THINGS i've said. {LITERALLY}

I've been known to say a lot of stupid things.  I don't have "Foot-In-Mouth" disease {#gottalovejoe}, but on more than one occasion I have said things that make absolutely no sense and defy logic.

And, honestly, I can't think of a single reason why I shouldn't publicly share a few of the idiotic things I've said over the years with all of you!

...

While watching a TV show with my friends, during a commercial break and nearing the end of one of the commercials I said: 

"Next will either be the show or another commercial."

During our "Just Friends" stage, when Dustin asked if I had any tape {meaning packing tape}

my response was:

"Well, I have....tape {meaning, scotch tape}.
He knew exactly what I meant.

When mentioning the last time I ate, I said:

"I haven't eaten since....today."

When telling a story about my two roommates I said:

"Karen and What's-Her-Face were both there."

{Both of my roommates were named Karen}

And, in 2006, I resurrected the term "I don't give a care."
Thankfully, that only lasted a day.

 ...

I'm hoping my randomness eventually makes it way to one of my kids.  I'm guessing it'll strike Isabelle, but, who knows, LL could throw me a curve ball.

Either way, you'll be laughing!

{day SIXTEEN} GIRLS' nights

There's something very therapeutic about a girls' night out.  I try to get together with two of my friends that I've known for several, several years at least once a month.  We usually find a place to eat that stays open late so we can chat as long as we like.

Tonight, I'm going out with my two sisters-in-law.  We're going to see the last Twilight movie.  Just for the record, I stopped reading the last Twilight book after I learned Bella and Edward named their daughter Renesmee.  Dumbest name ever.

Source

Anyway, I've seen all the other movies, so it only seems natural that I'd see the last one in the theater just for tradition's sake.  Even though I'm not expecting much from the movie {although, I did enjoy New Moon}, it will be good to get out of the house and have some girl time.

What sorts of things do you do with your girlfriends?

{day TWELVE} HEALTH

Today my friends received some unfortunate news about their son's health.  It was very heartbreaking  to know this little boy, who's not even three years old yet, will have to endure a painful surgery when he should be living his life as a carefree little guy, playing outside in the snow with his friends.

The whole situation just isn't fair.

When I find myself whining or complaining about the difficulties in my life, especially those attributed to my daughter, I stop and tell myself that I am lucky.  There is always someone out there experiencing something more painful or heartbreaking.

Not to diminish my own trials, but when people whom you adore are going through things that you have no way of comprehending, it is very humbling.  And I paused today as I thought about the physical blessings that my family and I are blessed with.

Good luck, buddy!  We're here for you!

{day TWO} good NEIGHBORS

All things considered, I'm not the most social person in the world.  I'm perfectly content doing things by myself and don't fret when I find myself without something to do every single weekend.

When we moved into our house, we met a few of our neighbors that had kids around the same age as Isabelle.  We all go to the same church, our kids play together on a regular basis and we help each other when it comes to baby-sitting or borrowing a cup of sugar.

I didn't anticipate getting along with my neighbors like I do, but it's really nice having a good relationship with them.  I consider them my friends and love living by them and seeing them on a daily basis.  Too often I keep to myself, but when I find myself being a bit more social I learn that it really is a lot of fun.

MUSIC mondays: HEAR YOU ME

I went to a memorial service for a person that meant so much to so many people.  He was a mutual friend of a friend, and weird as it may seem I never met him.  I only knew him via the Internet.

After the service, we watched a video about our friend and this song was playing in the background.

I immediately recognized the song as one I had had in my iTunes library for quite some time, but had sort of forgotten about.

The song is called HEAR YOU ME by JIMMY EAT WORLD.

I think it's a beautiful song and I wanted to share it with all of you.

I don't think this is the best video (and it sounds a bit different from the version on the album), but it was the best one I could find.

Hope you enjoy!

Thoughts?

Q is for QUOTES

I stumbled upon this quote while I was in college.  I have no idea where it came from, but I immediately wrote it down and kept a copy of it in my day planner.

Become not weary in doing that which is small

for only persisting in that which is small

do we lay the foundation for that which is great

Too often, I find myself worrying about the big things:  having the right house, the right car, the right wardrobe, the right gadgets, etc.  

But, this quote reminds me that it is the small things that really count.  If I make a small effort to keep my house clean every day, I'll never have a huge mess to clean up.  If I make a small effort to lose 1 lb a week, I'll lose 52 lbs in one year.  If I take one second out of my day and smile at a stranger, I might just make their day.  If I make dinner, I know my husband will appreciate it more than anything when he comes home from work.  If I read one book to my daughter, she'll love it just as much as if I took her to Disneyland.

Never underestimate the small things in life.  

The small things are what build character.  The small things build lasting relationships.

O is for OPEN

I try to be very open in my life.

Source

I think there are several ways to accomplish this.

I try to be open in my mind and be respectful of new ideas or new opinions.

I try to be open with new people by not judging them by the way they look.

I try to be open with trying new things or traveling to new places.

I try to be open in how I spend my time by going outside and enjoying the great outdoors. 

And most recently I'm trying to be open with how I cook by experimenting with new recipes.

I think being open is such a refreshing way to live.  It is very easy to get stuck in our ways which can lead to missed opportunities.

I have found that by trying to remain open, I am able to get along with a lot of different types of people, I find out new things about myself and am overall a more well-rounded person.

K is for KNIGHT

It's almost 6:00 PM and I'm just barely posting about the letter K.  I'm a little behind and lacking a little bit of inspiration.  But, then I remembered a funny story about my friend Karen {whose name just happens to start with K and even though she lacked inspiration on E day and didn't write about me, I'm not bitter and still writing about her on K day}.

And, I swear I'm not bitter.

Anyway, Karen and I initially met through mutual friends at church.  We later became roommates.  And then she encouraged me to apply for a job at her work.  The job was taking incoming phone calls from all sorts of people involved in the trucking industry.  It was a glam job, let me tell you, but it was perfect for college students so it all worked out.

Anyway, part of our job was to authorize checks.  In order to authorize the checks, we had to get what was called a money code.  Money codes were ridiculously long alpha-numeric codes that were often very confusing to understand when you found yourself talking to someone whose first language was not English and had a very strong accent.  It was our job to always verify the money code after it was given to us, and part of that process was to be very clear about the letters.  So, we'd say "A as in apple, F as in Frank, etc." 

Source

Well, one day Karen was talking to a lady that gave her the letters phoentically, and she chose to say "K as in Knight."  Karen, being the smarty pants that she is, thought it was funny that someone chose to use Knight to represent K when clearly the K is silent and completely voids why you say things phonetically.  So, anyway, when Karen went to verify the money code, she said K as in Knight so this lady hopefully picked up on the fact that it was a horrible word to use.  Why not K is for Kite?

Apparently this lady, after hearing Karen repeat the money code, said, "I guess Knight is kind of confusing, huh?"

We had a good laugh after that one.  Clearly, our job was lacking in the entertaining department.

P.S. Do you remember that phone call, K-Lo?

G is for GIRLFRIENDS

The older I get, the more I realize how important girlfriends really are.  I'm lucky enough to have a few close friends.  Some live close by.  Some live in different states. Regardless of location, whenever we get together, it's as though no time has passed at all.

I am still good friends with three girls I met in junior high school.  

We remained friends all throughout high school and, thanks to the Internet, stayed in touch when we all went our separate ways upon graduation.  Now, nearly 13 years later, we're all married, have 7 kids between the four of us and can still spend hours and hours talking to each other just like the good ol' days.

I also met a lot of really great people during my college days.  I had numerous roommates, but have really only kept in touch with one.  And that person is Karen.  I can't really say enough good about Karen.  She was my rock during pivotal moments of my life.  She introduced me to my husband.  She listened to me vent, didn't judge when I made stupid mistakes and overall the best influence in my life at that time.

Now, years later, we live in different states and are in different phases of our lives, but we continue to be close.  We text regularly.  We e-mail frequently.  And we try as best we can to visit each other a few times a year.

As my daughter grows and meets new people, I hope she can find good, solid friends like I have.  Friends really do influence us, be it good or bad.  And I hope my friendships with these lovely ladies will encourage my daughter to find a new of her own BFFs.

MUSIC mondays: hey JULIE

Last week, my fellow blogger buddy Karen asked for suggestions on happy music.  Being the music freak that I am, I quickly put together a list of a dozen or songs that she absolutely HAD to add to her music library: 

All Summer Long - Phoebe Kreutz
Are You Gonna Be My Girl - JET
Be My Escape - Relient k
Bohemian Like You - The Dandy Warhols
Brand New Day - Joshua Radin
Closer to Free - BoDeans
Don't Stop Believin' - Journey
Dream Big - Ryan Shupe
I Run For Life - Melissa Etheridge
Kiss At the End of the Rainbow - Mighty Wind Soundtrack
New Shoes - Paolo Nutini
One Voice - The Wailin' Jennys
Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
Take a Chance on Me - ABBA (Erasure cover is good too)
Today was a Fairytale - Taylor Swift
When I'm With You - JJ Heller

Today, I realized I missed one very important song.  The reason why it's so important is because it was my daughter's first very favorite song.  Even before we celebrated  her first birthday, she absolutely adored listening to 

HEY JULIE by Fountains of Wayne

It's not an earth-shattering song by any means.  It's a cute love song about a girl named Julie.  I think my daughter was drawn to this song because of it's upbeat melody and it's simplicity overall.

Check out HEY JULIE.  According to my daughter, it'll brighten your day!

my DAY so FAR...

It's only 3:00p right now, but I already feel like today has been very successful.  

It all started when I visited with three other girls in my neighborhood.  We all got together and chatted while drinking hot chocolate while the kids played.  We discussed everything from politics to movies, and I had such a good time.  I don't know these girls very well, but I got the impression today that they could become good friends of mine.

My daughter, who is usually glued to my side, did a good job of playing with the other kids.  She still wanted me within her reach, but it was so nice to watch her socialize and be around other kids.  I've noticed that she gets along better with boys than girls, which I find interesting.

On our way home, we saw another neighbor of ours, an older woman, getting into her car.  I said hello to her, and my daughter made sure to introduce herself to her.  It was pretty cute.

When we got home, we ran a few errands and then continued enjoying the spring-ish weather by playing at the playground by our house.  We live in an HOA community, so the playground is literally steps from our front door.  As my daughter played, I read my book and loved the feeling of the warm sun on my arms and face.

For some reason, today was just a day that I needed.  A day a little bit out of the norm.  A day that was spent being social.  A day that was spent in the sunshine.

How did you spend your day today?

SUPER STALKER sunday

Welcome to this week's SUPER STALKER SUNDAY hop!

<a href="http://naptimeismytime.com/category/super-stalker-sunday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m205/eclark730/stalker.jpg" border="0" /></a><br/>

WHAT IS SUPER STALK SUNDAY?

Glad you asked.  Super Stalker Sunday is a weekly blog hop hosted by

April of Mama on a Green Mission

Emily of Nap Time is My Time

Mariah of Formula Mom

and Bri of Eco Baby Mama Drama

As you know, blog hops are a great way to meet other bloggers, socialize and gain followers.  We created this hop as a way for you to connect with other bloggers via RSS Feed, Google Friend Connect, E-mail Subscribers, Facebook Fans, Twitter followers and the new Google+.

HOW TO SUPER STALK

Follow each hostess at least one way.  Remember to leave a comment too.  As hostesses, we're committed to returning the follows, but please be patient with us as we are busy mamas.  It may take us a few days to return the visit and follow.  Since all hostesses use the same linky, you only have to link up once, but your link will appear on all our blogs.

After you follow the hostesses, follow the featured blogger and at least four other blogs listed above you on the linky.  Of course, you're welcome to follow more than just four if you'd like.

Keep in mind that many bloggers will be phasing out GFC in the coming weeks, so be sure you're following everyone another way as well.

Remember:  You will only get as much as you give.  The more blogs you can visit, the more visits you will gain in return.

While we encourage sharing our button to spread the word on this fabulous blog hop, it is not required. However, it is appreciated.  :)

THIS WEEK'S FEATURE BLOGGER IS

{In other words, ME!}

Thanks to the ladies that host this great blog hop.  I am so thrilled to the featured blogger of the week and hope I can meet some new people and find some great new blogs to follow.

If you would like to be a featured blogger, being shared with more than 32,000 combined followers between the hosts of this hop, please link up! At the end of each week we will select a blog via Random.Org to be the featured blog for the following week. The featured blogger will be emailed by Tuesday morning. Please be sure to check your spam folders! This linky will remain open until 3:00PM EST on Monday! Go ahead, stalk up a storm!

FRIENDSHIP written by ANONYMOUS

I was contacted by someone who wanted to more or less spill her guts, but wanted to remain anonymous.  And I was more than happy to host her thoughts on my blog.

...

I've always wanted a sister.  I figure the closest thing to a sister would be a best friend. You know, a BFF. Everyone's got one, right?  Not me.

For some reason I've always struggled in the friend department.  I've always had friends.  Friends as in a group of girls that I got along with and we did things together all throughout high school.  Friends in college that I always hung out with. But never a true BFF that I couldn't go more than a few hours without talking to, told everything to, or went on trips with.  Stuff like that.  I have friends from high school that I still get together with and it's like time hasn't passed and it's as fun as ever.  I have friends that I've met in the last few years that I hang out with and it's fun, but I'm still waiting for that BFF. Someone that won't make fun of me for being stupid, or will make fun of me for being stupid but still love me for it.  Like a sister would.  Someone that never gets sick of me and will call just to say hi and that they miss me.

My husband has 4 sisters.  When we were engaged I kept thinking how I couldn't wait until we were married because I'd automatically have four sisters!  People who would be my friends, that I would always hang out with. That's what sisters-in-law are for, right?  Not so much.  For whatever reason they never really took a liking to me. Here we are almost 11 years later, not to mention a total of 15 kids between us all and you'd think we'd all be closer.  I couldn't wait for my kids to have cousins to play with or for me to have a babysitter that I could always count on.  I figured since I was in the family that's the way it would work.  That's how they are with each other!  Their kids are always playing together, and they're always watching each others kids.  In the meantime, I'm always searching for someone to watch mine. For some reason, we're always left out.  


Our kids all go to the same school and my kids are always asking why so and so got to play at so and so's house and they didn't.  I hear about trips they've taken together, skiing weekends, or night out at the movies that they've done together that we're never invited to.  Then there's the field trips during the summer, days at the pool and picnics at the park.  I'm not asking to be invited to EVERYTHING but don't talk about it in front of me like it's not going to bother me.  

I could be to blame.  I'm not the most social person.  I might even come off as being unfriendly at times. But it's only because I'm so self-conscious that I don't dare say anything to anyone.  Ever.  I'm always wondering what someone is thinking of me while I'm standing there talking to them. What do they think of my hair?  My clothes?  My shoes?  My face?!  Heaven forbid I actually say something because then I'll have to worry about what they think of what I said!  But, despite those feelings, it's nice to be invited to things.  If not because they want to include me, but because they want to include my kids. Their neices and nephews, right?  It's one thing for the sisters to talk about things they're doing without me, but for them to sit and talk about things that their kids have done together when my kids haven't been involved really gets to me. 

     

So, my question is, what is it about me that has made it so I can't really seem to ever find a close friend? Am I too self-conscious?  Trying too hard?  What is it about someone that makes them BFF material?  I'm really starting to wonder what exactly I'm missing, or what I'm doing wrong.  I'm so over-anxious to have a true friend that I'm over analyzing my every word! 

     When you're married with kids, it's hard to find friends.  Or at least it is for me.  I'm always wondering if my husband will get along with her husband, will my kids get along with her kids, etc. I want to make sure that my friends don't take too much time away from my family, but a girl needs friends, doesn't she?  I know I should just be myself and not worry about what everyone thinks, but it's easier said than done.

...

Thoughts?

last WEEK...

My week off was great.  In fact, I had so much fun that I keep forgetting Christmas is still yet to come.  Here's a look at what we did last week.

Attended two different events:  First, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir & Orchestra at Temple Square Christmas concert.

Being creative with our stockings since we don't have a fireplace.

Visiting our old house that we sold a little over a year ago.

And enjoying all the Christmas cards we've received from friends and family.

Now that things are back to normal, and my husband is working his usual late night shifts, I relish the time, late at night, after my daughter has gone to bed, when I can sit by the Christmas tree and look at the lights and just think.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

i'm a FINALIST!

I'm a finalist in two categories on Karen's blog.  Check out her post and vote for your favorite blogs!  Even if your favorite blog isn't mine, still go vote.  :)

and the NOMINEES are....

I am so honored to announce that my humble little blog has been nominated for three awards over at 

A Peek at Karen's World.

The categories I was nominated for are:

Best Kept Secret which is a category for blogs with 200 or less followers.  Thanks to all my awesome 26 followers!

The other category was "Most Thought Provoking Post" and the two of my posts were nominated.  The first is the post about Arby's blatant disrespect for the dangers of drowsy driving, and the other is a post I wrote about being a mom.

Thank you Karen for putting this together and to those who nominated my blog in the first place.

Be sure to vote if you are interested!

Monday Means "What the..."

I went to Primm, NV over the weekend to see Melissa Etheridge in concert.  She is my husband's favorite musician, and I LOVE going to concerts and am usually game to see anyone.  In fact, we saw Melissa earlier this year and she put on such a good show we wanted to see her again; hence, our trip to Primm.

For anyone who has ever been to a concert knows, especially a ROCK concert, that people typically stand up, dance, sing along, cheer,  yell, wave their hands in the air, etc.

I am one of the many people that do just that at concerts.

To my surprise though, the crowd in Primm, NV was not.

Seriously, the crowd sat during almost the entire thing with the exception of the people in the very, very front.  Our seats were off to the side.  We weren't on the floor.

One of the best parts about a concert is when the artist comes on stage for the first time.  It's typically a time when everyone gets up on their feet and cheers.  Like normal people, my husband, our friend and I all stood up when Melissa first walked on stage.  It was awesome, and I was really enjoying her opening song.

While I was getting into the groove, I noticed my husband and friend talking about the people behind us.  I didn't realize it at the time, but the guy behind my husband started to yell at him and eventually punched him in the shoulder and told him we needed to sit down.  My husband just looked at him and said, "Really?" as if to suggest "Really, fat ol' man, you want me to sit down...sit down at a rock concert?"

"What the...!"

We eventually did sit down because the alcohol was flowing all around us and the last thing I wanted to do was get into a big argument with someone.

But, I made up my mind while I was dancing to the beat (sitting down) that I would stand up at the end, after she played her last song and into the encore.

And we did just that.

And it was awesome.

I took the time to glance behind me and once we stood up the people behind us left.

What nerds.

Okay, so the moral of the story is, if you go to a rock concert you cannot except people to sit down the entire time.  It's a rock concert.  If you want to have a nice, relaxed evening go see Yo-Yo Ma.

my SOCIAL NETWORK

"In my day, seeing pictures of people's vacations was considered a punishment."

-Betty White's thoughts on Facebook, SNL Monologue

When Belle is napping, I tend to get on Facebook and waste time.  I read status updates, play Bejeweled and sometimes browse through other people's pictures.

The other day, I was looking at pictures posted by a girl I knew in junior high.  We weren't friends in junior high, so naturally it made sense that we were "friends" on Facebook.  After a minute or two of clicking from one picture to the next, I started to get envious of this girl's life.  It seemed so much more luxurious and interesting than my own and I guess I got a little jealous.  And that made me mad.  Why was I letting myself feel this way?  This girl was nothing to me.  I hadn't seen or talked to her in 15+ years.  The three years we were under the same roof for approximately 6 hours a day, 5 days a week, we never talked to each other.  If there was ever a person who could bring me down, this was definitely not the one.

I stopped looking at the pictures and went to my list of friends.  I scrolled through all the names and one by one, I started deleting people.  I deleted people that I had removed from my NewsFeed - people that I had removed from the feed because their comments annoyed me, so why be friends at all? - and so forth.  I ultimately deleted over 100 people.

Now as I glance at my list, I feel it is much more accurate.  They are people I know and have seen or talked to in the last decade.  They are family members, old roommates, close friends from school, etc.  They are people that I genuinely want to be in contact with and who I don't mind see the pictures I post of myself and family.

So, to you my readers, do you ever find yourself looking at photos on Facebook and getting envious?  Are you friends with people you really do like, or were you like me and just accepted (for the most part) and ol' request that came your way?

Thoughts?

my TV CHALLENGE

Apparently I have too much time on my hands because today I started to wonder why people I know and get along with so well don't like the same TV shows me.  This is true with my friend Karen.  She's a huge Lost fan and I couldn't care less about it.  I don't miss a single episode of 30 Rock and she can take it or leave it.

I decided to take some action by texting her and presenting this challenge:  we would each pick out a TV show for each other to watch.  We had to watch at least 5 consecutive episodes, preferably from the beginning of the series.  After we had completed our task, we'd report to each other and give feedback.  The ultimate goal is to see if we get hooked on our assigned show.

My pick for Karen:  USA's Psych.  

Karen's pick for me:  TNT's Leverage.  

We are both really excited.  I'm going to Netflix Leverage right away.

Before I tell you why I chose Psych, here is a little bit of background on the series for those of you who do not watch it.  First of all, it stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer and Dule Hill, Burton Guster "Gus" and thanks to IMDb, here is a good synopsis of the show:

"A novice sleuth (Roday) is hired by the police after he cons them into thinking he has psychic powers that help solve crimes. With this assistance of his reluctant best friend (Hill) the duo take on a series of complicated cases."

One of the main reasons why I like Psych is because it's not one of those Emmy winning or even nominating series that everyone loves.  Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with award winning shows, but sometimes you just have to root for the little guys.  

Another reason why I like it is because it's actors, directors, creators, writers, etc., don't take themselves too seriously.  Their show is what it is and they enjoy making it regardless of huge recognition.  I especially learned this while watching a few episodes with commentary.  Everyone was laughing and having a good time.

While Psych's story lines aren't nail biting and usually predictable, they are full of great one liners.

And, of course, I love that Shawn and Gus aren't afraid to show a little emotion.  This clip is one of many when they demonstrate their high pitched screaming abilities.

(Sorry for the poor video quality.)

So, there you have it - one of many reasons why I like Psych.  If any of you would like to join in our little challenge, feel free!  Remember, watch 5 episodes and then give me your feedback!

the CONFESSION

An innocent man is about to be executed.  Only a guilty man can save him.  Will the real killer step forward before it's too late?

Weeks ago, I entered a giveaway at my dear real-life friend Karen's blog.  The prize?  A hardcover copy of John Grisham's latest novel The Confession.  Like all blog giveaways, Karen provided her readers tons and ways to enter; however, I just entered once by posting the title of my favorite John Grisham book:  The Client.

After that, I didn't think too much of it.  I knew winning would be a long shot given I only entered once.

One evening, Karen sent me a text that said:  "Be sure to read my blog tomorrow."

The suspense was killing me. 

The next morning, I went to her blog and found out I was one of her giveaway winners.  Awesome.  My first giveaway win EVER!

When I got the book, I'll admit, I wasn't way excited to read it.  I had sort of lost interest in John Grisham  awhile ago when his novels stopped keeping my interest.  His early novels like A Time to Kill, Pelican Brief and The Client were exceptional.  But, as time went on his work began to bore me.  While they were well written, the plots didn't grab me.

With that in mind, when I started reading The Confession the bar was set pretty low.  I began reading, then read some more.  When I wasn't reading it, I wanted to be reading.  I couldn't wait for my daughter's nap time and bedtime because that meant I could read.  In a nutshell, I was hooked.  What a page turner!

I finished the novel in 3 days.  That may seem like a normal amount of time for some people, but I am a slow reader.  I always have been.  So finishing the book in just 3 days is a great indicator of how much I loved it.

There are three reasons why I loved this book so much:

First, the plot.  Nothing too complicated.  An innocent man is in jail.  Only a guilty man can save him.  Will the real killer step forward before it is too late.  Clean.  Cut.  Simple.

Second, the writing.  It was easy reading, but definitely not something written for "young readers."  Through the writing, I was able to connect with the characters.  I was able to picture them in my mind as I flipped from page to page.  They were described so well that (and this is totally true) when I wasn't reading I thought about the characters and wondered how they were doing.  And then I had to remind myself that they were not real people.

Another example of how alive this book was to me was when I was talking to my dad one day.  We were going over the latest headlines and whatnot.  Suddenly, I remembered this case I had heard about that was really interesting.  Just as I started to open my mouth, I caught myself and realized "the case" I was going to tell  him was all from the book.  I kept thinking all of this was real.  It was so weird to have to remind myself over and over again that it was only a book.

So, I told him about the book instead and told him he had to read it.  :)

Last, the language.  I'm not a huge fan of tons of language in books.  I don't like reading the "F" word over and over again like in The Devil Wears Prada.  I don't like novels that are too graphic like I heard The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is.  It ruins it for me.  Call me crazy.  The language was perfect and details about the crime are tame.  Definitely PG-13 material.

If any of you are interested in a good read, pick up The Confession and give it a try.  You won't be disappointed!