Daphne's Movie Reviews

Daphne's Movie Reviews

I have a subscription to Blockbuster Total Access. With my plan, I have 3 movies at a time, with 5 in store exchanges per month. So I watch a lot of movies every month. Here is where I will voice my opinion on the movies I view. Read: This is just MY opinion!

Here's My Grading Table:

5 - I absolutely loved this movie.
4.5 - I loved this movie.
4 - I really liked this movie.
3.5 - I liked this movie.
3 - This movie was okay.
2.5 - This movie was just so-so.
2 - I didn't like this movie.
1.5 - I really didn't like this movie.
1 - I hated this movie.
0.5 - I really hated this movie.

Movies I've Seen Lately:
27 Dresses - 5
3:10 to Yuma - 3.5
Alvin & the Chipmunks - 5
Atonement - 5
August Rush - 4
Bee Movie - 3.5
Blades of Glory - 2.5
Bridge to Terabithia - 4
Catch and Release - 5
Cloverfield - 3
Dan in Real Life - 4.5
Dedication - 3.5
Enchanted - 5
Feel the Noise - 3.5
Ghost Rider - 5
Gone Baby Gone - 4.5
Good Luck Chuck - 5
Hairspray - 2
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 5
I am Legend - 5
In Her Shoes - 5
I Think I Love My Wife - 4
Jumper - 5
Juno - 4
Knocked Up - 5
License to Wed - 5
Mad Money - 4
Mama's Boy - 5
Meet the Spartans - 2
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - 3.5
Mr. Woodcock - 4.5
Nanny McPhee - 4.5
National Treasure: Book of Secrets - 3.5
Norbit - 3
No Reservations - 5
Over Her Dead Body - 4
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - 5
Premonition - 4
P.S. I Love You - 5
Rush Hour 3 - 4.5
Saw IV - 5
Shrek the Third - 5
Superbad - 5
Sydney White - 5
The Comebacks - 4.5
The Game Plan - 4
The Heartbreak Kid - 5
The Hottie and the Nottie - 4
The Last Mimzy - 4
The Number 23 - 3.5
The Other Bolyen Girl - 5
Transformers - 5
Unaccompanied Minors - 4.5
Wild Hogs - 5

If you want my opinion on a movie that you do not see posted here, zip me an email or leave me a comment (on this post) and I'll post my opinion to that movie, if I've seen it!

[updated frequently]

Our Independence Celebration Plans

Today is the last day of June!

I cannot believe July is upon us already! June just flew by!

And we didn't keep up with schoolwork or anything!

Thursday morning, we are leaving for my Hubby's mother's house. We will be having cookouts, and going to SIL B's baby shower. [Niece4 is due to join us early August] [We also have a Niece5 due to join us in early October, from BIL C and his gf-L]

From there, we are driving over to my Granny's house on Monday morning, and spending some time there, until leaving to come home late Tuesday night. We like to drive while the kids sleep!

We are bringing my mother home with us. Hubby has taken his vacation that week. (July 7-11) We plan to do some things with my Mom. Like going up Cheaha Mt. and having a picnic.

My Granny & Papaw will be coming to pick my Mom up on July 16. I hope they plan to stay at least one night with us, it's been such a long time since they both have been able to come down.

So, I will be pretty busy! I just hope I get everything I need done by Wednesday night. I hate forgetting things at home when we travel!

This Old Truck

When we first bought my Hubby's Dodge dually, back in August of last year, a week hadn't passed when the transmission tore up.

The car lot that we bought it from payed for all the materials needed to fix the dually, we just had to pay $700 for the labor. Fair enough, since they weren't responsible for repairs once we signed papers. (It was sort of a good-faith thing.)

Then, back in February, I wrote about the brakes, axles and all that being messed up on the truck. We spent almost $3000 to get it fixed.

Almost 2 weeks ago, I told you about Hubby wrecking his truck. The repair shop had to fix almost the whole wrecked side, rims included. And he got 4 new tires on the back. (He got tires on both sides, so the treads would match.)

Another new tire, from having a flat and being stuck uptown at a gas station. (And men kept coming up to him talking to him and he had to threaten one guy with his flashlight to get him to leave him alone!)



If things keep going, at this rate, his 2001 dually will be like a brand new truck! lol

I just had to find some humor in all this to keep from going mad, although, I doubt he would think it's funny.

And Our Bad Luck Continues....

So, since my last post about our Bad Luck lately, our insurance company cancelled our vehicle insurance.

A BIG Poop on them. That's all I have to say about that.

LittleMan got choked today on Chinese food and I thought I was going to have to do the Heimlich Maneuver on him. Luckily, he got it (a long piece of lettuce!) up quickly and was okay.


And to top things off?? Hubby is sitting at a gas station Right Now with a flat tire on the front of his truck. He's been there for an hour and can't get a hold of anyone to come help. I just asked him, could he not switch the front tire with one on the back and run it home. (He drives a dually, which has 4 back tires) He is trying that now and is going to call me back.




When will it all turn around??


Feelin' Sucky in Alabama,

Thrift Store Finds ~ June 26, 2008

We took a trip to the Thrift store today. And got some great stuff!



Baby Girl's size 0-3 months; these are for a niece due to join us in October

Princess's 2Ts

Princess's 3Ts

Princess's 4Ts

Princess's 5's

Princess's 6's

Princess's shoes

LittleMan's

Mine

Other

And both the kids got a dollar toy each. My total came to $56.52 before taxes!

Wordless Wednesday ~ June 25, 2008

Weekly Menu

Breakfasts
Cereal
Fried Eggs, toast
Pancakes , syrup
Peppered Gravy & Biscuits, Sausage
Scrambled Eggs, Bacon
Breakfast Pizza


Lunches
Grilled Cheese
Spaghetti O's
Ramen Noodles
Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Nuggets
Leftovers


Suppers
Fried Pork Chops, Butter beans, Mac & Cheese, Cornbread
Slow Cooker Chicken & Dumplings, corn
Rotisserie Chicken, yellow rice, green beans
Mini Italian Meatloaves, Au gratin potatoes, cheese toast

Nights Hubby isn't home:
Hot dogs, bacon cheese fries
Ramen Noodles


Snacks
grapes
bananas
peanut butter crackers
goldfish
popcorn


What's on Your plate this week??

My Kitchen Fund ~ June 21, 2008

3 days since my last Kitchen Fund post and I've found more quarters!
My Mom is coming to visit us for a week in July and has decided to help us out with our Kitchen Fund and donate some money into it, Thanks Mom!

Quarters - $25.50
Survey sites - $3.00
Total so far - $28.50

My Freebies

Week of June 15-21

Not the greatest week I've had, but it was better than nothing! I got a coupon from VocalPoint for the free box of cereal. I had 2 coupons for $2/2 on the Johnson's Buddies soaps. And all three of the magazines I got in the mail were free.

Make Some Extra $Money$

Join Wellness360

You MUST read this!

So, I was surfing the Internet for new money-saving or decluttering blogs that I haven't read before and I stumbled upon this blog, which is too awesome for words!

This lady, Erin, is a great role model for her 3 daughters and anyone else! She is truly amazing!

You have to check out her blog, it's called JANE4girls $800 Annual Budget for a Family of Four

And it's exactly as it sounds. Her journey, starting January 1st of 2008 to show how she starts the year off with $800 and stockpiles throughout the year and she's doing a wonderful job!

Go there. Read it. Now.






What are you waiting for?

My Kitchen Fund ~ June 18, 2008

Money Saved for Kitchen Fund

Quarters - $19
Survey sites - $3

Total so far - $22


Starting off slowly, but surely!

My Kitchen Fund

I've decided that if I'm ever going to get to remodel my nasty-yellow kitchen, I've got to make an effort to save the money to do so.


Here's my boundaries for funding my Kitchen Remodel

• Any quarter that crosses my vision, in my house =) will go directly into the Kitchen Fund. I am doing only quarters because my time is money too. And quarters do not take long to roll and take to the bank. [I may eventually roll my dimes and nickles, but taking them to the Coin Star isn't worth the money after I drive down there...]
• Any money I make from doing surveys (and other things) online
• Unexpected Found Money, ex. found in old coat pocket, found on ground, etc.
• Any Money Donated to us
• Money I make off Yard Sales
• Money I make off E-bay, if I ever start selling there
• Money I make selling anywhere else, ex. Trader's Helper

I will not be using the difference that I save when I use coupons. It is a great idea, and I know a lot of people do it, my Granny has even said I should. But I usually save around $18-20 when I use coupons, and that money is better served going towards bills.

So far, I have saved $22. Not a lot, I know. But it will grow!

Our Stroke(s) of Bad Luck

There are many things that I do not share with you in the bloggy world. Things that are way too personal, things that are embarrassing, things that scare me to think of therefore I do not wish to blog, and things that are just plain boring.

I wasn't going to share any of the following, until now.

The reason I decided to share this, is I think our luck may be changing ... finally.



The past 2 months, we've had some serious things occur, that tested our strength, our faith, and our relationship.

There were times we thought that it would never get better, times when we couldn't see even a glimmer of good anywhere in sight.

You already know about Mimi dying, Zip drowning, LittleMan's habit of running into things with his head, twice, LittleMan not making All Stars; but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I won't tell you everything that's happen, but I can give you an idea of what it's been like...


The weekend that Mimi and Zip passed, of course there was the fact that Hubby almost drowned with Zip. Another thing that happen that weekend, that seemed insignificant at the time, was we got a tick off of LittleMan's head.

He's had ticks on him more times that I can count. Probably more times than I even know, since he and my Hubby go camping and horse-riding a lot.

A couple weeks went by, and while were we visiting family for my cousin's high school graduation, Hubby noticed that LittleMan had a knot on his neck.

Fast forward a few days, and I take him to his pediatrician. His doctor finds another knot on his neck, and one on the back of his head. He tells me it's caused by kittens scratching LittleMan's hands.

But LittleMan hasn't been around any kittens.

So, the doctor says, the only other thing that could cause swollen lymph nodes, is a tick bite. It sinks in.
OMG We just got a tick off of him 2 weeks earlier.

The doctor starts asking all these questions about LittleMan's behavior since the bite, and decides that he's fine, for now. But to watch him for the following week, for these certain signs, to make sure he doesn't need tested for Lyme Disease.

Lyme Disease?
Are you serious? OMG this doctor doesn't know that I completely over-react to everything!!

But the week comes and goes and LittleMan is fine. Thank God!

-------------------------

Another instance, happen after we got back from the graduation, but before LittleMan went to the doctor.

We love Mexican restaurants. All 4 of us. Can't get enough Mexican food.
So, we take LittleMan (and Princess) out to Sunday lunch. After his graduation, I went by and picked up his report card, and he received all 1's!! Great Job LittleMan!!! So the deal is, he gets to go out to eat...

Anyway, we had just sat down to eat, been there maybe 5 minutes, when Princess gets choked on a chip. Long story short, Hubby had to give her the Heimlich maneuver.

Come on now kids, are you trying to give me a heart attack??

-------------------------

The latest bad thing to happen, is that about 3 weeks ago, Hubby was on his way to work, when he wrecked his dually. I won't go into details, but the truck is in the shop and I'm driving a rental. A rental that had hogged more money for gas, than we've spent on groceries!

His truck is suppose to be ready by this weekend, so hopefully we'll be saying buh-bye to the gas guzzler.

(These things are just a taste of what we've gone through lately. There are other things that I cannont share that were way worse.)
-------------------------

So, what is this good thing that has inspired this post, you ask?

We are refinancing our home.

....Yes, that's good news!

I know what you're thinking. It's stressful, blah, blah, blah

Yes I'm listening

But listen to this...

Right now, we have a split mortgage, which really is just 2 mortgages. Combined they do not go over the value of our home. But, the interest is killing us!

On the larger mortgage, we're paying 8%, on the smaller, we're paying 13%

Yes, a combined 21%. Yowzer!

So, we're refinancing and getting ONE mortgage. And we're looking at somewhere between 6.5-7%, which will save us some much needed $$$

So..... my main reason to share this with all you in the bloggy world, is to ask for your good thoughts, prayers and words, in these times when we really could use them! (And we appreciate them greatly!)

We could use all the help we can get!

Thanks!

Our Weekend

Friday night, we had a visitor. One of our friends from our old hometown, who we haven't seen in years.

(He's in the National Guard and just got stationed near us.)

I made some rotisserie chicken and we sat and talked for hours. SIL R came too and joined us for supper, then took the kids with her for the weekend. [Thanks SIL R!]

Saturday morning, Hubby and I slept in. We went to town for Hubby to get a new shirt and pair of Levis. Then we had lunch at a Mexican restaurant that we've never been to before. It was pretty good.

We had a wedding to attend at 4pm. It was a beautiful ceremony. We didn't stay for the reception because, well, hey, it's not every weekend we're baby-free!

That night, Hubby took me to The Hornet's Nest, which is the Talladega Short Track. [We have friends that race.] We had a great time! With no kids, we were able to stay out after midnight! I came home with mud in my hair, up my nose and down my shirt, but it was fun!

Sunday was Father's Day. You can read about Father's Day HERE.

We had a great weekend! Very fun and relaxing too!

And how was your weekend?

Father's Day

We started out the morning alone. Just the two of us. Adults. Sleeping in. No kids.

It was ... Quiet & Peaceful ... so NOT like our lives

(The kids had stayed the weekend with my SIL R at MIL&FIL's house.)

So bring on them dang younguns!!!

We visited Hubby's parents' house for an hour or so, then we all came home. Hubby shod our two horses, he rode them, the kids rode, even I got up there and rode. (Dying of Fear Inside)

We swam in the pool for hours, we watched what Hubby wanted to watch on television. I made Breakfast Pizza for supper. We're backwards people, like that.

All in all, it was a good day.

[I missed my Dad though. And thought of him throughout the specialness of Hubby's day.]

Here's what all Hubby got for Father's Day:

3 greeting cards, a horse blanket and a Hitachi drill set



*Not to mention, a special surprise from Mommy =)
My, my, he made out nicely, huh?

This is how we roll in Dega Baby!

Since the kids were staying the night with my SIL, Hubby took me to the dirt track Saturday night to watch some of our friends race. I could so easily get addicted to going to the dirt track!!
In this clip, one of our friends is starting in the first position.

(This video was taken in May, not the night we were there)

My Freebies

Week of June 8-14

House Remodeling Pictures (Always a Work in Progress)

House Remodeling Pictures (Always a Work in Progress)

I wish I would have went through the house taking pictures of it when we first bought it. But I didn't. I'll just have to use what I got!

We bought the house at the beginning of July 2004, we had a chimney fire at the end of January 2005. We have been through many stages of remodeling. Little bits here and there.

Back Yard Before:

Back Yard During:

A little later:

Back Yard Finished:

Living Room December 2004

After the fire

Living Room Now:

Outside after fire

Working on the Outside

New Roof going up

Midway

What it is now

after the roof, we put up new siding/shutters and central air/heat (which it didn't have)

Princess's Bedroom
Before:

Baby After:

Big Girl After:

LittleMan's Room
Before:

After:

Kitchen
Before (I hate the Wallpaper Yuck!):
Overlook my dirty dishes =)
Ceiling:

So far, the only work we've done in the kitchen is putting in a whole new ceiling and molding & putting in new linoleum (which Hubby & his cousin miscut when putting it in, so it looks screwed too). We also put in all new appliances when we bought the house. (stove, fridge, dishwasher) We are no where near being finished with the Kitchen. With it being the most money to remodel, it's been on the backburner....

...MoRe To CoMe...