Obsession, Christmas lights & too much cocoa?

So it's nearly Christmas, and to all those of you who haven't received our family card yet - it is coming - I'll try & get those out tomorrow, lol - 8 days before Christmas. Typical Joe style!

Does anyone think it's weird that my daughter whose 2 is almost obsessed with the movie "Coraline"? She will literally watch this 3 or 4 times a day, if I let her. She's always asking to watch it, gets ticked at the other kids if they turn the t.v on and don't start playing her DVD, quotes lines from it & will have a heart attack if she can't find the DVD cover to look at in her wanderings during the day.
Have you seen the movie? It's scary as all heck! Especially at the end when the belle dame has shown her true colors & is chasing her up the web, and then screaming as she's running back up the web tunnel! Yet, she can watch it with big, round eyes - but those eyes are absolutely fearless. She gets more "Yeah! Run, run" type of attitude to it. She does enjoy more age appropiate movies & cartoons - but I wonder about this particular one, which scared the living crap out of my 6 year old (who now refuses to watch the "scary" parts!) Well, who knows - hopefully it will be another 'phase' that ends ... reasonably soon. Preferably next week ;)

Today was pretty uneventful. I was supposed to work, but the door to this gorgeous house that I sometimes get to clean was gone, so the trip out was a waste (I think I'll get paid for time, but still. A long drive for nothing) Tonight we were going to go back, but my friends 2 year old took a swan dive off the kitchen counter at her house & was acting lethargic enough to worry her mother into taking her to the Instacare (as every mother now reading is like "yep - been there. Woulda done that too" is now thinking)
Thankfully she was just fine.

Then my wonderful husband decided to hook up the house lights, and as he got to pick the color this year, he was very excited about it. He also managed to finish his "guys hangout pad" in his part of the garage (which Katherine was nice enough to say that my side was cleaner than his, haha Craig!) so we lost the t.v out of the dining room, which I only allowed (or at least didn't argue my piece) because he claims that way he will actually get those 'projects' done that he needs too, because he'll be able to watch his History channel, Glenn Beck / Fox News and other 'guy' type programs while doing his thing. So for a few weeks, I'll be pacified.

Last day of school tomorrow! That's a double edged sword isn't it? It's fabulous to not have to do hair, pick clothes out, bundle kids up & all that, but then there is the problem of possible 'cabin fever', arguing & just general sibling stuff that goes on when they're here & its 8 hours more a day. Hopefully the excitement of Kris Kringle will be enough to wipe those habits out, at least for a few extra days!
Speaking of the jolly fat man, my shopping is nearly done!! I've won a bunch of giveaways (for which I am eternally grateful. Getting something for nothing is always such a bonus - but around Christmas time, it;s almost a high!) I only have a few more little things (and one big thing for Q, who was horribly run over, braved it out, deserves something special, then lost his cat.) So more work tomorrow.
I also need to get in to see my doctor as my back has decided to ache whenever I'm sitting down, standing up, walking or even thinking about it. So that's been a blast! There;s probably not much that can be done about it though, which bites, I'm just hoping it isn't a "Lupus" thing.

Well, everyone here has hit the hay, I had to finish up the 'Hot Chocolate/Peppermint" jars that we're giving to neighbors & family for Christmas this year, although the kids helped me when I was measuring out the HC, so I'm alittle concerned that the 'taste' might be off? So if you get one that is a bit on the 'grit your teeth to drink it' side, I apologize. That most likely was one where G and Q argued over who had put the last HC in the last jar and who had done the powered milk, & possibly slipped more in to spite the other. (I caught them doing this at least twice, and remedied it as best I could, but you never know)
So I'll hit the hay too, but a big Merry Christmas to all those who I know & love, and those who I don't!

 (Also, as per reading Jens blog, I learnt that I need to give props to where I got my images from, although I don't know if this applies to ones that are 'free for all'. However - just in case, & not wanting to be one of "those" people, as per her post, these images were uploaded from Photobucket, and here are the links Coraline, Merry Christmas - and thank you to those people who allowed me to use them!)

New Moon update

Ok, so I took longer than I thought I would, a few things came up here at home so I wasn't able to do this before now. By now, I'm sure most of you have already seen 'New Moon' and have formed your own opinions on it, I had the chance to see the midnight showing of it (with the free tees, looooong line, and Mary Kay in the Lobby pushing their new line of "Bella", "Jacob" and "Edward") which I personally think is going alittle far in regards to 'Twilight mania'. (Although 'Bella' did smell nice)
Well!
I have to say, I thought the director in this movie did really well at making Bella appear beautiful. I'm not too much of a Kristin Stewart fan (don't get me wrong, she IS talented, and has her own unique brand of acting style) but she isn't, in my eyes at least, gorgeous. She has a square chin, which is prominent and in the movie that wasn't the main focus every time she appeared onscreen. She looked amazing!
When Jacob first appears onscreen, of course there were the catcalls and whistles (he did look buff, I'll give him that) I think his acting as Jacob is what sets him apart. He has the very essence of the character down pat! And good looks aside, he's fabulous as Jacob.
The movie dragged in a few places, BUT - it stayed true to the book, hence, it HAD to drag in those places, so the audience could get a feel for the intensity of the moment.
Although, in all fairness, I think it only drags if you've read the book and understand already the relationships and how they play out. And I had my favorite 'couples' too. As in, the whole time I read 'New Moon' I thought - "No, no. She's meant to be with Edward - Jacobs nice. But she's EDWARDS soulmate, not his!" So of course., knowing what's going to happen can be a downfall and take some of the pleasure out of the movie.
I thought Chris Weitz (director) did a fabulous job at getting across to viewers the relationship between Bella and Edward, in that - when he leaves, she literally almost dies. (Doesn't that just k you?? I wish for a love that intense!) They're so connected to each other. While she strikes up a 'closer' relationship with Jacob, she's never "over" Edward, and the movie did a wonderful job of portraying that Bella never loses that love for Edward. Or that she, very literally, is connected to Edward in a way that she could never truely give herself to anyone other than him.
A few things were added into the movie, but it made for a more entertaining watch. And WOW I LOVED Dakota Fanning in the role of Jayne! She did a fantastic job for the 4 minutes she was in the movie.
I thought the  wolves were made to look very menacing, which they would have to be to be able to fight and/or kill vampires. Although when the black wolf first makes an appearence (it's Sam) it does look alittle cheesy, but the rest of the movie, the effects look more believable.
The humor seemed, to me, almost obvious, but it was still endearing and natural.
I especially loved the 'Volturi' family characters, Aros was made to seem very much like he is in the book - or at least as I interpreted him. Playful, deadly and arrogant. Great job there too.
All in all, the movie was awesome! Definitly lived up to it's predecessor in all respects, I will be going to see it again, and I'm starting to think that even though 'New Moon' is by all accounts the 'slowest' book of them all, this movie - from the 2 that have been released, is my favorite so far. I can't wait for the DVD!

(And to my best friend in the whole world who didn't get to see it with me, I'm so sorry. You, me - the next movie. Promise xx) Also, this post is done with no spell checking as my comp. is running unaturally slow (makes me think I have a trojan somewhere, or someone has hacked my computer!) So I don't have the time or paitence to run through this and make sure it's spelt correctly. I apologise. In summation, GO SEE THIS MOVIE! It's a must-see if you've read the books, and if not - watch the movie first, then read the books. I think you'll honestly get a better feel that way.
Also - (for a certain someone who asked and I couldn't answer) it's Alice. My fav. character is Alice.
Life imitates art, don't you think?

a good seat for 'New Moon'?

Ok, so I, like alot of you out there, have my golden ticket to see the midnight showing of 'New Moon', the 2nd book in the Twilight saga. I'm going with my lovely sister in law who was kind enough to procure a ticket for me weeks ago, while I was just starting to clue into the fact that there was even a rush to GET these tickets! (Thank you Donna)
I had also told my best friend that we would go together (as she was the guilty party who got me interested in the series in the first place) luckily she got her ticket (after hearing I had mine).
Now, here's the thing that has me writing today (because I will be writing again tonight with, hopefully, a glowing report, NO spoilers!!, on my movie experience) I call D this morning to set up a time and meeting place, as you do when you have plans with someone, and she informs me that PEOPLE ARE ALREADY LINING UP TO GET A GOOD SEAT!
Are you KIDDING me?! I mean, I like a good seat as much as the next person, but who in their right mind is going to wait a good 12-15 HOURS to get a seat?! I'm assuming I'm not the 'Twilight' fan I thought I was. I can't actually think of any movie I would line up that early, just to get a seat for!
And now I'm alittle nervous. What happens if some sort of mistake has been made, and we get there, and they accidentally oversold tickets? Or, I get there, and all thats left is 'standing room', do they even do that with movies?
So now we've decided to meet early, not too early, but early enough, my husband gave me his "Are you serious?" look, when I informed him on his lunch break.  I now have to entrust my oldest with the delicate task of watching the kids for an hour, til my beloved gets off work.
So of course, now I feel like one of those mothers who abandons her kids to go running off for selfish reasons! All this inner dilemma for a movie.
Although, if truth be told, I am still very excited to see New Moon, hoping they stay true to the book, and while it's a new director, I also hope they do a good job, and it isn't like watching a completely different movie! So, I will update this when I get home, or if I find I can't think straight and need to catch some zzz's, first thing tommorrow!
For those of you who have their ticket also, good luck to you in your attempts to get a "good seat"!

'New Moon trailer'