January News and Updates and More!

As I mentioned in December, I’m switching up this newsletter/blog a bit. I’ve decided to post twice a month with one post being focused on a specific topic and the other post being more of an update on what’s been happening in life. This is the latter. We’ll see how it goes.

Books I’ve been reading since my last book update in August (I’ll try to be better about these updates going forward)

Current Read: Nic Blake and The Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

Recent Reads:

• Room to Breathe by Kasie West ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Far and Away by Amy Poeppel ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• In the Light of the Sun by Angela Shupe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• This Dog for Hire by Carol Lea Benjamin ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Christmas in Blue Dog Valley by Annie England Noblin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Eat Post Like by Emily Arden Wells ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Grace & Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Love Stories by Elizabeth Eulberg ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Both Things are True by Kathleen Barber ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Everything We Thought Was True by Lisa Montanaro ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Drop Dead by Lily Chu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Movies I saw in November, December and January (again, I’ll stay more up to date on this going forward; also I didn’t include anything I’d already seen and watched again nor did I include any Hallmark Christmas movies because there were far too many to list!)

In the Theatre:

• Hope on the Stage The Movie (j-hope of BTS) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Wicked: For Good - excellent end to the saga! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Rental Family - one of my favorites from last year ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Zootopia 2 - such a good sequel! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Now You See Me: Now You Don’t - super fun sequel to a fun series ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Hamnet - I think I’m the only person on the planet that didn’t like this; just wasn’t for me or I wasn’t in the mood ⭐️⭐️

• Ella McCay - just, no ⭐️⭐️

• Song Sung Blue - loved this so much! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• #RunSeokjin.EP.Tour The Movie(Jin of BTS) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• The Choral - exceptional film!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

On my TV (via streaming or DVD):

• Being Eddie (Netflix) - great doc on Eddie Murphy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• In Your Dreams (Netflix) - super cute Netflix animated film ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• A Nice Indian Boy - wonderful film; not sure how I missed this in the theatre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Boo-Yah: A Portrait of Stuart Scott - excellent doc on the ESPN personality ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Oh. What. Fun. (Prime) - fun holiday film starting Michelle Pfeiffer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• John Candy: I Like Me (Prime) - wonderful doc; if you liked him you’ll like this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• The Great Gatsby (DiCaprio version) - I never read the book and hadn’t seen any of the movies but wanted to understand it better as I’m going to the ballet next month; it wasn’t my favorite, but it sure was pretty ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• The Merchants of Joy (Netflix) - wonderful doc about Christmas tree sellers in NYC ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Netflix) - super interesting story; very sweet ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• F1 (Apple) - so much better than I expected; wish I’d seen it in the theatre ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Theatre viewings (of the non-movie variety)

• The Notebook - the acting and staging were great; the music was just okay for me ⭐️⭐️⭐️

• SIX - a favorite that I was so happy to be able to see again! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• The Choir of Man - fantastic! had no idea what to expect and was greatly entertained ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Music I’ve been listening to

• Bruno Mars - I Just Might (lead single from forthcoming The Romantic album)

• Matt Nathanson - Please Pet But Do Not Ride the Horse (Live)

• Wicked and Wicked: For Good Soundtracks

• SIX Soundtrack

• Dave Farah - Late to the Party (single)

• Ed Sheeran - Play

Other updates and adventures in no particular order

• My dad and Frannie made a quick visit just before Christmas; I usually don’t see them during the holidays so that was great

• Had a fun holiday tea with my mom and our friend Carol; didn’t quite measure up to London, but it was still tasty

• Got accidentally glutened on Christmas Eve so that ruined our plans for the evening and the next day; zero stars, do not recommend

• Met up with several friends and family members for lunches and conversation

• Visited the zoo last week on a beautiful non-wintery day (we’ve been having a lot of those this year); the baby lions are seriously the cutest!

• Went to the National Western Stock Show parade for the first time ever - so, so cool!

• Bought and built a few LEGO sets - thanks to everyone who gave me a gift card for Christmas!

• Successfully got Bruno Mars tickets for his show this fall - it was HARD! Also got tickets for Jon McLaughlin and am crossing my fingers and toes and whatever else I can cross for BTS tickets this afternoon - wish me luck!

• Cheered for the four NFL teams that lost during last weekend’s playoff games, so that’s cool; now I have no idea who to cheer for going forward

• Visited the Museum of Science and Nature to take in the LEGO and elephant exhibits, because obviously

While exploring The Secret World of Elephants at the museum I learned that Denver once had an all-Black baseball team called the Denver White Elephants. In 1934 the organizers of the Little World Series of the West allowed Black players for the first time, and it marked the first time Black and white players competed at the professional level. Who knew?! Museums ROCK.

So all in all, things are going well. Like everyone I know, I’m horrified about everything happening in Minnesota and across the country (and the world). I truly can’t wrap my brain around the hatred and the evil that is running rampant right now. It’s why I have to remember to enjoy the fun things I’m able to do and find joy in every day. It’s overwhelming to say the least. I hope you are finding ways to disconnect from the news and enjoy a little something each day. It’s so important.

Oh, and for those who read my last post, and maybe even participated, here are the results of the poll:

Until next time…