Check, Check and Check: January Goal Review

Is it just me or did January fly by in a blink of an eye? I swear it was just New Years Day then my birthday and Bam! Its January 30! Since its the end of the month, lets review my goals I set for this month:

Be More Present// I did really good with this goal. I put my phone and enjoyed the moment a lot more. I made memories that weren't photographed and I had a lot of fun with this.

Exercise half the month//  I sorta completed this! I ended up working out only 10 days this month. An early morning weekly yoga class, weekly training and optional Saturday class, helped a lot.  I end up walking a whole lot during the day and I feel like its paying off- I am starting to feel stronger!

Organize living areas//  This one was sortanot completed. I organized my desk and my dresser but not my clothes. My clothes and closet are my biggest area that needs to be organized and it just didn't happen this month. This will be accomplished later in the year

send out FIVE handwritten cards/// This was an easy one to complete. Between my birthday and just hi notes I sent out more than five notes. I was excited to use my stash of thank you notes!

I am sad to see this month go but I am excited to see what the rest of the year holds.

Did you complete your goals this month?

December Goal Review

December was a wonderful, crazy month. I was able to pack a lot of Christmas joy and excitement into this month. My goals were always on my mind and I think I did a great job trying to complete them all.

Here are my December goals:

Workout 3x a week//completed
 I ended up workout 11 total days. The goal was 15 total days.

Take a photo a day//completed
This is one of my favorite goals each month. I love seeing the collage at the end of the month. It’s a nice way to remember each month. (Check back on January 1st to see the collage!)

Read two books// not completed
I have been struggling the past few months to find books I enjoy and I am excited to read. I rarely buy books; I use the public library to check out new books but since most of the books I want to read are usually the new ones, the wait for these books is long, which makes it hard for me to read something that looks good and current.  I hope for the new year I can set a year goal of the number of books I want to read.

Experience as many Christmas Activities and moments I can//completed
This was such a fun goal to complete. I was able to experience over 15 holiday experiences. They include the annual Santa Breakfast, Taking our Christmas card photos, Decorating the Christmas Tree with Eric, Baking lots of cookies, Drove around seeing Christmas lights and watching Christmas movies.  I have really embraced the Christmas spirit this year. Since I was so sick last year, it was really important for me to have a Christmas filled with special activities.

December was a lot of fun. Lots of family, fun and food. I am very excited to see what 2016 has in store for me. Stay tuned in the beginning of January I will be revealing my Year goals and also my goals for January.

Popcorn, Monsters and Ticket Stubs

There is no secret that I do not like scary things and with Halloween being last month, I had an itch to see something sorta scary. I like kids scary movies that are cute but also a little scary. Eric and I went to see some not so scary movies- Hotel Transylvania 2 and Goosebumps. We thought it would be fun to review the movies from our own perspectives.

Hotel Transylvania 2

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Gabrielle's Review//
I saw the first Hotel Transylvania a few years ago and I fell in love with the cast of monsters and the story behind it. I had high hopes for the sequel and it did not disappoint. The lovable cast of monsters and humans alike were invited back to the Hotel to celebrate Dennis' birthday. The "Drac pack" is back for a new adventure to try to teach Dennis how to be a monster. The zany antics kept me laughing the whole time. You can't help but love this movie

Kids, Adults and everyone in between will love this movie- its action, comedy and even a little love story. The hilarious voice actors- Adam Sandler, Andy Samburg, Kevin James and Selena Gomez- make this film. Adam Sandler's character Dracula actually looks like him!! I'm curious to see if they will make another one!

Eric's Review//
      Having never seen Hotel Transylvania 1, I didn’t really know what to expect when it came to the sequel. Don’t worry, you don’t necessarily need to see the first one to enjoy to second. Knowing it was a children’s movie had me skeptical (I’m a 31 year old man) but the animation and the constant barrage of jokes kept me entertained from the opening credits.

        Hotel Transylvania is a hotel run by a lovable staff of monsters. Starring comedy heavy weights like Adam Sandler and David Spade its no wonder this movie had no slow spots. It moved from one hysterical and heart warming scene to the next. Ultimately, what made the movie so appealing to me was the story line. It displayed the timeless bond between family members. It doesn’t matter if you’re 10 years old going on 30 or 30 years old going on 10, Hotel Transylvania is a hit from beginning to end. I just hope they have a room for me at the hotel.

Overall review//
 We both really liked it and it was a perfect film for October and Halloween.

Goosebumps

 

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Gabrielle's Review//

As a kid, I grew up reading Goosebumps books, watching the scary movies and tv shows. I was super excited when I heard there was going to be a movie! I didn't know what to expect with this movie, I was just hoping all the favorite characters would be in it- Slappy the dummy, the abominable snowman, Fifi the vampire poodle, the lawn gnomes. The movie itself was cute, very appropriate to watch on Halloween. The story line was a bit far fetched for this 27 year old but as R. L. Stine said, every story has three parts- a beginning, a middle and the twist. I didn't see the TWIST coming but it ending being a fun easy going film.

I think younger kids would like this more than the generation that actually read the R.L. Stine books. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it. The jury's out on this one. 

Eric's Review//

  I’m not going to sugar coat this one. Jack Black, definitely did this movie for the pay check. The movies run time was only about an hour and a half but it felt like an eternity. Jack Black, who plays Goosebumps author R.L. Stein,  is the only bright spot in an otherwise morbid, black hole of poorly shot scenes and under enthusiastically delivered lines.

        I may not be the best reviewer for this because I’d never read any of the Goosebumps books but I could only imagine a hardcore fan would have been outraged. Goosebumps—a book that should have stayed on the shelf

Overall Review//

We should have waited to see this on Netflix.

As you can see, Eric and I had different opinions about Goosebumps but each time at the movies we had a great time! We also cannot wait for The Good Dinosaur, Sisters and Star Wars.

 

Have you seen any good movies lately? Are you excited for any movies coming up?

Doctor's Appointment and Atlanta Bread Review

Happy Wednesday. My day started out very early for a doctor's consultation 2 hours away. I was a bundle of nerves for the whole car ride there. My anxiety has been crazy with my current hospitalization and not knowing what is happening. We ended up getting a little lost and we were trying to find someone to ask and then all of the sudden, I saw a man in a white lab coat and screamed "DOCCCCCTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRR!!!" We jammed on the brakes and rolled down the window. He was sorta helpful that he got us to the vicinity of the building we needed. The butterflies in my stomach were working extra hard today. Once we got upstairs and to the right office, the whole office staff was wonderful. From the receptionist to the nurses to the doctors, they were professional, courteous and very helpful. They looked at me like a person not just symptoms. The doctor gave me a lot of insight and also a diagnosis which I have been waiting for FIVE years. Its nice to finally know what is going on but at the same time its really scary. I said to my mom last year that I really want to find out what is wrong with me and I am very glad I did. Now I am on an adventure to try to stay healthy and symptom free.

On the way home at 2pm I was starving. We were in the doctors for almost 2 hours which was 1. very rare to be with a doctor for SO LONG and 2. very nice to be able to speak openly and not be told, ' oh thats not important' or ' that is not relevant to this'.
I suggested we stop at Atlanta Bread, which is one of my favorite sandwich shops.
 If I don't feel like going to a restaurant and fast food is too quick for me, Atlanta Bread is the perfect solution. There are two locations close to me and I love both of them equally. Atlanta Bread has a nice relaxed atmosphere to it. Its a cross between a coffee shop and a library sitting area with really great food.
The food choices are a great variety that include sandwiches, soups, paninis, salads and baked goods. They incorporate old classics with new and exciting dishes. All of the choices look delicious and I always want to try something new, but i always fall back on my old favorite- Bella Chicken.

Yes, it tastes just as good as it looks. The little container in front of the sandwich is basil pesto sauce ((so yummy!!)) I substitute the focaccia bread for a french baguette. I could easily eat five of these in one sitting. They are THAT  good . I have to give credit to my parents, because they are the ones that started eating this sandwich and I just jumped on the bandwagon with it.
Since my parents were with me, ordering was super simple- 3 Bella Chickens, one with the french baguette. 
This ended our crazy day perfectly.

Today was an emotional roller coaster and I was very happy that my parents are there to offer their support and a shoulder to cry on. This is a sorta scary time in my life and I'm happy to have their support.

I am BEYOND excited to go back to work tomorrow. I hope tomorrow is a nice easy day. Though I wouldn't be upset if it was a crazy day like I remember.

XX Gabrielle

ps. We passed a coffee shop/ religious material store called HOLY GROUNDS and I couldn't stop giggling. What a perfect name combining two totally unrelated things.