"The Time Traveler's Wife" and Hitting Back...a HUGE no no!!

This is the second book I have read by Audrey Niffenegger and I must say she is quickly climbing the charts to one of my favorite authors. I read her other novel, "Her Fearful Symmetry," and loved, loved, loved it!

*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!*

This novel swaps back and forth betweeen Henry and Clare. Henry is the time traveler in the relationship and appears in a clearing in the meadow behind Clare's home when she is 6 years old. Essentially, she has known this man for almost her entire life. This novel keeps in time with Clare's age, and Henry exists in the present, however, he has a time travelling self that appears in the present, past, and future. This had me a bit confused in the beginning. I was having trouble understanding which Henry I was dealing with.

Throughout the novel, Clare always seems to be waiting. As a child she was waiting to grow up and be legal so she could date and eventually marry him (she already knew from "future" Henry that they were already married). She had to wait 2 years to meet him in real life. After marriage, she waited years and 7 miscarriages later to have a child with Henry (miscarriages mainly due to chromosomal issues with Henry's sperm I'm assuming). After they do have their first child, Henry dies when they're daughter Alba is 5. She waits in hope of seeing the time traveling Henry, but this waiting proves to be in vain because the only one who ever sees him is Alba.

(*Note this a draft saved from March. Baby news to follow!)

"Sula" and BOTTLE FREE!

What are the first words I think of when I hear, "Sula," now? The term, "trifling heifer," comes to mind!



Sorry, this post may sound a wee bit harsh, but I have a very low tolerance for home wreckers (whether the man/woman is married or not). This part alone made it very hard for me to pay attention to this book. Having been in a situation where I was betrayed by a best friend, I can't tolerate it. Nope. Just can't do it!


The story takes place in the 1920's with Sula Peace and Nel Wright as best friends. There are so many instances where Toni Morrison described how "tight" these girls were as children. Unfortunately, time moves on and Sula left their small hometown for the city. There she learned the ways of the world I guess you could say. Upon her return to their hometown, Sula betrays her oldest and best friends in one of the most hideous ways. I think what ultimately ticks me off is the way that, in the end, Nel comes back to Sula trying to help her as she is dying. I must say that Nel had to have been one heck of a woman. I'm all for forgiveness but I'll be darned if I'm helping you on your death bed!


I appreciated the writing style (Toni Morrison's imagery is out of this world!) and loved how much of an easy read this was. (I guess I should say listen as that is how I "read" most of my books!). Sorry this review is not much of a review, but it really put a bad taste in my mouth.






This is the last picture of my son and his bottle. He has been bottle free for 15 days as of today. I am so proud of him. I stressed for months about how in the world I was going to wean this little man off of something that is so comforting to him. As you can see here, he is one-handing the bottle. I think when he started doing this that I really started contemplating weaning. I must say that I could not have done this without our sitter and I am so appreciative of her.

He is so picky about the type of cup he drinks. He has 2 Mickey Mouse Playtex cups I bought from Babies R Us; one for home, one for the sitter. Those are the only 2 he will take. He is so strong willed when it comes to drinking out of or eating anything he does not recognize. He will turn his head and walk away from anything he doesn't like. I sure hope he'll do this with women in hisfuture!

"Animal Farm" and GET OFF MY TV!!

I can't tell you how unbelievably funny this book was! It was such a parallel to government these days (or what I'm sure earlier governments were). I focuses on totalitarianism and how governments tend to change their views/laws to protect those who feel they are superior. (Hey, this doesn't sound so ancient now does it...hmmmm!)

The book is set on a farm (duh!) wherein all the animals can talk. The animals are, in their eyes, treated poorly, and succeed in running off the farmer (Jones) with their revolt.

(For some reason, this reminds me of something I heard on Michael Moore's movie, "Sicko." Someone in the movie said that the difference between the French government and the United States' government is that the French are afraid of revolt and afraid of their people rising up against them. We all know America's theory: "Speak softly and carry a big stick," but I digress).

Anyway, the farmer is run off and the pigs (who knew pigs were such smart animals?!) became the head of the the farm. What's funny is they constantly dangled the idea of Jones returning in front of their eyes to justify the way they rules the farm. They made the animals petrified of this "enemy" to continue to rule how they saw fit. (Sound familiar?) They reneged on their rules (ex: "No animal shall drink alcohol" became "No animal shall drink alcohol in excess," etc.). Basically all the rules were changed to fit the needs of the reigning regime (the pigs...which I must say also cracked me up!). I recommend this book if you want a funny outtake on government.

My son won't leave my TV alone. I allow him to watch 1-2 episodes of Yo Gabba Gabba! a day, once in the morning (maybe) and definitely one in the evening while I am cooking dinner in the kitchen. Fortunately, my little man is perfect weight for his height, but this height business is screwing with my television viewing pleasures. For some reason it is appealing to him to turn off the TV during a program (and no, I do not have DVR to rewind!). Along with turning off the TV is his ability to open the refrigerator door. That's right. He's figured it out, everyone. And I must admit, it's kind of annoying to be trying to cook dinner and someone is handing you a bag of shredded cheddar cheese because they're hungry NOW!