Sorry for the Silence

I've been silent, I know. Right after I write a post about how I'd be posting more. But this monster has been taking up ALL of my waking (and some sleeping) hours:


Since I don't have any time to write now, I'll simple say -
Biola Media Conference 2010: Worlds Collide. Check it out at: www.biolamedia.com

And excuse the silence while I go back to obsessing about tables, and chairs, and drapes. Oh my!

On a Nerdy, Happy Note: Eclipse and Last Airbender!!!

Well, after my last post, I figured the Twixters out there could use a little happiness. I was awoken by an awesomely sad dream at 7 am this morning which I proceeded to write down. This dream could possibly be fleshed out into a story. I just may try!

But in nerdy news, this last Friday was the release of the final Last Airbender Trailer and the Eclipse Trailer. Needless to say I was in nerd heaven. I go home from work (after a lovely alcoholic Pear Cider from BJ's with the Mom) and sat down to watch the trailers.

Let's being with the Last Airbender. I will admit, I was jaw dropped open, smiling at the screen the whole trailer. Starting with the moment we see Appa. The large air bison that Aang and the crew ride for the entire saga. It's amazing and we get to see him fly. Just a quick second, but that was all I needed. We next get to see a larger glimpse into the Fire Nation. And sweet Jesus does it look good. We also get a small glimpse of Aang fighting with the masked crusader, the "Blue Spirit". For those of you who watched the cartoon, you know who this awesome character is. For those that don't, I won't ruin it. But their fighting together looks AMAZING. It jumps around to some more wonderful CG that is epic. Aang flying, more water and fire bending, and a final small fight scene between Zuko and Aang. I died and went straight to nerd heaven.

Now, Eclipse. I was very excited about this trailer, but my reaction wasn't nearly as excited. Maybe it's because I've read the books so much and now already associate the actors with the book characters in my mind, it's not that hard for me to imagine transference of book to film. Needless to say, I watched anyhow and filmed my reaction. My first thought was I love Jacob. Seriously. I'm so happy Taylor Lautner got to stick it out because I think he's perfect. I love the larger part he plays in Eclipse. And the wolves look SO much better. It hasn't even been that long since New Moon but the CG is much improved. My favorite like in the trailer would have to by Jacob's, "As long as we get to kill some vampires.". Awesome. The newborn army is so much bigger looking on screen than I ever imagined in my head, which is definitely a good thing. I am so excited about the fighting it's ridiculous. I will say that one of Stephanie Meyer's weakness is her inability to really write fight scenes. Our main character Bella is usually so wrapped up in herself or unconscious during any sort of fight that we never see them in the books. David Slade's vision of the fight scenes look epic and amazing.

So there you go. My reactions to the new nerdy trailers this week. What did you guys think? Which one did you like better or did you only watch 1 or the other? Let us know!

The Blog That Stopped All The Others

Well, to be honest, I can make a bunch of excuses why I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks I think now. I've had so much to do, I've been so busy with work, haven't had much to write about.

The problem is all aforementioned excuses and the plethora more I can create are not the truth. The reason I haven't written is because I was avoiding writing this blog in particular. Now you may say, "Why Twixter Two didn't you just skip this one and move on?" Ah. There in-lies the problem.

My grandfather, whom I call Opa died April 17 a few years ago. He had been sick for a few years, fighting cancer and going in and out of the hospital. Even though through all that, he'd always been there.

Ironically now that I'm trying to write this blog, I don't know what to say.

How do you blog about things like this? Even when it's "anonymous" I still can't seem to express how hard it is to randomly think about calling him and remembering I can't. I can still remember the smell of his house and his cologne. I remember stealing his brush as a little kid so I could brush my hair with it so it'd smell like him. My Opa helped raise me from a baby. I was the first kid's diaper he changed even after having 5 kids himself and other grandchildren before me.

For whatever reason I was his special girl and he was always my favorite. He was so proud of me graduating high school and going to college. I still get sad knowing that he wasn't there at my wedding.

Even though I didn't cry at his funeral, I feel like a piece of me is missing with him gone. I can't even begin to understand how it feels like to lose someone you love when it's a complete surprise. It's been a few years and I still can't help buy nearly cry when I see things that reminds me of him. It makes it even harder being back in Las Vegas where he's been most of my life. When I was in California, I could pretend like he was still there but I just kept forgetting to call. Here, it's real. His house has someone else in it. His favorite places to eat won't have him as a customer, and haven't for quite some time.

I'll forever pay full price for a pint of hagan daas coffee ice cream since that was always his favorite. He would eat it so smoothly straight out of the pint. As a kid, I'd sit on his kitchen counter eating his ice cream with my clumsy un-even scoops but he never seemed to care.

I still can't really talk to anyone about this. I feel embarassed for whatever reason. Like I shouldn't be this sad still when there are people like Husband who lost his dad. I can't even think about that idea.

I feel like i'm just emotional vomit blogging now. I think this is at least a start. Maybe now I can blog about more silly/fun things like the new Eclipse trailer or the book series I finished a few weeks ago. We'll see.

You Tell Us ...

So Twixter Two and I have started to let blog posts slide again. We were doing so well for quite a while - churning out posts every other day. I can’t tell you what made things slow down, except that maybe we let life get in the way of our blogging. I know shame on us.

Did you miss us?

No, really - Did you miss us? We’re trying to decide if our blogging 4+ days a week is actually paying off and if more than just Mom & Dad are sticking around to read our posts each week. Too much? Too little?

And for those of you not Mom & Dad - what do you want to read? More posts about our day to day lives? or tips, advice and frustration on being a Twixter in general?

Let us know you're reading, and share your thoughts in the comments!

Back to Normal

The past couple of weeks I’ve been in a huge funk - to use the most simplistic term possible. Achy, tired, unmotivated I was jumping back into hermit mode where I thought a marathon of Gilmore Girls for the 3rd night in a row was the definition of a good time. Finally things have gotten sorted out, and for the first week in a while I feel like life is back to what normal should be.

This weekend I managed to skip out of the office a little early to make the drive down to San Marcos to see a couple of dear friends. Mr. A and I were in honors classes together in college and when he introduced me to Mrs. A (then Ms. C of course) we were insta-friends. Now they’re married and live a total of 2 and a half hours away from me, which I deem completely unfair. They’re expecting their first baby in just a couple months and I can’t wait to have a little niece or nephew to play with!! (I was very tempted to nickname them “Mama Bear” and “Papa Bear” in this entry as they’re the first of my friends to be married. But looks like practicality won out.)

Anyways, I spent Friday evening with them in their brand new house and Mama Bear (okay okay - I like it better) and I went shopping at Target for over two hours. You know that you’re the best of friends when shopping at Target is an adventure. The rest of the weekend flowed with coffee and conversation, and I remembered what it was like to have my close friends nearby. When everyone scattered after graduation it was hard to think of how our friendships would survive being such long distances apart, so I love having friends who pick up after months away like nothing ever happened.

Sunday was a rough day for me on the “getting back to normal” track, but Monday brought with it another long lost friend moment. Mrs. H (there I go again with the uncreativeness) drove up the 405 for some quality chinese take out and movie date. We gabbed too much to remember anything of the first half of Whip It but the second half has us totally pumped to find a roller derby in LA. We’re already brainstorming our derby names, and plotting ways to trick The Boy and her husband on a double date to the derby.

The rest of this week has seemed to speed by - fully bringing me up to speed and back to normal. I went down to my Alma Mater for the day to work on the Conference that I volunteer for every year, and got myself some yummy Chick Fil A while I was at it. Now The Boy is up North for a few nights before we head out on our vacation tomorrow - so EXCITED for my long weekend! See you next week!

Grown Up at 22

It was late on Friday afternoon and I’m maneuvering my tiny blue Nissan Sentra down the 5. The sun is streaming in from my window, the rays bouncing off of the waves that are peacefully lapping on the shore just off the side of the freeway. I kick off my Steve Maddens and grip the rubber pedals with my bare toes. My iPhone is streaming music both too old but too young to be cool, since I haven’t updated my music library since college. As I continue to drive up the coast I get a wave of memories - I pass the beach we went skinny dipping at after finals my sophomore year, and the place we made Twixter Two dance with her boa during her bachelorette party.

It’s a beautiful spring day in Southern California, and as I push my sunglasses back into my hair and take a sip of lemonade it hits me - This is my twenties. I am living in a city than many people can only dream of visiting and I have the freedom to appreciate it’s finer points. In that moment, all the stress of growing up melted away and I realized that I’ve grown up. It may not be the life that my parents, my friends, my co-workers or my roommates dream of when they think of living in LA at 22. But for the past 22 years I’ve dreamed of what my life would be like when I was a “grown up” and on days like today, I feel like I’m living that dream.

Independence

This year I have reached a HUGE milestone in my life:

I am independent.

or at least according to the federal government I am. That’s right, it’s tax time. When it came time to settle in and finally figure out my taxes, I reached a HUGE question, right on page one:

“Can someone else claim you as a dependent?”

For the first 21 years of my life, this question was a given. But suddenly I’m staring at my taxes faced with the defining question of my twenties:

“Am I REALLY independent?”

In an irony of sorts I picked up the phone and proceeded to have an hour-long conversation with my Dad to try to navigate my way between dependence and independence. (at least according to the US government)

About halfway through, we decided that yes, for one more year, I was a dependent. I calculated my W-2’s and typed them neatly into Turbo Tax, only to be met with a very nasty red number. My thought?

Hey Dad – if I’m a dependent, I’m depending on you to help me pay this bill. Yikes!

And that’s when Dad and I started to play the tax game. Uncheck a box here, calculate the distance moved here, and suddenly my number went up and up and up until WOW! I got the biggest tax refund I have ever seen. (Thinking back to the days when I was SUPER PSYCHED to get my $90 refund. WooHoo!)

At the end of the hour I had a very nice little green number at the top of my screen, and I told my Dad goodbye.

Thanks for the great life Dad, but I think I’ll take it from here. ;)

Of course, there is the downside to being independent. And well, it’s that I’m dependent. No longer to my parents, but to my credit card. It steals my independence, literally down to my very last cent.

So, my hefty check from the US government didn’t stay in my account more than a couple of hours before the entire amount (plus a little extra) was immediately transferred on to my credit card bill. As my credit card balance dropped, so did my excitement as I remembered the days where tax refunds meant a full-fledged girl’s day – complete with shopping trip.

But today, I woke up to another direct deposit into my account – this time from the State of California. I had completely forgotten! I spent all of my “dependent” life as a Nevada resident, basking in the glory that is no state income tax. But California is in debt, and we don’t have that luxury. I cringe every two weeks as I see the extra little line on my paycheck as my precious dollars are taken away by the state.

Except for the fact that now, I got a few of them back.

Of course on the flip side, now I’m also VERY tempted.

Over the last couple of months I’ve been VERY dedicated to sticking to a budget. I’ve bought no extras, no splurges, just strictly what I need and nothing else. It’s been very exhausting. So part of me wants to take my state tax refund as just a little reward to myself. That is, until the responsible side kicks in.

As always, I’m torn between the responsible thing to do, and the thing that will make me feel just a little bit happier. It’s time to make a responsible adult choice.

So what did you do with your tax refund? Did it all go towards paying off debt? Or do you get to have a little fun?

More Blue Collar Than I Ever Thought

So I realized something yesterday.

I think I'd rather be a blue collar worker. Not necessarily the stereotypes of construction or things like that, but I really don't mind wearing a uniform.

Right now I work in an office type environment, tethered to a desk for 8 hours and it drives me crazy. Only reading blogs online can keep me occupied in my down times for so long. My limbs long for walking and standing.

It's ironic because I always saw myself as a sort of up and coming business woman wearing epic heels and pencil skirts, giving presentations and holding meetings. I walk by the meeting rooms at work now and cringe. No one looks glamorous, or like they're even enjoying a minute of their work. They all sit, staring at their laptops while watching Power Points full of graphs and data.

*Excuse me while I vomit*

Now I know that I don't just want to be a "worker" my whole life. I want to move up, get promoted, manage. Just maybe not in an white collar type office.

The more and more I think about it, the more I realize the only thing I've truly been passionate about my entire life is people. Now I do wish it was something a little more sell-able, like photography or being an expert harp player or something, but it's just not. I love people. I also love helping them by being as knowledgeable as I can be on my subject of work. Just ask Husband or Twixter Two. I know far too much random crap than any person ever should.

So yeah. Now I just have to wait 5 months to see if Disney is going to be it for me. Maybe I could handle working in an office if I love what I'm working for. Or who I'm working for.

What do you think? Are you more Blue Collar or White Collar? Or something in between like me?

Moved in!

I know it's not my blog day, but I'm super duper behind so we'll double post! :)

Well Twixters, I have crossed a threshold in the steps to my adulthood.

I have an apartment. My own apartment. That I pay rent and utilities for. And with that has come several revelations.

Now it may seem strange that at 22 I’ve still never lived in my own apartment. That can be easily explained: I lived 4 years in the dorms on campus the entire year, including summers and winter breaks, then while studying abroad, Husband and I lived in a “prepaid by tuition” apartment. Yeah, sure. It was an apartment, but I could take a 2 hour shower with all the lights on while baking cookies and the TV on in the background without blinking at the costs.

It’s a strange feeling to worry about my electricity. While growing up, I was raised to always shut the lights off, take short showers, etc. But I really didn’t care. If I forgot to turn the lights off in my room, no one really noticed.

Oh, I notice now. I practically live in the dark. I know the savings are minimal but they’re savings nonetheless.

Even further proof that I’m growing up.

The next revelation is that Husband and I own way too much shit. I mean seriously. I nearly threw out my back moving into our 2nd floor apartment. As we unpacked, we started a Goodwill Box. That box turned into 2, then 3 and we’re now at 7 and counting, on top of smaller items that have their own boxes. Thank goodness my parents are having a garage sale this weekend. Hopefully we can make some profit on all the stuff we’ve kept from college. I get so mad at myself as I look through the boxes, wondering the hell I was thinking keeping old scantrons, without the test. Or the free Victoria’s Secret dog stuff animals they gave away at Christmas probably 3 years ago.

It’s amazing the difference I feel about the sentimental value of stuff. I’m learning that the memories I have are far more important. Yes, I am still keeping some useless things, but you know what, in 5 years I can throw that away wondering why I kept that.

The apartment is so so close to being all put away. Maybe I’ll post some pictures…

Oh and Giles adores the apartment.

April Fools!

April Fools was always a fun holiday in our house and my Dad has endured year after year of the sugar-to-salt switcher-roo in his morning coffee. Some of the pranks have been funny, others predictable, and one or two outright mean. But it being April Fool’s Day always managed to soften the blow.

Yesterday was March 31, and around 3:00p and my coworker and I were hit with the normal mid-afternoon boredom. Our minds don’t sit idle for long and we decided that it was prime time to play an April Fools day joke on The Boss.

We had already coordinated for everyone in our small office to call in sick (which the boss picked up after the first text) but then I stumbled upon this great little gem on Instructables.

My boss LIVES off of his computer and while you would think that would make him a computer-expert, I get an exasperated call into my office 4 or 5 times a day to come and fix this computer bug or to show him where the short cut is for that. Of course the perfect April Fool’s Day joke would be to help the computer along in it’s little “mix ups.” So while The Boss was away I slipped onto his computer to install “The Total Confusion Combo Pack” - sure to spark his computer into dozens of little mix ups the moment the clock struck midnight on April 1st.

My co-worker and I were barely holding our laughter when we started to hear the “HMPHs” and “HAWs” around 9 am this morning. I don’t know how I kept a straight face when he called me into his office moments later with a “Why is my firefox switching around all the letters?” and “What is this Rick Roll’d thing?” I had him opening and shutting windows, restarting and clearing his cache numerous times before we could hold it in no longer.

“How long has it been doing this?” I asked from across the wall, sitting in my office where I could hide my grin.

“Since I woke up at 3 am this morning - I’ve restarted the thing over 100 times! Could I have a virus?”

At the 6-hour mark, I don’t think the joke could have been anymore perfect.

I bargained with The Boss that if I could fix his computer he would have to take the entire company out to lunch. After he agreed it took two clicks on the tool bar and his computer was back to it’s pristine condition.

My chicken-wrap at lunch never tasted more sweet.

Did you play an April Fools Day joke today? Or maybe one was played on you? Let us know in the comments below.

Either way, I hope everyone had a good laugh this April Fools!