Friday, September 21, 2012

Maggie's Baby Shower

Sadly, if you read my blog post last week about the impending Baby-Apocalypse, I am sorry to say that one of my 4 older sisters is currently infected and her transformation is expected around the end of October. Below are the photos from the baby shower my sisters and I hosted a few weekends ago for Maggie. (We sadly forgot to get a sister's picture at the shower, however there are pictures from the night before at the bar of the 5 of us that I don't have!) Yes, we pre-gamed the baby shower and prego was jealous!

Maggie and Baby Butterfield!


Our nephew Ben said he could feel the baby move!


Maggie with Cassie (Chanlie) and Kelly! We all ran at Illinois together!

Sister Elisabeth getting her birthday pic on Dad's lap! (I told you its a tradition!)
The theme was woodland, since the nursery is a treehouse theme with little woodland creature decals on the walls. Maggie and Nick decided they wanted to be surprised when they have the baby so they aren't finding out the baby is, so its either a boy or girl.

Any guesses on what it could be? I'm saying Boy!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

E.L. James = Not Original


If you have read 50 Shades of Grey you know that E.L. James claims to have been inspired by the Twilight Saga.  I freely admit that I read the trilogy and I loved every minute of reading the trilogy 5 times back-to-back. I love when authors pull in other pop culture references that I absolutely love!

Like in 11/22/63, Stephen King mentions that his main character, Jake, on his first trip into the past has him watching The Long, Hot Summer at the drive-in! I love this movie so much, for me it’s a childhood classic because it is my mom’s favorite movie.

And I love that in 50 Shades, E.L. James brings in Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier. I love the movie and was finally able to read the entire book a few years ago (it took a few tries; it gets a little dry in the middle). Both are great classics of British Literature and film. And everyone should read the book and watch the movie! I mean it’s a Hitchcock classic!

Over this past weekend, I was sick and decided to watch the movie Rebecca, only to realize that E.L. James must have also been pulling inspiration from this along with the Twilight Saga! Why else would she reference it! But in watching the movie, I realized that James is not original, she only added shock value to a classic story already told.

Making my case:

Maxim de Winter is the older, cold, hard, wealthy man who has a terrible secret and by some miracle crosses paths with a young, poor, naive girl who he is condescending toward and happens falls in love with her at the speed of light! And this girl is able to help transform him and melt away he’s hard veneer. The young, shy girl becomes a strong woman throughout the story.

Mmmm…seems a bit fishy. 50 Shades of Grey will never be in the same league as Rebecca! Rebecca paints a detailed, specific setting in Manderley with vivid imagery and originality that 50 Shades will never have. 50 Shades is a pop culture hit but has no real substance. However, its great fluff/smut reading.

Nice try, E.L. James but I am on to you!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Finding a Job... Part #Whatever

Here I am, 2 years out of college and still completely stumped on how to get that elusive full-time, career builder/starter job. Granted, I do blame myself a lot for this, not taking the right classes in college, not asking the right questions, not paying attention, not working on my own to develop skills.

As a Ag Comm major I am having a hard time selling myself to perspective employers. I haven't been keeping up with educating myself, but seriously, I can't sell myself! Look at this blog, I still only have one actual follower. Is anyone even listening to me? Does anyone care?

I know that God has me where he wants me and he has a plan for me, but with this world we live in its hard to see the future and how secure it will be. I am stressed about this but I need to remember to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you," 1 Peter 5:7.

I finally have gotten the courage up to send my cover letter and resume to marketing companies in my area, only to realize that most request a "creative portfolio." What the WHAT? I've worked in a church office as the assistant for 2 years, I don't have a portfolio! So, my courage has yet again disappeared, I dont' even know where to start developing a portfolio that might actually land me an interview, let alone a job.

There are just so many factors to this finding a job, that I feel that I wish I could go back and redo college sometimes just to seek out better/more resources than I did. However, I do us my tale to caution any Jr. and Senior High kids I actually get to have a convo with. If I had know what I do know I would go back and warn my Jr./High School and collegiate self about what I really need to focus on.

To bad I can't go speak to High School students about the pitfalls that can happen starting in high school if you don't really plan careful enough for post-college life in finding a career.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Baby-Apocalypse

Its coming! The end of the world is coming! Babies! Babies are how Zombies are made. I mean seriously, they live off of another organism in incubation for 9-months then rip/slide/cut their way out! Only to turn their caregivers into sleep deprived, mindless Zombie-beings!

This is just a bandwagon like chalking your hair, eating paste, all your friends get engaged/married and then comes the scariest bandwagon: everyone starts having babies!!!! And then they are forever changed into something unnatural!

All kidding aside, I will honestly say there is nothing more that I would love to do than start my family, its all I have ever dreamed about doing in this life. Call me crazy! With that being said, I also have always known that having a baby is not as easy or cute or fun as books, television and movies try and make it seem. Heck, my sister, who is expecting her first child at the end of October will actually be giving me my 16th niece or nephew!

Due to this many offspring already provided to both my parents (14) and my in-laws (2); my husband and I are actually being pressured to wait to have a child. Which we are both totally okay with! But seriously, it seems, like every time I get on Facebook nowadays someone is announcing that they are excepting!

Like seriously, stop being reproductive, everyone! Television shows, I've been sucked into "Married to Jonas" on E! and they are even having the baby-making convo's! Even other bloggers I follow are having babies!

It feels like society is telling me to have a baby already. I know way more about pregnancy, labor and delivery, and actually having a newborn than someone should who doesn't have their own child should.

Sorry, I have been hitting my panic button on the whole Baby-Apocalypse which is happening around me! I am excited for the day when its my time to become a Zombie-parent, but that time is not now and its one of the pressures that I feel from society!

I am grateful that I don't have pressure from my husband (who is just as freaked out by it as me and who has told me that in the actually event of a really Zombie Apocalypse isn't afraid to do what needs to be done!) and from our families!

Do you feel the Baby-Apocalypse is near too?


Well...Crap

So the last time I posted was in August to say "Crap, its August!"

Well, "Crap, its September!!!" AHH!!!

Time definitely is flying (though its not been much fun!)

My consuming thoughts in August: continue my job search, get ready for my sister's baby shower, get ready for Bible Study Fellowship to start!

However my consuming activity was reading the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, over and over and over again! I got sucked in to that black hole!

Yes, I know not exactly a good Christian read, however, I loved it! Not for the naughty bits, though those were enticing, but I ended up loving the story. Granted, I can tell you it is not anything amazing like The Godfather, or Rebecca.

Its just a piece of salacious, fluff that I have always been more prone to read. It was a treat to myself during a rough patch and my reward for reading "11/22/63" by Stephen King (which took me several months to get through). It took awhile for my to get into the story, there was a lot of details but it was really good.

I read the entire trilogy in 4 days. So, seriously not that difficult to read but it is more of what I lean to when reading a book. I don't always want to be challenged when reading sometimes you just need a little fluff.

I am trying to decide what my next "challenge" book should. I did try and start reading "The Hobbit" (I didn't get super far). The first part of the movie should be coming out this winter and I hate seeing a movie before reading the book and it does provide conversation material for me and the hubs!

Any book suggestions?