The Vampire Academy/ Dresden Books

So I had a request to blog about some of the fiction that I am reading. I am a psycho when it comes to reading and I literally feel like I'm going crazy if I don't have a good book to read. So, here some reviews of the books I have been recently reading. They are both Adult Fantasy series so if you're not interested feel free to skip this review.
I tend to go through phases with books and I read everything by one author and then move on to the next. I am currently going back and forth between two authors:

The first author for today is Jim Butcher. I have read six of the books in the Harry Dresden series. The sixth being Blood Rites. I already posted some funny excerpts from some of the first books in the series and obviously he needed some improvement. Well, he improved and I have really enjoyed this series. Beyond the fact that he has some SUPER quirky saying, occasional goofy dialogue, and some sex scenes that I find myself flipping past, I really enjoyed these books. The plot course is completely predictable (He almost gets killed in the first chapter, then he finds out his near death is because of his next job, then he is going to die in some kind of face off but pulls out of it, of course then he figures out some leads and is hopelessly tired, he then has one more scrape with death but as he pulls out of this one he learns how he can save the world from absolute destruction and "save his butt at the same time", then he saves the world and drinks a nice warm beer), but what causes these events to transpire is completely unpredictable and great! I am definitely enjoying these books, he is fun and entertaining and absolutely creative. (You want a good take on vampires these are great for the mythology, he REALLY does his homework). My only complaint is that as a "wizard" he really only knows a few tricks and I would like to see him pull some more rabbits out of his hat, if I can use that pun here.

Second author is Richelle Mead! Go Richelle! I have LOVED these books. I have read both series she has written, The Vampire Academy, and The Georgina Kincaid series. I can't say that I would recommend The Georgina Kincaid series only because it really had a lot of sex that I had to skip past. I finished the books in hours only because I had to skip so much, but if that doesn't bother you then have at it! These books are captivating and irresistible. I particularly loved The Vampire Academy series. This is a series to rival Stephanie Meyers any day. Her vampire mythology is fabulous and she is beyond captivating. I literally couldn't put it down and stayed up all night reading just so I could finish. Granted there are a few offensive words (if that isn't your thing) and a near sex scene, as well as quite a few punctuation mistakes. I am normally bothered by that but I will excuse Richelle because her plots are great, her characters and people I want to do well and be happy and her writing is just...great. I would definitely recommend this series if you want a good teenage vampire romance, great stuff. She also had a new book that just came out Dark Swan that I haven't had a chance to read because it's on order at the library and we're poor so I can't order it, but I'll be sure to let you know how it is when it comes out.

Happy Reading!!!

Cute Pictures and Videos...

I thought I would remind everyone how cute our little boy is. Just in case you forgot, of course. These first two pictures were taken in California a couple months ago but the next two I took the other day. Then, because we have been telling everyone that E. can wave and say "hi", that he can shake his head "no, no, no" and that he can sign a few words I am trying to get them on video because some people don't believe us. Well, here is a little bit of evidence and I will keep trying to get him to do all his new tricks while on camera. (He really likes the camera and just does his silly "camera face" and tries to eat it so I have so far been unsuccessful in capturing all of these tricks).

Happy to be in jail!

Cute and fat!

This is his cheesy camera face!

Here is his BIG goofy smile that shows off his three little teeth. (His top two and another on the bottom are all coming in right now to add to the crazy little biter!)

Obviously, the first video is of E. shaking his head "no" (followed by me actually telling him "no" because he tries to eat the camera again, I wasn't lying, that's all he ever does). The second video is a little wave and if you listen close you can here his what is almost a "hi". He usually does it better but this was the best we could do for now. Then he ends with his velociraptor screech just for your entertainment.

Our fun Saturday!!

So Mario and I had a really fun Saturday. We went to our very first Farmers Market (which was an absolute blast)! Our friend Laura took us and showed us the ropes to what may quickly become a big obsession and addiction for me. Here is a picture of the market. There was music and soaps and flowers and all the produce you can imagine!

Then we went up to Kokomo, an area where I served my mission. It was pretty surreal to be back there showing my husband and baby different places that we worked, went to church, met people etc. It was exciting! Here is proof that we actually went!

Then we took a drive over to the Battlegrounds where the Battle of Tippecanoe was fought. Behind E. and I is the memorial. As M. pointed out on his blog, there unfortunately wasn't a memorial for the lost Indians. Here are a couple shots on these beautiful grounds.

Later on when we were putting E. down for the night I came to check on him and found him just staring out of his crib like a little prisoner. He looked so sad so I got the camera and couldn't help but take some cute pictures of him!

It was a great day and enough to start making M. and I feel at home.

Calling all Twilight fans...

Hey, where are all the Twilight fans?

Down with Twilight!!!

Okay, so I might be burned alive for this blog but I really can't resist putting out there that I have a growing hatred for these Stephanie Meyers books! I read the first in the series and my eye still twitches when I think about how horrible it was. I am opening this up for discussion and would love a healthy debate but I need to get this off my chest. I am really getting more and more bitter that these books are gaining popularity and getting such praise as "the biggest literary phenomenon since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"! Stephanie Meyers is being called the American J.K. Rowling and I want to make a stand for good literature and tell everyone that this is ridiculous. I have several things that I have found grating and annoying about these books so here goes...

Grammar

Are you kidding me? Her grammar is a joke, the entire book is written in a passive voice which definitely reflects in the story. Her syntax is off the entire time and I really don't think she knows how to properly construct a sentence. Does she know how to edit? I'm sorry but I think I kept reading Twilight simply because I was drawn in to all the mistakes and bad editing. I think I could expect this from someone in high school writing a story for class but a published author that is supposed to be the most amazing American writer of our generation? How pathetic.
And if I read one more time how beautiful Edward was I was going to put a stake through my own heart. If anyone can defend an image, a sentence, why any of her ridiculous mistakes were in there, PLEASE let me know.

Plot

So, I will give old Steph a thumbs up for being very gripping. I couldn't put her silly book down, but, the entire time I was waiting for something to happen! There was absolutely NO action (except for Bella getting herself in to trouble, which I will mention later) until the very end of the book. When the "bad" vampires show up after the baseball game I thought maybe something was going to pick up. Yeah it picked up but just barely. There were maybe five to ten pages of action at the very end of the book. A good vampire book should start with some action right at the beginning and not let up, I mean come on, we're talking about vampires here.

Myths

Which brings up the next thought, when did vampires start "glistening"? The thought of a vampire, choosing to be good against everything in it's nature can be interesting but with proper struggle and structure. Running in pacts, right on. Going out the the daylight, there are different theories on this, personally I would have liked more detail on how this strays from the popular myth. There are books that have this theory but it goes deeper than "they just can". I will give it to her that some of the Indian mythology was intriguing, at best. (If you would like good books that discuss these topics let me know and I will give you some suggestions). So back to "glistening", are you serious? I don't even have more to say about this.

Bella

What a horrible leading lady. This is completely biased and personal but I HATE Bella. I like a leading lady that isn't afraid to step up and at least try to defend herself. I don't want to see her sitting on her butt waiting for someone to come rescue her throughout the entire book. And on top of that Bella purposely tries to get herself into trouble, all the time!!! If I was Edward I would have bit her. Unbelievably annoying...

I could continue on with my rant but I feel better and a lot of people that I love dearly are addicted to these books so I will stop my tirade there and see if anyone reading this would like to defend the writing of critically acclaimed Stephanie Meyers. Know also that my husband is in the MFA program as a writer and I'm sure he will rip apart my grammar, syntax, and sentence structure when he reads this, but I have never claimed to be a writer. I just like to read.

I should also add a disclaimer that I judge no one, including Stephanie Meyers, for enjoying and even being addicted to these books. Enjoy them if it makes you happy. I just need to make it known that I really didn't enjoy these books.

The Office Olympics Promo Dwight's Centathlon

I can't wait!!!!

New home, new school, new state, new people, new hair-du!!

E. and his Daddy at Purdue!

Mommy and E. chillin' in front of this really cool resident hall!

So, we are finally here and we are having a great time! As usual right before the move I hacked off all of my hair so that I look like a boy but that didn't stop all of our adventures for the week. We have been all over Lafayette, all around campus, and even to XXX (it's not what you think it is, it's a hamburger joint). It has been a ton of fun and we are beat! I can't decide whether or not I would like school to start. It will give us a more steady schedule, but on the other hand, M. will be so busy that E. and I will never see him and things will be super crazy around here.

I will try to keep everyone updated as we get a little more settled but for now I hope these little pictures help you to know that we are safe and happy and doing well. Thank you all for your support and for sending your love. I especially want to thank Marcos, Mia and Gabriel for escorting M. all across the country so that he (and all of our stuff) arrived safely. I was pretty nervous but all your help eased that burden significantly. Thank you so much, we couldn't have done it without you!

Wendy

p.s. if you happened to see the Mama Mia post that took youtube three weeks to post, sorry for the confusion, I thought it just didn't work and I wasn't worrying about it, then out of nowhere it popped up! Whatever!

Boxes, boxes, boxes...

So I have officially sworn off buying toys! E. loves to play with anything and EVERYTHING that is NOT a toy! As you can obviously see, he is playing with my hairbrush and with a spatula and he is always absolutely mortified if you take these away from him. He loves boxes (which has been very helpful with this move). I put him in a box and either let him play in his very own or, I put him in the box that I am working on and pack everything around him. Then I move him to the next box and seal that one up. He loves it. These pictures also give you a great example of his new "camera face". He does this everytime we take his picture now, what a goof!