by Sarah | Jan 10, 2012 | All About Me, Random
[flickr id=”6030468849″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] Back in March or April I decided to challenge myself. I’m attempting to be a published author, but I was reading very few books. It wouldn’t do. So I decided to push myself to read 50 books in 2011. For a while it appeared that I was going to totally leave 50 books in the dust. In October I had hit 45 books. The last 5 were supposed to be a piece of cake.
Turns out I just squeaked it out. I read the last book on December 29th and completed the challenge. I’ve set the same goal for myself in the new year. Here’s what I read in 2011:
- Eat, Pray, Love.
- Pale Rose of England ~My review is HERE.
- The Nanny Diaries
- Awakened
- She’s Come Undone ~Being honest…I couldnt finish it. I disliked it that much.
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.
- Confessions of a Prairie Bitch ~My favorite autobio of the year.
- The Perks of Being a Wallflower ~Another one I couldn’t finish. Hated the voice.
- Wicked ~A repeat read, but it had been YEARS. Glad I re-read.
- A Discovery of Witches ~Hands down, favorite book of the year.
- Diary of a Mad Fat Girl
- The Help ~Wish I had loved it as much as so many others. Actually preferred the movie.
- The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club ~Blech. Random ramblings. Didn’t care for it.
- Speak ~One of quite a few YA I read this year. Took my breath away.
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
- Darkfever
- What’s a Ghoul to Do?
- Entwined
- The Eyre Affair
- What Alice Forgot ~Recommended read. I really enjoyed it.
- Thirteen Reasons Why ~It’s about a teen suicide. I liked it, but it’s a love it or hate it book.
- Moon Called (Mercedes Thompson #1) ~Loved this whole series that’s published so far…they’ll all be on this list.
- Still Missing ~Another recommended read. Very good.
- Mercy Thompson: Homecoming ~Graphic novel, mild cheat.
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children ~This was so much fun. Definitely recommend.
- The Surgeon
- Blood Bound (Mercedes Thompson #2)
- Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen
- Iron Kissed (Mercedes Thompson #3)
- My Fair Lazy
- When You Dare
- These is My Words ~Ugh. Ugh. ICK. Couldn’t finish. In the first 30 pages there is a rape of a young girl while another is held at knifepoint, a child dies, there’s an odd Indian incident followed by a major attack that kills 1/2 the adults, and makes one kid lose his leg, and then…it goes on and on…and that was JUST the first 30 pages! I get life was hard, but holy crap.
- Bone Crossed (Mercedes Thompson #4)
- Alpha & Omega (Same author as Mercedes, new series)
- Silver Borne (Mercedes Thompson #5)
- Dark Lover
- Room
- The Princess Bride
- River Marked (Mercedes Thompson #6)
- Arcadia Falls ~Good. Not my favorite of the year, but the mystery holds.
- Freak Magnet
- Nightshade
- Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega #1)
- Trace of Fever
- Still Alice ~VERY emotional. DO NOT read if you know someone w/ Alzheimers.
- If you Ask Me, And Of Course you won’t ~Love Betty White. Wanted to LOVE this. It was ok.
- On Writing ~Not a Stephen King fan in general, but this was great to read as a writer.
- Crazy, Sexy Diet
- Bossypants ~As I was afraid of…after all the hype I was let down by this. Sure, I LOL’d at a few points, but it wasn’t as hilarious as everyone told me it was.
- Wake
Whew…What a list! Granted there were a few books I couldn’t finish. Honestly up until this year I have never set down a book and walked away. I felt incapable of it. This year I just had to. I think the biggest disappointment was “These is my words” because I’d been looking forward to reading it forever…and it was so horrible. Ah well.
So for this year I need to find new books!! I just read “Orange is the New Black” and I’m currently in the midst of “The Night Circus”. What books do you recommend? I’ll add them to my list!!
(P.S. You can see my full ratings of these books over at my
GOODREADS page)
by Sarah | Jan 8, 2012 | Photography, Scavenger Hunt Sunday, Simple Things, Weekly Winners
After a few blah months where my camera languished in silence, I felt a bit revitalized this week. I think having a “take everywhere” camera in my new phone has helped a little.
All taken w/ Canon Rebel XS or my HTC Thunderbolt.
1. One Color
“Of all the hues, reds have the most potency. If there is one electric blue, a dozen reds are so charged. Use them to punctuate white, burn into bronzes, or dynamite black.” — Jack Lenor Larsen.
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2. Laundry
The laundry has its hands on my dirty shirts, sheets, towels and tablecloths, and who knows what tales they tell. ~Joseph Smith.
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3. Empty
The world is a playground, and life is pushing my swing. ~Natalie Kocsis
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New Years Day – Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. ~Mark Twain
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4. One Dozen
A hen is only an egg’s way of making another egg. ~Samuel Butler
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We went from no Barbie dolls to a dozen in a matter of days (Thanks, Santa).
P.S. There is a dozen, but one’s face is hidden, count the exposed arms. LOL.
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5. Soft
Instead of going w/ a soft item, I chose soft focus of a flame.
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A Simple Thing:
First a gorgeous sunset, followed the next day by a most beautiful sunrise.
The sunset caught me, turned the brush to copper, set the clouds to one great roof of flame above the earth. ~Elizabeth Coatsworth
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There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope. ~Bern Williams
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You can find more pictures over at my flickr account.
Scavenger Hunt Sunday is run by the beautiful Ashley. Head on over to see more Hunters.
by Sarah | Jan 6, 2012 | All About Molly, Autism, Crap, Special Needs
[flickr id=”6650056311″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]Every day without fail I pull into the parking lot of the elementary school to pick up Angel. At the same time every day I get into line behind the other parents, sometimes even in front of the line.
85% of the time so I don’t feel rushed to shove her in the car and go I end up toward the back of the line. This prime spot affords me a clear view of the area the older kids have their recess in. It’s mostly parking lot, but to the right there’s a large grassy area with a playground.
Every day in dry weather above freezing they run around like little ants. Hustling and bustling so fast it’s hard to keep track of them. All playing together. Laughing, shouting. Playing tag, pushing each other on the swings. Kicking balls, sliding down the slide. Talking. Laughing. Being with friends.
Except one.
One girl.
My girl.
My beautiful Riley.
Sure she runs. In circles. Behind the other kids.
Mirroring play.
Never participating in it.
Sometimes walking slow, all by herself. Other times watching, laughing after the joke has passed and the group has moved on. Never right in the moment.
And every time I see it, it breaks my heart.
She loves school.
I have seen in the contained space of the classroom how her friends aide her, pull her in to participate, make sure she is included.
It is only in recess that I see this.
If she feels the pain I do when I see it, she can’t express it. Or chooses not to.
But I know it’s there. I know that she will always remember the ‘different’ she felt. I know this, because her dad remembers the same feeling. The same sense of ‘different’. The same attempts to participate without the sense of how.
It’s something I don’t know how to fix for her. I can’t go to the school and force the kids to make the effort in recess. It’s their wild time, it’s expected to just run free.
But still…
What I wouldn’t give for her to be pulled in to the games. Instead of mirroring, melting in.
by Sarah | Jan 5, 2012 | All About Me
[flickr id=”6637796263″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]I suck at Resolutions. New Years I try to ignore. It’s just another day – another year. Life doesn’t change just because I have to change the date I write on my checks (yes, I still do write checks – about 3/mo).
Plus if something is a “resolution” I’m almost guaranteed to crap out on it. I have a problem with ‘stick-to-it-iveness’. It’s a long standing problem that I don’t see getting resolved (Pardon the pun).
So when I saw over at The Band that instead of making unattainable resolutions, they were bringing it with the statement “I will…” and naming attainable goals through ideas, thoughts, and attitudes; I was ready to participate in that.
This is what I WILL do…
I WILL respect myself. Always my own worst critic, I forget this key point too often.
I WILL practice patience. Instead of getting annoyed at every little interruption I will stop, breathe, and actually listen.
I WILL stop carrying the world on my shoulders. In this past year I’ve become surly and grumpy, and I blame myself for carrying everything on my shoulders. It’s not on purpose, and Archie tries to get me to stop stressing – but my brain doesn’t work like that. It has to dissect every problem right then and there.
I WILL remember how to find the silver lining again. Tied to the previous statement, it seems like in the past few months my capability to find that silver lining has waned.
I WILL take better care of myself. This goes beyond a weight loss, getting fit, dieting type of deal. No. This is about taking better care of me – head to toe & brain to body. It’s not a goal weight, it’s a goal state of mind. Being a SAHM is wonderful, I love it – but I let myself go. The size of pants I have to buy now makes me cry & I hate pictures of myself because I don’t like what I’ve become. Slothful, and careless, eating nothing but crap, crap, and more crap. I’m better than that.
I WILL get out more. Going to see the Geek Girls, taking the kids to the zoo (hello membership) or just OUT in the warmer months. Everywhere I go I will take my camera, and I will enjoy what life Indiana has to offer (it does have something to offer, right?)
I WILL be disciplined in my efforts. I don’t need a minute by minute schedule – but I need some organization. For cleaning the house, for working on my writing, for just spending time with my family. Chaos hasn’t worked well in previous years. This year I need to try being organized for a change.
I WILL be brave & daring. I will step outside my comfort zone. Try something new, leave behind things that hold me back. This applies to writing, photography, and just life. Having social anxieties, this won’t be so easy…heck going to the gym on a regular basis is daring for me…and I’m doing that. I can do more.
by Sarah | Jan 4, 2012 | All About Denver, Crap, Random, The Teenager
[flickr id=”6087274981″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”]At first I thought it might be the special needs babies, toddlers, kids…
I thought it might be the mountains of paperwork to deal with it all.
The endless doctor visits, medical terminology, therapists and IEP’s.
No. It’s not going to be any of that.
It’s going to be 1 word.
TEENAGER.
The surly attitude. The lack of common sense. The lack of respect. The lack of hygiene.
In brief shining moments you see the brilliance of his brain. The kindness of his heart.
Covering it all is the teenitude. The fact that we, as his parents, are just the biggest jerks, the meanest people, and so frickin’ annoyingly embarrassing.
According to the Scout leaders they see it all the time…and then there is the “lightbulb moment” when it all clicks and he becomes a human being.
We wait for that day.
Or death.
Whichever comes first.
Right now I’m thinking it will be death.
