Two New Arrivals

This previous weekend was pretty busy. Comic-Con was wrapping up, and so we got the new trailer for "Catching Fire." It was really neat; there was a lot of great tidbits in it.... Katniss and Peeta... The new tributes, more of the Capitol, and even a bit of the Games. You could tell the special effects are greater. It was just a great trailer, overall.

And the second arrival... A little baby named George Alexander Louis.

Sent from my iPad 2

Sprouts

I have gone to my fair share of concerts, and attended DVD release parties for Twilight and Hunger Games.... I'm used to waiting in line. (And yes, I'm wishing I could be at Comic-Con...) 

But today was the first time I'd ever waited in line for the opening of a grocery store.  I'd heard interesting things about Sprouts, and this morning I was able to go to the grand opening.  

I got up very early....

5:11am
"I got here about 10 minutes ago and there's about 15- or so people in line. Most of them brought their camping chairs. Weather isn't too bad. I got about 4 hours of sleep."

5:45am
"There's about 15 more people behind me now.  I've been sitting on the ground. Leaning against the row of grocery carts.  Someone near me brought a blanket to sit on and is watching a DVD.  We're lucky it's not raining. Listening to my "Twilight" playlist and have tried to get a little shuteye. Enjoyed part of my PB bagel 'sandwich.'"

6:05a -- 

They are giving out muffins and coffee. Got the muffin [I don't drink coffee, really....] Employees gave out bands for the free goody bag, and there were about 20 or so more people in line. And a local high school band arrived. They started playing early. ** I wondered if they got paid, or at least got free food. **

At around 6:30, people stood up and "officially" got into line, which now stretched to Panera.  

The store opened on time, and the employees welcomed everyone inside, giving high fives.  I went to the bulk section.  It was very neat.  12 flavors of gummi bears? Yes, please.  I eventually made it to the outer aisles, where I found my favorite Annie Chun's seaweed snacks.  Buy one, get one free? Of course!  In all reality, I should have bought more (only bought 4, total).  

It was very crowded, but still fun.  And I swear I ended up in one of their pictures on Facebook.    :-). I'm looking forward to going back.  

Zombies Wear Prada

So I finally finished reading "Revenge Wears Prada."  It was nice.  You get all of your favorite characters, and Andy's in a good place: she gets married, has a baby, and a cool career.  What was surprising was *who* she has that career with.  The only thing I didn't really like was the "smash cuts"- one chapter, she's about ready to have a baby; in the next, the baby's already several weeks old.  I suppose the pacing would have been a lot slower had the author take us through every single important event. 

[SPOILER ALERT]

What I had a hard time with was "discerning" who the "Revenge" part was with.  It's not from who you would think.... at first....  I think it actually comes from a few different people, and it's more along the lines of betrayal. 

However, overall, it's a bittersweet yet satisfying ending.  I would love to see this as a movie, but I don't think it would happen.

***

I went to see "World War Z" on the day it opened.  You may remember one of my posts a few months ago about us fans of the book unsure of what the film would be like, to say the least. 

Here's my verdict: it wasn't that bad.  The worldwide feel that you get from the book's "interviews" is still here.  Brad Pitt's character goes around the world to places that haven't quite been extensively explored in other films: South Korea, Israel, and WHO headquarters.  There are some very cool action sequences involving an airplane, and Israel.  The zombies are fast.  Almost too fast.

How the zombies are finally conquered was quite an interesting twist that I wouldn't have foreseen.  (Yeah, I do need to reread the book.)