Bookworm 2.0

True statement.

Since I read 5 1/2 books over spring break, I thought it would be a good time to do another book list! I tend to vary in what genre I choose to read, so hopefully my list is diverse enough that no matter your preference, you can find something enjoyable to you.

 

 

  1.  Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth

 

  This was an excellent, fast read suggested to me by my sister-in-law.  It takes place in London during the 1950's.  Twenty-two year old Jenny leaves her home to move into a covenant to learn to be a midwife.  She meets some very interesting women whose stories draw you in and amaze you. 

 

I quite enjoyed reading this book, which is now a mini-series on PBS, I believe.  It is well worth the time of reading!

 

 

2.  Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

 

In this book you enter a world full of demons, witches and other supernatural creatures.  Much like The Hunger Games, Carnival of Souls is a fighting match to become part of the ruling elite. Aya is already a part of the high class, but wants to write her own fate instead of having it decided for her.  Then there is Mallory who lives in the human world.  She is always on the run with her father and is soon to discover many secrets and truths about who she really is. 

This book definitely drew me in and I was highly disappointed when it ended with NO sequel currently published. . . Impatiently awaiting the 2nd book!

3.  The House of Night Series (Books 1-10) by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

I really enjoy the young adult paranormal/supernatural books that have strong female characters and twists to what is typically 'believed' of vampires, werewolves, witches, etc.  This series focuses on vampires.  Instead of being purely evil or sparkly, the vampires worship their goddess, Nyx.  You are not made a vampire by a bite, but you are marked by Nyx.  After being marked you go to the House of Night which is a special school for vampires.  Not everyone is able to make the change to a vampire.  Some die before the process is complete.  Some vampires have special gifts and affinities that their goddess blessed them with.  One such vampire is Zoey Redbird.  She faces anything from boy issues to evil and darkness coming at her full-fledged.  She is 16 years old, and the writers did an excellent job of writing her character.  It is truly like you are in the mind of a 16 year old with her random thoughts and expressions. I am currently at the end of the 8th book and am still hooked!

4.  Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape by Jenna Miscavige Hill, Lisa Pulitzer

I chose to read this book because I am always interested in learning about different beliefs in the world and Scientology is mentioned quite often.  More often than not I hear it brought up jokingly in reference to some kind of crazy displayed by Tom Cruise and I was interested in learning more about it instead of remaining ignorant.  This title specifically caught my attention because this girl had a 'harrowing escape' from Scientology.  Why would you need to escape?

It was hard for me to get into, and took a book or two in between to actual finish it, but it was worth my time. 

5.  The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick

I absolutely heart Jennifer Lawrence!

This was an interesting and quick read. It is about a man, Pat, who was in a mental facility for quite some time due to a violent act against his wife's lover.  He is completely clueless as to how long he was in treatment and what happened with his wife.  His mom takes him out of the mental facility and he moves in with his parents.  He is a bit socially awkward and struggles with getting back in the flow of things.  Pat meets Tiffany at a supper with his best friend.  Her husband recently passed away and she, too, is living with her parents.  She begins and awkward friendship with Pat, and that friendship ultimately helps to 'fix' them. 

I really enjoyed this book, but they could have layed off the constant chant of the Eagles.  It got to the point where I would completely skip over that portion of reading because I didn't want to hear about them flapping their wings and yelling and singing the fight song. Ugh. Otherwise, it was really good!  I watched the movie after finish the book and it was quite good as well.  It didn't follow the book completely, so if you have already watched the movie you can still read the book and find new things to keep you interested.

6.  Damaged by Cathy Glass

This is a heartbreaking story about a little girl named Jodie who comes to live with Cathy and her family.  Cathy is a foster mom and has taken in troubled children many times before, but none that were quite as damaged as Jodie.  In her time with Cathy, Jodie slowly reveals the horrors that she has lived through and what has become her norm.  If you liked A Child Called It, you will likely 'enjoy' this book as well.  I say enjoy in quotations, because there is so much about this book that is NOT enjoyable.  Knowing this is based on truth just disgusts and horrifies you. 

7.  Reason to Breathe & Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan

This is a story of Emma Thomas.  Her father died in a car accident and her mother was too drugged up to take care of her, so she went to live with her aunt and uncle.  Her aunt is abusive and makes her life completely miserable.  When Evan moves into town and takes notice of Emma, things start to change. She begins to enjoy her life and to open herself up to friendships.  At home, things only get worse.  Emma eventually decides to move in with her mother after her aunt almost kills her, which ends up being another kind of disaster.  The books are definitely geared for high school kids and so I found it rather juvenile at times, but enjoyed it nonetheless.  A third book should be coming out soon and I look forward to reading more about Emma!

8.  Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

I am always intrigued to read about other people's crazy, so this book instantly caught my attention.  This is a memoir of a young reporter's struggle with a 'rare and terrifying disease,  opening a new window into the fascinating world of brain science.'  I often found the medical talk to be a bit of a snooze (and admittedly skimmed over most of it), but really enjoyed the more 'real' things revealed.

 

 

Is it a bird, plane or Superman?

WE WENT SKYDIVING!!!

April 3, 2013
Skydive Dubai, U.A.E.

O. My. Gosh. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had! Anytime I talk about it or think about it I can't stop smiling! This was the big event we had planned for our spring break stay-cation.  It was also something we had been wanting to do for quite a while.  After arriving at Skydive Dubai and getting checked in, we met with our perspective people who we would strap our lives to.  As it turned out, both of our guys learned how to skydive in the military and loved it so much that they continued it as a career.  Talk about an amazing job!  How could that EVER get boring?!

Ben and Joe before boarding the plane.

Ed and me inside Skydive Dubai getting suited up!

To our surprise, we didn't have a mini-session of how not to die or anything like that.  We were merely given simple instructions on body placement and a walk-through of how things would work once we hurled our bodies out of the plane.  Once we were suited up and given instructions, we piled onto a golf cart and went to catch our plane!  

All set and ready to dive!

Once we boarded the plane it seemed as though it took forever to get to where we could finally jump! I was shockingly not nervous, scared or anxious at all.  I was completely excited and grinning from ear-to-ear.  Ben can tell you that he was a little nervous, but as soon as you jumped out of the plane all of that went away.  

Getting ready to board the plane!

Getting ready to board the plane!

Joe & Ben

Ed & me

Our guys had different approaches to how we were to jump out of the plane.  Ben was more forward, facing out, knees together, feet on the ground.  I was facing more sideways and had my legs together, back and bent.  All of my weight was on Ed.  I'm sure that all has something to do with the fact that Ben is a tree, but it was one thing I did find interesting about our jumps.

Our photographers went out before us and grabbed on to the plane so they could catch our reaction as we were going.  I cannot speak for Ben, but as soon as we jumped out of the plane I was laughing and yelling and loving every bit of the experience!  

What hit me right away was the pressure of the air as we were falling and the distinctive taste of salt water.  It makes sense since we were jumping over the sea, but I was not expecting that. It burned your sinuses a smidge, but wasn't uncomfortable or anything. Ben has commented that he noticed how loud it was right away.  You are falling and have the air rushing around you and you couldn't hear anything.  Even your own voice.  I could vaguely hear myself yelling, but barely.

My experience:

Ben's experience:

Ben's fave because you can see the curvature of the Earth as well as what remains of the World Islands.

It is interesting to hear what Ben and I both have to say about our time spent hovering above the earth.  He took in his surroundings and made observations about what was going on below him.  I was all like, "I'M FLYYYYYYYYINGGGGGGGG!  WOOOOOOO!" and noticed almost none of the things he did.  I guess that is fairly typical.  He is more analytical in his thinking and taking in of things than I am.  I am more like skipping through Candy Land.  

I desperately want to go again before we leave Dubai.  Hopefully with a bit of luck and good fortune (literally, fortune), we can make the jump one more time before heading back to the States.  If all else fails, we plan to make the jump again when we go to Hawaii in 2015!  Better get ready for some heavy peer pressuring to go with us, family!

Below are our videos!!!!  I cannot watch them without smiling and giggling like a fool!

See Ben's here.  For some reason Blogger/YouTube will not let me pull up Ben's video to post as it did mine.

 

[Audio may not be working on the videos.  YouTube has claimed copyright issues with the songs Skydive Dubai used to make everything schnazzy.  I am not pleased.  Therefore, when I get a chance, I will try and upload these directly to Blogger!  OR you'll just have to make it a point to come to our casa when we are back and watch the DVDs with us!]

I already look forward to when we can go again!!!!!!!

P.s.  The nerdy Hawkeye fan in me made sure to get in the next set of photographs. I spelled out I-O-W-A with my hands which is part of a cheer.  :)

Sunset Camel Ride

It has been high on my to-do list of Dubai to ride some camels!! Since we decided to have a stay-cation over spring break, I thought it would be the perfect time to fit it in!

Ben and I made the hour or so drive out into the dessert to Al Sahra Desert Resort Equestrian Center.  Once we arrived, we followed the winding road to park and make our way to the camels.  Like with many things in Dubai, there weren't any signs or people around to really direct us and let us know where we were supposed to go.  It was a beautiful day and the place was very serene so we absolutely did not mind.  It was a very enjoyable walk.

When we made it to the camels, we were greeted by our two guides.  We were excited to learn that we were the only two on the sunset camel ride!! Woo hoo!! Our guides led one of the camels over so we could pet him and get in some pictures.  Ben and I both agreed that camel hair was more coarse than we thought it was going to be.  We learned some interesting facts about camels such as: 

-- Camels are able to swim while carrying things on their back.  Apparently, in some places in Egypt the camels are still used to transport goods and are made to swim across water. 

-- Camels can close their nostrils to keep out sand.  They can also continue to breathe with their nostrils closed. 

--  The whispy hair on the inside of their ears is to keep sand out.  They also have incredibly long eyelashes to do the same.

--  Camel's cannot walk on gravel.  Their feet are very soft and the gravel can hurt them, cause infection and in some cases lead to death.

--  A camel's hump is filled with fat.  Many people believe water.  That is false.

-- A camel's spine is straight.

-- Camels live between 30-50 years. 

-- When mating, the males can show they are enjoying themselves (or show dominance) by something that protrudes out of their mouth.  Apparently, it is quite appalling (according to one of our guides).

-- Camel milk is more nutritious than cows milk.  There is more iron and less cholesterol   We were able to taste some after our camel ride and it does taste different than cow's milk.  Camel milk is a bit more salty, has a stronger milk twang to it than cow's milk (if that makes sense) and is more rich.  Not bad, though.

--  Female camels mature faster than male camels by about 3 years. This is true of humans as well.  ;)

After our introduction and education it was time to ride!! Since we were the only two along for the ride we each got our own camel! Once we sat down, we had to lean back while the camel stood up because they lift their hind end first. Mine did it as soon as I was seated and scared the crap out of me, but I recovered quickly.  Then we were off!  We went on a 40 minute ride around the desert and were lucky enough to see a small gazelle and a desert hare (or fox, not really sure which).  Our legs and bums started to hurt after a bit since the sway of the camel and the way you are using your legs and back to steady yourself is something we are not used to.  

At the conclusion of our ride, we were able to taste camel's milk and play with a couple of miniature ponies before leaving.  We both agreed that we want to return and ride horses in the desert before leaving Dubai.

Prior to returning home, we stopped at the Mall of the Emirates to eat at the world's largest Cheesecake Factory.  

It was a truly memorable day/date!

From the Heart

So this may be a long shot, but I thought I would throw it out there anyway. . . 

At the end of this school year Ben and I plan to go through all of our belongings in Dubai to make the decision as to what we do or do not want to take with us back to the States.  An idea came to me to offer anything we did not want to take to the amazing Filipino women who work at our school.  In this country, Filipinos are close to the bottom of the food chain.  They are paid very minimally and expected to work incredibly hard for it.  Most of them are here because they are earning money to send home to support their families and do not get to enjoy the excitement of Dubai.  They just can't afford it. 

Back to my idea - I plan to wash any clothing Ben and I do not wish to keep and put together any household items that we are not taking home and offer them to the wonderful women we work with.  That being said, if you feel moved to donate anything, please feel free to package it up and send it to us!  It takes about a month or a little over to receive packages, so it would need to be done fairly soon.  I realize that this may not be something many people respond to, but I wanted to throw out the invitation out there anyway.

Our address:

Collegiate American School

Attn: Benjamin Jackson & Lyndsey Jackson

P.O. Box 121306

Umm Suqeim

Dubai, U.A.E.

Love to you all and see you soon!  

Zen

Home <3

Many things in the near future will be changing in our lives. We have a big move coming up, currently without a known destination.  This brings a lot of uncertainties such as jobs, where we will be living and the annoying task of finding a decent hair stylist. ;)  Instead of being my usual self and worrying like mad about the unknown, I am going to trust that everything will work out as it should and go lay by the pool. :)

Happy belated Easter to those of you who celebrate it!