A lot of little things

I don't really have one thing to post about today, mainly lots and lots of little things that wouldn't make an entire blog post:

(1) Liliana, Ms. 16 month old baby, has started telling me when she poops.  And if I say pee pee, she holds her ... well that area.  Yep, I'm in shock that she's doing this.  This weekend, we're going to buy a potty seat.  This is about 10 months earlier than I expected to be tackling this.  I'm not usually the Mom that says "stop growing" but in this case, I wasn't prepared!  I wanted to read up on this and how we're supposed to tackle it.  Suppose we'll just be winging it ... unless people have advice on potty training kids earlier than usual?

(2) Sherman, the new pup, is doing really great.  He is a totally different personality than our other dog Linda.  It's funny how they always say each child is different, but I'm starting to see that even in our dogs!  Linda was much more refined and quite frankly, bitchy.  Sherman is more destructive (although he hasn't done anything bad yet ... he just likes to nibble on feet a LOT!) and yet more sweet natured.  He's at that adorable puppy stage where running looks more like leaping.

(3) Evan finishes the worst two months of his entire residency career tomorrow.  I am so freaking excited.  To celebrate we're getting a babysitter on Saturday night and going to a new restaurant in town that always has long waits.  It's a very casual place but they have waffle fries like chick Fil-A, but they're sweet potato.  Look, don't you want a bite?

(4) One REALLY  bad part of our week?  We found out our air conditioner is having MAJOR problems.  Like, $1,000 bill problems.  And that's WITH a home warranty ... the original bill is $6,000.  SO, our trip home to San Antonio for Thanksgiving is kinda not happening now.  My car got a brand new transmission in August ($2,500 bill) so these two HUGE expenses make the trip home impossible. We're really upset about it all, but that's what happens when you're both not making big paychecks.

(5) I made this chilly on Sunday night.  It was DIVINE and probably the easiest chili recipe I've ever made.  Highly recommend.  Link found HERE.  PS It makes A TON ... we're eating two dinners with it this week and had two more batches that went in to the freezer for future consumption.

(6) So I have no idea where my daughter got this from, but she's an artistic little girl!  At daycare, they say she refuses to give people her crayons because she goes to TOWN on them.  She covers the entire page in her scribbles.  And she's even trying to mimic me when I draw shapes.  Neither Evan nor I are artistic but my Mom is.  It must be from her.  Anyway, I want to get her this for Christmas.  I have a feeling she would never want to let it go!

Have a good weekend! YES, I know it's Thursday, but I like thinking ahead.

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard: Book Review

I haven't done book reviews in a long time and I met my New Years Resolution goal ... I've read 11 books!  Since I last did a review, I've read Baby Proof, Sex and the City, Carrie Diaries, Summer and the City, Freedom, AND most recently, A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard.

One of these days, I MIGHT get around to reviewing the other books.  I DO want to add... Summer and the City was my overall favorite book out of the above mentioned list.  It was cute, whimsical, simple, and yet thought provoking.  Really enjoyable.

Right after I read that book, I jumped into A Stolen Life.

I'm sure you all know the story of Jaycee Dugard.  She was kidnapped at the age of 11 and held in captivity for 19 years.  It's VERY difficult to give this a review because it's the story of her LIFE and so what if I wanted to read less of one area and more of another?  This was HER choice and nobody can say what she should have or should not have written.  I will try to be as neutral as possible while most importantly stating that this woman is one of the most remarkable women I have ever heard of.

A Stolen Life

By: Jaycee Dugard

Grade: I don't feel right grading this book...she flat out gets an A+ for bravery.

How Long did it Take to Read: I read this book in about a week.  It actually isn't THAT short but I just could NOT put it down!  I wanted to read how she prevailed through everything that he put her through.  I wanted to try to understand what she had been through.  Again, she was remarkable. 

why I Read it:  This is a good question ... it's difficult to WANT to read about how she was sexually abused for 24 hours STRAIGHT sometimes.  It's difficult to WANT to read about how she was tied up for DAYS and had to pee in to a bucket that usually was full of feces.  But honestly what I wanted to read about?  Her role as a mother.  I wanted to see how she made it.  How did she know to teach her children math, social studies, science, and english?  She had a FIFTH grade education!  I wanted to read about the legal process and how 60 parole visitors did not catch her.  That was a BIG part of it too ... the lawyer and the educator in me wanted to read those things.

Plot: Jaycee starts the book off by writing about her life BEFORE the kidnapping.  She mentions things that SEEMED like a big deal BEFORE it happened. How trivial things would seem afterwards huh?  After that, she goes through her 19 years of captivity.  There are quite a few journal entries from her stay there.  The MAIN thing she focuses on?  What really helped her through these years?  Her pets!  She loves kittens and although the Garrido's purposefully kept killing the animals that Jaycee adored, she would get so attached to them...probably because these animals were the only true companions she had for 19 years.

At the end:  At the end of the book, I finished it feeling angry with the world.  Angry that for some reason we decide the Garrido's should still be alive.  We let men like this go out on the streets and do NOTHING about truly checking up on them.  I finished this book furious with the legal system.  Furious that nobody caught this girl until she had lost so much of her life.  Garrido had to wear an ankle monitor for YEARS during her captivity.  The monitor shows that he went into the "secret" backyard where Jaycee was multiple times a day ... yet out of the 60 parole visits, they NEVER went to check in the backyard.  It's purely disgusting.  So yes, that's the way I felt.  I was angry and SO upset for this girl and her 2 daughters.  By the way... Jaycee?  She specifically says she doesn't hate him.  She is, like I've said multiple times, remarkable.  She doesn't waste her time with those kinds of feelings because she says that would waste time.  I could learn things from Jaycee.  I think everyone could. 

Why no grade:  Jaycee wrote what SHE wanted to write.  Who am I to say that she should have written about how much of an ass this guy was?  She didn't write much about the education lessons that she taught to her daughters, but that's probably because to her that was motherly instinct and nothing interesting to write about (obviously, I disagree.  She's fascinatingly intelligent to have had the instinct to look up lessons for her girls until they reached the age of 15).  She barely talked about the parole officers reckless disregard for their duty.  But like I said, she said it's a waste of time to focus on what "could have been."  Therefore, I can simply say this ... i am GLAD I read it.  I am GLAD there is someone as strong as her out there talking about what happened.  Good for her.  Truly inspiring.

Home Sick AND Books 4 & 5

Since the middle of March, I've had this sore throat.  Towards the end of march, I completely and utterly lost my voice.  With time, I thought the runny nose and sore throat and cough would go away.  But last night, I coughed a MINIMAL of every 30 seconds until 3 a.m.  So naturally, when the alarm rang this morning at 6:30, there was no way I was equipped to head to work.  I am so incredibly sick of coughing up mucus (gross I know, sorry).

Through all of these nasty boogie Kleenex's I started reading a book ... after all, I need to complete 10 books as part of my New Years Resolution.

Have you seen the preview for this movie?

Something Borrowed is based on a book by Emily Giffin and I HAD to read it when I heard what the plot was about ... SO, I read it, and didn't really put it down.

Something Borrowed

By: Emily Giffin

Grade: B ++

How Long Did it Take To Read: About 4 days.  Hee hee.  It's a QUICK read.  AND, it's pretty addicting.

Why I Read It: I saw the preview and was wondering how the heck she would write this book ... 

First Thoughts: From page 30, I was hooked.  The entire time you read the book you think to yourself, "where the hell is this going?  Am I supposed to like the main character?  I kinda hate her ... is this normal?"

Plot: Darcy is engaged to Dex.  Darcy's BFF (Rachel) starts having an affair with Dex.  The rest of the book explores how Rachel feels semi-bad about the affair, yet keeps sleeping and having a relationship with Dex.  By the end of the book, you wonder if the wedding is going to be called off, if Rachel and Dex are going to end up together, if you want them to end up together, and who really is the big jerk in the equation.

At the end: With about 30 pages left in the book I had the "oh shit" moment.  I DEFINITELY didn't see the end coming.  I thought I had figured it all out and was so very wrong.  At the end though, I realized that nobody is perfect and there isn't ONE jerk in any story.  Everybody messes up ... I couldn't stop thinking that even if so, some mistakes are just unforgivable.  I think cheating is atrocious and especially if you're doing it with a friend.  Can't get over it.

Why a B ++: Honestly, I would give this book an A but feel really silly doing that.  This book isn't a masterpiece and isn't super intelligent by ANY stretch of the imagination.  But, it's entertaining as hell.  It's like Sex and the City in a book.  If you want a fun and quick read, READ THIS.  AND, don't make the same mistake I made ... order the next few ones too.  You'll want to jump right in.

Something Blue

 By: Emily Giffin

Grade: C+

How Long Did it Take to Read: 3 days! I went through this one quickly as well. 

Why I Read it:  I HAD to know how the story continued.  The first book ends without too many things resolved.  I was hoping the second installment would finish with a more conclusive ending, and it did.

First Thoughts: The books are each narrated by a different character and I thought that was a brilliant idea.  It starts with Darcy (the best friend that found out her friend was cheating with her fiance) narrating how her life was continuing when the first book ended.  It hooked me pretty quickly.  Since it was written by a different character, the writing style was completely different.

Plot: I can't say TOO much about the plot because it would give away what happened in Something Borrowed.  But, the book is mainly describing how Darcy handles losing her fiance.  She travels to London to live with a friend so that she could get away and try to figure things out.  While in London she tries to discover herself and get her life in order.

At the end:  There was no big twist in this one.  I saw the end coming about 200 pages earlier than it did.  It ends all happy go lucky.  And in my opinion, it was pretty unrealistic.  But I suppose that's to be expected.

Why a C +: I didn't grade this as high as I did the last book because I wasn't nearly as hooked.  It just seemed like a rather cheap continuation of the first one.  

Conclusion: Like I said above, I knew the ending WELL before the "twist" happened.  But that wasn't really the point of this one.  The point of this book was more of a "discovering yourself" theme and in that sense, it was done well.  Also, let it be known that the THIRD installment is already in the mail!! ; )

Books #2 and #3: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo AND The Confession

I am well on my way towards successfully completing one of my New Years resolutions!  In case you don't recall, I wanted to read a minimum of 10 books this year.  I reviewed The Lincoln Lawyer  a few weeks ago and wanted to review the last two I've read.  The reviews will be a little shorter because, quite frankly I have a CRAP TON of stuff to do.  However, I mainly do these book reviews so that I hold MYSELF accountable to making sure this resolution is a success.

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

By: Stieg Larsson  

Grade: A -

How Long Did it Take to Read: Approximately 3 weeks and I have to admit I read it at a pretty vigorous pace.  This is one of those books that you "can't put down."  I read a lot and often.  I would say if you're a slower reader (because I do read rather quickly) and if you don't have much time to read, it could easily take a month to finish.

Why I Read It: I've had MULTIPLE people recommend the book to me.  It has been on the top sellers for over a year now.  So when a friend let me borrow hers, I had to say yes.

First Thoughts: This book isn't a super easy read.  All the names of the characters are LONG and not familiar.  Therefore, I spent a lot of time going "who the heck is this guy again?"

Plot: This book is about a journalist who just lost a big lawsuit for libel.  In order to get away, and make some huge amounts of money, he takes on a dangerous assignment to find out who murdered a rich man's granddaughter.  This turns in to a really great mystery.

At the end: The main twist of the book takes place about 50 pages before the end.  The twist isn't something I didn't foresee, but there are still quite a few twists THROUGHOUT the book that make you want to keep turning.  It's kind of like the show 24 ... but in writing!

Why an A-: I originally didn't like this book too much after I finished.  But now that I read a couple other books after this one, I had to bump up the grade.  The writing is actually really great and I don't think this author INTENDED for his book to become a movie (a pet peeve of mine).  The plot is complicated and rich.  I didn't give it an A for ONE reason.  The main two characters end up sleeping together.  I SO wish they wouldn't have done this.  The two main characters are polar opposites that range 30 years in age.  I wish they would have had the relationship remain platonic and almost like a father daughter relationship.  I find it endearing and admirable when an author can catch my attention without sex being involved.

Conclusion: This really is a darn good book.  The characters, for the most part, are well developed.  The story line is VERY detailed and although the story is a little dark in nature, you feel accomplished after finishing the book.  I would HIGHLY recommend that people read it.  This is a 3 part series and I've heard (from my Mommy) that the second one is her favorite. I might just have to read it some time this year.

The Confession

By: John Grisham

Grade: C

How Long did it Take to Read: About 2 1/2 weeks.  It's a VERY quick read.  I read it when I had 15 minutes to spare here and there.  I didn't ever really take a prolonged period of time to get through it.  It's a good one to skim through too.

Why I Read It: I've read practically every single John Grisham book out there.  He has impressed me before and has let me down as well, but when my Mom put this in my stocking for Christmas, I had to give it a try.

First Thoughts: The beginning was actually pretty fabulous.  It started off really making you think: "oooh, I wonder what's going to happen! I wonder if the guy in jail is actually guilty?  What's going to be the twist?!?!"

Plot:  This book is about a man, Donte Drumm who is on death row.  He has claimed his innocence throughout his 9 years in prison and his attorney, Robbie Flak believes his innocence probably more than anybody else in the world.  The day before the execution, Travis Boyette appears in a church and confesses to a minister that he was in fact the real killer.  The question is, will this come out in time to save Donte's life?

At the end: I was thoroughly disappointed.  The first 300 pages of the book were B+ quality.  Then, the BIG question (whether Donte's life will be saved) is revealed and the book DRAGS on for another 120 pages.  Nothing was accomplished.  I kept waiting, hoping, and praying for a big twist to make me say "AH this was the big moment" but it never came.  There was no big "woah, didn't see that coming!" moment.  The only moment that was semi like that didn't affect the story in the slightest.  It was very anticlimatic.

Why A C: Look above. The first 300 pages at least made it pass, but the last 120 were such a bummer.

Conclusion: If you haven't read a John Grisham book before, don't read this one.  Read the Pelican Brief, The Jury, or A Time To Kill.  Those books are fabulous.  I'm not sure that John Grisham really had a PURPOSE for writing this book.  He perhaps had a political agenda (against the death penalty) but it didn't make for a STORY. If he wanted to make a documentary or write an article, I would have respected that.  But just telling me what might happen without keeping me entertained for 120 pages?  Please. My time is too valuable Mr. Grisham.

Book #1: The Lincoln Lawyer

Approximately 2 weeks ago, I blogged about my three New Years Resolutions.  I'm doing remarkably well with two of them: I've been cooking and baking up a storm and have been reading pretty consistently. Admittedly, I have done a pretty horrbile job on my third resolution, but if you guys only knew the kind of anticipation I have building up for a Monday not too far from now you'd understand why I'm a worry wart as of late.

Anyway, as promised, I am going to do a little book review for every book I read.  I also promised to post some of the recipes I've made and those posts are coming ... PROMISE.

Want your mouth to salivate a little in anticipation though?

Cornmeal cheddar waffles with chicken a la king on top.  DELICIOUS. 

Even my husband said he was full because he ate so much of it.  You guys don't technically KNOW Evan, but the fact that he said he was full is beyond amazing.  I think it's the first time he's said it in the nearly 9 years that we've been together.

On to my first book review of the year:

Book Review: the Lincoln Lawyer

Grade: B

How Long Did it Take to Read: I read the Lincoln Lawyer over a span of about two weeks.  It's a relatively quick read and could easily be done in a long weekend if you had the time.

Why I Read It: I wanted to read this book for a few reasons: (1) they're making a movie about it (starring Matthew McConaughey) that will be released on March 18th.  I wanted to read it before seeing the movie.  That way I could be the typical movie goer and say "the book is SO much better."  (2) I'm obviously a sucker for lawyer books.  I always have been. It's part of the reason I wanted to go to law school.  They were always my favorite books to read. (3) I've had the book for YEARS and never read it.  It was time.

First Thoughts: The book starts off pretty typical for lawyer books: theatrical.  This is probably my biggest complaint about it.  I almost feel as though Connelly wrote it with the INTENTION of it being a movie a few years later.  I read it and think to myself "Goodness, I hope others that read this don't think all lawyers are like this."

Plot: The plot of the book is as follows: An Attorney, Mickey Haller, is notorious for being the son of a very famous attorney that passed when Mickey was young.  Mickey tries to be the great attorney in his father's footsteps, however, he usually goes about this in the most unusual of ways by defending drug dealers and gangsters.  In fact, he drives in a Lincoln because it was a fee payment from one of his clients (get the title now?).  The main client in the book however is a very wealthy real estate guru who is wanted for rape and attempted murder.  Pretty quickly in the book (so NO this isn't a spoiler alert) you realize that this rich real estate guru is in fact a pretty messed up man who isn't innocent in the slightest.  In fact, Mickey starts realizing that his client probably was related to past murders he had dealt with.  The main dilemma and plot of the book question how Mickey will handle it all.  Will he still get his client off even though he knows of his guilt?  How will he ensure that his family is safe?  etc.

At the End: The last ten or so pages of the book are the ones that have you go "oh shit."  There's a little twist that while not completely shocking at least left you saying "huh, shoulda seen that one coming!"  I really did enjoy the book.  I recommend it to someone that wants a legal thriller.  Once I was about 200 pages in, I didn't really put it down until I finished.

Why a B: I didn't give it an A grade because it was simply good, not great.  It certainly wasn't life altering.  I just thought it was an enjoyable read.  The main reason I went as high as a B?  The romance component of the book is endearing.  Mickey has been married twice and one of his ex-wives obviously holds the key to his heart.  The book focuses quite a lot on their relationship and leaves the conclusion of this relationship  unfinished, but in an uplifting way.  I hope they don't leave that out of the movie.  Even though the romance wasn't nearly the most important part, I thought that part of the story contained the most creative writing in the entire book.

Conclusion: Give the Lincoln Lawyer a read when you have a lazy weekend.  I promise you'll be glad you read it.  You won't say to yourself "GOOD GOLLY I'm glad I read that book,"  but you'll definitely say "now that was a fine way to spend a weekend."