Books on CD 2008

Ana's Story: A Story of Hope-Jenna Bush 4/5
Bright, Shiny Morning-James Frey 4.5/5
Cage of Stars-Jacquelyn Mitchard-3/5
Can't Wait to get to Heaven-Fannie Flagg-3/5
Christ the Lord: Out of Cana-Anne Rice-4/5
Dubliners-James Joyce-2.5/5
Every Which Way But Dead-Kim Harrison-3.5/5
Gods in Alabma-Joshilyn Jackson-3.5/5
Great Expectations-Charles Dickens- 4/5
Moby Dick-Hermann Melville-1.5/5
Oliver Twist-Charles Dickens 3.5/5
On Chesil Beach-Ian McEwan- 2.5/5
Skylight Confessions-Alice Hoffman 4/5
Sundays at Tiffany's-James Patterson 2/5
Sweet Potato Queen's First Big-Ass Novel-by Jill Connor Browne-4/5
Tess of the Dubervilles-Thomas Hardy 3.5/5
The Broken Window-Jeffery Deaver 4/5
The Husband-Dean Koontz3.5/5
The Island-Heather Graham-1.5/5
The Other Queen-Phillipa Gregory-4.5/5
Books on CD:20

Books That I Read in 2008

1984-George Orwell 4/5
A Lick of Frost-Laurell K. Hamilton- 4/5
And Then There Were None-Agatha Christie-3.5/5
Blood Noir-Laurell K. Hamilton 3.5/5
Chalked Up-Jennifer Sey 4/5
Crazy in Alabama-Mark Childress 4.5/5
Fahrenheit 451-Ray Bradbury 3/5
Greetings from Bury Park-Sarfraz Manzoor-4/5
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-5/5
Kissing Sin-Keri Arthur-3.5/5
Merle's Door-Ted Kerasote 5/5
Murder on the Orient Express-Agatha Christie 4/5
River Gods-Wilbur Smith 5/5
The Cider House Rules- John Irving 4.5/5
The Deep End of the Ocean-Jacquelyn Mitchard 4.5/5
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe-C.S.Lewis 5/5
The Queen's Fool-Phillipa Gregory 4/5
The Sorceress of Belmair-Bertrice Small 4/5
The Woman in White-Wilkie Collins-4.5/5
Twilight-Stephanie Meyer-4/5
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day-Pearl Cleage 4/5


Total # of Books Read this year: 21

Inscription at Rockefeller Center

“I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.

I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master.

I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.

I believe that thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.

I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order.

I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word should be as good as his bond; that character — not wealth or power or position— is of supreme worth.

I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free.

I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individual’s highest fulfillment, greatest happiness, and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will.

I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.”

John D. Rockefeller Jr.

Rest of my New York/Philadelphia Trip

On Thursday I got to go to Penn State with my Aunt and Cousin. My cousin is doing research at Penn St. using one of their greenhouses so I visited with him and saw some of his research. We ate at a really gool "build your own" burrito place called Neato Burrito.

Friday we visited Princeton, NJ. It is an adorable little town. We ate lunch at "The Original Soup Man". No Soup for You! That eveing we went to the Walnut street theatre to see Hairspray! Walnut Street Theatre is the oldest theater in Philadelphia. It is celebrating its 200th season.

Saturday I arrived back home! Yay. I was afraid that I would be delayed because of the sleeting/snowy weather. But my flight was right on time. Now back to work and getting ready for my last semester of school!

Update on 100 Things to do Before I Die

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." Helen Keller"

1) Go scuba-diving off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

2) Become a parent.
3) Visit Paris and go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
4) Go to a real theatre. 5/15/08 Chicago Theater to see "Wicked"
5) Take a hotair balloon ride.
6) Climb a mountain.
7) Christmas in New York.-12/08
8) Go to a major sporting event.
9) Visit the pyramids.
10) Go whale watching.
11) Visit Machu Picchu.
12) See the northern lights.
13) Visit a museum in London.
14) Attend the Olympic games.
15) Donate blood.
16) Try wine-tasting.
17) Float in the dead sea.
18) Go on a safari.
19) Walk on the Great Wall of China.
20) Take the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia.
21) Visit the Tower of London.

22) Eat jellied eels from a stall in London.
23) Run a marathon.
24) Send a message in a bottle.
25) Be present at a birth (of a child other than mine).
26) Hike the Appalachian Trail.
27) See the Niagara Falls.
28) Go to midnight premiere of a movie.
29) Cruise down the Nile.
30) Ride a camel in the desert.
31) Kiss the Blarney Stone.
32) Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
33) Drink beer at Oktoberfest in Munich.
34) See a musical on Broadway.-I did not see a musical, but I did see a show on Broadway12/16/08
35) Throw a huge party and invite every one of your friends.
36) Swim with dolphins.
37) Skydive.
38) Learn to speak a foreign language and make sure you use it.
39) Go skinny-dipping at midnight in the South of France.
40) Watch the launch of the space shuttle.
41)Be an extra in a film.
42) Buy a round-the-world air ticket and a rucksack, and run away.
43) Give your mother a dozen red roses and tell her you love her.
44) Be a member of the audience in a TV show. --I did this, I went to see a taping of Jeopardy.
45) Put your name down to be a passenger on the first tourist shuttle to the moon.
46) See Ani Difranco in concert.
47) Plant a tree.
48) Learn to ballroom dance properly.
49) Sit on a jury.
50) Go to Walden Pond and read Thoreau while drifting in a canoe.
51) Be someone's mentor.
52) Shower in a waterfall.-3/23/08--Didn't take a full shower, didn't get naked, but I definately immersed myself in a waterfall at the end of a caving expedition.
53) Be one of the first to take a flight on the new Airbus A380.
54) Spend New Year's in an exotic location.
55) Drive across America from coast to coast.
56) Make a complete and utter fool of yourself. --I do this too often!
57) Take a ride on the highest roller coaster in the country. --currently the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ
58) Go wild in Rio during Carnival.
59) Drive the Autobahn.
60) Spend Christmas on the beach drinking pina coladas.
61) Raft through the Grand Canyon.
62) Spend three months getting your body into optimum shape.
63) Attend one really huge rock concert.
64) Give to a charity -- anonymously.
65) Lose more money than you can afford at roulette in Vegas.
66) Visit the Holy Land.
67) Go to Auschwitz
68) Catch a ball in the stands of a major league baseball stadium.
69) Stay overnight in a Buddist Monastery
70) Visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial
71) Milk a cow
72) Visit Ground Zero in New York City-12/14/08
73) Protest
74) Take an archery lesson
75) Learn to water ski
76) Have coffee on a sidewalk in Paris
77) See Cirque Du Soleil live
78) Camp outside for a week
79) Go to a real Ballet
80) Enroll in a belly dancing class-done in August 2008
81) Ride a mechanical bull
82) Visit all 50 of the United States- visited 20/50 so far
83) Graduate college
84) Be an Oprah audience member
85) Help with a Habitat for Humanity Home
86) Go to a fashion show
87) Try fire walking
88) See the Acropolis in Greece
89) Watch Casablanca Completed 5/26/08
90) Learn to fly, get my pilot's license
91) Receive my black belt in Tae Kwon Do
92) Eat Chinese food in China
93) Get to my ideal weight again
94) Volunteer with an organization such as "Doctors Without Borders" and make a difference
95) Run with the bulls in Spain
96) Become debt free
97) See the Highland Games in Scotland
98) Stay overnight in an ice hotel
99) Drink tequila in a bar in Mexico
100) Ride horseback on a beach

New York December 2008

 I am currently in New Jersey visiting my aunt, uncle and cousins. She is really close to both Philadelphia and New York so we have visited both cities during my time here.

 She picked me up at the Philadelphia airport on Saturday. We went to the Reading Terminal Market after she picked me up to eat lunch. It was a huge bazaar type area with different foods available. We ate at a lunch counter run by an Amish family. We had a delicious Turkey Club sandwich.

 Sunday we went to New York an visited the site where the World Trade Centers fell. We also visited the church right across from the site that was untouched during the fall. This was were the volunteers and rescuers stopped in to eat and rest. This was number 72 on my things to do before I die list to visit Ground Zero. This was a very touching experience.

 Also on saturday we took the subway to Brooklyn and walked back on the Brooklyn Bridge. We also visited the New York Public Library which I loved. Very beautiful. During our travels on the Subway we saw some street dancers perform. I am always impressed at what people can make their bodies do! 

 That evening we went to the Times Square church. This church was started by a guy named Dave Wilkerson. He wrote the book The Cross and the Switchblade. The service was amazing. Very upbeat. Afterwards we ate at a Cuban Restaurant. The food was so good. I could not even begin to remember the name of my dish! 

 On Monday we went back to Philly and visited Northern Liberties. Which is a new trendy area of Philly that is still being built. My uncle owns several smoothie bars and is thinking of opening one there so we were checking out the area. We took some pictures in Love Park and visited a bazaar there. We also walked down South Street and looked at the shops. We also ate pizza by the slice at a tiny pizza place. The slice of pizza was about the size of a regular pizza! It was so big! We also ate amazing frozen yogurt know as "fro yo". 

 On Tuesday we went back to New York. We visited Rockefeller center and saw the skaters at the ice rink and read the memorial. We saw the beautiful tree all decorated for Christamas. This completes another "Thing to Do Before I Die" number 7 Christmas in New York. We walked up 5th Ave and stopped at Bergdorf Goodman, Tiffany's and FAO Swartz. We visited the Empire State Building and Times Square. Around this time is started snowing! It was beautiful. We got amazing deals to see "The 39 Steps" with the Student Rush deal. This was an on Broadway show that was a spoof of the Alfred Hitchcock movie. This completed number 34 on my list. It wasn't a musical that I saw on Broadway, but close enough! The musicals this time of year are outrageously expensive. We ate at a place called Spice that was an Asian Fusion place. I tried the Thai noodles but I was not crazy about them.

 Wednesday morning we go up and ate at Starbucks. Then we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I could have spent days and days here! It was beautiful. I got a chance to visit the Roman/Greek , Egyptian and European galleries. Then we ate at a famous pizzeria inside of an old church called John's Pizzeria. We returned to New Jersey on the Staten Island ferry.

 

 We are going to Penn State tomorrow(Thursday) and possibly back to South Street Philly on Friday and I come home Saturday. More later!

 

November Movies

Bridge to Terabithia-4.5/5

Doomsday-3/5

Four Christmases-4/5

Iron Man-4/5

Never Back Down-3/5

The Good Girl-4/5

The King of Kong-4/5

The Transporter-3.5/5

The Transporter 2-4/5

Turkey Trot 5K

The Turkey Trot went really well yesterday. I beat my last race time by 3 minutes. I ran the 5K in 26:20. The next race will be a 10K in March. The distance is going to be really tough for me but I am very excited!

Only 7 days

It is now approaching the end of the semester and I have not been running nearly as hard as I was back in September. It is only 7 days until my 2nd 5K and I am so nervous. My fitness level is still high, but I don't think I have improved nearly as much as I wanted!

Movies of October 2008

Robin Hood: Men in Tights-3.5/5
September Dawn-2/5
Smart People-3/5
The Nativity Story-4/5
What Happens in Vegas-4/5
Young Frankenstein-4/5

Goodbye Bellydancing

So, tonight is our last night of bellydancing. It was fun while it lasted but I am ready to move along to something new. I am not bellydancer material. I think yoga is much more of my speed at the moment. I will try that next.

Life

Ugh

Training Log

Okay, I won't bother you anymore with my training. If you are interested I have put a link to my training log down under my favorite links.

A Little Faster

Yesterday I ran the 3.1 in 29:12 one second faster than before. Whoo Hooo! I need to knock off 12 seconds. ..

Training

Saturday I ran 3.1 miles in 34:00 minutes. I ran with a coworker of mine who is not used to running so we ran slow.

Monday I ran 3,1 miles in 29:13. This is only 8 minutes slower than my 5K time. I am very sore this morning!

Tonight is bellydancing, maybe that will alleviate this soreness.

Running

I have to say that it is very difficult to find the motivation to run now that my 5k is over. I do have a race November 22 in Cartersville, another 5K and I want to improve my speed for that race.

I skipped Monday because I was still so sore from the race and camping/jumping in a swimming hole on Saturday and drinking too much and going bouldering/hiking on Sunday.

Wednesday night I ran 3.1 miles in 32:04 on the treadmill. Yuck, very slow!

Friday 1 mile on a trail outside my parents house. I contribute my slow time to the hills and rough terrain 13:04.

Roman Rumble

I was SO proud of myself completing my first 5K! I did not stop running at all (except once to tie my shoe) and I finished in 28:00 minutes. 3 minutes faster than my fastest treadmill time. I think that it was the adrenaline. This weekend we also went camping, which was so much fun and we jumped off a 25 foot jump into a swimming hole. I have to say that was one of the most terrifying things ever. To make that initial jump off and trust that you are going to hit the water the way you are supposed to. . .eek. . .Several firsts for me this weekend.

Bellydancing

So one of my "things to do before I die" was to take a bellydancing class. I never knew how uncoordinated I was until I took my first class last Tuesday! This is definately not as easy as I thought! But it is a great workout!

Monday

On Monday I ran 3.1 miles in 31:43. This is 30 seconds slower that my last 3.1 mile time.

4 Days Left!

I only have 4 days left until my 5K and I did not get to work out AT ALL this weekend. I had to go and do a craft show to try and make some money! I guess lifting boxes of marble does count as some sort of a workout but not running.

Training

I ran another 3.1 miles today and I knocked 1:30 off of my previous time. My time was 31:10.

Movies of August 2008

21-4/5
Awake-3.5/5
Batman Begins-3/5
Braveheart-5/5
Crush-5/5
Dan in Real Life-4/5
Fools Gold-3/5
Hellboy 2-3.5/5
Hellboy-3/5
Jumper-2/5
Semi-Pro-3.5/5
The Eye-1/5
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor-2.5/5
The X-Files: I Want to Believe-4/5

My First 5K

I ran 3.1 miles on Saturday. My time was 32:40. Not too bad, but definately could be better.

Too Funny. . .

People amaze me with their stupidity. . . .

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Ahh. . .I am so sore

Ran my timed mile yesterday. 8 min 43 seconds. Still down from my original timed mile. I think running on the treadmill is different from running on the track. I need to go back to the track. I am still having a hard time breathing during my mile and my lungs are on fire afterwards. But all this running has paid off. I lost another pound. I still have 6.5 lbs to go to my goal weight.

16 Days Left

I ran 3 miles today. Yay. I am going to chug some water. I had a horrible headache after Monday's run!

Training Log

I fell behind slightly at the end of last week because I started feeling bad on Wednesday night, so I skipped Friday's run and did my timed mile on Saturday. My mile on Saturday was 9:30. I gained a minute on my mile, but I think it was because I still felt under the weather. I did not run on Sunday due to family obligations, but Monday I ran 3 miles. I felt like I was going to die, but it was very rewarding because I finally feel like I can actually do this 5k! yay! Day off tomorrow and then Wednesday is another 3 miles.

Update on Reading Full Circle

completed titles in italics
River God by Wilbur Smith
Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage
Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
The Secret's of a Fire King by Kim Edwards
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier
Dark Angels by Karleen Koen
Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz

2.5 miles

Ran 2.5 miles yesterday in 29 minutes. Knocked 2 minutes and 30 seconds off my previous time. Yay!

Training

Saturday-ran 2 miles and walked 2 miles, 200 crunches

Monday-ran 2.5 miles in 31 minutes

My First Timed Mile

Yesterday I ran my first timed mile. Time: 8:31:56. Not great, but not too bad. Need to improve this time on each of my timed mile days. Only 28 days to go. 4 weeks. Yikes!

Training Log

*Ran 2 miles straight today, then walked 2 miles.

10 Books You Should Read Before You Die

I found this on AOL. Very interesting: (Bold are ones that I have read)

1. Gone With the Wind-Margaret Mitchell
2. Lord of the Rings Triology-J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Harry Potter-J.K. Rowling
4. The Stand-Stephen King
5. The Da Vinci Code-Dan Brown
6. To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee
7. Angels and Demons-Dan Brown
8. Atlas Shrugged-Ayn Rand
9. The Catcher in the Rye-J.D. Salinger
10. The Holy Bible

Apparently I don't have many books to go before I can die. . .

My First 5K

On September 13 I plan on running my first 5K race. I have never been a big runner before, but running is the best way for me to get into shape and commune with nature. I have 30 days to train. Yikes!

Yesterday 8/11/08-Monday-Day 1

*Jogged for 20 minutes, walked for 5 minutes, Jogged for 20 minutes-45 minutes total

update on Reading Full Circle

completed titles in italics
River God by Wilbur Smith

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson
Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage
Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
The Secret's of a Fire King by Kim Edwards
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier
Dark Angels by Karleen Koen
Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz

#80 Completed

80) Enroll in a belly dancing class-Belly Dance Basics Sept. 2 - Oct. 7 (TU)-Georgia Highlands

*I enrolled in a Belly Dancing Class today at Georgia Highlands College! Yay! We will see how this goes.

Movies of July 2008

Cloverfield-3.5/5
Matchstick Men-3.5/5
Moulin Rouge-4/5
The Darjeeling Limited-3/5
The Lady in the Water-3.5/5
The Notebook-4.5/5

100 Things to Do Before I Die

1) Go scuba-diving off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
2) Become a parent.
3) Visit Paris and go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
4) Go to a real theatre. 5/15/08 Chicago Theater to see "Wicked"
5) Take a hotair balloon ride.
6) Climb a mountain.
7) Christmas in New York.
8) Go to a major sporting event.
9) Visit the pyramids.
10) Go whale watching.
11) Visit Machu Picchu.
12) See the northern lights.
13) Visit a museum in London.
14) Attend the Olympic games.
15) Donate blood.
16) Try wine-tasting.
17) Float in the dead sea.
18) Go on a safari.
19) Walk on the Great Wall of China.
20) Take the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia.
21) Visit the Tower of London.
22) Eat jellied eels from a stall in London.
23) Run a marathon.
24) Send a message in a bottle.
25) Be present at a birth (of a child other than mine).
26) Hike the Appalachian Trail.
27) See the Niagara Falls.
28) Go to midnight premiere of a movie.
29) Cruise down the Nile.
30) Ride a camel in the desert.
31) Kiss the Blarney Stone.
32) Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
33) Drink beer at Oktoberfest in Munich.
34) See a musical on Broadway.
35) Throw a huge party and invite every one of your friends.
36) Swim with dolphins.
37) Skydive-http://www.georgiaskydivingcenter.com/
38) Learn to speak a foreign language and make sure you use it.
39) Go skinny-dipping at midnight in the South of France.
40) Watch the launch of the space shuttle.
41)Be an extra in a film.
42) Buy a round-the-world air ticket and a rucksack, and run away.
43) Give your mother a dozen red roses and tell her you love her.
44) Be a member of the audience in a TV show. --I did this, I went to see a taping of Jeopardy.
45) Put your name down to be a passenger on the first tourist shuttle to the moon.
46) See Ani Difranco in concert.
47) Plant a tree.
48) Learn to ballroom dance properly.
49) Sit on a jury.
50) Go to Walden Pond and read Thoreau while drifting in a canoe.
51) Be someone's mentor.
52) Shower in a waterfall.-3/23/08--Didn't take a full shower, didn't get naked, but I definately immersed myself in a waterfall at the end of a caving expedition.
53) Be one of the first to take a flight on the new Airbus A380.
54) Spend New Year's in an exotic location.
55) Drive across America from coast to coast.
56) Make a complete and utter fool of yourself. --I do this too often!
57) Take a ride on the highest roller coaster in the country. --currently the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ
58) Go wild in Rio during Carnival.
59) Drive the Autobahn.
60) Spend Christmas on the beach drinking pina coladas.
61) Raft through the Grand Canyon.
62) Spend three months getting your body into optimum shape.
63) Attend one really huge rock concert.
64) Give to a charity -- anonymously.
65) Lose more money than you can afford at roulette in Vegas.
66) Visit the Holy Land.
67) Go to Auschwitz
68) Catch a ball in the stands of a major league baseball stadium.
69) Stay overnight in a Buddist Monastery
70) Visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial
71) Milk a cow
72) Visit Ground Zero in New York City-Scheduled December 2008
73) Protest
74) Take an archery lesson-http://www.archery101.com/
75) Learn to water ski
76) Have coffee on a sidewalk in Paris
77) See Cirque Du Soleil live-from January 2 to January 18, 2009
78) Camp outside for a week
79) Go to a real Ballet
80) Enroll in a belly dancing class-Belly Dance Basics Sept. 2 - Oct. 7 (TU)-Georgia Highlands
81) Ride a mechanical bull
82) Visit all 50 of the United States- visited 20/50 so far
83) Graduate college-Scheduled for May 2009
84) Be an Oprah audience member
85) Help with a Habitat for Humanity Home
86) Go to a fashion show
87) Try fire walking
88) See the Acropolis in Greece
89) Watch Casablanca Completed 5/26/08
90) Learn to fly, get my pilot's license
91) Receive my black belt in Tae Kwon Do
92) Eat Chinese food in China
93) Get to my ideal weight again
94) Volunteer with an organization such as "Doctors Without Borders" and make a difference
95) Run with the bulls in Spain
96) Become debt free
97) See the Highland Games in Scotland
98) Stay overnight in an ice hotel
99) Drink tequila in a bar in Mexico
100) Ride horseback on a beach

Ya'll Come Back Now. . .You Hear?

Ahh, the play is over. The ending of a play is always a relief because you are exhausted but it is so bittersweet. The play went really well. One of the best audience turnouts of any play that I have even been in. 300 Friday and Saturday night and 230 Sunday. So nice to be back on stage again!

Hiawasee/Natahala

I had a wonderful weekend! Carmen, Andrew and I went to Hiawasee to visit my dad and stepmom who are doing the Georgia Mountain Fair. They rent a cabin right outside of Hiawasee in Warne, NC. The mountains were beautiful.



Friday night. . .

We drank a bottle and a half of wine and talked on the porch outside the cabin until the wee hours of the night. It was so relaxing and nice to get away and have good conversation and good company.



Saturday morning. . .

We drove to Bryson City, NC to go white water rafting on the Natahala. It was beautiful! Such a nice break from reality. Then that evening we bought a 24 pack of PBRs and played drinking games.

Sunday morning. . .

It was back to the real world. We drove home, stopping for so yummy BBQ on the way. Once we got back to Rome I had to work on projects for school all afternoon. . .yuck. . .

completed titles in italics

River God by Wilbur Smith

Gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress

What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage

Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris

Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

The Secret's of a Fire King by Kim Edwards

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson

Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier

Dark Angels by Karleen Koen

Dark Rivers of the Heart by Dean Koontz

Update

1990's-"The Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
1980's- "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving
1970's- "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
1960's- "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1950's- "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
1940's- "1984" by George Orwel
1930's- "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
1920's- "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
1910's- "Dubliners" by James Joyce
1900's- "Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1890's- "Tess of the Dubervilles" by Thomas Hardy
1880's- "King Solomon's Mines" by H. Rider Haggard
1870's- "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
1860's- "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
1850's- "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville
1840's- "Vanity Fair" by William Thackery
1830's- "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens

Movies of June 2008

Before Sunrise-5/5
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof-4/5
Into the Wild-5/5
My Fair Lady-5/5
National Treasure: Book of Secrets-4/5
The Golden Compass-3/5
The Orphanage-3/5
To Kill a Mockingbird-5/5

Classic Movies. . .

Citizen Kane
The Godfather
Singin' in the Rain
Lawrence of Arabia
Schindler's List
Vertigo
Raging Bull
Some Like it Hot
Taxi Driver
The Grapes of Wrath
To Kill a Mockingbird-6/20/08
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
A Streetcare Named Desire
Rear Window
West Side Story
The African Queen
Who's Afraid of Viginia Woolf?
Saving Private Ryan
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Spartacus
Sophie's Choice
Goodfellas
Pulp Fiction
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Ben-Hur
Breakfast at Tiffany's
My Fair Lady-6/7/08
An Affair to Remember
Out of Africa
Ghost
Pretty Woman
An Officer and a Gentleman
Funny Girl
The Postman Always Rings Twice
The English Patient
The Princess Bride
Body Heat
Braveheart
The Untouchables
Dances With Wolves
Amadeus
Rudy
Bridge on the River Kwai
Chinatown
Top Gun
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Dial M for Murder
To Catch a Theif
Roman Holiday
Chocolat

Merlin

My family lost someone very important today, our beloved cat, Merlin. He was almost 19 years old and he was very sick. We made the difficult decision to put him to sleep. I am too sad to talk about it now, but soon I will tell the story of Merlin. I know that Merlin lived a full, long life. . .here is a good poem that I found. . .

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you wake in the morning hush,
I am the swift, uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there, I did not die.
Mary Frye

Update on Decades Reading Challenge 2008

Completed titles are in blue italics:


1990's-"The Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
1980's- "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving
1970's- "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
1960's- "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1950's- "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
1940's- "1984" by George Orwel
1930's- "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
1920's- "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
1910's- "Dubliners" by James Joyce
1900's- "Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1890's- "Tess of the Dubervilles" by Thomas Hardy
1880's- "King Solomon's Mines" by H. Rider Haggard
1870's- "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
1860's- "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
1850's- "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville--reading now
1840's- "Vanity Fair" by William Thackery
1830's- "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens

Update on Movie Classic

1. Citizen Kane
2. The Godfather
3. Singin' in the Rain
4. Lawrence of Arabia
5. Schindler's List
6. Vertigo
7. Raging Bull
8. Some Like it Hot
9. Taxi Driver
10. The Grapes of Wrath
11. To Kill a Mockingbird
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
13. A Streetcare Named Desire
14. Rear Window
15. West Side Story
16. The African Queen
17. Who's Afraid of Viginia Woolf?
18. Saving Private Ryan
19. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
20. Spartacus
21. Sophie's Choice
22. Goodfellas
23. Pulp Fiction
24. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
25. Ben-Hur
26. Breakfast at Tiffany's
27. My Fair Lady-6/7/08
28. An Affair to Remember
29. Out of Africa
30. Ghost
31. Pretty Woman
32. An Officer and a Gentleman
33. Funny Girl
34. The Postman Always Rings Twice
35. The English Patient
36. The Princess Bride
37. Body Heat
38. Braveheart
39. The Untouchables
40. Dances With Wolves
41. Amadeus
42. Rudy
43. Bridge on the River Kwai
44. Chinatown
45. Top Gun
46. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
47. Dial M for Murder
48. To Catch a Theif
49. Roman Holiday
50. Chocolat

School

Back at school. I have one more year of school left and I am ready to be done! I have SO much coming up. So much work to do and I am so tired of it all. In have been going to school for 6 years now. Ugh. . .that is all I have to say. I am trying to just take it one day at a time.

That which does not kill me. . .

Movies of May 2008

3:10 to Yuma-4/5
August Rush-3/5
Casablanca-5/5
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-4.5/5
Forgetting Sarah Marshall-4.5/5
National Treasure-4/5
Sex and the City the Movie-5/5
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian-4.5/5
The Cider House Rules-4/5

My To-Be-Read Extended List

"A Confederacy of Dunces" J.K. Toole
"A Thousand Splendid Suns" Khaled Hosseini
"AWidow for One Year" John Irving
"Atonement" Ian McEwan
"Before Women Had Wings" Connie Maw Fowler
"Blindness" Jose Saramago
"Bridge to Terebithia" Katherine Paterson
"Cannery Row" John Steinbeck
"Couldn't Keep it to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters" Wally Lamb
"Empire Falls" Richard Russo
"Eyes of a Blue Dog" Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"Fast Food Nation" Eric Schlosser
"Fateless" Imre Kertesz
"Handmaid's Tale" Margaret Atwood
"House of Spirits" Isabelle Allende
"In Cold Blood" Truman Capote
"Keeping Faith" Jodi Picoult
"Lolita" Vladimir V. Nabokov
"Love In Time Of Cholera" Gabriel Garcia Marquez
"Me & Emma" Elizabeth Flock
"Middlesex" Jeffrey Eugenides
"Midnight's Children" Salman Rushdie
"My Sister's Keeper" Jodi Picoult
"Outlander" Diana Gabaldon
"Plain Truth" Jodi Picoult
"Possesion: A Romance" A.S. Byatt
"Prodigal Summer : A Novel" Barbara Kingsolver
"Running With Scissors" Augusten Burroughs
"The 158-Pound Marriage" John Irving
"The Alchemist" Paolo Coelho
"The Autobiography of Santa Claus" Jeff Guinn
"The Blind Assassin" Margaret Atwood
"The Time Traveler's Wife" Audrey Niffenegger
"The True Story of Hansel and Gretel" Louise Murphy
"The Way the Crow Flies" Ann-Marie MacDonald
"The World According to Garp" John Irving

Movies that I Need to Watch...

Finally watched Casablanca last night. It was an amazing movie that does not have the typical "fairy tale" happy ending, but I enjoy that. So I thought that I need to expand my cinematical horizons by watching more "must see" movies. I am using AFI: Top 100 Movies as a guide.

1. Citizen Kane
2. The Godfather
3. Singin' in the Rain
4. Lawrence of Arabia
5. Schindler's List
6. Vertigo
7. Raging Bull
8. Some Like it Hot
9. Taxi Driver
10. The Grapes of Wrath
11. To Kill a Mockingbird
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
13. A Streetcare Named Desire
14. Rear Window
15. West Side Story
16. The African Queen
17. Who's Afraid of Viginia Woolf?
18. Saving Private Ryan
19. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
20. Spartacus
21. Sophie's Choice
22. Goodfellas
23. Pulp Fiction
24. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
25. Ben-Hur
26. Breakfast at Tiffany's
27. My Fair Lady
28. An Affair to Remember
29. Out of Africa
30. Ghost
31. Pretty Woman
32. An Officer and a Gentleman
33. Funny Girl
34. The Postman Always Rings Twice
35. The English Patient
36. The Princess Bride
37. Body Heat
38. Braveheart
39. The Untouchables
40. Dances With Wolves
41. Amadeus
42. Rudy
43. Bridge on the River Kwai
44. Chinatown
45. Top Gun
46. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
47. Dial M for Murder
48. To Catch a Theif
49. Roman Holiday
50. Chocolat

Ewww. . .

Okay, I am really not a germaphobe, but why in the world would you let your child come BAREFOOT into a Veterinarians office? Can we say GROSS? Do people realize that dogs and cats pee and poop on the floor in here? We do clean up and disinfect but I would really hate to see the bacteria that is living on this floor. I am so grossed out right now.

My List of 100 Things to Do Before I Die

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." Helen Keller"

1) Go scuba-diving off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
2) Become a parent.
3) Visit Paris and go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
4) Go to a real theatre. 5/15/08 Chicago Theater to see "Wicked"
5) Take a hotair balloon ride.
6) Climb a mountain.
7) Christmas in New York.
8) Go to a major sporting event.
9) Visit the pyramids.
10) Go whale watching.
11) Visit Machu Picchu.
12) See the northern lights.
13) Visit a museum in London.
14) Attend the Olympic games.
15) Donate blood.
16) Try wine-tasting.
17) Float in the dead sea.
18) Go on a safari.
19) Walk on the Great Wall of China.
20) Take the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia.
21) Visit the Tower of London.
22) Eat jellied eels from a stall in London.
23) Run a marathon.
24) Send a message in a bottle.
25) Be present at a birth (of a child other than mine).
26) Hike the Appalachian Trail.
27) See the Niagara Falls.
28) Go to midnight premiere of a movie.
29) Cruise down the Nile.
30) Ride a camel in the desert.
31) Kiss the Blarney Stone.
32) Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
33) Drink beer at Oktoberfest in Munich.
34) See a musical on Broadway.
35) Throw a huge party and invite every one of your friends.
36) Swim with dolphins.
37) Skydive.
38) Learn to speak a foreign language and make sure you use it.
39) Go skinny-dipping at midnight in the South of France.
40) Watch the launch of the space shuttle.
41)Be an extra in a film.
42) Buy a round-the-world air ticket and a rucksack, and run away.
43) Give your mother a dozen red roses and tell her you love her.
44) Be a member of the audience in a TV show. --I did this, I went to see a taping of Jeopardy.
45) Put your name down to be a passenger on the first tourist shuttle to the moon.
46) See Ani Difranco in concert.
47) Plant a tree.
48) Learn to ballroom dance properly.
49) Sit on a jury.
50) Go to Walden Pond and read Thoreau while drifting in a canoe.
51) Be someone's mentor.
52) Shower in a waterfall.-3/23/08--Didn't take a full shower, didn't get naked, but I definately immersed myself in a waterfall at the end of a caving expedition.
53) Be one of the first to take a flight on the new Airbus A380.
54) Spend New Year's in an exotic location.

55) Drive across America from coast to coast.
56) Make a complete and utter fool of yourself. --I do this too often!
57) Take a ride on the highest roller coaster in the country. --currently the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ
58) Go wild in Rio during Carnival.
59) Drive the Autobahn.
60) Spend Christmas on the beach drinking pina coladas.
61) Raft through the Grand Canyon.
62) Spend three months getting your body into optimum shape. -Started 5/19/08
63) Attend one really huge rock concert.
64) Give to a charity -- anonymously.
65) Lose more money than you can afford at roulette in Vegas.
66) Visit the Holy Land.
67) Go to Auschwitz
68) Catch a ball in the stands of a major league baseball stadium.
69) Stay overnight in a Buddist Monastery
70) Visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial
71) Milk a cow
72) Visit Ground Zero in New York City
73) Protest
74) Take an archery lesson
75) Learn to water ski
76) Have coffee on a sidewalk in Paris
77) See Cirque Du Soleil live
78) Camp outside for a week
79) Go to a real Ballet
80) Enroll in a belly dancing class
81) Ride a mechanical bull
82) Visit all 50 of the United States- visited 20/50 so far
83) Graduate college
84) Be an Oprah audience member
85) Help with a Habitat for Humanity Home
86) Go to a fashion show
87) Try fire walking
88) See the Acropolis in Greece
89) Watch Casablanca Completed 5/26/08
90) Learn to fly, get my pilot's license
91) Receive my black belt in Tae Kwon Do
92) Eat Chinese food in China
93) Get to my ideal weight again
94) Volunteer with an organization such as "Doctors Without Borders" and make a difference
95) Run with the bulls in Spain
96) Become debt free
97) See the Highland Games in Scotland
98) Stay overnight in an ice hotel
99) Drink tequila in a bar in Mexico
100) Ride horseback on a beach

"Wicked"

Last Thursday night my cousin took me to see "Wicked" at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts in Chicago. I was really excited because 1) I had never been to see a "real" play at a "real" theater (I went to see The Nutcracker at the Fox Theater when I was 6 or so, but I think that I fell asleep) and 2) I read the book about 2 years ago and LOVED. The performance was amazing! I am not usually a huge musical theater fan, but the songs were fantastic and really fit the storyline and the actors were amazing. It really reinforced my love of the theater.

Things to Do Before I Die

Here is my list (so far) of things to do before I die:



1) Go scuba-diving off Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
2) Become a parent.
3) Visit Paris and go to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
4) Go to a real theatre. 5/15/08 Chicago Theater to see "Wicked"
5) Take a hotair balloon ride.
6) Climb a mountain.
7) Christmas in New York.
8) Go to a major sporting event.
9) Visit the pyramids.
10) Go whale watching.
11) Visit Machu Picchu.
12) See the northern lights.
13) Visit a museum in London.
14) Attend the Olympic games.
15) Donate blood.
16) Try wine-tasting.
17) Float in the dead sea.
18) Go on a safari.
19) Walk on the Great Wall of China.
20) Take the Trans-Siberian Express across Asia.
21) Visit the Tower of London.
22) Eat jellied eels from a stall in London.
23) Run a marathon.
24) Send a message in a bottle.
25) Be present at a birth (of a child other than mine).
26) Hike the Appalachian Trail.
27) See the Niagara Falls.
28) Go to midnight premiere of a movie.
29) Cruise down the Nile.
30) Ride a camel in the desert.
31) Kiss the Blarney Stone.
32) Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans.
33) Drink beer at Oktoberfest in Munich.
34) See a musical on Broadway.
35) Throw a huge party and invite every one of your friends.
36) Swim with a dolphin.
37) Skydive.
38) Learn to speak a foreign language and make sure you use it.
39) Go skinny-dipping at midnight in the South of France.
40) Watch the launch of the space shuttle. Kennedy Space Center
41)Be an extra in a film.
42) Buy a round-the-world air ticket and a rucksack, and run away.
43) Give your mother a dozen red roses and tell her you love her.
44) Be a member of the audience in a TV show. --I did this, I went to see a taping of Jeopardy.
45) Put your name down to be a passenger on the first tourist shuttle to the moon.
46) Send a message in a bottle.
47) Plant a tree.
48) Learn to ballroom dance properly.
49) Sit on a jury.
50) Go to Walden Pond and read Thoreau while drifting in a canoe.
51) Be someone's mentor.
52) Shower in a waterfall.-3/23/08--Didn't take a full shower, didn't get naked, but I definately immersed myself in a waterfall at the end of a caving expedition. 53) Be one of the first to take a flight on the new Airbus A380.
54) Spend New Year's in an exotic location.
55) Drive across America from coast to coast.
56) Make a complete and utter fool of yourself. --I do this too often!
57) Take a ride on the highest roller coaster in the country. --currently the Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, NJ
58) Go wild in Rio during Carnival.
59) Drive the Autobahn.
60) Spend Christmas on the beach drinking pina coladas.
61) Raft through the Grand Canyon.
62) Spend three months getting your body into optimum shape.
63) Attend one really huge rock concert.
64) Give to a charity -- anonymously.
65) Lose more money than you can afford at roulette in Vegas.
66) Visit the Holy Land.
67) Go to Auschwitz
68) Catch a ball in the stands of a major league baseball stadium.
69) Stay overnight in a Buddist Monastery

A New Format

I am thinking about taking a page out of my friend Carmen's book and switching this blog up a little bit. I am going to start posting all things about my life instead of just my reading information. My life has gotten a little more interesting since my divorce. Okay, ALOT more interesting so I don't have to live vicariously through books anymore. Currently I am in Chicago to visit my cousins and I am having so much fun.
Today we went to brunch, to get manicures and pedicures (which I never treat myself to at home) and then shopping up and down Michgan Ave. And then topped off the day with afternoon tea at the Drake hotel. I feel very British now.
Tommorrow night my cousin and I are going to see "Wicked" at the Chicago theatre which I am SO excited about.

More later,
S

Update on Decades Reading Challenge 2008

Completed titles are in blue italics:

1990's-"The Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
1980's- "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving
1970's- "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
1960's- "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1950's- "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
1940's- "1984" by George Orwel
l1930's- "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
1920's- "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
1910's- "Dubliners" by James Joyce
1900's- "Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1890's- "Tess of the Dubervilles" by Thomas Hardy
1880's- "King Solomon's Mines" by H. Rider Haggard
1870's- "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
1860's- "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
1850's- "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville
1840's- "Vanity Fair" by William Thackery
1830's- "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens

Movies of April 2008

American Gangster-4/5
Horton Hears a Who!-5/5
Juno-5/5
LOTR: The Return of the King-4/5
LOTR: The Two Towers-5/5
LOTR:Fellowship of the Rings-4.5/5
Music From Another Room-3.5/5
Run Lola Run-4/5
Sweeney Todd-3.5/5
Urban Legend-2/5
We Own the Night-2.5/5

Decades Reading Challenges 2008

Completed titles are in blue italics:
1990's-"The Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
1980's- "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving
1970's- "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
1960's- "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1950's- "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
1940's- "1984" by George Orwell
1930's- "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
1920's- "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
1910's- "Dubliners" by James Joyce
1900's- "Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1890's- "Tess of the Dubervilles" by Thomas Hardy
1880's- "King Solomon's Mines" by H. Rider Haggard
1870's- "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
1860's- "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
1850's- "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville
1840's- "Vanity Fair" by William Thackery
1830's- "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens

Update

Completed titles are in blue italics:
1990's-"The Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
1980's- "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving
1970's- "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
1960's- "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1950's- "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
1940's- "1984" by George Orwell
1930's- "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
1920's- "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
1910's- "Dubliners" by James Joyce
1900's- "Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1890's- "Tess of the Dubervilles" by Thomas Hardy
1880's- "King Solomon's Mines" by H. Rider Haggard
1870's- "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
1860's- "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
1850's- "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville
1840's- "Vanity Fair" by William Thackery
1830's- "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens

Update on Decades Reading Challenge 2008

Completed titles are in blue italics:
1990's-"The Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
1980's- "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving
1970's- "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
1960's- "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1950's- "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
1940's- "1984" by George Orwell
1930's- "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
1920's- "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
1910's- "Dubliners" by James Joyce
1900's- "Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1890's- "Tess of the Dubervilles" by Thomas Hardy
1880's- "King Solomon's Mines" by H. Rider Haggard
1870's- "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
1860's- "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
1850's- "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville
1840's- "Vanity Fair" by William Thackery
1830's- "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens

Movies of March 2008

Alot of movies watched this month! Netflix was working overtime!

10,000 B.C.-3.5/5
13 Going on 30-4/5
30 Days of Night-2.5/5
300-3/5
Amelie-5/5
Are We There Yet?-3/5
Atonement-4.5/5
Gone Baby Gone-4/5
Goya Ghost-4/5
I Could Never Be Your Woman-3/5
I Know Who Killed Me-1/5
License to Wed-3/5
Michael Clayton-4/5
MirrorMask-4.5/5
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium-3.5/5
Quills-4/5
Starsky and Hutch-3/5
The Business of Being Born-5/5
The Descent-3.5/5
The Other Boleyn Girl-5/5
The Wedding Date-3.5/5
Uptown Girls-3/5

Update on Decades Reading Challenge 2008

Completed titles are in blue italics:
1990's-"The Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
1980's- "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving
1970's- "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
1960's- "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1950's- "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
1940's- "1984" by George Orwell
1930's- "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
1920's- "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
1910's- "Dubliners" by James Joyce
1900's- "Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1890's- "Tess of the Dubervilles" by Thomas Hardy
1880's- "King Solomon's Mines" by H. Rider Haggard
1870's- "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
1860's- "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
1850's- "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville
1840's- "Vanity Fair" by William Thackery
1830's- "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens

Febuary 2008

American Pie Presents: Band Camp-2.5/5
American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile-3/5
Becoming, Jane-4/5
Blue Crush-3.5/5
Cold Mountain-4.5/5
Elizabeth: The Golden Age 5/5
Hairspray-4/5
Joe Dirt-3/5
Keeping the Faith-3/5
Rush Hour 3-3/5
Scenes of a Sexual Nature-3/5
Stardust-4/5
Sydney White-3/5
The Royal Tennenbaums-4/5
Transformers-3/5

Books of Febuary 2008

Books I've Read:

"1984" by George Orwell 4/5

Books on CD:

"The Sweet Potato Queens" by Jill Connor Browne 4/5

"Dubliners" by James Joyce 2.5/5

Update on Decades Reading Challenge 2008

Completed titles are in blue italics:

1990's-"The Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
1980's- "The Cider House Rules" by John Irving
1970's- "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
1960's- "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
1950's- "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
1940's- "1984" by George Orwell
1930's- "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
1920's- "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway
1910's- "Dubliners" by James Joyce
1900's- "Hound of the Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1890's- "Tess of the Dubervilles" by Thomas Hardy
1880's- "King Solomon's Mines" by H. Rider Haggard
1870's- "Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy
1860's- Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
1850's- "Moby Dick" by Herman Melville
1840's- "Vanity Fair" by William Thackery
1830's- "Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens

Movies of January 2008

Black Snake Moan-4.5/5
Bring it On: In It To Win It-3/5
Fun With Dick and Jane-3/5
Futurama: Bender's Big Score-3.5/5
Girl, Interrupted-4/5
Halloween 2007- 4.5/5
In Her Shoes-4/5
Jackass 2.5-3.5/5
Mr. Bean's Holiday-4/5
Pleasantville-3/5
Return to Me-3/5
The Devil's Rejects-4/5
The Last King of Scotland-4.5/5

January 2008

Books on CD:

"On Chesil Beach" by Ian McEwan 2.5/5

"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens 4/5

Books I've Read:

"A Lick of Frost" by Laurell K. Hamilton 4/5

"The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins-4.5/5