November 2008 – Flamingo House Happenings

Change of Heart

2008, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction / denise

I was a little shocked to see a Picoult novel I hadn’t read just sitting on the library shelf. It made me nervous. I’m that disconnected from the library and reading that I haven’t read the latest Picoult? ugh. I need to get some library lists built and get serious about catching up! (And my 2009 challenges need to be less… challenging…)

So, I picked up Change of Heart and TW starts making Picoult jokes (like she always does) and about 3 pages into the book, I start making groaning noises. Picoult just gets more and more like a teen “problem book” with every new novel she puts out. When will it end? By 10 pages, I was making Picoult jokes. And I said to TW…

“I’d like to write Picoult a letter. I need her advice. Advice that only she can give that will drastically improve my quality of life. I’d like to know what products she uses on her hair.”

I went back to the book and about 50 pages later the woman ANSWERED MY QUESTION. I do believe she is The Messiah. I believe.

(And for those who have read this book, you’ll “get it”. Seriously. It was kind of weird to read that book and have her answer the question I really had just asked… all out of the blue and stuff. Very weird. )

Another winner from Picoult, jokes or no jokes – ridiculous problems or no ridiculous problems. Great characters. Interesting material. Fun to read even though it was hard to read.

Change of Heart Read More »

The Hysterical Alphabet

2008, Books in Bed, Feminism, Women / denise

The Hysterical Alphabet was an impulse purchase gift for Michelle, yesterday at Women and Children. No idea why I got it… just because I thought she’d be amused by it. When I read it, I wanted to color in the pages. No idea why I wanted to color in the pages, I just did.

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Art of Modern Rock: Mini Poster Girls

2008, Books in Bed, Comics & Graphic Novels, Feminism, Poetry, Women / denise

Art of Modern Rock: Mini Poster Girls was not quite an impulse purchase but I didn’t go to Women and Children with the intention of buying it. I saw it, I remembered giving someone (The half child?) a book of rock posters that was really cool and as I flipped through it, I realized this was the “Perfect for Michelle” version of that book. And it is.

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Airborn

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Fiction, Printz Award Challenge, Young Adult / denise

When we started listening to Airborn in the car, the little kids were with us and they were confusded. Airship? They didn’t “get it”. I said “think Edge Chronicles but a little more realistic”. By the time TW and I finished today, I’m thinking it was very Edge Chronicles like. Cloud Cats sound like something you’d find in Edge Chronicles book.

It was a fun adventure book. Good girl and boy characters. Nice ending. Good Printz book that kids might actually read.

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Chloe plus Olivia

1 Comment / 2008, Books in Bed, Classics, Favorites, Feminism, From the Stacks Challenge, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Queer, short stories, Women / denise

Thank freaking goodness I am very, very familiar with the work of women like Judy Grahn, Audre Lourde, Adrienne Rich etc etc etc. If I was not familiar with their work, I would still be reading Chloe plus Olivia well into the new year.

800 pages of lesbian lit. Aye yi yi. Text book style lesbian lit. Oy.

This was one hell of a lesbian anthology and if I had it to do all over again, I’d have read an author a day or skipped around a bit based on what my preference of the day might have been. Trying to read it straight through was not a fun experience and reading lesbian lit SHOULD be a fun experience.

By page 500, I was sick of lesbians… sick of masking… sick of the romantic friendship… sick of the man trapped in the womans body… I did not even want to think about the dangerous flowers or the amazons at that point. I just wanted it done. lol

There are some great writers in this anthology, some I’ve never read and a few I’ve never heard of. Great anthology, really. Just don’t try to read it straight through.

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links for 2008-11-26

Daily Dose / denise

Don't Sell Yourself Short | BlogHer

A recent discussion among a group of professional and talented women I know reminded me once again about how important it is that we not sell ourselves short. The conversation centered around how one of the members should price her consulting services. Numbers flew around and the range between the highest and lowest suggested hourly rate was several hundred dollars. How's that for a reflection of how different women perceive the value of what they offer!

(tags: business salary worth women blogher paulag)
Could you, would you, skip wrapping paper this year? | BlogHer

It started, for me, with Amy's No Plastic Holiday Challenge. I'm just not ready to give up all plastic, not entirely, anyway. But it did get me thinking. And as I'm now actively looking for little steps towards growing greener, I did find something I thought I could do: Skip the wrapping paper, this year.

(tags: christmas wrappingpaper green eco mirkamin blogher)
Teens Use of Social Media Change Their Parent's World | BlogHer

Do you really know your teen?

(tags: teens socialmedia internet technology blogher genahaskett)

links for 2008-11-26 Read More »

links for 2008-11-25

Daily Dose / denise

An Interview with Academy Award Winner Mary Steenburgen of "Four Christmases" | BlogHer

I love Mary Steenburgen. She's one of those actresses who slips in and out of roles, seemingly with little effort and she brings a quiet, steely, strength to whatever character she plays.

(tags: marysteenburgen fourchristmases interview movies megansmith blogher)
What The "Right" Has To Be Thankful For | BlogHer

Life could be worse. Which is what I've been telling my fellow conservatives and libertarians: life could be worse. Sure, we'll have four years of Barack Obama, but we'll also have four years of endless material. Sure, we're about to enter a second New Deal, but swing dancing and pin curls came out of the first one, and I've never had the chance to grow a turnip and I'd love to learn. I also hear olive drab is so in for next year, so the sudden onset of Communism should fall right on time.

(tags: conservatives GOP americanprincess emzanotti)
Remembering Childhood Comforts | BlogHer

I unfortunately have a lot of memories of being sick as a child. If there was a cold or flu I caught it. As much as I hate being sick there were comforts there as well. My mother would make soup. I'd eat plain toast and drink ginger ale while watching cartoons. Mostly though, I remember sick days as being an opportunity to stay in bed, or at least on the couch under a pile of blankets, and read. Yep, sick days were made immeasurably better by the addition of book.

(tags: books childhood sickday sassymonkey blogher)
Thanksgiving at My Mother's Passing with Cheer from Father Guido Sarducci | BlogHer

Father Guido Sarducci explains the meaning of life and the forgiveness of sins while I recall my mother and mourn her absence this holiday. We each have our own way with grief.

(tags: death grief loss thanksgiving nordette blogher snl fatherguidosarducci)

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links for 2008-11-24

Daily Dose / denise

The mortgage crisis and the elderly: a perfect storm in the winter of life | BlogHer

As the economic crisis deepens, how far do you think we should go to help elderly homeowners? Do you know of anyone who has been caught in the traps described in these articles?

(tags: mortgage elderly seniors crisis blogher kimpearson)
What Makes a Kick-Butt Literary Heroine? | BlogHer

I like strong women. I like the women in the books I read to be strong. I don't like weak heroines that sit around waiting to be rescued. In fact, I much prefer it when they are the ones that do the rescuing. But what makes a kick-butt literary heroine? Is that they are strong? Independent? Opinionated? Do they actually have to kick butt? Or do we just need to like them? I think many people would consider Buffy to be pretty kick butt and she's all of those things (and ok, was mostly on screen but there are books). But what about Anne Shirley? Nancy Drew? Elizabeth Bennett?

(tags: books women heroines sassymonkey blogher)
Stuffing vs. Dressing Food Safety Concerns, and What's It Called at Your House? | BlogHer

Many people think "stuffing" is cooked inside the turkey, while "dressing" is cooked on the side, but actually both terms refer to a mixture of bread and seasonings, and they can be used interchangeably. In the U.S. there are definitely regional differences, with stuffing used more in the north, and dressing in the south. Whether you call it stuffing or dressing, what's really important in the debate is how the stuffing or dressing should be cooked.

(tags: dressing stuffing thanksgiving kalyndenny blogher)

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The birthday boy – beyond breakfast

6 Comments / Family Funk, Holidays, Kid Talk / denise

Prince J will be 15 on Tuesday (I know, right?!) so we’re celebrating a bit this weekend and we’ll celebrate a bit more on Tuesday.

The boy, as his sisters did before him, chose Krispy Kreme for his Saturday morning birthday breakfast. We got a bit of a late start but still had plenty of time to get to the KK near O’Hare and get him back to Skokie for his flute lesson. Unfortunately, the Krispy Kreme closed under cover of darkness and we did not know that until we arrived and found it shut down, dark, with scary signs on the doors.

The nearest KK is 10 minutes further away and we did not have time to make that drive and get back to Skokie. So we started driving back the way we came, discussing quick breakfast options. We were thinking bagels but then I asked the Prince whether he’d prefer Starbucks for coffee and pastries. He said he didn’t care. Then, I had a brilliant idea… Cinnabon! It’s close to the flute lesson and they all love Cinnabon and never get to go. He agreed, it was a great second choice.

Unfortunately, the Cinnabon also closed – no idea when that happened, it’s in a shopping center near us that we never go to. That left us with NO time to choose something else – we rushed into Starbucks, grabbed our coffees, wolfed down pastry and breakfast sandwiches and dashed to the flute lesson.

Geez. What else is going to shut down????

This morning, the boy requested eggs benedict and everyone was happy. TW and RJ are making “Fake Thanksgiving dinner” and took a break to watch the kid open some of his birthday gifts – including a 12 pack of Dr Pepper (a traditional gift to teens in my family.)

15. How does that happen?

The birthday boy – beyond breakfast Read More »

links for 2008-11-21

3 Comments / Daily Dose / denise

Melissa Ferrick Store – All

Must order tshirts patches and picks for Xmas. Someone remind me.

(tags: melissaferrick ferrick tshirts guitarpicks patches)

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