Living up to my title: Life or Something Like It...

When I first started this blog I had no idea where I was going with it. I didn't really know what to write about and if people really wanted to hear all about my actual life. The only thing I did know was that I was absolutely IN LOVE with books, so this blog became a book blog. Which by no means is a bad thing; I love books and book blogs. But, well, I'd like to share some of my intimate feelings with you and live up to my title now: Life or Something Like It... So if you're looking for a book review or just a post about books I'd say turn back now, 'cause today I'll be sharing a little bit of My Life or I guess you could say, what happens to be in my noggin... lol :D

So where do I even begin?

Hmmm, it may be a little morbid for some of you but I think I'll start with my first real experience with death. You may be wondering why I said "Real" death? What I mean is, it's the first time I've had someone I knew well and loved dearly pass away. Death is never an easy thing, though, no matter what. So let’s start at the beginning shall we...

I got a call early morning on December 16 from my mom she was crying so hard she could barely speak, she whimpered in the phone to me, " David passed away this morning..." I replied in total shock, "What? What do you mean David passed away?" Some of you may not know, but my little brothers name is David, so automatically the first person I thought of was him. Then my mother whimpered again, "David S*** passed away this morning." It was heartbreaking for sure, but I couldn't help myself when I sighed in relief that it wasn't my little brother David named after my Uncle David. Then total shock hit. I didn't cry right away. I wasn't really sure I believed it, you know, because I had just seen him at my little girls’ 2nd birthday party. Hugged him, told him I loved him, thanks for coming and I'd see him again soon. It was a surreal experience to get that phone call. We packed us up a bag that day and headed down to my Aunt Darlene's house to comfort her in her time of loss. You see, they've been together for 28 years, and 6 months before he died they found out he had brain cancer, but that doesn't mean his death didn't come as a surprise to everyone. See my Aunt Darlene and David's daughter had seen him through what they thought was going to be the hardest part, David's brain surgery. At the time of his surgery they felt they were ready for the worst but David pulled through it. He was a strong man, a fighter, but as you may know cancer can really break a person down and work its magic through your veins. His heart gave out in the ambulance on his way to the hospital the morning of December 16, 2009.

I can't describe how his wife must have felt and is still feeling, but I can tell you how it made me feel. When I first walked into her house and David wasn't there it really hit me hard that I would never again get picked on or get one of his famous loving Bear Hugs. He was David, and he was gone. My heart was breaking and not just for myself but for my Aunt Darlene and his family, too. That Sunday was his funeral and I remember the feeling I had most-LOVE. Love for David, for all his family and friends, for my family and friends. I just wanted to hug everyone and make sure they all knew how much I really loved them no matter if I didn't know them all that well or not. I was seriously bursting with love and tears. That night, I believe, or maybe the next night, we went out to eat and still I had the "need" to hug and say I love you to my other aunts and uncles that I see all the time but never really have that intimate moment with. Then a few weeks later came Christmas morning at my grandmas house with my close family. I remember I had that same loving feeling. I ended up being the only one, that as soon as I came in, to give a hug to every person that was there. I was happy to be there with them, and I'm pretty sure they knew at that moment I really loved them. So, for me, with death came love.

In loving memory of my Dear Friend and Uncle David may you rest in Peace.

{Edited March 1, 2010} I just wanted to add a quote and this here song. Love it.

As for the quote; "Sometimes it takes a funeral to see how blessed we are to have life."

Thank you all for taking the time to read! :)

Books read in 2009 :) And Skiing fun!

So I thought it'd be cool to write down all the books I've read this year, 2009, in no particular order. :)

FANTASY-- SCIENCE FICTION:
1.Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
2.The Well Of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
3.The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
4.Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
5.Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
6. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
7.Lamentation by Ken Scholes
8. Canticle by Ken Scholes
9. Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
10. Discworld Graphic novel-- The Colour Of Magic by Terry Pratchett
11. Discworld Graphic novel-- The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
12.Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover
13.The Sword Of Shannara by Terry Brooks
14. Of The Forest by Juliet Marillier
15. Legend Of Singurd & Gudrun by J.R.R. Tolkien
16.The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien
17.One Second After by William R. Forstchen
18.A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
19.The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
20.The Host by Stephenie Meyer
21.Pandemonium by Daryl Gregory
22.The Strain by Guillermo DelToro and Chuck Hogan
23.Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith
24.Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge
25.Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
26.Touch the Dark by Karen Chance
27.Claimed by Shadow by Karen Chance
28.Embrace the Night by Karen Chance
29.Curse The Dawn by Karen Chance
30.Midnight's Daughter by Karen Chance
31.Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover
32.Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

ROMANCE
33.Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
34.Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
35.Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
36.Magic Study byMaria V. Snyder
37.Fire Study byMaria V. Snyder

CHILDREN (9 &up)
38.Coraline by Neil Gaiman
39.The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
40.The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
41.The Golem's Eye by Jonathan Stroud
42.Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud
43.Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien

MYSTERY
44.And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
45.Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

YOUNG ADULT
46.The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
47.Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
48.Pastworld by Ian Beck
49.Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier
50. Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
51.The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
52.The Naming by Alison Croggon
53.The Riddle by Alison Croggon
54.The Crow by Alison Croggon
55.The Singing by Alison Croggon
56.Graceling by Kristin Cashore
57.Fire by Kristin Cashore
58.Legacy by (16 year old) Cayla Kluver
59.The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima
60.Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs
61.Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
62.A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
63.Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
64.City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
65.City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
66.City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
67.Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
68.New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
69. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
70.Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
71.Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines


So yeah, I know I haven't been around lately to visit all my favorite blogs so sorry guys you are all awesome and I will try my very best to be a better follower! :)

Things have just been quite crazy around here with all the holidays and work. I also just got back from a week long Vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, which was so very cool. I had a lot of fun and had many new experiences!

Went skiing for the first time ever, and I tell you, it was so much fun! It was my two brothers, my lil' brothers girlfriend, and me. All of us newbies, and, of course, we were all way too cool to take skiing lessons. lol. Well, we were all in the practice area trying to figure out what we were doing and how these big boots and skis worked. It was pretty easy to get going, turn, head down the small hill, and slide to a stop at the bottom, right. Yeah, so after I, and seriously only me, actually slid down the hill a few times I was so ready to go up the lift! I asked my brothers if they were ready and they said " Heck no, are you crazy!" lol, and all of them were seriously too chicken to go up at all! I couldn't believe it, so I just went on my own. I got in line for the lift, let it take me to the top of the Newbie section, which is still pretty high up there if I do say so myself, and then I got off. So now there's only one way down.... I went for it, I got around the first curve, then the second one, and here I come down this crazy amazing hill and I'm flying! But then all you can see are tons of people just standing at the bottom TALKING with their skis and snowboards on, and I felt like they were yelling at me saying, "Come on, I dare you to hit me in the back!" lol. So yeah, I'm flying down this huge hill trying my best to slow down and hopping I stop before I hit a few people. Well, stopping ends up to be a pretty easy task to do when you completely bomb out at the bottom! At least I had a few feet to spare before I hit anyone, however, I can't say the same for my skis! Hey, falling stopped me, but it didn't stop me from wanting to go back up that lift again and again to feel that awesome rush, and me and the snow becoming one. :) After my first time down My brother and his girlfriend saw the whole thing, of course, and still they weren't so sure until I got up and said "WHOA, that was so much fun!! I'm so going again!!!" I guess once they seen me, their sister, making it down okay and alive they felt they could brave it out. :) My lil' brother didn't even fall once!!!(he was going down like a granny, though, I'd say!) ha-ha. The only way I knew how to stop was by falling!lol. Man, I had so much fun till I twisted my ankle! It hurt, but I said whatever, and went SNOW TUBING! Now that was awesome, too!!!

So who wants to hear about my first Horse Back Riding Experience????

Review: Pastworld by Ian Beck

I know it's been a long time coming, so without further ado, I give you my review for Pastworld By Ian Beck!

My review and thoughts:
Imagine London in a huge dome of sorts where all civilization is reproduced in the Victorian age, while the outside world is in the year 2048. Not only is London living in the past, but it's know as the Pastworld Theme Park for all the outside world. Tourists, also know as the Gawkers, come from all over the world as they pay big money to live the life of a Victorian, and enjoy the many entertainments of Pastworld.

Eve, a girl who's only known the life of London as it is-horse run carriages, harsh laws, gas lamps, and old buildings-decides to set out in the streets of Pastworld on her own. As she does she's met with the realization of what her home really is--a theme park, and money maker for the man in charge. Not only does she have to reassess her home, but herself as well.

Caleb, a boy from the outside world, brought to Pastworld by his father on Halloween, is left awe struck by how fascinating everything around him really is. But soon enough, when he sees his face on wanted posters for a murder he didn't commit, he's all but ready to return to his strict home life in the outside world.

But this seems to be the least of Eve's and Caleb's problems when the most dangerous and biggest attraction of Pastworld decides to show his face and destruction once again. They call him, The Fantom....

Intricate, compelling, and one masterfully told story. Pastworld is a place where many haunting worries are hiding in the streets, and around the darkest of corners. There is much adventure to be had, and many fun , interesting, and spooky characters to follow. You will find romance, friends, thieves, and many shocking murder mysteries to witness in the streets of Pastworld. This was definitely a page turner for me to the very end, and I find myself recommending it to you all! :)

:) More about Pastworld here :) I will also leave you with the trailer for the book below. It's pretty cool, if I do say so myself! Enjoy, and have a wonderful day every one :)





(Off topic---Man, it's been awhile since I last posted, but in my defence it's been crazy around here :) Also, with the way life is going right now the best time it seems for me to post will be on the weekends... What can I say, I'm a reader of all your blogs and I love it! How you guys keep up with posts and comments I'll never know! You're all awesome!)

Sharin' the Fun!!

I thought I'd share some of the pictures and fun we had!!! I hope everyone else had a wonderful Halloween too! Halloween was tons of fun for us and I even had two costumes for Little Miss Aubriannah.

Ah, My Little Miss Snow White :) She was Snow White for the Trick Or Treating part of the day, and boy did she have fun! She couldn't keep her little fingers out of her candy, lol!

Here is Aubriannah in her Pirate costume getting ready to head to the Fair, which was tons of fun! :)

"Why so serious?" lol! :) My little Pirate ridding a Pony all by herself!

My little Pirate's first time ridding a ride ALL by herself! She was so serious on all the rides, I think, because she was a little nervous about falling off, lol! :)

This was taken a few days before Halloween with her Pumpkin. She really enjoyed carving them. :)

Ah, so sweet! My little knuckle heads!

Well, that's all she wrote, Folks! I hope you enjoyed them and your Halloween! :)

Happy Halloween!! Who's it gonna be....

Man, that picture is so cool! :)

It's time to announce my very first giveaways winners!! I had four awesome books to giveaway to four awesome bloggers, so who's it gonna be.... I used the Random Name Picker at Classtools.net, so without further ado I give you my Halloween Winners!

Drum Roll Please.........

The Winner of Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson is

David Wagner

The winner of Lamentation by Ken Scholes is

Logankstewart

The winner of The Naming By Alison Croggon is

Michelle (Red Headed Book Child)

And the winner of Pastworld by Ian Beck is

Ryan G.

Yay! Congrats to all the Winners! I have a busy day today (we're going to the fair and Trick or Treating, of course! :), but I will make sure and email each of you before the day is over!

Happy Halloween to you all!

FireFlies and Randomness...

So tonight's post is brought to you by Fireflies! (Book stuff and links are at the bottom for those who want to skip my Randomness for the day....)

( I love music you can sing along too.... Not that I'm saying I'm any good at it! lol! :)

Wow, right! *Sigh* I love it! For those of us who love our dreams and fantasy worlds this song speaks volumes. I'm sure different music affects people in many different ways, though. His voice is so amazingly soothing, when I close my eyes I feel as though I'm eight, maybe younger, maybe older, running around trying to catch fireflies in a jar.

Favorite quote:

" 'Cause I get a thousand hugs

From ten thousand lightening bugs

As they try and teach me how to dance"

Fireflies are amazing in their own right, so it'd be something marvelous to see and feel, indeed. Ah, the joy of dreaming....

If you haven't already noticed, I really feel that today I'm all up for a blog post that has only a little to do with books, so this is my attempt at randomness, or lack there of ...

So, as many of my faithful followers know I've moved into a new house, a wonderful house, I might add. My favorite part about my new house is our Huge fenced in backyard. It's not only my favorite part, but my little girls and her puppies(Eskimo Spitz, Nala and a Husky, Roxie) , too. You should see them run around! CRAZINESS! It's very amusing and nice. Now the only problem left is figuring out where everything will go and what junk I need to ditch. Okay, okay, I admit it, I'm a pack rat, and no, I don't mean the actual pack rat! LOL! It's so hard to just throw things out. You end up losing or breaking so many things over the years anyway, right? I have so much stuff that I "could" get rid of, but how do I know what exactly to ditch? That, my friend, is why I'm a pack rat! I'm just thankful it's NOT the overbearing kind of pack ratness..LOL! It's definitely not that bad it's just too many boxes in the garage. I'm also a big Book Hoarder! Now I just need more bookshelves (Peter I'll let you know.... :)




On other news, my little girl is getting WAY too big for her own good! Her birthday is just around the corner, she'll be 2 on November 17th. Can you believe it? It feels as though just yesterday I was in the hospital holding her for the first time. Where has the time gone? Being a mother can be hard business, but it's all worth it! The smiles and laughs you get by the simplest of things is most definitely my favorite part about being a mother. Not to mention all the smiles and laughs she gets from me. Anyway, her favorite word right now is Apple. I never thought a word could be so cute! She loves to dance, especially to Hannah Montana or The Backyardigans. I am very serious, we have the Hannah Montana movie sound track CD in our car and we have to listen to it always. She really does get down to the music in her Car seat, and sometimes you can even catch her trying to sing. It's lovely. Kids are most definitely Gods gift to us.

Okay, now onto book news. Lets start with books I've finished over the past couple weeks that I haven't been able to write reviews for yet. Sorry, moving is tough work! :)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins- All I can say is Awesomeness! If you are up for solid characters, great action, and crazy plot twists, then I would highly recommend you pick this one up! Anyway, here are a couple Blogger friends reviews for this title, Melissa @ My World and JuJu @ A Tales of Whimsy...

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie-- The first book in the First Law Trilogy-- Wow! It was one heck of a ride. This book was basically just the set up for a new world and well rounded, fantastic characters. Not to mention all the fight scenes that will leave your mouth hanging open. One thing I will say is The Blade Itself is definitely not a book for the feint of heart. Anyway, here are a few blogging buddies who have done wonderful reviews for this title, Melissa @ My World, Logan @ Rememorandom, and Alec @ Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy.

:):):)

PastWorld by Ian Beck-- Wow, it was such an experience hanging out in the amusement park of London! I don't want to say too much about this one as I will be doing a review as soon as I am able. You can also enter my giveaway to win a Hardcover copy of it here!

Now onto books I am reading and want to read over the next few weeks....

Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines -- Many thanks to J. Kaye @ J. Kaye's Book Blog for this ARC! Just started this one and so far so good.

Dune by Frank Herbert-- Many thanks to Alec @ Only The Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy for producing such a fantastic review that I just had to pick this one up. I'm really looking forward to starting this title.

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice-- Many thanks to Deb @ Bookmagic for recommending this title.

And last, but not least, Embellish by R.L. Sloan -- Many thanks to R.L. Sloan for this review copy. I'm definitely hoping it's as good as it sounds!

(If you have a link to reviews for any of these titles, and I missed you, then feel free to leave the link to your review in the comment section.)

Well, that's it! Krista's Randomness 101! Hope you enjoyed it! If your in the mood for more and more Awesome Randomness, then I highly suggest you check out David's blog @ My Little Corner of the World.

Don't forget on your way out the door to check out all the wonderful blogs and the many reviews I mentioned! They're Great!

Teaser Tuesdays--Catching Fire

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly event hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
Here is how it works.

• Grab your current read


• Open to a random page Share 2 or 3 “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page


• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)


• Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm just now getting around to starting Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins! So far it's great, I might add!

"If a pack of wild dogs were to appear at this moment, the odds of scaling a tree before they attacked are not in my favor. I should get up, move around, and work the stiffness from my limbs." pg. 3

So there you have it, my Teaser Tuesday! Now it's your turn! What are you reading and have any quotes caught your attention more than the next...?

2009- My Top Favorites- Giveaway!!

I thought that since this is the 1st of October I'd get my FIRST contest up and running..... 4 books, 4 winners!!!!

This giveaway is going to consist of four books I've read over this year-2009- that have been some of MY favorites! What better way to get your favorites and favorite authors out there, then by giving one away?

Here are my four favorite reads so far this year.... In order of most enjoyable for ME...

My favorite read so far this year has been Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson! View my review and book synopsis here.

Lamentation by Ken Scholes is the first book in The Psalms of Isaak series, wonderful read! View Synopsis here.

The Naming is the 1st book of the Pellinor series by Alison Croggon. I loved this whole series! And Guess what? If you happen to have this book and are missing one of the other three, no worries, I'll send you which ever book you are missing....

I just finished reading Pastworld by Ian Beck and I must say it rocked! I haven't read any other books by him before now, but I'm sure to go and find more of his titles now!


To Enter:
US and Canada only- sorry!

All you have to do to enter my giveaway is leave the title of the book you would like to win and your email address so I can contact you.


Extra Entries:
+2 New followers
+3 Old followers
+4 Linking this contest to sidebar, Twitter, blog post. (Include links please!)


This contest will end on Halloween(BOO!) October 31st! I will email the winners (a winner for each book) and they will have 72 hours to contact me with their shipping info or a new winner will be chosen! I wish you all the best of luck!