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/