January 31, 2009

Saturday Snapshots



I finally got tired of the robes we had for the kids... Seth was wearing pink and purple hand me downs from Gwen, Gwen was complaining that her robes were all short sleeve and I didn't like them because they were pull-overs, Noah's were faded and looked dirty no matter how many times I washed them... so I did some bargain shopping on eBay. These are quality, heavy cotton robes that easily retail for $30 each. I got them for $12 a piece including shipping. Score me! And look how happy my kids are...

January 30, 2009

Friday Frustrations

Did you know it is virtually impossible to cancel a credit card? I received a replacement card in the mail the other day for my soon-to-expire card. Problem was, I had already received a replacement card about six weeks ago. After further investigation, I realized the second replacement card has a completely different account number. Turns out, this is a replacement card for an account that I had before I was married.

So I called Discover, naively believing that I would *simply* close the old account once and for all. Ha! The representative on the other end of the phone was not so willing to just let me go despite the fact that DH and I have another account with a flurry of activity. I have not used *my* account in the seven years that I have been married and, quite honestly, thought it was closed until the replacement card showed up.

After my experience this time around, I'm convinced that I did call once-upon-a-time to get this account closed and it never happened. I was warned that my FICA score could be severely impacted, that my husband's death would cause our card to be canceled leaving me with no credit (to this I replied, "I'm pretty sure you'll give me another card if and when..."), and lectured on the importance of building my own credit "just in case". After enduring all of this, I finally convinced the guy that I knew what I was asking and I still would like the account closed.

How much do you want to bet 5 years from now a shiny, new replacement card will be showing up in the mail?

January 29, 2009

Thoughts for Thursday

I am sick and all I can think about is my aching bones, pounding headache, and rattling chest. Between the aches and pains and the exhaustion, I feel like I've aged a decade in the past week. I hate when my body feels older than I do.

We're out of adult cold medicine so I took a double dose of the kids'. I wish I knew more about proper dosing of medication. Too bad I didn't think to become a pharmacist; it would be nice to possess the knowledge of which medicines are safe to give the kids simultaneously without having to consult someone. Becoming a pharmacist or a doctor would have been extremely helpful as far as raising kids. Wow, can you tell we are still in the grips of cold & flu season?!

I napped for a few hours this afternoon, but I'm already worn out again and ready to call it a day. Gwen gave up and went to bed about twenty minutes ago and the boys will be in bed as soon as the movie that is in ends (about ten minutes).

As soon as the boys' heads hit their pillows, I plan on curling up under the covers with my book and reading until I pass out. I hope I can find my place in the morning and not because I drooled on the last read page. I don't think the librarian or any future checker-outers would be too thrilled with that.

January 28, 2009

Wednesday Write-Up

Book Review: Me & Emma by Elizabeth Flock



I randomly picked this book up while killing time perusing the book section of my local Walmart. The back-cover summary peaked my interest and, with a sale price of $4.99, I figured I could afford to take the gamble on a book and author I had never heard of before.

I bought the book on a Tuesday afternoon and had its 400 pages devoured by Saturday evening (it helped that it was an easy read). The story was compelling, full of surprises and beautiful imagery to counter the desperate scenarios within. Me & Emma is a disturbing tale of surviving childhood through horrific circumstances; i.e. witnessing the murder of a parent, physical and sexual abuse. I would definitely recommend this powerful and emotionally riveting book.


Movie Review: Twilight


Having read all four books of the series, I simply *had* to see Twilight the movie in all of its horrible glory. I expected the movie to be terribly cheezy and destroy all of the value and character of the original book. I was surprised to find that the movie was not nearly as bad as I had anticipated. Minus, of course, the absolutely ridiculous "sparkle scene". If nothing else, that stupid scene was worth the hours of laughter and mocking afterward.

The casting of some of the characters was 'off' in my opinion. The actor playing Carlisle was entirely to young, his blonde dye-job and pasty make-up were simply atrocious. Esme didn't feel right to me either, but that might have been due to her pairing with the awkwardly cast Carlisle. I also found the portrayal of Emmet odd, though, I cannot put my finger on exactly why. I think this was more a character flaw than anything with the actual actor. Likewise, I found the character of Jasper weird but, again, I don't think this was due to the actor's being physically wrong for the part. Instead, I think it might be a reflection of his acting abilities. Rosalie, no offense to the beautiful Nikki Reed, was not nearly as breath-taking as the book had conjured her to be.

At first, I was put off by the casting of Robert Pattinson as Edward for the same reason Rosalie didn't work for me... He is simply not gorgeous enough for what the book (and my mind) conjured Edward Cullen to be. The actor's talent served him well as I quickly found myself believing this man to be Edward Cullen, putting aside my earlier perceptions.

For as many characters as I thought were poorly cast, there were just as many that I thought brilliantly played. Bella and Alice were simply perfect and everything that I had ever imagined them to be. The actors playing Charlie and Jacob were also a good fit for their roles. Overall, my opinion of Twilight the movie is that it was decent. I think the average adult can save their $$$ and wait for its release on DVD. Perhaps the theater viewings can be left to those of us adults who have invested our time reading the books along with the rest of the twelve year old girls.