Pursuit of it All

Posts Written ByAmanda Rodriguez

"The BFG" — the funniest, fartiest, friendliest giant you'll ever meet!

  I have never been a huge Roald Dahl literary fan. I like all of his books-turned-movies; but, I never really enjoyed the book version of his stories. I know, weird. The books are always better than the movies! Always! But, I guess Roald is just not my jam. The BFG was no different. I have no less than three copies of that book tucked into various shelves and nooks and crannies in my home (I was a teacher, I have young kids, people give me free books all of the time, and I am a hoarder), and I never…

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This is how to talk to your kids about Orlando.

  Tragedy is an unfortunate and scary part of life. And, as a parent, I feel like it’s even more frightening when something horrendous happens. You have the natural fear of wanting to protect your children, and then the unfortunate task of figuring out what to say to them about it. It’s a scary truth for all parents, but one that’s uniquely challenging when it comes to kids like my youngest, who suffers from an anxiety disorder. His fears, irrational or not, are real and intense and overwhelming on a safe day. On a scary day they are worse. My natural…

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Alice Through the Looking Glass - a review!

  Tim Burton makes odd movies. Odd, interesting. Odd, artsy. Odd, weird. Whatever you think “odd” means is basically what it means when it comes to Tim and his flicks. The recently released Alice Through the Looking Glass is no exception. It is odd. And, if odd is your jam, you should totally go see it. I will admit, though not a huge fan of any origin, even I enjoyed the whimsical story and lively, colorful scenes of the latest iteration of Alice in her Underworld. SPOILER ALERT: Alice Through the Looking Glass If you didn’t catch the first Alice…

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Watch "The Nice Guys" (And Not Just For Ryan Gosling)

  When Ryan Gosling makes a movie, you better know I am going to make considerable effort to see it. Drop the kids with their grandma, pay a teenager to sort of pay attention to them while they play video games and she texts her friends incessantly, or haul them to the theater with me and deposit them in whichever kid movie is playing around the same time with definitive instructions and $5 to blow in the arcade afterwards (this time it was Angry Birds and they loved it) – all of that is on the table. I made it happen…

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Sue, Liza, Jen, Amanda

  Happiness is one of those things you have to work at. I make choosing joy, looking on the bright side, and appreciating the tiny moments that are often overlooked, a mission. It’s something I focus on in my daily life. It’s something I write about when I get the chance. It’s something I put on my “to do” list each and every day as a reminder to myself to just be more happy. It’s what happy people do. And it’s working! That’s not to say that I don’t sometimes get down. That I don’t still have doubt-filled days where…

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