So, today’s post is a little different…mostly inspired by my recent viewing of “Twilight“.  I’m not quite sure whether the movie was a flop that promised more than it delivered, while leaving me still waiting for the big climax OR a superb movie that set up a perfect foundation for a very promising sequel, while purposefully leaving me thirsty for more.  Hmmm…

Honestly, it doesn’t matter.  I love vampire stories, so I had to check this one out.  It may very well be geared towards teenagers or it could be the beginning of a nice long journey into adulthood and beyond.  I’m not sure about that either.  I probably should read the book.  Anywho, if you like vampire stories, you will still want to watch this movie too, with all its faults and perfections.

Sooooo–I have a confession.  Ever since I can remember, I have wanted to be a vampire been fascinated by vampire stories.  Now, don’t get scared.  I know the difference between fantasy and reality… myth and history… imagination and life.  So, my fascination is no more than a display of my love for sci-fi.  I don’t go around sucking blood, sporting fangs, avoiding the sun or garlic….hey wait a minute…that part about avoiding the sun and garlic may be true.  My point is that I have a somewhat skewed view healthy grip on reality with an interest in exploring the wonderful world of fantasy.

What in the world does this have to do with “Twilight”?  Well, my husband I left the movie discussing the underlying tension between the wolves and vampires in the movie and how we would have loved to have seen that part of the movie expounded.  Of course, the movie would still be going on now if it went deeper into that story.  Hence, the reason we know there will be a sequel…that and the fact that the movie is based on a series of books (written by Stephenie Meyer).

Ever since “Fright Night”, I have read and/or watched every vampire story I could get my hands on.  Yes, I know.  Looking at that movie today, is indeed frightful.  But, my love for it waaaaay back then led me to my absolute favorites:  “Interview With the Vampire”, “Van Helsing” (unfortunately, the writer of this movie favored werewolves, but I’m willing to overlook that), and “Blade”.

My husband, on the other hand, has been sucked into believing werewolves are the kings and queens of the fantasy underworld ever since he watched…you ready…”Teen Wolf”.  LOL  I know.  It’s absurd.  Werewolves playing ball.  What a joke!

Anyway, we’d like you to join our debate.  If you can let your hair down for a moment, set aside the pressures of your 9-5, and just walk into the world of fantasy… Which would you fancy–a strong, fast, hypnotizing, powerfully blood-sucking immortal vampire OR a hairy, can-only-change-with-the-moon, mere animal werewolf?

We’ve been arguing about this for nearly four years now.  We’d like to know what you think.

If you’d like to read a more detailed review of “Twilight”, check out Rocket Scientist ’s page.

If you’re already tired of being in the house with your family and you’re not a Black Friday, Sultry Saturday, or Sassy Sunday shopper, then how about a movie?  My husband and I went to see “Australia” today.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars. 

I won’t spoil the movie for you.  I’ll just let you know there’s a little something for everyone–action, suspense, mysticism, romance, and adventure.  It was able to roller-coaster me through various emotions during the two hours and forty-five minutes of film:  sadness, anger, joy, hope, sentimentality…

It was able to do this largely because of the excellent performances by Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman (hot and rugged!), Brandon Walters (that adorable aboriginal boy who played Nullah) and David Wenham (also appeared with Hugh Jackman in “Van Helsing”).

The movie is about love and compassion… bigotry and hate… fear and revenge… strength and courage… war and restlessness… pride and ignorance… determination and survival… and eventually, progress.  The beautiful Australian outback scenery doesn’t disappoint either.

 It’s rated PG-13 to entertain your whole family.  I would get there early since it just hit the theatres yesterday.  Enjoy!

  10 Things I LOVE About Thanksgiving Holiday:

1.  I don’t have to cook.  Yes, that’s right.  My mother and sister-in-law do all the cooking.  Sure, I ask if I can help, but they’d rather handle it themselves.  As a matter of fact, in the four years we’ve spent Thanksgiving together, I have NEVER cooked anything.  They probably don’t trust my cooking…and I don’t blame them.

2.  I have a house full of babysitters!  You stay or work at home moms know what a pleasure it is to have more than your two eyes on your roving toddler.

3.  Because I have in-house babysitters, I can actually go do something without my baby in tow.  Don’t get me wrong–I LOVE being with her, but I can’t really take her to the movies yet.  So, that means when my husband and I go to see “Twilight” and “Australia” this weekend, it will be the first time we’ve been to the movies in thirteen months.  Yippie!

4.  Different people, that we haven’t seen in a while, drop by to eat spend time with the family.  And, when they drop by, my husband doesn’t have to drag me around town to visit them.

5.  Since we live in an apartment, it feels good to spend time at my inlaws spacious house.  My daughter has more room to run around and bump into stuff.  Good times.

6.  We have more opportunities to take dozens of family photos for my blog our photo albums.

7.  Not only do I have help in keeping my daughter out of the toilet bowl water, but I have help in keeping her entertained.  Her grandfather was overjoyed to read her the book that I have memorized after reading so much.  And, since her grandmother has stocked up on toys, my daughter plays with a different set of toys than she’s used to playing with daily (you know her attention span is short).

8.  No one ever gets bored laughing at my daughter as she walks, dances, shakes her head “no”, flashes her two pearly whites, and…well, I’m beginning to wonder what we did before she was here…

9.  Ok.  Enough about her…I also love all the fruits and veggies my inlaws keep around.  My father-in-law is a vegan and my sister-in-law is a vegetarian.  As long as they don’t replace the fried turkey–we’re good.

10.  My husband’s off work and he gets to spend all day with us for a few days straight.

What do you love most about Thanksgiving…other than after it’s over, Christmas (or Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, DongZhi, Boxing Day, Omisoka) is on the way?

  Since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I find myself reminiscing on last year’s holiday fun. It was an exciting time.  My daughter was only one month old, my family flew from NC and saw her for the first time (my dad’s first flight), we all went to a Rockets basketball game (my dad and brother are avid fans), my husband’s family and mine were together the whole week, and we had my daughter’s Baby Dedication Ceremony.

Awww…the memories.

Well, this year will be different.  No one’s flying here to see us.   I was hoping last year would start a new tradition…both of our families together at Thanksgiving…enjoying conversation, travel, and each others company.  But, you know how it goes.  There are a lot of different factors that go into making a trip like that every year.  With this long distance thing, it’s hard to do anything that can be replicated yearly.

In fact, for the last six years I’ve lived here in Texas, I’ve gone home to NC for the Christmas holiday–but, not this year.  So, that’s a blog for another day.  Today, I’m focusing on Thanksgiving.  And, at least we got to visit my family in October.

ANYWHO–That’s what pictures are for.  Thankfully, I have the memories and the pictures to reflect on last year’s festivities.  It’s taking a lot for me to post pictures with me in them at one month postpartum–yikes.  Also a blog for another day.

We are leaving to visit my husband’s family in Arlington, TX, this evening.  They are a fun bunch.  My husband’s maternal grandmother will see her great-granddaughter for the first time.  That’s exciting.  Since this is a new year, we have the opportunity to make new memories at Thanksgiving.  None of it will probably start a tradition, but at least we will spend time together…and for that, I am thankful.

I’m curious about other family Thanksgiving traditions.  What are yours?

BTW–HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

This is the weirdest coolest thing ever!  At RoutonBabyMaker3000 , you can make a virtual baby.  Unfortunately, I can’t take credit for discovering this.  OnTheVerge is discussing this on her blog and having a $10 Macy’s gift certificate giveaway for those who make a virtual baby and enter the contest.  The winner will be chosen by Random.org.  The contest ends on Dec. 1st and the winner will be announced on Dec. 2nd.  Click on her link for further information.  I’m not quite sure what the judging criteria is, but I sure did enjoy making this baby.

My daughter was close by as I was busy working.  She started giggling when the baby popped up on the screen.  That made me laugh…and my laughing made her laugh more.  So, we just sat there laughing at this virtual boy for about ten minutes.  That alone was worth every minute of baby making!

My husband wants a boy (what man doesn’t?).  Maybe this is a glimpse at what our Lil’ Dan (NOT going to really name him that) will look like.  Here is a still photo of him:

  He looks just like our daughter in this photo!  What do you think?

  Oh wait!  You know what–Lil Dan looks like my nephew Tre’.

How cool is that!

BTW, OnTheVerge mentioned that no one seems to get a girl to pop up.  Well, I did and…well, let’s just say that I’m glad my daughter came out looking the way she did and not like the virtual girl.  Shallow?  Maybe.  I made her with open-mouthed photos, which is apparently a no-no.

Oh well–that’s all folks.  Go get your own virtual baby and have fun!

  Lately, I find that we’ve been asked this question often.  “Oh, she’s so cute…Is she spoiled?”  Honestly, I don’t know what that means…the word “spoiled”, I mean.  And, the fact that so many people are inquiring, makes me really want to know if she is.  I asked my husband if he understood what the question was asking.  He jokingly just said–”I know.  Like we’re actually going to say–Why, yes, as a matter of fact, she’s spoiled rotten.”

So what does “spoiled” refer to…other than milk that is ten days past its expiration date?  Is this question referring to how she responds to situations or how we respond to them?  For instance, if I say “Dasha, don’t do that!” and her reaction is to throw a tantrum, is that being spoiled?  Is the simple act of me telling her not to do it, suggesting that I do not spoil her?  Or is the simple act of her acting out in distress because she was told, “No” showing that she is spoiled?

Is being “spoiled” referring to the amount of things she receives, including tangible gifts and intangible attention?  Is the measure of how spoiled someone is reflected in how much he or she gets or in whether he or she is satisfied with it?  Perhaps it’s all subjective.  What’s spoiled for one may not be for someone else.

I’m struggling with this concept…

If I let her do anything she wants to do, but none of it is harmful, in fact, it’s all reasonable, then how is that spoiling her?  Some people have said to let your baby cry it out and others say you build a child’s self-esteem by attending to his or her needs immediately.  It must depend on the parent and child.

After all, whether a child is spoiled is really more of a reflection on the parenting than on the child, right?  Are they asking us, from our own perspective, if we feel that we are ruining our child?  If so, that would be rude.  I’m sure no one has quite thought this question through before asking it.

You see my problem?  So, I turn to Webster’s Dictionary.com for a working definition of “spoiled”:  to impair, damage, or harm the character or nature of (someone) by unwise treatment, excessive indulgence, etc.: to spoil a child by pampering him.

Well, I certainly hope people aren’t asking us if we are impairing, damaging or harming the character or nature of our child by unwise treatment!  They must be asking if we are excessively indulging her…because, apparently, we don’t know any better than to do that.  And, just what would each person’s definition of excessive be?  I wonder.

I may not clearly understand what being “spoiled” is, but I’ll tell you what I do know–we pore out as much love, attention, affection, and praise that we can on her.  We, just like every other parent, have dreams for our child, some of which include her having the best that life has to offer her. The best educational environment, the healthiest lifestyle, an impenetrable safety and protection veil, beauty beyond measure both inside and out, an attitude of compassion and forgiveness, the best financial acumen and portfolio, an impeccable work ethic and integrity, the highest social adeptness, and unshakable spiritual soundness–these are our hopes for her.  In helping her to achieve these (and other things), we will indulge her–but, not excessively.

In case you’re wondering what “indulge” means:  “To yield to the wishes or whims of; be lenient or permissive with: to indulge a child.“

While we do not expect her to be perfect or even close (those were our hopes, people, not expectations), but since we want the absolute best for her and must facilitate opportunities to make it so, we do our part to yield to her reasonable (as we see “reasonableness”) wishes and be lenient or permissive, when reasonable.  There you have it.  No, our daughter is not spoiled.

Is yours?

It is with great pleasure that I accept my third blog award (not bad for only two months of blogging).  I received The Rock Star Award on Nov. 16th from Joanne at Coconut Palm Designs (view unique crafts by a Canadian living in Belize) and on Nov. 21st from a strong mother of two at Starting Over (she discusses her life after divorce).

 I’m supposed to mention eight interesting facts about myself and pass it on to eight blogs.  So here goes:

1. My husband is six years younger than me, which happens to be the same age as my only brother.  Yes, it is weird sometimes, but the good FAR outweighs the bad.

2.  I moved to Houston, TX in 2002 from Raleigh, NC and didn’t know a soul here.  The same evening I got off the plane, I went to a club with strangers.  I went to church the next morning with other strangers.  I have no idea who those people are today.

3.  I have a masters and law degree, but I prefer liberal arts. This includes anything creative–writing, acting, drawing, designing fashions, taking photos, composing music…  I wish I could have a career doing what I love to do instead of practicing law…but, I don’t want to be a starving artist.

4.  I’m a type A person…yes, that means C-R-A-Z-Y.

5.  I’m a movie fanatic.  Yes, that means I watch several movies back-to-back and sometimes the same movie over and over again, watch the director commentaries and special features, watch movies online as well as on dvd, write and read movie reviews, and research the actors’  and directors’ biographies.

6.  I love my daughter, but hated being pregnant.  I’m dreading having to do it again, but will so that she won’t be an only child.

7.   I was in a singing group in undergrad (East Carolina University) called “Ashanti”.  The four of us were hot stuff…at least we thought we were.  We changed our name once we heard of another singer who was coming out with that name.  She happened to do much better in the music industry than we did.

8.  I have tattoos and body piercings that I’m still trying to figure out how I’m going to explain to my daughter.

Now, for the eight blogs that I have come to really enjoy because they ROCK:

Ez Great Life

Rocket Scientist

First Door On The Left

A Simple Life

Sports 2000

The Fitness Diva

Simply Shiny

WindMill on the Hill

  Ok.  I did it.  Today, I went to court for the first time since my daughter was born over a year ago.  And, it felt good.  I worked hard to get that bar card, and I enjoyed putting it to use today.  The great thing about solo practice is that after a short while, I was reunited with my daughter.  I dropped her off at my husband’s job at 9:30 am (still trying to work out the babysitter thing), went before the judge at 10:00 am, was done by 10:10 am, hung around with my client until 10:30 am, and was back with my little stinky-dinky before 11 am.  It was a good day.  What was I so afraid of?  Maybe returning to work really is like riding a bike.  Isn’t it amazing how we I make mountains out of mole hills!

If you’re reading this blog for the first time and actually give a hoot about what I’m referring to, click here for a previous post about my fears in returning to work.

The featured picture is of the two peas in a pod hanging out at Daddy’s job.

Admittedly, I haven’t done much leisure reading since undergrad.  My time during and after graduate and law schools were spent reading boring informational/nonfiction books.  Let’s just say…I haven’t added to my novel collection in a looooong time.  In case you’re interested, aside from the “informational” books, I have romance, mystery, sci-fi…which are written by some of my favorite authors:  E. Lynn Harris, Omar Tyree, Ann Rice, Eric Jerome Dickey, Michael Baisden, Stephen King, John Grisham…oh, there’s just too many to name.

Well, today, I have the pleasure of introducing the long-awaited (nearly 10 years) follow-up to “The Coldest Winter Ever ” by Sister Souljah.  The prequel is entitled “Midnight:  A Gangster Love Story”.  With this book, she goes further into the life and mind of everyone’s favorite character of Winter’s story, Midnight.

I will have to make a trip to the book store, read it, and tell you all about it.  If anyone has read it already (released Nov. 4, 2008)–PLEASE tell it is worth me coming off my leisure-reading hiatus!  It is much anticipated!  And, the good thing about it being a prequel is that I won’t have to re-read the first story just to remember where it left off.  Awesome.

  I’d never heard of National Baby-wearing Week, but since April and Renee AKA Mekhismom are both talking about it this week on their blogs…I thought, hey…I might as well join in on the fun.  The featured pics were taking earlier this year of my husband and I wearing our daughter. I dug deep in the archive sea of photos for those jewels (I was working out, so excuse my appearance).

I loved wearing her.  We went to ball games, strolled through malls, rushed through an airport, exercised around walking trails, and did grocery shopping.  It was so convenient…until she got so doggone heavy I thought I wouldn’t be able to ever walk again…and that was the end of that.

My brother was scared of the carrier and said it didn’t look safe.  His exact words were, “I wouldn’t trust a few traps to hold up my baby”.  Well, thankfully, we never had an accident with it.  We strictly followed the directions on loading and unloading her and everything worked out.  So, I recommend baby-wearing.

Happy National Baby-wearing Week!

FYI–we called my husband “Man-garoo” when he wore the baby.