TwentyThirteen

Hey friends!

It's 2014.

Another whole year has gone by. That's so absurd. People say it all the time but time really does fly the older you get. Flies. By. You make all these plans and resolutions and intend on making big changes for the year ahead and before you have a chance to make good on any of them, it's New Year's Eve again. Speaking of NYE, I find it completely overrated. Midnight is supposed to be this magical time when you start with a clean slate and begin the year anew but really, you are still the same person you have always been. That's not a bad thing... It just is what it is (I hate that saying). I suppose it comes down to hope. People are hopeful for a wonderful year ahead and there is nothing wrong with that. Hope is a good thing.

As I sit here typing this, Jeff and Charley are watching The Lone Ranger and eating popcorn. The movie is boring. So, I figured, why not write my annual faves and not so faves from the year before while they snuggle all cute together watching Johnny Depp with ALL the makeup on and a bird on his head??

As per usual, not all of my faves/not so faves necessarily came out in 2013, it's just when I was introduced to them. This is allowed because it's my rules. My blog. My rules. Fun times.

I'll stick with movies for now...

We don't get out to the movies all that much.We always have good intentions but really, we usually only go when there is a kids movie that C wants to see or a movie based on a book that I want to see, or a movie based on a president or historical figure that Jeffrey wants to see. Charley usually wins when it comes to this which means I saw quite a few children's movies over the last year; Turbo, Jack The Giant Slayer, Walking With Dinosaurs, Monster's University... I loooved Jack The Giant Slayer. "But Sarah, you only liked that movie because Ewan McGregor is in it." Duh. Have you seen him in that movie?? Gorgeous. That man is a work of art. Plain and simple.

-I adored Silver Linings Playbook. I know that came out in 2012 but I saw it early last year and I was so happy it won so many awards. That movie is authentic and fantastic and Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper are phenomenal. I want them to love each other in real life. They are so great together.

-I enjoyed Oz The Great and Powerful but I gotta be honest... I really don't think James Franco is a good actor. He plays the same character in every single thing he's in. I also thought Mila Kunis completely over-acted her part. I know she's supposed to be angry and heartbroken or whatever but really, she only knew Oz for about 5 minutes before she went batshit crazy and started screaming at everyone. I loved Zach Braff as Finley the monkey. He makes everything better.

-Iron Man 3 was so much fun. I think it's my favorite of the three movies. Robert Downey Jr is so freaking awesome. I could watch him for hours and hours.

-You can probably guess my favorite movie of 2013... Want to guess? Go ahead. I'll wait...


Yeah, you're right... The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I blogged about it already but I was so happy with how it turned out. So true to the book and so fantastic.

Weirdest movie I saw? One Direction: This Is Us. Look, I like boy bands. I'm cool with them. From NKOTB to 98 Degrees, they make me smile and the bottom line is this: those boys work their asses off. They sing catchy songs and know hot to work a crowd and you can tell they have a great time while doing it and you know what? It makes me happy. So yeah, while it may have been weird for me to go see a movie about One Direction, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and got to spend time with my sister at the same time. Also, Harry is real hot, guys.

Honorable mention goes to: Joss Whedon's, Much Ado About Nothing. This movie is so pretty and lovely and Nathan Fillion is the icing on the cake in it.

Worst movie? Freaking Beautiful Creatures. That movie is a travesty. Stupid, stupid, stupid movie. I screamed at my TV throughout the whole thing. They changed every great thing about the book. It infuriates me that Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl agreed to have their story butchered the way that Warner Bros. butchered it. Just awful.

Oh, The Host was pretty crappy too. An absolute Snoozefest.

Music now? Sure...

-Barenaked Ladies came out with a new one; Grinning Streak. It's pretty good but I've said it 47 thousand times and I will say it again... it's just not the same without Steve. It's just not.

-The Killers came out with a greatest hits in November called Direct Hits. There are a couple new songs on it. "Shot at the Night" and "Just Another Girl" make it a great album. I always love hearing a compilation of really great Killers songs all in one spot. It makes me smile.

-Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones came out with an album together covering The Everly Brothers entitled Foreverly. It's really fantastic. Their voices so so wonderful together. This was probably my favorite album to listen to this year.

TV!

-My absolute favorite new show of the season is the CW's Reign (Thursdays @ 9pm). I LOVE this show. It follows the early years of Mary, Queen of the Scots (played by Adelaide Kane) in 1557 France. Mary is engaged to Francis (Toby Regbo), France's future King. The show is about their courtship and the trials and tribulations of politics back then. We waited until my Christmas break to start watching all the episodes so we could watch them back to back and I'm pretty much obsessed with it now. I love the relationship between Mary and Francis. They kind of make me swoon. My heart breaks whenever they have a heartfelt moment and I giggle whenever they are cute with each other. It's not just about their relationship though. Francis's mother, Catherine, is convinced that Mary will cause his death, so she does all she can to try to keep them apart. There is also a psychic (Nostradamus) and a creepy creepster named Clarissa who lives in the tunnels and underground of the castle and helps Mary out whenever someone is out to do her wrong. It's basically Game Of Thrones mild and I adore it. It doesn't hurt that Francis and his brother Bash (Torrance Coombs) are easy on the eyes. Also. I LOVE THE CLOTHES. I want to wear every single thing that Mary wears. I love watching just to see what they'll dress her in every episode.

So yeah... I love that show. I can't wait for it to come back from break in a few weeks.

-Oh! And The Following. I love The Following and Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy. That show is ridiculous and disturbing and scary and so damn entertaining.

-It's no secret that I have been disappointed in True Blood the last couple years. I'm kind of glad that this upcoming season will be its last. The direction of the show has just been all over the place and wonky. Completely wonky.

-I started watching Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the beginning of the season but it just didn't captivate me enough. I liked all the characters. I love Agent Coulson, I just thought it was kind of boring to be completely honest. We only lasted about 3 episodes and that breaks my heart because you all know how much I love Joss Whedon.

-2013 was the year we decided to stop watching Bones. I'm over it. See my previous blogs for reasons why.

BooksBooksBooksBooks:

You know this is always the longest section. Goodreads said that I read 39 books last year. That is way down from 2012 (60). I'm not really sure why. I suppose I just took my sweet time on the books I read last year. I also re-read a few of my favorites (The Night Circus, Love Letters) but it was still a good year for books nonetheless.... Here are my favorites in no particular order. Mostly because I really loved them all and I can't put one above the other. The following are all books I rated 5 stars on my Goodreads page...

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell- Words cannot describe how much I loved this book. You can click on the title over there to read the synopsis but I don't think it does the story justice. Rainbow Rowell has such a way with writing dialogue. It's so authentic and completely genuine. The relationships in her stories are absolutely believable and they make me want to be friends with all of her characters (almost all of them). I could not stop smiling when I finished this book and then I went back and re-read all of my favorite parts, which was pretty much the entire book, so really, I read this book twice in a matter of days. I loved it. A lot. If you want to smile and swoon and giggle, read this book. You won't regret it.

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes- This isn't a book that I would normally read. It had the potential to make me sob with all the feelings and emotions packed within it but it was on a list of the best books of 2013 so I decided to give it a go. I am so happy I did. This book is heartwarming and funny and really lovely. It will make you take a look at yourself and your life and the choices you have made. I guarantee you 100% that it will stick with you for days, weeks, months after you read it. It's an absolutely wonderful read.

Divergent by Veronica Roth- This is the first book in the trilogy. It came out in 2011 but I decided to break down and read it because I knew the movie was coming out this year. I loved this book. It made my heart pound and I fell in love with the growing relationship between the two main characters. The story itself is compelling and so very interesting. The second book, Insurgent (2012) is just as good as the first and the third and final book of the series, Allegiant came out just a couple months ago. The last book does the series justice. The entire trilogy is a back and forth, turbulent, emotional roller coaster ride. Veronica Roth is a fantastic writer and I look forward to what she will come out with in the future.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn- This book came out in 2009, but after I read Gone Girl, I devoured the rest of Flynn's books. She has three. Each one is absolutely enthralling and dark and disturbing and gutting and wonderfully, phenomenally written. Gillian Flynn is BRILLIANT. I wish I could see inside of her brain to see how she comes up with the ideas for her stories. Read this book.

S. by J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst- This book came out in October. J.J. came up with the concept and pitched it to Doug Dorst and Doug wrote it. This book makes you feel like you are apart of it. Like you are literally living inside the story. It is filled with treasures and surprises and it's a story within a story within a story. It makes you think and theorize and the look and feel and smell of it is so enchanting. I really, really enjoyed this book. It was so creative.

Honorable mention will go to Night Film by Marsha Pessl. The concept of this book is totally intriguing and believable. It almost feels like it's a biography or a True Crime book. I wanted it to be just a little bit more than it was though. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it but I felt like there could have been just a bit more oomph to it. If you do get around to reading it, download the Night Film app that goes along with it. It turns the book into a creepy interactive experience that is super cool.

Disappointment? I was bummed with the new Nora Roberts book, Dark Witch. I can't quite put my finger on what didn't work in this story. I think it was just packed with way too much content and that made it difficult for her to write an ending to it. It just felt weird. This is the first of a new trilogy though, so maybe the next two will be better. I hope so. The end of the Sookie series was OK. It ended how I thought it would. The last few books were so mediocre that I wasn't expecting a whole lot. Charlaine Harris has done a good job of disappointing me lately so I doubt I will be reading anything she comes out with in the future.

Favorite Moments:

-My sister and I meeting Kris Allen and going to his concert. He literally could not have been nicer. He was so nice that I could not believe how nice he was. I will remember and cherish the hug he gave me and the Happy Birthday song he sang to Natalie FOREVER. That boy is a classy, stand up dude. I was so impressed with him.
-Chris Osgood became a sports analyst for Fox Sports and I squealed with delight like a 15 year old girl. I love seeing him at every game, in his suit and tie, with his little headset on. He's a work in progress with being comfortable in front of the camera but the boy KNOWS his hockey. He is so knowledgeable and so smart. (And really, really, really, really handsome).
-Ben Folds Five and BNL came to Pine Knob together. It was a concert handpicked for Sarah Scott (yeah, I'm talking in third person) and I got to see them with some of my best friends.
-Charley was a ringbearer. The most handsome ringbearer there ever was!
-We had a couple great vacations to Kentucky.
-Spent lots of time at my parents house with their new pool.
-Welcomed new family members.
-The alumni games for the 2013 Winter Classic. I could not have been happier with the events and players and games from that weekend. It was absurdly fun. I wish it could happen every year. There was something magical about it. I love love loved it!
-The success of the Veronica Mars Kickstarter for the Veronica Mars movie
-The success of the Zach Braff Kickstarter for his new film, Wish I Was Here.
-The Red Wedding from Game of Thrones.
-Slice of The 80's 5 year Anniversary.
-Mine and Fred's 10 year wedding Anniversary.
-Watching Charley play T-ball.

I'm going to end this post now and (if you are still reading this anyway...) I thank you for indulging my love of writing nonsense every now and then. I wish you all a happy, healthy New Year. Have the year you have and remember to love and cherish your family and friends all throughout the year XOXOXO