GrandtFamily.com

My sister desperately needs any and all prayers.  She is currently trying to adjust after leaving her abusive boyfriend and trying to establish custody of her kids.  That’s all I can say, but I had a very scary weekend in Iowa. Email me for details.

I CAN’T WAIT!!!  They included the Brockdale Bridge and everything! (that’s my favorite part – sitting in anticipation of what DID make it into the movie!)

216 days and counting…

Jason’s mom & dad have been house-hunting the last few weeks. They think now’s a good time to buy another property and then rent it out (they live about 15 minutes from us now).  But the main plan is whatever they buy, they’re going to rent to us. Which would be nice.  We were planning to look ourselves this spring, b/c we need a place w/ 3 bedrooms (Maggie’s in our bedroom right now, but there’s no room for any of her “stuff”.  But they’re thinking that if they put the down payment, etc it would be better, b/c we can’t afford a ton right now. That way we could get a bigger home.  I think they may even be thinking about turning around and selling the house to us at a huge discount, but I don’t know if we’ll let them.

But if we move further away, then I do have to find a new doctor for both Maggie and myself. And I really like the ones I have. :-/ Oh well.

I made a last minute decision yesterday to make a trip to Iowa to see my family. It’s about 3-4 hours each way and the weather looks good this weekend. I’ve been feeling really homesick, so I’m going. And my mom is sad because it’s been almost 2 months since she’s seen Maggie and she’s changed so much since then!  Jason will be super busy all weekend, so I wouldn’t see him anyway.

Went to the Big Mall last Saturday with friends. We thought we were absolutely crazy doing it, being so close to Christmas, but it was the PERFECT time to go, considering the season. The mall was open until 11, we went about 8:30 or so.  And we got parking right up front (and it wasn’t the only space there either!) and although there were a lot of people in the mall, the stores themselves weren’t that crowded.  So, if you MUST go to the Big Mall during the season – go then!

Maggie is in love with this stuffed Elmo that belongs to Jason’s sister. She just smiles and giggles whenever we play with it.  Today we’re going to take her 3-month pictures. WE can’t believe how much she’s changed in the last month!

Trailer:

Two words: Don’t bother.

Synopsis: The plants have decided they’re just not going to take it anymore. We’ve destroyed too much of the planet. So they start emitting a psychotic gas that causes humans to go a little crazy and kill themselves.  One guy, played by Mark Wahlberg (great actor, sorry you did this movie), figures out that the plants are attacking large groups of people. He and his wife and the daughter of a friend take off eventually by themselves and are able to “elude” the plants until the crisis is over.

My opinion: I keep expecting his movies to live up to the awesomeness and “gotcha” quality of his first movies: The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, Signs and the Village. But the last few movies have just been such duds. It’s almost as if Shyamalan’s trying too hard now.

In the beginning, there is a question of what’s going on? Everyone is just going off and killing themselves.  It’s really eerie.  And then, they’re on the run and lose contact with everyone. And then smaller and smaller groups are killing themselves. And then there’s a crazy woman (one of many…).

At the end of it all, the climax was hardly climactic. The ending classic-Shyamalan gotcha moment leaves you going “is that it?”

Basically, it boils down to: we’re glad we didn’t see it in the theatre and spend all that money.

OK, wasn’t it just a few years ago that Subway introduced their wrap option, as an alternative for people following low-carb diets?  I’m pretty sure it was.  So, I’ve been eating their wraps thinking I was getting a slightly healthier option for my blood sugar.

How wrong I was.

Was looking at the nutritional information yesterday for their sandwiches and wraps and this is what I found:

6″ Turkey Breast sandwich (w/ veggies, no cheese, no sauces, on wheat bread) = 280 calories. 4.5g of Fat and 46g Carbohydrates.

Turkey Breast Wrap (same extras) = 380 calories. 9g Fat and 57g Carbohydrates.

No wait a minute. Wasn’t the wrap supposed to be LESS carbs? And a healthier option? We have been lied to!  When looked at separately on their website, the wrap vs. wheat bread has a 100+ calorie difference!

So, then I’m afraid that I’ve bought into all of the marketing everywhere for the last few years. I get home and check the wraps I use at home.  La Tortilla Factory Garlic & Herb = 50 calories. 6g of Fat and 10g Carbohydrates. Whew! So, it’s just Subway then.

Everyone is henceforth warned.

Trailer:

OK, as the movie was released, I was halfway through the last book in the series, so much of it was fresh in my mind.  I have learned in the past that this is not the best mindframe to go view a movie that is based on a book. It makes it obvious when scenes were changed or things cut out, or if something was rewritten to make it flow better on the screen.  This movie was no exception.

Overall: Casting was done well, I thought. Kristin Stewart really WAS Bella and Robert Pattison (I apologize if I misspell any of these names!) was excellent as Edward. A friend, who went with me to see it, was upset because the Edward in her mind was older, whereas they cast a TEENAGER.  I had to remind her that the character of Edward was changed into a vampire at the age of 17, so he was physically a TEENAGER. Just because he had been around for nearly 100 years, and thought like an old man did not make him LOOK like an old man.  This actor had previously been Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, but I didn’t automatically recognize him.  May have something to do with the pale skin.

The other characters were well cast also.  The Cullens were great, although it was unnerving to see Peter Faccinelli with a) blond hair and b) such white skin.  Being the Italian he is, I’m used to his dark looks.  They played the parts so well, even Rosalie.  LOVED Esme and Alice.  And Bella’s dad, Charlie, was perfect.

My biggest criticisms of the movie are as follows:

1) The movie seemed to cram 9 months worth of plot from the book timeline into a 3-4 week time period for the movie timeline. It seemed very unrealistic, if you could believe that from an unrealistic subject matter.

2) Many of the scenes seemed to magnify the fact that the book itself wasn’t well written. I don’t know if Bella’s thought process just didn’t translate well to the screen or what, but it made it very dull and tedious to watch.

3) Scenes WERE added that were not in the book. Namely, the “other coven” of James, Victoria and Laurent are seen throughout the movie attacking humans.  I assume this was to create the idea that vampires are dangerous, as if we didn’t already know. And maybe to have the audience wonder if maybe one of the Cullens has slipped and is out killing people.  In the book, their presence was really only to move the book along and bring it to the climax, where James tries to kill Bella.  These added scenes weren’t terrible, and it helped move the plot, but it was obvious that that was something that was definitely missing from the book.

I did like the movie, mainly because it was good eye-candy.  However, if you have not read the books, and cannot see the double entendres and foreshadowing for things to come, you probably won’t even understand half of it.  You have no idea why Rosalie is upset, or what the story is with Jacob, or any number of side plotlines that come out in subsequent stories.  That being said, they are currently working on the adaptation of the 2nd novel in the series, so perhaps before the franchise is over, it will all make sense and work in with the novels.  It was not a movie I would drag my husband to, because he wouldn’t be able to see the draw of it, let alone figure out what was going on.  He does enjoy the Harry Potter movies, because there is a semblance of a plot and while it’s helpful to have read the books, it is not essential.

So, final word.  If you liked the books, you’ll like the movie.  If you haven’t read the books, don’t bother in this case. It’s not worth your time or money. Save it for Half-Blood Prince due out in July.

OK, I finally read this series.  One of my friends has been saying for MONTHS that I would love it and she finally lent me all 4 of the books. So, this is what I think of them.

Synopsis:

Bella Swan moves to Forks, WA to live with her dad.  Her first day of school she meets Edward Cullen and feels unbelievably drawn to him, even though he seems to be repulsed by her.  Eventually, she finds out that he is a vampire, as are the rest of his family members, and he is acting the way he is, because her blood smells unbelievably tasty to him.  They fall in love, are emotionally tortured by the entire situation, etc. etc.

That’s all I’m going to say, because to say any more will give away the plots of each book.  Just suffice it to say that Bella loves Edward, Edward loves Bella.  Edward’s family includes Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper – all “vegetarian” vampires, they do not feed on human blood, only animal blood.  And Bella has a best friend, Jacob, who lives on the nearby Indian reservation.

What do I think?:

First:  The books are not very well written.  Media, please stop calling this series “the next Harry Potter”.  The only similarities are that each of the Twilight books are over 500 pages.  That’s like trying to compare Potter to JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings saga: there IS no comparison.

The Twilight novels are very obviously written for the teenage/young adult audience.  They are romance-driven, with the supernatural thrown in.  If you are a fan of LJ Smith’s Vampire Diaries novels, then you will love this series.  It creates its own vampire canon, just as every other vampire story does, molding it to fit the story.  But if you are looking for blood and gore, or even the depth and intrigue found in Rowling’s work, look elsewhere.  This is not for you.

That being said: I really did love these novels.  I find myself thinking of the characters and the storylines when I’m doing mundane tasks and want to reread the books again.  Edward is a really tortured soul; one who wishes he could do something to be worthy of Bella, and to redeem himself.  The depths of his love for Bella are amazing. Bella is a character much like myself. She cannot believe that anyone would be interested in her, let alone love her. She is willing to throw away everything, including her mortal life, to be with the man she loves.

(After I finished the novels, I visited the author’s website: StephenieMeyer.com and discovered “outtakes” or pieces cut from the books. It was in this and in her web-published draft of a fifth book that I discovered how much I loved the characters of the Cullen family. Emmett is by far my favorite.)

When I first finished the books, I said that they were a good read, but I didn’t know if I would buy them. This is usually a sure sign that the books aren’t good enough to read again, and thus never make it into my personal library. But then the books took on another quality, which is another sign: they would NOT leave my thoughts. This is a sign that I MUST own them, because it demands continual rereading and analysis.

So, while there are no deep themes or underrunning currents in the plotline, the books are a good, quick read.

Here is another reader’s review, which I thought was DEAD ON: “If I could review ‘Twilight’”
WARNING: THIS REVIEW IS NOT FOR CHILDREN (or even teenagers, IMO). This review is VERY descriptive and in her opinion, takes the series in a direction the author never intended. Explicit sex scenes, etc. If it is not things you want to read, skim over those sections. They’re very obvious. And DON’T read the comments. But her general review of the book – perfect.

Found an awesome blog written by the mother of 14 children!!!  She talks about childrearing, homeschooling, marriage, God, housework, etc.  Great blog and every wife/mother should read it.

Large Family Mothering

We went home this last weekend – it was Maggie’s first road trip! She traveled very well – we only stopped one extra time to feed and change her. Otherwise, she slept the entire trip.

On Friday night we got to mom and Dad’s about 5:30 or so. Margi and Bill met us. Little Dawn has grown so much since I last saw her in April!  Michelle and Luke brought dinner over and we had a grand time!  It was probably after 1:30am before I went to bed. Mom and I enjoy talking too much. We set up the pack n’ play in the bedroom and Maggie slept in that just fine.

Saturday morning, Grandma had a brunch at her house, b/c my aunt and uncle from WI had come down for the weekend. It was nice, b/c Grandma and Lynn and Ruth all got to hold Maggie before the insanity of the shower.  Around noon we went up to the church to get ready for the shower.  Chelle and Mom went really overboard with that, but it was so fun!  Everyone made an 8×8 scrapbook page to go into a scrapbook about the shower.  A lot of the family came, as well as some church family.

When we got home from the shower,we were so exhausted. We all went out to dinner, even Josh & Katie & Scootie.

Sunday morning Jason and I opted to not go to church.  Then we met Grandma et al at Pizza Hut for lunch.  Yum!

We didn’t have to get back until Monday morning, so it was so nice to have another night at home.  We played a game that Luke and Chelle brought over. It was a lot of fun.

The weekend was just too short!

My mom is always making fun of me and how I try to do “hippie” things.  Now she also calls them “green” things.  What I find interesting aobut most “green” practices is that many people do them already simply because of the financial benefits. They’re frugal, which makes them “green” automatically!  I think this is where I fit in, for the most part.  I find many disposable things pointless and have had cloth napkins, handkerchiefs, etc for years.  Why continue to spend money on something you keep throwing away?  So, anyway I thought I would take some time now and again to talk about what I’ve been doing to do my part.

I’ll start with those basics – the cloth replacements for daily living.  Shortly after we got married, I told Jason that I wanted to buy cloth napkins, b/c it just made more sense.  So, while using our gift cards from our wedding, one of the thing we purchased was a nice daily-use china set and tablecloth, placemats and napkins.  Every couple of days or so, more often if they’re completely soiled, I throw them in the dirty laundry to wash come wash day.  It works so much better.

A year or two ago, I decided that I wanted to use handkerchiefs instead of kleenex – Michelle finds this disgusting! LOL!  Well, I had 1 or 2 that I already owned that I used at first.  I had a terrible cold and would have gone through an entire box in a day or two.  The first thing I noticed was that the handkerchief was so much more comfortable than a kleenex.  Especially after blowing my nose 100 times with that cold. A kleenex would have left it so raw.  I could’ve spent the extra $$ on lotion-filled kleenex, but the hanky worked just fine.  And the 2nd thing I noticed was that the hanky held up so much better than kleenex. Usually one blow and a kleenex has to be thrown away, b/c a hold has been blown in it.  The hanky was softer, kinder, and stronger.  At the end of the day, I throw it in the wash and pull out a new one.  A bought another pack of hankies within the week and haven’t looked back.  Come cold season each year, I’m so thankful!

So, 2 things that I’ve replaced disposable with reusable items. And neither was for “environmental” reasons per se, but that’s a great side benefit!  More things that I’ve done will be coming!