From Tracie: March 2012

Friday, March 30, 2012

Shop In Your PJs - You Know You Want To Do It

Do you love to support a good cause?

Do you enjoy shopping without having to get dressed and leave the house?

Then the Band Back Together Auction is perfect for you!

Bidding will be open until Sunday night at midnight.

We have some super awesome stuff, so don't miss out.




After you finish looking at all the awesome things, feel free to hop over to Band Back Together and share your story - any story - we would love to read it! 


Blog Against Child Abuse - March 2012 Edition

The Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse is a monthly event. Its purpose is to raise awareness about the serious issue of child abuse. All forms of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, spiritual, verbal) are discussed.

Welcome to the March 2012 Edition of the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse!

Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse

Healing and Therapy:
-Healing from Journey of the Broken Pieces submitted, Dealing With Conflicts In T(therapy)
A great look at evaluating your situation with a therapist - dealing with conflict that arises, and deciding to stay or move on.

-Tammy Taylor from Here We Go submitted, Searching For Mama's Love
Tammy shares how having children of her own caused her to reexamine her relationship with her mother. 

-RebeccaPi from 1001 Things To Be Happy About submitted, Shoulder Angels
She wrote: "In this post I address my feelings as an ex-wife of a sex offender who abused my children and others. I hope I can help others in similar situations know that they are not alone."

-Kate from Kate is Rising submitted, Nice Library Visit
She wrote: "Identifying the things that I found brought bliss into my life was a part of my healing. Going out and doing those things is another part. This post is about an afternoon when I went out and did the things that are bliss. It was enjoyable and healing."



Advocacy and Awareness:
- Jan from The Wounded Warrior submitted, Coming Out of the Dark - Stand up and make your voices heard
This is a powerful call to action post.

-RebeccaPi from 1001 Things To Be Happy About submitted, Checking For Monsters
She wrote: "I recently started my 1001 Things To Be Happy About blog after discovering my husband had been abusing my children. So many people asked why I was able to keep going- even smiling- during all the really hard things. I've always loved to write and decided to make a site to offer support and encouragement to anyone going through hard times, especially discovering and recovering from abuse. I hope my words might help others be brave and make positive changes in their own world."


Survivor Stories:
-Tracie from From Tracie submitted, I Knew There Was Something Wrong When...
This is a post where I go into memories I have of my father that I haven't talked about before.


Aftermath:
-Kate from Kate is Rising submitted, The Thing About Dumbo
She said: "It can take time for the obvious connections from actions in my everyday life to my abuse history to hit me, one of those obvious ah-ha moments that are a common part of healing from a child of sexual abuse. This post is about one of those recent moments in my life."

-Kate from Kate is Rising submitted, Healing from Sexual Abuse in an Adult Relationship
She wrote: "Many outside the survivor community cannot understand or fathom an adult remaining in an abusive relationship. This post is about sharing about the impact of being an adult who survived child sexual abuse that caused vulnerability to further abuse, including being sexually abused by a partner. It's one of those topics that is only rarely talked about or shared, but something that many survivors carry a great deal of shame because we have been re-abused by those we had picked out to be involved with and who we trusted. This post is my attempt to speak out on this issue and to help us all release our collective shame and blame that we have accumulated over being re-abused."


Poetry:
-Tammy Taylor from Here We Go submitted, Round Two

-Jan from The Wounded Warrior submitted, For Every Child

-Tammy Taylor from Here We Go submitted, My Path

-Jan from The Wounded Warrior submitted, Stop Child Abuse

*********
The Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the serious issue of child abuse and to share important posts with others who might not be frequent readers of an author's blog. There are so many wonderful bloggers who are contributing to the cause of ending and recovering from child abuse. If you, as a reader or author, know of other blogs that you find helpful, please encourage them to submit to an upcoming issue of the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse so we can continue to receive high quality submissions from a wide swath of bloggers.
Many thanks to all of you who shared your hearts and stories with us, and to all of you who read the submissions and show your support. You keep this carnival, the awareness, support, and healing going each month.


To provide another way for you to stay in contact with the blog carnival, and make sure you don't miss any updates; you can like the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse Facebook Page


Thank you for raising your voice and speaking out against child abuse! 

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Mind Painting

I paint pictures in my mind.

Blues and Greens swirl together. A dash of red.

Light flows through leaves, casting a faint green hue on a notebook left carelessly thrown under a tree.

The shadow of a dragonfly resting on a yellow flower.

A small house at the end of a lane, with bookshelves on every wall barely illuminated by a waning fire.

A starry night.

Starry Night Van Gogh
(no, not this Starry Night, Van Gogh already painted this one)

A crumbling brick wall, once painted a vibrant blue, now faded to a dull grey. 

The ashes of a smoldering campfire. 

A field of white snow with old fence posts marking the boundary of what was once a horse farm. 

It is so easy, this mind painting. The colors always mix perfectly. The brush strokes are exactly right. No smudges or mistakes. 

Perfection. But perfection that only I can see. 

It is easy to keep beautiful thoughts and images to myself, safely locked away in my mind where no harm can come to them. 

Sharing, taking the step from imagining to creating, that is messy. 

Those same pictures that are so perfect in my mind won't be right on canvas. 

The words and stories that come so easily, especially in that magical place that exists in the fleeting moments between awake and asleep, don't flow from pen to paper without changes, and edits, and frustration.

Blots of ink. 

Creating is messy. 

But when the ink blots are cleared away, sometimes there is something beautiful left behind. When the words don't flow and the images in my mind are a fleeting memory - when the mess overwhelms - the hope of the beautiful inspires me to keep creating. 

Pour Your Heart Out

Monday, March 26, 2012

Listen To The Music

Listen.

Do you hear them?

The critiques.

The negativity.

The judgments.

They fill my thoughts.

I hear them leave my mouth. Words that tear down. Words that demoralize. I speak them over myself, over those around me, over situations and people beyond my control. They are toxic, these words of darkness and criticism.

I catch myself saying them, and try to stop before they infect my daughters thoughts.

It happened tonight when a song came on the television, "Ugh. That sucks, right? Who is listening to this junk?" I looked over at Katarina, and see her crestfallen face.

"I kind of like them," she asserts.

My first instinct is to school her on music - seriously, do all those years of good music mean nothing? The videos and documentaries, radio stations, concerts, and playlists? She has been surrounded by the best music her whole life, a wide range of it. Is it all going to be washed away in a flood of Disney stars?

I don't love the song, but I'm proud of her for not just going along with me, and my harsh appraisal. I hear a small inner voice say, "Stop. Let her make her own way. Ask her what she likes about this song. Give her a chance."

Tune out the negative words in your mind, and listen.


This is my first time linking up with The Lightning and the Lightning Bug. I have seen their lovely buttons all over the blogsphere, and happened to click over there today and find a prompt that was perfect for my day.


The prompt: Start your post with the word "Listen."

Friday, March 23, 2012

Good Things

As I focus on hope this year, I find that it helps me to stop and think about the good things: the stuff I'm thankful for, the moments of blessing, the light things in the midst of darkness.

Good things I'm thinking about today:
- Lazy mornings, with blueberry crumble bread and cream cheese breakfasts.

- Honeybees.

- Pads of blank paper, and new a package of pens.

- I have been working on the auction for Band Back Together, and Katarina wanted to help. She made a poster, using the rainbowiest of crayons and the puffiest of letters.
band back together auction poster
"Band Back Together the Auction
Starts on the 26th of March"
- Rainy afternoons.

- Spending time with a friend.

-  A blog post from Girl's Gone Child that rocked my face off this week.
"Because contrary to years of personal belief, feminism isn't about man-hate but woman-love. It isn't about demanding a front row seat but a fair and just place in line. Because when we stand up to those who push us down, we stand up for so much more than ourselves."

- Long, chatty emails that talk about everything and nothing.

- Movie nights.

- Hot tea with honey...and a smile.
orange mug with smiley face

-
 Giraffes.

- The word miscellaneous. 

- Flickering candles.

What good things are you thinking about today?

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Hope in Twinkling Lights

I asked my cousin if his parents fought and yelled at each other. He got really mad, and said that wasn't something people were supposed to talk about. I didn't mean to embarrass him, I just wanted to know if I was alone. I felt very alone.

Shouldn't married people love each other? I couldn't make sense of so many things in my life, and this was just one of them, but it was a big one.


***************

Sitting in a dark room listening to a youth group speaker talk about the pain of being a kid with divorced parents, I saw tears all around me. I cried tears of my own - over the pain of marriage. It didn't seem right, but it was how I felt.

***************

I kept my father's secrets for years. More secrets than I could count. Too many lies to easily keep them all straight.

I told my mom I was moving out, with or without her. I was relieved when she packed her boxes and moved with me. It wasn't an easy thing to do, and I was proud of her.

We bought a Christmas tree a few months later. It was full and beautiful, and we decorated it with white lights and blue and silver ornaments. A matching tree was something mom and I had wanted for a long time, but my father always said no.

I sat in the living room late one night, staring at the twinkling lights on our tree, and I felt free. I knew we we could make it through anything.


The prompt: A piece about (x), illustrated through (y).

For this week, we want the (x) to be hope.

A true story about hope, illustrated through your experiences.



Monday, March 19, 2012

Who Needs A Food Fight?

We don't do food fights at our house, but last night we had a huge baby powder battle. In the future I will think twice before I mercilessly tease Thomas when he is holding a full container of powder, because this is what happens:
Tracie covered in powder
There was so much powder in the air, the camera picked it up, 
and this was after I ran outside to get away from the powder-clouded room.

By the end of the night, everything was covered in powder - but we were all laughing too hard to clean it up. That makes me happy.

Now, you will have to excuse me, because I need to go vacuum (again!), and wash my hair (again!).


What is making you happy today?

Sunday, March 18, 2012

When I Want to Write Mean Letters to Steve

I know it is going to be a long night when I hear these words: "Tracie, click into youtube and look up _____."

Yesterday Thomas learned his coworker is related to an old wrestler. This gave him much joy, because he grew up watching wrestling and knows who all those people are, and remembers watching them on tv every Saturday.

When Thomas said, "Tracie, click into youtube and look up The Bushwackers," I did not roll my eyes, even though I wanted to. That is a lie. I did roll my eyes, I just didn't let Thomas see me roll my eyes. I was a nice wife, and I politely watched the first video:

I watched the second, third, fourth...I watched a lot of videos. Some of them were long.

Have I mentioned that I don't enjoy watching videos?

I watched the Bushwackers, and Hulk Hogan, and The Rock. Then Thomas unsuccessfully tried to find a video of Steve Austin hitting Mike Tyson (I must admit, I might have enjoyed that one). I watched Andre the Giant (who was so much better in The Princess Bride), and a lot of other people whose names I have already forgotten.

While watching the videos, I was busy composing this letter in my mind:

Dear Steve, Chad, and Jawed,
This letter is to not thank you for inventing youtube. Long nights spent watching wrestling videos and music videos with my husband are cutting into my blogging time. They are also making me lose my mind. You should have stuck with PayPal, then I wouldn't be thinking mean thoughts about you right now.


Sincerely,
Tracie (wife to a man who loves youtube - a LOT)

Only my letter was possibly less polite than that. Especially by the time we hit the sixth video.


Do you make your loved ones spend hours watching videos on youtube?

This was my Sunday morning five minute stream of consciousness writing. Set the timer for five minutes...and go! 

Friday, March 16, 2012

Saying Good-Bye to The Encyclopedia Britannica

My grandparents had a set of World Book Encyclopedia from the 70s. They were light blue. I loved reading them when I was little.

I especially loved the page with all the flags of the world, the page with the pictures of the basic alphabet in sign language, and the page that had an optical illusion of a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. He was drawn in red and blue, and if you stared at his nose for thirty seconds and then looked at a white wall, you would see him on the wall in proper color. It was weird, and I loved it.

The summer I was seven, I went to the mall with my parents and I saw a booth set up in the Sears with books. It was an Encyclopedia Britannica salesman, and I was immediately in love (not with the salesman, with the encyclopedias). They were beautiful, red and black covers with gold lettering. The pictures on the inside were amazing. They put my grandparent's old World Books to shame.

I wanted a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica. The salesman talked to my parents about credit options. It all sounded completely reasonable to me, they would serve as my Christmas, birthday, and Easter present for the next year. Or the next two years.

"The next five years. No other presents for five years, if we can just have these encyclopedias," I pleaded in exasperation that night, while looking at the shiny brochure the salesman sent home with me. My mother patiently tried to explain to me just how much they cost. We really couldn't afford them, I understand that now.

This scene repeated itself the next year when the encyclopedia salesman set up his booth in our Sears. I went home with a new, shiny brochure and two refrigerator magnets, but no encyclopedias. My father told me it was a ridiculous amount of money to spend on books that would become obsolete in a year or two.

The salesman eventually stopped setting up his booth in Sears after a few years. There were no new brochures or magnets to fuel my desire. 

Ad Encyclopaedia-Britannica 05-1913
Advertisement for the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica,
from the May 1913 issue of 
National Geographic Magazine. 
I read the World Books at my grandparent's house. I looked stuff up for fun and for school. In third grade I filled up a neat stack of index cards with information about the Pony Express and the history of mail in the United States for a research paper. In fourth grade there was a stack of index cards about Samuel Clemens. They were good encyclopedias, but in the back of my mind, I was always aware they weren't my beloved Encyclopedia Britannica.

My father brought home an early copy of the Compton's MultiMedia Encyclopedia for the computer. He was so excited that instead of just reading about the moon landing, you could watch a short video. I tried to be excited, but it seemed a shallow reproduction of the encyclopedias I wanted so badly, even with all the videos. (Clearly my love of real books instead of electronic versions is deep seated.) I never became proficient at looking things up with the computer program.

I almost bought the Encyclopedia Britannica in a used book store in my teens, but it wasn't a full set, so I held out.

In January, I was at the library with Thomas and Katarina, and they had the Encyclopedia Britannica in the reference section. I sat down with Katarina, and showed them to her. We looked up words, and maps, and countries, and I even found the page with all the flags of the world. It is all stuff we could have googled at any time, but it was special to sit on the floor with stacks of encyclopedias all around us, heads bent over the books, reading together.

Holding those books in my hands reignited my desire to have my own set. So you can imagine my sadness this week when I read that the after 244 years, the 2010 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica will be the final print edition, and all future editions will live online.

While the logical part of my brain understands that the digital edition will always be relevant and constantly updated- it won't be obsolete after one or two years the way my father assured me the printed books would be all those years ago - the rest of my brain does not want to accept it.

Although I never did get my printed set of Encyclopedia Britannica, there was always the thought and the hope that one day I would buy them (at $1,395 it is definitely not in my budget to get a copy of the final print edition now).

I'm left feeling nostalgic and a little heartbroken that there will never again be a new set of black and red encyclopedias sitting on shelves in living rooms all across the country. But if I ever find a complete set in a used bookstore, there will be black and red encyclopedias sitting on my shelves - no matter how old and obsolete they might be.

Good-bye Encyclopedia Britannica. I'll always love you.

Did you have a set of encyclopedias when you were growing up?

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Slow Breaths

It starts in my chest. A slight pressure. My heartbeats feel heavier, louder, almost painful.

"Take a deep breath, slowly" I tell myself, "And another. And another." I count to ten with each breath.

The pressure subsides. I feel my heartbeats return to normal.

I'm overcoming this anxiety one breath at a time.

But it leaves me wounded for the rest of the day, and sometimes longer.

A little, unrelated thing happens, and I feel those heavy heartbeats return.

"Take a deep breath....Do it!" Now I'm yelling in my mind. Not very calming, for sure, but I don't seem to be listening to myself very well.

Slow breathing isn't working, I need something more. Distraction time.
(flashing lights, confetti, games - that is what I'm imagining in my mind as I type that, but the reality is less of a carnival.)

I try to do something calming, that requires precise thought, to distract from the anxious thoughts and feelings. Eventually it works. The pressure releases, the heartbeats lighten. Calm.

Dinner cooked. Movie watched. Bedtime prayers and tucking in for my kid. The night progresses without incident.

I stay up much later than I should (this is my normal, anxiety or not), finally turning down the lights and snuggling into my pillow at 3am. Peace surrounds. The darkness of sleep rolls in. I reach for dreams, and...

Boom. I'm sitting up. The pressure intense, mind racing, heart pounding. Panic. I try to slow my thoughts enough to pinpoint what is causing this feeling.

I realize part of my brain has been tightly holding the anxiety in check since the afternoon, and it has come untethered.

Slow breaths. Prayers. Distraction.

Tomorrow will be a better day.


Saturday, March 10, 2012

Veggie Tales Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men Giveaway

The latest dvd from Veggie Tales, Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men, is based on the classic story of Robin Hood. In this movie, Robin Good and his friends fund raise from the rich to give to the poor.
Veggie Tales Robin Good
Their system works great until the prince starts stealing everyone's hams, and the townspeople stop donating to the merry men. Robin's friends decide to try robbing from the rich instead of fundraising, and when Robin won't do it, they leave him.

A lot of veggie-hilarity ensues, and some teachable moments, leading Robin to decide he can overcome his hurt feelings, and rescue his friends and the townspeople from a ham-loving giant.

The Veggie-Lesson is: No hurt is too big for God. I felt that the story did a good job with the focus on handling hurt, and also shared a lesson of hope.

The dvd includes a bonus short story, Lenny & the Lost Birthday, where a misunderstanding about leap year causes a boy to be very sad that no one remembered his birthday.


Thoughts from Katarina:
In the first story, I thought everyone was being really mean to Lenny (Jr. Asparagus), until I found out that it wasn't actually his birthday yet because of leap year. I think leap year should have its extra day added to the end of December, because it is the end of the year, and would make more sense.  
I liked that all the characters in the Robin Good story were dressed up, and Bob's hair was funny. I also liked that they added a giant, because giants always make things more exciting. I thought it was good that even though Larry's feelings were hurt when his friends left and did the wrong things, they were able to make up and work together in the end.
We all enjoyed this movie (I know I'm a bit old for it, but I still love watching Veggie Tales).

I know you need more Veggie Tales in your life, and I'm here to help.
I have one copy of Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men to give away to a reader.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Legal stuff: I was provided with a copy of the dvd, but was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are mine, and I was not required to say nice things. 

Friday, March 09, 2012

Things I Do Not Understand

-Why are mustaches suddenly so popular all over the internet?
Did I miss something? Is there a reason for this? Everywhere I look, I see mustaches.

-Why don't I have a Sprinkles Cupcake vending machine in my house?
I would be a great product tester. Call me Sprinkles.

-Why does time have to change on Saturday?
Can this time change nonsense end now? Arizona doesn't change times, and they are fine.

-Why are Disney Channel kids show so annoying?
I'm looking at you Ant Farm and So Random.
Phineas and Ferb, I will always love you.

-Why haven't more people read this post from Mommy Nani Booboo, that so beautifully articulates the reasons I blog she blogs?
Seriously. Go read it now.

-Why won't Disney Channel play shows from my childhood?
Remember when Road to Avonlea used to be on Disney?
Yeah. Those were good times.

-Why did the Capitol assign me to District 1 when I registered for Panem citizenship?
Hunger Games Citizen Registration Card
I saw this on BlogHer, and had to do it.  It is official (as if it wasn't already) I'm Hunger Games obsessed. 
Don't be concerned about my Distric 1 status, 
I promise I will use all my goldsmithing to make Mockingjay pins. 

-Why do I have 322 unread emails?
Wait. That one I do understand. I have been an email reading slacker this week.

-Why do people (my husband) put the toilet paper on on the roll upside down?
The toilet paper goes over the roll. Over! This is how it must be done.

What are you not understanding today?
Or do you have an answer for one of my questions - especially the mustache question, I feel like I've missed something important with all those mustaches. Why are they so popular?

Let's talk about it!

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

My Oreo Cookies Are Yellow

Today is Oreo's 100th birthday. Oreo and I are such close, personal friends. We go way back (not quite 100 years back - I'm not that old). Everyone lift up a glass of milk (except I have a glass of water, because I don't drink milk), and join with me in saying, "Happy Birthday Oreo!!"

After all the Oreo updates and celebrations I saw online all day (yes, I'm looking at you and your double stuffed Oreo love Beth), I was seriously wanting some Oreo cookies.

Thomas must have been reading my mind while he was at work, because he came home with this:
Spring Oreo

Not just Oreos, but Yellow Oreos!
Yellow Oreo

This is cookie perfection, and it is making me very happy! 

What is making you happy today?

*Oreo in no way sponsored this post full of cookie love. Which is good, because it is kind of hard to collect payment from a cookie after you have eaten it. 

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Accepting Submissions for the March 2012 Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse

The Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse is a monthly event. Its purpose is to raise awareness about the serious issue of child abuse. All forms of abuse (physical, emotional, sexual, spiritual, verbal) are discussed. We highlight blog posts that include: child abuse survivor stories, art and poetry, child abuse as a topic in the news media, as well as PTSD, disassociation, and other areas of abuse "aftermath" that adult survivors are forced to deal with. We also link to hopeful posts about therapy, recovery, and healing from abuse. All forms of child advocacy and awareness are included.

I'm starting this month's announcement with a little housekeeping.
The last few months have hit me hard, and I have been dealing with a lot of personal things. I'm sorry I haven't been as available as usual. Life is getting back on track now, and I'm excited to see lots of growth and participation in the carnival this year.

In the midst of that, we have had issues for the past six months with the Blog Carnival site - the most problematic one being them not emailing the submissions to the hosts. Because of that (and the frustrating lack of help over there) I have decided to create a form for us so I can ensure that no submissions are being lost. The form can be accessed at anytime here, and I will have it embedded at the bottom of this post.

I know change is difficult, but hopefully this will make it easier for the hosts each month, and will work well for submitters also. The information requested on the form is the same information you have been submitting at the blog carnival site, so there is no change there. Thank you for hanging with me as we move forward with this new system.

The March edition of the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse will be hosted here, at From Tracie. 

All of our regular categories will be open:
-Advocacy and Awareness
-Aftermath
-Healing and Therapy
-In the News
-Poetry
-Survivor Stories
-Art Therapy

The deadline for submissions is March 28th, and the carnival will be posted on the 30th. I'm excited to see what y'all share this month. You can submit something written especially for this edition, but please feel free to submit an older post as well.

If you are interested in hosting an upcoming edition of the carnival, please let me know! 

The Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the serious issue of child abuse and to share important posts with others who might not be frequent readers of an author's blog, and expose one's work to a wider audience. There are so many wonderful bloggers who are contributing to the cause of ending and recovering from child abuse. If you, as a reader or author, know of other blogs that you find helpful, please encourage them to submit to an upcoming issue of the Blog Carnival Against Child Abuse so we can continue to receive high quality submissions from a wide swath of bloggers.

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Hunger Games and Farting Elephants

On Sunday night I went to my friend Lee's house for an Oscars Party (look at her correctly predicting all the winners), and I came home with a farting elephant (seriously, he farts - I find this to be much funnier than it probably is).

This is Norman. He is an elephant who has a little issue with gas.
Norman the Phartephant

Norman was promptly welcomed to the family by Ally.
Norman Meets My Stuffed Elephant Ally

See how nice and friendly Ally was being toward Norman?
And then, Ally heard something, and afraid he was about to smell something...
Stuffed Elephant Smells Something

Ally held his trunk.
(Elephants do smell through their trunks, right?)
And then Ally ran away, leaving Norman (and his farts) alone.
Farting Elephant All Alone
Sad Norman.

I haven't been around the blog this week. Because I've been busy planning elephant photo shoots. Because I also came home with Lee's copies of the Hunger Games books, and I had to read and read and read - until I finished all three of them.

I know I'm about the last person on earth to read them, but if you are out there, and you haven't read them yet either, go run to the bookstore now and pick them up. Trust me. They are so good, you will thank me.

Although I haven't decided how I feel about the third book. But I'm not going to ruin it in case you have not read it yet. But if you have read them, I want to know if you liked the third book. And if you are planning on seeing the movies. And everything else you thought (can we have a book club meeting here and talk about these books? because they are the kind of books that cry out for discussion).

Now that I've finished the trilogy, I'm ready to:

  • Put away the tissues (yes, tissues were necessary). 
  • Do the dishes (everyone on facebook told me I didn't have to do dishes while there were Hunger Games books to be read, and I agree). 
  • Stop watching the movie trailer over and over, trying to figure out how badly they will ruin the story (I am holding out hope that it will be a good adaptation).
  • Rejoin the world.

What have you been doing while I was busy reading?