A So-So Book Makes a So-So Review

Saving Grace by Annie Jones

There is really one word to describe the book as a whole: underwhelming. I am still trying to figure out why this book is titled “Saving Grace” after a character with a minimal role. If I analyze it, I can see the stretch but because the author takes some time to get to the point of involving Grace and then she leaves her out of the action for much of the rest and then suddenly re-introduces her. It turns out that it was actually Grace simply being that saved a friendship. This book interested me in one way. It revolves around a friendship between four southern women. It describes their challenges with each other as friends as well as their personal struggles as women, wives, and mothers. Because I live all of these roles myself I could parallel the story to my own experiences, which was heart-warming. Perhaps if I’d read the first book involving these women I would have got more into this book however, as it was, it took me weeks to read and that screams “It was so-so”. I have to commend the author for keeping it clean and within keeping of standards of the Christian genre. There is no doubt this is a Christian book.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Will you rank my review here? Reviews earn me points which earn me better books. It's easy and only involves checking your e-mail to verify your e-mail address. Thanks for reading!!

Another Book Review

"The Incovenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck" by Kathleen Y'Barbo

FYI: there are spoilers but I am not recommending this read unless you really like soap opera and Christian-y (only slightly) type books.

This was my first time to read anything by Katherine Y'Barbo. At first, I enjoyed her literary style but as I read on, I began to find holes. The story about Charlotte and Alex is solid in and of itself. However, I began to feel like I was reading the script of a soap opera.

This book is classified as Christian fiction yet there was very little mention of God and faith except in the last one hundred pages. Where faith is mentioned is brief, lacking depth, and corny. I do appreciate that overall the book was morally clean and free of inappropriate language. I find it disturbing that Charlotte's faith isn't brought up until the last few chapters when she is suddenly humbled back to spirituality. I would have liked to see more of a spiritual journey happen throughout the novel rather than "conveniently" at the end to explain Charlotte's sudden change of heart towards accepting her marriage.

I was frustrated with the courtship. Why didn't Alex "court" Charlotte? What happened to bringing a lady flowers and gifts or doing and saying those small things to win her heart once he decided he wanted to stay in their marriage? He thought she was beautiful and suspected he love her so why didn't he just tell her?

The author took Charlotte's stubborn tendancies to the extreme. I was almost ready to throw in the towel and be done with this character. I thought the book could have been little shorter; Charlotte's unwillingness to even consider the marriage was too much added in with all the "incovenient meetings" of the characters to prove how right for each they were yet how far apart from excepting each other they were.

I also would have liked to see more character development of the step-mother and her side of things. Why even put her in? She was like a movie extra. The father was like one of those super power, know-it-all, all powerful, know-everyone-and-everything-can-be-everywhere-all- the-time characters that is simple not reality and just added to the soap opera feel of the book. He reminded me of Victor on The Young and the Restless...always gets his way by miraculously controlling every aspect of everyone's life, even his acquantances.

The bottom line is the story and plot were a great idea but the writing is cinematic rather than novelesk. I found it sub-par. I will not personally seek to read another one of Y'Barbo's books nor recommend this to my friends unless they are superbly bored or perhaps they happen to like this style of book. To each his own.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Rank My Review here so I can get more books to review and be sure to check your e-mail to verify your review. Thanks heaps for reading!

Secrets of the Vine for Women

One of my friends recently introduced me to the world of blogging for books. Out there in the great internet expanse there are numerous venues who offer free books in exchange for a review posted to my (or your) blog, their website, and a consumer website such as Amazon.

I decided to give it a try. I went with a program called "Blogging For Books" offered through Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. They gave me three books to choose from. As a result, I have agreed to review it and in return my review can be ranked by my bloggy friends if you can take a minute to run over to Waterbrook's website. The highest ranking book reviews win prizes so there is some incentive. I have provided a link at the bottom of this review if you care and would please go rank me even if you think its not such a great review. I cannot improve without critisism.

For the first try this has gone pretty smoothly. The book did take quite some time to arrive...almost three weeks and i have to admit for a book I wouldn't normally buy or pick up at the library, it was a read that I would recommend. The book is Secrets of the Vine for Women by Darlene Marie Wilkinson and it is a summary adaptation of a book written by her husband called Secrets of the Vine.

I’ll have to admit I chose this book because it was touted to be a short and quick read. I am not a huge fan of religious self-help books or any self-help books. This book proved to be just what I expected: a quick, easy to follow read. Though I appreciated the message of this book, finding some little tidbits to ponder on, for the most part this book was more of a review and reminder of precepts I already practice in my life. I can see this book being extremely helpful to Christian women who are just discovering the realm of their religion and who are looking to delve deeper into how to make their life more spiritually fulfilling. I cannot say there was anything remarkable in the writing for me but because spirituality is of such a personal nature, I would recommend this book for its quick read, basic easy to follow Christian concepts, and the potential to touch any woman’s life regardless of her situation. This book is an excellent one for devotionals and Christian book clubs for women.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

For Superman

100 Reasons Why I Love You

1. you love me first

2. you love me back

3. you love our kids

4. your confidence

5. you fly solo with the kids

6. you count dirty diapers with me

7. you look at my bruises

8. you still have “that look in your eyes” after almost 9 years

9. you lost 50# for me

10. you gave up Kool-Aid for me

11. you hide snacks in your truck

12. you are ornery with me

13. you work hard to make me laugh (and smile)…

14. …then you tell me you love it

15. you are biased about me

16. when you get your nose in a book

17. you know me more and more

18. you are loyal

19. you are a leader

20. you are motivated to help others

21. you want to please me

22. you want me to be happy

23. you love our place

24. you give the best backrubs (you are my hero)

25. how your eyes are different colors depending on whether you are far or near

26. that you write a schedule for the kids when you’re home

27. that you let the kids help

28. your mole

29. that you changed jobs to be with your family more

30. that you want me to accomplish my dreams

31. that you support me

32. that you tell me jokes even when I don’t laugh

33. that through you I have awesome in-laws

34. that you want me to tell you how great your projects turn out

35. your projects always turn out great

36. how you make up cool stories for the kids

37. how you always make the kids the heroes in your stories

38. you have a song for each kid

39. you sing that song almost every night to them

40. you let them use you as a jungle gym…

41. …that you’re pretty patient about being used as a jungle gym

42. you are on the kids level most the time

43. how you want me to be Joan Clever and meet you at the door

44. your passion for gardening even though you might not admit it

45. that you think its “cooler than she even knows” that you have a beehive

46. how you humor my craigslist addiction

47. that you check my blog almost daily

48. how you can’t stand to “not know”

49. that you are ticklish like a kid

50. you encourage a gospel centered home by…

51. initiating FHE every week

52. initiating scripture studies

53. initiating prayers

54. that you get the kids involved with reading scriptures, even BBB who can’t read yet

55. for loving my cooking (most the time)

56. when you brag about my cooking to other people

57. you haven’t given up on Q.

58. for eating what I cook even if its not your favorite

59. for folding the kid’s laundry

60. taking a serious interest in what to my buy me for gifts…

61. …and getting it right

62. for asking the kids what I like

63. for listening to the kids

64. for taking a whole weekend to take the girls to that dance

65. braving shoe shopping with the kids (even though you’re mom helped)

66. bringing home ice cream and Head Country from Braum's

67. laughing about my “People” magazines

68. introducing me to the sitcom

69. giving Sunny lots and lots of hair

70. you think you’re the “smartest person…”

71. that you know how to have fun

72. that you enjoy music

73. that you want our kids to have “more”

74. how you are proud of your place

75. that you have exceeded my expectations

76. that you sacrificed your time and your sleep

77. that you brought us to where we are

78. you let me get “girlfriend time”

79. you are nice to my girlfriends

80. sometimes you go out of your way…

81. …and out of your comfort zone

82. you are good with numbers

83. you have passion for engineering stuff (whatever that might be)

84. you believe in your research and continuing it

85. that you are a “man’s man”

86. for introducing me to OU

87. you listen to talk radio…

88. and read the news so…

89. I can get sound political advice from you

90. you miss me even after one night

91. for being “the man” in our daughter’s lives

92. for wanting to try new things

93. stick with what you like (dr. pepper among others)

94. that you are fairly easy to please

95. your love for chocolate (especially brownies)

96. that you keep the toilet seats down

97. how you encourage BBB to like what you like (ex. OU)

98. you take the girls shopping every year for a new dress

99. that you have donut day

100. THAT YOU CHOSE ME! That you still try over and over.

Thank You Babe! You are my Superman.

P.S. even if you have super soft tender feet...i love that about you!

What's In My Make-up Bag

Let's take a lookie-see:

Looks pretty average to me. It should be clear that i use sheercover. for now. i saw it on one of those infomercials and thought "what the hey...". yep. a good ole' straightforward look into my make-up bag. See that black round case in the middle there?

This is what happens when my baby uses it...

Aw thanks honey but i think i'm good today...she sure looks like a little clown doesn't she? my sweet lil' sugar 'n spice an' ever thang nice little clown.

i recall another girly gal gettin' ahold of my bag:

Caught 'er red handed. 'Course i musta' left it where she could get it. the bed didn't suffer too much if you were wonderin'. she sure is cute...The End.

This, This, and That

i'm supposed to be writing about the 30 day blog challenge which i am very far behind on now. or am i? i don't recall any rules such as: "you have to blog every single day right in a row to do this challenge" but maybe that's the point?

now that i am here, i have lost the list. i remember that #10 (i think i'm on #10?) is my favorite place to eat or is it my fave restaurant? ah crap! well...

for years my fave restaurant has been Red Lobster. Now, i have say, it was much better back then. the food has become more and more commercialized. however, it is still our old standby and the kids love it. shrimp is one of my all time favorite foods. as far as having a FAVORITE favorite...something to absolutely die for, mouth watering gotta have it right now and every day...i don't think i really do right now. maybe i've just become THAT good at cookin'.

Books

i love books. i have been reading alot lately, if you've noticed the column to the left over there showing what's beside my bed. this week i read four books.

you could wonder how the heck i read four books with all my stay-at-home responsibilities but its really because these books weren't the best. superman would probably say he could tell i was reading cuz there was alot of clean laundry laying around needing folded but i think that's pretty much the norm for me.

i am dying to say some stuff about what i read and that is why i am skipping my #10. i'll do it soon though i promise. i really need to get my feelings about these books off my chest.

the first book i read was "A Nest of Sparrows" by Deborah Raney. this was probably the best book i read in terms of the story and plot. it was a book that my library considers an "inspirational" read...their definition of christian or clean reads. it was just that. a christian novel about a guy whose fiancee dies and he trys to adopt her three kids, who he has helped raised for three years. he fights the abusive biological father for custody when the father decides he wants his kids back for the insurance money he will inherit with them. it was uplifting and entertaining; an easy read that i thought was plausible. the characters' grief was real and it had a happy ending. not one i'd put on my exceptional list but i would recommend it if you just need something nice to read to take your mind of whatever.

the next book i delved into is "Haunting Olivia" by Janelle Taylor. this book was retarded. it read like one of those Lifetime movies or ABC Family Dramas. the title for me is completely misleading. though the idea of this story is interesting enough, there is no depth to the characters. for the most part, the characters are shallow and vindictive. the "heroic" ones are plain cheesy. this book ended up being about "mean girl" drama and small town judgementalism. i hated it. plus, about 90 pages in, the author decides to insert a disgusting and completely inappropiate example of a love scene (don't worry i skipped over it) but i had to skip over three more of them, which ruins this book for teens. if it weren't for the R-rated love scenes, this would make an entertaining YA read though not quality. just entertaining. but like i said, the love scenes were gross. i am judging by a word or two i saw, ok? take my word for it. do not waste your time reading this.

the third book i tackled was Richard F. Wright's new book "The Cross Gardener". i found some things in this book completely unrealistic. the way the women suddenly go into labor and give birth in an hour on the roadside seems completely absurd. even if an accident caused a placental abruption which could trigger quick and rapid labor, i still do not think these characters would have had time to give birth on the side of the road before getting loaded into ambulances.

this author has no clue how to demonstrate true pain (as with the prego ladies...they would have been in excruciating pain if this really was placenta abruptio) or true grief. he basically portrays the grieving husband as a zombie who never crys, never is angry, does not express his guilt, and though the author touches on the guilt and pain the kid is feeling, he could have gone into so much more detail and shown more how the dad and kid cope together with their grief by having more dialogue. though the kid goes mute, there isn't much if any attempt on the father's part to understand her grief. maybe that was the author's point...to show how some people get so selfishly absorbed in their own grief that they don't see anyone else's. except this character's grief was too "numb" for me. i guess i like more drama.

another tidbit but i have to be careful here. a huge part of this book was about the mysterious "cross gardener", this young man who tends all the crosses around those parts. he makes sure the weeds are pulled and the paint is touched up. he and the main character develop a relationship that is meant to help the main guy heal but in the end it reveals who the cross gardener is and it totally ruined the book for me. it was so far fetched...it made me wonder if the main character was crazy or...why did he create this character?....was it a figment of the dad's imagination?...did his grief drive him to make up the cross gardener? it was weird and confusing and i did not appreciate it.

and something i have to say about Richard F. Wright's acknowledgements to his children. he says, "Also to my children: Oakli, Jadi, Kason, and Koleson for keeping Mom sane while I travel."
Huh? keeping mom sane? seriously, buddy, i guarantee your wife was not at home sane with four children while you were on the road for weeks at a time doing book signings. if she was, then kudos to her for being a perfect, little wonderwoman housewife. i have a feeling this guy doesn't have a clue, not even a close iota to what kind of sacrifices his wife has made for him and their children. this just riles me up, cancha tell? i thought that was presumptuous of him to say but i will also acknowledge this comment is presumtuous and judgemental...i just thought how ignorant of him. ok i'll stop now. like i said, i had some things to get off my chest.

if you are intrigued, then give it whirl but don't say i didn't warn that you might be disappointed.

still one more book to go here. it is "The Red Garden" by Alice Hoffman. this book is pretty well reviewed on Amazon.com. it is exactly what people have said about it, reads like a compilation of short stories. each story tells of a character or two or three and their experiences with this town, Blackwell. Why it is called "The Red Garden"...i'm not sure. there is a garden with red soil that can only grow "red" plants and plants that produce red stuff (tomatoes, radishes, watermelons, ect.). the garden isn't in every story though. the jacket cover says the town centers around this garden but i found that the town centered more around its history of bears and apple trees not to mention the founding families. most the characters experience tradgedy or loss and as a result some people have rated this book as being depressing.

while i enjoyed each story, it did make the ending awkward for me because there was no real plot, climax, or anti-climax to this book. there is some love-making in this book but i didn't find it disgusting, gross, and inappropiate like in "Haunting Olivia". if you don't like any sort of lovin' (if you are a very particulary prude reader) this is my warning. maybe a better way to put this is i didn't find the lovin' to be pornagraphic in nature. "Haunting Olivia" was definately pornagraphic.

what i enjoyed most about this book is alice hoffman's talent as a writer. this especially stood out after those other three books. her prose is wonderful to read and i liked the fantasy feel of the stories. the book was very imaginative and enjoyable to me. i would probably catalog this book as a fantasy or a folklorish type of book. i would recommend this for the quality of writing alone.

that feels better.
the end. happy reading.

Day 9 aka I'm Not Feelin' Very Creative Today

#9. a photo of the last item i bought.

i did not buy ONE particular item because the last stuff i bought was groceries. i tryed to remember what the very last thing on the conveyor was but i cannot remember. maybe its because it was 11pm or perhaps i simply gave all my braincells to my runts. they are seeming extra smart these days. i bet a store called "Brain Cell, Ect" could make bookoos bucks.

the moment everyone is waiting for: TADA! a photo of someone else's groceries. mine are already put away besides being half consumed by the bottomless bellies that roam our halls. please accept my apologies for not digging them out of the cupboard to get a nice pic. at the time, it did not cross my mind that i might need a picture of my groceries. perhaps this relates to my brain cells again. personally, i find it fascinating that someone else had the prescence of mind to take their "grocery" picture.

a humungous THANK YOU to the kind person who posted this on photobucket and let me borrow it. you have saved me time in your course of documenting every second of your day. oh thank you internet! for making pictures like this available to me; for providing a forum in which someone JUST LIKE ME, who BUYS WHAT I BUY, can take a random picture of some random event and then share it with me across the digital realm. how coincidental that what she/he bought, i bought... minus the bottled water and substitute raison bran with berry kix. see the yellow squash in that bag to the left? i bought yellow squash! *gasp* and that dr. pepper? i bought that too except ours was the decaffenated version. my wal-mart bags had blue ink but who cares? the crazy thing is the maple floor looks just like mine! this is my shopping spree in proxy!

9 down, 21 to go. happy blogging!

p.s. i get that the photo is very large; its the only way the squash was visible.

A Soothing Sunday Post

#8. A Song to Match My Mood

Remember this song from "Cars" the disney movie? Lightning McQueen is riding in mack, fixin' to take his evening slumber while on the way to a big race. at least that's where i got this song. i'm sure its been around awhile before "Cars".

This is my song of the moment. it's a sunday afternoon, sunny and cozy warm in my bedroom. there's a brand new pile of books i picked up from the library yesterday sitting beside my high, soft mattress; they're calling out to me, beckoning me with their soon-to-be discovered stories. i've swarn the runts off for an hour so that i can get some quiet time.

here's to happy sunday snoozes.

P.S. i think the sound of that saxophone is great.
P.P.S. the slide show is pretty too.

Finally A Moment...

anyone missed me? huh? what's that i hear? a little? k' well here is the return of the 30-day blogging challenge that i have inexplicably taken a week off from doing. i think i may be agreeing with my friend on the content of these questions because this one is "Your Dream Wedding".

is this the dream wedding that already happened or the dream wedding i wish i had? i have pondering this for a week. i am not any closer to knowing the answer...besides, i really was busy.

these questions are so vague and non-specific. perhaps that should be the beauty of this challenge; i can make what i want of it.

#7. My Dream Wedding (and Reception) that Already Happened (and Superman's that didn't)

i think this picture is pretty self-explanatory. i met a man whom i found had many of the numerous qualities i was looking for, one of which included being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. but he also needed to be able to enter into a temple marriage ceremony with me. i set a goal when i was a kid that i would be married in the temple. marriage in the LDS temple differs from a civil ceremony in that the marriage is for "time and all eternity" rather than "until death do you part". i am proud to say that i accomplished my goal and childhood dream and my life has been blessed for it.

even though superman and i really wanted to be sealed (that's what temple marriage is referred to as "sealing" or a "sealing ceremony") in the st. george, utah temple because both of our parents were sealed in st. george, due to travel expenses for the family we decided to marry in oklahoma city.

when we became engaged, my parents told me write down everything you think you want and we will see what we can do. my list went something like this:

reception NOT in the gym at the church
a professional photographer
a reception venue with stairs
a ring exchange at the reception
reception on the night before our wedding day (unconventional i know but this way we wouldn't be traveling all day since our reception was in tulsa and i didn't want to come back to a reception after our honeymoon...just seemed weird and stressful to me...)
ceremony in st. george, utah

as you can see the reception was very important to me with the photographer coming in a close second. i shopped around long and hard for a photographer who still was using film because when i got married the digital age was just beginning and to get really professional-looking digital pictures was VERY expensive. i think most photographers going over to digital just hadn't figured out photoshop quite well enough and the pictures looked like something my dad could do. i wanted pictures that looked like i hired a photographer.

bored yet? *yawn*

i think i included getting a limo on my wish list too, but that didn't happen. we held the reception at this gorgeous historical home in an older, richer part of tulsa. the home is called the Harweldon House (check out the beauty of this place in the photo gallery). i first went to tour this place as a girlscout, fell in love with its charm and beauty, and then made it a dream for my wedding reception. there i am, down there, on the night of my reception at the Harweldon House. and like always, this photo has a story that could be a whole 'nother post...

if i changed anything, i wish i would have cut the cake last. we cut the cake right after our ring exchange and unity candle ceremony and so all the guests went and got their food while we did our first dance. then, most the guests just left. i wish i would have stood in a receiving line while people were getting their food so that i could have spent time visiting with our guests and thanking them for coming then we could have had our dance and cut the cake. by 8:30 or so everyone had left and our big wedding "party" puttered out. we had the venue booked until 11 or so. with the extra time, we sat and opened our gifts with our families, which was special.

superman's idea of a dream wedding (reception) was completely different than mine. he wanted to have a BBQ at his folks house. looking back, i think we could have done it really nice with a tent and it could have been a kind of casual country affair possibly better suited for the majority of our guests. i admit it now...i was a bridezilla...i should have been more considerate of my groom. he and his family were really good sports and i really appreciate their support.

the bottom line is we have a temple marriage which, to us, means the world.

my gosh this is boring. *yawn* stay tuned for #8...something about music.

Now, A Word From Our Sponsor

just checkin' in here. believe it or not, i am not trying to avoid posting. i am aware that i need to get back to my blog challenge but i have been too busy the last few days to really focus on my dream wedding. so, we will return to our regular programming shortly.

Let Me Get On With It

Today is Day 7 of the blogging challenge however because i skipped yesterday i'm on #6. i have been procrastinating doing this post because, honestly, this question completely overwhelms me. just the word "pet" sets my head spinning but include in the same sentence "love" and "keep" and my mind is running a cazillion miles a minute which increases my heart rate, brakes me out into a cold sweat, and almost sends me to bed with an anxiety attack. read on and perhaps you will get the idea.

#6. A Photo of An Animal You Love to Keep As a Pet.

what is this asking anyways? is this asking for a photo of a current pet? or this asking for a photo of a dream pet? i have developed quite a love/hate relationship with pets in the past 5 years or so. mainly because of these...

yes i know. they are super cute and fun and a joy and blessing and my little miracles but they are WORK. these critters require everything a pet requires; to be fed, sheltered, showed affection, and kept updated on their vaccinations. by the time i'm done caring for these gals and a dude, i'm out. i don't feel like i've got leftovers to spend on a "pet". so we don't have any right now.

of course, we recently moved so there is this. yes, it is really ours...pretty, eh?

we have plans for this, which i will refer to as the "back 5" which is really probably closer to 7. let me specify...acres. it just sounds better to say the back 5 or the front 5. there's about 10.5 all together and part of the front 5 has been designated for the garden. most of "OUR" plans are really SUPERMAN's plans. his big dream is to get one of these... sometime i'll show ya' how superman looked AFTER he held this guy...

he would also like some of these...




and maybe these...

We've briefly discussed this:

i'm not sure if he's keen on it though.

can you hear me moaning with excitment yet?

this is the ironic part. people who grew up with me may tell you its seems crazy that i'm anti-pet now. thats because my whole life from the time i was 12 to 21 basically revolved around animals and my love for them. but honestly, now, i can't remember Why.The Heck. i liked 'em so much.

back then, i showed sheep with the FFA...i think the most sheep i had at one time was 20 or so, after the lambing.

i obsessively, compulsively, would NOT give up on getting a job as a veterinary assistant. i was determined that i would be a veterinarian.

i lived and worked on a government operated sheep ranch for two springs and a summer. its amazing that i didn't morph into a sheep, i loved 'em that much. actually, i'd like to think i was a pretty darn good shepherd (there's a difference between a sheep herder and a shepherd). i was literally a sheep midwife, having delivered somewhere in the range of three to four hundred lambs.

so what? my priorities changed. i decided to go on a proselyting mission for the church i am devoted to instead of pursue vet school. can you believe i was assigned to Australia, one of the world's top producers of lamb meat and wool. when i go home a year and half later, though i didn't change my declared major, i did change the emphasis of my major from vet tech to food industry (primarily studies in human foods) in order to marry superman. within 18 months, i became a mother. my prioritys have became serving God and my family.

now, i am feeling compelled to say that our "pet history" has not been great; perhaps interesting though.

our first pet as a married couple was a coati mundi a.k.a south american racoon. yep, his name was taz, short for tazmanian devil, cuz he acted like one. we kept him for about a year until he decided to jump on Q.'s head one day and superman thought maybe it'd be safer to sale him. yes, superman has a fascination with exotic primates. this is one of those things i found out AFTER the honeymoon...i think? maybe not...heck i don't remember.

That is THE TAZ. the actual one. in our smalltown backyard tree. this is NOT A JOKE! Our first venture into pet owner's territory was a testosteronal, hyped-up exotic animal who was neurotically attached to superman. remind me to write about him sometime. he's got a great story.

Next, we dabbled in fish for a bit...that was neat until superman discovered the not-so-joys of cleaning the tank every month. when Q. decided to clean the tank herself by pouring a bottle of cleaner in, it almost killed the algae eaters. i mean, one was dead and somehow superman revived him. guess he got him outta' there in the nick of time. thankfully, some nice people at church had a need for the algae eaters in their own big, empty tank. the other fish had gotten sick and died of who knows what.

then superman brought home thomas, named for thomas the train (Q. was obsessed at the time). turns out thomas used up all his 9 lives within a year (no kidding that cat was into all kinds of trouble) cuz one day he turned up shot and very dead. needless to say, that was sad for the kids. ('cept i don't recall audi crying at all). Q. still had dreams about thomas long after he was gone.


our last walk into pet-hood was with me-me, a crazy jack russel mutt puppy the runts and superman begged, cajoled, and finally caved me into accepting when i was hugely pregnant with sunny. the proof about how much we DISLIKED her is in the fact that i have not one picture of that maniac dog. shortly after we moved to the missouri countryside, superman decided he'd had enough of her dragging in the neighbors' belongings and shredding dirty diapers all over the front 5, that he, well let me just say, she doesn't live with us anymore...NO! he did NOT shoot her...she's just...gone. all kinds of stuff can happen to a dog in the country. just ask the neighbors.

i have one runt in love with these. we were so happy when gramma decided to give hers to someone else (p.s. this is not the one gramma had):




we've already been promised one of these (he's actually probably needing to be picked up anyday now):

AND finally last but not least, our most interesting, upcoming new pet project will be this (once again, this is no joke*cringe and a hard swallow*):

THIS, my friends, is a story for another day. just one more to add onto the growing list that i will have to do once this 30 day thing is over. maybe i should just stick with this? do you think i can get away with it?

More of Me Yippee!

#5. A Photo of Myself 2 years Ago

oh Yes am i excited about this one! Not the best photo that's out there of me but that might have something to do with my "condition" (insert sarcasm). two years ago i was around 30 weeks pregnant with my #4, sunny. good grief i was large. and i look really happy about this photoshoot too...completely superman's idea *rolling my eyes*, of course i am grateful now because i don't think i have many pictures of myself recently, let alone two years ago AND definately not when i was in this "condition" with sunny. you know when you have your first kid, you take thousands of pictures to document every little thing about your pregnancy and then of the baby and all the cute faces and stuff it does but by the time you get to #4. well, you've given away so many brain cells to the other ones that you're either too dang tired, forgetful, or lazy... more than likely a combination of all three. the end

My #1 Gal Pal

#4. My Favorite Photo of My Best Friend

"it's been said that everlasting friends can go long periods of time without speaking and never question the friendship. these types of friends pick up like they just spoke yesterday, regardless of how long its been, or how far away they live, and they don't hold grudges. They understand that life is busy...but you will ALWAYS love them." anonymous

this gal has been in my life for almost 20 years. she has been there for me no matter what or when or how. she loves me for me and knows me straight through. she is the sister i never had. this picture shows how beautiful her outsides are, but her insides are even better. love ya' girl!

Day 3 of the Challenge

My Idea of A Perfect First Date

my thought is that i've been married for almost a decade so i gave up first dates A.whiiiiile ago and my next thought was to try to remember all the "first dates" i've been on in my short life and decide if any of them were my idea of perfect for a first date. my very first date ever definately missed the mark (though my friends had good intentions) and after that the "firsts" all seem alright. i think what this comes down to is whether you like who you're on the date with and THAT is what makes it perfect.

Mrs. Foodie?

Today I will be discussing food and my relationship with it. Actually, i'm just being cheesy...#2 is Something I Ate Today. There it is. Down there. Chex Muddy Buddies. I decided i was going to make these on my last grocery trip because i had a swagbucks coupon I could spend on Chex cereal. i saw the recipe on the side and thought this would make a great afterschool snack. I made this batch up and took it to a pot-luck lunch surprise 5oth birthday party for a friend. And mates! did it go over well! If you like chocolate and peanut butter and have a sweet tooth in general, then this will be your love handle's best friend.

To Get Back Into the Habit

The other day i was talking to my friend Alida and i told her i needed to start blogging again. She had done a 30-day challenge and i thought this might be a good way to help me get back into the swing of things. i used to love to write and i thought, egotistically speaking, that some of my stuff was kinda' funny. Over the past year or so I feel like i've lost touch with that side of me and am hoping to test it out again. I am going to say upfront this is going to be cheesy (i think Alida used the word LAME-O), 80% self-centered, and if everything goes well, hopefully habit forming.

K; #1. A Photo of Myself and How My Day Went

Alright there I am, up there...this is a really recent picture. Now about my day.

there's a short version, a short version with highlights, and the loooonnnggg version. one, two, three eeny miny moe and the short version with highlights is the winner.

there's the average daily stuff, like taking two hours to really get out of bed, feed the runts, clean up poo, mop up food, and run late getting to where i need to go. later, it was cook some dinner that didn't sound appetizing then overcooking (even less appetizing...actually it was better than expected), make the pile of clean laundry bigger, listen to the runts fight in the bath, and ask them fifty times to get in bed.

next, is the extra-ordinary, above average not-so-daily stuff such as, superman asked me on a lunch date! we went to this place called Sweet Greens, a small town version of SouperSalad, small town inflated prices included, then he suggested we go take a walk at the park. Afterall, it was too gorgeous outside to be inside soooo...romantic, right? plus, while the dinner was overcooking, the runts were outside, barefoot, picking weeds and piling them on my front porch because they wanted to make me a bouquet (okay i made up that last bit about the bouquet).

then there's the out-of-this-world-i-can't-believe-it-finally-happened stuff like my #1, Q., biting into a homemade pretzel and crack! oh no she's screamin' like a baby with her head tilted back "Well don't swallow it! Spit it out! Spit it ALL out!" then her seeing the blood and "I'M BLEEEEEDIIIINGGG!" at about 100 decibils higher than she was screamin' a second ago. is my #1 really this old?

Bottom Line: My day was above average for exciting, below average on stress, and pretty much fine by me.