It’s that time of year for resolutions. It seems, like most people, that I lose focus pretty quickly after the new year. Maybe I should change this to a monthly or quarterly endeavor? And only focus on a handful of things instead of trying to do and be and change all at once. I think I’ll start this off monthly until I get into the habit.
I was going to recycle last years’ resolutions (Healthy, Wealthy, Wise) but after reviewing them, some don’t really appeal to me any more…though I still like the sentiment. Here are this month’s resolutions. By month’s end:
Healthy
* Eat no more than 1500/day
* Exercise–anything counts–for at least 30 min. 3x per week (starting aikido tonight)
* Quit smoking (on day 2)
Wealthy
* Finish Luau Like a Local
Sage
* Learn to play 1 song on the uke
* Meditate a little every day
Well, we’ve decided to get rid of my glorious freezer that we got from Kirb & Kev when they migrated north. Sigh. It needs a new gasket but otherwise works like a champ. This kind of fridge would probably run you about $700 new. It’s got 4 wide shelves as well as door bins. Frost free. Auto defrost. Large capacity. Did I mention glorious? You’ll need to pick it up. Let me know by next Monday if you’re interested. After that, it’s going up on craigslist.
Day one of quitting smoking. Yesterday I was reduced to smoking butts. Blech. Having finished those, today I gnaw on tea tree oil toothpicks. I call this day one since no tobacco has entered my system at all. Who wants to lay bets that I’ll make it this time?
I hate starting a series that is not already complete. I didn’t know this wasn’t done yet when I started. And it looks like it’s going to be a long series given that 4 books haven’t even gotten us through the first year (freshman year of high school). Mom & daughter authors are going to milk this for all its worth. Good for them!
This is definitely a contemporary *teenage girl* fantasy series about vampires–complete with text messaging, “whatev” comebacks, and general angst. It’s kinda like coming home from school and watching “Charmed.” It’s not overly complex but still fun and entertaining enough to veg out reading for a little while.
In this world, vampirism has been identified as a genetic mutation in humans that some people have and some people don’t. Humans and vamps live segregated (think 1960s America with blacks/whites). If a human has the mutation, they suddenly develop a tattoo in the middle of their forehead, marking them. They have to get to a local vampire boarding school as quickly as possible to help them make the transition without endangering themselves or others. This is the story of young Zoey Redbird, likely to be the most powerful vamp of all time, if she can just make it through high school.
Get it here.
This was a much more polished story than the Twilight series and I enjoyed it a lot more. Maybe because the relationships were better developed, the story and characters a little more complex. Seems like I’m reading a lot of books lately that do pretty well in making the “bad guy” sympathetic.
This is the story of a mostly successful alien invasion of Earth by a parasitic lifeform that attaches to the brain and nervous system of its host body–humans–while retaining everything the host knows. They create a utopia where disease is non-existent, violence unheard of, money unneccessary. Usually, they completely overwhelm the human spirit(?)/personality(?)/soul(?) but occasionally they encounter someone who is resistent, strong. And this is the central conflict of the story of one such host.
Get it here.
I read this book, unfortunately, after reading the Twilight Series, followed by books 1-6 of the Wheel of Time series, followed by books 1-4 of the House of Night Series, and The Host in a the last few weeks. I never thought it possible, but I may have OD’d a little on the reading front. It might help if I paced myself.
When I started reading this book, I could tell from the opening paragraph, the first chapter filled with fantastic imagery, that I would like it. But I was also too word-weary to give it its due. I’ll have to try this book again one day. In any case, this is a story of the living, the dead, their relationship to each other and the struggle to live. It’s a gentle, deferent telling, almost lyrical especially in descriptions of the journey after death.
Happy to loan it out or feel free to buy it here.
So we got us some young cypresses (trees, not boys). Longish story when told by me. Anyway, they’re in our way and we need to get rid of them. We’re going to dig ‘em up on Thursday and pot ‘em for giveaway. Any takers? Let me know asap so I can post to freecycle, the civic association newsgroup, and craigslist.
