Vacation All I Ever Wanted...

"this city's made us crazy and I must get out..."

Earlier today... err, yesterday... when I blogged - I wanted to talk about all this, but I didn't have time.

I woke up at 730a yesterday and decided to catch up on reading New Moon for the 2nd time while I watched the Travel channel. The first thing on the Travel channel was this awesome special on Niagara Falls. I learned so much about it that I had no clue of!

After that was a special on the Colorado River which stretches from Denver all the way down to Lake Meade, which is 20 miles from Las Vegas. There were some areas in the special that I almost felt compelled to find and take photos of. A ton of spots were in Glen Canyon National Park, Utah/Arizona. (If you look on Google Maps, both the highway and the railroad follow the river, cool!) Of course the Grand Canyon - which is something I've always wanted to see - and I have seen it... I've seen it every time I've flown over it to go to Vegas... but I would like to get down there and touch it.

After that was a top 10 amazing places in the Northwest... I can't remember which number it was, but I recognized it instantly... Multnomah Falls, Oregon.

Of course, I only recognize it because it's visible from the baseball scene in Twilight - but as soon as I saw it in the movie I instantly wondered where I would be able to find such a gorgeous waterfall... I started wondering about it and if it was just some random waterfall somewhere, or if it had meaning... Luckily for me, it was the latter.

Multnomah Falls is visible from the Oregon or Washington side. The baseball scene in Twilight was filmed on the Washington side as the vampires do live in Washington. Of course, in the movie it looks like Edward just took Bella to a random field to play baseball in which there just happened to be a 620ft waterfall in the background. In reality, Multnomah Falls is almost 5 hours from the tiny town of Forks, Washington where fictional Bella resides... I don't think Edward is going to have her home by curfew.

I started researching Twilight filming locations when it was still in theaters, hoping to plan a road trip up there with my camera to catch all of this wonder in real life. It wasn't hard to find Multnomah Falls. Once I saw it, I knew that I had to go there.

I've always adored waterfalls. Such wonder they give; their cascading waters somehow capture you in awe and suddenly you feel insignificant in this huge world where things of such beauty exist.

Origin Legend of Multnomah Falls:

There is a Native American legend that explains the origins of the falls. In this legend, a tribe was infected with a deadly disease and was in danger of dying. The daughter of the chief went to the top of a cliff and prayed to the Great Spirit to find how she could stop the epidemic. She was told that to stop the epidemic, she would have to throw herself off the cliff and sacrifice herself. She did this and died. The next day, the chief found his daughter's body at the bottom of the cliff. He wept bitterly and cried out to the Great Spirit to give him a sign if this sacrifice was not in vain. At that moment, water began to fall from the top of the cliff, forming Multnomah Falls. The legend also says that under the right conditions, you can see the daughter's face in the waterfall.

10 minutes from Multnomah Falls is this little inn where they filmed the prom scenes for Twilight. You can actually stay at the inn, and get a little Twilight tour of the area. ;)

It's definitely on my list of 'shit to do' this year... to make a trip up to Washington/Oregon. I had thought about flying, because it wouldn't cost too much, but the areas that I want to go to area pretty secluded and once you get out there, you really need a car in order to get around, so I'll probably wait it out a bit, rent a car and make a road trip of it. Not sure if Jennifer will come. She hasn't seemed into it really... I can always bring her back the incredible photos, but I have a feeling that nothing will compare to the real thing here.

Also on my list of places to visit, of course Forks, Port Angeles and La Push, for their obvious Twilight reasons. Seattle and Portland as well, just because they're places I've always wanted to go. I've thought about it and I might not make it out to the Northwest until September, in which case I might as well until September 13th, Bella's birthday - and also Stephenie Meyer day in Forks, Washington.

Multnomah Falls (click photos to enlarge.)


First Beach, La Push, Washington:


I cannot wait until I can stop staring at these photos and make seeing them a reality. I imagine these places to be quite peaceful and wonderful. They sound like the perfect vacation spot for me, rainy, dreary and secluded.

xoxox

Jodie

Day Off

I told Jenn to pick a letter and a number, hence picking my song of the day.
"Say you lines, but do you feel them?
Do you mean what you say,
When there's no one around?
Watching you, watching me,
One lonely star..."

Today Jennifer has the entire day off! The whole freaking day! We're going to the movies and lord knows what else.

We're seeing the Haunting in Connecticut @ noon and then Knowing @ 2... I'm very nervous about the first one, I don't do well with horrors. I get scared very easily... so I'll let you know how that goes.

Yesterday I went out to get Rob's cover of GQ and we went to Barnes and Noble to get it... we get to the magazine section and there's this dude standing right in front of the last copy of GQ... I kinda stand behindish/to the side and I see this middle aged man pick up the mag. He then proceeds to walk away with it.

Some middle-aged, balding dude went home with my copy of GQ!

I have never laughed so loud or so hard in my life!! I just thought it was the most hilarious thing ever!

So we went off to Target where I found the magazine and the special edition of Twilight. I didn't know that the 3-disc special edition came with a digital copy of the movie (and all the special features). It was waaaaay worth the $18 I shelled out for it.

Came home, watched my special features, loved them all. :) The conversation with Stephenie Meyer was incredible... her agent's name is Jodie. ^_^ I loved the music feature, it was a behind the scenes thing of the music, in which the music editor (hello, dream job.) said that Rob Pattinson was one of the greatest musicians that he had ever met... which brings me to "Edward's Piano Concert" --- back before Carter Burwell composed Bella's lullaby, Rob was going to compose Bella's lullaby... something I was definitely looking forward to... unfortunately, for Rob and myself, he didn't get to create the song - but fortunately, there was 3 minutes of uninturrupted music coming from Rob's heart down to his fingers as he played the piano in this special feature.

It was incredible. I adored it. That's about all I can say from it.

I have to get dressed and go to the movies now, but here's a special feature from the Target DVD --



Enjoy.

^_^

xoxox

Jodie

You WILL Be A Fan, I Tell You!

Alright, I've got a date with my mom this weekend and she promised she would watch Twilight! Now, to all of those that I haven't turned yet... (Strongly working on Gemma, almost there...)

I decided to start reading New Moon over again... in the process I decided I would give you a taste of what you're missing out on here.

Be forewarned, if you read this - you will be hooked - you will go out and you WILL buy the entire Twilight Saga... you will WANT to start with New Moon to read what happens next after the scene I'm about to post, but you will start from the beginning by reading Twilight because you're a good little fan and don't wanna go out of order. ;)

Here's a short excerpt from New Moon, Chapter 1 - page 28:

I took the little package, rolling my eyes at Edward while I struck my finger under the edge of the paper and jerked it under the tape.

"Shoot," I muttered when the paper sliced my finger, I pulled it out to examine the damage. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut.

It all happened very quickly then.

"No!" Edward roared.

He threw himself at me, flinging me back across the table. It fell, as I did, scattering the cake and the presents, the flowers and the plates. I landed in the mess of the shattered crystal.

Jasper slammed into Edward, and the sound was like the crash of boulders in a rock slide.

There was another noise, a grisly snarling that seemed to be coming from deep in Jasper's chest. Jasper tried to shove past Edward, snapping his teeth just inches from Edward's face.

Emmett grabbed Jasper from behind in the next second, locking him into his massive steel grip, but Jasper struggled on, his wild, empty eyes focused only on me.

Beyond the shock, there was also pain. I'd tumbled down to the floor by the piano, with my arms thrown out instinctively to catch my fall, into the jagged shards of glass. Only now did I feel the searing, stinging pain that ran from my wrist to the crease inside my elbow.

Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm - into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires.

I definitely hope that Stephenie Meyer isn't mad at me for posting that small excerpt. :S I'm just trying to turn the last four people in the world that aren't a Twilight fan. ;)

Annnnd, if I did manage to piss someone off who is high up on the Twilight chain, drop me a line below and the excerpt will be PROMPTLY removed, no hard feelings.

Let me know what you think... after the jump.

xoxox

PS - I have no hard feelings towards Jasper. If you read, you'll understand why. ;)

How Do I Feel This Good Sober?

For the record - I am sober while I write this...

1 week sober actually.

Do I intend on staying that way forever? Possibly.

Probably not... I can guarantee that it's not my time to give up 'drugs' and alcohol, however, there will be a day that I will need to. I've seen that elephant in the room for a long time. A big huge, 1200 pounds elephant with a bright pink tutu on. I chose to ignore it.

http://www.videojug.com/interview/dr-drews-addiction-advice-3

Dr. Drew has been someone I have looked up to for the longest time. He seems like a cool dude who is in on pop culture and know's his shit. I used to sneak up and watch Loveline late at night in middle school. Honestly, I wanted to know about the sex stuff, but in reality he's an addiction specialist.

Annnd, if you watch that video above, he states that addiction is 60% hereditary. Meanwhile, BOTH of my parents are alcoholics and have problems with addiction. What does that mean in simple words?

I'm fucked.

My mom has been sober since like 2003, I believe...? Around then... Now, I'm not inside her head or anything, but she seemed to have more problems with it at the beginning of it than now... I'm sure it's still an everyday struggle.

If you're addicted to something, and you take that away, you get addicted to something else... that's what an addictive personality does... Now if I knew what I was addicted to the most, I could give it up... or try... or not.

Depression setting in...

To think that all this was really brought on by Twilight... something so happy... err...

xoxox

Twilight DVD Release

Guess it's not a secret anymore...

Just wanted to send a short update and some photos your way since I've been so sick and I haven't gotten a chance to really update.

Jenn came home sick a while back and my immune system has never been that great, so now I'm even sicker than she was...

Friday night Jenn and I went to the Hot Topic Twilight DVD release party... if you can call it a party... we showed up at 930, and were pretty close to the front of the line... around 40/200.

We went in and got to shop around a little bit and we each bought a Cullen sweatband. :) I'm getting ahead of myself...


Here I am at home before going to the party with Edward... no I didn't go to the party WITH Edward... you get the picture...

We both wore all our Twilight merch. I had on my Esme Cullen bracelet and my Team Edward bracelets, my Twilight shirt, Team Edward sweatshirt, a Twilight bag clip and a necklace that I forgot to put on until after the photo was taken.

We had gone to WalMart earlier in the day and I got the bag clip -- which I put on my belt loop -- and the necklace -- that I forgot to put on until after this pic... $5 each! Their shirts are $10 -- the one I'm wearing was $22!!

...Now, I hate Walmart with ever inch of my being... but if I'm going to get Twilight gear THIS cheap, I might be prone to going more often.


Me in the car, super happy to FINALLY get the DVD!!


Got my picture with Edward! :) There was a Hot Topic employee named Jacob who was manning the Robward stand, and he was trying to convince us that that was REALLY Robert Pattinson. XD He was funny... we got our pictures with him because he was really cute and his name was Jacob... I won't post em cuz I don't have his permission... but they're on my Facebook and MySpace if you're blessed enough to be on those. ;) He said he wanted to make a shirt that said "Team Me" (hehe, get it... Jacob...) But he said he didn't have enough time.


Here's the Taylor Lautner autograph that was sent out to every Hot Topic store. Winners announced Monday. I waaaaaaant... they're also giving away that Edward stand... I would really prefer the Taylor autograph, even though I run with Vampires...

I've really began to admire Taylor... I can't stand Jacob... stupid mutt is so annoying, it's sweet that Edward and Jacob, like, became friends... but I hate that dumb dog... and the parts in the book where Bella seemed *confused* on whether she should love Edward or Jacob? Well let's just say it's a good thing these are all fictional characters because I would have to kick Bella's ass... I'm getting off track here... I'm really looking forward to New Moon to see Taylor shine. He's such a sweetie. :)

So we bought our merch then had to go sit back outside and wait for midnight... along the way on the ground I found someone's ticket for their DVD... no one was around, so I pocketed it... Later on a mom and 2 teenagers came down the line and the mom was all, "you're gonna ask EVERY SINGLE PERSON in this line!" and I said, "did you guys loose your lil card?" They said yes and I pulled it out of my back pocket... "well I found this one..." I said and handed it to them and they all three thanked me a hundred times... I said it was no problem... a little while later the 'kids' came up to me and said "ma'am" (yes, they really said 'ma'am' --- I wish they didn't.) And they handed me 2 coupons for Joe's Crab Shack as a thank you... I said thanks for them and they made it seem like it was no big deal... but really it was a wonderful gesture. (Even though I hate seafood.) I hugged them both and they went back on their way... Jenn said I got good karma. :)

We didn't get in to get our DVD until 1245 because Hot Topic can only have 50 people in the store at one time.

I'm going to get the Target DVD on Thursday... meanwhile I've been so sick I haven't even made it through the Hot Topic DVD -- or had time to go up to FYE to get the DVD we preordered there.

Good times...

My back spasmed out a few days ago so I've been dealing with that AND being sick AND Twilight.

xoxox

Ya, Ya, Ya...

"If it makes you less sad, I will die by your hand,
Hope you find out what you want, already know what I am,
And if it makes you less sad, we'll start talking again,
You can tell me how vile, already know that I am,
I'll grow old, start acting my age,
Be a brand new day, in a life that you hate..."

Ughhhh, I didn't want to post today, but I had promised to post YESTERDAY, so I figured I owed ya one. ;)

There's a Twitter updater thingy over ----> there. Follow me!

Jenn's been sick the past couple days, so what happens? On the day I've been looking forward to for MONTHS, I wake up sick... I haven't got the nasal/congestion part yet... but my throat is dry and scratchy... got that dry cough. Fuck my life.

Today Jenn and I might go see Twilight at the dollar theater. Every time the preview for the DVD comes on the TV I stop breathing... tonight is the midnight release party @ Hot Topic!!! I can't freaking wait! XD

Also today I'm meeting a guy that I met online. His name is John and he's a lawyer... that's all you need to know right now. I'm excited... we've been talking for a few weeks. :)

Alright, so where did I leave off?

My parents came down and spent their "vacation" here in KC. Twas pretty cool and really awesome to see them 4 days in a row. They stayed at the Hotel Phillips downtown, which is really swanky. :) We went to dinner a couple times, did some touristy stuff, talked... of course I could never segway into what I needed to talk to them about, but whatever. I don't even feel it's that important anymore.

The night before SPD, Jenn and I went to the most awesome bar I've ever been to! It's called the Flying Saucer and it's in the Power and Light District. They have soooo many beers. It was their "pint night" so I got a Boulevard Wheat for $2. Then I tried the "build your own flight" for $10 and I got to try 5 different beers. I wanted to try completely random beers, so I got Flying Monkey Stout, Boulevard Pale Ale (which I loved), Fuller's ESP (from LDN, which I loved), St. Louis Frambroie (which was actually from Belgium and made with fruit! Very tangy!) annnd, my 5th? Oktoberfest beer!!!! It was really good, my favorite from the bunch! I wanna go back there.

St. Patty's Day was cool, it was the first time that Jennifer or I had gone out since we had turned 21, and I think it might be the last. LOL I got too drunk. I'm definitely backing off drinking for a while. I'm thinking maybe ONE glass of wine. ONE beer. ONE martini... We'll just leave it at that. Control.

My parents and I went and did the Westport thing one day. Twas alright... we went to the World Market down there, which is always cool. My step mom bought us a whole bunch of goodies. I got Hello Kitty treats. They're little biscuits you dip in strawberry creme. I got a jar of Nutella. XD Hummus chips, chili flake chocolate, pomegranate chocolate and Chinese red pepper/garlic hot sauce...

We had just had lunch at the Jerusalem Cafe and they had this super hot sauce on the hummus and my step mom asked what it was and the waiter said it was Chinese red pepper and garlic. My dad and I liked it, but Jennifer wouldn't go near it and my step mom nearly died when she tried it! We found some at the market and bought it! I have no idea what I'm gonna put it on though. LOL

Just went back and read my blog and I haven't blogged about my mom's showing yet!!!!!

It went fabulous!!!! Other than a random day of having my period unexpectedly and LUCKILY bringing a change of clothes along... the day was pretty perfect.

Pam picked me up and we stopped off at Target where she bought some makeup for her and my mom. They got that Cover Girl Simply Ageless makeup that Ellen endorses, and it worked fabulously on them. :) Pam bought a couple eye shadows at my suggestion and she even threw in a really cool purple eye shadow for me! XD

We had a drink and a snack from Starbucks, and it turns out we both like the same thing there. My mom bought Chipotle for lunch and when she came home we started doing makeups. I helped Pam out with hers, since she's not a makeup pro. ;) She looked really classy at the end of it all.

It wasn't until we were almost ready that my mom HAPPENED to mention that my grandparents would be there... *rolls eyes*

That went alright, I guess... my grandma is retarded, but whatever. I hadn't seen them in 3 years... I wouldn't go as far to say it was "nice" to see them, but I suppose it was nice for them... and they aren't going to live forever, so I can play nice.

My mom made a joke about thinking she was going to need more Xanax than she actually took and I thought I wasn't going to need any... turns out we switched... I took more than she did. LOL Oh wells...

Everyone loved her art. I teared up a bit... I'm just so super proud of her. :) People were pretty amazed that the girl in the photo turned out to be me... so that was neat to get some attention there, even though it was her night.

She even sold a photograph!!!!! :) Pretty badass.

After the show we went to have thai food, which was INCREDIBLE. I can't wait to go back to that restaurant...

Alright, so now you're all caught up and I can stop ignoring you.

Comments = love.

Pic - click to enlarge:


Twilight cast, L-R Name (character)
Ashley Greene (Alice), Jackson Rathbone (Jasper), Nikki Reed (Rosalie), Kristen Stewart [& her stunna shades] (Bella), Robert Pattinson (Edward), Kellan Lutz (Emmett).

Twilight DVD parties tonight!!! Find one in your area and GO! At least go buy the DVD tomorrow!!!

Are you buying the Twilight DVD!?

xoxox

I'm Not Dead

...just busy...

Sorry for the delay in posts... I reckon I'll do a massive post Wednesday or Thursday to satiate your Jodie-blog needs. ;)

To make up for it, here is an icon for every day I've missed. Aren't you lucky?



Have a good St. Patty's Day and DONT DRINK AND DRIVE! I love you all, no deaths, please.

xoxox

EDIT/PS --

I just realized something. When I sent you that card, I was genuinely being honest, true and just plain nice... that's not what I realized... I realized you laughed at me. Wow...

And people say that I'm mean!