Stuck in the Twilight Zone

So, it's getting down to the wire and I'm getting extremely antsy.
To pass the time I am updating my blog.
But my mind is on one thing and one thing alone and I can't seem to think of anything else.
For those of you who are ready to spew at the sight of another Twilight post,
GO READ ANOTHER BLOG!!
Was that harsh? Sorry. I promise that soon after tomorrow night the Twilight posts
will cool off. That is, after I blog all about tomorrow night and every thought and
opinion I have on the book! Heh heh heh.
So, I hope Jodi doesn't mind that I stole this off her blog
(I did tell her I was going to, that's the same as asking permission, right?)
But it is so funny and all you Twilighters will love it.
At least, the true Twilighters, the Team Edward Twilighters will love it.
As for the Team Jacob Twilighters, well, frankly, I have nothing to say to you.
So watch, laugh, enjoy.


Clip #1
Clip #2
Clip #3
Clip #4

This Is What Happens When My Kids Go To Bed And I Have An Hour Alone With My Thoughts

~ Apparently writing a novel is, like, hard. Who would have thought? I'm starting to worry that my aspirations and my skill do not go hand in hand. What do you do when you have a near obsessive desire to do something that you just might not be good at?

~ My throat seriously hurts from yelling at my kids all day. We just watched Ella Enchanted and now I will dream tonight of kids who have to do what you say and don't have a choice in the matter. I love being a stay-at-home mom, I love being a stay-at-home mom, I love............

~ I am furious about the new song on the radio, "Kissed A Girl." It's frustrating enough to be driving in my car with my kids and have it come on and have to change it, but we were in Subway the other day and it came on and there was nothing I could do. I talked a lot to try and distract them from hearing the words. The worst part about it is it is DANG catchy and I always get it stuck in my head. Even worse is I love the song except for the lyrics. If it was about, oh, I don't know, kissing vampires or something, I'd have downloaded it in a heartbeat.

~ Speaking of vampires, 3 days left!!! (Is anyone planning on going to the B&N bash?)

~ I actually made dinner tonight, vegetables and everything. Go me. And I actually cleaned my bathroom today, even scrubbed my shower floor with a toothbrush. A toothbrush!

~ Is it very obvious that I am bored out of my mind and have absolutely no life? No? Okay, whew.

Then & Now & What's To Come

I was tagged by my awesome cousin, Noelle. Thanks Noelle!

20 years ago...

I was nine.

(I think I'm 10 or 11 in this picture, but it's the closest one I could find.
My nickname was Sally Jesse Raphael. Do you love it?)

I was your typical skinny, gangly, prepubescent girl with too-big glasses and hair-sprayed, feathered bangs. I don't have a lot of memories from this time in my life.

10 years ago...

I was 19.

I was single and living at home and HATING IT. (Well, the single part at least.) All my friends had gone away to BYU and I was basically killing time till I met Mr. Right, working as a waitress and going to CBC *cough* sleeping all day.

5 years ago...

I was 24.

WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGE TO FOLLOW
VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK
MAY RESULT IN NIGHTMARES

Yeah. That's me. I had just had Payson and looked pretty much like this. (This was my license photo that I was stuck with for the following 5 years.) We were still living in our little house in Richland and trying to adjust to life with 2 kids.




3 years ago...

I was 26.

We had been in our new house a year and I had friends and a life again! I was kept pretty busy chasing after two little kids.



1 year ago...

I was 28.

I was pretty much hating life, trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with me! I was nauseous and dizzy all the time and thought for sure it would never end. Never did figure it out, but fortunately it decided to go away on its own come fall. Yeah, I know, weird.


Yesterday...(sorry, no picture of me yesterday.)

Was Saturday, which is now sacred at our house. It was a great day because we spent the first half getting honeydo's done and spent the second half swimming as a family. We ate lunch at Nothing But Noodles (Mmmmmm) and BBQ'd for dinner, our first all summer. After the kiblets were in bed Bill and I topped off the day with episodes of Third Watch, Season One (LOVE that show) and Oreo milkshakes from Jack in the Box. Does it get better than that?


In the next year...

Bill will start WSUTC in the fall. Other than that, more of the same. Macy will be in 2nd grade (!!!) and Payson will be in preschool again, three days a week. (Yay me!)

This was so much fun, I'm tagging Kim, Amy J., Shayla and Rachael.

Eight Days and Counting...

Okay, so I finished Eclipse tonight (for the third time) with a week to spare.






My Team Edward shirt should be arriving in the mail any day now.
(You think I'm kidding?)





I've reserved my copy of Breaking Dawn at Barnes and Noble





I'm officially ready and giddy with anticipation for next Friday night.
(Pardon me in advance for those elbows I'll be throwing in line.)

Grateful

I was tagged by Tiffani. I'm supposed to pick 6 words that describe my life, but after reading everyone else's lists, I had a really hard time coming up with words that would sound as positive and uplifting as everyone else's. Due to the current situation with my husband's hours, the only words I could come up with were ones like challenging, routine, and tiring. So I got to thinking about the things that were positive in my life right now, especially in relation to my husband's hours.

I knew this would be hard, basically being a single parent, but like I have said, I've found great pride in the fact that I am doing it, and am still managing to smile! But it is hard having no breaks during the day, working my own job from 8 am to 10 pm. Where I go, my kids go. Period. I've never had to get so many babysitters in my life, for things I am less than thrilled about getting babysitters for. I promise I'm not trying to whine, just setting up the scene for my list of gratitude. So with that in mind, this is what I'm grateful for:

~ The most wonderful, selfless, thoughtful sister-in-law and brother, whom I love and adore with all my heart. Seriously, never before have I seen people so willing to offer service with no expectations of anything in return. Several times my sweet sister-in-law has called up and offered to take my kids, for several hours at a time, sometimes over night, so that Bill and I can go out on our rare night together, or just so I can have a break. Any time she overhears me say "I've got this tonight but don't know what to do with my kids," even if I'm not talking to her, she immediately jumps in and says, "Bring them to my house." It makes me want to cry, every time. I am so grateful. They have fed my kids countless times, taken them to the movies, and who knows what else. I know they're not looking for any kind of credit, but they have been such an example to me of service. I love you guys!

~ A loving mom who offered to take my kids every Wednesday afternoon so that I could "have the afternoon off" to take a nap, run errands kids-free, whatever I wanted. Today was the first and it was mah-valous. As if that wasn't enough, she taught Payson to swim! I couldn't believe it! I went to pick them up and there he was, no swimmies, (that was a little scary to see) diving down like a little dolphin and swimming under the water. He was soooo proud of himself.

~ All the people who have made accommodations to help me, no matter how little they may seem, like our Primary Presidency who decided to start meeting at my house for our evening meetings so that I didn't have to figure out what to do with my kids each week. It makes things so much easier for me and I appreciate it so much. And great friends who host our Ward Card Night at their house and tell me to bring my kids in so I can stay and hang out instead of just dropping off my cards. Probably not a big deal to her, but a big deal to me. Thank you!!

So that is my list. It feels great to focus on the positive and express my gratitude to those who are helping me through a little bit harder time. I know it wasn't six words, but I hope it will do! Thanks for the opportunity, Tiffani!

Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia, how I loved this movie. All I can think about is when I can go back to see it. This is ironic, seeing as my first impression of the movie was "that looks totally cheesy." However, when I first saw the previews, I had no idea it was A) a musical and B) the famous Broadway musical with all the Abba songs. Once I realized that, the flamboyancy and goofiness made sense.

Still, I was a little hesitant as the opening credits rolled. I am always wary of musicals... usually the dramatic flare and overacting, while perfectly acceptable on stage, makes me squirm watching it on the big screen. People just shouldn't act like that. Plus, I am sadly uneducated in the songs of Abba and the musical Momma Mia. I have heard of them, that's about it. I had no idea what it was about. For those of you like me, the bottom line is a young girl is getting married and wants her father to give her away, but she has no idea who her father is. After reading her mom's old diary, she invites the three men it could possibly be to the Greek island where she and her mom run a hotel, unbeknownst to her mom. Of course, confusion and chaos ensue, as do numerous song and dance numbers.

After a dream sequence in which Meryl is jet skiing in an evening gown, I was just starting to wonder how I was going to sit through the next two hours when the one song I knew from the soundtrack--Dancing Queen--started up.

What is it about that song?! Every girl cell in my body woke up with a start. I watched in awe as Meryl Streep did air-splits on her bed, cheerleader-style, dancing around with her friends, singing into hair brushes and hair dryers, and I am completely and totally embarrassed to admit what I'm about to admit: I was fighting back tears!! I know, ridiculous! But I know I was only feeling what every other woman in the theater was feeling (and the entire theater was women, almost all of which were over 50): that part of us that will always be 17 years old, dancing around with our friends, singing at the top of our lungs. It took everything in me to sit still and not jump out of my seat and start dancing in the aisles. There was one woman up front who apparently didn't possess my level of self-control. She jumped up and started singing and dancing along with Meryl. It was awesome. I totally wish I would have done it. The entire theater clapped for her when the song was over.

After that, suddenly the movie appealed to me on all new levels. I loved every song after that, and started to relate to the characters emotionally. It helps that Amanda Seyfried, who played the lead, Sophie, is drop-dead gorgeous in a wide-eyed, innocent sort of way. She was perfect, and I loved watching her sweetness. She has a beautiful, clear voice as well.

And Meryl, while not a personal favorite, is unquestionably an amazing actress, and although I wouldn't say musicals is her genre, she could sing, and she was very convincing as a single mother trying to raise her daughter and make ends meet, while echoes from her past remind her of the girl she used to be (and still is). Her friends were a hoot (see if you can recognize her wacky friend with the short dark hair) and also competent singers.

The three men (Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Stellan Sarsgard) are adorably charming, even if their singing voices leave something to be desired. (Even the old women next to me who did nothing but gush through the entire movie started to chuckle when Pierce Brosnan busted out a ballad to Meryl. It was not pretty.)

What I loved about it, besides the catchy songs and fun dances, was the characters and the actors who played them. The movie encompassed a large variety of subplots and emotions. From young love to lost love to learning who you are to the bond between a mother and her daughter...it was all kinds of "pass the tissue."

Not to mention the GORGEOUS setting on a Greek island. Oh, how I longed to be there swimming in the clear green water. (The good kind of green, tropical green, not algae green.)

And Colin Firth was a crack-up, giving me the most laughs, although I'm not sure he was trying to be funny.

So...what I'm thinking is, I need to see this again, and I know for a fact my two viewing buddies would see it again in a heartbeat, and since so many people missed it who wanted to see it, we should have a repeat GNO. On one condition: We HAVE to get up and sing and dance. What do you think?

Let's Go GNO

Long summer days getting to you?

Are your kids making you have visions of padded rooms and straight jackets?

Do you need a girls' night out as much as I do?

Join me at 5:30 at

and at Fairchild for the 7:10 viewing of

Ha, ha! Gotcha!



No, we'll really be watching

So if you are even sort of considering it, COME!!!
It will be a fabulous evening of fruity drinks and even fruitier song and dance numbers!
Hope to see you there!