Noah - The Movie

Good morning my peoples!

Table TalkN Review Board coming atcha! Today, we're going to take a look at the movie Noah.
This movie had so many opportunities to tell the story of how God cleansed the earth via rain and gave man another shot at this whole Humanity thing.  I'm not going to lie, it missed the boat - No pun intended...

As anyone knows me, I am a Christian first, and a movie goer down the line.  But I enjoy good cinematic expression on a regular.  So when this movie was being produced, there was a lot of controversy and even a move that forced the studio to put a disclaimer on the movie.  Which was a good move, if you ask me. It {should of} helped movie viewers to have a better expectation of what they were paying their money to see.  I completely understand that the role of the studio is to make money when producing films. Anyone who claims differently is either not telling the truth or unaware.

Noah, to me, was a cross between Lord of the Rings & Gladiator.  I enjoyed some aspects of the movie. The special effects were definitely on point with movies made in the last few years.  Nothing less than what I would imagine.  There were even some expressions of creative adaptation that I could get on board with.  There are others that caused me to chuckle.  I would like to have seen a more in depth explanation of certain facets of the movie.  There were some slow points - but let's be honest, this story is based on a historical fact that was over 120 years in the making.

I also believe that this movie did do some good to the spread of Christianity, even though I don't believe that was the original intent (at least from what I have heard/read from random media outlets).  The one "controversy" in particular that I read was that the director of the film was an Atheist (a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of supreme being or beings).  But he still created a movie that is based off a story that he had to research - Christianity 1, Atheist - 0.  The story also opened up more room for dialogue between Christians regarding the story of Noah, and even caused some of them (present company included) to go back into the Word and read the story again.

Main point - Would I say that I was glad to see this film? Yes.  Will it be added to my DVD collection? Probably not.  I feel as if it was a good movie and I appreciate someone telling the story, even if there were certain "creative liberties" that kinda stretched what kids all over in Sunday School are learning about in the bible.  I can appreciate this film.  But like I always say about a movie based off of a book especially a historical fact/true story - The book is ALWAYS better!

Until next time my friends.
Table TalkN Review Board, out!

Remember, keep the lights low and the phones on vibrate...

Weird, Huh?

Sssooo I sometimes find myself enamored by a celebrity. It happens. However, I'm bad about actually keeping it up - kind of like my friendships (ouch!). Anyway, last night I found myself becoming enamored with Mayim Bialik (remember Blossom? Or do you watch Big Band Theory? She's Amy, Sheldon's girlfriend). Anyway, I researched her a bit last night and found that I can relate to her many quirks - weird, huh?

Well, it got me to thinking about my lifestyle and all that jazz. I've been on a very introspective journey since turning 30 - weird huh? Oh well. Now about the lifestyle of mine ... This morning I awakened feeling some kind of way. I wanted to be jazzy, but not really. I wanted to look like a grownup, but I lack the wardrobe on most cold weather days (we're supposedly getting freezing rain today). I wanted to not look like my high school wardrobe self - you know - the jeans & a t-shirt type wardrobe. I failed, but it works. I have on jeans & a sweater (nice sweater, but still).

Besides that, I also felt reinvigorated about my parenting style. Yeah, weird huh? Maybe, maybe not. See I'm not a fan of hitting of any kind - I think it's barbaric. However, I've found that I'm more inclined to spank my child these days. Now that he speaks very clearly and expertly says "no" in more than one way at a very high decibel and all, I find that hitting is a consideration these days. No bueno! I hate spankings so I'm always looking for other punishments. I try to keep spankings to dire situations, but it's hard. Why? It shouldn't be because I don't like it. I never liked receiving them and I've never liked dishing them out. I do often have thoughts that people NEED them, but I just wish NOT to be apart of it. That's weird, huh?

Well, I realize that it's hard because of peer pressure. I feel like every parent I know has something as a representative of a spanking. I've seen people threaten with belts, "whooping" spoons, etc. I'm pressured to fit in because my child is very much his own lil person. That means that he has no qualms about speaking his mind and saying what he does & does NOT agree with, what he will & will NOT do, who he will & will NOT speak to, etc. Sad thing is, it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers those around me. I like for my child to speak his mind even when he's disagreeing with me. [That does not mean he gets his way, but it does means that I know where he stands.] See, my child is my child. I'm rather bratty and contrary all at the same time now that I'm an adult. I don't remember being either as a small child, but I grew into being contrary around my pre-teen years and kept it up. Sssooo ... what does one do?

I have missed emotions when it comes to this because I love the Attachment Parenting style that we kind of just rolled with when he was a baby and into his toddler years. Now that he's moving into his preschool years, we've been spanking him more often, but it bothers me. We only spank him because he really won't listen or is being really out of order (flailing himself across the room, hitting us or things, etc). I've gotten out of the habit of reading up on Attachment Parenting since I've begun working on a more regular basis. Maybe that's the issue. I stopped preparing myself so that I could just respond to the boy versus reacting to his crazy. However, I also don't know how to get back to it. Problem. I see I might need to get back to being enamored with my parenting style instead of everything else. Weird huh?

Oh yeah, back to why I'm enamored with Mayim Bialik. Well, I read some of her blogs on kveller.com and realized that I can relate to some of her experiences as a mom, as a working mom, as a mom to a hypersensitive kid, and as a hypersensitive person myself. I've been known as the weird one a good portion of my lil 30 years of life so I'd grown to think that there were no others like me. HA! I've found someone and it's refreshing. Sometimes I just want to be like someone else. While I'm good being all by myself, it's sometimes nice to know that I'm at least not alone. So yeah, I'm a werido who prefers solitude, numbers, and puzzles to all things crowd related. So yeah, I'm a parent who cringes when I see a child getting a spanking not because I remember, but because it literally hurts me to see it. So yeah, I'm struggling with spanking my child just because I'm surrounded by those who believe in a beat down. So yeah, I do sometimes believe people need beat downs to come to their senses but it hurts to be near it. So yeah, I'm a walking contradiction eh? So yeah, I'm weird ... huh? Well, I'm okay with that. Weird, huh?

Now while this post clearly deviated quite a bit, I suppose this is what I was to post today. Enjoy!!

NCAA Tourney

What up
?!

Today marks the first day of spring and the 1st day of the "Big Dance".  If you're a sports fan or work with sports fans, you have probably heard about this... (I know my wife is sick of me already).  I have 5 brackets filled out, just so, in some scenario, I can say that I was right.  But let's be honest, it's a crap shoot, and I hardly get my picks right.  I usually end up balling up my brackets by the end of the first weekend.

I've made some pretty wild picks though, and I feel very confident that I'll do better than the average person... I think.  The real fun comes when it comes to talking junk, or as my dad would call it,  "Selling woof tickets", I know, right - Old School, but whatever.  I may have the worst picks EVA in the history of the NCAA tournament, but you would never know it, listening to me talk.  My job during this day, is to convince whoever is against me that they've already lost and they need not bother even filling out the brackets - The good news is, they're just a bad, or at least some of them.  It's the quiet ones, that get you in the end.  They're the ones with the near perfect brackets and they don't even like to watch sports.  They just picked because they had some spare time...

But it's all good - The time has come and tip off is in a few minutes... Here's my brackets (or at least one of them) how do yours compare?

No Stove Week

Not really able to focus on the tasks at hand at the moment so I decided to write type. So here goes my thoughts.

We're without a stove for a week more and it's been harder than I imagined. I figured it'd not be a problem because we have 5 slow cookers and I'm willing to cook almost anything in them. Well, I keep forgetting how quick sides are on the stove top. I usually cook my meats in the slow cooker cause it's convenient to place them in there in the morning for consumption that evening. An hour or so before dinner I usually begin my preparation of sides and cooking them so that everything is done around the same time. While i think it's just as convenient for sides to go in the slow cooker, I realize that I've just done general sides in the slow cooker (AND that's usually on a weekend). Also, it's real convenient to have our tea kettle heating up while we get ready in the morning versus having to warm water in the microwave. We LOVE tea so that's probably the biggest issue. Anyway, we'll do fine. Here are some of the things I'll be trying in the slow cooker this week:

• Cheddar & Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops
• Chicken
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Brussels Sprouts
• Rice
• Corn Bread
• Red Beans
• French Toast Casserole

So far the meats look delicious - I cooked those over the weekend. Today I'll tackle Brussels sprouts, rice, & corn bread. I may get to the french toast casserole too since I'd like that for breakfast. Red beans will be soaked tonight for cooking in the morning.

I just realized I should just try making me some tea concentrate to take care of this week. Then it's no biggie to warm up some water since it's no additional wait time for brewing. We shall see. We'll y'all I think that's it for now. I'm gonna go ahead and get to doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

Oh and before I forget - this week's slow cooker inspirations* came from the following websites:

• A Year of Slow Cooking
• Mom On Timeout
• Spoonful

*Inspirations = I don't follow directions well, but I used their recipes as a starting point.

Alright now ... type to y'all later!

Just Writing

So at the moment, I have so many things running through my head that I can't really focus. I decided to just write & see what happens. I may or may not share this, but we'll see ... If you're reading this, hheeyyy!!

Anyway, let's see where this takes us. On this morning, I've been feeling some kind of way. Matter of fact all year (and it's barely March), I've been feeling some kind of way. What kind of way? I don't know how to explain it ... sensitive may be the best description. That's disturbing in the sense that I despise being called or associated with sensitivity. You know the whole I-am-woman-hear-me-roar ... that's all my thing. However, there comes moments where I just don't have a roar in me AND I definitely wish not to be heard. Matter of fact, I could disappear. For those who've read my testimony, you know that thought has lead me into trouble in he past. Well, this isn't the same. I have WAY too much to live for these days to be going back down that road. Nowadays, my disappearance thoughts refer to me-time or resting without the guilt that falls upon me because in my life, there's never a resting moment. So I suppose that may be why I'm so "sensitive" these days. I'm tired and have no defenses at the moment. The great thing about it is that I know that that's okay. Why? Well, because I have somebody that has my back and is possibly craving to protect me in these instances. See, I'm usually all about taking care of myself cause it's just what I do. I take care of myself and anybody else that wishes for my protection. And although I have expectations that my husband be able to do so, I've been informed that I haven't really allowed for this experience. Well, I think I have no choice at the moment. I know he's up for the challenge, but I don't know how to let myself just relax in all of this. Ya ever feel like that? So used to taking care of business that you don't know how to let someone else take care of you? This is a definite weakness of mine and I suppose it's what I'm working on at the moment. Sista girl is tired over here y'all ... Pretty sure I'm coming down with one of these Winter illnesses too so I know that doesn't help either.

So that's that ... there's more, but I just said I was tired. I'll stop here before I get to rambling.

Why are you so excited? It's still winter!

Good morning peoples?!

It is once again that time where I stop and reflect as we approach (what we hope will be) the end of the winter season.  But as we do, I have heard some rather disturbing comments made - in particular about the weather.  Please do not get me wrong.  I am a winter baby.  I love snow and outdoor activities that deals with snow - to a point... I like to go sledding, I like to go skiing.  I enjoy building snowmen and making snow angels.  I even enjoy shoveling to a certain extent.  But for real - Enough is Enough!

This winter has been extremely harsh.  It seems that everywhere we look record low temperatures and blistering snow falls are becoming the norm.  Even in Atlanta, where some of my family stays & I went to undergraduate school - "Dear Ol' Morehouse", have been dumped on with snow.  And it's staying around longer than a few hours.  People were stuck on the highways for HOURS (I do blame this on the lack of driving skills of the majority of people in GA) and the kiddies... Oh the poor kiddies! Some even had to spend the night at their school because it was so bad outside.

But now that this "Polar Vortex" has seemed to pass, and winter is "winding down", we are starting to see "warmer temperatures".  {Please note - I’m am excessively using quotations on purpose, because these are things the public has heard a number of times in the last few weeks already.}  People are starting to lose their God given minds...  

A few obvious examples that I have seen thus far: More and more individuals are starting to go outside with little to no covering.  I’m not talking about the girls that wear open toe shoes and short short mini skirts and no coat while they run to get inside a club.  I do understand why they do it - still doesn’t excuse the fact or helps prevent them from getting “pneumonia in their behinds” as my wife would say, but I have become accustomed to seeing this. But not those going outside with no coats, hats, or gloves. I’ve seen others out running, braving the elements, but at least they have winter running gear.  My sister is a runner.  She’s dedicated to the cardiovascular workout - Rain, sleet, snow, ice.  Damned if it would ever be me (again) but more power to her. I have an issue with those people wearing flip flops like they're at the beach. Or shorts as a part of their attire. Not going to play a sport or workout, but purposely chose the outfit to go to class, or run errands when they KNOW they'll be outside for longer than a minute...

I’ve witnessed (no lie) a guy driving his freshly washed, new model corvette, top down, sun glasses on, gray hair just-a-flowin’ in the wind just the other day.  Um, sir - it’s still 14 degrees out.  Just because the sun decided to come out from behind the clouds for longer than 10 minutes, does not give you the excuse to try to act like, you are the dopest thing this side of Ann Arbor...

I mean, really people.  I’m glad that spring & warmer temperatures will be here sooner than later too, but honestly - it’s still cold.  Shoot it’s still below freezing temperatures!  My co-workers are all excited because we’re going to reach a balmy 35 degrees this weekend.  Why are we all extra excited about Cold temperatures?  It’s still cold!  It’s going to be cold for a while.  Sure you may not have to wear your long-johns in a couple of weeks, but you still need a coat, hat and gloves.  The thing that really gets me, that really makes me question the judgement of most of the people I’m talking about - they will be the FIRST to say something in August, when it’s 92 and humid.  Stating how they wish it would cool down and they can’t wait until winter gets here.  Oh how short our memory is...  

So as I come to an end of my little rant for the moment - my only word of advice is to enjoy today!  Tomorrow is not promised, and it’s still forecasted to be cold if you are here...

Is your Heart in it?

Good day Peeps,
   Today I pose the question: Is your heart in it?

Have you ever been so hyped up to do something, that you had trouble sleeping at night?  Has an idea ever popped in your head and you couldn't wait to get started?  What about learning about/created a new way to do some work and were excited at the possibilities? Then for whatever reason, let's just say "life got in the way" your thought, idea, dream fizzled...

The point I'm trying to make is, when your heart is in "it" - whatever "it" may be, you put your passion, energy and time into that one thing and "it" captures the majority of your time.  You dream about "it" when you're sleep. You pursue "it" when you're awake. "It" can take you to the point of frustration if you aren't careful and begin to idolize "it". This is a very common scenario with many people.

If you don't believe me, look at the many examples where people are't as passionate about something they once were.  i.e. Marriages.  The rate of divorce in America in 2013 hit 50%.  Couples, who once shared the passion they have for each other, one or both parties, determined that they didn't want to be in the marriage anymore.  How many "passing" dreams have escaped people because they no longer want to put the necessary energy or focus into making their dream a reality.

Even me, yes ESPECIALLY me, have had the problem of dealing with the lost of ones passion for things that I once considered vital to my legacy.  Now, I have been fortunate, no, blessed enough to not have this take place with things that I would consider inexcusable; My family (especially my wife and son) but I find that I can easily become "short-sighted" and not look at the big picture or even fail to dream of what I can be, should be, want to be doing.

The funny thing is, I'm an insomniac.  I don't really sleep, or at least I didn't used to.  But as I finally creep up to getting 6 hours of sleep (that is a TON better than what I used to get), I find myself with less energy to do I really want to do... write.  It took me forever in a day to finish the 1st series of my comic.  {More on that to come}  I have, what I consider, to be a great novel idea.  Have I started writing it, no, just the basics.  My main point is, I spend more time on more trivial, less significant things (watching T.V., playing xbox, etc) instead of writing when I have the chance.  My heart isn't in to it right now.

I'm the type that I don't want to turn out any ol thing.  If I'm going to do something, I want to make sure it's top notch & high quality. I feel the worse thing I can do is to give anything I do, a halfhearted effort.  So until I feel that I can give something my all, I hold back and I keep things to myself.  I plan and dream to dream, hoping one day that I'll have the energy, the focus, and the heart to do "it"...