Update to the Twilight Series Review

I have a confession: I've been re-reading the Twilight books since I finished them.

I really didn't expect that, especially after I finished the first book. That book was good, but I actually waited several days to see if I could borrow the second book before buying my own copy. It's just that once I finished the second book, I couldn't wait to devour the third and fourth books.

**Spoiler Alert: Stop reading if you don't want to know anything that happens in the stories.**

My favorite book is the last one, Breaking Dawn.I've re-read huge portions of it multiple times at this point. I guess I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to Bella and Edward. (As Lex surely understands, judging from this comment.) In exploring Stephenie Meyer's web site, I was very sad to discover that she considers Breaking Dawn the conclusion of the series. I understand that it's the end of Bella's story, but there are so many other stories to be told. I especially want to know what happens to Leah, who seemed particularly unhappy, notwithstanding her escape from Sam's pack. Stephenie doesn't seem to be ruling out future vampire/werewolf stories, but for now, she's apparently done.

Well, except for Midnight Sun. She states she's planning to finish the story at some point, and I have to say, I like Midnight Sun at least as much as, if not more than, Breaking Dawn. Even if the Edward-as-stalker aspect is rather creepy.

If you enjoyed the books, you might want to check out the "outtakes" sections for Twilight and New Moon. They are portions of the stories that were edited out – I particularly enjoyed the expanded prom scene. Unfortunately, there aren't any outtakes for the last two books.

Finally, am I the only one who attaches a song to a book? I've become somewhat obsessed with Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" – for me, at least, it is the perfect soundtrack for the whole Twilight Series.

Review: Pinot Bistro

Marc and I had the chance to go out for dinner a few times recently, and one of those times, we decided to go to Pinot Bistro, a restaurant we hadn't been to in almost ten years. It's a fine dining restaurant in Studio City, and we remembered the food being quite excellent (and expensive).

Since we went on Christmas Eve, there was a limited prix fixe menu, and although many things sounded good, nothing was really spectacular. Admittedly, I got a little adventurous with my ordering, selecting the things I would never make at home, like beef carpaccio and duck breast. Unfortunately, the carpaccio was took thick, and the duck breast too rare (and hence chewy). I probably would have enjoyed my meal more if I'd stuck to more ordinary dishes like mushroom risotto and halibut, but since I could cook those myself (if I had the time to cook), it seemed like wasting the special occasion. But even the bread was bland. (And I'll never understand why restaurants serve their bread with cold, unspreadable butter.)

The service was impeccable, though, which made the meal a lot more enjoyable than it would have been otherwise.

It's not that the food was bad, but it certainly wasn't worth the money. We paid $45 per person for a four-course meal, which isn't outrageous but definitely not cheap. So needless to say, we won't be going back to Pinot Bistro for another ten years.

But we did find another restaurant that we're going to visit regularly - and I'll tell you about that one soon.

Review: The Twilight Series

In less than a week, I've read all four of the books in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Series.

That alone tells you how much I enjoyed the books. We're talking about 3,000 pages in less than a week. I was reading every chance I got, taking advantage of a little time off this week for the holidays.

I reviewed the first book, Twilight, right after I read it. But then I read the second, third and fourth books in quick succession, and they've all kind of blurred together now.

**Spoiler Alert: Do not continue if you don't want to know anything about the stories.**

I love that I can never predict what's going to happen, even when I have a vague idea of what's coming. For instance, I knew Jacob would become a werewolf, but didn't foresee the alliance with the vampires. And I knew as soon as Bella started feeling nauseous that she was pregnant, but didn't guess that Jacob would imprint on Nessie.

But the best thing was that I was euphoric while I was reading the books. I could hardly bear to put them down, and I couldn't wait to pick them back up. But during those times that I wasn't reading, I was happy because of the stories. I felt so blessed to have Marc, who is my Edward. The book reminded me that I have that kind of love in my life, and so my emotions were soaring even when I wasn't reading.

I do wonder how I would have felt reading this book as a child, rather than a gloriously happily married woman. In fact, even in reading the first book, I was a little bothered by the fact that there was a 100-year old man/vampire falling in love with a 17-year-old girl. I mean, Edward may have become a vampire when he was 17, but it doesn't change the fact that he's much older than Bella. And while it was sweet that he apparently was a virgin until they consummated their marriage, I can't help but think that it might not be appropriate for young girls. But then again, I read wildly inappropriate books when I was young and ended up okay. Although I think that if I had a daughter who was into the series, I would read the books and discuss these issues with her.

Incidentally, I'm glad I read Midnight Sun before I read the second book, New Moon.Because of that, I had Edward's perspective in my mind as I read from Bella's and Jake's points of view. I was, for instance, extremely fond of Emmett in the subsequent stories, even though he is a peripheral character, because Edward is so fond of Emmett in Midnight Sun.

As a final aside, I don't plan on seeing the movie version of Twilight. The characters don't look anything like what I've envisioned in my mind, especially Edward, and I've heard such bad things about the movie that I don't want to risk ruining all of the lovely images in my head. But one of the funniest thing I've seen recently is a jar of Edward Shimmer Powder - which I'm guessing is a lot like the shimmer body powders that were oh-so-popular about ten years ago. (I think I might still have a jar lying around!)

Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I feel like the last person on earth to read the first book in Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster series, Twilight.

And since I'm so late to the party, I don't feel bad about discussing the story. So if you don't want spoilers, definitely don't read past the next paragraph.

I expected to like the book, since all of my girlfriends have raved about it. Still, I took my time getting into it. I borrowed the book from a friend and only got through it because I read it while I was on jury duty last week. It's a very fast read, and from about halfway through, I found myself unable to put the book down. (It's a very good thing I didn't get called to a courtroom!) I was actually surprised at how much I liked the book considering it's about teen love. But the story was so compelling and well-written that I found myself appreciating my own marriage anew - causing Marc to encourage me to read the rest of the series ;)

**Spoiler alert - don't read further if you don't want to know anything about the story**

I found the vampires much more interesting than Bella herself, so if you've read the first book, I highly recommend the incomplete book available on Stephenie Meyer's web site, Midnight Sun. You might have heard about it earlier this year, when part of the manuscript was leaked and she had a complete meltdown over it. When she recovered, she decided the best course of action was to publish what she'd written so far on her site, so it's there in pdf format. If the book came out at midnight, I'd be at the bookstore for it. That's right - I enjoyed what I've read of Midnight Sun so much that I would sacrifice many hours of sleep for it.

Midnight Sun is a retelling of Twilight from Edward's perspective. And maybe it's because I'd just read Twilight (and haven't read the other books yet), but I was enthralled. I totally believe these vampires as they are described, and it's beyond anything I could have imagined. Of course, I'm always captivated by well-told stories of characters I could not have created myself. (I'm equally fascinated by the clones in Karen Traviss's Star Wars: Republic Commando series.Until I read the first Republic Commando book, it had never occurred to me to think of the clones as people.)

I was able to borrow the third and fourth books in the Twilight Saga, but the second one is eluding me, so I'm just going to have to buy it - I really don't want to to wait!

More free toilet paper at Ralphs

Earlier this week, I mentioned that if you combine a 50-cents off manufacturer insert coupon with a 50-cents off Shortcuts coupon, you'll get a free 4-pack of Cottonelle toilet paper at Ralphs. And now you can get up to three free packs that I know of if you have at least three insert coupons. I was able to load two Cottonelle coupons onto my Rewards card at Shortcuts, and there's also a 50-cents off Cottonelle coupon at Cellfire.

At A Full Cup, some members have reported that both Shortcuts and Cellfire coupons come off for the same item in the same transaction, but that didn't happen for me. Either way, though, it's a great deal - you get 25 cents or 75 cents of overage toward another item and some free toilet paper!

Get another free 8x10 from Walgreens and Snapfish

Thanks to MoneySavingMethods for posting that you can order a free 8x10 from Snapfish if you pick up in store at Walgreens. Just use code WALFREE. (Note: Most sites are posting this code with 2 L's, but there's only one L.) The code expires tomorrow, Dec. 20.

Walgreens Photo: Free 8x10

You can get a free 8x10 photo from Walgreens Photo when you use code FREEGIFT. The offer is good through December 20. Save on shipping by picking up the photo in store and get it completely free!

Free toilet paper at Ralphs (and maybe all Kroger stores?)

Ralphs is the Kroger store out here in California, and right now they have 4-packs of Cottonelle toilet paper on sale at 4 for $5, or $1.25 per pack. There were 50 cents off any 4-pack or larger Cottonelle coupons in yesterday's Smart Source insert. There's also a 50 cents off any 4-pack or larger Cottonelle Shortcuts coupon that you can load onto your Rewards card. Since Shortcuts coupons are supposed to combine with paper coupons, the math should work out like this:

$1.25 for 1 4-pack
- $1 (50 cent SS coupon doubled)
- 50 cents (Shortcuts)
= 25 cents overage toward other purchases

Sometimes Ralphs and Kroger deals overlap, so if you're going to a Kroger-affiliated store anyway, be sure to load the Shortcuts coupon onto your card and then check the price on Cottonelle!

Lots of free $10 Restaurant.com certificates for friends & family

Visit Coupon Cravings to find out how you can send three free $10 Restaurant.com certificates per day to friends and family through December 25.

Just a few words of caution with this generous freebie, however: Make sure the recipients don't mind you sharing their name and email address, and check the restrictions on the certificate. Most of the certificates, at least in my area, are for restaurants that require dining in and a minimum amount spent, which pretty much kill any inclination I might have to try the restaurant.

Weird: Walgreens $5 off $25 purchase printable coupon Monday & Tuesday

Maybe this will become a standard thing and it won't seem so weird, but Walgreens has released a printable $5 off $25 purchase coupon that's good tomorrow and Tuesday. I'd guess they're trying to see what days in the week they get the most bang for their buck. Unfortunately for them - and for me - I won't be able to make it to Walgreens on those days because of work, so I'll probably just skip the week altogether. But I'd love to know if you prefer the coupon early or late in the week.

Note: You can also support this site by printing the coupon from the Coupons.com banner in Chief Family Officer's left sidebar. Just click over to CFO, then on the gray "see all coupons" bar at the top of the ad. Thank you!

Information for email subscribers

If you subscribe to CFO Reviews by email, you should soon begin receiving your daily email earlier in the day. A Chief Family Officer reader kindly pointed out that because I'd set delivery to midnight, time-sensitive shopping deals are often expired by the time the email is received.

I've therefore changed the delivery time to a window of 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Pacific time. I think that will give those of you on the East Coast enough time to act on time-sensitive deals, but any feedback - positive or negative - would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Good cause: Robeez Season of Giving

Robeez are a ubiquitous infants' shoe, but I have to admit that neither of my boys wore them (or their knockoffs). The pediatrician encouraged me to let them go barefoot, and that's what I did. If their little feet needed to be covered, that meant it was cold enough for a footed sleeper, so socks and Robeez-type shoes were just unnecessary.

But I might have sprung for a pair or two of Robeez if I'd known about their Season of Giving program. All you have to do is go to the web site and send an e-card. For each e-card sent, Robeez will make a $5 product donation via its charitable partner, Kids in Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.).

Robeez will also make an additional $25 donation for every blog post written about the campaign, so if you have a blog, why not spread the word? Just send the link to your post to heartandsole@robeez.com.

Best of all, it's free to send an e-card, and every time you send one, you'll be entered to win one of seven Shoes & Socks Gift Set. So check it out!

Free Potty Training Kit from Pampers

Pampers is offering a free potty training kit that includes an Easy Ups sample, coupons, and my favorite: a Dora or Diego "training trophy." I can't wait to see what that looks like!

Image credit: Amazon.com.

Walgreens $5 off $20 purchase coupon for Friday & Saturday

Depending on what your needs are, and what coupons you have, Walgreens might have some great deals. I think I'm going to skip this week, but there are a lot of holiday-related food items on sale. If you are going, be sure to print the printable $5 off $20 purchase coupon that you can use tomorrow and Saturday. If you haven't yet picked up the month's free after rebate items (Almay mascara and L'Oreal Age Perfect moisturizer), the coupon would certainly be good for that!

There's still time to join Freepeats for free!

Freepeats is a site where you can swap baby gear with other local moms. Lifetime membership usually costs $4.95, but for the next few days, you can join any of the groups for free! (You can also get free membership the first month that a group is open, and the Omaha and Cincinnati groups will open later this week.) Sign up for free while you can!

Free 8x10 at Walgreens

Use the code FREEPIC to get a free 8x10 photo from Walgreens. Choose in-store pick up and get it completely free since you don't have to pay for shipping. I usually do this, although I've been known to have the picture sent to a relative so they get an unexpected surprise picture of the boys. The offer expires Saturday (Nov. 8).

Best Buy DVD deal: Buy 2 DVDs for $12 & get a $10 gift card

Best Buy currently has a promotion where you can buy 2 selected DVDs for $12. There's also a deal to buy 2 selected DVDs and get a $10 gift card. Select in-store pick up to save on shipping and combine the deals to get 2 DVDs for $2. And although there are only seven movies that qualify for both deals, they're good ones - /Film (where I found this deal) has the list.

These DVDs will make great stocking stuffers or fillers in a movie-themed holiday gift basket, so if you give a lot of gifts, you might want to take advantage of this deal!

Giveaway alert: check out the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival

Most of you probably already know about the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival, but in case you don't, you should definitely check it out. There are hundreds of giveaways (over 800 as of this writing). Plus, you'll get to check out blogs you've never heard of!

Walgreens $5 off $20 purchase coupon + a very easy way to use it

I had a feeling Walgreens would come out with a two-day only coupon this week, and they did! It's a printable $5 off $20 purchase coupon that's good tomorrow and Saturday. And it's a pleasant surprise that the minimum purchase amount is $20, since last week's required a $25 purchase. But I'm not complaining!

Tomorrow and Saturday are this month's "double dipping" days, when the October and November EasySaver catalogs overlap. To see which deals benefit from both catalogs, check out this thread at A Full Cup.

You can view the November EasySaver catalog (pdf) online. There are only two free-after-rebate items, but one of them is the L'Oreal Age Perfect Pro-Calcium Radiance Perfector, 1.7 oz., with a rebate of $19.99. There were $1 off any L'Oreal moisturizer coupons in the Sept. 21 and Oct. 19 newspapers. Add a filler that's $1.01 or more, and use the $5/$20 coupon, for a near $5 profit. Make the deal even better: Pert Plus 2 in 1 is on sale for $3.49, so if you use the $2 off coupon from this past Sunday's newspaper and also use the $2.50 off coupon in the October EasySaver catalog, you'll get $1.01 overage. (Be sure to have the newspaper coupon scanned first.) That means your filler item can now be up to $2.02 and you'll still pay only $15 after the $5/$20 coupon.

I'm still working on my own scenario, since there are actually some sale items that I want to pick up. I'll probably forego the Radiance Perfector, since I still need to pick up the L'Oreal Revitalift Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate that's free after rebate this month. Unless it's out of stock, which would make me very sad!

Update: Check out the Benefiber moneymaker deal at Common Sense with Money before you start planning.

Walgreens clearance alert: free Quattro for Women & possible free Fusion

I went to Walgreens this morning and found a couple of razors in the clearance section: Schick Quattro for Women for $2 and Gillette Fusion for $3. I had a $2 off Quattro for Women coupon, so that was free. But the register beeped on my $4 off Fusion coupon and my favorite cashier wouldn't adjust it down, so I had him take it off my order. I can't complain too much about this store because the Register Rewards always print when they're supposed to, the shelves are generally correctly marked, sale items are usually in stock and, most importantly, the employees are friendly and coupon-friendly.

I suspect, however, that some (many?) stores will take the $4 off coupon, so if you can find the clearance Fusion razors, I'd still give it a try.

Update: You can read about my entire transaction over at Chief Family Officer.