do everything I can to enter multiple times. So I love that I DO win every once in a while.
Trying is the key word. And notice I didn't say, "trying to lose weight" or "trying to count calories". I've done those things before, and I just get frustrated at the lack of results, and quit.
I've joined some of my friends in a support campaign to start working out more often, start eating healthier, and to keep each other going in our individual goals. We share low-fat, low-calorie recipes, we've posted foods we have found that taste great and are healthy alternatives to our normal foods, we share music play lists that get our hearts pumping, and overall encourage each other to get out and get moving.
So far, I am doing fairly well....I had 11 workouts last month (which is HUGE for me) and have vowed to workout 17 times this month (4 of those workouts are going to be a local Zumba class) and I have tried to have some kind of healthy meal at least once a day (Chick-fil-A salads are so yummy). So to keep myself accountable (not sure I like that word, but whatever) I am also going to put a new section over there on the right side of my blog that lists what I have done that day to make myself healthier. And I will periodically share some of the fun recipes and foods my friends and I have found , just in case you've made some of the same goals we have.
If you've got any great tips, or suggestions of things that have worked for you feel free to share them in the comments. 'Cuz I'm not to proud to ask for comments.
A few posts ago I talked about how great the weather was and how much fun we had spending the day at a park as a family. I was thinking it was great to have something positive to write about, something fun, something out of the ordinary that got us out of our tedious, scheduled world. It was great until I realized I jinxed the whole state of Utah. I talked about the weather, and Mother Nature decided to laugh at us. We had more rain, more snow, and more cold days that made it seem like January instead of April. Almost every day we woke up to snow, I complained about it, and it continued.
I will no longer write about the weather. I do not want to jinx us again. I DO NOT want the month of May to be like the end of the month of April. I vow to keep my mouth shut when it warms up. I will however, post wordless pics of us enjoying the sun and the warmth and the fun that this summer will bring. So keep an eye out for them, they will be coming your way soon. I hope.
You would think I could keep it together enough to blog about the things I say I'm gonna blog about. Sometimes it takes a gentle reminder or request from a reader to make me stay on top of it (thanks Holly!)
You would also think it would be easy for me to blog once a month about the movies we watch for my Movie MOMS group. Just stop thinking! As a Mom, I've found that what I think should be happening, and what actually happens are two completely opposite things. But I'll try harder....promise.
So as I said, Holly reminded me that I haven't given my views on the movies we watched for Movie MOMS in April. So here they are...and if you've seen them, feel free to give your own views in the comments.
The first movie I watched was Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I was looking forward to seeing it, since there was a lot of hype surrounding it and Penelope Cruz's performance as Maria Elena (she won an Oscar for the role). But to tell you the truth, I wasn't all that impressed with it. Maybe because of the hype, I was expecting more than what I saw, or maybe it was because I wasn't able to watch it uninterrupted (it wasn't the kids either, they were asleep). I liked Scarlet Johansson in her role as Cristina, she was very good portraying a more bohemian, free spirited, open minded individual. Even if she didn't know what she wanted out of life in the long run, she was good at living her life for the moment, and that is something we all need to learn how to do. As for Vicky, Rebecca Hall was good at portraying her, but I'm not so sure I liked the kind of person Vicky is. She didn't seem open to change. She had her life all planned out, and she had an idea of how things were supposed to be, but when her feelings about life, and her fiancee' changed, she tossed them aside totally willing to live a life of unhappiness. I know a lot of people liked this film, but it isn't in my top 10. I AM going to put it in my Netflix queue again, and see if I can watch it uninterrupted, and get a new perspective on it.
The second film I watched was Kolya. It is a foreign film, so we joked we needed to read the movie (subtitles), but it is the best movie I've ever had to read. Since many of you haven't heard of this movie let me give you the description from Netflix:
"In Soviet Czechoslovakia, middle-aged concert cellist and bachelor Frantisek Louka (Zdenek Sverak) is strapped for cash, reduced to playing funerals, when a chance relationship results in his caring for a 5-year-old Russian boy, Kolja (Andrei Chalimon). Political turmoil is imminent on the eve of the Velvet Revolution, while Louka's own emotional upheaval is just as unpredictable in this heartwarming, Oscar- and Golden Globe-winning tale."
Heartwarming, is one of the best words to describe this film. It is steeped in Czech history, and made me want to learn more about the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). Mostly because a lot of this was going on during my lifetime, and even though I was young, I find it interesting how much the world has changed just in the 30 some odd years I've been alive. Anyway.....this movie was so sweet, and loving, I admit I cried in a few spots. And I loved seeing how a person can change all because of a kid. The way Louka took responsibility for a child that wasn't even related to him, was heartfelt and sweet. The one thing I couldn't figure out though (and my discussion group agreed) is why so many women were so attracted to not so attractive older man that doesn't have a decent job (he was kicked out of the philharmonic) or a decent place to live. If you can figure it out, let me know. BUT I totally recommend you see this movie at least once.
May's movies for my Movie MOMS are Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead. They are my choices, and since there seems to be an influx of monster themed movies I thought it appropriate to see a couple of comedy based monster movies. I'll let you know what everyone thought of them, once we meet to discuss. I'm putting a reminder in my calendar NOW so I will actually follow through.
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