Thanksgiving Weekend

After last year, I was unsure how I would feel about staying up north for Thanksgiving weekend. For me the holiday kicks off my favorite time of year and is filled with family, loved ones, and lots of food. I was not disappointed. Wed. night, Erin and I stayed for the Lighting Ceremony downtown. It consisted of crowds, singing carols, hot apple cider, and running into the newly engaged couple of Sarai and Kevin (again congrats!). Erin pointed out it had a small town feel to it, but I had a great time.

The next day, hubby and I shared Thanksgiving Day with Delia and William. Delia and I split the cooking duties and I believe William enjoyed my stuffing and pumpkin pie. The hubby was happy with a can of whipped cream. Lots of talking, eating, and catching part of the Texas game ensued. I didn't want to admit while sitting in an Arkansas Razorback home that I was secretly cheering for Texas. Game playing began after dinner leading to Delia and I being the 4 time champions of Scene-It.

Friday was decorating day. This is a tradition hubby and I began upon being married. It takes us around 8 hours to decorate the whole apartment. We were in a race with Crystal and Michelle, who had the unfair advantage of staying up all night for Black Friday. The only shopping the hubby and I accomplished was to buy me a new touch screen phone, with a camera and internet. This is a big deal since I could barely text on my very out-dated phone. Hubby was offered the chance of a new phone, but stuck with his dinosaur instead.

Saturday dawned late for us, but in time for the big game. UF vs FSU. Its a state rivalry, though not as crazy as it was in my heyday of the 90s, but that didn't stop me from cheering and yelling at the tv. Yes, I teared up when watching Tebow enter Florida field for the last time. With my new phone, I was able to text Sonia, Michelle, my sis, and niece N to discuss the game. N informed me that she had taught her two year old sis the Gator chomp. So proud of my Gator girls!

Overall an excellent weekend, thanks to friends and loved ones. Thanks for the memories.

Holiday Request

Most of you know I am an extremely religious person, who attends church weekly and reads and prays daily. I don't openly discuss my religious beliefs unless asked, so you know this is something I feel strongly about since I'm posting it on the blog.

My church is focusing on a theory called Advent Conspiracy. The idea is we spend $40 billion on the holidays (which I personally contribute to) between decorations, gifts, food, etc., yet many people in the world are still lacking basic essentials. For our local community, we have decided to have a coat drive. We plan to give up one or more gifts this year and purchase a new coat for someone who can't afford it. Last year, we suffered through several days of temperatures in the negative and many people in our community lacked coats to stay warm. Instead of giving people used coats, our church would like to give them new coats. We are hoping to supply them with a necessity plus some pride in receiving a new item rather than a hand-me-down.

If you would like to participate, please bring me your coat purchases by 12/7 or contact me and I am willing to pick them up as well. If you don't wish to participate, I will think nothing of it. I usually don't push my beliefs, but felt strongly about this cause. Happy Holidays!

New Moon, The Movie

Did you have to ask? Yes, Becky, Erin, and I went opening night to see the latest in the Twilight series, New Moon. Thankfully, someone bought our tickets for us when they were at the box office earlier in the week and were told only 57 tickets were left. We braved teenagers and a long line to wait for our seats and managed to snag some extra seats for the group who had bought our tickets, making us a party of eight. Its Karma!

I've decided not to bullet point the movie as I did with Twilight last year. New Moon is far better than Twilight. It has a bigger budget, the actors are more comfortable in their characters, and the overall suspense of what the audience wants is over. That being said, the movie does have some faults: the score, lack of Volturi (it felt so brief), lack of Charlie (not enough), and the break up scene.

The break up scene between Edward and Bella was wrenching for me to read and I expected it not to play out as well on screen, but they had me sucked in. Then Bella utters something similar to...well this changes everything. It yanked me out of the scene. I thought, no that's a direction of what the character should be feeling, but not stating. So close. The scene where Bella thinks Jacob is breaking up with her, plus the final scene when Bella tells Jacob she would always choose Edward were far more emotional, though I am Team Edward.

I believe the best thing in the movie is Taylor Lautner. Yes, the movie features a lot of eye candy, but come on, he's too young, but he can act. I found myself absorbed in his character when he was on screen. He did a wonderful job with the emotional upheaval that Jacob experiences through the movie. Considering I viewed his character as a bully in the book, I truly felt bad for his character in the movie, and that is all thanks to Taylor's performance.

I know some people will make fun of us Twi-hards, but we had a blast! We have shared the books, the emotions, and personal memories they invoke. The excitement of opening weekend of the first movie, the DVD release, and now the camaraderie and fun of waiting in line for the second movie, and planning for the third, it's a bonding experience. One that I am truly enjoying.

Thanks Gals for a great time! Countdown to June 30 begins!

Mama-To-Be

No, not me. I had to mention Erin's baby shower, though she'll never read it. She looked so blissfully happy, while her friends spoiled her. It's always fun to remind friends how important they are. Can't wait to meet Baby Boy in January. Now us ladies are preparing for our big GNO this weekend.

New York Experience

New York was amazing! Going in the late fall was a smart idea. It was cool, breezy, and smelled of roasted nuts. I'm not kidding, that is the smell I associate with NYC. It was as busy and hectic as I thought, but I didn't expect lines longer than Disney's, the stair experience, dusk at 3:30, the over 100 blocks walked daily, and the possiblity of running into someone I know. While walking along the Brooklyn Bridge, I ran into the Hupes from Tampa. It was hilarious. And why, oh, why did the Yankees win while we were in town. We got trapped in the parade on Friday. We stayed on the red line, so we were a ride away from most places, but usually chose to walk so we could experience the city.

We visited all the tourist sites, such as walking the Brooklyn Bridge both ways, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Castle Clinton, Central Park several times, NY Public Library, Empire State Building, Times Square, and Rockefeller Center. We walked to see the Guggenheim Museum, Grand Central Station, Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, South Street Seaport, Financial District, Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, Trinity Church, St. Patrick Cathedral, Macy's, Chrysler Building and 5th Avenue. Two highly recommended food places are Serendipity and Grimald's Pizzeria. Both were worth the hikes to enjoy them.

Best moments: Hubby hiking to the Empire State Building at night so I could see it lit up. Hubby listening to my lecture at Ellis Island. The tour of the WTC site made me cry. It was so heart rending and emotional. Seeing the Lion King on Broadway. It was phenomenal! Yes, I sang along. My favorite moment was my first ice skating experience and it was at Rockefeller Center. No, I didn't fall and yes, I did let go of the handrail. Loved it!

Geekdom

In the course of a chat the other day, someone asked me what shows I watch regularly. I realized as I started to list them that I am an absolute geek.

My regular viewing habits are:
NCIS (LJG is a real man, and I love the play between the characters)
V (can't wait for it to begin)
Lost (counting down to January)
Vampire Diaries (continuing the obsession)
Flash Forward (The story has me hooked)
Bones (David B, nothing more needs to be said)
Fringe (love JJ Abrams work, except I'm upset about the death of a main character)
Smallville (I've watched since the 1st ep, it gets better each season)
Dollhouse (I bow to Joss Whedon and his genius, plus Tahmoh Penikett from BSG)

So tell me if you watch any of these shows, maybe we can start a dialogue. Or share your guilty pleasures.