Thursdays

Thursdays are my favorite day. It's our official library and farmer's market day. The farmer's market is right in the plaza next to the library so it makes sense to do both at once. (Although we do go to the library more than once a week.) We are in the middle of a transition right now, so it made this Thursday even better. Even though it was pouring, Madeleine and I picked up some fruit, eggs, and flowers. I love the familiarity of it.

After we ran to the library before we got too wet. 

We have been reading some seriously awesome books lately.

Madeleine's books are some of my favorite. I've been on a biography kick, and children's biographies has to be one of my new favorite genres.

These are the three we have this week. All of them are good. I like Firebird by Misty Copeland the best. The illustrations are pretty and the words are a poem. Madeleine's favorite is Me, Jane since it has a monkey in it. If you have any biography children's books you love, send them my way! I'm trying to get my fingers on Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova next.

I've been reading three books this week. 

This book has been a crash course on music and movies for me. I love it, but it's taking me forever to read through it since I don't understand 70% of the references. But if you want to know the history of the hipster (or nerds), like punk music, or 80s movies, you'll probably like this Twee book.

I'm also almost done with this book. I've read a chapter every two days. It's a heavy read and I can't mentally take more than half a chapter a day. With that said, it's been one of the best books I've read in a while. It's helping my reading and I can't wait to use her questions for book club.

Lastly I'm reading Emily of New Moon for book club. I'm almost done.

Matt has also been reading. He read The Way of Kings last week and now he is starting on Emily of New Moon.

 What have you been reading? Any traditions you particularly like?

Books

The weather is pretty dang cold here so we've been cuddling up inside. Baby X thankfully learned to play on his own and is crawling, giving me a lot more freedom! I've been curling up under blankets while the tiny people play in the room. It's been great! Thanks to that, I've been reading a lot. So here are the books I've read since the New Year.

I read all of this series. I really enjoyed the first book. I thought it was a great book about finding yourself after heartbreak. I think it should have ended two chapters before it did. The 2nd book is the main guy's story that runs parallel to the second half of the first book. I didn't find it nearly as compelling. The novella was trash. Sorry.

I didn't like this one much. I saw the movie on the way home from Florida. I wasn't impressed with the movie or the book, but I'm actually really interested in the sequel. I'm planning on reading it as soon as our library gets it in.

I started a book club yesterday and selected this book for the first month. I had read this a few years ago and was happy to discover that it was a good as I remembered. It's the autobiography that Memoirs of a Geisha was based on. She wasn't very happy with Memoirs so she wrote her own book to go with it. Her life is fascinating and I love the female dominate culture that she life revolves around.

I love this book. I'm half way through it right now. It has jammed with information, so I don't read more than a chapter a day. I've been learning a lot about art and I think I'm going to read more about some of these artist after I finish it.

This book has been great for me to read, although I'm not a fan of the writing. I'm only a few chapters in. It's really weird for me to read it. I am familiar with most of the music and artist in the books, but yet, I don't know any of the history or the meaning behind it. It's been interesting and fun to give history a soundtrack. Another thing that has really stood out at me is how intertwined music and art was. I can list off many famous current singers, but not one painter or sculpture. I only know a few photographers and that's because I have sought them out. That's something I'm going to try to fit.

I asked the librarian earlier this week for a life changing book. He said he couldn't think of one, but that he loved this book. The writer is very sarcastic so I decided it was better to read out loud. I asked Matt to read it with me last night and the first chapter was pretty amusing. I'm excited to see where it takes us.

I'm so close to done on this book. I've really enjoyed reading it, and probably would be done with it if Madeleine would stop moving it around the house. It's been an interesting read about feminism. I hadn't realized how much of the history of feminism I didn't get taught in school. It made me realize that I should know more about women's history and that I need to teach it to our kid.

Do you have any book suggestions? I'm looking for books that make me think or a good well-written novel.

My Blind Date

Valentine's Day was pretty low key in our home.

Our Valentine's Day cards.

Matt got loads of chocolate for me.

And Tiny and I took the bus over to the lab, so that we could walk around Princeton as a family.

We stopped at Starbuck's and House of Cupckaes for hot chocolate and cupcakes,

before hitting up our other favorite local spots like the toy store and the library.

I love our library.

I usually have a love/hate relationship with them, since they require that I hand back books by a certain date, but this library and I just hit it off.

I love it, and it's good to me.

For example, there is a playroom designed for toddlers and their exhausted parents.

Matt spent a good thirty minutes while I went and found a copy of Les Mis.

The copy on the third floor was missing, so I grabbed Matt and Gooby and we went down together.
In the adult fiction section, there were all these books wrapped in shiny paper and bows.

I was looking at them, when I librarian said, "Those are our blind date books. We wrapped up some of our favorite books. You just pick one and take it home with you."

I immediately had to have one.

It took me forever trying to choose. The beautiful wrapping paper was a big distraction. It's like going on a blind date with a hot guy...only to find out he's boring. I had to find one that I liked enough to bring home. So finally I decided on this one.

"A fascinating work of historical fiction based on the story of the last woman ever executed in Iceland."

I spent the rest of the night with my actual date,

(though to be fair Matt probably wouldn't be too surprised if I ditched him for a book for the night.)

This morning I took it out.

It took our curious toddler a few minutes to find it.

She had fun unwrapping it and chewing on the bow.

"Set against Iceland's stark landscape, Hannah Kent brings to vivid life the story of Agnes, who, charged with the brutal murder of her former master, is sent to an isolated farm to await execution. 

Horrified at the prospect of housing a convicted murderer, the family at first avoids Agnes. Only Tóti, a priest Agnes has mysteriously chosen to be her spiritual guardian, seeks to understand her. But as Agnes's death looms, the farmer's wife and their daughters learn there is another side to the sensational story they've heard. 

Riveting and rich with lyricism, BURIAL RITES evokes a dramatic existence in a distant time and place, and asks the question, how can one woman hope to endure when her life depends upon the stories told by others?"

I'm excited. :)

I think if I had to choose a book for people to read it would be The Hocky Family for kids, Tricker's Choice for teens, and The History of Love for adults. I would love to wrap those books up and send them off on blind dates.

Any book that you would love to set up?

Fall!

On Sunday, Matt and I went on a hike. Although Utah is not my favorite place to live, Fall makes up for the rest of the year. Everything around here looks beautiful, and I absolutely love the weather. 

Matt had to position me in front of the porta-potty that was ruining our view.
Also a great time for a quick pregnancy shot, 29 weeks. (I was totally didn't know he was taking a picture.)

At this point, it's a small miracle that I made it up that far. But the view was beautiful.

A random guy that was trying to impress his date, asked us to take a picture of them.
Thankfully they returned the favor.

Other random things:
1) I had to do a commercial for my media class. The idea my group picked was why having a baby was cool. So for my part, I had to push a stroller around campus. I was so bad at it! I hit so many things, and people kept thinking I was abusing my kid. (At one point I almost tipped over the stroller.) They gave me even stranger looks when they realized there was no kid. Finally I met up with Matt, and he pointed out the front wheel was broken. Hopefully that will fix the problem, but if not, I need to practice my stroller driving skills.

2) Matt is almost done with his grad school applications!!

3) Baby is terrified of flashlights. Back when I was taking Infancy for my major, my teacher mentioned a fetus would move with a flashlight that was put on the mother's stomach. Matt and I were so excited to try this out. At 28ish weeks, baby's eyes apparently open back up, so we tried it. She usually moves like crazy, but as soon as that flashlight was turned on, she freezes. We have tried a few more times since then and she still stops moving. I have found that it is an excellent way to get her to stop kicking my ribs.

4) Matt and I need a new book to read out loud together. Any suggestions? So far we have read, Stargirl, Howl's Moving Castle,  Have a Little Faith, Winnie the Pooh, and The Princess Bride. Basically, we need a book that I won't finish behind Matt's back while he is doing homework but is still fun to read. 

This week

This week has been pretty busy around here. Matt took his first test and graduate school applications opened up. I had my first assignment to turn in, and since Matt has been so busy, a lot of time to do crafts. :). 

Ward Activity

Saturday, we went to our ward 5 k. My hip has been popping out of joint, so I wasn't allowed to run it. Matt did though.

Matt before the run. He wasn't super thrilled about it.

Both of us, after the run (and walk for me). By then happy endorphins were kicking in and Matt was more awake. 

 Books

Matt and I had been reading this together for the last month or so. We both really enjoyed the whole book  minus the ending.  It kept us laughing and it wasn't a super long read. 

These are the two books I read this week. A Change of Heart was an interesting read. It was about cell memory in transplant organs. It was a bit strange, but I enjoyed it. 

This book has been Matt's mistress all week. ::shakes fist::

Crafts/Baby

 Baby is now in 3rd trimester! Woot! Less than 100 days until Christmas and baby!!!! (93 to be exact). She moves a lot, which is a lot of fun for us. Matt likes to watch my stomach move and we both like poking it. It's neat when you poke your stomach and it pokes back at you.

I have been working on baby's quilt for the last month or two and this week I finished it! We also made her mobile and stuff. So her corner of the room is done.

Her corner of room 

Close up of baby mobile

Matt is really proud of the origami pteranodons. 

I know you can't really see it, but the clouds are totally covered in glitter.

We also have stars on the ceiling in different constellations.
So when we turn off the lights, our ceiling still looks cool.
(Also great for me when Matt explains what he is learning in Astronomy.)

Closer up picture of the quilt. I'm really happy with quilts when I finish them .
Since they take 40+ hrs to make. 

 Matt says that's all that we have done that is interesting this week. So that's all folks. Til next time.

Gold Star Husband

Matt is not home, so I wanted to brag about him a bit. During the last week and half, he has been a gold star husband.

A few bigger and not as cute things he has done...

§          He didn’t complain that life was crazy during finals week.

§          He let me cancel my ticket last minute, even though we didn’t get reimbursed (I didn’t buy the “insurance” on the ticket for full refund incase of death. Also that’s a pretty big deal for someone that is as money conscience as he is.)

§          He drove up to get my uncle at the airport the night before the Chem GRE, because everyone else was out of town (We offered to get someone else to do it, but he said he would).

§          He organized and cleaned the house up after our finals week pig sty, all by himself! (I was very grateful for this. The last thing I wanted to do when I got home from Arizona was clean our home.)

Small things that made me happy

§                  Helped me figure out what to do for Mother’s Day, and then helped me buy what I needed.

§                  Took me out to Tucano’s, because I didn’t feel like making dinner.

§                  Planted our garden, because I wasn’t home to do it.

§                  Figured out which plants we could plant here, since I am only good with dead flowers.

§                  Bought Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver at Walmart, because I had been waiting for it to come out for months.

§                  Read Altas Shrugged just so I could have someone to talk about it with. (True love right there. Who reads a 1,000+ page book just to make their wife happy?)

§                  Grab In’n’Out for Danielle and me while we were shopping, since both of us were hungry.

Then this morning, after I kept him up half the night (I wasn’t feeling well), rolled over and hug me, and said “Good morning beautiful” in my ear. I’m not sure if he knows this song, but I do, and it’s been making me smile all morning.  

Being Smart: Books

That is the princess shoe of the day. Gorgous isn't it? It's a Kate Spade shoe, called the graham pump. I love her shoes and purses.

Yesterday I could have bought those shoes, but I spent the money on something else instead, books. I live for books. My perfect day is going to a used bookstore, getting my normal order from Starbucks (a tall peppermint hot chocolate with low fat milk with no whip cream and extra sprinkles), while looking super cute. I can spend hours in a bookstore and not even notice.

People keep suggesting libraries to me so that I can have both shoes and books, but see I have this issue with returning the books. I know they will be loved a lot more on my bookshelf and have difficulty giving them back. So bookstores and amazon have become my best friends.

I know a princess is suppose to be smart. Talking to an idiot is one of the most annoying things in the universe, believe me. I’ve met plenty, and honestly I rather not be one of those. I find that being well-read helps me not only to be smarter, but also gives me common ground with a lot of people that otherwise might have very few similarities with me.  Also, to quote John Bytheway, “I might not be very smart, but I sure can quote.”  Basically, even if you do not really remember most of the book, a few memorized quotes go a long way.

So what books should you read?

Goodreads.com I think is an excellent resource. I use it all the time. It helps me keep track of not only what I  have read, own, and want to read, but also gives me a long list of suggestions.

But here are a few books that are my absolutely favorites of all time to start you off.

 To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Everyone should have read this one point during their high school education. It's a wonderful book, and I learn something new each time. It teaches about tolerance, family, and race.

Funny story about it. So when I first heard about it in 7th grade, my mom asked me what we were going to be reading. I replied, "Oh I think How to Murder a Hummingbird, Mom." My mother was very bothered by this and all ready to tell the school that she did not approve of what they were having us read, but then she realized it was me she was talking to. When she found out the real title, she was more than happy that I was reading it, but from then on the book has been referred as in my family as "How to murder a hummingbird."

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

This is one of my very favorite books of all time. People ask me what it is about all the time, and the best explanation I have is, it's about life. It is a really short well-written book about a boy that is trying to find his purpose in life. The character growth in this book is incredible, and out of the dozen or so people I have lent it to, everyone has been able to relate to the main character. The book is an international best seller, and I highly recommend it. (While I love this book though, I'm not too big of a fan of the rest of his books)

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

I love this book, and it's a great quote book. The chapters are only a few pages long, but they teach you a lot. Most adults I have found have read this book or at least know a bit about it. It's also about life. As this man, Morrie, is dying, he teaches one of his old students about what is important in life. Along with being really neat, it's also a really good biography, which is sometimes hard to find. I love this author, and even those this is Mitch Albom's most famous book, it's not my favorite. My favorite is Have a Little Faith.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin

I think everyone knows why this one is up. Everyone talks about it. The movies are great, but I really think everyone who really wants to sound educated should be able to tell what the differences are between the movie and the book. The first line of the book is actually my favorite part of the whole book. I think it's the funniest and a honest summary of daughters and mothers I have read. Anyway, it's a good book. Guys, you should read it too. Jane Austin writes some really amusing books. My favorite is Emma. That book makes me laugh every time I read it. The movie Clueless is based of the book Emma, and I love that movie also.

There are so many other books that people should read, and if you really hate reading that much you should at least read the cliffnote versions or watch the movies. If you want to be able to talk to boys or men more, then I would get a good list of Science Fiction or Fantasy. They tend to like those better than Jane Austin books. Biographies and best seller list I find are good for general adults, and children books are so much fun to read and short if you ever want to read those. Also, children's books have really easy analogies and stories that can often time be useful for examples in speeches and conversations.

Anyway I'm off.

Love always,

Michele

Atlas Shrugged

 

I did not realize this was such a controversial book when I started reading it. I was shocked that when I told people I was reading this book, how many people had opinions on it!

“It’s the most boring book ever!!! Don’t read it!!!” was probably the most common response.

“Oh you’re one of those.” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that…I mean those can have a lot of different meanings…

“Ah, you must be really smart.” I think they just meant, “Oh, you have a lot of patience for really long, boring books that only crazy nerds read.” Which in that case, yeah that’s true.

But, I finished this book! It took me a month to read (I dedicated at least two full Saturdays to this book), but I am finished. All 1169 pages. So here is my opinion on the book...

I loved it. Yes, it was boring and read like a textbook, but Ayn Rand did not write this as an entertainment book. I think that’s where most people have issues with it. I think they expect a good novel when they pick it up, but really it’s more like a text book. (which is what I read most of time anyway) She wrote it to educate people about her philosophy and try to get people to think. The characters and story line are just teaching tools to help keep you interested and to illustrate the points she is trying to make. The characters are put through different problems that are difficult for them to solve despite being brilliant, and as a reader, I spent the whole book trying to figure out what I would do.

As I read this book, the issue was not “Do agree with her whole philosophy?” (Absolutely not.) It was more a situation by situation thing of what I believe. I loved the situations that are presented in the book. I was constantly reflecting and questioning my own beliefs and opinions as I learned about other perspectives that I never thought about. I repeatedly kept asking myself two questions: “What would I do in this situation?” and “What do I value more?” By the time I finished the book, I had learned a lot and it did in the end change the way I think about some things.

A few things about that you should know if you decide to read it…

1.It's long...if you didn't notice.

2. If you are Christian a few things might rub you wrong.

3. As I said earlier, the books was not written to entertain you. It’s suppose to educate you. 

4. There is quite a bit of sex in the book.

5. If you can rope someone else into reading it with you, do it. I was dying to discuss/debate different points of this book with someone.

6. I highly recommend have a big cup of hot chocolate/coffee/tea in a giant teacup and a really uncomfortable chair to help keep you awake.


So there is my take on it. Let me know if you have read it or are going to read it. I still would love to discuss with someone this book.

The Perfect Medicine

Despite being sick, tonight has been a pretty perfect night. I have been fighting off a cold/sinus infection for the last 3 days. Luckily for me, I was feeling well enough to go church, before crawling right back into bed. Before I feel asleep, I mumbled off half-understandable direction to Matt about dinner, that looking back, he definitely should not have understood. An hour later when I woke up though dinner was ready!! Matt made creamy tortellini soup and cheesy artichoke bread. It was so good!!

Link for recipe: http://www.bhg.com/recipe/soups/creamy-tortellini-soup/

Link for recipe: http://www.plainchicken.com/2009/10/artichoke-bread.html 

After dinner, I slithered back in bed to fall asleep again, when Matt came in with Winnie the Pooh! He read to me as I drifted in and out of sleep. We read about Winnie the Pooh and Piglet walking around a tree for a while following tracks of some wild animal. Winnie the Pooh convinces Piglet that he should come with Pooh to follow the footprints just incase it ends up being a "hostile animal." Piglet becomes increasingly nervous as more tracks appear! They keep following the tracks until Christopher Robin convinces Pooh that he is just following his own tracks.

I loved this story tonight; it made me smile. When I'm sick, I become so confused and lose everything. I do not know where anything is or what I should be doing. I do end up doing silly things that don't make sense all the time. Luckily for me I have my own husband/best friend to convince me whatever I am doing is maybe not the smartest thing ever and still loves me for it.

 Winnie the Pooh and Piglet.

Anyway, Books+food+cuddling with hubby+ice cream= great medicine.

Night all! I’m off to bed, again.