Netflix review: Anne with an E

I fully appreciate that I am not early to the content game with this review but as I am friendly with lots of other super busy mom's I thought they might appreciate a peers review.

When this was first announced (or more likely when I finally found out) I was ridicously excited about this series. Anne of Green Gables remains one of the most treasured books of my youth that helped shape who I was as a person. Someone who takes a really long time to tell a story that desperately wants you to appreciate and understand, someone a bit dramatic and someone who has a deep appreciation for bosom friends and books....and a bit of a smarty pants.

This is what you need to know going in friends:

If you remember the Megan Follows version from the 80's and it is your most beloved version of the story, go ahead and head over to your mom's and pop it into the VCR and watch it there. The same story is told in the Netflix version and I would even wager to say it attempts to follow the story as close as possible.

Anne with an E is a darker version of the story. We get a lot more backstory of what happened to Anne prior to her adoption with the Cuthbert's. Without revealing to much in case you haven't watch it, there is one scene in particular that as a parent is hard to watch, although brief. Perhaps the director meant to make us uncomfortable since it was a traumatic experience for Anne herself. I personally don't feel a need for every single backstory to be explained. I was however pleased to get more of the backstory on what possibly happened with Marilla and Matthew.

Anne self harms. Upon reaching Green Gables she has a sizeable bruise on her arm from how many times she pinched herself to makes sure she was really awake.

Anne gets her period in the series. This is not something touched upon in the novels or the other movies I have watched and I felt pretty indifferent about it. I did feel for her though with the panic of getting blood on the bedsheets. Prepare to be surprised by the non-reaction from Marilla when Anne comes in from school whilst on her period and yells at her. Period or no my mom would have give me a good run of kicking if I talked to her like that. Marilla never impressed me as the type to take that type of  treatment...especially from Anne.

The alluding of possible gay relatives. A knowing look is passed between Diana and Anne as she explains to Anne about Aunt Josephine's companion of many years.

Conclusion: I am glad I watched it and would recommend others watch it as well. I think if you know going in that it is going to be different you might watch it with a little different perspective.

Sorry McDonalds Cashier

Yup, I went to McDonalds today, day 3 of lifestyle change. No one is perfect you know and my mom oh so graciously offered to pay as long as I would meet her at the one near her. Sold.

As I drove over I thought about what I could possibly eat there for breakfast that was one billion calories of saturated fat. It has been ages since I rolled through Mickey D's for breakfast, mainly because I don't really care for breakfast to start and it is super hard to dip your hash brown in ketchup whilst you are driving.

Upon arrival I couldn't help but notice they still had up their holiday drink advertisements on the window. Mmmmmm hot chocolate sounded so wonderfully warm...and full of delicious sugar. Nope. Nope. Nope. I made it inside and ended up ordering my familiar favorite honestly because I panicked and there were people behind me and I have been trained my whole life to never let anyone have to wait on me. I INSTINCTIVELY ordered a medium coke with my meal. I ordered that so naturally it was like laying out the lyrics to my favorite 90's rap song....just rolled right off my tongue.

More panic. I promised myself no soda until Easter Sunday. Not because I am catholic and gave it up for lent but because it was a great mile marker for a lifestyle change. 40 days would break a habit for sure. I begged apology to the cashier and could I please have milk instead? It was an easy fix but I always feel bad for having to correct myself especially after so confidently ordering that soda.

What is interesting about this whole tale is that I have not really craved a soda in the last three days, until I ordered one and had to change my mind. Now it's there, calling to me to come rescue it from its soda fountain prison.

Not today soda. Let someone else be your hero today.

Today I chose me.

No Day but Today

I am going to see the musical Rent on Sunday with my little family and the familiar song of "Seasons of Love" keeps simmering around in my head as the event gets closer and closer. We love musicals and love going to go see them together; the excitement of getting to the theatre, finding our seats and enjoying an activity that is just a little different than normal.

Different than normal. Yes this is where we get to the crux of my thoughts today. This weekend my husband went out of town and my best girlfriend from college came in town. We talked quite a bit about where our lives were taking us now that we hit the big 3-5 which is legit adulthood. I mean I had a water softener installed at my house this weekend with the bonus I got from work for crying out loud. Legit adulthood folks. Part of our talk included the most favorite topic of most women, how we had woefully gained so much weight and lamented our former thinner college selves, giving anything to go back to those times when we were "fat." Our current weights had become our new normal, normal to buy the bigger...everything and just accept that this is our life.

But we want to be different than normal. This is not our life and we will enter into the next season of our lives in full control of our weight and ourselves.

Today March 1st started a lifestyle change. Not a diet, a lifestyle change.

Today we skipped drinking soda.
Today we said pass to the candy and cookies.
Today we said yes to salad and light dressing.
Today we walked, today we worked out.
Today we started.

Tomorrow we will be a little bit stronger and a little bit more determined. Each day we will find motivation in ourselves, in each other and in those around us who have encouraged us to be the absolute best versions of ourselves.

No day but today.

My Favorite Romantical Type Movies

A friend of mine challenged me to list my favorite top 10 romantically inclined movies. This was super tough as I am a huge fan of romantic movies, even more so if they are romantic comedies. I tried to pick a mix of movies so hopefully there is something here that appeals to everyone. Happy movie watching.

1. Sense and Sensibility
A fantastic book, a wonderful movie. My favorite author.

2. Becoming Jane
OMG a movie about my favorite author. Of course I list it, and its so great.

3. When Harry Met Sally
No explanation of this pick needed.

4. Under the Tuscan Sun
The movie that showed us love doesn't have to be from a partner but can be found in sometimes random people that enter your life.

5. Princess Bride
Farm Boy and Princess Buttercup. Something pretty for both genders to gaze at as you follow them through the Fire Swamp.

6. An Affair to Remember
A obligatory "its a classic" shoutout!

7. The Wedding Singer
Great music and a cutesy love story. I watched this about a thousand times leading up to my wedding.

8. Say Anything
Who wouldn't want a guy be that devoted to not losing you. Hopefully the neighbors don't call the cops if my husband ever stood outside our house holding a stereo blasting Goo Goo Dolls.

9. The Vow
Channing Tatum is hopelessly devoted to his amnesia suffering wife. He stands by her guys! (And seriously if you wake up from a coma and the doctor says your husband is Channing Tatum, you shut your mouth and roll with it.)

10. While You Were Sleeping
I quite enjoy watching this movie during Christmas time but I think it would still be great for Valentines Day. Such a sweet, clean, good hearted movie.

Valentines Day Dates on a Budget

My husband and I have little interested in standing in line for hours and paying extra just because that is the tradition of the day. Instead I would like to share with you not only what we do but also some inexpensive ways to still share the day without spending a fortune.


1. Pizza and a movie at home. 

This is the one that my husband and I do, so of course it is first and my favorite. We order a pizza, eat dinner as a family, put the kiddo to bed and then watch a movie we both have been wanting to see. This year we are going to watch "The Interview," mainly because we just saw it pop up on Netflix and we prefer to watch something on a service we are already paying for.


2. Bookstore and a Coffee

If you are in a relationship with a reader, this might be the ticket. Visit your favorite bookstore, stay together, don't wander off to look at your own favorite genre, and talk about different books you come across. My husband and I used to play this game at Blockbuster but alas it is not more so we moved the game to Half Price Books, my favorite bookstore. Clearly because I am a cheapy cheap. After chatting about some books and possibly and impromptu purchase, head over to your favorite coffee shop and enjoy a cup of joe while you continue to enjoy the night together.


3. Pack a picnic and head out...or in. 

I live in South Texas so packing a picnic in February is not completely unheard of. My husband and I enjoy eating outside and being star gazers together. Super romantic. However if colder climates threaten to ruin your picnic, move it to a room in the house. We have had picnic in our living room and moved the furniture out a little so we had extra space. We keep the T.V. off and even light candles and enjoy a dinner by candlelight. Sometimes you just have to have date night at home, while the kids are asleep in the other rooms.


4. Dine In and Dessert Out

My husband and I like to do this year round, usually after dropping the kiddo off at the grandparents for an overnighter. So with this idea you eat dinner in, now bear in mind this should not be your usual dinner. Challenge yourselves to try a new recipe and enjoy cooking together. When dinner is over, throw the dirty pots and pans in the sink, grab a coat and head out. Usually but the time you get to a restaurant its later in the evening and the majority of the V-Day dinner crowd has left, or you can usually easily grab a seat together at the bar. We like to order the pizookie from BJ's (ask for it half chocolate chip/half peanut butter for a life changer)


5. Celebrate on a different day.

We are under no obligation to celebrate our love for our partners on a specific day, after all you love each other everyday. It ticks me off that prices are higher for food and flowers on Valentines day and knowing that I have a hard time justifying going out on the day. So, plan a super special day and celebrate your love for each other and the day will be special because you are together celebrating love.


Until next time, pass the sugar.

The Mystery of Parents

I grew up as an Air Force brat, did you know that? I was born in the friendly part of the middle east and lived in five different places before my dad finally retired.

It is hard you know, being a military kid. I have all the standard complaints that everyone does...losing friends soon after making them, not knowing when you parent is supposed to arrive home after a TDY or deployment and spending agonizing hours every 1st and the 15th at the commissary. I was super excited when my parents started sending us to the Youth Center on base and the commissary trips at least for two of the three kids became non existent.

Another part that I don't really hear a lot about but happened in my family was my dad was a mystery to me. My earliest memories were of us stationed in Florida and him either coming home or leaving to go somewhere shortly after coming home. I am sure it was longer than I remember since kids have such poor perception of time. Dad did try and make coming home a nice event though for my brother and me. He brought home money from other countries that we made serious fun of, perfume or gold for my mom and some sort of local treasure that gave us clues to where he might of been. You see my dad's career field was "communications." He went places for months that we were not allowed to know about, and guys, this was before email, cell phones and Skype. We would go weeks sometimes even a month before we heard from him. I can only imagine how pleased my mother was at that idea.

Back to the mystery that is my dad, or our parents in general. I noticed that as I got older and had children of my own my dad would start to let things slip. Little things, about how he once bought land in his home state with the hope that he could move back there to live near his mom again. My grandma had already passed when he made this comment and I happened to hear it and his final statement was "but we sold it, my mom isn't there anymore." I knew how devoted my dad was to his mother but had no clue that was why he bought land, that was his eventual dream. Another time whilst standing next to my dad in church we sang this song about the walls of Jericho falling down and my dad had tears streaming down from his eyes. In my parents house I know the rules about crying, you keep it to yourself and don't question why someone else is doing it. Emotions are not to be talked about. I asked my dad a few weeks later if he had "ever heard of" the song and he quietly and quickly said he remembered singing that with his mom and dad growing up.

My mom is not so much a mystery, she lets everyone know what she thinks/feels/cares about any topic at any given time. Her life before my dad remains a mystery to me, even when I asked my mothers side of the family questions about her they remain vague and noncommittal as if some unspoken agreement with my mom was in place.

It is amazing to me how much we think we can know someone inside and out, there are still parts of them kept shielded from us, especially as children. I think it's OK that we don't know everything about our parents. Lord knows I don't want them to know every little thing about me. Having personal events and thoughts that I never knew about and only slowly find out about make my parents a little more human to me and less...parental.

Until next time, pass the sugar.

It's More Like A Mission Statement

Ahhh the famed New Years Resolution blog where I state that this is the year I will get my act together and lose some more weight and keep it off. I have reconciled myself to the fact that this needs to not be a yearly renewal but a lifestyle change. So what to I plan to resolve?

More personal contact. I read a story about a man this year that was tired of the passive electronic friendships that he had and decided he was going to have coffee with every single person he was friends with on Facebook. He accomplished his goal through several different ways, including FaceTime, because lets face it, sometimes our friends get all crazy and go live in other countries.

I noticed that I was drawing more and more into myself and not really interacting with individuals other than my immediate family members on a regular basis. I see myself every night scrolling through Facebook to see how others are living their lives, pinning recipes, birthday planning ideas and workouts that I will probably never do but make me feel better to pin them. My husband has told me on more than one occasion that he hates when I zone out on my phone and ignore whats going on around me. Perhaps you are thinking "OMG there is something completely wrong with this chick and she is using her phone to escape." I can assure you that no....I have nothing to escape from. I have a great life actually but I have allowed my phone to rule my life, and that I must put an end to.

So what does more personal contact mean for me?

1. I will only check Facebook once a day, which will be in the evening.

2. I will make plans with people I am friends with on FB and in real life to re-establish friendships or better maintain the ones I have. I already have one recurring lunch date set up for the 2nd friday of every month! Go me!

3. I will accept invitations to outings and make an effort to find a baby sitter. (Let's face it, sometimes finding a sitter is a huge freaking hassle.)

4. I will make an effort. I feel I haven't done as well as I could have as a friend and have given a lot of half hearted promises to people and never truly made an effort to be part of their lives.


Perhaps this new years resolution will also turn into a lifestyle change, I hope it does. At the end of the year I really want to look back and say "I am a better friend, wife,  and mother because I made an effort."

SO...who's coming with me?

Pass the Sugar!