November 30, 2006 by samantha.

The book club pick for this month was The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks. This is not a book that I would have chosen on my own, but I enjoyed the book. It was exactly what I wanted- an easy, enjoyable read. I started the book on the flight home from Portland and easily made it through half the book. The Wedding is the sequel to The Notebook. It is the story of a husband that realizes he has neglected his marriage and that he needs to make up for lost time. Just like every Nicholas Sparks book, the ending is more romantic than anyone could imagine. I prefer The Notebook, but The Wedding is a great, simple read for the hectic holiday season.

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November 27, 2006 by samantha.

I was reading usatoday.com this morning and I came across this story. And it just pissed me off! A homeowner in Colorado hung a Christmas wreath that is shaped like a peace sign. The home owner association president is not happy about it. He says that other residents are offened that the peace sign is displayed during a time of war. I find that absurd and will kindly ignore that comment. He also claims that the peace sign is a satanic symbol. People are so ridiculous. Get over yourself! I will admit that at one time or another, the peace sign may have been a satanic symbol. But now it represents something that everyone should strive for and work together to achieve. Instead, people just find a way to ruin it. Talk about forgetting the meaning of the season! If you want to get all religious, then do not get a Christmas tree, hang lights, send cards, or exchange gifts! Am I the only one that was pissed off by this?

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November 24, 2006 by samantha.

I just finished The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn and I was so sad to see it end. It was the perfect easy, vacation read. As I am sure that you have figured out, it is the life story of Santa Claus. It was a unique twist on what we have heard before. The book is actually a great review on world history. Granted the lesson are not exactlty accurate, but fun and informative at the same time . Still I highly recommend this book as a fun, easy Holiday read.

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November 24, 2006 by samantha.

My Thanksgiving was far from ordinary, but I loved every minute of it. We arrived in Seattle mid-afternoon on Wednesday. The drive from the lodge was amazing. We drove north along the Washington coast and when we reached Port Angeles, we turned east. We could see Canada from Port Angeles. I was tempted to hop on a ferry and head into Canada, but Cynthia would not let me. I hate to sound like a broken record, but the drive was just amazing. Everything was so green and beautiful. Since we came the back way into Seattle, we explored one of the many islands. Bainbridge Island is one of the islands that I have been looking at in case I ever do make the move to the Seattle area. The island is very cute and the best part was that we got to take a ferry across the Puget Sound into Seattle . We got into town, checked into our hotel, and did a little exploring. After dinner, we went to see Deck the Halls. I will say not to waste your money and end it at that.

We woke up Thanksgiving morning and walked a few blocks to a little 24-hour diner called 13 Coins. It was very cute and unique. We then headed home. We knew that the traffic would be bad and we were anxious to get back into Portland. The drive was long and traffic was bad, but the conversation and company was great. Unfortunately, someone decided to rear-end us. Cynthia’s car has a bad dent, but we are okay. We finally made it home, turned around and, headed out again. Thanksgiving dinner was at another cute, local diner. I had a turkey sandwich in honor of the day. Cynthia had mac and cheese with fish sticks… what do you expect from a vegetarian that eats fish!  We then made our way to the movies to see Bobby. I say run, not walk to go see it. It was wonderful. I was not bored for a moment and I loved every part of it. Go and see it! It is a must! Then come back to my website and tell me what you thought. I would love to hear you thoughts on the movie.

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November 22, 2006 by samantha.

I am moving to Lake Quinault. It is gorgeous here and just so peaceful. My cousin Cynthia and I decided to bail on the family and live it up for Thanksgiving. I flew into Portland Sunday night and early Monday morning we headed up into Washington. Quinault is on the southern end of the Olympic National Forest. The drive was beautiful and fueled my desire to move to Washington even more. We have had tons of cold, rainy weather and I could not be happier. We arrived at the Lake Quinault Lodge mid-afternoon and checked in. The lodge is wonderful. Our room is small and has no TV! Not that it mattered since we had a lot of exploring to do. We have gone for a few hikes, saw the world’s largest Sitka Spruce, Big Red Cedar, and so much more. Tomorrow we leave Quinault and are taking the long way to Seattle. We are going to drive north along the Washington coast, and then head east. If all goes well, we should be in Seattle early tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed!

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November 22, 2006 by samantha.

It is not often that I do not finish a book, but this was one of those times. I had such problems with it. Last month, my book club chose to read The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. I was eager to start the book and quickly read the first few pages. Then the problems came. The book begins with Dr. Henry delivering his twins. This came as a shock since his wife was did not know she was carrying twins. The son was born perfect, but the daughter was born with Down’s syndrome. Since his wife did not know that she was carrying twins, Dr. Henry has his daughter taken away by the nurse. He tells his wife that her daughter died. This is were I began to have issues with the book. The book continues on with the Henry’s lives, but nothing is the same since that night. Dr. Henry has a tremendous amount of guilt and Ms. Henry never gets over the “death” of her daughter.

The nurse that was supposed to take the daughter away ends up keeping her. Yes, I know she kidnapped her but get over it! I did! Caroline (the nurse) and Phoebe (the daughter) go on to live a great life. Phoebe does well. Caroline does have some guilt for what she did, but she saw something in Phoebe that Dr. Henry did and could not. If the whole book had been about Caroline and Phoebe, I would have loved it. Maybe one day I will finish the book. I just have trouble with someone disposing of a child just because they are not perfect.

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November 17, 2006 by samantha.

It has just been one of those weeks.  My students and I are already on Thanksgiving break.  The idea of doing any work or anything that involves some level of concentration seems like an unattainable goal.  Thankfully, I do have a week off coming up and it could not have come at a better time.  My parents are arriving tomorrow and then I am off to the great Northwest on Sunday.  My cousin Cindy and I are heading to this great little lodge in the Olympic National Forest for a couple of days.  I am so excited about the lodge.  We will have cold, snowy days filled with peace and quiet.  The idea of having nothing to do is sounding so, so sweet!  Then we are heading to Seattle for a day or two.  I am thrilled to be going back to Seattle.  I am hoping to explore some if the islands in Puget Sound and maybe explore Pike Place Market again.  My final day will be spent in Portland.  As usual, the trip will be too short.  That would bother me usually, but I know that I will be back again soon.  What are you guys doing for the Thanksgiving holiday?

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November 8, 2006 by samantha.

As excited as I am about the Democrats winning the House and Senate, I am filled with a bit of skepticism. Now do not get me wrong! I am jumping for joy about Nancy Pelosi becoming the first woman Speaker of the House. I am looking forward to the State of the Union Address in January, when Madame Speaker Pelosi will be glaring at Bush as he stumbles over his rehearsed speech. But will the Democrats be able to unite and bring this country back to greatness? Will the Democrats be able to get us out of Iraq and begin to help us focus on serious problems? I am hoping that the Democrats will be able to prove me wrong and make me proud. Of course it will be hard for anything to make me as happy as I was when I heard that Donald Rumsfeld resigned! I just find it ironic that this “proud, strong” Republican gave up when he realized that the GOP was losing control. I think he should have resigned a long time ago, but he continued to make serious mistakes and for some reason be encouraged by Bush and most of the Republican Party. As for Arnold Schwarzenegger being reelected as governor of California, I am not surprised in the least bit. I knew he would be. People vote based on the name and not on the candidate’s political record or their platform. That scares me more than anything, but I would be naïve to think that that will change anytime soon!

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November 4, 2006 by samantha.

I do not have a lot to say, but I had to show off these pictures. This is Ethan, the son of my friends Ingrid and Gene. He is just as cute and sweet as he looks in these pictures.

Here Ethan is showing off his tiger costume with his Elmo basket. Ethan could never be a scary tiger. He is much too sweet!

Ethan had got a hold of come candy here and was trying to hide from his parents. Ingrid was saying that he opened the box of Nerds and got them everywhere! Still he is too cute!

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November 4, 2006 by samantha.

To those of you who know me, you know that I have a bit of a crush on Anderson Cooper.  Also, if you know me you are probably shocked that it took me this long to read his book Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival.  I do not know why it took me as long as it did, but it was an amazing book.  Anderson Cooper takes you through his career as a freelance war correspondent to a CNN anchor.  He takes you through the horrors that have happened in Bosnia, Somalia, Iraq, Vietnam, and New Orleans, to name a few.  As you are reading about his experiences in these horrible places, he weaves in his own childhood memories and struggles.  He talks openly about his father’s and brother’s death and you can tell that he still has a ways to go before he will ever find some peace with the loses in his life.  The book helped me to understand why Anderson Cooper is always going to the worse places in the world so eagerly, time and time again.  The book also gives you a different perspective of what is happening in these countries.  There is no spin on them or the shocking aspect that most news reports try to bring.  I highly recommend the book.

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