Egg-straordinary Easter (oh, come on, it was just too easy.)

We had a great Easter weekend.

We dyed Easter eggs Saturday night, something my kids

love to do so much I hear about it all year long:

"Can we color eggs?"

"No, it's November."

Sunday they woke up to their baskets that the Easter

Bunny had filled, and when we woke up they showed us each item,

one by one, down to every last piece of chocolate.

I loved every second of it.

Macy actually got this dress for Christmas. She saw it

at the dress store next to the church bookstore in October

and begged for it for months. Of course I had to let her

wear it to church after she got it (although it was December

and went against everything I believe in)

but managed to hold her off from wearing it again until

Easter. I bought her a matching hair bow and white frilly socks

(which I wore every day of my young life on Sunday and

swore I would never buy my daughters!!) to dress it up

for Easter. She loved it. And Payson... well, in my efforts to

dress my little girl in her best Easter outfit, my son sadly

fell by the wayside and come Sunday morning we were

searching his closet for his most "spring-y" outfit!

Oh well, that kid would look cute in a paper bag.

After church we had dinner with my family at my parents

(scrum-diddly-umptious)

and my dad put on his annual egg hunt for his grandkids.

It was so fun.

Now, who has some great recipes that call for hard-boiled eggs?

The Illusionist

Somehow I let Monday get away from me, and it wasn't until a few hours ago that I realized I had missed Movie Madness Monday! So with two hours and 45 mins. to spare, I present

THE ILLUSIONIST

I watched this movie for the first time last night, and loved it. I love movies in this time period, especially because they tend to be filmed in this kind of golden, fuzzy way, as if illuminated by candlelight. (Think Phantom of the Opera)

Starring Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, and Paul Giamatti, The Illusionist is about a young boy infatuated with magic who falls in love with a young girl that ranks high above him socially. They are forbidden to see each other, and after meeting secretly for a while are caught and torn apart, never to see each other again.

The boy grows up to be a famous magician who encounters his childhood sweetheart at one of his shows, only to learn she is to be married to the crown prince, a horrible man. They meet secretly once again, starting a string events that leads to the awesome, mind-bending ending.

What do I love about this movie?

Besides the aforementioned filming technique and time period, I loved the the actors. Edward Norton is awesome in everything he does, and Paul Giamatti is also an amazing actor who is finally getting the parts and the recognition he deserves. Jessica Biel has mostly been known for her looks and not her acting, but I thought she was pretty decent here. Maybe it was the accent that seperated her from her 7th Heaven persona, but she appeared to be more, well, grown-up.

I also loved the music. It was so beautiful, and perfect for a movie about the mysteries of magic.

My viewing partner (Bill) thought it was a little slow, but perked up towards the end and was blown away once the credits rolled. So I seriously recommend going and renting this, it's one your hubby may enjoy also!

Silence Isn't Golden

Okay, so at the risk of looking like a complete idiot, I have to say that I was wrong. I was wrong in thinking that by eliminating the comments on my blog it would make blogging fun for me again. And I was wrong in my assumptions about the negative things that were being said, and misinformed. After talking at length with the people involved, I am happy to say I misunderstood some very important details, and almost all of the negative things that I thought were being said were actually meant to be taken completely differently. So I am feeling much better about the blogging thing, and especially about the non-bloggers.
Besides feeling like I need to explain this in order to eliminate a lot of questions when I put the comments back on my blog, I also wanted to put it out there to my fellow bloggers that I was wrong about the negativity, that people aren't saying all that I thought they were. I just wanted to make that clear, in case my earlier post affected any other bloggers in any way.
I know I also said I was getting rid of the comments to prove to myself I was really blogging just for me, but I realized the last few days that 1) what I wrote didn't change in the least, or how I wrote, whether or not people commented, and 2) it really did take a lot of the fun out of blogging for me. I would get online throughout the day and be like, "oh, well, I guess I'll just check my e-mail."
I realized it's not that I have to know what people think of what I'm writing, and it's not that I'm desperate for positive reinforcement. I just love the interaction, the adult/female conversation. I feel so much more at ease over the computer than calling someone up on the phone, and I can "talk" to you all in one five minute shot. That is what I love about the comments.
So although you might think I'm weak and pathetic for caving after only two days (and you might be right), I am going to try and not have any shame in putting my comments back on. After all, the reasons I did it in the first place turned out to not be any reasons at all.

Girl Gone Wild: Spring Break

Wow, what a weekend and half a week it's been. Let's start with Friday. It all started with me picking up a girl (McKenzie, from our ward, whose mom had just had her baby that morning) from school along with Macy (another lady in my ward was watching their kids, but couldn't fit all her own kids and the other kids into her van, which left me to pick up McKenzie from school and watch her a few hours). Kim called and asked if we wanted to go to the park, so we all went to the park, Kim and her kids, me and my kids, and McKenzie. It was fine, the kids had fun, but there are no bathrooms which makes me crazy so we had to bug a lady from our ward who lives right next to the park once and make a quick run home and back once.
While at the park I noticed that my throat was hurting, and was quickly getting worse. But my day was not about to go on hold because of my throat, so then it was off to the school again to pick up the son of the lady watching McKenzie and her siblings, and Amy's boys because she too was stuck at home watching various kids. So I drop off Amy's boys at her house, and pick up Abby and Owen. Amy had been watching them while Danyelle was out of town for the day but was leaving to go camping. Then I took McKenzie and the boy to his house. At this point, my skin had started to hurt and the pain in my throat, neck, shoulders and head was making me nauseaus, but off to home we went, and luckily for me the kids just went outside to play. I sat feeling like death warmed over dinking around on the computer until Ryan came and picked up Owen and Abby and Bill came home. The minute I saw Bill I said, "Goodnight" and headed into bed.
That night was miserable, every time I woke up to roll over my throat would be killing me and I literally had to cringe every time I swallowed. I told Bill if it was still that bad the next day I was going in. The next morning it was even worse, but I had forgotten it was General Conference and really wanted to watch. But Bill could see how miserable I was and sent me to the doctor. I called ahead and got my name on the list and they told me an hour and a half, so I waited til then to go. I got there and they told me another hour. So I ran to my pharmacy to get a refill when they called and said they were ready for me. So I went back and proceeded to find out I had strep. (I was surprised, because whenever I'm sure I have strep, I never do.) So then it was back to the pharmacy, where of course it would be 15-20 mins. so I left again and got my family lunch, then went back to the pharmacy, got my meds. and was finally able to go home. (Keep in mind I felt like I'd been hit by a truck.)
Drugs are soooooo great. I am so grateful that I live in a time when we have modern medicine. One Amoxicillan and one Tylenol with Codeine later I was in medicated bliss. I could swallow!!
I only had to take the one Codeine, and after that the Amoxicillan had kicked in enough I didn't need any more pain killers. The rest of Saturday was pretty good, Sunday was even better. By Monday I felt great, just in time to watch two little boys all day Tuesday. I know for some people watching other people's kids all day long is nothing, but I don't do it often, and it exhausts me. And these were two really great little boys, super easy!
Then, yesterday was kind of crazy as well, but that's another story.
I'm actually glad that it's been like this, because usually weeks of no school mean us sitting around being totally lazy, watching movies all day.
So, here's hoping the next half of the week is full of action as well, except maybe strep-free. That I could do without.

Silence is Golden

After a lot of thought I've decided to stop having comments on my blog. Over the past few weeks I've heard some things that have taken the fun out of blogging for me. Every time I sit down to write a new post all I can think about are the negative things I have heard that people are saying about bloggers, and it's ruined it for me. I have always prided myself in writing what I want to write regardless of my audience, but after hearing what I've heard, it has been very hard for me to sit down and write without thinking of all the negativity.
I don't want it to be this way at all. I love to blog and have no intention of stopping just because non-bloggers have designated themselves to be our critics, so in eliminating the comments on my blog I have found my answer. In doing this I know I will stop focusing so much on what people think of what I write. I'll stop thinking about my audience all-together and will truly feel I can write for me and me alone. And if I continue to "offend" anyone or "share too much personal stuff" than by all means, STOP READING. But I will continue to be honest about my life on MY BLOG. That's me, take it or leave it. So to my loyal readers who enjoy my blog, I say, thank you so much for all your positive comments and support, I appreciated it so much. If you happen to read something sometime that you feel super compelled to comment on, e-mail me!
Otherwise, I'll just assume you are still there and reading and enjoying what I have to say. Thanks again for being my supporters and appreciating me.

Who Needs Sitcoms When You Live With This Guy?

How did I not have these pictures as part of my earlier tribute to my crazy husband? I just came across them, and had to put them on. These are some pictures of Bill throughout the years doing typical "Bill" stuff.

Here is where we dressed up as hippies for our first Halloween together and Bill insisted on the black fro and the fake chest hair!

Yup. He wanted to see what it would be like to fill Mr. Potato Head's shoes.
























This was while we were stuck in the hospital in Utah waiting for Macy to be born. He disappeared into the bathroom and came out a few minutes later like this. In case you can't tell, he's got a surgical glove over his head and is blowing out. It scared the crap out of me (hello, suffocation?) but not enough to keep me from grabbing my camera.

Besides being crazy in his waking hours, Bill also manages to be very entertaining in his sleep. He has always had weird sleep problems. As a kid he would get out of bed at exactly 11:00pm on the dot, come tearing downstairs screaming bloody murder, through the family room where his parents would be watching tv, then go screaming back upstairs, get back into bed and go back to sleep. He never remembered it in the morning. He did this every night. It's a form of sleep-walking, and he still has it.

I can't count the number of times he's woken me up in the middle of the night saying the most absurd things. Shortly after we got married, I woke up and saw him holding up the blankets above him, forming a little tent above him. He started yelling at me, "Is this my monkey cage?" I thought he was kidding, he looked wide awake, so I just laughed. WRONG thing to do. He got more mad and yelled louder, "IS THIS MY MONKEY CAGE?!" Starting to freak out, I finally said, "No." He dropped the sheets down and said, "That's all I needed to know." And went back to sleep.

The next morning he explained his sleeping issues and I didn't fully believe him. He had been looking right at me, talking completely normally! (except for the ridiculous topic of conversation.) Not too much later, when he was working at US Bank, he woke me up and asked me where the "entrance to the deposit slip" was. Huh? Now it had gotten freakier because he would now look me right in the eye and say, "I'm wide awake, I swear, I'm not asleep." But continue his insane babblings.

The best ones happened at our old house, though. One time I woke up to find him sitting up in bed with the sheets over his head. Just sitting there, covered up. I asked him what he was doing and he said a bee was trying to get him. (He's very allergic.) Another time he woke me up by swiping the air above me and said there was a spider. He then rolled over and went back to sleep. I lay there for the next ten minutes in terror, wondering if he really had seen a spider. The worst part was that every single time he would look me in the eye and swear he was wide awake. Then he'd go on for another minute or so making no sense at all, and then suddenly, this look of realization would come over his face and he'd say, "I just did it again, didn't I?" "Yup," I'd say. And he'd make me swear not to tell anyone, but he would always end up telling people, cause it's so hilarious.

It hasn't happened in a long time, and nighttime's just boring now. I promise to blog the next time it does, though.

The Devil Wears Prada

For today's movie I chose another chick flick. I'm not sure why I keep choosing chick flicks, as they are by no means my favorite. I guess I'm (in the words of Simon, Paula and Randy) "playing it safe." I know how you gals love your chick flicks. Don't get me wrong, I like a good chick flick, too, but for me, they're like vanilla ice cream. You finish it and say, "That was good, it hit the spot." But finish a good, gut-wrenching drama, and it's like a chocolate sundae with everything on it. You're satisfied to the core, so much so that several hours later, you're still thinking about it. But, last night I watched

The Devil Wears Prada.

I hadn't seen it since the theaters, and thoroughly enjoyed watching it again. It stars Anne Hathaway as a newly graduated aspiring journalist trying to make her big break into the world of publishing, and Meryl Streep, the cold but powerful editor of Runway Magazine, who hires her as her new assistant. I could go on about the plot, but why, when it's the least memorable and interesting part of the movie? Instead, I'll talk about what makes the movie so fun.

• Meryl Streep plays Miranda Priestly like she was born for it. She could very well have over-played the part by being loud and dramatic in order to achieve the power and respect Miranda demanded, but instead under-played it, speaking barely above a whisper the entire movie. It's this minimalist take on it that makes her frightening. Her actions are so subtle, her dialogue so scarce, that one slight turn of the head or one simple word is effective enough to make the viewer feel the fear that Miranda Priestly conveys.
• If anyone could steal the show from Meryl, it's Emily Blunt, who most of you know as Michael's significant other. (He was at every awards show with her.) Emily plays Miranda's 1st assistant named Emily whose job it is to train Anne Hathaway. Emily, in all her British-accented, designer labeled glory, is clawing her way to the top of the fashion world ladder. You can't help but love her as she spouts disdainful orders and insults at Anne, with no visible conscience or compassion. She is perfect as a desperate wannabe fashionista who will do anything to break into the designer world, even if it means eating nothing but a few cheese cubes.
• Obviously, the costumes alone were worth watching this movie for. (FYI-many designers allowed their clothes and accessories to be used in the film, making it the most expensively-costumed movie in history.) Although I by no means claim to be fashionable, I had a lot of fun seeing what is considered "in" and imagining what it would be like to have a closet full of that stuff. It was also fun to see (once again) Anne Hathaway get a mid-movie makeover. No one can play both homely and comely like she can.
• Getting a glimpse into life in the fashion world, the lengths people will go through, the toes they will step on to get there. It was fascinating to me to watch, as if it was a whole other world. They really do view the little people (like me) as the ground they walk on. And of course the fashion week in Paris, with all the cobblestone streets and little white lights on the trees and buildings was delightful.

So there is my take on The Devil Wears Prada.

What's yours?