Favorite Movies

Day #28 of the Happiness Challenge: Watch your favorite movie

I have been working on this entry for a long time!  When the Happiness Challenge suggested that I watch my favorite movie I knew the main challenge for me was how I was going to narrow it down.  How was I suppose to pick my favorite movie?  Like I do most things when I can't make up my mind- random number generator.  But I had to write down what my most favorite movies are and I could probably spend a whole year hashing out this list.  But I did my best and I have to say it didn't turn out too bad.  Some of the movies could cross categories but in an effort to put in my most favorites I did it the way I did.  There are movie series such as Harry Potter,that belong together and in my mind and on this list I couldn't separate them- so the got there own category.  This is not a definitive list as there are always new movies coming out and I might have forget a movie that I really enjoyed (it happens).  Any way, it was fun trying to narrow it all down- enjoy!

Trying to decide the favorite movie to watch is the tough part!  So I am going to write it out.  Here is my line up.

Top Ten Favorite Disney/Pixar Movies
1.  Up
2.  Inside Out
3.  Tangled
4.  Beauty and the Beast
5.  Aladdin
6.  Frozen
7.  Mulan
8.  Brave
9.  Moana
10. The Emperor's New Groove

Top Ten Family Movies (non animated)
1.  Princess Diaries
2.  Hook
3.  National Treasure
4.  Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (original)
5.  Enchanted
6.  George of the Jungle
7.  The Jungle Book (the one they use to show on Disney channel, it would have been around 1995)
8.  Remember the Titans
9.  Galaxy Quest
10. Ella Enchanted
It is mostly animated but I want to squeeze The Lego Movie in here somewhere. 

Top Ten Favorite Comedies
1.  Zoolander 
2.  Meet the Parents
3.  Groundhog Day
4.  National Lampoon Family Vacation
5.  Napoleon Dynamite
6.  Liar Liar
7.  Office Space
8.  Zombieland 
9.  The Hangover
10. Men in Black

Top Ten Period Movies
1.  Anne of Green Gables/Avonlea- It is just one really long movie to me!
2.  A Little Princess
3.  Pride and Prejudice (I love both- there I said it.  Don't make me choose!  You can't make me.)

4.  Little Women
5.  Sense and Sensibility 
6.  The Young Victoria
7.  Ever After
8.  An Education 
9.  Wuthering Heights 
10. The Patriot
I am squeezing in the Knight's Tale.  It just needs to be here somewhere.

Top Ten Action/Sci-fi/Fantasy Movies (I don't watch many of these types of movies that aren't attached together with a series so I clumped them all together)
1.  Wonder Woman
2.  Die Hard
3.  The Martian
4.  Pan's Labyrinth
5.  Independence Day
6.  Air Force One
7.  The Book of Eli
8.  Aeon Flux 
9.  Armageddon
10. The Fugitive

Top Ten Chick Flicks
1.  13 Going on 30
2.  The Wedding Singer
3.  Miss Congeniality
4.  Music and Lyrics
5.  Notting Hill
6.  50 First Dates
7.  Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!
8.  Two Weeks Notice
9.  10 Things I Hate About You
10.  Date Night

Top Ten Drama Movies
1.  Life is Beautiful
2.  Slumdog Millionaire
3.  Inglorious Bastards
4.  Les Miserables (the old one not the musical)
5.  12 Years a Slave
6.  The Count of Monte Cristo
7.  Leon: The Professional
8.  Little Miss Sunshine
9.  Forrest Gump
10. The Help

Top 10 Musicals
1.  The Sound of Music
2.  The Kind and I
3.  Bride and Prejudice 
4.  My Fair Lady
5.  West Side Story
6.  The Wizard of Oz
7.  Mama Mia!
8.  Oliver! or Annie (I can't decide between the orphans!)
9.  Singing in the Rain
10.  High School Musical (I can't remember which are which but I remember really liking them)

My 10 Favorite Movie franchises-  that Beg for a Marathon


Harry Potter
Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit
Star Wars
X-Men
Marvel (there are so many I would narrow it down to these seven:  Thor, Marvel's The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, and Thor Ragnorak)
Back to the Future
Toy Story
Oceans 11, 12, 13 (and even though it isn't out yet Oceans 8 will be awesome I am sure!)
Hunger Games
The Chronicles of Narnia


So after all that what did I end up watching...................

Opps- you can't see it....

I love this movie.  It came at a time in my life when I was probably a little depressed and bored.  It put my own life into perspective and it just gives me the feels.  Don't we all want someone to pursue us the way Jamal did for Latika?  Plus I just love the music.  I usually put it on while I am running.  I don't usually watch the Academy Awards but the year this one won 8 Oscars I was genuinely intrigued.  I don't actually own this movie but I have the soundtrack.  Side note- I also think my Dev Patel looks like my brother.  Which also reminds me- I loved the movie Lion starring Dev Patel as well.  I cried buckets!  My husband would probably also like me to mention that the first time I watched this movie without him first even though he got it from the library so we could watch it together- oops!  I gladly watched it twice!.
 

Also I did Day # 31 of the Happiness Challenge- treat yourself to something sweet.  I picked up some Reese's Pieces (probably one of the best movie candies there is) and a Kombucha.  Since this is a movie that takes place in India I also had some leftover Dalma.  It was a great day

What is your favorite movie?  What is your favorite sweet treat? 

Take a Day Off of Work

Dearest Reader,

I am a stay at home mom.  I will be honest- I don't REALLY do much.  I am a pretty lazy, selfish person.  I keep telling myself that one of these days I will get a job that pays actual money because realistically from this vantage point I am looking at a future that isn't secure.  But the timing hasn't been right.  My husband doesn't have set hours.  I don't have an easy back up plan for who would watch the kids while I am at work.  My oldest is almost there but she is also not the most responsible.  *Shrugs*  In God's Timing- am I right? 

I'm not a complete slob but I can relate to this- Saturday Night Live Couch Panini/No Bra Ever

There was a year when I did dedicate myself as a homemaker and homeschool mom, but our family decided to go in a different direction.

All this- blah, blah, blahing just to say....I took a day off of "work" this Tuesday.  This is Day 27 of the Happiness Challenge that I am doing at my own pace.  I actually take Tuesdays "off" normally but I thought I would say I officially  spent this Tuesday just chilling, reading, and eating delicious food fast food.  Yep, I ate food from McDonalds.  I didn't cook.  I didn't clean.  I read The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith aka J.K, Rowling for my Popsugar Reading Challenge.  That was it!  What a wonderful lazy day!

In Honor of Rochelle Onifade

What do you like to do on your lazy day?  Or are you a go go go person?  You probably wouldn't be reading this if you were the go go go person- but you never know what you can stumble across on in Internet world.

Yours Truly,

L.L.

Places to Visit

In an effort to write more often I am just going to do it even if it doesn't make much sense.  But I need some help with prompts so after looking up on pinterest and google I found this so it should be helpful for now as I type away.

Let me start with the places I have visited first so we can have some context as to places I have NOT visited.  I have visited a few places.  Some more notable than others.  Some places I have actually lived in and some places I only know because my parents told me about it.  I have visited Australia, Mexico, Hawaii, Nevada, California, Utah, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Canada, Disneyland, Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Crater Lake.  I have been through a few places in Europe but only as a baby so I don't think those count.  As I type all of this I am pretty sure I have not forgotten anything.  I am in danger of playing the comparison game, but I know this isn't a LOT of places, but I also like to think it is a good amount.  I am sure there are people who never really get to go any where and there are people who choose or have the ability and means to go wherever they want and take it.  With only a few minor exceptions most of theses places were visited because of my parents.  As a grownup I haven't been brave enough nor saved enough to venture out on my own.

Now in a world where anything is possible there are three places I would like to visit before I die.  England, Italy, and Israel are those places.  I honestly don't think much about touring through America though that seems more logical.  I am much more interested in literature, food, and religion.  I feel strongly and fiercely connected to these countries because of how important those three things are to me.

England- because Harry Potter and Jane Austen- duh!  There is no other place in the world that holds the richness of literature, culture, and manners.

Italy- because it is my birth place, home of the Pope, and the best food on the planet.  I don't have to eat all the food in the world to know that the best food and drink has got to be in Italy.

 

Israel- because Jesus chose this nation for a reason and I want to walk where He walked.  Middle Eastern culture is such a mystery to me and I would love an eye opening experience.

I don't want to say I will never be able to go to these places but I want to be realistic too.  I know I am lazy and I know the effort and work it would take to get to these places.  But for now just let me dream that I will win a million dollars.

A more realistic dream right now is going to The Wizarding World in Hollywood and even that is going to be tough but this one I am willing to work for and know it is achievable.

These are the places I want to visit.  Where do you want to visit?  Where have you visited? 

Sending a Postcard

Dearest Reader,

I bet you thought I forgot about you and the Happiness Challenge.  I did not.  You are always in the back of my mind!  But now I bring you to the front.  I have been toying with thoughts of getting a job because my main obstacle is financial.  They are just thoughts that don't turn into action.  I don't know.  I can barely handle someone coming over for dinner- I don't think I can handle a new job without a ton of support.

 

Any way, I FINALLY did number 26- send someone you miss a postcard.  I sent it to my roommate from college.  I have been putting this one off for ages now because of so many excuses- it is almost unbelievable.

I miss her so much it hurts.  I would get a job if I thought I could save enough money to go visit her.  But then I would be filled with guilt for not visiting my parents.  But then I would argue with myself that this is my life.  I can decide who I want to visit.  And then I would argue with myself that technically my life belongs to God and I can't do whatever I want.  But then I wouldn't go any where because God doesn't actually tell me where to go.  And this cycle of madness continues.

Do you ever feel like this or am I the only one?

Yours Truly,
L.L.

My Life Story in 5 Sentences

I was born in Napels, Italy the first born child to Kevin and Marie.


My childhood was full of fun- riding bikes, rollerskating, going to church, being homeschooled, eating potato chips till I puked, and just being a kid in California. 

Teen years were awkward.

College was way TOO fun.

Married on my 24th birthday to an awesome guy and made a family of three little girls. 

Lent is Over...Easter is Here

I just wanted to reflect on the last half of Lent and now we are into the Easter season.  Easter may be only one day for Protestants but for Catholics it is a whole season.  To keep the spirit going and to know that I haven't just flaked out here is my long picture project with quotes. 

"We all are human, we all have weaknesses, and throughout this, just being able to share that and be transparent--I know when I listen to people speak and they share their weaknesses, I'm listening." -Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback

What I'm Praying For

" 'Thank you' is the best prayer that anyone could say.  I say that one a lot.  Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, and understanding." -Alice Walker

Discipline

 

"Meaning well is only half our duty." -Samuel Gridley Howe, Abolutionist

Giving

"The God of all grace who called you to eternal glory through Christ will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little." - I Peter 5:10

Wisdom

"For Jesus, there are no countries to be conquered, no ideologies to be imposed, no people to be dominated.  There are only children, women, and men to be loved." -Henri Nouwen

Mentor

"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it." -Lena Horne, singer and actress

Bowl

"This is the choice before us: either try to revolutionize the world and break under it or revolutionize ourselves and remake the world." -Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

Volunteering

"The simplest things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them." -Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Family Time

"No one has ever become poor by giving." -Anne Frank

Recharge

"If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?" -Tina Fey

Learning

"A saint is a sinner who keeps trying." -St. Josemaria Escriva

Favorite Saint

"The point is not to pay back kindness, but to pass it on." -Julia Alvarez, author and poet

#Blessed

"You better cut the pizza into four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." -Yogi Berra

Stations of the Cross

"And as it turns out, if one person is praying for you, buckle up.  Things can happen." -Anne Lamott, "Help, Thanks, Wow"

Luck

"Most good things have been said far too many times and just need to be lived." -Shane Claiborne, author and activist

Rest

"I was amazed that what I needed to survive could be carried on my back.  And, most surprising of all, that I could carry it." -Cheryl Strayed, Wild

Practice

"As for ourselves, yes, we must be meek, bear injustice, malice, rash judgement.  We must turn the other cheek, give up our cloak, go a second mile." -Dorothy Day

Spring

"There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread." -Mahatma Gandhi

Good Samaritan

"I don't know half of you half as well as I should like." -Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring

#LastYearsLent

 

"All of our lives are important, even the parts of our past that we have ignored, downplayed, or forgotten.  If we open the door to our past, we will discover God there, accompanying us in both happy and sad moments." -Fr. James Martin, Jesus: A Pilgramage

Kitchen

 

"Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world." -Brene Brown

Act of Service

"The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen." -Rachel Naomi Remen, author

Palms

"The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays." -Soren Kierkegaard

Personal Note

"Let us carry our crosses with love.  Let us see that they do not become a burden to others.  But let us help others to carry theirs." -St. John Bosco

Neighbor

"Fasting is the first principle of medicine; fast and see the strength of the spirit reveal itself." -Rumi

Reflection

"The only way we can make a change is if we commit to change." -Whoopi Goldberg

Wash

"It is not the finest wood that feeds the fire of Divine love, but the wood of the Cross." -St. Ignatius of Loyola

Jesus

"Wait. Be patient.  The storm will pass.  The spring will come." -Robert H. Schuller, Televangelist

Waiting

"Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!" -Luke 24:5-6

Alleluia!

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

Half Way through Lent

"I like rice.  Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2000 of something." -Mitch Heberg, comedian

Bread

We are so nearly at the halfway point of Lent already!  I have been busy trying to keep up some goals and failing miserably at others- especially any goals that have to do with food.  While I haven't been eating MUCH bread that wasn't from my own two hands I have been eating some.  The kitchen is a war zone so it is hard to get back in there to tackle it.  

"It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up." -Eckhart Tolle, author

Pay it Forward

I have had so many wonderful moments to be grateful for this Lent.  My church has started up the Secret Sister program again and I could not be more excited to pray for and give gifts to my secret sister.  Here is a picture of the card and gift table set up for the occasion.  

"If you see something beautiful in someone, speak to it." -Ruthie Lindsey, interior designer

#Placestopray

Jesus has been especially present in this busy time.  When you live right across the street from the church and you have a key you can really catch up on the Lent photo challenge especially when you are struggling for ideas or the ideas you originally had aren't panning out.  It is wonderful and refreshing to see the beautiful in the ordinary every day things.  Which leads me right into the next quote...

"It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants.  The question is: What are we busy about?" -Henry David Thoreau

Motivation

Every day and always I need to remember what my real motivation is- not weight loss, not recognition, not even my family (though that does not discount my responsibilities of course), but my motivation is the cross of Christ.  His glory and His glory alone should be my motivation and I need to be constantly reminded because I am weak.  

"I will fight for those who cannot fight for themselves."-Diana, Wonder Woman

Path

The priveldge to find spiritual reads is one I treasure during Lent.  I have been able to read about the life of Saint Francis of Assisi.  I especially was challenged to focus on prayers and meditation and it inspired me to research the lives of the Poor Clares who are still working today.  I learn so much during Lent.  

"Love is never wasted, for its value does not rest on reciprocity." -C.S. Lewis

Pretzels

We finally did something during Lent I have wanted to do since I first started observing 4 years ago now.  We made pretzels!  They were so delicious!  I would have made at least 2 or 3 more batches but ran out of yeast and flour!  Below is the video of the recipe we used in case you need this deliciousness in your life and I am not able to gift it to you.  

"Learn to be quiet enough to hear the genuine within yourself so you can hear it in others." -Marian Wright Edelman, activist

Guidance

 For the little Sacred Heart prayer chapel in Sublimity, they play the Rosary and I have been slowly learning how it works.  Honestly, I use to think this was an idol prayer full of meaningless repetition and not even directed to Jesus but rather to Mary.  As I have come to understand it and still it is a tad awkward, but I absolutely see the beauty in it.  I see the contemplation in it.  We don't have much of that in our world today.  In any case, I haven't felt anything like praying the Rosary and I don't think there is anything inherently wrong about praying it even if I am not Catholic.  

"Lent is a time to renew wherever we are in that process that I call the divine therapy.  It's a time to look at what our instinctual needs are, look at what the dynamics of our unconscious are." -Father Thomas Keating, Trappist Monk

Meatless Meal?

My daughter had her friend spend the night and we had fun with our snack meal celebrating Dr. Seuss.  What does that have to do with Lent?  Um...I don't know...One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish Friday?  I have an instinctual need to celebrate in this way and what fun to celebrate with a friend and well loved books even in the middle of a time when called to reflect.

"The greatest danger to our future is apathy." -Jane Goodall

Community

I wish I had been able to participate in this fun church community event but alas I wanted to make sure I had the house cleaned for Sunday youth group and I was uncertain about my availability for this day.  But again with the blessings of God I was I able to take a picture for my project to remind me that I am not alone and my church family will be there for me even when I can't participate as fully as I wish.  

WOW!  What a blessed Lententide this has been and we still have at least three more weeks to go!  I hope you are having a blessed time reflecting on Christ's suffering and are able to refocus on prayer, fasting and giving and if not you can always start NOW!  It is not too late (never too late) to have a Lenten experience.