this could take all day

August roundup

Great stuff this month. Great stuff.

1. I have been bugging everyone I love to read THIS book. If you like a strong female lead, a great narrative voice, a story full of emotion, history, and a love story as strong as Gone With The Wind, you must read this book. Trust me, you'll thank me.

2. THIS may be our new favorite summertime grill recipe. So easy to make (although I couldn't find ground chicken, so we just used turkey) and so delicious. I served these to my family and had one swooning husband. Then we served these to guests at a cookout and they swooned too. Make these before summer is out. Again, you'll thank me!

3. Read-A-Book, Give-A-Book. Great selection of children's books you can read online. And for every book read online, one is given to a charity partner. We have a huge stack of library books at our house all the time, but if I had a smart phone or a tablet device, I would be sure to bookmark this site to pull up in a crisis. Waiting room? Restaurant? Sibling sport practice? Read a book on your computer!

4. Dani, like most kiddos her age, loves buckles. Man, if only I had spotted THIS bear (they have other animals too) before her birthday!

5. On Learning To Go Away. Just confimed my need for a retreat soon. Not for work, not for 4-H, not a family vacation or a spousal reconnection. Just a retreat for me, nature, and God. Mmmm...sounds soul-feeding for sure.

6. Man, I thought my blog-reading life had changed with the invention of google reader. But I missed reading blogs on their actual nicely-designed blog platforms. Plus, I hated having to click to open and comment. I got really bad about actually commenting. Enter google to change my blog reading world once again. Google next. Takes your blogs you have saved in your reader, and lets you read them on their actual nicely-designed blog platforms. All ready for you to read, enjoy, and comment away. LOVE.

7. There are so many cute moms and their cute blogs showing off their cute lunches on the internets these days (like here and here). It's kinda making me excited to pack lunches for my kiddos one of these days. Not yet, though. Daisy was disappointed to learn that our neighbor girl will be having lunch at school, but Daisy only has morning preschool. Sorry kid. You're stuck eating with us at home one more year! Sorry, all that to say I think these lunchboxes are the best I've seen.

8. THIS project, comparing the rooms of children around the world is beautiful and thought provoking.

9. I am so in love with THESE shoes. Aren't they adorable? Um yeah, and not for me. For the girls!

10. Thinking I will need to frame THIS free print and hang it in the girls room once we get it painted and decorated and furnitured and all that.

11. Totally AGREE.

12. I can think of so many organizing and scrapbooking projects to cute-up with THESE labels. 

13. Have I shared with you guys the magic of the half tee yet? I've been talking up these babies quite a bit lately. I have the black and the white tanks and I love them so much. No longer do I worry when I buy a cute lower-cut top. No bulk in layering, or tugging on the tank top to get things just right. Great for me now, and especially great for pregnancy. I think every pregnant woman needs to go out and get herself quite a few of these ladies. How I hated the way my undershirts would roll up as my belly got bigger. And for some reason maternity designers love to design those darn v-neck shirts that you have to layer. 

14. Lastly, one more awesome tune for summer.

Hope your August has been as awesome as mine!

a book to read and a film to see

Do yourself a favor this coming year and do the following things:

1) Read THIS book.

It is a beautifully-written memoir of a woman caught in the "middle place" of being someone's mother and someone's daughter. Add in her crazy father's antics, her sweet husband, and a cancer diagnosis, and you've got one heckuva story. If I had a book club right now I would definitely pick this read. Anyone else read it? I'm dying to discuss! (Book club gals, I miss you!)

  

I can't wait for the author's next book due this March

2) Watch THIS movie.

I'm not sure my friend Laura would agree. This movie shook her up. It shook me up too, but in a good way. It's a documentary love story written to a boy about his father. It has some serious twists and turns, but the storytelling is superb and the ending is simply perfect. Be prepared for some tears, though. (And if you have netflix, you can watch instantly on your computer.)

 

These are life-changing pieces of art. Seriously, life-changing.

Let me know what you think. 

 

book recommendations

So my Mom left a bunch of paperback books here a while ago, and I need to pick one to take on vacation. I've narrowed my choices down, but now I need your help. If you've read any of these, let me know your recommendations. If not, which one would you pick?

Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos

 

From the jacket:

Broken for You is a debut novel of infinite charm and tremendous heart that explores the risks and rewards of human connection, and the hidden strength behind things that only seem fragile. With a riotous energy that recalls the works of John Irving and Anne Tyler, Kallos brings to life a delightful set of characters—among them an old woman who converses regularly with her porcelain collection; a young woman who can fix a leaky sink but can’t stop her own tears from falling; a Yeats-loving bowling enthusiast; and a woman who survived a world war with her sense of humor (and her affinity for Hawaiian shirts) intact.

When we meet septuagenarian Margaret Hughes, she is living alone in a mansion in Seattle with only a massive collection of valuable antiques for company. Enter Wanda Schultz, a young woman with a broken heart who has come west to search for her wayward boyfriend. Both women are guarding dark secrets and have spent many years building up protective armor against the outside world. But as the two begin their tentative dance of friendship, the armor begins to fall away and Margaret opens her house to the younger woman. This launches a series of remarkable and unanticipated events, leading Margaret to discover a way to redeem her cursed past, and Wanda to learn the true purpose of her cross-country journey. Along the way, a famous mosaic artist is born, a Holocaust survivor is reunited with her long-lost tea set, and a sad-eyed drifter finds his long-lost daughter.

Funny, heartbreaking, and alive with a potpourri of eccentric and irresistible characters, Broken for You is a testament to the saving graces of surrogate families, and shows how far the tiniest repair jobs can go in righting the world’s wrongs.

The Widow's War by Sally Gunning

 

From Barnes & Noble:

Married for twenty years to Edward Berry, Lyddie is used to the trials of being a whaler's wife in the Cape Cod village of Satucket, Massachusetts—running their house herself during her husband's long absences at sea, living with the daily uncertainty that Edward will simply not return. And when her worst fear is realized, she finds herself doubly cursed. She is overwhelmed by grief, and her property and rights are now legally in the hands of her nearest male relative: her daughter's overbearing husband, whom Lyddie cannot abide. Lyddie decides to challenge both law and custom for control of her destiny, but she soon discovers the price of her bold "war" for personal freedom to be heartbreakingly dear.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

From the jacket:

Pi Patel is an unusual boy. The son of a zookeeper, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior, a fervent love of stories, and practices not only his native Hinduism, but also Christianity and Islam. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.
The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?

Life of Pi is at once a realistic, rousing adventure and a meta-tale of survival that explores the redemptive power of storytelling and the transformative nature of fiction. It's a story, as one character puts it, to make you believe in God.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

 

From the jacket:

All children mythologize their birth...So begins the prologue of reclusive author Vida Winter's collection of stories, which are as famous for the mystery of the missing thirteenth tale as they are for the delight and enchantment of the twelve that do exist.

The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.

Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.

still sick

Today is Saturday. Darin's off with Daisy buying a new camera lens!!!! (Yea for Craig's list which sold Darin's one-man tent [not sure why he was still holding on to that thing] in order to purchase this lens.) And I'm still at home. Still resting. Still hoping I'll be getting better soon.

I went to the walk-in clinic yesterday because I couldn't get in to see my doctor. Darin joked as we were watching Daisy play in the waiting room that it likely would take just as long to get in to see the doctor there as it would if I had an appointment at my regular clinic. Yeah, let's just say they don't have the greatest track record of getting to us at the appointment time.

Doctor took a strep culture and looked in all my orifices. Yup, just a rotten cold. Made even rotten-er by the fact that I'm pregnant and can't take the good stuff. Sudafed doesn't seem to be doing anything to help, so I'm just using the tylenol to keep the throat and ear pain at bay. And my symptoms are changing, so I'm still hoping this darn thing is on its way out.

Pray for my family. I'd hate to see Daisy get this funk. And Darin too, but he could probably manage better.

Just so this post isn't all pity-party, I'll share a couple of recommendations with you.

Last night we watched Son Of Rambow and both gave it two thumbs up. A sweet adult film about kids (tough to do I think) with great humor and a really touching story. I think it will appeal to lots of different kinds of people. (And if you have older kids, it might be a great film to watch as a family. Could spark some really interesting discussions about friendship and creativity.)

Old Navy is having their baby sale! Too bad my new nephew has more clothes than he'll ever need.

Lastly, I wrote a couple of book recommendations on the blog of my much missed Bellingham book club.

Hope your weekend is better than mine!

the first goodbye

These are my book club girls. We've met for over a year now, the second Monday of the month. We meet at each other's houses, and the upcoming host gets to pick that month's read. It's been a great way to get at a variety of books. It has been a lot of fun to get out of the house, talk about books but mostly about life. I have read some great stuff and made some good friends. I'm gonna miss this group a lot.

Sasha has a blog, but it's an invite-only one, so instead of linking you to the sweet words she wrote, I'll copy them below. Thanks Sash!!! (And thanks for thinking to bring your camera on Monday.)

This is my wonderful book club. We've been together for well over a year and (sob) we have to say good bye to Sweet Deanna Gemmer! Girl, what a great friend and part of our club you've been! Deanna, always quick to suggest something deep to chew on with our reads, good club book picks, and just general good fun, YOU will be missed!! What joy we send you with though, as we've watched your belly grow, and rejoiced as you became a mommy, and then held our breath with you and your hubby as you prayed and waited for just the right job fit. God is so good... you finally found it! So off to Port Orchard you go... I hope you find a fun new book club to join, and keep sending fun reading suggestions our way! Much love you girlfriend!!

"a good read" update

Remember this post when I recommended our latest book club read? Well, shortly after making that post, I received an email from the author. I was a little taken back, because to me authors are kinda like celebrities: you know they exist but they can't be like real people. But here I was receiving an email from an author, one who thanked me for reccomending her book. We exchanged a few more emails and it was pretty sweet to have some extra thoughts to bring with me to book club this week.

After emailing with the author, I also checked out her website where I was thoroughly entertained. So if you need something to brighten your day, check out the snipit below:

How do you balance writing and family life?

What a funny question. Here’s what most women know: There is no balance. It is an illusion. “Balance,” in fact, is a stupid word that was invented so counselors and self-help gurus would have a new vocab word to throw around and about. Feel like you’re running around like your hair is on fire, ladies? Well, it is.  And if you stopped for a second, you’d see what I’m talking about and grab a fire extinguisher. Ladies, do not strive for balance, it’s just one more thing you’ll feel like you’re failing at. Strive for sanity, shaved armpits, clothes without dirt spots, control over your hot flashes, cool friends, bras that fit, an invisible moustache, a working memory, and a lot of time at the local coffee shop so you can drown your sorrows in mochas. Going to a coffee shop is certainly cheaper than laying on someone’s couch so he can tell you that you need “balance.”            

Give me a break. Strike that word from your life. Sheesh.

Now you see why I liked the book so much?

I love me a good book.

And this one I couldn't put down. Julia's Chocolates is the latest book club selection and I'd be handing it around to all my friends if the copy I had wasn't a borrowed one.

The story opens with Julia Bennet throwing her wedding dress into a tree and fleeing from her abusive fiance. She drives to Oregon and moves in with her eccentric and kind Aunt Lydia. From there she meets a colorful cast of townspeople, quirky, honest, hard-working, and ultimately loyal to one another. While each character has flaws, they are each loveable and wonderful and teach Julia about facing your fears and reclaiming your life.

The novel at times is pretty violent (Julia has a rough past both from her childhood with an alcoholic bed-hopping mother, to her time with her fiance Robert), but the author is amazing at mixing it wonderful bouts of laugh-out-loud humor.

I was finding every spare moment I could to pick up this book, and found myself worrying as the pages on the left became more numerous than the pages on the right that the novel would be over too soon. I love a good book where the characters just come alive and you fall in love with them all. But it's just awful when it's over and you have to say goodbye, wondering what life holds for them now. But one of the best treats in this book is the way the author wonderfully wraps her story up, giving her characters a future where I was happy to leave them.

One for Darin and One from Darin

Okay, so one more blog entry and then home from work!

One For Darin (who can't seem to keep caught up on this thing):

And one from Darin (because he sent me the coolest email today):

Don Miller is AMAZING!

he just puts things SO beautifully and reasons like I reason.  he takes all that I want to say about Christianity and puts it into the most wonderful stories and words.  i love him for putting my thoughts into his words.

here's my recent favorite quote:

"But what we really need is God.  What we really need is somebody who loves us so much we don't worry about death, about hair thinning, about other drivers pulling in front of us on the road, about whether people are rich, good looking or ugly, about whether we feel lonely or about whether or not we are wearing clothes.  We need this; we need this so we can love other people purely and not for selfish gain, we need this so we can see everybody as equals, we need this so our relationships can be sincere, we need this so we can stop kicking ourselves around, we need this so we can lose all self-awareness and find ourselves for the first time, not by realizing some dream, but by being told who we are by the only Being who has the authority to know, by that I mean the Creator."

how wonderfully simple it is, and he's so right.  I can't wait for you to read this book.  it's lovely!

I love you!  Donald Miller can never change that!