Don't miss it...

Hi, I'd been working on a post all day - so it posted before these last couple. Don't miss it! It's a fun new Chapter discussion!

Twilight IS my Prozac

So, this has probably been the most stressful Christmas for us in a long time. We just had one thing happen after another and just when I thought I had some semi control on things one of my brothers started some hideous drama via email. It was then that I decided I was going to call my doctor and have me medicated at least through the holidays. So, I planned to to let my brother "have it" online, but I decided to check the blog first. This may sound strange, but as I was reading the articles and the comments, etc, I suddenly felt a wave of relaxation pour over me. I felt relaxed,free of tension and in control. I didnt care that my brother was being stupid anymore. I thought to myself, screw Prozac! So now instead of getting freaked out I just get Twilighted. And I stay on it for as long as I need to.Works for me! Can anyone relate to this?

Taking a Little Break

Hello everyone, or should I say anyone? Ha, ha. I've decided to take a little break, maybe just a day or two, maybe longer. I just feel kind of silly talking to myself for the last week. (When someone is seen talking to themselves frequently, doesn't that suggest something, regardless of the subject they are talking to themselves about?)

There hasn't been any new movie news, or BD news, so I will certainly post those when there has been. Hope everyone had great holidays. Let me know when you are ready for more Twilight. I would say that I am always ready for more, but then that is a bit redundant isn't it?

New Moon, chp 2 - Stitches, chp 3 - The End

Well, I have officially started NM for the 3rd time (I think). Some things have stuck out to me this time - probably because I do know what is going to happen in Chapter 3 - but, nonetheless, they have been very interesting. We all know what happens in the previous chapter - The Party - oh, I was wishing it away during the very words! I cringed when Alice handed her the presents - not wanting her to open them. And I could see in my mind what overtook Jasper as she cut her finger. Then, when they ALL had to finally leave her alone with Carlisle! I do enjoy the talk between Bella and Carlisle as he is stitching her up. This is where, remember, that she realizes that maybe her choice of becoming a vampire might not just affect her 'Soul', but Edward's as well.
But then, the happy part again, where he does stay the night...she opens up the remainder of her presents, (oh by the way, little quiz for all you fans out there...what does Edward really want to give Bella for her birthday - before she insists on him not spending ANY money?) and Edward is thrilled that she can actually respond "appropriately" to receiving gifts, he says - "Now I wish I'd spent money on your present. I didn't realize that you were capable of being reasonable." But we all know and 100% agree, that his gift that night was the absolute best!!!
Anyway, I'm sure we all remember the KISS that night for her birthday, where Edward wasn't as careful as usual. The last paragraph of the chapter is what makes my heart ALREADY hurt!
"I was halfway asleep, maybe more, when I realized what his kiss had reminded me of: last spring, when he'd had to leave me to throw James off my trail, Edward had kissed me goodbye, not knowing when - or if - we would see each other again. This kiss had the same almost painful edge for some reason I couldn't imagine. I shuddered into unconsciousness, as if I were already having a nightmare..."
Ohhhh, can I really read on?

This is just an amazing and sweet post from Stephenie on the Lexicon. She was very overwhelmed with all her birthday well wishers. And even though she doesn't know about us, well, we can relish in this too. It was so long I chose not to post it here. Just go to this link.

http://twilightlexicon.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=548035#548035

Quote of the Week, Dec. 26 - Jan. 2

Since this is Christmas, I thought a quote about gifts would be appropriate. You have to find both quotes this time.

1. Quote #1: "And speaking of Italy and cars I stole there, you still owe me a yellow Porsche"

2. Quote #2 "Are you going to take her Porsche back?" "Of course not. It was a gift."

Can you find them?

Happy Birthday Stephenie Meyer

December 23!

Messages to her on the Lexicon.

Merry Christmas from Stephenie

SM was sweet enough to add a message to her MySpace site for Christmas. Here it is! Breaking Dawn News. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (and this is not the cover for Breaking Dawn. This is her original Twilight Sequel cover, that she created herself. It is from her own website)

Saturday, December 22, 2007
Seasons greetings!! Current mood: Merry
Happy holidays, everybody! I hope you are happy, healthy, surrounded by loved ones, warm, and done with your shopping. I'd love to run around giving all of you Porsches this year, but, since I can't, my gift to you is a peek at the Japanese illustrations from Eclipse, which are in my photos in a brand new folder. Enjoy!My gift to myself is the best one I could have possibly given me! December 22nd, at around 1:20 a.m., I finally finished the rough draft of Breaking Dawn. Hallelujah! It feels amazing to have that boulder-sized weight off my back. And now I get to relax and have fun on Christmas instead of writing all night like I have been doing up to this point.Please, please don't read this and begin a slew of "If Breaking Dawn is done, why can't it come out NOW!" comments. I finished the ROUGH draft. Very, very rough. To put this in perspective, it took over two years from the rough draft stage of Twilight to the book being on store shelves. In general, I spend about a year to a year and a half editing a book. Don't cry, though, because both I and Little Brown's editorial staff are going to do everything in our power to get Breaking Dawn out Fall 2008. So, fingers crossed, it will be on time. Just don't ask for it to come out early because my head is already pretty close to exploding right now. (To get the rough draft done this week, I shattered a personal record by writing 40 (FORTY!!) pages in one day. That kind of thing takes a toll.)

Because I know you all love insider information, here are some stats on my other books as they compare to the length of Breaking Dawn** Remember, the BD numbers are based on the rough draft and will change in the editing process, but this will give you the general idea.

TWILIGHT:Pages on my computer: 475Word count: 118,501

Pages in book form: 498

NEW MOON:Pages on my computer: 528Word count: 132,807

Pages in book form: 563

ECLIPSE:Pages on my computer: 611Word count: 147,930

Pages in book form: 629

BREAKING DAWN: Pages on my computer: 775!!Word count: 192,196!!

Pages in book form: barring some kind of massive editing cut, I'm guestimating right around eight hundred pages!!

There you go, fun statistics from Stephenie's computer.Once again, enjoy your holidays, everyone!

XOXO Steph

Go to the Lexicon link for their take on this news.

Also she posted this Japanese Cartoon illustrations on her myspace, if you are interested, here is the link:

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=52906350&albumId=1645798

Dang, I couldn't help but post these!

(Twilight Mom here, I couldn't resist adding
this one to your post here Jillybean. Since we were
all discussing Edwards hair, on the last picture post,
well this is just so Edward! Oh and I did some real
tricky stuff to even get this picture, so the credit
goes to a Youtube video of Robert.)

Movie Posters from the Lexicon

Hyperventilating . . . hyperventilating. . . breathe, . . . breathe. . . okay.
Now ladies, these aren't even REAL but Ahhhh! Okay let me make sense. The Lexicon has posted several fan made movie posters. This is one of them. They are all GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!! Remember the date isn't even set for certain on the movie release, but I don't know if I can get any more excited. And have I ever mentioned I originally had no intention of even caring about this movie. I wasn't even going to go see it possibly. Oh well, the towel was thrown in several posts ago. No going back now. The link to all the posters is http://twilightlexicon.com/2007/12/18/fan-made-movie-posters/.
Tell me which ones you like and why. Um I like them all. This one isn't even my favorite but I love the caption "Evil is a Choice" .

Squeal right now if you love Vegetarian Vampires!

Book (maybe chapter?) Discussion

Well, as some of you know, I have been without two of my three most favorite books for the last 2 months. I almost gave in last week and went out and bought more copies. But I refrained! My sister, whom I love and adore (but sadly, I'm afraid, doesn't share my same enthusiam for this work of fiction) took a trip out to visit our other sister in North Carolina. A few days into her trip I frantically commented to Mary Ann that, "Duh, I should have threatened her with her life to take the books with her." But to my surprise (I found out a few days ago), she was somehow inspired to take the books with her on her trip. She called me late one night, leaving a message about some sticky note...some email...I didn't really understand the message. It wasn't until the next day, that I realized what she was talking about - the sticky note that I had stuck in the chapter of New Moon, when Alice comes back! I wanted her to stop and go and read the extras - Edward's phone call. I was freaking out - so I quickly called her and she told me where she was, what she had read. She had about 100 pages to go...I was dying!! Well, that was that, we of course talked about several parts in the book - she really likes Jacob...as most of us did before Eclipse! But mind you, she hadn't gotten to the very end of NM - which as we all know is one of the best parts in the whole series ...so I had to just calmly listen and slightly agree with the things she was saying!
Then today, she got home, called me and told me that she had finished NM - really liked it - and that she had read Eclipse for 4 1/2 of the 5 hour plane ride home!! She was to the graduation party - so sad that she didn't finish, because now she is back into real life. But we got to chat again for a few minutes about some of her favorite parts...she doesn't like Jacob as much now (little does she really know) - and is a little bugged with Bella. She wishes that Edward would just quit being so nice and make her choose already. Well, I had to again, just listen and share some of my thoughts - but she still has awhile to go! I hope she gets to finish in the next week.
One of her favorite aspects of the whole series is how SM writes! She loves all of Bella and Edwards talks - totally honest - never hiding anything. She loves that about their relationship!
Well, I didn't really ask my sister's permission to write a post souly about her experience reading them - Someday, when I'm ready to share this side of my obsession with her, I'm sure she'll understand!!

More for the Unquenchable

So really I am as busy as everybody else. But being a blog owner is a serious responsibility. So that is the only reason I am still posting here when no-one else is. I hope I have got enough on here to keep people happy for the next week and 1/2. I will be settling into insanity in a few more days (unless you consider it more insane to be taking time for Twilight the week before Christmas). So what was the point. Oh yeah. The Lexicon, I am assuming in an attempt to help quench unquenchable fans like me, posted this link to a Canadian newspaper article about the Twilight Saga: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071217.wmeyer17/BNStory/Entertainment/home
I didn't think it would be all that interesting, but when I gave in and read it, since I have had nothing to read from any TA members lately, I found it very good. I'm passing it on to you. Good luck shopping. (Don't forget to walk past Twilight books when you see them, and smile, or buy yourself or loved ones a few copies.) Oh and if anyone goes to the mall, see if you can guess which poster in a store window reminds us of Edward.

Movie Gossip

This may be complete speculation, but the IMDB (internet movie data base) website has listed the release date of Twilight as Dec. 12, 2008. I would be posting this in hysterical neon 100 point font and calling everyone personally to scream about it, but the Summit Entertainment site (the actual producer) does not have a date listed for release. Keep in mind though that they haven't updated their Twilight page either. It still has the cast listed as "to be determined". It is certainly fun to think about THAT Twilight gift for next Christmas. Hope everyone is hanging in there with their preparations for this Christmas.

Quote of the Week Dec. 17-23

So we are all getting very busy, aren't we? That's okay. 'Tis the season to be busy. But I am still hanging on here for anyone that needs this blog this week. It's funny that weekends are slower. Apparently we don't need as many diversions on the weekend. Anyway here is this weeks quote. I know this will be tricky, because it happens in a lot of places. But you have to find the exact moment. Good Luck!


"A dozen emotions played across his face. Some I recognised. . .anger. . . pain. . .and then he seemed to collect himself and his expression became amused."

The Gifts of Twilight

So last Wednesday we had a delightful gathering of Twilight Addicts. Erin was such a wonderful hostess. We loved our dinner and the conversation was even better. Did we laugh at ourselves for discussing for an evening Vampires and Werewolves? A little. But it doesn't make us want to stop. After talking over a variety of topics, we settled in on December's focus: Gifts. The following two posts will list some of the gifts we came up with together that night. The first is a list of material gifts, or "things" given to anyone by anyone in the Twilight world. The next post lists gifts of self, service, love, etc. We only listed some of our answers, in hopes that you all will be able to add to them. Let me know which works better for people, Wed. or Thursdays. We are planning on meeting again in January.

TA Meeting - material gifts

Here is the start of some of the material/tangible gifts from Twilight. Please add to it and add your commentary.

• Bella's Truck from Charlie


• CD from Phil


• Prom dinner that Edward(who hates human food) fixed for Bella


• Prom dress from Alice


• Scrapbook from Renae


• Camera from Charlie


• Car Stereo from Cullens


• Birthday Party from Alice


• CD of Edwards compositions on the piano, including the lullaby inspired by Bella


• Alice's Yellow Porche from Edward


• Graduation outfit and party from Alice


• Graduation bracelet from Jacob to Bella


• "Crystal" to add to the bracelet from Edward


• Motorcycles for Jacob


• Wedding ring from Edward

The Gifts of Twilight: gifts of love, self, and service

Here is the start of a wonderful reflection on how others give of themselves in our favorite fictional series. Please add to the list, and freely comment on how you feel about any of the gifts listed. Which are your favorites, most touching, etc. ?
Also, before I list our answer to this questions, we would also be curious about your opinion. Who gives the greatest gift?

• Bella coming to Forks - this is really the first gift of self in the books, and significant one. Truly selfless of Bella to leave her entire life behind for mother's sake. Didn't she look at is as a sentence to endure until high school was over?


• Charlie bringing Bella back into his home, and more into his life.


• Charlie putting chains on her tires when it snows.


• Edward saving Bella's life again and again.


• Mike Newton still volunteering to be her badminton partner, even after he has witnessed her sports skills, and after Mike realizes Bella "likes" Edward.


• Alice's willing acceptance of Bella and support of Edward.


• Edward sharing his special place, the meadow, with Bella.


• Bella's determined and decided acceptance of Edward, who and what he is.


• Carlisle and Esme unconditionally accepting Bella. Then later becoming more of a family than she has ever had.


• All the great clothes Alice buys for Bella. Prom dress (mmm), graduation outfit, etc.


• Dinner for Bella on prom night, cooked by none other than . . .EDWARD!


• Edward trying to give Bella her human experiences.


• Alice caring for Bella when she had her cast.


• Edward leaving to save her (of course it didn't turn out as a gift at all, but what he did was with 100% love for her and devotion to doing what he thought would make her the happiest, regardless of the cost to himself.


• Jacob's willingness to be a friend to Bella, no strings attached.


• Jacob handing her the pen and paper to leave Charlie a note when she is leaving for Italy.


• Bella going to Italy.


• The Volturi letting them go
  
• The werewolves being willing to work with the Cullens.


• Carlisle trying to save Bree.


• Bella choosing to marry Edward.
  
• Edward being willing to change Bella without any conditions


• Bella waiting for her wedding before she has all her hopes come true.

More Robert and Kristen Pics

Sorry, I like this picture of Kristen. Listen to me talk about her, like we're on a first name basis. Just tell me to stop.

(And Twilight Mom added the one on the top)

Hope you're not all sick of Robert pics, because we're having so much fun checking him out! The one in the blue sweater looks a little young, but it looks like maybe a softer side of Edward. And the red shirt one made me think of vampire right away. Mmmmm, yummy!

WOW!!! They look HOT together!!

Hey Maryanne this is Jaime finally writing. Jill and I have been looking at pics all morning of Robert and holy crap he is hot. We found this pic of him with Kristin. They look so perfect together. You can totally sense the chemistry. She looks a little too dolled up but you get the idea.

More about Robert Pattinson

The following is from Stephenie Meyer's myspace site (the link there is http://www.myspace.com/52906350). If you are craving anything and everything Twilight, well then here you go. It's not new news, its just something else to read and enjoy.

"I want you to know that I am really very pleased about this choice. Robert hasn't been one of the popular fan choices whose faces pop up on my comments page all the time, so I'd never really thought about him in the role before. When I got the news, it took me a little while to consider it (like a lot of you, I was pretty attached to the first person I'd cast in my head as Edward, so I had to readjust for a minute). I looked at all the pictures I could find, finally got around to watching HP4 (which I own, but had never seen before), and I read through the script picturing Robert in the role. By the time I was done with my research (writing: a line of work where you can legitimately call drooling over hot boys "research."), I was kind of shocked that I'd never considered Robert before. Aside from my dearest Henry, Robert is truly the first person I've pictured in the role who I think can pull it off. The boy just looks like a vampire.Also, I hear very encouraging things from the people who watched his auditions. They've been at this for months now, you know, reading Edward hopefuls day after day. Robert knocked their socks off; once he read for the part, the search was over. In other good news, apparently there is excellent chemistry between Robert and Kristen (they have all the major actors read together to make sure they fit), his American accent is flawless, AND he's read all three novels!So YAY! for Robert Pattinson!"

Movie News Dec. 11 2007 - HOLY CROW! EDWARD IS CAST!!!!!

These are the best photos I could find. The Lexicon was so overwhelmed it shut down. I'm sure I will have much more info tomorrow!

Los Angeles, CA December 11, 2007 – Summit Entertainment announced today that Robert Pattinson will star as “Edward” in the highly anticipated feature film production TWILIGHT opposite Kristen Stewart. The thriller-romance, based on Stephenie Meyer’s publishing phenomenon, is slated to begin production in February 2008 with Catherine Hardwicke directing a script by Melissa Rosenberg (STEP UP). Karen Rosenfelt (DEVIL WEARS PRADA) and Greg Mooradian will produce along with Mark Morgan via his Maverick Films banner.
Erik Feig, Summit Entertainment’s President of Production, stated, “It's always a challenge to find the right actor for a part that has lived so vividly in the imaginations of readers but we took the responsibility seriously and are confident, with Rob Pattinson, that we have found the perfect Edward for our Bella in TWILIGHT.”
Robert Pattinson most recently starred in LITTLE ASHES as the young Salvador Dali. Pattinson is best known for his role as Cedric Diggory in the recent box office successes HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX and HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE.

***A note from Stephenie about the casting of Robert Pattinson:
I am ecstatic with Summit's choice for Edward. There are very few actors who can look both dangerous and beautiful at the same time, and even fewer who I can picture in my head as Edward. Robert Pattinson is going to be amazing.

He is quite stunning in this video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=y-2uJq3x6BU

Quote of the Week Dec. 10-16

I apologize for posting this a day late.
Just a reminder, publish comment where the quote specifically comes from (no page # required, but which book and the situation). Trisha or I will let you know as soon as someone has guessed it correctly. Good Luck!

"He stood in the middle of the kitchen, the statue of Adonis again, staring abstractedly out the back windows.Then his eyes were back on me, and he smiled his heartbreaking smile"

Twilight 'Date' moments

Joseph and I went out on a date last night. And I have to tell you that I had three Twilight moments in a matter of 3 hours. The first one was when we went out to dinner. The hostess showed us to our seats...a large booth in the most crowded part of the restaurant. And yes, I almost said..."could we have something a little more private?" (Anyone guess that one - easy I know) The second one was after dinner on the way out to the car, Joseph gave me his jacket (black not tan) to wear, and I stuck it on backwards in the car, sticking my arms through the 'too big' holes. And I even bent down to smell it - of course it smelled like my own sweetheart!! And third at the end of the movie we saw (Dan in Real Life - I highly recommend by the way) a song started playing that made my heart flutter. It wasn't actually one of our Twilight songs, but I swore it was Colbie Caillat singing. I waited til the very end to try to see the name - I'll have to do a little more research to see if it was her singing! Anyway, happy Saturday to all!!

Twilight Music

So, many of us have started swapping wonderful songs that remind us of Twilight. SM has her own play list for each book, but these are songs that just show how music reminds us of anything and everything Twilight (silly but almost every song does for me right now).


Anyway I would like to compile a list of these songs, so put in a comment any that inspire TW for you, and explain how it applies. I hope this will be fun. And I know I am not alone in this habit.

You know you are addicted when . . .

Hi everyone. I'm new to this site. For starters, I just want to say thanks for putting this together and allowing me to join you. Also, as a disclaimer, I've only read the books once each. I know. You probably think I'm not really addicted. Maybe I'm not. You can decide for yourself after you read my list. But I am partly responsible for getting Erin and "Hudson" into this vampire craze. And, like many of you, I've lost countless hours of sleep reading the books and straining my eyes to read all the extras on SM's site and the Lexicon.

So, you know you are addicted when:
1. One of the most common sites here (in England, where I'm temporarily living) are signs posted by real estate companies for places to rent (actually, they say "to let," but that's beside the point). There is one company called Cullens Homes. And guess what I think of EVERY time I see it. . . That's right. Our beloved Cullens family. I just smile to myself as we continue walking down the street or riding the bus.

2. Everytime I walk past a book store, I look for SM books to be displayed in the windows.

3. I'm tempted to re-read Twilight since I bought a copy of it for my sister for Christmas. Do you think she'll notice if it's already been read? My copy is in storage at home in Utah.

4. Any nice looking silver car reminds me of Edward. Not just volvos.

5. I found the link to this site on my sister's blog only a few days ago, but I've checked it daily ever since.

6. I've read six other (great) books since I finished Eclipse in October, but it's the one that brings a smile to my face the most. SM's writing reminds me of what Meg Ryan said in You've Got Mail: how real life events often remind her of what she's read in a book.

Jacob and Bella

Okay, I know that this is a forbidden subject, one that many of you don't like to think about. But I am re-reading (2nd time only, sigh) New Moon, and today is one of those days that I dont' want to do anything, I am ignoring sick kids (not really), laundry, dishes, etc, because I just want to read. So here is something that struck me while I was reading. Maybe I am the only one who sees the parallel, but let me know if anyone feels the same as me...

In NM, on pg 219 (this is after the movie with Jake and Mike) Bella makes the comment "I never meant to love him" referring to Jacob. Now I am not saying that Bella loves Jacob the same way that she loves Edward, but I saw an immediate parallel to Edward not meaning to love Bella. And at the beginnning of the relationship, all Edward can say is how he is not good for Bella, but he is too selfish to give her up. Bella gets a small taste of what that is like when Jacob pulls her out of her bottomless pit, then disappears. She realizes how selfish she is in that she knows that she needs her "personal sunshine" And Bella goes on to talk about how she needs Jacob "like a drug" which also made me think of when Edward refers to Bella as his form of heroin. I would like to think that maybe that made Bella just a bit more understanding to Edward, because I think she can see what it might be like for him, only on a grander scale.

I was also shocked to see her admit to loving Jacob, and I think that for all of us that have now reread the whole series, it is almost like forshadowing as to what is going to happen and the choice Bella has to make. I think somewhere in the back of her mind, throughout the rest of NM and into Eclipse, that Bella knew she loved Jacob, but she also knows that her love for Edward is stronger, that is why it takes her so long to admit that she does love him.

Now lastly, the one thing that really bothered me the first time I read NM and has really stuck out this time is how long it takes for Bella to connect Jacob to werewolves. She made the immediate connection with Edward, but man, if Jacob didn't have to just beat it out of her to figure out what he was. For all of us who love Edward so much, I think that shows us that she knew there was something different about Edward that made the automatic connection to vampires. But the first time I read NM I was so frustrated, and just kept waiting for Bella to make the connection. I figured it out right after Jacob got sick. Did anyone else figure it out that quick? I can't be the only one.

I haven't posted before, and I am hoping that everyone will be nice with their comments, but I swear I can't be the only person out there who loves Jacob. I know Bella and Edward are just that, Bella and Edward. There can never be anyone else for her. But as I have reread NM I am just blown away by how sweet Jacob is and how he cares for Bella so much. I am so excited to see how SM wraps things up for him, it is only fair. So if you agree with any of my crazy theories, let me know. Until then, I am going to do a little daydreaming with Bella and Jacob, waiting for that breathtaking moment when Edward sees Bella again.

A BIG moment for the Stanley's: Dave finished Twilight!

This is a significant event in our lives. Not that every husband of every TA member needs to read Twilight. There was a long time I didn't think I wanted him too. He doesn't need any more fuel for teasing. But realize, I have gotten a little carried away here, and have wanted my husband to have an appreciation for why.

Moment 1 - he actually told me when he finished chapter 13. Can you quote the title? That's right - Confessions. He had to tell me how powerful it was and how much it explained. I can't remember exactly how he described it, but he was definitely affected by it.

Moment 2 - he stayed up after I was asleep, so that he could read it. Still can't believe it.

Moment 3 - he had to tell me when he came to the part where James enters the picture. He had to admit it was riveting.

Moment 4- I begged him to finish the epilogue (The Prom) before he started reading the boring non-fiction book he had in his hand. He informed me, that he already had, during lunch. FAINT!

Moment 5 - He had to admit he could see why we like it so much. Of course he thought the entire final quarter of the book was excellent with the drama, even though he knew Bella would be fine. But he also agreed that the WAY Edward saved her really was amazing. He teased too, saying the whole thing was a bit too "swoony" for him. Of course he used that word since the night he finished (up to the epilogue) I was literally swooning all over the place. I would peek over his shoulder and gasp. I would leave and come back over and over to see where he was next and giggle with nerves. There was even once (or twice) where I literally fell on the bed where he was reading and swooned away, falling on my pillow, grabbing him and making ridiculous sighing sounds, etc. Can you see the picture?
But what he really thought was that it was undeniable that SM created a very dramatic, conflicted and romantic relationship in Edward and Bella.

Of course he also thought there was too much neck stuff, and slow descriptions of hands down the neck etc. And he can go on and on about all of that if he wants, but the bottom line, he knows he has Twilight to thank for an increase in kisses from me these past 4 months.

The point of this latest of my extremely long posts (does that drive everyone crazy that I am ms. wordy?) is not that husbands should read Twilight. If they do, lucky you. But really that anyone can enjoy this wonderful book.

To every Twilight fan who smiles when they see a Silver Volvo:

Can you think of a better moment than this?:
You walk out of the TEMPLE, of all places,
having spent some lovely time there with a dear friend,
and find a Silver Volvo parked next to you.

A bit of heaven on earth? It was for me today.
A bit of earthly joy and fictional joy meshed together beautifully.

Quote of the Week

Happy December Everyone! It may be a hard month to keep your Twilighting alive, but we will be here for you, when you need it. Last weeks winner on our quote of the week was Jillybean! Of course she was the only one that guessed so we kept giving her clues until she got it. She sure had fun looking for it though. The quote for this week might be easier. Enjoy. Just post where it comes from specifically (no page # required, but which book and the situation). Trisha or I will let you know as soon as someone has guessed it correctly. Post your guesses here as comments.

"The sound of your heart, it's the most significant sound in my world. I'm so attuned to it now, I swear I could pick it out from miles away."

Magnetic Relationship

I find it significant that Edward, who epitomizes self control, finds only one thing he can't control: his need to be with Bella. I think it is a need. Don't all "beings" need love to truly find happiness. Of course he does have love in his family. He felt he was complete in himself. But he didn't go looking for love, especially love with a human. So when he finds himself loving Bella, he tries to stop it. But it is the one thing he can't seem to control. He struggles to control being near her, studying her, taking her in. First love magnified by vampire emotions. I think it is powerful! I think SM makes it very clear that they are meant to be together.

And Bella needs him too. With so many clues SM weaves this undeniable fact. She has never fit in, anywhere. Bella says once in Twilight that she seems to be the only person in the school who is so aware of Edward. Her looks, her likes, her ability to be so calm so quickly with what he is, well no other girl could be. And even though she is human, her need for him seems to be almost as powerful as his need for her.

So he overcomes his need for a moment (in his time) in New Moon. He leaves her. I have never read more heartbreaking chapters than those blank months of October . . . . . . , November . . . . . , December. . . . . . Of course having read only a few pages of Edwards perspective (see: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/pdf/nm_extras_rosalie.pdf) and it is even more painful to think about what he was going through (SM said once she won't write New Moon from Edwards perspective because it would be so painful). You know as amazing as Edward is, in some ways he is more vulnerable than Bella. She is weak in the human physical sense, but his heart can't be mended if she breaks it. And of course he never really lets her know that fact. SM also said once that "and so the lion fell in love with the lamb" can actually be interpreted in two different ways. Think about that.

A fan made a wonderful comment on the Lexicon about this. You know Bella's famous line at the end of Eclipse "I know who I can't live without" well "Alice's Grandma" said that Bella did go on living without Edward, she even saw a glimpse of a good life without him, but she chooses to only live with him. To live her truest, happiest, destined life; to be with Edward.

I love that she has proven she even has the strength to resist him, (see the many times she stomps off in Twilight even though she should melt. And of course the end of Eclipse, well, she must really love him and want for him what's best if she could resist these words [and the eyes speaking them, gasp]: "I love you. I want you. Right now"). So she could live without him but her life without him was unbearable. That for me is what makes their love so magnetic. It's unreal, in the best sense of the word.

How do you describe Bella and Edward's relationship? What is it about it that has captivated us so completely?

Twilight Movie - update!!

Hi to all! Some of you know that my brother-in-law is the director of the film commission out in North Carolina. So of course, during my stay, I asked him what he knew about the film. He didn't know much, but he immediately got down to business. Between looking up the director (a good friend he found out), and reading about our Bella, he got excited to learn more. The next day when he got home from work, he announced, "Well, Portland stole Twilight!" I said, "what do you mean?" He then explained how the Oregon Film Commission offered them more to film there instead of Seattle/Forks. So, kind of sad, but it won't be as authentic as we had hoped. Anyway, I am excited that now, he is my 'in' for finding out more info on the movie. Mostly stuff about the making of it...but still fun!!
Also, I think for sure that the bathroom with two entrances doesn't exist in the Pheonix airport. I can't be sure, but on my other layover, I checked every one on the third level. I did remember though that there might be another terminal that I wasn't able to go and check...so I guess there is still a glimmer of hope!

(Mary Ann added this picture of the real Forks forest. Sorry if that adds to the dissapointment.)