A Year to be Thankful Day 30: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Day 30 of this crazy happiness thing.

1.  I'm helping my hubby update his resume. He e-mailed me the sweetest thing.

2. I'm very far a head of my book, and I'm actually liking it better than Something Borrowed.

3. I'm finished with the Hall of Fame for my 8th graders!!

A Year to be Thankful Day 27: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Day 27 of being happy....

1.  I bought a most adorable mug that says, "No drama for this Llama."

2. I bought the most adorable calendar/journal for 2018. It's also used for journaling.

3. I had a fantastic time in Hollywood Hills last night with my friends and hubby! What a gorgeous view from Yamashiro. My husband and I celebrated our 8th anniversary there two years ago. We heard that it was closing to make way for homes. Thank goodness someone saved this beautiful Hollywood landmark. This makes three visits for me overall. I hate traffic, but once I'm in Los Angeles/Hollywood, I feel a sense of peace.

I'm so very relaxed right now and I LOVE IT!!!

A Year to be Thankful Day 26: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Day 26 of things that make me happy.

1.  I'm going to Hollywood for a friend's wedding reception. I love Hollywood.

2.  I lost a pound, only one, but at least I didn't gain.

3.  I paid mom my some money I owe her. This makes me happy because it weighs heavily on me when I owe people money.  I can't say the same for a number of people I know.?.?.?

4.  Here's one more just because I have so many today, I'm giving myself a mini facial.

Things That Make Me Happy in 2018: Day 25

Because I want to make sure that I post daily, and sometimes I'm not near my computer, I posted a few days on Twitter. Here is my list of things that made me happy today.

1. My little dog Mia was so happy to see me today when I got home from work, that she hijacked my Snaps. It melts my heart that she loves me so indiscriminately. 

2. I got a bunch of amazing makeup in the mail today!! Two Violet Voss Palettes and the ABH Prism Palette.

3. It's Friday and my little bugger Sammy won't leave my side. I have two pups Sammy and Mia. Here's a photo for good measure.

Top 10 Movies of 2017

Looking over my two lists of top 10 movies of 2017, I've decided to do an overall top 10 of both lists. Narrowing my top 20 to an overall top10 is a wee bit harder for me. This is how I decided the list: 1. In the course of the year, did I watch this movie more than once? 2. Is this a movie that I would like to own or ran out to buy when it was released on DVD? her 

Here are the links to the other two top 10s. 

January-June 2017

July-December 2017

Here goes.....

10.  Coco. I have a Disney movie collection.

9.  Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tells. I collect Disney movies, especially if Orlando Bloom is in them. 

8.  How to Be a Latin Lover. This movie is so freaking hilarious!!!

7.  The Greatest Showman. I love the music!!

6.  Girl's Trip. Another hilarious movie.

5.  Ingrid Goes West.  This is twisted on so many levels.

4.  Logan. What can I say, I love Hugh Jackman.

3. Thor: Ragnorak. What can I say, I love Australians.  

2.  Hidden Figures. This is a beautiful movie that everyone should see and then own.

1. Wonder Woman. Little girls want to be just like Wonder Woman. I know I did when I was young, underoos and all.

So, that concludes my 2017 movie viewing. This year, I'm making it a goal to watch a film outside of my immediate comfort zone. I'll try something new, like maybe a military movie.

My Favorite July-December 2017 Movies

Here it is ladies and gentlemen, my top 10 films, July through December, 2017. It took me a while because there were a few I wanted to watch before I posted my list. This is going to be short, I promise I won't go into too many details. The format will be Title, Genre, Release Date, Rating.  Here is the link to January - June. January-June 2017

10.  The Big Sick, Comedy, July 14, 2017, R:  Starring Kumail Nanjiani, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano and Zoe Kazan. It's an interracial love story and then some. Go see it. It's just good.  

9.  Spider-Man Homecoming, Action, July 7, 2017, PG-13: Starring Tom Holland, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Michael Keaton. I'm glad that Marvel had a chance to make their movie, I just don't think he's that interesting of a character. Tom Holland is so much better than Andrew Garfield in the role. I'm just not completely sold on Spider-Man. I like his interaction with The Avengers better. 

8. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Action, December 15, 2017, PG-13: Starring Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan. I never saw the first one, so I have nothing to compare this one to. I thought this was hilarious. You have Dwayne Johnson (hot) and Jack Black and Kevin Hart (both hilarious). What more could a girl ask for?

7. Girl's Trip, Comedy, July 21, 2017, R: Starring Jada Pinkett Smith, Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, and Tiffany Haddish. Four friends go on a girl's trip and chaos ensues. Tiffany Haddish is one of the funniest ladies on screen. I laughed so hard I was in tears. The comedy is crude, so it's not for the faint of heart. 

6.  Coco, Family Adventure, November 22, 1017, PG: Starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, and Anthony Gonzalez. It's a Disney cartoon so we know it must be good. This was very cute. It had me laughing, crying, and missing my dad.

5.  Molly's Game, Biography, December 25, 2017, R: Starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Michael Cera, and Kevin Costner. It says that this was released in Jan. 2018, but I watched it in limited release in 2017, while vacationing ironically in Vegas. This is about a girl named Molly Bloom, who hosts poker games for the Hollywood elite. How true to life is this version, with what really happened? I don't know. Speaking about Spider-Man....... Tobey Maguire sucks. It's ALLEGED that Michael Cera's character was based on Tobey Maguire. That pair, Tobey and Leo, I really don't care for. I know many will disagree, including my husband who must watch every Leo movie. Seriously though, name the last movie Tobey Maguire has been in where he doesn't spin a web. 

4.  The Greatest Showman, Musical Biography, December 25, 2017, PG: Starring Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson. The visuals were stunning, the music was amazing. I liked this movie better than Les Miserables. I'm don't like the circus or the mistreatment of any animal, including human, but I loved learning about the birth of Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. I remember going to the circus when I was little. This was a very fun and beautiful movie.   

3.  The Disaster Artist, Biography, December 8, 2017, R: Starring James Franco, Dave Franco and Seth Rogen. This is a film about the making of the cult film, The Room (2004) starring Tommy Wiseau. How much of what went on in the film actually went on in real life? My husband and I are looking into showings of The Room. James Franco is amazing, Dave Franco is amazing. If Tommy Wiseau is anything like the way James Franco portrayed him, he's absolutely insane, not bad insane, just splendidly crazy insane, if that's a thing. I really liked this movie, I'll just leave it at that. 

2.  Ingrid Goes West, Comedy, August 25, 2017, R: Starring Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Wyatt Russell. This was one of my FAVORITE movies of the year. Everyone should see this. Aubrey Plaza is outrageous in this film.  It made me realize how much time I waste on social media, and here I am wanting everyone to read my social media.   I reviewed this film, so I will link that review here. Ingrid Goes West Review

1. Thor: Ragnorak, Action, November 3, 2017, PG-13: Starring Chris Hemsworth, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba and Tom Hiddleston. I reviewed this movie, so I won't say much and link the review. This is one of my FAVORITE Marvel films to date. Thor: Ragnorak Review

I'm sitting here in the silence of my mom's house, just the ghosts and me, alone, reflecting on my choices and I realize that, while yes a blog like this can be helpful, there are movies that I pass on just because they don't look interesting to me or because I just flatly refuse to watch that particular genre. I hate horror films, so you won't see many on my lists, EVER. I'm not a critic and therefore am not required to sit through every film ever made. 

Here is a list of all the films that I watched, July- December, 2017:

These are in no particular order. The highlighted films are those that are worth seeing, but didn't make my list. I had no more room. 

Victoria and Abdul
Spider-Man Homecoming
War for the Planet of the Apes
The Big Sick
Girl's Trip
Dark Tower
The Glass Castle
An Inconvenient Sequel
The Hitman's Bodyguard
Ingrid Goes West
Home Again
IT: IT Review
Geostorm
Justice League
Star Wars: The Last Jedi: The Last Jedi Review
Thor: Ragnorok
Jumanji
Molly's Game
Coco
The Shape of Water
All the Money in the World
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Post
Disaster Artist
The Greatest Showman
Daddy's Home 2
Marshall 
Phantom Thread

A Year to be Thankful Day 18 and 19: Three Things That Make Me Happy

I skipped yesterday because I fell asleep early. Today I'll post Friday and Saturday.

Day 18 Friday:

1.  I got a lot of work done at the coffee shop.

2. I'm back down (weight wise) to where I was before the Holiday. I only gained 4 pounds, but still.

3.  It's rainy!! We get so little rain, so when it does, I enjoy it.

Day 19 Saturday:

1.  It's so cold and windy out. I love it, especially because we don't normally get it. The last two weeks have been in the high 80's so a little relief is nice. It makes me happy to use a blanket.

2.  I met my friend at the coffee shop.

3. I'm enjoying some quiet time at my mom's house.

A Year to be Thankful Day 17: Three Things That Make Me Happy

I didn't skip my day of happiness yesterday. I actually posted it to my Twitter account and not my blog. When it's late or I don't have access to my computer, I just post there. Anyway, here are the things that made me happy today day 17.....

1. I met up with my cousin for coffee.

2. I'm going to start my list of best movies July-December this weekend. I watched all that I wanted to watch.

3.  We didn't have a meeting after work today, that was nice.

A Year to be Thankful Day 15: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Today I'm celebrating my 15th day of writing down three positive things.

1.  My coworker likes my positive posts. 

2.  I got my nephew's save the date for his wedding.

3. I made myself a delicious fruit smoothie. 

I Spend TOO Much Money on Stuff.

Looking back on my 2017, I've realized that I spend way too much money on "stuff" (a word I tell my students never to use in an essay). I'm not talking about the essentials like groceries, gas, car payment and utilities, I'm talking about all of the other things. Do I think that I'm a compulsive shopper? Maybe, that's why I'm trying to set some goals for myself. I have to STOP shopping. 

I was unemployed for 2 years and didn't shop at all. I wore clothes with holes and spent all the money that I had saved. Don't get me wrong, I have a savings now, but It doesn't have quite the amount that I would like or that I once had prior to my unfortunate circumstance (unemployment).  I learned at that time, that I didn't need "stuff" just because I wanted it. I really have to go back to that way of thinking. Just because I want something doesn't mean I need it.

Listed below are the things I spend my money on. I use my gift cards, but often times I go over the amount and have to spend some of my own money. 

1.  Makeup:  I'm obsessed with it. Days that I go without, my husband tells me I look beautiful. I know I don't wear it for him. I wear it for me. Putting on a face of makeup is very relaxing to me. It's like an art project, where you're painting a picture, in this case the picture is your face. 

2. Clothes: What girl doesn't like clothes? (and weights fluctuate, unfortunately).

3.  Shoes: See the comment from above.

4. Jewelry: Same sentiment as point #2

5. Purses: Same as above, BUT!!!! Once a year my husband go to Vegas. There is an outlet mall that we go to and  I usually hit up the Coach outlet store. I have one not to far from me. For some reason we never shop there.  In 2016, my husband and I went to Orlando and also went to the outlet mall there. I bought a bag, so when we traveled to Vegas in 2016, I didn't buy a thing. When we went to Vegas for the new year, I bought two.

6.  Books:  I love to read, but I have a backlog of books that would keep me entertained for the next five years. Many of my books (except those purchased at Barnes and Nobel with a gift card) are bought at used book stores or library book sales. 

7.  Movies: My husband and I got to the movies often. I love movies because I don't have to give them the long term commitment I would a television show. Don't get me wrong, I have a few shows I watch on regular T.V., I just prefer film. We know how expensive movies can be. 

8.  Coffee: I get Starbucks for free, It's a Grind I have to pay for. 

9.  Travel:  From this list, this is probably my favorite thing to do. An airplane ticket is very pricey, let alone two.

10: Entertainment other than movies: My husband and I like to do new things. This means tickets to Cirque de Soleil, concerts, musicals, plays, art exhibits, etc. These things cost money, but they're also giving us AMAZING experiences. This isn't considered "stuff", therefore these are the things that I will continue to spend my money on. 

For the month of January I implemented a "no buy zone", meaning that I am not buying anything other than food for the household. I will be shopping from my own stash. And as I write this, I realized that I did buy some shower gel and a blush from Flower Beauty. I also needed cotton balls, so I'm not sure if that counts. 

Moral of this lesson, I hated being unemployed, I really did, but I liked having a more simple life. 

A Year to be Thankful Day 14: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Today is my 14th day of sharing the things that make me happy.

1. I had a slight meltdown about a car I've had for almost 20 years. My nephew saved the day. He fixed the problem for me. It's wonderful to be a part of a loving family.

2. I got so much done today AND I wasn't stressed.

3.  I got to sleep in a bit and I'm current on The Good Doctor. Tonight is a new episode, I'll watch it tomorrow.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. day. Don't forget why we honor him.

"I have decided to stick with love, hate is too great a burden to bear." Martin Luther King Jr.

A Year to be Thankful Day 13: Three Things That Make Me Happy

On my lucky number 13 day, here are the things that improved my happiness.

1.  My husband and I got to see some officers in action in Seal Beach. While nothing about the upcoming story I'm truly happy about, I'm just very interested in police work and investigations. Apparently a party bus of people vandalized a CVS and robbed a person in the parking lot. All horrible things of course. We were stuck in the traffic on PCH, so cars started pulling over, and people got out to watch. It was all very exciting. To get us all out of the traffic, we had to drive on the wrong side of the road.

2.  I FINALLY got to see the Disaster Artist.

3.  We were in Long Beach again. This time in the Barnes and Noble. 

A Year to be Thankful Day 12: Three Things That Make Me Happy

I didn't miss my post yesterday, about the three things that make me happy, I just posted in to twitter. This is what I posted. The color will be off a bit off because I copied and pasted from my Twitter page.

Since I won't be home until later to write these on my blog I'm going to give my list of things that make me happy here. 1. I'm in Long Beach. 2. I'm eating yummy fish tacos. 3. I got to watch The Good Doctor #Happy2018 #LongBeach #thegooddoctor

A Year to be Thankful Day 11: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Three things that make me happy this 11th day of 2018...

1.  I met my new neighbor.

2.  I have a three day weekend. 

3.  I can't wait for the new peach palette from Too Faced!!! I love makeup.

A Year to be Thankful Day 10: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Three things that make me happy on this tenth day of my happiness goals:

1.  I'm visiting my mom and she made me dinner.

2.  It's Thursday. 

3.  My husband and I are already making plans for the 3-day weekend.

A Year to be Thankful Day 9: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Today's three things that I am happy about.....

1. I got to hang out with my friends Lilli and Anthony at Portos. This was the first time they met.

2. I was able to watch This is Us, what an amazing show.

3. I saved a bunch of Roxette songs on my Spotify and decided to put on a concert for my husband last night.  I wouldn't call it a concert so much, it was more like my off key singing was making him laugh out loud (LOL). It was hard to sing with a straight face. 

A Year to be Thankful Day 8: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Three things that make me happy on this eighth day of my happiness goals:

1.  I watched I, Tonya.

2.  I love Strangers Things 2 and even more the fact that Sean Astin is in it this season.  I LOVE Sean Astin. Once a Goonie, always a Goonie. 

3.  This is Us is back from hiatus. 

A Year to be Thankful Day 7: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Day seven of things that make me happy.

1. I'm watching Lady Bird.

2. I made grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for dinner. 

3. It's RAINING!!!! 

A Year to be Thankful Day 6: Three Things That Make Me Happy

I will be a day behind this entire year. I didn't start doing this until Jan 2. 

1.  I loved The Greatest Showman. I watched it last night with my hubby. What a great movie!

2. I'm really enjoying Something Blue, the sequel to Something Borrowed.

3. The makeup concierge in Target told me she liked my outfit. She wasn't working at the time, so I think she actually meant it. 

A Year to be Thankful Day 5: Three Things That Make Me Happy

Day five of things that make me happy.

1. I'm meeting up with some friends tonight.

2. I went to my favorite coffee house to relax.

3. It's cozy in my house and I'm compiling a list of my favorite movies from July-December.

Star Wars Movies Ranked

I just finished reading The Princess Diarist, written by the late Carrie Fisher. In honor of the book, I am going to rank all the Star Wars films from my least favorite to favorite. I know that some of my choices as favorites will be controversial and I'm just fine with that. This is solely my opinion and I'm fine that people disagree with my choices.

Not included in this list are the following: The Ewok movies from the 80's, The Clone Wars cartoons or any other cartoon series that may have been created.

9.  Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace. (1999) This movie was the most boring of the bunch. Even with Ewan McGregor as a young Obi Wan, I can't get on board with this movie and it is my least favorite. A boy grows up on a desert planet and hates sand, said boy leaves planet to become a Jedi, the most powerful Jedi in all the galaxy. Sadly this boy whines and complains all the time.

8. Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi. (2017) This crushed any hope I had for the series. I think I may be in the minority on this one, or maybe the majority if you're reading Flixster. I wrote an entire review on this film in another post so I won't go into detail about my complaints over this movie in this post. The Last Jedi Review

7. Star Wars IV: A New Hope. (1977) Another boring outing. So much of The Phantom Menace mirrors A New Hope. It's the same story, just different players. A boy grows up on a desert planet and hates sand, said boy leaves planet to become a Jedi, the most powerful Jedi in all the galaxy. Sadly this boy whines and complains all the time. Wait you'll see a pattern.

6.  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. (2016) It's fitting that it should be the entry right before A New Hope. The story is getting interesting with this one. It's nice to see old characters again, (Jimmy Smitts as Bail Organa), and new characters thrown into the mix too.

5. Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. (2015) I liked this one so much better than The Last Jedi. At least with this one there was hope, a new hope that the franchise would get better with age, just like a good wine. What I didn't like was the following: A girl grows up on a desert planet and hates sand, said girl leaves planet to become a Jedi, the most powerful Jedi in all the galaxy. There is also a boy who sadly whines and complains all the time, because he isn't as powerful as his granddaddy, the most powerful Sith in the entire galaxy.  Oh wait, we've had two versions of that story already. Please pick a new theme, thanks.

4. Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones. (2002) There's fighting, there's romance, there's some comedy Hayden is hot, Ewan is hot. There's not much more to ask for.  So this is where I begin to get controversial. Most people will not agree that this movie should be in anyone's top five. I know I'll hear that they acting was bad and seems forced, but looking at the originals, the acting is bad in those too! The actors are only as good as the director and the script.

3. Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back. (1980) "No, I am your father" best reveal ever. The kiss between Luke and Leia is icky. "That boy was our last hope. No, there is another," cut to Leia. Obviously it was known that Leia was going to be Luke's sister. The foreshadowing is written all over the proverbial wall.

2.  Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith. (2005) Finally George gets to use Revenge in a title. The battle scene between Anakin and Obi Wan was probably my favorite in any Star Wars film. I don't care what anyone says, this was a great movie.

1. Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi. (1983) This is the best Star Wars movie in the series. The story comes full circle. Anakin fulfills the prophecy and destroys the Sith. Good vs. Evil and good prevails. Anakin risks his life to save his son. Let's not forget those adorable Ewok who help the rebels save the day. Luke and Leia realize that they are brother and sister (how is that kiss feeling now?). The series ends positively, Leia and Han are in love and everyone in the galaxy is happy, what more could you want? 

In just a few weeks I will be creating a list of my favorite films July-Dec 2017.

A Year to be Thankful: Day 4 Three Things That Make Me Happy

So this year I've decided to post a quick daily journal of the things that I am thankful for  in 2018. I've been posting three things a day on my Twitter account @JonelleME. I'm going to post not only to Twitter, but to my blog too. Today is day four for me.  I'm going to post today, but I'll copy and paste the last three days from Twitter below. 

Day 4: 1.  I'm going to see a movie with my hubby.  2.  I used Uber twice today, by myself. The first Uber driver dropped me off in the wrong place, but that makes me laugh more than it makes me angry. 3.  I bought some makeup and had an amazing facial today and my skin feels amazing.  4. I finished The Princess Diarist.

Here are the Twitter posts from the last few days

Day 3: of things I'm thankful for in 2018 #blessed #Grateful #2018goals #GoalsOf2018 #goals 1. I'm with my dogs again 2. My door on my Honda is finally getting fixed. 3. I'm getting a facial tomorrow.

Day 2: #Happy2018 #happiness #goals #NewYearNewYou #2018goals I had a great time in Vegas. I'll see my pups soon. I have my health.

Day 1: 3 things I'm happy about 1. I'm with my hubby drinking coffee. 2. I'm on vacation. 3. I bought some makeup. #2018goals this year in going to post 3 positive things a day. #Happy2018 #positivity

I'll be posting these daily. Thank you to my cousin Stacey who gave me the idea in the first place. She said it takes 28 days to change your outlook. This is a way to make sure I'm being held accountable for the changes I'm trying to make in my life.