Jacob's long hair

Alright, one more New Moon post (come on, it was a great weekend, I can't help it!)

Am I the only person on the planet that doesn't mind Jacob's long hair?

Don't get me wrong, I way, way, WAY (times 1,000) prefer his short hair, but I've heard & read quite a few comments that his long hair is "Ewww!".

Am I alone? Anyone out there at least "okay"-ish with the long hair?

P.S. Results from the Ed vs. Jake poll. Not surprised Edward won, but I was actually impressed by how close it was the whole time (thanks for humoring me guys!)

P.S.S. Remember to sign up for the giveaway below!

Swag Bag GIVEAWAY!

My great friend Debbie got together some people to donate fun stuff to our New Moon movie night. She did a great job & everyone was so excited to have a little something at the movie.

She also managed to get together some great items to raffle off at the movie too: A couple awesome bags full of lotions from Essence of Twilight & Infinite Jewelry Co donated a Bella's Engagement ring and Bella's Bracelet too.

We had a couple baggies leftover so I thought...

I'd do a little GIVEAWAY!

If you'd like to win a New Moon "swag bag" full of all sorts of random goodies then LEAVE A COMMENT & (just for the sake of my self esteem, which writing has battered down slightly) if you want a second entry then FOLLOW ME (there's a little box under the "email me" picture- just click on the 'follow' button). If you already follow me leave me a comment & tell me. I'll leave it open until BLACK FRIDAY (the 27th) at midnight!

I have 5 baggies to giveaway & maybe a couple extra items like one of these or these! Fun stuff guys!

OUR THANK YOU LIST:

Infinate Jewelry, Charmed, Zurchers, Food Should Taste Good, Debbie over at CranberryFries, Essence of Twilight, Tarl's Scribbles, Bree Despain, Lindsay Jane, Esther, Smithy, & Lay

Us stuffing the very bags you could win:

And don't forget to tell me what you thought about the movie over here.

P.S. Little article on New Moon's opening night numbers here, & notice the date that Eclipse is set to come out (maybe my birthday?!)

NEW MOON: the movie

Oh, you guys... what a fabulous night!

We did dinner at our favorite "girls night" locale Chili's. We had a blast in our matching shirts; eating, chatting, & getting excited for the evening.

Then it was off to Esther's house to watch Twilight & get our movie goody bags together (more on this but a preemptive thanks for all of Debbie's help). Had a blast watching it &, gosh, that movie makes me laugh.

Then off to the theater. Wow, the line was CRAZY! Renting it was the way to go. We were worried we wouldn't be able to sell all the tickets but we got them all sold & had a GREAT group there. Everyone got a "goody/swag bag" & then we had a raffle for some bigger items (more on that to come too!)

Now for LIV'S REVIEW OF NEW MOON! I would recommend NOT reading this part if you haven't seen the movie & don't want to know anything about it going in (which is how I like to go into movies).

First off... I loved it. I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was compared to Twilight. As I've said before Twilight is like a "B movie"- so bad it's good. New Moon is like a "real"-ly good movie.

A couple of my favorite parts:

1) JACOB: I was shocked by what a great actor Jacob was. I figured he would only be the right body for the part but he played each moment perfectly & solidified my "Team Jacob" feelings.

2) ACTION: The action was done the way I imagined it when I read it. It was intense & so good. The wolves looked great & the wolf pack scenes were among my favorite.

3) TRUE TO THE BOOK: Didn't you think they did a great job keeping VERY close to the book? They took only a few liberties & still got everything in there. Dialogue straight from the book & the key moments I really wanted to see.

Things that bugged me: The Cullen's contact lens' bugged me the whole time. They were more subtle in Twilight & I liked that more. The strange vision Alice had of Eward & Bella frolicking in period clothes. Lastly, this is totally bizzaro but, Alice's outfit in the Volerta scene- kind of matronly. (These small parts are NOTHING compared to Twilight where I complained about bad CGI, laughing at serious parts, & cheesiness)

All in all, I thought it was MUCH better than I expected & was jolly good fun!

TELL ME WHAT YOU THOUGHT? What were your favorite scenes? (a few of my fav's were: the car scene with Jacob, the biker guy scene with Jessica, the movie scene with the two boys)

P.S Two of my favorite reviews Brodi Ashton (who came to our theater) gave an awesome blog post about New Moon by the Numbers AND my new blog friend Joan's review was spot on. I agreed with every assessment.

In-N-Out Burger Opening Day

The kiddos & I piled in the car today with a destination in mind....

Opening day of In-N-Out Burger...

The debate was drive-thru or dining in. But the kids insisted going in was the best & the line ended up being A LOT faster & more fun (they gave the kids hats & stickers) & it didn't even take the 20 minutes they quoted me.

We got our burgers & even found a seat outside. The kids had a blast & I enjoyed my favorite hamburger & smothered fries (called 'animal style')

The line really wasn't too long but I might wait a couple days if you don't want to have to wait outside, luckily it was a warm, sunny day. Hooray for In-N-Out Burger's in Provo!

Review: UP

The other day we rented UP & watched it as a family. Syd saw it with Auntie Linds on a date, but the rest of us hadn't seen it yet.

I had heard lots of good things about it from everyone & we were not disappointed.

We made a little bed on the ground & surrounded ourselves with pillows. The whole family snuggled under Scott's StarWars blanket (he's had it since he was 3) & enjoyed the sweet story. It made both Scott & I cry (Scott "the-stone-cold" who doesn't cry in ANY movie cried). Definitely recommend it to everyone- kids, adults- it's got a little bit for everyone.

Kind of scary...

Yesterday I went to Zurcher's party store (one of Rob's favorite places on this planet) to return something & when I walked in I was texting someone but I kind of felt like someone was looking at me. So, I looked up & saw this...

That's right a million New Moon characters were staring at me (mostly very morose Edward or darkly seductive Jacob).

I literally stopped dead & the workers standing at the door laughed at me. "Yeah," one male cashier told me, "My only solace is that they will all be sold out by Saturday".

I hope so, because the view on the way out was even scarier...

Maybe in your imagination being surrounded by 50 Edwards & Jacobs sounds like fun. In reality it's kind of creepy.

Gnomes vs. Dwarfs

I was at the a party store the other day (possibly looking at New Moon party stuff... no I'm not weird) & while perusing the cake section is saw a pack of gnomes!

"Gnomes!" exclaimed clapping me hands together... probably looking like a tad insane.

However, upon closer inspection I realized that the garden shoves & wheelbarrow I thought the gnomes were carrying were in fact mining tools (but in my defense one is carrying a rake & the other a watering can- classic gnome accessories, right?).

And there was a tall black-haired girl included in the pack. Curses... not gnomes. But dwarfs.

But I bought it anyway. Subtract the maiden & they totally look like garden gnomes.

It was a pretty exciting find (yeah, that pretty much tells you how exciting my life is).

The grossest candy in the world...

... okay, that might be an overstatement, but really have you guys tried these Nerd Ropes? Grossy gross.

The kids were very excited at first but then ate only half of theirs & gave up. I took a bite & then spit it out. Yeah, it was about that good.

Any Nerd Rope lovers out there?

P.S. Still haven't gone back to get those candy canes. The anticipation of my review will have to wait.

"If you chance to meet a frown, do not let it stay..."

Those of you that follow me on Twitter or Facebook might have seen my post about having a "no good, very bad day". Nothing major... just one of those days.

I'm not one to allow myself to wallow so I decided to make something that would cheer not only me up, but Syd & Rob who catch my emotions (I also hinted at what cured my blues on Twitter/FB too)

Here's a little hint for you...

I made... drum roll please...

A ball pit on the landing of ours stairs!!!

Oh the joy we had. Jumping, leaping, bumping, & throwing.

I had to make a little net out of half a roll of masking tape to keep them up there & used all my lung capacity to fill up all those balloons...

But it definitely turned a "yicky yucky blah" day into a "fun fabulous very good" day!

Writing Update

NaNo Update guys: Perpetually behind guys... I'm working on it though. Now, that I'm better I think I'll be able to churn some more out.

And I had a neat little "shout out" from our family friend Dawn Brandvold in the Davis County Clipper: HERE. Thanks Dawn it was terribly exciting to read!

Candy Canes

I was at the grocery store yesterday & saw a HUGE section of candy canes.

Why would you need a whole section? Don't they just come in just peppermint?

If you're feeling snazy maybe multicolored striped cherry flavored ones?

Oh no, there were at least 25 flavors. Here were my top 4 weird favors:

1) Smartie- I like them in small quantity but maybe not a whole stick
2) SourPatch Kid (sour sugar & all... could be good)
3) Bubblicious flavored w/ bubbled gum inside (gross? yum?)
4) Cinnabon flavored (could be good)

Alright, even as I wrote this I thought, "I should just try them". I can't even make an objective post without trying them.

Okay guys... tomorrow we might just have an answer to our YUM OR NOT YUM question.

Check back... I'll keep you guys posted!

Poll: Edward vs. Jacob

Alright ladies &, yes, you gents...

In honor of the "less than a week away" New Moon movie premier I wanted to see what my readers thought once and for all...

Team Edward or Team Jacob...

Gut reaction guys... weigh in on the poll to the right!

P.S. OTHER FUN NEW MOON STUFF: Stephenie Meyer's Oprah interview here, "are they a couple" pics here, & tons of interviews here.

Fish Eye Lens

I got an email about what a fish eye lens was. Here's a little explanation but here's a side by side comparison.

If the lens actually fit my camera it would look a little different but you get the idea. Kind of GROOVY, but mostly fun to play around with.

P.S. Stripe shoes with stripe shirt. Fashion faux pas? Or maybe fashion forward?

Conkie's Adventure

The other day Syd walked up to me...

SYD: "All the kids in the world are my friends!"
(Which is SO a Syd thing to say. Everything with her is dramatic)
SYD: "But Conkie isn't my friend anymore"
(Conkie is sort of Syd's imaginary friend)
ME: "Why?"
SYD: "Because he was eaten by a dragon."
ME: "Oh that's too bad."
SYD: "Yeah...."

TWO MINUTES LATER:

SYD: "Oh, Conkies my friend again! The dragon just pooped him out!"

Well, at least she understands the logistics.

Ode to China & a Big Mac

Today I had a coupon & so I went out on the town for a Big Mac.

I haven't had a Big Mac since I lived in China (I don't think I had a Big Mac before I went to China either). I tell you guys, one bite & I was transported back to China 2001.

I remember we used to get Big Mac's & chocolate shakes because it was one time we could get dairy. In Wuhan (where I lived) the McD's had 10 cashiers standing there waiting for someone to come in. Literally standing like statues at their cash registers. It was hard to decide which one to pick. They all had huge smiles on their faces that said, "Choose me, choose me!"

Then we'd sink into one of the sea of empty booths (because almost no one but foreigners ate there in our city) & enjoyed the greasy cheesy goodness.

After finishing your food & standing to throw it away, there was another worker standing by the trash can waiting to grab your tray away from you & throw it in.

Then as we'd leave there would be an employee to hold the inside door open for us.

And lest you think they'd waste yet another job, 3 feet away was another uniformed guy to hold the outside door open for you too.

Oh, China... how I love & miss you (Can you spot me in the pic below? I'm the one in the red sleeved baseball t-shirt & ugly knees)

P.S. If you guys are interested in hearing my sister&brother-in-law's awesome China adventure's check out their blog. Every post makes me want to be in China again.

Old Navy Outwear Sale

Okay, so I was late on my info on the PayLess Sale at least this time I'm a few hours earlier.

Right now Old Navy has a 50% off Outwear Sale & today is the last day. Today also is the beginning of their 30% off coupon time. So, I went today & bought Syd & Rob big winter coats for 80% off.

If you guys need a winter coat here's a link to Old Navy & the Coupon.

One man's trash is another man's treasure...

Our local thrift store had a 50% off all clothing & accessories sale. Man, that place was jam packed crazy town (& the crazies were out in force).

I'm not sure what I was thinking seeing as I'm just barely feeling human after being sick for days, but Es & I went anyway & even found a couple things.

This one was my "treasure" find...

Come on... that's rad! Not only llamas but "PERU!" emblazoned on the ear flaps. My dad (who served his LDS mission in Peru & Columbia) would be proud.

Want to see other treasures I've found in the past while thrift shopping? Look here, here, here, & here.

What are some treasures you've found while thrifting?

P.S. Here's a picture of the kids I posted on Twitter. What? You don't follow me on Twitter? Then you'll miss such THRILLING updates as "my nose is clogged" or "Skinny jeans. Yea or Nay?"

Wood Rocking Animals

It's that time of year again where I start looking & making the kiddos Christmas presents.

In the course of looking on our local classifieds online I ran across an adorable rocking boxer dog. We don't need one, the kids have a rocking horse that they love (& fight over... maybe I do need another one). But it got me thinking about how I love non-horse rocking animals.

Here are a few of my favs:

1) the local woodmaker who does boxer rockers 2) good ol' Ikea carries a Moose rocker
3) an adorable piggie rocker

Horse family runner's up: Unicorn rocker & zebra rocker

New Moon Dolls

While looking up boy dolls on Etsy (for Rob for Christmas) I ran across these silly lil' guys...

So funny! That Jacob doll just kills me! New Moon is a lil' over a week away.

Does anyone else have plans to see it? Any other midnight showing peeps out there?

Lovely Suprises

Guess what I found in my mailbox today? (after a rough night & feeling terribly sick) Two special surprise packages..

An encouraging note about writing & a rad gnome magnet from an old Maryland friend Rachel & an awesome mix CD (seriously it's SOOOO good!) from my Rexburg friend Monica (of "writers un-block" fame).

You guys seriously MADE MY DAY! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

A reminder of happy things when I'm feeling sick...

Fall. Have I mentioned how much I love fall? It's lovely. And wanting a keffiyeh & finding one for $2.

And thrift stores. I love them too. Last trip I brought home a rosy lipped gnome & a pair of cute Keds.

And I also love fish eye lens. Scott found one of his in an old box. It's doesn't fit my camera but that doesn't stop me from holding it up to the camera & experimenting.

What makes you happy?

Portraits of 3 of the Carters on a Monday afternoon

Yup, I'm sick, Syd's grumpy, & Rob... well, he's my consistently content fellow.

Apple Turnover Yogurt (or the Best Yogurt in the World)

Seriously, go. Now. Try it. Love it.

Has anyone ever had it & are you a fan?

National Novel Writing Month Update

So, NaNoWriMo is in full swing. I went last night & wrote at the library. Then went to Barnes&Noble, wrote some more, & then rewarded myself with a yum hot coco.

I wasn't sure about it at first, but I love the NaNo website. They have a handy way to track your word count.

According to the graph I have about 4,000 words to write tonight. Luckily Scott has a "guys night out" tonight so once the kids are in bed I'm writing (& tomorrow morning I'm going to have a little writing marathon at the library) Wish me luck!

Soda Dessert Toppers

Now, I like DP, Crush, & A&W.... but I saw these ice cream syrups at the store & thought, "bleh".

Am I alone? Has anyone tried these?

Booster Seat

This gave me a laugh.

The "stand up cutout" you can buy at the store...

When the picture was actually taken...

Ha, ha! I guess, Jacob/Taylor needed a little boost.

Holga Shots

Oh, my Holga, my love...

I developed 3 older rolls today. Here are a couple of my favorites:

1) taken on our way to the zoo in SLC 2) taken at the apple orchard
3) taken during our Yakima rode trip 4) & 5) from this fun afternoon
6) Syd's fancy lady costume

Lovely Provo Temple Print

I saw this print at the Provo City Farmer's Market at the beginning of the season & thought about it everyday since. I love that it's bright and in such an original style (not your typical Provo LDS temple pic)

I finally went back on the last day the market would be open to buy it. SOO glad I did. I wish I had the artists contact info to share. I searched on google for a while. If I find it I'll let you guys know!

Love Songs

I've never really been a fan of love songs (I think I might have had a couple boyfriends who over used love songs to placate me) and I think there was a good chunk of time that I was a love song hater (a lot of them make me roll my eyes & say 'oh brother')

And then I met Scott. He never used music to convey his emotions. He used actions. My kind of fellow.

But there are times when a GOOD love song just hits you right in the gut. You know what I mean?

Here are my top 5 love songs:
1) Ben Harper - My Beloved One
2) Pearl Jam - Wishlist
3) Van Morrison - I'll be Your Lover Too
4) Flogging Molly - If I Ever Leave This World Alive
5) Sting - Fields of Gold

Why am I bringing up love songs if I'm secretly a romantic music hater?

I am in need of some "love songs" for some current writing inspiration. So, what are your favorite love songs? Doesn't matter what they are about just that you love them.

I'm going to look up & listen to every suggestion & who knows, you could be the one to break this strange little writing block I've been having (I'm writing around it, but I need something to kick start my brain again)

P.S. the last song to give my writing a lil' jolt was Monica- thanks again!
P.S.S. Current word count 3,302 (I'm behind I've got to nearly double that tomorrow. Major writing marathon will be happening at the library on Saturday)

Funny Berto

Let me start with the fact that I really don't like masks at Halloween. I think I must have been traumatized as a child or something.

So, when Berto's Spiderman costume came with a mask I hid it & instead let him wear a Spiderman beanie.

Now that Halloween is over I decided to put it in the dress up box & he put it on yesterday.

ME: "Okay, Berto let me take your picture. Show me what Spiderman does."
BERTO: "Okay, like a Spiderman!"

And he strikes this pose....

Yes, he folds his arms like we're saying a prayer and tilts his head in a passive aggressive sort of way. Literally now every time I ask what does Spiderman do he poses like this.

I'm guessing that what he's really doing is crossing his arms across his chest & tilting his head in a tough gangster sort of way.

P.S. Am I alone with the mask thing?

New Payless Half Off Shoes

My lil' furry moccasins from Payless...

I kind of have a crush on them (I think I've worn them everyday since I got them)

What's with my one wrinkly leg of my pants?

You think I might have noticed that, but alas no, I likely walked around all day like that.

Felt Play House

I've been reading the 'Homemade By Jill' blog for a while & I'm always blown away by some of the things she makes.

This felt table playhouse just floored me.

You've got to check it out. All fours sides... amazing. She answers every ones questions & posted templates. Someday I'm going to try this out. My babies would go WILD for it.

P.S. Not this month... currently my word count is only 645- I've gotta a lot of work cut out for me.

Re-Reading New Moon

Currently, I am re-reading New Moon in anticipation of the movie coming out (and because I don't have any books to read right now. Any recommendations?)

I know a lot of people didn't like New Moon, but I actually really liked it a lot.

And, hey, has anyone listened to the soundtrack yet? What do you think?

My opinion: brilliantly indy, but a tad mellow for my taste. However, I think it'll fit the movie perfect.

What's for Dinner?

Okay, guys I'm having a COMPLETE mental block on dinner lately.

What are you guys having for dinner tonight?

What are some of your favorite recipes?

Please share or else my family may be eating Spiderman Mac & Cheese or Hamburger Helper (yes, it's that dire).

P.S. Yup, there's my BUCKET of garlic that I put in everything.

Confession (or a very long post)

Alright, so I have a confession for you guys...

And this one is a REAL one. Unlike other confessions on this blog.

I've been writing.

Why do I write?

Well, there are lots of reasons for this...
1) I have always loved to write. When I told my mom I started writing she nodded sagely & said, "You just tell those publishers that you won the 'Best Creative Writing Award' in 9th grade". Thanks mom- I'm not talking to ANY publishers, but if I were I'm sure that would sway them.
2) When you're a mom almost nothing is your own. That's where writing is helpful. It's just for me. It's a creative outlet that give me an excuse for alone time. My babies are so much fun, but they also eat food off my plate, wear my shoes, & follow me into the bathroom when I pee. As a mom there isn't much that's just yours.
3) I REALLY enjoy it. I've wanted to rip my hair out a couple times & then there are moments of clarity where I literally laugh out loud when my fingers can't type as fast as my mind is going.

Why have I been keeping it a secret?

I'm not sure. It seems such a presumption to think I could write something worth reading. For someone who is a perpetual "over share-er" I get really shy about sharing some parts of me. This is one thing I almost cripplingly shy about. I gotta get over it.

Why am I tell you now?

Well, I WAS writing a lot. Slow at first, then I was flying. I got about 1/2 through my story. Then stopped. Re-wrote the WHOLE thing to about 1/2 through. Then got off track & started something else. And now I've been in a non-writing slump for about a month & 1/2. My hope is that by sharing I will feel more "helpful pressure" to keep writing.

What am I doing to get my groove back?

A little something called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). It's a great little motivator website. The goal is to write 50,000 words in a month. I'm probably going to pick up where I left off on my very first try at my story. One thing I learned at my writing conference was to just finish. The act of finishing a story is important to get to writing the next thing.

So basically...

I'm writing a lot this month. So, if posts are spotty or short I apologize. It's going to take a chunk of time (though most of it will be late at night & early in the morning when everyone is sleeping). I will probably post a word count occasionally (I need to be accountable somehow). It's something I love, a favorite thing, that I hadn't yet shared with you guys.

So, there it's out in the open. I'm writing.

Here are a couple pictures of the journey thus far...

(TOP: Jan, Feb, & March, MIDDLE: April, May, & June, BOTTOM: July, Aug, & Sept) Yes, I took at least one picture of me writing every month.