Happy Halloween

While I may have gotten ready for today at the last minute, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I think that it is the most fun with the costumes, the scary movies, and whatever activities I might have taken part in as a teenager. ;)

This year, I'm taking a witch, a vampire, Yoda, and Shrek trick or treating. The best part of it all is that we live in an actual, honest to god neighborhood. The previous three years we had to drive to somebody else's neighborhood because we lived in the country. Before that, we trick or treated at various apartment complexes. This year the kids are going to get mega moolah. I'm excited for them. Below are some pictures I want to share with you all.




This is Bailey as Yoda. She likes getting dressed up. That's Hannah the dummy dog in the background. She's going to be Shrek but she wouldn't sit still long enough for me to take a picture.



These are the girls' pumpkins. The one on the left is S's and it's a frog. The one on the right is M's and it's a mummy.



S's lit up in the dark.


M's lit up in the dark.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween.

R.I.P. Book Review #4

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I really enjoyed this book. I've read fantasy-type books before but never one with true fairies. I thought, going into it, that I wasn't really going to like it. What intrigued me most were the trailers for the movie. Nevertheless, Stardust has earned a treasured spot on my bookshelf and will more than likely be dusted off to be read again sometime.

Stardust was truly a lovely book. Gaiman can weave a fantastical world full of fairies and make you believe that it could have existed once upon a time. He also has the ability to bring you into the story and make you care about the characters' fates.

I've also read American Gods by Gaiman but Stardust was a much lighter and easier read. I totally recommend it to anyone looking to lose themselves in a fairy world.

Hold on to Your Pants

If today's blogging experience is any indication of how it's going to be next month, things don't bode well for NBPM. This is my third attempt today to post something. I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen or that I'm forgetting to do something which is leaving me feeling scattered.

I started my morning by accidentally discovering a new show called Big Bang Theory. I had downloaded the pilot for free from iTunes a couple weeks ago and forgot about it. This morning I ran across the episode while I was browsing my "purchased" folder and figured, what the heck. Then, I bought the next two episodes, lol. It was funny! Just what I needed first thing on a very cold (cold for us anyway) morning. What really got me was how the show made me realize just how much of a nerd that I am. The main characters and their friends take nerd-dom to a whole new level and I have things in common with them, lol. The commonalities had mostly to do with computers and the Internet so I suppose if you're reading this, you're a nerd too. ;)

Also, yesterday C asked me why I have started joining online challenges. I explained to him that this is the best way to interact with people outside of the house. If the challenges or the people involved with them become annoying, all I have to do is stop and ignore whoever is annoying me. In real life, it's not so simple and usually results in my turning off my cell phone for days at a time. (Like I have for the last five days. Shhhh!!) I'm beginning to become a recluse in my old age.

And lastly, I changed one of my R.I.P. challenge books. Instead of Stephen King, I read Stardust by Neil Gaiman. The review will be posted tonight just in time for the close of the challenge. I meant to read Lisey's Story but I never got around to buying it so there ya go.

The 11th Hour...Again

It never fails. Every holiday I'm always getting prepped last minute. Every year I always say it'll be different and I'll shop ahead and every year, I never do. It's annoying. I annoy myself. This could be a big part of why I hate most holidays.

As a result of my procrastination, we had to go to four different stores to get my kids' Halloween costumes. This year, M is going to be a vampire and S is going to be a witch. They both have pretty nifty costumes even if I did buy them last minute.

Also of note, November is National Blog Posting Month (NBPM) and I have joined a challenge at NaBloPoMo to commemorate the occasion. All I have to do is post once a day, every day of the month in November to complete the challenge. I almost do anyway so I didn't figure it'd be that hard. Consider this your heads up and make sure and check in with me every day in November for a blog post. Fun times.

R.I.P. Book Review #3

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with this book. At the time it was written, it was surrounded with so much controversy that I have always found its origins, Wilde himself, as well as the synopsis of the story to be very intriguing. All of this combined, I think I set myself up for disappointment.

At times, it could be challenging just to turn the pages. Wilde could go on and on about details such as the things Dorian collected and his hobbies to the point where it all became muddled in your mind. The dialogue and character interaction were excellent and what I enjoyed most about the story.

I thought the ending extremely predictable. Somebody on GoodReads pointed out to me that it was probably predictable because of the history of the book, Wilde, and the sensationalism that surrounded its publishing. While I certainly concede this point, before reading it, I don't recall ever knowing how it ended. You could, however, see it coming from the first chapter.

I have to wonder, if there hadn't been so much controversy over the homoerotic themes in the story, would it have become a classic at all? Probably because Wilde was considered to be such a celebrated playwright. On its own? I'm not so sure.

Despite my feelings about this book, Wilde's words still make for the best signature line quotes.

Thursday Meme

Welcome to Thursday's Meme brought to you courtesy of Booking Through Thursday.

I would enjoy reading a meme about people’s abandoned books. The books that you start but don’t finish say as much about you as the ones you actually read, sometimes because of the books themselves or because of the circumstances that prevent you from finishing. So . . . what books have you abandoned and why?

There are only two books that I've ever started and put down unfinished, knowing I was never going to pick them up again. Those books were Moby Dick and it was assigned reading, and It. For me, bad books are like bad movies: I stick with them to the end. With Moby Dick and It, they were really loooong books that I found to be verrry boring and not worth the effort. But you know what? I'll end up reading It sometime in my lifetime just because it's Stephen King.

In the same vein, I am currently "in the middle" of two books (a rarity in itself) that I only find mildly interesting, they're taking me forever to read, but I am determined to finish them no matter what. One is Yann Martell's Life of Pi and the other is Maguire's Wicked. To be fair, Wicked picked up considerably after the first two chapters. I only put it down to read challenge books. Life of Pi, however, I have my doubts. I intend to finish both books but you know what they say about intentions.

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That (Additions)

There is no specific point or theme to this post. It's just some random thoughts and happenings that have been going on that I have neglected to post about recently. Now, I just need to figure out where to begin.

This afternoon, about half an hour ago actually, I walked into the living room/office to discover that Hannah, The Dog from Hell, chewed the chair cushion on my sectional. See for yourself.



I love Hannah, but sometimes she is really hard to like.

Remember the speeding ticket C got last week or whenever it was? Wanna know what his excuse was? "It was inevitable." At $150, that's not much of a comfort.

I'm really tired of certain people's attitudes towards those of us who don't have a degree and who are enlisted wives. Just because I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth and I'm not 30 years old with parents who still pay my bills because they're loaded doesn't make me less of a person who deserves respect. And just because my husband is enlisted doesn't mean that I'm ignorant, covered in tattoos (not that there's anything wrong with that if that's your deal), have my head up my husband's ass and career, and cheat on him every chance that I get. Get over yourself. Your attitudes make you sound uneducated. I'm tired, just plain sick and tired, of hypocrites and stereotypes.

It's almost November and still in the 80's!! Woohoo!!!!!

I finished The Picture of Dorian Gray FINALLY. I reviewed it on my Good Reads page and I will also be reviewing it later on my blog for the R.I.P. Challenge.

I got an A on my writing project yesterday. Go me!

From way back when...We went to the Mum Fest here in New Bern. I had a most awesome sausage and peppers sandwich. YUM! They had a lot of booths and things to see and do, but it was like any other fair or festival that I've ever been to. The ride tickets were outrageous imo. They equalled $3-$6 a ride. Is that a lot or has it just been that long since I've been to a fair?

Keep your eye out for my book review, updates on my television show post, Thursday's meme, and whatever else comes to mind.

**Additional Item:

I hate, absolutely hate, when people stop by unexpectedly. Is it too much to ask for someone to call ahead?

It's a Nail Biter

I've been doing little else than watching San Diego news the past few days. Their ABC has been streaming their news online live which has been an awesome way for me to keep track of what's been going on.

This may sound totally insane, but in addition to being worried for my friends and their families who are threatened by the wildfires, I don't want our old base housing to burn down either. Living there was the last time that I felt at home anywhere and it would really bother me if our old townhouse were to burn down. I know. It's irrational but that's how I feel.

Oh. And if anyone else is interested you can watch the San Diego news online at this link:

San Diego 10 News

Be Safe

I've been watching the news over the weekend and online for news about the wildfires out west. I have good friends that live in the San Diego area and I am very worried for them. The last time San Diego had fires of this magnitude was in October of 2003. C, the girls, and I had the misfortune of being in the middle of those fires. I can tell you, four years later and I am still affected by that experience. Wood smoke reminds me of those fires each and every time I smell it. We were extremely lucky to have been spared any damage in those fires but people in the town we lived in as well as other friends that we knew lost their homes. We could see fire on the hills out behind our house. It was a terrifying time. I hope that the winds calm down soon so that the firefighters can get the fires under control.

My thoughts are with my friends and their families in San Diego. And if you're reading this, for some weird reason, when they tell you to evacuate, leave for pete's sake. And you should already have your car packed and ready just in case.

Contradictions Cont.

I read blog updates through Outlook 2007. It's a new feature that the old '02 version didn't have that I thought was a pretty nifty little addition. It's not. It SUCKS. Updates had been slow recently and I just figured I was experiencing a lull in the blogs that I read on a regular basis. However, on a whim, I decided to go to my Technorati page to see if there were any updates there. Sure enough there were TONS that I had missed. This may not seem like such a big deal to you, but I missed a piece of history because Microsoft blows. I'm irritated. Again.

On the flip side...I talked to a friend on the phone today. We had been trying to get in touch for a couple days now but due to life and the fact that I have a retarded cell phone, it took a couple tries. We're going to the Nora signing next month together so our convo was oodles of fun. And she's also a great ear. I felt better about stuff until I realized I had missed weeks of blog updates. GEEZ!

A Post of Contradictions

The Positives:

Yesterday, M was honored by the New Bern Rotary Club for being an exceptional student. They gave her a $30 gift card to the book store, a school t-shirt, and free breakfast at the ceremony. It was very cool and I couldn't be more proud. North Carolina agrees with her.

I got a new shower curtain liner yesterday. My old one was nasty. Why can't they make a shower curtain that is truly "mildew resistant" like the packaging says? I only had the other one for less than a year.

The Negatives:

I was the only one who didn't get a new book at the book store yesterday. Talk about being disappointed.

C got a FREAKING SPEEDING TICKET this morning. That is the third time he's been pulled over, that I FREAKING know of, for speeding in 9 months. If it keeps up, I'm going to pull the bitchy, nagging wife routine and make him find a new way to work. How he informs me of this:

In an e-mail titled: (Our daughter's name): It won't be any problem getting the time off ,I got a speeding ticket, just need to know the dates of the appointments.

I copied and pasted that word for word out of the e-mail. He's not that clever and I'm not that dumb, lol.

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

And now I get to start my day irritated. Men.

Thursday Meme

Here's our Thursday meme courtesy of Booking Through Thursday.

You may or may not have seen my post at Punctuality Rules Tuesday, about a book I recently bought that had the actual TITLE misspelled on the spine of the book. A glaring typographical error that really (really!) should have been caught. So, using that as a springboard, today’s question: What’s the worst typographical error you’ve ever found in (or on) a book?

When I read, typos really stick out for me. I notice them constantly in books, magazines, and even on food labels. In fact, I've seen so many that I can't think of just one that I would consider to be the worst. They're so commonplace, unfortunately, that they don't even really bother me anymore. I laugh, point them out to my husband, and keep reading. What really rubs me the wrong way is when I'm reading a series of books and the author mistakenly changes facts down the line that are pertinent to the story. That's irritating. However, if I were to find a mistake such as the title being misspelled, I would be incredibly disappointed. That's such an obvious mistake that someone in the publishing process should have caught it before the book hit the shelves.

Happy Thursday!

Venturing into the Great Unknown

So I only have one taker for the cheesecake? I have to say that's a bit disappointing. Maybe you all would be more interested in plain vanilla cheesecakes with fruit topping. Or how about a pumpkin cheesecake for the holidays? Better yet, how about a Snickers, Heath Bar, or peanut butter cup cheesecake?

Why am I teasing you all with lovely thoughts of creamy cheesecakes? Because C has been toying around with the idea of selling his cheesecakes. Yes. C makes cheesecakes. Damn good cheesecakes too. He already has his first paying customers and the guys at work beg for him to bring them cakes all the time. You know. After they harass him for baking like a woman. Anywho. We're just trying to get an idea of what people would be willing to pay for plain and for specialty cheesecakes. We're also trying to figure out a good way to ship them (you'll have to come here for your apple cheesecake for now, Jennifer. Sowwy.) and how well they'll freeze.

It's a pretty exciting venture. It would be great for C if he could make money off of something that he enjoys doing. And, if he does make a go of this as a business, anything new we get for the kitchen can be a tax right off, hehehe.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? The floor is open.

Animal Rescue Groups

The idea behind animal rescue groups is a good one. They take homeless and/or abused animals into their facilities and then adopt them out to good homes. You have your general rescues that have a variety of animals and breeds and then you have your breed specific rescues. I have had the occasion to have dealings with a few different types of rescues and with mixed results.

We adopted Chloe, our rabbit, from a rescue in Vermont. The process wasn't simple by any means. Short of having to get security clearances from the government, we had to get recommendation letters, fill out applications, have a home inspection, two preliminary visits with the animal, and have personal references. To. Get. A. Homeless. Rabbit. Oh yeah. And we had to sign a form stating that if we couldn't keep her, that we'd give her back to the rescue we got her from. Sound familiar? When it came time to move from Vermont to N.C. we were afraid that Chloe wouldn't do well during the two day car ride because of her age so I, in accordance with our agreement, called the rescue to take Chloe back. The woman gave me a hard time about it and made me feel bad as if I didn't feel bad enough having to give up an animal that was part of our family. I was simply trying to do what I thought best for Chloe. Additionally, we knew of people that wanted her and would have given her a good home, but I had signed the form. But you know. If they don't want the animals back in such a bad way, they shouldn't force people to sign their agreements.

Our next adventure with a pet rescue occurred when we decided that we wanted a second Boxer. There just happened to be a Boxer rescue that wasn't too far from where we lived in Vermont so we filled out their preliminary application online after we had perused their online descriptions of dogs and picked out a couple that we thought would be good for us. We were denied. Why? Because C is in the military. Yep. That's right.

Lastly, and I do mean last, we adopted our cat, Cal, from the Humane Society in Vermont. It wasn't so bad once you got past the personal references, applications, fees, etc.

But you know, pet rescues are all the time complaining that they're overcrowded and can't find homes for their animals but they make it damn near impossible to adopt them. They take pet advocacy and give it a bad name. They're freaking maniacs is what they are. And I'm not totally clueless. I understand why they have guidelines, rules, regulations, standards, etc. But they take it to a ridiculous level and I think they are partly guilty for the excessive pet population. Take us for example. Instead of us being able to adopt a Boxer, we bought one from a breeder instead. C's being in the military shouldn't have kept us from being qualified for a dog and it was blatant discrimination in my opinion and why I will never have anything to do, ever again, with pet rescues.

Ellen DeGeneres' current situation and the reaction from that pet rescue is typical. They're not going to give the dog back because the hair dressers' kids are under the age of 14??? That's bull. 11 and 12 year old kids are perfectly capable of being responsible with pets. We've had Bailey since S was 6 and she has yet to harm her. In fact, C and I have had pets since we first lived together and my kids haven't killed any of them at this point. But I guess I should give our dogs up to a loving Boxer rescue for their safety until my kids are old enough to have pets. And furthermore, if they think that kids shouldn't be around animals, what they should really be saying is that the parents aren't capable of controlling and disciplining their kids so they shouldn't have dogs either. And if you want to get picky, it was irresponsible of the rescue to adopt out a pet that hadn't been altered yet.

It's experiences like mine and stories like Ellen's that are going to keep rescues overcrowded and animals from having perfectly good and loving homes. Pet rescues need to stop being over-dramatic fanatics, take it down a notch, and become true advocates of homeless and abused animals.


Ellen's Story and Video of Her Plea for Iggy
The Pet Rescue's Reaction

Food

Cooking is something that I enjoy on occasion. The conditions have to be just right:

1. The kitchen needs to be clean.


2. All of the necessary ingredients have to be available. You know. In the house.


3. I have to be cooking something that I like to eat.


4. I don't like cooking for picky eaters.


5. And I don't like being in a rush.

Also, I'm a recipe cook. I'm not the type of person that can glance around the pantry and fridge and make a wonderful meal out of what I see that sounds good together. I can follow a recipe like a champ though. I've never understood how people can be bad cooks if they have a recipe to follow, can read, and can measure. It boggles my mind. My sister comes from a long line of fantastic cooks. She, however, ruins microwave brownies.

Food that comes from a can, jar, or box, i.e., Hamburger Helper, Preggo spaghetti sauce, and the like isn't real cooking. There's nothing wrong with it. I occasionally use ready made ingredients like taco seasoning for instance, but I call that, "throwing dinner together".

Garlic. Garlic is good. It goes in almost any dish and it's really hard to use too much. However, adding tons of garlic to a dish doesn't automatically make it wonderful. There's someone that I know that thinks they can cook by putting random ingredients together, lots of garlic, and then call it a gourmet meal. It's not.

Leftovers. We don't do leftovers. Why? I have no idea. I put leftovers away in the fridge only to throw them out later once they start growing new things. Exceptions to this are tortilla soup, Mexican black bean chili, pasta, and occasionally a roast which I'll turn into stew. Things that don't reheat well: Potatoes...of any variety. They just taste nasty. Mac and cheese out of a box. The homemade kind tastes alright if you add a little milk or cream to it when you reheat. Steak. Turkey. I know a lot of people will probably disagree with me on this. I think that reheated Thanksgiving turkey tastes funny. Funny in a not good sorta way. Don't get me wrong. We put the leftovers to good use as sandwiches and I chop up a good part of the bird to go into a turkey pot pie (pie crust pre-made from Pilsbury. I don't do pie crust.). But just to reheat the meat with the sides is icky.

Breakfast for dinner. Ain't nothing wrong with that. In fact, I'm making breakfast burritos for dinner tonight which was part of the inspiration for this post. See. I'm making my own chorizo to go into them because chorizo is nowhere to be found outside of the southwest for some reason. And I make it from scratch and it's really good if I do say so myself. And I use tons of garlic.

The other part of the inspiration came from my lunch which was reheated southwest potato stew. The potatoes tasted gross but the stew part was really good.

As for desserts...How much would you pay for a slice (or the whole thing if you're of a mind) of this scrumptious apple cheesecake with streusel and caramel topping?

Eat My Dust

My lawn care guy is here mowing...sort of. He's mostly just stirring up a ton of dust and taking care of the leaves in my backyard. It's been three weeks since he's been here, but due to a lack of rain and cooler temps, you can't even tell. Oh well. He saves me the trouble of raking and bagging leaves which I loathe doing.

In other news...

Yesterday was a pretty much a nothing day. We went to the commissary and had lunch at a friend's house. I know. We're wild animals. The rest of the day was spent torturing myself with algebra. Yuck and ugh.

Gotta go pay the man. Laters.

Saturday Delivery

I thought the title was perfect for today's post seeing as how I was waiting on a Saturday delivery from FedEx. They called and said my envelope is in Ft. Wayne, Indiana and I'll be getting it on Monday. How funny, right? It got sent there by mistake but it doesn't matter that I'm not getting it today. All that matters it that it was sent at all. That takes care of issue #1 from yesterday's post.

As for the meds, they made me pee every half hour until about noon yesterday. Then I had dry mouth and nausea the rest of the day. Fun times. I'm sure it's just going to take my system more than a day to get used to them.

As for today, we're going to New Bern's Mum Fest. We've been looking forward to this for about two weeks now. It's a perfect day for outdoor activities. The sun's been shining for a couple hours now and our high is only 75 so it won't be too hot. My house, on the other hand, is freezing. I haven't turned the heat on yet and our overnight lows are in the 40's. It's 64 inside my house as I type. Brrr!! Anyway, aside from having fun at the Fest, we're meeting up with a guy that C works with and his wife and their three kids. I'm somewhat leery about this meeting. It's hard being friends with someone your husband works with (the first time hasn't worked out at all) but C is really optimistic about this and he's the best judge of people that I've ever known.

As for tomorrow, I have no idea what we'll be doing. I'd like to finish the Dorian Gray book but we'll see how it goes.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Changes

I've never considered myself the type of person to be set in my ways. In fact, I love trying new things and travelling to new places. I can't add in "meeting new people" because I hate people. The last new person I met has added so much stress to my life that I've been trying to figure out a way to get rid of them. And speaking of which, when you're an adult, how the heck do you end relationships with "friends" that you don't really care for but that you can't avoid seeing? Back to my original subject. Even though I like having new experiences, I think making life changes is easier when it's your own idea and voluntary. With what I'm going through right now, I should know.

Today is a pivotal day where my house in Vermont is concerned. Today could go one of two ways: 1.) Our renter will continue to live in our house. 2.) The house will be going up for sale...in Vermont...at a very bad time of the year to do so. Unfortunately, I have very little control over how this day is going to turn out.

Yesterday was a day of changes as well. I'm having issues with high blood pressure. I'm 30 years old and I have old people problems. It sucks and it depresses me. What sucks even more is what my doctor told me at my appointment yesterday. See, my high blood pressure has caused damage to the blood vessels in my eyes. My doctor said that with my age and the fact the my blood pressure, while high, isn't that high, that the prognosis for my eyesight isn't good. That's what she said, word for word. As a result, I'm sitting her drinking a glass of orange juice and getting ready to take my first high blood pressure pill. I hate being medicated, HATE IT, but losing my eyesight is a terrifying thought. How would I read? I don't like audio books. Also, I have to make lifestyle changes. She said I have to figure out a way to deal with my stress. I've never been able to figure out a way to make people go away and they are the main source of my stress. I'm going to have to be inventive here, lol. I also have to change my eating habits. Low fat, low salt, no taste foods are it for me. This is going to be a challenge as well. That's why I'm posting about this. I figure if everyone knows that I have to start eating better, exercising (my choice for a stress reliever) and stop freaking out all the time, that maybe I'll actually stick with it and follow through. I need to be nagged on, badgered, and watched like a hawk. And what's more, this medication is going to make me pee a lot. I'm already a peeful person so I suppose all the extra time I'll be spending in the bathroom is one way I can avoid interactions with annoyances.

And if that isn't enough, Wednesday was a pivotal day as well. C and I have been dealing with a certain issue for about four years now. It has to do with S and is totally personal and private so I won't be posting specifics here. Suffice it to say, all four of us are about to go through some major changes. Luckily, they are for the good. Nuff said.

And the weather is changing. I can handle that one though. This time last year in Vermont, it had already snowed. I'm still wearing shorts so it's alllll good.

Thursday Meme

Here's our Thursday meme courtesy of Booking Through Thursday.

I said in August, when we talked about fan mail, that I planned on expanding that to live meetings when the time was right. Well, that time is now!

• Have you ever met one of your favorite authors? Gotten their autograph?

I've never met any of my favorite authors in person...yet. I will be remedying that situation next month when I go to Nora Roberts' book signing. And it's not just a book signing. She's going to be giving a talk too. Woohoo!

• How about an author you felt only so-so about, but got their autograph anyway? Like, say, at a book-signing a friend dragged you to?

I had the opportunity to meet Nicholas Sparks. Turns out, he lives about a mile from my house. Small world, right? Anyway, he was having a book signing at our local mall to promote his newest book. While I've read and enjoyed The Notebook and the sequel, he's by no means a favorite author of mine. I think his books are a little too...sappy for my tastes. Anyway, I was going to go to the book signing just because he was an author but changed my mind at the last minute. I just didn't care enough to go out of my way to meet him.

• How about stumbling across a book signing or reading and being so captivated, you bought the book?

As for the last question, I have to answer no. I've never even seen a book signing at this point in my life. But like I said, that will be changing next month, hehehe! Can you tell that I'm excited??

Have Read or Not

I nabbed this from the Literary Feline. I have to say that I'm a little embarrassed by the number of books that I haven't read that are considered classics. I need to put down my chick lit and pick up something that actually has the potential to enrich my brain a bit.

 

The below listed books are the top 106 books most often tagged as being unread by LibraryThing users (as of October 3rd).

The instructions are simple: Bold what you have read, and italicize books you have started but couldn't finish. Add an asterisk* to those you have read more than once. Underline those on your TBR list (in my case this means I own them, but have yet to read them). The ones marked in red are books I am considering reading one day but do not have on hand.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Anna Karenina
Crime and Punishment
Catch-22
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights
The Silmarillion
Life of Pi: A Novel
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice
Jane Eyre
A Tale of Two Cities
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel: the Fates of Human Societies
War and Peace
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveller's Wife
The Iliad
Emma
The Blind Assassin
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Memoirs of a Geisha
Middlesex
Quicksilver
Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
The Canterbury Tales
The Historian
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead
Foucault's Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dracula
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath
The Poisonwood Bible
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Mansfield Park
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D'Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver's Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela's Ashes
The God of Small Things
A People's History of the United States : 1492-Present
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-Five
The Scarlet Letter
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake: A Novel
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion
Northanger Abbey
The Catcher in the Rye
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity's Rainbow
The Hobbit
In Cold Blood
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield
The Three Musketeers

 

Totals:

 

Books I've Read: 12

Books I've Started and Didn't Finish: 1

Books on My TBR List: 2

Books I Want to Read: 28

Books I Never Intend to Read: 63

 

Our Trip

I'm back. We had a really good time over the weekend. We got home Sunday evening and my feet still hurt from all the walking this morning.

Saturday we went to a festival in downtown Norfolk. It was sorta lame but we got to see some animals and that's always fun. From there we went back to the Nauticus and toured the USS Wisconsin again. The first time, we didn't have enough time to see the whole thing so we made up for it this go around. After that, we checked into our hotel, which was really nice, and then we went to the Botanical Gardens. I love botanical gardens and this one was really huge. In addition to plants and flowers we got to see tons of Canadian geese, a red fox, a toad, and a turtle. The turtle was the first one I've seen since we moved down this way that wasn't a pancake in the road. Next, we had dinner which was the funny part of the day.

See. I absolutely HATE buffets. I've never been to one that had good food that wasn't dried up and nasty from sitting under heat lamps. And the last time we went to Virginia Beach, we had this completely inedible seafood buffet that was overpriced. You had to pay for soda refills for pete's sake. But, M wanted crab legs. I looked through the hotel restaurant guide and couldn't decide on what sounded good so we asked the guy at the front desk for a recommendation. He immediately named this seafood buffet and I mentally groaned. But, he promised it was good so we tried it out. IT WAS GOOD! Talk about being shocked. And the funny part...M ate FIVE sets of crab legs and that's not to mention the crawfish, shrimp, scallops, and other stuff she ate too. And people try to claim I don't feed that child enough, lol. And the really funny part is that we got to pay the child price for her, heheh. Little did they know that she can pack away the seafood. She ate more than both me and C. The three of us also tried something new: softshell crab. It was...ummm...good. Alright. None of could get past what it was to eat it so we didn't eat it. Sue me.

After all that, we hit the hotel for the night in total exhaustion.

Sunday, after breakfast, we decided to go ahead and start off for the Outer Banks. There, we went down through Kitty Hawk to Kill Devil Hills where we saw the Wright Brothers National Memorial. That was fun. It was a lot of walking but knowing the history made it neat. Plus, having grown up in Ohio and in the Dayton area where the Wright Brothers are from made it all the more special. Kind of like book ends. From there we drove down to Jockey's Ridge State Park where the tallest sand dunes on the east coast are located. That was pretty cool. Then we drove home through Nags Head to Roanoke Island and Manteo.

All in all, it was a good time. The weather on Sunday was perfect, the kids were well behaved, and we didn't have to worry about the dogs destroying the house. The one downer is that I forgot my digital camera. I really could have kicked myself. But, we bought a disposable so I'll have pictures eventually but I have to get them developed. I have no idea who has good picture developing. I also have a few pictures that I took with my cell but the quality won't be that good. See what I mean?

That's the view from the top of the Wright Bros. Memorial.

Hittin' the Road

We'll be leaving tomorrow morning for our trip. I'm SO excited. And the really good thing is that it's only a three hour drive so we don't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn as we normally would for a road trip. I'll do my best to take lots of pictures to post next week sometime.

In the meantime, I've been cleaning like a fiend. I always do this before we go anywhere. I like to come home to a spotless house whenever we go away for more than a day. This time might be a little different, however, since we're going to have L and P staying here with the dogs.

Funny thing...I have the stereo on pretty loud while I'm cleaning. It makes the cleaning go faster. Know what I'm saying? So anyway, I have the music up loud and I have forgotten that the kids get out of school early today. I wander down the hall to throw something away and I hear the dogs scratching at the door. I go to look and there's the girls with the postal carrier, lol. Oops. M said they had been knocking for about ten minutes, heheh. I'm a bad mom.

I'm off. I hope everyone has a great weekend and for those of you that get Monday off, enjoy the long weekend. Hugs and stuff.

Thursday Meme

Here's our Thursday meme courtesy of Booking Through Thursday.

Do you have “issues” with too much profanity or overly explicit (ahem) “romantic” scenes in books? Or do you take them in stride? Have issues like these ever caused you to close a book? Or do you go looking for more exactly like them? (grin)

Profanity and sex scenes in books don't offend me at all. I've never read any erotica before though just your regular, run of the mill romances. The only time that sex and language offends me is when my kids are exposed to it and they don't read my books, lol.

Do I go looking for it? Nope, not really. I've heard about Sunny's books from a message board that I read regularly and have looked for them, never found them, and didn't worry too much about it.

There are enough things in the world today to get your panties in a twist about that I don't sweat the R rated content of the novels that I read.

Much to Look Forward To

I have exciting news. One won't actually be news unless you don't pay attention to my events thing on the right.

First, we're going to Virginia Beach this weekend. I am so looking forward to going. We're going to go to a festival, the botanical gardens, the zoo, and I don't know what else while we're there. What makes it even more fun is that we're going to drive home through the Outer Banks. Of the four of us, M is the only one that's been to the Outer Banks because she went last year on a school field trip. So, I'm totally excited about this trip.

Secondly, and this is my biggie, in November, I'm going to a Nora Roberts book signing in South Carolina!! She's on a book tour to promote her latest In Death book which I'll get at the signing and she'll, of course, sign if for me. I CAN'T WAIT!! And what's more is that I've sorta turned it into a getaway for a friend of mine and myself. Originally, C, the girls, and I were going to go until I found out that it's not just a book signing but an event that will take at least an hour and a half and you can't get in without a ticket. I didn't want to buy the girls a ticket since they could care less about Nora Roberts and C doesn't read her books either, heheh. So, I got to talking with a friend of mine who I turned onto the In Death books and it turns out she can go so we're driving down together and leaving the men with the kids. Woot woot!!

I can't wait!

Baseball

One last thing. The Padres got a raw-freaking-deal last night. Matt Holiday DIDN'T TOUCH THE PLATE!!!! And Trevor Hoffman would've struck out the next two at bat. FRICK! That game should've gone into the 14th inning asswads. FRICK!

The New Television Season

This is a very long post so get your popcorn and hang on for the ride.

Is it just me or are there a lot of new television shows that are actually good this year? I've been enjoying quite a few of them the past couple of weeks. Too many in fact. Returning shows that I like combined with the new ones, two DVR's might not be enough. I already know that I watch waaaay too much tv but it's a compulsion and I don't wish to get better so keep your meds to yourself.


Here's a list of new shows that I'm giving a chance:


1. Chuck. It's quirky and silly but you can't help but wonder what's going to happen to Chuck, our unlikely hero.


2. Journeyman. I was leery of the premise of the show. Time traveler? Come on. But I watched it anyway because I love the lead man, Kevin McKidd formerly on HBO's Rome which I liked also. So far, I'm not disappointed. It's a little bit sci-fi, a little bit romance, a little bit feel good drama.


3. Back to You. Had to watch this one because of Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. I like the story lines and it's funny but I have a hard time looking at Kelsey Grammer and not see Frasier Crane. It doesn't help that he talks the same, has the same mannerisms, and he has the same pompous attitude that I was used to seeing on Frasier Crane for twenty years. As for Patricia Heaton, I have to wonder if she's a bitch in real life because she plays the part so well. Both on Everybody Loves Raymond and now on Back to You she's hard to like, imo. But I'm willing to give this show more of a chance just because of my loyalty to Grammer.

4. Private Practice. This one is a given. Of course I was going to watch this one being the huge Grey's Anatomy fan that I am. I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy this show as much as I do. I was also surprised that Addison isn't as much the main character as I thought she'd be since the show was spun off of her Grey's character. All that being said, I'll be shocked if this show goes the long haul. I think it'll make it through the whole '07-'08 season because of Shonda Rhimes and maybe even into next season, but is this one going to be a Friends, Frasier, or ER? Nope. I don't think so.

5. Dirty, Sexy, Money. I confess, I checked this one out because the critics said to do so. Oh. And I LOVE Donald Sutherland. Do I like it? The jury's still out on that one. The first episode didn't even have a point until the last five minutes. But I'm intrigued enough to give it another shot this week.

6. Big Shots. This is one that C wanted to watch so I figured what the heck. It's not that bad but they seem to be trying to make the guys on the show as seedy as they possibly can. Do men really sit around poolside sharing their infidelities and laughing about it? I should hope not. Am I watching this week? We'll see if my DVR has room. If not, it's out.

New shows I still want to try out and are waiting for me anxiously on my DVR:

1. Cane. Reason for wanting to watch: I've always liked Hector Elizondo and I don't mind Jimmy Smits.

2. Carpoolers. Reason for wanting to watch: It looks funny in the commercials and there aren't very many comedies on tv these days.

3. Pushing Daisies. Reason for wanting to watch: a.) It has an unusual premise, b.) Digby is in the list of characters, c.) The critics like it.

4. Life. Reason for wanting to watch: I like Adam Arkin and it just sounds interesting.

5. Moonlight. Reason for wanting to watch: I like the premise. It's vampires. And I missed the first episode but could download it for free on iTunes. What more do you need?

Returning shows that I LOVE:

1. Prison Break. I'm disappointed that Sarah Callies, Dr. Sara Tancredi, didn't return to the show this season. There's no word on if they're going to recast her character or just kill her off yet but I'm not sure what my preference would be. Other than that, this season so far is awesome. Love it. Plus, I just like looking at Wentworth Miller.

2. Two and a Half Men. I don't know how those writers keep coming up with such hilarious story lines but I laugh myself silly at each episode. Why they syndicated it after only four seasons to rerun is beyond me. It's too soon imo.

3. Bones. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this show. I was so glad to see Zach come back from Iraq. Whoo! That was a relief. It was funny watching Brennen try to find his replacement though, heheh.

4. ER. I've been a loyal fan since day one. I think the reason why this show has been able to stay on the air so long is that it reinvents itself constantly. Doctors are a dime a dozen and with each new one in and old one out, it creates a different atmosphere and thus, a new show. If you were to watch an episode from season 1 and one from this year, you wouldn't even think it's the same show. It's had it's ups and downs over the 13 years but overall, it's still a good show. I miss Carter.

5. Men in Trees. I really like the quirkiness of this show. I had my doubts it'd be any good at first because I really don't like Anne Heche, but she's good on here and I can't wait for the new episodes to air starting on the 12th.

6. Shark. One of the best lawyer shows imo. Sebastian Stark is such an ass that you have to love him. I was glad that Casey left the show though. There was just something about him that I didn't like. Maybe he was too much of a pretty boy or something. And I was thrilled that Jeri Ryan is going to continue on the show. I LOVE her.

And lastly...

7. Grey's Anatomy. You already know I'm a fanatic about this show. Primetime soap opera/medical drama series at it's best. There's too much to say about this show. I just love it to death. Fun times.


And that's it. Well, at least for the major networks. I didn't even list the shows I watch on TBS, TNT, HBO, etc. (I'll blog about them later.) Like I said, I watch waaaay too much tv and the DVR is the best invention of the modern world. That's not my opinion, that's fact. It's a good thing that I'm not a Law and Order or CSI fan. There aren't enough hours in the week for what I already like plus all of those shows.

Wanna Hear?

Something funny? I got a hit on my blog today from both USAA and Navy Federal Credit Union. I guess they wanted to see if random bloggers were saying bad things about them. Funnily enough, I have nothing bad to say about either of them. I've been banking with them since 1998 and have never had a problem. How often can you say that about a bank?

Wanna See?

I thought it would be fun to post a couple pictures of my desk area. It is, after all, where I blog from and where I spend most of my free time. Sadly enough. So, here are two angles. I think it's pretty much self explanatory but feel free to ask questions.