I guess I only notice when you don't...

Ex-Marine gave me a bit of grief the other evening about a meal he thought was less than five-star quality. So I look at him and say, "You don't need to be critical, I've had well rounded meals on the table for the last however many days." (This is no easy feat for a working mom with three busy children!) He pauses and says, "I guess I only notice when you don't cook." Yeah buddy, that about sums up the problem right there.

The One Man Band

Yesterday was a busy day. It was a classic example of me being "the one man band" and taking on too much. Not a single thing I did was very difficult - we had a Cub Scout function - there were some directions for the boys about what to do, ordering awards, preparing the food for the the Scouts and their families, printing off a few pages about upcoming events....nothing that was difficult, no rocket science. And with those little, not difficult things - I get into the thinking pattern that it is so easy that is just easier to do it myself rather than to try to explain to someone else how to do it. I think, "It would take longer to call and talk to Other Mom about ordering pizza, I can just stop by and order the pizza." "By the time I explain to Other Mom where to find the songs on the Internet and how many copies to print, I may as well just print them." The problem with this thinking is that it is NOT TRUE. There are only so many hours in the day, I cannot do it all even if it is all very simple little things. Every little thing takes time and I need to learn to ask for help.

John Adams is kicking my butt.

I have had John Adams in my reading spot for weeks. Probably since just a few days after Christmas. I'm on chapter 2. Not good progress.

I did a little math - I'm averaging a book a year about the presidents. Which at 43 more presidents to go, would have me wrapping this challenge up at 44 (current age) + 43 (# presidents)...age 87 years. Except - that while I'm spending the next 43 years reading, we'll elect at least 5 or up to 11 more presidents. This puts my ETOCC (Estimated Time of Challenge Completion) somewhere between the year 2057 and 2063 and my age would be between 92 and 98. And while I am reading those 5-11 more books we'll have between 1 and 3 more presidents elected and I will then be quite possibly 100 years old!

Do you think when I am 100 years old, we will still even have the Internet?

Burning Bright by Tracey Chevalier

From the author's website: Burning Bright follows the Kellaway family as they leave behind tragedy in rural Dorset and come to late 18th-century London. As they move in next door to the radical painter/poet William Blake, and take up work for a near-by circus impresario, the youngest family member gets to know a girl his age. Embodying opposite characteristics – Maggie Butterfield is a dark-haired, streetwise extrovert, Jem Kellaway a quiet blond introvert – the children form a strong bond while getting to know their unusual neighbor and his wife.

Set against the backdrop of a city nervous of the revolution gone sour across the Channel in France, Burning Bright explores the states of innocence and experience just as Blake takes on similar themes in his best-known poems, Songs of Innocence and of Experience.

I listened to this one as an audiobook and I have to say that the narrator, Jill Tanner, was excellent. She did a great job differentiating the characters voices and making them come alive for me. This was 11 hours worth of listening time and the journey was enjoyable for me BUT...what an unsatisfying ending. I like my ending to be complete; I want it all wrapped up so that I know what happened. Hmm... don't want to give away anything so I'll just say that there was an implication of what was to happen but not a definitive answer - give me the answer!

I'm not big into poetry so William Blake's character and all the accompanying poetry recitation didn't do much for me. I did like the way Chevalier captured the time period. I am new to historical fiction so it impressed me. However, reading the online reviews, apparently it didn't impress others with more historical fiction experience.

This book is my "B" for the A-Z Reading Challenge! Click on the logo to see my progress.










This is one of my books for the 2009 Audiobook Challenge too. 2/12 completed on that one!

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

From the author's website:For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning...

Legions of readers entranced by the New York Times bestseller Twilight are hungry for the continuing story of star-crossed lovers, Bella and Edward. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

I'll say this very quietly at the risk of angering all the rabid Twilight saga fans...I didn't really like this one....shhh! I am writing this review after I have read not only this book, New Moon, but also the next book, Eclipse. Eclipse was better. Twilight was better than both of them - hands down. So of the three, New Moon is just not my cup of tea. Probably because Jacob is just not my cup of tea and he is a major player in this book. I'm all about Edward.

This book is my "N" for the A-Z Reading Challenge! Click on the logo to see my progress.

Manic-Depressive Weather

I have daffodils blooming in my yard because we have had temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's recently. I also had a pipe freeze this week because we had overnight temperatures in the 20's recently. This weekend I am going to visit a girlfriend at the beach - it will be in the 70's. Mother Nature is obviously bi-polar and South Carolina is taking the brunt of it.

Soul Catcher by Michael White

From the author's website: In the tradition of Cold Mountain and Widow of The South comes an epic novel of love, freedom and a country on the brink of war.

Cain is a scarred, but proud man haunted by a terrible skill--the ability to track people who don't want to be found.

Rosetta is a runaway slave fueled by the passion and determination only a mother can feel. And she will risk everything for the promise of freedom.

In the perilous years before the Civil War, their fates will intertwine in an extraordinary adventure--one of hardship and redemption that will take them from Virginia to Boston and back. it is an odyssey that will change them forever.

I read this book as part of my Facebook Historical Fiction Lover's book club. Same group that read Loving Frank. The book club leader, Jennifer from The Literate Housewife, has done a great job picking out books so far - I really enjoyed this book. It was a compelling story and it made me want to know more about some of the elements within the story - I'd like to read a tale with the backdrop of the Mexican-American War and I would like to know more about the abolitionist Brown. There were scenes that were filled with old fashioned gun fights and roughhousing that wouldn't normally be something I would think would appeal to me but they were fun to read and just right as part of this story.

Cain was a great character despite the fact that the idea of the "gruff but lovable" hero is a bit too romance novel for my taste. I enjoyed seeing his evolution and acceptance. I had fun when he would seem to be at a dead end and he would find a way out. The epilogue surprised me, but I was content with the ending.

I couldn't help but notice that Cain is very similar to a current TV character Dr. House. In fact, the resemblances are so marked that I began to suspect something. My hypothesis is that Augustus Cain and Gregory House are the same person AND...he's a vampire. It really makes perfect sense. Everyone who has read Twilight knows that once you are a vampire you remain the same age and just have to keep reinventing yourself into a new person in order to live amongst the mortals undetected. So Cain has probably undergone several transformations before his current persona as Dr. House. If you need further convincing, please examine the chart.

Augustus Cain	Dr. Gregory House
Has a bum leg from the Mexican –American war.	Has a bum leg from I don’t know where.
Addicted to laudanum.	Addicted to Vicodin.
Lost great love – the Indian girl.	Lost great love- the brunette who marries the other guy.
Performs surgery on self to remove bullet.	Performs surgery on others – he’s a doctor!
Despite his arrogant, crusty demeanor – girls love him.	Ditto.

Hmm... it is verrry suspicious.


This book is my "S" for the A-Z Reading Challenge! Click on the logo to see my progress.