Who is your favorite Twilight character?

I was hesitant to read the Twilight books.  Teenage vampire love just sounded a bit too silly for me.  It wasn't till a friend forced the books into my hands that I caved.  Boy am I glad I did.  I completely love how the story sucks you in and in the world created by Stephanie Meyer you completely believe it is all possible.  

I love the Bella and Edward relationship but my favorite character is Jasper.  I think his past is fascinating, I adore his relationship with Alice, and I sympathize with his place in the 'family' (feeling like he is not as strong as the others and like he does not fit as well as the rest).  Of course I also love the empath part of his character.  I read a lot of Jasper fanfics so the Jasper in my mind has grown beyond that of what was included in the Twilight Saga.  I'm looking forward to getting to see more of Jasper in New Moon.  I though Jackson Rathbone did an amazing job as Jasper (with the little he had to work with) and I think he is such an adorable, goofy, funny, awkward guy.  His guest appearance on Criminal Minds was very impressive and I'm looking forward to seeing him in his other projects.  Plus he's super cute so that's a plus  :)

Who is your fav?

Better Body Journey

Do you remember when you first decided you were fat?  I do.  I was in 7th grade.  I'd just had yet another growth spurt and reached what I deemed "freakish height".  5 foot 8 inches doesn't seem so bad now but at 13 I was taller than every boy in school and taller than all my teachers.  I spent a lot of time slouching and generally trying to appear shorter.  There was one girl my same height and she was a beast of a girl.  The broadest shoulders I'd ever seen and legs that could snap a grown man in half.  I remember thinking she would fit in better on a mens rugby team then in middle school.   She was the top player on all our sports teams and she seemed full of confidence.  I assumed that since I was her same height I must look like that too.  From that point on, anytime I saw my 5'8'' 118 lb body in the mirror all I could think was "FAT!!!"  

Sad, silly, stupid, naive... It's a shame we find it so easy to focus on what we see as negatives about ourselves yet are completely oblivious to our positive attributes.  I sure wish I could quote those stats now.  I'm a bit taller and a lot heavier.  But reality has never had much to do with my body image.  Until recently that is...  

After my first 2 children I was back to a respectable size fairly quickly.  Not skinny, but healthy and able to endure a shopping trip for clothes without being reduced to tears.  Then I started a new job and went back to school full time in the evenings.  The stress brought with it weight gain.  Still, I was okay with how I looked.  Then came pregnancy #3.  I did a respectable job of keeping my pregnancy weight gain in a health zone and was more than happy to deal with the extra weight if it meant a new addition to our family!

Flash forward 4 months from delivery.  Here I am weighing more than mid-pregnancy, even more than when I left the hospital with my baby.  With school soon to be behind me I feel I have the time and mental energy needed to focus on getting my body back on track.  And with physical activity with the kiddos become increasingly more difficult, I have ample motivation.

It's important to me to not let my journey to a healthier body be an overpowering presence at home.  I don't want the idea of the importance of weight being in the forefront of my young daughters mind.  If she's like me or half the other girls in the world she will be facing that all to soon as it is.

On the advise of my sister-in-law I will be making my "Better Body Journey" with the help of Dr. Simeon's Pounds and Inches Weight Loss Protocol.  This system requires an extremely controlled diet and the use of the HCG hormone.  I have ordered my supplies and will be starting in the next couple of weeks.  I will be documenting my progress along the way and passing along all the things I'm bound to learn.  If I get daring I may just include some pics of my progress.  I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have any experience with the HCG diet.  

Wish me luck on my "Better Body Journey"! 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I promise to lay off the whole Jane Austen thing after this. I just wanted to quickly share the latest P&P adaptation...

PRIDE and PREJUDICE and ZOMBIES

Can't wait to read it!

Pride and Prejudice

Elizabeth Bennet is my all time favorite female literary character.  She is strong willed, witty, sarcastic, stubborn, compassionate, adventurous,  loyal, and a realist.  Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a book that I read at least once a year.  And ever time I read I stay up late to finish it because I just can't stand to put it down.  

Before I was introduced to the book, my sister and I discovered the BBC's 1995 TV miniseries of the classic tale on VHS at the local video store.  I vividly remember the two of us getting settled on the couch to watch... not sure what exactly we would be seeing.  It came in 2 parts, and by accident we put part 2 in the recorder first.  Instantly Elizabeth is having flashbacks to Darcy's initial proposal.  We were completely confused and about to cut our losses and walk away in hopes of finding a better way to spend the evening.  Luckily we discovered our mistake and watched from the beginning.  It took all of 10 minutes to be completely absorbed in the story.  The BBC version is about 5 hours long.  5 wonderful hours.  We quickly bought our own copy and spent many Sunday afternoon watching it over and over again.

Since that time I have searched out every possible version of the story.  The BBC seems to put out a new film version every decade.  I've seen them all dating back to 1940.  There are also a few spinoffs like Bride and Prejudice

and Pride and Prejudice- a latter day comedy.         

These are all entertaining enough,  but non compared to Jennifer Ehle and colin Firth's portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy.

You can imagine my excitement when I discovered that in 2005 we would be getting a Hollywood quality version of Pride and Prejudice staring Kira Knightly.  I forced my husband to take me on opening night and I jumped and giggled like a schoolgirl while we waited in line.  I think the anticipation was the best part.  I even made friends with some other jumping and giggling girls in line with us.  

Since that time there have been many discussions about which was better... the 1995 version or or the 2005 version?  Here are my thoughts...

- Absolute best part of both movies combined is when after staying at Netherfield park. 2005 Mr. Darcy helps Elizabeth into the buggy and flexes his fingers after touching her hand!  SWOON!!!  Sounds small and silly I know, but if you didn't catch it the first time around watch it again and I guarantee your heart will be pounding!  :)

- 1995 Darcy out performs, out dances, and out manlys 2005 Darcy hands down.

- 2005 Jane fits the book description of beauty much better than weird looking 1995 Jane.

- I was completely distracted by Keira Knightley's gigantic and harsh chin in the 2005 version

- Claudie Blakley, who played Charlotte Lucas in the 2005 version was amazing!  She made that part come alive.  Her fear of being a burden to her family by never marrying  is so well portrayed.  When she defends her reasons for marrying Mr. Collins you completely believe her and can feel her pain, fear, sorrow, and relief.  This is completely lacking in the 1995 version.

- The newer version better displayed the financial difference between the Bennet family and the men they end up falling for.

- Jennifer Ehle completely convinced me she was Elizabeth Bennet.  Keira... not so much.

- All things considered they are both well done but one is 5 times longer than the other, and therefore 5 times better!

Smarty Pants

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