Books update, life update

Wow, I had quite a lapse there! I have to say I've been negligent due to a few things. First, about 2 months ago, I discovered FACEBOOK. Ug. Talk about something sucking you in! It's not just the catching up on everyone you know, knew or are related too. They have games too. Suck you in games where you can only play for a short while and then you have to come back to play some more. I have to admit some days I was there every hour on the hour, trying to get to the next level. Yikes. Like I don't have enough to do with my busy life, 4 kids, moving and all that! SO I've gotten over the facebook thing. now I only go on when I have something to announce or to reach out to family for birthdays and such. Speaking of which... guess who just turned one!!! Yup! Grace Kathryn is One! or Gracie Kate. Here's a Pic!


So Yesterday we had quite the storm...the remnants of that Japanese Typhoon hit my part of California yesterday and it was a pretty good storm! Our beautiful Trellis in the front yard, that my Dad built was taken out by wind. It was covered with a thick trumpet vine that apparently was about all that was holding up the rotted out posts. That plus the fact that the leaves were so thick, when the wind got under it, up it went halfway across the yard. The hubby chopped it all up and cleaned up the mess right away, in the pouring rain, because my parents were coming over for dinner and he was worried that it would upset my mom. She was a bit sad about it, I think, but I'm sure it helped that she didn't have to look at the wreckage! Thanks honey!


On other notes, I have been reading and stitching. Check out my crafty blog for that update. As for books I've been reading a bit, two of my favorite authors, Patricia Briggs and Vicki Peterson. Both have good series and the latest installments don't disappoint! I love Patricia Brigg's characters and her Alpha Omega Series is full of memorable ones. Vicki Peterson's Zodiac series is really cool and unlike most stuff out there. Her main character is an angsty dark gal who becomes a superhero. She fights the Dark side in modern day Las Vegas and her alter ego is a rich society bimbo al la Paris Hilton. It's funny and quirky and all about good vs evil. Love it! I just had a friend turn me on to Madelyn Alt and I've read 3 in her Bewitching Mystery series. The main character is funny and relate-able. The mystery part isn't very complicated so don't expect to be stumped til the end, but Ms. Alt is methodical about doling out the clues, so that is a fun read. I particularly enjoy these because of the undercurrent discussion the main character is having with herself, coming to terms with her strict catholic upbringing and the realities of the 'magickal world'. Religion is a hot spot for me, so I particularly enjoy self explorations and discovery of that nature. More on THAT on another day. Also I am toying with doing some TV show reviews, I am becoming more of a TV watcher than I have been in the past and am really enjoying a handful of shows lately. Perhaps I will talk about them a bit in a future post.

The Move

The MOVE has finally happened. I want to say that with joy and relief, but it really comes out as kind of an exhausted whimper. I think the actual days of the move were the hardest in my life and that's coming for a woman who has had 4 kids! The hubby and I were getting up at 5:30 every morning and working every moment, gulping down food and working, working working until 10 or 11pm and just dropping into bed. Honestly the days are a blur now and I cannot remember specifics, just dirt and sweat and strained muscles. I can say with a positive attitude though that things are starting to settle down now and I am grateful for the whole thing - but mostly grateful that it is behind us! Unpacking and finding homes for all of our stuff has been a happy chore and one I do a bit each day. Cleaning the new house is also a simple and happy thing - having less stuff is really paying off because maintaining the house is much easier. I am enjoying getting everyone settled and used to the new place. Of course I haven't had much leisure time to read, so no book review for you today, but as I unpack my library, I'm sure to start something!

Update and Book Reviews

Ahh Summer... I wish I could say that I've had a restful and joy filled summer, but alas I have not. I have never worked so hard in my life. Hauling bike after bike out of the garage, box after box onto the truck, off the truck, up the stairs, sweating and dirty and shaking with exhaustion,falling into bed only to get up and do it again. I want this move to be over! We are getting there - I think we might make it before the end of summer! LOL! So I haven't had much time for stitching but over the last month I've read a handful of books, so I thought I'd give you a handful of reviews! First I read "Eden" by Carolyn Davidson. This is a Historical Romance set in the old west, one of my favorite genres for quick, comforting reads. This one really disappointed me. The plot development was patchy and the heroine was not at all developed as a character - she wasn't someone I sympathized with or even really liked. Sigh. The only ray of hope in this book was the dark spark of personality in the Hero - but even he was tainted by lack of development. This book wasn't worth your time. I followed that up with another of the same Genre: Dorothy Garlock's "Leaving Whiskey Bend". Dorothy could definitely teach the previous author a thing or two. The plot was a bit transparent at times and I was disappointed that she revealed the sneaky murderer about halfway through the story instead of letting us figure it out, but hey- its a romance not a mystery. The characters were memorable, developed and believable. Perfect for a light read. Next I read the first in a new-old series: New to me but actually published a while ago. The book was "The Royal Treatment" by MaryJanice Davidson. She's a chick lit writer with sassy, funny books that have a bit of happily ever after in them. Anyway this series, she twists reality a bit and re-writes history to make Alaska become it's own country instead of part of the USA. What? Yea, weird but it makes sense in the books. LOL. Anyway MJ delivers her usual sass and laughter with this first book. The characters are laugh out loud funny and you'll identify with the heroine even if you don't think like a 20 something gorgeous girl. Definitely worth your time! After that I re-visted my old friends in Janet Evanovich's 15th Stephanie Plum book; "Finger lickin Fifteen". Janet is always great for a laugh and her characters are really like old friends. I hope she's still writing these 10 years from now and I will faithfully buy every one I enjoy them so much! The last book I read is a non-fiction book by naturalist writer Ted Kerasote called "Merle's Door". This is basically a biography of his dog Merle, who is a character in his own right. The author builds his case for human relationships with dogs and Merle is certainly a unique and wonderful individual probably partly because of the life he led with Ted. I'm sure that some dog owners won't agree with Ted's take on how we should train and keep our dogs, but that won't detract from this enjoyable read - warning tear jerker ending! If you love dogs or dog stories read this one!
Hope you all are having a wonderful summer and get a chance to pick up a good book. I, on the otherhand am going to be spending my spare moments with my newest addiction: Facebook and the Mafia Wars and Pirates games.. I know, silly but addictive! luv ya - Jackie

Summer and the Move

We'll Summer is in full swing. The kids have had one week out of school and it has been such chaos! The first half of june is always hard with school ending and both the older girls birthdays, but adding to the mix is the 'big move'. We are going to be trading houses with my parents sometime in the next month. This whole thing came about at their suggestion - They knew we were cramped with 6 of us in this little 1200 sq ft, 3 bedroom house and they're having to maintain and heat a 5 bedroom 2000 sq ft place, with a pool! This is my childhood home, which is a whole 'nother level of weird, but the fact that they're willing to trade us is just amazing and wonderful. And a huge job. We've lived here for about 14 years and have 4 kids worth of junk to go through and pack. They've lived in that house for 30 years and have rooms full of clutter to go through. We've been working on our stuff steadily, we got a box in our driveway that I am using as a way station to sort through junk and for a holding area for all the junk I'm going to sell. Yes, I said sell. I've broken down and agreed to have a yard sale. Don't get me wrong, I love yard sales, going to them. I hate, hate hate! giving them. It makes me dislike people so much. I've had two in my life and both times I had rude and nasty people, I had people steal stuff, break stuff and fight over stuff. I always try to look at the positive in life and the good in people, but some people just don't behave their best, or even humanely at yard sales. It brings out the worst in some. As I've been working over the last month, I have been taking car loads of clutter to the Salvation army, Good will and the homeless shelter, but when we emptied our attic my husband made me realize that we have a lot, I mean a LOT of junk that we can get rid of and we could sell to make a bit of money to help with the cost of the move. So, I broke down to the pressure (read: he bribed me with spending money at the needlework store LOL) and agreed to hold a yard sale. Now I just have to get everything organized for it. Big job, sure to take me weeks. Do you think I can stall until October when the yard sale season ends around here? : )

guess who's crawling

Ahhhhh the reign of terror has begun. The baby is mobile! Hide your shoes, pick up your little toys and 'chokers' There's no stopping her now! LOL! Life in general has been improving; I'm finally feeling that I can get a handle on the house keeping and while it's never really tidy (Cleaning a house while raising kids is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing) it's at least clean under the scattering of toys and shoes and stuff that kids seem to shed like feathers. I had an old friend come to town and got to visit with her over a cuppa tea for three afternoons in a row. It was great to catch up with her and it was just like old times, but it was bittersweet because the only reason she was in town was to put her old house on the market. She used to live here and had to move because of her hubby's work, but they held on to their house and rented it out. I guess I always hoped that they'd be back, but now it doesn't look like that will happen. She's living in Santa Monica now, so I'll probably only see her once or twice a year instead of 2-3 days a week. sigh. I'm really looking forward to summer.. the kids have only 3 more weeks of school and we have a crazy month of June ahead of us with out of town visitors, birthdays for both of my older girls, tying up the brownie's for the year and hopefully moving to our bigger house at the end of the month..I'm looking forward to July when I'll be able to breathe a big sigh of relief and take a nap. LOL! Hear hear for naps!

crazy like a squirrel

To start I have a pic for you; In my neighborhood we have a bunch of squirrels that are so dark they are nearly black. They are regular squirrels that normally would be gray, but because people in the neighborhood noticed a black variation a few years ago, the squirrels are well fed and the black variant is becoming more and more common. They're cute. Here's a pic of one lounging in the spring sun on my back fence.
Well life has been hectic and hard lately, and I have felt rather frantic, like a squirrel in the fall. This year appears to be one of introspection and emotional and mental growth for me. I have been doing a lot of self examination and pondering over my relationships with people and the world in general. I think everyone has a bit of self delusion; we lie to ourselves about our motivations and our responsibility for things. We ignore things because to acknowledge them would require hard work or pain on our parts. It's basic human nature and everyone does it, I am certainly no exception. I think the secret to a happy life is to, every once in a while, be honest with yourself. Completely and totally honest. I'm doing it now and it's not easy - I've had to admit several things to myself; I'm far too controlling and proud for my own good. I struggle everyday with an impossible list of things to do, most of which are dictated by my pride and the rest are my attempts at controlling every aspect of my life. At the same time, I'm sabotaging my weight loss attempts on a regular basis. Why? I'm not sure yet, but at least I can see that I am doing it - I used to deny that: it wasn't my fault that I didn't have time for the gym (The class I wanted was at the wrong time, I was too busy, the baby's were napping at the time I was going - you know the 1000 excuses) And I had to eat right? So if I had spent the morning doing errands and ended up going through a drive thru for lunch, well I deserved it. sigh.
Anyway, this current mode of introspection has helped me realize that I need to be a bit more realistic in my expectations of myself and my husband and children. I strive to be the 'perfect mom' you know that Stereo-typical Super Mom. But one of the things I'm coming to realize is that it's just not achievable for me. I cannot juggle the housekeeping, the raising of 4 kids (including a teenage daughter and all that attitude that comes with it, an 8 year old demanding angel, a toddler boy who is potty training (!)and a 6 month old baby girl)helping them with homework and social stuff, after school activities and sports, be a brownie leader and volunteer at the school, manage all our finances, get ready to move, take care of the pets, work out daily and diet, make sure my family eats healthy yummy meals, be a good and supportive wife to my hubby, and all the other stuff that I feel responsible for, as well as find time for myself to sit and stitch. I cannot do it all and stay sane. The pressure of doing it all perfectly is what is crushing me. I don't just let my kids grow up- I try really hard to parent 'perfectly' which is a fairly variable thing given the wide range of my kids ages, but I think essentially boils down to helping them grow and develop into normal, healthy, happy adults. The struggle is that I'm never sure how it's going; I don't get graded, or progress reports on my work, I have to do it by instinct and guesses. I suppose what I've realized is that I need to focus on the things that are really important, not just the stuff that my pride dictates. I can't be running in every direction at once; I've got to be focused on just the important things like a squirrel in the fall; get the nuts, and save them, just the nuts. Obviously the kids, the hubby and stitching win out. The housework and all the rest will have to wait.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!
Busy, Busy, Busy! Life is buzzing like a beehive! Our calendar is so packed right now I'm relieved whenever something gets dropped off. I was so grateful when soccer practice got rained out yesterday - It's always hard on days when my Brownie Troop meets, but yesterday was particularly exhausting. I was so worn out that I sent the hubby off with the kids to dinner and stayed home with the two little ones (the boy was asleep - he's fighting naps right now so he crashes at about 5 pm each day) and had OATMEAL for dinner. Yes, passed up a dinner out, fixed by someone else and had a boring old, microwaved bowl of oatmeal! LOL! but let me tell you, that 1 hour off quiet and calm was wonderful! Here's hoping you find a bit of peace in your easter weekend!