What I was into in August

Okay – I realized I needed to change my title a little bit; technically this is a post about what I was into in the month of August, so I didn’t need the title to have information about September. Does that make sense? I haven’t been making sense with the other posts. Ha-ha. Oh well, whether you’re on board with what I’m saying or you’re completely confused, I’ll press on to what I was into in August!

Books I Read:
What Maisie Knew by Henry James: I was inspired to read this after watching the movie (see below). The book was written in the late 1800s, so it definitely has a completely different feeling than the movie; which was adapted to take place in present day. The story is about a child that is shuttled between her divorced parents and essentially used a pawn in the games her parents play against each other; the young daughter is also used as a messenger as the childish parents throw barbs back and forth at one another. The book was alright, it really seemed slow at times and because it was written in the late 1800s, the context was pretty different as well – it is interesting to see subject matter that was very taboo in the late 1800s be dealt with as the main plot point of a book that was written in that very time period.

Happy Happy Happy by Phil Robertson – As I've mentioned before, I am really not a huge fan of reality TV, but I do love a good episode of Duck Dynasty. The Robertsons are hilarious without doing tacky, trashy things that seem to be so popular today, especially on TV. This book is Phil’s bio and has made a pretty good read so far (I’m not 100% done with it yet). It is interesting to read about how he came up with the company Duck Commander and the perseverance it took to get his business running when so many people told him it wouldn't work. Like he says in the book: never sell yourself short; you might end up being a millionaire!

A really good read - so far!

Under the Dome by Stephen King – I guess I (finally) finished this book in early August. I have to say, while I really enjoyed reading it…I guess I expected something different. I mean – SPOILER ALERT – aliens? I guess I should have known the general conclusion was that aliens were causing the dome since nothing of Earth could penetrate the thing, but still. Aliens? Eh…if you say so. The dome came down really late in the book and that was really it. I’m wondering now if the friend I talked to read the same book because almost nothing happened once the dome came down. People just rejoiced and kind of got back to their lives. I’m kind of hoping the TV show takes a different track. Only time will tell.

Books in the Queue:
Si-cology 1 by Si Robertson – That’s right, another book by another member of the Duck Dynasty clan. What can I say; I’m addicted to those funny folks and since I've enjoyed the other two Duck Dynasty related books, I figure this one is another good read!

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion – I've seen this movie and was really surprised that I liked it. I've always been a fan of the vampire genre but zombies really haven’t ever done anything for me. I was bored one Friday night and this movie was inexpensive on Pay Per View, so I ordered it and enjoyed it. I decided after I’d seen it, that I wanted to read the book it was based on – books are almost always better than the movie. Just saying.

World War Z by Max Brooks – Another zombie book! Who am I? I haven’t seen this movie and to be honest, I don’t really have the desire to. I've heard lots of really good things about this book though and since it was on sale in the Google Play store a couple weeks ago (that’s like the iTunes store for Google tablets) I decided I’d give it a read. Will it make me want to see the movie? Not sure – I've heard the movie and the book are VERY different.

Can't Miss Television:
Under the Dome – Yep, this is still on. Last time I checked, there are only two more episodes. Fall TV season is about to pick up and then there will be so many shows on this list that your head will spin. I’m serious. Having read this book, watching the show is something completely different. All these characters keep popping up and I think to myself “wait now…you are not in the book!” I guess that’s a good thing because I essentially have no clue what is going to happen or where the story is going since it is nothing like the book. The first season will wrap up in two weeks and I’m guessing since season two starts next summer, we’ll end the season still under the dome. Yeesh. I still love Barbie and Julia; hopefully those crazy kids can make it work when (if) the dome comes down – even though the fact that Barbie did kill Julia’s husband mere minutes before the dome came down might make things a little complicated….

Duck Dynasty – I do love this show! I know when I first heard of it, I thought that folks had lost their minds and it was just another run of the mill, watch the rednecks act like nuts kind of TV show. Granted, the show does feature quite a few rednecks and there is often quite a bit of time spent watching them act nuts, but the show has something else going for it. The wives are hilarious; navigating life with their bearded, wilderness loving husbands while they are dressed to the nines (Missy had on the cutest wedges on a recent episode!) and running the house as their husbands run wild. I think one of my favorite things is watching Papaw Phil teach his grand kids about how to live off the land and be thankful for all they have. I just enjoy everything about the show in general – and were you to ask who my favorite characters are, the answer is: Jase and Uncle Si! How about that Jack?

True Blood – The season finale was just two weeks ago and was a little anticlimactic. I don’t know what I was expecting, but so much happened in the ninth episode and I thought it would build in episode ten. Everything was wrapped up nice and neat; the crazy from last season was stuffed in a box and hidden under the bed, the story lines from this season (which were actually less than completely nuts) were tied up with a bow and we moved forward in time so we’d be ready for next season. Incidentally, it was announced yesterday that season seven will be the final season. Only ten more episodes of craziness in Bon Temps – I can’t wait to see how they end their version. I’ll just have to wait till Summer 2014 to find out!

Movies I've Watched:
Planes – This movie was the latest offering from Pixar and was billed as coming from “the world above Cars” . I was raised on all things airplane, so I am already down to see this movie. I took McKenna with me to see it and absolutely enjoyed every minute. I told my parents that it was almost like an animated air show and since I was raised by an air traffic controller and plane nut, some of the lingo they used was familiar to me and made it that much cuter. It had a sweet message about following your dreams and each of the planes was cute, funny and interesting to watch. I really enjoyed this and I know kids of all ages (even 28 year old “kids”) would love this!

Dusty gets a little help from Bravo & Echo....

Contagion – Okay, I will admit that I've watched this movie several times and during August wasn't the first time. Granted the other times I've watched it, it was on my own and I finally got someone to watch it with me – I wanted to see reactions! This movie came out in 2011…I believe…and is about the spread of a new strain of virus and the panic is causes as it moves throughout the world population. It shows how outbreaks are followed, new vaccines are made and it also shows how quickly people devolve into acting like animals when they are fearful or panicked. I think it is fascinating; some people probably wouldn't. I convinced David to watch it and while he thought it was okay, he also didn't want to touch anything because he was convinced germs were everywhere. Ha-ha!

What Maisie Knew - I totally just re-read this post and realized I'd reference this movie in the paragraph about the book, but didn't put anything down here. FAIL. The main reason I wanted to watch this movie was because it had Alexander Skarsgard in it - that's right; I completely chose to watch a movie because one guy was in it, judge if you must. The move is the above listed book, translated to 2012 and I really enjoyed the movie much more than the book. I think it benefited from being moved forward in time but most of all, the little girl that played Maisie was incredible! Her name is Onata Aprile and she couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 when they filmed the movie, but she completely steals the whole movie. It was so interesting to watch the little girl realize that her stepparents might actually be more invested in caring for and loving her than her actual parents; interesting and a little heart-breaking. This was a really good movie and was only about 95 minutes, so not too long either. You may dislike Julianne Moore a little when it's over though...ha-ha!

Music I've Listened to:
Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke – yes; this is the song heard (seen) round the world courtesy of Miley Cyrus’ raunchy VMA performance. And it isn't even Miley’s song! I’ve been told it has a less than savory message but I’m going to cop the oldie but goodie excuse; it has a really good beat! I really do like the song but I could have done without ever seeing replays or pictures from the performance that Robin Thicke did with Miley. Ick – I need a bath just thinking about it.

Diamonds by Rihanna – Okay, while I like the song on its own, the way I really like the song is with the Game of Thrones theme song mixed into it. Which is really frustrating because you can’t buy it anywhere so you just have to listen to the remix on You Tube and do the best with that. *sigh* So sad.

Yummy in My Tummy:
What have I found that has been delicious recently – oh my goodness, let me tell you. I found Caribbean coconut gelato at Wal Mart around the middle of the month and I was just thrilled. I love gelato – so much. So much! I also absolutely love anything and everything coconut flavored, so this was basically a double helping of my favorites. I still have a little left in the fridge, so I might have to have some of that tonight.

Another thing that is pretty delicious is the chicken I came up with a couple weeks ago – chicken, pineapple, cubed hams and barbecue sauce in the crock pot. I call it Hula Pig Chicken and I dedicated a whole post to it. So you can go check that out…and maybe even make it for yourself.

Happiness is:
Family time – even if it isn't in quite the way you expect it.

Happiness is still also very fleeting for me; I’m really in a season of struggling if I’m being perfectly honest. All seasons change, so maybe this season won’t last much longer.

What I'm Looking Forward to in September:
Autumn and all that comes with it! The minute the calendar rolled over to September 1^st, I brought out all my pumpkins, fall leaves and anything that looked remotely Fall-ish. Fall/Autumn is my most favorite season and I love September because it leads into my favorite three months – October, November and December!

Autumn...how I love it.

I’m also looking forward to my sweet friend Lisa’s wedding. I've already secured myself a wedding partying buddy, who has decided he’ll be glad to function as “arm candy” for the day (his words, not mine) and so I’m very much looking forward to seeing my wonderful friend marry her very own Prince Charming!