Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Already???

Ever since I was a little girl, I dreamed of getting married and being a mother.  Although I had other aspirations and dreams, that was one of the first and foremost in my mind.  I went to college, met Steven, and got married.  Because of school, we waited seven years before we had a baby.  I felt I had waited forever for this precious little bundle!

Finally, the day came for my sweet Rman to arrive.  It was a bumpy road but we both made it.  I was in heaven! 

Fast forward 10 years and I now have a half grown boy (that I can't really call a little boy anymore).  The time has gone by so fast and though there have been hard times, regrets, and a couple of hospital visits, he's been just as wonderful as I thought he would be. 

He's smart, funny, talkative (very!), creative, stubborn, laid back, and more.  I can't believe I only have 9 more years with him.  I'll cherish every one!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Book Review: The Hypnotist

From the Amazon page:
In the frigid clime of Tumba, Sweden, a gruesome triple homicide attracts the interest of Detective Inspector Joona Linna, who demands to investigate the murders. The killer is still at large, and there’s only one surviving witness—the boy whose family was killed before his eyes. Whoever committed the crimes wanted this boy to die: he’s suffered more than one hundred knife wounds and lapsed into a state of shock. Desperate for information, Linna sees only one option: hypnotism. He enlists Dr. Erik Maria Bark to mesmerize the boy, hoping to discover the killer through his eyes.
 
It’s the sort of work that Bark has sworn he would never do again—ethically dubious and psychically scarring. When he breaks his promise and hypnotizes the victim, a long and terrifying chain of events begins to unfurl.
 
An international sensation, The Hypnotist is set to appear in thirty-seven countries, and it has landed at the top of bestseller lists wherever it’s been published—in France, Holland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark. Now it’s America’s turn. Combining the addictive power of the Stieg Larsson trilogy with the storytelling drive of The Silence of the Lambs, this adrenaline-drenched thriller is spellbinding from its very first page.

I began this book with high hopes.  The premise was good, the action grabbed me right away.  However, as the book went on, the plot line became more convoluted.  It's as if the authors (a man-woman duo who write under the pen name Lars Keplar) couldn't decide which plot line to develop and which to use as a red herring.  I found it to distract from the book as a whole and the main plot line.

I also found several of the plot items not very believable, even from a fiction point of view. 

Even with the faults, I still gave it a three-star rating (I am contemplating changing it to a 2 1/2 star rating!)  After such a great beginning, it was a little bit of a disappointment though.

Friday, July 8, 2011

We are the champions....

After enduring two season of soccer with nary a win, Princess finally found a winning team in softball.  Hooray!  She had an excellent team with fun girls, awesome parents, and great coaches. 


It was so fun to watch the girls progress this year.  The whole team got better in their batting and their defense.  Princess has always been able to throw it pretty well (although we need to work on that form a little bit!) and hit but with help from Ken Miller, her batting made tons of improvement this year.  Towards the end of the season, she was getting a hit at every bat.

Our team also had an awesome pitcher--Steven.  He really did a great job (if I do say so myself!).


We ended the season in 2nd place in the league.  Then we ended up winning the league tournament.  It was so much fun and the girls (and their parents--including me!) were so excited. 
We won!
Celebrating at Big Dans
Awesome season girls!