Summer Vaca

It's official.  I'm on Summer Vacation. 

I work for the school district and have summers off.  It kicks a@@.  Majorly.

The past week and a half of "free time" has been full of business.

 I'm having a party and have a ton of details to work out. 

I volunteered to help my son's class go on a field trip as well as in the classroom, as my awesome mother-in-law taught them about geology.

We needed our trees trimmed and had some fabulous guys take care of that.  We got a new Boxer puppy and have been like parents of a newborn, waking multiple times a night to let him roam the yard,.  (I will be very grateful when he is big enough to go throught the doggie door.)  Our other doggie contracted a hematoma following his neutoring and needed extra care.   I did an "extreme home makeover" for our best friend and spent today at a dear friends' baby shower, followed by a gathering at my neighbor's house, as she just lost her grandmother and we needed to come and drink with her.

I have not yet had a "down day" and won't until my 40th bday bash has come and gone. 

That's ok.  I sign on for the chaos and have to pay the piper.  I like over-activity and relish the days of non-commmitment that are coming my way in the near future.

I just finished watching "The Tourist."  I rented it on June 3rd, my bday, because it starred Johnny Depp and I have been obsessed with this man since 1987, or so, (since I was 16, owned my own tv and "21 JumpStreet" was on Sunday nights.)  Purrr.  This man makes my day, no matter what role he plays.  Didn't get a chance to watch it before it was due, so we burned it and it has been waiting until I had 1 1/2 hours to burn.  I watched it in two parts today and wasn't disappointed. 

Grrr.  Purrr.  Sigh.

Add Angelina Jolie and need I say anything more?!?  It was a good movie, filled with hyper-gorgeous people and a plot line I could follow.  Good stuff.

The days ahead are already filled.  Get my son to a friends' house for swim day, then to my bro's for a few days of "guy time."

Book chairs, tables and umbrellas for the party.  Make sure the caricature artist knows the hours we want him here for and find out his rate.  Remind the karaoke guy about the party and make sure he isn't double-booked.  Go to Costco and gather party necessities.  Go to Albertson's for the rest.  Obsessively clean things that haven't been cleaned in years.  There are people coming to this party who have never been to my house.  It's gotta look good.  And who knows what unexpected events will transpire?!?  Expect the unexpected has become my motto.

Sorry if you feel the above was disjointed ramblings.  It's 10:52 p.m. and I have had a full day of friends and parties.  It's all good!  Been awhile since I blogged, so I felt it's past due.  (I won't mention the numerous books stacked by my side, read and ready to be reviewed.  All in good time.)

Thanks for listenintg and enjoy your summer!!!

Bloody with a Touch of Angst

Since becoming a Middle/High School Library Media Technician three years ago, I have dived whole-heartedly into fiction geared toward these younger readers.  Beside an occasional Stephen King or Alice Hoffman novel, I find my fiction selections based entirely on what's right in front of me.  The Hunger Games Series, all 12 of the Cirque du Freak stories, The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, Skellig, to name just a few of the books I have enjoyed while chomping down my lunch, sitting at my desk, happy to eat and read in relative peace. 

When I hit the public library, I find myself in the Young Adult section, seeing what they've got and occasionally grabbing from there as well, especially the audio books.  Blessed audio books.  Nothing makes a commute more enjoyable than a good story. 

True, sometimes the younger fiction can bog down in emotions or simplicity.  I have to admit the same can be true for a lot of adult books as well.  What I am continually encountering is, however, Darkness.  Sadness.  Loneliness.  Alienation.  Being misunderstood by family and friends.  Love.  Passion.  Need and Want.  Having to choose between what the heart craves and what seems to be the more acceptable choice. 

At school right now, I am reading Crescendo, the sequel to Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.  Book one had all the "good girl drawn to the hot bad boy" that was found in the Twilight novels, but the sexual tension was turned up a notch, if that's possible.  High schooler Nora Gray is still reeling from the murder of her father when she is partnered with Patch, (the aforementioned hot bad boy) in Science class.  By the end of the book, she is in love with this fallen angel.  Literally.  He has the scars on his back to prove it.  In Crescendo, the drama continues and Nora thinks she sees her dead father all over town.  I haven't finished it yet, so I can't ruin the plot for you.  It's pretty good stuff, though.  Tasty over a bowl of soup during period 5 which is my blessed prep period and I am only interrupted about 3 times on average from my book and meal.

In my car today I just finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.  Seriously, how could I resist a title and cover like that?!?  I hadn't even heard of it before I found it on the library audio book shelf.  Mary lives in a small village surrounded by chain-link fence.  She has never been beyond its boundaries because they are surrounded by a forest which is filled by "the Unconsecrated", (read Zombies) and one bite will turn you into one of them.  Her father has disappeared and her mother gets bit in chapter one.  Mary has not been "spoken for" by a male and must go live with the Sisters (who rule the village with religion and rules).  While learning their ways, Mary uncovers some very ugly secrets.  A childhood friend, Harry, steps forward and asks for her.  Even though Mary is in love with Harry's brother, Travis, she makes the choice to become betrothed, despite her broken heart (on so many levels) and her craving to leave the village to find the fabled ocean her mother used to tell her stories about.  Eventually, Mary, Harry, Travis and some others must escape their village as it has been breached by the Unconsecrated.  This has to be one of the saddest books I have ever read.  There is about 4 % happiness and 99 % blood, horror, gore and gristle.  (I know that math doesn't add up, but it's true.) The end is a bit of a cliffhanger.  I am hoping for a part two from this first time author.  I will put it on my wishlist for the school.  The teens will eat it up.  I do have to say, however, that I hope they get a different narrator.  The girl who read it used the same voice inflection for commas as for periods and I was constantly re-speaking it in my head.  Very distracting. 

Today when I went to the library to return my latest story, I perused the children's section of audios.  I picked up some slightly more wholesome stories, both for me and my boy, who loves to listen to sleep at night.  I picked up Peter Pan (unabridged, thank you very much) in memory of the recently seen movie about it's author, J.M. Barrie.  "Finding Neverland" was a great movie;  one I will watch more than once.  Starring Johnny Depp (purrrrrr), it is heartbreakingly beautiful.  I also got The Wind in the Willows.  It's been on my son's bookshelf since he was an infant and we never really got into it.  I will start disk one tomorrow.  Maybe I'll let you know how it is.  Thanks for listening.