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.

Horror Films, Both Old and New

I’ve been getting my Horror Film Challenge on.  In seven movies over four days I’ve had a smorgasbord of werewolves, mutated humans, the infamous Michael Myers, and creatures from beyond. So far I’ve been entertained by my selections.

Sun Oct 12, 2014:    Werewolf: The Beast Among Us (2012)

Werewolf Hunters trying to collect a bounty on a beast that has been killing villagers from the 19^th century village.  While I didn’t recognize any of the actors, the main character was so fucking sexy and the guy that played the vampire was definitely eye candy.  According to IMDb their names are Ed Quinn and Adam. I was pleasantly surprised to see  Nia Peeples appear on the screen. She was a main character, not just a guest appearance. I enjoyed from beginning to end.

Side Sho (2007)

A carnival sideshow terrorizes and kills a vacationing family. Although it started slowing, the killing quickly picked up. The killing scenes were not what I was expecting, which made me look forward to the next scene. It continued to score points until the end. The ending was predictable. I didn’t recognize any of the actors, which didn’t matter. I give it an A-. I

Mon Oct 13, 2014:    Tentacles (1977)

A giant octopus preys on people living and visiting a California Seaside Resort. I didn’t expect to recognize any of the actors as the film was from the 70’s and I didn’t. This shit was wack. They lost me from the very beginning when the first victim was a baby. Really? The shock factor failed. It was so garbage that I didn’t realize it finished.

            Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)

Jamie Lee Curtis, LL Cool J

This was the 20 year anniversary film of the original Halloween, which introduced us to one of the scariest murders in horror films, Michael Myers. Mr. Myers use of the butcher knife without a doubt puts fear in my heart. I picked this one because it had Jamie Lee and was the 20 year anniversary.  I was happy to see L.L. He has come a long way in his acting career. It could have had more killing. Overall is was mediocre.  

            The Thing (1982)

             Kurt Russell, Keith David,

This was a remake of the 50’s classic about an alien stalking and killing scientists trapped in Antarctica. I like films where the people are trapped in odd places, not just the typical woods. I was pleased with how the alien made its way from scientists to scientists. The ending was a snore. Kurt Russell’s character was named R.J. MacReady.  A cool name which matched a cool character. Kurt had it going on big time. It was tolerable.

Tue Oct 14, 2014:      Leviathan (1989)

             Peter Weller, Ernie Hudson, Hector Elizondo

Underwater miners, days from returning to the surface unleash a genetic mutation found on a Soviet wreck. It had a lot of actors I recognized. The lead actor was RoboCop, which is one of my favorite Sci Fi films. It had the legendary Hector Elizondo and Ernie Hudson from the Ghostbusters. Another one of my favorite Sci Fi films. The film was eerily similar to The Thing.  Except for the ending, Leviathan’s ending was way better.

Wed Oct 15, 2014:    Tales from the Dark Side:The Movie (1990)

            Christian Slater, Debbie Harry, Rae Dawn Chong, Steve Buscemi

Three different tales by great horror storytellers. Stephen King, Arthur Conan Doyle and     Michael McDowall. I must admit I only recognized Stephen King’s name. One of the main  characters was the music icon Debbie Harry aka Blondie. She played a sociopath very well. It kept my interest because it was three short stories. It featured the devil, a killer mummy and a scary ass black cat.  Two thumps up on this film.

                                                                                                                          

Oct. Challenge: Horror Movie Challenge

Having spent the first part of October with a cold that kicked my ass and working on my current DIY, I couldn't decide on an October challenge. Then I noticed on instagram that my friend was doing the Horror Movie Challenge, which is to watch one horror movie per day for the entire month. I decided that in the spirit of Halloween, this would be the perfect challenge for October. What makes this a challenge for me is that I avoid horror films like the plague. Most of the time their predictable and corny. Also usually gross, which I hate. I rarely get scared. Now there are some horror movies that I bookmarked that I feel may scare me. I know I'm behind but I will be able to catch up. Today I watched 3 movies. Here is a quick synopsis.

Constantine (2005), starring Keanu Reeves and Rachel Weisz

I picked this movie because I'm a fan of Angels vs Demons and it was starring Keanu Reeves. The special effects were pretty impressive. However I just can't get scared watching a movie with Keanu. I also am a fan of The Mummy movies, so I was glad to see Rachel. 

Tremors (1990) Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward

I'm a fan of both Kevin and Fred. I think that I have seen bits and pieces but never the whole movie. Gigantic worm like carnivores living under the desert that feeds on humans. This was your typical 90's movies. Cheesy and predictable. Not scared, on to the next one. 

Arachnid (2001) Chris Potter

Chris Potter was the only actor I recognized. A mutant spider preys on scientists marooned on a tropical island. Better than I expected but still not scared.

I'm saving the ones that I think will scare me for the weekends to watch with my hubby.  I plan to watch them in the dark. That is scary in itself for me because I do not like the dark. Off I go to bookmark more movies. 

Fucking Sick & Scared Again

I woke up yesterday with a cold that came from my hubby. Sneezing, nasal drip, eyes itching, running nose and upset stomach. I felt like cramp and slept all day. Today I woke up feeling better ready to figure out what my October challenge was going to be however when I picked up my puppy baby from the groomer she noticed a ball sized lump in the back of his right ear. She used the word tumor which fucked my whole head up. I started to freak out. My nerves got bad and I felt like crying. As soon as my hubby got home I broke down. It didn't help my emotions that earlier this week both my babies were attacked by a large dog. Thank goodness they were not hurt but to now find a large lump on my baby is freaking me out. In addition to all that my hubby worked the overnight shift which fucked my whole sleeping habit along with being sick. Just a fucking mess. We slept from 10:30am to 6:00pm. Once I was awake it was time for dinner. I was able to get him a vet appointment for tomorrow and until then I will try my best to not obess about it. I can't help it, my love is enaromous for my baby. I can't help but think about the lump and not give my challenge any thought whats so ever. I just pray that all is well. Until tomorrow, good night. 

End of September Challenge

My September challenge was to explore Richmond. I picked four places that I've been wanting to visit for a long time, however I was only able to visit two. I thought long and hard about if I should share the reason why I was not able to complete my challenge. Yes, yes I will share as in the past I've been vague about not completing my challenges. On September 9, I found out I was pregnant. Most women get excited I get frightened. I've had three previous miscarriages, with my most recent one in June. This time was no different. I felt week and sick and as in the past, I miscarried again. On top of all that I suffer from depression. That's a demon all on to itself. I spent the entire month of September sick and depressed. The pain level was excruciating. All that I could do was take pain pills and sleep. I definetly didn't have the energy to leave the house. I'm glad that I was able to go to two places and I had a good time. I will visit the other two places on my list, don't know when, but I will get to it. I do not know what my October challenge is going to be. I do know that I have to review my past challenges and get to catching up. Off I go to check my list and see what will happen in October. 

The Poe Museum

If you look closely you can see two black cats chilling in the grass.

When I entered The Poe Museum I did not expect the first room to be the gift shop. Once you pay the low price of $6, you are handed a lamented self guided tour sheet. You are not allowed to take pictures in any of the rooms, only in the garden out back. I took some video. Immediately to your left is a tiny room with 1800 style portraits of Edgar and his family. There are no other rooms in that building. You then head out back to the garden. There was nothing special about the garden, until a black cat crept out of nowhere. I was thinking to myself is this a joke. Then to my surprise another black cat appeared. I was alone and I kept looking around as if I expected someone to come out and explain why there was two black cats. Very creepy, considering the museum I was visiting. They were friendly and followed me around as I toured the garden. The museum is divided into three buildings and I explored every one of them. I hate to say there was not one single item that I connected with. Some of the items belonged to him, some were from where he worked with no proof that he even used them. The most interesting part of the tour was the guest appearance of the cats. I asked the gift shop clerk about them and she told me their mom was a stray who abandoned them. They kept the two black ones, which were boys and another co-worker took home the girl. I'm happy that I finally made the visit however I will not be going back. Oh yeah, by the way I've never read a Edgar Allan Poe short story or poem. I will read The Raven sometime soon. Now off to my next stop.