Feeling Overwhelmed

Last week I was feeling good about school.

I had successfully completed 2 assignments and handed both of them in.

I had requested several library books to begin work on another assignment, this one being an essay.

I received the library books and hadn't even started to look at them when the library phoned this weekend to say that they are requesting one of the books back this week. Since I have to send it in the mail, I have to read the ENTIRE book in 2 days.

So I cracked open that book today, but was constantly interrupted by Ella. In fact I was on page 2 when she began bugging me.

Ugh.

And the interruptions continued ALL afternoon.

I have my first of 2 Psychology midterms next Monday.

I have several more assignments that are creeping up as well.

Where on earth will I find the time/energy to do it when there are small children at home?

Am I completely crazy, or will I be because of my decision to return to school?

In The Arms of Immortals: Review

The Black Death—Revisited

In Book Two of the Chronicles of the Scribe series, popular author Ginger Garrett

takes readers back in time to “the greatest natural disaster to ever strike humanity”

In another heart-stopping historical fiction thriller from the author of In the Shadow of the Lions, critically acclaimed author Ginger Garrett paints a captivating portrait of a time when terror ruled and faith was hard to come by. In the Arms of Immortals (David C Cook, September 2009) travels a richly imagined journey into a key moment of history…the arrival of the Black Death in Europe.

This story of unseen battle, loving presence, and eventual redemption begins when a strange ship docks in a medieval Sicilian harbor. That night an old man falls ill… then the baker’s wife… then a street urchin. By morning half the townspeople are dead and more are dying—horribly. And no one has a clue what is happening or how to stop it. Not the local priest. Not the rich baron or his powerful knight. And not the three women at the heart of this book: the baron’s proud daughter, Panthea, the outcast healer, Gio, and Mariskka, an unwilling visitor from another time.

Though the Church fights to stand between the plague and the people, the sickness is too powerful for a Church that will not allow medicine to be studied outside its walls. The Church holds a monopoly on healing and on God, but when neither rescues the people, the people lose hope in both, and the conflict between Science and Faith begins its long burn. In a time when the faithful have no answers and the faithless terrorize the countryside, only the bravest will dare hold on to a silent God.

The Chronicles of the Scribe Series are thrilling tales of an angelic presence called “the Scribe, the first writer”—dictated to a series of twentieth-century strugglers, but lived out in the pages of history. Each of Garrett’s novels in the series targets a different significant moment of the past—both its mundane reality and supernatural significance—with a special emphasis on women’s experience. Tautly suspenseful and deeply moving, In the Arms of Immortals will deftly lift readers into its fascinating narrative of angels and demons, mortality and immortality.

In the Arms of Immortals (Chronicles of the Scribe, Book Two) by Ginger Garrett

David C Cook/September 2009

ISBN: 978-0-7814-4888-8/softcover/304 pages/$14.99

www.davidccook.com www.gingergarrett.com

My Review: The author must have done a lot of research in this book. It was a interesting storyline. I don't think everyone would enjoy this style of writing, but it was still a decent read.

Extra Extra!

Today is when John gets paid.

Today he is getting some extra money.

His total net is over $13,000 today.

Thank you RCMP!!

(Do you think they will let us keep it?!?)

It appears that they made a slight error in the payroll this week.

I wish that this could happen more often in our favor.

Too bad we have to pay it back.

But it is fun to see that account balance and dream, even for a few moments.....

Completion!!

From this:

To This:

At long last, Brianna's quilt is complete!

There was a lot of blood, sweat and tears poured into this thing.

I looked back at my old blog and I first mentioned it in April 2008. So it has been about 1 1/2 years of work.

Granted, a lot of the time I have neglected it.

I needed to teach my stupid sewing machine a lesson that I will not use it unless it cooperates with me!

Apparently I gave it enough time to realize that I was serious.

When I started it up again a couple of weeks ago, it worked flawlessly.

Amazing!

Brie is completely THRILLED with her new blanket. Goodbye princesses. Hello favorite color red!

Now to go buy some pink fabric to begin work on one for Ella.....

Firsts

This week the girls started dance.

I have never seen 2 kids so excited about anything before!

After a couple of years of introductory lessons, Brie is into "real" dances. She has chosen to take tap dance and is absolutely thrilled!

The day we bought her tap shoes was very exciting indeed. I do have some video of her testing them out, but for some reason I have trouble uploading videos from my camcorder. So it just stays on the tape instead.

As for Ella?

This is her very first year in dance. She is dreaming of possibilities, as you can see from her picture. She is in a small group with only 3 dancers, although one of the kids is her very good friend from Music Pups and preschool.

I too, am experiencing some firsts this fall...

I have taken on the fun job of being the preschool music teacher. We are working with the MusiCanopy program, which was created by the makers of Music Pups. Ella's preschool has 22 kids so I was quite nervous for our first class on Tuesday. Little did I know that I had nothing to worry about. The kids and I had a complete blast together! I have already heard several positive comments from parents too, which is always encouraging. I think that I will enjoy this year with these energetic kids.

Plus I also began my U of R classes. I have mentioned before that the classes are a satellite feed that I watch at the regional college here. The classes I am taking are all introductory courses: Intro to Psychology, Intro to Women's and Gender Studies, and Intro to Social Work. Unfortunately I am the only one registered here for all 3 of my classes, which means those 3 hours each night are very quiet and lonely. I think John is getting tired of my constant texting during the breaks!!

Televised classes are a neat experience for those who are unaware. Both classes that I have attended so far have approximately 100 students that are offsite throughout the province. Some like me, are doing this alone, and other sites have 20 students. The students that actually live in Regina have to deal with the cameras in class, and pushing the button for the microphone to pick up their voices. Us that are offsite have to "phone in" to ask questions of the prof. I got to experience phoning in yesterday. The first time threw me off as the satellite feed has quite a delay, but I was less nerdy the second time around. At least I hope I was!

I have a head start on a couple of assignments already. Actually I just received my first library book request in the mail today. It's quite fun learning how this distance education process works. I'm not too sure what the second semester will hold for me yet. The 2 classes offered that I would need for the social work program require more credits than I will hold by January. I will try to get special permission from the department heads, but if that doesn't work then I may be doing some online schooling through another university. I realize that I am thinking about this way too early, but my "J" personality needs to plan ahead!!

The girls are handling a babysitter well too. She is a good family friend that just passed her babysitting course in the spring. So far she has only needed to be here until John gets home at suppertime (my classes run from 4-7 pm) but next week she will need to feed the girls supper, as John is on the night shift. Well at least my slowcooker will finally get used more often now!

Piano lessons just started up again today. Definitely not a first, but Brie is going to start learning how to read music this year. And so will I.

So it will be a busy busy year, but I am looking forward to the progress that we all will make.

Three Weddings & a Bar Mitzvah review

Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah

In the final installment of the 86 Bloomberg Place series, a crazed competition

for bridesmaids, wedding locations, and showers takes center stage

In a wild combination of Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City, and Gilmore Girls—with all of the drama but none of the taboo—beloved author Melody Carlson offers readers her final installment in the 86 Bloomberg Place series, Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah (David C Cook, September 2009). Written in her well-known conversational, colloquial style, Carlson’s latest novel continues to follow fourdiverse young women, with varying levels of faith, differing interests, and unique personal issues, through the high dramas of their romantic lives.

The four-book 86 Bloomberg Place series offers an emotionally engaging look at the individual dilemmas of four unlikely female friends—Kendall, Lelani, Anna, and Megan—who share a small bungalow while launching their careers and maturing through difficult family situations and romantic relationships. Carlson’s unique ability to capture young women’s attitudes, voices, and heartfelt desires with meaningful storytelling keeps pace with the lives of her readers as she weaves varying perspectives and voices together with both humorous and poignant threads.

In Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah, Lelani has returned from Maui to Bloomberg Place with her toddler Emma and is trying to book her wedding date. Unfortunately, there are scheduling conflicts for that same weekend. For starters, Megan and Marcus have a family wedding commitment. Anna and Edmond have promised to attend his stepbrother’s Bar Mitzvah and, to everyone’s surprise, Kendall has just accepted her “Maui Man’s” proposal of marriage and also wants to be wed on that same weekend in June. Let the games begin!

To complicate matters, Lelani wants to keep her wedding simple, but Gil (the groom) has a Latina mama with other ideas. Meanwhile Kendall (the pregnant bride) wants to pull out all the stops on her wedding—and suddenly her absentee parents are on the scene. A crazed competition for bridesmaids, wedding locations, showers, attention, and a little peace and quiet takes over 86 Bloomberg Place. Yet at the same time, friendships are being forged that will last a lifetime.

With only two months to pull off both weddings (on the same day), the pressure is on, and the stress just might kill all promise of happily ever after. Are their friendships strong enough to weather the hassles and heartaches?

Three Weddings and a Bar Mitzvah by Melody Carlson

David C Cook/September 2009

ISBN: 978-1-5891-9108-2/softcover/320 pages/$14.99

www.davidccook.com www.melodycarlson.com

My Review: Honestly, I had difficulty getting into this book. This is #4 in a series and I felt lost without knowing the background of the other books. I didn't appreciate the conversational style to this book, but that may be due in part to the fact that I didn't understand what was going on. I have heard good things about Melody Carlson's book though so I would like to try another novel of hers sometime.

Stretch Marks: A Review

When a Daughter Becomes a Mother,

Can She Learn to Accept Her Own?

In her latest novel, Stretch Marks, author Kimberly Stuart

takes an unflinching look at sex, pregnancy, and divorce

With her trademark irreverent humor and a surprising and satisfying take on romance, popular author Kimberly Stuart beckons readers to a wild ride of weird cravings, swollen feet, and a growing belly in her new book,Stretch Marks (David C Cook, September 2009). In this comic yet poignant novel about mothers and daughters, Stuart bravely tackles the issues of divorce, sex outside of marriage, and single parenthood as granola-eating, sensible shoe–wearing Mia is forced to face her estranged relationship with her mother.

Mia Rathbun is an earth-conscious, yoga-practicing twenty-something living in Chicago. She’s overworked and underpaid as a social worker, she belongs to PETA, and she recycles the tops of pizza boxes. Her boyfriend, Lars, is a free-spirited freelance writer (read: mooch) who disdains the conventions of marriage but is happy to build a life with Mia. That is until Mia becomes pregnant.

Left on her own, Mia just begins to accustom herself to the looming prospect of single parenthood when her mother, Babs, shows up to “help.” Babs is a cruise ship hostess who cannot abide her daughter’s affection for wheatgrass, tofu, and deep breathing. The two have an estranged relationship but are forced to connect as Mia’s belly grows and Babs is faced with the promise of a grandchild.

Mia also has a whole neighborhood of quirky characters who want to help, including her BFF Frankie, a magenta-haired librarian; Silas, the courtly gentleman of indeterminate age who lives downstairs; and Adam, proprietor of the corner grocery store where Mia shops. But it’s Adam—endearing, kind, possessed of a perfect smile and impeccable Persian manners—who ultimately charms Babs and rescues Mia from more than one mother-induced meltdown. Could it be that Mia and Babs might actually be able to get along?

In an authentic but tender novel about family, grace, and the importance of a good grocer, Stretch Marks doesn’t shy away from hard issues and unlikely hope. “Not for the weak of status-quo-heart, Stretch Marks is a relevant story of a daughter who becomes a mother and, in the process, learns to accept her own,” says Stuart. “I wrote this book because I think the characters will resonate with the not-so-average Christian reader and the more-likely-average non-Christian reader who grapples with the craziness of being a girl and then a mother in an unexpected way.”

Stretch Marks by Kimberly Stuart

David C Cook/September 2009

ISBN: 978-0-7814-4892-5/softcover/288 pages/$14.99

www.davidccook.com

My Review: This was a nice quick novel to read. I enjoyed the characters and the dialogue between them. It was humorous and yet tackled some difficult subjects with ease. This is a book that is definitely geared for a larger audience, not just the "churchy" types. I would recommend it.