2011 book meme

I got this idea from Good Girl Gone Redneck.

Using only titles of books that you read this year (2011), complete the prompts below. Try not to repeat any book titles. Think creatively and have fun!

Describe yourself: This Girl Is Different by J.J. Johnson

How do you feel: Arms Wide Open by Patricia Harman

Describe where you currently live: If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now by Claire LaZebnick

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker (not the dance, but the city)

Your favorite form of transportation: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (I wish!)

Your best friend is: The First Husband by Laura Dave

You and your friends are: A Family of Readers by Roger Sutton

What's the weather like: Something Blue by Emily Giffin (Very nice, blue sky; unseasonably warm for July)

What is life to you: Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford

Favorite time of day: The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma and
When She Woke by Hillary Jordan (I had to chose two- one for the time I read with Brayden, and one for my personal reading time.)

Your fear: Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir by Sonya Huber

What is the best advice you have to give: What Mothers Do:Especially When It Looks Like Nothing by Naomi Stadlen

Thought for the day: The Future of Us by Jay Asher (lots of decisions to make in my little family)

How I would like to die: Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon

My soul's present condition: The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

What I wish everyone would read

Image found here

I had this great idea for a post- the 10 books I think everyone should read. Doesn't that sound like a fun list to make? Except when it came down to it, I couldn't do it.

I couldn't narrow it down. "Fine, I'll do a fiction list and a non-fiction list," I thought to myself. Cut then within non-fiction, there were more than five. Way more than five.

And then I thought about all the books I'm sure are worthy of being on such a list, but I just haven't gotten around to them yet. At this point, I get a little depressed. There are so many books I want to read. This is where I wish the picture above were true!

What would be on your list? Let me know, and it will probably end up on my to-read list.

Anyway, here are just a few books that would be on my list.

Fiction

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

1984 by George Orwell

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Non-fiction

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

When Everything Changed by Gail Collins

Maus by Art Spiegelman

White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son by Tim Wise

Parenting

Nurtureshock by Po Bronson

Adventures in Gentle Discipline by Hilary Flower

Books that would likely be on the list if I could get around to reading them

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen

Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves by Naomi Aldort

Class Matters by Bill Keller

Ten on Tuesday

1- November is known as NaNoWrMo, or National Novel Writing Month. Someone somewhere along the line crafted a spin-off called NaBloPoMo. or National Blog Posting Month. I'm going to try to do it- one post a day, even if it's just a picture or quote some days

2- We went up to Park City a few weeks ago. It was such a nice Saturday. We ate breakfast at Ruth's Diner and drove up Emigration Canyon to I-80. We walked up and down Main Street, saw a Banksy, stopped in at two bookstores (my favorite kind of stores), and took the free trolley. Brayden LOVED that trolley. We took Guardsman pass and Big Cottonwood Canyon the way back.

3- I just finished rereading The New York Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker. I really enjoy this book. I think she's a good writer and I find it refreshing when people are honest about the religious struggles they have. After checking it out of the library to read twice in two years, I think it's one I want to own.

4- I am really enjoying the books my book club has chosen. We take turns choosing and end up with a really good variety. Many times, it's a book I wouldn't have gotten to otherwise like The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt or As Nature Made Him by John Colapinto. This month, we are reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.

5- I made Brayden a Halloween sensory bin. He has really spent a lot of time playing with it. I got the idea from various bloggers and Pinterest. I can't wait to make a Thanksgiving one.

 

6- I don't need another news show to watch, but I watched last night's Rock Center with Brian Williams during Brayden's nap. I really like Brian Williams. I'll probably try to catch it when I'm home. His first guest was Jon Stewart, and you all know how much I love him.

7- I've been watching Parenthood on Netflix instant streaming. Good show.

8- We had our nephew Jack sleep over on Friday night. I'm just going to say it- Jack and Brayden stayed up really, really late (3:00 am late). And made a huge mess. They had a blast though, and both of them helped Adam clean the next morning.

9- There's a city council race in Midvale making news. I haven't written on it, but it's made both big newspapers and Fox 13, at least. It's weird to not be able to write about it. I'm really interested in the outcome though. One more week.

10- My family had a Halloween party on Sunday night. We've got the Black Spiderman (does he have a name other than that?), Luigi, a butterfly, Woody, and Buzz.

Recently read

Autobiography of an Execution by David R. Dow

"If you have reservations about supporting a racist, classist, unprincipled regime, a regime where white skin is valued far more highly than dark, where prosecutors hide evidence and policemen routinely lie, where judges decide what justice requires by consulting the most recent Gallup poll, where rich people sometimes get away with murder and never end up on death row, then the death-penalty system we have here in America will embarrass you to no end."

"In theory, there is a presumption of innocence in the American legal system, innocent until proven guilty, but in practice, it is just the opposite. Juries trust the police and the prosecutors, especially when the jurors are middle-class white folks. They think that if someone gets arrested and goes on trial, there must be good reasons to believe that he did it."

Squashed by Joan Bauer

"Winning's a fine thing, Ellie, but it's all the months and years before and after that made you who you are."

Cover Me: A Health Insurance Memoir by Sonya Huber

"Poverty and numbers alone had run us up against a last refuge, the generosity of a hospital that could write us off by claiming a donation to the poor. These things are the opposite of a guarantee and so the opposite of a sense of security. They impart the adrenaline rush of a bullet whizzing by one's ear, clipping millimeters of flesh and delivering a narrow margin of safety that emphasizes its own transience. This was my first real sense of us as three, as a family; three was the number that made our combined income not genteel poverty but a bit of an emergency, and three was the number that made the $3,000 disappear. I felt so guilty for putting my son to work in the numbers game in the weeks before he even understood the outlines of this world. He was already working, already helping with too much of the burden, for this thin-stretched family."

Every Thing On It by Shel Silverstein

Wall Marks

Those stratchy marks there on the wall,
They show how short I used to be.
They rise until they get this tall,
And Mama keeps reminding me
The way my Dad would take his pen
And as I stood there, stiff and straight,
He'd put a ruler on my head
And mark the spot and write the date.
She says that it's my history,
But I don't understand at all
Just why she cries each time she sees
Those sratchy marks there on the wall.

Yesees and Noees

The Yesees said yes to anything
That anyone suggested.
The Noees said no to everything
Unless it was proven and tested.
So the Yesees all died of much too much
And the Noees all died of fright,
But somehow I think the Thinkforyourselfees
All came out all right.

What mothers do

Honestly, it must have been fate. I can usually remember if someone specific recommends a book to me, but all I can think is that I found this book browsing on Goodreads. Thank goodness. Based on the title, I was expecting a feel-good book about motherhood. It was that, but it was also so much more. This book might be worth your while...

If you've ever felt like you do nothing all day at home with your baby.

"Has the time simply "gone?" Even now, as we look at her, you and I can clearly see that she is being present for her baby. She has given up her shower and her lunch. She is devoting her time and energy to him. We are looking at a baby who is being generously mothered. But most people would find it hard to explain this. Our language can be very clear and precise about anything practical. A person who has "tidied up" has both the words and a tidy area to show for it. It is much harder to find a word that describes the giving-up-things mode of attention a mother is giving to her baby."

If you wonder why motherhood looks so effortless for others and is so hard for you.

"A woman in the first shock of love is expected to be dreamy and forgetful. A person bereaved is expected to feel lonely and tearful. Mothers may be given a "warming-up" period of a couple of weeks. After that, they are usually expected to be calm and capable. Would it not be much more realistic to expect new mothers to be unprepared, anxious, confused, and very emotional for at least the first six months? If we could accept that this beginning is the norm for most new mothers, we would be in a better position to be supportive and respectful."

If you enjoy commiserating with other moms, but feel a twinge of regret when the advice begins. If you're guilty of dispensing unasked-for advice (I know I am).

"Rarely is it necessary to tell a mother what to do. It may demoralize her further, and it certainly does not help her to learn. A mother needs to feel safe enough to risk feeling uncertain. People who offer advice cannot know all the details of her situation. They also don't usually have to live with the long-term consequences of their advice. A mother needs time to "grow" into parenthood, together with her partner. She needs enough confidence to experiment and change her mind a few times. She needs to learn that some of her ideas work. The most uncertain and under-confident beginner can gradually turn herself into a unique mother."

Looking forward to...

-The Muppets movie (and this nail polish collection) I just watched the preview and yes, it looks cheesy, but I still want to see it. I want to get some of that nail polish too.

-Crossed by Ally Condie In fact, just thinking about Crossed makes me want to reread Matched!

-Ides of March Politics, George Clooney and Ryan Gosling? I am so in.

-Up All Night I love Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph. I have high hopes for this show even though he hasn't really had a successful show since Arrested Development. And Arrested Development achieved most of it's success after it went off the air.

-Bradley Cooper playing Lucifer Hollywood is making a film adaptation of Paradise Lost. This could go very wrong, but I do like the idea of Bradley Cooper playing Lucifer. He seems like a very smooth, sneaky guy.

-The Iron Lady Meryl Streep can do no wrong.

-J. Edgar (directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo DiCaprio) J. Edgar Hoover is one of those historical figures I didn't learn much about in school history classes. I remember learning about McCarthy, but not Hoover and it seems like Hoover was just as bad. I know this shows how much of a nerd I am, but I cannot wait to see this.

-The Great Gatsby film (also with Leonardo DiCaprio) Leo as Jay Gatsby? Swoon. You have to understand that I was at a very impressionable age when Leo played the characters of Romeo and Jack (Titanic). I've had a bit of a crush on him ever since.

-Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien A dystopian novel involving reproductive choices- you know that's one I'll be reading.

Thank You, Harry

via across the stars

I have to say that I am so glad the last movie came out when it did. Yes, I am sad that there aren't any more books and movies to look forward to. However, this movie's release timing was just perfect for me.

The week before the movie came out was the worst of the six week long flare-up. I was in so much pain. Honestly, being preoccupied with all things Harry Potter helped me get through it. I watched one movie a day leading up to seeing Deathly Hallows Part 2. I started rereading the book as well. I talked about it with friends. I started a Harry Potter board on Pinterest. Go take a look at it and come back. Here are my favorites:

via deviantart

Wouldn't a Harry Potter Guess Who? game be awesome? It looks like the link is a bit of a dead end and doesn't actually have the artwork download, but maybe someone else will do it.

via Chicago Scooter Club

I love this picture. The first movie may be cheesy, and these four actors needed time to grow into their role and learn stronger acting skills, but they sure succeeded. Chris Columbus did a terrific casting job.





Yes, I'm aware that I am a nerd. But at least I was a nerd not thinking as much about the pain she was in. Really, I can't put into words what the whole 10+ year span of Harry Potter books and movies movies have meant to me, but just in that week before the 21st it meant the world to me.

Library Showgirl

I decided to start a new blog devoted entirely to reading. It can be found at www.libraryshowgirl.blogspot.com. (I'll fix the link once Blogger stops acting up). Yes, it's called Library Showgirl. If you remember this story, you'll know why.

I hope you click over and enjoy it. And, if anyone ever wants to post a review there, let me know. It would be so fun to read reviews from my friends.

Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

This book has been on my to-read list since it came out. I knew it was a story of a long-term kidnapping with a child born into the situation, and that the book was written from his 5 year old perspective. Can you even imagine? I definitely couldn't and so this book was so much more than I thought. The story of Ma's kidnapping, captivity and their escape is all interesting. I got so much more than an entertaining reading session or two.

I got a look at what solo-parenting would really look like. Not just single parenting, but full on solo-parenting. No one to help you, no parenting books, nothing. I'm so glad I'll never have to do that. Before the escape, I thought to myself while reading about how hard it must have been for Ma. After the escape, I realized just how abnormal it is and how important it is to have a supportive family or community behind you as a parent.

Along those lines, Ma does some things as a parent that society doesn't agree with once they hear about it. For one, she never cuts his hair. People call him a girl as they start to venture out. The biggest things, though, were co-sleeping (except when the kidnapper came at night) and extended breastfeeding. They just can't believe he is still breastfed. Yes, he is 5. It made sense to me, though. All of these things change, slowly, after the escape. His adjustment to the world was actually heart-breaking to read. It's so hard for him that he at first just wants to go back to Room.

I read a lot. Many books are interesting while I am reading, but soon forgotten. I already know that Room will stay with me for a long time. It made me think about my parenting style and it's helping me have more empathy for Brayden and all other children.

3/365

My current library stash shows where my reading focus has been lately: a;; over the place. A bit of parenting advice, a dash of feminism, a whole bunch of politics, with some young adult fiction to round it out.

From the top: the movie The Ghost Writer, Give Me Liberty by Naomi Wolf, Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading by Lizzie Skurnick, Notes from the Cracked Ceiling by Anne E. Kornblut, The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer, The Essential Feminist Reader edited by Estelle B. Freedman, A Family of Readers: The Book Lover's Guide to Children's and Young Adult Literature by Roger Sutton and Martha V. Parravano, and The Successful Child by Dr. William and Martha Sears

2010 media review

Books

This will be long, as I read 124 books and gave 20 of them 5 stars and 38 of them 4 stars. I'll break it up so I can include more. My favorite authors were Stieg Larsson (the Millenium trilogy), Roald Dahl (especially Matilda and Danny the Champion of the World), and Nancy Werlin (Extraordinary and Impossible). My favorite genres were dystopian literature (The Giver, Matched, Mockingjay, Birthmarked and 1984), and non-fiction (The Family Dinner, Earth, Half the Sky, White Like Me and Adventures in Gentle Discipline). Outside of those groupings, I also loved The Help, A Fine Balance, These Is My Words, and The Phantom Tollbooth. Note: I'm able to remember all this thanks to the wonderful website Goodreads.

Movies

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, Easy A, The Social Network, Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon, The Town, Iron Man 2

Ones that would likely be on the list if I had had a chance to see them: Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, The Kids Are All Right, Black Swan

TV

Modern Family



Glee



The Sing-Off



Also: House, The Office, Community

Links

100 Best Signs at the Rally to Restore Sanity

G is for Gumption

Fictional feminist icons

I have read countless blog posts, stories and articles on breastfeeding, but this one has to be one of the most heartwarming and inspiring.

And I'll end with this, one of my favorite clips of the year. PSA: If you don't know Colbert's schtick, don't get offended. He is a devout Catholic in real life and even teaches sunday school. This is just a character he plays.

Harry Potter

(As long as power doesn't go out, you can expect multiple posts from me as I try to catch up on what's been going on.)



So.... Harry Potter. Was. Amazing! I should have expected it to be, but I didn't. Why?

Well, I had heard about the "nude" scene and I was worried about it. Not appropriate for one, not in the book for two, plus I had heard who it involved and I was just angry about that. It was so not a big deal. I should have known, since it was KSL that was reporting on it. Both Ann (Adam's sister) and I were worried about it until it happened, and for me it actually ruined a really touching scene where Harry and Hermoine dance because I thought it might happen then.

I also wasn't sure I could handle the midnight premiere. I am getting older, you know. I never even came close to dozing off, which I have been known to do before (but never during Harry Potter).

It was so good and I loved so many things about it. As I mentioned, I loved the dancing scene (and will appreciate it even more when I'm not worried about it turning into something else). I loved the animated telling of the tale of the three hallows. I loved the acting, as always. The kids have gotten better with each one and the adults (Alan Rickman and Helena Bonham Carter especially) have always done well.

I cannot wait for the next movie but at the same time I will be so sad when it is all over. I do have introducing Brayden to the wonder that is Harry Potter to look forward to though. And how I will love that. Ann and I have decided that we (Adam's siblings) will all go the Harry Potter theme park when that happens.

Book review: Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Preface: I know this review is long, but this was an amazing and eye-opening book. I highly recommend it.

The authors of Half the Sky make the case that the oppression of women globally has been our era's worst human rights violation, and they make that case persuasively. They focus on three things: sex trafficking and prostitution, gender-based violence (mass rape), and maternal mortality. From the beginning, it is made clear that this is not just about discrimination, this is true oppression:

"In the wealthy countries of the West, discrimination is usually a matter of unequal pay or under funded sports teams or unwanted touching from a boss. In contrast, in much of the world discrimination is lethal. In India, for example, mothers are less likely to take their daughters to be vaccinated than their sons- that alone counts for one fifth of India's missing females... All told, girls in India from one to five years of age are 50% more likely to die than boys the same age."

I dog-eared so many pages. They did an amazing job of putting faces and names to the horror of rapes, forced prostitution and fistulas. That was exactly their point, because they say studies have proven that individual stories carry more impact than statistics in getting people to donate their time, money or effort. Here are some of the stories than impacted me.

A female medical tech in South Africa was told by a rape victim "If only I had teeth down there." Some time later, a man came in to the hospital in pain because his penis was stuck in his zipper. Because rape is such a huge problem there, the medical tech put two and two together and made a product she calls the Rapex. It's inserted like a tampon, but is a tube with barbs inside! In response to critics, she said "A medieval device for a medieval deed." I honestly wasn't sure what to think about this story, and I'm still unsure. But it has stuck with me since I read it.

The stories of maternal mortality got to me. I know I'm an advocate for natural birth, but there is still a place for the medical community in birth. The World Health Organization's statistics are that 536,000 women died in pregnancy or childbirth in 2005, and that number is hardly different then the number thirty years ago. That means that in thirty years with all the medical advances we have come up with, about the same amount of women are dying. It's because they aren't getting the care they need, especially in the developing world (although sadly, America's maternal mortality rate is high for developed countries). An Ethiopian girl named Mahabouba is a sad, but perfect example. She was sold into slavery and became a second wife. She was raped by her "husband" and beaten by the first wife. She got pregnant and was able to run away when she was seven months along. Her uncle let her stay in a little hut by her house. She went into labor by herself, because she couldn't afford a midwife. Her labor was obstructed because her pelvis hadn't grown enough to accommodate the passing of a baby (she was 13). After a week, she fell unconscious and some finally called a birth attendant. The baby was dead, and she had developed a fistula, or a hole. She became incontinent, as many fistula sufferers do. The nerve damage was so bad she couldn't walk for some time. She was lucky and eventually made it to a fistula hospital (yes, there are so many that they have hospitals just for their treatment). She was able to learn to walk again, but will have a colostomy the last of her life.

The last part of the book is spent discussing things that have made a difference. Things like iodizing salt. I had no idea. 31% of households in the developing world don't get enough iodine. This can lead to brain damage while still in the womb, and apparently female fetuses need iodine even more so. I liked this quote: "According to one estimate, just $19 million would pay for salt iodization in poor countries that need it, This would yield economic benefits that another study found were nine times the cost. The result is that while salt iodization is one of the least glamorous forms of assistance possible, development geeks rave about it."

Another thing that has helped is paying families to keep their girls in school. Girls getting educated not only boosts the GNP of countries, but it also puts off motherhood and reduces the number of children born to the girl. And studies have found that females work harder to help pay for the education of relatives or their children.

At the end, there is a section of what you can do to help in the broader sense, and then four easier steps you can make in the next ten minutes. Some of them simply have to do with awareness, but www.kiva.org is also mentioned, because microloans are another simple thing that is making a big difference.

Book Review: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race

Some of you might have the idea that I like Jon Stewart. That's more than true. I LOVE him. I'm reminded of a quote from Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander (hilarious book by the way): "White women all consider Jon Stewart to be the most perfect man on the planet. This is not a debate, it is law." What is there not to like? Anyways, now that you all know how I feel about him, I'll get to the book review. The book is written by all the writers of the show, not just Jon Stewart but to simplify things I'll just use "he."

Earth is written for the aliens that will come to our planet in the future after we have been destroyed. It turns out to be a biting and funny commentary on our beginnings, our history and especially our current society. The first page (a note to alien readers) has the perfect example: "Nothing would have united us as a species like the perceived existential threat posed by you. Not that we had reason to assume your intentions in coming here were anything but honorable. It's just that in general, our own first-time interactions had a certain "killing each other" feeling-out period." So true, such a serious subject, and both sad and funny because it is true. He goes on to mention how some people believed aliens had come many times before, usually kidnapping rural residents and that "these humans also believed our governments, known mostly for bureaucratic incompetence, had somehow made your alien presence the one thing they could keep masterfully secret." Here are some other gems:

North America
Nickname: "The Landmass That Kicks Landass!"
North America was Earth's newest continent, formed c. 1492. Blessed with abundant freshwater and fertile soil, it was settled remarkably quickly thanks to the extermination of one race, the enslavement of a second and the can-do attitude of a third.

There is a page on incarceration in the Society chapter, and the intro reads: "One of our core beliefs was that criminals could be rehabilitated by locking them up with other criminals in dehumanizing conditions. In retrospect, we believed a lot of crazy s***." He really makes me think about things deeper, both in the book and on his show. Things that I've always just accepted as normal. Not that I'm against incarceration for criminals, but that it's ridiculous to believe it rehabilitates the criminal.

I loved reading this book. It made me laugh, it made me think, it made me cry (kidding on that last one). Now anyone want to sponsor me so I can attend his Rally to Restore Sanity? I so wish I could go.

To Kill a Mockingbird

It's hard to believe that in over two years of blogging, my favorite book has only gotten a passing mention in a list of books that everyone should read. That will be remedied today, on the 50th anniversary of it's publication. It's hard to put into words how I feel about this book. It's almost scripture to me.

This was on the news earlier. I have so much respect for the author and the characters she has created. I've said before that I wish she had written more, but I see her point about attempting to top TKAM being a futile attempt.

I love the names Harper, Atticus, Jem and Scout and used to want to possibly use them in a child's name (before Adam vetoed them). Atticus is hands down, my favorite. I have a reading journal where I kept track of some of the life lessons learned in TKAM, and most of them are from him (although I can't discount Calpurnia).

Here are some of the lessons from TKAM I strive to follow:

"Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets."

"Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win."

"Most people are (nice), Scout, when you finally see them."

Looking at these and some of the other lessons I had written down, I think it's time for me to relearn some of these. It's a good thing I bought the book yesterday (my first copy from 9th grade fell apart).

Life is good-

I saw an awesome book at Barnes and Noble today called The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha and it was very inspiring. Here's what would be in my "book of awesome" today:

I can see again! I had no idea how much my prescription had changed, and I'm not-so-secretly glad my glasses broke. Everything is much more clear now.

Not that I needed to, but I added even more books to be "to read" list, including The Book of Awesome, another dystopian novel, The Carrie Diaries (yes, I'm a Sex and the City fan),a book called Little Blog on the Prairie, and a few others.

Brayden had a blast in the nursery after being not so quiet in Relief Society. I got compliments from the ladies in there along with an old YW leader later in the day about how cute he is, how well he walks, and how chubby he is. Yes, I take that as a compliment since I am his main form of nourishment. :)

We were given two gifts from different family members today- both unexpected. We love our family so much and are so grateful for their support. I also had a yummy dinner with my parents.

Oh, that dinner was so good! See, trying to be good and all, I have avoided fried chicken like the plague the last few years. It's seriously been at least 2-3 years since I had any. Well, I ended that streak tonight and have no regrets. It was delicious.

Reading this post on the awesome blog and watching the accompanying video. I love the song Livin' on a Prayer. It totally fits Adam and I right now. Our jobs may be crappy (mine almost non-existent), but we're together, happy and making it work somehow.

This quote: Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are… Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect Tomorrow. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.
- Mary Jean Iron

These pictures of my cute boy:

My sad little punk boy attempting a smile


Can you see the heart shape on his cheek? He woke up from a nap like that and I thought it was so cute! It may not be as noticeable in the picture though.


And this is my drunk boy (jk)! Isn't it funny when you end up with silly pictures of babies?


I love the joy on his face... and I love his blue fingernails! My friend Karen gave him his first manicure last week. Daddy and Grandpa didn't like it, but I think it's cute.

Dystopian literature

I have to say that I love the current trend in YA fiction for dystopian literature. Hopefully it's replacing the supernatural trend (you know- vampires and werewolves and fairies oh my). I actually think dystopian literature is good for teens. The characters are strong and they fight for what is right. They rebel against oppression, which is always a good lesson. And I know this sounds foreboding of me, but these teens will know what oppressive governments and societies are like. They will hopefully not be apathetic to changes similar to ones in these books.

I just finished Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien. It was so good! It's set about 300 years in the future and begins with a 16 year old midwife "advancing" her first official delivery to the Enclave. She lives in a society outside of the walled Enclave, and each midwife has to advance the first three babies delivered each month. After this, all hell breaks loose. Her parents are arrested and she begins to question the Enclave's rule while she is in search of her parents. And yes, like the best YA fiction, there is romance- the wonderful slow-building kind.

This looks like a fabulous list of YA dystopian novels. Out of his list, I've read The Giver by Lois Lowry (but not its companion novels), The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, The Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix and most the The Uglies series by Scott Westerfield. I would recommend all of them. The rest sound interesting too, especially Genesis by Bernard Beckett, Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines, and The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Of course, I also want to read Brave New World by Aldolus Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell (I'm actually ashamed of myself for not reading this because I was an English major and my husband who is definitely not a reader has read it). Reading Birthmarked also made me want to reread The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. They're both dystopian novels, and they both have to do with birthing babies so I was think of Atwood's novel as I was reading Birthmarked.

The Olden Days

I am reading The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It is just crazy to me how much our world has changed in just over 100 years. I love these stories, because they are reminding me that family is what is really important.

I have to say, though, I cannot imagine living in those times. I'm sure we could eventually adjust, but I have no idea how to make cheese, preserve meat, and all the other things Ma does to help them survive.

We went to Wheeler Farm today and it was so neat to see the farm and think about the books. There was a two week old baby goat that was so cute, and a pregnant goat due to have her baby or babies any day now.

I'm so glad we have books about what life used to be like and old-fashioned farms that we can still go to. You can even milk a cow at Wheeler Farm. This is really sad, but I've never milked a cow. That will change this year, though. I think we will be at Wheeler Farm a lot this spring and summer. I am also definitely going to read all 9 of the Little House books, and I might even request the DVDs of the show from Netflix. Nicki and I watched that show almost every morning, but we never got to see full episodes because we had to leave for school before it was over.

Roald Dahl

Doesn't he just look like the most awesome grandpa? A little crazy though, to be honest.

So do you remember my list of 50 books I was going to read in 2010? I sure do. Well, I have changed a few of them. If I start a book and really can't get into it, I've changed it. I've only done it with two of them so far. One I changed to reading all of Roald Dahl's works. Then I found out just how much he wrote- it's a lot! I narrowed it down to juvie fiction and I think I've read most of it. I really enjoyed it. He has such a great imagination. I love the message he gives at the end of Danny the Champion of the World:

A MESSAGE
to children who have read this book

When you grow up
and have children of your own,
do please remember something important.

A stodgy parent is no fun at all!

What a child wants
-and DESERVES-
is a parent who is

SPARKY!

I kinda like his anti-hunting message in The Magic Finger:

The Magic Finger- against hunting
Mr. Gregg- "We are allowed to shoot ducks."
"Who allows you?" asked the duck.
"We allow each other," said Mr. Gregg.
'Very nice," said the duck. "And now we are going to allow each other to shoot you."

It's been awhile and I can't remember which book this phrase came from but I love it: catasterous disastrophe.

I love that he was charitable: He donated all the proceeds from The Vicar of Nibbleswicke to the Dyslexia Institute in London and started the Roald Dahl Foundation which is still in place today.

And lastly, the books in general. Matilda has always been a favorite, but I also enjoyed Danny the Champion of the World and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Roald Dahl's Revolting Rhymes was funny, but be warned that I think it's more appropriate for older children for sure.

Eat, Pray, Love

I have a conflicting relationship with this book. I've read it more than once, skimmed over it looking at what I've highlighted or noted multiple times. It inspires me so much but at the very same time it makes me insanely jealous. I have made peace though when I read it after having had Brayden. Because even though I can't travel the world (at least not right now), I have so many joys in my life that the author hasn't experienced. Anyways, the trailer for the movie came out today, and I am so excited to see it!