Brewer Game Tailgating!

I finally got to tailgate at a Brewer game!!!

We ate Yummy Burgers and Hotdogs! 

Best grilling quote: 

Dustin: Where did you get those burger? 

Adam: Whole Foods

Dustin: Hog Foods?

Joelle: No Hogwarts. Adam's got an in. 

MMMMM..... Grilling!!!

Lizzy's niece joined us for some tailgating fun! Her name is Kendall and she was absolutely adorable!  

Yummy Dogs!!!

And for my favorite part of the game.... the Sausage race! Chorizo won BTW!

With back to school sales creeping around the corner, many stores are sending out coupons to redeem free items or offering money off your purchase. Remember to read the fine print on the back of your coupons! I got a few from Victoria Secret and found out that I could combine the coupons together to get two free panties! YIPPIE! :D Also, I got two ceramic coffee mugs from Kohls absolutely FREE! Reading the back of the Khols card I learned to get $10 off I needed to spend $10... so I did exactly that! Each mug was $5 each. So keep an eye out for coupons in your mail box!!!

February Readings

Books I’ve Read in February 2012  

1.    Ender’s Game by Orsen Scott Card 

WOW! I cannot believe that I waited this long to read this book! I absolutely loved it! Poor Ender and the trials he must go through. My favorite part of the book is near the end and the discovery of the motivations of the Buggers. Ender’s empathy and understanding leaves a great lesson to be learned.

2.    The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

A continuation of the Maze Runner series, this is the second in the series. I found it much more action packed then the Maze Runner and not as slow going. Im still not sure who WICKED is and what they need the children for but it just makes me want to read the last in the trilogy. If you are a fan of the Hunger Games Series this is a good series to get into. I liked the Scorch Trials over the Maze Runner.

3.    The Death Cure by James Dashner

The Final book in the Maze Runner Series, it was a good wrap up to the series. A lot of questions were left unanswered but there is finality the last book offers that sums up the series.

4.    Genesis by Bernard Beckett

A novel told through a series of questions and answers. Lots of dialogue with some insight into what Anax is thinking and feeling. The ending is jarring… requiring the reader to sit and think about the events of the book. Absolutely surprising and in need of a read-over (if that’s even a word). A philosophical discussion of what it is to be alive, to have thought, and to be human. 

5.    The Unidentified by Rae Mariz  

What drew me to the book was the premise: The United States has run out of money to fund the public school system so they have turned it over to corporations to fund. A group of students know as the unidentified want to fight the corporate culture of the “game” (school system). What could have been an exciting book turned out to be rather flat and rather juvenile. The potential for this book was never realized and I am calling for a re-do!

6.    Bumped by Megan McCafferty 

Teenage girls have become the most important people in the world! Earth has been hit by a virus which limits the fertility of people to a very select few with the clock ticking toward 18 years of age. This was an overdone premise with a predictable ending. Readers, skip this book and pick up Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Great Read of the Month: ENDER’S GAME! (If you haven’t read this do it NOW!)

January Reading

Books I’ve Read in January 2012   

1. Divergent By Veronica Roth 

If you liked the Hunger Games,  you will LOVE divergent! Set in a dystopian world where you are segregated into five fractions - Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Once a year 16 year olds must choose which fraction they want to join. Once you join you are committed for life, or you must spend the rest of your life fractionless. If you choose a fraction you have not been born into, you must give up your family and fully integrate in to your new fraction. I highly recommend this book if you are looking for something to read!

2. Matched By Ally Condie 

Another Dystopian novel. I found this one to be very young adult, annoying love triangle and teenage drama. The end breathes life into this novel and leaves the reader wanting to learn more about Cassia's fate. 

3. Maze Runner By James Dashner 

Surprise, Surprise, another dystopian novel! A bit slow to start but a good read. Thomas wakes up in the Glade- a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls. He is greeted by several other boys, none of which know why or how they ended up in the Glade. The game is over and the boys must find a way out or die. 

4. Crossed By Ally Condie  

The Sequel to Matched -- and a mush better read! Cassia and company are fighting for the ability to decide for themselves; who to love, what job to do, where to live. You either do what they tell you or become exiled. The teen angst has diminished and the plot thickens with the second installment of the series. 

5. Girl in the Arena By Lise Haines 

Lyn is a neo-gladiator's daughter. Her mother had made a career out of marrying in to this bloody sport. There are intricate rules on what the family can and can not go. A disappointing and some what tedious read, this book could have been so much more. Society relishes in the blood sport of killing and has created their own sub-culture/society where you live and die by the sport and its rules.  

6. El Ladron De La Camioneta (Not rating because I used this to practice my ability to read in Spanish. The story was cute for kids but very predictable)