It’s a task I have yet to accomplish, despite the momentary glee at thinking I finally found one that fit. Here’s a review of two I’ve bought and worn during pregnancy and now two weeks into the life of baby #2. It’s recommended that you buy a nursing bra after delivering baby, but during pregnancy those you already had will more than likely cease to fit. Some products are marketed as “maternity bras” but most of them feature drop cups designed for the nursing mother.

Back in January, I was introduced to a local boutique and was ecstatic because it seemed I’d found a bra that actually fit. I bought one and ordered more. I’ve been a pretty loyal underwire wearer even though it’s not recommended when nursing as they are said to contribute to plugged ducts. With the Medela Seamless Full Fit, I’d though I’d found something supportive, well-fit, and functional.

• Even up front there was a problem, the cup hook. It is described thus: “Convenient one-hand release clasp and flexible drop cup makes for fast easy nursing.” Good – it releases quickly. Bad – it does not reattach so quickly. You have to slide it up into the clasp and push until it clicks. This is difficult to do one-handed and can come undone later even after clicking.
• After wearing for a while there was another problem. Good – the thick wires provide support. Bad – the frame the wire slides into dug into my ribs and underarm. Someone suggested I take out the wires, I did so and while it seemed more comfortable, it was not as supportive. As anyone similarly built knows, shortening the shoulder straps brings the back up, not the front.
• Shoulder strap description: “Cushioned straps for added comfort”. If you need support, wider straps are better, true, but the wider, thicker cushion sticks out from underneath sleeveless clothes.

After a couple months I visited the Maternal Connections boutique in El Camino Hospital to find something more comfortable and in a nude color. They have most of their bra selection stored in a room that offers complete privacy from other shoppers (as opposed to Motherhood Maternity where you are behind a curtain). I would have preferred to have the room to myself, but having babies usually requires a little loss of privacy and the lady who helped me was very nice. She stressed that I not try to get a perfect fit until after delivering, but to find something soft and comfortable. What seemed best at the time was the bravado The Body Silk Seamless. The package boasts “lovely shaping and support” but that doesn’t ring true as you go up in size.

• It’s definitely soft. Sure, it’s comfortable but there isn’t any support or separation. Can I just say this did not help with the increased pregnancy sweatiness.
• As with most nursing bras, it’s a basic drop cup, but unlike many it doesn’t have a frame. Between the hook and the band is only a narrow elastic – not enough support.
• The cup has removable foam inserts for “the option of a thicker cup”. Now that I’m using it while nursing, I find that the insert has folded over when I rehook the cup. Readjusting the insert discreetly has proved impossible, it works a lot better with the insert removed.

Anyone have recommendations for great nursing bras for large cup sizes? Have you been able to try them on? Or do you order them?

It was great because I could lie on my belly but sadly I couldn’t get the lower back massage I really need because my belly is still recovering. As I was getting settled there was a very strong lavender aroma. I couldn’t tell if it was coming from the head rest or a febreeze outlet. I asked if I ought to have my head down and mentioned the strong scent and she changed the cover the headrest. Jen worked gently on my lower back but did the more intense work on my upper back. Wow! I didn’t realize how much I needed that too. She did a great job alternating with gentle, strong, and deeper. For the strong portion I think she was using her forearms. For the deeper portions I think she used her finger to dig in, it felt like how I imagine acupressure. That was uncomfortable but didn’t last long. She also did the backs of my legs and soles of my feet.

On my back (and it was so much easier turning over sans baby belly), she worked on the front of my legs, the tops and bottoms of my feet, arms and fingers, and my upper neck.

The table can be raised or lowered, and was soft and covered with a cotton sheet under me, and a blanket and top sheet over me. There were also pillows available for comfort (I used them under my chest while on my belly). You can wear underwear, cover in the provided towel, or go bare. She only uncovers the area she’s working on: back, leg, arm. There is a water sound machine, music playing, and a small adjustable heater.

The one negative is the parking. It’s a small building with a few medical offices at an intersection. The building is surrounded by parking but it’s small and tricky to navigate. The directions from Google told me to turn left onto Blossom Hill from Los Gatos Blvd and then make a U-turn at Cherry Blossom but the building is at the previous intersection and reachable by simply turning left at that light.

I can’t wait to return for a great back massage when I’m finished my postpartum recovery.

When daughter #2 arrives (maybe on contest-end-day [May 28]!), daughter #1 will be 4 1/2 and I want to look just as adorable as they do! I’m thinking the brown BeHave, so lovely! It’s a hobo bag size/style with hand/short shoulder straps, and a messenger length strap that you can attach underneath! All the Ju Ju Be bags have insulated pockets somewhere. The PackaBe has a typical outside, side pocket that I use for my water bottle. The BeHave has a zippered, lined pocket that fits seamlessly into the shape of the bag. The signature JJB prints line the inside. Their bright prints are usually on the outside, with bright solids inside, allowing you see your belongings, not a black hole. It has plenty of pockets, also famous in JJB bags. Most bags are for the kiddie stuff, with a “Mommy-pocket” somewhere inside. This bag is a “Mommy’s going out to have fun” bag with room inside for kiddie stuff.

I would love to have this bag. I fancy myself a purse/bag-collector, but most of them are fairly plain, at least most were purchased at an “average-buyer” store. Ju Ju Be bags are so worth their cost. I was ecstatic to get my PackaBe for $$ off at BabySteals.com. I actually jumped out of bed, something I never do nowadays! Wouldn’t it BeFabulous (haha, that’s the other lovely Legacy/Earth Leather bag), if I could win this one through the From One Mommy To Another giveaway?!?!

Lately, as I get bigger and bigger, I have been looking at photos of myself from 2007. Sara Ellen was a year and a half, I had been dancing three days a week and exercising as rehabilitation at the chiropractors. In other words, my face etc. was looking slim; gives me hope. I know it might sound silly. Then there is the fact that I am not set with a dance studio here and my workout is with WiiFit. Well, come June I’ll start nursing off the calories. Hopefully I’ll have a tiny bit more energy than I do now.

That is sufficient introduction to one of my favorite things, at least right now: my bed. My big, foam covered mattress with pillows and a blanket on top that makes me feel cozier. My bed has been one of my favorites since at probably October. Not every day but some afternoons or early evenings, all I want is to curl up in bed to read, eat, watch something, or nap. Even if I don’t feel the need to get in early, getting in at night is a lovely feeling! If I say bedtime is my favorite time, I don’t just mean because Sara Ellen is down. I get to curl up in bed, get comfortable maybe wait for the baby to kick (I was watching the movement last night!), and drift off in hopes of sleeping soundly all night.

Just a little randomness thrown in, my belly button is becoming less of an innie. I don’t remember if this happened with Sara Ellen. And I’m still trying to get my pants to stay up! I’m hoping capris might be better except they still have to make it over my bum and my knees. I have one comfy knit skirt. I’d like another. I’m waiting for my Liz Lange swim suit to arrive; dark skirt bottom and dark green floral top halter, the kind that covers front and center, leaves the shoulders open and has a tie right around the neck. I anticipate enjoying the heated community pool when they turn said heat on in May I think. I am also totally jazzed about the babysteals.com deal I scored yesterday. I was checking mail and facebook by iphone per my usual lazy morning routine and saw the JuJuBe fan page sharing the incredible offer, PackaBe backpack for $60!! It’s usually runs well over $100 and I have been wanting one for months, and they even had the color I wanted! They ship same day. Babysteals has one huge deal everyday that posts at 9 a.m. MST and goes quickly. K, that was a lot of randomness.

Another favorite thing: Coca Cola. It is the best tasting soda in my opinion and there is bubbliness. I really don’t want to drink so much fakey sugar but my weakness for this beverage is increasing. I don’t keep it in the house and I try not to buy it or request Tim bring it home too often. I was the same way with Sara Ellen, because it helped me burp. One of my particular pregnancy symptoms is the softening of the digestive tract making lots of burps and coughs because food can go down too quickly.

Other randomness, a couple weeks ago I went through the boxes of Sara Ellen’s baby clothes looking to see what we can reuse. We do have a decent amount that we can use, especially since the weather here allows for a lot of layering and continued use. There are even a few things we can use that we couldn’t with Sara Ellen such as a 6 month-or-so snow jacket and car-seat friendly snow sack. These two girls are born in opposite seasons and especially as we are going east next Christmas. Oh geez, we’re going to have TWO car-seats to install in a rental! Anyway, baby girl number two is going to need clothes for her first months in the summer and warm autumn; rompers, tops and bottoms, probably some tiny onesies.

Next favorite: organizing and re-purposing. My most recent success was clearing the corner in our play area, getting more off the floor, and making stuff more accessible. I got a short square shelf system from IKEA. I already had a pink canvas container from Target with bowling set. I added other active pursuit accessories in it. I got a matching container in yellow to put in dolls and accessories. Those two are in the top shelves. In the bottom shelves are puzzles and coloring items. For coloring and writing books I got two unpainted wood magazine holders. We painted them “pool blue” and on the front I used fish stickers to create a little aquarium, I’m quite proud. On the top of the unit I put all Sara Ellen’s board games, which had been on the refrigerator, and a purple basket for her play-doh. Years ago I bought a white shelf and storage bench set for my own room. In this house I put the bench under our door mail slot. It was holding random stuff. Next to our couch I had what was a nice box for blankets but it got soiled and squished so I moved the bench there and it’s also making a great end table. The hanging shelf had two small shelves and three hooks. It had been sitting in our garage until I realized I could use it to get laundry products off the dryer. It’s actually sitting upside down on the very top of the dryer, leaning against the wall and working very nicely but I won’t be sharing any photos.

Another happy thing: yummy food. That’s kind of obvious but especially now when I usually don’t want to cook much. I like to put together a meal for my family but sometimes it’s hard to come up with something that’s going to be healthful and very yummy. I’m not a very imaginative cook but I can follow a recipe and tweak it now and then. I try to keep food in the house to throw together but I do not like grocery shopping, even when I have a bunch of good meals planned. If I go alone and listen to my own music while shopping it’s a little easier but still not my favorite activity. Ham sandwiches are yummy, fruit juice is refreshing, veggie and/or sauce laden pasta dishes and Chinese food are good too. Milk is delicious. Fruit is awesome.

Speaking of refreshing, I discovered that I love to wash my face with cold water. It’s almost like drinking it. However I still prefer to shower in warm soothing water. My favorite products? Biolage Matrix antidandruff shampoo & conditioner. I have tried the readily available in-store products. I even tried the set from Proactiv. It treated my scalp okay but not my hair. It was poofy and impossible to run my hands through. I never before purchased from salon but I did and it’s been great. I had been using Aveeno shaving gel but tried Venus Spa Breeze razor cartridges with the water-softened gel on the razor and it’s way more convenient and works well. I’ve gone back to Mary Kay for facial cleansing but my consultant and I put together a different Timewise system. Instead of getting all normal to dry or all combination to oily we decided my skin would be better served by combination cleanser to take out less oil and normal moisture to put in more. I tried Proactiv for a while and I thought it was okay but my skin didn’t feel smooth and clean. I’m quite partial to MK tinted moisturizer, to which I can add extra moisture if the air is drier, and MK colors. It’s that cliche female thing, putting my face together along with pretty, comfy clothes and fun earrings makes me feel good, pregnant or not.

That’s all I can think of and it’s certainly plenty. A lot of those thoughts aren’t really fascinating conversation topics but that’s why I started a blog. Writing gets out of my head what I wanted to share, though potentially irrelevant but so normal that others might possibly take interest.

Ron develops from his supporting role/best friend act, and gets much more credit to himself. Rupert Grint is the funniest he’s ever been in this character when he finally gets female attention (Jessie Cave does a great job too. Her “Lavender” is just nuts, literally and figuratively over Ron.), when he thinks he’s high on Felix Felicies luck potion, and when he’s high on love potion. I laughed so much in his scenes!

Harry is pretty much himself, making it through while trying to handle so much pressure. It was nice to see him get female attention in a new scene at the beginning. He has the added teenage struggle of loving Ginny secretly. Her character is given extra scenes but some were taken out and their relationship was suggested at, but never officially developed. Harry is one of my all-time favorite characters but the best scene is when he has taken the luck potion. He becomes so irreverent, loose, and funny (very unusual) until he reaches his goal.

Tom Felton does a beautiful job developing “Draco” into the would-be assasin. Draco has always been Harry’s nemesis but this year he really has a purpose beyond the general boasting and challenging. He shows much more emotion, has become quite suave, and could be charming if he were not focused on his mission. Not to mention his facial features have matured significantly into a very handsome guy.

Luna is the best. She’s given an extra scene, finding Harry on the train (instead of Tonks who appears later in a scene where she is supposed to be curiously absent). Every scene she’s in just lights up, her party dress (I wish we’d seen their version of a vampire), her lion head, she’s awesome. Helena Bonham Carter makes an excellent “Bellatrix” (but it bugs me when she’s refered to as “Bella”, some of you may know the reason). The inclusion of Fenrir Greyback bothers me. You can tell he’s a crazed monster but other than that, he’s not a developed character. There is no explanation of his monstrosity and his main scene in the book is not included. As always, I love the Weasley twins. It’s briefly asked, “how are they doing it?”, but it seems to refer to their thriving business in such times, not their original source of income. It’s disappointing that we see so little of them. Despite his part in the title, Snape seems to be less prevalent, most of the established professors take a backseat to Dumbledore and Slughorn with the allotted time frame.

As always, many book parts are taken out or changed in the adaptation. Many of the changes left me disappointed despite me enjoyment of the rest of the movie. Dumbledore seems less informed regarding Riddle’s collection of items for horcruxes. The “magpie” tendancies for Hogwarts collectibles is never mentioned, and he says he had no idea how deep Voldemort had gone. This leaves “Deathly Hallows” in a strange place. How is Harry supposed to know what the seven Horcruxes could be? He has even less than no idea what to look for, though there seemed to be a foreshadowing that “Dark Magic [left] a trace” on him. The end, which should be the climax, was disappointing. There was no battle, the death and grieving didn’t touch me as it does when I read, and Snape’s exit was less than I expected. There was less heart ache between Harry and Ginny, and no funeral, I suppose they didn’t want us sitting through another eulogy as after Cedric (*sniff*). I think the disppointment in the adaptation is stronger because I was so excited and most of I loved. I’m looking forward to my 2nd viewing a couple days to try it again.

Hook 1991 – One of the greatest Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts.

Maggie: [after Peter rescues her and Jack from Captain Hook] Daddy, let’s go home, please? He’s just a mean old man without a mommy.
Jack: Yeah, dad, let’s go. He can’t hurt us anymore.

Father of the Bride 1991 – Such a sweet Father/Daughter movie with Steve Martin

Newsies 1992 – One of the best musicals. Christian Bale singing and dancing. Oh, and Bill Pullman does a great job too.

Jurassic Park 1993 – As usual, the sequels aren’t very good, but I’d like to have them all together anyway.

The Fugitive 1993 – Harrison Ford, what else shall I say, and Tommy Lee Jones who looks like my father.

The Pelican Brief 1993 – Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington

Schindler’s List 1993 – Liam Neeson. Watched it in 10th grade, heart-breaking, when he realizes how many more he could have saved.

Sleepless in Seattle 1993 – Yeah, it’s a bunch of sap.

Jonah Baldwin: Talk to her, dad. She’s a doctor.
Sam Baldwin: Of what? Her first name could be Doctor.
Doctor Marcia Fieldstone: What are you going to do?
Sam Baldwin: Well, I’m gonna get out of bed every morning… breath in and out all day long. Then, after a while I won’t have to remind myself to get out of bed every morning and breath in and out… and, then after a while, I won’t have to think about how I had it great and perfect for a while.
Doctor Marcia Fieldstone: Tell me what was so special about your wife?
Sam Baldwin: Well, how long is your program? Well, it was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were suppose to be together… and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home… only to no home I’d ever known… I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like… magic.

Annie Reed: Now that was when people KNEW how to be in love. They knew it! Time, distance… nothing could separate them because they knew. It was right. It was real. It was…
Becky: A movie! That’s your problem! You don’t want to be in love. You want to be in love in a movie.

Dennis Reed: Annie, when you’re attracted to someone, it just means that your subconscious is attracted to their subconscious, subconsciously. So what we think of as fate is just two neuroses knowing that they are a perfect match.

The Shawshank Redemption 1994

Outbreak 1995 – Dustin Hoffman is awesome in this. Cuba Gooding, Jr. is a great sidekick. This includes Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Spacey, Rene Russo, Donald Sutherland, and Morgan Freeman.

Sam Daniels: If you think I’m lying, drop the bomb. If you think I’m crazy, drop the bomb. But don’t drop the bomb just because you’re following orders!

Col. Sam Daniels: Just don’t get negative on me.
Major Salt: Affirmative

Sense and Sensibility 1995 – From one of my favorite Austen novels. Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman are great. Hugh Laurie also has a small but enjoyable role.

Congo 1995 – I think the movie is actually better than the book. I might say the same for Jurassic Park, and both are Crichton adaptations. It might be that the books have more descriptions of science than of the story.

Twister 1996 – The following is my favorite quote, it really requires the hand gestures:
Dusty (philip seymour hoffman): Red meat. We crave sustenance.
Jo: No, guys. We are not invading my aunt.
Dusty: Food.
Dusty, Rabbit: [others join in] Food.
Dusty, Rabbit, Beltzer: [the rest join in] FOOOOOOOOD!
Jo: Hey! We are absolutely not going.

Independence Day 1996 – Classic Will Smith with Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman.
David Levinson: We’re hit! We took a hit!
Captain Steven Hiller: [yelling] We’re not hit! We’re not hit! Stop side-seat driving!
David Levinson: [trying to make a break for the exit] Left! Left! Tunnel! Tunnel! Exit! Exit! Left!
Captain Steven Hiller: Where the hell do you think I’m going?
David Levinson: Ok, ok We’re we’re we’re uh…
David Levinson: Uh oh they’re closing up on us… they’re closing…
Captain Steven Hiller: Shut up, shut up, shut up!
David Levinson: Must go faster. Must go faster! Must go faster! Go, go, go, go!
Captain Steven Hiller: [escapes from the alien ship]
[screaming]
Captain Steven Hiller: Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!
Captain Steven Hiller: Oh! Elvis has left the building!
David Levinson: Oh, thank you very much. Oh, I love you man

Dante’s Peak 1997 – Pierce Brosnan’s volcano disaster movie

Air Force One 1997 – Harrison Ford!! And Gary Oldman is the best villian here, as in The Fifth Element.

Men in Black 1997 – Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, you see my trend here.

Beatrice: You here to make fun of me too?
Kay: No, ma’am. We at the FBI do not have a sense of humor we’re aware of. May we come in?
Beatrice: Sure.

Conspiracy Theory 1997 Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts

Jerry Fletcher: A good conspiracy is unprovable. I mean, if you can prove it, it means they screwed up somewhere along the line.

Jerry Fletcher: Love gives you wings. It makes you fly. I don’t even call it love. I call it Geronimo. When you’re in love, you’ll jump right from the top of the Empire State and you won’t care, screaming “Geronimo” the whole way down. I love her so bad, I just… whoa, she wrecks me. I’d die for her.

The Fifth Element 1998 – The greatest cast and incredible editing, switching between characters explanations of events and facts. So funny.

Korben Dallas: [Leans down and kisses Leeloo. Leeloo swipes his gun and holds it to his head]
Korben Dallas: You’re right, you’re right, I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.
Leeloo: Senno ecto gammat!
Korben Dallas: I’m sorry, I’m sorry!
Leeloo: ecto gammat!
Korben Dallas: [In a later scene] When she woke up, she said a bunch a stuff. I didn’t understand any of it but… what does ‘ecto gammat’ mean?
Priest Vito Cornelius: Uh… never again, without my permission.
Korben Dallas: That’s what I thought.

DJ Ruby Rhod: What was that honey? It was BAD! It had no fire, no energy, no nothing! So tomorrow from 5 to 7 will you PLEASE act like you have more than a two word vocabulary. It must be green

Priest Vito Cornelius: It’s a – it’s a – it’s a – it’s a – it’s a – it’s a…
DJ Ruby Rhod: No no no no no no. ‘Cuz if it was a bomb, the alarms would go off ‘cuz all these hotels have bomb detectors, right?
[the alarms sound]

You’ve Got Mail 1998 It’s just one of the cutest movies and has such a funny cast.

Joe Fox: What happened with that guy at the cafe?
Kathleen Kelly: Nothing.
Joe Fox: But you’re crazy about him.
Kathleen Kelly: Yes, I am.
Joe Fox: Well, why don’t you run off with him? What are you waiting for?
Kathleen Kelly: I don’t actually know him.
[cringes]
Joe Fox: Really?
Kathleen Kelly: I only know him through the, uh… you’re not going to believe this…
Joe Fox: Oh, let me guess. Through the Internet?
Kathleen Kelly: Yes.
Joe Fox: Hmm. You’ve… got mail.
Kathleen Kelly: Yes!
Joe Fox: Some very powerful words.
Kathleen Kelly: Yes…

Enemy of the State 1998 – Will Smith!

Robert Clayton Dean: What is happening?
Brill: I blew up the building.
Robert Clayton Dean: Why?
Brill: Because you made a phone call

Brill: What? That’s my best aloha shirt.
Robert Clayton Dean: Yeah, well say “aloha” to it.

Brill: I need sugar. I’m getting cranky.
Robert Clayton Dean: Getting?

Brill: You wanna take a poke at me?
Robert Clayton Dean: I don’t hit senior citizens.

The Mask of Zorro 1998 – Has the greatest dance between Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta Jones. Anthony Hopkins is great too.

Mercury Rising 1998 – Bruce Willis helps an autistic boy who sees National Secrets in puzzles.

Practical Magic 1998 – Sanda Bullock and Nicole Kidman. Goran Visnjic and Aidan Quinn also good.

Gary Hallet: Did you or your sister kill James Angelov?
Sally Owens: Yeah, a couple of times.

Sally Owens: All I want is a normal life.
Aunt Frances Owens: My darling girl, when are you going to realize that being normal is not necessarily a virtue? It rather denotes a lack of courage!

Sally Owens: Well, it’s what I want.
Sally Owens: We were going to open a botanical shop. Where Mike would get all the ingredients and I’d make the stuff. He really loved my mint-oatmeal shaving cream. He couldn’t stop eating it.

Shakespeare in love 1999

Runaway Bride 1999 – I remember seeing this with my mother and sister. At this time, Julia Roberts was my favorite actress. She’s still great but there others on my list now, it’s mostly her older movies that I like.

The ways in which Dali the student stood apart from others is very obvious. He’s a little shy and but not too shy to act upon his views of himself and the world. He knew he had something to communicate in his art, and a fresh way of doing so. He also had little patience for the societal norms and outdated ideas. His behavior didn’t change, even when he gave up his fashions from the last century to catch the eye of Lorca, who was attracted by Dali’s passion for new ideas. Dali really enjoyed shocking people but there was something he never communicated, something painful from his past keeping him from intimacy. As years past, his behavior grew more bizarre though he *seemed* to publicly denounce liberal views. What he gained in artistic popularity, he lost in personal freedom. He abandoned the relationship with Lorca to pursue artistic success. Lorca continues to write, expressing himself openly in art and politics, and dying for his ideas after theater successes. Dali takes an older, Russian wife and seems to continue a strange facade.

Parts of it made me quite sad. There was obviously some pain in Salvador’s past that inhibited him. He was outspoken and openly unusual but he was missing a peace that comes with being your whole self. There was also the dichotomy, in Lorca, between his Catholic faith, and his love for Dali. It seems so painful to love someone when everything, and everyone around you says it’s wrong.

Then there were scenes that were unpleasant to watch; an unclothed Dali in front of the mirror talking to himself (leaving just a little less to the imagination, which I prefer to use), and an love scene, sans love, between Lorca and his friend Magdalena who wished she were more to him (I hate watching those), with Dali in the room aching over his refusal of Lorca. I’m curious what Rob thought about filming those scenes, maybe it was “just work”, maybe I don’t want to know, maybe it was just as hard for him to act as it was to watch.

I think it was very well done, worth watching, and ended well. It was certainly thought-provoking, and is the kind of movie that stirs the need to find honest self-expression. The script is in English except for Lorca’s recitations. He speaks his poems in Spanish and underneath, he translates into English. There are no subtitles. I found it was easier to understand if I closed my eyes. I often have a hard time “getting” poetry, but I at least wanted to hear it clearly. The scenery and cinematography are beautiful. The film made me curious about Dali, an artist I have never given much attention. From the works I found online, he was an amazing painter, in all the styles he tried. His signature works almost look real, and I find the way he painted genious, but I don’t like the images themselves. One of the ideas of essentric I found is that a person operates outside the norm in ways the rest of us don’t understand. He was just a bit of a nut.

Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn Thank you Kate for shoving them into my hands!!

Twilight I had not planned to reread so soon, but it was around (after I bought a copy for myself at Target) so I did, with the idea that I’d get the timeline in my head before the movie.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I read all these because I it was another world I knew I could get lost in. I needed something else!

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubas III. One of a bunch of books I got basically free at a book fair. I really did not like it at all, but the writing kept my attention. I wanted to know what happened and after reaching the pathetic ending, tossed the book in the recycling.

Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment by Joan Aiken. Kind of like (or is) fan fiction. Picks up after Austen’s work. I really enjoyed it! It was lent to me during a camping trip to Rocky Gap November 1 & 2. I’d brougt Lord of the Rings but this was easier to get into.

New Moon After buying it from Target. I don’t remember exactly when that was, perhaps before the above.
Eclipse in Nov/Dec ‘08 after getting it “free” from amazon
Breaking Dawn I’d purchased it soon after it came out b/c I’d only been lent the first 3. This time I stayed up till early morning reading the first night Sara Ellen and I spent in our CVille home on the sofabed. I wasn’t trying to finish it, it’s just wonderful. The Cullen family is the best.

The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood I thought I’d read it before but there were things I hadn’t remembered. I’ve also read (not this year) Little Altars Everywhere and Ya-Ya’s in Bloom

A Wrinkle in Time My first time! Actually, I don’t remember reading any of these particular books by Madeleine L’Engel, except for AAT. I enjoyed them and even Tim read them after my descriptions of the ideas of science involved.
A Wind in the Door
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Many Waters
An Acceptable Time

Angels and Demons Not because the movie is coming. I just did not want to read TDC but wanted something I knew that was fast-paced.

Twilight
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn My third time – Tim has no idea why I’m so obsessed.

Jurassic Park I started this on our plane trip to California January 30 and finished on the trip back Feb 3. I realized I hadn’t read it!

Twilight I now confess, I read for the 4th time in February while Tim was away and am now making it known to him.
New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone audiobook Listened to it on short trips between Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Richmond. I really helps keep me focused (music can fade in the background), less nervous on unknown roads (I got crazy “lost” between LBurg and Richmond).

Emma I’d seen the movie Clueless recently and wanted to compare it to the book, as well as read a classic. Took a while to get started in the first two weeks in March but it was fun.
Digital Fortress Took this, an easy read, for our trip to Massachusetts March 12-15.
Congo Also took to Mass. Not as exciting as the movie, which is one of my classic 90’s favorites.
The Notebook Got free at the CVille book recycling trailer (at the McIntire Rd recycling center, and read in a few hours before bed, and finished the next morning.
The Samurai’s Daughter A random find at last year’s Key School Book Fair. I really enjoyed the perspective of Japanese/American woman who grew up in San Francisco. Finished in time to have it packed on March 27.
The Host Finally gave in and got Stephenie Meyer’s only other [so far] non-Twilight book. I started in on the trip to CA, March 29.
The Devil Wears Prada First pick from the Cupertino Library. Not nearly as enjoyable as the movie.
The Jesus Chronicles: Luke’s Story by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Started slow but got better once Luke was older and hearing the rumors of Jesus and it’s neat to read at Easter-time.

Artic Drift A new Clive Cussler, slow going.

Twilight audio Gave it a chance and don’t love the reader’s voice

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I think it might get better every time

The Other Boleyn Girl Kind of interesting, a *little* easier than watching the movie but I didn’t love it.

New Moon
Eclipse
Breaking Dawn

StardustIt was ok, I like the movie better.

Vienna Prelude I haven’t read this in years. Still good but not my favorite anymore. First of nine in the Zion Covenant.

The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder Same author at the Ya-Ya’s. I wasn’t sure where it was going for a while I ended up really liking it.

Neverwhere Another Neil Gaiman. I liked it a lot, more than Stardust

Corsair Another new Clive Cussler like this better than Arctic Drift

Midnight SunStephenie Meyer’s work in progress of Twilight from Edward’s perspective. It’s available on her website. I’ve read it three times now. It’s only 12 chapters so far (Twilight is 24) and it doesn’t corresponde exaclty, but it *is* a work in progress. I love the original series but it’s equally amazing reading this way.

I think the interpretations of Bella and Edward are pretty good, but there are many character aspects that have been significantly changed. There are several significant scenes where “Edward” is just too angry. He’s absolutely supposed to show Bella she should stay away or at least be wary but I think he yells and is more disgusted with himself than he should be. I’m really going to get picky here: when he takes Bella up the hill to “reveal” himself, he’s too rough with her. I know from the commentary that Rob Pattinson thinks himself not very athletic or physically coordinated but he really pulls her along. Later they are climbing trees. I don’t think Edward would have put Bella in that situation, he’s too overprotective. She is rather delicate and clumsy, though Kristen Stewart is not. She is apparently plenty coordinated and can even play volleyball well.

The meadow scene itself is quite different because instead of thinking over all she has learned alone, coming to the realization that it doesn’t matter what Edward is, we see this thought process with Edward right there, pressuring her to vocalize what he is. I can understand that the original processes are too internal. They did a decent job bringing in some of Bella’s thoughts as narration. In the same scene Bella is supposed to get her first chance to touch Edward. They adore eachother so strongly, and both feel undeserving of the others love, but we only ever see Edward caress Bella. She rarely, if ever gets a chance.

Other parts that bother me are script related. In some pivotal moments, movie-Bella is not herself. Turns out these are moments where the script had changed or lines forgotten so whatever came out is what was recorded. First is in the escape from the baseball scene. She and Edward are in the car yelling at eachother. That was a bit of ad lib on the last day of filming. Yelling is fine, it fits the mood but she keeps saying she doesn’t know what to do. Book-Bella had all kinds of “diabolical” ideas. She doesn’t want to hurt Charlie, but she knows precisely what to say to get him to let her go. Another script problem was in the hospital after the ballet studio. Edward tells her to go to Florida, sacrificing his happiness for her safety, and instead of fighting only medically-induced drowsiness, she stutters (b/c she couldn’t remember the lines) and can barely get out a few clear words. But the sentiment of each is the same. Half the time when she’s talking to Edward she has trouble with coherency anyway, so I suppose it fits okay.

A couple continuity issues bug me. I do realize how little time they had to make this, and the serious weather problems they had. I do love the movie, but I can also see it objectively. The baseball scene is filmed over a couple days, in a couple different perspectives, and the hair issues they had with the females are clearest in Rosalie particularly right before and after the nomads have arrived. There is nothing a ball cap can do to hide it. From one perspective, her hair is perfect and with large loose waves. From another, the weather has made her hair lengthen into waves with less volume, it goes back and forth. In the hospital, when the camera is right in Bella’s face, the nose tubes come right up under her eyes. When the view is father away, the tubes are lower across her cheeks.

Then there are technological differences, and I don’t mean in how wires were taken out or rain added or removed (and there was plenty of that!). I am referring to all the gadgets Bella and her father own. Book-Bella was raised by a kindergarden teacher and a chief of police. She was going to pool her money just to buy warmer clothes and find an old car to get herself around Forks. She’s described as having a dial-up internet connection (probably on an old computer) so slow that she’ll go back downstairs to get some food or wash dishes (because Charlie has no dishwasher) instead of sitting their while it connects. She has to borrow Alice’s cell phone while waiting in in the hotel and has a walkman/cd player that rests on her bedside table. All these things are different. She has a sleek iMac and iPod, and a fancy cell phone so we can hear her talking to her mother instead of reading emails. And apparently Charlie even has a dishwasher. Tim suggested all her gadgetry might help the target audience more easily connect with her. Her clunky old truck is certainly more visible but all these little things add up to a help us understand her better.

I’ve watched extended scenes as well, and most of what was edited out what not book material anyway. I really hope the next movies stick to the book as much as possible. They should really endeavor to earn all the money they are going to make. There are a least 3 different copies of the dvd available! At each place it’s sold, the features and covers are a little different. I know many TwilightMOMs have bought them all so as not to miss out on a thing. There is also another version of the soundtrack, not the score, but a new cd/dvd with music videos. What gets me is the song that actually starts the credits, is not on either cd! It’s a good song too. I’m definitely going to acquire for my new ipod.

Mom, Dad, Emily and I saw “The Nativity Story” this afternoon. I loved it. Emily and I agree it is rewatchable, several times over.

Tim did not come though he had the day off. I’d forgotten, or didn’t realize that fact so JP babysat. It’s hard seeing your baby go away. It’s one thing leaving her at home… but she was with someone she loves and who loves her back. Tim and Michael (who had seen it earlier) had the house to themselves. Tim spent time bagging leaves from the backyard.

The movie shows what Mary could have been like, as well as Joseph. You see their personalities and circumstances, and how hard their lives are as poor people under King Herod (the Great), the local hand of Ceasar Augustus.

One of my favorite parts is when Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth, who will be the mother of John the Baptist. When Mary is a few months pregnant she tells Elizabeth her baby is kicking and places E’s hand on her belly. Elizabeth says the same and they are standing there feeling their children communicate.

The journey of the Maji is not really funny, but their personalities do lend humor to the movie. One is determined to make the journey. One concedes to join him. The third does not leave with them, unconvinced of the events taking place and the need to attend. He catches up and his reaction to seeing baby Jesus is very sweet.

I loved seeing Joseph and Mary get to know and appreciate eachother on their way to Bethlehem.

The birth made me cry. Ever since my own wedding, weddings make me cry. New babies and situations with children now draw the same emotion from me. I had always heard about the bright star in the sky. According to the Maji in this movie, it’s brightness came from three stars aligning. Jupiter (father), and Venus (mother) create Babylon (King). That happens as Mary is giving birth and it’s really a powerful moment.

Go see it, I highly recommend this movie.

**Apr 7, 2009** I am including this in the Twilight category because it is directed by Catherine Hardwicke who is now famous for directing Twilight. Most of her direction projects have to do with youth.