Ape House: Chapters 13-25

1. Would you watch or be tempted to watch a show like Ape House?

I might watch a bit of it at first because I would be interested in the bonobos, but it seems like the show is just as cheesy and fake as other reality TV shows so I would probably lose interest quickly. And I would definitely not pay a subscription fee to watch it!


2. Do you think John did the right thing by quitting his job and moving to L.A.?

I think it was the right decision for him. His boss was obviously persecuting him and looking for any reason to fire him; he really didn't have much of a future at the newspaper in Philly. And his wife was out in L.A.; he wanted to be with her and support her. It was a risky, scary decision since he didn't have a job when he moved and they needed his paycheck, but I can understand why he did what he did.

3. We haven't seen a whole lot of Isabel in this section, but what do you think of Peter now that we know more about him?

I'm SO glad that Isabel isn't engaged to him anymore. What a creep! She is way better off without him.

4. Can John turn the ape story for the tabloid into something he is proud of? Is he getting a little bit of redemption by being assigned to his dream story again even if it is for a tabloid?

I think that John can write a wonderful article on the bonobos for the tabloid, but whether the tabloid publishes it or not is a different story. His boss could also edit his story a lot to make it more "tabloid-friendly." I hope that doesn't happen and he can write his dream story the way that he wants to and that it will lead to better opportunities for him, but his boss doesn't seem that supportive so that might be very unlikely.

5. Have your thoughts on John and Amanda's marriage changed since last week? Where do you see their marriage headed?

I was getting worried that Amanda was turning into a "Hollywood bot" when she started getting work done on her face and buying really expensive clothes, but I was really relieved when she became fed up with trying to fit in and regretted moving to L.A. and the damage she had done to her marriage. I think John and Amanda are going to be OK. I think that their marriage is going to survive and that they're going to have a baby.


6. What do you think will end up happening to the apes?

I think that as soon as the ratings for Ape House dip, Faulks is going to try to get rid of the apes. I have a feeling that he'll try to sell them to a testing lab, but I hope that they eventually go to a zoo or sanctuary where Isabel can take care of them.

Sperry Top-Sider & Elaine Turner

What do these two have in common? Rue La La is hosting sales for both of these great, preppy companies this week! The Sperry Top-Sider sale will be tomorrow, Feb. 10 opening at 11am EST, and the Elaine Turner sale will be Sun./Feb. 13 opening at 11am EST. I'm a little bummed that the Elaine Turner sale is on Sunday because I'll be in church when the sale starts, but maybe if I keep my fingers crossed, there will still be some wonderful shoes and purses left when I get home. I'm really hoping to add these lovelies to my shoe collection :)

(image from Elaine Turner)

Weekend Recap

So no Menu Monday (or Tuesday) this week because P and I subsisted on frozen meals last week :( We were out of town last weekend so I wasn't able to go to the grocery store and I didn't have time (or the will!) to go after work so we depleted the hoard of frozen dinner items that I keep on hand for just such occasions. I did make homemade banana walnut muffins, though, on Fri. night for Sat. morning's breakfast so I'm not a completely bad wife :) A friend passed along the best banana muffin recipe to me last year, and I think I make a batch every two months at least.  You can find the recipe at All Recipes. The streusel topping is what really makes them fab!

(image from All Recipes)

Fri. night we were super tired so we stayed in and I made the muffins and then did my nails while we watched some random nature program (until the wolves started hunting and eating some defenseless animal - I can't stand to watch animals being hurt even if I know it's just the circle of life and such). Sat. I volunteered for the Junior League at the MLK Library in DC. I learned a lot about the Adaptive Services division which offers so many great services to the blind and deaf in the city. And I volunteered with a great group of girls so we had a lot of fun chatting while working :) I finally made it to the grocery store that night, and - let me tell you - it was packed out! I've never seen a grocery store so busy - not even before snow!!! I guess people were stocking up for Superbowl parties, and some of the shelves were bare. I found some of the apparently popular Superbowl food choices kind of funny. Frozen waffles? Seriously - there were like two boxes of frozen waffles left! Celery? No celery to be had in the store. Canned black-eyed peas? Hmm ... Sun. we went to church and then one of our friends, who is Chinese, invited us to lunch to celebrate the Chinese New Year (Happy Year of the Rabbit!). She is an incredible cook so P and I never turn down an opportunity to eat at her house! We lounged at home the rest of the afternoon and then went to a Superbowl party at our friends' house. So much good food! I didn't have to cook all day :) We had a fun time watching the game (Hooray for the Packers!) and talking. My friend's four-year-old son was sitting with me on the couch and was asking me all kinds of questions about the game. I've never felt so knowledgeable about football in my life! I was saying things like, "The green guys have to take the football from the yellow guys and run with it down to the end of the field" and he seemed pretty impressed :) I hope his daddy can correct any misinformation that I might have imparted to him!

Before I end - I have to say that I will be very disappointed if Brad ends up with Michelle on The Bachelor. I think that Nina summed up my feelings about Michelle well in her post today. I didn't know she had a daughter until I read Nina's post (I've just been able to watch bits and pieces of this season)! Yikes! I can't imagine having a mother like that.

Ape House: Chapters 1-12

 

 Woohoo! This is my first time to join in on the discussion for the blogging book club Book Beginnings & Bookends :) This month we're reading Sara Gruen's Ape House. Check out my answers to the first set of discussion questions below.

 

 

 

1. What was your initial reaction to the idea of a language lab with bonobos who are capable of having conversations with humans? 

 

I was fascinated to read about the bonobos communicating with humans through American Sign Language. I wanted to be with John Thigpen when he got to visit the lab and experience this first-hand! Even though I thought the bonobos and the work done at the lab was very interesting, I was a little disturbed by how attached Isabel was to the bonobos. She calls them her family and has their pictures all over her apartment! It almost seems that she has let her "relationships" with the bonobos replace human relationships, and that just isn't healthy. I think that she's too close to them- emotionally and physically. I was also a little disturbed that the bonobos seemed to order the humans around at the lab. It was kind of like the bonobos were royalty and the humans were their servants - rushing to fetch them anything they wanted. 

2. Isabel said early in the book that the apes know they're apes and know that the humans are humans, but they don't see any superiority with either... What do you think the major difference is between the two?

The bonobos are mainly concerned with satisfying their apetites - food, sex, etc. - as much as possible. They don't show the restraint that humans do.

3. What are your thoughts on John and his feelings toward Isabel? How do you think their relationship will play out?

 

John only spent a few hours with Isabel so I would think that his feelings for her would only be a physical attraction. The author seems to indicate in several points, though, that there's more to these feelings or that something further will develop between these two. I'm disappointed in this aspect of the story because John seems to genuinely love his wife, and the author seems to foreshadow that his marriage is eventually going to collapse and he's going to end up with Isabel. I'm hoping that's not the case!

4. How do you think Isabel will respond to the apes being taken?

I think she's going to be utterly disconsolate since she considers them to be her family. I think that she's going to stop at nothing to get them back.

5. Do you think Celia is part of the team that ambushed the learning center?

 

I don't think so. I think that she's too obvious a choice to be the real villain. I think that she's going to be instrumental in helping Isabel find the bonobos.

6. What are your thoughts on John and his relationship with Amanda? 

 

John is very supportive of Amanda. He really wants the best for her and tries to make that happen. He has also been very patient with her as she struggles with depression. I feel some sympathy for Amanda because I can only imagine how difficult it would be to deal with the failure of a first book and all of those rejection notices for a second book! But I also think that she's being selfish moving out to LA to work on a risky project and leaving her husband behind in Philadelphia. She seems to place her needs ahead of John's needs and is willing to sacrifice their relationship to further her career. I think that at some point in the book John is going to burn out, and there's going to be a crisis in their marriage.

Valentine's Day DIY Cards

This year for Valentine's Day I would really like to make a card for my husband. That said - I am certainly not the most crafty person in the world. For example, I spent 4 hours trying to make one bow out of ribbon for a decoration for my wedding and it turned out to be an utter disaster :( But I aspire to be crafty so I think I'm going to give it a shot this Valentine's Day. The card might turn out looking like something a 4-year-old made, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Doing some research, I've found several really fun ideas. I'm not sure which one I'll pick yet, but I think these are all super creative and possibly doable for me :)

Martha Stewart:

1. Quilled Open Heart Valentines

 

This looks like the most challenging of the designs, but I love the result! I have no idea who sells quilling paper, though. (Michaels? Hobby Lobby?)

2. Queen and King of Hearts Valentines

 

Simple but cute. I could pair it with a homemade envelope for a little more cuteness.

3. Antique-Style Valentines

Lots of complicated folding, but I think P would really enjoy opening this :)

4. Ribbon-Punched Valentines

I think I did something similar to this in Girl Scouts back in the day :)

Real Simple:

Real Simple had several great Valentine's Day craft ideas. Love the button card! I need to buy some buttons anyway so I could just buy several pack of red ones while I'm at it.


The Sweetest Occasion:

This is my favorite, but I think I'm going to save this idea for our anniversary in April because I just don't have the time to do this right now! This project is called the "Library of Love" which, of course, is oh-so-fitting for me since I'm a librarian :) Basically you create library catalog cards replacing the call numbers with important dates in your relationship, book titles with memories and significant quotes, and publisher info with cities where you have traveled and then file them in a decorated box. I especially like this idea for an anniversary because you can add cards to it every year.

I'm also going to attempt to make cake balls for him as a little Valentine's Day treat. I tried to make cake balls for the first time for my office Christmas party, and they were a gigantic fail and I couldn't take them. But Peter thought the ugly results were quite tasty so I vowed to try again. I will not be defeated by cake mix, frosting, and melted chocolate :)

(this is what my next batch will look like!)

(images from Martha Stewart, Real Simple, The Sweetest Occasion blog, and Bakerella)

Sending Lots of Love to Punxsutawney Phil!!!

I guess Punxsutawney Phil is as tired of hibernating as I am because he came out of his burrow today and didn't go back in. Spring is almost here!!! It is a very happy Groundhog Day :)

As a side note - I was perusing the Cake Doctor website yesterday and saw these really cute groundhog cupcakes.

I've never been one to really celebrate Groundhog Day, but I might need to whip up a batch of these and start a new tradition :)

(images from Google Images and Cake Doctor)

Menu Monday (sort of)

I had planned to post this yesterday but was too busy so Menu Tuesday it is :)

I only tried two new recipes this past week since we were eating leftovers and we were out of town this past weekend.

Sunday

*Vegetarian Country Captain

*Rice

*Tossed Salad

I love traditional Country Captain and have a great recipe for it, but when I saw this recipe in Cooking Light , I wanted to try it because I've been trying to include more veggies in our diet. It smelled wonderful while it was cooking (love curry powder!), but the result was not so wonderful. Not awful but not nearly as tasty as the original and not a keeper. Grade: C

Monday

*Leftover Vegetarian Country Captain (it did not improve as a leftover!)

*Leftover Rice

*Leftover Salad

Tuesday

*Leftover Vegetarian Country Captain (this recipe made a ton!)

*Leftover Rice

*Leftover Salad

Wednesday

*Kung Pao Chicken

*Rice (we ate a lot of rice this week!)

*Steamed Broccoli

Another recipe from Cooking Light and another so-so result (unusual since Cooking Light rarely lets me down). The snow peas were still crisp on the first serving, but with reheating, they wilted and were kind of mushy (bleh - no mush in my food please!). The sauce also didn't have much kick to it; I thought Kung Pao chicken was supposed to have some "Pao" to it but it was lackluster. Grade: B-

Thursday

*Leftover Kung Pao Chicken

*Leftover rice

*Leftover Broccoli

Friday through Sunday

We were at my in-laws so I didn't have to cook all weekend! I love cooking, but it is nice to have a break every now and then :) My MIL made a very unique coffeecake for Sat. morning. I had never had anything like it; it was more of a sweet bread than a traditional streusel coffeecake. Hot out of the oven with butter = Yum!