Breaking Dawn made me feel old.

Some days I think I am still pretty young. 25 years old, quarter of a century, still got five years until I'm 30. I'm good.

Yeah, well a few nights ago I felt old. Real old.

Perhaps I was asking for it. It was a Twilight movie after all. What did I expect?

First reason I felt super old?  I sat next to a girl that brought a baby with her. Not a real one thank goodness, as I was sitting in the very middle of a row and she would have to climb over seven people to exit, but one that comes with a key and you get when you are a freshman in home ec or something like that.

When she made her entrance, I looked around. I am pretty sure that every girl from the local middle school and high school were at this movie. Again, what did I expect, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner are their "it guys" when mine was Leonardo Di Caprio. Which by the way, they had a preview for the new 3D version of the Titanic. 


Second reason I felt super old that night... My friend leaned over during the trailer and asked, "I wonder how many people here were alive when this movie was first in theaters?"

Yeah, Titanic came out about 14 years ago... Awesome.

Laughable. That is all I have to say. I decided I would deal with my insecurities and enjoy the real reason I came at midnight to see this movie, Taylor Lautner (Jacob). Guess who is going to be twenty this year? That guy! I'm only six years older than him... not too creepy right? The age difference between Demi and Ashton was 15 years... okay... probably not that great of an example...  anyway. (PS as I was typing "Age difference of..." Demi and Ashton came up as the first choice. Haha, guess I am not the only one wondering.)


During the movie I remembered why Breaking Dawn was not my favorite book. Besides the fact that it is decided with a wedding that there is no chance Bella will be with Jacob, some of the events are just.plain.weird. Bella and Edward have their honeymoon... tons of procreation... she gets pregnant with a vampire baby... this baby takes all of her nutrition leaving her two steps from death... baby decides it needs to come out, Bella's bones break and Edward must chew the baby out. Oh and she pretty much dies while Edward is doting on the baby - PS your wife has big gaping hole in her abdomen with teeth marks! AND - Jacob, who we think is out of the picture, imprints on the baby, thus falling in love with her (the baby).

It was a weird read... can you imagine trying to watch it with all of these teens/preteens??



Third reason I felt super old...  After each questionable scene (the lengthy sex scene, the quite gory birth, and the imprinting), I again asked myself, "Do these parents know what their children are watching??" Yikes. There might need to be a lot of explaining to do.

PG or R?

Once the credits began rolling, I told my friends that I needed to hurry home - to get some sleep and then go to work,  further cementing the fact that 25 might just really be old. I am kinda sad, however, as the part I did think was interesting, the second half of the book, had a preview after the credits.

Boo! So I looked online... and I believe I have found the clip for Part II. Thanks Ellen. If you too were  wondering what will happen next November, take a look...

Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think about it?

A Kid's Movie

Molly Mahoney: [after they have set all the clocks forward in a shop to strike noon at the same time] Now we wait.
Mr. Edward Magorium: No. We Breathe. We Pulse. We Regenerate. Our hearts beat. Our minds create. Our souls ingest. Thirty-seven seconds, well used, is a lifetime.

I watched the movie Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium this past evening. I remember hearing the press about the movie a few years ago and brushed it off as just another kids’ movie.

It might seem like a kid’s movie – if that is the label you want to give it. But perhaps one might ask themselves why a “kid’s movie” isn’t worth seeing? Is it because of the lack of sex and violence, the happy feeling we receive when watching it, the life lesson posed, and we can’t forget – the happy ending?

The basis of the movie is a toy store, started by Mr. Magorium. At 243, this gentleman is on his last pair of shoes. (He found a pair he liked in Italy and bought enough to last him his entire life.) We never know if he was truly telling the truth about receiving an IOU from Thomas Edison with a light bulb drawn on it, but does it really matter? He has built his store on the foundation of magic and the spirit of imagination. The movie points out that Mr. Magorium’s story is coming to an end, and he has decided that on one day soon, at around 4:30p.m., he will depart. Not die, he reminds us. Light bulbs die, he will depart.

Mr. Magorium plans to leave the store to Molly Mahoney, his store manager. Ms. Mahoney is a 23 year old that has not yet figured out her life, much because she does not have confidence in herself. To get everything in order for his departure, Mr. Magorium hires an accountant to determine the value of the store. This gentleman, “Mutant” as they call him because “according to the word, it must be a cross between a counter and a mutant and that may be precisely what we need” sees the store for what it is, just a toy store. And, we can’t forget Eric, the young boy who collects hats that hangs around the store and appears to serve as a bridge way between the child and adult world, yet doesn’t quite fit in with either.

Mr. Magorium attempts to prepare these three for next chapter of their own lives: the journey of the store, the acceptance of magic, imagination, and confidence, not just in the world around them, but in themselves.

This story awakens our inner self and what better place to do it than in a magical toy store. Some identify this “self” as their inner child: care free, fun, open to all ideas, naive, and the list can go on. Many times as we go through life, our inner self becomes trapped by the shell we have created to protect it from the harshness of the adult world. Who can blame us? With the suffering and the sadness, bills, stress, and judgment of others, sometimes we place our more vulnerable selves in the “safe room” of our heart. Why do we do this? Because if our inner core breaks, what is left of us?

We go on waiting for a big event to let our inner self out to play, maybe the holidays, maybe the weekend, it can be anything. But as we wait, life continues, we continue. The movie points out the fact that things are always happening, even while we wait, so why not enjoy it by being our selves – our complete selves. Why hide our inner self when it is who we are? Our everyday life will end up being more meaningful. We will be truly happy. Mr Magorium tells Ms. Mahoney that life is an occasion, so we should rise to it. He could not have said it better.

Another quote I enjoyed:
Molly Mahoney: I'm stuck!
Mr. Edward Magorium: Oh, to my floor?
Molly Mahoney: No, sir.
Mr. Edward Magorium: Then what?
Molly Mahoney: Like a person. You remember when I was a little girl and I could play Rahmaninov's Second Piano Concerto and everyone was talking about my potential?
Mr. Edward Magorium: Mhm.
Molly Mahoney: Well, I am 23 now and everyone's still talking about my potential but if you ask em to play the song I know best... I'll still play Rachmaninov's Second.
Mr. Edward Magorium: May I suggest you stun the world with Molly Mahoney's First?

Instead of waiting for that time to have fun, to be yourself, to let your inner self out, why not do it now? We are a lot more capable then we know, and even in rough times – we can get through it. There is no reason for that shell. Start your new chapter now. Life is truly magical, so why not open our eyes and let our “whole self” see it?

I loved this movie – and I recommend it 100%. You will be glad you watched it.

Date Night... The 4-D Experience, Rain Ponchos Included

***Attention!! There might be a few spoilers about “The Time Traveler’s Wife.” I do, though, attempt to be somewhat vague ***


My husband is a good sport. No, that description doesn’t do him justice. He is amazing.

This picture was taken before we had our date. Needless to say, I did not look like this when the night was over.

The date was a simple one. I like simple. We would go to a nice hibachi grill and see a pleasant movie. Who wouldn’t like that? I pulled out all the stops, even getting my hair chopped off. Yes, I also attempted the dreaded fake eyelashes**. After forty minutes of gluing, applying, removing, and then re-applying (that’s just the eyelashes), I was perfect. We got in the car and headed off to our destination.

** Side note, if your husband doesn’t notice that you cut your hair and you point it out to him, he might feel guilty for the remainder of the evening. Please remember that he just might over compensate for noticing the rest of your appearance. We got in a minor accident because he was looking at my fake eyelashes. But! This is not what the story is about.**

Just as I had hoped, dinner was amazing. Who doesn’t like people making your food right in front of you and having it taste simply delectable?

The movie was another story.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the movie. I am actually reading the book now, and I am enjoying that too. But, I usually don’t subject myself to things that might make me cry in public. Problem? I usually can only shed small, delicate tears for a short time – then the flood gates open. This is the very reason I have not seen Marley and Me or My Sister’s Keeper.

Before I saw the movie, there were already signs that The Time Traveler’s Wife might make me cry - but I think I was in denial.

#1 Sign When I Should Have Realized That I Would Cry During the Movie: I was tearing up during a 30 second commercial! How did I not see it coming?

The movie started off slow, but I felt good. We got to see a some what constant Henry visiting the ever aging Clare and the evolvement of their current day love. (Yay!) There were several funny parts during the first hour of the movie, and Justin said that it didn’t feel like a chick flick as there was “guy stuff” in it too. We were having a great time.


Then, during the second hour of the movie, a bomb shell is dropped. Again, should have realized “it” sooner – but maybe I was in denial. Why couldn’t Clare and Henry just live a normal, happy life? Well a normal life - despite the weird genetic condition that Henry has which causes him to fall back or go forward in time without his control. That’s not a big deal, right?

The movie moves pretty quickly at the half way point, as well as the burning in my eyes. I thought if I just kept breathing, I would get through this. I could walk out of the theater, no tears, with a smile on my face. Note to self: as the movie points out, one cannot change the inevitable.

During one especially poignant scene, Henry and Clare are having a good old time until a future Henry drops in (no pun intended.) It was at this moment that I felt the tears. Not that these particular minutes are extremely sad, but we have been given a tiny view of the future – where the movie would be headed. Justin tells me to be strong, and I just nod my head. If only he knew what would happen after a prolonged crying spell.

As the movie pushes forward, there is now a point of no return, for both me and the direction of the film. The viewers know what’s going to happen – yet there is no way to stop it. This is much like the issue Henry must face his entire life. Henry tends to travel to times that his mind has doted on, such as his mother’s death. No mater how many ways he tries to intervene, it turns out that those interventions played a role in the inevitable. Kind of confusing, huh?

Anyway, I have never cried so hard at a movie. Scene after scene, one by one, characters begin to develop a sense of realization of what will soon happen. I cry for their pain, their attempt to live a normal life when the future cannot be changed, and the actual event that has been played before their eyes and ours multiple times.

Well, by the end of the movie I have quite successfully transitioned from a simple tear shed to the full out “ugly cry.” The “ugly cry” consists of the inability to catch ones breath, snot pouring from the nose, and tears so hard that the screen isn’t even viewable.

When the screen went dark, I took a deep breath and sat in silence with my husband. He waited for a few minutes, until he thought my emotional storm had cleared, and then turned to face me.

“Are you all right?” He asks. All right? I ponder this for a moment. Without warning, the last 10 minutes of the movie flash before my eyes and the tears start rolling down my face again.

“What did I say?” Justin is worried. Maybe this movie has made his wife become mentally unstable. With blurry eyes, I mumble something about the bathroom and try to make my way through the throngs of crying women (and some men too.)

I get to a mirror and look at myself. I looked scary. Down right scary. My eye lashes were partially hanging off my eyelids, make up and mascara dripping down my face; my eyes were blood shot and my face was splotchy. I gasped. In a matter of hours, I had gone from picture perfect to a mad woman that looked like she had decided to do her makeup at night, outside, during a heavy rainstorm without any sleep.

After washing my face in the bathroom, I found Justin and made a bee line to the car. He never asked why we were practically running out of the theater nor did he ever make a comment about my post movie face. Kissing me in the car, he told me that he had had a good date night and that he loved me. Amazing.

If you plan on seeing this movie, please don’t make the same mistakes I did.
* Bring Tissues
* Wear minimal make up, and make sure it is water proof
* Be ready to cry.
* Don’t look at the movie attendants. I am positive they are recording the reactions of people leaving the theater for future entertainment.

Like I said, it was a good movie and I would recommend it to anyone. It just isn’t a happy – go- lucky kind of flick. How can it be when you can’t change the future? Boo -