Crazy over the Hunger Games....

Ok, forget everything previously stated about the Hunger Games trilogy!! Suzanne Collins makes up for all the things she leaves out of the first book with Catching Fire, the second book of the set! OMG, I was hooked from the first page, so much so, that I finished the entire second book in a day (done only once before with Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson). When I finished the second book I didn't have the third to start so I made Gary go get it the next day (I had work otherwise I would have done it myself right after I finished the second) and when I got home from work to read it Gary HID it from me!! AAHHH!!! Since the second book ended on a cliff hanger much like the first, I was extremely anxious to start the third!! So after a brief hysterical scavenger hunt, I found the book and began to discover the character's fates! It took me about a week to finish the third and final book MockingJay due to some traveling and work. I was happy with the conclusion of the trilogy, but at the same time, very sad. It is hard to explain much more than that without giving the ending away to those who have not read it. SO GO READ THEM!!

And, although after reading the first book and seeing the movie I was totally "team Gale." I would like to officially change teams to "team Peeta!" Not that Gale did anything wrong, but you just can't pull against Peeta when you see how much he loves Katniss and everything he is willing to do to protect her! Sorry Gale!

The Hunger Games

Many of you have probably been hearing all the hype about The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. It is the first book to a three book, futuristic series in which chosen children between the ages of twelve and eighteen are meant to fight to the death until a lone victor emerges. These "hunger games" are used to keep the twelve districts of a nation called Panem in line and are held once a year, with two "tributes" from each district (a boy and a girl).

Basically the "hype" is that this is the next big series to come to the young teen section of Barnes&Noble, much like Twilight, although I wouldn't know as I am still boycotting it! But today I completed this first book of the series and must say I would only consider it so-so. It was enjoyable enough to read, and I will be going to see the movie (as it comes to theaters March 23), but with so much commotion around the books and the movie, I think it only builds you up for a let down. I enjoyed the story, but it mostly seems the author goes on and on about unimportant details and yet leaves you begging for more info in others. Even the ending to this book was quite abrupt, and although I'm sure the details I'm seeking are in the next book (clever author), I still feel she could have given the readership more to end on.

So in essence if you would like a quick beach read or just want to find out what all the excitement is about, I'd give it about six to seven out of ten. I do plan to complete the series so definitely more to come, hopefully Suzanne will make me a believer!

Secret Daughter

As promised, I will now complete my review of my most recent read, Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.  From reading the description of this book, I thought it would be really uplifting, inspiring, and all over happy tone of a child adopted and then being reunited with her birth parents. Although these themes are seen dispersed throughout the book, it was however, not the main theme of the book. In fact, there are plenty of depressing themes including miscarriage, death, poverty, and oppression. Ok ok, I know I have painted a pretty bleak picture of this book and now you are probably wondering why you would ever read it? The thing is, this book is about real human emotions, things we all feel at some point throughout our lives. And above that, this book describes the mother/daughter relationship in such a way that although you may not have been through any of the things the characters do, you seem to feel like you truly understand what they are feeling.

This book is really about many things!! Intercultural relationships, infertility, adoption, mothers, daughters, inadequacy, fear, worry, but mostly love! For these reasons, I will stick to my first post about this book and recommend it to anyone looking for a good book to add to your own collection.

Official "back cover" preview:
On the eve of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, Kavita gives birth to Asha. But in a culture that favours sons, the only way for Kavita to save her newborn daughter's life is to give her away. It is a decision that will haunt her and her husband for the rest of their lives, even after the arrival of their cherished son. Halfway around the globe, Somer, an American doctor, decides to adopt a child after making the wrenching discovery that she will never have one of her own. When she and her husband Krishnan see a photo of baby Asha from a Mumbai orphanage, they are overwhelmed with emotion for her. Somer knows life will change with the adoption, but is convinced that the love they already feel will overcome all obstacles. Interweaving the stories of Kavita, Somer, and Asha, "Secret Daughter" poignantly explores issues of culture and belonging. Moving between two worlds and two families, one struggling to survive in the fetid slums of Mumbai, the other grappling to forge a cohesive family despite their diverging cultural identities, this powerful debut novel marks the arrival of a fresh talent poised for great success.

weekend fun..

Short post to update from the weekend...

We have had quite a mild winter, but since Gary was participating in the Polar Bear Plunge to benefit wounded EOD warriors, mother nature has decided to make it well worth his time! Both Saturday and Sunday we woke to a spattering of snow on the ground and colder temperatures than we have seen most all winter.  Saturday morning was the plunge, about 36 degrees outside and the water was about 40. Warmer than in recent years, but in winter I don't think it really makes much difference. He and his work buddies all jumped in the cold water and then we were off to drinks and lunch to warm those bodies!! (after a short wardrobe change)

Pre-Plunge all dressed up

Pre-Plunge about to go in

Rethinking the Polar Bear Plunge :)

Also this morning we took Bentley to a dog park close by, we never knew about it until yesterday. Hopefully it will become more of a regular treat for Bentley. He is so embarrassing at the vet when he acts like he has never seen another human or dog before in his life, going crazy! We hope a little more socialization at the dog park will help with this, although I keep telling Gary that if we just got Bentley a BROTHER that would help too :) Of course after, he got a nice warm bath in our bathtub... smells so clean and nice now!!

Books, books, books... and stitches

So, this winter I have tried to get back into recreational reading. With so many hobbies that require hand and eye it is hard to do them all in any timely manner, so I take turns. So, knitting took a back seat and here are my reviews:

My younger sister, Amanda, is quite interested in the agricultural movement towards local food communities and she had read a book called Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and was very much intrigued and inspired by it. So as a woman I adore and respect, I decided I would read it as well. I must say it was very educational, at times funny, and what a great journey this family went on. The book is basically about a family who decides to give up on "traditional" ways to feed a family i.e. convenience foods, fast foods, and processed foods and instead moves to an old family farm work the land and only eat what they can grow or buy from local farmers for an entire year. Along the way you will learn things about farming, fresh recipes, how to can foods, and all the family's triumphs and failures along the way. All in all, not your average story book, but worth the read! :)

Next on my list was Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows. As many of you know I am a raging Harry Potter fan, so it is with great embarrassment that I tell you until now I had not read the last of this great series. Although no excuse is truly worthy, I will attempt. Reading was never my thing growing up, so when the first Harry Potter book came out I never read it, same with all the following books. As the first book was made into movie is when I became a fan, and my love for the stories has grown with each new movie. As the final three movies were on their way, I decided it was time to start reading the books! However, as I had seen each movie prior to reading the book, I decided I would continue in this way until all the movies were out. This is why I am only just now reading the last book, because the last movie came out this past year. I won't go into a big "review" of this book because lets be serious, it was AWESOME!! Finishing the book just made it ever more sad to me     that the series is over.

Now I am reading a novel that is a #1 international best seller called Secret Daughter. I will admit that I am not very far along, but it seems very promising. Review to come once I finish.










The other day while at work, I received a text from Gary with a picture attached. The text reads simply "do I need stitches"

So although he was probably already on his way, I directed him to come to Civista (the hospital where I work) and told him he was probably need a tetanus shot and stitches. Low and behold he did get a tetanus shot as well as 7 stitches. He hit his head while working on the Jeep.

better late than never...

Christmas and the new year have come and gone... seems like many of the days pass in this fashion lately. Time goes by faster than I can prepare for it! We were lucky enough to be visited by both sides of our family this year. Unfortunately we weren't complete on either side, but some is better than none! We are excited to have visitors WHENEVER they want to come. Although we have become quite accustomed to our quiet evenings just the two of us, being of large families sometimes it just doesn't feel like home without the craziness that our visitors bring! This year we enjoyed making a gingerbread house (1st place), long walks with Bentley in a close by state park, dinner at National Harbor, Christmas Eve mass, a new favorite Cranium, cooking, and a trip to Georgetown (New York) for shopping and lunch.

ACC Champs!!

Well, it has been since October that I published a new post. A lot has happened since then, most importantly my Clemson tigers winning the ACC championship! It has been quite a year for us, and that doesn't mean all good. We started off great, "shock the world tour," undefeated beating big match ups like Auburn, Florida State, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. 8-0!! BUT then we had what I would like to call a small hiccup, but more way more severe! We lost 3 of our last 4 games, which includes losing to South Carolina for the third year in a row.  Ew, it kills me to even have to say it! And right after that devastating loss, we were headed to Charlotte for the ACC championship. It wasn't looking too promising for us. Although we were playing Virginia Tech who we had already beat earlier in the season, they were not rated higher than us and after 3 losses our momentum was quickly dying, if not completely gone! But as tigers we were able to fight, fight, fight and come fully prepared to win the ACC and that is exactly what we did! Finishing the season "shocking the world." We are now off to Miami and January to play in the BCS Orange Bowl, could't be more fitting! I'm always proud of my tigers and the Clemson nation!

I had to work Thanksgiving this year, so I missed out and another great Langhorne get together in Indianapolis. Gary and I had Thanksgiving lunch with my coworkers at the hospital this year and then I had the rest of the weekend off. I prepared our own Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday and we spent the weekend decorating for Christmas, including getting our Christmas tree!

We will be hosting my family (abridged version) over Christmas weekend and as they leave the day after Christmas Gary's family will be arriving later that afternoon. It should be a great Christmas!