Showing posts with label hobbies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hobbies. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Read any good books lately?

Ok, Honey Bunch...this is for you. Don't say I never did anything for you. :0)
This is the list of books I have read since January {I think anyway...it's hard to keep track}. I love to read. I have been known to stay up until the wee hours of the night in order to finish a book. In fact, just the other night I was up until past 1:00 a.m. finishing off this one.....

This is the latest book by one of my new favorite authors, Stephenie Meyer. It was not at all what I expected it to be like. I knew it had to do with aliens taking over human bodies, but the story line was so intriguing and thought provoking it kind of took me off guard. It made you think about what qualities make humans truly human and perhaps if some of us don't act very humanely at all.
This one honestly, just looked interesting to me. I've always been curious about weegie boards, but never dared even touch one. Bad karma. The main character of this book is able to see and speak to the spirit of a man who was wrongly accused of several murders. Nobody else can see him but her, as she did the whole weegie board thing. The real murderer is back out on the prowl and so she has to try to figure it out with the help of a handsome policeman. Yeah, I know...typical story line. It was an ok book though.
This one was interesting. Two little twin girls are kidnapped. One is returned. The other is assumed dead. The one still alive appears to have some sort of "twin connection" with the other one, making some believe that her sister is really still alive and out there somewhere. Made me wonder if twins really do have that kind of connection. You've heard about twins separated at birth that knew they were "missing" something and ended up along similar paths in life. Weird stuff.
My friend, Alicia, totally hooked me up with this book. She literally brought it to my house. Now that I think of it, I read this in September. Oh well...can't leave it off the list right? I read the book in 2 days and borrowed the last two in the trilogy from her immediately after. I read the other two in only a couple more days. I couldn't put them down. When I was done with the third one, Eclipse, I was angry that the next book wasn't out already. I mean, seriously...what is up with making me wait? Don't they know I don't "do" waiting? Sigh.
This one was another mystery sort of book. A retired attorney, who is also a single dad, ends up having to come out of retirement to help out an old friend accused of rape and murder. Interesting storyline. It was ok.
Yes, Ashlee read the "devil books". My brother has not let me live it down. There was so much hype over these books and everyone just kept saying that you weren't supposed to read them or watch the movie....yada yada yada. I knew at some point, my book loving son would want to read them and I needed to be able to make an educated decision over whether or not I would allow it. So, I read the books. I'm an adult. If the books were really evil, I would figure it out pretty quickly and/or be able to look past the subtleties. It doesn't really get into the taboo stuff until the third book. But, honestly, whether or not the authors intentions were to portray man killing God or whatnot, I read it strictly as a fairytale. People can read whatever they want into pretty much anything these days. The characters live in a different reality, a different world actually. In their world, things are different. Their souls live outside their bodies. Anyway, it's all pretty much fictious and as long as it is read that way, there's not too much to worry about. It's kind of like reading into Narnia. Sure, one could say that the big lion is portraying Jesus, but really? He's just a lion. See my point? Anyway...the books were pretty decent up until the end of the third. I was seriously let down. Three books leading up to the big finale.....that wasn't so big. I was pretty disappointed. They weren't horrible, but not that great. Moving on....

Santa brought this book to my son this last year. Apparently Santa didn't pay too much attention because this book is way too old for an 8 year old. Sigh. Good times. Not old as in "too mature", just old as in....he wouldn't understand half the stuff or half the words. It's kind of like Harry Potter...made up words for a made up place. So, I stole it and read it. They said on the cover it was supposed to be like Harry Potter....not so much. The wizards don't really have powers. They summon demons to do their dirty work. I know, I know...here I go with demons and evil blah blah blah. They are not evil demons. They are creatures that are like nymphs and fairies and stuff. They are forced to do the will of the wizard that enslaves them. Got it? It was just ok. Perhaps a tween might like it.
Ah, yes. This fabulous book comes out in just a couple of days. I have been DYING for it to come out. I hope they don't run out of copies for me. Actually, I'll be in Boise this weekend, so I probably won't be able to even focus on getting a copy for myself until I get back next week. But then...I'm off to scavenge for one. This is book #4 in the Twilight Series. yes, the one I couldn't wait for, but was forced to because Stephenie hates me. Not that she really knows me, but if she did and she really loved me, she wouldn't make me wait. Right?
This one was wierd. But, apparently not wierd enough {or maybe just weird enough} for Hollywood. The movie version of it has already been made. It will be in theatres next October...meaning 2009. A teenage girl is raped and murdered {I know, again with the violence} and her murderer is never found. She goes up to heaven and is able to look down on her family and see what happens to them after her death. Like I said, weird.
This one was interesting. They made it into a "made for TV movie", which didn't do the book justice. They left out half the stuff. Sigh. A doctor ends up having to deliver his own baby one blizzardy night in the 1960s. Turns out, his wife was pregnant with twins. Though the first born, which was a boy, is perfectly healthy, the second born, a little girl, is born with downs syndrome. Back in that generation, people thought that this meant the baby would die soon after birth. The doctor, and new father, is afraid of what it would do to his wife to deal with that kind of loss, so he gives the baby to his personal nurse that is there to help him and tells her to take it to a home for people with this "disease". He tells his wife that the girl died. It destroys her. The nurse can't give the baby up and ends up raising her as her own. The book describes what life is like for both children and the parents afterwards. It wasn't my favorite book, but it was enlightening and interesting.
This book was almost the death of me. It was over 1000 pages long. Longest book {besides a text book} that I have ever read. Holy cow! Though the descriptions of the architectural elements were totally boring to me, the storyline was good. I was completely involved with the characters and their relationships with each other. It was interesting to see how they all affected each others lives.
I bought the book, Wicked, to take with me this weekend. Don't know if I'll have time to read, and really I should be reading my chapters for next weeks assignments instead, but I figured what the heck. This book is the same story as the musical, which I would love to go see. It is a twist on the whole 'Wizard of Oz' story, which is told from Dorothy's perspective. I am told this is the story of how the Wicked Witch became wicked. Sounds intriguing. I'll let you know!
What books have you guys read? I'm always looking for a new good one to add to my library.



Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Tune tag!

It's Tune Tag Time! Yes, another game of blog tag. I'm hoping through this that I will find some "new" music to add to my collection. I love music. Passionately. Music has the power to affect our very outlook on life. Which is why it's so important to listen to good, uplifting music. Though, it's also nice {when you are in a grumpy mood} to listen to a good screaming song that helps you let out your frustrations. :0)
The rules of this tag are simple...pick 5 songs from your Music Collection. Whether its' from your iTunes, CDs, online, whatever...the music you listen to. And then explain WHY. Why you love it. Post your picks and tag a few people of your own. Simple right?

Yael Naim, New Soul

Just found this song from the new MacAir Notebook commercial and can't get enough of it. I love songs like this that make you just want to sway back and forth feeling happy.

Josh Groban, February Song

Honestly, I could have put ANY of Josh Groban's songs on here. He has such an amazing voice. A truly talented man.

Hoobastank, Running Away

A little rock never hurt anybody. Hoobastank is one of those bands that I found several years back when I had a lot of frustration to vent.

I love 80s music period. Such a good decade for music. And dear Pat had a lot of good ones.

Vivaldi, Four Seasons

I grew up playing the piano and listening to my mom playing the piano. Classical music, to me, is just beautiful....calming. I am amazed at what talent these composers have/had. I hate that a lot of people don't "get" classical music. It's not boring. One song can describe a beautiful summers day {like Vivaldi's Four Seasons} or can contain a range of emotions from happiness to sadness to anger to grief. Just beautiful.

Hopefully you have enjoyed my selections! And now it's time to play....

1. Alicia

2. Montay

3. Bonnie

4. My Sistah's!

5. Cameron {gotta get a guy in here and he has quite the taste in music!}

Tag! You're it! So get going! I'm anxious to hear some good tunes!

*Remember to tag others when you post!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Mi, mi, mi, mi, miiiiii

All right everyone! Your next music lesson from Mrs. Burnham! :0)

Once again, I had the long drive...meaning the opportunity to listen to my "tunes" on my iPod. So, I'm sharing another great musician with you that isn't one of those "well known" ones, but that has an amazing voice, and great songs.

Chantal Kreviazuk is her name and she sings a couple of songs on some of my favorite Soundtracks. Like this one from the movie, Armageddon. Great movie, one of the best scenes from the movie too. Or this one from the movie, How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days. There's also this one, which I just recently found.


I love artists who not only have a great voice, but choose great songs. There are some really awful lyrics out there, so to find songs that are truly uplifting, or even just fun...makes my day! So, I'm passing it on! I hope you enjoyed your music lesson for today. Your test will be on Friday. (I'm just kidding....)

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Raindrops on Roses, and Whiskers on Kittens....

Ok...so maybe these are not a few of my favorite things. But THESE are!

I just LOVE a good bagel and schmear. Seriously...I could eat them every day. Oh wait! I do. Yeah....I have a yummy bagel sammy every day for lunch. Grilled turkey and cheese on the bagel of my choice. Today was jalapeno cheddar. I also love a good bluberry bagel with Vanilla cream cheese from Molly's. Mmmmm....hungry?

Coffee Creamers....I can't get enough of them. I put some in my hot cocoa every morning and it just makes my cocoa so creamy and yummy! My favorite is International Delight French Vanilla. I like their version of vanilla better than the other brands. I don't know what it is about theirs, but they win! And, I buy the fat free and put it in my fat free cocoa...you'd never know it wasn't the "real" stuff. Creamy, chocolatey and fat free!

Colored pens make me happy. Like these Flair felt tip pens by papermate. Or the RoseArt Colorsharp pens. Pick a color for your mood, or match your color to whatever you are writing on. I actually own the entire Zig Writer pen collection. Good stuff! And, these marker/pens make my handwriting look so much nicer! The world is not black and blue only, so neither should your writing!

Yes, I am addicted. And I hate, hate, HATE that they cut my season short! The writers strike is killing me! Anyway...I can't say that I have a favorite character, because they are all so good! They intrigue me. I do love Peter Petrelli love. He is adorable. He can be my hero anyday!

I just love my iTunes. Music means everything to me. Name a song and I can give you a memory that I connect with that song....or the movie it was from. I love playing that game. Whoever came up with iTunes was brilliant. All my hundreds of CDs now in one place, or I guess two as I put them on my iPod to take with me. I honestly love just browsing through the iTunes store and finding songs I haven't heard in ages that I LOVE. Ah.....sweet music!


Scrapbooking is a true passion! I can't wait until my basement is finished so I can have my room back. I've missed it and the spontaneous scrapbooking I was able to get done. It's been FOREVER since I've been able to do that. My pictures are piling up. I have boxes full calling to me. "Ashlee! Did you forget us? Please let me out of the box!" Sigh. My sisters and I will be running off to my mommy's house in March for a three day whirlwind of scrapbooking. No kids, just us scrapping, chatting and eating. I can't wait! You guys ready?

DARK chocolate. I can't help myself. The darker the better. 70%...oh yeah! And, it's better for us than regular chocolate. More antioxidants...I'll take them!

Shoes glorious shoes! I would love these for my collection. Aren't they cute? You can NEVER have enough pairs of shoes.

Reading is something else I'm passionate about, but I've talked about that before. As well as my love of movies.....So I won't bore with those. I figure you already know that about me. But what about you? What are some of your favorite things?

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Sew Simple!


Whoever made that phrase up really doesn't know anything! I am attempting to learn to sew. My very patient mother is teaching me. Together we found a "Fast and Easy" pattern of a cute jumper and matching hat for Mackenzee and bought the fabric and everything necessary to make it. She showed me how to cut out the pattern using the instructions and I KNEW I could do that part by myself.

Little side note here: Buy GOOD scissors! If you don't have ultra sharp, good scissors...you cut crooked. Which makes it hard to sew a straight line later on. Just so you know!

So, I cut the pattern out and had my mom come over yesterday to help me sew this EASY dress together. Several hours later, it's still not done. Sewing is NOT easy. It's not horrible. It will just take practice like anything else does. And I'm not giving up. There are too many cute things you can make out there! But, it's not what I was expecting. And it's kind of stressful when you know the stitch line will be showing for the world to see and you know you can't sew a straight line yet to save your life!
It will get better. And I WILL finish the dress by Christmas. All that's left is the hem line and edge work around the neck and arm holes. Just the hardest part. ;0) Not so sure about the matching hat, though I do have it all cut out. We'll just have to see how it goes.
Wish me luck!