h-town bridge

Ice Ice Baby

2010-01-03T21:00:00.000-08:00

Just thought I would share a most awesomest dream I had. Picture this...

Alexis, Jen and I in a singing group together.... singing a Lion King song (not sure which one, or even if it really was one) in a singing competition. Then, being asked on the the spot to preform another song. Our selection was...

ICE ICE BABY! by Vanilla Ice

There are no words...

travel

2009-12-11T09:27:00.000-08:00

Is anyone in S. Utah going north around the 15th or 16th? And would you have room for 2 more?

Car seat

2009-12-09T13:09:00.000-08:00

I love how I always turn to this blog for baby shopping tips.

Not really. But I'm going to do it again anyway.

Carter is almost too fat for his car seat and so he is getting a new one for Christmas. Any tips on what to look for next? Or where to find a smashing good deal?

Happy birthday

2009-12-09T13:02:00.001-08:00

Lisa!!!!!

I hope all your dreams came true.

Feelin' Mushy

2009-09-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

Ladies, I just wanted to take the time to say that I love ya! Hope you all are having a good day! Take care- Amber

Aloha

2009-08-28T21:07:00.000-07:00

In Hawaii a bunch of moms had Aloha Beach Fridays. And they were starting a lunch thing on Wednesdays. Does anybody want to do anything like that? No beach but maybe we could pretend like the lake was a beach or something.

Dead? or hibernating?

2009-07-02T11:44:00.000-07:00

Did we kill the book club? Or just take the summer off?

And does anyone have an opinion on breastpumps? As in....which one you like?

Anybody want to play 20 questions?

Ida B.

2009-06-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

Did ya'll read? I read most of it in a couple hours while Li was at basketball so if you didn't you could probably finish it today. :)

Overall I thought it was a cute, fun, thought provoking book.

I read it on one of those nights that I was in a near panic that this baby is actually going to come out sometime and wondering what in the world I will do then. I think that is the reason I had the following feeling about the book...

I sort of felt like her parents were doing a crappy job handling the situation. And that her teacher was the hero. Or maybe that the author was trying to make us think that. Of course it was written from Ida B's perspective and that is probably how she was seeing things.

But just as I was thinking, "Man her parents really could handle this better. And her dad could stop getting so mad at her," (I kept comparing their parenting style with the parents of Stargirl.) I got to the part where her mom said, "We know it's been hard, honey. We probably should have talked about it more. I guess we all got caught up in our own troubles and worries, and figured talking about it wouldn't help you at all....I'm sorry there have been so many hard changes, Ida B. We did what we thought was best, given the circumstances." And then my heart just went out to her poor parents. They were dealing with the worst trial of their life and doing the best they could and just literally couldn't give their daughter what she needed. My heart broke after she said that and then Ida B. just walked away. Sad.

But in the end I think she understood that her parents loved her. That they were doing the best they could. And that no one can shield you from the pains of life. And I think in the end most kids get that about their parents.

FHE/BBQ/SWIMMING

2009-05-22T22:54:00.000-07:00

Down at my dad's house on Monday at 6 PM. Bring your swimming suits and towels, and side dish/or dessert (if you get around to it). Bring your kids (if you have any and if you want to) there's a playground and kids always love swimming. Anyone is invited, this is very casual and friendly. Let everyone know about it.

My dad's house isn't the same one from when I was in high school. It's down in the valley, in the back (Roger's old house). If you need directions, email me (todd_gobucks@hotmail.com).

If you can comment here to let me know if you're coming, I'd appreciate it so I can make sure to get enough meat. If you see this too late, still come, I always make sure to get extra.

See you then!!

FHE anyone?

2009-05-17T22:43:00.000-07:00

I'm in town and thinking of maybe having a bar-b-q and FHE get together next Monday. Would anyone be game? Anyone is invited.

Me too....sort of.

2009-05-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

I also read this book...but it was awhile ago when I needed continuing education hours for my job (Whoa...that means it was a long while ago because I've been basically unemployed for quite some time now.) Turns out it didn't count for CE but I read it anyway because I liked it.

I really enjoyed the book, mostly for reasons that have already been mentioned. My biggest beef with this book would have to be that it was written from the perspective of someone who has autism by someone who doesn't.

Although not as enjoyable or easy to read I really liked Thinking in Pictures by Dr. Temple Grandin because she really has autism. Plus it actually counted for my hours.

good choice - also, i'm a nerd

2009-05-10T16:33:00.000-07:00

I read The Curious Incident and enjoyed it. It was nice to read something really different from everything else I've read recently. The writing was fresh and I loved how the format of the book mimicked Christopher's quirks (the prime number chapters, organizing the facts in lists, including diagrams and maps and that funny appendix, etc.) The random trivia tangents were obnoxious sometimes (I wanted to know what was going to happen! Let's get on with it!) but sometimes they were kind of fascinating. Can't believe I never knew about the game show problem before! I told Shay about the problem after I read that chapter, and we disagreed about whether Marilyn vos Savant was right or not. I thought it made perfect sense that you should switch doors every time. Shay said it was one of those things that just looked right on paper but would wouldn't hold true in real life. So one night last month (this is really nerdy) we played the "game show" situation out 50 times and kept a tally, and... she was right. Which means I was right, which is always great. Shay switched doors every time, and he won the car 33/50 times, which is 66%, which is almost exactly 2/3. Crazy.

The Curious Incident

2009-05-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

ok, so does anybody have anything to say about "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time"? did anybody read it?
first, I wanna say I had no idea my choice dropped the f-bomb several times. sorry. so minus that word, I REALLY liked the book. it was so interesting to be in the head of an autistic person. really helps you understand the condition and sympathize with not only the main character, but also his parents who struggle to deal with him and his condition. I found myself kind of dreading getting back into Christopher's head near the end of the book, which made me realize that it would be so hard to deal with that day in and day out. Despite the difficulties, it would be hard not to love the kid. He was so cute with his prime-numbered chapters, math puzzles, and color aversions. I was so proud of him for making it all the way to his mom's house in London all by himself. My favorite part was after he got there, and his mom gave him a bath, and he was so exhuasted from his trip that he didn't even care about something (I can't remember what) that would normally bother him.
anyway, I'm pretty sure nobody else read, but I still wanted to say some stuff. If you can skim over the f-words, it's definitely worth the read.

p.s. if anybody's wondering about the title, Christopher decides to write the book as a murder mystery, trying to solve the murder of his neighbor's dog.

Quote Help

2009-05-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

You're all quote-y people. I am in desperate need of a few SHORT but nice quotes about home or family. Something someone would but on thier wall. Any ideas??

always late

2009-05-03T20:31:00.001-07:00

I wanted to say a few things about "The Screwtape Letters" before I moved on to "Curious...Dog...Night-time." Sorry we're all such slackers, Amber. I've learned that online long-distance book clubs aren't really the most successful. Am I right, ladies? But I guess our "moribund" club provides a to-read list, at least. (1,000 points for a Cullimore-like definition of the word moribund!)

Anyway....

"All mortals tend to turn into the thing they are pretending to be" (p. 50). LOVE this quote. It's like the scripture that goes something like, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Really makes you think twice about what you spend your energy striving to become. Our thoughts become our words and actions, right?

And a longer quote, but one I think is totally worth including verbatim:
"It does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts" (p. 60-61).

That description gives me the chills. Creepy. Satan tricks us into stepping off a righteous path onto a very seemingly comfortable slide. I think the trick is getting us to a state of being "passed feeling"--it feels like the slope rocks sinners to sleep with its gentility, softness, slowness, and lack of awareness of one's surroundings. Just like rocking a baby to sleep.

C.S. Lewis has amazing insight. So glad his temple work has been done! I'm sure he makes the best Mormon. :)

kinda random...

2009-04-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

I was thinking last night as I was not sleeping....
I really want to breastfeed and everything that I read lately about the subject makes it sound like rocket science and they recommend going to a lactation specialist and junk like that.

I guess I am looking for any tips, suggested reading, or maybe just pep talks.

Anybody have anything like that?

The Screwtape Letters

2009-04-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

This book was nothing like I expected. It's not like any other C.S. Lewis writings I've read and it was difficult to get into, even in this, my second attempt. As I posted before, my goal was to glean one thing from every chapter or at least understand each chapter's theme.I just realized this morning that I packed up my book, so I won't have direct quotes or anything.
The first thing that really struck me while reading, was all the small ways Satan tries to distract and divert us from staying on the straight and narrow. I don't know how much control Satan's helpers have over us (or any) and I'm not suggesting they do all that Lewis writes, but I liked being awakened to the sense that I really should be on my guard 24-7. Basically, on guard from my natural-man. All the times it would state: suggest to his mind, encourage this, persuade him otherwise - it highlighted how easily distracted we can be with meaningless things, instead of building up God's kingdom on earth or simply being productive.
I also liked the chapter on laughter and the different types of "laughers". Each of us have different personalities and attitudes, and I think sometimes we can use humor to take things in a lighter sense. Even making fun or judging others for how they do things, can be really dangerous or our own spiritual well being. I too think that the media has had a huge roll in making every sinful or awful thing funny. They take sacred things or people who have morals and make a joke out of it.

Overall, I'm glad I read this book, but I don't know if it will be one I'll pick up again anytime soon :) I hope someone else read and I'm excited to hear what you thought. Thanks!!

March Book Reminder

2009-03-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Hi gals! I hope that you've been able to start our March book "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis. It's not very long, but I tried to read it last year and it was really difficult for me to get into, so if you are struggling it's okay :)
It seems like every chapter has a different theme, so lately I've tried just to get one thing out of each "Letter". I hope this helps.
It really is eye opening and interesting, so I hope that someone is reading with me :)
Well, take care gals!!

being human rocks

2009-03-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

favorite quote from The Host:

"And he was my friend. Not that he wouldn't kill me if things turned out that way, but he wouldn't like doing it. With humans, what more could you ask of a friend?" p. 211

ha!ha! :) I liked how Meyer described how wretched humanity can be, but I also think she did a good job of showing how all the bad stuff is worth it because we get to experience all the good and wonderful stuff too. You know, the whole "there must be opposition in all things" idea. I found a lot of Meyer's "Mormonism" showing through her writing in this way.

just so you know, I'd kill any one of you if I had to. I wouldn't like it, but I would do it. that's true friendship. :)

The Host

2009-03-06T16:06:00.001-08:00

I know I going to burst some bubbles here, but I kinda didn't like the book. Sorry, but there is something about how Stephenie Meyer writes that drives me CRAZY!! It is simply too long winded, under developed, and just isn't that good. I'm not saying I could do any better, but I'm not a novelist. And for some reason, by the end I really didn't like Wanda. I think mainly because of the whole... I guess I'll have to die here because it's the only way crap. It was a pathetic and stupid idea. I want to root for someone who is smart, ambitious and can get the job done to the best of their ability.
I did think the story line was intriguing and very imaginative. She comes up with some great stuff. She had me hooked and I needed/wanted to get the end. And yes, I was balling my eyes out when I thought she was going to die. But in the end, it just all felt anti-climatic.

But I remember thinking at times that it was an okay book. So please leave a comment about your favorite theme, part or person in the book to give me some perspective.

The Host

2009-02-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, so since I have less free time than humanly possible to deal with and stay sane, and read, I decided to catch up on my reading in a slightly different way.

Thanks to my loving, wonderful, awesome husband, as of Christmas I am the proud new owner of one of these beautiful babies!

As with anything I can possibly own that is purple, the newest addition to my collection is a Purple iPod 8G Nano. Which, is perfect for holding audio books for me to listen to: in the car, at the store, (it's great at Wal-Mart, you barely notice all the millions of other people there!) and any other spare few minutes of free time I can find.

First off I was very nervous to read this book. I've seen it on the shelves of stores, right next to the Twillight books I love so much, but for some reason was VERY hesitant to ever even touch it, or look at it closely. I guess I figured if I did read it and I hated it that it may shake my love for the other books. Now, I don't know how this woman comes up with the stories she does but she has a way of bringing you into an impossible situation (why would I want to read about vampires and werewolves or body-snatchers) and making you actually care about how it ends. Even if it is a very predictable ending. I loved the double commentary from Wanda and Melanie, I loved how they grew to love each other, and how Wanda grew to care for her new "family". All in all I'm very glad Loni picked this book, and very glad that I overcame my anxiety and listened to it. Thanks for a fun pick Loni!

quick what's your favorite?

2009-02-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

I seem to have found myself with a WHOLE lot of spare time on my hands.

I'm at the library searching for books but decided I need some advice.

Hurry...post your favorite book(s).

And.....I'll love you forever.

dragging it out

2009-02-03T07:45:00.000-08:00

doesn't seem like anybody's done reading the host yet (I know I'm not--it has a lot of pages). so here's a suggestion: what if we just dragged it out through february, and then Lisa can be tacked onto the end of the list (what is that, June?). then we can just leave the calendar the way it is. let's hear your thoughts.

oh, and does anybody else have anything to say about the secret life of bees? I wanna hear more!

Welcome to Book Club

2009-01-31T12:13:00.000-08:00

I hope that you had no trouble getting here. Do help yourself to some snacks.
Jen, I'm glad that you actually enjoyed the book. I had a similar experience with Twilight, and is why I chose this book.
After visiting me last year, my 12 year-old sister left her Twilight book. She and LeNae (who never reads) kept on going on about how good it was. I looked at the cover, knowing it was about vampires, and said to myself that there was no way that I would waste my time reading it.
A few months later I ran across the forgotten copy and decided that I was that bored that I would read it. I started reading being very skeptical. By the end of the first evening of reading it, I was hooked. I loved it. But I was still stunned that I enjoyed a vampire story - totally not my reading of choice. Stephanie Meyer is an awesome author, one that not only the LDS community loves her stories, but girls and women everywhere.
So, this is why I chose to read The Host. LeNae had said that she liked it better than the Twilight series (I didn't like it as much). I knew that those who had read the Twilight series would gladly read another of Meyer's books, and those that hadn't read the Twilight series could come to understand a little bit of why there is such a following of Twilight.
Whatever be the case with you, I hope that you enjoyed it. This really wasn't meant to be a deep-thinking classic, it's more of an entertainment reading, but there are some good messages to be found within.
Let's hear your thoughts...

Who knew?

2009-01-31T04:38:00.000-08:00

Just finished The Host. (At 2:30 in the morning.)
I hope someone else read it or is reading it too.

I was really surprised how much I liked it.

Good night.

Secret Messages

2009-01-27T18:34:00.000-08:00

I too really enjoyed this book and I enjoyed the movie too, which follows the book really well (for those who haven't read it).

There are many different messages inside this story, but my favorite message was the over all theme of sisterhood. These women took such good care of each other and had true friendships. I liked how the sisters interacted and supported one another. There is just something about sisters that I really love and relate with. But also I love the idea of a group of women that can strengthen, bond, and uplift one another. I haven't lived close to my family for over five years, and I've really been guided to some amazing communities of women, and of course, been blessed with you lovely gals (my long distant support).

I did get overwhelmed with all the weird Black Madonna religion stuff. It was just too much. (Luckily, the movie didn't follow suit in this matter).

Also- I simply liked learning about how bees live and work. It's always great to learn something new. And Melissa, I loved the salad picture! I actually found a picture and recipe for it in an old Friend magazine. Crazy, eh?

THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES

2009-01-27T14:27:00.001-08:00

ok. someone has to say something about this book!!!
so I'll say it: I liked it.

“’Most people don't have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don’t know anything about.’ I loved the idea of bees having a secret life, just like the one I was living.” p. 148

As interesting as it was to learn about the lives of bees, I think the point Sue Monk Kidd was trying to make had nothing to do with bees. As depressing as some of the themes in this book can be (racism, female oppression, domestic abuse), the overall themes of love and forgiveness really accentuate the beauty of life. People are like bees; everyone has a “secret life we don’t know anything about,” so instead of judging, we should love unconditionally. Lily learns so much from the calendar sisters, esp. August, because they love her unconditionally, and because of that love, Lily finally learns to forgive herself for an unfortunate past. There will always be serious issues like racism and oppression in this imperfect world, but as long as you remember that “every little thing wants to be loved” and you “choose what matters” and you “don’t sort-of-maybe live, but live like you’re going all out, like you’re not afraid” then you’ll be ok; you’ll be doing the best you can. What a beautiful message. Don’t you agree, Jennifer? 

Now, let’s all have a virtual candlestick salad together! oh, and I FORGIVE you for your lack of reading, Lisa! I'm sure you're not the only one. :)

Not A Slacker

2009-01-26T23:39:00.000-08:00

I'm not a slacker. I'm not. Please don't hate me for not reading the past two books. I had great intentions of reading them. Unfortunately, my life had been eaten by the bank and this is the first chance I've had in weeks to even look at a blog, let alone read a book. And it's 12:40 AM and I have to present an 8 AM staff meeting tomorrow. Yikes! This is a plea to see if I can host my month sometime after March. I desperately want to read and catch up but I know I will not get that chance until sometime after March. What do you say girls? Still love me? Forgive me maybe?

I'll do better.

2009-01-21T19:25:00.000-08:00

So I admit I didn't read last month because I had already read the book and couldn't find it to read it again. But I would still be interested in everyone's thoughts. (hint hint)

I was pretty bummed because The Host had a wait list at my library and I didn't think I'd ever get it and then randomly it was just there on the shelf. So count me in for next month's discussion.

So...What did you think of the book?

2009-01-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

I have been working on a post for this book, but unfortunately Dylan and I have both caught the cold from, well, you know. So, as soon as we are not doped up on cough medicine and ibuprofen, I will post my summary of the book, but until then, I would love to see what you thought of it!

Wow, is it really the end of the year?!?!

2008-12-31T09:20:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone! Welcome to the end of 2008 and the completion of Sue Monk Kidd's "The Secret Life of Bee's". I am at work and will post my thoughts later, but I would like everyone to have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!!! I will be at home with Dylan, missing my husband who is currently in Chicago. :(.

Hope you are all doing well and had a very happy holiday season!

Please enjoy some yummy goodness - here is a virtual hot chocolate and platter of cupcakes for you lovely ladies!!

more balm on Gilead

2008-12-18T10:30:00.000-08:00

am I too late? :) "Gilead" may be kinda old news, but I wanted to throw out some stuff because I was wondering about the title of the book.

so, from wikipedia:

"Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness. "Balm of Gilead" is a healing compound (a balm) made from the resinous gum of the North American tree species Populus candicans. It takes its name from the allusive phrase "balm in Gilead", referring to the balm or balsam carried from Gilead by the caravan of merchants to whom Joseph was sold by his brothers (Genesis chapter 37).

what did Robinson do by naming the book "Gilead?" It is the reverend's testimony. his life. his words. and I think writing it all down had a healing effect for him--and probably for his son and others who would possibly read it. reading something so personal probes the reader to contemplate his/her own life, faults, etc. what is the balm? forgiveness? didn't Joseph forgive his brothers? does the reverend forgive himself?

you know, these are questions that even those who didn't read the book can comment on! :)

everyone ready for christmas? :)

oh yeah! and congratulations to Amber for one on the way! :)

updates

2008-12-16T08:19:00.000-08:00

Is it getting as cold at your house as it is at my house? Are you looking for some winter reading? Because the book club calendar is updated. You could get ahead if you wanted.

LEESE!!

2008-12-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

Happy happy birthday from all of us to you.....we wish it was our birthday so we could party too!

These are Li's birthday pies, he said you can have the one on the right.

The Focus

2008-12-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

I personally thought that John Ames left many intriguing and uplifting thoughts in this journal to his son, but I was really bothered by all the attention and focus about his name sake Jack (John Ames) Boughton. If I was the son reading the journal, I would be so sick of hearing about this dude who troubled my dad! Why was he so important to this story? I would rather read about myself as a child or my mother or of my ancestry, but not about every single thing Jack did or every interaction with Jack and my dad! It also bugged me how he would steal things from John's office, especially the picture of Louisa. I don't understand what demons sent him to be such a troubled youth when he had such a great family with love and support.

What are your thoughts on Jack?

deserves all the attention you can give it

2008-12-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

The narrator in Gilead takes on a lot of different themes (boy does he ramble). The most poignant for me was the beauty of everyday things. I marked a few passages like this one because I liked the way (fictional) John Ames constantly took the time to describe the beauty of simple things in his letter to his son:

"There was a young couple strolling along half a block ahead of me. The sun had come up brilliantly after a heavy rain, and the trees were glistening and very wet. On some impulse, plain exuberance, I suppose, the fellow jumped up and caught hold of a branch, and a storm of luminous water came pouring down on the two of them, and they laughed and took off running, the girl sweeping water off her hair and her dress as if she were a little bit disgusted, but she wasn't. It was a beautiful thing to see, like something from a myth. I don't know why I thought of that now, except perhaps because it is easy to believe in such moments that water was made primarily for blessing, and only secondarily for growing vegetables or doing the wash. I wish I had paid more attention to it. My list of regrets may seem unusual, but who can know that they are, really. This is an interesting planet. It deserves all the attention you can give it."

Did any themes or passages stick out to you?

December - Gilead

2008-12-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to December's book club discussion. Did you make it to the end of Gilead? I finally did. I would say it was probably the most boring book that I ever liked. There was some really lovely prose here and there, and I liked the goodness and the humanity of the narrator character. But when halfway through the book there was still no plot to speak of? and I was skimming huge passages because they were so tedious? I got bored and restless and finished three other books in between when I started and finished this one. I probably wouldn't have trudged to the finish if I were just reading it on my own. But then when it was finally over (sigh), I was actually glad I read it to the end. Feel free to post about your overall impressions of Gilead, or anything specific you want to discuss. Thanks for bearing with my book choice!

just wanted to say...

2008-11-25T17:52:00.001-08:00

...happy almost Thanksgiving! When I think about the good things in life, I'm always particularly thankful for the girls I grew up with. Don't forget to feel appreciated this Thanksgiving. Because I think you're great. And I think I'm lucky to still be in touch with you.

We are leaving town tomorrow but don't you worry, I'll be back to "host" this month's book club. We'll be having air-popped popcorn, and hot chocolate with scoops of cheesecake ice cream in it, for those of you who can make it to my house next week. Otherwise just look forward to my post on Tuesday when I get back. Is anyone else reading Gilead? I'm having a hard time finishing it. It's lovely but not exactly a page-turner.

Hey here's a cool blog...

2008-11-20T15:40:00.000-08:00

http://hurricanehighalumni.blogspot.com/

It's the HHS alumni blog and you can find everyone's blogs.
So you should go add your blog to the list so people can find you!

Recipe Exchange Anyone??

2008-11-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

I was wondering if anyone would be up to extend our use of this lovely blog to a monthly Recipe Exchange? My husband is finally moving back home full-time in the next couple weeks and that means that I will have to start cooking good meals again. I need more simple, easy and tasty meal ideas. So I dub November:

COZY COMFORTS MONTH!!

HOT ARTICHOKE DIP (Jaycee Limutau)

1 pkg. Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 C. Mayonnaise
1 (14 oz.) Can Artichoke Hearts, drained & chopped
1/2 C. Shed. Parmesan Cheese
1 clove Garlic, minced (or 1 Tbsp.)

MIX all ingredients with mixer until well blended. Spoon mixture into 9 in.
pie plate or quiche dish. BAKE @ 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until top
is lightly browned. Serve with favorite cracker- wheat thins rock :)

BAKED POTATO SOUP (Jaycee Limutau)

1 Med. Onion, chopped/ minced
1/2 C. Butter
1/2 C. Flour
3 C. Milk
4 Lg. Baked Potatoes
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 C. Sour Cream
3/4 C. Bacon Pieces
Grated Cheese

Saute onion in butter until crisp tender. Add flour to create roux. Stir in milk
and add Chopped potatoes (with or w/o skins). Salt & pepper to taste. Add
sour cream, green onions, bacon and cheese. (This soup would be great
served in bread bowls).

TIP: Bake Potatoes at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

Please feel free to leave a recipe as a comment or create your own recipe post with as many recipes you want! Thanks and happy cooking!!

My Sister's Keeper

2008-11-06T07:05:00.000-08:00

I had read this book a few years ago, right after I had gotten married, and before I was pregnant with Dylan. It surprised me while rereading how different my take on it was. This book made me bawl, think, contemplate - a whole range of emotions and thoughts went through my head. I wondered how I would act if I was in the position that Sara and Brian were in, happily going through life and then all of a sudden everything comes to a crashing halt. I did get quite frustrated with them, more so Sara, but overall, I think everyone irritated me in this book. I guess what struck me the hardest is a family that is going through a horrible ordeal, but not handling it well. Just because one child is sick should not mean you can totally lose focus on the other child, and how could they just be so calm about him using drugs and drinking and being reckless? It made me so sad that they just swept him under the rug as a lost cause and gave up on him. Then when they "get pregnant" with Anna, I just don't think people should be allowed to go in and say what they want in a baby. They are totally messing with fate and with God's will. God will never give you more than you can handle, but if you go in and alter things, you take it out of God's hands. I had forgotten about the end of the book, where Anna dies. This is where it hit me the most, because I related to Anna most in this book. I know what it feels like to think you don't matter unless you do what everyone wants you to do and become just a total people pleaser. I am 26 years old and I still try to please everyone, even though I know it's not possible! Anna was trying so hard to make everyone else happy that she got lost. This book just makes you think so much and I tried really hard to make myself think of what I would do in the same situation. Putting myself in Sara's shoes was really tough, because I would hope that I would be able to take care of all 3 of my children, instead of focusing on the one who was the most ill. I kept talking to Kaylen about it and we actually had some really good discussions. One of my friends told me that they are making a movie of My Sister's Keeper, which will star Cameron Diaz. Not sure if it's true, but thought I would pass it on. Anyway, I have rambled enough on here. Hopefully I didn't offend anyone!

Too much?

2008-11-05T15:07:00.000-08:00

I sort of felt like the story line with the lawyer and the guardian chick was a little too much. I feel like it took away from the reality of the story. I mean what are the odds that a long lost flame could reignite during this already somewhat bizarre court story?

I guess I feel like it was an interesting twist, it just seemed so unlikely.

What's funny is that I didn't really think about this until this book became the book club selection. I think I read things more critically when I am going to have to give my opinion on them.

Welcome to Book Club

2008-11-03T15:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to officially welcome everyone to the discussion of this month's book. If you were all really here in my house I would bake you some lovely cupcakes or something. That's a lie. But I think we do have some ice cream in the freezer, I might be convinced to share.

Here's one of my thoughts on this book....
I picked it up off the shelf at the library randomly, read the summary and was fascinated. By the end of the evening I had read a large chunk and was anxious for someone else to read it and have the same experience I was having. I wanted to talk to someone who was going through what I was. I had been looking for a book to grab me by the throat and demand my attention and this book totally did that for me.

I considered calling a few friends to read it so I could talk about it with someone. Then I remembered the book club and made the suggestion. Then I found out that nearly everyone I knew had already read the book.

And do you know what I thought? "Well, how come no one told me about it?!" Here all my friends had exactly what I was looking for and no one shared because no one knew I was looking. And then do you know what I thought? "Wow, I hope no one can say this about me not giving them a chance to hear the gospel."

Can't get that thought out of my head.

My Sister's Keeper

2008-11-03T13:54:00.000-08:00

While reading, I found myself getting really frustrated with almost every character in the book. I would have to say that the author did a great job at making them very human and realistic.

So, who was your favorite and/or least favorite character in the book?

My favorite character(s) was the two sisters. Kate and Anna's relationship was so familiar and hit such a strong cord with me. The fought and bickered over Cd's and who used whose makeup, but the loved each other so deeply and were best friends. I just loved that sisterly love and honesty.

My least favorite character was Jessie. I just wanted to reach out and slap the kid!! But I probably felt this way because he reminds me of one of my brother-in-laws who could use a good slapping now and then :) I could understand where he was coming from and all, but I just hate to see stupidity rise above potential.

All in all, nice book choice Jen :)

favorite passage

2008-11-01T09:05:00.000-07:00

Anyone have a favorite line or passage from "My Sister's Keeper"? I don't have my book any more (blasted library, always wanting their books back), but one part I remember liking was Anna's observation that children think with their brains cracked wide open - and how growing into adulthood is just a gradual sewing shut. I agree - there is a lot that children can teach adults. I love when kids let you catch a glimpse of what they think and how they see the world. It's so genuine.

My Sister's Keeper - Lisa's Take

2008-10-25T10:03:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start by saying that I pretty much cried through 85% of this book. I've never read a Jodi Picoult book before, and if they are all like this I'm not sure I will read one unless I am in terrible need of a good cry.

This book was too real for me. Now, that doesn't mean I didn't like it. I actually loved it. I just really have never read a book that hit so realistically on so many emotional levels. I've never been in the position this family was in, but I'm sure if I ever had been, the emotions in this book would be pretty spot on. For me this book could not have been picked for a better time in my life. I had some pretty awful days at work the last few weeks, and I always came home thinking, "Poor Me". Then I'd remember I needed to read and I would instantly realize that my life is not that bad. There are people out there fighting a much harder battle and I need to keep that in perspective. Not that my own troubles at work aren't important, but in the long run I will not remember that in October 2008 I had two really bad weeks at work. I don't think I'll even remember that in six months. What this family went through is something that leaves an impression on your entire life and the lives of those around you.

I have a lot more than this to say but I'm trying to be concise. I've written more about it and if you want to, you can click HERE to read the rest of my ramblings.

FREE

2008-10-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I are giving away free stuff on my blog!

Well, mostly Lisa is I guess....anyway, check it out.

calendarized

2008-10-21T21:01:00.001-07:00

The book club calendar is up - check the sidebar. Future book club hosts, please let me know what your book selection will be as soon as possible. You can e-mail your choice to me at inthewoodland [at] gmail [dot] com.

A few thoughts: Maybe we can plan to start the discussion on the last day of the month? Let me know if that works for you guys. Also, what do you think about maybe posting shorter bits that cover one piece you found interesting, one question for discussion, one favorite line, etc? Then if other people have something to add that goes along with that, they can comment on that thread. Just a thought. I think it might help us (or me, at least) to do more discussing/interacting and less book report writing.

I'm so glad you guys are still interested in doing this. I enjoy it.

p.s. - There's still plenty of time to join! Leave a comment if you want to be added to the calendar.

Backtracking to Katherine...

2008-10-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

So I finally finished Katherine and wanted to give my thoughts as well. I have to agree with you Jen that skimming was quite necessary in this very detailed novel and that it seemed to go on forever, but I guess that's what you get when you go historical :)
I thought Katherine was a great heroin and I truly wanted her to find a well-balanced happiness.
I think that Katherine did affect history with saving the Duke's life when the rebellion first started by warning him leave the country and then by calming him from the madness and desire in raging a Civil War against his own people! And yes, I believe that her children, yes the Beaufort ones- benefited the history of England.
The story was very interesting but quite sad, until the end anyway. I'm not all too surprised that during Medieval times, there was so much sin and corruption!! Having a mistress was "No big deal" and there were bastards a plenty! It was amazing that "slavery" was there too and how even Katherine had been a little brain-washed into thinking it to be for the best.
I love the spiritual tones throughout the novel. I'm SOOO glad that Katherine finally repented of her adultery and found forgiveness. I thought she tried hard to be a good mother and a good wife or companion. I'm also SOOO happy that John and Katherine could finally be married and that they still had so much love for each other through all their 15 years of separation! True love does conquer all :)

Over all I really liked it :)

PS: I also agree that Robert Sutton was a looser of all losers!! What a jerk, I'm glad she didn't marry him.

speak now or forever hold your bookishness

2008-10-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

Amber's idea to have several months of book club planned in advance is right on. It's time. So, here's the plan. Leave a comment on this post if you would like to be a participating member of this blog's wilting-but-soon-to-be-thriving book club. Are you a regular poster here? A once-a-year poster? A lurker? Someone we don't know who likes to read things? You are welcome to join. Just leave a comment here. Then, go off somewhere and start dreaming of book selection possibilities. Meanwhile, I will randomly assign all commenters to host a particular month, and then I'll post a calendar and update it as you make your book choices.

Ready.... go.

Well it's October 7th...

2008-10-07T20:17:00.000-07:00

Since no one seems to have any other suggestions I am officially making mine.

I think we should read My Sister's Keeper for October and someone should quickly pick something else for November. That way those who have already read it can just brush up on it in the next few weeks and then get a jump start on next month.

Any one second my motion?

....I saw the sugar act. I was big and round and.....not too sure why I just thought of that.

My Sister's Keeper

2008-09-30T15:34:00.001-07:00

I think everyone should read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I started reading last night and I'm already on page 147. It is so good. I was going to call people last night and beg them to read it so that I could have someone to experience it with me.

It doesn't have to be for Book Club if someone else has an idea for October. But it might as well be if no one does have an idea. You can read more about it here.

Granted, after all this hype I'll feel like a moron if you all hate it. But I don't see how you could.

Don't read until you've finished Katherine

2008-09-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

Hmmm...what to say about this book? I'm not sure. At first I really thought I couldn't read it, then I got hooked, then it dragged on and on. But somehow I was dying to finish it.

I think I got so hooked because in the author's note at the beginning she mentioned that not a lot is known or written about this woman who was so important in the history of England. I kept reading, wondering what she was going to do that would change the history books.

Still not sure.

Was it that her bastard children went on to become and produce kings? So, she gave birth to royalty? Hmmm... not convinced that that's so amazing. I thought she was going to free all the serfs in England or something truly noteworthy. Any thoughts on this idea?

I found myself almost justifying their sin. Weird. When I was explaining to Li everything that happened and the part about how they lived in adultery for 10 years he appropriately freaked out. And I almost tried to explain how it wasn't that bad. Then I told him about how they got married in the end and he was like, "Well why didn't they do that in the first place?" Yeah, why didn't they. It's like I almost let myself believe that it was okay for them to be together because they loved each other so much and there was really no other way. She was just such a likable character that I didn't want to believe anything was wrong.

I confess I skimmed A LOT!! I'm not in a very patient stage of life or something and there were just WAY too many details for my brain. Too many descriptions of castles, too many beautiful dresses and mornings. That said, even with my skimming, the author did a great job taking us into a whole new world! I love that they use words like bastard and wench and it is totally normal. I am fascinated by the injustice of royal blood and legitimate names and serfs. She also did a good job explaining the psychology of her characters.

Something strange to me....as I read about how women were treated like property and expected to give their husbands their "husbandly rights" whenever they wanted it, I found myself resenting anything in my life that resembled oppression of women, instead of rejoicing in the rights and freedoms that we enjoy today. It seems like the opposite reaction would be more appropriate.

I like the part on page 466 when Sutton is trying to ask her to marry him. He does it by explaining all the logistical ways that he would help her and even insults her as a woman. Then he realizes that this probably isn't the best way to woo a woman and so he says, "Well, 'tis no secret to you that I've long wanted you in my bed, and if you'll come no other way, I'm willing to wed." Such a womanizer.

I liked the part where Katherine is all annoyed at the Duke thinking that he wants her to be his mistress and he gets flustered and is like, "Katherine, I'm asking you to marry me." Yeah, I'll admit I like how it was a fairy tale romance with the white knight coming in to rescue his woman at the end.

And I liked the part where Joan starts to forgive her mom and dad and says something like, "If it weren't for your love for him and his love for you, we wouldn't exist at all would we."

In the end, an interesting story that makes you think. A lot.

Bummer...

2008-09-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to give you all a heads up for the whole Book club thing. I put the book Katherine on hold the first week of August and have been in the #1 queue spot for over a month and still haven't been able to get it!! I'm totally ticked off and bummed. So sadly, I don't think I'll have time to get it read by the end of the month.
I don't know if any of you were really into reading it in the first place or if any of you have. I'm sorry gals for flaking out!

Please someone with a good idea take on the next month :)

The Johnsons

2008-08-23T08:53:00.000-07:00

I thought you should all know that Mandy Johnson (Whit's sister) was killed in a plane crash last night. I figured you would want to know and that we should all keep their family in our prayers. Here is a link to what has been reported so far: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=4082387
We talked to family this morning and found out that she had been on a small plane with the doctor's office that she worked for. They were coming back from meeting with clients, I think. Mandy was living with Whit and Tiff up in Cedar, so he, Tiff, and her fiance' Scott were the first family members to find out. Last I heard, the funeral will probably be on Wednesday. This is the kind of thing that really makes you stop and think about life and what is important: family and the people you love. I really love the Johnson family and have always thought that Mandy was such a cute and sweet girl. Anyway, like I said, keep them in your prayers. I love you girls!!!

Ok, who's in Hurricane?

2008-08-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

I apologize that I have been basically dead to the world. We just returned from Idaho where we had little internet access and somehow I never remembered to get my cell phone out of the car. Don't take it personal if I never returned your call.

We've been a little crazy. We decided to go back to Hawaii this semester and that has left us about 2 weeks to find a place to live, get into classes, plane tickets...the whole shebang. Yuck.

Anyway, I'm still here until, well I don't know when....most likely at least Friday. I talked to Lisa and Carolyn about some sort of getogether. Who's game?

August Book

2008-07-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

Here's my couple suggestions for the August book, but I'm really up for anything :) These both are historical fiction. My sister loves both, but they are quite long.

"Katherine" by Anya Seton (512 pages)

"The Constant Princess" by Philippa Gregory (416 pages)

Or if we want something lighter...

"A Love Like Lily" by Kay Lynn Mangum (LDS author- my distant relative actually- I'm not sure if this is a sequel to The Secret Journal of Brett Colton- so might not be good to start with)

OR:

Twilight

My sister has harassed me constantly for not reading the Twilight series, so I guess I have to get on it!
Let me know what you all think and what sounds best, or if anyone else has a better idea we can save on of these for a later month!
Thanks gals!!

Sad News

2008-07-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

I'm assuming that everyone remembers Amber Weaver from High School. Well, my mom called me this morning and told me that her picture was in the paper, but unfortunately it was in the obituaries. I ran and found the paper at work and my mom was right, it was the Amber that we had gone to school with. I know we all weren't that close to Amber Weaver, but she was such a sweet girl and was always so nice to everyone. I was thinking about sending a card or something to her family to let them know their daughter had touched my life. If anyone wants to add a message to the card I'm sending or needs an address so they can send their own, let me know and I'll see if I can round one up.

I checked the obituaries online through The Spectrum, but they are not updated with the ones that ran today. Here is the link to the obituary page online if you want to check it later tonight or tomorrow I bet it will be up. I always knew she had health problems but I guess they were worse than I thought. For some reason this is hitting me harder than I expected. Probably because she was our age and it makes me realized that I'm not invincible, something like this could happen to me or you guys. Really fast, I just want to tell you all how much I love you and how you have all helped to shape my life into something great! I would not be the person I am today without all of you! You all mean so much to me and you always will! I pray that we all have plenty of years left to live and love!

book club CPR, anyone?

2008-07-11T15:50:00.000-07:00

Poor dying book club. How can we ever revive you?

Let's think of a book for August and then we can all have a head start. We've read a bunch of non-fiction and some YA fiction. Does anyone have a great, get-lost-in-it kind of novel in mind? One you've read before or one that looks interesting? I'll browse around at the library today and see if anything looks good. Otherwise we may have to consider (gasp!) checking out the latest Oprah recommendation or something. :)

Love you girls.

wedding

2008-06-26T22:36:00.000-07:00

so i'm in hurricane. and tina's reception dinner thing is friday at 6:30pm. i think ya'll should have gotten invites. if not, you're invited. or come see me in the afternoon or something. or maybe on saturday.

i'd love to see you guys!

some things never change

2008-06-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

I thought we needed a new picture. I miss that town! :) hope everyone is well.

AND A HAPPY ONE TO JENNIFER!!

2008-06-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

A HAPPY SUNDAY BIRTHDAY TO JEN! WE LOVE YOU!

June Book Club

2008-06-06T10:18:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I am not doing so well with reading the book club books on time. I did read Stargirl, but I read it quite a bit after everyone else. I did enjoy it though. I haven't read the husband book. It has been a busy month with finishing up at Three Falls and the vacation we just returned from. After reading your comments though, I think that I will go back and read it anyway. Also, now that school is out, I think that I will be better reading our book club books. If it is up to me to pick the book for this month, I have started to read "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. For those who don't know, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given only a few months to live. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University at the time and decided to give his "last lecture" on achieving your childhood dreams to his students, faculty, and family. It ended up on You Tube and got a huge amount of hits. If you haven't seen it, go watch it, it's great! Here is a link to the full lecture. It is about an hour long. Here is a link to a shorter version of it that was on Oprah. It is only about ten minutes. Anyway, after all of this, he ended up writing a book, also called "The Last Lecture". So far, it is fantastic. Let me know if the rest of you are okay with this being the new book.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEXIS!!

2008-06-06T10:03:00.000-07:00

HOPE IT'S A GOOD ONE! :)

quotes and such

2008-06-06T09:21:00.001-07:00

ok. this book was a fun one for me. it was definitely cheesy to a large degree, but did anyone honestly not expect it to be? :) but I found, as I always tend to find with these types of books, that I got a lot more out of it than expected. I think this is a good book to keep on the shelf to be read at different stages in life. For those of you who don't have kids yet, a lot of what I got out of the book probably won't really relate to you. And I'm sure if my mom read it, she'd get a whole different set of values from the book.
so to begin with, I'll just insert some of my favorite mom quotes:
"you need time each day to be JUST A WIFE to your husband." (140
"if a wife is not careful, she will gradually lose her wife-ness and get consumed by mother-ness." (16)
"Often young mothers....begin having babies and set aside all of their own growth, putting it in their mental cedar chest and covering it in mothballs." (171)

ok, I'm just going to throw on the whole list of my fav quotes:

"we are capable of doing so much better. And it doesn't necessarily consist of having to do a whole lot more. It sometimes simply involves an awareness and priority shift to do things better, more efficiently, or perhaps just in order." (63)

"Are we 'serious-minded, clear-thinking women'? Are we learning and studying the issues in the community? It is not enough to sit at home and just be good." (83)

"Satan doesn't really need to get us to commit a big sin. He can be successful by getting us to just be too busy, and thus he accomplishes the same thing--spiritual deadening." (89)

"We usually get the relationships we've created." (107)

"The truth of the matter is that he's probably a good man who is trying to do his best. Every day when he gets up, he tries. There is probably not one day that he wakes up and announces, 'Today I will be a lousy husband!' Never happens. So because you believe in him, have faith in him." (129)

I definitely would have changed the title of this book. first, too cheesy. second, didn't really think the main focus of the book was about husbands--like a lot of the quotes I listed suggest, it's about becoming better women in general. but I guess that was the author's point: women seeking help with husbands will open her book and find the real source of their unhappiness--themselves.

loved all the previous comments! sorry I'm so late sharing thoughts. life.

ok, tara, I think you should be chosen as the june book selector. how do you feel about that? :)

Round 2

2008-06-05T11:49:00.000-07:00

She didn't learn her lesson with the banana bread and moved on to try her luck with the "easy" hummus recipe she found. While she had none of the seasonings listed in the recipe, no money to buy them, and no blender or food processor she also had almost no knowledge of food preparation and so she stupidly continued. (Besides this was the second time she had purchased a can of chickpeas with the intent to figure this out, no way was she going to let them go to waste again.) Moments later as the chickpeas were flying around her like popcorn and she was resorting to smashing them one by one with a spoon she had second-thoughts.

After much perseverance, her diligence was rewarded with a blob of something that actually resembled hummus and tasted like, well, nothing.

Any suggestions on what she should have done with the can of chickpeas instead?

I start my job tomorrow as the slider operator at Blizzard Beach, Walt Disney World so theoretically you should all be spared from the play-by-play on my life. I'm just having such a funny day and wanted to share.

Not there yet.

2008-06-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

Her banana bread had been in the oven for 3 minutes when she realized she had not added the baking soda that was sitting on her counter. Cursing herself she quickly retrieved the pan from the oven and stirred the soda into the lump that was already beginning to form into bread.

Any bets as to how my bread is going to turn out?!

Good thing neither Li nor I believe that being a great cook or baker is essential to being the perfect wife.

p.s.

2008-06-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Is anyone interested in setting this blog to private? Just curious.

hijacking the discussion

2008-06-04T13:44:00.001-07:00

I didn't read this month - ordered the book late in the month and had so many problems with delivery that I finally just canceled the order. Accordingly I thought I would just join in the discussion by leaving a comment or two. My comment started to get really long, though, so I'm posting instead. Is that legal? I feel like I'm cheating.

I liked hearing Jen's and Amber's takes on advice in the book. I agree with Jen that I'm usually bugged by the constant advice wives get to wear makeup and keep their hair dyed and dress nice in order to keep their husbands' eyes from wandering elsewhere. I'm all for showering and not wearing sweats all day every day, but cosmetics and jewelery aren't a huge part of my day-to-day existence, and I think it's weird that people in the Mormon scene especially send the message that if a wife is not not wearing make-up and fake nails, she's not trying hard enough. But I recognize that I might feel differently if I were a mom and spent my day taking care of other people - it would probably be pretty awesome to spend some time taking care of myself for a change. So it's nice to get some other perspectives on the matter. If you haven't chimed in yet, what do the rest of you think? Ready, set, discuss!

I love the pieces you guys picked out about "loosening up" and about not owning other peoples' problems. It made me think about my occasional nagging and harping about things that really shouldn't make any difference to me but that I sort of adopt as my own problems. Shay and I had probably been married for about a year when I started to find myself nagging him. About stupid things. More often than I would have liked. What is that about? In my "previous life" I never would have talked to one of my roommates the way I was talking to him, no matter how much something bugged me. That was an interesting realization, because as much as I adore my roommates, I love Shay waaaaaaay more. So why do I save the harping for him and no one else? I'm better off these days just trying to say to myself - Okay, that's what he does. That's possibly how he'll always handle it. How quaint.

Have you guys ever read anything by Leo Buscaglia? This is from a chapter I liked in Living, Loving and Learning:

Do you know that most divorces... happen over stupid things! "I want a divorce. She squeezes the toothpaste tube in the middle! and it drives me crazy!" My gosh, buy two.

"He drops his clothes all over the house and I'm his maid!" You're not his maid unless you want to be his maid! Leave it on the floor! Walk around it! "But what will the neighbors think?" Well, that will be their little problem, if they come in and say, "What's this? Six coats on...." "Oh, they're my husband's. Isn't he cute? He loves his coats on the floor. And I just leave them there. He has such a nice time sorting them out in the morning."

I do think couples can accommodate each other's preferences and be honest about what's working/not working and make positive changes, but sometimes from a broader perspective some things that seemed important enough to harp about at the time seem so insignificant later.

Ready, set, discuss again! It would be great to get some discussion going on this blog. I know you girls have pearls of wisdom to share, and there will be no holding out on me. Okay, go.

Little reminders...

2008-06-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

I think what I like most about our May book choice, "Strangling Your Husband is Not an Option", is that it's extremely practical and filled with common sense. But I always seem to get over whelmed with everything I'm suppose to BE and DO, so I usually fall short in some areas. For me, this book was packed with refreshing reminders to do better in all my facets as a woman, wife, and mother.

Little Reminder #1: Take care of ME too.
"He's surrounded by babes at work. He doesn't want to come home to a slug." Most of you gals get out at school or work, but I've been a full time stay-at-home Mom for the past three years and Gee! I totally found myself in pure "Mommy-clothes", looking exhausted (not fresh) and needing a break when my husband arrived home. So, I truly appreciated this reminder to continue trying to be a good-lookin' lady and not just a frumpy housewife!
Besides just looking good, I needed to know that doing something just for myself wasn't bad. I signed up for soccer with this in mind and it has been great!

Little Reminder #2: Be a Fun-Loving wife!
Let's just say that I'm not the most easy going gal out there. I like to be organized and have a routine and schedule. So, I'm not the most spontaneous person and I have felt that I need to loosen up a bit. Luckily, my husband is way fun and goofy, so our marriage is a little balanced. I just think my husband would enjoy me being less of an control-freak! I'm learning golf and Jeff agreed to take a Salsa dancing class this Fall/Winter :)

Little Reminder #3: The Treat "As If" Factor
I was really intrigued by this little lesson, but I applied to my children. I kept telling Madison that she was the best little helper and by gum, SHE IS! I kept telling Kenna she's such a happy and silly turkey and sure enough, SHE IS! It's amazing how mind over matter really works and how we can control our life by just focusing our attitude. This hit me hard, because I really DO control the tone in my home. If I wake up grumpy my girls will fight more and be grumpy! If I smile more and be cheerful, the world is a better place! Just reading this makes it sound so easy- why can't I just control my attitude better!!!!!

Anyway gals, there are tons and tons of little tid-bits that I would love to share, but I'll just have to keep them in my own notes. I hope that you all could find something that made you laugh and/or helped you to remember the little things that improve us as women, wives and mothers! Take care!!

Lovin' it.

2008-05-31T10:05:00.001-07:00

I haven't finished the husband strangling book yet but I wanted to post some thoughts before I forgot them.

The biggest thing for me so far is letting it be okay that my marriage isn't perfect yet. I want to be the one up there at Education Week giving a talk on how to be a perfect wife. I want to be the one who just somehow, magically got the perfect marriage and did everything right from the start. Well, hello, who would want to listen to that speaker!! I guess I need to give it a little time. Ya think?

Also that whole section on dressing nice and getting fake nails and losing weight was TOTALLY rubbling me the wrong way the other day. I thought, "not fair that women have to worry so much about appearance and men don't." Today I looked down at my toes and almost threw up when I saw how long my nails have become and was disgusted by my half a paint job. I was hit by a blast of fresh perspective. I need to look nice for me and nobody else.

And the mini-lesson on owning other people's problems was an eye-opener as well. Last night I was in tears because I thought Brett wasn't having fun on vacation, I was worried about Li's sales the next day, I was concerned that we would be a burden on my aunt when we went to see her and I had a list of a half a dozen other problems belonging to other people BEFORE I even got started on my own problems. Silly girl.

Good stuff. I'll post more as I finish reading.

better late, right?

2008-05-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'm back in the country and finally managed to connect to the internet in our new place, but I am sitting on the coffee table in order to do so. This may be short.

When I first started reading Stargirl I remember thinking, "Great. A story about kids in high school." But I was quickly pleasantly surprised by how much this high school book had to offer. I also remember thinking it seemed wrong that it was supposed to be written by a high school student but that he thought so deeply about things and expressed such thoughtful ideas. But by the end I decided that he was writing from a hindsight perspective and that made it all better. Also for awhile I thought that the characters seemed larger than life, especially Stargirl. Then I imagined that I was writing a book about the people around me and thought of how I would try to explain them in just a few lines on a page. I think it would be hard to explain people and make them seem really believable, ( I just read Memory Keepers Daughter and the author did a fabulous job getting in to people's brains!) my point is that they were believable characters, you'd just have to spend more time getting to know them.

I think what struck me the most about Stargirl was how she was saddest when she was selfish. As long as she was thinking of others she was completely happy. An interesting idea to apply to our May book choice!

And of course, I also loved thinking about the restrictions that we let society impose on our lives and whether or not they are good ones.

Yea for Stargirl. But was anyone else bummed that they didn't end up together?

Book to book...

2008-05-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Firstly, I have to say thanks for all the birthday wishes! Then lets get to the books!! I really enjoyed Stargirl. I loved the way she thought about others and never thought about herself. She seemed so innocent and incorrupted. I loved how she observed everyone and everything. The people watching was way fun. She honestly cared about people- even people she didn't know. She made me want to be better! To be less judgemental and more thoughtful. She simply was herself. She push boundaries and limits of normal society, but she was truly just being her. I really liked how I felt after reading this book.
Well- I know that it wasn't required to read the sequel, but I got it in time so I did. I was completely disappointed!! The book did have some highlights. Some people had personal triumphs and touching stories, but I feel that it wasn't the same Stargirl. AT ALL! She seemed so lost and pathetic at times. Not at all how I imagine her to be. Anyway- it would be nice to have others comment on the sequel sometime- just to have a different perspective.
Now, may I recommend a book for May? I read it at the beginning of this year, but once I finished it I was totally bummed that I didn't take any notes or highlight and tab my favorite parts. So I wanted to read it again. It's called "Strangling your Husband is NOT an Option" by Merrilee Browne Boyack. I bought mine at Wal-mart for $13 bucks, but I know it's at Deseret Book too. She speaks at alot of LDS Women's Conferences. It's a fun and practical book about improving your marriage. I truly want all the women in my life read it- it's that good!
So if your up for it- let's do it! But if we just want to take a break for a while, we can do that too. Or maybe, just take the Summer off. I don't know...

Let me know what you gals think. Take Care!!

2008-05-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Amber! Have a great day. WE LOVE YOU!

Loved It!

2008-05-06T17:26:00.001-07:00

I have to say, Stargirl has to be one of the neatest books out there. I know that there isn't a whole lot to say that Melissa didn't already cover, but I figured I'd put my two cents in.

One thing that really hit me in the book is how supportive her relatively normal parents are of her not so normal behavior. I think it's great that they totally love her for who she is and support her in all of her ventures. I can't say that I would love it if my future (and I mean somewhat distant future, don't get any ideas) child decided they didn't want to go by the name I gave them. Ouch! I think it would hurt my feelings. Stargirls parents though saw it as a pretty harmless way for her to express herself. I also think that it's interesting that after the oratorical contest, when next to no one is there to support Stargirl, the family packs up and moves! Honestly, I thought that was a little extreme, but I guess you do what's best for your family.

Anyway, I loved the book! Great choice Mel B-S!

Anyone have any ideas for the next book?

Stargirl

2008-05-05T08:14:00.000-07:00

I loved Stargirl because I think that no matter what age we are, everyone can learn something or take something profound even from the story. I can't tell you how many times throughout the book I thought or wondered if I was more like Leo, Dori, Stargirl, or even Hilari. I concluded by the end of the book that I probably at one time or another have been each of those characters. I loved that the book questioned "normal" and how much we care about what people think about us. I feel like I have so much to say, so I am just going to mention a few of my favorite things about the books.

I love how Hilari Kimble says that she thinks Stargirl is a "plant," someone put in the school by administration to get students interested in school, to create school spirit.
I also love how fascinated the entire school is with Stargirl and her unorthodox ways. Probably my favorite thing (that ends up backfiring for her) is imagining her cheering at the games. Can you imagine someone cheering for the opposing team just as enthusiastic as for your own team?
Random Acts of Kindness (remember that club we were in?) I love how Stargirl reads random bulletin boards, newspapers, etc to figure out key events that people may be celebrating. Speaking of bulletin boards, i love when Stargirl proclaims her love for Leo by posting "Stargirl loves Leo" on the bulletin board. So sad how he feels so happy and excited when he first reads it and then once he begins to be ostracized... guilt by association, and instead of being proud of his love for her, he continues to try and hide is connection to her.
I also love the idea of changing your name. I think of all of the different phases of my life and wonder what my name would have been if I had changed it for each event. I could have very well been a Goosegirl or Lovechild and the list goes on. Fun to think about for sure!

So, I could go on and on about lessons learned or things I liked about this teenage read, but i'll just finish it off with a quote that I liked. At the end of the novel, when Leo goes to visit Archie (the teacher guy) Leo asks if he will ever see Stargirl again. Archie gives him cryptic answers. "Star people are rare. You'll be lucky to meet another." he goes on to say that, ...."every once in a while someone comes along who is a little more primitive than the rest of us, a little closer to our beginnings, a little more in touch with the stuff we're made of." That sums it all up for me:)

It's Time!

2008-04-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

It's time to talk about Stargirl! I would do my official post about it now, but I'm at work and don't have enough time. I just want to get the ball rolling and make sure we all remember to post something! We also need to pick a book for May. Any takers??

I haven't got it yet

2008-04-15T23:11:00.000-07:00

But I just realized that I started reading the author's autobiography once and it was fairly interesting.

Okay I confess....I wrote this post because I accidentally posted on here something I meant to post on my other blog and now I need to fix it.

I love you girls!

The sequel?

2008-04-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

So, I think I remember Melis mentioning reading both Stargirl and Love, Stargirl in the month of April, right? I'm still waiting for the sequel at the library, but I just didn't know if that was the plan exactly. If I get the thing in time, I guess I'll just read it no matter what?
I just didn't know if there was any other takers :)

I hope everyone is having a good day!
Take care ladies!!

you're not the only ones

2008-04-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

Apparently Snoop Dogg is totally into the Book of Mormon lately as well. Did any of you catch this April Fool's hoax? It was pretty elaborately pulled off, with the article about his conversion to mormonism (by Gladys Knight, of course) hosted on fake CNN and People websites. It cracked me up. The best were the quotes about how Snoop Dogg "can't get enough of the Book of Mormon" and how his kids think Family Home Evening is "off the hook, for real."

This is the part where I admit that I am resorting to meaningless "fluff" because I didn't complete the reading assignment. I couldn't find this month's book at my local library, and I didn't know where else to get one. So I was pretty much stuck.

Okay, that's not true either. I do actually own the book. And I read some. Just not all. I will say I made a concerted effort to read the BOM more like, well, like a book, as opposed to reading it like an encyclopedia or an almanac, like I sometimes do. I read longer chunks at a time and tried not to worry about stopping to analyze the deepest meaning of every single phrase. And I really enjoyed it. It was nice to get caught up in the narrative of it. I know we are meant to apply the scriptures to our lives, but it was quite nice to just read them, and interpret them in the context of the situation in which they were given.

Jen, this month's book choice was off the hook. For real.

Really Amazing

2008-04-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

For starters, I must say that reading the Book of Mormon like this was truly amazing for me! So, thanks Jen for stepping up and suggesting it! I had never just read it through like a novel. I didn't have to worry about understanding everything. I didn't have that guilty feeling of reading through a chapter and not analyzing all the spiritual meanings there in. But what was most amazing for me, was that I seemed to retain so much more and also discovered deeper understanding without really trying. It shocked me how much I was enjoying reading the same text that I've read many times before. I came to realize that I was more dedicated to this book and that's why I could find answers or be spiritually enlightened and that's how I should be every time I open it up!!
Here's some highlights I found intriguing:
#1. Dissenters and secret combinations! I guess I always thought that secret combos to be of the past, but the more I read, I was amazed at the similarities to our own nation and to other nations in peril. I recently choose the book "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Solider" for my month to host my local book club. It's a true story of a young boy who was caught in the middle of a civil war in Sierra Leone. It states the war got started when a group of rebels went up against the "corrupt government". But the rebels were killing the civilians and the government was brain washing young boys and doping them up on drugs to change them into casual killers. Satan still today this day uses power, greed, and secret organizations to create true horror on this earth. I don't even want to get in to the corrupt politics and people in power in our own country!
#2 I too was amazed at the stories of the Jaredites and of the destruction of the Nephites. How sad! And how sad for those righteous people that had to witness their fall. Mostly, I kept thinking about the geography of their wars and their landing into this nation. I'm still baffled about it, but I guess it doesn't truly matter.
#3 I loved reading through King Benjamin's sermon. All my notes in the margins brought back memories of reading these chapters for Seminary Council while down in Cancun. What good times we all had- I loved being down there and really seeing some culture and the ancient ruins. But still that whole location, location, location factor comes into my head when I remember our guide telling us that Tulum was interrupted to mean "Zarahemla".
Moving on- Anyway, it was really refreshing and really needed for me to read it like this. Thanks again Jen. Also, I have to admit that I didn't start at the beginning of the book. But instead, I just started where I was at in my personal daily study- which was in the middle of Alma. So I hope that it's okay that I read from Alma to Alma!

On to Stargirl...

It might take as long as the book itself.

2008-04-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

Every month I have fabulous intentions of taking notes or using some similar method to organize my thoughts while I am reading. The hope is that I will be able to produce a post as brilliantly worded as my comrades. Every month you are left with a smorgasboard of my thoughts. Bon apetite.

The special ensign about Christ had a quote that I found particularly interesting during this reading of the Book of Mormon. I can't find it because the website is not cooperating and we don't get the ensign but it goes something like this..... We don't know what the future holds in store. For some of us it may be happy for some of us it may be sad. We just don't know. But we do know that if we hold on to the Savior we will always have peace. If we focus on progressing in the gospel instead of in the world we will always progress. (because we don't always get to choose if our earthly progress works out, but gospel progress always does ---word count how many times did I say progress?!!) Okay 5 extra points to anyone who can find that quote in the ensign, I'm pretty sure it is unrecognizable from that rendition!!

Anway... my point is that as I finished reading the Book of Mormon I got to the lives of Moroni and Ether and felt really really sorry for them. Basically their entire mortal experience was wandering around trying not to be killed by people who really really hated them. From what I can tell they knew very little of family reunions, trips to the beach, afternoons laughing with friends.....all the other things that I LOVE about my life.

On the bus the day that I finished reading I watched a lady get on who I have watched on the bus before. She is crazy. Literally. And talks too loud to everyone about things that do not make any sense to us. Some laugh, nearly all avoid eye contact, a few try to be friendly, but usually keep their conversations curt.

All of this really got me thinking. First of all, how did I get so blessed to have this wonderfully perfect life that I live? But secondly and more importantly, or at least more interesting to me.... how much faith do I really have that the celestial kingdom is going to be great?

I thought about it and I decided, not that much. Or at least not as much as I would like to. Right now I feel like if I had to pick between a miserable earthly life as a wanderer coupled with great celestial glory or lots of good times on earth and not so much honor after death I'd say let the good times roll. I'm exaggerating a bit. But honestly I know that the Lord has promised that eternal life will be more wonderful than we can comprehend, but from what I know if it right now, it sounds boring.

Basically I'm going to start studying this out. Any tips on where to start?!

Also, I don't know what anyone else thought about reading or attempting to read the Book of Mormon this fast but I really enjoy it. I listened to almost the whole thing, mostly because it is really loud on the bus where I spend most of my reading time and also because I wanted to do it in spanish and liked hearing the accent. I LOVE listening to the Book of Mormon. I love the feeling the readers put into it. I had great experiencing listening on the beach and watching waves crash around my ankles thinking about how constant God's love is and how I need to be like a child. I love seeing forests while I read about wars and imagining them happening all around me. I love doing the dishes while listening to God's word and feeling like he is pleased with my service.

I also really enjoy seeing how it all fits together. I admit I miss a lot when I do it this way. But I also catch a lot that I don't otherwise pick up. And I LOVE the end how we see two great civilizations destroyed quickly because they followed the same pattern of forgetting about the Savior.

I just love the Book of Mormon. I love the feeling that it gives me. Not always, but on those special moments I can feel power flowing into my body and soul. Yum.

There is more but it will have to wait for another day or one of your posts to spark my memory.

Oh yeah, I love how having a set program forces me to spend more time in the scriptures; gives me the motivation I need to keep going back for more. Does anyone have a good suggestion for what I could do next?

The Scott Family Addition (to the farm)

2008-03-30T21:02:00.002-07:00

Da Da Da DAAAAAHHH. Thanks to Lex, you now will all have the awesome privelage of seeing and hearing a little more from good ole' me. This pic is of my new swan named "Billy Bob." Isn't he so handsome?? Barb, the original, is so happy to have him already. I have been searching for a "husband" for Barb for a long time, so when i saw the ad for one in Ogden, we jumped (well, i jumped up and down and Matt drove). Seriously though, it is unusual to find a random swan for sale, and even if you find one they are so so expensive. We were pretty desperate and even contemplated going golfing and getting bit by one so that we could complain and then the golf course would have to get rid of the swan... That is where i would come in also, but of course with a different identity. Okay so maybe that was my idea, but luckily, none of you will be seeing me in the local newspaper under arrests or anything for stealing animals.
I am so grateful to be living in Toquerville with a river behind our house so that I can continue this animal thing that I started when i was really young. I'll keep you girls posted on my duck eggs that i am currently incubating. Garbage, do I sound nuts or what?

April Book??

2008-03-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

Anyone want to pick the book for April? I wasn't able to do March, one day I will try to read the whole Book of Mormon in a month, but this was a very busy month for me. I would love to hear about how everyone who read it did.

I think this is so much fun to be able to stay connected this way! I definitely think this was a great idea and I'm always excited to see what we're reading next!

Any suggestions??

mahalo

2008-03-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Alexis and Amber for recent surprises in the mail. You guys rock!! (And pebble, stone, brick, boulder etc.)

Isn't it so fun to get mail?

Just say no to homelessness

2008-03-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

Hi from Jen and Li…we're building and you can help!

From Jen…

When I moved to Hawaii I did not have a place to stay for two or three nights. It was a terrible feeling to spend all day long trying to figure out where to sleep at night. One night I nearly had to sleep in a car!

I was fortunate to have good friends who always helped me find a place to stay. Still, it was terrible. It was unnerving to shower at a different place every day and not have a place to keep my clothes and other belongings. Lucky for me, this was not an issue of not having money. I simply needed to find an available place. And even luckier, I only experienced this "homelessness" for a couple of days. Many people in the world are not so fortunate.

Homelessness is an important and compelling issue to me and this summer my husband and I have decided to do something about it. Starting in May, Li and I will take a term off of school and join a team of volunteers from Habitat for Humanity. We are going to the Dominican Republic to build houses. I am excited to start our work!

From Li…

Like Jen said, many people in the world do not have a place to call home. We are very grateful for the blessings that the Lord has given us, and we can't wait to go down to the Dominican Republic and help build houses for families in need. I personally can't wait to return to the people and the place that I made home when I served there as a missionary. I am truly grateful to be able to go back. I am excited to introduce Jen to the wonderful people in the DR, and even more excited to work with her to build houses and help the families there build a foundation for their future.

Many people in the Dominican Republic live in houses made of wood, palm trees or discarded materials, which are roofed with rusty corrugated tin sheets. In many cases, there are two families living in one small house, and it is not uncommon to find grandparents, parents and children living in the same room and sharing beds.

From Jen and Li…

Habitat for Humanity is funded by the volunteer builders and other donors, and they have asked us to raise $3,000 (which includes our airfare) by March 19 to join this build season. We are working hard to put aside money for this trip, but we need your help. If you would like to "build with us" by contributing to our goal, please mail a check today to: Jennifer & Li Kane, 55-672 Naniloa Loop, Laie, HI 96762.

Your donation will help end homelessness by allowing us this opportunity to build a home for a very deserving family. Let's build!

Jennifer and Li Kane

---
For more information about Habitat for Humanity you can visit their website at http://www.habitat.org/gv/default.aspx

welcome friends

2008-03-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

I think it's pretty fun that random people from hurricane can find our blog and answer our questions! Hi, Lindsey! your comments make me wanna go back to the middle school days when we would walk down to jj's on fridays and eat their deliciously greasy food. ok, I need to clarify: I really don't wanna be in middle school again, I just wanna eat at jj's!

fyi: the following people are frequent contributors to this blog: Alexis Beaumont Wood, Amber Tuttle Hoffmann, Jennifer Campbell Kane, Lisa Hillier Johnson, Loni Lichfield O'Neill, Melissa Ballard Scott, Melissa Woodbury Burton, and Tara Gubler Criddle. I hope I didn't miss anyone or misspell any of your names! :) you can find links to our personal blogs to the right (in case you missed them). this blog has kinda turned into a mostly book club blog, but you can post random things, too! I know I have. feel free to join the club; we'd love to have fresh meat! :) right, girls? and if you would like to contribute, I think alexis has the authority in that department? also, let us know if you have a personal blog, and we'll link you up.

2008-03-10T02:57:00.001-07:00

Um....happy birthday to TARA!!!

I love you.

Nothing New

2008-03-08T13:18:00.000-08:00

Well, durn. I read early and thought I had all sorts of brilliant things to say. But I posted late and now I find that all my brilliant thoughts have already been said.

I realized that I don't always think about whether or not I like what I am reading. I just enjoy reading and I'm not too picky about what. I read on the bus and one day while reading this month's selection I came home and couldn't put it down. At that point I thought, "Hey I really like this book." I kept reading at home because I could just feel that it was right on the verge of answering all my questions, something was finally going to HAPPEN. The next day on the bus I continued reading because my questions still weren't answered. A few hours later. I was sick to death of the book and almost didn't care about getting my questions answered. And good thing too, because they never were. And nothing ever did happen...NO CLIMAX.

The things that I found disturbing about the sex were...
a- They were like little kids lusting after each other. I just kept picturing these 5 year old kids spooning in a cave. Ew!
b- Henry Day almost made me feel like the only point of being in a human body was to have sex.

Unanswered questions include...
Did his mom know?
Why don't they age in forest?
Why don't they die as soon as they take over a new body because their organs are old?
Why did that one leader guy die instead of making the change?
Why wasn't he autistic in his new body?
Oh just basically, WHY??!!

I did enjoy one quote on page 90.
"Most of my life has been ruled by indecision, and I am grateful when fate intercedes, relieving me from choice and responsibility for my actions." I too like it I just decide not to decide and then things sort of work out a certain way and I don't have to take responsibility for it. Of course, I'm still responsible for my decision not to decide. But somehow that is easier.

Remembered Something . . .

2008-03-04T07:57:00.000-08:00

Lex's post reminded me of something I kept thinking about as I read the book. If the changelings can "morph" into whatever appearance they want, and they can change their shape as they "grow up" why don't they just morph into a 20-something person, and get on with thier lives? Give up the whole changeling deal and leave it behind! Why put other children through the same pain they went through? Just a thought.

Well, I guess, it's not a complete waste that the book wasn't all that great. It did spark some good discussions and made us all think a little more "outside the box" of our normal book choices. Thanks for being so supportive, you guys are great!

posting problems

2008-03-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

please comment here or e-mail me if you have tried to post but couldn't. A short bit about "what seems to be the problem" will do. Could be the settings on the computer you use. Could be the permissions settings on the blog. Could be you haven't accepted the invitations that blogger sent to your e-mail addresses ages ago. Let me know. I'll see if I can remedy the situation. Not likely, but possibe.

the stolen hours of my life

2008-03-03T19:39:00.000-08:00

A few things I liked:

-an interesting premise

-the foreshadowing in the way the book was set up - i really liked when events in the two Henrys' lives overlapped and you found out just a taste of the event in one Henry's account, and then you got the whole story filled in when the other Henry's account caught up to it. cool.

-a few pieces of the story - for instance when Henry finds out more about his life as Gustav and thinks he may have been an autistic savant or something. It was interesting to see his thought process, as he realizes he may not have had the full life that he got to live (as Henry) if he hadn't gone through the changeling experience. Also, Henry's dad was an interesting character - one of the few characters I really cared for. I felt so sad for him.

-it was not a very long book (I thanked my lucky stars for this a few times)

My praises basically end there. Creepy. Disturbing. Depressing. I guess I didn't mind reading about the human-Henry as much, but I cringed every time a forest-Henry chapter started. Dirty, hungry, miserable little adults in kids' bodies running around for a hundred years just because, um, why again? I get that it's fantasy so it doesn't have to be believable, but for me it has to at least be consistent with its own fantasy world rules, and characters at least have to have believable motivations for doing things. So many questions, the main one being, WHY are these people changelings? Is there a point to it? And hey, why does a changeling's memory dissolve so quickly? What is the magic that makes all that happen? Why don't the stolen kids run home in the few weeks after they're stolen? Because the other fairies would be mad? Why do the group of changelings live happy-go-lucky lives for hundreds of years until all of a sudden they are all miserable and hate their lives and start running away, killing themselves, or joining the human world? All through the book I kept asking myself, "But how..." and "But why..." and you sort of hope that some of those questions about motivations or magical world rules will be answered by the last page. But the "rules" change when it's convenient and figuring out motivations is a big fat dead end.

The sex and profanity seemed out of place and bothered me way more than it does in realistic or historical fiction, or in non-fiction writing that takes up a social issue or something. I wonder why this is. Maybe it's because in those other cases, I figure it's a necessary piece in getting a complete picture of the story or the issue, and in fluff/fantasy writing it just seems gratuitous. Don't know.

Also, did anyone want a little more of a climax when the two Henrys finally met outside the library? Me! Most of their lives had been leading up to it - it was all they both thought about for a long time - and then it was like, "Oh, it's you. Welp, see ya."

Edited to say: that I read through this again and it's obviously somewhat negative and those vibes are in no way directed toward the chooser of the book. On the contrary, leese, thanks for stepping up and choosing a book. And good work taking a chance on one that was unfamiliar to everyone - it sparks discussion and it's so good to break out of a comfort zone. You're great.

my thoughts

2008-03-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

I understand why you didn't like the book, Lisa and Amber. It bothers me that it seems like writers don't have a chance of being published anymore these days without throwing in risque stuff. But the reason why I ended up liking the book was because I felt like it really made me think more than most books I've ever read. I thought the end was confusing and fascinating and annoying and perfect all at the same time.

But WHY DO THEY DO IT?? This question pervaded my thoughts throughout the entire book, and I feel like it's a question that was never answered. The changelings were once children who were abducted by changelings, then they learn how to adapt so they can survive in the woods for 100 years just to become children again, living a lie of a life until they die anyway? There had to be an original group of changelings who started the whole cycle, right? If they wanted to escape life and remain children forever, why would they go back eventually? It's not like they just completely become a new person: Henry becomes a musician because of his original life as Gustav. Any answers out there? Maybe the point is just that the book is entitled The Stolen Child because we all get the innocence of youth taken from us without really knowing it and without really choosing it.

Something else I didn't understand was when Aniday accidentally ends up back at his house and his dad talks to him, why doesn't he understand what he says? Don't the changelings speak English? And even if they don't, don't Aniday and Speck read English books at the library?

I was sad for Henry's parents. His dad knew something wasn't right with his son, and it drove him crazy enough to commit suicide. But I thought one of the most interesting lines in the book was near the end when Henry's mom says that she's known all along. What does that mean? Did she really know that this Henry wasn't her son? Why didn't she do anything about it? (p. 299)

I thought Donahue was brilliant in entwining the two lives/stories into one. Their two lives become one story for the reader. Aniday and Henry both write their own masterpieces: Aniday has his book and Henry his music. It's like they couldn't figure out who they truly were without the other. What's with that climactic moment they share when Aniday is watching Henry's concert from the window? It seems like at that moment, they finally let go of the past and stop being afraid.

One last question: Does Aniday find Speck by following her map to the ocean? I like to think so.

The Creepy Child?

2008-03-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I must admit that The Stolen Child was a pretty creepy book! I was a bit taken back at the beginning, but I too, had to find out what happened to both Henry's. It was an interesting book, but I just didn't like all the sex crap and stuff. I thought you could totally tell that this book was written by a man- especially with all the sex stuff!
Anyway- I would say that it wasn't my favorite book. I didn't like it much, but kept on reading just by the mere intrigue. No worries Lisa- you just never know until you read it! Thanks for stepping up and hosting February!
Now it's on to the Book of Mormon!! Hurray!!

My Book Choice

2008-03-01T13:47:00.001-08:00

Well, I don't really know what to say about the book that I chose for February. I'm wishing I had chosen something different I guess. I was super excited to read The Stolen Child, and as I got into it I realized I didn't like it at all. Unfortunately for me, I'm not the type of person to just stop reading a book because I don't like it. I have to finish it to see how it ends, especially this one. So, I finished it, and as I got closer and closer to finishing it, I was getting hopeful that it would at least end well.

I hated the ending.

I really didn't like it at all.

So, because I was so let down with my choice, I promise that my next choice will be something better. And that is all I'm going to say about my book choice.

lest we forget...

2008-03-01T12:08:00.000-08:00

let's talk about the stolen child. lisa, do you want to have the first say? if not, I'll probably try to post later tonight. (I really liked the book, by the way!) I'm so tired right now I can hardly think straight, so I'm gonna go take a nap while gavin's sleeping! happy saturday!

Another Testament of Jesus Christ

2008-03-01T11:34:00.001-08:00

The book of the month is The Book of Mormon. And I really want to challenge everyone to read the whole thing this month. Here is the schedule of how to do that reading 17 pages a day.
Day 1 --17
Day 2 --34
Day 3-- 51
Day 4-- 68
Day 5 --85
Day 6 -- 102
Day 7 -- 119
Day 8 -- 136
Day 9 -- 153
Day 10 -- 170
Day 11 -- 187
Day 12 -- 204
Day 13 -- 221
Day 14 -- 238
Day 15 -- 255
Day 16 -- 272
Day 17 -- 289
Day 18 -- 306
Day 19 -- 323
Day 20 -- 340
Day 21 -- 357
Day 22 -- 374
Day 23 -- 391
Day 24 -- 408
Day 25 -- 425
Day 26 -- 442
Day 27 -- 459
Day 28 -- 476
Day 29 -- 493
Day 30 -- 510
Day 31 -- 527

And then you have 4 extra pages to finish.

You can do it!!!! And you don't have to read 17 pages a day, you can do it anyway you like. I usually get way behind and end up reading about 120 pages in 2 or 3 days.

I think it helps if you can listen to some of it and you can download the audio here.

You will be less stressed, happier, kinder, more loving, more patience, and more good stuff like that. But I realize that not everyone has the luxury of spending over 3 hours a day riding a bus, so just do the best you can and you will be blessed for it.

Also I think we shouldn't wait to the end of the month to blog about what we think. Unless you want to. But don't feel like you have to, I mean you aren't going to spoil the ending or anything. If something sticks out to you, you should blog about it.

Good luck!

So he married an axe murderer

2008-02-23T02:28:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I think my husband married a psychopath. And yet he just sits there strummin' his uke and taking it all it stride. I want to be like Li when I grow up.

A really good book.

2008-02-20T16:49:00.000-08:00

Every year for the last two or three I have read the whole Book of Mormon in the month of March and challenged everyone around me to do the same. It's nice right before conference. I don't know if ya'll think it would be cheesy and Molly Mormon to read that for book club in March, and it is certainly not my turn to pick, (but if we did read it at least I would know that I picked a book everyone would like this time!!) but it is an idea.

I'm going to read it anyway and if someone wants to read something else I'll read that too. Either way....consider yourselves invited, no challenged, to read the Book of Mormon in March.

And Leese, you're on a commercial!!!

march book club

2008-02-15T08:10:00.000-08:00

whose turn is it for march? tara, you wanna have a turn? just thought maybe we could get a heads up for finding-the-book purposes.