A New Year's Remembrance

On the eve of 2013, I'd like to take a moment to remember the best friend a girl could ever have...

A true friend is so very hard to find.

One who is loving, supportive and kind,

A welcome grin and energetic hello's,

With power to heal all of life’s woes.

A shoulder to lean on when in need

Being the rock is in their creed.

To love when our hearts are surely broken

To heal all scars without a word spoken.

To make us laugh with unending joy

When enthralled with the simplest of toys.

Sticks and balls and a tug rope or two,

A Frisbee, a bone; whatever you choose.

Maybe a squeaky toy or maybe a cat

To chase ‘round the house, as a matter of fact,

They’ll encourage a walk, or better yet, a run;

Just grab the lead and it’s all about fun.

A trip in the car is the biggest way to please

These creatures so dear to our hearts, don’t you see?

Front seat or back seat; it matters not

As long as their human is the one they’ve got.

Being our partner in life is always their goal

And maybe a treat and a heaping food bowl

‘Cause a head scratch and a thorough belly rub

Are prices gladly paid to be part of this club

Of a human and her dog, twin souls forever.

No matter how hard life is to weather.

“Where you go, I go!” She wags with a wiggle

Of her body and I can't contain my giggle.

“Mountains, or deserts, or rivers, or streams,

We’ll tackle them all ‘cause we are a team!”

“New houses, new yards, new pee-mails to check,

New cats, new humans; well, oh what the heck?

Even the little human, who I never asked for,

Can be part of my pack while we roll on the floor."

So you see, it’s rather quite simple and true,

‘Man’s best friend’…a dog, and then you.

Bonded together, no matter how little the time,

'Twas time well spent, with that best friend of mine.

From puppy years of chewing and barking and more,

Potty training, digging, vet visits and snores,

Slobbering on windows, yanking the leash,

Licking my face every time you could reach.

Sitting on feet, leaning against my leg,

And listening to me when I said, “Don’t beg!”

Howling at fire trucks, bouncing at the back door,

Hysterical ‘bath time theatrics’ that made my gut sore,

Hiding from the vacuum, ‘clean up the mess’

Rawhides were okay, Nylabones were the best.

Being allowed on the bed was a super special treat

You’d run ‘round crazy in a furry blonde streak.

A decade of memories tucked away in my heart.

How much I miss you? Don’t know where to start.

Best friends can be human for some, I believe.

Mine? A goofy lab mutt who refused to retrieve.

My imperfect diamond, my flawed little pearl,

My best friend, my Arwen, always my ‘Baby Girl.’

Rest easy, my sweet Arwen... 12/25/01 - 12/06/12

Halo was Heavenly

Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone—especially herself—from the Dark Forces.

Is love a great enough power against evil?

I have to say this was an incredibly sweet book. It is obvious that Miss Alexandra Adornetto is either close to her religion or has done loads of research. There is a Biblical undertone in Halo that is sort of lacking in other Angel novels. Now I am no avid church-goer, but I really enjoyed this book.

Bethany comes to Earth with her vastly older siblings, Gabriel and Ivy. Darkness has begun to consume and their mission is to stifle the hold of Darkness by getting the communities to bond together and their faiths.

While Ivy busies herself with community outreach projects Gabriel signs up at the local high schools new music teacher. Bethany, Beth, being only seventeen (even in angel years) enrolls as a student. Both of Beth’s siblings have power and wisdom; Gabriel the mighty angelic warrior and Ivy is a healer. Beth is still trying to find her way, but she has a tremendous amount of fascination with the human race that could possibly be her doom.

Beth falls head over wing for a human boy, Xavier. Their budding love is truly sweet and almost poetic. It is through Xavier’s faith in God and Beth that they bond. Of course once he finds the truth of Beth things get complicated. Gabriel thinks it’s reckless for the human to know too much, but Xavier soon shows his worth.

Darkness descends on the small beach community and its high school in the name of Jake Thorn.  He is hot and dangerous. Students begin to flock to this piper and bad things start to happen to the students. It is up to the resident angels to squash this foe before any further damage can be done and/or Beth loses her way.

The characters were nice and fairly well thought out. Gabriel is all angelic warrior, Ivy is the loving older sister, and Beth is not unlike any other seventeen year old, despite her celestial upbringing. As I said, Halo has a strong Biblical undertone, but I did not find it preachy in any sort of way. The love between Beth and Xavier was sweet and innocent.

Everything about Halo I found to be subtle in a nice way. There is action, drama, and love, but not done in an over-the-top way you see in other novels. The only thing that bothered me about Halo was the pacing. Being a larger novel it could have moved faster. I felt like there was so much tedious day-to-day info covered that really didn’t need to be there. It slowed the book down too much for me. Other than that, it was a really sweet read.

Did Halo rock my world? Maybe not rock, but certainly a good sway! 6.0 on the Richter scale.