I have decided that instead of having a regular blog that occasionally posts book reviews, I am now blogging for just books and reviews. Please join me on my new blog
www.bippityboppitybook.blogspot.com
Holly
Friday, January 01, 2010
Monday, July 06, 2009
Sites I love
I am a complete historical fiction junkie and in the past year I have run across some really awesome sites to feed my reading needs:
#1 on that list is of course www.paperbackswap.com which is a book swapping site. You list the books you don't want, someone orders one from you, you mail it and get a credit. You then use said credits to order other books you really want. I went from about 30 books on my shelf to over 300 in a year. I am michiganderholly on there.
Other HF sites I love:
www.histfiction.net which lists the 100 top selling HF books at the moment and also lets you divide them by timesline. You can also look up by author.
www.historical-fiction.com I have completely maxed out my PBS wish list because of this site. She gives great reviews, has lots of giveaways and also does www.royal-intrigue.net which is all Jean Plaidy all the time and includes the 2009 Plaidy Challenge (see button).
http://www.historicalnovels.info/ Lists HF by timeline. Found alot of good ones here too.
www.historicalnovelsociety.org Besides looking through the coming soon section on the Barnes & Noble website this is one of the sources I find upcoming HF at.
Other Non-HF sites I love:
www.bookcloseouts.com I find alot of great deals on books here. I just got 15 books for $83 and that includes shipping.
www.goodreads.com This is where I keep track of what I've read, what I want to read, and what I'm currently reading.
www.kiva.org You become a lender and browse entrepreneurs in 3rd world countries and lend $ through paypal. One of Kiva's microfinance partners distributes the loans and the entrepreneur pays them back over time. Once you get your money back you can either put it back in your bank account or lend it to someone else.
www.listsofbests.com Lists of the best music, books, movies, places etc.. Includes definitive lists and peoples personal opinion lists.
#1 on that list is of course www.paperbackswap.com which is a book swapping site. You list the books you don't want, someone orders one from you, you mail it and get a credit. You then use said credits to order other books you really want. I went from about 30 books on my shelf to over 300 in a year. I am michiganderholly on there.
Other HF sites I love:
www.histfiction.net which lists the 100 top selling HF books at the moment and also lets you divide them by timesline. You can also look up by author.
www.historical-fiction.com I have completely maxed out my PBS wish list because of this site. She gives great reviews, has lots of giveaways and also does www.royal-intrigue.net which is all Jean Plaidy all the time and includes the 2009 Plaidy Challenge (see button).
http://www.historicalnovels.info/ Lists HF by timeline. Found alot of good ones here too.
www.historicalnovelsociety.org Besides looking through the coming soon section on the Barnes & Noble website this is one of the sources I find upcoming HF at.
Other Non-HF sites I love:
www.bookcloseouts.com I find alot of great deals on books here. I just got 15 books for $83 and that includes shipping.
www.goodreads.com This is where I keep track of what I've read, what I want to read, and what I'm currently reading.
www.kiva.org You become a lender and browse entrepreneurs in 3rd world countries and lend $ through paypal. One of Kiva's microfinance partners distributes the loans and the entrepreneur pays them back over time. Once you get your money back you can either put it back in your bank account or lend it to someone else.
www.listsofbests.com Lists of the best music, books, movies, places etc.. Includes definitive lists and peoples personal opinion lists.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Mission Accomplished :)
As of June 7, 2009 I have completed my 101 books in 1,001 days challenge with 101 books read in 492 days. Yay!
Monday, April 13, 2009
REVIEW: Meridon by Philippa Gregory
Meridon is the conclusion of Philippa Gregory’s Wideacre Trilogy and tells the story of Meridon who has longed all her life for “Wide” a land she has never seen but cannot forget. Meridon grows up living a hard life as a child of gypsies with her “twin sister” Dandy. M has a gift for horses and she and her sister are sold to Robert Gower, a man with a horse show, so her stepfather no longer has to be responsible for them. Robert sees M’s gift with horses and trains her as a horsewoman and develops an aerial act where he trains Dandy and his son Jack as trapeze artists. After tragedy strikes M strikes out on her own and finally stumbles across Wideacre, the place of her dreams but finds herself at odds with the lifestyle of the Quality and how the estate is run.
I liked this one better than book 2 but I still think book 1 was the best of the three. I like that Gregory made Meridon a strong female character like Beatrice was. The only thing that irked me was I kept wondering what happened to some of the minor characters from book 2. It never said what happened to Ralph Megson or to the Haverings that owned Havering Hall beforehand. I felt it would have been a little bit better had this been explained and I also recommend that all the books be read back to back. I did read 2 and 3 back to back but I read the first one 6 months ago and forgot quite a bit of the back-story between then and now.
I liked this one better than book 2 but I still think book 1 was the best of the three. I like that Gregory made Meridon a strong female character like Beatrice was. The only thing that irked me was I kept wondering what happened to some of the minor characters from book 2. It never said what happened to Ralph Megson or to the Haverings that owned Havering Hall beforehand. I felt it would have been a little bit better had this been explained and I also recommend that all the books be read back to back. I did read 2 and 3 back to back but I read the first one 6 months ago and forgot quite a bit of the back-story between then and now.
REVIEW: The Favored Child by Philippa Gregory
Favored Child, the 2nd book in the Wideacre trilogy, continues the story of the Lacey’s of Wideacre. This time the book focuses on Julia and Richard, “cousins” and joint heirs to the Wideacre estate. Unlike Beatrice Lacey in the first book, Julia Lacey was not as strong of a character throughout. Richard was the one hell bent and determined to prove that he is the Favored Child and the rightful squire of Wideacre. This stems from a legend in the village of Acre that only one of them is the true heir of Beatrice who had a special relationship with the estate and could make it grow and prosper.
This book was not nearly as dark as the first one which shocked you repeatedly with its tales of rape, murder and incest, all for the love of the land. This one did have some dark undertones too though.
I had a hard time with Julia being such a wishy washy character, especially when Beatrice Lacey was such a no holds barred one in the last book. I also had a hard time believing that her love for Richard blinded her so much that she couldn’t see how evil he really was. I love Philippa Gregory’s books and although I didn’t like this one as much as Boleyn Girl, Boleyn Inheritance or Queen’s Fool, it was still a pretty good read. I definitely think it had a little bit of “middle book” syndrome though where the 2nd book in a trilogy still manages to progress the story but it just kind of sandwiched in between the 1st and 2nd book and not nearly as good.
This book was not nearly as dark as the first one which shocked you repeatedly with its tales of rape, murder and incest, all for the love of the land. This one did have some dark undertones too though.
I had a hard time with Julia being such a wishy washy character, especially when Beatrice Lacey was such a no holds barred one in the last book. I also had a hard time believing that her love for Richard blinded her so much that she couldn’t see how evil he really was. I love Philippa Gregory’s books and although I didn’t like this one as much as Boleyn Girl, Boleyn Inheritance or Queen’s Fool, it was still a pretty good read. I definitely think it had a little bit of “middle book” syndrome though where the 2nd book in a trilogy still manages to progress the story but it just kind of sandwiched in between the 1st and 2nd book and not nearly as good.
REVIEW: The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
Interesting read which tells the story of Griet, a Dutch girl who is sent to live as a servant for the painter Vermeer to earn money for her family after her father is blinded and can no longer work. The Vermeer household features several children, Catharina-the cold mistress of the household, and another servant. Tensions arise when one of the girls takes a dislike to Griet and constantly tries to get her in trouble. She also creates tension when Vermeer recognizes her abilities and tasks her to assist him which creates jealousy among the household and also when she catches the eye of a wealthy customer and must resist his advances. Eventually the only way to appease him is for Griet to sit for a portrait (The Girl with the Pearl Earring).
I like that the focus of the book stayed on Griet and that kept the story simple and enjoyable. There are so many different points of focus the book could have had but I think Chevalier was smart to keep the focus on the protagonist, Griet. In doing this I got a good impression of what it was like to live in Delft and the differences between the classes and how people were expected to act. Its not easy to picture in your mind how characters should be in a time you know nothing about but I felt liked the way the writing and descriptions allowed you to “see” it without it being too much. I also didn’t mind the background story of the butcher’s son vying for Griet’s attention throughout the book. Good description, likeable main character and it made me interested enough to look up some of Vermeer’s work on Wikipedia so I could see for myself the paintings that were discussed in the book.
I like that the focus of the book stayed on Griet and that kept the story simple and enjoyable. There are so many different points of focus the book could have had but I think Chevalier was smart to keep the focus on the protagonist, Griet. In doing this I got a good impression of what it was like to live in Delft and the differences between the classes and how people were expected to act. Its not easy to picture in your mind how characters should be in a time you know nothing about but I felt liked the way the writing and descriptions allowed you to “see” it without it being too much. I also didn’t mind the background story of the butcher’s son vying for Griet’s attention throughout the book. Good description, likeable main character and it made me interested enough to look up some of Vermeer’s work on Wikipedia so I could see for myself the paintings that were discussed in the book.
REVIEW: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I don’t think I have ever read a book that was narrated by Death before. It definitely gave the book an interesting perspective. The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel Meminger who comes to live with the Himmerman family in Nazi Germany after her mother can no longer care for her. Death tells the different times he meets Liesel and how she came to be known as the Book Thief. It also gives a glimpse into how it was to live in Munich during the time of the Nazi’s and also the trials the Himmerman family goes through to hide Max, the Jewish son of Hans Himmermans’ old deceased war buddy, after Hans made a promise to help his widow if she ever needed anything.
If this story were told from the perspective of one of the actual characters (Liesel, Hans, Max, or Rudy-Liesel’s neighbor and best friend) I don’t think the story would have been nearly as good. It’s the story told from Death’s point of view and how among all the people in the world and all the suffering at the time this girl stood out to him and his telling of her story and those around her which puts the book in a class by itself.
I like books that allow you to put a human face on tribulations endured. For the Holocaust the Diary of Anne Frank did that, Elie Wiesel’s Night did that, and the Book Thief accomplished this also. Great, although very sad read.
If this story were told from the perspective of one of the actual characters (Liesel, Hans, Max, or Rudy-Liesel’s neighbor and best friend) I don’t think the story would have been nearly as good. It’s the story told from Death’s point of view and how among all the people in the world and all the suffering at the time this girl stood out to him and his telling of her story and those around her which puts the book in a class by itself.
I like books that allow you to put a human face on tribulations endured. For the Holocaust the Diary of Anne Frank did that, Elie Wiesel’s Night did that, and the Book Thief accomplished this also. Great, although very sad read.
REVIEW: 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows by Anne Brashares
Brashares decided to branch out from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and create a new sisterhood of sorts. This sisterhood only has three members Ama, Polly and Jo. In this book Ama, the braniac of the bunch, is awarded a scholarship to attend a program at one of the local universities over the summer but to her horror is assigned to go to a wilderness camp. Polly decides she wants to be a model (even though she is not the “model” type) and Jo decides to stay with her mom on the beach and takes a job at a local beach café after her mom and dad split up. While there she meets and older boy and has to vie for his affections after his old flame (Effie, younger sister of Lena from the SOTP series) shows up to work there again.
I was a little concerned that when I started reading this that the author would have basically the same characters as the original sisterhood but have given them all different names. I was pleasantly surprised because the characters of this new sisterhood stood on their own and didn’t remind me of the original girls at all. I’m not sure if I liked the character names though. When I read Ama in my mind I kept seeing Anna. I like the individual story lines of each of the girls and I think the author did a good job of showing how people who grow know each other for most of their lives can still reach that point where they grow apart a little bit. I know I have friendships like that-still friends but we all went our individual ways.
I think the only thing I didn’t like was the cameos from some of the SOTP characters, namely Effie. I didn’t like her in the other novels and I didn’t like her in this one. I can see that the author was maybe trying to do a passing of the torch type thing but I think the book could have stood by itself without bringing the old characters back.
I was a little concerned that when I started reading this that the author would have basically the same characters as the original sisterhood but have given them all different names. I was pleasantly surprised because the characters of this new sisterhood stood on their own and didn’t remind me of the original girls at all. I’m not sure if I liked the character names though. When I read Ama in my mind I kept seeing Anna. I like the individual story lines of each of the girls and I think the author did a good job of showing how people who grow know each other for most of their lives can still reach that point where they grow apart a little bit. I know I have friendships like that-still friends but we all went our individual ways.
I think the only thing I didn’t like was the cameos from some of the SOTP characters, namely Effie. I didn’t like her in the other novels and I didn’t like her in this one. I can see that the author was maybe trying to do a passing of the torch type thing but I think the book could have stood by itself without bringing the old characters back.
REVIEW: The Witch's Trinity by Erika Mailman
The Witch’s Trinity centers on a village in Germany in the 16th century and how the villagers slowly turn on one another by accusing each other of witchcraft in explanation of the long period of bad crops and starvation they have been experiencing. The main character, Gude, is an old woman who lives with her son, wife, and two children and is accused by her daughter-in-law as a convenient way to get rid of the old woman so they would no longer have to feed her. This occurs after Gude’s dearest friend is accused and found guilty after a Priest tries her using the Witch’s Hammer, a “Bible” of recognizing and dealing with witchcraft.
I have to say that I really enjoyed this short read and was able to finish it within a couple of hours. The author definitely has a good imagination. She does a great job of conveying Gude’s vulnerability as an old woman, and does a fantastic job in blurring the lines so we don’t know if Gude really is experiencing what is described in the book or if it is just an old woman’s imagination run wild. Also the glimpse we get of the teachings of the Witch’s Hammer and the methods of torture used to exact confessions from the accused actually made me cringe. I can’t imagine having to go through any of that.
I read The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent which centered on the Carrier family and the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. That story was interesting also but was dull and bogged down in parts and you sort of lost the characters. In my opinion Witch’s Trinity is a much better read because I can’t recall any dull parts at all. I loved the writing style and I hope I get to read more from this author.
I have to say that I really enjoyed this short read and was able to finish it within a couple of hours. The author definitely has a good imagination. She does a great job of conveying Gude’s vulnerability as an old woman, and does a fantastic job in blurring the lines so we don’t know if Gude really is experiencing what is described in the book or if it is just an old woman’s imagination run wild. Also the glimpse we get of the teachings of the Witch’s Hammer and the methods of torture used to exact confessions from the accused actually made me cringe. I can’t imagine having to go through any of that.
I read The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent which centered on the Carrier family and the Salem Witch Trials in 1692. That story was interesting also but was dull and bogged down in parts and you sort of lost the characters. In my opinion Witch’s Trinity is a much better read because I can’t recall any dull parts at all. I loved the writing style and I hope I get to read more from this author.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
MORE REVIEWS
THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED- Wally Lamb
I really liked Wally Lamb's other two books so I was anticipating a good read with this one and I got it.The story at first seems to be about the tragedy at Columbine but really it is about how a married couple deals with the fallout from the tragedy as well as other things that have affected their lives. Also the exploration of the family history of the main character takes up the latter half of the book. This may at times make it seem like HIFB is two separate stories rolled into one which can be wierd for some.What I really liked about this book was that the characters were human and really believable. I didn't necessarily like Caelum Quirk or his reactions to some of the issues he deals with in the book but it is how I would imagine a real person would react.I loved how the book dealt with the PTSD issue. I have PTSD so I was really skeptical about how accurately the author would portray the relationship between Caelum and Maureen after the Columbine fallout. I realize not all people will react the same but a lot of the symptoms are the same and Mr. Lamb nailed the struggles on that front. There were parts of the book where I felt the author had to have been standing in my living room observing me and my hubby before he wrote this book.The history of the Quirk family was interesting also but it was in this section that the story kind of got bogged down a bit. The author was laying the groundwork for this phase and it got a little less interesting but it did pick back up as the story got more involved.The story deals with heavy issues so it is probably not for someone who requires a happy ending to everything they read. It is rare that I retain much from a book for more than a day or two but this one stuck with me. Great book overall. I am looking forward to Mr. Lamb's next one.
VICTORIA VICT
ORIOUS - Jean Plaidy
***don't read if you don't know the history of this time period****
You would think with her taking the throne at such an early age her relatives would have had an easier time manipulating her. Not so. This is one lady who stuck to her guns throughout her entire life. She didn't let her mother or her uncle or any other member of her family push her around. During her reign the powers of the monarchy were much more limited than they had been before but it was still a big job and one she performed admirably well considering that the gov't kept changing parties and thus she was forced to change prime ministers more than normal people regularly change their underwear. She was also fortunate enough to find the love of her life and Prince Albert did seem to compliment her rather well. She governed through many difficult periods (crimean war, irish potato famine, war between prussia/denmark, russia/turkey etc). On top of all this she also popped out children faster than Ford could make a car pre-assembly line, for a grand total of 9 children, strategically marrying them off and cleverly uniting England to most of Europe. She also suffered the loss of a great many people she loved. What a Lady to have gone through this and with all the dignity and regalness expected of a queen.
Only thing that got me about the book was it didn't focus too much on the changes in the world but it was supposed to be her story from her POV so I can see why that would be.
I really liked Wally Lamb's other two books so I was anticipating a good read with this one and I got it.The story at first seems to be about the tragedy at Columbine but really it is about how a married couple deals with the fallout from the tragedy as well as other things that have affected their lives. Also the exploration of the family history of the main character takes up the latter half of the book. This may at times make it seem like HIFB is two separate stories rolled into one which can be wierd for some.What I really liked about this book was that the characters were human and really believable. I didn't necessarily like Caelum Quirk or his reactions to some of the issues he deals with in the book but it is how I would imagine a real person would react.I loved how the book dealt with the PTSD issue. I have PTSD so I was really skeptical about how accurately the author would portray the relationship between Caelum and Maureen after the Columbine fallout. I realize not all people will react the same but a lot of the symptoms are the same and Mr. Lamb nailed the struggles on that front. There were parts of the book where I felt the author had to have been standing in my living room observing me and my hubby before he wrote this book.The history of the Quirk family was interesting also but it was in this section that the story kind of got bogged down a bit. The author was laying the groundwork for this phase and it got a little less interesting but it did pick back up as the story got more involved.The story deals with heavy issues so it is probably not for someone who requires a happy ending to everything they read. It is rare that I retain much from a book for more than a day or two but this one stuck with me. Great book overall. I am looking forward to Mr. Lamb's next one.
VICTORIA VICT
ORIOUS - Jean Plaidy***don't read if you don't know the history of this time period****
You would think with her taking the throne at such an early age her relatives would have had an easier time manipulating her. Not so. This is one lady who stuck to her guns throughout her entire life. She didn't let her mother or her uncle or any other member of her family push her around. During her reign the powers of the monarchy were much more limited than they had been before but it was still a big job and one she performed admirably well considering that the gov't kept changing parties and thus she was forced to change prime ministers more than normal people regularly change their underwear. She was also fortunate enough to find the love of her life and Prince Albert did seem to compliment her rather well. She governed through many difficult periods (crimean war, irish potato famine, war between prussia/denmark, russia/turkey etc). On top of all this she also popped out children faster than Ford could make a car pre-assembly line, for a grand total of 9 children, strategically marrying them off and cleverly uniting England to most of Europe. She also suffered the loss of a great many people she loved. What a Lady to have gone through this and with all the dignity and regalness expected of a queen.
Only thing that got me about the book was it didn't focus too much on the changes in the world but it was supposed to be her story from her POV so I can see why that would be.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Short Update
Still alive and reading alot . I have been collecting the Happy Hollisters series for boy and I have almost all of them. I just need four more. Had a friend contact me out of the blue through myspace about joining the Army so I went with her to the appointment today. Its not often that happens since pretty much all of my friends said I was stark raving mad to join the Army when I did it in 2000. Oh well. I can totally understand why someone would want to do it in this economy.
We signed boy up for soccer which will be starting in early april. I love watching little kids try to do organized sports because they just don't get how it works so they are running the wrong way down the field but its fun to watch them anyway. When they're young like that its not about winning yet and I can't imagine that a parent would put a pressure on a young child like I've seen them do the older ones (unless they are total losers..) It will be interesting to see how he does because he is a very energetic child to begin with.
We signed boy up for soccer which will be starting in early april. I love watching little kids try to do organized sports because they just don't get how it works so they are running the wrong way down the field but its fun to watch them anyway. When they're young like that its not about winning yet and I can't imagine that a parent would put a pressure on a young child like I've seen them do the older ones (unless they are total losers..) It will be interesting to see how he does because he is a very energetic child to begin with.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Is it Over Yet?
Totally unrelated to what I'm about to write: If you're looking at my 101 books list I did read A Mercy by Toni Morrison in between the Shack and Myself, My Enemy but since it didn't meet my minimum 200 pg requirement I can't add it to the list. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.......
I just really wish Christmas would be over. I don't mind the real reason for the holiday but I just really don't like commericialized Christmas. It used to be fun to go buy gifts for everyone. This year I went to two malls.
My experience at the first one: I went last saturday and my biggest purpose for going to this one was to take the boy to see Santa because they have a nicer set-up at that mall than they do at the local one. We get there, fight for a parking spot for 45 minutes and finally find one that isn't 10 miles from the mall. We go in and immediately get in a LOOONNNG line for Santa. Two hours later we finally get to see the jolly old fat guy for a bargain price of $40 in order for me to get enough pictures for the whole family. All the time we're waiting there are people cutting through the Santa line to get to the theater because they are too freakin' lazy to walk around to the other side of the Santa thing where there is NO line. There are also the other morons who come up to where the gap is for letting the first set of movie going morons through and try to get in line there because "Oh, so sorry, didn't realize the line that stretches halfway around the foodcourt was the Santa line. I thought this was the back of it". Ever tried to stand in a line for two hours with an impatient four year old? Not fun. He did pretty good though considering. By the time we got through all that we both had to go to the bathroom so we did that and boy says he's hungry and wants a snack so I take him down to Auntie Anne's pretzels. We get in that line where, again, MORONS who don't realize that the line is going sideways instead of straight out so people can actually get through, try to cut the line. So we finally get our pretzels and we can't find anywhere to sit to eat them so we end up sitting on the floor on our jackets across from Macy's. Our second purpose in the mall being to get presents for everyone so we go to the lower level to get one of those toddler carts for boy so he doesn't have to keep walking everywhere. People were being very pushy while walking around and I was getting sick of them running into the poor child and almost knocking him down and then just moving on like nothing happened. So we get downstairs to get a cart and its $5 and they generously give you ONE whole dollar back when you return the cart. Can we say ripoff? I get the cart and we look around the whole crowded mall and do not find one thing for anyone. I get down to the end with the Starbucks kiosk and get in line as everyone knows Starbucks is my anti-homicidal medicine and at this point I needed it. The people already in line had the line going the wrong way- like past where you're supposed to pick up the drinks. The lady at the counter asked that if we were in line to order, please make the line going the other way. Well I am the only one that actually did what she asked, effectively losing my place in line while everyone else ignored her. I had had enough at this point and we returned the cart and headed to our car. Then the fun really began. I had to circle the mall 5 times in order to find a way out because it was so congested and by time I did a whole hour had passed. People are in total asshole gear this time of year and think its a crime against humanity if they have to stop their vehicles and let someone coming off one of the aisles in. So we head home. I drop boy off with the hubby and decide to go to the other mall in town.
My experience there: not nearly as bad actually but I couldn't find one thing there either that I thought anyone would like. It doesn't help that the only person in my family I'm shopping for is my dad while my husband's family is 15 people and I don't know what any of them like but I'm the one stuck doing the shopping every year. I finally said screw this, everyone is getting gift cards. We went out wednesday night to the store and bought everyone except the two younger kids in the family gift cards. I still have to go back out sometime this weekend and finish shopping for my son.
I realize part of the reason for my issues with shopping is my experience in Iraq which has caused my fear of crowds. Everytime I get in a crowded place I get all anxious and sweaty and on edge and it feels like I'm going to pass out. Kind of feels like the crowd is closing in on me and I don't like it. I actually flinch when people accidentally touch me in a mall and if they press up against me in a line, my first reaction is pure defense mode. I've been lucky I have been able to catch myself and haven't tossed some poor sap on the floor in one of my panics.
Also I've realized that just the three month run between december and february has been generally bad for me so its no wonder I'm always so stressed out and down in the dumps this time of year. I had a miscarriage in December fo 02' right before we deployed to Iraq. February 13th of '03 I had to put my cat I had for 13 years to sleep because he had cancer. February 27th of the same year I got on a plane to Iraq to spend what would be the most miserable year of my life. I came back in February of '04. On New Years day of '05 I lost my mom to lung cancer. Thankfully nothing too horrible has happened in the past couple of years but I think those things right there were enough to pretty much kill this time of year for me indefinitely. The only thing that saves the holiday for me: my son, of course. Watching him open the presents on Christmas definitely lessens the feelings I have towards this time of year.
And with that, I hope everyone does have a good Holiday :)
I just really wish Christmas would be over. I don't mind the real reason for the holiday but I just really don't like commericialized Christmas. It used to be fun to go buy gifts for everyone. This year I went to two malls.
My experience at the first one: I went last saturday and my biggest purpose for going to this one was to take the boy to see Santa because they have a nicer set-up at that mall than they do at the local one. We get there, fight for a parking spot for 45 minutes and finally find one that isn't 10 miles from the mall. We go in and immediately get in a LOOONNNG line for Santa. Two hours later we finally get to see the jolly old fat guy for a bargain price of $40 in order for me to get enough pictures for the whole family. All the time we're waiting there are people cutting through the Santa line to get to the theater because they are too freakin' lazy to walk around to the other side of the Santa thing where there is NO line. There are also the other morons who come up to where the gap is for letting the first set of movie going morons through and try to get in line there because "Oh, so sorry, didn't realize the line that stretches halfway around the foodcourt was the Santa line. I thought this was the back of it". Ever tried to stand in a line for two hours with an impatient four year old? Not fun. He did pretty good though considering. By the time we got through all that we both had to go to the bathroom so we did that and boy says he's hungry and wants a snack so I take him down to Auntie Anne's pretzels. We get in that line where, again, MORONS who don't realize that the line is going sideways instead of straight out so people can actually get through, try to cut the line. So we finally get our pretzels and we can't find anywhere to sit to eat them so we end up sitting on the floor on our jackets across from Macy's. Our second purpose in the mall being to get presents for everyone so we go to the lower level to get one of those toddler carts for boy so he doesn't have to keep walking everywhere. People were being very pushy while walking around and I was getting sick of them running into the poor child and almost knocking him down and then just moving on like nothing happened. So we get downstairs to get a cart and its $5 and they generously give you ONE whole dollar back when you return the cart. Can we say ripoff? I get the cart and we look around the whole crowded mall and do not find one thing for anyone. I get down to the end with the Starbucks kiosk and get in line as everyone knows Starbucks is my anti-homicidal medicine and at this point I needed it. The people already in line had the line going the wrong way- like past where you're supposed to pick up the drinks. The lady at the counter asked that if we were in line to order, please make the line going the other way. Well I am the only one that actually did what she asked, effectively losing my place in line while everyone else ignored her. I had had enough at this point and we returned the cart and headed to our car. Then the fun really began. I had to circle the mall 5 times in order to find a way out because it was so congested and by time I did a whole hour had passed. People are in total asshole gear this time of year and think its a crime against humanity if they have to stop their vehicles and let someone coming off one of the aisles in. So we head home. I drop boy off with the hubby and decide to go to the other mall in town.
My experience there: not nearly as bad actually but I couldn't find one thing there either that I thought anyone would like. It doesn't help that the only person in my family I'm shopping for is my dad while my husband's family is 15 people and I don't know what any of them like but I'm the one stuck doing the shopping every year. I finally said screw this, everyone is getting gift cards. We went out wednesday night to the store and bought everyone except the two younger kids in the family gift cards. I still have to go back out sometime this weekend and finish shopping for my son.
I realize part of the reason for my issues with shopping is my experience in Iraq which has caused my fear of crowds. Everytime I get in a crowded place I get all anxious and sweaty and on edge and it feels like I'm going to pass out. Kind of feels like the crowd is closing in on me and I don't like it. I actually flinch when people accidentally touch me in a mall and if they press up against me in a line, my first reaction is pure defense mode. I've been lucky I have been able to catch myself and haven't tossed some poor sap on the floor in one of my panics.
Also I've realized that just the three month run between december and february has been generally bad for me so its no wonder I'm always so stressed out and down in the dumps this time of year. I had a miscarriage in December fo 02' right before we deployed to Iraq. February 13th of '03 I had to put my cat I had for 13 years to sleep because he had cancer. February 27th of the same year I got on a plane to Iraq to spend what would be the most miserable year of my life. I came back in February of '04. On New Years day of '05 I lost my mom to lung cancer. Thankfully nothing too horrible has happened in the past couple of years but I think those things right there were enough to pretty much kill this time of year for me indefinitely. The only thing that saves the holiday for me: my son, of course. Watching him open the presents on Christmas definitely lessens the feelings I have towards this time of year.
And with that, I hope everyone does have a good Holiday :)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
REVIEWS
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
The premise of this book is that Alice in Wonderland is actually Princess Alyss of Wonderland. who ended up in Victorian England while escaping her evil Aunt Redd who kills her parents and takes over Wonderland. Alyss (re-named Alice by a teacher who insists that she's spelling her name wrong) finds a sympathetic ear in Reverend Dodgson (i.e. Lewis Carroll) and tells him the entire story of her childhood only to have him make nonsense of it and turn it into the book Alice in Wonderland. Alice continues to grow up in England while Hatter Madigan, her family's bodyguard continues to search for her so they can return to Wonderland (and the city of Wondertropolis) to battle Redd and reclaim Wonderland, as she is its rightful princess.
An interesting storyline, no? It is a satisfying read if you're looking for something fast and glossy but you get the sense that the author is hoping you'll be so distracted by his new additions to the story (Redd's Army, White and Black Imagination) that you won't notice that there is really no substance to the story. I actually really liked his reimagining of Wonderland because it gave it a slightly darker twist.
I do think he needs to work on character development though and maybe in his descriptions of Wonderland. I saw Redd as a very dominant character who would be difficult to defeat and Alyss didn't seem that strong throughout the book. Also he spends an adequate amount of time describing Wondertropolis but the descriptions of any other location in the book are cursory at best- just enough so you know that is where the character is at that point in time but not enough so you get a feel for the place. I also thought the ending was a little too neat. This book is actually the first in a trilogy and I'm reading the second book now. Overall I give the book a C+
The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam
This is the first non-fiction book I have read in quite awhile. The book begins by describing her girlhood in a remote area of Cambodia. She goes on to describe how at the age of 12 she is eventually sold to a brothel where she endures continuous and horrific rapes, torture, and abuse. She chronicles her escape from the brothels, her move to France and her subsequent return to Cambodia. She starts small- first offering condoms and soap to girls working in brothels and tries to educate them and her foundation continues to grow into what it is now where she helps girls escape the life.
What I liked: The writing is simplistic and it is an honest account of what she endured. It must have been very difficult for her to relive all those experiences for this book (the sale of which partially benefits her foundation). She tells her story in a kind of detached way, yet you really get a sense of what she is trying to convey. The way these girls are forced to live is something I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around and I've been in a war torn area and saw some pretty upsetting stuff. It is awesome that without regard for her personal safety she has championed the cause of these girls and continues to do so in the hope that she can lead them to a better life and she does a great service by reliving her experiences in the hopes that it will clue some of us in and inspire us enough to get involved.
What I didn't like: I realize that the purpose of the book is to bring attention to the cause but sometimes it felt infomercially like at certain points in the book I expected a passage to read "to donate now, call this number..." Maybe a little too "help us now or these girls will suffer" type thing. I don't mean that to sound insensitive. I just think the book would have been more powerful if that aspect had been more subtle (she mentions that certain locations have had to close due to lack of funding etc..) and the reader was allowed to draw their own conclusions.
I admire what she is doing and I hope one day girls being forced into prostitution is a thing of the past. A heartbreaking story to say the least. I give it a B.
The premise of this book is that Alice in Wonderland is actually Princess Alyss of Wonderland. who ended up in Victorian England while escaping her evil Aunt Redd who kills her parents and takes over Wonderland. Alyss (re-named Alice by a teacher who insists that she's spelling her name wrong) finds a sympathetic ear in Reverend Dodgson (i.e. Lewis Carroll) and tells him the entire story of her childhood only to have him make nonsense of it and turn it into the book Alice in Wonderland. Alice continues to grow up in England while Hatter Madigan, her family's bodyguard continues to search for her so they can return to Wonderland (and the city of Wondertropolis) to battle Redd and reclaim Wonderland, as she is its rightful princess.
An interesting storyline, no? It is a satisfying read if you're looking for something fast and glossy but you get the sense that the author is hoping you'll be so distracted by his new additions to the story (Redd's Army, White and Black Imagination) that you won't notice that there is really no substance to the story. I actually really liked his reimagining of Wonderland because it gave it a slightly darker twist.
I do think he needs to work on character development though and maybe in his descriptions of Wonderland. I saw Redd as a very dominant character who would be difficult to defeat and Alyss didn't seem that strong throughout the book. Also he spends an adequate amount of time describing Wondertropolis but the descriptions of any other location in the book are cursory at best- just enough so you know that is where the character is at that point in time but not enough so you get a feel for the place. I also thought the ending was a little too neat. This book is actually the first in a trilogy and I'm reading the second book now. Overall I give the book a C+
The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam
This is the first non-fiction book I have read in quite awhile. The book begins by describing her girlhood in a remote area of Cambodia. She goes on to describe how at the age of 12 she is eventually sold to a brothel where she endures continuous and horrific rapes, torture, and abuse. She chronicles her escape from the brothels, her move to France and her subsequent return to Cambodia. She starts small- first offering condoms and soap to girls working in brothels and tries to educate them and her foundation continues to grow into what it is now where she helps girls escape the life.
What I liked: The writing is simplistic and it is an honest account of what she endured. It must have been very difficult for her to relive all those experiences for this book (the sale of which partially benefits her foundation). She tells her story in a kind of detached way, yet you really get a sense of what she is trying to convey. The way these girls are forced to live is something I cannot even begin to wrap my mind around and I've been in a war torn area and saw some pretty upsetting stuff. It is awesome that without regard for her personal safety she has championed the cause of these girls and continues to do so in the hope that she can lead them to a better life and she does a great service by reliving her experiences in the hopes that it will clue some of us in and inspire us enough to get involved.
What I didn't like: I realize that the purpose of the book is to bring attention to the cause but sometimes it felt infomercially like at certain points in the book I expected a passage to read "to donate now, call this number..." Maybe a little too "help us now or these girls will suffer" type thing. I don't mean that to sound insensitive. I just think the book would have been more powerful if that aspect had been more subtle (she mentions that certain locations have had to close due to lack of funding etc..) and the reader was allowed to draw their own conclusions.
I admire what she is doing and I hope one day girls being forced into prostitution is a thing of the past. A heartbreaking story to say the least. I give it a B.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Friday, November 07, 2008
WTF???
Okay for whatever reason its not letting me add anything to my 101 books in 1,001 days list so I guess I'll post them here for now
Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 11/1/08
Second Summer of the Sisterhood 11/3/08
Girls in Pants: Third Summer of the Sisterhood 11/6/08
I'm thinking about going back and doing reviews of some of the stuff I've read this year but I'm not sure I'll have the time.
Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants 11/1/08
Second Summer of the Sisterhood 11/3/08
Girls in Pants: Third Summer of the Sisterhood 11/6/08
I'm thinking about going back and doing reviews of some of the stuff I've read this year but I'm not sure I'll have the time.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
DC
Got back on Sunday from the 1st bi-annual get together in Washington DC. Why is it that just about every time I go on vacation I come back more exhausted than when I left? Maybe it was the 10+ hr car ride both ways. I dunno....
The trip down there was uneventful until we got into the DC/Alexandria area and the traffic was maddening. We got there a little after 4 and didn't actually get to the resort until just after 6 because we were stuck in traffic. Then the parking garage was super confusing and I ending up blowing a tire after hitting a curb in the parking garage. Many thanks to Kev for loaning us the $$$ to get another tire so we wouldn't have to roll home on a donut.
The resort itself was not as nice as the one we toured in Nashville but it was still much better than a hotel. Unfortunately we are incredibly slothful people which means we didn't get out of the room on friday or saturday until after noon sometime so not as much time to do stuff as I thought. We did make it to the Air and Space Museum on the first day though. We ate at Asian Bistro and I tried Pad Thai for the first time and it was deelish. The next day we split up and Chris and I went to Arlington Cemetary. We saw JFK's grave and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We watched the changing of the guard which was awesome to see but my dad picked that inopportune moment to call and then when we didn't answer call again and then leave a voicemail so we have 100+ people staring daggers at us for the interruption. I felt horrible about that.
Next we hopped the metro to the National Mall and did A LOT of walking. We went to the Washington Monument, the WW2 Memorial, walked down the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial and then to Vietnam wall. This little jaunt reminded me of my aversion to large groups of people. The other tourists seemed like cockroaches to me- all over the place, only in this instance there was no way to turn a light on and make them all scatter. Honestly for the Wall I think I would have rather did that one myself instead of with Chris because I asked him nicely several times to back off and leave me alone so I could be well, alone with my thoughts, and he refused to back off. He just followed me around and it pissed me off so the emotion and the whole thought process I had at the time was completely wasted/lost. I have decided if they ever do a monument to Iraq I won't be going. Its not for wanting to forget the people that didn't make it home but more because I don't want to dredge up the memories of my being over there because 99% of them were bad.
That night we ate at a greek restaurant called Taverna Cretekou and it was some of the best food I've ever tasted. A little pricey but REALLY good. I was also thrilled they had a Starbucks in the Hilton right next door.
Unfortunately due to time constraints there was some stuff I wanted to see/do that I didn't get to. I did want to see the White House, the Korean Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial and I wanted to go to the Holocaust Museum and the Museum of American History. They were also having the National Book Festival while we were there and I had planned on going but by time we got that area it was mid-afternoon and I had to make a choice between that and seeing the monuments and I chose the monuments because it is not likely I will go back to DC soon but it is likely that I will attend a book festival/sale at some point in the near future.
Of course the best part of the whole trip was spending it with friends. I am glad Chris got the opportunity to know Kev and Krista a little better but I still wish Sarah and Liz could have come. The one thing that really bugs me about me though is even on vacation I am completely unable to relax. Part of the problem is that Chris and I are polar opposites in that respect. I feel most comfortable and able to let my guard down when all the ducks are in a row so to speak. I like to have at least a vague plan of what I'm doing. Chris likes to just go with the flow and leave everything until the last minute and it drives me STARK RAVING MAD. I CANNOT handle living like that and when it is like that I am constantly on edge and I know it affects the mood of those around me but I can't help it. Its not like I have to have everything on a schedule down to the last minute but I have to have order in my life. I really missed Collin while we were gone and we didn't get home til 10 sunday night and he was already asleep. He was out cold and we couldn't wake him up so we didn't actually get to see him til monday. Overall it was a good trip. The resort staff did put a damper on it right at the end though when we went down to do the survey we agreed to in exchange for $100 in free gift certificates. While they promised it would take 1/2 hr it took over an hour and the bulk of the "survey" was trying to get us to refinance our timeshare and become VP members which would have given us more points but also would have upped our payment another $160. We could tell the guy was getting visibly annoyed with us and he was kind of pushy which I thought was slightly unprofessional but oh well. The rest of the trip was good.
I am trying to plan a family vacation for us and the fam in NY to Newport, RI for next summer but that requires Chris to call them and find out if they're interested so I know what to book. As for the next bi-annual trip Vegas won hands down and thankfully we'll be flying to that one :)
In other news, work has been snooze-worthy since I got back and I am just about caught up on the homework/participation I neglected to do while on vacation. I'm going to a library sale on saturday so I guess that will make up partially for missing the book fest. So life is just about back to normal :)
The trip down there was uneventful until we got into the DC/Alexandria area and the traffic was maddening. We got there a little after 4 and didn't actually get to the resort until just after 6 because we were stuck in traffic. Then the parking garage was super confusing and I ending up blowing a tire after hitting a curb in the parking garage. Many thanks to Kev for loaning us the $$$ to get another tire so we wouldn't have to roll home on a donut.
The resort itself was not as nice as the one we toured in Nashville but it was still much better than a hotel. Unfortunately we are incredibly slothful people which means we didn't get out of the room on friday or saturday until after noon sometime so not as much time to do stuff as I thought. We did make it to the Air and Space Museum on the first day though. We ate at Asian Bistro and I tried Pad Thai for the first time and it was deelish. The next day we split up and Chris and I went to Arlington Cemetary. We saw JFK's grave and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We watched the changing of the guard which was awesome to see but my dad picked that inopportune moment to call and then when we didn't answer call again and then leave a voicemail so we have 100+ people staring daggers at us for the interruption. I felt horrible about that.
Next we hopped the metro to the National Mall and did A LOT of walking. We went to the Washington Monument, the WW2 Memorial, walked down the reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial and then to Vietnam wall. This little jaunt reminded me of my aversion to large groups of people. The other tourists seemed like cockroaches to me- all over the place, only in this instance there was no way to turn a light on and make them all scatter. Honestly for the Wall I think I would have rather did that one myself instead of with Chris because I asked him nicely several times to back off and leave me alone so I could be well, alone with my thoughts, and he refused to back off. He just followed me around and it pissed me off so the emotion and the whole thought process I had at the time was completely wasted/lost. I have decided if they ever do a monument to Iraq I won't be going. Its not for wanting to forget the people that didn't make it home but more because I don't want to dredge up the memories of my being over there because 99% of them were bad.
That night we ate at a greek restaurant called Taverna Cretekou and it was some of the best food I've ever tasted. A little pricey but REALLY good. I was also thrilled they had a Starbucks in the Hilton right next door.
Unfortunately due to time constraints there was some stuff I wanted to see/do that I didn't get to. I did want to see the White House, the Korean Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial and I wanted to go to the Holocaust Museum and the Museum of American History. They were also having the National Book Festival while we were there and I had planned on going but by time we got that area it was mid-afternoon and I had to make a choice between that and seeing the monuments and I chose the monuments because it is not likely I will go back to DC soon but it is likely that I will attend a book festival/sale at some point in the near future.
Of course the best part of the whole trip was spending it with friends. I am glad Chris got the opportunity to know Kev and Krista a little better but I still wish Sarah and Liz could have come. The one thing that really bugs me about me though is even on vacation I am completely unable to relax. Part of the problem is that Chris and I are polar opposites in that respect. I feel most comfortable and able to let my guard down when all the ducks are in a row so to speak. I like to have at least a vague plan of what I'm doing. Chris likes to just go with the flow and leave everything until the last minute and it drives me STARK RAVING MAD. I CANNOT handle living like that and when it is like that I am constantly on edge and I know it affects the mood of those around me but I can't help it. Its not like I have to have everything on a schedule down to the last minute but I have to have order in my life. I really missed Collin while we were gone and we didn't get home til 10 sunday night and he was already asleep. He was out cold and we couldn't wake him up so we didn't actually get to see him til monday. Overall it was a good trip. The resort staff did put a damper on it right at the end though when we went down to do the survey we agreed to in exchange for $100 in free gift certificates. While they promised it would take 1/2 hr it took over an hour and the bulk of the "survey" was trying to get us to refinance our timeshare and become VP members which would have given us more points but also would have upped our payment another $160. We could tell the guy was getting visibly annoyed with us and he was kind of pushy which I thought was slightly unprofessional but oh well. The rest of the trip was good.
I am trying to plan a family vacation for us and the fam in NY to Newport, RI for next summer but that requires Chris to call them and find out if they're interested so I know what to book. As for the next bi-annual trip Vegas won hands down and thankfully we'll be flying to that one :)
In other news, work has been snooze-worthy since I got back and I am just about caught up on the homework/participation I neglected to do while on vacation. I'm going to a library sale on saturday so I guess that will make up partially for missing the book fest. So life is just about back to normal :)
Thursday, September 04, 2008
I'm Alive!
Almost got in a horrific car crash today. Some doofus in a minivan was pulling a trailer with some logs in it. It was in the right hand lane. Not looking, it goes to swerve into the left lane. The Audi in front of me slams on his brakes to miss it and ends up hitting the trailer. I slam on my brakes to miss the Audi and thankfully I do after coming within inches of colliding with the back end because the guy was smart enough to pull way off the road. Unfortunately the minivan slamming its brakes caused the logs go flying off, one of which collided with my car and caused minor damage. I spent an hour and a half standing in the rain waiting to get it sorted out with the state trooper that came. I borrow the Audi guys phone and finally get ahold of Chris who somehow interprets the "I'm fine but the car is a little damaged" as "I'm fine but the car is totalled and there is a log through the windshield" so he tells my dad that and everyone is worried about me for the next two hours until I make it back to the office. I missed Boy's preschool orientation because of this. My dad had to take him by himself and almost collapsed from having to walk so far because he didn't realize the preschool is located in the back corner of the school and came in through the front door.
On top of that I have been sick with the worst head cold ever for 3 days and I still have one more 4 page paper for the LIT class and the 10 pager for the HR class to write. Needless to say this has been a craptacular week. I am still alive though so I guess I'll celebrate by giving myself the night off from homework to finish reading Harry Potter 5. Cheers.
On top of that I have been sick with the worst head cold ever for 3 days and I still have one more 4 page paper for the LIT class and the 10 pager for the HR class to write. Needless to say this has been a craptacular week. I am still alive though so I guess I'll celebrate by giving myself the night off from homework to finish reading Harry Potter 5. Cheers.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Ruined Endings
So this is the second time in a month that I've been reading a book and some other element of the book has completely ruined the story for me. For example, I was reading Black Ships by Jo Graham and saw this little who's who of characters in the back so I read through them like an idiot and find out the main character and another character get together and have two sons! This was well before this happened in the book. Then this week I am reading the Awakening by Kate Chopin and the person who did the introduction states right in there that the main character commits suicide at the end! So WTH is the point of reading the book if the introduction gives away the ending??? Why would they put that in there???
Maybe I'm just grouchy because I've had a migraine for two days and because my dad is pissed at me for no good reason AGAIN. Apparently on friday when they were outside and I was in the house, Chris told my dad he was working sat/sun and my dad said well maybe we'll all take a ride out there and have lunch with you. Mind you no one mentioned this plan to me. So Chris calls yesterday and asks if I want to go out to Allendale and we go. We don't even get to eat lunch with him because he's so busy so we go grab McDonalds and leave it there for him to eat when he gets a minute. I get home and put Boy down for his nap and 10 minutes later my dad calls and says "Where have you been? Why didn't you tell me you were going out there? I was going to go with you! I could have been dead over here and you haven't even called me all day to check on me!" This is at 2:30 BTW. My response "No one told me about us all going to have lunch and I just got home about 20 minutes ago." Well he says "Ok I'll talk to you later" and I haven't heard from him since. I know he's pissed because of the tone he used but this is NOT MY FAULT. I didn't know we were all supposed to go have lunch with Chris as no one told me and if he would have went he would have been miserable because a) the parking was far away and he would have had to walk and he can't walk b) there was nowhere to sit where chris was and c) Chris wasn't able to leave to have lunch anyway and he would have been pissed off because "we drove all that way and he couldn't eat lunch with us" so I fail to see what the big deal is.
Also my husband knows I have a tremendous amount of homework due to the LIT class and I'm taking another class along with it. In fact I have 2 three page papers and 1 ten page paper I need to start on today. Yet he insists on guilting me CONSTANTLY because I don't spend enough time with him. I really wish sometimes that I could leave and be by myself somewhere for two weeks just to clear my head. This would not be fair to my son though who I already do not spend enough time with and can only go about a day without seeing me without being extremely upset. Good grief... Does it ever get better??? Ideally our financial situation would go away and I could quit my job, work part time somewhere and be home with my son for the rest of the time. I wish my siblings would realize how completely unfair it is that I am giving up the best years of my life to live in this crappy town to take care of a man who is prone to mood swings at the slightest provocation while they live their lives as normal. I understand its a little much to expect them to pack up their entire lives and come up here but I need help beyond a visit or two a year. When they do come I am glad he has something else to occupy his time but also he is very posessive of them to the point of telling them if they are coming over to visit me they "better not stay over here for long" because he wants to hog every second of the time they're here. I can completely understand why K moved far far away from her mother but unfortunately I can not do that with my dad and feel ok about it because he is in really bad health and probably not going to be around much longer and what kind of daughter would I be if I left an old man to die alone?
And that brings me back to the book. I did not like the character Edna Pontellier but I do relate to the whole hopelessness/despair thing and the wanting to be who she wants to be and not who everyone else wants her to. Not like I'm going to swim out into the great blue yonder of Lake Michigan and just sink to the bottom but still, come on already. Can something good happen here just ONCE?
Maybe I'm just grouchy because I've had a migraine for two days and because my dad is pissed at me for no good reason AGAIN. Apparently on friday when they were outside and I was in the house, Chris told my dad he was working sat/sun and my dad said well maybe we'll all take a ride out there and have lunch with you. Mind you no one mentioned this plan to me. So Chris calls yesterday and asks if I want to go out to Allendale and we go. We don't even get to eat lunch with him because he's so busy so we go grab McDonalds and leave it there for him to eat when he gets a minute. I get home and put Boy down for his nap and 10 minutes later my dad calls and says "Where have you been? Why didn't you tell me you were going out there? I was going to go with you! I could have been dead over here and you haven't even called me all day to check on me!" This is at 2:30 BTW. My response "No one told me about us all going to have lunch and I just got home about 20 minutes ago." Well he says "Ok I'll talk to you later" and I haven't heard from him since. I know he's pissed because of the tone he used but this is NOT MY FAULT. I didn't know we were all supposed to go have lunch with Chris as no one told me and if he would have went he would have been miserable because a) the parking was far away and he would have had to walk and he can't walk b) there was nowhere to sit where chris was and c) Chris wasn't able to leave to have lunch anyway and he would have been pissed off because "we drove all that way and he couldn't eat lunch with us" so I fail to see what the big deal is.
Also my husband knows I have a tremendous amount of homework due to the LIT class and I'm taking another class along with it. In fact I have 2 three page papers and 1 ten page paper I need to start on today. Yet he insists on guilting me CONSTANTLY because I don't spend enough time with him. I really wish sometimes that I could leave and be by myself somewhere for two weeks just to clear my head. This would not be fair to my son though who I already do not spend enough time with and can only go about a day without seeing me without being extremely upset. Good grief... Does it ever get better??? Ideally our financial situation would go away and I could quit my job, work part time somewhere and be home with my son for the rest of the time. I wish my siblings would realize how completely unfair it is that I am giving up the best years of my life to live in this crappy town to take care of a man who is prone to mood swings at the slightest provocation while they live their lives as normal. I understand its a little much to expect them to pack up their entire lives and come up here but I need help beyond a visit or two a year. When they do come I am glad he has something else to occupy his time but also he is very posessive of them to the point of telling them if they are coming over to visit me they "better not stay over here for long" because he wants to hog every second of the time they're here. I can completely understand why K moved far far away from her mother but unfortunately I can not do that with my dad and feel ok about it because he is in really bad health and probably not going to be around much longer and what kind of daughter would I be if I left an old man to die alone?
And that brings me back to the book. I did not like the character Edna Pontellier but I do relate to the whole hopelessness/despair thing and the wanting to be who she wants to be and not who everyone else wants her to. Not like I'm going to swim out into the great blue yonder of Lake Michigan and just sink to the bottom but still, come on already. Can something good happen here just ONCE?
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Whew! August already?
Well things have been busy busy busy.
I just finished HRM435B which I dropped about four times because I kept getting the same instructor and her teaching style and my learning style just don't mesh well. This happened to me my senior yr of high school too. I had Mr. Green for english and even though he was a good teacher it just didn't suit the way I learned. I did much better in Mrs. Holden's class (whom many hated but I loved her class). Anyway, I passed the HRM class with an A BUT found out that one of the two classes I just started thursday is being taught by the same teacher I whose class I kept dropping last time. Good grief! Out of all the instructors that teach HRM classes, why do I keep getting her? Also re-attempting my LIT302A (The American Novel) class. I am about 1/2 thru Huckleberry Finn now. Started researching Grad Schools since I will be graduating w/my bachelors in May. I am debating whether or not to hold off on grad school until August of 2010 because the VA has come out with a new GI bill where benefits might be transferable to a spouse but this doesn't happen til late next yr. My GI bill will be used by then but Chris will still have half of his left so I'm hoping he'll be able to transfer some of it to me and then I won't have to take out a $20,000-30,000 loan to pay for school.
Apparently I also have a second job now. I am my dads housekeeper for one day every week. I have been helping him out the past couple of weeks and he says he's been looking but can't find anyone else that will do it so I guess its me. Hurray. I don't even have enough time to keep my own house clean 80% of the time.
In other news, someone stole our dog Sammie. Chris put her out at about 10:30 pm a little over a week ago so she could tinkle. He put her on her leash we walk her on and tied it around the post we have our birdfeeder on. He went back out 1/2 hr later to get her and shes gone and the leash had been cut. Now I don't know why the dumbasses didn't just undo the leash and take the whole thing but you can tell its been cut and its not something she chewed through. It isn't frayed like its been chewed at all.
The in-laws are supposed to be coming sometime this month but they haven't told us when yet. They might be trying to ambush us for all we know. I REALLY need a vacation and only six more weeks or so til I get one. Glad the DC trip is about here because I need to get away for a minute.
I just finished HRM435B which I dropped about four times because I kept getting the same instructor and her teaching style and my learning style just don't mesh well. This happened to me my senior yr of high school too. I had Mr. Green for english and even though he was a good teacher it just didn't suit the way I learned. I did much better in Mrs. Holden's class (whom many hated but I loved her class). Anyway, I passed the HRM class with an A BUT found out that one of the two classes I just started thursday is being taught by the same teacher I whose class I kept dropping last time. Good grief! Out of all the instructors that teach HRM classes, why do I keep getting her? Also re-attempting my LIT302A (The American Novel) class. I am about 1/2 thru Huckleberry Finn now. Started researching Grad Schools since I will be graduating w/my bachelors in May. I am debating whether or not to hold off on grad school until August of 2010 because the VA has come out with a new GI bill where benefits might be transferable to a spouse but this doesn't happen til late next yr. My GI bill will be used by then but Chris will still have half of his left so I'm hoping he'll be able to transfer some of it to me and then I won't have to take out a $20,000-30,000 loan to pay for school.
Apparently I also have a second job now. I am my dads housekeeper for one day every week. I have been helping him out the past couple of weeks and he says he's been looking but can't find anyone else that will do it so I guess its me. Hurray. I don't even have enough time to keep my own house clean 80% of the time.
In other news, someone stole our dog Sammie. Chris put her out at about 10:30 pm a little over a week ago so she could tinkle. He put her on her leash we walk her on and tied it around the post we have our birdfeeder on. He went back out 1/2 hr later to get her and shes gone and the leash had been cut. Now I don't know why the dumbasses didn't just undo the leash and take the whole thing but you can tell its been cut and its not something she chewed through. It isn't frayed like its been chewed at all.
The in-laws are supposed to be coming sometime this month but they haven't told us when yet. They might be trying to ambush us for all we know. I REALLY need a vacation and only six more weeks or so til I get one. Glad the DC trip is about here because I need to get away for a minute.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Just skippy ..
Weight loss since Jun 3rd: 6 lbs down (morning dry weight)
School: Going better than thought. This teacher is more lenient on tardiness than others so I may actually pass this class after dropping it several times in the past.
Motherhood: Boy is being a turd. Going through the not listening phase and no amount of reasoning/discipline/bribery seems to be working to get him back on track.
Work: STRESSFUL. Major inspection in one week followed by visit/inspection by VIPs the following week. Am NOT ready at all and I have to help the other locations get ready as well.
Home Life: Eh. He pisses me off. We fight. We reach a truce. I piss him off. We fight. We reach a truce. He's addicted to computer games which he plays with the friend of his I detest in NY. This is starting to become a real issue because he prefers to spend more time downstairs at his computer than with us. Like a true nerd, I take my solace in books. Wish we had the same priorities so things would not be so difficult here. No one ever said marriage was easy......
On the dad front: difficult as always. I worry about him. I am torn between the need to take care of him because there is no one else and the need to live my life. I'm pretty much in limbo indefinitely.
Friends: Carpooling w/Kev is over, joyous as it was. He will have to find a new arch nemesis and I will have to find someone elses car to drop cheerios in. Need to see Liz soon. We had planned to ages ago before boy burned his feet and haven't rescheduled yet. Writing a eulogy for K as I have not heard from her in quite some time and have assumed the cats made quick work of her and her skeletal remains are lying somewhere in her apartment waiting for S to discover them.
Sleep: Deprived, obviously, or this post would not exist.......
School: Going better than thought. This teacher is more lenient on tardiness than others so I may actually pass this class after dropping it several times in the past.
Motherhood: Boy is being a turd. Going through the not listening phase and no amount of reasoning/discipline/bribery seems to be working to get him back on track.
Work: STRESSFUL. Major inspection in one week followed by visit/inspection by VIPs the following week. Am NOT ready at all and I have to help the other locations get ready as well.
Home Life: Eh. He pisses me off. We fight. We reach a truce. I piss him off. We fight. We reach a truce. He's addicted to computer games which he plays with the friend of his I detest in NY. This is starting to become a real issue because he prefers to spend more time downstairs at his computer than with us. Like a true nerd, I take my solace in books. Wish we had the same priorities so things would not be so difficult here. No one ever said marriage was easy......
On the dad front: difficult as always. I worry about him. I am torn between the need to take care of him because there is no one else and the need to live my life. I'm pretty much in limbo indefinitely.
Friends: Carpooling w/Kev is over, joyous as it was. He will have to find a new arch nemesis and I will have to find someone elses car to drop cheerios in. Need to see Liz soon. We had planned to ages ago before boy burned his feet and haven't rescheduled yet. Writing a eulogy for K as I have not heard from her in quite some time and have assumed the cats made quick work of her and her skeletal remains are lying somewhere in her apartment waiting for S to discover them.
Sleep: Deprived, obviously, or this post would not exist.......
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