It is the middle of August and the weather is crazy here on the mountain. There was actually a winter storm watch out of the area north of where I live. It literally rained all night last night and is now only in the mid 40s....the mid 40s in the middle of August. I've seen it happen, not often, but I have seen it before. I feel a bit spoiled. While the rest of the country bakes, we have had very temperate weather and periods of rain all summer long. A blessing, and I'll take it!

I am glad I went out for my run last night while it was still just lightly sprinkling because there is no way I could be out right now. The mud would be ankle deep where I run and it is still raining. So, that brings me to one thing I don't want to do or even think about doing.....buying a treadmill.

My doctor advised me that buying a treadmill would be a wise thing for me to do. The running was made necessary by the PCOS diagnosis - which is never going away. I have to admit, I feel 100% better when I exercise like that and running in the snow during winter simply will not be possible, so buying a treadmill is the only answer I am afraid. If anyone out there has suggestions about what - or what not - to buy, please share. I am delving into territory that I have zero experience with and starting from scratch!

Since the weather is so yucky, I think today is the perfect day to curl up on the couch with a good book. I recently finished both of Lisa Kleypas' new novels - both were good but one was better than the other. I'll share my thoughts in a book review soon. I also read my first Teresa Medeiros novel, The Bride and the Beast. I liked it. An easy and fun read. Today, I am going to restart Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I was a few pages in to it the other day but got busy with other things and stopped. Today would be the perfect day to start all over again and read a good bit of it.

Happy Friday all! Have a great weekend!

Best of 2008....

The juggernaut that is Twilight:  A friend hounded me to read these books and when I got to the store to purchase them, I discovered they were in the Young Adult section.  I passed thinking that they were not for me.  My friend kept after me though and I ended up thanking her for keeping on me about it.  I loved these books.  They were romantic and wonderful to read.  You can read my review of Twilight at my books blog that I share with a couple of friends:  Awaiting Diana Blog

The Red Green Show:  A PBS jewel!  The first time I ever saw this show was the Christmas special, Red Green Does Christmas.  Bill and both laughed until we cried.  I have not laughed like that in a very long time!  A lovely show that I encourage you to check out if you have the chance.  You can also rent this show on DVD from Netflix - which is what Bill and I plan on doing this January ;)

PBS:  We have recently acquired a PBS channel and both my hubby and I enjoy watching on the weekends.  Now, I cannot say I agree with much of anything else PBS does, but I DO enjoy Masterpiece Theatre a great deal as well as a few of the other shows they air.  All in all, a good thing!

All Day Kindergarten:  Oh, did I hate the thought of sending my sweet daughter off for a whole day of Kindergarten at the beginning of the school year.  I almost didn't do it, but in the end, I know in my heart of hearts that Maya is a social butterfly and needs to be with other kids.  We live in such a rural area that school is her best chance for forming solid and meaningful relationships with her peers and other adults.  So, off she went - and she is thriving.  Her teacher is very pleased with her and so are we.  She is a star and her worry wart mother has nothing to worry about.  I am still not 100% convinced that all day Kindergarten is for every kid, but it works for my kids.

Facebook:  Facebook is a lot of fun - and most of the icky stuff that happens on myspace doesn't happen on Facebook.  I have a myspace account - for complaints only.  I actually use my Facebook account and have a lot of fun connecting with friends all over the world on it.  If you are not a member, consider joining.  It is a lot of fun!  You can find a link to my Facebook profile in the sidebar on this page.

hermit crabs:  I got roped into letting Maya and Owen have hermit crabs.  I didn't want to do it, but both of my kiddos love their hermit crabs - Broom Stick and Tiger are their names - and help me take care of them.  Over all, a lot less expensive than getting a puppy, and quite educational as well.  In the Spring, both kids get to get a kitten so I am sure the hermit crabs will be forgotten then.

Clairol Perfect 10 Hair color:  I used to always - always! - have my hair professionally colored but it is really expensive so I didn't do it all that often.  However, I seem to suddenly have much more gray hair that I used to have - and you all know that I am not going to put up with that, so - I decided to try at home hair color.

I was scared to death I was going to mess it up, but I haven't so far.  After trying a couple of different kinds of color, I have decided that Clairol Perfect 10 is the best.  The color is not flat.  It is very easy to apply and your hair feels great when you all done.  They even have a website where you can see all the colors and find what works best for you:  Clairol Perfect 10

Awaiting Diana Blog:  Awaiting Diana is a book review blog that I started with my friends Marja and Karol.  It is called Awaiting Diana because this is where we hang out while we await the latest novel from one of our favorite authors, Diana Gabaldon.  We are not a fan blog or fan forum - just a discussion group.  If you like to chat about books, please join us!  

Blog  or  Discussion forum

   

Netflix:  We live so far out from anything that renting movies is almost out of the question.  Enter Netflix, which is wonderful.  You simply sign up, add movies to your online que and enjoy.  The movies arrive in the mail and you keep them as long as you want - no late fees and no driving to the video store to return movies.  They also have *everything*  for every one.  The whole family takes turns choosing movies which is a lot of fun for the kids.  An inexpensive bit of fun the whole family enjoys.  Check them out:  Netflix 

I have few regrets about 2008.  One of my biggest is that I don't seem to be able to manage my time as well as some of you can.  I never seem to have time to do online things in particular.  For example, I have not been blog hopping in months.  It's awful - and I feel horrible about not visiting other bloggers out there.  Not sure how to rectify this, other than to look forward to when Owen starts Kindergarten in the Fall!  LOL

Best wishes to one and all for a safe, peaceful and prosperous 2009!

When I first saw this book on Amazon, my first thought was - Oh! That looks like a lot of fun. The possibilities are endless....

Little did I know that I truly would have been better off if I had lit my $14.00 on fire and saved myself the time I spent reading this book. Actually, I did not read *all* of it - I just could not take anymore.

The following is from the back cover:

Your name: Elizabeth Bennet. Your mission: to marry both prudently and for love, avoiding family scandal. Equipped with only your sharp wit, natural good sense, and tolerable beauty, you must navigate you way through a variety of decisions that will determine your own romantic (and finanacial) fate. Ever wonder what would happen if Elizabeth accepted Mr. Darcy's proposal the first time around? Or ran from his arms into those of Persuasion's Captain Wentworth? Now is your chance to find out."

In hindsight, what was I thinking?

Basically, as you 'travel' through this book, you are supposed to pick up 'points' that will show how successful you are at accomplishing the above 'mission'. Alright - but that seems a bit ludicrious to me so I chose not to keep score - I just picked which action I would do next as I went along. I got bored with this little game very quickly because, basically, if you do not follow just what Elizabeth Bennet chooses to do in the original novel, you fail. I was expecting some funny or clever reworkings of the original story, but alas....I was sorely disappointed.

My final word - don't even bother. If you must bother, send me a message and I will send my copy to you. I would be glad to be rid of it.

I personally do not visit the Austenfans site, but I promised to pass this along for all the Jane fans out there. I actually read this book and thought it was okay. You can find my review in the archives. Have a great day!

Attention Austenfans:

Have you visited www.austenfans.com yet? If not, make sure that you check it out today! Austenfans is a website dedicated to conversation and community comprised of all things Jane Austen.Right now, registered members at Austenfans.com have exclusive access to content and video clips from the filming of the Jane Austen Book Club (2007). The movie is being released tomorrow (9/21) in select U.S. cities and nationwide on October 5th.Registration is free and it gives you the chance to be one of the first to see clips from the movie before it comes out!If you need some extra Jane in your life, make sure to also take a look at the many continuations housed in the Jane Austen Sequels section of Austenfans.com. Also, please feel free to pass this message along to anyone you know who is a Jane Austen fanatic!

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I have actually managed to read these two books in the past six weeks. I am so impressed with myself! To top it off, I totally swiped this Frazy gizmo from my buddy Meg. Thanks Meg!!

I love Pride and Prejudice and really enjoy reading sequels and rewrites. As some of you know, my friend Sharon Lathan has recently published a Pride and Prejudice sequel. She and I are both fans of the above authors and I highly recommend both books.

Pemberley By The Sea is a modern retelling of the Pride and Prejudice tale written by Abigail Reynolds. Ms. Reynolds is a master of Pride and Prejudice rewrites and this one is no different. The only hiccup for me was the gang connections one of the main characters has. I did not totally buy that bit of storyline. Aside from that - this book is perfect!

Pemberley's Promise is a Regency era retelling of the Pride and Prejudice tale. In this story, author Kara Louise tells us how Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet meet enroute to America on a ship. Mr. Darcy is dashing as ever and the character of Elizabeth is right on in this book. A wonderful read!