Book Club

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Friday Filter: WINTER OLYMPICS

WHO IS EXCITED?

This girl.

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Even though events have already started, the opening ceremony is tonight.

I always enjoy this part because you get to see a little bit about the host country. I love history and the uniqueness this part of the Olympics shows. With the past of Russia, I am really interested in seeing what the decide to put on stage for the world to see.

Last night I watched several hours of snowboarding, figure skating, and Olympic story specials.

Did you know that there are 12 new events this year? Two of them are snowboarding slope style and team figure skating. The slope style was described as a playground to express themselves. There are pipes and jumps to be had here. For the team figure skating there are four parts that a group participates in:  single men, pairs, dance single ladies.  They will get scores  in each category and then the team gets points based on their placing in each event. It is really fun to watch so far! USA needs to pick up their game though!

There are around 3,000 athletes competing from 88 countries, making this the biggest winter games to date.

While Sochi is 9 hours ahead of us in the States, you can still watch all events via live stream here. They will have highlights and stories during the prime time hours each night on your local NBC channel.

Did anyone see this skater from Japan last night? Ridiculously good!

This is from his Grand Prix program, but he did the same routine last night and received a 97.98. Crazy good, especially for his first Olympic appearance.

Figure Skating is by far my favorite winter game. I was am one of those girls who pretends to ice skate in my socks in the kitchen and envision myself doing triple axles in my sleep. (But this uncoordinated girl is much better on roller-skates than ice skates.) I can dream about the sequins though.

There is just something about dancing on ice that gets me. The movement is so elegant and flowy, making it appear effortless. The artistry and strength that is put behind these routines is astounding. Love every breath stealing moment! Anyone else panic on the jumps and throws?

I also love Scott Hamilton.

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And the Winter Games mean I get to hear his voice a lot!

The other sports I enjoy watching are Snowboarding, Ski Jumping, Bobsleigh, and Curling.

The Skeleton event scares me. Who wants to go zooming head first down that pipe? Not me.

Did you know that there are almost 3 times as many Summer sports than Winter sports? Then when you start looking at the events for each sport, there is so much more going on in the Summer Olympics. So Crazy, but it also makes sense because there is only so much I would want to do in the cold weather too.

All in all, I love the Olympics. Being a sports fanatic, I love that these games came help unify a country and have us all rooting for the same team.

Who’s with me? USA! USA! USA!

What are your favorite events to watch during the Winter Olympics?

Why do you love/or not love the Olympics?

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Friday Filter: Book “Between Sisters”

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From Goodreads:

Meghann Dontess is a woman haunted by heartbreak. Twenty-five years ago she was forced to make a terrible choice, one that cost her everything, including the love of her sister, Claire. Now, Meghann is a hotshot divorce attorney who doesn’t believe in intimacy–-until she meets the one man who can change her mind.

Claire Cavenaugh has fallen in love for the first time in her life. As her wedding day approaches, she prepares to face her harsh, judgmental older sister and their self-absorbed mother. It is the first time they have been together in more than two decades. Over the course of a hot Pacific Northwest summer, these three women who believe they have nothing in common will try to become what they never were: a family.

I had never read anything by Kristin Hannah, but this book was on one of those Kindle daily deals. It seemed intriguing so I figured you couldn’t pass up a 99 cent book.

Boy am I glad I didn’t! I just flew through this book. You know those reads that you stay up way to late reading? This was definitely one of those for me.

The story line flows through three characters:  Meg, Claire and Joey. Meg and Claire are sisters, but I was not really sure why we were following Joey around until half way through the book. This ended up being a huge page turner for me because I wanted to know who he was supposed to be in all of this. She kept alluding to his connection, but never actually gave you the story until much later in the book. Sneaky!

Throughout the book, the story eludes to moments in history between the characters. You never full understand each one’s significance until the later half of the book. It is definitely the epitome of peeling back layers to understand the full scope of things. However I think that is why this book was so smart because on more than one occasion I stayed up until 2 am trying to understand how all the pieces fit together.

Meg and Claire have a sorted past “between” them that keeps them from getting close until a few key events happen. All the stars aligned basically for them to come back to each other and provide support for one another. You see all that is between them in unsaid words and unspoken memories. The coming together story is not easy and you see all the awkwardness that ensues from their past mistakes. But eventually, they become extremely important for one another and begin to change each other’s lives for the better.

There is romantic love and family kind of love woven throughout this book. You see how our pasts can shatter our future outlook without realizing what guards we have put up. It is a lesson in forgiveness and moving past heartbreak to open yourself up to new experiences.

I really did not see the end coming, but that is what makes a good book to me. I wont spoil it for you; you will just have to pick it up yourself!

It is a great read, and it really got me back into the feel for reading again.

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Friday Filter: Film “Lone Survivor”

Tom and I went and so this film last weekend.

This is probably one of the best movies I have ever seen.

I honestly don’t even know where to begin reviewing it because there are just so many emotions that overcome me when thinking about it.

Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, curiosity and an immense sense of pride.

IMDB:

Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.

Their mission was called Operation Red Wing. Four men set out to find this leader but things became fatal when they ran into a couple herders in the mountains. Without radio communication, these soldiers fought for their lives against a group of Taliban, who largely outnumbered the American team. As you can tell by the title, there was only one survivor. This story depicts the realness of war and how simple acts of kindness and a sense of duty to a fellow man may just end up saving us all. You can read here and here for more information.

They did a phenomenal job with this film. I have never heard a soundtrack so real like this. The sound mixing crew captured every breath, every bone shatter, every gun shot, just everything perfectly. I still get teary-eyed and goosebumps just remembering the noise of their bodies being catapulted down the hillside. That is the most haunting thing about this film. The sounds of war.

The acting was outrageously good. They picked a great group of individuals who were dedicated to bringing this story to life for the masses. They believed in our troops and wanted to honor their sacrifice.

And that heroism is what is so breathtaking about this movie.

I understand that I am personally connected to the military everyday, but I honestly think that everyone should see this movie. All of us as Americans should understand what our military goes through. And this is about as real as they can make that experience for us every day Americans. This story gives us a glimpse of the life of a soldier.

You didn’t only see gun fights, but you saw the relationships. That is the part that sticks with me. You see the bonds between a team of soldiers when they eat together or race in the morning. You see the relationships they left behind in the emails and the picking out Arabian horses for wedding gifts. You see the sacrifice for their loved ones. You see the love they have for their brother who is fighting right next to them.

You don’t see politics. You don’t see liberals or conservatives. You don’t see corporate greed.

You just see men being men and fighting to save one another. You see an effort to save human dignity. You see the human spirit and good against evil.

This is why our soldiers are serving in wars. They believe in something and are fighting to protect beliefs that may not even be theirs. They serve because they feel a sense of duty to our country.

As a military spouse, there is a lot I don’t know about what happened on deployment. Even with all the questions asked, there are parts that I will never know or understand. However after many discussions with Tom, this movie does that experience a lot of justice and bridges the gap for us who cannot comprehend the decisions that are made in those moments. They didn’t church it up and showed the gusto that these men have. I am sure many military spouses have heard some variation of, “I can’t promise you that I am going to survive a fire fight, but I can promise you I will not die alone.” There was a scene that showed this sentiment where Marcus Luttrell held up a grenade in fear that he had been compromised. They will not quit even if all is bleak.

Maybe that is why there were moments where I couldn’t breathe or was full out weeping along with the wife sitting next to me. I saw my husband in those men’s faces. I saw our friends standing on the hill. I saw people I admire giving all their energy to the mission. I know if they were in a similar situation as this particular Seal team, they would have made similar sacrifices.

I am proud of what my husband does, but there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about these kinds of scenes. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t know that my prayers were answered when Tom comes home safely every day when so many others do not.

That is why I urge everyone to watch this. It reminds us about the humans behind the war. These men were other people’s spouses, brothers, uncles, fathers, and friends. It gives us a reason to believe that good does triumph evil.

The theater was packed to the brim. And it was eerie quiet once it was over. Watching the slides of pictures of the actual soldiers at the end brought it home to everyone there.

This was a gripping story to watch. It portrayed a realistic and gut-wrenching view about the actual events of war. It was not about the heroics or the romance that Hollywood often infuses into military plot lines. It ripped away all of that and made it raw and real for viewers to see this story of one lone survivor.

I appreciated every tear and lost breathe. 

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

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Friday Filter- TV Winter Premiere Reviews

They’re back! These are all shows that I did not review in the fall and just started in the past couple weeks.

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The Bachelor

Has anyone else been watching Juan-uary? I am loving this season so far. There have been two episodes so far, and the drama has already begun. There has been drunkenness, nudity, gimmicks, and ridiculousness. Juan Pablo is proabably one of my favorite bachelors though. He is so real, quirky, and super funny. I really admire how much he makes his daughter a priority in all his decisions. I am a hopeless romantic, so deep down I really want to have all these engagements work. However the realist in me knows that most do not. It can’t be easy falling in love in a group on these fantasy dream dates and then try to step back into the real world. I always wonder how many are actually going on the show to find love instead of the 15 minutes of fame. Tom thinks the show is stupid and gives false expecatations to women everywhere, but he still watches it with me so we can guess what dramatic thing will happen next. It is our guilty pleasure. I also really enjoy the added specials on Sunday nights too. It gives more details to the show, which obviously keep me more invested. I am really excited to watch Catherine and Sean’s wedding and then touching base with all the couples who have gotten married or are still together. Trista and Ryan are celebrating 10 years this year, and they were the first season I watched! So obviously I feel like I had something to do with their love story success.

The Assets

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The Assets

This show is brilliant so far. We have watched two episodes of this ABC mini-series. It is about CIA intelligence officers during the Cold War era who are trying to save “assets” from being killed. The first show laid out that there is a traitor in Sandy’s office, and she has vowed to find out who this person is. It shows how she has to live a double life herself with the secrets of the CIA and going home to a doting husband and kids who don’t appreciate mom’s work. I don’t know much about the Cold War since most of the classes I took focused on early America and up to WWII. Tom’s history knowledge picks up right where I left off. So it has been really interesting to talk about the historical context of the show. It is a smart show but it does have some dark moments about what spies put on the line and how quickly some one can turn if offered the right price.

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Switched at Birth

This is just one of those teeny bop shows that I adore watching. Initially I started watching because one of the main characters debuted as Luke’s daughter on Gilmore Girls. I was intrigued at what she had grown up into. And come to find out that the show is based in Kansas City, so obviously I had to keep watching to see how they butcher my city, which they do on a pretty regular basis. I will forgive them though because they say it is Kansas, so they can just continue with the bad rep. For your education though, most of Kansas City is in MISSOURI. They show some of the skylines in the show which is really fun to point out (to myself). All in all, it is not a bad show. It is about two girls who were switched at birth at the hospital and did not know until they were in high school. The two families are from very different backgrounds:  very affluent family with one and a single mother raising the other.  One of the girls happens to be deaf as well, so you get to see exposure to that culture. I am not real familiar with sign language, but from some research I have done there are mixed reviews on how the show portrays the Deaf community. On the one hand, the show has hired several Deaf actors and started a conversation, but on the other hand what I gather from some critics is that some of the sign is not an accurate portrayal of the way of the real world. As with most TV shows, I think Hollywood does take some creative liberties with most cultures. I do feel that the show is innovative by at least talking about the experience that Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals have, but I would agree that the show would benefit from integrating more Deaf individuals into the behind the scenes process to make it more accurate. Even if they do not portray it perfectly, as someone who is hearing abled, I feel that it encourages folks to learn more about these individuals, what we unknowingly/knowingly do as hearing abled to halt progress, the significance of sign language, and the beautiful Deaf culture that has been created. I am interested to see where they continue to go with the show as the girls are in their final stretch of their senior year. They also don’t portray the military very accurately either in the show as one of the main characters is enlisted. So maybe they just need a panel of experts all around on their writing team (Kansas City, Deaf, Military…). I am also nervous that they are headed in a pour direction with alcohol and sex becoming more common on the show. However, I think it isn’t as dramatized as other teeny shows have made it. It just wasn’t a direction I was hoping for. I am still intrigued by the concept and am invested in the storyline. And unlike some other ABCFamily shows, the cast can actually act. This is a show that I would recommend if you were wanting a light drama with a different plot line than most mainstream shows.

And just for fun, this is currently our feel good song. Tom loves all things Ke$ha. Seriously, he knows all her lyrics, ALL of them. Any pop song that has my husband singing, I am for. So naturally, we are all about this newest dance jam. And a partnership with Pitbull just makes it all that better! Judge away, but I love this song (not so much the video). The tune is just so catchy! I have also gotten the dogs excited about this song. We dance away in the kitchen every afternoon when I get home! And it’s the kind of dance that you only do when you are alone-or for me just whenever. I let the music move me.

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Friday Filter: Book “The Worn Out Woman”

Upon the move to KY, I was anxious about making a new friend base. And I knew that church hunting may take awhile due to traveling and Tom and I’s various tastes in church services.

Not wanting to leave the connections I had made in Iowa behind, I reached out to two girlfriends of mine with the idea of doing a women’s devotional virtually. The three of us share a lot of philosophies and beliefs, and made it to church together on a few occasions. I knew they would be good women to “meet” with regularly. One for my sanity, and two for spiritual growth.

Now we all live in 3 different states: Iowa, Indiana, and Kentucky. Bummer.

After kicking the idea around with several different book titles and how we wanted to actually enact this plan, we finally settled on this book.

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Being in a highly demanding field and with our roles at home, we felt like this would be a great read full of discussions about how we can simplify our life and wake up our spirit.

The way that the book is structured makes it really easy to do a group devotional. There are 18 chapters which are fairly short, and make for a pretty quick read. In the back there are suggestions of discussion questions. There is also a note section for each chapter as well, which I found interesting to find corresponding Bible verses.

We video chatted once a week when our schedules permitted about a chapter or two (sometimes three). It took us most of the fall semester to finish the book even doing several chapters at a time because of our “full lives.” I don’t think we met for most of November…

We would spend about half the time chatting about the chapters, and then the rest of the time was catching up and being a support for one another.

I will admit, that this would not be a book that I would recommend readily. Most of the things are pretty self-explanatory and ideas we had heard before (especially for us 3 coming from a helping profession and with Master’s degrees heavily inundated with counseling skills).

I think we were all disappointed as well on the lack of scripture throughout the chapters as well since we had set out to do a Bible devotion. Like I said it does have some references in the notes section in the back to the Bible, but not every chapter had it.

However, it does serve as a great pick-me-up and a good reminder on the little things we do every day that wear us out. All three of us were starting some new things in our life that were a tad stressful to our loads. One was starting her PhD, the other going through the Dave Ramsey financial class plus moving houses (again), and I was just all kinds of new down here. So in that retrospect, we did have a lot to talk about with each chapter, but it became more of a release than a life changer. The chapters just became a starting point for our discussion on how things were going. The book did helped us realize we weren’t alone and was a reminder about attitude adjustment.

My favorite chapter was the “Yellow Umbrellas.” This portion discussed random acts of kindness and encouragement. Everyone wants to feel special and needed, so even little things can make a person’s day. There is a wonderful story about a man who randomly bought an elderly woman flowers while in line at the store. She said that she had not gotten flowers since her husband passed. These flowers meant the world to her in her time of loneliness. This is really the only chapter that resonated with me past finishing the book. It was just so touching and endearing to think about the small things we can do for one another, and how in turn that can lift our own spirits.

Favorite Passage:   “On days when you are feeling negative and irritable or just plain worn out, let the simple pleasure of doing random acts of kindness lift your spirit. It’s like giving yellow umbrellas to cover the rainy days of life.”

(I had thought about making Yellow Umbrella my blog domain for a bit. I was so inspired by this chapter, but with How I met Your Mother being all about the mystery woman with the yellow umbrella, unfortunately most variations of that title have already been taken.)

I even had it planned out that this would be my header before I decided to nix the idea and have plans for a different direction. I just love this photo though.

This does specifically gear towards women, however I think the concepts are universal. As I said, most of them are pretty obvious concepts. This book will repeat what any self-help/distressing book is going to say. This just had the undertones of a devotional.

All in all, though, we had some great discussions. This chat was something I know that I looked forward to each week. It was a great way to stay in touch and gab about life.

Thanks to technology and Google Plus, we can all video chat at the same time which is awesome!

We have picked out our next devotional and will be starting back up this weekend!

Have you ever done a group devotional? Do you have book suggestions for us in the future?