Saying Goodbye to Betsy Hearts

In three days, 2014 will be coming to an end.  When I reminisce on this past year I would often focus on what I didn’t do and that I should have worked harder.  I will no longer have those thoughts as reading my blog journal put a big smile on my face. It reminded me that I did achieve a lot this year. And that was the point in creating this blog and creating Betsy Hearts.

        I learned how to solve a Rubik’s cube. I still do it every few days.

I learned how to eat with Chop Sticks.  

I learned how to play chess.  We play several times a week. 

I learned how to hula hoop. (a work still in progress.)

I watched 25 horror films. 

I had a blast working on my science experiments.

I learned some sentences in sign language.

I read my first Sci Fi Book

I tried food from different culturals.

I visited two different Richmond landmarks and a few new restaurants.

 I sold at the Flea Market. 

I worked on my arts and crafts a lot .  Pinterest should be classified as a drug.

I lined the inside of my steamer trunk with Dr. Seuss books and it looks fucking awesome. 

I got a new job. Not doing what I would like, but I’m generating income & that is a great thing.

I sold on eBay.

 I had a wonderful Christmas. 

 While I’ve had a whole lot of fun writing this blog and challenging myself, I’m no longer interested in monthly challenges. That doesn’t mean that I don’t plan on continuing to grow and explore, I’m just not going to blog about it. My goal for 2015 is to become self employed.  I need to use all my extra time and energy in making that a reality. It's been my pleasure and now it’s time to say Goodbye to Betsy Hearts. 

Done, Finito, Caput

I could make excuses as to why I didn't learn to play the Ukulele but the bottom line is I didn't feel like it. I spent my spare time doing whatever I wanted and I'm not going to feel guilty about it. I will eventually learn to the Ukulele. Now off I go to take a nap. I have a six hour drive to our hometown NYC to spend time with our loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving.

November's Challenge

I reviewed my list of future challenges and I could not pick one. So I turned to the internet for help. I saw a Ukulele challenge and that is one that I meant to add to my list. We purchased a beautiful Ukulele when we visited Hawaii several years ago and I've wanted to learn how to play it. Now I will.

Scared At Last

Since this was the last day of the challenge and it happened to be Halloween, I figured I would watch the movie in pitch darkness. I do not like being in the dark. Not only do I own a night light but I don't turn off the television until I can't keep my eyes open. So this was a big deal for me. In addition to the darkness my husband picked the movie which is one that I would have never picked because it involved kids. I don't like scary movies that involve children. Between the movie and the darkness, this was absolutely a challenge for me.     

As WWE wrestler Daniel Bryan famous chat goes "Yes, Yes, Yes" I have finally watched a film that scared me. It was "Mama". An uncle and his girlfriend get custody of his nieces and learn that they have a relationship with a spirit they call Mama. Not going to give any more details as this is a must watch. This movie was captivating from beginning to end. It had a scene that made me scream and it even scared my dogs. I don't remember ever watching a film that made me scream. There were also several scenes that made my heart race. It also pulled at my heart strings. I experienced all sorts of emotions with this film And as strange as this may sound I was elated to be frightened.  Out of all the films I watched this month, this was the winner. While I only watched 21 movies and the goal was 31, I'm thrilled with this challenge and how it ended. Now I'm off to decide this month's challenge.

The Blob

After fourteen months of unemployment (by choice) I've returned to the working world as of Friday. In addition to working full time, I help my husband sell at the flea markets on the weekends. Then someone at my new job is sick and doesn't stay home because he can't afford it. Well he has been spreading his germs and I caught some it. I pumped my body full of meds and have been resting after work. So what I'm getting to is that I've fallen behind on my horror film challenge. I started to watch The Blob on Friday and didn't finish watching it until Monday. By the way, it was your typical cheesy 80's film. Since Friday is Halloween and the end of the month, I plan to watch one last horror film. See you then.

Shocking, Horrifying & Unnerving

Shocking, Horrifying, and Unnerving is how I would illustrate the following movies.

Mon Oct 20, 2014      The Creepy Doll   (2011)

A young women was reunited with her ridiculous amount of doll collection from her childhood. Shit starts to deteriorate real quick. The fact that she had a room full of creepy dolls was unnerving. I didn't recognize any of the actors but the lead actress was convincing as a sociopath.

The Serpent and the Rainbow     (1988)    Bill Pullman
This movie was loosely based on a true story. An Anthropologist is paid by a pharmaceutical  company to visit Haiti in the hopes he can get his hands on a powered drug used to turn people into zombies. He should have stayed his ass home. This was believable for me as I believe in Voodoo. Bill Pullman was believable as a man experiencing horrifying pain.

Tue Oct 21, 2014     Eye See You   (2002)  Sylvester Stallone
This is starring a true thespian Mr. Sylvester Stallone. LOL While his acting skills are questionable I must admit I find him entertaining. He plays a FBI agent that after failing to catch a cop killer serial killer turns to the bottle and climbs in. After a failed suicide his bff takes him to a rehab that only accepts law enforcement officers. The killing begins again. The manner of deaths were horrifying.

Wed Oct 22, 2014     Jug Face    (2013)
A young pregnant girl is chosen to be sacrificed to "the pit" where a beast lives. This beast supposedly protects and heals the village unless it doesn't get it's sacrifice. Then it gets pissed off and begins to count bodies. This one started with a shocker and ended with a shocker. I only recognized Sean Young.

Thur Oct 23, 2014    Evidence of a Haunting  (2011)
Paranormal researchers accept a job to find out what is haunting tunnels beneath a community college. The acting was horrendous. Sorry I can't give details because I'm completely befuddled as to what happened in this film. If you know please tell me.

The Horror Feast Continues

With the exception of Saturday, I've watched one to two horror films per day. While no one film has completely scared me, each film has had scenes that made me squirm, pissed me off and made me yell at the TV.  Here are my recent picks:

Thur Oct 16, 2014      Hellraiser     (1987)
I've seen the demon from Hellraiser on many occasions but never knew the story. It's about an unfaithful wife who finds that her lover is now a zombie that escaped from the underworld and now needs bodies to turn back into a human. All the while demons are tracking him. Of course the stupid unfaithful wife helps him by killing unsuspecting men. With a name like Hellraiser I expected more. I didn't recognize any of the actors.

Fri Oct 17, 2014     Alone in the Dark   (2005)
Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Stephen Dorff
This movie is based on a video game that I never heard of. Christian plays a paranormal detective that along with his girlfriend, played by Tara and ex co-worker played by Stephen investigate demons that were released into the world. From the amount of bullets wasted on trying to kill the demons you get the sense that it was a video game movie. Nothing exciting or unsuspecting in this one.

Sun Oct 19, 2014   Night of the Living Dead   (1968)
I went old school with this pick. Since it was from the 60's I was not expecting to be impressed. Boy ole boy was I wrong. I fell in love with the leading character Ben (Duane Jones).  In all the films I've watched in my lifetime, I've never found a character to be so mesmerizing. He was a total bad ass. He was a problem solver and took control. He walked and spoke with such confidence. The ending fucked my head up. Even though I saw it coming, I had the thought of "no, it wont happen" and then it did. Not cool at all. I was angry and heartbroken for several hours. This was a good one.

Occupant  (2011)
A young man's grandmother dies in a fabulous NYC rent controlled apartment. In order to inherit the existing lease he must confine himself to the apartment for twelve days. There is a weird ass doorman that even in the end of the movie, I didn't know what his role was in the demise of the young man. What the hell was happening? What killed his grandmother? What was in the hole? I hate movies that leave me with so many questions. I thought about for some time and I'm still confused. The ending was very bizarre and I didn't recognize any of the actors.