I have to take a moment here...

to just say how proud I am of my Cory and his superior work in the movie OVER HER DEAD BODY!!  We attended the premiere last night at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood and I was so totally blown away!  I mean, I knew the movie would look good but it looked SO AWESOME!!  Huge props to Cory (no pun intended!)

I was also pleasantly surprised by the overall movie.  I didn't know what to expect since I hadn't seen the final product yet but the storyline was totally cute and clever, the actors did a fantastic job; they all had really good chemistry and timing with their lines.  I just thought I'd go to beam about my hubby's hard work but I laughed a lot at this totally cute romantic comedy.  It was very well done and I'm so proud of the whole cast and crew!  

Cory introduced me to Eva Longoria Parker and Lake Bell last night and it was so cool to see them raving to Cory about what an awesome job he did on the sets when in fact we were there to congratulate them on their work!  It was a great experience and a very fun evening!  And I want EVERYONE to go see it... you won't be disappointed, I can promise you that!

LOST RETURNS!

Who's excited for Thursday night?  I AM!!!  It's been so long, but now it's back for a big whopping EIGHT episodes!  (The number of episodes they were able to finish shooting before the wretched Writer's strike screwed everything up!)  But that's okay, I will savor each episode.  It's my favorite show ever!  OHHHH!  What's gonna happen?  WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN??

He will be terribly missed...

But now they are together forever!

Not possible!

no. No. NO!  Why does my sweet, little, baby boy look like a punk teenager today?!!

I've purged...

It happens every January.  Christmas is over, but the unwrapped presents are strewn all over the house just waiting for their place to be determined.  It'd be easy enough to just put them away, except that I have no room! 

So, I get the itch to clean out, throw out and organize to make room.  And thank goodness too!  It's very cleansing!  I try to live by the rule that if I haven't touched it in a year, it goes.  (Sometimes, I give it another year depending on the item.)  My clothes, on the other hand, are another story.  During my childbearing era, I hate that I have to hang onto 3 wardrobes: the current wardrobe, the pregnancy wardrobe and the "I'm fat cause I just had a baby" wardrobe.  It's so tempting to throw away the fat wardrobe, but I know I'll regret it if another baby comes and I have NOTHING to wear.  It's bad enough to deal with the raging hormones and then to have nothing to wear... that's just not good.  

So, my needs are generally met by cleaning out the kitchen, the garage, the kids room, the bathrooms, the office and the hall closet.  Even though I'm pretty darn proud of myself for riding our lives of clutter, Cory thinks he could do a better job.  He's been trying to talk me into getting rid of the bread maker.  I admit the bread maker breaks my rule... we've had it for 6 years and I've never used it.  But I know someday I will!  Who throws out a bread maker??  Come on, now!

I have a feeling that I'm not the only person who goes into expel mode during January.  Target has an unusually large selection of storage containers for sale.  Here's a tip I learned recently during your clean out venture: separate items into 4 piles.  1) To donate. 2) To sell. 3) To save. 4) To throw out.  Easy enough!     

What happens in Vegas... I'll fill you in right here!

Lo and behold!  Cory has a cousin!  And the reason why that is such a big deal is because we hardly know any of Cory's extended family.  So, much to our delight, we received an invitation to attend the baby blessing of Cory's long lost cousin, Heather, in Las Vegas!  Fortunately, it turned out to be a perfect weekend for all of Cory's family to make a road trip out to Las Vegas to visit cousin Heather.  And we did some really fun things along the way!  Gotta love family road trips!  

   

Have you ever seen that sign between Barstow and Baker for the Calico Ghost Town, but you never stop cause "we'll do it next time"?  Well, we had time this time!  It's a deserted mining town from the 1880's.  

A highlight of the trip for me was the visit to Hoover Dam.  I was so fascinated by this magnificent piece of work and totally amazed that it was all built in the 30's!  

Grant overlooking the bottom of Hoover Dam. 

The hydroelectric generators.  I don't know about you, but I have a newfound appreciation for what it takes to get electricity into my home!

The Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay.  Grant trying to reach for a shark... that boy has no fear! 

Cousin Heather is the cute one in the middle holding baby Siena in the white blanket.

We took a Sunday drive through Red Rock Canyon just outside Sumerlin. 

The Lion Cage at MGM Grand.  Sure enough, there was a lion in that cage and you can see him to the right of Maggie's head.  

Uh oh... time to go home!

Thirtysomething

Cory probably thought he had escaped an embarrassing post where I announce that it is his birthday and talk about how wonderful he is.  Well, not so fast!  It's still your birthday month, Cory!  Okay, so Cory has the worst birthdate in our family... 11 days after Christmas, when everyone is still pooped out from Christmas.  And on top of that, this year Grant got an ear infection on his birthday so we had to (very reluctantly) cancel the babysitter and our night out to save her from being stuck with our very irritable, very grumpy son (understandable, though).  Needless to say, Cory's birthday got pummeled over this year so now that things have calmed down, I'd like to redeem his disappointing birthday by making that embarrassing post now.  He, he!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORY!  Cory is an amazing person!  When I first met Cory, I was totally impressed with his ambition.  He always aims high and doesn't settle for less.  He's always thinking of ways to make our lives better, like planning what the miniature golf course will look like someday in our backyard.  It's impossible to stay mad at Cory, he makes us laugh all the time!  And if there is any sort of slight altercation between us, it only takes a matter of seconds for him to lighten the mood with his sense of humor.  Cory is a great dad, he loves his kids and I love to see him teaching them new things (other than bad words, like "FACEPLANT!" See post below)  Cory always points out the things he thinks Maggie and Grant would find exciting.  Cory appreciates good architecture and things that are well made.  I've learned so many new things about these topics from him, despite my lack of interest.  But, that is one thing I appreciate, we balance each other out.  I think we make a great team and I'm looking forward to all the many adventures ahead with Cory!           

Don't hate me Utah people!

But, I just wanted to report that the last 4 days have been beautiful with blue skies and temperatures nearing 80 degrees... in January! (:P) I was telling this to my mom when she quickly commented that she doesn't mind the change of seasons in Utah and that the cold doesn't bother her.  (Whatever mom... you know you wish you were here!)  Anyone's welcome to visit!  

Over Her Dead Body

This is very exciting!  

Cory's next movie comes to a theater near you on February 1, 2008! 

 

Devastated when his fiancee Kate (Eva Longoria Parker) is killed on their wedding day, Henry (Paul Rudd) reluctantly agrees to consult a psychic named Ashley (Lake Bell) at the urging of his sister Chloe (Lindsay Sloane).  Despite his skepticism over her psychic abilities, Henry finds himself falling hard for Ashley, and vice versa.  But there is a big snag.  Ashley is being haunted by Kate's ghost, who considers it her heavenly duty to break up Henry and Ashley's fledging romance, if it is the last thing she does on this earthly plane...

To see the trailer, click here.  

Get a sitter girls and drag your husbands to go see it with you!  It'll be a great date night movie!

My gift to grandma...

PATIENCE  

I think that if I were more patient, I could be a better wife, person and especially mother.  This past year, I've seen certain behaviors of mine mirrored in my children.  If I slow down, not so quick to anger, remain calm and collective, then maybe I can model better coping techniques for them to follow.  As a woman, being emotionally driven is already a strike against me.  But, if I'm more patient maybe I can cool down and approach things more appropriately.  I think being more patient will allow me to treat others the way I would want to be treated.  This is my one-word description gift to grandma Joyce of how I can better improve my life this year.  

"Patience.  Because the second it's over, you'll wish you had it to do all over again."  

"God, please grant me patience... I WANT IT NOW!" 

UH OH!

A "not so proud moment" as a mother: 

My cute, adorable, petite 14 month old niece was standing on a box when she lost her footing and fell belly first onto the ground.  She was crying, but I could tell she wasn't hurt.  To my shocking surprise, my 3 year old walked up to my niece, proceeded to point, laugh and yelled, "HA! HA!  FACEPLANT!"  

Hmmmm... where could've she possibly learned that from?  Needless to say, I had a word with Cory... and a chat with Maggie.   

Let's be frank...

When I asked my sister why she didn't send out Christmas cards this year, she reported that the only thing she could come up with to say in any sort of letter would be, "This year sucked!  We're glad it's over!"  Well, I guess that's not appropriate, but I couldn't agree with her more!  Now, if I was optimistic, I could admit that this year was definitely one of growth and learning.  It truly was.  But since I'm more of a pessimist... I'm sorry but this year was hard, heartwrenching, traumatic and painful.  I'm sure a few good things happened this year, but some of the things I've had to endure have plagued my mind and spirit to the point that I'm convinced that this just hasn't been the best year.  I've never been more glad to see a year end and the opportunity for a fresh start.  So, I hope I'm not jinxing myself... but HAPPY NEW YEAR!!