I read here that 18th century London saw a gin craze amongst poor industrial workers.  To numb themselves from the unfamiliar work, terrible living conditions and limited entertainment, they drank themselves into oblivion.

I don’t drink myself into oblivion, but I do watch WAY too much TV.  I think TV is my gin.

Since most shows can be purchased on iTunes, the only reason for us to buy cable is for the news (we are computer nerds and not so much into sports).

Outside of Rachel Maddow, Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert the news is a bunch of spoon fed drivel (and yes, I realize those last two aren’t technically ”news” shows but they have the balls to ask genuinely hard interview questions, in other words, to do their job).

Most dramas run their course after 1-2 seasons (I love Glee, but does anyone think it will have genuine legs after this next season? Where can the plot go but in circles?)

So, we too are considering dumping cable and buying only the handful of shows we actually watch (because going cold turkey is just WAY too scary!).

Will we miss it?  The local news is rarely upbeat. The world news is a joke.

For a while, we probably will. But in the long run, I think we will read more good books, eat dinner as a family more often, maybe go to bed a little earlier, and of course feel just a little smugger.  We live in the Bay. What do you expect?  :-)

Mockingjay is a bit of a different story.   This book continues on the theme of war, with a rapid fire of as many weapons as difficult choices.    What is acceptable in war?  Do you hold on to your humanity, or suspend it for the perceived greater good?  Where do you draw the line?

But if you crawl into this book like I did, thinking you were in the company of a good friend who would tell you everything will be ok, you may be disappointed.  The violence of this “young adult” book rivals anything by Stephen King.

Mockingjay  left my mind filled with horrific images that literally kept me up at night.   True that I am a mother and a big softy when it comes to kids, but still.

Did I love the series? YES! Would I recommend it?  TO EVERYONE!  Did Mockingjay leave me saddened and feeling a little broken?  Unfortunately I have to yes to that too…

Imagine a future in post apocalyptic North America, where reality TV is taken to a gross extreme.  A society of “haves” ruling a society of “have nots”.   Characters that you root for, cry with, and yet are also flawed in their own way.

I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed reading a book as much as this one.     Maybe The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, although I might have liked this one a tad more. Dragon had some slow parts, this one, not so much.

I am reading the sequel, Catching Fire now… More on that soon!

Why on earth do Bryan and I have 3 Kindles (Gen 1, Gen 1, and DX)  between us?  Quite simply, we are insatiable readers that ran out of physical space in our home.

Note to publishers – KINDLE OWNERS LOVE TO READ – we can’t get enough of books – and electronic format is the best for us.  We are the power consumers of your product.

So, when you hold out on publishing on Kindle, perhaps due to fear that your business model is at risk of becoming extinct if competing publishing models (aka Amazon, and now Apple) have too much power, guess who loses?  Your two customers – the authors, and the power consumers of content.  And examples like this are the only way of speaking out us power users have.

So my note to you, publishers, is if you don’t find a way to keep your business model relevant, and make money in a digital economy, you too will be closing your doors, as the likes of Amazon.com and Apple sweep in to replace you.

Really, it’s only a matter of time…

Lately, nothing has made her happier than getting to sit on the couch or chair like a “big girl”.  So I thought, I bet she would love her own chair!

After some online research and determining the $50 options from the likes of amazon.com, target, jcpenny etc had terrible quality reviews, we opted to check out the Pottery Barn Kids Anywhere Chair.  This definitely falls into the “spurge” category at $140, but the chair is sooo cute, large enough to fit her for years to come, and so light we can pick it up via its little handle and put it in any room.

And best of all, her face lights up like a Christmas tree every time she sees her chair. She dives into it like they are old friends, bringing books, blocks and other toys in the chair to join her.

I still call her my little baby, but she really isn’t any more.    My mom always warned me not to wish my life away as it all goes so quickly, but I don’t think I could truly appreciate that advise until I became a mommy… Love you munchkie!

There were laugh out loud moments, many of them.  But there were also many moments that were too over the top for my taste.  Being told from the perspective of a 14 year old boy didn’t help.

I won’t be reading the rest of the books told from Nick Twisp’s perspective, but I do appreciate how clever the author was in his creation.

Below are my top 3 favorite, easy and I like to think impactful ways to help reduce waste, without breaking the bank.

1.  BYOB #1  This one is soooo easy! Stop using plastic grocery bags.  I purchased several totes made of organic cotton from Reusablebags.com and they work great.  We keep them in the car, they are washable, hold a ton of stuff, and look clean since they are black.   This means one less plastic bag flitting about the freeway and threatening to melt to the undercarriage of my car;-)

2.  BYOB #2  Bring Your Own Bottle!  Somehow tap water became a piryah and now we  drink municipal water that has been filtered and put in a plastic bottle.  Save yourself $$ and the world a bunch of plastic waste by filtering your own municipal water. I like the Brita + Nalgene combo.    The Brita filter has a nice meter on top that tells you when to change the filter (make sure you get the one of the indicator), the water is always refrigerator cold, and it is MUCH less expensive, and infinitely more convenient than buying and disposing of plastic water bottles.

3.  BYOLB Bring Your Own Lunch Bag!  I just bought myself an early birthday present – this adorable and completely functional lunch bag.  Today it fit a large grapefruit, a container of blueberries, a hard boiled egg and a yogurt – with a ton of room to spare!  It is perfectly shaped and infinitely better than a paper or plastic sack that will end up in the landfill.  This one is a lot more manly but certainly not as cute! 

DO:

1. Remember to attach your resume (Seriously. I get at least 2/week with no attachment)

2. Include a short concise cover letter IN THE EMAIL.  Not once have I opened a cover letter attachment.

3. In this cover letter, tell me why you are the right candidate for the position.  What knowledge, qualities or skills do you have that are well suited for the role?

4.  Please, please, please submit a resume that clearly states what you did, what your accomplishments were, and, if you are in sales, quota attainment.

5. Spell check!!

DO NOT:

1.  Don’t include the phrase “the birds were singing”, or anything else as equally non sequitur in the cover letter/email.  This sets you apart, but not in a good way.  This exact phrase appeared in a submission from 2 weeks ago.  Needless to say that resume wasn’t opened.

2.  Don’t include a long, tedious cover letter with no content.  I can’t tell you how many I receive elaborating on what great sales experience the person has. Blah Blah Blah. Great sales people will tell me why their product (themselves) is the perfect solution to my problem (open position).  And not in a cheesy way!

3. Don’t leave any grammar mistakes on the cover letter or resume.  Seems simple, but showing an eye for detail on your marketing material will help show you can apply this same attention to detail on the job.  The opposite is also true.

I know, not rocket science:-)

Sadly, Twisted River is not one of my favorites. In fact, I made it only halfway!!  I just couldn’t finish it.  It went on, and on, and on. It didn’t go anywhere, and I didn’t care about the characters.  I think the worst offense was the characters.  And the lack of plot.  <sigh>

I really don’t like not being able to finish a book.  It feels like quitting.

This plastic, albeit strange, looking device is perfect for anyone who has hard to reach knots in their back and neck.

Theracane is perfectly shaped to easily hold while reaching the middle of your back, without having to pull off a yoga move to get your opposite arm into the right position.

This is an easy $26 purchase decision in my book!