Author: stacybuckeye

Laws of Love by Lisa White

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The Laws of LoveFinished 10-18-12, romance, pub. 2012

I like to read debut novels.  It’s like you’re getting the scoop on a really great sale or gossip about who’s going to win Project Runway.  I stopped accepting debut books a few years ago because there were just so many seasoned writers I wanted to read but when Trish offered a romance for the TLC tour (other tour stops here) I said yes.  I don’t read enough romances.

Because having it all does not necessarily mean having it all at once…

In a small, Virginia town where fly-fishing is the favorite pastime and Hampton Steel is essentially the only employer, Associate General Counsel Livi Miller believes she has reached the top rung of Hampton Steel’s corporate ladder. With her alcoholic boss retiring soon, Livi is the presumptive heir to Hampton Steel’s general counsel position. However, in the midst of proving herself promotion-worthy, Livi’s high school sweetheart, Jake Cooper, returns from Iraq and causes long-lost butterflies to alight in Livi’s emotionally charged stomach. The resulting loss of her promotion to slimy newcomer Edward Winston combines with her rekindled feelings for Jake to place Livi on track to choose between her career and her heart.

If she chooses Hampton Steel, she saves her hometown. If she chooses Jake, she saves her butterflies as well as herself.

I liked Livi.  She was a driven career woman, but one who also lamented not having it all.  She wanted a relationship and a family of her own but was was married to her job.  And when things got funky at work she wasn’t afraid to get right into the middle of it, even though there was real danger.  I was happy to see that Jake came back and offered her a chance at personal happiness.  I would have liked a little more about Jake. He came back from serving in Iraq with his best friend dead and I wanted to know more about his transition.

This is a short read, which is always a plus for me, but maybe in this case it was a bit too short.  There were a few storylines that were brought up and then just dropped (like when Jake attends church) and the whole reunited with your first and only love was a good story that happened so quick.  I wanted more.  I actually felt like I spent more time with Livi at work and all the craziness there, which I liked, but it felt like less of a romance because of it.  That could be good or bad depending on if you like romances 🙂

This was a solid debut.

Thanks to Trish at TLC for putting the tour together.

Going to college with Gage

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My cousin’s daughter, Claire, started her first year of college at Baldwin Wallace University, only 30 minutes away from us.  This is exciting since it’s been a long time since we’ve lived that close to any family.  We finally made the drive over on Friday to visit.  It’s a great campus with lots of beautiful buildings and homes and in true toddler fashion Gage’s favorite part was riding the elevator.  He wasn’t interested in the steps or much else when he caught sight of the elevator. After more than a few rides we headed home.

A fun trip was had by all.

A health update- Last Sunday we took Gage back to the hospital and he received more steroids for his croup.  On Monday, I was ready to throw in the mother towel and check myself into mommy rehab.  Come to find out that ‘roid rage can happen to toddlers too.  Who knew?  Thankfully, by Tuesday he was more himself and life got back to normal until early Friday when I started to feel sick.  I did what any tired and worn out woman does when she can, I called my mom.  She’s here helping out while I get some extra sleep and down time.  I really do have the best mom 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

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Where'd You Go, BernadetteWhere’d You Go, Bernadette, rating 2.75/5, fiction, 336 pages, pub, 2012

I accepted this for review because I enjoyed Semple’s first book and she was gracious enough to let me ask her a few questions a few years ago here on the blog.  I read nothing but positive things about it from other bloggers and it’s even up for a best book award at Goodreads.  So, it was bound to be a disappointment, right? Unfortunately, it was.

Bernadette, a reknowned architect, has been stuck in suburban Seattle hell for almost 20 years and her husband mentally checked out of her wacky ways way back as he focused on his very important job at Microsoft.  Bee, their daughter, never felt neglected or unloved so the parents were successful in raising a daughter with a bright future.  The story focuses on where Bernadette had disappeared to, but this doesn’t really happen until the last third of the book.

It was an epistolary novel, mostly.  There were chunks thrown in from Bee, especially at the end, that broke up that narrative in a less than positive way.  I liked the emails, police reports, newspaper articles, FBI reports, text messages that made up the story of Bernadette’s disappearance, but until the very last few pages I never cared about Bernadette or her husband Elgin. At the very end I appreciated Bernadette’s journey, but getting there was a journey I wouldn’t take again. Bee, was a sympathetic character but not one I connected with.

There were exotic locales, Antarctica playing a big role in most of the book, and plenty of laughable/hateful characters depicting the wealthy suburbanites I am all too familiar with so I think this could be a great movie.  The characters often felt like caricatures that could definitely work on the big screen, but for me I found them a bit too whiny on the page.

I was hoping to be entertained, but I grew bored early on and didn’t care at all until the crazy end.  What happened to Bernadette?  It’s a doozy.  I know I’m in the minority for not really liking this one and I’m okay with that.

I want to thank Anna at Little Brown for sending me a copy of the book 🙂

Bite Me Quiz – guessing closed

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With the final installment of the Twilight due in theaters this weekend I thought we’d do a vampire check.  See how many you can match up. I’ve only read two of these myself, but was surprised at how many I knew.  Happy Guessing!

You have until noon Sunday to submit your answers as a comment.  Comment will be hidden until I post the answers.  No Googling! The person with the most points this round will win a B&N gift card (total $ based on # of total participants, so please play) and a randomly selected participant will win a fun prize from me.

Answers to last week’s Odd Jobs quiz here. Leaderboard here.

1. Edward Cullen  H. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

2. Wrath  A. Dark Lover by JR Ward

3. Lestat  G. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

4. Bill Compton  F. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

5. Jody Stroud  I. Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore

6. Count Dracula  C. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

7. Matthew Clairmont   J. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

8. Lucien Antonescu  D. Insatiable by Meg Cabot

9. Martin Kowalski  E. Vamped by David Sosnowski

10. Kurt Barlow  B.Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Sundays with Gage – croupy week

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Jason started feeling sick on Tuesday afternoon and even came home early from work on Thursday (gasp!).  So, it shouldn’t have been surprising when Gage got sick too.  But I was surprised that we made a trip to the ER at 1 am on Friday morning.  Jason stayed home, too sick to be any good, and Gage and I headed to the hospital to see if they could help him breathe easier.  After some drugs, a breathing treatment and a croup diagnosis we headed home at 3:30 am.

Jason’s getting better and Gage is holding steady.  He’s barely eating and refuses nose drops and Tylenol.  He isn’t sleeping well and still wakes up with a seal cough.  I took this photo before bed last night, does he look tired or what?  Any positive energy you can send his way…

Stay healthy friends.

Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina

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Brain Rules for Baby: How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to FiveBrain Rules for Baby:How to Raise a Smart and Happy Child from Zero to Five.  Finished 11-7-12, rating 3.5/5, parenting, 277 pages, pub. 2010

I bought quite a few parenting books after Gage was born and read none of them.  I remember looking through this one at the time and thinking that it made me feel like I’d already blown my chance to make Gage smart and happy since the whole first section is what you should be doing during pregnancy!  But then I saw this gushing post from Trish and decided to pick it up and try again.

Trish felt that every prospective mother should have a copy of this placed in her hands and I definitely think that every parent should read the section on relationships.  I think most couples are unprepared for what a baby does to a relationship in those first years.  It’s not all gazing at your baby and husband with pure joy on your face and in your heart.  Let me include a few LOL passages from mothers…

“I sometimes fantasize about getting divorced just so I can have every other weekend off.”

“Sometimes when I’m holding my beautiful baby in my arms and we’re gazing lovingly at each other, I secretly wish that she would fall asleep so that I could check my email.”

I think this section about relationships should be required reading.  I’ve asked Jason to read it at this late date because I think there are some useful tools for us.  And we need it since according to Medina, “More than 80% of couples experience a huge drop in marital quality during the transition to parenthood.”  He goes on to say that satisfaction doesn’t recover until the kids leave the house!

There were many parts of the book I liked and others that I didn’t find helpful at all.  I think there are great tips for any new parent but I also felt that he included too many studies that favored a one-way-to-parent rationale.  There were too many times that Medina made me feel like I’d already failed Gage.  There is just too much pressure.  That being said I take a lot away from it.  It’s given me that extra pause before I lose my patience 😉  It’s also reinforced some of the things I already do with Gage and and given me some suggestions for everyday interaction.

Trish head-over-heels loved the audio, so please head over there for a fresh perspective.  One of the sections I liked a lot was about happiness and I’ll conclude with a quote from a group that studied happiness over decades…

“The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people.”

Thank you, blogging buddies, for adding to my happiness 🙂  I do think that every parent could benefit from his great website that’s full of information from the book, Brain Rules for Baby.

Odd Jobs Quiz – guessing closed

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We all know that being President is a great responsibility and, really, who would want the job, even with the power rush?  Let’s see if you can match these other unusual jobs with their character and book.

You have until noon Sunday to submit your answers as a comment.  Comment will be hidden until I post the answers.  No Googling! The person with the most points this round will win a B&N gift card (total $ based on # of total participants, so please play) and a randomly selected participant will win a fun prize from me.

Leaderboard here.

August Boatwright (The Secret Life of Bees) Beekeeper

 Brett Kavanaugh ((The Missing Ink) Tattoo artist

 Bailey Weggins (If Looks Could Kill) Magazine crime writer

Roxane  Coss (Bel Canto) Opera singer

Deanna Wolfe (Prodigal Summer) Wildlife biologist

Cinder (Cinder) Cyborg mechanic

Renee Michel (Elegance of the Hedgehog) Concierge

Vanessa Michael Munroe (Informationist) Informationist

Bridget Jones (Bridget Jones’s Diary) Intrepid TV reporter

Della Carmichael (Death Takes the Cake) Cable TV chef

Voting Day

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As I worked on my political quote quiz I realized that I was just sick of it.  Sick of the political vile of this season.  Maybe this was because I took too many breaks to visit Facebook.  Seriously, people are putting some scary and crazy stuff on there.  People I know and love.  Sigh.

I am also feeling defeated by the actions of politicians to suppress the vote.  It makes me mad and sad and it should be a non-partisan issue.  I don’t understand how elected officials can just ignore laws and court orders to try to help their side win.  Let every vote count.  I wish more voters of every affiliation would get more upset by this.  I fear that voter suppression is going to be a major embarrassment here.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could vote for some of the fictional characters we know and love?  Give us Atticus or Strider and I bet we could get out the vote!

What fictional character would have your vote for President?

Go vote (for the real and flawed people) and come back tomorrow for the non-political quiz.

Your favorite Sandy

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Scientific polling done last week (sample size, 10 bloggers) reveals that there are just not that many famous Sandys.    In the top spot with 9 votes is Sandy from Grease, followed by Sandra Dee with 5 votes.  A fellow blogger, Sandy from You’ve GOTTA read this! came in third with 4 votes.  Why not go visit and congratulate her on beating out the rest of the field Sandy Koufax (3), Sandy (Annie’s dog) (3), Sandy Duncan (1), Sandra Bullock (1), Sandi Patti (1), and the ever popular Pecan Sandy cookies (1).

Thanks for voting.  You can visit the original post comments for your scores.  Obviously the scores are all over the place since I didn’t really think through how many points you could get with so few popular Sandys to choose from.  Oh well.

 

Halloweening with Gage in November

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Because of Sandy our trick or treating wasn’t until tonight.  To say that Gage was not happy before we went is an understatment.  I thought for sure Halloween would be a bust.  The first house was iffy, lots of turning around and saying ‘no’, but after that he warmed to getting candy like a champ.  He said trick and sometimes treat (never together), sometimes asked for more (and sometimes just took it) and said ‘thank you’ very nicely for about half of the houses.  He also knows that candy is something he wants.  Unfortunately, there isn’t any from his bag he can have (I don’t trust him to eat Swedish Fish yet).

Gage rode around in his wagon and hit maybe a dozen houses before calling it a night.  If it hadn’t been 40 degrees I think he would have wanted to go all night.  He loved it.  Halloween success.

Jason’s mom is down visiting so she got to go too (and she can help us eat the candy!).