The Scrappin Genealogist

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Hunger Games trilogy

One of my goals for this year was to do more reading. I made a goal to read one new book a month. Well, as of today 2/20/11, I have read six books. I normally don't get into science fiction books, but when I started seeing and hearing things about The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, I decided to add them to my list. I have read all three of them. They were very good!!

The story is about a 17 year old girl named Katniss Everdeen who lives in a post-apocolyptic world called Panem. Panem consists of 12 districts, and each year, they have a boy and a girl ages 12-18 chosen to go to the hunger games. The hunger games aren't any typical games, they are games of survival, meaning that the last one standing is the winner. Katniss volunteers to go to the hunger games in place of her 12 year old sister. I don't want to ruin it for those that haven't read it, but it's full of suspense and different twists and turns. I thoroughly enjoyed this trilogy and couldn't put it down.

The other books that I've read are Jodi Picoult's Plain Truth and the first four books of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. These books are SO much better than the movie. I have been enjoying them a lot and they are quick reads.

The next three books that I am working on are: Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown, and the fifth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. I like to keep two to three books on my reading list because some days you just don't want to read anything heavy. So, I'm always reading 2-3 books.

Anyway, time to go make dinner. Making pork chops with rosemary and scalloped potatoes.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

52 weeks of genealogy: week 7

Week 7: Toys. What was your favorite childhood toy? Is it still being made in some form today?

My favorite childhood toy was Hot Wheels cars. Yes, I know I am a girl, but I really loved playing with Hot Wheels cars. I had a ton of them and played with every single one of them. Then, one fall, my two uncles came to visit. They came every fall to go deer hunting with my dad. My uncle Bob always gave each of us kids $10 to spend on what we wanted. I thought that was the coolest thing! So, when I was six, I got my yearly $10 from my uncle and we went to the local TG&Y store and I bought a Drowsy doll. I totally loved that dolly. She spoke little things and had the cutest little pink and white polka dot pajamas on. I still have that dolly today. I love her.

On another note, has anyone been watching this season's Who do you think you are? I have and have been enjoying it immensely. The first week was Vanessa Williams and I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to her. I have a friend in the entertainment business and he said that she's a real snot to work with and that she has that attitude that she's better than everyone else. So, going into it with those preconceived notions about her, I wasn't too thrilled about it. But, I have to say, that it was wonderful to see her find so much on her ancestry. She even found a photo of one of her ancestors in his military records in Washington D.C. which is amazing. It was neat to learn about her and her ancestry.

This past week was Tim McGraw and I have to admit, I was totally looking forward to this one! He's one of my favorite country singers, and I thought it would be neat to see his journey and I was NOT disappointed. He chose to research his dad's side, which I can totally understand since he didn't even meet his dad until he was 11. He had some amazing links to some pretty amazing Americans - George Washington (a brother to one of my ancestors) and Elvis Presley. It was also neat to see his link to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia since I had ancestors that lived there as well at the same time as his. I wonder if they knew each other? It was awesome and I enjoyed it.

This next week is going to be Rosie O'Donnell and I have to admit, I don't really care to see it. But, the genealogist in me can't not watch it. It's just what I do. I love anything related to genealogy, so I'll watch it, but Rosie is too left wing for me. It will be interesting to see her journey though.

Monday, February 7, 2011

52 weeks of personal genealogy: week #6

Week 6: Radio and Television. What was your favorite radio or television show from your childhood? What was the program about and who was in it?

When I was a kid, I loved to listen to the local rock radio station. I would hold up in my room listening to that and read. I loved it. When I did watch tv, we watched shows like Little House on the Prairie, Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, and CHiPs. We weren't allowed to watch too much tv. Little House was on Mondays; Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley were on Tuesdays; and CHiPs was on Saturdays.