Bite me, please...

Ok, after a second viewing of Twilight, I must admit that I enjoyed the movie exponentially more. I could ignore all the subtle irritants and just enjoy the story (and the view). And Jasper's staring wasn't nearly as noticeable the second time around... I was able to chalk it up to the painful struggle not to bite people, like it was meant to be.

And I could appreciate Edward a lot more, too. Tee hee...


Yep, I definitely needed the second viewing. I might even need a third now... ;-)

Food comas, here we come!

We really like food! Here is a sampling of the goodness that we prepared - and are still enjoying via leftovers...

My relish tray...
The snap peas and olives got their own tray! Mmmm... :)

Robin's lovely centerpiece

Robin's apple pie - looks like a pro, eh?
See here for more details on the HAM situation...

I was in charge of the pumpkin cake this year. We missed you, Mark!
We tried to eat a lot of whipped cream on your behalf.

Our little gang, around the pretty table!

And to all of our friends and family that weren't here... You were missed! We hope you all had a lovely Turkey Day - full of food, friends, and fun!

And we hope to see you all again real soon!

Surprise visitor

On Tuesday (the 25th) Hannah and I were heading up to Mom and Dad's early. Since I have class in SLC on Tuesday nights, it didn't make sense to find a sitter for Tuesday night and then drive all the way back to Provo after class - only to drive back to SLC the next morning to spend our holiday with Mom, Dad, and Robin. So we decided to head up Tuesday and get a jump on the week.

The week before, however, I got a call about a possible visitor... Chris, my ex-husband and Hannah's dad, was going to be making deliveries in Vegas, San Francisco, and Sacramento the weekend before Thanksgiving and would be driving back on I-80 which would bring him through Salt Lake City. Since we weren't positive that it would all work out - weather, timing, etc. - Chris and I decided not to tell Hannah. (No need for unnecessary disappointment.) As Tuesday approached, though, everything fell into place. Chris would be arriving in SLC just about the time we would be. So he got a hotel a few minutes away from Mom and Dad's house, and I agreed to let Hannah stay the night with Dad as he'd be heading back to Missouri the next morning.

I told Bug we were making a quick stop before getting to Grandma and Grandpa's, and then we stopped by the hotel. He was out getting ice, which kinda spoiled the surprise, but she was still caught unawares... wondering what her daddy was doing in Utah. She was excited to see him, but still met him with a "What are YOU doing here?" greeting... It was kinda cute!

Hannah and Dad

It worked out fairly well, so that Mom and Dad wouldn't have to watch Bug while I was in class. And then I was able to go out with a couple of friends after class, instead of having to rush back home like I normally do. I went and picked her up the next morning, so that we could start baking with Grandma.

The best part was that Hannah got to spend time with her dad before the holidays. This was especially good since we're not sure yet whether he'll be flying her out for a visit at Christmas or not.

A rare smile from Chris, while Hannah pretended not to have a smile... Can't win.

I did get a smile out of her, but never both at the same time... Alas.
Check out her two front teeth growing in!

Don't judge a book by it's movie

Yes, I went to see Twilight this morning with Amy and another friend, Carolyn. We had been planning to take today off to go see Twilight, and even bought our tickets a few weeks ago. As our schedules recently opened up considerably, we made a morning of it!

I must admit that I was a little underwhelmed.

If you have not seen the movie yet and want to, then stop reading if you want to avoid a few spoilers (not that the storyline will be much of a surprise). Now, I recognize that book to movie transitions require a lot of changes, but I still have a few issues with the movie:
- Edward and the Cullens were not as reserved, inconspicuous, and distant as I was expecting.
- Bella managed to maintain a monotone for the entire movie.
- Jasper looked crazy, and not crazy-good.
- The infamous meadow scene was more awkward than it was romantical.
- They skipped the line-up of all three guys trying to ask Bella to the Spring dance, though it would have been easy and fun to include.
- The Cullens in the movie have strangely taken to the trees. Edward even calls Bella his "little spider monkey" and tells her to hang on while he leaps through the trees with her.
- Edward needs to work on his snarly angry face.
- The film came off as a bit low-budget, and kinda clunky... It felt like they didn't nail down the transitions and in-between scenes well enough.
- Much cheesiness occurred.

On the plus side:
- I LOVED the guy that played Charlie (Billy Burke). He might have been the best actor in the whole flick!
- Taylor Lautner (aka Jacob) mostly redeemed himself from his Shark Boy role. And should grow into a pretty good Jacob for any future films.
- The chemisty between Bella and Edward was pretty decent, which was a key redeeming quality for the movie.
- Robert Pattinson is still good-looking. And since I'd already gotten used to the idea of him as Edward, I could just enjoy the view.
- They did include a couple of funny clumsy-Bella moments.

I will admit that I unintentionally went in with higher expectations. I usually try to go in with really low expectation for movies of books that I love. I wonder if a second viewing would improve my level of satisfaction... Hmm. I might have to give it a try.

With any luck, they'll get a new director and screenwriter for the future films. The material from the books is good. They just need to figure out a way to edit it down to fit the time frame of a feature film... I'm available to help out, if they're short on staff! :)


Who else has seen Twilight? And what did you think? Am I being too critical, or no?

A rough week

Hello friends. I hope that you are all doing well. I've definitely been better. I got laid off this week. And out of the blue. In fact, it was worse than "out of the blue." It was in direct contradiction to what we had been repeatedly told by our managers. Several weeks ago, our managers called an impromptu meeting to let us know that we'd be seeing emails and hearing about upcoming layoffs. However, they emphasized that we shouldn't worry, as these layoffs would not be affecting our team. They reiterated this several times, in various meetings: layoffs would be announced company-wide during the week of November 11, but our team would NOT be affected, so don't worry. Just "keep being better than we've ever been."

Then, Wednesday morning, we got called into a sudden and mandatory all-hands meeting at 8:30 am. My friend Amy and I were making guesses about the purpose of the meeting before things got started. Amy figured that it was either layoffs or that one of our coworkers, Jay, was getting promoted. I looked around as people were still filing into the conference room and saw a couple of our managers sitting off to the side, laughing together. So I said to Amy, "Well I hope it's a promotion for Jay. If it's layoffs, then I'd like to note that the laughter is inappropriate."

A few minutes later, we were told that our team would, in fact, be affected by layoffs... effective immediately. We were instructed to return to our desks and get back to work... the affected team members would be called in and informed by their managers. It was like a death watch. We all sat silently, waiting to see who would get a call and then leave their desks. I was called in 2nd or 3rd. I was told that in all of the budgetary cut-backs and outsourcing, my job had been eliminated. I was then escorted to my desk and out of the building. In total, 6 members of our team were laid off, including my wonderful friend, Amy. You can read her layoff story here. She includes some good points about our last supervisor, including his affinity for passing off work so that he could play World of Warcraft and other games at work, and his horribly disturbing habit of picking his face, and inspecting whatever he pulled off, while he talked to people. He was mostly a good-for-nothing hall monitor... milling around talking to people, keeping an eye on who was away from their desks.

Sadly, I found out later that our layoffs were explained a little differently to the rest of the team after we left. The remaining team members were called in around 11:30 for info about moving forward. After some fake tears by our inarticulate and underqualified director, the team was told that the layoffs were not personal, but were determined by performance. The managers indicated that they had taken all of the SCORE cards for our team, and laid off the bottom 6 performers. However, I know that this is not entirely true (if at all), as several lower-performing team members are still there and I'm out of a job. There were members of the team that weren't familiar with our product lines or typical research procedures, and they're staying while I was let go. One lady couldn't even find the on/off button on her laptop, but she's still there. I was the go-to girl for the Wise Solutions line of products and arguably the best person at compiling the difficult and often confusing purchase histories for Wise customers. Sales associates in our European and Asian sales offices frequently asked me for help, as did members of my own team, to no avail. Part of me hopes that they will struggle now that I'm gone... like a posthumous admission that I was a valuable member of the team...

Sorry if I come off a little bitter. I am.

I echo Amy's sentiments for the other 5 employees that were laid off. I wish you well in your searching. May we all find excellent and stable employment right away. I've struggled in this job, and have been irritated with my managers for quite some time, so I'm trying to appreciate the positive changes that are bound to come from this. And, if all goes well, I'll be able to find a job in SLC and be able to move at the same time. Until then, I'm trying to keep things as stable and normal for Hannah as I can.

Thank you, sincerely, to all of the family and friends that have offered kind words and prayers in our behalf. I have felt and appreciated your love and concern for me and Hannah. Thank you! I hope to have good news of a well-paying and more-enjoyable job soon!

Results

For those of you that wondered about my 2 truths and a lie, here's the truth:

1. I DID make "porpoise love noises" with my friend Eric in the trunk of Shana's car on the way to the movies. We couldn't attend TWIRP since Shana's date got suspended a day before the dance for having illicit paraphernalia in his backpack. Shana and Dan probably would have left us in there, too, if I hadn't had the movie tickets in my back pocket... I feel the love!
- Fret not. The "noises" were made by Eric squealing into a plastic cup which ended up sounding like a dolphin. He thought it was hilarious, and called it "porpoise love noises." He liked to give inappropriate names to perfectly innocent activities. Thanks, Eric!
- Oh... and TWIRP stands for The Woman Is Responsible to Pay. It was like a casual Sadie Hawkins dance. And lots of fun!

2. This one's the lie... well, technically. I did want to have my own boutique and my own clothing line, but the Fashion Merchandising major was closed by the time I got to BYU. In fact, I never declared a major at all while I was at BYU. My first declared major was at American River College: English Teaching - so that I could teach High School English. Let me know if you ever have a British or American Lit question... I'd be happy to help! :)

3. Yes, we stole a flashing workhorse-type sign. We were TP-ing Scott K's house and decided on an additional last-minute lawn ornament. I think we broke his tree, too. Nice job, Michelle. Way to express your undying love and affection... by breaking his little tree.

Good times.

quirky

Ok - I read a fun post about quirks after reading Celia's most recent Reader Appreciation Day post on Cynthia. So I thought I'd post a few of my own quirks (in no particular order):

1. I have a specific set-up with my pillows in order to be comfy for bed. And I get quite fidgety and upset if Hannah climbs in and messes it up.

2. I have to chew the same amount on both sides. So I either bite my food in half and chew some in each side, or I alternate bites... One bite on the left side, the next bite on the right side, and so on. But the bites have to be roughly equivalent in mass, so that I feel that things have been distributed equally.

3. I like air movement. Even now - November in Utard - I have a fan on 24 hours a day. I even turned my A/C back on a couple of weeks ago, when things warmed up a bit. In fact, my fan on my desk is on right now and aimed at my face, because it got a little warm and stale in our office.

4. I HATE being hot. I can't sleep when I'm hot and I get uber-cranky...

5. My daughter, Hannah, knows that there are 4 things that make Mommy cranky: being tired, being hungry, being hot, and/or Hannah not being in bed on time. Any combination of these 4 catalysts, increases my crankiness exponentially.

6. I have a stash of "possibly necessary" items at my desk which includes, but is not limited to: super glue, extra "girly" supplies, toothbrush and toothpaste, floss, mouthwash, first aid kit, sewing kit, lint roller, deodorant, pain meds, allergy meds, non-drowsy cold/sinus meds (of the Dayquil variety), return address mailing labels, stamps, envelopes, crackers, candy, soup, breakfast bars, various other food items, and a cache of plastic cutlery, napkins, saucers, bowls, and cups.

7. Eating foods that have a disproportionate ratio of creamy substances to solid materialmakes me gag. For example: eclairs, cream puffs, whipped cream on my shakes or sundaes, and most pies. That just makes us better friends, though, because I'll gladly give mine to you! And Mom loves it because she can sometimes sneak my excess frosting that I've scraped off of my cake or cupcake.

8. Watching other people eat such super-creamy things (like Mark having a spoonful of whipped cream) can induce my gag reflex, by proxy.

9. Hearing other people brush their teeth gives me shivers up my spine... Mom - I love you, but I have to wait to talk to you until you're done brushing...

10. I don't like being on speaker phone. In certain situations - like an announcement to a group of people, or if asked for my permission, I can tolerate it... but, in general, I dislike being put on speaker phone.

11. Oh - and I LOVE people-watching. I might even ad-lib a conversation for them - sometimes with accents! Or I'll mutter general announcements about a given person - like a sometimes-quiet PSA. These PSA's could be on various topics: the advantages of wearing a bra, the downsides of in-breeding, the benefits of pulling up your pants or monitoring your children in public, etc. Just ask Amy... during one lunch break, she threatened to leave me at the mall food court if I didn't cut it out (or at least talk quieter). Well someone had to tell those kids they looked ridiculous.


So - what are some of YOUR quirks?

I should book our next dentist appt now...

I hope you all had a lovely Halloween! I know we did!!! :)

I picked Hannah up from school - a first, since I'm normally at work. They had a costume parade - Hannah was so surprised to see that I was there. Then we went trick-or-treating at Mom's work, where we had to empty her pumpkin just so she could fill it up again:

The haul from Mommy's work . Note all the full-sized candies! (minus some treats eaten in the car on the way to Cindy's)

We skipped the second building, limiting ourselves to most of the three floors of my building, and then went to Cindy's house. Cindy is in school with me, which is fantastic so that I don't go crazy or quit school... or worse! (dun dun dun...)

While at Cindy's we made home-made pizzas. More accurately, Cindy made super-delicious home-made pizza and we ate it! Then Hannah went trick-or-treating with Ashton, Corbin, and Cindy's hubby Chad. They were out for a couple of hours and went to tons of houses. Pickle Man Pete was Hannah's favorite house! Of the provided choices, Hannah picked the pickle on a stick, like most kids in the neighborhood do each year. It was between the pickle and random junk that he collected throughout the year (a magazine, a shark magnet, a rookie card of a nobody, and something football related - according to Chad). He had already run out of hard-boiled eggs by the time Hannah's group got there...

Hannah, with Ashton (werewolf), Corbin (lion), and Wigget (mini teacup Poodle - so no sneezing. Yay!!!)

Hannah's haul from Cindy's neighborhood

(Doesn't include her pickle-on-a-stick, as she consumed that immediately!)

Hannah fell asleep within 20 minutes of getting in the car. Then I had to make her walk in the house which was apparently a confusing task (and a bit hilarious for me to watch!). Upon entering the house, she stumbled into the bathroom for a little pit stop and promptly burst into tears. I managed to walk her through washing her hands and locating pajamas... then she laid down and was comatose within seconds. Whew!

We'll wash off the blood and white makeup tomorrow... No worries!

Sorry we missed coming to see you Mom and Dad! We wanted to come hug your necks and kiss your faces, but Hannah was just getting back from trick-or-treating when it was hitting your bed-time... We'll have to save the hugs and kisses for next weekend!

The candy pics above did not take into account the candy from the ward Trunk-or-Treat, as that had already been added to the candy bowl at the house... PS - Didn't Nancy's and Will's costumes turn out cute? Well-executed creativity, I must admit! Excited about a baby anyone??? :)