11th Anniversary Age of Adaline Date September 30, 2015

In this post: All the details on our Age of Adaline date plus anniversary pictures, and chalkboard door art.

Hello dear ones! I know it’s been a good while since my last post. I promise I haven’t forgotten you. I have so much to share with you and a lot of catching up to do. I wanted to skip ahead and share this extra special date. I hope it inspires you. Here’s how we celebrated our 11th anniversary, our Age of Adaline date (based on the movie).

Lover’s silhouette chalkboard art~ I used the silhouette from a picture of Chris and I. You’ll see the picture on the collage poster board I made. It’s in the middle

Anniversary Collage Poster Board~ I printed out black and white pictures of us throughout the years. I glued pieces of old wall paper I found at Goodwill, onto poster board from The Dollar Tree. I put a poem I had written in the middle.

Here is the poem. You may link to this post, but don’t copy it. Thanks!

The Story of Us” by Amber Dover

“Let everyone see, the rhythm and rhyme of you and me. As we grow old, every storm we can weather. Let us never go cold, because we’re better together. Every kiss is a song, of the sweetest pain. The roses and the thorns; we two remain. I love you.”

My first set for our date.

The set after we went antique shopping.

My Vintage Look

I did as many finger curls on my head as I could. I used a peach lipstick. I added a peach belt to a dress I had to give me that 1940’s style. The big necklace Chris bought me the night before from a street vendor, a lady handmade it.

The Agenda

The night before our Adaline date we got in the vintage mood by listening to jazz live at The Loft in down town. I attempted to put victory curls in my hair but it didn’t turn out quite right.

Me reading to the kids when we got back.

Age of Adaline Date (what I got pictures of)

• Antique shopping

The guys and I went antique “window” shopping (meaning we didn’t buy anything at this place).

Messing around…

We did pay to check out the lunchbox museum.

We finished with lunch at Steak n Shake because it always has a vintage feel. Then my parents got Michael so Chris and I could have some romance.

Here’s my anniversary present: a vintage type writer from either the 1930’s or 1940’s. It works too. We got it at a thrift store.

• Read Braille

• Gigi’s cupcakes~ Wedding Cake is an amazing flavor!

• chili dogs and cream soda

• Romantic photos

• Star gazing

We used the star app on my tablet.

• Speak Portuguese ~We looked up “I love you” and I wrote it on the type writer

• Poetry and slow dancing I didn’t get pictures of

Random funny pic of Leeland partying with us.

God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Age of Adaline on Pinterest:

More of our Date Nights:

Date ideas on Pinterest:

 

Minions Movie Night July 31, 2015

Hello dear ones! A couple weeks ago my family and I went to see the Minions movie. This is how we had fun. Also, I’ll review the movie. Please come hang out :).

I drew a minion on our chalkboard door to get everyone excited.

 

I bought a Minions coloring book for a dollar. I also found sugar cookies and fruit snacks that are Minion themed. I found the Minion bead kit at Michael’s Craft Store.

 

Chris and Michael made a Minion bookmark.

 

Michael drew a Minion based on a tutorial.

Here are toilet paper roll Minions.

Now my review:

My family and I really loved the Despicable Me movies. Underneath the craziness they were about family and love. They gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. But Minions was a disappointment. There were way too many innuendos. The plot was flat. The Minions couldn’t fill Gru’s shoes as main characters. They are hilarious for shorts, but in my opinion they can’t carry a whole movie. The best part of the movie for me, was the end…when Gru showed up. In conclusion, although there are spots of funny, the smut and lack of a decent plot and strong characters, ruined it for me. This felt way more adult than childlike.

God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

You can find more ideas here:

Miss Congeniality & Fun with Dick and Jane Date Nights July 2, 2015

Hello dear ones! Chris and I had a couple of awesome movie themed dates recently. Enjoy these original dates: Miss Congeniality and Fun with Dick and Jane. Here’s how it went down.

Date Night Disclaimer: These dates are intended for married couples. You may not like my movie choices based upon your own convictions. If that’s the case, then I encourage you to adapt these ideas for the movies of your choice. Ultimately my goal is to inspire others to have a fun marriage.

Miss Congeniality Date Night

We rented the movie Miss Congeniality. It’s about an agent that goes undercover as a beauty pageant contestant. So I set a table fit for a beauty queen.

First we got in the spirit of things by watching funny pageant videos on youtube. World peace! Just sayin’.

 

I found everything at the Dollar Tree. I have trophies, ribbons, and medals for our contests later. I have a tiara and bouquet of flowers for the winner. I used crepe paper for the banners.

The hubby and I enjoyed a nice dinner. Then we prepared to compete. I’ll admit…the competition was rigged, especially the Evening Gown competition, since my hubby didn’t compete. Ha! I made sure this date was guy friendly. I found a couple of fun things at the Dollar Tree.

“Talent” Competition

Chris was killin’ it on the paddle ball. Once he got the hang of it he was a pro!

I was embarrassingly hilarious as a ribbon twirler. We each chose a song for the other to use. Chris chose an upbeat dance song for me. I know he had to be laughing inside.

Chris won most athletic. He also won Best Kisser, but that’s besides the point. Leeland helped hold the trophy. He’s a pretty good kisser too! 🙂

Then we each tried to play the recorder. I had an advantage since I play the flute, but it was still harder than it looks.

I won most musical.

Interview

I found a site that helps contestants prepare for the interview section. First, Chris and I made up funny platforms. Mine was “Save the snails’ Then we asked each other questions.

Here’s the link for questions: http://thepageantplanet.com/233-practice-pageant-questions/

Evening Gown Competition

My evening gowns competed :). The pink evening gown won!

I won Miss Date Night!

Fun with Dick and Jane Date Night

(This is the movie from 2005 not 1977. I haven’t seen the older one.)

You can watch the preview here:

Fun with Dick and Jane is about a middle class married couple. Dick has a great job and he and the wife prepare to live extravagantly when Dick is promoted. Unfortunately Dick is being set up to take the fall as his company crashes, and the owner gets away with the money. Dick and thousands of others in the company are now competing for jobs. This is actually a comedy :). Dick and Jane go through all kinds of crazy scenarios as they try to find work. I have listed activities that go along with the movie.

First I gave my hubby this invite. The front is a quote from the movie, just in case I freaked you out a bit. The joke is that the couple is so busy that they don’t have time to be together when they are in the mood. They schedule to have sex on Saturday. Again, this date is for married people. Any married couple with kids can understand the quote.

Inside

 

Activities (we only did the first three):

• Learn some Spanish ~ Dick and Jane’s little boy spends so much time with his Spanish nanny, that he speaks in Spanish all the time. This causes a predicament when Dick gets mistaken for an illegal alien. I love that part of the movie.
• Sing “I Believe I Can Fly” as loud as you can~ Dick sings this in the elevator when he believes he’s being promoted.
• Find the best disguises~ When Dick and Jane find themselves on the verge of losing everything despite their honest efforts, they resort to being partners in crime. I do not endorse stealing, but they do have some funny outfits. They get into some crazy situations.
• Play in the sprinkler~ Dick, Jane, and their son become so poor that they bathe in the neighbor’s sprinkler.
• Find a distortion machine and make funny voices~ Dick and Jane steal from a rude business man that did Dick wrong. They act silly with a voice distortion device.
• Walmart Bingo~ Dick doesn’t do so well at being a greeter. You can find this fun game at my favorite dating site: http://www.thedatingdivas.com/just-the-two-of-us/walmart-bingo/
• Have Slushees (make sure to pay!)~ The first thing Dick steals is a Slushee. That is the beginning of his slippery slope into crime.

We watched the movie in our van. Our treats were popcorn, cream sodas, and chocolate.

 

Our disguises 

 

I think we’d make poor thieves, but that’s a good thing :).

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed these ideas and they will inspire you to have your own fun date nights. Do you like themed dates? I’d love to hear about your own dates. Please leave me some comment love.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

More dates on this blog:

Date ideas on my Pinterest:

 

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Movie & Toothless Cookie Pops Review July 21, 2014

Hello dear ones! Michael and I saw How to Train Your Dragon 2, a couple of weeks ago. I made these cookie pops inspired by Fiction Food’s blog.

http://www.fiction-food.com/2014/06/toothless-cookie-pops-for-how-to-train.html

I didn’t use jelly beans or lime tootsie rolls though.  I used mint M&M’s for the eyes and chocolate almond bark.  It would’ve been better for me to have used vanilla almond bark because I had to add an insane amount of black dye to get the right color. Brown plus black dye equals purplish. The dye stained Michael’s tongue and fingers.  Chris said they look like Gollum. Anywho, I tried.

Now, onto the movie. It’s been forever since I’ve done a movie review. Let’s see if I remember how.  How to Train Your Dragon 2 was a great movie in my book. It’s a little intense  for a kid’s movie. I rate it as being more intense than The Lion King, ya know, when Simba see’s his father die. I don’t want to give anything away but there is a wicked twist that’s just wrong. How to Train Your Dragon was never a movie about marshamallow hugs and rainbows in the first place. Still, I didn’t expect the movie to get so intense. I may have teared up a bit.

What I like about the HTTYD movies is how they explore family relationships. In the first movie, we see Hiccup develop a better relationship with his dad. In the second movie, Hiccup meets his mom. My favorite part is when Hiccup’s Mom and Dad get back together. They totally could’ve had Hiccup’s Mom declare her independence and stay in her own little world. Instead she chose to return to her family and that was beautiful. She was willing to love again.

If you have concerns about dating relationships, well Hiccup does share a kiss with Astrid. It’s pretty clear that everyone expects the two to get married. Also, the twin girl, Ruffnut,  has some youthful lust issues. It’s supposed to be funny but it really annoyed me. None of it was a deal breaker for me though. It’s just an opportunity for discussion.

Ultimately, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is about friendship and forgiveness. Sometimes love is hard. Sometimes the people you love the most, hurt you the most. You have a choice. Become bitter or forgive and let love empower you. Hiccup faces several challenges as he journies into manhood. I think he handles them well and overall, is a good role model for boys. Plus, Toothless is just adorable. Enough said, four stars :).

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Noah the Movie: The Facts April 1, 2014

What is Noah, the movie really about? I’ve got three resources to help you sort fact from fiction.

Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Some say this is a balanced view on Noah and others call it liberal. It’s a good read none the less.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/noah

 

 

I usually check Plugged In before I go see a movie. This review will give you all the details on why the movie is PG-13 so you can make an informed decision.

http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/noah-2014.aspx

 

 

Is the Noah movie taken from the gnostic gospel?  This one will really stir you up. Is the creator referred to in Noah actually the gnostic creator, an evil god who hates the world? An article to ponder with lots of info even if you’ve never heard of gnosticism (something early Christians fought hard against).

http://drbrianmattson.com/journal/2014/3/31/sympathy-for-the-devil

 

Whether the director is an atheist writing about a God he doesn’t know or a gnostic glorifying Satan as the loving spiritual god and Yahweh as evil, this movie has brought about a lot of discussion. I also think it brings a challenge for Christians. Do we know our Bible? Are we pointing others to the true and One God who loves the world so much that He died for it (that blows gnosticism to bits)?  Father God makes it clear in His word that He doesn’t enjoy punishing the wicked. God’s justice was met in the Biblical account of Noah but there is also His grace as He saved Noah and his family. The people on earth were so corrupt that there was no redemption left for their souls. The flood gave us a chance to know God, for humanity to start again. Who knows if humanity would’ve lasted much longer the way it was going. I mean…EVERY thought of man was wicked. They probably would’ve killed each other off. Some suggest that bloodlines were even corrupt as humans mingled with fallen angels (hence the Nephilim). A hybrid blood line would have kept God’s promise of a savior from coming to pass. There are interesting takes on the Biblical account.  But we know from God’s word in whole that God loves humanity and wants to redeem us from the curse brought by sin. He is God. We are not. Bottom line. I can only love the one who gave me breath, who gives me all that’s good, and who died to save me.

Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I  have my own feelings about the movie but since I haven’t seen it I can only point you to reviews. I don’t want to spend money on something I won’t enjoy and now that I’ve got gnostic themes in my head that’ll probably make it very hard for me to watch. That’s just me. But I believe with any movie that has Biblical themes we should be cautious. We should know our Bible enough to sort the facts. Our theology should be based on God’s word, not media. With that being said, media can be a tool. You can use it to talk to others about topics that normally wouldn’t be discussed…like hey, Noah! You can let it push you to further study  the Bible.  I don’t believe we should use media as a tool for legalism or a way of bashing others. We can speak the truth in love, yes, the controversial truth can be spoken in love. It’s  how we say it and our motivation for saying it.  You tell the truth so it will bring life and healing to others….so it will save others. But truth does often hurt. Grace helps the rough edges.  We all have a choice when it comes to media and culture. Will we let media drive us, whether it pushes us away or draws us in? Or will we use it as a tool, an opportunity?

The missionary who baptized me had a wonderful gift. He could take any conversation, any topic, and use it to talk about God. What a wise skill that is.  Christ is my best friend and God’s truth & love is at the core of everything that matters. Jesus is life. Less of me and more of Him. My opinions, my cultural ideas, my standards for media etc… matter little. What matters is God’s grace and truth. I pray that this post reflects Him.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Media Saturday: The Lone Ranger July 13, 2013

Hello dear ones! Today I’ll be reviewing the new movie called The Lone Ranger, not to be confused with the old t.v. series.

By Pleasure Island Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

What can I say? I regret seeing this movie and I regret taking Michael. The whole time we were telling him to turn his head every other minute. There will be spoilers so be aware. I wish I had read a review first though because many are saying this movie bombed and we could’ve saved our wallet and our minds.

The positive: Ummmm….the actors look good for the parts. The Lone Ranger shows how greed can destroy. There’s a message that progress isn’t as important as people. The Lone Ranger himself has decent morals. We see Tonto’s back story and why he acts crazy. Native Americans are shown more realistically. Tonto is the only bad stero type but we find out later why he acts the way he does (feeding a dead crow on his hat, crumbs etc).

The negative: Violence is an understatement. You see Native Americans and U.S. soldiers killed. One of the villains eats a man’s heart. The villain made the movie feel like a horror flick to me….think Hannibal (which I haven’t seen but I’ve heard about). There are so many racial stereo types it’s not funny and maybe some were true to the times but still they went too far with it. The sexual innuendos were one too many and there are several ladies “of the night” shown. I guess I thought this would be a kid’s movie since it’s Disney. I was excited that Michael would learn who Tonto was and why I go around saying “kimosabi”. But this movie was the furthest from a kid’s movie.

Honestly, the movie should’ve been called “Tonto”. The Lone Ranger had a good heart but he was pretty wimpy most of the time. The way he treated Tonto wasn’t nice at all. There’s some slapstick humor thrown in which didn’t make sense with an action movie. I think that’s a big reason The Lone Ranger missed the mark. One minute it’s a horror flick with a cannibal villain. The next people are being hit in the head with rocks (including the heroine which completely took away any sense of romance for me) and you have a horse that seems to be able to fly. So maybe some of the humor was aimed at the old tv series but if they were going in that direction then they should’ve left out all the smut that made it a very adult movie.

The whore house is seen as something normal. It’s not shown as this awful place for women (like in Les Mis’). It’s shown as being humorous and the madam (female pimp) comes to the rescue at the end while a Calvary officer feels on her fake leg which is a gun.

At the beginning of the movie, we see an elderly Tonto as a live mannequin at a carnival. He tells this little boy dressed as a cowboy about the Lone Ranger. That right there gave the movie a kiddie feeling. Come on son, let’s learn about cowboys and Indians…oh wait…and whores and cannibals. It’ll be fun! *Rolling eyes* At the end of the movie, the kid puts on his mask and seems to really admire The Lone Ranger. Honestly, I have no clue what he found admirable. So the Lone Ranger did a few tricks at the end but for most of the time he was a goofy wimp. The kid should’ve shook Tonto’s hand and the Lone Ranger should’ve been the side kick. Because he was not the strongest character.

I loved Man of Steel. It had a hero kids could look up to and Super Man  just felt like a hero. But the Lone Ranger was too confusing. It’s like the writers ate a comedy sandwich, drank a horror milkshake, and had some action fries…then threw it all up and called it a movie. Sorry but that’s what I got. And that’s how I felt when we left…like I had been vomited on. So I learned my lesson. I will be reading reviews before we go to movies and I won’t assume a Disney flick is safe.  Even as an adult movie…it’s just a mess.

According to my hubby who saw the t.v. series this movie is nothing like it.  The few moral messages were lost in the smut. This movie could’ve been great but it really missed the mark.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Weekend Special: Creative Parenting, Man of Steel, & Virtual Oceans June 30, 2013

In this post: A weekend combo of Virtual Friday, Media Saturday, & My Family Rocks! Sunday. Come visit virtual oceans with me as a mermaid in Second Life. I’ll review the new movie Man of Steel. Also, Lisa Whelchel’s book “Creative Correction” and how it’s helping us.

Hello dear ones! I hope you are well. I know my posts have been few lately. I ask for your prayers. Many of you know that I found out I don’t have Ehlers Danlos (what my Daddy had). I have found out that something I do have, Endometriosis, can actually cause a lot of the symptoms I’m experiencing. The more it grows the worse I feel and mine can’t be lasered out because of where it is.

I don’t like or trust most main stream meds. So I’ve started taking a natural progesterone cream that’s supposed to help shrink things. I can tell it’s doing something because of my fake pregnancy symptoms. It’s worth it to shrink the endo. though. I’m just even more fatigued than usual. I’m just having a hard time putting one foot in front of the other. So please keep me in your prayers and also about the inflammation in my joints (mainly my fingers). That’s been particularly bothersome lately and I hate feeling limited & weak (a pride thing I guess).

Now moving on, below is a pic of my yard in Second Life. My avatar got a new hairdo and clothes. But we will get back to Second Life later. First, I want to share this awesome devotional I’m doing.

Some of you may remember Lisa Whelchel from “The Facts of Life”.  Anywho, she’s now a homeschool mom and housewife. She wrote this great devotional called “Creative Correction”. I’ve been writing a lot about parenting lately. Michael is in a new stage which I’ve found seems to happen at age seven. So it’s not unusual that we are having new challenges with him and because of that our parenting methods have to change with the stage. I am all about heart based parenting. I don’t want my kiddo to look good on the outside but be a mess inside. I want to help him develop character by pointing him to Christ. That’s harder than it seems because I have my own failings and often I feel I am exhibit A of how not to act. I’m often asking for Michael’s forgiveness. If Michael sees anything in my life of value I guess it’ll be that God is merciful to me and that I do have a repentant heart. I am trying.

So I’m on this journey to learn how the Heavenly Father parents and how that translates to human parenting cause obviously I’m not God and I’m not allowed to make some of the parenting choices he makes. The whole “I brought you into this world so I can take you out” thing only applies to God lol. And I’m very thankful that stoning is not permitted under the new covenant. Though the New Covenant story of Ananias and Sapphira brings chills to me.

“Creative Correction” is a great resource for this adventure I’m on. Lisa points to God’s word and helps us see how the Heavenly Father parents. She also gives several tools parents can use ranging from scripture to activities and parables. The pictures below show an object lesson from the book.

You need several big stones (or in our case pecans), rice, and a jar.

First, Michael filled the jar with rice and tried to fit the pecans on top. He wasn’t able to fit all of the pecans.

Then he filled the jar with pecans first and they all fit. He was able to pour most of the rice. The lesson is that when we put the big things first (like spending time with Jesus, school work, and chores), we are able to fit the little things in too (like video games and t.v. etc). But if we put all our time into the little things that don’t matter much we usually don’t have time to finish the important things. Also it’s a message to put God first and how he helps us order our day. This can also be an object lesson for money and spending.

These object lessons and parables are so much easier than harping on issues over and over again. When Michael is being negative I just say “look for the pony, son“. That comes from the story of the optimist and his brother the pessimist. The pessimist gets toys for his birthday and sits around and complains about having to read instructions and get batteries. The optimist gets horse poo and dances around because he knows with all that poo a pony has to be around somewhere.

Lisa lists several scriptures that I haven’t thought to use before. I can vouch that scripture really works. Slowly but surely I’m seeing how the repentance corner is affecting Michael. He used to say “I can’t change” all the time. Now he’s been saying “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13 KJV). It is a slow process but focusing on the inward man takes time. It’s all about looking at the big picture…not just wanting outward obedience in the moment.    I am learning a lot about how God parents me as well. I find I have some of the same struggles that Michael does but on a deeper level.

Wondering what the repentance corner is? Read this post: https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/my-family-rocks-sunday-redneck-drive-in-repentance-corner-summer-fashion/

Anywho, if you get a chance I encourage you to check out Lisa’s book. It comes with video sessions as well but I didn’t buy them.

• Media review for Man of Steel

(By Eva Rinaldi  Uploaded by MyCanon (Man Of Steel Cast) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons )

The fellas and I saw “Man of Steel” for Father’s Day. My first impression is “amazing! Stinkin’ awesome!” But the adrenaline rush is gone and now I can give a somewhat decent review.

Positives: Super Man has great character. He makes a hard choice in the end that has some long time fans disappointed but I feel he had no choice. I won’t spoil it for you.  Clark Kent’s adoptive parents are very loving and his Dad makes a great sacrifice for his son. There’s also this wonderful message about how to deal with bullying and being a bigger man. There is nothing sexual in the movie unless you count a guy making inappropriate remarks to a waitress (which Super Man defends the lady). Super Man isn’t perfect and has weaknesses so he is not godlike (something that I worried about).  Lois Lane and Clark Kent both make hard decisions and side with their morals over their fears and pressure from others. So when it comes down to it, Super Man puts all the other super heroes to shame when it comes to integrity and goodness. I would much rather my son emulate Super Man than Iron Man or Spider Man.

On that note, if you’re one of my readers then you know I believe media can be used as a teaching tool. I believe parents should talk to their kids about what they watch and listen to. We can shape the messages they receive subconsciously from media. So though I think Super Man is a better hero I want my son to ultimately try to be Christ-like. So we did have a talk about how Jesus is real and He is like the biggest super hero because He is God and He is perfect. Michael and I talked about the differences between Super Man and Jesus.

Negatives: The action scenes are super intense and in my opinion too intense for most kids (especially littles). My son is probably too used to action scenes (from Avengers and Lord of the Rings etc). So it didn’t bother him at all. When he was younger we used to watch the old Star Trek series as a family. Man of Steel was one big adrenaline rush and from the previews/commercials to the action scenes it was all about testosterone. LOL It’s definitely a man’s movie though obviously women can enjoy it as well. The villain is very dark and doesn’t care if he wipes out the human race. So there is violence and lots of it. Also there are probably a couple of curse words sprinkled here and there. I honestly can’t remember any of them but you can check out pluggedin.com and read a detailed review.

In conclusion, Man of Steel is a great movie but I’d keep the littles home until they are mature enough to handle the intensity and the thematic elements (like genocide). Upper elementary and middle schoolers should be fine and I’d recommend this movie above the other action movies this Summer.

• Mermaid exploration in the virtual ocean of Second Life

 So I decided to become a mermaid and show you some great underwater worlds in Second Life. It was extremely difficult to find a modest mermaid outfit. The one I’m (my avatar lol) wearing actually doesn’t have a tail. It just has pants so I used a different tail. The sand skirt and the scaly top is very modest. So the combo works for a modest mermaid. Now I can’t guarantee that these sims will always be family friendly and that everyone will dress modest. Heck…even The Little Mermaid isn’t modest. But for the most part I ran into few merpeople and the ocean bed was pretty secluded.

Here’s my hat with little baby mermaids and sea shells. I’ve got a scaly tattoo on my face. Most little girls like to pretend to be mermaids in the pool and this grown up little girl is no different ;).

You can see the great seahorse necklace if you click on the pic below.

• Cave Rua Water Gardens

Visit Rua (160, 202, 11)

This is a small place to swim but there’s a good bit of plant life and some interesting statues.

• Safe Water Foundation: Mermaids of Phantasien

Visit Mermaids of Phantasien (122, 126, 3)

Now this is a great place to swim but you will probably run into more merpeople here. That can be a good thing if you’re looking to reach out to others but if you’re trying to avoid seeing immodest dress and role play that involves Greek/Roman mythology then it’s best to proceed with caution. There is a calendar with a list of events so you can choose the best time to explore.

The Safe Water Foundation supports merpeople and underwater life in Second Life. I’m not sure what they are safe from though….virtual pirates? The Phantasien area has a neat underwater play area. There’s lots to explore here.

Like ruins and shipwrecks…

Here’s a nifty castle that someone lives in. You have to message them to get a tour. It has an octopus garden by it.

The colors and the realistic sea life are just breath taking.

Bernie’s Hideaway is a cute underwater club. You can sit at the table and talk with merfriends…or in my case, fish.

You can dance in the big blue. The dances are made especially for mermaids and were very fun. You may wonder how virtual dancing can be fun…well it’s never been hard for me to put myself in a character’s place….whether I’m reading a book, watching a movie, acting in a play, playing video games, or exploring virtual worlds. You should ask my Hubby how seriously I take Nancy Drew games. I MUST solve the mystery! Role players won’t find it hard to pretend.

I love this pic. I just want to start singing Disney’s The Little Mermaid. “Up where they walk…up where they run…” Yes Mom, I still pretend to be Ariel.

Part of your world!!!!!!!!!!

Anywho, I’m done ;P. So I hope to have more underwater worlds to show you next time and I’ve found more educational places to visit. I only get on Second Life a couple of times a month. I hope no one’s shocked. I don’t spend all my time in the virtual world. I have school to teach and a house to clean… a bunch of crazy animals to take care of (I mean the cat and such…not Chris and Michael he he he 😛 jk honey….testing to see if you actually read my blog lol.)

So maybe I’ll get the time to do massive exploration one day. 

I hope the reviews etc have helped or entertained. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

PS: I love getting sweet comments. It means so much to me. If you have resources that you want to share or just want to say hi and chat…please drop me a comment. 🙂

January 12, 2013

I had thought of doing a media review of The Hobbit movie but “A Homeschool Mom” already did a good one so I thought I’d reblog. Now, I’ve never read the Hobbit but I am a big fan of the LOTR movies. We did allow Michael to see the Hobbit and he’s also seen the LOTR minus a few scenes we skipped through. I feel like the LOTR is more adult than The Hobbit. We watched the making of the LOTR and that took away any Orc fear Michael had. I guess it really is a case by case thing. Some of my friend’s kids would freak out if they saw an orc. Gollum was the funniest in the Hobbit and we were all excited about him. Michael does a great impression of Gollum. The Necromancer was the only scary part for me…which I’m assuming he’s Sauron before he becomes the eye. We really like dragons around here so I don’t think the dragon can be scary to any of us. Anywho, I said I wouldn’t do a review lol but we loved the movie and it was a whole new adventure with a bit of familiarity from LOTR. This is coming from a big Lord of the Rings movie fan. I have a copy of Frodo’s sword, “Sting”. Michael pointed it out in The Hobbit….”Mommy, that’s your sword!” What I really love about these movies is the fact that there is no foul language and no sexual stuff…..that’s becoming rare for even cartoons these days :(. Well, God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

A Homeschool Mom

Tonight, the man and I went to see The Hobbit, Part I with my sister-in-law.

We thought the movie was fantastic. It was well made and very entertaining, so much so that we were remarkably surprised at how fast three hours flew.

The characters were charming and well-developed, the scenery breathtaking, and the story interesting.

It didn’t follow the book exactly and there were a few minor inconsistencies between this movie and the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, but nothing that affected the plot.

Our oldest daughter, “T”, has recently finished reading this series as part of her homeschooling. She was quite bothered when we announced that she would not be allowed to watch the movies yet. (In our house we read the books before we ever watch the movies. Therefore she thought she would be allowed to watch, having read the books.)

I stick with our earlier decision…

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Media Saturday: The Odd Life of Timothy Green & Happy Anniversary Star Trek! September 8, 2012

Hello friends and welcome to Media Saturday! 🙂 First off, happy anniversary Star Trek! Live long and prosper! We never watched the newer series but the whole family enjoyed the original series. My Dad first introduced me to Captain Kirk. Mom you know it’s coming lol. Here’s a pic from a fall festival. Michael was Captain Kirk, Mom was Spock, and I was a random Vulcan or Romulan.

Mom was staying with us at the time and we would all sit and sing the theme song when it came on. Enjoy the vid 🙂

Secondly, The Odd Life of Timothy Green is such a gem! I loved this movie and it almost brought me to tears. It was one of the most family friendly movies I’ve seen in awhile. The movie is a beautiful story of this childless couple who are told they will never have children. Then a miracle happens when a boy grows out of their garden and they get a chance to be parents. They learn many things about parenting from “Timothy”. One of my favorite scenes is when the social worker asks them what they would do differently with parenting and they say “Make better mistakes.”  The couple is telling the social worker about their experiences with parenting (with Timothy). This movie is very pro-adoption. It’s beautiful. For a more detailed review go to:

http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/odd-life-of-timothy-green.aspx

Plugged In doesn’t leave out details. Though a movie may have one or two questionable parts (most do- it would be easy to pick apart any movie), Plugged In says the most during their summaries.

“It’s a double bonus that a film so much about family makes it easy for the whole family to watch together. Timothy Green is almost completely devoid of problematic content, and it’s a rare circumstance for a wide-release, live-action film to be this clean, this instructive and this enjoyable.”

~ Plugged In

Michael enjoyed the movie and I believe Timothy is a good role model. Young children won’t appreciate this movie so much. They will probably just think it’s kewl that Timothy has leaves growing on his legs.

Here’s the Trailer

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

PS: You may have noticed that I’ve removed most of my pictures from previous posts unless they were taken by me. I’m really trying to be careful with copyright. I don’t want to accidentally mess up, so some of my posts won’t have pictures. Sorry friends.

Media Saturday: Ice Age 4: Continental Drift August 18, 2012

Hello friends and welcome to Media Saturday. Today let’s have a look at Ice Age 4: Continental Drift. Usually after the third in an animated series I quit watching. The Land Before Time movies drove me crazy. But it was not this way with Ice Age.  Sure Scrat isn’t quite as funny now as he was the first time. But he still brings a smile to my face.

(Pic removed in case of copyright issues)

I wouldn’t give this movie five stars….probably 3.5. It was satisfactory and a good movie to take my kiddo too. Ice Age 4 tells the story of how the continents became what they are. Those who follow this blog, know I don’t believe in evolution. I believe the Ice Age movies make fun of evolution rather than support it. That’s just my opinion.

In this part of the tale, Manny the mammoth butts heads with his teenage daughter Peaches as she deals with teenage drama.  Meanwhile, Sid the sloth gets a visit from his not so loving family. It turns out they only came to drop off Granny Sloth. In the midst of this, the continents are breaking apart and Manny, Sid, Granny, and Diego (the Saber) float away on an iceberg.  Manny, now torn apart from his family is determined to get to them. It’s a long and dangerous trip. The gang run into pirates led by a crazy monkey.  Diego meets a female saber in the pirate crew and sparks fly. And throughout the movie we see Scrat on his quest to find his beloved acorn.

(Pic removed in case of copyright issues)
There are a few innuendos sprinkled here and there. Most likely they will go over any kid’s head. Sid’s family treats him and Granny Sloth pretty bad. But we learn that family comes in many forms and not always blood-related. We also see that every one has purpose…even if you’re past you’re prime or just plain clumsy.

My main concern was with the short film before the movie that featured Maggie Simpson. I think it was called the longest daycare. I don’t care for the Simpsons and the lack of morals the cartoon shows. The short film was a bit disturbing and definitely geared toward the adults. Sensitive kiddos won’t like all the butterfly smashing. The short did have a good ending at least.

Anywho, the feature film itself is worth the watch and will delight the kiddos.

God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover