Reviews

I saw a chance to obtain some free books, not just any free books either. Books that you can't buy yet. How do you ask, do I get to have books that no one else can have? Well, I've been telling you all for years that I am special, so there.

No really, I entered a ?contest?, not really the right word, to be a

"ELLE readers prize fiction juror"

and I got it, woohoo me.

Not really a big deal, but like I said, free books.

I got the books this week, 6 in all. I have to review 5 of them and pick one to

be the favorite. I am excited to get started, but therein lies my problem . You see I had just traveled to the library and picked up 4 books to read. 3 fiction, 1 non. Now I have to read these other 5 books before the summer. What's a girl to do? I had already started reading a book, that I didn't really have much hope for. The newest by Stephen King, "Lisey's Story".

I personally have a love/hate relationship with this author. His books all start out very promising, but for me most of them just kind of fizzle out at the end.

There are a few exceptions, The Dark Tower series is one of my favorites of all times. I wanted to pick the first one up and start all over, the second I finished the last one, but that kind of follows the story doesn't it. Stephen King was also the first author that I, as a young pre-teen, actually sought out in the library so long ago. Which is another reason I always hold out hope for his books. Bringing me back to my point. I had already started his book, and with all his books was entranced in the beginning, so I decided to finish it, before going on to my free books. I got hooked into this book I couldn't put it down, it took me 2 1/2 days to read, but that is only because I had to do some kind of wife/motherly duties. Although yesterday I shirked quite a bit and read, read, read. "Lisey's Story" was awesome, in my humble opinion, one of his best. It was a relationship book, you know the kind, but it dealt with a bunch of relationships. He interwove the story amazingly, I couldn't put it down, not even in those natural chapter breaks. It does have the typical weird factor of his stories, and if you know anything about him at all, you know that alot of his stories are semi-based on his personal life, or feelings anyways. Even if you don't like him per se, you just might like this one. Try it out and let me know what you think. Or give me a good reason why you won't listen to me.

Catching Up

So I realized that my last few posts have been, ummm, I guess I could say .......informative. It reflects the recent changes I've been making in my life, so forgive my excitement for a bit, because I am sure there will be many more like them. But back to the origins, I will fill you in on what's been going on lately.

(my anniversary bouquet *sigh*)

School is rapidly approaching it's end, and I am as usual procrastinating, right down to the last minute, with our wildlife sanctuary. I have made a few improvements to my yard. I added a water source, and I have been rewarded to see many birds frollicking in it. A couple of new plants and such, but I'll let you go to my other blog for all that. However, my most favorite thing we encountered was this furry little guy in our compost bin. We rescued him, he was too small to climb back out after he got in, and then he trotted off like he owned the place.

The kids have been doing well, Ashton tests again this Friday, he will be testing for a brown belt. He was excited because this is the first time that he got to break a board with his hand, and he demolished it. Kenan, I hope, is thankful that he will be graduating 6th grade. His big plans for the summer include: surfing, and working on his Dragon Brothers blog. He may also give lead singer a try, you never know. Genevieve and I had an awesome girls night the other night, Aunt Jenna came too. We went to see Lady Sovereign, Akon, and Gwen Stefani play. It was very cool to get to take her. She loves music, heart and soul, and has already placed an order for her next show. I'll steal Jenna's word when I say she was 'awestruck' at the sight of Gwen.

Chad's birthday is on Tuesday, he has a couple of shows coming up in the next few weeks, very excited about that. I love him more every time I look at him, he is an amazing person. I am very grateful for the charmed life I lead, and especially grateful to those I choose to live it with.

Did you know? *warning*

Eating meat harms the planet. Consider how eating meat affects the Earth:


Water resources: Nearly half of all the water consumed in the U.S. is used to raise animals for food. A totally vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-based diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day.

Global Warming: Eating meat contributes to global warming. The massive amount of animal feces produced in factory farms is the largest source of airborne methane. According to the EPA, methane is more than 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.

Pollution: Farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population of the United States. According to the EPA the run-off from factory farms pollutes our rivers and lakes more than all industrial sources combined.

Energy: Of all the raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S., more than 1/3 are used to raise animals for food.

(taken from peta.org publication)

Just a little pause for the cause, so to say.

and I definetely won't tell you that..

The most toxic form of the poison arsenic is used in chicken feed because it promotes faster growth. The National Institutes of Health warns that this cancer-causing chemical is then ingested by people who eat chicken flesh.

Recycling

The kids and I, for Earth Day, learned how to properly recycle. We went to the local recycling company and procurred new bins for us and our neighbors. We received tips on how to recycle properly. Here are a few we learned:

1. plastic, cans, and glass go in the blue bin. (colors may vary for )

2. paper and cardboard go in the green bin. (each individual place)

3. water bottles are not recyclable, in most places, and take 6 liters

for every one liter of water to create because of the cooling process.

4. glossy newspaper inserts and magazines are recyclable.

We have a place on our counters that we taped blue and green paper with the instructions for recycling. This makes it very simple for the kids, and us, to remember what goes where. We just place the item on the corresponding colored paper. It's easy and the kids are doing an awesome job. As today is our trash and recycling pick-up, I have realized that in the last few weeks, since we have implemented this system, we have cut our actual garbage down to about 2-3 bags per week. (we also have a compost bin in the backyard, which helps with all the food scraps) I thought this was pretty impressive as we used to have about 5-6 garbage bags a week. As usual I am encouraging everyone to visit their local recycling company and see what you can reduce your garbage to.

Let us know.

Thanks.