Team Riley, Anyone?

I think I may become a Twi-Hard after all.... nah, okay, maybe not. But I do have to say that I am SO GLAD that my friend dragged me out to see Eclipse. It did not disappoint! My adrenaline is still pumping. It is by far the best movie in the series, so far. There was action, romance and an intense love triangle. And Edward really stepped it up in this movie. I have to say, he gave Jake a run for his money. In fact, I'm a little torn right now. Edward had some really endearing moments. In fact, I may have even changed teams. To Team Riley, that is. HOLY MOLY. All I have to say is, He can hunt me down anytime!!

I don't want to give away too much information, so I'll leave it at this... if you haven't seen the movie, go watch it. My friend's husband came with us, and even he liked it. Let me know what you think.... Have you seen it? Do you plan to? etc. etc. etc.

See you soon... and good-night now (it's getting crazy late... or early?)!

Countdown to Eclipse.....

I wouldn't exactly call myself a "Twi-hard", still I am going to the Premier of the Eclipse film tomorrow night. Yes, I will be up in the middle of the night with hordes of vampire-thirsty women and teenagers, many of them dressed to resemble their favorite characters. I figure I'm participating in an historic event, right? In fact, I've never seen anything quite like the Twilight Fever. It's CRAZY. Of course, I wouldn't miss it for anything. Not just because I enjoyed the books, of course, but because one of my best friends is definitely a Twi-Hard and I don't want to be left out of the fun! Plus, who's going to say no to a girls' night out?

Today, I saw an article about Twilight's effect on marriages. People (and not just women) are actually choosing fictional characters over their real-life, warm-bodied HUMAN spouses. WOW! I always give my friend a hard time for her infatuation, but at least she's not this bad, I hope. Now, don't get me wrong, I get into a good book and little fantasy just like anyone else, but I wouldn't necessarily trade my real life for it (well, except for when I'm reading, that is). In fact, I think it's just a little creepy how intense this teen-age relationship is. Here's hoping my daughters are never this obsessed over a boy!!

So, which way do you swing? Are you on Team Jacob or Team Edward? After the last movie, I'm definitely leaning towards Jake. But, I'll let you know how I feel after Eclipse. Stay tuned.

For those of you who care, here's a thrilling clip from the movie. Oooh, it looks like it's gonna be so good!

Our Soldiers' Wives.... True Heroes

Today I want to pay tribute to all the wives and moms out there who hold things together while their husbands go off to war. My hat is off to you strong women.

My brother-in-law left to begin a one-year tour-of-duty in Iraq last night. The night before we all got together for a BBQ and a chance to say goodbye for a season. As I watched my sister-in-law, though, I could see all of the anxiety in her face. And my heart breaks for her and her children. I can't imagine how hard it would be to be in her shoes. Not only for the daily worry and not knowing what is going on in her husband's life, but having to do this crazy, sweet and totally hard thing called parenthood all by herself. Not having her partner there to lean on when she's had a very long, rough day. I know that I have those days frequently and I've got help... every day.

I find myself wishing I could do more for my sister-in-law.To somehow make things a bit easier, if possible. I plan on taking her kids one day each week, but I wonder if there's anything else I should or could be doing. Any suggestions?

Is Business Dead in Eagle Mountain?

Yum-Yum and I decided to try a new restaurant last night. We chose one in Eagle Mountain, for a couple of reasons: 1. my neighbor had just been raving about the food and 2. it's close enough that I could leave Show-Off to babysit.

We went to China Express in the Ranches and I was really excited. We haven't had Chinese food in a while and my friend's descriptions left my mouth watering. I'm pretty picky about Chinese food because I come from California, where there's lots of diversity and lots of real Chinese people (as opposed to fake ones... thanks Shannon, that's a great line!).

There was one person waiting for his take-out when we got there and one other person came as we were leaving, again for take-out. Did I mention that it was a Friday night? Needless to say, it was pretty slow.

And that got me thinking. If we want businesses to come to Eagle Mountain (and it seems that we do, since business is a common platform for our local politicians), then we need to make a greater effort to patronize the ones who are here. I'm sorry, but empty stores and restaurants aren't very good advertisements. Think about it from a business perspective. Would you open a bricks-and-mortar business here?

That being said, nobody's going to patronize something unless the offerings are good. I wasn't as impressed with China Express as my husband was. I got the sesame chicken and he got the Mongolian beef. The chicken was a bit sweeter than sesame chicken I've had in the past and the chicken tasted old and dry. The fact that the food was done super fast made me think that maybe they just re-heated some leftovers. I was super hungry though, and it was "good enough". (If it makes any difference, Shannon loves it.) My husband's dish was more flavorful, with thin strips of beef, carrots, onions, cucumbers and a few chili peppers. We also ordered pot stickers and they were pretty good.

I thought the restaurant was a little pricey, although they have some excellent lunch deals. You can get your choice of 26 different main dishes served with 2 pot stickers and ham fried rice for $5.50 or $5.75. Not bad. Maybe I'll go back and try something else. I recommend you check it out... for lunch, that is. It's served between 11 AM and 3 PM.

What type of businesses would you like to see in Eagle Mountain?

My pajamas are ruining my life

I really love my pajamas. If I could, I think I would stay in them all day. In fact, I often do. I do try to get dressed at least before my husband comes home. (I need to at least look like I've been busy. Shhhhh... Let's just let that be our little secret.) It turns out, though, that my pajamas are doing more harm than good, regardless of how comfortable they are.

At the blogging conference I went to, I met a woman named Marie Ricks and I got to have a one-on-one mini session with her. My friend Liz, from Family Scratch, decided to tell Marie all of my deepest darkest secrets... ok maybe not that dark.... and it turns out that Marie had a lot of really good answers for me.

One of my biggest problems is organizing my time and being consistent (with housework and real work). And guess what she told me? ......

I need to give up my PAJAMAS.
At least when I get up in the morning, that is.

It was as if she had been following me around in secret. I mean, how does SHE know about my little issue? But she was right. It turns out that I'm not a bad housekeeper at all - it's the pajamas. I'm not overweight - it's the pajamas. I'm not a grouchy mom - that's right, it's the pajamas. Chocolate, caffeine, daytime television - you got it.... PAJAMAS. They're ruining my life!!!

Since I've started getting ready for the day when I first wake up, it has made a world of difference. I'm a nicer mom (don't ask my kids, though, just take my word for it), my paychecks have gotten bigger, my sex life has improved (again, just take my word for it) and YES, my house is clean(er).

And here's the bonus: I don't have to be embarrassed when my neighbors stop by and see me looking like this:

(the hat is to cover up my messy hair and the boots are because my feet were cold)

FYI: this picture was staged... but, I really did answer the door in an outfit just like this - only without the hat and with messier hair - a couple of weeks before my run-in with Marie... and I was COMPLETELY embarrassed

Farewell to an old Friend

Yum-yum and I met Rusti shortly before we were married. We all became instant friends, and she has been a presence in our lives ever since then. For 14 years, she has been there for us through all the good times and the bad. She was there when I was sick and puking through labor pains with Mr. Show-Off and she was there when Mr. Show-Off came home. Rusti was there for us when we decided to make the long journey to move to Utah, and for our all of our heart-felt hellos and good-byes with the family we left behind. She carried us when we were learning how to adjust to each new child and what it meant to go from one to two and two to three and three to four. Sure, there have been seasons of our life when we didn't call on her as often. But, Rusti, we came to learn, was among our most reliable friends. We always knew we could count on her. When our luck was down she was there. Oh, we've done our share for Rusti too. We've helped her through some illnesses, given her money when needed and we've come to love her in the process. We will truly miss Rusti. She was laid to rest this afternoon, the first day of June, 2010. May she rest in peace.



In honor of all that she done for us, we have decided to donate Rusti's organs, so that she may save little Civics like her from a similar fate. Rusti's final resting place? A junkyard in Orem. May her caretakers know what a loyal friend she was and treat her remains accordingly. So long, good friend.

P.S. For those of you who are wondering: Yum-Yum crashed the car last Thursday... into another car. Claim #3 in less than 6 months means that we are also mourning the loss of good insurance rates.

Finding my voice: Soul Searching at the Blogging Conference

I'm brand new to the world of blogging, but my friend Liz talked me into going to a blogging conference over the weekend anyway. I never imagined how much of an impact something like this would have on me. I thought I'd walk away feeling more motivated than ever, but instead I left with lots of questions ... that no "expert" could answer for me....

Is blogging a right fit for me?
Do I really have the time to give to it anyway?
Do I really even care about all this beauty stuff? (I have a beauty blog.)
What do I have to offer?
How do I write in my own voice? (I'm a journalistic writer ... ie. No Voice.)
What is my voice anyways?

Hence, the start of this blog. I've realized, as I've looked at other beauty blogs, that I'm not as passionate about beauty products as other beauty bloggers. I really don't care about trying every single nail polish and lip gloss imaginable. I don't HAVE to have the latest and greatest and be in on the most current trends. I do care about looking my best and I do know a lot about how beauty products work (thanks to my day job as a freelance writer). I still enjoy that much. So, I will continue my beauty, but I'm not going to try to be something that I'm not. Hopefully other people will be interested in my take on beauty.

So, as you can imagine, I don't follow a lot of beauty blogs. I'm more attracted to personal blogs. I'm a PEOPLE- PERSON. That is my passion, if it can truly be counted as such. So, this here is my people-person blog. My rants on my daily experiences and encounters and what I've learned from them. Welcome to my blog... I hope you enjoy the journey.