reboot

Just clearing the palate, as they say... the girl has gone tilt.

Inspiration

At times in my life, of which I think I have lived about half, I've had a few precious moments of, I don't know, better than average-ness? I pulled off an A+ poem in 4th grade, painted a fine family tree in my watercolor elective, both of which my Mom still displays at her house (Thanks, Mom!) The problem has always been that these are anomalies, not the norm and not talent I could count on. My whole life has been this way and I've learned when whichever muse is yelling in my ear that I had better act quickly before the shouting dies down and I'm left to my own devices. At present, I am very happy and thankful (because it's fun when it happens) that I have a story beating me up inside my brain. It wakes me up at night, stops me mid-sentence in conversations and has taken over "me" in many ways. It's really more of a book, truth be told. I thought it was a story but when I started putting my thoughts down and forming an outline, it went way beyond the boundaries of a story. In fact, I thought I could tell the story in one book, but it is making more sense to split it in two. Now when I open my Word document (password protected, because my family is dying to know what I'm doing) I am overwhelmed with the volume of words, and not knowing exactly how they all work together. I'm going to keep plugging forward and not worry about that for now. When I'm all done writing, I'll see if the pieces fit together in a way that might make sense to anyone but me. It's "semi" autobiographical, which is tricky. Some characters I want to expose by using their real names, but then again, if they read it would they come looking for me? We don't want that, no, no. Some people will have to be mashed together and others will be lost just to keep my sanity. For now I am using real names because I can't make pseudonyms work. I'll plug those in later, I guess. I'm not thinking about publishing or any details that would be years in the future should I come up with something I would share with anyone else. I'm just happy to be inspired. It's been a while.

Re-thinking the Perfect Woman

On July 4th I went to a neighborhood party and was greeted by The Perfect Woman! I had not seen her since the ill-fated 4th of July party of 2007, that of the peanut allergy incident. PW greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and a margarita in a jelly jar. It's impossible to not like this girl. You can be jealous, oh yes, but that's entirely different.

Me and my vampire

Reading in the summer is way up on my list of things that make me really, really happy. The latest party I've come to late is that of the Twilight series of books by Stephenie Meyer. My daughter came home with Twilight a couple of years ago. I thought it had an interesting cover and was told it was about teenage vampires. Didn't give it another thought. I was very caught up in all things Harry Potter at that time, having joined that bandwagon late, as always. Then a friend mentioned Twilight as something that might fill the void left by the last HP book. I didn't give that another thought until I read there was to be a Twilight film. That got my attention for some reason. So, I picked up this "teen" book and started reading. At 3:00AM I finally put it down and went to sleep. The next morning my husband thought I was sleeping-in, but I was reading in bed despite my sleep deprivation. I was completely mesmerized by this story. Call me a sucker for the "demon-lover" tableau, Edward had me in his maybe evil/maybe good clutches. Since that time, a couple of weeks ago, I have completed the first three books in the series: Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse and am eagerly awaiting Breaking Dawn (due in August) and Midnight Sun (Twilight as told from Edward's point of view). I have also absorbed every outtake and extra tidbit at www.stepheniemeyer.com, and there is plenty for the obsessed fan at that site. I've read over the list of fansites, way too many to count. I don't dare venture there, although the creation of a clever screenname is always a temptation. But, no. How about "Cullen-ary Arts"? Stop!
Short of joining a fansite and posting my thoughts, I'm going to list my thoughts and theories here:

Bella Swan:
At first I really liked Bella. She was "everygirl". I related to her (and the author's) story of being nothing special where she grew up only to become interesting to men in a new environment. I just thought she could gain a little self image after receiving that attention. Especially once Edward got himself under a bit of control. Wasn't Bella told none of the Forks girls were good enough for him?

My other problem is Bella's attitude toward marrying. It seems a small thing when you consider it's so important to Edward. I think she is hurting him with her petulance. She seems very immature still by the end of Eclipse.

Does her name mean "Beautiful Swan" and does that have to do with mating for life?

Edward Cullen:
Edward is tricky for me. He is too perfect and that's why I love him. He is beautiful, impeccably dressed, detached, and that's before we get to know him. Once we've met he's brilliant, well-read, romantic, passionate, loyal, but also has a wild side. What's not to love? The sad part is that no human man is all of those things, I don't think. Did I cry during the first two chapters of New Moon? You had better believe it! I read it sunbathing in my yard. I kept a big wad of kleenex stashed under my sarong.

Things I wonder about:
Did Edward count on Alice's "sight" to keep tabs on Bella in New Moon? Or did he cut her off completely? I can't believe he would leave her there in so much danger. But, I guess that's where his guilt comes in later.

Should Bella "go Vampire", what (if any) will her extra skills be?

Do Vampires have sex? Or are they content having their lust for blood sated and just gaze longingly into each other's eyes?

If Bella and Edward lose their virginity together, will the author detail that? Teen books! But everyone wants to know... Personally, I think they should wait until she's bitten, it just seems odd to me. Then again, I refer to my last question of whether Vampires engage in that way.

Will Bella smell the same should she change?

Will Edward's feelings toward Bella change? Or hers toward him? Or have they "imprinted" like the Werewolves? Where's the romance in imprinting? And the 2-year-old? eek!

Dear Universe...

I'm going to compile every piece of positive-thinking-laws-of-attraction-self-help I have stored in my brain from Norman Vincent Peale to The Secret and throw some ideas out into the Universe. Just in case the Universe would like some great ideas to act upon:

Dear Universe,

It would be really great if you would:

help my friend's unborn twins grow and develop and thrive
help my other friend's cancer stay in remission
help my neighboring town recover from the tornado
help us out of this poor economy
help Mojo to not have migraines
help my Dad remember
give K-Ray inspiration and hope
help me stay balanced, fair, kind, content, honest
help me become giving, unselfish, strong and a better friend/sister/wife/mother/daughter

Oh, and by the way, thanks for:

rain
commerce
Sunflour Bakery
my calendar
dance
Fossil
Kathy
lasers
the lawn mower

Signed,
Me

why can't we all just get along?

This isn't junior high, or high school. It's not even time spent in the sorority. This is adult life, the real deal. We're both grown-ups with kids and husbands and jobs and serious responsibilities. I take what I do in my life very seriously. In my family, my business, with friends and giving back to my community I am as solid as I know how to be. My heart is in the right place, even if you disagree with my personality or methods. You don't like me, but please have the courtesy to keep it to yourself. We do have to work together occasionally and I would like to no longer have to try and explain your behavior toward me to others. We have a personality conflict, that's undoubtedly true. I have kept my end to myself, and I'm asking you to do the same.

Cougar Den

This design was made by "Mrs. Robinson", a woman who is a member of the Moms Who Love Jason club. Are there many MWLJ? You had better believe it. Honestly, I can't believe it has escaped Saturday Night Live's notice. Jason Castro should definitely be featured on Cougar Den as the object of their desire. It isn't the teeny boppers voting for Jason, as many have guessed. It's the Cougars!

(Am I a member of MWLJ? Well, I was in the beginning when they were a place to escape the droolings of the rest of his fans. Now, a huge portion of the Moms are just as twitterpated as the girls Jason's age. I predict a lot of cereal is served for dinner Tuesday and Wednesday nights!)