North American audiences apparently haven’t caught on to the Norwegian sense of humour, but I have. Have you seen Dead Snow? Watch it. One of my fav zombie movies. Anyhow… on to this new discovery… The Troll Hunter is a documentary style movie about 3 University students who go looking for a bear poacher and end up tagging along with a secret state Troll Hunter on a wild ride into the fairy tales of their childhood. It’s funny, it’s tense (yes I may have jumped slightly of the sofa at one point) and the imagery is far beyond any animation coming out of Hollywood these days – with the exception of Lord of the Rings of coarse!

I forgot to post over the weekend. Seems the end of the january blahs caught up with me. I spent a lot of time doing nothing. Reading, watching movies and sleeping. This has inspired me to blog more than once a week. Hope your weekend was great and YOU got lot’s done!

How about I catch you up on my FiftyFifty Challenge today and then some fun and pretty stuff later this week?

I’m pretty proud of myself. I’ve read 2 books this month. Well, read one, listened to the second one while cleaning and working. And the fact that I sit down to read the Weekend Globe every Sunday should count towards something… I mean I only know one other person who actually sits down to enjoy the newspaper (yes, it’s one of those nerdy traits we  have in common, we met while working at the same paper for goodness sake!)

I finally finished Christopher Moore’s A Dirty Job. Not as funny as Biff but definitely a good evening read! Oh yeah, and I already told you about that glow in the dark cover… AwEsOmeNeSs! I also took in Jim Collins’ Good to Great. Now if any of you are small business owners, or looking to start your own business I’d highly recommend it. Some of it can be dry, there are no witty tales, but it gives you something to think about when growing a business and not just how to be a successful business but how to be truly GREAT at what you are doing. I guess even if you aren’t running your own business, it’s motivation to just be great in your life. But thunderpeep will benefit from the read (or listen) most definitely!

Now… for the easy part. I’ve already watched 7 movies. Wait… 7.5 I fell asleep during the last one. I will watch that last bit most likely. It was Moneyball and late at night. I don’t see what all the hype is about. This guy did great things, but I can’t compare Brad Pitt to the real dude, he was just Brad Pitt in a movie. I didn’t even find Johah Hill that entertaining.

With the release of a new Underworld I decided to watch Evolution, as I think Kate Beckinsale is fantastic and really only saw the first movie. The sequel was equally good (shocking!) Plus I heard a story of a prank Miss Kate pulled on her mother… and well let’s just say it was so bad/funny that I have a new appreciation for this lady prankster!

Another movie I saw was North Country. Charlize Theron blew me away. The movie is based on actual events of the first women to work in the mines in the US and the first ever successful sexual harassment case in the US. As uncomfortable as the movie was to watch at times, I have nothing but respect for these women who wouldn’t be pushed around. I think Theron was nominated for this role. It breaks my heart that there are still parts of both Canada and US that buy into this mentality of women being second class citizens, but there’s definitely hope that one day there won’t EVER be a need for the courts to see any more sexual harassment cases. EVER. Oh yeah, and Frances McDormand is back with the Fargo accent

Back to the books… I spent a good 30 minutes in Book City yesterday awaiting my coffee date and picked up 2 books to work on next. A book on Lenin’s time in exile from mother Russia and a novel about baking cakes (mmm). The Lenin book reminded me that I should probably share some of my {written} journal notes from my trip to Finland. I actually got to visit the Lenin museum in Tampere while I was there. It was fascinating stuff. And I have yet to put that journal into the blogoverse so why not!

So, what have i been working on? Lovey dovey stuff. I’m not really a girly girl, I don’t watch chick flicks, well maybe every once in awhile, I don’t get all mushy over flowers… so working on valentines, or just love themed cards is always interesting. You all know my first stab at romance….

I have a couple of new designs coming up in the shop this week… Do you think I’ve been able to catch the Love?

yeah, we all secretly love cheezy pick up lines. I mean I would fall for a cute boy who pulled this one one me. Then again I have a think for letters….

This last one I am quite excited about. For starters I LOVE once piece snowsuits. Yes, even as an adult. Secondly, it was inspired by one of my favourite songs. And lastly it’s just plain funny. There was lot’s of giggling in the making of this card I’ll update the post once it’s available in the shop

Christopher Moore’s book A Dirty Job is funny and twisted. Who knew death could be so humorous! I am going to be sad to give it back though… the glow in the dark cover was doubling as a night light

As for the movie portion, I’ve watched a few but they’ve all been repeat offenders. Tonight I have a good scary movie on the schedule. Well, hopefully good and scary. 2011′s remake of Don’t be Afraid of the Dark. I’ll let you know how that works out.

If you’re interested in challenge yourself this year you can join along in the Fifty Fifty challenge as well…. just click on the image for more info

So, as I sit here on this gorgeous Monday, enjoy the last day off of the Holiday season (at least a day off from the 9 to 5′er) I am still in my pyjamas, barely scrapping up the energy to get off the couch! But that’s ok… you know why? Because even in this drab state I am able to get chores done. The FiftyFifty kind of pledge chores that is. So I don’t feel bad lounging on my chaise all afternoon, plus I can double duty and package newly printed cards while watching movies. I got ONE movie and the last of the American Horror Story episodes watched. I’m technically not counting TV shows as I will have no problems watching 50 movies, but i”ll share nonetheless. It’s awesomely creepy, if you love horror watch this show. I barely slept after watching the first few back to back.

The movie I watched was an old one, and one I really like for moody days. The Town. I don’t usually like Ben Affleck, but he does a great job in this movie. But really I watched it again today because I’m a big Jeremy Renner fan. He plays the best badass characters and he’s easy on the eyes (:) so it’s a win/win for my first movie. The movie deals with the bonds of old friendships and bank robbery. Come ON will you…. a great Sunday afternoon afternoon movie date!!! (yes I’m aware it’s Monday but it feels like a Sunday)

I mean who else but these 2 actors can make you cheer for the bank robbers to get away?

FYI my first book is Christopher Moore’s A Dirty Job. I actually started this back in the Fall, but got too busy and it’s been glowing beside my bed ever since (the cover glows in the dark, how totally FUN is that?) I’ll start it all over again tonight to play fair. If you haven’t already read any of Moore’s books Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal is one hillarious read! I highly recommend it for your reading list.

Oh yeah and keep your eye’s out for mysterious elves… I’ve heard they’ve been creeping around lately

But it’s time to put the treacherous 2011 behind us and move forward. Fresh new year. Starting off in my new city. with my new job. and my own new company.

I’m not really one for New Years resolutions. I do, however, like to make a list of chores for the year. I did pretty well on mine last year. I thought I’d share my list with you this year.

First off, you may have heard I joined the FiftyFifty.me challenge. I’ve pledged to consume 50 books & 50 movies this year. No problem on the movies.. but that’s a lot of books in one year for me. Luckily audio books count This adventure I’ll definitely be sharing with you and I hope you will send me any recommendations.

I am also make it a priority to get the hell out of the city as much as possible. I need to get lost in the deep dark woods and find snowy hiding places.

My biggest chore for 2012…. is to hunker down and focus on the growth of thunderpeep. There’s a lot of momentum to move forward with at the moment. The product line is about to go through a BIG healthy growth spurt and I am looking around for more shops to carry the products. There will be the introduction of limited edition silkscreened cards as well as the printed cards. A full expansion of the stationary line. I am also now offering custom work. Wedding invites, baby showers, birthdays any kind of event, personal or corporate. You could have your own customized peeps original. Awesome!

Here we go 2012…. let’s prove all those doomsdayers wrong!

Then, as I was shopping around for a feel better gifty for my awesome friend who is just the latest to suffer from the declining newspaper world, I found these awesome booty covers. Perfect for a snowy day. You can find them at here!