January 2011 Round Up

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What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
I thought I was going to finish The Imagineering Field Guide to the Magic Kingdom, but I didn't quite make it. I'm about 80% done, I guess. Very interesting so far. And yes, I do have the other three in the series!

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
* TV Time: We tried The Cape. It's fine; not good, not bad. We like Summer Glau, so we'll stick it out for a few weeks. Also tried Harry's Law, but we didn't care for it, which is a shame because I love Kathy Bates. There has only been one David E. Kelley program we've liked, but that was over 20 years ago and one of his earliest series. His signature style (which was not part of the series I liked) just isn't something we care for. We have also started letting Luke watch Phineas and Ferb. It's... interesting. It is also further proof that Luke does not need a sibling, because that is *exactly* how things would play out! LOL
* New Films: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (remake; good, but a bit unsatisfying; can't really recommend it)
* Old Favorites: Dave, That Thing You Do!, The Emperor's New Groove, The Lion King, A League of Their Own, Chicago, Finding Nemo, The Sword in the Stone

What special days did I celebrate and how?
New Year's Day was quiet, as usual. We kissed at midnight and went to bed not long after. We sent MIL a small gift and called her on her birthday. We also attended Riley Z's birthday party, which was great fun.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
I had a giveaway on my blog! That was fun. (I haven't forgotten you! It took much longer than I expected for it to arrive. Should be mailed this week.) Riley's parents actually requested no gifts at his party, since many of the other children come from homes without much extra money, which I thought was very generous. And we abided by their wishes by not bringing a gift to the party. Didn't stop me from sending something to his house afterward, though. :-) (I had to make sure he didn't already have it.)

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
It took me much longer to get over whatever it was that I came down with over Christmas than I expected. It was past the middle of the month before I was fully over it. Other than that, I think we did pretty well. (And I waited until February started to type that sentence, so as not to jinx it!)

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Visiting the 57th Fighter restaurant and going antique shopping with Mom were both fun. Most of the rest of the month was... decidedly not fun.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Tried two new restaurants, actually. Napoleon's Pub and Grill, and the 57th Fighting Restaurant.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
I made my first ever purchase from any of the "daily deal" type sites that are out there now. This one in particular was a $20 Amazon gift card for $10 from Living Social. Most of their deals don't interest me, but that one was too good to pass up!

What were this month's disappointments or frustrations?
Luke's behavior, work, and taking so long to finally feel well again.

What were my accomplishments this month?
Less than 25% of the time remains for my 101 Things in 1001 days. I did knock off another one from the list (as well as contributing to a few others):

36. Eat Japanese Hibachi once a year. Eating there in January means I can mark this item as complete. I believe it is the first of my "counting" items and the first of my "periodic" items to complete from this version of the list.

I officially achieved 1000 movies on my "seen it" list. I cheated a bit by thinking of 5 I'd already seen to round me out to 1000 by January 1, but it's still 1000 movies. Didn't do so hot on that the rest of this month, though; just one new film. Oh well. I also taught a young woman how to use chopsticks when we ate at our Japanese restaurant (right before the Snowpocalypse). Made me feel pretty good that she could pick up her shrimp and get them to her mouth after just a few minutes.

What were Luke's accomplishments this month?


Not sure getting everything but books and crayons taken away from him counts as an accomplishment. Perhaps surviving a week without those things does. And he did finally try (and decided he likes!) peanut butter, which makes me feel much better about his lunches (which had been protein free since he burned out on pepperoni around October). Both his reading and his writing have improved greatly in the past few weeks. Still not quite to "reading on his own" yet, but much closer than he was even as recently as December.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
John Barry died this month. The soaring violins of his film scores will be truly missed.

Monthly Round Up courtesy of Katie the Scrapbook Lady.

Currently feeling: rounded