Aunt Flo

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for the best feminine hygiene commercial ever.


You may now return to searching for Rob-porn. Thank you.

Ummm...??? **ECLIPSE stills**

{Edited to add to the title}

These just went up on Facebook:



WTF is up with everyone's hair?? Esme's is darker, Jasper went to some sort of salon and had his set or something, and Bella... *shakes head*... oh, Bella...

Spring Break - WIN or FAIL; you decide!

I had such big plans for my week off. Plans that included reading all of the books I'm currently midway through, cleaning and organizing my house, running various errands, and blogging and relaxing. What did I get done? Blogging and relaxing. Which, let's face it, at least I prioritized correctly.

One thing I did get done, though, was taking Mrs P's avi and visiting the Twilight monuments nearest my home! TH was a trooper, and chauffeured us, nearly killing both of us and burning Mrs P's avi into a cinder in the process. Here is our tale.

One super sunny morning, we woke up and I (seeing the sun) announced, "Today is the day for Mrs. P!" TH had been briefed on my plans, so he knew what I was talking about, but wanted some breakfast first. So we headed out to our nearby diner.

Here is Mrs P with us at breakfast. For more Mrs P action, you'll have to wait for her post ;)

After breakfast, we crossed the river, and went to get on the highway.
In a little while (somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes), we hit St Helens. A little ways into town, we found the first turn...
And the second...

We went up a hill (the one Edward and Billy give each other the stink-eye on in the first movie)...

This is where I went all fangirl and started screeching, "There it is!! That's the house!!!"
The owners have posted a nice sign saying you're encouraged to take photos from the road but please stay the Hell off the lawn and please don't look in the windows. Seriously, have some manners, fans.

I had been nervous that we wouldn't be allowed to take photos at all, and that people would start calling the cops when a crazed Twifan (myself) holding a cartoonized version of another fan (Mrs P) showed up and started taking photos, so I was pumped to see this sign. I stayed off the gravel, even (since I couldn't tell if that constituted part of the yard or not).

This is the view from the road just after the hill - the mailbox is the one for the house (and is featured in New Moon, briefly), and the house would be on the left there, if you could see it.

So, that was very exciting - I didn't realize how fun it would be just to see it in person, and at this point I was raring to go to the Cullen house!
Back in the car, back to Portland. No turn-by-turn photos here, as it was more complex to get to, although VERY simple once we actually got there. I could take any of you there, should you care to visit, and I promise not to drive you off the road.

So here is the road leading up to it:

You can see in the distance it jogs a little to the left, just beyond that is the house. It looks like a forest road, but it's actually super residential, just alongside a steep drop off.

We weren't sure how close it was, so TH just kept going...

And just around the top of this bend...

The Cullen house!

This is where our lives nearly ended. Directly in front of the house (in the left of this photo), are two stanchion posts denoting that it's a private driveway. So TH decided to back up and back down the road to the previous street. But he did not back up in the same direction as the road. I felt a bump, indicating we had gone over the side, as pictured here:

I think you can see here how, once you go over the curb, the ground sort of falls away - we nearly fell with it

Not one to panic (thank goodness), TH put the car back in drive and we turned around in the Cullen's driveway instead (which was less exciting, in a very good way).

Our near-death experience allowed me to take this great photo...
... and this not-so-great one *shrug*

So we parked on the next street down and walked up to see the house.

The road up - better suited for walking

The beautiful home in all its glory!

Fun fact: if two cars pealed simultaneously out of that garage, they would fly off the edge of the drop-off and crash at the bottom. Like in Ferris Bueller.

Anyway, we're all okay, and we got to do lots of fun sight-seeing with Mrs. P! Later on that day, TH could be heard complaining, "I thought we were just taking this P character to those houses, not everywhere we went." Grumble all you want, TH, Mrs P got to see many sights!

Other than that and a very successful trip up to the wineries in Woodinville, Washington (see Thursday's upcoming post), I did a lot of nothing last week. Visited the dentist, slept a lot, and caught a cold. And today, back to work. Why does it always feel like you haven't been gone at all as soon as you get back to work, except that you have tons of work to make up and people have fucked up your shit? Makes me grumpy.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Now opening: one ENORMOUS bottle of wine

Hey thirsty birds!
Thirsty Thursday is taking a field trip this week, so I will be posting about the wine we opened last weekend, and next week you'll get to read all about our winery visit. I might even take Mrs. P.

Since TH and I are on Spring Break this week, we decided to finally open the giant bottle of wine I won at the company Christmas raffle last December. I believe it's the equivalent of four bottles, and since wine starts to go bad once air hits it, we wanted to open it at such a time that we might be able to drink it over the course of a few consecutive days or all at once with some friends. Our friends are all very busy, so the former choice presented itself in the form of Spring Break, and we leapt at it! (Literally, the bottle is that big.)

For comparative purposes - the one on the right is a "normal" sized bottle.

Tonight's wine, then, is a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Rodney Strong Estate Vineyards.
Now, part of the reason we have waited so long to open this is that TH and I were rather at a loss as to HOW to open it. It's giant, and we have but a few normal-sized corkscrews. So, as men will do, TH started with a pocket knife to get through the wax...
It didn't pop right off after the incision made 'round the tip, so he went in again from the top...
And tore off bit by bit the wax.

The cork did not want to go gently into the good night... but TH can be persuasive...
...and destructive.

But, finally, the wine was liberated!

It was delicious.

I think I would call it full and smooth, mostly. It went wonderfully with my leftover cashew chicken and fried rice, and would pair equally well, I think, with a steak or something hearty. TH had his with some leftover Irish Stew, and loved that. The wine was fruity, but not sweet, quite mild, actually. It had a lot of flavor, but not a lot of bite, which I really like in a wine. I do believe you can purchase this wine in smaller bottles (if you don't win it at a raffle), and I recommend it for sure. I have no idea how much it might cost, though. It was good enough that it might be expensive.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this post, today TH and I are headed up to one of my favorite wineries, Chateau St Michelle in Woodinville, Washington. Look for that post next week, and expect a few more field trips in the next few months! Happy drinking!

**Update: it is Thursday and we are still drinking this bottle. Should the opportunity arise for you, I recommend sharing a bottle this big with as many people as possible - it won't last much longer for us!

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. ~Frank Sinatra

Showing Mrs P. the Sights in the PNW (Part 1)

I love participating - just being a part of something, for some reason, makes me really excited. So when the thought occurred to me that I could take Mrs. P's avatar and show her the Swan and Cullen houses from the Twilight movie, I couldn't figure out why I hadn't thought of it sooner!

I live in Portland, which I've mentioned. I didn't really get into the Twilight saga until after the first movie had been released, but I knew they had filmed around here, and, actually, I am, like, three degrees separated from the production. TH did a show last Spring with a guy who was the Key Grip for the movie. I won't post his name, just in case that would be wrong or a mistake or otherwise a bad idea, but he's in the credits, even (which, of course he is, but I found it thrilling to see!). Anyway, it had occurred to me to go see the houses in person, but I hadn't gotten around to it. Then, on Sunday night, I had the idea to take Mrs. P's avi for the travel challenge on her blog! Genius!

So, as of right now, I have printed out Mrs. P's avi, and I have mapped the locations, and I have promised TH unspecified (*cough* sexual *cough*) favors for his assistance (probably unnecessary, but it's more fun this way). ;-)

How close do I live to the houses (so you can be as appalled as I was that I haven't gotten my ass in gear until now)? Let's go to the maps.

The Swan house is 36 minutes away according to Google Maps

The Cullen house? 14 minutes (and on my way to work, I might add)

I apologize for the quality - I can't get my programs to cooperate, so I ended up going low-fi and taking photos of my computer screen.

Sometime this week, hopefully when the residents of both houses are at work, TH and I will take Mrs. P to these sacred locations (among other PNW destinations). Pictures to come in Part 2 of this post (date TBA). Wish me luck! I hope Chief Swan doesn't arrest me for trespassing!

Spring Break Shopping!

Good morning! This week, I'm off work. TH has Spring Break at school (he is a returning student as of last fall, getting his degree in graphic design after being laid off in the winter of 2008-2009), and I haven't had a week off from work since our honeymoon (Sept-Oct of 2008), so I have taken the week off to spend with him and to just have some goddamn time off work! However, he is currently at work (ironic, no?), so I am left here to blog and watch New Moon over and over and over. Speaking of which:

My Target swag: New Moon 2-disc BluRay Special Edition, Twilight graphic novel, and gray sweats (all on sale!)

There were actually plenty of copies when we went Saturday afternoon (I was way too lazy after drinking heavily on Friday night to get to Target anywhere close to opening), and TH insists we buy BluRay whenever possible. I was actually comparing the two special editions (BluRay and regular) to make sure they had the same special features (being thorough, you know), when TH picked up the BluRay copy and thrust it at me, as though we weren't possibly going to buy any other version. It's funny when he chooses to be interested. I perused the rest of the display, but all they had were the Barbies (no action figures), so after picking up the graphic novel, I was pretty much set.

I ended up with a Volturi cell:

The back of Edward's head!!! SQUEEEEE!!!!

Which I couldn't get a better picture of, but overall I'm pretty happy with. I know a bunch of you got Jake, so I'm definitely happy with my lot.

I have not watched the movie yet. I KNOW - I'm a total slacker! I think I'm going to start with all of the special features while TH is at work, and then he might watch the movie with me tonight (we saw a preview on tv last night promoting the DVD, and he went, "That actually looks pretty good. There are wolves." Sadly, he'll probably be Team Jacob, and then I'll be forced to kill him. *sigh*).

Anyway, upon return from Target, my consumerist flame had been lit, and I spent a good part of the rest of the weekend looking at things I could buy online. I definitely need some Twitarded merchandise, so I just have to figure out what exactly I want (probably a sweatshirt - you know, to go with my new sweatpants - but I also like the tanks and coffee mugs, and I don't know how much I can spend without TH noticing...), and then I need to get me some action figures. Mrs Fashion (my Twi-partner-in-crime and companion to FFFOOOOOOOORRRRRRKKKKKSSSSS this Fall) tells me she bought me a present. I don't get it until her son's birthday on Saturday, and she assures me it is not Twilight-related, but TH (who has known her since high school) thinks she may have lied and has advised me not to buy my Edlet (which is what I have decided to call my Pocket Edward) until I see what this present is. So, if I don't have one coming in gift form, I need to choose an Edlet. Amazon has several:

First, there's Twilight Edlet - he is the one most of you have, I think

Then there's New Moon Edlet (Grandpa suit and all)

Then we have SPARKLY New Moon Edlet (does anyone know if there's truth to this sparkliness? To me, he just looks homeless.)

And, finally, we have Edlet and Bella-let (Bellet? Bellslet? Hmm... she might need a different nickname) together in a set, but I hear his sunglasses can't be removed...

Once I started looking at Edlets, of course, I found companions for him. I'll need a Bella, so he doesn't get lonely in my bag (right? How do your Pocket Edwards fare when you're busy?), and I like this one better than the one that comes in the two-pack above:

She just looks a little more relaxed

And then I found Jasper and Alice, who I definitely love, but I'm not sure I love the figures:

Alice looks kind of uptight...
...and Jasper, well...

What the Hell happened with Jasper, everyone? In the movies, now in doll form, it's like he hasn't translated at all. Jackson Rathbone is doing his best, and he portrays the Jasper I imagined, but the costumes, hair, and makeup for Jasper are atrocious. What the fuck, Summit??! I mean, not that the outfits described in the books were super cool (Edward in a sleeveless blouse, anyone?), but the general feel of the characters and how they would dress based on personality and, well, Alice's insistence was most definitely there. Is it too much to ask that they be dressed properly? I'm not even going to touch the hair, because obviously that's a problem no one can solve. Get it together, Summit.

So, since the Jasper doll is a hot mess (IMO), and I'm not in love with what they've done to Alice, I think I'll hold off on the A/J dolls in the hopes that they come out with better options. Which Edlet to get, though, that is the dilemma... which one do you all have? Let me know in the comments...
Happy Mondaying!

Spreading the Love

Good morning, kittens! And welcome to my new followers!!!
Thanks go out, first and foremost, to Jen at Twired and Dangrdafne for the shout outs in recent blog posts! I feel so loved!! You girls rawk.

This will be a short post, as I need to get my ass in gear and get out to Target to get my New Moon DVD (woot!), and then I need to work on convincing TH to watch it with me. So, it'll be a full day. ;-) I just wanted to do a little Saturday shouting out of my own!

You should visit: ShotgunCharlie! http://true-americanista.blogspot.com/ Her most recent post deals with the makeup/clothes/hair of the movies, which seems appropriate as we will now all have both movies at our constant disposal for comparative purposes. She also has an awesome name.

Alright, I'm off to score my NM! Happy Saturday, everyone!! I leave you with some delightful wallpaper...

Tipsy Travels on Thirsty Thursday

A few days ago on Cullenary Curser's blog, she posted an ingenious suitcase made to house liquids - see it here. It inspired me to see what I might be able to find to bring my own liquor with me to FFFOOOOORRRRRRKKKSSSSS (!!!) ... and everywhere else I'd like to bring booze ... which is everywhere (just in case, you know). Well, I did a little searching, and found quite a few options! This is a bit of a different Thirsty Thursday post, but I hope you like it!

OK, first up are two flasks I've been coveting for awhile, made from Anne Taintor designs (I freaking love her). I can't decide which one I want, but these are my two favorites:


Both are hilariously appropriate for any occasion. However, since I was inspired to look specifically for the trip to Forks, I thought I should see if there were some Twilight-appropriate cocktail canteens. Guess what?

For Team Edward
For Team Jacob (nothing like a little hair of the dog for the wet dog in your life)
Back to Team Edward - because we're all Team Edward here, aren't we?
Because I know how much we all liked this part...

If you're feeling artsy, this one is supposed to be for blood-drinkers

For movie fans...

Here's one featuring the meadow scene we all love (except meadows here in the PNW don't really look like that, but I digress...)

Hot kissing action... I think this one would cause me to drool liquor if I tried to drink from it - I'd be too busy trying to see the photo
I think this one is really beautiful...

This one wets something besides my whistle, ifyouknowwhatImean...

Another gorgeous montage...

"Hmm... you look like you could use a drink."

If none of those do it for you, you could always create your own. Instead of these creepy people, you could use any photo (to which you own the rights, of course, I would never encourage you to use a photo you'd stolen from somewhere on the internet)!!

"This is a very dressy picnic, Mike."

If 6 oz is not enough liquor for you, you might want this:

Alright, who's ready for Mad Libs?

OK, I could keep posting flasks all day, I love them so. Here's one last Rob flask for you (found on Random Acts of Rob):

Musing Rob...

That's all for now - remember, drink responsibly! Or at least don't tell anyone where you found these... ;-)