Let The Joyous News Be Spread: December

 The last month of the year has finally come! The Last challenge that I have to get done! Let me tell you this whole year has been totally nuts and I am so happy that I am almost done with all of it! Not that that year hasn't been fun, it has, but it's been very stressful trying to get everything that I needed to get completed done. I am very thankful for everyone who has helped me to get to the end of the year and able to finish all of the challenges that I have tried to complete in the last few years. However, it's been a wonderful burden that I am ready to change up a bit. So, let's get started with the last challenge of 2022.

December 28th was National Card Playing Day. So, I did a little cheat with the movie this year. I ended up choosing a move that is based off of a board game. I chose to watch the movie Clue.

Based off of the very popular board game, Clue is very much a cult classis that has done nothing but grown in popularity over the years. The movie starts out with several guests arriving at a mansion but they are all given the different names to go by for the evening. In a crazy turn of events the person who invited them has been murdered, followed by the cook, house cleaner, and some other attempts of murders that happen over the next few hours. The house holds secrets of it's own. The survivors are forced to go through the house and find clues to see who murdered all of these people, and with what weapon, to catch the culprit, and have them arrested before they get away. 

I will say, I totally understand why people love this movie so much. It's witty, silly, nonsensical, and just insane to watch the whole way though. The cast is amazing, and the best part is that this film really was a mystery in that of it's self. Apparently, when the movie was first released there were three different endings. There were three different characters that could have done the murder. Since there were that many endings, they were released separately. So, you could be in one city and have one ending that one that was released somewhere else. I don't know of many movies that would even consider doing this but I am sure it was a lot of confusion, and arguments, that happened because of this. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when people found out that there was more than one ended and then trying to see the film somewhere else to figure out the other endings. 

So, for National Card Playing Day I was going to play like Solitaire the make this work. I am usually so insanely busy during December that I can't hardly add anything to by plate. So, I really going to try very hard to make it very easy on myself. However, things ended up working out much better than I could have thought. 

So, this was something that ended up happening kind of last minute, but we had a impromptu game night on the 28th. So, I didn't have to make anything easy for me, I just had to go to Jeannie's house and play games. The game we ended up playing was one called Ransom Notes. It's where you are given a crazy prompt and then you have to use all of the million words to makes and answer. It's like Apples to Apples but a little bit harder. I will say that this is not my favorite game to play in the whole world, but it's still very fun to play. I didn't like it because I am not super fast at coming up with witty sentences with the words that we are given. I can't make stuff up like that. I really wish I was better at that but I am not. Everyone else was very good at this game. It's one of their favorites and will for sure be added to the rotation of what we will be playing for future game nights. 

With this, I finally have finished the normal yearly challenges that I have made for myself this year! I can't believe how fun, and totally stressful, this who year as been! I am thankful for all of the people who have helped me to make these challenges happen. I am so happy that I was able to complete all of these this year and I can't wait to see what is going to come around the corner. 

  

Follow The Yellow Brick Road: December

 We finally made it to the very last Discovery of Knoxville post! This post if going to be slightly different because we are not really going to be talking about a certain, we will be talking about one person but we will get there. We will be talking about the filming of the movie happened in Knoxville. 

Following Vic Edwards down memory lane. Growing up in Knoxville and making his was to California to become a movie star. He confronts his fear of the future, the regrets of the past, and what he needs to change to figure out what he wants out of the rest of his life.

When I found out a few years ago the a movie was going to be filmed in Knoxville I thought that it was just a few scenes, and nothing more. However, Knoxville was really a star in the film as well. In almost every scene of this movie I can tell you where it was filmed. I can say I walking down the street, through the halls, or sat in the seats in the buildings the we see in the story. I know Knoxville has been used a place to film before but not in the way, and not to some of my most favorite places in the whole world.

 While The Tennessee Theatre was used a hotel (that through me off a lot I am not gonna lie), The Hotel Manager was played by Cylk Cozart, and is a Knoxvillian actor who has 30 credits to his name. 

I loved this film! I think that it was one of the best films that I got to see this whole year! I just loved the fact that Knoxville got to be highlighted as Knoxville and not as another city, or another part of the country. I also loved the small speech the Burt Reynolds says about Knoxville because I don't think I could have written something better about Knoxville if I tried. I really love the fact that we got to see the city I love the most and this film gets to go down as part of Knoxville's movie history. 

So, here is what I didn't really realize until I go to this point in my journey. The last part of the year long adventure through Knoxville this section was basically just a few neighborhoods. So, there isn't really much of anything to talk about except for one place and that would be Sharp's Ridge. 

This beautiful area of Knoxville is near Fountain city. The Ridge is a wonderful place to sit and watch the clouds roll by. You really get to see the whole city and all of the lovely nature that surrounds it. The Ridge was dedicated as a war memorial in 1953. 

I will say that I am so happy that I got to know my city a whole lot better this year. I will say that getting to all of these places in a years time was a very hard task, and one that I would do totally differently if I could go back. I will say I want to visit these places again and have more time to enjoy them, because I didn't get to do that to the extent that I wanted to. I will also be taking people who are also interested in history that will also love visiting these places. Knoxville has so much to offer that most people don't know what history lies right under their nose. I would recommend playing tourist in your own city. It's a great way to go to places that you would not normally travel to or even know that is there. 

What Ought To Be: December

 1. Closer in Faith: So for the end of the year I know that I am not where I am supposed to be by any stretch of the imagination. However, I am working out some stuff and I have to say what I really need to do is be more forgiving of myself. That I really need to not beat myself up when/ if I get behind. That I know that, rationally, that God is not going to stop talking to be when I stop talking to Him. Like If I fall behind that when I do come to Him he is not going to sit at His Throne and cast me off just because I got scared and stopped talking to Him. That is one way that the devil has tried very hard to do in the last few years is keep me in "I'm never going to be able to come to God in the way that I want to" state of mind. I know that I know that I can always come to God not matter what I am feeling in that moment. However, shame is always the one thing that keeps me from wanting to go to God. What I think I need to focus on in the coming year is the I need to not "get closer" it's "Defeat Shame". Always running to God in the midst of my shame, instead of hiding. I can't hide from God anyways, He always sees me and knows my heart, so trying to hide something from the One who things can't be hidden is an impossible task. Trying to keep up with it is slowly killing me and I know it. I need to start bringing my shame to God first, have Him help me and forgive me, and then I can work on the rest of my relationship with Him. 

2. Lose 50 Pounds: So, mom and I have given up for the year. We are just too busy to even try and I have fallen totally off my morning routine so I don't want to go. We will pick up again as some point. 

3. Cook Better: So, I will say that I have enjoyed cooking a whole lot more this year. It's still not my favorite thing to do. However, I think that the reason I dislike it so much it not because of cooking itself. It's because I don't have the time to do it. I feel like when I only have like four hours from the time I get home to going to bed that spending 30 minutes to and hour cooking is such a waste of my time. If I had more time after I would gladly cook more often. However, in this season of life that is just not something that I can enjoy to the fullest right now. Hopefully, one day I will be able to have more time and have life scheduled more around food. 

4. Dress for Success: Seeing as I am writing this in April of 2023 (However, I will be back dating it because that is who I am as a person), I will say that I have enjoyed putting more thought into what I wear. 2022 has shown me that I don't have to go all totally out in order to feel good about what I am wearing to work, church, or just in the day to day. It has help to show me that what I wear is actually helpful to my day. I know that I can't be super productive if I am wearing pajamas all day. That by putting thought into tomorrow helps set up what I want to accomplish tomorrow. That also insure that even if tomorrow ends up being crap, I will still look good. 

5. Speak up: I will say that I feel this is the one that I have enjoyed growing in the most. I feel like that I have been more outspoken about the things I want to do or don't want to do. That I have been able to say my opinions and I have cared less about what people have thought about my opinions. I won't be rude in the things that I say but I feel more confident in the things that I know or asking if I need more information. I will say I feel less bogged down be my own thoughts of matters or events because I was able to say that I felt, or wanted, in that moment.  

7. Look People in the eye more: This one is just going to be what it is. I understand the importance of looking people in the eye but I am still working on it. If I am honest it will be something that I am working on the rest of my life. 

9. Style: 

I got that brown jacket at Walmart, and that is the last uncomfy outfit of 2022. I got lots of compliments but I think it was just ok. 

10. Creativity: I am not gonna lie the only thing that I have really been able to do is just be helpful in other things that they want to be creative in. I really like creative problem solving and I feel like I have been able to do a lot of that in the last few weeks. So, working my brain in a different way has been wonderful and a little freeing for me. 

11. Spoiling: I did buy one thing that made me really happy and that would be The Princess Bride Cookbook. Alaina and I are going to have to do one of them soon!

12. Peace: So, peace is a little off because of the fact that I have not been coming to God. I know that is my biggest problem and one I am going to be working on. 

If I Stay is about a young girl who is trying to figure out life in the midst of her impending death. 

I didn't realize what this movie was about until I started to watch it. However, It ended up being a really good. I thought it was sad, sweet, and really showed the sometime having the confidence to endure hard things is just as important as dealing with how you feel about yourself.

Moonstruck is a 1987 film about two very unlikely people falling in love. 

So, this one did not hold up for me in the way that I was hoping. This is one of those movies that I have heard about for forever, and I had a very different expectation for this movie. I really didn't care for this movie at all! I don't know what I was expecting but this was not it at all! It's not one that I would be singing it's praises for. If you like oddball movies this might be more of the movie for you.

Toad in the Hold With Sauteed Peppers was the meal. I am not going to lie. I was so hungry, and excited, for this meal that I totally forgot about taking a picture for this meal. The was like the last bit and I remembered. I loved Toad in the Hole and I was so happy that the last meal out of the book was an easy one to make!

The Champagne Cocktail was ok. Not my favorite things but it was there and fine. 

As much as I loved doing this project, I am so glad that this is over. I have been running around like a crazy person for the last few weeks. So, I'm glad that I will have some free time without having to do this big of project again. I will be cooking out of this book again for sure because some of the stuff in here in delicious.