I See What You Meme

While on our vacation , I spent a lot of time reading.  Here are my reviews: 11/22/63 by Stephen King My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm so happy Stephen King isn't really "retired". 11/22/63 was an epic novel (690 pages!) that did not disappoint. King is the master at spinning a good yarn. In his latest book, he creates a time travel scenario just this side of plausible with characters who are believable, likeable, and still genuinely human (i.e. flawed). As protagonist Jake Epping attempts to make good on a dying man's wish to use a found portal into the past to stop the JFK assassination, he embarks on a journey that is part history, part fantasy, and completely engaging. Through the lens of the early 1960s, 11/22/63 explores the possible implications of time travel, examining that age-old question: are we masters of our own (or someone else's) destiny or is life more about a predetermined fate. As narrator, Jake repeats two mantras throughout the journ...

The vacation is officially over. Roger and I had a wonderful and relaxing time.  A few lessons learned: Lesson #1: Air Tran provides excellent customer service. The weather in Richmond delayed our departure and we missed our connection in Atlanta.  Fortunately, Air Tran put us up in a local hotel with a meal voucher and a flight out the very next morning. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the hotel until almost midnight and needed to leave  the hotel at 6 AM to make our shuttle. We didn't get a lot of sleep and the hotel had some bizarre issues with the room: the remote control for the television just advanced the channel regardless of which button was pressed (including volume).  Plus, the telephones were disconnected from the wall jack. When we connected them, the dial tone didn't seem to work. Good thing we had our phones and didn't need a wake-up call.  It was clean, though, and it was better than sleeping in an airport terminal.   Lesson #2: Social ...

On this day in 1997, Roger and I got married, surrounded by 120 (or so) friends and family.  It was a simple, beautiful, and fun event that marked the start of an amazing adventure that we call our life.  As I thought this week about what I might say in a blog post about our marriage, I had many ideas. I could list the reasons why I love Roger. I could share the things that I have learned about relationships in our 14 years together. I could recount many of the memories (good and bad) that have become our lives.   None of it seemed to hit the right tone. I don't know if there is a secret to our successful marriage. I've seen other friends and family get married. Many of them have also seen divorce. Our lives have seen joy and loss, success and failure. Is our marriage successful because we are a good match or is it because we do the right things and make the right decisions? I'm not sure. Every day I feel lucky to be married to one of my best friends. I don't thin...

In case you've missed it, I've been busy blogging over at Insert Eyeroll and Richmond Mom .   You can find out the latest news on movie releases , new developments in anthropological research , and more options coming soon to a video kiosk near you.  On the serious side, I also wrote a short essay on the lessons Robert taught our community in response to recent events.   Stay tuned for more reading material. The book is still "in process" and we are hoping for an early 2012 release! Don't forget that it's Election Day. Perform your civic duty and vote, even in the uncontested elections.  

Now that Halloween is over, it seems that the end of the year holidays are clamoring for attention. Our stores were filled with Christmas paraphernalia before the Halloween candy and costumes even managed to walk off the shelves.  Everyone complains about it but it doesn't seem to change the mind of marketers. It only seems to spur them on.  I've been ambivalent about the holiday marketing onslaught for years. It seems that the focus for these holidays moves a little bit more towards conspicuous consumption and away from the true Reason for the Season. For almost 10 years, Roger and I have been gradually paring down our holiday gift giving. Our "gift" to friends and family has been a donation to a worthy organization in lieu of presents, sometimes accompanied by a symbolic token representing the organization. The first year, we donated to Habitat for Humanity and made simple but artsy pictures frames out of hardware materials (washers,bolts, and nails).  Another year...

One of my never-ending sources of inspiration is Miss Britt .  After discovering her blog, we were fortunate enough to meet her and her family in real life  during the first leg of their cross-country RV adventure.   This past week, she wrote a piece for TLC Parentables  about the things her family has learned to live without. I am constantly grateful for all that we have. More and more, I have been feeling this pull to minimize and scale back. While there are some things that I love and can't seem to live without (more on that later), I find myself asking the question, "Do I really need that?" quite a bit lately. Britt shared the things that her family has eliminated from their life (without much sacrifice) so I thought I would share my own list: 1. Cable TV   We dropped our cable in July and I haven't missed it. There are times when I wish I could watch something on NBC (our antenna doesn't seem to get a good signal for the local affiliate). I'm sure ...

This has been a difficult week but it ended well. On Sunday, I heard the news that a child was missing in the woods north of our house.  Not much later, I learned that the child in question was Robert Wood, Jr. For those of you living outside the Richmond area, Robert is an 8-year old with autism. He is nonverbal and his skills are somewhat limited.  He wandered away from his father and brother during an outing at a local park on Sunday and they have been searching for him all week. I was nervous as a parent who could only imagine how challenging it would be to know your child was missing.   I was riddled with anxiety as someone who works regularly with children with autism.  I know that these kids can sometimes bolt and run, even when you are providing conscientious care.  Any time a child goes missing it is stressful but when that child cannot communicate effectively, the risk is that much greater.  I was also sad and scared because I know Robert. I k...