Wizard's First Rule

Richard and Kahlin from Legend of the Seeker

Right now I am listening to the audiobook of Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind. If you have watched the TV Show Legend of the Seeker - the show is based on this series of books. WFR is the first in the series.

My Sweetie has read all the books, which is why we started watching the show, and has been bugging me to try them. I finally relented and got an audio copy from the library. It was hard to pay attention at first, Goodkind goes into a TON of descriptives which I find slightly boring. In fact, i almost gave up on it after getting to Chapter 7. Sweetie told me I hadn't even reached the good stuff yet!

The show does not have any of the same main story themes as the book does so it's like seeing the characters do extra things. The show just adds to the books.

Since deciding to continue listening, I am finding I want to hear/read more and more of the book. The dynamic relationship between Richard and Kaylin is MUCH more developed in the story - and even though I know more than I should about certain things I am finding myself wondering what the outcome will be!

So, my Twilight Saga Audiobooks are still sealed and sitting on my bookshelf. I promised my Sweetie i would tackle this first before he added those to iTunes. I think he's sort of holding them captive actually lol

So Edward and Bella will have to wait for me to travel to Forks in my mind again.

Oh yeah, and another perk to the show ;)

A Moment of Cheese

When summer arrives, so do reruns. I have turned to watching movies lately. When I watch movies alone I watch what would be termed a "chick flick." I'm a sucker for a good Romantic Comedy or Romantic Drama. Today I watched the later. It left me feeling very lucky to be married to my best friend. I'm so very grateful for the life we have built together. I love you sweetie!

Cheese over....

We're Talkin' Bout Practice

This is a really cool rap using different sports press conferences. Take a look, be sure to have your volume on. Follow press this to view.

RIP Farrah - Goodbye Michael Jackson

This morning Farrah Fawcett lost her battle with anal cancer. She documented quite a bit of her journey. I watched a two hour long special a few months ago. She was very vulnerable and open with her struggles, her pain, and even allowed the cameras in when her doctor told her that he cancer returned.

Now she is pain free and hopefully at peace.


Michael Jackson. MJ. The King of Pop. I actually thought that hearing he died was just a fake report, especially since drama always seemed to follow him. Regardless of his personal life, he really did give a lot to music.

I will never forget listening to Thriller album over and over again on our record player. I also remember MTV showing his video - one of the first that had a plot to it I believe. i think Thriller has to be one of the best songs of all time and definitely one of the best videos of all time.

Thank you for your imagination and your gift to the music world that still has an impact on so many artists. May you find peace where ever you are now

Pixar Steps "Up" and Grants a Girl's Dying Wish

This story is sad but also uplifting.

A round of applause for Pixar and many, may prayers to Colby's family.

By ANNIE BURRIS

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Colby Curtin, a 10-year-old with a rare form of cancer, was staying alive for one thing – a movie.

From the minute Colby saw the previews to the Disney-Pixar movie Up, she was desperate to see it. Colby had been diagnosed with vascular cancer about three years ago, said her mother, Lisa Curtin, and at the beginning of this month it became apparent that she would die soon and was too ill to be moved to a theater to see the film.

After a family friend made frantic calls to Pixar to help grant Colby her dying wish, Pixar came to the rescue.

The company flew an employee with a DVD of Up, which is only in theaters, to the Curtins’ Huntington Beach home on June 10 for a private viewing of the movie.

The animated movie begins with scenes showing the evolution of a relationship between a husband and wife. After losing his wife in old age, the now grumpy man deals with his loss by attaching thousands of balloons to his house, flying into the sky, and going on an adventure with a little boy.

Colby died about seven hours after seeing the film.

With her daughter’s vigil planned for Friday, Lisa Curtin reflected about how grateful she is that Pixar – and "Up" – were a part of her only child’s last day.

“When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie,” said Curtin, 46. “I just know that word ‘Up’ and all of the balloons and I swear to you, for me it meant that (Colby) was going to go up. Up to heaven.”

Pixar officials declined to comment on the story or name the employees involved.

THE PREVIEWS

Colby was diagnosed with vascular cancer on Dec. 23, 2005 after doctors found a tumor in her liver. At the time of her death, her stomach was about 94 inches around, swollen with fluids the cancer wouldn’t let her body properly digest. The rest of her body probably weighed about 45 pounds, family friend Carole Lynch said.

Colby had gone to Newport Elementary School and was known for making others laugh, family friend Terrell Orum-Moore said. Colby loved to dance, sing, swim and seemed to have a more mature understanding of the world than other children her age, Orum-Moore said.

On April 28, Colby went to see the Dream Works 3-D movie "Monsters Vs. Aliens" but was impressed by the previews to "Up."

“It was from then on, she said, ‘I have to see that movie. It is so cool,’” Lynch said.

Colby was a movie fan, Lisa Curtin said, and she latched onto Pixar’s movies because she loved animals.

Two days later Colby’s health began to worsen. On June 4 her mother asked a hospice company to bring a wheelchair for Colby so she could visit a theater to see "Up." However, the weekend went by and the wheelchair was not delivered, Lisa Curtin said.

By June 9, Colby could no longer be transported to a theater and her family feared she would die without having seen the movie.

At that point, Orum-Moore, who desperately wanted Colby to get her last wish, began to cold-call Pixar and Disney to see if someone could help.

Pixar has an automated telephone answering system, Orum-Moore said, and unless she had a name of a specific person she wanted to speak to, she could not get through. Orum-Moore guessed a name and the computer system transferred her to someone who could help, she said.

Pixar officials listened to Colby’s story and agreed to send someone to Colby’s house the next day with a DVD of "Up," Orum-Moore recalled.

She immediately called Lisa Curtin, who told Colby.

“Do you think you can hang on?” Colby’s mother said.

“I’m ready (to die), but I’m going to wait for the movie,” the girl replied.

THE MOVIE

At about 12:30 p.m. the Pixar employee came to the Curtins’ home with the DVD.

He had a bag of stuffed animals of characters in the movie and a movie poster. He shared some quirky background details of the movie and the group settled in to watch Up.

Colby couldn't see the screen because the pain kept her eyes closed so her mother gave her a play-by-play of the film.

At the end of the film, the mother asked if her daughter enjoyed the movie and Colby nodded yes, Lisa Curtin said.

The employee left after the movie, taking the DVD with him, Lynch said.

“He couldn’t have been nicer,” said Lynch who watched the movie with the family. “His eyes were just welled up.”

After the movie, Colby’s dad, Michael Curtin, who is divorced from Lisa Curtin, came to visit.

Colby died with her mom and dad nearby at 9:20 p.m.

Among the Up memorabilia the employee gave Colby was an “adventure book” – a scrap book the main character’s wife used to chronicle her journeys.

“I’ll have to fill those adventures in for her,” Lisa Curtin said.

Passion

Following your passion can be difficult, especially when you are unsure of what you're passionate about. I had that dilemma not too long ago. After watching an Oprah episode, a long time ago, she talked about finding your passion and going after it. I had to actually think about what my passion was. I thought that staying at home with K was my passion. Sure, it's one thing about my life that absolutely love (most days lol). After all my Sweetie clocks into a job 5 days a week that is his passion, why can't my "job" be that too?

Today I realized that writing is one of my passions. When I was younger I wrote fictional stories. In fact i remember one clearly that I wrote in 6th grade. I happened upon it years and years ago and when I read it I was surprised at how good the plot was and how well I developed the story at 12 years old! Being someone with a degree in journalism, I always thought I was meant to write "nothing but the facts" or maybe an editorial. Right before graduation, I realized that was not my passion at all, it was not something I wanted to pursue in the least (not to mention the pay is well...crappy). I could take crappy pay for a job I loved, but not for one I had no desire to put myself into.

After reading the Twilight Series, I somehow came up with an idea for a story. (no it does not involve vampires or supernatural creatures HA!) I started to write one afternoon and i couldn't stop! In fact, I haven't be able to stop since I started.

This summer has been a busy one for all of us. But I often find myself making notes on my iPhone notepad listing new ideas that pop into my head while doing housework, out shopping, or watching K's swim lessons. And when I do have spare time, I am usually writing, editing or re-reading.

So, if i seem aloof, I'm probably with the characters in my head ;)

Easy Tiramisu Recipe

I posted that I was eating homemade tiramisu on my FB/Twitter. Since several people were interested in how i made it. I thought I would post it.

First I gotta give a shout out to Keran who passed the recipe on to me, which I now give to you ;)

1 pkg (10.75 ozs) frozen pound cake, thawed and cut into 9 slices
3/4 strong brewed coffee (room temperature)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup chocolate flavored syrup
1 pkg (8 ozs) mascarpone cheese or cream cheese, softened
2 cups whipping (heavy) cream
2 bars (1.4 ozs each) chocolate covered toffee candy, chopped

Arrange cake slices in bottom of rectangular baking dish, 11x7x1 1/2inches, cutting cake slices if necessary to cover bottom of dish. Drizzle coffee over cake.

Beat sugar, chocolate syrup, and mascarpone cheese in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add whipping cream. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Spread over cake. Sprinkle with candy.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but no longer than 24 hours to set dessert and blend flavors.

Yield: 12 servings

The dessert will keep for longer than 24 hours. My family of three cannot eat a whole pan in a day, but we can get it polished off in a week for sure ;) It actually tastes better when the coffee can really sink into the cake :)

Eclipse Movie and Twilight Sound Track

Out of curiosity I googled to see if Eclipse from the Twilight Series would be made into a movie. The word I found on a fan site is that it is - view that info here. I have no idea if it's completely true or not, but I sure hope it is! nothing like seeing Edward and Bella jumping from the pages to the big screen.

Oh yeah, and I am using one of the tickers off the website with that news - i gotta be able to countdown to both of them!

Now, the Twilight Soundtrack....um.....you gotta buy it! I ordered a hard copy from Amazon and got it in the mail yesterday. I like EVERY song on it! That is super rare for any soundtrack. And my sweetie digs it as well (although, he was really wanting to hear Mute Math more than anything.) If you click the link above, you will be able to listen to some of the songs. Totally worth it.

Mean I tell ya, just mean!

My sweetie sent me link via IM today. so I click it like any good wife would. This is what I see:

6 Nights in Ireland w/ Airfare w/ Hotel w/ Car for $700

Mean, I tell ya, mean, mean, mean!

When he got home from work I asked, "Why did you send me that link? To say nah-nah-nah-boo-boo guess what you can't do?"

His response was a smile and a laugh. Very funny :P~~~~~~~~

Hmmm....maybe I should book a solo ticket.... ;)

YUM-O: Grilled Steak with Sweet Lime Salad

Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine had this recipe in one of its issues. I have made it twice now and it's a big hit for me and my sweetie.

Click here for the recipe. Make sure you check out my review, I made a few tweeks that i liked better.

One thing I forgot to say is that I forgo the mint. It's expensive and really not necessary. I made it with the first time and without this time - still tasted great!

Do I really need to see Kristen Stewart pumping gas? Um....NO!

Celebrity stalking is one of my pet peeves in life. Although, I cannot say that a trash magazine or two hasn't caught my attention. Mostly the headlines just make me laugh out loud while I am standing in line at the check out.

For instance, I was looking up Kristen Stewart, Bella in Twilight. I was interested in what else she starred in, how old she was etc. I was shocked at how different she looks in real life since she was wearing contacts to make her eyes brown like Bella's (Kristen's are green). Anyway, I ran into a series of pictures of Kristen. She was pumping gas. Yep, so interesting eh? I just did it yesterday, what's the big deal.

As a huge fan of Bono, and member of fansites just for him (yeah, I know I need help) I have seen photos that almost angered me. Some photos were of him walking with his family - by the looks on everyone's face in the photo, they were not wanting their picture taken. I don't want to see that kind of stuff! I like Bono but I really don't want to see him unhappy. The other photo I remember seeing that angered me was of Bono jogging outside his house. Someone commented on how white his legs were. HELLO! He's Irish, you think those legs see sunlight very often? lol!

If i want to see a picture of a celeb, I want to see them when they expect it like at an event where there is a red carpet or posing for a magazine. I don't care if Bono pumps gas or if someone ate cake at lunch - I do that too. We all put our pants on one leg at a time. Just some of us have names that are very widely known - it doesn't mean they know you.

**steps off her soapbox**

Follow Peter Facinelli - Dr. Carlisle Cullen

Peter portrayed Carlisle in the Twilight movie (and in New Moon) and did a damn good job. In fact when I read the book my minds eye immediately pictures Peter's face. I digress....

Here's the whole reason for my blabbering - Peter has a bet going with Rob Defranco for the back of his Twilight chair. He need 500,000 followers before Friday.

So jump on the bandwagon and save the back of the chair for a fan (that's what he's going to do if he wins) - of course us Twilight crazies will appreciate it much more than Rob what's-his-name hehehe ;)

Peter poted a video on YouTube - so yep it really is him. And if you want to join the cause click here.

So hop to it! If you are still reading this you haven't clicked! Chop-Chop!

Bono, The Edge and Spider-man

No, this is not an Photoshoped image, this is the real deal!

If any of you know me and my sweetie, you know that I am freakish about U2 (especially Bono) and my sweetie loves Spider-man. When I first heard that Bono and The Edge were working on this project I pretty much did a double take. This poster represents the two things me and my sweetie pretty much worship.

Oh yeah, and had to throw in this photo of the creators. Notice the hotness coming from the right end of the photo.

Midnight Sun

Stephenie Meyer started to write Twilight from Edward's perspective. I heard this from several people and finally got a title from a good friend of mine. I quickly went to google and found it - to my dismay :(

Meyer apparently had some dumbass get a hold of her manuscript and it was released on the internet at different stages. She has put the writing of this on hold indefinitely (waaaaaah!!!!!)

She does have what she has so far on her website. I DLed and read it from there - unfortunately it only doesn't go beyond the point of Bella seeing Edward in her room for the first time and he tells her he's been coming there for months....of course we miss his perspective of the first kiss, which I thought would be super cool to read.

I am hoping that Meyer will some how recover from this violation. Nice that someone wants to make some $$$$ at the expense of MANY others who would love to read anything "new" in the land of Twilight.

Hello, my name is Sarah and I am a Twilight Addict.

Yes, I admit it. I have been sucked into the land of Twilight and cannot (well, and do not) want to get out. Please do not have an intervention for me - it will be hopeless.

The addiction began when my sweetie and I watched Twilight on BluRay (O....M....G....!). Two days later i was searching our public library for an audio version of the book so I could listen to it on a 6 hour trek to visit family. I got half way through and was thankful I brought my written copy of Twilight with me. I quickly devoured it and ended up stalking Walmart late at night to find the next book in the sagas.

This last week I started to feel like a vampire. Walking around with little sleep. I couldn't leave Edward and Bella not know what would happen next!

And my poor, poor sweetie. He is starting to wonder if I need to be committed for becoming so obsessed with this series. He is starting to understand as I tell him of other 30 something women have the same obsession - I am not alone (thank GOD!)