5 Minutes: New Years Resolutions

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So its rare for people to keep their New Year's Resolutions. I'm aware. And I'm no different. My resolutions have ranged from working out to reading a book a week to getting up earlier to small stupid things and I don't think I've ever kept any of them. This year, I want to think in more general terms, less specific. Maybe then I could at least accomplish the task of aiming in a specific direction.

I want to be more focused in 2009. I want to be more directed toward the things that matter the most to me. I want to be a better wife and a better friend and I want to use more discernment in my speech. I tend to get so passionate about something that I speak in a way that comes off as much more aggressive than I intended. I'm not sure what that says about me or what it means in general, but it is what it is and when it comes down to it, I don't like it.

I want to be more disciplined in 2009. I would like to wake up earlier and work out and read and study and eat better and just overall do better for myself. This always proves to be the hardest thing. I get apathetic and lazy and I end up acting the same as I did the year before. I wonder what year, if any, will cause this to change.

I am so far from the person I want to be, although it's amazing that I'm more secure with myself than I've ever been before. I still feel like there's miles to go before I sleep. When I really think about it, I guess I don't want to ever lose that. I never want to become complacent about who I am and where I need to be. I want to always be striving to be better. And one thing I'm hoping I can count on in 2009 is people surrounding me that push me to be better as well. I hope that's what I can offer to them. I hope people are better for having known me. I'm not there yet and I apologize for that, but maybe this year will be a life-changing kind of year. I hope for nothing less.

Links to read before the New Year

Stuff Christians Like talks about Making Christian-Flavored Resolutions in 2009. It's really funny!

2008 Top 10 Best Moments of the Whedonverse

Ladies of 2008: 10 Babes That Made Their Mark

The Honor Roll: 20 People That Made an Impact in 2008

The 20 Best Music Videos of 2008 (Rolling Stone)

AFI Salutes Top Moments of 2008

The 10 Coolest Movie Posters of 2008

100 Best Singles of 2008

Check out the list and let me know what your favorites are!

These are my favorites from the list:
I'm Amazed - My Morning Jacket
Viva la Vida - Coldplay
Disturbia - Rihanna
Spaceman - The Killers
Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
Low - Flo Rida featuring T-Pain
Yes We Can - Will.i.amcol

Quote for the Day

"The pain I feel now is the happiness I had before. That’s the deal."

-C.S. Lewis

TV.com Top 100 of 2008

TV.com is posting their Top 100 of 2008 list. They haven't posted all of them yet, but below are the links for what they have posted:

100 - 91
90 - 81 (link isn't working right now)
80 - 71
70 - 61
60 - 51

Click here for all their lists and to see when the rest of the Top 100 is posted.

My favorite thing on the list so far is Whedonesque! Any Joss Whedon fans should check it out!

Trailer: Veronika Decides to Die

We all know I love SMG. I'll definitely be seeing this! I'm going to read the book first, too!

Quote for the Day

"If a small thing has the power to make you angry, does that not indicate something about your size?"

-Sydney J. Harris

Moves I Still Need to See

I saw Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire this weekend. Now, based on the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award nominees, this is my remaining list of movies to see.

Doubt (5 SAG nominations and 5 GG nominations)
Frost/Nixon (2 SAG nominations and 5 GG nominations)
Revolutionary Road (1 SAG nomination and 4 GG nominations)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (1 SAG nomination and 4 GG nominations)
The Reader (4 GG nominations)
Milk (3 SAG nominations and 1 GG nomination)
Changeling (1 SAG nomination and 2 GG nominations)
Rachel Getting Married (1 SAG nomination and 1 GG nomination)
The Visitor (1 SAG nomination)

But also, as much as I try to, I just can't build any desire to see The Wrestler (1 SAG nomination and 3 GG nominations).

Oscar nominations are not announced until January 22, so I'm not sure yet what those will be, but I'm assuming they will be similar to these.

Buffy, Buffy, Buffy!!!

Buffy: Season 1 Trailer


Parade Magazine Buffy quiz!!

Quote for the Day

“You’ve got to own your own days and name them, each one of them, every one of them, or else the years go right by and none of them belong to you.”
-Herb Gardner

Benjamin Button & Slumdog Millionaire

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I saw Benjamin Button today. I loved it! I thought it was beautiful and funny and intelligent. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were fabulous as they always are. It was definitely in my Top 10 movies for the year. It was a little long, but it didn't feel as long as it was.


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I also saw Slumdog Millionaire tonight. I thought it was fabulous!! It was not quite as easy to watch as Benjamin Button was because parts of it were just difficult and sad, but it was definitely really great and I understand the Oscar buzz. I thought the main guy in it who plays Jamal Malik was perfect. He was kind-of shy and goofy, but still charming and believable as an orphan who had been through everything he had been through. I highly recommend seeing it.

The problem is, Slumdog Millionaire would definitely also be in my Top 10 movies for the year, so it is going to have to bump out Definitely, Maybe.

Dead Man's Bones: In the Room Where You Sleep

In The Room Where You Sleep


This is Ryan Gosling's band, Dead Man's Bones. I really wanted to like it, but I don't think I do. Maybe if I heard it on cd or heard some other songs.

What do you think?

The Barbarian Way

"When Christianity becomes just another religion, it focuses on requirements. Just to keep people in line, we build our own Christian civilization and then demand that everyone who believes in Jesus become a good citizen. It's hard to imagine that Jesus would endure the agony of the Cross just to keep us in line."
-Erwin Raphael McManus
The Barbarian Way


I got together with my girls Bible study group from high school today. We all only get to really see each other about once or twice a year because everyone is spread out all over the US now. It was really fun and I realized how blessed I've been in my life to have some good friends who understand that Jesus is the point of Christianity - not rules, not religion, not "keeping people in line" like it says above - but Jesus. I wish more people understood that. I think it would shift the tide when it comes to the role of the church in the world today.

Best of 2008

Jaye & Matt both posted their versions of a Best of 2008 list - Jaye's is only albums, so I'm looking forward to a movie and tv list from him, but I thought I'd give it a shot. None of these are in order. I just can't do that.

Movies
1. The Dark Knight
2. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
3. Sex and the City: The Movie
4. Iron Man
5. Seven Pounds
6. Twilight
7. Quantum of Solace
8. Definitely, Maybe
9. High School Musical 3
10.
(Honestly, I'm holding a spot open for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I'll let you know for sure as soon as I see it!)

TV
1. One Tree Hill
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. Bones
4. Ellen Degeneres
5. Gossip Girl
6. Saturday Night Live
7. The Office
8. 90210
9. Samantha Who?
10. House

Music
1. The Killers - Day & Age
2. Ray Lamontagne - Gossip in the Grain
3. Twilight Soundtrack
4. Coldplay - Viva la Vida
5. Jack's Mannequin - The Glass Passenger
6. Angels & Airwaves - I-Empire
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Score
(I only have 7 this year)

Movie News!!

Alan Rickman talked about Alice in Wonderland during a recent interview. Apparently the movie will include live action, animation and stop motion. I get more interested the more I hear about the movie! I love Tim Burton! Rickman will be playing The Caterpillar in the movie.

Check out the info about Couples Retreat! It's a new movie directed by Peter Billingsley and written by Jon Favreau. It stars Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Kristen Bell and Kristin Davis! I'm excited about it!


Baz Luhrmann's next movie is going to be The Great Gatsby!! I'm excited!!!!!


Click here for the full list of SAG Award Nominees!

Quote for the Day

“However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The faultfinder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is.”
-Henry David Thoreau

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

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I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!!

New in Theaters 12/25/2008

Most excited about: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Also being released:
Bedtime Stories
The Spirit
Revolutionary Road (limited)
Valkyrie
Marley & Me
Last Chance Harvey (limited)

Movie News

I Love You, Man
I think this looks funny. I like Paul Rudd, I like Andy Samberg, I like Jason Segel. I'll probably like the movie!


There is now an official X-Men Origins: Wolverine logo and website! Check out the site!

Photos that Changed the World

I was looking at these pictures the other day. Some of them, I had already seen and some of them were new to me. Some of them are really emotional.

Check it out.

Quote for the Day

“Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees.”
-Victor Hugo

7 Reasons Why I'm Crazy

My friend Jessica tagged me on her blog for this "7 Things" post where you post 7 things about yourself that people may not know. While I am pretty talkative and tend to reveal all kinds of things about myself to people, I'll be hard-pressed to find 7 things that NO ONE knows about me, but I'll do my best.

1. I had a pink dress and pink hair for my senior prom. Actually everyone who went knows this, but it was hideous and one of my more embarrassing memories.

2. When I get bored, I play entire Friends episodes in my head. There are about 4 that I can see and hear scene-for-scene, word-for-word in my head.

3. As much as I love movies and tv, there are only a few celebrities for whom I would actually freak out if I met them. I would either freeze up and just stare and not move or I might cry.

4. I have never been fishing. Ever.

5. If someone tells me that they don't listen to music, I secretly lose all interest in them as a human being. I don't understand that at all. Everyone has to listen to some kind of music.

6. I never work out and I have only gained a total of 13 pounds since graduating high school. I don't know why and I'm secretly waiting for it to catch up to me.

7. The only time I'm completely honest is when I've been drinking (which isn't very often). I hold way more back than people think I do.

Honorable Mention: I saw Twilight 5 times in the theater and I have plans to see it one more time at the dollar theater. And I still can't give it over a C rating. I do not sincerely believe there is crack in that storyline. I am in the process of reading the series for the 2nd time.


So now 7 blogs I think you should check out and that I am tagging to do their own 7 Things post.
1. Emily's Post
2. Not Your Plain Jane
3. Ria's Rhetoric
4. What Would Wesley Do
5. Kaintuckeean
6. Greg, Sarah & Ivy
7. Jen's Journal

Rachael Yamagata & Ray Lamontagne

Click here and listen to the song Duet by Rachael Yamagata & Ray Lamontagne!

I love it!!!

Photos of 2008: Natural Disasaters

This is just an interesting link with pictures of the natural disasters from this year.

Quote for the Day

“If Joan of Arc could turn the tide of an entire war before her eighteenth birthday, you can get out of bed.”
— E. Jean Carroll

Robert Pattinson has new hair

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What do you think of the new hair?

Favorite Friend Quotes of the Day 12/22/2008

"You know, the best part of these nuts is the salt."
-Susan

"She likes salty nuts."
-Mechelle

DVD Releases through December

Apparently DVD releases get weird in December, so here's what's left this year:

On December 19, these were released:
The Women
The House Bunny
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Merry Christmas, Drake and Josh!

On December 21, these were released:
Burn After Reading
Death Race

On December 27, these will be released:
The Duchess
Eagle Eye
Ghost Town
Resident Evil: Degeneration

On December 30, these will be released:
Nip/Tuck - Season 5, Part 1

High School Musical 3 on DVD

High School Musical 3 is going to be released on DVD on February 17, 2009!

I'm excited!! I want to buy all 3 of them. I'm hoping there is some kind of set!

I'm a nerd.

Buffy/Whedon Gift Guide

This is absolutely amazing! It's a full list of gifts for the Joss Whedon fan!

My favorites stuff is at this site! I love the Willow tiki doll and the Buffy Keychain!!!

Twilight Christmas Wish

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Hilarious!

New Moon also has a tentative release date of November 2009! I hope they get it done that quick!!

Quote for the Day

“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people."
-Carl Jung

5 Minutes: too controversial

I wrote another one of my "5 Minutes" posts today and then deleted it because it was too controversial. It was too personal. It gave too much away. I do not blog to pass out little pieces of myself to random people over the internet. But if I could say one thing to cover the gist of what my 5 Minute piece was about it would be this:

If you enable someone to continue in their destructive behavior, whatever it may be, then you own part of who they become. You are partly to blame and should be ashamed of yourself.

Sorry, it's a very bold and very personal statement for me to make, but it's where my head and heart were today because of people I love.

PostSecret 12/21/2008

PostSecret

Movie & TV News

First Inglourious Basterds pictures! I'm really excited about this! It's the new Quentin Tarantino movie starring Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger. Click here for the IMDB page and click here for the story behind the movie.

Where the Wild Things Are has an official release date of October 16, 2009 and more official pictures.


American Idol is making several changes this year including shorter audition rounds, longer Hollywood-week round, no Idol Gives Back this year, and the return of the "wild card" round. There is also a 4th judge.

Trailer: The Proposal

I love Ryan Reynolds. I will be seeing this.

Quotes for the Day

“After all this is over, all that will really have mattered is how we treated each other.”
-Unknown

“I wanted to write about the moment when your addictions no longer hide the truth from you. When your whole life breaks down. That’s the moment when you have to somehow choose what your life is going to be about.”
-Chuck Palahniuk

Seven Pounds: NOT A SPOILER

The main thing I have heard people to say about this movie is "what is it even about?"

Please don't read too much about it or try to find out what it's about in detail before seeing it. They did that on purpose and after having seen it, I wouldn't have it any other way. Just go see it, let it be what it is. I promise that if you find out more about what the plot is, it will lose a little of its beauty. You have to just let it unfold. If you figure some of it out along the way or even early in the movie, that's not the point. People are always disappointed when they figure things out at the beginning. This movie is about the process. It's about the journey. Just enjoy it for what it is.

I will say this - it is probably the best I have ever seen Will Smith.

Theater Releases 12/19/2008

Most excited about: Seven Pounds

Also being released:
Yes Man
The Tale of Despereaux
The Wrestler (LA/NY)
Nothing But the Truth (LA/NY)

Top 10 in Movies in 2008

5 Best Music Moments in a Film Soundtrack in 2008 (Guardian.co.uk)

The Best Films of 2008 (In Contention)
Roger Ebert's Top 20 Films of 2008 (Film Junk)
The 14 Must See Movies of Awards Season 2008 (Film School Rejects)

According to these lists, I have even more of a desire than I already did to see...
Milk
Doubt
Revolutionary Road
Frost/Nixon
Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Slumdog Millionaire
The Reader
W.
Changeling
Vicky Christina Barcelona

Top Eco Lists of 2008

Top 10 Green Ideas of 2008 (Time Magazine)

Top 10 Victories for the Environmental Movement in 2008 (Planetsave)
Big in Green Awards 2008 (Ideal Bite)
Top 10 TreeHugger Stories of 2008 (TreeHugger)

List Day!!!

I love lists. Right now everyone is posting their lists of the Top things of 2008. I wanted to share my favorites with you today!!! It's pretty much all I have to say today, so I'm breaking it up into a couple of posts, beginning with...

Top 10 Everything of 2008 (Time Magazine)
It's a page with all their Top 10 lists for the entire year!

Quotes for the Day

“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
-Friedrich Nietzsche

"He awoke each morning with the desire to do right, to be a good and meaningful person, to be, as simple as it sounded and as impossible as it actually was, happy. And during the course of each day his heart would descend from his chest into his stomach. By early afternoon he was overcome by the feeling that nothing was right, or nothing was right for him, and by the desire to be alone. By evening he was fulfilled: alone in the magnitude of his grief, alone in his aimless guilt, alone even in his loneliness. I am not sad, he would repeat to himself over and over, I am not sad. As if he might one day convince himself. Or fool himself. Or convince others - the only thing worse than being sad is for others to know that you are sad. I am not sad. I am not sad. Because his life had unlimited potential for happiness, insofar as it was an empty white room. He would sleep with his heart at the foot of his bed, like some domesticated animal that was no part of him at all. And each morning he would wake with it again in the cupboard of his rib cage, having become a little heavier, a little weaker, but still pumping. And by midafternoon he was again overcome with the desire to be somewhere else, someone else, someone else somewhere else. I am not sad.”
-Jonathan Safran Foer

5 Minutes: Tattoos & Jesus Freaks

(Pictures were taken with my iPhone - sorry they aren't digital camera pics)

First of all, it's actually a little nervewracking to do this. 5 minutes on the clock, write whatever comes to my mind and don't stop until the timer goes off. Eeek.

So Lewis got a new tattoo this weekend - a really big one on his arm. (See pictures above.) The tattoo actually means a lot to him personally and spiritually and to the two of us together. Tattoos are something that I always wanted and always had an appreciation for, possibly because my dad has one and possibly just because I am who I am. But tattoos were not always something that Lewis wanted. I sort-of had an affect on that, as did many other things in the last few years of his life. He now has 3 big tattoos and he wants more.

Some people have given me some grief about tattoos - which is fine. Everyone is welcome to their own opinion, but I would like to share mine - as just a voice in the midst of many. When it comes to your kids getting tattoos - as long as it's not a super offensive word or picture - if tattoos are the worst thing you're dealing with, you're doing okay. If I have a child who is respectful, honest, sincere, well-behaved and sober, I will not put up a fight when it comes to the color of their hair, their clothing, tattoos, piercings or any other superficial ridiculousness that could cause an argument. I will put up a fight about the state of their soul, the way they treat other people and the way they are fundamentally in themselves. I especially will not put up a fight about a tattoo that somehow describes an important and meaningful event or person or belief in their life.

Also, when it comes to my children, my highest goal will be to raise them in a way that promotes open, honest and sincere conversation about that world around them. Because I am a Christian I will always teach them and guide them in a way that reflects the things that I hold highest in my life, but almost even more-so because I am raising them in a Christian home - I want tattoos. Because if nothing else, I want them to know that it is the state of their heart and the state of their mind and soul that matters more than anything they could do or wear or put onto their bodies.

I just think it's important to emphasize what matters and let go the irrelevant arguments.

Movie and TV News

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First off, The Office's post-Super Bowl episode is going to include guest roles by Jack Black and Jessica Alba!


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Brad Pitt has signed on to play a real-life spy from the 1920's who disappeared with his son while searching for a lost, supposedly advanced city that they called Z. The movie will be called The Lost City of Z and the spy it is based on, Percy Fawcett, is supposedly George Lucas' inspiration for creating Indiana Jones.


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Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston are teaming up for a movie about a bounty hunter who has to track down his wife who has skipped bail. I think that sounds weird and stupid, but we'll see. She IS Rachel Green and he IS King Leonidas, so it's pretty much a guarantee that I will see it out of sheer adoration of the two of them.

Sherlock Holmes Pictures!!!

I get more excited about Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes the more I see of it! I love everyone involved and I just think it's going to be fabulous!! Too bad we have to wait until November 2009 to see it!!

Click here for official pictures from the movie and click here for some pictures of Rachel McAdams on the set. Also click here for Guy Ritchie's explanation of his version of Sherlock Holmes. He says it will "focus more on his physicality, including martial arts, as well as his investigative skills."

2 Eco Links

Style Will Save Us - Eco-Friendly Magazine & online shopping

The True Cost of 10 Everyday Items

Reasons why people don't like most Christians

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I think these two blogs hit home pretty hard in all areas. I agree with both. I think that Christians as a whole have some explaining to do. Keep in mind that both of these blogs are written by Christian bloggers who are just making observations about what they see around them.

7 Reasons Why I Don't Like Most Christians (Source: Think Differently)
10 Reasons I Don't Like Most Christians (Source: Tony Morgan)

The most interesting to me were:
They seem to worship their theology more than Jesus.
They're fake.
They're comfortable with mediocrity.
They shoot their wounded.
They copy, they don't innovate.

Quotes for the Day

-Source

“If we listened to our intellect, we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go into business, because we’d be cynical. Well, that’s nonsense. You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down.”
-Ray Bradbury

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Today is my friend Emily's birthday!!!
(This is posting at 12:01 AM 12/17/2008)

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She lives in Vegas with her husband Nate and I miss her terribly, but she'll be home for Christmas soon!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trying Something New...

I've decided that maybe I need to post more of my thoughts. I posted a survey and some people seemed to want to hear more of what I had to say, not just what I think about what other people had to say. So, while I think I may not be that intersting, we'll see how it works out.

I'm going to try to post once every few days and just pick one topic that has been relevant or interesting or important for my life recently and just write for 5 minutes without stopping or editing or thinking about it too much or getting scared about what I'm really saying. (This idea spun from something my friend Jessica did on her blog recently - "Stream of Un".)

I'll start tomorrow...
(I'm actually writing it right now and it will post tomorrow)

Mama Smors

I like to share my friends' blogs with the people who may read my blog and I can't remember if I already told you all about Sarah's blog or not, so just in case I'm telling you now.

Sarah and I have a lot of friends in common. From the time I was in early high school I think, we've been running into each other left and right because of friends we both knew. She is so sweet and she has a baby girl, Ivy, who is just her absolute favorite thing in the world - understandably. And she has a blog that I think is super cute!!

Please check out her blog and tell her I sent you!!!

The Shack

I finished The Shack yesterday and there were a couple of quotes that I thought were particularly interesting. The book is really different and it's very abstract and parts of it are fairly predictable, but I thought overall it was great. It had some really good points. These quotes are part of a conversation this man has with Jesus. Weird, I know. But it works.

"You mean," Mack interjected a little sarcastically, "that i can't just ask, 'What Would Jesus Do'?"
Jesus chuckled. "Good intentions, bad idea. Let me know how it works for you, if that's the way you choose to go." He paused and grew sober. "Seriously, my life was not meant to be an example to copy. Being my follower is not trying to 'be like Jesus,' it means for your independence to be killed. I came to give you life, real life, my life. We will come and live our life inside of you, so that you begin to see with our eyes, and hear with our ears, and touch with our hands, and think like we do. But, we will never force that union on you. If you want to do your thing, have at it. Time is on our side."

...

"As well-intentioned as it might be, you know that religious machinery can chew up people!" Jesus said with a bite of his own. "An awful lot of what is done in my name has nothing to do with me and is often, even if unintentional, very contrary to my purposes."
"You're not too fond of religion and institutions?" Mack said, not sure if he was asking a question or making an observation.
"I don't create insitutions - never have, never will."
"What about the institution of marriage?"
"Marriage is not an institution. It's a relationship." Jesus paused, his voice steady and patient. "Like I said, I don't create institutions; that's an occupation for those who want to play God. So no, I'm not too big on religion," Jesus said a little sarcastically, "and not very fond of politics or economics either." Jesus' visage darkened noticeably. "And why should I be? They are the man-created trinity of terrors that ravages the earth and deceives those I care about. What mental turmoil and anxiety does any human face that is not related to one of those three?"

Green Gifts!!

Looking for Green Christmas gifts?? Check out these two lists for some ideas!!

The Good Human Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Guide
10 Drool-Worthy Green Gifts for Everyone on Your List

My favorites are the Bazura Bags, the War on Plastic bags, and the Happy Sack reusable sandwich bags!!

Get your Twilight fix

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Just because I felt like it, here is a Twilight link I came across this week.

Rolling Stone Q&A with Rob Pattinson

Quotes for the Day

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Maybe they'll remind you of yourself as much as they remind me of myself...

“I know I’m an acquired taste: I’m anchovies. And not everyone wants those hairy little things. If I was potato chips, I could go more places.”
-Tori Amos

"I must learn to love the fool in me- the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries."
-Theodore Isaac Rubin

Top 10 Best Charity Christmas Gifts

Interested in buying someone a camel? Click here for the 10 Best Charity Christmas Gifts! You can sponsor a brain cell, help a student in Africa get a school uniform, provide pineapple plants and more! And I'm completely serious! All of it helps people in need more than you would think!!

Check it out!!

Currently Watching: Casino Royale

I'm watching this right now and this part just happened.

He's my favorite James Bond.

And he loves her.

Aw.