Friday, June 18, 2010

Things I'm Not Ashamed to Admit

I like mayonnaise. I listen to Christmas music all year round. Sometimes I don't take a shower every day. I read the Harry Potter books all the time. I watch the Harry Potter movies all the time. Sometimes I put on my make-up while I'm driving. There are times when I jam out to Bryan Adams - like this morning on the way to work.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Reviews: Wonderland Tales...

I finally saw Alice in Wonderland the other night - the new one, not the Disney cartoon because I've seen that a bazillion times. I liked it! It is different, but hello, it's Tim Burton. Of course it will be different! Wonderland is still wacky, but a bit more run-down than we last saw it. The characters are colorful and bizarre, but with noticeably less pep in their step - must be that overbearing Red Queen dragging them down. Alice is sad and cynical, not at all the bright-eyed and inquisitive child she was on her last visit. Heck, she doesn't even remember her last visit! It is a relief to note that her cynicism is not angry - on the contrary, it seems rather passive. She is not at all fazed by her sudden descent down the hole, nor by Wonderland and its oddities...in fact, one begins to question her unremarkable attitude until you remember she thinks it all a dream - unworthy of a reaction, you see, since in her dream she will come to no harm, she will wake up, none of this is real. Until, of course, she realizes she can, she won't, and it is... In the end, all is right (wrong?) and Alice just tells it like it is. I especially like her advice for Aunt Imogene - "There is no prince. You need to talk to someone about your delusions"...well said. Definitely worthy of a purchase at a later date and time...

Next, The Thirteenth Tale, a book I have now read twice and can see doing so again. Really excellent. Several words come to mind - gothic, strange, twisted, sad, madness, seclusion, incest...yes, I said it. I think what makes this such a good book is that it really is just a good story... A famous, yet highly reclusive author is finally telling the story of her much-sought-after and much-lied-about childhood. Her biographer is a young antiquarian bookkeeper with a haunted past of her own. And speaking of haunted... The Angelfields live in their beautiful but crumbing estate, practically locking themselves inside its decaying walls for generations while ignoring the world around them. They are a strange family. And pretty twisted - at least, Charlie and Isabelle are. The twins are just victims of inbred mental illness and a severe lack of care. Read this book.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Summahtime...

...is moving right along! Officialy it does not start for another few weeks, of course, but what does that mean? It's 90 degrees outside and school is out - it's summertime.

Super excited about the beach in 5 weeks - whoop-whoop! Matt and I are both ready to kick up our feet and do nothing! Everyone will be there for this year, including Larryn and Isaac and Ellie - full house, to say the least! I think 17 of us? And that's not including Sallie or Sam, who will probably show up...

Matt and are great. Work is going well for both of us. He is having to work some nights now, which neither of us are thrilled about, but he loves his job and is willing to work when he is needed. Plus, the nights aren't that late, he is usually home by 10:00 - no rolling in at 2:00 or 3:00am, that's for sure! The Mill House is still kicking - the pizza is delish and everyone who eats there seems to agree! Work is going great for me. We just finished tallying up budget for next year, which was a totally new experience for me, so that was interesting. Still getting things in order, but I think that will be an on-going project for some time... Loving being done with school! Now I'm just waiting on that diploma...

Camille graduated from high school last week...I cannot believe the baby is a graduate! Mom did fine, she didn't totally lose it like I thought. Perhaps when Camille actually leaves for Clemson, then she will have the breakdown?? She will be fine, with 4 grandkids not even a mile away... Still, that's hard, having the baby graduated and gone...