I’ve been reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and I can’t put it down. All day today I’ve sat poolside pouring over the pages, not caring if I get burned. This book is written in a way that you get sucked into the story.
Centered around an English war nurse named Claire, a woman from 1945, who accidentally travels back in time in Scotland, to the year 1743. She should have bought some travel health insurance because she’s set back in archaic times, where whiskey is medicinal, and doctors can be mistaken for witches.

It seems far fetched, maybe hokey, but the way it is written is dead serious. She leaves behind her husband, Frank Randall, whose ancestor, Captain Randall, is one of the most evil and twisted English soldiers who ever lived.
In the mist of getting kidnapped, almost rapped, and nearly burned at the stake for being a “witch” she falls into an all consuming love with Jamie Fraser, a Scottish Warrior.

I won’t say more, other than this book is incredible. It’s got enough romantic to please the women, but enough blood, guts and action to entice most men as well. The best part about this book is Claire’s story doesn’t end with Outlander. There are five books in the series, and I can’t wait to start reading the second, Dragonfly in Amber. I highly recommend these books, you will not be disappointed.

What is it with Librarians and their inability to have personalities? I go to the library at least once every two weeks to get a new pile of books and books on cd. You would think by now the librarians would recognize my face, and know that I’m the kind of person who returns a book on time. But nope, all the do is run my books through the barcode scanner and then scowl at me as I leave. Why is this? I’ve decided it’s in the job description to be old and crotchety, and most importantly, have a permanent pursed lips expression.

This latest finale of Grey’s left us with the biggest cliff hanger of all seasons combined. When Izzie is on the elevator in the dress she saw Denny in, my heart sank. And when the doors opened to reveal George in an army dress uniform I knew that it spelled the end for at least one of our beloved characters. With all of the crazy storylines in this show, the medical part seems to go on the backburner. We don’t really care if Izzie had Mesothelioma cancer or skin, or brain cancer. All we care about is if she’s going to live. As for George, I think most fans figured he was leaving the show, judging by the gossip, and the fact that he’s had about two lines this season (shame on you writers, George is awesome!). But I figured he’d join the army, as he said he would, and that would be the last we would hear from him, save a letter or two. I didn’t expect the incredible twist of him being the John Doe that jumped in front of a bus to save a stranger. After that secret is revealed though, it made perfect sense, and it was true to his character. O’Malley would jump in front of a bus to save a stranger.

My theory is that Izzie is going to come out of this thing, because otherwise it would shroud the show in such a huge amount of sadness that no amount of antics or storylines would shake it from its gloom. However, sad to say this, but with the way the writers have artfully written George out of the show basically, his dying would be sad, but not as missed as Izzie’s. George had no connections to anyone anymore. He wasn’t married to Callie, he wasn’t dating Izzie (that was too gross) and he’s no longer rooming with Lexie. He’s on his own, and I think him dying in this heroic way would do honor to his character, and to the actor, who if rumors are correct, wants out of the show.

I can’t wait to see what the new season has in store. On a side note, I’m also happy that Cristina and Owen are trying to make things work, and that Meredith and Derek got married on a post it. Take that Berger’s Sex and the City. Good things CAN come from post its.

When I listened to this book on CD I didn’t realize it was a sequel. The Off Season is the sequel to The Dairy Queen, by Catherine Murdock. Murdock’s follow up book can be read without reading the first, which is a good thing, since I’d already started. There are a few references to the first book, but not so many that the reader gets lost.
The Off Season is about a girl in Minnesota, who lives on a dairy farm and is great at sports, especially basketball and boy’s football. She caused controversy by joining the team, but they’ve since grown to appreciate her for her skill, and value her as a teammate. Then she gets injured on the field, and the doctor tells her playing out the season could ruin her chances to play basketball. She chooses to quit the team, because she needs the scholarship from basketball in order to go to college. Coming from a poor family whose dairy farm is suffering, she can’t afford to chance losing a scholarship. It’s sad because the girl, DJ, loves to play football, and is ridiculed by the team and her classmates for being a quitter. She’s also got a quasi romantic interest in the rival school’s quarter back which causes major drama between the two schools.

Add this to her family’s financial stress, plus her mom’s thrown her back out, and all of a sudden it seems the world is on DJ’s shoulders. She worries about how the bathroom faucets leak, about how they never seem to have enough money, and all of the things a teenage girl shouldn’t have to worry about. Their family can’t talk about their feelings, and no one seems to be able to step up when things get rough.

Then the unthinkable happens-her brother Win, a star college football player, gets hurt badly on the field, and the family turns to DJ for support. There is such an amazing level of depth in this book that I really didn’t expect when I picked it up off the shelf. Plus, the book on CD is read by a woman with a Minnesota accent, which really made me feel like DJ came to life. There was more than one chapter that brought me to tears. I highly recommend this book to anyone who’s ever loved sports, or who has a family that has trouble communicating. Now I need to go out and find The Dairy Queen, just to fill in the gaps.

I loved this episode so much! I loved the way the writers went with the storyline. I wanted so badly for Izzie to get married, and they made it happen. For the record, that wedding was beautiful. Having George walk her down the aisle was a great touch too.
Of course I still want to see Meredith and Derek get hitched, but I see them more as civil ceremony or backyard wedding people. Hey, the writers should have them get married on his piece of property in the woods!
Now the question is, are they going to kill off Izzie or is she going to bounce back from this? If so, what does that mean for her marriage to Alex? I do think it’s romantic that he married her, but what if she gets better? Can of worms will be opened up! But then again, isn’t that what Grey’s is so good at?
Also, I loved the sidebar with Cristina and Owen, and how he tells her his trigger for flashbacks was her ceiling fan. Cut to the end of the episode and she’s hacking the thing off the ceiling. I loved that, because I really want to see those two together.
And now for the best scene in this episode. Enjoy!

This episode of HIMYM we see Ted’s kids again, something the writers haven’t done in a long time. He tells them a story of how seemingly unimportant events lead him on the path to finding their mother. All of these events he retells lead him to standing on a street corner in the rain, and getting tapped on the shoulder by a woman. All through the episode we think maybe, just maybe it’s going to be the future mother. It turns out to be Stella, his ex that left him at the alter. Everyone’s got their theories on how Stella leads Ted to his future wife. I can’t really even begin to guess how she’s connected. We know it’s not her sister, because we’ve already met her. Maybe one of her friends? A coworker?
Either way, I’m just happy they’re back on track to telling us who in the hell this mother is.
Oh yeah, and Barney reaches his 200th sexual conquest. GROSS!

I love that we now have the ability to watch TV shows online, legally. I used to spend so much time downloading episodes of my favorite shows, half of which wouldn’t work.
Now all of the major networks give us the option to watch our favorite shows online, the day after they air. I think I may increase my notebook memory because of it. Nothing irks me more than when an episode gets all choppy, especially if it’s a really good one. Part of it is my internet connection, but I think part of it is my RAM.
Still, even with a choppy connection, it’s just so cool to have this ability to watch TV online. Websites like Hulu are even better, with streaming movies and TV shows. They even have old shows that I haven’t seen on cable in years. Pretty soon I think cable will be a thing of the past. Now if only I could hook my remote up to my computer, now that would be cool.

I read this book about 4 or 5 years ago, and I didn’t think the movie would do it justice. I figured it would be loosely based on the book, but because it starred Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson it would be more slapstick than anything with real substance. I like both those actors, so I figured why not Netflix it? I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the movie in a lot of parts very true to the book, but the actors pulled off the subtle deep moments of the film. My only complaint was that the movie was a little long, but in order to stick with the book, it had to be.

I love the plot: basically just a story about a family and their wacky dog. In parts you get mad at Marley because he’s so wild and misbehaved, but mostly you love him. Of course there are sad moments, and by the end of the movie both my boyfriend and I were in tears. It’s a great movie for dog lovers, and if you have a dog, it will make you give him an extra pat, or maybe throw his favorite ball a little more often. I know it sure made me appreciate mine, if only for the fact that when I leave the house, I know he won’t rip my couch apart like Marley!