my own personal vampire(s)

happy 2009! i am so overwhelmingly thrilled to have survived 2008 relatively intact (physically, at least). i have worked like a dog to get to try and get all of the crap that befell us in 2008 left behind where it should be. i resolved the last of the insurance issues yesterday with the burglary claim--we settled for enough to pay for the new iron gates and a really nice pair of emerald earrings but less than we probably should have gotten; rich is now officially 50/50 between the Corporation and the University (and we are no longer keeping a stable of attorneys at close hand); i cut off all my hair to facilitate...many things. the kids are healthy-ish (gus is still having some issues) and i have only to hope that our personal 'year of the bully' (thank you, dawn!) is now behind us. or at least will be soon.

however, i'm not sleeping. that in itself isn't too unusual, but it is definitely more common than not for me to be awake now. usually i try and read to distract or bore myself into slumber, but i recently gave up on a book (and i almost never do that--i will read books that i almost can't stand both out of respect to the author for writing it and because i am stubborn that way) because it was too convoluted for my sleep-deprived mind to follow (it was dumas' "the last cavalier"). and i picked up something i would have normally never chosen...stephenie meyer's "twilight."

first of all, if you haven't read the series, don't. it isn't healthy. seriously. the only reason i picked it up in the first place was because gus asked if he could see the movie with a 6th grader down the street--i haven't seen the movie so i have no idea what it is like. i'm talking about the book here. and i am definitely saying no to him seeing the movie--all i need is for my son to think that the only way to get a girl is to stalk her and be a perpetual white knight. anyway, i bought the book knowing it would be my junk food type read, and it is very much that, but i actually found myself thinking i would have made a great vampire (they never sleep). then i started thinking i wanted my own personal vampire to talk to me while i was awake all night and save me from mortal peril and why the hell wasn't rich doing that because he clearly doesn't love me if he wasn't obsessing over my every mood and reaction...and. then. i. actually. said. some. of. that. out. loud. to. rich. and then i knew i was crazy and it was that goddamned book's fault.

why? aside from the obvious, being that i have already had some experience with stalkers (spoiler alert: that will be another post soon) and that having someone make all my decisions for me regardless of what i thought or felt is pretty much the definition of an unhealthy relationship, it is because i already have my own personal vampire.

yep, that's right, it's sophie.

and she doesn't get the prominent canines from me...

...it's from rich...and you should see the size of his brother tom's eye teeth--he's totally hiding them here for some unknown reason...

yeah, it's totally from rich--how else can i explain his decision to just wake up and run a half marathon without training?

and not only do i have my own personal edward cullen and, i guess, alice cullen--i have my own jacob black in the form of paco

for pre-teen and teenage girls, edward cullen is totally my generation's jake ryan. i can't even imagine how many relationships were ruined in the mid-80s because of him. granted, jake ryan was actually supposed to be human and had some positive personality traits that didn't involve stalking...regardless, HA to you, bella swan--i not only married the vampire but bred one of my own!

i am sooooo easily deluded when i am tired...