Catching Fire & Mockingjay- Suzanne Collins

I just finished these books today. I borrowed them from a lady at church saying that I would return them within two weeks, and I was right. These books just get me hooked and I can't stop reading. The whole Hunger Games series is just awesome in general. I would say the first book is my favorite. Catching Fire was actually really good too. I was told it was the worst of the three, but I don't agree. I think the books get worse as they go. Well, I wouldn't say "worse" exactly because they are all really good, the books just aren't as good as the previous one. Catching Fire makes me hate the Capitol so much more, and I feel sorry for Katniss because of what she is forced to do. Mockingjay started off really slow for me. I previously said I don't like war-ish type stuff, like with politics and military and such. Well, Mockingjay started out like that so it was hard for me to keep interest. I also don't like how the book ended. I felt that Collins sped up the ending; she tried to fit so much into the last three pages, and that kind of irritated me. She only wrote it to make a conclusion, and I know it's not a love story, but she could have elaborated so much more. Oh well. I still loved them.

M:I Ghost Protocol- Starring Tom Cruise

Ok, so I got confused in this movie. What's new? I had to ask my husband a few questions during and after the movie, but at least I got the jist of it while I was watching it. I loved it though.*SPOILER ALERT* My favorite part of the movie is when Benji has to finish changing the numbers on the doors while Ethan has to jump through the window and almost falls 100 stories, and then Benji comes in and says something like, that was tough. Yeah, it's probably a lot of peoples favorite part because it's funny, but I really liked it. *END OF SPOILER ALERT* I also like that the movie is really intense. You know that feeling you get when you are driving over a little hill really fast in a car? That's the feeling I got during some of these scenes, which is weird because that usually doesn't happen to me. Maybe it was because I was watching it in the IMAX.  I think that may have been my second IMAX movie I've ever seen (the first being The Dark Knight). It was a really good movie, and I would definitely want to see this again. Also, I'm not much of a Tom Cruise fan, and I don't find him that attractive, but he has a really big butt in this movie.

Portillo's

 We ate at Portillo's Hot Dogs the other day. It's supposed to be some kind of Chicago-style restaurant. I wasn't hungry for something big, so I just got a chicken caesar salad which was good, but that doesn't really count for trying a new place. I guess I should have gotten something else. But, I did take a bite of my husband's "Combo" hot dog, and that wasn't too bad. I also tried the chocolate cake shake, and that really did taste like you were drinking a cake. It was kind of weird. For the food I tried, I would go back. I really do want to try one of the burgers and chicken sandwiches from there. I guess I'll write again later for whenever I try those.

Five Cheese Ziti

I rarely go to Olive Garden. I think the last time I went was with Claire's parents, the day before her marathon, and that was over a year ago. And usually when I go to an Italian restaurant, I get the classic Chicken Parmesan because I know it's something I will like. I'm always scared to try new things because I don't want to spend money on food and not enjoy it. On our Friday night date, it came down to the Chicken Parmigiana, or the Five Cheese Ziti al Forno. The Ziti was the less expensive of the two, and when the waitress preferred the Ziti over the Parmigiana, I knew it was a good choice. It was delicious! I probably could have eaten the whole plate, but I didn't want to look like a pig. But I now have a new favorite plate at Olive Garden for when I go back in another year or two.

TAPS

Went to Taps yesterday to celebrate my husband's first finished semester of law school. We chose Taps because it looks like a really nice place. It's also one of those places where you are afraid to go inside because you might end up ordering two $50 plates because that's the cheapest thing on the menu. Luckily, that wasn't the case, although it was a bit pricey. However, I did not know that it was a "fish house." If I would have known that, I wouldn't have been so surprised that all of the appetizers and the main courses were fish. That being said, I did not like the place. I'm not really a seafood lover. So I ended up getting some kind of egg rolls that made me sick. Or maybe I just ate more than I really needed to eat, but either way, I felt like throwing up before I even left the restaurant. And the restrooms stunk. BUT, the ambiance of the place was really classy and cozy; it even had a fire burning in the waiting area which was nice. And of course, I enjoyed the company of my friends and family at dinner. If you're a lover of fish, I would recommend this place, but as for me, I don't think I'll ever go back.

Eagle Eye (PG-13)- Starring Shia LaBeouf

Ok, so I've seen this movie twice, and the first time I watched it I hated it. I do remember that I liked how much action there was and how it kept my interest, but that I hated it because it was a stupid machine. I hate movies with machines and computers that act like people. And I usually hate movies with war, or politics, or military people, because when military people are in a movie, I know it'll be hard for me to understand. Maybe because I lose interest during the part where the military people start talking (and they always talk so fast), and that's probably the part I'm supposed to pay the most attention to since they are describing the problem. But now that I got to watch it again with my husband, and we could pause it so I could ask him questions, it wasn't that bad of a movie. My husband laughed at me because I had already seen it before and I didn't even know what was going on. I guess I would recommend this movie because it is fun to watch, just pay attention.

Egg Nog

We had dinner at my in-laws tonight, and my brother-in-law brought out some egg nog (not the alcoholic kind). Believe it or not, I don't think I've had egg nog before (maybe because I always thought it was an alcoholic drink), so of course I tried it. My husband thought he would have to finish the rest of my glass because I wasn't going to like it. He usually finishes most things I don't like, but I actually thought it was pretty good. I probably couldn't drink a lot of it at once, but the little glass I had was perfect.

Pomegranate

I have never in my life eaten a pomegranate until this morning, thanks to my mother-in-law. Since my husband and I were running low on food today, it was kind of the only thing we had for breakfast. I guess it was an overall fun experience-- having to pick out all the seeds and make a mess of things. You know, I would say it tasted pretty good too, except I didn't really like the crunchiness of the seeds.

The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins

When I first heard about this book at the beginning of this year I thought, no way would I ever read that. It's just some kind of stupid, political-type, futuristic book that I would never have an interest in. Even after I started hearing all this hoop-la about it as the year went on, I still didn't have any desire to start reading it. When I finally finished the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series, it was either The Help or The Hunger Games next. Since the library was out of both books, I decided to take my hour-long lunch breaks at Walmart so I could just read the books there for free while I ate instead of buying them. I know, ghetto. I started with the first few pages of The Hunger Games and it didn't catch my attention, so I went for The Help instead. Finally, I went out with one of the ladies from my ward, and we had the same interest in books, and she's the one that convinced me to read The Hunger Games, so I did, and.....

HOLY COW! I loved it! There's that saying "don't judge a book by its cover," well, I guess I can say don't judge a book by the first few pages either. You really got to get further into the book to start liking it. I finished the book in less than a week because it was so good, and it was pretty short. It's one of those books where at the end of every chapter it leaves you hanging, and you keep reading so you're not left at a cliffhanger, and then you're like, "DANG IT! It's frikin 11:30 at night!" (My bed time is 10, so that's late for me.) My husband even told me to put the book down because he was in the middle of a conversation with me; I guess I didn't know.

I don't really want to give a review about the book because it's still pretty new and many who might read my blog haven't even read it yet. So, what I will say is that I was right about it being a political-type, futuristic book, but that's still a reach. It has government, and it takes place in the time after North America is apparently blown to pieces or something, but it's mostly about the crazy things these children have to go through because the government has such control over the districts. I guess this will make more sense if you read it, which I obviously recommend. It's a pretty dark book, so dark I think if the movie really did the book justice it would definitely HAVE to be rated R.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (PG-13)

I don't care how "grown up" I am, or how many times I'm laughed at for reading a Harry Potter book by a server at Fuddruckers during my lunch break... I love Harry Potter. I recently bought seven of the movies (not 7.2, still waiting on that one from my brother) at Walmart for $4 each, and I have been watching them in order whenever my husband is busy. For some reason, my 30-year-old husband doesn't like to re-watch them, and I can't imagine why. Anyway, yesterday he was taking a final at law school which left me six hours to myself all alone at my apartment, so I decided to pop in the next Harry Potter on the list. 

This book was my favorite of all the books when reading them; however, it is not my favorite of the movies. I just think the movies get better as they go. The plot is my favorite though. All that crap Moody aka Barty Crouch, Jr. does to make sure Harry touches the portkey trophy so that he ends up in a graveyard near Voldemort, I just think it's crazy how someone's imagination can think up all of this stuff. And I remember when I read the book the first time, years ago, how I was just so amazed and shocked that it was Moody and not Snape. I think this plot is my favorite one because Voldemort actually comes back, and then the story gets so much better and more complicated as it goes on. If only the actors were a little bit better. Oh well. I probably won't re-watch the movies as many times as I reread the books, but that's ok, I got them at a good price.

Drive (R)- Starring Ryan Gosling

This movie will not be considered as one of my favorites. Going into this movie, I had neither heard nor seen anything about it, but because it was Ryan Gosling, someone who I think makes pretty good movies, I was like how bad can it be? Oh, it was bad. Not only does Ryan Gosling take 30 seconds to respond to someone, and if you think about it, 30 seconds is a long time to sit there staring at someone after they asked you a question, it got kind of awkward, but this movie is outrageously gory. I had to cover my eyes just so I wouldn't see a knife going through someones body part. I will admit that the first half of the movie grabbed my attention, especially the opening action scene. I was pretty pumped up about it after the first 15 minutes, but after someone else's body part was blown to pieces half way through the movie, I wasn't excited anymore. It all pretty much went downhill from there, for me at least. Although, I will give it that the plot was totally unexpected; I was expecting more of a "Fast and the Furious" kind of movie.

Books Up-To-Date

Since I haven't had the desire to read any books until after I graduated from BYU, (sparknotes was all I read throughout grade school) I will update about all the books I have read in the past 3 months, which also means all the books I've read in my entire life. My new love of reading is quite easy to explain....I got married. Not saying I don't like spending time with my husband, because as he and I both know I hate being without him, but he has other interests than I do. He likes video games, sports (I just like NBA basketball), and he also studies for law school, so I had to find a new pasttime. So without further ado...

My Most Recent Books:

Harry Potter- J.K. Rowling 

I will most likely read these again later on in life, and when I do, I will give a more detailed description of each, but for now I will just say that I love this entire series. I will admit, these are the only books I ever read growing up, but to be honest, I remembered nothing. By the time the next book came out I had already forgotten what happened in the book previous, and I had no desire to refresh my memory. But now that I was able to read these books back-to-back, and also have the movies to watch afterwards, they have been much more entertaining. I am looking forward to reading these to my kids.

Twilight Saga- Stephanie Meyer 

Reading these books after finishing the Harry Potter series was not the best idea. Or maybe reading them as a 23 year-old instead of a teenager was the problem. Either way, these books were kind of annoying. I'm not going to lie, they kept me interested, and I can't wait to see the rest of the movies, but it's not something I would read again. Bella's obsession with Edward and how Meyer continuously describes the mesmerizing features of Edward is too repetitive and cheesy. No wonder the movies make me feel awkward. I would recommend these only because they've become well-known in the world, or if you're a 15 year-old girl.

The Help- Kathryn Stockett   

As you can see, if a book is going to be turned into a movie, I will most likely want to read it. The Help was a pretty interesting read. At times, I felt like it was getting a little boring, but as soon as that thought crossed my mind, something exciting would happen. Not only did this book make me literally laugh out loud, it really pissed me off too. Some of these characters I just wanted to punch in the face. Still a movie I have yet to see, but I am looking forward to it. I would definitely recommend this book. 

Room for Love- Andrea Meyer  

I came across this book in the library as I was trying to find "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer. Since they didn't have that book, and I didn't want to make my husband wait even longer for me, I just took this book off the shelf and checked it out. Not a good idea. It was all about this girl slutting it up in New York, trying to find her perfect guy by being a shallow whore. To say the least, I did not like this book and I would not recommend it for anyone, especially shallow whores, because she ends up happily-ever-after and we all know there's a low chance of finding a great-looking guy who treats you well. (I have the only one.)