Saying Goodbye

Mud Puddle has been having some health issues for the last month. It started with a swollen and then bleeding nose, that made it hard for her to breath. The vet ruled out bacterial infection, fungal infection, and then we thought it might be part of her autoimmune disease that attacked her ears a few years ago. But it's not any of those things. The results are back and it's squamous cell carcinoma and fast growing apparently. So we talked about it and the option of surgery which the vet felt wouldn't work, and would only add to the pain. We decided the kindest thing would be to end her suffering. I told the kids, and everyone is sad. Mud Puddle is going to the rainbow bridge on Monday.

100 Book Challenge in 2010!

I decided to sign up to do the 100 Book Challenge in 2010 on J.Kaye's Book Blog


This will be hard, because Nursing school takes up so much of my time, but I love to read, I have to have more stress relief outlets and I can make up some time during the summer. On a good day I can read a book so I know this one is possible. Plus I'm behind in all my reading fun! I have a stack of books waiting for me from Christmas :)

January

1. Acacia- Fantasy series. This was an enjoyable read.

2. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief- Excellent. My kids and I finished it just in time to see the movie. The book is better.

February

3.King of Torts - I really did not enjoy this book. Why does everyone seem to think Grisham is such a great author?

4. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan - Loved it. The boys are really into this series now.

March

5. Lamentation by Ken Scholes I really enjoyed this book. First in a series. I started it as my "van" book, to read while waiting for the boys to get out of school, but I couldn't put it down! I am going to download the next one for my itouch.

6. Anything but Typical- A novel written from the perspective of an autistic 12 year old boy. This subject is close to my heart since I have one exactly the same age. I could only read it in snatches, because it made me cry. Very well written and reality checked by people on the autism spectrum so that it truly reflects how they perceive things. I highly recommend this book!

7. A Game of Thrones A song of Ice and Fire Book 1- Wonderful fantasy, similar to Acacia in some ways. I'm already reading the sequel on my itouch.

8. Half the Sky- This is a life changing book. Difficult to read, as it is hard to face the reality that most of the women in the world today live under such dangerous circumstances and face the kind of treatment we generally like to think ended when slavery was abolished, apartheid was ended, etc. In reality many women are still sex slaves, and according to this book there are more slaves today than at the peak of the European slave trade. It's not all bad news, this book goes into many details about the work being done to change things for women all around the world, and how you can get involved. It all boils down to education, and enlightening the local people that there is another way. If you get a chance, read this book, then pick something that resonates with you and help.

9. A Clash of Kings Book 2 of the song of Ice and Fire series- I can't help it, I had to keep reading until it was done. Bed can wait!

10. A Storm of Swords Book 3 of the song of Ice and Fire series- Still satisfying, I'm going to be sad when I get to the end of this series.

11.A Feast for Crows Book 4 of the song of Ice and Fire series- Only took me a day and a half to read this one wanting to get to the good parts! Once I got to the end I discovered the last book in the series hasn't been finished yet, and it was a bit of a cliffhanger. How disappointing, but I guess I need to do something other than read this vacation!

12. The Titan's Curse- book 3 of the Percy Jackson and the Lightning thief series. The kids and I can't get enough, really enjoying sharing this series with them.

13. Witch and Wizard by James Patterson - Such a dissapointment. I didn't realize this was a YA book and it was much lighter reading than I was hoping for. I was bored for most of the book.

April

14. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan- Book 4 in the series continuing the story of Percy Jackson and his friends in their battle against Kronos. Still excellent and such a fun way to share mythology with the kids!

15. World Made by Hand by James Howard Kunstler. Post oil world. Interesting world he's developed that feels like a return to the late 1800's. A bit on the religious side, but the plot is good and the characters are well developed. I finished it in one day while doing other things so it's a quick read!

16. Welcome to Temptation and

17. Bet Me- a combined two story paperback by Jennifer Crusie. Lighthearted romance. I will be reading more of her books. Her characters are different than the usual romance protagonists.

18.Destiny's Road by Larry Niven- Very typical sci fi for it's era. I enjoyed it but something was missing from the flow. It is worth reading, but I felt lost at times.

19. Aftermath by Charles Sheffield- Post supernova EMP from a nearby star knocks out technology in this futuristic postapocalyptic novel. It had well developed characters, and a plot that kept you turning the pages.

20. This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer- The third in her series of YA fiction about the moon being knocked closer to the earth. I didn't enjoy this one after about CH 14, the author seemed to be going off on a tangent, and the characters didn't feel like they were following their personalities in the decisions they made. I did however enjoy her first two in this series, Life as we Knew it and The Dead and the Gone.

May

21. Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks- I read this for class, found it a great read. It's about the Black Death, and the main character's struggles.

So I have been slacking, and it's September! I'll add the links later.

Books I read this summer

22. Daggerspell by Katherine Kerr- Great fantasy series.

23. ACLS Book- American Heart Association - Preparation text for Advanced Cardiac Life Support. I passed my certification so it must have been good :)

24. The Mermaid's Chair by Sue Monk Kidd- Romance but with a twist. Love ended and regained. A bit gory in parts

25. Safe Harbor by Luanne Rice- another Romance novel. Sailing and sisterhood, and love over time. Nice story

26. Silent Night by Mary Higgins Clark- Romance, and mystery. O.k. but not my favorite.

September

27. Canticle by Ken Scholes- Continuation of the series. Very gripping and great characters.

December

Well I ended up reading only 27 books this year, but considering all the things that I had on my plate I am pretty happy to have read that many!

First flowers!

I noticed a tree in bloom near my friend's house on Monday. That and the pansy's in bloom and the return of blue skies has me cheerful. Spring is on the way! Of course along with that comes allergy season, so we are getting ahead of the curve and starting the meds now before we all turn into sniffling stuffy noses.



This pic is from 2000, but it's one of my favorites. I am looking forward to the tulips!
I have been doing well with my coursework. Only 3 more weeks in this term, and I am mostly done with our psychosocial paper. Next term we move on to Populations and Epidemiology. I am really looking forward to Epidemiology since infectious diseases are a special interest of mine. I find them absolutely facinating.