Five Favorites: British Entertainment Edition

By bobbi
July 30, 2013
6 Comments

I have to admit that I am a bit of a nerd and I was loving catching up with the comic con news and seeing various video clips. I don’t think I’d actually dress up in character, unless it was something like Michonne with my zombie slaying sword. That would be cool if you don’t mind a short, chubby Mexican version. Brian would want to carry a weapon too but since he is more likely to be holding a book than a sword maybe a Sheldon costume would be more appropriate. 😉

When I am not geeking out over things like that I am loving/obsessing over British entertainment such as these.

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Downton Abbey

There seems to be two categories regarding the BBC/Masterpiece shows Downton Abbey. You either love it or you don’t get what all the fuss is about. I am definitely a love it. If you are too, you’ll also love these.

I haven’t done a Season 4 update since this post but have you seen the new stills from Season 4? Here are a few.

It breaks my heart a little to see Mary and Tom without their better halves.

I’m loving this photo.

Edith is looking sultry.

Oh dear, is this why?

Rose and her current beau.

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Jane Austen & Outdoor Movie Nights

Jane Austen is my favorite author (along with Charlotte Bronte) and I love watching all the many adaptations of her stories. I still enjoy watching the old Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet and was excited to see it was one of the summer movies offered at our local “Theater in the Forest.” It is an outdoor theater nestled in a foresty area of downtown Carmel. A couple of my mom friends brought their daughters and together we got cozy under blankets, sipped hot chocolate and passed the popcorn as we watched the movie. It was Bella’s first Jane Austen movie and I was sooo happy to share it with her. 🙂

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Masterpiece Mystery

Brian and I are also big fans of BBC/Masterpiece Mystery, although some of the stories can be a little grittier for the sensitive viewer. Our fave, hands down, is Sherlock Holmes. I’ve enjoyed Benedict Cumberbatch in previous movies but didn’t become a fangirl until Sherlock.

Then seeing him as Kahn in Star Trek pretty much sealed the deal.

Here’s a video of Freeman and Cumberbatch with a video message to Comic Con participants.

Watch Sherlock’s Martin Freeman & Benedict Cumberbatch; Comic-Con on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

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English Actors & The Hobbit

When the Hobbit came out I was pleased that Richard Armitage was to play Thorin since I loved him in North & South. I was equally excited when Martin Freeman/Dr. Watson played Bilbo in the Hobbit. Now Freeman will be reunited with his partner Cumberbatch/Sherlock in the sequel The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Benedict Cumberbatch plays the dragon Smaug. Although his physical likeness doesn’t appear, his voice and body movements are used in a similar way as his co-star Andy Serkis’ were used for Gollum. I can’t wait for that one!

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Peppa Pig

Our British love is rubbing off on the kids because they adore the cartoon Peppa Pig. It cracks me up they can go from having a Star Wars light saber battle to discussing having tea and biscuits during their summer holiday. Yesterday John-Paul was playing store with me and he handed me a coin saying, “Here is one pound, Mummy.” Maybe one day he can teach me the metric system. 😉

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads or Instagram (bobbi_rol). 😉

7 Quick Takes (7/26/13): Patron Saints, Catholic Fiction & The Walking Dead

By bobbi
July 25, 2013
5 Comments

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This is Day 5 of Jen’s 7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge. I am also linking to her weekly 7 Quick Takes. 🙂

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Happy feast of St. Anne and St. Joachim! St. Anne is my patron saint and my name sake (Bobbi-Ann) so this day has always been a special feast day for me, especially when I was single. St. Anne and Blessed Anne Maria Taigi were the two I asked to intercede for me in finding a holy husband. They did an excellent job. 😉

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Speaking of St. Anne finding me a man, Grace shared her how-we-met story and put a link-up for people to share their stories as well. My sister posted hers and it is so sweet. E & V are a perfect match! I feel like I have told my how-we-met story so many times that I am like this…

and you’re like this…

But on the off chance that you haven’t read it yet, here’s the link. 😉

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Brian was telling me about a website that he loves – Catholic Fiction.net. It is a great source for finding out about Catholic novels and since he reads all the time, he is always going through various Catholic fiction books. If only I could get him to do some reviews! Anyway, I was excited to see one of the books I am reading right now featured on there. It is Mysterious Albion (Vatican Vampire Hunters.) So far I am loving it. If I get it done in time I’ll review it for next week’s “What We’re Reading Wednesday” hosted by Jessica.

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I’ve added Comment Luv to the blog so if you are a blogger and you leave a comment please add your blog link. When you do your latest blog post link will show up under your name. That way I (and others) can visit your blog as well. I especially love to visit the blogs of new visitors. 🙂 Once you’ve typed in your link the first time, it should automatically come up when you visit again.

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I don’t watch Brittan’s Got Talent but a friend had this clip on her Facebook page and I watched it. Ohmygoodness, it actually brought tears to my eyes. So beautiful! It is worth the watch.

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Here are two other videos if you are a Walking Dead fan. I binged all week and finally finished season 3 so I’ve got zombies on the brain. The first is the hilarious Walking Dead Bad Lip Reading Video. (Note – Only watch this is you are already a WD fan. Otherwise, skip it.) La-Bibbida-Bibba-Dum 😉

The second is called Zombie Story: A Mind Blowing Comparison of Toy Story and the Walking Dead. Pretty funny… and coincidental?

Have a great Friday! Thanks to Jen for hosting! 🙂

Five Favorites (Vol 9) & What We’re Reading Wednesday (Vol 2)

By bobbi
July 23, 2013
5 Comments

We’ve got a lot of linking today for one small post.

This is Day 3 of Jen’s 7 Posts in 7 Days Challenge.

This is linked to Hallie’s (guest hosted by Grace) Five Favorites

Lastly, Fave #4 is linked to Jessica’s What We’re Reading Wednesday. Enjoy!

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New School Supplies

Fall may still be a couple months away but it seems a lot closer with all the back to school supplies in the stores. As a kid, picking out new school supplies ranked up there with opening Christmas presents and decades later that hasn’t changed. Happily, my daughter shares my enthusiasm for journals, notebooks and cute pens. Bella and I went to Target the other night and we were giddy picking out new school/ office supplies. It was a lovely mother daughter bonding moment. 🙂

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Photo Challenges

I love those daily photo challenges you see on Instagram and Facebook and I’m currently participating in two – #fmsphotoaday on Instagram and #31dayfunphotochallenge on Facebook.

A friend of the family, Carole, created the FB one so I made the cover shot for her. 🙂

Here are a few other photos I’ve posted so far.

Day 1: Black & White (As long as he stays out of my house we’re good. 😉

Day 2: Something that starts with the first letter of my name – Brian & Beach.

Day 5: Tiny – It is amazing that a tiny round piece of gold can hold so much meaning.

Day 10: My Favorite Color

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My Kindle

Our house is filled with books on numerous book shelves and I do prefer to read non fiction books in paper back so I can highlight and make comments in the margins. However, when I read fiction it must be on my Kindle (or Kindle app on my iphone) or I’ll never get any reading done. I love that I can read a few pages on my computer or my Kindle then open the app on my phone later in the day and it will sync to where I left off on my other devices. I don’t have big chunks of time to sit and read so I fit in a few pages when I can. And if I’m reading a “I-can’t-put-this-down” book then you’ll see my reading on my phone as I’m folding laundry and stirring spaghetti sauce or scrubbing the shower. (Who am I kidding? I cant remember the last time I scrubbed the shower, but I digress.) The point is I love having my current reads at my fingertips at any time!

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What I’m Reading/ Fave Book of the Week: Angela’s Song by AnneMarie Creedon

I love my reading list on GoodReads.com and I have been trying to alternate reading a “regular” fiction book and a Catholic fiction book. Since I did Austenland last week, this week it was Angela’s Song by AnneMarie Creedon, available in paperback or on Kindle.

Amazon Description:

Angela ‘Jel’ Cooke is a widow and mother of three who stays busy so as not to have to face the fact that her marriage was damaged and her husband, Devin, died before it could be repaired. Her good friends realize that no amount of home made lasagna, volunteering at church or late night games of Yahtzee can heal Angela from past regrets. When she meets Jack, the teacher of a class she is taking, he challenges her to face her demons. What follows is the poignant, yet often hilarious saga of how Angela overcomes her guilt and learns to love herself and others.

Many of the stories I read have a lot of action and tension that forces me to keep turning the page but that wasn’t the case with this book. There wasn’t a big, dramatic story arc but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. There was an easy pace of getting to know Angela and her story and watching a romance unfold. There were times when I thought Jack, the boyfriend, was a little too perfect but then again, he reminded me a lot of my hubby, just an unbelievable man of God. The writing is well done and this is a great novel for those who like their books to be very “Catholic.” Catholic elements and teaching were entwined throughout the story. For some that is a good thing, for others it’s a turn off.

Personally I could go either way but I will say that some of what was written was speaking to me directly. I happened to be reading the end of the book after I had an argument with Brian. As I was sitting there reading one of the character’s words about marriage and sacrifice and carrying the cross, I rolled my eyes and muttered something like, “Yeah, but wait until the honeymoon is long over…” As I kept on reading the Holy Spirit was at work and the words touched my heart I could see how silly and selfish I was being by staying angry at Brian. I swallowed my pride and apologized and in the end was happy to make up with him. 🙂 If a book could do that, that’s pretty good. That gave it a grade of 4 out of 5 stars. Go check it out.

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“Angela’s Song” Playlist

Author AnneMarie Creedon gets major kudos for creating a playlist for her book on Spotify. It contains all the songs mentioned in her book – from Frank Sinatra to Lady Antebellum to Black Eyed Peas. Pretty cool.

Have a blessed day!

PS – Don’t forget the Pinterest Party Link-up runs until Aug 6 and you can use a new or old post. 🙂

Five Favorites (Vol 8): Summer Edition & What We’re Reading Wednesday

By bobbi
July 10, 2013
6 Comments

Today I am linking this post with Hallie for Five Favorites and Jessica for What We’re Reading Wednesday. (Scroll to #5 for that.) 🙂

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Beach Bonfires & Multi-Weinie Roasting Stick

This weekend we went to a beach party with two other Catholic families and we had so much fun! (And Catholic style, 3 families equaled 14 kids. ;-)) We had a bonfire and I tried my new hotdog roasting stick that held 4 hotdogs at once. (Which I picked up at Target, natch.) It worked great and kept tiny hands in the sand and out of the hot fire pit. Although, I relented and let them roast their own marshmallows when they promised they wouldn’t use it as a flaming light saber. 😉

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Black-Out Curtains

On those days when we aren’t watching the sun set over the Pacific, the boys are in bed and lights out by 8:00 PM. However, it makes it hard when it is still bright and sunny outside. We bought some denim black-out curtains similar to these and they are an answer to prayer. They really block out the light and make it feel more like a dark night so the boys can go right to sleep.

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Imagine Dragons – Night Visions

So far this album has been my soundtrack of my summer. On those occasions when I get to go to Target and Costco solo, you’ll find me driving down Highway 1 singing along. Here is my current fave of the album.

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Link-ups!

Summer gives me a little more time to spend on the blog but I must admit that lately the majority of my blog posts are link-ups to other blogs. Heck, even this post is being linked TWICE. So which are my favorite link-up’s? Here they are…

Five Favorites by Hallie (Wed) – Of course!
What We’re Reading Wednesday by Jessica (This is my debut contribution. Scroll to #5.)
Theme Thursday by Cari (Thurs)
{pretty, happy, funny, real} by Like Mother, Like Daughter (Thurs)
7 Quick Takes by Jen (Fri)
Catholic Woman’s Almanac by Suscipio (Mon)

I don’t have a place to play on Tuesday so I stay home and have my own link-up – A Pinterest Party. (Yes, that was a shameless plug and here are accompanying photos!)

Link-up your post! (Old or new.)

This week’s post: Pinterest Party & Link-up (vol 7): Dinosaur Kits for Your Little Paleontologist

What are your favorite link-ups??

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I love that summer also allows me to stay up late reading and not worry about an alarm clock in the morning. (Well, unless you count the two year old bouncing on my head in the AM.) I love to read but I have a habit of starting five books at once and only finishing one or two, months later. Plus, I love to read fiction but I am never sure which books are worth the read and which are a waste of time (or worse, immoral.) Then a friend told me about Good Reads.com and I love it. Imagine it as Instagram for readers. Instead of looking at your friends photos of the day, you can see what books they are reading, how they rated them, and any comments or reviews they had about them. I love it. You can check out the books on my lists here: https://www.goodreads.com/bobbi_rol

Which brings me to Housewifespice’s new link-up What We’re Reading Wednesday.

I just finished two books this week.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Amazon.com Description:

Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man-perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Predjudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined. Is this total immersion in a fake Austenland enough to make Jane kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

This was a fun summer read. I am a big Austen fan and when the author talked about the BBC adaption of the book fans know the scenes she mentioned by heart – Darcy after his swim, Darcy and Elizabeth exchanging looks at the piano, etc it reminded me of years ago when my sister and I would watch and swoon together. I was eager to revisit the P&P love. I’ll admit that at first it was a little hard to get into it because the premise seemed a bit unbelievable but once I got into it I was thoroughly enjoying it and rooting for my favorite characters. If you aren’t looking for anything terribly deep, are an Austen fan, hopeless romantic and love a love story (no matter how improbable) then you’ll want to check it out.

The Night Sky: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back by Maria Sutton

Amazon.com Description:

This extraordinary and unflinchingly honest memoir takes us on a riveting journey into the hearts and souls of three enigmatic people whose destinies are forever changed by the events of World War II. The secrets of misguided love and passions are revealed as the author journeys between the past and the present to solve the mystery of a handsome Polish officer with piercing blue eyes and sun-colored hair. Maria Sutton takes us to the dark green hills and valleys of the ancient Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine, where the woody fragrance of birch trees and new-mown hay fills the fresh, crisp air after a heavy rain. Vicariously, we see a sunrise over Poland obscured by brightly colored swastikas on warplanes and then we will be taken into suffocating cattle cars, lice-infested stalags, and to the Dachau death camp. Further down a country road, the hearty laughter and beer steins clinking with each salute to the Fuhrer s astonishing victories can be heard. As Maria takes us on this odyssey to solve a decades-long mystery, she learns the family secrets of untold heroism, quiet courage, and a mother s love and of tragedy, disillusionment, and heartbreak. At the end of her long journey, Maria uncovers a shattering and painful truth. But the secret, however heartbreaking, would also become the greatest gift she would receive.

I don’t often read non-fiction books for “fun” but I received a free copy of this book and thought I’d give it a try. I was intrigued by the author’s journey and how it personalized history lessons of the past. I was especially interested in the refugee camps since Brian’s family spent time in a refugee camp after the war and before immigrating to the United States. There were a few parts when the story dragged and jumped around a little but as the author got closer to the truth I could not put the book down. I was excited and heart broken as she learned the truth about her father and other family members. In the end, I loved how the experience strengthened her and gave her peace. Well worth the read.

Well, that’s it for this week! Thanks again to Hallie and Jessica for hosting!

7 Quick Takes (4/5/13): New Cameras, Star Wars & Anne of Green Gables

By bobbi
April 5, 2013
3 Comments

Brian just left for work after a week long vacation. I was spoiled having him at home and now I am slightly depressed that he is back at work. Sigh. So to get my mind off of it I am linking up with Jen for 7 Quick Takes while the kids are playing outside. (They don’t return to school until Monday.)

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After two years of waiting and saving I finally got my new camera! So far I had been using my iphone or my old point and shoot camera but I wanted a big girl camera. With the help of my bro Rob (he’s the one that took my main blog banner photo of the bee and red flowers), I finally narrowed down my choices and picked the Nikon 5100. As soon as I got it out of the box (and charged the battery) I started snapping photos of kids in their pajamas and random things around the house. Of course Brian and the kids thought I was crazy but they’ve learned to live with it by now. Here are the first shots I took using the basic autofocus.

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Because I am such a newbie and have so much to learn, I seriously need to read up on some of the basics of photography. (I only recently found out that raw has nothing to do with how to cook a steak.) I know I can go online and read stuff (I’ve been viewing a few You Tube tutorials) but I want a physical book that I can mark with notes and dog ear pages. Any suggestions? Remember the key word is NEWBIE. I’m thinking a “Photography for Dummies” kind of book.

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Speaking of the You Tube, right now the boys are obsessed with Star Wars and particularly Star Wars Legos videos. These two are their current favorites.

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In the evenings Brian and the boys turn off all the lights in the house and take out their glow in the dark light sabers for grand battles. It is hilarious. Meanwhile, Bella and I have our own bonding time after we put the Jedis to bed. She stays up for an extra ½ hour and we watch a movie together while I straighten her hair or fold clothes etc. I recently introduced her to Anne of Green Gables and she was reluctant to watch something so old but she agreed since it was at least in color. (And not the dreaded black and white, or worse, a British period drama like Downton Abbey. Ah, the folly of youth. ;-)) Well, long story short. She fell in love with Anne of Green Gables and dusted off the book set I gave her last Christmas. We’ve gone through Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel and last night we started the old TV show Road to Avonlea. (Was anyone else in love with Gus?)

I know they are also remaking Anne of Green Gables into a 13 part TV series by Breakthrough Entertainment and it was slated to be made in the summer of 2013 but I haven’t heard any other news since last year.

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Speaking of movies, for Easter Brian requested a copy of the movie Milagro De Marcelino Pan Y Vino (2010). It is a remake of the movie the 1955 Miracle of Marcelino. He really loved that 1955 movie, and in fact, when we were trying to decide on a boy’s name while I was pregnant with Andrew, Marcelino was one of the top names on the list. It didn’t make it as a first name but it made it as a second middle name. (All the kids have two middle names.) So our first son’s full name is Andrew Joseph Marcelino. 🙂 Anyway, back to the movie. Here is the synopsis from Amazon:

Friars of a poor war-ravaged monastery find an infant abandoned on their doorstep. Having nowhere to turn in the wake of the war they decide to raise him in the monastery. The child grows into a rambunctious boy fond of playing jokes on the friars with his best friend Eleuterio. Marcelino yearns for a mother as he observes the deep bond Eleuterio shares with his mother. Marcelino’s curiosity leads him to the attic of the monastery: the one place he was warned never go to. While there he is drawn to a statue with a face so full of love that he is compelled to visit it often. Marcelino is too young to realize that it is a statue of Jesus. Thinking the statue looks hungry he sneaks bread and wine into the attic and offers it to the statue. Because of the faith of the child an unexpected miracle occurs.

Brian started watching it and said it was good so far. This weekend, we’ll watch it together after the kids go to sleep (it’s in Spanish with English subtitles so we have to be able to read in peace. 😉 I’ll let you know what I think. In the meantime, here’s the trailer.

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Don’t forget that next week on Tuesday (4/9/13) is the first RoL Pinterest Party Link-Up. You can share a post where you take one of your Pinterest pins and actually make/ create/ cook/ bake it. Not on Pinterest? No problem! Link up your original idea so we can pin it to our boards. It can be a recipe, a craft, a home school project, a themed party etc. Don’t have time to write a post by Tuesday? Feel free to link up an older post of something you’ve already done. It will be a great way to share some of your old posts that haven’t gotten much traffic lately. I hope to see you there!

Oh, and by the way, on Wednesday I shared the two logos I made.