Stuff

1. I have a lot to say about current events - the election, the embassy/Libya attack, the economy, etc. However, I am refraining from speaking out here for a number of reasons. It's sort of frustrating, but I feel that I need to keep mum online for the most part. So much for the 1st Amendment.

But then there's this:

2. So the group of us that Read Through the Bible in 90 Days (link is .pdf) last year (and formed a Facebook group as a result) are planning to do it again after Thanksgiving. This time we're extending the readings to 120 days and we're reading through a chronological plan (link is .pdf). All of the chrono plans I've found are for a full year, so I'm working on condensing the plan to 120 days. It actually works out to 122 days, so we're adding 3 grace days and our plan will be 125 days. I'm looking forward to doing this again and I think reading in chronological order will make it fresher this year since this will be the 3rd year in a row that I'm doing this.

3. A few more books have been completed since I last posted:

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - This is the 2nd book in the Delirium series and it's definitely a middle book. But I still enjoyed it. Now I'm waiting with the masses for the 3rd book to be released. I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated very well. 4 stars.

Hana by Lauren Oliver - this is a short story, book 1.5 of the Delirium series. It was interesting to hear Hana's side of the events that took place in Delirium. I wanted more when it was over, though, as it ended rather abruptly. 3.5 stars

No Easy Day by Mark Owen - great book. I appreciated why Owen wrote it and think he did a good job of explaining not just the Bin Laden mission, but what it is like to be a US Navy SEAL. 5 stars.

Return of the Rose by Theresa Ragan - middling time-travel romance. It isn't the best, but it isn't the worst either. I was sick on the day that I read this, so it served its purpose well. 3 stars.

Enclave by Ann Aguirre - I wanted to like this book more. Truth is it isn't that great. The premise was interesting, but didn't pan out well as the book progressed. I found that by the end I didn't really care about any of the characters. No plans to read anything else by this author. 2.5 stars.

I'm currently reading The Giver by Lois Lowry on my Kindle and listening to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn on the commute.

4. I'm watching a bit of TV, but mostly it's streaming stuff. I managed to watch the new season of Doctor Who, which was fun. I already miss the Ponds.

I'm looking forward to the start of the 3rd season of The Walking Dead, my new favorite show. I never thought I'd be into anything to do with zombies, but this show is so good despite the zombies.

5. Thanks to credit card rewards (thanks to a lot of purchases made for the house) I was able to get a refurbished iPad 2 for about half price. Already the kids have figured out that gaming on the iPad is way more fun than anything else. I am enjoying it a lot, too. More than I expected to, actually.

I'm sure there's more to share, but it will have to wait. But make sure to take a look at this and make sure to watch the whole thing:

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

Old news now, but we had the excitement of an earthquake yesterday. Centered in Mineral, Virginia, it rumbled through at about 1:50pm and measured 5.8 on the Richter scale.

I was at work, of course. My office location is about 80 miles northeast of the Mineral. Weirdly, at first we thought maybe a tornado was going through because the rafters in the open second story of our building were shaking. Then we felt it in our feet and legs. Before I recognized it as an earthquake, we were running to get out of the building - our thoughts were that the roof could cave in. But it turns out that we should have stayed inside, under our desks. I knew that, but it had been so long since I had experienced an earthquake like this one.

When I went back inside after a minute or so, I called Beau to see if he and the kids felt it. They had. He told me later that while he knew what to do because of his childhood in California, he was more scared and flummoxed about it because of his responsibility as Dad. He kind of forgot the training he had in his concern for the kids - Molly was napping upstairs and he had Jesse with him. He was torn about what to do with both of them being in two places.

In any case, a friend at work and I strategized what we would do in certain disaster events (tornado, earthquake, etc). And Beau and I discussed what we should do at home, too.

Now we prepare for the effects of hurricane Irene. Just lots of rain for us, fortunately. Praying for safety for my friends and family in the eye of that storm.

Tragedy and Small Helps

The devastation of the tornadoes around the south and midwest is overwhelming. The pictures of whole towns blown to rubble and sticks is incomprehensible. The loss of life is horrible.

It's times like this that I hold my husband and kids a little tighter, kiss them a little more often, tell them that I love them as often as the thought comes to my mind. And as a worst case scenario thinker, I work out solutions in my head should we be faced with similar circumstances.

I wish there was more I could do to help, but really what these people need is money given to organizations who are equipped and on the ground to lend aid. And so, I am using my small business to do just that. For all of May and June, any sale in my Etsy shop will help the folks impacted by the tornadoes. 10% of all sales revenue will be given to Samaritan's Purse, who has been helping in the south after the tornadoes hit them in April and now in Missouri and other parts of the midwest in the wake of the tornadoes this month.

For the month of May sales have been sparse, but I've been able to give $14.00. And I am matching it with personal funds, so that means an additional $14 has been given. It isn't much, but every little bit helps.

So if you're looking for gifts for teachers or birthdays, consider buying some jewelry knowing that part of your purchase will go to help the victims of this tornado season. Thanks in advance.

EDITED TO ADD: SP is in Joplin, MO.