Tag Archives: memes & carnivals

Nightstand: November 2011

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So it’s mere days before Thanksgiving, which is exciting in it’s own right, but it also means that it’s time for me to fill you in on my nightstand! Haven’t done this before? The fabulous ladies at 5 Minutes for Books ask us each month which books we are reading, read recently or plan to read soon – basically this amounts to “What’s on your nightstand right now?” Get it?

When we last nightstanded, I was reading The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent – the story of Martha Carrier, one of the first women to be accused, tried and hanged as a witch in Salem, Massachusetts. Like her mother, young Sarah Carrier is bright and willful, openly challenging the small, brutal world in which they live. Often at odds with one another, mother and daughter are forced to stand together against the escalating hysteria of the trials and the superstitious tyranny that led to the torture and imprisonment of more than 200 people accused of witchcraft. (description from goodreads.com)

I have to say I really kind of adored that book, although it was slow reading at times, it really kept me hooked and the story was just fascinating, though heart breaking. I definitely recommend it!

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen SimonsonAfter finishing The Heretic’s Daughter, I had planned to read our November book club pick, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson. This is the story of Major Ernest Pettigrew, retired, of Edgecombe St. Mary, England, [who] is more than a little dismayed by the sloppy manners, narcissism, and materialism of modern society. The decline of gentility is evident everywhere, from tea bags, to designer sweaters, to racism masquerading as tolerance…

But after about three chapters (or 40 pages or so) I honestly couldn’t read anymore. It is not often that I will put down a book after only a few chapters, but lately I have been thinking that my time is too precious to read books I’m not enjoying. And I wasn’t enjoying this one at all. The book was intended, I think, to be a fairly light-hearted satire, but I found the main character so annoyingly cynical that I couldn’t read it without rolling my eyes at him. I don’t know if the book would have gotten better or if I was being too hard on it. I’d guess there are people who loved it and would enjoy it. But I honestly don’t think I was going to be one of them.

My only reason for reading the book would have been because it was a book club pick and normally I’d give myself a harder time and make myself read it anyway, but I decided to go easy on myself this once because my nightstand is kind of overwhelming me at the moment with books to read and truthfully? There was one book in particular beckoning to me. It’s been sitting there patiently for months, picked up in between books just long enough to read a chapter or so, giggle to myself and then move on to my next mandatory read. Well this month it said, “Um, Jen, knock it off and read me already. You’re gonna love it!”

Such a Pretty Fat by Jen LancasterAnd I totally am! What book am I finally digging into and adoring something fierce? Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster. It’s basically the funniest book about dieting that you’ll ever read and I think I especially love it because (especially when it comes to food and dieting) Jen Lancaster and I are kind of kindred spirits. It’s like reading my own thoughts on paper except then sometimes SHE goes to the gym or starts a diet or loses weight and I’m all, “Oh, hey, wait for me!”

I’m kind of hoping that this will be a book that motivates me to finally kick my ass and start eating better and exercising (I’m already trying) and that she doesn’t end the book with, “And then I gave up, who are we kidding, really?” We’ll see…. Either way, as far as book choices go, I’m glad I made this one because I now go to bed at night eager to read!!!!! Instead of “Oh yeah… that book….. Maybe I’m tired?”

So what am I going to read NEXT? Man, guys, I have no idea… There are kind of a million positions I’m being pulled in, but here are some of my ideas:

  • Attempting Wicked by Gregory Maguire again and then possibly reading the rest of the Oz series by him.
  • Little Bee by Chris Cleave which I keep hearing is some kind of fantastic
  • Some more funny books like Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin or Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
  • Unbearable Lightness by Portia De Rossi has also been waiting patiently for me for awhile…
  • Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde looks really good – I love his Thursday Next series.
  • And then let’s not even talk about all the OTHER books I own but haven’t read yet and guys, what about the books I WANT to buy? What if I get books for Christmas? If you don’t hear from me for awhile, you’ll know that my TBR pile finally fell over and buried me.

What are you reading right now?

Ignoring Life: Choosing to Meme

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There are probably a million productive things I should be doing right now, especially now that the whole family seems All Better – I could be cleaning the living room, doing more laundry, attacking the kitchen a bit more thoroughly – or even catching up on my reading. So of course you know what I’m going to do instead. A meme.

My bestie @ Red Knows How just did the 4 Things Meme which I’m pretty sure I’ve done a couple of times, but for some reason I always feel like filling it out anyway, so I’m going to go ahead and humor myself, because, dude I’m not sick anymore. I deserve like a medal or something for surviving this past week – or at least a meme, right?

Four Places I go over and over again:

  1. Trader Joes
  2. Target
  3. Walmart
  4. Stop and Shop

I know, I lead a highly fascinating life. I decided not to go all lame and list all the rooms in my apartment even though that’s pretty much where I spend the majority of my time these days. I seriously don’t get out much and it’s kind of sad.

Four People Who email me regularly:

  1. my husband (we email a lot)
  2. my bestie Ange
  3. my mother (we pretty much only communicate online)
  4. um me? I email myself a lot – is that weird?

Four of my favorite Places to eat (apart from home):

  1. Applebees – this is a staple for me and the hubby – we love ourselves some Applebees
  2. Subway – our ‘fast food’ of choice – I’ve been a frequent Subway-goer for as long as I can remember
  3. Olive Garden – we almost never go here, but dh proposed to me there and I love it every time we go
  4. Wendys – the actual fast food, the only one dh and I both agree on – we’re always happy with the food and you can’t beat the price

Four places I’d rather be now:

  1. perusing a bookstore
  2. on vacation (preferably somewhere warm, I’ll agree with Ange, Disney sounds nice
  3. living in a house (if it were the house of my dreams, that wouldn’t suck)
  4. really, anywhere but here would be nice…

Four favorite TV shows:

  1. Grey’s Anatomy
  2. Bones
  3. Fringe
  4. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

And there really are so many more: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Privileged, How I Met Your Mother, America’s Next Top Model, Ugly Betty…

Four movies I could watch over and over again:

  1. Curious George
  2. Shrek 1
  3. Shrek 2
  4. Shrek 3

Oh wait, those are the movies I do watch over and over and over….

Four people I’m tagging:

I’m kind of over this whole tagging thing, sorry – but if you are reading this, saying, “Pick me, choose me, love me,” well then by all means go for it!

Monday Morning: January 12

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Monday Morning Meme at writefromkaren.com

January 12th Questions:

1. What book is on your nightstand right now? What was the last book you read? How many books do you think you read in 2008? Right now I’m reading The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (I’m about half way through, it’s a very short but GOOD read). I actually know exactly how many books I read in 2008 since I kept track in several places – 47 books – my goal for 2009 is 50.

2. Name three blogfriends that have inspired you. Now please tell us how these blogfriends have inspired you. Gosh so many of you inspire me! Like Jen @ Daily Mish Mash who (along with inspiring me with her Friday Eye Candy list) started the Looking Fine by 2009 Challenge that actually helped me lose 7 pounds and come up with a real plan to lose more (I’ve since then lost another 5 pounds! So what if the stomach bug helped make that happen?). Tsh @ Simple Mom is also hugely inspiring in general – just browse her blog for, um, three seconds and you’ll totally see why, but for a more concrete reason – she inspired me to start planning my menus monthly rather than weekly or heck let’s face it, daily. Lastly I’ll say Rachel @ Adventures of an American Mum who hosts the Wordless Wednesday With a Twist meme – she’s one of many fabulous photographers whose pictures inspired me to really go for something more in my own pictures – I’m sure I don’t have half the skills they do, but bloggers like Rachel inspire me to at least try!

3. How far do you live from the place where you grew up as a kid? Tell us about the place you grew up – would you choose to go back there and raise your own family (if you have one)? Why or why not? This question is kind of hard for me to answer as I moved a LOT as a child, but the one place that was consistently home (my grandparents house) is actually only about 40 minutes or so from where I live now. It’s a very small New England town where everyone knows everyone, a cow farm is across the street from my grandparent’s house and my grandfather would always predict the weather based on whether the cows were standing or sitting. The teens there seemed angsty and bored when I was a teen but I still think it was a wonderful place to live. I would consider raising my family there, except that it’s a bit far from the city, especially the area my husband currently works – the commute would be awful – it’s also not terribly near any major shopping areas, etc. It would be a toss up I guess.

4. Finish this line: Absence makes the heart……
(please do not say “grow fonder”.) How long do you think is ‘too long’ to be away from your loved ones? … more true? Not like faithful true, but rather honest. I think distance or absence for the most part will just magnify what’s already there – a weak relationship will definitely crumble – a strong one has a much better chance of thriving, though you wouldn’t be happy about that distance I’m sure. I personally wouldn’t enjoy being apart from my ‘loved one’ for longer than a week or so – but we’ve also never been apart for longer than that – he has a big business meeting trip coming up next month on the other side of the country and he’ll be gone for that long – one week – and I’m not looking forward to it – but not because of our relationship’s sake, but rather because things are better when he’s here – he helps out a lot and I enjoy his company – I know I’ll miss him. I really feel for the wives of soldiers, etc. whose husbands are gone for much longer at a time – they are much stronger women than me!

For more Monday Morning fun, head over to Karen’s blog @ Write From Karen!

Aloha Friday: Playing Catch Up

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It’s time for another Aloha Friday, the day that you take it easy and look forward to the weekend, in Hawaii and blog land anyway. As you should know by now, over at An Island Life, Kailani decided that on Fridays she would take it easy on posting and ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life’s blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

So I’m still feeling a bit out of sorts but I want to dive back in a bit with my blogging, because dudes I’ve missed you all! I’m not quite up to another full length post (I’ll try to post this week’s Bump Report soon) which really makes Aloha Friday perfect, doesn’t it? So my question this week is:

What have I missed?

I feel like I dropped off the planet and missed a week of your lives (not to mention the real world) and I’ll confess I pressed that awful Mark All As Read button. I know I’ll never truly catch up.

But if there is something important going on, some great post you wrote, or some news event or hot celebrity gossip that has happened since say Tuesday – fill me in.

What have I missed?

A Meme For A Monday

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Stolen from Jen @ Stuff Jen Says…

What are your nicknames?
Jen, momma, wifely, sunshine…

What TV game show or reality show would you like to be on?
Wheel of Fortune could be fun – I really like Don’t Forget the Lyrics but I’d be terrible at it!

What was the first movie you bought in VHS or DVD?
I’m sure I don’t remember. :)

What is your favorite scent?
freshly baking cookies? I’m not much of a perfume wearer

If you had one million dollars to spend only on yourself, what would you spend it on?
Um a house, a new car and a big family vacation (my family is included in myself, right?)

What is one place you’ve visited, can’t forget and want to go back to?
Germany

Do you trust easily?
probably, but I can be skeptical at times so I’m not sure…

Do you generally think before you act, or act before you think?
probably think before I act, I tend to over think things

Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
being cold? MM being tired and grumpy

Do you have a good body image?
no I’m pretty sure it’s terrible!

What is your favorite fruit?
right now I’m all about clementines

What websites do you visit daily?
Google Reader, Facebook, Gmail, my blog, Sluggy.com, and good reads

What have you been seriously addicted to lately?
Skinny Cow ice cream bars and sandwiches, Subway Meatball subs, and the smoothies at the mall foodcourt

What’s the last song that got stuck in your head?
I can’t even seem to will a song into my head right now, so…. nothing? oh wait! Shoop by Salt N Peppa

What is your favorite thing to wear?
right now? maternity pants! three cheers for the belly band!

Do you think Rice Krispies are yummy?
I like them sometimes, but they aren’t a favorite

What would you do if you saw $100 lying on the ground?
look around for just long enough to feel like a good Samaritan before picking it up

What items couldn’t you go without during the day?
a good book, hot tea, and the DVD player to distract MM with Shrek DVDs

What should you be doing right now?
something more productive than a meme I’m sure!

Aloha Friday: Help Momma Buy A New Camera

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It’s time for another Aloha Friday, the day that you take it easy and look forward to the weekend, in Hawaii and blog land anyway. As you should know by now, over at An Island Life, Kailani decided that on Fridays she would take it easy on posting and ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your link at An Island Life’s blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

So I might have mentioned that a certain camera has recently caught my eye. Truth be told, two certain cameras have caught my eye – and while the prettiness of one has me swooning, I still can’t quite decide – see there’s this cute little Canon PowerShot SD1100IS that makes the color brown look chic and sophisticated – it has 8 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom. I know the zoom is kind of like, “okay, whatever,” but it’s tiny and fits in your pocket so I can whip it out anywhere and grab that cute little moment. The shutter speed is like leaps and bounds better than my current point and shoot and the pictures are crisper and clearer. And as for the potentially weak zoom I say – we have a Nikon D40 – if we think we’ll need a 10x optical zoom or whatever we’re covered – this is for birthday parties and trips to the park, where lugging around a gigantic SLR looks kind of silly and weighs on you. I love that big bulky Nikon but we’ve missed a lot of photo ops because neither DH or I felt like lugging it around and being stuck behind the thing. That isn’t really an issue with a point and shoot – particularly a tiny 4.5 ounce one. And did I mention it’s pretty?

Enter the Canon Powershot SX110IS. My brother-in-law recently bought this camera and apparently it was so wow-worthy that his incessantly cool aunt went out and bought herself one, too. This little beauty has 9 megapixels with that coveted 10 optical zoom. And it’s only like $30 more. I know – how could this be a tough choice. Well for one – cute brownie up there has a tiny little view finder in addition to the LCD screen – that used to mean something – maybe it doesn’t now but there it is. Also brownie is smaller. BIL’s camera is twice as heavy at 8.6 ounces, which is granted nothing compared to the 1.6 pounds of our Nikon D40, but still – when we get this I’ll be lugging an infant and chasing after a three year old and not sleeping much. Every ounce counts I think. Or maybe not. For me the real thing is the size of the camera over the weight – Brownie is slim and compact and can probably fit anywhere with ease. BIL’s camera is a bit bigger but it’s also more shapely and will not fit in a pocket or my over-stuffed pocket book – at least not easily. I don’t want to be carrying around another thing – it has to fit in something we’re already carrying or I’m going to leave it at home. Anyway, so here’s BIL’s camera so you can see it to compare:

It’s kind of funny because this is a look that usually sits really well with me – it kind of has that real camera vibe that I usually admire. I’ve never been into the slim-line cameras, always wanted some meat to hold onto. But then again it wasn’t that long ago that carrying a camera around was hardly a big deal as I wasn’t likely to be carrying anything else. Those days are gone. And suddenly that slimline camera is looking down right sexy. But is it really practical? I think I need an outside opinion. So folks if you wouldn’t mind, could you answer one of the following questions:

  • If you own either of these cameras, please let me know what you think of it.
  • If you own a similar small camera that you are in love with – tell me all about it!
  • If neither applies, tell me, which camera would you pick in my situation? Brownie or BIL?

Teaser Tuesday: Home by Julie Andrews

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teasertuesdays2

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

My Tuesday Teaser is:

Little by little I began to join their act more often – not every night, but when it was convenient, and gradually I became aware of what it felt like to be behind the footlights looking out into the black auditorium with the spotlight on me. I rather enjoyed it.

from Home: A Memoir Of My Early Years by Julie Andrews

Teaser Tuesday: The Magician’s Nephew

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teasertuesdays2

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

  • Grab your current read.
  • Let the book fall open to a random page.
  • Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
  • You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
  • Please avoid spoilers!

    • My Teaser:

    It was all so dreary and all so much the same that even Digory was thinking they had better put on their yellow Rings and get back into the warm, green, living forest of the In-between place, when they came to two huge doors of some metal that might possibly be gold. One stood a little ajar.

    from page 41 of The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis