Heather is Here!

Heather is here this weekend so next week I will have some pics and an update of what we did!

Book Review: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Poison Study is the story of a novice food taster Yelena. She escapes execution by obtaining the job of the Commander's food taster. The story takes place in a fictitious communist dictatorship. There is magic, fighting, a little romance, and lots of twists and turns. Yelena is a strong female heroine that leave you wondering if you would be tough enough to endure what she does.
Maria V. Snyder is an author that I have grown to really love. Poison Study is the first in a trilogy of "study" books. The sequels are Magic Study followed by Fire Study. In addition, Snyder has recently begun a spin off series for one of the characters you meet in Fire Study. I really like Snyder because she likes her own characters and understands her fans. I subscribe to her newsletter and she sends out awesome short stories every other month. I'm not a huge fan of those pretentious authors that have some kind of love/hate relationship with their main character or the ones who don't understand how attached people get to their characters. So far I can recommend all of her books. The most recent, Storm Glass, is not my favorite of hers, but I still love the world she has created and will continue reading her works.

My Book Queue

I am always looking for good book recommendations. Below is a list of my queue. Please make comments with any suggestions!

1. Starman by Sarah Douglass- This is the third book in the Wayfarer Redemption Series that Dianna Recommended to me. I would never have picked this book out on my own, but it's turning out really good. This just proves you never know what you will end up liking.

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Since I was an English major I got to read tons of classics, but there are a few I missed. I'm really looking forward to this one!

3. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Another Stephanie Meyer Recommendation. The sequel comes out next month so I need to get on it!

4. Betrayed by P.C. Cast - The second novel in the House of Night Series. These books are way too juvenile for me and I'm not a huge fan, but I'm one of those people that once I start a series I can't stop even when it's kinda painful. Please don't read unless you are still in high school. Save yourself.

5. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange - So I am a fan of Vampires, a fan of all things Jane Austen, and a fan of Amanda Grange. I am somewhat skeptical of this, but I'm going to give it a try.

Book Review: Mortal Instruments Trilogy

Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments Trilogy is a great urban fantasy series. She has a strong female heroine and manages to actually be humorous in the actions adventure books. It's a rare thing for a book to make you laugh remaining vivid and suspenseful. Her creativity seems unending and I am excited that she is currently working on another trilogy that is a prequel to this series. The first book took about 100 pages to really get into, but after that I couldn't put the books down. There are a few twists you really don't see coming and it really makes you examine familial relationships within society. These books have a little of everything including vampires, fairies, and warlocks, each with her own personal twist. This book was a recommendation I found from Stephanie Meyer and there are plans to make this series into a trilogy of movies. I worry that they won't be able translate it to film without looking cheesy (or creepy), much like Twilight. Hopefully, they can learn some lessons from that and make a earnest attempt at capturing the world Clare has created.

Check out here website here: http://www.mortalinstruments.com/

A New Trailer for New Moon for Your Enjoyment

Hill Climb 2009

So we were not able to go to the Hill Climb this year because I was working on my final exam, but we missed an eventful one. Unfortunately, there was an accidenton the hill this year with Ben and Aaron. Watch the video to see what happened. Don't worry though, they are ok. Just a concussion and 5 stitches for Aaron. No more hill for them!

3 Years and Still Going Strong

On June 10 John and I celebrated out 3 year anniversary. We are proud to say we have lasted longer than the average Hollywood marriage and have managed to avoid any major scandals. I was always frustrared because everyone kept saying that the first year of marriage was the honeymoon period and that it would get so much harder from there. For us, it has really been the opposite. The first year was ridiculously rough, but it has gotten better and easier every year. I would rather have it all uphill than all downhill from the first year. Happy Anniversary Poppy!

Delainey Meet Sammie and Katie

When the fam was visiting we also got the chance to introduce Lainey to the kids I used to nanny for. Delainey, as usual, was all about the bigger kids. Here are some pics.

June Catch-Up

Emily, Mom, and the irls came and visited in the begining of June for the week of my anniversary. We went to the beach and the aquaurium, and some other stuff that I can't remember because it has been some long. Delainey LOVED the sand. The water- not so much! But here are some pics for your visual enjoyment!

I'm Back!!!!

So I have been totally MIA for the entire summer, but for a very good reason. I have been taking a ridiculously hard course for grad school. It was supposed to be an intro to Homeland Security course, but I quickly learned that I was one of only two people in my course who did not have a government background. Therefore, I had a lot of ground to cover just to get to pace with the other students in my course. I had a minimum of 30o pages of reading a week. You may be thinking 300 isn't too terrible considering how fast I read. BUT I would like to respsectfully disagree. These were not 300 pages of a good book, or even a text book. These were 300 pages of dry repetative government reports. Not to mention, I didn't know the lingo and had to spent a lot of time googling acronyms. I am happy to say that it all paid of though! I found out yesterday that I got an A in my class. I was seriously wondering if I would be cut out to make a career change into this field once I finished my degree. The fact that this instructor rarely gives out A's really makes me feel like I can get a job in this field and I could be really good at it. It still have a long road ahead of me, but now I know it's not too late to try something new and if you work hard you can do just as well as anyone else even if they are a director of a governmenct security agancy!

One a totally different note I am going to start trying a few new things with this whole blogging hobby. In the past, I have made it more of a photo album, which I will continue with. Everyone likes to see pictures and it helps me when I go to scrapbook to remember the order of the events. However, I am also going to start including book reviews. Most people don't know I try to read one new book a week. (Yes, this is in addition to my schoolwork.) I am also going to begin a new tradition in September that I am totally stealing from my friends Krista. I turn 26 next month so am planning on spending the next year doing "12 Months to a Better Me." Each month I will try and make one lifestyle change then once I hit my 27th birthday I will re-evaluate how the mission went. My first order of business is to begin to track my diet. I have been doing weight watchers on and off for about 6 months. I have lost 10 pounds so far, but I will admit I have been wishy washy at best about it. So by tracking my weight loss monthly and putting myself out there hopefully this will motivate me to be more committed. So some months the changes I try to make will be physical, sometimes personal, and sometime spiritual. I really hope everyone starts leaving comments too with suggestions or personal experiences. I also start by catching myself up on my blog posting then we can start September fresh!