New Year

 Happy New Year! 

Today I am hanging with my favorite (and only) grandson while his parents move into their new house. Shout out to Donvan and his family for making this happen for them. They finally have a place for their little family to call home. 

We had breakfast and watched Encanto. Charlie and Rowan both love this movie. As does Michelle, but she was helping Carolynn clean and pack.

For Christmas, Carolynn got me this great cookbook. 

The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook

I love it. Today I decided to try out a recipe from it. I made clam chowder from New Orleans Square in Disneyland park. I even served it in a bread bowl. We listed to the sounds of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride while we made it. Rowan sang "Yo Ho, Yo Ho!" It was easy to make and fun. And most importantly delicious. 

The Return of The King

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two by John Tiffany

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was really looking forward to this book. I love Harry Potter so much. I have read the original series more times than I can count.

Yes, I knew it wasn't written by J.K Rowling. Yes, I know it is a play.

I enjoyed it. Sure, I would have loved more detail, but it was a play. Sure I would have loved more new characters. But again, a play.

I loved being taken back to familiar times and places. I loved a look into future Harry's life.

I would love some more. But I take what I can get.

I give this book a 4 out of five because as much as I love Harry Potter, his story finished in The Deathly Hallows. And as much as I want it to continue, it won't.

And yes, it was a play and no it wasn't written by J.K. Rowling.



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The Gift Of Magic

Last year, as my Aunt Sherri is a grown woman who is free to buy her own stuff, I decided not to give her anything for Christmas. Instead, I gave her a day. Well, two days actually.

Harry Potter Days!

We started right with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone at 9:00 AM. And the same way that book starts, we started…

With breakfast.

We did not burn the bacon. There were eggs and toast too.

We moved ahead movie after movie. We had delicious snacks. (I have a Harry Potter Cookbook. I know. I am an odd one.) I made bouillabaisse for dinner with warm bread. The next day we made Caldron cakes for breakfast. (Yes, they are the same as pancakes.) Then still more snacks and a yummy stew for dinner.

We watched all 8 movies. We had presents; a fabulous Time-Turner Necklace, a beautiful leather journal, a real quill pen, Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans and Jelly Slugs.

It was a great weekend.

Way better than just new socks and underwear…

Rocket Man

The Martian by Andy Weir

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This was one of the best books I read last year. It was funny and exciting. I loved the humor. You would think that one might go to a dark place being alone on a planet with little hope of rescue or survival. But no. It was fun to read. He was so optimistic.

The movie however, not so good. They cut out the humor. It was an okay movie otherwise, but it had more of a sci-fi suspense thing going and I really missed the humor and the optimism.

David and Catherine both read this book as well. Both of them liked it a lot better than the movie.




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Away In A Manger

I finished reading Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. I loved it. I loved the way the people were portrayed. She did amazing research. The story was of a veterinarian. His parents are killed in a tragic car accident and he accidentally, in his despair, hops a circus train. With no better options, he stays. The man who operates the circus is evil. The man who is in charge of the animals is a nut. He falls for the animal guy's wife, a circus performer. It's a little predictable, but still good. The whole story is told from the vet's point of view as he is an old man in a nursing home and a circus comes to town there causing his to think about this. It goes back and forth between the old guy at the nursing home and his memories of the circus.

I have seen the previews for the movie they made of this book, and I just don't get how they got that movie from that book. Doesn't make sense to me. I guess I will have to watch it and see.

Speaking of books into movies...

I watched the movie P.S. I Love You. I liked the book, but the movie was lame. They made too many changes.

Also, I gave up on A Game of Thrones. I made it half way... I just couldn't get into it. David read the whole series and loved them.

The Christmas Wedding

I got my first book for my Nook on iPad. Well, I got it on accident. I didn't know that Barnes and Noble just let you purchase things without confirming your purchase.

But anyway, I finished it this morning and I really enjoyed it. I liked the convenience of having it available where ever I went. I took it to the gym and read it on the treadmill. I took it to tae kwon do and read it while waiting for David and Catherine. It was nice.

I didn't like that when I finished it, I couldn't lend it to someone else who might enjoy it. I didn't like that I couldn't take it to work with me.

Anyways, the book was The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson. I really enjoyed it. It was a about an older woman who had lost her husband and hadn't seen enough of her kids since his passing. She has a few good male friends who wish to become her new hubby and she agrees. They plan this elaborate wedding to lure the family to gather on Christmas and she won't tell them who she is marrying.

Anyway, I loved the story and I even got a bit teary eyed.

I am still reading A Game Of Thrones. I have been stuck at about half way through for a while. I just can't seem to get into it. David keeps promising that it will get better. Of course he thinks the whole series is amazing.

Tissues Standing By

This week I finished reading the book P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern. It was pretty good, but a little sad. Basically, it starts with the death of the main character Holly's husband. He has died after a long battle with cancer. And she is devastated. Then she gets package from her husband. He had sent it before he passed so she would have it after. Inside the package there were envelopes. There is one for every month for the rest of the year. Each one had a little something he wanted her to do to help her to move on. First, was buying a new bedside lamp since he was no longer there to turn the lights off for her. That way she wouldn't have to try to find the bed in the dark. Then came everything from singing karaoke to looking for a new job to cleaning out his stuff. There was even a surprise vacation for her and her friends.

It was actually pretty predictable, but it was a nice story. Her husband's letters as well as her family and friends surround her and help her to start living again. It was an easy read. They made a movie out of it and I haven't seen it yet. But it has Hilary Swank.

Now I am reading Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. David loved these books and he has read them all. He insisted I read it too. I have read about 50 pages, and so far it's not my thing. But we will see how it turns out.

Wordless Wednesday

"Leave me alone, I am reading here."
Carolynn
August 2011

Should Have Been Called “Travel and Kill”

Judge and Jury
By James Patterson

I finished this book last week. I love James Patterson books. Usually. This one was okay. Not one of my favorites. (My all time favorite one is called The Jester.) Anyway, this one started out with a trial. But really, the trial part was over quickly. The majority of the book involved tracking people down and killing them. There was a lot of action in this one. It was an easy read. As always, James Patterson's books have lots of short chapters.

Next on my reading list, The Memory Keeper's Daughter. I'll keep you posted.

Get In The Kitchen

Revolutionary Road
By Richard Yates

I finished this book sometime last month. I didn't like it. Frankly, I didn't care about the characters. The wife should have been less of a thinker and got herself in the kitchen and bake a pie. Seriously, when I read a story, I have certain expectations. This story is set in the 50's and is about a young married couple. In that time frame, woman were supposed to be wives and shut up. No, I don't think that it was right. No, I don't think that was fair. But that is how it was and that was my expectations. And the husband was a jerk and a giant cheater.

Then it just kind of ended. That was it. Just done and stupid. I didn't like that. Not at all. Nothing was resolved. No one lived happily ever after.

Then I watched the movie. It has Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. I thought it might be better. It got great reviews. And you know what? It sank like the Titanic. I didn't like it anymore on the screen than I did in the book. I didn't even finish the movie because I just didn't care and I was bored.

I Can See Dead People

Odd Thomas
By Dean Koontz

I finished this book several weeks ago. I got off to kind of a slow start with it. The writer is very descriptive, and while it helps to visualize, sometimes I just want to get right down to the story. The story was really good. It is about a guy named Odd with a sort of psychic ability. He can see dead people, but he can not talk to them. He just kind of senses what they want to tell them. He also has an unreal ability to track people. He regularly helps the police in tracking down criminals. Anyways, the story line was But the ending... Well I don't want to spoil it for you, but I was shocked.

I believe there are more books about Odd and I am certainly interested in reading those soon.

Where's The Romance?

Recently I read Dear John by Nicholas Sparks. It was okay. I had never read one of his books before. But I know a lot of people who have. I don't think I will read any more.

I was expecting some great love story. Everyone I know who had read his books said they were amazing. They were tear-jerkers. They were some of the greatest love stories of all time. Umm... no. What I got was dumb college students, a depressing soldier and the dumb chick that dumped him for doing the honorable thing. And then it ended and no one was happy. I don't think I will watch the movie either. I was not impressed.

Now I am reading Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. So far it is pretty good. I'll keep you informed.

Vampires Suck

So I did it. I broke down and read the whole Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer. I was sick of everyone talking about it like it was some amazing thing and I was out of the loop. Then, Catherine's friend Cady was all into it and Catherine was interested (for about 2 minutes) so I figured I would see what it was all about.

The first book, Twilight, was pretty okay. Very predictable and nothing too amazing. It wasn't at all what I expected after seeing all the movie previews. (I have never seen the movies and have no plan to at this point.) It was good enough to make me want to read the second one.

The second one, New Moon, was also okay. Again sort of predictable. I found Jacob to be rather lame. That one ended at a cliff hanger, so I went right ahead and got the next one.

The third one, Eclipse, was my favorite. It wasn't a terribly brilliant book, just my favorite in the series. I figured since I had gone this far, I might as well finish it off.

The final book, Breaking Dawn, was awful. It took some strange, freaky turns. It was nothing like the other three books. Part of it was told from a different character's point of view, which kind of threw off the continuity for me. And finally, after four books, the ending was rather anticlimactic and way too happily ever after.

In the end, it was an okay read. I have no desire to read them again. Luckily, I only had to purchase two of them. My sister gave us a copy of the first one. Catherine's teacher, Mrs. Collins, lent me the last one. I do not want to see the movies. The previews for the movies are not at all how I imagined they would be.

Also, all of those people who compared these books to the Harry Potter Series... You all are sadly mistaken. Harry Potter is a classic series that kids and adults alike will enjoy for generations. It was brilliant from the first book all the way through the last. Twilight, while it was a decent story, was fluff. The last book seemed tacked on. But if it got kids to read, you can't go wrong with that.

The Saga Of The Jeep Truck

Yep, it broke again. With a truck that old, I tend to expect it. Th fixes are never too expensive. Next year I am so buying David a real car. But for the next week, we are sharing. No problem.

I have been so tired lately. I think I need a vacation.

I have been reading the Twilight series. I am about a third of the way through the last book. I have no plans to ever see the movies. They looked so terrible that I didn't want to ruin the books. Not that the books are amazing quality. But it's interesting enough that I read most of them.

Catherine is having a Halloween party next weekend. She is very excited. I am sure I will take a million pictures.

A Mind Overflows... Mine Just Sort of Simmers

I didn’t do much today. I was so lazy. I did make Catherine slave around the house as part of her grounding. Carolynn did some cleaning because she wants some friend of hers to sleep over. I worked on my reading group stuff, got some prizes mailed out and checked in on the voting for November’s book. I started some laundry and made meatloaf for dinner.

I am pretty excited about some upcoming events around here. I am hoping I get to go to the pumpkin carving party at David’s friend’s house. It will be nice to meet some people who haven’t murdered anyone. I am looking forward to going to see Angela sing next month, if I can. The nightclub she is singing at is an old one. It’s an old jazz club. Then a little while ago, my friend Jamie invited me to come play Bunco at her house with some other people tomorrow night.

You know why I am so excited about this? I have no friends. I work a lot. I spend so much of my time chatting with murderers and bank robbers and the like. Sure, I have plenty of online friends. And I have plenty of friends that live far away. I even have a few friends that live close by. But honestly, I am a terrible friend. I don’t call. I suck. I know this. I feel bad about it. But I don’t change it. For instance…

I meet people at work, people who work there and are not incarcerated, but I don’t make any effort to get to know any of them outside of work. Sure there are several of them I like and wouldn’t mind hanging out, but I don’t.

I have a couple of friends who live in the area and I have had them over and we went to a concert in the summer, but that was it. I would love to do more stuff, but I just don’t. Like I said, I suck.

So now I have a chance to go and meet some more new people and see some old friends. It seems like such a mundane thing, but to me, it’s a huge occasion. I have no idea what Bunco is. Jamie says it’s a fast paced dice game. I suck at games like that, but I don’t care.

It reminds me of my Grandma. At my Grandma’s memorial service, my Great Aunt Margie and some other family members were talking about how when Grandma was my age, she used to have neighborhood wives over to play cards and what not. It’s what people did back in the day. Now the only way I interact with people is via the internet.

Ready or not real life…

Just Chillin’

Okay, that is not all. I had some errands to run this morning. I took David to the new Red Robin because it said in the paper that they would be doing interviews there today. The paper was wrong and it will be tomorrow. I did a little house keeping. The chart is working, but I do not think they realize the rewards. Maybe when the week ends and they find out, next week they will be more willing. I do not think they believe I can give rewards because we have been poor so long.

I went by Chris, Sherri and Taylor’s this afternoon to drop off a bag of Chex Mix. I took a bag over the other day, but it was original flavor and Chris is allergic to garlic, which is an ingredient. I made a special one for her that was brown sugar and cinnamon. It is really good. They were having a nice relaxing day too. Taylor is on Christmas break.

I have spent most of the evening reading a book. It is called Cat Deck The Halls and it is the Readers Anonymous pick for December. It is about a cat that solves crimes. I was not sure I would enjoy something that sounded so silly, but it is actually good. I really enjoy reading again. Just no more Love In The Time Of Cholera. I still want to see that movie.

Carolynn is reading Tuck Everlasting. She will need tissues.

We tried our new popcorn maker tonight. The popcorn came out good. Just like the movies. It went well with my book reading.

Books To Read

As some of you may have already read, Carolynn finished her 2008 TBR Challenge. She ready 15 books from her list this year, as well as a few others. I, however, failed. I read one book and I barely managed to finish it today. In all fairness, I was very stressed for most of the year and I cannot relax when I am stressed. Reading is a relaxing activity in my world. It feels good to read again. The one book I read though, was in fact, torture.

I read Love In The Time Of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It is the longest book in the history of books. First, there are no chapters. I need chapters. I need a stopping point, especially in a book this complex. Second, it was so detailed. There were times when the author would go on for pages about someone’s clothes or a building. The story was so wonderful and romantic; I just wanted to get one with it already. It really was a great story. I am very excited to see the movie now. I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. I loved the story, I hated reading it.

I have decided to try and take on this challenge again in 2009. I think I will do better this year. My new list contains quite a few from the old list, plus some newer ones. Carolynn is not going to do the challenge this year, but Catherine has decided to give it a go. Check out her list on her blog.

1. A Great And Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
2. Against Medical Advice by James Patterson
3. Atonement by Ian McEwan
4. Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts
5. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
6. Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris
7. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
8. Marley and Me by John Grogan
9. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
10. P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
11. Rhett Butler’s People by Donald McCaig
12. The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards

Alternates

1. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
2. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
3. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
4. Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris
5. A Is For Alibi by Sue Grafton
6. Sunday’s At Tiffany’s by James Patterson
7. The Devil In The White City by Erik Larson
8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
9. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
10. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
11. The Venetian Betrayal by Steve Berry
12. Where Are You Now by Mary Higgins Clark

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Presents I Got For Christmas

1. iPod Nano from my mom
2. 2 Sweaters- One from the girls and one from Aunt Paveena and Alyssa
3. Chocolate Covered Cherries from David
4. Soaps from my sister and some from Joe and Nicole
5. Marley and Me book from David
6. Shirts from my mom and one from the girls
7. Candles from David and from the girls
8. DVD's from everyone. I got four- Friends, The Notebook, My Best Friend's Wedding, and The Holiday.
9. A picture from the girls
10. A popcorn maker from Chris, Sherri, and Taylor
11. A Mug from my sister
12. Money from Grandpa
13. A NEW JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is what I really wanted the most.

Just An Update... Nothing New

Monday I had an interview. I thought it went really well. The lady said she’d call me today. She has not yet. I called there and I was told today is her day off. I am still hopeful. The interview I had on Wednesday did not go so well. Did you ever go to an interview and get the feeling that they chose someone else earlier and there was no hope? That is how I felt at my interview on Wednesday afternoon. What really sucked is that it was the best job I have had an interview for in a long time. I have applied for at least 15 jobs this week alone.

I am exploring other alternatives. I am running out of time though. Bills are mounting up. If I cannot pay the car payment, I lose my car. If I lose my car, I have no transportation to get to jobs. I have a huge blotch on my credit and I will not be able to get a new car, even if I had a job. In addition, that huge credit issue would disqualify me from certain federal jobs. If I pay my car payment, I will not have the money for the rent. I called the finance company and they said they could arrange for me to skip a month, but they need me to pay now as a “good faith” then I could “skip” the next one, but I would still have to pay the interest. That did not help at all. Look at me… right between that rock and a hard place.

I really don’t want to move, but that is looking like a real possibility. I love the schools here. The girls are having the best school years of their lives. Carolynn has friends and activities. Catherine got all A’s, and made the Honor Roll. She also got an Academic Excellence award. She is in G.A.T.E. and her school focuses on arts. She gets special attention in her reading because she is at such a high reading level. She gets challenged and is reading great books. Even Catherine has friends. I would hate to move them, but moving schools is better than living in the car.

Yesterday, Catherine had her parent teacher conference. As I said, she got all A’s. Except they do not call them A’s. The children are scored on a one to five scale; three is at grade level, four is the goal. Catherine got all five’s. He teacher said she is very good. She does her work and gets along with the kids. She is reading at a seventh grade level. She is one smart cookie. Too bad getting dressed and brushing her hair are apparently something she just cannot learn in school. Last night they had literature night at her school. They had stories and a book swap. Catherine brought books she has out grown and traded them for one her level. She got Around The World In 80 Days by Jules Verne. There were refreshments and a raffle. It was fun. Today Catherine had an assembly where she received her achievement award and her honor roll award. I got me one of those “My Kid is an Honor Roll student” bumper stickers. Here are a couple of pictures. I forgot my camera and took them with my phone.





Another reason I do not want to go from here, Nicole called me this morning and told me the doctor said she is having a boy. I am having a nephew! Okay, so I am so excited. However, I will not believe it until I see it. They told me Catherine was a boy when I was pregnant and you can see how well that worked out. I understand Allison was quite upset that she did not get a little sister. That is another reason not to move, Allison can have “big sisters” in Carolynn and Catherine. It is such an exciting time. I would hate to miss it. I have always lived far away and missed stuff. I finally live close.

I am taking it one day at a time, but the days are flying by. As each day passes, I am more and more stressed and frustrated.

Breathe.

Tomorrow I will go to the store to get some groceries. I will do some cleaning and hang out with the kids. Maybe tomorrow will be the day I get a job.

This Weekend... THE LIST

1. I am reading Love In The Time Of Cholera. So far, it is very good. It is keeping me hooked, as I want to learn what happens to these people. The downside is it is very descriptive and sometimes I just do not care about what they were wearing that much. In addition, there are no chapters. I like to read and stop at chapters.

2. I spent a good portion of yesterday working on reading websites. There are three that people seem to use: LibraryThing, Good Reads, and Shelfari. The chicks in my book group use these and my friend Trisha uses them too. I was pretty sure I was already signed up with Good Reads and LibraryThing so I started there.

I went to LibraryThing first. I messed with it for a bit and I did not like it. It was not user friendly. At this point, I figured all of the other sites would be just as boring as that one and I didn’t need to get involved in them.

Then I got an e-mail from Good Reads. I get those now and again telling me that my account was still there. So, I figured, why not? I went to Good Reads. Well, this site was way better then LibraryThing. I cleared what ever I had done when I started it (April 2007) and started over. I spent the morning adding books and getting it all set up with my stuff. You can check it out by clicking here. I also have a button for it on my sidebar.

After I spent all that time on Good Reads, I had just about decided that there was no need to try Shelfari. Then I went to my book group site to post about my new Good Reads stuff, and I read that Trish really preferred Shelfari. Then I remembered she had written something about them on her blog a while back, so I checked for that. In addition, another chick in the book group was also a fan of the site. After that, I figured I could at least check it out. Therefore, I did, and it is great. The people are friendly; the site is very user friendly and very enjoyable. You can check it out here. There's a list on my sidebar too. This one turned out to be my favorite of the three.

3. I did my errands. I got my grocery shopping done. I balanced up the ol’ checkbook. I paid the electric bill. I went with David to upgrade his phone. He got a new Razor. (It was the free upgrade one.) I did a little cleaning.

4. Carolynn was sleeping over at Jessica’s house last night, so David, Catherine and I went to the new Denny’s down the street for a bite to eat. Then David wanted to go to the Barnes and Noble to get a new book. I need a new book like I need a hole in the head, but I can’t go in and not come out with a new book. I figured I could just get one from my book list. However, I did not even do that. I brought home A Is For Alibi by Sue Grafton.

5. The oven is not working again, so Shake and Bake pork chops will be, well, I do not know. If you have a good pork chop recipe, let me know. I will try foodtv.com.

That’s it. That was the whole weekend. The kids go back to school tomorrow. Carolynn should be starting her book list soon. She was waiting for school to start for some reason.