Jan 27, 2013

Room by Emma Donoghue *A Book Review*

I recently joined not one but two book clubs. One takes place here in the city in which I live, and the other an online group of ladies started by New Farmerette (Elaine).

I have to say that I haven't done this much reading in a long time. I really fell off the reading wagon after having kids. Just seemed to not have the time combined with my kids not giving me a quiet moment to  absorb what I was reading.
This has changed....sort of.

I have made the choice to change it.
This first review is of the book I most recently read for the first book club. Then next month I will be back to review the first book choice for the online group.
Looking forward to this.

Room by Emma Donoghue
At first I found this book to be a hard one to get into. I think it was the fact that the story is being told by a five year old boy. Once I became used to to that fact it became quite interesting.
I found myself unable to put it down, not wanting to leave poor Jack.
The story is about a woman and child who are being held captive in an 11x11 room. It goes through their daily routines to their escape and for Jack, dealing with an unknown world.
The boy was born in the room and knows nothing of the outside world. He speak about the furniture and everything in the room as if it were alive, with feelings. You find out that the mother has really not told him about the world outside, most likely to protect him and it would seem he is a fairly happy and intelligent child.
I found that the story flows quite well until about the middle, where I found that it all sped up. As others in the group mentioned, it may have done so cause that is essentially how things like this feel. 30 minutes feels like 5 minutes for example.
I don't want to give too much away about the ending so I will leave you with this...
Read it.
It is a quick and easy read.
It will change you.
You will have no choice but to look at your life in a different way.
What if.....




Next Months Books being Reviewed by Me are: 
BossyPants by Tina Fey
and
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield 
              

Jan 23, 2013

Today I Want To Runaway

You know those days.
The day that shouldn't have started in the first place.

Ya....one of those.
Today was that day for me. They don't happen often, but when they do I just want to scream.
I couldn't make anyone happy today. Least of all myself.
I said all the wrong things, although I felt I needed to be honest about my feelings.
I was the bad, 'your a mean Mom' today too.
Even though I am told that means I am doing what I (the Mom) am supposed to be doing.
So
Today
I
Want
To
Runaway.
To the mountains. They never are disappointed in me. And if they are, they never let on.
Tomorrow will be better....




Jan 22, 2013

Making Good

Ok
So in my last post I made a list of things that I wanted to focus on this year. No pressure to be perfect.
Somehow however I always feel a little pressure once I have announced it to the world. (sorry, too much credit given there....I am sure that the entire world does not read my blog)
First off...More conscious choices concerning food
Thankfully I am not alone in doing this one. My husband and I both are working together to make smarter choices. We are paying more attention to how we prepare food and what ingredients we are consuming. It is tricky however to convince our kids that this is a good thing to do. We aren't rigid in our approach though, and that is why I think that this will be successful in the end.
I have just started adding chia seeds to my diet. They are supposed to be chalk full of good stuff. Check out this LINK to read more.

Read More
I am currently reading...
BossyPants by Tina Fey 
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

I am currently finding both a little tough to get into, but they haven't lost me yet! 

Ah yes...Last but not Least...WINE

I have just finished downloading the lectures onto my ipad. I hope to start watching them very soon. Stay tuned!

But for my local friends I wanted to share a really great resource I was told about.
It is Liquor Connect
This is a great site that will tell you where to find any kind of alcohol you may be looking for. Just type the name into the search and then add where you are located. It will list the stores that are the closest to you that have had that item shipped to it.
AWESOME right?
This will be great considering some of the fancier wines are not stocked in my little hood here. This way I don't have to drive all over Calgary to find what I need.  
A huge thanks to the lady at the Liquor Depot who was tired of answering all my questions. :o) 

 

Jan 15, 2013

2013...A Fine Year You Shall Be!

Happy 2013!

Better late than never.

Right after NYE, I always have the need to steer clear of places like Facebook and Twitter.
It drives me crazy to see all these people making such a deal about the start of a new year. So many promises, so many expectations. I feel the disappointment before it hits.

What a lot of pressure to dump on a simple date change.

I would rather take the quiet route. Make small changes. Slowly and with intention.
Makes sense to me anyway.

In 2013 I want to:
1. Make more conscious choices concerning food.
-more 'from scratch' cooking
-less box store
-less prepackaged

2. Read more (something I seemed to have stopped)
-having officially joined 2 book clubs I think I am well on my way.
-check back here to see a once a month review!

3. Learn more about wine.
-pretty self explanatory


So this is my start to the year. No pressure or high expectations.
Just small steps forward.