from out of the reagan administration

Here is an article I saw on Kerri's blog today that I found very thoughtful and interesting.

And this is a quick biography on the woman who wrote it.

poison, winged creatures, creatures of the night, and my cute husband

Okay, so I finally, after some reluctance, jumped on the Twilight bandwagon. When I first heard about it I had absolutely no interest whatsoever in engaging in a silly story about "the cold ones" (read: vampires). But.........everyone was so interested in it I thought it might be one of those books that our entire generation talks about and owns, like Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive album that all of our parents owned.....Do you feel like I feel?

So.....in anticipation of just that, several months ago I found the first 2 books on amazon - paperback, naturally - for a great deal, and I just bought them. What the hey. If I get the urge to actually read them, they'll be there. It wasn't until a couple weeks ago when we were down at Kevin's parents' house for a belated Father's Day dinner that all of that changed. My glorious sister-in-law Natalie is......how shall we say............QUITE into the books. :) She asked me if I had read the books or seen the movie, the answer to which was no on both counts. She lovingly suggested that I might begin reading them before our big family vacation (which will involve approximately 20 hours in the car each way) to the Teton Mountains so she has someone to talk about the books with. I obliged.

I started the books, and initially, my low expectations were justified. The writing style of the author isn't the greatest, and it was somewhat of a turn off. Also, the beginning seemed a bit cheesy to me. But.........it wasn't long before the story sucked me in beyond anything I had EVER expected. Suddenly I couldn't put the book down. About halfway through the first book I was so glad I'd gone ahead and purchased the second because I knew I would be moving seamlessly into that one as well.

I can't even remember the last time I felt this way about reading. When I was in high school, I was a good kid. I didn't rebel, didn't sneak out, etc. The ONE way I most frequently broke the rules was reading past my bedtime. I know, look out, add her to your prayer list folks! I would bring my little desk lamp under my covers - so hot it would get! - and read until 1-2 in the morning on school nights. My desk lamp had one of those on/off devices that you have to twist that's part of the cord. And just in case my parents were to come in and catch me, I would have the on/off switch twisted as far as it would go before turning off, so that with just a quick flick of my fingers it would be off. Yes....I was all about strategy even at a young age.

All that to say, it was really thrilling to feel that way again. There have been more than a couple nights where Kevin wanted to go to bed, so I laid on the the floor with some pillows, and read by the light of my iPhone until my eyes would stay open no more. I am INTO this saga.

So my mom was in town this past weekend for 4th of July, and I finished the first book while she was here. Kevin and I decide to go rent a movie for all of us, and Kevin so lovingly offers up Twilight as a suggestion. He's not so into it, but he knows that my reading of said book has been out of control so he sacrifices his own desires and we rent it. But we compromise, and help him maintain his masculine sensibilities by also renting Quantum of Solace.

So we watch the movie, which, though it naturally couldn't fit all the nuances of the 500 page book into it's 2 hours, but it was much better and much less lame than I was expecting. Kevin even admitted it wasn't bad. So after the movie we're hanging out in the living room watching some tv program that I can't recall, when I happen to look over at Kevin's computer screen.

Here is what I saw:


In case you can't see the detail, let me break it down for you in the order in which I noticed each part.

1. First I noticed in bright red type amid the brightly colored website the title of the page - "Caterpillar and Butterfly Defense Mechanisms" - ADORABLE

2. I noticed what he had searched in the google bar - "poisonous butterflies"

3. Next I noticed the website URL - www.enchantedlearning.com - this is when I lose control and start laughing beyond my capacity to stop, as he looks innocently up from his "research."

4. Now, giving in to my heaving laughter, I notice the cute little pictures of caterpillars and butterflies and what their defense mechanisms really are, such as, hiding, bad smells, poison, etc. - also hilarious and endearing. Bad smells!??! Come on! That's hilarious!

It is at this point that it's clear why I married my husband. He is one of the most adorable people in the world with his incredibly intelligent science mind, and he makes me laugh harder than anyone I've ever met in the whole world.

It took me so long to stop laughing that I forgot to ask him how he went from Twilight and vampires to poisonous butterflies and their defense mechanisms. I want to hug that hilarious train of thought real big!

Kevin Howard RULES!!!