Monday BookShelf Day

Well, alrighty, let's dive right in to the first book. Well, not the actual first book I read this month, but the first book I'm going to make a pathetic attempt at 'reviewing' on my little blog. It's a fiction book, sorry Mother.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

Ya know, after reading this, I'm not really sure how or what I was supposed to feel. I've had a week to ruminate on it .... I'm still conflicted. I originally read the book because I want to see the movie- it has Kate Winslet and yes, I'm a fan.

The main characters are Frank and April Wheeler. I alternately ached for April & wanted slap her silly. I wanted to like Frank, I did. I wanted to drum up some sense of compassion for him... but I could never scrounge up much of anything but pity.

The story, the characters, the writing itself- they are all excellent... but as I turned the final page, the journey left me feeling quite unsettled.

~I think I'll read this book again one day when I have the benefit of more grey being covered by hair dye... Perhaps I'll be able to place a proper label on it then.~

And yes, I still think I'll watch the movie.

Did I mention....

that I've made a personal bet with myself to see how many books I can read in a year?

No?

Well, let me tell you all about it!

Not too terribly (ok, it was kind a while ago) long ago, I read on another blog (a bud of mine) that he was going to go for the cannon ball read- which is to say that he was going to try and read 100 book in a year. Lofty goal and one that I am totally behind and so think I could achieve... except for the whole lazy factor.

Sooooo......

In the interest of not wishing to be totally and completely lazy I decided to meet myself halfway and see how many books I could read in a year if I made a real effort- and this does not include my books for school... pity me, please. I started August 1st...ish. I included Eden's Outcasts because I was about 2 chapters in, even though I started the blasted thing in March. Deal.

As an added bonus, I'll review the books as I read them, just to keep myself on the up and up & because I know every single (what, 10's of maybe 5?) person who reads this blog is burning with anticipation to know what my literary thoughts are.

..............

Jacob (with Pictures!)

Oh, I think it's been a while since I've updated the world on my precious little gift to it! :-)

It's Toddler Time around these parts- be still my beating heart! Jacob is walking around the bedroom after all his toys and his people. He's still a bit hesitant to go for it in the big part of the house, but he'll get there. :-) He gets so darn excited when he starts walking to someone he can hardly keep his balance.

He still loves sharing his Cheerios with Gizmo... and Gizmo still loves Jacob sharing the Cheerios with him!

Jacob loves his fruit and his veggies- and his cake and ice cream! Blue Bell, Homemade Vanilla- he's a good Texas boy!

This past Sunday was "Promotion Sunday" at church. Oh my golly heavens! My baby isn't in the baby rooms anymore!!!! He's in a Big Boy room! When did this happen! He couldn't have cared less, he was happy to get there and start playing, but it was a moment for his mama. ::meep:: Jacob will be 13 months tomorrow. I used to make fun of the "months" after a child turned 1; now I get it. I want to hang on to the babyhood for as long as I can.


He's such a joy. His smile makes my day and his laugh make me laugh right along with him. He's really really happy, unless he's tired or hungry... then watch out! :-) He's very passionate about his food! And he still resents the fact that he needs sleep to function. Unfortunately for him, he just cannot make it through the day without at least 1 nap.

The happy, smiley boy starts "school" September 4th at our church's pre-school program. It's a one day a week program for him. He'll go on Fridays. His daddy and I have a "meet the teacher" tomorrow, the first of many. ::sniff::

I'm blessed to be his mama.

Sir Paul in JerryWorld

Last night my mother, my father and I went to see Sir Paul McCartney in concert at The New Home of the Dallas Cowboys (JerryWorld). I want to state for the record that Sir Paul was absolutely brilliant! Please, oh dear Lord, let me have that kind of energy when I'm 67- 2 & 1/2 hours of music.

However-

There were a few downers to the evenings' festivities- the first one being, I almost died. Well, not really but close enough. Since it's Texas in August, it was about 9000 degrees outside- no big shock there. The doors to the stadium were supposed to open at 6pm... heh. Not so much.

6:40pm

Almost 2 hours in the heat/sun (yeah, we couldn't be let in in the shady part, no everybody had to get a head start on their skin cancer by standing in the sun), $5 water, $8 beer, $14 Cowboy-rita (was never really sure what that was), a couple more than a few thousand people sweating and it was a recipe for disaster. My mom started glancing at me every few minutes, I think she expected me to hit the ground at any moment. And I'm kinda surprised I didn't- I got very pale, stopped sweating & my fingers and then my whole hands went numb. Awesome.

Finally we got in.

Whoo-hoo.

It was my first look at the much touted, New Home of the Dallas Cowboys. And I have to say.....

Meh... not so much.

Oh, it's big. The seat go up forever- you really could get a nose bleed up there. But, as far as general seating amenities, nope. They couldn't even spring for automatic flushers in the restrooms: Hey, I'm a girl who also happens to be a mom- that's an important detail, I tell you! Cause, ewww!

I'm quite sure if you have money to blow that you would be awed by JerryWorld, but for the rest of us who are on the lower rungs of the financial ladder... not so much.

Anywhoo-

On to The Amazing, Brilliant Sir Paul.

Words cannot even begin to describe wondrousness on this concert. Living Legend, yes indeedy. He played some Beatles stuff, some Wings, some new stuff. Everything was awesome.

Please, Sir, may I have some more?

Gotta Rethink This

So, I put a laundry basket with pillows, etc in front of my nightstand because the little snooper has made it his mission in life to investigate and pull off everything that's on the table- including the remotes and the picture of him.

I think I need to rethink my strategy now...

**After saying Cheese!, he promptly lost his new toys and his new throne.**

Huh....

Take the Quiz here!

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of ridiculousness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed