The Down Side to Fanhood

If you have been reading my blog for a while now, you may have noticed that I've posted a few things about Twilight.  Maybe just a thought or two about the movies, the books, the actors...  I've kind of set myself up for the problem we are now facing in naming our next child.  We are expecting boy #3.  Yes, hooray and all that stuff.  To be honest, I'm relieved it's another boy.  It's what I know.  And, being a completely emotional and ever hormonal girl, adding another girl to the family could be...explosive.  But I digress.  The naming problem.  You may know that our oldest son's name is Jacob.  He was named Jacob before I read Twilight (which I read in 2007, if you must know, and Jacob was born in 2005).

When we found out we were expecting boy #2, we pulled out our family history chart to get some name ideas, and grabbed a few names we liked.  One name that was prevalent in the family tree was the name Edward.  It was a name we both agreed would fit well in our family, and it works with our last name.  But you see where I'm going with this.  Despite the fact that I named our oldest son Jacob before the Twilight craze, in order to avoid constant teasing, I will never get to use the name Edward for one of our sons.  Or Bella for a girl, should that situation present itself (not that Bella has ever made the list for either Tim or me.  It hasn't and won't.  It's a fine name, but it's even more Twilighty than Edward).  This is the downside to being an outspoken fan (or critic, for that matter) of something that's such a huge part of pop culture.  So we didn't name #2 Edward, we opted for Tyler.  Now comes #3, and we are still a little stuck on the name Edward.  And we still face the same problems with the name that we did with boy #2.  This is what I get for posting so many times about all things Twilight.  A perfectly good name, down the drain.

BUT, should we name baby #3 Edward...

...here are some ideas for dressing little Edward and Jacob (although poor Tyler would feel left out):

--T-shirts that say "We are team Jacob and Edward" with their pictures on the backs (Tyler would have to pick sides, of course).

--For little Edward, a gray v-neck t-shirt, sports jacket, and skinny jeans, and for Jacob, a pair of cut-off shorts and nothing else.

--Bright red lipstick for baby Edward to match what is bound to be extra pale skin (have you seen my other children?).

--Spray tan for Jacob.

Some other ideas to keep with the Twilight theme in our family:

--A super fancy Volvo for Edward when he turns 16.  Jacob can go on foot (bare foot).  Or we can find an old Rabbit for him to fix up.

--Theme beds:  a coffin for Edward and a cave for Jacob.  Tyler can get the bunk bed all to himself.  

If we go with Edward as the baby's name, why not go super fan?

The Importance of Pampering Oneself

I am not a high maintenance kind of girl.  I own makeup, and occasionally I even put it on for family pictures and the occasional night out with the hubs.  My fingernails are usually kind of chipped and funny-shaped, so I just cut them as short as I can.  I tend to have my hair in a ponytail most of the time, because it's just more practical.  But there's something every girl should do, and that's get a pedicure.  Yes, it's nice to have pretty toenails when flip flop season comes around (which seems doubtful this year), and that's one reason to get a pedicure.  But did you know that they also massage your feet and calves, scrub and scrape off anything rough off the soles of your feet, and they exfoliate, too.  This sounds great, doesn't it?  It's the best kind of pampering.  And think about it.  What part of your body gets the most use during the day?  (Don't be naughty.)  Probably your hands.  But, at least for me, my hands get attention:  lotion, soap, sanitizer, etc.  What about your feet?  If you're like me, and spend most of your day on your feet, those poor feet get just as much wear and not nearly enough attention.  If I think about it before bed, which is kind of rare, I slap some lotion on and fall into bed.  Those tootsies deserve some pampering!  And that, my friends, is why I think every woman deserves regular pedicures.

A little jaunt to California

We went to California this past week, and if you want to see a bunch of pictures from our visit to Disneyland and the beach, check out my other blog.  There's a link over on the side of this blog.  It was a good time.  We did a bunch of kiddie rides that were a blast, but I got to do something for me on the last day there.  I know a bunch of you are now addicted to my friend's blog, Rachel Says So, so you know that she is a fantastic person that also happens to be a long time friend of mine.  She lives in Southern California, and we don't get to see each other often, so she made the drive over to Anaheim and met up with me and my family at Downtown Disney for dinner.  The food wasn't awesome, but the company was fantastic.  It was so great to see her, and this time neither of us were puking (see her blog for this curse we have).  The only thing missing in this picture is that we don't have Easter egg painted lips.

Another TV post

I know I just posted on a TV show.  But I have something else to say.  Actually, a few things.

1.  The last few weeks have been like Christmas when it comes to my shows.  Every week I think I'm getting the season finale, and then there's a preview for another episode.  And each episode of each show (Vampire Diaries and Castle, to be specific) has been meaty and exciting, which is why I keep thinking it's the last one of the season.  It's nice to get decent episodes, and not crummy fillers.  Bonus!

2.  For those of you who watch Vampire Diaries, are you feeling a little down today?  Last night's episode wasn't a bad one, by any means, but after watching it with my friends, we all sat there in silence, wiping our eyes and feeling down.  Usually, after watching, we get giggly and chatty and spend the next hour or so talking and joking.  Last night, none of us were in the mood to giggle AT ALL.  This is very unusual.  It was a relief more than a pleasant surprise that there is another episode next week.  I know there are some who haven't watched it yet, so I won't tell you what got us so down, but I will say, CW, you had better resolve that issue you left us with at the end of last night's episode in a happy way.  Or I will walk away from the show.  Yes, I care that much.

3.  I'm currently addicted to HGTV.  Maybe it's because the shows I record at night are a little dark, but I find myself getting sucked in by people looking for their first house (I yell at the TV "You can't change the layout but a can of paint is cheap!  Buy the house!"), remodeling their dated living rooms, and getting Yard and House Crashed.  It's my dream right now to go to the Home Depot to buy light bulbs and have an HGTV contractor come up to me and say, "May I please redo your dysfunctional eating area/living room for free?"  House Hunters International is another show I really enjoy, partly because they go to places like Italy and look at amazing old farmhouses that have been converted into beautiful living spaces.  Partly I think it's funny that some people are so rich that they feel the need to buy a 5 bedroom vacation home for half a million dollars that they'll use for 3 weeks out of the year.  It's called hotels, people.  Cheaper, low maintenance, amenities, housekeeping.  Maybe if I become ridiculously rich I'll suddenly have an urge to buy an expensive second home in St. Croix.  But for now, my dream is just to go to lots of different places all over the world, and not get tied to one vacation spot every year.

4.  One last thing.  There's something about interesting and unique shows that gets them cancelled.  My friend clued me into a show that was available on streaming.  It's called "The Gates."  It's about an exclusive neighborhood that turns out to be a refuge for vampires, werewolves, witches, and other supernatural beings.  I know it sounds too familiar, but it's quite fascinating.  Think Desperate Housewives with a supernatural twist.  And it was cancelled after season one.  With the event of the DVR, people like me skip over ads for new shows, which makes it difficult to hear about shows until they have already been cancelled for lack of viewers.  It would have been nice to see where they were going with the show.  

A Little Flashback

I just KNOW you are dying to find out my thoughts about the Royal Wedding.  Sorry.  This isn't about the Royal Wedding.  I have some thoughts about Dancing with the Stars.  Or, more specifically, this past week's episode.  It was guilty pleasures week.  Not as dirty as it sounds, I swear.  Except Kendra's samba, of course, but when you put a stripper in a tiny outfit and tell her to shimmy it's bound to be a bit, um, adult.  It was songs you're ashamed to admit you love.  And every single song is on my iPod.  I know, I'm that awesome.  But I digress.  Here's what on my mind:

1.  Ralph Macchio is a class act.  I swear, this season has had more mishaps than ever, and it's only half over.  But usually those mishaps happen to the celeb.  (Marie Osmond fainting, Jennie Garth slipping on her dress, Kirstie Allie's shoe falling off.)  You never really get to see the pros try to recover after they've hit the pavement. It was clear Karina wasn't used to falling down.  Ralph helped her up, counted her back in, and got her where she was supposed to go.  He was super cool under pressure.  Mr. Miyagi would have been proud.

2.  I had forgotten the song "Mmm...Bop."  It was nice to see the Hansen boys all grown up and well-groomed.

3.  I thought it was HILARIOUS that the Backstreet Boys sounded like poop, and New Kids on the Block (or Old Middle-Aged Guys on the Block) sounded decent.  And New Kids' moves were WAY better.  And Joey and that other guy did a little ballroom at the end of their number.  Apparently Backstreet Boys need 10 more years of retirement before they sound okay.  Sidenote:  I missed the 5 minutes New Kids on the Block were all the rage here.  I was living out of the country and went I got back to Utah all I heard about was this boy band that was super lame.  I didn't know what a boy band was, and when I heard "The Right Stuff" I didn't get why everyone hated them.  Go figure.

That's it for now.  

Exciting news

Remember this guy?

Now imagine him as Thorin, leader of the dwarves in next year's "The Hobbit," directed by Peter Jackson.  Yeah, I'm having a hard time with it, too.  Here's what theonering.net came up with on Photoshop and with a little imagination:

 December 2012.  Who's coming with me?

Disappeared

The first trimester of pregnancy is tricky, because you're excited and you want to start shopping for baby stuff and new maternity clothes right away, but if you get spotted in Motherhood, people know your secret and the word gets out.  So I spent the last 3 months anticipating buying some new cute maternity clothes to freshen up my stale and overworn wardrobe.  I spent Monday going from one store to another, only to find that it is impossible to find anything for pregnant women anywhere.  This is in the land of babies.  The places I found clothes in the past no longer carry maternity clothes:  Old Navy, The Gap, TJ Maxx, JC Penney (unless you count one rack of horrid giant panel pants), and Walmart.  Some of these stores carry their maternity clothes online, which is great if you're 5'7" and have the perfectly proportioned waist, even while pregnant.  I have to actually try clothes on.  And yes, there is the Motherhood store in the mall, which has a wide selection of clothing for expectant mothers.  If you want to pay out a gazillion bucks for a pair of shorts.  I am annoyed.  Ross carries maternity clothes, which is fantastic, since the clothes there are inexpensive.  But I don't understand why most clothing stores have excluded an entire clientele type.  Especially here in Utah where pregnant women are EVERYWHERE.  Boo on them.