tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-134917282024-03-13T19:39:09.199-04:00A Lot of A LittleMarciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.comBlogger447125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-11105107701358499192016-08-30T22:26:00.001-04:002016-08-30T22:26:25.353-04:00The Time in Between ~ Maria Duenas<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13035138-the-time-in-between" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Time in Between" src="https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1324320997m/13035138.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13035138-the-time-in-between">The Time in Between</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3295744.Mar_a_Due_as">María Dueñas</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1647117499">2 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I have discovered that I primarily give 3 star ratings when I review novels. I blame Goodreads for not having a 1/2 star rating system, in which case I would give The Time in Between 2 1/2 stars. I am forced to drop this down to 2 stars though.<br><br>The blurb on the back of the book is promising enough. Sira Quiroga is a young seamstress growing up in Madrid. Spain is facing a civil war, the citizens are beginning to suffer. She follows a lover to Morocco where she is abandoned and left with debt incurred looming over her head. Slowly she pulls herself out of the gutter and lifts herself up into a more promising position. In the description, as WWII commences and Spain finds itself caught between the Allies and the Third Reich, Sira begins a harrowing stint as a spy. <br><br>First off, the novel is 600+ pages and 69 chapters long. Divided into three parts, the novel felt like it was never going to end. Sira doesn't even begin her delving into the spy world until chapter 36. 36. Imagine, 35 chapters of her backstory that is interminably dull. <br><br>The character of Sira herself is as interesting as a shoe or doorknob. She survives through many horrible situations, but yet I found myself barely able to keep myself interested in her saga. There was minimal dialogue, mostly just long paragraphs about what Sira was thinking, which incidentally, was dull as dishwater. For someone who supposedly triumphed even though odds were against her, it was awfully tepid. <br><br>Her supposed romance with a character isn't even delved into or truly fleshed out. She claims to have missed this person dreadfully during their separation, at which I went, "Eh, did she even truly and deeply care about him?" As a protagonist, Sira's character is shockingly lacking in being fleshed out or in any way dimensional.<br><br>Part three (from chapter 36 on) was much more interesting than the beginning stages of the novel. I did manage to read through that section at a much quicker pace. That being said, was it worth struggling through an huge portion of the novel in order to enjoy the last little bit of it?<br><br>There are other much more compelling novels about Spain in the civil war and their involvement in WWII. If you want to read a novel about spies, check into anything written by Ken Follett. <br><br>Pass by this novel though, unless you are into a long boring read with little pay off.<br><br>2/5 stars.
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia">View all my reviews</a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-50113525536313654882016-08-25T20:27:00.002-04:002016-08-25T20:27:57.882-04:00The Shadow of the Wind ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1232.The_Shadow_of_the_Wind" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1)" src="https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1344545047m/1232.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1232.The_Shadow_of_the_Wind">The Shadow of the Wind</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/815.Carlos_Ruiz_Zaf_n">Carlos Ruiz Zafón</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/639792309">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I first read this novel a couple years ago on the emphatic suggestion of a worker at the local Chapters. I gave it 4/5 stars initially. I managed to snag a used copy of another <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/815.Carlos_Ruiz_Zaf_n" title="Carlos Ruiz Zafón">Carlos Ruiz Zafón</a> novel and decided I would re-read The Shadow of the Wind before starting this next novel. <br><br>Upon completion, I have decided to bump the rating up to 5/5, because I finished it with no complaint and I would not have changed anything about the novel. Although I had read it once, I couldn't put it down...again. <br><br>The novel is a story within a story. Daniel Sempere, our young protagonist, finds a novel called "The Shadow of the Wind" by a Julian Carax within a book cemetery, deep in the heart of war torn Barcelona. I have read very few books on the civil war within the Spanish borders and the ensuing chaos, so it was refreshing to read about a period of history in a country other than the usual England/France/etc. <br><br>It becomes clear to Daniel that there is something strange about the author and his novels. He discovers that someone has been systematically finding and destroying all of Carax' novels with fire. <br><br>The story is complex but easy to read. It would be impossible for me to explain the novel in a book review; I would not do it justice. Suffice to say, the novel is well written. The characters grasp you and the dialogue is not stilted or boring. Even though the story is fantastical, it never struck me as reaching. There are many twists and turns that will leave you guessing and wondering, right up until the last chapter. <br><br>My favourite quote in the book was as follows:<br><br><blockquote>Bea says that the art of reading is slowly dying, that it's an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside of us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scarce by the day.</blockquote><br><br><br>Honestly, from that quote itself, doesn't the book sound magical? <br><br>5/5 for one of my favourite books. I cannot wait to read his next novel!
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia">View all my reviews</a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-45092319930813140252016-08-05T22:42:00.000-04:002016-08-05T22:42:16.839-04:00Any Known Blood ~ Lawrence Hill<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27210627-any-known-blood" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="Any Known Blood" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1462909141m/27210627.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27210627-any-known-blood">Any Known Blood</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20411.Lawrence_Hill">Lawrence Hill</a><br /><br />My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1692399279">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br /><br />After reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23316548.The_Book_of_Negroes" title="The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill">The Book of Negroes</a> and more recently <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25622897.The_Illegal" title="The Illegal by Lawrence Hill">The Illegal</a>, I decided to give Lawrence Hill's older novel Any Known Blood a try.<br /><br />Truly, Hill does not disappoint. I found Book of Negroes engrossing and just the right amount of uncomfortable to read. The Illegal was a completely different pace (a slow burn) but I also enjoyed it. Once again, Any Known Blood keeps the bar high. <br /><br />The novel's protagonist Langston Cane the Fifth decides he is not tethered in this world because he knows nothing of his family's background. He travels from Oakville, ON to Baltimore, Maryland in an effort to dig into his family's past. He leaves behind a father who he feels is constantly disappointed in him.<br /><br />Jumping through all the Langston Canes from 1 to 5, there isn't any predictability to the book in terms of form. Hill does not opt to write about the Canes down the family tree from senior to junior, but rather dances from one character to the next. We slowly discover all the choices that the Cane's have made that have bound them together and created their future.<br /><br />To be honest, the novel isn't full a huge climax. There isn't one big AHA moment that is revealed. Rather, we watched as Langston Cane V slowly finds his way in the world as he unveils the secrets his family has hidden over time. <br /><br />Hill writes about many deep rooted issues that African-Americans are facing today in a way that includes white people in the dialogue but in a non-accusatory manner. I assume this is partially Hill speaking from his own experience of being a mixed race. Either way, it was enlightening to read and understand why or how people feel a certain way. <br /><br />4/5 for more excellent work from Hill and holding my breath for more. <br /><br />(Incidentally, he lives in the same city I do and I once saw him shopping at our local grocery store. Must...not...stalk him.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia">View all my reviews</a><br />Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-48930768767891494532016-06-29T18:33:00.004-04:002016-06-29T19:03:25.202-04:00Summer is HERE<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Hey y'all!<br><br>First off, *Happy Summer*. It's here. It's actually felt here since May, but this past week, it's official!<br><br>Spring 2016 has flown by in a whirlwind of baby & more baby. The little man has grown so much in the past few months and I have been busy trying to think of activities to keep him busy. By the way... to any potential moms... the summer seems to super charge children. Some nights he is up until 9 pm and then awake at 6 am. Help me, help me, help me.<br><br>Some days we're just trying to get through the day and some are more fruitful. Today was one of those. I managed to whip up some homemade hummus and a Greek rice salad that I am deeply in love with. Repeat after me: the more feta, the betta'. Seriously. <br><br>I'm going dedicate this post to my favourite hummus recipe. I will work on a blog for my Greek rice salad next! </span><br>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><br></u></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><br></u></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><br></u></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br></span></u></span>
<br>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><u><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Best Hummus</span></u></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br></span>
<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkPbbRpTEsqC4zdszhEu25D_fL8WeJBuConagUVFnWJAmZxQ00K-BDp8q2KYoV-kf2l8p2epuW5JfHDRsSwz30UHV_dsbQ_zXVhJzPIDmpR-O8jGEURhGt_7lf7nZGDIO8yPa/s1600/13529019_10153983834415910_6537009647376243212_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkPbbRpTEsqC4zdszhEu25D_fL8WeJBuConagUVFnWJAmZxQ00K-BDp8q2KYoV-kf2l8p2epuW5JfHDRsSwz30UHV_dsbQ_zXVhJzPIDmpR-O8jGEURhGt_7lf7nZGDIO8yPa/s640/13529019_10153983834415910_6537009647376243212_n.jpg" width="640"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br><br>I love LOVE hummus. It's versatile as both a snack and condiment. Sure, it's easier to grab a container of it from the grocery store, but you get a bunch of unnecessary ingredients in store bought hummus...plus, the whole listeria scare. <br><br>So here you go. For hummus to be truly successful and smooth, you need to use a good blender to make it. I have a Vitamix, but a Blendtec or Ninja would probably work just as well.<br><br><br><u><b>Ingredients</b></u></span><br>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><u><b></b></u></span><br>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1 15 oz can chickpeas (drained & rinsed) or 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1/4 fresh lemon juice</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1/4 cup well-stirred tahini</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1 garlic clove</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2 TBSP olive oil</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">salt to taste</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> 1/2 TSP ground cumin</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2 to 3 TBSP water </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">paprika</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The trick is to let the tahini whip up a bit on it's own. It creates a lovely smooth texture. <br><br><u><b>Directions </b></u>Add tahini and lemon juice to blender. Allow to process for one minute on their own. Slowly add garlic, olive oil, salt and chick peas. Add water slowly to reach desired consistency. Blend until smooth. Once in serving dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle paprika on top.<br><br><u><b>Notes</b></u><br>*I personally do not enjoy the taste of cumin so I do not add it! <br>*I love the taste of lemon so I add a bit extra lemon juice</span><br>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">*I grab my tahini from Fortinos <br><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">*<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Any food process<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">or<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">/blender can make hu<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">mmus. The higher end ma<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">chine though, the smoother the product. Chickpeas can take quite a bit of blender to work out that grainy texture.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">*If you want to avoid using tahini, try adding another smooth substance like avocado or even natural peanut butter</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br>Enjoy!<br></span></div>Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-27622659597178962802016-05-22T23:02:00.000-04:002016-05-22T23:02:04.807-04:00Career of Evil ~ Robert Galbraith<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28118557-career-of-evil" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Career of Evil" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1458496877m/28118557.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28118557-career-of-evil">Career of Evil</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/383606.Robert_Galbraith">Robert Galbraith</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1639921316">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
Career of Evil is the third book in the Cormoran Strike trilogy by Robert Galbraith aka J.K. Rawling...and sadly also my least favourite. I wanted to love it, I wanted to give it four or even FIVE stars, but on finishing it I was left dissatisfied. <br><br>First off, there will be mild general spoilers in this review, so please stop reading NOW if you haven't read this novel and plan to. STOP NOW.<br><br>You've been warned. <br><br>Last warning.<br><br>ONWARD.<br><br>In the first novel of the series <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16160797.The_Cuckoo_s_Calling__Cormoran_Strike___1_" title="The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1) by Robert Galbraith">The Cuckoo's Calling</a>, we are introduced to Strike and Robin, his loyal secretary cum partner. Strike runs a detective agency, having a background in the SIB. Obviously the novel is written in a manner where we know Strike has undisclosed issues and secrets that we will probably learn as the series goes on. <br><br>The second novel <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18214414.The_Silkworm__Cormoran_Strike___2_" title="The Silkworm (Cormoran Strike, #2) by Robert Galbraith">The Silkworm</a> seems to focus a bit more on the actual case rather than the intricacies of the characters and the relationships they are in. There is an unspoken interest between Strike and Robin, but it isn't acted on at all and rarely referred too. Galbraith does a good job keeping their relationship on a quiet boil. Clearly it's going to be a slow burn.<br><br>Finally, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25735012.Career_of_Evil__Cormoran_Strike___3_" title="Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike, #3) by Robert Galbraith">Career of Evil</a>. I was so excited to read this book. Strike and Robin are both likeable characters. The language and quality of writing is good. Galbraith-Rawling certainly knows how to write a gripping detective story. The Silkworm has truly creepy and strange parts to it and I was hoping Career of Evil would be the same.<br><br>The premise is: a package is mailed to Strike's office addressed to Robin. It's a dismembered leg. This sends Strike down a path of trying to find who the psychopath was that sent this leg. He is convinced it is one of three bad apples from his past. Meanwhile, interspersed with Strike and Robin's narrative is the narrative of the killer that actually *is* quite creepy. <br><br>We learn A LOT about Strike's history. We learn A LOT about Robin's history. It seems as though all the character's secrets are spilled out in this book. Robin and Strike's connection go. More time in spent on the tiny possibility of a relationship. The thought lingers in the back of Strike's mind. Sizzle sizzle, the slow burn.<br><br>UNFORTUNATELY, even though it was admittedly interesting to learn more about the background of these two characters and what motivated them, at the end of the book I was left disappointed with regards to the mystery. <br><br>You see, I kept thinking in my head, 'No, she wouldn't use on of Strike's suspects...that would be too predictable and an easy route...maybe it will be someone related to the suspects or a complete snake in the grass'. <br><br>NO. There is no bloody snake in the grass!!! It simply ends up being who Strike suspected and honestly, the characteristics and mannerisms of the narrative of the killer did not in my head jive with who the killer turned out to be. I thought the narrative and the description of the antagonist was that of a much much younger person. <br><br>I did like this book, I was simply let down with the lack of effort that seemed to be put in to creating a truly shocking ending. Galbraith could learn a lot from Agatha Christie and her unparalleled writing. <br><br>3/5 and hopefully the next in the series will have a little more punch to it. <br><br>What do you think?
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia">View all my reviews</a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-46818335731645391402016-04-15T22:41:00.000-04:002016-04-15T22:41:04.782-04:00The Boundless ~ Kenneth Oppel<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22812882-the-boundless" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Boundless" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416599041m/22812882.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22812882-the-boundless">The Boundless</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/88922.Kenneth_Oppel">Kenneth Oppel</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1606552459">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
The Boundless by Kenneth Oppel was a delightful read. <br><br>I've been attempting to be more selective with my book reads due to have much less free time--babies cause that strange phenomenon of loss of leisure time.<br><br>Regardless, I grabbed this book during a book outlet sale, drawn to it by it's artistic cover...and my instincts proved correct.<br><br>If I was going to pick a book that I could compare The Boundless to, it would be <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9361589.The_Night_Circus" title="The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern">The Night Circus</a> by Erin Morgenstern--which I also greatly enjoyed.<br><br>After finishing the book (in one evening, no less), I went onto Goodreads to get an idea of what other readers thought of it. I was quite surprised to read reviews criticizing how "slow" and "boring" the beginning of this novel was. Someone even commented that it didn't pick up speed at all.<br><br>Clearly none of these reviewers have ever read any Russian literature. They would still be on the first page of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/656.War_and_Peace" title="War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy">War and Peace</a>, bogged down in the multiple names of Constantin Levin.<br><br>To be clear--I did not find this novel boring or slow *at all*. It was delightful for a few reasons. <br><br>I loved that it was set in Canada. I find Canadian literature to be so boring sometimes. This was an interesting combination of fantasy and historical fiction. <br><br>The premise of the novel is set on a massive train called, you got it, the Boundless. The protagonist is a teenage boy called Will who is got up in a plot to....well, I can't go into detail because it would spoil the novel for any possible readers. <br><br>With the speed and ease that I was read it, I would think that it should be classified as a teen or young adult novel. <br><br>Definitely give this novel a chance if you're interested in a simple read that has small elements of fantasy. <br><br>4/5 stars and I'll have to check out other book by Oppel. <br><br>EDIT: Just checked the novel is in the category of children's literature. Very appropriate.
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia">View all my reviews</a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-59171021591075204292016-02-17T20:13:00.000-05:002016-02-17T20:13:14.317-05:004 Months of Motherhood<span style="font-size: x-large;">Motherhood. </span>Since October 17th, 2015, I have entered into a world that I thought I understood, but in consideration, I truly had no knowledge of.<br />
<br />
First, there was the birth. No wait, first there was what seemed to be an interminable wait between going off on maternity leave at 38 weeks and waiting for him to arrive... It could be 40 weeks, it could even stretch to 41 weeks. Every day seemed almost like a ticking time bomb. At times I felt nervous, at times I felt like, "Get this baby out of me", and at times I cried...mourning already the pregnancy period being over. I watched a lot of Netlix. A LOT. Even with just sitting and eating and watching Netflix, I felt high strung. Probably the nervous tension of waiting and the incessant messages from people asking if anything had happened yet. No dammit, <b>NOTHING HAS HAPPENED YET. </b>Yes, random person I rarely speak to, you will <i>definitely </i>be the first person to know.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANeCOYK2z11B2Iok0rhBKasaO36rw34xIfRtB1hSMWyvZOqk3plWc8SdjfHB2jaUDoigTNP9YVQ9HfDhOaRp5hPAdPW5dDP7lqHYIxxpkUjBi8awclqZi2y8UKtxb6Rxvbd9K/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-13931-1377121955-30.gif" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANeCOYK2z11B2Iok0rhBKasaO36rw34xIfRtB1hSMWyvZOqk3plWc8SdjfHB2jaUDoigTNP9YVQ9HfDhOaRp5hPAdPW5dDP7lqHYIxxpkUjBi8awclqZi2y8UKtxb6Rxvbd9K/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-13931-1377121955-30.gif" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
By the time I DID end up going into labour, I didn't go into labour. I went in because I didn't feel well and they did a quick assessment. Here's how it went: <br />
<br />
Them: Your blood pressure is stable, his blood pressure is stable, but he's been in there long enough and we think there might be something going on so we want to induce you,<br />
<br />
Me: Okay, when?<br />
<br />
Them: In an hour.<br />
<br />
Me: Wha--at.<br />
<br />
Matt: Can we leave and go eat first?<br />
<br />
Them: ......yes.<br />
<br />
<br />
At that point I called my doula. A doula, for anyone who doesn't know and wants to know, is a support person for you, the preggo, as you labour. They stay with you, assist you with whatever you need and ultimately offer you the emotional support you might require during those moments. Doulas are traditionally women who have themselves been through labour and witnessed other labours. I was fortunate to have someone I know personally as a doula. <br />
<br />
She said she'd be on her way in a few hours which worked out well as they had other things to do first... IVs, etc. Matt and I went for a walk to savour our last minutes of babyless freedom. When we got back they hooked me up and the whole process began. Skipping through all the details, my charming little fella tried to hang himself on his own cord and we went to the OR for an emergency C-section. Again, as a current health care worker, I was sort of surprised by how it all transpired.<br />
<br />
Them: We're not going to rush to the C-section, just sign these papers here..<br />
<br />
Me: Scribble scribble<br />
<br />
Them:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73H7IGVx2MHwekKRxGqTqAcxMnb6XQ2sMaQmmGFQB5PUFqqHZbWYGD2FDt5dQeVD681wvxJbUZSoj2b7QuSMsQCe8GMWX2Sr1gSxtSlneXJMXh2THs0SVvt4fazwWM3or5xAw/s1600/anigif_enhanced-15949-1408551878-4.gif" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73H7IGVx2MHwekKRxGqTqAcxMnb6XQ2sMaQmmGFQB5PUFqqHZbWYGD2FDt5dQeVD681wvxJbUZSoj2b7QuSMsQCe8GMWX2Sr1gSxtSlneXJMXh2THs0SVvt4fazwWM3or5xAw/s640/anigif_enhanced-15949-1408551878-4.gif" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Fastest "non rush" to the OR ever.<br />
<br />
In the end, it worked out for the best. As I lay on the OR table waiting, I saw out of the corner of my eye, this little creature being carried over to the lamps. <br />
<br />
For nine months I had carried him. but honestly had not felt a huge emotional connection. I didn't gush over kicks. I felt very pragmatic and stoic being pregnant. I was actually worried that my reaction during my pregnancy was abnormal. But as I looked over and didn't hear anything, I felt the words tumbling out of me,<br />
<br />
"I don't hear him, I CAN'T HEAR HIM CRYING, WHY ISN'T HE CRYING??? Why isn't he crying?? What's happening?" <br />
<br />
Panic panic panic. <br />
<br />
The anesthesiologist was beyond amazing. He stood beside me the entire time talking to me. He leaned and said, "Listen, listen, can you hear that? That's your baby. Can you hear it?" I paused and could hear faint cries (they had taken him into the next room) and felt a rush of relief come over. <br />
<br />
Matt was hovering around and I called out to him "Matt, DOES HE HAVE HAIR?" Second only to concern over breathing was concern over having a bald baby. <br />
<br />
And that was that. Suddenly at 03:57 on October 17th, our lives completely changed. During the birthing process, nothing occurred that I had expected. I didn't push, I didn't feel debilitating pain..although my amazing doula intervened for me to have an epidural when I didn't feel like I could advocate for myself. The entire event was not what I had imagined over and over.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIA_Fn3eY703qFtMCxDhnlhzwjl_qoNX6eVvxVbeklu64u_bKhRDU-Wd3cmZrUwN0nDwwRHtISvzCjqDuWSzoZ-pZzfiIhiQPkTVEAJ_CIPPt8NdikTf3SGm3gt-W5JqwRjhnW/s1600/barneys.gif" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIA_Fn3eY703qFtMCxDhnlhzwjl_qoNX6eVvxVbeklu64u_bKhRDU-Wd3cmZrUwN0nDwwRHtISvzCjqDuWSzoZ-pZzfiIhiQPkTVEAJ_CIPPt8NdikTf3SGm3gt-W5JqwRjhnW/s640/barneys.gif" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
And since then, it was a four day stay in the NICU for little Desmond. He needed extra help with his sugars. At one point I felt so overwhelmed and desperate to just go home and be in my own bed...The second last night we spent in the hospital, I'll never forget. It had been four days of being confined to the ward. I was signed out as a patient but staying in a room there to be with Desmond. I was crying non-stop, so emotionally overwhelmed by everything that happened. Nothing had gone as planned. I missed my shower. I missed my bed. I missed my dogs.<br />
<br />
Matt went home to walk the dogs and I sat on the bed crying. My phone chirped and I had a text. "Look out the window." <br />
There, across the street, stood Matt with the two dogs waving at me. My dogs. Normalcy. I had missed it.<br />
<br />
Less than two days later we walked home. It was a walk of triumph.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3-8N7rXHDvD4hT93Ogaifz9DO6g2649EBjHkYWJrO1j9LOrDwDhE54Odtmd-qcJrJ2k7KV0BbEO4DV_-3f4pnlRPMOv9vFDK_IFfzC5YyLHsk3nY-XLnKtsoxJ8UFIkfhugH/s1600/The-Office.gif" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3-8N7rXHDvD4hT93Ogaifz9DO6g2649EBjHkYWJrO1j9LOrDwDhE54Odtmd-qcJrJ2k7KV0BbEO4DV_-3f4pnlRPMOv9vFDK_IFfzC5YyLHsk3nY-XLnKtsoxJ8UFIkfhugH/s640/The-Office.gif" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
We put him in his swing when we got home and took a long long shower.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAD4CpHmns6SrjeqJd5YtSjpC0HLD0Ki9IUYC2gbxstCLYZ096xy5Fq5f9sYnZ8Vcis-PeyQitIHCMhyphenhyphenibMMHpr2B4Y0MtL9y6Cm-SMu-2s9JemLVVxvWxDm4mDARVcCNDtLch/s1600/IMGP0720.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAD4CpHmns6SrjeqJd5YtSjpC0HLD0Ki9IUYC2gbxstCLYZ096xy5Fq5f9sYnZ8Vcis-PeyQitIHCMhyphenhyphenibMMHpr2B4Y0MtL9y6Cm-SMu-2s9JemLVVxvWxDm4mDARVcCNDtLch/s640/IMGP0720.JPG" width="424" /></a><br />
<br />
It has been four months since Desmond burst into our lives. It's been one year since I found out I was pregnant. To break into cliche for a minute... <i>Life is a miracle. </i>One minute it was Matt and I... The next it was Matt, myself...and this tiny person who is a composite of both us.<br />
<br />
Each day is a challenge. It isn't easy. Every mother will tell you that, but really listen. Some days you'll miss your life before you had your baby. Even now, I feel so intensely guilty wishing I was alone. The thought loops through my head... If I was a good mother, I wouldn't feel this way. When he fusses the entire day and just wants to be held, when I don't get to eat once because he screams non-stop when he's put down (fortunately those days are over!), when I just want to be the person who I was before I had Desmond...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFMsrXV9ltSmo2JcJ4st-5nPTKk5mSygmI0DY16TSzxmLjQBMgFNV1Nq2cZjZtb4RjN22_j4OKjAx6oqdZKlYgy_GAM2-IKdJIWvoFGjCswVp1_C2aJeJ0_Ws2iV4AuT15S0sn/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-2855-1392585294-7.gif" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFMsrXV9ltSmo2JcJ4st-5nPTKk5mSygmI0DY16TSzxmLjQBMgFNV1Nq2cZjZtb4RjN22_j4OKjAx6oqdZKlYgy_GAM2-IKdJIWvoFGjCswVp1_C2aJeJ0_Ws2iV4AuT15S0sn/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-2855-1392585294-7.gif" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
...I have to remember that being a mother isn't a JOB. It's who you are. I am a mother. I am a mother. One minute I was just me, now I am also a mother. I am doing the best I can in this moment. If I feel sad that my life has changed so irrevocably, I am allowed to feel that way for a bit. If I miss hanging out with my pre-baby friends, it's okay...I can experience all these emotions without being a terrible mother. <br /><br />I had a chat with my own mother about this recently. I told her that I had these thoughts of very occasionally wishing for my life pre-baby. It's so hard, I lamented to her. She laughed and said, Well, I did tell you being a mother is a big sacrifice. But, I retorted, I didn't know I would have these specific feelings.<br />
<br />
From four months ago to now, my greatest help mate has been my husband. Without him, none of this would have been possible. from beginning to finish. Desmond and I are so blessed to have him as a daddy and partner.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibygc22I7E5SrgeHgMZe2MZFBF9hbBi9Qx6k-div3zWeAuPJ_BUJZUxE1Nb5l0k8pNGzD7efhMBKlnkZGTGj8yOrkDFYw7F0u54icaYWJUF6qQsNtWF2Jrql2j_bqqRCu8Ps8K/s1600/IMGP0723.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibygc22I7E5SrgeHgMZe2MZFBF9hbBi9Qx6k-div3zWeAuPJ_BUJZUxE1Nb5l0k8pNGzD7efhMBKlnkZGTGj8yOrkDFYw7F0u54icaYWJUF6qQsNtWF2Jrql2j_bqqRCu8Ps8K/s640/IMGP0723.JPG" width="424" /></a><br />
<br />
Teething is just around the corner, so I'm sure I will be posting again about my experience during that time. Since coming into the world of strollers, bottles, pumping, baby toys, diapers, intrusive strangers, emotions...I have learned so much about myself, Desmond, my friends and my husband. <br /><br />All my preconceptions and plans were smashed. I was 100% adamantly against bed sharing. Guess what? Post C-section, it's physically impossible to go from laying down to sitting up. I perfected a burrito roll off the side of my bed and could not physically sustain getting up multiple times throughout the night to feed him. Bed sharing it is. I swore I would only breast feed. Guess who wouldn't latch? I tried again and again to breast feed, achieved latching for a short period of time, but he began refusing that as well. <br /><br />If you're out there and you're a mom who is struggling like I have been, guess what? I have two things to say to you:<br />
<br />
<b>You are not alone.</b><br /><b>You will feel this way again and again and again.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
The gift of being a mother seems to be so bittersweet. One minute I just want him to stay asleep in his crib, the next I lift him out and rock him up against my face so I can sneak sniffs of his baby smell.<br />
<br />
We're in this together. <br /><br />Happy 4 months, Desmond. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlJ-4u1ksWnxxUFAWy2TaYSmV8wzgMayMVIYu4K3dWptwnZpGGugx0uy_liDlfGpEMntkioMG_i78jKuk8smyDhZsDYYRwQ_z29IMRNuXDmVZ8k7262t3su7FMWYj60KK-wqI/s1600/IMGP0964.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlJ-4u1ksWnxxUFAWy2TaYSmV8wzgMayMVIYu4K3dWptwnZpGGugx0uy_liDlfGpEMntkioMG_i78jKuk8smyDhZsDYYRwQ_z29IMRNuXDmVZ8k7262t3su7FMWYj60KK-wqI/s640/IMGP0964.JPG" width="424" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-29400598851039015852015-10-04T17:35:00.000-04:002015-10-04T17:35:04.717-04:00American Gods ~ Neil Gaiman<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/349347.American_Gods" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="American Gods" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1409934039m/349347.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/349347.American_Gods">American Gods</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1221698.Neil_Gaiman">Neil Gaiman</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1340141538">2 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
From Gaiman's repertoire to date, I have read <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16793.Stardust" title="Stardust by Neil Gaiman">Stardust</a>, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14497.Neverwhere" title="Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman">Neverwhere</a>, and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15783514.The_Ocean_at_the_End_of_the_Lane" title="The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman">The Ocean at the End of the Lane</a>. I very much enjoyed all three and had high hopes for American Gods as many people have recommended this book to me and it has decent reviews.<br><br>Unfortunately, I found that American Gods was simply so different from his other works in tone and nuance, I could not enjoy it. In the other works I read I enjoyed the almost childlike fantasy that emanated from his stories. Stardust, after all, has been made in a children's movie. Clearly Gaiman had written American Gods for a much different audience, but as I was not expecting this I did not find it an enjoyable read.<br><br>It starts out promisingly enough with the story of Shadow, a convicted thief, who finds himself released from serving his time in jail. With his release, a series of terrible events occur including the untimely death of his adulterous wife--double whammy. In a way, he is driven into the arms of "Wednesday", a mysterious man who we later discover is actually a Nordic god.<br><br>The concept of this novel isn't terrible. There are a group of gods who have become irrelevant to society because they are no longer worshipped--Odin, Easter, etc. Most of the gods seem to come from a Gaelic or Middle Eastern descent. Either way, the idea is interesting, but unfortunately spirals into a giant confusing plot. <br><br>Not only are there this older gods, there are new god (Media, Technology) who are convinced there is no room in America for both older gods and them. They decide they need to start killing off the older gods. Shadow is in essence, Wednesday's Yes-Man, chauffeur, etc.<br><br>The two characters who are most interesting in this novel are Wednesday and Shadow, but everything else is just ridiculous frippery. Gaiman adds extra back stories of the birth of gods to contribute to their explanation, but unfortunately it just causes more confusion and makes the novel unbearably long. I was much more interested in the narrative of Shadow and felt irritated by this useless interruptions on the birth stories of random gods.<br><br>Ultimately, it was just a much different book than any I had read by Gaiman, so I shouldn't fault it for that. However, I do fault his editor for not slashing more of the fluffy wasteful extras from this book that bloated it into a 588 page paperback.<br><br>Whether I continue reading Gaiman...I'm not sure. If this was the first Gaiman book I had read, I probably wouldn't. <br><br>2/5<br><br>
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia">View all my reviews</a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-80170458007796837472015-07-17T16:45:00.001-04:002015-07-17T16:45:35.930-04:00The Perfume Garden ~ Kate Lord Brown<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22545448-the-perfume-garden" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Perfume Garden: A Novel" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405301039m/22545448.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22545448-the-perfume-garden">The Perfume Garden: A Novel</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4703645.Kate_Lord_Brown">Kate Lord Brown</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1303880791">2 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I was tricked into reading this book by it's enticing cover and deceiving description. It promised to be a riveting read about survival, life and death in Spain during the revolution. Not having read many novels about the Spanish revolution (other than <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1232.The_Shadow_of_the_Wind__The_Cemetery_of_Forgotten_Books____1_" title="The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón">The Shadow of the Wind</a> which was exemplary), I was excited to enjoy some historical fiction that hopefully had some facts sprinkled in.<br><br>Unfortunately, the dialogue was childish and the characters undeveloped. The protagonist Emma was annoying and boring. It almost seemed as those the author read a Wikipedia article about the Spanish revolution and then worked those facts into random parts of the dialogue. There was no seamless weaving of fact and fiction to be had.<br><br>Some of the cringe worthy writing included:<br><br><em>A woman with a dark veil turned and pursed her lips "Shh". Emma's reverie broke, and she met his gave for the first time. She felt like she had come to the end of a long journey.</em><br><br><br>and<br><br><br><em>"(...)Don't bother dressing on our account, Luca," he said, raising his eyebrows at Emma. "Not bad for an old man, eh?"<br>"Who are you calling an old man?" Luca laughed.<br>"What do you think, Emma?" Guillermo leaned toward her.<br>Luca glanced back at her as he walked away. "Are you two checking out my ass?" He smiled as he stepped into the cool shadows of the apartment.</em><br><br><br><br>Much of the dialogue did not match the tone of the novel, or rather, the tone that the writer was attempting to convey. Even the descriptions of the atrocities that the Republicans suffered through post-war were boring and bland, characters reciting terrible things that had happened. It seemed as though true emotions were never plumbed or even slightly conveyed in any manner.<br><br>Emma ended up seeming vapid and boring. Her anger over being cheated on felt fake and insincere. All of her emotions seemed to be a bit robotic and there was no encompassing sensation of love or anger or hatred that seemed to have any PASSION. <br><br>If this novel hadn't been about the Spanish war and the consequences that followed...If it had been a simple romance without any promising back story, it would perhaps have been more palatable. Instead, I was left feel cheated by a novel that seemed to lack any genuine emotion. <br><br><br>2/5 and don't bother.
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia">View all my reviews</a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-48984458346730548952015-07-10T15:57:00.000-04:002015-07-10T15:57:05.786-04:00Dave & Macey Tie the Knot<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">On Saturday, May 30, 2015 </span>we were all privileged to be witness and be part of the marriage between David Veldman and Macey Scullion.<br /><br />In the past two and a half years, our family has been part of four weddings among our siblings. The saying, "it never rains but pours" could not be truer of our family. As we all entered that phase of our relationships around the same time, we began with Josh & Amber, Matt & myself, Joseph & Danielle, and finally Dave & Macey.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Each wedding was unique in it's own way, a personal statement on the individuality of each of our relationships and personalities; Dave and Macey's wedding was unique indeed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Married on the Borden base of the CAF, we were all treated to a glimpse inside the lives of the army. I had the assignment of shooting some simple photographs for Dave and Macey. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Disclaimer: I am most definitely not a professional photographer and I'm sure other people attending with cameras were able to catch more vivid images. These are the particular few that I enjoyed the most from that day.<br /><br /><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrg69pnw1CMZ8o1frMkJBiq7Kr0AlIxZtdfrdqTvqhUWoOV6u-TKckoo3kGNU2qY7y-wabEXy57eAmGBvk35iE9jmyfgy38RT3J17Cu_3MHzdEEQgvjpWNY0ROVln3oV1FXid/s1600/Macey1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrg69pnw1CMZ8o1frMkJBiq7Kr0AlIxZtdfrdqTvqhUWoOV6u-TKckoo3kGNU2qY7y-wabEXy57eAmGBvk35iE9jmyfgy38RT3J17Cu_3MHzdEEQgvjpWNY0ROVln3oV1FXid/s640/Macey1.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uFQcSb0KWlTDfI9W0l6sIIwpoX4ny-oCazD-f5rewwpPyi74tqqxLrnyKE58WbfZ2jRIvCJYvv77gwTTSuz6GOL_n8H1BVliFAaRNSlR5IhpnNF4ap6gmUCJF2p3vvcnwQjO/s1600/Macey+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1uFQcSb0KWlTDfI9W0l6sIIwpoX4ny-oCazD-f5rewwpPyi74tqqxLrnyKE58WbfZ2jRIvCJYvv77gwTTSuz6GOL_n8H1BVliFAaRNSlR5IhpnNF4ap6gmUCJF2p3vvcnwQjO/s640/Macey+2.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRi2WkZVs23ykvB3o7OTOnnzFckKhVxRY3YZymFxVnOTkyUr-Fiq5T8nmso9Ro5EEECM1W6Nl4b7-J2vPg6pMkzUN1eJatVBTveRE_tDKOVRdUG-8LGRD4iCK0LLz0_hX_k3I/s1600/Macey+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuRi2WkZVs23ykvB3o7OTOnnzFckKhVxRY3YZymFxVnOTkyUr-Fiq5T8nmso9Ro5EEECM1W6Nl4b7-J2vPg6pMkzUN1eJatVBTveRE_tDKOVRdUG-8LGRD4iCK0LLz0_hX_k3I/s640/Macey+3.jpg" width="382" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgwLWc1Z6JLn0SncL0SnmwaoCojGCmDuXDRX41VjD5zQBLiJeAEagPtBjGUMl-oMgYmYTqfrTe94YrrUrrqvUO2_B85oIXHzOGZhU3RUOI62LnAJJMJlW9KmumEZ6tAx96HP6/s1600/Bridesmaids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgwLWc1Z6JLn0SncL0SnmwaoCojGCmDuXDRX41VjD5zQBLiJeAEagPtBjGUMl-oMgYmYTqfrTe94YrrUrrqvUO2_B85oIXHzOGZhU3RUOI62LnAJJMJlW9KmumEZ6tAx96HP6/s640/Bridesmaids.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9qUilvTC7YHNaGhkqc0NvphShezwIEeVFrVskXgBogKMQz7lyBhaSDNVP8WAQKzqVQbDoMtd2WeWGQbXqfuCEwzvhmmyegtYyxAL4QV_JANmqPcqSS8SHnYXWs6-xzq2thow/s1600/Church+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9qUilvTC7YHNaGhkqc0NvphShezwIEeVFrVskXgBogKMQz7lyBhaSDNVP8WAQKzqVQbDoMtd2WeWGQbXqfuCEwzvhmmyegtYyxAL4QV_JANmqPcqSS8SHnYXWs6-xzq2thow/s640/Church+1.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzeN7Am1NP5kCxgFC_2UzsUk_NYYU22GsNn9nUl-0jGQoTtcM7iGPPKiASJtzCX3cAIW7ev-s4fP8kY9_tGfe8LHTSIHMV2ZWdnklaIqlUA4soiOZiEab5NGcHRjVsHKTqnzQ/s1600/Church+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzeN7Am1NP5kCxgFC_2UzsUk_NYYU22GsNn9nUl-0jGQoTtcM7iGPPKiASJtzCX3cAIW7ev-s4fP8kY9_tGfe8LHTSIHMV2ZWdnklaIqlUA4soiOZiEab5NGcHRjVsHKTqnzQ/s640/Church+2.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7EDDPEB11edz0yQA_AfKqM4YPgUXy56NQhG5kqVqLFmIUmj8XcinzNP9Ka9c2qMhi7BZPvCrjaBJe7lBRSZQNNB3IiA6VVU1RTXUOYaQixGKGj67EMKFLQsN61O9KhdLOAsdl/s1600/Line+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7EDDPEB11edz0yQA_AfKqM4YPgUXy56NQhG5kqVqLFmIUmj8XcinzNP9Ka9c2qMhi7BZPvCrjaBJe7lBRSZQNNB3IiA6VVU1RTXUOYaQixGKGj67EMKFLQsN61O9KhdLOAsdl/s640/Line+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-4AHbcaXs2kQFPVdYc7Xlu6RkDtjQpvnhT_hkmfJKWYFxcaD7oqWMFNN0vvHRBaCq6zx6EV4a1YmE9vz3_F0fBFiM2LvF3Co0YE5fZi446q7v1pQbhKVNSKpxsUaX6gE05Op/s1600/Line+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-4AHbcaXs2kQFPVdYc7Xlu6RkDtjQpvnhT_hkmfJKWYFxcaD7oqWMFNN0vvHRBaCq6zx6EV4a1YmE9vz3_F0fBFiM2LvF3Co0YE5fZi446q7v1pQbhKVNSKpxsUaX6gE05Op/s640/Line+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuBf1ffeoOw9Bcbq-j4j9Gs4lbUGqtPXQKwmR5rT7Vk5_IHXq62nYj-inPBih-7J7uMoJ0QP4BBFRUS0KFvSrc3ALjrrLYlzM-0e8UAdYbWp-rxL8oPbVSg9A4fzE9Dug_zKu/s1600/Line+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuBf1ffeoOw9Bcbq-j4j9Gs4lbUGqtPXQKwmR5rT7Vk5_IHXq62nYj-inPBih-7J7uMoJ0QP4BBFRUS0KFvSrc3ALjrrLYlzM-0e8UAdYbWp-rxL8oPbVSg9A4fzE9Dug_zKu/s640/Line+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5reHnOLWUgIfLGsdmL4L4K3uDBHpyjmzhIoB8tSIDb1nosAwm45dtIjozO3scumNTxDLCOo6mDc4EqvzdNy_Hw0Ge7otffA-fxH6YpmhbRfZNLkCEtg-0vEiTlauvgpyGr1w/s1600/Dave+Macey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5reHnOLWUgIfLGsdmL4L4K3uDBHpyjmzhIoB8tSIDb1nosAwm45dtIjozO3scumNTxDLCOo6mDc4EqvzdNy_Hw0Ge7otffA-fxH6YpmhbRfZNLkCEtg-0vEiTlauvgpyGr1w/s640/Dave+Macey.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcf2n4huVPzjRpoI6VRqmhvnVyPezdYlVwHRGbEZWGbtRYYJBbCvR5AJ59aZ_DFLwGDDhaSrLpqTq_cbQynvYj8GB71k5UJ36ukLrbkebbwOwGlOmKiLz2GaUobBE0ykQB_vb/s1600/Scullion+Parents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcf2n4huVPzjRpoI6VRqmhvnVyPezdYlVwHRGbEZWGbtRYYJBbCvR5AJ59aZ_DFLwGDDhaSrLpqTq_cbQynvYj8GB71k5UJ36ukLrbkebbwOwGlOmKiLz2GaUobBE0ykQB_vb/s640/Scullion+Parents.jpg" width="388" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3VHF9v_cywXXRCTjlhyphenhyphenbi6Db-gf28guZRfR9cWvVk80R8GhxVAKyo10STqBFgCK5ksjeY3NBQ74co37Sju9Bri7cjqzrvYKTH8K2hooo9l72N7Yf2xLyXAaRa2rHPfsv-Hep/s1600/Veldman+Parents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim3VHF9v_cywXXRCTjlhyphenhyphenbi6Db-gf28guZRfR9cWvVk80R8GhxVAKyo10STqBFgCK5ksjeY3NBQ74co37Sju9Bri7cjqzrvYKTH8K2hooo9l72N7Yf2xLyXAaRa2rHPfsv-Hep/s640/Veldman+Parents.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYy2Ui0powa1awoF-xPdePUPiEGzYTSm8YY10ypwP8iW-fZnQxh-jIv_zyH83Swp5fCUuk55PupooVs36JEGP4Dc7XVkxALn2i5jeSWvWImWyfaU5bcOhzOXRxiyEC8_kI30RN/s1600/Dad+Mom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYy2Ui0powa1awoF-xPdePUPiEGzYTSm8YY10ypwP8iW-fZnQxh-jIv_zyH83Swp5fCUuk55PupooVs36JEGP4Dc7XVkxALn2i5jeSWvWImWyfaU5bcOhzOXRxiyEC8_kI30RN/s640/Dad+Mom.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGX8DfklJ7Lk_n6TxupzeKhxNTz1046BeXhhbAocO3BJLn6b8Tnj2v2HXpW730-vQbD7llnRd7291May8aoLc6IV2Fk87oZkCv3rtgMbEPTvEzILE45jKTh0ed9f6shPdkMC0T/s1600/Groomsmen+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGX8DfklJ7Lk_n6TxupzeKhxNTz1046BeXhhbAocO3BJLn6b8Tnj2v2HXpW730-vQbD7llnRd7291May8aoLc6IV2Fk87oZkCv3rtgMbEPTvEzILE45jKTh0ed9f6shPdkMC0T/s640/Groomsmen+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIC_lRrQpTUrR3Es5vX2vrTkxp1rh_tILcYPj8FA1H816jXbuuHdy6qB3243dWcAeC9ZHPcmSOHIUeUHcaL15-xIJe5YhkyuxWQm1aCpDPvoL_6EmJ0PZBWX3c0tq6o6iU0Jy7/s1600/Groomsmen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIC_lRrQpTUrR3Es5vX2vrTkxp1rh_tILcYPj8FA1H816jXbuuHdy6qB3243dWcAeC9ZHPcmSOHIUeUHcaL15-xIJe5YhkyuxWQm1aCpDPvoL_6EmJ0PZBWX3c0tq6o6iU0Jy7/s640/Groomsmen.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgbtI_qWWgl6pxiU9IkmtWRvJjJChllpzov_0V4GLfKJHj0295zD8MS2E0UjGTXEAKnazVC4pczoBeCKw__qltUgmGay-6nDiba7DaM4NWXJjjK2RQcUGF_yEU01wIjkbsZ86/s1600/Groomsmen+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgbtI_qWWgl6pxiU9IkmtWRvJjJChllpzov_0V4GLfKJHj0295zD8MS2E0UjGTXEAKnazVC4pczoBeCKw__qltUgmGay-6nDiba7DaM4NWXJjjK2RQcUGF_yEU01wIjkbsZ86/s640/Groomsmen+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfpgggPjFg7JejvH6mTxzSBrgnxPi3AkFD9qRbeaOw8T7RcrIHisVtB-plXN53TThYg83nDjb11f3eladdzKmKTTekpCISGCgo0BdDKfie8AmpvmpQ43tnIciCIYEQOvdjpGF/s1600/wedding+party.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrfpgggPjFg7JejvH6mTxzSBrgnxPi3AkFD9qRbeaOw8T7RcrIHisVtB-plXN53TThYg83nDjb11f3eladdzKmKTTekpCISGCgo0BdDKfie8AmpvmpQ43tnIciCIYEQOvdjpGF/s640/wedding+party.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSK9yKcaIpg8OklpqaMpgLB7B0jhDj81EYabDociXgMiwakJBG88CMA3FD3SirM0NTvFU02HY3AP4MfNJ0L4x_oPNDqGdVL8QUr35Kp_mIwjLN6ulcRiRvVmNXTU4cdk7682_/s1600/Couple+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkSK9yKcaIpg8OklpqaMpgLB7B0jhDj81EYabDociXgMiwakJBG88CMA3FD3SirM0NTvFU02HY3AP4MfNJ0L4x_oPNDqGdVL8QUr35Kp_mIwjLN6ulcRiRvVmNXTU4cdk7682_/s640/Couple+2.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsi1p-elwnkCvR9KSUPCIN32lkL_MbrlLHW_obrVqpAXnR7dTzHXPpuFxLycRPkeZZt4Rf4B0h8zU_gw8ZYH_qjPXym-mPKuTNwMhq0IG8tBWNoCIMdQs3KwAMRsya0g4_ziQC/s1600/Couple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsi1p-elwnkCvR9KSUPCIN32lkL_MbrlLHW_obrVqpAXnR7dTzHXPpuFxLycRPkeZZt4Rf4B0h8zU_gw8ZYH_qjPXym-mPKuTNwMhq0IG8tBWNoCIMdQs3KwAMRsya0g4_ziQC/s640/Couple.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEACNRgQKTVTBHiGn3-Wy64YIjAlDhvI6Dx-bzRjnzgw8WO738pVEKa465mowytcA_Bdqm-11StfgzxoPoZnC6C83F1gEN_qP9QWAL70YocuCkQmR1RHdkdw3fYuyw_GAMD4S/s1600/Couple+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieEACNRgQKTVTBHiGn3-Wy64YIjAlDhvI6Dx-bzRjnzgw8WO738pVEKa465mowytcA_Bdqm-11StfgzxoPoZnC6C83F1gEN_qP9QWAL70YocuCkQmR1RHdkdw3fYuyw_GAMD4S/s640/Couple+3.jpg" width="422" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4g01AVPy3kfEI_AgO9yOLlMszJt1coe55IK5D0abmpGWtnZWRjOG1pDRmICvp5V0UKwTWhV-XTvpky12OHHeu361cs5ldQVbHEQdtLlhRda7c6YzPenWX2tiIECVgK8abG7SS/s1600/Couple+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4g01AVPy3kfEI_AgO9yOLlMszJt1coe55IK5D0abmpGWtnZWRjOG1pDRmICvp5V0UKwTWhV-XTvpky12OHHeu361cs5ldQVbHEQdtLlhRda7c6YzPenWX2tiIECVgK8abG7SS/s640/Couple+4.jpg" width="422" /></a><br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg385-ZQInJt7QOubY6BUNT3l70ag6-ISDx4KKM6bbD0WUTDylgGxnyHHE6SRETPBhVKNetQKKakv_Lj3TAl9E9xBnHyYbWH2seiTWCk1HyCj7kOXrkGImqoKLZM-JP5BueUpbj/s1600/1st+dance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg385-ZQInJt7QOubY6BUNT3l70ag6-ISDx4KKM6bbD0WUTDylgGxnyHHE6SRETPBhVKNetQKKakv_Lj3TAl9E9xBnHyYbWH2seiTWCk1HyCj7kOXrkGImqoKLZM-JP5BueUpbj/s640/1st+dance.jpg" width="522" /></a></div>
<br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">To Dave & Macey, I wish you a long long marriage of happiness, learning and love. <br /><br /><br /></span>Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-45634995896131773882014-09-12T19:15:00.000-04:002014-09-12T19:15:26.256-04:00The Piano Tuner ~ Daniel Mason<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55096.The_Piano_Tuner" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="The Piano Tuner" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388274852m/55096.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55096.The_Piano_Tuner">The Piano Tuner</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/31095.Daniel_Mason">Daniel Mason</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1031525463">1 of 5 stars</a><br />
<br />
If I had to describe this novel in one sentence:<br />
<br />
<strong>
<em>A swift sharp drop kick to the genital area.</em>
</strong><br />
<br />
This is a story of a shy, gentle, educated piano tuner who specializes in tuning Erard pianos. Set in the 1800s, the British empire is struggling to maintain control of their rule in Asia and Edgar Drake is summoned by the war office on a mission…to go to the far east, past Mandalay, to a remote village where an eccentric Englishman Dr. Anthony Carroll maintains the local peace by playing his Erard piano. <br />
<br />
The book has some wonderful descriptions of Drake’s journey but it wears thin quickly. I found some of the details of the villages and the Burmese culture interesting, but I also had to read very intentionally in order to avoid dialogue that the author worked into the paragraphs without using quotations or different paragraphs.<br />
<br />
Dialogue compressed into one paragraph throughout the novel is very frustrating to read and I found it rather pointless. Why have actual formatted dialogue at certain times and then have random giant amount of conversation squished down into one paragraph?<br />
<br />
Then there’s the…entire plot. Drake leaves his wife of many years to travel east because of a hole he feels inside, an emptiness he wants filled. As the novel continues, it never truly addresses what the hole is and ultimately whether it is ever filled. We get the sense that he is falling in love with a young Burmese girl who is somewhat Carroll’s partner, although we are never enlightened as to what exactly those two are to each other.<br />
Much of the book focuses on the politics and military movements of the time, which is pretty dry and boring. I’ve read GOOD historical fiction novels that include actual history in them without being boring. (Ken Follett is a good example of such writing.) This novel is not one of those books, unfortunately.<br />
<br />
In the end,<br />
<br />
<strong>SPOILERS BELOW</strong><br />
<br />
Edgar discovers the English gentleman he has been spending time with may or may not be a spy and the woman is his accomplice. He runs back to Mae Lwin (remote village) to find them and hears a noise, falls to the ground and feels a warmth spreading out beneath.<br />
Well…<br />
<br />
Did he pee himself? Was he shot? Was the warmth his life blood?<br />
Did he learn anything? Was the hole filled? Why did he leave his “beloved” wife and almost cheat on her with a random somewhat partner or a military man who tries his hand at botany?<br />
<br />
The whole novel is ridiculous. The premise is great, the story seemed intriguing, but it fell flat in so many way. Many of the reviews I have read on Goodreads talk about how poetic and moving this novel was. I do not see that AT ALL. This book was tripe and fluff. It felt pretentious and clunky, the characters not particularly likeable or enthralling, and the description bloated and confusing. <br />
<br />
I do not recommend this book to anyone. They will end up being a disappointed as I was.<br />
<br />
1/5 stars.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia">View all my reviews</a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-75495826487720474482014-06-26T19:27:00.000-04:002014-06-28T18:16:29.165-04:00The Signature of All Things ~ Elizabeth Gilbert<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465453-the-signature-of-all-things" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="The Signature of All Things" border="0" src="https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364277893m/17465453.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465453-the-signature-of-all-things">The Signature of All Things</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11679.Elizabeth_Gilbert">Elizabeth Gilbert</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/975472874">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I have never read a book written by Elizabeth Gilbert before so the reviews I have read comparing this book to, say, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19501.Eat__Pray__Love" title="Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert">Eat, Pray, Love</a> are meaningless to me. In this way, I feel I had a very open mind to her works with being unable to compare The Signature of All Things to other novels she has written. <br><br>This is a story of a girl, then woman named Alma who finds her way in the world. It begins with the back story of Alma's father Henry Whittaker and his path as he travels from poverty to wealth. To me, this was the most interesting portion of the book...which isn't good considering that it is only the beginning chapter. We learn about Alma's parents and how they have arrived at their current situation in life when Alma is born. The story of her parents is integral to the novel as it explains how Alma is brought up.<br><br>She is taught multiple languages at a young age. Her parents believe all children should be thoroughly educated so she is encouraged to explore and ask questions. She rides her pony at five years of age into the forest to forage for botany samples. It is intriguing to read and compare the learning differences from the 1800s to how our children in this day and age are educated. (Obviously her education was atypical of that time period for a female.)<br><br>When she is nine her family adopts a little girl named Prudence and she struggles to relate to the girl as a true sibling. There is always a wall between them that Alma cannot break through. This becomes a repeated theme throughout the novel, with Alma trying to understand Prudence her entire life. My hope was that there would be something dark or scandalous involved with Prudence, but in the end *SPOILERS* it is boringly revealed that Prudence is as altruistic of character and as sacrificial as she seems.<br><br>In one sentence the book fast-forwards twenty something years and Alma is in her forties. Nothing in between is truly elaborated on. We learn she is still living on the family plantation and is still working on botany studies. But aha! A charming man comes to visit the plantation and she finds herself falling in love with him at the grim spinster age of forty-eight.<br><br>(At this point we have already been subjected to awkward descriptions of Alma's personal sexual awakening, which is expressed later in her sexual interest in this visitor, an Ambrose Pike.)<br><br>Alma develops feelings for him, he is interested in heavenly things believing he once communicated with God and the plants etc, she believes they are of like mind, they marry, they never have sex, she is devastated, she sends him away.<br><br>From there on it's just disappointment after disappointment. Imagine reading that her biggest desire was to "take a man's member in her mouth". This from an educated well-read woman who is apparently satisfied with her life? It's ridiculous and so incongruous in the setting of the novel.<br><br>Finally, Ambrose Pike, who she weeps over (after discovering his homosexual proclivities) is nowhere near worthy of tears or expenses or complete life changes (travelling to Tahiti to find his lover). All the characters seem boring. The most intriguing person, Henry Whittaker, is not nearly elaborated on enough.<br><br>I feel I was tricked by this novel. It seems to be an interesting read on a woman who discover secrets of life, but in the end she just wanted to have oral sex. Even more insulting, she didn't seem interested in receiving any in return.<br><br>My rating is 2.5/5, but I bumped it up to 3 because I felt that the descriptions were good and I did find it to be a somewhat educational read. Will I pursue other books by Elizabeth Gilbert? Probably not, unless someone promises me that life's culmination is not found in a blow job.
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia">View all my reviews</a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-52869606626485035952014-04-13T23:51:00.001-04:002014-04-13T23:51:39.683-04:00A Bookish Bridal Shower<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've been meaning to post about my literature themed bridal shower thrown by my lovely family and friends...but life has been crazy! For all you single people: if a married person talks to you about the chaotic last few weeks of engagement, listen up! They are not lying. Even though Matt and I are having a fairly simple and casual wedding, we are still swamped with all sorts of things.<br /><br />(To be fair, it's not just wedding things. Taking on a second job a couple months before a wedding and dealing with a fiance being laid off from work does make one a bit...cuckoo.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMs_8Zh1K_KqwD3FkvHSzrQIrvkDHoH4jtO5-dWnCVDU440LYlp2n1WAlhgrXS8cUSAueRrSgIYiop4tV8Cemx2cJ6oaU8LZOgHdvHTGGl71so5eYpc2ZHvncLni3xpZ5uGsU/s1600/40401-crazy-pug-dance-gif-rGgt.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMs_8Zh1K_KqwD3FkvHSzrQIrvkDHoH4jtO5-dWnCVDU440LYlp2n1WAlhgrXS8cUSAueRrSgIYiop4tV8Cemx2cJ6oaU8LZOgHdvHTGGl71so5eYpc2ZHvncLni3xpZ5uGsU/s1600/40401-crazy-pug-dance-gif-rGgt.gif" height="348" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But back to the subject on hand:<br /><br />A book themed shower! I've loved books since I was a young child and most of my friends (and blog readers) know that I often get caught up in the fictional world. I even had mastered a talent of speed reading aka skipping over boring descriptive parts. I believe my dad taught me that gift after a painful reading of Lord of the Rings out loud to us as children.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Reading is just the thing our family does and we do it well. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFeEXZ_HRamQwSYF7DNo-HIoc0KtlZLC-6eSbBMadc-ogqNZbGgAEgaHXLMhqCvepxAGCPll79vxUzS3acnL9aA_khLtJP1EzE2hexd8vGdN9GyDkyV61DBhP6-Yokw2OX8ttU/s1600/tumblr_lxtesd1mKO1r9zlfvo1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFeEXZ_HRamQwSYF7DNo-HIoc0KtlZLC-6eSbBMadc-ogqNZbGgAEgaHXLMhqCvepxAGCPll79vxUzS3acnL9aA_khLtJP1EzE2hexd8vGdN9GyDkyV61DBhP6-Yokw2OX8ttU/s1600/tumblr_lxtesd1mKO1r9zlfvo1_500.gif" height="358" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My maid-of-honour/sister pulled it together really well. It ended up being a beautiful event with lots of delicious food and even a book swap!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />I was personally very proud of this decorative wreath I slaved over for the wall. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5V9bVoSk2LHiMqKZa2ls3vyRF_u5-SIfcHjUn1mv5m2at1xIkSDZOGGpe3i4StcVSosXdNkNfEM9tbU0_QL7NB4rJMaERaRZ7gMAG8qNoJcQ2-KHgUFeMPOhOLBeoyoEGndSs/s1600/IMGP8918.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5V9bVoSk2LHiMqKZa2ls3vyRF_u5-SIfcHjUn1mv5m2at1xIkSDZOGGpe3i4StcVSosXdNkNfEM9tbU0_QL7NB4rJMaERaRZ7gMAG8qNoJcQ2-KHgUFeMPOhOLBeoyoEGndSs/s1600/IMGP8918.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yeah, I made that beauty.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My mom came up with this neat idea of creating a vase with old book pages and dried flowers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgg3KAU7GB4oXF3EslfOCgk10Nwf4S1teHyzP6Ig0bNk7NHTp_V3cfQnLpAvad706vThpOuTBbzovMhq1-JEn-GPxWJWN6oT2wSobpcVlKATP5nMhtLkx-47zk7AkwMQOnvqu/s1600/IMGP8919.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgg3KAU7GB4oXF3EslfOCgk10Nwf4S1teHyzP6Ig0bNk7NHTp_V3cfQnLpAvad706vThpOuTBbzovMhq1-JEn-GPxWJWN6oT2wSobpcVlKATP5nMhtLkx-47zk7AkwMQOnvqu/s1600/IMGP8919.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">She also whimsically twined together some books for more decorations. You can see them in other pictures.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />My dearest Matt put his skills to work the week before and painted a picture as a prize for the crossword game.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyv5-ULFHuwDg1yfeRNZxqvfxdsbXqMqXQoV4EUTTwUUdKK3Y6r_5pXj0fXs57JcpSGj_FRPSiZIyKzd6XSna4FnAYM_wmiCE4AW2_CESGWrM_xlOUlm8cxwTknD_M2-cw7hB/s1600/IMGP8920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyv5-ULFHuwDg1yfeRNZxqvfxdsbXqMqXQoV4EUTTwUUdKK3Y6r_5pXj0fXs57JcpSGj_FRPSiZIyKzd6XSna4FnAYM_wmiCE4AW2_CESGWrM_xlOUlm8cxwTknD_M2-cw7hB/s1600/IMGP8920.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And I put together the crossword using an online generator and basing it on historical and fictional couples.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOtCeoHpRzKl24uxJOhyGAFzBIfXeBteWdIYmeKvmNCMB4-W-Xuk9PiEJkXAXFB-08cYFAix62-Ne8tGWdXvaWyMlz2d12MNFSAE1lUqtbPIzeTSpqWQvFe5GnFFSDBJ3AgE3/s1600/IMGP8921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdOtCeoHpRzKl24uxJOhyGAFzBIfXeBteWdIYmeKvmNCMB4-W-Xuk9PiEJkXAXFB-08cYFAix62-Ne8tGWdXvaWyMlz2d12MNFSAE1lUqtbPIzeTSpqWQvFe5GnFFSDBJ3AgE3/s1600/IMGP8921.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />My sisters and my mom created a couple neat table runners made out of book pages.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CruuLghaU2_UNVP3-vviPqvug_uyT7nMHqqR8sZEMR2uMTeD8oVcLjtPOx6m2JSsMicrhXzha6dtI9JFH_uxlYtk2gay_ivx6leBw0H_1b98sk_6ewPRj0B-DBfMnXj9_J1B/s1600/IMGP8922.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CruuLghaU2_UNVP3-vviPqvug_uyT7nMHqqR8sZEMR2uMTeD8oVcLjtPOx6m2JSsMicrhXzha6dtI9JFH_uxlYtk2gay_ivx6leBw0H_1b98sk_6ewPRj0B-DBfMnXj9_J1B/s1600/IMGP8922.JPG" height="640" width="422" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />I had the crafty idea of buying little jars at the dollar store and using a strip of paper and our heart-shaped hole punches, we created little book themed tea light candle holders.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nT8W6nPmB2baZNMVR4Rf0MZBhxCoiXW_Mp3-xqOKZbumMixBPgIY216dgQSVVHKah8JSBt_6b2fpD8xlAKUczhMoB_9Pdh-qYfvJH2-6DyEP_eoyC1-6mTXyZw9mZBHsB0NI/s1600/IMGP8924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0nT8W6nPmB2baZNMVR4Rf0MZBhxCoiXW_Mp3-xqOKZbumMixBPgIY216dgQSVVHKah8JSBt_6b2fpD8xlAKUczhMoB_9Pdh-qYfvJH2-6DyEP_eoyC1-6mTXyZw9mZBHsB0NI/s1600/IMGP8924.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We used little jars for favours full of candy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZva5EueU-bHZ6p_qmkxoElCtbJXjQU7WujXhLOX7uPJnetmMHntl8GuZrBdC-UVe54vGu-Ai2ob4DjGOs6_y1KVyFvpnIyRV7KUNKXqLExVdmaAXbrRa1K4kwyPtyGOL32d_h/s1600/IMGP8965.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZva5EueU-bHZ6p_qmkxoElCtbJXjQU7WujXhLOX7uPJnetmMHntl8GuZrBdC-UVe54vGu-Ai2ob4DjGOs6_y1KVyFvpnIyRV7KUNKXqLExVdmaAXbrRa1K4kwyPtyGOL32d_h/s1600/IMGP8965.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Below is the invitations we sent out for the shower. Kind of a neat book themed twist as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoNkU-34DXWipO1xLAmPnEwtmnfbH2D3ZBCcO0GdnizHujBmiwGoX7h88SvRc0FI3TY5TEuSAggKP_d-_Ca-sg4fwMnnvL1rPJzfUopOYDNwvMlyHjs8kcbQ7_WKdUuYiKagP/s1600/IMGP8968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoNkU-34DXWipO1xLAmPnEwtmnfbH2D3ZBCcO0GdnizHujBmiwGoX7h88SvRc0FI3TY5TEuSAggKP_d-_Ca-sg4fwMnnvL1rPJzfUopOYDNwvMlyHjs8kcbQ7_WKdUuYiKagP/s1600/IMGP8968.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nSVyhd6rA7HEP7PCkukuobVd2OA9UIU_ghxzdtAuTDEapFUjZdLoeYc-SMRaCrQyp1hgotp77z83IrXj2fIYpTUCorcMlI2zLMqZOrVmKMxuqmUmnbM9bMq-NWxjXYropjzY/s1600/IMGP8969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8nSVyhd6rA7HEP7PCkukuobVd2OA9UIU_ghxzdtAuTDEapFUjZdLoeYc-SMRaCrQyp1hgotp77z83IrXj2fIYpTUCorcMlI2zLMqZOrVmKMxuqmUmnbM9bMq-NWxjXYropjzY/s1600/IMGP8969.JPG" height="422" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My biggest regret was not not taking more pictures of what we put up. I had such a fantastic time connecting with friends & family though and I was so blessed by the thoughtful cards and gifts that people gave me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The shower was so perfect for me and I loved it!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-14197760440166840952014-02-10T14:00:00.003-05:002014-02-10T14:00:31.464-05:00The Hour I First Believed ~ Wally Lamb<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6241476-the-hour-i-first-believed" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="The Hour I First Believed" border="0" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348841151m/6241476.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6241476-the-hour-i-first-believed">The Hour I First Believed</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3505.Wally_Lamb">Wally Lamb</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/786635459">2 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I thank my good sense for only paying $4 for this book from Value Village. Thank heavens for discounted used books.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had high expectations for <strong>The Hour I First Believed</strong> simply because I had heard so much about the author Wally Lamb. Many people had recommended <strong>She's Come Undone</strong> (probably won't read it now) to me and I mistakenly thought that he was a solid writer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, no, no. This is one the most depressing books I have read, thus added to my "Books to Never Read Again" shelf. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The premise: the main character Caelum Quirk works as a teacher at Columbine High School along with his wife Maureen who is the school nurse. Simple enough. One of his family members dies and he travels alone to be present at the funeral. Meanwhile, Maureen goes in to work on the fateful day that Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris rampage through the school killing several teenagers, leaving many injured and suffering.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maureen survives through the shooting (barely) and begins an inevitable and slow spiral downward. Caelum finds himself at his wit's end and decides to move to the family farm in Connecticut to begin over.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Clearly any reasonable person could have told him that you bring all your pain and suffering with you, the burden of memories that you are consigned to carry. Maureen never fully recovers and ends abusing narcotics and eventually goes to jail.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meanwhile Caelum rents out some rooms in the house for extra money and begins looking into his family history, which turns out to be surprising and much more than he anticipated.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's the biggest problem: <strong>there was too much going on</strong>. This is a MASSIVE novel at 768 pages and the entire second half focuses on his family history, which let's get real, no one cares about! The main story of Caelum suffers from lack of attention. No one wants to read the narrator's POV at the young age of 8, least of all me who suffers from a severe lack of patience when it comes to poorly edited books.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the end there is no redemption. Lamb throws in the statement "and this was the hour I first believed" in the last chapter, but the I was left asking, "believed what???". The book fails to pull itself together and leaves the reader A) wondering what they just read and B) contemplating the hours they just lost of their life for a book that never came through. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pass.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2/5 stars.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View all my reviews</span></a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-73557660560097119002014-01-30T13:55:00.001-05:002014-01-30T13:55:18.835-05:00Wedding Patience<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few days ago I was laying in bed freaking out. And yes, it was all wedding related.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It started out with Matt and I believing that more had been accomplished than had actually been done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was acting all carefree. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We booked the church, the venue, picked the menu, talked to the pastor, have started premarital counselling and I have bought my dress. So what more could need to be done? We were good to go.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then...suddenly...that dreaded night...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The moment where I was falling asleep, suspended in that sweet place between awake and asleep, that moment right when you know you're drifting away...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">BOOM.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALXuHrZvBba2fgB-1aLT0U54dj-VqjnPXHsY2RPiL9aarAkChBBhhDUFWWL52XAa6qHTkCBzmK3oGNzW0SHEx1FmgM13TXwmXGvfVGZr1-5PtbPGNzDjvMyj2daIq6SSzTcGZ/s1600/tumblr_static_sherlock_opening_eyes_gif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjALXuHrZvBba2fgB-1aLT0U54dj-VqjnPXHsY2RPiL9aarAkChBBhhDUFWWL52XAa6qHTkCBzmK3oGNzW0SHEx1FmgM13TXwmXGvfVGZr1-5PtbPGNzDjvMyj2daIq6SSzTcGZ/s1600/tumblr_static_sherlock_opening_eyes_gif.gif" height="354" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i><br /></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where are we going to get square envelopes from?</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How should we seat people? Where should we seat them?<br />Will Matt finish his book in time for our first session?</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What should the party favours be? (Never mind that I find them tacky!)</span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who will watch Oliver and Licorice while we're on our honeymoon?</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Who will drive the girls to the church on the wedding morning?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Where will Matt buy a suit from?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>How do we let people know about our after party?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>When (and where) will we do our engagement photo shoot?<br />How soon should we decide hair styles?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>When will we take our rings to get sized?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Who should we talk to about health insurance on our honeymoon?</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And on and on and on the questions kept coming into my head...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Out loud I started reciting a small list of things we need to complete. I thought I was the only one awake. Suddenly Matt joined me and started adding multiple items to the list. Soon we were at 20+ things we need to do...AND SOON.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We ended up making a check list. I adore check lists. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The seating arrangement (not as difficult as I thought due to a small reception) is almost complete pending RSVPs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMG_20140121_224744_zps8afuwdmd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMG_20140121_224744_zps8afuwdmd.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking of RSVPs, I sent the invitations out today!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMG_20140122_163434_zpsajbv3f3z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMG_20140122_163434_zpsajbv3f3z.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been forced into learning patience. The post office has been extremely difficult lately, making "attempted deliveries" that don't actually consist of attempts. <br /><br />More than anything, I've discovered that the thing I struggle with the most is anger caused by feelings of futility. After finding out about our mailman's (he is a man) shenanigan's, I called Canada Post to complain, but that didn't make me feel any better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was so <i>angry </i>that he wasn't doing his job properly, that he didn't even try to deliver a parcel that I paid a large amount of postage for. I ended up having to wait four extra days for this package which incensed me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But hey, we're learning new things every day and I'm learning that I must find patience even in annoying and frustrating circumstances.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My wedding mindset/motto has been this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMG_903849346580106_zpsh11pz6nt.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMG_903849346580106_zpsh11pz6nt.jpeg" height="640" width="586" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The power and strength given to us is not one of being overbearing or pushing our way. It's power and strength to deal with these day-to-day frustration with grace and kindness. Yes, if you know me, you'll know how impatient and demanding I can be, so this is a true test for me, but I'm trying! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Getting married has brought out something else in me as well: tears. Okay, I know it sounds weird... I'm not talking sobbing, mascara running, break down tears.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgobzUhKS9NImiIYyak95lVZAdIsewvFMHfu7TQS5wcw7k-G-RDnL11XRWWX33ULi_5NuUdZfz1niswRzj4mfUk-hZzdmXqO1K50ygvUvt77wpqlBHumgPGi0VnStv2wg5Nkdy/s1600/Jack-Donaghy-Crying-Into-Pillow-30-Rock.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgobzUhKS9NImiIYyak95lVZAdIsewvFMHfu7TQS5wcw7k-G-RDnL11XRWWX33ULi_5NuUdZfz1niswRzj4mfUk-hZzdmXqO1K50ygvUvt77wpqlBHumgPGi0VnStv2wg5Nkdy/s1600/Jack-Donaghy-Crying-Into-Pillow-30-Rock.gif" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(BTW, there are A LOT of crying/sobbing gifs from Glee. Not surprising. I'm sure they're just channelling their inner feelings about how terrible Ryan Murphy has made the show.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My tears are more strangely tears of excitement! I think about the morning when I will walk down the aisle towards Matt and I get this lump in my throat. It's partially excitement and partially gratitude that I have this amazing man in my life. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Am I growing obscenely sentimental as I near 30 this year?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As exciting as wedding planning is, I'll be glad when it's over.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">106 days to go!!!</span>Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-51065557595068626682014-01-12T00:08:00.001-05:002014-01-13T23:59:44.831-05:00The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZ-iF2pkatgiW2FbOLNIeCaOSiRuuR93In2LGQERfyPL82fm19QlNzmqH7xzuCjlm6_3cfOPj0lBYRxjq5ICPI2Lr9idx1MbcYI5t4lE6a2p9tvaydS48l4M8N0cKhj0q944V/s1600/The-Secret-Life-of-Walter-Mitty-2013-Movie-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRZ-iF2pkatgiW2FbOLNIeCaOSiRuuR93In2LGQERfyPL82fm19QlNzmqH7xzuCjlm6_3cfOPj0lBYRxjq5ICPI2Lr9idx1MbcYI5t4lE6a2p9tvaydS48l4M8N0cKhj0q944V/s1600/The-Secret-Life-of-Walter-Mitty-2013-Movie-Poster.jpg" width="432" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;">Based loosely on the short story by James Ferber, <b>The Secret Life of Walter Mitty </b>is the story of a man who finds courage and adventure in the strangest of ways. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Ben Stiller acts the timid Walter Mitty who we are introduced to, a man who fantasizes about performing brave and fantastic feats while routinely zoning out and missing trains and conversations with actual people. When his new boss relentlessly mocks him for his slow responses, Mitty slips into a day dream in which brass knuckles are exchanged between them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6E2S7sFb4zrlWkeUX5b60UrHFxVC_RC6T0QDL4LcEy-mccPPEul9XfPw8Ov9AU4qXc4MWTs4hGHajrUstoTvacMq8fCmIBIfQKWR9-X-e21tElm16yzMgWRyYICzX8o4aBo-c/s1600/Second-Trailer-The-Secret-Life-of-Walter-Mitty-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6E2S7sFb4zrlWkeUX5b60UrHFxVC_RC6T0QDL4LcEy-mccPPEul9XfPw8Ov9AU4qXc4MWTs4hGHajrUstoTvacMq8fCmIBIfQKWR9-X-e21tElm16yzMgWRyYICzX8o4aBo-c/s640/Second-Trailer-The-Secret-Life-of-Walter-Mitty-0.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Arguably most well known for his role as Greg Focker in <b>Meet The Parents</b>, Ben Stiller once again unleashes his sweet side, but Mitty is a far more endearing character than Greg Focker was. As Mitty struggles to update his eHarmony profile, leaving the "experiences" section empty, we are drawn into his quiet and lonely life. </span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mitty watches his co-worker Cheryl from afar and fails with his attempts to strike up conversations with her. His job as a "negative assets" man means he spends his work days in the basement with one co-worker scanning through photograph negatives that old school *and famous* photographer Sean O'Connell refuses to give up on using. Despite the fact that other magazines and photographers have switched to digital photography, O'Connell remains staunchly supportive of negatives and keeping his whereabouts unknown.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3kDR9pwU0UD-5C5wllNCzIaO1lHBMZGxbXFRi0iDUYzB6zA4tZVx0H7YzLVe7rQsVypKAn42gwiY_cNye6DJpFujTYv1hGPKFRZRMAyZUOvxI3E_iw2O0nmk2VmuaZ9nKTKFf/s1600/o-THE-SECRET-LIFE-OF-WALTER-MITTY-REVIEWS-facebook+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3kDR9pwU0UD-5C5wllNCzIaO1lHBMZGxbXFRi0iDUYzB6zA4tZVx0H7YzLVe7rQsVypKAn42gwiY_cNye6DJpFujTYv1hGPKFRZRMAyZUOvxI3E_iw2O0nmk2VmuaZ9nKTKFf/s1600/o-THE-SECRET-LIFE-OF-WALTER-MITTY-REVIEWS-facebook+(1).jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">Two pieces of important news are broken: Life Magazine is being shut down and O'Connell has sent a negative to Mitty that photographs the "quintessence of life". The new big shot heads of the magazine decide to have one last paper issue with O'Connell's promising photo gracing the cover.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">One problem: the negative is missing...and thus Mitty embarks on what will be an eye-opening journey. Having never left the U.S.A., he finds himself travelling to foreign countries and being placed in crazy situations that he could only have fantasized. In the mean time, he keeps receiving calls on his cell phone from eHarmony customer service (voiced by Patton Oswalt) who becomes amazed (and somewhat disbelieving) of the crazy adventures Mitty keeps finding himself in.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHyn4-Dw3TtSBGJHJGVRPOwVbSVWjMdZc4Qlz2X7wjEgTrRZ5YoSGZwkS7QRbV74GHx_LZD853kEqDrkrrJCF4h7L-qR5zd-aCkm2MPA7Hq6WuhArIN_YVio-zRsgm2KzSly0/s1600/13.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbHyn4-Dw3TtSBGJHJGVRPOwVbSVWjMdZc4Qlz2X7wjEgTrRZ5YoSGZwkS7QRbV74GHx_LZD853kEqDrkrrJCF4h7L-qR5zd-aCkm2MPA7Hq6WuhArIN_YVio-zRsgm2KzSly0/s1600/13.jpeg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">This is a wonderful novel about the resilience of the human spirit and how much we can change if we open ourselves up to it. As Walter Mitty explores the world and finds himself in dangerous albeit somewhat humorous situations, he begins to open up and experiences life more fully. His character is sweet and easy to root for: you want the underdog to triumph!<br /><br />Perhaps I was emotional over the holiday season, but there was glorious moments in this movie and I found myself leaking a little (tear tear) from witnessing Mitty's transformation from timidity to strength and bravery.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQheeky1sh8rzjk8BrepSlvg5lPoGGke57cGu1MeqvNumCaO8dIM8evRbuv7c9QhJMC-zv1_I6U2hO-p-zHJOuw_GuKdHeepVXkhuptE87ulYYv8hc9q2EbQutw2-0Mv9R0_G_/s1600/The-Secret-Life-of-Walter-Mitty-Trailer3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQheeky1sh8rzjk8BrepSlvg5lPoGGke57cGu1MeqvNumCaO8dIM8evRbuv7c9QhJMC-zv1_I6U2hO-p-zHJOuw_GuKdHeepVXkhuptE87ulYYv8hc9q2EbQutw2-0Mv9R0_G_/s1600/The-Secret-Life-of-Walter-Mitty-Trailer3.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;">When Mitty does find O'Connell (and eventually the negative), it's not quite what one would expect, but that becomes another life lesson. The message of the movie is simple and sweet: it's all too easy and comfortable to become stagnant in life. The world is far too beautiful to not be experienced to its fullest. In short, in the movie, the motto of Life Magazine and perhaps of life itself and it's purpose:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer,to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life.” </b></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;">This was easily my favourite late 2013 movie and perhaps one of the best ones I have seen through 2013. I highly recommend watching it. (Another plus was the amazing soundtrack spearheaded by the wonderful Jose Gonzalez.) Watch it and let yourself be wooed by the amazing cinematography, the sweet romance, and the growth of courage and love. The message is positive and I found myself laughing, smiling and crying while watching it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;">9/10 even if some critics disagree.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #333333; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #eeeeee; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-92089690847992543882014-01-02T13:55:00.000-05:002014-01-04T11:36:45.899-05:00A Year of Reading...Done!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In January 2013 I entered the Goodreads reading challenge setting myself at 100 books to be read in 2013.<br /><br />I can very proudly say, <i>I met my challenge!!! </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYHY4IsCtrvbbJNCqdOIfi3aE1bouBdYHIiXyYjuP2CHOzmWJ2R9YQaRjKn-_tD84EnRo0Hojyfq_FyIgH-AigrWDUCxgWoyQFKsjp2WAUAf5v55D3Z5Sdj8TGdoT898DrOEz/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-2805-1378581227-15.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxYHY4IsCtrvbbJNCqdOIfi3aE1bouBdYHIiXyYjuP2CHOzmWJ2R9YQaRjKn-_tD84EnRo0Hojyfq_FyIgH-AigrWDUCxgWoyQFKsjp2WAUAf5v55D3Z5Sdj8TGdoT898DrOEz/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-2805-1378581227-15.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I read 101 books in the year. I will admit that a few of them were re-reads, but I still count them towards the goal!</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Toward the end of the year I suffered through some very frantic reading. I had let myself fall behind and wasn't sure I would make the goal. However, after a couple "light" reads, I found myself back on track.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Below is the list of books I read in 2013 and I have arranged them but my star ratings.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: large;">ONE STAR</span></u><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (books I really hated)</span><br /><br /><br /><u>Message In A Bottle</u> - Nicholas Sparks - <i>predictable romantic tragedy</i></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Disgrace</u> - J.M. Coetzee - <i>depressing & dark</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Pact</u> - Jodi Picouolt - <i>everything wrong with Generation X</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Mrs. Dalloway</u> - Virginia Woolf - <i>self indulgent tripe</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Gone Girl</u> - Gillian Flynn - <i>sadistic, boring, predictable</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Things We Cherished</u> - Pam Jenoff - <i>disappointing </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Midnight in Austenland</u> - Shannon Hale - <i>a disgrace to all things Austen</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Choice</u> - Robert Whitlow - <i>proving again how banal Christian lit can be</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Me Before You</u> - Jojo Moyes - <i>a quad intent on euthanasia? how thrilling.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Dinner</u> - Herman Koch - <i>pretentious useless crap</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large;"><u>TWO STARS</u> </b><b>(books I didn't mind/tolerated)</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>[series]</b></span><br />
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mud City</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Deborah Ellis - </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the third book of a trilogy that betrayed me</i><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Heaven's Wager</u> - Ted Dekker - <i>Dekker takes a wrong turn with a horrible attempt to write like Frank Peretti</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Death of a Kingfisher</u> - M.C. Beaton - <i>Hamish needs to make some serious life changes</i></span></div>
<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></i>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>[fiction]</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>On the Island</u> - Tracey Garvis-Graves - <i>twisted weird romance between student & teacher, vomit</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Glazed Murder</u> - Jessica Beck - <i>painfull dull, boring characters</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>A Soft Place to Land</u> - Susan White - <i>can barely remember it. exactly.</i><br /><u>Death Comes to Pemberley</u> - P.D. James - <i>leave Austen alone</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Pilot's Wife</u> - Anita Shreve - <i>a hot mess of a book. minus the hot.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Hour I First Believed</u> - Wally Lamb - <i>deserves a one just for the sheer size and rambling. I felt charitable.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Rescue</u> - Anita Shreve - <i>so much predictability and boringness. ugh.</i><br /><u>After You</u> - Julie Buxbaum - <i>someone dies, family is sad, time heals. blah blah blah.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Love Anthony</u> - Lisa Genova - <i>disappointing compared to author's previous novels</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Love the One You're With</u> - Emily Griffin - <i>staple PMS novel, not good for much else</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Distant Hours</u> - Kate Morton - <i>gothic romantic tragedy that left me dying inside</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Next to Love</u> - Ellen Feldman - <i>another silly insipid romance</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>[non-fiction]</b></span><br />
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beyond Belief</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Jenna Miscavige Hill - </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a look into Scientology that leaves a lot of questions</i></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u style="font-size: x-large;">THREE STARS</u><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>(books I liked)</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>[series]</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Breadwinner</u> - Deborah Ellis - <i>1st book of trilogy, solid start</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Parvana's Journey</u> - Deborah Ellis - <i>2nd book of trilogy, great continuation</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br />Forever in Blue: 4th Summer of the Sisterhood</u> - Ann Brashares - <i>the usual goodness</i></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Sisterhood Everlasting</u> - Ann Brashares - <i>disappointing end to a great series</i></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Passing Bells</u> - Phillip Rock - <i>1st book, meet characters</i></span></div>
<div>
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Circles of Time</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Phillip Rock - <i>2nd book, follow characters through trials and tribulations</i></span></div>
<div>
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Future Arrived</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Phillip Rock - <i>3rd book, decent ending, anti-climatic</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><br /></u></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u><b>[fiction]</b></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Secret Keeper</u> - Kate Morton - <i>typical Kate Morton with creepy romance</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Secret Life of Bees</u> - Sue Monk Kidd - <i>loved this book! would have given it more stars if it had moved a bit faster</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Outcast</u> - Sadie Jones - <i>gripping read but also dissatisfying</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Winter Palace</u> - Eva Stachniak - <i>long long, dragging, but enlightening</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Kitchen House</u> - Kathleen Grissom - <i>I enjoyed this quite a bit but didn't find the characters well fleshed out.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>What Alice Forgot</u> - Liana Moriarty - <i>I should have given this book a two. It was okay, minus the ending.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Rosie Project</u> - Graeme Simsion - <i>not as compelling and hilarious as I was assured, but still good</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>My Sister's Keeper</u> - Jodie Picoult - <i>the only Picoult I can slightly stand</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Fault in our Stars</u> - John Green - <i>again, over-hyped, but decent for what it was--a story of doomed teenagers</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Sycamore Row</u> - John Grisham - <i>not Grisham's strongest, but not his worst. acceptable. </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Midwife of Venice</u> - Roberta Rich - <i>I liked this book quite a bit, but the narrative was lacking and the ending was TOO SOON. </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>A Kingdom Far and Clear</u> - Mark Helprin - <i>kids book, creepy like Grimms Tales. I enjoyed.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Other Typist</u> - Suzanne Rindell - <i>mind games galore in this novel. bit of a frustrating read</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>State of Wonder</u> - Ann Patchett - <i>could have given this 4 star rating had it not been for annoying characters</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Summer We Read Gatsby</u> - Danielle Ganek - <i>this probably deserves a 2 star. usual easy summer read. nothing memorable.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Jackdaws</u> - Ken Follett - <i>solid Follett. enjoyed this while camping. </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Alice Bliss</u> - Laura Harrington - <i>don't remember what this was about. enough said.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>22 Britannia Road</u> - Amanda Hodgkinson - <i>okay. too much going on IMHO.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Great Gatsby</u> - F. Scott Fitzgerald - <i>no review needed.</i></span></div>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>North and South</u> - Elizabeth Gaskell - <i>dragged on a bit. mini-series much more enjoyable thanks to Richard Armitage</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Shoemaker's Wife</u> - Adriana Trigiani - <i>epic sweeping novel with very little pay off. </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Ocean at the End of the Lane</u> - Neil Gaiman - <i>deserves a 4 but creeped me out a bit too much</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Joyland</u> - Stephen King - <i>lacking the creeptastic King factor, sadly.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>How To Tell if Your Cat is Plotting to Kill You</u> - Matthew Inman - <i>I laughed</i></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The English Patient</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Michael Ondaatje - <i>very poetic, very confusing, lots of teeth gnashing</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>[non-fiction]</b></span></div>
<div>
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Nuremberg Trials</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Paul Roland - <i>enlightening</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Growing Up Amish: A Memoir</u> - Ira Wagler - <i>totally depressing</i></span></div>
<div>
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My Story</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Elizabeth Smart - <i>triumph! go Elizabeth, go!</i></span><br />
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Stolen Innocence</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Elissa Wall - <i>sad sad sad. sad. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u style="font-weight: bold;">FOUR STARS</u> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>(book I <i>really</i> liked)</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>[series]</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie</u> - Alan Bradley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag</u> - Alan Bradley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>A Red Herring Without Mustard</u> - Alan Bradley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>I Am Half Sick of Shadows</u> - Alan Bradley</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Speaking from Among the Bones</u> - Alan Bradley<br /><i>I loved all these books. A series well worth the read.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>A Game of Thrones</u> - George Martin - <i>the book that started the GOT craze. I'm still sad about Ned Stark.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>A Clash of Kings</u> - George Martin - <i>easily as good as the first book in the series, ACOK brings it all back, although some complain that this book has too much military strategy clogging it up</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>A Storm of Swords</u> - George Martin - <i>better than two and four, although slow at the ending</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>A Feast for Crows</u> - George Martin - <i>seriously, the worst book of the series. thank God Martin gets it together in the next novel.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>A Dance with Dragons</u> - George Martin - <i>after a horrible fourth book, ADWD brings back the typical Martin craziness. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Ann Brashares -</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the first novel that started it all, this is the best one of the entire series</i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Second Summer of the Sisterhood</u> - Ann Brashares - <i>ditto, as above</i></span><br />
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Ann Brashares -</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">typical sisterhood novel</i><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>[fiction]</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Cutting for Stone</u> - Abraham Verghese - <i>rich description, grand story, historical fiction, eye popping, very much enjoyed this story</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Major Pettigrew's Last Stand</u> - Helen Simonson - <i>easy quick sweet read</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Why Grizzly Bears Should Wear Underpants</u> - The Oatmeal - <i>comic relief. I guffawed out loud while reading.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Good Dream</u> - Donna VanLiere - <i>I loved this book. It's about tied for my favourite for 2013 reads. A story of love and redemption.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Jericho Season 3</u> - Dan Shotz - <i>A bit of cheat read, but a great graphic novel continuance on the cancelled show</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Shelter Me</u> - Juliette Fay - <i>a young mother learning how to deal with immense loss. I love this book, probably more than it deserves.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet</u> - Jamie Ford - <i>very enjoyable. the main character was so endearing.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Scarlet Pimpernel</u> - Emmuska Orczy - <i>A classic must read</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Banker</u> - Dick Francis - <i>I love all of Francis's books and wish they were movies or tv shows. This one is particularly tragic.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>N or M?</u> - Agatha Christie - <i>the queen of mystery, a quick read, like meeting an old friend for a chat.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Evil Under the Sun</u> - Agatha Christie - <i>she's back with a classic Poirot. I enjoyed this re-read.</i><br /><u>Neverwhere</u> - Neil Gaiman - <i>a master at his craft, I'm so glad I discovered Gaiman this year</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Mrs. Mike</u> - Benedict Freedman - <i>Perfect for Canadians, a romance growing in the darkness of the truth north</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Shadow of the Wind</u> - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - <i>gothic, dark, creepy, historic fiction...absolute must read!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Soldier's Wife</u> - Margaret Leroy - <i>probably too highly rated, but I loved the descriptions in this novel</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Lost Wife</u> - Alyson Richman - <i>my favourite novel of 2013, I believe. so wonderful and heart-breaking.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Those Who Save Us</u> - Jenna Blum - <i>I read many historical fiction novels this year about WWII. this one was a good one.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>The Book Thief</u> - Marcus Zusak - <i>As with above, historical fiction about WWII but written in the strangest format I have ever seen...highly recommend. Plunge through the confusion.</i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Rebecca</u> - Daphne du Maurier - <i>this novel puts Kate Morton's work in her place. the start of gothic romance, this is a creepy novel in which we never learn the main character's name!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>[non-fiction]</b></span><br />
<u style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Escape from Camp 14</u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> - Blaine Harden - </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>shocking memoir of life in the work camps of North Korea</i><br /><u>A House in the Sky</u> - Amanda Lindhout - <i>best non-fiction book I read this year. shocking memoir of a Canadian woman taken by Somalians and held for 460 days. gut wrenching. </i></span><br />
<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></i>
<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></i>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u style="font-size: x-large;">FIVE STARS</u><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>(books I LOVED)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Goodnight Mister Tom</u> - Michelle Magorian - <i>a novel for kids, a must read, disturbing elements but sweet at the end</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Fall of Giants</u> - Ken Follett - <i>best historical fiction novel I have ever read. highly recommend.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>Winter of the World</u> - Ken Follett - <i>a follow up to Fall of Giants, this novel was also amazing and a very gripping read. I learned so much from both of his books.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>A Dog's Purpose</u> - W. Bruce Cameron - <i>the sweetest book I have read about a dog. I loved it. I can't say more for fear of spoiling it, but do read it if you have a dog or love dogs. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And there you have it! All of my book in a list. I realize it's probably very overwhelming to read the entire list, but I hope you at least peruse the four or five star categories as many of those novels are must reads! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This year I won't be setting such a high challenge as I will be busy...GETTING MARRIED!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What are your New Year's reading challenges?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-46339662971245523572013-12-27T21:51:00.001-05:002013-12-27T21:51:30.577-05:00Updates Galore!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's been a terribly long time since I've updated and I have no excuse...other than being caught up in the usual busyness of Christmas and wedding preparations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Life seems to have gotten busier as I grow older. Clearly part of it is due to the natural transition of moving through life stages...but I am swamped!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some photos to give you an idea of what I've been up to!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMAG0181_zpsf48d964e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMAG0181_zpsf48d964e.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lake Ontario frozen! Just before Matt went off work for Christmas vacations, I was still taking the dogs to the beach, but the water is now partially frozen and the mornings out there are COLD.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The week before Christmas we had an actual snow fall. I mean, for the past couple years, despite being in Canada, our Christmas's have been green. This year was a treat though--for the people who want a white Christmas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/1504031_10152247029730910_870146324_n_zps1308a777.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/1504031_10152247029730910_870146324_n_zps1308a777.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Instead of buying a large freshly chopped tree as we had initially planned, we decided to go with something a bit more green friendly. We bought a small live spruce in a pot from Canadian Tire.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/1456702_10152229572565910_1750694864_n_zps0885ca31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/1456702_10152229572565910_1750694864_n_zps0885ca31.jpg" width="362" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Okay, so he's a bit small, but he's mighty at heart and he'll still be with us next year! (Fingers crossed, I don't have the best green thumb.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Matt bought me a pretty candle holder for more Christmas decor...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/1524815_10152247030270910_1627391740_n_zps8090f384.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/1524815_10152247030270910_1627391740_n_zps8090f384.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We also got some pretty stars from Ikea to hang in our windows...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/1471254_10152247032750910_2051375504_n_zps94f0a87f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/1471254_10152247032750910_2051375504_n_zps94f0a87f.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">More exciting stuff!<br />I won't show what's IN the box, but we bought our wedding bands today.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMAG0020_1_zpsolbjevt0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMAG0020_1_zpsolbjevt0.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Buying the wedding bands made everything seem so much more...real. I can't believe we're getting married!!! It is the natural progression of things (for most people), but sometimes it's so hard to imagine being a MRS.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To add to that--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We've finally made some honeymoon decisions and I think most everything is figured out! I have some important things left to do, but for the most part I feel calm and on track about all of it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having Matt home from work for a couple weeks has been so awesome. I've been working a lot myself this week, so I'm very much looking forward to a 4 day stretch off that I have coming up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We took the dogs to the dog park today and Oliver was a good little photogenic boy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMAG0019_zpspg3tqshm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m291/maidmarcia/IMAG0019_zpspg3tqshm.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cutest little man.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, that's all for now! Stay tuned for more wedding plans and all that boring stuff!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~Marcia</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">P.S. Did I mention...I BOUGHT A DRESS??? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-35762713827542406502013-11-28T12:31:00.001-05:002013-11-28T13:01:23.367-05:00Am I Crazy?...<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here's a topic that not many people are comfortable with broaching: <span style="font-size: large;">am I crazy? Am I <i>going </i>crazy?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Keep reading! This post is going to take a different turn than you expect...guaranteed!)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's obvious that mental health has become a bigger issue in our society and many people will argue and defend various reasons <i>why </i>we have so many diagnosed mental disorders. Some people believe it's because we no longer suppress our feelings--the stiff-upper-lip mentality has generally been removed from our thinking.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite the fact though, that we are taught mental health is:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-important to each individual</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-those with mental health issues should not be discriminated against</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-mental health is a personal thing that we cannot judge someone for</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-sickness comes in a variety of ways and is legitimate even if it cannot be physically seen</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">-drugs will help with those who are suffering,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">we still, I think, tend to keep our mental health issues to ourselves and we feel reluctant to admit when we may be depressed or may need to seek therapy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although therapy has become almost trendy in the past twenty years, practically speaking, those who cannot afford the exorbitant cost of a therapist learn to suffer alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lately in Ontario we have seen a rash of mental health related incidences between the police force and those who are mentally unstable. I'm not going to digress into that topic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to tell you a story of something I suffered through a couple years and it begins innocuously enough: </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">birth control</span>.</b><br />
<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnKwLhlpGsXS8nRAUu39f2V9dYAKb7Ydgm87ftDaRsXU1k_qYHQ4fE-mP7kzpJPN2lZxqRuEOueQMkTzgVr2Yq4jHJdSKgbK7RGXMKcXm7cblzxFJKghQhtMj_8kLFW6jNINWi/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-32038-1380596463-25.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnKwLhlpGsXS8nRAUu39f2V9dYAKb7Ydgm87ftDaRsXU1k_qYHQ4fE-mP7kzpJPN2lZxqRuEOueQMkTzgVr2Yq4jHJdSKgbK7RGXMKcXm7cblzxFJKghQhtMj_8kLFW6jNINWi/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-32038-1380596463-25.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></i><br />
<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">This is the story of how I went crazy...</i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It all started about 3 1/2 years ago. I struggled with horrific ACNE my entire life. Even though I cut sugars, oil and other triggers out of my diet, I could never get my skin to entirely clear up. Eventually I became to consider the idea of going on birth control, as I had heard that ACNE was often hormone related and birth control could help even those things out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My mom never advocated for using birth control for a few reasons, but I very much wanted to have clear skin. I also thought it was probably time to start trying out a birth control as I grew older and neared potential marriage. I had no plans to get pregnant right away and had heard far too many horror stories about broken condoms.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first person I spoke to was a pharmacist who was working on the surgical unit I also work on. When I asked her what type she would recommend, she very diligently did some research and found a whole complex chart with different types of brands and combinations of hormones. As I was a novice with the hormones, she thought it was best to start me on something called Tricyclen Lo.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-WkX7GTEQ3YCeYI83DGTZNnvsDEp3od5hINXGzOo3Ei5wXzvPWAxriRsQP6cBVDJ8qFlY-ef_FvfDjDvrZzWTE09Ttf1-junvYpkE_cZ2s_TWFGtLKG-YRdRPcQic2Ub54Iu9/s1600/canadadrugs_tri_cyclen_lo_28_0_10448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-WkX7GTEQ3YCeYI83DGTZNnvsDEp3od5hINXGzOo3Ei5wXzvPWAxriRsQP6cBVDJ8qFlY-ef_FvfDjDvrZzWTE09Ttf1-junvYpkE_cZ2s_TWFGtLKG-YRdRPcQic2Ub54Iu9/s400/canadadrugs_tri_cyclen_lo_28_0_10448.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the beginners birth control. The marketing is targeted for young girls who want to rid themselves of ACNE woes at bright young ages of 13, 14, 15. Personally I would have some issue with my tween daughter taking a birth control, but we'll get to that...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All was well and good with Tricyclen Lo. I called my family doctor and asked if I could have a prescription written, telling him this was the drug my pharmacist suggested. He agreed it was a good starting</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> option and wrote me a script. I began taking it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Honestly, for the first months that I took Tricyclen, it had zero impact on my emotional state. I was actually surprised as I had diligently read the possible side effects sections and I expected at least one of them to happen. My ACNE cleared up within two months. I was a happy camper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SADLY...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(dun dun dun)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>*Some graphic girl stuff*</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I began spotting a bit in between my 28-day cycle. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DdPudAJlSgWRDG-wSI2hj42n0wkrFflL5hTdtFAH2d5sgZJ_jRnfJYPjycUt459nuUphLDFFnjhZHgOCJ2w84K68z-ig8beoC9sb-hv6KF8GFfBTBpEGb2ciafmv9LL6JR5p/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-6810-1378753939-28.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2DdPudAJlSgWRDG-wSI2hj42n0wkrFflL5hTdtFAH2d5sgZJ_jRnfJYPjycUt459nuUphLDFFnjhZHgOCJ2w84K68z-ig8beoC9sb-hv6KF8GFfBTBpEGb2ciafmv9LL6JR5p/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-6810-1378753939-28.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This meant but one thing: the drug wasn't the right fit for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I called the doctor right away and told him what was happening.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And here's where things got weird...things that could have been avoided.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My thought when I called my doctor was that because I had had zero side effects, my doctor would bump me up from Tricyclen <b>Lo </b>to simply regular <b>Tricyclen.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKs-MTU_IEgh0c7zW9SBbLO3dynTzFjVqQ2_S2t8_qIA8sT6MltkTe4bUt9Cattt1TDOr0ztaY64NfY9uoxhfl_XrMxWr33ctSObMUZ4WWsK0_H33cDE9S7dcbBmb_BRuJmWwC/s1600/canadadrugs_tri_cyclen_28_known_as_ortho_tri_cyclen_tri_sprintec_in_the_u_s_0_18mg_0_035mg_0_215mg_0_035mg_0_25mg_0_035mg_10395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKs-MTU_IEgh0c7zW9SBbLO3dynTzFjVqQ2_S2t8_qIA8sT6MltkTe4bUt9Cattt1TDOr0ztaY64NfY9uoxhfl_XrMxWr33ctSObMUZ4WWsK0_H33cDE9S7dcbBmb_BRuJmWwC/s400/canadadrugs_tri_cyclen_28_known_as_ortho_tri_cyclen_tri_sprintec_in_the_u_s_0_18mg_0_035mg_0_215mg_0_035mg_0_25mg_0_035mg_10395.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: I don't think the birth control is holding, blah blah blah.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dr: Hmmm...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: But it's good in every other fashion so maybe a stronger dose of it?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dr: I'm going to switch you to Alesse.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: But...oh...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_1VcFe0edqrsAd1VkTsluTra96_US17c04CvijTaGb-2Jyg1xqjgZCe1qRMGFLTcfY3fnyH0MbwTsGjnszEHVcWJTVM-0JpfAnWjGgNwEvnUUeL8tfDoaNnTo2gqPFZAyGtu/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-27390-1376033581-5.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG_1VcFe0edqrsAd1VkTsluTra96_US17c04CvijTaGb-2Jyg1xqjgZCe1qRMGFLTcfY3fnyH0MbwTsGjnszEHVcWJTVM-0JpfAnWjGgNwEvnUUeL8tfDoaNnTo2gqPFZAyGtu/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-27390-1376033581-5.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>SWITCHEROO!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had no say in the matter AND I believed (foolishly) that my doctor knew what he was doing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, in the first week of February 2012 I started taking <b>Alesse.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lDsa2GOF-0Ig7KTzLRiaT9kEaoSfALGtN_9NyvAnrbppHN-q4jiDOMuTWvKIRGqKJuClouvGSAJ-lB7xJF2KGyUSsElpwqkenBRT-BYKPZOD0L1Ze5rq5iDwNgetBsupSmUE/s1600/alesse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5lDsa2GOF-0Ig7KTzLRiaT9kEaoSfALGtN_9NyvAnrbppHN-q4jiDOMuTWvKIRGqKJuClouvGSAJ-lB7xJF2KGyUSsElpwqkenBRT-BYKPZOD0L1Ze5rq5iDwNgetBsupSmUE/s400/alesse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me be clear about this. Below are the ingredients in Tricyclen and Alesse:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Tricyclen: </b>Etinyl estradiol & norgestimate</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Alesse: </b>Ethinyl estradiol & levonorgesterol</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes. Two very different combinations. And this is where things got haywire.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first two months were okay. I felt like myself. I had noticed that my emotional state was more...equalized. I was not robotic, but I didn't have the emotional mood swings that most young women experience. I just was.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After those two months, I started to change, but because the change was so subtle and came on so slowly, <i>I didn't notice it.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I started crying more. In fact, in retrospect, let's even it out and say there are 30 days in a month. I was on Alessa for 6 months. That's an average of 180 days. I would say I cried <b>120</b> out of those 180 days. Every single night I would find myself crying about something.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have always been an emotional person, so I didn't give it any thought. Yes, I cry. Boohoo. Who doesn't. I didn't even see it taking over my entire life. My reactions to situations were WAY off. I would cry over the most minute upset, like running out of milk. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbfNuGy0hrtv0d59if7N3X_twJewZ28PKUF8hhyX4o2OSPd0tcXxWa0PM87ZiFY1BUtTZMzR2_QLoB549L8Ol9_PBy0MBnnZ3lyBO9zbObCLfAvmUvgvcIS6WNaNA7gHtDJi5/s1600/lot-of-feelings.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbfNuGy0hrtv0d59if7N3X_twJewZ28PKUF8hhyX4o2OSPd0tcXxWa0PM87ZiFY1BUtTZMzR2_QLoB549L8Ol9_PBy0MBnnZ3lyBO9zbObCLfAvmUvgvcIS6WNaNA7gHtDJi5/s640/lot-of-feelings.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everything felt wrong. I didn't know what to do. Was it in my head? Are these things worth crying over? Have I always reacted this way? Why do I feel so lonely? Should I be sitting up alone at 3 a.m. crying by myself over literally nothing?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Crying. Depression. Despair. Anger. I started having a combination of these feelings every single day. At one point I thought to myself, 'Is this normal?' I knew that I was a bit different and I had enough awareness to realize it was probably due to the Alesse, but I also thought I should wait it out. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I researched it online and some sites said to wait for the hormones to stabilize. Things would get better, it promised.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I cannot explain how horrific it was. I felt trapped. I was afraid to call my doctor and say, "I think I'm going crazy", because I felt that he would poo-poo away my feelings and tell me to hang on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The breaking point came, actually, in a No Frills parking lot. Don't worry, it was the ghetto one on Tisdale. I looked normal compared to others around me. I was getting in the car after grocery shopping and Matt called me from...somewhere. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Matt: I'm going to be late getting home tonight, babe. I'm so sorry. Blah blah blah this happened and blah blah blah.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: (in my car)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0d699fV8c69nvxUKlMJiYMHKklB-b38iAb_gAjcMR3cV_5TKtvnmfbVz2zxtpuEJVjkrL40F0AdQqpnAox4mA0eCfCbEdOAZbv6Uojz7vwQ8NLM8-984MdiSk7nAMMGGpkMzn/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-6656-1365347446-24.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0d699fV8c69nvxUKlMJiYMHKklB-b38iAb_gAjcMR3cV_5TKtvnmfbVz2zxtpuEJVjkrL40F0AdQqpnAox4mA0eCfCbEdOAZbv6Uojz7vwQ8NLM8-984MdiSk7nAMMGGpkMzn/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-6656-1365347446-24.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, that's right. I started sobbing on the phone. Matt was cool and apologized again. When he got home that night, he said, "We need to talk" and we sat on the edge of our bed together. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />He said that something was very wrong and that I needed to go off the birth control. He insisted that I call my doctor the next day. <br /><br />(This is another important factor on the danger of Alesse. I consider myself to be a strong, out-spoken person who can take care of herself. While being on Alesse I turned into someone who was too afraid to advocate for themselves. I should have dealt with the situation much sooner than I did, but while a part of me felt like I should get off the drug, another part of me said, "Don't call the doctor, you ARE crazy." Very damaging and subversive emotional effects.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The next day I was working a twelve hour shift. I was scared of calling the doctor. I thought I could use the shift as an excuse not to do so, but suddenly I felt the urgent need to call him and get it over with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: I was wondering if I could speak to Dr. ____ about my birth control.<br />Secretary: I'll get him to call you back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*ten minute interval*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dr: So you're having issues with the birth control?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: *starts sobbing* Is this normal? I can't stop crying. Should I wait this out? I don't know what to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>(Note: I never made another phone call to my doctor from the nursing station phone again. One never knows when tears will start streaming.)</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dr: (no hesitation) No problem. Let's try you back on the regular Tricyclen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Me: ....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggH3wrWXn2R-RGaanVGROr1LlIGvLin8-qYkd8jOf6vo7fgQMTa89Kzr70rflN8a4QlUODR_qwBX-KX4WtClo0HB32tZc_Z-qR4LQoLzJxApG7ft5YUpHnnf997WrCvJZJQy48/s1600/Puck.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggH3wrWXn2R-RGaanVGROr1LlIGvLin8-qYkd8jOf6vo7fgQMTa89Kzr70rflN8a4QlUODR_qwBX-KX4WtClo0HB32tZc_Z-qR4LQoLzJxApG7ft5YUpHnnf997WrCvJZJQy48/s640/Puck.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Seriously though.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />I was enraged that I had wasted 6 months crying and sobbing like a maniac, feeling abrupt ups-and-downs, generally being crazy, and putting my poor boyfriend and sister through all that pain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Back on regular Tricyclen: I was fine.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Shortly after that kerfuffle, I went in to work and was talking to a co-worker about feelings and all that stuff. She told me she was feeling down/depressed. I asked why. She told me she had been on a birth control that caused her emotional state to get all messed up and screwed with her head. She had been off of it for FIVE MONTHS and was still feeling the effects. "What birth control?", you ask? Ladies and gentlemen, I present:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>ALESSE.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even more shocking: while we were sitting there talking, at least four other people in the general vicinity admitted that they had also taken Alesse for a small amount of time and had suffered some severe emotional side effects. In total, I believe there was six of us who had all been through the same ordeal. Six of us, that we know of. I haven't done an official poll of our mostly female staff, but I am confident I would find more people who also went through a similar situations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Only one person I have spoke to about Alesse has had a 100% positive experience.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now why I did I mention mental health earlier in my post? If it wasn't clear from my story, Alesse basically made me go crazy, or made me FEEL like I was going crazy. It was terrible. I felt I was alone and had no one who could empathize with me. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But here are the lessons I have learned from this journey:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. <b>Advocate for yourself and your health.</b> Your doctor is not perfect and may not make the best choices for you. I should have intuited right away that Alesse was not a good fit. I ignored my gut, which was telling me to get back on Tricyclen. I should never have so passively let me doctor make that important decision for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. <b>Drug companies lie. </b>I still am enraged when I see commercials for Alesse on TV with teenagers running around in short-shorts all happy and healthy. Alesse, without being too dramatic, almost destroyed my emotional and mental sanity. The company will say that it is a minority of people who suffer such strong side effects, but how do we truly know that? This is a drug that should be pulled off the market or should at least be considered as a LAST OPTION. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. <b>Feelings aren't reality. </b>I kept saying to Matt "I'm going crazy, I'm going crazy", and while I FELT like I was, I wasn't. My hormones were messed up and my emotions were in a turmoil; I can compare it to anxiety attacks I have had. In the moment it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel and you are done for...but that changes. Hang in there. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. <b>Share your experiences. </b>If those people I had worked had shared their experience with Alesse earlier, I may have been given the courage to make a change sooner than I did. I now tell everyone who asks my experiences and I think it's important for people to know the damage this oral contraceptive can possibly do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. <b>Don't accept your medical state. </b>If you are unhappy with your body and it's reaction to a drug, don't wait it out for six months like I did. Go back to your doctor right away and look for an alternative. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's my story about Alesse! I realize, of course, that this drug does work completely fine for some people, but I would say that those people ARE in the minority and that this is not a suitable oral contraceptive for most. In fact, avoid birth control if you can! Taking hormones affects you in some way or another, so if you don't have to take it, then simply don't. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I leave you with a Dwightism:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQQ40qy6eiY4gWiDCsOS_UNg7YKZUt50zM16DGacxl8c0Ujg5zDN1n-bRs9maoDCEjeDWqnV132EewfDIK_HtRxfx9rH71h4gBzFT9W7DT-MFX0K571tJEr95KMOkJnoyuWMR/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-17305-1379446256-9.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQQ40qy6eiY4gWiDCsOS_UNg7YKZUt50zM16DGacxl8c0Ujg5zDN1n-bRs9maoDCEjeDWqnV132EewfDIK_HtRxfx9rH71h4gBzFT9W7DT-MFX0K571tJEr95KMOkJnoyuWMR/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-17305-1379446256-9.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-55525182170554508282013-11-27T17:57:00.002-05:002013-11-27T17:57:44.837-05:00The Good Dream ~ Donna VanLiere<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13033665-the-good-dream" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="The Good Dream" border="0" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348739123m/13033665.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13033665-the-good-dream">The Good Dream</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/23722.Donna_VanLiere">Donna VanLiere</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/743970729">4 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I grabbed the <strong>The Good Dream</strong> from the bargain section at Chapters and have not regretted the purchase at all. In fact, this is one of my top contenders for favourite novels I have read in 2013.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tennessee, 1950s. Ivorie Walker is a spinster in her 30s and all hope has been lost for her. Her parents have passed on and her closest family is a brother who runs a general store in a nearby town. Ivorie teaches at the town school and takes care of her family's small farm that she has lived on all her life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ivorie, of course, feels the pressure of being a spinster, especially when her mother was alive. Constantly being set up on dates with men she is not attracted to, Ivorie has found herself content to be single. With the death of her parents however, loneliness sets in and she moves through the creaking old farmhouse late at night, reliving memories of her parents and childhood.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Generally her character is not unhappy but she recognizes that she is missing something from her life. Early in the novel she begins to see a widower who she actually finds herself attracted to and envisions a future with.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Her plans are interrupted though, when she finds a young boy rooting around in her garden. It quickly becomes clear that he is impoverished, abused and comes from the mountains nearby. The town looks at the mountain folk as backwards dangerous people and they all advise her to stay away from the little boy and mind her home business.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having a heart of compassion though, Ivorie brings the boy into her house whenever he visits and she feeds him and talks to him despite his apparent inability to talk. She slowly becomes drawn closer to him and ends up performing a brave rescue, bringing him down the mountain to stay permanently with her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fallout of her kindness is a town, even a widower, who does not support to her decision. There are secrets between people and the boy is one of them... Ivorie learns to ignore what others are saying and continue giving love and care to the deeply abused little boy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a beautiful novel. The message is so moving and transforming. In many ways VanLiere manages to gentle rebuke the reader and leaves one wondering: in what ways do I help those in need around me? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found the writing style easy to read (I saw some reviews complaining it was TOO EASY, but I did not personally feel that way) and the descriptions were clear and precise. Ivorie quotes little sayings that her mother used to tell her which are endearing and interesting. VanLiere does a great job of bringing the reader into Tennessee and the Appalachian mountains.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The narrative also switches back and forth between "Ivorie" and "Boy". The point-of-view through his eyes is simultaneously heart-breaking and engrossing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I highly recommend this novel. I felt so uplifted by the general message of it and loved the outcome. Ivorie is led to a crossroads where she must make the choice to help someone in pain or to walk on by. If only we had more Good Samaritans in our society...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4/5 stars. My only small complaint was that I didn't find the description on the dust jacket a completely accurate description of the novel: most of the novel was spent on Ivorie meeting the boy and beginning their relationships as opposed to the secrets of the town.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View all my reviews</span></a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-92036473298018825372013-11-27T17:36:00.002-05:002013-11-27T17:36:27.009-05:00Sycamore Row ~ John Grisham<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17288661-sycamore-row" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Sycamore Row (Jake Brigance, #2)" border="0" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1375888633m/17288661.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17288661-sycamore-row">Sycamore Row</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/721.John_Grisham">John Grisham</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/763958521">3 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">John Grisham has a few bland novels lately. I'm sure his hope with <strong>Sycamore Row</strong> was to turn that streak around. Turning back to use an old character from a previous novel was a genius stroke on his part and the first time he has "re-used" a character.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>SR</strong> grabs you in right away. The book opens with a character committing suicide, hanging himself from a tree and leaving a note for someone to find him a couple hours later. The little town is thrown in an uproar when they find out that Mr. Hubbard, the white man who killed himself, left his entire property to his black housekeeper.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's a racist town in the deep south and Jake Brigance finds himself deep in litigation when Hubbard leaves a holographic will hiring Jake as attorney of his estate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Immediately you know that there is more to this story than we are offered right away. Why did Hubbard feel the need to leave his entire estate (amounting to 24 million!) to Lettie? Jake struggles to find the answer to this question and the trial takes a downward turn as more truths are exposed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The final twist isn't so much a twist at all--we are simply exposed to parts of history that have remained buried and that have a direst impact on the trial's outcome.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Doesn't the novel sound good? Doesn't it sound like solid Grisham?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, I wonder if perhaps Grisham turned to his old character because he is running out of originality. Many of the characters we are introduced to in this novel are flat and one-dimensional. Jake has a touch of arrogance to him that I disliked. The judge is ineffectual and just strange.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps the only interesting characters were Ancil Hubbard, Seth Hubbard's estranged brother, and the disbarred alcoholic lawyer who tracks him down. I can't even remember the lawyer's name: obviously he wasn't that compelling of a character either.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In short, I feel that Grisham turned to this old character in a "pull a rabbit from a hat" trick. He resorted to using Jake as a way to bring readers back to him, but I remained disappointed by his writing quality.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Grisham spent the first 2/3 of the novel detailing the journey toward the trial. The actual trial and aftermath only lasted a few chapters. It was definitely not a nail biter. Perhaps Grisham should consider taking a break from writing. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I gave 3 stars to this novel because it did hold my attention and I didn't find it utterly painful to churn through. My criticisms are based on a comparison to older Grisham novels that I have read--perhaps if I was new to his work, I would have rated it higher.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View all my reviews</span></a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-39819566873471924682013-11-27T17:18:00.000-05:002013-11-27T17:18:09.084-05:00The Dinner ~ Herman Koch<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17878613-the-dinner" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="The Dinner" border="0" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1381747712m/17878613.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17878613-the-dinner">The Dinner</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1245772.Herman_Koch">Herman Koch</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/774020425">1 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The Dinner</strong> by Herman Koch struck me as an interesting read. The premise of the entire novel unfolds over one dinner and I was intrigued at the prospect of 40 chapters (albeit short ones) based on one evening. Of course I was also interested by the idea of the setting being in Amsterdam—all Dutch people are drawn inexplicably to their “homeland”, a common thread that binds us together along with a love of salty licorice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At first it seemed to have a good tempo. The narrative is told through Paul Lohman, the brother of a cabinet member and potential Prime Minister Serge Lohman. Paul’s wife Claire and Serge’s wife Babette are also players in a novel that I feel would be well translated to stage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Immediately the reader realizes that “I”/Paul has some deep rooted enmity/issues with Serge. There is never an explanation of why Paul feels this way or when it started, but it’s very clear that his feelings are quite strong. He describes, for example, the way Serge eats greedily without thinking of those around him. The adjectives used are downright malicious and cringe-inducing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eventually it all comes to light: they are gathered together to discuss the issue of their sons Rick and Michel, cousins who have gotten themselves into a huge hole. After spending a night drinking, they go to an ATM to take out money and end up hurting and killing a homeless woman in a gruesome fashion.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They are caught on the bank cameras, although their faces are not identifiable. Paul immediately recognizes his son Michel and then describes how he has carried around the weight of that secret, keeping it even from his wife.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Serge and Babette has recognized their son Rick on the video as well: it is being broadcast on repeat through all the news stations with a plea for anyone with any information to call in. Both parents have met to discuss the future of their children and what to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For me, the most interesting part of the book was the amusing descriptions of the food the party was served. In a highly posh restaurant with a deprecating waiter and a 400 euro bill, Paul is sickened by the lack of quality of overpriced and constantly refers to an unnamed casual bar across the street where he would much rather be eating.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then as the novel progressed, I started to realize that Paul was probably, in fact, a somewhat psychopathic person himself and had transferred his rage fits to his son. It was no surprise that Michel initiated a murderous and unwarranted attack on a homeless person. Claire even attempts to justify the attack, saying that homeless people should not be sleeping in ATMs, blocking the way for those intending to use it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In its entirety, this book is sickening. Paul on several occasions violently attacks people, including his brother and the principal of Michel’s school. He retires from being a teacher because he keeps saying completely inappropriate things to his students. He encourages his son to believe in things like: police shooting and killing offenders without giving them a court trial. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In summation: Paul teaches his son, directly and indirectly, that is completely alright to take justice into one’s own hands—justice that isn’t even justice, but simply merciless physical execution of one’s desires to do physical harm to someone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Also sickening is the fact that this couple has raised a monstrous child who sees no repercussions of his behaviour. It does yield a certain moral dilemma: if your child broke the law, would you turn them in for punishment? However, there’s a difference between your child stealing a pack of gum and murdering a homeless person, whether manslaughter or not. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are more upsetting/disturbing elements to this novel, but I won’t delve into them, because frankly: it’s not worth the time or effort. Give this novel a pass. Unless you enjoy pointless stories that illustrate how completely and irreversibly messed up our society is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/ 5 stars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View all my reviews</span></a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-10924342837895167372013-11-13T12:13:00.000-05:002013-11-13T12:19:30.567-05:00Wedding Planning: Part One<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since Matt and I announced our engagement, I have been inundated with loads and loads of advice and thoughts from different people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I just want to point out: I don't think Matt has been given any advice at all. None. If he has, he has not imparted it with me. It seems to me that the bride-to-be is the one who receives the bulk of this shared wisdom, whether it is wanted or not. Traditionally I suppose this is because the bride is typically far more involved in the details of the wedding than the groom. Whatever the case may be, I have received a lot of ideas/thoughts/wisdom/advice, much of it that I'd rather not hear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then after doing research online and making choices about our wedding ceremony, venue, etc, I came to this huge realization (again, because I keep having it over and over like <i>Groundhog Day</i>) that the wedding industry is a huge money-making scam.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For example, I looked at mobile makeup and hair costs. $400 <i>just for the bride. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxFrvDzeVIpVJ4ZCelxG-aj1K59-pKFzQi0BZRgw5_3rgtlxZxIrG2WPKlWfpeynWD6PMeqgK-RRe0iFzbRpGZnixnIYlL1DsQwtHLX58MOIX8glKGIEGXCF9FoRo15FzEQPL/s1600/tumblr_lv98xhjZEx1r6aoq4o1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxFrvDzeVIpVJ4ZCelxG-aj1K59-pKFzQi0BZRgw5_3rgtlxZxIrG2WPKlWfpeynWD6PMeqgK-RRe0iFzbRpGZnixnIYlL1DsQwtHLX58MOIX8glKGIEGXCF9FoRo15FzEQPL/s640/tumblr_lv98xhjZEx1r6aoq4o1_500.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I cannot justify that in my head even for the airbrush foundation technique.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I also have stumbled across a host of wedding do's & don'ts. One website in particular really irritated me. Here's their list of all wedding things considered tacky:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chocolate fountains</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Facebook invites</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Pulling up in any old ride</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ice sculptures</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dance performances</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Visible tattoos</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Banning kids</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">No alcohol</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ratchet music</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A revealing dress</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A crown</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Asking for money</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The money dance</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dresses that aren't white</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Getting married at your favourite store</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Albeit, some of those ARE a little strange and not up my alley, such as wearing a crown and revealing dress. HOWEVER, if people want to do wear a champagne or pink wedding dress, why the heck can't they? Why should they be considered tacky if it's something that they truly want to do?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Even worse, some people tell me (unknowingly) things they don't like about weddings/choices brides make without knowing <i>I have opted for those very things. </i>Then it becomes this awkward discussion (always at work) about wedding etiquette and what should be expected from a bride.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-ce6x9hKn_Q_H0FldCmo1VkYSRoFaewVNorLM-qxRa5goNViE9P6cHRWsP6rfRTo4_SNQTuww4keybJu8wafQhFxhi0pRLLGcMGV1j3LVxRX0SoHoHT1s55Sftjx7m2phWUU/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-20189-1380554512-44.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP-ce6x9hKn_Q_H0FldCmo1VkYSRoFaewVNorLM-qxRa5goNViE9P6cHRWsP6rfRTo4_SNQTuww4keybJu8wafQhFxhi0pRLLGcMGV1j3LVxRX0SoHoHT1s55Sftjx7m2phWUU/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-20189-1380554512-44.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Them: Wear a veil. Wear contacts. Have a flower girl. Have a candle lighting ceremony. Weddings should always be open bar. Invite all your cousins or else. Get actual bridesmaid dresses. Don't be cheap. Get your nails done. Go to a spa prior to wedding. Throw a stag & doe. Throw an engagement party. Set up a registry. Do whatever you want. Do what everyone else does. It's all about you as a couple. Don't be weird or do weird things. Get professional invitations done. Cover up your tattoos. Show your tattoos and be proud. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Me:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkUX_CgyvAJ8zemYUg2oDLV6EkQPVk_bNGCjnq8gE8Mh59Rb_LWg3ooIWVCYJgDcGenzUNIPjtKuTy4aqDRf4HKpR9VBvb4TKkwE5aiADUdZocV-7Vk6K6f8-h_-KwdiC6bAu/s1600/anigif_enhanced-buzz-18008-1378682983-1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkUX_CgyvAJ8zemYUg2oDLV6EkQPVk_bNGCjnq8gE8Mh59Rb_LWg3ooIWVCYJgDcGenzUNIPjtKuTy4aqDRf4HKpR9VBvb4TKkwE5aiADUdZocV-7Vk6K6f8-h_-KwdiC6bAu/s640/anigif_enhanced-buzz-18008-1378682983-1.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When it's all said and done, here is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I am focusing on:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>I am getting married to my favourite person in the world.</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nothing else matters. I am constantly repeating that over and over to myself. What I opt to do is my choice alone. If people don't like our style, they don't have to come. We're not getting married for other people, we're getting married for ourselves, because we love each other and are committing to each other in front of people who love us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And in an actual wedding update, so far I have:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">chosen a date and time</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">gotten hair & make up darlings set up</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">booked the church</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">booked the reception venue</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">started working on invitations</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">chosen bridesmaids (and Matt has chosen his men)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">chosen a reception menu options</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">booked photographers (so excited to work with Mike & Jenny!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">started a website (ballers like that)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">picked an walk-down-the-aisle song (what is the official name?)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">asked my brother to DJ an after party (he said yes, obvi)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">sort of picked a dress (still have to try it on)</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am o</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">n schedule! Soon I will release our website URL when all the information has been input.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Among words of advice, people ALSO keep saying to me, "Planning a wedding is SO hard, it's SO MUCH WORK, you will get so overwhelmed, make sure you delegate..." Up to this point, I have found it to be none of those things. When I mentioned that it was smooth sailing so far, I got the "WAIT until the DAY OF YOUR WEDDING and THEN you will see WHAT I MEAN!!!!111!!!!"</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">*deep breath*</span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am getting married to my favourite person in the world.</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am getting married to my favourite person in the world.</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am getting married to my favourite person in the world.</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPbZjM1KukSBmFBbCI97ouR-vHG8jYcGwOGioqbJE4cmCaM8ssHEL0HO9bAJIp7SnCKQ6X2lGIuyjZll6lTI_t92TW-GcuRj0IdceGKEiZ0Z7RGA_zxFXvWz1EIMBkqraFaDE/s1600/Schmidtgif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizPbZjM1KukSBmFBbCI97ouR-vHG8jYcGwOGioqbJE4cmCaM8ssHEL0HO9bAJIp7SnCKQ6X2lGIuyjZll6lTI_t92TW-GcuRj0IdceGKEiZ0Z7RGA_zxFXvWz1EIMBkqraFaDE/s640/Schmidtgif.gif" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I hope you will all come and dance Schmidt-y like with me. Stay tuned for more wedding updates! </span></div>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-59760817153316691912013-11-08T19:48:00.000-05:002013-11-08T19:48:07.795-05:00A Dog's Purpose ~ W. Bruce Cameron<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7723542-a-dog-s-purpose" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="A Dog's Purpose" border="0" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1315596959m/7723542.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7723542-a-dog-s-purpose">A Dog's Purpose</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/327737.W_Bruce_Cameron">W. Bruce Cameron</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/643382222">5 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Originally I gave <strong>A Dog's Purpose</strong> 4 stars, but upon reflection and returning to *finally* write my review, I have bumped my rating up to 5 stars. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This book is unlike any other I have read, specifically with the perspective it offers. The only two other books who are somewhat comparable are <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3153910.The_Art_of_Racing_in_the_Rain" title="The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein">The Art of Racing in the Rain</a> and <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/519125.Beautiful_Joe" title="Beautiful Joe by Margaret Marshall Saunders">Beautiful Joe</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, Cameron crafts a different and unique tale about the purpose of a dog. The story begins with an introduction to Bailey, a chocolate lab who becomes a faithful companion to a young boy named Ethan. Together they grow up, Bailey following Ethan around through his adolescence, high school, dating and eventual leaving for college.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sadly, our dogs don't live nearly as long as we do and Ethan is forced to say good-bye to his dog Bailey. Bailey is convinced that he is at the end of his life journey, so he is surprised and disappointed to find himself waking up in another dog’s body.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This happens a few times over. Bailey returns as other dogs and slowly begins to forget/lose his memories of his life with Ethan. As he adapts to life as this new dogs (even as a female dog at one point!), he still wonders to himself what his life about and whether he will ever stop returning in different forms.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is an ineffable poignancy to this book as we discover in the end what Bailey’s TRUE purpose in his life is. I won’t give away the ending because I do believe this is a must read for all dog lovers. Cameron’s tale is whimsical and charming. During the entire read I was cheering on Bailey and trying to figure out with him what he was put on earth for.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5/5 stars for a beautiful book that will enamour you and make you wonder what your dog is really thinking and what his purpose in life is.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View all my reviews</span></a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13491728.post-21838145088277589572013-11-06T17:06:00.000-05:002013-11-06T17:06:05.044-05:00Gone Girl ~ Gillian Flynn<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8442457-gone-girl" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Gone Girl" border="0" src="https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1339602131m/8442457.jpg" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8442457-gone-girl">Gone Girl</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2383.Gillian_Flynn">Gillian Flynn</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/756376111">1 of 5 stars</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am once again completely shocked and perplexed at the amount of high ratings a book has received, this time being <strong>Gone Girl</strong> by Gillian Flynn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>GG</strong> is a story about two people whose severe inability to communicate with each other leads to a slippery slope downward to violence and eventual murder.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Part one: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The book opens with Nick Dunne...usually I call the main character the "protagonist", but the narrative switches back and forth between Nick and his wife Amy, so I'll settle with...the first narrator is husband Nick Dunne and he begins his reverie by contemplating the shape of his wife's head. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is some seriously sinister about the contemplation. For one, I have never sat and thought or stared at the shape of my boyfriend's head, but to each there own. In a clever and subtle way Flynn infuses a bit of darkness into the opening paragraph. A husband, studying the contours of his wife's head...why? Is he imagining how it looks bashed in?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nick gets up on his fifth anniversary morning and approaches his wife who is cooking crepes in the kitchen. He is steeling himself to do something, although we aren't informed immediately what. More clever work by the author. Eventually he leaves the house and ends up at a bar he and his sister co-own. Later in the day we discover his wife Amy has gone missing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Right away we know there's something fishy about the scene in the house, the room torn apart but staged to look so. Flynn is successful on invoking a sense of premonition. In the next chapter the narrative switches to diary that Amy is writing in for a few years, detailing the first time meeting her husband and their life following their eventual marriage. She is loquacious in her writing style and fairly endearing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is how past one of the book unfolds. The police begin an investigation and we start to discover that Nick isn't that great of a husband. With a mistress on the side for over a year, Nick follows a treasure hunt that his wife had set up for as an anniversary present, and he realizes that his wife KNEW he was cheating on her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once you as a reader know that his wife was aware of these things, you get the drift of the where the book is going.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">STOP NOW IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!!!!!!</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Part two:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Obviously Amy is setting up Nick. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. In the second part of the book she goes from being a likable woman in love to a CRAY CRAY lady who is angry at the world for forcing women to be something they are not. She describes women as acting like "cool girls", saying they're okay with their husbands or boyfriends being inept or selfish in order to avoid upsetting them. She believes that women are pandering to their men folk. (I'll touch more on that later.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In order to teach Nick a lesson, she decides to set him up for her murder. See, she saw Nick kiss his mistress the first time he did it, and instead of talking to him about it or breaking up the kiss, she assumes he's been cheating for a long time and she decides to punish him the worst way possible: have him arrested and charged for her murder.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She watches the news unfold on tv while tucked away in a motel in the Ozarks. Eventually she has her money stolen and is forced to turn to her friend Desi to help her out. Meanwhile, Nick knows that he is being framed and decides to try and lure her back to him. He goes on tv and says all the things she wants to hear. A murder is committed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Part three:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Amy returns home, tells Nick everything about the framing and the murder. Nick realizes that he is stuck with her even though he hates being around her and is afraid of her. She reveals that she is pregnant (she kept his semen) and joins him to her forever through their baby.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MY THOUGHTS</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Shouldn't there be at least ONE empathetic and somewhat nice character in a book? Nick and Amy are monsters who disgusted me. Her parents used Amy from childhood as a character in their famous book series. Nick's dad is a misogynist demented old man. Nick's sister Go is pretentious and horrible. No one in this book is nice, funny, sweet or interesting. The characters are all HORRIBLE.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. Speaking of characters, there were so many things that irritated me about this novel, but mainly it would be that Amy's biggest issue is that she is trying to be someone she is not. She explains that she has to put a mask on get people to like her, while they don't actually know her true self. That's a ridiculous plot line. No one asked her to be a certain way, she CHOSE to be, just as she CHOSE to be a "cool girl" and not call her husband out on his shenanigans. Flynn crafts this character who is somewhat feminist in her thoughts about being liberated from the oppression of obeying your husband, yet her character's reason for being crazy is that she is assuming a different personality than her own???</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why couldn't Amy have been herself since day one? Who's to say that Nick wouldn't have fallen in love with her true self? And what exactly IS Amy's true self? My understanding was that Amy's true form included her being able to tell Nick exactly how she felt and what she wanted. It seems to far fetched that she did all these crazy things just to get that small point across. Now, if she had a secret life as a transvestite that she wanted Nick to accept, that may have been a different story. This was just so weak though.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being someone who is unable to stand up for their own feelings and then becoming someone who DOES is not an entire personality switch! It's called growing a backbone and learning how to express yourself!!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. Why did Flynn have to inundate her book with much pointless cursing? Spending an entire paragraph listening euphemisms for masturbating??? Please. Any teenagers can write like that. People are praising Flynn for her writing skill, but I don't see it. I think she goes for the shock factor with her writing and readers eat it up!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. WHERE THE EFF WAS HER EDITOR??? On countless occasions Flynn used the same words or expressions in sentences, one after the other. There were too many unneeded descriptions or run on sentences about things that were irrelevant, unnecessary and cluttered up the novel. I'm sure people chalk this up to her style of writing, but I thought it was lazy editing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. "How do you know you're not Cool Girl? Because he says things like: 'I like strong women.' If he says that to you, he will at some point F*** someone else. Because 'I like strong women' is code for 'I hate strong women'."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I cannot express how disgusted and offended I was by that sentence. Flynn seems to enjoy type casting men as horrible people who are more flawed than women. You can be a feminist without feeling the need to degrade those around you. Apparently Flynn does not understand this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In short, we have a novel about two people who are both horrible at communicating how they feel and eventually turn on each other with stupid needless violence. It's a book about manipulation, and not the intellectual Machiavellian kind. If you want to read a book that will make you feel dirty and grossed out, this is the one for you. Another pretentious load of crap, I'd give this a miss. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The ONLY good thing this book did for me was make me feel super great about my relationship. I sincerely hope people like these two don't exist, although most likely there's some living in my apartment building. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't buy this sensationalist load of crap. Don't support Flynn or she'll churn out more tripe.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/5 because Goodreads won't let me give a 0/5.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/10500022-marcia"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">View all my reviews</span></a>
Marciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01785120571191587153noreply@blogger.com0