Wine-O

The best part about this picture?  It looks like I'm drinking out of a fish bowl!  Had to share the funniness.

Books to Read

Ok, so these are books I just checked out.  It's a comical picture at best because of the mish-mash selection.  Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a book I've been wanting to read.  Chua writes about how Chinese parenting differs from U.S. parenting.  I'm excited to read this one.  The other three were random picks.  Fifty Shades of Grey is a newer fiction novel that's supposed to be some dirty romance novel.  I was a little embarrassed to grab it, but I've heard too much talk about it on websites and such.  I figured I better check out what it's all about. Janet Evanovich's How I Write was another random selection because I've been writing so much.  I've never read any of her fiction work (my mother LOVES her books and always talks about them), but since she's successful I thought it would be nice to compare her process to Stephen King's since I just read his book, On Writing.  The final book in the stack is Unclutter Your Life in One Week.  The librarian and I were laughing about this one.  Seriously?  One week?  But, I'm just thinking any organization ideas are always helpful.  So, there you have it.  That's (hopefully) my next month reading list while I step away from the book before my big edit.  I will report when done!

Reviews

I've been wanting to write a post on the books I've read so far this year and my thoughts on them.  I've read five, but I'm really hoping to get in about 20 before the end of the year.  The summer should make that a little easier!  So far, though, this is what I've conquered:

-Pride and Prejudice--by Jane Austen--Okay, I've read this book too many times.  It's one of my favorites.  I love, that for the era, Austen wrote a pretty strong female character.  Elizabeth is fantastically snarky and I've always appreciated that.  This is a book I really like to read every few years because it's just so great.  Oh, Mr. Darcy!

-The Hunger Games (Trilogy)--by Suzanne Collins--I definitely recommend everyone read this trilogy.  They're all quick reads and fairly entertaining.  I had one student say she thought they were better than Harry Potter and that's why I ended up reading them myself.  Although I disagree with her statement (Harry Potter is still better written), I did enjoy the books.  I liked that the main character, Katniss, wasn't a complete wuss.  She was a more realistic and strong female character (which is my major beef with the Twilight series--Why is Bella so weak all the time?) and that really spoke to me.  She makes for a great example for young ladies in the world.  The story is weak in some points, but over all it's good for YA writing.

-On Writing-by Stephen King--This book is King's memoir on his journey to becoming a writer and his advice to writers.  I really liked reading about his journey--I felt connected to the part that he wrote as a child and as an adult, he was always passionate about it.  I even liked hearing that he was an educator before he hit it big and that he had been through many struggles (no silver spoons, people).  His advice on writing is valuable (although his complete loathing of adverbs is a little over the top).  He has great advice on setting a schedule and making time for the "muse" as well as editing the work.  If you're a writer, it's worth reading.

-Steal Like an Artist--by Austin Kleon--This book is advice directed to creative people.  The main message is to make time for your creativity and to remember to explore.  It had some cute tidbits and it would be a nice gift book for those creative souls in your life.  However, it is by no means a deep and highly instructional or compelling book.  Kleon has cute inspirational tidbits if you're feeling like a creative loser and need a pick me up, but I felt like his book was very "surface level" and lacked credibility (maybe this is because I'm older than him and have had different life experiences).  So, if you get it's just a cute little quick read pick-me-up, then you'll love it.  Otherwise, pass on by

Vertigo

I stayed home today (well, I came home after being at work for an hour) because my husband called me feeling like crud.  He said he was dizzy and I instantly thought he was going to die and I would have to sell everything and move into a condo and buy a minivan...luckily, he's still alive (What would I do without my sweetheart?) and we got him to the doctor.  He has Vertigo.  Nice, huh?  So, I ended up playing with the kids and I just got done writing 750 words.  Decent words--not crap.  I'm getting closer and closer to my goal.  I'm on chapter 20 now.  One more after this one and then I step away and get ready to edit.

Today

Me and the stupid dog. This is the second picture I took. The first was of Dexter staring at my cleveage. While funny, I didn't want to reveal my secrets yet. ;)


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On Sucking

I know what you're thinking--why is she writing Rated R crud?  I don't want to hear about a suburban wife/educator/mother talking about "that."  Ok, I'm not talking about that.  But it's an awesome image in your head right now for sure.  I had HORRENDOUS writer's block Thursday and Friday night.  I'm super behind.  I had to erase some stuff that was so horribly written that I'm 3,500 words behind my goal in fact.  So I feel like I'm sucking at the writing game.  I really hope this week goes better in that venue.

Also, I only have 4 weeks left of school.  I may be switching schools and grade levels for next year, so I could have some busy summer months ahead of me.  AND I'm bent on getting back into my hardcore workouts and eating right starting this week (ENOUGH starting over on this, Amber, OK?).  I lost a ton of weight last summer and looked decent (not as good as I did before baby #3 unfortunately), and I'm determined to get back to that place.  I strongly dislike feeling like a pudgy muffin butt...