Welcome Baby Jack!

Jennie Penny and Christmas Steve welcomed my nephew, Jack William, this morning. We're so relieved he's here safe and sound!

Jude's Thursday Dish #39

I'm waiting on my publisher to upload some final pages for me to proof for our August issue. Perfect time to blog. Let's Dish!

1. I have been like a giddy little Fan Girl with all the good "Lost" news coming out of Comic Con. If you're a fan, go here (ew.com) for all the great coverage. But here's a sum-up of the good stuff. SPOILER ALERT if you're a spoiler-phobe, but more like TEASES really.

Carlton Cuse & Damon Lindelof (the "Lost" Gurus -- and no, J.J. Abrams should not get the credit. These two are the MEN who do it all) did a panel and revealed these AWESOME teases:

- Suggested the timeline was changed by Juliet banging on the H-Bomb. They illustrated the possibility by showing spoof commercials of Hurley endorsing Mr. Cluck's and America's Most Wanted hunt for a still-at-large Kate. I've been thinking the plane never crashed, but the peeps that were touched by Jacob (Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Locke, Hurley, Jin, Sun and Sayid) will be have the memories of what happened WHEN the plan crashed and be called back to the Island to help Jacob.

- Juliet and Faraday will appear in Season 6!!!! Elizabeth Mitchell was interviewed and said she feels like the fans brought Juliet back, because they were so crushed by the season finale (that would be me, bawling like a BABY!). I think we'll see Juliet living her old life, never even coming to the Island to begin with, (in the new time line), but perhaps the people who were touched by Jacob will remember the alternate history. Meaning, Sawyer will have these memories of being with Juliet, but she will never remember knowing him at all. That will open it up so that she only "appears" and can be free to go do her "V" show. Leaving Sawyer open to shack up with Kate (BOO!). Whatever the reasoning, I just hope that means Juliet is alive!

- We'll get Guyliner Richard's backstory. I think he came to the Island on the Black Rock.

- We won't be getting more Dharma Initiative focus. That was really focused on in Season 5. Each of the seasons mirror another. 2 & 5 were very Dharma focused. 3 & 4 were very Ben/Whidmore and the time travel focused. 1 & 6 will mirror each other being more about jungle adventure, redemption, emotional ressonance and asscence of discovery. This was deliberate and makes me VERY happy. I loved season 1 and can't wait to get back to that in season 6.

- Jacob has never assumed the identity of someone else dead (i.e. Christian, Claire). And I'm thinking that the Dark Dude (Jacob's enemy) didn't either. The only person he did that too was Locke since he was the Loophole.

- Directly from EW: "In an attempt to prove that they (Carlton & Damon) haven't been writing the series on the fly, the producers locked the final page of the series finale script in a box, and said that the box would be opend on Jimmy Kimmel Live! the night that the series finale airs. When Josh Holloway (Sawyer) came on the stage, he tasers Lindelof and forced Cuse to open the box. Michael Emerson (Benry) did a dramatic reading of the page, which turned out to be... a scene from Heroes."

- Not in the panel, but promoting another show, Ian Somerhalder (Boone) said he is appearing in season 6. I really am thinking my new timeline theory is right!

- There's also some good pictures and videos to check out. My favorite is when Michael Ausiello from EW interviews Richard, Ben and Hurley. He asks them who Kate should end up with and Michael Emerson (Benry) deadpans that she should just find a new guy, because she ruins everyone she's with. Nestor Carbonell (Richard) suggests she ruin him. Freckles + Guyliner living in a tree...

Not related to Comic Con, but Matthew Fox (Jack) was interviewed at a TV convention in Monte Carlo and he revealed some teases/spoilers. He said the Locke and Jack would have a final showdown, so I'm hoping somehow Locke isn't really dead.

Late Night Addition (11:54 p.m. on Thursday): Charlie will be back for 3 episodes!!!!

Sigh... I can't believe I have to wait until January!

2. Anyone out there "Saved By the Bell" fans? I watched it mostly because my younger sibs, Jimmy and Jennie, were OBSESSED with it. But I fully admit. I loved it. They are having their 20 year anniversary and are on the cover of the new People magazine (minus Screech who is probably off making more sex tapes. Ew!). They all look amazing. They haven't aged at all. And Mario Lopez really is a hottie.

It all started when Jimmy Fallon (a huge fan) pushed a reunion for the 20th anniversary. He started getting cast members to agree starting with Mr. Belding, who of course agreed, because what else is he doing? There was an amusing appearance of Mark Paul Gosselaar AS Zack Morris promoting MPG's legal drama. My favorite part was when the band Zack Attack performed. MPG looks EXACTLY the same. Check it out here:

Another funny bit has come out from Tiffany Thiessen (minus the Amber) who is the only person that hasn't committed to Jimmy Fallon's reunion. I think this is all tongue and cheek and she'll definitely show up. Can't wait!!!

Tiffani Thiessen is Busy from Tiffani Thiessen

Oooh, pages are up. I'm sure there's a lot more to Dish on, but that's it for this week!

Norm Abram Has Nothing On John

I've been waiting to post pictures of our new bathroom until it was 100% done, but who am I kidding? Nothing at my house ever is complete. We're at about 90% with just a few loose ends. First, I have to say John ROCKS. With the help of our brother-in-law, Christmas Steve, he sledge hammered the ORIGINAL tub (85 freakin' years-old -- it's been resurfaced, but you can imagine how awful it was.) He replaced it with a new cast iron tub. He tore out the original flooring and replaced it with something similar. It was a beast, because it was the small hexagonal tiles and even though they were in sheets, they kept popping up. The only thing I really did was design, shop, help paint and boss him around. I'm married to a saint.

The rest of the house, unfortunately, is in complete shambles. I must be insane, because we started painting the living room. It's just the bathroom was so shiny and happy and pretty and lovely that I couldn't stand my drab living room being next to it. John was not happy, but again... he's a saint.

So, right now the bathroom is our sanctuary. It's the only clean room in the house. I just go in there and sit on the side of the tub just to have some peace. I heard this brilliant idea that works well for insomniacs like me. You put dimmers on your bathroom lights and keep them down low, so if you have to go into the bathroom at night, you're not disturbed by the harsh lights. We love it. Now we just keep the dimmers whenever the light is on, so it's just really relaxing.

We're taking August off of home improvements and actually paying attention to the yard for a change, but I'm hoping starting in the fall, we'll have a shiny, happy house to match the bathroom.

Here is the before and after. The pics don't do it justice. The lighting isn't good and it's hard to get a good shot, but you'll get the point. We made some changes to the bathroom when we moved in the house in 2000 (it was bright turquoise and the shower tile actually sunk into the wall when you pushed it since there was so much water damage). Those were necessities. This remodel really makes a world of difference.

BEFORE: Dingy floor circa 1925, GHETTO tub, tiny wall sink, dumb mirror and cabinet, ho-hum light fixture. Nice color, but definitely wanted something more serene and grown-up.

AFTER: New floor still in the same style of the 20's bungalow, nice pedestal sink, great new mirror and cabinet, awesome light fixture. Atmosphere blue paint color because I wanted to bring the sky in. New bath mat, towels and shower curtain (it's hard to tell but it's got different color blue stripes). The only thing we kept was the shower tile that John put in when we moved into the house in 2000. With a good grout cleaning, it will look brand new. Tip: never use Restoration Hardware paint. The stuff we got must've been sitting on the shelves for years and it just ran like water down the walls. We took it to John's 2nd home, Home Depot, and they matched it perfectly with a terrific Behr paint.

Now, I just need to get a cool picture to hang over the towel rack!

Those Annoying Facebook Quizzes

Everytime I login to Facebook, I'm bombarded with quiz requests and results like "How bitchy are you?" or "What modern bombshell are you most like?" I'm curious about the results, but I don't really want to bug everyone with the answers. So I found www.blogthings.com where I can do it in my own privacy for fun. I found out I'm most like Carrie on "Sex and the City" and should name my boobs "Trinidad" and "Tobago". Great time waster -- check it out!

Leftovers: New Trailers

To make up for my lame dish yesterday, here are 2 trailers that I'm excited about. "Couples Retreat" boasts an EXCELLENT cast: Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Kristen Bell (my dear Veronica herself), Jason Bateman (my dear Michael Bluth), Kristin Davis (my dear Charlotte) and more. And "Alice in Wonderland" looks awesome.

Jude's Thursday Dish #38

Today for the Dish -- you're getting the Lunch Rush. Partly because I'm really busy, but also -- it's been a slow pop culture week. So let's get to it...

-- Ugh, Sarah Palin. That woman has become a train wreck. I just need to watch Tina Fey on SNL reruns and think of happier days.

-- Johnny Depp's dream role is to play Carol Channing. I love when Johnny plays freaky, but that just might be the role that puts me over the edge.

-- If you've read my blog for a while, you know I've been off the R's since June 2007 when John and I were at "Knocked Up" and a friend from our ward, Bonnie (who ironically we now home/visit teach) came in on a date and sat next to us. Enough to scare me straight. I did fall off the wagon once and see "Sex and the City" which was TOTALLY worth it. Anyway, I was very tempted by "The Ugly Truth" because I HEART Gerard Butler. Thankfully for my resolution, the movie is getting terrible reviews. If anyone goes and sees it, let me know how it is.

-- I took John to the Gallivan Center to see "Vertigo" on Monday. Definitely got me in the mood to see more. If you like Hitchcock and in the mood to discover a hidden gem, check out "Strangers on a Train."

Well, that was lame. ;) That's it for this week!

Happy Birthday, Baby Jack

Mortimer Family Reunion 2009

Happy Birthday To A Great Husband

My dear husband spent his birthday today with my crazy family (sorry to offend any family members reading this, but let's face it -- collectively, we are pretty crazy) at our Mortimer Family Reunion. We spent 4 + hours at Boondocks. Even though he did NOT want to do Laser Tag, he did. When we had the family talent show, even when he did NOT want to be in a skit, he did. He mediated an argument Katie and I were having on the way home. And now he's off to the store getting me cold medicine. What a trooper! I love you, John -- you're the best.

I wish I had time to do some creative picture thing like last year, but see that birthday entry for an AWESOME look back of John in pics ;)

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!