Eleven from Eleven - Screen Favorites of 2011

In addition to the dozens of great books I read this year, I also saw quite a few movies and completed some amazing workout videos as well.  So if you're looking for a fun night at the movies or a great workout at home, here are a number of options for your video player!

Top 11 Film Picks

First, the fluff!  Most of these are now available for home viewing, but a few are still in the theater. Check them out!

Captain America - When I took in Captain America, of the many Avengers films coming to theaters this decade, I had low expectations for this comic book character.  I knew virtually nothing about him, and he didn't seem as fun as Iron Man.  Boy was I surprised! This movie was alot of fun and remarkably clean by today's standards.  When my sons get a little older, I'm definitely sharing this one with them.

Winnie The Pooh- I took my six year-old to see this one.  It's just sweet, (thankfully) not annoying and lovely.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - I wasn't a massive fan of Pirates 2 or 3, but this one was just plain fun.  Although I could have done without the vicious mermaid scene.  However, I closed my eyes through most of that moment, so I guess I can't comment on it too much!

Kung Fu Panda 2 - I actually liked this one better than the original.  Great family story, beautiful animation. And I can't get enough of Jack Black's panda antics!

The Adventures of Tintin - As I've explained to my father multiple times, this is not about a dog, Rin Tin Tin.  There is a dog involved, but he's just a sidekick to the titular character, a young man named Tintin.  I knew very little before I went, and I had a blast!  If you like animation, Pirates of the Carribean  and Indiana Jones, this is for you.  Go see it before it leaves the theathers!

X-Men: First Class - There are certain elements of the 60s that aren't attractive to me, so I went into this one thinking it might not go over well.  How wrong I was!  I loved this one.  Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy were marvelous!

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - I was unsuccessful in getting my husband to take me to see the original in the theater, which I regretted when we saw the fun movie on DVD later. For this go 'round, I took myself to the theater and had a great time!  With the lack of occultism in this film, I think I liked it better than the first!  Robert Downey Jr.'s poor excuse of an English accent is horrible, but I don't care.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 - The night I saw this was bittersweet on so many levels.  We were preparing to move away from south Florida after 5 wonderful years, and this amazing book and movie series was coming to an end.  I shed many tears in the closing train station scene.




And a few true quality pieces...

Jane Eyre - Based on the novel from which I wrote my first term paper, this somber piece surprised me with how much I enjoyed it.  It's put the book back on my TBR list for the first time since high school.


Hugo - Based on Brian Selznick's intriguing novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this film took my breath away.  It was amazingly touching and beautiful, and one of the few of 2011 that I would love to own on Blu-ray.  The book is of course, on my "Must Read" list.

Persuasion - Okay, I know this wasn't released in 2011, but I saw it for the first time this year.  I loved it so much, I had to make this one exception in the list.  As a Janeite I'm ashamed to say that I haven't read Austen's final novel yet, but I'm so glad that I was finally able to see this 2007 production.  I promptly put the new annotated Persuasion on my wish list, and thankfully my son was so nice to buy it for me for Christmas.  The movie has done its job in generating more interest in the source material for sure!

Top 11 Workout Picks

Choosing 11 exercise DVDs is a simple task this year.  Ten of them come from a workout series that pushed me harder than any other has before.  The Peak Fit Challenge videos by Michelle Dozois are by far my top picks, and are certainly permanent favorites in my large collection. PFC was extremely challenging, but Michelle makes it fun and really connects to her viewers.  I especially appreciated the non-condescending appeal to the over-40 set.  Those in their 40s and 50s keep up with the younger cast members-- they certainly aren't over the hill!  If you'd like to read the long-winded details of my journey with Peak Fit, you can read my 8-week journey here.

The full Peak Fit Challenge series is currently sold out, but in the meantime, you can purchase individual selections from the Challenge with Michelle's Peak 10 workouts, found on her website and from other retail outlets.  One of my favorites (and also one of the toughest) is Cardio Interval Burn, over an hour of intense training that will have you sweating buckets and feeling accomplished when you've completed it!


I'm also a big fan of videos produced by The Firm.  In 2011 they released their Firm Express: Get Thin in 30 series.  While I do have this series, I haven't gone through all of the workouts yet.  The ones I have completed are just great-- challenging, but with small, achievable bursts.  If you're not ready to go for the whole 14-disc series, try The Firm: Ignite Calorie Burn, which has excerpts from the same program.  As always, The Firm is challenging and fun, with a combination of cardio and strength training.

I hope my pics of 2011 bring you a bit of fun as well as a bit of fitness.  Have a great 2012!

Eleven from Eleven - Favorite Reads of 2011

2011 was great year of reading for me. I completed 36 books, and at a rate of about 3 titles a month, this frequency is above any other period in my life. Many reviewers complete far more volumes annually, but for a busy stay-at-home mother of two, wife of a pilot with an odd schedule and owner of one car, this is nothing short of a miracle! Here are my 11 favorites of 2011, categorized, but in no particular order:

Austenesque Fiction

Christmas at Pemberley by Regina Jeffers - Such a rich story, great writing, and authentic struggles with faith in the face of pregnancy issues, plus so much more. Great reading, no matter what time of year!  Full review here.

Miss Darcy Falls in Love by Sharon Lathan - Gotta love Georgiana Darcy, and this musician finds this to be my favorite of Lathan's many novels. Full review here.

Expectations of Happiness by Rebecca Ann Collins - I lamented the end of her Pemberley series, and Collins has done another fabulous job, now with a Sense and Sensibility sequel! Full review here.

Mr. Darcy's Secretby Jane Odiwe - Ms. Odiwe's writing is just wonderful. She captures the energy and longing of new love so well.  Full review here.

Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell - This rare Austenesque author of the male persuasion won me over with an unexpected premise-- Pride and Prejudice meets the old West. Really enjoyed this one quite a bit. Pick it up on Kindle while it's on sale for $1.99!  Full review here.



General Fiction 

Venetia by Georgette Heyer - This year began my first forays into the world of Georgette Heyer. Jane Austen reborn in the 20th century. It doesn't get much better than this.  Full review here.

Road from the West by Rosanne E. Lortz - This was historical fiction at its best. I learned so much about the first Crusade, and it was a highly enjoyable story. Again, grateful there is more to come.  Full review here.

Angelology by Danielle Trussoni - Thoroughly different from any other fiction I read this year. Engrossing and original. Beware the sequel-setting, enticing conclusion!  Full review here.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - I cannot say I read this entire book in 2011. I started it some time back, had to put it down, and came back to finish it this year. In fact, the final pages were read in the theater, just before the final film began to roll. It's not my favorite Potter book (that would be Prisoner of Azkaban), but the series in general has been such an enjoyable ride. J.K. Rowling brought back the love of reading in a way I hadn't felt in decades.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens - When I saw the recent Disney edition of A Christmas Carol, its faithful adaptation planted the desire to actually read the book. Actually read Dickens! So to my shame, I just read my first of this renowned author, and to my delight, I highly enjoyed him and truly understood the tale. Now if I can only one day say the same for Nicholas Nickleby, or other Dickens novels I have yet to tackle!


Non-Fiction 

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo - After all the media hype and record-breaking sales, I wanted to check this one out for myself. Over the holidays I had the opportunity, and I nearly read it in one sitting. Incredible. Hope-instilling. All I can say is, don't knock it 'til you've read it, and come at it with an open heart, if you dare.

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So, those are the best of my 2011 collection! My goal for 2012 is to not only surpass 36 titles, but to get some works finished that have long been sitting on my shelf, partially read. Before I became a blogger, I had a habit of beginning books and then abandoning them when something more interesting came along. The Calico Critic has driven me to greater discipline in finishing books, so I'd like to go back and rescue a few abandoned titles, if for no other reason than to make room for more unread lovelies!

I hope my list has given you a few ideas for your TBR list. Come back soon for the video edition of "Eleven from Eleven", where I'll profile the best in movies and workout videos from last year.

Book Review - Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Gabriella has never spent a summer in Italy like this one.

Remaining means giving up all she’s known and loved … and leaving means forfeiting what she’s come to know—and love itself.

Most American teenagers want a vacation in Italy, but the Betarrini sisters have spent every summer of their lives with their parents, famed Etruscan scholars, among the romantic hills. In Book One of the River of Time series, Gabi and Lia are stuck among the rubble of medieval castles in rural Tuscany on yet another hot, boring, and dusty archeological site … until Gabi places her hand atop a handprint in an ancient tomb and finds herself in fourteenth-century Italy. And worse yet, in the middle of a fierce battle between knights of two opposing forces.           

And thus she comes to be rescued by the knight-prince Marcello Falassi, who takes her back to his father’s castle—a castle Gabi has seen in ruins in another life. Suddenly Gabi’s summer in Italy is much, much more interesting. But what do you do when your knight in shining armor lives, literally, in a different world?

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I love my Austenesque fiction, but time travel novels are also a big draw for me.  Waterfall was a great way to start my 2012 reading.  Written from the perspective of Gabi Betarrini, a 17 year-old girl, Lisa T. Bergren’s first title in the River of Time series might not be penned with someone like me in mind, but I gobbled it up anyway!

Teenage sisters Gabi and Lia find themselves transported back in time, in a manner that I found entirely fantastical, but I was able to just go with the premise and enjoy the ride. While in 14th century Italy they encounter royalty, battles, political intrigue, castles to conquer and a bit of romance.  Gabi spends most of the book trying to find her sister, from whom she was separated when they made the jump back in time.  Gabi is beautiful, and she’s also a bit of a tomboy, so in that ancient time period, she was particularly noticeable to everyone around her.  She frequently had to change her manner of speaking, as the people in that society weren’t exactly using 21st century English.  As the daughter of archeology scholars, she often fell back on the education her parents had pushed on her over the years.

Gabi’s sister Lia is two years younger and also quite beautiful, and is as adept at archery as her sister is at swordplay.  The two of them make quite a pair as they fight to return to one another and to the time period from whence they came.  Other than getting back home, their other obstacle is Gabi’s attraction to the knight-prince Marcello Falassi.  He knows nothing of her true identity, has completely fallen for her, but it seems impossible that they could ever be truly together.

Waterfall was such a diverting read.  I liked Bergren’s characters and enjoyed the interplay between the warring factions.  The pages turned effortlessly, and it was simply a lot of fun.  I also appreciated the lack of foul language and sexual content, although there was plenty of excitement and romantic tension to go around.

Gabi also struggles with her religious faith a bit, sometimes questioning God’s existence and if He has some purpose in mind for her presence there in Italy. I wouldn’t necessarily call this work “Christian fiction”, as I think it can definitely be enjoyed by believers and non-believers alike, but this series would certainly suit Christians just fine.  The only time my sensibilities were tweaked a bit were occurrences when Gabi refers to attractive men as “hotties” and uses other slang that is common amongst teens today.  While the youthful voice of Gabi was sometimes a little irksome to this 40 year-old, I could see the effect that Bergren was trying to make and it was easy to gloss over.  The story is fabulous and so much more than a tale about and for teens.

I know little of that ancient time period, but Lisa Bergren has done her homework enough that I definitely felt transported myself.  Gabi’s time in ancient Italy certainly made me appreciate the creature comforts we have today—flushing toilets, electricity, modern medicine—not to mention our computers, smart phones and internet connections.

As I neared the end of Waterfall, I took comfort in the fact that this is just the start of the series.  I really didn’t want the story to end, honestly! Lisa T. Bergren has done a marvelous job, and I can’t wait to step into Cascade, the next book in the series.  Following that is Torrent, and coming later in 2012 is Tributary. There are so many fun books coming up on my TBR list in 2012, and I can’t wait to spend some more time riding down the River of Time with Gabi, Marcello and the rest!

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Want to get started on the series?
 Click here to buy River of Time on sale now!

New Year, New Workout - Petra Kolber's The Last Step

As many of us are resolving to get in better shape after weeks of indulging over the holidays, I thought I'd share my thoughts on my first workout of the year, Petra Kolber's The Last Step.

Petra Kolber has been the gold standard in the fitness industry for step aerobics, releasing videos for about 20 years now.  She has a positive, upbeat style that isn't too perky, and I've always loved her charming British/European accent.  Petra gives excellent cueing, and always offers beginners a simple option before moving on to more complicated maneuvers. I utilized that option quite a few times myself today!

The Last Step is what the title claims-- Petra's last step aerobics video. This tried and true workout style has declined in popularity in recent years, but it retains its efficacy and elements of fun as well. I was thrilled to hear that Petra was releasing just one more to cap off a long tradition of quality videos.

The workout itself is about 59 minutes long, with a 5-minute cool down/stretch. Almost all of Petra's standard moves are here (what, no Grapevine?!?), including a few from VHS workouts of the past. Some may feel that this routine can be complicated, but again-- Petra always gives a basic move to start with before you're ready to move on to a harder combination.

The only pieces of equipment you'll need are an aerobic step, some comfy shoes/clothes, a bit of space in your living room/personal space, and a towel to mop up the perspiration!  The step will be parallel to your TV/video device for the cardio portion, and be ready to turn the step perpendicular to the screen for the cool down/stretch.

I did not master the routine the first time out, and I'm glad I have something to work toward. None of the moves are ridiculously hard-- it just will take some practice to get the footwork. And that's fine with me. I've always been able to master Petra's routines, and I enjoy the learning process. This DVD was fun, I definitely got in a good, sweaty workout, and I recommend it to intermediate step exercisers. This was a worthy way to cap off Petra's step legacy!

For more information about about Petra,
check out her website and Facebook page.