The Living Room

This photo was taken just inside our front door (which we rarely use).  

To demonstrate how wonderfully cheap we are (and also to brag about the awesome steals we get), let me list for you the items currently in our living room that we bought from Craiglist: piano/lamp/bench, TV stand, game cabinet, end table, coffee table, and couch ($35 people!).

This photo was taken from behind the couch near the door to the kitchen.

Yes that is another puzzle on the coffee table.  That one is penguins, and it was one of the more difficult ones.  We like puzzles.  Correction, we love puzzles.  Correction, I love puzzles.

And this photo was taken from the corner by the TV.  You can see our front door, and into the "2nd bedroom" that now houses my sewing things, our new desk and computer, as well as our 3rd row car seat that we never bothered to put back in the van when we moved. :)

That doorway also takes you into a hallway that leads to our bathroom and then our bedroom.  And from this spot you can see Pat and Donny's new turtle tank and stand.  40 gallons baby.  It fits perfectly in our little nook:

Welcome to my living room.

Skirt

I got a sewing machine for Christmas this year (last year?), and this skirt was my first go at it.  I sort of know how to sew from making random things in high school, but it has been a while and it is different on a new machine.  But the skirt was pretty easy.  I just bought the pattern, thread, elastic, and some fabric (solid print that looks the same on both sides to make it even easier) and eventually came out with a skirt.  :)  I need to learn how to finish seams more efficiently, and I didn't try very hard with the hem because I knew it was going to be too short to wear.

All considered, it was a good first go!

The Hunger Games

Have you read this series?  Because I really couldn't put it down.  I just finished and now Paul's reading it.  We even bought them!! Well, the Kindle version of them.

PS Do you have a Kindle?  Because I really love mine.

Our House

Hey!  That's our house!  It is a 2Bed 1Bath house with a done-over garage that acts for us as a storage space.   We have a spacious backyard and front yard, but it hasn't been maintained for who knows how long.  In the summer when it rains we get a forest of weeds and any other time it just looks dead and brown.  But that is what everyone's lawn looks like, so who cares really?  We have our own mailbox with a flag (which I like to put up) and we have our own parking spot.  There are no sidewalks in our neighborhood and no street lamps either.  That is unfortunate especially when you have to walk anywhere at night.

The house itself was built somewhere in the 50's but the owners recently did it over.  Pictures of the inside to come shortly!

News

I have a happy announcement to make.

I'm going to school again! 

Actually, I think it would be more true if I said, "I am taking classes!" but either way.  I just got accepted to an online TESOL certificate program and I'm very excited (TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages).  It starts in early February and lasts 15 weeks, and then, VOILA, I will be certified!  :D

I liked school right??

Mvoies!!

I definitely spelled that wrong but I am going to leave it like that just because.

This post is for all you theatre-goers.  I hope these are all still out so that you can avoid the bad ones but catch the good ones (according to me at least).  

How Do You Know.  I didn't hate watching this movie.  There were some funny parts (mostly attributed to Owen Wilson) but in the end it really wasn't that great.  The storyline was cutup and broken, and I never really got that fuzzy feeling, oh, everything is going to be all right because they're together!  It just didn't happen, and I kind of expect that, at least a little bit, from a romantic comedy.  I never want to see it again.

Tron.  I didn't really know what to expect from this since I hadn't ever heard of the original but I thought, based on the trailers, that there might be a lot of cool 3D bike action.  Potential?  So we saw it.  But there was only one memorable action scene and the rest was long and boring.  REALLY boring. I cannot stress enough how boring it was.  Very sad for Jeff Bridges.  Until ...

True Grit.  I loved this!  It was clever and raw and heartfelt and gory and suspenseful and lovable.  It was truly gritty.  I am not too familiar with the Coen brothers, but I will most likely look at their movies in the future.  And I don't usually watch westerns either, but this really was amazing.  Go see it.

Tangled.  This was very cute.  I thought that Mandy Moore was a great voice for the main character.  and this totally outdid The Princess and the Frog, if you saw that. 

Did I miss anything worthwhile in the theatres this season??