Tag: books

Book Review**Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

by Ariana Peters, posted in books

I know I am SUPER late jumping on this bandwagon but I finally read the book (the movie is in my Netflix queue).

This was NOTHING like what I thought it was going to be, I had an idea about the book from whisperings from other people and the movie posters and stuff but it was nothing like I thought it was going to be at all.

I didn’t think it was an incredibly fast-paced book but I was still enthralled with it. It is a longer book and well written. I actually really enjoyed it. I started to read the 2nd book right away but had to stop because I was getting board with the characters, also because it doesn’t really pick up where it left off which bugged me; eventually I will pick it back up and we’ll discuss it then.

If you haven’t read it I recommend reading it, I would say this is a middle of the road book, it’s not fun smut or chick-lit but its not super intense classics like book. You want to pay attention but you can walk away and come back to it pretty easily.

2 weeks until school starts

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, school/studying, Uncategorized

ARG!!! So frustrating! I am only take the 1 class this quarter, its $467 and some change and I can’t enroll in a payment plan!!!!! I set aside some money so yes I can pay for it in one chunk but I didn’t anticipate the book, lab manual and access code I need together all costing almost as much as the class! I need to find another $305.

The most frustrating thing about school is the cost and no I do not qualify for any financial aid since I already have a bachelors degree. Once I am accepted into a Nursing program it is a different story but currently I can get nothing. I hate feeling like I am getting penalized for not knowing what I wanted to do at 19 years old after my dad died and my whole life and life plan was turned upside down (we wanted to open a bakery and café together). I kept going forward on the plan I had set with him because at the time if you were over 18 and wanted to keep your parents insurance you had to be enrolled in college full time so I kept going and got my degree. I now know what I want to do in life and it feels like it is 10x harder to achieve it. I am starting back at the bottom except that now I have more bills, more debt and more responsibilities on top of school. I don’t want to complain, there are people out there who have it much worse and much harder than I do, it is just frustrating. Ok rant over.

Now I need to figure out where to get that extra $300 from.

I’ll check back in next week and hopefully let you know my book and class have been paid for and that I am all set to start the quarter.

4 weeks until school starts.

by Ariana Peters, posted in school/studying

bookThat book costs how much???

And the time has come to start pricing books and looking for less expensive options. Hopefully amazon has it listed for much less expensive than it says here.

Ok I just looked and the same book is used for all 3 anatomy classes I have to take (at least at this school) remember how I am enrolled in both community colleges since I am not sure where I am going to end up. Lets see what the other school says, The other school is about $50 cheaper in their bookstore and of course it is a different book.

Let’s hope in the next 2-3 weeks it becomes a little more clear where I will be taking the class. It is highway robbery about much textbooks (and everything to do with school for that matter) costs.

That is where I am at for now. Time is ticking down quickly!!

 

Book Review**Escape by Carolyn Jessop

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, healthy lifestyle

Image result for escape by carolyn jessop(Image from Google)

Holy wow I thought this was an amazing book. I knew a little about FLDS and of course we’ve all heard of things like Waco and Warren Jeffs butt to hear a first hand account is so intense.

I have also wondered how people let themselves get into situations like this so it was good to read one and realize that most are born into it and that the adults who did choose it, usually chose something very different in the beginning then it ended up slowly becoming something different.

It is devastating to learn how trapped these people are and how few if any lifelines there are for them to escape and yes escape is a true description, you cannot just walk away.

Overall just an amazing read, I highly encourage this read no matter what you believe in, it is very interesting.

*Just because I said I didn’t know much about FLDS does not mean I think all FLDS people or communities are like this. If CONSENTING ADULTS want to be polygamists more power to them. I just found this to be interesting and informative about one person’s journey.

 

 

Book Review**The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, healthy lifestyle

Image result for the girl with the seven names (image from Google)

Oh man, just like the last book, Lilac Girls, this was sometimes very intense but so good. I only knew the vaguest things about North Korea and now I feel like I know so much more. I always wondered how dictators got away with things and now I know a little better. They keep their people ignorant.

The struggles that she and her family went through are amazing. The strength and courage all the defectors show is amazing. I found this to be a thoroughly interesting story.

Day 7 of 28 day cleanse

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle

Today is a prime example of what happens when you don’t prep. I was tired from hiking and didn’t prep anything Friday night and woke up late Saturday morning so I had no time to make anything, I also slept horribly and needed coffee. Insert Starbucks here.

Breakfast was the reduced fat turkey bacon sandwich. I did have leftover pasta and garlic bread for lunch thankfully.

This was snack:

How is it possible that something that should be pretty healthy for you is so many weight watchers points????? All the individual components are good for you.

When I got home this had arrived from Amazon! Can’t wait to start coloring and learning!

This happened, my roommates made butterfinger cream cheesecake kind of think. Holy crap was it rich, that is the actual size piece I took, minus one bite and that was more than enough. Sugar coma totally.

To combat the sugar coma I had a quesadilla I microwaved and a salad then read and went to bed.

And with that I am ready to get back to my 3 days of juicing!!!!!

Overall the last 4 days I feel pretty good about what I ate. The dessert wasn’t great and I had some cookies before the hike on Friday and Red Robin isn’t the healthiest choice but overall I think I did pretty good.

Ready to start week 2?!

Question and answer

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, training

Howdy!!!

Yesterday morning I went to a Bikram Yoga class with my roommate for the first time in…..idk probably 3ish years. OMG was it brutal!!!!!!!!! I remember going when I was in good shape and loved it and thought it was not easy but I didn’t usually feel like I was going to die. I had to sit down several times and felt nauseous through the entire second half of the class, but I will get better!!!

I went home and ate everything in site, took a shower then laid down and ended up napping for about 20 minutes before getting ready for work.

I love the concept of taking a nap but I always wake up feeling groggy and with a slight headache and it takes me FOREVER to fully wake up. But other people swear by mid-day naps, this got me thinking about the things people swear by and thought I would do a little question and answer session. I am going to answer some question and ask that you comment your answers as well!

Here we go:

Naps: for or against?

I am for them but not sure they are for me

Coffee or tea?

Oddly both. I will generally take coffee over tea most days but as I get older my stomach doesn’t always handle coffee as well.

Starbucks or independent?

Both but I heavily favor Starbucks. Because they are corporate they are very consistent, I know what I am going to get every time. I like some independent coffee places but most of the time they are not strong enough for me and therefore not worth the calories of the frothy drinks I get.

Your favorite color?

Some people have their favorite color play a HUGE part in their life, mine plays a moderate part in my life, its is green, pretty much all shades found in nature.

Running: people tend to either love it or hate it

Of course I love it, I just hate having to get back in shape.

Books: take em or leave em?

TAKE EM! 100% take up for me, I am a total book lover. As I get older though I am now going to book binge periods, like I wont read for 4-5 months then I will devour 5 books in 3 days. Though I am trying to fix that by making a book club with my friends on Facebook. We are reading 1 book a month. I have 3 days to finish June’s book and I am on chapter 2. But I can do it! hahaha.

What is your phobia?

Arachnophobia for sure, I hate spiders, they skeeve me out, but I am much better than I used to be. If push comes to shove I am usually kill one if there is no one else to do it and if it is small enough and on the other side of the room I will generally just leave it alone.

I also have trypophobia, which is a fear of holes, sounds super weird but Google trypophobia and tell me some of those pictures don’t make your skin crawl, also this phobia is not recognized as a true phobia in the scientific community. This is one I am definitely working on because in the medical field I am going to see all kinds of gross things and I cannot run away from them.

Favorite food?

Pizza hands down,  very close second is Mexican food.

Hot or cold weather?

Generally I would take cold over hot because I can always put more layers on, you can only take so much off when it is hot. I do get to a point though where I have been in the cold too long and am sick of it.

Ideal vacation?

Truthfully my ideal vacation is a little cottage on the beach, like an East coast, Oregon/Washington coast kind of beach, sweater weather. Going for walks/runs in the misty morning air, and lounging in the house the rest of the day with books and movies and a fire going. Having pizza and floor picnics, afternoon naps. Just super relaxing. For a whole week.

Hilariously, though this is my ideal vacation, it is also the vacation I have never taken. My vacations tend to be go, go, go. The closest I got was 2 days at my bf’s family beach house last November.

I can’t wait to read your answers!!! And if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

 

Book Review**Good Christian B*tches

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, healthy lifestyle

Did anyone watch this TV show? It only ran for 1 season, if that? I thought it was funny though. Now that I have read the book I want to see if I can find that 1 season anywhere and compare it.

This book was pure chick lit, very little substance as far as I am concerned. It was actually kind of an infuriating read, the women in the book, the b*itches, were horrible and so unchristian which I get is the point of the book but the main character just laid down and took it for so long it drove me CRAZY!

This is definitely not a book I would read a second time and I don’t feel the need to recommend it to anyone. I also felt like the ending was very rushed, there was this big build-up then a jump to the finish.

A positive of the book was the development of the mother-daughter protagonists, I really enjoyed that and thought it was sweet.

All in all, I hate to say it, but don’t waste your time. The few episodes of the TV show are much funnier.

Book Review**Die Again by Tess Gerritsen

by Ariana Peters, posted in books, healthy lifestyle

I love Rizzoli and Isles books so any one of them I read I would generally give it a good review hahaha. I particularly liked this one though and maybe because it was a little different. It jumped back and forth between past and present letting the story unfold slowly and I really liked that. It also took a story that took place on safari in Africa (the past part of the story) and tied it to present day Boston with Rizzoli and Isle. I think that aspect brought a little more depth to the book in my opinion or maybe it just made it more interesting. Either way I enjoyed the book a lot.