Thumbs Up Monday

It's Monday - so it's time to find out what we are giving a thumb up to this week:

GTuck is giving a thumb up because his Fantasy Football team will be playing in the Super Bowl this year.  All his hard work and hours of studying his line-up has paid off!  Good job boy! 

Chrissy is giving a thumb up to earning 18% on all of her sales through the end of the year.  That means my girl can make some $$$$$.  I thank her for my $8 celebratory drink. I didn't pick the most expensive drink on purpose.  Just seems to be my taste. :)

What are YOU giving a thumb up for today?

I Can't Believe I.....

fell asleep during the movie yesterday!  I was out - like - really out! 

For the life of me, I just couldn't get into the movie. S---L----O---W  doesn't even begin to describe it.  Thank goodness I didn't bring my kids to this one - they would have disturbed may little nappie-poo because they for sure wouldn't have sat through it.  I at least took one for the team (GTuck, Chrissy & Joe) and slept quietly.  I did have a few moments where I snapped out of my slumber - but I quickly would go right back out.  From what I understand, I missed some major moments of the movie (yeah like 1-1/2 hours!).

There were some good things about Hugo:

- The 3D effects were AWESOME! (from what I seen while I was awake)
- Hugo (Asa Butterfield) is a great child-actor.  Actually pretty AMAZING.
- The train station set was incredible - loved the camera shots - great period clothing 

This film will probably be nominated for an Oscar - Best Picture even - and more likely a few more.  I'll be the first to admit, I would much rather see a cheesy romantic comedy over Adventure / Drama / Family film.  Maybe that's why I was mad - I wanted to see New Year's Eve.

My advice - be awake for the last 15-20 minutes.  It was the best part of the movie - I actually was able to stay awake!

Overall Rating:  NOT GOOD - simply because of the slow moving-ness of it and the fact it is marketed as a "family" film.  There were a ton of people over the age of 50 there, and they even clapped at the end?!?!? But would it hold the interest of a 6 year old? HECK NO

Movie Tuesday

Today is Tuesday and that means it's Movie Tuesday!! 

We will start off with dinner at:

Brann's Sizzling Steaks & Sports Grill - there are so many yummy things I don't know how I'm going to pick just one....

The movie of the night is:

Hugo 3D  -  I know NOTHING about this movie.  I haven't watched the trailer or read any reviews.  I'm going in blind.  Sometimes that's not a bad thing to do.  No expectations.

Getting back into the swing of things after a vacation is hard, but Movie Tuesday is always fun.  Looking forward to good food, good friends and a good movie.

Thumbs Up Monday

I'm gonna let Colton have this Thumbs Up Monday all to himself:

He is giving one thumb up to the Detroit Lions for pulling off a victory to the Minnesota Vikings this week! 

And the other is because his sister will be at 5th Grade Camp for the next 3 days - which means he gets to call all the shots around the house!

How The Glitz Stole Christmas Reveal

I was very excited to participate in Raven's (A Momma's Desires and Pacifiers) and Lindsey's (The Bargain Blonde) blogger swap - How the Glitz Stole Christmas. Being a GurleeGirrl,  the idea of swapping "glitzy" and "glamy" items with another blogger was a no-brainer.  I of course signed up and waited to be paired with another blogger.

Lindsey sent out the list, and I was matched up with Sarah Elizabeth of Belle in the City.  I found myself pouring through Sarah's blog trying to get a feel for what she would like so I could start my shopping right away.  Sarah is definitely my kind of girl.  She loves pink just as much as I do! 

My package arrived while I was away on vacation, so I was super excited to see my goodies upon my return.    Here is what I had waiting for me:

I want to thank Sarah for all of my gifts!  My 10-year old daughter was impressed too!  I know it's going to be hard keeping her from stealing the pink sparkly picture frame!    

I hope Sarah liked her presents as much as I did! 

Sea World - It Was A Splash!

Arrived in Florida to a balmy 75 degrees on Saturday.  And each day since, has only gotten better.  We spent the first day of our trip acclimating to the house and doing a little shopping.  Super Targets are the bomb.

On our second day we headed over to Sea World Orlando.  It was awesome!  I haven't been to this park since I was in high school (which we all know was eons ago).  The kids enjoyed feeding stingrays:

Feeding dolphins:

And also fed the Sea Lions (yeah we spent $$$ feeding the animals):

I finally talked my 10-year old daughter into riding Kracken:

It was her first upside down coaster. Grandma had to promise to give her $20, but she overcame her fear and loved it.  I was super proud - because I knew it was so hard for her to finally do it.  She is my Nervous Nelly and I was happy to see her fight through it (even if it was for the money).

Nothing like ending the day with seeing the killer whale show.  Those creatures are beyond magnificent.  Watching them literally made the hair stand up on my arms.  Now for the safety of the trainers, they never get into the water with them.  I think I liked that even better.  The whales are the stars!

I even let them sit in the Splash Zone :)

It was an exciting day.  I'm so glad we got the chance to visit this year!

Florida Here I Come!

Tomorrow I head to the Sunshine State for a well-deserved vacation.  It's my annual family vacation to visit Mickey Mouse.  There will be 7 adults and 8 children (ages 10 and under) all in the house this year.  Sounds like fun huh? 

For the plane - I'm prepared with:

My iPhone

My phone has the soundtrack to my life on it. 
It also has a super duper camera that works for on-the-fly photos.
Also by letting my son play a few games of Angry Birds - I can get a few minutes of peace!


My Kindle Fire

It is well stocked with reading material including Catching Fire and Mockingjay(The Second and Third books of The Hunger Games), and a few other girly books such as:

Dixie Divas

All I Want for Christmas is You. 

 To Conquer a Highlander

I'm hoping to have some downtime to read, but with visiting Magic Kingdom, Sea World, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Family, etc., I hope to finish one or two of them.

What I am looking forward to the most:

When it's December in Michigan, you don't get to see this too often.

So in between reading, sunning and enjoying life - I'll post some pics of our trip.