"Let's Go to the Movies!"

Can anyone name that movie? (Hint: They're the lyrics to one of the songs.) I love watching movies. But I am very picky. Here's a list of movies I hate that everyone else seems to love:

• Zoolander: Heard about this for years. Finally watched it a couple years ago and regretted it. I don't like those comedians. The only Ben Stiller movie I like is Night at the Museum, and the only Will Ferrell movie I like is Elf.



• Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Saw it at a class party sophomore year and thought it was dumb. I pretty much don't like any 80s movie I've seen, including The Karate Kid (I liked it as a kid) and The Princess Bride.



• The Wedding Singer: My two least favorite actors, set in the 80s. Need I say more? And I don't like movies where people get jilted or change their minds about who they're marrying. In fact, I used to hate Sweet Home Alabama, until seeing it on TV almost every week made it grow on me (though I still don't like that she hurts the nice guy).



• Batman Begins: I thought the villain was too scary and the movie too dark. I didn't even bother seeing The Dark Knight. On the other hand, I remember thinking the story line was really good.



• Napoleon Dynamite: Some funny parts, but overall really pointless and annoying. I do like Nacho Libre, though.



• A Christmas Story: I cannot stand this movie! I gave in and bought it for Justin for Christmas a couple years ago, but I will never watch it.



• The Notebook: Saw it only once, but I remember not liking any of it except the ending. I haven't seen (or read) any other Nicholas Sparks books except A Walk to Remember, which I absolutely adore.



• Finding Neverland: Way overrated and kind of boring. I was pretty disappointed.
  

Because of my mom's strict rules, there are a lot of popular movies I wasn't allowed to see growing up. Once I was old enough to, I never bothered seeing them. I have seen parts of some (marked with an asterisk), and I don't feel like I missed out on anything. Even now there are popular movies I do not wish to see.

• Rush Hour: Not my type of humor. Justin and my brother James love those movies.



• Monty Python and the Holy Grail*: Again, not my type of humor.



• Dumb and Dumber: Ditto. And I don't like Jim Carrey. Ever. Well, The Truman Show was ok, but not because of him.



• Forrest Gump*: I know enough about the movie and quotes to get me through life.



• Titanic*: Someday I might watch the whole thing on TV just to say I watched it. I really like the music.



• The Sixth Sense: Ok, I admit I actually want to see this one. But I'm in no hurry. I've only seen a few other M. Night Shyamalan movies, my favorite being The Village.
  


• Lord of the Rings: I read The Hobbit and disliked it, so I never went any further. And I'm not into medieval-like fantasy, except The Chronicles of Narnia. [Random trivia: Did you know J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were friends and in the same writers' group? Lewis liked Tolkien's LOTR series, but Tolkien didn't like the Narnia series.]



• Star Wars (the new ones): I was young when I watched the originals and haven't seen them since, so to this day I don't really know the plot. Not interested in the new ones. I don't like Sci-Fi.



• Avatar: One of the biggest reasons why I'm picky about movies is bad language, which is prevalent in this movie (to me, anyway--you might not have found it offensive). Even so, again, Sci-Fi is not my thing. Or not-so-hidden political messages.

[I hope I did not offend you or your taste in movies. And the movie trivia answer is Annie. Photo from Stock.xchng.]

Work

St. Patrick's Day was my last day of work. I didn't quit; I am taking a break for who knows how long. Work was becoming stressful and tiring for me, and my frequent call-ins were frustrating for my employers. I couldn't go on official medical leave since I have worked for less than a year. But my managers didn't want to fire me and rehire me (too much paperwork). We worked out a deal, which basically was, "Do whatever you want, because we love you and really want you to come back." I have that effect on people. jk. Seriously, though, it is like that. They are allowing me to take time off for as long as I need. I can even go back on break once I return if I find that it is too much. And they'll work around my schedule once the baby is born, which is what I was most worried about because it's absolutely crazy around Halloween (remember all my venting?). Even if I do quit, they said that as long as they are the managers there, I will always have a job.

I have the greatest bosses. I always have. I have never had a boss problem in my entire life. I have always liked my bosses, and they have always liked me. Plus, (bragging moment), I am a hardworker and am pleasant to be around. All that adds up to me having great work experiences and being able to do things perhaps other employees might not be able to do. I don't get all the credit, of course. Heavenly Father has truly blessed me with kind and understanding employers, especially at this most important time of my life.

Ultrasound

Three weeks ago I had my ultrasound. All the weeks leading up to it I was freaking out about having a full bladder. Things were bad enough before I even got pregnant; just a sip of water made me go. I ended up being ok, though it was such a relief when I finally went. Anyway, after the initial ultrasound, the nurse got Justin and showed us the screen. It was really awesome to actually see my baby. It made my pregnancy more real, a lot more than hearing the heartbeat did. The most wonderful part of it was when the baby moved. It wiggled its little arms and legs (I didn't feel it), as if it were saying, "Hey, I'm trying to sleep in here!" Those wiggles confirmed to me that there is a living, growing child of God inside me. It's not a dream--I'm really going to be a mommy!


Isn't he/she darling? Yeah, we still don't know the gender. At only 10 cm long, it was too small to tell. We find out April 19.

Here you can see the baby's face. The large dark spot is the skull, the two dark spots above the word face are the eyes, and to the right are the teeth forming a smile (or so I like to think). When I first saw this photo, I kind of thought it looked like a chicken fetus, but it's grown on me since. My baby is so beautiful! I put the photos on the fridge so I can see my baby everyday.

Shaving

I'm sick of using cheap razors. What do you ladies recommend? What razors or hair removal products do you use? What should I not use? My legs would really appreciate your input!

First One

I won my first baby item from a giveaway: a nursing pillow! Seriously, ladies, if any of you have never entered a giveaway, do it. You can save money on things you already need or win cool, unique things you can't afford or normally wouldn't buy. Check out my giveaway blog to find out about awesome giveaways.

As for regular blogging, we had computer problems several weeks ago, which put me way behind. Now there's a huge monster pile of stuff I need to write about that I'm avoiding. Yeah, that'll only make it bigger, but I feel tired and lazy. Pregnancy does that to ya. Besides, only like 2 people religiously read and comment on my blog--my dad and my friend Francine--and they already know what's going on in my life. I'll get around to it sometime. Maybe even tonight; I'm kinda in the mood. Even so, I doubt all of it will get done.

Social Saturday

My friend Cherise convinced me to leave the house this morning and go to a baby shower although we were already late. We didn't stay long but I had fun while we were there. We played one game, tearing a paper behind your back into the shape of a baby, and Cherise got second place. On the way home we spotted a garage sale. Neither of us had time to go, but we decided to go garage sale shopping together next Saturday. So excited! We know our husbands won't be, haha, though we both agree they shouldn't complain about having low maintenance wives.

Next I went to the first birthday party of my visiting teaching companion's baby. It was at the park, and it was a beautiful day for an outdoor party. Windy, but beautiful. Even though I knew no one, I enjoyed being outside and with company. And Ashley's baby is so cute! Half the fun was just watching him. He sure knows how to play a crowd.

At the risk of sounding like a first-grader, I believe I can say I have friends in the ward now. Cherise is an amazing friend, very supportive, understanding, and sincere. I first met her when she was in the Primary presidency and I was a teacher, but I didn't really get to know her until I got called to be her fellow Nursery coordinator. She and I are so alike, and so are our husbands, so we have a lot to talk about.

My visiting teaching companion, Ashley, is great too. She is very helpful, friendly, and fun. I was happy when she introduced me to her family as her only friend in the ward. Yay, we can be loners together! jk Actually, she spends a lot of time at church in the hallway due to her son, and so do I due to my calling, so that makes for good time together. And once I have my baby, we can do play dates together.

I know there are others in the ward who genuinely care for me, especially my visiting teachers, but I don't feel like I am their friend, someone they would just call for a chat or to invite me to things like these ladies do.