One Bloody Thing After Another by Joey Comeau

I was able to read this book through ECW Press.  I honestly don't know what to think.  The book was convoluted and almost impossible to follow.  I don't know what the author was aiming for, nor whether or not he attained it.  The snippets of story left out big gaping holes and I felt lost the whole time.  The story is set up in minuscule glimpses into the lives of three different characters who cross paths during the story. This story would appeal to readers who like horror, or gory stories told in a very unique way.  Personally, this is not something I would read again.  I don't absolutely hate it but I just felt like something was missing.  It's probably from what I came in to the story expecting-a fully told story that has a beginning, middle and end.  That's not at all what this story contains. 

The Hypnotist by MJ Rose

This book was a bit of a surprise.  I did not honestly think that I would like it as much as I did.  The main character has many levels.  He is consumed with the death of his childhood girlfriend.  The book involves past lives and how they relate to the present.  The statue that is a main part of the story is called Hypnos.  It was created in Persia long ago.  The Iranian government has claimed ownership even though it is currently in the possession of the Met.  It was left to the Met by a donor who claimed that he received the statue through legal means.  The Iranian government concocts a plan to get the statue back, legally or no. Another group learns that the statue is connected to some things called Memory Tools.  One of the interesting things in the story is that we learn so little about the tools.  They are something on the edge and somehow in the middle of the book.  The story is slow in places but it is definitely something that I would recommend to anyone who likes mysteries or any story out of the ordinary. 

Dark and Disorderly by Bernita Harris

I received this book as an advance reader through Carina Press.  Many thanks to them for introducing me to this wonderful character and story.  I absolutely adored Lillie.  She was strong in the face of many obstacles.  This was a very intriguing novel.  I enjoyed the fact that even though John Thresher, the psi-investigator, was very handsome, Lillie did not throw herself upon his "masterful manhood."  She was a very strong character in her own right without depending on a man to make her that way.  Lillie is what's called a Talent, which means that she has powers that can't be explained.  She works for the city as a paranormal who's job it is to be, well, a ghostbuster.  Her job is not an easy one and it is not as understood as she would like.  Ghosts have become a menace in the world recently and something has to be done.  Her husband recently died under suspicious circumstances and she is haunted by a series of events that are deadly and not accidents.  I was entranced and read this book really quickly.  I can't wait for the next step in this series.  I hope this is a series because I would love to see more of Lillie and John Thresher.  The author left just enough unanswered questions to make this be something I would look forward to reading.  Well done, Ms. Harris.

The Mermaid's Mirror by L K Madigan

As always, I read this book through netgalley.com.  It was an interesting premise for a story but it just didn't hold my interest.  I slogged through it but never really got into it as I normally do.  The story is about a girl who lives with her dad and stepmom near the beach.  Her dad won't teach her to surf even though he was a pro once upon a time.  She goes against her dad's wishes and learns how anyway.  She finds out that her mom is not gone like she believed and enters a new world.  She has to make an important decision about where she belongs.  I couldn't give this story as much praise as I'd like.  The writing was slow in some parts.  I'd give this book 3 out of 5 stars.

Adios Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft

Adios Nirvana follows a teenage boy and his pathway through the grief of losing his twin brother.  Jonathan carries a lot of guilt concerning his brother's, Telemachus (or Edward) death.  He almost flunks out of high school and lives on Red Bull and No-Doz.  During this painful period in his life, his mom, Mimi, tries to start a wedding chapel in their home.  Jonathan mainly depends on his Thicks who are his and Telly's life long friends.  They do typical teenage boy things but show a large amount of insight into the fact that Jonathan is having a hard time moving past Telly's death.  Since he is failing out of school, the principal and his mentor come up with a plan for him to pass.  He must meet with David, a retired soldier who is dying and write his life story.  At first Jonathan does not want to do this but eventually he meets with David and along the way finds that there is always hope.  You just have to keep trying.  This was a heartwarming book.  It's slow at points but it was definitely worth the read.  I enjoyed the ending. I won't give that away here but it was pretty riveting.  I felt definite sympathy for the main character.  I can't imagine losing a sibling, much less a twin. 

The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn

Through the generous offering of Net Galley, I was able to read this book before it's September 6 publication date.  It is a book written for the pre-teen set and not being a pre-teen myself, I still found this book interesting.  The premise of the story is that Florence, orphaned at five by a tragic accident, has been found in an orphanage by her long lost uncle.  She comes home to Crutchfield Hall where she is welcomed warmly by her uncle and the staff. Her aunt, however, continuously compares her to someone else and she is found sorely lacking in every area.  She then hears about her mysterious cousin, Sophia, who unfortunately passed away in a tragic accident.  Since the accident, Sophia's brother James has been closeted in his room "in poor health".  As Florence starts to feel more and more on edge, she learns about her cousin Sophia.  According to her aunt, Sophia was perfect.  According to everyone else, Sophia had some problems.  As the story goes on, Sophia begins to haunt Florence and the other members of the household.  The conclusion is gripping and was not something I saw coming.  I enjoyed the way the author introduced the slightly creepy elements to the story without beating you over the head that this was a horror story.  All in all, it was an enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a little fright in their stories. 

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Gearing up for a semester of hard work

College starts on Tuesday.  I'm taking four classes, all while taking care of a husband and two kids and working full time.  Suffice to say that this is about to be the most difficult few months. I'm getting ready to put  my nose to the grindstone.  


I can't wait though.  I'm excited.  It's been so long since I've gone to school.  I have to buy books on Tuesday.  The four books I need for my classes are going to cost about $400.  It's mind boggling.  I got good news about my financial aid though.  I can go to the bookstore and charge my books and supplies to my Pell grant.  


Nick says that he will help as much as possible with the kids while I'm going but I do know it's going to be hard because he works so late. Hopefully I can get as much done as possible after they goes to sleep and on the weekends.  I'm working for a better life.  That's what I keep saying to myself.  :)

Days and Days since I've written

I was trying to be good and write here every day.  Guess I broke that streak, huh?  I have an excuse though.  Wednesday night I was really sick and still didn't feel quite right on Thursday.  Last night I had a wonderful time spending quality time with the hubby.  So I do have a valid excuse.  However, I do miss writing here.  It feels good to be able to say what I have on my mind and know that at least my blog is listening.  :)

Today, Zoe and I went to my friend Jamie's baby shower.  She's pregnant with her second child, a girl.  As Abbie has grown out of things-her bassinet, travel swing, clothing, etc-I have passed it on to Jamie.  Today I dropped off another load of things.  It makes me feel good to know that she will get lots of use out of the things that I've given her.  Abbie no longer needs them but Penelope does.  Anyway, Zoe and I had a lot of fun today.  It's rare that I get to spend time with my oldest child anymore.  It's usual the three of us all the time and with Abbie as the baby, she by default, requires the most attention.  I feel like we shortchange Zoe sometimes because she isn't a very needy child and is very independent.  But today, it was mommy and Zoe time.  All was well and we had a great time, just the two of us.  She wore her Cinderella dress over her regular clothes to the party and brought her princess shoes, wand and crown.  She was the life of the party.  :)

Doing stuff to things to make them better...

Some how,some way, I have repaired our laptop computer.  It's been out of commission for at least a year and a half. I replaced the hard drive and managed to reinstall windows xp home.  We had an upgrade cd from when we purchased the computer for a windows vista upgrade.  I thought maybe I could use it to get vista back on the laptop.  I thought maybe I'd have to pay for it but I was cool with that.  At first it wouldn't work, but I kept doing it over and over and finally I think the computer just gave up.  :)  It finally installed and has been working great ever since.  It's nice to have my own computer.  Nick has the desktop and I have this.  Now I'm working on putting all my bookmarks back on. I never realized I have so many.  I can't quite think of them all right now but I will eventually. 

I also helped Nick with his blog today too.  He thinks I'm a genius and that's all that counts.  :D

in other words...

Back at work for the first time in about a week.  So glad my baby's doing better.  I actually like my job a lot.  There's just something about your own space.  Your own things.  We're getting back into the swing of things. Tomorrow Zoe goes back to school and Nick goes back to work.  We will all be back to normal.  

I'm going back to college next week.  Finally going to finish my two year degree which has taken me what? 8 years to complete.  It all looks so easy when you graduate.  But then life happens.  I have to do something with my life though.  Nick's promised to help as much as he can.  I plan on working really hard on the weekends and at night after the kids go to sleep.  It's going to be a long road and probably really hard but it's worth it.  With a degree, I'll be able to get a better job.  Now is the time though that I'm questioning my chosen field.  It's something I'm really interested in but I have to look at the monetary side with two kids.  Is it worth it? 

Books for Soldiers

This is right up my alley.  At this website, you can connect with soldiers overseas and send them books.  I think it's a fabulous idea.  Check it out. 

http://booksforsoldiers.com/

Feeling much lighter...

At least when it comes to toys in the kids' room.  We got rid of so many toys yesterday.  Zoe of course kept pulling things back out the bags and boxes, saying "But that's my favorite__________."  Mean mommy kept putting it all back in when she wasn't looking.  We've pared it down immensely. I sent home 3 bags of toys, plus several big stuffed ones, with my mom.  I didn't want to completely get rid of them.  Just get them out of their room.  We will swap them back in a few months. Abbie has her own baskets of toys on the floor so she can reach them.  Zoe has the big toy box and even with removing 3 bags worth of toys, she still has it full.

Christmas was good to them.  We didn't get to buy them very much but we got the main things they both wanted.  Or that I thought they wanted in Abbie's case.  However, family more than compensated.  They still haven't gotten the Christmas presents from my grandparents.  I didn't think they would be getting anything from them so I honestly didn't even think about it.  However, my grandma called the other day and she and my grandpa apparently bought the kids some presents. Color me surprised.

Update for Abbie:  She's doing very well.  She is crawling, walking while holding on to the coffee table and couch, and fighting with her sister.  I'm so proud of how far my baby has come.  Just a week ago, she was very sick.  RSV is nothing to play with at all.

Getting back in the swing of things

I've let this blog sit and wither away for a long while now. I've decided it's time to get back into writing again. Maybe relieve some stress. :) We just got home on Thursday from 4 days in the pediatric intermediate care unit at the Children's Hospital in Macon. My youngest was sick with RSV. I've never seen a child struggle for breath like she was. We went to the pedi on Monday morning and he sent us directly to the hospital. The hospital did what they could, including breathing treatments every hour, and she still showed no improvement. It was so scary. Nick took Zoe and went home and Abbie and I settled for a long night at the hospital. Around 6pm that night, the pedi came and looked her over and said he was sending her to the icu in Macon because her body was working so hard for breath that he was afraid she would get too tired and quit breathing.

That took my breath away. I think I went into shock, sitting there, holding my baby girl. I immediately called Nick and when I heard his voice on the other end of the line, I couldn't even speak. I burst into tears and he of course started freaking out. He called my mom and they came rushing back to the hospital. My mom was crying, my brother was crying. He thought she was going to die. Abbie was so sick.

They took her by ambulance to the pediatric intermediate unit. She looked so little on that stretcher. It made my heart hurt to look at her. I couldn't ride with her in the back of the ambulance. It was the longest ride of my life.

When we got to the hospital, they immediately hooked up up to oxygen and chest leads. She hated all those wires but didn't really fight them. I held her nonstop for most of the time. No sleep for four days. On Wednesday we were looking at at least 3 more days at the hospital. She hadn't eaten since 2pm on Monday. They had ivs hooked up but she wanted food, dang it.

Thursday, the nurse let us unhook the chest leads, oxygen thing on her foot and the blood pressure cuff. They also took the iv out because it started leaking at the site. Abbie was one happy baby. She felt so much better and was actually playing with toys. She wanted to get down and take off. The doctor came in while I was at lunch. My mom came to relieve me so I could get food as we couldn't eat in her room. My mom called me and said that they were letting her go home. The doctor said she looked so much better. It was unbelievable. I was so excited to bring my baby home. Abbie is happy and healthy now. 4 breathing treatments a day and check in with the pedi on Monday. Life is good again.