Power Down pt. 2

I sat and cut out coupons today.  It's the first time I've done so in years, and it was enlightening. 
For example, when did they start putting in coupons for condoms?  I was tempted to cut that coupon out, but on the off chance one of my parents saw it, I decided not to.
After that, my Dad and I went out for an early dinner.  My Dad had been planning some culinary adventure, but without power, he was unable to start.
We talked about plans for my future education.  I repeated some of the things I've been saying several times, and my Dad reacted to them as if they were totally new.  This is always a little disappointing, because it means he's not listening to me. 
We had dinner.  Our waiter, Erik, was very cute in a clearly-a-Scandinavian way.  I imagined him dressed as a Viking.  I imagined the two of us in one of those Viking romance novels.  (Only, one without so much misogyny.)  He acted shocked when I ordered alcohol and had an id that indicated I was of age. 
As we were eating, my Mom called.  She had gone over to Elizabeth's house to watch her daughter for Elizabeth.  This really annoys me.  Like I said before, Elizabeth is cheap when it comes to babysitting, even though we are family friends and she is forever expecting me to just watch her kid.  So last night when my Mom asked me to babysit for her, I said no.  I said I'd rather watch my Grandma, where I wouldn't be responsible for constantly entertaining her and could get some of my own work done. 
So, apparently this means that my Mom has to pick up the slack.  Elizabeth knows that my Mom is crazy busy and stressed, since that's all she talks about.  Elizabeth takes advantage of us, and my Mom lets her. 
Sorry, I didn't mean to digress.
Anyway, my Mom called, asking my Dad and I to bring her food for her and my sister (who decided to drop by Elizabeth's house too...).  So we got a salad and some crispy chicken. 
I took a moment to check my email at Elizabeth's house, because they actually had power, unlike us. 
The my sister mentioned that she had left the front door unlocked.  Usually, she's so much smarter than that.  Instead of calling us to ask for help, she just left. 
We don't live in a really dangerous neighborhood, but every year people in the neighborhood get robbed.  It's almost on clockwork.  A group of people comes in around two or three at night, opens whatever doors or cars they can, and takes everything out and litters the stuff in front of the house.  And then groups drive by and pick through, taking what they want.

Inspirational Romance

I found the most delightful thing this morning at my Grandma's place: Christian romance novels! Or, I should probably say Inspirational Romance, which is one of the worst marketing brands I've ever seen. And not only does she have Inspirational Romance, she has Amish romances.
I've heard of Amish romances, and I've been curious as to what exactly they're like to read. (Do they accurately depict the community? Is the writing decent?) And, well, now someone's gone and given me an opportunity to find out.
The first book is called Karen Kingsbury's Forever. It's apparently about a woman who is about to get married when she experiences "tragic news." That's vague and unhelpful. Is it the sort of tragedy that would intrigue me?
The second book was a 2-in-1 of The Postcard and The Crossroad. The Postcard is apparently about a young woman who, after her husband and son die, moves back home to help her family run a bread and breakfast. While there, she meets a man who has found a postcard and sets off a mysterious series of events. Again, the description was vague, which really irks me. But it seems much more interesting than the other novel, and you know, there's the promise of actually plot in this thing. (That's right: I read romance novels for plot. Go ahead and scoff.) The Crossroad is about the same couple. Only apparently now the heroine is hysterically blind. Hysterically blind? It's a good thing that people with disabilities have a literature of their own, but this feels like the author is just contriving drama.
I read a lot, and I like romance novels. Because finding a good romance novel is so hard, I do a lot of searching online, and I read a lot of descriptions hoping to find something promising. Neither of these sound like they could capture my attention the way other novels have, but the last book sounds better than the first, just because it's more specific.
Because I am a serious English major, people like to make fun of me for this interest of mine. I'll admit that finding a well-written, non-misogynist romance novel is like trying to find one needle in all the haystacks of Kansas, but when you find something good, you keep going back to it. That's why I love Austen so much. She actually knows what she's doing.
Actually, one of the best romance novels I've ever read was Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife, which was a sequel to Pride and Prejudice. I guess what surprised me most about it was that it managed to say a lot about Regency society, and there was still plenty of time for love.
Yeah, yeah, I know: I'm a romantic. So sue me. Or, better yet, if you're a cute guy, call me.
My Grandma has never been a romantic or a reader, so how she got these books I'm not sure. But maybe they were meant to find me just as much as they were meant to find her.