And What Did I Think?

Eclipse.

First let me say that I think it is a testament to Chris Weitz that this movie didn't blow my socks off as much as I thought it would. Not that I didn't think it was fantastic, I did. I just recall how totally joyous I was that New Moon was SO much better than Twilight. I have since forgiven Catherine Hardwicke because I think she was really up against it making Twilight and did the best (almost) that she could with what she had to work with. It was partly thanks to her that Chris had so much to work with making New Moon.

Eclipse was, as I expected, more dark and creepy. I expected this of David Slade. I think the change of director was the part that didn't sit comfortably for me at first. This movie was like switching gears from the last one. Not better or worse, different. It took me a while to settle in, if you know what I mean.

One thing I noticed is that the actors all seemed very "at home" in their roles. More than ever before I thought. I guess that's normal being that this was the third time around. Or perhaps it was because they filmed this one right after NM so they were at home in the characters.

As a parent I appreciated the attention to detail they paid to Bella's realization and depth of emotion about how much she was going to miss her own parents.

I knew the scary/creepy factor would be there but I wasn't sure if he could nail the romance and capture the feelings you had (for Edward) (ha!) when reading the books. He did. He REALLY did. In several glorious parts I felt myself swooning as I did when I read it. It was... wonderful.

Stand outs for me were -

Jasper. He was finally able to display his stellar acting ability and seeing more of him made the viewer feel at ease about why exactly Alice loves him so much.

The training and fighting scenes. They could have looked stupid and fake but they actually looked pretty awesome.

The tension was believable between Jacob and Edward. The tent scene was pretty fantastic.

My Favorite:

When Bella tries to seduce Edward (this scene was PERFECTION! I do not exaggerate.)

Tonight

In honor of the movie I'll be seeing tonight, or technically early tomorrow morning...

Safety First or well... at least I'm trying

I've had mixed reactions to my decision to pursue roller derby. Most have been along the lines of "That is SO cool! I think you'll be fantastic at it!" some have been more like "Is that really a good idea?" or "Why in the world are you doing that?" and a few have been "What is roller derby?"

I myself have finally made peace with my decision. I no longer feel sick with worry before going to practice, I'm not laying in bed awake thinking about whether I'm being irresponsible to take up a hobby like this.

I've been to several practices now and I'm doing pretty well. I am in love with skating and with all of the challenging things I can make my body do on skates. I was worried about the risk to my body from doing this (which is still a real and logical concern) but I wasn't expecting the improvement. I can actually feel my knees and ankle becoming stronger and more stable because of the muscles that are targeted to do what I'm doing.

As I improve and am trying more difficult things I felt it was especially important to try and protect myself as much as I can. That's why I ordered these (which I think should be a part of every Fresh Meat package)



as well as these for under my kneepads. See. I'm trying to be safe. I am.

I am also going to watch my first bout this weekend. I have no idea what to expect. I'm actually mostly really excited about spending my first night with out Baby B. Yeah!

Oh and by the way. These are my skates, basically.

Worth It

It's that time of year once again. Summer fair time. So please try to ignore the toque Peter is wearing in several of the photos. It wasn't really cold but last year he was under dressed and learned his lesson.

This was Little B's first time riding. Last year she happily rode around in the stroller, content to simply observe the action. This year, not so much. She was, overall, very well behaved until she started to get tired and totally lost it. It brought back traumatic memories of us taking Miss A to the fair at this age. Apparently, we never learned a thing. Ha.

As usual Miss A was fearless. Little B, being small for her age, couldn't go on many rides which was terribly unfortunate because she loved them ALL. She would often be crying on the ride before it began because the anticipation was horrible for her. The Carnie guys kept saying to us "She doesn't want to ride." but we would explain "She just can't wait for it to start!" they would shake their heads at us until they started the ride and she would shut up and start smiling her head off.

We paid an obscene amount for fair food but really, you're missing out on the experience if you don't pay $5 for a corn. dog. Sigh. She only eats one once a year. Also, did you know that blue cotton candy can turn a child's feces the exact same color? Needless to say Miss A and I were both surprised when she hollered at me to join her in the bathroom to see her "Blue Poop!".

Regardless of the cost, I'm always glad we go because they enjoy it so much. Next year should be even better.

Sleeping

Is there anything more beautiful than a sleeping child? Especially when it's your child. Because when they are sleeping they aren't crying. Or whining. Or sassing. Or turning their nose up at the food you made. Or saying "No". They are just quiet. And their small relaxed faces remind you that perhaps it wasn't the worst idea you ever had to go ahead and make babies.










And these moments are pretty good too.