Books I have read recently

  • Shirley by Charlotte Bronte — I'm reading a giant biography of the Brontes "Wild Genius on the Moors" By Juliet Barker (amazing!! but I'll post on that when I finish) So I'm reading each novel as it's discussed in the book. I loved Shirley. I have to agree with the critics that it is a slow painful start and it does take about 150 pages till we meet the title character Shirley. But besides that, it is so well written. Caroline Helstone’s angst is beautiful and poignant. And knowing that the last third of the book was written after Emily & Anne died explains so much about the change in the book. Charlotte likes to fix her world by writing about it and in her version the sick heroine recovers where her sisters did not. I definitely recommend Shirley for the Bronte fan. Don’t skip it.
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas --- It took me a couple chapters to really dive in but after that I was in love. I had read somewhere that it was based on Beauty & the Beast, which is great. What I did not know is that it is a retelling of one of my favorite fairytales: East of the Sun, West of the Moon!!! What a treat when I discovered that. I love that story. It's whimsical and the girl saves the day which I love love love. Sarah does a beautiful job of it and I can't wait for the next one!!
  • Miss Buncle’s Book by D. E. Stevenson —What a little treat. My mom gave these books to me for my birthday and there are so much fun. It’s a light easy read and it made me chuckle.
  • Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder— I adore her soul finder books. I’ve been reading them for years. She builds beautiful strong women and sweeping romance. Her magic system is unique and I want to live in her world.
  • The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr and E. B. White — A must read for every writer. Thanks to Stephen King for the recommendation. It has all those little things that I had questions about and answered them quickly and succinctly. It’s not the funnest read but it’s helpful.
  • Click of Titles to go to the book's Amazon page

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Bubble Bath Princess


 Beautiful
 Beautiful
 She looks just like Britt in this one: Beautiful & silly

hehe

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Migraine Update

So I'll start with the chart.


                                       Averages                 4                    20                   5

I started seeing my new neuro in Feb. And since then I've stayed pretty much the averages. May has had less extreme days but more bad medium days. Soo... better/worse? I don't know. Less bad days is good. Is really good. But less good days so... I don't know. Europe was ok. I had a Level 7 every not, not all day but for at least a bit of it. Except my last day in London was a 9-er.
New Things:
I joined my gym so I'm going to start taking Yoga twice a week.
Smallest bladder ever. We went to see Avengers ( a second time ;) ) and I had to get up and pee twice. Bizarre. But before you say anything, I have my period right now so no baby.

Same Things:
Low baby tolerance. I love Jedi very much but like all babies I can only be around him a couple hours before my head starts pounding. After talking last night, Matt & I will probably wait at least 2-3 years before having kids (if we do). I personally think my brand of love would be wasted on my own child. Being a professional aunt only works because I can aim all my love force at other people's children. If I had my own, I couldn't spend hours cooing over Mae & Ben's new antics.

Reading: Better. I think I'm just getting entranced with books and read through the pain.
Nausea: a little bit always
Sleeping: Stupid
Neck: Tight like a rubber band
Back: Can't wait to come to CLT to see my amazing life saving Chiropractor
Broken Internal Thermometer: Always hot. I am very concerned for the summer. But I see my new Primary Care in two weeks.

I've decided to live my life to the best of my abilities. Not that I've given up hope, but this may not ever go away. So we went to Europe and I'll keep trying to do stuff. Not that I'm going back to work of anything. Goodness, I have nightmares about that.

So there you go. I love you all very much.




Thursday, May 31, 2012

Europe

So we are safe and sound at home... Now it's time for pictures!!!
I meant to upload as we went but Matt's iPad did not get along with Blogspot.

London
Universal Studios Tour of Harry Potter.  The actual sets, props, and costumes they used in the movies.

Me hailing the Knight Bus

Petting Buckbeak. The night before we went to HP Studios I had a dream that Buckbeak was really and I freed him from the Studios. So when I went to pretend to pet him he moved and for a second I thought "Buckbeak is a alive! My dream was true" But alas he was just a robot programed to move every couple minutes :(

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!! OMG!
Paris


The Palace of Versailles

The Gardens

There is this bridge right behind Notre Dame that is covered in "Love Locks". You each kiss the lock, then kiss each other and make a love wish. Then you throw the key in the river. Corny but fun!


Eiffel Tower at night!
Barcelona

Sweet precious Sebastion!!!

Having a rest at the top of the hill near the castle.

Having a treat on the beach.


Stupid mosquitos!!!! My face got all swollen.
Venice

Matt & Flat Jake on the Rialto Bridge in Venice

Gelato!!!!



Florence
"Il Domo"  The Church
Santa Maria del Fiore


Rome
The Trevi Fountain

On the stage at the Colosseum!!!!

Underneath!


We went into the "Wedding Cake" Palazzo Venenzia

Really pretty view from the top.
*Note* Seagulls are very aggressive lol


Well there you go. Europe in 24 pictures. Just enough for you to get a taste.
Thanks for looking.


Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Gillmings come to town Part 2

 The rare Ben Bear at the zoo
 The coolest animal ever. The Red Panda.
Flamingos!
                                        
Harrison's reenactment of the flamingo mating dance. We asked Emily to look away.



 I love this candid picture
 Giddy Up!
 Jake's favorite thing: The Lemurs
 Matt's great pic of the lion
 Arlington Cemetery
 The White House

The Gillmings come to town Part 1

So a couple weeks ago the Gillmings came to visit. Here is a photo recap :)


 Jake holding the Washington Monument
 There are a trillion funny Ben pictures from this trip
 "Hey! Aunt Megan that's not funny!"

 Oh a tree!! Let's climb it!
 You can just see the white house in between Jake & the tree
 The WWII Memorial

 HAHA
 The Lincoln Monument
 "Oh Grandpa you are so funny!"
 #1 on Jake's must see: The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
 And my favorite picture of the trip. They are matching and standing exactly the same. This is a totally candid shot lol