Properly Chastised

I was chastised properly today for not blogging this week, so I have returned repentant. (Very repentant if you look at the size of the entry!) Actually, I have been making a list of things that I want to blog about, I just haven't gotten around to typing it . . . that is until now. I had a cute friend come up to me today so excited to tell me about the library book sale. She bought more for her money than I, but she had to deal with the crowds. I did not! This led to her roommate telling about one of the books she had bought that she was now reading. She said that she was really enjoying it and then she turned bright red. I looked at her and said "I read Serial Romantic Novels. Don't be embarrassed." She then told me about it, in a much relieved state of mind. I think that if you like what your reading you should never be embarrassed to tell others about it - excluding books of a kinky nature. In that case, you shouldn't be reading them at all, let alone telling others about them. I like my silly romantic novels. They make me happy. They are a form of relaxation, escape and therapy for me. Who cares if Fabio is on the cover kissing a scantily clad female? If people make fun of you for it, they just don't understand. (Or know what they are missing!!!)

I also had an interview with one of the members of my bishopric today. Don't worry, it was just a recommend interview. But during the interview he asked me if I was going to or had already asked someone to our ward dance this weekend. (At this point I just should have said that I couldn't because I was busy that night.) Instead, I told him that I had not. He then asked if there was someone in or out of the ward that I was interested in and I said "not really." (This is not 100% true, but I'll get to that later.) He then spent the next ten minutes telling, or lecturing as it could be construed, about how I really should be dating. He said I'm never going to get married unless I actually go on dates. He even used a metaphor of a man who just raved that he loved fish. This man walked around the lake telling everyone about how he loved fish. But he never ate any because he never went fishing. I'm not sure that story was exactly the best example for what he was trying to get across, but I wasn't going to point that out. Anyway, after about ten minutes of this, he told me that I was really a great girl and then let me go. Had I not been anxious to get home to my dinner I would have sat and explained my point of view on this subject. I am not against dating. I love dating, or more appropriately I would love to go on dates. I don't have unattainable standards, but I do have standards. I think a man should initiate the relationship aka the date. I am most happy to reciprocate. In fact, I think they'd be surprised at how well I'd reciprocate. But the thing is, I find initiative an attractive and essential quality in my future husband. I don't want a guy that I have to lead by the nose and that is so biddable that he has no pride in himself. I want a man to take the lead, not to be domineering, but one who will respectfully be the head of my family, but who will also listen and take my counsel. If I have to initiate the first date, what else am I going to have to do? And if he doesn't have initiative, he probably doesn't have any of the other qualities I'm looking for. Now, I'm not saying that I won't flirt and try my best to help him realize that A. I'm interested and B. I wouldn't turn him down. Those are my specific responsibilities. I know that and I practice them, but I will not initiate the first date. If he doesn't have enough courage to ask me out, especially if he's really interested, he's not the guy for me. Someone who's not willing to go after what they want, who wants to spend their life with them? I may stay single my whole life. I hope not, but there are certain things I will not negotiate. I want them. I need them. I won't live with someone who doesn't have them.

Well, now that I have gotten all of the serious stuff out the way, I can move on to my funny stories of the week. Where to start? Hmmm . . . Let's begin at the library, it's "a very good place to start." So, two weeks ago I subbed for Katrina's kindergarten class instead of volunteering at the library. Unfortunately, it was probably the most eventful library day ever! Curse you Katrina for making me miss it! (Actually, it was my choice, so don't feel too bad.) Well, that day at the library a woman jumped off the third floor bridge, by the restrooms, to meet her demise on the floor of the basement - a four story fall. Now I realize it's not funny, actually far from it. But a part of me is really sad I wasn't there to field comments from the patrons. I feel a little disappointed. It would have been a very interesting morning because the suicide took place at 9:30 am. I would have been there. The things I sacrifice for others . . . This last week a man came up to the desk and asked if he could borrow scissors. I said no. (That's my pat response to that question.) He then asked again if he could use some scissors. I turned to Tommy and asked him. To which he replied "no." The man asked like six more times, receiving the same answer might I add, until he finally turned away in a huff and left. Then, randomly the rest of the morning Tommy and I would ask each other if we scissors. It was funny!

This last week my sis-in-law, Shell, came up with the boys for a visit. It was a lot of fun to sit around and chat and play with the boys. They are so smart. I can't even tell you. We did a bunch of fun activities, because the weather was quite nice. We flew kites at the park and played on the playground. We even took them to Arctic Circle to have ice cream and play in the play area. Not to mention that I watched Dumbo and Mary Poppins far more than I would have liked. As I said before, my nephews are very smart and clever, however sometimes their knowledge makes them say things that aren't quite right. For example: One night after dinner my mom gave both of the boys popsicles. They love popsicles! Well my mom turn to one of them and asked "is it too cold for your taste buds?" He replied "No Grandma. It's testicles. Test-i-cles!" I laughed so hard I started crying. It was so funny! Then one day I was trying to explain that even though he calls me Ali or All, my real name is Anneliese. (Pronounced On-a-lee-za, if you don't know.) He told me he had a real name too: Adored Beza. I'm not sure if he quite understood the concept, but it was humorous trying to explain it to him. It was also cute to see my other nephew playing with the toy train whispering "I think I can, I think I can . . . " This is what Casey Jr. says in Dumbo when he's going up the hill in the beginning. I was also amazed to watch him eat two and a half peanut butter sandwich in like 15 minutes. It was astonishing! All in all it was great to see them all again.

(Before I leave the subject of Dumbo there is just one thing that I want to add. Dumbo is one of the weirdest and not particularly appropriate Disney movies out there. The workers have black faceless heads, Dumbo and Alistair Mouse get drunk, inadvertently, and then have psychedelic dreams. It's just a bit odd to me that we think that this is a great kids movie.)

Lastly, I have a couple of movie and book reviews to post. I saw Nim's Island this weekend. It was a very cute movie. I enjoyed the story and plot immensely. It reminded me it bit of Romancing The Stone. Plus, Gerard Butler looked amazing as Alex Rover. It was odd though to hear him with an American accent, when he played the part of Nim's father. Overall, it was just a good, clean, fun movie! I also finished watching House Season One. I know I mentioned it last post, but I just want to say that I really enjoyed it. I like House's bedside manner. It just works for him, not to mention that at times it can be just laugh out funny and inappropriate for the moment. I also read My Fair Mistress by Tracy Ann Warren. It was as cute as her other books. I liked the romance and the plot. I think I read it in two days. I also need to say that I think the name Rafe is a great name. So the fact that the hero's name was Rafe Pendragon, oh he could not be sexier! Lastly, my friend, Jill brought me over a book to read. I loved it! I even retold the story to my mom, who enjoyed it as well. She was glad that I saved her the time it would take to read it. The book was called Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss. I have included my thoughts on this book below. (There are spoilers, so read at your own risk!)

I liked that the story had good character development. It was a fun adventure, albeit a little predictable. I wondered how long it would take her to realize that she was in love with him. I liked the twist with his family. It totally cracked me up. I would have acted the same as the sister, totally giving my brother a hard time. I totally knew that the captain was his brother. I was curious how that would all play out. I figured Ruark was a wealthy man, it just waited to been seen how wealthy. I rather thought that Ralston was the killer, but once we got to the Beauchamp's home I realized that I was Billingsham. I was curious how Ruark would escape prison. I didn't guess the Billingsham had anything to do with Ruark's imprisonment. That was interesting about Ruark's ring. When he mentioned it to Shanna, I just felt bad that it was stolen from him, but I never thought about it after. I'm glad he got it back. I loved how constant he was, even though she didn't always deserve it. I was glad that Shanna didn't irritate me to the point that I hated her character. I sighed relief when she realized that she loved Ruark. It took a year for her to figure it though!!! I was also glad that the sex wasn't graphic. That's always nice. All in all it was a fun read!