Miye’s Neighborhood

OK not the first sunset of 2010 but a real nice one and it is only Jan. 4!  When I first started getting into photography the sunset photos were my favorites.  Now I hardy ever take a sunset photo...oh I took one or two last week..but I hadn't taken any in a while. 

I've missed taking sunset photos and the sun is going down a little later now.  Tonight, I was watching the clouds and as it looked like we could have a great sunset.  After I feed the horses, I checked the setting sun and decided to take a road trip.  I drove down on of the main roads that runs west to east. 

As I drove, I was looking towards the sunset and checking out good views.  I pulled over and tried to see if there was a shot and no there wasn't.  Tried again and no lucky.  I think people on the road thought I was having car trouble or was a little crazy.

The third try was a good one...so I got out of the car and took a couple of shoots.  I liked this one the best.  It was shot at F 8, IS0 100, White Blance of Tungsten and here is what I got.

Hallelujah Chorus

Then I got back in the car and looked for another good spot.  I tried a few more and then found this great giant saguaro and got out the tripod and took a few more shots...this was one I liked. Shot at F 8, ISO 400, WB Tungsten.

The Soul Train

I sent both photos to the TV news...the last several photos I've sent haven't been shown on the weather....maybe these will make tonight's show.

Finished Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson.

My friend and former coworker Gwenn recommended this book.  I haven't read it before, although I did read (and love) Bridge to Terabithia and The Great Gilly Hopkins, which she also wrote.

This is another fantastic book of hers, although I don't think she writes happy books.  (That said, this is the first one I've read that didn't make me cry at the end.)

Sara Louise and Caroline are twins.  Caroline is the favorite, probably at least partly because she almost died when she was born.  Sara Louise, on the other hand, is sort of the forgotten twin.  She works hard to help her father, who's a waterman (this is set on the Eastern Shore, and talks about Crisfield and Salisbury, where I'm from! LOVE!) but everyone is still concerned about Caroline and how to make her dreams of being a singer come true. 

Sara Louise (who's called "Wheeze" by everyone in the family, because that's what Caroline called her when they were little) spends pretty much the entire book hating her sister.  And for the record, Caroline doesn't seem that bad.  She's a little bit of a pain, yes, but it seems like Wheeze is just determined to hate her.  (And I kind of understand it, because it sucks to be the one who goes out of your way to help people and still not be the favorite.)

So yes, I definitely recommend this.  And now I want to read more of her books. :)

Jacob Have I Loved

Katherine Paterson

Finished The Lost Hours by Karen White.

I'm going to just give you the Amazon description, because I don't want to risk spoiling anything. 

"When Piper Mills was twelve, she helped her grandfather bury a box that belonged to her grandmother in the backyard. For twelve years, it remained untouched.

Now a near fatal riding accident has shattered Piper's dreams of Olympic glory. After her grandfather’s death, she inherits the house and all its secrets, including a key to a room that doesn’t exist—or does it? And after her grandmother is sent away to a nursing home, she remembers the box buried in the backyard. In it are torn pages from a scrapbook, a charm necklace—and a newspaper article from 1939 about the body of an infant found floating in the Savannah River. The necklace’s charms tell the story of three friends during the 1930s— each charm added during the three months each friend had the necklace and recorded her life in the scrapbook. Piper always dismissed her grandmother as not having had a story to tell. And now, too late, Piper finds she might have been wrong."

I was talking to a friend of mine recently (maybe even YESTERDAY) about how much I enjoy finding a new author who's written a lot of books.  It happened two years ago with Anita Shreve, and it's just happened again with Karen White.  I cannot wait to get paid again; I am loading up my Kindle with her books. :)

The Lost Hours

Karen White

I just realized that I'm three months away from turning 30, and I'm a little freaked out by it.

Now, before you point out that 30 is not old, I know that.

I think what it is is that 30 is when you are officially viewed as a grownup.  (Whether or not you act like it, you're expected to have it together by the time you're 30.)

I do not feel like I have it together.

I mean, yes, I'm a grownup.  I live by myself, I have a job, I don't get drunk all the time, I am polite and kind more often than I am not, and I don't eat ice cream for breakfast*.

But I don't feel like a grownup.  I feel like a complete mess.  A procrastinating mess with an unbalanced checkbook and an unfortunate book- and movie-buying habit.

Oh, blergh.  :(

* = most of the time.

Or more of a poll, really.

So I'm doing this thing where I'm donating money for reading, watching movies and TV.  I'm going to do a little bit of a post for the books and movies (partly so I can keep track and partly so that maybe next year, I can do a big list of movies, too), but I'm not sure what to do for TV shows.

I'd be easier to just list what I watch, because I can't imagine anyone cares what I think about the new episodes of Desperate Housewives (tonight!). 

So here's the question--should I list or do you actually care what I think about the TV shows I watch? :)

Beetlejuice is #88 on AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs list.

I don't know that I'd say this is one of the 100 funniest films ever, but it's definitely funny (if you like your movies dark and twisted).

This movie makes me miss Winona Ryder, who I absolutely loved when I was little.  (And she's in one of my most favorite movies--Heathers.)

(It also makes me sad, because it makes me remember when Tim Burton did really good movies.)

Beetlejuice (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Recommended by:  Jeannine

I really liked this movie (which is not surprising; we tend to agree on movies--or at least, I usually like what she likes; the reverse is not always true).  It's one of those that really catches you off guard, you know?  I expected it to be entertaining enough, but it turned out to be surprisingly good.

Cliff and Cydney are on their honeymoon in Hawaii when they learn that another couple (also newlyweds) have been brutally murdered on another island.

And they think the killers may be their new hiking buddies, Gina and Nick. 

*cue spooky music*

A Perfect Getaway (Theatrical/Unrated Director's Cut)

I've decided that I'm going to donate $1 for every book I read and movie I watch and 25 cents for every TV show I watch to a different charity every month.  In case you're curious, this is what I'm reading/watching and who's benefitting from my pop culture edition. :)

January (for BARCS):

Books:

1)  Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins* (240 pages)

2)  The Lost Hours by Karen White* (368 pages)

3)  Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson* (256 pages) (recommended by Gwenn)

4)  Horns by Joe Hill** (368 pages) (currently reading)

Movies:

1)  A Perfect Getaway (recommended by Jeannine)

2)  Beetlejuice*** (rewatch)

TV Shows:

1)  Desperate Housewives (Jan. 3)

2)  Brothers & Sisters (Jan. 3)

3)  The Good Wife (Jan. 5)

February (for First Book):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

March (for Coastal Hospice):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

April (for Hoops of Hope):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

May (for Blood:Water):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

June (for Human Rights Campaign):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

July (for Susan G. Komen for the Cure):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

August (for Big Brothers, Big Sisters):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

September (for Liquid Water):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

October (for Autism Speaks):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

November (for International Justice Mission):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

December (for Alzheimer's Association):

Books:

Movies:

TV Shows:

* = Read on Kindle

** = Review book

*** = Best Picture-winning or AFI Best movie

Finished Repossessed by A.M. Jenkins.

Really fun book (very hard not to read in one sitting) about a demon who possesses (sort of) someone after he decides to see what life is like as a human.

He notices a teenage boy is about to die after being hit by a car, so he pops in and prevents the boy (Shaun) from stepping off the curb.  Voila--Shaun's gone and the demon's in control.

You may think that the demon (or Fallen, as he prefers to be called) would be wreaking all sorts of havoc, but really, not so much.  He wants to make a difference and sets out a plan for how to do that.

Fun, oddly sweet book. 

Repossessed

A. M. Jenkins

So here's my list of the best books I read in 2009.  I'm not going to do the best movies I watched or songs I heard or TV shows I like, because I really didn't do enough of those to be able to have a good list.  And really, do you need to be TOLD that 30 Rock is awesome?  (If you do, you shouldn't.  You REALLY shouldn't.  Just start watching; you'll be sad you waited until now to start.)

But before we get started, here are some meaningless stats:

Books Read:  261

Best Month for Reading:  October (37)

Worst Month for Reading:  May (12)

Fiction:  227

Nonfiction:  34

Mysteries:  17

YA:  124

New-to-me Authors:  154

Books I Read That I Should Have Read Years Ago:  6 (Little Women, The Westing Game, Lolita, The Secret Garden A Christmas Carol and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland)

And the lists:

Best New-to-Me Fiction:

1)  The Help by Kathryn Stockett 

2)  The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

3)  The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

4)  A Friend of the Family by Lauren Grodstein

5)  March by Geraldine Brooks

6)  Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb

7)  Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay

8)  Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

9)  The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

10)  The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (yes, everyone HAS already read this.  But I still loved it.)

Best Fiction by Authors I Already Love:

1)  Life Sentences by Laura Lippman

2)  Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

3)  The Amateurs by Marcus Sakey

4)  Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult

5)  Under the Dome by Stephen King

6)  Hardball by Sara Paretsky 

7)  U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton

8)  Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

9)  Say When by Elizabeth Berg

10)  The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Best YA (non-series):

1)  Unwind by Neal Shusterman

2)  Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

3)  Hate List by Jennifer Brown

4)  The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

5)  Pure by Terra Elan McVoy

6)  Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande

7)  When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

8)  The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

9)  If I Stay by Gayle Forman

10)  How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

Best YA (series):

1)  The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

2)  Graceling & Fire by Kristin Cashore

3)  The Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong

4)  The Luxe series by Anna Godbersen

5)  The City of... series by Cassandra Clare

6)  The Ever series by Alyson Noel

7)  Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (reportedly the first in a series)

8)  Life as We Know it by Susan Beth Pfeffer

9)  The Gone series by Michael Grant

10)  The Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz

Best Nonfiction:

1)  Shelf Discovery by Lizzie Skurnick  

2)  The Guinea Pig Diaries by AJ Jacobs

3)  Good Book by Dave Plotz

4)  Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

5)  Cherries in Winter by Suzan Colon

6)  PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death & God

7)  Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies

8)  Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

9)  Izzy & Lenore by Jon Katz

10)  The Dreaded Feast

Best Christian books (fiction and non):

1)  Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

2)  Girl Meets God by Lauren F. Winner

3)  Though Waters Roar by Lynn Austin

4)  Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell 

5)  Plain Promise by Beth Wiseman

6)  Jesus in the Margins by Rick McKinley

7)  Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris

8)  The Silent Gift by Michael Landon, Jr. 

9)  Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren F. Winner

10)  The Sweet By and By by Sara Evans