Mockingjay Review

I was among the crowd that couldn't wait until the bookstores opened yesterday morning before getting there to buy my copy of "Mockingjay". I was just dying to see how it all ended. I have finished the book and am writing my review on my blog. I realize that most people may not have finished or even picked it up yet so be forewarned that this is a spoiler!

Again, if you haven't finished the book (or started reading it) and don't want to read a spoiler, don't read this review until you have finished the book!!!

Where to start. I must say that I was excited yet apprehensive about this book. I knew it would be more difficult to read than the first two because of the situation things are left in at the end of book two. I like chick-flicks because I like my happy endings. I want everyone to be happy by the end of this book but where a love triangle is involved that is likely to leave the reader unsettled in some way. The girl can't end up with both guys! And with a war, there is bound to be death. I fully realize these things which is why I knew it would be hard to be happy with the way some things in the book turned out.

This book had just as many "didn't-see-that-coming" moments which left you wondering what would happen next and how Suzanne Collins really would resolve everything at the end. As a whole, my opinion of the book is that I certainly did NOT love it. The first two are way better. I felt like everything about the main characters that endeared you to them in books 1 and 2 were completely wiped out. The author just changed them so much that by the end I didn't really like them anymore. I realize that in the book they experience things that would leave any person struggling mentally or change them forever but it was so depressing to see. I hated what happened to Peeta. I also didn't like that Gale becomes so blood thirsty so that the end justifies any means for him. He also just kind of left at the end without saying anything. And I absolutely HATED the fact that by the end I was not a huge fan of Katniss who I've always liked. She even says yes to the new Hunger Games. That goes against everything she stood for in the beginning! And with the death of certain characters, it leaves you mad at Collins for killing them! Two were particularly hard, Finnick and Prim. Really??? Come on! Maybe I'm so mad about Finnick because he had finally gotten his happy ending when...BAM! Killed in a horrifying way and yet with such little mention you almost have to read it again to make sure it really happened. And Prim...she's what the whole story started for. It was because Katniss was trying to protect and save her. If I were Katniss I would have gone all depressed in the end too thinking that everything was all for nothing.

I think the biggest thing that really bothered me about this book is that no matter who takes control at the end, you feel like things aren't going to get better. They're just going to change. I felt like the story was about how terrible humanity is. There were good and decent people fighting but nobody good and decent to be a leader? Even some of the good and decent people don't seem so by the end. The last quarter of the book I couldn't help but feel depressed and empty. Like there was no hope and never was.

In the end the love triangle is resolved and as I had hoped, Katniss and Peeta end up together. I guess that's my happy ending which didn't occur until the last 2 pages of the book. There were so many ways the author could have written this book and I understand this is her book and her world she created. It's just my opinion that her choice of story for book 3 was the worst one. I'm still depressed about the book and don't think I will be reading it a second time like I did the first two.

The series is now tainted for me. I feel like the first two books are completely separate and still unresolved. Maybe I'm deluding myself into thinking that her view of humanity is overly negative and that the outcome in this book is unrealistic. I like to give the human race a little more credit as to the good we possess. Or maybe she's completely right and this is what would happen if there was no second coming after the battle of Armagedon. If Christ didn't come and instead, Panem was formed (after the entire country had been nearly destroyed through war) this is what humanity would be like. If it is, I would hope I was not around to see it. It would be too depressing.

Paint and Mr. Turtle

We FINALLY were able to close on our house last Friday and get moved in Saturday. Once we got finished with the actual move we didn't waste any time getting started on painting. We had previously purchased a paint sprayer because we knew we would have a lot of painting to do here in this house (the entire interior). With several rooms already prepped for primer, we started in on a couple Saturday night.

Now I don't consider myself in any way a painting expert because I've hardly done any in my life but I have been watching a lot of HGTV and whenever they use a paint sprayer they have on a suit and wear a respirator mask and protective glasses. Jaren didn't think there would be that much over-spray and said it wasn't necessary to have the suit (with a hood). Nor did he think it necessary to have a respirator mask but just your generic paint fumes mask. Whatever. I knew he wouldn't budge so I went along with it.

Not long after he started spraying I felt like I was in a cloud of paint. It was everywhere! I could feel the hairs on my arms and my eyelashes starting to get sticky as well as the bottom of my feet. Even though I had a little mask on, it didn't seem to be doing much. I felt like I was breathing in a ton of paint! And only Jaren got the protective glasses since he was using the sprayer. My eyes were burning! It was all I could do to be in the room and help...rolling over areas that got too much paint and such. What a nightmare. I took off my mask when we were finished and noticed that my nose seemed to be white. I ran to the bathroom and this is what I saw...



a little closer view...


Click on the picture for the full paint in the eyelashes effect.

I didn't know that you're supposed to pinch the medal strip across the top of the mask to fit your nose (which prevents stuff/paint from coming in through the gaps).



This shirt used to be navy blue.



The paint in the hair looked worse in real life. Yes, this was a serious PAIN to try and wash out.



I had so much paint on my feet from walking around on the painter's tarp that I could just peel it off afterward.



I decided that if Jaren was going to continue painting with the sprayer, we needed to consider his health more seriously and prevent paint in the lungs. So I purchased a suit and respirator mask. I didn't realize the one suit I bought was the only kind without the hood! So I made him one from a grocery sack. I just seal him up in the room now and he does all the work. :)



These suits are basically just thick paper so as soon as he put it on it started ripping at the seams in the groin and thighs. This is my super strong duct tape mending job. Looks great doesn't it?



Oh yeah! Sexy!



There was only a bit of paint on the face where the goggles and mask didn't cover. Much better to wash than what we had to before!


This should be a separate post because this one is long already but I'm lazy and am combining the two. It's mostly pictures anyway.


Tuesday morning after Jaren went to work, I started in on unpacking and cleaning. As I was heading to the stairs I glanced through the small side window next to the door and saw a large dark something on the doorstep. It freaked me out as I thought, "What wild animal is on my front porch waiting for me to open the door and attack??!!!" Then I looked through the window again and got a better view of the wild and ferocious animal...



A very large Mr. Turtle.

What he was doing on my front porch and where did he come from? I have no idea. He looks like he just crawled out of the swamp.



I tried feeding him lettuce but he didn't make a move to try any. I wanted to measure him but the only thing I could find was this paint stick. I later measured the paint stick at 14 inches. As you can tell he's a little larger and if his tail were all the way extended he would be about 21 inches long.



He just sat there...staring...



...on my porch. I had work to do so I went back into the house and kept coming back to check on him. I figured he would eventually walk his way back to his swamp. After a couple of hours he got up and started walking away.



Then went to lay in the grass.



I checked on him a few other times and he was in a different spot in the grass each time but he eventually disappeared. Hopefully he made it safely home. Not many people can say that they have opened the door to find a wild turtle sitting on their front porch. I thought it was just so cool!

Update: I googled Mr. Turtle to see what kind he is and was rather grateful all 10 of my fingers are still intact. Yes, this is a common snapping turtle. Maybe it wasn't smart for me to touch Mr. Turtle's front leg or tail or even put lettuce right in front of his face (trying to coerce him to eat it) but I didn't know at the time what he was. He looked like such a sweet and innocent turtle! Had I known, I probably would have given him a much bigger personal bubble space. Wikipedia says that the common snapping turtles have a vicious disposition and readily snap at nearby objects. Their necks are so long that they can reach all the way back to their hind legs to bite and can amputate a finger with that strong, beak-like jaw. Nice to know. I also read that they are omnivorous and will eat most any kind of animal as well as certain vegetation. Maybe my lettuce didn't look as appealing as some of the animals he has eaten. Even though Mr. Turtle could have easily taken off a finger or two (and had a few opportunities to do so), he was mellow when I was near him and it was still cool to have him on my front porch!

A Pink Bug and Daisies

If a 4 year old girl could drive...



... this would be the car I would picture her driving.

Anniversary trip to the beach!

Today is our anniversary! Jaren and I have been married 7 years! I don't know where the time has gone. It just seems to fly by so fast.

We decided to take a trip out to the coast to celebrate our anniversary. We went to Savannah and stayed the night Friday. We did drive out to Tybee Island that night because we were so excited to see the beach! Tybee Island is about a 20-30 minute drive from Savannah. It was beautiful! The weather was so nice and we got there just when the sun had set. We didn't go in the water but we walked on the beach and waded around in the water which was wonderful!



The rest of the pictures are out of focus and not very good because of the lighting but a post is always better with pictures.





We spent pretty much all day Saturday at the beach. My sweet husband rented a beach umbrella and chairs so I could have some shade...it's a good thing he did. We packed a lunch, snacks, and drinks so we were set. The waves were the best in the late afternoon and it was just fun to body surf, ride the boogie board, and float in the water. A serious downer however, was when something that certainly did NOT belong in the ocean floated by and I just had to get out of the water for a bit until it was definitely gone. I won't tell you what it was for fear of ruining this post. We got out and built a sand castle until we figured it was safe to go back in the water. A couple more things that didn't make the trip so pleasant were the microscopic jellyfish that would sting us occasionally and the terrible sunburns we both came home with.



I know, not the most flattering picture but it gives you an idea of the redness. It certainly stings and makes it impossible to sleep comfortably at night or do anything during the day! We did put lots of sunscreen on and the first application had plenty of time to soak in. It was sweat proof and water proof too! It was only a couple of hours before I noticed how RED Jaren's shoulders were. I think one of the brand new bottles I bought was bad. I used a different sunblock on my face and that didn't get near as burnt. Oh well. It was still a lot of fun and a nice getaway from our little apartment. We will be going back to the beach for sure! This will be a place we would love to take our visitors to as well. It's always more fun with friends and family!

I am SO very glad I married my sweet husband. After being married for seven years I would say that marriage is so many things:
Wonderful
Stressful
FUN
crazy
Happy
Lots of hard work
Full of Love
and
Eternal

I can't wait for another seven years and all of the things that it will bring! To my amazing husband who understands me, is patient with me, and loves me...I love you so very much and couldn't imagine my life without you!