South Carolina!!

My brother-in-law has been very unhappy with his job. He has to make 2-3 international trips each month, and it has been very hard on him and his family. So he decided to find a new job. And he found one in South Carolina!

This means that my sister and her family will be moving. This is the family that lives in Pennsylvania, that I go to visit fairly frequently. So it's kind of happy/sad for me. I'm happy that they have a new opportunity, and that they'll probably be able to buy a bigger house, and that they're staying on the East Coast. However, it does mean about a 7-8 hour drive for me when I go to visit them (notice I did not say 'if'). This also puts them about 7-8 hours from where my brother just moved to Alabama. So I'm definitely sensing a road trip in my future, when my vacation time catches up to me.

This also means that I can try to get my sis and her family to come visit me on the way south. I mean, really. How many ways are there from PA to SC? And how many of them use I-95? And just where is my house? Less than a mile from I-95??? Maybe?? Mapquest had them driving out to Frederick and avoiding the Baltimore Beltway--I can see some logic in that, but since it's only 6 minutes longer to come through Baltimore (depending on time of day, I'll grant you that), I think I got her to consider it. I also know that if they don't stop on the way here on their move south, they never will come. Too far, too many kids (did I mention she's pregnant? Due at Thanksgiving time--this makes 4), she'll never come to see me if she doesn't do it now. I don't think I'll be able to take her kids for a weekend anymore either, it's just too far. Knowing that they wouldn't be staying here forever has pushed me into going to visit them as frequently as I could. When they were in NJ, I went once a month. In CT, I went once every other month, since Southwest flew from Baltimore to Hartford very cheaply. I'm kinda hoping I can find something similar from BWI to someplace in SC. Hmmm, I have a friend who's a pilot, maybe he can help?? Offer advice, at the least! Anyway, when they first moved to PA I went fairly frequently, but it's been tapering off for the last year or so. I'm so grateful I've had this chance to get to know my sister, my brother-in-law, and their kids. I have them for Christmas this year, so I'll be going down there for that. Unless the airline thing comes through, I probably won't be going there as much as I have to PA. I just don't drive long distance like I used to (I've started falling asleep at the wheel, not good). But maybe for the occaisional long weekend. And holidays :)

Thank you!

I did have a really nice birthday; thank you for all the well wishes :)

It was a very nice day. At work the last meeting of the day (a 2-hour mind-numbing afair) was cancelled, so I did take off a little early. Checking my email frequently I got to see all the birthday wishes everyone sent (probably a little shameless of me to advertise, but I really did enjoy all the happy thoughts sent my way). I went to a friend's for dinner and then got to play with her girls for a few minutes. Then home to find some treats had been left for me and another friend dropped by to leave some more. So lots of yummy treats for me! I got to talk to a brother (the nice, very forgiving one), and my dad (who promised me that my present was in the mail).

Thank you again, so much. Without my friends, it would once again have been just another day. Hugs to everyone!

happy birthday to me!

I have a little song running around in my head:

Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday,
Happy Birthday to me!

I bought some cake last night at the store, and I'm going to make dinner for me tonight and eat cake and ice cream (Ben and Jerry's Creme Brulee--oh, so yummy!)tempting to cut out of work early and go out to eat but I think I really should go to an HOA meeting this evening so might as well stay here).

I had a party of sorts, my friends had me over for games cookies and ice cream last Friday night (so fun!) and I got to go to the Ren Fest on Saturday with one of the same friends and her family. The 5-year old REALLY loved Fight School (I knew he would *g*) and I got to keep the 7-year-old for a while just me and her. That was very fun. We went to see Robin Hood, the Joust, and E Muzeki before wandering back towards the gate and looking through all the shops. I even bought two shirts from a Master Weaver. I'm going to have to get some more next time I go, I love them!

Sunday was normal--got up early enought, but then took a nap (I ask you, a NAP??? I AM getting old!) so I still was late to choir practice. Was starving by the end of church, but was fortunately assisting in Sunbeams and they had snacks so I didn't die. Got home (still starving) and had leftover pizza (from the night before--yum!) which is really good warmed up in the toaster oven, I must say.

Monday I had a raging headache by the time I got home so I didn't do a whole lot. I did manage to watch the three tv show premiers on NBC last night, though, and I liked them. Chuck was funny if a little predictable--loved seeing Jayne from Firelfy again (I know he has a real name but I forget it--oh yeah, he's a Baldwin). Heroes is going to be good this season, I can just tell. I love Hiro! I think he's my favorite! Journeyman was really good too--I wasn't sure if I would like this one or not, but I do. So my Monday night viewing schedule is now 'set' :)

Tonight after the meeting I'm going to come home and maybe watch Lincoln Heights. I mostly liked it last year, but I don't know about this year. It's basically a show about a family but gets a little scarey since it deals with them trying to make their neighborhood better (it's a really bad neighborhood--the dad is a cop and got a deal from the city to be able to afford a nice house there). Then I'm going to tape Eureka (sci-fi channel) and watch House. I never really know what to expect from House, but this year one of the (probably temporary) characters is supposed to be LDS, and I just want to make sure they do it right. Interesting that Mormons have been showing up on TV lately. Very. Even Gilmore Girls had a couple LDS references.

So nothing crazy, but I am in a much better mood than I expected. The Prozac musb be working *g*. I may go to dinner and a movie on Friday night, and go someplace where they sing to you for your birthday. I think that would be fun. Anyone want to come?

Something to get your mind going

a friend emailed this to me, and I though it was good enough to share... and I hereby tag everyone who reads this! :D

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Copy and paste into a new email.
When you are done, send it on, including to the person who sent it to you.
*Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following... *they
have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up!
Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st
initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is your name? Julia

4 letter word: Just

Vehicle: Jaguar

TV Show: Just shoot me

City: Jacksonville

Boy Name: Jude

Girl Name: Jamilla

Alcoholic drink: Jallepeno Schnops (I have a friend who drinks it--ugh!)

Occupation: Jet fighter pilot

Something you wear: jacket

Celebrity: Julia Roberts (that was too easy!)

Food: jicama

Something found in a bathroom: jackets on the floor

Reason for Being Late: just took one little shortcut...

Cartoon Character: Jane Jetson

Something You Shout: Just you wait!!

my Dream house!!!

How did they know???

Unfortunately I can't get blogger to display it, so you'll have to go here: http://julia0925.livejournal.com/63921.html#cutid1

I wish the dots were pink...

got bored of my old template, tried to find something new, was thinking I wanted something pink or purple-ish, but there's not a lot of selection in that color. Someday I'll have to sit down and make my own template, but until then, there are dots. I just wish that they were pink.

Been busy at work lately. Lots to do to get ready for the Big Review coming up the first week of October. We have a final flip-thru this Thurs and Fri, which shouldn't take too long since we don't have to present our slides, just flip through them and mention the things that are new. Since I have a Red Risk to present, I got to present that part at yesterday's team meeting. Silly me, I included in that presentation information that I had recieved from the instrument teams. I wanted to make sure I had understood what they had told me. Some of the teams were very instructive and helpful. One of the instrumenters--and of course he had teleconned in so I wasn't even sure who he was--started nit-picking about the slides themselves. I finally told him that I wasn't going to update those slides because they were never going to be seen again. Sigh. We were finally able to move on, and I didn't get a lot of grief when I finally threw up the graphic of the timeline. I hope I handled that appropriately. It's hard to know since my boss wasn't there (he's at a conference in California this week), and I don't think anyone else would give me input on how I did. Although, I imagine that if I really screwed up, I would be taken aside and Talked To.

In the meantime, a Yearly Event is approaching that tends to make me more crazy than usual. This year is worse because it's a Milestone Event, and I always promised myself I'd stop being smart-alec-y about my age on this particular milestone. Yes, it's my birthday. Always dificult because my family is usually far away. I have three sisters that remember me on my birthday (and I remember theirs), and if I'm lucky my Dad will send something before the end of the year, although since I did see him in July we can just count that. My brother already wished me a Happy Birthday, and I've even recieved a couple of cards (more if you count the stores that are giving me discounts if I spend my birthday money in them). It's also a reminder that it's one more year closer to the time when I will never be able to have children. In a way it's like a little death every year.

This year seems a little worse, because this year I leave the 30's behind forever. I feel like I should have a party, but I don't know when I could have it, and it's weird throwing a birthday party for oneself. I suppose it would be ok if I told everyone not to bring presents, otherwise it just seems lame. But if I did have a party, I would have two cakes. The first would be a tombstone with something like "RIP 30's" on it, and the second would be a celebration cake with lots of sprinkles and curlicues, "Forty and Fabulous". And I would invite Everyone. My poor house would be too small to hold everyone, but I'm sure only about 10 people would show up anyway. Well, maybe more. I did have quite a few people come to my open house last January.

So if I seem mopey over the next week or so, now you know why. Once I get out of my poorme stage, I'll be more cheerful again I promise. In the meantime, I'll just try to distract myself. Shouldn't be too hard this weekend, since My Friend and her three kids are braving the Renaissance Festival with me! It is Adventure Weekend, so that should be very diverting :D

And in the meantime, there are dots. Even if they're not pink.

More on Meyer

So last week book club was all about Eclipse. I mentioned this article: http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20049578,00.html
(Sorry, Cami, she states that she really is writing for 12-year-old girls)
I've been passing along to my sisters and to my star wars email group that they should try reading this series (always passing along that mothers should read before daughters do).

I still feel that Eclipse wasn't as good as Twilight. Bella annoyed me, the triangle annoyed me, and I really hated that I found the pattern of the books:
1) Bella moping around feeling miserable and hating herself for 3/4 of the book
2) Mad excitement running around the country or to another country or even out in the country trying to save Bella from being eaten. (oddly enough this part always brings me back into the book--I really do like my excitement)
Twilight kept my interest, New Moon did a pretty good job, but Eclipse? Well, it was ok. I'm kinda thinking both Jacob and Edward can do better...

My sister Beckie has now read the entire set three times. I think she likes it almost as much as Harry Potter (she read OotP so many times she had to buy a new book because the old one fell apart--literally and without help from her children).

a little bit of this and that

thanks, everyone, for the support on Friday. Considering what Kellie was going through, I really have no right to complain, as Joni says. And yes, of my four sisters, the one mentioned knows who she is. My brother (who reads my blog but rarely comments) knew exactly who she was. A much kinder person than I am, I'm afraid, as he always says that she means well. Yeah, right, tell that to my ex-sis-in-law that my lovely sister tried taking her kids away from. Like I said, Mike is a much better person than I am.

My presentation went... well, at least it's over now. Sort of. It was the 'dry-run' for the 'flip-thru' that happens just before the real thing, so I only have to do it two more times. Lucky me, I get to cover one of the very few hot topics, and the only real 'red' risk that we're carrying right now. Sigh. So my presentation went longer than it should have, but mostly because we had to go over the entire commissioning timeline and make sure we really did not fit into the 45 days we've been allotted. So I get to work on the presentation some more this week and try to fix the flaws in it.

Saturday I overslept again--I'm sensing a theme here. I did make it to my RPG group before they killed all the undead that we were fighting, so that was something. We managed to destroy the Heart of Darkness that we were after, although it was so hot in my freind's sunroom my friend started being concerned I might get heat stroke or something. I used to refer to myself as a Child of the Desert, but I may have been in Maryland too long. Or maybe I just really needed to eat some salt since all I was drinking was water and I may have flushed out my system. Probably a good thing I did not go to the RenFest then. Went home and mowed my lawn--after sunset. Watched Capricorn One, which I hadn't seen before. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was really good. Far more suspenseful than I was expecting.

Sunday I did NOT oversleep--I made it to ward council, to church, to my meeting in Germantown, and then home again where I worked over my finances and realized that I simply must not spend any money this week (I get paid on Friday). I still blame the dogs--not without good reason. The Good Dog Rescue person I was working with told me they had torn up my check. Well, they hadn't. They cashed it. I didn't have enough surplus to cover it, so my overdraft protection kicked in (there's a reason I have it set up that way). So now I have to figure that out.

So not a terribly crazy weekend, but after stepping on the scale Sunday morning and realizing I gained 10 lbs in the last 3 weeks, I have three new goals. 1) add exercise back into my life. 2) Portion control! 3) go to bed earlier! Wish me luck!

dizzy, dopey, dreamy day

Had the worst dream last night. For some unknown reason I was living at my Dad's house (still had my berry-red Saturn ION, though). My sister, the one I really don't care for, had come to visit with her kids and a new baby. Not sure it's possible for her to *have* any more babies, but this was a dream; work with me here. She kept finding the lamest reasons to not let me hold her baby. I asked politely several times. She finally wrote me a rather nasty note saying that she would never trust me with her baby, that Dad had told her how I treated new-borns, and to stop asking. I was confused. I couldn't remember a time I had been anything but careful and sweet to babies, so I had no idea what my Dad had told her. He of course wouldn't tell me, and I remember thinking I needed to have them both talk to my friend Brenda, who did trust me with *her* baby. I woke up around that time, feeling a little sick at heart and more than a little like I had been drugged. Not sure what I ate last night, but no more eating after 9:00pm. The maisma has stuck with me all day long. I have to go give a presentation soon. Maybe I'll head over there early and try to get in a nap...

Lazy, lazy weekend...

Had all these plans for this weekend. Was going to go shopping, go to the movies, go to the Renaissance Festival...

I did mow my back yard, mostly. My friend came over and we worked on Quiet books for a while. I even managed to get prepared for my SA Committee meeting tonight. For the most part, though, I read. I read one book. It was an 800+ page book. And it was quite good. "Outlander", I forget the author's name. I stayed up late Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night reading. Spent most of Saturday reading, forbade myself to read on Sunday so I'd get something else done. Spent most of Monday reading too, and finished it. Stayed up that night too, but not quite so late, and on to the 2nd book in the series by that time. You see, this poor woman had stepped through two standing stones in Scotland, in 1945, and came out, still in Scotland, but in 1743. I had to see if she got back to her century before I could put it down. Didn't actually find that out until the second book, though. Course, the love story, which was the main part of the whole story, was very intense. I got a little tired of her doing silly, 20th century things like walking off by herself, getting in trouble, and having her 18th century husband (initially a marriage of convenience) rescue her. The last time she was able to rescue her husband, though, so that was good. She was married in 1945 and had a lot of anxiety about the propriety of her being married in two centuries--she didn't want to get married but that was the only way to protect herself from the evil 6xgreat-grandfather of her 20th century husband (who was a verra nice man, but his ancestor wasn't). So yeah, I'd have to recommend this book, and thank my sister for lending it to me. whew! Luckily she leant me the second one as well, so I'm set for a little while. And speaking with a Scottish accent. Does anyone else do that? Get so involved in a book you end up talking like the characters?

Someone at church asked me how I was doing, and I said "I'm here". Given the late nights, it was a bit touch-and-go when I hadn't even gotten up at 11:30am on Sunday morning. Good thing it was Fast Sunday--didn't have to worry about eating. Kinda the same sleeping-in problem on Monday, which is why I missed out on the Renaissance Festival. Oh well. I have a few more weeks before it disappears for the winter... They're going to take away my 'rennie membership', though, if I don't stop sleeping through the festival!

Tagged by three freinds on LJ...

A. List seven habits/quirks/facts about yourself.
B. Tag seven people to do the same.
C. Do not tag the person who tagged you or say that you tag "whoever wants to do it.

1)I like to watch Dr Who. Yes, even the one at 12:00 midnight on PBS.

2) I love being a 'fan'. Witness my Star Wars, Harry Potter, Firefly, and other fascinations. I'm not obsessed, I'm focused.

3) I love to dress up--Halloween is the only day I could get away with it before I discovered Renaissance Faires.

4)(this may be in the TMI category, be warned) Having been an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints all my life, and never married, yes, I am still a virgin. No, that's not a plea for someone to change my status.

5)I never served a mission for my church. It's amazing how many people think I have just because I not married (since I didn't marry, I must have served a mission? Oh brother).

6)I have a Master's degree in Astrophysics. I believe this is one of two reasons why I'm not married (see number 4 for the other reason--science and religion don't mix well in the minds of possible suitors).

7) I have a lot of dolls. Including several Star Wars 12-inch dolls, and several Barbie Princess dolls. My latest aquisition is a baby doll with a breathing mechanism in it. I love to hold my breathing doll. I know, I know, TMI.

As for who to tag... hmmm, I tagged three people on LJ, so here I'm going to tag Joni, Mendy, Kellie, and Cami (had to leave them all someone to tag!)

So Faire!

Went to MDRF on Saturday, and it was so fun! I actually overslept so I missed the first Fight School and Super Stupina, but I ran into my friends the Ravenwolves Clan almost immediately and we hung around together all day. They are the Best Family Faire-ever! (Those who came to my housewarming party got to meet all but Lady Ravenwolves and the oldest son)

We wandered around the grounds for the most part, stopping for quite a while to talk to Amras the Squirrel King and have some lunch. It was So Hot. Lots and lots of water to be drunk. Switched to Lemonade around 4:00pm or so, though, when my persperation started tasting a lot like the water I was drinking. However, it was so nice to hang with them and see so many of our faire friends.

There are some new shops at the festival this year. A Master Weaver has set up shop there, with clothing and capes and things. She names her patterns--Shady Grove, Cardinal, Peacock, and several more. You can guess what the colors are like. I'm defnintely getting some, and at least one skirt/top/vest combination that I could wear to church it's so nice. Another new place is a drum and flute place, where you can get a small drum to hang on your belt, or a timbre, or even a flute--a practice one if you prefer! They are simply beautiful! And I'm thinking I know what I might be picking up for Christmas gifts this year... at least for family... I am going to go so broke.

We saw four shows--far fewer than normal for me, but I did get to hang with my friends. We saw Slavya, a women's singing group from Bulgaria. They sang all in Bulgarian, and told us about the songs before singing. They didn't have any CD's, or I would have been sorely tempted.

After Slavya, we saw The Chess Game, which is in a different location this year. Normally it's played on the Jousting Feild, but this year they wanted to make it part of the King's story, so it made more sense for King Henry and Princess Anna to play on a stage rather than at the feild where no one can hear them. The fighters still got to fight for each square, though. Always good to see the fighters!

Between shows, we got recruited to sing for Princess Anna at her bridal shower. Unfortunately the Princess didn't show, but the song (to the tune of Row, row, row your boat) goes thusly:
Soon, soon, you'll be our queen, but Anna don't relax!
Chippty, choppety, chippety, choppety, hope you're spared the AX!!

Prior to Fight School 2: RELOADED we sat and listened to E! Muzeki. They were fabulous. They play gypsy music, and they are so talented! I am definitely getting one of their CD's--I couldn't on Saturday because I just had enough left to buy a Fight School T-Shirt! Yay! They were out of time, but the Fight School boys told them to play their last song--a rendition of Led Zepplin's Kashmere that has to be heard to be believed. And I don't even like Led Zepplin. 'Course, this meant that the Fight School boys got to play around backstage for us to giggle at. What was also neat was the belly dancers came out and danced while the band was playing (Christie? Christina? you must come!)

Fight school was great as always (I'm not prejudiced at all, am I?) Just a couple favorite phrases: "Batista!" "I don't care if it's hot, these people deserve a show!" Afterwards I did get my first t-shirt (only had enough $ left for one), and all four boys signed it. I even got two signed post cards! Not sure how that happened, I think one more was signed than actually needed, but now I have one to frame and one to put in my scrapbook forever and ever!

So fun! I'm going again on Labor Day and I'm seriously considering Celtic weekend--which is the 8th, not the 15th as I told one of my freinds.

Pictures of the weekend will be forthcoming. and hopefully sooner than last years (which I think are still not posted...)

TV Viewing Schedules

I mentioned my TV Viewing Schedule in my last post, and went as far to write it all down when I realized it really didn't have much to do with anything. But I didn't want to lose it, so here it is.

Last year, in Fall/Winter/Spring I used to watch:

Sunday night: Battlestar Galactica (really too violent for Sunday night, I would often tape it)
Monday night: LA family cop show on the Family Channel; Heroes
Tuesday Night: Gilmore Girls; Veronica Mars; Law & Order Criminal Intent; L&O SVU; Eureka (when it was on) (yes that is too many shows to watch in one night, I wasn't always successful, and my VCR was constantly full)
Wednesday Night: Lost; Medium
thursday Night: catch up on the ones I missed on Tuesday, sometimes "are you smarter than a fifth grader?", or a movie, then 'The Riches' in the spring, on FX (another family, not really a family show, though--Minnie Driver was the impetus for that one)
Friday Night: Stargate SG-1; Stargate Atlantis; Dr Who; Occaisionally Numbers
Saturday Night: more catch up or movie night

The new season hasn't been released yet, but since Gilmore Girls, Veronica Mars, and Stargate SG-1 have been cancelled, Lost and Medium don't start until January, as long as nothing really new or interesting shows up on the new schedule I might actually have time to read this year :D

My Summer viewing schedule is not nearly that bad:
Sunday Night: the 4400, the Dead Zone
Monday Night: starting to watch the Heroes repeats
Tuesday Night: Eureka
Wednesday Night: nada
Thursday Night: Who wants to be a Superhero?
Friday Night: Dr Who, sometimes Monk, Psych
Saturday Night: really late, Dr Who.

See, lots more time for movies and books :D

Spent last week writing a document that was due on Friday. Took up all my time at work. Evenings were fairly calm, I don't think I had to go anywhere except for Quiet Book Construction on Thursday. So see, you haven't missed anything.

Saturday was really fun--I got to help with our Primary activity. They had a Medieval theme, which meant I got to wear my garb. yay! I didn't get any pictures, sorry--I was busy helping the kids make their sheilds. They all did very, very well! and they had so much fun! We did run out of pink, which could have been expected given the number of princesses there. The remaining princesses were ok with yellow or green, though. One girl was so sweet, she made a sheild for her baby brother.

Afterwards I went home, returning to my 21st century shape (bodices really do change the shape of your body, when worn correctly), and watched "The Dish", a great little movie about the Australian Ground Station that was the only on in the Southern Hemisphere big enough to transfer video images from the moon to the Earth during the Apollo 11 moon landing. Yup, Neil spoke through Australia to Huston. Then I finished out Season 1 of The Magnificent Seven--a lovely little guns & cowboys series that was, alas!, too short. I think I did something after that, but in the evening I went shopping. I loved having that day all to myself.

Sunday was nice too, stayed in bed way to late reading 'Flyte', the second in the Septimus Heap series. (yes, I finally finished 'Eclipse') Went to church and got to hold baby William during the third hour. The poor sister who had him the second hour (I did offer!) got baby spit-up all over her. Yuck! After church was the Single Adult Potluck dinner, and the Why I Believe Fireside. Both went well, although it looked rather sad to the first sister who showed up at the dinner, me sitting in the room with no tables (I can't get the tables myself), looking rather forlorn. I did make it home in time to watch 'the 4400' and 'The Dead Zone', both of which are on my summer Viewing List (which is a lot shorter than my Fall/Winter/Spring Viewing List).

So far this week is looking a lot like last week--I have visiting teaching but not much else. Well, maybe a birthday party on Thursday, provided my VT is done.

From Jann's blog...

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 40 people with my name in the U.S.A.

The funny part is that there was one in Iowa City when I was going to school there...

Pay it Forward

found this on Mendy's blog, and could NOT resist! :D

I will send a handmade gift to the first three (3) people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. You may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. (So, you must have a blog to participate.)

How fun! Now let's all pay it forward, give each other gifts just for the heckuvit, and comment away!

If you are one of the three, I'll contact you to get your mailing info (if I don't already have it.) If you're not one of the three, hurry and click over to the winners' blogs to see if you can make it!

One more about the book...

I know, I should really leave this alone. but I just CAN'T!! At least my sister's reading the infamous teenage vampire series, I would really love to know what she thinks. I leant her Twilight, then found out last night she had to run out and buy the next two :D

There may be spoilers here, but I think everyone that reads my blog also has read the book (I think I'm woefully behind)

I was considering some of the comments that were posted after my last Eclipse post (and no, I haven't finished the book nor gotten to *that* part yet), and it sounds like a lot of people think that the Edward/Bella relationship is the most perfect ideal one there could be--so very romantic. I'm going to disagree. I know I'm in the minority, but I think Jacob is much better for her. Edward is so busy taking care of her and trying to protect her--even from himself--that he doesn't seem to see her as a true person. Her ability to block him from her mind intrigues him, yes, and the smell of her blood intoxicates him, but is that love? Her complete collapse after he left in book 2 seems more like an obsession rather than love to me. I personally wouldn't want someone protecting me from life and from death.

On the other hand, Jacob protects her, tries to keep her from hurting herself, but allows her to be who she is. She's happy, really happy, not obsessed when she's with him. He tells her everything she needs to know to keep herself safe, and is there to help. He is much more empowering to her, allowing her to make her own decisions yet be there for her. Also, his world doesn't revolve around her--he has his own life and interests.

Maybe, just maybe, this is the author's point (keeping in mind that I haven't read the last book yet so I don't know if this is the end of a trilogy or the start of a series). She keeps Bella out of trouble, but will someday help her to see that Edward truly isn't good for her. Jacob, while possessing an inhuman part, is far more human, far more good. Or maybe Bella just likes the bad boys, the way so many women do.

Course, this is just my perspective. I couldn't see the love story in "The Time Traveler's Wife" either. But for me, if I were in Bella's situation, I would have to choose Jacob.

halflings and movies...

So what did I do last week? Dropped Bonnie off on Sunday, had FHE at the Francos and Single Adults on Monday, went to the Stake SA committee meeting on Tuesday, went to the Ward SA Committee meeting on Wednesday, finished HP 7 (second time) on Thursday, went to a movie (Hairspray) with my friend Jann on Friday, then caught up on all my missed summer tv shows (I'd actually watched most of them in real-time, so catching up wasn't hard to do). Normal, basically.

Saturday I overslept and went to RPG (role-playing game--Yes I do Dungeons and Dragons. It's helping me with my math) with my friends. My little halfling (11th level, thank you very much!) had a great time disabling all the traps the DM (Dungeon Master) had set up. He kept saying, "this is a tricky one," or "this one is trickier than the last one", and I would roll my die and get a 38 when I had to beat a 35. First try. Definitely had all the luck. The poor Paladin that was with us almost died three times because he kept rolling so badly :::shakes head::: But I had to leave rather quickly because I was supposed to go to a SA activity. My friends tried to dissuade me, "call in sick!", "don't go", "blow them off!" I had to tell them twice, "I have to go, I'm IN CHARGE." One other person showed up--not too surprising since we weren't able to advertise because the one person who was going to set it up (or at least find out the details) didn't, and we can't even be mad at her because she had an accident about a week or so ago (sigh). So we pulled it together, and like I said, one other person showed up. Bro Paul. We went to see Stardust (which was enjoyable, not as good as LotR, but also much better than such fare as "Time Bandits"). I really hope people don't start thinking I'm dating Bro Paul, though, because I'm not. We're just the only two responsible people in the entire Stake SA program. I hate my calling. Don't suggest I ask to be released, though, because there is literally no one else in the entire stake that can carry this, and it really must be done. It is important. I just wish I had help. And no, Bro Paul isn't much help, he just manages to show up half the time. Boy, I think this is turning bitter.

Sunday was great, though. Slept in, read New Moon (which I hadn't read yet, and needed to catch up to all my other friends), went to church taking my friend's daughters with me. That was a lot of fun. Got home and read some more. Managed to stop in time to watch the 4400 and the Dead Zone, but basically that was about it.

See, a nice normal weekend with no visitors and no jaunts to Virginia. Next weekend should be about the same. Except for the baby shower in Westminster.

Questions not to "Eclipse" the issue

Haven't finished reading the book yet, so am going on what I've heard and seen posted about it. Many of my LDS friends are really into this series about teenagers and vampires. Some of them are quite disappointed by the third instalment, others think it's just wonderful. The thing that seems to bother the disappointed ones the most is that the author is also LDS.

I read the review Joni posted (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/12/books/review/Schillinger7-t.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin) and what I got out of it is that the author really doesn't follow LDS standards when she writes. So are we mad at her for not upholding the standards we know she has, or upset because of what she wrote? I think I'm putting this badly, but do we think that just because a person is LDS that we can expect certain things from them, that if we knew they were not LDS we wouldn't be surprised by? Would my friend have let her daughter read the book if the author had NOT been LDS? Everything else being the same, would it matter if the author was not LDS?

I've come across something like this before. A man I knew in California was a producer of theatrical productions--I was in two of them. But it seemed to me and my brother-in-law that he used his 'LDS-ness' to get ahead in his industry, producing productions that families would want to see, not necesarily for the greater good, but to get gain. Is this what Ms Meyer is doing? Or is she merely being a young adult author, albeit targeting the late-teen crowd? Was she pummelled by her editor into adding things that we consider 'inappropriate', but that the editor would make the book more marketable?

I think we need to not judge people for their religion. You know, expect certain things from an author/performer/artist because he or she is LDS/Catholic/Muslim/Buddhist. Like or dislike the work for what it is. If they hold up their standards respect them for it.

Discuss.

alas and alak!

I think I just like saying that.

It's been a while, but I have been very very busy. I'll try to keep this short, I really don't have a lot of time to write today, but I really feel I need to catch up somewhat.

Last Thursday I FINALLY got to talk to my friends about Harry Potter (book club, you know). It was great. I need to do a write up of my impressions for my email group, but given that I absolutely hate sitting down at my home computer (it is SO SLOW!!) I tend to do other things. Besides, I'm reading it again. Meant to read book 6 again first, but got caught up in other things.

Friday I got to work really early to help Bob out at TIMED, and then found that I had been volunteered to attend a couple meetings I hadn't planned on, and I needed to leave by 2:30 so I could meet up with my sister and take her oldest daughter off her hands. Well, I didn't get out until 3:00pm and with stopping for gas and whatever, I really didn't leave Laurel until 3:15 or so, but I did get to the park by about 5:30pm, traffic and all. Poor Beckie left her house at 2:00pm and didn't get to the park until about 5:00pm. There is a lot of construction along I-78, I think, which turned her 2-hour trip into a 3-hour trip. Mileage-wise the park we meet at is about the same for both of us. But we picked up Bonnie and got dinner at McDonalds, and then they were off, back to East Stroudsburg and Bonnie and I were off to my house. She talked the WHOLE WAY. She's 7. It was fun, though.

We got to my house and she claimed she wasn't going to bed until I did, so we worked on her quiet book and got ready for bed around 10:30pm, and I read more HP. Saturday morning I was having a dream, and thought a little animal was walking on my arm. Turns out Bonnie had gotten up and was patting me on my arm, "Wake up, Aunt Julia! We need to go to the zoo now!" Of course, it was 6:30 in the morning, so needless to say we did NOT go the zoo right then. We did, however, have breakfast and work more on her quiet book. She wanted to. She's a very crafty sort of kid. She doesn't like to watch TV much, she would rather be doing things. We managed to finish four pages for her book while she was here. She did a lot of the lettering and some of the cutting, while I did the tracing and sewing.

So at 9:30 am we did leave for the DC Zoo, picking up my friend Dina along the way. She had never been to a zoo before, she said (or if she had, it had been a really long time). We got there ok, but it was hot and there were a lot of people there. The zoo had spritzers on to cool the people down, and Bonnie really enjoyed running through them. She would get so soaked! We had parked at the bottom of the hill, so we walked all the way up and saw the Pandas. That baby panda is just so cute! I'll get my pictures up at some point so you can see too! We had lunch, then walked down and saw the elephants and monkeys. We'd seen the lions and tigers on the way up. The line for the invertebrates house was kinda long, so we skipped that. There wasn't a line on the way up, I guess we should have gone in then (but since I really don't care for snakes, I wasn't too disappointed). Dina wanted to see the sea lions, but the exhibit was closed--after we'd walked around for another 15 minutes trying to find it, Bonnie crying that she wanted to go home the whole time. So we did go home. We drove up by the temple, but while Bonnie wanted to see the temple, she didn't want to get out of the air-conditioned car. Dina took a picture, though.

We dropped Dina off, then went back to my house and worked on Bonnie's book some more. And she played with my dolls. I have a lot of dolls (I think I keep saying that). We went shopping after dinner--she needed some new sandals, and her mother said she'd pay me back if we could find some. Apparently she only had her tennies and her church shoes, and that was it. We were able to find some really cute pink shoes at Toys 'R' Us (they have a kids clothing section) that were even on sale. If I'd realized that before we got to the checkout counter, I may have bought her two pair, because that would still have been within her mother's spending limit, but it's ok. She loves her new shoes.

Sunday was good, too. Again with the waking up too early, but at least it was 7:30am this time. I'd stayed up late making another page for her quiet book, so I wasn't too happy about that and made her wait until 8:00am before I got out of bed. She had breakfast (fast sunday, you know), and we worked a little more on her book before she decided she really wanted to do something else. We had made mini-cupcakes the night before, so now we frosted them and got them ready to take to her family. Then I let her play my bowed psaltery for a bit. She had lunch, and then we went to church. Other than she wanted to sit on the very front row, it was really good. We brought both quiet books, hers and mine, and she was a busy--and quiet--little girl. After Sacrament Meeting I had a meeting with the Bishop (no, no callings extended (or released from)), but it was a good little meeting, and Bonnie was really good there too. We got home, changed clothes, and then Bonnie started loading up the car while I was finishing getting things ready. I tell you, this girl has initiative. The whole weekend I was constantly surprised at a lot of the things she would do, just because she had thought of it. We were able to get toys and books for her brother and sister, and she even got ready for church without me asking her to. I guess I'm not around enough to watch her grow up, so when I see her doing things like that it's a surprise. A pleasant surprise, so say the least. I'm sure her mom doesn't get to see a lot of that, though, given that Bonnie and her sister tend to fight a lot.

So we drove back to PA. One thing we did, and I'm still not sure it's legal, was have her sit in the front seat, in her car seat. She is 7, and my car couldn't sense her so the airbag thing stayed off, but it was fun to have her in the front seat with me. Maybe some of my friends with similar-aged kids can enlighten me?

We met up with Beckie and Malena just fine--they had another three-hour trip, though, to our two-hour trip. I felt really bad about that--we could have met farther up the road if I'd known. We won't be doing this again until next year, though, if they are still living in this part of the country.

Monday was FHE at the Francos with the Single Adults, and it was so fun. I really enjoy that family. I brought Sis Keats, Sis Clark, and Bro Paul with me, so it was nice. Tuesday was the SA Committee meeting, and tonight is the Ward SA Committee meeting. So yeah, no time to really slow down and breathe yet. Tomorrow night. And I think a movie might be in order Friday night (anyone want to come?)

I think the crazy part of the summer is over for me now, though. All the visits are completed, the dogs have been adopted, no SA conferences to attend (well, I've decided not to go to the one at the end of the month), and only MDRF to get ready for. :::sigh of relief!:::