While I was looking at different Mantis’s and reading up on them, even watching youtube videos I came across the most amazing species of Mantis located online called the Orchid Mantis they actually look like flowers and they are really beautiful though deadly.

And I also discovered that the Mantis was the state insect of Connecticut. I got to wondering what Minnesota’s state insect was and I found this chart:

Alabama state butterfly:
Alabama state insect:

eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly
monarch butterfly

Alaska state insect:

four-spot skimmer dragonfly

Arizona state insect:

two-tailed swallowtail butterfly

Arkansas state insect:
Arkansas state butterfly:

honeybee
Diana Fritillary butterfly

California state insect:

california dogface butterfly

Colorado state insect:

colorado hairstreak butterfly

Connecticut state insect:

european praying mantis

Delaware state bug:
Delaware state butterfly:
Delaware macroinvertebrate:
lady bug
tiger swallowtail butterfly
stonefly
Florida state butterfly:

zebra longwing butterfly

Georgia state insect:
Georgia state butterfly:

honeybee
tiger swallowtail butterfly

Hawaii

—

Idaho state insect:

monarch butterfly

Illinois state insect:

monarch butterfly

Indiana:

—

Iowa

—

Kansas state insect:

honeybee

Kentucky state butterfly:

viceroy butterfly

Louisiana state insect:

honeybee

Maine state insect:

honeybee

Maryland state insect:

Baltimore checkerspot butterfly

Massachusetts state insect:

ladybug

Michigan

—

Minnesota state butterfly:

monarch butterfly

Mississippi state insect:
Mississippi state butterfly:

honey bee
spicebush swallowtail butterfly

Missouri state insect:

honeybee

Montana state butterfly:

mourning cloak butterfly

Nebraska state insect:

honeybee

Nevada

—

New Hampshire state insect:
New Hampshire state butterfly:

two-spotted ladybug beetle
karner blue butterfly

New Jersey state bug:

honeybee

New Mexico state insect:

tarantula hawk wasp

New York state insect:

ladybug

North Carolina state insect:

honeybee

North Dakota

—

Ohio state insect:

ladybug beetle

Oklahoma state insect:
Oklahoma state butterfly:

honeybee
black swallowtail butterfly

Oregon state insect:

Oregon swallowtail butterfly

Pennsylvania state insect:

firefly beetle

Rhode state Island

—

South Carolina state insect:
South Carolina state butterfly:
South Carolina state spider:

Carolina mantid
eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly
Carolina Wolf Spider

South Dakota state insect:

honey bee

Tennessee state insect:
Tennessee stateinsect:
Tennessee agricultural insect:
Tennessee statebutterfly:
firefly beetle
ladybug beetle
honey bee
zebra swallowtail butterfly
Texas state insect:

monarch butterfly

Utah state insect:

honeybee

Vermont state butterfly:
Vermont state insect:

monarch butterfly
honeybee

Virginia state insect:

tiger swallowtail butterfly

Washington state insect:

green darner dragonfly

W Virginia butterfly:
W Virginia insect:

monarch butterfly
honeybee

Wisconsin insect:

honeybee

Wyoming

After locating Minnesota and discovering our state insect was the Monarch Butterfly I realized that I haven’t decided what I want as a tattoo because I’ve been thinking of getting one. I was talking to my friend Byron today when he came over to hangout about his tattoos and while I was considering getting something that was special to me I wanted to recognize that even if I move out of the state and to North Carolina with Jimmy and his family this summer that I will always be a real Minnesotan girl.

So I was thinking I’d get either a heart with a butterfly in it or a tattoo of an orchid mantis on my back. The tattoo itself would be small but I like small tattoos and hearing about their significance.

I can’t decide between which one…I’ll give it time.

The Husband— ?????

I was thinking about how the year is coming to an end and everything I’ve done in the past year and accomplished and everything that I hope to accomplish in the next up coming year.

So Like I’ve done in years past I’m going to write down some solid New Years Resolutions for the year of 2012.

It’s said that 2012 may be the end of the world because that’s when the Early Mayan peoples stopped calculating on their calendars but I don’t believe that to be true.

But I’d still have to say that my first New Year Resolution for 2012 is to

1) “Simply Survive“…I just want to make it through 2012 is one piece, alive and healthy with a stable enough life like I have now. The next time I’ll be writing a list of resolutions two semesters in school and a Summer would have passed and I may or may not be where I want to be to be able to sign up for the MCTC nursing program. I want to live my day to day without getting super depressed that I’m not making any progress, I want to look at each day in a more positive light.

My 2nd Resolution: Would be to
2) “Not be a quitter”- Whether this is in my relationship with David, at my workplace(s) or in my school work I’d like to keep going with everything I start until I succeed, and if I fail I’d like to know that I made my very best effort.

3) “Enjoy Life for what is has to offer” This past year I can honestly say I didn’t have many adventures, the whole year outside of a time I went to Michigan to represent my church I’ve been in Minnesota, and what I’ve been doing here has mainly been working, going to school and watching a lot of movies. I’d like to be able to get out and enjoy Minnesota for what it has to offer me, I want to explore new parts of the city and enjoy the weather. And create a new outlook on life even during the boring times.

4) Get out of Debt: I recently looked at my expenses again and in order to figure out how much money I’d need to make a month in order to continue living the life I am and still be able to save for a car or a new apartment in the future. I discovered that If I continue on I’ll be able to get out of all my Debt to Hamline University, to MCTC and to the Various Hospitals and organizations I’m a part of that I haven’t been paying by this time next year if I keep my consistent hours at working at Minneapolis Kids at Burroughs and working at my new workplace. I don’t want my pushing to get out of debt to interfere with my ability to do well in school though, this is the only thing that worries me I’m going to get so overwhelmed and wrapped up working that I’ll have no time for school.

5) Learn How to Prioritize.- Most people who know me know that I value strange things and I prioritize things that I value rather than what I should be prioritizing to make life easier on myself. I value my relationships but I don’t value my family, I value what I do with my money now rather than worrying about how I’ll save my money for the future. I also Value work over school which seems to make life harder because I need to do well in school in order to do better work. I’ve learned a lot of these life lessons over the past year and I’d like to be able to say ‘first things first’ and actually know where I’m going to go when I need to place value on things.

6) Lose More Weight: I’m proud to say that though an unhealthy weight I have maintained the same weight for the last few months and over the summer I actually lost weight. This past year I was a member of a gym called LA Fitness and because of some financial difficulty that I’m still trying to get out of I’ve found myself once again without a means of working out. I do do a lot of walking on a regular basis and I find myself jogging to and from the bus stop often but that’s not enough. I want to find some means of exercise which can be incorporated into my everyday routine, maybe it’s rollerskating because I discovered I am good at it and that I enjoy it or maybe it’s just biking like my housemates do 24/7, I don’t know. Part of that is the simple step I can take of eating more healthy, David said that he could help me with that and I’m hoping to get a George Foreman grill because David swears by it. In general I just want to GET FIT.

7) Get even More Organized than I already Have- This past year I’ve come a long way in maintaining the clutter that is my room. I have installed and organized to the point where everything now has a decent place. I realized though that when I move in the future that I want a place with walk in closets. Or I want to be able to build myself walk in closets because a bulk of my bulk is clothing and I don’t feel like getting rid of much of it now. My room currently is so small that it constantly needs to be converted for me to be able to do simple things such as play a board game, sleep or watch television on my computer. I’m getting tired of having to move everything around in order to do simple tasks so I want to eventually maybe in the next year find a place where I can have enough room to roam and be able to store what I want to to bring out later. Getting more organized may help me manage my stress better, calm easily maintained environment might mean a calmer me.

8) Maintain relationships: I’m proud to say that unlike last year where I was getting over Craig I have a great man who though he has his faults I’d like to keep around for awhile and have adventures with. I’m not on that search for a boyfriend “Thank God.” and i’m not wondering what the wide world of dating has to offer me, instead I’m in a perfectly good spot in my relationship with David and I’m finally starting the see breakthroughs in how he and I communicate and understand each other as for dating at this point I’m going to keep things open I’m not looking for anyone on the side but David said that if something better comes along that I should take it. So far nothing better has come along that can be long term. I think that’s what I’m looking for now, not just a boyfriend who will be around for a few months who I give a lot to and who leaves, I want something that will last more than a year. David and I have potential to last more than a year, three months have flown by and I think part of it is because we are able to give each other enough space to live our separate lives. Though I’d like to see parts of our lives coming together more like him meeting my family and me meeting his family for now I’m pretty content with him coming over and spending time with me. Anytime at all can be hectic I know with his crazy law school schedule. Part of that maintaining this relationship would be not being so clingy and demanding so much of David, it’s hard because it seems to me that David thinks my wanting anything at all is from him is being too demanding …that’s something we have to work on.

9) Find Church again: I didn’t write a blog about being kicked off the worship team because I thought getting into a big fuss over it all would be a huge waste of my time. I didn’t write a blog about not attending church because of a lack of motivation to do so because I didn’t feel it was something that was worth blogging about just yet and I’ve been busy and haven’t really had the time to blog as much as I wish I could. I was kicked off the team because Matt and Peter think that I need to become reconciled with something in my life that’s going on before I can help lead a congregation in worship.  They think I’m going through some sort of spiritual battle and they think i should seek some kind of counseling. There’s nothing crazy going on in my life right now that isn’t normal for someone my age to be going through, I’m experiencing life as everyone else does and I’m trying to get by. Counseling is expensive and unnecessary in my particular case because anything a counselor might say to me is the exact thing I could discover by making mistakes and learning those life lessons on my own. I accept that things aren’t perfect in my life and that I have a lot to work on but that’s the same for everyone that God put on this planet. I am in a relationship and it scares me that I might be trying to commit myself to a person who might not be meant for me, but I’m experiencing it because even if David isn’t “the one” I’ve learned a lot from the relationships I’ve already experienced and the experiences I’ve had have taught me much about what I am looking for in a partner.

I’m looking for a love in a man and I am looking to love a man just like those famous passages in Corinthians 13 talking about love:

¹ If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I see a lot of good things in David and I hope that over time I will learn to love him or that through my experiences with him I’ll be able to better love another. There is no loss of faith in me in that respect and I don’t need to go to church to know what I should seek in LOVE.

I’m working and my coworkers are frustrating at times when they make my job harder and cause me unwanted stress. They are mean and inconsiderate and lazy and I can honestly say if at times if it weren’t for work and the fact that I might lose my job, I would quickly curse some of them out for acting the way they do. They aren’t the worst kind of people for they do have the abilities to make the children at my work place happy but they aren’t good to me and some of my other coworkers. They do good but there isn’t much love in them but for those who are their own and mean like themselves. I’ve watched and I’ve taken a lot of shit because of their wanting to make someone look worse than themselves. I don’t need to go to church every Sunday to know how I need to deal with them because being in church as I grew up I’ve learned that Jesus instructs me to Love my enemies in Luke 6:27:

²⁷ “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.³¹ Do to others as you would have them do to you.

³² “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.³³ And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

So at work I’m learning to turn the other cheek and so far being nice to those who mistreat me, though it isn’t always easy has kept me my job for the last year and a half.

I’m also in School and though it’s hard I don’t need to go to church to know that God created me to do good things and produce good fruit from all my hard work. I have a good heart because of God and what I produce in the world will be good it says so clearly in the Bible.

 ⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

All these things I’ve learned to deal with over the years and God has taught me many lessons about how to deal with people in those settings and in those situations.

Learning about God in church in my life has taught be a lot.

I have enough knowledge to deal with my day to day struggles so I don’t feel I need to attend church every Sunday I’m taking a break from Church for awhile. I need to find myself and reestablish a positive relationship with God on my own and where Gods place in my life is. I want to get out of thinking about church in a legalistic way where I hate that I can’t be myself in church and everyone pretends that life is just so fine and dandy and no one can really says what they want to say to a person’s face.For example: when my mother was planning on putting my cat down I was against it, that was this summer and I vocalized my feelings to her and the cat still lives today and is doing much better than she was a couple of months ago. And when my brother didn’t want to go to college and instead decided he’d rather join the military because he’s afraid he can’t afford to go to school I was against it, and the many soldiers I know (except Jason) were also against it. I want to go to church when I know I can really praise God again and not have to worry about How the way I’m living my life will reflect how holy and great the church itself is. We all make mistakes and God is helping me through mine in his own way and his own time. I don’t need the people at my church judging me. It’s not that I’m no longer a Christian I just haven’t been going to the Christian gatherings because I don’t feel that they are genuine anymore. But this next year I’d like to find a way to come back to church whether it’s a different church or not I’m unsure.

For some reason when I think of the church now I think of what Jesus said : “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Meaning that I can do what I want on Sunday as long as my heart is there. And I can have communion with bread and grape juice whenever I want to at home, every meal I have can be my communion…I still pray I still believe I still want God to be in the lives of the people I love and care about. I believe that God blesses me daily. Enough said.

10) Learn to Love myself: Which means taking care of myself and thinking about what I deserve rather than what others think and want. I hear that is the only way I’ll find self esteem and confidence in this world, apparently everyone says I don’t know myself and that I’m afraid of my own company and as soon as I find myself I’ll find where I’m going in life. So that is definitely a goal.

The first and greatest change is that I got a 2nd job and I start it next Tuesday, the second change is that I’ve signed up for a school tuition payment plan so I know the exact monthly amount my school will be taking from me towards my tuition and now I can calculate the amount I’ll need to make from both my jobs in order to meet my monthly needs and actually make money to save.

I got to work early today so I decided to spend some time coming up with a new expenses sheet.

This is what would be Ideal if I could make 800$ from Minneapolis Kids a month and 400$ from my new second job Atrebla a month, the greatest thing is that I’ll actually probably be making more than 400$ a month from Atrebla if everything goes well and this whole plan could be accelerated!

This expenses sheet is calculated according to nothing bad happening in the next six months that would require me to spend more than 20 dollars of my budget and based on the hope that I do not lose either of my current jobs. As much as daily I wish to quit Minneapolis Kids now I need it in order for my plan to work.

With the money I save if this continues I hope to buy a car and invest in a new apartment…or to actually pay my school tuition up front for a semester that I’m in school and not have to worry about tuition payments for a semester so I can actually MAKE MONEY FOR MYSELF!

I’m super excited about this new development.

December:

Rent- $350
Cellphone- $60
Food- $20
29th or 30th- Tuition Plan Enrollment Fee $300

Total: $-730 Dollars
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800

Bus fare from Mr. Babcock: +???
= $+169.98
________________________________________________________
January:
Beginning Money $169.98

Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $349.78
Bus Card- $84
Food- $20

Total: $-693.80
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800

=$106.20
________________________________________________________
February: 0.00

Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $349.78
Bus Card- $0
Food- $20

Total: $-779.78
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
Total: 20.22
Income Atrebla Learning Center: Approximately 100$

Savings: 0
=$120.00
_______________________________________________________
March: 0
Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $349.78
Bus Card- $0
Food- $20

Total: $-779.78
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
Total: 20.22
Income Atrebla Learning Center: Approximately 400$
=420.22
Savings: 300.00
Total= 120.22
________________________________________________________
April: $120.22
Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $349.78
Bus Card- $0
Food- $20

Total: $-659.56
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
Total: 140.44
Income Atrebla Learning Center: Approximately 400$
=540.44
Savings:(300.00) + 300.00 =600.00
Total= 240.44
________________________________________________________
May:240.44
Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $349.78
Bus Card- $0
Food- $20

Total: $-539.34
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
=260.66
Income Atrebla Learning Center: Approximately 400$
=660.66
Savings:(600.00) + 300.00 =900.00
Total= 360.66
_______________________________________________________
June:360.66
Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $349.78
Bus Card- $84
Food- $20

Total: $-503.12
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
=$296.88
Income Atrebla Learning Center: Approximately 400$
=696.88
Savings:(900.00) + 300.00 =1,200
Total= 396.88
________________________________________________________
July:$396.88
Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $349.78
Bus Card- $0
Food- $20

Total: $-382.90
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
=$417.10
Income Atrebla Learning Center: Approximately 400$
=817.10
Savings:(1,200.00) + 300.00 =1,500
Total= 517.10
—————————————————-

I think I should do something like that, write a letter to my friends on Christmas.

It’s actually pretty brilliant and I’ve learned a lot about what David values from it…it’s all really interesting.

anyway…Christmas is over and it really sucked for me but I don’t feel like talking about that now.

December:

Rent- $350
Cellphone- $60
Food- $20
29th or 30th- Tuition Plan Enrollment Fee $300

Total: $730 Dollars
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800

= +$70
________________________________________________________
January:

Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $315
Bus Card- $84
Food- $20

Total: $829
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800

=$-29
________________________________________________________
February:

Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $315
Bus Card- $0
Food- $20

Total: $745
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800

=+$55
_________________________________________________________
March:
Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $315
Bus Card- $0
Food- $20

Total: $745
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
=+$55
________________________________________________________
April:
Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $315
Bus Card- $0
Food- $20

Total: $745
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
=+$55
________________________________________________________
May:
Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $315
Bus Card- $0
Food- $20

Total: $745
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
=+$55
_______________________________________________________
June:
Rent-$350
Cellphone- $60
Tuition Payment- $315
Bus Card- $84
Food- $20

Total: $829
Income Minneapolis Kids: Approximately $800
=-$29
________________________________________________________

I know that Cynthia hasn’t picked out a gift for me because she posted it that she hadn’t just an hour ago.
Tyler has been waiting for me to locate my old wish list from last year.
Eric never gets me a gift.
and Tiffany will probably get me something that she thinks will make me happy but I will never be able to use. Like the orchestra hall voucher she got me last year that I still have sitting in a drawer for a special time…it reminds me of how much I miss playing violin on a regular basis.

I haven’t seen Evan in years and my mother will probably get me a bus card or money…something practical.

Anyway, I was thinking over what I’d actually want this year and honestly if it isn’t in the form or money to pay my bills and a car I can’t think of much I want rather than need right now.

But I did find my old Christmas wish list and since my family didn’t get me much of what I wanted from there last year I’m trying at some of these things again…it’s amazing how much my tastes have changed and how much I’ve gotten myself in this last year that I don’t need to worry about anymore.

So here is the new list: (In no particular order)

1. True Blood Season 1/The Walking Dead : Because I’ve seen them all and I’m addicted

2. David Michael Howe: Because apparently he doesn’t want to spend Christmas with me and I’d really like him to!

3.Little House on the Prairie (any Season): Because it is one of my favorite shows

4. A New MP3 player: Because It would be nice to not have to carry my computer around everywhere I want to hear music.

5. A gift certificate to somewhere to get my hair done: Because I miss having manageable hair and I know I’ve been putting my head through hell…getting my hair professionally done would just make me happy again!

6. A Clothing dresser: On a more practical note this is something I’ve really needed recently.

7. A giftcard to target: Because it is really easy to find anything you want and need at Target

8. A New or 2nd part time job: Can someone give a gift like this that keeps on giving? I need more money in order to save for a car and pay of my tuition without starving.

9. A ring or a Bracelet: Because I like GOLD!

10. A new set of headphones: The ones I’ve been using recently broke and I could really use a new paid.

11. Money: Duh.

12. An all expenses paid trip to Anywhere but here: So I can get a much needed vacation.

13: Socks: Because I keep losing the ones I’ve bought for myself.

14:Bras: Because they are expensive and I need new ones

15:New Boots: Because my Soles are coming off on my left foot. (Crazy that I just got a new pair and this has happened to them in less than 3 months)

16: A bottle of Nair: I’m being practical here and this is in general for hair removal (because girls get hairy too!)

17: A subscription to Interview Magazine: Because I like the pictures.

18: A Cable subscription: Because television is fun to watch and I like wedding shows.

19: A new camcorder: Because my camera broke awhile ago and I haven’t had the money to replace it.

20: Any Brilliant Romantic Comedy that has come out that you think I don’t own: because they are worth it.

21: Any of these books from Carl Hiaasen’s Collection :

• The Downhill Lie,
• Flush,
• Hoot,
• Paradise Screwed,
• Team Rodent,
• Kick Ass,
• Lucky You,
• Death in China,

So I can Finish my Carl Hiaasen Collection.

22. A new bike: Because mine is old are hard to deal with.

23. A mega Bus Pass: To save me money on my daily commute to and from work and to school…or instead 84$ so I can invest in the school’s megabus pass.

24: A Car: …Enough said.

25. Two person playing games:  I have scrabble and that’s about my only 2 person player game…I have apples to apples which needs more than two people which I have no use for.

26: Toilet Paper, Lotion and Laundry Detergent:  Because I’m poor and can’t afford these things regularly…which is sad!

27: A new Digital Camera: Because I love taking pictures and my old one has gone missing

28.: A large Case of LEMON Tea: still my Favorite!

29.A digital Picture Frame: Because i Don’t want to have to use facebook all the time.

30. A Wristwatch: On the more practical side because I really need one, I use my cellphone but I’d like to be able to look at my wrist once again for the time.

31. More Books:

Something Borrowed – Emily Giffin

Plot: Rachel Miller and Darcy Rhone have been best friends since childhood. They’ve shared birthdays, the horrors of high school and even boyfriends, but while Darcy is the sort of woman who breezes through life getting what she wants when she wants it, Rachel has always played by the rules and watched her stunning best friend steal the limelight. The one thing Rachel’s always had over Darcy is the four-month age-gap which meant she was first to being a teenager, first to drive, first to everything …but now she’s about to be first to thirty. And Darcy still has a charmed life.
On the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Rachel is shocked to find herself questioning the status quo. How come Darcy gets a glamorous job at a PR firm and the perfect boyfriend, while Rachel grinds away at her despised job as an attorney and remains painfully single. Is it just luck? Or, looking back at their friendship and their lives together, is it a bit more complicated than that?
Then an accidental fling complicated everything, and it’s time for Rachel to make a few hard choices. And she’s forced to learn that sometimes true love comes at a price…
My Opinion: Everyone has had a friend that they’ve been jealous of, but Rachel has more problems then most! This is a well written book that most women will relate too, and it contains a gritty, gripping love story too. Well worth a read!
Price: $5.58 at amazon.com

The Forgotten Garden – Kate Morton

Plot: In 1913, a little girl arrives in Brisbane, Australia, and is taken in by a dockmaster and his wife. She doesn’t know her name, and the only clue to her identity is a book of fairy tales tucked inside a white suitcase.
When the girl, called Nell, grows up, she starts to piece together bits of her story, but just as she’s on the verge of going to England to trace the mystery to its source, her grandaughter, Cassandra, is left in her care. When Nell dies, Cassandra finds herself the owner of a cottage in Cornwall, and makes the journey to England to finally solve the puzzle of Nell’s origins.
Shifting back and forth over a span of nearly 100 years, this is a sprawling, old-fashioned novel, as well-cushioned as a Victorian country house, replete with family secrets, stories-within-stories, even a maze and a Dickensian rag-and-bone shop. All the pieces don’t quite mesh, but it’s a satisfying read overall, just the thing for readers who like multigenerational sagas with a touch of mystery.
-Mary Ellen Quinn
My Opinion: This book made me cry, laugh and fall in love with the main character, and by the end it feels like you were there every step of the journey. A brilliantly written and very inspiring book!
Price: $17.16 at amazon.com

32.  Two and A half Men: Any Season

33. The rest of the Roger and Hammerstein Collection:

34. Guitar Hero for Wii

35. A subscription for free fruit delivered to my door.

36. Bones: Seasons 1 &2

37. Movies on Dvd: Preferably the ones located on my favorite movies section on my facebook page:

38. A big HUGE photo album for my pictures

39. A Scrap Booking material so I can start organizing the things that I have been packing away these few years.

40. Family Guy: Any Season

41. The Office: Any Season

42. Friends/ How I Met Your Mother: Any Season…hopefully in order

43. House: Any Season

44. The Simpsons: Any Season

45. A VHS Player: Because the one I got from Savers was really badly broken and never worked.

46. A Wii with JUST DANCE 1, 2 or 3!

47.  Montel’s Healthmaster: blender, or whatever it is…I want one :D

48. 20th Century Fox’s Romance Collection

49. A Mixed CD

50. Mixed Cds in General.

51. A nice pair of Gloves.

52. A gift certificate to a day at the spa: So I can get my back straightened out (I’m getting old).

53. New Violin Music and a new BOW my bow is broken!

54. a new night cap for my hair like my old pink one.

55. George forman Grill: David swears by them.

56.  Soil for planting and pots for planting flowers over the summer…I really need new soil because I have A LOT OF SEED.  I’d also Love a window flower box.

57. NO CLOTHING!

58. Earrings, and nail polish…I have none I miss them and want to continue to used them.

59. A Nail stamper set by KONAD

1. He’s a law student and a teacher and he’s trying to fit me into his busy schedule.
2.  He’s kind of quirky and particular about the little things.
3.  He finds pleasure in making me uncomfortable,
4. he’s a lot stronger than I am physically and when we wrestle he has the ability to throw me.
5.  He has greenish, bluish, gray eyes that fit perfectly into Jaymay’s gray or blue song and they are constantly getting dried out.
6.  He won’t kiss me if I have just put raw cookie dough into my mouth.
7.  He won’t kiss me if I’ve just scarfed down a vanilla wafer.
8.  He won’t have his picture taken
9. . He won’t look at me while he’s driving.
10.  When he has work and things to do that’s exactly what he means, when he’s busy don’t call him or email or text him…he’s busy and therefore can’t talk.
11. He doesn’t accept gifts and he doesn’t give gifts.
12.  He will test drive every truck in the state to find one that will last him 12+ years.
13. He won’t put up with a person wasting his time, be that when you’re setting up equipment for watching a movie or if you’re taking too much time debating a word in a scrabble game that you know is not a word.
14.  He won’t eat anything that isn’t natural and that has the word loaf in it.
15.  Yes, he’s a picky eater.
16.  He will not go back to a restaurant after having one bad experience with it while he was hungry.
17. He will not trust me with directions.
18.  He’s self conscious about his weight and his abilities
19. he’s sexy and he doesn’t know it.
20. He’s losing his hair but would look good bald and he thinks that take away from his over all attractiveness.
21.  Unless I give him a specific amount of chocolate chips David will put in the whole bag if I tell him to ‘just put a few in’.
22. David is literal most of the time, he’s also extremely calculated.
23.  He will give you an hour and a half and call it a complete date it’s midnight…and he needs to go home and go to bed.
24. He’s an extremely dedicated person.
25. He’s not a good elementary school teacher.
26.  He doesn’t think he has good enough genes to have children, he thinks his children will come out hairy.
27.  He doesn’t like his body hair
28. . He knows all there needs to be able trucks.
29.  He used to race vehicles.
30.  He will not say the words yes or no.
31.  His clothing doesn’t fit his broad shoulders, his pants don’t fit him if he works out too much.
32. He is a fan of Top Gear because he likes to hosts.
33.  He will always win an argument.
34. He looks up to his friends because they live the lives he wishes he could
35. He hates his nails
36. He’s not going to call you
37. He is shy sometimes
38. He always says the right things
39. He will open your door for you but you’ll have to ask
40. He doesn’t believe in romance
41. He’s a non romantic
42. He likes to say things like “This is insane, this is ridiculous, and this is bullshit’
43. What he believes is a certain way is a certain way
44. He is all man.
45. He has the ability to handle a lot of pain
46. He won’t see a doctor if he can handle it himself
47. His Bunnies are very important to him
48. He isn’t close to his mother
49. He misses his college buddies
50. He will buy a person a taco and say ‘Merry Christmas, here’s your present’
51. He wants more piercings.
52. He’s not comfortable with the Human condition
53. He’s actually an alien
54. Sometimes he feels he’s not worthy of my affection toward him
55. He’s forgiving and True
56. He has great taste.