Finally...

After what seems like forever-I finally saw Twilight last nite. It was quite surreal-after reading the books for a few years now & waiting for the movie for so long-it didn't seem real. I was so excited-no giddy actually! I know some of you are surprised that I didn't go to the midnite opening -but I really wanted to see it with Danny & he went to Salt Lake for the weekend to see the BYU game. So I waited till he got back-but it was worth it to see the flick with him. Totally worth it!

I must begin by saying that I went into it with very low expectations. I mean really-how could a movie live up to a book like Twilight? I think the only movie that has ever done the book justice is 'The Notebook'. Anyway- I am happy to say that I really really liked the movie. Can't wait to see it again in fact. I think they did a great job of keeping with the feel of the book & condensing 500 pages into 2 hours. They added & changed a few things, of which only one was disappointing. But don't worry-I won't spoil anything for those of you that haven't seen it yet. And of course there weren't enough kissing scenes. :0) They did a really good job of making Edward seem dangerous & scary-more than I had made him in my mind. What a hottie! Several times I realized I was holding my breath just watching him. Silly-I know! I was excited about Robert Pattinson as Edward from the start & I think he did a great job. He seemed so tortured but still gorgeous!

Now here is the real surprise: Danny really liked it too! He was pleasantly surprised & said it was different & better than he expected. YEAH! We both agree we will have to purchase that one. Now I am anxious to see how New Moon turns out. It was my least favorite of the 4 books-but it will be cool to see how they present the Volturi. Not too excited for all the Jacob nonsense in New Moon- sorry Team Jacob but I am a hard core Team Edward fan! :0)

So there you have it: my 2 cents on one of the biggest movie openers of all time. #15 to be exact. 70 million in one weekend on a movie that cost 35 million to make. Plus it is the biggest opener for a female director. How cool is that!

Oh, Mr. Darcy!

So, this is a pretty random post for me. Usually I only take the time to blog about my kids or vacations or that sort of thing. But I am branching out & sharing some thoughts about a book I reccently read. And no, I don't mean Breaking Dawn... :0)

As some of you may already know-I LOVE to read. Can't get enough! I average a couple books a month, which is pretty good considering everything else going on in life ya know? I will read pretty much anything & I don't think that I have ever read a book that I didn't like in some way. I usually have a few books going at once so I can pick up whatever I am in the mood for. Well, this insatiable hunger got even worse lately & it all started when I recently re-read Twilight, New Moon, & Eclipse in anticipation for Breaking Dawn. Which I LOVED! But when I was done with those I needed something to help me get over the fact that Edward & Bella's all consuming love story is over. ...sigh... What do I read now? How will I move on? What is a hardcore Edward fan to do? Will I ever be able to read a book & love it as much as this literary junk food that I have been addicted to for so long? I know I am not alone in these feelings...right?

Well, I noticed a book that my niece Savanna was reading called 'Mr. Darcy's Diary', & my interest was peaked. Especially since I had read that Stephenie Meyer modeled Edward after a healthy dose of Heathcliff from 'Wuthering Heights' & large helping of Mr. Darcy from 'Pride & Prejudice'. I have always loved Pride & Prejudice, but it had been a few years since I read it. My niece explained that this was Mr. Darcy's side of the story. 'Really?' I thought. I was definately interested.

So I re-read Pride & Prejudice & liked it even more than I remebered. I swear that book gets more funny, heartwrenching & romantic everytime I read it. Then I dug into 'Mr. Darcy's Diary' & I LOVED it! It was so interesting to hear his point of view & how much he loved Elizabeth early on & tried so hard to fight his passion for her. The insights in this book make the story all the better. It makes you love Mr. Darcy & your heart just breaks for him when Elizabeth rejects his first, rather awkward, proposal. Plus, it fills in a few gaps from P&P, & even takes the story a little ways into their married life. I devoroured the book in about a day & a half. SO good! It is obviously not written by Jane Austen since she died almost 200 years ago, but the language is the same & I thought Amanda Grange was very true to the original characters. If you like P&P, you gotta read it. If you already have (& I am just a little slow) or when you do, I would love to hear what you think...

P.S. Watch out Edward! My new crush is Mr. Darcy! :0)