Read-a-Thon pt. 2!

I haven't slowed down my reading rate and thought I'd share again! I tried to diversify my reading but I'm really stuck on Judith McNaught! She uses amazing words and creates characters that you love and hate all at the same time! I've got some new projects for this coming month so I don't know how many more books I'll get to read!
The Oath
by Lindsay Chase
(no picture)
--I actually read this the last 2 days of May but had already posted my other books. I loved this book. It's about a girl who is cut off from her family and pursues a medical career. It's set in the late 1800's when female doctors were unheard of so she's rejected by society and many others of her profession. It's an amazing book and I loved the characters. It was also interesting to look back at history and see how medical ideas and practices have changed since then. I highly recommend it!
Kingdom of Dreams
By Judith Mcnaught 464 pgs.

--This is one of my favorite books to date! It's technically the first in a "group" of books by Mcnaught and takes place in medieval times in Scotland and England. There's kidnapping, strong characters you love, a twist around every corner and a love story you can't pass up! The Westmoreland family captivates you with their intense personalities and the plots keep you turning pages! I definitely recommend this one!



Whitney, My Love
by Judith McNaught 736 pgs.
--Honestly, I didn't like this book. It's the second in the grouping with Kingdom of Dreams but takes place in the 17-1800's with the descendents of the Westmoreland's in in Kingdom of Dreams. I'm not really sure why I didn't like this book because I still loved the Westmoreland characters but something didn't click, I think part of it was because it was so unlikely. Who honestly meets a person twice and then signs a wedding contract with her dad before even consulting her?! Gentry thought it was ok, but she didn't really love it either. It is essential to read if you are going to read the last/3rd in the grouping at which point you start to appreciate this one!

Until You
by Judith McNaught 448 pgs.

--This is the final of the grouping and actually takes place using the same characters as Whitney, My Love but a couple years later. This one was amazing because it was totally different than all the others, not the same storyline with different names. The main character gets into an accident and gets amnesia. She wakes up and everybody thinks she's someone else so she begins to think she is that person too. I was on edge the whole time waiting to see how she would find out who she really was and what kind of fallout that would have. I loved this book!
Paradise
by Judith McNaught 720 pgs
--This was a breath of fresh air because it wasn't set back in the 19th century, it was a modern day love story. This one again was not quite as realistic as some of the others and I had a hard time with that but story overall was pretty good. The characters are upper class socialites and hard to relate to, but you're dying to find out what happens! In a power struggle over multi-million dollar companies an unlikely friendship emerges and there's mysterious danger scattered throughout. It's one of those that you read because, "why not?"


Shanna
by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss 672 pgs.
--This was a good book with pirates, kidnappings, boat races, and anything you can think of! It takes place in the Caribbean in an emerging society where life is carefree. Shanna is desperate not to marry for anything but love but her dad has a plan of his own. In a moment of panic Shanna makes a deal with a man bound for the gallows, but in an odd twist of fate he escapes death and is empoyed by her father. What ensues is an adventure neither expected! It's a fun book but the ending does drag a little bit. I'd say read it when you've got the time.




Never Look Back
by Betsy Brannon Green 287 pgs.

--Green is an LDS author and I honestly avoid reading any specifically LDS author because I think they are gaggy and cheesey and try waaaay too hard to incorporate LDS terminology and events. I first read Green in high school and actually quite enjoyed her book, Hearts in Hiding. This one I didn't really enjoy as much as the first one, but my boss has really gotten into her so I'm sure I'll be reading more of her books. It's a suspense thriller and you definitely don't expect the ending. If you don't mind LDS author's I'd say this is a good book for you.


Once & Always
by Judith McNaught 400 pgs
--It might sound redundant but I liked this one too!! This is definitely an on-the-edge-of-your-seat book. Lord Fielding, jilted by his first wife's disloyalty and kidnapping of his son is sent into a downward spiral but when the ship both are on he is devastated and vows to never love again. When Victoria is orphaned she goes to live with her distant uncle at Fielding's estate she is thrown into his life unexpectedly. Interesting events to follow....! I recommend it as a quick read!





Digital Fortress
by Dan Brown 384 pgs.

--This book honestly made me lose faith in Dan Brown as an author. I loved Davinci Code and enjoyed Angels and Demons but I could not hack this one. It's a scientific thriller using the most sophisticated of technology belonging to the US Govt. to track terrorists and other conspiracy's over the internet when suddenly they're in a death battle to save that technology. I originally bought it for Ethan to read so hopefully when he gets around to it he'll like it better than I did! I personally wouldn't recommend it but maybe you'll like it better than I did too!!



That's all for June...I'm off to start the list for July!

Words!!

Ok, I have this weird love for words and I don't know when it started, but I've always had it. I think it's part of why I love reading so much; there are sooo many words you can learn and store for later use! In the Judith McNaught books Gentry and my mom introduced me to there are tons and tons of amazing words I've never heard before and I'm learning tons! My latest word (and my word of the month) is.....

PERSPICACITY
-keenness of mental perception or understanding; discernment

That might seem a little anti-climatic but it made me hyper for about 10 minutes! I always have dictionary.com pulled up on my computer so I can research a new word when I find it! I absolutely love words!

No more Teens!!

Today is Martha's birthday. Pretty much she just rocks! I met Martha in 8th grade in our Foods class but we didn't really become great friends until high school in Mrs. Gardner's English class when she drew me a map to her house. (tuba house, not my house!) Man am I glad I met her! Without Martha who else would share my undying love of Elvis?! Who would have had sewing nights with me while we watched Elvis movies and other musicals!? Who would have endured choir tour with Erin and I bickering the whole time?! Who would have made t-shirts with me for every school event?! Who would have stuck with me through all the crazy stuff we did in high school?! Who would have gone golfing with me just because it was in High School Musical 2?! Who would have gone to the midnight release of Twilight and Harry Potter with me?! Who would have been brave enough to dye my hair out of a box!? Who would have gotten me ready for my wedding?! Who would have taken a class with me just to sleep through it while I took notes?! Without a friend like Martha I wouldn't be who I am today. She's made my love of life grow, she's cultivated my love of sewing, she's taught me to laugh at myself and she's been there when I needed her most and she's stuck with me through everything. Without my best friend, I don't know how I'd make it! Somehow we both managed to make it past the teens, though I don't know how! Happy Birthday Martha!!

Read-A-Thon!!

I've been reading a lot since school got out and I love it! I stayed up until 3 am last Monday night/Tuesday morning reading (yes, Ethan was gone!) and my mom couldn't even ground me! Gone are the days where she can hide my books around the house so I won't read anymore! I know I'm a bit of a nerd, but I love reading! I'm pretty open to any kind of book so if you've got suggestions send them my way!! In the meantime, here's what I recommend!

Loves Music, Loves to Dance
by Mary Higgins Clark

--It's a good thriller book and a pretty quick read. If you're prone to nightmares I'd be a little wary, but don't worry about it too much. It's about a serial killer in New York but has some pretty interesting twists. Not very graphic so you don't have to worry, but it does get into the killer's mindset, which I found more fascinating than creepy, but that's just me!




Considering Kate
by Nora Roberts

--Another pretty quick read, but I guess that depends on the person, a quick read for me is about 350-400 pages. An interesting romance I guess you would call it. I really like the main character, Kate. She's very determined and spunky. It's one of Nora Roberts' earlier books meaning it's cleaner and, thank goodness, has not been turned into a Lifetime movie!!



Big Stone Gap
by Adriana Trigiani


--One of my favorites to date. I absolutely loved this book! The main character is a down to earth, blunt, not afraid to say what she thinks, self-proclaimed spinster and I love it! From the minute I started reading I was laughing at the way she just states everything, point blank, and how she sees it! It's written in first person and it really helps you get into the characters and fall in love with them!


The Promise
by Danielle Steele

--Gentry recommended this one and I read in about 2-3 days. Not my favorite, as the ending left something to be desired but not a bad book all in all. The story line is interesting and the plot has a lot of potential. Gentry really really liked it, so the recommendation comes from her.





Something Wonderful
by Judith Mcnaught

--This is the one I stayed up til 3 am reading! I read it in one day and loved it!! It was a really good book set in about the 1800's and has very tumultuous characters that you fall in love with! It's one of those books you know what's going to happen but when it does you're screaming at the characters and have to keep reading to find out how it ends!! I highly recommend!





So Worthy My Love
by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

--This one was a little bit harder to read because it's set in medieval times so their speach is very different, but it's a really good book! It definitely falls in the category of historical romance but has quite a bit of adventure in it!! I borrowed it from my mom and it was really worn out so everybody else must has really loved it too!

The Honk and Holler Opening Soon

by Billie Letts

--This is a good story about a small town, the troubles of life and gives hope that there's always a way to get over it. The characters were interesting and were very developed and had such diverse backgrounds it gave a very interesting dimension to the story line. It took me a minute to get into it, but it was a good read and not too difficult.

So far those are all the ones I've read in the lovely month of May! I'm currently reading The Oath by Lindsay Chase which is about a woman in the late 1800's who is a doctor but is meeting some very stiff opposition. I'm hoping to have it done by the end of the week! One more plug, I highly recommend reading Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock. It's about a girl on a dairy farm in Wisconson and is way fun!! I'll have another review at the end of June!

Paris in the Springtime

The biggest perk we get from Ethan's job is free domestic flights (and almost free international flights) so in celebration of me surviving the school year Ethan took me to Paris!! It was the first time he's been back since his mission and he was awesome, still knowing the bus stops and speaking wonderful French! We stayed with a lady from his mission and she was soo kind to us! We went to The Louvre, where we of course saw the Mona Lisa, and lots of other amazing art. Unfortunately after being there for over 3 hours we got pretty turned around and started going in circles, which is not good on an empty stomach! After that we walked down the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triomphe! It was a very long walk but I loooove people watching so it was lots of fun! We also went to the Chateau de Versailles and I looooved it! I don't know all the history but I love going to historical buildings and soaking in everything that happened there. The smell of old wood, the creak of the floor, the vintage furniture, I love it!



Natascha was a great cook and had the missionaries over so she made Ethan's favorite which, honestly I don't know how its spelled but I would say Tart de Flete...don't ask. She also made Tiramisu LDS style (without coffee or alcohol) and it was really good! Friday was a holiday for them so most businesses and shops would have been closed so we went to Disneyland! It was so fun! It was interesting to see the difference in the rides from California, and I pretty much just get excited about Disneyland. As soon as we got through the gates I started running for the rides! Ethan thought I was crazy! I was really sick on Saturday when we went to the Eiffel Tower, but I held in strong and walked up 700 steps to the top! It was hard when I felt like my head was going to explode and my nose was beyond clogged, but I'm so glad I did it! The view was incredible! We ate at Mcdonalds the most because there are not as many cafes and such like you see in the movies, so we got a little desperate! The fry sauce was different and sweet and sour was called Chinese sauce and the Sprite was bitter...bearable, not horrible!




We went to see the Notre Dame on Sunday and it was a little bit awkward because they were holding Mass while all of us tourists were wandering around with cameras! Flash is not allowed inside any of the buildings so my pictures are blurred any time I took pictures inside, but this was worse because it was sooo dark in there! It was gloomy looking but I loved the architecture, I loved walking around the building and seeing the old age on the building. Some of the gargoyles faces were weathered off, but were still intimidating! We saw a guy in confession too, which made things a little awkward. The organ was playing during Mass and it was soo loud echoing off the stone walls and made the building even creepier! Sunday night Natascha made us a farewell dinner of ostrich steaks and fries, with a dessert of pastries from the Bulongerie (I don't know how to spell in french) and it was very good! It was really weird eating ostrich, but I'm not gonna lie, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be!

D I Y

Our poor little apartment has absolutely no storage space so I've drug Ethan around to several DI's and other furniture stores to find something that would fit in our tiny space, but to no avail...even at DI! We were flipping through the STACKS of weekend ads and coupons when we came across one for Big Lots. I'm not a big fan of Big Lots but lo and behold there was the cupboard we were looking for!! We rushed right over (after we struggled to remember where it was) and bought it! Ethan was then lucky enough to get to put it together! He got a little frustrated at time but in the end we got it all put together and I actually have a place to put groceries and a little bit of food storage!! I'd still like to find another cupboard of some type to put in the dead space under our bar but I'm still looking!















I tried to help but Ethan didn't exactly appreciate my methods so I resigned to taking pictures!

Ugh

Well, it's now been 4 weeks and we're just barely starting to resolve all the issues caused on that lovely day January 31. It was a Saturday and I was on my way to Wal-Mart to buy some groceries and find some fabric to finally finish my chairs (needless to say my chairs are still not done) and I got stuck in stop and go traffic in front of University Mall. As I sat behind a suburban minding my own business I looked up into my rear-view mirror to see a car speeding towards me only a split second before it hit me so hard I jumped the couple of feet between my car and the one in front of my slamming into the back of them!! I had seen the car before the impact so I took my foot off the brake and turned my wheel in a vain attempt to swerve out of the way so only the front drivers side hit the suburban, but unfortunately the back part of my car was smashed by the guy driving so recklessly. I immediately drove to my parents and spent a couple hours with my dad's heating pad and sharing my his ice pack for his knee he was using. I headed to the doctor's office Tuesday and was sentenced to a few weeks in a neck collar to help take the tension off my muscles. It's atrocious!! I'm going back to see him tomorrow and we'll see if I do physical therapy or chiropractic work! Always so much fun!

We're still waiting for the check from his insurance compnay to fix my car and for the girl who hit my car in the parking lot about a week before to pay for the damage she did to the OTHER side of the car!!