No I'm not Mrs.Taylor

So as a morale boosting get-to-know-you experience the company I work for decided to have t-shirt day at work. Basically we were instructed to wear a t-shirt that tells/shows everyone a fact about yourself so that everyone can learn more about you. I kind of forgot about this blessed event until this morning so I threw on my James Taylor concert shirt from five years ago and called it good.

So I was standing in the kitchen this morning waiting for my bagel to toast and a girl I’ve never spoken to before came up and asked me “So who’s James Taylor? Is that your husband?”

OKAY. First of all – I wish. Second of all – What?? Are you kidding me?

As I tried not to laugh at her I started singing Fire And Rain (blank stare), then I explained that he is a singer/songwriter that started his career in the 60’s (blank stare continued). I even went so far as to explain his marriage to Carly Simon (low and behold she had never heard of Carly or “You’re So Vain”…). I was so stunned I just ended up telling her to you tube “James Taylor”.

So what did I learn from this “get-to-know-you” experience? Ummm, yeah. This girl and I will probably not be friends (by the way her t-shirt said “I love weiners” and had a picture of the dog… enough said).


PS – Like 5 different female co-workers were wearing some form of “I love New Kids On The Block” t-shirts. What’s the deal? Kristin and I agree that they are defiantly not old enough to be cool yet. It’s not like they’re Duran Duran. (Ha! Did I just type that?)

Twilight TMI

So Bill Simmons (aka The Sport’s Guy) is a writer for ESPN’s page two and he often does play by play articles for anything from March Madness to the Oscars. While I won’t be able to capture his wittiness I have stolen his idea by doing a play by play blog-a-thon for the 24 hours leading up to seeing Twilight. Roll your eyes (yeah that means you Jenny), I don’t care I had a blast.

THURSDAY NOV. 20

9:30 PM – 24 hours until the movie. Since finding out last November that Twilight was going to be made into a movie I have avoided the actual book like I avoid all things Steven Seagal. I have had way too many movies ruined by pairing the reading of the book too close to watching the movie. The whole time you just sit there in torture as they butcher the plot (i.e. Harry Potter 5, The Other Boleyn Girl…). So while I have shamelessly followed the making of the movie, I have pretended the book didn’t exist (except in August when the 4th installment came out). Basically I’m explaining all of this just to say that last night when I wanted to psych myself up for the movie I wanted to do something other than read the book. So I ended up listening to Bella’s lullaby on YouTube (the official one from the soundtrack, and the fan favorite) then I watched Can’t Hardly Wait – Because it’s hilarious and has Peter Facinelli in it (who plays Carlisle Cullen).

“Ah-man-DUH”.

Weak I know. Hey at least I’m not making a t-shirt to wear to the movie, which I was totally tempted to do. Don’t mess.

FRIDAY NOV. 21
6:30 AM – Just woke up and promptly reminded Brad about the movie tonight, somewhere within his slumber he managed to conjure up a disgruntled “humhu…” – which I took to mean “I am thrilled! I can’t wait to spend my Friday night sitting among 12 year girls shrieking for a pasty English kid.” This is going to be a good day.

......

8:00 – At work. Checking the Twilight Lexicon – they’ve posted a message saying they won’t be up and running until Saturday so all the fans can enjoy the movie without hearing any spoilers. Boo.

8:01 – Read reviews from MSNBC, MTV, US Today, LATimes: not great. Still not discouraged!

12:00 PM – Sweet! NPR says “Twilight is enjoyable” – I’m sold. I’ll just ignore the 30 other bad reviews I’ve read… hmmm.

12:05 – Side note: While checking the news feeds I found out that Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz named their baby boy Bronx Mowgli Wentz. What the what? Do they have an endorsement deal with Disney?

3:43 – Just read that Twilight made 7 million at the box office on midnight screenings alone (3rd highest behind The Dark Knight and Episode III) and that Fandango is reporting that they are selling 5 Twilight tickets a second. Glad we got ours in advance.

3:43 – Side note – just read a short blurb about how Fox is actually going to make an Arrested Development Movie. Hopefully it won’t translate in to an R rating. If you’ve never seen the show go rent/buy the DVDs (well, on your way home from seeing Twilight of course).

4:30 – Leaving work. T-minus 5 hours until the movie starts. I’m making burgers for dinner as a reward for Brad for going to the movie. I’m such a nice wife.

7:00 – This was the earliest I could get Brad to leave the house. What, you don’t want to sit on the floor of a filthy movie theater for two hours? He’s a trooper, although he’ll get his vengeance when we do the same thing for Star Trek (although if you are reading this JJ – you know I’d do anything for you).

.....

7:22 – We arrive and there are only 30 people lined up so far, luckily they have us lined up inside. Brad earns the distinction of being the first male in line.

7:27 – Just spent the last 5 minutes listening to a 35 year old woman behind us in line talking about how she really wants to buy a necklace from Hot Topic with the Cullen Crest on it. Oh my.

8:10 – There are almost 100 people in line, male count: 7.

8:11 – Twilight fans really have a corner of the black t-shirt/ skinny jeans market. I apparently didn’t get the uniform memo.

8:20 – Stupid high school kids at the front of the line stood up so then everyone started standing up too and pushing forward. Come on people! Like they are going to let us in to the theater more than an hour before it starts and while the movie before us is still playing. Stupid High School kids…


8:25 – Stressed out Manager in a suite just stomped up and down the halls asking customers to stand closer to the walls. Obviously this guy takes his job way too seriously. Calm down man – this is a movie theater not Auschwitz (too soon?).

8:27 – Uptight manager continues to freak out which leads Brad to do impersonations of Dr. McCoy from Star Trek for 10 minutes. “I’m a doctor, not a movie theater manager!” As I die with laughter I’m pretty sure the 12 year olds in front of us think we are idiots.

8:42 – And the best t-shirt award goes to random girl sporting a homemade black shirt with the phrase “I’d like a Cullen burger, with a side of Hale, hold the Jacob.” Ha! Maybe I should have made a shirt…

8:50 – They have finally let us in to the theater. Luckily we got here early enough to get excellent seating, middle and center.

8:51 – Girl behind us is actually crying in anticipation. Ummm?

8:56 – Even though Uptight Manager told everyone that the show has been sold out for 2 days and that we aren’t allowed to leave seats empty all 7 of the dudes are sitting two seats apart. Seriously? Do you really want Uptight Manager to kick your trash at a screening of Twilight? I’m not sure but that might cancel your subscription to Man Weekly.

9:02 – Everyone cheers when the theater ads come on the screen. Oh boy, here we go.

9:03 – Interesting. I just learned that Shirley Temple was originally cast in the Wizard of Oz; they switched to Judy Garland because she was a better singer. Well, you learn something new every day.

9:10 – Tied for 1st place for the best t-shirt award goes to random teen boy (!) taking a seat near the front. Also homemade, on the front it reads “My letter from Hogwarts never came…” and on the back, “so I moved to Forks and joined the Cullens”. Good stuff. Are teens getting cleverer these days? Is cleverer a word?

9:13 – Bathroom time. I heard this mother is 2 hours and 22 minutes long. Sheesh.

9:20 – Brad and I were trying to think of famous female painters (who knows why) and I said I could only think of two, could he think of any? Brad then leans over and says all serious “Yes, Felicity Porter”. Okay, maybe two of you will think that’s funny, but I laughed so loud that that people down the row gave me dirty looks. At which point I realized that they thought I was laughing at the advertisement for St. Jude’s Children Hospital. Yeah, like I’m laughing at kids with Cancer. Come on, I’m not Satan!

9:29 – If I have to see a preview for TNT’s “The Librarian” one more time I’m going to hurl something at the screen… Diet Coke, check. Twizzlers, check. Let’s get the show on the road.

....

9:31 – Previews have started. Tons more clapping, I have a feeling this is only going to get worse.

9:32 – Harry Potter preview: Amazing

9:34 – Confessions of a Shopaholic preview: Amazing

9:49 – It has begun.

Sometime during the movie – Crying Girl will not stop narrating every step of the movie and proclaiming how hot Edward is every 15 seconds. Would it be illegal for me to wrap my belt around her head to block her mouth from moving?

Sometime during the movie – Brad just joyously whispered to me “Edward has bushy eyebrows too!” I made the mistake of telling Brad once that he has bushy eyebrows and ever since he’s acted like it’s his plight to endure. Apparently, now he’s overcome that by finding a fellow bushy eye-browed comrade.

11:51 – Movie just ended. I don’t want to ruin anything for anyone so I’ll just simply say it was much better than I anticipated. Just go in prepared for “A Walk To Remember” level cheesiness and you’ll be fine. My expectations were pretty low so I was pleasantly surprised. Kristen Stewart was much much better than I thought, and Robert P was okay. Just don’t actually look at the screen during any of Edward’s scenes for the first twenty minutes. The makeup is awfully inconsistent, but I think they’ll fix that in the next movie.

....

There is definitely more good than bad and I could go on for a while, so I’ll just stop there. Now Twilight fans must wait until Monday morning to find out the box office totals to see if the second movie will be made. Rumor has it that it must make at least 150 to get the green light. I hope it does because I think the second movie could be tons better. (***UPDATE: New Moon was officially announced by Summit Saturday morning.)

11:55 – Brad just tried to take a picture of me in the theater and we were informed that it is illegal to take pictures inside a theater and it’s a federal offense if you get any portion of the screen. Okay… sorry about those pictures we took in the hallway; hope Uptight Manager doesn’t track us down.

12:20 – Just got home. What a good night. All in all, Brad even agreed that it was totally worth the two hour wait and the 16 dollars.

this is for jenny

gasolinera

So Brad and I were driving home from the airport on Sunday night. Along our way we stopped at an intersection with a gas station on the corner and while sitting there we both looked at the sign and saw the price of $1.88 for regular unleaded gas.

With out saying a word we turned and gave each other a high five. It was a good moment.

I don’t know how gas prices are for the rest of you, but I filled up my car for $16.78 yesterday. It was so great I almost took a picture of the blessed pump.

news?

This story was actually on the St. Louis Dispatch website, I had to check the web address twice to make sure I hadn't accidently typed in The Onion's website.

BENTON, Ill. -- A rooster played chicken in the wrong town.That's the word from the downstate community of Benton, where police took a rooster into custody after it allegedly confronted a woman and her child.

Police Chief Mike O'Neill says the rooster has been bothering people lately, trying to keep them from getting where they want to go.O'Neill says officers had enough on Monday and took the rooster into custody after what he described as a brief scuffle.Nobody was injured and the rooster was thrown in an enclosed area near the police department. There, it lived on chicken feed and water until police located the owner. Chickens aren't allowed to live in Benton and the rooster was turned over to the owner only after he promised to find it a new home in the country.

What journalist covered this story - the editor's 10 year old kid? Can the police even "arrest" a rooster? Why didn't they call Animal Control? Oh, the questions... I love the midwest.

Here we go...

I tried all day yesterday not do a political post, but I just can't help myself.

I woke up this morning with an actual sense of fear and dread. Under President Obama Brad and I should flourish since we will be some of the poorest people in America. However, when we begin to pay this off in ten years and actually start making money after YEARS of hard work, we will see what kind of consequences Obama's tax plan will bring. The thing is a lot of the current liberal young voters will begin to see the effect of that too and hopefully we'll be at a point to make another "Change", one that actually makes sense. Brad and I are all for spreading the wealth around, but on our own terms. I refuse to give more of my money to a government that will tie 97% of it up in red tape and bureaucracy. I would prefer to set up a scholarship program or give money to a trade school that helps those underprivileged learn useful skills. To anywhere where the contribution will actually be put to a good use that Brad and I support. Handing over the responsibility of "spreading the wealth around" to the government is ridiculous.

At the end of the day I can definitely appreciate the historical significance of this, but I'm afraid that people voted for a race and not an ideology. Wouldn't it make more strides for racism if we found ourselves treating this victory as if any other person had won? This doesn't feel like a step forward, this feels like a huge spotlight on the fact that race is still an issue.

I will say that it's nice to have a president that can deliver a good speech again. This was my favorite line from last night (kudos to Obama's writer).

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other."

If Obama actually lives up to this statement I will have nothing but applause for him at the end of four or eight years. For now, I'm a skeptic. If his campaign did anything it did not promote a sense of working harder but of class animosity.

What I'm most anxious about is the media's love fest over Obama to continue and for every mistake Obama makes to be blamed on the Bush administration. Oh, this is going to be good! Obama will be untouchable even when he disarms our military and allows a woman to kill her own child eight months into her pregnancy.

I would love to feel the joy and optimism that so many Americans are feeling today; however, Obama has a long way to go in convincing me. I will gladly praise Obama when he proves me wrong. Until then put me down as a cynic.

brad's grandmother, in remembrance

Marva Harman Casper

July 17, 1924 ~ November 02, 2008

Our loving mother, Marva H. Casper, 84, passed away on November 2, 2008 in Salt Lake City. She was born in Magna, Utah, on July 7, 1924, the daughter of Charles Royal Harman and Clara Lillian Simmons. Mother married George D. Daley August 25, 1943 and later married Delmar R. Casper June 6, 1957.

Our mother was always a very hard worker. Her family always came first in her life. She was the corner stone of our family. She always made sure that everyone felt part of whatever was going on and that no one was left out. Mother worked as a meat wrapper at Smith’s Grocery Store for over 20 years and later worked as a crossing guard on 3900 South and 900 East.

The kids loved mother. They all referred to her fondly as “Casper.” She loved being with the children. Mother is survived by her children Marva J. Daley, Diane H. Carn (Ross), Judd Casper (Patricia), Richard A. Casper (Bobby) and Michelle (Missy) Hockemier (Ron); 13 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings Lillian Faye Willard, Charles LeRoy Harman and Mary Ann Pribyl.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, November 8, 2008, 12:00 noon, at the Olympus 2nd Ward, 3070 E. Nila Way (4120 So.), SLC. A viewing will be held Friday, November 7th, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Larkin Sunset Lawn Mortuary, 2350 E. 1300 S., SLC, and one hour prior to services at the ward on Saturday. Interment will be at Elysian Burial Gardens, 1075 E. 4580 S., Murray, Utah.

FYI

If you are ever tempted to wear wet n' wild midnight black nailpolish for your halloween costume, don't do it! It will stain your nails an awful gray color and make your hands look like they belong to a homeless person. Fantastic.

Ahoy matey, a dragon!

Okay, so almost all my friends are posting pictures of their adorable children in their halloween costumes. I have resorted to posting pictures of my nephews so I can join in on the fun. Plus, my nephews are so darn cute. Last year Iain was Yoda, come on! You can't beat that. This year Iain was a pirate, and his little brother Ryan was a dragon. The awesomeness continues.

i love to rock!

This picture is really scary, I'm sorry. So let me explain. At work not only were we required to dress up but we had to put on a department skit. My department has won the last three years so there was a lot of pressure. The difficult part is that we have to come up with an idea that works for six women. So this year it was decided that we dress up as the girls from the reality tv show "Rock of Love" and then our skit was a final elimination ceremony. They introduced each of us and then our Bret Michaels (we recruited a brave soul from another department) made his final choice. It actually turned out hilarious, but it doesn't help that I work with some really outgoing people. I opted to take the "rocker chick" role so that I wouldn't have to dress too slutty. You would think that this would be inappropriate for work but some of costumes were even too R-rated for this blog, welcome to life outside of Utah! Personally my favorite group was the department that dressed up as all the characters from Goonies. They even had someone dress as the older brother and ride out on a tiny pink bicycle. Classic.

I would post a picture of Brad's costume but I think everyone has seen him in his scrubs already. In the three Halloweens I've known Brad he hasn't dressed up once. Lame. Don't worry, I'm making him dress up next year.