Slogger.

Yikes.

It's been a long time since I last posted. After promising to blog more, I have blogged less. I am a blog slacker. A blacker (HA), a slogger, if you will. For those of you who anxiously await my posts, I profusely apologize for making you wait so long. For those of you who could care less about what I have to say, well, suck it. I mean that in the nicest way possible, though.

Winter is making me grumpy, as I am sure winter is making you grumpy. Yes, I live in Michigan. I KNOW the winter's here are usually hard but good Lord, this winter sucks ass. It's the worst winter ever. I am stir crazy and I am tired of being cold and yeah, I complain when it's 100 degrees in the summer time too, but that is only because I do not have central air conditioning, so it is allowed! I'm not all that in love with nature. I don't NEED to be outside all the time but I do enjoy having my windows and doors open and I do enjoy taking a quick trip to Target without my ears falling off from frostbite that occurred during the 2 minute walk from the parking lot to the store.

-End rant-

Sorry about that. Anyway, February is just about over.

Sidebar: February. Do you pronounce it FebRuary? Because I don't and whenever I hear someone say FebRuary, it always takes me by surprise. I mean, that is the correct pronunciation I am sure, but it sounds dumb.

So yeah, tomorrow is March and that means Spring is just about 20 days away. I bet you one million dollars* that it snows on the first day of Spring.

*I do not actually have one million dollars.

But Spring, yeah. Think warm thoughts and all that. This cold weather is sure to break sooner or later... Forget the fact that it is currently one degree outside. SPRING'S A BUZZIN'!

Just a warning: This post might be longer than most because it has been so long since I have written. I'm winging it. I have a list of thoughts that I have been jotting down the last two months and I am just going to discuss them all willy nilly like.

Ohhhhh, where to start? I'll start with the Kris Allen concert from a few weeks ago. He had a show in Lansing. Natalie and I had meet and greet tickets and we were real, real excited. It was at The Loft, this small venue that looks like, well, a loft. Stage in front, chairs in back, a bar off to the side and windows overlooking the street below. It was cool. We were able to get a table because we were considered VIP's. We waited in the cold for a few minutes (it's cold out, didn't you know?!) before being allowed in. Kris was there, in all his bundle of cuteness. He sang a new song for the small group of us very important people and was very charming. We got an autographed poster (which I still don't know where to hang),  talked to him for a second and had our picture taken with him. They had him standing in this really dark corner of the room, so our pictures turned out all demon eyed and we were bummed about that. He really is such a sweet guy, though. He commented on how much he loved our accents. Natalie and I laughed and said "you think we have accents??" and he was all, "yeah, they're great". So cute. He has kind of a lazy drawl when he speaks. It's (you guessed it) real cute. He had two openers; Taylor Taylor (yeah, that's her name) and Caroline Glaser, who was on The Voice? They were both decent. Caroline had ALL the fans there. In fact, quite a few of them left once her set was over. Nat and I were having fun but we were antsy and feeling old and wanting to get home before 1am. He finally came out around 930ish and sang some new songs and some old songs and sounded really great. He has such good stage presence and he's so wonderful with the audience. I just love his voice and he makes me smile. I did think it was a little odd that he was touring before his new album was out but who am I to complain about getting to see him live? I look forward to seeing him again after the new album is released.

-Rhonda and I went to see Endless Love last week. For those that don't know (and I really hope you all know this), the Endless Love that came out this month is a remake of the 1981 record breaker (it wasn't a record breaker at all) Endless Love, starring a super young Brooke Shields. A very long time ago, Rhonda and I would watch the original EL and quote it and laugh and laugh. Why would we laugh? Well friends, it is absurd and insanely inappropriate. Naturally, when we saw that it had been remade, we HAD to go see it together! So after a super delicious sushi dinner, where the waiter thought I was 16 (when in fact, he was probably younger than me... more on that in a bit), we spent our $10 on this romantic movie. We thought for sure we would be the only ones in the theater. Not only were we not the only ones there, there were boys in attendance. A couple teenage boys with a gaggle of girls (that's what you call a bunch of teenage girls, right? A gaggle? I made that up), a fella around our age with his girlfriend/wife/sister and a middle aged man with his wife, who we were convinced were the only people in the room (besides us) who knew that this was indeed a remake. The movie started and Rhonda and I were that annoying couple who talked through the whole thing. We weren't the only ones, though. All the other people were freely voicing their opinions (distaste) throughout the film. We laughed and cringed and waited for it to end. It was... endless. I find it really hard to be objective about it. The original and all of its awfulness is so burned in my brain that I don't know how to judge this one. The main girl, Jade (Gabriella Wilde) is absolutely stunning. She's a gorgeous girl, which I guess made up for the ickiness of Alex Pettyfer's David. This new story is a little more tame compared to the 80's version, which I was grateful for. There is no Brooke Shields cameo (I was really bummed about this), they do not play Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's Endless Love and they did not incorporate the best quote from the original:

Jade: What would you do if I died?
David: I'd die. I'd die, too.

Ahh, to be young and creepily obsessive.
Overall, it was a movie. If you enjoy teen romances that border on uncomfortableness, go for it. If you want to compare it to the original, go for it. Otherwise, I think it's safe to say that this movie will get lost in teen drama oblivion.

-Speaking of oblivion...
Last August, I saw that Emily's friend Jules was reading The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. I asked her what she thought of it and her response was "I read this book twice in two days. It is easily one of the best books I have ever read. Yes, it will make you cry...I was hysterically sobbing for over an hour and I had to put the book down because I couldn't see through my tears! But I definitely recommend it, the tears are worth it. Smiley face"

Smiley face.

HYSTERICALLY SOBBING

You guys know I do not like sad books. I want to read to be happy not to be depressed. I specifically avoid these stories/movies at all costs. They make me feel wretched. Of course, I then refused to read it. Then my co-worker read it. Then my other friend read it and another friend. Then Emily read it and asked me to read it (and let's face it, Emily can get me to do pretty much anything), so I caved.

      *********************SPOILERS AHEAD*************************

I am happy I caved. I'm not going to recap the story here. I hate when reviews basically re-tell the story you just read. If you want to know more about the story itself, go ahead and click that link up there. I will tell you, however, that I loved this book and I hated this book. It is beautiful and heartbreaking and lovely. The characters are exquisitely written and much like a song can get stuck in your head, I have lines of dialogue floating around in my head from this book ("I lit up like a Christmas tree, Hazel Grace"). This story is so quotable that I could list pages and pages of memorable lines. I tried my hardest to keep the tears at bay but all my efforts were useless. The story is too good and in the end, I couldn't help but cry. Jeff came home when I was at the part where Hazel Grace goes up to Agustus's casket. Of course that's the part when he came home. He didn't want me to read it in the first place because he knew it would make me sad. He went so far as to hide the book on me! Anyway, I ugly cried at that part and loudly blew my nose several times, all with Jeffrey shaking his head at me. I cried because that part is so sad and so well written and so wonderful all at once. I love that Augustus refers to Hazel by her first and middle name. I LOVE IT. I love how he is with Isaac. I love Hazel's wit and unforgiving views on the world. I loved the seriousness of it and overall I loved their relationship. Sweet but not overly dramatic. Just two kids who fall in love and want to be together for the limited time they are allowed. After all, the world is not a wish granting factory.

Read this book.

The movie comes out June 4th. I am looking forward to taking Emily with a box of tissues for each of us and admiring Augustus Waters from afar:

-I took Charley to see The Lego Movie a few weeks ago. It was fantastic. I love hearing his laugh when we watch stuff together. This movie is funny and smart and so damn clever. Even if you don't have kids you should go check it out. It's really great, I promise.

-Speaking of Lego... The Lego Kids Fest is coming back to Novi, April 25th-27th. We bought tickets for the morning of the 27th. Join us, won't you??

-Speaking of watching things with C, we love the new show Enlisted (Fridays at 9pm on Fox). Is this show appropriate for an almost 7 year old to watch? Probably not but a lot of the humor goes over his head. He thinks the brothers Pete (Geoff Stults), Derrick (Chris Lowell) and Randy (Parker Young) are hysterical together. Especially Randy and I love (LOVE LOVE) Chris Lowell. I love him. Love. Him. Anyway, we giggle like crazy when we watch it. Throughout the week he will say, "Mommy, did our show tape? Can we watch it tonight?" Come on, people... How cute is that? So, check that show out when you get a chance.

-Charley lost his first tooth this week. Blows my freaking mind how much that kid is growing up. He'll probably lose another one in the next couple weeks.

-Ever since I started letting my hair grow back out, I am constantly told how young I look. I had three different people in one day tell me I did not look old enough to be a mom. My sister showed my picture to a bunch of her co-workers and their answers ranged from 13/14-18/19. I am not complaining about this by any means, I just find it funny. Did a couple inches hacked off from my hair really make that much of a difference?? Oh! And when Rhonda and I went for sushi last weekend she ordered a beer. After I ordered an iced tea, the waiter said "I didn't even think to ask if you wanted a drink... I guess I should card you. You look 16." Then he ramblingly went on to say that it was a compliment and I should feel good about that and I laughed and told him not to worry.

-Jeff bought me the movie Austenland for Valentine's Day. I read the book awhile ago and couldn't wait to see the screen adaptation. Keri Russell plays the lead, Jane and Jennifer Coolidge plays Miss Charming, a ridiculous side character who I found a little annoying in the book but absolutely loved in the movie. She cracked us up. Even if you aren't a Jane Austen fan and even if you haven't read this book, check out the movie. It is funny and happy and so fun. I absolutely adored it.



-I am obsessed with the band American Authors. I believe they have a full length album coming out on Tuesday, March 4th but they have a few songs on Spotify right now. I love, love, love "Best Day Of My Life" and, what Carrie and I refer to as our theme song, "Believer". Give them a listen:



-You know those futuristic pop machines they are starting to put in all the fast food joints nowadays? The ones where you can make any combination of any soda pops imaginable? Well, I am ddicted to the Vanilla Coke. I crave it and I love it. Try it next time you are at Noodles and Co. or Five Guys. It's delicious. I wish they sold it in bottles.

-I broke down and bought a space heater yesterday on my lunch hour. I went out in the cold to Target to buy a machine that shoots out warm air. IT'S THE BEST THING EVER! No more mittens, scarves and blankets. This space heater kicks ass. It's also red. So it's pretty.

-I've been disappointed in The Following so far this season. They are relying heavily on the kill factor and not so much on the story. I don't even know what the story is supposed to be so far. People are Joe Carroll worshipers... they like to kill people with ice picks... there are masks and clueless FBI agents who I feel should be much smarter than they are and Kevin Bacon who chases people A LOT and always ends up losing them. The last episode ended pretty good, so I am hoping the rest of the season returns it to its former mindblowingness.

-What have you all thought of The Walking Dead since it came back? I'm digging it. I like that they aren't stuck in the prison anymore. I like the secluded stories, though, I hate Beth's narration. Poor Daryl getting stuck with her. Ugh. The first episode back I was seriously starting to think that Carl was rivaling Joffrey for television's biggest teenage asshole but then of course, he redeemed himself. As much as I love Rick Grimes and as much as I know there is a zombie apocalypse going on, I wish he could keep a tshirt clean for longer than one scene. I get so happy when he puts on fresh clothes, only for him to sweat through and completely destroy whatever article of clothing he has just washed during some zombie related encounter. Seriously though, I don't think anyone sweats more than Andrew Lincoln/Rick Grimes. I'm cool with it, though. He can sweat all he wants as long as I can listen to his voice.

-I was a touch disappointed in The Olympics this year. I don't know if it was Bob Costas's pink eye or the poor coverage of the events but I just couldn't get into it and that makes me sad.

-They are rebooting Heroes with the same showrunners they had originally. I think this is a terrible idea but no one listens to me! I will be shocked, SHOCKED, if this second coming succeeds when the first one could not. The first season was almost perfect. It was perfect until the finale and then I was like, "uh oh" and then it took an absolute nose dive in season two. They had no idea what to do with the characters and added a ton of new ones. It was frustrating. It's such a great concept, they just didn't know how to sustain it. We'll see how Heroes 2.0 fairs.

-I bought my tickets to The Veronica Mars movie which comes out on March 14th. I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE IT!

-Finally, I will end this overly long blog post with some fantastic news: My sister and her boyfriend, Adam got engaged on Tuesday!!! They were in Las Vegas and after an already incredible stay, they were at an intimate Bon Jovi concert specifically for fan club members. There was a question and answer portion and Adam got picked to ask a question... but he didn't ask Jon a question, he asked Natalie one. She was shocked and ecstatic and I am over the moon happy for them!!! SO happy! Beaming with happiness! They have been together 7 years and our whole entire family could not be  more pleased about officially welcoming Adam to the family. So, join me in congratulating my beautiful/wonderful/fantastic sister and super awesome soon to be brother-in-law, Adam!!! CONGRATULATIONS you guys!!!!! We love you!! XOXOXO