Prepare for the attack

I've got a lot of posting to make up, so I will start with a "here's what I did over the weekend" post.

Way back when I posted pictures of what the front of the house looked liked when we bought it and the imbetween pictures of getting rid of the juniper and the stump. Since January we've literally had a brown, lumpy dirt patch in front of the house with nothing more than weeds growing. At least they were green, that is until I sprayed them with weed killer. Given the comments that we received while working out hineys off, our neighbors must have been wondering when and if we were ever going to do anything. I'm hoping we haven't disappointed them because my whole body is a bit painful today and I'd like the pain to be worth it.

We added a border to help keep the dirt from encroaching on the sidewalk and planted many pretty plants that stink good. We put in a banana plant and a Christmas conebush to help disguise the new placement of the electric meter box. I've got three rose bushes that are blooming, lavender, sage and a couple of smaller plants just because I thought they were pretty. I'm hoping it fills out nicely. And here is the final look after 14 bags of mulch.



Now we just have to paint the house.

How Opal Mehta Got Kissed

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. My mother sent me home with a duffel bag full of books so my need to read is being appeased. Anyway, not too long ago I heard an interview on NPR with the author of How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life. With a title like that how could you not want to read the book? So I put the book on my Paperbackswap wish list and finally got it in the mail a couple of weeks ago.

Quick synopsis of the book -
Opal is a young woman whose entire life has been focused on getting into Harvard. Grades, test scores and extracurricular activities make her a shoo-in on paper. However, all this becomes obsolete when asked in her admissions interview "what do you like to do for fun?" Opal has no answer and spends the next few months getting a life, getting wild and finally getting her first kiss. In the end her life experience only leads her to question what's really important in life.

Sounds like it should be a fun read. Sounds like it should have some Judy Blume-goodness to it. Boy, was I disappointed. It was defintitely nothing close to Judy Blume-goodness. The book wasn't entirely bad. I just expected it to deliver more after hearing the interview. My first clue should have been that I wasn't into the book at chapter 5. My second clue should have been when I was hitting the end of week one and wasn't even close to being halfway through the book. *sigh* The title held so much promise.

Now my pop culture obsesssion enjoyed Opal's immersion into all things trendy from TV shows, clothes, actors and music. However, I realized around chapter 8 that the book was in essence another version of Mean Girls with the "Haute Bitchez" instead of the "Plastics". There was so much potential in a real story. It was annoying to read a paragraph and think "oh, that was in ___________ movie".

Overall, the book was a light and fluffy read. Funny in parts, enjoyable in others, but mostly lacking in oomph. If I'm going to recommend Judy Blume-esque books then I'd go with Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or any of Megan McCafferty's books. I kind of wish I skipped finding out how Opal Mehta got kissed.