The folks at The Collective have had a pretty amazing week of book blogging (I'm catching up! And now can post a comment! Yay!), and I thought I'd play along. Feel free to play too.
1) What book are you reading right now? I am reading about 4 different things right now, but the one closest to me is Helping Your Kids Cope with Divorce the Sandcastles Way. (It's a long story.)
2) What is the fourth sentence on page 133 of that book? "Observant parents can glean a great deal about what their children are thinking and feeling by observing the products of their imaginiation: the artwork, stories, and essays they write for school or for entertainment (see Chapter 2)."
3) What is one book that changed your life? It by Stephen King. I read it when I was 10, going on 11. The main characters of the book (at the beginning) are all in the summer of their 11th year. They were just normal kids, scared shitless by some demonic thing that lived in their town. But they beat it (spoiler alert). Those kids had power and that summer? I had it too. There are others, but that one, that made me see how awesome words and stories really could be.
4) What is one book that you read again and again? I read a lot of books over and over. My room looks like a library. Seriously. I re-read my Nora Roberts books regularly: they're my comfort reads. My next re-read needs to be the last Harry Potter book, though, because I was too upset by the whole end.finality.over-ness of it the first time to actually absorb all the little things.
5) What three books would you want on a desert island? This book turns into a raft; What to do on a raft while you are waiting for rescue and Good Poems for Every Day by Garrison Kellior (well, he put it together anyways... thankfully they are not his poems: I do not get him.)
6) What is the funniest book you've ever read? The funniest? Oh crap, that'd depend on my mood, but the one I remember laughing at most, at least in recent years is America: the Book by Jon Stewart.
7) What book made you cry the most? I also cry pretty easily, but I would say that I bawled the most when I opened up whatever book was next in the Little House series and read the words "Mary was blind." Mary may have been blind, but I was blindsided - She was perfectly fine when I left her 5 minutes ago at the end of the other book!!! Are you kidding me?? What the hell is scarlet fever? And couldn't you have broken the news a little more gently??? I cried so hard my mom came in from the other room and made me calm down before I threw up. I was probably 7 years old.
8. What book do you wish had been written? Exactly what is wrong with NTE and how we fixed it so easily circa 1995.
9) What would be the title of your autobiography? Well I suppose it would have to be the sequel to number 8, but I'm not sure what the title would be yet.
10) What book do you keep meaning to read? The Painted Bird I told someone I had read this, and then sat there nodding along as they talked about plot points, because I realized about 3 seconds into the conversation that I had NOT in fact read that book. (I had read something with a similar title.) And I felt so stupid that I immediately got the book... but I haven't read it yet.
11) What five books should everyone be required to read?
Escaping into the Open by Elizabeth Berg
Harry Potter and... pick your favorite title by J.K. Rowling
All in my Head by Paula Kamen
Key of Knowledge by Nora Roberts
How to Get Your Child to Love Reading by Esma Raji Codel
12) What book was the biggest waste of your time? There's a lot of sucky books out there, but I'd have to say the one I would've thrown against the wall, if it had been an option, was Ethan Frome. Oh my sweet lord, this was a depressing book: my entire impression of the book is this (even after an entire semester spend studying Edith Wharton and her cronies) - It is cold. And snowing. And sad. And bleak. I have a limp. Now I walk in the snow some more, where it will be cold. The end.
13) What was your favorite book as a child? I'm going to go with the first book I remember being a favorite, and that is The Monster at the End of this Book by I have no idea, but staring lovable, furry old Grover. I thought this book was hysterical (and it's a big hit now with my nephews and niece), and it was the first book I remember reading all by myself.
14) What book have you read the most? Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. I have that down pat... If it were the time of Alice in Wonderland, I would have a recitation ready to go, at a moment's notice. As it is, my brother will literally call me and say "Read her the book" which I will then do, free of charge.
15) Is there any book's ending that you would like to rewrite? Hmm... I know there have been books that have totally pissed me off, but I can't remember them right now.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
"No Grammy!"
Sister Ch taught Lil Girl to guilt trip Mum whenever she goes outside for a cigarette... Here she waits patiently for her to come back in, to scold her some more.
Look where I am!
Oh, wait: you can't see...
So I'll just tell you... I'm on my laptop! MY laptop. With all my saved passwords, and pictures, and slow moving connections! Yay!
Aren't you excited? Don't you think it was worth an $80 fan (and almost twice that in labor) to get it back???
Well I do: I missed it. And I missed you!
And because I did ... how about some pictures?
I thought you'd like that....
I'm off to Flickr-ize, and then I'll post some here.
So I'll just tell you... I'm on my laptop! MY laptop. With all my saved passwords, and pictures, and slow moving connections! Yay!
Aren't you excited? Don't you think it was worth an $80 fan (and almost twice that in labor) to get it back???
Well I do: I missed it. And I missed you!
And because I did ... how about some pictures?
I thought you'd like that....
I'm off to Flickr-ize, and then I'll post some here.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Randomosity
10 days is still not two weeks... and I forgot that they meant 'business days' when they said weeks... So I am still laptop-less - It was indeed the fan that had stopped working: it will indeed cost me about $200 to fix it. I have indeed paid them and am waiting oh so patiently to get it back. End of laptop update.
Medically, things are taking unexpected turns. Well, unexpected for anybody else... just normal "oh my sweet Jesus what now" turns for me. Yesterday's appointment with Zach included blood tests for West Nile Virus, an appointment to have the ENT use a 'vacuum like apparatus' on my sinuses (oh joy), and the discovery of some lymph node issues that, because Zach likes to use a totally different dictionary than the rest of the normal world, he called 'compelling and possibly key.' In English, though, they were potentially troubling spots that need to be followed up with yet another CT scan and a PET scan. So next week filled up with appointments rather quickly as well, which isn't exactly awesome because I've got other stuff that needs to get accomplished. But we do what we have to, I suppose.
Some of the other stuff I have to get accomplished this week include my last bridesmaid's dress fitting (Tuesday), actually coming up with something for the bachelorette party, probably a lot of cursing at the rest of the bridal party for not actually, you know... helping, and various other wedding related things. Also, the twins are being christened this Sunday, so there's that. And I needed to shop for something, but it's lost in the recesses of my mind at present. OH: and Thursday is Blogging Against Disabilism Day, and I have pledged a post. (And will have to make time to wander the rest of the posts in the days that follow). Then next Saturday is Youngest Nephew's First Communion, as well as his 8th birthday party. Yup: Starting Sunday, the train of days moves quickly for us here at NTE's house ~ in a echo to the clumping phenomenon of the fall & winter, May seems to be jam packed with things this year.
And they're all a little bittersweet, each new milestone or happy occasion that we're observing without Nana. It's tough, but we're hanging in. I'm hanging in. Yesterday's appointment with Zach was difficult, because it was the first time we'd been back to the office since she'd died, and everyone wanted to pass along their condolences, to talk about how nice she was to them, or how much they appreciated my letters after her death. I found myself having to look away from people's eyes, to keep myself from crying. It's been a couple of weeks (since the shower) since I had to do that, which I suppose is a good sign. I just know these next few weeks will be tough, a bunch of firsts and familiars, and yet they'll all be different this time. Hmmm... not what we expected.
But life never is, is it?
So: that's a post chock full of information & random topics... to make up for the past few weeks of nearly nothing. And, if you're lucky, I'll post some pictures later, show you some of the stuff we've been working on for the wedding.
Happy Thursday, all... Miss you!
Medically, things are taking unexpected turns. Well, unexpected for anybody else... just normal "oh my sweet Jesus what now" turns for me. Yesterday's appointment with Zach included blood tests for West Nile Virus, an appointment to have the ENT use a 'vacuum like apparatus' on my sinuses (oh joy), and the discovery of some lymph node issues that, because Zach likes to use a totally different dictionary than the rest of the normal world, he called 'compelling and possibly key.' In English, though, they were potentially troubling spots that need to be followed up with yet another CT scan and a PET scan. So next week filled up with appointments rather quickly as well, which isn't exactly awesome because I've got other stuff that needs to get accomplished. But we do what we have to, I suppose.
Some of the other stuff I have to get accomplished this week include my last bridesmaid's dress fitting (Tuesday), actually coming up with something for the bachelorette party, probably a lot of cursing at the rest of the bridal party for not actually, you know... helping, and various other wedding related things. Also, the twins are being christened this Sunday, so there's that. And I needed to shop for something, but it's lost in the recesses of my mind at present. OH: and Thursday is Blogging Against Disabilism Day, and I have pledged a post. (And will have to make time to wander the rest of the posts in the days that follow). Then next Saturday is Youngest Nephew's First Communion, as well as his 8th birthday party. Yup: Starting Sunday, the train of days moves quickly for us here at NTE's house ~ in a echo to the clumping phenomenon of the fall & winter, May seems to be jam packed with things this year.
And they're all a little bittersweet, each new milestone or happy occasion that we're observing without Nana. It's tough, but we're hanging in. I'm hanging in. Yesterday's appointment with Zach was difficult, because it was the first time we'd been back to the office since she'd died, and everyone wanted to pass along their condolences, to talk about how nice she was to them, or how much they appreciated my letters after her death. I found myself having to look away from people's eyes, to keep myself from crying. It's been a couple of weeks (since the shower) since I had to do that, which I suppose is a good sign. I just know these next few weeks will be tough, a bunch of firsts and familiars, and yet they'll all be different this time. Hmmm... not what we expected.
But life never is, is it?
So: that's a post chock full of information & random topics... to make up for the past few weeks of nearly nothing. And, if you're lucky, I'll post some pictures later, show you some of the stuff we've been working on for the wedding.
Happy Thursday, all... Miss you!
Monday, April 14, 2008
TWO weeks???
Well I took the laptop to the Geek Squad today, and they kept it. I was very sad to let it go (AGAIN!!), but hopefully, it will be a quick repair and then they'll send it back to me all working and spiffy. Since the fan had stopped running at all, I decided all my software improvements (updating the BIOS, for example) were for naught, and brought it to some people who might actually know what they are doing. BUT they said it'd cost money (duh~ of course my warranty expired again in January!) and that it may take 2 weeks to a month (to unscrew the little screws, take out the fan and put in a new fan? Who knows...) So I am stuck trying to finagle some time on the home computer, which means sitting up and all, which I am not particularly good at (something about this posture makes my neck and back start hurting even more quickly), so posting may be scarce. Like it already has been for the past two weeks, when I was hoping for some sort of fan-revival miracle. BUT I do appreciate you all checking in, and I will check in as I can... I may even resort to physically writing out posts and then typing them up, because when I am computer less, I think of a million things to talk about. So, we'll see how it goes.
In other news, yes: the shower was demanding and exhausting, but it was also fun. The wedding is 33 days from today, so all of the last minute type stuff is rushing at us. Like: Finding a bra. Hello? Large chested person? Get a bra that actually fits, will you??? That's Wednesday's mission... I'd rather refuse to accept that particular mission, but we do what we must.
I have my first appt with Zach since Nana died next week (it got rescheduled twice: once by me, once by him), and I'm feeling a little awkward. I'm mostly doing ok with the whole thing, but wonder if seeing him might be a little teary... for me or for mom. Nothing for it though, because I definitely need some better pain management going here... all these extra tasks I'm trying to fit in, and my body is complaining loudly. I had two 10 days last week... it is not something I need to be repeating, that's for sure. Although it did make me realize it's been a while since I've had a five or a six day. Mostly I'm living at 7-9, and that's not a great place to be, I assure you. (Sorry, re-reading that that may make no sense to you: on a 1-10 scale, ten being the highest, rate your pain. That's how the docs always do their evaluations.)
So... recap: laptop-less, but not totally computer-less. Wedding stuff is progressing, and there's a bunch of details to follow through on. Love you guys, and will try to write as often as possible. Pain sucks. The end.
In other news, yes: the shower was demanding and exhausting, but it was also fun. The wedding is 33 days from today, so all of the last minute type stuff is rushing at us. Like: Finding a bra. Hello? Large chested person? Get a bra that actually fits, will you??? That's Wednesday's mission... I'd rather refuse to accept that particular mission, but we do what we must.
I have my first appt with Zach since Nana died next week (it got rescheduled twice: once by me, once by him), and I'm feeling a little awkward. I'm mostly doing ok with the whole thing, but wonder if seeing him might be a little teary... for me or for mom. Nothing for it though, because I definitely need some better pain management going here... all these extra tasks I'm trying to fit in, and my body is complaining loudly. I had two 10 days last week... it is not something I need to be repeating, that's for sure. Although it did make me realize it's been a while since I've had a five or a six day. Mostly I'm living at 7-9, and that's not a great place to be, I assure you. (Sorry, re-reading that that may make no sense to you: on a 1-10 scale, ten being the highest, rate your pain. That's how the docs always do their evaluations.)
So... recap: laptop-less, but not totally computer-less. Wedding stuff is progressing, and there's a bunch of details to follow through on. Love you guys, and will try to write as often as possible. Pain sucks. The end.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Hello My Lovelies!
Laptop is still being uncooperative, but I managed to get back here again, so I thought I'd check in.
I wanted to tell you how the shower went last Saturday, in case you were waiting with baited breath.
Honestly? It went rather well... my co-hostesses were a bit lax in the whole "you have to introduce yourself to people" arena, but other than that, and a mini-post crash, I think things went awesome.
SisterJ and her fiance seemed a little bit surprised (although I'm not entirely sure they were), and most importantly, everybody had fun. So that's good.
How about some photographic proof of said fun? I thought you might like that...
Here we are in the car... I'm taking pictures because we're running late. AGAIN. And I'm trying not to go crazy. (I am an early bird, in a family of never-on-time-s.) That's Sister Y, Oldest Nephew, & Sister Ch...
Lil Girl, hiding for the chance to say 'surprise;'
Here are the soon to be Mr. & Mrs. playing a who knows who best game:
Can you guess who's winning?
Then there were some presents:
We did cake smooshing, because Sister J is VERY MUCH OPPOSED to doing it at the wedding...
Which turns out to be a good thing.
There's a few more still to come, but overall, I thought it went really well! (Note to self, however: if you're planning on playing games, bring pencils. Don't leave them on your desk.)
(You can click on over to my Flickr Stream to see more: if we're not friends, let's be!)
I wanted to tell you how the shower went last Saturday, in case you were waiting with baited breath.
Honestly? It went rather well... my co-hostesses were a bit lax in the whole "you have to introduce yourself to people" arena, but other than that, and a mini-post crash, I think things went awesome.
SisterJ and her fiance seemed a little bit surprised (although I'm not entirely sure they were), and most importantly, everybody had fun. So that's good.
How about some photographic proof of said fun? I thought you might like that...
Here we are in the car... I'm taking pictures because we're running late. AGAIN. And I'm trying not to go crazy. (I am an early bird, in a family of never-on-time-s.) That's Sister Y, Oldest Nephew, & Sister Ch...
Lil Girl, hiding for the chance to say 'surprise;'
Here are the soon to be Mr. & Mrs. playing a who knows who best game:
Can you guess who's winning?
Then there were some presents:
We did cake smooshing, because Sister J is VERY MUCH OPPOSED to doing it at the wedding...
Which turns out to be a good thing.
There's a few more still to come, but overall, I thought it went really well! (Note to self, however: if you're planning on playing games, bring pencils. Don't leave them on your desk.)
(You can click on over to my Flickr Stream to see more: if we're not friends, let's be!)
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Sorry to have disappeared
Hopefully it's a temporary break, but my laptop is ... broken? I don't know what it is ... depressed? It's not working, that's for sure. And I'm recovering from the shower this weekend (it went really well! Yay!) but I had a few minutes, and my parents' computer was free, so here I am to tell you I am missing you all... again... and am going to drag my butt to best buy tomorrow if it kills me. NEED COMPUTER. NOW.
Anyways... Will update ASAP. Love, Me
Anyways... Will update ASAP. Love, Me
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