madameblogalot

The Hunger Games: This young adult novel was captivating! It will be made into a movie this spring and I can see how it will be a hit movie with the teen crowd. The themes of hunger, entertainment, fire, “Big Brother” government and even reality TV make for an interesting story. One I could hardly put down. My daughter and I rate this a HIT.

Catching Fire: This second book in the Hunger Games picks up where book 1 leaves off. It is also a good story, very political. The themes of hunger and fire still figure largely in the book. I rate this one a HIT as well.

Mockingjay: Wow! This trilogy really drew me into the story. While this third book was probably my least favorite in the series, I really like the way it was all wrapped up. As I got into this book I felt like the author had sights already set on the movie screen while writing it (and author’s notes seem to confirm that.) This one is more violent, more “graphic” though not overdone. As I read the author’s notes though, and “hearing” what she was taught by her parents, I can see how the ideas in the book were important to her to convey. I enjoyed the author’s imagination. I like how she used futuristic techniques, while at the same time making some things seem present day as well as including some archaic feel to it. I really like how the themes of hunger and fire resonate throughout all three books; a really good job on weaving that throughout the series. I will rate this book, and the whole trilogy, a HIT for older teens and adults.

Gnomeo and Juliet: I watched this goofy little movie while on my bike. It was a good enough way to pass the time, though I know many of the references from the play were lost on me (too long since I’ve read it.) There were some funny moments and it was light enough (being more of a comedy than a tragedy.) I am sure those who are more into Shakespeare could appreciate the humor better. I will rate it as neither a HIT or MISS but could be an all right way to help pass a bit of time.

Pompeii: Back From the Dead: This new documentary seemed interesting in the fact that new skeletons have been unearthed from Pompeii. The skeletons are all that remains as the ones found in the 19th century are ruined by the casting done to them. I thought it would be interesting to hear what they have found through testing these skeletons. Overall I did not like the “way” in which the film was done; just the overall tone seemed like they were appealing to a younger generation. Overall I gave this documentary a MISS.

Beauty and the Beast: This high school musical featured a few of my daughter’s friends, including her best friend’s sister as Belle. In taking the lead she truly carried the show. While the show and music are fun, this girl truly carried the show with her singing, acting, and poise. She was spectacular and it was fun hearing the little girls in the audience dreaminess over Belle (”it’s Belle”; “she’s in her yellow dress”; etc) I give this show a HIT for the lead actress as well as the girl who played Babette and even the boy doing Lumiere did all right in his role, a tough one to carry.

Micro: Another interesting Michael Crichton book, finished posthumously by Richard Preston. While some of the premise could be mistaken for other cheesy sci-fi hits (The Incredible Shrinking Woman, Honey I Shrunk the Kids) there is some very interesting ideas in here too (maybe more like an “M” rated Magic School Bus.) This one was too violent for me and I felt like some “sexiness” was added just because that is the thing these days-it wasn’t needed at all to advance the story along. I felt the same way about the language as well. Overall I will give this one a HIT though there were moments I was afraid it might be a MISS.

Is that what you call a slacking blogger? I have been pretty distracted from the blog so far this year! Between my workouts, my chasing a toddler around, taking care of household chores and taking my nephews hiking once a week, there is not much time left for blogging! I have my HIT/MISS list ready to go in a couple of days. Other than that, I will try not to be such a slogger!

Here are the first lines from the first blog post of each month from 2011. I need some variety!

Jan: My dad said I needed to write the date down somewhere today.

A fun date to write (too bad I missed 11.11.11) and fit well with my blogging year in review.

Feb: Staying busy

A rhyming tribute to my life.

March: Just a reminder to spring ahead one hour tonight/tomorrow morning at 2.

A reminder of why we have to “spring forward” each year.

April: In my husband’s training for Iron man it calls for lots of drill training.

Incorporating drill training helps build strength and speed.

May: Fahrenheit 451: I read this book several years ago and liked it.

A HIT or MISS post.

June: I am frugal.

Some things never change!

July: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: When I saw this book for $2 at Barnes and Noble I thought I’d pick it up for a Christmas present.

Another HIT or MISS post. Reading a book I am going to give as a gift doesn’t count as “re-gifting”…

Aug: It took me most of June and half of July to finish this book.

Another HIT or MISS post. I need to try to keep that from being my first post each month!

Sept: …I finished my first ever Olympic distance triathlon.

YAY!

Oct: The Prestige: Wow! What an interesting movie!

surprise, surprise, a HIT or MISS post…

Nov: The Dark Ages: I actually watched this History Channel presentation in Sept. but forgot to list it.

I lead an exciting life…..

Dec: Pirate Latitudes: I found this Michael Crichton book on sale at the grocery store.

I guess I am blogging on autopilot!

Pirate Latitudes: I found this Michael Crichton book on sale at the grocery store. Reading the cover flap I learned that this complete manuscript was found in his files after his death. I wondered why he never had it published. While reading it I just did not feel drawn in to the story. It was fine but just felt like something was missing. I thought maybe he had not really finished it or polished it and that is why it was not published during his lifetime. When I finished the story I felt that this is the first MISS Crichton novel I’ve read. Then I read the epilogue. It was very short. Too short. And too sparse. I decided that is what was missing from the story, the depth. And there was no bibliography. So it made me wonder if he had not finished his research and that is why he never had it published. Or maybe I am just not into pirate stories….

Airframe: Back to good classic Crichton. Good story. Drawn in from beginning. Another HIT.

National Treasure 2: While I missed the beginning of this one, I was happy to watch it since I had seen the first one last month. Even better, my nephew came in before this one was over so we got to finish this one together too. All of us watching, from preteen to grandparents, enjoy these movies and rate them a HIT.

Jurassic Park (novel): I held off reading this book since I remember not being a big fan of the movie. But I have to say that while this book is pretty gruesome in the killing scenes, I sped through those and really enjoyed this novel. I like the ending. I rate it a definite HIT and am hoping to even see the movie again. I also want to go back and see how the original Lost World ends.

Secretariat: A nice family movie, though my family did not watch with me. It was neither a HIT or MISS for me (though more of a HIT than not.) I did enjoy the ending and the blurbs about the real people portrayed in the movie.

Whew! What a busy couple of weeks. We traveled to Phoenix to watch (help) my husband participate in his first Ironman triathlon. I don’t think it will be his last!

It was an amazing day (weekend; nearly a week for him) with Ironman village being set up out in the Town park. I was blessed to be able to volunteer for race day, beginning at 5:45 am with the swim exit. It was a lot of fun to see everyone get to the finish of the first third of the race. Nearly everyone made it to the cutoff time of 2hrs 20min. We cheered those who were close to the cutoff time and were saddened with those 10-12 who did not make the cutoff.

After lunch I helped in the women’s change tent for their T2 transition from the bike to the run. After their 112 mile bike ride through the desert and back to town, the athletes headed out for their 26.2 mile run. It was fun to see all the different kinds of ladies who undertook to finish the Ironman race (my husband’s aunt being one of them!) I learned different ways the ladies prepare themselves for such an undertaking and the different things they pack to help them through the day. So many asked me if I was going to do next year’s race. I think I surprised many with my “no” answer! (Volunteers get a preferred registration, after race day and this year’s athletes. Many people volunteer just to be able to get in that line! Lots of this year’s racers were last years volunteers!)

Earlier in the day I met the lady who was captain of the finish line and she said I could come help that evening at the finish to be able to greet my husband. I was glad for that, since by volunteering all day I was never able to see him out on the course (luckily he spotted me at the swim exit and came over and gave me a big wet kiss!) I sat that evening opening medals and rolling t-shirts waiting for him to come in. I was thrilled to hear his name announced and got to him seconds after he crossed the finish line, now and forevermore an IRONMAN!!

This morning before church I did the first leg of a triathlon relay event. I was the swimmer for our team. Our wave start consisted of men 45+, mens clydesdale (a weight division) and relay teams. Each wave had three minutes in between and they allowed us to jump off the dock into the bay to warm up for those three minutes. The water was pretty chilly when we jumped in. Thankfully I had on my wetsuit and that helped a great deal.

It seems in my limited experience I still have a hard time getting adjusted in the open water swim. Today it still took me some time, being one of the last swimmers to get started in our wave. By the first buoy however, I had caught up with the group. By the second buoy I was even passing a few people!

I never saw any of the women in the wave (other relay swimmers) but I know I was not the last finisher in our wave. I had estimated that I would finish the 1500 meter swim somewhere between 40-60 minutes. I was hoping for closer to 40. And I finished today in 38:38! I was thrilled with that time.

As soon as I finished swimming I ran out as quickly as I could to meet our next team member. I gave her the timing chip and she took off on her bike. Unfortunately I could not stay for more of the race but I did make it to church on time (after showering of course!) Our cyclist finished her 25 miles in 1:17 and our runner finished her 6.2 miles in 50+ minutes!! Good enough to earn us second place in our division!! And since we lost to some of my other team members, I didn’t feel too badly about it at all!!

We heard a sermon today about the effect each of us has on everyone around us. And also those we may not ever be around. It is the “butterfly effect”. What you do affects someone, who touches someone else, which leads to….and on and on. Even when you feel like what you do (for good or bad) is not a big thing, those small things touch other people in ways may we never know or realize.

It makes me think of something that has happened a few times to me as I am running. It is a sort of corny example but the first time it happened I thought it could be made into a tv commercial! As I ran by this older couple who walks every day, the man came over and handed me a small sucker. He had apparently just received it from a neighbor child of his. For whatever reason, he decided to give it to me. When he first gave it to me I just smiled and went on to carry the sucker til I got home. I did throw it away but while I was running with it, my “dream” of how it would make a commercial was if I were to hand it to someone else, who then passed it to someone else and on and on….

In this scenario the candy represents the effect we have on the people near us but also that we never know. If I had passed the candy on, it would have ended up with someone who was indirectly impacted by that little neighbor boy who first passed it on……

The Prestige: Wow! What an interesting movie! This show about magicians at the turn of the 20th century and their obsession with the perfect prestige was a bit confusing at first but in the end it was a good show with plenty of plot turns. I did figure some of it out before the end, but all in all an interesting show and I will rate it as a HIT.

The Great Divorce: I had been wanting to read some C.S. Lewis works and was able to get my hands on this one. I did not really enjoy the “story” though I did find the last few pages of the next to last chapter to be interesting. For the majority of the book I would rate it a MISS but since the one bit had some interest I will rate the book as neither a HIT or MISS.

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters: This is daughter’s book for an English project. She has read it twice and said she just didn’t “get” the last chapter-even after reading the book twice. I told her I’d read it and see what I thought. I actually enjoyed this book, except for the language (WHY do they do that, especially in kids/young adult’s books!) And I liked the ending. The author left it a bit ambiguous, making it a great question in the reader’s mind. I think I “got” it, at least as far as my guess as to how it ended. And I liked the twist upon twist upon twist. With that last little twist added in at the end. I will go ahead and rate this one a HIT for older teens or adults wanting a fun, quick, quirky, easy read.

Four Blind Mice: I tried a new author this month. The book was fine, not outstanding. I liked the story (language and violence disclaimer) good enough. So I guess I will rate it as a near HIT.

Wintergirls: Haunting. Very descriptive imagery. This is a very real look at a pair of girls who struggle through the winter wastelands of eating disorders, and I hope it can be helpful to girls (and guys) who are in the midst of disordered behavior. A very thought provoking book. I can’t really call it a HIT in the sense of “enjoying” the book. But I think it does rate as a HIT in the way it deals with the subject.

Having an older teen, one who is stuck in the middle of the teen years and keeping a toddler everyday, I started thinking about how much these ages are alike. At first I thought I would say that teens and toddlers are in the same world only on opposite ends of the spectrum. But I think they are pretty much going through the same things-physically, emotionally, and mentally. I mean, we can see a toddler’s body growing and changing, and for the most part that is the same with teens. It is harder to tell the emotional and mental changes going on inside a toddler, but again, maybe not any harder than it is to tell with teens! I mean, they are both figuring out who they are apart from Mom, Dad and other family members; who they are in their own right, in their own community, and they are adamant about expressing their individualism. The mental changes and growth going on within toddlers could probably be said to be about even with teens. Even though a lot of people might think that there is nothing going on in that space between a teenager’s ears, there is plenty of observation, thought processing, reflecting, stewing, percolating and making pronouncements and assertions about the world in which they live. I guess the one advantage that toddlers have over teens is that most people think they are still “cute”.

…I finished my first ever Olympic distance triathlon. What a day! We had record temperatures and a pretty sizable wind. We also had to cross the Kemah bridge, twice!

While I am pleased that I finished and happy with my swim time I did not feel too good about finishing third from the bottom of my age group. But, that just leaves me with something to strive for-either getting faster and stronger, or being happy as a back-of-the-packer!

Our distances included a .93 mile swim in the South Shore Marina, a 25 mile bike ride (which actually turned out to be 28 miles) and a 6.2 mile run. I dropped my inhaler on the bike portion and decided not to stop and pick it up. BIG mistake!! First off, I had a really really hard time on the run without it and ended up wheezing and painful at the finish line. Second, I had to replace it, which I did not know was going to cost me $40! (The one I dropped was a sample.)

But, all in all, my times were pretty good for me, pretty close to what I expected. I was really thankful to a teammate of mine, Rik, who earlier in the season cycled with me one day. We ended up doing the last portion of the race run together. He pushed me a bit faster than normal and while I paid for it in wheezing for a bit, I was really happy and loved seeing the race photo of us crossing the finish line together!

Here are my finishing times:

16th-of 19 in my age group

281-overall place (not sure how many entrants, at least 320)

40:02.2-swim time

2:28.4-transition 1

1:45:49.4-bike

15.9-average speed on bike

2:10.8-transition 2

1:10:15.4-run

11:20-run pace

3:40:46.3-total time to finish

This was my “A” race, my big race for the season. I am not sure where I will go from here but I do know it’s fun, it’s a challenge and it’s good for me. I know I will never be a contender, but I do hope that I am healthy enough to continue for as long as I want to.