Twilight: Chapter 8 {Port Angeles}

As the chapter begins, Bella is in Port Angeles dress hunting with Jessica and Angela. The "boy talk" creeps into the conversation (what else is there for teenage girls to discuss?). Angela nonchalantly mentions that Tyler has been telling people that he's taking Bella to prom. This tidbit sends Bella into a fuming rage.

After Jess and Angela purchase their ensembles, they go for a stroll while Bella goes her separate way searching for a bookstore.

Bella is so caught up in la-la-land, lost in her thoughts about Edward, that she doesn't realize she's headed straight toward sleeze town.

After being pursued by a gang of creeps, she realizes she's being herded by them--with less than honest intentions, I'm sure.

Then, just in the nick of time, a silver car skids to a stop, within feet from her, with the passenger door wide open. A familiar and furious voice barks at her, "Get in."

Edward is in a murderous mood. It takes every ounce of self control he possesses to restrain himself from going back to finish those hooligans off. With his temper cooled down, they head back into town to search for the girls.

Just as they pull up in front of the Italian restaurant, La Bella Italia, they spot Jess and Angela exiting the building. They claimed to be worried about Bella, but not worried enough to stop them from eating.

Of course, the girls are surprised by Bella's unexpected guest, so Bella matter of factly announces that she just ran into Edward. As if that's an every day occurence.

Being the chivalrous gentleman that he so obviously is, Edward asks the girls permission to drive Bella home so that they don't have to wait while Bella eats.

While in the restaurant, Bella is surprisingly put off by the extra attention given to Edward by the female employees.

The theme of their conversation seems to be how trouble follows Bella. She thanks Edward for saving her twice now. Edward says, "Your number was up the first time I met you." "You remember?" (I've read the first chapter of Midnight Sun, Twilight from Edward's POV, and I want to comment more here, but I don't want to spoil it for those of you who haven't read it yet.)

Edward explains to Bella how he followed her to Port Angeles, only to lose them. He goes on to tell Bella how he read the thoughts of the people around him to find her. And he finally saw her face through the eyes of one of the "men" who followed her. That's when he saves the day.

When Edward and Bella leave the restaurant, Bella is looking forward to the hour drive home. She's desperate to spend more time alone with Edward. I wish I could be a fly on the wall (or window) when their dialogue begins. I guess I'll just have to wait until the next chapter.

Midnight Sun; Delayed Indefinitely!

Thanks to an insensitive, dishonest individual--or possibly individual(s)--Stephenie Meyer has announced, here, that she is indefinitely delaying working on the much anticipated release of Midnight Sun--Twilight from Edward's POV. It saddens me to no end that someone could make such a bad choice and ruin everything for the rest of us innocent bystanders.

From the statement that Stephenie made, I'm speculating that it was someone whom she knows and trusted that allowed a copy of an incomplete draft to be scanned and illegally distributed on the internet. Who could blame her for feeling betrayed (I know that feeling), and want to put this project on the back burner?

Since the incomplete draft is illegally floating in the internet realm, I think Stephenie decided to take control of the reigns and post her draft--legally--on her website. Even as I type, I'm downloading all 264 pages. Although this isn't the version that Stephenie wanted her fans to read and experience, I'm going to read it anyway; We don't know how long we'll have to wait for the final print.

Twilight: Chapter 7 {Nightmare}

When Bella gets home from spending the day at the beach--where Jacob spilled the beans about the legends of the werewolves and vampires--her mind is racing out of control.

She tries to drown those thought provoking images with heavy bass music--a Christmas gift from Phil--blaring through her ear phones.

When she falls asleep a very vivid dream occurs. Jacob and Mike are both warning her to run from Edward. Jacob is replaced by a red-brown wolf--could this be a subconscious premonition? She jerks herself awake yelling, "No!" as the wolf launches to attack her precious Edward.

Since Bella was awake--at 5:30 in the a.m.--she decides to bring her dinosaur of a computer to life to do a little research on vampires. She must have "Googled" it and found Vampires A-Z. Sounds like a quaint little site.

Out of all the information overload, the one statement of significance--and relief--is in reference to an Italian Vampire who is "said to be on the side of goodness, and a mortal enemy of all evil vampires."

By entertaining the idea that Edward could be a vampire, Bella feels as if she's losing her mind. Whatever he is--or isn't--she knows he's no mere human; he's something much more. And what if he IS a vampire? She can't deny the fact that she's simply smitten with him--an obsessed teenager in love, really.

When Bella goes back to school she's disappointed that Edward never showed up. She goes home and tries to find distractions to keep her mind busy. She ends up lying on the lawn, reading Jane Austen books until she falls asleep. When she wakes up she finds the sun is setting, and Charlie is pulling up into the driveway. On page 148 she says, "I looked around, muddled, with the sudden feeling that I wasn't alone." I wonder if Edward was there watching her sleep.

At the end of the chapter, Bella is picked up by Jessica and they're stopping to pick up Angela on their way to Port Angeles to do some dress shopping. Lauren was supposed to go, but something more pressing came up--lucky for everyone else involved. I wonder what kind of mischief the girls will get into while on their little excursion.

Could It Be True?

OMG! Could it be true? I just read, here, on Twilighters Anonymous that Taylor Lautner –a.k.a. Jacob- has confirmed that he’s getting ready to film New Moon next January! I guess the speculation of the possibility of filming all three books simultaneously was off base. On the brighter side of things, it gives Taylor time to grow into his character-maybe not all seven feet, but every bit helps right?

Hmmm, I wonder if they’ll be filming in Washington again. Maybe I can ditch the kids have someone watch the kids and get a look-see at some movie making action.

This is exciting news, and I’m sure my favorite Twilight websites will keep me posted.

Twilight: Chapter 6 {Scary Stories}

It's been a busy week, and I've been spending way too much time online doing nothing. We went to Olympia's annual Sand In the City event on Friday afternoon and fried our brains in the sun. Read more about that here.

Now on to chapter six. Why do all the girls (with the exception of Angela) at Forks High have to be such haters? -Two faced haters. Jessica pretends to be Bella's friend, but deep down inside she's jealous of Bella's obvious blossoming relationship with Edward. I guess when the Cullens first moved to Forks, Jessica wanted to hook up with Edward but got shut down. Aw, poor little Jessica.
Lauren is just as jealous, but I don't think she tries to hide that fact. She's just an all out biotch.

Bella is miserable knowing that she won't be seeing Edward for a few days while he and Emmett are out "hiking."

During their beach outing Bella meets Jacob Black, who obviously has a crush on Bella. She takes advantage of the situation by flirting with Jacob to pump him for information about the Cullens. This is when Jacob, unknowingly, breaks the treaty by telling Bella the legend of his werewolf ancestors, and their treaty with the vampires - the Cullens.

Bella is in awe, and it all starts making sense to her. Although Jacob thinks these legends are all a hoax, Bella believes every word and locks that information away in the back of her mind.

Twilight: Chapter 5 {Blood Type}

Edward seems to enjoy playing cryptic word games with Bella. Like on page 87 when he says, "I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly." I don't know how I would take that. I'm pretty sure I'd feel offended somehow.

During Biology lab, Bella feels faint at the sight (and smell) of Mike's blood (not even her own) and is sent to the health room. I was in a time warp, reminiscing about my high school days; the day I took an 'F' for the day because I couldn't bring myself to prick my finger. With the heightened HIV awareness and spread of diseases, do they still do this in school? But I digress. This was before giving birth to three kids; before I was poked and prodded just for being pregnant. If I could relive that day again right now, I wouldn't even break a sweat.

Twilight: Chapter 4 {Invitation}

My favorite quote: "I don't see how that is any of your business." Stupid, shiny Volvo owner. (page 83)

Bella starts seeing Edward in her dreams-what warm blooded girl wouldn't? She sees herself as pathetic for letting Edward's very existence penetrate and influence her every thought.

Jessica pleads for Bella's blessings to ask Mike to the school spring dance. Is Bella Mike's mother now? Would Jessica honestly not ask Mike if Bella had a problem with it? I doubt it. Jessica, being the center of her own universe, is peeved when Mike doesn't give her an immediate answer. Mike and Jessica deserve each other.

Edward's eyes go through the transition of getting darker then back to liquid gold. Is Bella the only human who notices this? Maybe she's the only human naïve enough to get within range to notice.

Bella fails miserably at her attempts to pay Edward back with indifference for ignoring her-so she thinks. She wants him, and she won't be happy until she possesses his heart.

Edward makes his first attempt to warn Bella that he's hazardous to her health. Yet, he always appears out of thin air to retrieve her fallen items. Who's obsessed with whom?

After a long, agonizing day at school, both Eric and Tyler add fuel to the flame when they ask Bella to the spring dance. She attempts to save their egos by going with the ruse that she'll be in Seattle on that day. Of course, since Edward can't seem to stay away from Bella he offers to drive her to Seattle himself on the day of the dance.

Twilight: Chapter 3 {Phenomenon}

I cringed as I read about Bella getting ready to fight the elements-icy roads-to drive to school. Maybe it's just because I grew up in Hawaii where icy roads are just unheard of, but I would've gone with plan B:stay in bed. Was Bella going for a perfect attendance record? Then again, if she had stayed home she wouldn't have been rescued from mortal death by her knight in shining armor. How did Edward do that? How did he reach Bella impossibly fast and save her from being crushed by a moving van? How is it that he didn't get a scratch on him, yet he caused dents in, not one but, two vehicles? I'm sure Bella will persuade Edward to tell her the truth...eventually.

Twilight Movie; Breaking News!

Suh.weet! I just received the breaking news from Summit Entertainment about the Twilight movie being in theaters three weeks earlier than originally planned! Opening date is now November 21st. I love it! Can't wait!

Twilight: Chapter 2 {Open Book}

Ah, Edward's heart melting crooked smile makes it's debut during their biology lab.

Bella is stunned when Edward speaks to her, very cordially, for the first time. She doesn't know what to make of it. Who cares? He's eye candy; just get over it, Bella. She fleetingly catches a glimpse of Edward's face and notices his penetrating eyes are no longer black, but a golden tone of butterscotch, only darker.

Edward displays his frustration in not understanding Bella's explanation for moving to Forks when she clearly despises the cold damp climate. How could she possibly know that she is the sole individual invisible on his mind reading radar? He admits to Bella that, despite her mother referring to Bella as an open book because she has such a readable face, he finds her very difficult to read - quite literally.

Twilight: Chapter 1 {First Sight}

Bella moves from Phoenix, AZ to the small town of Forks located in the Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington. Before reading this book I had never heard of Forks; I wasn't even positive if it was an actual place. I learned that: 1) I could feasibly drive there in about three hours and, 2) my mother-in-law lived there for a year at one point in time.

Bella first lays eyes on Edward while in the Forks High School cafeteria. She learns about the Cullen family from Jessica, one of the school gossips. I didn't know that Rosalie and Jasper were perceived as twins and shared the same last name. I also didn't know that Carlisle and Esme were so young. As I read about them and their nurturing parental roles I automatically think of them as being older.

While Bella sat next to Edward in biology class he was very rigid and antagonized. It was obvious that he was offended by Bella's mere presence. Bella couldn't figure him out. Her feelings were hurt by this unprovoked rejection.

Bella had a rough first day at school.

Welcome to My Twilight Zone

Since being introduced to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Series one short month ago I've been obsessed with all things Twilight. On July 17, 2008 my Twilight reading marathon was set into motion. The transition into New Moon was a smooth one since I bought both books at the same time. In contrast, there was nearly a one week lag in between before I was able to get a copy of Eclipse; I was like a junkie waiting for my next high. On August 1st - the day before the release of Breaking Dawn - I was lucky enough to get my copy of Eclipse at Half Price Books. The very next day I took possession of the much anticipated Breaking Dawn. The timing of my obsession couldn't have worked out better. My reading marathon lasted just about three weeks. I could have gotten it done quicker if my family hadn't gotten so used to regular meals and baths.

I have other non-Twilight books that I attempted to read unsuccessfully. They just don't hold a candle. Instead, I decided to re-read the series. This time I'm reading it a lot slower to absorb all the details that slipped by me the first time I zoomed through the pages. I've also decided to post about my progress as I go through each chapter. It will probably be more of a monologue but I've grown accustomed to talking to myself anyway.