Denverstone 2012, Plan Changing, and Tacky Tuesday!

Denverstone 2012 (a.k.a. Yolostone) was an epic success! I had so much fun. We didn't see any bears but it is a disappointment that I'm starting to get over. We started off going to Denver. After we almost ran out of gas on the interstate (thanks to Adrian) we made it safely into the city. We went and visited Tory's uncle at the firehouse that he works at. It was pretty cool. He gave us a tour and showed us what they do with all their down time. It was definitely something neat to learn about. After that, we went to Tory's aunt's house and met the family. They had a very nice house and three gorgeous daughters. There were also two dogs, a goldfish, and miscellaneous window dwelling animals. On day 2 we went to Elitch Gardens and got our roller coaster on.

I was doing really well until we got on the Sidewinder. The Sidewinder is a short track roller coaster that shoots you to the end and then reverses you backwards to where you started. I was not okay with going backwards. It kind of turned me off. Luckily there was only one more roller coaster after that so I didn't miss much. I really liked the lazy river and wave pool in the water park.

There was an unfortunate almost drowning incident while the wave pool was going (which Tory found amusing) but I was only temporarily on the brink of death. :) Sprinterbadger was on the fritz so we took the bus/van to a mechanic. The next morning we headed into the wild blue yonder. 11 hours later, we rolled into the Grand Tetons. We stayed out there for a few days, went on a very non-scenic hike, and visited an exciting Jackson Hole T-Shirt store before heading into Yellowstone. The days blend together after that. We saw Old Faithful, watched a herd of buffalo stall traffic for a strange amount of time, looked for bears, and drank unknown amounts of beer. Everything was beautiful and so vast that it made me feel very small and insignificant. I really enjoyed just staring into the endless sky. The mountains went on forever and it seemed like you could follow it to the end of the world. I couldn't duplicate that feeling anywhere else on the planet. The 20 hour drive back was grueling enough to make one forget the beauty, but luckily I took pictures!

Upon my return, I changed my plans up a bit. Kenny isn't going to be ready to move to Chicago until November so I'll be hanging around Vermillion for a little longer than expected. I've moved from Ashley's apartment into Erin's 2nd bedroom and am settling in for a couple more months of living the dream. :S I think living with Erin is going to be great. She is most definitely going to inadvertently teach me to be the cleanest me that I can be. She is scary neat. I'm so jealous. Even when I'm at my best her housekeeping abilities put mine to shame. I'm going blame my cats for the reason that I don't have nice things and leave it at that. This plan change might be for the best though. We booked our trip to Disney World (!!!) and I'll be able to save more money living in South Dakota. I'm going to take my lemons and make the best lemonade ever! The main downside to not having my own place is that Samcat isn't doing very well. She isn't happy to be at my parent's house and she isn't eating very well. I was home last weekend and she's probably lost about 2 pounds. Poor baby. The kittens are thriving and will be just fine. Lola finally put on some weight which is good for her. So I just have to keep Samcat from falling into the pits of emotional despair for a couple more months and then rescue her from the bad place. It will be nice to have three cats in bed with me again...which is why I'll never get married...

TACKY TUESDAY!!!

I'll keep it short today because I've been awfully long-winded up to this point. I find crying children to be extremely tacky. As we traversed the mountain side, there were children everywhere on vacation with their families. And it seemed as though all of those children were being tortured. They were all screaming and crying like they were being stabbed in the eyelids. I just can't see the appeal in having any of those. Even more tacky are the parents who just stand there and don't do anything while their child's shrieks impede on other people's vacation. I'm trying to enjoy myself and talk to my friends but they can't hear me over the ill-behaved infant that nobody will shut up. If you can't keep your kid quiet, leave them at home! Another reason that I'll probably never get married...

Bared to You

Goodreads Synopsis:

He was beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily...

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other's most private wounds... and desires. The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart...


Bared to You by Sylvia Day
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm NOT going to compare this book to Fifty Shades of Grey. That seems to be the theme of most reviews. It has similarities but I think they are in entirely different leagues so I won't waste my breath. That being said, I really enjoyed Sylvia Day's writing style. I liked the way she characterized and I like that she made these two people a match for each other. I think she would have been better off leaving out the reveal of dominant and submissive. It didn't need saying because it was written so well into the subtext. It seemed forced when it was brought up and out of character for both Gideon and Eva. It made Eva weak where she had been strong and added a coldness to Gideon when he was naturally developing warmth.

I loved that Eva was firey and comfortable with herself. She was developed well as a victim who came back and perservered despite an awful childhood. She had her pick of men and owned her sexiness. She didn't take any crap from anybody and could hold her own against anyone. After the mention of her being a submissive, she became weak and I didn't like her anymore. It is a horrible thing for someone who came from her background to end up submitting to a man when she's worked so hard to overcome those demons. It totally reverts all of the work she's done on getting past being a victim. It was very sad. She started spouting her declarations of love and it just got so needy and old. I just don't understand how you go from completely independent to completely co-dependent in one day. The same goes for Gideon. He was so used to having short-term sexual relationships and then suddenly he turned his entire life upside down after knowing this woman for a week.

Perhaps the plot was just too fast paced for me. I understand that if I had to wait for this plot develop over an extended period of time, it could get boring. I have to believe there is a correct pacing though. It is all so irrational. All of their personal problems point to trust issues and a need to be assertive and independent. You don't break through all of your old issues and run the emotional gamut so quickly. They need to be thoroughly medicated if their personalities are altering themselves that quickly.

I'm not sure what role Cary will play throughout the remainder of the series. He seems really important to Eva but his last scene in the book was rather awkward and unresolved. He also has mood swings but at least he has a cause in the shape of his drug addiction. Everyone is very emotionally complex. It can be a lot to deal with. Despite that, I really cared about the characters. Well...I cared about Eva and Cary. I didn't really care about Gideon's emotional well being. I think that will change as I get to know more about him but for now, I'm left wanting for everything besides the extremely detailed descriptions of his penis.

All of the above comes off pretty negative....but I really did like the book and am excited to see what happens next. The chemistry is fantastic and I'm hoping that some of my issues will be taken care of as the characters continue to develop. More than I'm excited to read the rest of this series, I'm excited to read more of Day's books. She has a gift. She can make me enjoy a book with questionably tasteful content. I'd love to see what she can do with something really interesting. Day timed this series perfectly to get the most exposure and the most positive feedback. Kudos.

View all my reviews

Yellowstone, New LapTop, and the Olympics!

Tomorrow is the day! I'm finally hitting the road for anywhere but here. :D In roughly four hours, I'll be loading up the van/bus and heading for Denver. After going to Elitch Gardens and perhaps the zoo, we will head out for Yellowstone. I can't wait to relax and read and be with my friends and not be at work and not be in Vermillion. This adventure is long overdue and the next four hours will not go by fast enough. As soon as I get back I'm diving into rehearsals so I really need to live it up!

I got a new laptop! I'm typing on my pretty new Gateway. It isn't perfect yet because I'm experiencing the hardships of buying a laptop without all of my programs pre-loaded. It can get really expensive! Just buying Microsoft Office is ridiculous. It's especially ridiculous because I just want Word. If I wanted to buy word separately, it would only be about $10 less. Sooooo silly! More than I'm upset about that, I'm just excited to have a new computer. I can blog whenever I want and check my email and look at facebook....my life makes sense again. I don't know how to use half of the buttons yet....but some things take time!

The U.S. is rocking it out at the London Olympics! I've been hijacking Phil's television as often as possible so that I don't miss a moment of gymnastics and swimming awesomeness. We have been yo-yoing back and forth with China for highest medal count but I'm confident that we'll end up on top! Despite a rough start, Michael Phelps became the most decorated Olympian of all time and Gabby Douglas won the women's individual all-around. The men's gymnastics team tanked like rock stars and it was super hard to watch. I felt so bad for them. They had such high hopes and they looked so good in the qualifiers but they just didn't deliver. I can do nothing but feel sorry for them. I can't imagine being under that kind of pressure. It takes nerves of steel. Despite that bauble, job well done U.S.A.!!

I will definitely update with the hilarity of camping and adventures!