A Weekend at Home

Nick and I split up for the weekend and each went to visit our own families. We would have liked to both be in the same place at the same time, but well...we weren't.

I know that Nick had a nice time visiting with family and seeing some of his friends, but since he didn't take any pictures, and he isn't here to contribute, that is really all I can tell you. Maybe I will be able to get him to post a little something later...notice the MAYBE.

The reason I went home that weekend was to be in Montrose for Mom's 50.5 Birthday Bash! Her birthday is actually in January, but who can really travel or have a truly fun party in the dead of winter? So, she had a Half-Birthday Party instead. It was really a fun treat for her and for us! So many people came, and we had a lot of fun together.

Mom's first surprise were her aunts from Michigan! They flew in special for her party. These are my grandma's sisters, and they make a special sister trip each year to see one another. This year, the MI bunch came to CO! It was so great to see them all!

From left to right: Aunt Joan Kelli, Aunt Patti, Holly, Me, Grandma, Lisa, and Aunt Linda

Another special MI treat was Mom's cousin, Judy! She came, despite the crys of her children, to come and visit for the weekend. It was so nice to her here too, and I know Mom was thrilled!                        

Again, left to right: Lisa, Kelli, Eric, Holly, Me Dad, Judy, and Mom.

The party was a great turn out, and Mom (well, all of us, really) got another surprise when Bishop and Sister Moses walked in the door! I guess that all Siser Moses wanted for her birthday was to come to Mom's party! They moved to New Mexico years ago, so this was no small trip for them! It was really great to have them show up. They were some of the last to leave, and sat talking with Mom and Laura (Mom's bestest friend who came from Broomfield) until 11:30pm.

Holly had a genius idea to make Mom a Memory Jar. She got a pretty vase, and we filled it with 50.5 memories we had of our mother. It was fun to think of them and write them, and even more fun to read. We laughed and cried, and Stef was even ther via Skype!

Here are some more crazy picture from the weekend because that is how we do!

Book #22

Middlesex

By: Jeffery Eugenides

Let me be totally honest. I never would have picked this book up off the shelf if it had not been sitting on a display with the "Oprah's Book Club" sticker prominently placed in the corner. I don't know why exactly. The title and the cover really didn't interest me any, but we aren't supposed to judge a book by its' cover. The title actually carries two meanings in the story. It is the name of the street our character lived on, and it helps describe who Calliope/Callie/Cal is. He is a hermaphrodite, believed to be a girl at birth but actually a male. This story is Cal's story. The story encompasses the Stephanides' family history from the time Cal's grandmother married his grandfather even though they were also brother and sister. Right away, you think, ICK! Right? Okay, I did too, but they do have their reasons. Good or bad, right or wrong, the couple has two children. The oldest, Milton, marries his cousin, Tessie, and Cal is the second child of their union. The family history is interesting and tragic. The story of Callie becoming Cal is interesting. I will warn you, it is the entirety of the book. The narrator (adult Cal) allows the reader glimpses into his life now, but the majority of the story takes place when Cal is still Callie and struggles as an awkward girl with feelings for girls and being too tall and having too much facial hair. I enjoyed it! It was not what I expected, and it did take me a while to really get into the story, but it is a good read that can spark some good thought-provoking conversations. 

Book #21

Catching Fire

By: Suzanne Collins

Here we are. Another book that I have read. I know it has been a long while since my past book post, but this one took us a while to get through, and I haven't been reading like I should this summer. That is all about to change, I think. There has just been a lack of things I am finding interesting to read--which is not normal. Anyway, this book is a second read for me, and since it follows The Hunger Games, I read it to Nick. If he were here to type this post, he would tell you to skip the first 2/3rds of the book and just read the end. He is not here, however, so I will tell you the truth about this book.

There is not as much action in Catching Fire as one would expect after reading The Hunger Games. Nick was bored for the first part of the book, but that is because it describes in detail the turmoil that is happening around Katniss in District 12, and, of course, her personal turmoil. The Capitol, okay President Snow, is not happy with the outcome of the last Games. Katniss has defied the Capitol and all its' power by making it possible for both her and Peeta to win the Games. The people LOVE them, but the government does not. So, with a direct threat on her life and the lives of those she loves, Katniss must figure out how to save her family with the ever increasing security and violence surrounding them. Other Districts are rumored to be rebelling, and somehow, Katniss has become their fire!

If you have not read this series, READ IT NOW! The final book comes out next month, and I cannot wait for it to get here. Catching Fire leaves you gasping for breath and for more!

Another Disappointment?

I have to title this with a question mark because there is really no way to actually know at the current time whether or not I did or did not get this last job I interviewed for. In what appears to be true Texas style, I did not get a phone call on Friday to offer me a job, but I did not get a phone call that didn't offer me a job either. So, we have to opperate on the assumption that no call = no job. I guess we will just have to trust that this is the right thing for us right now. I know I have done all I can, and while I am not giving up on finding another job, I am operating with the idea that I will be subbing again this year. Okay. Fine. Not happy, but fine. I guess this will have to do.

A Rant

Remember when finding a prairie dog or a skunk in your backyard was cool? Remember how you just had to keep the dogs away and figure out how to help the poor little thing find its' way out of the window well or back to the field across the street? Remember when your neighbors didn't have roosters hanging out in their backyard in the middle of suburbia? I long for those days again, when I didn't have to listen to the crow of a rooster at all hours of the day. They crow at all hours of the day! Who knew? Certainly not this city girl. I do love me some nature--don't get me wrong--but I am NOT lovin' me some rooster.                                          

Today I am also not feeling like playing the grown-up game. Today I would really like to throw a hissy fit because things are not going the way I want them to. Today I want to be able to say exactly what I am thinking and how I am feeling to people and for there to not be any consequences to that. Today I don't want to be the bigger person. I don't want to be the grown up one. I want to be able to look right at those who are supposed to be my examples to live by and ask them what the heck they are thinking and doing. I just wonder why some people get to go through this world oblivious to how their choices and their words really hurt others, and the rest of us tiptoe around it as if it is okay. It's not okay! I'm not okay. I am frustrated, and I am upset. There is also nothing I can do about feeling these emotions except to try really hard to let them go. Don't think that I am not trying! I have been trying for months, but things keep happening, and I get hurt all over again. It doesn't help that my emotions are on a permanent roller coaster right now, and that ride is far from being over. So, today I rant and I will probably spend a good deal of time writing furiously and frantically in my journal to try and help ease my mind. It needs to be eased. There is a lot going on up there, and I need a place to store some of it before my head explodes!