The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

I finally rented The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and it wasn't anything like I imagined; I still really liked it though. Walter lives a relatively boring life. When people talk to him, he zones out, imagining what would happen if he said or did things differently. He manages photo negatives for Time magazine. He works closely with a famous photographer who shoots breath-taking photos in exotic locales. After a series of events, Walter decides to quit thinking about things and actually do them. So, he sets off to track down the photographer. This leads him on many adventures and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Once he's had a taste of really living life, when he returns from his trek he continues to live brave. It's a super cool movie and I recommend it. It features beautiful scenery and several places which are now on my bucket list. :)

Recipe #16: Tuna Avocado Salad

I kept seeing tuna salad recipes using avocado and decided to try it. I actually enjoyed this recipe. I felt, I used much less mayo than I normally do; success!

Ingredients:
2 cans of tuna
1 chopped avocado
3 eggs chopped
1 tablespoons of peas
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup of mayo
1/4 cup of great northern beans

Music I'm Currently Digging

I happened upon great violinist, Lindsey Stirling and I loved this version of All of Me with John Legend. Love it or what?

Through Itunes radio top 50 dance songs, I happened upon the next two songs. Armin van Buuren and his song, This is what it feels like:

Check out Glenn Morrison's Goodbye:

All these are so catchy, right? Somehow, they all fit my current mood.

30 Things About Me/Things I've Learned in My 30 Years

1. It's better to have a few close friends than to have a lot of surface-level friendships
2. I need friends who encourage me to be me, not them
3. I have more people in my corner than I realize
4. Now is always the right time to apologize and try to make the relationship right. They may not accept your apology, but it still means something and you still did the right thing.
5. Eating healthy really does make all the difference
6. Any amount of exercise is better than none
7. Laughing really is the best medicine
8. Learn something from every situation; even bad ones. Don't let the lesson be wasted.
9. Sometimes it's okay to open up and let people know you're struggling; we're all human. People appreciate realness.
10. Nothing makes me happier than planning a trip and of course taking that trip ;)
11. Journaling has been a life-saver and helps me process how I'm feeling about things
12. I'm a processor; I need time to process through my thoughts and emotions
13. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is find your voice and stand up for yourself
14. Prayer and my relationship with God get me through each day. He is my Strength!
15. My love language is words of affirmation. Say something sincere and sweet and I'll never forget it. I save e-mails and cards with kind words. On bad days, I reflect on those words.
16. Working out helps me unwind, otherwise I'm tense and a bear ;)
17. You become like your friends, so choose friends carefully
18. Dancing makes me happy
19. I take pride in cooking and baking; I love to try new recipes
20. Sometimes, you just have to laugh at yourself. It's a better alternative to crying.
21. Reading is the next best thing to traveling; it makes me feel like I'm somewhere else
22. I love the feel of the sun on my skin
23. I will cry tears of joy when I finish my Masters; less than 3 years to go now ;)
24. I fall down, but I always get back up. I'm stronger than I think, because I have God in my life.
25. I'm a list maker and get great joy from crossing things off my list
26. I'm a wild woman when I'm on a jet ski; I've gone up to 49 mph after which I've panicked, screamed, and let off the gas!
27. I have killer road rage!
28. Prayer changes everything; especially me
29. Never take your relationships for granted. I have the best friends and family ever!
30. I love naps!!!

Ireland

It's official, the Ireland trip is on! I'll be going in roughly six weeks. I'll be going with a family member, who I've never traveled with. We've never spent 10 whole days together, so this should be interesting and I'm really excited! I'm also thrilled that they've agreed to drive. I don't know how to drive stick and the thought of driving on the opposite side of the road terrifies me. I'm pretty spoiled, as they're letting me set the itinerary.

Any thoughts of places I should see in Ireland? So, far I'm planning to fly into Shannon and fly out of Dublin. After Shannon, the plan is to stay in Doolin for two nights to see the Cliffs of Moher and Burren. After that, we'll head to Dingle for two nights. There we will see the Blasket Islands, Dingle Peninsula, and Slea Head. Next, we'll be off to Kenmare for a night or two. There we'll see the Rings of Kerry, Skellig Michael, Muckross House, and maybe even Killarney. Off to Kinsale for a night to see the Blarney Castle/Blarney Stone kissing and Cork. Somewhere before we head to Dublin we'll also see the Rocks of Cashel, Waterford, Kilkenny, Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains, and the Gardens of Powerscott. If there is an extra day we'll head north to see Kells, Trim, the Hill of Tara and Drogheda. Our last stop is Dublin where we'll spend at least two nights. There we hope to see Trinity College, Book of Kells, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Hard Rock Cafe, a couple of places I can't remember and possibly also Howth. My cousin will be in Dublin the same time as me, so we're hoping to meet up. Out of everything I've read and researched; I'm most excited to see the Cliffs of Moher!

I'm nervous about the prospects of rain. I'm also nervous that it may be cold. Am I forgetting anything? Any tips for my trip?

Recipes #14 and 15: Healthy Mac & Cheese and Frozen Blueberries in Yogurt

I've been meaning to try out a few new recipes, so check out these:
Creamy Greek Yogurt Mac & Cheese.
It was a really easy recipe.
Ingredients
8 oz. (about 2 cups) elbow pasta
8 oz. (about 2 cups) shredded cheese
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
2 cups fresh spinach
salt & pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
I didn't have elbow macaroni, so I used rotini. I also didn't have spinach, so I used peas (I love peas!).
Here's how mine turned out; probably needed more cheese. Otherwise, quite tasty.

Next, I tried this recipe for frozen yogurt covered blueberries. They did have a nice fresh sweetness. So, as you'll see mine didn't turn out as pretty; I tried. :)
Both recipes I found on Pinterest. Yes, I'm an addict! ;)

Has anyone tried any of the recipes I shared? I'd love to hear your feedback. Be brave! ;)

Divergent

I just saw the new movie, Divergent. It was pretty close to the book, which is normally my pet peeve. It was just over two hours, but moved along nicely.

Most of the actors they cast were about how I'd imagined the characters, except Al. He wasn't quite what I pictured for that character. I thought Ashley Judd, was great as Tris' mom. *Spoiler Alert: The scene where she was killed nearly made me cry. Needless to say, I can't wait for the next movie.

This series is my second favorite compared to the Hunger Games Series.

I need another good book series to read. Any suggestions?

Catching Up on New Releases

I finally saw the movie, the Internship with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn. It was about two laid off salesmen who apply for and get accepted as interns at Google. They have little to no tech skills and get in a group with other outcasts. With those two actors I expected a funny movie, but it wasn't as funny as I'd hoped. It also had some inappropriate scenes that didn't add to the movie or plot any. It definitely wouldn't be a movie you'd watch with kids. Against all odds, the group finally gels and they excel on team challenges. In the end, despite all the challenges, the team wins and are offered jobs at Google. Happily ever after.

I've been wanting to see the movie, the Book Thief and I finally rented it. It's set during the time of WW2. It takes place in Germany. A mother takes her two kids by train and on the way the son dies. Apparently, she was taking both kids to be adopted by a German couple in their 50s. The wife is disappointed to not have a son. The little girl, Liesl can't read, so her new dad teaches her. She makes friends with a boy at school who is her neighbor, Rudy. Soon her family takes in a Jewish young man, Max. They do this because the boy's dad died saving the life of the girl's father. The father, Hans has promised to help the family. They nurse Max back to health. He lives in their basement. They barely have enough food to eat.
Liesl loves to read and steals a book from a book burning. Her mother does the laundry for a rich leader and Liesl returns the clean laundry. The wife lets her read books in their giant library. The leader finds out and fires her mom from the laundry job. So, Liesl crawls in their library window and "borrows" books.
Max becomes ill again and Liesl reads to him as he's unconscious. Hans gets sent into war. Max gets better, but realizes he must leave for the safety of the family. His leaving is hard on everyone especially Liesl. All the town has to go for safety to shelters for air raid drills. Liesl tells stories to pass the time to her neighbors. Bombs hit one night while everyone is sleeping in their homes. The whole town is reduced to rubble. People dig in hopes of finding someone alive. Liesl is pulled from the rubble. She soon finds the bodies of her parents who have been pulled from the rubble. Rudy is pulled out. He starts to confess his love for Liesl, but she tells him to rest. He dies.
Two years later, the story picks up. Liesl works in the business of Rudy's dad. One day, Max walks in. The story ends by saying that Liesl had a great life. Such a good movie; I encourage you to see it!

Allegiant

I'm a huge fan of the Divergent series. I've been dying to finish the last book, Allegiant. It was so different from the other two books. I feel like Allegiant really has a lot more twists than I expected. It pretty much had me on the edge of my seat. It's over 500 pages and a quite addictive read. :) I just finished it, last night. Wow, not the ending I expected! It leaves no room for an additional book. It doesn't quite end like I would've liked. I can't wait to see the movie now. The protagonist, Tris is brave, headstrong, and real. Her life experiences are beyond comprehension. Her relationships are all really complex. What drew me to the series was how she reacted in tough situations; she was incredibly selfless. I guess, I realize a little adventure and a story of a selfless person could be an inspiration for me.

I will say this series is similar to the Hunger Games series, but not quite as good. It's going to be a long wait for all three movies. :( Is anyone else planning to see this movie?

Recipes # 12 and 13: Italian Chicken and Chicken Avocado Patties

I read somewhere about marinating chicken with an Italian dressing packet. I marinated two chicken breasts with an Italian dressing packet overnight. I cooked them at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I think, next time I'd add some pats of butter and cook it for 35 minutes. It did have a nice flavor though.


Next, I tried a recipe I recently found on Pinterest; Chicken Avocado Patties. It was a very easy recipe and I really liked it.


The ingredients were ground chicken, an avocado, panko/bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper. It wished the recipe told how much salt to use since you can't sample raw chicken. I had to cook a few test them and add more salt twice. I used more than a pound of chicken. I probably ended up with at least half a teaspoon of salt.

First, I cut the avocado in the skin, added the bread crumbs, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and chicken.

After mixing it, I cooked them on medium heat in a skillet.

Here's the finished project; super yum! It would be really nice paired with some rice and mixed veggies.