I finished it!!!
It was AMAZING!!
After reading this book, it deposited me back into reality with a great big sigh!
I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book!
It grabbed me from the very first line: "It was November. Although it was not yet late, the sky was dark when I turned into Laundress passage."

Once I started reading this book, I couldn't put it down. I finished it in about 2 days... and that includes working an 8 hour shift yesterday!!

It is a fantastically written book, that completely transports you into a different reality.
I did nothing today except read. The whole family did nothing today except read.
All day long.
It was wonderful!
If you are needing a quick, fantastic, grab you, hold you book, well, THIS is it!!!
It is one of the best reads I have read in a very long time!
And, that is saying something!

The character development is AMAZING!!
You don't see the twists and turns coming. I am usually fairly quick at picking out the plot twists...
But this one had me!
I loved how she changed the narrators voice... It was soo subtle, that I didn't even realize it had happened until the climax!
Fantastic!!

I am a little disheartened at the fact that this is the only book that Ms. Setterfield has written. I would love to read something else by her, and can not wait for her next book!

Sometimes I think that I am crazy.
No.
Really.
When I can't find something, I get a little... Well, crazy.
I start obsessing, and until I find what it is I am looking for... Everyone else goes crazy.
For example, I am a complete nutter when it comes to the Things gameboys. They have lost about 4 games... Most of them from the move across country. So, because of that, I am constantly taking their cases, counting the games and then off I go, looking for the missing games. I know how many they have, and heaven forbid if there is 1 missing.

Its a curse.
My kids look at me, roll their eyes as if to say: "Oh great! Here she goes again..." Then we scramble around the house looking for the games, until they are found.
I can't stop.

I lost my black sweater.
It's new... I've only had it for about 1 month.
I wear it all the time.
I like it.
A lot.
Jefe thinks it's sortof dumpy... But I like it.
I had looked everywhere for the sweater, and I couldn't find it.
I washed all the clothes.
No sweater.
I went through the kids closet.
No sweater.
I looked under all the beds.
No sweater.
Do you see the crazy lady coming out?
I called my family members, and asked them if they had seen the sweater.

Holy Cow! I have turned into my Mother!
My Mom, when I lived in Illinois, would call me and ask me if I had seen things that she had lost. I would laugh... Cause usually I hadn't been home for about 6months.
That's me.

Mom told me to stop obsessing about the sweater and just realize it was gone.
I started to laugh and said: "And who do you think I get this from?" She was taken back and said "I don't know who?"
"Mother! You! Who wrote Thing 3's name on the white board because she borrowed a movie??"

I was obsessing.
I knew it.
But I couldn't stop.
I called my work to see if they had maybe found it.
Nope.
It was all I could think about.
Where did I wear it last?
Where did it go?

Jefe is patient with me... For only so long. Then he starts rolling his eyes as if to say "Who IS this crazy lady I'm married to? "

I bought a new sweater tonight.

Then I found my old sweater.
It was in the Things dress up buckets in the playroom. How it got THERE I will never know. I am just glad its found so that I can move on to the next thing that I have lost...

See.
I'm crazy.

"Your pencils are creating a health hazard. I could fall and pierce and organ."
- said by Dwight on The Office

Here it is again... You know the drill.

1. Lonely and Gone - Montgomery Gentry
2. What's Up - 4 Non Blondes
3. Look After You (Live) - The Fray
4. Memphis Skyline - Rufus Wainwright
5. Come Back to Bed - John Mayer
6. Green Eyes - Coldplay
7. Empty - Ray LaMontagne
8. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2 (greatest album EVER!)
9. Dearly Beloved - Faith Hill
10. Sweet Illusions - Ryan Adams

Bonus: Keep On Hoping (Feat. Raul Midon- Live) - Jason Mraz

Happy Halloween Kiddies! Did you collect your candy tax??

I hate it when blogger goes down.

I went scrapbooking on Saturday. I haven't paper scraped in over a year... And it felt good to be creating again. It took quite a while for the creative juices to start flowing again. I had to start out really bland and boring... But my mojo started kicking in--- right when it was time to go home. Oh well. I think that the mojo is still working, and I just may try and whip some more pages out today before work. The kids are off school today. I have heard that there are some places around here that I can take them to do some "inside" trick or treating... I think that may be just what the doctor ordered... CANDY.
How pathetic. And I wonder why I can't shake that last 20 lbs that I have been trying to loose. One of the reasons I gave up soda was because I had heard that you would easily drop 10 lbs. Well, I didn't.
Jefe has been telling me that "its a slippery slope, motherboard, a slippery slope." referring to the Soda issue. I had been drinking lemonade, then caffeine free diet coke... Then I got my sled out, and did a running start down that slippery slope!! Full blast!!
I got to the bottom, now I am climbing back up. Indeed it was a slippery slope.
I wonder what else I can give up to try and loose that weight before I actually have to start some sort of workout routine. I really hate working out. I don't mind walking. If I could get my act together enough, I could go early in the morning before Jefe takes off for work. I just don't have my act put together enough to do that. Oh well. Good thing I have that treadmill in the basement!!

I have been missing the mid-west lately. A lot actually. Jefe actually admitted that he missed things too. That made me feel better. I thought that I was the only one who missed it, and loved it there. We were driving to church yesterday, and someone was burning their leaves... You could hear everyone in the car breathe a heavy breath and sigh --AHHH--- It reminded us all of home.
Did I just type that?
Home?!
Do I consider the mid-west my home?
Huh...

Fall is the best time of year, especially in the mid-west. I have never seen such vibrant colors as I did back there. The pumpkin patches, the Apple Barns... The pumpkin donuts and apple cider. We have yet to find either here.

I suppose there are good things everywhere... I just need to change my attitude. Easier said than done. I am soo glad that one of my dearest friends from back there has moved here. We are able to commiserate together. She is also from here, and her spouse is also from back there... Our spouses are soo similar they could be twins! That's probably why we are all such good friends. Hopefully they will be moving closer to our town in this coming year!! That would be good for me. It gets a little lonely not having anyone to talk to. It's my fault. I don't put myself out there to get to know anyone... But I find myself being soo guarded. I have a hard time letting people in. It's easier to just observe.
Anyway... I scrapbooked this weekend. Here are the fruits of my labors.

I asked Thing 2 all sorts of questions, and came up with this page. I found the idea for it in the Simple Scrapbooks magazine. I have asked all the Things the various questions, and I think I will do each of them a page. I didn't think that Thing 3 would get the questions, but she did, and it was very enlightening. She definitely has her own opinions... I wonder where she gets THAT from??!

I LOVE this photo of Zoe. This was right after we opened our pool for the first time after moving into our home. She could see the chlorine dealy floating in the pool, and was chasing it trying to see what was in there. It was hysterical, because she would bark and bark, then jump up to see where the floaty deal was... Then run to where it was and bark some more. We were all in stitches watching our silly dog play.

I love this page of Thing 1... It was in the third grade, and she wrote this essay called "Improving the World". It was amazing, because her principal took her around to every class and had her read it. It was soo insightful for a third grader to write. How did she come up with these ideas? They weren't from me or Jefe... She just came wired like this... Just plain good.

This last page is the one where my mojo kicked in. Hopefully I can get back in the groove of scrapping. I need it. I think it will help me change my attitude. If nothing else, its good to be creating again.

Thing 1 looked at this photo and gasped "Oh my heck! That was SOOO long ago!" Yes it was dearie! Yes it was. However, it seems like just yesterday. This was when Jefe was in Law school. Doesn't he look like a baby himself? We were soo young, inexperienced and stupid.

Oh. Those were the days!!

Trick or Treat!
This would be my little Skater Dude, Dora, and my own personal Gypsy.
We had to do some major convincing to get Thing 3 to be Dora. She wanted to be a skeleton with "bleed". You know. The scarey mask that has blood pumping through it...
Yup. Thats what my cute little Thing 3 wanted to be.
A creature.
Thankfully Jefe was able to convince her that Dora would work!
Let the candy fest begin!!

My poor poor Thing 3...
She got stitches in her cute little lip last Sunday. We spent all day at the Children's Hospital here, and yes. It was horrid. Stupid me didn't think about not feeding her... I gave her a happy meal to eat on the way to the hospital, cause she was starving, and it helped to calm her down. Stupid me. That increased our hospital stay by 4 hours. She was a trooper, she just hated the man doctor. She called him the mustache man doctor. "I don't like him!" They had to find a lady doctor to come stitch her up, cause she hated that guy so much!

She looks so much better now! She got the stitches out on Friday. You can hardly tell. Whew. I was soo worried that her beautiful little face would have awful scars... But she's still beautiful!!

Hind sight is 20/20.
And thats all I have to say about that.

"Once I read a story about a butterfly in the subway, and today, I saw one. It got on at 42nd, and off at 59th, where, I assume it was going to Bloomingdales to buy a hat that will turn out to be a mistake - as almost all hats are." -You've Got Mail

You know the drill...

1. I Want You - Faith Hill
2. Soak Up The Sun - Sheryl Crow
3. Something To Be Proud Of - Montgomery Gentry
4. Lesson Learned - Ray LaMontagne
5. 1979 - Smashing Pumpkins
6. Mr. Curiosity - Jason Mraz
7. Wishing Well - JoDee Messina
8. Hope I Don't Fall In Love With You - Tom Waits
9. Somewhere In Between - Lifehouse
10. Sweet Jane - Cowboy Junkies

Bonus: Georgia Rain - Trisha Yearwood

"Life is pain, Your Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something."
- The Princess Bride

Won't someone come out and play with me?

1. Waiting On The World To Change - John Mayer
2. Louisana Bayou - Dave Matthews Band
3. 2001 - Melissa Etheridge
4. White Shadows - Coldplay
5. You Do Your Thing - Montgomery Gentry
6. Mississippi Girl - Faith Hill
7. Brass Monkey - Beastie Boys
8. Can't Get Enough Of Your Love, Babe - Barry White
9. I Wish - Jo Dee Messina
10. Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Katherine Mcphee

Bonus: Words I Couldn't Say - Rascal Flatts

This is my latest scrapbook page. I am trying to get more "jiggy" with my pages. I used a freebie kit from Shabbyprincess that I downloaded. My sister Islandmom told me about them, and I look there a lot... But have never been quite sure what I was supposed to do with the kits. I was proud of myself for being able to use different colors on this page...
That is a step up for me.
BIG TIME.
It took me FOREVER to do this page... But hopefully with time I will get faster. I need to get some more kits. I only have like 10... So I don't have much to choose from. I guess I will have to start collecting kits the way that I collect fonts. I am a font addict... Now I can be a digi scrapkit addict.

"It's a good thing I had a bag of Marijuana instead of a bag of spinach. I'd be dead by now."
--Willie Nelson

We went to the local nursery, and they had a wagon ride to go out into their fields to get free pumpkins... This was as close to a pumpkin patch that we could find. The kids loved it, and had a great time... You can't tell by this photo here, but Thing 2's new favorite thing is to pound his chest with his fist, then show you the peace sign... And yell "Peace Out." I'm not quite sure where he got it from, other than Sammy Sosa does something similar...

This is from our adventure today at the "Pumpkin Patch" with Island cousins.

The rule that we gave all the kids once we got out in the patch was whatever pumpkin they picked, they had to be able to carry it by themselves! Thing 1 and Anonymous Island Cousin picked the biggest pumpkin that they could find... And they could hardly lug them back to the wagon! It was fun to watch the kids laboring over which pumpkins they should pick. Then on the ride back to hear them holler, "OH! Look at that one! It's huge!!" Too much fun had by all!

"Life is a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what you're gonna get."
-Forrest Gump
Or as Thing 3 calls it "Run Forrest Run Forrest Run. Stop Forrest Stop!"

It's Random 10 Friday... A little late today. Are you going to play??

The flu has me singing the blues...

1. Politik - Coldplay
2. The Rescue Blues - Ryan Adams
3. Dear Mr. President - 4 Non Blondes
4. Singapore - Tom Waits
5. Louisiana Bayou - Dave Matthews Band
6. In Repair - John Mayer
7. Dear Someone - Gillian Welch/David Rawlings
8. Come Pick Me Up - Ryan Adams
9. Cab - Train
10. The Riddle - Five for Fighting

Bonus: This Love (Acoustic) - Maroon Five

I took the kids up in the mountains today with my sisters to get their photos taken. It was COLD! The leaves were all over, and you could smell fall in the air. It was great! I have great kids, and they were very cooperative... And photogenic! They had great fun chasing their cousins and throwing leaves on each other! It was fun for me to watch them play with their cousins--- in particular little Thing 2. He island cousin had soo much fun playing together... And they played soo well together. It was fun to listen to them play pretend... And every once in a while we would catch them holding hand while we were walking around... They really loved playing together... And they really love each other. It was fun to see them really get along... Just as friends!!

Here are some more pages that I have done...
I am having fun...
Can you tell??
Now, remember that I am NOT in any way shape or form as good as IslandMom, or Ima10cow (my babysis),or Ipaid10cows (bro-in-law) but I am working on it.
This is only my 2nd set of projects...
Maybe after a year or so, I will catch up with them...

Doubtful.
But hopeful!