Book Review: Rebecca

Well, not so much a book review as a gut reaction (cause I'm really not that good at reviewing books--am especially not good at giving a synopsis).

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

Loved it. Admittedly the first half of the book is rather slow, but it picks up. In fact I read the last 150 pages in 1 sitting (not a good idea really when that sitting lasted until 2:30 AM the night before having to get up for 9 am church where I would be teaching a group of 14 year old girls about the importance of time management--you know stuff like get an appropriate night's sleep so that you can function and be productive the next day). The main character (the 2nd Mrs. de Winter) is incredibly spineless (I continually felt like slapping her) but is still the one you are rooting for throughout. The setting is fantastic--absolutely made me want to start dressing for dinner--the 1920s or so, I believe, and in England. And the twists and turns will absolutely keep you moving on to the next chapter.

The best part: it was creepy. Deliciously and wonderfully creepy. Not in the way I thought--rather subtly in fact--but it gave me chills and made me pause a moment before turning out my light (not really that difficult to do, though, since my 3 great fears are heights, speaking in public, and the dark).

I give it 4 out of 5 stars but also list it as one of my favorites over at GoodReads.

What I'm reading now: How to Buy a Love of Reading by Tanya Egan Gibson.

More Halloween

Just in case you're interest, here's a video montage of the Halloween party I went to. If you are not interested, have a very happy weekend.

My Life According to U2

Got this gem from the fabulous Susette (I'm still not speaking to you. However since your daughter does just live up the street from Mike's I might be moved on to forgive you if you were to bring me back a chocolate dipped cannoli). Play along on your own blogs if you would like.

The Rules:

Using only song titles from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer the following questions (I wasn't terribly clever so I won't hold you to this rule). Use any artist you like. Try not to repeat a song title.

Artist: U2

Are you a male or female: Lady With the Spinning Head

Describe yourself: The Wanderer

How do you feel?: Stuck in a Moment

Describe where you currently live: Where the Streets Have No Name (This is my most cleverest)

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?: City of Blinding Lights

Your favorite form of transportation: Walk On

Your best friend is: The Sweetest Thing

Your favorite color is: October

What's the weather like? Beautiful Day (rather dull of me, right?)

Favorite time of day: Shadows and Tall Trees (Twilight was an option but I figured I would try not to be too dull 2 times in a row)

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called?: Is That All?

What is life to you?: Running to Stand Still

Your relationships: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Your fear: Elevation

What is the best advice you have to give?: Sometimes You Can't Make it on Your Own
If you could change your name, you would change it to?: Tomorrow (except not really since Rob Morrow (ala Numbers and Northern Exposure) already named his daughter Tu Morrow so it is taken)

Thought for the day: Some Days are Better Than Others

How I would like to die: Happiness is a Warm Gun*

My soul's present condition: Being Born

My motto: I Will Follow


*Let me just explain this choice so that you don't start calling suicide hot lines to report me. One day maybe 4 years ago my co-workers were having a conversation which evolved into a discussion on how they would like to die (don't ask me why). When I entered the room I was asked this question and quickly responded: bullet to the back of the head. This response was met with blank stares and silence as the appropriate response to the question is: peacefully in my sleep. I, however, was at the time was working on my thesis on violence in Northern Ireland and was enrolled in a class on genocide. So at the time a bullet to the back of the head seemed like a much better option than, say, being hacked to death with a blunt machete.

Yankees Win It All

And I am so very, very happy.

Here is my scorecard from last night's game. (I highly recommend learning to keep score if you find yourself spending lots of time watching little league ball--makes the game much more interesting and even fast paced at times)

Now what shall I do with all of my free time?

Stealing

Still not going to post one of those posts I was thinking of. Instead I thought I would post a couple of videos that I've spotted on a couple of blogs that I love (just in case you haven't seen them yet and because I love them so very much). The first comes to us courtesy of MBC and is Hilarious--yep hilarious with a capital H.

And this one, from Janssen, just makes me very Happy--another capital H there.

Coolest Halloween Ever!!! Ever!!!!

I've had lots of ideas on possible posts lately. Sadly, none of these ideas has actually become a post (dare I say yet?). Instead of posting I have been:

reading a couple of very unsatisfying books

injuring my back cutting ivy (nothing serious)

unknowingly misusing a heating pad--and then knowingly

mostly enjoying the World Series

taking control over the distributing of Halloween candy at my parent's house = the little trick or treaters got the Hershey's bars and Almond Joys and I got the Mounds and the Peanut Butter Cups

watching NOVA's Darwin's Darkest Hour in bits and pieces (thanks for the heads up Science Teacher Mommy)

and attending the best Halloween party ever.

This last item will make up the rest of this post. Last Friday I was privileged enough to receive a ticket to my Brother-in-Law's office Halloween party (tickets were required and were checked frequently by some secret service types). First let me just say a few words about where my b-in-l works. I'll not give away the name or what they do (since I don't know exactly what it is that they do except that it has something to do with the Internet and that just about every major corporation in the world is a client of theirs) I'll just say that they are perhaps the coolest company out there. I offer that following proofs as to their coolness:

Proof #1 Lounge area that contains wii and playstation consoles with games galore (and free soda!) for their employees to use at will.

Proof #2 Game Room pictured here:

For those times when their employees just need to spend some time playing computer games.

Proof #3 All their conference rooms are named after Adam Sandler movies--maybe not the actor I would have chosen but I can still appreciate the coolness of the naming.

Proof #4 The Halloween Party.

There is absolutely no way to describe to you exactly how very cool this party is but I will try.

First off, the entire company takes part and even competes against each other. Second, the entire place is transformed--as in you can't even tell that it is an office (well 3 3-story office buildings in an office park). They drape to walls and the cubicles with black plastic to create pathways and to serve as the backdrop to the various themes each section takes on. As for the themes, they tend to be movies or TV shows with a few computer games thrown in by the IT guys. And they go all out--I mean all out. My b-in-l's section took on The Simpsons and recreated the living room from the show out of foam--it was life size! (sadly I didn't get a picture but trust me it was so good--I didn't get many pictures because it was rather packed and many of the rooms were rather dark). For treats they handed out donuts of course. Other themes that were done included:

GI Joe with some very real looking weaponry--they were inside set up as a base camp with leaves and dirt and rocks all over the floor (the whole way through I kept wondering how long it would take to clean up; I probably should also have been wondering how much time it took to plan and put it all together--see how cool is this company that they allow their employees to do this on company time and pay for all the props and stuff used) and outside patrolling the parking lot and setting up check points;

Star Wars with, I am pretty sure, the real Darth Vader overseeing the training of young light saber fighters (they had this set up with a camera projecting your training/fighting onto a big screen with the movie playing--so basically it looked as though you were in the movie--I thought of you and your boys Science Teacher Mommy);

Michael Jackson's Thriller choreography set in a graveyard (again indoors with dirt and rocks and leaves);

Peter Pan (I think several sections got together on this one) that began in the nursery then traveled out the window over the city of London and past a 10 foot replica of Big Ben and into NeverNeverland with mermaids, a pond with live gold fish, Indians, pirates, and a rope sling that swung you down a hall and out of NeverNeverland;

Pac Man was represented with a maze with glowing yellow dots hanging over us and ghosts traveling the hallways (and not just ghosts in white sheets these ghosts looked like the real Pac Man ghosts come to life);

The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, The Smurfs, and The Jetsons were also represented;

the basement of one building was set up to look like Vegas with disco dancing, a buffet, casinos, and the Little White Chapel with Elvis himself performing the services.

I could go on and on but I think you pretty much get the point. It was really cool. Here are a few of the pictures that I did manage to take:

The pond with live goldfish:


A pirate in the pirate ship:

The Smurfs and Gargamel:


An Ent from LOTRs:

Two of my nieces in Tweety Bird's cage:

Two of my nieces hitting the road in a Flintstones car.

Note To Self On Grinding My Own Wheat:

It is so not worth it and should only be considered again if

A. am starving (strongly consider starving)

or

B. have located a grain mill that was manufactured in current century.

I think finding a better grain mill is key here. Any suggestions?

Wheat...It's Not Just For Bread

Although I've been making some pretty nice bread (I'm going to try Science Teacher Mommy's this weekend (with any luck) with wheat that I am planning to grind myself--very pioneer woman of me, right?) I have recently discovered that wheat flour is not just for bread. I know that you are thinking that you already knew that so just pat yourself on the back and let me enjoy my little moment in peace. Really, I did realize that wheat flour is good in stuff like pancakes (trying a recipe for this tomorrow) but did you know it is good in chocolate chip cookies? Skeptical? So was I until I made them and then ate at least a dozen all by myself. I would put a picture up here except they didn't really look very pretty--flat as a pancake would be the appropriate description--but I am working on some revisions to plump them up a bit so maybe soon. In the meantime I'm not feeling at all bad for eating a dozen chocolate chip cookies because right on the bag of whole wheat flour it said the flour was good for my heart and with heart disease being such a problem for women this days I was clearly only acting in a manner that is entirely healthy--don't be bursting my bubble.

p.s. I read over 1,000 pages over last weekend, and while I'm not entirely caught up I feel pretty comfortable about where I am.

Very Bad at the Game

So do you remember when I told you how much I enjoy checking my library account and trying to arrange my request list so that I get a few books of varying genres at a time? Well I have completely failed. I currently have 8 books checked out with three more waiting at the library for me--and I can only have several of these books for 2 weeks because they are so popular. Add to that this month's book group read (a nonfiction book) plus a nonfiction book that I've been reading since January and I have more books on my plate than I can handle. I feel rather guilty about having so many books out and yet there is a (probably very disturbed) part of me that hates to return a book before I've finished it.

What is all this leading up to? My excuse* for being a very bad blogger--I use books as my excuse quite often. Hopefully I can get things under control this weekend.

Until then, I wish you a happy weekend and give you Flogging Molly--that nonfiction book that I've been reading since the beginning of the year (but have been reading more steadily lately) is on the IRA in Northern Ireland so recently I've been channeling my inner, irreverent Irishman.

*There has also been a recent incident between a 3 year old and a laptop that resulted in the death of the laptop.

Over There

Congrats USA Soccer. Looking Forward to SA.

Man Candy Monday

Joe Mauer is so cute I could almost wish they had won last night just so I could watch him a bit longer--wouldn't he just fit so well in my list of five (Eddie Cahill, Viggo Mortensen, Hugh Jackman, Derek Jeter, and Iaon Gruffordd)? Too bad he is so very young.

Jazz at the Library

Dixieland Jazz to be more specific. There was no shushing that night--even if there were you wouldn't have been able to hear it. I know some people in the library thought it was odd to have a loud jazz band playing, but I thought it was a perfect combination. After all, a library is a place that preserves ideas and jazz music is the idea of America set to music.

I love my library!

I'm Back

Sorry it took so long. I picked up Catching Fire and made it just a couple of chapters in before I had to put it down. Not because I wasn't liking it, but because I just couldn't get the book I was in the process of reading when I opted to put it down in favor of Catching Fire out of my mind. You see, it was making me swoon and I was very much enjoying that--plus I put it down at a pretty crucial point in the book and I wanted to find out what happened. (That book, by the way, is called Heir to Sevenwaters and while I didn't care at all for the ending I quite liked the swooning)

Anyway, I eventually did get back to Catching Fire and was entirely blown away (and really once I got through a couple more chapters you couldn't even pry this book from my hands). I want to say more but I fear that if I do I'll give something away and that would be unforgivable. What I will say is you must read this book (start with Hunger Games of course). It was such a fantastic, wonderful, good read. And then let's talk.

Gone for the Weekend

I am now in possession of this book:

I trust that you will be completely understanding of me when I say I won't be back for a couple of days and forgiving of me when I say leave me alone.