Book Club: Sarah's Key

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay was our June pick for book club. This book was about a young jewish girl who was taken with her family during the round up of Vel'd'Hiv' in France on July 16, 1944 by the French government. In order to save her brother, she locked him in a cupboard and promised him that she would be right back for him.

Sixty years later, a journalist is researching this event, one that was shameful for the French and an event that not many people knew about, and finds a connection between her and Sarah's family. She is determined to figure out the mystery of what happened to Sarah and her family, while fighting circumstances of her own life.

Although there were parts in this book that weren't to my liking, they were very few. The story reopens the reader's eyes to the horror's of the Holocaust and is heart wrenching. It amazes me that there are 'skeptics' out there that are convinced the Holocaust didn't happen...are in denial of human flaws and evil.

Here is the cover of this book:


Book 1/30

One Down, Twenty-Nine To Go!!!

In a million years, I never would have thought that the first thing I accomplished on my bucket list would be to Kill a Spider by Myself, but I did it. It was scary, my heart raced with anxiety...but he's dead and I killed him by myself.

Whew! I'm glad THAT one is out of the way!

In other bucket list news, I am two weeks away from finishing boot camp, I am 119 pages into War and Peace, I am 1/30 on my book list, I am 1/10 on my 5K's...and I am 19 pounds away from losing 25 pounds!

That's all I can think of from the top of my head, but I think that after less than a month, I am doing pretty good!

One item down, Twenty-Nine items to go! Woot!

Three Students. Less Than One Year.

I was a private school kid. I'm neither proud nor ashamed to admit that, but it explains the reason I went to a small school in a big city.

We had around 65 graduating students in our class, and our entire highschool had approximately 300 students--so everybody knew everyone else. When something tragic happens to one of our alumni, word spreads quickly and with the digital age being what it is, said word gets around faster than Kate Hudson in Hollywood.

You can imagine how shocked the former student body was earlier this year when a student of the class of 1996 [two years above me] overdosed and passed away. It was a numbing sensation for me--knowing that two days before I found out, he was living, breathing--ALIVE. RIP Ryan Miller.

This past week was particularly tragic. Early in the week, a student in the class of 2000 [two grade below mine, and my sister's class] passed away in his sleep. Just like that...dead. The news was crazy, another student in a small highschool in one year. What are the odds of this? RIP Michael Hager.

On Tuesday, it only got worse. A student in the class of 1997 [one grade above mine] passed away. This death had the most impact on me--mostly because I knew her better than the other two students, she was constantly on facebook, her last status update on Sunday, AND her younger sister graduated in my class. I can't imagine what her family is going through--I never want to imagine it. The cause of her death is undetermined right now, but it is suspected that she had a seizure--a result of a car accident she had in high school--and died. She didn't show up for work and her father went to go check on her and found her body. RIP Ryanne Hauschild.

I am having a really difficult time wrapping my mind around mortality right now. None of these people was over the age 31. We can go at any minute--any second, just like that. Just whenever God wants to call us home.

In addition to death, Life Goes On. The facebook status updates went from sympathies to the type of chips they are eating at that moment.

It's going to happen to all of us and we have no control over it, unless we choose to end it all early. Live it all...Live it well...and tell those that you love how you feel. That's about all you can do.

Book Club: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Our May book was Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. I was against this book from the very beginning, mostly because I am not a fan of the following:

Sci-Fi

Zombies

Jane Austen

Oh how glad I am that I resolved at the beginning of book club [July '07] that I would read every book, no matter what. This book, as silly as it sounds, has shot up to the top of my favorites list. So much that I may even consider reading the original Pride and Prejudice again.

Grahame-Smith's twist on Jane Austen's masterpiece made the book highly entertaining and I would love to see it turned into a film. In an article I read on the new author, he breaks the book down by 85% Austen, 15% himself [zombies]. We still have the Bennet/Darcy love story that swells the heart with added fighting scenes, unmentionables and the living dead feasting on brains.

It's great…light, easy, fun…and comes highly recommended by moi…!

Today's book club treats were a parmesan frica cup with spinach salad and a citrus vinaigrette dressing symbolizing a meal that would have been enjoyed in Jane's time and cupcakes with 'brains' decorated on top of them to symbolize the zombies that Grahame-Smith included in the novel. Thank you, Jennifer and Afton, for the delicious food. We all appreciate the time and effort you take to make book club extra special!

Bucket List Reveal

It was really difficult for me to find 30 things to put on this list that I haven't done [and a few I haven't done 'as an adult'], and I thank you for your awesome response to my suggestions blog a few weeks back, as I got most of the ideas from that!

My bucket list timer officially started this morning and I have one year to get everything done [crosses fingers]. I had a cute picture to go with this blog of a plastic purple bucket with pink notepads and pens [thank you Mill's], but I can't find it!

Anyhoo [that was for you, ASM], below, please find my to do list!

30 Things to do before 30:

Read [at least] 30 books in 12 months

Read War and Peace

Create a Self Portrait

Run a 10K

Have an impromptu food fight

Explore Wines [and hopefully find a fav!]

Karaoke [Not just attend, perform]

Spend a Saturday volunteering

Create a Signature Dish

Extreme Ironing [any ironing for me is extreme]

Write one letter per month to Jadyn throughout my 30th year.

Have a *girls only* weekend

Make it through 30 days of boot camp [starting June 15! Yikes!]

Watch every episode of The O.C. from start to finish [since sis keeps buggin' about it]

Do a Chinese Fire Drill!

Toilet Paper a house [Beware! One of you is the victim of this item!]

Run ten 5K's this year [round down to 30 miles! Magic Number: 30!]--Sarah, Sarah!!!

Lose 25 pounds [I CAN do this]

Keep a plant alive for a year

Kill a spider by myself

Find a better alternative to curse words [I'm going to start using terms that I read in G.I. and MLS's blogs to replace my cursing! Bugger!]

Go to a Drag Show [Lacy Lace, ready or not...]

Family Trip - Just the four of us!

Make New Friends

Read Little Women

Go Camping - with an actual tent and actual bugs! [I have never done this]

Bowl an entire game granny style

Prepare a meal - by myself - and surprise Hubs with it

Every Friday for a month - do not say one thing negative [this is going to be hard!]

Play in the mud [Oklahoma Red Dirt] on a rainy day. [Yuck]

There you have it, my official 30. I expect many of you to participate in these events with me...and once I cross something off of the list, it will be blogged about--I mean, that's why I have a blog, right?? Right.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!