Reasons I Love Twilight - #23...

Reason # 23 - His Golden Eyes!!



Vampires in this series have blood red eyes. This comes from the human blood that they drink. Since the Cullen family does not drink human blood, and they refer to themselves as Vegetarians, their eyes are not red -- they are golden. As they get thirsty their eyes get darker, eventually turning black. Bella loves Edward's eyes and remarks about the changing color of them constantly. Here is an example -- "He stared into my eyes, and I saw how light his eyes were, lighter than I’d ever seen them, golden butterscotch." p.170. Here are some pictures of the Golden Eyes you might encounter when seeing this movie or reading the book.

Carlisle and Esme



Rosalie




Edward, well actually Angry Edward... *swoon*

And Edward when he saves Bella from the truck.

Here is Edward probably the first day he meets Bella, when it takes everything he has for him to NOT kill her as she sits beside him in Biology class. As you can tell, his eyes are pretty dark, black really, and he's hungry. He really should learn to eat more often. :)

And here is one of my FAVORITE pictures!! The 'huuuhhhhh' picture. That's still about all I can say when I see it. :D Although I saw a new picture tonight. It might deserve its own post -- it's so great!! :P Back to this picture - What's not to love? Everything about him is perfect... All my favorite things are right there on display. Nice... :)

Stay tuned for the next reason, coming soon! Man, I gotta get these reasons caught up!! :D

Oh, and if you feel up to it you can check out the Twilight fan site called His Golden Eyes . com. Here's a link! Lots of good Twilight info and pictures. And some cute shirts too.

http://www.hisgoldeneyes.com/

See ya soon!! :D

Reasons I Love Twilight - #24...

Reason # 24 -- Bella Swan!!

How could I talk about Twilight and not discuss Bella? She is the heroine of our story. A normal, everyday girl who has nothing remarkable about her. Not until she meets Edward. As Kristen Stewart, the actress who plays Bella, says She's just an ordinary girl. It's the two of them together that's the interesting thing. Bella moves to Forks from Phoenix so that her mother can spend more time with her new husband, and so that Bella can spend more time with her father and get to know him better. She hates Forks because it's so rainy and dreary, nothing like the sun she loves in Phoenix. But after meeting Edward she slowly changes her mind, realizing that he must be in a place like Forks and if she wants to be with him, then she must be in a place like that too. Let's meet Bella, shall we??

Here's the official Bella poster. I think the reason so many women and girls identify with this book is because they can see themself as Bella -- an ordinary girl thrown into an extraordinary situation. I know when I read the books I think of how I would react to the things Bella deals with. And I know I'm not the only one to do that! :D




Here is Bella in her room, thinking about things.




Another picture of Bella with her cute jewelry. Kristen had to wear brown contacts for the movie since she has green eyes in real life.




And here she is talking to Edward after their biology class, where they have just had their first real conversation. This is just before he saves her from getting squished by a van in the movie. The book is a little different as far as that time line goes.

Here is Bella when she meets Jacob. Again, the movie shows things a little differently. Jacob is the son of Bella's dads best friend, and he is ultimately the one who tells Bella what Edward is. They become great friends and their friendship grows in the next book.

Here is Bella talking to Edward, questioning him about what he is. It takes her a while to figure things out, but she eventually does.

And here is a cute picture of the two of them. It just came out today. Don't they look great together??? :D

And here they are just before going to the prom. Edward picks her up at her house and her dad Charlie is there. Bella is very much like Charlie in the sense that she is a pretty quiet, private person. In Midnight Sun it is revealed that Edward also has some trouble fully reading Charlie's mind, which may be why he can't read Bella's at all. Maybe it's some genetic quirk or something...

And here are a couple pictures of Kristen. It was probably because of pictures like this that Stephenie Meyer was nervous about Kristen playing Bella. Nervous that Kristen would be too much of a Bomb Shell, and not ordinary enough. Luckily Kristen can do either one really well.

But she prefers a more natural look, nothing too fancy. Just like Bella!! :)

That's Bella, in a few words. She's really wonderful and I love seeing the world through her eyes. She falls so completely and totally in love with Edward and it's really only her that sees him as perfect. She makes him seem like a perfect being, although he doesn't believe that. I guess love does that... :)

Stay tuned tomorrow for another reason. I'm one behind, I know. I'll get it caught up, I promise!!

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa --

Do you think you could fit this into my stocking this year? No, you say? What about under the tree? Probably not that either, huh? No life-sized cardboard Edward cut outs for me this year? But I've been really, really good!! Just think about it and get back to me. I'll start clearing a spot in the corner of my bedroom, just in case. ;)

Love always and forever my favorite, FAVORITE Santa Man!!!

Brandi :)

Reasons I Love Twilight - #25...

Reason #25 - Vampire Baseball!!!

Oh ya!! You don't want to miss this!! :D Vampires enjoy the American pastime just like everyone else. And they even dress up for it!! Thing is -- they can only play during thunderstorms because of the noise they make when playing. For Edward and Bella's first official date they play baseball with his family. Bella just watches along side Esme who referee's. As she watches, Bella realizes why they can only play during thunderstorms. As Carlisle and Jasper collide "...the sound was like the crash of two massive falling boulders." So between the cracking of the bats and the crashing sound of the Cullen's family running into one another, they need the sound of the thunder to cover up the sounds of their game. Bella loves watching the game, seeing the fun that they are all having, and she tells Edward, "One thing's for sure, I'll never be able to sit through dull old Major League Baseball again."

Here are some photos from the movie of the Baseball Game scene.

Carlisle with Edward and Bella in the background. This picture of Carlisle is in the calendar and looking at him now my mind is a little hazy and I can't remember if I mentioned before or not, but he is SMOKIN' HOT!!! :D Oh wait, I remember, I did mention it. Oh well, can't ever say that enough!!! :P

Here is Rosalie batting. For some reason all the vampires bat left handed in the movie, so most of the actors had to learn how to do that. Why? I'm not sure why they would have to bat left handed -- sounds like a good question for the director! :D

Here's Edward getting ready to chase a ball hit by Emmett. When Emmett hits the ball out into the forest Bella murmured, "Home Run." "Wait," Esme cautioned... "Out!" Esme cried in a clear voice... "Emmett hits the hardest," Esme explained, "but Edward runs the fastest."

And wouldn't you know who comes along to ruin the party, and set up the final conflict of the book/movie - The Bad Vampires - James, Laurent, and Victoria. Bad, bad, bad...

Edward and the rest of the family are curious about the bad vamps and try to hide Bella, but to no avail.

The Cullens get pretty defensive once James smells Bella and asks if they "Brought a snack."

Carlisle steps in to stop Edward from attacking James, and the rest of the family back him up, protecting Bella.

Esme guards Bella, and once the bad vamps leave so does the family. Too bad James has decided to hunt Bella for sport - a weak human protected by a large vampire coven is too tempting for him to resist!!

And here's an extra picture I couldn't resist adding. I just love Kellan in his sideways hat!! He's so cute!!! :D

Stay tuned for the next reason I love Twilight!! Well, after I finish some more homework, make dinner, go to class, get home and do some more homework, and THEN I will get to reason #24. Did I mention I feel like I'm drowning here??? :D At least I have my Twilight obsession to keep me afloat!! :P

Reasons I Love Twilight - #26...

Reason #26 - Edward offered to drive Bella to Seattle, and she accepted!



Before they fell in love, Edward tried to stay away from Bella. Again, the whole "Her blood smells too good and I really want to kill her" thing. He obviously didn't tell her why he was being so mean to her, he just was. Bella was attracted to him but after he saved her and then wouldn't tell her how he did it and then was mean to her, she decided to forget about him. Then one day 3 boys asked her to the Spring Dance, which she was not planning to go to since she can't dance. Remember Emmett laughing at her being such a clutz? Enough said. It was no coincidence that that was the day Edward started talking to her again. He was jealous and wanted to know if she was actually interested in any of these average human boys (which she wasn't!!). That night is when he first went to her room and heard her say his name -- the night he fell in love with her. So the next morning he wanted to talk to her, but he knew that she was probably still upset with him for the part he played in the boys asking her to the dance the day before. (He glared when the first boy asked her, he laughed as he walked past when the second boy asked, and then pulled his car into the lane thereby blocking her in so that the third boy could ask.) He had heard her tell each boy that she planned to go to Seattle, the closest major city to them, on the day of the dance so she wasn't able to go with them. He wanted to know if that was true and what she would say to him, so he approached her before school to talk to her. She was still annoyed but eventually he asked if she wanted a ride to Seattle. He used the excuse that her truck probably couldn't make it, only offending her more. This is the scene that gives us the fan favorite line "Stupid, shiny Volvo owner!" But more on that at a later date. :) Even though she is furious with him, she can't resist him, and her version of the scene goes like this -

"It would be more...prudent for you not to be my friend," he explained. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella."
His eyes were gloriously intense as he uttered that last sentence, his voice smoldering. I couldn't tremember how to breathe.
"Will you go with me to Seattle?" he asked, still intense.
I couldn't speak yet, so I just nodded.
He smiled briefly, and then his face became serious.
"You really should stay away from me," he warned. "I'll see you in class."
He turned abruptly and walked back the way we'd come.

And thanks to Stephenie Meyer and her letting us read the leaked version of Midnight Sun (Twilight but from Edward's perspective) we can see the same scene from him, and it takes on a whole new meaning. :)

I chose my words carefully. No, I could not leave her, but maybe she would be smart enough to leave me, before it was too late.
"It would be more...prudent for you not to be my friend." Staring into the melted chocolate depths of her eyes, I lost my hold on light. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella." My words burned with much too much fervor.
Her breathing stopped and, in the second it took for it to restart, that worried me. How much had I scared her? Well, I would find out.
"Will you go to Seattle with me?" I demanded, point blank.
She nodded, her heart drumming loudly.
Yes. She'd said yes to me.
And then my conscious smote me. What would this cost her?
"You really should stay away from me," I warned her. Did she hear me? Would she escape the future I was threatening her with? Couldn't I do anything to save her from me?
Keep it light, I shouted to myself. "I'll see you in class."
I had to concentrate to stop myself from running as I fled.

I love seeing things through Edward's eyes. He SO overthinks everything! But to realize that throughout this whole exchange the one dominant thought in his head is that he is in love with her gives it a different feel. And to feel his joy when she says yes to him, after saying no to all of the other boys, is so rewarding. Especially since we know that she is feeling the same joy because he is the one boy she has been hoping would ask her anything! Yet neither of them know quite yet what's coming... :D

Oh, and my favorite little line that happens just before this, when he is first talking to her, is this -
(Bella) - "Why won't you leave me alone?"
(Edward) - Believe me, I wanted to say. I've tried.
Oh, and also, I'm wretchedly in love with you.
Keep it light.

I love that!!! :)

Here are a couple of images from the movie. I don't know that this scene will be in the movie, but if it is I would imagine that the emotion of it would somewhat resemble this picture -



And then the emotion after the scene ends, with each of them happy like in this picture. Although they would be feeling like this on the inside while hiding all feeling on the outside.



Stay tuned for a new thing that I love about Twilight tomorrow!! :D

Reasons I Love Twilight - #27...

Reason #27 -- Emmett!!!

Emmett is a vampire. He is, basically, Edward's older brother and the protector of the family. He is a fun loving, joking guy who loves a good fight and isn't afraid of any one or anything. Even though he is physically huge, he is pretty much a big teddy bear. Which may hint at his favorite food source -- Grizzly Bears. And to be more specific, Grizzly Bears in the early spring just as they are coming out of hibernation because then they are more irritable. Like I said, he enjoys a good fight! Emmett was nearly killed by a grizzly bear as a human, which is when Rosalie found him. Edward says he never got over almost losing that fight, so now he enjoys feeding on Irritable Grizzlies. :D His mate is Rosalie and he is really the only one of the family who can calm her down or talk her into things that she doesn't want to do.

Emmett and Rosalie

As the story progresses through the books, Bella develops a fun relationship with Emmett, he being the big brother that she never had, and not only a protector but also an antagonizer. He is forever teasing Bella because she is a total clutz, and he loves it! As he tells her in Eclipse, " I’m really glad Edward didn’t kill you. Everything’s so much more fun with you around."

Emmett is played by Kellan Lutz, who from interviews and statements made by fellow actors, seems to be a lot like Emmett. I love seeing his approach to life and the depth of love he has for his family. He is the strongest of them and he takes that job very seriously. I love the character of Emmett and think that he provides a lot of great comic relief to the story. He is such a great part of the story and of the Cullen family and I'm excited to see him in the movie!!

The Cullen's - Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, and Jasper

Here's an action shot of Emmett from the car chases scene towards the end of the movie. He is riding in the back of the truck keeping watch for the bad vampire that is chasing Edward and Bella.

And here are some fun pictures of Kellan, Robert (Edward), and Taylor (Jacob) at a photo shoot. What a fun bunch of boys!!

Emmett is a great part of the Twilight story!! He's lovable and fun and fierce and loyal. What an awesome guy!!!

Girls Night Out...

Sometimes you just need a Girls Night Out. So last night us girls had one! I had been planning it for a week or so, as soon as I realized that High School Musical 3 opened on the same day at the Twilight soundtrack preview party at Hot Topic. I got some tickets to a 5 o'clock show of High School Musical 3 and then surprised the girls Friday morning with the news. They were sure excited!! We don't go to the theater very often, so they were looking forward to it all day. So was I!! :D

We went and saw the movie and it was really good! The songs and dancing were great and we were reminded yet again exactly why Zac Efron is a huge star! Jillen was sure smitten with him! And I gotta say, so was I! :P We ate popcorn and drank soda and danced along to all the songs and dance numbers. It was super fun!! And the girls took a picture with the life sized cut out posters they had in the lobby. Cute!!!



As we left the theater the girls noticed another movie sign on the other side of the lobby, and from their screams and speed at running across the lobby you would have thought that the cast of the movie was actually there! People were looking at us, but we didn't care! (For the record, I was following behind them calmly without a single scream. :) Maybe that's because I was so excited that I couldn't speak!! :P ) Sure enough, there was the Twilight poster! We had to get pictures with it. Luckily it's the poster that I don't like as well, so it was a little easier to contain my excitement. But it was a good warm up to that soundtrack preview party we were headed for!

Jensen is a little excited about seeing Twilight! And Jillen is swooning over Edward. Then again, I am her mother so she comes by it naturally. :D



We headed across the street to the mall where Hot Topic is located. The party started at 7:00 but we didn't get there until about 7:15. That was okay since I had heard several of the songs at the beginning of the soundtrack. The ones I was REALLY interested in weren't until the end so I figured we had plenty of time. It was so fun to get there and see all of the other Twilighters hanging out, listening to the great music. We even did a little shopping with each of the girls getting a Twilight shirt and a pin. I finally got my Angry Edward poster, the one that I tried to get last month but was unavailable since there had been a mix up at the distributors and the Edward posters were never actually sent. Jillen debated over shirts, falling quickly in love with a Jacob shirt, but she finally decided on a shirt with the Cullen family crest and pictures of all of the Cullens with Bella. Jensen picked a shirt with Edward and Bella that simply says Twilight on it. They will sure be cute for school on Monday. Then they each picked a pin for their backpacks, and I had to get one too, just so that I would fit in. :) And I got an Angry Edward sticker since I can't resist that level of intensity and those brooding eyes... I do love Angry Edward... :) Here's a picture that Jillen took of the Jacob shirt she loves, and in the corner is my Angry Edward sticker. I couldn't crop it out. It just felt wrong!! :D



After we heard the soundtrack all the way through we decided to see if there were any cookie stores left in the mall. Sadly, both of the ones that were there closed! I guess we should have gone to Superstition Springs Mall after all. :D Oh well, we had to walk back past Hot Topic on our way out so we stopped so that I could get a picture of the girls in the store and we met another Twilight fan and ended up talking to her for another half hour!! She was so nice, and I think LDS, and I thought it was so funny that her husband was braving the mall with their 2 little girls so that she could stand there and listen to the music. We had a great time visiting and when the soundtrack ended again, we headed home. It was sure exciting to be there and see how many other people are as addicted as I am!! Well, I don't know that anyone could be THAT addicted, but close enough!! :P

Here are the girls posing in front of the Twilight display. I sure loved the Team Edward shirts!! I have got to find something with a good quote for when the movie come out! Less than a month to go!!! :D



We stopped on our way home for sub sandwiches and a corn dog for Jensen and drinks from Sonic. Yum!! We had a super fun night and decided that we need to do this more often!!! I think I'll start planning out next outing... Maybe in about 27 days... :D