NaBloPoMo Day 15: Friday Fragments

It's been quite a while since I participated in Friday Fragments, but I used to do it regularly when I blogged more often.  I like having a place to empty my head of those little thoughts that get in there during the week but just aren't enough for a full blog post.

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I watched a documentary tonight called "The Elephant in the Living Room" on Netflix.  Netflix is like the pot at the end of the rainbow for documentaries - it's hard for me to discover new ones I want to watch sometimes until I start perusing Netflix and then I end up watching all kinds of crazy stuff, and it's all great.  Who knew a documentary about a font ("Helvetica") would be so interesting.  Anyhow, the one I watched tonight was about people owning exotic animals (especially dangerous ones) in the United States.  It was interesting, though if you're an animal lover, just beware there's a scene in the last half hour where an animal dies from a tragic accident and it's very sad.  In any case, it's bizarre to me that people out there think it's okay to own the most poisonous snakes in the world or Siberian Tigers in their backyards in little cages.  So weird.

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I'm listening to the 2nd book in the Partials Sequence by Dan Wells, "Fragments."  I really like it so far.  I have been into all kinds of dystopian YA books since I read The Hunger Games, and this series is one I really like.  My other favorites are the Divergent series, the Delerium series, and I really liked the first book in the Monument 14 books.  What are your favorites?  I need to read them!

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Our power just went out.  It is 10:08 pm and I am writing this on my laptop with the battery.  This is the second time this week our power has gone out at night.  The first time was last Sunday and I got home at 2 AM (NOT usual for a work night, but I was in Seattle for book club and ended up going to a movie and then hanging out with my best friend, and I was in great need of some girlfriend time!), and it was all down our street.  I'd seen a fire truck and ambulance on the street out nearer the main road, so I thought that had something to do with it.  Not sure what's going on this time, but Justin's going outside to investigate.  I say if I can't post this until after midnight, it still counts, as long as I finish writing it before midnight.  Our internet connection won't work with the power out, which also means that our phones won't work, so I can't even go on Facebook and see if anyone knows why the power is out again!  GAH!

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We have tickets this Sunday for our 2nd show in the Broadway at the Paramount series - Priscilla Queen of the Desert.  I am looking forward to it!  I liked the movie, and I wasn't that impressed with the new Wizard of Oz, so I'm hoping this will make me feel happier than that did.  I think after this our next one is in January, but I can't remember which one it is.

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I feel like time is just flying by - I can't believe at all that it's halfway through November already and there is basically only a month until Christmas.  WHAT?!  I think the rest of November is going to go by really, really fast because we have so much stuff going on - the show this weekend, lots of appointments next week, my birthday next weekend including a sleepover for me in Seattle, and then heading to the farm in Eastern Washington for Thanksgiving.  Wowza.  I'm feeling a little anxious even though it's all fun stuff, well, except the meetings.

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In case anyone is reading that was here yesterday, my eye doesn't hurt anymore.  So, that's good.  I must have poked myself or something and made a bruise.  Who knows?

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Our cat has taken to hissing as a form of communication.  It's really weird.  He's an old-guy cat, I think he's 12 years old?  Maybe 13?  He is kind of needy and meows at us a lot, and he had fleas that got really bad earlier this year, so he started hissing when he wanted things, like to go outside, or basically for us to pay attention to him.  Basically, he just randomly hisses, and it's not anger, it's like he's just decided that is a new way for him to talk to us.  It's especially distressing when he is sleeping on the back of the couch right behind your head and you either don't know he's there, or don't realize he's awake, and he suddenly just hisses really loud in your ear.

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The movie I saw last Sunday was called "In a World."  It has Lake Bell and I think she either wrote or produced it, it's about voice actors.  It was a lot funnier than I expected it to be, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes funny, quirky, independent comedies.  Very entertaining!

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Well, I think that's about it for this one!  It's only 10:23, that didn't take long!  I love it when I start out feeling uninspired and then I just type and stuff comes out and it feels great.  I hope you all have a great weekend, I'll be around figuring out what to write about!  I wrote Sam's "birthday" letter, but still owe one to Danny, so maybe I'll work on that one of the days.

HA!  11:01 and the power just came back on.  Boo yah.

NaBloPoMo Day 11: A Short One

I am SO tired today!  I went to Book Club yesterday and it was awesome.  I really needed it this month, and we had a good discussion about the book, which was my pick, so that was cool.  I ended up staying and visiting with my best friend and going to a movie.  I thought, hey, why not, it will get out a little after 11, not TOO late, if I got home by like 12:15 I'd be okay for work.  Except after the movie, we ended up talking forever, and I didn't get home until 2 AM.  And when I got home, the power was out, and I ended up talking to Justin for a little while, so I probably didn't really fall asleep until around 2:45 maybe?  And got up at 7.  Not enough sleep for me!  I was planning to use the writing prompt for today, but Sam is sick and just came out of his room - he's been in there for half an hour and I thought he was asleep, but he's not and he has a fever and wants to lie with Mom, so I've got to close the laptop and cuddle my sick kid.  More tomorrow!

NaBloPoMo/Thankful Day 10: Book Club

Book club in Bellingham!

I am beyond thankful for my book club.

We have been meeting for almost 10 years.  In that time, we have seen many pregnancies and births, we have seen deaths, we have seen injuries and illnesses, hard times, times to celebrate, and everything in between.  We have read 100 books together.  We meet once a month, alternating between the homes of our members.  We talk about the books we read, then we move on to talking about how we are doing.  A large part of the focus will often land one or two specific ladies each month - those of us who are most needing to reach out and find support or guidance.  Some months it's 3 hours, other months we are together for closer to 5 or 6 and all find ourselves surprised at how late it is.

Christmas potluck & gift exchange 2011

We are a diverse group of women, several stay at home moms, a couple of working moms, one with no kiddos.  We all know each other in different ways, and the common link for most of us was the woman who started the club.  We come from different walks of life, and different backgrounds, and have different views on many issues.

Once a month, we gather.  We laugh together, eat together, drink together, sometimes cry together, and it's always a time that rejuvenates my soul.  We celebrate birthdays together with nights out several times a year, and most years we take a weekend trip to a beach house or somewhere fun with our kids.  Last year I am pretty sure we had 20+ kids and 6 adults in one house.  It was awesome.  We have had grown up sleepovers, and next year we'll be going to Suncadia for a weekend to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.

Me and Tara, who started the book club

I cannot imagine my life without these women.  They are some of my best friends in the world, and going to book club is always a highlight of my month.  These women have supported me through the hardest times in my life, and I know they will always be there for me.  When I sat in that room 10 years ago and met some of these women for the first time, I never imagined what this group would become, and how large a part of my life it would be.  I couldn't have.  This is my tribe.  And I feel so, so blessed.

Thankful Day 6: Audiobooks

Currently loving

I am thankful for audiobooks. I love to read and devour stories so much, but with working full time and teaching and taking care of the kids and everything else, I don't get as much time to read as I used to or as I would like. Being able to listen to books on my commute to work makes it so much more bearable, and I love being able to get lost in a good book even when I'm driving to work or down to Seattle.

2012 Book List & Goal - MET!

I met my goal again!

Rachael's Books Read in 2012

Rachael Heiner's favorite books »

Fifty Shades of Grey

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Book Update!

I have been on a major reading kick for the past couple of weeks.  I don't know about the rest of you, but I go in and out of periods where I read a ton and don't read much.  My goal is 50 books a year, but sometimes I don't read for a couple of weeks or even a month, and other times I seem to just devour books.  Danny is finally old enough that sometimes on the weekends when they're both home and they're playing I can actually pick up a book for a few minutes, which is awesome. 

Right now, I am at 13 books out of 50 towards my goal - that puts me 6 books ahead!  Now, 3 of those were Walking Dead compendiums which are pretty quick, so I will probably try to read enough books this year that I don't really count those towards my 50 - or count 3-4 of them as one book.  Even without those, it puts me 3 books ahead and I'm halfway through one and about a quarter of the way through two others.  Here's what I've been reading lately!

I recently finished The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain.  This one has been on my Nook for a while and after I finished the last Kristin Hannah book, I decided to finally read this one.  Since it was on my e-reader, I didn't really  have a description and wasn't sure what the plot would be. I really enjoyed this one.  It is in the same vein as Jodi Piccoult and Kristin Hannah - a story about women characters with lots of drama and heartache and some twists in the plot.  There were a couple that I totally didn't see coming, although the very end of the book I did sort of figure out before I got there.  If you like those other two authors, I'd definitely recommend this one.  I looked at some other Diane Chamberlain books after finishing it, but not many of them caught my attention with their descriptions like this one did.  I finished this book in 3 days because I really wanted to know what would happen!

Before The Midwife's Confession, I read Night Road by Kristin Hannah.  My first time reading Krisin Hannah was for book club last monght, and I knew immediately that I would read a bunch more of her books.  She reminds me some of Jodi Piccoult, but all of her stories are really based around female characters and relationships.  I really liked this book.  It had a couple of twists, but mostly it was just a story about what happens when bad things happen to good people and how we can reconcile it when our loves for different people start to clash. 

Earlier this year I read Feed and Deadline by Mira Grant.  I am into zombies, vampires and werewolves, and I was into them before this whole Twilight craziness.  I had Feed on my 'to read' list for a while and I finally picked it up.  Holy cow!  I knew as soon as I finished it that it would be on my top 5 list for 2012.  One of the things I loved about it was that even though it takes place in a crazy world after a zombie uprising, the story centers around three journalists covering a senator's bid for the Republican nomination for President.  A zombie book with politics?  So interesting!  I thought the story was well told and I really liked the main character, Georgia Mason, in this. 

Now, here are the books I'm reading now.

I just started Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen.  I read her book Every Last One last year and was blown away by it.  After reading it, I put this one on my list.  It centers around a woman who is running away from her abusive husband with her 10 year old son.  Domestic Violence is an issue I'm really interested in, so it seemed like a good fit.  I'm only about 25 pages into it, and it hasn't totally captured me yet, but I bet it will soon.

For my book club for March, we're reading Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin.  I'm about halfway through it, and devoured the first half in one day after picking it up to force myself to get started.  I chose this one, but I realized later that I have another book on my 'to read' list called What Alice Forgot, which is the one I'd actually meant to suggest.  So even though I wanted to read this one too, I was kind of kicking myself.  I'm glad now though, this one will definitely make for good conversation at our next meeting.  It is a fictional book based in historic fact about Alice Liddell Hargreaves, the girl who Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland was based/written for.  If you're a big fan of Alice in Wonderland, I'd warn that this book may change your perceptions, and throughout the first half I've found myself unsettled several times.  I've gotten to the point where Alice is in her early 20s and I am eager to see where her relationship with Carrol ends up.

I am usually listening to an audiobook, I drive 20 minutes each way when I go to town, so I keep one on my phone to listen to in the car.  I have also been listening to it when I go for walks to distract myself from how much I hate exercising.  Right now I'm listening to The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  I am only about 25% of the way through it.  I read the first two books in the series in 2010 and for some reason never finished the trilogy.  I am not as captured by it as I was by the first two books.  I am wondering if there's going to be a mystery in this one or if it's just going to center around Lisbeth Salander's trial or whatever.  I am also annoyed at the author for naming two prominent characters Niedermann and Niemenin.  WTH?  It's hard enough to keep track of everyone in the book without this confusion!  I'm interested to see where the story goes, but I think it'll be a while before I'm done with this one. 

What are you reading?

Friday Fragments: Nails, Politicians, TV & Funnies

Friday Fragments are bits and pieces of your week that are usually brief; too short for a stand-alone post, but too good to discard. Collect humorous observations, "Heard" items, and other small gems and put them together in a Friday Fragments post.

Friday Fragments are the brainchild of Mrs.4444 and you can find more at Half Past Kissin' Time.

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This week I've got some fragments and some pictures I've found on the internet that made me laugh and love the internet!

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Last week I got fake (acrylic) nails.  Yeah... I have only had them one other time, for my wedding.   I recently decided I wanted to try them out again because I really want to have square nails and I just can't get my nails to stay in that shape.  I did it once, in December.  And they were perfect.  For about 20 hours, until one broke and I was back to square one.  I've had them for a little over a week actually, and I'm getting used to them.  I have been really into nail polish lately and I started a new blog, Nail Me, to post about it... it's a little crazy, but I have so much fun with it.  It's a fun way to dress up without having to spend a bunch of money on new clothes etc.

Here is a little peek of what's over there today - my first Water Marble.  I LOVE IT.

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The day before Valentine's Day, Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed legislation that will make it legal for gay couples to marry in Washington State come this June.  I am so proud of Washington for finally doing this.  We're not the first, but we're far from the last.  Even after 10 days, I still choke up when I think about it.  I think of my friends who are gay, and the fact that they have not been afforded the same rights that I have, and I am so, so happy that they will finally get what they deserve.

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Engagement Ring WIN - More than meets the eye!


see more WIN - Epic Win Photos and Videos

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So, Danny is 21 months old now, and we have taught him a couple of signs.  He still doesn't really talk, he just has a few words (cat, car, dog) that he'll say, but I'm not sure anyone else can understand them.  A couple of weeks ago we noticed that he had started doing this sign where he would pat his left arm near his wrist with his right hand.  I asked my Mom if she'd taught it to him and she said no, and we finally realized he made up his own sign!  It basically means 'I don't like this' or 'I don't want to.'  It is so fascinating to watch them grow and learn!

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Because when I hear WWF, I ALWAYS get confused like this.


see more WIN - Epic Win Photos and Videos

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Last month for my book club, we read Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah.  The first half of the story didn't really pull me in, but once I hit the second half?  Woo boy!  I loved it, despite the fact that I was crying through most of it.  I'm pretty sure the last time I cried that much was at the end of My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, and if you've read that one, you know why.  So I decided I need to read way more Kristin Hannah books.  I just finished Night Road, which I really liked.  I need to get started on my book club book, but sometimes I get in the mood for one author and I just go on a streak.  I think I'll read Firefly Lane next.

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FLASH drive!

 
see more WIN - Epic Win Photos and Videos

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Let's talk TV for a minute... I feel like I want to write a separate post about this week's Glee and Parenthood episodes, since I watched them right in a row then kind of wanted to assume the fetal position.  Did anyone else watch The River?  I haven't watched the second episode yet, but I totally loved the first!  It was so freaking scary though - those scenes with the dolls?  Just... no.  So creepy!  I liked how they revealed so much in the beginning - what the explorer guy was actually searching for/doing out there - and didn't drag it out.  I also watched the first episode of Awake, and I really liked it.  Plus it has Jason Isaacs and BD Wong, both of whom I really like!  And finally, this week was the first part of the finale of the greatly underwhelming Top Chef Texas.  I really, really want Paul to win.

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You guys, Bakerella is a freaking genius. SO CUTE!

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Did you hear that some crazy-ass politician in Indiana decided to rail against the Girl Scouts because of his opinion that they are promoter and supporters of Planned Parenthood?  Also, Rick Santorum talked about Satan, and I tried to figure out how it is even possible that he is an actual candidate.

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Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

I did it! 50 Books in 2011 & goal for 2012

I'm really excited that I reached my goal of reading 50 books in 2011!  Here's what I read last year:

Rachael's read-in-2011 book montage

Rachael Heiner's favorite books » 

This year, I hope to meet the goal again.  I've updated my lists of books I've read since 2008 and books I want to read someday to link with my Goodreads account.  One thing I love about this is that I can click over and browse the covers when I'm not sure what I want to read next, and see what catches my eye.

What are you reading in 2012?  Do you have a goal this year?  Do you have any recommendations?  I have my Goodreads widget in the sidebar, and a short list of books I'm already planning to read this year:

Rachael's to-read-in-2012 book montage

Rachael Heiner's favorite books »