May 31, 2009

New Moon Trailer

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Oh. My. Gosh.  I’m squeeing like a little girl on her birthday who just received that oh so wanted pony!

So many emotions are going through me as I watch this trailer (over and over). First, I’m elated because another one of my favorite books is coming to life.  I know there’s a chance the finished version will totally disappoint me, but I don’t care at this moment in time.  Second, Edward looked so sad as he left Bella; I wanted to cry.  Third, I’m ecstatic about Jacob’s wolf.  Did you see how real he looked after he turned into a werewolf?  He doesn’t look like Professor Lupin’s crappy werewolf form in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azakaban!  Fourth, I feel antsy.  Why can’t it be November yet?  And, I want to reread the Twilight Saga now instead of after reading a few other books first.

Filed Under: Movies, Trailers, Twilight · 5 Comments
May 28, 2009

Photos from the New Moon Movie

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I have to share something a friend showed me on youtube.  If you’ve read New Moon, you’ll recognize this photo montage.  It’s awesome!

This is my favorite scene from the book and I think this looks very promising! Now that I’m starting to see various pictures from the set and with the release of the phenomenal movie poster, I’m starting to get really excited for the movie this November.  The only thing we need now, other than the movie itself, is the trailer!

Even with the building excitement, I’m still a little leery.  Movies are never as good as the books they’re made from.  And, as I’ve said before, I just really hope the new director doesn’t disappoint me, especially in terms of Edward’s sparkling since that was my major disappointment with the Twilight movie.  I also hope the wolves look realistic, unlike Professor Lupin’s werewolf form in the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie.  I guess we’ll see in November, or maybe even with the trailer.

PS–The trailer’s scheduled to be released during the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday.

Filed Under: Movies, Twilight · 8 Comments
May 28, 2009

Driver’s License Woes

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As I stated in the post A Busy Day, my driver’s license expired this year so I needed to get a new one.  When you get a new driver’s license in Utah, you don’t actually get your driver’s license until a few weeks later.  You’re given a temporary until the new one is mailed to you.

After I got my temporary, I realized I had put the wrong zip code.  Provo has six zip codes and Corey and I lived in our old zip code for seven years so I wrote it down as part of my address.  I figured it wouldn’t make that big of a difference since Provo is mostly on the grid system and there’s no way for my address to be anywhere else in Provo.

I was correct and received my new license this past weekend.  However, as I was looking at my license and admiring my awesome picture, I realized not only had I messed up the zip code, I had also inverted the last two digits of our house number. It’s a miracle my license got to me!

For some reason, I’ve had the hardest time with our new address.  I can’t keep the zip code straight and I always mess up our house number by adding another block or inverting the last two digits.  Luckily, I remember our street address without problem.  Otherwise, I don’t think I would’ve ever got my license!

Anyway, at this point, I’m not sure if I have to get another license. Or, if I can just let the DMV know I inverted our house number and messed up the zip code so they can change it in their system.  One of these days, I’ll know my address without difficulty!

Filed Under: Vents · 3 Comments
May 27, 2009

Review: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

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Title: The Goose Girl
Author: Shannon Hale
Series: Books of Bayern #1
Genre: Fantasy (YA)
Buy on Amazon · Add to Shelfari · Add to Goodreads

She can whisper to horses and communicate with birds, but the crown princess Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place?

Get ready for a fine adventure tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The engaging plot can certainly carry the tale, but Hale’s likable, introspective heroine makes this also a book about courage and justice in the face of overwhelming odds. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm.

The Goose Girl is a retelling of the fairy tale written by the Brothers Grimm.  I wasn’t as familiar with this story as I was with other Brothers Grimm works so I looked up information about the original fairy tale because I wanted to know more about it.  I was surprised to see how much Shannon followed the original telling.  I really liked her twist on the events, aspects of the setting, portrayal of the characters, and additions to make the story more fun and fantastical.

This is the first book I’ve ever read written by Shannon Hale. I had heard from several people that her books are really good so I wanted to give her a try.  And, since I knew she’d be in town, I decided to get the book so I could get it signed.

I really enjoyed The Goose Girl.  Even though I wasn’t immediately captivated by the story, I found it enjoyable and I love Shannon’s way with words.  In an interview written in the back of Enna Burning, the second book in the Books of Bayern series, Shannon describes exactly the way I felt about her writing in The Goose Girl:

I’m so impressed with writers who grip the reader from the very beginning, but I can’t seem to do it.  I’m cursed to have to build a story slowly, it seems.  And I can’t do a book in two or three drafts as some do, but a minimum of a dozen full rewrites…. I love trying to find just the right words, just the right way to say something.

I thought she did an excellent job at “find[ing] just the right words, just the right way to say something.”  She’s definitely a master wordsmith and I’m glad I gave her writing a try.  I want to read her other books and I’m especially excited to read Enna Burning to see how the story progresses.

Filed Under: Book Reviews ·  Tagged: , , · 4 Comments
May 20, 2009

Still Trucking Along

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I just realized I haven’t posted an update on my weight loss since April 28.  I think it’s about time I post an update, don’t you?

I’m still trucking along. At this point, I’ve lost 18.4 pounds total so I’m a little over six pounds shy of reaching my first major benchmark.  Woo hoo! Speaking of reaching my benchmark, I’ve finally decided what I’m going to do as a reward (for this one at least).  I’m going to get a new bicycle.  My current bike is old and rusty.  The tires need to be replaced and so do the gears.  Instead of putting money into fixing it up, I’m just going to get a brand new one!  I’m really excited as I love to ride my bike.  Plus, it’ll help with the exercise part of this whole healthy lifestyle thing I’m trying to do.

I’m doing pretty good at keeping within my calorie limit each day.  Every now and then, I go a little over, but as long as the average for the week stays under my limit, I’m okay.  I also try to eat low-fat foods because even if you eat lower calories and still have a high fat intake, you won’t lose as much weight.

I’ve noticed I’m starting to crave certain foods again.  For example, if Corey gets fries, whether they be delicious fries or nasty fries like the ones you get at Arby’s, I just want to stuff my face with them.  I don’t, but I really want to.  I’m having a hard time resisting pizza as well, which is a first since I normally don’t like pizza unless it’s homemade by my friends Ali or Kayla.  (I’m also drawn to donuts and breadsticks.)  Normally, this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but as some of you know, I’m married to a pizzaholic.  He’s ordered breadsticks the last few times with his pizza and he even bought a dozen Krispy Kremes in the recent past. I did partake of those evil foods since it’s okay to eat junk food every now and then.  I just did it in moderation, which I was really proud of myself for since moderation is the key to all things and something I’m not very good at.  On Monday, however, I told Corey I need him to stop ordering pizza and buying donuts because it’s becoming too hard to resist eating them and I just don’t want the temptation around me anymore.  He agreed because he loves me and he wants to start eating more healthy too.

The exercise is still a come and go thing.  I do really well for a while and then I stagger to a stop for a little bit.  I guess the hardest thing for me with exercising is getting up early to do it since I don’t like to do it when I get home from work.  I just have such a hard time sleeping well because I can’t fall asleep and our mattress is so uncomfortable I’ve resorted to sleeping on our air mattress full-time now. It’s sad when an air mattress is more comfortable than a regular mattress. We’re holding out on buying a new one because we really want an Intelli-Gel mattress.  They’re the most comfortable mattresses we’ve tried.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to afford the mattress soon so Corey and I can resume sleeping in the same bed, even if it’s still with separate blankets.

I know I just need to get up.  If I do, I’ll be more tired at night and I’ll probably be able to fall asleep faster.  It’s just a matter of convincing my subconscious this is the right course of action. I’m just glad I haven’t given up with exercise completely since some is better than none.  I just need to get to the “more is even better” mindset.

Filed Under: Getting Healthy, Weight Loss · 7 Comments
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