The Big Bang Theory 8. 13

In The Big Bang Theory, we have quite an entertaining look at how frazzled Sheldon is willing to get in order to work productively on his new area of interest; Dark Matter. Pushing his anxiety levels results in some good results and lots of laughs, as his friends all happily pitch in. But going days without sleep and hardly eating can have their own set of side-effects.

Meanwhile, Howard entertains the group {at Raj’s expense} with his new favorite game, Emily or Cinnamon, in which the group must guess whether Raj said the quotes to his girlfriend or his dog. Hilarious fun! Next week’s episode looks exciting as well.

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know. 

His house is in the village, though; 

He will not see me stopping here 

To watch his woods fill up with snow. 

My little horse must think it queer 

To stop without a farmhouse near 

Between the woods and frozen lake 

The darkest evening of the year. 

He gives his harness bells a shake 

To ask if there is some mistake. 

The only other sound's the sweep 

Of easy wind and downy flake. 

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, 

But I have promises to keep, 

And miles to go before I sleep, 

And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost 

Downton Abbey 5.4

In this latest installment of Downton Abbey, we have quite a bit going on as the show begins to build up to a dramatic climax. Mary and Anna go to London for a few days where Mary reunites with Blake at a fashion show and then breaks off her relationship with Gillingham {yay!}. Gillingham refuses to believe her and tells her they'll get through it together. Anna delivers a letter to Gillingham's flat for Mary and then walks into the square where Green died, attracting the suspicions of the police. Meanwhile, Edith is still upset over not being allowed to see Marigold anymore and gets news of what might've happened to Michael, then asks her uncle Shrimpy to look into his disappearance. Shrimpy is visiting to tell his daughter Rose that he and her mother are getting a divorce. and Mr. Brickers comes calling again, to Robert's displeasure. Robert finally loses it when Miss Bunting prods too far with her outrageous views and demands she leaves the house immediately, causing quite a flutter of talk and activity. When he recovers, he explains to Mary and Bronson why he doesn't want to sell his land to the big developing company - I agree with his logic.

There is a lot of stuff going on that's all leading up to something pretty big. I can't wait to see the next episode!!

The Secret of Pembrooke Park Book Review

Title: The Secret of Pembrooke Park.

Author: Julie Klassen.

Genre: Christian, Historical Fiction, Romance, Suspense, Mystery, Regency England.

Plot: Abigail Foster has always been the sensible, sturdy one in her family. And when her family faces financial ruin, it's her burden to bear for having advised her father to take up the scheme in the first place. Sacrificing her dowry for her sister Louisa to have her season, Abigail {now twenty-three}, must accept that her chances of getting married are gone forever - especially since her childhood sweetheart seems bent on courting her younger prettier sister. Abigail and her father go house hunting and receive an astounding offer to reside in a beautiful manor that was abruptly abandoned eighteen years ago.

With hints of treasure and a secret room somewhere in the house, Abigail begins to dig up long-buried secrets while forging new friendships with the neighbors, the Chapman family. In particular, she befriends Leah and William Chapman, a brother-sister team that works together to educate the poor children of the community. William, also the local parson, soon finds himself falling in love with Abigail. But with mysterious visitors lurking in the shadows and a dark secret overhanging Pembrooke Park, William and Abigail's future is uncertain and quite possibly a hopeless dream.

Likes/Dislikes: I loved this book! It was filled with so many wonderful unique characters, beautifully written and had lots of delicious twists. The end was beautifully wrapped up, every stray thread tied off nicely. It was the best book I've read this year so far and I fully intend to add it to my personal library. Highly recommended!

Rating: PG-15 and up, mainly for content {a few kisses, a past murder, etc. nothing graphic}.

Date Review Written: January 20th, 2015.

January

The days are short, 

The sun a spark, 

Hung thin between 

The dark and dark. 

Fat snowy footsteps 

Track the floor. 

Milk bottles burst 

Outside the door. 

The river is 

A frozen place 

Held still beneath 

The trees of lace. 

The sky is low. 

The wind is gray. 

The radiator 

Purrs all day.

John Updike

Downton Abbey 5.3

In the latest episode of Downton Abbey, not much is really going on. The sergeant explains about the witness who heard Green speak just before his death, and he interviews Bates - to Anna's agitation. But Bates' alibi seems intact, though Mrs. Hughes is doubtful. Meanwhile, Mrs. Patmore is distraught over the fact that her cowardly nephew won't be remembered on any of the local memorials being set up for the war. Daisy is progressing well with her math and begins to dream of something other than being a kitchen maid, while Rose gets involved helping out the Russian refugees. She invites some of the Russians over to visit Downton and discover that Grandmama knows one of them, to Mary's amusement. Mary has been getting some heat from Grandma over her week with Gillingham and her own indecision over whether she actually wants to marry the guy or not, which is stupid because he can now use that week against her. Mary sends Anna home with her birth control to hide it which is definitely gonna backfire on her if and when Bates finds it. And poor Edith is getting too chummy with the little Marigold, which ticks off Mrs. Drewe and Mr. Drewe has to tell Edith to keep her distance for awhile. Why don't they just let Mrs. Drewe in on the secret? Seriously, it would make their scheming so much easier.

I think the next episode will be interesting.

The Librarians 1. 9 and 10

We got a lovely two hour final of The Librarians and it was quite the explosive season ending. In the first half, there are rumors of an alien invasion in a small little town, and when a UFO enthusiast goes missing, Ezekiel is insistent upon investigating. Jenkins insists there are no such things as aliens and his view is somewhat confirmed when the team investigates and finds there's more going on that originally supposed. But with Baird missing and Stone getting a little too friendly, time is suddenly of the essence if they wish to save everyone. However, Cassandra's doubts could jeopardize everything and risk the lives they are trying so hard to save. I rather liked this episode, but I'm getting tired of Cassandra-centric episodes.

And in the final episode, Baird and Flynn step through the magical backdoor to reclaim the missing library, only to be thwarted at the last minute by the Serpent Brotherhood. When Dulaque stabs Baird and rips the Loom of Fate, Baird gets thrown into the fraying threads of time and meets the librarians in different scenarios. Flynn was never the librarian, only a babbling professor and archaeologist, while Stone became the librarian and fell in love with Baird, mourning her death for ten years and working alone ever since. They time-jump to another possibility; Ezekiel became the librarian and has a ghost problem on his hands. He too spent ten years mourning Baird's death; she was like a mother to him. And then time-jump to Cassandra's possibility. She's the librarian too and lives with some of the last humans on a vacated Earth, using magic to fight magic. And she mourns Baird's death as well, though their relationship is unclear. With Cassandra's help, Flynn and Baird time-jump one more time back to the Loom and as Baird lays there dying, Jenkins comes to the rescue and Flynn uses the ball of string from a previous episode to reweave the threads of time and secure the library before the doors close and Baird dies. This was an amazing episode! I loved it and enjoyed how all the lose ends woven throughout each episode were tied together. I hope there is a second season.

2015 To-Read List

I usually set my GoodReads reading goal at an easy-to-reach level and bump it up as the year goes on. This year, I've set it for twenty books. One of my favorite things to do in a new year is to pick out certain books that I really want to read in that year and this is no exception. So here is my 2015 reading list. Enjoy!

In The Valley of The Kings by Daniel Meyerson.

Dragon Hunter by Charles Gallenkamp.

Sphinx's Princess by Esther Friesner.

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley.

The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen.

The Pharaoh's Daughter by Mesu Andrews.

How to Keep Dinosaurs by Robert Mash.

Little Bunny's Bible Book Review

Title: Little Bunny’s Bible.

Author: P.J. Lyons.

Illustrator: Melanie Mitchell.

Genre: Christian, Children’s, Classic Bible Stories, Rhymes.

Plot: With a soft cuddly cover of fleece and fuzzy bunny ears, little ones can take their first steps into the wonderful stories of the Bible. With a beautifully illustrated picture full of immense detail yet somehow remaining very simple for small eyes, several favorite stories are told in rhyming text that reads delightfully and rolls off the tongue like honey. From Creation to Noah’s Ark, to Jonah’s adventure, to Daniel and the Lions’ Den, we travel, winding up at the birth of Christ, the story of the little lost lamb, the feeding of the five hundred and the true Easter story. This little Bible is the perfect birthday and Easter gift, and it’s wonderful for that special little someone in your life.

Likes/Dislikes: I was really pleasantly surprised by the cover of this treasure. It’s all soft fleece with a cute soft bunny on the front, complete with ears that will doubtless get sucked and chewed on quite a bit. I love how the stories are all told in rhyming poetry; it makes it a joy to read. I gave the book to my almost-one-year-old daughter and she has spent two days investigating the cover, opening and closing the book to see how the bunny disappears, and hugging it while squealing happily. I tried reading it to her but that might have to wait a little longer till her wonder of the cover dissipates somewhat. My only concern is that I don’t know how to keep the cover clean, since I obviously can’t stick the book in the wash.

Rating: G – recommended for 6 months and up {it’ll make a good chew toy for younger babies otherwise}.

Date Review Written: January 13, 2015.

I received a copy of this book free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in the above review are my own and I wasn’t required to write a positive review.

The Big Bang Theory 8.12

In this newest episode, Leonard and Sheldon are all set to play a day-long board game with their sweethearts, changing the original plan for the day. When the girls find out, Penny decides that they've had enough of doing what the boys want and they force them to do what the girls want, for once. So they go shopping, where Sheldon and Leonard confront some mixed feelings over compromising and Leonard eventually moving out to live with Penny. Then they all go do what Amy wants to do for a change.

Meanwhile, Raj is all upset over the space probe he'd helped work on nine years ago turning itself on when it nears Plato. So Howard tries to help him and agrees to go to temple with him.

Forever 1.13

In this episode of Forever, Abe is all in an uproar when he discovers an article missing from his antique shop and demands that Morgan uses his "powers of observation" to solve his mystery. But Morgan has other things on his mind. A case involving a murderous hit and run lands directly on Detective Jo's past; her dead husband was the DA of the victim's past trial. This brings up painful old memories for her and Morgan does his best to be there for her, even up to the point when he almost gets her killed to save her life.

While I enjoyed this episode, I was disappointed that it didn't delve more into Detective Jo's past. I'm really starting to like her. Next week's episode looks exciting!

Downton Abbey 5.2

In this second installment of my favorite historical fiction show, lost is happening. First, Rose is keen on getting a wireless for Downton Abbey but Robert refuses until she mentions the king plans on addressing the nation via wireless. Robert is busy arguing with Carson about the war memorial location and Carson finds himself at odds with Mrs. Hughes over the same issue - a position he is not used to being in. Miss Bunting threatens to create more drama when Mrs. Patmore hires her to tutor Daisy in math at the Abbey, though Bunting keeps to herself this time. I disagree with Robert in speculating that Bronson will take Sybbie away; his refusal to allow such a thing to happen is understandable but stupid. Bronson is the father and can decide what to do with his own child. Meanwhile, Mary has Anna buy her some birth control {to Anna's discomfort - I betcha this comes back to haunt her when Bates finds out; he'll think she bought it for herself cause she doesn't want any children}, and then Mary prepares to set off on her secret visit with Gillingham. The evening before, however, she meets up with Blake {the guy I liked better} who argues with her and makes her doubt her decision, though she goes anyway. That will definitely come back to bite her in the back. I can't wait for the next episode!! :)

The Librarians 1. 7 and 8

So in The Librarians, we had a lovely two hour session! In the first episode, we learn all about this mysterious curse that involves the rule of three when the librarians all come into work on their day off and get summoned to investigate a suspicious science fair. While an overly excited Cassandra drags a bored Ezekiel around to see all the projects, Stone befriends a heartbroken young man and gets a scoop on who is using the spell-turned-app {which is a lot bigger than they'd all originally thought}, and Baird supervises, until she gets a weird call from Jenkins. That's when she gets the first impression that he's not exactly who he says he is. With his prior connections coming back to haunt him and forewarn of a bigger deal going on, the stakes have just been raised drastically. This episode was fun and enjoyable.

In the second episode, the team heads off to secure the magical lay-lines and encounter a blood-splattered young man running around in the woods. She leads them to a mysterious, supposedly haunted house, where they have an adventure. Classic horror film with a predictable twist at the end. The only thing I liked about this episode was that it all happened during the day and had less of the scary music typical in these kind of stories. I really didn't like this episode and neither did my husband.

Next week's final episodes look great though!

The Books of 2014

So in 2014 I only had time to read a grand total of twenty-seven books, almost half of the fifty-four from 2013. But I enjoyed most of the books I read, for the most part, though there were three that I didn't finish because they just weren't grabbing my attention and holding it. Anyway, here are the books of 2014. I've also included links to some of my reviews.

Rebellious Heart by Jody Hedlund.

Read from October 8th, 2013 to January 6th, 2014.

A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters.

Read from January 8th - 11th.

Once Upon a Time by J. Randy Taraborrelli.

Read from January 14th - 31st.

Nefertiti by Michelle Moran.

Read from February 1st - 6th.

Nefertiti by Joyce Tyldesley.

Read from February 4th - 20th.

The Royal Ranger by John Flanagan.

Read from February 21st - 24th.

Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.

Read from March 1st - 2nd.

Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.

Read from March 5th - 7th.

Tide and Tempest by Elizabeth Ludwig.

Read from March 11th - 22nd.

Nefertiti by Philipp Vandenberg.

Read from March 31st - April 1st.

The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.

Read in April 2014.

The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen.

Read from March 28th - May 9th.

Chivalry by Zach Hunter.

Read from 14th - 18th.

The Spiritual World of the Hobbit by James Stuart Bell.

Read from May 20th - 25th.

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The Mystery of the Secret Mine by Anne Begin.

Read on May 27th.

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen

Read from June 3rd - 6th.

Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.

Read from June 20th - 24th.

Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede.

Read from June 25th - 27th.

What Your Parents Never Told You About being a Mom or Dad by Stan and Jan Berenstain.

Read on July 15th, 2014.

She Comes First by Ian Kerner.

Read from July 28th - 29th.

The Firstborn Advantage by Kevin Leman.

Read from August 2nd - 4th.

What to Expect: The First Year by Heidi Murkoff.

Read from December 26th, 2013 - August 23rd, 2014.

The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen.

Read from September 17th - 19th.

$10 Great Dates by David and Claudia Arp.

Read from October 3rd - 5th.

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne.

Read in October 2014.

Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley.

Read from 8th - 19th.

All for a Sister by Allison Pittman.

Read in December 2014.

The Unassisted Baby Book Review

Title:  The Unassisted Baby.

Author: Anita Evensen.

Genre: Nonfiction, Self-Help, Pregnancy, Childbirth, Newborns, Medical.

Plot: Anita Evensen is a self-published author and mother of three. Through her own personally experience and research, she has discovered that women’s bodies were meant to give birth and that giving birth unassisted {without the help of even a midwife} is actually a good idea for many women. In her book, she confidently and very eloquently walks the readers through hospital intervention uses and side-effects, do-it-yourself prenatal care, easy to figure out birth check lists, a prenatal growth chart, cheat sheets for you and your husband, postpartum care for you and your baby, and lots of sound encouragement for birthing unassisted.

Throughout the book, Mrs. Evensen combines a wealth of information, a good sound reality check, positive humor and a healthy dose of encouragement – which is really what we need. She doesn’t claim to be a medical professional or that unassisted birth is for everyone, but she gives you the tools to figure out if it’s for you or not. Personally, I think it’s doable for me and a good way to avoid the hospitals. While my own birth story is positive, it wasn’t exactly what I’d wanted.

Likes/Dislikes: This book is beautifully and comprehensively written. There is hardly any repeat information {a rarity among books like this}, it’s straight-forward and includes tons of information. Because it’s a self-published book, some of the formatting was a little off, and several words were a little off. There was a lot of “they” instead of “the” for example, but I didn’t mind too much. There is also a wonderful short section for the husbands to read so they don’t have to read the whole book if they don’t want to. I highly enjoyed this book and will be adding it to my personal collection.

Rating: PG-16 and up, mainly for content {it’s all about giving birth and such}. Highly Recommended.

Date Review Written: January 5, 2015.

Galavant Pilot

In a fun new four-week series named after the star, we meet the hilarious hero Galavant. He’s the greatest warrior in five kingdoms and happily in love with a sweet fair maiden named Madeline. But when the king kidnaps Madeline and forces her to marry him, Galavant rides to the rescue and interrupts the wedding – only to have his ladylove stomp on his heart, declaring she’d rather have “fame and fortune.” Fast-forward a little and now we have Galavant, a sad sorry drunk with no inclination to do anything other than wallow in sorrow and ale. Madeline, now queen, begins to show her true colors by cheating on her husband yet keeping him at a frigid arms’ distance. The king, a rather unmanly man, teams up with his chef and his bodyguard to butch up for his queen while sending a captive princess to lure Galavant to his death. Intermixed in this complex tale are loads of funny scenes and hilarious songs. This show is gonna be so good!

Agent Carter Pilot

Hayley Atwell stars as Agent Peggy Carter, the unique female spy from Captain America. Since the war, Carter still works in the office, but it's a dreary boring job without the thrill and sense of purpose she used to have. On top of that, she also resents being treated like a simple secretary by all the men in her department - except for one named Daniel Sousa who lost a leg in the war and can relate to how useless Carter is feeling. When famous Howard Stark approaches Carter in a roundabout way to help clear his name, Carter embarks on a dangerous secret mission with only Stark's loyal butler, Edwin Jarvis, as her backup.

This was a highly anticipated show by me and I loved every minute of it! The plot is wonderfully complex and has a compelling storyline to it that I'm keen to learn more about. And I love the characters - particularly how Carter and Jarvis interact and get along. This is gonna be a great show!

Forever 1.12

In a brand new episode of Forever, Henry Morgan returns after a three week absence to investigate the suspicious death of a wall street trader. With the secrets piling up, this is a case that looks like one thing and ends up being something else. Abe and his old army buddies even get involved at one point, to Morgan's horror. I was quite enjoying Detective Jo in this episode. Compared to Detective Beckett on Castle, she is very low-key and doesn't talk often, but when she does - it's usually worth listening to. And we get to dive into her past in next week's episode! Oh goody!

Downton Abbey 5.1

In the brand new fifth season of Downton Abbey, we have quite a lot going on and the first episode sets up the drama nicely. Sweet Anna and Bates are whispering about having a child someday, while the ladysmaid eyes them and earns Thomas’ wrath by not sharing her suspicions with him. When he finally threatens her position, the ladysmaid takes Moseley’s advice and tells Lady Cora about her past, beating Thomas to the punch and getting him into trouble at the same time. Edith, the secretive child of the family, is busy nursing her broken heart and visiting the farmer Drewe and his family to see her little daughter Marigold. With Mrs. Drewe getting suspicious of her reasons for being there, Drew and Edith begin to come up with a plan for her to still visit Marigold and more. And it’s Cora and Robert’s thirty-fourth wedding anniversary. Rose causes trouble by inviting Branson’s teacher friend Emily to visit. When she expresses her strong opinions at dinner, Robert and Branson have an interesting discussion afterwards that prove both have grown and changed so much. In Sybil’s death, Robert may have lost a daughter, but he gained a son in Branson. That night, visiting guest Tong Gillingham proposes a scheme to Mary, the footman James gets up to no good and Thomas redeems himself by saving Edith when she accidentally sets her room on fire. So much going on and only the first episode!

I don’t like Gillingham; he’s very creepy. I liked the other suitor from the previous season better. And I do hope that Anna and Bates can have a baby; it’d be wonderful!