The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I recently read "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

I have to say that while reading it I found most of  the book riveting but I was very disappointed in the ending. It was anti climactic and didn't seem to fit the story at all.

Now I find the more I think about the book the less I like it. There was really no plot to speak of and the author left many questions unanswered. She often seemed to open up new paths for the book to take and then didn't follow through.

That being said the author did a fantastic job describing the relationships of the characters and showing how one tragic event can affect so many people. Even people not close to the tragedy. The characters were fully formed and their thoughts and actions were mostly believable.

Recommend?  - Yes
Rating?  - 3 out of 5

I don't hold out much hope for the movie since the most interesting and compelling part of this story was just watching the characters grow and move on... very little action and I don't think it will translate well on screen.

Another weekend comes to an end

Soon it will be time to head to bed and I will wake up too few hours later and have to go work. Guaranteed within the first three hours my stress level will be through the roof and I will be muttering nonsensical curses into the air every few seconds. 

I really hope I manage to get caught up at work this week... it's a terrible feeling falling further and further behind every week especially when there is nothing you can do about it. You feel so... impotent.

How I wish I could drag the weekend out just a little longer.

My To Do List

It took a few weeks but I have finally completed my To Do list. It consists of the 10 things I want to accomplish this year.

 1. Put aside 3 months worth expenses into savings

 2. Finish my scrapbook

 3. Buy a house

 4. Learn to play the piano

 5. Buy a new car

 6. Lose 100 lbs
 7. Take a trip (Disney Cruise or West Edmonton Mall)
 8. Buy a new camera
 9. Complete a photography course
10. Enroll Trin in Voice and guitar lessons

This is a pretty big list and one that will take a pretty penny to accomplish so I guess the first thing I have to do is find an additional source of income.... come on 649!!

I'll let you know how I do.

Silver lining

2010 has started out strong... two weeks in and we've already had a bank screw up to the tune of $85.00, we've had to bring the car to the mechanics, have the faucets fixed in the bathroom and now the main water valve in the basement is leaking!

As they say, however, every cloud has a silver lining. Although each of these things is annoying and inconvenient, none of them are as bad as they could have been. We'll be getting reimbursed that $85.00, the car didn't cost as much as we thought it was going to, the fixing of the faucet didn't cost us anything (thank goodness for renting) and the leak in the basement... well... at least it's just water on the floor. (not like when the sewer backed up last time).

So there it is... my little positive spin on annoying occurrences.

Now I'm off to clean the house in preparation for tomorrow.

Another day...

It`s another cold winter day here in Canada.

How nice it would be to be 7 years old again! I long to put on my snow pants, hat, coat & mitts and go gallivanting off into the winter wonderland that is just outside my door.

To build snow forts and snow men and snow angels and all the other marvelleous things which can only be made during this cold dismal season.

Funny how time changes ones perspective. Winter use to be a magical time and now it's just work!

As a kid a large snowfall meant a day off from school ; As an adult it means an extra hour in the morning to shovel the driveway and clear off the car.

Back then an ice covered sidewalk was a source of hours of fun slipping and sliding along with your friends ; now it means having to throw salt down before someone falls and you find yourself facing a lawsuit.

And of course Christmas was, at some point, the ultimate holiday. Two weeks free from school and a week into it you get a boat load of gifts you don't need and probably don't deserve. Plus you get to stuff yourself with all sorts of candy and wonderful food without worrying about calories. Now, of course, you work through the holidays and have to fit in a million extra tasks into your already hectic life. Go to the mall, wrap the gifts, send out cards, cook a turkey and wrestle some poor old lady in the middle of the grocery store for the last tin of cranberry sauce.

Why should the kids get all the fun? It may take a little extra effort and the willingness to put aside the to do list but perhaps as an adult we can still find some of that magic we use to relish as a child. Maybe if we could just put ourselves aside for a moment we could go sledding, have snow wars and laugh with friends. Find joy in the gray sky, and solace in the snow.

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderfully quiet Christmas this year. No major travelling, no endless parade of visitors,
just the three of us sitting around playing video games and enjoying each others company.

On Christmas Day after, opening presents with Andrew, we met Caleb's family at JJ Kapps for a Christmas Buffet Lunch and then went Gramma's to open gifts. Trinity once again was spoiled by her great Uncles and Great Grandma. Afterwards we went home to enjoy a little turkey with Andrew.

My family got together on New Years Day and had a wonderful dinner at Shelley's place.

Christmas' have changed a lot over the years and although I sometimes miss the hussel and bussel of a huge family gathering and the late night playing Euchre, I must say that a small quiet Christmas has an appeal.

We are now in a new year and a whole new decade. 2010 should be very exciting. We've come pretty far in the last 10 years and considering how fast technology is advancing I wouldn't be surprised if every home had full holodecks by 2020 :) I wish we'd hurry up with the Star Trek tech... I could really use a replicator!

I have big plans for 2010. I am going to get a new camera and take a course in photography and then I am going to go snap happy. By this time next year I hope to be 100 lbs lighter which is not going to be easy... the hardest part is actually starting! And I want to be in a position to by a home by next year as well. Those are my big three goals. It's going to take a lot of hard work and self control.

Hopefully I'm up to the challenge.