Latest DIY/Inspiration

My latest creation was inspired by my outstanding hair stylist's sweet jewelry. After spending a good amount of time staring at her necklace so I could remember the style, I went to Hobby Lobby and did some shopping. They have a pretty large selection of charms so I thought I would give it a try. I had two strands together but took it apart because I think I liked them better separately. I'm wondering if I should sell these... 

Picture A Day

Apparently I'm a slacker and I haven't posted any in about 2 weeks! I also skipped some days. Oh well:(

August 20, 2012

My front yard flower

August 18, 2012

Jason & Daisy talking

August 16, 2012

Daisy's go to cute face

August 15, 2012

Homemade Monkey Business

August 14, 2012

August 13, 2012

How Daisy cools off these days

August 12, 2012

Shrimp! Recipe from Cooking Light

August 8, 2012

My new favorite Chardonnay. Only in NM!

Excerpt from Man's Search for Meaning

I haven't posted a book review in a while, mostly because I was having a hard time getting through a single book. I think I was burned out after reading so many books in such a short time.  

I'm now slowly reading "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl. It was a recommendation from Gretchen Rubin's book club and so far I really am enjoying it.  

Viktor Frankl was a holocaust survivor and this is own personal account.  Without further ado, here is an excerpt that really touched me. Viktor was in the middle of marching to a work site when he had these thoughts.

Pages 36-39
We stumbled on in the darkness, over big stones and through large puddles, along the one road leading from the camp.  The accompanying guards kept shouting at us and driving us with the butts of their rifles.  Anyone with very sore feet supported himself on his neighbor's arm.  Hardly a word was spoken; the icy wind did not encourage talk.  Hiding his mouth behind his upturned collar, the man marching next to me whispered suddenly: "If our wives could see us now! I do hope they are better off in their camps and don't know what is happening to us." 

That brought thoughts of my own wife to mind.  And as we stumbled on for miles, slipping on icy spots, supporting each other time and again, dragging one another up and onward, nothing was said, but we both knew: each of us was thinking of his wife.  Occasionally I looked at the sky, where the stars were fading and the pink light of the morning was beginning to spread behind a dark bank of clouds. But my mind clung to my wife's image, imagining it with an uncanny acuteness.  I heard her answering me, saw her smile, her frank and encouraging look.  Real or not, her look was then more luminous than the sun which was beginning to rise.

A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers.  The truth - that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire.  Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved.  In a position of utter desolation, when man cannot express himself in positive action, when his only achievement may consist in enduring his sufferings in the right way - the honorable way - in such a position man can, through loving contemplation of the image he carries of his beloved, achieve fulfillment.  For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, "The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of infinite glory."

In front of me a man stumbled and those following him fell on top of him.  The guard rushed over and used his whip on them all.  Thus my thoughts were interrupted for a few minutes.  But soon my soul found its way back from the prisoner's existence to another world, and I resumed talk with my loved one: I asked her questions, and she answered; she questioned me in return, and I answered...

...My mind still clung to the image of m wife.  A thought crossed my mind: I didn't even know if she were still alive.  I knew only one thing - which I have learned well by now: Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved.  It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self.  Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance.  

I did not know whether my wife was alive, and I had no means of finding out...but at that moment it ceased to matter.  There was no need for me to know; nothing could touch the strength of my love, my thoughts, and the image of my beloved.  Had I known then that my wife was dead, I think that I would still have given myself, undisturbed by that knowledge, to the contemplation of her image, and that my mental conversation with her would have been just as vivid and just as satisfying.  "Set me like a seal upon thy heart, love is as strong as death." 

Picture A Day

August 7, 2012

My new fave coral nail polish 

August 6, 2012

Breakfast for dinner - courtesy of www.cookinglight.com

My Craftiness made LC's website!

I'm pretty excited - the photos of my bracelets that were inspired by Lauren Conrad's website received a shout out on her site... Click here for the link. This was a nice bright spot for the day, I needed it!

http://www.laurenconrad.com/post/member-spotlight-your-pretty-bracelets

Picture A Day

August 5, 2012

Turkey Meatloaf via Skinny Taste!

August 4, 2012

ASU Campus, Old Main

Goals for the Week: Running & Cooking

Happy Sunday People!


While Jason is outside mowing the grass, I'm inside drinking my cup of coffee and planning the menu for the week.  We have been a little lax with planning our menus so I thought I would pick something out for each day so I would have something to look forward to eating... and also refocus on my calories this week.  In addition to the pre-planned menu, I've been thinking of my fitness/running goal for the week.  Since I think I've talked my running buddy Kristina into running in the mornings outside with me, this should make it that much easier to meet my goals. 


Menu for this week: 


Many thanks to Skinny Taste and Cooking Light for my meal inspirations this week!!


Crustless Zucchini Pie - I think I'm going to do grilled chicken with this for some protein!


Spaghetti with mushrooms, garlic & oil - Also throwing in some chicken with this and either broccoli or green beans for my veggie


Turkey Meatloaf - Also going to do a side of veggies (either the green beans or broccoli), possibly some quinoa or cous cous as well... 


Fried Egg BLT Sandwiches - Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?? I think we'll saute some asparagus with this one


Fitness Goals for this week:
Running: Two 3 mile runs and one 4 mile run on Saturday; I'm not going to focus too much on pace, but try to keep it on the fast side (depending on how hot it is of course...) 
Gym: 2 gym runs this week that do not involve running... I must start toning!!!


No excuses! I have to get excited about the long work week and I think this is how I will do it:)

Picture A Day

August 3, 2012

So excited for what's to come! Got this in the mail today!

August 2, 2012

Found the belt for my fiesta dress

Picture A Day

August 1, 2012

Cleaned out my old toys

Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza Dough

Me and Jason love to cook (obviously) and while my brother makes fun of me for always using recipes and having no real technical skills, I think it really doesn't matter. What matters is that we know exactly what is going into the meals we make and I really think that has been the key to our recent weight loss.  

Last night, we made another attempt at homemade whole wheat pizza dough.  We've tried it multiple times, but we haven't really had one that was crispy enough (I love thin crust!).  It turns out, baking the crust twice is the key.  I used the recipe below from my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. I had to scan the page because I tried looking online but couldn't find the same version.  

For our version, we used whole wheat flour. We used the same amount (starting with 2 1/2 cups) and it came out dry right away so I ended up adding a little more water.  Then I added too much and had to add more flour... anyway I probably used about 2 3/4 cups of the flour after all. This time we also used the rapid rise yeast. I don't know if that made a difference since we've used the regular kind in the past. 

*Note for thin crust: We baked it on a pizza stone for 10-12 minutes without any toppings after pricking it with a knife to make holes. Then we pulled it out, added toppings and baked for another 10 minutes. This was the key to making the crust super crunchy the way I like it!! If you like thin crust but not crunchy, then I would suggest baking the crust with the toppings on it for about 20 minutes or so.  We ended up doing it both ways because I didn't notice the directions said to bake it first. 

From now on, I'll definitely be baking the crust twice to get it crispy.  It could probably use a little more salt, but it depends on what you like. I didn't see the whole wheat directions so I didn't follow those - it may be worth a shot.


My advice: don't get discouraged if it doesn't come out the way you want it to the first time. We've made this dough a bunch of times and we finally got it to where we like it which was why I was so happy.  Hopefully I'll remember all the weird tweaks I made to it for next time... Happy Cooking! 

Picture A Day

July 30, 2012

The organ mountains, driving back home to AZ 

July 29, 2012

The old shed in the backyard at my parent's house

July 28, 2012

Spending time in the weeds at the orchard

July 27, 2012

The sunset from my drive through NM

Picture A Day

July 26, 2012

Feeling crafty again... made this to hold small items in my purse.

Credit to the Violet Bella Blog for the pattern!

http://violetbellasworld.blogspot.com/2011/05/crochet-envelope-diy.html

Picture A Day

July 25, 2012

Summertime grilling!

Picture A Day

July 24, 2012

Motivation to get me out the door this morning.

Book Review: Here on Earth

Author: Alice Hoffman

Read: 7/19-7/25/12

Snapshot (taken from the book cover): 

When March Murray travels East with her teenage daughter to attend the funeral of the beloved housekeeper who looked after her when she was growing up, March's past comes rushing up to meet her. The present is quickly dominated by the lurking presence of her former lover, Hollis, who has patiently awaited her long overdue return. The tale is populated by those for whom love brings more sorrow than happiness: a woman afraid to commit to a relationship, a husband in love with someone other than his wife, two young people who fall for each other only to find they are close relatives, and the self-destructing love of Hollis and March. While love has the power to transform those who fall under its spell--devotion to an old racehorse turns March's daughter, a sullen teenager, into a strong young woman--the love March herself suffers robs her of nearly all sense and goodness. Hoffman deftly weaves her characters' stories against a vivid New England landscape where the past always has a grip on the present. And the listener is left at the end both satisfied and longing to hear more.

Mandy Thinks:

This was another great read. I stumbled upon this book when I saw another book by Alice Hoffman, The Dovekeepers, which is my next read.  I thought I would try a couple books by this author and see how it went.  The book was definitely slow, but in a way that made you want to read a little more each day to see where the story would go.  The characters all had some similarities which was interesting.  They all were tied together by some kind of love they were experiencing and their interpretation of what love is and means.  

The book revolves around March and at the beginning of the book you get the sense that she is a strong willed character and her daughter has similar qualities, but in a teenage version.  As the book progresses, March becomes consumed with her re-ignited passion for her ex Hollis and slowly her own identity slips away and she starts losing herself and the control she has over her life.  As this is happening, her daughter Gwen starts becoming a more independent and passionate person and starts growing into her own skin.  Its almost as if the roles are reversed and Gwen starts to see more clearly as March starts living in a haze. 

The end of the book is a little anti-climatic but wraps up the story so you feel good about all of the characters - a happy ending of sorts.  It was a well written book and I'm interested to see what kind of story The Dovekeepers ends up being.  

Top 5 things I learned from this book: 

1. Ex boyfriends or lovers are exes for a reason. The past needs to stay in the past!
2. Never underestimate a husband who is caring, devoted and takes care of you. 
3. If you notice that your car stops working as does the phone and your current affair never wants you to leave the house, the relationship is probably heading in a bad direction.
4. Do you have any children? They should be your top priority and try not to ignore them so you can have an affair. Bad parenting!
5. People keep secrets and tell lies. It creates a distance and should be avoided at all costs. Go out and tell your loved ones that they shouldn't be wearing that ugly sweater - it will do you both a favor!

Picture A Day

July 23, 2012

Just another dust storm. Yuck.

No Excuses - It's time to get back on the wagon.

101 Reasons to Run

"If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it." --Priscilla Welch, who won the 1987 New York City 

Marathon at age 42

Tomorrow I will start running again.  

It's amazing how fast (1 week) you can go from being motivated and feeling hard core to being the complete opposite and lazy. After the high I got from completing the half marathon last weekend, I am experiencing the withdrawals and can't seem to get off the couch. I have used the following excuses: 

It's too hot.

I'm too tired or sleepy.

I ran a half marathon last weekend.

These 3 excuses were used about a million times throughout the past week and now its time to get off my butt. NO EXCUSES!!

My goal for this week: Log 9 miles by Saturday  

I'll check back in so I can hold myself accountable.  Have a great week people!


UPDATE: 
I decided my new goal will be to run 3 miles 3 times this week - 30 minutes each set. Next week, I'll increase my 10 minute miles to 3.5 so I can push 4 miles at 10 min each. 


Day 1, Monday: 3 miles; 10 min miles - it was not easy but I did it - that's all that matters! 
Day 2, Wednesday: 3 miles; 10 min miles on the treadmill. Much easier than outside... 
Day 3, Friday: 3 miles; 10 min miles outside. I slept in so was forced to run outside in the heat an humidity. At least I got my 9 miles for the week!!!

Picture A Day

July 22, 2012

Enjoying the pool before the dust storm hit

July 21, 2012

Delicious Dinner: Veggie Grilled Pizza from Cooking Light

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-vegetable-pizza-50400000122500/#

Picture A Day

Today was crafty day! Love my new bracelets.

July 20, 2012

Picture A Day

July 19, 2012

Feeling crafty

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Author: Ransom Riggs

Read: 7/16-7/18/12

Snapshot (taken from the book cover): 

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

Mandy Thinks:

I.Love.This.Book.

During the first couple chapters, I got the impression that this would be a standard book in the sense that something strange was said by a dying relative and you spend the time trying to figure out the hidden meaning in those last words. It turns out, the meaning is just something that makes you come to terms with who you are and doesn't turn out to be anything really out of the ordinary or that wasn't there in the first place. As the main character Jacob starts his journey to investigate why his grandfather said what he did on his death bed, the story unfolds in a completely unexpected and adventurous way.  

My favorite part of the book was the vintage photographs - yes, they are real! I love photography so this was close to my heart. When I got to the end, I saw the author's note on where he got the photographs. I couldn't believe they were from real collections.  They were strange and creepy - I would love to start a collection like this. Future hobby maybe? 

The book was highly entertaining. It reminded me of the Harry Potter series with the bits of fantasy and magic thrown in, but in a bit more believable and grown up way.  The main character is only 16, but it doesn't read like a teen series - its much more sophisticated. After Jacob's grandfather passes away and he's forced to sort through the grief and feelings on his own, he realizes his parents don't understand the close relationship they had.  How many of us felt that our parents didn't understand us while we were teenagers? When he goes to the mysterious island where his grandfather grew up to bring closure to the way his grandfather died, the story takes an exciting and action packed twist and you can't put the book down from that point on.  

The downside: the ending is a cliffhanger and opens up the story for a sequel. Unfortunately there isn't a second book out and probably won't be until 2013 according to the author's blog. How lame is that? I want to see what happens next! My advice: Read it and love it. 

Top 5 things I learned from this book: 

1. Vintage photographs with weird people doing weird things actually exist so don't be so quick to think they're fakes!
2. Your grandparents may have had a really cool past and it's always a good idea to spend time with them to learn about what it was like when they grew up. Maybe they had a really cool secret past you didn't know about! Ha:)
3. Be very suspicious of people that never take off their sunglasses - especially at night. They can't be trusted.
4. Be open to the fact that you and your grandfather or mother can have the same taste in girls or boys. Yeah that's weird.
5. The grass is never greener on the other side. It may seem that way but it's probably just a different type of grass that has it's own problems. Like ants or stickers that you can't see. I hate ants.

Book Review: Between You and Me

Author: Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

Read: 7/11-7/12/12

Snapshot (taken from the book cover): 

What happens when you are followed by millions . . . and loved by none?

Twenty-seven-year-old Logan Wade is trying to build a life for herself far from her unhappy childhood in Oklahoma. Until she gets the call that her famous cousin needs a new assistant— an offer she can’t refuse.

Logan hasn’t seen Kelsey in person since their parents separated them as kids; in the meantime, Kelsey Wade has grown into Fortune Magazine’s most powerful celebrity. But their reunion is quickly overshadowed by the toxic dynamic between Kelsey and her parents as Logan discovers that, beneath the glossy façade, the wounds that caused them to be wrenched apart so many years ago have insidiously warped into a show-stopping family business.

As Kelsey tries desperately to break away and grasp at a “real” life, beyond the influence of her parents and managers, she makes one catastrophic misstep after another, and Logan must question if their childhood has left them both too broken to succeed. Logan risks everything to hold on, but when Kelsey unravels in the most horribly public way, Logan finds that she will ultimately have to choose between rescuing the girl she has always protected . . . and saving herself.

Mandy Thinks:

This was a fun book to read. It was written by the same authors as the Nanny Diaries so I knew it would be an easy "beach" read as they call it.  The book had hints of celebrity tabloid with a reality show vibe - but in a good way. It was almost like taking a behind the scenes look at the entertainment industry and getting all the dirt - without actually doing that.  I liked that the book was fiction because I knew it wasn't biased or one person's made up version of what really happened while being the assistant to a huge pop star. You never really know how true any of those biographies or "tell-all" books really are…

When you start the book you find that Logan Wade, the main character, is already a little out of sorts and frustrated with her life in NYC.  That is easy to identify with for most people since we all think that we could be doing something different with our lives.  Unfortunately we don't all have a famous pop star cousin to call us up and ask us to be their assistant and go on tour with them.  As the story unfolds, you realize that maybe that's not something that you would want to do anyway as the close knit family that Logan used to be a part of actually is very broken and dysfunctional.  

This was fun to read and had that whole car accident-can't look away effect as the book progresses and the pop star takes a sharp turn for the worse. You just want to keep reading to see if she ever turns her life around or takes back the control she should have of her life. It turns out, Logan is the one that needs to take back the control of her life and that's the one you end up rooting for in the end. 

Top 5 things I learned from this book:

1. Having a famous cousin may not be the coolest thing in the world - especially if they are a train wreck.
2. A lot of people think being the personal assistant to a celebrity would be the coolest job in the world. This book shows you otherwise… 
3. Crazy family = crazy people. This seems to be a common theme on a lot of books I read.
4. If your parents practically wipe your butt your entire life, it may be hard to ditch them when you decide you want to actually be an adult. Start the separation early.
5. Apparently men don't like it when the woman makes more money than they do in a relationship.  Try to find a man secure with his manhood that if you make more. 

Picture A Day

July 18, 2012

Food Coma.

July 17, 2012

Mexi Dress Detail

See Jane Run Half Marathon

Seattle, WA - July 15, 2012

I decided to plan an out of town trip around a half marathon with a group of friends and this time we would train - can you believe it?! I knew I was destined to improve my horrible 3 hour finishing time so I thought this would be a great opportunity. Each week as our training progressed and my mileage was increasing, I felt more accomplished than I'd ever felt and wanted to run farther and farther! Then the summer heat in Arizona promptly took the wind out of my sails and brought me back to reality.  We finished training at mid July and embarked on our trip to Seattle to see how we could do.  

The weather was drizzly, gray and cold in Seattle this past weekend.  I knew it would be better to not be nervous and treat this as just any other weekend long run we had to complete. With the exception of the purple tutus and the massive amount of people, it was just like the other long weekend runs. Right.... 

Once the race started, me, Tara and Kristina (my training team) set off on a fantastic pace that was sure to keep us energized through the next two and a half hours. We made it through feeling great - the weather wasn't as bad as we thought once we warmed up and it was nice and flat - none of the heat and hills we were used to in Phoenix. 

Around the 8th mile, I decided to speed it up a bit and get this race over with because I was frankly tired of running.  I finished the last 5 miles on my own (without my headphones because I forgot to bring them along).  The last 2-3 miles were the worst- my brain was telling me it was time to stop running but the race course was telling me I was far from finished. I desperately tried to tell my brain to shut up and to get my legs moving faster but it wouldn't work... this is when my training partners typically distracted me with conversation but i had thought it would be a good idea to leave them behind. Bad idea... 

At the last mile, there were people cheering us on and music to pump us up. I decided to go as fast as I could for that last mile so I could finish it off. I think at this point it was pure adrenaline because I know I didn't have the energy to get it moving! I finished the race and beat my previous time by 30 minutes! 2:24 to be exact. My two goals were to beat my previous time and to jog the entire thing and I met those goals. Yay me! 

I can't wait to get pick a new run and start training (after it cools off a bit I think).  I want to get a few 5Ks under my belt to see what kind of time I can pull on those and then work my way back up to another half.  Tara and Kristina are going to run another half marathon here in Arizona in November and I just might join them. I haven't decided yet but I know I'll run with them while they train.  I think I need to suck it up and pay to join... we'll see!

Picture A Day

July 15, 2012 - Seattle, WA

 July 14, 2012 - Seattle, WA

July 13, 2012 - Seattle, WA

Book Review: Sharp Objects

Author: Gillian Flynn

Read: 7/13-7/16/12

Snapshot (taken from the book cover): 

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart 

Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg

Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle

As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable.

Mandy Thinks:

Sharp Objects is the first book by author Gillian Flynn.  After reading her second book, Dark Places, and thoroughly enjoying it, I thought it would be a good idea to try her first novel.  I was not disappointed. This book was a bit shorter, but really easy to read and easy to follow.  Not only that, but the suspense was gripping and it was nicely twisted in a way that made you appreciate whatever type of family you came from - because it was definitely not as weird and creepy as Camille Preaker's family.  

The overall theme throughout the book was definitely a dark theme that made you wonder what really went on in Camille's past to make her character such a dark and troubled individual.  Right off the bat you know she has a drinking problem and she doesn't have much appreciation for what she does or her self worth.  This instantly makes you feel concerned for this character while wanting to read on to find out what could have made her this way.  She heads back to her home town to write the story about the recent kidnapping/murder of a young girl and has to stay with her parents in her childhood home. You can instantly understand that her family is all kinds of weird! Her mother's treatment of Camille and the way she behaves with her other daughter and husband is instantly creepy and wrong, but throughout the book you can't put your finger on why its wrong.  Therein lies the draw of the book that gets you to keep reading.

This book definitely made me appreciate the family I grew up with - as normal and well behaved as we all were.  Sadly there are mother's out there that take mothering, healing and caring to a whole other level and gladly this wasn't the case in my household. I was of the upbringing where you had to have a really high fever or be puking up your breakfast in order to stay home sick from school. I also don't remember getting a lot of attention when I was sick, outside of my mom giving me medicine and getting to watch daytime TV from bed. Oh the little things that I miss… 

I highly recommend this book.  It's suspenseful, creepy and dark. All the things a good thriller should be.  After reading two books by this author, I realize that I really like the way her books are written and I wish there were tons more I could read! Sadly, I'll have to wait for my library hold for "Gone Girl" to come through for me… or I could just break down and buy it for my kindle. But that would definitely defeat the purpose of my summer binge reading on the library's dime project.   

Top 5 things I learned from this book: 

1. If you have ever seen The Sixth Sense and you notice your mom always nursing a sick child and maybe the child is only sick around your mom… you may need to be suspicious. 
2. Try not to get drunk and do drugs with your 13 year old sister who you think may have mental problems. This will not end well.
3. Its never a good idea to visit your childhood home if you left for a decent reason that made you end up in a psych hospital. 
4. Its probably a good idea to read the labels of all medicine you ingest - including if they are given to you from a trusted source… just saying.
5. Drinking all day every day is not a recommended lifestyle. It will result in bad decisions, memory loss and smelly glands. 

Book Review: Dark Places

Author: Gillian Flynn

Read: 7/9-7/10/12

Snapshot (taken from the book cover): 

"I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ." Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her. The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.

Mandy Thinks:

I loved this book! Typically I stay away from books that claim to be suspenseful thrillers, crime dramas, etc. because I feel like the books aren't very well written or at least not something that interests me.  I'd rather watch them in movie format than try and get through the book.  The last thriller type book I read was the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and I really liked those, with the exception of the last one which I thought dragged on and on. That ended up being a disappointment just because I felt like I was let down after that third book. Anyway these are my thoughts on Dark Places, not the other series.  

The book's chapters alternated between Libby Day's perspective in real time and flashing back to either her mother's point of view or her accused brother's point of view.  Apparently there is a theme with the last 3 books I've read and the point of views changing each chapter… strange.  The book was really well written, kept my interest and the chapters switched back and forth enough to make me want to hurry and get to the next chapter to get back to each of the stories.  Sounds confusing… I know.  

The book dealt with several themes: living with a tragedy and despair, forgiveness and desperation.  The family's downfall peaked on this one fateful day where so many things happened simultaneously.  Throughout the course of the day the mother discovered that she had no idea what kind of life her teenage son was living.  She had so much on her plate…literally. Four kids, a failing farm, living alone and dealing with a crazy ex-husband.  I can't even begin to think how she would have handled it all and discovering several disturbing things about her son made her realize that she really didn't have control of any of it.  I think Gillian Flynn did a really great job of conveying the mother's desperation and the hopelessness she felt that day.  Its hard to say how you would react in a situation like this, but it definitely makes me even more nervous about raising kids… how easy it is for a teenager to get wrapped up in all the wrong things.  How do you even control that?? I consider this question frequently now that I'm going to have my own family soon enough.  

Libby Day was also a really complex character that Gillian Flynn created.  She had so much to deal with being the only witness to her family's murder (other than her convicted brother).  She was really angry, depressed and really was never taught how to deal with all of the emotions she felt after such a horrendous tragedy.  Even though she was counseled and had a loving aunt that took her in, there was no way she was able to put these events past her.  I think having a family that loves you - extended family beyond your own parents - comes into play here. If you have no one, or think you have no one, how can you begin to see any sort of light at the end of the tunnel? This family was very broken - they only had their aunt - and she wasn't enough unfortunately. Luckily she was able to get closure by really figuring out what happened that night.  Finding out the truth helped her see that she could move on and forgive.   

Top 5 things I learned from this book: 

1. Foreclosure is not a death sentence - it can be a new beginning! Embrace it.
2. Don't let your teenager lock their door with a deadbolt and never let you in their room.  Maybe just take the door off the hinges all together. Who needs privacy, right?
3. To avoid possible fatalities in your home: hide your guns and don't leave your axes out for anyone to find.
4. If you have a crazy ex-husband, file a restraining order or move to another city to get away from him. 
5. Stay away from girls that leave dead animal parts in your locker and think its funny. Bad news.