December 29, 2006 by samantha.

I am in desperate need of some book recommendations!  I cannot find a good book and it depresses me!  Please send me your ideas!  Help!

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December 29, 2006 by samantha.

Today my vacation ends and I have to return to California.  Coming back here made me realize how much I really miss it.  Don’t get me wrong!  I have great friends and a great job in California, but I do not feel like I belong or at home there.  I now have the job of finding where I want to move to, a place to live, and a job.
Anyway, I had a great time here.  I went to the beach, visited my alma mater, and ate some great food.  I was so happy to see that not a lot changed in this fast-growing community.  The area is still recovering from the hurricanes that hit it in the last few years.  Thankfully there were no hurricanes last year, but I do not see how they will be ready for the next season.
What amazed me the most was how badly damaged our local zoo was.  Hurricane Ivan was almost a direct hit to the zoo.  All the hard work they had put into the zoo was destroyed.  It was heartbreaking.  Most of the animals were evacuated and have since returned.  The zoo is coming back slowly and surely, but they have a very long way to go.  I think I will try to go and visit every time I return to help them out.
While here I also saw a lot of good movies, played games (which I lost every time), and caught up with the parents.  I will return soon.  I have still have a lot to see and do!
As soon as I get home and settled, I will post some new pictures.  Check back!

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December 27, 2006 by samantha.

Do you talk to yourself?  If yes, do you answer yourself?

I have to say yes to both questions.  I ease my mind a little by telling myself that I  am talking to the dog, not myself.  Not that talking to the dog is any better, but it helps me to feel a little more sane. I can honestly say that I do not talk to myself in the mirror, but I do feel tempted sometimes!  Wait!  When I was a kid I used to lip sync to myself in the mirror pretending to be Madonna!  Does that count?

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December 27, 2006 by samantha.

Just to warn you, this will not be a happy little post.  I am pissed and I need to get things off my chest!  I am sick of people meddling in other people’s lives and seeing nothing wrong with it.  What right does anyone have to do such a thing? Almost everything you say or do is twisted around to hopefully benefit them.  And being the stubborn brat that I am, I am going to do everything the opposite of what they say or want.  I know that I am being vague, but I do not know how else to vent my frustration without saying too much!  Why can’t people just let others be without trying to micromanage someone else’s life!  What I find very funny is that the meddlers’ lives are not the greatest lives in the world and no one seems to be jealous of them!  I know that we are all guilty of meddling from time to time.  But some people just take it too far.  I know that I cannot change them and I know better than to try to.  I will just do what I can from my end and hopefully not let it consume me.  I will also try my best to ignore them, but we all know that I will not be able to do that!

Another thing that is pissing me is ignorant people.  But I know that there is not a damn thing I can do about that.  I just ignore them and when they do talk, I play Scattergories in my head.  Try finding a children’s author that starts with Q!  It will help you keep your mouth shut and prevent you from hearing stupid people talk!!!

There I got if off my chest somewhat.  I could go on and I will probably will.  But right now, I am going to concentrate on enjoying my last few days in Florida and finding a way to get out of California!  The sooner I get out of that place, the better!  If this trip has taught me anything, it is that I do not belong in California.  I am a Southerner and I am proud of that.  I will stay another year or so in California.  That will give me time to figure out where I should go, find a job, and save up some money.  Seeing California in my rearview mirror will be a welcomed site!

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December 26, 2006 by samantha.

I thought I had left this book at home and was pleasantly surprised when I found it this morning. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen is a kid’s book that is just right for me. It is the story of a young boy that moves to Florida and hates every thing about it. Poor Roy just cannot find his niche in the school, but is a favorite target of bullies. On the way to school one day, Roy sees a young boy running. The boy does not attend Roy’s school and no one seems to know who he is. As Roy learns more about this boy, whom Roy learns goes by the name Mullet Fingers, he also learns about the burrowing owls that are going to be killed so that a new restaurant can be built. The book follows Roy and his friends finding a way to save the owls.

The book is a very easy one to read and one that I would love for all people to read. We are all so quick to destroy an animal’s habitat so that we can have all of our creature comforts. How many of us actually take the time to think about how much it destroys? Is the new housing development or shopping center really that important? How many lives are destroyed just to make a developer richer? On a lighter note, if you have seen the movie Hoot please let me know what you think. I have yet to see it and would love to hear what you thought about it.

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December 26, 2006 by samantha.

I thoroughly enjoyed Beyond the Sky and the Earth by Jamie Zeppa. It is the memoirs of a young Canadian girl who needs to decide what to do with her life. She is living in Toronto with her boyfriend and applying to graduate school. All is good. But something is missing in her life. She sees an ad to teach English in Bhutan. She makes the difficult decision to leave everything and find herself. When Jamie first gets to Bhutan, she hates everything about it. Her first post has no running water or electricity. She has none of the creature comforts that we all think we need to survive. Jamie slowly begins to get used the daily routine and soon finds it as normal for her. The book follows her three years in Bhutan and how the experience changed and shaped her.

I would love to think that I was adventurous as Jamie. I would love to think that I could drop everything and go to some far off, remote place. I would like to think that I am that gutsy. But I know deep in my heart that I am not and I do not think that I ever will be! Until then, I will have to live through books like Beyond the Sky and the Earth. I could read this book over a million times. I want to be Jamie! Why this book sat on my shelf for a few years I will never know!

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December 24, 2006 by samantha.

Remember in a previous post when I mentioned that I might be bored while back in Florida??? What was I thinking? I have not had a chance to be bored! My parents have kept me busy and out of trouble. On Friday we drove over to Pensacola and bummed around. We saw a replica of one of Columbus’ ships. It was the Nina and it was very tiny! Hard to believe that back in 1492, when Columbus sailed the ocean blue, that they did it on such a tiny ship! I wish I could have taken a picture of it, but it was there were too many people on it. Damn those tourists!!!!!!! That night we went to see a hockey game. It was so much fun. I wish I had a hockey team close to me. I would be at every game! It was my mom’s first game and she had a great time. Her only complaint was that there was not enough fights and blood! Funny, I never thought of her as a violent person!

Today, we did the shopping for Christmas dinner. Fortunately it went off without a hitch. We found everything we needed and in the words of my mom, it shouldn’t be to pretentious. She seems to be very happy that it should not be pretentious. That should not be a worry with my dad and I. Then my mom and I went to go see The Holiday. It was the ultimate chick flick. The Lifetime Channel couldn’t have done a better job! There was a few cute scenes in it, but nothing memorable! I would wait until it comes out on video. Hopefully, the next movie will be better!

Then in a wild and crazy moment, my mom decides that we should bake cookies at 10pm! So we run off to the store to buy some chocolate chips and vanilla. We went to the local Winn-Dixie with all the other weirdos who were shopping for odd things! Anyway, I’ll let you guys know how the cookies turned out!

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December 22, 2006 by samantha.

The Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky was a book given to me by a friend for Christmas. It sounded cute, but at the same time the premise of the book was a recycled one. I took the book on the plane with me thinking that it would be a fun, easy read. Unfortunately I found it a little boring. I quickly breezed through some of the descriptive paragraphs and read the dialogue. I finally got into the book by the last hundred pages or so. As a matter of fact, I had a hard time putting the book down! Too bad I couldn’t have just read those pages!

It is the story of Jane who discovers that she is a witch. Learning this about herself, Jane’s life is thrown upside down. She ends up casting spells when she means not to and the repercussions are pretty funny. Jane’s sidekick is her familiar, Neko, who steals the book. How many gay, cat-like familiars have you met? The author needs to write a book about him!

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December 21, 2006 by samantha.

I am having a hard time believing that it is winter. Currently it is 71 degrees in Niceville Florida. That is just wrong in my opinion. I am not asking for weather like Colorado is currently experiencing. I just want cold weather with the smell of snow in the air. No one should be able to wear shorts and t-shirts with Christmas around the corner!!!

Anyway, I just wanted to share a couple of pictures. Here is our Christmas tree. I noticed in this picture that the tree is a little tilted. Maybe it had too much eggnog? At least it had a good time! And doesn’t my mom do a damn good tree??!?! According to her, it is not done yet. She will be improving it until the day she takes it down. It is a Christmas tradition in our house!

Yesterday, I went to the beach to do some reading and I had to take this picture. I love the sun peaking through the clouds and the contrasts of colors. I like how the walkway runs parallel to the beach and the water. I am not a beach person, but I really love this picture.

Finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYNTHIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Barry was on his way to sing Happy Birthday to you, but he got stuck in Denver!  Damn the snow and Mother Nature!  I hope you have a great day and cause some hell!!!!!

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December 20, 2006 by samantha.

Tonight we celebrated Hanukah. As usual it was a lot of fun. My mom made Matzo Ball Soup and homemade Latkes. Too bad Hanukah is only once a year, because it sure was good! We exchanged silly little gifts so that we would be warmed up for the real gift opening on Christmas day. You can never be too prepared.! There were two highlights of the night. The first was when my dad set off the smoke detector while he was cooking the last latke. It was spectacular. We had the windows and doors open with the fans running. Of course my mom was all upset. I was smart and stayed out of it. My momma didn’t raise no fool!!! The other highlight was trying to take a nice picture of my parents. It only took 12 tries, but we finally got a great one. Aren’t they a good looking couple?!?!? Brad and Angelina have nothing on them!

My first day in Niceville was nice… ha, ha! My mom and went to lunch and then did some Christmas shopping. I am almost done. I have a one or two more to get. Thankfully I know what I want to get! The stress of having to get a gift and then not knowing what to get is tough! Thank goodness we only have to deal with that type of pressure once a year! Imagine what life would be like if we were stressed all the time! People would be rude, have road rage, cause bodily harm to others, drown their sorrows with various types of addictions… could I be on to something???

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