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.

17th Annual Paws in the Park

The 17th Annual Paws in the Park walk is on Saturday, 12 February 2011 at Lake Eola in downtown Orlando, Florida. Last year Heidi and I raised $70 more than my original goal! This year my goal is $100, and I’m hoping to surpass it, too!

Above is a photo the Mutts on a Mission Pack Leader, Kurt Bouwman, sent me recently – it’s a photo of me and Heidi back in February of this year at the 16th Annual Paws in the Park walk. = ) She was so teeny and fluffy! If you want to read about last year’s event and see photos, check out this blog post.

I hope you consider making a donation to make a difference in the lives of thousands of animals by sponsoring or participating in the SPCA of Central Florida's Annual "Paws In The Park.” If you can’t give, but know someone who can, please pass this on to them - it can’t hurt to ask!

To Sponsor My Fundraising:

1. Please visit my Personal Fundraising Page and consider helping me by making a secure online donation now by clicking here
2. Click "Sponsor Me"
3. Continue with donation
4. Return to my sponsor page
5. Leave a message on my fundraising wall = )
6. When you make an online donation, I will be notified by email of your support and you will automatically receive an e-tax receipt from the SPCA of Central Florida.

To Participate with My Pack in Fundraising and the Walk:

1. Navigate to this website
2. Click "Sign Up"
3. Accept the waiver
4. Join as a pack member
5. Search for the pack name "Mutts on a Mission"
6. Select "Mutts on a Mission" team name
7. Click "Join this Team"
8. Continue with registration

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you for your support!

Heidi Update

Lots has been going on for my Miss Heidi. She had a vet visit yesterday that was particularly helpful. The crux of the visit was for her lip sore, which I accurately researched and found to be localized demodex canis mites. Don't fret; it's not contagious. $45 later the vet prescribed a gel to kill off the overly active mites. Did you know that all dogs have mites all over them that live in parasitic bliss? Gross, huh? Reminds me of the hippo and teeny tiny bird team... sort of.

Anyway, got the lip sore sorted out; should be healed up in 2 weeks. The vet also said he wanted to see Heidi pack on 5 pounds in the next 4 weeks. For months she's been holding consistently at 55 pounds. And, trust me, I have been working diligently to get her to eat regularly and consistently. I think she's developed into being a picky eater. Anyway, he recommended adding wet food to her dry food. So far it's worked like a charm. Hopefully this trick stands the test of time. I can already tell she's happier with a full tummy.

As Heidi has hit her 12-month mark, and being a German Shepherd Dog, she's been pushing some of my buttons. It's been a bit stressful being a puppy momma, but it's also one of those things where we're both learning. She's smart and is catching on quickly to what is acceptable and unacceptable. I think I'm going to see how she does outside of the crate this week while I'm at work. She's proven herself to be a good girl around the apartment for the last week and a half.

Saturday I took Heidi to a beautiful, hidden gem in Orlando: the Greenland Urban Wetlands. It's a walking park that used to be a landfill. Heidi was well-behaved, and I was able to let her off the leash for a while. Her, Bella, Mardigan, Gabbie, Carmela and Tito's Beagle had a lovely puppy playdate while Jessica, David, Heather, Chris, Tito, Doug and I got to visit with one another and enjoy cinnamon sugar pita chips! Mmm!



Team Rodent

Team Rodent, in short:

Team Rodent is a non-fiction book written by Carl Hiaasen about the Walt Disney Company and its stance towards the outside world. The book's primary focus is on non-film related Disney enterprises such as Disney World and their effects on the environment and local culture. (Taken from Wikipedia's article on the book.)

My friend, Matt, a Floridian, loaned me this interesting book about the famous mouse. It was a straight-forward way of looking at the dreamy corporation where no wrong can occur. Turns out wrong does occur for Disney, and Hiaasen points out various examples. If Disney does wrong, someone complains or files against Disney and pushes hard enough, Disney will usually write a check and be done with it. I don't recall Disney ever really having admitted fault by Hiaasen's accounts.

It makes for something interesting to think about, how Disney affects everyone. You don't have to go to the park and pose with Pluto to interact with Disney; all you have to do is watch Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Lost or Dancing with the Stars. Disney owns ABC. Unless you're a non-TV watcher like me, I bet I just touched on everyone who reads my blog.

It's pretty absurd the lengths that Disney goes through, legally and politically, to keep it's happy, perfect, Mickey Mouse with a spotless reputation.

Personally, I'm kind of torn. I grew up watching Disney movies - The Classics, at that, and those were some darned good cartoon full-length movies for children. That being said, I feel like I'm being duped if I'm a fan of Disney. Disney is pretty sneaky. Now I'm in on a lot of dirty details about Disney that the vast majority of the public isn't even slightly aware of because of how swiftly Disney cleans up afterwards.

Disney is a hungry beast. I think any Orlando resident - probably any Florida resident - can tell you that Disney affects the world in big ways.

Anyway, interesting read for sure, especially if you live in Orlando.

Wikipedia Article

The Lovely Bones

The Lovely Bones was my first Alice Sebold novel.

I had seen the book on the popular fiction tables when you first walk into the book store but I hadn't really paid it attention. When I saw the trailer for the movie version, I knew I'd be reading the book soon. Talk about a line-up: Wahlberg, Saranden, Weisz! Some of my favorites!

But back to the book...

I liked Alice's depiction of Heaven. The story to me was about letting go of life once we pass away and into our Heaven. Everyone's Heaven is unique to themselves, but they can overlap. That concept was entirely fresh to me and fascinating. So this is what happens after we die, according to the book. What would my Heaven be like? With whom would my Heaven overlap?

The book had a magical feel to it. Though there wasn't much supernatural about it. Sometimes Susie would "appear" to her loved ones, namely her younger brother, Buckley, but I found myself almost constantly willing Susie to change the course of an event happening to her family down on Earth. She wanted to, too, but her lesson was that the dead cannot change things for the living. Through memories the dead live on in the minds of the living.

Another neat aspect of the book as the way Alice applied the Butterfly Effect. The small-town death of a young girl changed the lives of so many. Especially Ruth; she was one of my favorite characters who really developed through the novel. I also enjoyed seeing Lindsey change. The grandmother had a lot of spunk; she was always fun and had a quirky way with her wisdom.

***Spoiler alert!!!***

The only thing I didn't fully get was the title. At first I thought it was the bones Mr. Harvey collected from the animals, which led me to believe that eventually Susie's bones would be found. Then the title "The Lovely Bones" would make sense in a literal sense. But in the very end Alice mentions the bones of a body recovering. Meh. It didn't tie together as seamlessly as I had expected/wanted. Or maybe I just missed something.

I liked that justice was served to Mr. Harvey, even if Susie's family never learned of it happening.

***End of spoiler.***

IMDB Article: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380510/
Apple Trailer: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thelovelybones/

The Last Lecture

My favorite class in college was Change Management. It's a pretty unappealing class title given that most everyone fears change and management sounds mundane. The professor made all the difference. Why? He cared. I think he realized that people needed to be taught how to cope with change, and so teaching this class was his way of making a difference in the world, one Purdue student at a time. He certainly made a difference in my life. (By the way, his name is Al Crispo. Here is his Purdue faculty biography.)

Another professor who has changed the lives of many on a much larger scale was Randy Pausch. I first hear of Randy in my Change Management class. My professor gave us a "movie day," and we were drawn in to Randy's story. Basically Randy lived a pretty great life even through finding out he had terminal cancer. He found a way to tell his story, his life lessons, his wisdom in the face of death to colleagues, students current and past, and even his three young children through his Last Lecture at Carnegie Mellon. I'm not going to try to cover all that he does in the video, but I urge you to take the time to watch it sometime. It will inspire you to shoot for the moon; even if you miss you will land among the stars.

Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams by Randy Pausch

A while after seeing Randy's video I learned that he had made the lecture into book format. I am reading the book now, and it is excellent. It is a handbook for success and happiness, really, two things which make for a pretty nice life.

I am not going to do a book review past this entry as I've already covered what I would like to cover on this lecture and book. Except that I have great admiration for Randy: he was able to take the worst possible news (you're going to die soon) and better the world with that news; that is remarkable grace. Anyway, this book is one of those books I feel every person ought to read.

-Amanda

Researching the GSD

This week kicked off my extensive research into the German Shepherd Dog (GSD)! I have been acting as a sponge and soaking up heaps of information from books like "The Everything German Shepherd Book" and from friends who own dogs. I grew up with dogs, and that helps prepare one, but I am certain that growing up with a dog and owning a dog are two very different things. Now it won't be my parents caring for the dog, but me, etc. But it'll be worth every moment of owning a sweet little German Shepherd pup like one of these:



Which I know will eventually get quite large and look gorgeous like this one:



Why a GSD? Many reasons! A few of the top reasons (not necessarily in order):

1. companionship (I live alone with my cat who, while wonderful, doesn't provide the companionship I could have with a dog).

2. man's best friend (I've always wanted a dog of my own, and now I'm finally able to provide a healthy environment for one; I look forward to working with the pup, training it and taking it to obedience classes!)

3. protection (Living alone in a big city can be scary sometimes, especially at night. While I live in a safe area and a nice apartment complex, one can never be too sure; a dog, especially a GSD, would provide protection.)

4. running buddy (After the pup is a year old I can begin taking it on runs with me!)

I have a lot to prepare for in getting a puppy. Mentally I'm pretty much there. The biggest hurdle was realizing and coming to terms with the fact that during puppyhood I'll have to sacrifice my lunch hour daily to come home to care for the pup. I've realized that this will be very worthwhile in the end, though. In fact, I'm kind of excited about coming home midday through the work week; it'll make for a nice lift in my day, seeing the pup.

I also know it will be expensive to not only acquire but also to own the pet. I'm budgeting $1000 in expenses for the first year, not including the price of the puppy, which I'm not sure about as I've not yet began contacting potential breeders. I'm hoping everything will fall into place (financially and time-wise with the breeder) such that I'll have a puppy by late Summer 2010 or early Fall 2010.

I'm very interested in bringing a GSD into a home where there is already a cat (as in my situation). I know GSDs are have strong herding tendencies, but I also know that they are highly trainable. My plan is to teach the pup early on that Ashes is not to be herded into a corner, etc. Also, while it's a pup, I'll be keeping a constant eye, so I can definitely watch, monitor and control how things develop between the pup and Ashes. I'm still reading up on what experts have to say about GSDs and a cat(s) mixing in the home.

If you have any tips on owning a dog in general or owning a German Shepherd specifically, please send them my way! I look forward to hearing your advice!

Amanda

PS - I want a female!

The Alchemist

When I first saw this book in the store I wondered what story could be told about chemistry and mountains. When I first heard a passage of the book in a dear friends wedding I added the novel to my reading list. Lucky for me, it wound up being the November 2009 book for my book club; we had wonderful, intimate discussion that evening at Stardust.

Here are a few reasons why I love "The Alchemist:"

1. It read like a fairy tale, transporting me to childhood with breaths of magic, nostalgia and enlightenment.
2. The story is simple and powerful.
3. The protagonist is transformed.
4. I think everyone would benefit from reading it.
5. The allegories are clever and well done.

I'm upset with myself for waiting so long to write this review, but "better late than never," right? Bottom line: you should read "The Alchemist" if you haven't already.

Wikipedia Article

Amanda

Tuesdays with Morrie

Finished the book in three days; very quick read. Mitch Albom has a great narrative skill, and I fell in love with the characters (real people) and the story. Mitch entwines honest, shamelessness and even humor into this loving tale.

Reminding me of Randy Pausch's story, this story is about how Morrie learns how to live his last days through learning how to deal with his looming death. Morrie has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a disease where you gradually lose control of your body. One with ALS dies when the disease reaches their lungs; they become unable to breathe. Morrie has an unbelievable perspective and attitude towards his condition, but that does nothing to stop him from living out loud and to the fullest. If anything, his condition was his most beneficial blessing. If anything, this disease gave him renewed life.

I chalk this book up on my List of Books Everyone Should Read. It's truly wonderful. It is amazing how life is so much simpler, so much slower, so much more satisfying if we learn from the lessons Morrie shares with Mitch.

My first reflection was how 180 this book was from my last one, American Psycho, haha. A fresh breath of air, for sure! Tuesdays with Morrie helped me with the death of something from my recent past. I think this book can help us all learn about death because, while it sounds utterly morbid, death is always around us in some way or another. Graduating college, moving to a new town, stuff like that. Something in our life has to end and die - this is required for something new to be born into our lives. The Lion King had it right... everything is part of the Circle of Life.

I've not seen the movie yet, but might someday. The movie has Jack Lemon in it to play Morrie. There's a link for the trailer below.

If you've read the book, please feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment!

Links:
Book's Website
Movie Trailer
IMDB

Love or perish,

Amanda

To Be Understood

What does it mean to be understood? Please share your opinionated answers. = )