Read

I can check one book off my list now. I finished "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" yesterday. I decided that it was going to be a lazy day, sitting outside and reading. I sat through sunshine and thunderstorms. It was GREAT just being outside!

The book was very difficult for me in the first 200 pages. It was bogged down with details that get lost with me, but once Larsson got to solving the mystery I was hooked. The mystery was solved with another 100 pages left in the book. I was thinking, "What is left?" I went ahead and finished it at 10:30 last night.

It was a good read, but I wouldn't say it was "great". I actually have the same sentiment towards it as I do "Twilight". I enjoyed it, but I can't say that I loved it. I am, however, a sequel junkie, and I will most likely read the next two books at some point.

Meanwhile, I need to go to the library and get "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"!

Music

As most of you know, I am a musican and music teacher. You would think that I listen to lots and lots of music, but I really do not. I usually cannot listen to live singers. (Needless to say, I cannot stand American Idol.) I am often surprised at the number of singers with million dollar record contracts that really can't sing. And then there are the ones I admire because they almost always give a flawless performance.

Since I have been home in the mornings (yay!), I have been watching Good Morning America which has it's Summer Music Series. Last Friday they had Alicia Keys. She can sing AND play piano. Another one I admire is Mary J. Blige! She will be on GMA this Friday, and I'll be sure to tune in for that. Dolly Parton just did a beautiful job singing on GMA!

I'd like to know who you like to listen to live. Is there a band or singer that you must see if they are on TV or performing close to you?

Anniversary

Matthew and I exchanged vows 7 years ago! I must admit that it doesn't feel like 7 years, and I'm so glad it hasn't. When we were getting married, I never liked the people joking about "ball and chain" or any of the other negative jokes. I have LOVED being married, but I was lucky enough to marry my best friend.

We've had a lot of adventures. Am I saying that every minute has been bliss? Of course not! It wouldn't be a marriage, but we seem to works things out. Am a I little miffed that he left the garbage outside two night in a row for the possum and raccoons to enjoy? Yes. But I will clean it up. Is there stuff I do that irritates him? Yes. But what can I say... I love my Facebook and Blogs. :)

I am a lucky girl, because Matthew is a "good one", as they say. I have coffee ready for me every morning. We take turns loading and unloading the dishwasher AND he can do a load of laundry. He can vacuum AND mop. In exchange for these things, I will clean the bathrooms without complaint. ;) Matthew even does some light grocery shopping on occassion! It's always interesting to see what he finds.

Matthew is a great travel companion. He is not afraid to change his plan if needed. This took some getting used to for me, but I have learned that it really helps keep your vacation stress free! We have traveled to New Mexico, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

I could go on and on, but I won't bore you. Here we are, 7 years ago!

Summer Reading

My summer reading list:

~The Chronicles of Narnia
- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
- The Silver Chair
- The Last Battle
~Tuesdays With Morrie
~The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
~The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
- The Fellowship of the Ring
- The Two Towers
- The Return of the King
~Wicked (started but didn't finish)

~I forgot that I also want to read Harry Potter... yup... all of 'em... I've only read "The Chamber of Secrets"!

Summer Vacay!

This was my first "real" week of summer vacation! WOO HOO!!! And it is already WAY better than last year. I've had an amazing week with friends. I shopped, hiked, shopped some more, and hiked some more!

Matthew has given me the task to make some curtains for the spare bedroom. It gets the most sun, and we need to protect the trim. I have accepted this task with much joy (since I will finally dust off my poor, neglected sewing machine).

I have a PILE of photos with no home, so I am hoping to do a little scrapbooking! Big Lots had some Martha Stewart stuff really cheap! I bought a scrapbook for $4!

Whether you are working or have your summer off...

HAPPY SUMMMER!!!!

Class of 2010

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2010! I think you are truely the last of a generation.

I am at the tail end of GenX, which remembers BETA, VHS, 45's, and cassette tapes. We remember a time when we had to use the Encyclopedia Brittanica vs. Wikipedia. We went to library and used the card catalogue, hand copied notes from our BOOK source, and traslated that into a research paper.

We used to volunteer to turn the projector's reel when the audio cassette's recording "beeped".

Does anyone remember the "new" videos on laserdisc, which was going to replace the VHS? Laserdiscs were the size of LP's!

MTV actually showed something new called music videos, and musicians were beginning to furthur their limits. The new genre called "Rap" was just emerging. Michael Jackson released a video called "Thriller" which redefined what a music video could be.

Like the generations before me, I am grateful to have seen so much technology advance so quickly. But it still scares the heck out of me! I have my laptop computer which has more than the 1G of memory my larger computer in college had. I have a digital camera with 7.5 megpixels. If you take a bad picture, you simply delete the picture instead instead of having it printed, pay for it, and then regret it.

Now I come back to music. I remember buying my first cassette tape which was Tina Turner's "1984". I bet you can't guess what year I bought it. When I reached high school, I owned my first "Walkman", which is a portable CD player. I used to save my money to buy CDs. I now own an iPod with 8G of memory. They managed to fit 8 of my college computers into one, tiny... what? It isn't a box... uh... well, it still blows my mind!

So to this generation getting ready to enter college or the work force, I wish you much luck in your futures! And prepare yourselves to listen to us, "older" generation talk about the "good ol' days". :)