Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! The last time I updated was Halloween, and I'm not sure how much I'll be updating in 2011. I may try to get back to the photo a day (or week, or month), or I may just to continue to update with family photos on Facebook.
Instead of the photo a day in 2010, my goal was to read 100 books, and I finished the year with 111.

Favorites:
Under the Dome by Stephen King
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (this was a re-read for book club)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (a re-read)
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
Room by Emma Donoghue
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Not quite favorites but also really good:
This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Horns by Joe Hill
Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
Columbine by Dave Cullen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
So Much for That by Lionel Shriver
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Should not have wasted my time, aka Yuck:
How To Be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward
Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer
Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krauss
The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano
No Time to Wave Goodbye by Jacqueline Mitchard

The complete list:
January:
Under the Dome by Stephen King
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
UR By Stephen King
Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman
Push by Sapphire
How to be Lost by Amanda Eyre Ward

February:
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (book club)

March:
The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers
Horns by Joe Hill
Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo? by Jancee Dunn
Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst
A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas
Conversations with the Fat Girl by Liza Palmer
Being Dead by Vivian Vande Velde
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again by Suzanne Hansen
Time of My Life by Allison Winn Scotch
The Apothecary's Daughter by Julie Klassen

April:
I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (book club)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin

May:
Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Krauss
While I'm Falling by Laura Moriarty
The Unnamed by Jonathan Ferris
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
Pretty in Plaid by Jen Lancaster
The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano
No Time to Wave Goodbye by Jacqueline Mitchard
Love is a Mix Tape by Rob Sheffield
Tiny Ladies in Shiny Pants by Jill Soloway
Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

June:
Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster
The Zygote Chronicles by Suzanne Finnamore
Ask Again Later by Jill A. Davis
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah (book club)
Little Bee by Chris Cleave

July:
The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Shit My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
Her by Laura Zigman
Thank You for All Things by Sandra Kring
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (a re-read)
Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose
Traveling Light by Katrina Kittle

August:
My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
Columbine by Dave Cullen
The Strain by Guillermo del Toro
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
The Solace of Leaving Early by Haven Kimmel (book club)
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

September:
Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (book club)
Reproduction is the Flaw of Love by Lauren Grodstein
Still Life with Husband by Lauren Fox
An Innocent, A Broad by Ann Leary
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
The Kids Are All Right by the Welch siblings
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg

October:
Why We Suck by Denis Leary
The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall
The Irrestible Henry House by Lisa Grunwald
Blockade Billy by Stephen King
The Colorado Kid by Stephen King
The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer
I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
How Did You Get This Number by Sloane Crosley
The Stormchasers by Jenna Blum
Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok

November:
Day After Night by Anita Diamant
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Half-Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman (book club)
Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman
The Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman
The Last Time I Saw You by Elizabeth Berg
Blood and Smoke by Stephen King
My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
So Much for That by Lionel Shriver
This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs

December:
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Here's The Story by Maureen McCormick
Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster
You Better Not Cry by Augusten Burroughs
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
25 Days, 26 Ways to Make This Your Best Christmas Ever by Ace Collins
You'll Never Blue Ball in This Town Again by Heather McDonald
The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke
Room by Emma Donoghue
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Started but didn't finish: 2 (The Carrie Diaries, The Solitude of Prime Numbers)
Total: 111
Classics: 5
Nonfiction: 30
Trilogies: 2
Audiobooks: 9

Happy Halloween!

Two points if you can guess what the dogs' costume theme is.

Homecoming

Cam's team won their homecoming game this afternoon. Here he is celebrating with the Knights' sword:

Then they all went to the homecoming dance.
Cam, Tanisha, Delaney, and Pat:

More puffins and other birds

Besides puffins, we also saw these razorbills on Machias Seal Island:
and these murres:

Puffins!

Finally, some more puffin photos! I love these little guys so much.

Down East

I'm finally posting some more photos from my trip to Down East Maine this summer...

The lighthouse at Fort Point State Park:
The Penobscot Narrows Bridge in Bucksport:
I love Maine:
Oh, the irony:
Giant blueberry:

Tiny low-bush blueberry:
More puffins to come!

Jessie's visit

From Jessie's visit home in August:

Three of my favorite people: Jessie, Mom, CourtneySisters
Jeff and Jess

First Day of School 2010, part 2

Delaney requested a new first day of school photo because she says the first day didn't count because she had to dress for outdoor activities and only freshmen were there. :-D So here's the real first day of school outfit. Cam lolling on his bed playing on Facebook because he doesn't have to be in to school until 10:00.

First Day of School 2010

Delaney headed off to her first day of high school. She was wicked nervous! And she missed the bus. But other than that it's been a great morning. Cam starts his senior year tomorrow.

Mini Reunion

Last week Chris and I headed to Mount Desert to meet up with a few college friends for the day.
This is me with two of my sorority sisters (UMaine class of '89, woot!), Kim and Jen. Kim lives in Mount Desert with her husband Owen. Jen lives in South Carolina with her husband Scott and was in Maine for vacation. Kim and Jen were roommates in college and were friends with Chris before I even met him, and Kim was a bridesmaid in our wedding.
Chris, me, Kim, Owen, Jen, and Scott. We're University of Maine grads, all of us class of 89 except for Owen, who we didn't meet until Kim started dating him a few years after graduation.
We had a wonderful time catching up and reminiscing and capped off our day with dinner at Havana restaurant in Bar Harbor, whose claim to fame now is that it's the restaurant the Obamas dined at during their trip to Bar Harbor this summer.
Owen's family owns http://mountdesertcampground.com/, which is absolutely beautiful. We're glad he was able to take time during his busiest season to hang out with us.

Stud Puffins

A few more puffin photos:



A razorbill and a puffin:

Do you know the puffin, man?

My puffin trip was worth every penny! More about that later, but for now here's just a couple of the hundreds of photos I took on my trip:

Maine Day at Fenway

Sunday was Maine Day at Fenway. It was SOOOOOO hot! We took pedicabs from the parking garage to the park. Here's Delaney and her friends.

Kingfield Days

Saturday we headed to Kingfield for the parade at Kingfield Days and to visit with the family. I think I OD'd on baby cuteness.

Not a baby, but still cute. Declan:
Lots of Willow (6 months):








And some Ronan (almost 2 months). He looks a little scared in this one, like that other baby might eat him:




No black-and-white for you, Ronan. We need to see the tie-dye onesie.