off the beaten path

Time Traveling...

2010-08-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

I'm currently reading The Time Traveler's Wife... and really enjoying it. I'm one of those people who finds every single thing wrong with time traveling... I mean really, it's just. not. possible. SO, leaving that aside and trying not to analyze that whole aspect of it and just enjoy the book, I really do like it. I'm only about half way through but when I'm reading it I can't put it down. What can I say, I love a good love story. Oh and that whole part where his 15 yr. old self is um...spending...time...with his other 15 yr. old self... yeah... um... could have done without that mental image. Thanks.

Can't wait to finish it! (But I'm busy as a stinkin bee right now!) *sigh*

so. me.

2010-07-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

Book Nerd (bo͝ok nûrd): A person with inordinate emotional involvement in the books they read. May suffer from crushes on fictional characters, feeling empty after finishing books, and severe bouts of rage and joy over fictional events. Often spends too much time talking about books with people who don't care as much as they do.

So Long, See You Tomorrow

2010-07-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

I had to read this depressing little novella for English this summer... it's only 134 pages, which in itself I think is pretty lame. It's basically an old man constantly droning about how horrible his childhood was. Really, it should be called "Why My Life Sucks" or "The Events Leading Up To My Suicide"...much better titles.

This has left me craving a good book... so I'm off to my bookshelf of unread books to pluck one out and enjoy.

World Without End

2010-07-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

I finally finished it! Studying being my number one priority, the last 300 pages or so took about 4 weeks to get through, instead of the expected few days. Throughout the book I couldn’t help but to compare it to Pillars… constantly cogitating which one would turn out to be my favorite. After 1,014 pages of debate, I have made my decision.

Pillars wins.

There isn’t a word to describe my love for that book, and well, there is for WWE… love. Just love… not, well, speechless, just want to hold the book and smell it, love. I know…I’m a little strange. I did love it, but not without a few complaints...

A little letter to the author regarding my debate:

Dear Ken Follet,

If you hadn’t used the specific phrase “cramp his style” to describe a 14^th century man’s opinion on his mother moving in with him, and had perhaps used a more period-appropriate phrase… my debate as to which was my favorite would have gone on much longer.

Your fan,

Not Entirely Book Related...

2010-07-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

...But a little book related.

We recently got four little baby chicks... and here's the book-related part... We've named them after my top four favorite books! ;)

I would like you to meet: Amparo, Katniss, Bella and Aliena (pronounced Allie-enna, not Elain-a --I recently learned).

For those of you who don't know those characters...
Amparo = The Religion
Katniss = Hunger Games/Catching Fire --She'll be the only red chicken (the others will be "buff" or blond) which is quite fitting for "the girl on fire" if I do say so myself hehe.
And last but certainly not least...
Aliena = Pillars of the Earth

Bella and Aliena are quite the little snugglers, Amparo has her moments and Katniss is just plain fiesty. It's pretty entertaining :)

A delicious sequel

2010-06-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

Just got the delicious sequel to my all time favorite book (Pillars of the Earth) in the mail a few days ago. Gotta love Amazon, the price of this 1,014 page book is what kept me from reading it originally, not wanting to spend $22 on one book (what can I say, I'm cheap :P ) I finally ventured into the land of Amazon for a gently used copy... and got it for a whopping $5.77. Amazon should be called Amaz-ing.

I'm about 150 pages in, and my goal is to finish it before the intensity of 6 weeks of summer school sets in next Monday. Luckily I'm going to my parents for the week, so plane rides and relax time are my friends!

So far it is a lot like Pillars... which I kinda, sorta, really...love. It's two centuries later but same town, same sort of people, and utter despair followed by (I'm assuming) complete triumph. You have the unfortunate peasants, the good monks, the not so good monks, the naughty bishop and the upper class family that intermixes with said unfortunate peasants and of course the arrogant prick of an Earl-of-Shirring prancing about. And yet... it's not too similar to not be interesting, kind of a perfect mixture. Very excited to see how this one unfolds!

World Without End

P.S. Speaking of Pillars...just found out about this and almost peed my pants. Yep. My favorite book, soon to become my favorite TV mini-series. BAM.

http://www.the-pillars-of-the-earth.tv/

2010-04-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

To make a prairie it takes a clover

and one bee, -

One clover, and a bee,

And reverie.

The reverie alone will do

If bees are few.

-Emily Dickinson

my favorite word is reverie... and she used it twice. love.

(although she actually spelled it "revery"... which isn't a word.) still love.

For Closure's Sake

2010-04-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

I've been debating whether or not I like this book for quite a while. I think I've finally decided that yes, I do like it, and yes, you should read it. I read it a couple months ago and despite it not being one of those books that you can't put down, I think it has a good story. Just don't expect any life-altering, gut wrenching moments. But, sometimes you just have to talk a book out with someone before you can make up your mind, (Unless of course it's one of those that you can't put down, in which case, no dialog necessary- it's great!) so, thanks Mom... ;)

Dusty Bookshelf...Nifty Phone

2010-04-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't had much time for reading lately... however! I was able to get Pride and Prejudice on my phone, so whenever I'm somewhere like, say, waiting in a long line, I can pull out my phone and read! Yay! So far I am on chapter 8. It's taken a little getting used to reading on a screen instead of holding those wonderful pages, but it's really great to be able to read anywhere, anytime... no hefty book required. No, this does not mean I'm going to end up getting a Kindle... not my thing. I love love love the smell, feel, look, and well, everything about books. Kindle is a thief of those things. ;)

I really want to get back to reading at least 1 book a week........ we shall see!

Oh, Edward...

2010-03-11T13:41:00.000-08:00

For all the fellow Twilight series fans out there...

I am experiencing a dilemma.

To read, or not to read...

Midnight Sun

I really, really, really want to read it. BUT, I know it's not finished... and the agony of only getting to read part of it, and then be left hanging, could very well be worse than the agony of waiting to read the completed novel. So far my plan has been to hold off as long as possible knowing it is inevitable that I will cave and read it before it's finished... especially since there is no end in sight. :\ But I don't know how much longer the holding off can last... I'm such a junkie.

(This is only ONE of the FOUR books I'm waiting to be completed and released... it's all torture. So much torture. Series are brutal.)

---for those of you who have no idea what Midnight Sun is:
If you haven't read Twilight, then you probably could care less. If you have... and you still don't know what it's about... oh man. It is Twilight but written from Edward's perspective, not Bella's. Intense. Delicious. However, it is not a complete novel... one of the author's cohorts leaked the book when she was about 200-ish pages into writing it. NOT cool. But Stephenie IS cool... she put her own copy of it on her website so that her fans would not have the moral dilemma of whether or not to search for and read the "bootleg" copy. Still, it is unfinished, and will most certainly leave you wanting more- which you can't have. Any time soon.

Living Vicariously

2010-02-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so all I've been reading lately are textbooks. If you would like for me to review McKinley and O'Loughlin's descriptions of the 1000's of bone features in the human body, or the classifications, functions, structures and locations of all the different types of Connective Tissues... well, you should probably just read it yourself. It is gnarly. BUT... if you're looking for some interesting feedback about a recent delicious novel, I am empty handed. Sad.

However, I have very recently learned the joy of passing on magnificent reads to others! Hearing that they love the book as much as you did and getting to dissect all of the wonderful parts together is, well, better than Christmas. hah.

For anyone who's read The Fountainhead, I was previously similar to Dominique Francon. For those of you who haven't... Dominique has this thing where when she finds something (like artwork) that she absolutely loves, she buys it and then destroys it. Of course you're thinking, WHY would she do that?! BUT, I can (rather, could) relate to her reasoning. She destroys the things she loves because she feels they are so magnificent that if someone else saw it and didn't think it was as magnificent as she thought it was, that would be unbearable. If she destroys the artwork no one can ever say- yikes that is ugly. To her, the piece is safe forever, away from critical eyes. Make sense? Maybe not... but that's how I felt about Pillars of the Earth. I love that book so much that passing it on to someone and hearing them say, "yeah, it was okay I guess" would be blasphemy. Silly, I know. Love does crazy things lol. ANYWAY... I have overcome this, and to my greatest happiness, success was achieved.

So I did it... I passed on Pillars. My mom, who luckily had a long vacation to read the extensive novel, enjoyed it immensely. Me= Happy Camper! Then... my sister called with news that she had just finished reading The 19th Wife and loved it. Yay! Sharing the novel lovin'. haha. She currently has my copy of Pillars, and despite my separation anxiety, (I almost bought a 2nd copy just to have on hand...several times...) I am excited to see what she thinks of it. Oh yes, and I can't forget, I have also passed on Twilight (how could I not, really?) to my sister-in-law. I'm eager to get her into the next 3, seeing how #4 is the best. ever. She is enjoying #1 despite having the lame movies in her head to compare-- she has no idea what's coming... so good. Ok, I'll stop being a Twilight junkie now. (But if you haven't read the series... [sigh]... you must)

SO... Who wants a good book recommendation?! I'm living vicariously through you since I don't have time to read my favorite books over again ;) (much less any new ones...boohoo)

Slow Boat to China

2010-01-27T16:53:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I just started classes at SBCC, and my reading time has been greatly reduced. Thus, I have started Shadow of the Wind, but am only about half way through it.

So far, I really like it. At first it was a little hard to get into, but I'm like that with a lot of books, so that really doesn't say much. It's a really fun, kind of mysterious read, and the characters are greatly enjoyable. My favorite is Fermìn Romero de Torres. He's the perfect... sidekick, if that's what you'd call him, and you really never know what he's going to come up with next! I won't give it the official two-thumbs-up until I actually finish it, but I think it's safe to say that you should read it. ;)

*****Finally finished it... LOVED it... best word to describe it... SATISFYING. very. definitely read this one.*****

Books Books Books

2010-01-15T22:25:00.000-08:00

Before June, I could count on one hand how many books I'd read (and actually finished) in the last ten years. However, in the last few months I have become increasingly addicted to reading. Therefore, this blog will furthermore be used to fuel that addiction. I would love any book suggestions and will be sharing a few of my thoughts on current reads. Since I'm already knee deep into this process, instead of reviewing all 24 of my recent indulgences I will simply list them... in the order they were finished.

1 - 9: Sookie Stackhouse Series

10: Julie and Julia

11: The Religion

12: Pillars of the Earth

13: Echo In The Darkness

14: A Touch Of Dead (Sookie Stackhouse Series)

15:The Fountainhead

16: The Reader

17: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games Series #1)

18: The 19th Wife

19: Twilight

20: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games Series #2)

21: New Moon

22: Eclipse

23: Breaking Dawn

24: A Reliable Wife

About to start A Shadow In The Wind.....

The Cleaning Lady

2009-10-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

Some unknown force has recently been motivating me to clean... deep, deep, scrubbing, Comet and Engine De-greaser infused clean...

If you've ever had the joy of seeing my kitchen sink/stove combo, you'll surely remember it's color being of the brown and gray families, with a little -okay...not so little- cascading hard water stains and paint thrown in for fun. If you come over now... surely you will be surprised when you find only your shiny reflection in the gleaming silver surface! After noticing this... your eyes will most certainly graze over to find what used to be grimy yellow-ish cabinets which are now a lovely glistening white. Where you probably won't peek is inside my oven. Yes, inside my oven. I did it. My oven -er, toaster oven- is officially clean and crumb-less Why? Not sure, but an alien might have been implanted in my brain, thus resulting in strange behavior- will seek help.

Yes, I said Engine De-greaser.

It was mixed with Comet.

I held my breath.

It worked like a charm. The End.

Quarterly Update...Bahaha

2009-09-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

It seems to be that I am more of a "seasonal" blogger... I have a post for Spring, one for Summer... and now a Fall post. Maybe one day I'll move to monthly blogger, and... maybe even one day a tambourine. (Ok, too much 10 Things I Hate About You watching lately)

Anyway... I have a new job. I am a nanny. 42 hours a week, I have a teacup human in tow. She is 14 months old and lots of fun...when she's not being a PITA. (Pain In The Ass). Her mommy thinks she's starting the terrible 2's... a little early. Yippee! :P It's not too shabby though.. every morning I go on a 30-60 minute walk at the end of which baby falls asleep and I retire to a bench in the shady grass to read a book for 60-90 minutes. Life is rough... clearly. After that, it's playtime, lunch, playtime, second nap, time to go home. Restart next day. So far I've taught her:
-to say "Rib-ett" (or Rii-Rii, as she says it) after you ask what the frog says
-how to sign "more"...although she thinks it means more strawberries specifically, workin on that one
-to smell flowers (mommy loved that one)
-to stick her tongue out and say "bleeeehhhhh" (another classic.)
-how to put together Lego's...instead of just banging them together
I think that's it so far... so, in conclusion... there are a heck of a lot of jobs out there that are much worse than teaching a kid how to smell flowers, even if you have to change a few diapers in the process. Biggest downsides, I miss watching Riley, and I can no longer go to the gym at my usual time...which is proving to be de-motivating in the work-out department. At least I go on walks every morning, which I try to make power-walks instead of leisurely strolls. Biggest upsides, no longer in the broke department, and fun, easy-going job.

But enough about that.

Over on Sad Street... I haven't seen my sister and her kids in over a month... which is no fun. In Hannah's whole life I haven't gone that long without seeing them... it just ain't right. Trying to find a weekend that I can go see them, but life is busy and time don't wait.

Over on Happy Street... I have a secret brewing... it's pretty life changing... give me about a year and it'll no longer be a secret. Until then...happy guessing! I'm very excited though, I can say that. (NO, I'm not prego... otherwise the timeframe would be shorter... just to clarify that. the end.)

My Birthday is next week... I'm excited. The big 2.3. Actually, it's really no big deal... but I'm excited anyway. Hubby's was just a little bit ago... we decided that we would skip birthday presents this year and save up for a big Christmas... because we love Christmas. I'm already getting excited and it's definitely way too early for that.

No Conclusion... The End.

Oh Blog, my dear lonely friend, how I desert you so.

2009-06-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, here we are again...months since my last post. I think I don't post because I'm not really sure anyone actually checks my blog for updates seeing how I know very few fellow bloggers. ANYWAY...

We moved into the new house, got everything all set up and done (with the exception of a couple drapes) and are totally loving it. Our kitchen is still waiting to be remodeled by the owners but it works for now. It was a struggle at first to keep the place clean, not having a dishwasher (yet) and all of our normal mess being confined in a much smaller space (never looked as messy all spread out!) but I have adapted my cleaning skills to work for our cozy cottage in order to keep it "magazine clean" as my mom always says. I can happily say that there are no more massive piles of dirty dishes in my life...which has been a struggle ever since I flew the nest....what can I say, I <3 dishwashers. But I have learned that I, too, can BE a dishwasher. Bahaha.

Recently I started working out (!!!!). Something I pretty much have never done in my life. Sure I did Cheer my freshman year, and dancing rehearsals for musicals with a Nazi Choreographer are a gnarly workout, and I had a gym membership last year (I used the easy machines and didn't push myself) BUT now I have goals to meet...fat to burn, muscle to build, endurance to strengthen. Thankfully I have an awesome workout partner, without whom, I would probably have been flabby and out of shape forever! She knows exactly how to kick my butt and how to keep me from hurting myself while doing it. Fabulous. Last week we went on a run, my FIRST RUN EVER, seriously. Being my first run though, I couldn't actually run the whole time, but I pushed myself and ran longer than I ever thought possible and guaranteed next time, I will run even longer! We've also been doing these crazy stair-roller machines at the gym---gnarliest things ever. The other day we did 3 miles on them in 30 minutes...stairs...3 miles...picture a building that is 3 miles tall...and then go to the top floor using the stairs, not stopping, and doing it in 30 minutes. Yeah. My butt thanked me for that one. ;) Anyhoo... we have our goals set, and the dates we want to achieve them by and I am super pumped and will be very happy to show off my amazing muscles and lack of body fat lol.

In attempts to make this a quick read instead of a novel, I am going to stop here with plans of posting again soon... I guess we'll find out if that actually happens :P

Alright Alright...

2009-04-17T08:56:00.000-07:00

Ok, obviously I'm not the best at keeping this thing updated...so we'll do another post like the last one...little overview of life since February 16 :P

Hawaii trip... totally fun, better than expected - no one ripped anyone's hair out, well almost... :\ We saw sooo sooo many whales while we were there it made the chilly Feb/March weather totally worth it... I had never seen a whale before and the first one that I saw "breach" had me jumping up and down like a 7 year old girl...I looovved it! Always been a fan of whales so it felt like I had waited 22 years to see them! You could just stand on the beach at our hotel and see them jumping around, or drive along the coast and watch out the window BUT, the absolute most thrilling was going whale watching. We saw so many whales and they were so close to our boat that the boat driver (who had been doing this for 20 years) said it was one of the best whale watching trips of his career - top 10! ANYWAYS... also went to a Luau, very cool, got some fun pics...did a Zipline tour, hilarious tour guides, they made the trip and some other fun stuff. It was all around a good vacation...obviously the whales were the most memorable part for me! :)

Ok, so, get ready for the happiest news on the planet...... we found a new place to live.. and we move in next weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO MORE ROOMMATES!!!! We will (finally) have a place of our own with no roommates to deal with...EVER! A couple months ago I didn't think I could possibly make it to the end of our 1 year lease, but I toughed it out and I'm soo soo thrilled that the day has finally come! And even better yet, the first night that we stay in the new house will be the night of our 1 year anniversary! It's the greatest anniversary gift I think we could ever give ourselves :) We've had the keys to the new place for about 3 weeks now so I have been very busy painting and sewing drapes etc. and of course packing. I got so excited about moving one night that I started taking decorative things off the walls and before I knew it our house was pretty barren...this was like 3 weeks ago and Dan came home and said...ummm I think you might have done that a little early... we still have to live here for a month ya know?... I then bounced over to him and said, I just couldn't help myself!! ;D It has been/will be very nice that we are able to move in slowly over the course of the last month because by the time we move our bed everything will be all set up and ready to go! I will have to post pics once we get all settled in. We are also very excited about how much money we will be saving (we are downsizing quite a bit) and plan on staying in this house until we've saved enough to buy our first house...could be a while but as long as we don't have roommates I am one happy camper.

I don't think there's really anything else to share other than that... getting ready to move has pretty much consumed my life the last month!

Until next time.....

Oh yeah, I'm actually supposed to do something here... :)

2009-02-16T12:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, so, I'm remembering now that when one has a blog, one must actually post to one's said blog.

Well, let's see here...

Recently I...

-Finished reading A Voice In The Wind (Mark of the Lion #1) and it was amazing! It took me several months to get to chapter 9, BUT, then only a week to read chapters 9-35... it was fantastic. I feel like I have much to learn from Hadassah's unshakable faith and serving attitude. Anyway, the end was so heart-wrenching I had to immediately start the next book, Echo In The Darkness, which I'm really enjoying so far, but haven't been taking much time to read, which I need to work on :P

also...

-Had to make a last minute trip out to Tennessee because Mama Fay (my grandma) passed away. I loved getting to see all my family and showing Dan my roots, or "place of our birth" as Zach (my brother) called it. It was really hard to say goodbye to Mama Fay but I know she is with her Lord and Savior and I can rejoice in that. We only got to stay from Fri night to Mon afternoon so we didn't get to go up to Kentucky to see Mom's side of the family, but my two aunts and my mom's parents came down to see us on Saturday so that was cool. I definitely feel like we need to go out there more, I hadn't been in 4 years, and that was way too long and this trip was way too short.

-I did get some really awesome antiques from Mama Fay's house, for now some of them are packed up safe and the rest of them are at Mom and Dad's house, but when I move into a new house in a few months where I don't have roommates to entrust my things to, I will take some pictures once I get them all up "decoratively" around the new house, wherever that may be! :P

-Oh yeah, and, I got fired. I knew it was coming, I only had about 45 minutes of work to do everyday and I was there for 8 hours... not so bueno. So when I came back from Tennessee I was at work for about 30-45 minutes and my boss comes in and says it's not working out and they're going to scale down and hire someone for part time. Why didn't they ask me to go part time? Probably because they knew I hated the job, (let's be honest, I hate being bored). It was a mutual separation.

Now I am home {PTL -shh don't tell! ;) } and getting caught up on a lot of things. Knocking things off the to-do list left and right, there's just so many things that need to be done between the hours of 9 and 5, it's silly.

-Getting ready to go to Hawaii in two weeks...and ya, I'm gonna leave it at that

here goes....

2009-01-20T11:55:00.001-08:00

Ok, I've always wanted to do a blog, so I stole this little snippet of fun-ness from Anna's blog to start it off! Enjoy! :)

ABC's of Lauren:

A. Attached or single? Attached... almost married for 3/4 of a year!

B. Best friend? My hubby and my sister, I don't know what I'd do without either of them... there's many more that I love very dearly, but too many to name!

C. Cake or Pie? ooo, toughie... I love cake... and I love apple pie, or strawberry pie... I guess it would depend on my mood

D. Day of choice? Saturday! no work!

E. Essential items? I'd have to say a sweater...I'm pretty much always cold

F. Favorite color(s)? Blue, Orange, Green, Pink...I love color

G. Gummy bears or worms? Hmm, they both hurt my teeth... how bout starbursts?

H. Hometown? Steamboat Springs... much love... still think Mom and Dad should move back there...

I. Favorite indulgence? Creme brulee...but like, really good creme, and I know my creme...also, sweet potato fries, ooo oo and artichoke wow, yum could eat that allllll day

J. January or July? Depends on where I am... if there's snow, January, if there's no snow but air conditioning, July... I'm difficult :P

K. Kids? love them... and patiently awaiting the day I am blessed with my own

L. Life isn't complete without? Jesus, my hubs, my family, yummy food, and lots of laughter

M. Marriage date? April 26, 2008

N. Number of brothers and sisters? One bro, One sis... but don't get me started counting my in-laws...we'll be here all day.

O. Oranges or apples? Apples!

P. Phobias? eek, surgery... bugs... car accidents (never been in one)... the dark--I hope the sun never goes down in Heaven...that would be fantastic

Q. Quotes? I'm not good with quotes... I remember a lot of movie quotes, and snippets from songs but as far as inspirational goes, just never sticks... here's some movie ones I like though... "He's going to touch the buuutt!" "I'm down, I've got the 411 and you are not going out and getting jiggy with some boy, I don't care how dope his ride is, my momma didn't raise no foo!" "There's a difference between like and love, like, I like my sketchers, but I looove my prada backpack -- but, I love my sketchers... -- that's because you don't haave a prada backpack -- oohh" "I've been called a boob, several times" "ASAP, sure, whatever that means, probably, Act Swiftly Awesome Packiderm!" "And that is why I pouch-school" "Roses are red, violets are blue, I'm a schizophrenic, and so am I" "One time she punched me in the face...it was awesome!" "Gulp" "I love lamp" wow, there's so many more, but I will stop now, don't worry :P

R. Reasons to smile? My niece and nephew are the cutest stinkin things on earth...and Bon Qui Qui loves Jesus, and so do I

S. Season of choice? Spring/Summer

T. Tag 5 people: Um.. what? Not sure how to do that

U. Unknown fact about me? I love sign language... a lot of people do know that, but some don't...if I'm at a church or event and there's an interpretor, I have to be able to see them, clearly, without obstruction... or I will move, but I'm also usually too nervous to actually go sign to someone.. I just eavesdrop :P

V. Vacation of choice? Anywhere outside the US...I love traveling

X. X-ray or ultrasound? X-rays are no fun because something is usually broken, or the dentist shoves those plastic thingys into your gums and that is not pleasant... so, definitely ultrasound, that usually means something exciting like a wittle baby!

Y. Your favorite food? Strawberries and Artichoke! (def. not together...)

Z. Zodiac sign? libra...but really, who cares? not me.