Sunday, October 24, 2010

July, August Book List

I waited so long to type this up I'm sure I've forgotten some. Oh well.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
I read this one at the Mexico beach house. It was a great vacation read. I completely adored all the characters and it has a happy ending :) I've yet to read anything in the fantasy genre not written by Mr. Sanderson but I can say I'm a fan of his for sure.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
This book was an enjoyable read but it left me a little lost in the end. I wanted A LOT more in Skeeter's story. And I really didn't like how she decides she wants to be different from everyone but that equals wearing short dresses and leaving her traditional values behind.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
This is definitely going on my favorite book list. I adored the main character and the overall message of the book. I adored his optimism and even when he gets robbed and has to work for a year to make up that money he says that it was okay because he was still working toward his destiny. LOVE THAT!

Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Very political book that's quite tragic. It tells the story of a refugee from Nigeria that's driven from her home because the oil company killed her entire village so they can drill there. It was VERY tragic but it did make me want to ride a bike or buy and electric car!

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Cute book. I thought the main character was likable and I will probably read the rest of the series some day.

The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan
Jeff bought me this for my birthday. We're going to landscape our backyard soon and I really want to get into gardening, maybe get some chickens, etc. This book is an overall guide, it doesn't delve too deep into any topic. It's more of a "you can do it" type book.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

May, June Book List

The Host by Stephenie Meyer
This was a re-read. I just love this story :)

Passionate Marriage by Dr. David Schnarch
Such a great book. I don't really know how to describe it and I don't know if any of my friends would appreciate it as much as I did.

Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt
Cute YA novel. It's about a young girl who makes a wish and then a magic agency contacts her. She has "magic potential" so they want to hire her as a substitute princess. It's the first of three so the ending definitely leaves you open for more. It's kinda typical junior high with the lead character talking about the mean girls at school and boys she wants to date. I started reading it to Leah but then decided to wait awhile, maybe until the others come out. I was definitely well-written so I'm excited to read more.

Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
Good book, not that great but definitely good. I don't think I really loved any of the characters so the climax fell a little flat. I did like that the main character decides to stand up for the endangered owl population. I'm all crunchy like that haha.

Holes by Louis Sachar
Such a great book!! Saw the movie a long time ago and loved it. Turns out the author of the book wrote the screenplay for the movie so it follows it exactly. Stanley Yelnats is just a great, likable character. One of my favorite YA books ever.

Forest Born by Shannon Hale
I think Rin's story was sweet and I liked the way Hale wrote it. Overall a good book.

Food Not Lawns by Heather C. Flores
This book appeals to my mega-crunchy side. It's take a very extreme approach to environmentalism but really, it would be fun to live off-the-grid, reusing everything, generating little to no trash. I checked it out from the library because it had a section on permaculture and since we're hoping to landscape our backyard soon I wanted to learn some things.

Shark Girl by Kelly Bingham
This book isn't a typical novel. I can't really describe how it's written but it was a really entertaining read. The main character is a young girl who gets her arm bitten off by a shark. She was an artist so the loss of her arm pretty much changes her entire future. You get to read some of her thoughts, e-mails, notes and dialogue from phone calls. It was definitely different but captivating.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Wednesday's Whatever

- I've been going to yoga at LVAC on Tues & Thursday mornings. Love it.
- Last Thursday I went in for my yearly check-up at Dr. Groom's office. When I went to turn in my updated account information the lady at the front desk said that she had to compliment my attention and eye-contact. Most of the people she talks to are half-way to their chairs before she's even finished her instructions. She said it might seem like a weird compliment to pay someone but I appreciated her words.
- I tried to donate blood on Saturday but my iron was too low. The worker asked if I'd been really tired lately and I said, "yes!". But really, with four kids it's hard to tell what's making me tired. I added an iron supplement to my nighttime routine :)
- One day I asked Davis to distract Grayson for awhile so I could deal with Whitney and he exclaimed, "But I don't know how to deal with 3 year-olds!" LOL, me neither buddy!
- Grayson was saying the funniest stuff in the van the other day and we were all laughing at him. He told us to stop laughing but I told him he's just too cute. Then he said, "No I'm not! Babies are cute, not big boys!". It just made us all laugh harder :)
-We've had a crazy storm the past couple of days. As we were driving to Costco this afternoon a National Weather Advisory announcement came over the radio. My kids were fascinated with the information! It came on again awhile later and then when we got in the van after shopping Grayson requested I play it again. He said, "Mom, turn on the thing that says don't crash into the thunderstorm." Haha. And then later that night he told his dad about the warning that the storm was very "strong" and flexed his arm. So. Dang. Cute!!
- And last but not least, only 3 1/2 more months until Whitney can go to nursery! Yay! Can I get an amen!?

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Wednesday's Whatever

When I want to post something completely random I'm going to do it on Wednesdays. Yes, on Wednesdays I'm going to post whatever I want, hence "Wednesday's Whatever".

  • Jeff and I got iPhones. I have one because I want one, not because I need one. I will probably never use it to it's full capacity.
  • My kids are completely addicted to the iPhone game app Angry Birds. I used it this morning as motivation for the kids to clean up. They did an awesome job!
  • I'm completely addicted to Angry Birds. Don't look at my laundry pile.
  • Out of the blue my kids will talk about it. Yesterday at the kitchen table, when he wasn't playing, Grayson said, "I like to kill pigs." Today Davis and his friend Drew were playing their real-life pretend-play version of it on the trampoline with balls. The balls were the birds.
  • Davis is a genius at strategy. He was watching me play over my shoulder and told me, "If there's a pig that doesn't die easily I try to kill that one first." I thought Jeff had taught him that but he swears he didn't. I thought that was pretty smart.
  • Grayson is too funny. He'd played on another mom's iPhone in the gymnastics waiting room one time so the first thing he said when he saw mine is ask, "Does that phone have a game?".

Friday, October 1, 2010

Dear Grayson,
I miss your silly face. Even though you're a rascal, I love you too much. I proved that much when I almost had a heart attack watching you almost get hit by a car in the Kohl's parking lot last week. Four days at Meema's is enough, come home now. But when you get here please don't drench your sister with the hose because you "just want to get her hair wet".

Love,
Mom