Weekend Movie Review

So, I have to admit that I used to be a closet Twilight lover - until I confessed it to my friend Jen, who was also a closet Twilight lover and we decided to come out of the closet together...(but not in that sense. We're both totally straight). So, I was a lover of all things Twilight...until about half way through the first chapter of the second book. That's when it all started going downhill for me. First of all, I don't think that Stephenie Meyer is that great of an author. I think she had a fantastic story idea but had crashed and burned well before the fourth book (which, to be honest, was just ridiculous). I also believe that Mrs. Meyer is a good salesman (woman) and pushed her story on to the masses. But, since I live in Utah and since it is expected of every Utah woman to be somewhat involved in the Twilight hysteria, I have participated in book releases and movie premieres - mostly hoping that the love story of Edward and Bella would reach the potential I saw in the first book. I have yet to have that hope fulfilled. It was definitely not fulfilled by the Twilight movie. I think that first went wrong when they cast Robert Pattinson as Edward.

Really? Was no one else available? The character of Edward should be played by someone who is dang near perfection. That's how he is in the book...that's how he should be on screen. Robert Pattinson is not good-looking, has horrible hair, stutters, is not confident and basically has no acting ability. So, obviously, I have an opinion about all this because I'm still rambling. I'm just saying that they could have put a little more effort in finding a more suitable Edward.

So, last night, I saw New Moon with some friends and I'm still a little on the fence about it. I was entertained and don't feel like I wasted time or money but the whole Edward thing still chaps my hide.However, the one redeeming quality in the movie was Jacob. He's so adorable - especially when they got rid of that awful wig. Jay Leno said that this is projected to be the largest grossing movie of all time. Again...really? My least favorite part of the movie experience (aside from ugly Edward) was the reaction of some of the women in the audience. They would gasp in horror/shock when things went wrong. Seriously? Pretty sure you've all read the book at least once. So, to re-cap. This was my favorite part of New Moon. If I were Taylor Swift, I would never let him wear a shirt.

So, needing to cleanse my movie palate, I went and saw The Blind Side tonight. I've been looking forward to seeing this movie for awhile and I was definitely not disappointed. I loved it!

I seriously want to give Sandra Bullock's character a hug (and Sandra too for playing her so well). I laughed and cried for two hours straight. It was awesome. My friend Anna summed it up well when she said, "It makes me want to go out and do good things." I highly recommend it. It was cast well (with actual actors) and it is a fantastically motivating story. Brianne - you'll love it because Tim McGraw is absolutely adorable. Enjoy!

Is The World Coming To An End?

I went to Logan last night for a concert (more on that later) and on the way home, I was dropping a friend off when all of a sudden the sky got really bright like it was the middle of the afternoon. It was 12:07 a.m. and it happened so fast that it took my brain a few seconds to make sense of what had just occured. I actually backed my car up to ask my friend if he'd just seen what I'd seen or if I was so exhausted that I'd imagined it. He confirmed that, in fact, I am not crazy (at least not at that exact moment) and that a meteor had just shot across the sky over Salt Lake. Jordan was driving about 5 minutes behind us and she actually saw the meteor and said it was pretty much the coolest thing she's ever seen. I was just off the freeway and the 7-11 and the on-ramp were blocking my view, dang it. When she called me, she was all panicked that the world was ending. She's funny. Here are a couple of videos that people got...

Pretty cool, huh?

The Land of Enchantment

This past weekend (plus 3 days), my co-worker Erica and I hung out in Albuquerque, NM. Our bosses sent us to take an insurance certification class (CIC for you insurane geeks). I wasn't super excited about the class, but was glad to get away. I will be completely honest and say that the class absolutely sucked. So bad, in fact that half way through the 2nd day, I was in the corner in the fetal position sucking my thumb. Okay, not really but it was so painful. We covered a 500 page book on insurance rules and regulations in 2.5 days. Not really my idea of a good time. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for the opportunity and the fact that my bosses wanted to invest in me and my insurance knowledge, but I have never, ever had to endure anything so boring - or so long. And, to add insult to injury, after they tortured us for 20 hours, we had to take a test. It's not that I have to pass the test to keep my job or anything, but how embarrassing would it be if my bosses paid for me to go to New Mexico for 5 days just to fail a stupid test? I feel like I did pretty well but I really have no idea. The test consisted of 20 essay questions and I won't find out the results for like 6 weeks. Good times. Erica and I were sure to have the results sent to our houses so we can keep them confidential if needed. Don't ask, don't tell. That's our policy.

Before we left on our grand adventure, we looked up things to do on the Internet and the most talked-about places in Albuquerque were restaurants. The reviews raved about fantastice food and we were not disappointed. My body is currently in shock now that I'm only eating lettuce and water, but I have to make up for all of the super yummy food I had this weekend. Here's a photo montage of our eating experience...

Rudy's was my favorite place. I had eaten there abouut 4 years ago when I visited my brother and his family in San Antonio. It's completely white trash and so awesome. It's smoked meat and a bunch of sides and it's so, so good. The smoked turkey and the ribs are absolutely amazing. We went twice and love it both times.

Our last day, we went to the aquarium which was so fun. They have a really cute restaurant so we stopped for lunch before we headed to the airport. It was so awesome sitting in front of the huge aquarium! I just love under the sea stuff.

Lifehouse

I'm not sure if I've confessed my un-dying love for Lifehouse on this blog yet, but I think the time has come. I have been in love with the lead singer Jason Wade since about 2000 and fell in love with the bass player Bryce Soderberg at their Salt Lake concert in March '08. It was - hands-down - one of the best shows I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. In my top three for sure. They played a small show at The Depot and there were only probably 1500 people there. (Matt Nathanson opened. He is also fantastic). I went with Shannon and a couple of other friends and we fought our way to the front, right to the stage. I literally had bruises on my hip bones from being pushed against the stage. It was so awesome. At one point, Jason Wade literally grabbed my hand. After their last song, before the encore, Bryce threw his pick at me. Being the spaz that I am, I wasn't even close to catching it. It bounced off the stage and onto the floor. There was no light and people were pushing so I had no hope. I tried to find it, to no avail. This 80-pound floozy pushed me out of the way to get and she found it. I was so mad! I told her that it was mine. He very clearly threw it to me and she just said, "Sorry" and turned away. Good thing I'm a lover and not a fighter or that little girl would have been sorry. After the last song of their encore, Bryce walked to the edge of the stage and placed 2 picks in my hand. It was the most adorable thing! That's when I fell in love with him...

I seriously had the best night. Now, at the risk of seeming over-obsessed, I will close this post with one of my favorite Lifehouse videos. Please don't judge me.

So, what brought this all on is the fact that Lifehouse has a new single called Halfway Gone which can only mean that they'll have a new album soon. I'm pretty stinking excited! Listen to it here. You won't regret it.

Spa Day!

Okay, it was really just spa hour but I loved every single second of it. How have I gone 31...uh, I mean 24 years without a facial? I dunno, but I'm glad that's changed. I've definitely found a new hobby. Too bad they're so expensive. The whole time I kept thinking "For Me, This Is Heaven" which is the title of a Jimmy Eat World song that I don't really like - not really even when Allred covers it, but those words fully descibed my spa time.

Ree Drummond - THE Pioneer Woman

The other day, my good pal Jennifer texted (funny how that's a verb now, huh?) to see if I wanted to meet The Pioneer Woman who was going to be in Salt Lake for a book signing of her new cookbook. I have to admit that, at that point in my life, I wasn't an avid follower of hers, but I certainly am now! I had seen her blog a few times. Mostly at work when I was super bored and in dire need of some good entertainment. Good entertainment is definitely something to be found from this amazing woman. I won't go into much detail because you can visit her website (which I highly recommend) but just know that I now have a new hero. Here's why:

• Ree loves to cook and is really, really good at it - I hope to be good one day to0
  
• Ree loves photography - that's actually the #1 reason I love her - she's good at that too


• Ree loves being a mom - I will love being a mom one day too


• Ree is a sweet, positive woman - I hope to be like that too...one day


• Ree shares the things she loves with the whole world. She teaches her recipes and photography in easy-to-understand steps with very in-depth instructions and includes many, many pictures so you can't lose your way. Sure, now she makes a lot of money sharing her life and loves with the world but, in my opinion, she should. She has a lot to offer.
  
• Ree is very, very genuine - here's how I know:
  

Jen and I waited 4.5 hours just to meet this super cool lady. (We didn't just wait, we cruised around SLC - at one point, ending up at a gay coffee house - yikes!). There were hundreds of people there to meet her. We were near the end of the line, but when we finally made it up to meet Ree, you would have thought we were the very first people she had talked to that day. She was so sweet and gracious and just seemed excited to be there meeting us. It was great. (Of course, I'd be pretty stoked if people stood in line for hours just to meet me!) I'm sure she was exhausted, but I was very impressed with how cool she was.

Oh geez. It totally looks like I'm hanging on her. I promise I'm not! I crouched down then she leaned over. I promise I'm not creepy!

Jen took her cookies from Great Harvest and Ree was super cute about it. Jen's adorable.

So, now that I have her cookbook I have to start practicing! Thanks Jen for re-introducing me to Ree!