My Goals for 2013

First off, before we start today, I want to give you all a big shout out! Thanks to you, my readers, my last post has become my most read blog post ever!! I want to thank all of you for this amazing milestone. You are all awesome!! :)

So, some of you may have made New Year Resolutions. These are the goals we always set for ourselves in the new year. Typically, I don't make any because I have yet to succesfully keep them. Pretty lame excuse, huh?

This year, however, I came up with a few goals I'd like to keep: Finish my novel being top on my list!

I've gotten away from writing lately. I really hope to get back at my finished novel, and finish all of the edits, and hopefully pursue getting it published.

Also in this year, I hope to get started on a new novel. I have a whole ton of ideas floating around inside my head, so all it takes is to put to pen to paper and get started.

Some of my other goals are more pointless, really. Last year, I failed to meet my goal to read 100 books within the year, ending up with only 98. (So close...)

So, I extended the goal to 105 anyway, and really hope to hit it this year, but only time will tell if we can reach that milestone.

Also, I saved $800 on books last year by getting them from the library rather than buying them. So, I figured we could save just a little more this year. Let's try for $1000. I've already, just this month so far, saved $74, so this goal seems probable.

Finally, with an Epic Quest coming up in April, I hope to get to know some of the people I call Facebook friends a little better by inviting them on this adventure. I haven't really decided on anybody yet, except I will obviously be there, as well as Bob, because it's just not an Epic Quest without him. :p

So, good luck with any resolutions you may have made this year! We'll see how I do.

Until Next Time...:)
W.

15 Movies to See in 2013!!

Happy New Year everyone! Today, I am sharing with you my list of movies I'm most looking forward to in this new year!!! I used to share this list on Facebook, but decided this was the best place to put it now.

First of all, I often try to leave sequels off my main list, and this year is no different. Sequel-wise, I usually pick five and place them under 'Honorable Mention,' in other words, I don't need to explain what they are, because you know them from the title.

So, to start off, here are the Honorable Mentions, listed in the order they hit theaters:

* Iron Man 3
* Star Trek: Into Darkness
* Despicable Me 2
* Thor: The Dark World
* The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Yes, there's a lot of big-budget stuff listed there, and some of you probably are wondering what in the heck I can come up with to fill 15 more slots. Well, let's not stall any longer. Here we go!

1. Gangster Squad-(Warner Brothers)- You may recall that Gangster Squad made my list last year, but it's shove back to January makes it elligible for the list yet again. I've been waiting a long time for this movie and will finally(!) be seeing it next week!

2. Side Effects-(Open Road Films)- How many of you die-hard Channing tatum fans have heard of this one? Coming in February, 'Side Effects' is the story of a miracle drug that has a somewhat bizarre side effect on a young woman (Rooney Mara). It comes from the director of 'Contagion,' so it should be pretty intense.

3. OZ: The Great and Powerful-(Disney)- March is super strong this year, and the strongest release is most likely this Wizard of Oz prequel that stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, and Rachel Weisz.

4. Oblivion-(Universal)-April is also overly strong this year, with this big-budget Science Fiction extravaganza being released mid way through the month. It stars Tom Cruise, and is from 'Tron: Legacy' director Joseph Kosinski, so you know it's going to look epic on the big screen.

5. Pain and Gain-(Paramount)-April ends with this action/comedy about two bodybuilders who go on a crime spree. I have a friend who is extremely excited for this film, and it does indeed look pretty awesome. It stars mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson.

6. Man of Steel-(Warner Brothers)-While May holds a ton of sequels, June and July have a lot of original fare, and true this Superman reboot isn't exactly an original idea, but with Christopher Nolan involved, and a fairly secretive script, I'm very excited to see how this turns out.

7. Now You See Me-(Lionsgate Summit)-The same day as 'Man of Steel,' we also see the release of thriller 'Now You See Me,' meaning I really have to decide which one I'd rather see that day. 'This movie is about a group of magicians that rob banks during their shows, and then give the money to their audience. It has a great cast, which includes: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Mark Ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, and others.

8. This is The End-(Sony)-This R-rated comedy features a bunch of actors playing themselves as the world ends. It stars Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, and many others. This cast alon assures me that it will be THE Comedy Event of the summer.

9. The Lone Ranger-(Disney)-From the director of Pirates of the Carribean, comes this action-packed western based on the old show. It stars Johnny Depp as the indian Tonto...and he wears a crow on his head, so that should be interesting. :p

10. Turbo-(Fox/Dreamworks)-The new animated movie from Dreamworks is the story of a snail who wants to be a racer. So he gets a jet pack. o_0 I freaking love this concept!

11. Pacific Rim-(Warner Brothers)-Think Godzilla meets Transformers. When giant sea monsters wreck havoc, mankind develops gigantic robots to fight back.

12. R.I.P.D.-(Universal)- Zombies as cops? Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds as said cops? I'm on board.

13. Elysium-(Sony)- Direct Neill Blomkamp's follow-up to 'District 9.' I loved Distrcit 9, and am really looking forward to another Sci-Fi film from this very talented director.

14. Rush-(Universal)-'Thor's' Chris Hemsworth stars as a race car driver in this action-thriller. Should be a good film to see in September.

15. Monuments Men-(Sony)-I don't really know too much about this movie, but I always try to mention one that I believe will get Oscar buzz. With a cast that includes George Clooney, Daniel Craig, and Cate Blanchett, look for this one to win awards.

So, there's my list. Leave me comments below on what you think, or if there is any movies I may have missed.

Until Next Time...:)
W.