week 17 & 18: catching up

so i'm not going to talk a lot about last week because well it is in the past and their is nothing i can do about last week. i obviously didn't "weigh-in" last saturday because i was on vacation in RI relaxing on the beach! one thing i happy to report about my trip, is how conscious i am of my food decisions. while on vacation i definitely sought after healthy food. i didn't stress about staying on plan, but rather focused on eating healthy(although i did indulge a few times). in fact from my weigh-in prior to my trip (7/19) to my weigh-in after i got back (7/26) i was actually down. so i lost weight while on vacation! something i am proud of!

back to current time. this week was ok. i'm slacking. and i have been slacking. i need to get back to basics. show myself that i can do this. without cheating, without starving, and start losing weight again. i'm at this cross roads where i just want to be done. i need to strictly plan out all of my meals, and stick to it. no cheating(am i starting to sound like a broken record?). none. get my confidence back in regards to this plan.
since 7/17 i'm down 4 pounds. but since i was up 2 pounds on 7/17 from 7/10 (and 7/3), i'm really only down 2 pounds. which really means that i'm only down 2 pounds for the entire month of july. not good. but i'm another number that i've never been, and seeing that number on the scale this morning felt great, and i want to continue on that feeling. i need to get over my "fear" and realize that this is my new reality. that this happening. that i have done this, that i can continue to do this.
being this person i have never been is a good feeling. i have so much to grow upon. who knew that you could grow while shrinking?! ...haha, get it?
anyways i'm tired. i've had a long day. today's workout was my zumba certification! i probably did about 4 hours of cardio today, and the class will be a blog in itself, so don't worry you will get the full details!

zumba cert.
-4lbs

all kinds of crazy

just a cute picture of katherine and i
for good measure.

********

usually i write all my random thoughts
throughout the week so i don't sit at my computer on a
thursday night trying to think of witty randomness.
but this week i didn't do that.
so this random thought thursday might be a little bit
boring.

********

lately i've been using the word
coolio
a lot.

********

this week my ex's mom asked me to be her friend
on facebook.
i'm pretty sure i miss her more than my ex.

********

saturday is national dance day!
get up and DANCE!

********

lately denali has been waking me up in the middle of the night
by what sounds like her running into my bedroom door.
(i don't let them sleep with me.)
to prevent this, last night i let them (otis and denali) sleep with me,
just to have them run in and out of my bedroom for what seemed
all night long.

********

i recorded katherine saying
the pledge of allegiance
on my cell phone, but i can't send it to me
because my phone says the file is too big.
anyone have any ideas how to get it on my PC
to share with all of you?

********

that's all i got.

********

STRIKE! 60min
609

RI: day 3

my last full day in rhode island was filled with sun, relaxing, rides, and ice cream!
katherine is now 3 1/2 and this is the first time i've been out to visit where we had a beautiful sunny day to go out to the beach to soak in some waves and sunlight! it was a blast. katherine and josh are both fearless when it comes to the ocean. it was great to see them in the water.

katherine

so i can't believe i'm going to post a picture of me in a bathing suit, but i think this is a really cute picture, and i almost look "normal" from behind.

running with water ready to make a sand castle!

2 beautiful beach babies
katherine and josh

after the day at the beach my aunt and uncle took me out to dinner near the ocean to a place called turtle soup. it was super yummy, and i really enjoyed hanging out with my aunt and uncle.

josh, me, and katherine

after dinner charlene, katherine, and i went to a little festival. katherine rode the rides, followed by some super yummy ice cream!

riding the race cars

katherine and i on the tea cups
LOVE her face!

going up in the rocket

this trip was fabulous! i feel so fortunate to have a family i can visit on the East coast, but of course i wish they were closer. i'm blessed to have katherine as my God daughter, and i love getting to know her.

zumba 60min
456

RI: day 2

day 2 was quality time with my uncle john, who is also my God father. their is an ease of hanging out with my uncle john that i truly appreciate. random conversation comes easily and it could be about nothing and everything.
we drove to providence where it was drizzling rain, i got to see the capitol, and enjoy a tasty salad lunch at the cheesecake factory!

rhode island state capitol

unle john and i at lunch

after lunch we drove to a BBQ to cheer on the walkers and runners of the blessing of the fleet 10mile race.

katherine and i

the main event of this weekend was the blessing of the fleet, and to kick off the weekend, their is this 10 mile race. i hope to compete in this race next year. it was a lot of fun to hang out and cheer on the racers, and to be on the sidelines.

charlene, josh, matt, and katherine

barbell strength 60min

RI: day 1

so why not make my 3 full days in rhode island, 3 blogs?

i had a great time.one of the little perfect things about this trip is i feel i got to see everyone, and that i had a little bit of one on one time with everyone too. so it felt well balanced.
the east coast just seems so laid back. where you can walk to the beach, talk with your neighbors, and never lock up your house. such a simple life!

the view from the beach house

the first day we went to watch hill, ri, to walk around, shop, and watch katherine ride the carousel.

katherine, 3 1/2 years

baby brother josh decided to go blonde! i saw a pic of his grandpa on his dad's side, and he was a blonde baby too. so freakin' cute and curly!

josh, 15mos

coolin' off with some ice cream!
these kids never stop eating!

on the drive home katherine saw a park off of the freeway, so we exited and played around!
i had a great time swinging on the swings with my God daughter!

treadmill 16min
50/50 60min
736

prime real estate

in the market for a beach house? this one is for sale right across from the beach house i am staying at. for the bargain price of $358,000. included is the one bedroom!

jog/walk 70min

500

i could get used to this

two things that could never get old:

the view from the beach house

and my God daughter

jog/walk 60min

508

question of the week:

what's on your wish list?

but this is a realistic wish list. yes, we all want a bigger house, a nicer car, diamonds, etc... but those things are strictly wants. and yes these items are wants too, but you plan to budget for these items within the next couple of years. so what's a big purchase (more than $100) that you'll most likely be buying in your somewhat near future?

here is what i want:

a fancy flatiron. most likely chi.
~i like my hair, so why not get the best?

a new entertainment center.
~ when i first moved to denver the only piece of furniture i moved up here with was a used entertainment center my friend shaun got from his cousin's garage sale. don't get me wrong it does the job, but i would love a new one. late next year denver will finally have an IKEA. ...i'm thinking i might just have to make a purchase there!

a new TV.
~to go with the new entertainment center of course.

a big fancy camera.
~i blame this one on my cousin nikki. she has an awesome camera, that takes amazing pictures. this purchase makes complete sense to me, because well i'm a huge picture person.

a new laptop.
~not too sure what the life expectancy is of a laptop, but mine is slowly going down the drain. it's 5 years old. a new upgrade would be nice.

so, what's on your wish list?

barbell strength 60min

The Places I've been: OH

Columbus, OH

when i was 19 i got a job at a call center, working for victoria's secret catalogue. my official title was "sales consultant". i took catalogue orders over the phone. it was my first full time job, and for the most part i really liked it. i made good money, and met my dear friend tina there. victoria's secret is part of the Limited family, and their headquarters are in Columbus, OH where the other call center was located. i believe it was the summer of 1999 or 2000 when i decided to try and get out of NM and move to columbus to work and go to school. i applied to Ohio State University, and got accepted, and made an appointment with the director of the call center to take a tour upon my trip to columbus. as another one of her daughter's "crazy" idea's, my mom was on board as well!

i was so excited for this trip! in fact the night before this trip was when i got my first speeding ticket. for those of you that know the Albuquerque area, the VS call center is technically in Rio Rancho which i guess would be considered a suburb of Abq. so my commute from work to home (i was living with my parents at the time) was 40 miles. at the time i worked until 1am, and was speeding home excited for my trip, and anxious to try and get some sleep before waking up early to catch a plane the next(same) morning. i was heading East on I-40 when i saw the flashing lights. speeding ticket for april.

anyways.

i had never been to that part of the country before, and i remember going in the fall, i think september or october? it was beautiful. my mom and i really enjoyed our trip. i set up a tour of the OSU campus, and i loved it! at the time i was attending TVI (a junior college in NM) and i loved the feel of campus life while walking around OSU. ....i guess this was the fall of '99 now that i think of it, because i'm pretty sure it was spring '00 when i first lived on campus and when i transferred to UNM. moving on.

the campus was gorgeous, and everyone was so nice. the tour of the call center was equally as nice! i immediately saw myself living there, and making a life for myself. unfortunately it was the out of state tuition that stopped me from going.

instead i immediately decided TVI wasn't where i wanted to go, and that i wanted a true college experience from the start. (the original college plan was to go to TVI for a couple of years then transfer to Colorado College in Colorado Springs for the rest.) once i got back home from OH i applied to UNM, got accepted, got my credits transferred over, and good approval to live in the dorms in which i wanted, and started at UNM in january 2000. wow, looking at the timeline a lot happened in a really short amount of time. because i started working at VS in may 1999. i remember feeling proud and accomplished that i set out to do something, and i got it done.

i would definitely love to go back to that part of the country one day and hang out some more in the "mid-west".

treadmill 15min
50/50 60min
732

mixing it up

so lately i've been trying some new workouts. throughout the week each one of my workouts is different, one way or the other. but when you look at the weekly picture the weeks are exactly the same. back at the 4th of july BBQ i was at, sarah suggested to do some more weight training, which as of february hasn't really been part of my workout routine. she suggested a class called "barbell strength". i've thought about trying this class in the past, but it's on tuesday, and tuesday is my one day that i always take off. plus new workouts are intimidating. i often question myself, and wonder if i can do it? i obviously know that i'm stronger, but i definitely question myself and what it is i'm capable of. but i did the class a couple of weeks ago, and i really enjoyed it. if you've ever done a "body pump" class it's exactly the same. you workout all the major muscle groups of your body for 5 minutes a piece. so you do lots of reps. two days later, i was SO sore, but i plan to make this a new "regular" workout for myself.
last saturday i tried a T.E.A.M. weight loss demo at the gym. it was good because it got me using the incline on the treadmill. ...i am SO not a fan of that! plus we did some weight machines i had never used before. i felt great when one of the trainers complimented my muscle's in my shoulders and arms!
the other new class i recently tried is a lifetime fitness signature class, called core. again this is a class i've thought about trying for quite awhile, mainly because it is sarah who teaches it. it is a 30 minute class that focuses soley on the core area. i did this class for the first time on friday. it was a good class, and the soreness is effecting me today. you feel that "hurt" in your stomach when you either laugh or cough. it's a good feeling.
lastly was yesterday's workout. i have some co-workers that sometimes do a fitness bootcamp on the weekend, and they often invite me, and i always turn them down. except for yesterday. i thought "why not? just do it." this was a hard workout. unfortunately i gave myself the excuse of it being a new workout, to not really push myself. i know i could've pushed myself harder than what i did, but i didn't. oh well, next time.
the great thing about doing something new is the soreness feeling. with my routine that i've had for the past 6-8 months it had been a really long time since i had gotten really sore. it's a reminder to me that i'm working part of my body that i hadn't been worked in awhile, and that my body is actually getting stronger.
i think toning is important. lately i've grown more self-conscious about my arms. that is the one area of my body where you can actually see i've lost some weight because of the skin. all of that flab. ew! so i'm working on it.
so here is what i'm thinking my weeks will now look like:
sunday - either STRIKE! or 50/50
monday - either my own cardio (combination of elliptical and/or treadmill) or 50/50 or day off
tuesday - barbell strength
wednesday - zumba
thursday - STRIKE! or day off
friday - dance jam + my own cardio
saturday - strictly strength or my own cardio
both 50/50 and strictly strength have some sore of weight training in them, and barbell strength is all weights. so i think that is a pretty good combination.
i'm always trying to mix it up!

STRIKE! 60min

week 16: U-turn

i've gone backwards again. the scale is up two pounds. and so i'm going to have to lose these 2 pounds that i've already lost, again. i realized this week that i've created this cycle of safety. i'm scared. scared to be thinner. their, i said it. on top of being scared, i'm PMSing, and really struggling. with the combination of all that, this blog is going to be all over the place. you've been warned.

i'm scared of the unknown. true, i am currently in the category of unknown. of being the thinnest i've been since middle school, but to go even beyond that? i don't know. it is scary. to finally come to the realization that this can be done. really? am i sure? i'm working on it.

this week has probably been one of the more difficult weeks i've had. for the first time in a really really really long time, i actually thought about giving up this week. i thought about no longer going to the gym, i thought about no longer eating healthy. i thought about stopping. tuesday and wednesday i didn't workout. i believe that, that 2 days in row without the gym triggered this feeling. ...who knows when the last time was where 2 days in row passed without a workout? wednesday was suppose to be my day 1 of 7 for my 7 day workout challenge. which will now have to wait because i leave for vacation on wednesday. i didn't get off of work in time to make it to zumba, so instead i got dinner from burger king, and didn't workout. thursday was another struggle. again i thought about not working out and ordering a pizza. thankfully that didn't happen. i did get my butt out the door and to STRIKE! and consumed no pizza!
now everyday, i have to convince myself to go to the gym. every single day. of course for the most part it is just a habit, but i still have to tell myself to do it. but this week, i was de-motivated. it felt has though i had to literally kick myself to get going. to not give up. i'm discouraged by this, but i have kept going. for that i am proud of myself. even yesterday, i was trying to find an excuse to not workout. i even tried to make plans with a friend, so that i wouldn't have the opportunity to workout. it's been forever since i've done that. again, thankfully my plans didn't work, and i went to the gym, and i worked out. but really, seriously, who is this person? it's been so long since i've seen her, for this length of time. i hope she departs soon! because i don't know how much longer i can keep motivating myself on this level at this intensity.

i am happy to report that i do have a plan of attack for when i return from my vacation. i plan to re-commit myself. start hard core on my eating plan, and get over my fear of being thinner. i had a number in mind for this vacation, and i'm 15 pounds away from that number. i obviously am not going to make my goal. but i need to push myself to get out of my comfort zone. to advance head on to being this thinner self. this healthier self. that although it is scary, it is worth it. i just need to tackle it, and be done. just do it, without thinking about it. i hope that if i do that, i won't have time be scared.

power class 60min
431
+2lbs

my HOA story

the back - facing the rocks

the side - facing the grass

the side - facing the grass

so not that anyone really cares, but i have to get the frustrations with my HOA out in the open. so here are the details.

this story dates back to the summer of 2006. which happens to be the first summer i was in my home. coincidentally the previous home owner, was on the HOA committee or whatever. so i figured all of my "stuff" would be good in the eyes of the HOA police.
no such luck.
my first summer living in that house, i got a letter stating that my fencing stain had a purplish tint, and that color wasn't approved by the HOA and to powerwash it off.
my fence has 2 sides, 1 side facing the grass, 1 side facing the rocks. the "purplish tint" was only on the side facing the grass.
my first summer i was clueless. honestly i thought i could get away with ignoring this letter, because i didn't know any better. thankfully since it was my first year in the home the HOA didn't do anything.
jump to summer 2008.
i get the same letter from my HOA telling me that i need to powerwash my fence. i knew i wouldn't get lucky like i did my first summer, and knew i had to take care of it. thankfully my neighbors at the time had a powerwasher. and my dad powerwashed that side of the fence during my parents annual summer trip to visit me. i figured everything was all taken care of, because i did what the letter from the HOA asked me.
jump to summer 2009.
i get another letter from the HOA stating that i need to put a clear stain on my fence. so i go out and purchase a clear stain, and stain the side of the fence facing the grass, since that was the side that was powerwashed the summer prior. again, i figured everything was all taken care, because i did what the later from the HOA asked of me.
jump to summer 2010.
i get a fine from the HOA for $25.00. the letter has no indicator what this fine is for. i assume it is for a late payment. i check my checking account and see that the monthly check sent to the HOA was cashed on the 1st of the month. i call the HOA advise them that my payment was on time, and that my check has cleared. at that time on the phone, i'm advised the fine is not for a late payment, but because of my fence. that the stain isn't noticeable. i let them know that they wanted me to stain the fence a clear stain. they advise that they now have approved stain colors to stain my fence. i advise them that i didn't know that. so i go out and i purchase the approved stain and stain my fence.
i then get a letter in june telling me that the fine is still due. so i call them up again, to ask why? and what the fine is for? at that time they tell me over the phone that i need to stain the part of the fence facing the rocks. i tell them, that they have never once communicated this to me. that since the beginning they only distinguished the side of the fence with the "purplish tint". and that had i known i needed to do the back of the fence as well, i would have done the powerwashing and the staining at.the.same.time. i told them that i would get it done, but that i didn't feel i should have to pay the fine. i was then advised to come to the HOA meeting that was last wednesday. the weekend before that my parents were here, and my dad yet again powerwashed the fence. this time, he did the back side of the fence. i attended the HOA meeting last wednesday let them know that half of the job was done, and that i would be staining the fence the approved color (because i still had some left over from staining the side facing the grass) the following weekend.
i did that last weekend.
i called the HOA on Monday to let them it it is done.
i haven't heard anything back yet.
my goal is to have a summer where i don't here from them at all.
then end.

core 30min
treadmill 40min
412

Lilith Fair '10

tuesday night i went out!
i went to lilith fair.
the main reason i wanted to go to this concert was to see kelly clarkson.
she canceled all of her lilith fair tour dates last week.
booooooooooooo!
the other reason i wanted to go was to make friends.
hang out with some girls i know and meet some new girls.
because of that fact alone, this night was a success.
sara (with no H {i know i know, how many "sarah's" do i know? a LOT!}) is a STRIKEer at the gym. i went to her house for the 4th of july BBQ, and she invited me to this show because she had an extra ticket.

the two performances that i knew were ingrid michaelson and sarah mclachlan. i really enjoyed ingrid michaelson. her performance was actually comical. her last number was britney spears "toxic" and at the end she and her band did this really cute dance routine. it made the whole number! and of course sarah mclachlan. i've seen her twice before (one of those times was at lilith fair '99?). sarah is a classic performer, and is amazing live. such a beautiful voice.

but like i said what made this show was the company.

a big group of us met for a yummy lunch before the show:

we got a group pic behind a "green screen":
it's a sara(h) sandwich:

sara, me, and sarah

i see a dear true friend in sarah. building a solid friendship this stage in my life isn't the easiest thing to do. but i feel that sarah and i both are doing it.

sarah and i

well i look good :) sarah and her tongue and sara

the other sarah

STRIKE! 60min
616

more weight loss talk

i've stated before that my childhood wasn't really all that active, and that i didn't eat all that well. but what i want to focus on is more of the positive from that time of my life in regards to my weight issues. i've thought about how to share this in the past, and today while i was on the elliptical i read an article from women's health january/february 2010 issue. an article titled: "thigh anxiety: are you destined to inherit your mother's body" my mom often apologizes to me for giving me the body that i have, along with her health issues. my mom, along with all of my other aunts have had what i'm going to call minimal weight issues. yes, some more than others, but nothing major. it is safe to say that i've always been the biggest/heaviest one. the nice thing that i didn't inherit (along with the rest of my cousins) are my mom and her sister's height. ...they are all around 5 feet. me? i'm 5'6'', and all of my cousins are in that "tall" category. i remember being in middle school and my mom saying how happy she was when i became taller than her. anyways, i'm learning that all woman have some weight issues. regardless if they are in their head or real, it is something all woman deal with on one level or another.
moving onto the article. i'm not necessarily afraid of inheriting my mother's body, i am however afraid of inheriting some of your health issues. ie: diabetes. my health and the hope of not getting this disease is a strong motivation for my weight loss.
moving onto how this relates to my childhood. my weight was never a topic of discussion growing up. if it was, i wasn't aware of it. i was never told "april you need to lose weight." or "you would be so pretty if you lost a few pounds." i know people who were told this growing up, and i think it gave them a "i have to be skinny" outlook on life, and a person's body image in general. i myself don't have that complex because my weight issues were never really an issue growing up. for that i am so so grateful.
last week while i was in the locker room at the gym this woman saw me after my workout all sweaty and gross, and saw that i had some weight to lose. and then immediately whispered to her little bit over weight 20something daughter "see, you have to work hard." by the way this woman said that comment, what she was really saying was: "see, you have to work hard, so you don't look like that." even worse is that this young woman has down syndrome. i was immediately frustrated because the mom was going about motivating her daughter the wrong way. granted i do think girls see me, and think "i have to keep working out, because i don't want to be over weight" but to actually say it? i mean c'mon. their are many more reasons to work out, than just for the physical aspect.
my main point, is that my childhood didn't have that. i never once felt i had to lose weight. i knew (know) i was loved unconditionally regardless of what it is that i looked like, or what i weighted. and that is a great feeling to have.

elliptical 35min
treadmill 35min
589

pictures of "the loop"

i know all of you have asked yourself: i wonder what that outdoor loop looks like that april walks/jogs around?
well when my parents were in town, i showed my mom.
we had a nice evening walk around the 1.4 mile loop, and i took some pictures.
the sun was setting, and the weather was comfortable.

this is where i start my walk/jog

the mile marker

this is about 1/4 in

this is about 3/4 in

beautiful sunset

mom and i

colorado rockies (my parents were shocked that we still had snow on the mountains)

so pretty

love the clouds in this one

summer evening

50/50 60min
549

week 15: maintain

no weight loss this week. but no weight gain either. which i am very pleased about. and as to be expected. considering what i was given, it could have been worse. i actually ate pretty good all week long, i just ate out all week long. having my parents here really through off my whole week. i didn't go grocery shopping last weekend, so i had no food to prepare for myself. i take that back. i did. i had two meals in the refrigerator at work which, i guess someone at work decided to clean out the fridge and my tupperware with my food inside. so that started off on monday, and i used that as an excuse to not prepare any food for the rest of the week. bad, i know. but i did some major grocery shopping tonight, and i plan to have a good week next week.

i'm slowly learning to not beat myself up, because it truly does no good. this journey is meant to be a positive one, and a learning one. if i focus on all the negativity and my failures i'm bound to give up, and that isn't an option. so rather than do that, i just move forward. on top of that, i am just now realizing that i am doing this. that this will get done. i was having an email conversation with my cousin last week and she asked how i felt about this weight loss. i responded by saying something in the effect of: i can't believe that i am actually doing it. i'm definitely still in shock over the whole thing. i often wonder if their will be a time where i won't picture myself as the "fat girl". because that is who i have always been. if i'm not that, then what am i? honestly, i don't know. it just seems like that label as always been part of me. and not that i have to replace it with something, and i know that i am many other things, but it just seems as though that has always been an identity that i've always carried with me. so much to learn about the new me! it's all exciting. i'm looking forward to keep on, keepin' on.

elliptical 30min
treadmill 30min
strength training 20min
728
0lbs

a jean giveaway!

talk about perfect timing!

i'm a blog stalker of Steece's Pieces. this is one beautiful family and i love reading all of their stories in texas with quad's!

Suz also has a review blog, and is doing a gap jean giveaway! and since i've lost 76 pounds a new pair of jeans are definitely needed!
...so don't enter, so that i can win them!!!

treadmill 35min
dance jam 60min
732

all kinds of crazy

yesterday i got the new
victoria's secret catalogue!
the fall fashion preview!
i was super excited,
then disappointed, because i only like one thing.
...although maybe that's a good thing.

********

today at work a guy was cooking
potato chips
in the microwave.
am i the only one that thinks that is strange?

********

i'm thinking about giving myself a
7-day workout
challenge.
...meaning i would workout 7 days in.a.row.
am i crazy?!

********

i have new found
guilty pleasure.
www.realitysteve.com

********

i am 2 weeks behind on all my TV.
i hope to get caught up this weekend.

********

i'm pretty sure i'm going to have to
see "eclipse"
again.
and soon.

********

i went to my first HOA meeting last night.
i hope the fine goes away.

********

wants to purchase a new flatiron.
any recommendations?

********

so much for the 90+ degree weather.
it's been in the 60's the past two days.
boo!!

********

i am sore today from
tuesdays
workout.
ouch!

********

i sent these
to my cousin
for her birthday.
i totally wish i could have one.

********

STRIKE! 60min

"eclipse" review

well i survived 3 whole days of the moving being out before i went to go see it myself. my mom and i checked it out saturday afternoon, and i have to say i really enjoyed it. my mom isn't into the whole twilight thing, and hasn't seen "new moon" so i gave her the run down of that book/movie before watching "eclipse" which got me that much more in the mood for the movie.



***spoilers ahead***

their were many things i liked about this movie and some things not so much. right off the bat i really enjoyed riley's introduction in the movie. i thought it was a great lead to show the story of the newborns and some of the details of creating the newborn "coven". another part of the movie i really enjoyed was the quilt that bella's mom made, and gave to her while she was visiting in florida. i thought that was a very sweet gesture, and had a lot of meaning.

in this movie i was finally able to put my finger on what it is that i don't like about edward. in the movies he seems to come across a little bit cocky. which i just don't like. example, when he says "he's checking to make sure you are still human." in the movie when they come back from Florida. i really don't like the way he delivers that line. and sometimes bella comes across and uncaring, which is another thing in the movie that i don't like.

in general i like hearing people's histories, or their story of how a person came to be who they are. i enjoy hearing and knowing people's life stories. so that's another reason i really enjoyed "eclipse" because you get to hear the past of the quileute's, rosalie, and jasper, and i was really looking forward to seeing the stories portrayed on the big screen. i wish a little bit more detail would have been given to what billy black had to say, but with what they did do, i really enjoyed. when it came to rosalie's story, i wish the movie showed rosalie going to bella, rather than bella approaching rosalie.

now onto jacob. i am a jacob fan. so seeing the tent scene was heaven for me. and even edward looked normal. seeing the two of them banter with bella in the middle (literally) was quite comical. ...although the way jacob was positioned he looked so uncomfortable. anyways, i really liked that part.
let's jump to one of the final scenes where bella goes to see jacob when he is healing from getting all banged up and bella knows that a part of her is in love with him but she knows she loves edward more, and is essentially "breaking up" with jacob. they took out the best line of the whole book!

The corner of my mouth turned up in a wistful half-smile. "I used to think of that way, you know. Like the sun. My personal sun. You balanced out the clouds nicely for me."
He sighed. "The clouds I can handle. But I can't fight with an eclipse."

not too sure how the screenwriter got away without including that line, but whatever.
and then when she leaves, you don't see bella grieve over the "death" of her what-might-have-been relationship with jacob. and that was kinda a big deal.

i did like bella's little monologue out in the field at the end of the movie. about her life she has chosen. it gave some clarity to the whole big picture of her wanting a vampire life.

lastly i did not like bella's engagement ring. i think it is ugly. the pave setting, and the cluster of diamonds. in the book their are details of the gold, and their are no such details on this ring. to me it is plain, big, and bulky.

barbell strength 60min
treadmill 20min
423