2011 was an okay for reading. I checkout out a lot of books and even finished a few of them. I hate to admit it but I've let a lot of my reading time go to wasting time on the internet (I'm so ashamed!) I need to be better about reading in 2012, Facebook or no Facebook. Here are the ones I read all the way through.
The Book Thief - I read this for SDBBE. I've read it before but I really enjoyed reading it with my exchange girls.
Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - also read this for SDBBE. I loved the flashbacks to the pre-war Edinburgh.
The Reapers Are the Angels - this one I read twice. A book that has zombies but isn't really about zombies, but beauty and love and god and redemption. So wonderful.
Year of Wonders - I think this is my favorite Geraldine Brooks book. It is painful to read in places, but is such a good example of how liturature shows us how to rise above the circumstances and find good in any situation. Even the plague.
Spoiled - teenage melodrama, but cute and fun. This was my first book I ever read that was recommended by NPR. NPR is now one of my favorite places to get book recommendations.
Cold Sassy Tree - it took me 3 tries to read this book. I kept trying to read a different story than it was so I was frustrated (I know that doesn't make sense, but whatever.) Once I settled down and read the story Olive Burns had really written, I loved it.
Til We Have Faces - a retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid. I read this one with my SDBBE girls, and I enjoyed it even more for reading the comments. Plus wasn't familiar with the myth, so it made me smarter. Or not.
The Graveyard Book - my first Neil Gaimon book, and I liked it. I've also tried to read American Gods, but it was so foul-mouthed (even for me!) that I didn't finish it. I would like to read more of his books.
East of Eden - one of my favorites in the whole world. I even quoted 3 pages of it in my talk for my dad's funeral.
A Month of Summer - read this for SDBBE exchange. I read it right before my dad died but when I knew he probably wouldn't be around for much longer, so it has some bittersweetness to it.
State of Wonder - first Ann Patchett book. Loved it. Still need to talk with Britt about it.
One Day - I really want to see the movie of this. I read this on the beach in September and it was a perfect beach read.
The Night Circus - Love love loved it. I don't like the idea of circuses because they always have freaky and mean characters, but this book wasn't this way. It was about a circus but not a typical circus. Read it. Probably my favorite book of the year.
Matched - I liked this. I still need to read the sequel, but I'm not in a big hurry for some reason.
Before I Go To Sleep - this one was very clever and kept me guessing the whole time.
Uglies - I don't love this series. I read the first book but I couldnt' do the second and didn't even try the third. Meh.
Bud, Not Buddy - I recently saw this on the shelf at Thomas's school and smiled because I'd read it the month before. I didn't love it, but I liked it.
Birthmarked - I raced through this book. I think the main character was too self-possessed and good for a 16 year old, but I enjoyed it. I did not enjoy the sequel, however. Maybe I need a break from adolescent dystopias. And, while I'm on the topic, read this. It's really funny.
Books that I started but didn't finish:
1Q84. Wanted to love it, but didn't. Got about 100 pages in and gave up. It had over 700, and I only had it for 3 weeks.
Falling Together - Marisa de los Santos. I was sad this didn't grab my attention more. I loved Belong to Me and Love Walked In. Disappointing.
Prized - sequel to Birthmarked. Also disappointing. Hated that the author took the main character from one dystopia to another.
Tiger's Wife - I will get back to this one eventually.
I have a few books on the bookshelf for 2012. They include 1984, River of Smoke, The DoveKeepers, Cutting for Stone, and Chocolat.
So what was your favorite book of 2011? What are you going to read in 2012?
Friday, December 30, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Christmas: Report
How was your Christmas? I'm sure it was every bit as wild/frustrating/fun/remarkable as ours. But, in the spirit of remembering all the little things, here's some stuff I want to make note of:
What do you want to remember from this year? Write it down before you forget!
- My kids were crazy over presents. I spent most of Christmas Eve being mad at them because they went rogue and opened up presents at 10am without permission (sarcasm is not permission and, by the way, is not super effective for a 6 year old.) Therefore no Christmas Even jammies for them. But it was kind of okay, because there jammies were character jammies and I didn't relish the thought of character jammy pictures the next day. One day I'll laugh about it.
- We spent Christmas Eve Eve with friends and Christmas Eve with other friends and both nights were full of fun and laughs and yummy food.
- I was amazed at my friend Melanie who can cook an entire pan of sweet potatoes in less than a half an hour with a singular stick of butter. That lady can do anything in the kitchen. I had my doubts but she did it and the sweet potatoes were perfect. Hats off to you, Mel!
- Our reading of Luke 2 was just a little more exciting this year - Ben read a few verses. Yay for first graders!
- I loved having Christmas on Sunday. I had two moments that were amazing in church - one was a very touching testimony by someone I didn't know, and another a piano duet by two young women in in the ward. Amazing.
- I made 7 dozen rolls, 1 bundt chocolate cake, 4 dozen Swedish butter cookies, pull aparts, and breakfast casserole.
- It was a technology year with each member of my household receiving something new to waste time on. Yay us.
- My favorite gift? A bracelet from Shane's mom. I haven't taken it off since the moment I opened it.
- I met my newest great-nephew. He is so sweet!
- Took a picture of all my sweet great-nieces and nephews born this year.
What do you want to remember from this year? Write it down before you forget!
Friday, December 23, 2011
The most wonderful day of the year!
Happy Christmas Eve-Eve!! I love today. It is my favorite day of the year, except for Ragnar, which is a close second. There are no expectations for Christmas Eve-Eve. You just get to enjoy the fact that Christmas is close enough you can almost touch it - but it's still intact and ahead and full of possibilities.
Back when Shane's grandparents were healthy enough to travel, Christmas Eve-Eve was spent with them. We would get off of work and head to Shane's mom's house to eat and talk and enjoy each other. I miss those days. One year I went to the Nutcracker with my family and watched my niece dance. The year Thomas was born, we had him blessed on December 23rd. Last year we spent it with some good friends, and tonight we are going to dinner with other friends. I'm excited!
I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas Eve-Eve. Do something fun. Enjoy the fact that today is just an extra, free, almost-holiday. Do you have traditions for today?
Back when Shane's grandparents were healthy enough to travel, Christmas Eve-Eve was spent with them. We would get off of work and head to Shane's mom's house to eat and talk and enjoy each other. I miss those days. One year I went to the Nutcracker with my family and watched my niece dance. The year Thomas was born, we had him blessed on December 23rd. Last year we spent it with some good friends, and tonight we are going to dinner with other friends. I'm excited!
I hope you all have a fabulous Christmas Eve-Eve. Do something fun. Enjoy the fact that today is just an extra, free, almost-holiday. Do you have traditions for today?
Monday, December 19, 2011
This and that...Christmas Prep Edition
This: I want to remember - Friday night Thomas and I went to Target to do the kid's brother gifts for each other. We were walking out of the store and Thomas slipped his hand into mine and held it. It was such a great moment - he's teetering on the verge of Teenagedom, and I know enough to treasure them.
That: watched the Glee Christmas special and was so amazed. They read the scripture that you hear on Charlie Brown Christmas - Luke 2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Two of the characters took back their iPods and earrings and donated the money to charity. We decided that we could take back a few of the presents we had bought as "filler presents." Kids these days have so much! It was awesome to recognize that bigger isn't necessarily better.
This: I'm trying hard to do some different things exercise-wise. I've started doing the workouts on bodyrock.tv. The hosts are a bit narcissistic and they do moves that I can only do in my dreams, but I feel really good doing them. Plus they are doing a 12 days of Christmas series, so every few days the release a new workout. Kind of fun to shake things up. And I swear I feel less out of breath during my runs, which makes me happy.
That: We spent Sunday putting up a tree at my dad's grave with my family. I loved seeing my sisters, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews. We had a lot of fun and it was so nice to spend some time doing something for my dad.
This: I also spent Sunday with our dear Grandma Margaret, who turned 90 today. She is so amazing and I love her a lot. I took a picture of her holding her newest great-granddaughter who is only 2 months old. The manager brought her a handful of Olive Garden mints at the end of dinner and told her happy birthday. Grandma's face lit up and she told him how much she loved eating there. It was a great moment.
That: Shane's other grandma made us over 40 crocheted snowflakes and bells to decorate our tree. I have them everywhere. They are so beautiful and I can't believe she would make something so beautiful for us. She even made us an angel to go on the top of our tree.
Do you have some this and thats that you want to remember about this year? I can't believe Christmas is only 6 days away.
That: watched the Glee Christmas special and was so amazed. They read the scripture that you hear on Charlie Brown Christmas - Luke 2:11 "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." Two of the characters took back their iPods and earrings and donated the money to charity. We decided that we could take back a few of the presents we had bought as "filler presents." Kids these days have so much! It was awesome to recognize that bigger isn't necessarily better.
This: I'm trying hard to do some different things exercise-wise. I've started doing the workouts on bodyrock.tv. The hosts are a bit narcissistic and they do moves that I can only do in my dreams, but I feel really good doing them. Plus they are doing a 12 days of Christmas series, so every few days the release a new workout. Kind of fun to shake things up. And I swear I feel less out of breath during my runs, which makes me happy.
That: We spent Sunday putting up a tree at my dad's grave with my family. I loved seeing my sisters, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews. We had a lot of fun and it was so nice to spend some time doing something for my dad.
This: I also spent Sunday with our dear Grandma Margaret, who turned 90 today. She is so amazing and I love her a lot. I took a picture of her holding her newest great-granddaughter who is only 2 months old. The manager brought her a handful of Olive Garden mints at the end of dinner and told her happy birthday. Grandma's face lit up and she told him how much she loved eating there. It was a great moment.
That: Shane's other grandma made us over 40 crocheted snowflakes and bells to decorate our tree. I have them everywhere. They are so beautiful and I can't believe she would make something so beautiful for us. She even made us an angel to go on the top of our tree.
Do you have some this and thats that you want to remember about this year? I can't believe Christmas is only 6 days away.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
The Christmas card/photo: A progression
Growing up, I can't remember ever sending Christmas cards. Every now and again, after a particularly active holiday greeting card year, my dad would make a list of who had sent us a card and make it a goal to send Christmas cards to those individuals. But handy list or not, we still never sent them. I kind of felt bad for those who sent us cards because they were pretty much SOL on chances of getting one back.
But, at the end of the 20th century (or, in other words, the first year Shane and I were married, 1999) I decided I would send Christmas cards. I got out the address book I had gotten as a wedding present almost a year before and filled with various names and addresses and went down the list. I sent cards to all my sisters, my parents, Shane's two sets of parents, various uncles and aunts, friends, and my bunko lists. That year set a precedence for the annual Christmas card.
And even though back then, we didn't always send a picture with the Christmas card, I have always made sure to have a picture of our family at Christmas time and/or a Christmas card photo. Here for your perusal are the visual evidence of our family growing by people, years, wrinkles, and grey hairs.
1997
We had been dating for about 5 months. I can remember I was writing a paper on my future mother-in-law's computer while Shane watched a Saturday Steeler game and did his laundry. We were babies - I was 22, Shane was 26.
1998
Less than 1 month before we got married. This is the last known sighting of Amy's pink dress (Amy, I wish I knew where it was!)
1999
Ah, weren't we cute? Not really newlyweds, but our first married Christmas, and the only one we spent in our apartment. I had a ball decorating that year.
2000
Our cats were our kids back then. I spent most of this Christmas spraying my tree with a concoction that would keep our cats out of the tree. All it did was make me sick - I was barely prego with Thomas here.
2001
First Christmas with Thomas. He was such a cute baby! This was the year I soaked off his cast because I couldn't stand having a baby with a cast one more day. He got another one 2 days later, but I didn't car.
2002
I am not sure what was going on with my skin at the time. And the hair was way short for me.
2003
Thomas is holding a stuffed cat named Sianna. He did everything with this cat for over a year.
2004
I was large with child/Ben in this one. My last Christmas in my 20's; sniff.
2005
Baby Ben, 4 year old Thomas (I am not sure what was up with my hair; I thought it looked good?)
2006
5 year old Thomas, 1 year old Ben. Man, we all look so stiff and formal. Lighten up already. And I miss that sweater - I used to adore the J. Jill catalog.
2007
This might be my favorite card we ever did. I love that both my kids are little, but kind of big, too. Plus it was a snapshot that just turned out so good that I couldn't not use it as the Christmas card, right?
2008
7 year old Thomas, 3 year old Ben. We snapped this one right after work one evening, and you can tell. The kids all look dazed, my whispy hairs are flapping in the breeze, and Shane just wants it to be over as fast as possible.
2009
Last Christmas in our old house. Notice the return of the (real) cat.
2010
First Christmas after moving. Ben has an ongoing knack for putting holes in his jeans.
And today: I'm not super happy with this one, but my family was D.O.N.E. done by the time I snapped this. I got two more (one with Ben's head cut off and another with Shane's eyes closed and Thomas holding the cat (again!) so this was my only option. Eh.
I am old. I found a long long grey hair last night. I mean long. I am closer to 40 than 30. Shane is 40 (but still way hott, right?) My kids are 10 and 6. But, we are together and it's only December 10th and I've ordered the Christmas cards. Not bad, not bad.
Wow, this little post has taken me all night. But I wonder: How have your Christmas photos changed over the years? If you find some oldies but goodies, post them and let me know. I'd love to see your latest and greatest!
But, at the end of the 20th century (or, in other words, the first year Shane and I were married, 1999) I decided I would send Christmas cards. I got out the address book I had gotten as a wedding present almost a year before and filled with various names and addresses and went down the list. I sent cards to all my sisters, my parents, Shane's two sets of parents, various uncles and aunts, friends, and my bunko lists. That year set a precedence for the annual Christmas card.
And even though back then, we didn't always send a picture with the Christmas card, I have always made sure to have a picture of our family at Christmas time and/or a Christmas card photo. Here for your perusal are the visual evidence of our family growing by people, years, wrinkles, and grey hairs.
1997
We had been dating for about 5 months. I can remember I was writing a paper on my future mother-in-law's computer while Shane watched a Saturday Steeler game and did his laundry. We were babies - I was 22, Shane was 26.
1998
Less than 1 month before we got married. This is the last known sighting of Amy's pink dress (Amy, I wish I knew where it was!)
1999
Ah, weren't we cute? Not really newlyweds, but our first married Christmas, and the only one we spent in our apartment. I had a ball decorating that year.
2000
Our cats were our kids back then. I spent most of this Christmas spraying my tree with a concoction that would keep our cats out of the tree. All it did was make me sick - I was barely prego with Thomas here.
2001
First Christmas with Thomas. He was such a cute baby! This was the year I soaked off his cast because I couldn't stand having a baby with a cast one more day. He got another one 2 days later, but I didn't car.
2002
I am not sure what was going on with my skin at the time. And the hair was way short for me.
2003
Thomas is holding a stuffed cat named Sianna. He did everything with this cat for over a year.
2004
I was large with child/Ben in this one. My last Christmas in my 20's; sniff.
2005
Baby Ben, 4 year old Thomas (I am not sure what was up with my hair; I thought it looked good?)
2006
5 year old Thomas, 1 year old Ben. Man, we all look so stiff and formal. Lighten up already. And I miss that sweater - I used to adore the J. Jill catalog.
2007
This might be my favorite card we ever did. I love that both my kids are little, but kind of big, too. Plus it was a snapshot that just turned out so good that I couldn't not use it as the Christmas card, right?
2008
7 year old Thomas, 3 year old Ben. We snapped this one right after work one evening, and you can tell. The kids all look dazed, my whispy hairs are flapping in the breeze, and Shane just wants it to be over as fast as possible.
2009
Last Christmas in our old house. Notice the return of the (real) cat.
2010
First Christmas after moving. Ben has an ongoing knack for putting holes in his jeans.
And today: I'm not super happy with this one, but my family was D.O.N.E. done by the time I snapped this. I got two more (one with Ben's head cut off and another with Shane's eyes closed and Thomas holding the cat (again!) so this was my only option. Eh.
I am old. I found a long long grey hair last night. I mean long. I am closer to 40 than 30. Shane is 40 (but still way hott, right?) My kids are 10 and 6. But, we are together and it's only December 10th and I've ordered the Christmas cards. Not bad, not bad.
Wow, this little post has taken me all night. But I wonder: How have your Christmas photos changed over the years? If you find some oldies but goodies, post them and let me know. I'd love to see your latest and greatest!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Not feeling it...
So, my tree is up. I've got garland going down my railing, holiday-scented soap in the kitchen, and lots of tiny Christmas lights to make rooms in my house glow-ey. But I'm not feeling the Christmas spirit yet.
I spent all of November looking backward to my Dad and his passing. I felt nostalgic and grateful in alternating and equal amounts all month. But now that it's Christmas, I'm waiting to feel something - nostalgia, excitement, sadness, something, anything without any success. I've tried; I decorated. I've been reading various beloved Christmas books with my kids each night. I play Christmas music whenever I can remember to turn it on. It isn't for lack of trying.
So I'm turning to you. What do you do to feel Christmas? Not just the shopping and the business and the stress. What activities or traditions make your heart of hearts say, "It's Christmas!"?
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