Monday, November 28, 2016

Monday Musings about Thanksgiving, Anne of Green Gables, & Running

Happy Monday, everyone! I'm currently avoiding my housework, my bullet journal's To Do list, and savoring the peace and quiet of naptime, so I decided that I'd pop in for a moment about the random thoughts swirling around in my mind.




We had a lovely Thanksgiving break in Kansas. We stayed with my family and played games (I won a game of Catan!!! This rarely happens), ate much delicious food, and made some great memories laughing together, playing with Peter, and just talking about life.
Peter had some good playtime
with his Grandma while I got
to catch up on blogging!
It was a wonderful visit, and I was so excited that the trees in their neighborhood had turned orange (as opposed to many of the trees at my apartment complex).

On Thanksgiving, we watched the Anne of Green Gables movie on PBS. I really loved how they portrayed Anne. I liked Marilla. I thought they captured the spirit of Anne well, and I think it's really cool that the movie showed flashbacks of her life prior to Green Gables. BUT, I have some problems with the movie. First of all, Gilbert. I wasn't looking for another Jonathan Crombie (may he rest in peace), and I think the actor they had for Gil could do a really good job-except that he was so young. Way, way too young. Part of the story is that Gilbert is older than Anne. In this movie, the actor looked like he could be the same age as Anne or even a little younger. Nope nope nope. Another thing I didn't like about the movie-though it's more of a personal preference thing, because I grew up reading and re-reading the book and love the story as it was written-is that it seemed as if the scriptwriters were trying to Hallmarkify the story of Anne of Green Gables into a cute, heartwarming little flick to fit right in with the theme of Thanksgiving. People who aren't very familiar with the story could probably really enjoy this movie as a nice little entry into L.M. Montgomery's story, but it just satisfy me. Plus, the whole movie felt very, very rushed.

It's Advent! Happy New Liturgical Year! While I managed to pull out the Jesse Tree before our Thanksgiving trip, I still need to get out the Nativity scene and Advent wreath. I still need to make my New Year's Resolutions. I still need to do a bajillion other things. And I should probably be doing those now, but I'm blogging instead. (common excuse that I like to use)

Today, I began the second week of the Couch to 5K program, and I love it! I've never been a runner or really enjoyed the idea of intentionally exercising unless it involved dancing. But, over the course of the past several months, as I saw or heard people like Patty, Amanda, and a good friend of mine all talk about running, I decided that it would be fun to learn how to run. I've always given myself plenty excuses to not run, such as "Peter is still really clingy," "I don't have shoes to run in," and "I don't have a good place outdoors to go running." But, I decided that enough was enough. So, even though it's not the same as running on a trail somewhere, I've been doing the Couch to 5K program by running in place in my living room during Peter's naptime. Even if it's not super-legit, hopefully this process will help me eventually achieve my goal of actually running a 5K!

Well, I should probably scurry off to my To Do list now. I hope you have a great day! 

5 comments:

  1. Bummer about the Anne movie-- I haven't seen it yet but I bet I'll agree about Gil!!

    Glad you had a great holiday!! :D

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  2. I'd be interested to see the new Anne Shirley film!

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  3. That is impressive and inspiring! Good luck and keep us tuned in on your progress with Couch to 5K!

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  4. So many thoughts. I did couch to 5 k after having Rebecca. It was a great step into working out again. Way to go! Try to do an actual 5 k so that you have something to look forward to! And, I know you are a reader. Try reading Born to Run. I've had many people tell me it will make you into a runner; I read it with that hope in mind. Didn't work for me - but it was a fascinating read.

    Also, Anne of Green Gables. I loved Martin Sheen as Matthew. I agree it was all too rushed, but I guess I am used to it being a mini series. I also enjoyed the flashbacks, hard as they were to watch. I really wish Diana had black hair. And yes to the Gilbert issue. He was almost a non character in the movie. Overall, I enjoyed Anne being a little younger. It somehow made her sweeter to me.

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  5. I watched Anne of Green Gables too! Honestly, I was not a fan. The casting of Gilbert was AWFUL. I think it's just one of those movies that will never be as good as the original.

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