Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Trailer #2 (Official)

Ya'll I can't even!!! This movie is going to be epic! I'm still an old school trilogy girl, but it's going to still be awesome!!!

Alice Through the Looking Glass review :)

Alice Through the Looking Glass releases today in theaters and I got the chance to see it earlier. Let me tell you, I am a big fan of Tim Burton but an even bigger fan of Johnny Depp and this movie will not let you down if you are a fan of either. While I haven't read the backstory of the looking glass book, the movie lays out the story pretty well. 

As the movie opens up, Alice has returned from being at sea to find the world in London that she once was a part of has changed. (women need their place blah blah). After finding a looking glass she makes her way back to Underland and finds things with her friends aren't well, especially with Mad Hatter, so she goes on a quest to fix things. Hatter has began to give up because of people's unbelief so to speak.

Alice is traveling through time, being chased by time, all the while trying not to affect things in the past so that she can save her very truest friend. With many twists and turns through the story, you are left wondering at times, "Will Alice be able to save the day?"

I loved how the movie showed more back story on some of our favorite Underland characters, like Hatter and his family and Queen Sisters. This story is not the typical Alice story that most are familiar with, and that is something that I just loved. I was also very surprised by Sacha Baron Cohen and his character, Father Time. I'm not usually a fan of his work, depending on the movie, but loved his character in Alice. 

Alice Through the Looking Glass is a great family friendly movie I think, and I can't wait to have my children watch it. While yes, some concepts may be a little big for my under 6 year olds but the beautiful colors and lovable characters will make it more enjoyable for them. 

Overall I was very pleased with Alice Through the Looking Glass, and hopefully you will be as well.

https://youtu.be/x3IWwnNe5mc

ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS (In Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D)

DISNEY

Website: http://movies.disney.com/alice-through-the-looking-glass

Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/DisneyAlice

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneystudios, Instagram: https://instagram.com/DisneyAlice  

Genre: Fantasy Adventure

Rating: PG

U.S. Release date: May 27, 2016

Running time: 112 mins

Cast: Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Rhys Ifans with Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen

Voice Cast: Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall

Director: James Bobin

Producers: Joe Roth, Suzanne Todd and Jennifer Todd, Tim Burton

Executive Producer: John G. Scotti

Screenplay by: Linda Woolverton (pending final credit determination)

Based on characters created by: Lewis Carroll

In Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” an all-new spectacular adventure featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved stories, Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter. Directed by James Bobin, who brings his own unique vision to the spectacular world Tim Burton created on screen in 2010 with “Alice in Wonderland,” the film is written by Linda Woolverton based on characters created by Lewis Carroll and produced by Joe Roth, Suzanne Todd and Jennifer Todd and Tim Burton with John G. Scotti serving as executive producer. “Alice Through the Looking Glass” reunites the all-star cast from the worldwide blockbuster phenomenon, including: Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska and Helena Bonham Carter along with the voices of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall. We are also introduced to several new characters: Zanik Hightopp (Rhys Ifans), the Mad Hatter’s father and Time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen), a peculiar creature who is part human, part clock.

Alice Kingsleigh (Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following in her father’s footsteps and sailing the high seas. Upon her return to London, she comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland and her friends the White Rabbit (Sheen), Absolem (Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Fry) and the Mad Hatter (Depp), who is not himself. The Hatter has lost his Muchness, so Mirana (Hathaway) sends Alice on a quest to borrow the Chronosphere, a metallic globe inside the chamber of the Grand Clock which powers all time. Returning to the past, she comes across friends – and enemies – at different points in their lives, and embarks on a perilous race to save the Hatter before time runs out. Presented in Digital 3D™, Real D 3D and IMAX® 3D, Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” opens in U.S. theaters on May 27, 2016.

#Struggles by Craig Groeschel

The title and description of this book totally sucked me in. I know that I love social media and technology! It's a way that I keep in touch with my family and friends and hubs when he's gone. But it can be consuming. I find myself at times falling into a rabbit hole of scrolling through things, liking pictures and posts and then not realizing that I should be asleep.

Groeschel has so many great points in his book about the struggles that we face in this new age of technology and the instant ability to keep in touch with people all over the world. He points out that friendship doesn't mean what it use to, and I can agree. I know that a lot of the people that I'm "friends" with on Facebook and Twitter, I've not met in person yet, but I still feel like I 'know' them.

Groeschel topics include: struggling with comparisons, struggling with likes (people liking you and liking your posts are two different things), struggling with idolatry (worshiping others things more than God), and finding a way to rest.

Chapter 8 was my favorite, since he lays out ways to try to deal with all of the interference that social media can cause. "Many of us, when we're bored, when we don't have anything else going on, or when we're between tasks or conversations have a default, brain-off habit of picking up our mobile devices and lazily clicking around. (p179)" Man, I do this all the time and it's a #struggle to figure out how to tune it out and tune in to the things in front of me.

This is a great book for anyone who finds themselves stuck in the never ending cycle of always being on social media. "We're living for Likes, but we're longing for love.(p52)"

Book Description

We all love the benefits of technology and social media, but even with the incredible upsides, many of us suspect there are unintended negative consequences that are beyond our control. We’ve lost perspective, even perhaps ourselves.

In this timely and life-changing new book, New York Times bestselling author and pastor of LifeChurch.tv Craig Groeschel encourages readers who are hungry to regain control over their lives and put Christ first again. He walks them through biblical values that all Christ followers know are essential, but are even more important for our maxed out, selfie-centered world.

The more you compare, the less satisfied you are. The more we interact online, the more we crave face to face intimacy, but the harder it is to find. The more filtered our lives become, the more challenging it is to be authentic. The more information about the pain in the world we’re exposed to the more difficult it is to care.

It’s time to refresh and rediscover our understanding of the biblical principles that life with Christ brings: contentment, intimacy, authenticity, compassion, rest and more. Groeschel taps in to some of the most up-to-date studies on the effects of social media on our emotions and our friendships. And he offers real-life examples of how we struggle with social media, how it masks our real struggles, and how we can reclaim a Christ-centered life.

With helpful appendices like the 10 Commandments of Using Social Media to Strengthen Your Faith, and Creating Safeguards for Your Digital Devices, you’ll find #Struggles to be just the guide to bring balance and real-life engagement to your everyday life.

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of LifeChurch.tv, a pacesetting multicampus church and creators of the popular and free YouVersion Bible App. He is the author of several books, including Fight, Altar Ego, Soul Detox, Weird, The Christian Atheist, and It. Craig, his wife, Amy, and their six children live in Edmond, Oklahoma.

New version of Pete's Dragon coming.....

Ok, so I'm really excited about this. I didn't even know this was a thing until Hubs and I were looking through the list of movies coming out this year and I saw this gem pop up. I loved the original and can't wait for this!!!!!!

A reimagining of Disney’s cherished family film, “Pete’s Dragon” is the adventure of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, who just so happens to be a dragon. “Pete’s Dragon” stars Bryce Dallas Howard (“Jurassic World”), Oakes Fegley (“This is Where I Leave You”), Wes Bentley (“The Hunger Games”), Karl Urban (“Star Trek”), Oona Laurence (“Southpaw”) and Oscar® winner Robert Redford (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier”). The film, which is directed by David Lowery (“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”), is written by Lowery & Toby Halbrooks based on a story by Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field and produced by Jim Whitaker, p.g.a. (“The Finest Hours,” “Friday Night Lights”), with Barrie M. Osborne (“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Great Gatsby”) serving as executive producer. 

For years, old wood carver Mr. Meacham (Robert Redford) has delighted local children with his tales of the fierce dragon that resides deep in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. To his daughter, Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard), who works as a forest ranger, these stories are little more than tall tales…until she meets Pete (Oakes Fegley). Pete is a mysterious 10-year-old with no family and no home who claims to live in the woods with a giant, green dragon named Elliott. And from Pete’s descriptions, Elliott seems remarkably similar to the dragon from Mr. Meacham’s stories. With the help of Natalie (Oona Laurence), an 11-year-old girl whose father Jack (Wes Bentley) owns the local lumber mill, Grace sets out to determine where Pete came from, where he belongs, and the truth about this dragon. Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon” opens in U.S. theaters on August 12, 2016.

More about Pete’s Dragon

Website:

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisneyPetesDragon

Follow us on

Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneypetes         

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/disneypetesdragon/                            

Genre: Live Action

Rating:TBD

U.S. Release date: August 12, 2016

Running time: TBD

Cleaning up

So I'm working on cleaning up around here a bit. Going to be changing things up. Removing some stuff, since well my life has changed some and some of the things that I use to write about I don't anymore. And then some of the things that I had in my sidebars apparently aren't active anymore either, go figure lol. So I'm making some changes, and well, if my recent blogging is any indication, it may take awhile to get it all looking nice. But it's going to happen.

I hope to blog now about my health and the changes that are going along with that. As well as continuing to post book reviews, because I just love to read!!!!!

been a long time

It's been awhile since I've done a personal update. I had tried to switch to another blogging platform, but it's still a work in progress. Let me just tell you that this year has not started out the way I thought it was going to....

First off, on January 6, I was diagnosed as a diabetic. It's still a shock some days to me. I am learning what to do, how to eat, and all of that stuff, but so far it's been through the internet and social media. And it's hard. My doctor wasn't much help, she prescribed me some meds, put in for me to get a monitor to check my blood sugar levels, which she told me to check twice a week, and that she'd see me in 3 months. I was floored. I really felt, (and still do) that this might not all be right. I'm don't know if I'm prediabetic or full on diabetic. When I test my blood sugar levels, they are in what is considered 'normal' range by some. So who knows. I have been making my diet over, I've even lost 18 pounds since December 2, when I started a new program at the YMCA. I was shocked that I lost any weight over the holidays, but yay I lost 8 pounds at that point.

Trying to figure out what is the right way to eat, what things I can and can't eat, how much to exercise and all of that is a struggle. Food has always been a comfort to me, which of course is what got me here. (Plus a family history of diabetes, and having gestational diabetes with both the kids). I'm hoping that once I go back to the doctor, my tests will be better and that medication will not have to be an option, that diet and exercise will.

If you've know me for any amount of time over the last 3 years or so, then you would know about all of our house problems. We had hoped with our new house that we would not have as many, but alas that is not the case.We had some bad rain here over the weekend, along with the snow, and on Saturday morning I woke up to wet spots on the ceiling in our living room. We had our home warranty company send out someone to come and see if it was a roof problem, which it seems it could be, He pointed out several problems, stating that pretty much the whole back roof over our living area, which isn't too large, would need to be replaced. Lovely, right? So we are now waiting to hear back if our home warranty will cover it or what we will have to do. Water must love to mess with our lives no matter where we are. Joy

Well I think that I may have just totally depressed you. If I did I'm sorry. Just wanted to put an update out there of sorts. There have been a lot of changes over the last year, and there will hopefully be more posts coming with all those details (like my mom coming to live with us :)!). Anyway thanks for reading, and Happy almost end of January.