Thursday, February 25, 2010

to and fro

Yesterday I ran several errands before coming home to put together a pot of Italian Peasant soup and put my feet up for a while.

The youngest, our science fair winner, took his project to the county fair and was just shy of winning third place according to the contest director. Bummer. Due to budget cuts, they don't even earn a participation ribbon or a certificate...just some advice from the director about what to do better if he reenters that project when he's in middle school.

The middle kid had her first soccer game on her new team. She played over half of the first half although she didn't start. She started the second half and played well, but the team lost 2-0...so she has practice tonight. Sounds like they were a little rusty and it is time to knock that rust off.

The oldest kid stayed home with Nana and me and watched a combination of the Olympics and American Idol. Not impressed with either last night so I started to read the new Laurell K Hamilton book, "Flirt" that I found at the library on Tuesday.

Not sure what is up for us today as we ran several errands yesterday. But, I'm sure we will find something to do.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

hunger games series

After I finished blogging yesterday, I went to our library's website and accessed the online catalog to see if the sequel to The Hunger Games was available. It was, so I made the library one of my stops yesterday and checked that book out. Once I was home and had more chores finished, I started to read and finished that book last night.

Wow. I just can't say enough how much I like this series. Here's the scoop: The world as we know it has changed drastically. The ruling authority is now centered in a region known as The Capital with the outlying areas called Districts, each one devoted to producing a resource for the Capital. At one point, one of the Districts rebelled against the ruling authority and was bombed out of existence. As punishment for this act and as a reminder to stay in line, every year each district must select by lottery two children from the ages of 12-18, one boy and one girl, to be 'tributes' for The Hunger Games. The Games are a survival contest, to the death, that insures the victor food and money. Our heroine, Katniss Everdeen, winds up being a tribute after she switches places with her sister whose name was drawn for the Games. Tough Katniss from District 12, the coal mining district, must face down 11 other tributes, including the baker's son from her own village, in order to return to her family.

Beyond that, I don't want to spill any more details. The books are great reads, the cover a lot of topics in a very clever and subtle way in some regards but yet the author doesn't pull any punches when she needs to make a point. Just, very well done on all fronts. The books do contain violence, although it is not overly graphic, as well as some very mild romance.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

the hunger games

One of the books I checked out a while back was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I had heard about the book, watched it sit on the best sellers list for children for a good long while, and wanted to read it. Finally found it on the shelf and it came home with me that day. Then it sat and sat and sat on the night stand while I read through the three 'new' releases that were due back within 14 days.

Boy am I glad the book didn't get up and walk away, feeling hurt from neglect. This is one helluva good book. I started reading it last night and had to force myself to put it down so I could get to sleep. I can't wait to dive back into that story later this morning.

I'm going to save my recap of the story for later, but I'm already thinking I need to buy a copy for the house as I want all three of my kids to read this one.

Wow.

Monday, February 22, 2010

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily

I finally finished Lauren Willig's latest mystery, history, romance book. It took me a while to read this one, but that shouldn't reflect on the quality of the story. Willig crafts a fine tale, I just wasn't in the mood to read until yesterday. The sunny days we had, until the rains moved back in the area on Sunday, weren't conducive to enjoying a good book.

Willig's novels focus on a doctoral student named Eloise who is doing research in England about English spies and their French counterparts during the Napoleonic era. So, we actually get two stories, Eloise's thread and then the bulk of the book centers on the spy her research has uncovered. This time Eloise's research leads us to India, a nice change of pace from the previous books which were all set in either England or France. All the novels have recurring characters in both the present and past threads, so it would be best to start with the first book and read on from there.

Good stuff.

Friday, February 19, 2010

oops

I clean forgot to write an entry yesterday. Oops. Well, yesterday just wasn't that exciting as I ran more errands, made a pork roast for supper, took the girls to the dentist for teeth cleanings and then watched the first episode of The Tudors on my laptop via Netflix. I'm loving the ability to watch the miniseries/TV shows on my computer whenever I want. Love it!!

Today will be a challenge to stay away from the computer so I can clean my house. It is so dusty and needs a good sprucing up.

No reading for the last two days. I guess I am in a bit of a lull. I do need to finish the Lauren Willig book as my two weeks is almost up.

Happy Friday everyone and enjoy the weekend.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

check

Get everyone out the door to school/work.
Walk the dog.
Get the oil changed in the van.
Enjoy coffee down at the Square.
Stop by post office to see about an 'issue'.
Drive out to Costco to pick up my new spectacles.
Stop by Church and pay off our auction item...one reserved parking spot at 8:00 Mass.
Come home to do one load of laundry.
Work on assorted Friends of the Library issues.

Check, check, check etc.....

Damn, where did the day go??

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

happy anniversary

Today is my parent's wedding anniversary. When over half the marriages end in divorce, celebrating anniversaries, especially those that honor multiple decades of togetherness, are important.

So, Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!! They celebrate 47 years today and that is an achievement. They are sneaking up on the "50" number!!

We did a whole lot of nothing yesterday. Well, the girls did get to the library to work on some research for school projects and we did manage to eat up some of the leftovers from the weekend. We also watched back to back episodes of Supernatural on TNT during their holiday marathon. I did one load of laundry. We watched it snow, and snow, and snow. But, the roads and sidewalks stayed clear and school is in session today.

And. that. was. it.

Let's hope we can all be more productive today!

Monday, February 15, 2010

whew

The weekend's festivities went off without one problem. Everything turned out perfect....the pies my youngest requested for his birthday were delicious. The surprise party for the oldest shocked her into tears. Both kids enjoyed their special days.

Boy, am I tired!!

Didn't do much reading as I was busy doing lots of other things and as today is a school holiday....these 3 and 4 day weekends are getting to me.....I doubt I will have the chance to sit and open a book.

Happy New week! And, oh yeah, we got more snow.

Friday, February 12, 2010

it's the weekend

My youngest celebrates his birthday tomorrow. Wow. The oldest, unbeknown to her, is having a birthday party on Sunday. Wow. I have a lot of cooking to do today and tomorrow plus a lot of stealthy type activities to accomplish as well.

Doesn't look like I will have a lot of time to read, but it does look like we are going to have a lot of fun.

Enjoy your weekend, I know I will!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

lots of reading

I finished the Dracula sequel yesterday and then also read the latest Harper Connelly book from Charlaine Harris. Yep, lots of reading going on in my house.

I give both books the two thumbs up sign. The Dracula sequel, "The UnDead," written by co-authors Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt was an intense Gothic read full of familiar characters and some interesting and clever insights into the whole Dracula phenomena. Charlaine Harris continues to turn out quality mysteries and characters who just stick with you. Harper, and her lightning induced talent for finding corpses and discerning their cause of death, is back in Texas and the long unsolved mystery concerning her missing sister Cameron is heating up. Good, good read.

With those two books behind me, I'm ready to dive into Lauren Willig's latest mystery/romance/historical novel.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

score!

Took the youngest kid to the library yesterday as he was on a mission to checkout the latest "Seems" book and find a book on Fibonacci numbers. I, on the other hand, wasn't really looking for anything to read as I have two books I bought waiting to be read. So, of course, I found four books to check out, three of them 2 week checkouts.

I've already started Dacre Stokers sequel to Dracula, quite good by the way. I also have Charlaine Harris' "Grave Secret" and Lauren Willig's latest installment in her Pink Carnation mystery series. Then I found a YA title I've wanted to read called "The Hunger Games."

Sometimes you just really score like that when you least expect it. Yea!! To top it all off, the kids will return to school today. Geez, this week is shaping up to be a pretty good one after all.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

snow equals addled brains

Yep, the weathermen, in their infinite wisdom combined with many super dooper double dopplers goofed and failed to predict the 4 plus inches of fluffy white stuff that fell in my fair town yesterday. Much to my surprise, I opened the door to let the dog out and witnessed what we call 'white death' falling from the skies. I knew immediately school would be cancelled and that chances were very good it would be called off for today as well. That makes five snow days we've had in the mid-south.

Can I just say how happy I am that I didn't put a deposit on the gulf shore condo for the first week of summer break? Because the first week of break will now be the last week of school. Whew....that was lucky.

Yesterday we played outside. I shoveled, mainly to stay out of the house and get some much needed fresh air and exercise. We watched a wonderful HBO movie called "Into the Storm" about Winston Churchill and WWII. I coerced the middle kid into watching it with me and am saddened again by the lack of knowledge high school students have about WWII. She received an entertaining education on one larger than life figure in the war.

I didn't do any reading. I finished the "White Mare" book and am quite upset that the remaining books in this trilogy are not to be had in our library or its consortium. Bah humbug!

Not sure what we will do today other than laundry, but weather permitting, we need to do something other than sit around all day.

Friday, February 5, 2010

fabulous friday

For a school week that was only four days instead of five due to the ice storm, it sure has been a long week.

The youngest kid brought home the gold from last night's science fair. He earned a first place medal in the Physical Science category for his experiment with probability. Hubby and I were so happy for him and he was thrilled. His medal trumps the medals the older two kids earned. Guess hubby is getting better at helping put together a medal earning project as the oldest earned a third place ribbon and the middle kid earned a second place ribbon. Practice makes perfect. Now the project goes off to the county fair.

I hauled the oldest kid off to the family doc yesterday as her ankle just wasn't improving quick enough to suit me. The doctor agreed and today she sees an orthopedic doc. X-rays showed that while the ankle does not have a fracture of any sort, it does appear upon manipulation of the joint that she has some ligament or tendon damage....just how serious is the issue. She has no pain walking or even moving the foot or joint. The doctor said it will most likely just require some physical therapy and resting it, but wanted an expert opinion. My guess is no soccer for 6 weeks.

Middle kid is going to see a student written high school play tonight with a friend. Hubby and I have a 'date' for a church function/fundraiser tomorrow night.

Not sure what else is in store for the weekend, but I'm hoping it doesn't include any precipitation. Happy Weekend!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

smooth

Our meeting yesterday went smoothly and I was so glad to have my friend Anne back in her usual seat!

Today I'm going to help with the sorting/boxing and stocking duties. Then off to lunch with a few of the gals. The weathermen were predicting rain today, but I haven't looked outside or on the radar to see if they were right.

No one went to soccer last night. The oldest kid's ankle is looking much better, but is still a bit tender. The middle kid had three huge tests to study for and didn't need to go anywhere except her room.

Veggie beef soup for supper last night turned out well, not one drop left from a very full crockpot. Up for tonight, shredded beef enchiladas, one of my faves, but the kids tolerate them. There will be leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Hard to believe Lent is almost here. We have two birthdays this month, the youngest and the oldest. Preparations are under way for both. Shhhhh. I'm party planning!

Happy Thursday:)

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

mid week

Boy the past month went fast. I can't believe I have my second Friends of the Library meeting today. The agenda is complete. The 2009 annual reports are printed. I need to fold them this morning. I've looked over all our government forms and now know why the form I sent to Nashville was rejected. It looks to be a problem with the word 'the.' I used it and legally that is not our name, we are Friends of XXXX not Friends of THE XXXX. Seriously. I will be making a phone call this morning to confirm my suspicions. Argh. Ugh.

The whole fam damily watched the premiere for Lost. Season six is underway after a two hour episode with a one hour preshow to remind us how we got to this point. Fun to watch it with the kids as theories and ideas flowed pretty quickly during commercial breaks.

I'm still reading "The White Mare." Hope to finish it today, I'm very close to the end. Of course, this is the first book in a trilogy, which means I want to read the other three books, and none of our local libraries have them. Not sure if I will be buying them off B&N or Amazon just yet. May have to look in the store stocking closet and see if they are in there as that is where I found this first one.

I do want to make a trip to the bookstore and get Kate Collins' latest Flowershop Mystery! Such cute cozy books and the new arrival, "Sleeping with Anemone" sounds adorable. I can then pass it along to the Library so they have a complete series.

But, up first, lots of coffee. Stayed up past my bedtime watching the antics of Sawyer, Kate, Jack, Sayid and the rest......and just have to say, total eye candy treat to see Ian Somerhalder make a guest appearance as Boone last night. The oldest two and I were quite happy to see him.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

bullet dodged

When I traipsed off to the eye doc yesterday, I figured I'd leave the office with a prescription for bifocals. Yet, much to my surprise, I don't need them yet! I guess when you are as near sighted as I am, that bifocal due date is pushed back by years. Finally a perk to being blind. I do have a slight vision change and an astigmatism adjustment, so new glasses are in order. I will be heading to Costco today to pick out some new frames. I really like my current ones and am hoping to find something very similar. I'd get new lenses in these old frames if I could, but I can't be without my current eyewear for 7-10 days.

I'm still reading "The White Mare." Middle kid finished the final (sob,sniff) Georgia book over the snow days in addition to writing her essay on Animal Farm. Oldest kid did a ton of Algebra II homework and read what she is calling the most hateful book ever, "The Poisonwood Bible." Both kids read "The Bean Trees" by Kingsolver and liked it, but TPB is not making the short list. So, this year I get to listen to the oldest complain about it, next year the middle kid will voice her discontent. Youngest kid is plowing through the Harry Potter series, finally, so he can rack up AR points at school.

"Lost" has its season premiere tonight, and we have already carved out our TV watching time to see what sort of craziness those writers can throw our way.

I think we will be back to what passes for normal around here today as the kids return to school, where they most assuredly belong, and I enjoy a day where I don't have to referee laptop, Wii or TV time plus monitor the pillaging of the pantry and fridge.

Monday, February 1, 2010

frozen

We only saw a bit of snow, but the rain and sleet we did see managed to freeze over everything and caused power outages all across the area. The kids are still out of school today as the county system shut down due to icy roads north of us. All of our roads are clear and dry, but we do have some major trees down across sidewalks and driveways. We even lost power for a bit yesterday although it was sunny, calm and the ice was melting. We were without power for a good 6 hours on Friday/Saturday.

Besides cooking all day Friday and having the hubby cook most of Saturday, we watched some TV, played some video games and did quite of bit of reading. Hubby and the youngest completed the required science project. The oldest and the middle kid did their homework.

So, I guess today will be a play day for them. I have an eye appointment and need to get to the grocery store for the week's supply of foodstuffs.

I finished Chevalier's "Remarkable Creatures" and have started reading a book titled "The White Mare" by Jules Watson. This one is set in Scotland during the first century and encompasses Agricola's attempt to invade that part of the island. So, far so good.