Pics!!

We did some more exploring of our new surroundings last week.. We went over to the Cheatham Annex in Williamsburg where Bill did his gun shoot stuff for work.. and then we headed over to downtown Yorktown. I didn't have my camera so I had to take some photos with my camera on my phone..












The Bridge is the George P Coleman Bridge. Austin was posing for me so I had to take a picture the kid never looks at the camera.. He was enjoying his Ben & Jerry's. Elvis wanted a picture with the boats, I tried to get a picture of all 3 of them, but someone always looks the opposite direction.







At the Cheatam Annex they have a really cool park, and there are some nice cabins along the water you can rent. Bill wants to do that when we need to check out inside of a hotel. I don't know we will see, we seem to always move in the dead of winter.

Photo of the day!!

Elvis with his new Boy Hair cut!! This is his why are you taking my picture of me eating face??

I'm going to try to upload at least one photo a day.

The new Kitchen...

Or I should say the new super small kitchen..lol


Those are my cupboards.. Yep that's it! and look one drawer by the stove!


My mom came up with the idea of the Rack.. and thank goodness she did. I was loosing my mind.


The closet doors by the fridge open up and that is where the washer & dryer are and above them are 2 shelfs, where I keep some more pans, popcorn maker and sharp items and the chips.. Austin would eat a whole bag of Doritos in a day if he had access!!


But the whole empty wall could have some cupboards but up and another counter.. I guess these are all done the same way to, really weird. I don't think I will be baking much..lol

I'll get some more photos of the rest of the house soon.

Monday Movie Reviews..

I forgot to post last weeks so I have a lot this week...

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas



When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno (Asa Butterfield) befriends Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a boy who lives on the other side of the fence, where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.

This was the saddest movie I have ever seen in my life! It was a great movie but it will be burned into my mind forever.. Watch with caution. 4 stars!!


Faintheart



This isn't listed on any sites yet to get a description. Here is the films website This is an independent film that is still in theaters, but it also on the IFC on Cable On Demand. I've been looking for it everywhere when I saw it on a preview. Richard loses his wife and his son is embarrassed by him. He is going to do everything he can to win them both back! It was a great heartfelt movie, good story line and overall a great movie. There hasn't been many movies like this one lately. 5 stars!!


Hanna Montana The Movie..



When the pop star fame of her secret alter ego, Hannah Montana, becomes too much to bear, Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) takes a break and journeys back to her Tennessee hometown of Crowley Corners for a much-needed break from the spotlight. But the pressures of celebrity life prove difficult to escape when Miley is pursued by a snoop who suspects the truth about her identity. Peter Chelsom directs, and Billy Ray Cyrus and Emily Osment co-star.

Yes, I watched it and the day it came out!! I'm not afraid to admit once in a blue moon I will sit and watch an episode on Disney when it's late at night. I grew up with Bill Ray what can I say.. This was good and a great kids movie!! I know as of late she has been getting a bad rap because of her little dance at the Kids awards, but this movie had a positive message in it and kids need more movies like these. I laughed pretty hard at a lot of the humor in it. It's a great Family Movie Night movie! 5 stars!!



17 Again



On the brink of a midlife crisis, 30-something Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry) wishes he could have a "do-over." And that's exactly what he gets when he wakes up one morning to find he's 17 years old again. With his adult mind stuck inside the body of a teenager (Zac Efron), Mike actually has the chance to reverse some decisions he wishes he'd never made. But maybe they weren't so bad after all. Leslie Mann and Michelle Trachtenberg co-star.

This wasn't s bad either, not really my style of movie. A teeny bopper film for sure and Not for kids under 11.. Had a good story to it, but it's been done too many times. 3 stars!!


The International



Interpol agent Louis Salinger (Clive Owen) and New York Asst. DA Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) team up to expose a global financial institution's money laundering, arms dealing and other illegal rackets in this tense thriller from director Tom Tykwer. As the pair race from New York to Milan and beyond to pursue their case, they soon discover that the ruthless bank will stop at nothing to continue its profitable activities.

I can't say anything good about this one folks!! I feel asleep and lost interest, it was long and a guys movie all the way. My husband finished it and said was okay.. Nothing to remember 2 stars!!



Coraline...



In this breathtaking stop-motion animation based on Neil Gaiman's novel, curious young Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning) unlocks a door in her family's home and is transported to a universe that strangely resembles her own -- only better. But when her Other Mother (Teri Hatcher) doesn't want Coraline to return to reality, our heroine must summon an amazing amount of courage to go home and save her family.

I didn't like it! My kids didn't like it either.. It was creepy and just weird. A Nightmare before Christmas was done a lot better. Maybe if I'd seen it in 3D, but it was slow and just weird. The story was good though. So I'm giving it 3.5 stars!


Inkheart..



Unbeknownst to his 12-year-old daughter, Meggie (Eliza Bennett), bookbinder Mo "Silvertongue" Folchart (Brendan Fraser) has a secret ability to bring characters to life by reading their stories out loud. But when the wicked Capricorn (Andy Serkis) comes after her father, Meggie must rescue him. Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren co-star in this enchanting fantasy based on the best-selling children's novel by Cornelia Funke.

Is it just me or does Brendan Fraser look the same in every movie he is in??? I liked it! A good family movie 4 stars!



Big Stan..



Rob Schneider stars in this comedy as Big Stan, a diminutive real estate con man who, upon learning he's headed for prison, hires a martial arts guru (David Carradine) to train him for the purpose of self-defense behind bars. Once incarcerated, Stan earns the respect of his fellow inmates and ends up bringing a sense of order and synchronicity to the place -- until a warden with a hidden agenda tries to thwart Stan's benevolent efforts.

This was hilarious!! I love Rob Schneider.. He does it again.. Guys will like this too My husband and I watched it!! 4 stars all the way!

Random Ramblings..

Not much going on here so I haven't been posting much. We are just taking it easy until school starts for the kids on the 8th. Bill finished up working in the Galley and is now officially at Master at Arms.. Well for the ship he is anyways.. He gets to wear the Green Camo now.

I've been fighting with our insurance to get Austin and Appointment for an ACE Evaluation to get him a communication device. IT's taken forever and we'll go in Sept. I just hope that is all we need and there won't be any other loop holes to jump through, always a possibility with insurance.

We went an explored the area some more yesterday and checked out the Chatam Annex which is part of the base in Williamsburg, there is a lot of cool parks and trails over there. It's along the york river, I forgot my camera though. I took some photos with my phone haven't had a chance to upload them.

I'll check back in soon.

Movie Review Monday

Well after a break for a few weeks.. I've got some movie reviews for you again..Let's start with what's playing right now at the movies!!


Amy Adams stars in this truth-inspired tale as Julie Powell, a disenchanted government secretary who decides to enliven her uneventful life by cooking all 524 recipes outlined in Julia Child's culinary classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Based on Powell's book Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, director Nora Ephron's heartwarming dramedy also stars Meryl Streep as legendary chef Child.

I couldn't wait to see this and I went Friday morning when the theatre opened.. It was one of the best movies I've seen all year.. 5 stars all the way!! I laughed, I cried and I will buy it when it's out on DVD.. Meryl Streep was fantastic.




In the shadow of the Great Depression, criminal minds are thriving -- notorious men like John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), "Baby Face" Nelson (Stephen Graham) and "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Channing Tatum) -- and it's up to J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) and the FBI to bring them down. Michael Mann directs this gritty crime drama based on the book by Bryan Burrough. Christian Bale, Giovanni Ribisi and Leelee Sobieski co-star.

This was a date night movie and My husband picked it..It wasn't bad but it was long. Action all the way through, I would see it early in the day or night, don't go at the 10pm showing like we did, (shh, I feel asleep..lol) But it'll keep you interested. I didn't like Christian Bale in this but everyone else did a great job!! I give it 4.5 Stars!




In his segment called "The Ugly Truth," chauvinistic morning show commentator Mike Alexander (Gerard Butler) makes his perpetually single producer (Katherine Heigl) the subject of a series of romantic tests in order to prove his theories on relationships. But will his experiments help her find love, or is she just a hopeless case? Cheryl Hines co-stars as Mike's unflappable co-anchor in this rom-com from the team behind Legally Blonde.

This was great!! I love Gerard Butler and this was a great date movie or girls just go see it on your own.. A must see, I laughed the whole time.. 5 stars!!


Now onto what's on DVD!!


Sean Penn (in an Oscar-winning role) stars in this fact-based drama about Harvey Milk, the openly gay activist and San Francisco politician who was murdered along with Mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber) by disgruntled city supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin) in 1978. Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna co-star in director Gus Van Sant's compelling biopic, which also earned Oscar nods for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Brolin).

I'm all about Artsy movies.. But I couldn't do this one.. I turned it off about a 1/4 of the way into it. So I don't have anything positive to say about it.. It was all over the place and I just wasn't feeling Penn & Franco as a gay couple.. Jake & Heath did a better job in Brokeback.. 1 star!




Fifty years after a time capsule was buried at a local school, teacher John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) examines its contents and discovers that it holds many shockingly true predictions. Soon, John is convinced that his family will play a role in an impending apocalypse. Rose Byrne co-stars as Diane Wayland, the daughter of the woman who first buried the capsule, in this tense blockbuster thriller from ace sci-fi auteur Alex Proyas.

Warning: Spoiler Alert!! I love Nicolas Cage and I will be one to tell you he doesn't have many bad movies, but I was so disappointed in this one.. The acting was bad and the story line was bad! You get all the way to the end and ALIENS?? Are you serious.. I was just in aww I wanted to turn it off then but I had to finish it.. There are alot of end of the world movies coming out lately and more are on the way!! 3 stars!!


All my Submarine Wives are waiting for this one!!!

On a remote Pacific island, military tensions derail Dr. Andrea Swanson's (Krista Allen) research on a mutant snake species. She takes refuge on Commander O'Neill's (Luke Perry) Taiwan-bound submarine, unaware that her assistant has smuggled some of the snakes on board. When a Chinese torpedo rocks the sub, the serpents are unleashed to hunt the scientists and the crew. Tom Berenger co-stars in this depth-charged chiller.

It's a train wreck you have to see to believe!! Tom Barenger is the one one who has his Navy Uniform right!! If you are going to make a military movie at least spend the time to get the uniforms correct.. and the never salute without a hat!! My husband and I picked this movie apart!! But it was good to laugh and I'm about 90% sure it's the same sub set up from Down Periscope!.. Let me know what you think!! I'm giving it 2 stars only because it made me laugh!

I'm back on track..

We are all moved into our new house and I'm finally out of boxes and things are getting back to normal.. We moved from Fort Eustis Army Housing to Navy housing at Naval Weapons Station and it is wonderful.. I will get some pictures up soon. The layout is just like what we had in FL so we had a place for everything right off the bat. I do have one problem with this place.. The kitchen is huge but there are no cabinets or counters.. I have one drawer!!! lol... So some creative thinking really had to come into play with organizing it.