Book/Movies. Books to Movies...

Okay, so I have some thoughts to share.
And---spoilers, only because I have thoughts about these things.

We'll start with this book...


I read this years ago. When it was new.
I got caught up in it---thought it was a page turner, and couldn't wait to know the whole story. My mom---not so much. She wasn't that into it.

Now, it's been some years since I read it, and to be perfectly honest, I couldn't remember the ending. So....when I saw the movie in the Video on Demand listings, I decided to give it a whirl.



So, perhaps the movie has a different ending than the book. Like I mentioned, I can't remember.

Something in ME has changed. I have a whole new perspective on this story. I am now the mother to a little boy.
Perhaps in the book, you can shut out the fact that a grown-ass woman is intimately involved with a 15 year old child---but in the movie---there it is. Right there. On the screen. Everything about it felt odd, and wrong, and inappropriate, and sad, and sick. I just wanted to slap & shake Kate Winslet! {not that she did a bad job acting, because the acting was great}....

I just think---if I could change ONE THING about that whole story, I would make the boy 18 or 19 years old. I would just change that one thing & I think I would feel better about the whole thing.

And another thing....
My Sister's Keeper.
Seen the movie? I haven't. I read the book:

So...if you haven't read the book, I'm warning you---spoilers here in my opinions.
In the end---as parents, you let a person with a KNOWN SEIZURE disorder drive your child around!? As a parent, I just couldn't. I just couldn't risk it. My personal thoughts on it here. Not trying to discriminate against people with seizure disorders...I'm just sayin'....I wouldn't knowingly let Gage ride in a car being driven by someone who has seizures like that.

And....so, Anna's been the victim, and now she's on life support, etc.
Didn't take them long to pull the plug. I'm just sayin'. Countless hours were spent pouring energy & soul into Kate, and they all fought, fought, fought for her to live. Poor Anna. "Oh, she's done. Pull the plug. Harvest her organs, and do it now!"
Just all seemed a little....quick to me.


AAAAND: I hear that the movie ends differently than the book. I hear that they don't kill Anna in the end of the movie.
Hmmmmm.....

Joe's Jeans.

Okay, Joe's Jeans---your jeans may be awesome...but what in the world does THIS ad have to do with jeans?

For real?


Okay...Okay....so the marketing gimmick of getting people to talk about the ad---well, clearly I'm bloggin' about it.
So, Joe's Jeans: send me some free jeans for the advertising I'm doing for you!
(I'm just sayin'....)

The 4th...part 3

So, after our nap, we got ready to go to...Lone Star Park for the horse races & fireworks!

I got some new sunglasses at the Bass Pro Shop, and when I put them on....
...well, let's just say that the family burst into song:
"Willy Wonka,
Willy Wonka,
He's the premier
chocolatier!"

I don't think they were quite that bad....large, but not Willy Wonka bad!
Whatever. They got the job done. I could wear my contacts and not have super-sensitive eyes from all the sunlight. They worked. That's what I needed.

Anyway.
Nathan, Tera, & Aubri went with us to the horse races. Leslie & her crew were going out to Burleson with family, so it was just us 2 Mom-Scouts & our fams.
It was such a good time! {you know, minus the 800 degree heat!}










The kids got so hot, that we let them use the ice water in the cooler as their own personal wading pool.


We were there from about 4:30 to...8 or so. I think.
We didn't last long enough for the fireworks. It was hot. The races only go every 20 minutes or so...the downtime in between races is quite loooooong when you are 3 years old. So, three ice creams later, Gage was ready to go. And yes---it was hot. I let my kid eat 3 ice creams.








Gage got a little testy with Aubri back at our house after we left the races. Not wanting to share...you know the drill. But, later, when I was rocking him before bed {don't judge me. Yes, I still rock my almost 4 year old, and I'll do it as long as he lets me!}, I asked him about his favorite part of the day, and he said that his favorite part of the day was playing with Aubri.
She beat out horses, horse races, golf cart races, shooting guns at the Bass Pro Shop, blue snow-cones, corny dogs, & 3 ice creams! Now THAT's a friend!

Coming soon: a video clip from Gage & Daddy cheering on the horses at the horse races! Gage's little voice is so cute! "Go Horsey! Go! Go! Go!" So cute!

The 4th....part 2.

So, after the golf cart parade, we had corny dogs at my mother in law's.
:)

Then, we headed over to the Bass Pro Shop.
Hello. Can I get a boat, please?



If you have one of these stores near you---stop. park. go in. It's sooooo much fun!

Gage got a blue snow-cone outside.
We looked at fish, and boats {yes, I really want a boat. I'm just sayin'...}, and all kinds of other stuff.


They have a white catfish. How cool is that?





And they had a shooting game that Gage & Daddy had fun playing...




Well, it's probably a good thing that we didn't have a car with a hitch on it, or I would have signed on the dotted line & left with a boat. I'm just sayin'! The lake is right there...you can see out the window & look at all of these people in their boats having fun in the sun. It was difficult to resist.... But, we did.

Went home. Got our evening plans made, and took a nap.
Part 3 coming soon....

The 4th........part 1.

Saturday morning, on July 4th, we had our annual trip to see the golf cart parade out in my in-law's neighborhood where Hubby grew up.

Good times.
Gage LOVES it.
Although you can't tell by these photos. He was in NO MOOD for Mommy's camera first thing in the morning.



I assure you---his mood quickly improved.















Even Obama made it to the parade...we weren't quite sure he'd accept the invitation...




After that, golf cart races over to this one area to meet the horses after the parade. Good times! Gage even got to hold the rope for one of the horses. He felt like such a cowboy!
:)


So, there is a part 2 coming, and possibly a part 3 to detail the events of our super-busy 4th! It just all depends on how much I can cover in part 2!

:)

Friday Night @ Kaboom-Town!

*******************************************************
So, I worked Friday, but after work, we got a jump start on the 4th of July Festivities. We headed out to Addison's Kaboom-Town.


:)
It was crowded! But the weather wasn't tooooo bad. There was a light breeze, so that was nice.

They had a little kid area set up with rides. Cool, right? The prices: ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? So, the tickets were $1 each. Each ride cost $2 or $3. Yuck. I was not a fan of the kiddie ride pricing!

So...the first ride---well, sadly, we have no pictures. It was a little mini-roller-coaster. I was going to ride with Gage. Got up there, gave them SIX tickets. "No, Miss. You're too big." {I should have said, "Are you calling me 'fat'????!!!!", but I didn't.} So, I convinced Gage to ride alone. That didn't last long. They stopped the ride to let my child off---and then they started it again to let the other kiddos finish out their turn.

We moved to something a bit more calm....


To be perfectly honest, Gage wasn't really into this either! {Lucky us! Now we don't have to drop a small fortune for Gage to ride 20 different things!} He smiled for the picture, but that was about it...

Gage enjoyed showing us how strong he is, and winning an inflatable toy {which of course he has banged all over the house since then....}



They had planes flying overhead. We loved it. We've got to take this little guy to an air show!




And then---after dark, the planes put on a light show of their own.


...but I need to back up on the time-line a bit...
We left the big crowded area & went to grab a spot to sit & wait for the fireworks.
The boys ate a burger; I had a hot dog. Gage got a snow-cone.


That was fun for a little bit...but the crowd was encroaching on our space. The ants were making their way onto our blanket, which was not nearly big enough for all three of us {in my mind, the blanket was so much larger when I grabbed it to take with us for the fireworks. When we unfolded it---I was unpleasantly surprised. Hubby was right when he told me that it wouldn't be big enough. THERE. I SAID IT. Hubby was right. It was bound to happen eventually, right?}

So...we asked Gage if he wanted to go back by the car to watch the fireworks. No. Of course not.
So, we bribed him with a $5 light up sword thing.

And---we sat. And waited. And waited.



And, Gage could not have cared any less about the fireworks. He was so preoccupied with the hotel that was back to our left. As we were waiting for the fireworks, there was a little boy up in the hotel looking out one of the windows. He had a light up sword too. So, Gage & the little boy were having some sort of sword fight about 300 yards apart from their opponent. When the fireworks finally started, Gage was preoccupied with the people in the hotel windows, and he was convinced that they were all looking at him with his light up sword. {Yes, Gage, the world truly does revolve around you, doesn't it? Heaven forbid they be looking at the fireworks in the sky! Silly goose!}






So, the fireworks were great. I made the comment that I thought the whole 'fireworks to music' was stupid, and never really seemed to match up...until they played "You Raise Me Up" which happens to be one of my favorite songs, and then the fireworks were going too. It was just great! I totally ate my words with 'fireworks to music' thing being stupid. Suddenly, I loved it! So, there you go...

The traffic leaving was unreal! ...but, expected.
We'll definitely do it again....but next time---we'll have a bigger blanket, a cooler, probably get there earlier....or later & just watch the fireworks! I guess we'll see next year!

Happy 4th!

So much to post, so little time!

So, last night after work: Kaboom-Town in Addison.
This morning: annual watching of the golf-cart parade at the In-Laws.
After that: boat shopping at Bass Pro Shop. {no, we didn't get a boat today...but I want one!}
Tonight: fun & fireworks!

So, Happy 4th, and I'll post with pics soon!!!!

Gage....You Make Me Laugh....

Sweet Child of Mine----you make me laugh so much.
You bring me more joy than you'll ever know!
...even if you are kind of a smart-ass at times.

Conversation yesterday...in the car, going to Memaw's because Mommy had an interview for an upcoming internship....
Mommy: "Well, do you think they'll like me?"
Gage: "If they don't, you can just go home and cry like a whiney baby."
Mommy: "But they might like me! What do I do if they like me?"
Gage: "Then you have to just stay there and play with them." {pause} "It's not rocket science!"

Thanks, dear.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy birthday to everyone celebrating a birthday today....but mostly, HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY, AUBRI!

(okay, not that she reads my blog...but her mommy does!)

Happy: One Week Ago

One week ago....
...Gage & I loaded up in the car, and made a road trip to my Aunt Wanda's house. She's a shitzu breeder.

We got this little love muffin!
His name is Happy, and he's my mother-in-law's new little lap dog.



Below: Gage, my Aunt Wanda, & Happy.


Happy rode in Gage's lap almost the whole way home....



Just look at my mother-in-law...She's so in love!



And...Gage is in love too.




After all that playing, they were both pretty tuckered out!

Mommy's Special...but she's not THAT special.

So...it all started with this song...

I am special
I am special

Don't you see?
Don't you see?

Someone very special.
Someone very special.

Because God made me.
God made me.

Gage: "Well, God didn't make ME."
Mommy: "Yes he did."
Gage: "NO! You made me in your tummy!"
Mommy: "Well..." {think fast Mom! How do you explain all this to your 3 year old!?}
Gage: "Are YOU GOD?"
Mommy: "Well, no..."

And then we proceeded to have a conversation about how yes, I did grow Gage in my tummy, but only after we wished, hoped, and prayed for a baby. And God gave Gage to us as a blessing.

I don't know how much he understood or retained....but the conversation had NOTHING to do with sex {thank goodness!} and ended with Gage saying "YOU'RE NOT GOD!"

...and there you have it, folks.

Father's Day...2009

Well, we woke up at the hotel.
Hubby was chomping at the bits to go get Gage, who spent the night with his mom.
So, we headed to her house.
We loaded up on the golf cart & headed to their neighborhood pool.
:)









After that...lunch at Snuffer's {gotta love the huuuuuuge salads & loaded cheese fries!}, and home for a nice loooooong nap!

6/20: Dad's Wedding....

Here are some pics from last Saturday....

Before the wedding...








Heading to the wedding....



At the wedding & reception...













After the wedding...
...we went to a restaurant in downtown Dallas. You know I love food. You know I love dining out. You know I'll give you a review.....



I don't normally like sushi. I prefer my meat cooked. I can't get past the thought of uncooked meat/fish/whatever. I have tried sushi several times now. Not for me. The taste of the seaweed wrapper stuff...not for me.
Buuuutttttt-----

They have veggie sushi that doesn't have seaweed in it. It's wrapped in cucumber & that sticky sushi rice {seriously, forgive my inadequate description of sushi & sushi ingredients}.



The restaurant has a rooftop deck/patio, pool, hot tub, misting system. Nice hang out area....but I gotta say---we were a little too early for the late-night crowd, and for some reason---I just picture the rooftop as "makeout-central" late at night, ya know? Really, is there enough chlorine in the world to make me get in that hot tub? No, no there isn't. I'm just sayin'.....

But, we had a lot of fun there, and a lot of great food!
The group that went out to Fuse was: the bride & groom, Hubby & myself, and Miguel & Jennifer (Miguel is Dad's friend, and Jennifer is his wife. They're a ton of fun!)







So....after that....we called it a night. We headed back to the Ritz (Thank you, Daddy!) for the night....and I ended my day in a rose-petal-filled bathtub. It was fabulous....

The Wedding....Rehearsal Dinner....

This post will mostly be pictures.

So, my dad & his 24 year old bride got married.

Rehearsal Dinner....

Allen & I were posing for the camera...


Me & Hubby....


This is my Gammy! Isn't she so cute?


Hubby made a toast....






The menu was delicious. As ALWAYS. Hattie's is one of my favorite restaurants ever. It's in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas. I had fabulous Mimosas, made with freshly squeezed orange juice, yummy tomato bisque with mini grilled cheese, pecan crusted catfish, and finally---banana almond bread pudding. The entire meal was just delicious. Like I mentioned---it always is!
:)