My Un-Recommend List: Movie Edition

Hey guys! Sorry I didn't write every day for the past few days but now I am home from being at Disney World for the long weekend and am hitting the ground running.

So you know when I do those lists about what I am reading, listening to, watching, etc? Today I am going to go to the flip side of that and tell you what NOT to watch, movie edition.

This is not meant as a slam to any of the actors, directors, writers, script supervisors, craft services, etc people on these films. Sometimes you make something that doesn't hit it out of the park. (Not that I am speaking from experience, or anything like that.....) Sometimes you have a stinker film in the midst of some really great ones you've done.

And let me also say, before we get started: I am not a movie snob. Not every movie needs to be Citizen Kane and 90% of the time, I just want something interesting and entertaining. It doesn't always need to speak to me in a deep way, or teach me a lesson about humanity. More often than not, I just want to laugh or cry or be, as I said, entertained for a few hours.

But these films did not deliver for me on ANY level.

* Money Monster - starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts

Oh where do I begin....

I rented this the other night as I like the Clooney and Roberts, and figured the premise of it looked interesting. In a nutshell - a guy takes a TV show host (Clooney) hostage during a live broadcast. OK sounds good enough, right?

Oh, people....don't waste your time OR money.

The plot holes in this were so huge you could drive a Mack truck through them. It lacked build up and character development. The action went from 0 to 60 in seconds with no introduction, no building of the tension.

And not only that - but the plot itself was completely implausible. So many things happened that I looked at and thought, I know it's just a movie but no way would they do that, and the police do such-and-such, etc.

In the end, I truly did not care what happened to Clooney or the other characters in the film. Something tells me that was not the goal of the filmmakers.

Save your money and move on to something else. Trust me on this.

* Whiskey Tango Foxtrot - starring Tina Fey

I really wanted to like this. Tina Fey is generally pretty funny and I had high hopes.

Tina, why did you let me down, girl?!

Again, I feel like I have to reiterate - I am not a movie snob. I didn't expect this film would win Oscars; I just thought, maybe it'll be funny and at least won't make me regret spending the $5 on the iTunes rental.

Wrong again, Katie...wrong again.

You know you are in trouble when, in watching the first 20-30 minutes, all of the funny parts in the film were in the trailer. Bad sign, folks.

To me, it tried too hard to be funny, and touching, and serious, and hilarious. I think I understand the vibe they were going for, but they just didn't get there. It also bounced around too much and didn't take the time to explore characters and relationships; they had too many storylines and angles going, it was hard to get invested in the characters.


What movies have you seen recently that were a big Fail for you?

9/11: Never Forget

Hey guys. I hope you've enjoying your weekend.

I didn't want to let September 11th come without talking about it here on the blog. We all have our story of "this is where I was on 9/11" and this is mine.

I was in the first semester of my sophomore year at the University of Iowa. Each morning, as I got ready for class, I would have the morning news on in the background. I turned on the TV and saw the footage after the first plane hit the tower. Of course, most of us watching didn't realize what was happening yet. I thought - Oh no, how sad. Probably a private plane or helicopter that crashed into the building. Maybe, I thought, the pilot had a heart attack and the crash was unavoidable. Of course tragic, but terrorism was the absolute LAST thing on my mind.

That is, until I saw the 2nd plane hit as I watched live. And in a second, I knew this was not an accident.

The rest of the day was a blur. We heard about the third plane hitting the Pentagon, and then how the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. I just remember feeling scared, and numb. I remember how none of us wanted to be alone, and so nearly all the girls on our dorm floor crowded into one room, and watched TV all day.

So tomorrow we're at the 15 year anniversary. I still can't watch documentaries about 9/11, or movies such as Flight 93. My deepest love and prayers go out to those who lost loved ones, and those who lived on the East Coast on that fateful day and lived through the nightmare.

But do you know what I also remember, as vividly as the terror?

I remember how you could NOT find an American flag anywhere. Every flag, from tiny ones that kids wave at parades, to giant ones you'd fly on top of buildings, were sold out. In every single store. They were flying from people's cars, homes, businesses, porches. It was an incredibly powerful visual image.

I remember how tender and kind everyone was to each other, in the weeks that followed.

So tomorrow, please say a prayer for the victims, their families, the first responders, and those who lived in NY, DC and PA during that terrible day. Keep them close to your heart and in your mind as you go about your day.

God bless you all. And God Bless the USA. We will never forget.

Hello (or Goodnight!) from the gang at Garden Grill!

Hello! Hope you all had a great day!

We've had a fun time here at Disney World. After getting settled at Boardwalk, my friend Michelle and I (Michelle is the owner of Mouse World Travel) walked over to Epcot and did quite a few attractions in no time at all.

We even walked onto Soarin, around 2PM, with a 20 minute wait! It was amazing. And when we walked out, the wait was down to 15 minutes. Never seen that before!

We hit Spaceship Earth before walking back to Boardwalk and having some rest time. I was able to get some work done and take a load off; I always feel like it's great to have that time. When you try and push yourself and go go go, you can end up getting burned out, especially in the summer heat.

We then walked back to Epcot and had a DELICIOUS meal at Garden Grill. Expect a full report on another day; but since I am doing this thing where I write everyday, I have to leave something to post another time. ;) But in the meantime, here are some adorable character pictures - including Yours Truly with Dale.

Chipmunk Selfie!!

Tomorrow we have another fun day planned. It's Disney Springs in the morning, and then in the evening dinner at Be Our Guest and touring Magic Kingdom. I haven't ever had dinner at BOG and am SUPER excited.

Have a great night, everyone ~

Checking in from the Boardwalk at Disney World!

Hi guys! Tonight I'm writing to you from The Boardwalk at Walt Disney World. I arrived at the resort around 5PM this evening and after checking in and unpacking, I walked around the Boardwalk area. It's still hot but there was a good breeze so I had a nice walk.

I then made the short walk from Boardwalk over to Epcot, where I walked around a bit and then had dinner at Tangerine Cafe. I am going to do another post at the end of this vacation where I give you what I paid for the dining plan, vs what I would have spent had I paid out of pocket. I hadn't eaten there before and it was quite good! I had their vegetable platter and the baklava for dessert.

I then decided to walk back to the Boardwalk, where I took some more pictures and then went back to my room. I answered emails and started on a video I'm doing about the dining plan. Boy, I have a LOT to learn on iMovie. Do you know of any good tutorials I could review?

Here are the pictures I took tonight; I will check back in tomorrow, but enjoy! And have a good evening!

A little of this and a little of that

It's Tuesday! Hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend. Mine was marvelous and the perfect way to usher in the fall season.

So today is going to be another "mish-mash" style post where I chat about a variety of topics. As always, please comment here or where the link is posted in the Facebook group and give me your feedback.

(Can we talk for a minute about the picture to the left? I cannot wait to see orange and pumpkins and all that loveliness at the parks this weekend.)

* Disney Dining Plan - would you be interested in a video?

I am going to Disney World on Thursday and staying there until Monday afternoon. I'm doing the Disney Dining Plan - would you guys be interested in a video where I show you what I order from each place, compare if I had paid cash, etc?

I did a series of blog posts about the Dining Plan 2 years ago and they were some of my most popular posts, but I want to graduate and start doing more video. I hate being on camera but I know that people really like videos and sometimes that is more informative than a written blog post. Let me know if this is something you'd like to see.

* Similar to the above....video of Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party?

MWT owner Michelle and I are hitting up the Halloween party at Magic Kingdom on Sunday the 11th. Would you be interested in live and later edited video from the party?

* Pumpkin spice. BRING IT.

As if a sign from the heavens, my regular blend from Dunkin Donuts ran out this morning, and I opened up a fresh bag of Pumpkin Spice.

HEAVEN. Oh man it was so good. That smell.....I love it.

I am headed to church small group and the house where we're meeting is right near a Starbucks...I might have to pop in and grab one before group starts.

* Puzzles and cards and board games....oh my!

We played Clue this weekend and I haven't played that game in a long time; I forgot how much I enjoy it. Most of my board games and such are still in Iowa; one of these times I'll bring some back with me. I do have a puzzle here that needs to be put together, and I bought a deck of cards so I can play Solitaire.

One of my favorite things to do at night or when it's icky outside is to play games, or do a puzzle.

What board games / card games / etc do you like?

So that's about it for today. Let me know what you think about videos and if you'd be interested in those.

Have a great day!

Closing out Labor Day Weekend 2016

Well friends, another Labor Day weekend has come and gone. We're officially at the end of summer. Commence the tears.

Just kidding - - please don't because there are many, many good things ahead for fall,

We got a glimpse of that this weekend, with college football starting back up. 

(GO HAWKS)

It was a pretty great weekend. Family, football, went to the pool twice, made smores, played Clue, ate some delicious food, and got a bit of rest in too. Today I went to Naples to hang out with my sister. We ate at Tacos and Tequila (one of, if not the best, Mexican food establishments in Southwest Florida) and then spent a few hours at her neighborhood pool. Afterwards we hit up the pool supply store to look at floaties but alas, they were closed. They Open sign was lit, however, and the owner and his wife were in the store doing inventory or something so they kindly let us in anyway to look around. I bought a pair of swim googles I've been needing so it was a good trip. On the drive back to Fort Myers I narrowly dodged another epic Florida summer rainstorm and have been hanging out at home tonight.

This week will go fast; on Thursday I'm headed up to Disney World to see my friend and Mouse World Travel owner Michelle as she gets off the Disney Wonder from the Panama Canal cruise. I'll head up to Disney with her and her youngest son, and spend all weekend there and come back Monday night. So that's a very fun thing to look forward to in the coming days.

OK friends signing off now - I should probably not sleep in clorine filled hair. 

See you tomorrow!

Sunday afternoon ~ a fun day!

Hey there! As promised, I'm back tonight to give you the recap of today since I skipped out on a post yesterday.

The morning started off really nice; it was a great service at church, very impactful. I also saw and chatted with a few members of my church small group. It was nice to go to church today, and start to really see people I know. I feel like I am starting to make friends here in Florida.

After going home for a bit, I changed into a swim suit and headed over to my aunt and uncle's house. We went swimming in their pool for a few hours; it was so much fun. We dove for pennies, did piggy back rides in the water, and talked about all the floaties we want to buy. (Such as - that swan thing you see in all the celebrity pool pictures.  I'm sure it would be twelve kinds of tragic to see myself climb on that thing, but wouldn't it be fun?!)

Because we wanted to make the day truly epic, we made Smores in the fire pit by the pool. My aunt and uncle bought these GIANT marshmallows. See that picture, above? That is ONE marshmallow, folks. It was intense.

We were covered in melted chocolate and marshmallow fluff, but if was SO worth it.

We then played a strong two rounds of Clue. They have the Disney's version, themed with Tower of Terror. My cousin won the first round in a way I have never seen (it was incredible) and then yours truly was within one guess of taking all the marbles on the second game, but cousin #2 beat me to it. Darn kids.

This game of Clue also cemented my desire to have Disney versions of all the major board games. I know I have two versions of Monopoly (one villain, one regular Disney characters) and I *think* I have something else themed, but I might have to pick up this Clue when I'm in Orlando in the next few days.

So here I am now, back at home, resting in my pjs and doing some reading and writing. It was a full day, and really fun. I'm washing sheets and towels now (#adulting) and I might rent a movie later.

Tomorrow is looking great, too. I'll do a bit of work in the morning but in the afternoon will head over to my sister's place. We're setting up another game day and perhaps even a visit to this amazing pool supply store in Naples where they have TONS of floaties (including the aforementioned swan). We might even through in dinner somewhere, if we're feeling crazy.

I hope you all have fun plans tomorrow for Labor Day. Share with me in the comments what you're doing tomorrow!

Have a good night ~