Hello Black Panther!

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Well, even though the news keeps saying that Black Panther is the most highly anticipated Marvel movie and that it has already broken records, before it was even officially released, it's probably the movie that I'm the least excited about seeing.  I'm not sure why, just the story isn't as intriguing to me as the others have been.  Maybe the movie will change my mind on that, once I see it.  But I won't know until 10:30pm tonight, when we are planning to see it.  Which means that I will definitely be trying to fit a late afternoon nap into my day today, in an effort to stay awake during the movie, that is likely to run until close to 1:00am.

Speaking of staying awake, I didn't wanna wake up this morning at all!  I hate those nights where you go to sleep and then it seems like only 5 minutes have passed until you have to get up again.  But I woke up to the hubby's alarm going off at 4:35am, and even though we didn't get up until a few minutes after 5am, I still didn't feel like I truly got back to sleep for those short 25 minutes.  I woke up with a slight headache also, the same one that was behind my left eye on Valentine's Day, but has now moved to my right eye... but my morning coffee seems to have temporarily relieved it for now.

Hodgepodge of Feelings

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(Isn't that such a curious word?!  I just couldn't resist.)

Sooo, I finally got the hubby to agree to watch Me Before You last night, after a little over 1½ years of constantly asking him to watch it with me.  And after it was over, he has the nerve to say "That was a good movie, why didn't we watch it sooner?!"  Haha.  And it was such a good movie!  I won't lie, my eyes got misty more than once, which I had already expected they would.  Sweet, yet utterly heart-breaking at the same time, but with a few scenes of comic relief added into the mix.  I loved the chemistry between Lou & Will also, even from their first meeting.  I liked that he ended up falling for her, after the type of guy he'd been before his accident.  And Emilia Clarke did such an amazing job of portraying the infinitely happy, sweet and quirky Louisa!

I found today that it's sometimes difficult to be friends with someone that you have such a long history with.  Someone who knew you way back when you were a teenager and also as an adult and all the times in between... I know I'm not the same person I was back then, and it's just kind of weird (that's not the right word, but it's all I've got right now) to me to know someone who knew both versions of myself.  It also kind of sucks, especially if they cannot seem to let go of the past, and you tend to find them constantly, whether they are conscious of it or not, triggering reminders of things that you just want to forget. 😒

On a brighter note, here's a shout-out to my friend and most loyal reader, Mandy, since it's her birthday today!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY (again)!!! 😄🎈🎂 I hope you've had such a great day so far and been able to spend it doing the things that you love.

Happy Valentine's Day!

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So first off, I'm not a huge fan of V-day, and we never make a big deal out of it.  I don't ask for flowers or chocolate or for any other "present."  The 'holiday' is just too commercialized and I'd rather save our money.  Although that doesn't stop me from wishing everyone else a Happy Valentine's Day. 😊  This year I was also inspired to create another "poster" dedicated to my now-hubby, which I will include here:

{ Full-view: HERE, if you're on a smaller screen. }

I haven't made one of these since way back in 2012, which explains the "v2" text. (View the first version: HERE)  But I figured we've made lots more memories in the past 6 years, so I should make another one.  I spent last night before bed just looking up my favorite quotes to use and I loved these.  There were others that I wasn't able to use but I'm sure I'll find a use for those as well, in the future.

Anyway... yeah so that was my morning.  We don't have any big plans tonight, though we may have to go out to eat because I just realized that I thought the recipe we were using for tonight's pork roast was an Instant Pot one, but it's an actual slow cooker that you have to cook for hours and the problem is that the roast is not yet defrosted... sooo I will be preparing the marinade once it is finally defrosted, so that we can cook it tomorrow night instead.  Oh well, at least I realized this hours ahead of time, instead of having another spontaneous dinner dilemma... although it kind of still is, because we will most likely have to resort to a quick take-out tonight (not fast-food though). -facepalm-

Just ... Not in the Mood

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So let me say first off that I am really not in the mood to write a post right now.  But I'm going to do it now because if I don't, it won't get done at all.

... I hate how I don't feel that I can fully express everything here.  Like something that's really annoying me, but I don't feel I can talk about it, for various reasons... one being that it will probably blow over within a few hours, or at the latest, tomorrow.  But I don't even feel that I have anyone I can vent to, and so I kind of just keep it all bottled inside until I eventually overwhelm myself.  I thought I'd stopped doing that years ago, but I guess old habits die hard, right?  Ugh.  I remember that I used to be the one that my good friends turned to when they had problems, and I'd listen to them and offer the best advice I could, but whenever I needed someone to talk to, nobody was around.  And nothing has changed in that respect.  I just wish I had someone who cared enough to notice when something's wrong and listen to me vent, without me feeling like I'm bugging them.

I hate the fact that I'm too damn emotional sometimes. 😞

Treasure Trove of Moments

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Today has been an incredibly lazy Sunday for us.  Seriously, we did almost nothing at all.  Though we did watch a movie just now that ended up being really cute and sweet, a Netflix original called When We First Met.  It was funny also, and reminded me of a mix between The Butterfly Effect and Click, and other similar movies where the main character attempts to alter something about his life by magically traveling through time to change the past.  After unintentionally being thrust into the "friend zone," Noah Ashby is convinced that he can change himself into the guy that she would want to be with.  And after discovering that he can travel back into the past via a unique photo booth, he does exactly that... again and again.  And obviously, every time results in a scenario even worse than the previous, until finally he realizes what he really wants, which is nothing close to what he initially thought.

My favorite quote from the movie is one that Noah tells the girl's best friend, towards the end of the movie, referring to something that she had said to him, although she doesn't remember it, because it was in one of the times that never existed to her:

"Relationships are about intangible things. They're about moments. The real moments and who you share them with."

So true.  Those moments are what truly matter and what you'll remember for years to come.  And while he's referring to romantic relationships, I think that can be said about any type of close relationship as well... whether it's friendship, familial or even a colleague... I have moments in my mind that I will remember forever, even if I've fallen out of touch with the person that it's associated with.  And I will always cherish them. 😊  It's one reason I love photography so much as well, being able to capture that moment in time and treasure it for at least as long as you have it.

Finding Excitement in the Little Things

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So, one thing about me... I tend to get overly excited about the little things in life.  Such as, when I first got a cell phone with an actual keyboard, you know, one of those that swiveled out and had those tiny little keys to type on.  Haha.  And now the keyboard is actually on the screen instead.  I still liked that little keyboard though, it made me feel "cool." 😎

I had another one of those moments this morning on the way out of the gun show over in the next city from ours.  There was a booth advertising this metal dual charger cord with both an Apple and Android connector, but that wasn't even what drew me in. (although it was a large part, because I have a Samsung phone and then an iPad Mini, so it was convenient to have both types of connectors!)  The cords were colored.  And they had my absolute favorite shade of green!  So I just had to get one, which is what you see to the right of this text... it was like a sign or something.  (Just let me keep telling myself that.)  Though I still need an adapter to charge my phone because I forgot that the newest Samsung phones have a different one now, but the hubby says he has some extra ones somewhere around the house that I can have, although he still has yet to find one... the Apple side of the charger works fine though.

In other news... remember that reloading bench that the hubby and I were working on building awhile back, in January?  I now have an updated photo to share, of the finished product:

I'm actually pretty proud of our work on this!  From being completely made from scratch, I have to say that I like how it turned out.  Teamwork pays off in the end!  And I have to admit, this was sorta fun to make, to have a project with the hubby that allows us to spend time together on the weekends, instead of just us doing our own thing separately, which usually consists of him playing video games while I read, or play SWTOR.  Although sometimes I like that also. 

Welcome to The Olympics

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Ah, I knew that was Randall (a.k.a. This Is Us's Sterling K. Brown) voicing the Opening Ceremony intro for The Olympics!  Which is what I just started watching.  I wouldn't say I'm hugely into the Olympics but I do like the winter ones because, you guessed it, all the snow!  I really think I may have an unhealthy obsession with that beautiful white blanket.  If you know me in the slightest, you probably definitely understand that statement.  I feel like if I lived in a place that had more of it all the time, I'd be big into some of the sports that involve snow.  I do remember going skiing back when I was around 12 years old, and I was pretty good for a newbie!  I even went down a 'black,' although I wasn't aware that it was that level at the time, and I didn't fall once!  Haha.

Anyway... even if I don't get to see all of the actual competitions during the Olympics, I do like to catch the opening ceremony, just because it's usually a pretty sight.  And being able to see more of the stories of the Olympians that are participating, and what brought them to these key moments in their lives.  I don't think I have the willpower or stamina to ever be even remotely close to a participant, as I wouldn't want to give up my life for all that training. 😳  So I'll just settle for watching them. 😜 

I think the competitions that I'm looking forward to watching most would be figure skating and the bobsleigh.  Mostly because a couple of my favorite movies involve those!  (The Cutting Edge and Cool Runnings)

So yeah... Go Team USA!  If you're planning to watch the Olympics, which sport are you looking forward to most?