I’m Puzzled
July 25th, 2010
I love puzzles. All kinds of puzzles make me happy; crossword puzzles, logic puzzles, Rubik's Cubes. I love hidden object puzzles and word searches. When I was a kid, I always had a puzzle book nearby. My favorite part of summer vacation was standing in the airport gift shop picking out a new puzzle book for the plane ride to wherever. While I love any type of puzzle thrown in front of me, my favorite type by far is the jigsaw puzzle. I love pouring out thousands of randomly shaped pieces, sorting through them and finding a place for each one.
That said, I had not actually done a jigsaw puzzle in years until this week. I used to do them al the time before Aidan, but afterwards there just wasn't time. Once he was mobile, his grubby little hands would steal the pieces and they would never be seen again. Lost pieces happened long before Aidan though. I used to sit on the floor in the living room with the folded card table in front of me and construct the puzzles on top of it. That way, I could slide it under the couch when I wasn't working on it. One day, I didn't slide the puzzle far enough and came home to find an entire corner – about 40 pieces – missing. We found them, in a mushier form, two days later after Cleo went outside. Ew. So I gave up my obsession in favor of less chewable, ruinable hobbies. But last week, I sat down and yanked out two brand new puzzles. Both of them have been finished and put back in their boxes.
I sat on my hands for a coupe of days insisting I wouldn't buy any more puzzles….except for an app for my phone and a computerized version…but then I had to run into my least favorite store ever, Wal-Mart, to buy a new plecostomus and a couple of fiddler crabs and walked through the toy section. Somehow, to new puzzles fell into my shopping cart and made their way home with me. I may need to get help for this addiction, perhaps I'll start my own group, PA – Puzzler's Anonymous. "My name is Karin and I'm a puzzleaholic." I'll get to it right after I finish my new puzzles.
Books and Reading and Stuff, Oh My!
July 14th, 2010
It's July 15th. The year is half over. Already. What.the.hell? On January 1, I said I was going to read 100 books this year. I was officially a SAHM, there should be no reason I couldn't do it. Prior to being a mom, I used to read three or four books a week with no problem. 100 should be a piece of cake! Ummmm……
I am a wee bit behind. OK a LOT behind. I have only read 22 books this year and I need to catch up. I have over 200 books in my TBR piles (somehow they keep growing) so the problem is not a shortage of materials. I was reading a lot for school, but I'm taking a break from classes for a few months so I can't use that as an excuse either. I should be 50 books into my challenge and I'm not even halfway there.
I'm going to buckle down and get caught up. I have hard cover and paperback books overflowing my bedside cabinet and drawers. (I even have some hidden in a secret compartment that I'm not sure Rob knows about. Sssshhh) I have books on my phone thanks to the Kindle app. I add new books constantly since the lovely TopSurf pointed me in the direction of the lists on Amazon that update all day long.
I have classics, I have mystery/thrillers. I have my favorite SciFi/Horror thanks to the Laurell K Hamilton books that I burn through on the Kindle. Fiction, Nonfiction, Fantasy and Autobiographies are all represented in my stacks. Maybe I should clarify…I think the only autobiographies I have in the stacks currently are Russell Brand's My Booky Wook and The Confession by James McGreevey. Gay politicians and dirty hawt comedians make up the extent of that section of my library. *ahem* Don't judge me.
Somewhere in the list are Harry Potter and Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help that Aido Tato and I are reading. If I can twist his little arm, we will also be reading the Chronicles of Narnia series before the year is out, but his arms are pretty rubbery so we'll see who wins.
There are 16 days left in July. I hope to knock out a few more books and then I'll post my progress report and the list of books that I have read so far. Don't expect a lot of heavy, intellectually driven tomes. When I read for fun, I like to read light books that let me get lost in another world for five minutes or five hours and not think about anything that is going on in my real life. Looking at the list so far, it's full of cotton candy fluff and luscious juicy fun. Pull up a chaise, slather on some sunscreen and grab a pina colada. I've got a summer reading list that will knock your bikini top right off! I'll meet you back here in two weeks with all the details!
Onemorethingitis
July 13th, 2010
Right now I have 27 drafts of posts started. Some are a single paragraph and others are almost complete. They sit, patiently, and they wait. Why haven't I hit publish and shared them with the world? I'm suffering from Onemorethingitis. Blogging, actually writing in general, is something I consider a "me time" activity and during the summer I feel like it's in short supply. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Rob, Aidan and I have been having loads of fun lolling around the house and the swimming pool. We've gone to movies, visited the Shark Reef and played with my cousins for a few days this summer.
Yet when I sit down in the evenings, instead of writing I think of a hundred other things I should or could be doing. I have three Christmas projects to knit, another to scrapbook and a funny little gift I may decide to whip up for my bestie to congratulate her and commemorate her move from a workplace hellhole to what I hope will be her own personal dream castle. I keep putting writing on the back burner and the longer I avoid it, the easier it gets. The harder it is to sit down at the keyboard and let the words flow from my fingertips.
Tonight I am wide awake for the first time in a long time, so here I sit and yet a fresh topic eludes me. Thoughts float on the edges of my consciousness like wispy little clouds. I can see them, but I can't make out shapes and they're translucent and easily blown away. I have gone through every one of my drafts in an attempt to finish at least one, but for now I just can't seem to connect all the dots. I feel like an artist who has picked up her paintbrush for the first time in years, but has no clue where to begin and so I paint circles…and flowers…and stick figures until they become a picture that makes sense.
I am unorganized and scattered. My writing is a jumbled mess of half formed stories. Plot lines and characters stumble over each other like so many people rushing on and off the subway at rush hour. They brush past each other, occasionally colliding hard enough to knock each other back into their own tales, but mostly run along not paying attention to anything around them, carrying my stories with them on winding, random paths that have no end. I have every intention of going back and finishing the thought I left dangling….as soon as I finish onemorething. By the time I'm done, another idea has popped into my head and I start jotting it down only to trail off and leave everything hanging so I can finish onemorething.
Everything is stuck in my head, needing to be put to paper (or screen) and I'm afraid things are going to start leaking out soon. How much room can possibly be in my noggin? Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I took all of my characters and ideas, threw them all in a blender and mashed them all up. What would come out? Something anyone would read? Probably not. So they stay separate, contained in different documents locked inside my laptop. The many drafts? I'll finish them…as soon as I'm over my Onemorethingitis.
Vegas Baby!
June 28th, 2010
I am a happy camper today my bloggy friends. Today, my blog – and my little piece of the universe – is being featured on Blog Trotting! Yippee!!! Blog trotting is run by the fabulous Cara (if you know her on the interwebs you can call her Carabee) and features bloggers from all over giving you a little glimpse into their towns.
For those of you who are stopping by from Blog Trotting, my name is Karin. Nice to meet you! I live just outside of Las Vegas, NV but since there's very little to do in my town, and since most of our family and a lot of our friends live smack dab in the middle of Vegas, we spend a lot of time there. It's a very popular vacation destination and I'm ready to give you my spin on it!
Everyone knows what Las Vegas is famous for – the Strip, showgirls and gambling – the motto says it all, "What happens in Vegas stay in Vegas" but what most people don't know is how kid friendly Las Vegas can be. People always ask me "what is there to do in Vegas besides drink and gamble?" Lots! Come on, I'll give you a quick peek!
Away from the neon lights and dancing girls is a whole world to explore. One of our favorite family activities is hiking and there are so many beautiful places to hit the trails.
Hiking in Red Rock Canyon
When we've had a bit of rain, the flowers explode during Spring. You'll never see the variety of colors juxtaposed against the desert backdrop like we get in April and May. We love heading to Red Rock, but don't get a chance as often as we'd like to. It's absolutely stunning. Sometimes, we don't want to get in the car though. We want to stick a little closer to home so we can just throw our shoes on, snap a leash on the Scoobinator (our 95 pound pooch) and just set out on a quick geocaching trip in the desert around our house.
Aidan loves finding the treasures!
Plus, you may find some new friends along the way.
During the hottest part of the summer, you can still hike or camp. You just need to get in the car and head for the hills! Within half an hour you can be in the mountains enjoying the cooler air.
The colors up there are just as beautiful as they are in the valley.
So the next time you come to Las Vegas, bring your kids. Pack your bathing suits and sunscreen because there are a million pools in town, but pack your walking shoes and water bottles and take a day to visit the better side of Vegas – the one the neon lights don't touch!
Thanks for visiting me today! I hope you come back again soon…
A Perfect Figure
June 23rd, 2010
It's 100 Word Challenge time again courtesy of Velvet Verbosity. This weeks word is "bustier." Not bustier, as in Anna Nicole Smith was bustier than Kate Hudson. Oh no, "bustier" as in the French pronunciation. That bit of fabric designed to give every woman an enviable figure. Here's my entry..
A Perfect Figure
Her fingers trailed along the racks of silk and barely there chiffon, ribbons and lace. Sighing, she glanced at the life size posters on the wall. Models with tiny waists and gigantic breasts. They would look fantastic in one of the tiny teddys or babydoll frocks before her.
Glancing in the mirror, she sucked in her stomach and threw out her chest. She needed something with a little more structure. Groaning, she turned away from the ruffles and thrills and saw it, a white bustier with delicate satin ribbon detailing. It was her own hourglass figure made to order!
Go check out the other entries or you could try writing your own!
