Getting Personal #25: August Goals

Goals - quoteslike

Image Credit: quoteslike.com

Several bloggers I follow do monthly goal posts, and I’ve always enjoyed reading them. It’s good to put yourself out there, to hold yourself accountable!

When I read Brey’sย post this morning, I knew I wanted to start doing my own.


I commented on Brey’s post with my goals, so I’ll share those first:

  1. Build up some cash
  2. Thoroughly enjoy my birthday!
  3. See Star Trek: Beyond, Jason Bourne, and maybe one other movie with my husband
  4. Prepare for the start of my Trial Prep & Discovery class at the end of the month
  5. Finalize our first wedding anniversary getaway for November
  6. Read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child
  7. Keep blogging!

Between writing that comment and starting this post, I came up with a few more:

  1. Paint as much of the house as possible
  2. Hopefully move my furniture!
  3. Find at least five new recipes
  4. Start tracking our monthly expenses via spreadsheet
  5. Check out geekgirlpenpals.com (Thanks, A Girl’s Voyage!)

Here’s the breakdown:

Build up some cash

  • Last month, I got bit by the American Girl bug. I have two dolls – Stephanie and Molly – and I happened to find several American Girl groups on Facebook. Let’s just say I went a little crazy / overboard (Neither doll has made the trek from Mom and Dad’s to our house yet, either). So, in August, I’ve pledged to slow down on the personal spending and try to rebuild some of my cash.

Thoroughly enjoy my birthday!

  • My birthday falls on a Sunday this year – So that’s awesome. I worked on my actual birthday for several years, and I hated it. Finally, I decided that I would take my birthday off from work if it fell during the week, or a Friday or Monday if it fell during the weekend. This year, I’m doing the Monday route, and I’m so excited. The last few years, I’ve treated myself to a movie, solo, one that Al may not want to see. My plan is to go to LUSH at MacArthur Mall and then see a movie there. We’re (Al, me, and my parents) also going to Olive Garden for dinner on Sunday night – Yum!

See Star Trek: Beyond, Jason Bourne, and maybe one other movie with my husband

  • We’re hoping to see Star Trek: Beyond this week. Jason Bourne also looks very good. We are considering seeing Suicide Squad on Thursday night, but it may be later this weekend or next week. I have roughly three weeks before my fall class starts, so I’m very excited for the break!

Prepare for the start of my Trial Prep & Discovery class at the end of the month

  • I have a short break before my Trial Prep & Discovery class starts on August 22nd. It’s another on-campus class in Virginia Beach, but the class is held just once a week, on Tuesday nights. I’m really excited for this one! We get to learn about trials, the discovery process, and how you prepare to go to trial. I need to get my books and make sure everything is squared away long before the 22nd!

Finalize our first wedding anniversary getaway for November

  • Our first wedding anniversary is November 14th. Yeesh, how time flies! Al and I have been discussing where to go and what to do. We’ve been debating back and forth – Do we go away, or do something local? We probably won’t be doing a whole week off of work, but likely a Friday – Tuesday thing, since our anniversary falls on a Monday this year, due to Leap Year.

Read Harry Potter and The Cursed Child

  • As much of a Harry Potter fan as I am, I was very skeptical about The Cursed Child. However, I’m going to bite the bullet and buy it!

Keep blogging!

  • I really enjoyed doing the July TV Show Photo Challenge! I had a lot of fun with it, and I’m so proud of myself that I posted every day for 16 days! Woohoo! I’m taking a break from daily challenges for this month, but I hope to do another one in September. In the meantime, I plan to keep blogging as much as possible – I have at least three books I want to read and review, plus house updates!

Paint as much of the house as possible

  • Al made amazing progress this weekend on the walls by our stairs and upstairs hallway. I was able to help a little, with finishing my final Legal Research project and all. We’re planning to get the paint for the four bedrooms tonight, and just go to town.

Hopefully move my furniture!

  • We haven’t moved much of my furniture because we’ve been painting, and our garages have been pretty full. So that would be nice to accomplish by the end of the month. Then we’ll be fully moved in, and my parents get two bedrooms back!

Find at least five new recipes

  • I want to pull out our new Crock-Pot and go to town, among other things. I have two recipes that I used years ago, but I want to push myself and find five brand-new recipes that will be healthy and tasty!

Start tracking our monthly expenses via spreadsheet

  • We just made our first mortgage payment! Wow. We decided last month to catalog everything in a spreadsheet, so we’ll sit down and start inputting every dollar.

Check out geekgirlpenpals.com

  • Thanks to her Snail Mail post, I want to check out this site immediately. I love writing letters and cards, so I’m excited to look at this site and possibly sign up to get a pen pal!

That’s it for my August goals!

I’m going to make this a regular thing – Do a “Goals” post around the 1st of the month, and then a “Recap” post at the end of the month. I’m excited!

Do you have any for this month?


Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚

Commentary #36: “July TV Show Photo Challenge” (Day 31)

Image Credit gettingthroughanxiety

Image Credit: gettingthroughanxiety.wordpress.com

Favorite Season Finale

Wow, I can’t believe it. We’re at the last day of July!

I really enjoyed this challenge – Many thanks to B.G. and Carla! They created this challenge together, and I’ve heard that there are more challenges in the works!

If you haven’t already, please go check out their blogs – Getting Through Anxiety and The Melodramatic Confessions of Carla Louise. They’re both talented writers, and they blog about awesome things!

Okay, now to wrap up the challenge.

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This one was really, really hard. I had to dig deep.

The season 1 finale of Gleeย – Season 1, Episode 22 – “Journey to Regionals”

It was harder than I thought to find good photos for this post. The two I found show the climax – Their performance at Regionals, with all Journey songs.

I remember loving this episode, singing along shamelessly at Mom and Dad’s. It aired on June 8, 2010.

I fell in love with Glee with the pilot episode’s rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” so I was thrilled when I learned they were doing more Journey songs.

To this day, the CD based on this episode is one of my all-time favorites. When I need a pick-me-up, I pop this one in my car and turn the volume all the way up. It’s so worth it.

I couldn’t wait for season 2 to begin.


Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚

Commentary #35: “July TV Show Photo Challenge” (Day 30)

Image Credit gettingthroughanxiety

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Saddest Character Death

Like yesterday’s post, this was almost too easy. When I was first reading the list a few weeks ago, this one popped into my mind almost immediately.

Glee - hercampus

Image Credit: hercampus.com

Glee – Season 5, Episode 3 – “The Quarterback”

Saying goodbye to Finn Hudson, and honoring Cory Monteith, who played Finn.

Cory died on July 13, 2013, as a result of an overdose of alcohol and heroin in a Vancouver, British Columbia hotel room.

I still remember getting the CNN News Alert on my iPhone. I had to read it twice, and then I burst into tears. It was all over Facebook. Someone else tagged me in a link to one of the articles, and I just remember feeling incredibly sad for his family, Lea Michele (who played Rachel Berry, Finn’s girlfriend, on-screen, and was also Cory’s real-life off-screen girlfriend), and the entire Glee community.

—

When his death was announced, I knew an episode like this was coming. I spent most of Thursday, October 10th preparing myself.

Al offered to come over to my apartment that night and watch it with me, even though he didn’t watch the show. I thanked him, but declined. I wanted to watch it alone.

I set up my full box of tissues, comfort food, and favorite blanket on my futon before the episode aired. The tears started well before the episode did.

Glee - billboard

Image Credit: billboard.co

Glee - eonline

GLEE: The McKinley family of the past and present join together to remember and celebrate the life of Finn Hudson in “The Quarterback” episode of GLEE airing Thursday, Oct. 10 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ยฉ2013 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: Eddy Chen/FOX Image Credit: eonline.com

Glee - autostraddle

Kurt (Chris Colfer) wears Finn’s letter jacket. Image Credit: autostraddle.com

Glee - glee-wikia

Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) attempts to comfort Rachel (Lea Michele) in the choir room. Image Credit: glee.wikia.com

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I thought the choices of music for the episode were good, overall:

“Seasons of Love”

“I’ll Stand by You”

“Fire and Rain”

“If I Die Young”

“No Surrender”

“Make You Feel My Love”

Every cast member had their emotions running high, for obvious reasons. Finn was on the show from the beginning. Seeing his character sing helped me fall in love with the show in the first place! You could tell that everyone was literally singing their hearts out. Singing for Finn.

This is one episode that I haven’t dared to watch again. Not yet.

I’ve seen some of the clips of the songs online, but until recently, I would start to tear up within seconds of the song / video starting.

I can’t believe it’s been three years since he died. Wow.

Santana’s (Naya Rivera) rendition of “If I Die Young” still haunts me. It’s a tear-jerker in general when The Band Perry sings it, but when she sang it, solo, it hit me straight in the heart.

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Glee - screencrave

Image Credit: screencrave.com

Finn Hudson

1994-2013

“The show must go … all over the place … or something.”

—

Thank you, Finn Hudson.

Thank you, Cory Monteith, for helping bring Finn to the world.

You had an amazing voice.

You were funny.

You were human.

I’m so sad that you left this world so early, but you will never be forgotten.

Rest In Peace.


Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚

Tag #3: The New York Times By The Book Tag

I saw this awesome tag on Getting Through Anxietyย a couple days ago!

You know me, I love anything that deals with books!

The New York Times is also close to my heart. I was born in NYC. I get the NYT news alerts to my email. I did my college internship with a division of the NYT, the Shared Services Center in Norfolk, Virginia!

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Okay – Here we go!


Questions:

What book is on your nightstand right now?

  • I currently do not have a nightstand in our bedroom (Still moving!) Haha.ย So, I’ll go with the book on my living room couch – “The One and Only: A Maryellen Classic 1.” I’m absolutely hooked on the BeForever series from American Girl!

If you could meet one author (living or dead) who would it be? What would you ask?

  • Tough question!ย I’d love to meet F. Scott Fitzgerald, since he wrote my favorite book. I’d ask him if he had a timeline or structure for writing and editing his works. I’ve written parts of three novels, but I haven’t mapped out the time to edit them!

What books might we be surprised to see on your shelf?

  • Maybe all of Nicholas Sparks’s novels? I studied the perceptions of love and romance of female readers of his novels for my college senior thesis, so I re-read them all in prep for my research and study.

How do you organize your personal library?

  • Right now, my huge bookcase is still at my parents’ house. I’m pretty picky – I try to organize everything by author, and then everything in the order of that author’s publication. I may reorganize it better when we move said bookcase into our house!

What book have you always meant to read but havenโ€™t gotten round to yet?

Disappointing, overrated, just not good: what book did you feel you were supposed to like but didnโ€™t?

  • The Divergent series. Thinking about all of them, it was a let-down.

What kind of stories are you drawn to?

  • Historical fiction, definitely. I love the Dear America series in particular.
  • Human interest stories (Think Chicken Soup for the Soul, etc.)
  • Certain crime novels.

What do you plan to read next?

  • Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee.

I Tagโ€ฆ

  1. booksandbakes1ย – Charley
  2. Sallyporte
  3. Becky Due – Author
  4. Thrice Readย – Jenn, Caitlynn, and Eden
  5. Jay Colby

Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚

Commentary #34: “July TV Show Photo Challenge” (Day 29)

Image Credit gettingthroughanxiety

Image Credit: gettingthroughanxiety.wordpress.com

Worst Finale Cliffhanger

This one – It was almost too easy.

The Flash - screenrant

Image Credit: screenrant.com

The Flash - collider

The Flash — “The Race of His Life” — Image: FLA223b_0092b.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Keiynan Lonsdale as Wally West, Grant Gustin as Barry Allen and Candice Patton as Iris West — Photo: Katie Yu/The CW — รƒย‚ร‚ยฉ 2016 The CW Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Image Credit: collider.com

The Flash season 2 finale started out pretty good. But, by the end, I was furious. My jaw was open, watching in disbelief.

The minute it ended, I looked at Al and I said, “I DID NOT want THAT to happen!!”

I was disgusted. Everyone knows, by now, that going back in time or disrupting the timeline will screw things up, usually in a huge, royal, honking fashion.

Argh.

I tried to understand why Barry went back to save his mother – I really did. But now, because of that on action, it will literally change everything. And I’m so sad. To me, it was really selfish and self-centered of his character to do that.

Oh, well. I’ll still watch season 3, but begrudgingly. This episode will always piss me off!


Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚

Book Review #14: “Never Stop Singing: A Melody Classic 2”

Melody - amazon

Image Credit: amazon.com

“The difference between a dreamer and a visionary is that a dreamer has his eyes closed and a visionary has his eyes open.

~Martin Luther King, Jr., August 28, 1963


If you haven’t already, I would recommend reading my post titled Book Review #13: “No Ordinary Sound: A Melody Classic” before diving into this review.

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Melody’s story continues just as the New Year of 1964 is rung in.

Along the way, she tries to answer her pastor’s “Challenge to Change” as a 10-year-old would. She decides on fixing up the neighborhood playground. With the help of her friends, family, and community, Melody learns many lessons throughout the winter, spring, and summer.

While Melody learns about leadership and community involvementย in Detroit, the story also followsย the oldest sister, Yvonne, in the South, plus a family trip to Birmingham, Alabama. The rich history of the year 1964 is interwoven – The passage of the Civil Rights Act, Freedom Summer, and the disappearance of ย civil rights workers James Chaney, ย Andrew Goodman, and Michael “Mickey” Schwerner.

It was a good mix of tragedy and triumph in the book. Like the first volume, once I started reading, I couldn’t stop!

—

I originally wasn’t planning on buying, or reading, the third volume. The BeForever series has the two classic volumes, and the third is designed to be a “choose-your-own-adventure” style read.

However, after reading the “sneak peek” at the end of volume 2, I’m definitely interested! It sounds like a great adventure – No pun intended.

Plus, one of the characters is named “Ms. Stricker,” which I think is awesome!

—

I’ll leave you with one other quote that struck me.

“As far as I am concerned, freedom summer never really ended.”

~Victoria Gray Adams

—

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.


Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚

Commentary #33: “July TV Show Photo Challenge” (Day 28)

Image Credit gettingthroughanxiety

Image Credit: gettingthroughanxiety.wordpress.com

Favorite Season Finale Cliffhanger

I hadn’t really given much thought to season finales and cliffhangers, but I found one!

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ATTENTION!

SPOILER ALERT!

There are some details in this post that may be spoilers.

If you haven’t watched The Big Bang Theory season 8 finale …

STOP NOW!

—

Okay. You’ve been warned.

Here we go!

TBBT - cinemablend

Image Credit: cinemablend.com

TBBT - ibtimes-co-uk

Image Credit: ibtimes.co.uk

TBBT - etonline-com

Image Credit: etonline.com

The title of this episode was “The Commitment Determination.” It aired on May 7, 2015.

By way of the title, the season finale focuses on everyone’s relationships – Sheldon and Amy, Leonard and Penny, Howard and Bernadette, and Raj and Emily – But all in different ways.

Everyone is facing certain obstacles: Howard and Bernadette want Stuart to move out. Leonard tells Penny that, while drunk, he kissed another woman while on the boat in the North Sea. Raj is having a tough time with Emily’s idea of having sex in a graveyard.

Amy wants to take a break from Sheldon. No surprise there – I would have been immensely frustrated too, on the fifth anniversary of their first date, when Sheldon is debating watching The Flash instead of focusing solely on her. So sad!

—

Surprisingly, I teared up at the very end. Right after Amy tells Sheldon that she needs to step back and reevaluate their situation, Sheldon is seen, alone, at his desk. Then, he looks at his Gollum statue, as he opens the drawer and pulls out that symbolic black ring box.

“Well, Gollum, you’re an expert on rings.”

“What do I do with this one?”

End of episode.

—

Maybe it was because this episode aired about halfway between my own engagement and wedding. I can’t really explain it, but in spite of all the emotions, I liked this finale / cliffhanger.

I couldn’t wait for season 9 to start!


Did you watch this finale?

What’s your favorite season finale cliffhanger?


Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚

Commentary #32: “July TV Show Photo Challenge” (Day 27)

Image Credit gettingthroughanxiety

Image Credit: gettingthroughanxiety.wordpress.com

Best Special Effects

This one was really difficult to narrow down. There are so many shows that I watch or have seen that use amazing special effects!

But, I wanted to showcase a series that I haven’t highlighted yet.

Sherlock - crimemuseum

Image Credit: crimemuseum.org

Sherlock - ew

Image Credit: ew.com

Sherlock - pbs

Image Credit: pbs.org

If you haven’t seen Sherlock, it is an amazing show!

I struggled with it, at first. Each episode is 90 minutes long. Al and I would attempt to watch just one episode, and I would fall asleep!

However, once I made it through the first season, I was amped. I wanted to see more!

The premise of the show is aย modern adaption of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories, and it’s basically brilliant.

We just watched the Series 4 promo, and my jaw hung open the whole time. I don’t think I can wait until it premieres! I’m ready now!

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The special effects are awesome, among other aspects. My mind is usually blown in some way by the end of each episode. Since each episode is 90 minutes, it’s definitely a bit of a marathon. But trust me, it’s completely worth it!

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The last time I checked, everything was still available on Netflix streaming.

Series 4 is scheduled to premiere at some point in early 2017.


Have you seen Sherlock? What do you think?


Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚

Commentary #31: “July TV Show Photo Challenge” (Day 26)

Image Credit gettingthroughanxiety

Image Credit: gettingthroughanxiety.wordpress.com

Favorite Sci-Fi Show

I’ll admit, science fiction hasn’t been my favorite genre.

However, thanks to my husband, I’ve been warming up to it over the years.

As I was researching this post, I realized there are quite a few sci-fi shows that I have enjoyed, within the last six years or so:

  • Firefly (2002-2003)
  • Lostย (2004-2010)
  • Fringe (2008-2013)
  • The multipleย Star Trekย series (We’re working through Voyagerย (1995-2001) now, which I like a lot, but TNGย [1987-1994] is my personal favorite.)
  • The Outer Limitsย (1995-2002) [Broadcast on the aptly-named Comet channel through our antenna.]
  • Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction (1997-2002)
  • Futurama (1999-2013)
  • Jessica Jones (2015-present)
  • The Flashย (2014-present)
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayerย (1997-2003)
  • The X-Files (1993-2016)
  • Doctor Who (1963-present)
  • The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)

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However, there is one that stands out.

Quantum Leap - soram

Image Credit: soram.co

Quantum Leap - avclub

Image Credit: avclub.com

Quantum Leap - theredlist

Image Credit: theredlist.com

Quantum Leap!


My husband introduced me to this show via Netflix. He was old enough to remember watching several episodes while it was on the air (1989-1993), as well as when it was picked up for syndication.

For me, I’d never heard of it. I recognized Scott Bakula from other shows, but that was it.

I quickly fell in love. I like the concept of time travel, and mash that with history and historical fiction, and you’ve got me hooked.

We stopped watching it on a regular basis because some of the episodes are very sad and depressing. There was one particular episode that made both of us cry!

However, I want to pick it up again and finish the series, one episode at a time. Sad, or not, it’s a really good show!


Have you seen Quantum Leap?

What are your thoughts?


Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚

Blog Awards #3: The Unique Blogger Award

Unique Blogger Award

Image Credit: Found on megnoglistblog.wordpress.com

Rules:

  • Thank the blogger who nominated you and include a link to their blog.
  • Answer their 3 questions.
  • Include one meme and one quote you really like.
  • Nominate 8-13 bloggers to receive this award.
  • Ask your nominees 3 UNIQUE questions.
  • Add a link to the awards creator: Meg of the meg-nog list blogย – Check her out. She’s awesome!

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Questions I Was Asked:

1.ย  What has been a special moment for you so far in 2016?

A: A special moment for me in 2016 was when my husband and I closed on our first house! This has been a dream of ours for well over a year. It felt awesome to finally close the deal and receive the keys!

2.ย  What is the last show you binge-watched?

A: The last show I binge-watched was Fuller House, courtesy of Netflix. I really enjoyed it!

3.ย  What advice would you give your younger self?

A: I would tell my younger self the following: (a) Love yourself as much as possible; (b) You are not weak; (c) Slow down, enjoy every minute; (d) Keep your faith close, it will help you along the way.

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My Meme and Quote:

Disney - pinterest

Image Credit: pinterest.com

Gatsby - quotesgram

Image Credit: quotesgram.com

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Nominees:

  1. scarsandsilence
  2. Bluebird4UDaily
  3. Deidra Alexander
  4. Adaptation Stationย – Nicole Morris
  5. coffeeandinsightย – Crystal
  6. Curious Queendomย – Sharon Yvonne
  7. The Incurable Romanticย – Caryn Emme
  8. Opinion Blog Daily

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Questions:

  1. What book are you currently reading?
  2. What movie are you currently excited to see?
  3. What’s your favorite memory from your high school or college years?

Until the next headline, Laura Beth ๐Ÿ™‚