Fast and Furious 7

The most recent Fast and Furious movie, #7 is said to be their last. With the passing of one of the movie's legends, Paul Walker, it's unclear how the franchise can continue.

This movie opens as Shaw first meets up with Hobbs, Dwayne Johnson, the "Rock." This time Jason Statham is the bad guy and is after blood. Shaw pulverizes Hobbs and needs Dom's help to bring Shaw down. Statham's character, Deckard Shaw killed Han one of the Fast and Furious crew.

Meanwhile, Paul and Mia's baby boy, Jack is around 3 years old now. They live in the same house, as always, in LA with Dom.

With Mia and Jack shuttled away to safety, Brian is ready to help the crew out. Mia worries that domestic life bores Brian. She hasn't even told him she's pregnant.

Letty is back from the dead, but things still aren't back to normal due to her memory loss. She breaks up with Dom and needs a break to "find" herself.

Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson fill out the crew, as always.

Kurt Russell even has a strong role as the guy with money and equipment at his disposal. He'll let Dom use the new cutting-edge, God's Eye software if Dom and crew will retrieve hacker, Ramsey. The job of gaining Ramsey is where the biggest action scenes take place. And surprise, Ramsey is a girl. Letty is back and ready to help her crew.

Like with all these movies, clues lead them around the world including to Dubai where Ronda Rousey makes a cameo as the part of a prince's security. She and Letty have an epic fight scene. Brian and Dom crash a billion dollar car through 3 buildings; nothing new.

They get Ramsey and the chip they need to give Russell's character to utilize God's Eye and find Shaw. The damage and body count runs high. Shaw doesn't give up without a fight, that's for sure.

I expected the ending to be sad, but it wasn't as sad as I thought it might be. Like the other movies in their series, this includes the themes of family, cars, speed, fighting, and heists. It is high energy and if it is the last, a great way to end the series.

Last year, I posted a music video for the song, "See You Again," which is prominent at the end of the movie. Here's the link to that post with the music video, See You Again.

DC, Part 7

I enjoyed the Gallery of Art-Sculpture Garden. We were able to stroll around in roughly 30 minutes. They have a beautiful, central fountain and many abstract sculptures. See my favorite sights.

We ate lunch at the nearby Pavilion Cafe. It's a hidden gem with salads, sandwiches, and pastries.

The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History was really enjoyable with a variety of exhibits. They had a really neat safari photography section. I really enjoyed their minerals and gems exhibit. They had a really neat gift shop where I added a few more bracelets to my bracelet collection. :)

Such a fun trip!

Matt Chandler; One Life-Sacrifice It

Starting Thanksgiving night here, it rained and the rain froze. So, we essentially stayed home all weekend. I hate missing church, but found a sermon on podcast by Matt Chandler called, One Life-Sacrifice It. I always enjoy his sermons and this one was no different. I found myself nodding along and hurriedly taking notes, not wanting to miss anything.


Points are things from it that Matt Chandler said that stuck out to me:
It focused on this scripture: Romans 12:1-2 New King James Version (NKJV)
Living Sacrifices to God
12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Source: Bible Gateway

-We are all broken, we have this in common
-Alone, we can't follow the 10 Commandments
-We are:
1: Guilty of Preferring Creation to the Creator
-We were created to stir up worship
2: Guilty of Believing We're Smarter than God
-We won't say it, but we believe it
-We disregard His plan
-We justify out rebellion by saying we know better than God
3. Fail to acknowledge God as Author and Giver of all things

-Psalm 139: God knit together our form
-All glory is due God for our talents, skills, and abilities

-We were created for worship
-If we worship the wrong thing, it'll betray us.

-We need to lay our hopes down and hold them loosely.

-We need to worship God today.

-He leads us into joy. Happiness is cheap.
-Joy makes us steadfast.

May this bless your heart as it blessed mine.

DC, Part 6

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a must-see site that is iconic and well-known. There were guides there to answer any question you had. They shared with me there the wall contains 58,307 names. Too many names. :( Knowing that many people died in the Vietnam War was sad and shocking.

The Korean War Memorial was touching and best to see in person. Words can't adequately describe it.

One of my favorite newer memorials was the absolutely beautiful World War II Memorial.

There I am reppin' my state; Kansas

See Me by Nicholas Sparks

I am a massive Nicholas Sparks fan. I've read EVERY book he's ever written. My favorites are: A Walk to Remember and the Last Song.

I was excited to read Nicholas Sparks' newest book, See Me. I broke my rule of not reading a book for fun during the semester, but I was on a waiting list at the library and couldn't give up my spot.

See Me is about a Mexican women, named Maria in her late 20s and her family. Since I'm Mexican, I thought it could be even more interesting.

All the books involve love and plot twists you don't see coming, so this one was no different. Let's see...Maria works in a law office. She meets a tattooed guy often on the wrong side of the law. Colin is going to school to be a teacher, tends bar, and is an MMA fighter. They come from very different worlds, but still fall in love. Shocking, right?!

A twist is that Maria gets a stalker. Yeah, I know; weird. Then the stalker gets violent. Then, there turns out to be 2 stalkers, but no one can figure out who they are until the end. Maria and her family's safety is at risk. Colin wants to protect her, but can't get in any trouble with the law or risk going to prison. Yada, yada, yada. They all live and stay together, while the stalkers face justice and unhappy fates. Pretty much just like we want plots to end, right?

It was an interesting read, but not one of my favorite Nicholas Sparks' books. Here's hoping they don't make it into a movie!

DC, Part 5

So, I imagined the White House sitting on five or 10 acres, not in the middle of buildings and a bustling city. I imagined it being on a busy street with lots of traffic, but it was on a closed street filled with Secret Service agents. I got to see their organic veggie garden too.

The White House was quiet and still. Outside, the fence, it was hard to get photos of it with all the vacationers taking photos.

Lady Victory is well known at Fort Riley, KS near where I'm from. Here's a terrific article on her. There in DC, I saw her again and it was a pleasant surprise.

We also visited the White House Gift Shop and got lots of souvenirs, including a coffee mug and Christmas ornament. I didn't know until after my purchase, but they charged $0.25 per shopping bag. With a minimum of a $25 purchase, you could get your photo taken at a replica White House Press Conference podium, White House Presidential Desk, and in the "Oval Office." It was neat to get my photo by the well-known areas.

I loved all the history and the opportunity to see places I'd only ever seen on TV!