This is not going to make me popular with the ladies.

Here's the thing (that's how I would like to start off the majority of my posts but seem to always convince myself to save it for that one special post)--

I am a mediocre Twilight fan.  Fair weather Twilight fan.  Middle of the road Twilight fan. 

Don't get me wrong I really liked the first book.  I sat and read it one afternoon.  Something about it drew me in, but the writing style started to bug me.  Still, I went and read the second book, irritation rising a little more.  By the time I got to the third book, Eclipse I was totally impatient and quit reading it in the middle.  I knew there were four books and wanted to skip to the end. 

The romance aspect got old for me-- I mean, really?  I didn't like how Edward was a bit controlling and how codependant they became, and how syrupy it all was.  It was like that infatuation stage of a relationship that eventually deepens into a more mature sweet love was stuck at infatuation for a realllllly long time and that was all there ever would be.  Some may argue that this is due to the no pre-marital relations issue, but I beg to differ.  It was flat to me.  Probably because the author ran out of words listed in the thesaurus to describe their feelings.

But still I tried.  The final book was ok, didn't rock my world or anything and I actually struggled to get through it.  I hate the name Renesme or whatever it is.  The intense relationship remained flat for me-- just in a bigger, economy size package.  Bella's dad's blind acceptance of her situation seemed like an easy fix.  The whole Jacob imprint thing seems a little too easy also.  Whatever.

I still wanted to see the first movie.  It was alright.  The make-up was awful, the sparkles and tree climbing were humorous, and I couldn't get over the contact lenses and fake American accent. I tried again at the second movie.  The writing and acting lacked depth and I found myself bored.  I liked Jacob because he actually smiled once in a while and seemed the most relatable (for a werewolf).

So yesterday when Sara called and asked if I wanted to go to the midnight showing of Eclipse I agreed because I keep going back hoping to find that interest I had when I read the first book.  I want to feel that when I see the movie.  I have to admit, this one was the best of the three so far.  Maybe I liked it better because sun seemed to shine a bit more. But it still lacked in character to me.  The actors were looser than in the first two, but still too stiff and unrelatable.  Edward's make-up was much better, and the contacts looked a little more realistic (or maybe I'm used to them now) but there was at least one instance when one of his black pupils didn't match up with the other eye.  And as an owner of an occasional googly eye myself, I found that distracting.

It's funny, I find Robert Pattinson (or however you spell it) much more charming during his talk show interviews than I do in the movie.  I wish it was the other way around.  And don't get me started on Kristen Stewart, she needs a PR rep to coach her for her interviews.  It's possible my dislike for her translates to my dislike of her version of Bella in the movies.  I get tired of seeing her same five expressions throughout the film.

But don't get me wrong-- I had a great time.  We totally lucked out with our seats-- some friends had inadvertently saved two extra so we were able to have a prime spot.  I think we were some of the last people to arrive (11:45) with some of the best seats.  I don't think I'll pull another midnight showing again for a long time though, I still woke up at 7:30 am and have been dragging all day.

Don't worry... I will still be there for the final two movies (can you say Harry Potter?), but at least now I will be prepared for the disappointment of mediocrity.

Deep conversation...

Me:  Do you think X had a boob job?

Jared:  What?  I don't know, I'll ask her boyfriend.

Me:  No don't.  I don't want it to get back to her that I was curious.

Jared:  Why?  Isn't it a compliment?

Me:  Is it?

Later at Wal-Mart after walking by a Renaissance Fair-clad couple:

Jared:  Did you see that?!

Me:  You mean did I see anything other than those gigantic squished up boobs coming straight for me?

Jared:  Do you think hers are real?

Me:  Yes.  You can't get fake ones to sit on a corset like that, and didn't you notice them jiggling all over the place?

20 minutes later:

Jared:  So did that corset have a shelf or something?  How did she get them to sit like that?

It took 20 more minutes of questions and demonstrations to explain how the corset did not have to have a ledge for her boobs to sit like that.

Jared:  Was she even cute?

Me:  I don't know, I couldn't get past the dynamic chest.

Jared:  I wish I had my camera.  We could have donated the picture to the People of WalMart website.

Lots of Pictures Part II-- Museum

These are from a recent trip to one of my favorite places, the Littleton Historical Museum...

Cousins...

These are John's photos...

Lots of Pictures Part I-- John's birthday

John turned 7 yesterday.  We had a super fun party at Jungle Quest...

 

I changed my mind.

I was about to publish a post about something that has bothered me for some time now-- poor spelling and grammar.  I am not immune to the epidemic, but for some reason I pick it out everywhere.  I love that writing and personal reflection has seen such a surge in popularity and ease, but with it I also find that we have failed an entire generation when it comes to basic grammar.

I was going to have a list of examples like:

There is a difference between the words "to" and "too". 
There is a difference between the words "there" (location) and "their" (possessive). 
It's "oops" not "opps" and "etc." not "ect."
"Your" (possessive) and "You're" (you are)

I was going to be sure to say something like: "Don't worry if you've committed** any or these errors, you're not the only one, I blame the school system."

But... I didn't want to sound like a snob... so nevermind. 

Instead I'll post this picture taken by Kitty.

**Full disclosure: I originally spelled it "commited" but then I used spell check and fixed it. Contrary to popular belief, spell check works.

Life's not fair.

John:  "It's not fair.  Boys don't know anything about girls but girls know EVERYTHING about boys..."

There I go again...

It's no secret that I have the reputation in my family of being something of a hot-head. 

• Do you have an issue you are afraid to confront with the folks?  Just call on me.
• Is there a girl from High School giving you a hard time?  Watch out.
• Do I hate doing my chores?  Just listen to me rage.
• Are you pushing my buttons?  You'd better duck, there's a fork and/or butter knife flying right at your face.

Unfortunately some of my not-so-glamorous side found its way out into confrontations with people other than immediate family.

• Are you a naked roommate who refuses to pick a friend up from the airport? Don't worry the whole apartment complex will know about it since we will inevitably take our shouting match outside.
• Are you a rude janitor at the museum (my place of employment)?  We can take that screaming/shouting match outside too (oh wait, we did).
• Are you a checker at Wal-Mart who insists she must scan every last can of the SAME kind of cat food?  You'll be wishing you called in sick after Sandy and I are finished with you.
• Did you just call my dogs vicious?  I'll show you vicious.
• Did you just yell at my son and then my 80 year old grandmother who was using a walker? Hold me back.
• Care to insult my parents to their face? Oh. no. you. di-ent.

When these little outbursts happen I usually really regret my reaction almost immediately.  I am not proud of being stubborn, opinionated and a little hot under the collar.  I have noticed a pattern, however.  I usually go ballistic when I feel an injustice has been paid to a friend or family member.  I am nothing if not loyal.

So when I read a comment that boiled my blood on facebook this morning I showed no restraint.  I defended my friend (who had adequately defended herself first).  The comments that followed used words like "drama" and I realized I had played right into it.  The drama. 

Regret.  I hope I didn't embarrass anyone other than myself today... Sorry Kelly, but your friend brought out my claws.

Of course, now I'm over it.