Pop-Up Diorama Card #DOswts308

Happy Saturday, friends! How are you? We are doing well here. My daughter was sick most of the week so we are getting a little stir crazy at home. But she is better, so hopefully we can get out of the house a bit this weekend.

My stamping team is introducing a new Blog Hop called "Stamping with the Stars". Two Saturdays a month, we will using a common theme - it may be a color scheme, a funky fold, a challenge to use a certain type of product, etc. - and we will each create a project using our variation on that theme. Our first project (today) is to make a card using the Pop-Up Diorama fold. We were technically supposed to use the tutorial found HERE, but I found the dimensions on THIS tutorial worked a bit better for me. They are similar, but not exactly the same. You may want to experiment and see which works better for you.

If you live in the Midwest, you know that we have had some extremely cold weather, alternating with some ice and snow.  Now, I love snow. I really do.  I love snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.  I love sledding and building snowmen.  I even love spending 20 minutes bundling my kid up because it means we can go play in the snow together.  That doesn't mean, though, that there aren't times - like when my face hurts because I stepped outside - that I wouldn't mind an escape to some place tropical.  And that is why I chose the flamino theme for my pop-up card.

INSIDE:

OUTSIDE:

There are a few things I learned in making this card - if you decide to try this fold, these tips may help you:

(1) If you want anything on the upper interior panel (the one the hole is cut in) - stamp it, write it, draw it, or adhere it before you assemble the card.  I really wanted to stamp "I'm tickled pink for you" on the blue beneath the oval but couldn't because I had already assembled the card.

(2) If you have anything spanning the hole (like my congratulations sentiment strip), you don't want adhesive running the span of it because it will cause it stick to the bottom layer.

(3) You can see more of the background image than just the size/shape of the hole so you may want to decorate beyond the edges.  For example, my water and flamino and grass actually go all the way to the edges of the white paper they are stamped on so that no matter what angle you look at the inside from, you see prettiness.

I really enjoyed this project after I got the hang of it and now my mind is spinning as I think of other stamp sets that would be fun to use with this fold.

If you want to continue on the blog hop, click on the next name here:


Some of my team mates do not blog, but are on Facebook and Instagram, so if you use those media, be sure to search for #DOswts308.

So lately, God has been laying it on my heart start memorizing scriptures. In my quest to do so, I have found some resources I wanted to share. First, I found this terrific website called Memverse. You can sign up for free, create a profile and then tell it which verses you want to memorize and how long you want to spend each day memorizing. Then it gives you chances to practice these verses daily and rank them based on how hard or easy they were for you to remember. You can track your progress and you can compare your progress to other members who might be from your church or state. My next stop was to the blog of Ann Vosskamp. My pastor's wife had mentioned that Ann's website had a few free tools for memorization, so I checked it out. Turns out there are some wonderful resources there. She has a free tool for memorizing the whole Sermon on the Mount in a year and another for memorizing the book of Colossians in a year. Pretty cool! While snooping around her website, I found another great resource for memorization. His website includes free tools for memorizing Ephesians, and Phillippians. Ann's blog also took me to Beth Moore's where I found this little bit. All in all, it's a great start for one small amount of research!

My Review of "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have mixed feelings about this book.

One the one hand the extreme amounts of existentialism and big (or maybe ostentatious) words drove me crazy...I mean who really talks like that? On the other, I'm glad that authors are giving readers, particularly young readers, challenging subject matters and vocabulary.

And then I decided to soften my stand even a bit more, because I remember being a teenager, trying to find my way and in the process of doing so, trying to think about mature subjects, voice my opinion, try out new vocabulary words, and in doing so, probably seemed as precocious as these two sometimes did.

The subject matter was interesting. Books about people dying and their revelations as they do so are not new. Neither are books about kids with cancer, or kids exploring their boundaries. But I did like that the author seemed to tackle it from an actual point of view of one of these patients - with some humor and some anger, as well as other emotions mixed in, rather than choosing an extreme, either a "woe is me" attitude or a reverent "life is swell & this is all part of the plan" attitude. The fear, the anger, the sadness, the longing, and even the momemnts of happiness that these characters felt were expressed realistically through dialogue and humor, and yes sometimes sadness. I appreciated that. It maintained a good balance between the extremes it could have taken.

My favorite quote from the book is regards to the view of a relationship by the survivor after the loved one has passed on. It occured to me that is how I felt after my divorce, as well: "The pleasure of remembering had been taken from me, because there was no longer anyone to remember with. It felt like losing your co-rememberer meant losing the memory itself, as if the things we'd done were less real and important than they had been hours before."

The love between the two main characters was beautiful, and I loved that it tied together so beautifully with just a few small words at the very end.





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My review of "One More Day" by Mitch Albom

For One More Day by Mitch Albom
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had a hard time rating this book. Here's why...

On the one hand, this is a beautifully told story. The voice of Chick Bennetto sounds authentic and is consistent through the story. In his voice, you can hear the nostalgia. You can hear the admiration he had for his mother. You can hear the longing he had for a relationship with and approval from his father. You can hear the dismay & regret over the choices he'd made and the negative turn of events in his own life. You also walk away with some beautiful "lessons learned". And you get to triumph with him in the end. Most importantly, you are reminded to reach out and make your relationships right TODAY...don't wait, because we don't always get one more day to right those wrongs.

The problem I had with this story is that it felt contrived. See, the author had a ton of success with "Tuesdays with Morrie"...which was based on a true story. And I think he tried to repeat that here with his journalistic-style telling of this story, even though this particular story was not true. Which just made this story seem annoying, inauthentic and made the author seem like he was trying to hard. The thing is, this author clearly has an ear for a good tale, and he also expresses himself beautifully. But his tale lost something when he tried to make it seem true with the journalistic method of storytelling.

I would have rather read a real account of an inspiring person (which is out there, and which I think Mitch Albom could tell beautifully) or one that is not written posing as a real story.

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My Review of "The Dry Grass of August" by Anna Jean Mayhew

The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book, to me, was just average. As other reviewers have said, most of the story has already been told before, but in better novels.

The book was lent to me, and kept me entertained while I was sick, so I appreciate that, but it just doesn't stand out in this genre as a must-read. I don't regret reading it, but I'm also not disappointed that I have to give it back. It hasn't stuck with me the way other books have.

What I did like about the book is that the author has done a nice job of developing some of the characters. Each character has a distinct personality, with an authentic voice. They are believable, and I think it is easy to decide which are likeable, and which are detestable. The main character, Jubie, is an emotional and passionate teenager who stands up for what she thinks is right, even knowing the consequences might be horrible (like a whipping from her daddy). You can't help but admire her for that, and feel for her as she tries to find her way through the story...her triumphs, her mishaps, her embarassaments, etc. And even though her big sister Estelle is prim & proper and kind of a know-it-all, you'll find a few things about her and a few things to dislike ...probably the way most people feel about their big sister.

The other siblings were peripheral and unnecessary, in my opinion, other than perhaps to make the story more authentic to the era and to increase the readers sympathy for Mama's burden.

Of course, you can't help but love Mary, the hired help, who nannies, cooks, and cleans for this family and who actually nurtures the children, unlike their own mother who is sometimes there for them but mostly not. And you love the relationship she has with the kids, especially Jubie. She does a good job of turning the character of the father into a detestable human being, and creating an ambivalence in the reader towards the character of Mama.

I also think she did a nice job of creating the setting for the book. She developed it in a way that you felt like you had been there and seen the story first hand.

I'm always curious why authors choose a title for the book, and in this case it comes from a piece of scripture referenced in the book that talks about how evil will burn like dry grass. There is plenty of evil in this book, and you do hope for Jubie's sake that the goodness prevails.

Part of the problem for me was there was so much going on, yet it ended in less than 300 pages. In order for this book to have felt fully developed, it needed to be a longer book with all the current themes, or a shorter book with fewer themes. I got to the end of the book and felt like "that's it?". The ending didn't satisfy. And I felt like a lot of drama was created for no apparent reason, since the author chose not to develop it beyond 300 pages.





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Nebraska Wine and Balloon Festival 2012

Adam and I decided to head out a few weekends ago to the Nebraska Balloon and Wine Festival. As luck would have it, it rained while we were there. Luckily, we had one umbrella and one rain jacket between the two of us so we managed to stay dry. The rain meant that none of the balloons could launch, but we were happy that we were still able to sample the wine, and see the balloons up close and glowing. This is an annual event, so if you ever find yourself near Omaha in the month of August, be sure to check this event out! Besides wine and balloons, there were vendors selling food and products as well as live music. Be sure to bring a blanket or lawn chairs and some bugspray!

Rock of Ages

Last fall my friend Amy went to see the Broadway musical "Wicked" when it was in town and then my aunt took me. We all had such a fantastic time that Amy and I agreed we needed to get season tickets. Then we decided out moms would like it, and they would like each other, so we invited them and the four of us got season tickets to the Broadway shows. We are having so much fun we are already planning to get tickets again next year.

The third show for this season was Rock of Ages. The music was FANTASTIC. In fact, I'm planning to use my iTunes gift cards from Christmas and my birthday to download those songs but by the original artists to create my "Rock of Ages" play list. Also, the talent in this show was incredible. The show is very high energy with lots of intense singing and dancing and those performers did not miss a beat! I also thought the writers did a great job of weaving together a story from all those popular 80's songs that we know and love. If you love power ballads this is your show.

My only disappointment here was the gratuitous vulgarity. While I may not always agree with certain language or lifestyle choices, I usually am pretty tolerant to its presence in pop culture & in the world around me. But in this case, a lot of it was unnecessary to the story - lots of "f-bombs", lots of sexual references, etc. Definitely not a family-friendly musical. Buyer beware: part of the story line is that the main female character takes a job as a stripper and as such there is some dancing related to that involving poles. It is tied into the story as part of the main female character's storyline, however, I just thought I'd throw it out there in case that sort of thing would offend you.

All in all, a great night with friends - but probably not my favorite show of this season. One more to go - Fiddler on the Roof in April and then we will be eagerly stalking the website for next year's season package! :)

Book Review - "The Best of Me" by Nicholas Sparks

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


While I love to get some variety in my reading (different authors, genres, themes/subject matter, etc.) there are some authors I just can't resist even if their writing is somewhat predictable. Nicholas Sparks is one of them.



Like many of his other works, there is a love interest that involves some sort of conflict, tension or history to it. There is a tragedy. There are characters with quirks. And there are characters dealing with their baggage. And it doesn't necessarily end the way you want it to, but it ends the way it should.



Dawson grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, the youngest in a family of drug dealers, wife beaters, bullies, etc. He meets Amanda in high school and they fall madly in love. Her parents - wealthy and of good reputation - don't approve of their relationship and eventually the pair break up but neither of them really get over their first love.



Each of them moves on to different cities to start new lives of their own. Amanda goes to college and marries a guy that looks good on paper and Dawson moves out of town and takes on a variety of jobs, living in a variety of places and never really settling down, never able to get over Amanda.



When they meet again, it is at the dying wishes of a mutual friend, and of course that old flame is reignited when they see each other again. They stay in their hometown for a few days trying to sort out their friend's estate and in doing so they are able to spend some time together catching up on each other's lives.



The tension in this particular romance is created by the fact that Amanda is married - but not happily - and struggles with the desire to reunite with Dawson and everything that she would be giving up and all the hurt she would be causing to her family if she did so.



Meanwhile, in the background of their relationship, in addition to the problems at home with her alcoholic husband, Amanda is struggling with her relationship with her mother and Dawson is struggling with the tragedy that caused him to leave town originally & also his crazy family who are out for revenge against him.



And then, in true Nicholas Sparks fashion, another tradedy strikes that brings a resolution to all those loose strings that were woven into the book. You may love it, you may hate it, it might all seem a bit too convenient, but in the end is was probably the right way for things to play out.



While I seem to be harping on Sparks' formulaic approach to writing, I will say that I keep reading in spite of that because I love the values he instill in the characters - in this case, Dawson overcomes his negative upbringing and leaves a nice legacy. You are also introduced to their mutual friend who, in spite of his rough exterior, was a wonderful man, wise and generous. And in the end, Amanda is faithful to her her husband and tries to do the right thing for her family. If you like the way Sparks describes things and the rhythm to his writing, you won't be disappointed. He also has a great way of endearing the characters to you and getting you to feel what he wants you to feel, in spite of how you would normally react.



I borrowed this book from the library and already returned it, so I can't quote it exactly, but one thing I liked is he talks about how people so often think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but they forget that it's greener because someone watered it and tended to it so that it could grow.



What a neat statement - yes, other people might be more appealing to you than the husband you are struggling with. Or, other jobs might be more appealing than the one you currently have, or your neighbors' house might seem better than yours - but you have the power to have the things you want by investing yourself in them - by working to nurture your relationship, your career, your home or anything other area of your life that you aren't happy with. Giving up will lead to brown grass and anything else will look better.







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Books of 2011 Recap

As most of you know, one of my favorite pastimes is to read. I come by it honestly...my grandmother is a retired children's librarian (and she worked at my school, so I had no choice) and my mother is an avid reader as well. Here is a recap of what I've read this year:

"Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson
"Before I Fall" by Lauren Oliver
"Calm My Anxious Heart" by Linda Dillow
"I Still Believe" by Jeremy Camp
"The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson
"Room" by Emma Donaghue
"Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen
"Mini Shopaholic" by Sophie Kinsella
"House Rules" by Jodi Picoult
"Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay
"Love Walked In" by Marisa de los Santos
"Forever" by Maggie Stiefvater
"Can't Wait to Get to Heaven" by Fannnie Flagg
"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden
"Heaven is for Real" by Todd Burpo
"Left to Tell: by Immaculee Ilibigiza
"Megan's Way" by Melissa Foster
"Wideacre" by Phillippa Gregory
"Silver Girl" by Elin Hilderbrand
"Reckless Faith" by Jo Kadlacek

For those of you looking for something to read, my favorites were "Can't Wait to Get to Heaven" because of Fannie Flagg's unfailing humor and Southern charm and "Memoirs of a Geisha" for the fascinating glimpse of a different era and culture. If you are looking for some Christian inspiration, I was very inspired by the testimonies in "Heaven is for Real", "Left to Tell", and "I Still Believe".

I'm looking to kick off 2012 with the Twilight series (I finally caved into the peer pressure!).

If you want to know more about my thoughts on books, please look me up on GoodReads - I'd love to be your friend!

Happy New Year!!!

Well, friends, Happy New Year! It's been a long while since I posted, and even then it was very infrequently, but this year I want to get back into the swing of things. Originally, my intention in setting up this blog was to use it to keep family in the loop over the miles. However, now that I'm closer to them, I suppose it makes sense that I would use it to share with my friends a.k.a. my other family.

So, check back to see what I'm up to including recipes, craft ideas, book reviews, random thoughts and happenings.

So, I hope this finds all of you enjoying the start of 2012! It should be a great year!!!

xoxo,
Michelle

Birthday Cake Victory!

My friend's son turns 6 this week, so she and I set out to decorate a Scooby Doo cake. Neither of us had ever done anything like that so I was nervous...didn't want to let the little guy down on his birthday. I am happy to say that our first decorating endeavor turned out alright and now I'm excited to try my hand at some fun cupcakes. Here is our Scooby Doo cake!

Happy Birthday, Skinny Kitty!

My first cat, Paisley (aka :Skinny Kitty") who became my mom's cat when I left for college, turned 20 today! Holy cow....it doesn't seem like it's been that long. But except for being ridiculously skinny, he's in great shape. Here's to many more, litte man! :)

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I just finished this book for book club last night. I really loved it. I do believe it's a bit formulaic - you know, Nicholas Sparks' books usually have sort of good guy vs. bad guy, some for of love story and some sort of sadness/tragedy. Even so, I thought it was a very enjoyable read. For me the first chapter was hard to get into because it just left too many questions, but that feeling went away as I got into the real meat of the book and it read smoothly and quickly after that.

I read somewhere that this was Nicholas Sparks' longest novel to date, and I believe it payed off. He developed the characters and the plot in much more depth than his previous novels, and I think that is part of what made it an enjoyable read, and in the end, what helped you relate to the characters.

The things I took away from this novel were a reminder to cherish those you love because you never know when you may not see them again and a reminder that things are not always as they seem, so trust yourself and hold off judgment, and finally to figure out who you are and be true to yourself.


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2009 Reading Recap

It's been awhile since I posted, but I thought it would be fun to share with you my reading list from 2009. My goal was to get 25 books read, varying in categories from Spiritual Growth, Financial Savviness, Health/Wellness, Career/Leadership, classics, recent best sellers, and then just some fluff.

I was able to get 17 books done, and covered some classics, recent best sellers, and others. So not quite to my goal, but good enough, considering the last year has been a crazy one.

What I read in 2009:
"Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell
"The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
"Marley and Me" by Josh Grogan
"The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Schaffer
"American Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld
"The Girl from Ames" by Jeffrey Zaslow
"Jane Boleyn" by Julia Fox
"The Sugar Queen" by Sarah Addison Allen
"Ellen Foster" by Kay Gibbons
"Little Earthquakes" by Jennifer Weiner
"Intern" by Sandeep Jauhar
"The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman
"STORi Telling" By Tori Spelling
"The Year of Fog" by Michelle Richmond
"No One You Know" by Michelle Richmond
"You'll Never Nanny in this Town Again" by Suzanne Hansen
"The Weight of Silence" by Heather Gudenkauf

I think my favorites of the year were "The Guernsey Literary..."; "Gone with the Wind" (can you believe I'd never read this or seen the movie before?); the Michelle Richmond books (great story teller who weaves a lot into the story); and "Marley & Me" which was hilarious, particularly if you've ever known a "Marley".

And now I'm kicking of 2010 with "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.

I am on GoodReads if anyone would like to find me over there. I find it's a great way to keep track of what you've read, what you'd like to read, and what your friends are reading.

Happy New Year!

"The Weight of Silence"

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I could not put this book down! I read it over two days and was just captivated by the characters and also by the description of the woods where most of the action takes place. They were magical & romantic at times, and scary & forboding at others and also hold meaning to each of the characters.

The main character of the story is Calli, a child who has selective mutism (meaning there is no medical reason she cannot speak, but she doesn't speak) as a result of experiencing a family trauma. Over the course of two days while she is missing, her history begins to unravel through the perspectives of the other characters in the book (her mother, her brother, her best friend, her best friend's father, and the town's deputy sheriff). As the story unfolds, we begin to understand what life is like for little Calli, and we learn what has lead to her mutism.

I started to love her little friend Petra who was outgoing and spunky and stood up for Calli against the kids who made fun of her and the adults who grew frustrated with her. Her brother was also a favorite character: kind-hearted and protective of her and really seemed to understand her.

Calli's father is an abusive alcoholic and while you never really like him, I felt like that realities of living with an alcoholic were portrayed accurately, and without bias. It seems like sometimes an author can either really play up the pity card of the horrible disease of alcoholism or can really make you judgmental against the alcoholic and I didn't feel like this author did either...it was presented as a very matter-of-fact, unfortunate presence in these people's lives.

Each character in this novel seems to have their weaknesses, doubts, obstacles, and trials & it was interesting to watch how each reacted to them. The novel reveals the experiences, situations, and decisions that led them to this point in the story.

My take-aways from this novel are:

(1) to remember that you do not know what other people are dealing with in their lives (alcoholism, abuse, bad marriages, childhood issues) or where they are coming from, so don't judge them, but help when you think you can (like little Petra speaking for Calli and Louis looking out for Toni).

(2) to value the true friends that you have in life because they are such a blessing & you will be there for each other through thick and thin. Calli & Petra were there for each other in each one's moment of need; Louis was there for Toni.

(3) Finally, no one is perfect, we all have things that feel like we could have done better, which may be true, but you can't undo the past...you can only do better today and tomorrow. So let go of it, learn from it and put your best foot forward. It seemed like Toni was very hard on herself for the parenting decisions she made, but to me the real questions should be not if she did everything right, but did she do everything she could given the circumstances & is she striving to be better in the future?

In reading some of the other reviews, I see that others were critical of the literary value of this book. They are correct...the writing style is not all that sophisticated, there aren't many examples of literary tools in use here...so if you're looking for something that can be evaluated for a literature class, you'll be disappointed; however, if you're looking for something that keeps your attention and helps you pass some time, this is a good way to do it.

I did feel like there were a few times that you could tell the author threw in some red herrings. To me, a good suspenseful book is one in which you continue believing that it could be anyone until the end. But I felt like the way she threw in a few of them, you could tell that's what she was trying to and it didn't succeed in creating the suspense I wanted.

I do agree with other readers that one of the weaknesses of this book is that it is told by different points of view (which is fine if you can do it well) but the voices aren't distinct enough to support that style of writing. Calli's voice is different because it is always told third-person, past-tense, while everyone else's is first-person, present-tense. And Ben's voice is different because it is written like a teenage boy. But the rest of the voices were too similar.

In hindsight, I do wonder about the odds of the circumstances...it seems like a stretch that two girls would go missing at the same time, the same day, in the same woods and have two entirely different, horrible stories.

But even given all that, it kept me turning pages. I would definitely recommend it for people looking for a book that will keep their attention and entertain them.

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Coconut-Chocolate Bars

Coconut-Chocolate Bars

1-1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
2 cups flaked coconut
½ cup caramel topping *
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips**
½ teaspoon vegetable oil

*I used the Smucker’s squeezable caramel ice cream topping and just eye-balled the amount I used

**I had a hard time getting the chocolate chips and vegetable oil to the right consistency for drizzling. So I spread it the best I could then sprinkled extra coconut and chocolate chips on top to hide the blobs of chocolate. Next time, try melting it in a double boiler or maybe adding a bit more vegetable oil.

Heat oven to 350©F. Spray 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. On low speed, beat in flour and cocoa until soft dough forms. On low speed, beat in 1 cup of the coconut. Press mixture in pan. Bake about 25 minutes or until center is set. Drizzle caramel over baked layer; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup coconut. In resealable freezer plastic bag, mix chocolate chips and oil; seal bag. Microwave on high 30-45 seconds, squeezing chocolate in bag every 15 seconds, until smooth. Cut ¼-inch tip from corner of bag; drizzle chocolate over coconut. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 4 rows.

1 bar: 200 Calories; 12 g total fat; 95 mg sodium; 21g carbohydrates, 1g protein.

My latest read

You'll" Never Nanny in This Town Again: The True Adventures of a Hollywood Nanny by http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/133128.Suzanne_Hansen">Suzanne Hansen

My rating: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/51739249">2 of 5 starsI read this book in about a week, just an hour or two each night, so it's quick, easy read. And I have a lot going on right now, so I wasn't in the mood for a heavy or deep, meaningful story and this fit the bill.
I think the reason for my low rating is that I was disappointed by the lack of humor. I had read "The Nanny Diaries" a few years ago and remember laughing through it. I had hoped this one would be somewhat similar.
This is the real-life account of one former Hollywood nanny and her employment with the Ovitz family, followed by a short stint with Debra Winger and then Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman's family. If her accounts are even half true I am saddened (but not shocked) by the behaviors of the Ovitzes and have a new found respect for Debra Winger and the DeVito family.
The author acknowledges that she did herself a big disservice by not insisting on a contract and not really even having a conversation up front about expectations for working hours, salary, etc. Even when she realized that she needed to say something, she didn't. I agree that alot of the strife she had with the Ovitzes was from her not standing up for herself, but that doesn't excuse some of the behavior on the part of the family.
There were times when I thought the Ovitzes actually sounded pretty nice, like when Michael called the dealership and got them to agree to selling Suzy her car at cost. But then there were other times when they just had unrealistic expectations. I'm not sure that it was intentional, I just think they didn't think beyond themselves sometimes, or didn't live in the real world enough to think about how unrealistic they were being.
I did like that you watched Suzy grow up from a naive, small-town 19-year-old to a more seasoned, and happy 25+ year old who had finally found the things that she wanted for herself.
If you want an easy read or enjoy memoirs or peeks into Hollywood, this will probably fit the bill.
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/833758-michelle">View all my reviews >>

Cold weather...

This cold weather has kept me indoors watching movies, reading books and scrapping. Check out some of my latest creations below and STAY WARM!

Rocking in the New Year...

This year, we spent NYE with some friends at their house in South Minneapolis. We had a great time eating, drinking and playing Rock Band.

AIA Fun Run

A co-worked and I volunteered on the AIA 150th anniversary Fun Run planning committee a few years ago. Some of our other co-workers showed up that day to run and/or volunteer. I think everyone had a great time.