My Top 5 Movies of January 2024

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Much like the rest of the internet, I’ve created a LetterBoxd account to track and rate movies I’ve been watching. I started it last October so my end of the year results were a little skewed since I watch Horror movies in October. I have a nice clean slate for 2024 though and thought it might be fun to talk about my favorite movies each month.

Charade (5 Stars)

I’ve been watching a lot of Audrey Hepburn and enjoying her movies A LOT. This movie was a fun caper and with her costarring with Cary Grant? I wish more had been made with the two of them together. I’ve always loved Cary from Arsenic and Old Lace and the more movies I see with him the more I fall in love.

The Batman (5 Stars)

I did not appreciate this movie as much when I first saw it but it has definitely grown on me more and more. I do hope in the next one that we get to see a bit more Bruce Wayne or if not give me all of the grappling gun,

Poor Things (5 Stars)

I know this movie is a little controversial with people but I truly enjoyed the performances, the costumes, the music, and the settings. It was a visual and auditorial feast.

Anatomy of a Fall (5 Stars)

I’d love to see the French judicial system happen in America. Just a little.

Also the most realistic depiction of an argument between a couple ever to grace a film screen. Intense. Uncomfortable. Perfect.

The Holdovers (4.5 Stars)

I’ve been on the search for actual good Christmas movies. It’s a difficult task. So many are just trite basura.

This is not one of them. Imperfect characters with their own realistic baggage and nothing in common forced to come together for the holidays. I was rooting for all of them by the end and while I don’t want a sequel I do wonder how the characters end up.

Bonus: Worst Movie of January 2024

Fantastic 4, 2015 (2 Stars)

Yikes.

I was catching up on a lot of missed comic book movies and ended up watching this and I gave it 2 stars for Michael B Jordan basically.

The Tower

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Sometimes I feel like the universe is in on the joke. I drew the tarot card: The Tower. It’s not a great card to draw. Things are happening to you, you just have to sit and ride the ride until it’s done and then rebuild. Nothing quite so dramatic has happened but my Dad got injured and is currently convalescing in a rehab facility until he can get strong enough to come home.

Hopefully this week he’ll be home at some point but it has been a journey where nothing can actually get done and there is no changing anything and I’ve really just had to sit through this journey until it’s over.

Even though I’ve been stressed a few of my friends have been like, “you seem to be doing okay” and I’m like, “There is literally NOTHING I can do or control at this point, it is what it is”.

A big key to managing the stress is not letting my schedule go to shit. I’ve been doing so good with keeping up my goals so far for the year that I am determined to not let everything go by the wayside. Am I giving myself some grace though? Absolutely. Still tracking food but not being so militant about calories. Skipping my exercise on one day but doing both sets exercises the next day. Looking at my tasks each day and being like, what can I reschedule later in the week, what can I realistically get done on the actual day, and what can I just get rid of because it truly doesn’t matter. It’s been helpful.

Also coupling this all with work where I had to work extra because people had asked for time off. Absolutely no complaints, everyone deserves to have their days off that they ask for. Nothing we do is so important where it can’t happen, it’s just another time constraint to work within. I think I’m doing okay with it.

I am exhausted today though. I may take a nap at some point and you know, that’s fine.

Goal Tracking 2024

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I’ve been a Goal Setter for much of my life so far. It really hit a head when I joined The Geek Girls of The East Valley Meetup back in 2010 and there was a goal setting group within that meet up. Ever since then I’ve taken setting goals very seriously and have meticulously worked at achieving many of them.

A big goal was running. I was running pretty prolifically at one point and was running in multiple races. I had a half marathon a month goal and I even ran a marathon during that time.

I made a comic with my best friend, Connie, and we went to several Comic Conventions hawking our wares and the comic.

Not to mention the many reorganizing and fixing up my house and yard goals for so many of the places I’ve lived at.

Unfortunately, I feel as if this “Goal Drive” of mine has really lost steam the last few years. I had moved again, I was helping my parents out a lot, then a pandemic, and I just felt tired. Was it age? Was it life? Was it everything? Probably.

So this past New Years I sat down and asked myself…what can I do to set some goals, track them simply, and feel as if I’m getting my act together again. I’ve done so many things to track my goals before. On my phone, vision boards, check lists, fancy journals. I never really stuck with it and I felt like I had to do a new type of tracking every time I started something. So this year I made a god damned excel spreadsheet.

My God Damned Excel Spreadsheet.

This is for January. As you can see it’s also a pseudo-mood tracker. Every day I open this up (usually in the morning so I can recount the previous day) and color code the date on how I felt while doing each particular activity. I also built in some rest days so I can choose not to do something but it has to be thought of ahead of time and not just an emergency excuse.

I have a lot of Daily Health Goals because I’m really trying to be consistent with food and working out because I’m trying to get lean and strong. I also fell off books for awhile and I’ve made it so as long as I get 10 pages a day, I’m doing well.

It’s going to be interesting to see how my mood changes as the year progresses because right now it’s January and I’m excited to be doing this. We’ll see how I am in June.

Part of the reason I’m feeling successful currently is because I’m starting off and adding to things very slowly. Part of my goal setting problems is that I got overwhelmed because I would keep adding time for activities and there is only so much time in a day. So I’ve given my self large ranges of times to get to so if I’m feeling extra tired I don’t need to do 11,500 steps…I can do 10,000. I don’t have to do a full 30 minute workout, go for 10.

I’ve added an additional daily goal in February of bein creative for 15 minutes a day. I have a lot of projects I want to complete this year and I just need to nick away at some of them a little at a time.

I also have created both weekly and monthly goals.

Weekly goals are tracking my Blood pressure (always health), Work Website Updating, my Tarot Card Draws (see the previous two blog entries for some extra thoughts on what I’ve pulled) and a place to track my rest days and why I chose to use them.

My Burger Time Relax day was especially exciting.

I do have several monthly goals but a few were left off for my privacy’s sake. One of those goals is just getting out into the world more and you all don’t need to see where I go in my time.

I really want to push myself with cooking so I have a goal of making some Julia Child Recipes a month. At least one a month but I’m doing 2 next month because my mother is looking for a good meatloaf recipe, so I want to try Julia’s, but I also desperately want to try the flan. So that’s still happening. I finally feel that all of my dairy-free alternatives have reached a really good substitution point and feel comfortable attempting these without the true ingredients.

I’ll have to make a post about my Claire Saffitz Christmas Dinner I did and the Julia Child Recipes I’ve done so far.

I also have a couple pages on my spreadsheets on Anime I want to watch with my S.O., the art projects I want to create (there are gift ideas on it, so no pics) and even a cleaning schedule to help me take care of my house without getting overwhelmed (Taskito App will be another post, sometime soon).

It’s the end of January and I’m feeling pretty good and accomplished. I hope I can keep it up!

The Five of Cups

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I probably won’t talk about each Tarot Card Draw for the next 50 weeks but I had something to say about this one.

Apparently the Five of Cups is all about Regret, Mistakes, and Trying to Learn From the Past.

Life is long (sometimes) and there are so many choices to make. Choices that are mundane, like how much Splenda to put in your coffee or choices that are life altering, like deciding to end a relationship and the whole gamut of choices in-between.

I have made many mistakes, I have a few regrets. I got slapped in the face with a regret not too long ago (Forgive the vagueness, I’m not quite ready to talk about it) and I’m never going to get to make this better. For me or for the others that were involved. It literally is what it is, and that is all that there will be.

There is too much life to never have any regrets but when you ruminate too long or too often you start getting lost in the weeds and that does happen to me from time to time. My anxieties make my brain run too much and they don’t turn off.

What I am trying to do is to forgive myself for my mistakes and to give myself a bit of grace for my regrets. I always try to act in the best interests of all that are involved and while I don’t think in this particular case I made a mistake, I do regret how it all ended up.

 
 

New Year, New Goals

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Every year I have so many goals. Some stick, some stick for awhile then go by the wayside, and some are so lofty they never happen.

I’m trying to be very realistic with my goals this year. A lot of my problems with goals come from trying to do too many things every day and then overwhelming myself at a certain point and then falling apart.

One of my goals this year is to Draw 1 Tarot Card a week. I have a couple beautiful sets of Tarot Cards and I want to use them. I got a Tarot Journal last year and it was draw 3 cards every day and then also draw cards for the month and the year and then when the astrology sign changes, ets. etc…it was a lot. So, I’m going to do 1 card a week.

Now do I believe in their power and mysticism? Eh. But what I love to do is use them as a prompt for journaling and focusing or even just thinking of how it applies to my life currently and then I can sit with my thoughts for a bit. A little introspection never hurt anyone.

The first card that I drew for the year was THE QUEEN OF WANDS (upright). Personally, this is a great card to start off the year with, especially since one of it’s meanings is Purposeful Action…i.e. Setting Goals and Achieving them. The Queen knows how to achieve results and gets what she wants. I think this is a strong start!

 
 

A Fiber Art Update, Tissue Boxes Part One

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I’ve gotten really into crafting with yarn. I don’t know how to knit, I don’t know how to crochet, I only can simply weave but I love my branch weavings and then I found Plastic Canvas Crafts.

I’ve posted about a few of these before and now I’m making a bigger post just so I can do 4 of them at once, haha.

November Topaz.

March Aquamarine.

September Sapphire.

August Peridot.

All of these are from I a pdf from the Etsy seller RaindropsAndMemories for a birthstone pattern pamphlet called "Birthstone Boutiques in Plastic Canvas.”

I’m having fun making these and I am definitely going to be making the rest of the birthstones.

Pennsylvania. A Food Review Part 3

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This has the vibes of where I was at in PA.

 

So I write here today another couple restaurants that I visited on my trip to Pennsylvania.

Oori a Korean Restaurant in Pottstown, PA. I got my tried and true: BiBimBap and it was delicious! I was surprised at the quality and taste in such a tiny town. I will say that I’ve had better kimchi, but I’m not sure if that is something made in house or something they buy, it could be a bit sharper.

I’d give Oori a 4/5. I need to ask more questions about their dairy free options because I’d want to try something different next time.

Deliciously Dairy Free.

I made my way to downtown Pottstown (which is quite a bit different than the area of Pottstown that Oori is located at) to visit the iCreate Cafe. This was an entirely vegan restaurant, which is always a plus for me, since I know I won’t get dairy’d.

I ordered a smoothie, the Peanut Butter Dream Shake and I also ordered the Cheese Steak Panini. Both were delicious! The shake could be a little bit thicker but with an Almond Milk base, I expected it to be a little thin. I ordered my cheese steak with the black bean patty and was really pleased it wasn’t dry. I would order from here again but I wouldn’t go by myself.

The area is a little sketchy and I had a creeper hanging out by my car when I was coming back with my takeout order. Creepy enough where I walked on the opposite side of the road when I saw him coming down and taking his time once he saw me. I don’t fault the restaurant for this though! The atmosphere in the restaurant was very welcoming (if not a little warm, why is there not more AC in PA???) and the cook was super friendly while preparing my order. I’d get stuff from there again but maybe I’d bring a friend too! 3.5/5

A Fiber Art Update

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Leafy Glade. May 2023.

 

I have created a great many tissue box this year. I’m not even close to being done with all of the ones I want to do. They’re very fun and cozy to do and I love giving them to my friends and family. If you know me in real life, you might receive one! Be prepared.

This one is for my sister-in-law. I had created a cross stitch for her full of leaves.

When I saw the pattern in my book “The Ultimate Tissue Topper Collection” for the Leafy Glade and how similar it felt to the cross stitch, I knew I had to make her another gift.

This Tissue Box cover was waaaay easier than the cross stitch. That thing was kind of a nightmare at times, I’m not going to lie. I’m pleased with both and I’m looking forward to doing even more tissue boxes and more cross stiches.

Pennsylvania. A Food Review, Part 1

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Pennsylvania has become a large part of my life in the last few years, while I don’t live there I end up traveling there once a year, barring any pandemics. I usually don’t end up doing too much so I decided that this year was the Year of Restaurants.

I am dairy-free due to an allergy and this does make finding food and travel a little difficult sometimes. I’ve been doing a lot of Googling to try to figure out more restaurants and foods that I can eat at, which is hard in rural Pennsylvania.

So I Googled and made a list (mostly vegan restaurants, it’s just easier sometimes) and really worked into trying as many as I could on my trip.

In no particular order here are the first 2 restaurants I’m reviewing because these are the ones I have had before (and I forgot to take a picture of one!)

I can’t believe the Squarespace Image Library had this photo.

Wawa is a tried and true place I go to every time I’m in PA. It’s a Gas Station and Cafe essentially for those who don’t know. They have an easily accessible allergen menu (though they’ve updated it in a way that is not very user friendly in my opinion) and I can order with no worries about being dairy’d.

I rate Wawa a 9/10. There are many locations and you can order ahead of time. My Italian style sub I got was delicious and they had garlic knots I could eat. My only complaint is whenever I order ahead my order s never where it should be and it makes it confusing.

Rita’s Italian Ice! A beloved summertime snack. I’m so sad I can’t have the custard but the different and various flavors of ice makes up for it. I usually get a flight because I feel like one order of one flavor is almost too much of that flavor. A flight is perfect. So nice that I had it twice while I was there! The flavors I got were Cherry, Blue Berry, Cotton Candy, and Blue Raspberry.

10/10. Delicious and with many locations.

Bonus Content: I Bought a Travel Water Cup from Wawa (I’ve purchased two before, for hot drinks) and I have to say this is the best giant water cup I’ve bought for AWHILE. Also: Look how sexy it is just fitting into my water dispenser.

 

Oooh, That’s the stuff.

 

Bedroom Renovation Part 5

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The Very Embarrassing Before Picture. The only big one I’m posting.

 

After refurbishing my furniture, hanging curtains, removing doors, painting, wallpapering, and buying a locker I still had a couple things to do.

1) Rug, I’m over the bathmat for Braeburn.

2) Bedding for the new aesthetic. I wanted the whole bedding shebang…comforter, blankets, decorative pillows. The works.

These are the 2 things that took the longest to make decisions on. I went in person to so many places. Macy’s, Kohls, World Market, Pier 1, Kirklands, Target, etc. etc.

I thought I had found some bedding at Target…reviews showed that they literally felt apart after 2 washings, that wasn’t going to work. I thought I found a comforter at Macy’s…THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS AND NO PILLOW SHAMS????

I asked my Mom for bedding suggestions and she said the same places I had gone to see.

I decided to peruse Home Goods, primarily for their rugs but maybe I’d get lucky. Rugs were a no go but I did get lucky for bedding and accessories. I got baskets for my locker for clothing, I also got baskets to hold my decorative pillows when not in use on my bed, I got a comforter, I got shams, I even got snacks that day. All for less than the comforter at Macy’s.

The rug fell into my lap a bit. I had looked online at Flor (Carpet Tiles, we’ve used them in several areas of the house…they are good when you need to replace or clean them with dog accidents or illness, our house even came with some already) but the only ones I had liked were way too expensive. But then…the catalog came in the mail while I was redoing my room and they were introducing some new colors and it was waaaaay cheaper than when I had originally looked and I decided to go left field with the colors. I had been looking for a beige or cream rug but when I saw the colors in the catalog I swiftly switched course and I’m so happy that I did.

Here is a slideshow of the After Photos. I’m just pleased with this space. I’ve made my bed every day since redoing my room, my laundry stays caught up on and I’ve even cleaned and organized my drawers too. It is such a peaceful and tranquil space. I never even used to have the windows open because it was just open to the outside so I never even got light in there. But now with the sheers no one can see in and it lets in beautiful light.

Even just walking past it in the hallway I still love it.

While the bulk of the work is done, I’m still looking for a few things decor-wise. I’m waiting for a Lamp for the mirror dresser that I ordered awhile ago. I want to hang my branch weaving up again but I’m unsure where. I bought some beautiful brass statues of some pheasants at an estate sale but don’t know what kind of shelves or where to put them at in here, and I have a painting I want to re-mat and frame to better match the room. Also maybe some new lampshades for my lamps because one is a bit busted but you can’t tell from looking, haha.

It’s time for a break! I wonder what room I’ll do next.

Happy Father's Day! A Fiber Art Update

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My Dad in his natural habitat

 

When I think of my Dad I see him in a blue plaid shirt. All of the time, 100%. In fact I had so many options for the photo to put here at the top, I didn’t know what to pick, for this post because of just how many BLUE PLAID SHIRT photos I have of my dad.

So it goes to say when I found a Tissue Topper titled “Study in Blue” I knew I had to make one for my Dad for Father’s Day. It’s pretty close to the colors from the book but I chose my true blue colors instead of the muted colors in the book.

Study in Blue from “The Ultimate Tissue Topper Collection” by Sara Denny, February 2023.

This tissue box was actually difficult to do because it has many layers of yarn in it and it got difficult to pull the yarn through the holes of the plastic canvas. While the pattern looks deceptively simplistic I assure you it was not.

I’m also very lucky to have another Father in my life that is on the opposite end of the color spectrum of my own father who wears very bright solid colors so…

Tribal Motif from “The Ultimate Tissue Topper Collection” by Sara Denny, March 2023.

This one was a crazy color difference from the book, the book was all browns and greens but I thought some very bright and vibrant colors would look even better and you know…I was right. Haha. This one was fun too with a new type of stitch to add some texture near the edges.

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads but more so to my own!