Best and Worst of 2006

I am totally going to copy John here and do my own review of the best and worst movies of 2006. I think we saw every single movie together, except he saw Pulse by himself and I saw Babel with a friend. I am sure our lists will be different, so I don't have to feel too bad about copying him. In total, we saw 38 movies this year. Here are my favorite ten...

Best of 2006

10. Casino Royale
Yes, it is a Bond movie, but I love action movies. It was action packed from beginning to end and it kept you entertained the whole time. I thought for sure I would not like it because Daniel Craig did not look like the typical Bond, but he really pulled it off and wasn't half bad to look at. He does have the bluest eyes I have ever seen. You have to go into this movie knowing 95% of everything is impossible, but that's what a Bond movie is, make believe. It's just a great action packed, interest keeping movie.

9. Eragon
John and I saw this movie last week, and I actually really enjoyed it. I have not read the book, and am glad I didn't read it before I saw the movie, because I probably would have hated the film. There are lots of holes in the movie and I am sure many, many missing points from the book, but I love fantasy and I was not let down by this movie. I love the dragon and nothing is cuter than the baby dragon. Good thing I love Lord of the Rings and Star Wars because there are many similarities in this movie. Overall, I was entertained and never got bored.

8. Little Miss Sunshine
This was a really great dark comedy that had me laughing from beginning to end. It really makes you appreciate your own family and the oddities that you come to love as years pass. This movie makes you feel good and will definitely keep you entertained.

7. The Devil Wears Prada
This was another comedy I absolutely loved this year. There are some great lines in this film and it makes you laugh pretty much the entire time. It's a great movie for both guys and girls. It's not to much of a "chick flick", but maybe a little bit :)

6. DaVinci Code
I think this one is here basically because I loved the book so much. The movie actually followed the book fairly close, with a few exceptions. I definitely think it should be seen at least one time. It is a little long and a little slow at times, but worth it in the end. Just remember though, the book is better!

5. X-Men 3: The Last Stand
I have enjoyed all the X-Men movies and this was no exception. John picked at it too much only because he has read the comics and thought it didn't do the comic series justice, but I have never read the comic (nor will I) and I thought it was great. I love the special effects and that some of it took place in San Francisco!

4. The Departed
I loved this movie even though it did not quite end the way I wanted it to. It was gory, violent and full of swearing, but it was a great story and kept my interest. Everytime I thought something was going to happen, I was wrong and it surprised you by having something else happen. On top of it all, it had an amazing cast! I highly recommend this movie.

3. V For Vendetta
I really can not tell you why I loved this movie so much, I just did. It was great story writing and I loved everything about it. Definitely worth seeing.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
The first Pirates is one of my all time favorite movies, and while this one was not as good as the first, it was still very entertaining. It had plenty of action, great special effects, and made you laugh. Some of the characters were a little hard to understand, but overall, by far one of the best movies of the year!

1. The Last Kiss
This is my favorite movie of the year because it hit home emotionally with me. It was not a light movie, which I was expecting. I think I cried through half the movie and for about an hour after the movie. It's about relationships and love and all the stuff men and women my age experience and go through at some point. It is not a chick flick either. John and I saw it with two other couples and all six of us loved it. Of course, all three of us girls cried our eyes out and the guys just rolled their eyes, but even they liked it a lot. It's not action packed and full of special effects, it's just a great story. Especially, if you have had situations in your life that relate to those in the movie.

Worst of 2006

I am not even going to bother writing anything about these movies because, in my opinion, they are not even worth talking about. They just pretty much sucked!!

Scary Movie 4
Silent Hill
The Sentinel
Edison Force
Talladega Nights
Jackass 2 -- Okay, I admit it made you laugh sometimes, but man, they are just so stupid!!!

Book 7 Title No Longer A Mystery

Yay! A few days ago the new title for the final installment of the Harry Potter series was released....Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! I am so excited for the final book I can hardly wait. Yay, yay, yay, yay, yay (that is me jumping in a circle clapping my hands)

Christmas Has Past But Key West Is Just A Few Days Away

What a Christmas! I can't remeber the last time I was this spoiled. I got a new Coach purse, a boxer address book and a card game from John. My parents really out did themselves this year...new pots/pans for the kitchen, tupperware containers, mixing bowls, a spice rack, gift certificates to Starbucks, Olive Garden, and the movies, a paper shredder and so much more! Plus, all the other stuff they got me in the last month and a half when I moved in with John! I can't begin to express how thankful I am for everthing my parents have done for me this past month and a half. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Then to top off a great day of countless appetizers, we had a fabulous prime rib and lobster dinner....my favorite!

My weekend did not start out too great though, as on Saturday I got deathly ill. At work for the last two winters, all everyone talks about is the norovirus. Well, it finally caught up to me on Saturday, as I woke up feeling a little yucky, but by 2pm was completely sick with vomiting, nausea, body aches, fever and other things you probably don't want to hear about. Amazingly though, the virus only lasts up to 2 days, and by the next day I would say I was feeling 80% better and by X-Mas day, back to my old self. However, I have to be symptom free for 48 hours before I am allowed back to the hospital, so I will go back on Wed for one day and then I get to leave for Key West on Thurs!! Yay, I am so excited to meet the rest of John's family and spend some time under the warm sun and on some white sandy beaches.

I finally got around to taking some pictures of our place, before I take down the Christmas tree. They are not the best pictures, but it will give some people an idea of what our place is like if you have never been.

These are pics of the living room and into the dining room/kitchen area. The dining room chairs are still a work in progress, as I have only completed half of the re-upholstering on the chiars, but I am working on it slowly. We do have a nice little fireplace that we use quite regularly, and, of course, you can see John's prized possessions....his TV and DVD's.




This is our very tiny kitchen. We have everything we need in it with just a few inches of room to spare!







These are the pictures of our bedroom. Yes, the one with a purple wall. As you can tell outside, the weather is yucky and raining, but the room is fairly neat!














Lastly, I must show our red-headed step child....John's room. we have yet to finish it and every time I go into the room there is just too much stuff in it and I don't know where to begin. From his life size Sarah Michelle Gellar to his 12 giant boxes of comics under the blue sheet next to Sarah, there is just too much stuff in this room. I won't give him all the blame though. All of my boxes that I can't unpack yet because there is no room are in there too. So, until we actually NEED to clean out this room, meaning someone is coming to visit us :), I think it will stay in this condition for a while longer!

Movie Week

This past weekend I went to the movies with a friend of mine and we saw Babel. The movie was pretty good, except for one story line, which I believe they could have gone without. The movie basically follows three different story lines that end up all being connected in the end in some fashion. The story following the asian girl was the story I felt was not really necessary. This movie really cemented some reasons for me not to travel to Morocco or Mexico. Now, I have been to Tijuana, Mexico before and really was not impressed, plus living in San Diego, all you hear about are horror stories from Mexico. So ultimatley, no reason to travel to Mexico. Morocco, on the other hand, I thought would be a little better choice for a vacation, but according to this movie, I will definitely not be going there in the future. Once you are out of the major city, hospitals are hard to come by and you are basically stranded if anything serious ever happens to you. This movie made me appreciate living in America where 911 brings an ambulance right away and hospitals are always farily close. Granted, America has many many problems, but lines for communication are easy to come by and help is generally near by.

John and I also saw The Holiday on our date night last Monday. It was a cute movie that made you feel good when you walked out, but not the best chick flick/romantic comedy I have ever seen. I love Kate Winslet and she was great in it, and Cameron Diaz is okay, but Jack Black was very good and surprisingly, so was Jude Law (a man I find to be seriously over rated!). So, I recommend this movie if you just want to go see a light movie that doesn't require you to think too much and will make you feel good.

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are

Oh, the holiday cheer!! What people don't know is that this is also the time of year all the weirdos come out and find their way into a hospital. The last two nights at work three of my patients were ordered to be on restraints. Three of them!! I have had maybe three patients the entire time I have worked there on restraints, let alone three people, two nights in a row! One special patient even came with his very own sheriff on guard at his side 24 hours a day. Sometimes he even had two sheriff's on guard outside his door. I looked through his file to see if I could tell what he had done, but what I read I didn't think required two sheriff's on patrol at all times, but who am I to judge. On the police report it stated he had doused himself and his family with lighter fluid and threatened to set them all on fire. It took 5 officers with tasers to get him to the ground and under control, as he is a very large and scary looking man.

It never fails that I get assigned all the weirdos, but the funny thing was, he was my patient two weeks prior to this incident and he was actually quite nice. His family was always in the room with him, and aside from him desperately needing a shower, he seemed like a decent enough person. So, my first night with him was on Saturday night, and he managed to throw up all over himself and the bed twice and have a bowel movement in the bed too. I deal with this all the time, but he was hooked up to the bed with handcuffs around his feet and hands, so it was quite and ordeal to get him cleaned up. Also, because he was restrained, that meant I had to feed him and give him something to drink whenever he asked as well. Even though he was quite nice two weeks prior, when he was eating he kept telling me he hated the food and to take it out of his mouth. I knew the guards were outside his door, so something was telling me that he is locked up for a reason, so I better not stick my fingers in his mouth because I might just get them bit off. The night ended well, and I still have all ten of my fingers.

On Sunday the guarded man was my patient again, so I walked down to his room and this time he had his right hand uncuffed. That made me happy because then he could feed himself and use the urinal himself and I would not have to spend as much time in his room. Then all the trouble started. Apparently the officers were outside his room changing shifts and talking and he took this opportunity to reach over and use the phone. The officers walked into the room to see him on the phone, which he was not allowed to use, and they ordered our hospital to be on lockdown. They had to call for all kinds of back up and all the doors to the hospital were locked and you could only get in through the ER. It was a little on the scary side. Anyway, to wrap this up, apparently this guy was part of some kind of gang and they were worried his buddies were going to come and try to get him. Since his location had been compromised the officers had to get him out of the hospital. When he left, I was told by my manager that he was going on trial for murder. It's kind of freaky to think about. Especially since I worked with him only two weeks prior and all seemed fine.

My other weirdo was a drug addict and alcoholic who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He was not old at all, only in his late 30's, but could not form a complete sentence if his life depended upon it. He was in four point soft restraints and a chest restraint, so basically, he could not move. Somehow, the night before, he managed to slip out of all of his restraints, which were probably not tied properly, and when the nurse went into his room he was waiting for her in the dark and lunged after her and chased her into a room where she was able to lock herself in. Security had to tackle the guy down and get him back in his bed. He was actually fine the whole night for me and I never felt scared around him. He just asking me to bring him "holiday cheer" because he was lacking it. He actually made me laugh a little.

My last restrained person was a 92 year old woman with dementia. She was basically harmless, but she hit, kick and bit at you every time you got near her. Poor thing doesn't know any better so you can't be too upset about it.

That's my exciting weekend at work. I am so happy I have today off. John and I are having a "date night" since we have not been out for quite a while just the two of us. I am going to make us dinner and then we are going to go see a movie and come back and play a game of Scrabble. Yes, I know, we sound 60, but it's what we enjoy doing and I can hardly wait!

Still Working.....For Now

Somehow, I managed to keep my job this last week. Last week my work laid off ten people and to my surprise, I was not one of them. I was the last person hired so I thought for sure they would go by seniority, but they chose to take a different route. Sadly, two days later I found out I got accepted into nursing school and have to cut back on my hours at work. I am sure those who got laid off will not be happy to hear that I have to cut my hours, but I suppose that's life. I am just too happy that I got into nursing school at this point.

It's been a very quiet week here at the condo. John has been in Chicago all week and will not be back til Friday night. I miss him a lot more than I thought I would. I told myself when he said he would be leaving for a week that I was not going to be one of those women who are going to get all sappy and lonely when he is gone. I told myself it is only a week and I will hardly notice he is gone. Now, I have managed to be busy throughout most of it becuase I have been working a lot since they laid off so many people, but I do miss talking to him whenever I feel like it. Especially when I come home from work. Lucky for me though, I get to pick him up tomorrow and can hardly wait. I text him the other night telling him I missed him and I hoped he wasn't having more fun without me around....his response, "More, but I did just see the Eagles win!". When I talked to him later that night he swore he did not say "more", but he checked his sent messages and saw he did indeed say "more". He swears it was supposed to say nope. It was hysterical. We were laughing for about 10 straight minutes.

Before John left, we went and saw Barenaked Ladies in concert, which was outstanding, and managed to get our Chirstmas tree set up. It looks beautiful even with only 20 or so ornaments on it!! We leave for Key West in a few weeks and can hardly wait. It will be nice to spend New Year's somewhere warm and I am gald I will finally get to meet the rest of John's family.