Book Beginnings and Bookends - CeeCee Wilkes - Chapters 21-35

You can link up here if you have read the book too!  Can't wait to read everyone else's answers!

1. Do you think Tim is the one sending the money?
   I think that it's possible that Tim is the one that sent the money.  With the $5000 that he gave to CeeCee before, he has the money somehow.  If it's him though, I'm suspicious how he found out where CeeCee was.  And why he was sending the money, what was the connection?  Maybe I'm looking into this too much, but if he was in hiding I don't think that he would have been able to gain access to his money.
   
   
2. So far, there's been a lot of discussion on CeeCee/Eve and her choices. What choice(s) would you make differently from her?
   I think it's hard to say you would make different choices that what CeeCee/Eve made.  All along I've said I would make different decisions.  I don't think that I could have gone through with it to begin with, but if I had gone through with it, then maybe I would have made the same decisions as her all along.  Keeping it from Jack would have been tremendously difficult, I feel like at some point I would have had to tell someone, it just doesn't seem like a good way to start out a marriage.
   
   
3. What do you like about Jack? Are there things about him that you don't like?
   Jack seems so personable and likable.  It's hard not to like him, he just kind of swept in.  He seems like such a good guy and someone that would be great for Eve.  Very genuine and passionate about his acting career.  I don't think that there's much about him that I don't like really.  He might be a little pushy for my taste.
   
   
4. What are the differences between CeeCee/Eve's relationship with Tim and Eve's relationship with Jack?
   I think that this relationship is different then the one with Tim as Eve is a much more mature person now.  I think she has "learned her lesson" and doesn't easily let her guard down.  She is cautious and wary of new people.  I think that she needs this relationship with Jack to feel like a normal person again.  Her relationship with Tim was one of lust and immaturity where her relationship with Jack seems to me more based on love and feelings.
   
   
5. Do you think Eve is to blame for Cory's fears? What could she do, specifically, to help Cory feel like less of an outsider?
   This is kind of a hard question to answer, after reading the whole book I had a bit of a different opinion I guess.  But I do think that Cory's fears were started by Eve and how over-protective she was of Cory.  I think I'm forgetting parts of the book, but I don't remember specifics that Eve did to really make her feel like an outsider, other than being so over-protective.  Maybe I need to go back and brush up.
   I think that to help Cory, getting her involved in different activities would be the most beneficial so she is able to meet new people and make friends.
   
6. Do you think Eve appropriately answered Cory's questions about her father? Do you think Cory will question her father more as she grows older?I think she answered them the best she could.  As would most people, I think that Cory will have questions about her father when she grows older.  She doesn't look like her mother so she'll naturally be more curious of who her father is as time passes.  It's kind of ironic that Eve had to have the same questions answered about her own father by her mother.  Do you wonder if now that she has to tell Cory lies if she wonders if her own mother was telling the truth?

This book club is such a great idea, I'm really enjoying it.  I can't wait to see what the next book is!

One of those weeks

It's just one of those weeks where I don't have much that is particularly coherent to put together to make a full post, so a brain dump will have to do for this fabulous Friday.

1. I am so happy that the weather is finally cooling down a little bit.  It was multiple weeks of non-stop upper 90's here and it was starting to get frustrating.  I'm so ready for fall.
2. M pinged me yesterday to say that she wanted this for Christmas, and while she may have been trying to be a smart @$$ about it, I'm going to get it for her anyways.  I love it!  :-)
3. I'm almost finished with my first quilt, yeah!  Hopefully I should be able to finish it this weekend.  If so, it will have only taken me about 10 days, not too shabby (it's a small baby quilt though).
4. I find it amusing that I needed to buy $50 worth of merchandise to receive free shipping, so I added a shirt to my order, assuming I would just take it back if I didn't like it (they don't have what I ordered in store).  Well, I got a tracking confirmation for 2 packages, one for the shirt and one for the rest of the items I ordered, 2 separate packages, no shipping paid.  That just seems a little backwards to me!  
5. Next weekend we are going to a beach house for the weekend, Definitely looking forward to some time by the ocean.
6. The country girl in me is excited for the Brad Paisley concert tomorrow night.  It's the first one for the year, which is very rare for me.  I usually make it to a couple.
7. Gap, Give and Get is this weekend, which means 30% off (unlimited use) at Gap, Banana Republic or Old Navy (including outlet stores), if you haven't gotten the coupon, let me know and I'll email you mine.
8. Opinion needed, we got a quilt for a wedding gift and I liked it.  My friends are getting married in about 6 weeks, I'm not sure if I'd have time to finish one by then, but it's possible.  Do you like the idea of getting a quilt (with your last name or names) on it as a wedding gift?

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!  Anything exciting going on?

Aim to please

This weekend I was watching 27 Dresses (for like the 10th time) and when the bar scene came on, it struck a cord with me.  You no, the part where Kevin asks Jane if she knows how to say 'No'.    I realized that I don't know how to say 'No' and more so, I'm a pleaser.

I find myself not being able to say 'No' to things, whether it is work related or personal related.  If someone asks me for help with something 99% of the time, I say 'Yes'.  Invited to a party, I will ask to bring something.  Getting married, I'll ask to help with whatever I can.  New project at work, sure, I'll work on it.

Lately, it's happening more frequently.  With my friend who's getting married, she had invitations to make and pillows to make.  I insisted on making at least 4 pillows for her this week because she has other wedding stuff to do.  She needed to finish a few envelopes, I stopped by and picked them up and brought them back all finished.  My husband doesn't get why I am so eager to help (there's more to his argument, but I won't divulge it here).  To me, I say I'm just trying to be a good friend and help out the bride.  We just got married a year ago and I know how much work needs to be done.

The Luau shower that was this weekend is another example.  At this point we've already picked out the menu, etc, but I took the details to a whole new level.  Why?  Because I want the bride to be happy and I want her to have the shower with every detail thought about and not overlooked.  From the small things, like water bottle labels, wrapped silverware, and food signs to match the invites to the big things, like a luau/hawaiian themed menu, hula bear cupcakes, a photo-booth to remember the details.  To me these are all things that are important to make the party, but deep down, it's because I want to bride and groom to be pleased and happy with it.  I want them to feel special.

It goes on and on, I could probably give you at least 5 more examples.  I think KC gets it a little bit, he understands that I just want to be helpful and I'm trying to be a good friend, etc, but I know that sometimes it annoys him. For me, sometimes I think I'm terrified to disappoint people or let them down.  That they'll feel that I'm incapable or inadequate.  Even though these things might cause me stress and other problems, I still can't say no and stretch myself above and beyond.

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this, but I do know that I'm going to try to work harder to pick and chose what I say yes to.  It's ok to not do everything.  It's ok to let someone else host a party.  I'm sure there are some things that I'll never drop (it's common courtesy in my book to bring something to a party), but I've got to learn to stop stretching myself to the limits so often.  Can I change immediately?  No, it's gradual but in the long run, I know I can be a better person for myself (and for KC) if I do change even a little bit.

Book Beginnings and Bookends - CeeCee Wilkes - Chapters 11-20

I love participating in the responses last week so I am glad to get into it again this week.  I will admit that it is hard to write some of these responses knowing the ending of the book.  


You can link up here if you have read the book too!

1. Where do you think Tim and Marty are at this point in the story?
   I think that Tim and Marty are somewhere in hiding.  Part of me thinks that the original plan was to just abandon CeeCee to begin with and never come back regardless.  I can't help but wonder if they have other plans that they didn't reveal to CeeCee already.
   
2. What were your thoughts as CeeCee was helping Genevieve deliver her baby?
   My heart was aching for CeeCee.  I wanted her to just have the common sense to get in the car and drive, drive somewhere.  I mean the authorities have to have some sort of sympathy for her if she gives in now right?  I knew that she wouldn't actually hurt Genevieve but she had no idea what she was doing.  She had no idea what she was getting herself into when she agreed to go to the cabin and this just made it 10x worse!
   
3. After Genevieve died, what would you have done with her baby if you had been in CeeCee's shoes?
   I would have taken the baby to a hospital or something.  I don't think I could have kept it a secret.  It would just gnaw at me forever.  This beautiful baby didn't have a mother and it was partially her fault.
   
4. Why do you think CeeCee/Eve is still holding onto hope that Tim will come for her?
   I think she is, she wants to think that Tim was a good person and that she made the right decision to help them.  Tim is her first love and made her think that they loved one another and that she was doing
   
5. How do you think Eve will establish her new identity in Virginia?
   I think that Eve will struggle at first to establish herself and let go of CeeCee.  She still holds onto hope that Tim will return and I think she doesn't want to accept her self as Eve out of hope that Tim will find her.  Deep down I think she knows that this whole ordeal will always be with her, whether she gets married again or whatever she does with her life.  I also think it may cause her to be a little apprehensive or men in the future.  Afraid that something similar might happen.
   
6. What do you think of CeeCee/Eve now after she has gone through with the kidnapping, the delivery of the baby, the escape, and the relocation?
   I think that she has grown up a lot over the course of this ordeal.  I think that she will constantly live her life in fear now.  That she will always be looking over her shoulder and will be very protective of the baby.  It's hard to know if she will ever shake that feeling that someone is looking for her.  I also wondered how she would be able to go on without letting this eat at her for the rest of her life.

Other/Notes:
I struggled with the fact that Ronnie didn't inquire and ask more questions of her.  It would have been interesting to hear more from Ronnie's side, about her roommate and friend who disappeared, to never return.  She left all of her belongings, her money everything behind, even the things she cherished most (the letters from her mother).  If it was me, I'd be looking for her or call the police or something.  


Hope you all had a great weekend!

Single Girl Weekend

We're in the middle of prime Ultimate Frisbee season here in our area.  For me, that means that KC is gone for tournaments frequently on the weekends, there are 1-2/mo.  On top of that there's a bachelor party weekend away and other trips planned.  This all adds up to me being home alone for the weekend.  In the end it's really not such a bad thing!  We try to do our cleaning during the week so that I'm not stuck with it all on the weekends and the rest of the time is mine to enjoy like he is enjoying his weekend playing Ultimate.

For the most part, I'm pretty good at keeping myself busy, if the other guys are around then I'll hang out with them, etc.  On the other hand, I secretly enjoy when no one is around!  That means time to myself to do whatever I want.  I have a few guilty-single-girl tendencies though:

• It's ok for a meal to consist of either:
• Baked Potato
• Cup of Minute Rice
• Air-Popped Popcorn
• An Auntie Ann's Pretzel
• Turning on TBS or TLC or FX (or WE) and watching movies/tv shows all day without interruption.  This seems to ring a bit more true in the winter, but I can turn on TBS and just watch all day, some times their movie marathons are awesome.  Doesn't matter if I'm crafting, sewing or reading it's on in the background.
• Calling M and talking to her for 3 hours without getting bugged.
• Sitting in the office paper crafting or sewing all day and spending way too long on one project.
• Perusing the craft/fabric aisles for longer then is necessary. 
• Showering but putting my pajamas/sweats back on right afterwards.
• Going to the mall and perusing the sales, since KC does not like to shop and usually follows me around like a puppy dog when he goes.
• Go to Target and wander around look at random things, only to leave with nothing, or $100+ worth of items.
• Sit at the computer and Blog-Hop and find new blogs to read or projects to do.
• Go to the RedBox (or Netflix streaming) and find the chick-flicks I've wanted to see but haven't yet.  I just wish I had the guts to go to the theatre myself.

This weekend will be no different and I'm kinda looking forward to it.  I'm looking forward to KC's return as well but, sometimes it's nice to just have to worry about myself and no one else!

Most of mine are fairly boring, does anyone else have anything else they do when it's just them?  Anything that's a bit more exciting then mine?!?!

Happy Friday!  Have a great weekend!

ETA:  I've only had 2 people participate in my Craft-It Forward so far, so there are still some spots open if you want to join.  I might just go beyond 3 depending on how many people there are.  :-)