This book was essentially Lecrae's biography. I always appreciate the background of learning what's shaped people and Lecrae holds nothing back. He also makes no excuses and owns his mistakes.
He was raised by a single mother. His feelings of abandonment and not feeling accepted due to his father not being in the picture really weighed on him growing up. Due to his mother holding many jobs, he spends a lot of time with babysitters, including one that molests him. It's heartbreaking and led him to know things someone his age shouldn't and to seek out those experiences at far too young of an age.
With flawed individuals serving as his mentors, he learns and experiences gangs, drugs, and fighting. Inwardly, he's always in turmoil seeking someone or something to fill the void in his heart. All along rap music is his release and a way for him to express himself. He grows up trying to find his purpose, but can't get out of the mire of the only life he's ever known.
He gets a girl pregnant and then pressures her to get an abortion that she doesn't want. They soon break up.
He gets into college and into more trouble. He starts going to Christian meetings, but he's still partying and doing drugs. He's living a double life.
At a Christian conference, he comes to Christ and finds peace. He gets involved in Bible studies. Soon the world pulls him away and he's back in a life of despair; miserable.
He finally goes to rehab and that helps him start getting his life back on track with Christ. There are still challenges and hard times, but he's trying to live for Christ.
He marries a Pastor's daughter that he knew in college. They move from Texas to Atlanta. He keeps doing music and ministry. He's won Grammy's and keeps pushing to be who Christ has made him to be.
Overall, I appreciated learning that I'm not the only one who struggles. At the end, our lives are all about Christ and making Him know. Lecrae's also a fantastic rapper; check him out!
I watch TV through Hulu and they kept having advertisements for a movie called, Brooklyn. It was written by Colm Toibin. It was set in the 50's and was about a girl from Ireland, so I had to see it since I love Ireland so much. I'd also seen the lead actress on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon; I love her name, Saoirse Ronan. She plans the lead role so well. I can't imagine anyone else as Eilis.
The Movie
It opens on a family of two daughters and their mother. The younger daughter, Eilis, can't find full time employment. She works on Sundays in a shop for a stuck up Ms. Kelly who gives preference to more affluent customers while treating everyone else like crap. The movie centers around Eilis. Her and her friend, Nancy go to dances together where Nancy dances with her crush, George.
Eilis' sister, Rose makes arrangements with a priest friend for Eilis to have housing and a job waiting for her in Brooklyn. Ms. Kelly doesn't take the news well and immediately fires Eilis. She comments on how Eilis' poor sister, Rose will be left to care for their mother.
As Eilis boards the ship for her journey to America, it's too much for her mom to handle and she leaves before Eilis' ship leaves. On the ship, Eilis shares a room and bunk bed with a worldly traveler. Not knowing that a big storm was brewing and no one else was eating dinner, Eilis eats alone in the dining room. Each room shares a bathroom, with another room. Knowing of the impending storm and wanting to have sole access to the bathroom, the other room locks access to the bathroom from Eilis' room. She get violently ill and must use a bucket to vomit in and use the bathroom. Her roommate comes back and cares for her, putting a cool towel on her head. She encourages Eilis not to eat until the storms end. The seasickness and not eating have made Eilis' fair skin especially pale. Her roommate points out that this will be an issue trying to get into the US. If she looks sick, they won't let her in. The roommate helps her select clothing and apply make up to make her look healthy.
She breezes into America, her boarding house, and job. She's so homesick though. Letters from home make her more sad. Her glum attitude gets her pulled from the sales floor. Her boss calls the priest who helped her secure her house and job. He comes to visit her and brainstorms for her to enroll in bookkeeping classes in the evenings. That helps keep her preoccupied.
Her landlady likes her. A new awkward boarder joins the house. Eilis is stuck going to the dance with her. There they see their popular, beautiful roommates. Eilis dances with a guy who then ignores her to dance the second dance with one of the prettier roommates. A guy emerges from the sidelines and asks her to dance. He said dancing is about acting like you know what you're doing. She asks him to walk her home at the end of the night, so she doesn't have to walk with her awkward, new roommate. He does and they plan to see each other the next week for dinner and then the dance.
Next thing you know, she has a steady boyfriend, Tony. He's head over heels crazy about Eilis. He's Italian, but attracted to Irish girls. He works as a plumber. He meets Eilis after her classes get out and walks her home. One night, Tony blurts out that he loves Eilis. She freaks out. The next week, when he'd normally meet her after class she gets out and he's not there. Soon he runs up, work kept him late. She wants to talk about what he said. He doesn't and thinks she's breaking up with him. Instead, she says that the next time he says he loves her, she'll say she loves him too. He's over the moon. Soon he asks her to meet his family. Her roommates help teach her how to eat spaghetti so she doesn't embarrass herself. Tony is one of 4 boys. His family lives in a small apartment. He warns her about his honery, little brother, Franky. His parents and other brothers are pleasant. Then, in the middle of dinner, Franky blurts out, "We don't like Irish people." He quickly gets escorted out for words with his dad. He quickly comes back and apologizes.
Eilis is doing well at work and school. She passes her year 1 exams with flying colors. Everyone is proud of her. On Christmas, she helps feed the needy. She takes a day trip to Coney Island with Tony. There they go to the beach. Later, he takes her to the country in Long Island. He and his oldest brothers have bought a large piece of land. He shares their plans to split the land into 5 lots; one for their parents, three to sell, and one for Tony. He said it would be "their" house. He's not sure what she'll say, but she thinks it's a good idea.
One day at work, her priest friend, Father Flood shows up. He has bad news, her sister, Rose has died. Eilis' world seems to be crashing down on her. Grief overcomes her. Father Flood arranges a call with her mom. That doesn't help, but makes her feel so far away. Tony comes to support her. She decides she wants to go home for a visit. Tony freaks out about it as he feels she will go and never come back unless...she marries him. He doesn't feel a promise from her that she'll come back is strong enough. So, a sex scene commenced. Then they get married at the courthouse and tell no one.
She heads back to Ireland. Eilis and her mother visit Rose's grave and put a wreath on it. She looks at Rose's old room; it feels so empty without her, but still has her jewelry that she left on the end table the night before she passed away. She meets up with her friend, Nancy and gets stuck hanging out with Nancy's now fiance, George and his friend, Jim Farrell. Eilis feels set up and isn't happy about it. She wants nothing to do with Jim, until he catches her off-guard, by sharing his sincere condolences for the death of her sister and said he and his family attended the funeral. He spoke of how well-regarded Rose was. The golf club that Rose was a member of is setting up a scholarship in her honor.
Tony writes, but Eilis doesn't write back. It's like she's living a new life. Rose's coworkers send for Eilis as they have some accounting work piling up and need help. Eilis helps and continues to do so throughout her 1+ month in Ireland. She extends her trip to attend Nancy's wedding. She spends more time on double dates with Nancy, George, and Jim.
Jim comes from a well-to-do family who owns a bar with a house attached and has a house in the country. As an only child, Jim will inherit the bar and home when his family retires. They all enjoy beach trips and dinners out. Her mom drops hints of how Jim is a good catch. Everyone views Eilis as glamorous with her new clothes and other worldliness. She continues to be torn between two worlds and lives.
Jim takes Eilis and her mom to Nancy's beautiful wedding. Her mom is happy.
Rose's employer wants Eilis to stay and work there. It's like she can get her whole life back. She meets Jim's parents and they talk of their impending retirement. It's clear that Jim loves her and they're essentially a couple. Engagement is soon to come.
Eilis' former employer, Ms. Kelly sends for her. She's not sure why she's being called. Turns out that a cousin of Ms. Kelly's saw Eilis get married and knows about her new relationship with Jim. It's then and there that Eilis decides that she must go. She goes and immediately books her passage back to the United States for the next day. She goes home and tells her shocked mother that she's married. Her mother remains calm and says that her husband must be a good guy if Eilis picked him. Despite the fact that it's early afternoon, her mom says her goodbyes calmly to Eilis and heads to bed. She doesn't plan to say goodbye in the morning.
Eilis writes Jim a letter and leaves it at his home on her way to the ship.
One the ship, she befriends a young girl that's heading to America for the first time and helps her much like she was helped.
She heads straight to Tony's work and stands across the street waiting. He comes out, finally sees her, and runs to embrace her. The End!
The Book
The Differences
1. In the book, Eilis has three brothers that live in England due to not being able to find work in Ireland
2. It has Eilis doing training for bookkeeping while in Ireland
3. One of her brothers meets her and helps her get set for the voyage to America
4. She meets Father Flood as soon as she arrives
5. Things with Jim Farrell are a bit steamier than the PG content shown in the movie
Overall, I loved the first 2/3 of the movie and book. It took me back to a different place in time.
I'd seen previews for this movie, but thought it would be too weird and sad. I thought it would be odd like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or The Time Traveler's Wife. I thought it would feel unbelievable like those movies, but it didn't.
I cheered for Adeline Bowman from the start. The beautiful Blake Lively played her and did a terrific job. I'm now a Blake Lively fan.
It's about a beautiful girl from the 1920s who marries a successful man. They have a daughter. On Adaline's way to see her family, she's driving and it's rainy night. She crashes through a guardrail and plunges into a shallow body of water and dies. Two minutes later, lightning strikes and restarts her heart. That causes her not to age past her current age of 29. Her husband soon passes away in a work accident.
As her daughter ages they look more and more like sisters. Her childhood friends are shocked at how young she looks. She get pulled over and the officer can't believe she's in her 40s which her license says. He asks her to report to the police station the next day with her birth certificate. And so her life on the run begins. She leaves her now-college age daughter.
She changes her name and moves every couple of years. She has no close friends and doesn't really build relationships. She always has her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She went though many during her lifetime.
I love her style, which has a vintage, classic feel. She works with books and archives. New Year's Eve comes and she goes to a big party to hear her friend play music for the event. Her friend is blind and has no idea how young Adeline actually looks. As Adaline enters the venue looking timeless and beautiful, she sees a photo of herself and two army guys from a New Year's party there years ago. She reflects on that memory and heads into the party. Some young guy comes up admiring Adeline's beauty and her friend makes a comment about them being "cougars." He looks shocked as only one of them looks like a "cougar." He leaves.
In walks a dapper guy in a suit. Adaline catches his eye and he catches hers. The moment is ruined when a pretty girl walks up to him and kisses his cheek. Shortly after midnight, Adaline excuses herself from the party to head home. As the elevator doors close at the venue, a hand sticks through the door. You guessed it, the handsome man. His game is good, but she is not having it. He stops her cab and asks how he'll get in touch with her. She smiles and leaves.
He shows up at her work. He'll donate $50,000 in books if she'll go on a date with him. She refuses, but finally changes her mind. Gotta get them books. He brings her books with flower names, like the White Oleander. Their date goes well and he's crazy about her. Her dog dies and she pulls away from the guy, Ellis. She talks to her daughter, Flemming about the relationship and she encourages Adaline to open her heart.
When she reaches out to Ellis, he's overjoyed. She's finally happy, but holding a big secret. Soon he asks her to meet his parents and attend their anniversary party. She agrees. Soon they're heading outside of the city to his parent's home.
As soon as they enter his parent's house, Ellis' dad recognizes Adaline. She's going by the name, Jennifer, so she claims her mom was Adaline. Turns out, Adaline and Ellis' dad, played by Harrison Ford (who is looking crazy old nowadays) dated years ago. They met overseas. They came back to the states and he planned to propose, but she never showed up. In actuality, she saw him with the ring before she got out of the cab and asked the cabbie to keep going.
The next day, while everyone else is away, Ellis' dad sees a scar on Adeline's hand that jogs a memory. He rushes to find boxes in the shed, searching for a photo. He finds it. When he and Adaline were dating 25+ years ago, she cut her hand while hiking and he stitched it up. He was studying to be a doctor. He confronts her. She runs, packs her things, and tears off in Ellis' car. Ellis comes back from his walk to see what's happened and runs after her. It's rainy and she drives fast. She skids off the road as a truck hits her and leaves. She dies. Ellis comes upon the wreck and runs to her. An ambulance arrives and they shock her, which re-starts her heart. At the hospital, she awakes and tells Ellis everything. He looks overwhelmed. In walks her daughter, now an elderly silver-haired woman. She confirms Adaline is her mom.
The movie skips ahead one year. Adaline, Flemming, and Ellis live together with a puppy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Ellis is waiting on Adeline and they're heading to a fancy party. They're dressed to the nines. Adaline goes for one last check in the mirror. She sees something and pulls a hair, it's gray! She smiles. The shock to her heart fixed whatever wouldn't let her age. What a happy ending!
I've posted in the past about where I got my love of wreaths and how to make a burlap wreath. I've been wanting to make a ruffly wreath like seen here, so spring break was my time for a project.
Here's the tutorial that I used. Let's just say that it was a lot harder than I thought it'd be.
I chose to make the larger-sized wreath. It required WAY more fabric than I expected. I eventually chose a bright coral fabric.
I used the suggested ruler, self healing mat, and rotating cutter. Cutting the fabric took EIGHT HOURS! From there, it took ANOTHER 8 HOURS to tie all 5 yards worth of fabric to the wire frame.
I'd found the little flower bouquet at Goodwill and knew a white ribbon would tie it all together well. Again my mom made the ribbon for me. :)
This is not for the faint of heart, but I was thrilled with the result!
The next morning after the game, we decided to check out a nearby Farmers Market. We love Farmer's Markets and go to the one here in Manhattan, Kansas roughly twice a month. We went to the Kansas City River Market in Kansas City, Missouri. It was huge! We tried Amish made pecan cinnamon rolls and they were terrific!
They had an Italian market, Carollo's Gourmet Grocery, Deli, and Grill with cannolis and I had to get some. I hadn't had a good cannoli since leaving Italy four years ago. While there, I also tried their sea salt chocolate caramel gelato. There aren't places like that in Manhattan, Kansas and I didn't want to miss out. So glad we stopped there.
From there we stopped at Sephora in the Plaza, so I could get a few things.
We headed back to the Legends area and are at Casa Agave. Their food was awful and that was the down part of our trip.
We did a little more shopping at Legends and headed home.
It was so nice to get away for a night with my mom. We had fun exploring KC!
