"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" Review

Source

The first blockbuster of May is out and making a splash. We saw it last weekend, and after letting it marinate in my mind for a while, here are my thoughts.

You know, sometimes I am very against remakes of recent movies.  How can you really want to remake something that only came out 5-10 years ago?!  It's not like the movie is really that outdated.  Sure technology has changed but enough to warrant spending millions of dollars on making a movie that was just made?!  It's not like the movie needs updating to be relevant to current times or anything.

However, I would not wish away the Spider-Man reboot for anything.  Don't get me wrong, I saw all three of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies in theaters, but if I had had those and the Andrew Garfield movies to choose between, I'd choose the newer ones every. single. time.

I absolutely love Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker.  He's hilarious.  I love the snarky-ness and general lack of worry that he brings to the character.  He doesn't take anything seriously, but he's also not a pretentious jerk about it.  He has a great personality to bring to Spider-Man.

And don't get me started on Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy.  Now, I don't know much (and by much, I mean anything) about the Spider-Man comics, but my husband tells me that the Gwen Stacy character isn't really a thing in the comics (or something like that...).  But I don't care.  I love love love Emma Stone.  She and Andrew have a great on screen relationship and their characters are quite perfect for each other.

Now that you know how I feel about the casting of the main characters, let's get down to the movie.

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that there was a heck of a lot going on in this movie.  There were plots and sub-plots galore.  And that makes sense since the flick was 2 hours and 20 minutes long.  It progressed well between the different parts of the sometimes seemingly unrelated events.  But, man!  There was a lot of plot.  A lot.  Don't get me wrong, a lot of plot can really work for a movie, but it also leaves you feeling like you just read a 600 page book in 2 hours.  It's a little overwhelming.

I did not like the introduction of new plot material in the last 10-15 minutes of the movie.  I know that they wanted you to know that a new Spider-Man movie would be in the works, and they like to give you some hints about what villains it will feature, but it was a bit much for me.  I felt like the last 10 minutes of the movie were a little disjointed.

If you're looking for a movie that will keep you entertained and on an emotional roller coaster for over two hours, you will definitely get your money's worth with this movie.  There were parts when I was laughing hysterically, parts when I gasped and held my breath, parts when I thought WHAT?!, action parts, love story parts...  You name it, and this movie probably had it.  However, don't expect to have it all processed right when you walk out of the theater.  There's a lot to digest.  And I can't say that I totally loved everything that the writers did, but overall, this was a solid movie.

If you decide to go see it, I really hope you enjoy!

Current Addictions

So, I haven't been baking very much lately.  I've done the cook-dinner-every-night thing, but my extra curricular baking has been minimal.  I've mostly been sticking to the old favorites when I have been putting anything sweet in the oven.  So, sorry that there haven't been any great recipes, but I'll get back there eventually.  I am trying out a new recipe for breakfast Saturday morning, so if that's any good, I'll let you know!  We've had some other things going on, and I've been going at it pretty hard with the work outs, so I'm trying not to undo them with lots of unhealthy desserts every night.

Speaking of the training, I finished week 4 today and ran a total of 8.1 miles this week!  Woohoo!

So here are a few of the things I've been addicted to lately:

Jif Natural Peanut Butter.  Yep.  Still addicted.  I've eaten this on some type of food just about everyday for the past month and a half.  (Examples: bagels, English muffins, in smoothies, apples, waffles, etc.)  I LOVE it!

Blue Diamond Honey Roasted Almonds.   I had never had these things until Thursday, but I'd been craving some Almonds and these were mega on sale, so I picked 'em up.  And I am so totally hooked now.  They're addicting.  They're one of those "Oh I'll just pop open the can and eat one or two (meaning you'll actually eat 12)" types of foods.  Yummy!

Braids.  I have been trying to amp up my braiding skills, so every time I do something new that involves braids, I snap a few photos; I'm planning a post to show you a few of these.

Cute summery dresses.  It's been pretty hot here lately, so some light, airy dresses have been just the thing to keep cool.  Here's the one that my awesome hubby bought me on my mini shopping spree.  I wore it for our date tonight!  =)

Spider Solitaire.  So I have the app on my phone, and I just cannot stop playing it in my free time.  It is so stinkin' addicting!

Quiz Up.  Another game on my phone.  Thomas introduced me to this game about a week ago, and it's basically trivia on a ton of different subjects.  So if that doesn't scream "Rachel", I don't know what does!

My training program.  You could probably tell that already.  But I'm so ecstatic about how I feel and the sense of accomplishment this program is giving me.  It's awesome (even though I can't walk up the stairs or chase the cat down the hallway without groaning and wanting to fall over because my legs are so tired today).

So there's that.  Like I mentioned, Thomas and I had a great date tonight.  We went to a restaurant called The Mansion (not as hoity-toity as it sounds) and sat on the rooftop with a great view of the river.  Then tomorrow we're going to the beach to hang out and play sand volleyball with some friends!  Yippee!  And hopefully Saturday's muffin recipe turns out well, and I'll be able to blog it next week.

Happy weekend!

***Update:  I forgot one:  Nail polish.  I'm completely addicted to nail polish in general right now!  Lol.

Endorphins Make You Happy

Source: LookHuman.com

Though I wasn't wearing this shirt while working out today, I was definitely pretty high on those endorphins!  (You may recognize this quote from "Legally Blonde".)  Also, I wasn't before nor am I now in danger of shooting my husband (just thought I should clarify that).

Today I started week 4 of my 10 week training program, and I am in love!  Last week I felt pretty good about myself after the workouts.  For the most part I felt like I could keep going, but I want to stick to the schedule so that I don't over do it one day and have to put it on hold.  However, my Friday run (which actually happened on Saturday because my Friday was pretty busy) felt horrible.  And since my Friday runs are supposed to be the easiest, my body was obviously pretty tired from a hard week's workouts.  FYI: I run on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with other workouts that I'm not quite ready to share about on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Rest days are Saturdays and Sundays.  So it's perfect that my "easy" runs are on Fridays since I don't think my body would be able to handle a hard run at the end of the week.

So, Saturday I was feeling pretty exhausted at the end of my run.  Like can't-run-another-step-without-tripping-and-falling-over exhausted.

But TODAY...

I felt amazing!  This morning was my first 3 mile run in this training program (and only the second in my life), and it felt so awesome that I was (and still am) just stunned.  I was pretty much full on sprinting at the end of it because I felt so great.  I could have kept running for hours (not really, but that's what it felt like when I was high on endorphins).  I'm still baffled that I did the 3 miles in 30:52 which averages out to just over 10 minutes per mile!

So in case you like to run or are thinking about trying it out, here are some specific things I'm loving:

• Proper workout clothes.  I have a few workout shirts (the wicking kind) that I love to wear when I'm working out, but until today I had just been wearing 100% cotton Soffe shorts.  That's all I had so obviously that was my only choice.  But last night, my AMAZING hubby took me on a mini shopping spree, and I got some actual workout shorts.  They're pretty much biking shorts but there's no padding on the butt.  And they made a huge difference today on my run.  You really don't know how much cotton is killing you until you try something better.  But your workout clothes don't have to be expensive.  Stores like Kohl's and Target have no-name-brand pieces for pretty cheap.
• Changing up speeds while running.  I've started doing intervals in my running, meaning that I'll run slow for about 2 minutes and then pick up the pace a bit for about 30 seconds, then just repeat continuously.  This is the basis for a lot of running programs, especially programs like couch to 5k.  I'm not timing myself on my intervals, I just continuously set goals for myself while running, for example: when I get to that tree, I'm going to run faster until I hit that darker spot in the pavement; or I'm going to pick up the pace for the whole chorus of this song; things like that.  And it has made a world of difference in my breathing during a run.  By running a bit faster at times, the slower paces feel like relaxation.  I've also read that this type of system burns more calories and fat.  I'm not sure if that's true or not, but it's worth a try!
• Cross training.  I'm not doing a special program or any crazy new-age exercises, but the more I work out my body in ways other than running, the more my running flourishes.  Like I said earlier, I'm not quite ready to share the specifics of my non-running days yet, but I just have to tell you: do some other things too.  Lift weights, go swimming, do yoga, STRETCH, anything will help!
• The RunKeeper App.  This is the app I use to log my workouts.  The GPS maps my runs if I'm running outside (which is almost always) but also allows you to log your runs manually if you run in the gym.  It gives you approximate calories burned, keeps track of your time and distance records and even has legitimate training programs you can use if you need a little help getting started.  I love that I can just set the app and start my run, and it gives my audio updates on my progress every 5 minutes so I know how long I've been running, how far, and my average pace.  And it doesn't just log runs; there are a whole slew of activities to choose from that you can log: walking, hiking, biking, swimming, and plenty others.  The best part: it's free!  And there are versions for both iPhone and Android.
• Taking my headphones out during my cool down walk.  I've started to do this so that I have a little time to think and pray in the peace and quiet, and I really love it.  I'm usually feeling pretty good after my run, and it's a great time to talk to God about anything that's going on.  My prayers are usually punctuated with a lot of "Oh thank you for that breeze!  It feels amazing!" right in the middle of a sentence, but it's still some great quality time with God out in nature.

 So my Monday is so very lovely so far!  I hope yours is too!

Musings from the past few days

I've been quite boring lately.  It's hard to find things to blog about right now because I'm not really doing too much each day.  I haven't been baking too much (sad face), and since I don't have a working car at my disposal at the moment, I'm not able to do too much either.  But, I have saved up a few things to fill up a post!

I am still going strong on my running program.  I'm halfway through week 3 right now and haven't skipped a day or woos-ed out yet!  Woohoo!  (I don't think I've mentioned yet that its a ten week plan.)  This morning was pretty tough though.  I did a harder non-running workout yesterday than I'm used to, and I ran a little too soon after breakfast time.  But I pushed through and made it!

Thomas has bought me a few small gifts lately.  (I'm thinking it's partly out of guilt for leaving me here when he had to travel back to St. Louis last weekend, but hey, I'll take presents no matter what the reason!)  I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that receiving gifts is one of my strong love languages.  Which I don't really like, I feel like its pretty much the most selfish and shallow of the love languages, but it works for me.  He bought "Frozen" for me upon coming home from St. Louis, and Lolo and I watched it in bed the other night.  (Ok, so Lo didn't watch the entire movie, just parts of it.)

We (I) made milkshakes from Blue Bell's Banana Pudding ice cream on Monday, and they were heavenly!  The ice cream tastes just like banana pudding and even has vanilla wafer pieces in it.  Oh so yum!!!

I finally got around to taking a few photos of my new scarf this morning.  It has been finished and sitting around the house for a while, and I've just never bothered to throw it on to take photos.  You won't see much of me in the photos because I have yet to put on make up or do my hair today.  I'll get there, just not yet.

Anyway, the scarf turned out pretty.  It is very shiny and a little stiff.  But thicker scarves always need a few washes to soften and limber them up a bit.

Yesterday I had quite a bit of human interaction (yay!) which was totally awesome at the time.  But, that also makes the lack of it seem a little more obvious today.  It makes me just want to sit on the couch, watch a movie, and eat everything in sight.  However, I am finding plenty of other productive things to do in order to keep my mind and my hands busy.  I will not let the enemy ruin my thought life today.

Anywho... That's about all I've got.  I'm feeling some more philosophical posts coming on in the near future.  My thought life is pretty deep at the moment.  Also, I like to write poetry, but I'm not sure I'm brave enough to share my poems here for everyone to read.  I'm thinking about it though.

Ruthless Hamsters

I haven't posted any funny Sunday Funday internet content in a while, and I think that should be remedied.

So I saw this video on the internet this week, and I just died laughing.  I didn't know that hamsters in their exercise wheels could be so funny!  I hope this little clip makes you laugh just like it did me.

(FYI: You don't really need to turn on your sound for this video.)

Who knew hamsters could be so ruthless as to run over each other like that!  Lol.  I hope you got a good laugh!

Brownie for One

I have tried several single serving brownie recipes, and most of them have hardly been worth eating.  This one, however, truly blew me away.  It was delicious!  The consistency was perfect, and the melted chocolate chips added just the right touch.  Oh so yum!

This makes a sizable brownie, so you may want to think about sharing it with a friend.  It would go absolutely wonderfully with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top too!

So, before I start drooling all over my keyboard, let me just give you the recipe.  It comes from No. 2 Pencil, and she has got quite a few great single serving recipes that you can view here.

Brownie for One
From: No. 2 Pencil

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter (not margarine)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a mug or ramekin, melt the butter.
2. Stir in the sugars.
3. Add the egg yolk and stir.
4. Lastly, add in the flour, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips, and stir until completely blended.
5. Microwave for 45-60 seconds.  (Mine took the full minute.)
6. Allow to cool slightly (if you can) before enjoying.

Ooh, this one is so yummy.  I hope you enjoy!  Happy weekend!

My First Julep Box

My very first Julep box arrived in the mail today!  I'm so excited to try out these fabulous new products.

I've been contemplating a Julep subscription for the past few months.  Lately, I've gotten pretty obsessed with nail polish, and I've heard some great things about Julep.  I'll keep you updated as I try the products.

This weekend, I saw a promotion to get your first box free, and that clinched it!  So I took the plunge!  Sure enough, I got my first box for free and even added on two extra nail polishes for a few extra dollars.

Every month I'll receive two nail polishes and a beauty product.  And the best part: I get to choose what I want each month!  Julep has five different options to choose from each month and tons of other products, specials, and rewards.

Interested in joining Julep?  Just click the button below to get your style profile and your first box free!  (And I'll get rewards for my referrals too.  Sweet!)