Random Thoughts and Some Holiday Dish

Happy New Year's Eve! Wow -- what a week. We got a Wii for Christmas with the Indiana Jones game. John and I are more addicted than Katie. At first, we were all cute and supportive of each other. It was like a nice date thing to do. After a couple of chapters when it started to get hard and Katie kept interrupting, then we got all ornery and competitive. This is why, even if I was in good enough shape, I will never do "The Amazing Race" with John. Your marriage should never be tested by a game.

I'm FINALLY getting my house to a point that's decent. I was so hardcore busy before Christmas that I've completely gone the other direction and now, I'm a sloth. I've decided this only gets to last until Saturday and then I'm turning a new leaf. Yeah for New Year's Resolutions that I probably won't keep anyway!

And here's a quick holiday leftover dish. We went and saw "Bedtime Stories". Yes, once again I caved and am appearing to only get to see kids movies. I think John and I are going to see "Benjamin Button" this weekend, so that might remedy it. Anyway, if you're an Adam Sandler fan like we are, you'll like it. It's more likable like "Wedding Singer" Adam Sandler, except honestly... Rob Schneider should thank the heavens every day that Sandler includes him in EVERY movie. What a loser! Anyway, it's a good mix of kid stuff and adult stuff, but not in a cute, charming way like say "Enchanted". There's some potty humor and a couple of jokes that fortunately went over Katie's head. The one part that I could do without was when Skeeter calls a guy a Buttkisser. Katie thought that was hilarious and came home saying it, then messed up and started saying Buttlicker. Nice. So, be forewarned. It's not a great movie, but if you're tired of animation like I am, it's a good choice for adult - older kid entertainment right now.

Have a Happy New Year!

The Annual Christmas Newsletter

I think it's funny how people rip on the Christmas newsletter. It's not a big deal. If you get one in the mail and you don't want to read it, then throw it out. But for a lot of people, it's the only chance they have to reconnect with people. Now, I say this, because my dad is the KING of the Christmas newsletter. He has been sending it out to 300+ people for decades. And let me tell you, these babies are novels. For the last 10 years, I've been in charge of putting his together. Can I tell you what a pain in the A it is? Trying to get my 6 siblings -- and two exes -- their entries and photos is a huge task. Then, I have to actually put the thing together, take it to the printer and update/print all of my dad's labels. Fortunately, he takes on the task of stuffing the envelopes, putting the stamps and labels on, and mailing them (with the help of whoever is living with them at the time). Yes, I'm complaining, but it's not because of my dad. I'd do anything for him. There's very little I can give back to him and if putting together his newsletter is what he wants from me, I'll bend myself in a pretzel to do it. All I want in return, I guess, is complaining rights.

I say all this, because the newsletters are FINALLY in the mail! Hooray! And John & I got our cards (sans a newsletter) at the same time. Relief!!! Since I'm trying REALLY hard to cut back this year (and not end up with a Christmas card list of 300+), I limited who I sent our cards out to. Not that I don't love you all! Instead, I'm going to do the very cheap, very easy way and post it on my blog. And even though not much has changed for 2008, here's my lame attempt at an interesting newsletter. (P.S., after this card, I'm retiring these pictures Opie took of us in November. They are getting REALLY old and I'm sick of seeing my big nose, not only on everything I've got but also my Editor's Letter picture. 2009 resolution -- skinnier me, much hotter picture in a couple, I mean...several months).



"Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We hope this holiday season finds you happy and healthy. We are grateful each Christmas for your Christmas cards and letters, giving us a chance to catch up with dear friends.

"Here's an update on the year that was:

"2008 started with some challenges. I was pregnant and preparing to for a preventative cerclage at 12 weeks with months of bed rest afterwards. But at a 10 week ultrasound, we discovered there was no longer a heartbeat. Days later, I had a D&C at Intermountain Healthcare. Truthfully, it was an awful time. Although I wasn't far along, we were all bitterly disappointed. It had taken us years to get to the point of feeling we could handle another pregnancy. Even though we knew it would be another high risk pregnancy, requiring a lot of sacrifice, we were very optimistic. There was a lot of emotional, physical and spiritual preparation involved. When I miscarried so early, it just felt like we had been training for a marathon, but it was cancelled when we got to the starting line.

"We were all in a MAJOR funk, so we took an impromptu trip to our favorite place in the world: Disneyland. The first weekend of February, we packed up the car and drove to So. Cal. The cloud over all of us literally melted away as we drove out of the cold weather into sunny St. George. It was just a great time to heal, relax and have some fun. We really felt our trip was charmed. The first day we were there, we were walking out of the Tarzan Treehouse when a "castmember" handed the three of us Dream Fast Passes. It was awesome! We got to just hop on most of the really cool rides without waiting in line. On top of that, Katie was a character magnet. They all seemed to seek her out. We were having ice cream on Main Street when Bert and Mary Poppins came up, grabbed her by the hands, and danced with her in front of everyone. At the parade, she was crying because she didn't want to come home and Alice came OFF her float to talk to her and cheer her up. There's actually another half dozen examples of why our trip went so well. They were all simple things, even a bit silly, but just having things go our way, really boosted our spirits.

"It took a few months for me to get back on my feet, physically and emotionally. Spring was a bit of a blur. In May, I was promoted to be Editor at Utah Family magazine. It is something I've wanted for years and felt so good to FINALLY be doing what I had dreamed of. Now, the reality is a different thing. It's been a real challenge. The publication has a LONG way to go and right now, I'm still doing a lot of things I'd rather not. I'm still selling and managing some ads. That, and juggling Editor responsibilities, can be really daunting. But, I can't beat working form home and doing something I love. I hope with time I can work out the kinks and it will be really rewarding.

"Our biggest news was after 11 years at National Laser Company, John FINALLY got a new job! Many of you know, John finding a new job has been quite the ordeal. It's been either the wrong fit, the wrong salary, the wrong location or he's just the wrong guy. The stars really needed to align and we feel really blessed it finally happened. He's now the Marketing Manager at Aquaveo. It's another job that I don't understand what he does (Chandler, anyone?). He works for an environmental modeling software company. They map out water ways to find where it's okay to build bridges, streets, roads, etc. I think I got it. The company is in South Jordan. It's been a good change so far. With any new job, there's things you miss about your old one. For us, it's the time off and the travel opportunities. But, the environment is much less stressful and he truly works 9 - 5 p.m. It's been a great change for us.

"Katie finished 1st grade and our summer was busy, and fun. In June, we went to Moab with Jennie, Steve, Mitchell, Jimmy and Libby. Stennie took their dog, Oaklie, and we took Bailey. We took the dog's hiking which was a lot of fun. We river rafted, visited Arches and Dead Horse Point. We always have such a fun time when we travel with my younger siblings and their spouses. It was a great time. We also spent weekends in Idaho Falls, Park City and Heber. If you want to see pictures or read details about those fun trips, check out my archives!

"August through October was spent on our evil yard project (and again, see my archives for those gory details). Katie started 2nd grade in Mrs. Lemon's class and loves it. We celebrated our 10th anniversary with a fabulous trip to New York City. I can't believe it's been 10 years. Time really goes by fast. In November, John was released as Ward Clerk and made a high priest, serving as High Priest Group 1st Assistant in our ward. I'm still 1st counselor in the Young Women's presidency and Katie is VERY excited to get baptized in April. And of course, if you follow our blog, you know all about our Bailey drama. Fortunately, he seems to have completely recovered. He's back to his cute, but naughty, self.

"We end our year extremely grateful. We are "seriously so blessed." Not because our lives are perfect, they are far from. But, we are so thankful for loving relationships, shelter, food, health, jobs and most importantly, our savior, Jesus Christ. Christmas is the perfect time to reflect on our blessings and remember the sacrifices made by Him. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a fabulous New Year."

Love,
The Huts
John, Judy, Katie (and yes, Bailey too)

Jude's Thursday Dish: Christmas Edition

Dear Santa:

To fulfill my passion for Pop Culture, I would like the following for Christmas (or at least sometime in 2009, I'm not greedy):

1. Mel Gibson to come out of exile and get behind/in front of the camera. I miss me some Mel!



2. The U.S. release of "Ally McBeal" on DVD Seasons 1 - 5. The U.K. version (on their weird Region 1 or 2 DVD players) does nothing for me.



3. A new book/movie series I can get jazzed about like "Harry Potter". You know, the kind you can't wait until the next book or movie comes out. Sorry, "Twilight" just doesn't do that for me.



4. Music from my favorite artists that make me want to go out and buy a CD. I miss that. Right now, I just buy songs on itunes.



5. Stop the grim, violent, "dark" movie trend! I want an Oscars with movies I can root for, not films I haven't seen because they are too disturbing...



6. ...instead, I'm loving this musical film trend. Bring on "Wicked" the movie!!! (But they MUST cast the two original leads, come on!).



7. Closure on all those TV shows that broke my heart. I'm talking about every show I get into that cancels and goes to the MIA network. I'm talking to you, "Veronica Mars". I'll take a TV special, a movie, even a comic book installment just so all the loose ends will get tied up.



8. Daytime soaps to become watchable again. With such great primetime shows, why can't they step it up in daytime? I used to love "Days", but if I turn it on now, I can seriously only watch 3 minutes before I'm completely annoyed. Then again, I really don't need another addiction, so maybe strike this one out?



9. Have Oprah stop doing things that make her likable to me. I really enjoy NOT liking Oprah, but then she does something human like putting her heavy picture on her magazine and I start to cave. That, and the "30 Rock" appearance. Stop it, O!



10. Keep those great TV romances lingering. Puh-leez, I don't want to see Jim and Pam get married until the final episode of "The Office". And don't ruin "Gossip Girl" for me by having Chuck and Blair hook-up already. Remember "Moonlighting"? We don't need any more Dave & Maddie letdowns.



I realize, Santa, that your influence over Hollywood is minimal -- or they wouldn't have made those terrible "The Santa Clause" movies. But, anything you can do for me, would be very much appreciated.

Love,
Judy

P.S. No more dish until 2009 since the last two Thursdays are holidays. But, if anything amazing comes my way, I'll be sure to post my thoughts. Lucky you.

Feedback For My Next Editor's Letter

I am racing to get everything done for my January issue before Friday, so I don't have to work next week. Since we go to press on December 26th (!!!), I'm terrified I'm going to be working through Christmas. Sooo, maybe you can help me? I'm throwing together -- no, just "expediting" my article for the Editor's Letter. It's on resolutions. The focus I want to write about is that as parents it's great to have our own personal resolutions to improve ourselves, but what about picking resolutions that will improve our families? How can YOU be a better parent, aunt, uncle, friend, teacher to the children in your life?

I won't be using any names, but I need some concrete examples. If you've got anything to share, please leave a comment. THANKS!

Jude's Thursday Dish

I've had a full plate today, so I'm going to have to give you a skimpy serving of dish this week. Here you go:

1. Award season for me is like football or baseball season to other people. And the Academy Awards is like my Super Bowl. So, I've been very excited that several nominations have already come in. The Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning and all I can say is "Boo! Hollywood Foreign Press!" I don't know much about the movie nominations, because I haven't seen any of those movies yet. I am very irritated by the "The Dark Knight" snubs. Yes, it totally disturbed me, but I recognize it was a terrific film. The TV nominations have a LOT of snubs. Why can't they show "Lost" some love? Last season was awesome with such a fabulous twist that you HAVE to award that kind of creativity. And there's some excellent acting going on. I get sick of all the cable shows getting the love (which is probably because I don't HAVE cable, so I'm out of the loop). And Tony Shaloub...again? He's been nominated for "Monk" SOOO many times. I'd love to see someone else get the chance. At least there were no nominations for James Spader or William Shatner in "Boston Legal" because I can't stand either of them. Anyway, the Golden Globes need to step it up. Remember how terrible last year's "awards" ceremony was? With all those entertainment reporters giving out the awards in a press conference venue? UGH!

2. Speaking of awards season, I was listening to 101.9 The End the other day and Tony Toscano brought up a very good point that I've been thinking about. Why is it in Hollywood they feel like they have to give someone award just because they didn't get it before? Just because someone hasn't won for the upteenth time they've been nominated, they shouldn't be given a "pity" win. There's several examples I can name, but one I'm thinking of is when Al Pacino got the Oscar for Best Actor for "A Scent of a Woman." There's no way that was his best role, but it was his 5th nom and the Academy must've felt he deserved it for his body of work. That's stupid. If you want to give an award for a body of work, that's what Lifetime Achievement awards are for. And when people like Alfred Hitchcock or Cary Grant never won an Oscar, let's not just hand-over the Oscar to Denzel Washington for "Training Day" when he had much better performances other years. If someone never wins, then wait and give them a Lifetime Achievement award instead of playing silly Hollwood politic games. Like Tony Toscano said, these actors aren't children. You don't just give them something so they don't feel bad. I'll take that even further. You don't award a sports team, an Olympian or even a Reflections entrant an award just because they've done good work in the past. You reward them for THAT year's performance. If that was the case, the Red Sox would've "won" the World Series years before 2004 because people felt sorry for them. That being said, I TRIPLE HEART Kate Winslet (for some reason, she's the only actress that doesn't bug me when she does nudity -- weird, I know), but I REALLY hope they don't just hand her the Oscar for either of her two films just because she's been nominated 5 times before. If she's the best this year, THEN reward her. And the same goes for Heath Ledger. He was awesome in "The Dark Knight" but if he's not truly the best supporting actor in his category, don't vote for him out of sympathy just because he's passed on. So, there's my rant... I'll be interested to see what happens in February.

Sorry so brief... that's it for this week!

Tis The Season To Be Jolly (even when you feel like crap)

So, it doesn't really matter whether I'm sick or not, it's Christmas and when you have a child, you have to suck it up. It's like that all year round. Moms never get sick days. Dads do. They can take a day off of work and lie in bed like big babies, but Moms have to keep going and going and going like the damn Energizer Rabbit. Now I'm lucky, because when I'm sick and John's home, he totally lets me rest and does everything else. He's great that way. I'm never as patient with him. Plus, I have one child, so I'm off the hook a bit. But still, it can wear me out. Especially during the Christmas season.

Of course, I caught Katie's cold and we've had non-stop holiday functions to go to: John's work dinner, the ward Christmas party, our annual visit to Sinter Claus and a Dutch party with John's siblings and our annual Soup & Lights party hosted by my cousin. All this since last Thursday. I totally pushed myself too hard and spent most of the day in bed on Sunday. That's probably backwards, but oh well. I don't want Katie to miss out and truthfully, I don't either. I look forward to these kinds of things. I just drug myself and put on a happy face. I mean, it's Christmas time, what else can you do?!!




And my nephew Mitchell, just because he's so cute!

Jude's Thursday Dish

I'm sitting here with Katie watching probably the 48th hour of kid shows this week. She's on her 4th day of being home sick. It's just a viral cold, but she can't seem to break her fever of about 101. We saw the pediatrician yesterday, so hopefully she'll be on the mend soon. Still, I've had it up to my eyeballs with PBS Kids and her 4 tivo-ed Disney shows ("Hannah Montana" drives me crazy). At least we got a "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and "Elf" thrown in there for some variety. Thank heaven for TV or I wouldn't get any work done.


1. Due to our drama week, I didn't get a chance to see "Twilight" yet. But, John and I did go and see "Australia". I LOVED it! It's not a perfect movie by any means. There's some implausible parts of the plot and I have no idea the historical accuracy or whether they were true to it or not. The first 20 minutes felt over the top and madcap like classic Baz Luhrmann. But then it turned and started feeling like a "real" movie. It doesn't fit into Baz's Red Curtain Trilogy ("Strictly Ballroom" -- awesome!, "Romeo + Juliet" and "Moulin Rouge"), but it stands on it's own. It reminded me of a big 80's or 90's epic, like "Far and Away" (but not as cheesey). I can see why critics don't like it, because it's not cynical enough. And epics are out (an epic film hasn't won an Oscar since "Gladiator" in 2001 -- and that was grizzly). Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was 3 hours long, which I absolutely detest long movies, but I only felt bored once in the middle and checked John's watch. For the most part, it was fast and entertaining. Nicole Kidman really has come into her own. She definitely got better since divorcing psycho Tom Cruise. And Hugh Jackman. Oooh, he's perfect in this. I'm so glad Russell Crowe didn't take the role (he wanted too much money). Hugh's a really hottie! He should've shown this side of him years ago and he'd have a heart throb reputation long before now. So, I recommend it -- but truth be told, I'm not sure it's for everyone. If you do see it, let me know what you thought!


2. Yes, I swore I wasn't going to cave in and go see anymore kid's movies in 2008. But if you know me at all, I obviously say a lot of things and always either give in or change my mind. My MTC branch president said once of my best qualities is that I'm "teachable", but I think it's just that I can't commit to anything -- even my own choices. Anyway, a bunch of my family went to go see "Bolt" the night of Thanksgiving, so of course, John and I went along with Katie. It was 3D, so it was kind of a pain. I had being crying for 2 days straight, so I got a headache. And John gets motion sickness, so he got one two. Aren't we just old farts? The movie was cute. John Travolta drives John crazy and Miley Cyrus' voice does the same for me (doesn't she always sound like she has a gumball or a retainer in her mouth?) so that probably didn't help us enjoy it. But, the hamster in the ball was hilarious. And the story was original. Of course the kids loved it, but I would've rather had stayed home and watched "Kung Fu Panda" again.

3. It's time for my midterm report on the TV I've been watching. My shows have dramatically dropped from all my high hopes of shows I'd start up in September, but it's good because I really don't have the time to keep up.

First, shows I bailed on: Dancing with the Stars (too much time), Biggest Loser (missed a few episodes and couldn't catch up), Private Practice (sucks), 90210 (sucks more), Grey's Anatomy (sucky-ish, come on... dead Denny is back in visions, gag!) and sadly, no more Pushing Daisies after the next couple of episodes even though it was GREAT!


The Amazing Race: B+
This hasn't been my favorite season, but it's been a blast watching it with Katie. She gets really into it. Our favorite team got the boot (they lost their passports AND their money on Sunday -- an Amazing Race first). And I just found out the Dallas had a naked picture of himself circulating on the Internet, so that drops it down a 1/2 grade. We're not really invested in any of the final 3 that will race to the finish line on Sunday. But I really heart this show.


Desperate Housewives: B
The smarm factor has been dialed down a bit, so that really helps. Plus, having Gabby (Eva Longoria) being a frumpy housewife has been really entertaining. They stole a page out of the "Lost" handbook jumping 5 years ahead, but it gave the show a shot in the arm. I was ready to give up for good, but I'm glad I gave it a 2nd chance.

Brothers & Sisters: C
This season is DULL. When I feel like "Oh, I really need to watch this because it's STILL on my Tivo" and watch it on a night I can't fall asleep at midnight hoping it WILL put me to sleep -- that doesn't say much for that show. That show needs a pep-up to keep me watching in January.


Gossip Girl: A
Love it!!! I didn't see season 1 and I've heard this season isn't as good, but since I'm a newbie, I'm totally into it.

My Thursday Night Line-up -
My Name is Earl: C
It's gotten better since Earl's back doing the list, but I only watch this if I'm around
Kath & Kim: B
Funny, but kind of the same thing with Earl. If I'm home, I'll watch it. But I don't bother to Tivo it for later
The Office: A-
Great season so far, especially looking up now that Pam is back!
30 Rock: A
There's only been 4 episodes, but it's just classic 30 Rock. And that Oprah episode was sublime!

4. This is completely random, but did you see the Macy's Thanksgiving parade? I always think it's so bizarre when stars are on a float singing their contemporary hits. Here's Idina Menzel singing a song from her new album on the M & M float, just because she was Elpheba on Broadway and the green M & M is dressed as the same? But, nothing was MORE bizarre than the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. The cartoon figures started to sing a song from the show when out of the blue, Rick Astley showed up and started singing "Never Gonna Give You Up." It was so bizarre. It wasn't until after that I looked into it online. I guess it's called being "Rick Rolled." It's an Internet Meme (like an Internet inside joke). Someone sends you a link to something that they say is relevant, but the link actually takes you to the Rick Astley 1987 video for "Never Gonna Give You Up." If you're a child of the 80's, it will definitely bring you back. On Wikipedia, it shares all these examples of how Rickrolling has extended into disrupting all kinds of situations. So, I guess I would've enjoyed the parade interuption a lot more if I knew that it was meant to be funny. I guess I'm not as Internet savvy as I thought. Here's the clip I'm talking about.



That's it for this week!

The Polar Express

On Saturday night, we went up to the Heber Valley Railroad for the Polar Express train. We had some trade through my work which is a good thing, because it's REALLY expensive! Anyway, it was a lot of fun. You get hot cocoa and cookies served by elves and chefs in white hats.


They pass out the storybook to everyone and it's told over the loud speaker. Then, everyone sang carols...badly. The Conductor comes by and hole punches each child's ticket.



Mrs. Claus walks down the aisle greeting everyone and gives the parents a recipe for the cookies they served. After about 45 minutes on the train, you get to the North Pole where you can see Santa outside. This is when our car completely freaked out. The kids were out of control. Katie turned to me and said, "Santa's coming. How do I look? How do I look?" You would've thought she was going to meet Bono. I mean, Santa really is a rock star, and better, for a kid. It took some time, but Santa made his way to our car and each kid got a photo op. It was too insane for him to sit with each child, but they all got to meet him and got a silver reindeer bell to take home. I love the book, but I'm not a fan of the movie -- so it was just right for me and of course, Katie had a blast.

The Dog Who Lived!

Bailey's home! The surgery went really well. He's exhausted and sore plus he hates his Cone Head, but he made it! The doctor says he should make a full recovery and there are no other complications. He's been a trooper and he's got the 6 inch scar to prove it!



The best thing to come out of this experience is it's been a testimony builder for Katie. She's never really said a prayer and had an answer, so this has really helped her. It really has been a Thanksgiving miracle!

Poor Bailey

I've been up since 4 a.m. It's Thanksgiving and I've been up since 4 a.m. This really sucks. I usually sleep in as long as I can and catch some of the parade before we go to Little America at 11 a.m. with my family.

I know cynics bag on us bloggers that all we do is rave about our married/mom lives and how we're "seriously so blessed." I'm sure some people use their blogs for bragging rights, but most blogs I follow seem to be just about sharing the ups and downs of their lives. That being said, I understand that my problems are minute compared to terrorist attacks, starvation, war and all the other issues in our world. But in my universe, my problems are a VERY big deal to ME, so I'll blog about it if I want to. Okay, cynics?

Yesterday was one of the worst days of my life. And that's saying a lot, because I've had some BAAAAD days. It was definitely the most traumatic, so maybe that does make it the worst? Anyway, here's the story. Katie had the day off and after running a few morning errands, she was going to go to the dog park with her friend, Maddie. I let her go out on the porch and wait for Maddy's mom to pick her up. I let Bailey come out with me. We don't let Bailey off his leash very often and when we do, he knows his boundaries and stays by me. But it only took a minute for him to run into my east neighbor's yard. I started yelling at him to come back when he turned around and BOLTED. He's never done this before. He took off like a bat out of hell down the sidewalk towards Richmond. I started swearing and screaming at him. Katie started to bawl and ran in the house. It only took a second, but it was more than obvious what was going to happen. He never stopped. He just ran into that busy road. Fortunately, there were no cars going north bound. One car going south just missed him and he almost made it to the sidewalk when a second car just smacked him from behind. By this time, I was at the corner watching the whole thing happened. I heard screaming and I thought it was Katie, but poor Bailey was just writhing on the road yelping in pain. I lunged into the traffic, because he was still alive and more cars were coming. The traffic had picked up and cars were coming north bound, but I got to the median before any of them approached. But on the other side, a lady didn't see me which I have no idea how that was possible -- here I am, this big girl in the middle of the street, she was probably on her damn cell phone. She finally slammed on her breaks just out of my arms reach. Fortunately, the other lane -- the one that Bailey was in -- had seen me and/or him and had stopped. I swooped down to pick him up. He stopped yelping immediately, so it made me think he was more scared then hurt. I started back to my street when the driver of this car -- the first one that didn't hit Bailey (the B who hit my dog just drove off) -- hollered at me that he was an EMT and to take the dog to the Animal E/R on 6200 South and Highland Drive. I felt like Frogger trying to get back to my street, because the traffic was significant now. That street will be the death of me (us), but that's an issue for another day.

Katie was back out of the house by the time I reached our yard. I was so grateful she didn't see the accident. She told me she was in the house crying and screaming, "I hate the world!" Oh, that breaks my heart! Anyway, we were both bawling and screaming. Bailey was very limp and I was sure he had broken bones, if not more. The EMT had turned his car around and followed me to our house. He ran up to the porch and offered to drive me to the Animal E/R. How sweet was that? I told him I'd be okay, but he said to drive carefully and not get into a wreck. Then, he gave me directions to the Animal E/R. I grabbed the keys and we left within seconds.

Normally, I would've either taken I-80 to Highland Drive & 6200 South, or I would've just turned right and gone down Highland. Instead, I crossed that damn street to the other side of Crandall to tell Linda, Maddie's mom, that Katie couldn't go with them to the dog park. Linda was just pulling out of her driveway to get Katie, so I rolled down my window, gave her a brief explanation and took off. This direction ended up being a real blessing. I started heading down Crandall in our ward boundaries, turned left on 11th, then went down Elgin, take 10th out to the 33rd South, then turn left to head back in the direction I was going. By the time I hit 10th and 33rd, I was waiting to turn left at England Plumbing when I saw a big sign just east of the store saying "Animal Emergency." I hurried and turned into the parking lot and sure enough, there was a new Animal E/R there! I found out later that they've only been opened for 3 weeks. I was so relieved. I was completely hysterical by the time I got there that I'm not sure if I would've made that drive to 6200 South. And since it was so close, I was able to get Bailey seen within 5 minutes of his accident. I really believe that was God's tender mercy.

They rushed Bailey back to be seen while I had to sign all these papers. Since both Katie and I were in hysterics, they ushered us into our own private waiting room. That was the hardest time. I should've kept it together for Katie, but I just couldn't. We alternated comforting each other and talking each other off the ledge. Katie was a mess, but I think it's been even worse on me. It all just felt very related to my pregnancy losses and for some reason, Bailey's accident brought up a lot of old pain. The hard part, which is difficult to explain, is that our little family has just been faced with so much loss. Yes, he is a dog, but to us, he is so much more. The idea of losing something else we love is unbearable. Bailey came into our life when we all needed something desperately. John and I were so discouraged about becoming parents again. Katie was aching for a sibling. We adopted Bailey and in many ways, he filled some of that pain. And it's not just all about Katie. John adores him. And Bailey really has filled a hole for me and it's hard to feel empty when you're mothering a puppy. In so many ways, having Katie and Bailey (not to mention all the parenting I do with my own parents and siblings) completely satisifies my family needs.

The doctor came in and said that his vitals were getting better, he was getting fluids and he was in an oxygen tank. The X-rays didn't show any broken bones which I couldn't believe. Everything seemed alright, except for one major life threatening problem. His little diaphragm tore open and his intestines were pushed up into it. His lungs were bruised, so between that and the tear, he was having a hard time breathing. The doctor said in order for him to survive he'd have to have surgery on it. They have a Board Certified Surgeon on staff that's sole responsibility is to do surgeries. This is a common surgery they have to do on dogs that have been hit. I asked him a bunch of questions, because I didn't want to okay something that would prolong the inevitable. If he was going to suffer and/or die due to this or other complications, I wanted to let him go. And I didn't want to make him have a surgery if there were going to be a ton of other problems for him.

John showed up just after and we started talking about the pros and cons. Of course, Katie was with us, so once again, my little one is forced to grow up sooner than I'd like and having to face tough decisions. Of course, cost was the biggest factor. The surgery is expensive. Before Bailey, as some of you know, I was NOT a dog person at all. I used to make fun of people who would spend a lot of money to save their pets. But, it's totally different for me now. You may or may not "get" this, but if you do, you'll understand. We decided to do the surgery.

They were going to keep him and monitor him to make sure his health is optimal before they operate. Since his lungs were bruised, they need the swelling to go down. We got to see him and he looked fine on the outside, just exhausted. On our way home, I made Katie ride with John, because I just lost it in the car. I thought I'd get it all out, but once I was home, I found myself in the basement bawling even more. John had to come down and tell me to snap out of it, because I was upsetting Katie. Our great neighbor, Linda, let Katie come over to play with Maddie, so that gave me plenty of time to get my hysterics out. I seriously have NEVER cried so much in my life. I cried so much that I wrenched my shoulder out -- the reason I couldn't keep sleeping this morning because it hurt so bad. Like I said, it was several things: the complex emotions and my issues with loss, my guilt for letting Bailey off leash, the pain it was causing Katie and worse, the replay of the accident and the trauma of the actual hit and run replaying on a loop in my head.

I took a 1/2 a Unisom and finally fell asleep. John picked up Katie who he said after a nice distraction at Maddie's, came home and realized what happened. She cried herself to sleep too. John woke both of us at 7 p.m. because Jimmy & Libby and Jennie & Steve brought us pizza. It was nice to have a diversion and then all of us drove down to the Animal E/R. The receptionist thought we were odd bringing an entourage to see a dog. But, my sibling/in-laws are really supportive and since they're dog owners, they totally understand and wanted to see Bailey too. Each family took a turn to go and see Bailey, who seemed more responsive to us. He even tried to move a little closer and seemed happy to be pet. The doctor said he was doing well. They are going to operate on Friday and if the surgery goes well, he should make a full recovery. When we got home, it was the first time that day that I felt we'd be okay.

Personally, I think John and I are being put through the ringer. We've had a rough month personally and then this. He is being ordained a High Priest this Sunday for his new calling as High Priest Group 1st Assistant. I know whenever I've had a spiritual life change, I've been bombarded with adversity. So maybe this is just the Refiner's Fire? Or maybe I'm just reading WAY too much into it and trying to find a deeper meaning when there's not one.

So, I am so glad yesterday is over. Today, I can't sleep obviously. My shoulder is feeling better thanks to 2 Motrin. My eyes are so swollen I can barely see out of them. But, it's Thanksgiving. And it's a new day. I have much to be grateful for. And I'm definitely feeling hopeful.

Counting My Blessings

In honor of Thanksgiving, here are the top 5 things I'm grateful for:

1.) My great husband. Sure, we have our issues, but I am so blessed to be married to John. He's a GOOD guy and that's not always easy to come by. Plus, he totally puts up with all my crap. He's super supportive when my family has drama, indulges me when I want to read the occasional romance novel and will sleep on the couch when he's snoring too loud.

2.) My awesome daughter. I can't even begin to describe my gratitude for Katie, especially when I consider all we've been through since I'm Pregnancy Challenged. She is truly a Godsend. Plus, she's just a great kid even though she called me "Mama Obama" the other day because "you get to be in charge of everything." I have no idea where that came from.

3.) My (our) home. I complain a lot about our house and rightfully so since it's 83 years old! It's a total money pit. We've completely lost track how much we've spent fixing it up. The street below is crazy and over the years, it's gotten even busier (we've seen the car crashes to prove it). Plus, people use it as a shortcut to get up to Highland Drive and race by our home which turns me into the ornery lady who screams on her porch. And we joke that we're on the "wrong side" of the ward since no one really knows we live up here and we never get visitors (except when Alex & Sarah brought us cookies last week which we were VERY happy about!). We've been talking about moving for years, but we're starting to feel more and more that this is the place we need to be for a while. All that being said, we moved in the day after Thanksgiving 8 years ago. We spent 1 1/2 years up at my parents during that time where we rented it out, but we always considered this our home. We love our ward, we love the school and yes, I admit it. I love my house.

4.) My health. I am grateful for a (mostly) healthy body. I need to lose weight, no thanks to every time I've miscarried I've added (and kept) on 10 pounds of emotional distress pounds. I have to take antidepressants and a sleep aid. I have to go in to the dermo every 6 months for a "mole patrol." But, how thankful I am that I have good health and have access to the medical help I need, when I need it. We are so blessed to live where we do, when we do and know what we know.

5.) My testimony. I have several non-LDS friends who read my blog and I usually try to keep my church-speak to a minimum. But I know you're all very accepting, as I am of you, of my religious beliefs. Yet, I couldn't possibly finish this list without mentioning my gratitude for my knowledge that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I can't even begin to include my thoughts in a mere blog post. These feelings are too close to my heart yet I'm extremely grateful for my testimony of Him and the Gospel.

I hope everyone has a FABULOUS Thanksgiving!!!

Thursday Dish Leftovers

Okay, I can't help myself. There are a few things from today I MUST talk about. I am waiting for our final pages to be uploaded to proof, so even though I'm "working" there's been a LOT of downtime today. Hope you're still hungry...



1. ABC SUCKS! I can't believe they cancelled "Pushing Daisies" today! That really ticks me off. Yet another show that'll break my heart. They just finished up the last of their 13 episodes and it will end on a cliffhanger. There's talk of a comic book or a movie, but it's doubtful. I'm NEVER going to get to know how it all ends! I guess the only bright side is that means Kristin Chenoweth might be open for that Broadway reprisal of Glinda in "Wicked." And another silver lining, my TV To Do's are dwindling quite a bit. I'm not watching nearly as many shows as I started back in September.



2. What makes up for the bad "Daisies" news is that the Fox Searchlight reportedly inked a movie deal for the "Arrested Development" movie! It's a GO!!! This is like early Christmas! There's supposedly one hold out that hasn't signed on yet, which I'm certain is Michael Cera (George Michael - or most of you know him as Bleeker from "Juno"). I can't imagine the movie without him, but it's good to know that they are going to proceed with or without the hold out. If you haven't watched it yet, now is the time to catch up on this HILARIOUS show! Like "30 Rock" - it takes a while to get into. It's got the same mix of silly and smart. A lot of the jokes you won't catch until after or until they recur episodes later. It's not really for viewers with a conventional sense of humor, so I know it's not everyone's cup of tea. But, I can't RAVE enough.

3. My REAL obsession (which I know it's hard to believe since I appear to obsessed with many things) is "Lost". Oh, I can't even tell you how much I ADORE this show. The best part is that John is just as obsessed, so we can share in the mania. There's a GREAT new trailer with an awesome "The Fray" song "You Found Me" which has old footage with some new sneak peaks. If you heart "Lost" like I do, you NEED to check this out.



This is REALLY it for this week!

Too Much, Too Soon

I tell Katie way too much. When she asks me tough questions, I have a hard time filtering it down to a little girl's level. It started when I had my first miscarriage and the difficult questions followed. She knows more about some of life's hard lessons than I wish she did and she's not afraid to share it. Fortunately, she knows nothing about the birds and the bees, but unfortunately, she knows what the F word is - and not the F word at my house (which is Fat), but the real one that some dumb a-- kid mispelled when painting graffiti on a school playground wall. I don't think I was exposed to that word until 6th or 7th grade!

In first grade, I was taking her and her friend home from school for a playdate. The cute girl has a completely different background than Katie; she's been exposed to a lot more and is pretty mature for her age. The friend surprises me and says, "Are you going to put Katie on birth control?" I almost swerved off the road. I didn't know what to say and of course Katie says, "What's birth control?" Before I could interceed, she started telling us about how her cousin just had a baby when she was a teenager and that's too young, so you're supposed to take birth control. And then, when you WANT to have a baby, you stop taking it. "So," she continues, "I'm going to take birth control because I don't want to have a baby too young." I was floored! I couldn't believe I was hearing this from a 6 year-old. After my initial shock (and admittedly, a bit of anger), I calmed down and put myself in their family's shoes. Like in my case with the pregancy losses, you don't want to have to tell your little ones these adult things. You want to keep them sheltered. But when life throws you a curve ball, sometimes there's no way around it. I'm sure Katie's friend's family was faced with some tough questions after the cousin got pregnant. It seems that the parents did their best to talk about it and I was grateful she had her story straight. Not that I wanted to hear Sex Ed 101 from a first grader, but at least her mom/cousin/whoever told her what was what. Katie completely lost interest in the topic even during the conversation, so thank heaven we haven't had to discuss it again.

Since then, I've tried to be a bit more discreet and shelter Katie more. Just because she's been exposed to things doesn't mean she needs to know everything. I'm proud I've been able to keep her sheltered from a lot. This is the first year she's really getting into the "crush" thing (she kissed a boy on the cheek the other day!). I was boy crazy at age 3, so it's been nice to have a reprieve. She has plenty of time for all that. She's just barely getting into the whole Disney Channel tween thing and watching a couple of PG shows when I know there's a lot of kids her age who have seen EVERYTHING. And my proudest achievement, she didn't even know what a diet was until she turned 7! Love that! Diet would be the D word in our house; we just try to be "healthy" and not focus on the D word; although I'm constantly ON the D word - I just never talk about it with Katie. I know there are 2nd graders out there obsessed with their little figures even now. So sad!

Wouldn't it be great if you could just keep your kids in a bubble and let them out when they are 18 -- or 21 -- or maybe even 25?

Jude's Thursday Dish

I have so much to do, so no time for chit chat. We've only got 4 items on Dish today, but I've got a deadline to meet. So, here we go...

1. AAAH! So, I log on to the Internet to start working and Dish. There on my MSN homepage is a FRIGHTENING "From Hot to Not" feature of "sunken dreamboats" with THIS picture:



Oh Iceman, I hardly knew thee! If you remember my celeb crush blog, you know that a huge part of my teenage/college years were spent lusting, I mean admiring, Mad Martigan (aka Val Kilmer). To see this feature and how low he's gone, oh - it breaks my Teen Beat heart! There's a few other gems in this article, but I give emeritus crush Mel a break since well, you know, he's just messed up.

2. Okay, I know everyone's twitterpaited to see "Twilight" (the reviews aren't great, but we all know it's critic proof) but it does remind me that we should be watching "Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince" this weekend. I'm kind of in mourning. They are releasing the new trailer at the beginning of "Twilight" so to buoy up my spirits, here's a sneek peak! Looks SO good! I'm definitely going to read this book again -- it's my favorite!



3. All I can say... thank HEAVEN Pam is back in Scranton!

4. I think my sister, my niece Emily and I are the only ones that watch "America's Next Top Model", but SPOILER ALERT if you haven't watched it and want to be surprised....



I am SO happy McKey won! She really was the best of the bunch. I've read some people think she doesn't have much personality, but I think it's because they hardly gave her any airtime. You can tell she's got character. Jay and Miss J. were quoted as saying that the winner of this cycle was "obvious" and they and the judges had to be careful not to gush over her too much, because in past cycles when they'd do that sometimes the producers would get on them or it would backfire. It was; however, kind of a let down when they announced the winner. I mean, she got her picture put up on the TV? No family, friends or even other contestants to cheer her on? All she got to do was celebrate with the judges (not that I wouldn't mind celebrating with Nigel -- yum!). So Tyra, next time please make the announcement a little more eventful. And stop calling each run a "cycle" -- we're not talking periods here.

That's it for this week! No dish next Thursday since I'll be enjoying Thanksgiving and counting my blessings! I'll hopefully have seen a lot of movies by then and have an extra big serving of Dish in 2 weeks!

The Grass is Greener

I have probably had every possible work schedule. I've done part-time work/full-time student thing at a cute, quaint retail location - working at a children's clothing store during college. I've had the full-time cool & hip job when I worked downtown at the Judge Building for CitySearch, my first job as a newlywed and out of college. I continued the full-time downtown thing at Ticketmaster, but that required some Saturdays and evening work at concerts. And at that job, I was important so I travelled a bit too. When I had Katie, I took a "demotion" at Ticketmaster, so I could work part-time on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday mornings. That couldn't continue, because it was too hard to continue the "free" babysitting family offered, so I took a position at Thanksgiving Point where I worked from 3 - 9 PM to avoid any day care costs, but then I never saw John. My dad hated that I worked down there and he'd say, "it's the BANE of my EXISTENCE!" because he didn't want me driving around the Point of the Mountain. After my first pregnancy loss, I decided to cut back and I even took a part-time gig at Katie's preschool so I could earn money during the time she was taking class down the hall. I have done and tried it all, so I could be a mom and help provide for our family.

And now, I've got the dream gig, right? For over 3 years, I've worked from home for Utah Family magazine. What I had wanted to do that entire time, with all the crazy schedules, commutes and locations - I finally got what I wanted. Well, there are a LOT of upsides, but today all I can think about are the downsides:

1.) My house is always in shambles. I have a nice office downstairs that is a mess and since I don't want to clean it, I work on the laptop upstairs. When things are busy around deadline, like right now, it looks like a frickin' co ed dorm. Right now, I'm staring at 8 empty Diet Coke cans, 3 stacks of papers, a pile of Legos and a hymn book from Family Night just on my front coffee table. My house was DEFINITELY cleaner when I worked in an office and wasn't home to mess it up.

2.) I have no nice clothes. Seriously... my work clothes are from over 3 years ago. Some don't fit and some are outdated. My work clothes now consist of pajama or exercise bottoms and a T-shirt. Classy!

3.) I hardly ever shower. Well, that's not really true. I shower almost every day, but I may not get INTO the shower until 2:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. or right before bed. There's something to be said in knowing that someone WILL see you before 3:00 each day.

4.) My dog drives me crazy. As most of you know, I adore Bailey, but on days like today when it's really nice outside, he'll just whine at the front door. I'll put him in his kennel and he'll whine there. I'll take him in my room and he'll whine. On some days, he will curl up next to me and be very adorable, but most of the time I get the whiner.

5.) I'm not disciplined enough to work from home. If I was really on top of things, I'd wake up, take Katie to school and then come home to get things done BEFORE I start working. I'd exercise, take the dog for a walk, clean-up, shower and so on. But, as soon as Katie drops off, I'm on the laptop. I compusively check my email, so in reality, it's like I'm working all the time. Around deadline, again, I'll be working around the clock. I only work 20 - 25 hours a week, but when you're putting in 20 minutes here and then 20 minutes there, it can really take up your whole day.

6.) Work doesn't stop at 5 PM. Segue from above. I try not to work when Katie is home from school and I do pretty well at that, but I'll get phone calls and emails until it's late. This doesn't happen all the time, but it can around deadline. And my friends wonder why I never answer the phone! I'm on it ALL the time.

7.) I eat constantly. At least when I worked in the office, I had to FIND food -- either go somewhere or go out to lunch. Someone had to have brought snacks or you had to find a vending machine. But now, it's all right here just seconds away in my fridge and I have easy access. It's as dangerous as snacking when you're watching TV. No wonder I'm not losing any weight!

So on that note, yes... I know how blessed/lucky/grateful I should be that I actually have a job, and one I mostly like, especially since I work from home. But after 3 + years, I'm definitely having a "grass is greener" moment and thinking how fun it would be to go back to my D.I.N.K. days working downtown with my cute wardrobe, skinnier waistline, and NO WHINING DOG!

Jude's Thursday Dish

I just got Christmas decorations out to dress up my house for our December cover photo shoot. I'm totally ANTI anything Christmas before Thanksgiving, so I'm feeling a little nauseous. I'm going to dive into pop culture to help this pass.

1. Not so long ago while America sat anxiously watching the Olympics, we had to deal with countless lame commercials and NBC promoting their new Fall line-up. Think of the advertising dollars spent. But lo and behold, the same thing happens every November. Shows that got tons of ad time get cancelled. It just happened to Christian Slater's "My Own Worst Enemy." I got SO sick of seeing those commericals during the Olympics which was one of the reasons I refused to watch it. Not to mention there was a HUGE billboard for that in Times Square. "Lipstick Jungle" is also going off the air. I couldn't get into that show and really, Brooke Shields tries to hard. I guess the upside is next August I probably won't be watching a ton of TV, so I'll miss the crop of shameless promotion for shows that won't last long anyway.


2. So, I'm revolting against my daughter. The last movie in the theater I saw was "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and she's begging me to take her to "Madagascar 2" and "High School Musical 3." Not to mention all the kids movies I sit through like those dumb Disney Aladdin sequels. This last weekend, we did introduce her to "Ghostbusters" which we Clear Played for language. Unfortunately, we didn't filter for anything sexual and a couple of risque parts slipped in. We just pretended Bailey did something amazing and diverted her attention. She is only 7 after all. Anyway, it's John's fault. I've never seen "Ghostbusters" so he should have known what to filter for! So, it was good to see something that appealed to all of us, but I thought the movie was kind of lame. John was not happy. That's one of his favorites. I'm thinking if I saw it back in the 80's, I would've gotten into it, but now it's just hokey and dated. Katie LOVED it and we showed it to my nephews the next day, this time Clear Played for language AND sex. Then, they ran all around the backyard reinacting it. Anyway, I TOTALLY digress. Back to Katie's movies. I'm putting my foot down! I'm officially taking a hiatus from kid movies and for the rest of 2008, it's ALL ABOUT ME (well, and John too, I guess). I'm going to see "Twilight", maybe "Quantum of Solace" (as long as there's not another nekkid torture scene in it and the violence isn't too bad -- John better feel it out for me better than he did on "The Dark Knight"), "Four Christmases" (which let's face it, not original! That's most Mormon's lives!) and "Australia" (which I FINALLY heard is PG-13). And there are more movies coming out. So sorry, Katie! I'll take you to those movies in January when the movies in the theater suck. I'm sure you'll be fine watching "Enchanted" for the 1,000 time.

3. It's sad about that girl who committed suicide near Paula Abdul's home. She had auditioned for the show back in 2005. She was found in a car and the police are ruling it as a drug overdose. Of course, the media is linking her death to the show and blaming the harsh treatment from the judges as a possibility. She was obviously mentally ill. Who knows whether or not the show had a direct effect on her death? I just wish the producers would be more careful what they choose to air. Those trainwrecks are not always people who "get it" or as Simon has said, are just arrogant thinking they are God's gift to music. I'm sure some are dilusional, but if mental health could be an issue, the show needs to refrain from putting their auditions out there for people to ridicule them. There, I'm off my soapbox.


4. Okay "Office" lovahs, here's some scoop. It's not about plotlines, but if you want casting bits and my speculations kept secret then SPOILER ALERT!!!!

Still reading? Okay, you may have heard but Ryan (B.J. Novak) is taking a leave from the show to appear in a Quentin Tarantino movie (really, B.J.? Tarantino? That man makes me need to shower). He may be back next Spring, but there's also rumors that he might not appear in front of the screen anymore. He's a writer and producer, so maybe he'll just do that. But, it's looking like Toby is coming back since my Tivo says the upcoming 11/20 episode is called "Frame Toby" and that Michael has to come to terms with some changes in his personnel. Does that mean Toby will be back to replace Holly? Or does Michael just have to cope with Ryan being fired/let go?



5. I promised in last week's column I would go into remakes I'm pissed about, but after doing more research, there's really only two. Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" --seriously, should you EVER remake a Hitchock? Hell no! And a "Footloose" remake is just wrong. That movie just fits in the 80's. It's hard to imagine a contemporary film based on a town so clueless that the preacher can control whether the kids listen to music or dance. And sorry, Zac Efron, you are no Kevin Bacon. I heart me some Ren McCormack in his tight, high waisted 80's jeans! And I heart you, Kevin Bacon, even though you have a foul mouth, appear in a lot of smarmy movies and have appeared Full Monty in film.

That's it for this week!

Tag: Blog Awards

I was tagged by my friend, Amelia, for a Blog Award. I'm super flattered, especially because Amelia is a great writer and really funny. Here are the details about how a Blog Award tag works...

1. Amelia's nominees get to put this cute tile on their blog. I'm going to think of it like a letterman's jacket and I can feel cool I have one.



2. I link back to Amelia and all my nominees will link back to me, so we can all share the love.

3. Nominate 5 other blogs. I blalk a lot of my favorites, so I don't think I'm ready to give up my anonymity by nominating them. I mean, don't you think Seriously So Blessed gets this all the time? That, and the train wreck blogs I like to check out. I'm going to pick ones from my friends and family circle.

4. Include a link to the blogs you Y.

5. Comment on said blogs so your favorite peeps know you nominated them.

Here are my nominees...

1. Amelia, like I said above, is a great writer and really funny. She's also completely frank -- which I love. One of the first blogs I read of hers was The Pregnancy Shot and I was instantly hooked. (And even better, my sister thought the last picture WAS actually Amelia).

2. Speaking of my sister, Jennie has a great blog. And no offense to Jennie Penny and Christmas Steve (they're exciting and all) but it's all because of the Mitch Man. As most of you know, my nephew Mitchell has Downs Syndrome. Everything about him is a delight. He's got such a unique spirit that his happiness is contagious. Jennie's blog totally captures that.

3. I suffer from mentionitis about my friend Matt. Matt and I met in Korea back in 2007 while I was teaching English. He's one of my favorite people. He's got a million friends, but the best part about Matt is that even though he's extremely busy and popular, he still makes time and effort for EVERY one of his pals. After all these years, we still stay in touch. Matt's blog is great because he's an actor in Washington DC, has a sassy sense of humor and always has adventures I covet.

4. My cousin Amy is a blogging pro. She's the one that got me started. She includes original things about her 4 kids, not just the run of the mill stuff. But my favorite thing is Amy is totally honest about her embarrasing stories like when the store clerk thought she was a senior citizen or when she ripped on a driver in front of her kids only to find out it was their sister-in-law's sister and the kids ended up telling her what she said.

5. Okay, it's a shameless plug but I really do love our Young Women blog. I just think it's a great tool for the girls and it's been a lot of fun for us as a presidency to contribute to it. So, Camille since it's your brainchild, I'm tagging you (with your blog being an honorable mention).

How to Get Into a Show

Since I've been pushing everyone to watch "30 Rock", I thought I'd share my rules of how to get into a TV show.

1. Never judge a show by its pilot. The pilot episode (1st) is usually the weakest one. Have you SEEN the "Friends" or "Seinfeld" pilots? Joey was nothing like what his character turned out to be and Seinfeld recast his father. I've even gone as far as to leaving a show after the first couple of episodes and tuning back in after 6 or 7, because by then, the show usually has found its feet and you can get a better idea of what the flavor will be.

2. Give any new show the 5 episode trial. This is the dating phase. But, you need to try and watch 5 consecutive episodes, especially since most shows (even sitcoms) have storyline archs that go on for several episodes. Sometimes you can tell a show is a real stinker by episode 2 or 3. If it's REALLY bad, you can give up early but always try to give it to the 5th episode before deleting it off your Tivo or DVR. Remember, some of the best shows need to grow on you (i.e. "30 Rock" and "Arrested Development" -- those two especially because they're so equally smart and silly, it takes time to really catch the humor).

3. Trust the feedback. If people are raving about a show, it's probably worth watching. Of course, you need to know who to listen to. My taste might be completely different than yours, so you probably don't want to follow my recommendations. But feel it out from friends who like the same stuff you do. And if you're an Entertainment Snob like me, definitely trust the critics.

4. Give a series a second chance next season. Some shows just have weak seasons, but often they'll came back with a bang. I know Season 3 turned off a lot of "Lost" viewers, but season 4 was AMAZING! "Grey's Anatomy" went through a terrible time when Izzie and George broke up, but now it's looking up. This is easy to determine by the buzz a show gets. When a show is having it's "comeback" it's all over the place; every entertainment venue will be going off about it.

5. If a show is hard to get into, just do your research. Watch reruns or watch it online. Or if you don't want to go to the trouble, just ask someone who watches the show regularly to give you the run down. My sister was trying to get me into "Gossip Girl" but I hadn't done any of my above rules when I initially tried. I started over and just had her sum-up the 1st season for me. Now, I'm hooked and will watch season 1 when I have the chance.

You may or may not care about TV as much as I do, but let's face it. TV is better than movies these days. I'd rather get my fix daily or weekly then wait months for a decent film to come into the theaters.

Jude's Thursday Dish

I feel like I lost a limb this morning. John accidentally took MY laptop to work with him and left HIS here. This is MUCH worse than the camera incident. I was going to go down there to get it, but since I haven't even unpacked and there's two weeks of laundry I'm going to take a Mental Health Day. I really have a lot of work to do, but I put in a 7 hour day yesterday so I think I can take a break. So, I guess I should be thanking John? Hmm, the verdict is still out on that.

Well, I saw only one celebrity in NYC (that Greenlee from "All My Children" who is married to loser Bob from "The Bachelor"). I've had MUCH better luck in L.A. But then again, we were doing mostly touristy things. So, most of my scoop is coming from Entertainment Weekly since I read 3 of them on my trip! So, sorry for the lack of pictures. I'm having problems uploading pictures with this dumb laptop.

1. So, the election is over. That means the divine SNL political sketches are done. Now we'll be back to uneven SNL where it's so hit and miss. Sometimes it's inspired and other times... It's like what the comedian Jay Mohr said (he was on SNL from 93 - 95) that SNL is a restaurant in a great location that doesn't always serve the best food. I obviously don't know the exact quote. But, I'm loyal. I'll keep watching. John McCain was REALLY funny on Saturday night's show. He's got a great sense of humor. The episode that he hosted back in 2002 is still one of my favorites. And thanks to Tina's Palin impersonation, viewership is up 70%!!! I'm sad to see her retire it. I heard Kristen Wiig is going to take over. Obviously, she won't nail it like Tina, but I think she'll be great. She's hilarious and totally reminds me of my sister, Jennie.

2. On our Delta flight, we were on the cool planes that have private TVs for each seat. John and I naturally assumed all the movies would be edited, so we were stoked to see "Tropic Thunder" available. We each turned our own set on and started watching simultaneously. They have these fake previews at the beginning starring the "actors" filming the movie within a movie. The Robert Downey/Toby Maguire was SO good. They were really funny, but minutes later, the movie started and so did the f-bombs. It took about 10 seconds to realize the show wasn't edited, so we turned it off. I was totally bummed. But, I've heard from people who's seen it that the fake previews are the best part, so I guess we got the good stuff. Instead we watched "Definitely Maybe" which was cute. And on the way home, they had DirectTV so we actually got to watch "Kath & Kim" and "The Office" live -- well, the first 25 minutes of "The Office" until we hit turbulence and lost the connection. I didn't get to see the "30 Rock" premiere live, but it was much better experienced at home on Tivo. LOVE IT! If you aren't watching that show, get off my blog NOW! :) And if you're not sure you want to, at least tune in on Thursday night (8:30 PM) to see Oprah. Oh, and I watched "Mamma Mia!" again. I watched it like I used to watch musicals when I was little -- fastforwarding through the boring parts and the slow songs. That way, it was MUCH more enjoyable and I liked it much better the 2nd time around. John watched "Hancock" and hated it.

3. I read an interesting article about why Terrence Howard is being recast by Don Cheadle in the next "Iron Man" movie. This may not interest you, but "Iron Man" is the only action movie I have liked in a really long time. I guess Terrence Howard was the first to sign on to the movie, so he actually ended up getting paid MORE than Gwynnie, Jeff Bridges and even Robert Downey. He was a real diva on set and since the movie sets up that he'll have a bigger part in the sequel (remember the "Next time, Baby!" line to the suit), they still offered him the part but at a reduced fee. He balked and so he's out. Here's the whole article. Can I just say... what a boob! You're in this $300 mil. + grossing movie and have an opportunity to be a part of this franchise that is just going to keep growing. As an actor, you're critically acclaimed, but the general public doesn't know you at all. This is your chance to keep doing the indie/art movies, but make some money and gain popularity. Actors bug.

4. Speaking of sequels, I am NOT happy they are making a "Sex in the City" sequel. Hollywood... JUST SAY NO! Other sequels I'm ticked over: Beverly Hills Cop 4 (I HATE when they bring back movies from the 80's), National Treasure 3 (AAAH! I hate you, Nic Cage!), Shrek 5 (too many Shreks and now, a Broadway musical!), Little Fockers (Meet the Parents - and what a tasteless title), The Thomas Crown Affair (I loved that movie, but it's been forever) and the worst: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Sequel -- that movie is a CLASSIC, leave it alone! Next week, I'll vent about the remakes.. um, a remake of "Footloose" starring Zac Efron? Kill me now.

5. Okay, I admit. I'm excited for the "Twilight" movie. My hope is that it will be like the 5th Harry Potter movie which I think improved on screen. Mainly, because they whisked through the boring parts. We didn't have to see Harry being so p.o.ed all the time. I'm thinking "Twilight" will do the same. We won't have to hear Bella's whiny, inner turmoil. Since I read the book knowing who was cast in the 2 leads, I picture Cedric Diggory (I mean, Robert Pattinson) as Edward. But, I do have to say that Stephanie Meyer's original pick is VERY yummy: Henry Cavill (he was Humphrey in "Stardust").


I'm not crazy about some of the cast. I'm just talking appearance here. EW put together this gallery that shows each of the actors and to be completely honest, none of the vampires are good looking enough. Meyers kept going on how gorgeous they all are and it just isn't striking me. Maybe it's too hard to find hotties that can act. But, I'll take actors that aren't quite the physical ideal as long as the can really BE the character and ACT, so I'll give them a chance and see. Anyway, check out this gallery and see what you think.

That's it for this week (now I've GOT to go do laundry!)

New York, New York

First, not to get all political, but I have to say it is a GREAT time to be an American. I hope no matter how you voted, we can all put our differences aside. It's really a time to unify. I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that and finally talk about MY TRIP! I have been so busy and I still haven't unpacked one suitcase, but I figure I better write my thoughts down before I forget them. There's no way I can write down everything I did, so I'm just going to include some pictures and the highlights.

I have to say, it's a good thing that John and I didn't visit New York City back when we first tried to go 10 years ago. As soon as he graduated, we would've moved there in a heartbeat and never came back. It had the energy of Seoul and the culture of London, but with a whole new level of excitement I can't even describe. When we were driving over the bridge to Manhattan and I saw the Chrysler building, my heart literally skipped a beat. When I first walked through Times Square, I almost peed my pants I was so excited. And when I sat down in my first Broadway theater, I started to cry. Yes, New York is my kind of town!

Here's the Reader's Digest version of our trip. We stayed at a Hampton Inn on 51st and 8th Avenue, we were right around the corner from the Wicked theater and the Hairspray theater. It's newly renovated and has good size rooms. We were very happy with it and totally recommend if you're heading to NYC. Anyway, we arrived Monday afternoon and here's the rest...



Monday - explored Times Square and Theater District, ate dinner at the ESPN Zone from window seats overlooking Times Square, shopped, bought a pin at Hard Rock Cafe (I collect them)



Tuesday - our actual anniversary (Yeah!), crappy weather, took a double decker bus to World Trade Center, was totally touched at the St. Peter's church next to the site, shopped at Century 21 - John was in heaven even though he hates shopping, walked to Financial District, had the BEST. PIZZA. EVER. at a dive by Wall Street - again, John was in heaven - never seen him so excited about food before, walked down to Battery Park and took pictures of the Statue of Liberty, bought a cool picture, hopped back on the bus and saw Brooklyn Bridge, U.N. building and other East side attractions, stopped at Rockefeller Plaza, explored area, went to NBC store and American Girl, more shopping, back to hotel, went to Ellen's Stardust Diner for dinner, waitstaff sings to you, our waiter sang "The Best is Yet to Come" and had us dance in front of everyone -- it was cute, went to "Wicked" (I've seen a lot of shows - L.A., Seattle, Chicago, London - some great touring productions and even some awesome ones at Pioneer Theater, but this was the BEST YET! And yes, I totally cried when I sat down in our seats!).


Wednesday - not as crappy weather as the day before, took the subway down to Tribeca, saw a little of Tribeca and So Ho on foot, explored the Village, found the "Friends" apartment building...



...walked over to China Town, bought a fake pashmina and a purse, walked through Little Italy, took subway back to Times Square, hopped back on the tour bus for a Upper West Side tour, saw temple, Lincoln Center, Dakota (where John Lennon was shot), had my one lame celebrity sighting -- Greenlee from "All My Children" who's married to that dork Bob the Bachelor, Museum of Natural History, walked way too far to get Gray's Papaya hotdogs (thanks to "Fools Rush In" I always wanted one -- they were GOOD), John got more pizza, rode bus up by Grant's Tomb and through Harlem, rode down Museum Mile on the Upper East Side, got off and explored 5th, Madison and Park Avenue, had frrozen hot chocolate at Serendipity 3 (AMAZING!), shopped some more, John oogled at the Apple store...



...went back to hotel then off to a show "Boeing Boeing" - a french farce starring Greg Germann (Fish from "Ally McBeal", Christine Baranski the skinny chic on "Mamma Mia!", Rebecca Gayheart who's married to McSteamy and played Luke Perry's dead wife from 90210, Paige Davis from "Trading Spaces", Missy Pyle who played Violet's mom in the Johnny Depp "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and the best was Mark Rylance, the Tony winner from the show, who's actually a Shakespearean British actor and is HILARIOUS!), had deli sandwiches after on Times Square.


Thursday - gorgeous day, waited forever to get up to the Empire State Building, too many people but great views, I ate authentic pulkogi for lunch in Little Korea while John watched (he wouldn't try it) and then, we went and got him... yep, pizza, took subway up to Central Park, did our own little walking tour -- well, not little, we walked about 40 blocks total in and around Central Park, did see some cool movies sites like the "Enchanted" bridge, fall leaves were changing so it was perfect, walked back to hotel and saw all kinds of sites like Carnegie Hall, The Late Show studio and 21, did more shopping, bought Christmas stuff, then back to our hotel around dinner time to get our luggage and go to the aiport. We got back late Thursday night.



Phew! Actually, re-reading it that's really only about 70% of what we did. I'm a pretty hard core traveller because I'm determined to experience all I can. We did walk too much though, because both of us were pretty sore when we got back. It's funny, even though we went like crazy, we still had a lot of time to relax. It was just great hanging out together, just doing our own thing without agendas, having real discussions at dinner. A GREAT way to spend an anniversary. We saw a lot for only being there about 3 1/2 days. It was a good surface visit and I think next time, I want to focus on a few areas and just really take it all in. So, it may be another 10 years before we get back, but it'll be WORTH THE WAIT!