what i did today

(FYI, no Twilight spoilers)

I’m hesitant to post because OMG, I feel like every post lately is about Twilight.  And I know that’s almost true and I’m very sure I’m annoying the heck out of everyone reading that’s not a Twilighter so I end up staying away but I just feel bad so I’m neglecting my blog.   So, you’re just going to have to get an earful of Twilight or click off now…

This weekend I did manage to do normal things like go to Bible Study and take my kids to Chuck E Cheese and meet with Melissa (which by the way was a really, really fun time).  I also even went to church and ran some errands on Sunday.  And tonight I’m going to a Mary Kay party.  On the surface, I appear to be a normal thirty something mother!

But alas, I did go to ANOTHER viewing of Twilight last night.  Jill hadn’t seen it and I just HAD to go with her.  And of course Heather then HAD to go with us.  I actually did see a few new things this time.  One that stood out is that Victoria is shown at the prom at least 2 times that I can recall before we see her in the window watching Bella and Edward.  Thought that was cool.  The movie just keeps getting better for me.  And yes, there are things that still annoy me but I really could watch it on replay 24-7.  In fact, Scott’s cousin just text me and asked me to go with her Wednesday.  Four times in 8 days?  Who am I to turn down an invite?

And I’m completely psyched about the Catherine Hardwicke chat tomorrow. I received word that it will be tomorrow at 7:30pm EST.  I will be able to submit as many questions as I want to the mod and they will be picking questions from those.  Catherine will be answering them via video but we will not be on camera.

Today also I received two huge movie posters from the (first) competition I won last week.  And guess what? I’m now sharing the Twilight love and GIVING ONE OF THEM AWAY.  Just leave a comment here.  I’d so love you if you also left a question in your comment to ask Catherine tomorrow. I have a handful ready but I will feel dumb if we all run out of questions to ask her!

Oh, and lastly, I bought Stephenie Meyer’s other book The Host.  Just glad that is ONE book and not FOUR!

OK, I can hardly believe I’m writing this but God decided to go and do something else for me. And yes, I choose to believe it’s an answer to prayer because seriously, ya’ll? I said a little prayer when I submitted this. I actually WON twilightmoms.com’s Ultimate Fan Competition which means I won an online video chat with Twilight’s movie director Catherine Hardwicke!!! OME!!!!

I was sitting at the birthday party table at Chuck E. Cheese this afternoon and randomly check my email and lo and behold I read a Congratulations email from one of their reps. Heather was my first call and then my friend Allison. Then of course I had to twitter, facebook it, post it on message boards and it’s finally made it to my blog. I’m beyond excited and just hoping I come up with a great question. So, help me all you Twilighters! What question do you want Catherine to answer? I have a few in my back pocket but hoping some people can help me out. I am SO tired of hearing the same questions answered and I’m very sure they are tired of answering them!

And I guess I should let you take a peek into the actual submission…it’s nothing fancy. Simple and straight to the point to how I’m completely obsessing over Twilight.

Wow, yesterday evening was a little busy.  We ate at our regular local restaurant and took cupcakes, candles and a few presents for Emma’s birthday.  We all went back to Mom’s house and started watching Tinkerbell until my cousin and her husband got into town.  I got the kids down for bed and was able to visit with my cousin for a little bit before Heather and I headed out to our midnight viewing of Twilight.

We were the first ones there and got the best seats in the house.  I got a little worried as the room started filling up with a lot of teenagers/college students that were very loud.  But everyone behaved themselves except this one part where Bella and Edward were talking and this guys yells out, “Get you some, Edward!”  The whole theater busted out laughing. It actually was really funny.

I’m not going to do a whole other review but I do have to say I liked the movie A LOT more the second time around.  I really was able to appreciate it as its own story versus trying to figure out how it differed from the book.  At first I was thinking that people that hadn’t read the book would hate it but I think I’m going to have to take that back.  It’s no blockbuster movie but it holds its own without the backstory of the book.

I was back at Mom’s by 2:30 this morning.  I got up at 6:50 and got Emma to school and then was crashed back at home by 7:45.  I woke up at 10 today and got started with work.  I’m pretty tired today.  Emma about broke my heart last night asking when we were going to have time at home with just us.  I think she’s feeling all the craziness.

The youth group is having a lock-in tonight. I think I’m going to let Scott go and I’m going to stay home with the kids.  I just don’t think I can take another late night away and I don’t think the kids want to either.  Tomorrow I have choir practice and then have to get the kids to a birthday party.  I may be meeting up with Melissa at some point in the afternoon so Saturday will be pretty busy.  Maybe we can slow it all down on Sunday.

By the way, Heather and I took a bunch of pictures of the screen while we were at the movie if you want to see.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amybennett/sets/72157609624602601/

http://picasaweb.google.com/HeatherRenae98/TwilightMovieStills

The morning after Twilight premiere that is.  I was up until almost 1 finishing my review last night.  This morning I was tired but I got up and got the girls ready for school but talked Scott into actually driving them.  At 7:25, 5 minutes after he usually leaves to take them, I was still standing in my robe and had not had a shower in over 24 hours.  No makeup and my hair was insane as it always is in the morning.  I think he felt pity for me and jumped out of bed.

I went back to sleep for a bit but didn’t get up in time to get a shower or get dressed. I plopped down at my desk and got to work.  Normally things are quiet here but it would just be my luck I had a busy morning…

9:45 the doorbell rings.  It’s Heather to get chocolates from me.  I peak outside long enough to hand her keys and tell her to check my van trunk.  She then tweets:

Stopped at @amyjbennett house. She totally needs to get ready! Scary!

10:30 the doorbell rings again.  OMG, who else could it be?  People just don’t visit me.  I peak through the peephole and it’s FedEx!  Mail!  I decide to open the door with my scary RPattz hair and robe.  He’s like, uh, sorry!  I just laugh and sign.

11:30 the doorbell rings AGAIN.  I look through the peephole.  It’s someone I don’t recognize in a red car and figure it’s for Scott.  Probably another officer.  Crap.  I go to Scott who is in the shower (and previously sleeping in unable to answer the door).  He says Answer it!  I’m in my robe! I say.  So I throw on all my Cullen gear from last night that’s still sitting on the floor, try to flatten my hair down and answer it.  He’s like, sorry, I didn’t wake you up did I?  Hahahha…no, sorry.  I’m just a lazy housewife that just woke up. (didn’t really say that)

Yeah, so needless to say I’m getting a shower during my lunch hour and putting on lots of makeup and sticking lots of hair product in my hair just to feel a little bit better about myself.

This first part has no spoilers!

Wow.  What a day.  I was extremely, extremely excited to see the movie tonight.  I think everyone at work thought I was a little off because I was SO excited about a movie.  I seriously could not quit smiling for most of the day.  At some points I really thought I’d need to find a little corner to cry in just to get some anxiety out.  And I’m not really kidding there.  I was keyed up this evening!

We got there 45 minutes early and realized we didn’t actually have reserved seats.  It was a free for all save 3 rows mid theater saved for the media.  Thankfully Heather and I got two seats on the end on the next to the last row.  I was REALLY afraid of sitting on the first row.  No one did as it wasn’t a sold-out theater.  I would say a good 75% of the people were teenagers. I have no idea how anyone else got their tickets.

Because of the previews from Italy and such it seemed like the audiences could be annoying but we had a great audience.  We screamed/clapped at the beginning and just a little when Edward and then Jac0b made their first screen appearance but otherwise no one moved an inch unless we were laughing.  I think I MAY have seen one girl run to the bathroom towards the end but otherwise everyone was a very good moviegoer.  ALL cellphones/camera were taken at the door so no distractions there.

Now, without spoiling it, I have to say the movie was SO good.  I walked away really satisfied with the movie.  As Kristen said in an interview, I felt like the essence of the book was captured.  There was only one scene Heather and I were like oh, that would have been nice to see but otherwise the Melissa did a FABULOUS job of fitting the book into a movie.  Yes, things changed but I was very satisfied with it.  Now, I have to say I didn’t like every single little second.  I have a list of things I didn’t like but I also have a longer list of things that made me very happy or were even better than I thought.  SO, if you are so inclined, please go to the jump to get more of the scoop.

[Read more…] about Twilight

More blessings and this time in the form of a turkey lol…just in time for Thanksgiving!  Apparently I did well with one of my OTH affiliates (LinkShare) and won a Turkey.  Cool!

Last night turned out REALLY good.   We had less girls than we thought but it was a really good group of girls.  The night consisted of lots of food including some yummy fondue, games, karoke, movies and some scavenger hunts.

I found out I’m HORRIBLE at Jenga.  I think I lost all but one round I played.

I’d never really done karoke (I know  *gasp*) but it was so much fun.  We sang everything from Summer lovin’ to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun to What Hurts the Most to Santa Baby Here We Go Loopy Loo.  We had four or five mics and with the music blaring on our sound system, we all were singing at the top of our lungs and putting on our own version of what a jazzercise class might be like.  It really was a lot of fun.

Everyone finally settled in a sleeping bag around 1am for PS I Love You but they ended up switching movies at 2:30 and I went to sleep then.  The leaders woke up at 9:30 for our Bible Study which actually means I got MORE sleep than I did the past three nights.  Go figure.

So much of what my Bible Study has been about the last two weeks is getting through tough times.  One week was about the goodness of God and knowing no matter what happens, He allows things to happen for His greater glory.  Another was about believing and having faith that fights through those hard times and this past week was about gentleness.  It emphasized that gentleness was born out of submission to God and His will…even through hard times.

She had us think of a tough time where we really struggled with God.  Honestly I had a hard time coming up with something.  Not because I’m a spiritual giant and don’t struggle but because I don’t think I’ve been put through a lot of times where I HAD to struggle.  Yes, in the past few weeks I’ve been met with untimely deaths that had the ability to rock my beliefs to the very core but overall, I just haven’t been in a Job kind of place.  That place where God tests you until everyone around you tells you to curse God because He’s tested you so thoroughly.

And I’ve just been completely overwhelmed about how God has blessed us.  Like really, really blessed us.  He’s been so good to us and I don’t know why He hasn’t chosen us for a Job type experience yet.  Honestly, it scares me completely to think I’ve been going through these studies in preparation for something.  Something that WILL cause me to question God’s goodness and put my faith to test and cause everyone around me to curse God.  I’m not saying I’m worrying.  I’m not.  My point is I’m SO THANKFUL for how much He’s blessed us.  Financially, emotionally, spiritually, physically.  Everything.  So much good stuff has been happening to me lately I just feel overwhelmed.  And yes, I credit all the little stuff to God.  He cares what we care about and He doesn’t miss the little things.

I know my heart has always been in a place to please God and obey his commands as much as possible.  I don’t do it all the time.  My time and attention isn’t always on Him but at my core, I want to please Him.  I think Scott is the same way.  We’ve always had that connection spiritually.  And maybe, just maybe, I need to realize that God is the God that is loving and good and faithful to His promises and has chosen to bless us because of our obedience.  I don’t understand why he has chosen us to bless and not others when they are truly submitted but for now, I just want to be so thankful that everything is so good.

Deuteronomy 28 – Blessings for Obedience

1″If you fully obey the LORD your God by keeping all the commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will exalt you above all the nations of the world.

2You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God:

3 You will be blessed in your towns and in the country.

4 You will be blessed with many children and productive fields. You will be blessed with fertile herds and flocks.

5 You will be blessed with baskets overflowing with fruit, and with kneading bowls filled with bread.

6You will be blessed wherever you go, both in coming and in going.

7″The LORD will conquer your enemies when they attack you. They will attack you from one direction, but they will scatter from you in seven!

8″The LORD will bless everything you do and will fill your storehouses with grain. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

9″If you obey the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways, the LORD will establish you as his holy people as he solemnly promised to do.

10Then all the nations of the world will see that you are a people claimed by the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.

11″The LORD will give you an abundance of good things in the land he swore to give your ancestors–many children, numerous livestock, and abundant crops.

12The LORD will send rain at the proper time from his rich treasury in the heavens to bless all the work you do. You will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them.

13If you listen to these commands of the LORD your God and carefully obey them, the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always have the upper hand.

14You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today to follow after other gods and worship them.