Book Review

I finished the other three books that are a part of the Confessions of a Shopaholic series. They were cute. I still got a little annoyed at the character because of her total lack of self control when it comes to shopping, but they were really fun stories. I read the three books in 5 days (I think). I didn't do much else those days obviously.

I also finished listening to "Q&A" aka Slumdog Millionaire. It was a great story. I'm not sure how it compared to the movie because I didn't see the movie, but it was really entertaining. It is about a poor boy in India who is trying to prove how he was able to win India's version of "Who wants to be a Millionaire." He tells how he knew the answer to each one of the questions through his experiences, rather than through education.

Now I'm working on the Da Vinci Code. Unfortunately, I've had too much to do to just sit down and finish it and it's driving me crazy!

Quite the shiner!

A few weeks ago when we were at my mom's house, Grant hit his cheek on the bottom railing going down the stairs. Not only did he have a cut on his cheek, but he had a nasty black eye for about a week. The first picture is the night after it happened, and the second picture is two days later. The third picture we took once we got home on our own stairs... no wonder he occasionally falls down.

Book Review

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. This book is beautifully written. The descriptions he makes and the choice of words is incredible. It also made it much slower of a read - it wasn't the simple language I am used to =). It is about the trial of a Japanese American man in a small town soon after WWII (and Japanese internment). It explores different concerns of people during that time, including moving on after war and racism/discrimination of Japanese Americans. It was a beautiful story. I think it ended too abruptly though, there wasn't enough resolution for me.

The Invisible Wall: A Love Story that Broke Barriers by Harry Bernstein. This book is a social history set in England around the time of WWI. It is a biography of a Jewish family written by the youngest son. They live on a street that is divided, Jews on one side, Christians on the other. You learn what his experiences were and what he has learned over the years. If I understand correctly, the author didn't write the book until his 90s, so there is an understanding in the book that may have been missing if written by a younger man. It is definitely a quick read but I didn't love it. Lots of discussable topics though, so great for a book club.

Oakland Zoo

Of all the pictures I took, I think this one is my favorite... Such cute men I have in my life =)

We went to the Oakland Zoo last weekend. Grant could pretty much care less but it was fun for Nick and I to go do something other than sit around at my mom's house. After going to the zoo in San Diego at the beginning of this year, this wasn't much to write home about, but I'm glad we went. Grant like the smaller animals, but only ones that moved.

Bay Bridge Tour

Last week Nick and I got to go on a boat tour of the Bay Bridge construction. It was really neat and a HUGE endeavor. They are closing the bay bridge Thursday night of Labor Day weekend and reopening Tuesday morning so that they can create a detour through Treasure Island. It is crazy the technology and physics of what they are doing! Even I (who knows NOTHING about engineering) was amazed. Their website: baybridgeinfo.org. It has simulations of what they are doing. It even won a Webby (which I guess is a big deal).

We were so official with our hard hats, safety glasses, work boots and life jackets. We were so protected so that if someone threw something off the bridge we wouldn't get injured.

Two shots of the old bridge and the new bridge side by side. (The old bridge is the one made of steel). They attached steel "netting" (I don't know what else to call it) under the new bridge so that the species of birds that live under the old bridge would have somewhere to go when they take down the old bridge. It's kind of crazy the things they've thought of (or environmentalists have made them think of).

This is a mulit-million (like 45 million if I remember right) dollar crane that takes pieces of scaffolding off of the boat from Shainghi (I know I can't spell) and onto the barge for building the bridge. This whole process won't actually be part of the bridge, it's just there until the suspension cables are attached.

Another Book Review

My books this week (or so):

Book 3 and 4 of the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. Children's books about a reserve for magical creatures. Fun books to read but definitely are written for children (whereas, for instance, Harry Potter could arguably be as much for adults than kids). Entertaining and easy to read though. I'll read the last one when it comes out and probably give them to my niece for Christmas.

Confessions of a Shopaholic. This book took me a really long time to finish because I had a really hard time getting into it. I'm not a shopaholic, AT ALL, and I found the main character really annoying because she has all this debt and still won't stop buying stupid stuff. I don't get it. However, I finished it, and actually enjoyed the resolution to her debt problems. In a way she was searching to find herself and I enjoyed the journey (even though I was annoyed during the first half or so). It is significantly different than the movie.

Bridge to Terabithia. I'd read this book in elementary school but didn't remember anything about it except that it was sad. Sure enough, still sad, very sad, but a great story and was worth rereading.

What next... I have The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books that I've been wanting to read. Am I ready to tackle them though after a bunch of kid's books? Hum... Or, I have a Nicholas Sparks book that I haven't read yet. That one will probably come first. I never said I choose the hard road...

Making Home Affordable!

I feel like an advertisement but I'm stoked about his and have to share. Nick and I found out today that we are initially qualified for (and in a trial period of) a loan modification. Our interest rate was dropped so that our home debt/income is 31%. It is saving us $435/month! We have a 3 month trial period, during which time we have to make our payments on time (which we never stopped doing), and probably send in documentation of the information I gave them over the phone. Then, this new interest rate will be fixed for 5 years. After 5 years, it will be fixed at whatever the rate is now (lower than the 6.75 we're currently at, she said something about 5 something).

It feels so good to have actually qualified for something. After all my woes about the government only helping people who are financially irresponsible and NOT making payments, there is finally a program that will work for me. Yeah Obama!!

For more information go to http://makinghomeaffordable.gov/