Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Uglies Series Book Review


Last month the Smart Remarks Book Club book was the first of a series of books called "Uglies".  I read he book and enjoyed it.  I'll admit, it wasn't my favorite book I've ever read but it kept me interested enough to read the next two books, Pretties and Specials, which is saying something.  For anyone who hasn't yet read the book it's about a world years ahead of our own.  Cities are totally self sufficiant and everyone lives within their city and never really ever has a reason to leave.  Kids ages 12-16 are seperated from everyone else and live in a part of town called Uglyville where they go to school and await the day when they turn 16.  At which point they have a "Pretty" operation that makes them supermodel beautiful.  But little do they know, the operation is just a cover for something far more sinister.  Ok, so it's pretty obvious from the beginning what the secret is but I won't give it away.  The book has a really interesting concept although I'm not sure I would have written it quite like the author did.  Here's the GOOD and the BAD...

GOOD:
* One thing I liked about the books is all the techie stuff n it; hoverboards, bungie jackets, walls that give you whatever you ask for and heat jackets.  Very cool!
* I also really loved the lingo especially in book two.  It was all bubbly-making for sure.
* They kept me interested! I couldn't stop wondering what was going to happen to Tally.  Just when I was starting to get bored of it something would pull me back it.
* Surprisingly, the parts I liked the best were when she was outside the city in the wild.

BAD:
*A few things I didn't like however where the lousy characters and the unrealistic bonds between them.  The relationships between the characters was totally unbelievable.  There was absolutely no chemistry between the leading lady and any of her male counterparts with the slight exception at the end of book two that totally fizzled out in book 3.  I had such a hard time believing any of it.  As for "love interests" in the book give me a break.  I lost total interest in David when Tally went on describing exactly how ugly he really was and then again in book one when he admitted to drinking his own urine, ewe.. I think I'd rather die.  Zane was a little better but I actually saw him as a little nerdy and creepy from the first time he came into play.  And then right when I started to like him...
*The main characters themselves had the worst personalities.  I would never want Shay as a friend, all jeolous and needy.  And Tally, come on.  She had absolutely no say in anything that happened and yet everyone looked at her like she was some kind of hero/leader.  Let's face it, without her friends she'd be nothing but a bubblehead and yet somehow everyone gives her all the credit.

And now for a rating...
I give this series a 2.5 out of 5

Also FYI: I don't know how you all feel about this so don't judge me but I found this really cool site Ebookhood.  I found this entire series and more there. 

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Another one of those commercials

So I did this commercial like a month or so ago, I'm just now getting around to posting it. Tell me what you think!



p.s. Yes, we came up with the idea, but please keep the boobie comments to a minimum.

Monday, January 12, 2009

2 Unexpected blessings and a bonus

Recently Andy and I have had a bit of good fortune.  Turns out we have a few of the right connections and they've paid off big time.  The first one Andy won't let me talk about but something good happened to him...  The second thing I might have mentioned before is Evelyn's eyes.  She has Intermittent Exotropia which is where her eyes have a tendency to point in different direction or as we like to say "crazy eyes".  I had pretty much given up on it because she seems to have learned to cope with it but it just so happens that Andy's cousin noticed Evelyn's eyes at Grandma Bailey's party.  How crazy is that?  Not even everyone in my immediate family has noticed her crazy eyes but she just happened to notice them AND she just so happens to work with the one doctor I've been wanted to take Evelyn to.  Dr. Sutter is one in a million.  Most other doctors don't even believe in what she does, they're all about jumping straight to surgery for the more complex cases and completely ignoring the less severe cases like Evelyn's.  She apparently has methods of training the eyes and essentially strengthening them to stay straight.  It's amazing!  So wow, where was I going with this.  Oh yeah, Andy's cousin Kate (whom I now LOVE) talked to the Optometrist on Evelyn's behalf and she agreed to treat Evelyn for FREE.  That's right!  She's going to completely fix her eyes, without any surgery, for FREE!  We had our first appointment with her on December 19th and it went really well.  She treated Evelyn so sweet and nice and was totally patient with her.  I was so impressed.  She gave me a few ideas of things I can do to help and at the beginning of this month we had our first appointment with the Vision Therapist.  She taught me some exercises that I can do with her at home and Evelyn got these super snazzy red/green glasses to wear when she watches movies that are supposed to help train her eyes to stay focused.  I am 100% confident in Evelyn's new Optometrist.  She is my new favorite person and Kate too for hooking me up.  I've heard so many good things about her from other people and I just can't believe that she agree to help Evelyn.  It's amazing!  Seriously a miracle.  Another plus is that while we were there she checked Evelyn's vision and heck yes! turns out Evelyn has perfect vision.  So yah, take that bad eyesight genes!

Now for the bonus!  I am proud to announce that after 7 years of debating my college major and taking 2 semesters worth of random off the wall classes I finally narrowed it down to ONE major.  I've always known I wanted to go back to college after the kids were older so in the back of my head I've been contemplating all my options.  I can't guarantee my plans will stay the same but here it is.  I want to get a bachelors degree in Exercise Science which is kind of a mix between Biology and Kinesiology.  It sounds perfect and all the required courses are classes that I would want to take anyway.  After that the goal is to go through Physical Therapy training and either become a Physical Therapist or Sports Therapist.  I can't wait but for now I'm just going to enjoy being a mom.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Ho Ho Ho!

December 13, 2008~

This year was Evelyn's first year to really get excited about Christmas so let's just say I may have hyped it up just a little.  She totally soaked it all in and we loved every minute of it.  Santa even made a special appearance at our ward Christmas party and I'll never forget how adorable she was waiting in line with her Grandma Waite and seeing Santa for the first time.

  Evelyn

Preston

♪I saw mommy kissing Santa Clause...♪

Merry Christmas!
Love,
      The Waites
Andy, Amber, Evelyn & Preston
(This was going to be our Christmas card photo)

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Cool Project

So I just completed a cool project. It's a Bridal Promo for a bridal show I just did last week. Check it out and tell me what you think... it's only 2 minutes long.



Monday, January 5, 2009

Sweet Jesse Timothy

Congratulations Tim and Brenda!
Jesse Timothy Waite
Born 5 pounds 8 ounces
  and 19 inches

January 5th marked the arrival of the much anticipated Jesse Timothy.  My Brother in Law Tim and his wife Brenda are by far the most deserving of such a remarkable blessing.  It's been so fun to watch them in their early days of parenting.  Jesse is a precious baby boy and it will certainly be fun to watch him through all the stages of his life.