Best.Day.Ever

Go ahead, judge me. I don't mind. That's what happens every time I confess to someone that I'm obsessed with Twilight. I've gotten a lot of criticism over the past few years for being a Twi-Hard, and now I just shrug my shoulders and move along if someone starts in on me about it. As I've said before, Twilight became an escape for me during a very painful, challenging and sad point in my life. It was a fantasy world filled with love, good morals and a happy ending. I read enough philosophy and literature that I don't feel bad about reading the occasional "beach read" novel (and PUH-lease, it's much better than the uber-trashy 50 Shades of Grey series). Today there was a Twilight MARATHON leading up to the 5th and final film, Breaking Dawn Part II. Hayley Huff, fellow Twi-Hard and Yogini, was my hot date and our epic day began at with a yoga class at the Zen Den. Thank god for that class because the food that we consumed throughout the day consisted of hoagies, chocolates, sour patch kids, soft pretzels, pizza and popcorn (side note: hayley and I purchased an apple and banana, alas they were the only two food items left untouched). We drank mimosas and a bottle of red wine, along with a KING sized club soda. Every movie was just as enjoyable as the one before, and it was great to enjoy my favorite series in a theatre full of people who love the story as much as I do. By the time we were on the 3rd film we had made friends with most of the people around us in the theatre, and had gotten cozy with the blankets and pillow that I brought along. The fifth and final film was way better than I thought or could have anticipated, and my full 12 hour-movie-theatre-marathon turned out to be one of the best days that I've had in a long time. Team Edward til my dying day!!

I heart e.c.

The yoga ladies and me, cuddling up to Edward.

John, surprisingly not feeling threatened by Edwards presence...

scandalous.

<3

oooolala thankful for Pinterest !

EC Love.

Who got a cardboard life size standup of Edward Cullen?! THIS GIRL!! Thanks to my bestest friend Julia out in Seattle for knowing how to bring some sunshine into my world.

Family Time and Twilight

Mom, Dad and me headed up to Marlton this afternoon for lunch with my moms family. Grandma and Grandpop Karis, as well as her brother Guy- his wife Claire, and his daughter Rebecca. We had a deeeelicious meal at the Redstone, and the service was awesome. My gram had been asking me for photos, so I picked some of my favorites from the past 4 years -- as I was sorting through them I shed a few tears over the good times had, and all of the amazing people I've met. You all know who you are -- if you still read this blog from time to time, thank you! I love you all, and you certainly made a huge impact on my life.

Came home, took a power nap and then met Kylee at the movie theatre to see Twilight for the 4th time. Yep, I did it- and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I haven't gone to the movies much these past few years-- too busy working and then traveling abroad. But now that I'm committed to spending the winter at home, I'm going to start going a lot more. Movies in the afternoon are $6, at night they're $11. Compared to a pint at the bar...I think that the movie is a way better spot to enjoy a few hours. Anywho- kylee and I agreed that we love the latest, Breaking Dawn, despite it's bad reviews. This is TWILIGHT people...not an Oscar winner, but twilight. Don't take it so seriously. Just...enjoy.

I cried (again) when Charlie walked Bella down the aisle--that scene gets me everytime. Probably going to see it again this week if anyone wants to join our Twi-Hard team....

Apologies for random rambling-- it's late, I'm exhausted and have taken a melatonin in an attempt to finally readjust back to east coast time and get a decent nights sleep...

Team Edward Twilight Premiere

We don't mess around....pouring some Pinot Blanca into a thermos and packing plastic cups.

You're goddamn right! Team Edward!

Lines, lines, and more lines. People camped out for hours. We arrived an hour and a half early and managed to get somewhat of a decent seat.

Passing the time, playing cards.

In our seats, wine in hand, ready for BREAKING DAWN!!!

Time for TWILIGHT!

The most common response that I get when I tell people that I love Twilight, is laughter. All of my friends mock me and have a very difficult time understanding what I see in this story. Well, aside from it being a beautiful love story (yes, it's a love story...not a vampire story), it's also the ultimate fantasy land. Originially, I had refused Twilight, condoning it to be a stupid teen drama. Julisa talked about it incessantly, going on and on about the movies and the books. I laughed at her, just like everyone now laughs at me. How had my beautiful, talented, educated, cultured, well-read friend get pulled in by such a ridiculous story of vampires? Well, the connection that I've made now is that the series is so well written by Meyers, that the fantasy land is enchanting enough for you to get lost in. When Julie discovered the series I think that she needed an escape from life for a bit. And I can say the same for myself. I don't regret one minute that I've spent with my Dad, but seeing someone slowly deteriorate in front of you everyday, someone that you love more than anything in the whole wide world , well - it begins to wear on you. And THAT is when I embarked on this love affair with Twilight. A magical fantasy land to escape to, if only for a few hours each day. (Well, it was more like full day marathons - watching movies 1, 2 and 3 every single day - and having read the series about 4 times through now). Everyone has their addictions, and atleast mine is only a silly love story. There are far worst things to turn to in dark times... SO, tonight I will be attending the premiere with my Best Friend, and the one responsible for making me a goddamn Twi-Hard, Julia. And we will proudly be rocking our Team Edward tshirts with the rest of the insane, adoring twilight fans.

O.M.G. T-W-I-L-I-G-H-T

omg omg omg omg
11-18-11
sooo close

Only 14 days, 9 hours and 28minutes until the TWILIGHT : BREAKING DAWN premiere. I'm so excited I could burst.

When All Else Fails...

When all else fails....
When the rain won't stop...
When you're sad and cold...

Drink beer. Eat pizza. Watch Twilight!

Hoooooray! Found a bar with a binder full of movies...and guess what, they have twilight!! Alot of people in the bar aren't happy with my movie choice, all of them coming down off of last nights high, but I don't care. TWILIGHT TWILIGHT TWILIGHT... I LOOOVE YOU.

Food+ Family+ Twilight+ iPhone+ Bon Iver = HUP

SO. Here we are at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Today was supposed to be my first day of my 200hr Yoga Teacher Training in Dharamsala, INDIA. Instead, I'm here in Philadelphia. Despite being a bit bummed about missing out on some delicious Curries, this is where I should be. Dad's in the operating room with Dr.O'Rourke and his ammmazing team. There's a slew of us in the family waiting room - we've completely taken over. Go figure, the Callahan's taking over a room?! HA. I'm going to go ahead and start the story from the beginning....

It all began on Saturday night. We ate some leftovers and hung out on the couch. Nellie {one of my Dad's 7 sisters} came over around 8pm with her bags packed: the first two Twilight novels I lent to her, and some DVD's {Twilight, Twilight New Moon, and Remember Me - a flick featuring...you guessed it...ROBERT PATTINSON!}. Mom and Dad retired to bed early, and then Nell and I stayed up to watch Remember Me. Well, Pattinson is one sexy man! The movie was pretty good, up until the ending - which caught me off guard and left me upset. Nellie went to bed, but I stayed up to watch...yep, TWILIGHT. I think that I could quite possibly watch it every day for the rest of my life and never get bored with it. Fantasyland. My happy place. Anyways, I retired to bed around 2am. Up at 7am and on the road by 8. We arrived at HUP by 9:30am. Nellie and I dropped my parents at the hospital and then her and I navigated our way to Penn Tower, where we'd be camping out for the next few days. Well, after years working in the corporate world - Nellie is a PROFESSIONAL when it comes to hotels. After she was done at the front desk we had the best rooms, connected so we can walk back and forth from one room to the other, along with a refridgerator and microwave- at no extra cost. We were both exhausted and wanted to take a nap, but alas - how can you sleep when there is Twilight to be read?! Nellie's about half way through the first novel, and after I finish up Meyer's short Twilight spin-off "Bree Tanner" then I'm going to reread the series. So no - we didn't get the rest we needed. Dad finished with his MRI around 1pm, and then Susan + Iggie met up with us for some brunch. We all went to the White Dog, and it was goddamn delicious. This is my theory: I'm on vacation. If I can't be in India or anywhere else abroad, well then damnit I'm celebrating every day no matter where I am. I vowed to take advantage of Philly's amazing selection of bars + restaurants....pledging to eat and drink and eat and drink and eat and drink. Boom. My brunch at the White Dog started out with a pint of a local Octoberfest. MmmMm. This was followed up by the most lip-smackingly-scrumptious Spicy Lamb Bolegnese and a bloodmary. Happy Sunday to me! Dad and Nell had pancakes, Iggie had mussels and fries, Suzie had Crab Benedict and Ma had a smoked ham panini. The patients {that'd be Nell and Dad...Nellie has MS and gets easily rundown} and Mom were beat so they headed back to the hotel room to rest. Well - I'm on vacation, and Susan + Ig were just getting started, so we said farewell then walked to the pub next door for a few pints. Several pints and an order of Curry Fries later we rolled out of the beer and rolled back to the hospital. Despite being full, I was already scheming our dinner. One of my favorite places in Philly is the Belgium Cafe. Not only do they have a great selection of beer - but their mussels with pomme frites are out of this world. Turns out that the Belgium Cafe is owned by MONKS...which was only a short cab ride away. Hooray! We rested up, digested, showered, read Twilight, and then all hopped a cab to Monks! Everything we ate was absolutely outstanding. I had Monk's Mussels that comes with pomme frites - my usual. It's $9.95, an absolute deal for the quality and quantity that you get. Nell had mussels too, but hers were done in a broth with Grueyre cheese, apples and garlic. So delicious! Dad had local, free range roasted chicken, served with string beans and fingerling potatoes {$15} and Mom got the most impressive Charcuterie plate that I have EVER seen {for $12!!}. This was an outgrageously generous spread of fresh raspberries, grapes, bread, several cheeses (huge chunks!), cured sausages, Rabbit terrein, and some fabulous spicy mustard. Gordon - you would die for this! Dad was feeling good and on fire - telling some hysterical stories. I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face. Him and Nellie are only 10 months apart - so stories of their childhood really crack me up...the trouble, the meals, the chaos of living with a family that large. Oh me, oh my. And speaking of that large family - they are all here. Yep. Here. In the hospital. In the waiting room. I feel sympathy towards the people who are also sitting here waiting for their family members - because we have taken over. We are loud and semi-obnoxious, but we mean well. Ha. Two of Dad's sisters are here: Nellie and Megan {along with her husband, Peter}, his brother Michael is here {with his son Christopher}, Nana + PopPop, me and Mom. Well, I guess that we aren't ALL here...but there's more on the way....

This morning when they wheeled him away and we had to say goodbye I started to fall apart a bit. I've been trying to be strong - lord knows that my mother has carried this burden since day one - being strong enough for all of us. BUT, I just couldn't keep it together any longer. For those of you who know me, then you understand how I process things. For those that think I'm just "Ha Ha Ha - eat and drink, wooohooo!", don't be fooled - this is how I deal with things. Weird, I know - but it's what I know. So, with the help from some delicious food + delicious beer, Twilight, Bon Iver, and my iPhone for finding some awesome eats {thanks Urbanspoon!}...well, it's going to be okay. With all my family here, it's going to be okay. With all of the prayers coming from all of you all over the world, it's going to be okay. I just have a feeling. A good feeling. It's all going to be okay.

And on that note....

we're going to be having Korean food for lunch from KOREANA. It's next to a strip club, it's divey, and it's delicious! A Philadelphia version of my favorite NYC eats, Vanessa's Dumpling House! I'm going to get the Jam Bong and the BiBim Bop!

Mom and the tired patient.

Me + Dad.

The lovebirds.

Twihard.

Go ahead and laugh, I'm officially a "Twihard".

I now own:

• All four Twilight novels: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse + Breaking Dawn
• All three Twilight soundtracks
• Both Twilight DVD's

...the only thing missing now are some Twilight sheets for my bed, and a poster to hang above!

hahahaha.

Twilight.

I am officially obsessed. Living, sleeping, breathing...Twilight. I cannot get enough. Within the past 48 hours I have watched the first Twilight movie twice, and the second Twilight: New Moon 4 times! I would pay any money in the world to watch the 3rd movie of the series...Twilight: Eclipse, but it is no longer playing in theatres and is not yet out on DVD. UGH. SOB. Devastating.

SO, the person responsible for getting me hooked is my wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, talented best friend in the whole world - Miss Julia Bandy. A few months back when she was explaining to me her latest obsession, I simply couldn't believe what I was hearing. Julia - my Julia - my educated, intelligent, worldly Julia...loves Twilight? Huh? Despite her raving, I still couldn't get into it. Well, now that she's here - I was forced to watch it. And goddamnit - I love it. I can't quite wrap my head around WHY I love it so much...I've never watched a two hour movie, only to rewind it and watch it AGAIN right after. It is somewhat of a cheesy romance story - but it's addictive. I think the reason that I've become so obsessed is because it's an escape. Fantasy. So much more exciting than real life, and it's certainly distracting {now consuming my every thought, even my dreams}. Today I'm heading to the store to purchase both the first and second DVD's and I'm then headed to the library for ALL FOUR BOOKS. From what Jules said they are an easy read, and with the way this obsession has taken over I'm sure that I'll be finished all four within the week. Also on the list...purchasing the soundtracks from both movies...because they are EPIC.

For all of you Twilight-Haters out there...if you can't beat em, join em -- and you know what, you're bound to love em!

For all of you Twilight-Lovers...I'm on TEAM EDWARD.