My Mom's In Jail....

I'm assuming, or hoping that will be the strangest and saddest blog title I will ever have to write.

As I have mentioned before my Mom is an alcoholic.  When I was younger she was a very normal Mom.  Actually she was much better than normal, she was extremely caring and supportive and always put her children and family first.  When I was about 16 she started drinking more and more.  When I was 21 she first went to rehab.  The last 10 years have been very volatile.  She has been in and out of rehabs, detox centers, homeless shelters and has had and lost countless jobs.

About three weeks ago I had about 10 girlfriends over and heard a knock at my front door.  Everyone that I was expecting had already arrived so I was curious to see who it was.  I opened the door and was shocked to see my Mom on my door step.  I haven't had much of a relationship with her over the past 5 years.  I could tell that she was intoxicated so I told her she could stay but had to go in the spare bedroom and go to bed.   The next morning she I told her that she couldn't stay at my house.  I told her that I let her stay because I didn't want her on the road drunk the night before. After a lot of begging and tears from her she left.  I felt horrible but I have been through this so many times that I know exactly how the situation will end.  She was sober when she left our house at 9am.  By 11am she had been arrested for a DUI.

She has been there for 3 weeks now.  She has burned all her bridges and alcohol has ruined all over her relationships and no one wants to be responsible for bailing her out.  In a way I am grateful that she is in jail.  I know that must sound heartless but now she can't drink and hurt anyone else.  I think a few weeks of being sober will be good for her.  Drinking that heavily for so long really affects your mind.  She was becoming delusional.  Unfortunately I don't think a few weeks of being sober in jail will fix her but maybe it will give her the courage to change.  I pray for her everyday and hope the story ends well.

Recent Reads

I have been devouring books lately!  I absolutely love to read and share with others.

Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

      Seattle 1933.  Vera Ray kisses her three year-old son, Daniel, good night and reluctantly leaves for work.  She hates the night shift, but it's the only way she can earn enough to keep destitution at bay.  In the morning - even though it's the second of May - a heavy snow is falling.  Vera rushes to wake Daniel, but his bed is empty.  His teddy bear lies outside in the snow.

      Seattle, present day.  On the second of May, Seattle Herald reporter Claire Aldridge awakens to another late-season snowstorm.  Assigned to cover this "blackberry winter" and its predecessor decades earlier, Claire learns of Daniel's unsolved abduction and vows to unearth the truth - only to discover that she and Vera are linked in unexpected ways.

I really enjoyed this book!  I read it in a day.  It followed the life on Vera in the 30s and Claire in present time.  I love books that show glimpses of the past.  It was easy and fun to read.

After You by Jojo Moyes

       After the transformative six months she spent with Will Traynor, Louisa Clark is struggling without him.  And when an extraordinary accident forces Lou to return home to her family, she can't help but feels she's right back where she started.

       Her body heals, by Lou knows that she needs to be kick-started back to life.  Reluctantly, she joins the Moving On support group and meets the one man who might be able to understand her. Then a figure from Will's past appears and hijacks all her plans, propelling Lou into a very different future...

I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Me Before You so I was excited to read this one.  But it wasn't nearly as good as the first.  I don't want to give the plot away but it seemed to drag on a bit. I would still recommend reading it if you enjoyed the first one, but don't expect a book of the same caliber.

The Other Story by Tatiana de Rosnay
       Vacationing at a luxurious Tuscan island resort, Nicolas Duhamel is hopeful that the ghosts of his past have finally been put to rest… Now a bestselling author, when he was twenty-four years old, he stumbled upon a troubling secret about his family - a secret that was carefully concealed. In shock, Nicholas embarked on a journey to uncover the truth that took him from the Basque coast to St. Petersburg - but the answers wouldn't come easily.

In the process of digging into his past, something else happened. Nicolas began writing a novel that was met with phenomenal success, skyrocketing him to literary fame whether he was ready for it or not - and convincing him that he had put his family's history firmly behind him. But now, years later, Nicolas must reexamine everything he thought he knew, as he learns that, however deeply buried, the secrets of the past always find a way out.

The first book I read by de Rosnay was Sarah's Key and I absolutely loved it!  It was phenomenal.  So I was expecting something similar from this book.  However I was majorly disappointed.  I stopped reading this book about half way through it.  I'm hoping her next book will be better!  I would skip this one.

Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It’s just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong?  Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit, busy life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job, and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there’s anything they can count on, it’s each other.

Clementine and Erika are each other’s oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don’t hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid’s larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite.

Two months later, it won’t stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can’t stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn’t gone?

In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations of our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don’t say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm.

Well again, this wasn't as good as Liane's first few books that I've read.  I was disappointed.  In the first 100 pages of the book they allude to what happened on that day at the BBQ but don't come out and say it until half way through the book.  I think the author was trying to build suspense but I just ended up frustrated.  I would recommend reading it but lower your expectations.

Seems that the theme of this post is disappointment in Author's that I have loved in the past with the exception of Sarah Jio.  Blah.  Hoping my next few books are better!

Have you read anything great lately?  Please share!!!

Lately

Wow just reread my last post from about a month ago when I thought D and I were going to break up!  Yikes.  Glad that didn't happen.  Luckily we were able to work everything and I think our relationship is in a really great place now:)

Here's whats been happening around here lately:

• We put our sweet rescue dog Lucy to sleep last week.  It was so sad but I know the right thing to do.  She had cancer and was starting to feel pain and it wasn't fair to her.  We will be adopting another senior dog, but may wait until after some summer trips.  In my opinion senior dogs are the best!  They are housebroken and very laid back.  We don't have the time for a puppy.  Maybe I do have the time but I'm not interested in using it to teach an animal not to go to the bathroom in my living room.  No thank you!  And often times senior dogs are overlooked so I feel so bad for them.  
• Just got home today from a trip to Islamorada.  Islamorada is in the Florida Keys and its beautiful and very relaxing!  Its a big fishing destination.  Fishing isn't my thing but I love laying in the sun.  There were manatee in the canal in front of our condo.  It was really neat!  We had a great meal at Lazy Days.  I also recommend Robbie's...its a cool outdoor bar.  Food isn't impressive but its a fun atmosphere.
• I just started watching Big Little Lies.  I read the book about a year ago and loved it!  I just finished episode 3 and I am hooked.  I LOVE Reese Witherspoon!
• I need to write a debt update post, but I have about $9500 left to pay off.  I feel like I am making progress!
• I've finally jumped on the "not washing your hair everyday" bandwagon.  I'm only a few days in but well see how it goes.  I have thin hair that doesn't have a lot of volume.  Ive been told washing it less will add volume to it.  I purchased a dry shampoo today but haven't used it yet.  Any one else do this?  Anything I need to know?  I am worried about it being gross on days I work out and get all sweaty but I'll just go with it for now and see what happen.
• I made this granola today and love it! Paleo Granola
• Going to see a live Dave Ramsey event this week!  I am geeking out!  I am so excited.  I hope I can shake his hand.  I will probably be so nervous and freak out.  I feel like a teenager going to a Backstreet Boys concert:)

Hope you had a great weekend!