Fun, and boredom

Got this in an email. They're always fun to do when you have a moment or two of boredom. Feel free to copy/paste, email them back to me. :)

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
My mom once said it was for Debbie Reynolds.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
At Twilight on Friday.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Sometimes.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey
5.. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
Two boys.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Interesting...I would hope so.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
Too much.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS
Nope, out in kindergarten.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
No freakin' way.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
It changes, often something cinnamon-y.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Probably stronger than I give myself credit for...physically and emotionally.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
Mint chocolate chip
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Eyes, or attitude.
15. RED OR PINK?
Red
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
Weight, and more specifically that most of it is in my big fat belly.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
Wow...Lexi, Grandma Jahns, and in a very weird way Markus.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
It would be fun but I'm not expecting anyone to. I'll probably copy/paste into my blog.
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
None at the moment but had white sneaks on earlier.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Tombstone cheese and sausage pizza.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Radio (Miracles, by Jefferson Airplane/Starship/whatever) ...but about to put Twilight soundtrack on again.
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Purple
23. FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Coffee! But I won't drink it.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
My sister, Friday night.
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yes.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Does Winter Olympics count? How about, hmm, figure skating.
27. HAIR COLOR?
Medium brown with gray slowly taking over.
28. EYE COLOR?
Hazel.
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Yes.
30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Chocolate.
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Scary, but not gory.
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Twilight, for the third time.
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Purple, Minnesota Vikings.
34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Fall.
35. HUGS OR KISSES?
Hugs.
36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Probably something chocolate.
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
I doubt anyone will.
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
I doubt anyone will.
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
Twilight, for the third time.
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
A crazy colored giraffe that Casey did in art class and had made into mousepad.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
Nothing. I rarely watch TV these days.
42. FAVORITE SOUND?
Right now, middle of song #12 on Twilight soundtrack. (Bella's Lullaby)
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles.
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
Germany, but maybe where we went in Austria was technically farther....?
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
Extreme common sense. Ha! Or, the ability to debate and ponder.
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Waupun, Wisconsin.
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Anyone really, cuz I doubt I'll get any back. hehe

Nov. 29

Took alot of restraint but I did not go see Twilight today. I did listen to the soundtrack, flipped thru the movie companion book, and daydreamed about it as I did other things throughout the day. I really like Emmett, and seeing it the third time has him on my mind more than usual.



Love the part during the baseball game when Bella calls Rosalie out at home plate, Rosalie gives her a really bitchy look and Emmett says "Aw come on, it's just a game." So funny for so many reasons. It's like the fact that Rosalie could kill Bella in a second doesn't even occur to him. The other little bit I love is earlier, again with Rosalie bitching at Bella, and Emmett kinda slaps her on the shoulder in a 'shut up and behave' kind of way. Oh, Emmett... *sigh*

Saw some pics of him meeting fans and he's in his pale face makeup, with his contacts in, and looking really vampire-y next to normal people. Cool.

While trying to not go see the movie again today I managed to get most of my Christmas decorating done. I have the tree up but not decorated. We'll let it stand bare a day or two until the fattycat decides whether or not he'll be good about it this year. He was was hovering around, poking his head between the bottom branches as I was putting it up but since then hasn't seemed too interested. Hopefully he knows he's too old and too fat for such kittenlike antics.

Got all my other stuff set out though. Well, not the outside stuff, but inside is done. And once again I was seriously thinking about just not decorating. Last year and now again this year I just look at all my boxes of stuff and I dread even dealing with them. I even told hubby and the boys today that I do *NOT* want anymore decorations...not village pieces, no more Santas, no nativities (I had started a collection), no teddy bears with the year on, nothing. It's just too much now.

It doesn't help either that I still have absolutely no holiday spirit. Apparently hubby doesn't either because when I started with the very first decorating he said "Oh good, maybe that will help jumpstart our mood." I decided to do it all today because I'm off work this weekend. I kinda hoped that as I was doing it, or once it was done, that I'd soak up some of the warm fuzzy feelings. I even watched Home Alone and Christmas Vacation while I worked. But nope...nothing. And now as I move about the house and see all these festive things, it just seems odd, out of place. Why?? Why am I so blank this year???

These pics was taken last year but I just set it all up the same this year. A sampling of my Christmas stuff:




Casey is sick today. Very weird cuz he's just puking alot but not otherwise sick. He hasn't had a fever and says he doesn't feel sick otherwise, just tired and pukey. So he's been sipping 7Up and laying in Ty's bed watching him play Xbox all day. Ty said he dozed off a couple times in there. He's up now though, watching a movie with hubby and Ty. Weird. Hopefully it was just something he ate.

I've been hearing all day that we could get up to four inches of snow tomorrow. I hope we do! That snow we got earlier this week is almost gone. Hubby was kinda kicking himself for not getting the outside Christmas lights hung up today while it was nice. I don't even care if they don't go up this year. *cries*

Well, the men of the house are watching a man-flick that I have no interest in so I will go do some reading for bed. Nite all!

Nov. 28

So yeah, I'm a totally addicted dork. I saw Twilight...again...today. Third time now. I saw Titanic four times in the theater, but that record might fall. Oh but Titanic was spread out over months. I've now seen Twilight three times in a *week.*

Loved it. Yes, I love this movie. I still have several little sore spots when it comes to Rob Pattinson but hey, nothing that keeps me away. And I'm sure if I ever met Rob in person all these things would be forgotten anyway...*snickergiggle*



Still love the piano part, and the baseball part is becoming more of a favorite each time. The Cullens/kitchen scene gets better each time too. I'd never noticed how horrified Edward was by all of it before. LOL And I noticed something interesting this time! I saw Victoria in two shots at the prom before the ending where she is revealed. Makes me wonder how many other times she was visible??

I went with my sister-in-law this time. She said she liked it, thought it flew by and she wanted to keep going when it got to the end...she'd forgotten that's where the first book left off. She approves of the choice for Edward in a big way. She said something like "I must say they picked the perfect guy for the role." When he first appeared onscreen in the cafeteria, she verbally swooned just like the young girls on the other side of me. That was quite funny.

As for the rest of my day, it was kinda blah. We did our usual Day After Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Day Meal, just for us. Spent the early part of the morning playing Warcraft with hubby, then turned over the computer to they boys so I could start cooking. Just after I'd gotten the turkey into the oven I realized I had never made my now traditional Cherry Crisp. Doh!! Too late now, cuz the bird was already in and once that came out we'd be inhaling food so I could have time to go to the movie. Oh well, I'll make it later this weekend or something. It hasn't really felt like Thanksgiving anyway.

I really don't have any holiday spirit. Yesterday never felt like Thanksgiving. Today didn't feel like it usually does on the day after. The radio stations are playing Christmas music now and it just sounds weird to me. Hubby mentioned getting the lights out to start decoratiing outside but I have zero interest in it. I've been thinking about getting the tree up and the indoor decorating done this weekend, only because next weekend I'll be working...not because I'm excited to do it. It's just not here for me this year. I thought once the work schedule was a bit settled and more routine, once the insurance stuff was taken care of, once the thrill of Twilight opening was past (Ha!), that I'd find my holiday spirit. But nope. Still nothing. *Maybe* once the tree is up things will perk up for me.

I'm off to eat some turkey and...hmm...not sure what else.

Later!

Nov. 27

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

My holiday was fun. Spent the morning making my orange-cranberry cake, and doing some laundry. Played a bit of Warcraft, then we headed over to my brother's house, got there just before 2pm. They were already eating so we dived right in and then settled in to get caught up on news and chitchat. One sister-in-law asked if I'd seen Twilight yet. I told her I'd seen it twice and wouldn't mind going again. She said she had not seen it yet and would go like to go tomorrow if I wanted to go with her. Heck yeah! My other sister-in-law mentioned she had read the first two books, but had not seen the movie yet...would probably be going tomorrow with some other ladies.

My sister and her husband got there a while later, and there was more Twilight talk but not too much. I never did get a chance for just the two of us more fully about the movie. *grrr* That was one of the things I was looking forward to but oh well. She brought me two posters that I'd already known about. She also brought what was supposed to be my Christmas present. She was taunting me, teasing me, saying she was going to give it to me now because she knew I would not be able to wait that long. I told her I could wait, but when she brought in this huge wrapped package I was like "What the heck?!" Yeah, then I was extremely curious. I knew it had to be something good (and I already knew it was Twilight related) or she never would have presented it to me this way. At first I just set it aside, but it only took a matter of seconds before I had to start feeling it, trying to feel what was under the wrapping. It didn't take long at all to figure out what the item was, but the specifics about that item were still unknown. I was laughing, assuming it was an Edward item, and set it aside again. Only took a few more minutes before I had to open it to see just what this Edward item looked like. Imagine my surprise and laughter when I pulled JAMES out of the wrapping!!

Yes, my sister bought me a life sized cardboard cutout of James!



He was the hit of the party! And he's quite tall. I would have pictured him as a smaller guy but if this thing is really life size, he's very tall. I can't stop laughing whenever I look at it. She said the Edward one wasn't a really appealing one, and James was the funnier choice anyway. Not sure where he'll end up but for now he's standing in the living room, watching TV. LOL!

We spent about five hours at my brother's. It was a smaller gathering than it usually is. We sat around talking some really crazy crap like we always do when we get together. Many times we were laughing so hard I was in tears. Even my brother had several moments of absolute hysterics, which made everything even funnier. I don't think I've seen him that way in many many years. My stomach hurts now from laughing so much, feels like I did about a thousand situps today.

One bummer thing was that I found out today that my brother has MS. When they first told me I wracked my brain for anything I knew about it, and didn't come up with much. I asked my sister-in-law (she's the one who told me) how they'd come to learn this, like what had happened. She explained that he'd noticed one day that it seemed like his ear (lobe?) was numb, then noticed the feeling down his neck and into his arm or something. Doctor's visits and tests and MRIs and they diagnosed MS. They say he has this:
Relapsing-Remitting MS
People with this type of MS experience clearly defined attacks of worsening neurologic function. These attacks—which are called relapses, flare-ups, or exacerbations —are followed by partial or complete recovery periods (remissions), during which no disease progression occurs. Approximately 85% of people are initially diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS.

He has to do daily injections of some kind of medicine. I'm guessing this (injections) will be for the rest of his life....?? He seems in good spirits about it, was talking about it casually. He suspects that earlier this year he had a flare-up, he'd noticed he felt off balance for a few days or something, but it went away and he hadn't thought about it much afterwards. With his diagnosis now though, thinking back about things, he's quite sure it was his first noticable MS incident. And even now, he says the numbness in his neck and arm is gone and everything seems/feels fine. He is 46 years old.

We got home a little after 7pm. Hubby promptly fell asleep on the couch. Ty gave up and went to bed about 8:30pm. Casey's been pretty quiet and mellow, watching TV, but hasn't gone to bed yet. And I'm starting to rush thru this because I'm half asleep myself. Good food, and lots of laughter does that too you.

Night all, and I hope you had a wonderful day! :)

Nov. 26 - Twilight again

I saw Twilight again tonight. I was solo this time. Well, hubby went along to the theater but he decided to see the new James Bond movie instead. My sister saw it again last night (in Illinois) and said there were only about ten people there. I don't get that...just where is she seeing it?? Cuz even when I saw it tonight, that theater was easily over half full. Unfortunately tonight's crowd was louder, more annoying.

The silver car was still on display. I actually stopped earlier today and took this pic. It's easy to see now that it doesn't look much like Edward's car but still close enough to giggle and say 'Kewl!'


But anyway...I think I loved it. I know, I know, 'You *think* you loved it?' Well, I was able to appreciate it for what it was more this time, didn't worry about the changes. I was able to lose myself in it. I was more able to follow Edward's emotions. But I need to be able to cry freely and I tend to detach and hold back when I watch in the theater. When I get this on DVD and am able to just sit and cry at parts, then I'll know whether I really love it or not.

There were more little things I noticed this second time around. Like in biology class, the position of the owl on the shelf behind Edward makes it look like he (Edward) has angel wings. LOL! I watched the Cullens in the background more, noticing their reactions more to things going on. Emmett is hottt, dammit. He (Kellan) could have played Edward and I'd probably have been alright with it. And I can see now how some people think the venom sucking scene was comical...Edward was almost orgasmic, moaning and clutching her arm. Ha!

And then there are the parts I just love....the bit with Edward playing the piano being the first one that comes to mind. I think it's because he just looks so relaxed. I tried to find a pic or a clip online but couldn't find what I was looking for. The pics in the movie companion book are not the same. The big kiss scene was awesome again. When Bella starts getting more aggressive, the look on Edward's face is so...I don't know...pained? And two bits I love in the slaughtered meadow scene are when he backs her up against the rock and has his arms on each side of her, and when he's in the tree and she comes up closer to him...as she comes up he moves back to keep the space between them. So cool. Loved the dorky classmates again too.

Ooooh, and really loved the part where Edwards saves Bella from the dorks in Port Angeles. And lovelovelove his voice when he's talking to Bella in the hallway of the hospital early on, when he says "Mmm, and what do you think you saw?" (Or whatever the actual quote is.)

I don't know if I'll see it again in the theater. I'm not ruling it out. When it was done tonight, I thought I'd satisfied my need and could wait until the DVD comes out, but now I don't know. I'm already wishing I could see it again.

My name is Deb, and I am a Twilight dork.

Nov. 25 - In other news...

Can't remember if I posted a pic of my Thanksgiving decorations. It's not much, but I think that's one of the things I like so much about Thanksgiving...simplicity.



Well a few mornings ago, I came downstairs to find this....


Yes, the fattycat had gone on some kind of spazzy spree during the night. He never does this anymore in his old(ish) age so I don't know what possessed him that night?! A mouse in the house perhaps?

Luckily the only casualty in this mess was my tart warmer, which I'd just recently grown to really love. *sniffle* I don't burn alot of candles or use alot of fancy air fresheners. I'd received this tart warmer as a gift a couple years ago and it sat all this time (usually shoved into a back corner) until one day I decided what the heck. I was surprised at how much I liked it! The fragrance is much more potent than I thought it would be, and you can reuse it several times before the scent fades. All you need is a tealight candle, and I like those too cuz they burn themselves out and you don't have to worry about whether you've left candles burning. So yeah, my tart warmer shattered and I'm hoping Santa brings me a new one.

Did I mention anywhere that Casey has really gotten into drawing lately? It gives me the warm-fuzzies because I was all into art and writing in my younger days too. He's in art class at school, has been watching 'how to' videos on YouTube, and has been sketching in his bored moments. He's pretty good! Christmas shopping should be easy for him this year...hehe.

(Don't know if this will show up decent...)


Yesterday morning I woke up to this:


We got several inches of snow Sunday night! It was a total surprise to me since I don't pay attention to weather anymore on my goofy new schedule. It was beautiful though, and gave me some brief bursts of holiday spirit...probably the only I've had so far. It has warmed up since then and alot of that snow has melted but the ground is still pretty much covered. Hope we have a white Christmas again this year!

I worked Sat/Sun/Monday, and today was our first monthly safety training day. It was only three hours this morning, then we had the option to stay and work on 'holds' if we wanted to get more hours in. We're going to be way short on hours this week because it's our normal 'short week' and we have two holiday days that we only get eight hours pay (each day) instead of the 12 hours we normally work. (A technical difficulty out of our company's hands.) Anyway, some people stayed to get their extra hours but I left immediately. We will now be off for SIX glorious days. WOOT!!!

I went straight from work into town to do a bit of shopping for last minute Thanksgiving Day items. Got a few extra things (Twilight poster, heee!) and some non-essentials, and totally forgot ALL of the things I went for to begin with! GAH! So I was kinda crabby thinking I'd be spending my day off tomorrow running around AGAIN, but then remembered we have to go meet the insurance dude tonight so we can just swing by the store afterwards. *phew* And I will hopefully, finally, have a day off that does not involve me running around or trying to get tons of stuff done. I need to relax before going to see Twilight again anyway...

As mentioned, we go meet a possible new insurance dude tonight. He says we don't have to bring any paperwork or anything but I'm taking everything possible just in case we decide to go with him and just in case we can get it all wrapped up tonight. We'll be switching both our auto and our home insurance over to this place if it works out. That appointment is at 6pm so I better go get some things done.

*dashes out with the sounds of the Twilight prom song filling the house*

Nov. 25

Holy crap. Visits to this blog have absolutely skyrocketed since posting my thoughts about the Twilight movie. Where I used to get maybe four or five hits on a good day, now I'm getting 300-400! I know it's just popping up as people search Twilight, and I know people probably aren't even reading once they get here, but wow...it's still kinda fun on my end.

I welcome all my random readers! Even those who stumble in accidently and leave! I do wish they'd leave comments though. *overly dramatic sigh*

Anyway, it's been a few days, and I'm still totally hooked on Twilight. That first night after seeing the movie I wasn't sure just what my feelings were. I woke up a few times that first night, thinking about it and realizing things they hadn't included. The next day at work, my movie watching co-worker asked how the movie was, how I'd liked it. We spent a huge part of that day discussing Twilight...me telling her about the movie, and just general rehashing of the book and everything related. The more I talked about it and remembered parts from the movie in telling her, the more I realized that I think I really did like it. It started growing in me then, the need to see it again.

I had to wait all day for my sister's thoughts on the movie. She saw it Saturday morning. We texted throughout the afternoon, then she called me that night after I got home from work. We were on the phone for probably over an hour, reliving the movie and sharing our thoughts and opinions. I think she said she was surprised I liked it because they'd changed so much. Like I said, I think the changes they made worked for how they played it. This opinion could very well change though after I see it again. *begins to fret* She also had the need to see it again, and is going tonight (Tuesday). I will be going to see it for the second time tomorrow night, because that's the first chance my schedule allows. Bleah.

My sister saw it in Illinois, on a Saturday morning, and said there were maybe 20 people there! When I saw it here in Wisconsin, on Friday evening, it was sold out. I wonder how the crowds are now, because I *NEED* to get my back row seat this time. Part of my problem the first time was that I was too close and couldn't easily 'take in' the full picture. I had to either be looking at Edward's eyes or his ear lobe or his nostril...and couldn't soak up the whole face, the whole screen. I also think watching it this second time will allow me to just see *this* version, and not always have that thing in the back of my mind 'Well, they changed that...'

Hubby and the boys want to see some other movie that's opening Wednesday night, so I'm probably going solo to Twilight. That's fine. I can totally lose myself in it this time.

I'm still reading the book too. Yesterday while reading the meadow scene at work I had Bella's Lullaby in my head and had to fight the teary-eyes. LOL! I don't know why, but the part I really really really want to see again is when Edward is playing the lullaby. I don't know why. I seem to remember he was looking totally relaxed, or totally lost in the music or something. And I'm a sucker for piano music anyway.

Last night on Fuse, on DirecTV, they had Taylor, Kristen, and Rob on for an interview between songs in the countdown. They showed some clips from the movie. It was so cool to see it...I can't wait for the DVD!!! And it made over $70million in its opening weekend so the greenlight was immediately given to begin work on New Moon. Cool! But I read it won't be out till 2010. Gah! It's going to be like the Harry Potter series, where the stars age too much cuz the movies take too long to make. I've also heard that New Moon and Eclipse *might* be filmed together. That would be cool. Maybe we wouldn't have a huge wait in between then.

They also showed the Paramore video on Fuse last night. I knew the video was out there but I'd never watched it because it's probably my least favorite song on the soundtrack, and I didn't realize it had tons of clips from the movie. So it was a pleasant surprise to see it last night. Helped my addiction a bit, helped me get thru a bit more time till I can see the movie again. Ha!

That video.....

Twilight movie - My first thoughts

I'm just back from seeing the movie and am going to talk freely about it so...you have been warned.

The local theater that we go to had a midnight showing of Twilight, but that was sold out days ago. I had instead bought our tickets for the 6:45pm showing this evening. Hubby and the boys were going with me, more because we rarely go to movies so when we do it's a family affair. They were going more because of that than because they were gungho to see it. No, tonight was all for me. Hehe.

Hubby got home from work at 5pm. He changed his clothes, cleaned up a bit, and thought we were going to be leaving immediately. I laughed at him, told him I didn't need to be there *that* early. However, by 5:30pm I was getting anxious and excited and decided it would be better to be ridiculously early than to be late. So we headed out then.

We got to the theater by 6pm. The lot wasn't even filling up yet, things looked promising. As we pulled into our spot I had to laugh because parked on the lawn in front of the theater was a shiny silver car.

"No way!" I exclaimed, laughing like a dork. My menfolk looked around, clueless, and I told them that car was probably a silver Volvo and it was parked there because that's what Edward drives. They laughed. I wanted to take a pic but it was already getting too dark outside. (Found out *after* the movie that it was a Mazda that only *resembled* Edward's silver Volvo. Doh!)

We went inside...no line, yay!...picked up the tickets I'd pre-purchased, and stopped to get our drinks and munchies. Gave our tickets to the ticket dude who then stopped us and stamped our hands. That was kinda weird, since this theater is usually pretty lax. Walked a short way down the hall and were stopped outside the Twilight theater to have our handstamps checked before being allowed inside. Again, wow.

We always sit in the very back row, over in the corner. I love it there cuz you're not surrounded by people. Well, even for as early as we got there and for how empty the place seemed, once we rounded the corner and came into the actual theater we saw just how many people were already there. It was maybe a third filled already! And our preferred seats were already taken. Dammit! So we sat way closer than I would have liked, but at least still off to the side so we weren't totally boxed in.

It was fun for me to do some people watching, seeing all the Twilight shirts, and stuff. There was even a girl wearing a Team Jacob shirt! Who in their right mind would be Team Jacob?? *rolls eyes* I was texting my sister. I was really frikken excited. When the lights finally started to dim a bunch of the teen girls started screaming, which was actually pretty funny and cool.

There was a preview for the next Harry Potter movie. That was interesting cuz of the rivalry, cuz today was originally supposed to be the HP opening, and cuz of the Rob Pattinson connection.

So...the movie. Now, it is my norm to not be able to form an opinion on the first viewing of anything. And this was no different, which kinda disappointed me. I'd been thinking, hoping that I'd love it so much I wouldn't have this problem. Honestly though, I can't decide at the moment. That in itself should say that I didn't love it, but I don't feel that way. At least I didn't come away from it feeling totally depressed, ha.

They changed ALOT. I knew they would, but they changed SO MUCH. Things that I don't understand why they felt the need to change it. The story is still the same, all the key points are there, all the basics were covered. But they rearranged some things, split up conversations and moved them around, compacted things here and there. And I don't understand why. They humored it up alot, which was fine...but they kinda changed the tone of alot of things.

The whole meadow scene. What was that?? Several of those tiny little comments and bits that just *make* the story, gone or changed. The way Edward reveals himself to Bella...it's done in and angry 'Look at what a freak I am!' way. In the book I always got a feeling of him being, I don't know, embarrassed and wary about showing Bella but at the same time feeling he'd gotten to a level of security with her that he was kinda pleased to say 'This is me.' I don't know, I really need to see the movie again to fully taken in how much that scene was slaughtered.

On this first viewing I didn't feel the deep bond, deep attraction between Bella and Edward that the book has. To be fair, I think I was just too busy taking everything in to really just live it. Edward was played a little more bumbling and unsure of himself than I think the book Edward is. Bella was Bella, she was ok. They added alot of Charlie stuff that was actually pretty good. Alot of little things that the book fans in the crowd picked up on, fun things like Jasper's constant pained expression. LOL

The cry factor...hmmm. I cry over the smallest things. I also try to control myself in the theater, try to stay a bit detached so I don't end up a red faced blubbering idiot when the movie is over. I did cry during this, but I think I will cry a whole lot more when I get to watch the DVD in the privacy of my own home. The two spots that I remember really crying were when Bella said the stuff to her dad before she left (to get away from James) and the end of the hospital scene (like I knew I would). There were other parts where I was teary-eyed but controlled it.

As for the music...HA! I had every song wrong. Well, except for the prom song, but the friggen book tells us what that one is. In my own defense though, I did wonder before the movie was done if the Linkin Park song would be the end credits, and it was. And the music during the scene when Edward sucks the venom out was indeed Rob's song but not the song on the soundtrack. Cheaters! My very favorite song (the Muse one) was during the baseball game!!! Doh!

So, overall, hmm...I'm leaving it at undecided.

And I'm off to bed now, to let it all simmer and stew in my brain, and maybe my thoughts will be different in the morning.

wOOt!

Oh, forgot to say that this 6:45pm showing was also sold out. They announced that shortly after we sat down, and were rearranging people to best seat everyone in the groups they came with. Also forgot to say that Ty and Casey both liked the movie more than they thought they would. Hubby says that while he liked it, he thought it would be more vampire-y, which is what I think alot of people who haven't read the book are thinking. Ok, off to bed now.

AND I forgot to say that they totally set up the next movies with that little Victoria bit at the ending. Of course.

Nov. 21

It's Twilight day! *does the happy dance* The local radio station that I listen to in the mornings is supposed to be having Twilight stuff...early reviews, tickets, talk...so I've left it on that station longer than I normally would but wouldn't you know, I'm having to sit thru tons of other boring morning crap first. Like right now they have a supposed psychic and I'm just totally rolling my eyes, and it's quite obvious the DJ thinks it's all crap too. Gah, move on already! Get to Twilight!



Last night hubby and I watched a Netflixed movie called Whisper.
Whisper (2007)
Wanting a fresh start with his fiancée, Roxanne (Sarah Wayne Callies), ex-con Max (Josh Holloway) decides to make one last score by kidnapping the young son of a wealthy woman. But the boy (Blake Woodruff) possesses mysterious mental powers, which he uses to creep inside the minds of others. Now, Max and his cohorts find themselves turning on one another with increasingly unpleasant results in this tense supernatural thriller.

The fact that Josh Holloway (Sawyer, from Lost) was a bonus and not the reason I picked it. Hehe. It wasn't a fabulous movie or anything but it was better than I had thought it would be. It has an 'R' rating but I noticed on IMDB that is being appealed, and I really don't think it deserved an 'R.' There is some violence but it's really quite tame, which was cool cuz I hate overdone gore and blood. Didn't even have obligatory nudity that all movies seem to pointlessly throw in.

Anyway, Whisper was good for a boring evening but I wouldn't go buy it.

Hubby has been venturing to doctors again. Let me just say, he is one of those guys who won't do things to help himself. If he's had a particularly long or hard day and his body aches, he won't take some Advil and relax. He'll sit on the couch or gimp around the house, moaning about how there must be something wrong with him. If he has a bad cold, he won't take cold medicine but will make sure everyone else knows how miserable he is. Etc, etc, etc.

Soooo, lately he's been saying it always feels like there is something in his throat. Ok, so does he take anything or try anything like gargling, or cutting down on smoking, or anything? No, of course not, because it HAS to be something majorly wrong beyond his control. He made an appointment at the regular doctor, who could not find anything. In chatting about overall health with this doctor, weight gain was discussed and the doctor suggested it *might* be a thyroid issue so they took blood (or whatever) to check that. (Um, no, the weight gain is because of our completely fat and lazy lifestyles but he refuses to accept that he's let himself fall into this state of disrepair.) It was also suggested that the feeling in his throat could be acid reflux, so hubby was all 'Oh see! It's something horrible!' attitude.

The doctor referred him to an ear-nose-throat specialist. Hubby was perked up by this because obviously if he has to go to a specialist there has to be something really wrong, right?? They did a scope on him yesterday and found absolutely nothing wrong. The specialist also mentioned it could just be some acid reflux issues if he's feeling something in his throat. Ha!

I don't mean to sound horrible but he *always* does this. He was convinced he had carpel tunnel, the doctor told him it was not that but rather his Couch Potato Syndrome. His digestive issues that he's seen numerous doctors for, had numerous tests for, always comes back to his Couch Potato Syndrome. His back, knees, ankles bothering him...CPS. The weight gain...CPS. The reflux...related to the weight gain...CPS. He refuses to see it, to admit it, to admit that HE has to change things.

I have gained thousands of pounds myself over that last few years (a big chunk of it in the last year alone), and I have huge problems with acid reflux. Unlike hubby, I am willing to research things online and talk to other people and realize that alot of it is my own fault and *I* have the power to change these things. I think in my case of acid reflux, maybe I should see a doctor because it's bad (I don't ever see hubby take anything for his) but the one time I did go, she told me it was all stress and I should think about counselling. Whatever. I've talked to several people who have gone thru the whole realm of reflux testing and keep hearing the same things...change diet, exercise, and take an acid reducer daily.

So anyway, I'm glad that hubby's tests were normal but I wish he'd eventually see what's going on and, well, do something about it.

LOL - I have the Twilight soundtrack playing (of course) and I keep having random spazz attacks that have Ty laughing and shaking his head at me in a 'You're a dork' way. He says 'This is like Christmas Eve for you, isn't it?!' WOOT!!! The Linkin Park song was just on and out of nowhere I gasped and started clapping my hands. Ty says 'What now?' and I exclaimed 'Tonight I'll know where this song goes in the movie!!!'

Well, I should go do something productive. I still have another Netflix movie to watch. I have to go pick up my paycheck and go to the bank (forgot about it yesterday). I should go fill the birdfeeders, but it's flippin' cold out there! But heck, Casey is still asleep so I should cherish my computer time while I have it.

Ha!

Nov. 20

Wow, I've gotten so sucky about blogging that I had to go back and read the last several posts just to see what's been happening. It's the work schedule that's kept me from writing. When I get home in the evenings I usually have to chase Casey off my computer just long enough for me to check email and a few key sites I go to, and I always think 'I'll post tomorrow when I'm not rushing so much.'

Work is still crazy freaky. It's still weird trying to keep track of what day it is. It's also becoming weird having so many days off. Even though we just worked two twelve hour days, that time seems trivial and it's feeling like 'I'm off AGAIN? I was just off!' I suppose that's a good kind of weirdness but still, it's just another funny headgame we're discovering in all this.

Yesterday we each got a free frozen turkey from work. We get one every year for Thanksgiving. This year they were 10-12 pounders. I **love** turkey so I had to do some digging and tag comparing to find one just over 11 pounds. I'm a dork, I know. Since we are going to my brother's house for actual Thanksgiving dinner, I'll make my freebie turkey the day after, and we'll have our own Thanksgiving meal. That's something we started doing several years ago, having a second dinner only for us. I love it.

I bought my tickets for the Twilight movie yesterday! The midnight show was sold out, so we're going to the next available one, which will be 6:45pm Friday.

I. CAN'T. WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've still been listening to the soundtrack but no trying so much anymore to figure out where the songs go. They are releasing another soundtrack cd, this one with the other music from the movie (the score). I already have it pre-ordered. I don't know what I'll do if I'm totally disappointed in this movie. Doh!

The whole prom song/pics in book thing still gets me weepy. Hmm, this might need its own post. Tune in for details on this later.

Still reading Twilight, and not going as fast as I'd like. I am thoroughly enjoying it though. All these little bits I'd forgotten about, little comments and things, that I'm soooo hoping they capture in the movie. I'm even anxious to read the rest of the series this time. I wonder if my opinions of the other books will be less harsh now? My sister just recently finished the second book and really like it. She likes the thing I disliked most...the werewolf storyline. I can't wait till she finishes the whole series (and gets her computer fixed) so we can discuss things I've been having to zip my lips about.

One of my online friends is reading Twilight now, and not liking it much. Well, ok, she says she likes it but her comments suggest otherwise. I almost found myself doing that thing I hate...where I'm defending it, trying to make her see why she should be liking it. Ooops! lol

I wonder if my faithful reader 'Captain' ever did start reading it?

I also have to laugh at my movie watching co-worker's comments that Twilight is only big to us because *we* have read the book. She has insisted on different ocassions that it's really not a very big thing outside people that have read it, and it only seems like it because we are aware of the book. Know what she's saying? But I've always pointed out to her that no, it's a friggen huge deal these days, and everytime I present a bit of evidence to prove it, she seems a bit 'oh, well, wow' at first then seems to try and shrug it off as 'only because we've read the book.' So in the last couple days I've been able to point out to her that the soundtrack (that she said was poorly done and sucks) debuted at #1 on the charts, that midnight openings of the movie are selling out everywhere (and having shows added), and the entire Twilight series is currently holding the top four spots on the best seller list. Told her about the mob scenes at cast appearances, all the news like that, and she's finally starting to accept that it's something big. Ha!

Even I have been wanting to get a poster and shirt now. Walmart has the Edward poster and the Bella/Edward poster. I pass them, smiling, everytime I shop there but it wasn't until today that I actually wanted to buy one. I decided what the heck, this is another of my obsessions so I'll need the poster to add to my others...Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Titanic, The Crow. And wouldn't you know, the Bella/Edward one was sold out. I'm also hearing that Hot Topic has tons of shirts and related items, so I need to stop in there. Ooh, maybe tomorrow I'll drag the boys with me since they don't have school. 'Come along, teenage boys. Come to Hot Topic with your mommy so she doesn't seem like a creepy old lady out of place in this store.' LOL!

Oh, I finished my turkey. My mom came and picked it up Monday.


And I had a dream about Rory Cochrane the other night. It was weird, random, out of nowhere since he hasn't been in my thoughts for a while now.


And to close this post...

Nov. 15

I'm actually quite cranky already today and it's only 6:20am. I have this weekend off, a normal Sat/Sun weekend with my family...and I don't even want to be here. I realized this yesterday during work. I've gotten used to my days off being alone time, so the thought of two full days with these three highly annoying menfolk is less than thrilling to me. And to make things worse, when I got home last night we already had company. It was an old friend of hubby's, so I just had to do the basic polite greetings and was not obligated to join them as they sat around and smoked and talked and watched wrestling on TV. *rolls eyes* I even gave up and went to bed early...which led to the next stage of crabbiness. Friggen hubby hogged so much of the bed I couldn't even sleep. So from about 12-5am I was trying to get comfortable on the edge of the bed and yeah, that wasn't happening. I got pissed and gave up on that too, and got up at 5am. On my day off. Yeah. It'll be a great freakin' weekend.

*grrr*

One kinda funny thing about the new work schedule is that the regular 8-hour people seem to be having a change of heart now. What used to be snotty, sarcastic comments in the first week, "Ha! How's that 12-hour thing working out for ya?" has now turned into more serious inquiries, and several people have commented about wishing they could get on that schedule now. It's surprisingly not that bad. The worst part for me right now is trying to keep track of what day of the week it is. Like, I was off Tues/Wed, so when I went to work on Thursday I was in total 'It's Monday' mode.

The production supervisor told us in our pre-shift meeting one day this week that the whole 12-hour change had gotten off to a smashing start, far more successful than they'd hoped or planned, and those machines had run better in the first week than in the last six weeks before it. Woot! One girl in particular who wanted nothing to do with the 12 hours, and who always has to be the little queen, the little star of the day, was not liking those comments at all. HA!!!

Ty survived his illness. He was back to normal, back to school that next day, and hasn't had a problem since.

Plates still haven't come for his car yet. He's getting anxious now. A friend that he gets a ride home from school from sometimes, stopped over yesterday to check out the car. He was checking out all the things that hubby and Ty never even looked at, finding all the little things like 'oh there *is* a cd player in here' and 'dude, you have nothing inside to open your trunk,' and stuff like that. So now Ty's pretty into getting that car to be *HIS* and not just a car sitting in the driveway. I still think he'll be getting car stuff for Christmas...like seat covers, floor mats, etc. *snicker*

The new expansion for Warcraft came out Thursday. My menfolk were all over that one! Hubby went straight from work to Fond du Lac to pick up two copies that we'd pre-ordered at EB Games. He also got the stategy guide book. Ty had the expansions installed on both computers, and both accounts upgraded, and the boys were already playing by the time I got home that evening. And they've all been addicted ever since. I rarely get my computer anymore, except on my days off during the week. Even if I try to get on after work...check email, etc...I always have someone hovering over me wondering what I'm doing and how long it will take me and wanting the computer back. Yeah, just another part of the crabbiness.

I haven't listened to my Twilight soundtrack in two days. I haven't spent any quality time on the computer so I have no new news about the movie.

Nov. 12

Well today just sucked, one of those 'I would rather be at work!' type days where nothing gets done or goes right. Ty felt sick this morning so of course I went into PanicMommy mode thinking it was related to the nicked artery thing. He said it just felt like he hadn't eaten anything, he was a bit queasy. That didn't sound like anything they'd told him to watch out for so I tried to relax about it. He nibbled a bit of food and seemed to be ok enough to go to school.

I left for shopping before the boys left for school. (I have to get it done early, ya know.) I had told Ty that if he absolutely couldn't make it, that was fine but he should try. He's always been good about dragging himself to school. Anyway, I went shopping. And that was a joke. A long series of forgetting things and backtracking thru aisles, of checking prices and deciding to check elsewhere, of simply not finding things I needed. It took me way longer than I'd wanted, and I came home to find Ty asleep on the couch. Heh, he decided not to go, I figured. But when I checked the flashing new messages on the answering machine, one was from Ty...at school. Huh? He woke up as I'd been moving around the house, and explained that he'd tried calling home but figured I wasn't back yet, so he'd called Grandma E to pick him up and bring him home.

He had some Tylenol and something to sip on, and went back to sleep. He had a chiro appointment at 4:10pm. When he woke up in the afternoon he seemed much better. I asked if he thought he could make it thru the appointment. He said he'd give it a try. He spent the afternoon watching a movie, still on the couch, but feeling better, up and around more, nibbling food. When it was time to leave he said he wasn't feeling as good but still better than this morning so we decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately by the time we got to the chiro clinic he was feeling like crap again and we rescheduled the appointment. (Why didn't I just reschedule to begin with? Because I'd changed this one twice already due to my stupid work schedule changes. *grrr*)

Came back home, he had more Tylenol, and returned to the couch to nap. He's watching a movie with hubby right now, sipping on his generic 7Up-type soda, and in pretty good spirits. I hope he feels better by morning. The chiro lady, however, mentioned a flu bug is going around. Ugh.

I was supposed to do some shopping around for insurance quotes today. I got *nothing* done on that. I've been digging thru files and stuff, trying to find all the stupid information these places ask for. The insurance guy from yesterday called today but since I had nothing to tell him yet I just friggen ignored the phone. Yeah, I know, real polite...but bleah! It's been a crappily aggravating day!

Two Netflix movies arrived today. Both are movies that hubby probably has little interest in seeing so I had hoped to just kick back and watch them myself. Didn't happen, obviously. Now I probably won't see them till this weekend.

And then there is Twilight. I'd also hoped to do alot of reading on these two days off, maybe finish the first book. Nope. Haven't had a chance to pick it up once. But I'm still obsessed with the soundtrack!

People are insisting the song on the soundtrack are not in the order they'll appear in the movie. Don't know how they know this, but I could swear that every soundtrack I have follows the order of the show/movie. Maybe I just have very orderly soundtracks? Anyway, if they're *NOT* in order, I've been trying to 'see' the songs in different places. Several people suggest that Rob's song (Never Think) will be when Edward is watching Bella sleep. After listening to it (really loud, by the way) in the car today, I can suddenly see it there. They could kinda alternate shots between sleeping Bella and Edward maybe struggling with emotions. It could work, and I think I quite like it.

The Muse song is the other one I'm allowing myself to see elsewhere. I was kinda thinking about it as playing in the background at the prom, like when Bella & Edward arrive. But I'm thinking of it more now in relation to the nomad vampires. Hmmm. This is so much fun! Wish I had someone to giggle about all this with!

Nov. 11

Wow, this new schedule is crazy. It's really starting to play games with my head now. The 12 hours really aren't as bad as everyone makes them out to be, but the ever changing days on/off is where it gets wacky. Like right now it is Tuesday, but my mind and every fiber of my body is saying it's Friday, probably because I'm used to having Fridays off previously. While we were working on Sat/Sun. I was constantly feeling it was Monday because we were back to work after our time off.

Another weird phenomenon is that we're starting to lose track of days *within* the same day. When we start at 7am it's natural to us...our same old start time, with all the same old people. But at 3pm, the regular 8-hour shift people change, and then we work four more hours with the new crew of 2nd shift people. Because of that switch, we're finding that we tend to think of things happening earlier as having happened a day ago? Get what I mean? It's kinda funny, kinda scary.

But anyway, we were off Wed/Thur/Friday of last week, worked Sat/Sun/Monday, and now we are off again for today and tomorrow. Crazy.

Last week during my time off I did alot of running around, shopping, busy busy busy. This time I wanted to just stay home and relax, read, watch movies. I haven't gone anywhere today but I didn't think it would be hectic as it's been. Our home insurance guy was going to be coming over at 11am, redo our coverage now that the house work is done. No biggie. Puttered around during the morning, cleaning up the house a bit, doing dishes, etc. I figured he'd toss some numbers at me, have me sign some things, and be on his way.

Not! He was throwing numbers at me alright but he was asking me a million questions about what I wanted to do. I was like, uh, yeah, you tell me what you think I should do...help!? And he wasn't helpful, wouldn't describe or explain things, just talked in numbers and insurance techtalk. HELP?! Then it got to where we both decided maybe hubby would be better at this, and he's confusing me all over again with whether he was going to call hubby, or if hubby was going to call him, or if I was just going to talk it over and get back to him, or what the heck....?! It was decided I would talk to hubby when he got home this evening and hubby would call InsuranceDude back this evening. Fine, ok, everything solved.

Not! After talking to hubby, InsuranceDude will still need some papers signed. Should have stop back tomorrow? Sure, or I offered to just come to his office this time. Somewhere it got back to him stopping back tomorrow with papers to sign. Huh, ok... Then he tosses in a whole new discussion about umbrella coverage, and starts asking about our cars and stuff. Would I like him to figure a quote on that? Sure. Ok, well, he'll need this and this and that and the other and all the things I don't have offhand. That's ok, he decides, I can just gather it all up and have it for him when he stops back tomorrow. Well, how can I sign papers if he hasn't had the info or time to figure everything??? Which is going to mean ANOTHER appointment after he's had time to do all this. Gah.

After he left I started digging thru files to find the things he needed. Then it occurred to me that I'd better find out from our current auto insurance what it will be to add Ty, so I know what to compare InsuranceDude's quotes against. It's a call I should have made anyway because Ty needs to be added to our insurance regardless where that insurance ends up coming from. So I call our current insurer. I give him the info I've since dug up for InsuranceDude, and he gives me some rough figures, then realizes our own coverage is really low and we should think about increasing it. Then he says he thinks he can get us a cheaper deal thru one of their other companies or whatever but he'll need to run some numbers and check driving records and things, and I could call him back after I talk to hubby.

So now I have both dudes preparing to spit numbers at me tomorrow and both kinda depend on what the other comes up with. Bleah! Can't wait till hubby gets home so I can vent and whine all this to him, and get some idea of what to tell these people.

So yeah, one day off pretty much shot. *sigh*

Since I couldn't get too involved in anything else I tried to work on my turkey project throughout the day. I'm making one of those wooden/painted yard decorations like we made last year, this time for my mom. I had told her I'd get a Halloween one made but piddled around till it was too late. Feeling guilty, I told her I'd try to get a Thanksgiving one made for her. And I started one. But I just absolutely do not want to work on it! I loved doing it last year, but this year I just want nothing to do with it. I have so many other things I'd rather be doing. Forced myself to work on it in scattered bits all day, and this is how it looks so far:


I just want to get it done so I don't have to worry about it.

In other news, Ty has his first car!


It's a 1996 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. There is frost on it in this pic, and it looks black but it's listed as green on the title. It must be really dark green like my car is. We bought it from a guy a few miles down the road. He had this one and another but this was cheaper so this is what Ty gets. lol It needs a new muffler, there is a dent on one side, some small rust spots starting, and the interior has some small rips and dings but otherwise it looks pretty good. He's not driving it yet, no plates yet...but he's rather excited about it all. I'm thinking he'll be getting car related stuff for Christmas. LOL

I started reading Twilight again. Can't remember if I'd already started the last time I posted? Anyway, this is my third time reading it. It's fun to read it now and see all the subtle clues and things, to see things in a different way. My copy of the book has been handled and passed around so much that it's already quite worn. I'll have to buy a new one, with the fancy movie version cover. hehe

I'm still listening to the soundtrack alot too. Someone suggested the Linkin Park song could be when Bella heads to the ballet studio to confront James. My first reaction was 'No, that's kinda dorky,' but after listening to it again and thinking about in that context, I think it might work. Still not sure I feel that where it will be though. I've also seen more than one suggestion that Rob Pattinson's song will be when he's watching Bella sleep. Again, my first thought was 'No way.' I suppose I can see it there but I also think they'll probably use another form of Bella's Lullaby there, maybe a softer, piano-y-er (ha!) version at that point. Plus Rob had said in that article that it would have been a big orchestral climax and I don't think watching her sleep would qualify.

As I've said, I can't wait for this movie!!

I joined a Twilight messageboard group but don't think I'll stay. It's so busy there, and I'm coming in as a newbie. I mean, they've all discussed everything to death already so anything I'd want to giggle and natter about would be old news to them. I'll have to look around for another, smaller, place. Heh...or start my own.

May I rant for a bit? Why is it, when one person likes something and another person doesn't, that disliking person feels the need to explain why the liking person shouldn't like it either? This has happened more than once with my movie watching co-worker and it's always annoying but the latest incident happened yesterday and it involves Twilight. *grr*

She's read the whole series and liked them all. She's mildly excited about the movie but admits she'll wait for it to come out on DVD. (I could *never* do that!) I was telling her about the soundtrack and she seemed interested enough that I let her borrow my copy for a night. I guess I really wasn't surprised when she told me the next day that she didn't really like it. Ok, fine. You didn't, I did. But no! She then launches into this LECTURE of why I shouldn't like it either, why it's bad, what it should have been like...."It's really quite poorly done," she concluded in her all-knowing tone, complete with the 'are you so stupid?' smirk and the nod of the head. The fact that she didn't like it doesn't even bother me. It's the fact that she tried to convince me why *I* shouldn't like it that pisses me off. And her reasons are all...stupid. It's not dark enough? It's not vampire-y enough? It's not like Queen of the Damned? G-A-H-!!!!!

Ooooh, the boys are home from school now and Ty gave blood at the school blood drive. I'm quite impressed! I asked why he hadn't needed a parent signature and he said because he was over 16. Huh. Did not know that. He then said we might be getting a call from the doctor/hospital/whatever because "they think they might have knicked an artery." WHAT?! I would think they'd know that on the spot...?? Apparently his blood flowed very quickly and they got what they needed way faster than other people. He also bruised right away, and they had to apply extra pressure to get the puncture site to stop bleeding. They kept him a bit longer than others afterwards, checking on him, telling him what to watch for, etc. He says that was about 10am this morning and he's felt fine ever since, and his bandage has never had to be changed, so I'm thinking he's fine. I wonder if he's anemic or something?

Well, I've rambled enough to make up for my absence. Time to go make supper now.

Nov. 7

I'm obsessed with the Twilight soundtrack. I've listened to it almost nonstop since it arrived yesterday afternoon. (Well, ok, didn't listen while sleeping...) My sister confirmed that the Iron & Wine song will indeed be the prom song. She said she'd noticed that in the movie companion book I'd gotten. (I haven't read it yet.) So, yes, that is an awesome selection for the prom song. Dorky me even got teary eyed when I looked at the prom pics in the book while the song was playing.

The Rob Pattinson song is growing on me now. At first I didn't think I liked it. Maybe I still don't, and I'm just used to it now? Dunno. This is the one I'm trying to figure out now, where it will be in the movie. Rob Pattinson says "...what was supposed to be at that point in the movie was a big orchestral film climax. Instead it’s this little song with acoustic guitar." The thing that comes to mind is the events after Bella is bitten, leading into the hospital scenes. At first I would have thought of the after-bite moments as rather chaotic, trying to save her, etc...but I can kinda see it with Rob's song there. It could work, would make it a different kind of emotional. If it's the scenes in the hospital I will totally be bawling. I also wondered if it might be in the meadow, revealing himself to her, the first kiss.

I can't wait!!!



Hubby was asked to be godfather to a co-worker's son. Very cool, and kinda funny cuz I didn't realize they were that close as friends. The whole family connection is funny too. And confusing. Ya see, the baby's mother's stepfather is Casey's godfather and a longtime friend of both my family and hubby's family. Got all that? lol

The baptism is Nov. 23. Figures I have to work that day. But hey, it gave me a reason to go baby shopping!

Nov. 6

My second day off and I'm already bored. And I still have tomorrow off! Yesterday I did alot of running around. First I was up at my usual time, and knew I'd have to go get dog food at some point during the day so I decided to just go shopping like it would have been my normal weekly shopping. Went to Fond du Lac, kinda took my time wandering around looking at things, got groceries and came home. Was only home for a short time then decided to go to Ripon and putter around, looking at stuff there. Bought a few small things, then headed home. Grabbed a bite to eat, then had to make a trip into Brandon to buy a local newspaper for my sister. Got home from that and was doing dishes when hubby and the boys got home. Bleah, first day was done already.

Today I had decided to just stay home and get small projects done. Uh, yeah. I've been wasting time and doing other things. I did have to leave once though, had to go pick up my paycheck at work and go to the bank. The main project I'd wanted to get done was to organize my photo files, get everything grouped and on cds, and finally use Snapfish to get some prints. My pics are such a mess though! I have duplicates scattered in various folders, some are scanned copies of actual prints, some are files from other people, some are resized, etc. I ended up just browsing thru all the pics and giving up. I have a Thanksgiving wooden yard deco project started but couldn't find the ambition to work on that either. *cries*

Last night hubby and I watched the movie Turn Of The Screw. I really liked it, even if it is just as confusing as the book. And yes, I've read that book. *phew* It's the kind of book that takes every bit of focus and concentration you have...lol But I really really liked the movie. I love that time period, the language, the simplicity. I don't know if there are more versions of it, but the one we watched had Jodhi May playing the lead role, from 1999.


My Twilight soundtrack cd arrived today! WOOT!!! It comes with one of four posters inside and mine is...James! LOL! I'm guessing the others are Edward, Jacob, and Bella. I'm on my second listen now, and quite liking it. I'm 'seeing' scenes for different songs and wondering how close I am to correct. Should I go out on a limb and post my thoughts?

*debates*

Ok, laugh if you must. I'm kinda going on the assumption that the order of the songs on the cd will be the order in the movie. My sister doesn't think that's necessarily true but that's still how I'm seeing things. The first song is Supermassive Black Hole, by Muse. I'd never heard it before but I liked it right away. I can see it as a sort of opening song, showing shots of normal school life as Bella arrives for her first day. (Gawd, I feel dorky now for having revealed what I see.) The 11th song is Flightless Bird, American Mouth, by Iron & Wine. I can see this as one of the prom songs. The last song is Bella's Lullaby, but it's a little more haunting than I'd imagined it would be. I suppose it will be sprinkled throughout the movie but I can see end credits rolling during this one. Or, I can see the credits rolling on the Iron & Wine song too. Ooooh! Maybe it will be the prom song and fade into the end credits? Yes, that will be it.

*snort*

I'm rather baffled by the Linkin Park song though! It's #4 on the cd, but seems like it would come later if you go by the lyrics. I really need to know where this one goes! I can't wait the two weeks to find out! I must do some Googling.

Oh, and the change in our work schedule means I'm now OFF the day Twilight opens! YES!!! I soooooo want to go that day but I'm sure it will be jam packed with screaming, giggling teenage girls.

I mean come on, leave some room for the screaming, giggling 40something year olds!

Nov. 4

Day 2 of the 12-hour shifts. I went to bed early last night, but slept like total crap. Not sure why...cuz I ate supper too close to bedtime? Cuz I was all high strung about the changes? Not sure, but it sucked. So I was tired this morning at work. Of course people would have been all over the 'haha, told you 12 hours sucks' thing if they'd known so I didn't let it affect me. The day was quite mellow as it went on, and I was getting tired by the end, but my evening at home has been different on this second day. I ate less when I got home. I'm also not nearly as tired so maybe I'll be able to stay up later, and sleep better. *fingers crossed*

We had some drama at work today. Without going into all the technical details that would confuse you anyway, work got a call from the corporate office today saying they couldn't run the 12-hour crews on the schedule they'd set up and needed to change it as soon as possible. Long story short, they changed our schedule today. It's still basically the same but shifted one day over. The biggest change in this is that our three day weekends change from Fri-Sat-Sun to Sat-Sun-Mon instead. People are IRATE about this, especially the night shifters. They say their weekends are totally shot now. They have a point but let's face it...this 12-hour crap is crappy all around.

Since they need to get the schedule changed around soon, they've changed our schedule slightly for *this* week. It turns out to be good for my crew because we now get Wednesday, Thursday AND Friday off this week. Wheeee! Original plan only had us off Wednesday and Thursday.

Anyway...

Our weather has been ridiculous the last two days. Seventy-four degrees and sunny! That's wonderful, except that this is NOVEMBER. I'm finding it verrrrrry hard to have *any* kind of holiday spirit this way. I've heard a few holiday related commercials on the radio and it just seems so...wrong. This sucks because I want to be in a warm fuzzy holiday mood.

Nov. 3

Day 1 of our lovely new 12-hour shifts is done. It wasn't that bad, but it is just the first day. It wasn't bad for several reasons. First, we're still starting at our regular time (7am) so my morning routine is still the same. The first eight hours are just like normal, all the same people, everything seems like normal. And it's not like I've never worked a 12-hour day before... But we'll see how I feel about it tomorrow at this time.

AND when I got home, hubby and the boys had supper made for me!! Well, they had already eaten, but they left a plate for me. I had doubted they'd even make supper, much less save me some! They didn't even leave the kitchen trashed! It was lovely but I don't expect it to last. lol

Now that I've eaten and had some time to sit down, I'm getting really tired. Doh! Hubby and the boys are still watching wrestling so I'm heading to bed.

Oooh, and my pre-ordered Twilight soundtrack shipped today! (So did hubby's really loud looking Vikings shirt...)

Nov. 1

I missed my Halloween post. I had cute little Halloweeny clipart things to include and everything. *cries* Oh well, I guess I do it in recap form.

I had the day off, my final day off in my October adventure. The boys had no school so they were home to ruin my day of Peaceful Me Time. Hehe. I was up early and off to do my shopping. Originally I was going to buy at least one more pumpkin cuz carving them had been so fun and I had an idea for one more really cool one. By the time I got to the store though, I decided nah, we didn't need anymore. I did end up buying another carving kit, this one with different patterns, so we're already set for next year!

Boys were already up and playing Warcraft by the time I got home. They have become re-obsessed with that game (hubby too) as the release date for the new expansion pack draws near. So, because they were hogging the computers, I puttered around doing other things. Baked a Halloween cake, and two packages of chocolate chips. Tended my overly neglected bird feeders. Started reading my Twilight movie book. Watched a bit of crap TV.

Hubby came home at 4pm and we made it to the bank by 4:30pm to sign the final papers for this loan craziness. The bank lady talked a bit more about the low appraisal, told us two of the big deductions were that we don't have a proper garage and that our kitchen is not updated. Our kitchen is ugly and kinda spread out in a not very user friendly way but I don't know about it *needing* updating. I found that to be kinda stupid. But oh well. The bank lady said the biggest reason is still that the economy and the market are so screwed up right now.

Anyway, we got everything all sorted out...what money is going where, what payments will be for what, blah blah yadda yadda. Signed a million papers and went on our way. We'll get a check next week to send to the credit card company to pay off that balance. We don't have a home payment in November so that means extra Christmas shopping money! I'm just really glad to have this whole home improvement adventure over.

Oh, now that I've said that, I just remembered we need to get the insurance dude to come and refigure things. *Then* we will be done.

Hubby and the boys were absorbed in Warcraft all evening so I watched more Halloween movies...It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and Audrey Rose. I had read the Audrey Rose book a few months ago. The movie is old, mid-70s or something, but I hadn't seen it. It's about a guy who is convinced this one couple's daughter is his own daughter reincarnated. The movie was pretty good. Anthony Hopkins as the guy, and Marsha Mason as the girl's mother.

We live out in the country, so we don't get trick-or-treaters but I did set our pumkins out and had them all lit and looking stunningly awesome. Turned our strings of ghost lights, skeleton lights, and bats/pumpkins lights on for the night. And that was our Halloween.

Today is the first of November. Just like on the first of October, I can't believe we are this late in the year. The weather didn't help it sink in either...sunny and near 60 degrees.

My grand-niece (great-niece?) will be one year old on Monday, Nov. 3 but since her daddy (my nephew) had custody this weekend they had a birthday party for her today. My sister came up from Illinois, picked me up on her way thru, and we went to the party together. Ty came with us but Casey and hubby stayed home.



Earlier in the day, while waiting for my sister to arrive, I used the time to take down and pack away all of my Halloween decorations. I hadn't put everything out this year but it still took a while to get what I *did* put out all packed up again. I even went outside and took care of the few yard decos we'd bothered to get out. I turned the carved side of the pumpkins toward the back and displayed the untouched side so we can get a bit more decorating use out of them. Hid the carvings, and showed plain pumpkins instead.

Back inside, I got my few Thanksgiving decorations out. Usually I wait till the week before, two weeks if I'm feeling generous, to get the decos out. But today, since I had time and was already busy with packing up the Halloween stuff, I went ahead and set up my Thanksgiving stuff. It's only a few things but looks nice in it's simplicity. That's one of the reasons it's become my nearly-favorite holiday over the last few years.

So, I got all that done before my sister got here. We went to the birthday party, stayed and visited for a few hours, then came back here for a brief bit of visiting before my sister headed back home. I think I would have rather had her spend the night than be driving all that way back home in the dark, especially in this prime deer movement time of year. I'm really tired though and would have been wanting to go to bed instead of visiting, and she wanted to get back tonight soooooo...off she went.

Because I had Friday off, it's felt like Sunday all day today. And now that I think about having one more day off and not really anything urgent or important to do, I'm quite happy about the idea of sleeping and laying around all day tomorrow.

wOOt!