Running on the treadmill to nowhere

I have some catching up to do. I read both Catching Fire and the Mockingjay recently but I have not written a review for either. I haven't decided if I will. I also found a bunch of graphics mostly wallpapers that I made ages ago. That I will probably post this week. I will try to catch up.

Clockwork Prince Trailer

The book trailer for Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare is finally out. You can go here to watch it....

CP Trailer

I hate to say this but i wasn't impressed. Still excited for the book though!

Spoil Me!!

Thinking about it today I've come to realize I can't be spoiled. You could tell me the ending of a book and I will still read it because I want to know how the characters got there. Let's face it we usually have an idea that the girl and guy are going to end up together. Sometimes you don't which guy but your sure the girl is going to end up with one of them. I enjoy plot development when I read and it's hard to spoil that unless you read the book word for word to me. So go ahead don't be afraid...spoil me.

Tea and a movie

So I saw Breaking Dawn this Saturday and I have to say not bad. There was some cheesy music moments and a couple cheesy comments. A little bit too much reflective thought for me but for the most part it was pretty good. I don't feel like I wasted money but I have to say. I love where the ended it and how they did it.

Twi-not

I didn't make it to the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn last night. My best friend and I had plans to go but due to a family medical emergency it didn't pan out. So I'm curious and excited to go see it. Although I actually did not particulary like the 4th book as much as the others. I've noticed how my decline of love the books is the opposite with the movies. The movies seem to have gotten better and better as each one comes out. We will see.......

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.



Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love. " ~goodreads


Boy did I resist this book. I'm only mildly interested in the dystopia drama. It seems to have flooded the market kind of the same way vampires did after Twilight. After years of resisting and the constant insisting that I would indeed like it, even though I suspected otherwise.....I picked it up. That was the end of me, I cruised through the first half of the book the first day. Probably depriving myself of sleep more than I should have. There is just something about Suzanne Collins writing that makes The Hunger Games appeal to so many different demographics. I like to say that I am oddly addicted. When you really think about what the story is about you have to wonder about yourself. I found myself pretty anxious to get into the games and I don't even know why. I think it's so easy to identify with the characters that book itself almost gives you your own adrenline rush. This book is just an absolute must read and I find I can not explain my love for it any more than I can about Harry Potter. It is just that good.

World Prematurity Awareness Day Nov. 17th

It is easy to not really think about things that don't directly affect you. It doesn't make anyone a bad person it is just how it is. I was a supporter of the March of Dimes after my son was born. He was born healthy, happy and right on his due date but having him put the world in a whole new perspective. I never expected that my next child would be born prematurely. My pregnancy was perfect right on track until about my 30th week, then I noticed a large amount of swelling. At my next doctors appointment they put me on bed rest and sent me for a bunch of test. Even though my blood pressure was normal I turned out to have 3 times the amount of protein in my urine than even someone with pre-eclampsia would have. I was immediately taken to the hospital and everything escalated from there. I was 32 weeks pregnant and I managed to go from pre-clampsia to severe pre-eclampsia to eclampsia in a matter of days. My blood pressure was 173 over 107 with medication and they started pumping me with seizure medication. When my kidneys failed they came in to tell me that they were going to have to take the baby out. I still remember the complete terror I felt and I began balling. I kept thinking in my head can't they find some way to keep her in. I was lucky to have a terrific nurse who kept me as grounded as I could be in that situation. My daughter was born at 32 weeks and was 3 pounds 11 ounces. By some miracle she was able to breath on her own when she came out and I held her for a minute before they whisked her away to the NICU, due to my condition I was not able to see her again for the next 24 hours. When I was finally detached from enough machines that I was able to go down to the NICU my little baby was inside an incubator that had little doors on the side you could open and poke at her. She had oxygen tubes and a feeding tube going through her nose and had to be under the special lights. Despite the good prognosis it didn't make her being in the hospital any less scary nor does it make any less heartbreaking when you have to go home without a baby. In the United States 1 in 8 babies are prematurely and not every baby gets to go home like my daughter did. When I donate to someone like the March of Dimes I'm not just compelled by the fact that my daughter was a preemie, I often think of the little boy who was in the box next to hers. Only 2 pounds and had to be resuscitated at birth. Having a baby might not be on your radar but there might come a day when you find that you, a family member or a friend might be sitting in a NICU staring at their little baby in a box. Fighting for their life.

March of Dimes

Hungry for the movie

I have about 50 pages of The Hunger Games left that I will finish tonight. One of the reasons I finally caved in and read the book was because I really liked the movie trailer. So check it out.

The Hunger Games

The Avoiding Game

So I finally decided to stop resisting and read The Hunger Games. I'm not sure why it took me so long to pick it up but I'm like that with most popular series. Harry Potter and Twilight I was the same way and became an uber fan of both. So we will see how I feel about it. The libarians are telling me I have to give a report of my thoughts. So away I go....

What to read....what to read

I haven't quite decided what I want to read next. I was undecided then dived into Carrier of the Mark and finished it quickly. I was debating over rereading Breaking Dawn before the movie comes out this weekend but I'm not sure about that. So for now I'm undecided, until perhaps later tonight when the kids go to sleep and I can't resist picking up something.

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon


"From the moment she sets foot at her new school in Ireland, Megan is inexplicably drawn to the darkly handsome Adam DeRis. But Megan soon discovers that her feelings for Adam are tied to a supernatural fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that unites them could be their ultimate destruction." ~ goodreadsCarrier of the Mark gave me a little bit of Twilight deja vu. Girl moves to new town living with her dad. She is drawn to the mysterious boy who is a loner along with the rest of his family. Once it got off that track though it found it's own plot. I really liked what the made the family so "strange". I've always felt that things incorporating nature seem a little more realistic to me. In a whole if magic was actually real sense. I enjoyed the writing and the character development. I was a little confused on some of the bloodlines. I felt like I needed a chart but I got the jist enough to understand what was going on. I liked the ending even though some things were tied up in a manner of speaking it still left some unanswered questions. Question that I want to know the answer to and will definitely be diving into the next book as soon as it comes out.

A Need so Beautiful by Suzanne Young

"We all want to be remembered. Charlotte's destiny is to be Forgotten...


Charlotte’s best friend thinks Charlotte might be psychic. Her boyfriend thinks she’s cheating on him. But Charlotte knows what’s really wrong: She is one of the Forgotten, a kind of angel on earth, who feels the Need—a powerful, uncontrollable draw to help someone, usually a stranger.


But Charlotte never wanted this responsibility. What she wants is to help her best friend, whose life is spiraling out of control. She wants to lie in her boyfriend's arms forever. But as the Need grows stronger, it begins to take a dangerous toll on Charlotte. And who she was, is, and will become--her mark on this earth, her very existence--is in jeopardy of disappearing completely.


Charlotte will be forced to choose: Should she embrace her fate as a Forgotten, a fate that promises to rip her from the lives of those she loves forever? Or is she willing to fight against her destiny--no matter how dark the consequences" ~goodreads

I actually read this book a little while ago. It was another one of those Borders going out of business pick-ups. I couldn't resist the cover, it's almost like it glows.

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a happy ending and from the moment I started reading this book I knew.....I knew it wasn't going to be so simple. I put it down for an hour thinking I was mad at it, how could this be happening to Charlotte and then quickly scooped it up and read like my life depended on it. I had moments when I was angry at characters and moments when I was just sad. I loved Harlin's dedication to Charlotte even though she was acting out of sorts. This was a great example of sacrifice for the greater good but I honestly had moments where i was torn between wanting her to be selfish and wanting her to fulfill her Need. We all sometimes struggle to do the right thing, nobody is perfect. I loved that about this book.

Eve by Anna Carey

Eve by Anna Carey

"The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.



Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life." ~goodreads

I would have to put Eve by Anna Carey in my..I enjoyed it but not overly wowed...category. I really like the overall concept of the story. Having a plague ravage the world leaving few survivors that have to rebuild society. It's not something we haven't ever heard before but everyone puts their own twist on it.

It was an easy lighter read for me, which is not a bad thing. I could tell that this was the first book in a series because there were many questions left unanswered. I couldn't say the ending left me hanging from a cliff and salvating for the next installment but I did enjoy it.

I noticed some familar themes....Eve herself has a little Wendy from "Peter Pan" going for her, with the exception of having to fight of sexual advances. This of course is no Neverland though with the wild strays having a bit of "Lord of the Flies" going for them.

The romance was cute not epic but I did believe the chemistry of the characters.

I will probably read the second book because I feel an authors writing grows just as much as their characters do. So I'm curious as to how some of the issues will be worked out and how some questions will be answered. I wouldn't run up to you on the street and say you have got to read this book.

Mundie Moms Giveaway

I'm a big fan of this blog, being a TMI and ID lover......

"Enter to win a copy of Clockwork Prince via @MundieMoms 31 Day CP Celebration http://mundiemoms.blogspot.com/2011/11/infernal-devices-31-days-of-clockwork_08.html"

Cover Reveal

I'm not quite sure when this cover was revealed but it showed up on my goodreads today and I'm pretty excited.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.


But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.
True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus per­formers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead. ~goodreads

Wow. I have to admit I wasn't so sure how I was going to feel about this book. The enticing cover and rave reviews had me curious enough to pick it up at the store when I saw The Night Circus. I have to admit that I am very glad.

There is something magical about the writing style of Erin Morgenstern that I encountered in this book. I felt like the words had their own magical dance as much as the circus they were describing. I felt mystified by them. It was such a pleasure to read. The plot itself might seem like it moves along slowly but I don't really feel like that is the case. I think it's all in the way you read it. If you are look for that simple love story where two characters meet and make lovey dovey eyes at eachother, then ya the plot is slow. I think this book is so much more complex then that however. I was a little confused by the years at the beginning of the chapter, it did bounce around quite a bit. I really didn't feel like it made a difference as far as reading it though.

The love story in this was so unique in the fact that a large sum of it takes place without the characters even meeting eachother. Due to that fact you really feel their angst and their devotion to eachother. So when they finally meet you can feel the explosion of chemistry between them.

The circus itself was amazing. I'm reading to run out into a field and see if the circus has come to my town. The descriptions and the ideas for the acts were terrific with rich details. I am definitely a Night Circus reveurs and will be wearing my red scraf.

Once Upon a TV Show

I was home yesterday and decided to watch the first two episodes of Once Upon a Time....I haven't quite decided what to make of it. I'm all for modernizing and the fractioning of fairy tales, giving them new life but I'm not sure this show has hooked me. When they do flashbacks of what happened in fairy tale land it almost seems kind of cheesy. Which i think turns me off to it a little bit. Has a little bit of the Pleasantville feel, where everything is black and white and as they have "break throughs" then there will be break throughs of color. Of course there is only been two episodes and I do think it's worth giving it at least 5 episodes so we will see how it progresses.