Thursday, February 25, 2010
Toxic?
Do you consider me a "toxic" person? I know someone who does, and if I hear her say it one more time she is going to seriously regret it.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Dear John
WARNING: Don't read the list at the end of this post if you don't want the details of either the book or movie ruined for you! I won't give away the ending but I will give away a lot of other things!
On Saturday I went out with some very good friends (and met a few new ones) for a much-needed girls' afternoon out. We started with lunch at Biaggi's, which was FANTASTIC! I haven't eaten there in a few years, and I forgot how delicious it is! Then we headed over to the theater to see Dear John. I thought the movie was very good, but I feel that I would have enjoyed it more had I not JUST re-read the book. I always do that - make myself read or re-read a book right before I go see the movie - and it always sets me up for some degree of disappointment. I will say that I was not disappointed with the movie, just bummed about a few of the changes they made. Most, if not all, of these changes are pretty insignificant as far as the storyline goes, which is exactly my point. If the details are not important to the overall picture of the story, why do they always change them? I know, I know, if they are that insignificant, it shouldn't matter. But it does - to me. The following is a list of changes that just irked me for one reason or another. Like I said, most don't make one bit of difference, but they still bothered me because they were just different. I wonder why the authors of these books always agree to movies that don't accurately portray their books... Anyway, here's the list:
#1 - This is perhaps my biggest issue with the movie. It takes place in Charleston, SC. If you have ever read more than one of Nicholas Sparks' books, you know that they ALL take place in NC. This book takes place in Wilmington, NC. The average person doesn't care. I actually know far too many people who don't even know which cities are in NC and which are in SC. But I grew up there, and I am proud of it, and gosh darn it, this story should take place in NORTH Carolina!
#2 - In the movie, Savannah is (somehow) on spring break from college, yet she has three weeks to finish the Habitat for Humanity house she is working on. Hmm...three weeks? In the book, she's at the beach for the summer working on several houses.
#3 - In the movie, Savannah lives at the beach. In the movie, like I said before, she is visiting the beach for the summer. She lives in the mountains.
#4 - Another big issue. In the movie, Savannah's lifelong friend Tim is WAY old (like 10 years older than her), is married, and has an autistic son. WHAT?! In the book, Tim is only a few years older than Savannah (he's in grad school), is NOT married, and his brother is the one that's autistic.
#5 - The way Savannah tells John her thoughts about his dad being autistic is very awkward in the movie. She just kind of comes right out and says it out of nowhere. In the movie, she presents John with a book about autism as a going-away gift, and the discussion/argument goes from there.
#6 - In the movie, Savannah marries Tim knowing he is sick. She doesn't seem at all like she is in love with Tim, though she obviously loves him. In the book, he gets sick later.
#7 - The movie ending is different from the ending in the book. I wasn't surprised - they usually are. This one I like. It was happy and gave you a sense of closure and future. The book leaves you hanging a little more. So thumbs up for the film writers on this one!
Don't get me wrong - the movie was great (and Channing Tatum certainly helped)! Overall I really liked it, and I will definitely be watching it again. I'll probably even buy it when it comes out on DVD. It's just different from the book, that's all. Next time, someone please stop me from reading the book immediately before seeing the movie so I don't get caught up in all of the insignificant differences yet again! Thanks ladies for going with me - we need to do it again soon!
On Saturday I went out with some very good friends (and met a few new ones) for a much-needed girls' afternoon out. We started with lunch at Biaggi's, which was FANTASTIC! I haven't eaten there in a few years, and I forgot how delicious it is! Then we headed over to the theater to see Dear John. I thought the movie was very good, but I feel that I would have enjoyed it more had I not JUST re-read the book. I always do that - make myself read or re-read a book right before I go see the movie - and it always sets me up for some degree of disappointment. I will say that I was not disappointed with the movie, just bummed about a few of the changes they made. Most, if not all, of these changes are pretty insignificant as far as the storyline goes, which is exactly my point. If the details are not important to the overall picture of the story, why do they always change them? I know, I know, if they are that insignificant, it shouldn't matter. But it does - to me. The following is a list of changes that just irked me for one reason or another. Like I said, most don't make one bit of difference, but they still bothered me because they were just different. I wonder why the authors of these books always agree to movies that don't accurately portray their books... Anyway, here's the list:
#1 - This is perhaps my biggest issue with the movie. It takes place in Charleston, SC. If you have ever read more than one of Nicholas Sparks' books, you know that they ALL take place in NC. This book takes place in Wilmington, NC. The average person doesn't care. I actually know far too many people who don't even know which cities are in NC and which are in SC. But I grew up there, and I am proud of it, and gosh darn it, this story should take place in NORTH Carolina!
#2 - In the movie, Savannah is (somehow) on spring break from college, yet she has three weeks to finish the Habitat for Humanity house she is working on. Hmm...three weeks? In the book, she's at the beach for the summer working on several houses.
#3 - In the movie, Savannah lives at the beach. In the movie, like I said before, she is visiting the beach for the summer. She lives in the mountains.
#4 - Another big issue. In the movie, Savannah's lifelong friend Tim is WAY old (like 10 years older than her), is married, and has an autistic son. WHAT?! In the book, Tim is only a few years older than Savannah (he's in grad school), is NOT married, and his brother is the one that's autistic.
#5 - The way Savannah tells John her thoughts about his dad being autistic is very awkward in the movie. She just kind of comes right out and says it out of nowhere. In the movie, she presents John with a book about autism as a going-away gift, and the discussion/argument goes from there.
#6 - In the movie, Savannah marries Tim knowing he is sick. She doesn't seem at all like she is in love with Tim, though she obviously loves him. In the book, he gets sick later.
#7 - The movie ending is different from the ending in the book. I wasn't surprised - they usually are. This one I like. It was happy and gave you a sense of closure and future. The book leaves you hanging a little more. So thumbs up for the film writers on this one!
Don't get me wrong - the movie was great (and Channing Tatum certainly helped)! Overall I really liked it, and I will definitely be watching it again. I'll probably even buy it when it comes out on DVD. It's just different from the book, that's all. Next time, someone please stop me from reading the book immediately before seeing the movie so I don't get caught up in all of the insignificant differences yet again! Thanks ladies for going with me - we need to do it again soon!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
My BFF
My students are always talking and writing about their current "BFF." In second grade, your BFF can change weekly, and even daily. Oftentimes I notice that my students' current BFF is always the other girl sitting at their table. (Boys don't ever talk about BFFs.) These conversations and journal entries always get me thinking...
Who is my BFF?
Answer: I don't have one. If I had to choose, I would most definitely choose my mom at this point in my life. Why not choose my mom? She knows me better than anyone, and she has known me longer than anyone. We have laughed together, cried together, fought, and made up, just like any best friends do. She is the person I call when I need to talk. She is the person I think of when I need to go shopping. She is, by my definition, my best friend. I wish, more than anything, that she did not live three hours away!
Anyway, here's the basis for this post. I don't have a BFF. Often that makes me sad. I don't know what it's like to grow up with someone and watch them change from elementary to middle to high school and then to an adult. I don't know what it's like to continue a friendship for more than a few years and not have to turn that friendship into a long-distance relationship. Outside of my family I have exactly two people that I still consider "friends" after many years. And even now, we are merely Facebook "friends" that send Christmas cards to each other.
I'm not a bad person. I consider myself a good friend. I've just had a lifetime of experiences that make it difficult to remain friends with people, mostly for logistical reasons. I attended my regular public elementary school, but then chose to attend a GT middle school in a neighboring city. There were only about 4 people from my elementary school at my middle school, and I quickly lost touch with my friends. Then I ended up going back to my regular public high school, which had about 5 people from the middle school. Again, it's hard to hold onto friendships when you're 14, can't drive, and don't have a cell phone! Then, as most of you know, I moved from NC to Cincy when I was a junior in high school. I didn't make many friends after I moved, and I took some of them with me to college, but we lost touch. Mostly because they had better friends that they had known longer. I don't blame them - I'd probably be the same way. When I moved to Toledo after college, I quickly lost touch with many of my college friends because, again (in my opinion) many of them went home to towns where they had better friends that they had known longer.
I have wonderful friends now, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. They have done a fantastic job of welcoming little old "lost" me to the area and making me feel like I finally have lifelong friends. I still don't have a BFF, and unfortunately there's nothing I can do about that. It makes me sad every once in a while, like when I want to see a movie that my hubby doesn't want to see and I can't find anyone to go with me, or like when I want to go shopping and don't want to drag my hubby and kiddo with me, and especially when I have an argument or a situation where I just want someone to cry with. I know that I can do these things with any of the friends I have made here. I just have this internal struggle that tells me that these people will always have better things to do and more important friends to hang out with. I feel like an idiot for even thinking this way because I have a number of friends that I know would do anything for me. It's just the whole "I've known you less time than any of your other friends, and so I feel less important" syndrome that I have going. I can't help it. It's who I am, and I appreciate the fact that you all love me in spite of my paranoia.
Thank you, all of you, for being such amazing friends. I would not have survived in this frozen arctic tundra without you. You are the BEST!
YIKES!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Bailey
My brother-in-law, Troy, got a puppy on Monday night. Yesterday he brought her over so that Logan could play with her, and sadly he wasn't as interested as we had hoped. At first he called her "kitty," then he was more interested in playing "baa ball" than playing with Bailey. I was ready with my camera but got no good photo ops last night. Then, tonight, Troy brought Bailey over again. Logan still wasn't as interested as we had hoped, but he did play with her a little more tonight. The funniest part was when Bailey got tired and laid down on our kitchen floor. We told Logan that the doggy went night-night, so he decided to lay down on the floor with her. So cute! I got to snap a few pictures tonight, with the hopes of more to come soon!
Bailey
Night-night Bailey
Kisses from Bailey
Kisses from Logan
Favorites
Even though I don't have many pictures to share lately, I do have a lot of fun information to share about how quickly my little boy is growing up! Here is a list of some of his current favorites:
sport: basketball (in Logan lingo: baa ball) - playing it, watching it, and pointing out every basketball hoop he sees when we're in the car or watching TV
foods: bananas (Logan lingo: nana), M&Ms (Logan lingo: em em) - the sign language sign for "more" has now become synonymous for "M&Ms"
snack: Cheerios (Logan lingo: chee-o)
book: strangely, his favorite book does not have a title, but it's about a boy named Addison (? - we substitute "Bubba") who is basically a ball hog when playing football and has to learn that football is a team sport (Logan lingo: ta down for "touchdown")
things to watch for out the window: the mailman (Logan lingo: may man), cars, snowblowers, school buses (Logan lingo: vroom vroom)
thing to point out everywhere we go: babies (Logan lingo: baby or babies - he actually knows when to pluralize the word!) - FYI every child is a baby, no matter how old
sound, courtesy of Papa Lawniczak: bleh (with tongue out, in response to the question, "What sound do you make when you puke?" We all had the flu last week, and apparently this is what Logan learned from it!)
misbehavior: throwing toys - I'm not sure how to stop this for now, since we're too little for time-out. For now we just take away whatever toy is being thrown and try to distract him with something else.
random funny word: whoa!
He also recently showed us that he knows how to shake his head "yes" or "no" in response to a question. He likes to point to anything that belongs to Todd and say "dada." And, my personal favorite - he LOVES to give kisses. He kisses us, he kisses his stuffed animals, he kisses Sophie (on the rare occasion that she lets him get close enough), and now he makes his stuffed animals kiss each other. I love it!
sport: basketball (in Logan lingo: baa ball) - playing it, watching it, and pointing out every basketball hoop he sees when we're in the car or watching TV
foods: bananas (Logan lingo: nana), M&Ms (Logan lingo: em em) - the sign language sign for "more" has now become synonymous for "M&Ms"
snack: Cheerios (Logan lingo: chee-o)
book: strangely, his favorite book does not have a title, but it's about a boy named Addison (? - we substitute "Bubba") who is basically a ball hog when playing football and has to learn that football is a team sport (Logan lingo: ta down for "touchdown")
things to watch for out the window: the mailman (Logan lingo: may man), cars, snowblowers, school buses (Logan lingo: vroom vroom)
thing to point out everywhere we go: babies (Logan lingo: baby or babies - he actually knows when to pluralize the word!) - FYI every child is a baby, no matter how old
sound, courtesy of Papa Lawniczak: bleh (with tongue out, in response to the question, "What sound do you make when you puke?" We all had the flu last week, and apparently this is what Logan learned from it!)
misbehavior: throwing toys - I'm not sure how to stop this for now, since we're too little for time-out. For now we just take away whatever toy is being thrown and try to distract him with something else.
random funny word: whoa!
He also recently showed us that he knows how to shake his head "yes" or "no" in response to a question. He likes to point to anything that belongs to Todd and say "dada." And, my personal favorite - he LOVES to give kisses. He kisses us, he kisses his stuffed animals, he kisses Sophie (on the rare occasion that she lets him get close enough), and now he makes his stuffed animals kiss each other. I love it!
Lazy Days
I've been feeling like a lazy mama for the past several weeks. I'm not blogging much, not Facebooking much, barely squeaking by with my school work, and worst of all, I'm barely taking any pictures of my rapidly growing little boy! Many of you know that this pregnancy has not been anything like my pregnancy with Logan, so for peace of mind, I'm blaming that (excuse #1). I've had the stomach flu twice now since Christmas, and in between enough nausea to make me feel like I never really got over it. (I had almost no nausea with Logan, except when I ate chicken.) Not to mention, I'm completely exhausted all...the...time. Logan is growing and changing so much lately, and I feel awful for not being able to document all of it. I feel that I can partially blame myself, but I'm also finding that the older he gets, the harder the documentation becomes (excuse #2). Anything that is picture- or video-worthy is over faster that I can SAY camera much less find it, take it out of the case, and turn it on. And Logan is WAY more interested in the camera when it comes out than he is in doing whatever he was doing before it made its appearance. Excuse #3 - we haven't done anything worth noting lately. We've been boring, probably because of my lack of motivation.
That being said, here is a random collection of photos that I've taken since Christmas. Please don't judge - I know it's sparse. I'm hoping the end of my first trimester next week will bring more energy and I'll be able to get back to normal in the picture-taking mommy department.
That being said, here is a random collection of photos that I've taken since Christmas. Please don't judge - I know it's sparse. I'm hoping the end of my first trimester next week will bring more energy and I'll be able to get back to normal in the picture-taking mommy department.
Trying on Daddy's stocking cap
First time on a bike at Dick's
Drew's ball pit at his first birthday party
All bundled up and ready for the snow
Sledding
Taking a stroll down the street
Oops! Still trying to learn how to walk in these snow pants and boots
Trapped in the snow - thanks to Daddy!
Watching Daddy run the snow blower (or, as Logan says, the "vroom vroom!")
