Musical Monday - 12 Days of Christmas & A NaBloPoMo Recap

Ah, the last day of NaBloPoMo.  There were days that I really didn't know what in the world I was going to say, but I was determined that I was going to survive NaBloPoMo.  Many thanks to those of you that stuck in there and read every single day.  A round of applause for you.  :-)

What? You missed one of my trivial posts?  No problem!  Here's a recap:

November 1 - The last of my breast cancer giveaways
November 2 - Musical Monday - I <3 Muse
November 3 - TATT - Chicken Tortilla Bake
November 4 - Bath time for Meadow
November 5 - Kindle? I'm still thinking about it, in case you were wondering.
November 6 - Getting ready for New Moon
November 7 - Christmas cards.  My plan didn't pan out, but I'm banking it for next year.  Email me if you want to be on my card list this year.
November 8 - The joys of grocery shopping/people watching
November 9 - Musical Monday - Veteran's Day Tribute
November 10 - TATT - French Chicken Stew
November 11 - I had a lot of energy, I guess.  Three posts - Veteran's Day, introducing Kirstren's dog Yoda & revealing my new bloggy design.
November 12 - A foray into randomness
November 13 - To tell the relatives about this blog; or not?
November 14 - Regretsy
November 15 - Only weeks until JC comes home!
November 16 - Musical Monday - Home
November 17 - TATT - Rich n' Creamy Potato Casserole
November 18 - Jane sent me a surprise!
November 19 - Romance novels
November 20 - Nope, my family doesn't need to know about my blog.
November 21 - Johnny Depp, sexiest man alive?!
November 22 - Some unique New Moon products
November 23 - Musical Monday - Hallelujah
November 24 - TATT - Corn n' Bean Bake
November 25 - My New Moon review
November 26 - What I'm thankful for
November 27 - Google analytics
November 28 - Beckett's trip to the ER
November 29 - Lazy Sunday
November 30....There's no recap, you're already reading it!

I've decided that every day until Christmas I'm going to post a Christmas song.  First up - The Muppets with the 12 Days of Christmas.  :-)

Lazy Sunday...

Beckett is feeling better after his little ER trip - YAY!  But I'm avoiding going out in the crowds and shopping.  I worked in retail for a while, and had my fill of loud grumpy crowds for at least another few years.

Instead, I'm hanging on the couch with the puppers, playing on the computer and watching season 4 of Bones.  My kind of Sunday.  :-)

What are you up to today?

How To Freak Out Mom - By Beckett

Howdy; Beckett here...

Meadow, Carmella and I have always done a great job freaking out mom.  It's a skill.  We catch birds, mice and chipmunks; Meadow dives off of things; Carmella likes to break free and take runs around the neighborhood; I'm allergic to bees and something in my booster shots.

Mom is ready, or at least as much as she can be, for these types of things.  She dives towards Meadow to catch her; always has Benedryl on-hand for me; a box of treats by the door and an extra leash for Carmella.

What mom wasn't ready for was me choking on WATER!

Meadow and I were playing a little before bedtime and I decided to try and bark at her while drinking.  Wrong move, let me tell you.  I choked and gasped and wheezed...and puked.  Everything was OK for a few minutes after that.  Then, right after mom put on her pjs, I started gasping and choking again.

Off to the Veterinary ER we went.  Mom is asthmatic, so she takes that whole breathing thing pretty seriously.

Turns out I aspirated water.  The doctor thinks I coughed most of it out, thank goodness, but wants mom to watch me like a hawk because if there is still water in my little lungs - it can turn into aspiration pneumonia really quickly.

Momma did have a party to go to on Saturday night; but too bad.  She's staying home with me!

Ruff,
Beckett

Google Analytics

During the summer, after reading a post by Casey, I decided that Google Analytics could be really entertaining.

Then, I forgot ALL about it...until today.

Holy moley, people find me using the oddest searches!  Here are the top ten that make me go "hmmm"...

1. Black holes
2. Banana boats and sunscreen
3. Gold digger
4. Dysfunctional hairdressers
5. Stuff that goes boom
6. Eleanor Roosevelt
7. Startled Spaniels
8. I'm a workaholic and have no life
9. Smiley Princesses
10. What would New Moon sound like if Yoda said it

A few of these make sense, in an odd way... The rest I find a bit baffling.  Do you use Google Analytics?  If so, is there anything on there that makes you laugh?

What I'm Thankful For...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, LADIES!!!!!

Feel free to string me up (or whine at me), but I'm using bullet points for the second post in a row.  I'm a list maker and am fond of bullet points.

What I'm Thankful For This Year.....

• My family.  I've covered it before, but family to me, means the world and I use the term "family" loosely.  These are the people that love me the most, cheer for my successes and pick me up & brush me off when I fail.
• My dogs.  They are smart and amusing and sweet and for some reason love me despite the fact that I work so much.  I didn't choose them; they chose me.  I couldn't imagine my life without them. (Though, I'd love to have a morning where I wasn't woken up by a nose in my eye.  Are you listening Beckett?)
• My job.  There are days that I want to scream from the rooftops how frustrated I am with my job; how I'm going to win the lottery, quit and never look back.  But, the economy stinks and I'm so lucky to have a job.  It's hard to quantify why I love my job - but I do.  I've been there for 6 years, for heavens sake!
• Music.  A great song tells a story - with a fantastic melody and good beat.  "Where words fail; music speaks."  Music has the power to energize, calm, or otherwise change your mood.  I can connect most both the happiest and saddest moment in my life to what was playing on the radio/CD player.
• Insomnia.  There. I said it.  I'm thankful for insomnia.  Given that I work so much - I have no idea what I'd do if I actually slept at night.  There would be so many emails not answered, blog posts not written, books not read and music not listened to.
• Caffeine.  Um, to keep up my insomniac lifestyle, caffeine is a must.  I tried to give it up for lent a few years ago.  It didn't happen.
• Good genes.  Sure, my genes made me a short workaholic who wears contact lenses and gets migraine headaches.  But these genes also gave me the compassion of my dad's mom, the craft skills of my mom's mom, the culinary skills and humor of my mom's dad & organizational skills and wander lust of my dad's dad.  I'm blessed.
• Faith.  I'm thankful for the faith that I have in God.  That He has a plan for me; for the faith that JC and the boys will make it home from their deployment in one piece; for the faith that my Prince Charming is still out there and will eventually sweep me off my feet.
• DVR.  How did I live without the ability to record shows and watch them later?  And being able to rewind and watch pivotal moments again?!  Fantastic-ness!
• All of you.  I started blogging in March and in the past six months have loved getting to know each and every one of you.  Thank you so much for sharing in my life and letting me into yours.

What are you thankful for this year?

A New Moon Review

To sum it up in one sentence - I LOVED THIS MOVIE!

But we all know that I'd never let you all get off that easy.  :-) To make it easier on you (and me), I'm doing this in a bullet pointed "WOOHOO" and "BOO" format.

So, without further adieu,
my New Moon review.
(And I promise to try not to rhyme anymore!)

WOOHOO

• The movie had a much bigger budget and it showed.  The special effects were much better (Hello wolves!) and it had less of an indy film feel.
• The caliper of the acting from the ENTIRE cast went up!  I don't know what happened to Kristen Stewart - but you can feel the angst and depression rolling off her for most of the film. This film isn't going to gain any awards (OK... maybe the Teen Choice Awards and are almost promised something from MTV), but Taylor Lautner did AMAZING!
• Taylor Lautner really beefed up.  He convinced me that really could turn into a wolf.
• I really enjoyed how the director decided to show the passage of time in Bella's initial mourning of Edward.  Circling her and seeing out her window each month was really well done.
• Charlie was portrayed well as the caring dad.  In fact he comes off more caring in the movie than the book.
• Seeing Alice write emails to Alice was great.  Again, not true to the book - but I think it was a well thought-out creative decision.
• The make-up!  All the vampires looked much more natural.  Rosalie and Alice looked beautiful, as did Esme.  Emmett was looking good and the little we saw of Edward was fabulousness.
• The Volturi.  I loved them.  They looked to me on screen the way I envisioned them while I was reading the books, just slightly less frail.  I just want to see more of them.
• I LOVED all the time that was spent in Italy.  Fabulous scenery as they drove to try and save Edward.  The parade scene was so rich and red; loved it!  And seeing Bella and Edward reunite made me cry.
• The vote.  The family vote to make Bella a vampire was EXACTLY what I wanted it to be, and Rosalie got to deliver one of my favorite lines from the book.

BOO

• In a word - Jasper.  The makeup on everyone else looked great, but I don't know what in the world was going on with Jasper.  He looked like he rolled out of bed (and we know that these vampires don't sleep) both times we saw him.
• I really wanted to see more of the Volturri.  They are going to be so important in the next two films - I think that a few more minutes could have been spent introducing them.
• The music.  Maybe it will grow on me.  I enjoyed the music from Twilight right away and I'm having a little more trouble connecting with New Moon's music this time around.
• The ending. I admit; I was a little miffed that they ended where they did. There's more to that book!!!!  It cut off my absolute FAVORITE line of the book.  But, honestly, it will make the next movie that much better.

Only seven months, and a week until Eclipse comes out.  But who's counting?  :-) Want to read more New Moon reviews?  Check out ClassyFabSarah's and ThreeAgainstOne's reviews!

Any volunteers to come watch New Moon with me again?!?!  What did you think of the movie?

 

Tuesdays At The Table - Corn n' Bean Bake

I know I said this last week...but how in the world are the holidays upon us already?!?!  I'm not ready.  Make them slow down.  Or better yet, stop the train until I catch up!

OK... so that isn't going to happen. Sigh.

Last week I put a new spin on mashed potatoes.  I like our traditional green bean casserole... but everyone is reading the back of that French's Onion Rings can and making the same exact thing.  I want to be just a little different this year. When I saw this in November's Taste of Home; I had to try it.

Corn n' Bean Bake

1 package (16 oz) frozen french cut green beans
1 can (15 oz) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (11 oz) consensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers (about 12 crackers)

In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, coup and 1/2 cup of cheese.  Spoon into a greased 2 quart baking dish.  Top with crackers and remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 35 minutes.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Musical Monday - Hallelujah

Happy Monday!  It's a short work week; YAY!

This weekend was pretty busy.  Saturday morning and early afternoon I went and test drove cars for JC.  I ended up putting a deposit on one and now just need to help him get all the loan paperwork together.  I'm most impressed with the fact that I was able to talk the manager down in his price a little.  Go me!

Saturday night was a field trip to see New Moon and eat at PF Changs with the girls.  We had a blast!  A full review will be coming on Wednesday.  :-)

Most of Sunday was cleaning.  It's been a stressful few weeks and I've neglected some of the cleaning; it was time to catch up.  With the exception of a little laundry (which never seems to end, btw) I'm all set.  The rest of Sunday was some Christmas shopping.  I'm still on a mission to finish my Christmas shopping by Thanksgiving.

This week's song is Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah.  Great song.  They used it last week on DWTS and my favorite use of the song was on West Wing. 

Twilight/New Moon Products

Today was going to be my review of New Moon.  However, I realized that there are way too many of you who still want to see the movie (BTW, I want to see it again!) for me to review and accidentally give away a spoiler (but, if you read the books you already know what's going to happen anyway).

Instead, I decided to share with you two links to Twilight/New Moon products.

1. The top ten most bizarre pieces of merchandising It is sad to admit that I actually want to see the Twilight cookbook?
2. The 30 most disturbing Twilight products This has a few repeats from the above list... Also it has a few things that I'm strangely OK with and one item that I just can't believe. See if you can guess what it is.

OK, my fellow Twilight saga junkies.  Did you see New Moon yet?  Are any of these items on your holiday wish list?  Have any other links to funny/odd promotional items?

People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive

I heard that I was getting a subscription to People magazine for Christmas, but was a little surprised when I got home from work and found this year Sexiest Man Alive issue in my mailbox. 

I always wonder how they choose the winner each year.  It is a random drawing; a democratic vote; are there celebrities that are actually lobbing People magazine for the honor??  Does anybody else ponder this?  Or am I completely alone?

Anywho.... YAY to Johnny Depp.  He's a good actor, and seems like a nice guy.  But... to me, I don't look at him and see "sexiest man alive".  Do you?

If I had my druthers, I'd choose Ryan Reynolds....

Or Channing Tatum....

Or Alexander Skarsgard.

Who is on your sexiest man alive list?

Going Public... Part 2

Thank you all for your feedback and advice following this post.  I took everything you said to heart and thought.  A lot.

The more I thought; the more I realized that I don't need to change a single thing.  Would going public mean I could (in theory, mind you) become a famous blogger one day?  Yep...in a planet far, far away that might be a possiblity. 

However, as much as  I like to know that someone is reading what I have to say, I don't like being the center of attention.  It just isn't me.  I love all of you.  Right now, I don't think I need to tell friends and family that I blog for fun. (Fine; it's bordering on obsession.)  The people that really matter to me are already reading my blog, or are at least aware of its existance.

I don't want to have to sensor myself.  I never purposely set out to hurt anyone's feelings - but from time to time, I need to vent and be selfish.

I'm happy to get new followers - but all you fabulous ladies are enough.  Seeing comments from you makes me smile; I don't need anything more.  :-)

Romance Novels: The Literary Walk of Shame

You all know that I'm a reader. 

Give me a book; almost any book, and I shall read it, retain it and form an fairly lengthy and opinionated book review of it.  (REALLY, I've had some FB friends ask how in the world I can keep adding books to my visual bookshelf and writing so many reviews.)

What I don't share that often is that I like romance novels.  Not all the time... but just like a craving for sugar...the need to read a romance novel strikes me from time to time.

Oh, don't look at me in that tone of voice!  It's a multi-million dollar industry.  I'm not the only one reading these suckers!  And, at this point, my mind can't get any more corrupt!

I blame my grandmother (dad's mom).  And my mom's older sister.  It's all their fault, I tell you!! Kirstren will back me up on this.  From an early age *ahem* - like 10-ish, these books were fed to us.  "Here, read this", "You're done with your summer reading list - go pick something off my bookshelf", "I'm coming up to visit and I have an ENTIRE suitcase of romance novels to give you". 

Now, I'm telling you all of this in a preface to my trip to B&N on Monday.

I was perusing the new releases, and got sucked in by a new romance novel.  Why, you ask?  Well that craving hit and there was dachshund on the front.  That sealed the deal.  Thing is - it was at that moment that one of the staff members wandered up to me and asked what I was looking for.  "Umm; nothing!  I was just looking to see if you put out any of the Christmas classics yet."

I'm such a bad liar!  When I finally decided to cash out and leave - the same guy was at the register.  Luckily, he declared my romance novel a true classic for the "ripped bodice" crowd.  :-)

*Note to self: Order romance novels ONLINE next time!*

Anything on the subject of romance novels that you'd like to share?

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Look at these!!  The amazing Jane knew that I've been having a rough few weeks, so she sent me chocolate covered strawberries from Edible Arrangements.  Two of my favorite foods in a box of yummy deliciousness!

Aren't you jealous?!?!

She really has become of my besties over the last six months and I am so appreciative of her.  She's smart and funny and isn't shocked by the juvenile comments that I leave her.  Heeheehee :-)

Oh, and she's having a giveaway.  So drop by, enter her giveaway, and help me thank her!

I shall go back to wordlessness next Wednesday.  I promise!

Tuesdays At The Table - Rich n' Creamy Potato Casserole

Hi ladies!  The holidays are coming fast and furious.  It's amazing how fast this year is flying.  :-)  I was bowling last week (it's geek chic; trust me!) when my friend Heather asked if I could share a side dish or two in the coming weeks. 

Your wish is my command, Heather! *snicker*  The holidays aren't the holidays without some mashed potatoes, and this is a little twist on it.

Rich n' Creamy Potato Casserole

6 medium potatoes
2 cups sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

4 tablespoons butter, melted

3 green onions, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until tender.  Drain and cool.  Peel and grate potatoes; place in a bowl.  Add 3/4 of the butter and all other ingredients. 

Transfer to a greased baking dish.  Drizzle with remaining butter.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Musical Monday - Home

Another weekend has gone too fast!

We had what I'm going to call a monsoon, for lack of better terminology, from Friday night through Saturday night.  Ick!  I love rain, but this was ridiculous!

Saturday, Mom and I went up to Maine for an Air Force going away party.  That's right - another member of my extended family is joining the military. It's a little messy trying to explain exactly how Steve is related to me, so I'm just going to say he's my cousin.

Here he is with Kirstren.

My song this week is Marc Broussard's "Home".  I've liked this song for years.  As an added bonus, Marc Broussard's voice sounds a lot like that of someone I know and miss.  :-)




Have a wonderful week!

The Countdown

The countdown for JC's return has started.  We're down to weeks instead of months!!  He has a tentative "fly date", but as much as I'd like to - I just can't share that for a few reasons.

I got to speak to him this morning and started to make plans for after he gets home.   I can't wait to see his face.  :-)

Regretsy

I love Etsy!  There are some simply amazing things to be found (and BOUGHT; immediately, no questions asked).

However, when I'm looking for a good laugh, I head on over to Regresty. 

Nothing makes me giggle like a dress that's made out of yarn and costs $335!

Going Public

I've been mulling this over for a while. Should I tell all my friends and family about my blog? If so, how? Will it make me more candid in my posts? Or will I hold back in saying what I really feel because they might be reading? Would they understand why I choose to blog?


Right now, my blog isn't a secret - but I'm not advertising it either. People from my everyday life that I really trust know (my mom, Kirstren, Stina, Heather, and a few others)... but I've sheltered myself from the eyes of others. That said, I'm really proud of my blog - and all of you!

I have so many questions! So, I'm coming to you - my dear, sweet, bloggy friends. Did you tell your IRL peeps about your "imaginary friends"?

 

Random Thoughts...

I'm a little scattered today, so I apologize that I'm not sticking to one topic.  :-)

Did anyone watch Taylor Swift host SNL last week?  I didn't... but someone made me watch her opening monologue and I LOVED it.  You should watch it too, Mmkay?



Beckett made me take today off of work. (I know, GOOD DOG!)  Honestly, there were other reasons too... but he's getting the credit.  I've mentioned before that he is allergic to something in most shots and blows up like a Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade float.  He has to get his bordetella vaccine today and I feel the need to be near him with a bottle of children's Benadryl on hand.

Only eight days until Twilight opens & nine days until I get to see it.  HURRAY!!  Yes, I know I'm a geek - but you still love me, right?!

I realized today exactly how predictable I am.  I went out and ordered coffee; something different than what I usually get.  Well, the staff saw me and didn't make what I ordered - they gave me my usual iced latte instead.  :-)  Guess I need to order different things more often!

Veteran's Day

I know that technically, I already wrote my Veteran’s Day post on Monday. But… Today is Veteran’s Day, and I feel like I should say it again – as many times as possible.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

To all the present and past soldiers – I give my love and gratitude. You are simply amazing. You’ve put our country and our ideals before yourself, dealt with being away from friends and family on holidays, constant stress and an enemy that you couldn’t always see.

To both my grandpas, uncle, cousins and brother (and honorary brothers) – I love and adore you more than you can possibly know.

A big “Hoo-ah” to my Ft. Drum peeps! Here’s to hoping that JC and the 710 BSB, 3rd BD are home for Christmas. :-)

Wordless Wednesday - Introducing Yoda

Meet Yoda! He's a 4 month old Boston Terrier. High energy, but super sweet and a cuddler. :-)  He lives with Kirstren and her family.  Isn't he cute?

Whatcha Think?!?!

I got me a bloggy makeover!

Isn't it awesome?!?!  Well, I think so!

I love April.  She listened to exactly what my "vision" was and came up with this.  Every step of the way she showed me what she was doing and asked for feedback.  As a result of her great communication - I could not be more pleased with how my blog looks now!

Can you tell how excited I am?!?!

Are you in the market for a blog design (or re-design)?  Go visit April.  She's awesome to work with and immensely talented.  FYI...the holidays are coming up and based on her current waitlist, she won't be starting any new designs until January.  Don't let that stop you though.  Go check out her portfolio too!

Tuesdays At The Table - French Country Chicken Stew

Can I tell you all how much I love Tuesdays? I get this huge smile when I take a minute during the day and see how many of you have linked up and shared your recipes. :-) Thank you, thank you, thank you for continuing to participate each week.

And, a HUGE welcome to anybody new! Please poke and prod through my blog, then do the same for all the other contributors.

French Country Chicken Stew

1/4 pound sliced bacon, diced
4 boneless chicken breast halves, cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
1 can (14 oz) cut green beans
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained
1 can (14 oz) stewed tomatoes

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until almost crisp. Add chicken, onion, garlic and thyme.

Continue cooking and stir often until onion is soft and chicken is cooked - about 5 minutes. Pour off drippings.

Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Note: I recommend using the "no salt added" kidney beans and green beans.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Musical Monday - Veteran's Day Tribute

Happy Monday, gang! I hope you all had fun weekends - and that at least some of you get a long holiday weekend.

It's Veteran's Day. Many of you are spouses, moms, sisters, or daughters of military men. Please thank them for me. Fighting for our country is a calling; and they are true heroes for answering that call.

Holy moly there are a lot of tribute videos. I had to chose this one though - it didn't make me cry & was set to a song I really like. (Full disclosure: It could be the I was out of tears from all the ones set to "Amazing Grace" by the time I found this one.)

I leave you with a picture that JC send me. The children of Afghanistan are CRAZY for pens! No reason, but they L-O-V-E pens. :-)

Have a fantastic day & hug a veteran. I can't wait for the boys to get home, so I can hug them.

Grocery Shopping

Most people think grocery shopping is boring, boring, boring. Me? I almost always find it immensely entertaining.

Why, you ask? Well, I love people watching. Sure you can go to the mall and people watch... but I find the best cross section of people at the grocery store.

Let me set the scene for you - it was almost 70 (HELLO Indian Summer!) and sunny today when I decided to go to the store. I ran into the following characters.

• A woman in a parka, scarf, hat, mitten and still shivering through the store.
• A gentleman in shorts, t-shirt and flip-flops. When I ran into him - twice - he was complaining on his cell phone about the store being way too hot.
• A pair of teenagers that I first observed at the deli counter. They got a pound of salami, and then proceeded to eat it all through the store. They were in front of me in line to check out and presented the cashier with just the bag the meat had been packed in.
• An elderly lady who I only saw once - but HEARD many times. She screamed for her husband to "hurry up or she was going to leave him here" at least a dozen times.
• A guy that was sent back to the grocery store 3 times because he bought the wrong soup the first two times!! He was so frustrated that he showed me his shopping list. Seriously! As his witness - all it says is "soup". If you want something specific lady; get it yourself or give your husband details. (FYI...this goes both ways. If I want something specific, I don't expect to utilize telepathy to make someone shopping on my behalf to know that.)
• My all time favorite - an ENTIRE family shopping. Aisles are narrow. I know I don't need a family of five making commentary as I pick out my bananas. Do you?

However, I had to leave the store smiling. I didn't get run over by any one's cart (hallelujah), spent less than my budget and the best part - CoffeeMate brought back their holiday flavors. I love me some Peppermint Mocha coffee creamer!!

How do you feel about grocery shopping? Necessary evil? Or do you think the cast of characters you see are worth the price of admission?

Christmas Cards

Is it too early to think about Christmas cards? I usually find something cute, and think the one below might be a winner this year.

If you walk verrrry softly

in really quiet shoes --

you just might have a shot at getting

your paws on those sugar cookies

that were left out for Santa

Shhhhhh!

Merry Christmas

However, I have this idea for custom cards this year. It would require that I get really good pictures of all the pups, find a vendor to work with and get moving quick...but I know if I don't do it this year, I'll forget about it.

How about you. Do you send Christmas cards? Do you like receiving Christmas cards?

New Moon (The Twilight Saga)

I have a confession to make.

I've been sucked in by all things Twilight. The books? Read all four in under 3 days (total; not 3 day a piece). Twilight the movie? Saw it 3 times in the theater. Then pre-ordered it on DVD as soon as it was an option.

The next movie in the saga comes on on November 20th....and my crew has had a count down going for MONTHS! We already have the tickets pre-ordered and in our hot little hands. Yep, we're fanatics - but organized. So organized that we decided to not only go to the movies, but to go "de lux". Yep, the 21+ theater with comfy couches and adult beverages for us whilst ogling Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Peter Facinelli.

We rock. At least, we think so! :-)

So, have you been sucked in too? And, are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

SHARE!!!!

Contemplating A Kindle

I'm a reader. Pure and simple. There's nothing like the joy of going into the book store and buying something new to read.

However...I'm contemplating a Kindle.

I'm intrigued that all the books currently clogging my built-in bookshelves can be housed on something as thin as a pencil! My friends that already have them rave that their Kindle is super lightweight and extremely user friendly.

Part of me is really hesitant though. I really like the feel of holding a book; the smell of the paper and ink; the act of curling up on the couch and turning pages.

Do any of you have a Kindle? Or any words of wisdom? Share. PLEASE!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

A squeaky clean Meadow say "Hi!"