Off to Neverland!

Last year, when The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at Universal's Islands of Adventure in Florida, Jeff promised me that we could go. I was ecstatic. So, come January, I started doing some hardcore research on hotels, condos, parks and prices and we decided to do both Disney and Islands of Adventure. We invited my Mom to come along (because she loves Disney), couldn't convince my Dad to go (because he hates Disney) and asked my Sister, Natalie (it would be her first "real" vacation) to join us. First things first, we decided we were going to drive down and make a road trip out of it (Mom and Nat flew down). We also made the decision not to tell Charley about it. At first, I was going to tell him on his Birthday in May, but then we figured why not just wait and completely surprise him? I figured it would cut down on the "are we at Disney World yet?!?!" every 5 seconds in the car. He knew we were going on a road trip and that we would be staying in hotels, so he was very excited just to be away from our normal routine for the day. He was also incredibly fantastic in the car and only got whiny on the final day, right before we arrived home.

A few Scott Family Road Trip Extras:
- The nicest hotel we stayed in was Richmond, Kentucky (Jeff's homeland, of course).
-We were all sick of Georgia. So much so, that Charley was yelling "I just want to get out of Georgia!"
-Gas prices are way cheaper down south.
-Rest stops should all have ice machines.
-Each state should have a billboard of radio stations as you enter it. Yeah, we had our ipod but it was fun listening to the local stations as we went through each state. Country stations, to be more specific (as per Jeff's request and he was the driver so he had control.)

We were able to keep our destination a secret, right up until we saw the "Welcome to Walt Disney World" sign, welcoming us into the resort. C got real quiet as he figured out where we were and then got a huge smile on his face. When we pulled into the resort (the All Star Movies Hotel), we told him that someone would be meeting us to show us around the hotel (meaning my mom and sister). His whole face lit up when he saw them but he was still trying to process everything. As we walked through the giant statues from Toy Story and he was taking everything in, he started to get very excited. I'm really happy we planned it as a surprise. It was so much fun and so worth it just to see his face when I was explaining to him all the things we would be seeing/doing in the week to come (the picture on the side there, is me telling him about the parks and all the Star Wars stuff we'd be seeing). Anyway, a great time was had by all. It was an exhausting, fun time and it went by in a total blur but we have lots of fun stories to tell from it and Charley said I "made his dreams come true" and asked why we couldn't go to Disney World all the time.

Here is just a quick list of the things I really love and really dislike about Disney World.

The good:

- The bus transportation. If you stay onsite (at one of the Disney hotels), they provide you with free transportation to and from every single park (including Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach), as well as Downtown Disney. There are designated lines in front of each hotel, for each destination and then people line up accordingly. This was so convenient, especially on the days we were dead tired. I loved not having to worry about parking and all that nonsense.

- They know how to decorate/design. At least our hotel did. Paying tribute to five different Disney movies (Toy Story, 101 Dalmatians, Fantasia, The Love Bug and The Mighty Ducks), we were all in awe of the statues and attention to detail that they put into each section, right down to the Mighty Ducks pool looking like a hockey rink. The Magic Kingdom was decorated for fall and Halloween with Mickey Mouse pumpkins on all the lamp posts. It was just magical and fun.

- Speaking of magical, it really is "the most magical place on earth". If you love even the tiniest thing about Disney, they find a way to pay tribute to it. They can turn your kids into pirates for the day or transform them into a princess and even train them to become a Jedi at Hollywood Studios. Their tagline is "Making dreams come true" and I totally believe them. They also have something called a Photo Pass. In every park, there are designated "photo spots" and they have photographers there who will take your picture for free (say, in front of Cinderella's Castle) and then you can go online and purchase them. It's a fun way of having everyone in the picture... the downside is it's not so cheap to buy them off the website. The photographers will also use your camera to take the picture and I thought that was really cool (see side photo).

- The people who perform in the shows or operate the rides truly appear to love their jobs. Some of those people have to dance in the same parade every single day, in the blistering heat and they do it with a smile on their face. A ton of work is put into entertaining the huge masses of people who visit the parks every day and that blows my mind. I love that so much thought, energy and creativity is put into showing people a good time.

-There is no shortage of souvenir's. This is both a good and a bad thing. The good for now... They have so much stuff that you can't get anywhere else... From all the Disney characters dressed as Star Wars guys, to Indiana Jones, to every kind of Mr. Potato Head part you could think of, they have it. They have the widest variety of cups and coffee mugs (you know I heart my cups/mugs) that I have ever seen. Even if you can't afford to spend the $20 on the R2-D2 Mickey Mouse ears, it's fun just to try it on and see that it exists.

-It takes you away from reality for a few hours, a few days at a time and really, we could all use that every once in awhile.



The bad:

- If you stay onsite, they pretty much make it impossible for you to get food, medicine, milk etc. anywhere other than the hotel store/cafeteria. My mom needed Benadryl and they didn't have any in the store. When we asked where the closest drugstore was, it was miles away. Our only option was to have it delivered to the hotel from the store, for a delivery fee, plus the cost of the medicine. Annoying. Also annoying that a half gallon of milk is $3.50.

- Food prices in the food courts and restaurants are insane. The main thing I worried about the entire time we were there was "how much is THIS meal going to cost?" On average, we probably spent $40-$50 each meal (except for breakfast. Breakfast was cereal in the hotel room). Most of the time the food wasn't even worth the price (although Planet Hollywood makes a damn good cheeseburger). The hotel offers a $15 cup (it's a smaller type travel mug) that you can purchase and then get unlimited refills on all beverages (not alcohol) for the duration of your stay. Needless to say, we got drinks even when we weren't thirsty just because it was available. While we were at Islands of Adventure, I told C that I would buy him ice cream if he went on the Dr. Seuss Trolley with me (I would have bought him some anyway but a little bribery never hurt anyone). He did and when we got back to the hotel, I bought him a Mickey Mouse shaped ice cream on a stick. Here, it would have cost $1... In Disney, it cost $4. That made me so angry. I can't tell if the meal plan would have saved us money or not. The only difference I see with it, is that at least our food would have been prepaid. Really though, if you plan on going to Disney, don't just save money for souvenir's, save money for food too. (Also, the workers in the food court at the hotel were total holes and that was a real downer).

- Again, there is no shortage of souvenir's and this is awesome if you have buckets of money to drop on every single $40 Mickey Mouse t-shirt or $10 keychain but these prices are definitely not convenient for the family on a budget (which we happen to be). They sold balloons for $15 that we saw tons of people purchase. Sure, they were cool balloons but paying almost $20 for a balloon that will most likely be on the floor, deflated 24 hours later is crazy to me. I can't justify that. Call me a Grinch if you will. I am OK with it.


With all that being said, if you ever think our economy is doing poorly, just go to Disney World. The amount of people that visit these parks on any given day astounds me. They come from all over the world too. ALLLL over and that is a pretty cool thing to see.

As far as Islands of Adventure goes, I loved everything about it (other than it raining on the day we went, but that isn't their fault, haha). My only minor complaint is that we had no luck meeting any of the Super Heroes and that could have just been bad timing on our part. When we took Charley to meet Spider-Man (who was inside a room, inside of a store), they took him away because it was raining outside. On us. In the words of the cute British girl in line behind me, "but he's inside, isn't he??" So Spider-Man was a bust. When C saw Captain America, he was so excited to meet him and they said he couldn't take anymore pictures. Captain America ran away, even though Charley was the next person in line. That made me so upset that I had to walk away and fight off crying. Aunt Natalie saved the day though and took him to buy a Captain America toy in the souvenir shop. Again, bad timing on our part, I guess.

And finally, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We saved it for last. 1.) In hopes that it would be less busy in the afternoon and 2.) You always save the best for last, don't you? I needed to prepare myself for it. Not that I thought that it would disappoint me but just the fact that this is years in the making. Getting to see the shops and school that once only existed on paper was a huge deal to me. When we walked up to it, I stood outside the entrance for a few minutes collecting myself. I had tears in my eyes and chills from seeing everything so awesomely decorated. The train took my breath away, as well as the castle. Everything looked just as it did in the movies and in my imagination. The structures and buildings were done so magnificently, I was in complete awe. The shops themselves are pretty tiny, so it's difficult to browse casually but they are amazing. The displays in the windows of chocolate frogs and quidditch supplies brought a huge smile to my face. Everything is so well done. At one point, they had a choir dressed in Hogwarts robes, perform songs (from the movies) while holding singing frogs. The Butterbeer is delicious and is a cross between cream soda and a shortbread cookie (Nat and I had it frozen, which was awesome). Moaning Myrtle talks over the speakers when you go into the bathrooms and the rides were awesome. Buckbeak's flight is fast and takes you through part of Hagrid's pumpkin patch. The Forbidden Journey is the ride that goes through the castle. It is out of this world amazing and easily the coolest thing I have ever seen. It makes you feel like you are playing in a quidditch game, flying on a broom with Ron and Harry, flying away from Dementors and being spit on by Aragog. I had tears in my eyes when it was over because it was so fantastic. We didn't go into Ollivander's because quite frankly, it was 47 billion degrees outside and it had the longest line (we only waited 20 minutes for the other rides) and I completely forgot about the third roller coaster (The Dragon Challenge) because I was so consumed by everything else. All in all, I loved it. Everything about it... except the bajillion people who were there. Even so, I can't wait to go back.

So, that was our trip. It was a lot of fun and I loved seeing Charley get so excited over certain things and then run to tell Jeff, "Daddy, it was so awesome!". It was really tiring at times and my head got insanely sunburned but it was all totally worth it. 

Miscellaneous TidBits and Thank You's:

- I absolutely, positively loved the True Blood finale.  So, SO much better than last years. I have no idea where they are going to take the story next season and I think that's awesome. (That's all I will say about it at this point because I know there are a few people who haven't watched it yet).

- I watched Ringer last night. I don't know how I feel about it. It was strange. It was nice seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar again though.

- Thanks to Carrie for giving me trivia and keeping me entertained via texting on the drive down to Florida when Jeff and I would slip into one of our sleepy modes.

- Thanks to Dawn for visiting and playing with our pups and cheering them up while we were gone.

- Thanks to Nuncle Dennis and Aunt Rhonda for letting Charley borrow the DVD player. It helped SO much during the drive!!

- Finally... A HUGE, HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for me over the past month. I appreciate you guys and the fact that you take the time to read my ramblings more than you could ever know. As long as you keep reading, I will keep finding silly things to post about.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

It goes without saying that I have some pretty unbelievably awesome people in my life and I love them a whole lot!

Olden Time TV

Since there hasn't been anything real fun to watch lately, I figured I would continue my theme of the good ol' days and talk a little bit about the shows I loved when I was growing up. Humor me and play along, why don't you?

The very first television show I remember loving was The Monkees. Nickelodeon used to show reruns of their short lived (1966-1968) half hour comedy and Dennis and I loved it. It was centered around the band itself (Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, Mike Nesmith and Davy Jones) and the silly hi-jinks and situations they would get themselves into. My brother and I became obsessed with the show and the music in general. Every episode would feature at least one musical performance. We had all their records/albums and knew all the words to every song. I had the biggest crush on Peter Tork and even received a keyboard one Christmas because I wanted to play like him. Most of what I remember about the show now, is a lot of Davy getting stars in his eyes and falling in love with a different girl every episode and them just doing really ridiculous things. It was mindless and cheesy and so much fun. It also led to my very first concert when I was 6 years old. My parents took Dennis, Jay and I to see them at Pine Knob and Weird Al opened for them. I remember being completely in awe of hearing the songs I loved so much live and being so confused because they didn't look like they did on the show (you know, because they grew up, haha). Below is a little sampling of what usually took place in every episode. You'll notice this clip also stars Bobby Sherman, who I think looks a lot like Maxwell Caulfield, AKA Rex Manning from Empire Records.



We also looooooved Fraggle Rock. Really, I shouldn't have to explain what this show is (but I will if you have been living under a rock or in a hobbit hole all of your life). It was a live-action muppet show, created by Jim Henson. The series focused on Boober (he was the depressed one and loved doing laundry), Red (she was the athletic, energetic one, as well as Mokey's Best friend.), Wembley (Gobo's roommate and best friend. Always indecisive.), Gobo (the main Fraggle and the most level headed of the bunch. He liked to explore "outer space") and Mokey (She was the hippie of the group. A free spirit, if you will), with special appearances by Uncle Traveling Matt, the doozers and last but not least, the Gorgs. Red Fraggle was my favorite and my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Ron bought Dennis and I all of the stuffed animals when we were kids. I still have mine and passed them down to Charley. They are a bit beat up but he loves them nonetheless. The show was really good at teaching kids lessons and it had pretty awesome music to go along with it. Here is one of my favorite songs from the show:



Listen, I know all of you (most of you) liked Saved By The Bell but I REALLY liked it. Quite frankly, I adored this show. I would race home from school everyday, settle into my office (the couch) and watch it. It was about a handful of teenagers (and their principal) as they endured "everyday high school experiences". Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) was the main character, followed by Kelly Kapowski (Tiffani-Amber Thiessen), Jessie Spano (Elizabeth Berkley), Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies), A.C. Slater (Mario Lopez) and Screech (Dustin Diamond). Simply put; A slacker, a homecoming queen, a brain, a fashion guru, a jock and a nerd. I am aware that there have been several different variations of this show (New Class, College Years Etc.) as well as other cast members who were added (Tori, blech!)and subtracted at one time or another, but this was my favorite cast. I wanted to be friends with these characters. I wanted to hang out at The Max, help Zack with his kooky schemes, be apart of Hot Fudge Sundae and sell "Buddy Bandz" with them. I was honestly devastated when Kelly broke up with Zack, to start dating her boss from The Max, Jeff  (played by Patrick Muldoon) and I wanted a summer job at the beach house that they all worked at. TBS showed back to back episodes of it every afternoon and I would anxiously await the day when they would show the very special episode entitled "Jessie's Song" where Jessie gets hooked on caffeine pills. That episode was so out of the norm from the goofy stuff they usually did that it is still one of the most popular and remembered episodes ever. Observe, if you will:




Speaking of Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, after she was done on Saved By The Bell she took a walk on over to one of my other most favorite shows ever, Beverly Hills, 90210. This show started out as the story of the Walsh family, who moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota to glamorous Beverly Hills, California. It centered on the two kids in the family (twins), Brenda and Brandon, as they made new friends and experienced what it was like to live in such a rich place. As the years went on, the focus came off of those two and was broadened quite a bit to include everyone else in the cast: Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth), Dylan McKay (Luke Perry), Donna Martin (Tori Spelling), David Silver (Brian-Austin Green), Andrea Zuckerman (Gabrielle Carteris) and Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering).Now, I could go into all of my favorite episodes and why they are my favorite episodes but that show was on for 10 years and it would take up an entire blog post all by itself (note to self: do 90210 blog post). Instead, I will just tell you that this was the first soap opera type show that I ever really connected with and fell in love with. I loved Brandon and Dylan and would go back and forth on trying to decide which one I loved more (FYI: Brandon eventually won my heart) and I loved the drama of the triangle between Dylan/Kelly/Brenda. The show went through some great times and a few bad times but I loved them all. A few years ago, Carrie, Jaimie and I had a Beverly Hills, 90210 trivia-off. We each came up with our own questions, had Jeff ask them and whoever had the most correct answers won. Jaimie was the winner. Hooray! Here is one of my favorite moments from the show:



Remember back in olden times when you had to pay for the Disney Channel? Every so often we would get a free preview and I would get so excited because I was able to watch Kids Incorporated and The Mickey Mouse Club. That was also during the time when cartoons were only on in the mornings. Now there are several channels dedicated solely to cartoons. Charley can't even comprehend the thought of not being able to pause live tv or record something at the push of a single button... Meanwhile I still have Saved By The Bell: Hawaiian Style on VHS, hahaha.


Those are just a few of my favorites... the most important ones. I also really loved Who's The Boss (the episode where Samantha gets a training bra for her birthday is my favorite), My Two Dad's, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Just the Ten of Us, The Cosby Show, Head of The Class, Melrose Place, Fame, Hey Dude...

What were some of your favorite tv shows/scenes?

By the way... Don't forget to vote for the super awesome blog you are currently reading (this one, duh)!!!

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A Long, Long, Time Ago, Yesterday...

While flipping through the channels the other day, I noticed that Little Monsters was on TV. There was a time (a long, long time ago yesterday) that I went through a Fred Savage phase and it was because of this movie. It came out in 1989 and was about a boy named Brian (Savage) who discovers a hidden world of monsters UNDER HIS BED (hello?! terrifying concept.). Anyway, Ben Savage plays Eric (Brian's brother) and Howie Mandel stars as the monster Maurice, who introduces him to the secret world (where there are no rules and no parents. Hooray!). They have fun exploring and playing tricks on Brian's friends/enemies by sneaking into their rooms (via under their beds). Of course, the fun and games come to an end eventually when Brian's little brother is kidnapped by the head of the Monster world, "Boy" and a big battle ensues. They end up having to race to get back home before the sun rises or they'll end up as monsters forever. Now, this is just a quick rundown of the plot. A lot more goes on in the movie and I was fascinated by it. What's even more fascinating is the fact that Howie Mandel played a blue monster with horns and had to wear a TON of makeup. Perhaps that's where his fear of germs originated?? By the way... this movie would horrify Charley. Here is the trailer:



Seeing that movie the other day got me to thinking about what other movies I loved as a kid and of course, Labyrinth (1986) is at the top of the list.  The first time my Aunt showed Dennis and I this film, I made her turn it off. The site of seeing Toby crying his eyes out in his crib, while his big sister yelled at him was so disturbing to me. I eventually had her turn it back on and ended up falling in love with it. If you don't know (and you should because it's awesome), Labyrinth stars David Bowie as Jareth, the Goblin King. Sarah (played by a very young Jennifer Connelly), wishes for the goblins to take her brother away. They oblige and she immediately regrets it. Jareth challenges her to solve his Labyrinth in 13 hours and if she does, she can have her brother back.  If she doesn't, he'll be turned into a goblin forever. While on her journey, she meets lots of fun characters and sees an abundance of magical things. As if the movie wasn't fantastic enough, it is chalk full of really great songs written and performed by David Bowie. "Magic Dance" was even on our wedding CD.  I will watch this movie and quote the heck out of it.  I willingly admit that I am no fun to watch it with because I will say every line and sing every song. Charley is not afraid of this one but that could be because he knows how much I love it and maybe perhaps because we have a giant framed picture of Toby surrounded by all the goblins, hanging on our living room wall (not to mention a clock, buttons and replicas of the actual door knockers from the film). Here is just a taste of the awesomeness:



This next one isn't exactly a kids movie... Okay, it's not for kids at all but Dennis and I adored it when we were younger and I still do to this day. I'm talking about the 1985 film, Clue, starring Tim Curry, Lesley Ann Warren (Miss Scarlet), Michael McKean (Mr. Green), Christopher Lloyd (Professor Plum) and Madeline Khan (Mrs. White), just to name a few . The movie is based on the board game by Parker Brothers and takes place in 1954. Six strangers are invited to a dinner party at a mysterious mansion and are greeted and served by a butler named Wadsworth (Tim Curry). As the evening goes on, the guests start realizing that they are all connected to each other in one way or another. They then discover that someone has been committing multiple murders throughout the night and go off in teams to figure out who the culprit is. The movie takes you on a fun "who-dunnit" journey and for whatever reason, it stuck with me as a kid and still does today. I loved it so much, I was even Miss Scarlet for Halloween once. No one had any idea who I was but I thought it was the greatest costume ever. I have yet to show this one to Charley. Here is one of my favorite scenes from the movie that I still refer to when I get real mad about someone/something:



I watched Pee-Wee's Big Adventure (1985) with Charley a couple months ago and remembered how wonderful that movie is. It was really cool to see him laugh at the same parts I used to laugh at as a kid. In the movie, Pee-Wee Herman has a shiny red bike that he loves more than anything in the world. When it goes missing, he suspects his neighbor/enemy Francis of taking it and sets out on a mission to find it. It's not the simple story that makes this movie so great, it's the scenery (starting with his amazingly imaginative house full of gadgets that make breakfast for him at the sound of an alarm) and all the characters he meets along the way (one of my favorites being Large Marge). By the end of the film, he has a whole slew of new friends and he gets a very happy ending. The things I remember most about this movie, other than his bike and house of course, are Francis's giant swimming pool bath tub (that I have always wanted), "there's no basement at the alamo!" and the scene where he runs into a burning pet shop to free all of the animals and comes out with two fistfuls of SNAKES. Ack! Here is one of my favorite scenes (I even named my dad's GPS, "Marge" after this scene)... I couldn't embed it, so just follow the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Pdlxd_rro


This last one I haven't shown Charley yet because I think he might still be a bit too young for it. The Neverending Story (1984) takes place in two worlds. A magical world known as Fantastica (which is being destroyed by something called "The Nothing"), and the real world.  The film follows a boy named Bastian as he is hiding out from bullies in his school's attic. While he's up there, he begins reading The Neverending Story and quickly realizes that he, himself has become part of the story. The book's hero is a boy named Atreyu and he is on a mission to find a cure for the Empress, who has fallen ill (most likely because of The Nothing).  While searching for a cure, he comes across a bunch of fantastical creatures (Falkor) and some scary ones as well (Gmork, the werewolf). There is a really awful, heartbreaking scene involving Atreyu, his horse (Artax) and quicksand that has scarred me to this day (and is probably the real reason why I don't want Charley to watch it), but all in all it's a great movie about the importance of creativity and imagination. Here is the trailer (that big, fluffy, dog-type looking creature is Falkor. He's super fun!):



Now, I could make this the neverending blog (haha) about my favorite movies growing up, but i'll stop here and just quickly mention a few others... Flight of The Navigator (compliance!), Return to Oz (terrifying and fantastic all rolled into one),  Dirty Dancing (duh), Tremors ("way to go dudes!"), The Princess Bride (as you wish), The Sandlot (oh, Benny The Jet), Drop Dead Fred (Snotface!), Gremlins (Mogwai!) etc. etc. etc.

By the way... on the rare chance that you haven't heard yet, I am nominated in the contest for Detroit's Most Valuable blogger. The voting goes until September 9th and you can vote once a day. I would love it and appreciate it if you did! THANK YOU!

VOTE HERE!

Some Congratulations and Some True Blood

I haven't been doing much TV watching this summer. I know... it's really hard to believe but a lot has been going on. What have I been watching? True Blood, of course (which I will get back to in a minute) and I also watched White Collar (which had it's summer finale last week and was excellent. I love that show).

What have I been doing instead of watching my beloved television all summer? For starters, see previous post (sad.), secondly, saying goodbye to my LYBF (Carrie) and thirdly, cheering my Cousin, Tiffany on as she walked 60 miles (60 miles!!) in the Breast Cancer 3-Day this past weekend. So for the most part, this has been an emotional summer. Carrie is moving to North Carolina because she accepted a position at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. How awesome is that? She's amazingly smart and deserves all the wonderful things that she has coming her way. I wasn't able to throw her the going away party (not-party-get-together) that I had planned, so please, join me in wishing her the best of luck as she embarks on this fantastic adventure. I will selfishly admit that my heart is aching a little bit right now because I am going to miss her so much. But, I know that really great things await her and I look so forward to the next time we see each other, so we can hang out and laugh until no sound comes out. I love you, my LYBF.

Also, I would like for you to congratulate my cousin, Tiffany on her awesome accomplishment of walking for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day. She was walking for her mother (who passed away many years ago) and my mother (who is a survivor) and for anyone else who has ever been affected by this sickness . She is a true inspiration to me and a wonderful person and I know that her mother is so very proud of her right now. Know that you are a phenomenal person, Tiff and anyone who can't see that doesn't deserve to be a part of your journey. Cancer can suck it!  

Moving on to less meaningful things now, haha... and I will mark this with a SPOILER ALERT!

Ok, my fellow True Blood fans... With only 4 episodes to go in Season 4, I am curious to hear what your thoughts are on the season so far. Still disappointed? Happily surprised? or did you give up on it weeks ago? I am still pretty happy with it. It's nothing like the book, other than the Eric/Sookie relationship (which was the most important thing to me to begin with) but I like what they are doing with all the other storylines, with the exception of a few...

I'm not crazy about the Arlene/Terry/Creepy baby story. If anyone should be haunting that little baby, it should be Rene', not some random lady who keeps singing to him because she lost her own baby years ago. Now that she has inhabited Lafayette's body, I'm even less interested. I am so over the Tommy scenes. Great, he's a skinwalker now. He was an awful person to begin with and now he's an even bigger hole. Move on from this guy and stop wasting minutes on him. And finally, Tara. I don't need to go into detail about how much I don't like her character because I have said it 47 thousand times before. I can't stand her. There is nothing remotely endearing about her character and on top of it all, she's a horrible friend to Sookie. She has almost died at least 3 times this season and every time, I would get so excited, only to be let down. I think I need to accept the fact that she is never going anywhere... I don't get it though. I can't be the only person who despises her character, am I??

Not only am I liking Bill this season, but I am loving the potential of a Jessica/Jason relationship. I love, love, love Jason Stackhouse. The way Ryan Kwanten portrays him is absolutely perfect and he makes me smile whenever he is on screen (uhh...except for when he is being tortured/violated by werepanthers). Both those characters are so child-like that they would be perfect together. I really hope the writers continue on with this storyline. For the most part, I am a little tired of the witches, although I really enjoyed the beginnings of the battle in the last episode. All the fog and smoke reminded me of the book and I thought it was cool that Alcide came in to save Sookie after she got shot (with Debbie Pelt in wolf form, spying on him). Speaking of Alcide, it's about time he stand up and do something that he wants to do, IE: help Sookie. For being such a big, burly, werewolf, he sure caves to all of Debbie's demands. Hopefully he'll start to become his own person from here on out.

I think it's a little odd that they completely dropped the fairy storyline, after the way the season premiere began. Maybe they just wanted a way to make the show jump ahead in time? or maybe they have something really cool in store for last few episodes? Who's to say? I also think it's strange that we haven't heard/seen anymore from the werepanthers in Hotshot. Not that I want to see any of those creeps anymore, I just think it's too easy that they would just leave Jason, their new "Uncle Daddy" alone after what they did to him.

And finally, Eric and Sookie. Oh my, do I love them together. Obviously Eric won't stay this way for the remainder of the series, so I am very much looking forward to how their characters interact when he becomes his good old viking self again. I am pretty sure they developed a blood bond in the last episode (something that doesn't happen until book 7) but it was kind of understated the way that it happened, so I can't be sure. If that is indeed what took place, we should be in store for a lot of fun scenes in the episodes to come.

Anyway, all in all, I am quite happy with the season. The story is so different from the books now that they can't really follow the same storyline at all anymore. I am kind of excited about that though because it means lots of surprises are ahead. But again, we still have 4 episodes to go so I am going to be cautiously optimistic. I am going to keep my fingers crossed that the season finale will be much better than last years.

So, share your thoughts, friends! I am looking forward to hearing your guys take on the season so far.

One more thing! Something Borrowed came out on DVD/Blu Ray today. Go get yourself a copy because it's such a fun movie. Do it! Do it!

One Of A Kind

Most of you know by now that my Grandma VanSullen passed away about a week ago. I'm not writing this with the intention to make anyone sad or cry, but I wanted to say something at her funeral and I didn't because I knew that I would have been a blubbering, incoherent mess... so this is my way of paying tribute to Margaret VanSullen.

Last Thursday, after I came home from the hospital, Jeff asked me how things were going. As I was telling him the details of where things stood, I realized that the whole family had been together. That doesn't happen very often. In fact, the only time I can remember all of us being together at one time (consistently) is on Christmas Eve. That made me smile because as sad as I was, some of my favorite memories are of Christmas Eve at my Grandparents house on Virgil, in Redford. The whole family would go over there to eat dinner, open presents, visit and laugh, while Mitch Miller sang Christmas carols in the background. The house would smell like mushroom soup, kielbasa and sour kraut and later in the evening, dish soap. To this day, the smell of dish soap reminds me of my Grandpa doing dishes on Christmas Eve (and I love it).  My Grandma would be bustling around in her apron, making sure everyone was eating and happy, while my Mom and Aunts would continually say "sit down, Mom!". Dennis and I would be playing Coleco (that's an old timey gaming system for you youngin's out there) "patiently" waiting to open our gifts. I loved sitting upstairs in their living room, with the lights off and staring at their Christmas tree. I loved that there were always brownies (made by Grandma) and waffle cookies (made by my Great Grandpa) to eat. That night always felt magical to me. Not just because it was Christmas but because Grandma and Grandpa made it feel that way.

Grandma always said "salads always taste better when other people make them, don't you think?" and it would remind me of how when I was little and we would go to their house, she would give me a bowl of vanilla ice cream, covered in chocolate syrup. That ice cream sundae would always taste way better than any other sundae I had ever had. Whether it was because the syrup she used came from a can, or it was because she made it for me, it always tasted better at her house. She always brought shrimp to my parents house for all of our get togethers and she made the BEST cocktail sauce. It was so much better than anything you could buy. And of course, you all know about her brownies. Individually wrapped and filled with love, no other recipe compares to Margie VanSullen's brownies. At the funeral home, there were trays and trays of brownies from people who wanted to show how much they loved her. It was such a fantastic tribute to her and I know she was smiling down on us.

When I was 6, my parents gave me a "Peter Pan haircut". I refused to comb my very long hair (it hurt!), so they chopped it off and I looked like a boy. I hated that haircut... until my Grandma gave me a home perm and made it curly and cute.

She would always feel bad for Chris Osgood (or any goalie for that matter) if they let in too many goals and the fans were giving them a hard time.

One of the first times she held Charley when he was a baby, she said "Ohhh, he's hefty", haha

She was at every single event her grandkids (and great grandkids) were involved in. Graduations, recitals, Christmas concerts, plays etc. Every. Single. Event. without fail and always with brownies in tow to celebrate afterward.

I never once heard her yell.

She loved doing ceramics and we always loved receiving her creations as gifts. The above picture is of the Halloween pumpkins she made us when we were all born. She made me and Jeff (and later, Charley) our very own when we bought our house. It was my favorite housewarming gift and I loved when people would see them and ask "where did you get those!?" and I would reply with "oh, MY Grandma made them". That's right, they were a MVS one of a kind creation. Whenever she would give you one of her pieces, she would laugh and point out small mistakes that she noticed or tried to cover up. Those mistakes were always my favorite part. They are what made them special and unique.

My mom sometimes refers to me as "Little Margie" because I always try to make sure everyone is happy. She never smoked and didn't drink and loved her family with all her heart. If I am to take after anyone at all, I will be more than happy and honored to take after my Grandma.

We'll all miss her hugs and her giggle but we will always, always have the memories she created with us and that is something that I will always cherish. XOXOXO

The Wizard of Oz

Remember that year (1994) the Detroit Red Wings lost to the San Jose Sharks in game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs? Sure you do... 21 year old Rookie, Chris Osgood was in goal and he basically lost the game for us by giving away the puck to a Sharks player, leading them to score? That was the very first time I found myself actually caring about a hockey game. Don't get me wrong, I grew up around hockey. My dad loved it. He had season tickets and was always watching it but I never had a reason to pay attention before. There was something about that baby faced, blond goaltender (who was crying in the locker room after the loss) that made me take notice of the game and become obsessed with it.

Seriously obsessed. It was the first thing I was ever truly passionate about; The Detroit Red Wings and Chris Osgood. Hockey made me happy and it was always something I could look forward to. I loved the flow of the game and just watching the players skate. I adored going downtown to Joe Louis with my dad and getting teased by some of the guys sitting around us for being an Osgood fan. I loved the smell of the ice and the excitement I felt when they would announce the starting line up. I knew every player, every statistic and anxiously watched every game. I would wear some type of hockey or Red Wing shirt every day, as well as my #30 charm (with other miscellaneous hockey charms), and best of all, my goalie pin. PIN as in button. Every. Single. Day. I even wore it in my senior pictures. My entire room was filled with Chris Osgood and Red Wing pictures. I had scrap books with my favorite newspaper clippings (which are still in my attic to this day). It would devastate me if we lost a game, especially if Ozzie was in goal. I took it to heart, as if I was the one playing the game (ask me about the 1995 playoffs, when we were swept by the New Jersey Devils some time. I was a mess).

But, win or lose, I was always Chris Osgood's #1 fan. On March 6, 1996 he became one of nine goaltenders in the NHL to score a goal. This game wasn't televised (boy, was I mad about that) and I was listening to it on the radio with my parents. I was so excited when they announced that he had scored, that I fell off the bar stool I was sitting on.  I was able to meet him a couple times, once while at a fan fest (see photo), It was a real quick, "hello, thank you, goodbye" but it made my year. And another time, 2 years ago in downtown Plymouth. My friends and I saw him at a bar and they were begging me to go talk to him. I couldn't do it. I was perfectly fine with staring at him from afar (creepy, I know) and I didn't want to bother him. Carrie made me talk to him and I couldn't be more grateful to her, haha. He was super nice and agreed to take a picture with me. He asked me how I was and probably would have talked to me for a lot longer if I hadn't been such a nervous freak and ran off so quick. It was a fantastic experience and I was on cloud 9.

I was really, really sad when he was put on waivers in 2001 and the New York Islanders picked him up. Even more sad because Dominic Hasek was replacing him and I couldn't stand him. I admit, my interest in hockey lessened quite a bit after that. I would still keep tabs on him though and when my dad would take me to a Wings Vs. Islanders game (or later on, St. Louis Blues) I would watch him in goal for the other team and secretly hope for a tie. In August, 2005 we got him back. I was ECSTATIC. It was like he never left and I had so much fun watching him play again.

Now, he's retiring (he'll be a goalie consultant with the Wings) and I am a sad girl. He was responsible for bringing a game into my life that I barely paid attention to before. It brought me joy and tears and most of all, it got me through high school. Every time there was a bad day (come on, it was high school, there were LOTS of bad days), I could always turn a Red Wing game on and see Ozzie in net, making a save and it would instantly bring a smile to my face. He brought me bonding time with my dad that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. I love, love, loved going to games with him, watching them on tv with my family and just talking about the different players and teams.

Was he the best goalie in the world? Maybe not to some people, but to me he always will be. I will miss seeing him in his "old school" red helmet on the ice. I'll miss hearing the audio dudes at Joe Louis play The Wizard Of Oz clip after he makes an amazing save and I will miss seeing him on the bench, chewing gum and taking notes in the games where he was playing back up. Most of all, I will miss seeing him wear that #30, Red Wing jersey.

For now, I have my pictures, jerseys (4 of them!) and memories to make me smile whenever I miss seeing him play.

Chris Osgood:

• 17 NHL Seasons
• 3 Stanley Cup wins (2 of which he was starting goaltender)
• 401 Wins (10th in NHL regular season history)
• 1 goal
• 2 time winner of the William Jennings Trophy
• 2 time All Star Player

"You're a Wizard, Harry"

On July 8th, 2000 a little book called Harry Potter and The Goblet Of Fire by J.K. Rowling was released. I had no idea what it was. I was working at Lenscrafters in Westland Mall at the time and saw that people were lined up outside of both bookstores, eagerly anticipating the moment when the gates were raised so they could buy their copies. I had never seen such a thing for a book release! The whole thing had me so curious. As it turned out, one of my coworkers (Amber!) was a HUGE Potter fan. She gave me a summary of the story so far and it had me so intrigued I went out and bought Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone that very day. I was instantly hooked.

I've said it before, but this book series made me fall in love with reading again. The way the storytelling flowed, the creatiivity and imagination that went into every aspect of it was so captivating that it was like (pardon my pun) I was under a magic spell. When they announced that they would be releasing the first book as a movie I was ecstatic. Especially after I saw the cast for the first time. Every one of them completely fit the description in my mind. When Jeff and I went to see it on opening night (November 16, 2001), I remember having chills and tears in my eyes when the title flashed on the screen. Chris Columbus (who directed the movie, produced it and is also responsible for the casting of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson) did such a wonderful job of literally bringing that book to life. The great hall, the common rooms, the quidditch pitch, everything was spot on. I couldn't wait for the next one. It was so much fun to see the story progress and see the actors grow along with the tale that was being told.

***This is your usual SPOILER ALERT for everyone who has yet to see the film***

Almost 10 years later we are finally able to see the conclusion. And what an amazingly wonderful, emotional conclusion it was. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 was incredibly true to the book. I am so so grateful that they decided to split the final book into two separate movies. They were able to show every part of it that makes it so great. Daniel Radcliffe was superb. Seriously, superb. His facial expressions conveyed more than the dialogue did in some parts and I found myself completely riveted by him. This film was HIS shining moment and he did not disappoint. Everyone was good in it, of course but he was literally in almost every single scene and he owned them all.

Some of my favorite parts: when Neville brings Harry, Ron and Hermione to the room of requirement and all the other students are so happy to see them, they erupt in applause. I also loved the scene where Snape has all the students gathered in the great hall and is lecturing them on the consequences of helping Harry, when he (Harry) reveals himself, in his Hogwarts cloak and starts yelling at him, (as the Order of The Phoenix walk up behind him). It was so powerful, I jumped in my seat. They did right by the fans and left a few of everyone's favorite quotes in the script. Namely, Mrs. Weasley's, "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU B*TCH!". The theater broke into applause when that scene came on. While different from how it happens in the book, Ron and Hermione's first kiss was really sweet and very much in line with their characters. Oh, how I love my Ron Weasley (my Won-Won). I only really cried during one scene, which was the part in the Forbidden Forest with the resurrection stone (also my most favorite part of the book). Seeing James and Lily, Sirius and Lupin was SO comforting even though I already knew it was going to happen. It was so well done, I just loved it. The visual effects were very cool, particularly a scene near the beginning where they show tons of dementors looming above the castle.

I can't wait to see it again. I'm sad that it's all over but I'm so happy that it was created.

 So, thank you, J.K. Rowling for introducing this amazing boy to the world. Thank you for having such a creative imagination and giving people a world to escape to (quite literally if you go to The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter). Thank you to all the people responsible for creating this visual world that had only existed in our minds. Call me a nerd/geek/dork if you want for loving this series but I am proud to call myself a Potter fanatic. I am proud of what the series (books and movies) have accomplished, as well as all of the actors. I love the imagination that it instills in people and that I can show my own son that it's ok to make believe that you are boy wizard and have fun "casting spells". For anyone who doesn't get that, you don't know the art of playing make believe and using your imagination and I feel sorry for you. The amount of joy these books and movies bring me is priceless and I love that.

Thank you, Harry Potter.