Maybe...

starting this second blog wasn't such a great idea after all. Apparently I have far less to ramble about than I originally thought! I'll leave it up for a bit longer. Maybe my life will become more interesting in the new year...hmmm, I doubt it, but it's a good thought right?

So is anyone else out there as big of a fan of Run's House as I am? I love that show! They crack me up! While it would be really nice to be the daughter of a famous rapper and be able to jump in on the family shoe business, I think Rev Run still works hard to make his family as normal as he can...even if he does drop Diggy off at the bus stop in a Rolls Royce. I say all this as I'm yawning because I stayed up too late watching a Run's House marathon and then Grey's Anatomy on Lifetime. I just couldn't go to sleep for some reason!

Computers

Why is it that we depend on them so much? Ha! Mine just went caput - and no one seems to be able to fix it. First of all, don't call Fast Techs - the guy came in sat down at my computer for about 4 minutes and said "your hard drive crashed and you need to call IBM." He didn't do anything. He didn't run a hard drive diagnostic program or anything (which was so super easy to do - I did it myself after calling IBM). So I call IBM and they have me run the hard drive test which totally passes. So it's NOT the hard drive. The computer is still under warranty so they are being helpful, thankfully. It looks like they'll have to attempt to "re-image" it, whatever that means, and if that doesn't work then replace the hard drive. So I'm using a combination of my old laptop and Tim's. What a pain! And I need to be working on so many things that I can't do without installing software on Tim's laptop.

No matter what IBM does, I'll lose everything (because they will not back up my data!). I bought an external drive yesterday and was able to rescue all of my documents and program files so I think I'll be fine. I'll just have to reinstall a lot of software. I even tested it out on Tim's computer last night - restoring emails into his Outlook, etc and it all worked. Thank goodness!!!

So, if you talk to me anytime soon and I"m really cranky you'll know why!

Back in the day

I just scanned this picture to send to someone and since I laugh at it every time I see it, I decided to share. In case you can't tell from the crazy face he's making, it's Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty. MBT is pretty much my fave band of all time and my friend Tina and I went to see them...and managed to stalk their bus long enough after the show to get autographs and pictures :) We definitely look the "crazy fan" part in this picture!

Shameless Plugs

First, the Jackson L. Graves Foundation will be kicking off its annual Christmas supply drive for Arkansas Children's Hospital pretty soon so stay tuned for more information! If you want to join our mailing list, visit our website at http://www.jacksongraves.org/. We also need some donated crafts - baby related if possible - to include in a mission fair the first weekend in December. We will have a booth and the proceeds from the items sold will be used to purchase supplies in conjunction with our supply drive. If you're on Facebook, be sure to join our cause!

Second, if you don't own a copy of Add Another Place Setting (the Junior League of NWA cookbook), you should! Since October is National Cookbook Month (I'm sure you all knew that ;), we are offering a 30% discount through October 31. That makes the book just over $20 with tax! What a bargain! The book makes such a fantastic gift for any occasion so contact me or visit our website at http://www.juniorleaguenwa.org/ to find out how to get one (or many more!).

Some exciting news regarding the cookbook, it was just named a finalist in the USA Book News Best Books 2008 Awards! That is huge and we are so thrilled!!!

The End

I finished Breaking Dawn this weekend, completing the Twilight Saga. I'm a little sad actually. I've read so many reviews and posts lately about these books and there are so many people who hate them too...that goes for everything though. There are always people who don't like something that others love. I agree that they are somewhat cheesy and not always very well written, but the story itself just sucks you in!

Now I'm going to throw out my warning because I'm probably going to make a couple of comments that would spoil the book for those who haven't read it. I'm not planning to say much, but I would hate to spoil it for anyone! And this should be my last post on the subject (until I review the movie anyway!)...













I don't know that I can honestly say that BD was my favorite of the 4. I did enjoy it and I always love a happy ending, but the whole Renesmee storyline (and I HATE that name!) didn't do it for me. Once she was born and the story developed a little more, I got used to the idea and started liking the book again. But when Bella was first pregnant with the baby and she was about to die I just felt like the author had run out of ideas and was grasping at staws. I did warm up to it though. It also took me a little while to warm up to the idea of Bella being a vampire. Her not being a vampire is what made the story so compelling, but again, I got used to it and really liked how much stronger she was - so much less whiney and clumsy! Ha! She really became the hero of the story which I really liked.

So as I was reading the book, I kept thinking how it was definitely not my favorite, but now I'd say that it is close...I just really liked them all! I also read the brief and partial draft of Midnight Sun - which was supposed to be published as a companion to Twilight. It's basically Twilight from Edward's point of view. Apparently it was leaked on the internet and Stephenie Meyer is so upset about it that she may not finish it or publish it. I so hope she does! Twilight from Edward's point of view would be a completely different story and I really want to read it! So hopefully she'll do it.

As far as the movie goes, I'm still planning to see it, but now that I've watched the trailers again I'm not sure it's going to be very good. I'm not sure those actors can portray the love between Edward and Bella as it is in the book. I guess we'll see!

Obsessive Cullen Disorder

Ok, so I stole that term from a friend of mine, but it is so accurate. I apologize now for my continued rambling about these books, but I can't help myself! And this is MY blog and I can ramble about whatever I want! And yes, I will admit that I am a little bit embarrased by the fact that I am so addicted to books written for teenagers ;)

WARNING: if you haven't read any of the books or if you haven't made it to Eclipse yet, you may not want to continue reading!!










Ok, so Bella is a little annoying...I mean she is so freaking weak! That drives me a little crazy and parts of the book are really really really sappy, but still so much like crack...so freaking addictive! I finished Eclipse yesterday and have now read 2 pages of Breaking Dawn (I picked it up at the library today and was 7 minutes early to pick Sam up from school - so of course I started reading it in the parking lot of the school. In my car. I wonder if they have started an Edward Cullen Anonymous group yet.). And let me tell you how very stoked I am about the Twilight movie that is coming out on November 21. I've watched the trailer several times! Of course the only thing that I don't like about seeing the trailer is that it puts a different image of the characters in my head than what I imagined. But that's ok, because it looks like they've done a really great job of casting. It looks like it will be very true to the book too.

I just can't get over how emotionally involved these books cause readers to be. I have never read a book that I felt so involved in! Of course I haven't really read that many books and have never read any of the great classic love stories.

I was a little sad about Jacob, but still really glad that Bella chose Edward (like she wouldn't!). I really enjoyed the exchange between Jacob and Edward in the tent. I think that might have been my favorite part of the book. I just can't wait to find out what happens in Breaking Dawn. I think Eclipse is my favorite so far so we'll have to see if BD can top it.

I've been tagged

Ok, ok, so stop tagging me already! Ha! I've had 3 people tag me and believe me, once you see how incredibly boring I am you'll never tag me again! Let me see if I can even come up with 7 things about myself...

1. I once danced in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC and was even on TV!

2. This may come as a surprise to those who haven't known me very long, but those of you who have will not be surprised in the least - I'm actually incredibly forgetful and scatterbrained. In college, Jolee used to have to quiz me before we left for class every day to make sure I had everything I needed.

3. I have never smoked or done drugs of any kind.

4. I went out with a guy once (ok, twice) that was 6ft 10in tall! Now that was a funny sight.

5. Again, this is only a surprise to some of my newer friends, but I am huge hip hop and rap fan...I like plenty of other music but my love of rap & hip hop just doesn't seem to go away.

6. I used to take a bus route that was out of my way on campus just to see and talk to Tim (before we were dating...and he doesn't believe me when I tell him this).

7. I'm terrified of lightening...like almost phobic.

Jeez that was hard! This just makes me realize how little I've done...of course I know there has to be more interesting facts about me that I just can't seem to think of...there just HAS to be!

So in the interest of making someone else suffer along with me, I'm going to tag Brandy, Becky (do it on Facebook or something because I know you're sitting there thinking you don't have to do it because you don't have a blog), Jolee, Angie, Mandy, Terri, and Kara (I know Tina tagged you, but so am I because I can't think of 7 people who haven't been tagged yet!)

Materialistic or just really really really into cute clothes?

Hmmm, I guess there isn't much of a difference between the two, huh? I got to engage in one of my all time favorite pastimes yesterday...SHOPPING! I took part of the money that I made from selling a bunch of Sam's baby stuff and bought myself some clothes. That's probably been one of the hardest parts about being a stay at home mom - the lack of money to shop with! I know it's shallow and materialistic, but I really don't care. I love clothes, and shoes, and accessories...in fact, I've become quite the accessories fiend. So then today I'm going through a stack of mail that I've thrown on my desk and low and behold, a Gap coupon! It doesn't start until tomorrow, but you better believe that I'll be marching myself back to Gap, returning the things I bought and re-purchasing them with my discount. I figured it up and I'll save $40...which of course means I'll re-invest that savings into another item of clothing ;)

Maybe I should turn this blog into a shopping blog...maybe not, but don't be surprised if I ramble on about shopping, fashion, discounts, etc from time to time.

Just one more day...

Until Grey's and the Office premiere! Woohoo! Still haven't figured out how I'm going to watch them both (most likely I'll be watching The Office online the next day) since we don't have a DVR...and I'll be busy putting Sam to bed and likely miss part of the show(s) anyway. Fall TV makes me long for the 7:00 bedtime days! Sad, huh?

I also have to catch up on the Office online...I missed all of last season. What were they thinking putting it on at the same time as Grey's? They obviously did NOT consult me about this!

Ever fall in love with a vampire?

Ok, so me either...unless you count Jason Patric in The Lost Boys, which is one of my favorite movies of all time, but I digress...

I'm not usually into such things, but a friend talked me in to reading Twilight by Stephene Meyer and now I'm hopelessly addicted. There are 4 books in the series and I've finished the first 2. I'm dying to start the 3rd one, Eclipse! They are actually written for teens, but who doesn't love a love story? Especially one involving vampires and werewolfs! Ha! So if you are looking for something to read, you should definitely check them out.

New blog!

Ok, so I decided to start another blog...for my own thoughts and ramblings. Sometimes I want to say things that I don't because I don't feel like the fit in with my family blog...so here is a new one!