Thank you for shopping at Record Town/FYE...

When I was a 17 year old shift manager working at the Pretzel Peddler in Westland Mall, I had a crush on "the boy with glasses" who worked at Record Town. One day, when he came to buy a large Pepsi from me, I asked him if he had What's Eating Gilbert Grape on VHS. He said he would hold it for me and I nervously went and picked it up from him after my shift was over. I'm sure we made some small talk and I giggled like a dumb girl at a lame joke he made and left the store feeling all giddy. That was the first "real" conversation Jeff and I ever had and the rest, as they say, is history.

Record Town (which later became FYE) is where mine and Jeff's relationship began. When we first started dating, I would hang out in the store for hours while he worked. Just talking to him, watching him help customers, probably annoying his employees. On the nights when we both closed, I would usually finish before him and sit on the Peddler counter waiting for him, while he and Ryan listened to Social Distortion or Dave Matthews. He ended up hiring my best friend, Carrie as his assistant manager, so that gave me even more reason to hang out there. I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though I never worked there and was never officially employed by them, I feel like I worked there by default. I have spent a lot of time in that store and the fact that it will no longer "be" after this weekend breaks my heart.

Sure, it's no secret that the music industry has changed A LOT in the last 15 years. With the internet, there really is no reason to have to go into a store and physically purchase a CD anymore but you don't get the atmosphere of a record store when you are shopping on Amazon or itunes. You don't get to ask the sales person what they think of a certain CD or movie and you don't get the casual conversation that comes along with that. I know it sounds old fashioned but there is something to be said about discussing your favorite band with someone in the middle of a store, surrounded by CD's and merchandise. It's fun.

Through the years, a lot of really great people worked there. Loyal people who would come back to the store and work Christmas after Christmas. A lot of wonderful relationships and friendships were born there. Lasting relationships and friendships that blossomed over conversations about music, movies or just pop culture in general. They had some incredibly loyal customers (and some crappy ones but we'll focus on the good here). Customers who would bring them donuts or candy on a weekly basis. Customers who enjoyed coming in and just looking around at their product. Customers who went out of their way to talk to Jeff about his family and even on occasion buy him lunch or bring in gifts for Charley. FYE was part of their weekly routine and believe me when I say that these are the people who are going to miss the store as much as the employees themselves. He has received such an overwhelming amount of support from these customers and for that, I can't thank them enough. Some of them, Jeff didn't even really know but it's so wonderful that they took the time to let the workers know that they appreciated them. That doesn't happen too often these days.

I'm so thankful for the friendships I made there. Without that store, I never would have met some of the most important people in my life and as much as the situation of the store closing sucks, I'm so grateful for the opportunities that it gave us. Opportunities like the Twilight Midnight release party where tons and tons of fangirls showed up (that will go down as one of my most favorite memories of all time). Opportunities like in-store signings with barely known bands and having the fortune of meeting new, very cool people.

I'm hoping that instead of sadness all around, some good will come from the store closing. New adventures for Jeff and his employees and they'll be able to look back on their experiences working there with fondness. Though it is merely a store in a mall and things like this happen every day, it's a big deal to a lot of people. As our friend (and former employee) Tim said, "it really is the end of an era".

 For now, just remember there was a lot of love that came from that store, a lot of laughter, a lot of good music and a little bit of Raspberry Sweetness.

No. Yes.

Listen, I've been having a pretty crappy couple of weeks over here ("over here" meaning this side of the computer screen). You know how when you are cranky or sad, everything starts to bother you? Even little things that are meaningless start to eat away at you? You hear a song, see something and immediately think "No". Well, that's me right now. You know I love to make lists, so humor me for a few minutes and just take a gander at a list of things that have been irking me. No worries, this will not be a depressing post. As always, I will try to spin these irritations with my delightful sense of humor and throw in a few things that I love to balance things out. See? Win-win for everyone.

No.
- The B52's "Love Shack". I'm going to admit it, I don't like this song. I may have liked it at one time but now it kind of makes my ears hurt. I don't want to hear it anymore.

- Getting pulled over. Yes, friends, for the first time ever, I was pulled over last night for speeding. I haven't even told my parents about this yet, so I'm guessing my mom is probably calling me an idiot as she reads this post (Love you, Mom!!). The cop was nice enough and let me off with just a fine but I still feel like a big dummy. I was weirdly calm when it happened too, which is surprising since I'm pretty quick to cry in a situation where I think I'm getting into trouble (you know, because I'm not a 31 year old grown up or anything). When I got home and informed Jeff about what happened, he laughed and said "I'm shocked this didn't happen sooner". So, apparently I drive like a speed demon all the time!

-Markers without caps. Drives. Me. Nuts. No one wants to see a perfectly pretty marker dry out! Put the cap on!

-Not liking a book I've just read. It is so frustrating to sit down and read a book, thinking it's going to be a really great story, only for it to turn out to be blah. For example, I just read City Of Bones by Cassandra Clare. It's the first in her Immortal Instruments series. It was lame. I knew everything that was going to happen before it happened and I was just annoyed with it. I won't be finishing that series.

-Cooking. I've talked about it before but I truly hate cooking. The idea of having to plan a menu for the whole week, grocery shopping and rushing home from work to create a magnificent meal is so frustrating. If I could afford a personal chef, I would be ALL about that.

-Hockey Shoot-outs. I think they are a cop out. So what if the game ends in a tie? I feel like the shoot-out cheapens the flow of the game. Like it's forcing a winner upon us and it also takes away the effect of the penalty shot. They used to be so rare and I would get so excited to see one but the shoot-out takes away the magic of it because they happen allll the time. For lack of a better word, it feels unnatural.

-Not being able to help C figure out a level in one of his Wii games and having to resort to "cheating". By "cheating" I mean, looking it up on the internets. It's a video game for goodness sakes! it shouldn't be that big of a deal!

-Not having anything to write about. It makes me sad.


Ok, here are some things that I love to leave you all feeling happy and content...

Yes.
-Charley, right after he gets his haircut. He looks like a little man and so fresh and his hair sticks up in the back (even more than it does regularly) and I just love, love, love it.

-The Bruno Mars song, "It Will Rain" from the Breaking Dawn soundtrack. I adore this song. I don't even know why because normally, I'm not all that crazy about Bruno Mars but I could listen to this song on repeat. Over and over and over again. I LOVE IT.

-That really great feeling of excitement you get after watching a new show and it was actually good. Case in point: Alcatraz. We watched the first two episodes last night and I kind of loved them. I didn't hate the lead girl character (played by Sarah Jones) which is a huge plus for me and it was Lost-y and intriguing and interesting and it had the #47 in it. So with all that, I'm sold. I'll keep watching.

-The smell of coffee. It's calming and delicious and perfection. Such a great smell.

-Seeing my niece Emily get excited about reading and writing the way that I do. It makes me all sorts of proud.

-Having a home-cooked meal by my parents. As I stated above, I hate cooking so when I don't have to, I jump at the chance not to. But, when I don't have to because my parents are cooking for me? Well, that is just the best. 

-Taking a day off during the week. Knowing that everyone else is at work, while you are not is a really great feeling.

- Watching TV with Jeffrey. It's relaxing, it's fun and I like that he puts up with my side comments and snarkiness after all these years without getting annoyed with me. I'm sure he gets annoyed sometimes.  I tend to go a little overboard at times, like while watching The Secret Circle (I can't help it with that show. The characters in it are so dumb and they say "Dark magic" every other sentence. We get it! YOU HAVE DARK MAGIC! Ugh! See?? I can't help myself.) and he has to say "can you maybe stop now?" but I appreciate that he says it lovingly.

So, there's your grumpiness combined with a little happiness. Thanks for bearing with me and letting me write a pretty pointless post. If nothing else, it has helped my crankiness a little bit.

Oh, and remember to watch your speeds out there, people!

A Saturday Post.

I got about 47 new books for Christmas and I seem to be tearing through them pretty quickly. I'll give you a quick review of the ones I have read so far. Why? Because you know I love talking about things I've read. Especially if it's something that I really, really loved.

Case in point:

The Night Circus  by Erin Morgenstern. This is her debut novel.  I wanted this book based on the cover alone. It's so pretty and I love the colors (which are a running theme throughout the book). It has magic and romance and heartbreak and it has a haunting quality to it that really made me fall in love with it. I know, I know, when you think of "circus", you are thinking of elephants and clowns and whatnot. That's so not what this circus is about. It's fueled by magic and a longstanding duel of sorts between two illusionists (Celia and Marco). There is so much more to the story than all of that but I don't like giving stuff away, so read it for yourself and see just how lovely it is. Truth be told, the book did have a bit of a slow start at the beginning. It took me a few chapters to get into it but once I did, I didn't want to put it down. I keep telling Jeff that I want to live inside this book. The idea and detail of the story fascinate me and I am really looking forward to whatever else Ms. Morgenstern comes out with.

I finished the 3rd (and supposedly final) book in the Southern Witch Series, Halfway Hexed by Kimberly Frost. This book just made me smile a lot. The whole series is quirky. The books are fun, quick reads that will make you happy. It's about a twenty something pastry chef named Tammy Jo, who discovers she's coming into witch powers that all the other ladies in her family have. They developed their powers much earlier in life though, so everyone had given up hope on Tammy Jo ever getting hers. When she does start to get her powers, however, she's pretty much alone since her mom and aunt have left the country and she has no one to guide her. So, silliness ensues with spells gone wrong and her little town of Duvall, Texas thrown into chaos. Naturally, she turns to a handsome, rich (Irish) Wizard (who just so happens to be on her family's "do not touch" list) for help. Bottomline: They're fun.

Currently I am finishing up The Apothecary by Maile Meloy. She is the sister to none other than Colin Meloy of The Decemberists, who also has a book out right now called The Wildwood. Which I may be reading next. Maybe... I can't decide. Anyway, I have read a few of Maile's previous books which were more for an adult audience and enjoyed them quite a bit, so I was curious when I saw that she was coming out with a Young Adult novel. Listen, I don't put age limits on the books that I read. If it's a good story, I'm going to read it. This one is a good story. It's about a young girl named Janie, whose family has to move from Los Angeles to London in 1952 because her parents are basically being accused of being communists. She meets a boy named Benjamin and when it looks like his father, who is (you guessed it) The apothecary is being taken by Germans, they go on a hunt to try to find him and figure out what's going on. On the surface, it seems a little heavy for being a YA novel but it has lighthearted moments and magic mixed in with all the talk of nuclear bombs and war.

All this reading has made me yearn for the library I will one day have in my house. Yes, one day... I don't know when, but one day we will have an entire room in our house devoted to our books. No more piling random books on top of each other wherever space will allow in our bedroom. We will have honest to goodness shelves upon shelves of wonderful stories, organized and set in a cozy room full of wonder and imagination.The website Pinterest has been feeding my yearning by allowing me to look up a plethora of potential items for this future library. Fun shelves, tables and spaces devoted to my favorite hobby. I have an entire board ----- > Shhh... devoted to this totally (ha) attainable dream. If nothing else, I truly love looking at the designs that other people have thought of to make these comforting little book nooks.

Just a few miscellaneous annoyances that have been irking me for the past week:

* I totally get that the Adele album 21 is a good album. I agree with the whole entire world's sentiment that Adele's voice is beyond amazing and her songs are kickass, but please, radio people, for the love of everything, stop playing her songs every other song. When it gets to the point where I am driving to work and hear the same song by her on 3 different radio stations at the same time, one would have to think that it's a bit excessive... don't you think?

* The same goes for that Colbie Caillat song, "Brighter Than The Sun". Yes, it's totally catchy and poppy and fun. No, we don't need to use it in every commercial/movie trailer there ever was.

* Did you watch The People's Choice awards on Wednesday? No worries, I watched them for you and you didn't miss much (aside from almost ALL of my TV/Movie boyfriends being there) because it was mostly one giant advertisement for CVS. Half the show was dedicated to the store plus all the beauty products they sell. Those awards are lame anyway but the commcercials within the show just made it sad.

A few Miscellaneous FYI's:

*Daniel Radcliffe is hosting Saturday Night Live tonight. !!!! I haven't been a consistent viewer of this show in years but in addition to DVR'ing it, I may actually stay up and watch it live. I'm real, real excited about it!!

* The Golden Globe Awards are this Sunday at 8pm on NBC. Ricky Gervais is hosting again and I am looking forward to watching him. A lot of people were irritated with him last year because they said he was too mean to the celebrities. He's a comedian... what do they expect? Besides, he at least gives people something to talk about other than how boring these things can get.

* HBO announced the premiere date for season 2 of Game Of Thrones. Set your DVR's friends, because winter is coming April 1st at 9pm. Huzzah!

* The last business day for the Westland FYE is January 26th. As of right now, all the merchandise is 50%-80% off (unless it's already on sale). If you wanna check out some deals and say hello to my handsome husband (or offer him a job, haha), go ahead and stop by the store.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Favorites/Not-So-Favorites

Happy New Year, gentle readers!!

Now that 2011 is all done and I have had a few days to process it, I feel like giving you guys a little round-up of sorts of my favorites and least favorites from last year. Let's begin with music...

*Favorite album: The King Is Dead by The Decemberists. I have always enjoyed The Decemberists but I listened to this CD on repeat. Over and over again. Every song is great and I never ever got sick of it. It's upbeat (with the exception of a couple slow songs) and fun and I just really love it. My favorite songs from it are Down By The Water and Rox In The Box. 


*Favorite Movie(s): Now, anyone who knows Jeff and I, knows that we don't see as many movies as we should. We barely ever go to the actual movie theater unless it's for Harry Potter or a Twilight movie (in my case) or a kids movie that C wants to see. My point is, I'm sure there are a TON of really great movies that came out last year that we were unable to see. I am basing my favorite(s) on the few that we were able to check out. So, without further ado: Super 8 and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2 are both at the top of my list. If you have been keeping up with this here blog over the past year, you'll remember I wrote reviews for both. Super 8 was so well done and left me smiling and loving J.J. Abrams even more. Deathly Hallows Part 2 left me emotional and satisfied while wanting more at the same time. If you have not checked out either of these films yet, I suggest you do so.

For favorite TV show, I'll separate these into 3 different categories (come on, with all the TV I watch, I can't just choose ONE, sillies):
*Favorite New Show: Once Upon A Time. You know why I'm picking this one. For the Lost-ness of it, for the magical-ness of it, the creativeness of it and the freshness of it. I love everything about it.

*Favorite Surprise Show: By "surprise" I mean that I was completely unprepared for enjoying it as much as I did. That show is Game Of Thrones. I knew nothing, absolutely nothing about this story. All I knew was that Jeff and Carrie were both excited to watch it. So, i watched it and became completely enthralled by it. Amazing storytelling, amazing acting and an overall amazing production. I can't wait for April to get here so that we can all see if winter really is coming...

*Favorite Regular Show: "Regular" just means that it is already in my TV line up. Vampire Diaries never disappoints me. It's the little CW show that could and the people behind the show and who write the scripts are brilliant. They never, ever drag out a storyline and always, always, always surprise you. So many shows leave their jaw-dropping moments for season finales. Vampire Diaries does it EVERY episode. (If you'd like to start tuning in, the season starts up again this Thursday, January 5th!)

*Favorite Book(s):  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. No, this series did not come out in 2011 but that is when I read them so I am allowing myself to put it as a favorite. I was very, very hesitant about reading these books. I had read the summary on the back of the first book so many times and was never impressed by it, but every single person I know who has read them has loved them. Not just liked them but loved them. Some people even called it "the best book series they ever read". I didn't get it. I saw the trailer for the movie (which comes out on March 23, 2012) and I still didn't get it. So, I read the books. And I totally got it. I read all 3 quickly. I finished the second book  (Catching Fire) in a day and when I finished with the series I immediately started re-reading them. I wasn't finished with the characters and the story had me so completely riveted that I felt like I may have missed some stuff along the way the first time around. I bought the series for my little brother, let my sister borrow my copies and even got my niece hooked on them. Needless to say, I'm real excited to see the movie. You will notice that I'm not giving any details of the story here. I don't want to ruin any aspect of it for new readers. Don't read the backs of the books, just jump into the story. It's smart and creative and it sucks you in. Completely. Also, let me know if you read them because you know how I love to discuss books that I love.

Speaking of books, if you are interested in a sort of nerdy version of Facebook where all you do is discuss, rate and find books to read, check out a site called Goodreads.com. This -----> is my profile. Friend me and you can see what I'm reading and we can be nerdy together!


Favorite Moment(s): Disney World/Islands of Adventure trip. Seeing C's excitement when I told him all the things we would be doing in Disney World was absolutely priceless. Seeing Hogsmeade at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was literally like a dream come true. Being able to spend the trip with Jeffrey, my Mom and Natalie was the icing on the cake. So much fun. Charley still talks about how much he misses Disney and asks every day when we can go back. Some day we will... Some day.

Okay, now let me point out my not-so-favorites of last year...

*The Office- It just doesn't do anything for me anymore. I still love the characters but I don't care for the show. It's not funny and I have completely stopped watching. I miss Michael and I'm sorry, but James Spader creeps me out.

*Glee- Go ahead. You can tell me, "I told you so". I defended this show with all my might in it's first season. I adored it. It made me smile and laugh and sing and I thought it was brilliant. Then the second season came and there was no storyline, songs that didn't make sense and a whole lot of blah. The characters became cartoons and the whole thing became a complete disappointment. I still watch it, I think out of obligation (but mostly for Darren Criss) and every once in awhile there is a gem of an episode but unfortunately, they are few and far between.

*Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris- The 11th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series was not good. It wasn't. You all know what a fan I am of these books and I felt like this one was chalk full of filler stuff that didn't matter and backstories of characters that we have already read about 10 times before. Not to mention the fact that she more or less changed the mythology of the story and that really bothered me. It was a complete disappointment.

Some miscellaneous tidbits:

I saw Wicked over my Christmas vacation. My brother got tickets for a few of us to go to the show as a Christmas present for my parents. It was really great. I loved the set, the costumes (Oh! The costumes were spectacular!), the story was fantastic and the music made my ears smile. Everything about it was brilliant and I totally get why my niece Emily loves it so much. I couldn't decide who I liked more, Galinda (the GAH is silent) or Alphaba (the wicked witch of the West) but both actresses were phenomenal. I would definitely see it again and I would love to have seen Kristin Chenowith and Idina Menzel in their production. If you get the opportunity to see it, please do. You won't be disappointed.

For my zombie lovers out there, The Walking Dead comes back February 12th. SOPHIA!!

A Very Pop Culture Christmas

What's that you say? You're sick of hearing/seeing/reading things about Christmas?? Well, just because this Holiday has been thrown in our faces obsessively, since just before Halloween, that doesn't mean that we can't appreciate the season while it's here. After all, Christmas only comes around once a year, friends!

So, quit being a Grinch and an Ebenezer Scrooge and let's discuss our favorite Christmas movies, music and episodes of our favorite shows...

I'll start off with those "very special" Christmas episodes of my favorite shows. You know the ones... when your favorite comedy or drama take a bit of a break from the continuing drama of the usual storyline to deliver a heartwarming episode of yuletide cheer. I've decided I don't really have a favorite-favorite when it comes to these certain episodes, just the ones that immediately pop into my mind when I think of Christmas. In no particular order, these are my most memorable Christmas episodes:

• Saved By The Bell- Home For Christmas (1991): This little gem was a two parter. Zach and the rest of the gang decide to get jobs at the mall during the holiday season. They end up befriending a homeless girl, named Laura (one of Kelly's co-workers) who is living in the shopping center. At some point, Laura's boss (Mr. Moody) accuses her of stealing a coat from their store and she runs away (not knowing that Kelly actually put the coat aside for Laura to buy for her father, to wear to a job interview). Zach ends up finding her and her dad and invites her to Christmas dinner, where they eat and sing Christmas Carols... And Mr. Moody ends up apologizing and giving the jacket to Laura's dad as a gift. I know, it sounds really bad... and it is. But, the memory of it has stuck with me all these years. Take a look at the cheesiness below:

• Roswell- A Roswell Christmas (2000): Max (Jason Behr) witnesses a tragic accident and blames himself for the victim dying because he refused to save them by using his powers (he didn't want to reveal himself to any onlookers). I know, it sounds real depressing, but the episode focuses on all of the characters trying to find their Christmas spirit, with Isabel (a very young, pre-sassy Katherine Heigl) leading the way. In order to try to redeem himself, Max ends up going to the pediatric ward of a hospital and begins curing all the kids of their ailments. Other lighthearted things happen in the episode, with Michael (or "mullet boy" as I used to call him, played by Brendan Fehr) looking for the perfect gift for his girlfriend, Maria (Majandra Delfino) and Isabel going overboard with decorations and whatnot but the end is what I loved the most. It's been a very, very long time since I have seen this episode but I remember saying to Jeff after it aired "that might be the best Christmas episode of any tv show I have ever seen". I can't find any short clips of it, so if you are so inclined, watch the whole episode here...

• Beverly Hills 90210- It's a Totally Happening Life (1992): In a nutshell, all of the characters are either fighting or grumpy in some way. Two guardian angels (Clarence and Miriam) watch over them, knowing that the bus they are on is about to collide with a garbage truck and cause a major accident. The episode focuses on the events that lead up to all of them being on the bus together and the guardian angels try preventing the accident from taking place.

• Bones- The Man In The Fallout Shelter (2005)- Bones, Booth and the rest of the cast are all quarantined to the Jeffersonian during a case on Christmas Eve. Each of the characters gets to have a little moment where they reveal things about themselves and Hodgins and Zack contribute some laughs. The end is the best part, where each of their families are brought in, group by group to wish them a Merry Christmas (through glass, because you know, they are quarantined) and it's simple and sweet and one of the reasons why I fell in love with this show. (Sorry, no clips for this one... couldn't find any good ones).

• Friends- The One With The Holiday Armadillo (2000): Ross wants to introduce Ben to Hanukkah and tries to show him that it's just as fun as Christmas and Santa by dressing up... As an armadillo. The whole ridiculousness of it is what makes it so funny. I laughed so hard at this episode when it first aired. I thought it was the best thing ever.  Click------> Armadillo

• The Office- Christmas Party (2005): The office throws a Christmas party, complete with a Secret Santa exchange. Jim has Pam's name and reveals that he worked really hard on her gift, filling it with a bunch of inside jokes, that only she would get. Michael is annoyed that all he gets is a handmade oven mitt from Phyllis and buys a $400 Ipod for Ryan. He insists that they all do a "yankee swap" and makes everyone angry. Pam ends up with the Ipod, but in the end, decides to swap gifts for the one Jim had meant for her... Causing me to sigh and swoon over Jim Halpert. 

My favorite Christmas movies are probably the same as most of yours, so forgive me for not giving descriptions of them...

• Scrooged (1988): Bill Murray is so fantastic in this rendition of A Christmas Carol. My Aunt took Dennis and I to the theater to see this when we were kids. I remember loving the end when he has each side of the movie theater sing different parts of "Put a little love in your heart".

• Mickey's A Christmas Carol (1983): I love it to this day. You couldn't get it on DVD for a long time and I was absolutely ecstatic the day Jeff came home with it for me. It reminds me of being a kid and I love watching it with C now.

• A Christmas Story (1983): I won't watch this movie before Christmas Eve/Christmas Day or after it. I either watch it on those days or it just doesn't feel right. 

• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989): It's just a great movie. So many great scenes and quotes. I love it. 

• Elf (2003): I can watch it over and over again and Zooey Deschanel's rendition of "Baby It's Cold Outside" is my most favorite.

• Snow (2004): This was a made for tv movie with Tom Cavanagh. He's Santa Claus (Nicholas Snowden) and has to get back to the north pole in time for Christmas. It's cheesy and sappy and cute and I love it. 

• Love Actually (2003): Funny thing about this movie is I used to hate it. How could I hate it with all of the amazing people in the cast?? The first time I watched it, it made me sad because not everyone got a happy ending. No worries though, because I completely appreciate it and love it today. LOVE it a lot, actually. Especially THIS scene. (Yeah, that's Rick Grimes being all romantic. No zombies chasing him there!)

My most favorite Christmas album of all time is the Holiday sing-along with Mitch Miller. It's what we used to listen to when we were kids and I absolutely adore it. The first Christmas Jeff and I spent together in our house, he bought the CD for me. It is one of my most favorite gifts of all time because it just reminds me of home. I also really love the Barenaked For The Holidays album by my beloved BNL. This year, I am most impressed with Christmas by Michael Buble'. It's classy and fun and I was pleasantly surprised by it.

My two most disliked Christmas songs of all time?
-The Christmas Shoes (I don't have to explain why, right?)
- Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses. (Because there is nothing "Christmassy" about this song. Also, because they used to play it at Optim Eyes ALL. THE. TIME. when I worked there and it drove me craaaaazy!)

So that's that. Some of my most favorite Christmas pop culture items. Feel free to share yours along with me and have a very Merry Christmas, one and all!

Thanks.

 My most favorite Holiday is upon us, Friends: Thanksgiving. It is my most favorite holiday not only because I get to eat my most favorite meal in all the land, but because it's a family day. A family day filled with parade watching, conversations and laughter and the smells of my parents house. It's my favorite because every year, my parents work their asses off in the kitchen, preparing the most delicious foods you will ever eat. Because every year, my mom takes the time to set the table up so nicely (complete with name-cards). It's my favorite because every year when we sit down to dinner, my dad puts Christmas music on (including my favorite; Mitch Miller as well as The Cabbage Patch Christmas album we had when we were kids). It's my favorite because I love looking through the sale ads after dinner and discussing the craziness of Black Friday, while eating my Mom's most delicious chocolate eclair cake and drinking coffee (even though I am so full, I am about to burst). It's my favorite because it's relaxing and fun and because we are all together.

Things I am thankful for this year- The sentimental portion:

• My husband, for making me laugh and helping me when I most need it. Mostly for just being there.
• That beautiful, handsome, imaginative, smart, blue eyed boy of mine who can drive me crazy insane, while at the same time making me want to squish his face he's so adorable.
• My friends. For making me laugh, listening to me rant, entertaining me and just being awesome. Awesome, awesome. I have the best friends ever.
• My parents, for just being amazing. For being the type of parents who take the time to listen and help and make sure their kids are happy, even though we are all grown up. 
• My family. Brothers, sisters, niece, nephews, in-laws, Aunts and Uncles, Grandparents, cousins. I am so grateful for all of you.
• My dogs. For being there to snuggle with... even though Bristow is... he's energetic (to put it nicely).
• You, my blog readers. For letting me write. It's hard to explain how much it means to me that people are willing to read my opinions, my rants and my silliness but it means a lot. A lot, a lot.

Enough with the mushy... Things I am thankful for- The Pop Culture/Materialistic portion:

• Mashed Potatoes. Whoever decided back in olden times, that it would be a good idea to take a potato and smash it into mush, I thank you. Thank you for giving me this wonderful side dish that I can smother in butter and/or gravy.
• Coca Cola. With ice.
• Chocolate chip cookies.
• Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger. For showing kids and adults alike what true friendship looks like. As well as teaching kids how great using your imagination can be.
• Google chat. Because If I didn't have this, my work days would be really brutal. 
• The websites: The Berry, Best Week Ever and Entertainment Weekly. Same reason as above.
• For Bones still being great, even after they put the two main characters together.
• Books. Because books open up new worlds to us and let us live temporarily in someone else's shoes.
• Bookstores. Because they calm me. I love the smell, I love the atmosphere. I love them.
• For Eric Northman, Neal Caffrey, Edward Cullen, Joe Morelli, Seeley Booth, and Damon Salvatore. These boys need no explanation. If you know who they are, you know why they are on the list and I'm sure I forgot some but these are the ones that popped into my mind first.
• My Keurig. IT'S SO CONVENIENT.
• Spotify. For helping me rediscover old music that I used to love, as well as getting me through the work day.
• Modern Family and The New Girl, for making me laugh.
• Once Upon a Time for being fresh and creative and just plain interesting.

 I am thankful for Thanksgiving because it's a holiday that doesn't require you to give each other gifts, it's a holiday that requires you to discuss the things you love most and it requires you to eat really delicious things.

What are you thankful for?

"I'm not going to lie, Bells, you're hideous"

When Breaking Dawn (the book) was released on August 2, 2008, I went to the Midnight release party for it. I came home, read until 3am and then finished it the following evening. There was a point during my nonstop read-a-thon that I set the book down, looked at Jeff and said "there is no way. NO way they can make a movie out of this". See, I have always had mixed emotions about this particular part of the story. It is the most "out there" of all 4 books. Yeah, yeah, I know, you're thinking, "sparkly vampires and teenage werewolves aren't "out there", Sarah??" They are, I know they are but this book got weird for me. Basically, I adored the beginning, was completely annoyed throughout the middle part and somewhat letdown by the end of it. Not letdown in the sense that I thought it was terrible, just that I wanted it to be more. So, after seeing the first 3 films in the Twilight Saga, each one somewhat true to the book they were bred from, I wasn't quite as ecstatic for this particular one. Of course, I was excited, this time was just different.

Let me give you a (very) quick (rambling) rundown of the story of Breaking Dawn: Part 1: 
As always, here is your usual SPOILER ALERT... Bella and Edward get married, go on their honeymoon, do what people do on their honeymoons, she ends up pregnant, he flips out, they come home (with Edward hoping to get the "thing" out of her), she wants to keep the "thing" (her nudger, as she refers to it in the book), the werewolves lose their minds and say the demon baby is an abomination and immediately want to kill it, Jacob breaks from his pack to protect Bella, Bella endures the most disgusting labor in all the land, gives birth to Renesmee (it's a girl, for those non Twilighters out there), Jacob imprints on the baby (meaning, he loves it absolutely), Edward injects his venom into Bella (turning her into a vampire). Fade to black. To be continued....

Now, let me start off my Midnight movie experience by saying I am pretty used to these by now. They are chaotic, a little annoying and fun all at the same time. They make for super delightful people watching and bring out holes of the biggest kind, but they are always, always an experience. The Midnight release for Twilight was insane. People everywhere, selling merchandise, wall to wall tweens, shrieks... so much shrieking. New Moon brought out the werewolf fans, Eclipse brought out the "Team Edward", "Team Jacob" fans in FULL force and Breaking Dawn was just kind of there. Same old Twilight fans but a little bit quieter, I guess? Don't get me wrong, it was a big deal, people were excited but it just had a different feeling to it.

Dawn and I arrived at the theater at 10pm, stood in line for about a half hour and then they seated us. We saw a lot of dudes, which was surprising. We managed to seat ourselves in front of the loudest, most obnoxious ladies there ever was, saw a girl wearing a homemade shirt that had a picture of Edward kissing a very pregnant Bella's stomach (with the girl's face superimposed over Bella's) and watched a woman who was walking around with her leather jacket stuffed into the back of her pants, to make her butt look bigger. I know. I don't get it either, this is just what we witnessed. While waiting for the movie, we played LIFE on Dawn's ipod touch (I was a married mechanic/athlete with twin girls and one boy) and discussed whether or not we were too old to be attending these events anymore.

The movie started. We giggled. Aaaaand giggled. If you have ever been unfortunate enough lucky enough to attend a Twilight movie with Dawn and I, you will be well aware of the fact that we cannot watch these movies silently. If you hate people who whisper/discuss things throughout the movie, then my friend, we would be your enemy. It's how we process what is happening on screen. Quite frankly, it's just what we do and it makes for the most fun ever.

Ok, I know i'm rambling here, but before I get down to the nitty gritty of the  movie, I want to start out by saying Kristen Stewart has grown leaps and bounds since Twilight. Leaps. And. Bounds. She has gone from a sputtering, awkward, grunty, scrunchy faced actress to an almost flawless one. It's kind of astonishing how much better she has gotten.

Just like with the book, I adored the first part of the movie. The wedding scenes were pretty spot on and Kstew and Robert Pattinson looked amazing. Bella's dress, hair, makeup were almost exactly how I had pictured it in my head while I was reading the book. The set for the wedding was gorgeous. They added a small scene, where some of the guests give speeches to Bella and Edward and that was one of my favorite parts. Billy Burke (Charlie Swan) kills it in those scenes. Isle Esme is beautiful and again, just as I pictured it. What I loved most about this whole part was how happy both Edward and Bella seemed. Duh, I know they are newlyweds but in every other movie they are so grumpy and tightly wound and stressed out. In this movie, they are almost smiling nonstop and I really, really loved that. A lot of the dialogue came straight from the book, which I appreciate so much. For the people that know the story in detail, as I do, they kept the scene with the fried chicken and I was happy about that. A small detail, yes, but it made me feel like they do appreciate the die hard fans by putting small things like that into the movie. Their happiness comes to an abrupt end when they realize that Bella is pregnant (for you haters out there, I don't know the details of how a vampire can impregnate a human girl but if you want specifics, click here and scroll down a bit).

As well as Kristen Stewart growing leaps and bounds, the production/makeup value has too. And I say this because they made the girl look hideous as pregnant Bella. She was super skinny and incredibly gaunt looking. She looked emaciated and completely like her baby was draining the life from her. Kudos to the makeup team! After Jacob stops by the Cullen house to see Bella for himself, he shifts into wolf form to tell the rest of his pack about the pregnancy. This is where the most giggling of all the giggling took place. This is where the movie seemed to take a turn for me. In the book, the wolves communicate telepathically with each other. They always know what the other is thinking. In this particular scene, there is so much  chaos and howling and growling and weird tones of voices going on that I thought I was going to have a panic attack. it was weird and kind of cheesy and honestly, it couldn't end soon enough for me. The people around Dawn and I probably thought we were crazy. Almost the entire middle section of the book takes place like this. Jacob in wolf form, communicating through his thoughts with his wolf buddies. Thank goodness, they didn't do it that way in the movie. Thank. Goodness. They condensed it, made it short and sweet and it helped move the story along just fine.

The part where Bella goes into labor is kind of horrifying. So much so that Dawn had her scarf pulled up to cover her eyes and I had my hands covering my face. She didn't "vomit a fountain of blood", as Stephenie Meyer describes it in the book (which is also the part where I told Jeff there was no way they could make a movie out of this) but she breaks her back in such a way that it was almost vomit inducing. Seriously. Ack. The Jacob-imprints-on-Renesmee scene is very well done, as well as the scene where Bella is basically transforming from human to vampire. Not only do they show the physical transformation as she is lying there, paralyzed from the morphine, they show her reflecting on her life with a really great montage of scenes from every movie. 


It ends really cool and if you think hard enough about it, my Twilighters, you'll be able to figure out the final shot of the film. Also, be sure to stay until the credits are done. There is an extra scene.

All in all, aside from a few things, I am happy with it. I can't give you a rating for it because I feel like these Twilight movies don't fall into a "rating" category. They are what they are and I appreciate them for it. Will I continue to watch them and make fun of them and giggle like a schoolgirl? Absolutely. But, that doesn't mean that I don't like them. I love that they bring the story that I love to life and I appreciate the actors for wanting to bring these characters to life, no matter how cheesy/whiny/silly they seem.

I surprised myself by feeling kind of sad that the movies are almost all done and I think that it has to do with the fact that Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart have done such a good job with Bella and Edward. They went from being almost cringeworthy to downright comfortable to watch. That makes me happy and I am really looking forward to seeing Breaking Dawn: Part 2 next November when it hits theaters.

Couple, miscellaneous tidbits:

-Yes, Jasper has yet another hairstyle.
- This is the prettiest Alice has looked out of all the movies.
- I challenge you to count the amount of blue clothing in this movie. Then report back to me.
- I teared up at the wedding scene just a bit. Seeing their smiles and hearing Iron & Wine's, Flightless Bird  was just perfection.
- Emmett is really funny.
- I just love Billy Burke.
- I wish the Cullen house was white on the outside.
- Jacob Black has such a whiny voice.
-Robert Pattinson is so so so very handsome.

Ok, friends. Let me know what you think after you see it! I'm curious to hear your thoughts.