Wednesday, April 29, 2009

LOST for Words

I am completely lost on words right now. All I can think of is Eloise shooting Daniel. Her own son! Ey-yah! Why couldn't Daniel have just said, I'm looking for my mother Eloise? Just a small detail, just a little bit of communication, and the whole thing could have been avoided. But that's been one of the major problems on the Island all along. A complete lack of communication! Aargh.

Meanwhile, when Daniel was explaining the relativity of time shifts and how he might be able to prevent the plane crash a song popped into my head. The Song that Never Ends. I was left feeling like the whole Island is on a loop, with the same events destined to repeat over and over and over. That would stink. :( For now I am crossing my fingers that Daniel's ideas will work. But with him not there to implement, well... I just don't know what to expect.

And that is all. I am still blown away by the ending. I just can't wrap my brain around it. I can't believe that the Lost writers did it to me again. Sucked me into liking a character, just to do horrible things to them. Oh! I just cannot get the picture out of my head of Daniel asking if his Mom will be proud of him. Then of Daniel muttering, "You knew. You knew and you sent me anyways." Oh! My heart just tore apart at that. I am now going to go read something fluffy and silly to try to get rid of the sad, sad feelings left by Lost.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Thoughts on Movies...

After learning of my children's interest in Science-Fiction, I decided last week to introduce them to one of the classic Sci-Fi must-see movies: DUNE. I was so excited to share this movie with them. I assembled the pajamed group on blankets in front of the television. I had pizza, popcorn and other treats for munching. As I started the movie I told my kids again how great DUNE is, how it was one of my favorite movies growing up, how I just know they're going to love it too.



Ummm... Did I mention that I haven't seen DUNE for many years? Yeah. I kind of forgot about a few parts. I forgot about how the Baron face has nasty boils all over it. That totally sicked out my kids. I forgot how the Baron lusts after his doctor. That totally confused my kids. I forgot how the Baron attacked a young man, squeezing his head and body until the blood oozed and the Baron laughed his pure glee. That made one of my kids almost vomit. I forgot how Sting (who plays the Baron's nephew) comes out in just a little speedo thing, his muscles all flexed (looking pretty good to my eyes), that the Baron stares out him in a sick, lusty way. Again, my kids were totally sicked out and confused. I forgot how Paul's hand gets burned (but not really) and how they show his skin melting off and a hole forming in his hand. That my kids yell out in pain for Paul. I forgot that they showed "pictures" of Paul's little sister while still in the womb. For some reason, my kids thought that was as bad as the Baron killing the young man. Go Figure!



By the middle of the film my kids were begging to not watch anymore. I kept telling them it gets better, that the Baron eventually gets killed, that Paul wins, and that the worms aren't going to eat anyone and are, in fact, one of the coolest parts of DUNE. My kids didn't believe me. But somehow I convinced them to stay. They ended up loving it. Hooray! They even watched it again with Hubby the next day. We all agree that the Baron is one of the sickest, nastiest characters we've ever seen. But the worms and Paul make up for it. :)

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So this morning I was out running errands with my boys when I decided that we were going to see a movie! Specifically DRAGONBALL: EVOLUTION. I knew that Hubby wanted to see it too, but I've been trying for weeks to schedule a time with him when we could both go see it. I was sick of waiting and wanted to see it before it left the theater. I drove to the theater, unloaded my boys, and started walking up to the theater. The theater didn't usually start movies until after 11:00 am. I knew that Dragonball might not be showing for an hour, but already told my boys that we would get an ice cream cone if we had to wait long. I was SO excited! Until I got to the theater. Dragonball was no where in sight! I couldn't believe it. I was at a theater that housed 14 screens. And a Harkins to boot. Dragonball barely came out on April 10 and today is April 28. 18 days. Only 18 days and the movie is no longer showing! How is that possible? Grr. :(
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So I didn't get to see Dragonball. The boys and I were very disappointed. We even drove to the little theater downtown-just in case they were still showing it. Nope. *sad sigh* I finished my errands and drove home. At home I checked online for any possible showings in a surrounding town. Turns out, if I want to see it, I'll have to drive to a theater three hours away. THREE HOURS! Grrr. And you know what makes it even more of a stinky situation, the movies that are currently showing. Movies like Hannah Montana. Yeah. Now there's something I'm dying to see. And Monsters & Aliens, in both 2-D and 3-D. That crass movie, that I refuse to take my kids to see, is taking up two theaters!! TWO! Argh! Some people have no taste. :(


As I grumpily searched for a theater closer to my home and cursed people with bad taste, I stumbled across a news update that quickly turned my frown upside down. The teaser trailer for THE LAST AIRBENDER is scheduled to be shown with the new Transformers movie coming out in June. Now I am not a fan of Transformers. I really was not planning on seeing that movie. At all. But I would definitely be willing to pay $7.00, if only to sit through the opening trailers. Just to catch a glimpse of what M. Night has up his sleeve for us die-hard Airbender fans. *sigh* Of course, since there's no telling how long the theater will keep a movie playing, I'll be sure to go opening week.


In the meantime, I am counting down for STAR TREK. It opens in my town on May 7.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Second Week of Spring Break

Sunday, March 29 was Fast Sunday in our ward. Hubby and I were planning on just having a Fast of Thanksgiving. Friday we added comfort for my family. Saturday we added our friend's upcoming heart surgery. So many things to pray and fast for...
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During sacrament meeting, Anne decided to bear her testimony but, she needed me to accompany her and bear mine as well. Anyone who knows me knows I have a strong testimony. One that I rarely share in sacrament meeting. Anyhoo, Anne was very nervous, so I held her hand while she bore her testimony. It was great to see her share the truths that she knows.
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Monday & Tuesday we spent cleaning the house and playing while Hubby worked.
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Wednesday, April 1 we drove to Mesa. We attended my Grandfather's viewing. Every single one of my aunts and cousins was there. It was great to see them again.

After the viewing, we went to the Arizona Temple grounds to see the Easter Pageant. This year was especially fun! My Dad and two of my sisters were in the Pageant. My sisters were part of the "Multitude". My Dad was the "Head Sadducee". He did not play a very nice guy, especially not to Jesus.
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Anne, Joe & Rose with their Grandpa & Aunts
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Thursday, April 2 was my Grandfather's funeral. As part of the service the grandkids were singing two songs. We met Thursday morning to practice.
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Grandsons singing "Abide With Me"
(my brother is the one in the t-shirt. he came early to help set up chairs and get things ready for the funeral.
he put on his suit after this practice)

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Grandkids singing "I Stand All Amazed"
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The funeral itself was nice. During the opening hymn (I Know that My Redeemer Lives) I was fighting back the tears as I thought of my Grandpa and my Savior. The tears were about to spill over when I looked over at Joe who had his hand down his pants. At my shocked look he said: "What Mom? I just gotta adjust my penis." Did I mention that we were sitting in the middle of the chapel, surrounded by greiving family and friends? Well, the tears vanished and now I was trying to fight back laughter. After the funeral we all drove out to the Mesa Cemetary for the burial. Grandpa served in WWII, so he received a Military send-off.
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Grandpa's Casket

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Bugle playing Taps

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Saluting a Veteran

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Giving the flag to the Widow

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Grandma & Her Daughters
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Eldest Daughter with Hubby & Son

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Next Eldest with her three sons

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The Twins

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Fifth Daughter with her hubby, sons, & DIL
(their fourth daughter died at birth)

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Sixth Daughter with her hubby, mom, & kids
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My Siblings & I; lined up youngest to oldest
(my mom is the only daughter who had daughters. everyone else only had sons.)
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Hubby & Uncle J on baby patrol
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My Four Kids
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Babycakes with his First Cousins at the Luncheon
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After the funeral, burial, and luncheon, we headed back to my Mom's house to relax and recuperate. My sister MomBabe had flown in with her daugher Taylor. It was nice to see them. BabyCakes had fun playing with his cousin.
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BabyCakes & Taylor playing at Grammy's House
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Once we recovered a bit, we drove to the Chandler hospital to visit Hubby's friend. He had his heart surgery on Monday. He showed my kids his stapled up chest. It was pretty gross and sad to look at. Poor guy! :(
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After the hospital visit, we stopped by Hubby's parents to say Hello, then drove back home.
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Friday, April 3 Hubby still had work off. We all just spent a lazy day together.
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Saturday, April 4 was General Conference and Baseball! Joe, Anne & Rose had games in the morning. I've put enough pictures on this post. I won't subject you to more of my kids playing baseball, but I did have to post a picture of this guy. He was a coach for the opposing team. See how he's kneeling at third-base? He had this deep and loud Military voice. And he used it to shout praise to his team and to Anne's team! It was so funny because it was such a contradiction of my expectations. Him yelling in a drill sargeant voice things like, "Good Run!", "Everyone's hitting the ball today!", and "You're such a great player!" was so wonderful to hear. Eve his directions and corrections were given with a positive lilt to his voice. I love when coaches are positive with their players and this guy was the epitome of Positive!
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The rest of Saturday was spent watching General Conference. As was Sunday. Conference was very interesting this year. So many subtle warnings and pleadings. I'll have to really study my May issue of the Ensign... And that is the end of my Spring Break story. Phew!

Friday, April 24, 2009

Love my Boys!

I seriously love my sons. They are some of the funnest boys that I've ever known. But after yesterday and today, I know that we will always be the best of friends too. Why??

Yesterday Joe put on a movie for himself and BabyCakes to watch. He picked it out and got it started while I finished up some laundry then made them popcorn. When I walked in with the popcorn both boys are completely absorbed in the movie they are watching. They barely ackowledged me and the buttery popcorn goodness I had for them. What were they watching?? Buckaroo Bonzai!!! And they were enthralled. Hahaha! The was one of my favorite movies growing up. I loved Buckaroo and his group of musicians/scientists/race car drivers/spies/aliens! And my boys loved it too.

And today what did Joe pick to watch? StarGate Atlantis! And again, both boys are completely enthralled. *sigh* It is such a great feeling, knowing that I must be doing something right as a Mother for my boys to be such complete sci-fi junkies. I hope I can keep it up. ;)

Thursday, April 16, 2009

LOST with Miles

This week's episode was interesting. It wasn't as gripping as others have been, but it did put a few more pieces into place. I liked hearing some more of Miles backstory.

Things I liked about this episode:

1. Kid Ben's dad, Roger, coming in and freaking out about Kid Ben missing. Juliet acting all concerned, then after Roger leaves turning to Kate and saying, "Well, Here we go." Haha. Juliet is always calm and cool. She is such a rational gal but still nice.

2. Hurley telling Miles that he can talk to dead people too. Oh man. That was fantastic. The look on Miles face was hilarious. And I love that Hurley just said it like it was no big deal. He's another kicked-back character that I love! I also loved when they were discussing how they both "talk" to the dead people and arguing about who's way was right. And Hurley saying, "You're just jealous my power works better than yours." Classic funny!!!!!

3. Miles learning that a man was killed when his dental filling got pulled out through his brain. Sheesh! All the doctor shows have gotten so random and crazy trying to come up with new ways for people to be injured or killed. And no one came close to the LOST writers inventiveness. I've got a bunch of fillings, so I think I'll stay away from that particular Dharma facility... I really don't want to be killed by my fillings. I'd rather just fall asleep and not wake up. Yeah. That would be a peaceful death. I could handle that.

4. Roger showing some actual concern for his son Ben. Every so often we see the dad he could have been, if he wasn't such a resentful jerk.

5. The big reveal that Dr. Chang is Miles' DAD! Whoa! I didn't see that coming. Well, at least not until the beginning of this particular episode. Again, I loved Miles and Hurley's exchange:
Hurley: "Dude. That guy's a total douche."
Miles: "That douche is my dad."
I really like their conversations. They are very entertaining. :)

Another conversation...
Hurley: "So anyway..."
Miles: "I don't want to talk about it."
Hurley: "Are you kidding me? How weird is it that your dad is that dude from all those movies!"

Hahaha!!

And I also loved Hurley advising Miles ot give his Dad a second chance. That should be interesting to watch. ;)

6. Juliet not batting an eye when Sawyer decked a guy and told her to get some ropes. Like I said, That woman cannot be rattled!

7. Faraday is back!

8. And my favorite thing from tonight's episode...Drum roll please! Hurley writing a "better" version of Empire Strikes Back. Hahaha! That was so funny! Except, I liked the Ewoks. I thought thwy were pretty cute. Hahaha :)

I'm not sure whether or not to look forward to next week's episode. I'm not a fan of catch-up episodes, but they are promising it from a perspective we haven't seen before. Hmmm. It's kind of intriguing. I guess I'll just have to watch it and see.

Friday, April 10, 2009

They're Alive! And not LOST!

I had Spanish class Wednesday so missed LOST. I finally got time to watch it tonight. Hooray!

1. Hallelujah! My prayers were answered! Desmond, Penny, and little Charlie are alive. I've been so worried about them. I knew that Ben had gone after them, but wasn't sure of the results. I squealed and jumped out of my seat when I saw Ben on the pier. I yelled to my husband (who was sitting right next to me) to watch, Watch! Oh man. I was on the edge watching that segment. I screamed when Ben shot Desmond. Seriously. Hubby can vouch for that. I yelled to Penny to watch out!! And I begged Ben not to shoot her or Charlie. And guess what... Ben listened to me. Turns out he has a soft spot for babies. Phew! I loved Desmond coming up behind Ben, knocking the wind out of him, then thoroughly beating his face. Although it was nasty seeing all the blood spill out of his mouth into the ocean, he totally had it coming. And I was glad to see Desmond give it to him. *sigh* I love you Desmond! You rock! Hubby and I agree that Desmond is one of our favorite characters. Especially with the Scottish heritage and accent. My Mom agrees too. All things Scot RULE!! ;)

2. Ben has a soft spot for babies. Totally didn't see that coming. He's so hard core about so many other things. I just assumed he would have no problem killing a babycakes. I also had a hard time deciding when Ben was lying and when he was being honest in this episode. So, I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and just assume that everything out of his mouth was a lie. I know that usually when you give someone the "benefit of the doubt" that you assume they are honest, but come on! We're talking about Ben here. Any assumptions must be toward the negative. Sorry Ben.

3. The smoke monster let Ben live. EXCUSE ME??? The smoke monster killed Mr. Echo. And Mr. Echo rocked! Everything that man did was for his family. He was my ultimate favorite character and then he was gone. I cried for Mr. Echo and cursed the smoke monster for his unfairness. Well, smoke monster has proven just how unfair he truly is. He let Ben live! I know Alex yelled at Ben and threw him up against a wall. I know that Alex told him he better listen to John from now on and NOT try to kill John. But come on! We all know how bad Ben has been. Does anyone really think that he will listen to smoke monster/Alex and actually be loyal to John? Anyone? Although, he does claim that everything he has done has been for the island. Maybe he will listen. He would be a great ally for John. He has great skills and always follows through. And he usually has a plan for every situation. So, if Ben can be nice, John will be the better for it. But I'm so worried about John! He's so naive and trusting. And I know that I really shouldn't be talking here since I have also been accused of those two traits (and not in nice ways). But really John! The man has tried to kill you twice now! Please John. Be safe. For me. Please!

4. What's with the bounty hunter and the guns? I can't believe they knocked Frank out like that. Although I was relieved! My Digital TV signal cut out for a few seconds when they were targeting Frank, so at first I thought he'd been killed. Ey-Yah! I was so relieved that he had only been knocked out. Why is it that every time I start liking a character the Lost writers have to target them. First it was Boone. Then it was Mr. Echo. Then Claire. I've been on pins and needles for weeks for Desmond and Juliet. And now Frank. Why don't they target Jack? Really? He's been getting on my nerves lately. You could do some damage to his character and I wouldn't mind. He needs a good kicking around. Honest! He does! Sing with me: Hit the road Jack! And don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more. Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more! Yeah!!

Looking forward to next week.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

LOST & A Funeral

So, I missed Lost last night because the family and I went to my Grandfather's viewing. Then we went to see my Dad and Sisters in the Easter Pageant. It was great. Except, my Dad yelled at Jesus, conspired to kill him, and spit on him. Umm. I think his bishop might need to talk to him before renewing his recommend.

When we returned for the night, my Mom informed Hubby and I that she had recorded Lost for us. Wasn't that wonderful! Except, it was really late. And I just wanted to go to bed. But Hubby said he was going to watch it, so I had to watch with him. *sigh*

It was a good episode. Up until that last two minutes. At which point the DVR stopped recording. Right when Richard tells Sawyer and Kate that if he helps Kid Ben then his innocence will be lost and he'll never be the same again. I saw when Kate and Sawyer looked at each other and then told Richard to Yes, Help Kid Ben! But as Richard turned to the forest the recording just stopped. Ey-yah! Normally I'd just watch the rest on the internet, but my Mom's computer doesn't have the "special" program that ABC requires. And since I don't want to download programs to her brand-new computer that is currently virus free, I will have to wait a few more days to find out what happened. Unless YOU want to tell me... I won't mind. Honest...

In the meantime, here's what I thought about last night's episode, condensed:

1. Kate came back to find Claire. Wow. I thought she came back to nab Sawyer. Do you think she'll be able to get Claire off the island if she does find her? And if the do get off the island, what year will they end up in?

2. Stupid Jack! If he'd just helped Kid Ben out, then Kate & Sawyer wouldn't have to run to Richard and get Kid Ben's innocence lost and his personality changed. Stupid Jack! He always seems to screw stuff up. Even when he's doing the "right thing". Stupid man, can't catch a break.

And that is all I have time for. Please feel free to comment and tell me what you think. I meanwhile, will go back to visit with my fabulous family and reminisce about our dear Grandpa.