A Wolf at the Table

This book is a memoir of the authors father.

The first thing that popped in my mind when I finished this novel was thinking it would different. Most of the book was about his dis-functional childhood and how he and his mother would escape his fathers tormenting actions (or at times, no action just ignoring his family).

I thought the book would focus mainly on how his father became to be the way he was as an adult and maybe some insight behind his actions. One chapter in the beginning touched on a little of his father's childhood and a few at the end spoke about his father in his elder years, but the rest was about the brave child who had unstable parents and hope that someday things would change.

I did like the book even though it was dark and hard to imagine a child going through the disturbing type of situations. I'd recommend reading this book before Running with Scissors so you have background information before reading the other book since I feel its a pre-qual. Wolf at the Table talks about the authors adolescent years and Running with Scissors focuses on his teenage years.

The author states that a Wolf at the Table, Running with Scissors and Dry (his novel about his years after high school) are all memoirs, but you never know if they are true tales of someones life after the James Frey debacle with Million Little Pieces (remember the whole Oprah deal where she was crushed after she learned most of the detail in the book was exaggerated), but you never know for sure.

Happy Fathers Day *EARLY*

I know, I know its a week early, but I had to celebrate it early for my dad and the other father's in my life (like my husband, FIL & BIL). Jeff and I will be out of the area for father's day next weekend (we will be in MD celebrating my grandfather's birthday and of course father's day with him) and I didn't want to miss out on celebrating for everyone here.

I decided to have a little BBQ with hot dogs and burgers. The classic BBQ. We didn't have anything too fancy, just some time sit outside, enjoy our lunch, gossip and enjoy every one's company. We did miss my niece and SIL since they were visiting with her family. Oh well, there is always next time for them to join us!

So, to my dad....happy father's day early. I wish I could show you the gratitude for everything I have learned from you over the years. You've taught me respect, loyalty, gratitude and most of all love. I know mom is in there somewhere too, but you will always be my daddy. I will always be daddy's little girl. People tell me how lucky I am to be able to see my father every day (at work) and you know what, I am. I know sometimes I'm busy and we can't chat as much as we would like, but at least we get those few minutes to chat daily. I really appreciate you. Thanks dad!

*sorry for the heart-attacks for those who thought you missed fathers day

Gearing Up

A couple of months ago, Jeff & I discussed the possibility of camping. I loved it when I was younger & he was a boy-scout when he was a kid (mostly goofing off while in the program, but none-the-less, a boy-scout) and he likes being outdoors so we figured we would give it a try with Zack. We decided to go with Zack when he was here in MA for his week visit in August. We wouldn't go for the whole week, just a few days.

I thought about our new plain a& didn't like the idea of our first time out camping to be with Zack. Don't get me wrong, but I didn't want the first time assembling a new tent (which would probably be a tense moment) and most likely figuring out we left important items at home since we hadn't camped before. I don't want it to be a bad experience and turn Zack against the whole idea 100% since he really isn't up for it in the first place. So, I brought up the idea we should camp out a few times before we get him just to work out the kinks and get a knack for the whole camping thing.

So, tonight Jeff and I headed to Walmart to stock up on camping supplies. We bought everything from a tent (a 6 person, 2 room tent) to camp fire starters. I think we are all set now to actually live out in the wilderness with all the stuff we bought, but hey....its better to be prepared then not! Right?!?!

Our new tent

After we checked out, Jeff made a interesting point. The register asked if the purchaser was over the age 16 for our shovel. Of course we are, but we found that odd. Then when the cashier scanned the propane tanks, nothing, no questions on age, just a beep and the price displayed. Jeff found this very disturbing that there is an age check on a camping shovel, but not propane tanks. I guess more under age kids get hurt with a shovel then propane, who knows!

So, this weekend we are going to set up the tent in the back yard as a test run and camp out in our back yard. I can't wait! Next, we have to pick a weekend to head out into the wilderness and try out the rest of the gear. I'm so excited!

So please pass along any camping tips, suggestions or even fun (or frightening) stories!

Throw in the towel, your done!

Tonight was our volleyball play-offs. Yup, 10 weeks of play have passed us by in a blink of an eye. I really didn't talk about our stats or competitions this time around since I really wasn't into it this session.

I'm not 100% sure why I wasn't buy maybe it had something to do with one of my teammates. I had the guy that mostly everyone dislikes in the legue, so that brought the energy of the team down to start with. Also, I missed a couple of nights due to the opportunity of some over-time and a hair appointment, but besides that I just wasn't feeling it this time around.

But, with that said my team ended up tying for 4th place for tonight's play-off. My team was tied with Jeff's. So, we had to battle it out to see who placed in 4th & 5th. On tournament night, we play the best 2 out of 3 games, playing up to 11 points (instead of 15 points during the other weeks). So, we matched up and my team lost 2 games in a row. Oh, well! So, our standings for the end of the session was Jeff's team 4th place, my team 5th place. At least we weren't last (there are 6 six teams).

Jeff really didn't want to play either, but his team kept advancing. He kept waiting to lose, but his team kept beating the other teams until it was his team against the first place team to see who would be the winners of this session. He wasn't expecting that. After Jeff was now head on head with the first place team, he figured he would put in the effort since they have a 50/50 chance of winning overall.

His team went on and beat the first place team, 2 games in-a-row! Nice! So, they are the champions. They all won a $25 gas card! Sweet!

Volleyball is now over for us until the fall since we play in a middle school's gymnasium and within a few weeks school will be over and the gym closed. So, we are hanging up our volleyball shoes for now and concentrating on other things for the summer like golf, bike riding, yoga and video games. I had to put that last one in for the hubby!

Backstage Pass

Have you ever wondered what your favorite musician requires for backstage? Check out this link to see what Christina Aguilera, J.Lo, The Backstreet Boys and many more what they "demand" for their shows.

The Smoking Gun, Backstage Pass

Some of them are pretty wild and some you wonder if they know they can have a little pampering, like Mandy Moore. But, hey she doesn't seem to be a diva and I guess she really isn't, so good for her. Check it out for yourself!

Feel The Burn

I know the title for today's entry sounds like something from a bad aerobics work out video from the 80's, but I promise its nothing like that. Its the first thing that popped in my head the other day when my FIL asked me "do you want to take the bikes out?". What he means by the bikes are our kick-ass mountain bikes. Ok, ok, I know mine is a hand-me down from my work (there was a raffle and I won) and my FIL's bike is a little old, but who cares. They still get the job done for us!

At first John just wanted to go around the block. We rode out of our driveway and started to head down the street and all of a sudden I hear, naaaaa lets go to the reservoir. Yeah! We both ran inside to change into our official bike riding clothes. Then he placed the bikes onto his neat-o rack on his truck and then we were off. You might be asking, where is your husband? Well, he was home trying to make it to the next level on Call of Duty.

Our bikes on the neat-o rack

Anyways, we arrived at the reservoir and the entrance way was lined with cars. I guess everyone else had the same idea, either to walk or ride in this beautiful area. In no time the bikes were on the ground and we were riding on the pathway around the water.

Entrance into the Reservoir

I didn't realize how much I missed being in that area. The sights, smells and peacefulness. Its hard to describe the smells that had awaken my senses right then and there while riding, but its a mix of pine, dirt and the woods. Those scents mixed together just mean happiness for me. It must be why I love the outdoors so much.

Half-Way Point View Around Reservoir

Ok, back on subject, we "felt the burn" in our muscles on the first incline around the reservoir. Yeah it wasn't long into our ride that we had, but we were out there having fun and getting exercise (no pain, no gain...huh?). We really enjoyed our ride watching the families walking or biking, spotting the wildlife (turtles, baby geese, a hawk and chipmunks). I hope we can fit another ride in this weekend, even if its just once around like the other day. Oh how I love the warm weather!

Turtles Sunning Themselves

Treasure Hunting

After breakfast this morning, it was agreed that my FIL, John, and I would go to the local flea market to walk around and look through all the "junk" (while my husband stayed behind to play his video game). That's what my FIL calls everything there, and most of it is, but you never know what you will find while sifting through the piles.

It was a beautiful morning, partly cloudy but still sunny with a breeze, to take a ride into the country and head to the flea market. We had nothing in particular we were looking for, but we had realized we hadn't been to the marked in well over a year so we were over due.

I told John I brought my camera to take pictures for my blog and as soon as I mentioned that, we were driving by a farm. He said I should take a picture of the cows and put it on it. I told him people have seen cows before, but just to humor him I did and here are the lucky cows. As soon as we pulled over and I snapped the picture, one of the cows started to run over to the fence. I felt bad we had to leave (and we had nothing to feed it) but it seemed like the cow was excited to have visitors.

This flea marked has been around for years. Its also humongous in size. There are items ranging from bootlegged movies to antiques to flowers/vegetables for your garden. The booths line up for a couple of miles and everyone is looking for something different. There were a lot of people there walking around with there bags filled with treasures. I can't tell you what I found since its going to be a gift for my parents anniversary (in July). So, you'll have to wait until then to see what I had found. Sorry dad, no hints!

John was looking for a screwdriver he could use a work (a long screwdriver with a sturdy handle he can bang things into place with and no worry about it breaking). He says he has brand new ones in his toolbox, but he doesn't want to ruin it. Ok, I said what ever works for you! So, he found one for a buck and he was so excited.

We were happy we decided to go this morning! It was a wonderful ride and a good time had by all. I'm sure we will be going again soon.