Wild Kingdom!

Here I was thinking I lived in a nice normal suburb. Apparently, where I REALLY live is a Zoo.
I was getting ready for dinner and happened to look out my kitchen window. There, at my bird feeder was....a freakin' RACCOON! What's next? Deer? A moose?
And when I went out there screeching did the raccoon run away? NO! It looked at me like I was annoying it until I was almost right by it. I could have smacked the thing. I was waving my arms around and screeching obscenities like an idiot and it finally decided "whoa this lady's nuts" and ran away.
I would have taken a picture, but I kinda freaked out because I've only had that bird feeder for a little over two weeks and Racoon's can be destructive. I'm gonna have to buy me a new feeder that's critter proof.

Book Reviews

Because really, who has time to read bad books?

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

About: I'm going to give you just a brief summary of all four books. I don't want to share too much for fear of completely ruining them. This series is basically about the love story between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. When Bella moves to Washington state to live with her father she meets Edward. But Edward is different. He's a vampire. A good one. After he saves her from a car accident, she becomes involved with him, his "family" and the vampire world. In book 2, Edward feels that this new world is too dangerous (go figure) for Bella and he leaves her. Enter Jacob. Little does Bella know, Jacob too has a secret. Eventually Edward comes back and book 3 is about the love triangle. Book four wraps up the series and resolves any loose ends.

What I thought: After reading Twilight I became obsessed and read all four books (each one is approx 500 pages) in two weeks. I like vampire stories. I like love stories. Keep in mind while reading this that the main character (and intended audience) is a dramatic teenage girl. There were a few parts that I sighed and rolled my eyes about.

Read it? OMG you HAVE to! And do it by December when the movie comes out!

Rosie Dunne by Cecelia Ahern (also wrote P.S. I love you--great book!)
About: This book is about the unexpected path that Rosie's life takes as told entirely though cards, letters, and emails. These letters start from the time Rosie is a small child and continue thoughout her life until she is middle-aged. Her BFF Alex also plays a large part in the story and her decisions.
What I thought: I thought that the concept of letters makes for an interesting read. Rosie is a likeable character and you root for her through all her setbacks even if you are irritated with her decisions. She is someone you want to see happy in the end.

Read it? I think it's worth it as Rosie's character has flaws and has real obstacles that make you relate to her character a little better. I also felt kinship with the fact that her best and closest friend since childhood was a boy.

Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
About: Bounty Hunter Stephanie Plum is back! After an armed robbery to the tune of nine million dollars Morelli’s distant cousin Loretta is kidnapped. Stephanie must watch out for Loretta’s son, who looks a LOT like Morelli, and try to find Loretta before time runs out. Can this bumbling bounty hunter do it?
What I thought: This was not one of her best Stephanie Plum books, but I liked it nonetheless. It is a humorous, light, read where every person is a character.
Read it? If you’re a fan of Evanovich you will enjoy the newest one in the series. If you’ve never read anything by her before, read it….and then catch up!

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
About: (taken right from the book sleeve) When twenty-eight-year-old Lexi Smart wakes up in a London hospital, she's in for a big surprise. Her teeth are perfect. Her body is toned. Her handbag is Vuitton. Having survived a car accident-in a Mercedes no less- Lexi has lost a big chunk of her memory, three years to be exact, and she's about to find out just how much things have changed.
What I thought: I happen to like both chick lit and Sophie Kinsella's writing style so I really enjoyed this book. It felt like I was discovering Lexi's life right along side her. I also enjoyed watching her grow to accept the person she'd become and the path she had chosen to take and to make some major life changes.
Read it?: I think if you want a nice light summer read that's mildly humorous, go for it! It's a very quick read.

Mystery Of The Backyard Holes Solved!

The mystery is solved. Today I was in my backyard filling the bird feeders and found out who lives in the holes. It's a chipmunk and his name is Chuck.
This is what he looks like.

Well. Actually it's more like this.
I'm very relieved and now will not be forever banished from the backyard. So our total now is
1. flock of birds
2. family of bunnies (momma, papa, and two babies)
3. a chipmunk
4. a squirrel

I wonder if we can start charging them rent.

An Unwanted Tenant

OMG! I almost forgot! Today it has been one whole year that Spiderman and I have been in our house. Apparently now we have an unwanted tenant on the premises. So here's my question: Who lives in these holes? Do they look like snake holes to you? Remember, if it IS a snake I might NEVER SET FOOT IN MY BACKYARD AGAIN! Which would be sad. Maybe I could get a pet mongoose....like Rikki Tikki Tavi.

Or maybe it's a chipmunk. I sure hope it is.

My Busy Weekend

So far this weekend I've been pretty busy. On Friday night Spiderman and I went to my friend Brandi's house for dinner and games. I wanted to test out a recipe for Pico de Gallo and Guacamole that I found on The Pioneer Woman. Can I just say...she ROCKS! The Pico was SO tasty!
And the guacamole was PERFECT. We ate all of it!

Then on Saturday, my girlfriend Gina came to town with her newest little guy, Cooper. I got to meet the little pumpkin and give him his blanket, which I finally finished. It turned out pretty cute. After I was done stitching, I sewed some flannel to the back to make it nice and soft and baby friendly.
I am so relieved to have that finished. It took me much longer than I had anticipated. Later that evening I went to the NWI Bloggy Meet where I met SO many interesting people. I now have several new blogs to read and I think some new friends.
Here's the group picture of everyone there. Unfortunately the picture is blurry. My camera totally sucks. I really should get a new one...perhaps like Crooked Eyebrows. She has the coolest Nikon and I completely want it!!
All I have planned for today is about 5-6 loads of laundry. I know what you're thinking...Wow, super fun day! I know you're jealous.

Frankie Say What?

Because sometimes I need to be reminded.

Tomorrow I start a week's vacation!

Thursday Thoughts or Deep Thoughts by Spoon Full of Sarah

My headache disappeared today and I feel much better. I had a busy day with two different sets of Respiratory students from two different respiratory schools. I'm busily trying to get them in a routine in preparation for next week when I'm on vacation and they'll be at the mercy of a co-worker.
Also, last week I bought a finch feeder and a bird feeder for regular seed and put them in my backyard. This week it's like freakin' wild kingdom out there. We now have a flock of regular birds, a family of bunnies, and a squirrel all hanging out near the feeders. Lots of fun for kitties to watch.
As for my deep thoughts for the day...I was inspired by Susannah's post earlier this week. She writes of how hard it is to make new friends as adults. I find this to be completely true. As a shy little girl I always had a hard time making friends, but it seemed to be much easier then than it is now. I've never had very many close girl friends. I find them harder to relate to, more petty and more competitive, than boys. The close girl friends that I did make were almost always poor choices. I had some that stole/slept with boyfriends (or ex-boyfriends). I had others that would tell me I was fat, unintelligent or too weak and accommodating. They loved to point out my faults and tell me that they were "helping" me. Why did I remain friends with them? Because they had good points too. And they were different than me. They were BOLD and AGGRESSIVE (translate: BITCHES) And I believed most of what they said about me.
In High School I was terrorized by a group of former girlfriends whom I'd had a falling out with over not wanting to sneak into an R rated movie when we were 14. Because of this one incident I was subjected to:
*Phone calls where they would call me horrible names and/or threaten to kill me
*I had my locker changed 5 times my freshman year because they would wait for me there between classes
*They started rumors about me and sabotaged any new friendships I might form
*They drove by my house and screamed obscenities at me
*Physically threatening me at any after school function I might dare to attend (sporting events, or dances)
This lasted 4 years. Freshman and Sophomore years were the worst but by Junior and Senior years they slowed down to a trickle and started to leave me alone more.

As you can imagine, I've been a little wary of making girl friends ever since and still made a few poor choices in college. Today I only have a few girlfriends that I consider close friends.
Angela, Gina, Brandi, Tracy--You gals are the best and we don't get together nearly enough!
I so would like to broaden my friend horizons....but how do you do that?
As kids you would play with whoever lived on your block. When you went to school you would make friends with the girls in your class, or in girl scouts or whatever activity you were involved in. As adults where do you make friends? With the people you work with? I have a few, but that can be a slippery slope at times. Should I join a class or something? Yoga, scrapbooking, underwater basket weaving?
Maybe I should take out an ad:

WANTED: Married, 30 year old female, no children (yet) looking for someone to share movies, crappy TV, shopping, spa days and girl talk.

Wait...that kinda sounds like Spiderman.
If only he were a girl. (although I'm infinitely grateful that he is not since that's not the way I roll.)
Anyone out there have any other suggestions?