So sorry I haven’t written in a bit. I haven’t been feeling great and was a little bit blocked on what to write about. Sometimes after 7 years of blogging it can be a little tough to think of new topics to write about especially when I have my separate movie blog. I figured I would just give you a little update on what’s going on in my life like I used to do when I was just starting out the blog.
Summer is slipping by faster than it should and I’ve hardly gotten to the open water at all. Next week I am going up to Bear Lake to swim a 1/2 mile swim. It should be a lot of fun and at least I will be in the water for the weekend.
It’s not even that I’ve been that busy I’ve just had an upset stomach and been battling an infection that won’t go away and is very uncomfortable. I don’t know if it is this infection but I’ve felt low energy lately, like I wish I could sleep all day and do nothing. Do you ever get that way?
It’s hard feeling so tired because I need to get back into shape. The whole prospect is completely overwhelming. After being bedridden for a while last year I’ve had a hard time jumping back into my exercise routine. I think I am going to try and make little changes and not do anything too drastic. My goal is to focus on eating right and swimming as much as I can. That should keep it from being too miserable. Do any of you have any suggestions?
Everything is going well at work. Like I posted a few weeks ago I am taking a slower strategy- still working very hard but trying to wait on things and make them as perfect as I can instead of rushing. It seems to be working out quite well. (The one downside to telecommuting is I’m never 100% sure what people think of me but I feel like it is positive).
I’ve been learning a lot and we have a new giveaway for MagicCool cooling towels you guys should check out. http://gvwy.io/3u8zr6. It would actually really help me out if you did enter and it’s super easy to do.
I’ve had a fun summer watching movies. As far as new movies here’s the summary:
Minions- cute but not that funny. C
Terminator Genisys- Arnold is good but that’s about. Makes no sense, bad acting. D+
Me Earl and the Dying Girl- Cute if a bit derivative of other movies and filmmakers B
Inside Out- Completely brilliant. Best movie I’ve seen since Perks of Being a Wallflower in 2012 A+
When Marnie was There- Moving exploration of a tween girl with depression and the mystery of the marsh house. A
Love and Mercy- Ambitious combination of 2 movies about Brian Wilson of Beach Boys. I liked it but it felt kind of fractured and wedged together. B-
Jurassic World- Stupid movie but entertaining in spurts. C
San Andreas- Rock can’t save the bad dialogue and special effects I’ve seen before. D
Tomorrowland- Interesting concept, original idea but episodic in feel, miscast and to be honest kind of boring. C-
Mad Max Fury Road- Visceral, insane war movie with great battle sequences like I’ve never seen before. A-
Far From Madding Crowd- Loved 2 leads, beautifully shot, didn’t like Troy segments or actor. A little soapy at times. B-
Pitch Perfect 2- Same plot as original but taken international. Nothing special but I did like the songs and it did make me laugh. B-
Ex-Machina- Very well made AI thriller. I wish I was a little more emotionally connected to characters and ending a little predictable but definitely worth seeing. B+
Age of Adeline- Hated the narration and kind of soapy but charismatic cast saves it. Overall a fine time at the movies. C
Avengers Age of Ultron- I loved it. I liked getting my backstory on all the team. Liked they seemed vulnerable, Ultron and the ending was great A+
So that’s the movies for the summer. Over all, I think last summer was stronger. I can tell you one thing I am grateful to Mad Max because I am so tired of dopey action movies like Terminator Genisys that don’t give me anything new. Inside Out is by far my favorite of the summer and year. It blew me away.
If you are deciding what to spend the big bucks on I would say my As are the best movies of the summer- Inside Out, When Marnie was There, Mad Max Fury Road and Avengers.
What have you liked this summer at the movies? Make sure to check out the movie blog for reviews of almost all these movies
What else is going on…
Well, I have been enjoying Big Brother. Audrey is the first transgender contestant and she is stunningly beautiful. I would never have known if she hadn’t told us. Unfortunately, she’s also been a total train wreck in the house but she seems to be squeaking by somehow. It’s been a lot of fun to watch. I really like a guy named Johnny Mac who is a dentist from Pennsylvania. He is so funny. There is also a poker player named Vanessa who I think could win. I wish they weren’t doing Battle of the Block again because it makes things very predictable.
Any of you watch it?
I guess that is a good update on things going on. Let me know what is going on in your life.
Rachel's Musings 
Sorry to hear you haven’t been well. The swimming should do you good though – good all-round form of exercise.
I’ve been quite low energy myself lately, though I’m not sure why; I suppose work’s been fairly hard and we’ve had some unusually hot weather here in the UK. It’s not come at a great time as I’m doing an editing project for Camp NaNoWriMo and I’ve fallen behind as I have trouble summoning up enough energy in the evenings. Luckily I have a few free days coming up. Biggest thing in my life right now is that I finished recording an audiobook of my friends’ novel and it’s just been published!
I don’t watch quite as many movies as you, but I’ve got quite a few I want to see just this month: Ant-Man, Amy (documentary film about Amy Winehouse – it’s by the same people who did Senna, which I enjoyed), and probably Inside Out.
That’s so exciting! What’s the name of the book? I’d love to hear more about it.
I want to see both of those too. I hope Amy will play by me.
It’s called Nemesis (by Bec and NJ Pearce). It’s a crime thriller about a serial killer who preys on the unfaithful, and it’s narrated by Death.
Oh sounds intense. That must have been challenging to read for!
Re: low energy. Increase protein, decrease starches, and don’t eat any raw goitrogenic fruits or vegetables – they’ve got to be cooked, to destroy most of the enzymes that cause certain phytochemicals to block iodine uptake or inhibit the action of thyroid hormone.
Thanks! 🙂
Yes I watch it! 2nd season….I’m fan girling over Steve (Bae!) and Johnny Mac. I didn’t like John at first but he’s growing on me now. 🙂 BOTB is the lamest thing I’ve seen. Period.
For real. How could they have thought that was a fan favorite? It takes so much time too. I’ve heard the live feeds have been really good this season but I haven’t watched them. Have you? I agree Johnny is totally growing on me. I thought he would just be a throw away looking at the pre-season. It will be interesting to see how Vanessa does this week as HOH. Steve is doing better than I expected but I worry he will be targeted since he everyone knows he is so knowledgeable about the game. But yeah it has been a really good season with no clear winner like last year.
I do kinda wish Steve would have kept his knowledge of BB a little closer to the vest because wouldn’t he know it’d make him a target? I’ve never done the live feeds. As you know, I’m pretty destitute right now. 😦