Jude's Thursday Dish #39

Well, this Dish is being served up late, but there's still plenty of good stuff to dig in to!


1. Harry Potter! Yes, I've been waiting for what feels like an eternity for this movie. And of course it was never going to live up to the book or my expectations. I've always said the movies are basically the Harry Potter cliffnotes -- or Harry Potter - Lite. I knew that going in already, but still, I left disappointed. I won't share anything spoiler-y in here unless you are one of the rare few that haven't read the book and still want to see the movie. Also, if you haven't seen it yet and don't want to read anything negative about it, I suggest you read on. I know that when I read someone's negative critique before seeing a movie, I go in prejudiced looking for the said flaws.

But I'll start off with the good stuff!

- Daniel Radcliffe has really improved his acting over the years. In this film, he gets to showcase his comic chops.
- Jim Broadbent is PERFECT for Professor Slughorn. I HEART that actor. Bridget Jones, Moulin Rouge, to name a few. He doesn't exactly look like I thought the character would (pudgier, etc.) but his acting is spot on. FUN FACT: speaking of Bridget, I like that both her parents are in this film: Dad as Professor Slughorn, Mom as Madame Pomfrey.
- The Weasley twins' joke shop was awesome. If they are still doing that Harry Potter theme park in Florida, they HAVE to include that.
- Dumbledore & Harry finding the Horcrux was better than I imagined when I read it. They did an excellent job on that scene.
- I really like Michael Gambon as Dumbledore. My sis & bro-in-law don't like him and say he's not as fun/silly/charming as Richard Harris was, but I think Michael Gambon plays him more stern and see the seriousness of the situation and I like that. But, he's still amusing. Love the line he says about Lavendar: "Oh to be young and to feel love's keen sting." Plus, I think it's amusing that he admitted that he (nor Alan Rickman, nor Ralph Fiennes) hasn't cracked open one of the Potter books. He sees "no point" because he says he's going off the interpretation of the screenwriter.

The stuff that bugged/disappointed (SKIP THIS if you haven't seen it):

- That girl that plays Ginny Weasley is terrible. Ginny is so much more interesting in the books. Get her in some acting classes, Stat!
- What happened to Ginny and Ron's amazing first kiss? Remember, he's been in detention and Ginny fills in as Seeker. They win the Quidditch game and when he shows up at the victory party, they start kissing in front of everyone -- even a dismayed Ron. Stupid, stupid, stupid choice to leave that out!
- Wasn't crazy about the casting of Draco's mom. And I've never liked the girl who plays Tonks. You know who should've gotten that role? Anna Friel. She was in "Pushing Daisies." I read that she is living with/dating Lupin in real life and her dream role was to play Tonks. She would've been awesome.


- I know that the film has a darker tone, but I miss some of the whimsy from the earlier films. Especially movie 3 with that director, Alfonso Cuaron. One of the things I love most about Hogwarts is the talking and moving portraits, and the ghosts flying around. There was none of that in this movie. Blah.
- Was that Burning Burrow scene in the book?
- I feel like this in every movie, but Snape needs more screen time.
- Those are all silly complaints, but my biggest issue in the film was they wasted WAY too much time focusing on the teen romances which short changed the action at the end. Movie 4 had a really good balance. There was the underlying romantic theme and the dance, but enough focus and time to really give you the emotional and powerful impact of the action scenes. I felt like they basically ran out of time and the showdown at Hogwarts was sacrificed. Again, I don't remember the book completely, but I recall a lot more fighting and action when the Death Eaters show up and the whole Snape/Harry confrontation. Plus, was really disappointed by the Half-Blood Prince reveal. There was no explanation as to how he got that name. They were really light on the Horcrux explanations too.

Basically, I felt like the movie would've been a lot better had they toned down the romance, pumped up the whimsy, and focused more on the mystery/action, especially in the finale. Still, it was a good movie. I just wish it had been better.


2. I Netflixed the most random movie. It's a Michelle Pfeiffer/Paul Rudd romantic-comedy that was supposed to come out in 2007, but had this crazy drama with the producer and went straight to DVD. I can't decide if I like it or not. There's this really weird distraction of Tracy Ullman playing Mother Nature and popping up all the time to rant about getting old and mating, but the other stuff is actually good. Pfeiffer and Rudd have really good chemistry and I like the relationship between the mom and daughter. One completely bogus bit of casting: Jon Lovitz as Pfeiffer's ex husband who left here for a younger woman. Like that would happen. So, if you are totally in the mood to check something out for curiosity's sake, rent: "I Could Never Be Your Woman."


3. Why can't I go to Comic Con? This is my new Fangirl dream. It's held every year in San Diego and is said to have a greater impact on movies, TV, Pop Culture, etc. than any of the other festivals or events out there. Basically, it was just a little event for comic book enthusiasts, but it's turned into the mecca for all Fanboys/girls out there. They are showing clips for "Iron Man 2" and the new Tim Burton "Alice in Wonderland." Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are breaking their "radio silence" and going to discuss "Lost" season 5 finale and season 6. GAH!

Anyway, I was looking for clips, but couldn't find anything. I did come across this cool-but-in-a-I-can't-believe-someone-spent-this-much-time-kind-of-thing Lego trailer of the first "Iron Man" that is really amusing. Check it out:



3. Emmy nominations came out yesterday. Another reason I love Thursdays! Nominations I was excited about: "Lost" finally, and deservedly, back in the Emmy race again as Best Drama, Michael Emerson as Benry in "Lost" -- please give it to him already!, the supporting cast of "30 Rock" with Tracy, Jenna and Kenneth all getting nods -- definitely deserved, Jemaine Clement in "Flight of the Conchords" -- except I kind of feel bad for the other guy. SO pissed that Elizabeth Mitchell got snubbed for her work as Juliet on "Lost"; she is AMAZING. BOO!!!


4. I'm totally watching "Dance Your Ass Off" on Oxygen! It's kind of terrible, but totally motivates me to dance...er, exercise my OWN ass off. The judges are lame. And why do all of this shows have to have the British guy? Anyway, the judging is biased and totally random -- they aren't consistent at all and never judge on technique, because well... they are fat people. We should just be happy that they are off their butts dancing, right? You don't really get to see any of the behind the stage stuff on how each of them are doing on their dieting, etc. They show a little, but not enough to make it interesting like on "The Biggest Loser." This last episode was painful. It was pole dancing. The poor girl who got voted off basically got the boot because she was insecure and felt unsexy. Um, hello? I don't care what kind of body you have. Most of us would feel that way. There was a guy from Orem that got booted, so now I'm kind of rooting for this boy from SLC. There's a couple of decent dancers that may get my allegance, but we'll see. Anyway, it's great Treadmill TV.

5. They have announced they are making a 3rd Bridget Jones movie. NOOOO! Renee Zellweger is signed on. Please don't do this! You're killing my favorite movie with sequels!!!

That's it for this week!

Jude's Thursday Dish #38

I'm watching my nephew, Mitchell, this morning and going to Lagoon this afternoon, so today's Dish is going to have to be brief -- with one topic: The M.J. memorial.

The M.J. memorial. Woah -- where to start? I know the media has been going on and on about how classy it was, but I thought it was pretty bizarre. Fitting for M.J. to be sure. There were definitely touching, sincere moments, but so much of it was spectacle. It's strange to review a memorial service like it was a tv show, movie or concert, but really... that's what it was like and deserves to be critiqued as such. Here are some memorable (and not so) moments:

1. Paris speaking about her dad was heartwrenching. It was nice to see her family physically protecting her and comforting her in that moment. But the cynic in me has to wonder if she really wanted to do it. I heard Janet was supposed to talk, but then she encouraged Paris to speak. If the girl wanted to, then great - she deserves a forum, but if the family pushed her into it, then shame on them.
2. Brooke Shields seems genuinely sad and her tribute was nice. I was channel surfing and stopped on that stupid Bill O'Reilly show where they had a Body Language Expert analyzing people. It was SO lame. The lady was picking apart Brooke's speech to see if she was sincere or not. Like she'd be performing at something like that. Honestly, people need to get a life.
3. "We are the World" and "Heal the World" were touching, but I would've LOVED if they had gotten some of the original peeps to sing that.
4. The real emotion that came from his brothers, even Usher, really humanized M.J. and made you remember that through all the craziness, he was just like everyone else.
5. Those dancers surrounding Jennifer Hudson were SO random. Who choreographed that thing? Talk about distracting.
6. Couldn't Joe have spit out his gum? Come on!
7. And let's not get started about the service costing L.A. $1.4 million.

Al Sharpton's comments were interesting. I'm sure that's what his children needed to hear their dad wasn't strange. One thing I find curious though. M.J. did SO much for the Civil Rights movement, especially bridging the gap between all races and making it possible for the music industry to be multi-colored. But how do people feel now when in the last 20 years, he showed the whole world he didn't want to be black. He lightened his face, got a white person's nose, and had his surrogate(s) give him white children. Didn't he turn away from his race and culture? Or was that his way of continuing his life of duplicity? He was black, but he was white. He wanted to be the most popular star in the world, but craved his privacy. He was a grown man, but acted like a child. He was shy in private, but a confident powerhouse on stage. He was male, but feminine. He had an aggressive sexuality in his music and on stage (grabbing his crotch, for one), but in private... well, he was never convicted, but it was obvious he had inappropriate relationships with young boys. I tend to think it was all part of his master plan. He really wanted to prove that we all are the same and capable of having dark and light characteristics. Maybe he was truly trying to be the ultimately ambiguous person.

That's it for this week!

Tween Alert

John and I let Katie have our I-Pod Nano that we never use. I love this picture, because she's wearing make-up (for fun) and she's wearing a shirt with Sleeping Beauty princesses all over it. And she's jamming to the "Mary Poppins"musical soundtrack of all things. I guess my little girl isn't growing up too fast. She's just getting her feet wet. Isn't that what being a Tween is all about?

Happy "Four July"

On the 4th (or the "Four July" as Katie used to call it), we just partied all day. Here are some photo highlights:

Annual parade up at my parents' ward.

Cute nephew Mitchell at the parade.

Bailey exhausted after the parade.

Papa Jim (my dad) greeting us at the end.

What could have been a really cute picture.

Ward program (before the breakfast) with my mom's 4 piano performance of "Stars and Stripes." You can't see my mom, but my sis, Jennie, is at the upfront right piano.

Swimming at my parents' house. John's siblings and kids also came up for some pool time & BBQ.

Back to my mother-in-law's old house (we're getting it ready to sell).
The group playing Bacci ball.
(nephew Alex at the bottom, Brandon, Doug & Beck -- my in-laws)

Katie and my nephews, Ethan & James

Ethan, James, Alex & Katie

Doug & Beck's latest addition, cute Will

The two July birthday boys: John and James.
We had cake and presents and some really bad singing.

Alex was ecstatic about the fireworks

Playing with the ISO on my camera (that's for you, Amelia)

"Circle of Fire" which we'll REALLY miss when the house is sold. The neighbors bring enough fireworks that there are several ground fireworks going on all at once, sparklers everywhere -- and illegal ones going on in the sky. It lasts non-stop for 2 hours.
The kids absolutely adore it. It makes the 4th for us.

One very worn-out family.

Jude's Thursday Dish #37

Week 2 of the resurrection of my blog! And the best part, MORE DISH! So, let's get right to it!

1. Michael, Michael, Michael. The coverage is like watching a train wreck. You can't turn away. I could fill many posts with what's come about all week, but here are just the top things that come to mind first:

• Joe Jackson is a tool. Not that we didn't know that before, but who uses a press conference about the death of his son to plug his new record company? Serves him right for getting the boot out of his will.
• All the back and forth drama about whether or not MJ or Debbie Rowe are the biological parents to Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket. Latest reports are saying MJ definitely was NOT the bio-dad, but Debbie Rowe was the bio-mom and not just a surrogate for the first two kids. Blanket is rumored to have been bought on the black market.
• Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have to get in on the action. As well as ever other possible celebrity who ever said "Hello" to MJ. My favorite was Gladys Knight on CNN giving an LDS spin to MJ having to atone for his sins on the other side.
• All MJ's past & present employees coming up with all their stories about him and his drug use. Like this surprises us? And what's up with that crazy doctor? Waiting 30 minutes to call 911? And I'm 7 years away from being a doctor, but even I know CPR doesn't work on a bed.
• And can we forget the Filipino inmate's tribute to Michael?

2. But it's not just MJ. Billy Mays and Karl Malden died this week. There were some less famous people who died - Molly Sudgen from one of my dad's favorite BBC shows "Are You Being Served?" and a character actor I grew up loving Harvey Presnel who played the Johnny Brown in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." Jennie and I LOVED that movie. He's been in a ton of movies, but you probably wouldn't recognize his name. He was in "Patch Adams," "Fargo,"Face/Off," "Evan Almighty" and "Old School" to name a few.

And fake Internet rumors have been wildly spread that celebs like George Clooney, Natalie Portman, Jeff Goldblum, Rick Astley, Harrison Ford, Miley Cyrus, Liza Minelli and Britney Spears kicked the bucket shortly after MJ and Farrah's deaths. Reportedly, some Hollywood insiders and friends of George Clooney were really upset by the news and called his publicist. Jeff Goldblum supposedly fell to his death off a cliff while filming in New Zealand. Seriously, people need to get a life. Or the people who believe it need to get their online news from reputable sources.

3. This was news last week, but I didn't blog about it yet. What about this news that the Academy Awards will now have 10 Best Picture nominees? That was how it was done in the 30's and 40's. Some people are criticizing the change, but I say bring it on! The Oscars have becoming too elitist. There are a lot of Oscar worthy movies out there that don't get the attention they should. If "Beauty and the Beast" was nominated for an Oscar, wouldn't one of the fabulous Pixar movies deserve a nod? But in the past, there were just too many of the hoity-toity films to ever recognize that excellent comedies, animation and action films. If they had done this last year, undoubtedly "The Dark Knight" would have been nominated. Yes, that movie scarred me but it was extremely well made. So, I'm excited. It may make the nominees fun to root for again. The Academy is definitely try to spice it up. They also invited several hot and young Hollywood actors to join in and now they can vote. This includes: Michael Cera, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, James Franco, Jane Lynch (who I LOVE), Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and others. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.

4. TV Scoop for Fall (since I couldn't care less about any of the summer offerings). Have you seen those awesome ABC promos? Take a few minutes and check them out. They're great! (BTW, the Charlie appearance is intriguing. Some say it's because he may be back on "Lost" and others say he's going to be in the new series "Fast Forward." ABC is teasing us either way.)

5. There's been some big casting news on some of the shows. Drea de Matteo from "The Sopranos" is basically replacing the Edie-type character on "Desperate Housewives." Hilary Duff (ugh) is going to "Gossip Girl" but fortunately only for a multi-episode arc. And this is old news, but T.R. Knight is leaving "Grey's Anatomy." And really, they are going to bring "Scrubs" back after ending the series? It's supposedly going to be like "AfterMASH" and they are having the docs still on the show be teachers. STOP. NOW. PLEASE!

That's it for this week!

Patriotic Pooch

More on MJ

I'm annoyed over all the celebs who didn't know Michael (or weren't directly influenced by his work) that are weighing in all over the media about his death. They are just trying to get in the spotlight. Who cares what Kim Kardashian thinks? What I'm interested in are the celebs that are really impacted. Here are some highlights:

Paul McCartney: "I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones."

Madonna: "I can't stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless."

Justin Timberlake: "I can't find the words right now to express how deeply sadden [sic] I am by Michael's passing. We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music, but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones."

Elizabeth Taylor's spokesman: "Dame Elizabeth Taylor is too devastated by the passing of her dear friend Michael Jackson to issue a statement at this time."

Lisa Marie Presley: "I am completely shocked and saddened by Michael's death. My heart goes out to his children and his family."

Brooke Shields: ""My heart is overcome with sadness for the devastating loss of my true friend Michael. He was an extraordinary friend, artist and contributor to the world. I join his family and his fans in celebrating his incredible life and mourning his untimely passing."

Here's a link to more comments made by close friends and acquaintances: http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/06/friends-and-colleagues-mourn-michael-jackson.html

And just for fun, here are some pics from some of his odd romances:



Okay, he and Liz Taylor were never really romantically linked, but they were really close.

Jude's Thursday Dish #36

Hey, if celebs can keep coming out of retirement, why can't I? (Read post below) Sure, I'm no Lance Armstrong, but don't we all deserve a chance to change our minds? I've had a REALLY tough time not having an audience for my Pop Culture obsession. John can only take so much of my rants and raves. So, without further delay, here's the 36th edition of Thursday Dish.

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1. WOW! MJ is dead. You know how you'll never forget where you were when you heard big news? I was walking in to a Internet cafe in Seoul when I saw on a big screen TV that Princess Di had died. I was in a writing class up at the U of U when the O.J. verdict was announced. A kid walked by in the hallway and looked into the classroom, looked at me and mouthed, "Not guilty." I think this will be up there with those moments. I had just dropped Katie off at a birthday party and I was listening to 101.9 The End. The D.J. said he had just seen on TMZ that Michael Jackson was dead. I was on Highland Drive stopping at the 7-11. CRAZY! In some ways, it was a total shock, but in others, it's not really a surprise. Too many iconic personalities have died too young.

I've been trying to suck up all the info I can. Once I rushed home, I hurried and got online. TMZ was the only place I could find that had the info, but the other entertainment websites were reporting he had a cardiac arrest. But on Eonline, they have this great little app called Celebri-Tweet and it shows the most popular, latest Tweets from Hollywood. A bunch of celebs kept Tweeting their reactions, especially Ashton Kutcher who kept updating who was confirming the info. Ryan Seacrest was updating before he went on air. Minutes later, it was popping up everywhere like CNN, MSNBC, etc. I can't believe how fast they can get the info up. I'm watching CNN right now and they are already interviewing the family spokesperson, etc. Reports started coming in around 4:20-ish, and no one has really be able to confirm his death until right now, 5:25 p.m. Still, news is SO competitive now. Everyone has to stay on the air and come up with something, even if it's not solid news quite yet. Ugh -- Al Sharpton is on the news now. I hate when other famous peeps use these moments to get on air. If you were really grieving, wouldn't you be in your own privacy? Not spouting off to the world?

MJ was such a huge part of my growing up. I remember when we got MTV and my older brother, Brad, and I just devoured the "Thriller" video. My friend, Laurie, had a poster of him with his little bow tie. We thought he was so hot. I was a huge fan for a long time. Unfortunately, his personal problems and his bizarre behavior sometimes overshadowed what an amazingly talented person he was. He did so much great humanitarian work and in so many ways, he was a good man. He was obviously terribly uncomfortable with his life and very troubled. It didn't help that he became the butt of a lot of jokes. The late night shows were the worst offenders. Even when I was watching the last week of Jay Leno's run on "The Tonight Show", he was making tasteless jokes about him. I'm not justifying any actions he may or may not have done. But, I hope he'll be remembered for his talent and his strengths. Everyone deserves to be memorialized for the good they did.

R.I.P., Michael.

2. On another sad note, Farrah Fawcett died today. I watched a little bit of her documentary and it was really sad. I think Farrah is a good example of how a "has been" becomes more endearing to the public once they become ill. I'm thinking Christopher Reeve or even, Michael J. Fox. Not saying that people didn't love them before, but their popularity had definitely cooled off until they had very public battles with illness. Unfortunately, she was almost completely off the radar before she got cancer. But, her influence has grown and she was actually able to really bring some positive exposure -- and a famous face -- to cancer. It's a bit of a shame that her death will be overshadowed by MJ's, but what can you say? He was the King of Pop.

3. I am SOOO excited for the TV show "Glee." It aired after one of the final "American Idol" episodes, but I didn't see it. I've been hearing so much good buzz about it that I finally watched it online at fox.com. GO WATCH THAT PILOT! It seriously gave me GLEE! The music, the comedy... Jane Lynch is CLASSIC. Even the first line of the pilot is worth watching. It's coming on air in the fall for a full season and I can't wait. Here's a quick peek:

Quick Lunch Rush on the last 2 months of Pop Culture going on's...

-- Happy Kris Allen won "American Idol" but HATE that there were so many out there going off about him that Glambert was robbed and personally attacking Kris Allen. They had great respect for each other and it was all good. Loved all the interviews on EW's Idolatry: http://www.ew.com/ew/package/0,,20007164_20174011,00.html. Matt Giraud is really funny and cool in real life. Danny Gokey is NOT. And Adam being gay? In other news, the sky is blue.

-- Bawled like a baby during the "Lost" finale. Totally in mourning one of my favorite characters. Will have to post a post-LOSTapolooza to even skim the surface.

-- Loved "The Office" finale. How cute was Jim's reaction? Not so worried they "Jumped the Shark" with Michael quitting. The 3 getting back to Dunder-Mifflin was completely unbelievable, but with everyone back, it feels like home.

-- Surprisingly, I REALLY liked "Star Trek" and I didn't think I would. Much more "Star Wars" vibe with more character development. And Chris Pine is HOOOTTTT!

-- "Up" was amazing.

-- "Night at the Museum" was actually really funny. Hank Azaria stole the show.

-- Watching "Mad Men" season 1 and I'm conflicted. It's really good and I can't stop watching, but it also makes me really uncomfortable. The chauvinism especially. It's totally worth watching, but it's definitely not feel-good entertainment.

-- I HATE Jon and Kate! HATE, HATE, HATE! I'm so sick of all this coverage on their divorce. I wanted to throw up last night when I was watching Showbiz Tonight on CNN and the 3 people (the host and 2 guests) were saying "Oh, don't we all know what that feels like? Waking up to someone and realizing you don't want to be in bed with them anymore? You've moved in different directions and you just don't want to be married." KILL ME NOW! If you feel that way, suck it up. Go into counseling, work on your marriage, at least try! Jon and Kate need to go off the air and work on their family instead of just giving up after a few months of a rough patch.

-- Two other people I'm totally sick off: Speidi. I have to give E! props. They did an online voting to see if they should ban Speidi until they do something actually newsworthy. I tried to watch that "I'm a Celebrity" show and couldn't stomach it. Between that and the Al Roker thing, I've had it. There 15 minutes is way over and people need to move on!

-- That whole Letterman/Palin drama was so overblown.

-- I like Conan. I think people should give him a chance.

Well, I just "wasted" another hour online, but hey... it was fun! Happy to be back!!!!

That's it for this week!

Okay, I have no will power

That didn't take long. Screw being well-rounded! I JUST talked to my cousin Amy literally an hour and a half ago about how nice it is not being tied to my blog and all the time I've been wasting on it -- and blog stalking everyone else. But truth be told, I really miss it. And if anything is going to bring me back out of retirement, it's the King of Pop dying. How can I NOT blog about that?! So, I'm officially back. Stay tuned for the resurrection of Jude's Thursday Dish.

Goodbye, Sweet Blog

Well, it's time.  As much fun as blogging has been, it's time for it to retire.  The main reason, my life is WAY too insane.  But the other reason, I wrote about in my upcoming May editor letter. Here is a sneak peek of the rough draft.  NOTE: I am by NO means judging anyone, this is just my opinion for myself.  Thanks to my "fans" -- and if you want to catch up or get my Dish opinions, call me or let's do lunch! :)

Editor Letter – May 09

For the Love of Blog
By Judy Hut

My daughter thinks my hobby is the computer. That’s what she told her teacher in an interview about me. When I asked her why she said that, she simply answered, “You eat, sleep and work on the computer.” Ouch. I always thought I was much more well-rounded, but she may be right.

Since I work from home, my laptop is never far from me. I try to get most of my work done during work hours, but I sometimes work on the evenings and weekends. I wish I could say all my computer time is work-related, but it’s not. I Google, I.M., email, shop online, text, download music and Facebook. I try to keep up on my blog and when I’m not doing mine, I’ll blog-stalk others. My only hold-out is Twitter. I really don’t need one more thing to add to the list.

My daughter’s observation got me thinking. Is a mom on her computer all day my generation’s version of the stereotypical mother who watches soaps and eats Bon Bons? Even though my tube of choice is a computer and not the TV, does all the time I spend still make me a couch potato? And the most importantly, am I wasting my time?

Oh, I can justify my computer use to make myself feel better. First, I’m a writer. The Internet is another outlet for me to express myself, right? Blogging is my online journal. It’s better than snail mail to send messages and pictures to my distant family and friends. Second, it’s my way to connect. I don’t have a lot of time to meet friends for lunch or spend hours on the phone. Instead, connecting online is a fast, convenient way to keep up my social life. I started hearing more about what my nieces and nephews are doing once I signed up for Facebook.

Are these really justifications or just excuses? There is so much attention put on how much time kids spend on the computer, but maybe it’s time for mom to evaluate the way she spends her free time too. Techno-savvy moms are complemented for keeping up with the changing times, but there’s a growing problem of moms getting addicted to the Internet and withdrawing from the real world. Some mothers may feel like they are above such things and that Internet addiction is reserved for teens or the socially challenged. Yet, more and more reports are showing that women are suffering from the same addiction.

Ironically, I Googled “are you addicted to the Internet?” and found several online quizzes, some serious and some not, to see if I was truly an Internet Addict. It came no surprise to me that (by their consensus) I am. The question I thought was most poignant was “do you have more friends in real life or online?” By my current 239 friend count on Facebook, the answer is probably online. If their definition of friend is people I keep in touch with frequently, then it is DEFINITELY online. I definitely don’t get together with that many people regularly. I’ve always been very social, but in my 30’s, a lot of friendships have fallen by the wayside thanks to my ever-growing family commitments. That’s understandable, but the more I think about it, I definitely don’t want my social circle to be limited to the World Wide Web.

It’s time for me to cut back. I could never go cold turkey. Nor would I want to. I’m going to start by -- dare I write this, giving up my blog. I don’t want to find out how my friends are doing solely online. Reading up on their lives via RSS feed shouldn’t be a substitute. I am missing out on real face-to-face interaction and relationships. I’m going to make a more concerted effort to make plans with my friends, reconnect in person with those from my past and attend more neighborhood and church functions to meet new people. I’m taking baby steps until I fully realize that life I envision for myself and then, hopefully, I will be well-rounded after all.