flowershop girl

Moving On

2011-11-30T20:18:00.001-06:00

Dear Blog Readers,

If there are any of you still reading...

I'd like to invite you to join me over at my new blog The Shadowlands

It's the start of another new adventure. :)

10(ish) Books I'd Like to see on the Big Screen

2011-03-26T09:59:00.002-06:00

I saw this tag going around (on Facebook) and there are LOTS of books I would like to see on the big screen.

All of these must be done true to the book. Some alterations are ok, because obviously not everything translates well from the page to the screen, but as long as it's a good adaptation I want to SEE IT!!!

Here we go.

1. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (why hasn't this been made before????????????????)

2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (trilogy) (I think it is being made... yay!)

3. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (this is one of my favorite Narnia books... but I say that about all of them.... :)

4. Savvy by Ingrid Law (This would be LOVE)

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (I know there's already an excellent movie adaptation of this one. And updated version would be awesome too though. If it was done right.)

6. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (I <3 The Penderwicks. There should be more fiction like this for kids. And there should be movies so kids also have great things to watch.)

7. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (I have heard rumors of this one being in the making for YEARS. It needs to just get DONE!)

8. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (Um, it's awesome. 'Nuff said.)

9. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (On 2nd thought maybe it should be a TV miniseries. In order to do it right it would have to be like a 10 hour movie... so, maybe a miniseries would be good.)

10. Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (There's a niche for it. It would sell. Make it!)

11. Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (Any of Shannon Hale's books would make beautiful movies.)

12. This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti (I'm actually surprised that some Christian movie making company hasn't picked this one up yet.)

13. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (It's a classic. More people should know about it.)

14. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (The Benedict Society books are the books I hold all other Kids' Fiction up to as a standard. Everything should be this clean, this exciting, this educational.)

XIV is the new X. :-P

Hey Good Lookin' Whatcha' Got Cookin'?

2010-12-27T19:35:00.000-06:00

Looks like BROWNIES...

YUM

Dressed in Holiday Style

2010-12-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

My coworkers and I are easily the hippest, funnest, coolest ~~elves~~, Florists in town.

And my sister who came to pick me up from work and stayed to take pictures of me and my awesome co-workers.

Jazzy Jingle Bells

2010-12-15T09:06:00.001-06:00

Happy Holidays from the City Children's Choir!

Of which my little brother is a proud member.

He wore these light up reindeer antlers that he had to keep switching on constantly throughout the concert because they only blinked for 20 seconds or so after pressing the button. So, of course he had to keep reaching up and pressing the button. I don't know who bought him those antlers. *whistles innocently*

Luke and his friend Elizabeth. "Choir is FUN!!!!"

And with little siblings. Who are adorable. :)

JJ Heller Love

2010-12-14T17:36:00.001-06:00

JJ Heller is easily my favorite recording artist.

That's saying a lot coming from the girl who can find enjoyment in almost any type of music (obviously exception would be heavy metal, whether or not it's even music is debatable.) But, although I have a wide range of tastes, and a big list of favorite songs it's not often that I find an ARTIST that I love. As in, I pretty much love every song she's ever recorded. I love her sound. I love her image. I love that she's an independent artist. I love that her music is understated and simple with amazing, killer lyrics. I love that she has an adorable baby girl that she features along with her adorable sewing projects on her adorable blog I love that she and her husband travel together and give beautiful un-pretentious concerts where the audience feels more like they're in the Heller's living room than in a concert hall. By the way, I know about the concerts, because I went to see them a couple weekends ago at the Outeredge Stage (which is awesome by the way.)

See?

And I took some friends with me. 'Cause it's always good to spread the JJ Heller love.

My friends drink a lot of coffee.

Then we went to Barnes and Noble and shopped in the used book section on the way home.

So, it was basically a perfect weekend.

November Book List

2010-12-01T16:38:00.001-06:00

101. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (****) Re-read. This time for my book club. I liked it just as much this time around, found myself asking myself more questions. I seem to find deeper themes when I re-hear or re-read something.

102. The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine (***) Also a re-read but, mainly because I was really in the mood for something fluffy. I know. *blush*

103. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (****) I didn't love this book as much as I loved Gilead. I feel like there's so much more than just the words and the surface story in Robinson's works. The main theme is Transience, or the deep, undercurrent of transience in three generations of women. It's a story about danger and beauty, family ties and the lack of family ties.... basically, it's a story about opposite themes and ideas and philosophies. The characters are constantly at odds with society, culture and even themselves. Even the title of the book "Housekeeping" sounds crisp and tidy like clean sheets and bread baking, but the story itself is untidy, dark and reclusive. I'm still thinking about this book... I don't think I can really explain what it all meant to me, but I can't get one phrase out of my head. In the first few chapters of the book, one woman's three daughters grow up and move away from home one by one, they all leave and almost never look back "She had never taught them to be kind to her." I wonder if we have to teach people to be kind to us? I wonder a lot of things...

104. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (***) I didn't love this one as much as I did Steinbeck's The Pearl. There are a lot of interesting concepts in this novella. Tons of language though, so be warned.

105. Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright -(****) Cute. Classic childhood summer.

106. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo -(*****) Are there words for the epic-ness of this book? I think not. I LOVE it. Everyone should read it. Everyone.

107. Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (***) I think I would have gotten much more out of this book if I knew more about Chinese culture. As it is, I learned a lot about cultures mixing how it works and how it doesn't. And generational relationships.

108. N or M? by Agatha Christie (****) I think just about any Tommy and Tuppence fan would love this book. It's so them. :)

September Book List

2010-09-30T22:39:00.001-05:00

85. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (****) I'm not really sure what exactly I expected from the end of this trilogy. But, it wasn't this. But, that's ok. I think this book and it's themes are deeper than the first two books and I wasn't prepared for it. It's really brutal. And even though it ended as well as anyone could hope after the experience the rest of the book puts you through... it's still so tragically bitterly sad.

86. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie (****) It's always fun to read Christie's out of the common way mysteries. By that I mean, a mystery not featuring Poirot or Marple or The Beresfords. I love all of those detectives (especially the Beresfords) like I love my favorite foods (weird analogy?) but, regardless, something new is always refreshing and stretching. All that to say that I did not see the end of this one coming at all. I really didn't have the faintest notion. Of any possibilities at all. I was totally unprepared.

87. Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery (****) I really like this book.

88. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (****) A very poignant story about family, war, death, beauty, grief and the value of literature. I identify with Liesel, sometimes I'm angry at the words, too. Sometimes they are too beautiful and too true.

89. Sabotaged by Margaret Peterson Haddix (***) This is the third book in The Missing series. I was looking forward to it, but ended up being sadly disappointed. I'm not sure that I'd say it wasn't as good of quality as the first two books in the series. I think I just wasn't in the same mood as I was when I read the other two.

90. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (****) Excellent. Highly recommended.

91. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (*****) I can't believe I had never read this book before. I loved it. Rephrase that: LOVED it. :)

92. The Pearl by John Steinbeck (*****) Also excellent.

August Book List

2010-08-31T17:28:00.002-05:00

   70. Miracles by C.S. Lewis (*****) C.S. Lewis is some kind of awesome. As some of my friends and I like to say "He's better than Chuck Norris." Easily.

71. The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (*****) Really sweet. Newberry Honor Book.

72. Ten Books That Screwed Up the World and Five Others That Didn't Help by Benjamin Wiker (****) Very interesting. I would recommend reading it. PG-13 rating, though.

73. Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson (***) Sci-Fi. Amazingly these books sort of enthrall me. Plenty of plot twists that are totally unexpected, and I love the main character, Max. Some language.

74. Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever by James Patterson (***) Ditto above.

75. East of Eden by John Steinbeck (****) This book blew me away. I loved the themes and the redemption and the lessons. Beautifully woven words. BUT, unfortunately, I would have to give at the very least a PG-13 rating. This book is intense, vulgar and packed with language and "adult situations" prostitution... you name it. Ultimately it's a story of good vs. evil, our personal struggles with our own sin nature and the redeeming power of God to save, IF we choose to be saved. Amazing.

76. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (****) One of Agatha Christie's most famous novels. Read it and you'll know why.

77. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (****) I can't help it. I love it.

78. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis (*****) Reviewed HERE

79. Scumble by Ingrid Law (****) Pretty awesome. Companion to Savvy, so read that one first if you haven't already.

80. Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller (****) Surprisingly I kind of loved this book. It's funny, because I found myself deeply identifying with the author and two paragraphs later raising my eyebrows. Haha, ok, not really. What I mean to say is, this book advertises itself as "Non-religious thoughts on Christian spirituality" and that's basically what it is. A lot of Christians would probably be offended by some of what Donald Miller has to say. It's not for everyone. But, again, I liked it.

81. Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury (***) Sequel, or rather, extension of Dandelion Wine. And, disappointingly, not nearly as good. It just didn't hit me the same way. *shrug* But, regardless I still consider the author as having some kind of special magic juice in his pen instead of ink. Wonder where I could get some of that?

82. A Shot in the Dark by Richard Powell (****) Well, if you're in the mood for an action movie from the 1950s but you're really more in a reading mood than a watching mood, and you'd like some soldier-y action and a lot of pretty girls, er dames all referred to by their hair color (i.e. "a blond" "a brunette", etc.) and you like characters that are always making cute remarks, see? And you like those same characters to be addicted to cigarettes in a big way (back in the 50s this was totally normal) and you like international crimes and big deals, and some really fantastic (and funny) descriptive passages. And just some plain awesome lines, like for instance this one: "According to the books, back in ancient times you had to rescue women from dragons before they felt that they had a first mortgage on you. There must have been a surplus of men in those days. In modern times a mouse would do." Well, then. This book is for you.

83. Prison to Praise by Merlin Caruthers (***) Feels sort of like a faith thriller. :) Good stories. I'm not sure I agree with all the author's theology but in all honesty, I doubt there's any book on faith or theology with which I agree 100%.

84. Lord of the Flies by William Golding (****) This book is hard to describe without totally giving away the whole central theme. Which, without going into too much detail and trying not to sound too shallow at the same time is basically good vs. evil. It's about human nature, society and government. In the author's words "The theme is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature. The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable."

July Book List

2010-08-02T19:55:00.000-05:00

64. Savvy by Ingrid Law (****) (342 pages) Savvy is just plain an awesome book. I love the style, I love the message, I love the characters, I love the descriptions, I love the voice. And the sequel is coming out next month. :)

65. Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (****) (203 pages) Very humorous and well written.

66. Dug Down Deep, Unearthing What I Believe and Why it Matters by Josh Harris (*****) (231 pages) I loved this book. I think that the author and I have a lot in common. Growing up in the church world, Christianity tends to become more of a way of life than a foundation and a belief system chosen of our own accord. I appreciated this book so much I really can't describe it. Highly recommended.

67. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta (**) (419 pages) Two stars because it held my interest to the end. Excuse me while I climb back onto my soapbox. Is anyone tired of hearing this yet? WHY, WHY WHY???!??! must there be SO MUCH language and... JUNK in Young Adult Fiction? I understand that it's nothing kids don't hear every day the minute they walk out their front door. I don't care. It's wrong. It's disgusting. I finished this book because the progression of it fascinated me in a train wreck kind of way. Can't bear to keep going, but can't look away... The plot comes out so slowly and so fragmented that it's illogical to stop 3/4ths of the way through the book because by that time you are only starting to understand what it's all about and you've already invested so much time into it... I'm sure it's designed this way on purpose. Which is quite genius, I'm sure. But, I found the main character annoying, and I really didn't like any of the other characters either come to think of it. The writing is only so-so in my opinion. Maybe it's just not my preferred style. Or, maybe I'm just being too nice. If you have any aversion to language and adult situations, suicide, etc.... do not read this book.

68. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (****) (184 pages) This book is full of magic words from start to finish. I think I could've read it one sentence a time and stopped to consider and wonder at each one. The front of my (borrowed) copy calls it "A novel of the strange and wonderful" which I think is a very accurate description. This book is summer, life, death, wonder, horror and growing up all neatly packaged into 184 pages of the most beautiful prose that I'm almost tempted to call it poetry.

69. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (***) (374 pages) Reviewed HERE

I'm sorry

2010-07-15T08:14:00.000-05:00

I know I said I'd try to be around more.
I've been super busy lately getting ready for kids camp which is next week already! And... things have been busy/complicated at work due to health issues with our already very limited staff.
I'm still working on ideas for posts, but I think it's safe to say you won't see me for sure until after camp. So, hopefully the week after next I'll have some time to post. I hope everyone is having a really good summer. I'd love to hear about what you've been doing!

June Book List

2010-07-05T14:41:00.001-05:00

53. Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy Sayers- (*****) (356 pages) Oh, Lord Peter, how I've missed you. I love this book. Is it because Lord Peter goes undercover as "Death Bredon"? Is it because he plays cricket amazingly? Is it because Lady Mary and Chief Inspector Parker are so involved? I don't know. But, I LOVE it. :)

54. The Death of Ivan Illych by Leo Tolstoy- (****) (61 pages) Tolstoy packed a whole lot of life lessons into only 61 pages. I really don't even know where to start. The entire novella revolves around the life and death (mostly death) of Illych. A majority of the last half is him struggling with his imminent death. He tries to rationalize why he deserves death, because in his opinion, he doesn't deserve it at all. (As a side note, one of Tolstoy's points deals with every human's reluctance to admit that death is inevitable to every person. Very interesting.) I really would recommend that you read this book yourself. It's a novella so very easy to read through in one or two sittings. What I learned: Life is about others. Not me.

55. Happy Ever After by Leo Tolstoy (***) (97 pages) Another of Tolstoy's novella's. This one was on the theme of love. It was idyllic, enchanting, nasueating, depressing and inspiring by turn.

56. Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (***) (215 pages) 2004 Newberry Honor Book. Welcome to the Rock. Imagine growing up on the island of Alcatraz. Wow. This book was so much better and so much worse than I thought it would be. Negative points: Some language. Crudeness. Positive points: I like the main character, Moose. A lot. He reminds me of my brother. The central theme of the story is Moose's relationship with his older sister Natalie, who from what I can tell has a very severe form of autism. Back in 1935 autism had hardly been heard of and most autistic people were admitted to asylums. I found it very touching.
57. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (****) (383 pages) I think this was the first Shannon Hale book I read... I think. Anyway, Hale has a beautiful way with words. Enchanting.

58. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois (****) (180 pages) 1947 Newberry Award Winner. I really had no idea what this book was about when I picked it up. And I was a little nervous about 10 pages in that it was going to be boring. Lots of technical details about traveling by hot air balloon... But, then it all picked up I found myself devouring all 180 pages in about 2 hours. Absolutely delightful! Educational, exciting, adventurous, humorous. Definitely recommended.

59. A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner (****) (316 pages) This is the fourth book in the Queen's Thief series. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't rank it as highly as the other books in the series. Still very enjoyable though. Even though (I don't like admitting this) I feel like I'm always a step and half behind on catching up when I'm reading Turner's books... I feel like I'm just not getting it. Is this intentional? Or, is it just me?

60. Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko (***) (270 pages) Sequel to Al Capone Does My Shirts and really just as enjoyable as the first book. Again, I'm struck by the novelty of growing up on Alcatraz. (As a side note, the Author's Note section is way too interesting to be skipped.) Again, though, I found myself cringing several times. Because of language, yes, but mostly just plain crudeness. Maybe it's just me. My mouth is cleaner than Comet. I can't say I can recommend this book or it's prequel unreservedly. I understand that most people are accustomed to this sort of language. I even am to some degree. But, I can't say that I'm comfortable with being accustomed to it. And I can't say I think it's ok, or that other people should be, too. Remember, I'm about 15 years older than the target age range of these books. I do love Choldenko's style. Minimalistic. :)

61. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale (****) (317 pages) I can never decide which Book of Bayern is my favorite. As soon as I finish one I think "this is my favorite" then I read another one.. :) I love this author's style. But, I think I said that already. :) Enna herself is a little beyond my ability to identify with. But I love Finn. :)

62. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemna by Trenton Lee Stewart (****) (319 pages) As usual I adore the Benedict Society. This is the final book in the trilogy and it's not my favorite. But, I still heart them. :)

63. Murder After Hours by Agatha Christie (****) (256 pages) Agatha Christie is some kind of amazing.

The Storm

2010-06-23T15:16:00.000-05:00

I woke

wondering

if the world was ending

I huddled in bed

listening

to the back door rattling on it's hinges

watching

the eerie black claws of a tree branch's shadow

dance

to a jumpy

off-skew rhythm

Lightning snapped

too many negative image photographs of my bedroom

I wandered the house

looking

for destruction

I marvelled

that four walls and a roof

create a pocket of safety

in the center of violent passion

This morning

the world is a strange loveliness

like a fantastic reality

like a gift

like sun on glass

Hello. I'm Here.

2010-06-21T20:08:00.000-05:00

Well we got home from Virginia last Sunday night and I jumped right into working, and all those other things that happen during the week that suck up time like a dry sponge.

What HAVE I been doing the past week? I don't even know...

This trip really exhausted me, so I've been falling into bed and sleeping hard every night... dragging myself out of bed in the morning, literally not being able to keep my eyes open long enough to get the coffee started. Isn't that interesting? No? Well, that's my excuse for not posting. :)

The tournament was amazing. I spent a lot of my time in the library atrium of Regent University watching Luke and Sarah play and freezing, freezing, freezing! I think the A/C in that place was set to like 30 degrees or something. When I got a break from babysitting I watched speeches. And blinked in awe. For a girl like me who can't speak in front of a crowd to save her life and has always been of... let's say "average" intelligence :) the things I saw these kids do was astounding. Talent by the bucket loads, and I'm not even exaggerating.

Just for a little taste... This is the Duo Interpretation that won first place.

I was actually in the room watching this exact performance and when they were done Mom and I turned to each other with huge eyes and said "WOW." These kids are AMAZING. It's a little intimidating to be surrounded by so much talent, let me tell you.

I wish I could explain more about what NCFCA is... but I know I wouldn't do it justice. If you are interested you can poke around the website and see more of what it's all about. There are so many different speech categories that I don't really know all of them, not to mention debate. I got an opportunity to watch some "Persuasive" speeches, and that may have been my favorite part of the event. I saw 8 students give speeches that they had researched, written and performed themselves on whatever subject they felt strongly enough to speak on. The whole point is to be able to persuade the judges of your point of view. I saw speeches on everything from Sarcasm to Homosexuality in the Church, Autism, Being a "Doer", Gun Control, Terrorism... I was in awe. They all persuaded me. :)

We also got to do fun things like go to the beach, visit Monticello, Richmond, swim in the pool (or, in my case, watch Luke and Sarah B, swim in the pool) :) It was a good trip. Long, but good.

But, as always, the best part? Coming Home. :)

What We Did in Richmond

2010-06-06T20:39:00.000-05:00

The main attraction for us in Richmond was St. John's Church. This is the church where the second Virginia Convention met in March of 1775. This is the church where Patrick Henry made his famous speech. The one that ends "Give me liberty, or give me death."

The reason this speech is so special to us is because this is the speech my brother Joe is performing for the speech tournament he is in this week, which is the whole reason that we're in this area in Virginia to begin with. :)

Anyway, we knew St. John's Church had to be a stop on this trip. Another very cool thing is that every Sunday in the summer months and many other time throughout the year by special appointment, the church has a re-enactment of the debate that led up to Patrick Henry's speech and the speech itself.

One word: AWESOME.

Joe was even drafted to help perform in it! We were walking the grounds before the reenactment and met a man in charge of the Patrick Henry Foundation. In the course of conversation Dad mentioned that Joe had studied and performed the speech. Evidently they always draft a member of the audience to perform the part of Reverend Selden, who opened the convention in prayer. Joe was the right size to wear the costume. :) So, he got to perform in the reenactment and watch from the front row. :)

Here is Joe in his Reverend Selden costume with "Patrick Henry"

With "George Washington"

With Mom and Dad :)

Going on a Road TRIP!!

2010-06-03T22:35:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving for Virginia bright and early tomorrow morning with some of my family. My brother is going to the National Speech Tournament and the rest of us are going along for the ride! I'll try to keep this blog updated while I'm gone.

If I don't... then I'll see you all in a couple of weeks!

May Book List

2010-06-02T08:06:00.002-05:00

41. The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer-(****) (280 pages) I can't even tell you how many people have told me that they thought I would love Georgette Heyer's books. I think she was a contemporary with Dickens.... don't raise an uproar if I'm wrong ok? Anyway, she wrote a bunch of romances and some mysteries. I read one of her romances a while ago and it kept my interest and I guess I enjoyed it... but, not enough to go looking for more of her books. Then a friend of mine read this one and said it was awesome, so I checked it out. And it is pretty great. Very funny. Predictable, but still engaging and I loved all of the characters. I might look up more of her books. :)

42. Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson-(**) (244 pages) 1981 Newberry Award Winner. Quite frankly, utterly depressing. Two stars because it was very well written and the book had it's moments that I enjoyed, but, overall I found myself racing to finish it. Because I didn't want to read it anymore. The subject matter is weighty and quite a project to tackle. Self-loathing, low self-esteem, etc. are things that many young people deal with and I wholeheartedly agree that the subject should be addressed. But, I did not care for the way Paterson addressed it. Not at all. Young people that deal with these issues should be encouraged to talk about their fears. I think it's dangerous to imply that if you just hang on until some indefinite point, it's possible that things may make sense one day. Maybe. Unfortunately many young people will have given up by the time that elusive point comes along. I myself have had similar struggles (although not to the extent that Louise does in the book. Reading about Louise's problems did not encourage me that other people felt the way I did. Instead it depressed me.) The book also has some rather adult elements in it that I would rather not have kids reading. If I had kids. :) Note to parents: Whatever you do, make a point of making sure ALL of your kids know how much you love them. :)

43. Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie-(**) (100 pages) I didn't even finish this one. The first couple of short stories were good. Awesome even. But, I'm beginning to discover that a lot of Christie's short stories are actually ghost stories. BORING.

44. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner -(****) (280 pages) 1997 Newberry Honor Award. I don't think I really understood this book the first time I read it. I enjoyed it much more the second time through.
45. A Holiday for Murder by Agatha Christie -(*****) (167 pages) Maybe it's just me... but I think this is one of Agatha Christie's best works.

46. Missing May by Cynthia Rylant- (***) (89 page) 1992 Newberry. I have mixed feelings about this book. One the one hand, it's beautiful. The words, I mean. Short and sweet, which I greatly admire. It's about grief, and moving on and as far as that goes, I think this book is a jewel. On the other hand, I hesitate to recommend it because of language, and some spiritual content. Namely, the idea that communicating with the dead by way of a spiritual medium is perfectly ok. I don't want to go into detail because I'd end up giving away spoilers. But, that's my opinion.

47. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart -(*****) (485 pages) I think I already reviewed this book last time I read it. So, this time around I'll just say that I LOVE THE BENEDICT SOCIETY! I really do. This book goes on my "Should've won a Newberry" list. Now, THIS is the kind of book I'm talking about when I say books should be a good example, books should promote teamwork, education, books should inspire, books for kids should have CLEAN LANGUAGE. I absolutely love the fact that the author does not feel he needs to cheapen his work with a lot of bad language. Stewart says his inspiration for this book came from the belief that children are often seen, rarely heard, and always underestimated! I can't decide which member of the Benedict Society is my favorite. I incline towards Reynie. I identify with him the most, even though he's eons above me intellectually. But, then I LOVE Kate. Love her. I'm grinning right now. And Sticky melts my heart. And who wouldn't love Constance? Seriously? And of course, Milligan. 'Nough said.

48. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner - (****) (360 pages) Again, I don't think I really "got" this book the first time around. Much more enjoyable this time. I'm beginning to see why Turner has such devoted and enamored fans.

49. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner -(****) (385 pages) Third installment of the Thief series and I actually love that this book is told from an entirely new and different viewpoint. (side note: I love Costis, and totally sympathize with him.) However, I feel like the author keeps trying to recreate the feeling and original mystery of the first book by making Eugenides an enigma. But, by now, we already know exactly who he is and so it's a little redundant. And that's my main reason (other than language) that this book doesn't get 5 stars. This is the third time Eugenides is hurt enough to be forced to remain in bed for enough of the book to make it a plot turning point. And earrings. I'm a little creeped out that he's so into earrings. That could just be me. In fact, it probably is. Ignore me.

50. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart -(*****) (440 pages) Have I mentioned that I LOVE the Benedict Society? I do. And I think I have a little crush on Milligan.

51. After the Funeral by Agatha Christie -(****) (192 pages) Very fast paced, as all of Christie's works. Enjoyable. Genius.

52. Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix -(****) (218 pages) First of all, I love Haddix's writing style and her characters. After that... hmmm.... This is one of those books that addresses deep subjects for which there are so many questions and very elusive answers. But, as one character says "I don't know all the answers, but I've asked all the questions." I have to give Haddix huge points for even addressing topics like human cloning. Personally, I'm against human cloning. But, I've always wondered... what about the person? (assuming human cloning is even achieved.) It's not their fault they're a clone, right? Just like a child conceived in sin (out of wedlock) is not responsible for the sins of their parents. There are a lot of questions. Not as many answers readily available. The one answer that the author seems to give us is "Life always wins." Does life really always win? I have to believe that in a world where God is in control that it does. Even when bad things happen life can always come from it, right? So many questions... but, as usual Haddix manages to wrap everything up super satisfactorily. Which, in itself is very unrealistic, but so is human cloning. I think.

Memorial Day 2010

2010-05-31T07:27:00.000-05:00

Today I'm going to the city's Memorial Day ceremony to see my brother perform a patriotic speech, do a little bit of office work, some shopping in preparation for the trip to Virginia, have dinner with my family, do some housecleaning, maybe some reading?

But, it is Memorial Day and I'm not forgetting the real meaning of the day.

In lieu of anything better to post... this is the poem I wrote for Memorial Day last year.

In Memory...

Of all the men and women that gave their lives for this country.

Because they believed in freedom for their families

And for all the people they would never know who would walk this land after them

For their courage under fire

For their sacrifice, because sacrifice means hurt

For their willingness to die for something they would never see

For their families and friends who are privileged to live in the freedom they earned

Who carry the burden of a grief that will never die

And know the names of the unsung heroes.

The Gift of Singleness

2010-05-26T08:05:00.000-05:00

Very encouraging message for all of the single girls out there!

On Books and Reading

2010-05-25T09:14:00.000-05:00

"Reynie's heart gave a lurch when he entered the library. He loved it instantly, as he did all libraries..." -Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society

For as long as I can remember libraries have made my heart lurch, my stomach churn, my blood pound. Such a startling contradiction of two worlds simultaneously co-existing. One world where stale, still air and somber colors, dust and solitude are sacred.

"The world is quiet here."- Lemony Snicket

The other world defies explanation. Because it is always changing, always unknown, always unpredictable, and it depends on which book you open.

There are books so alive that you're always afraid that while you weren't reading, the book has gone and changed, has shifted like a river; while you went on living, it went on living too, and like a river moved on and moved away. No one has stepped twice into the same river. But did anyone ever step twice into the same book? ~Marina Tsvetaeva

A lot of people have asked me why I love to read. Some people have hinted or even flat out stated that reading is a waste of time. I agree that not everyone is made of reader material. So, if you're not a reader, you probably don't understand. But, that's ok. There are many things about other people that I don't understand. But, there are many things about people that I DO understand... because I read. There are so many different types of books that it's hard to lump them all into one general classification. Just like there are educational movies about science that are used in college classrooms, and there are movies about Thomas the Tank Engine that are used in pre-school day cares. There are fluffy books, garbage books, dry books, adventure books, classics, books 1000 pages long all about one person's opinion.

Take a glance at my book lists and you'll see what sort of books I enjoy reading. Do I think they're a waste of time? NOT at all. Here's why: Every book I read was written by a person I've never met. No matter the subject, that person has put a lot of themselves into their book. They write about their opinions, their view of the world, their perception on people, and their personal beliefs whether they really intend to or not. Reading the work of an author is like reading a little bit of their heart, sweat, blood and tears. I have learned so much about the world from reading. Where else could I have a heart to heart conversation with so many different people?

I'm of the opinion that everyone should read. You don't have to make it a hobby like I do. But, read a book a month. A book every six months... Whatever you can manage. A little reading goes a long way.

Hanging Baskets

2010-05-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

This year I designed and planted my own hanging baskets. With a little (read: a lot) of help from my Susie, my resident sister with two green thumbs. Susie has been working at a greenhouse this spring, so I been visiting her a lot. :) The result is lots of new perennials and these hanging baskets.

The baskets themselves, along with the shepherds hooks were gifts from Katie.

I LOVE a variety of textures and colors all combined, so here's what I came up with:
Sweet Potato Vine

Trailing Blue Lobelia

Snow Princess (Alyssum)

Springeri

Coral Begonias

Ornamental Grass (I can't remember the name of it. It may have been something like Toffee?)

Finished Project:

Please ignore the obvious weeds and crazy lawn. I've been assured that the lawn mower and week wacker (aka: my brother) will be paying me a visit very soon.

Verdict: LOVE. :)

Matchy- Matchy Cards Fans

2010-05-18T13:58:00.000-05:00

The boys and I were matching today. We all wore Cardinals shirts. :)

Here's how it went:
ME: "Oh! We're all matching!!! Let's take a picture!"
LUKE: *Immediately adopts his current favorite pose for pictures which means he puts both thumbs up*
JOE: "Ok, here you go!" *picks me up and ignores all protests while I hang on for dear life*
SARAH BETH: *is the only person available to take the picture and proceeds to take 3 blurry pictures which you will see below*

ME: "NO! No more goofy pictures! Let's take a nice picture! BOYS! NO! The yellow pepper canNOT be in the picture!"

ME: "Ok, now just smile nicely"
MOM: *wanders into the room and "helps" Sarah Beth take the picture. Immediately the boys straighten up and smile nicely*

Sink or Swim?

2010-05-17T13:45:00.000-05:00

This blog is at a crossroads.
"To be or not to be?" That is the question.

Maybe you've noticed (maybe you haven't) that there hasn't been a lot of activity in this cyber corner lately. The fault is entirely mine. I don't have any fabulous excuses. Nothing exciting is happening in my life. I'm not refraining from blogging because I have big secrets I don't want to share. Sorry.

So, why haven't I been blogging?

Good question. I've been asking myself this exact question the past couple of weeks. I think I have some of the answers but they aren't great reasons. I'll share some of them.

1. I'm a very private person. Introverted. For that reason alone blogging has always been a challenge for me. It's also been a growing experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. But, the fact remains. It's hard for me.

2. I have this idea in my mind that my blog is meant to be a place of encouragement for other single young ladies like myself. This is assuming that there ARE other single young ladies like myself. There may be a few. :) Part of my struggle is that it's hard to be encouraging when you yourself are very discouraged. And I am. I might as well admit it. It's just a phase I'm going through. I'll bounce back sooner or later, I know. But, meanwhile, I have a hard time opening up and writing about it. I hope that's understandable.

3. I'm busy. SO BUSY. I do not like being busy. I wish everyday were full from beginning to end with things I love to do and that I had plenty of time to blog all about them. But, I don't. Posting on my blog 5 days a week requires a time commitment of about 2-3 hours per week. This doesn't count the time I spend thinking up posts. I rarely have that much of a block of time to work on my blog. So, when I do publish 5 days in a week something else suffers. Usually housework. I don't especially like housework. But, boy do I hate having a messy house.

4. Nothing changes. I feel like I should have new and interesting things to blog about. And I don't. And that is discouraging to me. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

I don't want this blog to sink. I want to swim. But, I hope you all understand (if you're still hanging around reading) where I am right now in my life. I'd really like to make a concentrated effort to bring this blog back to life. But only if you guys want me to. I know there are plenty of blogs out there. If mine is a place you enjoy visiting let me know. And if there's anything you want to see, any suggestions, I'd be happy to take them.

Sink or Swim? I'm voting Swim, but I need a direction to swim in and maybe some flotation devices for when I get tired, like right now. :)

April Book List

2010-05-02T17:59:00.000-05:00

32. Ever by Gail Carson Levine- (**) Eh... I didn't really like this one. I had a hard time relating to the characters. The entire world felt very foreign. The author creates a world and neglects to explain it to us, the characters names were all too close to being the same, so that by the end of the book I wasn't sure who everyone was. On top of that, the narration is in the 1st person but it switches every chapter between two main characters. Make sense? I was confused too. It's a book about a girl names Kezi who falls in love Olus, the god of wind and loneliness. (I never understood what being the god of loneliness had to do with anything...he never does anything for any lonely people.) Of course, there's a lot more to the story, and Kezi's life is in danger and both Kezi and Olus must face their deepest fears and overcome to save her life. That part was semi-original. So, the narration switches every chapter between Kezi telling the story and Olus telling the story. It got... confusing to say the least.

33. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle -(****) 1962 Newberry Award Winner. Much better than the last Newberry book I read. This is one of those books I never thought I'd read because it's Science Fiction. I'm sort of anti-science fiction. Not because I think there's anything really wrong with it. It's just not really my cup of tea. In spite of that, I do nurture a little love for it. I know it's strange. Don't ask me to explain. I'll just say that science fiction is not normally (read almost never) what I reach for. Anyway, I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised. It's a classic good vs. evil plot. The good is clearly defined. (points!) The bad is just the sort of bad you love to hate. It almost has a Narnian feel to it. Almost. The author has been compared several times to C.S. Lewis. :) In fact the more I think about this book, the more I like it. I think it's going on my shelf.
34. The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian- (*****) Yes, I know. I'm not a wife. Therefore, I can't really put the suggestions in this book to the test. But, I'm always up for learning and hearing someone's perspective on growing in the Lord. This book was suggested to me, so I happily dove in. It's full of lots of practical suggestions which I appreciate. I'd be interested in hearing an opinion on the book from someone who was able to put it into practice.
35. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli - (****) Another Newberry Award Winner from 1949. This is a great story about obstacles and ingenuity. It's about a boy named Robin who has a mysterious illness (we're never told what it actually is) that cripples him. Robin has to learn so many lessons that I'm sure I didn't catch them all in just one time reading through this book. Ingenuity, Contentment, Bravery, the list goes on. It can all be summed up in one quote from the book, which I absolutely LOVED. When faced with a challenge and Robin doubts his ability he is told "Anyone can NOT do it." The converse of course, is that it takes someone special to rise to the challenge and be a person that CAN do it. I love this. Reminds me of the message of Do Hard Things which I also love.

36. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie- (****) Um... I'm still not sure who did it. I'm kidding! Sort of... It WAS a bit confusing in the end. But, good. Very good.

37. Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti- (****) Very good. Most people prefer the first book Peretti wrote (This Present Darkness), but I actually like this one a lot better. The conflict seems more real and serious somehow.

38. The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman- (***) 1987 Newberry Award winner. I remember reading this book as a child and being totally struck by it. Reading it again, it's not as exciting as I remembered. It's a classic conflict, rich boy, beggar boy, etc. Easily and very predictably resolved. But, the entire of concept of a "whipping boy" gets me just as much now as it did then. Basically rich, titled families would have a boy who's only job was to be whipped in place of the spoiled son. So,- the son plays a prank or disobeys, the whipping boy gets punished. What is the point? Well... as far as I can see, it's just so that the parents will have someone to take their frustration and anger out on? Injustice to the extreme.

39. The Westing Game- (*****) 1979 Newberry. Kind of amazing. Funny, interesting, attention grabbing and educational. And a mystery! And we all know I love mysteries... :)

40. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle -(**) Sequel to A Wrinkle in Time. Frankly... I was disappointed. The whole book felt like the same thing happening over and over and over again. And I didn't really get the point the author was trying to make.

I Promise I'm Not...

2010-04-23T08:22:00.000-05:00

Ignoring you on purpose!

I know this excuse is as old as the hills, but I honestly mean it when I say, my life has been CUH-RAZY!

Things of note before I rush out the door this morning:

Work has been very, very, very busy. This is a good thing, of course, more business means more revenue, more revenue means more job security... you know. Anyway, I've been working a lot more than I normally do. So, that's part of my busyness.
Also, My parent's kitchen is being re-modeled as we speak. This adds a whole new level of interest and complication.
I've been working in my yard, it's that busy time of year when the weather turns warm, the perennials start coming up and I start frantically trying to get a lot of things done all at once. I've already made one trip to the greenhouse and anticipate several more. :)
This weekend my brother and mom are out of town at my brothers speech tournament. Pray for him if you think of it. Of course, I think he's amazing and should win every award they've got to give. But, I suppose every family member feels that way.
Due to the ^ above reason I've been helping out with watching the two littlest siblings, Luke and Sarah Beth. Yesterday they came to work with me for a little while. Luke organized practically every roll of ribbon in the place. This is not an easy job, let me tell you, but he rose to the challenge and even gave us all a great motivational speech about "Never giving up" and "What do you do when you're stuck and you don't know what to do?" Sarah Beth answered easily that of course, you "Call Mom." Which I thought was a great answer, but turns out the answer he was looking for was "Ask God to help you." Which is also a good answer.
I have not been getting much reading done, sadly.
Going to visit Grandparents this weekend and plant some flowers for them. Then home again bright and early Sunday morning to make it in time for church and Luke's spring choir concert.
My sister Katie is working on her Senior Violin Recital. That will be on Tuesday and then... after that....
I think my life will slow down again.
May, come soon!!!!!

Sister Pictures

2010-04-15T06:38:00.000-05:00

First, me and Sarah Beth. We both look semi-hammy, but happy. Right?

Susie joined us. We took many pictures. All of which were variations on the theme above. Basically, Susie and I sandwiching Sarah, smiling sweetly. Sarah in the middle looking... everywhere but at the camera.

We finally gave up.

Pickle Pizza

2010-04-13T18:38:00.000-05:00

Pizza Crust for one pizza. You can find my current favorite pizza crust recipe here.

Now the good part. :)

Toppings:
1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce
1/2 lb. ground sausage, cooked and drained
Black Olives, sliced
1/2 Onion, sliced
Pepperoni
Baby Dill Pickles, cubed (make sure the cubes are nice and chunky, don't use sliced pickles, they HAVE TO BE CUBES. :)
Shredded cheese. I like a combination of Mozzarella and Cheddar.

And that's it. Layer it all on. Bake it according to the directions for your crust. Enjoy.

You've gotta admit... once you've tried pickles on your pizza, you wonder why Pizza Hut hasn't started selling them this way, yet. If you don't believe me ask Stephanie. I asked her "Do you think this recipe is good enough to post on my blog?" She answered "uh huh" immediately, no hesitation. And she had to say "uh huh" because she had pizza in her mouth and couldn't use real words. :) And then she posed for a picture. See how she's enjoying it?

Luke Comes to Visit

2010-04-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

He kept us very well entertained. :)

My Jesus, I love Thee

2010-04-07T09:11:00.001-05:00

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,

And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;

I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;

If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

March Book List

2010-04-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

22. Forest Born by Shannon Hale -(****) Really good. Maybe the best Book of Bayern yet? :)

23. Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie- (****) Short stories. Nice.

24. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale - (****) I'm a stickler for opening lines. If the first sentence of a book can jump off the page and get my attention... I'm hooked. This one starts "My lady and I are being shut up in a tower for seven years." Who wouldn't want to read this book?!!?!? This one is a re-read for me. I first reviewed it HERE

25. Fairest by Gail Carson Levine - (****) As fairy tale re-tellings go this one is both really good and really bad. Bad because it really doesn't follow the plot of Snow White at ALL. It's what I'd call "very loose-ly based" on the original. However, on it's own, Fairest is quite charming. The characters are love-able (or, despise-able depending on the character). It's the kind of fantasy I can best tolerate. Fantastical country, Ogres and trolls exist, fairy god-mothers... but not an excess of magic. I didn't love this one as much as Ella Enchanted... but it's the kind of book I'll probably buy and keep on my bookshelf.

26. Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris -(*****) Excellent. Must read for EVERYONE. Full of challenges and encouragement. The book is geared towards teens but we read through it in my Bible Study (which is made up of mostly 20-somethings) and we enjoyed it and learned a lot.

27. The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine-(***) Remember I said that I didn't like an excess of magic? Ok, maybe this book didn't have an "excess" of it, but there was enough. Mostly due to a main character being a sorcerer. He seems to perform mostly the parlor type of magic, and he's a good character, but the term "sorcerer" still makes me uncomfortable. The story itself was very nice. I found myself thinking about it even after I was done reading it. Always a good sign.

28. Death in the Air by Agatha Christie -(****) This ending caught me completely by surprise I have to admit! And while I do love it when that happens... I also love it when everything works out the way you want it to. Which didn't happen. So... Do I love that I was surprised more than I hate that the ending was disappointing? That is the question.

29. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy Sayers -(****) Pretty much amazing. Re-read, but better the second time. :)

30. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead- (***) Book Review HERE

31. This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti - (****) Entertaining. :) Good look at spiritual warfare.

90 Day Challenge

2010-03-31T07:44:00.001-06:00

Are you ready for the challenge?

Can you read through the Bible in 90 Days?
YES you can!!!

Over the next few weeks the IDD blog will be posting a Bible Reading schedule that will get you through the entire Bible Genesis to Revelation in 90 Days. I can't encourage you enough to take up this challenge. I did it a few years ago, and I've never regretted it. Never. Probably the best 3 months of my life.

And it's totally do-able! It takes about 45 minutes of reading time a day, depending of course, on how fast you read. Some days I had my reading done in 30 minutes, some days it took a little longer, but it was never more than 45 minutes. It worked best for me to just read whenever I had a chance during the day. 5-10 minutes in the morning as I ate my breakfast, a few minutes again at lunch, and whenever I got a chance during the day or at night right before bed. If I had extra time, I would read ahead because of course, there will be days that are crazy start to finish and you won't have as much time. And surprisingly enough I still had plenty of time to do my other recreational reading as well!

We'll be posting the weekly reading schedules every Sunday, starting this Sunday, April 4th, 2010.
Will you join me?

Grow in the Word! Take the Challenge!

New Look for Spring!

2010-03-30T07:00:00.000-06:00

Well, we've been working hard on the new spring look! (Not that hard actually, we had a photo shoot, which was very fun :)
Anyway, here it is!

Book Reveiw: When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead

2010-03-29T07:00:00.001-06:00

When You Reach Me is the 2010 Newberry Award Winner.

It is really hard to review this book without giving away plot points. Because, really, the best way to read it is to have absolutely no idea what you're getting into. Half the brilliance of this plot is the reader trying to figure out (right along with Miranda, the 12 year old main character) what in the world she's supposed to be figuring out.

Set in the 1970s it's something of a mystery, with coming of age elements, and a little sci-fi thrown in for good measure. And really, I don't know what else I can say without ruining it. I'll just move on to the other things I wanted to say.

I have mixed feelings about Newberry books. One the one hand, I expect great things from a Newberry Award Winner. They're supposed to be awarded to the "Most Distinguished Contribution to American Literature for Children." So, I have high expectations. Which is maybe not the best frame of mind to be in when you open a book. It just makes disappointment all the more likely.

To be clear, I have not read all the Newberry books. I haven't even read most of them. Which is why I'm making "Read As Many Newberry's As Possible" one of my goals this year.

To date I've been much more familiar with the Newberry Award books of an older era. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Johnny Tremain, The Whipping Boy... Books that make you understand the meaning of the phrase "Most Distinguished Contribution." Books that really DESERVE that kind of medal by teaching valuable lessons. Books that have made an impact on society. I can't say I see those sorts of qualities in the more recent Newberry winners. But, it's too early to really make that judgment yet.

On the other hand, well, I believe there's been a sort of "dumbing down" of American Culture. So, when I pick up a book with a shiny gold sticker on the front of it, I'm simultaneously preparing myself for something above average, and at the same time something significantly less of a product then say, for example, The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (1962 Newberry).

So, with all that in mind, here's my thoughts (and remember it's all just my opinion).

First off, I hate it when there's language in kids books. HATE being a strong word, but yes, I really mean it. It aggravates me immensely that a book with language can be considered "Most Distinguished Contribution." I will readily admit that nothing in this book is not something any child could hear by turning on the TV or walking out their front door. Swearing has become a part of our culture and I myself hear it often enough that I'm beginning to become immune to being bothered by it. Which, in itself should bother me more. The most aggravating part? That this sort of thing has become so common that we are now handing out prestigious awards to children s books with language in them when 30 years ago, that very element would likely have excluded a book from even being considered for such an award.

I also grimaced a bit over the romance elements. We're reading about 12 year olds. Come on. Do they really need boyfriends and girlfriends?   I won't go into that now.

But, on to the good things. I have good things to say, I promise. :) I am a huge fan of minimalism in words. It's all so... natural. Like seeing everything for yourself instead of through someone else's eyes. So, I like Stead's writing style. A lot. I liked the whole format of the book. Short chapters, just enough information to make everything necessary crystal clear. Not a lot of word-y stuff clogging up the pages. As the Newberry judges said: 'Every scene and word is "vital to the plot."' Um, YES. :) I love that.

I'm kind of in awe of this book. I'm surprised that I was surprised at the surprise ending. :) I'm loving the little glow in my chest that means I just read something special.

But, if we're being totally honest, than yes, I enjoyed the book. Yes, I'd probably recommend it if it weren't for the language. But, would I have given it a Newberry? No. Probably not. I think Newberry's should teach something; make a difference, or at least an impact.

When You Reach Me has it's profound moments. Like when Miranda observes that "Trying to forget really doesn't work. In fact, it's pretty much the same as remembering." Or when Belle says "It's simple to love someone. But, it's hard to know when you should say it out loud." (But, in all fairness, Stead is really just stealing that from the climax of another Newberry Book A Wrinkle in Time. She even says so.) And there's the whole self-sacrificing element. And the taking responsibilities for your actions element. All very good stuff.

On the whole, a very nice way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday morning. In your pajamas, of course, because as Stead also says "Pajamas are good for the soul." I'm totally with her on that one.

It's been WAAAYYY too long

2010-03-22T17:17:00.000-06:00

Way, WAY too long since I posted anything on this blog.

If I'm being totally honest, I don't really have an excuse.

But, let's see if I can find something interesting to say.

I've been busy working on a website for my flower shop. :) It's coming along bee-yoo-ti-fully! :)

My book buying obsession has gotten out of hand. Well, not really, but it has gotten to the point where I've had to buy another bookcase. And re-arrange my entire room to make room for it. So, that was fun. Or not. I now own a grand total of 370 books. Enough? Of course not!

My parents are having their kitchen remodeled so we packed up a lot of boxes yesterday. That was fun. :)

And... I've been mildly obsessed with cleaning my house.

That's it.

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

It's a BEAUTIFUL day

2010-03-15T18:01:00.000-06:00

In my neighborhood. :)

60 degrees in March? This canNOT be Wisconsin. :) Usually it's snowing this time of year.

Anyway, it's such a lovely thing to be able to open the windows. And air out the house a little. And such a strange feeling to get into my car to go to lunch and find that it's actually WARM in the car. To need sunglasses when I'm driving home from work.

Beautiful, beautiful.

Proverbs 31:23

2010-03-10T10:46:00.000-06:00

Her husband is

known in the gates,

when he sitteth among the

elders of the land.

-Proverbs 31:23

If you're anything like me you read this verse and skip right over it. You think " 'husband' ok, don't have one of those, this verse doesn't apply to me." But, since my study right now is causing me to look at the Proverbs 31 Virtuous Woman through different eyes I'm starting to see things a little clearer. I might not have a husband NOW, but I certainly would like to have one sometime in the future. So, how can I prepare for this now?

The first thing I noticed here was that this entire passage of scripture is about the virtuous woman. Not her husband. There are only a few places where her husband is even mentioned. But, even then, those verses aren't talking about HIM. They're talking about what her relationship is with him. So, I think we can assume that even though this verse is talking about a husband, there's something for us to learn from it. You've heard the saying "Behind every good man is a good woman?" I'm not saying that's completely true. And I'm not trying to peddle a feminist agenda. :) But, the basis of that idea is that if a man is good, chances are pretty high that his wife is supportive and kind. Encouraging and a good influence. She probably isn't like the woman mentioned in Proverbs 21:9 and 21:19. "It is better to dwell in the wilderness than with a contentious and angry woman." Ouch.

The Husband mentioned in this verse is a respected and well-known man. He has a good reputation. Do you think he built that reputation all on his own? He could certainly do that and if he were single he would have only himself to concern with the upkeep of that reputation. But, we know for a fact that he's married because this verse calls him a husband. So, that got me to thinking about what kind of wife a respected man like that would have. I have an excellent example right in front of my nose. My own father is an elder in our church. He's also a business man of good reputation in our community. His wife (my mom) is supportive, encouraging and does an excellent job maintaining her own good reputation which in turn reflects well on my dad. It always helps me to look at things in the converse. So, I tried to imagine what my Dad's business and church responsibilities would look like if my mom nagged at him all the time. To be honest, I had a hard time imagining my dad even wanting to be a well known person if he constantly had to be dealing with a contentious and angry wife. I've been at many community events and watched my dad proudly introduce his wife to everyone he meets. What if he didn't want to introduce her because she was such a negative person? What if he introduced her to people and rather than smiling and being friendly she was rude? My dad's reputation would suffer for it.

In a conversation with our own Valerie the other day she mentioned that she felt that a lot of guys might be intimidated by the kind of man that most of us girls are looking for. This led to a discussion of what kinds of qualities we should expect to find in a good husband candidate, which of those we should reasonably expect to be matured qualities (like a heart for the Lord) and which character qualities we should only reasonably expect him to be in the process of developing. After all, it takes many years to iron out and develop a Godly character. I'm certainly not perfect and I would hate to feel that I'm being passed over as a good marriage candidate because I'm not perfect. During the conversation I mentioned that I wasn't looking for someone who was perfect. Just so he had a willing heart and a goal about what kind of man he wants to become. I'm totally willing to provide encouragement to help him get there! I'm a good encourager! And that kind of encouragement is exactly what I need in my own life! I know who it is I want to be and I'm working on reaching my goals. A little encouragement along the way would be just splendid. :) But, I digress... The point is that if we have expectations of what kind of man we're looking for as a husband, we should expect that the guys also have expectations about what kind of women they are looking for in a wife. And, if we expect to marry a certain quality of man, we need to be worthy of him.

The husband in this verse is a leader among men. Before he was married, what kind of woman do you suppose he was looking for in a wife? What kind of character traits do you suppose appealed to him? Should we assume that he married a run-of-the-mill girl? Or, that he married a girl who had the makings of being a strong, responsible, well respected women? We have a joke in our house and it takes a little bit of explaining. My dad is in a group of men at our church that we often refer to as "The Elders" :) The elder's wives are usually referred to as (creatively enough) the "Elders Wives." My mom has always encouraged her daughters to be strong women of God, leaders of our peers, encouragers and wise counselors. She set for us the goal of being the kind of women that would be good wives of good men. The kind of men that hold positions of leadership in their communities and churches. She called us "Elders Wives in Training." Or, as we quickly nick-named it "E-WITS." It's funny, and we laugh when we talk about being "E-WITS" but the principle is a good one. We should be preparing now to be the kind of woman that are well-equipped to encourage a man who is "known in the gates." Be worthy of what you desire.

Luke Swims

2010-03-09T08:13:00.000-06:00

The Luke-man's final swimming lesson was on Saturday. He invited/begged the "WHOLE FAMILY" to come and watch.

This is him doing the butterfly stroke, I think. It's really hard to tell, the camera on my phone isn't spectacular and it has a delayed reaction. I snapped the shutter when his head was in the air and he had the cutest little concentrating look on his face. But, obviously, by the time the picture was actually taken he was back in the water.

SO cute. :)

It's quite impressive really. I suppose maybe a lot of kids grow up learning how to swim but I never learned. I do a version of doggy-paddle and can do a backstroke (I think) but I can't tread water, float, or do a cannonball off a diving board into the deep section of the pool. And I certainly can't dive for rings. (How do you go DOWN into the water anyway? I could never do it.)

Luke did all of those things on Saturday. And he was even relaxed enough to stop and wave at his adoring fans every 2 minutes.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

2010-03-08T06:14:00.000-06:00

Ingredients:
Pizza Crust for one pizza
Feel free to use your favorite pizza crust recipe, or frozen bread dough or Boboli... or whatever. I'm still searching for the perfect pizza crust, but I have to say, this one was REALLY good for a non-yeast crust.
Here's the recipe I used:

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup water
1 Tbsp vegetable oil.

Mix the dry ingredients first (I also added a pinch of brown sugar here because I was in the mood for a sweeter crust. It doesn't take much, a tsp. is fine. And the tiny bit of sweet really contrasts nicely with the saltiness...) Then combine the water and oil and mix it all together. I used my hands to knead it into a ball and then rolled it out right onto the baking stone. You might need a tad bit more water. But don't overdo it. Just a sprinkle at a time until it's the right consistency and it sticks together.

Toppings

1 Chicken Breast, cubed and cooked
3/4 Cup Pesto (I grew a huge basil plant last summer and Mom made a bunch of pesto from it. I still have some in my freezer. :) )
1/2 Onion, sliced
5 Mushrooms, sliced
3/4 Cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 Roma Tomatoes, sliced.

Spread pizza crust with pesto sauce. Then layer the ingredients in whatever order you like. I suggest finishing up with cheese and then tomato. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes.

SO yummy. :)

Book Review: Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? by Carolyn McCulley

2010-03-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? by Carolyn McCulley

I give this book 5 stars and 2 thumbs up. That's how much I loved it.

Carolyn writes from her own experience and her honesty is touching, humorous and in some instances even heartbreaking. But mostly her honesty is inspiring, level headed and REAL.

Who would've thought reading a book on a subject I personally struggle with written by another woman struggling with the same thing could be so encouraging and uplifting?

I was especially pleasantly surprised to find the author addressing the topic of the Proverbs 31 woman especially relating to single women. This is a topic the IDD Blog has recently been studying. I found her insights to be invaluable.

I recommend this book to EVERY woman aged 15-95, married or single. Even though it's primary focus is single woman, Carolyn points out that single woman are just woman, who happen to currently be single. Her encouraging words apply to women in every walk of life.

You can find more of Miss McCulley's work at Boundless

February Book List

2010-03-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

15. Crooked House by Agatha Christie - (****) Kind of creepy, I gotta admit...

16. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman, These Three Remain by Pamela Aiden - (****) It kind of surprises me how much I like this book. Some parts of it I like very very much. Other parts, not as much. I admit I skipped some. I got a little bored reading so much about Darcy's feelings... ho hum. Great ending though. Of course.

17. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia Machlachlan -(*****) Proof that a story doesn't have to be word-y to be poignant.

18. The Cat-Nappers by P.G. Wodehouse -(****) Like all Wodehouse's works, hilarious.

19. The Way Home by Mary Pride -(*****) Excellent. I've been reading a lot on the feminist movement lately and the role of women in the home, church and society. I'm not done researching (maybe never will be?) Mary Pride has some excellent things to say. A lot of my opinions have been refined by her insight.

19. River Secrets by Shannon Hale -(***) Not my favorite Bayern book... but, still really good!

20. Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? by Carolyn McCulley -(*****) Review coming soon!!! For now, I'll just say LOVED it. :)

21. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie -(****) Pretty good. :)

Monday, Febuary 22nd, 2010

2010-02-22T08:20:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday!

My sister Susie was kind enough to point out the other day that "You haven't been publishing on your blog much."
Thanks for noticing. :)

So, I'm going to try to make an effort to post more. There are days (like today) when I really don't have anything to say. At least there's nothing on my mind right now that I want to share. But, I'll try to just at least say hi and talk to you all anyway. I hope it doesn't get boring.

Last week was a little crazy at work. We were slow at all the times when we were caught up and had plenty of people hanging around, and busy at all the wrong times. My co-worker who I work the most with has been on vacation the whole month of February. It's made things interesting... :) But, it's all good. Things always seem to work out somehow at the flower shop no matter what the problem is.

Anyway, I'm off to work. Then home to do my laundry and clean the bathroom. I also borrowed Mom's vacuum, so I'll vacuum the living room today. Our vacuum cleaner has been out of commission for a long time now, so once a week or so I borrow Mom's. Thankfully she has one of those 8 lb. Oreck's so it's easy to toss in the back of the Dawn Treader.

And THAT is how exciting my life is today.

To Die For Blueberry Muffins

2010-02-19T06:35:00.000-06:00

And they're not even kidding...

RECIPE courtesy of my lovely friend KRISTA of the IDD Blog.

Luke and Sarah B. Must Have Found the Wardrobe....

2010-02-17T17:33:00.000-06:00

Because it sure looks like they're in Narnia!

Photo credit/photo-shopping goes to SUSIE and there are more pictures on HER BLOG so check it out!!!

Self Confidence (or The Lack Thereof)

2010-02-16T06:08:00.000-06:00

I've struggled with low self-confidence my entire life. I'm a natural introvert. As a child I was never more than an arms reach away from my mom and often so close behind her that if she stopped suddenly I would run into her. If someone spoke to me I answered in monosyllables and hid my face. When I was eleven we joined a Bible club at a local church. I cried and my mom had to stay with me the whole first night. Even at age 18 I made multiple excuses not to make phone calls. I was terrified to use the phone. I stayed home when I was invited to parties with excuses of "headaches. Actually, the truth wasn't far off. I got instant headaches at the thought of socialization. There were times that I cried for hours before going to a social gathering merely because I didn't want anyone to look at me. If they looked at me I knew they would know what a failure I was.

When I went to work at the flower shop I had to do major overcoming. I had to drive to people's houses and knock on their doors! Let me tell you, though, when you walk into an office building carrying a bouquet of flowers EVERYONE looks at you. But, surprisingly they aren't thinking "Who is that strange girl and what is her problem?" They're thinking "OOOO.... I wonder who's getting flowers?" My boss required me to make some difficult phone calls for her and once I even had to run after a customer who "forgot" to pay. Some of the things I had to do would have been a cake walk to other people. They were mountains for me. But, the thing about mountains is that once you've conquered them they become monuments, things we can look back on as battles fought and won. Every victory is a step higher.

Only a few weeks ago I was talking with a co-worker. It was a rather deep discussion and at one point I referred to myself as "Shy.”
She looked at me in disbelief. "You are NOT shy!"
I stared at her blankly. "Well, I am…"
She shook her head. "Well, I've never thought of you as shy. I mean, you're quiet and you're certainly not a big talker, but you're friendly and you certainly don't ACT shy!"
I was still perplexed. I'd worked with this woman for almost 7 years. Could she really not know? "I am shy... I always have been..."
She continued to stare at me "Well. You certainly cover it well!"

And that's when I realized the truth. I'm really not nearly as shy as I used to be and my self-confidence is really SO much better. I still don't like crowds of people. I'm still a horrible conversationalist. I'm good at listening, but really not good at talking myself. I'd still much rather be alone with my own thoughts than at a party and I still don't like anyone to look at me. I'll always be that way. But, I've learned to cover it well. I've learned to "fake it." And it's made a huge difference in my life. I'm not an expert. I still struggle with self-confidence. I still cry at night when I'm feeling 2 inches tall. I still don't have a lot of social skills that most people don't ever have to learn because they just come naturally.

But, there are a few things I've learned that help me get through a day at least faking self-confidence. :)

Don't beat yourself up, especially for the sake of humor. While it may cause people to chuckle at the time it's really not worth it in the long run. And it sends a message like a flashing neon sign "REBECCA IS OK TO PICK ON." A fellow IDDiot and I were talking the other day about making disparaging remarks about ourselves in order to lighten the mood and make a conversation. Here's what I said "[We] need to develop [our] self confidence and present [our] self-confidence... I don't really know how to describe this. This is something that I have FINALLY started learning how to do. There are still times when I cower and feel like everyone around me is SO much more accomplished, intelligent, etc... and there were/still are plenty of times when I made a conversation out of my inadequacy. Why did I do that to myself? Desperate for something to say, I guess and having nothing to say, without sounding stupid I just kind of announced my stupidity... ??" Girls, please, please don't do this to yourselves. You are worthy of being praised.

Learn your strengths and depend on them. It's never okay to ignore our weaknesses but it's certainly not necessary to hide our strengths. Work on your weaknesses. Meanwhile, put your best foot forward. If you find yourself in a conversation that's out of your depth, don't be discouraged or draw attention to your inability. Instead, learn what you can from it and speak up when you can it's a subject familiar to you. Don't let your weaknesses overshadow your strengths! Make it the other way around!

Smile. Even if you're quaking inside, even if you'd rather be anywhere rather than where you are. A smile is the universal sign of friendship. If you don't say a word your smile will still make an impact.

The secret to dealing with a lack of self-confidence is Don't Let Anyone Else Know! Acting can be your best friend. In the movie Wives and Daughters, Cynthia says, "The French girls would tell you that to believe that you are pretty would make you so." There's a lot of truth in that statement. A woman who thinks of herself as beautiful will act beautiful. She will take extra care with her clothes, hair and makeup. She will cultivate her beauty. Similarly, acting confident (even when you are not) will give you a confidence. Or, at the very least, it will give everyone else the idea that you are!

Remember that God is confident in you, His creation, even if you are not.

I'll let you in on another secret. You're most likely the ONLY person that knows that you're self-conscious and awkward feeling. I often think that EVERYONE must be able to see how awkward I am, but the truth is people don't really notice as much as you think they do. If you start focusing on others all the time and stop focusing on your own failings you'll find yourself much more relaxed in social situations.

As Oscar Wilde said "Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken."

Take it one step at a time. Don’t expect to change from shy to outgoing overnight. It takes time and practice. It’s worth it in the long run, though.

Remains of V-Day

2010-02-15T13:24:00.000-06:00

I make GOOD messes

February 11, 2010

2010-02-11T07:02:00.001-06:00

I've been busy, Oh so busy
It's amazing how busy I feel!

(Yes, I've been listening to the West Side Story soundtrack. And, yes, Hayley Westenra is the best Maria ever. No contest.)

Anyway.

BIG NEWS!

My new laptop has arrived! And I've been busy, oh so busy, *ahem* playing with it.
Windows 7 has my thumbs up, by the way. Not that my thumbs up really counts for anything at all.

I named the new laptop Riley. Because I name things. And because... RILEY! *grins*

Other things that have been keeping me busy are as follows and in no particular order:

Writing (mostly for the IDD blog)
Valentine's Day.
Keeping my house clean. Explain this to me. We're gone most of the day. Which means we aren't home to mess it up. And yet, there is ALWAYS housework to do. Why is this? I conclude that either

a) We are VERY messy when we ARE at home. or
b) it has something to do with the second law of thermodynamics.

It may in fact, be both reasons. And the first reason may be because of the second reason. But, I don't know for sure, because I am not a physicist. I'm a florist. And the flower shop is pretty messy this time of year too. But that's because of, like I said V-Day. Or, the second law of thermodynamics. Hmmmm..... This is obviously proof that the second law of the thermodynamics is directly related to Valentine's and that all florists should moonlight as astro-physicists.

I completely messed up my iTunes library and iPod and all that in my attempt to transfer my iTunes library to my new computer without the help or supervision of Katie. I was trying to be smart and not bug her. Ended up looking not smart and bugging her anyway.
Reading the Fitzwilliam Darcy books. Only a couple of breaks to read Agatha Christie. Has anyone read the Darcy books?
Itching for spring!!! I ordered some flower seeds... they came in the mail... I was so excited I couldn't sleep that night because I was trying to plan my garden in my head. But, obviously, I won't be able to actually get out and start working for at least another 6-8 weeks so it's all like some kind of cruel joke I'm playing on myself. *sigh*

Well, I think that's all for now. Have to get going to the flower shop and as my mom says "Make pretty flowers!" for all of those lovers and sweethearts out there. Do you think I will ever have a sweetheart? I'm beginning to doubt... But, that's usual for this time of year...

I was called Hyacinth Clare...

2010-02-08T06:06:00.000-06:00

On Books and Life

2010-02-05T07:51:00.000-06:00

There are those who say that

life is like a book,

with chapters for each event in your life

and a

limited number of pages

on which you can spend your time.

But I prefer to think that

a book is like a life,

particularly a good one,

which is

well worth staying up

all night to finish.
- Lemony Snicket

My New Ride

2010-02-04T09:28:00.000-06:00

Ok, this isn't actually MY car. This is a picture I pulled off the internet. I didn't want to take a picture of my car, because it's really dirty right now (because I live in Wisconsin and it's February). And, it's difficult to take a good picture without getting the liscense plate in the picture. And also, my computer doesn't like my sister's camera, so getting pictures off the camera onto my computer is like a 5 step process. (I exaggerate. Maybe only 3 steps.)
Anyway. This is my new car. It's a Ford Escape. 'And it is RED.' (points to whoever knows what movie I just quoted.)
I absolutely LOVE it. It's my dream car.
I named her Dawn Treader. :)

Proverbs 31:13

2010-02-02T06:09:00.001-06:00

She seeketh wool, and flax,

and worketh willingly

with her hands

-Proverbs 31:13

The main part of this verse that caught my eye was "She worketh WILLINGLY with her hands." Probably every one of us is familiar with that ancient saying "A man will work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done." I have my doubts whether or not this saying is really true of the sexes in general. I've met men who never stop and woman who like to take plenty of breaks. :)

Regardless, every single woman in this world, married or single, mother, sister or grandmother has more than enough projects, jobs, etc. (feel free to fill in the blank here with whatever it is that keeps YOU busy) to distract her every minute of every day. How many of us have moaned for the luxury of 36 hours in a day instead of 24? In fact, I'm pretty sure we were having a conversation along these exact lines on the IDD forum just the other day. :) I'm convinced however that whether we were given 36 hours a day or even 48 every single one of us would remain just as busy and behind on our "to-do" lists as we are now.

Here's why: From the minute I wake up in the morning, and often even before I've woken up in the morning, I am planning my day. I wake up with a list in my head entitled Things To Get Done Today. I get out of bed and before I've even washed my face the list has grown. It goes like this: On my walk to the bathroom I add Sweep Kitchen Floor and Make Coffee. As I'm putting on my makeup and brushing my teeth I mentally add Buy a New Toothbrush, Look at Garden Plan, Save Money, Wash Towels and Talk to Mom about This Weekend. All of this is before I've even poured my coffee or eaten breakfast. As soon as I open the refrigerator to get out the milk I start adding things to the Grocery section of my list and planning dinner. I check my e-mail during breakfast (Three cheers for multi-tasking!!) and start adding more things to the list Pay Insurance, Write a Blog Post, Check on Library Books Due Dates, Water Plants. If I'm feeling super organized I might even pull out my phone and start putting my list into a drafted text message that I keep for this exact purpose. But, honestly, the thoughts come faster than I can put them into my phone and realistically I can't walk around with my phone in my hand all day long adding things to my list. I walk to my car and the list grows. Get Gas, Take Out Garbage, Practice Piano. I arrive at work and my "Home" list retires to a "Look at Later" file and my "Work" list comes out. Re-cut Flowers, Clean Roses, Order Plants, FIND MORE PENS, Clean vases, Call Other Shop.... During the day I think of people and add their names to my "Call and See How They're Doing List." But, who has time for an hour long conversation with each of those 25 people? I'll be perfectly honest. By the time I've arrived home at the end of the day I've forgetten 80% of the things on the list, and of the remaining 20% maybe 5% of THOSE actually get done. I fall into bed and try to sleep as the image of my "Things to Get Done Today" list haunts me with it's lack of check marks. Imagine how it would be if we had 48 hours to spend thinking of things to do? I, for one, would definitely be just as behind on my projected goals as I am now. Maybe more so.

This is the life of a young, single woman with no husband to think of and no children to care for, and supposedly plenty of energy. I'm not trying to give you the impression that I work uber-hard and deserve a vacation in Hawaii. (Although that would be nice...) As a matter of fact, I'm really trying to show you how discouraging it is to NOT get things done. I, of course, take the lions share of the blame for things not getting done. I could be more efficient. I could prioritize better. I could be less selfish and choose to spend my time doing the things that I know need to be done but I don't really want to do. I could probably sacrifice an hour of sleep.

Above all, I could have a better attitude. That's all I'm really trying to say here. The Virtuous Woman WORKS. It's true. But, more importantly, she works WILLINGLY. You've heard the saying "Attitude is everything"? It's absolutely true. I would be willing to bet that I could sweep the floor faster and more efficiently if I have a good attitude versus sweeping the floor with a bad attitude. If I go through my day with a willing heart I'll probably remember more of the things on my list. I'll probably get more of them done and I'll definitely be a better example, a better employee, better sister and all around a better person to know. On the flip side, if I scowl and complain about everything I do, I'll probably talk myself out of doing things, be less productive and no one will want to be around me.

A woman's work is never done. And, according to Proverbs 31, the Virtous Woman is WILLING to shoulder that burden. Something every single one of us can work on every single done. Because as long as there's work to be done, there can and should be a willing attitude to go along with it.

January Book List

2010-02-01T06:48:00.000-06:00

1. Lord Edgeware Dies by Agatha Christie (****) Pretty good. I did think the answer seemed obvious, but... maybe not. :)

2. As You Like It by William Shakespeare (****) I'm helping my brother with his Shakespeare class. (rephrase that: He and I reading Shakespeare together IS the "class") Tons of fun!

3. Peril at End House by Agatha Christie (****) I love the surprise ending of this one. :)

4. Jeeves and the Tie That Binds by P.G. Wodehouse (****) Cute and funny. Wodehouse is some kind of genius.

5. An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott (*****) Such a sweet story. The very beginning and the end are best. This is another book that I find myself grinning like a fool as I read the end. *sappy sigh*

6. Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson (*****) I absolutely LOVED this book. And for so many reasons. Some of which I can't tell you because it would be giving away the whole story. It is an excellently written, beautiful, touching story of a 16 year old girl proving up a homestead claim by herself. A true coming of age story and I absolutely loved it. I cried for both grief and joy. Based on the homesteading experience of an actual young girl named Hattie Inez Brooks. Read her story. You will love it.

7. Horseradish, Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid by Lemony Snicket- (****) If you like Lemony Snicket, you'll love his Horseradish. Quite cunning. :)

8. Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse -(****) Pretty funny. :)

9. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman, An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aiden- (***) This is my second time reading this series and I have to admit it's not quite as fun the second time around. I feel like Aiden has a hard time filling the dead spaces in Austen's work and has to make up what Darcy is doing meanwhile. There are too many passages that tell us in minute detail exactly how Darcy is training his dog or practicing fencing... Anyway, I did like the book and I already checked out the sequel from the library.

10. The Golden Ball and other stories by Agatha Christie - (**) Mostly ghost stories. Not really my thing.

11. Poirot Loses a Client by Agatha Christie- (****) I think this plot survives only because Christie is such an amazing writer. She tells us EVERYTHING we need to know but in such a way that we all read ourselves right into the wrong ideas. Amazing.

12. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman, Duty and Desire by Pamela Aiden (***) I like these books for several various reasons. The whole concept of Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's point of view is interesting. Also, I like the history and how we learn about the life of a gentleman in this time period and that's interesting too. This book is a little different from the other two in the series. Aiden is a bit at a loss for material since at this point chronologically in P&P we have no idea what Darcy is doing. She spends the first half of the book with Darcy at Pemberly with Georgianna, his family, in London... all very nice and Darcy-like. The second half of the book however takes a very non-Austen like turn and, while it's a not bad plot, and quite engaging, I have to say it really doesn't seem very Darcy-ish. Anyway, in my opinion, Aiden should've left all of that out and made the series only two books rather than three. The secondary plot could easily have been expanded to a full length novel perhaps featuring a different main character? I don't know. Just my opinion. I do like Fletcher. :)

13. The Feminine Minority, A Brief History of Feminism and the Modern Woman by Patricia Regar- (***) As history lessons go, this book is phenomenal. It's a clear, well-formulated look at the birth of the Feminist Movement. The author makes some conclusions regarding the modern woman that I don't completely agree with, but I found the history very interesting and thought provoking. I've had some good conversations on the subject brought on by reading this book.

14. One, Two Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie- (****) Another good Christie... :) It amuses me that so many of her mysteries are inspired by nursery rhymes.

I'm posting merely for the sake of posting

2010-01-28T13:42:00.000-06:00

I feel a little guilty for my lack of post-age lately, so here's a totally random one for you. Maybe it will just go to prove how little I have to talk about...

I got a new car about a month ago. I don't know if I mentioned that here... comment and tell me if you want to see pictures or if you really don't care...
Last weekend was spent at the Kalahari hotel and resort in the Wisconsin Dells. Tons of fun, waterpark, etc (I don't really swim and actually didn't even bring a swimming suit... but, the kids had fun!) The trip was a Christmas present from Grandma and Grandpa, YAY!
Our family has 8 licensed drivers and 7 cars and we STILL have to do car swapping and intricate plans involving who will drive who where and who will pick up who's car and swap keys, etc. Strange, no?
It is 9 degrees right now in Southern Wisconsin. Up from 0 this morning. Oh happy, frigid day.
I believe I have spring fever.
Is it too early to order seeds for the garden?
At the risk of sounding like a very extravagant girl... I also just bought a new laptop. Tuppence (my old laptop) is decidedly an "Old Thing" and is ready to retire. I ordered my new laptop and it should be here in a week or so, I'm thinking. I'm so excited it's almost ridiculous.
And.....
That's all, folks.

Chocolate Swap!

2010-01-27T16:37:00.002-06:00

QUICK!

Go over to the IDD Blog RIGHT NOW and sign up for the CHOCOLATE SWAP!!!

I can tell you from experience it's the highlight of the year! And you only have a few more days to sign up! Hope to see you over there! Maybe we'll be swapping chocolate!

Christa Taylor

2010-01-26T06:09:00.002-06:00

Why is there such a lack of fashionable, feminine, MODEST clothing?

Ever felt the frustration? I think all of us have asked this question at one time or another. Meet someone who has actually DONE something about it.

Christa-Taylor is an online company devoted to providing cute, fashionable clothes for the modesty-conscious crowd. :) In her own words "...Feminine and beautiful without compromising self respect and dignity." You can read more about how the company started and all about Christa Taylor HERE.

To start with I want to say that Christa-Taylor is not paying me to talk about her company. She didn't send me any free products. Everything I've ordered from Christa-Taylor has been purchased with my own money. I happen to think that they have a great mission and I think their clothes are cute so I don't mind supporting them one bit! By the way Christa-Taylor donates 5% of every purchase to Warm Blankets Orphan Care International. which is pretty cool.

I've ordered from them several times and every time I've been very pleased with my purchases. I bought my winter coat from Christa-Taylor, and I wear it EVERYWHERE and get compliments on it all the time. In fact, just today a random lady I walked by stopped me to tell she loved my coat.

Their shipping is super fast, I always receive my order in two to three days. Look at these sweet dresses I just bought!

Blue Best Friend Dress
I don't care if it is the middle of winter. I wore this dress to church last Sunday with tights, a cardigan sweater and boots. I LOVED it!

Vintage Dot Dress This one, I admit isn't exactly in my color scheme... But, I don't care. It's so adorable, I had to get it anyway!

Christa-Taylor also has a BLOG that she updates usually once or twice a week full of fashion and beauty advice that I highly recommend you check out. Right now she's got an awesome post up about how to shape and maintain your eyebrows. :) Every girl needs to know how to do this!

I hope you check out Christa-Taylor and find something you like!

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

2010-01-19T07:06:00.000-06:00

Every high school student knows those dreaded words “So, what are you doing after high school?”

*balk*

*gulp*

*scream*

Choosing a career path can be a daunting, scary and in all honesty, (let’s face it) an IMPOSSIBLE thing to do. At age eighteen my chosen career path was “Wife and Mother.” I was raring and ready to go. One teeny-tiny problem: “Wife and Mother” is one of those joint-partnership occupations, it goes hand-in-hand with “Husband and Father” and the “Husband and Father” division of the corporation was conspicuously absent.

So, maybe, I decided I should look at some alternate career options. Something just to pass the time, you know?

I’ll just be honest and come totally clean here. That was me ten years ago, and it’s basically still me. Passing the time…

Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t been completely idle. In fact, I don’t think I’ve been idle at all. I’ve worshipped while I’m waiting done everything I could think to do while I’m waiting, and I’ve been happy and fulfilled.

But, my future is still out there, Gigantic and Unknown and getting closer and closer. I’m still looking at career options. Of course, my first choice is still my first choice, and if it becomes available I’ll jump in with both feet. Meanwhile I continue to search and pray and be led.

There are a lot of well meaning people that have tried to help.

“You should be a teacher.”

“You should be a writer.”

“You should be a makeup artist.”

“You should be a chef.”

Oh, incidentally, I want to say that I LOVE getting these suggestions, so I’m not saying that people shouldn’t offer up ideas. Please, if you have an idea let me know! It’s fun to think of the possibilities and I have certainly given my share of career opinions to other people.

At age eighteen, one person made a career suggestion to me that I am ashamed to say I rolled my eyes at.

“You should be a Virtuous Woman.”

Come on, really? That’s not a career!

(Almost) Ten years later I look back at my younger self and I have to disagree. Virtuous Woman is the ultimate career.

It’s the job that, if done properly and wholeheartedly will make any other path you walk successful. The Virtuous Woman radiates success, accomplishment, wisdom, education, self-confidence, beauty, happiness, kindness, love. All the things that we all want and need in our lives.

Ten years ago I had two opinions about the Virtuous Woman.

A) That she was abstract and unattainable.

and

B) That she was an overused stereotype. And I didn't want to be a stereotype. I wanted to be DIFFERENT.

Silly me. Of course I'm going to be different. God created only one me. I'm certainly not going to be like anyone else. What I failed to realize was that working to become a Virtuous Woman wouldn't interfere with developing my individuality. Rather, the opposite. Being a Virtuous Woman gives us the tools we need to become the best versions of ourselves. The career path of Virtuous Womanhood is created by God to bring us to our full potentials in Him.

The IDD Blog is going to publishing over the next few weeks an insightful, topic by topic look at the Virtuous Woman. We want to encourage every young lady to make Virtuous Womanhood her goal, and we hope to offer practical advice on how to apply these principles to you own life.

We want to stress that even though The Virtuous Woman is described as a Wife and Mother that we believe that a single female supporting herself has just as much chance of achieving Virtuous Woman status as a married woman. It's never too early or late to start!

Helping Haiti

2010-01-15T06:52:00.001-06:00

When I was growing up there was a little cup woven out of grasses sitting in our bathroom. It had a little flower on it and the word "Haiti." I remember clearly the day we got that little cup. The person who gave it to us said "Every time you see this, PRAY for Haiti." I was so young at the time, but I remember it so clearly. I don't think I did pray for Haiti every time I saw that little cup, or smelled the potpourri my Mom put in it. But, I did see it often, and I did pray often.

The last few days after hearing the horrendous reports and seeing the heart breaking pictures of the destruction in Haiti, that little cup has been forefront in my mind. I see it everywhere now. And I'm always praying for Haiti.

Imagine not knowing where your children are. Imagine having no home, no water, no food, surrounded by death...

What can we do to help?

There are many organizations you can donate food and money too. There's a list of them at the above link.

If none of those work for you I suggest finding a local church that might be doing a food and clothing drive. Donate your time to help them sort and pack supplies. Or donate money. $5 can go a long way. Maybe you have some extra canned goods laying around. Extra clothes? Go to Goodwill and fill a bag for people in Haiti who have nothing. Or, just a bottle of Tylenol, or a case of water could make a huge difference in someone's life.

I encourage you to do whatever you can for Haiti. Even if it's just a little thing, DO it.

As JJ Heller says:

I'll be praying for the widow

All alone, sewing clothes for a loaf of bread

It is not my fault that she is hungry

It's my joy to make sure she's fed.

It's the little things that make a difference

It's the little things that show love

It's the little things

A simple cup of water

That can change the world

That can save our sons and daughters

And above all. PRAY for Haiti. Put "Haiti" on your refrigerator, computer, or phone. Somewhere you'll see it all the time. (Maybe a cup in your bathroom?) And pray for the people of Haiti.

No News is No News

2010-01-14T06:48:00.000-06:00

I realize I've been somewhat absent lately. I have no excuse. Just simply "No news is no news."

Here's some Lemony Snicket for you... to explain what I'm trying to say.

Of all the ridiculous expressions people use

--and people use a great many ridiculous expressions--

one of the most ridiculous is

"No news is good news."

"No news is good news" simply means that if you don't hear from someone,

everything is probably fine,

and you can see at once why this expression makes such little sense,

because everything being fine is only one of

many, many reasons why someone may not contact you.

Perhaps they are tied up.

Maybe they are surrounded by fierce weasels,

or perhaps they are wedged tightly between two refrigerators and cannot get themselves out.

The expression might as well be changed to

"no news is bad news,"

except that people may not be able to contact you because they have

just been crowned king

or are competing in a gymnastics tournament.

The point is that there is

no way to know why someone has not contacted you,

until they contact you and explain themselves.

For this reason, the sensible expression would be

"no news is no news,"

except that it is so obvious that it is

hardly an expression at all.

- Lemony Snicket

LiveJournal

2010-01-11T06:11:00.000-06:00

Are any of my blog readers on LiveJournal?

I have a journal over there and I'd be happy to add any of you as friends. My LJ is exclusively private entries, but if you leave me a comment asking to be my friend I'll add you!

You can find me at Flowershopgirl's LiveJournal

Happy Journaling!

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!!

2010-01-09T10:41:00.001-06:00

*DRUM ROLL*

1st prize (Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis)

MERRILL from Bright as The Sea!

2nd prize (JJ Heller's Pretty and the Plain)

SARAH from ADORKABLE

3rd Prize (Scarf)

MORIAH from Joy Like An Ocean

Congrats to the winners! Please send me an e-mail at flowershopgirlblog@gmail.com with your address and I will send out your prizes asap.

Thanks everyone who participated and looking forward to a fantastic 2010!

P.S. One of my commenters asked if I was the one that posted the YouTube video of Kristin Chenoweth singing The Girl in 14G. I did. :) Here's the link

LIVE

2010-01-05T08:19:00.000-06:00

I am inspired by Nichole Nordeman's song "Live."

Did you come that we might just survive?
Did you come so we could just get by?

Did you walk among us
So we might merely limp along beside?

I don't want to "just survive." And I don't think I was ever meant to just survive. There's so much more to life than that.

I want to thrive. I want to be the best version of myself. I want to take every opportunity given to me, whether it looks like one or not, and I want to grow.

I don't think I'm asking the impossible or building ivory towers. I choose to believe that I was created for great things. That I was meant not to just survive, or just get by.

I believe I was meant to LIVE.

You make me want to live...
You came to shake us
And to wake us up to something more
Than we'd always settled for
And you make me want to live

It is because of Christ's great love for me that I want to live.

It is through submission to His great love for me that I can live.

If, without Him I am nothing... than is it not equally true that WITH Him is my greatest potential?

"...We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us,

and we gave them reverence:

shall we not much rather

be in subjection unto the Father of spirits,

and live?"

Hebrew 12:9

Never give up.

Never back down.

Never despise the chastening.

Learn to grow.

And as Ralph Waldo Emerson said

"Without halting, without rest,

lifting better up to best."

The Best of 2009 GIVEAWAY!

2010-01-04T07:04:00.002-06:00

On the first morning of 2010 I snuggled up on my sofa with a cup of coffee and Tuppence (my laptop). I looked over my blog entries from 2009 and revisted the whole year through my own words and pictures. I remembered things I'd forgotten, and laughed again and cried again.

I've been wanting to do another giveaway here for you guys, kind of a thank you for sticking around and continuing to read my ramblings.

SO, I had this idea. :)

I'm going to do a "Best of 2009" themed giveaway.

Here's how it works:

I'll be giving away three, THREE!!! prizes. Essentially, my FAVORITES from 2009.

Prize #1. Hands down the best book I read in 2009. :) C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity

Prize #2. My favorite CD from 2009. The one that played over and over and over in my car. Most played tracks on my iPod. :) JJ Heller's Pretty and the Plain.

Prize #3. Favorite Fashion Accessory from 2009. This is a tough one, but I DID wear a lot of scarfs this past year... :) So, I picked out a pretty one at
So, here's what YOU do.

I want YOU to look back over the flowershopgirl blog 2009 entries. I want to know what post YOU think was the BEST of 2009. It can be any post. A book list, Dr, Jak, Crazy ramble, whatever.... Leave me a comment telling me which entry you thought was the BEST.
You can enter twice by giving me a shoutout on your own blog or LJ. Just let me know you did it. :)

I'll leave this open for entries until midnight Friday, January 8th, 2010, and draw and post the names of the winners on Saturday, January 9th, 2010.

I'll draw the names out of a hat and the prizes will be awarded in order 1, 2, 3. You are only eligible to win one prize. If you enter twice and I draw your name for the 1st and 2nd prize than I'll re-draw for the 2nd prize.

Have fun guys! I can't wait to see all the comments!!!

AND HAVE A GREAT 2010!!!

December Books 2009

2010-01-02T06:02:00.000-06:00

Well, I started out 2009 with the goal of Keeping Track of How Many Books I Read and rating them with a 5 star system. AND writing a little snippet of my thoughts on each one.

I am thrilled to bring you the final installment of my year in books!

I read 128 books. I loved most of them. What a great year. :)

118. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott -(*****) Five stars because I love, LOVE this book. I really do. It's such a comfort read for me. It makes me happy! :)

119. Good Wives by Louisa May Alcott -(****) Almost as good as Little Women. I say "almost" because a certain character dies...(I'm sure you all know EXACTLY who I'm talking about). And every time I read it my heart breaks all over again. This time around I was sobbing into a paper towel (couldn't find a kleenex) and when my sister walked in and made some remark that brought a fresh burst of tears, she felt guilty and offered me two chocolate kisses as a peace offering. I wailed "What good is chocolate?!?!? Beth still dies every time I read this book!" *sniff* *shudder*

120. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (*****) It must be my month for comfort reads. This was my very first ever Agatha Christie book several years ago. I read it, and promptly was hooked. It's still in my top ten. I LOVE Tommy and Tuppence. I secretly want to be Tuppence. I named my computer Tuppence. Once I was delighted for a whole day because my mom said I was being very "sleuth-like" and reminding her of "That one Agatha Christie detective that Francesca Anis plays." Um, TUPPENCE!!! YEAH!

121. Every Storm by Lori Wick- (**) Well, I was in the mood for a fluff read and I definitely got it. Ho hum. Back in my teens I read a lot of Lori Wick's Christian Romance novels, but even then I think I knew they weren't so fabulous. *sigh* Her writing style is monotonous, jerky and bland. I'm not sure how she manages to sell so many books. Actually, I do know. It's because the Christian book market is so... limited? Very disappointing. The story itself isn't bad. If another author had taken it in hand I might even have loved the story. It has a lot of good elements and some potential. Set in the 1940s which I *heart* but it feels very modern and I often forgot that I was reading something supposedly "vintage." Oh well...

122. Little Men- (***) Very sweet and vignette-ish. Not as engaging as Little Women but still a happy sequel. Daisy and Demi are my faves. :)

123. Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild- (***) I wasn't as enchanted by this book as I have been by Noel Streatfeild's other books that I've read. Part of it may be the edition I was reading. Yearling reprinted it in 2009 and I was (to say the least) VERY disappointed in the quality. Not only are the materials cheaper than cheap and the print hard to read there were SO many grammatical errors that my reading experience was somewhat cautious. I didn't count how many times there was a period in the middle of the sentence, or no quotations around someone's words or no capital letter at the beginning of a sentence. But, by the time I'd found 5 mistakes in the first 50 pages of the book I was pretty disgusted. I even entertained thoughts of marking the mistakes in red pen and sending the whole book back to the Yearling company to let them know what I thought of their quality of workmanship. It's more disappointing than I can say that I spent $6.99 on a brand new book with mistakes every 4 or 5 pages, when I could buy a used copy of the same book printed in 1962 for $2 and it would be in 10 times better condition.

124. Going Rogue by Sarah Palin -(*****) If I was a Palin fan before reading her book, I'm 10 times more so now. Politics aside, she has a gripping narrative style of writing that made the 410 pages go by pretty fast. Plenty of humor mixed in with the straight talk. I like her views and the way she expresses them. She's a REAL person.

125. Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott- (***) Sequel to Little Men. Sweet, like all Alcott's works, but not my favorite.

126. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie -(****) I love Peter Pan. I love the imagery of J.M. Barrie's words.

127. Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse- (*****) Very entertaining!

128. The Winslow Boy by Terrence Rattigan (*****) Technically this is a play, but it came in book form, so I'm counting it. Such a good story. And absolutely true which is the best part. I love all the different dimensions in this story. On the surface it's a Father and Daughter fighting for their Son/Brother's honor. Fighting for justice. But, after the fight has gone on for over a year and the family has made so many sacrifices, some of them, as the Father says "[sacrifices] I had no right to make," the fight turns into much more. Is it just stubborn resolve and pride? Or, is it a fight for justice? It's even more than just justice. They fight to "Let Right Be Done." I love this play. There's also a movie, which was my first introduction to this story.

Reading it this time reminded me of the first time I ever read this play. My sister Susie and I were bored and decided to read it out loud. We split the parts evenly between us and had a blast! Laughing for the first time over the humor... The best part was when Susie was Reading Sir Robert Morton (lawyer) cross examine Ronnie (Winslow Boy). Both parts. If I remember correctly I laughed during the first page and had pity by taking over one of the parts for the next three pages. Good times. Good story.

The New Year

2010-01-01T05:30:00.000-06:00

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year
'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'

And he replied,
'Go into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God
That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!'

by Minnie Louise Harkins 1875-1957

2009 Blog Questions

2009-12-29T16:53:00.000-06:00

Ok, with the New Year fast approaching I thought it would be a good time to get some feedback on my blog.

Is there anything about my blog that you loved from 2009?

Anything you didn't care for?

Anything you'd like to see more of?

Less of?

Any suggestions?

I really loved publishing the monthly book lists, so I plan to continue doing that. (Unless 50 of you comment saying you hated them). :)

Looking forward to a GREAT 2010 at the Flowershopgirl blog!

Merry and Bright (And Polka Dots)

2009-12-24T15:25:00.000-06:00

I'm noticing a distinct "polka dot" theme in my gift wrapping this year... :)

Sadness

2009-12-23T06:45:00.000-06:00

There are definitely moments when I feel that being a florist is about the worst job in the world.

A little 5 year old girl died on Sunday. I don't think they even know how or why yet. She woke up in the morning, wasn't feeling well, collapsed and died in her mother's arms. Today I delivered flowers to her funeral and I got a peek at her laying all serene in her little casket. A peek was all I could take. She looked so peaceful and had such a sweet little face. All dressed up in a little black velvet dress, hair brushed so smooth and shiny.

I immediately devoted myself to unwrapping the 20 or so plants/flower arrangements I had delivered. Anything to distract myself from the growing lump in my throat.

The tragedy of it brings back all the worst memories.

An 11 year old boy who committed suicide after his mother told him he had to get his grades up or he wouldn't be able to do rodeo in the summer. I think every customer that came into the shop or called on the phone to order flowers for his funeral broke down into tears. We kept kleenex handy all over the shop and I bawled over a picture of him and his best friend playing in the mud when they were 6.

Making a casket spray for a baby's coffin. I remember the funeral director calling me and telling me "It has to be really small" He gave me the dimensions of the casket. Tiny. Tears fell on those flowers. When his mother came into the shop the next week to pay for the flowers I hugged her... I didn't know what else to do.

There are good memories attached to my job. But, times like this bring all the bad ones to the surface. I know it's not my job that's the problem. These things would happen regardless of whether or not I'm a florist. And if I don't arrange a dozen pink roses for that little girl's funeral someone else will.

For me the problem is that I don't want to know about the sad things. I don't want to deal with tragedy. I don't want to think about young lives cut short, about potential forever untapped.

But, should I really hide from reality? Isn't it better to face up to the hard things and do what I can to help? If all I do is make this little girl's funeral a beautiful garden, if all I do is help people express their grief and sympathy than it's all I can do. But, at least it's SOMETHING.

Facing grief is challenging. I don't know if I've learned how to do it yet. Maybe I never really will.

Investing in Lives

2009-12-22T06:00:00.000-06:00

Last night we watched "It's a Wonderful Life." I'm assuming most of you have seen this movie, so there will be spoilers in this post... just warning you.

I walked away from the movie and fell asleep comfy-cozy in my bed while the temperatures outside dived below zero. And I thought about it before I fell asleep and when I woke up this morning I was still thinking about George Bailey.

The man gave everything away. Not just his money, not just his time, but his dreams too.

I love the part when he's getting ready to leave on his honeymoon and he gets delayed because of the bank run. As soon as his wife shows up with his life savings he runs to begin distributing it to people in need. And not because they really NEED the money. After all, as he's already informed them, they could walk into Potters office and get half their money in 5 minutes. He does it to save his father's business (which he hates) and to save these people from making a bad investment with Potter. My sisters and I looked at each and asked "Do you think he ever got that money back?" I don't think he did. Maybe eventually... over time. But, did he ever have that $2000 lump sum again? I highly doubt it.

Countless times he gives up what he wants or plans in order to do something that appears to be the best thing at the time... for everyone else.

I was struck for the first time with George Bailey's attitude. He so obviously does NOT want to make a lot of the sacrifices that he makes. But, he makes them in spite of himself.

And that brings me to Do Hard Things. We've been reading this book in our Bible Study lately and I'm finding something inspiring in every chapter. But, mostly I'm convicted by the entire of concept of those three words. Do. Hard. Things.

In other words, Don't do the easy thing, when you have an option to do something harder.

George Bailey's hard things just kept piling up, making the hard things he did harder and harder. But, every hard thing he did was an investment in another person's life. Every hard thing HE did made someone else's life a little better and a little easier. He was making investments in people's lives. The kind of investments that aren't easily forgotten because they start as tiny seeds and grow and grow. Little by little he bought the kind of friends that are just waiting and watching for an opportunity to give back. So, ultimately, though everything he did was for others, HE was the mnost blessed in the end.

And as Clarence says: "No man is a failure who has friends."

What kind of investments are YOU making?

Oh, Hi.

2009-12-16T15:16:00.000-06:00

This is an official announcement.
I am very happy.

If you have ever been to my house you know exactly what I'm talking about.

THE HOLE IN MY CEILING IS FIXED!

For those of you that haven't ever been to my house, here's the deal.

I live in the bottom floor of a house. The upper floor is another apartment, and the shower in the other apartment started leaking... a while ago. The leak got worse and worse and worse and worse...

We removed the ceiling tile where the leak was because the excessive water was just going to break the tile. And now, for the last few months, we've had two bowls underneath the leak to catch the water that literally RAINS out of our ceiling every morning when the shower upstairs turns on. We emptied those bowls once a day.

We PRAYED for the day that this leak would be fixed. We had scores of plumbers in. None of them could figure out the problem. Finally, some super intelligent plumber figured it out. And then he had to order a part. And then we waited for the part to come in. And waited. And waited.

Today, I am happy to announce that as I was walking up the street to my house the plumber flagged me down to tell me that "We're all done, the ceiling tile is back in place and there shouldn't be any more floods."

YIPPEE!!!

*happy sigh*

Inspiring...

2009-12-11T05:59:00.002-06:00

For those who are unaware: At all military base theaters, the National Anthem is played before the movie begins.

This is written by a Chaplain in Iraq :

I recently attended a showing of 'Superman 3' here at LSA Anaconda. We have a large auditorium we use for movies, as well as memorial services and other large gatherings. As is the custom at all military bases, we stood to attention when the National Anthem began before the main feature. All was going well until three-quarters of the way through The National Anthem, the music stopped.

Now, what would happen if this occurred with 1,000 18-22 year-olds back in the States? I imagine there would be hoots, catcalls, laughter, a few rude comments, and everyone would sit down and yell for the movie to begin. Of course, that is, if they had stood for the National Anthem in the first place.

Here in Iraq , 1,000 Soldiers continued to stand at attention, eyes fixed forward. The music started again and the Soldiers continued to quietly stand at attention. But again, at the same point, the music stopped. What would you expect 1,000 Soldiers standing at attention to do?? Frankly, I expected some laughter, and everyone would eventually sit down and wait for the movie to start.

But No!!... You could have heard a pin drop, while every Soldier continued to stand at attention. Suddenly, there was a lone voice from the front of the auditorium, then a dozen voices, and soon the room was filled with the voices of a thousand soldiers, finishing where the recording left off: "And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave."

It was the most inspiring moment I have had in Iraq and I wanted you to know what kind of Soldiers are serving you. Remember them as they fight for us!

Pass this along as a reminder to others to be ever in prayer for all our soldiers serving us here at home and abroad. Many have already paid the ultimate price.

Written by Chaplain Jim Higgins
LSA Anaconda is at the Ballad Airport in Iraq , north of Baghdad

My Thoughts on Twilight

2009-12-09T07:00:00.002-06:00

The Twilight craze is sweeping the nation. Not being the type of person that runs out to read a book or see a movie the second it becomes popular I didn't mind admitting that I had no personal experience with Twilight. To be perfectly frank all I had to hear was the word "Vampire" and I knew Twilight had no interest for me. I held this stance for a couple of years. People asked me "Have you seen Twilight?" Me: "Um, no, I'm not into vampire movies." Fine.

But, with the release of the second movie, New Moon, Twilight has once again become very common conversation. Only this time around, instead of just getting the "Have you seen it?" questions I was starting to get "What do you think?" questions. From young girls, from parents of young girls...

I don't like to give an opinion on something I haven't seen or read. In some cases I'm completely comfortable with saying "I haven't read it/seen it myself, but I know I won't because of 'such and such' theme." In this instance I was beginning to feel like I needed a little something more to go on. I was bothered a little bit by the amount of people (especially young girls) following this craze.

So. I watched the movie the other night.

And, (aren't you lucky) I'm going to tell you exactly what I thought. Please don't be offended if my opinion differs from yours. This is my blog and I reserve the right to publish my opinions here. If your opinion isn't the same as mine it doesn't mean I don't like you or think you're stupid. It just means that I believe in my opinion enough to share it with you.

So, Twilight.

My first impression was this:

Bella has zero social skills. Within a day or so of moving to Forks and starting at her new high school she acquires a group of friends. I honestly don't know how this is possible. She almost never talks to any of them, they all talk and she's always off in another world, paying no attention to their conversation. In fact, she avoids conversation in the most obvious ways. If someone approaches her she often responds with a monosyllabic answer and beats a retreat ASAP. I wonder if she's supposed to be shy? She comes across as stuck-up and arrogant. I bet I could count on one hand the number of times she actually smiles in the movie. Yeah... I can see why Edward is attracted to her.

When Bella goes shopping for prom dresses with two of her "friends" she spends most of the day staring out the window of the dress shop and giving half-hearted "that looks good" comments to her friends. Even her friends laugh because she gives them the same opinion on every dress they try on. She's so obviously not paying attention or even caring much what her friends wear to prom. Honestly, I wouldn't take her dress shopping with me...

At one point, Bella is forced to be mean to her dad so that he will let her go, which is imperative since her life is at stake and so is his if she's near him. After breaking his heart Bella feels badly and looks melancholy for a minute. I kept waiting for her to break down and bawl but it never happened. But, honestly, they didn't have that great of a relationship before. She treated him with the same cool aloofness she gave her friends.

Edward. Um, creepy stalker? Seriously. He practically haunts Bella. He stares at her, is always telling her to "stay away" from him, but won't leave her alone himself. He follows her everywhere (but, it's ok, because he says it's because he "feels protective") He even climbs in her bedroom window and watches her while she sleeps. (But, that's ok too, because he says it "fascinates him".) He admits that when he's with her it's all he can do to keep himself from killing her. Romantic, huh? Yeah, someday I hope to fall in love with someone who wants to kill me, too.

About three-quarters of the way through the movie I was wondering "What is the draw here?" Why are so many people enamored by this?
Here are the things I've heard are the supposed "good points" of Twilight.

Robert Pattinson, (Edward) is kind of cute, I guess. If you like the anemic, violent, angry looking type.

Edward and his family are mild as vampires go. They don't survive on human blood, instead they restrict themselves to only drinking the blood of animals. Wow. That makes me feel so much better.

There's evidently some kind of pro-chastity message in the movies/books. I don't really see it. Edward and Bella share some passionate kisses and it's evident they would go farther except Edward is afraid he won't be able to control his passion and may kill her. Now, there's a real reason to save yourself. Especially if you're dating a vampire.

Edward saves Bella's life several times. I think the whole movie is made up of him saving her life. Now, I'm certainly as much excited by the romance of that as the next girl. Prince Charming rushing in battling evil to save a girl's life is exciting. But, is it at all realistic that Bella encounters near-death experiences 6 or 7 times in the space of 90 minutes? Edward has amazing strength and speed and that's pretty cool. But, then again, Superman has amazing strength and speed too, and he uses it to save Lois Lane's life plenty of times but as far as I know he never fantasized about drinking her blood.

Aside from the times when Edward is staring at Bella with his intense, crazed stalker eyes, he is a perfect gentleman. He always opens the car door for her. Aww... How sweet. I wonder. Are girls today so starved for a little proper affection and respect that a nice gentlemanly act like opening a car door would make them willing to date someone that wants to kill and eat them?

Edward refuses to turn Bella into a vampire even though she insists that she wants him to and is "Ready." Honestly, I think it's just the author's way of making room for 3 more books.

The one positive aspect of the film that I found was Edward's "parents" especially his dad. (The "mom" is somewhat underdeveloped.) Vampire though he is, he manages to live as a respected member of a human community without being weird about it. You won't find him giving the intense, stalker vibes that Edward is constantly putting across. When Bella's life is threatened Edward's dad pulls the family together and they risk everything to protect her. As he says "Bella is with Edward, and we protect our family." It may mean losing everything they've worked to build but there's a strong sense of family unity and fighting for justice that is always a positive message.

I'm aware that Edward is a vampire. I'm aware that vampires live on blood and that if Edward didn't have blood to drink he would die. So, therefore this kind of message is acceptable? WRONG. The scary thing about this message is that it's all too real. Take out the vampire element and Edward is an intense, possesive, murderous stalker. And there ARE people out there like that who do not have the "I'm a vampire" excuse. Do we really want our young girls to get the impression that it's ok to date someone like this? Bella is not afraid of Edward. This makes Edward love her. But, really, shouldn't she be afraid? Shouldn't she avoid him? Shouldn't she run away like he's the plague even though he does open the car door for her and habitually saves her life? Girls, there are better guys out there.

Imagine Bella explaining her new boyfriend to her dad "He's really sweet, he watches me while I sleep, he follows me everywhere, he knows he's dangerous and isn't really sure he can control himself enough to be around me without murdering me, but it's ok, because he's a vampire and I'm not afraid of him."

Obviously, Bella cannot explain this to her dad (or anyone else for that matter). He wouldn't understand. So, she has to keep it a secret. Which brings me to my biggest beef with Twilight. Do we REALLY want to encourage this kind of mentality in our young girls? The "my parents won't understand, so we have to hide it from them," mentality. For the sake of argument let's again pretend that Edward doesn't have the vampire excuse. He's just the intense, possessive, murderous stalker. And somehow, someway, he's able to use all these bad qualities to pick up a quiet, introverted, secretive girl. Isn't that a recipe for disaster? Aren't those the guys we tell girls to stay away from? Aren't these situations EXACTLY the reason that we promote and encourage communication between kids and parents? If so, then WHY is a story with the exact opposite message so popular?

Tales of forbidden love have held a special place in our hearts since Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet. And my heart melts as much as any other girls' over these stories. Um, Lorna Doone? *sigh* But, the question I have to ask is: "Aren't some loves forbidden for good reason?"

The Tomorrow Promise

2009-12-08T06:00:00.002-06:00

It is truly one of God's many mercies that He always promises us a fresh tomorrow morning.

[His mercies] are New

every morning:

great is Thy faithfulness

-Lamentations 3:23

As I told a friend the other day "Sometimes when I've had a bad day or I'm lonely... I don't delay going to bed. The sooner I can start tomorrow morning the better."

Because as Anne Shirley says:

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is always new... with no mistakes in it."

Thank you God for Tomorrows.

December for sure

2009-12-07T08:22:00.000-06:00

It's December for sure now.
I guess our beautiful dream-like weather is over.
Snow on the ground this morning when I woke up. Enough to make me bundle up immediately and head out to clear the sidewalks. It was really only a 1/4 inch or so, not really what you could classify as "Shoveling" snow. But, the sidewalks have to be cleared so I still got to experience that "bending-over-my-lower-back-is-killing-me-nose-biting" experience that's all too familiar to us Wisconsin-ites in the winter.

*sigh*

My little brother has a Christmas concert tonight. There are pine boughs draped over the railings on my front porch steps. The world is white. I'm going to wear my tall boots to work this morning. I know I'm a wimp but I just can't stand it when my feet get wet and cold.

AND...
I have to admit. This snow is beautiful.

Blog List Malfunctions

2009-12-04T19:14:00.000-06:00

Hey guys!

I've discovered that when I re-entered the blogs in my blog list (in the sidebar) some of them either didn't transfer over or there's some kind of difficulties between google reader and blogger... or somethin'. Anyway, if you would like your blog to be listed in my sidebar, or if your blog was listed in my sidebar before, please take a minute to look and see if it's there now. If it isn't, leave me a comment and I'll add you.
Thanks!

November Book List

2009-12-02T06:00:00.001-06:00

107. Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery - (*****) I love discovering new friends. This book is absolutely delightful. I read it and I know that I will never forget these characters. I know I will think of them as friends and that their story will always have a place on my bookshelves.

108. The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis- (*****) Reviewed HERE

109. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie- (*****)

110. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie -(*****) I've read this one twice now. One of my favorite Miss Marple's.

111. A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie -(***) I actually solved this one before Miss Marple did. That's always disappointing.

112. Nemesis by Agatha Christie - (****) I bet you're tired of me reviewing Christie.

113. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott- (*****) I love, love, LOVE this book. If you had walked into my living room while I was reading it chances are pretty high that you would have found me grinning from ear to ear like a sappy lunatic. I hadn't read Eight Cousins in a while and so it was fun to keep turning pages and finding another "favorite part." Conclusion being: This whole book is full of my favorite parts. I love the eight cousins. I want to be Rose. And I had a crush on Archie when I was younger. Ok, I still do. :)

114. Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott - (*****) Sometimes I think I will never forgive Alcott for killing off a certain *ahem* character. The sobs and kleenex usage are great. It's a beautiful story and I love it.

115. A Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie- (****) Another good Christie.

116. Mrs. McGinty is Dead by Agatha Christie-(****) Another one of those "quiet village murders" that Christie is so famous for. :)

117. The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie- (****) International Intrigue with Christie.... :)

New Blog LOOK!

2009-12-01T15:18:00.000-06:00

High Fives to Stephanie who showed me how to use Photoshop to create the header and ended up doing most of the work... and Katie who helped me figure out the HTML.

Opinions?

George Mueller's Faith

2009-12-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

"If God fails me at this time,
it will be
the first time."

-George Mueller

This from the man who:

Began his ministry caring for orphans with 2 shillings in his pocket.
Built 5 large orphanages.
Cared for over 10,000 orphans in his lifetime
In 1834 there were accomadations for only 3,600 orphans in England and twice that many orphans under the age of eight were in prison. 50 years later, through George Mueller's hard work and dedication England was able to care for over 100,000 orphans.
Became a travelling missionary (a lifelong dream of his) at the age of 70 and continued for the next 17 years.
Travelled to 42 countries preaching on average once a day often to crowds of 5,000.
Read his Bible cover to cover more than 200 times.
Took in donations for several million dollars for the orphans without once asking anyone for money.
Gave up his small salary when he discovered it was paid for by the rental of church pews and didn't take a salary for the next 68 years.
Never took out a loan or went into debt.
The orphans never went hungry although several times they prayed over empty plates, only to have food arrive at the last moment.
Founded 117 schools.

"The beginning of anxiety is

the end of faith,

and the beginning of

true faith

is the end of anxiety."

-George Mueller

"Now faith is the

substance of things

hoped for,

the evidence of

things not seen."

-Hebrews 11:1

Coming Soon to a Flowershopgirl Blog Near You!

2009-11-30T13:42:00.001-06:00

In the works is a new template and header for winter for this blog.
I'm really excited about it guys, I think it's gonna be awesome.
I really can't wait to show it to you.
But, alas, I must wait, because...
It's not ready yet.
*psstt* check out my profile picture for a preview!

In other news...

November Book List will be up tomorrow hopefully, and

*FAIR WARNING*

It's a LOT of Agatha Christie. Some Louisa May Alcott thrown in for good measure.

The weather is beautiful here... Really... I hope it stays like this all winter.
HEY! I can dream can't I?

I'm having strong urges to watch Christmas movies.

It's a Wonderful Life, anyone? I'll bring the candy canes!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2009-11-26T09:09:00.000-06:00

May your coming year be full of plenty to be thankful for.

May your paths be paved in His love.

I'm thankful for you dear blog readers!

Thanksgiving Craft

2009-11-24T07:12:00.000-06:00

Here's a fun, super easy craft we did here last week.

First trace a wreath shape onto a piece of cardoboard or heavy cardstock.

I just used a dinner plate and desert plate to make the proper sized circles. One inside the other.

Cut the circle out with scissors.

Next trace handprints onto colored paper. It helps to have a variety of different sized hands to trace. :)

Next: DECORATE! We used glitter-y glue to outline the handprints, but you could use anything you like. Be creative!

After the glue dries, cut out the hand shapes.

Now, the fun part. :) Make a list of things you (or your helpers :) ) are thankful for and label the handprints.

Glue the handprints around the cardboard ring to create a colorful wreath!

Decorate to your tastes. We used ribbon and leaves from our garden.

Enjoy! and

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

My Life in Google Images

2009-11-23T07:24:00.001-06:00

1. What is your first name?

2. What is your birthday?

3. What kind of car do you want?

4. Where did you go to school?

5. What's your favorite season?

6. What's your favorite type of shoe?

7. What''s your status?

8. What's your favorite movie?

9. What's your favorite song?

10. Favorite Disney Character?

11. Favorite Clothing Line?

12. Favorite Vacation Destination?

13. Favorite Desert?

14. Favorite Letter?

15. What are you most afraid of?

16. Favorite TV show?

17. What annoys you most?

18. What is your job?

19. What's your favorite animal?

20. How old are you?

November Highlights

2009-11-18T07:32:00.001-06:00

Halfway through this month...

So far, things that are good are:

Oreos.

Christmas decorating at the shop. :)

Clean Cotton scented candles..... reminds me of fresh laundry...

New roof on my house and NEW siding being put on. :) We picked out a pretty silver gray color with bright white trim.. can't wait for it to be done!

Louisa May Alcott. Today I bawled like a baby over Rose in Bloom. "Alas poor Charlie!"

My new iPod. :)

Gorgeous, GORGEOUS Indian Summer weather. 60 degrees in November. What could be better?

Solving the Rubik's Cube, My Journey

2009-11-17T06:48:00.000-06:00

I can't tell you exactly when it was that my fascination with Mr. Rubik's Magic Cube began. I remember we had one once when I was little. I regarded it as one of those things that everyone has but no one knows what to do with. I grew up in the 80s when the Rubik's Cube was first born and was at the height of its fame. The Cube, in my eyes was an unsolved mystery and would remain that way. Forever. And that was ok. I didn't know anyone that could solve it. I still don't know anyone that can solve it.

The next phase in my Rubik's Cube obsession started when I saw The Pursuit of Happyness. Chris Gardner claims to be able to solve the cube (even though he never has) and in one suspenseful taxi-ride with his entire future weighing in the balance... he solves it. The solving of that "magic" cube has an impact on the rest of his life. If you were to say that if Chris Gardner hadn't solved that puzzle he wouldn't be where he is today and there wouldn't be a movie about him... I'd probably agree with you.

Obsession phase three. Somehow, somewhere I heard of someone who could solve the cube because, get this, they watched a tutorial on YouTube. Yeah. Really. And when I heard that I got a crazy idea. I thought "If it's on YouTube... I could watch that tutorial. I could solve the cube, too." I don't know what came over me. On my way home that night I stopped at the drugstore down the street and picked up a Rubik's Cube.

My family looked at me like I was nuts. Perhaps I should explain. I'm not what you'd call... smart. Book smart maybe. Math smart? Tech-y smart? Geometry smart? Puzzle smart? NO. I don't even do jigsaw puzzles. Two of my sisters and my dad LOVE jigsaw puzzles. I don't have the patience. I was never into solitaire. I never got higher in math than Algebra 1. But there was something about the Rubik's Cube. Something about the idea that if I, REBECCA could solve a Rubik's Cube... I would never feel dumb again. Or so I thought. Honestly, I don't know what possesed me.

So, the YouTube tutorials were not a myth. They exist. I started out watching the one that I had heard about. Some guy made a video on how to solve the Cube. He had, like, 12 million views on his tutorial. 12 MILLION. And almost as many comments from people who were thanking him for explaining it so well. These people had evidently solved the Cube. I watched the tutorial. And promptly got lost. Very very lost. Confused. Distorted. WHICH WAY IS UP? My Cube was perpetually scrambled. Frustration mounted. I decided to give up. It seemed the logical thing to do.

But then I saw something else. Another tutorial." A 9 STEP tutorial. I went to this other guy's YouTube channel and read the sidebar. He claimed that his method was "beginner friendly." Of course, at this point I'm assuming I'm not even a beginner since I couldn't make heads or tails out of tutorial number one. Is there a level below beginner? Basement level? Sub-basement level? If you're even lower than the sub-basement level do the smart people just say to you "Go home, sell your Cube on E-bay. You're not smart enough to own it." I DID spend $5 on the cube... I decided to give it another shot. I'd try the "beginner's method."

Right away trial #2 went much better. I actually solved one side of the cube. WOW. I mean... that's something right? But, how do you move on to solving another side without messing the first side up? And if you solve another side then you have two solved sides and you still have to solve 4 more sides without messing up the first two.

But the tutorial I was watching had a strange effect on me. The guy explaining it was doing such a good job. He kept saying things like "Don't worry." and "I'll show you that again" and drawing diagrams and explaining things over and over and showing every single possibility and what to do with every single possibility. Something about it gave me courage to keep trying. And trying. And trying. And trying.... Maybe it was the Pursuit of Happyness that kept me going. Maybe, I thought, somehow deep down being able to solve the Cube would change my future.

That was a VERY long weekend. I worked on the cube Friday night. All day Saturday. My family went from giving me amused glances to concerned ones. "Um, Rebecca? Maybe you should take a break?" I knew they were thinking the same thing I was thinking. The smartest people I knew couldn't solve the cube. What made me think I could? Saturday night I kept hitting the same wall over and over again. I could get the puzzle to a certain place. Almost solved. Only the top layer to go. And every time I messed it up. Majorly. My eyes burned. I had to start over again. I would get to the top layer... and screw it up. Start over again. Again, I messed it up. Just when I would think I had it... It would be scrambled beyond fixing... and I'd have to start over.

Frustration came and sat on my shoulders. I started breathing shortly. A huge lump settled in my throat. You're not smart. You've never been smart. Why are you even trying? You shouldn't even try doing this smart stuff, you're just proving to yourself that you can't do it. Give up. Give up. Give up. Why did I keep going? My sisters tried to help "Um, Rebecca? Do you think you're being a little obsessive? I think you need to take a break?" They threatened to take it away from me. Saturday night at midnight I slammed it down. "I can't do it. I don't know why I tried." I ignored my sister's tortured gazes, swallowed down the painful lump in my throat, stalked into my bedroom and closed the door on my tears. I flopped into bed. And I knew that I had just proved to myself how stupid I really was.

Have you ever been in that place? When everything you do and think just shows you all your imperfections? I started affixing all sorts of meaning to my inability to solve that silly game. As if not being able to solve the Rubik's Cube was the final straw. I was now, officially Not Going Anywhere In Life. I was doomed to live a simple, poverty stricken life. I mean, obviously I couldn't solve the Rubik's Cube, so what good could I possibly do myself or anyone else? Chris Gardner solved the Cube and changed his life for the better. I didn't solve the Cube. 'Nough said.

Sunday morning I woke up and walked into the living room. Only to see that colorful scrambled cube sitting there mocking me. Or, was it challenging me?

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

I couldn't solve the cube. But, God could. That guy on YouTube could. That guy on YouTube was TELLING me how to solve the Cube. I decided to give it one more shot. Why? I don't know. I guess deep down I believe God has good things in store for me. And that belief is stronger than my unbelief. Even when I don't see it myself and even when I tell myself I don't believe it. I realized that if my future really depended on solving the Cube I would never give up so easily. And I realized that even if I tell myself I'm a quitter, I'm not.

So, I tried it one more time. Maybe it was two more times. I remember my sister walked out of her bedroom and looked at me trying to solve it again. I heard her sigh as she walked into the next room. I read the algorithums over and over. I flipped the sides of the cube. Red, Green, Blue, Yellow. Right turn clockwise, Top counter-clockwise, Back 180 degrees, flip, turn, switch, line up the colors. And then it came. The final turn. The turn that 50 times had stared me in the face saying "You did it wrong. Again." But, this time was different. Left 180 degrees. And I had it. 6 sides. All of them a single color. A beautiful Rubik's Cube, just the way it came in the package. Solved.

I don't know how to explain the emotions of that moment. I can tell you that they were too much for me to deal with. I didn't scream or shout or jump up and down or wake up my sister screaming "I SOLVED THE CUBE!!!!!" Instead I set the solved cube on the coffee table and went into my bedroom. And I just thanked God. Maybe my whole future doesn't depend on solving the Cube. I will probably never be in a taxi with a man who could give me everything I need if I could just impress him enough. I doubt I will ever apply for a job where I can claim "Ability to solve a Rubik's Cube" as a job qualification. But, who knows? Maybe someday. For now, I know that solving that cube gave me a self-confidence I've never had before. Sure, discouragement still comes. Solving the Cube didn't give me automatic knowledge in every subject that "smart people" excel in. But, I learned something about myself and about God in me. I learned that I'm not a quitter, because God didn't make me a quitter and doesn't intend for me to ever quit anything He sets in my path to do. I learned that I can do things I think I can't do if I try, REALLY try, because I have God on my side, and He can give me the strength to do anything.

MOVIE TAG

2009-11-16T06:46:00.047-06:00

This is a tag that was going around on Live Journal and I thought it looked fun to do.
01] -- Look up TEN of your favorite movies on IMDB.com.
[02] -- Click the "trivia" link in the sidebar.
[03] -- Post a fun and random bit of trivia from each film.
[04] -- Tag five people!

I want you all to know I had a hard time coming up with 10 movies. I mean... I'm kind of a movie lover, so it was hard to just pick 10. And I even cheated a little. :)

I hope you all enjoy! I had a lot of fun finding these fun facts!
Comment and tell me if you enjoyed it!

August Rush

Two of the songs that Jonathan Rhys Meyers' character, 'Louis Connelly' sings, 'This Time' and 'Break' were considered as nominees for the category of 'Best Original Song' in the '80th Annual Academy Awards'

The Pursuit of Happyness

The homeless people who worked as extras were paid a full day's minimum wage (which is $8.62/hr in SF) and given free catered meals as compensation for appearing in the film. For some it was the first money they'd made in a while.
Speedcubing champions Tyson Mao and Toby Mao and Lars Petrus were hired to coach Will Smith to solve a Rubik's Cube in under two minutes.
Jaden Smith stars as Christopher, Chris Gardner's son in the movie. Jaden Smith is Will Smith's son in real life, Christopher is actually Jaden's middle name.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

During production, Liam Aiken grew four and a half inches (11.4 cm), requiring adjustments to his costume throughout. By the end of the movie, he is visibly taller than Emily Browning who portrayed his older sister.
When the children first meet Count Olaf and Jim Carrey says, "Wait, give me that last line again," was not actually in the script, it was Carrey staying in character and wanting to try it again, but they kept the cameras rolling and felt it worked the way it happened.
Filming stopped on several occasions after one of the twins playing Sunny (Shelby Hoffman and Kara Hoffman) fell asleep.

The Princess Bride

While rehearsing for the film, André the Giant's thick accent prevented many of his lines from being understood. To remedy this, actor Mandy Patinkin slapped André in the face to get him to concentrate harder.

Westley's character is loosely based on Errol Flynn's character in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Director Rob Reiner even used the same conversation found in "Robin Hood" for Westley: "Are you finished?" "Finished? I'm only just beginning." Ironically, in 1993 Cary Elwes would go on to play Robin Hood in 'Mel Brooks (I)''s Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).

Vizzini's advice on not getting involved in a land war in Asia is derived from principles stated by Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery (Viscount Alamein) in a speech in the House of Lords on 30 May 1962: "Rule 1, on page 1 of the book of war is: 'Do not march on Moscow.' ... Rule 2 is: 'Do not go fighting with your land armies in China.'

There really was a "Dread Pirate Roberts" (Bartholomew Roberts) who operated in the Caribbean in the early 18th century. He is reckoned by many to have been the most successful pirate of all time.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe

Each design carved into the wardrobe signifies an important event that occurred in the book "The Magician's Nephew," the Narnia book that takes place chronologically before the events in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."

Professor Kirke presents three choices to the other Pevensie children of what to think about Lucy's claim about Narnia: that she is lying, that she is mad, or that she is telling the truth. C.S. Lewis was a vocal advocate of Christianity, and in his book "Mere Christianity" presented three similar choices about Jesus' claim to be the Son of God: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord. This is known as his "Trilemma" argument, and is still often used by Christians today.

The Incredibles

In order to give Dash a realistic out-of-breath voice, Brad Bird made Spencer Fox run laps around the studio.

In the Singaporean version of the film, the company "Insuricare" is translated into "Black-hearted insurance company" if read literally in the Chinese character subtitles.

National Treasure

Good guys in the movie use Google and bad guys use Yahoo! search engines.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

To make his voice hoarse for the filibuster scene, James Stewart dried out his throat with bicarbonate of soda. However, both Frank Capra and Stewart revealed in interviews that his throat was periodically swabbed with mercuric chloride.

James Stewart knew this was the role of a lifetime, one that could place him near the top of the Hollywood heap. Jean Arthur later remembered his mood at the time: "He was so serious when he was working on that picture, he used to get up at five o'clock in the morning and drive himself to the studio. He was so terrified something was going to happen to him, he wouldn't go faster."

The scenes where James Stewart wanders around in amazement at the Washington monuments were "stolen", since the US Parks Service had denied the studio permission to film near them.

The City of Ember

There were so many sets built for the film that some of them wound up never being used. They do sometimes feature prominently in the background, like the hairdressers, but they play no part in the story.

Cranford

Sue Birtwistle found out about the novel Cranford after finishing another project. Despite liking it immensely, she felt it wasn't enough to create a drama series, so she read a large portion of Gaskell's other material, and came up with the idea of adapting three of Elizabeth Gaskell novellas into a BBC Drama series; hence Cranford. The three novels were "Cranford", "Mr Harrison's Confessions" and "My Lady Ludlow." Birtwistle and her co-creator Susie Conklin spent several weeks in Birtwistle's apartment in New York using color coded cards to piece the stories together. When writer Heidi Thomas came on board, she mentioned that they had married off someone twice.

(Ok, so there are actually ELEVEN... but how can you leave out Superman?)

Superman Returns

The truck which Martha drove during the opening was the exact truck used for the first Superman movie. The producers managed to find that truck and rented it for use.

When Bryan Singer became interested in possibly hiring Brandon Routh, he arranged for them to meet in a coffee shop. When they met at their table, Routh stumbled and spilled hot coffee all over the table. Although he panicked, thinking he had just lost the part, Singer laughed and said it actually helped him get the part. The incident convinced Singer that Routh could pull off the clumsy, bumbling Clark Kent.

I TAG EVERYONE THAT WANTS TO DO THIS!

GIFT BASKET GIVEAWAY!

2009-11-12T18:08:00.000-06:00

Attention EVERYONE!

There's a Gift Basket Giveaway going on over at The IDD Blog so make sure you go check it out!

It's a beautiful basket of "Pamper-Yourself" goodies! Seriously, I would LOVE to win this basket! Of course, I'm not eligible since I'm one of the people giving it away... :) But, I really want one of you to win it! So, head over there and put your name in! Give the blog a shoutout on your own blog, Live Journal, whatever and you can enter twice!

Good Luck!

Playing in the Leaves

2009-11-11T06:49:00.000-06:00

Remember when you were a little kid and used to rake all the leaves into one BIG pile and then completely destroy all your work by jumping into the pile over and over and over and over...?

And then you would take all the leaves and hide someone under them?

Wasn't that fun? :)

Dr. Jak's November Sunday

2009-11-10T08:50:00.001-06:00

What I wore to church last Sunday.

Gorgeous, GORGEOUS Indian Summer weather inspires me to wear

Indian Summer colors.

Rich browns and tans and a splash of something brighter. :)

Sweater dresses are IN this fall.

So are Big Belts and Cowboy Boots... :)

I'm wearing brown and silver earrings and brown tights to help with warmth and modesty. :)

Quick, Random, LIFE!

2009-11-09T08:28:00.000-06:00

We have had the most GORGEOUS weekend. Seriously, 70 degrees in November? This canNOT be Wisconsin. (sort of loosely quoting Lake House there in case you were wondering :-)
I did the ultimate dumb thing. Left my keys in the ignition of my car and must have had something turned on because the battery was dead. Mercy. Mom and Dad to the rescue with jumper cables. *sigh*
We went apple-orchard-ing on Saturday. So fun. Apple Cider, Donuts, Apples... yum.
Came home and made 2 apple pies and three loaves of pumpkin bread and my house smelled amazing. As I'm sure you can imagine.
I've been on an Agatha Christie kick and you will see just how crazy of a kick when you read my November book list. I'm not making any promises that the whole list may not be Agatha Christie. Be forwarned.
I'm also on another "Solve the Rubik's Cube!" kick. Started working on it last night and couldn't put it down. My sisters are getting amused. :) Seriously, who needs to solve a rubik's cube 6 times in one night? I think I have a problem.

I'm headed to work now and looking forward to another gorgeous day... and if it wants to stay like this until April that'd be ok with me.

Book Review: The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

2009-11-03T06:44:00.000-06:00

"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done."

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis is essentially built on this premise.

The author takes a trip to heaven, by way of a bus that picked up him and his fellow travelers at a bus stop in hell. Once there he and his fellow travelers have conversations with Spirits. Men and women that have died and live in heaven.

I found this book very insightful and eye-opening.

I have always loved Lewis' views on heaven. As a place infinitely more REAL than the place we are in, so much more real that we realize the place we have been in all along is simply a shadowland.

I was captivated and somehow quickened at the same time when he described the difference between the passion of pity and the action of pity.
The passion being "The pity we merely suffer, the ache that draw men to concede what should not be conceded and to flatter when they should speak truth... a weapon by bad men against good ones..."
And the action being "...a weapon on the other side. It leaps quicker than light from the highest place to the lowest to bring healing and joy, whatever the cost to itself..."

I really can't even begin to describe how many things I learned from it, because I know there are so many more things I will learn as I continue to think about this book and read it over and over.

As Lewis says:
"Thirst was made for water, inquiry for truth."

October Book List

2009-11-02T06:39:00.001-06:00

97. Catching Fire by Suzanne Colllins-(*****) Sequel to The Hunger Games, and actually and surprisingly JUST as good as the original. Also, JUST as violent. Somewhat predictable. But, one thing I love about these books is that even though I can usually tell where the plot is going, the trip there keeps me guessing. This time around I had a general idea what I would like to see at the end of the book, (which actually ended up happening) and I knew certain things would have to happen, but there was a healthy dose of ????? woven in that makes for a fabulous, gripping suspense tale. I loved it. The ending was not nearly as cliff-hanging as I expected which was VERY relieving. Book three isn't due out until Fall 2010. I guess I can wait. :)

98. Messenger by Lois Lowry- (***) Honestly... I don't know what to say about this book. It didn't end like I thought it would. And I was a little disappointed in the end I think. I guess I felt like it was a little bit of a cop-out. I'd be interested in other opinions.

99. The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien -(***) Much more interesting the Fellowship of the Rings and kept my attention much better. Still took me a while to get through, but I was much more engaged this time. Looking forward to the finale!

100. Song for a Dark Queen by Rosemary Sutcliff- (**) I knew nothing of the story of Boudicca until I read this book. So, I was completely unprepared for the tragedy. Readers should be warned that it's not a happy book, not at all nice or even clean. I'd give the content at least a PG-13 rating for violence, horrible war scenarios, and other unmentionables... In defense of the content, it should be mentioned that it's all tragically true. Very sad, very sickening, very horrific, very riveting. Very educational.

101. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo -(****) Newberry Award winner in 2003. Endearing, really. :) I delayed in reading this book for a long time because I have this thing with mice. I don't like them. But, Despereaux is really loveable. This book is extremely well written. Plenty of awesome quotes. "QUEST. Say it reader, say the word 'quest' out loud. It is an extraordinary word, isn't it? So small and yet so full of wonder, so full of hope."

102. Savvy by Ingrid Law - (****) I really liked this book. I can't believe it's Ingrid Law's first novel. Her writing is absolutely crisp and clean. Minimal wording, but perfect pictures in your imagination. Slightly disappointing elements include: Romance among 13 year olds. Come on, really? And negative impressions of "religious" people. Also, rebellion is slightly glorified in a typical written-for-children way. Of course, the parents aren't around so the kids have to take matters into their own hands and of course this means rebelling against authority all in the interest of the overall good and of course everything turns out ok and there wouldn't be a story without it. Overall, though, as I mentioned, I LIKED it. :)

103. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemna by Trenton Lee Stewart -(***) For some reason this one didn't grab me like the other two Benedict books. Regardless, it was funny, smart and enjoyable!

104. Arch Enemy by Frank Beddor -(***) Good ending to the Looking Glass Wars series. I was a BIT disappointed in the ending... kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Something about good and evil HAVING to co-exist.

105. Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix -(****) The more of Haddix's books I read, the more I love her. This is the second installment in The Missing series and I enjoyed it very much. I haven't read many books that include time travel, so I'm not an expert, but to me it seemed to have a whole new approach on time travel. Very smart, I thought. I'm anxious for more books to be published in this series.

106. The Mirror Cracked by Agatha Christie - (****) I just love Miss Marple.

My Advice on the H1N1 Flu Virus

2009-10-27T15:47:00.000-06:00

Um, DON'T GET IT.

That's pretty much it.

If you do get it... I feel your misery.

I'm determined to be thankful though! For.... something!

Charles Dickens. Namely Bleak House. Helped Steph (my fellow sickie) and I pass 6 hours this morning while we were too miserable and ache-y to move.

Moms. They bring you soup and treatments and masks. (We have to wear the said masks everytime we're in anyone's company. Trying to keep the virus from spreading to the rest of the family, you know...)
AND, they go to the grocery store to get you water and ibuprofen and come home with three grocery bags full of food. :) Thanks MOM!

Little Siblings. Who amuse you by jumping in piles of leaves in your front yard. We watched out the big picture window. Definitely the most exciting thing to happen all day.

Ibuprofen. Thanks to ibuprofen I can actually type, as it has reduced the ache in my joints. Earlier this morning just flicking a finger hurt. Very much.

Fruit Juice. 'nough said.

A pile of books to read. The ibuprofen has also made reading possible. I can hold a book now! YAY!!

Looking forward to more blessings tomorrow. Perhaps a reduction in fever? We can hope!
If you think of it, please pray for Stephanie and I. We're not allowed to work until we've been fever free for 24-48 hours...

Wedding Clothes

2009-10-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

We went to a wedding last weekend.

Susie and Joe and I were all matchy-matchy.

Which may or may not have been planned...

I DID buy all of our clothes....

We are so, like totally related.

Hello Mr. Wrong

2009-10-20T06:00:00.001-05:00

My weekly post is up at the The IDD Blog today. I'm posting it here, too.

Before we begin I want to point out something that you will probably realize as you read on. I am not a believer in the idea that Courtship can save you from a broken heart. Neither do I believe that "Dating With a Purpose" or for that matter ANY kind of relationship method can prevent broken hearts. Broken hearts happen. In fact, God ALLOWS hearts to break. And if He does than it's all for our own good. To "bring us to an expected end." I believe that God has the perfect person out there for each of us. I believe that God will bring two people together. I believe that if a couple places their relationship in God's hands He will direct the relationship so that it remains pure and God-honoring.

    There are many, many, many, many, many "Successful Courtship" Stories out there. Every couple has one. And they're all sweet and inspiring and encouraging. What we don't see as often are the "Failed Courtship" stories. I'm convinced it's not because they're not out there. There are obvious reasons for not sharing this kind of thing. It's a personal matter, and I'm certainly not saying that everyone should publish their "Failed Courtship" stories. But, it's good for us to understand that this kind of thing does and can happen. (Incidentally, I don't actually believe in "failed" relationships. If two people enter a relationship toward marriage with the idea that God will direct them and show them how/if they should get married, and it ends up not working, it wasn't meant to work. In that case, I would have to call it a "successful relationship." We certainly wouldn't want two people to get married just because they started a courtship/relationship if they discover it's not meant to be. In these cases God has a much better match for each of them.)


    The other thing that we never hear of but I believe MUST happen more than we think is the relationship that fails before it even gets off the ground. Before it progresses to the "Courtship/Dating/Dorting/RELATIONSHIP" stage. I'll be up front and honest here. It's happened to me. Twice. It's happened to some of my friends. It's important to know we're not immune to this sort of thing just because we've committed ourselves to a higher standard of purity.



    I'll be honest. It's hard. For those of us who believe in "Courtship", "Dating-With-A-Purpose", "Dorting" or whatever you choose to call it there's a seriousness of thought that comes with all potential relationships. When I was in my teens and early 20s I never thought of any scenario except a perfect one. I imagined a guy approaching me about starting a relationship.... Of course I said yes! I was already in love with him! Or, I imagined getting to know a guy as a friend and gradually falling in love, and when we both realize what is happening it's obvious we're destined to be together forever. Or, my dad comes to me "Rebecca, 'So-and-so' has asked to start a relationship with you. What do you think?" And I take it to prayer and recieve a resounding "YES!" from God, and a "YES!" from my parents and fall madly in love and live happily ever after. *sigh* It seemed impossible to me that all the right components could be there without adding up to the right answer. I never once imagined that a Godly, nice guy would approach me about starting a relationship and the train would come jerking to a halt. And yet, that's exactly what happened.

    I'll walk you through the emotional rollercoaster that is a potential relationship.
            A) Guy approaches you/your father/however you think it should go

            B) Hope ignites. At this point I think to myself "This could be it! I've been waiting my whole life for this to happen, and now it's happening! Could this really be it?" Not to mention the heart-warming "He LIKES me!" Wow. I mean, surely he wouldn't be attracted to me if it wasn't God's will. Right? Um, wrong. Guys can struggle with crushes and attractions just like us girls.

            C) You take it to prayer. At this point you become aware that you do NOT already have feelings for this guy. The place in your heart that supposed to be going "ZING!" is rather... empty.

            D) Then the questions you ask yourself. Is this guy really the one for me, but I'm immune to falling in love with him? Am I destined to be married to someone I don't love? Or, am I supposed to marry him because all the lights are green (except my heart) and eventually I'll "grow to love him"... maybe.
      I remember a time when my Dad asked me how it was going with a certain guy. This guy was interested in starting a relationship with me. I wasn't so sure... I looked at my dad while trying to sort my thoughts into a coherent sentence that would somehow communicate every question, concern, uncertainty, fear, hope, dread and depression that I felt all swirling around in my heart and Dad interpreted it all into one brief fragment of a sentence. "No spark, huh?" Wow. Relief. "Yeah, no spark." He just nodded and walked away. As if to say "Well, that's that. No spark." Yeah. No spark. What a relief to understand that there is SUPPOSED to be a spark. If there's not, Red Light.
            Of course, no spark isn't the only reason you should nip a relationship in the bud. There are MANY other things to consider. Do you agree with this guy on all important subjects? Doctrine, Child-raising, are you compatible? I could write another whole article on these subjects but these issues have mostly already been addressed by more qualified people than myself.

            E) The dread. The doubt. This could really be it. The last train for marriage-ville. I'm not getting any younger. This guy is attracted to me. He'd probably take good care of me. If I don't agree to go with him... there's a good chance no one else will ever ask me. I could be doomed to spinster-hood!!!!! In the infamous words of Mr. Collins of Pride and Prejudice fame "...You should take it into further consideration that, in spite of your manifold attractions, it is by no means certain that another offer of marriage may ever be made to you."

            F) The decision. The "breaking it off." Is it really breaking it off if it never even starts?

            G) Then the guilt. I probably really hurt this guy's feelings. Now I feel like an ice queen. Am I incapable of love?

            H) Back to the single life. Except now I feel even more single than ever.

            I) Then the self questioning. "God, why did You allow this to happen?" For me, this is one of the hardest parts. As Jessie Brown says in Cranford "It's not the despair that hurts, but the hope." Even if your hope never materializes into the feelings you hope it will... the disappointed hope can still leave a bruise that may take a long time to heal.

   A friend said to me the other day "God will allow our desires (even good ones) to be tested." This is so true! False start relationships can be discouraging, believe me I know! But, it's always better to look on the bright side. Be thankful for the experience! Be thankful that God is working in you! Be thankful that you made the right decision! Know that God doesn't walk us through darkness for no reason. He tests us because He loves us. Every test and trial we go through is one more test or trial behind us. Don't give up!

If there's three things I want you to understand they would be these:

Just because a guy wants to start a relationship with you doesn't mean he's the one. I consider marriage a very serious decision to be made. A possible relationship should be seriously considered. But, don't fall into the way of thinking that a possible relationship is automatically THE relationship. If there's a perfect man out there for you, there are no rules saying he has to be the first to ask.
Trust your gut instincts. God will not ask you to marry someone you don't love or feel right about. If he really is the one for you God will make it clear to BOTH of you.
Don't allow yourself to doubt. There's nothing wrong with you. Everything in our lives should contribute to our growth. And God will use any situation to draw you closer to Him. And there IS a perfect someone for you somewhere out there. Don't get discouraged.

I know many girls will never have to deal with this sort of thing. But, I also know that some of us will. Please don't give up hope or feel alone.

I believe in happy endings. If it's not happy... it's not the end.

Book Haul

2009-10-19T06:00:00.005-05:00

Shopping at Borders after church on Sunday. :) First a yummy lunch at Panera during which Debi and Katie and I yacked about books.

I picked up:

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner

Ok, I'd like to know who read this book as a child. If you have, leave me a comment. I'd forgotten how much I loved it. I probably haven't read it in 18 years, but as I looked at the cover it all came flooding back to me. The characters, plot line, funny stories... the whole thing. Man, I loved that book. I'm hoping my little brother Luke will love it too.

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

Ordinarily I like to buy my Agatha Christie books in lots from E-bay. I can get 10+ books usually for about a dollar a book. I don't worry about getting duplicates of books I already own because usually these books are old and sometimes in very bad condition. So, I keep the one that's in the best condition. If I have two that are in good condition I'll give one away. Or, keep saving them until I have enough to sell my own lot on E-bay.
But, back on the subject. I picked this one up because I really want to read it. *shrug*

A guy was playing guitar in the coffee shop while we book browsed. He sounded amazing, so once I'd found what I was looking for I peeked around the corner to watch him work his magic. And it was. Just. Like. Magic. Fingers flying.... For some reason watching such genius at work made my heart happy. I decided to walk away before someone noticed the goofy grin on my face and classified me as a lunatic. I was having August Rush type feelings. August Rush, by the way.... I.... LOVE.

After Katie was done shopping I dragged her over to "see this guy playing guitar, it's amazing" but she got distracted by another genius musician who happened to be walking through the bookstore and stopped to chat with her. Oh, the life of a talented musician who knows other talented musicians...

Random Update

2009-10-16T09:05:00.000-05:00

I just got an e-mail from Amazon.com telling me two very cool things. 1) That the books I pre-ordered a month ago were shipped yesterday which means I should be getting them early next week. Three books I've been anxious to read for... well, ever since I knew they were going to be published. And 2) That one of the books went down in price after I ordered it and Amazon charged me the decreased price. Isn't that sweet?
Yesterday I read The Tale of Despereaux. This in itself was a huge step towards conquering my murophobia. Reader do you know what murophobia is? I will tell you. FEAR OF MICE. Yep. The phrase "Despereaux scurried across the floor" sends shivers down my spine. I have not completely conquered the phobia. But, reading the book was certainly an overcoming experience. In other semi-related news, I loved the book!
Quest. Say it, Reader. Say the word 'quest' out loud. It is an extraordinary word, isn't it? So small, yet so full of wonder, so full of hope."
Started Savvy last night by Ingrid Law.
I'm going to a wedding today. The wedding isn't until 4:30 and I have the whole day off work! I have all day to make myself beautiful! HA! So, I'll probably still read until the last minute and then throw some makeup on before I rush out the door.
Our Bible Study group started reading Do Hard Things. I'm looking forward to being inspired by the message even though it's geared towards teens and I'm, um, not a teen. Actually no one in my group is a teen. Ok, one teen. The rest of us are in our mid-20s to 30s. But, we can still be inspired by a book about rebelling against low expectations, right?
I have a green face. It's a Mint-Juniper Facial Mask. And I love it. But, my sisters like to mock scream when they see me wearing it. I just feel like bursting into song "I think i'll try defying gravity!"
Evidently I have nothing more interesting to say. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Stories

2009-10-15T13:36:00.000-05:00

Stories are light.

Light is precious in a world

so dark.

-The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo

Happy Endings

2009-10-02T12:50:00.000-05:00

I believe in

Happy Endings...

If it's not happy...

It's not the end!

September Book List

2009-10-01T06:30:00.001-05:00

84. Among the Barons by Margaret Peterson Haddix- (****) Fourth installment in the Shadow Children series. Pretty good. Kind of a lot happened in just one short book, but I kept up with it fairly well, which is a sign of a good author. Lots of double crossings and not knowing who's on what side. Looking forward to book 5.

85. Among the Brave by Margaret Peterson Haddix- (*****) Fifth Shadow Children book. You've probably realized by now (as have I) that I like this series. Among the Brave is one of my favorites I think.

86. The Children on the Top Floor by Noel Streatfeild- (***) Very cute and loveable in typical Noel Streatfeild style.

87. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- (****) Reviewed HERE

88. Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix- (***) I like these books in case you couldn't tell already. I'm not going to say EVERYONE should read them, because obviously they're not going to be some people's cup of tea. But, you might want to at least give the first one a try and see if you like it. 'Cause I really did.

89. Among the Free by Margaret Peterson Haddix- (***) Nice ending to the series. :)

90. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien- (***) Um... I had a hard time getting through this book. This time was actually my 2nd attempt. I don't know what it is... I was interested in the plot, and it's very well written. I'm hoping the next 2 books pick up the pace a little though...

91. The Giver by Lois Lowry- (****) Interesting... Thought provoking and somewhat disturbing. I'm interested to read the others in the series.

92. Roses for Mama by Janette Oke- (***) Sweet. :)

93. Passenger to Frankfurt by Agatha Christie -(**) *YAWN* Is this plot going anywhere? I hung out to the end of the book because I kept expecting it to get better, or maybe for the whole thing to make sense. I guess it did all make sense in the end, but the entire plot lacked in anything thrilling. I hate to rate my favorite author so low, but this book is proof that even the best don't always have such brilliant ideas.

94. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry- (***) First of all the title is just amazing. Don't you think? The art work on the cover was blah, though. As for the story, it took me a while to get into it. But, I did enjoy it in the end. Highly Predictable plot.

95. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine - (****) Very cute and sweet Cinderella re-telling. If you object to fantasy be warned this... is a fairy-tale.

96. The Family at Caldecott Place by Noel Streatfeild - (****) Typical Streatfeild= sweet, adorable, resourceful.