Top 10 movies I could watch over and over again

I am not much of a TV watcher, but I love a good movie.  My favorites tend to be ones that I can watch over and over again.  If I have tons of laundry to fold and want to watch a movie, I can guarantee that one of the movies listed below will be the first to be chosen.  Go to the library to pick a movie?  If one of the movies on this list is in, it will come home with me.

So here are the top 10 movies I can watch again and again:

1. Pride and Prejudice (BBC Version)  Who cannot love Darcy and Elizabeth?  And even though I have seen this movie more times that I want to admit, and I obviously know how it ends, I cannot wait to see if Darcy and Elizabeth get together!

2. Persuasion (The newer BBC version).  Also a Jane Austen book.  And it may actually me my FAVORITE Jane Austen book.  Other than the scene near the end where Ann is running through the streets, I love, love, love, this movie.

3. Emma (BBC version).  I,love the scenes between Knightly and Emma.  Their relationship is so much fun and Knightly has some of the wittiest dialogue.

4. North and South (The BBC movie, not the cheesy John Jakes mini-series)  One of my husband's co-workers recommended this.  It is based on the book by Elizabeth Gaskell.  We got it from the library.  It is 4 hours long.  It took us 3 nights to finish it.  Once done, I promptly started it back over and watched it 2 more times!  The final scene in the train station is wonderful and well done. So well acted.  My heart even flutters! (Do Not watch the video if you want to be surprised!!)




5. Sense and Sensibility (BBC version).  Emma Thompson's version is good, but this one is incredible.

6. Return to Me.  It is good story.  Embodies good values and is fairly clean (with the exception of minor language).  It makes me laugh. Every. Time.

7. Ever After.  I love a good fairy tale.

8. Music and Lyrics. Hugh Grant plays a "washed up" 80's singer who is asked to write a song for a current chart topping artist.   Drew Barrymore won me over in Ever After and she is so funny opposite Hugh Grant.  This movie makes me laugh.  Hugh Grant's character has some of the best one liners.  And the opening song reminds me of Duran Duran and their music and videos that I loved in the 80's!!

9. Miss Congeniality.  I am a Sandra Bullock fan. Funny and cute!
 
10. Sweet Home Alabama. 

So, what are some of your favorite movies?

Wordless Wednesday: Jump Shot

Trying not to jump on the bandwagon and a giveaway

I do not like thinking about Christmas until Advent. And, I really, really do not like seeing Christmas decorations up already in stores.  But thanks to Shutterfly, I AM thinking about Christmas cards already.  I wish I could say I have the card chosen and designed, but I do not.  No great photos from family vacations from this year to use, like we used on our Christmas card from Shutterfly last year:

But, what I do know is that I will be getting my cards from Shutterfly again this year.  For the last several years, we have done photo cards.  It is the perfect way to show family and friends that do not get to see us all the time, how the family has grown and how big the kids are getting.  Last year was the first year we used Shutterfly and I will tell you that their quality is incomparable!  The cards turned out beautifully.

Shutterfly has a great selection of cards to choose from.  They have religious Christmas cards such as this beautiful one.

These are some of my favorite Holiday and Christmas cards:

Shutterfly also has AMAZING photobooks.  We make one each year as a family year book.  Our 2010 photobook was made through Shutterfly.  We brought it to my parent's house to show them and it was so nice that they refused to give it back! (Thank you Shutterfly for some great coupon codes so we could make another one!)

Now that I have you all in the Christmas card spirit, three lucky readers will win a coupon code for 25 free photo cards from Shutterfly! This code can be used for Christmas Cards, Birth Announcements, or Greeting Cards.

So to enter, all you need to do is:

 Leave a comment telling me what is your favorite part about sending out Christmas cards.


For extra entries:

Blog, tweet, or Facebook about this giveaway.  Leave a separate comment for each thing you do.

Giveaway will end on November 11th at Midnight.

Good Luck!

7 Quick Takes

1. Back to Blogging

I have stopped wearing the splint on my thumb.  I still cannot use it much, as it hurts when I do, but it has a bit more mobility, so I feel like I can type without "hunting and pecking."

2. Back to work in the kitchen

I started our minor kitchen re-do in September, about one week before I broke my thumb.  Now, over a month later, only one set of cabinets has been painted and two others are bare, with the doors off.  But not much longer.  I started to paint again this week.  After several failed attempts at making them look nice (it is hard to paint metal cabinets after all), I think I have finally found what works.  I am hoping we have all of the kitchen projects done before Christmas.

3. Homeschooling

Have not talked about this much, but it is going really well.  Things are clicking and this is the first year I can say that I am enjoying it.  All boys are working well, without (much) complaint.

4. We are not home yet.

A friend, and blogger, announced that they were moving.  It seems to be happening a lot lately.  Other friends moved about an hour a way, and still more friends just moved as well.  While we were praying they stay close (they lived about 3/4 of a mile from us), we knew it was possible they might not.  Luckily, they moved slightly closer to us.  Anyways, behind this rambling, I do have a point.  All of this moving has had me thinking.  We are not home yet.  As much as I love the town we live in.  A town we may be in for the rest of our lives, I am becoming keenly aware of the fact that all of us are transitory.  We are on a journey to somewhere else.  We are not home yet.  And will not be home until we reach the arms of our Father.

5." Until you find paradise where you are, you will not be happy."

Another flip side of so many people moving is that it has got me thinking, "Lord, are we where You want us?" Are we meant to move? Where?  And, immediately, I think that I would be happier wherever we ended up. In a different neighborhood in the same town. Or somewhere else entirely. And the above quote keeps coming back to me.  A priest that used to be at a parish in our town mentioned it at a holy hour about a year ago.  And he mentioned it again in a homily at a women's retreat just two weeks ago.  His spiritual diercor said it to him.  And it stays with me.  Until I am happy here.  Until I am at peace here, there is no other place that will make me happy.

6. Running the Race

Next weekend I will be running the MCM 10K for the Run for Vocations team again.  I was supposed to run the marathon, but after having intermittent chest pain for several months, I decided that marathon training was probably not the best idea until I got the chest pains figured out.  And although I have a stress test next week,  I, and the Dr., are pretty convinced that I did something to my chest/shoulder/back that is causing the chest pains.  Just one upper body weight workout at the gym has me convinced!  Back to the race . . . I have no goals for it yet.  Part of me wants to try to PR and another part of me wants to just have fun.  I have a client running it and this is her first 10K.  I may offer to run with her. I don't know.  Anyone have any advice????

7. Trackn' It

For the first time EVER, I am trying speed work.  I have done hill work and repeats at the track lately.   I like it.  My most favorite track workout was when I did 1/2 mile repeats.  It was raining a little and it was dark. So dark I could not see my Garmin.  And you know what?  I ran every repeat right around a 7:20 min/mile pace!  I did not think it would be possible for me to run that consistently without constantly checking my pace on my Garmin.  We will see if all of this speed work pays off.  I hope so!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Too cute not to share

My boys singing "Holy and Anointed One"

Wordless Wednesday: I caved

I am not one to decorate for Halloween, but after my 5 yr old begged for a spider web on our house, I acquiesced.

The definition of me

I am not defined by the house I live in.

I am not defined by the clothes I wear.

I am not defined by the number of miles I run or how fast I run them.

I am not defined by what time I get up in the morning or go to bed at night.

I am not defined by the homeschool curriculum I use or the grade level my children work at.

I am not defined by the number of kids I have.  Or don't have.

The only thing that tells me who I am is Life in Christ.

His life.

His love.

His blood out poured for me.

By that alone I am worthy.

By that alone I am defined.

By that alone I strive to live.

You know you have boys when . . .

Your children work diligently to get their school work done quickly so they can spend the afternoon at the archery range!

(No pictures of K shooting the bow and arrow.  He is too big for the "play" one and not big enough to use J's without my help!)

Love note from my son

Earlier this week, I was taking laundry into the bedroom and this was on my pillow . . .

It is from my oldest son.  He wrote it and slipped quietly into my bedroom while I was helping his brothers with handwriting.  It was not prompted by my husband.  I love moments like this.