Twilight: The Movie

Thursday night/Early Friday morning, Karen and I attended the midnight showing of Twilight. It's probably my favorite book and the movie wasn't half-bad either. I thought I might give you my review and thoughts on the movie

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. The atmosphere of the theater was a lot of fun. It was a room full of mid-teenage girls to lots and lots of moms giggling and gasping at the right parts. There were even a few guys there. People cheered when the Cullens showed up for the time. The story stayed pretty true to the plot, although there were discrepancies. I tried to go in with an open mind and I really liked the film.

The Good:
Robert Pattinson did a good job playing Edward. He has some really good facial expressions. Carlise was also really good. It was comical at parts. Stephenie Meyer had a camio too. Stayed pretty close to the story. They obviously had to cut things out, but they kept most of the important scenes in there. Jacob was very likable, and well cast. Good kiss scenes:)


The Bad:
Kristen Steward, who played Bella, wasn't my favorite part of the movie. Her acting wasn't always believable. When her character was supposed to get excited over something, she seemed to stumble over her words. Some of he things that Edward says or does or not allways Edward-esque or true to his character. Sarah Clarke, who plays Renee seems too old.

100 things you may not know about me

I liked Savannah's list so I thought I'd come up with one of my own. Here is a list of 100 things you may or may not know about me. Here goes...

1. My name is Amber Melissa Shaw
2. I'm a licensed massage therapist
3. I'm a student at BYU majoring in Fitness and Wellness
4. I'm a hopeless romantic
5. I love to read
6. My favorite book is Twilight
7. I love ice cream, especially mint chocolate chip.
8. I'm married to Clayton Shaw, and I think he's pretty amazing!
9. I was born in Mesa, Arizona on November 25, 1986
10. I'm graduating in April
11. I like to sing, but don't do it much any more
12. My favorite TV shows are currently Psych and Chuck, but are subject to change
13. I don't have a favorite movie...I like anything with a little romance
14. I listen mostly to country music
15. I really wish I had tickets to go see Carrie Underwood in concert
16. I've considered auditioning for American Idol
17. I'm trying to start my own business
18. I don't like tomatoes
19. I love Italian food. YUM!
20. I'm not a huge fan of Asian food...but occasionally I crave it
21. I like to keep my house clean, and when it's not it stresses me out
22. I have to have my house clean before I leave town.
23. As long as my kitchen and bathroom are clean, I feel like I'm in control
24. I was cheerleading captain in high school
25. Someday I'm going to dye my hair a rich chocolate brown...I just have to work up the nerve first
26. I'm the second oldest of six children.
27. I'm going to the midnight showing of Twilight
28. I really like iCarly, a cheesy Nickelodeon tween girl tv show.
29. I didn't like the new Batman movie.
30. I used to be able to do the splits.I can't do them anymore:(
31. I already have baby names picked out...and I'm not even expecting
32. I grew up in Tucson, AZ and I think it's beautiful
33. I met Clayton through my sister, Savannah
34. I originally thought that Clay wasn't my "type"
35. I like some of the High School Musical music
36. I like Disney movies
37. Someday I'm going on the Disney cruise
38. Clayton and I went to Magic Mountain for our honeymoon
39. I love roller coasters
40. I learn all about how's and why's of exercise, but I rarely exercise
41. I played soccer when I was younger and wish I would've stuck with it
42. I love chocolate cake
43. Most of my friends are also my family
44. I'm almost 5'2" and wish I was a few inches taller
45. My sister and I creates a written language when we were younger.I wish I still remembered it
46. I have the cutest nieces and nephews in the world
47. I originally thought that I would major in music education
48. Someday I'm going to learn how to surf.
49. I would like to teach myself to play the piano
50. I've worked a Domino's Pizza, Quizno's, the Wilk doing custodial, and now at Massage Envy
51. I still enjoy the food and Domino's and Quizno's
52. I voted for John McCain
53. If I lived in California, I would have votes yes on Proposition 8
54. I get angry when I think of members of the church who criticized the Church for taking a stance on Prop. 8
55. I wish I were funnier. I'm really bad at telling jokes. I fizzle out long before the punch line.
56. My favorite joke: How does an elephant hide in a gumball machine? He paints his toenails different colors. Have you ever seen an elephant in a gumball machine?...Guess it works! Haha.
57. My favorite color is purple.more specifically lavendar
58. I think the Cinderella story is terribly romantic
59. My favorite Disney movies are Hercules and Goofy Movie
60. Aladdin and the Emperor’s New Groove are pretty good too
61. I would love to bungee jumping or sky diving, but don't think I could get up the courage to jump
62. I hate cockroaches...They creep me out.
63. I'm afraid of knives and car accidents
64. I love playing board and card games.
65. I love bowling.
66. I have my own bowling shoes. They're purple and shimmering and completely awesome
67. I have obsessive tendencies
68. I wish I was more charitable
69. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
70. I know that my Savior lives.
71. I went to Cienega High School
72. I was really big into boy bands when I was younger
73. I would love to learn how to dance someday…I just need to get Clayton to take classes with me
74. I love hot chocolate
75. Fall and Winter are my favorite seasons
76. Christmas and my birthday are my favorite holidays
77. I’m a big BYU football fan
78. I used to watch football with my dad growing up
79. I enjoy watching baseball
80. I love breakfast foods
81. I’m going to be late for class if I don’t finish this up quick.
82. I have ten toes
83. I was into punk music growing up
84. I love to sing in Italian…it’s a beautiful language
85. I was married in the Mesa Arizona Temple
86. My sister, Savannah, missed most of my reception and it was my fault
87. I participated in 3 musicals in high school. Those are probably my fondest memories from high school
88. The weirdest think I’ve ever eaten is squid
89. I wore braces for 2 years
90. I’ve never broken a bone.
91. When I was eight, I got my middle finger smashed between the hinge of a heavy wooden door
92. I can’t sleep with the blankets over my head. I get pretty claustrophobic
93. I’ve been in one car accident in my life. It was my fault and rear ended a Blazer with a trailer hitch that tore off my front bumper.
94. I love getting massages
95. I think the human body is fascinating
96. I want to raise my family in a rural community
97. I should wear heals to make me taller, but flats are much more comfortable
98. I have no problem sleeping. I’ve fall asleep during movies, and mid conversation as Clayton and I are going to sleep
99. My shoe size is 5 ½ in women’s
100. I’m going to barely make it to class in time.

Police Report

This morning as Clayton was leaving for work, he opened the car door to find our glove box open with paper spread all over the passenger seat. He thought this kind of odd so he came back inside to see if I had been digging around in there for something. When I told him I had not, we realized that someone had broken into our car. It didn't look like forced entry, and I remember locking the door last night after getting home. Supposedly there's some glitch in our car model and occasionaly the driver's side door will unlock automatically. Something fautly with the wiring between the stereo and the locks. So, anyways, we went back out to see if anything was missing. Luckily we took all of our CD's out of our car about a month ago, so there were none in the car. Our title, registration, and insurance cards all seem to be there. From what we can tell, nothing is missing. They were probably looking for something worth a little more, but fortunately we're poor and have nothing of value, at least not in our car. We still have the cheap stereo the car came with, and is impossible to take out.

We decided that we should still report it, just in case there are similar break-ins in the area. Clayton thought it would be as simple as a phone call. He called them up and explained to them what had happened. The person on the other line asked if he would be willing to talk to an officer. Clayton figured they would just transfer him, but no...We had an officer come to our apartment. It was pretty exciting. We filed an offical report and everything. I doubt it would have been exciting if anything had been stolen, but luckily all we lost was a little bit of time to file a police report.

Car problems

Earlier this week we were driving our 2003 Ford Focus and noticed that it was having a hard time shifting gears. Whenever we hit about 40 mph, the engine would rev and then the whole car would jerk into gear. Now I don't know too much about cars, but even I realized that this was not normal and decided to take it to a mechanic. He said that we had transmission failure. Transmission failure=Big Money. We're hoping it will be ready by Monday or Tuesday, and thanks to Clay's mom's generosity, we are not completely car-less. I'm driving a minivan much sooner than I anticipated:) The funny thing is, we were saying a few days earlier that it was a reliable car and that we hadn't had any major problems...I guess we spoke too soon.

Church Bulletin Bloopers

So each month, our ward comes out with a newsletter. In this month's edition, there was a section titled Chuch Bulletin Bloopers. I made the mistake of reading them during sacrament meeting while one of the women in our ward was speaking. I hope she didn't think I was laughing at her....Anyways I just thought you could all use a good laugh:

1. Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

2. Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.

3. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

4. Don't let worry kill you off-let the Church help.

5. Miss Charlene Mason sang "I Will Not Pass This Way Again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation

6. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

7. The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth Into Joy."

8. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

9. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

10. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

11. The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment, and gracious hostility.

12. Potluck supper Sunday at 5 p.m.-Prayer and medication to follow.

13. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

14. This evening at 7 p.m. there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

15. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 a.m. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.

16. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

17. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meed Thursday at 7 p.m. Please use the back door.

Haha...Hopefully you enjoy these as much as I did.

At the beginning of July, my family came and it was a lot of fun. Part of the time they stayed with us in our two bedroom apartment...needless to say, things were a little cramped, but it was worth it.

While they were here, we went bowling. I kicked trash. Clayton didn't do too bad either, I supposed. Haha. I think I had the highest pin fall of the day as well as the high score: 145. There was 8 of us so we split up onto two lanes; those using the bumpers and those without.

We also spend a day at Lagoon. It was pretty hot out, but we made sure to hit the water rides. We got drenched. I'm a huge thrill seeker, and even though none of the rides there are amazing, it still was a lot of fun. If Clayton decided to go to the UofU for grad school, we'll probably end up getting season passes next year.

The last couple of days that my family was here, we went camping down in Bryce Canyon. It was so beautiful. Pictures don't it justice. We took a couple of hikes and a million pictures. The weather was hot, but the second day we were there, it rained and cooled things down a bit. The rain also made cooking dinner more difficult (wet wood is hard to light), but nothing lighter fluid wouldn't fix. The food was great, the company was even better...I couldn't ask for a better time.

While we've been out...

So as promised, here is an update on what has been going on with the Shaws since last we wrote.

At the end of April, Clayton graduated from BYU with a degree in Exercise Science. I wish I actually had better pictures of him walking, but the department is pretty big and we didn't have the best seating. But here are some pictures from afterwards. This is not the end however. Clay will be taking the year off to improve is requirements for grad school, and we will be applying as soon as August. He'll be going in to Physical Therapy. Right now, our top two choices for schools are UofU and UNLV, but we'll obviously go where ever we are accpeted. Right now he is working with a physical therapist and will soon be taking some independent study courses to improve his GPA. He will also retake the GRE to up that score too.

Shortly after graduation, we took a trip to Disneyland. I swear that half of Utah was there. We ran into a lot of LDS people and it made waiting in lines a lot more pleasant. Not that the lines were very long. The longest we waited in line was 30 minutes, and that was for the Peter Pan ride. We went on on the major attractions three or four times a piece. On our last day, it was overcast and in the low 70's. Because of this, we were able to walk right on to Splash Mountains. After we got back there was no line so they let us go again, this time we got a boat all to ourselves. We seized the opportunity and got a great picture...at least we think so. We also really enjoyed the Tower of Terror, and Soarin' Over California. It was a lot of fun to get away. The weather was great, the crowds weren't too big, and we had a lot of fun.

We are looking forward to see all of our family this summer. Both of our families are coming to Utah within the next month and we are so excited to see you all!

Updates to come...

I have more time this summer so there is no excuse for me not to update more regularly. Wish me luck because we know how bad I am about updating:)

In the next week, I will add some pictures and a new post for some of the more exciting events that have happened.

More waiting...

Well Clayton's letter came from UNL on Friday...He's on the alternate list. So that means more waiting for us. *Sighs* I would really like to know where on this list he lies so that I can decided whether to hold my breath and hang on to that thread of hope, or to just give up. I feel like doing the latter. So we will keep you updated on that!

On to better news, I started a job last week at a place called Massage Envy. I think it will work out nicely. It's a professional environment, and I feel like I'm my own boss. Once I get my client, I'm in control of how the massage goes. The only bad thing is that it's in American Fork which is a little further than I would like to drive, but with the freeway so close by, it's really not too bad.

Interview Status

Well Clay had his interview at UNLV on Friday. Supposedly the letters are being sent out today priority mail to let us know our fate. I'm really nervous, anxious, excited, terrified, going out of my mind waiting for this letter. Hopefully it'll be here by the end of the week. If he doesn't get in, we'll be in Utah for another year, and then he'll re-apply. Clay thinks he did well, so I guess we'll just have to see. Keep us in your prayers!

UNLV

Good news for those of you who haven't heard, Clayton got an interview with UNLV. This is no guarantee that he'll get in, but it's a step in the right direction and its more than we've gotten from the UofU....His interview is on Feb. 22 and we'll probably both go and spend the weekend in Vegas. He should know the following day whether or not he gets in, so there should be none of that waiting around forever stuff. We'll spend the next month preparing, and practicing, and whatever else you do for an interview....Since this is our only shot, we're putting a lot of efforts into being prepared...I hope it pays off!

The First Post

So I decided to give in to the peer pressure and start a blog of our own. I can't promise that we'll have frequent updates, but I will try...

Currently, I am looking for a massage therapy position, as well as going to BYU and working at a physical therapy clinic and as a custodian in the Wilkinson Center.

Clayton is keeping busy with school and is anxiously awaiting hearing back from UNLV to see if he has been accepted into their physical therapy program. We'll see what happens...Keep us in your prayers.