The IUD is out....

As of this morning, I am no longer on birth conrtol, and with any luck, I won't ever have to be again.

I gave Roland a warning at the beginning of the summer that I was going to get my IUD removed in August unless he gave me another reasonable timeline. He never did, so it was off to the doctor I went, at the END of the month I might add. He has had plenty of time. No complaints...

It kinda sounds like I am trying to clothes-line him into having another kid, but that is seriously not the case. We just have differing opinions on when precicely to have another, and hopefully last, baby. He thinks the 4-year gap between him and his brothers is ideal, but if you use his brothers and him as examples, this is not an ideal time between. They barely even talk to one another. He doesn't like his older brother at all, and his younger brother only calls when there is something wrong with his car... or needs a clean pee test.

I initially wanted there to be two years between Rosalie and our next kid, but I'm pushing that to two and a half to three years now. If I still wanted my kids two years apart that means I would have gotten my IUD out and gotten pregnant at the beginning of July. I honestly can't even fathom that. Rosalie is still so young, and she still loves to cuddle so much and she is still SO reliant on me. I don't think it would be fair to take that away from her so early. She needs a chance to be the baby for a while...

That being said, is getting my IUD out and potentially having a baby 2 months later all that much of a difference? No probably not. But the argument for having kids closer together makes it a viable option. I mean, in the long run, it is more likely that they will be friends and play together well rather than having them further apart and being in completely different stages in play styles. Also by establishing birth order earlier, Rosalie won't really "miss" being the baby, she will adjust to being a big sister earlier. I know that there was a bunch of sibling rivalry between me and my brother when he usurped my position as baby in the family because I was 5 when he was born.

And ALL of that being said, who knows when I will actually get pregnant? The anxiety I had waiting in the doctors office you would have thought that I was going to be pregnant the second I got the thing removed. I had to remind myself that this was just the first step to the OPPORTUNITY to get pregnant. It could still be years before I get pregnant. I am also realistic enough to realize that it is entirely possible I might have a baby miscarry on me. It happens more often than many people think and I am not one of those people that think "It will never happen to me". I am far more likely to think "That is probably going to happen to me." Like before I got pregnant and I convinced myself that I wasn't able to get pregnant, and that was before we were trying and I was still on the pill/ring/patch... Or once my pregnancy with Rosalie was stable, I was sure that I was going to have her breach when it came to delivery time and I was going to have to fight against a c-section. Even when I was in labour and they never told me she was breach I was a little surprised.

Anywhoo, we are giving ourselves a bigger window than is really in the "plan". It would be REALLY early for me to get pregnant now, and not really ideal, but we would be fine. It would be a blessing and I would be totally excited. :)

Song of Ice and Fire: Book 3 - A Storm of Swords

Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage as violently as ever, as alliances are made and broken. Joffrey, of House Lannister, sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the land of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, the victim of the jealous sorceress who holds him in her evil thrall. But young Robb, of House Stark, still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Robb plots against his despised Lannister enemies, even as they hold his sister hostage at King’s Landing, the seat of the Iron Throne. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons still left in the world....

But as opposing forces maneuver for the final titanic showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost line of civilization. In their vanguard is a horde of mythical Others--a supernatural army of the living dead whose animated corpses are unstoppable. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . .


FINALLY! 

This is an insanely long book. I like to think of myself as a reader, but man, this book made me question my conviction. This book took me a month (A WHOLE MONTH!) to finish, and I am horribly embarrassed by that fact.

That is not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I really did. I read it at almost every opportunity. But it is a FREAKIN' long book. Some people aren't intimidated by 1200 page novels, and I think after reading this book I might be in the future. At least the next one is only, like 800 or something.

This book is almost as good as the first book, and better than the second in my opinion. I have enjoyed them all, but so much happened in this book, and it solidified the "no one is safe" platform that was established in the first book with the death of a major character. 

I found myself almost rushing to get to the part about "The Red Wedding", which was spoiled for me by a magazine article about the TV series. I knew about a bunch of things that were going to happen, not from reading the article, but just by flipping past the pictures in the article (I've read it now though, after I got to that part, so that nothing more got spoiled). Interestingly enough, I found that the things that happened after that were FAR more interesting and I told more than one person who watches the TV show or is currently reading that book that "Shit gets bananas after the Red Wedding" (I wrote this to my brother in a text message, and his response was "We are not talking about this" HAHAHAHA! I am so evil)

The 3rd season of the show is actually only about the first half of this book, so it's made me REALLY start looking forward to the 4th season of the TV show! Unfortunately, it's not coming out until the new year. Phoo... ;)

"I am Struggling" OR "Excuses, Excuses..."

2013 Reading Challenge

Annie has read 12 books toward her goal of 24 books.

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12 of 24 (50%)

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At the beginning of the year, GoodReads had this thing (and still does if you have an account and are interested) where you challange yourself to read a certain number of books in 2013. It keeps track for you when you update your page, so it's really easy. Considering that I always update my GoodReads page after every book I start and finish, I thought it could be fun.

I barely read at all last year because having a baby is kinda a big time suck, and whenever she was napping I was either napping too or cleaning something, or making food, or whatever. So I made my goal 24 books in 2013, which is painfully low compared to pre-Rosalie, but is what I thought a realistic yet challenging number.

Right now (as I post this, because the above widget will change), I am at 12 of 24 books; 50%. On my GoodReads homepage, this also tells me that I am 3 books, or 13% behind schedule.

Ouch.

Before I started reading the Song of Ice and Fire series, I was 2 books ahead of schedule. But these books are so freakin' long that they are like reading two, maybe even three, books and only getting credit for one. The one I am on right now is almost 1200 pages, and I am just closing in on the half way mark.

These books are kinda killing my reading ego.

AND my blogging ego, because just the other day at my 100 post, I was saying I wanted to post more book reviews, but I can't if I don't finish a bloody book. Not to mention that a series is almost like one big long story, so by the 5th book I am pretty sure I will have little or nothing to say about it without spoilers. So be ready for lame book reviews for my next 3.

And don't try to tell me I should read something else between them, cuz I really gotta know what happens next... well,.. ok... maybe after this next one, because then I will be caught up in the Game of Thrones TV series.... maybe...

I think I might just compensate by reading five teen/young adult novels when I'm done these. That would be fair, right?

A Request...

When I was heading to the lake on and off for 3 weeks, I decided I would completely stop playing Farmville and Farmville 2 on Facebook rather than trying to find an internet connection every couple of days while I was at the lake. (Shocking, I know)...

To realize why this statement is significant, you must realize that I started playing Farmville when I first started doing Facebook. It was a timekill when I was working a slow season at my Dad's office and I became absolutely addicted. I have not ever stopped playing farmville. In previous years, I would plant longer crops and then lug my laptop to the lake and rely on going to the internet cafe or mooching off of neighbours internet to get my farming fix. During the year, I would honestly cut my night out with friends short in order to go home and harvest virtual crops before they withered.

Sad. I know.

I tried not to be annoying about it. I would post things on my wall, but stopped sending requests to people once I realized that many people find it extremely annoying (it didn't take long until people notified me of the annoyance factor).

The number of times people asked me why I played it, and the thin answers I was able to provide is embarrassing. Roland would ask me almost weekly for a while until I lost it on him and told him that I know it is stupid, but I just like it! So leave me alone!

Anyway, I have stopped, and I have not gone back... YET...

Not only is it embarrassing just how much of my day was taken up by it, but also how much I don't know what to do with my time when I have a spare 2 minutes. Where I am sitting on the computer, finished checking facebook, Rosalie is playing happily... what do I do? It used to be "check my farm". Now... I refresh facebook. Nothing. I check for new blog entries to read. No new ones since last night... Look for GoodReads update.. Nada...what to do?

Just for the record I will NOT do pintrest. I clearly have an addictive personality, and I don't need a new addiction.

SO, my request. If you have a blog, post more entries (unless you post daily *coughDanicough*, in which case you are covered), OR if you have a blog, and it's possible I don't know about it or read it (if your blog is listed on the right of the web version of my blog, you're covered) tell me about it! Then I will have another one to read! OR if you have another lovely suggestion of what to do with my spare few minutes that may require I use at least part of my brain, please mention it!

Please help me keep away from my cocaine farmville addiction!!!

Favourite Books to be Suspicious of

ARTICLE: 28 "Favourite" Books That Are Huge Red Flags

I don't know if you've noticed, but I like a good list. Especially if it's a list that is someone's opinion so that I can argue with is. ;) I'm pretty sure this one got posted to Facebook a while back, and I had a few issues with this list. A bit for disagreeing with the books that are on here, and also for the ones that are not... but Buzzfeed is always good for a couple laughs, even if I disagree. So check out the list and the reasons why.

But, these are the ones that jumped out at me. Some for good reasons, and some for bad...

1) The Great Gatsby - I honestly think you have to be an adult to enjoy this book. I don't think I have ever heard of a person that loved this book when they were forced to read it in Highschool English. And I think the reason this person hates when people say it's their favourite because s/he hated it in highschool and hasn't read it since.

4) The DaVinvi Code - GOOD CALL! I couldn't agree more. I also think people like this book because they have read nothing else, so the short chapters make them feel like they read really fast ("I read 15 chapters of my book tonight!", At a page and a half per chapter that's only 22.5 pages. Not all that impressive.

5) The Twilight Series - I liked the Twilight series, but it also is not my favourite, and I wonder about people that claim to love it THAT much. If you are a teenage girl, fine. But I also might try to talk you into reading better books and be sad if you refuse. But if you are an adult, I am going to question your sanity.

14) The Harry Potter Series - C'mon! REALLY? I disagree! These books are amazing for SO many reasons. I understand they are meant for children... well... the first few are anyway.... but they are AMAZING! The classic myth research that went into them, and the progression of writing.... you all have heard this before (but if you haven't, read the bottom of THIS blog entry). So these are amazing, and you should revere rather than be suspicious of people who love them.

15) The Perks of Being a Wallflower Another disagree. I mean, I didn't LOVE this book either, but I think it had some valuable lessons in it.

19) I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell - I couldn't agree with this one more! People who like this book are not readers and I have pegged as douchebag assholes who want to justify their man-sluttiness.

22) The Game - This one too. Same as the above one. I think many people might buy these books at the same time to limit the number of times they go into a bookstore.

27) Lolita - I couldn't finish this book. It basically glorifies pedophilia. If you love this book, I will probably unfriend you from facebook, avoid all contact, and NEVER let you near my daughter.

28) (Go look ;) ) Yup. Pretty much.

I actually haven't read a lot of these books, so it's hard for me to comment on them. But I have made rants before about "Classics" (most recently in my Great Gatsby review), so you see why I haven't read a lot of these books. But I think some people choose to peg them as their favourite to seem more High Brow. ("oooOOOooh! You must be a big reader if you love THAT book!") But I think that just means that you lack originality... or that is the only book you have ever read.

Titles that were lacking from this list.

1) The biggest oversight ever!! 50 SHADES OF GREY! I have unfriended people on facebook for stating that they LOVE this book. I don't even think I need to explain why this is SO wrong. This is almost on par with #28 on the list. No. Just... No.

2) Any novel classified as "Romance". I think this is on par with the reason that people like the DaVinci code. They are easy to plow through at a breakneck pace, so when you say you have read 15 books last month, you have actually read 15 100-page harlequin romances. Which, in my opinion, translates to mean that you waste all of your spare time reading crap.

3)... I'm sure there are more. But I can't think of any off the top of my head at the moment. I could list a bunch of books here, but I don't think I have ever heard anyone tell me that they were their favourite (Like the Shopaholic series, I know lots of people that have read them, but no one has ever classified them as a favourite)


Did any titles stick out for you? Or ones that were missed that you feel deserve honourable mentions?

Gardening Update

I had originally intended to post a "Beginning my Garden" post (DONE! Check it out here if you missed it), a mid season update post and an end of season result post. I procrastinated (surprise!) and now it's closer to the end of the season than the middle, but I waited in hopes of being able to take pictures when EVERYTHING is blooming... HAHAHAHAHAHA! Nothing ever blooms at the same time. Silly me.

So here are the pictures of my veggie gardening...

Ignore the weeds and the dog poo... cucumbers on the left, carrots on the right.

The first carrot plucked! It's still pretty small (and this is one of the bigger ones, but I kinda need to thin them out anyway. So I may pluck a few more in the next few days. Yummy, healthy treats!

Lettuce on the left (and all you can see really), This turned out differently than I expected for a couple of reasons. 1) I didn't think it would flourish (yay me!), and 2) I also expected it to grow into heads of lettuce, these just kinda grew in leaves, which is fine, but still unexpected

My little tomato plant. This is on the right of the lettuce planter. I doubt I will get any fruit off of it. I killed several tomato plants before I got this one to grow, and then I think I babied it too long and should have transplanted it outside earlier. Oh well, live and learn.

You may have noticed I did not post any pictures of my front flowerbeds or containers. This is because I have realized I am NOT a flower gardener. The nasturtiums in the pots did really well. I got a crap-tonne of leaves really early and eagerly anticipated their flowers... then I went to the lake and they bloomed, but did not get enough water (I got them because they do well even in drought conditions supposedly), and now they look terrible. 

In fear of plucking the flowers I planted while I was weeding, I opted not to weed much in the front flowerbeds. (I have a feeling I may have still plucked the Money Plants by accident, because none of them ever came up) By the time they sprouted and I recognized them as flowers they were overrun by weeds. And now I can't be bothered to try to fix them. The bulbs that I didn't plant and were there before looked REALLY good... at different times. I wanted to get a picture of them, but the peonies bloomed really early, and the lilies didn't bloom until the peonies were all wilted. So... no picture. Plus the weeds would have looked terrible... ugh, the weeds... I think the plan for next year might be to just plant more bulbs. They seemed to do better than anything else.

The other problem I had is that if I only had, say 30 minutes to weed, I always weeded the veggie garden before I would weed the front. The veggie garden is so much more practical. They provide me with FOOD! Whereas the flowers just look pretty. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

There is still a bit of growing season left, so we'll see if any of those pesky tomatoes come in, and I'll post some pics of my cucumbers when they actually grow to a decent size :)