Happy Halloween!

Darrius is looking forward to some trick-or-treating tonight. This year he's going as a psychotic clown. I made the mistake of telling him that I'm afraid of clowns. I think he chose that costume to try and scare me. We'll see about that. Hmph! I've decided to not dress up this year. I don't feel like putting forth the effort. I know; I'm a Halloween Scrooge. It has been cool, cloudy and drizzling all day. I hope the rain stops and the temps rise in time for tonight's festivities.

I will post pictures and a recap tomorrow.

Trick-or-Treat!

What do you listen to when you workout?

Great music is an essential part of my workout. If I'm tired of the music on my iPod, then I'm not motivated to go to the gym. Sounds crazy, I know, but music really gets me going. And it helps push me through my workout when all I want to do is quit.

My "Running" playlist is one of my favorite playlists. It's a mixture of Dance, R&B, Reggae and Hip-Hop. I never get tired of listening to it. I think it's due to the variety of music I incorporated.  This is what my playlist looks like:

1. Get Me Bodied (extended mix) - Beyonce
2. Sexy Bitch - David Guetta feat. Akon
3. 3 - Britney Spears
4. Miles Away - Madonna
5. I Remember - Deadmau5/Kaskade
6. Get Low - Lil John
7. Gasolina - Daddy Yankee
8. In Da Club - 50 Cent
9. Scream - Starkillers
10. So Fine - Sean Paul
11. Poker Face - Lady Gaga
12. What Is Love - Haddaway

I have many more songs in that playlist. I always shuffle the playlist so that I'm constantly surprised when the next song plays.

There are a couple of albums that I listen to in its entirety when I'm working out. That's very rare. But these are so good from start to finish and has me jamming while I'm on the treadmill or weight machines.

David Guetta - One Love (a double disc delux. The second disc contains club/extended mixes of tracks from the first disc)

Madonna - Celebration (a double-disc Greatest Hits CD. It contains some of my favorite Madonna songs especially like her more recent Dance hits like "Sorry" and "Hung Up".

M.I.A. - Kala (I was vaguely familiar with M.I.A. I saw her video for "Boys" on MTV Jams. I really became a fan and decided to purchase her CD when she released "Paper Planes".

My husband makes fun of me because I'm always complaining about how I'm running out of space on my iPod. He tells me I need to stop putting everything I listen to on my iPod. Well that defeats the purpose of having an iPod!

1 week down, many more to go!

This week I've consistently trained using The Chubby Jones Couch to 5k podcast. I like it SO much more than the Podrunner podcast. During each workout Mia Jones is training right along side you. And I love that! When she interrupts the music to cue the next running or walking segment, she's just as out of breath as I am. It feels like she's on the treadmill next to you.

I started Tuesday with the week one training. It started off pretty slow with walking for 2 minutes and running for 1 minute. The entire workout was 25 minutes. On Thursday my intention was to do week 1 again. My iTunes and iPod had other ideas. I forgot that I have my podcasts set to erase once I've listened to them. So week one was gone. Oh well. I'm far enough along with my previous training that moving onto week 2 won't be a big deal. And it wasn't. Week 2 interval training upped the running to 90 seconds and the walking portion stayed at 2 minutes. It was a great workout. I was feeling good.

I made sure I changed my podcast setting so that it won't automatically erase any episodes that I've listened to.

Today I go to the gym, ready to train again with the Week 2 podcast. Apparently my settings change did not take because Week 2 was missing from my playlist. So I jump to Week 3. I'm not so sure I'm ready for Week 3 but I didn't have a choice if I wanted to get in my last training for the week.  Week 3 was tough but I huffed and puffed through it. This is what Week 3 training looked like:

5 minute warm-up
90 second run
90 second walk
3 minute run
3 minute walk
3 minute run
3 minute walk
90 second run
5 minute cool down

The 3 minute runs where kicking my behind but the final 90 second run at the end had my legs on fire! I was so happy when she counted down to 1 and said that it's now time to cool down. I wanted to shout "Hallelujah!". To insure that week 3 isn't deleted I marked it as unwatched.  I plan on using Week 3 for next week's training.

I feel good.  I'm glad I got through this first week. There were many times I wanted to talk myself out of going to the gym but I told myself to shut the hell up!  I'm so glad I listened.

Until next week....

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)

I've always enjoyed writing. When I was in middle school, I wrote short stories. I had tens of spiral notebooks filled with stories written in my bubble handwriting. In high school, I took Creative Writing classes. And I took extra English classes because I thought it would help me with my writing. I've always felt that I should have been a writer even though I didn't think I was good enough to be one.  One of my goals for 2009 is to take a writing class. Well we're at the end of October and I haven't managed to take a writing class yet. I haven't had the time or the money.  So imagine my excitement when I was reading Reads4Pleasure's blog post about NaNoWriMo. I immediately went to the website and signed up. Here's my chance to write! It's not in a classroom setting but who cares. It's better than nothing. And it's something I've always wanted to do. I can't wait to get started.

Here's the info:

National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.
Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.
As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.
In 2007, we had over 100,000 participants. More than 15,000 of them crossed the 50k finish line by the midnight deadline, entering into the annals of NaNoWriMo superstardom forever. They started the month as auto mechanics, out-of-work actors, and middle school English teachers. They walked away novelists.

Doctor's Appointment - Insurance ain't sh!t

Today I went to the gyno for my annual woman's exam. I was a little late for the appointment even though they told me to show up 15 minutes early because I had to fill out new forms due to my insurance info having changed. After filling out the forms and returning them to the admin behind the plexi-glass, I went back to my seat. I pass the time by logging onto Twitter to see what I missed in the Twitterverse. A couple of minutes later I hear Plexi-glass Girl call my name. I walk up and she gives me my driver's license and insurance card. She then tells me that my co-pay for this visit is $30. WTF?!? Are you serious?? I was there for a normal exam. So I ask her why is it 30 bucks? Isn't this appointment considered a "wellness check?" Preventative care? Nope. She said the gyno is considered a specialist - that's why my co-pay is so high. What kind of crap is that? I've never had to pay that much for a coochie exam!

My previous insurance was Aetna. My new company doesn't offer Aetna; only Kaiser and BCBS. I knew there was no way in hell that I was going to choose Kaiser. I had Kaiser when I was in my 20s and had constant problems with them. Maybe they've gotten their act together since then but I wasn't willing to take that chance. With Aetna I was able to make my gyno my primary care physician. I guess that's how I was able to avoid the high ass co-payments. I guess BCBS doesn't have that option. Crap like this makes me NOT want to go to the doctor. Lucikly I am healthy and don't go to the doctor more than once or twice a year. I would hate to see what would happen if I actually got sick. So I handed her my debit card so that I could take care of my co-pay before my exam. This is some bullcrap!

Starting from scratch

I have been consistently inconsistent with my 5k training. I've experience a range of emotions from excitement to frustration and finally to disillusionment.  I was ready to give it up completely. One of my goals for 2009 was to run a 5k race. It's October. There's no way I'm going to be able to achieve my goal. I was ready to delete the running podcasts and playlists from my iPod and be done with it.

Friday night hubby and I went to a comedy show at the DC Improv. While standing in line waiting to enter the show, we ran into friends. The husbands were friends/former co-workers. The wife and I knew each other through our husbands. Anyway, they were talking about leaving the following morning to go to San Francisco. The wife has been training all year to run in a half marathon - 13.1 miles. She was so excited about her achievement and said that her goal was to finish it in 3 hours. The husband participated in his first Triathlon over the summer and plans on competing in another. While they both talked about their achievements, I saw the excitement on their faces. And I was jealous. I'm thinking to myself she's about to complete a half marathon and her husband has completed a triathlon and I can't consistently train for a stinkin' 5k (3.2 miles). What the hell?

The wife suggested that I train with her next year. She said it's hard but she enjoyed herself and she was proud of herself for sticking with it. The following four words made me decide to get off my ass FOR REAL! She said to me "You should do it." And I thought to myself  I should. There's no reason why I shouldn't.

I downloaded a new running podcast called The Chubby Jones. I've only worked out to it once so far (this morning) but I think I'm going to like this better than the Podrunner podcasts. The narrator is Mia Jones and she's actually running and training right along with you. She cues you when it's time to speed it up and start running and when to slow it down and walk. The music is pretty good. I love it. It feels like I have a virtual training buddy.

I'm eyeing a 5k that I want to run in the next month or so.

I will get there!

Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Bill to Charlie: "...It's just that sometimes people use thought to not participate in life."

The Perks of Being a Wallflower takes place in the early 90s in an undisclosed town in America.  The book is written from Charlie's, a 15 year old boy starting high school, point of view. The story is told in the form of letters addressed to an unknown person who Charlie refers to as "Dear Friend".  Charlie starts writing the letters when his friend commits suicide and at the start of his freshman year in high school. Charlie is introverted, shy and suffers from depression. He has no friends. Charlie finds solace in the extra reading assignments that his English teacher, Bill, gives him. Bill notices that Charlie is different and takes a special interest in him. He encourages Charlie to meet friends and to do normal high school stuff.  During his freshman year Charlie continues to write to his anonymous friend about his two friends - Patrick and Samantha - and all the new things he experiences.

When I started reading this book, it took some getting used to. The form was different. I found myself hoping that the "friend" would finally be revealed, which never happened.  While reading the novel, the letters seemed more like a journal as more intimate details of Charlie's life were revealed as he progressed during his freshman year. I enjoyed the book immensely and found myself rooting for Charlie. I wanted him to succeed in high school. I wanted him to have friends, go to football games and have a "normal" high school experience. I did find myself tearing up at some parts because Charlie was trying so hard to be normal like the other kids and couldn't quite get there. He could not figure out what he was doing wrong. Or what was wrong with him. He knew he was perceived as being strange but he didn't know what to do to change that. The harder he tried,  the more he failed. At the end of the novel, it is finally revealed the trauma that shaped Charlie into who he is.

I've read other critiques of this novel and the one critique that stood out was people complaining that the writing was too simple. What did they expect? It is written in the perespective of a 15 year old boy. Yes he's intelligent, but emotionally he's immature. And that is reflected in the letters when he's writing to his anonymous friend.  I think the style of writing was perfect and it fit the tone of the novel.

"You're a wallflower. You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand." Patrick to Charlie.

Banned for: drugs, homosexuality, sexually explicit, suicide

My rating: 3.5/5

Banned Books Challenge

Banned Books Week is the only national celebration of the freedom to read. It was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than a thousand books have been challenged since 1982. The challenges have occurred in every state and in hundreds of communities. People challenge books that they say are too sexual or too violent. They object to profanity and slang, and protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups--or positive portrayals of homosexuals. Their targets range from books that explore the latest problems to classic and beloved works of American literature. - Banned Books Week.org



Banned Books week was September 26th thru October 3rd of this year. I didn't discover BBW until it was almost over.  When I saw the list of the banned and challenged books on the ALA's website I was horrified. Some of the books on that list are American classics!  I love reading and would hate to be unable to check out a or purchase a book because someone deemed it offensive. And because of my love of reading, I decided to create my own personal reading challenge - Banned Book Reading Challenge. The Challenge will be from October 3rd (the last day of BBW) and ends September 26, 2010 (the first day of BBW). First, I'm going to read the 10 most challenged books of 2008. 

The most challenged books are:

1. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
2. His Dark Materials by Phillip Pulman
3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar

8. Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen

9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper

Once I've read the books listed above (wow that's going to be a lot of reading) I'm going to pick 5 books from the banned and challenged list of classic books. Some of these books are books that I've read in high school and want to read again.

Here are my 5 books:
1. Native Son by Richard Wright
2. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
4. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
5. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

If I discover that I'm close to getting everything read by the end date, I will add more books to the list of 5.

I've already read one of the books on the list of 10 and will be sharing my thoughts about the book - the perks of being a wallflower - in a later post.

 I look forward to this challenge. This is my way to celebrate the freedom to read!

NOT a Fashionista. Extreme Makeover Needed.

I was at Target this afternoon doing my usual Sunday shopping. As I'm walking up and down the aisles I kept noticing different women and how they were dressed. One woman was wearing skinny jeans and cute motorcyle boots with a cutesy sweater. Another lady was wearing black jeans with black boots and a cute wrap top. And as I'm walking I look down at myself; bootcut jeans, a little on the baggy side, cuffed at the bottom because they are too long. A UVA hoodie and old white PUMA sneakers with grass stains around the toe. And my hair was pulled back in a nappy ponytail. I looked a hot mess! I can't believe I came out in public looking like this! What is wrong with me? The answer to that question: I still dress like I'm in college and I've gotten lazy. The UVA sweatshirt is from my college days which means it's at least 15 years old. And I still wear it religiously every weekend during the Fall and Winter.

Even though I'm just out running errands and getting a little grocery shopping down, I should take some time to put myself together. You never know who you're going to run into. It's a small world. I could run into someone I went to college with. I don't want them telling people how bad I looked! You remember when you were little and your mom would always make sure you're wearing clean underwear in case you get into an accident. Well I feel that way about my "running around" attire. I need to start putting some effort into my appearance. I could use the excuse that I dress up 5 days a week for work (well really 4 because Friday is Casual Day). But I can't honestly use that as an excuse. I do the bare minimum to get myself ready for work - shower, comb my hair, put on clothes that resemble business casual and yet still be comfortable. I don't wear heels.  I have some black Skecher shoes that look like tennis shoes but aren't that I wear to work. And my pants are long enough that people can really see my shoes so no one's the wiser.

These shoes are a life saver! They started off as being shoes I would change into at the end of the day. Now they've become a staple in my work wardrobe.

 I like being comfortable. But being comfortable doesn't mean I should look a hot mess! I need to start dressing like an adult. I need to put more effort in my appearance. This week I started wearing makeup - daily. This is a big deal because I normally only wear makeup when I'm going out. But this week the weather has been nasty and I was starting to get into my Fall/Winter funk. So I decided to derail the funk by doing things that will make me feel better. And wearing makeup actually does make me feel better. I don't know why but it does. I put more effort into my outfits for work. I actually wore heels and resisted the urge to wear my big sweaters everyday of the week. These are huge steps for me. Hopefully I can keep it up.

I need to upgrade my weekend wear. I don't want to be extreme and dress like I'm about to go to a club when I'm only going to the grocery store, but I could try to put my effort in my appearance. And looking good on the outside does boost the self-esteem. You walk taller with a little strut in your stride.  We will see how it goes. The weather has turned cool so it is going to be a struggle not to go back to my UVA sweatshirts and big sweaters. I actually have cute clothes in my closets and some of them actually fit!

Hopefully my "extreme makeover" is successful. Wish me luck! I'm hoping not to go out in public looking like this again!

Rainy Weekend

The weather in the DMV has been downright awful this past week! It has been cold (low to mid 40s) with a constant rain/drizzle. It's only mid-October but it feels like December weather. I'm not happy. I was hoping the transition to colder temps would happen more slowly but instead we were slapped in the face! This week the temps are going to slowly warm up to the 60s with sun! I can't remember the last day we had some sun. I miss the sun.

Due to the nasty weather, I wanted to spend the entire weekend indoors. Unfortunately that wasn't gonna happen. We had tickets to see Patrice O'Neal at the DC Improv. I really didn't want to go but we'd already ordered the tickets online three weeks ago. And the show was at 10:30! Another reason why I didn't want to go. Too late for my weary bones. But we went out into the drizzling rain and the cold and headed into DC. Let me just say that I am so glad we went. The show was hilarious! Two comedians opened for Patrice O'Neal - Brian Parise and Harris Stanton. They were both funny but Harris had me rolling on the floor. I was laughing so hard my stomach was hurting. That's a good laugh! Patrice O'Neal was funny as hell. I was hesitant about his show because I'd never seen him do stand-up. He is hilarious. And the best part was after the show, when everyone was leaving, Patrice O'Neal was out in the lobby shaking hands and taking pictures with the patrons. He's a big dude. I went up to him and shook his hand and told him it was a great show. I wish I'd thought to take a picture with him!

Darrius' soccer game was canceled Saturday due to the weather so I decided to take him to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D. He's been asking to go see the movie and he rarely asks to see a movie in the theater. We went to the 11:40 show. The theater was pretty much empty - just how I like it. I can't believe how much it costs to see a 3D movie. The total came to $23 bucks for just the two of us! But we did get some snazzy 3D glasses.

After the movies we headed over to Johnny Rockets for lunch. I told Darrius that when we get home, I'm taking a nap. And that's exactly what I did. By the time Alfred got home from work, I was awake and thinking about dinner. I made chili (it was the perfect weather for it). My plan was to read for the rest of the evening. I have about 5 books calling my name. But as I was channel surfing I saw that Slumdog Millionaire was getting ready to start. I absolutely love this movie. And I was so happy when it racked up at the Oscars earlier this year. No reading will be getting done tonight.  I got comfy on the couch and watched one of my favorite movies.

Today the rain finally stopped. The sun was still missing in action but that's okay. It had warmed up a little to the low 50s. My plan was to stay indoors today. I read. Actually finished the book that I'd been reading the last 2 weeks. I decided to go to the store and get a couple of things. So I didn't completely stick to the plan to stay inside today but what the hell. I'm not a bear. I can't hibernate...or can I?

Despite the weather, it turned out to be a nice weekend. How was your weekend?

New Music - Madonna "Celebration"

I don't think I've ever described myself as a Madonna "fan". I grew up in the 80s so I listened to her music. But I never had a desire to go to her concerts or buy all of her albums. Imagine my surprise when I decided to download her latest CD "Celebration her third greatest hits collection. I was in the mood for some new music and nothing else out there was garnering my attention. I perused the playlist and noticed that most of the songs on the CD were some of my favorites.  Perfect!  Purchase, download and transfer to my iPod. I start listening to "Celebration" a couple of days later while at work. And I was jamming!!! Song after song I kept thinking: "this was my song back in the day!" And then I started thinking back to middle school - 1985 - when Madonna had released "Like A Virgin."  Every girl dressed like Madonna and wanted to be Madonna. And I started thinking. I attempted to dress like Madonna. I had the plastic bracelets up and down both arms. I wore the ankle boots with the black socks. I rocked those boots with every skirt I had. I remember knowing all the choreography to her videos especially the concert video for "Dress You Up." What was I thinking? I am a Madonna fan! I still listen to her music. There are a couple of recent Madonna songs that are in my "Running Music" playlist on my iPod.

I love "Celebration". It takes me back to middle school. Those were great memories and great times. Some of my favorite songs from the compilation CD are:

• Burning Up
• Lucky Star
• Live to Tell (people sleep on her ballads)
• Like A Prayer (I will never forget fine-ass Leon in the video)
• Crazy For You (another great ballad)
• Miles Away (from her Hard Candy CD and also in my Running Music playlist)

Ok - let me stop before I give away the entire playlist! It's a great CD(s). I have been listening to it religiously at the gym, at my desk whenever I want to just sing along and pretend that I'm 13 again when life was so much simpler.

WTH Mother Nature?!?

Let me check the calendar because I am certain that it's still Fall. But judging by today's weather you'd think we were deep in December!  It's bad enough that we barely had a summer. I can count the number of 90 degree days on my hand. If it wasn't raining, the temps were in the high 70s, low 80s. That is not typical D.C. metro area temps! We never had the dreaded 5 day run of the 3 Hs - hot, hazy and humid. We didn't get our Indian Summer. And now the temps are in the mid 40s in October. I am done. It is time for me to move!

This was the temperature at 4:45pm. What da hell???

Overcast sky. Drizzle. No sun in sight.

It is too early for me to bust out my fuzzy winter socks. But here they are! Front and center along with my Victoria's Secret Pink sweatpants. 

I am done with you Mother Nature! This ain't even right. It's bad enough that I get moody and depressed during the winter months. But to bring this on us so soon? With no warning? For shame, for shame!

Stock piling Teeth

In the last 3 weeks, Darrius has been losing teeth left and right. He has literally lost a tooth every week.  Currently he looks like a jack-o-lantern.  The other day, Darrius was eating an apple (Honey Crisp) and lost yet another tooth. I noticed that he placed the tooth on the kitchen counter, next to two other teeth that came out a while ago.  Curious, I asked him about it. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: Darrius, why are your teeth on the counter? Shouldn't you put them under your pillow for the tooth fairy?

Darrius: I'm not going to do that yet. I'm going to wait until I need some money.

Me: So you don't need money right now?

Darrius: No. I have some.

Me: Oh, okay. So you think the tooth fairy is going to wait until you stockpile a small fortune in baby teeth before she gives you the money?

Darrius: Yeah. As long as they're not under my pillow. See look. I already have $12 dollars in teeth.

(So he expects to get $4 a tooth. His price has gone down. It used to be $5)

I had no response. I can't believe he's hoarding his teeth so that he can hit the jackpot with the toothfairy!

That boy is too funny.

p.s. And I'm glad that at the age of 11, he still believes in the toothfairy. He still has some childhood innocence left in him.

Honey Crisp Apples - Deelish!

Sunday Darrius and I went to our new favorite hangout - Trader Joe's. He needed more Joe Joe's (vanilla sandwich cookies) and I wanted to get some more yogurt and cottage cheese. And check out the veggies. As I was roaming the produce section, Darrius went to check out the free food samples. That's the second reason why he likes Trader Joe's. I followed him over there. They had some type of sauteed pork wrapped in a flour tortilla. It was really tasty. After sampling that, the Sampler Guy suggested we try the apple. He said apples and pork go great together. We picked up a slice and tasted it. Wow! The flavor exploded in my mouth. It was crisp and sweet and fresh. It was delicious. It reminded me of Fall (if that's possible). The Sampler Guy told us it was a Honey Crisp apple. I'd never heard of them. But I knew I wanted to buy some - pronto! The Sampler Guy pointed us to the display carrying the apples. We walk over there and the first thing I notice is the price - $1.29 per apple. Say what??? The apple was good, but was it that damn good? And then I noticed the size. They were huge! Which explains the price tag. Darrius says we should just get enough for me, him and his dad. Three apples cost almost $4. I grabbed 3 apples. I told Darrius he better eat one too.  We grabbed a couple more things and headed to the checkout counter.

Yummy. Looks delicious.

Darrius ate an apple yesterday. He couldn't finish it. He said it was too much. And in the process he lost a tooth. I guess that makes the $1.29 price tag worth something. He did say that the apple was good. This morning I decide to take one to work. It will be my mid-afternoon snack. So around 1:50pm I wash off the Honey Crisp apple and start chomping. It tasted better than I remembered. "Crisp" is the right name for it. It's crispy, juicy and sweet. I had juice running down my chin. And I, like Darrius, started getting full and could barely finish the apple. I would love to see what the calorie count is. The Honey Crisp was worth the $1.29 but it's not something I will buy all the time.

The apple is huge compared to reg apples.

If you get the chance, try them. They are very tasty. I'm sure they make very good pies. Too bad making pies is not my forte.

2 Turtles and a catfish

Today I did not feel like going to the gym. But I still wanted to get in some sort of workout. I decided that I was going to take a walk around/through my neighborhood. I see people all the time walking and jogging. And the area where I live is pedestrian friendly. They have lots of sidewalks and paths.  I didn't want to walk alone so I asked Darrius if he wanted to come with me. Plus I didn't want to leave Darrius at home by himself. I knew I'd be gone for an hour or so. He hesitantly agreed but I could tell that he wasn't feeling the idea. So I bribed him. I promised him that we could feed the duck and geese once we got to Kingstowne. Of course he was down with that idea.

Darrius feeding the ducks.

Beautiful fall foliage.

More ducks arrived once they saw that we had food.




The evening was nice. The temperature was perfect for walking. Darrius and I talked the entire time which was nice. He updated me with what was going on with school and his friends. Sixth grade is so dramatical. LOL! Once we arrived at the pond, we fed the ducks - 100% whole wheat bread only.  When then walked over to this bridge so that Darrius could throw rocks in the water. As I was peering in the murky water, I saw something move. It was a turtle. Two of them! We watched them for a while and then Darrius saw more movement in the water. He says it was a catfish. He pointed it out to me. I saw the tail then the head of the fish. I don't know if it was a catfish but it was a fish.

I wish I'd brought my camera so that I could have gotten a better picture. This was taken with my cellphone. Somewhere in that murky water are 2 turtles and a catfish.

As we headed back home, Darrius was excited that we had our walk. He recounted the events saying: "We fed the ducks. And we saw two turtles and a catfish. This was a good walk mom."

And there you have it.

Forever by Judy Blume

This is a story about love. Kath and Michael met at a friend's New Year's Eve party. They start dating and the relationship becomes serious. Michael wants to take the relationship to the next level - sex. Kath isn't sure she's ready for sex. Or if Michael is The One she wants to lose her virginity to. Forever takes you on a journey of two teenagers in love, thinking that it's true love, and that they will be together forever. But at the age of 18, can you really find true love? Or is just your first love? One of many "loves" you encounter along the way to true love?

I remember reading this book when I was in middle school. The appeal at the time was that the book contained explicit material; in other words SEX! And bad language. This book was way different from the Sweet Valley High books I was reading at the time. One of my friends had the book and the book was passed around our little group of friends, from one friend to the next. None of us were bold enough to purchase the book on our own. Before Forever, I knew of Judy Blume through her YA (young adult) books - Blubber, Are You There God? It's Me Margaret and Superfudge. I was shocked to discover that Forever was more than just a story about a boy and a girl and teenage first love.

The reason why I thought about Forever was due to last week being Banned Book Week. I perused the list on the ALA's website and saw that Forever was on the list. I couldn't understand why. Yes, there's some language and sex in the book, but as I remembered, the story was more about Kath dealing with experiencing first love and the emotions and responsibility that comes with being in a relationship.  I decided that I would re-read the book. Maybe it was more explicit than I remembered.

Master by Bridget Morrow

"All she could think about was how careless she'd been, and how now she was dead"

The book Master takes place during slavery. The year is 1861 when we meet Lila, a 17 year old slave. She had just witnessed the lynching of her boyfriend, Percy. She is captured by Percy's killers (one of them being her owner, Mr. Benjamin).  She struggles but resigns herself to meeting the same fate as Percy. Just when she thinks her life is over, Lila is rescued by a mysterious man. She is not scared of him. When he removes the noose from around her neck and lifts her off the ground, she asks him if he is God. Lila is in and out of consciousness for several days. She finally wakes up but she doesn't feel the same. She learns the name of her rescuer, Alex, and that she is now like him. A vampire.

I first heard of this boook on the Goodreads webiste. The premise of the book piqued my interest. I was in my vampire stage after reading the Twilight books and the Black Dagger Brotherhood books. It took almost a year for me to find a website where I could order the book. I was so excited when I ordered the book from Publish America and it arrived a couple of weeks later.

Alex and Lila has a love that is like no other. Alex fell in love with Lila when she was an infant. He knew that he was going to "turn her". He didn't count on it being so soon. Reading this and it's only 20 pages into the book, I couldn't wait to dive into the life of Alex and Lila. A love that strong and passionate makes for a volatile and interesting relationship, especially since they are vampires which only amplifies the emotion.

Unfortunately, the focus o fthe majority of the book was not on Alex and Lila, but on Sally and other characters, which Alexa and Lila were a part of. The vampires were secondary characters in my opinion. I wanted more of Alex and Lila without Sally. I could have cared less about Sally and her life.  This was not what I expected. When the plot would shift from Alex & Lila and onto someone I had no interest in, I was disappointed. You can't tease the reader with this great love between two vampires and not write in detail about that love! I felt that Bridget Morrow, in her writing, would all of a sudden remember, "oh yeah. I need to write that Alex and Lila are madly in love". And then she'd move on to another character.  I know that due to their living circumstances, Sally was an important person in their life. But I didn't think it warranted being the majority of the book. 

I was ready for the book to be over. My disappointment continued with each turn of the page. Maybe I set my expectations too high.

It's an easy read. Some parts were a little confusing due to flashbacks or references to events that happened in that the reader was not aware of or that wasn't explained clearly. 

Don't expect this book to be like other paranormal romances or vampire books out there. 

My rating: 2.5/5

Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Everyone has been affected by breast cancer or knows someone that has been affected. My mother-in-law passed away of breast cancer May 2001. She did not get the chance to see her only grandchild grow up. And my son will grow up without knowing his wonderful Grandma Viceta.


African-American women are more likely to die from breast cancer than white women even though we have a lower incidence of having it after the age of 40. Breast cancer is treatable through early detection. So please ladies....feel your boobies! Get a yearly mammogram. Early detection is the KEY!

Banned Books Week

This week is Banned Books Week (September 26 through October 3). I just discovered this today so I'm late to the game. I went on the American Library Association's website to look at their banned books list. I wanted to see what had been added to the list and to see if any books that I've read was on the list.  The list is phenomenal. There were books that I read in high school and that are considered literary classics that were on that list! What is wrong with this picture! I am so happy that I went to an international school overseas that encouraged the students to explore outside what was on the curriculum. That freedom to chose the books I wanted to read and to discover new authors helped shape the person I am today. I love to read. I have a hunger for it. I can't imagine going a month without reading a book. I hope when Darrius is in high school he will have to the change to discover these works of art.

Here are some of the books on the Banned Books List:
The Great Gatsby (I just read it for the 1st time this spring. And I loved it!)
The Catcher in the Rye
To Kill A Mockingbird (one of my all time favorite book and movie - I loved Gregory Peck as Atticus)
The Grapes of Wrath
Invisible Man
Native Son (this was the first book that I picked on my own to read for leisure. It was not required reading for school)
The Call of the Wild
Go Tell it on the Mountain

And the list goes on. It's sad that there are people out there trying to get these books taken out of our libraries and our schools. These books are Great American Literature.

To celebrate Banned Books Week, I'm going to pick 1 or 2 books from the list and read (or re-read) them. I'm not going to purchase them. I'm going to support my local library by checking out the books. I suggest everyone do the same.  We can not let these books be taken out of our schools, libraries and bookstores.

Here's the list of banned and challenged books for 2008-2009

Fall into Reading Challenge - Update

One week into the challenge and I've already finished two books and I'm halfway through my third. Woo! I am on a roll. Thanks to the challenge, my summer book purchase pile is slowly dwindling. I think I may actually be able to finish my book list by the December deadline.

Here's my updated list:

Books I need to Finish:

Black Hills

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Living Dead in Dallas

Morrigan's Cross

Books I've purchased but haven't read:

Feminista

For Colored Girls...

Master (currently reading)

Club Dead

Valley of Silence

Push

Say You're One of Them

I'm tempted to add more books to my list since I'm on a roll. But I don't want to get ahead of myself.

Happy Reading!!