Saturday, November 21, 2009

Okay, duh, I already know I'm a ridiculous 30 year old teenager...

So yes, after thousands of weeks of counting down to New Moon via my New Moon Countdown App (thank you all-knowing, all-resourceful, all-powerful iPhone!), Thursday night brought the highly-anticipated evening of my 2009 thus far. (Oh yes, besides the birth of my son... haha.. which I will clearly blog about in the near future - too much to catch up on, I have to start small)

Me and some of my fellow die-hard (or Twi-hard if you will...) Twilight friends caught a lucky break thanks to Awesome Jackie, and went on Thursday evening at 6 pm... A full 6 hours before it was really released to the public. We all spent one night at my house decorating T-shirts and watching the first Twilight which was a blast. Here's the rundown of our artistic expressions:
"They call me Spider Monkey" - me
"I'd rather be in Forks" - Jackie
"Edward prefers brunettes" - Julie
"Edward... 'nuf said" - April
"Team McSparkle" - Rebekah
"How long have you been 17" - Virginia

So, Thursday we met exceptionally early to head out to the theater and waited from 4 until 6 in line, FIRST in line I might add. By the time they pulled back the rope to let us down the hall to the theater, we literally took off running down the hallway. We didn't even look back. As we got some awesome seats in the theater, we then proceeded to engage in fits of screaming, hand-grabbing, and yes, even spirit fingers!!! It was such a rush of excitement to finally be in the theater!!! We sat through what felt like endless amounts of unnecessary previews for movies we cared less about, before... finally... the Summit logo crossed the screen and it was TIME!!!

New Moon nearly met all my expectations, and absolutely raised the bar from the sub-par, albeit still much-loved, Twilight. There are, as I would think any avid Twilight lover has to admit, some things that were definitely lacking in the movie, but I don't know that any movie can ever truly satisfy your readers' expectations. They are just too great and fantastic to be translated. However, I am so happy with the final and overall product that is New Moon!!! In fact, so happy that I'm going to see it again tomorrow night, which will be followed with many more viewings I'm sure.

I do obviously wish there had been more Edward, but that was to be expected. Kristen Stewart was such a better Bella this time around and so much more likable. Jacob was so great that I nearly could have switched "teams". Nearly - but not quite. =) I do wish Edward would not have gotten his butt kicked in the Volturi fight scene... That was really frustrating. Especially since he can READ MINDS and therefore ANTICIPATE ALL FIGHTING MOVES!?!?!??! So, seriously, that was a problem. Also, from the point Alice shows up and the Italy trip ensues, the movie moves way too quick for my liking. There was sooo much for Edward and Bella to discuss after they got back together and there was none of that in the film, which I'm not happy about... But like I said, OVERALL, sooo wonderful and fabulous and lovely. I can't wait to see it again!!!

TEFL!!

(team edward for life, duh)

Friday, March 20, 2009

Do you even KNOW?!

Do all of you even know what is happening tonight?!

TWILIGHT is out on DVD!!
Midnight.
Midnight, people.

Let the hysteria begin!!!
Can't wait to have a watching party!!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Pregnant

Yup. That's me!

We found out two weeks ago today, so February 5th...
I took EIGHT tests this month for various reasons. I think obviously I knew something was different this month, but the first four tests all came back negative. Of course, I did buy two of them at the Dollar Store and two of them on clearance at Tom Thumb. But I figured, a test's a test, right?! Well, apparently the days between tests 4 and 5 clearly were a landmark moment. =)

My first REAL clue was a few Sundays ago. I was on my way home from church and ALL I WANTED WAS TACO BUENO NACHOS! Like, more than anything on the planet and I wanted them YESTERDAY. So... weird. I actually took my 4th cheap test that day, and it came out negative.
The next day, same thing. Taco Bueno nachos on the brain. I was obsessed. So I literally ate Bueno nachos for 3 days straight! I mean, they're good, but really?! for 3 days?!
Each day I felt weirdly nauseated, which is very unlike me, as I do not have a weak stomach and I rarely get sick to my stomach.
So Thursday, on my way to staff meeting, I could immediately tell that if I did not EAT right then, I was going to be completely sick!! I walked in and said this, and my friend Katherine looked at me and said, "Are you pregnant?!" She, being pregnant, feels like this very often. So, that was a major red flag.

I bought the first digital test that day, and sure enough, PREGNANT!

Niles and I have actually been planning for this sweet baby for several months, and I was right at the point where I felt like maybe this was going to be a long road. Thank God that His timing is the best for us and that only He knows His plans and His plans are best! I'm so excited about this journey and about adding this new little blessing to our family!!

We went to the doctor yesterday, and against my hopes of being almost 9 weeks, we found that we are only 6. =( Oh well. I really love the "bigness" of being pregnant and that whole experience, so I was hoping it was happening sooner rather than later. But, it's okay. If we base this experience on the last, I should be showing in about 3 weeks. =)

Due date for now? October 16!! Three days before our 7th anniversary!!

SO exciting!!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Submission.

Since I finally decided to give in and do my 25 things on Facebook, I figured I could at least put all that effort to good use and double up on my bloggage for the day.

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I love anything involving making some type of list. Hence my submission to the 25 things craze...

2. I love hearing the sounds of my daughter singing and playing in her room absentmindedly... She makes up her own songs.

3. I.HATE.TALKING.ON.THE.PHONE.

4. I'm completely in love with Twilight, and you probably are too.

5. I spent an entire day of my life in a movie theater when you count up all the times I saw Titanic.

6. I could spend days on end reading and be completely content. I could spend days on end just reading Twilight and be totally content. As long as I have at least 10 books on my bookstand, I can be content. I'm a book junkie.

7. I eat Sour Patch Watermelons at least once a week

8. I love going dancing!! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT. Except country dancing.

9. I could really go for having 4 kids. I love being pregnant, and I LOVE my little girl.

10. We have a demon cat named Lola, who I'm starting to love, because she's actually only nice to me.

11. I take a bath almost every night, so I can finally get some reading time in before I go to bed. And it just seems easier to wash my face that way...

12. I despise having to go to sleep and end my day. No matter how tired I am!

13. I get extremely ansty and cabin-fevered if I stay home for too long - which usually ends up in me going to Target and buying something.

14. Barnes and Noble is one of my favorite places to go. And I could stay there for hours. Oh and Half-Price books too, but B&N is much more cozy.

15. I really want to do a whole trip through Europe; backpack, hostels, trains, whatever... I'm not scared! I just want to see it all. I especially want to go to Italy, Greece, and Turkey.

16. I could very easily eat pizza with extra cheese and/or cheese fries with ranch EVERY SINGLE DAY. A meal without cheese just does not count.

17. I love jigsaw puzzles, but I have to do them few and far between, because it literally takes over my life until I finish. Not to mention that it takes over our entire table, and makes Niles none too thrilled.

18. I love music. I have to have music with everything I do. Can't work out without it, can't have a get-together without it, need it when I walk in the door. I will make a playlist for everything and I LOVE burning CDs for people!!

19. I really do enjoy cooking, but it seems rare lately that I ever get creative. When Niles and I lived in Florida, I pulled out my cookbooks every Sunday, picked out an entire meal plan for the week, and made a new dinner every single night.

20. I only let Reese watch shows that I enjoy having on in the background. Excluding Dora.

21. I waited tables for 3 years at Rockfish, and nearly 2 total years at two different Chilis. I actually really loved waiting tables!!

22. I LOVE my job, love the people I work with and LOVE going to meetings!!

23. I love Christmas and everything about it. This year was the first time in a long time that I didn't send out Christmas cards by Thanksgiving and didn't have my tree up by mid-November! It was so sad!

24. I love working out, being busy, having a lot of things on my plate. Otherwise I feel completely unmotivated and useless.

25. I have still not gotten my degree... I have only 7 classes left!!

Friday, January 23, 2009

Marathon Pics

Here you go... Finally, White Rock Marathon pictures.
Remember, I just ran 13.1 miles, so I look a bit crusty. (I hate that word, but I think it's the most fitting)

The Starting Line at Victory Plaza or Park or whatever it's called.
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Me with the white sweatshirt tied around my waist, running at Mile 11
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My two friends Virginia and Erin came down to cheer me on at the 11 mile marker, and it was the PERFECT timing! I was in PAIN, and I was so encouraged to see some familiar faces in the crowd.
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This is after the race, with some of our team, Tina and her husband did the race together, and Jackie helped coordinate all the racers... She was supposed to run... long story. =) haha
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I know I have to do another one of these at some point in time, but until then, these will suffice to make me proud for a while. =)

Saturday, January 03, 2009

working my way out...

...of the TV addiction that is.
And, I honestly have to give a little 'what-what' to Stephenie Meyer and her highly addictive crack cocaine, a.k.a. Twilight, for seriously getting me off of TV for a record 10 days in order to fall back in love with reading.
Okay, that's a little dramatic... I am always in love with reading, BUT, with CARES business, work, toddler, husband, new church, oh yes, and my other work, reading kind of took a back seat for a while. I'd say I read pretty steadily the entire year until July when our whole world seemed to change in about 10 seconds. SO, in November when I really picked up Twilight and was sucked into a black hole of awesometown (yes, I think I'm rapidly turning into "Comic Book Guy" from the Simpsons...), I remembered just how wonderful it is to lose yourself in a book... or any hobby I suppose that doesn't involve a lot of "No, stop doing that" or "Hola! I'm Dora!".

So, I have set some pretty strict restrictions on myself for 09 as far as entertainment goes.
I really am going to try to limit myself to following only a handful of shows:
24, Lost, Fringe, Office, Gossip Girl (duh) and maybe Grey's. This is a big deal, people!! But, I am determined to work on my brain, soul, and body this year, and I don't think TV can really assist me towards that end. I'm sure we could sit and debate that, and I'm not going to be anal about this; I'm sure I will cheat. BUT, the goal is to read more, educate more, work out more, look out for my health a bit more (w/o veggies of course) and spend as much time cultivating my relationships with family and friends as possible.

Here are a few of the tangible goals for the year:
1. Another Half-marathon - probably the Austin Half, or the Big D in April
2. FULL Marathon - White Rock or something earlier in the year, not sure yet
3. BOOT CAMP - starting next month!
4. Set a reading list and actually finish each and every book (working on compiling that at the moment... feel free to offer suggestions!!)
5. VOLUNTEER in some way or another. I am going to get our apartment community to help out once a month at Genesis Women's Shelter in some form, as we adopted a family for the holidays, and it was such a great experience purchasing and collecting all the items on their wish list. Niles, Reese and I took them to the dropoff, along with $175 in gift cards for the family!! It makes me cry every time I think about it.
6. Find some way to do something for the troops. (Niles is making fun of me, but we watched Lions for Lambs tonight, and I'm all inspired to do something important and encouraging. Currently doing research, but again, all suggestions are welcome!)
7. GO TO SOME CONCERTS. My friend Sarah and I have talking about this for some time as we have similar music tastes. This is something I always think about, but just get caught up in the rut of Grapevine, Chilis and Sonic (sigh) and forget all about it. But I truly love music and I hate that there is sooo much out there I don't know about. =(

Okay, so, it's almost 1:00 am, and considering I just got over being grossly ill, I should head to bed.

peace out.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Me and Edward Cullen

He's sooo dreamy. =)

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Books I Read in 2008

A Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank (you know... i may have read this last year...)
Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Bilbert
The Last Lecture - Jerry Pausch (FAN FREAKING TASTIC)
Stori Telling - yes, i believe you know her...
A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khalid Hussein
Chris Farley Show - colaboration (this was actually a great read, but very very sad)
Freedom From Fear - Neil Anderson & Rich Miller
Twilight - Stephenie Meyer
New Moon - Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer
Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer
Skinny Bitch
Marilyn Monroe - Barbara Leaming
Midnight Sun - Stephenie Meyer


Books I got halfway through, which is tragic, but I just was not interested. Seriously.
The Shack - ugh, i don't remember
Marley & Me - John Grogan (I always want to say Josh Groban)
Atonement - Ian McEwan (I still may try to suffer through this one... but I just can't care enough about it)