Insurgent

As you may remember from previous posts, I'm a huge fan of the Divergent series. I read and loved the three-book series. I enjoyed the first movie in the series so very much. The characters feel real, despite the other-worldly premise. To me, the series feels similar to Hunger Games with the strong female lead and action sequences.

Insurgent opens on the factions being displaced. Tris, Tobias (Four), and a few other Dauntless are holed up with one of the very passive, peaceable factions. That doesn't bode well with spit-fire Tris. Her fire gets them nearly kicked out of their safe haven. Soon they're tracked by Jeanine lackies including the former Dauntless leader, Eric. Jeanine has sent them in search of Divergents to help Jeanine open the box. It can only be opened by a Divergent who can pass all five of the factions simulations. Everyone she finds to try to open it isn't Divergent enough and ends up dying during the simulations. So, the search for a more Divergent person continues. Eventually, they test Tris and see that she's 100% Divergent; just what Jeanine has been looking for, but shes in safety, so they start brainwashing her friends to commit suicide unless she gives herself up. Tris can't see people dying "because" of her, so unbeknownst to everyone she turns herself in to save the others. Once hooked up to the simulator, she see her brother on Jeanine's side. The simulations nearly kill her. So, they get a break for Tris. On the way back to her holding cell, she sees Tobias in a nearby cell; he came to save her. In the end, instead of leaving or stealing the box, she decides she needs to open it. When it's opened, it's supposed to have a message from the founders of the factions. So, her and Tobias break into the testing room and bunker down in there. Once through the simulation, the founder's video message is shared, just as Jeanine and her lackies break into the lab. The video tells that there is life outside of the factions and that they should enter the real world when they're ready. I look forward to the last Divergent movie, Allegiant.



I need a new series of books to read, what do you suggest?

Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks is one of America's most beloved actors with the ability to play so many different and memorable characters. So, I was excited to see that he's still staying current with the following two videos.

Carly Rae Jepsen's music video, I Really Like You is fun, catchy, and features our much loved Tom Hanks. He charmingly lip syncs the entire song and even does a little choreographed dancing; love! I think, it's my jam of the year. It always makes me smile and I hope it makes you smile too.

I came across this fabulous clip on Facebook today. It was from the Late Late Show with James Corden and is literally every Tom Hanks movie in 8 minutes. It was funny, creative, and made me love Tom Hanks even more. I now want to watch all his movies and can't wait to see what he stars in next; he's so very talented!

What do you think?

TV Show Addictions

Since I moved from cable to Hulu Plus earlier this year, I've had to find new shows to follow vs. click around and find something interesting to watch. It's kind of been harder than I thought, but I love the massive savings from switching to cable. I spent roughly $70/month vs. $7.99/month. For a yearly savings of roughly $744.12.

The shows:
Hart of Dixie is about a NY doctor that moves to Blue Belle, Mississippi to be a small town doctor. The cast of characters is so fun! Take a peak:

Jane the Virgin is another show I'm addicted too. It's about a Latina woman in her 20s. It represents a lot of what its like to be in a Hispanic family.

Millionaire Matchmaker-I know some people don't like Patty Stanger, but I love her no-nonsense, blunt approach. I just finished Season 7 on Hulu Plus.

About a Boy is about a quirky, British mother (played by the lovable Minnie Driver), her nerdy young son, and her attractive, Peter Pan-esque male neighbor. Every episode is always funny and relatable to a degree.

America's Next Top Model is full of drama and fashion. I could never do it. I just finished Season 21.

Top Chef matches with my deep love of cooking and innovation. My favorite chef just won on Season 11.

Any shows that I should add to my Watchlist? :)

One Life, Transform It-Matt Chandler Sermon

A couple weeks ago, I was too sick to go to church. I hate missing church as it helps me start my week. To get a great sermon in, I listened to a podcast from Pastor Matt Chandler, titled, One Life, Transform It. It was wonderful and I wanted to share it with you all. It was one of those great sermons that gets you recharged and ready to take on the week.

Recipe #24: Spinach Chicken Rolls

I'm always looking for new recipes and I love eating/cooking chicken. So, I was excited to find this recipe on Pinterest:
I already had chopped spinach, ricotta cheese, and shredded cheese mixed together from making Spinach Rolls, so I just added garlic cloves, bread crumbs, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. From there, I spread the mixture on the chicken breasts that I'd cut in half width-wise. I rolled the edges under, topped with marinara sauce, cheese and basil then put it in the oven for 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees.

The result was terrific and my super picky dad even liked it! I really enjoyed this recipe and hope you'll try it!

Recipe # 23: White Chicken Chili

White Chicken Chili is one of my favorite soup recipes, especially during cold weather. It's a healthy recipe from Spark People. I made a lot extra and put it in the freezer.
I made a couple of tweaks, I added more cannelloni beans, and more chicken stock. Here's the tasty recipe.

What's your favorite soup recipe?

Media 2

While out for surgery last month, I watched The Fault In Our Stars. I'd heard of the book and the movie; I had thought it would be a sad, teenie-bopper movie.

I fell in love with the movie and the depth of the characters. Gus, the male lead character, played by new kid on the block, Ansel Elgort, was a dream of a leading man; he was sweet, funny, edgy, super cute, real and vibrantly alive. The lead female, Hazel Grace Lancaster, played by Shailene Woodley. I enjoyed watching Shailene Woodley in Divergent and this was a much different role for her. In Divergent she's strong, brave, and in charge. In The Fault In Our Stars she's sick, weak, yet brave and deep.

The movie focused on teenage cancer patient, Hazel. Hazel's life is full of doctor's appointment, medical tests, and her parents. At the request of her doctor and mom, she starts attending a therapy group for teenage cancer patients. She hates it. There she meets Gus who unabashedly starts flirting with her and spending time getting to know her. No one had ever forced their way into her life and stayed until Gus. On top of that, she finally starts living life. Seeing the pain of what the parents with terminally ill children go through was eye-opening and obviously, I felt their pain. I'll stop there, but I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I laughed and I cried; it was real.


Over fall, I saw the movie, If I Stay. I'd originally thought it would be different than it was, as it featured several genres of music; interesting. Overall, I wasn't not happy with how the movie ended, but it was different. Chloe Grace Moritz the lead star is dating David and Victoria Beckham's son, Brooklyn.


One of my new favorite songs, Nothing is Wasted by Jason Gray. The lyrics really resonate with me and my hopefully healing heart:

The hurt that broke your heart
And left you trembling in the dark
Feeling lost and alone
Will tell you hope's a lie
But what if every tear you cry
Will seed the ground where joy will grow

(chorus)
Nothing is wasted
Nothing is wasted
In the hands of our Redeemer
Nothing is wasted

It's from the deepest wounds
That beauty finds a place to bloom
And you will see before the end
That every broken piece is
Gathered in the heart of Jesus
And what's lost will be found again

(chorus)
Nothing is wasted
Nothing is wasted
In the hands of our Redeemer
Nothing is wasted

(Bridge)
When hope is more than you can bear
And it's too hard to believe it could be true
And your strength fails you halfway there
You can lean on me and I'll believe for you
And in time you will believe it too

(chorus)
Nothing is wasted
Nothing is wasted
Sometimes we are waiting
In sorrow we have tasted
But joy will replace it
Nothing is wasted
In the hands of our Redeemer
Nothing is wasted


I sure hope my pain and tears haven't been wasted and that God can use it all for His good.

Not crazy about the music video, but check it out:

Resolutions

I made my New Year's Resolutions pretty late this year.

1. I'm not dating for at least the first four months of the year, maybe all year (it's up to God). I took myself outta the game and deleted myself from the two dating sites I was on. Some I'd been on for roughly 8 years. I realized that those sites were a continual source of disappointment and reminder that here were 5 new matches today that were also not going to work. I really felt prompted by God to get outta the game. Even if I've said in the past that I wasn't trying, I always was. I decided to stop trying. Yes, I still notice cute guys, but I've decided to not worry about things. I'm feeling MUCH more comfortable with turning 31 this year, than I did turning 30. There was something emotional about 30. Maybe it was because I realized I didn't have many/any of the things I'd hope I'd have at 30 (married, house, kids, etc.) It's actually been pretty freeing to quit trying.

2. I'm also making a conscience effort to cut down my Facebook and Pinterest time. Now this one is definitely a work in progress, but I want to be among the people living life versus living it through social media.

3. I've also trying to be careful about what I see and listen to, as you think about what you spend your time on. So, no 50 Shades of Grey or Magic Mike for me. I want to have a pure mind and heart. Definitely challenging!

What I hope to fill my time with because of these changes is 1) God; 2) actually living life through spending time with friends, traveling more, going to movies and concerts; 3) focusing more on school. When I'm not addicted to catching up on on social media every morning, I read a devotional with scriptures (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young) and have time to pray. This keeps me in a positive frame of mind heading into work. I've been making a conscience effort to not text, but call and catch up with friends; actually share life. I've started this and it's been refreshing and so rewarding.

Any thoughts? I'm feeling inspired! Are you? What are your resolutions?

Goodbye Cable

After talking about it for months, I've gotten rid of cable. I was driven to it by the rising cost of cable. My cable and internet bill was $125 a month. So, after talking with friends who use services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime I decided to make a change. It'll take a lot of getting used to, but the savings are enormous.

Generally, you can stream through your laptop or DVD player. In my case, my two year old DVD player wasn't one of the ones I could stream off of. This was an issue for me since I'd have to stream off my laptop and you can't use your laptop and stream at the same time. So, I went to Wal-Mart and talked to a very helpful employee in electronics. He said I could buy Chromecast and stream from that while being able to use my laptop. I didn't know this, but Chromecast is something you put into the USB drive of your TV. It was $35, so it seemed like a decent deal, compared with not being able to use my laptop. Chromecast doesn't work with Amazon Prime, so I bought a short HDMI cord for use with that. For all supplies, minus service, I paid $44. Hulu Plus is $7.99/month and Amazon Prime is $99/year. Any way you cut it, it's a huge savings.

Click here for an interesting article "8 Things You Didn't Know Your Chromecast Could Do"

Here's an article that made me think through the saving from switching from cable.

I think, I'll enjoy the switch and money saved. Maybe I'll even watch a little less TV...

In case you want to see what I'm up to on Pinterest:
Visit Myranda's profile on Pinterest.

Tonsillectomy, Part 5

Now that I've made it through tonsillectomy surgery here's what I now know:

-Ice cream is too sweet and creamy to be enjoyable
-Cold feels best, but eating warm foods doesn't hurt
-A little blood in the beginning is okay
-Nausea is normal; depending on how bad it is, get meds
-You can use a straw without pain
-Pudding is a bit too sweet, but it works
-Applesauce and JELLO are your friends. I put in a cup of oj while making lemon JELLO and that was my favorite
-Popsicles; YES! A healthy, less sweet version is best
-You're not hungry at all the first week, but still need to eat with your meds and for strength
-It's best to have someone to help you out at least the first week. You're not in any shape to keep track of all your meds
-Walking around the house is a good idea; keeps you active
-Propping up your pillows at night feels nice
-Ice water feels the best to drink
-Some blogs say you eat ice 24/7, but that wasn't the case for me. I just liked it in my beverages.
-You sleep a ton
-Talking is difficult and comes out in a loud, mumbled whisper. After a week it gets stronger
-The first week you don't feel like doing anything at all
-Ear pain can start late in the game and bring you to your knees. Try colloidal silver in them.
-It can take awhile for your throat and scabs to fully heal. I'm two weeks out and still not quite up to 100%
-Relaxing in a jetted tub can help with soreness from surgery
-Thumbing through magazines helps pass the time
-The first week, you won't be up for much TV, reading, etc. at all.