My Summer Reading List

Soooo, I find myself having lots of free time these days (maybe too much, but that's another post for another time). I've been occupying my time by reading books and practicing guitar (I use the term "practicing" loosely, as I gave myself a headache from "practicing" a couple weeks ago, so I'm not sure that I've hit that level yet where I can call it that). Anyway, I've posted my reading list below, and I would welcome anyone's suggestions about good reads for this summer.
{Oh, and it's worth mentioning that I don't read books about science fiction-related topics, vampires, witches and/or goblins, or any sort of black magic. I'm 25, not 13.}

The titles in bold are books I've already read this summer:
The Night of the gun by David Carr**
Tommyland by Tommy Lee**
Don't Try This at Home: A Year in the Life of Dave Navarro by Dave Navarro**
Tweaked: A Crystal Meth Memoir by Patrick Moore**
(**See a pattern here?? I like junkie memoirs, so shoot me.)
Nineteen Minutes by Jody Picoult
The Pact by Jody Picoult
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (I intend the read the other 2 books in this trilogy if I like this one)
The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz

And I will probably re-read a few of my favorites (I love re-reading books because I always seem to catch new something the second or third time that I didn't get the first time around).
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller
Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis**
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey**
(**again with the junkie memoirs, I clearly have a problem)

Further reading suggestions would be much appreciated. :)

Pausing for a Post...and 10 Things Tuesday

Hello out there blog world! I hope I haven't disappointed my readers too much with my lack of posts lately. But school is in full-swing again, and you all know how much school interferes with my blogging. Speaking of school, I'm in the midst of beginning a research project to support my thesis next year (scary). I'm in the process of writing up the proposal right now, which is due tonight (nothing like waiting until the last minute). I don't know where this nasty procrastination habit came from, but it seemed to crop right up around the time I started grad school. I've been buried in this proposal for the last 3 hours or so, so I decided now would be a good time to pause to partake in a trend in the blogworld known as "10 Things Tuesday". I'd be fooling myself if I thought this was something I could keep up every single Tuesday, but I thought it might be fun to participate this week. Here are 10 random facts about hubbs and I that some of you may not know:

1. For being an IT guy, Pat is pretty old-school when it comes to using the newest, trendiest technology in his personal life. He doesn't own an I-Pod or an Apple computer (which are staples for most IT guys). He just recently got a GPS from his mom for Christmas (thanks Lori!!). He keeps up on the newest technology, but he's just not interested in owning all the little gadgets. And he all but refuses to touch a computer during his free time in the evenings and on weekends.

2. We don't "do" Valentine's Day in the Groff household. It was romantic and fun when we were dating, but we both agree it's kind of silly to designate one day to show our love for one another.

3. One of Pat's favorite pastimes is working on his car. As a matter of fact, he just bought new leather seats for it (complete with seat warmers) that he installed himself.

4. I got just this new phone, a Droid Eris:
After having the same phone for almost 3 years, it's been a major transition for me to learn how to use a touchscreen phone. But my husband, ever the supreme source of knowledge on all things technology (see #1), informed me that touchscreen technology is the new direction for all cell phones, and the sooner I get used to it, the better. I am scared to death of this phone right now. In the 4 days I've owned this phone, I've made numerous calls to the wrong numbers, sent texts to the wrong people, and have been completely unable to figure out how to access my voicemail. Verizon has informed me that they offer a short tutorial class in their stores on Sundays to teach new users how to use their smart phones. I just wonder how much a class would be able to teach me about operating a phone that is clearly smarter than I am.

5. Pat will eat anything (and I mean anything: dairy items that are a few days expired, overripe bananas, stale chips and cereal, etc.) EXCEPT for cottage cheese. I've made a few attempts to hide cottage cheese in certain foods, like blending it up with cream to put it in lasagna. But he always catches me. I think it's a consistency thing???

6. Have I mentioned my desire to own this camera yet? Yes? Ok, very well then.

7. Judge if you must, but I do not care for the Olympics at all. In fact, I'm slightly annoyed with the fact that the Olympic games have interferred with normal daily programming. I have a huge amount of respect for the athletes, and all they have accomplished to qualify for the Olympics games; I just don't have any interest in devoting a huge amount of time to watching the events.

8. Pat and I are dying to go back to the Caribbean. A plan is in the works to take one more vacation to Jamaica, the Bahamas, or St. Lucia in the summer of 2011, to celebrate my graduation and have one last child-free hurrah.

9. Speaking of kids, we had a discussion the other night about the trend of parents treating their little girls like princesses, decorating their bedrooms in all things princess, and calling them "Princess" as a nickname, which we both agree is APPALLING. Neither one of us has any desire to inflate our little girl's ego to the point where she develops a sense of entitlement about what she "deserves". I understand how parents think that can be cutesy, but I think it's a slippery slope.

10. Pat has expressed interest lately in going back to school as well. He is not seriously looking into any specific programs or anything, but grad school is a definite possibility for him.

Alright, that's it for now. Hopefully you all have learned something new about one or both of us as a result of 10 Things Tuesday.

'Til next time,

A Compilation of Sorts

The post you are about to read has absolutely nothing to do with anything that is going on in the lives of P & R right now. Our personal lives are a bit in shambles right now, due to some family issues, and I've spent the better part of last week trying to fly under the radar, because blogging about what's really going on around here could cause some serious drama. So instead I'm going to add an entry that I hope will humor y'all.

Our local newspaper in Montana, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, is overall a reputable newspaper (as far as small-town news media goes). However, the content included in the daily police reports is one exception. My older brother made somewhat of a game out of taping the particularly hilarious ones to the door of his bedroom, a tradition which I continued when that bedroom became mine. So during our last visit home, my mom gave me a stack of police report pages that she had saved for me. Instead of keeping the hilarity to myself, I'm going to do my good deed for society by sharing them with everyone. Please understand that this post is meant to be taken sarcastically, and with a grain of salt.

Enjoy!

• June 6th, 2009: "A woman reported that someone is dumping their trash in her dumpster. She said she went through the trash and found evidence of possible suspects."
• June 7th, 2009: "Police arrested a 39-year old Bozeman pickup driver for assault and cited a 37-year old Bozeman bicyclist for disorderly conduct after the bicyclist became upset, believing the truck had cut him off. The two exchanged words, the bicyclist said the driver should have respect for bikes, then ran the front of his bike into the truck. The driver jumped out and punched the bicyclist five to eight times in the face."
• June 7th, 2009: "A woman reported to police her ex-boyfriend was threatening to let her birds go while she was out of town. However, the birds did not appear to have been released." (Phew, I was worried)
• June 8th, 2009: "A man in a red sports car convertible was reported for asking two small girls to find his small dog. An officer determined he really was looking for his dog."
• June 8th, 2009: "Domestic abuse was reported on River Road, where a daughter said her 56-year old mother had been drinking and hitting her (NOT funny). There were no weapons, she said, but stated that her mother is a weapon (hilarious)."
• June 9th, 2009: "A boy tipped over a porta-potty in Kirk Park around 1pm. His parents were notified and the porta-potty was returned to its upright position and cleaned." (Thank goodness those of you who regularly use the restroom in Kirk Park can pee in confidence).
• June 12th, 2009: "A man was seen behind the mall around 10 am with something over his head doing push-ups and stretching. He was waiting for the theater to open."
• June 17th, 2009: "Four of five high school kids with flashlights near a trailer court on East Griffin Drive 'looked like they were up to no good', according to authorities." (Oh dear God, no!!!! Someone call 9-1-1!!!!!)
• June 18th, 2009: "A deputy checked on a man who was shining a flashlight outside on Pebblebrook Road around 12:30am. The man was searching for his keys and 'unfortunately the deputy was not much help in locating the keys either.' " (darn!)
• June 18th, 2009: "Several gallons of red Jell-O were dumped into a boat parked on Sunfield Drive staining the seats and carpet 'as well as leaving a very large sticky mess.' The case is being investigated."
• June 20th, 2009: "A resident of Boylan Road asked to speak with an officer 'about noise associated with tee time at the golf course'." (Boo)
• June 21, 2009: "Bags of 'poo' were left on a Highland Blvd. resident's doorstep several times before he called it in. He also advised officers that one bag came with a note asking him to pick up his dog's 'poo'." (Dear dog owners: please pick up your 'poo', lest you risk ending up with your dog's 'poo in a bag on your doorstep)
• June 25th, 2009: "A woman couldn't stain her deck because three dogs were running loose in the area. She described them as a 'beagle, a little white hairy thing, and a medium white hairy thing'." (Thank you, ma'am, for such a helpful description!)

And now for my personal favorite. Believe me, this one is a true gem.

::drumroll please::

• June 15th, 2009: "A person reported his brother was calling him nonstop and conversing about nonsensical topics such as two-handed swords and Kentucky Fried Chicken. The person requested a welfare check after the conversation topics got more serious."

The previous message was brought to you by the folks at the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, who apparently have nothing better to do than post the minute details of every single random police report (ridiculous, irrelevant content included at no extra charge).

Happy Monday!

Blood is Thicker Than Water

I've been thinking a lot lately about the phrase, "Blood is thicker than water." This is one of those cliche sayings that we've grown up hearing our whole lives. But after experiencing what I have over the last almost 24 years, I'm not sure that I totally agree. Take, for example, the case of the child(ren) who are raised by a family friend of a drug-addicted, young, single mother. Although those kids are not her own, in a biological sense, that family friend is able to love and care for those kids in a way that their birth mother never could. Or the foster youth with no biological family to speak of, that ages out of the system and comes to know his church elders as his "real" family, even though there are no blood ties. There's even the case of the biological family who, despite being related to each other in the literal sense, becomes involved in such an intense conflict, that they end up disowning each other and never speaking again.

Family is a relative term (pardon the pun). Being a family doesn't always coincide with having unconditional love for each member, just as being unrelated doesn't always mean that the parties love each other any less. I believe that you can come to love another individual in the same way that you love a family member, regardless of whether you share blood or not. I have to believe this, because it's such a big part of my passion for my profession. And I choose to believe this, because otherwise, what hope is there for some of the kids that I work with? Just because Patrick & I have amazing families, whom we share a mutual understanding that revolves around love and respect, that doesn't mean that this is the norm for families in America today. In fact, I would venture to say that our "normal" family unit is actually going to become the minority by the end of our lifetimes, if not shortly thereafter. All the stress and chaos in our culture tend to contribute to conflict, and this conflict is often what tears families apart. Couple that with the amount of children who are currently in foster care (who generally have very slim chances of reunification with their biological family, or any family member for that matter), and the American family is headed in a new direction altogether.

My suggestion would be to amend the saying that we are all so familiar with:
Blood may be thicker than water, but love is thicker than anything.
~Goldie Nash