Bingo! Tag'em and Bag'em! aka the entertainment report

I know it's Tuesday (actually, it's Monday as I'm writing this), but I don't have the energy to think up an entire post at the moment, and I am so far behind on the basic life tasks (laundry, replacing my lost driver's license, etc etc). So I'm doing a list. Maybe it will turn out to be seven things but it might not.

➧ Status report from the convoluted depths of my brain: one of the most difficult things for me to manage is the balance between routines and change-ups. If I have to do the same thing day after day, I go nuts. Not kidding-- routine makes me wiggy and depressed. But if I change things up and I'm out of my comfort zone for too long-- say we have house guests for more than 4-5 days or the Christmas decorations are still up on January 8th-- I go a different kind of nuts. It's like my brain starts shorting out. I can't get anything done because things have been abnormal for too long. So, definitely have to get the decorations put away before poor Dean has to peel me off the ceiling.

➧ We were fans of the original Transformer movie-- the crazy parents, the neurotic kid, the military guys-- and we have a dozen lines from it that have entered our family lingo. Left cheek! Left cheek! and Shut up, Grandma! and Sam's happy time and the chihuahua with the bandaged foot who wears a jeweled collar (it's his bling!). Judy, Sam's mom, is possibly my favorite cinematic character ever. We re-watch it at least once a year.

➧ So we had high hopes for Bumblebee, especially since it is getting such great reviews. But don't bother. Like all the subsequent Transformers movies, it was disappointing. I might have liked it better if I hadn't gone in with high hopes. (It did, admittedly, have some good moments.)

➧ Aquaman was also thoroughly average, but I wasn't expecting much from it so it didn't bother me as much. Typical superhero origin story. It had a few good moments (like the edible roses) but was otherwise just a decent way to pass 2 1/2 hours on a rainy day. (because in case I haven't told you often enough, it rained every. single. day. we were in Florida.)

➧ I don't usually read suspense or horror novels, because I like to sleep and I can't sleep after reading that stuff (or watching the movies, either). So I wasn't sure how I was going to do with The Marsh King's Daughter, which was our book club book for this month. A woman who was responsible for putting her psychopath father behind bars years earlier goes out to hunt him down when he escapes from prison. I will admit that I avoided reading it right before bed, but it ended up being a really good story. It has some seriously dark moments, but it also has some redeeming moments, and it makes sense, which counts for a lot. If you like that stuff, recommended. It has not, however, convinced me to read any more suspense/horror novels. One every twenty years or so is plenty.

So maybe once the wrapping paper is back in the store room I will be able to write something interesting again. Hope your new year is off to a good start.