MARLEY AND ME...the book and the movie

THE BOOK...
WHAT IT'S ABOUT (taken from Doubleday Book Club)
Putting a whole new spin on the notion of “puppy love,” John Grogan’s funny, light-hearted chronicle of how an overactive yellow Lab changed the lives of a young Pennsylvania couple has become the year’s biggest sleeper hit. Slobbering toward superstardom and onto the New York Times bestseller list, Marley & Me has touched the hearts of people all over the country by asking a simple question: What happens when that adorable new family pet turns out to be a bad-mannered problem child?

Dog days
Hoping to test the waters of parenthood, Grogan and his wife Jenny adopted a cute, exuberant yellow pup they dubbed Marley. Loyal and loving, this affectionate mutt was also a naughty, neurotic basket case who massacred furniture, terrorized sitters, and devoured anything it could wrap its whiskered mouth around—including stereo speakers and an 18-karat gold necklace. Booted out of obedience school for chronic noncompliance, the maddeningly high-strung Marley nevertheless endeared himself to the Grogans, comforting them after Jenny’s miscarriage. Whether you’re a dog lover or not, this tender, touching story of animal misbehavior will leave a big, fat pawprint on your heart forever.

WHAT I THOUGHT...
I have read this book twice now and absolutely love it. The adventures and emotions that this book take you on cannot be expressed in words. I have wondered each time I read this book why on earth they kept this dog considering all that he destroyed. I do understand that some people seem to make their dogs a part of their family (my husband and children included); however in my mind a pet is simply that...a pet. Simply put, a dog like Marley would not last long in my house! I definitely recomend this if you're looking for a quick and enjoyable read!

THE MOVIE (click here to go to the movie's website)
Definitely a cute movie...but I was a bit diappointed. Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson did an amazing job in this movie (as did Eric Dane...but would you expect any less from McSteamy?). What disappointed me the most was the lack of consistency the movie had with the book. Owen Wilson, who plays John Grogan, states at the beginning of the movie that him or Jennie ever owned a dog as a child. Anyone that has read the book knows that this is a true discrepency...in fact they both owned dogs as children that were amazing dogs; I believe they classified them as Saints in the book. The movie continued to have discrepencies with the book from how they got the dog, how they named the dog and many more. I don't even remember there being a Sebastian (Eric Dane) in the book. Had I not read the book prior I probably would have enjoyed the movie more than I did. My advice; if you've haven't seen this movie but have read the book...watch it but with an open mind, if you've seen the movie and liked it...read the book you will like it even more, if you haven't seen or read either you so need to!

TIME FOR A MINI VAN

Saturday was spent driving 2 hours away to go car shopping. I must give a shout out to the place we went...it's called BLUE KNOB AUTO and wow do they give you an awesome deal. They sell used cars (some gently used, some very used...you just gotta look) for below blue book value...like I said, we got an awesome deal. The one catch is that you can't go there expecting to have a sales person at your beck and call for the entire time you're browsing. Honestly we drove around the lot, wrote down the numbers of the vehicles we wanted to see, went back in and told them and they gave us the keys and told us to have fun. Once we decided on our purchase everything was finished in about an hour. I would definitely recomend this place if you're looking for a vehicle and not wanting to spend a ton of money.
Ok so here's what we bought...a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. No major bells and whistles included but we like it (for a mini van) and it serves the purpose we needed which was more room.
here's a pic and all the features...

Description:

V6 3.3L FLEX FUEL
ESP
STOW-N-GO

Options:
Automatic
Air Conditioning
Rear Air
Power Steering
Power Windows
Power Locks
Tilt Wheel
Cruise
Radio
CD Player
Front & Side Airbags
Power Seats
Roof Rack
Privacy Glass
Alloy Wheels
ABS (4-Wheel)
Front Wheel Drive
Third Seat

HERE WE GO STEELERS HERE WE GO!!!!

Get your TERRIBLE TOWELS ready for the SUPER BOWL! I know I'll be watching in all my STEELERS garb!

- Myspace Comments

BIG NEWS...HUGE NEWS!

IAN TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS!
Ok, so he's not going to be winning any 50 yard dashes anytime soon but he did it...he took 4 steps without assistance! The wonderful event took place on this past Wednesday (January 7th). Then he took a few more steps off and on again. Problem is that he thinks it's hysterical...probably doesn't help that Gary and I are giggling the whole time. Anyway, after he starts laughing he just kind of plops down. Crawling is still his preferred method of transportation but I'm so excited that he's started taking steps. I really hope he's walking by his first birthday which is next month. (I better get to planning the party) Tyler was already running thru my house at this age so I'm getting a little anxious for Ian to start zipping around. Just thought I'd share the good news!

BOOKS FOR 2009

Yes I have a ton of Christmas pics to post but just really don't have the time for it right now...so that update will have to wait. For now I want to focus on something I love (but also don't seem to have much time for)...reading!
I'm really going to try to be more adamant about finishing books this year. Over the past two months I think I've started 4 books and haven't finished one of them... Either for lack of time or loss of interest in the book. I have now deleted my list from 2008 which I'm embarrassed to say only consisted of 14 books...but hey I don't think I started keeping track til the summer. Anyway, I'm going to start a new list for 2009. I wanted to set a goal for myself but I'm not sure what's realistic for me. My sister in law sets a goal of 50 books for the year...yep I think she's crazy :) I think I'll just see how many I can do and just set a goal to read more than 14 books. I will continue to review my reads on here. For past reviews click on the label "books" to the right on my blog. Here's what I need from my reader(s)...some suggestions of good books...HELP ME!
My fave book of 2008 was definitely "The Beach House" by Jane Green. Truly a great read that makes you feel like you are a part of the story.
First on my list for 2009 will be "Marley and Me". I'm not quite finished with it yet but I have read it before and absolutely love the book. Look for the review soon. I will say this right now...If you saw the movie and loved it then you need to read the book...it is so much better. (but I'll talk about that in another post).

A HOLIDAY WISH

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May your holidays be everything you dream of!
Love,
The Anders Family

CHRISTMAS PICS AND AN UPDATE

Yes I've been absent from the blogging world lately...just no time to sit down and type up an update. I'll begin by saying that I can't believe Christmas is just two weeks away...and I'm still not done shopping, have nothing wrapped and still don't know what I'm getting some people. Oh the joy of the season...

As we do every year since Ty and my cousin's daughter, Kaela, were born we ventured out to have a christmas pic done of all the "Fair" great grandkids. The picture seems to grow quite frequently. This year there are 6 kids in the pic together and 4 of the kids are below the age of 4...oh the fun. Anyway, the pics turned out pretty good and I even got some good ones of my boys. To see the entire photo shoot click here (this will take you to my smugmug page that I have uploaded the pics to). Here's a peek at all the kids...


from left to right it's Elle (crying), Kaela (in green), Ian, Tyler (in green), Maddie and Alexa.

I even got a few pics of my boys for Christmas...






Then today Ian had a playdate! I just love getting in touch with old friends. My first friend from first grade and I have recently gotten back in touch so she came over with her little one. Kooper and Ian are only a month apart (Ian is younger) and they played so well together. Good news for the mommies was that they were both exhausted when it was time for Kooper to leave.



The funny thing about this picture is that Ian has a binky. Ian never has a binky but Kooper had one earlier so Ian wanted one. Monkey see, monkey do.

So that's it for the update now...sorry I don't have more to talk about...well I do but I really need to go wrap gifts. I'm thinking about boycotting Christmas next year...