Finished book 3 of 52 right on schedule. This was a fun and insightful book. I loved the accent of the narrator (on CD) and the language was pretty and lilting. The characters were complex and it made you want to learn more about them. This book reminded me of the Encyclopedia Brown series I read as a kid. Entertaining but you still learn a thing or two along the way. (I had no idea that snakes like to jump up under car engines! Creepy!) I’ll look out for a chance to read the next in the series, but I probably won’t go out of my way to reserve it or buy it. Fun but not a FAVE.

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I just got a cute new hairdo that takes more ‘product’ than the leave-in conditioner and elastic band I have been using lately. My flatiron, curling irons and hair dryer have been a tangled mess for lack of better storage. SO…I hacked (I use the term loosely) an ikea shoe cabinet t fit my needs. Eventually, my awesome neighbor will be commissioned to build a more permanent cabinet there, but until then..here’s my solution.

Ikea Shoe Cabinet – mostly matches the bathroom cabinets. Hair Dryer In the top drawer, plugged into the power strip below. Second drawer has the power strip attached with Command Strips Picture Hanging tabs. Because the drawers are plastic I got a bread pan for sub sandwiches and bent the sides around so it would fit in the drawer. The grooves provide the perfect channels for the irons. No worry of melting the plastic. The power strip lets me keep them plugged in all the time (they all have power switches).

The bottom drawer is super easy access of all my hair products. So far, this is working out great and it is giving me some fun design ideas for the ‘real thing’ that will come eventually.

I haven’t known exactly what I wanted, but this is close!!

And, in case you wondered…here’s the new ‘do.

It’s actually an old ‘do revisited, but it’s new again this year. 

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This book was not on my January Line-Up because I wasn’t going to count it. I read the first two chapters in November and left it through the holidays. But, instead of wasting the reading time finishing if it wasn’t going to count, I reread the first chapters and finished this week making it book 2 of 52 for the year.
Crossed is book 2 in the Matched series by Ally Condie. It’s a dystoipan young adult book, of which there are MANY. Not as many as the paranomal/supernaural genre, but close. Book 2 is the classic post-escape (from a controlling perfect society) survival phase. In my opinion this is not a trilogy, but a meaty book chopped into three pieces for easier digestion and to fatten the bellies of the publishers. The story takes place over a short period of time and covers travel from one place to another, including finding food, defending themselves against enemies, forging relationships with each other and eventually having to trust each other to get to the desired destination. The reader knows almost nothing more than they did at the end of Book 1. A morsel here and there, but certainly not enough for a stand-alone second book. The final book will have to be crammed with information to tie up all the loose ends this one left. It was slightly entertaining, briefly touching but mostly just getting from point a to point b on the way to c.

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Sometimes I wonder how honest to be in book reviews. This book makes me think twice, (even thrice – just had to use that word), about the review. Why? Because the author has such great intentions and means to uplift and encourage the reader and I appreciate and respect that so it’s hard to post honest comments about the flaws. I guess I will start with… this book is uplifting and encouraging. It reminds women of how important our roles are and how imperfect those perfect-looking Superwomen around us really are.

But…the writer tries too hard. I remember reading a passage in Jane Eyre that was so long without a stop that I wondered if the sentence would ever end. Some of the passages in this book remind me of that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty style! One where the vocabulary and lilt are more like prose than narration, but it’s unnecessary in a book that reinforces a simple and down to earth way of living and a humble attitude toward life. It’s too flowery and the LDS cliches are…well, cliche. I did laugh at them on occasion because I recognized the traits in myself or a fellow sister. As I stated before, overall, this book did uplift and encourage. I just appreciated the wisdom more than the wit.

[After writing the above review, I realized there was one other thing that may have had some influence...I listened to this book on CD and the narrator was a woman from Utah. As a not-originally-from-Utah LDS person, now living in Utah, the vernacular was a bit distracting. Not all LDS women 'fill' the spirit or go to a yard 'sell' or get the 'mell'. I bet the author doesn't speak like that, not being from Utah. The book was in first person and the narration felt a bit off. ]

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I remembered these sayings from when I was 15 or so on a sign outside little white church in our tiny town. They stuck with me and they apply to what I’m working on right now so I put them in pretty boxes, in current meme fashion. Enjoy!

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Made a trip to the library today and stocked up on a couple hard copy books and a couple audio books.  Gotta say, I’m liking this challenge already, although I need to finish Crossed by Ally Condie in 3 days.

Here’s my “2012 book-a-week” to-read list so far.

Beautiful Days
The Alchemist
Artemis Foul
Counting Blessings
City of Ash

And to make this post pretty…

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Catherine E had a crazy idea one day to set a goal of reading and blogging about 52 books in 2012. Then she passed her crazy idea on to her friends. A couple, including myself, were crazy enough to commit. If you are also as crazy as Catherine…link us up!

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My really expensive (to me) HP tablet style laptop died a while back and I haven’t quite decided what to do with it or what to get in its place. Until I decide what I really want, cheap is the way I decided to go.  The husband picked out an Asus laptop for me based on performance for the sub $400 price. Naturally, you tend to give up a bit of quality when you go cheap, so while this laptop performs decently – it’s actually pretty zippy – it lacks in the quality of materials. For example, the touchpad is textured. Nice if it’s a smooth material, but this one is rough and gives me that ‘nails-on-a-chalkboard’ feeling when I use it. The mouse buttons are SO loud I feel like I’m waking up the kids when I use it in the evening. Lastly, the cover is not as pretty as my sleek piano finish HP was. 

I could learn to live with all of these minor annoyances, but why do that when a little creativity can fix it all?  The lid was a standard fix. Skin it. I happened to have a pack of skins from a while back (before the pretty piano finish). I created an artistic skin that is personal and artistic and fits ME. Printed and installed. Fixed.  Printed another identical skin, cut it to fit the area below the keyboard including the mouse buttons. Put the clear label over the skin just on the touchpad for a smoother feel. FIXED! The mouse buttons are SILENT and the touchpad is smooth. As are the wrist rest areas. And it all looks lovely.  Cheapness modified for about $4.  And, once I figure out what I REALLY want in a laptop, this one goes to the next kid in line. 

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