Keeping it Real: 10 Surprises of Early Pregnancy (and the 15 Week Bump)

Hi everyone, I’m about 15 weeks into my first pregnancy now, and I’m actually starting to feel like it’s a real thing. It’s funny,  I have a lot of friends who were always so excited about being pregnant, but to be honest it has always completely freaked me out.  I’ve always had trouble explaining how much it freaked me out or why exactly, but it did.  This has nothing to do with my desire to have kids- I have always loved children and wanted to raise a family of my own. Pregnancy just kind of seemed like a scary but necessary thing that would happen at some foggy point in my life to result in said children.  Continue reading “Keeping it Real: 10 Surprises of Early Pregnancy (and the 15 Week Bump)”

AMWAM Review of Magic in the Moonlight

Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

Rating: PG-13

Run-time/Word Count: 97 Minutes/Words

Review: Which is most charming: the timeless Colin Firth, the fresh and vibrant Emma MV5BMTQ3NDY5NjIwN15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjQ2ODkxMjE@._V1_SY317_CR0,0,214,317_AL_Stone, or a French-country setting in the 1920s? It’s hard call to make in this classically whimsical Woody Allen film. Luckily, the three complement each other in a way that is…well…charming. Magic in the Moonlight is listed as a “romantic comedy,” but it doesn’t quite fit into that genre. If you’re expecting “chick flick” then you might be disappointed. However, it is magical, eccentric and refreshing…Sort of like you went to a Gatsby party but knew when to leave. Frankly? I loved it.

AMWAM Review of The Giver

The Giver (2014)

Rating: PG-13

Run-time/Word Count: 97 Minutes/Words

Review: What may seMV5BMTY1MTIxMjg2Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMjUyNzgwMjE@._V1_SX214_AL_em to copy Recently-Popular- YA-Dystopian Lit-Based-Films is actually based on Lois Lowry’s book which preceeded Hunger Games or Divergent by twentyish years.  The casting is mostly well-done: Jeff Bridges is empathy-stirring as the exhausted Giver, Brenton Thwaites is innocent and passionate as Jonas, Katie Holmes is surprisingly believable as “stoic, creepy mom,” and Meryl Streep has weird bangs.

If you’ve read the book, don’t be deterred by the full-color movie trailer with high action shots: the film actually does follow it pretty closely.  With more heart than you’d expect, this book-based flick is worth seeing.

About Me

My name is Kathryn, but you can call me Katie. I was raised as the only child of two right-brained p10388061_10204184413143516_8956436807531433291_nsychotherapists. I’m married to a creative (but incredibly logical and practical) Viking guy from Florida who balances out my ADD and surges of emotional intensity. We currently live on a farm that was started by my great-grandparents in the middle of Nowhere-On-The-Outskirts-of-Extremely-Small-Town Mississippi. Sometimes things fall apart out here in a manner reminiscent of the Chevy Chase film, “Funny Farm,” but we love it anyway. I’m a Southern girl who’s not really all that Southern (though my family is). While I am working towards my Masters degree in English and Creative Writing, I am also teaching Zumba classes, writing my own material and trying to get people around me into healthy lifestyle changes (not such an easy thing in Mississippi). I love movies, books, the arts, healthy cooking, and people watching. I am a Christian who is not afraid of feelings, and I dabble in fiction. I’m also expecting my first baby, so I’m sure there will be blog posts about that, too. I suppose this blog is for anyone who has trouble defining them selves by one thing. I think most of us do have difficulty with that, if we’re honest. I hope you’ll follow me as I write where I am.

Letter to a Concerned Friend from The Grieving Heart

Dear friend,

As the words “How are you doing?”  or  “Are you okay?” spill out of your mouth, I know that you are only asking because you care.  You are trying to help by showing me that yes, you remembered, you understand, you know it’s been hard.

Sometimes maybe you ask because you feel like you have to before we can discuss anything else. You want to get it over with.

A lot of times you just ask because you think it’s probably the only thing you can do.

Actually, there is nothing you can do. Continue reading “Letter to a Concerned Friend from The Grieving Heart”