Small Town Book Nerd

The Blahs

2012-01-22T22:36:00.001-05:00

Throughout the weekend I've been experiencing this overwhelming sense of ennui. There isn't anything I can pinpoint that may be the cause, and it's pretty frustrating because I don't enjoy spending my weekends feeling blah. I've been doing some really great things for my daily revolutions and I enjoy them a lot, but I've had no motivation to type them up. I've also struggled to read this weekend and to interact with other humans. Again, no real idea why that is.

In other news, I'm continuing to experience nightmares on an almost nightly basis. There are few thinks I enjoy more than working out my emotional issues during the night instead of ya know, sleeping. Every night in plagued with dreams that focus on every single person I love abandoning me in some way. CLEARLY I am dealing with my family issues well. I finally* told my dad that I've been having nightmares, and that went over poorly. He immediately assumed the majority of my issues were due to his plans to move away to work for a few years. While I am in no way looking forward to this occurrence it is NOT the reason for the nightmares. I was finally able to convince him of this, but it was fairly exhausting. I'm currently exhausted and yearning to sleep, but also kind of dreading going to bed and not sleeping well.

Hopefully I will feel better this week** and FINALLY update you guys on the revolutions.

*I've been having nightmares pretty regularly since Septemberish, but they've really increased in frequency since Christmas when my mother left.
**In order to cheer myself up this weekend I bought three memoirs about The Beatles. I hope they get here this week so I can read them and cheer myself up.

Missions Four through Seven

2012-01-15T14:02:00.000-05:00

I didn't do daily blogs for several missions, because really they were short and simple or I didn't exactly manage to complete them. These things happen. I'm going to take a moment and update all of you on those missions and then I'll post about my "Destination Unknown" adventure tomorrow morning. It will be AMAZING!

Mission Four was called "Here Comes the Sun" and Revolution-ers were asked to make an effort to watch the sunset and the sunrise the following day. Now, where I live usually has AMAZING sunsets like this.

However I was foiled in my attempt to get a GREAT picture because it was SO overcast! This is the best picture I got and it's hard to even tell that it is sunset. Dawn was actually impossible because of fog and rain and just gunky skies, but I enjoyed looking for the sunrise each day.

Mission Five was was a bit easier in some respects. We were asked to compliment five people throughout the day. This was easy as pie. I made sure to give genuine compliments, because fake love isn't cool. I complimented students in the school where I worked, co-workers, and family members. The only catch was that we were asked to compliment two strangers. When you work in a small school with only 350(ish) students and less than 50 members on staff it is HARD to find a strangers. I am still on the lookout for strangers to compliment and I will report back ASAP when I find (and praise) them.

Mission Six was easy as pie. Give to charity. I decided at the end of the year to donate the amount of money I spend on books throughout the year to charities I like. Trying to balance those scales a little bit. For this challenge I bought a Basket of Hope from Heifer International. I love Heifer International because they give much needed supplies to people in areas of needs and those supplies don't feed one person for a day. Those supplies make it possible to feed multiple families, increase self-reliance, and boost the economies in these areas. It is a truly wonderful organization where you can buy "gifts" at almost any price point!

Mission Seven was tweaked more than a little to suit my needs. Revolution-ers were instructed to "suit up" and put on fancy clothes for the day. Fridays are the only dress down days we earn at school and I had PLANS to go adventuring after school with BFF1, so I was REALLY unwilling to give up my denim and Chucks. Instead I put effort into my appearance in another way. I actually blow-dried my hair and used a little product to make it look like it had a style. I also wore make-up. This isn't a normal thing for me, I usually sleep as long as possible or read in the morning, giving me only the minimum amount of time to get ready each morning. This usually means I have a quick shower, throw on clothes, and rush out the door with wet hair and no makeup at all.

These missions really are enjoyable and are usually so easy to complete. Even if I don't finish them on the day they are "assigned" or the way I am directed it is really delightful to add these things to my daily routine. Changing small things make each day a surprise and it is lovely.

My Revolution Mission Three

2012-01-09T21:07:00.000-05:00

I didn't complete Mission Two...yet. It wasn't possible for me to do the mission the way was expected (once again I am hindered by small town locales) but I have a PLAN for executing the mission on Friday when I spend the afternoon with BFF1. If we succeed then I will be updating with a blog on Friday or Saturday, depending on what the mission for Friday is.

Today's mission was titled "Read-A-Thon," which is of course, right up my alley. However, the fates have been aligned against me today. I took the book* to work, but then I ate lunch with BFF2 and Mr. Math. While I was eating Auntie P wandered over from the high school (which is attached to the middle school where I work) in search of a Coca-Cola. These events led to more conversation and laughing than actual reading. Not that I'm complaining, ultimately life is to be lived, and too frequently I hide in a book instead of interacting with other humans.

After work-time-reading was a bust I planned to come home and read for awhile before I started doing paperwork. As usual, the best laid plans. Since Friday we have been having issues with our wood stove (our primary heat source) and it has been funneling smoke into our house instead of through the pipe and chimney like it is supposed to do. My uncle came over and he and I fiddled with the pipe and discovered that it had mysteriously worked loose, which was the source of the smoke. By this point my allergies were completely haywire, to the point that I was considering taking actual allergy medicine** to deal with the symptoms. I decided not to risk full on medication but did use some prescription eye drops to help my eyes, which were affected the most. After several hours I noticed that I was still miserable and that there was still smoke in the house. I got my Daddy and he checked the pipe only to discover that in the process of reconnecting the pipe we had managed to dislodge soot, which fell down and blocked the pipe. We got that fixed about 30 minutes ago and I settled down with my book to read again.

I only made it through the first chapter. I enjoy SRB and I'm sure I'll love the book, but today was not the day to read. I have no attention span and I don't feel particularly well since the Smoke Monster incident! I'm going to continue reading the book and hopefully I won't be hindered quite so spectacularly in the future!

*I decided to read The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan because it has been on my TBR shelf (AND in my work bag) for such a long time but I have never read it.
**I can't actually TAKE allergy meds because I have crazy extreme reactions to them and I usually just pass out and am completely unable to function after a dose. I know, SUPER helpful on the pain and agony relief front.

My Revolution Mission One

2012-01-07T21:54:00.002-05:00

Clearly I am a glutton for punishment. After my previous post I had a conversation with my father and in a fit of EMOTION I signed up for the daily challenge revolution. It maybe wasn't the best time to sign up, because today's mission was "Try a new entertainment." As previously mentioned I live in a TINY town in southwestern Virginia. Entertainment options include: the movie theater, hanging out in Wal-Mart parking lot* like local high school kids, sporting events at one of the local high schools, and our dinner theater. It wasn't really easy to find a "new" form of entertainment to try. I like watching sports, but even if I hated them there aren't games on Saturday nights. It was dark so no outdoor activities are available. Finally I decided to watch a TV show** that I wouldn't normally watch.

I absolutely loathe weddings, and with recent events in my personal life I find love even more off-putting than usual. With these thoughts in mind I browsed Netflix until I stumbled upon My Fair Wedding, a reality show that follows a wedding planner as he provided dream weddings for soon-to-be brides. Usually I find these types of shows a tad bit disgusting. All of the money and drama and crying...it's just too much for me. Perhaps because my own dream wedding includes sundresses, flip flops, and the field behind my aunts house. Or maybe a barefoot wedding on a quiet beach with our families. Nothing big or extravagant.

I watched the first show and wasn't really impressed. The wedding was pretty and David Tutera does a fabulous job of pulling all of the brides crazy ideas together into something cohesive and lovely. But it didn't really do anything for me. I decided to watch the second episode so I had enough data to write this post. I'm not going to lie...the second episode got me a little bit. The bride was super controlling and you could tell that she and her groom didn't have a lot of money. Her mom bought her wedding dress and the groom's parents gave them their invitations and other stationary as a Christmas gift. Even with obstacles the bride was fun and bubbly and happy. I immediately wanted her to have a good wedding and for it to meet all of her expectations. At each step along the way she ended up in tears because she was so happy and excited. She had wonderful manners and probably said "thank you" 100 times in the hour long episode. It was refreshing to watch her. And it was enjoyable.

While this wasn't my favorite show and I doubt I become an avid fan, I can see myself watching this show again. Especially since there were some great wedding themes that I'd like to see come to pass! I had to avoid the temptation of watching Alice in Wonderland theme and Pirates theme because that seemed like cheating! Although I know the point of this challenge wasn't to pick something you don't like, I did enjoy picking something that I would never voluntarily watch if it was showing on TV and giving it a chance.

*Truthfully I should have done this because even as a high school student I didn't troll local parking lots.
**Was inspired by Rosianna watching Eastenders in her video today

Not So Lazy Weekend

2012-01-07T18:10:00.001-05:00

I'm not going to lie to you guys, going back to work this week was kind of lame, but overall it wasn't bad. Since it was a short week time FLEW by and the weekend was here more quickly than I expected. The downside of that is that it doesn't really feel like the weekend. I've been relatively lazy today- I took down our tree, fiddled with my layout* on the blog, and watched a few episodes of The Hour. I also made three separate spreadsheets: one to track my grandmother's dietary habits for her doctor, one to track the money I spend of books this year, and one to catalog the books, ebooks, and movies I own. Nothing drastically exciting.

This week as I've meandered around the interwebs I saw a cool challenge about watching 365 movies this year. My initial thought was "Oh! That would be amazing! And fun! I should DO THAT!!!" However, I quickly came back to reality and realized that there is NO WAY I can manage to watch 365 movies this year. Plus...I don't really watch movies. Mostly I watch television series or read. But I would like to watch more movies. So I'm going to challenge myself to watch at least one new movie per week. And maybe I'll blog about that.

Another cool thing going on is something that Rosianna is doing. Every day there is a challenge to try something new and then share your experience. Personally, I think this is brilliant. Her videos have been really enjoyable and also they have been insightful. Since I'm already on the "join ALL THE THINGS" kick I am seriously considering joining the revolution. Mainly because the stuff is so easy and simple to do. So far the challenges have been things like "try a new food," or "smile at people." SO SIMPLE! If I do join the revolution I'll be doing short blogs here detailing the challenges, because I don't have the time to edit or post videos.

I hope 2012 is treating you all well and that you are having success with your current resolutions if you made any.

*My allergies are well and truly insane today, making most everything I look at blurry, so if the new layout is difficult to read please let me know so I can fix the issues =]

New Year, New YOU...and other cliched things

2012-01-03T19:21:00.000-05:00

Three days into 2012 and things are going pretty well. The fact that today is a SNOW DAY really* helps my happy mood. I mean, really, who DOESN'T love a snow day? Since there is a new year and a snow day on the day school was supposed to begin, I have spent a lot of time today on reflection. I want a LOT of things this year. Like silly, serious things. But more than anything else I want to BE HAPPY. I want to be overwhelmed with joy and happiness. There are some dark times in my future, and I want to be able to face them with a positive outlook. I want to reject the negativity that I could easily succumb to and celebrate the good things in my life. There are SO MANY good things to look at. I am going to spend the year seeking them out. When I first started this new job** I worked in an elementary school with 1st graders. This led to MANY hilarious tweets and stories. But I also did a thing where when I had a bad day or a difficult day or just felt off in some way I would find A GOOD THING, no matter how small it was and tweet about it with the tag #silverlining. This was an amazing thing and would generally help lift my mood. It also allowed for interaction with other Twitter users, because someone had a similar story. I am going to try to implement this tag into my daily life. Less focusing on the bad things, and more of the good. Not to say that there won't be times full of moaning and crying and just pouring out the bad things, but I want to make the effort to BE HAPPY.

A few other resolutions*** to focus on this year. I want to exercise more/be healthier this year. Mainly because anxiety is difficult enough without worrying that you may actually be having a heart related issue. And also because buying clothes can be miserable if you are full-figured. I want to read at least 55 books this year. That's how many I managed last year, and I'm determined to meet the same goal this year. But more than reading a set number of books, I want to ENJOY the books I read, and that goal allows me to take my time reading a book. True there will always be books that I can devour in a day, but there are also books that need to be savored. Sometimes I forget to savor. Just like I sometimes feel guilty for rereading old favorites instead of reading a SHINY NEW BOOK. Which is just ridiculous, because a book is a book is a book, and books that we love are like old friends that we should embrace frequently. I am also planning to tell the people I love that I love them. I am open and affectionate and I have no problems expressing myself, but there are times that I don't take the opportunity to tell people that I love them, and I may not always have that chance. So I plan to make it count. I'd like to blog more...but I always resolve to do this without actually succeeding. I am an avid Twitter user and I interact with a variety of people there and I've been inspired by my friend Megan I'll be tracking the books I read this year using the tag #ChelleReads2012. Recently I've been utilizing my tumblr account to save quotes from books that I'm reading or lyrics that I like or poems that I dig...random things like that. I used to be more active in the internet world, and I'd like to get some of that back. I miss interacting with people I've met online. With that in mind I'm going to attempt BEDA again this year at least once. I'm planning now so that I can be READY when the time comes!

I hope that all of you enjoy the upcoming year****. If you made resolutions I hope you are successful. If you enjoyed this blog find me somewhere listed above so we can be friends! <3

*REALLY

**Which is stressful and hard and overwhelming and HARD, but so VERY rewarding and worthwhile.

***I hate that word, really these are just goals I have for myself to work toward this year.

****As the old adage goes you should begin the year as you mean to continue it. I spent the first reading, watching some good TV, hanging out with the family, and having a sleepover with The Clone. As far as I can see there can be no better way to continue this year. =]

It's Not YOU, 2011...It's Me

2011-12-31T23:55:00.000-05:00

The end of this year has been difficult for me to say the least. I've struggled with numerous issues in my personal life at the close of this year, and it has made it hard for me on multiple levels. At this point things are going to get pretty personal, so if you don't want to read, NOW is the time to turn back. In October my father confided in me about issues going on in my parents' marriage. Usually these are the things he keeps to himself, but the issue was weighing heavily on him and he needed a confidant and advice from someone he considers trustworthy. My mother had been having an affair for several months and he wanted advice about what he should do. After dropping this news he also told me that he was retiring in July (as soon as he was eligible) and that he was planning to apply for jobs on oil field in the Midwest so that he could work and build up his saving so that he could afford to not work for his entire life. This was as difficult to process as my mother's infidelity. My daddy also discussed not telling my relatives what my mother was doing. This was the hardest thing for me personally, but I can understand his reasoning. The grandmother I live with is my mother's mom, the aunties and uncles and cousins that I surround myself with in times of crises are my mother's siblings and relatives. My daddy was (unnecessarily) worried that my family would in some way turn away from him, leaving him alone.*

For the past three months I've been doing a poor job dealing with these issues. As a 28yo who works in the mental health field I can understand my slow processing as stages of grief and I can recognize the low level symptoms of depression I have been experiencing. I know that if I can't deal with these events on my own there are multiple outlets for me to receive help. As I've struggled to deal with these issues I have become somewhat withdrawn, I'm rarely on Twitter, I don't text my friends, I rarely make plans, and the homebody tendencies I usually embrace have increase more than I thought was possible. While my closest friends do know what has happened, I've only made vague references to my absences/change in behavior on social media websites. I suppose in a way I was hoping that the problem would go away. The holiday season has been miserable this year. I have had to deal with the loss of a parent who was sitting in the same room as me as well as try to celebrate the season with the knowledge that my mother was planning on leaving and could be gone at any given time, without saying a word to my brother or me. The silver lining I suppose is that my brother and I have grown closer over the past few weeks.

Earlier this week, my mother left.** While I know that I am not the only person who has dealt with her parents separating, it was a huge blow. She didn't even bother to say goodbye. I sent her a text message on Wednesday that she has not bothered to respond to or acknowledge in any way. I suppose this is the worst part of it all. My mother is...difficult to say the least, and our relationship has been strained for several years, but I suppose we always yearn for parental love. Her leaving has affected me in ways I did not expect. I am so very ANGRY at her. And disappointed. I am not naive when it comes to love. I recognize and understand that people don't always stay in love forever. I also understand that people make terrible choices. However, it feels impossible to accept this. My daddy is also not without faults, but I have never doubted his love for my mother, or his willingness to work to fix any problems that their marriage had. I can say that he has done more for her than I would have been able to do, and has suffered more that he should have ever needed to. My heart is so broken for him. And for myself. And for my brother, and grandmother, and every other person her selfishness has negatively impacted.

And now I have ranted to the vast emptiness (and fullness) of the internet. And in a way it feels SO GOOD to have let go of this. Usually, I am not so personal here and try to save the nervous breakdowns for my close, personal friends or my family*** but I felt the need to let this go before the start of the new year.

In 2012 I'd like to focus on positive things, because this act of my mother's will have a lot of negative impact on the lives of me and my family members. No matter where things go from here in my parents' marriage, there is a lot of hurt to be overcome and to heal. I want to look ahead to good things in the next year. I want to find good in others and remember that fantastic things happen and to see the wonderful things around me without feeling jaded. I want to strive for happiness in my day to day life. And if any of you see me being more Debbie Downer than Cheery Chelle, I want you to feel free to tell me to perk up. That's not insensitive, sometimes we all need to be reminded that there are good things surrounding us. As this posts I will be frantically attempting to finish reading my last book of the year and will also be surrounded by the rest of my family. People who have surrounded me with love and kindness and beauty and pockets of happiness throughout the past few months, and without whom I don't know if I would have been able to cope as well as I have.

To everyone who read this, thank you for allowing me the chance to get this off my chest. It has already allowed me to wish 2011 a happier goodbye than I was expecting.

*His parents have both passed away, and he isn't particularly close to his siblings.
**Obviously, at this point my entire family is aware of what has been going on. While it is somewhat invasive we generally operate as though we all live in one giant household and everyone knows what is going on with the rest of the family.
***They are truly blessed! ;)

It's the Hap-Happiest Season of All

2011-11-30T19:22:00.001-05:00

Truth be told, Christmas is my favorite time of year. I love giving to others, I love spending time with my family, and to be honest Baby Jesus in the manger and the Christmas story are my favorite of Biblical tales. I get goosebumps every year when we read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve.

But this year, things are different. I'm dealing with some family stuff and trying to sort through all of the angst that comes with familial problems. It's also BFF1's first Christmas as half of a married couple, which means a lot of the pre-Christmas rituals that we share aren't happening this year. And even though I am SO VERY happy for her, it is a BIG adjustment (for us both) to make. Added to the family drama stuff and it just makes things hard.

So, I've been feeling more Grinch and less Who-down-in-Whoville this year. In an effort to keep the Christmas spirit* alive I'm attempting my Christmas countdown again this year. Twenty-five Christmas filled blogs which will hopefully decrease the dread I feel when I think about Christmas and will rejuvenate my adoration of this time of year.

I hope you all enjoy this and that my various Christmas thoughts and feelings will bring you all enjoyment throughout the season, regardless of how** you celebrate! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

*No tree, no listening to Christmas music in the car, sleeping or reading through Christmas movies
**Or what winter holiday (or no celebrating at all, just enjoying the high jinks that are sure to follow)

A Post About YARN

2011-10-09T21:00:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again where it is cool in the evenings and there are new TV shows to watch. And also when I can crochet without any major issues from the heat. I went to Michael's this past weekend to get yarn to finish up a blanket I'm making for a lady I go to church with and I also picked up a book so I can start branching out as far as projects are concerned. I usually stay in my "safe zone," focusing on my AMAZING ability to crochet a scarf in no time and making these super easy granny square blankets. While I absolutely adore my "Hodgepodge Blankets," I really do want to challenge myself more. The book I got has a pretty easy sweater pattern and I'm really ~~nervous~~ excited to try it.

While I was there I also bought BEAUTIFUL yarn. I have no idea what I'm going to make with this, but I'm going to have to find a pattern and make SOMETHING, just to see how it is going to work up. I would love to make a throw out of it, but it is pretty lightweight and I'm not sure how the gauge will work, especially since my stitches are so tight. Anyway, you all should expect more frequent yarn posts, now that I'll have my hands on more projects.

I've also finished several books from my Y'all Fest reading list! I've actually read more books this month than I did last month. So many of these Y'all Fest books are fantastic, and I really wish I could manage to write a review that said something intelligent about how amazing these books aren't, but so far I haven't been able to. I'll just say you should all read The Name of the Star, Paranormalcy, and The Vespertine. They were wonderful books, and all are very different from the others, even though they all have elements of the supernatural.

Reading

2011-09-21T21:29:00.000-04:00

I've been really lucky at work recently, what with only having three clients and all. Especially since two of my client's are really low impact. I've had time to actually do paperwork AT WORK, ya know...when I'm getting paid instead of at home for hours after work. Since I've had practically no paperwork I have been reading a lot. Which is VERY GOOD because I have Y'all Fest in November and I'd really like to have read at least one book by each of the authors who will be there. Right now I'm reading a lovely steampunkish novel called The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge and The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell.

I'm not certain what exactly The Vespertine is about, but it is one of the most amazing books. The way Mitchell describes her MC's thoughts and feelings is incredible and I am completely in love. And honestly, I think that says something about Mitchell as a writer. Usually if I get seven chapters in and have no idea where the story is going I toss the book aside and try again later. I never want to put The Vespertine down. There is a sense of elegance and mystery in the book. Set in the late 1800s in Maryland it focuses on girls who are attempting to find husbands. A common practice back in the day. There is also a flirtation with the occult, the girls sneak off to see a medium and I'm pretty sure that they plan to start dabbling as well. Soon I will be reading about seances and spirits. Already the MC has "seen" the future. I'm not sure that she has actually had a vision or if her imagination has ran away with her.

In short this book is beautiful. I have a (very, very sad) Tumblr account that is rarely used, but as I've read this book I've posted quotes from the book. Actually I think that may become the reason for my Twitter account. To post book quotes and such. It's hard to fit them all on Twitter and really I don't see the point of posting a three sentence quote HERE because apparently short blogs are of the devil! In short: If you are looking for an awesome historical fiction book check out The Vespertine.*

*Even though I have no real idea what the book is about or what is going on. It is still WONDERFUL!

So You've Had A Bad Day

2011-09-20T22:12:00.000-04:00

DISCLAIMER: I am REALLY bad a commas! Please ignore any comma issues!

Folks...today sucked. It sucked a lot. It started with an insane text message and a lot of pettiness. It continued with me ranting to BFF2 for the entirety of our drive to work and with BFF1 having to play referee to the petty person piling crap on me. I was upset the entire day, have a terrible headache, and felt like I was going to have a panic attack all day long. I had someone cancel on my birthday plans (that she made) even though my birthday is in TWO days. I almost cried at work. And honestly I felt pretty bad about myself today. And by "pretty bad" I mean "absolutely terrible." The day was made slightly better by snarky comments from both of the BFFs* and a fun lunch with some of my favorite teachers and BFF2, not to mention my family's reassurance that sometimes people suck. And that's okay.

So...countdown to 28...no so fun so far! At least I'm comforted by the fact that there is a small group of seventh grade boys who refer to me as "Eighteen" instead of "Miss T" because I look like a high school student. A concept that is continuously reinforced by Mr. Math who laughs hysterically every time a student asks why a high school student (me) is allowed to hang out in the middle school all day. Not that I saw any of the cheese-tastic seventh graders because MY seventh grader was absent today. In all actuality I miss seventh grade. Word on the street is that I'm going to have a new eight grade client, which makes me happy because I'll have job security, but also sad because I will have to limit my time in seventh grade hall!

*Snark about both the pettiness AND Dancing with the Stars, which is ALWAYS delightful!

Teaser Tuesday- September 20, 2011

2011-09-20T06:00:00.003-04:00

Today's Teaser comes from The Iron Thorn by Caitlin Kittredge. This is the first book in the Iron Codex series and one of the many books on my Y'all Fest TBR list.

"It was a fact of life, like uniform stocking itching behind the knees-unpleasant and inevitable. Fighting back just told the Marcoses of the world that their barbs hit home." ~ pg 34 of the Nookbook edition

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Pottermore Sorting Drama

2011-09-18T14:47:00.000-04:00

Sometimes it amazes me how little, silly things affect me. Especially things like labels. Especially since I absolutely HATE labels and being categorized, and personally believe that the application of labels to human beings is the root of most of the issues in the world.* But I suppose it IS different if you apply a label to yourself. When it is a category you sort yourself into. And when you find out that maybe (just maybe) that label DOESN'T apply...well, it's hard to handle.

For years** I have described myself as a Ravenclaw.*** Not that the other houses don't have redeeming qualities, but I am a Ravenclaw to the CORE. Nerdy, smart, possessing a healthy love of learning, putting school and learning above most other things? All me. It's easy to see why I fit in the Ravenclaw common room. Or so I thought. Then again, when it really comes down to it, I have some Slytherin traits. Not the elitist attitudes, or the cruelty, but I can honestly say that I'm snarky and sometimes mean, and when things don't go my way I am a force to be reckoned with. I'm resourceful, cunning, and I'm ambitious. I like to be competitive and I like to be right/the best that I can possibly be. I'm also sarcastic and tend to correct others.

I've never really identified with Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. And that seems to be where I made my mistake. After receiving my Pottermore email I was VERY excited to rush home and be sorted. FINALLY a test by J.K. Rowling HERSELF that would confirm what I already knew. I'm not going to lie, I had some reservations, but I was determined to answer each question honestly (even though I considered answering the questions in a way I KNEW would lead to a Ravenclaw sorting)**** so that my sorting would be true. And that led to me being sorted into Hufflepuff. Now...don't get me wrong...there are many, MANY wonderful aspects of being a Hufflepuff...it's just that I've never felt like a 'Puff. EVER.

So now I'm adjusting. And I realize that there is a SLEW of you who may not understand where this post comes from. And that's okay But I can list on one hand the things I've loved longer than Harry: my family, books in general, The Beatles, and the BFFs. So it IS kind of a bid deal. There are also people who think it's just a classification on a website, but it's more than that. This is a test that JKR created...the criteria that she used to sort every single person in the magical world. It's a big deal to me. Rumor has it that when the site is open for everyone in October that we can resort...but I'm not sure I can handle not being sorted into Ravenclaw a second time, so I'm not sure if I'm going to take that option or not.

Anyway...enough of the ANGST! If any of YOU are on Pottermore feel free to add me: WillowSword50. Just leave your user name in the comments so I know who sent the request. I'll be back with a non-HP related blog tomorrow!*****

*I realize that labeling isn't always a bad things, and that listing attributes is a form of labeling, but I think focusing on negative traits or putting people down by categorizing them is an issue. Feel free to disagree, but be respectful of others please!
**YEARS
***In case you haven't figured it out...this is a Harry Potter-centric blog post.
****SEE! Slytherin!
*****Because I promised fourteen September blogs and there are only 13 days left! YIKES!!! BEDATHEOS (Blog Every Day at the End of September which could also be BEDES) anyone?

To Infinity AND BEYOND!

2011-09-04T18:45:00.001-04:00

Or ya know...to Charleston, SC for a book festival. One or the other. YOU DECIDE!!!

Actually, BFF2 and I (and maybe The Clone and Baby Neville) are indeed going to South Carolina in November for a YA book fest! I am SOOO excited!* And of course, since I am going to meet all of these AMAZING authors I have been SUPER stressed about my TBR list! I've spent the entire weekend scouring my list to cull out the books by authors who will be in SC this November and making plans to read at least one book by EACH author that will be there.** I also had to make a list for BFF2.*** Needless to say we have got a LOT of reading to do in the next two months. Not that I didn't already plan to make detailed monthly TBR lists! However, now I am just making a Y'All Fest Reading List and I'll post in on the TBR page and you guys can check it out there! They are still updating the author list, so I'll be updating the TBR list as the authors are announced. Luckily I have already read books by a few of the authors, so that lightens my load a bit. Right now it looks like I need to read about 12 books to be ready for the author meetings. NO PRESSURE!!! But, really I enjoy pressure. And I am so excited about the chance to meet some of these authors that I am about to EXPLODE!

In other news, we all know I failed BEDA. To make up for my cruddiness (and because the lack of blogging was kind of out of my control due to the dead laptop) I am going to make up the blog days I missed in September. I managed to do 17 of 31 BEDA posts, which means I missed 14 posts. So I commit to blogging 14 times in the month of September. I'm not sure what these blogs will contain (probably mass insanity) but THERE WILL BE BLOGS! I hope that those of you who showed up during BEDA will stick around and that my lunacy hasn't scared you away!

Now, it's back to one of the two books I'm currently reading! Enjoy your Labor Day holidays (if you have one) folks!

*Because I am a nerd
**Because I am a nerd
***Because SHE is a nerd

BEDA 17- Absolute Failure

2011-08-30T19:19:00.003-04:00

I'm not actually surprised that I failed BEDA, I usually do. I always hate it though. I need to do this in February. It would have to be easier than August. August is SUCH a busy month! Ending Summer Program, writing service plans, starting school....all of that leaves me with not so much time to blog. And not much to blog about.

I have enjoyed BEDA this year more than other years. I have stumbled upon blogs that I would have probably never read if not for BEDA and I enjoy that. I love to see into what people do in their lives. My life is so.....uneventful? Maybe that's the word I'm looking for? I'm not sure. I just seem so run of the mill. I live in a tiny town, I read books, I have a job that allows me to do AMAZING things in the lives of troubled kids,* I go to local sporting events, I hang out with my cousins, and I watch TV with my grandmother. None of those things really inspire excess blogging. Well, the books do, but typing "OMGOSH I LOVED THIS BOOK YOU SHOULD READ IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!" does not a blog post make. But I love to blog. Even if it's about boring stuff. I like to put it down and send it out into the world and see what comes back to me. Sometimes nothing comes back, and that's okay. It is really more about doing something for myself. A way to see that things in my life have changed, that I have changed. That's what most of my social media experience is about. It's about communicating with people that I don't have the chance to meet in real life. My town is amazing, but I'm certainly not the norm in this tiny mountain town. It is lovely to see people like me, even if they only exist inside the internet :)

I hope you have all enjoyed BEDA this year, I hope to see you again NEXT August. And maybe next April as well.

*Which IS amazing, but not blogable.

BEDA 16- This is NOT a blog post

2011-08-18T23:27:00.001-04:00

No actual post today. First day back to school and while the day started well, it ended horribly. I'm not talking about it in my attempt to spread less suck into the world. Suffice it to say that the day has left me with a TERRIBLE headache and I'm currently wearing a sweatshirt that I've had since I started high school (that is riddled with holes) and curled up with a stuffed dragon I've had for years. I don't even want to read! It is well and truly shit.* I'm calling it a night and sleeping off the cruddiness.

Less whiny Chelle will return tomorrow!**

*Apologies for the cursing, it's not a common occurance.
**I hope.

BEDA 15- DELETE

2011-08-17T07:43:00.003-04:00

This week I have been deleting things. On Sunday night I managed to delete my entire blog for about thirty minutes, which led to a huge panic attack. Then yesterday I managed to delete numerous comments that I was either trying to approve or was simply reviewing. So, if you commented on the blog recently and you can't find your comment...that's all me. I'm not sure what exactly happened to hinder my ability to understand the difference between "approve" and "delete." I blame massive amounts of paperwork.

Speaking of paperwork. I also managed to delete large sections of my ISPs* on my last work day. I can honestly say that losing huge chunks of clinical writing is THE MOST ANNOYING THING EVER. ** Today is my last day before school starts and since I wasted the day yesterday running errands for my grandmother and playing with my cousins I have a million things to do today. Including cooking dinner. I'll also be doing another blog entry tonight. It MAY*** be a written account of my back to school/work panic.

Sorry for this kind of sporadic, crazytimes blog post.

*Individualized Service Plan. Basically this is the treatment plan we write for each client that we use to gauge client progress.

**Actually this is a lie. The most annoying thing is when you realize you are writing the exact same goal repeatedly and have to rewrite a treatment plan. THAT'S depressing.

***Read: most definitely will

BEDA 14- Chelle and BBF1 Remember the 90s

2011-08-15T21:49:00.002-04:00

Apparently BEDA=list making. Oh well, I'm one heck of a list maker! Tonight I conned BFF1 into helping me come up with a BEDA List and she suggested listing things we liked about The 90s. Since I'm exhausted and kind of feel like garbage I agreed.
Things We Love: 90s Edition

90s Fashion
-Oversized T-Shirts
-Kurt Cobain Rocker Chic
-One Strap Overalls
Haircuts
-Mullets
-Poodle Perms
-The Bowl Cut
-TEASED UP BANGS
Television
-TGIF
*Family Matters
*Boy Meets World
*Full House
-Who's the Boss
-Wings
-Saturday Morning Cartoons
-Nickelodeon
*Clarissa Explains It All
*Hey Dude
*Salute Your Shorts
-Duck Tales
Old School PBS
-Nothing beats the Sesame Street and Reading Rainbow of our childhood. Kids today don't know what they're missing!
Candy/Food
-Clear Pepsi
-Fun Dip
-Push Pops
-Ring Pops
-Candy Cigarettes
-New Coke (the only Coca-Cola I really remember)
-Movie Tie-In products
-The M&M's Color contest
-Surge
Heart Throbs
-JTT
-Mark Paul Glosselaar
-Fredde Print JR
-Brad Renfro
-Mario Lopez
-Jonathan Brandis
-Leonardo DiCaprio
-Jason Priestly

BOY BANDS
-N*Sync
-Hanson
-Backstreet Boys
-98 Degrees
Movies
-Titanic
-Clueless
-She's All That
-10 Things I Hate About You
-Billy Madison
-The original Scary Movie
-Wayne's World
-I Know What You Did Last Summer
-Cruel Intentions
Disney Movies
-The Lion King
-Aladdin
-Beauty and the Beast
-Pochantas
-The rerelease of 101Dalmations
-The Great Mouse Detective
-The Little Mermaid
-Mulan
-Hercules
And the most important thing that came from the 90s? Harry Potter of course!

BEDA 13- The Beatles

2011-08-14T19:42:00.004-04:00

Today I'm going to do something a little unconventional. Since I'm not really sure what to blog about, I'm going to talk about The Beatles. But instead of waxing poetic about how much I love them and why and various memories associated with The Beatles themselves, I am going to put my iPod on shuffle and talk about the first ten Beatles songs that play. Thoughts/feelings/memories/etc.

Please Mr. Postman

This is one of those songs that it is easy to forget that The Beatles recorded. It was made popular by The Marvelettes and The Carpenters and was never released as a single by The Beatles. It's a basic song and was a good song for them to do when they were starting out before they had really made a name for themselves.

You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

There are no real words. This song is a beautiful addition to any breakup/heartache playlist. The lyric "If she's gone I can't go on/feeling two feet small" and "Gather round all you clowns/let me hear you say/You've got to hide your love away" are fantastic summations of how I felt when I've suffered lost. Not just loss of romantic love. This song would have been a fantastic way to express how I felt when my father's mother was in the hospital right before she passed away. There was a lot of family drama and I was hurt badly by things said to and about me, and honestly while I was completely capable of going on without my grandmother I honestly felt completely worthless at that time. John's voice perfectly expresses heartache, you can almost see the pain as you listen to the song. Lovely.

Dizzy Miss Lizzy

From Help! which is one of my favorite albums as a whole. This song is really just a happy, jazzy, cover and a good dance song. This is fun to blast in the morning when I'm getting ready for work and I'm dancing around my room looking for socks and make-up brushes.

Hey Jude

I think the fact that Paul wrote this song for John's son says all I need to say. John has never been (and will never be) my favorite Beatle. I have a lot of issues, and while I understand that the band as a whole would sell better if one of their members wasn't a husband and son, it bothers me that PAUL wrote the song for Julian. The song itself is very pretty and inspiring. This is my mother's favorite Beatles song and I can understand why. The message is one we all need, "don't carry the world upon your shoulders" is something I have to remind myself of frequently. The version I'm listening to is from the "Love" album, and while there aren't a lot of differences in this version and the original, it is interesting to hear how it was remixed a bit as far as the background music is concerned.

You Won't See Me

I can honestly say I rarely listen to this song. In fact, I can't ever recall listening to it. However, it's adorable. A lovely ditty about trying to talk to a girl. Not just any girl, but a girl you have lost, a girl who is gone. "I just can't go on/if you won't see me." Well, that's a common feeling! I believe everyone has at one point just wanted the person they want to LOOK AT THEM. Good on you Paul.

Drive My Car/The World/What You're Doing

This is another song from "Love" and I love it. Drive My Car is such a fun song on it's own, but when it's mixed with What You're Doing and The World. AMAZING! George and Giles Martin did a wonderful job of mixing those songs. Honestly, if you didn't KNOW that they were three different songs it sounds like verses all from one song that tells a story about a girl and how she has managed to wrap a boy around her finger.

Help

HELP! For quite some time in high school this was my favorite song by The Beatles. It is always hard for me to pinpoint "favorites." So many things can affect it. Am I in a good mood? Do I need to cry? Am I angry? Did I just accomplish something big? Do I have work to do? Did I hear a new song that mattered? All of those things really affect what my favorite (insert noun here) is. But as a young 18 year old girl I felt SO OLD AND WISE!* Help really impacted me and especially after my grandmother died and I realized I was a dumb kid. That I had no real idea what was going on. I did need help. Also it was fun to sing at top volume while I was driving.

I Me Mine

Oh, George. You are truly my favorite**. This song in particular isn't my favorite George song, that honor goes to While My Guitar Gently Weeps or Here Comes the Sun, depending on my mood. But I Me Mine really makes a point. It really impacts me to realize that in all of our actions we tend to focus on OURSELVES and not others. Especially when I think of Esther, a young girl who asked people to tell their loved ones how they felt for her birthday gift. That is the spirit I want to present to the world. To realize that material objects and stuff doesn't mean anything. The time I spend with people I care about is really going to make a difference. Going out of my way to brighten someone else s day will make my day a little brighter as well. If I focus a little less on "I me mine" then I can really make a difference.

The Ballad of John and Yoko

I really wanted to skip this song. I have Yoko issues, and even though it isn't fair they are there. But it's a good song. It's upbeat, it's fun, and it's honest. It really describes their lives and how they were together. It references their marriage, their honeymoon and the Bed-In and his desire for peace. I respect the work they did for peace and the effort they put into expressing their desire for a peaceful world. A lot of celebrities today aren't activists, and they don't have to be. But it is inspiring to remember that this man, who was close to my age at the time, spent his honeymoon making a statement about what he wanted his world to look like. That is inspiring.

Being of the Benefit of Mr. Kite

FINALLY! A Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band song! This has to be one of my favorite full albums they ever did. Which is random really. It has great songs on it, but it also has nonsense songs like this one. However, this is an album that I stole from my dad back before I ever had any kind of mp3 player and listened to frequently. I actually listened to it so many times that it will no longer play and I really should replace the album for him. There is nothing to really SAY about Mr. Kite, except that it is wonderfully used in the movie Across the Universe!

Some end notes. My current favorite Beatles song is "In My Life." That John Lennon really knew how to string some words together man. My dad's favorite Beatles song is "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." I think. At least that's what he told me when we last talked about Beatles songs I haven't heard. It is a REAL mood lifter, which is humorous because it is about a serial killer. I would highly recommend watching Across the Universe. It is lovely and it is full of minor/subtle references to The Beatles that you may not understand if you AREN'T really a hardcore fan*** but the movie is still great even without knowing them. If you like musicals then it will also appeal, even if you aren't a fan. There are also beautiful people acting in it, so that helps! I find it amusing that of the ten songs listed here, only one is in any playlist that isn't a Beatles Only playlist. I may do this again sometime (not during BEDA, that's practically cheating, but someday) since there are so MANY Beatles songs!****

*Stupid little girl.

**There is a reason that my iPod is named George.

***I didn't know a lot of the references, but I watched with my dad and he explained them to me. It was a great experience for me, both as a fan and as a daughter. \

****Currently 269 in my "Beatles" playlist.

BEDA 12- Rain

2011-08-13T21:02:00.003-04:00

Today it rained, so prepare yourselves for a love letter to weather. Seriously, it's about to be like a chapter from Twilight. Today as I left the house to take E to a pool party with her friends it started sprinkling rain. It was one of those adorable summer rain showers where it is bright and sunny and HUGE drops of rain fall from the sky and plunk down on the world. It was fun and bright and beautiful. Unfortunately it was over too soon, and by the time I returned home fifteen minutes later the rain had stopped. This prompted me to tell my grandmother that Mother Nature was a cruel mistress who was nothing more than a tease. Obviously I take my rain showers seriously.

I should have known that Mother Nature wouldn't let me down. As the day progressed we had a few other showers, but nothing that really caught my attention. However, it wasn't until early this evening when my grandmother asked what was wrong with our television (out satellite had lost signal) that I realized weather patterns had changed. I don't know about you guys, but I can TELL when it is going to rain. There will be times that I look up from paperwork or the book I'm reading to tell my grandmother the rain has started. A lot of that is connected to my allergies and the fact that when it rains I feel SO AMAZING. But it is also because it is my favorite weather. Maybe because of the lack of allergy pain, but I think it's because of the rain itself.

Today as I sat on the sofa and stared out the window watching the rain come down in sheets across the mountains, I was surrounded by a sense of peace. It is so beautiful here when it rains. Every storm is different, and depending on how the storm system goes there are so many various rainstorms to experience. Today it was pelting down, sheets of rain. Visibility was low, there was fog, the temperature dropped. You could see tendrils of mist and fog creeping down through the trees. The mountains that are a constant backdrop were shrouded by not only the misty fog, but also by the rain itself. This storm was one that I could actually watch roll in from the mountains in the distance and see the moment that it hit my across the street neighbor's yard moments before it made its way into our yard. It was beautiful. Rain like we had today always makes me wish I had artistic ability. That I could capture the scene outside my window through film or drawing, that I could capture that scene to show with everyone I meet. To say THIS is beauty. Everything turns SO green, even when the fog is covering the ground and the rain is so heavy that it is hard to count the trees in the distance. It is a color I have yet to manage to translate in photographs. It just proves that there are things we are meant to experience and remember instead of find a way to hold on to them in some physical format.

BEDA 11- Cupcakes

2011-08-12T21:09:00.003-04:00

Well, it only took a few days to come to the point where I just blog about things that I eat. I mean, OBVIOUSLY I spend a lot of time tweeting about things that I eat,* but so far I've managed not to devote large amounts of blog time to food.** That all changes tonight!

I have a sick obsession with cupcakes. I absolutely LOVE them. Most of my weekends are spent baking at least one batch of cupcakes (or maybe scones) and then watching numerous episodes with BFF2. I know! My life is soooo exciting! Anyway, the point is I'm a girl who knows her way around a kitchen and I really enjoy having enough time to actually bake without feeling rushed.

When making cupcakes, I generally start with a cake mix and then add my own flavors and such. Sometimes I add homemade jam to the batter, sometimes I just use food color. I've used various syrups, added different candies to the cupcakes, made different frosting from scratch. And sometimes I just mix up a yellow cupcake mix and we eat them when they are warm from the oven without anything (even frosting) added to the cake.

Essentially, cupcakes make things better. The time spent making the cupcakes can provide both solitude and company depending on who is at my house when I'm baking. Deciding what I'm going to add to basic cupcakes allows for some creativity. We've tried cupcakes that were a complete disaster, like the Neapolitan cupcakes that didn't layer because they were too runny. We've also tried things we thought would completely bomb which turned out MUCH better than we expected such as the cupcakes we added fresh berries to before baking. THOSE were amazing. And of course we can't forget that eating cupcakes provides you with an amazing sugar high that can make even the worse day a little brighter.

So, my advice to you all is to eat a cupcake! If you're happy the cupcake will only add to that joy, BUT if you happen to be having a horrid day the cupcake will certainly help you feel a tad bit better.

*Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks, new recipes I'm trying, shows I'm watching on Food Network...you know, the usual.

**That post about Coca-Cola doesn't count, seeing as how Coke is a drink.

BEDA 10-Stream of Consciousness

2011-08-11T20:07:00.004-04:00

For the love of all that is good and holy my head hurts! Lack of rain has led to my allergies being ALL out of wack. But enough complaining! On with the blogging! Since pain=lack of focus I'm just going to do a bulleted list of things I'm thinking about RIGHT NOW!

•The weather has been lovely recently, even without rain. Warm days and cool nights are fantastic and the perfect way to transition from summer to fall.
•I may go with BFF2 and The Clone to watch the Glee3D concert movie next week and I'm only a little embarrassed by that.
•I may yell "It's Harry freaking Potter" when Darren Criss comes on screen during the Glee concert movie.
•I need to gather books up tonight for CoworkerRachel because she loved a series I recommended and now wants a list of books she should read.
•She also wants to borrow books I own so she doesn't spend a boatload of money on books she may not love.
•I love recommending books to people.
•I love reading more than I love recommending books.
•I wonder how many kids read books from the reading lists I was asked to make at the end of the school year.
•It seems like cheating to make a random blog post about my scattered thoughts.
•Work today was super stressful, but not nearly as bad as I assumed it would be.
•Work was marginally decent thanks to my iPod (George) and BFF2.
•In all the time I listened to George I only heard one Beatles song.
•I should probably just make a suggested reading list (separated by genre) that I can make copies of and hand out.
•I have made a LOT of recommended reading lists in the last four years.
•My face hurts.
•Today's "Silver Lining" is that while today was a cruddy office day I have a lot less work to do to get ready for school than I expected!
•I use a lot of exclamation points and capital letters.
•I appreciate ANYONE who read this rambling list o' things!

BEDA 9- Office Supply LOVE

2011-08-10T17:55:00.003-04:00

As previously mentioned, I have a sick obsession with office supplies. I have spent the past few weeks stocking up on pens, pencils, notebooks, a new dayplanner, etc. Then today the bag I ordered to carry to work each day arrived! I will spend a good portion of my evening packing the work bag with the items I'll use this week during my office work days and then next week I'll the items I'll need each day in the classroom.

And now I'm amazed that I'm blogging about school/office supplies. Unfortunately I don't have much to chat about. I've spent the majority of the month hanging out with my cousins and trying to help my grandmother around the house when possible. Basically, I've been a bum. With only two weeks off between summer program and school starting I've really made it a priority to be a bum.

I hope all of you are enjoying the end of summer!

BEDA 8- I Missed a Day!

2011-08-09T22:08:00.003-04:00

I failed BEDA! BUT I am going to make it up! Honest! ONE day soon I'm going to post TWO blogs! I'm currently typing this on my brother's girlfriend's laptop and feeling horrible because I was doing SO well! I even managed to blog when I was out of town with NO internet service! Then things went to pot! However, things should be okay now.

I've spent this week (all two days of it) getting ready for school to start. The best thing about my current job is that I get to use office supplies, which means that I get to do all the fun back to school shopping! Yesterday my family went to the closest big town to us so that I could buy the supplies I still needed. My clients tend to lack the funds necessary to be prepared for school every day, so I try to have basic supplies on hand at all times so they are prepared for class. I also have a sick obsession with ink pens, so I had to stock up on my current favorites so that I am ready for massive note taking each day. After the school supply shopping for myself, Doda, and E we headed over to Best Buy any my mother fronted me the money to purchase an internet capable device. After a lot of consideration I decided that I should get a cheaper tablet now (since I have access to multiple desktops) and save to buy a quality laptop in the future. My dad seems to think there is hope that his oldest son can repair my laptop for little cost, which will be fantastic really. It is odd to be disconnected in a sense. Especially since it is not by choice. I finally got everything set up on the tablet* and it is (hopefully) ready to go.

I go back to work on Thursday, so you guys should prepare for boring work related blogs! I will do my best to provide quality entertainment so that you won't be bored to tears while reading. I'm certain I'll have exciting stories once school actually starts. I'm excited to go back and work with my clients and see the students at my school. Last week I was accosted by a student that was in the grade level I work with and she was EXTREMELY excited to see me. I adore the kids I interacted with last year, and I have missed them this summer. I look forward to another year of recommending books, laughing at silly things they say, and remind them that just because we are from a small Southern town we do NOT have to sound like idiots** when we speak. I enjoy interacting with tweens and teens each day and seeing the ways that I positively impact their lives.

*I think. Most likely I still need to download massive amounts of things and fiddle with the settings a bit longer.

**I seriously cannot count the number of times kids told me they didn't have to "talk right" because they're from the country. It's sad really that they have no interest in bettering themselves.

BEDA 7- Dead Laptop

2011-08-07T22:50:00.002-04:00

On Friday I tweeted about being a grown-up and not spending money I didn't have on a fancy pants new tablet* at Best Buy. Especially since I was going out of town for the weekend and school was starting and I have a lot of expenses for that. Tonight I got home from my trip and turned the laptop on to type a blog and watch a disc of Supernatural, only to be greeted by the BLACK SCREEN OF DEATH. It is horrible. Not only do I use my laptop on a daily basis for entertainment purposes, it is literally impossible for me to do my job without computer access. Needless to say, my 83 year old grandmother does NOT have a spare computer laying around. Or any computer if we're honest. Now I'm faced with adulthood. My work schedule has been really messed up this month. School doesn't start until the 18th and summer program ended on July 31, which makes money really tight until I go back to school and get a regular paycheck mid-September. Lack of funds make it impossible to purchase ANY type of computer. I'm so frustrated right now and I'm sad that this is just a ranty blog post about electronics. Especially since I KNOW things could be worse! It's a downward spiral of disgust I'm hanging out in. I'm just going to retreat into a book Goethe rest of the night, then sleep in my own bed.**

*Even though I REALLY want one
**I suppose "sleeping on my own bed" is the Silver Lining in this post.

BEDA August 6- Desperately in Need of Coca-Cola

2011-08-06T17:50:00.001-04:00

I desperately need a Coke.* For whatever reason I thought it would be a good idea to bypass caffeinated beverages until lunch time. I know, a foolish endeavor! After spending the morning back to school shopping with The Clone in an outlet mall on tax-free-weekend I am, in a word, MISERABLE. Terrible headache (brought on by no caffeine, allergies, and crowded department stores) and drowsiness leads to a not fun Chelle. I did go for a dip in the pool with The Clone and Jerry while my aunt and uncle visited some shops; however, this has not lessened the need to stab my right eye out. The stabbing eye pains lead me to believe that my issues are more allergy related than anything else, which well and truly sucks because there's nothing I can do about.

BUT I WILL NOT BE CONQUERED BY MERE PAIN!

This is a FREE (except for meals and personal purchases) trip with people I adore. Lunch was at a restaurant
that was very similar to Chuck E. Cheese's. We watched Lord of the Rings while we munched on a variety of pizzas, salads, soups, and pastas. After eating we headed to the arcade section of the restaurant and played games for about an hour. I did not play games. Poor hand-eye coordination lead to me being a better observer than participator. I did enjoy watching The Clone play a variety of games, and I especially loved watching my aunt and uncle decimate a game called Galaga. Apparently this was a popular game WAY back when that is still available to play in some arcades. Watching that game play allowed me to overhear some ace quotes, including my uncle talking about previous high scores achieved when he was a teen, and my aunt telling me stories about their honeymoon and visiting arcades. These stories make it obvious that I am truly from a nerd family. Not that there was much doubt to begin with! Even when faced with physical pain, whiny kids (and me), large crowds, and hours of shopping I continue to be amazed by how wonderful my family is. This has been a great day despite the gross things we've dealt with. The best part comes in small moments. I'm currently typing this on The Clone's netbook while we watch Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and Jerry plays Angry Birds on my iPod. We've been constantly referring to inside jokes from the numerous times we've watched these movies and Jerry has made a ton of jokes about how horrid I am at any video game that isn't Tekken (or something like Tekken) while he is able to win the levels on Angry Birds with ease. Honestly, these are the moments that I love the most-whether we are home or in another state.

*This post is NOT sponsored by Coca-Cola, but I wouldn't object to free Cokes for life!

BEDA August 5- I'm a Travelin' Man

2011-08-06T09:17:00.002-04:00

Well, maybe (definitely) not a man, but I HAVE been traveling quite a bit recently. I'm currently sitting in the backseat of my aunt and uncle's SUV, riding through Tennessee, while The Clone and Jerry talk in assorted accents. This is an interesting jaunt. The scenery is BEAUTIFUL, but then again I'm extremely biased toward mountains.

I don't really have anything to blog about today. Before departing on our journey I went to first aid training* and made a quick trip to the closest mall (45 minutes away) to buy Chucks for BFF2 and to make a quick trip to the bookstore. Yes, the closest bookstore is forty-five minutes away! It's QUITE dreadful! However, since I was leaving for this trip I was on a DO NOT BUY THINGS trip. For the most part I did well, I only purchased a collection of fairy tales. Anywho, not much of a blog entry. Apologies! I hope you all have fantabulous weekends! I'll be back on Sunday to comment on your blogs and lurk around the interwebs :)

*Complete waste of time. Took less than twenty minutes and there was a physical test that consisted of applying pressure to a wound and making a sling out of a bandage.

BEDA August 4-SO CLOSE (Yet SO far away)

2011-08-05T00:27:00.002-04:00

Well I've already missed a day. Kind of. I'm not COUNTING it as missing a day though since this will be posted just a few short moments after midnight. I honestly could have posted earlier, but instead I was packing. WHY was I packing, you ask. Because my auntie (commonly referred to as Momma Clone) called me today midtraining session and invited me to come with her and her family on a long weekend jaunt to Tennessee! Tres exciting!!! So instead of blogging I packed. I also searched through iPod apps to find something that was free that I could use to blog so I wouldn't miss any days this weekend!

Now, on to the POINT of this blog. Tonight I took The Clone to see DH2, which I saw at LeakyCon with tons of other hardcore fans. And while realistically I KNOW that people watching the movie on a random Thursday night weeks after the movie released are most likely people who just needed a low cost activity (at least that's who they most likely are in MY little baby town) it was kind of a shock how different my viewing was tonight. When I saw the movie at Leaky it was an EXPERIENCE. Sitting in a theater full of people who laughed, cried, and cheered with you was special. I knew it was special when it happened. But tonight NO ONE reacted. There were no gasps, no crying (that I could hear), and certainly no cheering. Not nary a person screamed Neville Longbottom's name at any point during the film. There was some laughter, but not a lot. And honestly, this last Harry Potter movie had several moments that induced giggles. At one point The Clone looked at me (as tears streamed down my face while I laughed and clapped softly) and said "are you seriously crying? You've seen this before." Which frankly made me say "SO???" So what if I had cried before. I cry every time I read the books. Heck, I even get teary-eyed when the face the troll in Sorcerer's Stone and when Neville wins house points at the end of that story due to his extreme bravery.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that when you sit in a room full of people who GET it, it is very difficult to sit in a room o people who clearly don't understand. Even The Clone who has read (and loved) each HP book doesn't quite understand. There is a difference between loving something for a year and loving something for a lifetime. And that sentiment doesn't just apply to Harry Potter. I suppose it's the difference in love and like. Many people I know in real life like Harry Potter, but few of then have the lifetime love affair that I have had with Harry.

BEDA August 3- Esther Earl Day

2011-08-03T21:19:00.002-04:00

Today is Esther Earl Day. If you're unfamiliar with Esther's story you can read about it here. To boil down the day though, today would have been Esther's birthday and last year she asked that people who wanted to celebrate her birthday make it a point to tell someone "I love you." She asked that you pick someone who you love, but don't generally say the words "I love you" to, not a crush but a friend or a relative. Someone who means something HUGE, someone who is a gigantic part of your life, someone who impacts your life and makes it better every single day. So today is a day when you celebrate the love you have for others in honor of a girl who did everything possible to show love to everyone around her.

Although I was not friends with Esther, she impacted my life in a very real way. I wasn't her friend on facebook, I didn't follow her on twitter, I didn't watch her videos on YouTube, and in fact I only heard about her in the few months before her death. However, I was impacted by the impact she made on the lives of people that I respect and admire. Listening to John Green and Lauren Fairweather talk about how they were inspired by Esther's life and affected by her death was a humbling experience. Realizing that this girl was affected by a disease, but refusing to succumb to the disease and instead fighting to make the world a better place made ME want to face each day with dignity and grace. It is so easy to complain. Finding the bad things in life is easy. It is so easy to list negative things. I'm not sure why. I can come home from work and spend hours talking about how crappy my day was. It is difficult to find good things. Since Esther's passing I've tried to be better. I've tried to think positively and spread love to others. I don't always succeed. In fact, I fail a lot of the time. But I think that making the effort counts for a lot. I positively impact the lives of people around me. I can say without a doubt that each day I get up and go to work that I make someones life better. They may not realize it right now, but one day they will be able to see how I helped them.

In keeping with Esther Day tradition I made it a point to tell someone that I love them. I am an affectionate person and I express myself well. I tell my family I love them, I tell my friends that I love them. I make it a point to let the people I care about know how much they mean to me. But there are times I drop the ball. I decided today that I was going to tell Doda that I love him. It's hard to explain the relationship I have with Doda, I was thirteen when he was born and his mom was my idol. I wanted to be with her all the time. And I generally WAS with her. I have loved him since the moment I laid eyes on him. I have so many warm and fuzzy memories of him. I cried this year when he graduated middle school. I'm talking buckets of tears. I had to leave the room until he left for school. And he KNOWS that I love him. All of the cousins do. But whereas I have no problem telling the other three that I love them, Doda tends to be uncomfortable with displays of affection. Generally if I tell him that I love him it is slipped into a conversation after he tells me something silly he has done. I rarely look at him and say "for serious, I love you." But today I did. And he looked at me like I was crazy, and said "okay," and went back to helping me do dishes for our grandmother. It was exactly the response I expected, and it was the only response I needed. He confirmed that he knows I love him, for keeps. And it is an amazing feeling to tell someone that you love them.

So, even though it is late I would encourage you all to take part in Esther Day and tell someone that you love them!

BEDA August 2- Already Out of Ideas

2011-08-02T15:57:00.000-04:00

So, BEDA Day 2, how YOU doin'? I have no real idea what to blog about today. Which is OBVIOUSLY a fantastic sign for the upcoming month. Today has been pretty quiet. As usually I can't keep E away and she is basically camped out at my house unless one of her parents have forced her to come home for a few hours. This week I'll also have Doodle and A every morning while their mom goes to work, so we've been doing a lot of fun things and watching some movies. Yesterday it was How to Train Your Dragon and today we watched Disney's Hercules. I also finished Wildefire by Karsten Knight, so it seems like I'm on a bit of a mythology kick today! I'm typing this while watching Doodle and E give each other mani-pedis. I can honestly say there are few things more hilarious than watching a three year old paint someones fingernails. Doodle's hand-eye coordination is okay, but the truth of the matter is that she struggles to make everything work the way it should.

I've also spent some time trying to pin down plans with Doda, The Clone, and Jerry. We are planning to watch The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen sometime this week since I've had the DVD for weeks. They have never seen the movie, but I'm so positive that they will love it. Doda has also mention a Lord of the Rings marathon before school starts. It's been three whole months since we've had a LotR-a-thon, so it makes sense that we watch them again soon!

Later this week I have to attend not one, but two safety training sessions for work. I'm not really excited about this, truth be told. Especially since I'm currently certified for both First Aid and Crisis Intervention. Oh well, at least it's a paycheck! Sorry for the boring blog kids. I'll try to do better tomorrow! Maybe something EXCITING will happen tonight that I can blog about tomorrow! Hope you all have better BEDA luck today than I did!

BEDA August 1-Introductions

2011-08-01T11:00:00.005-04:00

I signed up here and agreed to do BEDA! Now I just have to make an effort to show up each day! Here is a simple introduction post, questions courtesy of Rachel, but the questions were posted on the BEDA blog. If you're doing BEDA you should check them both out!

What’s your name?

Rochelle, but I'm RARELY called Rochelle. For family and close friends it's always (ALWAYS) Chelle. Unless I'm in trouble of course, then I get the full thing: Rochelle Shanlea. Which is the name you can see if you find me ANYWHERE on the internet

How old are you?

27 almost 28.

How long have you been blogging? (Or is this your first try?)

I started blogging in 2008 for a previous job where I worked as a Youth Services Librarian. When I left that job in 2009 I started this blog. I don't post regularly, but I always want to make the time to write here. I try BEDA every year, and while I've never actually managed to complete BEDA on my personal blog I always enjoy the experience!

How did you come up with your blog’s name?

I live in an EXTREMELY small town in rural southwestern Virginia and I've loved books my entire life. Small Town Book Nerd is the best way to describe me!

What’s your Hogwarts House?

Ravenclaw

What do you like to read?

Everything seems like a cop out, but it's true. I read mainly young adult literature, but this year I have also been drawn to memoirs and biographies. Since graduating high school and college I've been on a quest to reread the classics that were thrust upon me (and I hated) as a student to see if with age and choice my opinions of these have changed, so I also randomly pick up books from my cousins' reading lists and read along with them.

What do you like to watch?

I watch Netflix for hours at night while I am doing paperwork for my job, so it's hard to narrow my choices down. Right now I am making my way through Swamp People, Supernatural, and the BBC versions of Robin Hood and Merlin. Doctor Who, House, Bones, Haven, Pretty Little Liars, reality TV: DWTS, Project Runway, ANTM. I enjoy a variety of shows and am general up for suggestions.

As far as movies, I generally watch romantic comedies, Disney cartoons, teen flicks with the girl cousins, movies based on books, and fantasy/action/superhero movies. The Cousins* and I particularly enjoy Indiana Jones, X-Men, and Lord of the Rings.

What’s the best song you listened to today?

Man, these "likes" questions REALLY get me! It is nearly impossible for me to narrow down choices, and I generally have background music at all times. If something isn't playing, then I'm singing something in my head.

Today (and for quite some time) I've been ridiculously in love with the songs "In My Life" by The Beatles** and "Dear Yoko" by John Lennon.

Have you done anything really fun recently?

I attended LeakyCon this summer with one of my best friends. We drove from Virginia to Florida and it was THE BEST thing that I've done this summer.

In addition to BEDA, are you doing any other awesome things in August?

School starts again on the 18th of August, so I'll be going back to work. However, until then I basically have three free weeks to just hang out. There are a few training sessions and work days that I have to attend, but they are child free so they will still be relatively relaxing. I plan to use my days to swim in my Auntie W's pool, have sleepovers and movie days with The Cousins.

Anything else you’d like to add?

A question that I frequently get is "What EXACTLY do you DO?" I'm usually rather vague due to confidentiality issues, but I refer to work a lot on this blog. So, to clarify, I am a Therapeutic Day Treatment Counselor. To break that down: basically I provide behavioral therapy to kids who are at risk of being removed from their homes or from school due to severe behavioral issues. We intervene and help our clients learn appropriate ways to react to anger, teach social skills, and just generally help them deal with any issues they have that prevent them from succeeding in school/life. I spend all day every day in the classroom with clients. Last year I worked in the seventh grade in a middle school in my county. This year I'm not 100% sure where I'll be, but right now it looks like I'll pick up with my previous clients and move with them to eighth grade! Joy of joys! Prepubescent boys are ALWAYS enjoyable...especially when they are bigger than me.***

Is there anything YOU would like to know? Feel free to ask! I'm relatively friendly and am always willing to respond to questions.

*The Cousins: Doda (14), The Clone (14), Jerry (12), and E (9). Also referred to as The Fantastic Four. Occasionally this core group is extended to include two of the younger cousins A (5) and Doodle (3) but generally ONLY refers to the original four.
**In all actuality, if I have heard a Beatles song there is a 99.9% chance that it will have been THE BEST song I have heard that day.
***Apparently I look REALLY young. Last year I was mistaken for a middle school student more than 10 times AFTER the first grading period ended.

Goodbye Summer Program, Hello Vacation

2011-07-31T14:29:00.000-04:00

I have the next three weeks off work! Kind of. I have several required training sessions to attend to ensure I'm prepared to deal with emergency situations in the classroom/school setting, and in theory I will have a caseload BEFORE school starts this year* and I will have some workdays where I update files and write treatments plans and other fun stuff at our office with my coworkers. This is always manages to be a fun experience AND a bummer all at once. It is so much fun to be with grownups and not have to worry about kids. Lunch dates, lazy days, and laughfests with coworkers that I don't see frequently because we are spread across the county and we only see each other a handful of times throughout the school year make these days awesome. However, these days are also a bummer because we are just swamped with file work. Write reports about treatment, coming up with treatment plans, reading about our clients and discussing cases with our supervisors and coworkers can be stressful. But by and large I enjoy workdays, and am looking forward to three weeks without clients.

So, what does one DO with three weeks free of work? I plan to read and catch up on some TV shows that have been abandoned due to work issues. I have several sleepover dates planned with The Fantastic Four and plans to watch Doctor Who with BFF2.** And I'm considering doing BEDA since I won't have to work for the majority of August. I know, I know. BEDA, it's not like I've EVER managed to actually DO BEDA, but at least I'm persistent! Right? So get ready for updates about First Aid training, movie nights with the cousins, and babbling entries about the books I'm reading! I hope you guys are EXCITED!

*Does everyone remember how much fun it was LAST year when I didn't actually have a caseload until the first day of school? No? Go read about it here.
**She's never seen it before and I love it enough that I am thoroughly enjoying rewatching it with her.

Updating the TBR List and Packing Extravaganzas

2011-07-05T19:29:00.001-04:00

I spent my long weekend doing a lot of random things. I hung out with BFF2, I did some paperwork, I drove a total of eight hours to pick my uncle and cousin up after their two hour flight "home," I watched fireworks, and I did laundry. I mean a LOT of laundry. A ridiculous amount of laundry really. And since I hate laundry with a burning passion I decided that I would go ahead and pack for my upcoming vacation. In six VERY SHORT days BFF2 and I will depart for Florida. I am EXTREMELY excited about this trip. I haven't had a real vacation in several years. I went to Chicago earlier this year to visit a friend but it was just over a long weekend. THIS is going to be a seven day trip that includes a road trip, a theme park, and HARRY POTTER! And my best friend of course.

While packing the books I plan on taking with me I came to a startling realization. When I made my Summer TBR List I picked several books that are the first in a series. This is a problem. I don't actually feel like I can add MORE books to my list to accommodate the series books, but I know myself well enough to know that I won't be able to just read the first book in a series. THEREFORE I am going to have to spend some time rearranging the TBR list. I spent the day pouring over my shelves and making a list of possible alternate choices. I realize this seems silly, but honestly having that list and knowing which books I've set a goal to read has really helped me stay on task this summer bookwise. It's been nice to just read through the list without worrying about shifting through my shelves (and piles) in order to choose a book. Soon I will update my TBR tab and you can see what I've decided to read!

And yes, I realize that I'm a nerd who just spent an entire blog entry talking about a Harry Potter themed vacation and a reading list!

My Little Town

2011-06-25T13:24:00.000-04:00

The good thing about transporting kids to the summer program is that I really get the chance to appreciate how beautiful it is where I live. Last Sunday as BFF2 and I drove the route I would have to drive this past week I was awestruck at how everything around me was so bright and pretty. All I could see was GREEN. Hundreds of shades of green. Mountains, fields, trees, grass, assorted flower stalks. It seemed as though the entire world was steeped in the color. Throughout the week I have snapped photos with my (not so fantastic) phone camera, and I have already decided that my actual camera will have a home in my work bag for the rest of the summer. Since there is no way I can describe the beauty that surrounds me with words, I've decided to take the easy way out and do a photo-blog this week, so that all of you can absorb the pretty as well!

There are always mountains in the background and it is hard to find any areas that are flat in my county.

Tipsy-turvy fence posts.

The hills are ALIVE with the sound of music.

Even the fields are hills!

There is whimsy in everything here.

Road sign leading no where.

Our mailbox

But as usual, there is no place like home.

The long and winding road, that leads to my door.

Sunset in the mountains

Summer

2011-06-12T18:04:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the first official day of summer. At least it is for me. Friday was the last day of school and I have to say I was relieved to see it come and go. It was sad to say goodbye to the students that I have grown close to in the last year. I had major concerns last year about being at the middle school, and some of those concerns were valid. Middle school kids are harder than first graders, I'm relatively small which led to confusion when substitutes and new students weren't sure I was an adult, and most of all I had a LOT of clients which led to a lot of scheduling conflicts. But overall I am really satisfied with how my year went. I feel that while I may not have been an active presence on the internet (this blog in particular) I made a positive impact on many different kids this year. I left Friday to hugs, requests for book lists and yearbook signings, and even a few tears. I can honestly say that I hope I have to opportunity to stay in my school next year and move up a grade level with the teens I worked with this year. But that is ultimately a blog entry for another day, one that is MUCH closer to the end of this wonderful summer.

I have PLANS this summer. Some are glamorous (a trip with BFF2) and some are mundane (movie nights with The Fantastic Four and cook outs with my family) but all are exciting. Since I have such exciting plans I really (REALLY) want to blog about some of the stuff I do. There are things going on this summer that I really want to document and share. There will be some video-blogging (maybe) happening and of course I will be updating Twitter like there is no tomorrow, but I also want to be able to blog through my summer as well. So that is one of my major summer goals. At least a weekly entry here for updates. I am sure there will be more than one blog some weeks, but I am really dedicated to blogging once a week.

I also have reading plans this summer. And TV-watching plans. I recently bought some paperbacks to dive into this summer as I lounge by the pool or ride the bus during summer program field trips. I realize that I already HAVE paperbacks that need to be read, but I'm not really planning on using the Nook very often this summer. I love it too much to risk water damage or breakage by one of the cousins. Therefore, physical books are the key to summer reading. I haven't set any kind of reading goal for summer, and I'm really far behind on my yearly goal as it is, but I am considering making a TBR list for my summer reading and trying to stick to that list. I know several titles that I want to read before school starts again and having a list always helps me stay on task instead of being distracted by all of the new shiny books that I am sure I will procure over the summer.

So that's the major summertime game plan. Work, road trip, lazy days by the pool, family time, books. Best.Summer.EVER!*

*I hope!

Doctor Who

2011-04-23T14:15:00.000-04:00

I failed B(A)EDA. Let's just get that over with. I am a failure. But that's okay. I'm still awesome!

Tonight is the premiere of Doctor Who on BBCA and I am VERY excited! I've talked about Doctor Who so much that BFF2 is going to start watching it. She is currently regretting that she didn't start soon enough to get caught up before the new season began, but I am DVRing all of the episodes so we can watch them when she finally DOES get them all watched. The Clone still hasn't watched all of the new Doctor Who series, but she has watched all of the Matt Smith episodes, so we will be watching series 6 together this year. However, I'm not sure I can wait for her to watch tonight's episode. I just found out my grandmother is going to be out of the house so I'll be able to watch the show when it comes on TV tonight instead of having to waiting until she goes to sleep to enjoy the awesomeness of it!

In preparation of Doctor Who coming back I watched "Blink" last night. And can I just say "holy weeping angels, Batman?" I'm not sure WHY Blink is (maybe) my favorite Tennant episode, but I certainly do love it. Sally Sparrow OWNS that episode and the entire time I watched I alternately thought "soooo freaking creepy man" and "why wasn't Sally Sparrow ever a companion?" I suppose because she has her own story to live out, but she would have been better than Martha Jones. Martha is easily my least favorite companion, which is saying something because I pretty much wanted to light Rose on fire when we first met her. BUT moving back to the topic at hand! Blink-terrifying beyond belief. I can no longer look at angel statues and if I ever see one with it't eyes covered I will probably soil my linens! Of all the "bad guys" on DW, the Weeping Angels are probably my favorite/the most horrifying but I love them all the same. I watched Eleven's Angel episodes three times and loved them a little more each time I watched them. I have to say, Steven Moffat did an excellent job with both this episode and the continuation of the Angels story line in series five.

Are any of you watching Doctor Who tonight? Are you as excited as I am?

B(A)EDA 2: Music From My Daddy

2011-04-03T14:33:00.000-04:00

Next week I am going on a trip. Alone. And although I am twenty-seven, I am still considered a child by most of my family. To them I am both strong and fragile, someone they all depend on but feel the need to shelter and take care of. This is a good thing, don't get me wrong. However, with a road trip looming on the horizon they are a tad bit freaked out. To make things easier on them I just sit back and listen to their advice, promise to make phone calls at each stop along the way, and not to pick up hitchhikers or stop for baby carriages on the side of the road.* I suppose they would feel more comfortable if there had not been a TERRIFYING case of road rage in my peaceful little town that led to a man nearly dying.

Another thing I did was ask my daddy for song suggestions for driving songs. I should have known better. He brought me a list of OVER three hundred songs to make a playlist out of. Today I have spent the day shifting through the songs he brought me and adding songs to the "Road Trip" playlist I have already made. I find it no surprise that I already have several of the songs he brought me in my playlist, after all my musical tastes are greatly influenced by him. For as long as I can remember I have been stealing his CDs and singing along with him and the radio in the car. In more recent years I have made him mixed tapes and passed along the CDs I've purchased to him so that he can listen to bands that I enjoy.

Love of music isn't the only things I share with my father. We also spend long periods of time talking about the news and various annoyance. We talk about TV shows and movies we enjoy. I tell him about the books I am reading, he tells me about books he read a long time ago and books he hopes to have time to read when he retires and has more time. He has always been my biggest supporter and is so completely amazing. He has the ability to make things better, no matter how big or little the hurt is. He gives this ridiculous advice that sounds like it is from some motivational calender, but makes me laugh like a loon and ultimately helps. His advice is so epically bad that he once told me to let the bad things people say slide off like "water off a duck's back."** While it IS true that water slides off a duck's back QUITE easily, it isn't excellent advice for a teenage girl who has recently discovered that her friends are saying mean things about her. All in all though, he always knows how to make things okay again, even if they are broken to the point that I think things will never be okay again.

I'm not sure how this went from a blog about road trip music to adoration for my father, but I suppose that's what comes from just doing a stream of consciousness type thing. However, I have wasted more than enough time and must put my nose to the grindstone and finish up paperwork!

*Yes, apparently this is a THING that people do now, lure people from their cars by putting "abandoned" children by the side of the road. Sickos.
**Advice like this led my college roommate to dub his advice "Davidisms" and now she randomly quotes them to me in emails and other messages.

B(A)EDA=Blog (ALMOST) Every Day in April

2011-04-02T13:17:00.000-04:00

I suppose if you miss the first day of BEDA that it does not bode well for managing to blog every day for a month, huh? That is the main reason for the (A) I added in there. The other reason for the (A) is that I am a realistic and I know that I will most likely not actually blog every day. I have tried the past three years and have not been successful this far, but I will give it a go. Practice makes perfect and all that jazz! I will even extend a day and have May 1 be the last day of BEDA. I'm generous that way. I have a lot going on in April: a trip to see a friend next week, a break from school, and the planning of the summer program my company provides each year.

These things lead to MANY topics, but not so much time to actually blog. However, I'm going to try my best to provide ample excitement without resorting to one-liners and memes and such. I can't promise that there won't be some photo blogging happening, simply because a roadtrip leads to SO MANY photo opportunities. Are any of you doing BEDA or something like it?

Abandoned Books: February 2011

2011-03-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

I hate to put a book down. For a long time I really resisted abandoning books and instead forced myself to struggle through no matter how miserable I was reading the book. However, now that I have less reading time I am much more willing to put a book aside if it isn't grabbing my attention and sucking me in. So far this year I have only abandoned one book, which is impressive! Here's the rundown:

Inkheart: This book came highly recommended, and I read it when it was originally published in 2005 and really enjoyed. However, as a reread it was a complete failure. The more I read, the longer the book seemed. I enjoyed it, I liked the characters, but after two months I still have not managed to finish the book. I may try it again in the summer, but for now I am returning it to the library and cutting my losses. There are too many books I’m genuinely excited for to linger over this one.

End Notes: February 2011

2011-03-14T06:00:00.001-04:00

Another month where I didn’t actually meet my reading goal, but I did come closer and February was a shorter month, so I have hope that March may be the month I actually do it! Amazingly work is the main reason I read more in February. I had so much work and was so stressed that I made it a point carve out time to read. This worked out well, allowing me time to decompress after work before starting paperwork.

Books Read: 5

Pages:1350

Rereads: 3
Abandoned Books: 1

As you can see, there were a lot of rereads in February. This was due to reading through previously released books in a series so I could read the books I haven’t read yet. This is a strange quirk of mine. Do you all reread previously published books in a series before reading the newest release? Do you reread at all? I’m curious because BFF2 and I are big on rereading, my dad doesn’t see the point of reading a book again. I also broke the Book Buying Ban in February. Kind of. I bought a series book when it was released in paperback without finished a book first. Not too terrible considering I only bought two books in February total.* I plan to continue the Book Buying Ban for the year if I can manage, but I’m pretty sure I need to reduce the amount of space taken up by stacks of books in my floor!

*Not including ebooks, because really, it isn’t as if they take up SPACE!

A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Lent Rundown

2011-03-13T09:37:00.000-04:00

Apparently I only blog on Sundays, and those blogs are FULL OF LIES!!!!!!!!!* However, I am HERE today to tell you about my Lenten plans. For those of you who don't know Lent is a period of fasting that takes place before Easter. For forty days (not including Sundays) Christians used to fast from sun up until sundown. Currently, most people just choose a particular item to give up.**

This year I am once again not eating potatoes. After many years where I gave up Coca~Cola only to substitute it with another caffeinated beverage, I decided to try something different. Potatoes are easily my favorite food, and I usually eat them twice a day, sometimes three times if I have hashbrowns in the morning. Giving up potatoes for any amount of time is harsh. Not only am I not eating potatoes, I am not eating any potato product. Which means no chips, no fries, no nothing. This is not the easiest thing in the world, and I won't lie...my Sundays will be FILLED with potato nomming, but it is something that I feel the need to do.

Last year I added to my potato fasting by also agreeing not to purchase any books. Sundays are an exception, but other than ordering Will Grayson/Will Grayson last year I did not buy a single book during the Lenten season. I am going to do this again this year. I have to admit that it is made somewhat easier by the fact that I have already preordered Huntress by Malindo Lo and City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare on my Nook. However, Barnes and Noble is selling a signed addition of CoFA that I may preorder next Sunday. I also have a trip to Chicago coming up and I will be driving for several hours alone, so I may have to make a midweek purchase of an audiobook so that I am properly entertained for the long haul. I will however keep track of the books that I do read during this period to add to the books I'm allowed to buy under the conditions of the Book Buying Ban.

Do any of you do the Lent thing? Or do you have other fasting seasons that you participate in? It is a difficult, yet rewarding thing to do, and in the long run I'm always glad I have participated.

*Cause, ya know, last time I said I was going to blog more regularly, but I haven't.
**The details here may not be spot on, I am not a theologist. The main point is every year from Ash Wednesday until Easter I don't eat something I love.

Hello March!

2011-03-06T20:20:00.000-05:00

And hello to all of YOU! I really should update more, especially since my last blog was kind of a downer. Unfortunately, I have been SUPER busy lately. There has been an influx of clients at work and I am the lone wolf at my school, so I have been swamped with work stuff. There will be reinforcements VERY soon though and then I will be able to breathe and have a social life.

I did carve out some time this week to go see a movie with BFF1 and The Clone and to finish a book! I am planning both a movie review* and a book review this week. I will also be posting a Lent blog. I'm still not one hundred percent sure what I'll be giving up for Lent. The past few years it has been potatoes, and it has worked out pretty well I suppose. I have been asked to see I Am Number Four and Beastly, and I hope to fit them both into my schedule and my budget. I'd like to read Beastly before I see the movie, but The Clone stole it last time she was at my house, so I don't see that happening. I'll probably watch, read, then do a Book-to-Movie review. Probably. Expect a return to Teaser Tuesdays, and a February Wrap-Up review in the next week as well. I haven't posted any crafty time blogs because I haven't been creating recently. I have been tweaking the mitten pattern I found online to make my daddy** mittens, but the way things are going he won't be able to use them this year.

I decided last weekend that I am fed up with lack of storage. Living with my grandmother is AMAZING, but having one room to confine a lifetime of THINGS*** is difficult at best. So, I have decided that with the help of aforementioned Daddy I will be building bookshelves. We worked out a pretty amazing design that will utilize two entire walls and parts of the other two walls. When it's all said and done I will end up with a corner desk, a window seat with built in storage, and a corner nook thing along with bookshelves. I'm also trying to talk him into building a shelf that circles the room, but that is at the back end of the project. To start out I will have WAY too many shelves for just the books I own, but I figure I can put baskets, hat boxes, and the vintage cigar boxes I smuggled out of my grandfather's house in the shelves and use those for storage as well. I'm really excited about the project for a multitude of reasons, the main one being that I am looking forward to a project and the ability to add organization to my room.

March has brought RAIN! I absolutely adore rain and it has been difficult to stay inside and do paperwork when I'd rather be taking walks outside in the misty greyness. With spring comes the ability to actually work in my compost heap, which has been sadly neglected due to the horrendous amount of snow we had this winter. It snowed this morning, but I am hoping that slacks off soon so I can hang my hammock. There are few things I love more than hanging out in the hammock after school with a book and a glass of sweet tea. It is the epitome of Southern relaxation.

I am looking forward to a lot of things about March, and I hope to have time to share them with all of YOU.

*I am using the term "movie review" in the loosest definition possible. Instead it will be me recounting the exploits of me, my bestie, and my cousin. But it will be HILARIOUS!
**Yes, I am 27 and still refer to my father as "daddy." It's been a rough week, roll with it.
***And by things, I mean BOOKS

An Explanation for My Vanishing Act

2011-02-20T10:35:00.000-05:00

Recently I have been remote and quiet. Both of these are unusual things for me to be. I rarely blog, I do not tweet or even open Twitter, and I ignore text messages. Okay, ignore isn't the correct word, it is more like don't invest myself in conversations. This is something I do at times. Remove myself from my online presence and ensconce myself in the nonvirtual (or real) world. This time, I don't feel like I've made a conscious decision to DO that. I figured maybe if I sat down and just did a "stream of consciousness" blog about what has been going on, it may help me (and any of YOU who are interested) see what is going on.

Part of my reduced time is due to work. Multiple clients, multiple schedules, and serious issues leads to more paperwork and less down time during school hours. Because I don't have downtime to complete paperwork during school hours I bring more actual work home. (Quick refresher for those who are unclear about my actual job. I work with kids who have severe behavioral issues and are at risk of being removed from the home and/or school. I help clients identify their negative behaviors and learn appropriate behaviors, ways to handle their emotions, and coping skills. Each day I submit paperwork detailing my interactions with each client. This year I work in a middle school.) Having to do all my paperwork at home leads to less time to do ANYTHING else. It can take hours to type up notes, and that is on a good day when I have actual time to jot down notes during school hours. On the days that I am so swamped that I don't even have time to make notes about behaviors, I can be up well into the night trying to finish. In the past this has mainly led to me 1) complaining on Twitter or 2) complaining to BFF1 or BFF2 via instant messenger or text. I'm really trying to be more positive. Basically I deal with a LOT of negative things every day at work, and I'm trying NOT to be so negative everywhere else. It is a pretty new thing, but essentially when I feel the need to put words like "UGH! I HATE THIS" out into the universe I generally just choose not to tweet or to send the text message. Does my best friend CARE if I tell her I hate paperwork? Of course not, she KNOWS I hate it...but it isn't fair that the majority of our conversation is tainted by negativity. I would prefer to discuss Disney movies and horrifying listings on Etsy.

Unfortunately, as much as I would like to blame my lack of a presence on work, I know it is a convenient excuse. The biggest reason I have been mainly absent is because I have increased the amount of time I spend with my grandmother. As most of you know I live with her, and I have for a little over two years. She is one of the strongest people I know, and I am consistently in awe of how she deals with the hardships life sends her way. Almost four years ago my grandfather passed away in April. For almost 62 years my grandmother was married to the man she loved more than all others. In no way did they have a fairy tale life. My oldest aunt had polio, my grandfather lost his job and was unable to find stable work for years, the first year of their marriage was spent with my grandfather in the Army stationed in California while my grandmother stayed home in Virginia. They raised five children and ran a small working farm until I was in middle school. At 82 my grandmother has led a long and happy life, full of joy and sorrow. However, losing my grandfather has been the hardest thing I have ever seen her experience. She has dealt with it beautifully, rarely giving in to the sadness that she feels and keeping a strong facade in place for her children. But I see the cracks in her molding. She is willing to tell me when she is sad, perhaps because I am so willing to be honest with her about my own fears and sadness. There are months that are particularly hard for her. April (when he died,) May (her birthday,) June (their anniversary,) and August (his birthday.) She has had a difficult time at Christmas, because it was his favorite holiday and she was unable to fully enjoy it without him here but simultaneously felt guilty for bringing the rest of us "down with her sadness." Valentine's Day this year hurt her, and she has spent hours recounting sweet stories of how my grandfather used to celebrate with her. I have spent more time being AROUND her, providing a sounding board, and telling silly stories to keep her mind off of things.

There have been other difficulties in the last year as well. Last May my aunt passed away. Though, I have no children of my own I can only imagine the pain she experienced at the time, and the pain she continues to experience. Again, she handled herself with grace and reaffirmed her strength in my eyes. As time passes she is more able to reflect about my aunt's life. Silly stories from childhood, frustrating things about her as an adult, reasons we loved her, things she would love if she were here, things we are sad she is missing. Our grieving processes takes place as a whole in this crazy family of mine. We never do things alone, even when we want to. To add to my grandmother's grief, we received more bad news last fall. My aunt who passed away left behind a husband, who has been part of our fold for many years. He is one of our own, and still continues to be surprised that our arms remain open, even though she is gone. Last fall he went to have a cyst removed from his pancreas, a routine surgery that was not cause for worry. My auntie Wanda and my cousin Mimi took him to the specialist in NC and stayed throughout the day. There were mild concerns that there would be complications, but the news he received was completely unexpected. Two years ago he had pancreatic cancer and treatments that placed that cancer in remission. Apparently the cyst masked the fact that his cancer had returned and spread to his abdominal wall. He was given the option of having intense chemo, which would allow him to live for roughly 8 months; or refuse treatment, which gave him no definite timeline. My uncle chose to refuse treatment. No member of my family has handled this well. It is something that I didn't even discuss with my best friends until about a month ago when I had no choice but to tell them how bad things were. As his time dwindles, my grandmother becomes more upset. Evenings are spent crying or in silence. Attempts to engage her in conversation don't always work. My uncle is at peace, and accepts the path he is on. My grandmother is having difficulty accepting defeat. This brings back memories of my grandfather and my aunt suffering. She is about to lose a link to her child. She is losing another person she loves.

I have never seen her break. Yes, she gets sad and has mourned. She will probably mourn for the rest of her life. However, even at her darkest moments she has more strength that I can ever imagine possessing. She is the person I aspire to be. In no way is she perfect, everyone has their flaws. But she inspires greatness in me. She is a mother who raised her children with love and discipline. She took me in when I was an adult and needed somewhere to go, a place to heal. She gave me love and space to heal my own wounds and recover from a broken heart, even when she was grieving for the loss of a love much greater than mine. She would battle anyone for me, or any of my relatives. She is gentle and fierce, loving and strong, and the most incredible person I know. And a part of me is terrified she is going to break. She has withstood so many things in life, but now she seems fragile in a way she has never seemed fragile before. Perhaps because I am no longer a child, maybe because she has lost her helpmate. But I know that I cannot let her fall, and have therefore devoted more time to her. Fewer nights are spent with headphones in watching TV on the computer, I am involved in less textual communications. I cannot escape paperwork, but I try to be done with it early so that I can watch TV with her. We enjoy mocking contestants on American Idol and DWTS, we discuss which Food Network recipes we would try, and I impress her by answering Jeopardy questions. I cannot ignore the weakness she tries so hard to hide. I would devote myself to her if I were able, and never leave her side. Unfortunately I have to work. I feel a desperate need to help children, and I also have college debt to pay off. Since I cannot devote my working hours to her, I have invested more of my free time to her.

I have not made a conscious decision to avoid online communities, it has just happened. I miss the interactions I usually have with my friends online, and I hope that I can be more present soon. I hope all of you are well, and I am comforted knowing you will be there when things return to normal and I tweet 40 times a day and post semi-regular blogs.

Thursday Ten: Ten TV Shows I’m Currently Watching

2011-02-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

Confession: I have a sick obsession with television. Maybe it comes from college, where I need background noise of my choice when I studied, so I kept the TV on pretty much 24/7. Maybe it comes from not having cable when I was a small child and only watching NBC and PBS. Whatever the reason, I am addicted now, and things like Netflix, Hulu, and TV on DVD do NOTHING to help me.

Here are ten TV shows that I adore and am currently watching, or rewatching as the case may be. When I say “currently watching” I don’t mean have been watching since the very beginning and am now watching the episodes that are currently airing. These shows are either shows I have watched multiple times because they are like comfort food or shows that I have just now discovered/fallen in love with.

1) FRIENDS*

2) Torchwood

3) Psych

4) That 70s Show

5) Buffy

6) Doctor Who**

7) Castle

8) Gilmore Girls

9) Sherlock***

10) Golden Girls****

* I have watched every episode multiple times and own all ten seasons on DVD. You may say I have a problem, but I absolutely LOVE this show and it is my go-to comfort item in the TV show line.

**Technically I am up to date on DW. However, I watched all five of the new series from beginning to end since October 2010. I’m also REWATCHING all the episodes with The Clone so that she will be caught up as well.

***Oh my goodness, SHERLOCK! *drools*

****Because who doesn’t love The Golden Girls? I watch this show more than any other TV show that has ever been made. And I generally live-tweet my viewing. I know, I have a problem!

End Notes: January 2011

2011-02-06T10:56:00.002-05:00

In January I did not keep up with my reading schedule. Why do I have a reading schedule? Mainly because I have a lot of distractions (work, family, Netflix, cute British TV stars, Twitter) so I have to sometimes remind myself that I have HUNDREDS of books that need to be read. I am constantly reading, but I have a bad habit of picking up a book and reading ten pages and then setting it down. I currently have six books started that are at various stages of completion. I may finish them all next week; I may forget I was reading them and start new ones. But that is why I have the schedule. So, my goal is to read 75 books this year, and have at least 50 of those books be books I have never read before. To do that I need to read about 6 and a half books a month. Here is how I did in January:

Books Read: 4

Pages Read: 1061

Rereads: 0

Of the books I read in January, none of the books were books published in 2011 and none were books I purchased in 2011. I am reinstating the Book Buying Ban starting February 1, 2011.* In order to purchase a book I must first read a book. The book read cannot be a reread UNLESS it is a series and another book in that series has been published. I’m not sure how this will work, I pretty much caved last year when I tried this. But I need a way to reduce the number of books I buy, especially since I am having so much trouble working through my TBR list!

*I know, it is already past February 1, but I haven’t bought books since Tuesday!

Mittens and MORE

2011-01-31T06:00:00.003-05:00

You would think that with all of the snow days we have had I would have 1) updated this blog more frequently, 2) read a book or six, and 3) crocheted. I spent Saturday trying something new.

After listening to my friend Laura on Twitter talk about knitting mittens I was inspired to try crocheting a pair myself. A quick internet search led me to this pattern for mittens. I think they turned out well for a first attempt. I used left over yarn, which led to somewhat funky stripes, but all in all I feel like I was pretty successful.

I also took the time to work most of my remnant yarn into my Hodgepodge Blanket. This project will undoubtedly be put on hold soon because I am running out of remnant yarn. I have several other projects in the works to finish soon, which will give me more yarn for this project. Now I just need the motivation to FINISH one of those other projects!

Thursday Ten: Books I Want to Read In 2011

2011-01-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

There are a LOT of books I want to read. Everything from classics I didn't appreciate the first time around to books that haven't been published yet. There are MANY more than ten books I want to read. I think I will be forced to break this list down in to several lists. THIS edition will focus on books being published in 2011

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Teaser Tuesday January 18, 2011

2011-01-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

NOTE: I am setting these up in advance due to lack of internet services, so I can't guarantee that I will ACTUALLY be reading these on the day they post. However, they are either recently read or at the top of my TBR list.

Today's Teaser is from Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld. This is a reread that I need to finish now that I have Behemoth back from The Clone. It was one of my favorite books I read in 2009, and my reread has been delightful!

"The huge tentacle swept through the air, a sheet of seawater spilling like rain from its length. The Royal Navy kraken was another of Huxley's fabrications, Deryn had read, made from the life chains of the octopus and giant squid."~pg 114 of the paperback edition.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

In Which Chelle Talks a LOT

2011-01-14T11:23:00.000-05:00

I've been particularly wordy this week. Four (five including this one) blog entries, and none of them have really been ABOUT anything. I have just rambled. Part of this is due to not having internet access for SO LONG, and now I am just spending my snow days staring at various internet sites.

I have been making vain attempts to catch up on my TV viewing. I have fallen more in love with BBC and the shows that air there. I have watched all of the Doctor Who episodes from series 1 to 5 except one. I am waiting to watch The End of Time parts 1 and 2. I'm not sure what the delay is about, mainly I think I am unwilling to say goodbye to The Doctor and wait for Series 6 to begin. I never really saw myself becoming a Whovian, but I have fallen hard for The Doctor. Matt Smith's Doctor is my favorite. My friend Forest says that is because I watched him first, but I'm not sure if I agree with that. I just really enjoy Matt Smith's brand of crazy. The best thing about watching Nine, Ten, and Eleven back to back is that I really got the opportunity to see the differences in how the actors portrayed the character. It is pretty interesting to the the continuity, but also the differences. I am hoping that Eleven (Matt Smith) encounters the Ood at some point during his travels.

I have also been rewatching Bones during the past few months. The good thing about Bones is that I have seen the episodes multiple times. This means I can watch them while I do paperwork and they keep my focus on the computer, but don't distract me from my work. Usually. I have also realized how great the cast is on that show. The characters are so diverse and it is unusual to see diverse characters that don't come across as a stereotype. I mean, Angela (the artist who doesn't really enjoy death and dying) could totally come across as vapid and flaky. Instead she is incredibly smart and she brings humanity to the bones that her coworkers deal with every day. It is nice to see how the characters work off each other and add to the overall awesomeness of the show!

This morning my house has been full of people. I adore my family and I love having them here, but I had PLANS this morning! Among them watching Sherlock (yet another BBC show that I have fallen in LOVE with) and reading Demon's Lexicon. I have been inspired by some of my friends on Twitter to read the book, and I started it this morning and so far it's great! However, outrageous numbers of people make it impossible to concentrate on either of those things. Instead I am playing on the internet. I deleted all the books from my Goodreads account, and plan to start fresh this year. I plan to put my 75 TBR books on the site and then as I read I plan to update the "read" shelf. So, right now it looks like I have read two books in my life, which a HUGE misconception. If any of you are on Goodreads, feel free to add me as a friend. I haven't been very active in the past, but I am going to try to do better this year.

Now that I have rambled about TV and Goodreads, my house has cleared out. I plan on losing myself in Sherlock and then reading for a little while. I have made tentative plans to watch Lord of the Rings with the cousins. You can read this blog about a similar experience we had around this time last year. It looks like we will go to school on Monday, so I have to enjoy my last snow day. Although, with the intense cold and the snow in the forecast, I'm sure there are many more snow days in the future.

Thursday Ten: Best Books of 2010

2011-01-13T18:39:00.000-05:00

I realize this post is about two weeks late, but I'm blaming no internet for that delay! These aren't necessarily books that were published in 2010, just books that I read for the first time in 2010. So, in no particular order, my top ten reads of 2010

Ash by Malinda Lo
Will Grayson/Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Sea by Heidi R. Kling
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Honestly, it should have been a LOT easier for me to pick ten books since I only read thirty. However, I read quality books this year. All the books I read were very good and I would suggest you check them out if you haven't already!

Internet

2011-01-11T20:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I ordered another charger for my computer, today the first one came! Not that I am complaining, mind you. I am extremely happy! This afternoon consisted of computer maintenance and catchup. What have I been catching up on?

The DFTBA Artist playlist
Vlogbrothers
My email
Jackson Pearce's YouTube channel
Organizing my Netflix Queue
Sarah Rees Brennan's Blog
Lusting after books I can't buy because BFF2 hasn't given me my gift and I don't know what books are off limits until she does.
Looking at all the ALA Youth Media Awards winners and honor books

That's about the only thing I have done. Now I am going to either watch Sherlock because most everyone I know who has seen it LOVES it, or I am going to watch Pretty Little Liars while IMing BFF1 about all of the soapy details.

Teaser Tuesday January 11, 2011

2011-01-11T07:29:00.000-05:00

"Ask him why he doesn't read aloud to you," said Dustfinger. "And don't let him put you off with excuses."~pg 53 of the paperback edition.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Quick and Easy Updates

2011-01-09T18:38:00.000-05:00

So much for my dream of being a better blogger in 2011. So far I am failing miserably! But it isn't my fault!* So instead of rambling on about how I wish I were blogging like a CHAMP, I will instead put forth some ideas I have had and some life updates as well.

For starters, we're in the midst of massive snow. Not really MASSIVE snow actually, just snow. However, snow+ice+mountains=confinement. I recently discovered that in my county there are over 100 miles of unpaved, dirt roads that are serviced by school buses! Because of this we frequently miss a LOT of school. I only worked six days in December and so far I have already missed a day of work. According to the forecasts we are expected to get snow and ice all week, so I doubt I work very much in January either. This is going to be good for my reading and TBR lists though. So far I've read a book and am halfway through another book. It's wonderful!

This year BFF2 and I are going to read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have loved reading my friend April's blog entries about her reread of Harry Potter, and it has made me wonder how I would fair if I blogged my way through Tolkien. Honestly, I probably won't do a great job of it, but when I get through the first few chapters I'll see how I feel about blogging. Regardless of my blogging about Tolkien, you should all check out her reread. It is amazing and insightful. It makes me want to reread Harry Potter myself.**

Other things in life? Not too much. The Fantastic Four and I made plans today to have a Lord of the Rings movie marathon. If we do there is a good chance I will live-tweet that. I have been tweeting my way through MANY different TV shows and movies lately***. No computer means no internet, but luckily I still have twitter on my fancy phone, so I feel marginally connected. Recently I have watched a ridiculous amount of The Golden Girls, which always leads to live-tweeting, and occasionally tweet-alongs as well.

Not much else to report kids. As soon as the computer charger comes I will be back with a vengeance. I'm currently at my parents house doing paperwork*** and setting up a few blog posts so that I am not completely absent. I hope you all had wonderful holidays and that 2011 is not as technology challenged as mine has been!

*No, really! My computer charging cord broke and I have a new one ordered, but so far there have been MANY shipping issues.
**Although, let's be honest. Pretty much every single thing in life inspires me to reread Harry Potter. HP consumes my life in a very real way.
***Beauty and the Beast, Doctor Who (Doctors Ten and Eleven), and Bones to name a few.
****And by "doing paperwork" I obviously mean "blogging and playing on twitter." Don't judge me!

2011 Reading Goals

2011-01-01T06:00:00.019-05:00

I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish this year, reading wise. I'm not really thrilled with my reading last year, but I did better than expected I guess, considering I have an insane job that keeps my busy and a GIGANTIC family that adds to the busyness. I do well with goals, but I usually get distracted by challenges and sign up for WAY to many of them. That being said, I'm not going to sign up for any challenges this year. If I decide to read steampunk, I'll read steampunk. Same with dystopian, fairy tale retellings, or vampire stories. I do tend to lean toward YA authors, and I really do enjoy paranormal/fantasy/fairy/etc. So most of books will come from there. With all of these things in mind, along with the massive number of books I own and my TBR lists, I have set some personal goals.

Read 75 books next year, 50 of which are not rereads
12 Classic novels- I have a list of these, which I will add to the sidebar. I'm not sure if I will make it through them or not, but I'd like to give them a chance.
Read the 2011 Youth Award winners. This includes Newbery, Printz, National Book Award, etc.
2011 Debs. I would like to say that I am going to read ALL of the 2011 Debs. But that seems unrealistic. However, this year I read MANY debut novels that I absolutely loved, and I want the chance to fall in love with these new authors as well. My goal is to read at least one debut novel a month.
During Banned Books Week I want to read three banned/challenged books. However, during the year I'd also like to read banned books as well. In total I would like to read 15 banned/challenged books during 2011.

So there are my goals. They aren't lofty at all, but I think that they will help me focus my reading and actually get some things read. As always, if you have suggestions feel free to leave them for me! I am always looking for ways to add to my TBR pile!

Thursday Ten: Christmas Songs I Love (Part One)

2010-12-09T22:28:00.000-05:00

Mele Kalikimaka

The Nutcracker soundtrack (cheating I know, but really, who can pick just one!)

Here Comes Santa Claus

Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Last Christmas

Have A Holly Jolly Christmas

I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas

The Chipmunk Christmas Song

Wonderful Christmas Time

I love Christmas so much it is hard to pick just ten songs. So, this week I chose secular songs and next week I will feature traditional/religious songs that I love! What are YOUR favorite Christmas songs?

Teaser Tuesday December 7, 2010

2010-12-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

The first Advent Teaser comes from Matchless by Gregory Maguire. It is a retelling of the fairy tale "The Little Match Girl."

"She crouched, half asleep, till a church bell rang. It was a quarter to midnight."

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Thursday Ten: Christmas Movies I Love

2010-12-02T19:07:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite things about Christmas is being able to enjoy Christmas movies. Starting in November I will occasionally watch something Christmas related, but once Thanksgiving is over and we are eating our way through leftovers it becomes Official Christmas Season at my house. Christmas movies are played each night, some more than once. Without further ado, here is my Top Ten list of Favorite Christmas Movies

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
White Christmas
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Animated)
Nutcracker
Most any version of A Christmas Carol
Here Comes Santa Claus
I'll Be Home for Christmas
The Santa Clause
The Year Without Christmas
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Live Action Version)

What Christmas (or any holiday) movies do YOU love?

Blogging The Advent

2010-12-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

I haven't blogged in WEEKS! That is truly horrible! I hate when I ignore this blog. It isn't always amazing or anything, but I love sharing things here. Since I love sharing and I love this time of year, I had an idea. I am going to blog the Advent season. One of my favorite things about Christmas when I was younger was my Advent calendar. I loved moving my marker and getting a piece of candy each day. The anticipation and the small treat made the Christmas season even more special. Keeping that in mind, I wanted to give you all a gift this season. That gift is regular blogging! I am going to count down to Christmas HERE with all of you. I will share insane Christmas traditions and memories, my Teasers will be about Christmas related books, I will have Christmas related Top Tens, and so much more. I think that BFF1 is going to guest post a few times throughout the month, to share her own Christmas love with you all. I hope that you all enjoy this small peak into why I love this season so very much. To me there are few things that I love more than my family and the time that I spend with them all. I hope that you all enjoy this holiday season is as enjoyable for you as it is to me.

Happy Holidays!

**Disclaimer: In no way are these blog entries meant to offend if you do not celebrate Christmas for whatever reason. Regardless of your stance on Christmas I hope you enjoy the time you have with your family, whether you are celebrating a religious holiday, Santa, or just time off from work and school.

Teaser Tuesday November 9, 2010

2010-11-09T06:00:00.002-05:00

Remember last week, when I was bemoaning my lack of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares? Not to mention the self-imposed Book Buying Ban. Well, it turns out that I am abysmal at not buying books. I am genuinely BAD at resisting a book store. That being said...I obviously purchased Dash and Lily, and have chosen it for today's teaser! Dash and Lily's Book of Dares is the third book that was co-written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

"I have never liked Mabel. Aside from her always telling me and my brother to call her Glamma, her list of step grandmother-to-be infractions is long." pg 137 (from a Lily chapter)

"I picked up Franny and Zooey and enjoyed their company again. Then I tangoed with my bookshelf, dipping in and out again, in and out again-a Marie Howe poem, then a John Cheever story." pg 90 (from a Dash chapter)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Teaser Tuesday November 2, 2010

2010-11-02T08:06:00.000-04:00

Today's teaser comes from Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. I chose this book, not because I am currently reading it, but because I desperately want to read Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's new book Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. I'm terribly afraid that I will be purchasing it today, even with the Book Buying Ban!

"I can feel the humiliation burning my face, branding me, making me hotter than frigid could ever imagine being, hot with hate. I hate the regret, pumping through every artery of my body, carving a cheeseburger right now."~pg 85

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Blankets GALORE

2010-11-01T18:04:00.000-04:00

I'm not really sure WHEN this became a craft/crochet blog, but apparently that's what it is. The main reason is that the blankets I'm working on right now have most of my attention. Christmas is right around the corner and I'm giving one blanket as a gift. Two of the other blankets are OVERDUE gifts. At this point I have set my Hodgepodge Blanket aside, because for some STUPID reason I decided to start a gift blanket eight weeks before Christmas. In other words: I AM AN IDIOT!!! BUT the person who will receive this blanket will LOVE it, and that is really what matters.

I just started this last weekend, and I'm making really great progress. I'm kind of shocked actually. Although, it's true that the BEGINNING of any project is MUCH easier than the middle. I am now approaching the middle. I realized last night I was finishing up the light blue that I had not bought NEARLY enough yarn, which sucks. So today I laid out all of my yarn, and the blanket and tried to set up a color pattern. I already knew that I planned on alternating blues and naturals, but I needed to decide where my colors were going to work so that I knew how much yarn I need to buy tomorrow. As I laid out my yarn I discovered that I bought way to many colors, but not enough of any of those colors to complete my blanket. Total *head desk* moment. I texted BFF1 and told her it would be LOVELY if she were around to help me sort my colors, then called my cousin Mimi, who came over to help me sort everything out. Long story short we narrowed down my yarn choices and I now have a list of how much more I need of each color. Even though I hated putting down my Hodgepodge Blanket, I am really glad that I decided to do this for my auntie.

All of the crochet I've been doing lately has left me little time to read. And since I have enacted the Book Buying Ban, in which I am not allowing myself to buy a book unless I finish reading a book, I have really wanted to read. I'm currently midway through Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare and Frostbite by Richelle Mead. I'm also getting ready to reread Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, because I REALLY want to read Dash and Lily's Book of Dares but can't due to the Book Buying Ban. The worst thing about shopping tomorrow is that I'm going to be right at the bookstore, but will have to ignore all of the pretty shiny books!

Teaser Tuesday October 26, 2010

2010-10-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

I haven't been doing much reading recently, but for some reason I've been blazing through the books this month. I have also stopped making myself finish books that aren't holding my interest. I've learned that this plan helps with the FINISHING of books! This week's Teaser comes from Cassandra Clare's book Clockwork Angel

"At some point she had lost Camille and become herself again. She must have been dazed indeed, she thought, not to have noticed the return of her own heartbeat." ~ page 264

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

A Day Off Work

2010-10-25T18:12:00.001-04:00

Today I didn't go to work. Not in a super exciting way, just in a "I have been having crazy bad migraines and was hoping a day to sit at home and relax would fix all of that" kind of way. I got a lot of stuff done today. I finished reading a book, I caught up some TV shows, I worked on some of my blankets, I folded laundry, I started another book. I also got tagged in a note on Facebook. Usually I ignore those kind of things (even though I have a secret love of memes) but this one was about BOOKS! The prompt was to take fifteen minutes and list fifteen books that will always stick with you. So I posted that on my Facebook page, but I thought that I would post it here too!

Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
Paper Towns by John Green
Sea by Heidi R. Kling
Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I should mention that there are WAY more books I could add to this list. Especially A Midsummer Night's Dream, and most anything written by John Green, Ellen Hopkins, Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld, E. Lockhart, and sooo many other fabulous books. If there are any books on this list that YOU haven't pick up I highly recommend them all. They may not all be epic works of literature, but each of them has left an imprint on me. I hope they will make a difference in your life as well.

Teaser Tuesday October 19, 2010

2010-10-19T06:00:00.010-04:00

I am partway through SO MANY books it isn't funny! Today's Teaser is from Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer. I'm not very far into this book, but it's been in my TBR pile for quite some time and I thought that it was about time I read it. It also helps that I have promised not to buy any more books until I read through some of the books on my shelves. This is bad news because I am REALLY looking forward to Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. I want it SO BAD!!! I may have to settle for rereading Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist in the meantime.

"The rest of the townspeople flee into the hills, and LeFievre burns the town. He has many ships now, and reports from survivors are that he is growing in his pride and struts about in fine silks and talks of setting up his own kingdom on one of the islands. But he could not grow so foolish as to take on a King's ship, could he?"~ pg 132

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

Blanket Update!

2010-10-18T21:09:00.000-04:00

I spent most of my weekend working through my "To Do" list, and amazingly was able to get through most of it. One item I did not have on my list was to work on my "Hodgepodge Blanket," but since I was able to get everything else done, I devoted a lot of time to my blanket. I was able to finish working the rainbow yarn into my blanket and five new colors into it too. I now have a grey, a jewel tones variegated, a steel blue, a brown, a hunter green, a light grey, a blue variegated, all worked into the blanket and have started working a small amount of cream yarn into it as well. In all honesty this blanket should be horribly ugly, what with all of the random bits of yarn and no color pattern. To tell you the truth, I'm surprised that I am able to just let this go and not worry about the pattern at all. Last Christmas I made my mom a blanket to give to one of my aunties, and my mom now has about ten skeins of yarn that I refused to use because I didn't think they worked with my pattern. The saddest part is that none of the skeins are the same, so my mother basically has useless yarn. I'm sure at some point we will find a use for that yarn, we are always doing projects. The point is that I tend to be OCD about my yarn projects. I've even been known to carry a project into a store in order to compare how I think the yarn I am buying will work with the rest of my project.

Moving on! I am really proud of myself for just letting this blanket go. It has turned into a great stress outlet for me. I sit and watch TV or listen to music and lose myself in the yarn. When I run out of a color I grab a random ball of yarn out of my "leftovers" bag and keep working. So, without further ado....HERE it is!

I have completed nineteen rounds on this blanket and am just now starting on the twentieth round. I'm not sure how large this blanket will end up being. I may make it large enough to cover my bed, which is a full sized bed. Everything depends on how much yarn I have and when I feel like stopping. It is both strange and liberating to have no plan for this. I know it may not seem like a big deal, but I can truly relax when I work on this project because I have nothing to worry about. It is LOVELY!

Here is a close up of the blanket where you can see the stitches and the colors that I am using. The only one missing is the cream colored yarn I am currently using. Most of the yarn is chunky or worsted weight yarn. I don't imagine that I will use anything smaller than worsted weight yarn in this project, simply because I'm using a larger needle and even if I'm not super concerned with how the pattern goes, I do prefer a certain look to my work. I prefer tight stitches, which usually causes problems for my mum (who almost breaks down when she looks at anything I've done) but that's what I like. I usually use the smallest needle available for the yarn I am working with. I'm currently using a "K" needle and I can only think of one project that I've ever used a needle that large on, and it was a scarf made of a very chunky yarn.

Now that I have spotlighted my work, I should probably do paperwork and read some more from Zombies vs. Unicorn. What I'll most likely do it make random updates on Twitter and talk to BFF1 on IM. I have no attention span OR dedication! Happy Monday folks!

Teaser Tuesday October 12, 2010

2010-10-12T06:00:00.003-04:00

Another Tuesday, Another Teaser! I finished Vampire Academy last week and so I am getting ready to start the second book in that series Frostbite by Richelle Mead.

"I wanted to walk away, but there was something eerily compelling about this guy. Like a trainwreck." ~pg. 136

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. If these teaser's don't impress you, there are plenty more to be found here!

New Project

2010-10-11T21:55:00.000-04:00

Something I haven't really talked about on here very much is my penchant for crocheting. Yarn work is really in right now! I knit some too, but not as much. I generally have a difficult time completing projects and knitting just takes WAY too long. So, I currently am working on a baby blanket for Baby Neville and a blanket that I gave my mother for Christmas last year. Yes, I did in fact give her an unfinished blanket, which remains unfinished almost a year later. With two projects underway and my annual winter scarf looming on the horizon, I did the thing any sane human would do...started a new project.

While putting two new bookshelves in my room and sorting through all my books (more on that later) I found THIS giant bunch of yarn. The giant bag o' yarn reminded me that I have REALLY wanted to make a "hodgepodge blanket" for myself. Quick fact...in the almost ten years since I started crocheting I have only ever made myself scarves. All of my other projects have been given away. There have even been times I have given someone a project that I originally intended to keep for myself. Not that I mind that, homemade projects are fabulous and they mean a lot to the person who receives them...at least they mean a lot to the people who have received them from me. But at some point there has to be something you do for yourself. And this messed up hodgepodge blanket is going to be mine!

Since there hasn't been a lot of reading going on recently I thought I would update with something else! My new blanket. I think that on each Monday I am going to update with this blanket. And if I haven't worked on it because I have been working on other stuff, then I may post pictures of THOSE projects as well! So here is Picture Number One!

This was taken with my phone in low light, so the color isn't great. The idea is to expand on a simple "granny square" and keep going until you have a blanket the size you want. I am using up all of my scrap yarn, with no real color pattern or concerns. I'm just working yarn into a pattern. That is my aim, and you can all see the progress as I go along. Next week I'll get my actual camera out and take a GOOD picture for your enjoyment!

Teaser Tuesday October 5, 2010

2010-10-05T17:33:00.000-04:00

A quick, last minute teaser. Since I haven't done a teaser in awhile, I thought I'd do TWO! I hope you enjoy!

The first one is from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead!

"All of a sudden, it occurred to me that he was still holding me down. The skin on his fingers warm as he clutched my wrists." ~page 141

My second teaser is from Sarah Ockler's book Twenty Boy Summer.

"An undisturbed layer of dust on one particular shelf makes me think that Matt may have touched the same books the last time he was here. I crouch down to read some of the titles on the faded spines, remembering a description of this exact scene from one of Matt's postcards."~page 168

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. If these teaser's don't impress you, there are plenty more to be found here!

SPEAK Loudly

2010-09-19T20:35:00.001-04:00

I woke up this morning to my phone buzzing because Maureen Johnson had tweeted. Not a bad way to wake up, until I read the text and saw WHY she was tweeting. Apparently a man in Republic, MO wrote a letter to the editor calling Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson "soft pornography," and "immoral." Now, I've read Speak, and personally I don't know what kind of sick person equates rape with pornography. Especially the rape of a 15 year old virgin. I am so torn. I don't want to give this man attention. He doesn't deserve it. But Speak DOES deserve it.

I can't call Speak a fantastic book, because of the subject. However, Melinda is amazing. Her experiences and how she manages to survive is an inspiration. I am SO INCREDIBLY fortunate that I have NEVER been a victim of any kind of inappropriate sexual contact. I thank God EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. that I have always had a choice. However, I know that not everyone has that option. You can see some HORRIFYING statistics here. I work with kids every day who are victims. Who are afraid to talk to me or my coworkers. And they aren't just victims of sexual assault.Some of them are victims of physical abuse. Some of them have been given drugs or alcohol by their PARENTS. Some of them have been abandoned. Some of them are just lost. Do you think that Melinda's story would inspire them? I do. I think that books have the power to HEAL. And NO ONE has the right to stop that healing process, even if they think the message of a book is inappropriate.

If you haven't read Speak, I hope that you will pick it up. I hope that it will inspire you. I hope that you will understand why I am SO VERY ANGRY right now. I don't believe in censorship to begin with. Telling me that a BOOK will cause me to become an immoral person irks me to no end. The first amendment gives you the right to say you think a book is a piece of trash. Having a child gives you the right to decide what is appropriate for YOUR child to be exposed to. NOTHING gives you the right to say NO ONE should be exposed to a certain book/movie/song/picture/etc. You can state your opinion all day long, but book burning went out of style AGES ago.

Here are some things that inspired me to SPEAK up today:
Laurie Halse Anderson's Blog
Saundra Mitchell's Blog
THIS amazing blog entry, which made me cry
The Twitter tag #SpeakLoudly
My friend Bailey
And so many other amazingly brave blogger/tweeters/PEOPLE who shared their stories and how Speak changed their lives.

*I would like to point out that this article also discusses Slaughterhouse Five and Twenty Boy Summer, but I've never read them so I can't really talk about those books. My stance on book banning is the same for all books though...I support your right to decide if YOUR child should read a book or not, but you DO NOT have the right to choose for ALL children.

Ramblings

2010-09-16T20:36:00.000-04:00

It's been quite some time since I last blogged. I always WANT to blog, but life tends to get in the way. Not exciting things by any means, just mundane normal things. Things like work, books, my family, etc. I did lose internet service for several days at the beginning of the week, and THAT was pretty stressful. It has also taken a lot of time to get caught up on all of the things that I do on the internet. I had to forgo catching up on most of the blogs I read, just because there is so little time. I also had to play catch up at work because I submit all of my paperwork online.

Moving right along! Let's get back to my desire to blog. Here is the problem I have. I never know WHAT to write about. I mean I can ramble incoherently for HOURS if need be, but I feel like that's what Twitter is for. I sometimes touch on movies, TV shows, and books that I have loved; but I'm not always awesome at reviewing things. When it comes to review I do one of two things. I either retell the story in so much detail that you don't need to read the book or watch the show/movie.or I can't find words to describe how the book/movie/show affected me. I get kind of lost in translation. Not that I won't review things, I certainly will. But when I do it's more of a "hey friend, let me tell you about this awesome/awful thing I read/saw." I have an entire blog with BFF1 that is devoted to fashion and beauty, so I try to save those posts so that I have subject matter for that blog.

The biggest problem I think is that I want to be amazing and interesting and compelling, and a lot of times I don't feel any of those things. There are times when I am on top of the world, but a vast majority of the time I just feel ordinary. I don't want this to be boring. No "I did this, and then I went there, and I met her." I don't want this to be a bitch session, although there are times that I need to vent my frustrations to the world at large. I don't know what I want this to BE. An expression of who I am, all of the good and the bad. The eloquent and the ZOMG SQUEE!!! I am complex and far from ordinary, even if I feel ordinary a lot of the time. Mainly I don't want you to be bored! I am relatively entertaining, but it doesn't always translate into text.

In other less "woe is me" news, I have realized in the past week what an impact I have on the youth in my area, and it TERRIFIES me. I am surrounded by a hundred seventh graders every day and the more time that passes the more I understand how much the look to me for an example. In the last week I have expressed my views on labels for individuals, standing against society's norms, and being yourself. I have discussed why you should be a patriot and celebrate our country every day as opposed to on one day that is widely observed. I have discussed books that I love with kids who are just now falling in love with books and reading. I have to remind myself each day that just because I only work with a few kids in that school, my presence affects each tween/teen I come in contact with. It is a huge responsibility, but it is a huge honor to know I make them think about the beliefs that they are just now starting to form. They look at the world through fresh eyes, but so many of them will be tainted by how others see the world that they will have trouble forming their own views. I'm glad I get the chance to broaden their horizons. That is my Silver Lining for this day.

Biopoems

2010-09-01T18:48:00.000-04:00

In NO way am I actually a poet. I know this about myself. As much as I love books, poems, stories, and just the written word in general I cannot create it. It is just something I am unable to master. And that's okay. John Green once said "There cannot be books without readers."* This is a pretty accurate statement. Without people who love books and poems and stories, there wouldn't really be a point in authors creating them. So I'm totally down with NOT being a writer. I am a READER and that's okay.

However, today in English the teacher taught the class all about "biopoems" which I had never heard of, and since my client was relatively good today I thought I'd take a stab at it. Apparently there is a structure to biopoems, which I was also unaware of, but I think mine turned out pretty well. Without further ado, HERE is the Rochelle Shanlea Biopoem

Rochelle
Intelligent, Sarcastic, Nerdy
Member of The Younger Gang.
Lover of reading, Harry Potter, and her family.
Who has been to the Smithsonian, New York City, and the Bahamas.
Who needs her family, to own books, and love.
Who fears being alone, Brown Recluse Spiders, conformity.
Resident of Nerdfighteria/The Clump
Thompson

Ta-Da! There it is! Rochelle Shanlea in nine simple lines. I am excited to see what the seventh graders put down for their answers. It is always interesting to look back and see how you define yourself at different points in your life and to watch how that changes as time passes. I mean, once upon a time I went with the flow and was afraid to be different. This was before I realized how dangerous it is to change yourself to fit society's perception of what is okay. Perhaps that is why conformity is one of my biggest fears now.

Anyway. Short blog. BEDA is over, and I obviously failed at it. I am going to try to be better about regular updates on here, even if I have to spend my weekend writing multiple posts in order to have a few updates a week!

*This paraphrased and I'm not sure which video/blogTV show/interview he said it in. BUT I wrote it down and it has stuck with me ever sense.

Wonderful Weekend

2010-08-21T19:02:00.000-04:00

Hey! Remember that time I had a blog, and I was doing BEDA? Yeah, that was nice. Should have known that August was a terrible time for blogging every day! I should do that next summer when I mentor and only have to work for five hours a week. I digress! I started normal in the classroom work on Wednesday after all of the work related drama that occurred on Tuesday. I was a little freaked out but I knew my client a little bit, and one of my aunties teaches a class that my client is in, so I was confident that I would be okay. If there is one thing that always centers me it is my family, and it is nice to have that link this year.

Another thing that excites me about being with a client who is in seventh grade is that it gives me the opportunity to LEARN! That's right, I am a HUGE nerd and can't wait to actually start learning things. Most of the teachers are nice, but we're still trying to figure out classroom logistics. I'm simultaneously lucky and unlucky that my client is EXTREMELY quiet. It's nice because I don't have to interrupt class to redirect his behavior, but it is difficult to get him to actually talk to me. Honestly, this week he told me that he has trouble maintaining control of his temper and I almost passed out due to the fact that he ACTUALLY spoke!

So, like I said...no more work freak outs! However, I do have a funny work story. Last week I worked three days. On each of those days I was mistaken for a seventh grader. This is particularly funny to me because lately BFF1 and I have been struggling to adjust to the fact that we are getting older. Not like we're ancient or anything, but sometimes it's easy to forget that I'm a grown-up. So, it's nice to look young...but I don't think I want to be mistaken for a student much longer. I can handle college student, but not a middle school student! Blasted genetics for making me SO SHORT!!!

Long Days, Short Nights, and Unsettling Work Situations

2010-08-17T22:29:00.000-04:00

Today has been the LONGEST day! I was up a little after six, when I could have slept until seven. I'm sure that tomorrow when I have to wake up early I will be sleeping like crazy. Then I went to our office to get files and to my new school to have a tour and meet the teachers that I will be working with during the school year. While I was at the school I found out that I basically have no clients. Which is an issue because with no clients I don't get paid. I called my boss to tell her what was going on and SHE freaked out. Let me tell you, if there is one thing that can make you feel completely terrified it is your boss freaking out over your work situation. In the course of this day I have been moved all over our county, between multiple age groups, and with various numbers of clients. It wasn't until almost 4pm today that I even knew what school I would be going to in the morning. I have spent most of this day on the verge of a panic attack, reciting prime numbers and various lines from poems I love trying to calm down.

I know that I have freaked out about work a LOT on here recently, but it is REALLY scary to have no idea where you are going to be working. The kids we work with need stability, because most of them have never had it, and that makes me worry even more. However, I am in a set location now (one of the middle schools in our county) and even though I only have one client right now more will come in the next few weeks. Which means...no more freaking out on here! I hope. I really do love my job, it's just that there have been SO many uncertainties about this upcoming school year that it has been easy to forget that.

Everyone cross your fingers for me. I am a firm member of Team Hate Wednesday, and starting school on Wednesday just seems like bad news. But I will see one of my aunties tomorrow and I know the kid I am working with right now. Both of those are AWESOME for me. So I am looking forward to the day and being SUPER positive about everything!

A Principal Is Your PAL

2010-08-16T21:13:00.000-04:00

First of all, I don't know who came up with that saying, but let me tell you, none of my principals were my "pal." Maybe that's just me though. Today I went to my new school to meet the principal I will work with this year and it was an odd experience to say the least. First of all, the principal's office is a scary place. Today I knew I wasn't in trouble, but just asking to speak to the principal was enough to put butterflies in my stomach. Best of all, she was at lunch so I didn't even get to meet her.

I did have the chance to meet the guidance counselor. If there is one place that is more unnerving than the principal's office it HAS to be the guidance counselors office. Today I sat in the guidance counselor's office with BFF1 and it was completely creepy. From the poster that assures people "everyone dies, even you" to the multitude of ponies that I (thankfully) didn't notice, the place was odd. The entire school was super quiet and that was unnerving in and of itself. Personally, I hate going to schools when kids aren't there. I always feel like I'm on the set of a horror film!

The absolute worst part of the day was that EVERYONE wanted to know who my clients were going to be, and I had to come up with a professional way to tell them that I don't HAVE clients yet. Because that isn't terrifying AT ALL! Knowing that on Wednesday I will walk into that building and have two to five client and I have NO IDEA who they even are. That isn't stressful IN THE LEAST!

Luckily school starts on Wednesday and once it does I will calm down immensely, until then I am still in full on panic mode!

Netflix and Fangirling

2010-08-15T20:42:00.000-04:00

Haven't we already discussed my fangirling issues? I thought so. Therefore, can ANY of you tell me WHY I thought it would be a good idea for me to 1) subscribe to Netflix and then 2) start watching Merlin. I mean, I am well aware of my love of all things Arthurian...remember that tangent I had a few posts back about how Le Morte D'Arthur>A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court? Yeah, I'm an Arthur nerd. Is that a real thing? If not I'm making it a real thing.

So anyway, five episodes in and I can already tell that I am going to L-O-V-E LOVE Merlin. My friend Forest assures me that Robin Hood is even BETTER than Merlin. Which is just WONDERFUL because I am also a huge Robin Hood fangirl dating back to my Disney cartoon days. Yes, I realize that I STILL watch Disney cartoons, that is beside the point. Actually my massive love for these two stories was probably heavily influenced by Disney. Although, my dad is an Arthur fan so I would have been introduced to these stories regardless. So far I am pretty impressed with Merlin, although I am a little confused about where they are going in regards to staying true to the original story, but I'm not really opposed to straying from cannon.

Another reason I'm digging Netflix is because Erin is loving it. She spent close to an hour going through titles on the "watch instantly" tab on Friday before narrowing her choices down to five. Finally she decided to watch and Olsen Twins movie, because she has watched all of the ones I own many, many times. She really enjoys coming over and hanging out with me, watching movies or TV. It makes her feel special and we really have so much fun. So now we have an even larger selection of movies to watch during Girl Nights.

So, if it is possible to fangirl a corporation that I pay money to enjoy, then we are totally fangirling Netflix right now!

Super Saturday

2010-08-14T21:37:00.000-04:00

Last night was the last Friday before school starts, and I spent it with three of my cousins. We hung out, ate junk food, went night time swimming, and enjoyed one last night of freedom! It will be awhile (probably Thanksgiving) before they all stay here again, and I'll miss them when they're gone.

During the school year I stay busy with work stuff, but I also still spend plenty of time running around after kids. I frequently have random children in the afternoon or evening, and I usually end up helping with homework. Which is always hilarious when I have to do math...because as much as I love pi, prime numbers, and long division...I pretty much suck at math. Then Doda, Jerry, and The Clone all play sports, so my auntie and I are always going to games. My auntie's youngest daughter coaches volleyball so we go to most of those games as well. Needless to say I stay pretty busy during the school year.

But it's lonely. Over the summer my house is full of noise and kids and laughing. Once school starts my family is dispersed and we don't really see each other unless it is at Family Dinner Night or at Saturday Morning Breakfast. Which, I know some people don't see their family often. Heck, some of you probably think I'm insane because I miss the all consuming noise that comes with an extra large family* like mine. And honestly, more often than not I have moments when I am just thinking "For the love of all that is good and holy, PLEASE just be quiet!" But a lot of times I just sit around and bask in the wonderful insanity that surrounds me most of the time.

So next week we all go back to school. We are excited and nervous and unsure of where we will stand. I will read through Doda and The Clone's reading lists with them. I will proof read multiple papers. I will read aloud with Erin. I will struggle through math homework. I will make T-Shirts that say embarrassing things like "Chelle Loves #42" and go to games and scream at the top of my lungs. Most importantly, I will enter a school building and introduce myself to four tweens/teens that I have never set eyes on before and convince them that I am on their side, that I will help them get through the school year, and that they can trust me with their most terrifying secrets as well as their hopes for a brighter future. The first few weeks I can promise you I will be longing for math homework.

*There are thirty members in what we consider our immediate family. This is my grandmother, her five children and their spouses, her grandchildren and their spouses, and her four great-grandchildren.

In Which Chelle Fails BEDA

2010-08-13T16:19:00.000-04:00

So, I didn't blog yesterday. I really meant to, but then I had to work. And honestly work, it was pretty stressful. I guess I should start with Wednesday and what happened then. After two days off everyone went back to work. BFF1 and I had spent Tuesday evening IMing and discussing the staff changes that had occurred over the summer. She revealed that one of our co-workers had gotten a new job, I told her that one of our high school classmates had been hired. So Wednesday (which we ALL know are generally sucktastic) was not really a day that I was looking forward to. Our bosses had labeled the day "Counselor Appreciation Day" and asked us to come in on Wednesday instead of giving us that day off, which was the original plan. BFF1 had an orthodontist appointment scheduled on Wednesday and had asked me to come with her so that I could drive back after they gave her drugs to adjust her retainer. So, here we were going in for two hours and then having to use our sick time on counselor appreciation day.*

I get to work at 8:30, a little tired and stuffy because my allergies were INSANE on Wednesday. Three of my co-workers were standing outside chatting when I got there, but as I walked up an eerie silence reigned. This should have been my first indication that something had gone down. I nervously said hello and waited with bated breath for the response. "Have you talked to Boss Lady?" asked one of my co-workers. I replied that I hadn't, at which point my co-worker replied "your name is on The Board** now." Immediately I was filled with dread. I knew my name would eventually be on The Board, but the tone of voice my co-worker used let me know that there was a pretty significant change in my work assignment. I walked inside our office to see BFF1 sitting at one of the tables and Boss Lady walking down the hall. Before I have a chance to look at The Board Boss Lady asks me if I'll come to her office to talk. I was thinking "crap, crap, crappity, crap, crap."

Once we get to Boss Lady's office she says "you may want to sit down for this." At this point*** my stomach dropped to about my ankles and I thought I was going to pass out. My boss quickly explained that one of my coworkers had accepted a new job and that another coworker was moving to a different school. This resulted in one of the middle schools in our area being left with no counselors. Therefore, I was going to be working with seventh grade boys. "Is that okay" she asks. Now I don't know about you guys, but there is no part of me that feels comfortable being like "actually, I don't know that I want to work with middle schoolers, I like the little kids, they don't call me a bitch, and if one of them hits me it isn't really going to hurt THAT much." I'm generally the kind of person who does what needs to be done. So I smiled, told my boss that I was looking forward to a new challenge, and that I was glad they had confidence in my ability to handle this age group. Which is true. To an extent.

Now, for the more truthful reaction. I was sad, I loved the school I was at last year, I liked the teachers, and I was pretty good friends with one of my co-workers at that school. I like middle schoolers, and honestly I feel like a lot of times they get labeled as "problem kids" or "troublemakers" and just shuffled aside, so I am happy to try to make their experiences better in any way that I can. However, I am still terrified. I mean honestly, I'm all of five feet tall! Last year I got lost in a crowd of fifth graders at the elementary school I worked at. Some of these kids are physically violent, and I worry about having to wade into the middle of a fist fight. I really am looking forward to having a new experience. I really enjoyed working with the middle school age group over the summer and I think that I made some headway with several of them. I am pleased that my boss thinks I am good enough at what I do to send me to a school where I will essentially be alone**** with kids that no one in our program has ever seen. In some ways it is nice to work with clients who have never had services, but in others it is hard because they don't really know what to expect.

So, in a nutshell...I am going into a new school, I have new kids, I have new a co-worker, and I have to get used to a new system. I'm much more settled today than I was Wednesday though. On Wednesday I thought I was going to have a panic attack or curl up in a ball and cry. Today I am genuinely looking forward to a new challenge. I'm excited, but still a little freaked out. I'm sure that in the new few weeks there will be plenty of freak out moments, because if we're honest, change isn't always fun.

*Luckily my boss told us yesterday that we didn't have to use sick time and that we could count ourselves present for the entire day! Now, THAT is counselor appreciation!
**The Board is like a matrix with all of our schools listed on it, which counselor is at which school, how many clients each counselor has, and how many referrals are at each school. The Board also has due dates for various reports, meetings, training days, etc.
***Let me just say, for all you corporate executives who read this blog...never preface a non-firing session with "you may want to sit down."
****There will be another counselor at the school with me, but she has never worked in a middle school either. Also, there is no one working at that school who was previously there from our corporation. We are pretty much starting over from scratch.

Literary Tattoos and Book Covers

2010-08-11T06:00:00.001-04:00

So about once I week I scour the internet for pictures of literary tattoos. I've wanted a tattoo for a while now, but I'm always unsure of what I want to get. I mean, this is something that will be on my body FOREVER...and I'm pretty sure having a needle jabbed into your skin repeatedly does NOT feel great. The next question of course is WHERE do I get a tattoo? I mean, I work with small kids all day in a school. It's not like I can get a sleeve. Plus, I enjoy being unique and I want a tattoo that represents ME. Who I am, what I believe in, something that just SCREAMS "Chelle." And yeah, I need it to say Chelle, because that is who I have been. I'm not even really sure why my parents bothered to give me my full name...I mean, the only time they use it is when I am in trouble or if I have to fill out some sort of legal document. Which really, makes me wonder about nicknames and identity, but that's a whole other blog post.

Getting back on track, the question always comes down to WHAT to get permanently inked onto my body. What means enough to stay there forever. A peace sign/dove to remind myself that I should always stand against injustice? A word that represents who I think I am? A quote I love? There are so many options! So I ask myself...WHAT do I love? The answer is simple...my family (which I have no why to represent graphically) and books. But this still presents a problem. I mean, I'm a relatively small human and there have been SO MANY BOOKS that have impacted me in some way. So what do I have tattooed? A line from The Little Prince? But this raises the question of WHICH quote and even better, in English or French? So that is put on the back burner. Harry Potter...now THERE is where my heart lies. But again I am faced with questions...a quote or a symbol? Which quote? Which symbol? I find that when it comes to HP I am not really worried about originality, my love for Harry Potter isn't really that unique. I find that most people love Harry for the same reasons I do. Finally, BFF2 and I decided that we would get HP tattoos together. Not the same thing, not the same place, but she and I would be getting Harry Potter tattoos. I really want a lightning bolt on my foot, and possibly the stars that adorn the corners of the pages in the US versions of the books.

So there we go, problem solved, right? Well, not really. The problem I am faced with is this. As much as Harry has impacted my life, other books have as well, and in different ways. Maybe not as much as Harry has, but they have made an impact. The Little Prince? I don't even know how many times I have read that book. To me it says everything that needs to be said about love-not just romantic love, but every kind of love. There are so many quotes from that book that I love, beginning with the dedication and ending when I close the book. Then there is John Green. I love his books so much that I have two copies of each of them. One that I can lend out and one that is my personal copy with notes, underlined quotes and passages, and just how certain parts of the book made me feel. So, before I even have my first tattoo I am already considering another one. Crazy right? Perhaps, but I'm pretty content with that.

Obviously there is a demand for literary tattoos. There is a facebook page, a plethora of images in Google, and my personal favorite Contrariwise. But the absolute coolest thing that I found in my searching today is Penguin Ink. To celebrate their 75th anniversary, Penguin re-released six of titles and the covers were done by tattoo artists. Personally I think this is awesome, and even though I don't think I would read all of the books, I am tempted to buy them just for the awesome covers! I particularly enjoy Waiting for the Barbarians and Bridget Jones's Diary.

Okay, enough babbling. I'm off to take allergy medicine and face the day!

Teaser Tuesday August 10, 2010

2010-08-10T06:00:00.005-04:00

Teaser Tuesday? I haven't done one of these in FOREVER! Of course my teaser comes from Sea by Heidi R. Kling, because I can't seem to finish a book to save my LIFE! Anyway...on to the teasing!

"I heard terrified shrieks coming from a stocky building with a flapping blue door. Shadowy figures were scurrying in and out of the flap." ~page 124

I hope you enjoyed today's Teaser, and if not more can be found every week right here.

...Yeah...

2010-08-09T22:49:00.000-04:00

So, I have to blog...cause ya know...that's what BEDA is about. The only problem is, I don't really have anything to blog about? I mean I can list my day's activities: Up before 8 to take The Clone to volley ball practice, grocery store with my Maw-Maw and The Cousins, pick up The Clone, home for lunch, watch The Cousins all afternoon, go to a jewelry party which one of my other cousins sell. Not so exciting really.

I could talk about how I really, really, REALLY want my Hunger Games boxed set like NOW!!! Or about how once I get the boxed set I am going to have to re-read the series, because it has been a YEAR since I read the books and I need a refresher to enjoy Mockingjay. Or how I am going to have to avoid the internet/TV/newspapers/Twitter/blogs until I finish all the books. My only salvation will be that I will have to work for most of the days, so I am hoping that I will miss most of the hoopla. Also, I am pretty confident in most of the HUGE Hunger Games fans NOT spoiling Mockingjay without posting "Spoiler Alert" warnings. Not that this will really help me. I have an unhealthy habit of being drawn in by the "Spoiler Alert" warning. It's like I can't resist the forbidden fruit. The only reason I even read Hunger Games was because I read a newspaper article that spoiled the ending without warning the reader beforehand. It turned out to be a FANTASTIC decision for me, because I fell in love with Katniss Everdeen and her world. I mean come on! What girl doesn't want to to be Katniss when they grow up? Ya know, minus all that crazy totalitarian government and The Games and the constant state of fear and the having the weight of the world (literally) on your shoulders...Okay, maybe no one wants to grow up to have to deal with the situations Katniss has to deal with, but I think we would all like to have her strength. She is easily one of my favorite literary heroines, just like The Hunger Games is quickly becoming one of my favorite series. For some odd reason I am obsessed with dystopian societies. Especially in YA literature. I love the idea of a society that is supposed to be just the absolute best thing ever, but that is actually horrid. I know that The Hunger Games isn't really set up like that, and that many characters have issues with The Capitol, but it is a similar concept.

Now that I have just babbled endlessly, I will end this. Tell me, are there any upcoming releases you are excited about? Do you love Katniss, District 12, and The Games like I do? Let me know!

Lit2Go and Booknerdiness

2010-08-08T18:23:00.000-04:00

Last week as I was perusing iTunes for awesome free stuff, I stumbled upon Lit2Go, which is basically a ton of classic literature in audiobook form. I was immediately hooked. I love the classics in audio format because the books are usually so wordy that it is hard for me to stay focused on what is happening. Also helpful is the fact that the people doing these readings are really good. My normal commute this summer was close to 45 minutes alone, and then 45 minutes with kids.* So I was excited to find these books because honestly my clients were getting more than a little tired of my musical tastes.** It was really nice to spend the last week of our program listening the Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories with my client and to Vanity Fair when I was alone in the car. He loved listening to the stories, and they distracted him enough that I didn't have to listen to him talk about video games for an hour and a half each day.***

So what is the point of this blog entry? Just a ramble about how audio books are the bees knees? No, not really. It has more to do with the fact that when I found this beautiful wonderful FREE selection of audiobooks I immediately contacted both BFF1 and BFF2. My conversation with BFF1 was pretty normal. It went pretty much like this:
Me: Hey, remember that time you paid a bunch of money for audiobook versions of classic literature?
BFF1: Yeah...
Me: Well, I just found a TON of them on iTunesU for FREE!!!
BFF1: Sh!t...good ones?
Me: Yeah -insert LONG list of titles here-
BFF1: Crap...remind me when I get on AIM tonight to look at them.****
Me: 'Kay

My conversation with BFF2 was slightly more maniacal.
BFF2: Hey, what are you doing? I miss you...I feel like we haven't spent time together since Baby Neville was born.
Me: Not too much, hanging out...the usual ya know.
BFF2: Anything else exciting happen at work?*****
Me: No, not really. Client1 had a breakdown and literally beat his head against a wall today. Which is new...turns out mom and dad knew this was going on and "didn't think it was that important" so didn't tell me.
Me: HOLY CRAP!!!
BFF2: What? Did something happen?
Me: Yeah, something AWESOME!
Me: I just found this really cool thing online where they have free downloads of CLASSIC LITERATURE. Like TONS of stuff
BFF2: OH MY GOSH! Like what? What are you downloading?
Me: -insert LONG list of titles here-
BFF2: I am so jealous right now!
Me: Ya know, it kind of bothers me that they have A Connecticut Yankee In Kind Arthur's Court and not Le Morte D'Arthur.
BFF2: Only YOU would be bothered by that.
Me: Well, Twain is a sexist bastard. They have Ethan Frome...are you my EF person?
BFF2: I LOVE ETHAN FROME! It's my favorite thing we read in HS! Even though it may be THE most depressing book ever.
Me: HOLY CRAP! They have Emily Dickinson! EMILY DICKINSON!
BFF2: *dead silence*
Me: Really? No comments?
BFF2: Uh, not really. You know she makes me want to die.
Me: I like her...
-twenty minutes later-
Me: I find myself want to read/listen to Leaves of Grass? Who AM I?
BFF2: A freak...
BFF2: You hate transcendentalist poets****** and the only good thing about Whitman is the "O Captain, My Captain" scene from Dead Poet's Society
Me: Touche, mon amie
BFF2: But I love you regardless.
Me: Ditto.
-End of Conversation-

Now, what is the point of sharing this? Other than to display that my best friends and I are easily amused and huge nerds, and that iTunesU has a GREAT selection of free audio? Basically to show how grateful I am to know like minded people. Not many people want to spend a car ride listening to Around the World in Eighty Days, but my two best friends (while not as enthusiastic as I was) totally dug it. I guess the main point is, sometimes it is so easy to forget to appreciate the little things. Things like talented people reading (and creating) great works of literature, friends who love you even if they hate Emily Dickinson's poetry and don't understand your desire to read transcendentalist poetry, and friends who get just as excited as you over little tiny things. With all the crap I wade through everyday, I find myself forgetting to be thankful for these little things, because in the long run, they are HUGE things.

Sorry that this blog post is LONG. Tomorrow's will probably be EXTREMELY short, because I have The Fantastic Four tonight and most of tomorrow, so I will be BUSY! Maybe sometime this month I should let The Clone guest blog...it would help me get over my BEDA-Block.

*During the school year it was 20 minutes each way. I'm not even sure where I'll be next year, but chances are I'll have a commute that is at least that long, possibly longer.
**Although, how ANYONE gets sick of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, or Queen I will NEVER understand.
***Seriously, there is only so much video game talk one girl can take.
****I know what you're thinking. I do in fact work with BFF1 for 5 hours everyday and then go home and spend hours talking to her online each night. We are dreadfully codependent.
*****Yep, BFF2 works for the same company as BFF1 and I, she's just on maternity leave right now.
******We realize that Whitman isn't technically a transcendentalist poet, but he is close enough for us.

In Which Chelle Finds Yet ANOTHER Obsession

2010-08-07T19:34:00.000-04:00

Because, really, I don't have enough of those right? Let's just have a quick refresher course on my obsessions, shall we? Harry Potter, YA Lit, Maureen Johnson, Vlogbrothers, YouTubers/DFTBA artists, too many classic rock bands to list, books, Project Runway, America's Next Top Model, nail polish, Twitter, Food Network, movie dates with the cousins, the list goes on and on. So, with all that you would think I would have no time to be obsessed with anything else, right? Apparently not. Today I watched my first ever Doctor Who episode. Actually, I watched a few. Now, I know I came into this a little late to the game, but I'm glad I finally showed up!

My dad, who has greatly influenced both my musical tastes and my love for science fiction/fantasy books and movies, has been a Doctor Who fan from WAY back in the day. He watched the older episodes when they originally aired and then a few years ago when we got BBC America he quickly became hooked again. However, due to my insane work schedule at a previous job and the fact that I moved in with my grandmother when I left The Job From Hell, I had never watched a show with him. Currently my grandmother governs a lot of what I watch on TV, and I spend a lot of time watching shows on my computer, because she doesn't really enjoy aliens or medical dramas. So Doctor Who has continued to take a backseat to things like Andy Griffith and Hallmark movies. Which is cool, I love the time I spend with my grandmother just hanging out and watching cheesy movies and shows.

So for the past year or so my dad has been trying to convince me to watch Doctor Who. The only problem is that I am slightly crazy and I have to know EVERYTHING that is going on, so I was worried about just picking up mid-series. My dad continuously told me that there was no need to go back to the episodes that aired in the early 1960s, but I remained unconvinced. I continuously assured him that ONE DAY I would get around to watching the show, but that I wasn't really in a hurry. After all I had eleven Doctors worth of episodes to watch.

THEN it turns out that like EVERYONE I follow on Twitter is a Doctor Who fan, and I'm just like "seriously?" So, today while I am recuperating from my Summer of INSANITY, I decided to just man up and watch the first episode. And well, we know how that turned out, don't we? I cannot believe that I waited SO long to start watching! Complete insanity. Actually, I can believe it. I also didn't watch LOST, House, or Bones when they first came out and eventually I ended up being completely addicted to them as well.

My main conclusions from the first two and a half episodes that I watched today is that Amy Pond is CRAZY pretty, and that Matt Smith is SLIGHTLY insane, and by slightly I mean COMPLETELY bonkers. Now, my dad assures me that the crazy is caused by the fact that Matt Smith's Doctor isn't completely formed, so that is good, I guess. I kind of like his marginally insane gaze! I am still trying to work out everything and am wondering just how important everything that came before really is. However my dad hasn't misled me in the past, so I am trusting in his assurances for now.

If any of you are HUGE Doctor Who fans, please feel free to tell me how silly I am for not watching before now. No spoilers PLEASE though! Right now I am on the "Victory of the Daleks" episode.

IT'S OVER!!!

2010-08-06T20:17:00.000-04:00

Today was the LAST day of summer program! I am so thankful/relieved/ready to pass out from exhaustion. The main reason I'm relieved it's over is that I feel like all I have done is complain and it seems like I hate my job. And I really don't. I love what I do. But this summer man...it has been ROUGH! And now we are just hanging out for a few days and we have to go back on Wednesday, and then school will start a week after that. I am ready for school to start.

So in the next few days I am just chilling out, hanging with the cousins, maybe having a movie date with them. I really want to watch LOTR before school starts, but that is a lot of movie time to fit in. I hope to finish Sea by Heidi R. Kling, re-read Shiver, and then read Linger. So far I am about halfway through with Sea and I am LOVING it so far. Also, there is talk of buying a bookshelf before I go back to school, which will be LOVELY since I don't currently have one and instead just have books stacked on every available surface in my room! This is especially bad because I just ordered MORE books (damn you Barnes and Noble) and have NO MORE ROOM IN THE INN!!!

I realize that this has been a short entry where I have rambled about ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!! However, I am going to my uncle's house to play board games, so I must go! Hopefully tomorrow I will have a blog post with CONTENT!

Christmas Shopping

2010-08-05T20:32:00.000-04:00

Obviously I'm getting desperate for blogging ideas*. Maybe the reason I am so bad at updating this blog is because I run out of ideas about what to blog about**. Anyway, tomorrow is the last day of summer program and I have a few child-free days before school starts. Maybe I can finish a few books in that time. It would be nice since I just bought MORE books! I honestly have a problem! I have ordered more books in the past few months than I have read this year! I blame Barnes and Noble for their bargain sales and also for the save ____% on your next order coupons they send me. Also, I blame authors for being fabulous and writing wonderful books that I read over and over again!

Anyway, on to the Christmas portion of the blog! So, I love Christmas like a lot. I don't usually buy a ton of gifts, mainly because a few years ago my family decided that adults should draw names, because it is difficult to buy gifts for 30+ people. I love this, and my only complaint is that we don't draw names until later in the year. I honestly do not know how many times I have found great gifts for one of my relatives and just walked away because I'm not sure if they would actually like it or not. So the people I always buy for are BFF1, BFF2, my parents, my brother, my Maw-Maw, my cousin's fiancée, and BFF1's little sister.

The problem I run in to is that I always wait until the last minute to buy gifts! Every year. So, this year my quasi-New-Year's-Resolution was to buy stuff a little at a time so that I don't end up spending hundreds of dollars in December. So far that has not been working! However, since I have discovered Etsy.com things have become so much easier. My town is TINY and there are NO unique stores around here to shop at. BFF1 and I usually end up going to the mall in NC to shop for gifts, but it is really hard to buy gifts for someone who is glued to your hip. For the last few weeks I have been scouring the various categories of gifts on Etsy and making note of various gift ideas. I'm so excited because I feel like for the first time in a while that I will actually get my shopping done early, I will be able to get unique gifts, and I don't have to worry about my friends or family already having the gifts that I purchase for them!

*If anyone has a topic they would like to hear me ramble on about, feel free to leave it in the comments! I am always looking for suggestions!
**Tomorrow we are taking small children to a horse farm, so I feel confident that I will have some quality thoughts and feelings to share with you all =)

Choose Your Own Adventure

2010-08-04T19:37:00.001-04:00

BEDA Day 4, so far I'm doing pretty well. Of course, I wrote three blog posts this weekend and scheduled them to post, but that's beside the point. I'm not really sure what to blog about today...honestly, I feel like this summer has resulted in my IQ dropping several points, my brain melting and running out of my ears, and my stress level to skyrocket. I hate it, mainly because i don't want to whine and moan all the time. I mean, I have a great job, I get to work in my chosen field, I never work weekends, and I get to improve the lives of children. Those are all fantastic things! All those things make me INSANELY happy. So why do I feel like doing nothing but whine and complain? I'm just tired and in desperate need of a break, which I won't get until CHRISTMAS! So, instead of dwelling on all of the things that make me want to curl up in a ball and cry, I'm going to take a page out of my therapeutic manual and focus on things that make me HAPPY instead.

So what exactly makes me happy? Well, there are things I've talked about on here before. Generally my job makes me happy. Not this summer, but during the school year I absolutely love what I do. My family also makes me immensely happy. Whether it is watching Jeopardy with my grandmother, walking with my aunt, or hanging out with my cousins, I always enjoy the time I spend with my family. I went on vacation with my auntie, The Clone*, and Jerry this year. We went to Nashville, and the trip consisted of a seven hour road trip. We sang High School Musical songs, we played car games, did a scavenger hunt, and played a version of "Name That Tune" with the radio's scan button. It was one of the best things that happened this summer.

Other things I enjoy, things that can make me happy regardless of what is going on in my hectic crazy life? There are several things. Never fear faithful readers, I will list them for you!

Harry Potter. Oh, Harry. You are always there for me. When I feel down-trodden or lonely or I need someone to share my joy, I can ALWAYS count on you. Need to be reminded why friendship is worth it in the end? Harry has the answer, be it trolls, merfolk, or Dumbledore's Army. Wonder if the fall into love is worth the pain that may follow it? Harry can answer that too**. Need to know what the ultimate weapon is? Clearly, Harry has taught us that the weapon is LOVE, whether it is familial, friendly, or romantic...love makes the world go 'round.
Books. I have a sick obsession with books. I love holding them and owning them and going to a bookstore and just looking at them. They fascinate me. I love the way the smell, the way I can loose myself in a story, the way my heart races when I read a book description that I just KNOW I will love. I just LOVE books.
Reading to Doodle, reading with Erin, and sharing books with The Clone. All female cousins ages 2, 8, and 13 respectively. I share my absolute love of reading with these girls. To see them pick up books, to hear them ask me to read to them is a wonderful feeling. With The Clone it is a whole other story. With her it is the "OH.MY.GOODNESS!!!! WHEN DOES THE NEXT BOOK COME OUT??? ARGH!!! I NEED IT NOW!!!!!!" phone calls that really make my day. Talking about books we love, or even just books she is required to read for school is so awesome. Watching her blossom into a critical reader, who will say "this book was great, even if it was just fluff, it made me feel good" is so fantastic. After all, we don't have to just read Hemingway now do we?
Baby Neville. This is BFF2's new baby. He's all tiny and sweet. I am his godmother, which is a scary amount of responsibility, but Auntie Chelle is so ready for it. Just seeing him makes me all tingly and gooey inside, so he is definitely on my "happy list."
My pals. BFF1 and BFF2 make my day. Whether it is discussing Harry Potter*** or trying on nail polish. Watching Disney movies or riding around town. Talking about serious world issues like poverty and war or trying to figure out if pink eye shadow makes you look diseased. No matter what we do spending time with one or both of them is relief for my soul. We can have total snark sessions or laugh until we cry. BFF1 and I are in almost constant communication with each other. We have worked together for the last four years, and it has been great, even if the last year we have been in different buildings. This summer has been so much fun, and I will really miss her when school starts again. Which is silly because she is the first and last person I talk to each day. We have an almost unhealthy attachment. =)
Anything John Green has written. Alaska when I need strength and renewal, Paper Towns when I need to remember it is okay to be different, Let It Snow when I need to remember not to let the asshats get us down, and Katherines and WG/WG when I need a lighter reminder that things turn out okay. John Green's books are similar to HP in that they teach me, renew my spirit, and make me a better person for having read them.

There are so many other things I could add to this list. The bottom line is, the good always outweighs the bad. Even when it seems like all I get are lemons, I just have to remind myself how good lemonade really is! I know that things suck sometimes, but honestly, dwelling on the bad just makes it worse. Some days I can't help but get bogged down, but I am trying my very best to stay on top of my game and remember all of the good things I have to look forward to. Such as Jeopardy with my Maw-Maw!

*As usual all nicknames in this blog are a direct result of Twitter. Feel free to follow for bursts of randomness in 140 characters or less!

**I'm not going to lie...even Harry isn't enough to make me risk heartbreak like I dealt with after the Big, Bad Breakup...but it does give me hope. Which is almost as important as love.

***All roads lead to Potter.

Harry Potter Meme

2010-08-03T06:00:00.001-04:00

I found this at Bart's Bookshelf and I can't resist a meme or Harry Potter, so here goes!

What house do you claim to?
Ravenclaw!

Why?
Because I am a hardcore nerd! Also, because this really complicated quiz said so!

Who are your favorite characters?
Neville Longbottom (BAMF) is my favorite, along with Luna, the Weasleys, Remus Lupin, and the Golden Trio of course! Hermione is my favorite of the Trio.

Which characters do you think you would befriend?
Hopefully Hermione, Luna, Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Weasleys.

Who are your least favorite characters?
Umbridge and Lucius Malfoy

What would your patronus be?
An otter or a giraffe.

What would your favourite class be?
I have to pick one? Can't I go all Hermione and pick them all? Herbology, Runes, and Transfiguration would all be fun I think.

What would your least favorite class be?
Flying or Divination

Who would be your favorite teacher?
Sprout!

Least favorite teacher?
Snape!

What wizarding career would you choose for yourself?
Maybe working in a shop in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. Florish and Bots or the apothecary.

What kind of wand do you have?
Hmmm, no Unicorn hair core, that's for sure! Maybe holly with dragon heartstring and relatively short, maybe 9-10 inches?

Any pets (owls, cats, toads)?
An owl for sure.

Favourite magical item?
A pensive, it would be awesome to preserve your memories and go back to look at them later.

Favourite magical candy?
Sugar Quills and Chocolate Frogs

Magical drink of choice?
Butterbeer

Favourite store in Hogsmeade?
HONEYDUKES!!!

Favourite magical creature?
Nargle

Scariest magical creature?
Acromantula...GIANT spiders? Thanks, but really, NO THANK YOU!

Who would you ask to the Yule Ball?
A Weasley Twin! Preferably Fred!

Favourite magical location?
The Three Boomsticks

——-

How long have you been a fan?
1998

How did you first become introduced to Harry Potter?
I don't really remember. I know that I read the first book when it came out, but I don't know if my parents just got it for me or if it was a birthday gift. All I remember is that I fell in love with everything Harry Potter.

How do the movies compare to the books for you?
They are okay...they could be better of course, I hate wimpy Hermione in HBP, but over all I have to keep all book/movie pairs separate in my mind in order to enjoy the movies.

Do you play any of the video games?
Nope.

Favourite book and why?
I love them all, and it is hard to pick just one. Sorcerer's Stone always holds a special place in my heart because that is where it all began, Prisoner of Azkaban is nice because that's where we meet Lupin, but I really like Goblet of Fire is my favorite. That's where all of the action really starts, and we see how our characters are going to respond.

Least favourite book and why?
The Order of the Phoenix. I was so disappointed to see Harry suffer even more. Sirius, Dumbledore becoming distant, seeing the few memories Harry had of his parents become smeared, Umbridge. I knew it would be darker than the previous books, but I didn't expect it to not have some lightness.

Favourite film and why?
I love Goblet of Fire, just because I love the way that the Durmstrang and Beauxbaton students are portrayed, how the challenges are shown, and the feel of the film itself.

Least favourite film and why?
Order of the Phoenix. I hate, hate, HATE it. I feel like they change so much, and they never explain so much of the important things that did happen in that book. While I don't enjoy the book, I do feel like important information was revealed in the book that was ignored in the film.

Listen to the audiobooks?
I listened to the first one and have plans to listen to them all sometime soon.

Listen to any podcasts?
Pottercast sometimes

Favourite aspect of the Harry Potter community?
That it is a community. That no matter where in the world I am, I know I will have a friend if only I can find another HP fan. I'm never alone in this epic love affair I have with Harry Potter.

Favourite ship(s)?
Changes all the time, but I have ALWAYS been Team Luna Longbottom! In fanfiction I don't like to read any cannon ships, which I admit may be odd.

Do you do any Potter related art/music/writing, etc?
Nope

Ever cosplayed or dressed up as a character?
No, but I really want a Ravenclaw scarf and tie that match the books' version of the house colors.

How many midnight releases have you made it to?
None.

List some favorite Potter-related memories?
There are too many to list.
*The fact that BFF2 and I frequently have conversations that revolve around nothing but HP, including "is Draco really evil," "Why we love Snape," "Was Ron REALLY the best choice for Hermione?" and so on.
*Going to see HBP and running out of gas with BFF1 and calling my dad saying "Don't worry, someone is coming to get me so I won't be late to see HARRY! I just need you to bring some gas and then take my car to the theater. PLEASE DADDY! I can't miss HARRY!!!" And that is what happened. BFF2 came and got us, my dad brought me gas and drove my car to the theater, and we watched HBP and loved it.
Giving the first book The Clone this summer and watching her fall completely in love with the Weasley's, the Wizarding World, and all things Harry.

Ramona and Beezus

2010-08-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

For the past week three of my cousins- The Clone, Doda, and Jerry- have been in Alaska. They went on a missions trip and arrived home Wednesday just in time for Family Dinner Night. Needless to say, Erin (the forth member of our quintet) and I have been REALLY lonely. Since I work all the time poor Erin has really been left alone a lot. I love to do things with my cousins, either in a group or individually, so I decided that Erin and I should have a Girl's Night Out and go to the movies. She has been really looking forward to the Ramona movie, she's a HUGE Selena Gomez fan and I have recently introduced her to the books. So off we went on our epic adventure*!

I have to say, I am cheap (especially when I am playing for multiple movie tickets) so I love going to the movies on Tuesdays in town, because it is "Family Fun Night," and all tickets are matinée priced. However, Ramona was good enough that I would have paid full price to see it on opening night.** On top of a wonderful movie (my Top Ten to follow) there were a lot of really good previews. I was nervous at first, because I am doing everything I have to avoid the HP7 trailer, but luckily it wasn't included. There are so many great movies coming out and I am really looking forward to seeing them with The Fantastic Four in the fall and winter. Movies are usually a guaranteed option for quality time for us once school and sports start. Erin was captivated by Ramona, and I remained teary-eyed throughout the entire film. Overall I say that it is a great family option. It is funny enough that boys will like it, there is enough sugary sweet romance to appeal to teen and tween girls, and the warmth of the family bond between the Quimbys translates well during the movie. So! Without further ado, here is my (and Erin's) Ramona Top Ten!

Top Ten Reasons YOU Should See Ramona and Beezus

1) Joey King aka Ramona. I cannot wait to see her in more films in the future. We thought she was so funny and believable. I wanted to cry when she cried, I laughed when she laughed, my heart broke for her when she tried hard to make something work but it just failed. She brought Ramona to life for me.

2) Selena Gomez is amazing. I love that she is young and plays a teenager. I am consistently surrounded by younger kids, and I cringe when I hear them talk about their role models in Hollywood. Selena Gomez acts her age, isn't trampy, and sets a good example. She also did a really great job as Beezus.

3) Mr. and Mrs. Quimby. Best parents ever? Probably not, but the sure do try hard and it is obvious that they love each other and their family. Even when things were bad for them (no job for dad, the possibility of moving away, Aunt B's love-life stress) they were still aware of what was going on in their life. I thought that the Quimby's were a realistic representation of a family-not everything is always perfect, but when your family loves each other then you will be okay.
4) Aunt B. She is the perfect auntie who is always fun to be around. Not to mention Ginnifer Goodwin is adorable.

5) The scenes where Ramona is imagining herself in different situations are INCREDIBLE. The audience is transported into her imagination and it is really lovely. She is navigating a canyon when she is on the jungle gym, when jumping on her bed she goes to Outer Space, and the film makers do a great job of showing the imagination of a nine year old girl.

6) I loved that even though it is really hard for Beezus and Ramona to get along, they will band together when times get tough. Pretty accurate for siblings of those ages, but it is still heartwarming to see.
7) Joey King's facial expressions!***
8) Josh Duhamel is REALLY dreamy...*sigh*...and so is John Corbett, even if he is playing a dad. Erin was a big fan of Henry (Hutch Dano), she thought that HE was dreamy...*baby sigh*...

9) The entire film seemed really natural. I honestly felt like a guest in the Quimby home. The cast did an excellent job of portraying the situations that they encountered.

10) It was really funny. I thought that the comedic timing was spot on, and it didn't seem like the cast was TRYING to make the funny parts funny.

So there ya go. A few reasons why we loved Ramona and Beezus. If you have seen it feel free to let me know!

*Okay, not that epic, the movie theater is only 12 miles away.

**My hindsight has ALWAYS been 20/20

***YES! This does need it's own number! If you have seen the film then you will understand, that girl is HILARIOUS!

BEDA=Blog Every Day in August

2010-08-01T14:08:00.000-04:00

BEDA! Will I manage to blog every day in August? I hope so, but who knows. I should have a lot of subject matter, what with school starting and a few days off work which will be spent with The Fantastic Four. Hopefully I will be able to read a book for a change and then I can post a review or two. I'm glad that I didn't set this up to be a book review blog...because that would be a massive fail. It's more like my personal blog, where I talk about a lot of random things. And I do mean a lot of randomness! As I type this Erin is hanging over my shoulder, reading everything, as we watch Olivia on Nick Jr. Here's the thing about Olivia the TV show...I really love that they take great children's books and make them into TV shows, but I am afraid that in the long run kids forget about the books. I just asked Erin if she had ever read the Olivia books and she looked at me like I had suddenly sprouted wings. Oh well, I guess it's the former children's librarian (and full time book lover) in me. However, short as this post is...I will hopefully be around for you to stalk throughout August. And since it only takes 21 days to form a habit, maybe I can get back in the habit of blogging more frequently.

In Which Chelle Procrastinates (and Babbles Quite a Bit)

2010-07-25T20:14:00.000-04:00

Hello friends! It is a Sunday night, and I have reams of paperwork to do...so in true Maureen Johnson fashion, I am procrastinating. In all honesty between the heat and crazy kids, I feel like my brain is FRIED. I find myself gazing off into space, practically drooling, trying to come up with words like "client," "prompted," and "unresponsive." Not really difficult words, and they are part of my every day vocabulary, but I have found myself struggling to complete my work more and more frequently as summer progresses. Not that I am ungrateful about my job, I'm not. I love what I do, but dealing with children who have severe behavioral issues is challenging at the best of times and horrific at the worst. However, I do feel gratified knowing that I am working in my degree field since I fought HARD to pay for college and graduate in great academic standing, and knowing that I am positively influencing the lives of these children.

My job has also made me crazy thankful for my own family. I'm not talking about my mom, dad, and brother. I'm talking grandmother, parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, the whole shebang. At times they seem so overwhelming. If something is wrong they all know about it. If I am in a bad mood, I can't get away from them. I can never be alone. I can't have a phone conversation without someone asking me about it. There is no privacy. And it is wonderful. I know that seems super insane, and really I can't explain it. I always have a champion, there is always someone on my side, someone is always willing to listen. They cheer me up, they keep me level-headed, they tell me if I'm out of line. They encourage me, they shelter me, they support me, they fight with me and for me. They have given me a sense of self, a sense of loyalty, and family, and what is right and wrong. They taught me to stand up for what I believe in, and to never back down if I am fighting for what is right. They teach me every single day that it is okay to be different. I am definitely the odd man out in my family. I am the bookworm, the non-athletic one, the crazy kid who thinks that more money should be given to academics and the arts and that sports teams should have to raise their own money. Essentially, I am Hermione Granger.* They are not. Not that they are Malfoys or anything, they just don't see the world they way I do. They don't understand why I cry when I read about genocide in Africa, or give money to Uncultured Project. But they are still incredible people, and every day that I work with kids who don't have parents who are emotionally available, much less an extended family who wants to interact with them, I give thanks for my own crazy family. Because they love me, even when they don't understand me. They embrace my oddities and encourage me to stand out.

Speaking of bookworms, I got a TON of books this week. Barnes and Noble had a HUGE sale and I had like three coupons for there, on top of my regular discount, so I kind of went overboard. I'm really excited though! I'm not sure why, it's not like I've really been reading recently, but I still love books. I have no attention span, and I find it difficult to stay focused when I'm reading. HOWEVER, I started reading "Sea" by Heidi R. Kling today, and it is fantastic! I had to force myself to put it down so that I could work on paperwork a little bit.** I'm really excited because I got other great books, like Linger by Maggie Stiefvater and the 4th Gallagher Girl book by Ally Carter. Of course, since I am slightly insane I have to read all of the books that proceed these books. It's okay though, those books were AMAZING!

Now I'm off to finish my paperwork!*** If you guys have books that you are currently loving, leave it in the comments! If YOU have a crazy family, feel free to share some of the craziness with me, I'd love to compare insanity =)

*Also, I can't get through a day without making a Harry Potter reference.

**See how well that worked? I just found a NEW distraction!

***No, really! I am going to finish it... *looks around* *procrastinates*

Happy (Belated) America Day

2010-07-05T20:34:00.001-04:00

Happy July 5th! It just doesn't have the same ring to it does it? I had intended to write this yesterday, but since I spent the day celebrating the country I love with the people I love the most, it just didn't happen. Terrible I know! However, I did outline some things that I wanted to include, so I figured why not do this a day later? It's not like my love for America ended yesterday with the holiday after all. I love it just as much today as I did yesterday!

First I should outline what the big deal about America is anyway. My best friend Alissa (commonly referred to as BFF1 on Twitter) and I LOVE America. Not in a normal "Man, our country rocks!" kind of way. It's more of a kind of awe that we are allowed to be here, allowed to be who we are, allowed to say what we think. We make America references ALL the time. We randomly quote random speeches, we compare situations we are in to historical events, basically we are complete nutters. I'm not sure why we are like this. Maybe because she was raised on various army bases and I was raised in a small town where you love God, your family, and your country. Whatever the reason, we dearly love our country. We love the huge, wonderful things and the small, random, quirky things. We love the good and the bad. We love it for what it is...a place that isn't perfect but that gives us the opportunity to be ourselves, to grow, and to be magnificent.

So now that I've been cheesy and funny...on to the ten things we love about America.

1) Freedom: I am well aware of the fact that freedom is the number one amazing thing about America. We are fortunate to live in a place where we are allowed to vote, get an education, work, believe what we want to believe, and basically be who we are. Not everyone has basic rights, so my freedom is the number one reason I love America.

2) Epic Television: This is one that I had on my list when I called BFF1 to ask her for two items to add to my list, but it is also the first thing she said. It may seem stupid, but just like Harry Potter has provided me with a world full of people that I love, TV has done the same thing. While it's true I may not reference Chandler Bing or Stars Hallow on a daily basis, but I do whistle an alarming number of TV theme songs. TV provides an escape which everyone needs. For me TV shows provide an outlet for my nerdity, and for BFF1 TV represents change in both culture and technology. We love TV. Classic TV, new TV, reality shows, animal shows, cheesy TV, PBS, Food Network, talk shows. We just love it. And BFF1 REALLY loves it. TV is to her as books are to me. So we love that America has AWESOME TV.

3) History: Pretty self explanatory. America is a pretty young country, and yet SO much has happened here. I don't have a lot to say about this one. Basically without the history of our nation BFF1 and I wouldn't have nearly as many references to make.

4) Disney: When I called BFF1 up she didn't say Disney, and I really don't know why honestly, maybe she just KNEW that I would have it on the list. Maybe it is just such a given that she didn't figure she needed to mention it. I don't know about the rest of America, but I grew up with Disney. Disney is the first thing I can remember loving outside of my family. Disney is something we have experienced together. There are maybe two Disney cartoons that I have never seen. Disney also represents the various shifts in our culture and technology. It also shows that no matter how much things change, they also stay the same. My two year old cousin loves The Aristocats as much as I did. I love Cars as much as my four year old cousin does. And I paid for a movie ticket so that I could see HSM3 with BFF1 in theaters. So even though it is a worldwide phenomenon, Disney to me is another fundamental benefit of living in America.

5) Diversity: America is a pretty diverse place. Economically, culturally, scenically...there are so many different things to experience here. For BFF1 it is exploring a small town and seeing what it is that draws people there. For me it is wondering around a city and seeing how different it is from my tiny place on the mountain. I love things that are unique and different, and I think that America really gives me the opportunity to experience those differences.

6) The Vlogbrothers: Okay, this one is a little silly, and also has spread to all corners of the world. However, John and Hank Green are amazing! Not only are they funny, they have inspired an entire group of people to embrace the nerdy part of themselves that most of us have been convinced to bury deep inside. They have also inspired us to reach out to others, to befriend people we would not otherwise have the opportunity to meet, and to stand up for what we believe in-whether it is stopping global warming or speaking out about censorship. They have taught us how to properly insult people (with Shakespeare), how to turn the other cheek, how to imagine people complexly, and so much more.

7) Smith's Rosebud Salve: Okay, this isn't really a GO AMERICA type thing. However, it is an amazing product. It fixes my dry lips, it helps when my hands get chapped from playing outside in the snow, it works as a moisturizer in a pinch, it is a miracle product! And it's made in America with all natural ingredients, which is pretty awesome.

8) Dolly Parton: Okay...this one is all BFF1. For me Dolly doesn't really scream AMERICA, but for BFF1 she really does. For her, Dolly represents the American Dream far better than Steinbeck, Elvis, or Miley Cyrus. Dolly is a small town girl who fought hard to achieve her dreams. She is a strong woman who worked hard to get what she wanted. Has she had too much plastic surgery? Sure she has, but that's her right. She has had a wonderful career as a musician, before autotuning ruined modern music. She has been in several hilarious and heartwarming movies. Best of all? She has her own theme park, and who in this country doesn't aspire to owning their own theme park? I know for a fact that BFF1 and I would LOVE to have one!

9) Our Unbreakable Spirit: So this one is a GO AMERICA type thing, but seriously! There have been so many things in the history of our country, up to and including that whole "taxation without representation" thing. So many examples- Katrina, 9/11, Vietnam, Civil Rights, and so on. All of these are examples of times when people have stood up for their beliefs and for their fellow Americans, and to me that is what this country is about. Not everyone agrees on everything and not everyone believes the same things, but at the end of the day we come together for our fellow countrymen and we care about them. Whether it is a soldier from a small town who gave his life for our country or a huge city that has been impacted by a major disaster, we all feel it and we ban together to overcome it. At least, that's what we do where I'm from.

And Last but not Least Number Ten (also straight from BFF1's list)....Us-Ally and Chelle: In her words we are on the list because "we are the coolest Americans I know." I agreed to put us on this list because we are pretty much Made of Awesome. We are diverse-I'm a nerdy bookworm who is loud and outspoken, she is a quiet fashonista who can outline the history of most any TV show or Disney movie. We have extraordinarily epic bad luck. We laugh at anything and everything. We have overcome MANY hardships between the two of us. We try to make the best out of things, regardless of how much we complain about things. We love people. We love this country. We are cheesy and silly and smart and wonderful girls, who embody many of the things on this list. So she's right...we ARE America, and that's why we are on the list.

So there it is, my love letter to America. Do you love America? If so then why? Or, like many...do you think we are completely bonkers? Probably the latter...but stick around and I promise, before long you will love us =)

Hello Again

2010-06-26T17:13:00.000-04:00

Almost four months! I can't believe I've gone so long without posting. Actually, I can but I'm not proud of that. Not many things have happened in the past few months. I settled in to my new job, have read hardly any books, and just spent time with my family. I spend most of my free time with my cousins or one of my two best friends. I don't know why reading has been such a hassle for me lately. I love books more than anything in the world, but honestly I haven't had the attention span to read anything. I've started probably fifteen books and put them down without reading them. I did manage to finish Will Grayson/Will Grayson. It was wonderful, but what did I expect from a book written by John Green AND David Levithan? A lot of people on Twitter, Facebook, on blogs, and in real life have said WG/WG was their favorite John Green book. I can't say that is the case for me. Paper Towns remains my favorite John Green book, with Looking for Alaska coming in a VERY close second. The idea of how our misconceptions of others that Paper Towns deals with is a subject that speaks to be, and the realizations that Q makes on his journey in Paper Towns are ones that we should all be aware of. I plan on re-reading PT soon, so perhaps I will do a blog post outlining all of my thoughts and feelings about it then.

In other John Green book news, I am currently working through the summer at a day camp of sorts that my corporation sponsors for our clients, and I recently did a bibliotherapy session based on Looking for Alaska. I have to say that I was worried about how seriously a group of boys with behavioral issues whose ages range from ages 11-17 would respond to Alaska. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't have anyone make crude comments about Pudge's love for Alaska, no one laughed when my voice cracked as I was reading, and everyone was able to discuss how overwhelmingly difficult it is to lose someone that you love. Moments like the one I had on Wednesday remind me why I left my job at the library and instead embarked on a journey with these kids. Although I was happy and content to spend my life surrounded by books and people who loved them, there was more in store for me. I now have the opportunity to impact the lives of children, to help them realize that one bad choice does not have to equal a lifetime of bad choices, and to show them that someone believes that they too are destined for greatness. Yes, I miss the library, and I miss talking to teenagers who absolutely love books, but seeing a kid who has lost all hope regain a little bit of it is so much more worthwhile.

Now that I have been sappy and made excuses, I hope that I don't stay gone so long in the future. =]

Once Upon A Time Challenge-Books One and Two

2010-03-06T13:49:00.000-05:00

The first two books I read for the Once Upon A Time Challenge were Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix and Ash by Malinda Lo. I read both of them in January, but I really wanted to blog about them together (so I'm really sorry about the super long post.) It has taken me awhile to get the reviews written because I need to step back from the books and think about them before I wrote the reviews as "OH.EM.GEE. YOU NEED TO READ THIS LIKE NOW!" I really wanted to be able to talk about why I liked the books and why I think they are such great retellings. Both of these were less "traditional" tellings of the fairy tale we are most familiar with. They both had elements in common with the version most of us are familiar with-a handsome prince, orphaned girls, a ball, miserable step-families, the need for escape, altered appearances. However, they both varied in many ways.

Just Ella is the story of a common girl who wins the prince's heart, but only because she is beautiful. The story takes place after the glass slipper incident, but Ella tells the story of how she ended up in the castle and engaged to the prince. Ella spends her days learning how to be a proper royal lady. She isn't content to sit and do needlework all day, she is upset because she isn't allowed to do anything for herself, and there are times that she is bothered by the opulence that surrounds her when so many in the kingdom are struggling to survive. Ella struggles to find her place in this new world, until the day she falls in love for real-and not with Prince Charming. Then Ella has to decide how she is going to handle the situation she finds herself in.

This book was really good. I enjoyed that it picked up where the original story left off. I was impressed that the story addresses the fact that Cinderella and Prince Charming don't know each other and that their relationship is based on attraction and a shoe that just happened to fit. I liked seeing Ella realize that she was supposed to marry a man she didn't even know, and who had no real desire to know her. I also thought it was nice that Ella fought for her freedom. The ending was abrupt and left some strings untied-mainly about what happens between Ella and the man she loves. Ultimately though, this is a story about finding the things that are important to you and then finding the courage to fight for those things.

Ash has similar themes to Just Ella, but the story is unlike any I have read before. I won't say there aren't other versions similar to Ash, just that I haven't read them. Ash is set in a village far away from the country's capitol. The village borders The Wood, which is inhabited by fairies. The folklore in this book is not any that I am familiar with, but the concept "stay away from the fairies " is clearly stated. However, Ash doesn't follow this advice. Ash is devastated by the death of her mother when she is young. The night her mother dies Ash dreams the fairies are coming for. Ash's father remarries and brings Ash's step-mother and step-sisters from their home in the capitol. Before long Ash's father dies as well. Ash's step-mother takes this opportunity to move the family back to her home in the capitol. Ash's new home borders The Wood, which is comfort for Ash who feels uncomfortable so far away from the only home she has ever known. It isn't long before Ash is completely miserable. She seeks out a dangerous fairy prince-Sidhean- whom she has brushed against the few times she has defied the rules of The Wood and gone wondering on her own. Ash begs Sidhean to take her away from her life, but he tells her the time isn't right. As the story progresses Ash and Sidhean grow close. He is her best friend and a connection to her home village. However, it isn't long before Ash meets Kaisa, the king's Huntress. Ash soon falls in love with Kaisa and is torn between her promises to Sidhean and her love for Kaisa. The love between both Ash and Sidhean and Ash and Kaisa is evident. The reader sympathizes for Ash and hopes that the situation can resolve itself so that Ash and Kaisa can be together. However, your heart breaks a little for Sidhean. Sidhean has always been in the background of Ash's like, he has loved her since she was very young, and he has helped her hide her identity so that she can be with Kaisa. The reader sympathizes with Ash as she tries to find a resolution that doesn't break her heart or the hearts of two people whom she loves.

Ash was beautifully written. Ash's stepmother was vicious. Ash is set up to be an outcast from the beginning. The ideas of Ash's country "superstitions" are completely ignored by the civilized people in the capitol. The Wood is dark, mysterious, and full of wonder. Ash discovers herself in The Wood and learns about love and the different faces love can have. Ash finds her best friend and true love in The Wood, two things she never thought she would have. Ash is about the struggle to be true to yourself and your beliefs. It is about the sacrifices you make when you love another person-and not just romantic love. The friendship between Ash and Sidhean is not traditional, but it gives Ash the confidence to fight for her heart, something she would never have been able to do without a handsome fairy prince. I cannot wait to read more books by the wonderful Malinda Lo.

Both of these books are excellent retelling of the Cinderella tale. Both feature strong girls who don't conform to societies ideas for them and who follow their hearts in a more realistic way than "boy meets girl and they all live happily ever after." Real life (and real love) isn't always easy or simple. Sometimes to be happy you end up hurting other people, and sometimes the people who get hurt are people that you care about. Ella and Ash fought hard to earn their happily ever afters, even if they weren't what was expected.

In Which Chelle Rambles About Nothing of Importance

2010-02-19T10:27:00.000-05:00

Well hello blog! I'm sure you think I've forgotten you, but I assure you I have not. You are always there in the back of my mind. I have been on the longest sabbatical from everything. My tiny town has been hit by three large snow storms back to back since the beginning of February. As I write there is still over a foot of snow on the ground and there are rumors of another storm hitting next week. I love winter! Since I work in the schools, though not with the school system itself, I haven't worked since the end of January. I've still had some paperwork and training, but I've basically been on an (unpaid) vacation for the last three weeks. I think that we will most likely go back to school next week but if the storm that is on its way turns from rain to snow I know that we will be missing more school.

So, what have I done with this break? Absolutely nothing. I have been so lazy it isn't funny. I have had the cousins almost every day. I saw The Lightning Thief (review later I promise) with the Fantastic Four (the four cousins that I usually have, ages 8-13) this week. I read a few books. I played in the snow. I started watching Lost from the beginning because I've not seen it but I am really into it and have to watch it from the very beginning so I understand everything. Well understand as much as you possibly can in regards to Lost. I went on a few shopping trips. My younger cousin got engaged so I partied with his bride-to-be. So even though I haven't been in school things have still been pretty exciting.

Lent began on Wednesday. This is something that I try to observe every year by giving up something that I truly enjoy. I used to try to give up caffeine but the crippling head aches and the mood swings were too much to handle. I gave up candy or chocolate a few years, and I always try to give up swearing. However, last year I gave up all potato products. Let me tell you, I am pretty much a meat and potatoes kind of girl. Potatoes are my comfort food. Bad day? I need french fries. When I'm sick I usually eat baked potatoes or stew with potatoes in it. So, this is really me giving up something that I love and that I eat on a regular basis. I did a really good job last year. It wasn't easy and there were days when I wanted hash browns so bad I could have cried, but I managed to resist the temptation. This year I decided to give up potatoes again. However, I wanted to add something else to the pile as well. My aunt suggested I give up pleasure reading. I laughed. I am well aware that my family believes my obsession with books is more than a little nuts, but none of them are really readers. None of them use books as an escape or as an opportunity to loose themselves in another world. None of them really understand that books are a refuge or that a books can be your friend. So, I politely rejected her suggestion. However, I did think about my TBR pile and about all of the books that I have acquired recently and I realized that I have a lot of books that I have never even picked up to read. When I worked at the library it was because I was so busy reading books that I bought for the YA section so that I could answer patron questions and post reviews in the library or on the blog. Now it has just because I own an overwhelming amount of books. So I decided that along with potato products I would also give up purchasing books for Lent. So over the next thirtysome days I am sure I will post about the various struggles I have with these two things.

So, what about all of you? Have you been snowed in for a long period of time? Do you observe Lent? Do long periods of time when you aren't working/in school make you super lazy? In a way I am ready to go back even though it will not be much fun just so I can get back into a routine of some kind!

Reading Goals for the Coming Week

2010-01-24T18:44:00.000-05:00

So far in January I have read three books. I know that it is hard to put that in perspective, but this time last year I had read at least double that amount. I am having such a hard time getting into books this year. Last year I was working at the library and everyday someone was asking for book recommendations or wanting me to tell them what a certain book was about. This year I am at a new job and I work with first graders. They don't really care about the newest Maureen Johnson book. I could read a hundred kid's books, and I do read with them, but it isn't the same. I knew when I left the library that I would miss connecting with people about the books that I read. I still have contact with my old co-workers and even a few of the teens that I worked with, but it isn't the same. I miss talking to people about books. That is one of the main reasons that I started this blog, to talk about the things that I don't really have people to talk to about in real life. It isn't really meant to be a review type blog, mainly because there are few books that I genuinely hate. There may be books that I wish I hadn't purchased, but honestly it is rare for me to find no redeeming quality in a book. I love books. I love them in a way that doesn't make sense to a lot of people. To be able to sit down and submerge myself in another world is incredible. I love that. I love bookstores. When I was in college and would be at the point of a stress induced breakdown I would get in my car and go to the local Barnes and Noble. When I visit new places I find the bookstores and visit them. Books are my friends and my first love. Not in a creepy I don't talk to people and never exist in the real world kind of way. But more of a I am so fascinated by the ability to weave tales that I can't help but absorb them. I'm not a writer. I am excellent at research, and I wish that I could be a storyteller, but I can't. However, I am always aware of the fact that you can't have storytellers if there is no one to listen. So, since I am in a reading funk and can't seem to actually get through a book right now, feel free to leave me suggestions. I read books of every genre, although I generally am drawn to YA and books about faery. I think my biggest problem is that I have a ton of books checked out from the library, I got a ton of books for Christmas, and I bought a bunch of books right after Christmas in all of the huge online/in store sales. I am suffering from too many excellent books! My plan is to return all of the library books, even the ones I have been wanting forever and reading some of my own books for a change. I actually have books that I bought last summer and still haven't even picked up! I may have a slight addiction =D. Hope you all have a fantastic week! I am hoping the kids I deal with aren't insane since we had a snow day on Friday and a half day on Tuesday.

OH! I almost forgot! I started watching Lost (again) from the first season. There is no way that I will be caught up by the time the new season starts, but I am making an effort. If you love Lost (or good music) you should check out The Oceanic Six, a band made up of three YouTubers/Wizard Wrockers. They are incredible!

In Which I Blog Instead of Doing My Work

2010-01-17T11:11:00.000-05:00

It's bright and early on Sunday morning and I'm frantically trying to complete the insane amount of paperwork I have left to turn in on Monday before I go to the school. So, what am I doing instead? Well, I'm listening to songs by The Oceanic Six, a band that sings about Lost, and blogging. At least I'm avoiding a book! That's good, right?

Anyway, the reason for the post is that I'm feeling somewhat distracted and maudlin. Sure, good music helps, but so does talking about your feelings. Right? Anyway, my family is gone and I'm pretty sure talking to yourself just makes you seem nuts (and I really don't need help in that department.) Moving on. Here is a little backstory about me. Not really that I share with people on a regular basis, but it is relevant to my current mood. Okay, when I was in college I met a guy. Things were good with this guy, not perfect-we had plenty of ups and downs, but they were good. I fell in love. He fell in love. We finished college and planned to get married, but then we didn't. I don't actually know what happened because I never got an explanation, but it was horrible. It was one of those events that shapes your future. So, I haven't been out on a date in a year and a half. A lot of that has do with the fact that I just enjoy my family, I live in a small town, and most of my friends are in relationships so I'd have to fly solo on a night out. It also has to do with the fact that I don't really know if I am interested in being in a relationship again. I'm very much a traditionalist and I don't really do casual relationships. Mainly because I'm busy and I don't really have time to invest in something that is going to go nowhere. Also, because honestly I want a family and I'm goal oriented and I don't see the point in being part of something that has no future. That's harsh, but it's how I am. I can't really help that. A large part of it also has to do with being hurt so badly. I've had other relationships, and some of them ended horribly, but never left me so broken. That sounds really dramatic I know, but it is the truth.

So now the dilemma is this: all of my friends are in a relationship. Now, this doesn't mean I think I need to be in a relationship, but it does mean that they think I should. Last night my cousins girlfriend had some sort of "Eureka!" moment where she realized her cousin is perfect for me!!! The problem with the perfect cousin? He lived thirteen hours away. However, I'm apt to believe that long distance could work better. Things are more exciting when you only see someone once in a while. I know this because epic-fail-relationship was semi-long distance. The reason distance is an issue is because of the things I miss about being in a relationship. I miss having someone to hold my hand, someone to drive to town if I don't feel like it, someone to decided chicken or pasta, little stuff. I don't know. This whole post is kind of BLAH, and I'm sure it wasn't what you were expecting. I'm going to set on the perfect cousin info and see how I feel about it. I have to think things through. Impulse is not my friend! Hope you guys had a great weekend!

In Which Chelle Has the Craziest Work Week EVER

2010-01-15T17:30:00.000-05:00

So, this week my job has been CRAZY! I work in a first grade classroom with kids who have behavior issues. This means my job is crazy every day really, but this week has been worse because we have had so many snow days. School started back here on January forth but we have only gone five days, and those days we were delayed. Let me be the first to tell you that lack of routine is terrible for small children. So all week I have been running around, chasing kids, and them coming home and just vegging on the couch. I watched Idol this week and meant to post on it. I always love the audition episodes, they tend to be hilarious. However, I wasn't really impressed with all of the backstories that came with the auditions. Basically, everyone has problems and I don't really need to hear about all of the sorrow. It also bothered me because if the person was great then their backstory was poignant and touching, but if the person had no talent then they were made fun of.* I loved Posh spice as a guest judge, but didn't really like Mary J. Blige at all. I thought that she was rude and mean, even worse than Simon. I am excited to see the rest of the season, mainly to see how Ellen does. I don't know if I love her as a judge or not. I think she's hilarious, but I think that if you are judging a music show that you should have musical talent as well.

Anyway...after an insane week, my plan for tonight is to hang out with my cousin and watch a Just My Luck. The rest of the weekend is full of me doing paperwork and such, but I hope that I will have time to read a book! I'm really behind from last year. I hope that all of you have happy weekends!

*Case in point, the poor guy that almost died like three times. They had the horrible "dramatization," made the frame shake whenever he was walking, and Simon said he had nine lives. Come on Idol, he is still a person who has feelings. Give the dude a break!

Teaser Tuesday 1/12/2010

2010-01-12T17:44:00.000-05:00

So, Teaser Tuesdays? Pretty fun concept. Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that you don't give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

So, here's my Teaser from The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

"Before anyone reading this thinks to call me a slut-or even just imagines I'm incredibly popular-let me point out that this list includes absolutely every single boy I have ever had the slightest little any-kind-of-anything with. ... Doctor Z is my shrink, and she says that for purposes of the list, the boyfriends don't have to be official."

Enjoy! For more Teasers click here.

In Which Chelle Watches the Lord of the Rings Movies

2010-01-10T09:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, Nerd Girl confession. Until last week I had never seen the LOTR movies. *cringes* I know! It really doesn't help my nerd cred. To make it even worse, I haven't read the books. Well, that isn't exactly true...I read The Hobbit when I was in high school, and then again the on one of my summer breaks during college. I started the Lord of the Rings series then as well and I read The Fellowship of the Ring as well as part of Two Towers. However, due to a full time college load, work every weekend, and trying to maintain a (doomed) relationship and a GPA that would get me into grad school, the LOTR (and all pleasure reading) fell by the wayside. I've always wanted to read the entire series and see the movies, but I'm one of those strange book people who are always hesitant to watch movies based on books, because usually I don't enjoy them. However, in an effort to convince my male cousins (ages 13 and 10) that I really am cool (even if I am a girl) I have embarked on a journey through film. It started last summer when the younger one told me about this really cool movie he had seen. The conversation went like this:

Him: It's about this dude who like history and stuff and had that guy from Even Stevens, ya know

Me: Indiana Jones? Yeah I love Indy!

Him: Um, Chelle, you're a girl

Me: Yeah...

Him: You watched that movie?

Me: Yeah, I've seen all of them, my favorite one is Raiders.

Him: ...uh...are you kidding me?

Me: No, I own all three of the original ones, wanna stay here Friday night and watch one?

Him: Sure...

So from there we have been watching many different "guy" movies. I still have my girlie nights with the two girl cousins, but more often we have action/adventure movie nights. We recently finished the X-Men trilogy and I suggested that we watch both the LOTR trilogy and the Star Wars saga (all six movies) and they agreed. So last weekend we began our nine hour journey through Middle Earth,and thanks to snow days we were able to watch them in a week. I was bombarded with questions throughout the movies such as "why are wizards so old," "why did a hobbit have to carry the ring," and "how did the ring even end up in the shire?" After telling them that they should read a book once in a while I answered their questions as best I could. From my grandmother, love her heart, I got "do you ever watch normal movies? None of this makes any sense!" She is not a fan of fantasy. I loved the movies. I love the fact that it gives me a chance to be with the people I love most. I'm aware that most twenty-six year old girls don't spend their weekends at home with their grandmother and four kids under the age of fourteen, but I love it. I love sharing something I love, epic fantasy, with them. True, three of the four of them will probably never read the books, they don't share my intense love of literature, but we still get to share the experience. They are reminded that I like the things they like, that I will hang with them whenever, and that we love each other dearly (without being super mushy.) They get to laugh at me for becoming way too emotionally involved-they love the fact that I cried during each of the movies. We get to argue about who is the best character (I remain torn between Strider/Aragorn and Legolas, but maintain that Samwise Gamgee is the person we should all admire the most), which fight scene was most epic, and how creepy Gollum is. I spent the entire second movie yelling at Eowyn to back up off of Aragorn, they spent the second movie laughing at me. All in all, it is an experience that I always enjoy.

My family is unique and crazy and wonderful. I love spending time with them and I never take it for granted. There was a large portion of my past when I didn't appreciate what I had, and while I never came close to losing them-because they would never let me go-I did have to suffer a pain that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy to be reminded of how much they all love me. So, maybe I'm not the normal twenty-six year old, but I can promise you that I had more fun Friday night with a 82 year old, two thirteen year olds, a ten year old, and a seven year old than I had in a year of Friday nights when I used to go out.

**DISCLAIMER-Since watching the movie, I've dug out my copy of The Hobbit and ordered the LOTR trilogy, so that I can read them now!

Book-to-Movie Review: Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging

2010-01-02T16:04:00.000-05:00

The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series of books by Louise Rennison is one of my favorite YA series. The books are so fun and lighthearted, but they still ring true. I mourned the end of the series (even though I loved how Rennison tied up all the ends) and I occasionally look at my copies of the book and think "soon Gee, you and I will meet again."* Yesterday, the movie Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging played on Nick. As my grandmother and I settled in to watch the film, I hoped that the movie would be as fun and funny as the book series it was based on. Moments in I had plenty of thoughts and feelings**, but no real complaints. The cast was really good. There were a few issues (Tom and Robbie are brothers but Robbie is older, I pictured Wet Lindsey as gawky with long arms and legs, Ellen wasn't clueless enough, Georgia seemed a little young, there was no Sven) but many of the cast was right on. Georgia's mom? Wonderfully cast and acted. My grandmother actually said "well, she has no problem at all letting her boobs hang out," which I thought was a great kudos to the film makers since all Georgia talks about in the books is how her mother has no shame and always wears low cut shirts. I also realized how living with a twenty-six year old has influenced my grandmothers language, but that's another blog post! Slim was also well done (even though she wasn't really in the movie very much.) Robbie was okay and Dave the Laugh was excellent and so dreamy. I thought that the Ace Gang had great chemistry, I could see the four of them sitting in the back of class passing notes and getting into all kinds of trouble. My grandmother loved Angus*** and laughed every time he was on screen. I wish there had been more Dave the Laugh, Libby, and Sven because they are the craziest characters and they always bring the laughs. I wish that the film makers hadn't made Georgia's relationship with her parents all gooey. In the books it is obvious that she loves her parents, but she is always very embarrassed by them. In the movie she is more affectionate and forgiving. Many of my favorite book scenes were well represented, and though there were some deviations all the important stuff was there. I think this movie adaptation was a huge success.

If you haven't read the books what are you waiting for? They are so wonderful. If you are an adult, don't worry. As I read the books I can remember being a fourteen year old girl and I laugh at how caught up I was in life. It is fun to be able to look back and remember how simple things were, even if I thought they would never get more complicated than they were right then. Having to choose between three fantastic guys?**** I wish that was the biggest issue in my life now, but it is so refreshing to read things from Georgia's point of view. She definitely would have been my pal when I was in high school, and she is one of the funniest characters in YA lit today. The books are just full of laughs though. There are plenty of life lessons for teens: first love, lost love, self-discovery, the true meaning of friendship, and many more.

So basically this is my consensus: Read the books! They are fun for everyone of every age. Watch the movie too. I would recommend you do both! If you are a hardcore Georgia fan, don't worry-the movie isn't going to disappoint you. If you have never picked up one of the books the movie will send you to your local library or bookstore looking for them. Either way, you will not be disappointed if you make a date with Georgia Nicolson.

*What? You don't talk to your books?

**Georgia's flat is really nice, Jas is really annoying, LOL olive costumes, *sigh* Dave the Laugh, that kissing scene was kind of gross, "Really Robbie, that's your guitar solo face? Really?," why isn't Rosie Georgia's bff-they make more sense.

***"That's a cat?!?!?! Good Lord what a cat!"

****Three fantastic guys? I have always been Team Dave the Laugh. I thought Robbie was kind of a tool, albeit a dreamy tool, who wanted Georgia to be someone she wasn't. (Girls-you never have to change for a boy! Be who you are and at least you'll like yourself, which is more important that whether others like you. I promise it doesn't always seem like it, but it is true!) Massimo was an idiot with an awesome accent who was way too old for Georgia and cared more about the band than her. D the L was her pal who always liked her, regardless of how she looked or the less than nice way she acted. However, I won't tell you who she picked, because I don't want there to be spoilers!

Random Thoughts on 2009/2010

2009-12-30T20:34:00.000-05:00

As the current year ends I find myself looking back more than I am looking forward. Honestly, my life is pretty settled but also somewhat stagnant. I don't really have big plans for the upcoming year. Most of my goals revolve around books/reading/alone time. I'm not really an introvert, but I live with my grandmother and our house is the watering hole for my family. I don't have a small family either. There are more than thirty people including my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and at any given time all of them are in my living room. I also have a somewhat high-stress job. I work with "at-risk" kids and I am currently in a first grade classroom. So, all of that adds up to a lot of noise. The noise leaves me craving the solitude of a good book. I started reading in large quantities again last year. Before last year I worked full time while getting my undergrad degree, then became a retail store manager, and was in a serious relationship with the wrong person who I consistently dumbed myself down for (yes, I was an idiot) so reading wasn't high on my list of things to do. I still read, and I still loved books and book stores, I just didn't read as much as I do now. I'm hopeful that I continue to read in the coming year, which is one of the reason's I am doing so many challenges.

Speaking of reading, I am also planning on re-reading the Harry Potter series. I can't tell you how many times I have read these books, but they never get old. Right now Alan Lastufka (of YouTube and Nerdfighter fame) is reading the HP series for the first time, and he is blogging his way through them. The blog is so fun and it is great for me, a serious HP nerd, to read along with him. Also contributing to my re-read is the fact that one of my librarian friends is re-reading them as well. She and I have been having a discussion the past few weeks about how soon is too soon when it comes to re-reading, and we decided that since we both finished them at the end of summer that we should maybe wait until 2010. Needless to say, we didn't make it that far!

Challenges! I did some of my challenges in the sidebars already, but I am planning a few more as well. I am going to do the Once Upon a Time Challenge hosted by Tena at Crazy Book Slut, because I absolutely adore retelling of fairy tales. Since I only have to read 5 books to complete this challenge I will review the books and tag them with "Once Upon a Time" so they are easy to find. I am also going to do the Rainbow Connection Challenge which has it's own blog. This one will go in my sidebar as well. I decided to do this challenge because I failed so miserably at the A-Z Challenge last year, and this is a nice alternative. I also really want to do an Anita Blake Challenge and a Book to Movie Challenge, but I am going to wait to sign up for them. There are two other challenges I am pretty sure I am going to do, but can't quite commit to them yet.

Well, one super long blog post later...I'm finished! So, tell me...are you doing any reading challenges? Do you think reading challenges are lame? Do you love HP? Do you think HP is lame? Actually, don't tell me if you think HP is lame...it will hurt my heart, and I just am not a fan of that =] Do you have New Year's Resolutions? I don't because I think they just set me up for failure! Have a Happy New Year!