Three Movies, Two Weeks

I've seen three movies in the theater in the past two weeks! That is unheard of because I usually only see three movies the entire year. The three I saw were Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol, War Horse, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. All three were very different but I enjoyed all three of them. On Rotten Tomatoes they received high rankings (Mission 93%, War 77%, Tattoo 86%). They all deserved them! I don't have a favorite out of any of them because they are all different genres. 

I'm  not usually an action-kind-of-movie-person, but I really liked Mission Impossible! It was action packed and not too gory from all the shooting and killing. All the actors including Tom Cruise performed well. Below is a summary of the movie from IMDB
"In the 4th installment of the Mission Impossible series, Ethan Hunt and his team are racing against time to track down a dangerous terrorist named Hendricks, who has gained access to Russian nuclear launch codes and is planning a strike on the United States. An attempt by the team to stop him at the Kremlin ends in a disaster, with an explosion causing severe destruction to the Kremlin and the IMF being implicated in the bombing, forcing the President to invoke Ghost Protocol, under which the IMF is disavowed, and will be offered no help or backup in any form. Undaunted, Ethan and his team chase Hendricks to Dubai, and from there to Mumbai, but several spectacular action sequences later, they might still be too late to stop a disaster."

Since seeing the previews of War Horse I've been wanting to see it, so I finally saw it. I took my Grandpa because I thought he would like it and he did. He hadn't been to a movie in over 20 years! I especially think older people would enjoy this movie because of the war references. The movie got intense with all the shooting and war scenes, but it wasn't too much for me. Below is a summary of the movie from IMDB
"Young Albert enlists to service in WWI after his beloved horse, Joey, is sold to the cavalry. Albert's hopeful journey takes him out of England and across Europe as the war rages on."

My mom and I went to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo because we both had read the book. The book was sooo good! When I was reading it, I didn't want to put it down. This movie was SO intense (funny how all three of these movies were! No chick flicks here! ha). It followed almost exactly as the book. The actors were amazing in the movie because they played such dynamic characters. It definitely should have been rated-R because it was explicit, a lot more than I thought! The girl was weirder and more grungy in the movie than I had imagined when reading the book. I want to read the next two books in the series now. Below is the summary from IMDB
"This English-language adaptation of the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson follows a disgraced journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig), as he investigates the disappearance of a wealthy patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined."

Week One- Mini-Marathon Training

Did you know I'm training for a mini-marathon in April? Well, I am! I'm excited because I will be running with some girls from school. This will be my fourth mini-marathon (I ran one in 2007, 2008, 2009). I think we are planning to run the Nashville Rock n Roll Mini-marathon on April 28th. (There is a slim possibility that we may do the Louisville mini on the same day instead, who knows!) 


Below is how my week went. I wrote out a schedule and either followed it or even did extra miles! (I will post the schedule on another post):


1-1-12 (Sunday): Run/Walk 2 miles 24:42
1-2-12 (Monday: 60 minute weight class
1-3-12 (Tuesday): Ran 2 miles 22:01
1-4-12 (Wednesday): Ran 4 miles 44:20
1-5-12 (Thursday): 60 minute weight class 
1-6-12 (Friday): 60 minute step class
1-7-12 (Saturday): Ran 3 miles 32:35 


It was a full week, but I'm ready for next week! My times are a little slow but I'm hoping to improve as time goes on. I'm going to focus more on running the distance because I think that's more important than speed right now ;) 

The Help

I finally read The Help by: Kathryn Stockett. Over the summer I checked it out at the library but only got through two chapters. Since I got a new Kindle Fire (which I LOVE by the way) I had The Help on it because my Mom bought it. I finished it in less than a week and it was great! I would give it a 9 out 10. The day after I finished the book I watched the movie which was also excellent. As usual, I thought the book was better than the movie but I would still recommend the movie. 


Here is a description from Barnes and Noble: 
"Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women-mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends-view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't."

Triple Threat Brownies

Want to make a D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S and easy dessert? Try this aaaamazing brownie recipe! My friend told me about this recipe that she found on Pinterest. Originally it is called "Slutty Brownies" because they are messy and easy, but I decided to rename them! These brownies only require three simple ingredients: chocolate chip cookie dough, Oreos, and brownie mix. 

I made this recipe by myself while I was in Florida visiting my grandparents. It was a hit!

Triple Threat Brownies Adapted from The Londoner

Ingredients:

1 Box brownie mix

1 Regular roll of chocolate chip cookie mix (can use box mix as well)

1 Package of Oreos

Eggs, oil, and water for the brownie mix.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F,  Line a baking tray with grease proof paper (aka wax paper). 9x9 or 8x8 pan is the best size!

Spread the cookie dough into a lined baking tray, until it covers the bottom.

Cover this layer with your Oreos. 

Mix up your brownie batter. Stick to the recipe on the box for this one. Pour over your Oreos. Bake for 30 minutes. The brownies should be a little gooey! Let sit for 10 minutes, cut, and serve. (It tastes even better with vanilla ice cream on top...especially because it melts!)If you aren't into gooey desserts wait for it to completely cool and it won't be as gooey (but still rich and delicious). 

The Triple Threat Ingredients 

Adding the Oreos on top of the cookie mix

SOO gooey and yummy!

I shared this on Sweet as Sugar Cookies

Roasted Garlic Chicken Pesto Pizza

Happy New Year! Best wishes to you!

Last night I arrived back home from Florida after visiting my grandparents for Christmas. The night before I spent it in Louisville and got to see my friends. It was a lot of fun as usual! While I was in Florida I tried out this new recipe I found from a blog that I follow, Sugar Cooking. It is called Roasted Garlic Chicken Pesto Pizza. You never know how a new recipe is going to turn out, especially serving it to my whole family...but it turned out GREAT! My family gave me lots of compliments :) Below is the recipe. 


Roasted Garlic Chicken Pesto Pizza adapted from Sugar Cooking
Ingredients:
1 pizza crust (thawed)
1/2 cup prepared pesto (store bought or homemade)
1 tablespoon roasted garlic 
1 cup sliced mushrooms (optional)
1/2 cup chopped onion 
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked
2 cups Mozzarella cheese 
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Romano cheese 
Olive Oil


Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. For cooking the chicken I cut the breasts into small pieces in a pan over the stove. Add a little olive oil and the roasted garlic (optional: add salt and pepper). 
Spread the pizza dough onto the pan. (My dad this for me because it was a little difficult!) I used a frozen pizza crust and let it completely thaw. Put a little olive oil on both sides of the crust.

Spread the pesto on the pizza. Add the onions, mushrooms, and cooked chicken. Sprinkle with mozzarella and top with Parmesan and Romano.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Serves 4. We made two pizzas to everyone could have some. 

Enjoy :) 

Pizza Dough I used...from Walmart!

Dad flattening the dough

With the pesto, mushrooms, and onions 

Time to add the chicken and cheese!

We had salad with our pizza

Final Product...so yummy!