Heartbreaking News...

On September 18, we went to the doctor because we had a few symptoms that were a little nerve wracking. We thought we were being overly cautious.  But when we went for the ultrasound, there was no heartbeat.  We lost our sweet baby.  After 13 weeks and 5 days, our Baby went to Heaven. It is very hard to cope with but every day the loss will hurt just a little bit less.  We will never forget our March baby.  Here are a few words that my husband put together.  We miss you Baby Ray.  So very much.

All that you are

You are the child I will never hold.

I watched your heart beat, but never felt it against my chest.

My arms are empty without you.

You are the teacher I never met.

I never knew my capacity for love until I felt the depth of my sadness.

My heart is missing a piece without you.

You are my precious gift.

I watched as you filled all those who loved you with happiness and excitement.

My joy is incomplete without you.

You are my hope.

I never knew the truth of my faith until I lost you.

My life is made rich by you.

You are my child.

All that you are is all that I am,

And that will never change.

Thank you for all that you showed us and all that you gave for us.

Our beautiful Baby, I pray you go in Peace, though you remain in our hearts forever.

Forever your parents,

Brandon and Kristen

Book Review: City of Bones

City of Bones
by  Cassandra Clare
Date Read:  8/10/2011, re-read: 9/14/2013
Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
 
I first read this book about 2 years ago.  I had just finished the Twilight series, and was going through book withdrawals.  So I was looking for something that hooked me like that series.  I did a lot of research and found that most people were recommending The Mortal Instruments series.  When I read the description, I thought it sounded interesting, so I decided to pick it up.  Boy am I glad.  Now, my husband also did some research and said that there was a very controversial cliffhanger at the end…and eventually had to tell me because he thought it would turn me off to the whole series.  Luckily, the last book had already been released, so he was able to find out how it ended.  He had to tell me before I was able to actually read the books.  To this day, I’m really not sure why she choose to add that in there as the conflict.  I did go to the release launch party in Mesa, AZ for Clockwork Princess, and her answer was, she “wanted to come up with the most messed up situation, and go with it”.  Hmm, doesn’t seem like the best way to go about writing a book. But hey, it worked for her.  Though, I think a lot of people are like me and either had to know the ending first, or loved the Shadowhunter world and characters so much that they were able to overlook this part of the story.  Either way, I still read the book series, and absolutely loved it.

So now that the City of Bones movie released in August of this year, I had to go back and reread the book for two reasons: 1) I wanted to see exactly how much they changed in the movie from the books, and 2) I couldn’t let my Jace and Clary story end on that cliffhanger!  I plan to reread the entire series now…well, through book 5…which I didn’t like.  But by the time I finish it, I’ll be prepped and ready to go to read the final book in the series which releases in May 2014!

So on to the review of my reread.  I still loved this book.  I feel like all the characters actually get set up really well in the book.  Rereading it though, I felt like maybe I didn’t learn as much about the characters in this book as I thought I did.  I think a lot of my character development comes from the next books – that’s the only problem with a reread.  You already know how much the character grow, so it’s a bit hard to go back to the beginning.  But it is fun to watch their journey again, knowing where it goes.

Valentine is really one of the worst bad guys.  I still loathe his existence.  And he’s so much scarier in the book than he is in the movie.  It’s really hard to take him seriously in the movie when he has braids and only looks 10 years older than Jace and Clary!    But in the book he’s actually very menacing.  And you don’t actually meet the character until the end.  But he’s a scary dude!

I love the Shadowhunter world.  I love how it’s set up with Shadowhunters being demon hunters, and the downworld which includes vampires, werewolves, and warlocks.  And then you have the demons.  I love how the runes work to give the shadowhunters special powers.  It’s such a unique world and it was thoroughly developed.  I didn’t have any questions regarding the world or how things worked by the end of the book.

Jace is hands down my favorite male character ever.  Well, maybe he’s a second to Will from the Infernal Devices trilogy (also written by Cassandra Clare).  I love his bad boy attitude and arrogance.  But I love it because deep down it’s just a façade.  He just puts up this front because he doesn’t want to get too attached to anyone because he’s already lost so many people.  And he’s also hot.  I love that he lets Clary see his kindness.  That’s when I love Jace most.  When he’s with Clary and starts letting his guard down.

I love the setting as well.  Having been to New York City now, I can understand some references much better.  Actually, I had just finished reading this book and starting the next when we went to NYC.  While we were walking along the first street from our hotel, we walked by a building that said “Simon and Schuster”.  I had to take a picture because that was the publishing company who published these books!  What are the odds?  Anyway, back to the setting.  I thought it was a unique idea to have this world inside a world.  And what better place than NYC?  There are so many different people and there could definitely be a shadow world hidden there.

Clare’s writing just sucks me in.  I’m not sure what it is about it, but I almost instantly get hooked into the story and the characters.  And once I’m in, I have to read quickly to find out the end.  This is something that I absolutely love about a book.  And lately I haven’t been able to find that.  So I’m grateful to be rereading this series.

The ending was handled really well.  Even though I could still do without that revelation at the end, the way it all came out was handled really well.  The tension was really there.  Clare does one thing really well – wrap up - especially at the end of a series.  But even at the end of a book.  I always feel like there was a beginning, middle, and end - even if there’s a cliffhanger.  She doesn’t just drop the bomb and end the book.  She still gives you a satisfying end to the book while still leaving you with unanswered questions in which you have to wait for the next book.

Big News!!

I'm sorry for not being very active over the past month.  Things have been pretty crazy at home.  We found out some big news about 8 weeks ago.  News that I can finally share with everyone.  However, once finding out this news, it's kept us pretty busy.  So, are you ready??

I'll give you a little hint with some pictures of my dogs...

Yep, you guessed it!  We're expecting our first baby in March 2014!  We are very excited.  But we have a lot of work to do before we're ready for this baby to arrive.

This is my first pregnancy, so everything is new and weird.  I had no idea what to expect.  I had gone to my doctor for some severe stomach pains.  While I was there, they had run a pregnancy test to be sure, and they said that I wasn't.  They scheduled an ultrasound for the next week to see if they could figure out what was causing my pain.  A few hours later, I got a call back from my doctor, and she said that they had received new pregnancy tests in, and the lab girls ran it at the wrong time length.  When they ran it again, I was pregnant!  After all that craziness, I finally narrowed my stomach pains down to certain foods I was eating.  I was miserable for about 3 weeks though before I figured it out.  I haven't been able to eat or even look at a bell pepper since.

We've had several doctors appointments since then, and everything now seems to be going well.  I had virtually no morning sickness (thank goodness!) but that also means that I just don't feel pregnant.  So I look forward to going to the doctor because seeing the baby on an ultrasound or hearing the heartbeat reminds me that I am pregnant.  Our next appointment isn't for about 4.5 weeks though...but it's the best appointment of all...we'll get to find out if it's a boy or girl!!

Anyways, now that the good news is over, now you will know why we've been so busy.  Our current guest room will become the nursery, because obviously with Brandon writing we can't give up the office.  And we honestly only have guests about once a year (this year it will be twice!).  However, the room that is currently the guest room has windows facing both east and south.  So not only does the sun shine right into the room as soon as it is up, it also gets very hot having a window facing south.  Especially in the summer.  And it's light in this room almost all day.  So we decided it would be best to switch the rooms.  Move our current office to the other room.  Then for a short period of time move the guest room to the other side of the hallway.  Then after my friend stays with us in October, we'll start changing it to a nursery.  This other room has two windows (one large with a window seat, and another small window) both facing west.  So yes, it will be exposed to the west sun, but it's only for a while until it goes behind the houses across the street.  And that room stays much cooler and darker most of the day.  I actually tested both rooms out last weekend, and I swear there was at least a 5 degree temperature difference between the rooms.

So with all that said, we've had a lot of projects we're working on. And my friend is coming in early October, so we have a very short time to get this all done.  Keep an eye our for posts on these projects.  In the meantime, wish us good luck preparing for baby!

Movie Review: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

I am so happy that I was able to see The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones on the release date!  It was surprisingly not crowded.  I hope the crowd picks up this weekend because I really want sequels!

OK, on to the review.  I think I would give this 4 stars out of 5.  Overall I really enjoyed the movie and would love to go back over the weekend and see it as a $5 movie at AMC (I’m cheap, I don’t want to pay full price to see it a second time!)  There were a few things I didn’t like which prevent me from giving it 5 stars.  So let’s go over everything I didn’t like:

1. Magnus!  OMG.  He’s one of my favorite characters spanning The Infernal Devices and Mortal Instruments series.  I did NOT think they did him justice.  I think he looked the part.  But that’s as far as it went. As soon as he talked, I hated him.  He was an awful actor.  And he was not nearly gay or flamboyant enough.  They definitely failed in portraying Magnus for me.
2. Plot flow.  The plot flow was a little off.  It started out following the first book, but some things were super rushed and some things were definitely not explained well (i.e. the curse on Hodge).  And then they started adding things from book 2 and changing some things.  So the plot just didn’t flow nearly as well as the books do.  But having read all the books, I was never lost.  But someone who hasn’t read the books might get a little lost and confused at some parts.
3. Valentine.  Why was he so young?!  He doesn’t look like he could have a 15 year old kid!  It was ridiculous to me.  Sure he looked a little menacing, but it was kind of hard to take him seriously when he was so young. I wasn’t able to believe that he was Clary’s dad.  Another fail in my opinion.  But he wasn’t involved much in this movie, so it didn’t hurt the rating in my eyes as much.
4.  <spoiler> Hodge gave Valentine the idea to lie about Jace being his son.  What?  I mean, they had to do it.  Our culture does not view incest well.  So in order for other people to watch to watch the movie, they had do make it known in this movie that it’s not true. But what a strange way to go about it.  I think they probably could have found a better way to do that.  But honestly, I wouldn’t read the books until I knew the ending.  Then I felt okay about reading the books. </spoiler>
5. All the shadowhunters were British!  Why?  That kind of boggled my mind.  Not a huge strike because I got over it quickly, but It’s just a brain teaser to me. I have no idea why they were all British.

Ok, so now let’s talk about the good parts:

1. Clary, Simon, Jace.  I think they casted everyone pretty well.  Jaime Campbell Bower is a little feminine in facial features than I imagined Jace being, but overall I think he did him justice.  He was pretty witty and delivered most of the sarcastic comments well.  Lily Collins surprisingly was perfect as Clary.  I wasn’t sure how I felt about her until I watched the movie. But she did a pretty good job and was a pretty good actress.  I was pleasantly surprised.  And Simon.  I think he was perfect.
2. Action and fighting sequences.  I thought the fighting and action sequences were done really well.  They were visually stimulating and you could always tell what was going on.  And I really liked when they used their swords and steles, and Isabelle used her whip.  I think they nailed it.  They didn’t downplay the action and violence – it was perfect.
3. Lines from the book.  I didn’t realize until I really started reading the book again (because I couldn’t leave the story with that ending!) how many lines they actually pulled from the book.  I love it.  I like it when screen play writers and producers keep things in there for the diehard book lovers.  Sure, some of the lines could have been delivered a little better, but overall I think it was great.
4. Intensity.  I think they really built up the intensity of the movie as soon as Clary’s mom was attacked all the way to the end.  There was never a dull moment.  Everyone was on the edge of their seat.  There were even a couple times where my husband and I jumped because something freaked us out.
5. The demons were created beautifully.  They were just as disgusting and scary as described in the books!  And most of the bad shadowhunters were just as creepy as I imagined.
6. The setting.  They did a great job creating the setting of the shadowhunter world.  The institute looked almost as I imagined it.  And the rooms, were identical! I couldn’t believe how much the inside of the institute looked like in my head.  I guess Clare has a knack of great description.

It seems I’ve listed almost the same amount of things I liked as disliked.  But the things I liked far out-weighed the things I didn’t like.  I think they did a pretty good job with the movie – not on the same level as The Hunger Games, but I think they did a better job than Twilight.  Though I think the Twilight plot was done better because it actually stuck to the book for the most part. 

If you’re a Mortal Instruments fan, you absolutely need to go see this movie.  It will be a great edition to your shadowhunter love.  I can’t wait until it comes to Blu-Ray.  Make sure to try to see the movie on opening weekend so that we have the best chance of them creating a sequel!

PS: To celebrate the release of the movie, the kindle edition of “Myths and Motifs of The Mortal Instruments will be free from the publisher on August 23 and 24!  http://www.amazon.com/Myths-Motifs-Mortal-Instruments-ebook/dp/B00ED8FCA8

 

Movie Review: Monsters University

So apparently Monsters University has been out for longer than I thought.  It was only playing at 4 theaters within 30 miles of my house!  So I suppose this review is a bit late, but hey, it's still worth writing.

I was very happy with this movie.  I've always been a huge fan of Monsters Inc.  Mike and Sully are some of my favorite characters.  I thought that the world of Monsters Inc was so unique and fun.  I was so excited when we finally got another movie 12 years later!  Usually when they take that much time between movies it usually means they've taken their time to make sure it's good.  Unlike the ones where they hurry up a sequel and it sucks.  Well, I'm happy to report that they did not disappoint with this prequel!

It starts out with a scene when Mike is a little kid attending a school Field Trip to Monsters Inc.  This is basically where he becomes obsessed with becoming a scarer.  I thought it was adorable!  And I loved that is showed how studying and hardwork can really help you acheive your goal.  I'm a big proponent of hardwork and dedication.

Flash forward 10 years, now Mike is off to college.  He got in to Monsters University (MU) as a scaring major.  The college is beautiful, and very true to college life.  The creators always do a great job building the world and translating things from the human world to the monster world. I love it.  So creative.  Even down to the science labs where they create the doors to the human world.  (Of course I loved labs because I was a science major!)

I don’t want to give away too much, but both Mike and Sully were very different characters when they were in college.  And so we as the audience really got to see them grow while in college.  Through a series of events, the two must work together to achieve a mutual goal.  It teaches about teamwork, camaraderie, overcoming obstacles, using your specific skills in unique ways to achieve your goal.  I really liked all the morals portrayed in this film.  I think it will be a really good movie for young kids to watch.

I watched the whole movie trying to figure out how Mike and Sully were going to end up at Monsters Incorporated and working together.  I actually ended up really liking how they got there.  And at the end it shows you Mike and Sully’s rise to the best scare team at Monsters Incorporated.

This movie was really done well.  It was quite funny and smart.  I really liked watching their problem solving skills.  It was just done really well.  Now I want to go back and watch Monsters Inc again to conclude my Mike and Sully story.  Maybe in another few years they’ll create a sequel to Monsters Inc to show how the world has changed with child laughter instead of screams.  But they ended Monsters Inc  in a way that they really don’t have to – and perhaps they shouldn’t mess with a good thing.