The Other Boleyn Girl: "There is no room for mistakes at court"

So, I watched the movie several years ago, and while I enjoyed it, it did leave me in a bit of a funk.  It was such a crazy story and the ending was nuts and I didn't know what to think about it.  Ever since then I have wanted to read the book.  I finally got around to it at the end of the summer and beginning of the school year.  First of all, it was a much larger book than I had figured so when school started, my reading time decreased significantly and it took a while to finish.  I'm glad I did, however.  The book is well written and the characters are developed in such a way that you are conflicted in your feelings for some and have the utmost sympathy or disgust for others.  The story moves through quite a series of years and offers an interesting look into medieval England.  This story is a historical fiction because the characters and the general story was true but the author took many liberties with filling in the details of everyday life and the details regarding the lesser known characters' lives, including Anne Boleyn.  Even still, though, this book was a fascinating read.  Again, the ending left me in a funk but now that I've had some time to digest it, I'm glad that I finished it and it is one that I may pick up again for another summer reading. 

Wednesday List!

After a week off, I'm back with another Wednesday List!  I spent the weekend in Chicago with some of B's family and we had a discussion regarding favorite movies while eating an AMAZING meal at Chicago Pizza And Oven Grinder so I decided to extend my list of 3 that I shared to a list of 5.  I tried to think of all time favorites and not the ones that change all the time in my mind.  So, here it is!
1. The Princess Bride
2. Braveheart
3. Dirty Dancing
4. Boondock Saints
5. Rent
Again, I have a wide variety of tastes...from the cheesy comedy to classic romance to delightful amounts of action and a powerful musical! 

The Complexities of Motivation

As the school year continues to speed up into midterms and projects, I find myself struggling with the concept of motivation.  Not necessarily school related because my motivation there is a love of learning, my GPA and desire to find a job soon :)  I mean, motivation to create and get new items listed on Etsy.  I realize that the holiday season is fast approaching and therefore, I should be listing new products everyday...however, my motivation is being hindered by life in general.  I have these grand ambitions ("when I get home from teaching, I'll make ____" "this weekend, while watching football, I'll list _____" and the list goes on)  but by the time I get around to those time periods, I'm too exhausted to even think creatively!  So, right now, I'm on a mission to recapture my motivation that was so plentiful during the summer months.  I'm going to start by setting a tentative schedule where I work for a bit even if I don't really want to and hopefully this will jump-start my motivation and get me excited about crafting again!

Blog Hop!

Thanks to Nimbler Grove, New To Mom, and Southern Reflections for sponsoring another Fabulous Friday Blog Hop!  Follow me along with all the other wonderful bloggers participating! 

Wednesday List!

This Wednesday, I have decided to indulge my wanderlust and give you my top five favorite places to visit and the reasons why I love them :)


1. New Zealand...this was my first "major" trip out of the country (5 weeks) and it was incredible.  Beautiful country, beautiful people.  My dream is to take B there :)
2. South Carolina...Charleston is one of the most charming cities I've ever been to and I have wonderful memories of family spring breaks spent on the various inter-coastal islands
3. Washington D.C...I adore American history :)
4. Maine...a family trip to Bar Harbor was an unforgettable experience...the scenery is stunning and the seafood is to die for!
5. Michigan's Upper Peninsula...one of the first family camping trips we took, 2 weeks around the outside edge of the UP...such incredible wilderness.  A peaceful quiet place and who wouldn't love to see where the mighty I-75 does an inconspicuous turn-around?!

Wednesday List!

5 Things I Love About Michigan Football:

1. The Team. The Team. The Team.
2. Winged Helmets
3. 109,901
4. Legendary Players
5. Striking a Pose...HE16MAN :)

Feeling a Bit Fallish...

I missed a Wednesday List for last week!  Don't worry, I'll get one ready to go this week :)  Life has been so crazy and busy with school and football and family and B!  I had the opportunity to go home this past weekend and spend time with my family and B...we had family pictures and then spent all afternoon at Fridays to watch the Michigan football game...(we barely pulled off the W, thanks to Denard :)).  Yesterday, we went downtown Grand Rapids to wander around Artprize.  It was fun to see all the art and also to see GRap so busy in the downtown districts.  In all, it was an incredibly relaxing weekend!  However, now I'm back in AA and its time to get after the homework...this coming weekend is the UM vs. MSU football game and B and I have sooo many friends coming back for the game so everyone is trying to get tons of work done so that this weekend can just be focused on hanging out with friends!  However, I'm really hoping to get some crafting done this week too.  I finished a new set of ornaments that need to be photographed and posted.  I also am planning a new line of ornaments for the upcoming holiday season!  More news and photos to come soon!  Check back with me on Wednesday when I promise a new list will be posted :)