• March •

I see a trend forming. I am really quite terrible at keeping up with this thing. I will work on this issue... maybe.

Since my last post, a lot has happened. San Antonio ended. Houston started... and finished. It was rad. Loved every second of it.... well not EVERY second... but almost every day ;). 

Team #blinnwin sophomores finished up their spring season, thus their juco career. I am extremely proud of them. In 2014, the team was either champion or reserve at every contest. Awesome job, y'all! 

I figured after Houston was over, I would have a life. hahaha, yeah no. Senior sessions, weddings, bridals, and engagements sessions are stacking up quite nicely. It looks like April will have a high frame rate for sure :) That makes me a happy photog...

Now, let's get to more important topics... Like a movie review. If you follow me on twitter, or facebook, or anything really, then you know that I LOVE the Divergent book series. Like LOVE. I mean, I have a "be brave" tattoo for crying out loud. So, with that said, I have been very excited for the release of the Divergent movie. But, since it happened around the same time as the steer show at Houston, I had to wait until after we were done with the show to see it. Since leaving the grounds Sunday night, I've seen the movie three times. Judge me. But, with that many views, you know my review is going to be pretty spot on. So here we go.

Divergent :: Overall rating 3.0 gigs out of 4

First and foremost, I completely understand that most every book-turned-movie films are not going to be 100% exact. With that said, this movie strays from the book... a lot. The first time I watched the movie, I hated it. I think this is because I knew what should have been happening next, and was anticipating it. However, with my second watch, I let those expectations go and actually just plain enjoyed the movie. Most of the parts that did stray from the book were done so well... total improvements, really. Yes, there were parts that I wish would have gone differently, but there were also some parts that went above and beyond what I envisioned while reading. Prime example would be the warrior games. I LOVED this part of the movie. Amazing. Loved the changes - and LOVED that the zip-line was added here. On that note - the zip-line scene was hands down my favorite. If you have read all three books, you should know why this scene made me cry a little. Absolutely amazing. 

I thought the general vision or artistry or whatever of the film was super BA. The graphics for the city and the different factions - especially the dauntless compound - all were super on point. Oh, and the music selection for the film... SPOT ON!

The movie was casted awesomely. However, I wish more of the characters in the book were present in the movie. But, I do understand that for time purposes, some had to be left out. I also wish the directors would have paid more attention to detail in some scenes... Like right after Tris gets her tattoo and is working late hours in the training room, you see her checking the board.... without a tattoo. Or there was the occasion when someone would have bruised knuckles one minute, then have clean hands the next, then have bruised knuckles again a second later. Or the fact that her tattoo was half coming off after her first sim during stage 2. I'm a freak for noticing things like this, but they all kind of jumped out at me the first time I watched it. 

Now, with both my positives and negatives stated, here is my final word - I LOVED the movie (changes included) up until Tris and Tobias get caught during the attack simulation. After that, I think the movie goes to heck. Why would you change how Tris's mom finds her? Or how Tris's mom dies, for that matter? (I realize she technically dies the same way... but come on...) Or how the attack simulation is being controlled? OR THE FACT THAT TRIS SAYS I LOVE YOU BEFORE TOBIAS. All big no-no's for me. 

However, I DID drag my butt to the theater three times already to watch Divergent, so obviously I really liked it. The reason it gets a 3.0 for me is due to some of the lower-budget looking scenes (I can see the blur around their heads... bad green screen editing), and for the last 15 minutes of the movie. Past that, I really loved it. 

If you haven't read the book, you'll like the movie. If you have read the book... I think you'll still like it a whole bunch.

I mean, it's a crap-ton better than all those stupid Twilight movies. 

I mean, Theo James.... need I say more?

Holy weather change

Yes, I'm blogging one post after another. I just couldn't see tying my last post into this one... Johnny deserves his own post. 

Anyway, it's cold outside. Really stinkin' cold. I appreciate the rain, but it is currently messing up some plans. I should be currently at an engagement session with my dearest future Mr. and Mrs. Verette. But no, that shoot has been postponed. Oh well.. I know where she lives. I can capture her (both the amber alert kind and the picture taking kind) whenever I want. Maybe I shouldn't have used the aa analogy. It was a joke. I promise. Please no one send the authorities. 

This weather better clear up before tomorrow... Or else I'll have to reschedule another shoot. And then I might have a panic attack. I only have three open days until I leave for PA... soooo I'm gonna need this chill to chill the crap out like pronto. 

Speaking of shooting.... Whoever nominated me for "Best On Farm Photographer" for the Best of the Barns... is your head okay? No, seriously though - I am extremely honored to even be on that list with some of my favorite photogs. Makes me feel pretty awesome. I encourage all me readers to go to www.bestofthebarns.com and vote for your faves. You don't even have to vote for me, just vote! Oh, Blinn is up for best juco.... sooo ahhh.... *cough, VOTE FOR BLINN, cough* Annnd I guess you can vote for me too... if you want ;)

In other news, another Louisville has came and went. HUGE congrats to Texas A&M for bringing the bull back to aggieland!!! Super excited for them. We didn't quite have the same luck. And Louisville ended in one of the worst ways possible. Like the original coach's wife, Lauren Poe, said... "we will have a lot of "children" in our lives'. That's what the team becomes. They become our children, and our friends. And when one of our team members is hurt, we hurt. The amount of tears that came from me were just a small portion of what was shed from team #blinnwin. We are a family, and watching the team be there for their 'sister' was/is nothing short of amazing. We are all continuing to prayer for our beautiful girl and hope for a speeding recovery. We love you, gorgeous!

Okay, on a lighter note... It's officially the season of giving... so I figured I'd 'give' y'all something... a movie review -

Catching Fire hit theaters yesterday/early release Thursday. And yes, I went. And made the coach go with me. Of course. (Sayde, he kept checking his phone, looking at the time... he was so anxious to get to bryan. It was funny... or it will be in a month or so ;) ) 

Here is my official review - GOOD GOD IT WAS AWESOME!!!! I get weird about book-turned-movie movies. But this one (just like the Hunger Games) was almost perfect. I saw only a handful of differences. But none were huge and didn't change the movie in any major way. It was awesome. Jennifer Lawrence is seriously the most perfect Katniss. Oh, and Johanna... YES! So glad she was portrayed EXACTLY like I was hoping. And the ending... oh my lanta... so perfect. Made me want to reread the series for the tenth time. OH! and the preview for Divergent.... AHHHHH!!!!! March 21st better hurry up!!!

I give Catching Fire 5 gigs out of 5. I plan on seeing it again before the weekend is over. No, coach, you don't have to come.... unless you want to! (Which I secretly know you do)

Okay, I'm about to get ready to stuff my face. #verettepartyof2 and the JoeRathmanns are headed to Fogo annnnnnnd I'm excited!

Oh, and BTHOlswho?

#MCM

Okay, so I've been neglecting my blog. And by neglecting I mean I'm just too darn busy to actually post regularly. The fall has started. The team is back in town (THANK YOU GOD!). And, well, sleep overrules my blog 98% of the time. I will work harder at being more frequent with my posts. I promise. I think. 

So since it is monday... 

This edition of #MCM, My Coach's Moment, isssss :: First day of school.

Oh yeah. Revolutionary, huh? But the coach isn't just a coach... he's a professor, too. He teaches AgEco both on the brenham and bryan campus. I think he's happy to be back... wait, no. Sorry. That excitement is dedicated to the team and getting back to a hard core workout schedule with them. Don't get me wrong, he enjoys teaching. I just think he likes it more when four animals are standing in front of him. 

Anyway. Here's my take on the "back to school" "first day of school" posts that have been flooding social media; if you have kids - I'm obsessed with seeing your posts. If you are in college - wake up. The first day does not equal happiness. You are stuck for either one, two, three, four or more years in what I consider to be cruel and unusual punishment. I mean, take aTm for example. How cruel is it that you can look out of the window in some of the buildings on campus and see North Gate? Like COME ON! But seriously, for those of you who dressed cute on the first day of college.... I warn you.... that mentality won't last another week. Just saying'.... I mean, I'm sorry but an hour more sleep far outweighs combing my hair. 

I'm happy school is back in session, however. Why? Well, it's obvious you see! The number of "selfies" on social media has drastically decreased from the hours of 9 am until 3 pm. It's awesome. Everyone saw Miley "twerk" (SOMEONE DEFINE THAT FOR ME PLEASE!) on the MTV Music Awards last night (except for this kid - proud to say I missed that mess), right? It was painful to watch... even ridiculous, right? Well that's the pain selfies cause me. I'm serious. 

On that note... I started snap-chatting! It's kind of creepy... but kind of hilarious! I have some pretty unique facial expressions - for those of you who know me, you know this to be way too true - so snap chatting is like texting with more emotion (for me at least). I dig it! But if I get one more pic of food, I might stab someone (Kait, you're the exception). I mean, my belly does NOT need a reminder that I haven't eaten in the past five minutes. 

I blogged. I'm happy. The coach is laying on the couch watching Warm Bodies - surprisingly one of my fave movies. About to cook up some italian (Authentic... like legit.... like it's from our Italy trip) grub. Life is good.

You might see another post tomorrow. Eh, actually that's kind of unlikely.

Review Post

Okay, so my last review post was quite popular, so I figured I would instill another one....

Last night, the coach, my best friend Kaitlyn, her "hubby" Josh, and I went on a movie date. It was for sure a fun night, filled with delish chow and lots of laughs... but I know y'all are far more interested in what movie we saw... soooooo..... Let the review commence! (said in the professor slughorn voice. If you don't know what I'm talking about, please crawl out of the hole you live in)

We Are The Millers :: AMAZING! End of story. Froggin' hilarious. The coach claimed it to be one of the funniest movies he's ever seen. I think what made the film such a hit was how the four lead characters interacted so dysfunctionally together. Plus... for those of you (like me) who watched Vanderpump Rules on Bravo, the little girl who left the restaurant because she got a role next to Jennifer Aniston... actually did! As a stripper! And she played it perfectly! Oh, and you get to see JA in her skivvies... which I know the coach enjoyed. And the camp sight scene... oh my Gaaahhhhh.

Anyway, I'm not sure I've laughed that hard in a really long time. So all in all, I give it 5 gigs. I suggest it to everyone... It is rated R, however, annnnnnd for an incredible reason. So proceed with caution. Females - if you have a weak tummy, watch what you eat before viewing this one ... bahahaha!

More reviews... now on DVD/been on DVD/but I've just gotten the time to watch it...

The Host :: Solid. I actually liked it, and I hated the Twilight movies (yes, yes it's true. I loved the books but hated the movies. Sorry Kristin Stewart, but I strongly dislike you... / hate you). I mean, I've gotta admit - the acting was pretty second rate. For those of you that have seen Red Riding Hood -  you know that the main male character just kind of sucks at acting. But Gaaaahhhhhh is he not the prettiest thing ever? Who cares if he blows at acting? I'll keep watching him.. Anyway, this is one of the first book-turned-movie that I've seen without reading the book first. I'm disappointed I didn't, too. And now I'm nervous to read it (I'm weird like that). But I'm sure I'll be bored on a plane at some point in time this fall and get it read. Anyway...

Books finally finished (I haven't gotten very far with this list. Downtime is getting slimmer and slimmer.... damn you, fall season)

Mortal Instruments ... 5?  Whichever is the last one out.. LOVE! This series has a lot of ups and downs, but overall I think it's pretty solid. I'm excited for the release of the first movie in a week or two. And yes, I am dragging the coach to watch it with me. He's pissed. I'm pleased :)

Yeah, that's pretty much the end of my review list.... I'm about to start James Patterson's Mistress ... pretty excited about that one... even though the commercial for it is creepy as all get out.


Until next time, my friends.

Mindless rambles / reviews

I've been neglecting this blog. And yet, still, readership ( is that the word I'm looking for?) is high. Uh.... wait.... really?.....?!.... Why? What the heck do y'all think is that interesting??? I mean, I'm occasionally witty... but I'm no Jenna Hamilton. For real. PS - Whhhheeeennnnn is that show coming back on the air?!?!?! I read that the writer for it skipped out after the end of this past season (or the first part of it) and MTV is searching for someone to finish the plot out. COME ON! I neeeeeeed to know if Jenna is gonna wake up and go cruise with hotty-bo-body Collin. Team Collin, my friends... team Collin.

And if you are clueless as to what the heck I was just rambling about, I feel very sorry for you. MTV is lame but Awkward is sadly my guilty pleasure... that and Girl Code. Holy poo, that crap is hilllllarious!

Back on track. OKAY! So lately the coach and I have had the time on our hands to do a little movie going (excitement) and I've had my fair share of book reading (even more excitement). With that said, I think I am going to use this here post to ... well ... post my reviews of movies that just hit the theaters (thheeeeeters not the-a-ters) or ones that grace your neighborhood red box. Oh and books... remember books? ... that in the past few weeks have filled my kindle.

***

First up - The Purge *** Oh dear God. If it wasn't the coach's birthday, I would have ran out of the theater, crying. Scary doesn't begin to describe it. And not the good kind. Like the kind that makes me terrified to go outside. Ugh. If you want to be terrified, go for it. It's sick. Nightmares galore. No, I do not want to think about what the world would be like with a 12-hour "murder is a-okay"annual get out of jail free card/pass/law/screwed up exception/rule/STRESS RELIEVER. Eff that. Pardon my language, but NO. Who seriously came up with this story line?!? However, if my daughter ever brings home a boyfriend like that tool. Oh. Let me tell you. I would go Yankee cray. He'd arrive at the house a young boar and leave a puny barrow.

Ugh. Next - World War Z *** Dear Angelina Jolie.... I envy you. Brad Pitt is amazing. He literally gets better looking with age. I can't remember the plot because he was such an awesome distraction... wait, no I'm kidding... kind of .... the movie was AWESOME! Another kind of (in my opinion) freaky flick, but really good. Was NOT aware it was going to be a zombie film. I might not have gone had I known that... Even though the coach told me multiple times it was.. but with that said, I still really liked it. A little too much I Am Legend at some points, but overall I give it 4 gig 'ems out of 5.... Now please come save me from the snake in my backyard, Mr. Pitt.

On to rental flicks... First - Silver Linings Playbook *** The coach commented it was one of the best movies he has seen in a long time. He has dealt with a bipolar person (if you are reading this, get off of here now. My - excuse me - OUR life ain't yo business. You know exactly who you are.) and said it depicting the disease factually yet made it entertaining and humorous - something the disease is not, I guess. I liked it too. Katniss is a BA. I'm sorry, Jennifer Lawrence is a BA. She is literally one of the best actresses of the current era. Love her. And Bradley Cooper is right up there with Mr. Pitt. Any man who can make me laugh and look like that is okay in my book. To me, the plot was sad. How hard would it be to feel so completely in control when you were just absolutely out of control? Not saying I didn't like it... again, I did! But it was one of those movies that with a different cast - I think - would have been a complete Debbie downer.

Second - Hansel and Gretel *** Waste of a dollar. Neeeexxxt!

Lastly - Cloud Atlas *** after three hours of this film all the coach and I could say was .... whhhaaa? Weird. Really weird. And why did they have to throw Professor Slughorn in there??? He didn't need to be stuck with that plot!

Now on to the enjoyable stuff (I'll keep it brief) - books!

Mortal Instruments 2, 3, 4, and (the beginning of.... still haven't finished) 5 ***WAY GOOD. I really liked the first book but had trouble getting through the second. I actually stopped reading it about a year ago, but after seeing the trailer for the first movie I knew I had to finish. Glad I did. Wicked good. I'm such a teen nerd trapped in a 25-year-olds body. Thanks for the occasional break-out, "inner Jo".

Crossfire series, books 1 and (so far) 2 *** HOLY POO! 50 Shades, you're lame. Sorry I'm not sorry. Thank God there is finally a scandalous book with a solid plot. And I want my own Cary. Someone... please be my Cary!! (no, not one of the main lover characters - you sickos!) All I'm saying.

And, because I HAD to read it for the third time since January of this year ---- White Girl Problems *** If you have not read this book, I feel very sorry for you. Life changer. You will literally LOL so be careful where you read it. I made the mistake of reading it the first time while at a show the coach was judging. I made a butt of myself. He could hear me giggling from the ring. Yikes. I was 'that' wife.

And finally, I just started this (yes I am reading three books at once... got over it) but - Bond Girl *** super trendy and fun. I like it. Awesome main character and rocking plot. At least I think so.

***

Okay, I hope that was enough to tide y'all over for a little. Oh! Almost forgot -- Johnny redeemed himself today. Yes, Johnny, I once again love you. All is well is the world.

**** MY OPINIONS AND VIEWS AND WORD SELECTION ARE NOT A REFLECTION OF THAT OF THE COACH'S.... he has a heart.

K bbyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeh!