January Books

Looking for your next book? The three I read in January were all great! We're only a month into 2013 and I have 3 books under my belt! I can already tell that this year will hold a much redeemed "read book count" as compared to that of 2012. = )

January

(1) Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - a twisty-turney mystery story of a man, his wife, and solving the mystery of where/why she's "gone"; the story is told well in a unique fashion of every other chapter being told from the man's perspective, then the woman's, but the catch is that he starts with present day and moves forward, and her side is told from her journal, past moving forward - eventually their chapters meet in time and go forward together

(2) The Dog Stars by Peter Heller - January's book club book; takes a while to get used to the writing style (no quotations or quote indentations), but a great post-apocalyptic tale of a man, his dog, and their search for something worth carrying on for in such a world; I really enjoyed this one - more than I expected to

(3) Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion - a zombie romance with Romeo and Juliet themes; funny, thoughtful, zombie-licious; can hardly wait to see the movie (it opens this Friday!)

Here's what I have lined up to read in February:

February

(4) James & the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (I figure I can get this one knocked out even with a paper due this Sunday - LOVED the movie!)

(5) A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin (started this back in May of last year, needed a break from Westeros, I suppose, but I find myself giddy with excitement at the idea of jumping back into that awesome world!)

(6) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (February book club book!)

(7) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (started a while ago, excited to pick back up!)

(8) Peony in Love by Lisa See (book given to me by a dear friend!)

Happy reading!

YAWERS & Before I Go to Sleep

Since my East Orlando Twenty-Something Book Club has pretty much fizzled out like a dud of a firework I have I joined a new and very-much-alive book club. It is called YAWERS. It's pronounced ya-ers. It's an acronym which stands for "YAY! Adults Who Enjoy Reading Still!" It is not to be confused with yawners: this group has chosen several of my top favorite picks (I like to think I have pretty good tastes), numerous renowned titles that I've been meaning to read, and some up-and-coming reads which are gathering momentum.

Last month one of the books up for the running to be the month's book was Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson.

Yesterday I finished Storm of Swords, Book III of A Song of Fire & Ice by George R. R. Martin, and, since I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket book, I stopped by Barnes & Noble to do some browsing and pick up a new novel. I walked out with Before I Go to Sleep, along with H. G. Well's The Time Machine & The Invisible Man, but that's beside the point.

I read the opener of Before I Go to Sleep last night and was captivated. Today I've been nearly constantly thinking about the story and what will happen and what it would be like to be Christine. I'm already a huge fan.

I'll post more thoughts after I finish the book. I expect I'll finish the book this weekend (even with the move!).

Books Read in 2011

If you know me, then you know that I have a passion for reading. In 2011 I had the pleasure of reading 28 books, 26 of which were novels. Reads include the entire available-in-paperback-Sookie-Stackhouse series, the start of a re-read of the Harry Potter Series and the conclusion of The Millennium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy). The links below link to more information about the book; the list is in reverse-chronological order.

• Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown
• The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
• The Husband by Dean Koontz
• Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel
• Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
• Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
• From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
• All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris
• Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
• Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
• Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
• Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
• Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
• Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
• Once a Runner by John L Parker, Junior
• Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
• Tinkers by Paul Harding
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
• Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to C# Programming
• Java for Dummies, 9-in-1

My top 5 favorite books read this year are as follows with one being the most favorite:

1. Snow Flower & the Secret Fan
2. The Help
3. Shades of Grey
4. Life of Pi
5. A Christmas Carol

Eat Pray Love

I am FINALLY getting around to writing my book review for Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Here are a bunch of associated links you may like to visit:

Elizabeth Gilbert web page for the book

IMDB's article for the film (2010)

Film trailer #2

Wikipedia's article for the book

Book on Amazon.com

Rotten Tomatoes ratings and reviews for the film

So. My review on the book.

SPOILER ALERT!

Don't read any further if you don't want to know if Elizabeth finds love in the third leg of her journey.

I really enjoyed this memoir of a woman's pursuit of happiness by way of gorging Italian food, growing spiritually and galloping off in love. It is a light book that is well suited to those who enjoy travel.

My favorite part is Eat, where Elizabeth lets her self live through eating whatever she wants in Italy. Loads of spaghetti and original pizza! I liked her friendship with her Italian tutor a lot and the friends she met there. Her little apartment was quaint in my memory of her living space.

Speaking of living spaces, she had great fortune because she had an awesome room and roommate (though quiet, heh) in India in the Pray leg of the trip. I had mixed feelings about this portion of the book going into it: ugh, I don't want religion/spirituality shoved down my throat versus hmmm, I wonder what she got out of her stay in the community in India. Turns out I really enjoyed this part. I especially liked how Elizabeth came around to love the arduous prayers. I'm a big believer in the fruits of the process and hard work that goes into something. I like that Elizabeth found something in which to pour herself spiritually. The sense of community she found was therapeutic, too. And let's not forget Richard from Texas! He was one of my top favorite people she met in her trip.

And the final place Elizabeth stayed was BEAUTIFUL! Bali. Beaches. Breezes. The movie made her living quarters a little more glamorous than I imagined in my head, but it still worked well. If I go to Bali, I hope I am lucky enough to stay in a similar bungalow. But, ah, the topic of love. Love is the biggest mystery, and in the end I'd just like to say that it finds you in its own time. *shrug.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

Books Read in 2010

I always enjoy reading through the list of books I read over the last year. In 2010 I read 20 books; that's four less than last year. (Meh. I started a master's program last fall and got a puppy.)

The following is a complete list of the books I read. The links take you to the book's website. Search the title/author in my blog to see my personal review of each book (some reviews have yet to be written... working on it).

• 
  
• Water for Elephants*, **
• Mockingjay by Susanne Collins*
• Catching Fire by Susanne Collins*
• The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson*
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson*
• The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins*, **
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring*
• Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
• A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson*
• Team Rodent
• The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
• Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer*
• Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell
• Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman**
• The Children of Men by PD James**
• I Am Legend by Richard Matheson*, **
• The Five Love Languages, Singles Edition by Gary Chapman*
• The Everything German Shepherd Dog Book by Joan Hustace Walker

* personal favorite
** East Orlando Twenty-Something Book Club book

I Hope I Survive August

I hope I survive August. Many of you who know me know that I keep busy, but that is normal for this girl. No big deal. To give you a feel of how busy August will be: August is so busy it seems overwhelming even to me!

As of today, here is what I have going on this month:

• Reading:
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (11 August 2010)
• The Hunger Games (July 2010)
• Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (dropped)
• Knitting Night with girl-friends (tonight!)
• Turkish Dinner at Bosphorus Lounge with book club friends (this Friday!) (moved to September)
• Sand Volleyball and Cookout at Matt's (this Saturday!)
• 5th Annual Moss Park 5K (this Saturday, but I'm thinking of skipping this since I've not been training... kind of forgot about this race...) (skipped)
• Eat Pray Love movie night with girl-friends (13 August 2010)
• Heather's Birthday Party (21 August 2010)
• Homeless Children's Birthday Party with Jessica and her volunteer group (have to work instead)
• Lockheed Martin ISLDP Leadership Development Conference I (I will be in Lansdowne, VA from 16-20 August)
• The August Book Club (for The Hunger Games)
• Kristin visits for a long weekend! (we're super excited to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a girls' night in and a night downtown!)
• Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie night (10 August 2010)
• My class(es) for Penn State begin (23 August 2010)
• Church with Kayelee & Chelsea on Sundays (22 August 2010)
• Brunch with Kayelee & Chelsea to discuss our upcoming Bible study group! (22 August 2010)

Shew! It was tiring just blogging all of that!

Can you believe that in addition to all of that I am working on putting together a karaoke night with the book club and also a Euchre/Spaghetti Pitch-in night! Those things may have to wait until September rolls around. Oh! And I want to get over to Melbourne. I am itching to visit friends, Aunt Joan and the beach!

Anyway, I hope your August is off to a great start!

WL Dog Park

Tonight I had the great pleasure of spending the evening with Heidi at a new dog park: the Waterford Lakes Dog Park. It's a stone's throw away, has friendly folks and dogs, water, a dog-i-pot, benches for the humans and GRASS rather than sand which is outstanding! The weather was super cooperative after a really hot and humid day, so we were there for a couple hours. I always mean to get some reading in while Heidi frolics around, but I really enjoy watching her play, dog watching and chatting with the other dog owners. It all makes me smile.

Heidi with Bailey (Boston Terrier exiting the photo) and Max (whom Heidi romped around with quite a bit)

There was a sweet, old Great Pyrenees and his nice owner was the favorite among all the dogs because he gave them really great back scratches. He gave Anslow (his Great Pyrenees) a back scratch and caused some shedding; as you can see, Heidi caught some of the fluff and just left it there for a good while.

Scratchin'. It's what dogs do.

A new favorite photo of me and my girl!

In other news... Work went along okay. Busy in the morning, training in the afternoon. The training is good, but time passes slowly. I didn't get up early enough to run with Heidi, but it turned out to be a good ting since it was ridiculously humid even at the early hours of the morning. I'm going to run with her tomorrow morning, weather permitting. So I guess the running this week will be Tuesday, Thursday Saturday again. That's fine.

Normally grocery shopping wouldn't be considered news, but I stumbled upon a gem! P.F. Chang's makes microwavable steam meals!!! I had one over the weekend and am awestruck! The General Chang one is good, and tomorrow I'll try the Ginger Chicken & Broccoli! Mmmm!

I announced the book for August tonight: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Anyone read that one? I read up on it, and it sounds really good, so I'm excited!

Weekend News

This weekend was fun with the 80s pub crawl and book club (for "Eat Pray Love," review coming soon) today. I got the apartment mostly cleaned and got to catch up with Kristin after a month of chaotic phone dates due to travel and vacations between our schedules. Also, I did some volunteering Saturday morning at the National Down Syndrome Congress conference that took place over at Disney this weekend. I think it is fantastic how much support and networking the NDSC provides to those raising children with DS!

This week should be a good one. I am in training at work from 1 PM to 5 PM Monday through Thursday. Friday I'm celebrating the course's completion by going to lunch with some colleagues. I'm also going to lunch Wednesday with my mentor.

Outside of work I'm running with Heidi this week on the mornings of Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We've been running 5K three times a week these last few weeks. I am trying to get to the gym at least twice; three times if I'm lucky. I like to keep up with the cross-training (cycling, elliptical and ramp) as it keeps my body constantly challenged.

Through the week I'll be working on scrap-booking more of Heidi's baby photos and having fun with her at the dog parks.

The highlight of the week will be Wednesday evening when I have some girlfriends over to spend the evening knitting! I'll be teaching the newbs, and I think I might bake a pie. I think someone will be bringing some vino, too! Should be a lovely time.

Have a great week!

Heidi lounging around while I cleaned the apartment

The Crazy 80s Pub Crawl

Last night was the Orlando Pub Crawl's 5th Annual The Crazy 80s Pub Crawl! It was my first official pub crawl here in Orlando. It reminded me an awful lot of Purdue's Breakfast Club with all of the 80s-themed costumes (trolls, Hulk Hogan, spandex, fluorescent colors and side ponies) and 80s music! Great fun! Here are some photos:

Joel, Heather, Casey and I

Joel, Matt (Karate Kid) and I

I bumped into a real Aussie, Pete (Crocodile Dundee)! Casey and I had to take a photo with him since we both lived in Australia during Study Abroad trips!

A Walk in the Woods

I freaking loved this book!

I read another of Bill Bryson's travelogues, In a Sunburned Country (about Australia), last year - a favorite!

No further along in the book than the very first page I'd already made up my mind that someday I will hike a portion of the AT. This was my favorite take-away from the book.

The book club discussion was tons of fun. Bryson provides a lot of information to ponder and funny anecdotes to relate to and laugh at. Katz is hilarious.

Mom is borrowing this book right now, so I can't flip through the pages to do any quotes or comment at length on a specific passage. Lesson learned for me: Mom likes books about places and experiencing those places.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys travel, learning about places (i.e., The US), going places, nature, and the great outdoors. It's also good if you like general humor because Bryson is a funny fellow.

PS - I think the two creatures were fox.

Website

The Sun Also Rises

This was the book club pick for May 2010. I was really excited about reading this book because I enjoy what Hemingway poetry I've read, and the book is a favorite of one of my good friends, Matt.

Unfortunately the book didn't really tickle my fancy. I was able to sludge through the first half. I remember being confused about who was speaking and not know where the story was going. Not that it had to go anywhere, but I didn't know what the point of the book was. I still don't, come to think of it.

The second half of the book was much more interesting with the bull runs and festivities in Spain. Some of the background was drawn out for my tastes, but I was able to keep up with what was going on in the story.

I didn't catch on until late in the book that Lady Brett was a bit of a flirt. I don't understand how or why her fiance put up with that behavior. All along it seemed Jake and Brett were going to have an affair together, but nothing ever really came of it.

Maybe that's the point. That two people can love each other but nothing may ever come from it.

Anyway, the book does not reside so high on my list of favorites as it does on Matt's, but that's the great thing about being in a book club: it'll get you out of your reading box. I'm happy I finished it, and I look forward to discussing the book with Matt (I was out of town for May's book club).

Wikipedia Article
IMDB Article

Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs

This was the March book club book, suggested by the other Amanda:

This book is a collection of 18 essays where each pop culture topic was hit on during the sleepy, unwinding moments before Chuck fell asleep. Interesting premise, I'd say. I hadn't read a collection of essays before, at least not willingly, so that caught my attention. I liked being able to jump around or skip an essay if it didn't really appeal.

Here is the full list of essays (from Wikipedia) (the ones in bold are my favorites):

• 1. This Is Emo: Klosterman recounts "fake love" we are conditioned to pursue, and the false, unbalanced nature of When Harry Met Sally.
• 2. Billy Sim: Klosterman describes his experience with the reality-mimicking videogame The Simsand how The Sims illustrates that "even eternally free people are enslaved by the process of living."
• 3. What Happens When People Stop Being Polite: The impacts of MTV's The Real World and how it led to the development of one-dimensional personalities.
• 4. Every Dog Must Have His Every Day, Every Drunk Must Have His Drink: An ode to Billy Joel, particularly the universality of his album Glass Houses.
• 5. Appetite for Replication: Klosterman interviews and spends a few days with the members of aGuns N' Roses tribute band, "Paradise City," and outlines the significance of tribute bands.
• 6. Ten Seconds to Love: An analysis of how American culture is upset with the unrealistic images of success it has created, as stemming from a discussion of the Pamela-Tommy sex tape.
• 7. George Will vs. Nick Hornby: A rant against soccer (particularly among youth), claiming it supports outcast culture.
• 8. 33: Klosterman explains how the 1980's rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics symbolizes all rivalries in life, including politics, religion, and race.
• 9. Porn: An explanation of how the Internet has proliferated the porn industry, as per the need of the presence of the amateur and celebrity in our lives.
• 10. The Lady or the Tiger: A brief history of the cereal industry, and how Kelloggs was begun as a religious company, but now is a microcosm for coolness. The "cocoa puffs" in the title comes from this essay.
• 11. Being Zack Morris: An analysis of Saved by the Bell and how "important things are inevitably cliché."
• 12. Sulking with Lisa Loeb on the Ice Planet Hoth: Why Star Wars is so overrated, and how it has come to represent basic morality.
• 13. The Awe-Inspiring Beauty of Tom Cruise's Shattered, Troll-like Face: A discussion of the question "What is reality?" as answered by movies such as Vanilla Sky, The Matrix, Memento, andWaking Life.
• 14. Toby over Moby: How the Dixie Chicks are the new Van Halen, as they are one of the only pop bands with musical quality, and how Van Halen's teenage boys have been replaced by the Dixie Chicks' teenage girls. Also how music taste is used to gauge coolness, and those who ignorantly say they like all kinds "except country" only say so to appear cool.
• 15. This is Zodiac Speaking: A description of three people Klosterman has interviewed who have known or met serial killers, and an exploration of "What does it mean to know a serial killer?"
• 16. All I Know Is What I Read in the Papers: Most of the media's bias is accidental, and stories are mainly developed by circumstance and by the interviewee who calls the journalist back first. Also how sports reporters hate sports, and how newspapers are designed for those who cannot read.
• 17. I, Rock Chump: Klosterman narrates his visit to the 2002 Pop Music Studies Conference by the Experience Music Project, and how it was largely an experience without rock and roll.
• 18. How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found: A commentary on the Left Behind Series and the lifestyle of Evangelical Christians. The chapter title refers to the book How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found by Doug Richmond.

I'm not going to discuss each of my favorite essays, but I will say this: if you like reading Bill Bryson, I recommend this book. Chuck has that same conversational tone and approach in his writing. On the flip side, if you liked this book, I recommend reading Bill Bryson (conversational tone stories about his travels; I read the book he wrote about his time in Australia).

My all time favorite part of the book was the interlude with the 23 questions he asks people in order to determine if he can really love them. How interesting a method to determine if you can love someone! Here is a sample question:

Question 18: You have won a prize. The prize has two options, and you can choose either (but not both). The first option is a year in Europe with a monthly stipend of $2K. The second option is ten minutes on the moon. Which option do you select?

That gives you an idea of the sort of questions Chuck asks. Some of them I had quick answers to; others I had to think about; still others I'm undecided about. For Question 18, however, I'd take the first option to see Europe! Visiting the moon would be out of this world (ha, get it?), but for ten minutes? Nah, I'd rather 524,160 minutes in Europe with a total of $24K to spend while there. I've always wanted to go to Europe. I've never had that same desire to visit the moon. I enjoy gazing at the moon in the night sky. I'd enjoy gazing at the moon in the night sky from Europe, too.

Wikipedia Article
Official Publisher Page

-Amanda

The Children of Men

This was the book for February's book club, suggested by Joey.



I saw the movie version back in 2006 or so. I remember the movie being very grey and dark, filmed in a choppy manner. I also remember having no idea what was going on in the storyline. Lastly, I hated the ending.

This book-movie relationship is one where I feel the book was phenomenally better than the movie. Although, after re-watching the movie (after having read the book), I did like the movie exponentially more than I did originally.

The movie's storyline was fairly different from that of the book. Some things were still there, like names of people, but other things were not really expanded upon but rather only mentioned (i.e., the Quietus). I thought it was dumb how early on Julianne Moore's character was finished in the movie. In the book her character is the most important human on Earth.

PD paints a very exquisite picture of what life without a human child being born for a couple decades would be like: playgrounds are demolished as they are sad reminders, women cart around dolls to satisfy their maternal needs, the last generation feels no need to be alive. Mostly it's a very depressing outlook, but realistic all the same.

I found the first two thirds of the book to be on the slower side. It was interesting but not gripping. Necessary but not fun (lots of background and story building going on). The last third is where it all happens: the main characters are on the run from the government, the big secret is popped, and some romantic drama ensues. Plus, the ending was done well.

Website
Wikipedia Article

In retrospect I will say that it was refreshing to have "Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs" by Chuck Klosterman as the book for March after such a number of dystopian novels, haha! I do love dystopian novels, but goodness - fresh air, please!

-Amanda

February 2010

I always say, "wow, that was a busy month," but when I say "wow, February was a busy month," I mean it in a way that surpasses any way I've ever said it before. Note: life + owning puppy = life on fast-forward! Here's the run-down for what I trouble I was getting into back in February:

Heidi 72-hour vet check - healthy pup minus the minor ear infection that cleared up in a week's time

Volunteer with BC - first time to volunteer as an adult; it was good.

Euchre Night with BC - first time to host a card night; much fun and more Euchre Nights to come!

Phone Dates with Kristin - started having a weekly phone date with Kristin to work through our devotionals

Bonfire at Joel's - even with the Florida Hospital Lady Track Shack 5K the next morning I still went to Joel's, hung out, met some folks and enjoyed the perfect s'more!

BC Movie Night (I Am Legend) - a favorite movie of mine (also partial inspiration for getting a German Shepherd Dog), and lovely company

Super Bowl Party with Matt - my plans fell through but Matt and company provided for a great group of people with whom to celebrate the event. Sad that the Colts lost but at least a Boilermaker took the championship!

Avatar + Pizza with Matt - loved the movie, discovered a cool pizza joint, great friend with whom to enjoy both

Paws in the Park Walk with Matt - Heidi's first socialization opportunity; Matt joined us for the fun (despite the cold weather!)

The Bling Thing with BC - downtown night! First time to the underground bar (can't think of the name of the place). Loved hanging out in the red, Clue room!

Puppy Valentine's Day Party at Joel's - adorable! Cooked out and made several new puppy friends!

2-week vet check - all healthy!!!

Sunshine movie with Matt - I was right on in knowing that Matt would love that movie! Nice evening and discovered my new favorite white wine!

Sam's Senior State Wrestling Tournament - amazing weekend with family and friends to celebrate Sam's big victory!

Chucky's 21st birthday celebration - belated but brilliant! Can't wait to go out with him again!

Puppy Class 1/8 - so much fun! Heidi loves playing with the other pups, and we both love learning!

Waffles with Matt - we decided my Belgian waffle maker needed to be put to good use. Matt brought fresh strawberries! Yum!

Dinner with Darin - Darin was in town! He got to meet Heidi, see my place, and then he treated me to dinner at Amigo's! I love hanging out with Darin; we always have nice conversation!

Pie & Away We Go movie with Matt - another nice evening in with Matt; we both loved the movie, and I made him a pumpkin pie for helping me get to and from the airport the previous weekend.

BC Movie Night (I Am Legend) - even though I watched the movie recently, it was lovely to host another book club movie night!

Church - finally settled into a schedule with Heidi and figured out how to escape the house for a couple hours to get my spiritual fill

Bonfire at Matt's - wrapped up the month with a great evening at Matt's bonfire! I brought Heidi! Everyone loved her and the cucumber salad I brought. S'mores were amazing!

January 2010

Being the list-lover that I am, I've decided to start listing the high-lights of each month. Bonus: this will make it easy for me to recap things at the end of the year. Ta da!

January 2010

Christmas & New Year's Break - long visit home with family and friends; NYE brought in with parents and grandparents over Oliver wine. Took on a second role at work just prior to vacation!

Retro Game Night with BC - first book club social of the year!

Running a lot - training for a marathon (this was a pre-Heidi 2010 resolution that has since been tweaked from "run a full marathon by the end of the year" to "run a full marathon within the next 15 months" - spring is a great time for marathons in Florida)

Bowling with BC - I did terribly but had a ton of fun anyway because of the cool folks in company

Big Daddy's & Pub Crawl with BC - even though we didn't get to do karaoke (fail!), this was still my favorite night out in Florida yet! "I feel wine!"

Ingeborg's Visit -  Norway Night, Hue and BC, Lake Eola, lunches and dinners, Joel's birthday at the Citrus Club, Dear John pre-screening, Girls' Night!

Heidi - she's my girl! Lots to be learned about being a puppy momma, but totally worth it in every way!

-Amanda

Heidi - Week 6

Hello, faithful readers!

This has been a ridiculously busy week for me! Non-stop until just now. I've had something going on every evening of the work week so far, and so I've not had much energy to snap photos of Heidi. We have been extending the lengths of our daily walks, though. She loves romping around outside and playing around the pond.

I had an appointment on the other side of Orlando Tuesday evening and had to miss our puppy class this week. I was really bummed, but I will reschedule a make-up class.

All week Heidi's potty training has been at B status. She's been doing really well all week except last night. I kid you not, she peed in her crate FOUR times last night. She's never peed twice in her crate in one night, so I've no idea what that was about, but today she's not had any problems. Let's hope she keeps up the good behavior!

Wednesday I had some book club guests over to watch a book-to-movie, Children of Men. Heidi was well behaved and was gracious enough to let us enjoy the movie without any raucous. Everyone who'd met her shortly after I first got her said how BIG she's grown!

I'm starting to notice a lot of color and texture changes in her coat. Her shoulders and legs are starting to turn from black to the tan, slowly but surely. On the top of her back the fur is becoming silky-like and not so fuzzy. Her ears are still adorable and totally floppy when she trots! Last I weighed her, on Monday, she was 25 pounds. According to my German Shepherd Dog puppy growth chart she is a little behind: by four months she should weigh 36 pounds; right now she is 15.5 weeks old. However, the vet says she's a healthy pup, and Heidi is always energetic and happy, so I'm not worried too much about that.

Here's a photo of Heidi mowing down on a stick. It looks like she has a cigar, haha!

Woofs,

Amanda & Heidi

Strawberry Festival

This weekend I had the pleasure of seeing a long-awaited movie and introducing Heidi to and visiting with several friends!

Friday the book club went to see the new Alice in Wonderland in IMAX 3D. The tale is my favorite childhood story, so there was pretty much no way I was going to leave the theatre satisfied. Plus I'm a Disney and Burton fan. Depp wasn't all he was cracked up to be, but it's certain that the Mad Hatter role was tailor fitted for Depp. I thought Mia played a great adolescent Alice (Mia is Australian, you know). I think my favorite character, however, was the Red Queen, played by one of my favorite actresses, Helena Bohnam Carter. She was great! And I ended up liking the Cheshire Cat a lot more than I thought I would based on his looks alone from the previews; though I do wish they had left him pink and purple. The make-up shifting within a single frame was pretty cool (i.e., on the Mad Hatter when his moods went more than "mad"). I wish they'd renamed the movie to something other than one so similar to the title of the first book on Alice's adventures. The story was more mixed with Through the Looking Glass, but, nevertheless, it was a well-done storyline; something new and creative. I enjoyed mapping the characters in Alice's reality to those in Wonderland.

Directly after the movie I went home, grabbed my overnight bag and Heidi, and headed to Melbourne. I arrived at Aunt Joan's, and, after settling Heidi down, finally got to bed around midnight, which is SUPER late for me these days.

The next morning Heidi got to properly meet Aunt Joan, and then Joan and I went to the Strawberry Festival. Starting things off was the pancake breakfast. For $5 we got two pancakes covered in strawberries, whipped cream and syrup, sausage and OJ (that's better than what one could get at any breakfast diner), and it was perfect! Afterwards Joan and I browsed the markets. I ended up buying a few French hair combs that I've been searching for since my days in Australia.

After the festival I accompanied Aunt Joan to Cocoa for her hair cut appointment, during which I caught up with my mom as we hadn't chatted all week. Then Joan and I stopped by a nursery to pick up some tomato seeds and a special fertilizer she needed. We got back to her house, went on a nice but squirrel-free walk with Heidi, then I headed to visit the guys.

Josh was still golfing when I called, but I was able to reach Dan, so Heidi and I went to his place. He was very hospitable and let me stow Heidi at his place while he and I grabbed some amazing Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. Afterwards we took Heidi on a nice, long walk and enjoyed the day while we waited for Josh to arrive. Josh met Heidi, then the three of us went bowling. I broke 100 the first game and couldn't hit 80 the second game, haha, but both of the guys one a game each. Josh had a few really great streaks!

After bowling Heidi and I headed out and we caught Andy just in time for a quick dinner before I headed back to Orlando. I was so happy to visit with Andy; we had a lot to catch up on together. The only disappointing thing from this weekend was not getting to hang out with Jared and have him meet Heidi.

Today I went to church, and spent lots of time outside with Heidi as it was a lovely day. We played and also grabbed an afternoon nap. Another lovely Sunday.

Cheers,

Amanda

Survivor

This was the book for December, if I'm not mistaken. It happened to be the second Chuck Palahniuk book I've read; the first being "Fight Club," which I very much enjoyed.

I think I liked most everything about "Survivor." It was a hilarious satire about commercialization, sneaky human ways, marketing, celebrity - the list goes on.

One of the funniest things was that I didn't connect the dots that a character named Fertility was sterile! It's funny because she earned her living by sleeping with the men of couples who desired children but could not create their own. Sickening to think of them actually sleeping together instead of artificial insemination, but so funny and wrong that she knew all along that she was sterile, too. Talk about a scam. Anyway, I didn't put it together that her name was Fertility until half way through the book club discussion! It's little things like that which Chuck did so well and so subtly.

Chuck also does a fine job of painting hilarious scenes. My favorite is the bathroom stall scene with the gun and lips on either side of Tender, haha. Another would be when Tender and his brother return to their church/hometown as adults; it has since been turned into a dump site for porn.

I really loved this book. I recommend it to Chuck fans and those who want to snicker at how the world has developed commercially.

Update on the Movie
Website

Cheers,

Amanda

I Am Legend

For January the book club read this awesome book. I saw the movie before I realized it was a book (hate it when that happens!), and while the movie and book have the same basic storyline, they are quite different in portrayal. I really enjoyed the book, but, like "Fight Club," I enjoyed the movie more, which doesn't happen very often.

Man, I wish I'd written this blog earlier when my thoughts were fresh in my mind. I didn't take notes on the book, so I'll just flip through the pages and write what I feel like at the moment.

What I liked about the book:

---the severe routine Robert developed
---seeing Robert transition from a drunk to a student
---the portrayal of how a person would act when they see another person after not having spoken to or seen another human being in 3 years
---the portrayal of how a person would cope without other humans around (i.e., arguing with oneself)
---the excitement of finding a healthy dog
---the desire to die at ones home when the time comes

What I didn't like about the book:

---it was only 160 pages; super short (the book's size is deceptive as it houses 11 of Richard's short stories, not just "I Am Legend"
---I was mentally biased in what I expected of the characters in the book because I'd already seen the movie, although that made some things surprising, which was nice

And that's all I've got. I do highly recommend this book for zombie/vampire/post-apocolyptic fanatics.

Wikipedia Article
Apple Movie Trailer
IMDB Article

Cheers,

Amanda

Puppy Valentine's Day Party

Shame on me, for this is two weeks overdue! Anyway, my friend Joel and I hosted a Puppy Valentine's Day party at his place on Valentine's Day. We invited our fellow dog-owning friends and had a little cookout and welcome party for Heidi. It was a lot of fun to let Heidi romp around with other dogs off their leashes in a magical fenced-in back yard! Also, Jessica made a pup cake! Yummy chicken with sweet potato icing and peanut butter treats on top! Here are some photos from the afternoon (not in order):


feeding Heidi her piece of puppy cake; she wolfed the thing down and wanted more!



Jessica displaying her puppy cake



one of Joel G's friends holding Heidi



Joel L doesn't have a dog, but he did have a hot dog!



a group puppy shot



Jessica holding Heidi



the three larger dogs playing around



Joel G with Heidi



My baby girl and I