Book Recommendation

Per Uncle Craig's request, I am recommending the book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. One of the most moving and meaningful books I have read in a very long time.

See what you think!
Kara

Happy Birthday

Happy 30th Birthday to Kerri!

Time Travellers

An interesting counterpart to our most recent Book Club Pick is F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." I had forgotten about this story until I saw a trailer for a movie of the same name on TV (looks like it's going to come out later this year). In the story, the main character, Benjamin, is born mentally young, but with the body of an old man. Over the course of his life, he grows mentally older and physically younger, until at the end he is mentally and physically like a baby and his existence comes to an end. In the story (the middle of his life sometime) he meets a girl and I think they eventually get married, but it doesn' t work out (he is growing physically younger and she is growing physically older). A really neat little story - and a lot shorter than Time Traveller's Wife!

Invitation

Hi Everyone - Thanks Melanie for the information about signing in!

Posting

I don't know a heck of a lot about administering blogs, but it would be nice if we could all post with our own author "identities." That way we would always know whose post is whose without having to necessarily "sign" it. It's really easy to set up a Google account (what you need to sign into the blog independently) and once you have done it, your computer will most likely keep you signed in. I "invited" a bunch of family (via "Permissions" in the Settings tab) with the email addresses that I have. However, I know I don't have everyone's email address (or current email address), so maybe everyone could help out with that. If you want to "invite" yourself, feel free: click on Dashboard, then Settings, then Permissions, then Invite and insert your email address. Or, if that is too much, send me your current email address and I will "invite" you. My email address is: mstebay@hotmail.com

All you need to do to get set up is to click on the link in the invitation email and follow the instructions. You need a pre-existing email address and then you create a user name and password and that's it! Easy breezy!
-Melanie

Hi everyone. After a brief hiatus, I finished the book as well (I kind of lost momentum in the middle due to summer vacations, weddings, school starting, etc). I thought it was an entertaining read. I didn't really know much about it before I started reading, so I had very few expectations up front (in terms of it being a love story, or what you will). I have to agree with Larry, though, that there were several times that I found myself very confused about who was when and where. I think the idea of creating this relationship between Henry and Claire through and amidst time is an interesting one with potential, but the author never really made that happen. It's almost like she figured out an easy formula that worked for a chapter or two and then created the whole book around that - the form of the novel couldn't really sustain itself! It seemed like there were some problems with Henry's going backward in time and interacting with himself also (truly, I'm not a sci-fi geek!). In the end, I just wanted more of a trajectory and defining moment to cap it off. Overall not my favorite book, but I'm glad I read it nonetheless.

Also, what a great slide show Kerri! I would love to know how you did that.

-Melanie

Slide Show!

Slide Show

Hi Everyone! I have been playing around with different ways to post and I made this slide show of our trip to Seattle! I have been working on The Cardenas Family blog this evening. I learned how to make slide shows and add music to my blog. Check it out at www.anthonyandkerricardenas.blogspot.com
Have a good night! Kerri

Wedding Pictures

Hi everyone! I think I have finally recovered from wedding maddness! I recently got all of my wedding pictures loaded on to Costco.com. In case anybody is iterested in having some printed, email me your Email address and I can share them with you. There are some very cute pictures of the kids on there and tons of others to look through! Costco has really good prices on print outs and you can pick them up or have them mailed to your house. Anyways, my email address is Ewee54321@hotmail. com, so if you are interested, email me your address and I will add you on to the account. Hope everyone is well! Erin

Summer is waning

Summer is waning. I've been reflecting on all that's happened recently. I think it was recently...it all developed so quickly. A back-operation, with all of its ongoing complications, two weddings, and vacations stuffed in-between. Oh!Including, five trips to Tacoma for medical assistance. Rest and recuperation at Gig Harbour. Thank you..Rick and Jennifer for being so kind. Both weddings went well. Each ceremony unique. The brides were beautiful and the grooms handsome. Most importantly we welcomed Megan and Tyler into our family. Melanie, Steve and Archie got to visit for almost three weeks. They were a great help setting up for Ewee's wedding. We did get some post wedding time at Twin Lake, Idaho. School has started and Chan is back to work. She has only fourteen students in her class. That's unusual; And good. Life has slowed. I'm getting a bit antsy tryng to figure out ..what I can do..this fall to occupy my time. Sitting is still a real problem for me. I writing this blog on my knees. Also, picking up anything the weighs more than a pound is trouble..it exacerbates my numbness. I do have my rock tumbler rolling. It has rocks from Jennifer's beach. I've got a small collection of rocks I'm waiting to show Campbell and Iva. Rock collecting and identification can be fun. I just finish The Razor's Edge. I recommend it. I'm thinking I might like to learn a foreign language. This will keep me busy. Au revoir. Craig p.s. where is the underline function on the blog page.

This book--AARRGGGGHHHHHH! Not my idea of a love story. With all the jumping from time era to time era I think I got lost in time. I found myself having to go back to the headings to remember everyone's ages at the time. This could well have been called just " The Time Traveler." I thought the plot centered more on Henry than it did on Claire. Also, I had a tough time grasping the idea of going back in time and interacting with yourself. Wouldn't it cause all kinds of paradoxes? The author has Henry saying he can't take anything through timr for fear of altering the future.{ paraphrasing } But at different points in the story Henry goes back in time and teaches himself how to pick pockets, gives advice to his friend on the stockmarket, and when he has a vasectomy at age thirty-seven goes back when he's thirtyt-three and gets Clair pregnant. Wouldn't those things alter the future? Interesting premise but not my cup of tea. Larry

Book Choice

Well, I finally finished the book.. which these days is an accomplishment in itself. Because I am not a book critic, I am able to say that I thought it was worth reading, not my favorite book ever, but definitely not my least favorite. It was a little strange in parts, but I read it to the end... which is a good thing. If it was my least favorite I would have never finished it. I guess I am kind of shallow in the reasons why I read a book...if it is relaxing and keeps my interest I am happy.
I just started The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It is going to be a very quick read. I am really enjoying it so far. I know it has been talked about A LOT in the media, etc. but with all the hype around it, I still feel like his message is worth reading. If we are looking for a new book to read for the book club, it would definitely be one to consider (plus I might have a head start:) I have only read a chapter or 2, but it has touched me on many levels.. as a parent of small children, as an adult who had a great childhood, as an adult with more to accomplish and lastly, as a parent who has had a child die before them. Think about it.. I would highly recommend it.
Hope everyone is doing well, happy and healthy. I will get busy and post some pictures of the kids soon. Kara

MyTake

I finished. My brain has been on simmer the last few days trying to "take in" the content of this book. Wow! There not much I liked about this book. This isn't my idea of a love story. I've been questioning myself and my evaluation...am I an old fuddy duddy, old fashioned, am I too critical...well...maybe,maybe and I don't think so... in the end,I realized re-reading it wouldn't change my opinion. So..In conclusion, I beleive the negatives are to many to ponder. I appreciated the author's use of foreshadowing. Whew! I did get one plus mark. Thank you, Kerri for the book selection. Im hopeing others enjoyed it more than I. Craig.

p.s. do I still get to come to taco monday?

"Let's Get This Party Started"

This book held my interest only because I kept expecting something "significant" to unfold. It was billed as a love story, but it didn't have the emotional bang that I would expect from a love story (Doctor Zhivago, Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet). So, maybe my expectations were too high. When it didn't pan out as a powerful love story for me, I then expected something wildly creative to happen in the course of Henry's time traveling, but again, nothing really changed from the beginning to the end besides Henry popping in and out of the present into the future and past, and a fair amount of self-indulgent sex. And, it's not the kind of book that I could enjoy reading simply for the pleasure of the writing. So, I found myself reading it for the fun of it, but it flopped in the category too, for me anyway. I'm curious to know what others thought, because I'm wondering if I'm too cynical, or if anyone else read it and thought, "What?!" With that said, I certainly do not regret reading the book. I like the fact that the family book club encourages me to read books I would not pick on my own. So, Kerri, I don't intend this to be intense critcism, but it is a book club, so we do need to fling some opinions around a bit to get things started.