Sorry for the interuption :) Here's Lucas!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
January, February, March: Books, Books, Books!
One thing I wanted to do this year is to read lots of books. Some to learn more about photography, some to learn more about the world and cultures and history, but mostly just to relax and get caught up in a good story :)
January, I sent Adam a list of books from the Bronte sisters for him to retreive from the UCR library. The Bronte sisters were all teachers in private homes and/or small bording schools (three of the five heroines are governesses), they were poor and had to work for a living (so their characters are sympathetic to the working class) and wrote with ambiguous pennames (could be male or female)(they are sympathetic to the socialital treatment of women without being in your face about it). All the books below were written when the sisters were in their twenties (Anne and Emily died before the age of thirty. Charollote died just shy of forty.) The novels are all coming of age stories spanning many years, as the characters deal with the hand they've been dealt and suffer or delight in the consequences...did I mention that they're all romances :)
Here's my take on each book:
Weithering Heights by Emily Bronte(actually, I got this one from Michelle and read it on the plane ride home) (It was interesting, but a little dark for my taste. Emily was a malcontent according to Charlotte, whose personality is mirrored in the writting style of this novel. It features Heathcliff and Catherine, who supposedly have one of the greatest loves of all time-on par with Romeo and Juliet...except that they go down in a pile of flames and make each other and everyone connected to them miserable. They happen to be mentioned in book 3 of Twilight, so I read this one first.)
Angus Grey by Anne Bronte (I loved this one. Anne is the youngest of the sisters, but as simple as the story line is, it is touching and heartwarming. Anne apparently had a great relationship with Jesus and it shows in her writing: it's full of beautiful Christian truths and served as a reminder that Christ is always there to carry your burdens if you ask)
Jane Ayre by Charlotte Bronte (This is a great story! There's a ton of character development before the leading man is introduced, but it's so captivatingly heartbreaking that I didn't mind. This is a story of an amazingly steadfast girl/woman who does what is morally right even though it costs her love, safety and every earthly comfort and who loves so selflessly and so righteously that you can only hope that she gets her happy ending.)
According to Charlotte's intro to a later addition of Angus Grey, the sisters discovered one afternoon that they were all home from their various vocational places that they all wrote poetry! They challenged each other to write a novel (which turned out to be the three listed above) for their own entertainment...they ended up sending them to many publishing houses and after a couple years and countless rejection notices, Angus Grey and Wethering Heights were accepted. Charlotte was happy for her sisters, but devistated. Six months later, Jane Ayre was accepted and was actually published before her sisters' works. The public loved Jane Ayre and Agnus Grey, but went so far as to say that Wethering Heights was such a horrific book that even the author was embarassed to put his real name on it! It was only after her sisters' deaths that Charlotte came forward to clear up rumours that there was only one author (they had the same last name) and that they were in fact female. Emily died first (actually the second of the six siblings to pass away). Anne wrote The Tenant at Wildfell Hall before her death and Charlotte went on to write 3 or 4 other novels.
The Tenant at Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (This is my favorite out of the bunch. It's a simple story told in a complex way (unlike Jane Ayre which is a complexly detailed story told in a simple straight forward way), the story of the summer twenty years ago that he fell in love for the first time retold by the main love interest to his brother in law in the forms of letters. At one point, he just passes over an entire diary to fill in the part of the life of the Tenant (his love interest) before she moved to Wildfell Hall. It's an amazingly crafted, easy to read story that so realistically tells of a woman who made a bad choice when she was young and is suffering the consequences. It's one that I want all my daughters to read before they start dating!)
February, we went to the public library and I got a ton of photography books. I didn't get to read all that I took out, but these ones I did...
This one was great for me. I didn't like the author's photographic style, but she had a lot of good tips for getting the best out of yourself and the kids.
I really learned alot for this one, especially how to find good light. I'd recommend this book in a heartbeat!
March...I've been bumming books from my friends, who have great taste (I must say!).
The Host by Stephenie Meyer (yup, the Twilight phenom). (I read this one twice, back to back. Its "sci-fi for people who don't like sci-fi." A more complicated concept than Twilight, it's the story of a strong-willed young woman who gets (ok, stay with me here, this is the complicated part) an alien inserted into her...the alien should take over, body and mind, but the human refuses to leave. While trying to find her human family, the human and alien develop a selflessly based love relationship that will force one of them to make the ulitimate sacrifice.)
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picout (I just finished this today. As a mother of a toddler and sister to by best friend, this one had me in tears. It's the story of two sisters and their family as they struggle with the empending certainty of one sister/daughter's death due to lukemia. The 13 year old, younger sister, conceived to be donor for her sister, must decide how far she'll go to give her sister/her best friend what she wants.)
I'm about halfway thru The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis. I was waiting for some friends to who want to discuss it, but I think I'll just continue on my own. Next up, I've got The Red Tent, Memoirs of a Gaisha, Atonement, Every Fixed Star, and The Great Divorce. So many books, so little time...to do dishes and laundry, that is :)
One thing I wanted to do this year is to read lots of books. Some to learn more about photography, some to learn more about the world and cultures and history, but mostly just to relax and get caught up in a good story :)
January, I sent Adam a list of books from the Bronte sisters for him to retreive from the UCR library. The Bronte sisters were all teachers in private homes and/or small bording schools (three of the five heroines are governesses), they were poor and had to work for a living (so their characters are sympathetic to the working class) and wrote with ambiguous pennames (could be male or female)(they are sympathetic to the socialital treatment of women without being in your face about it). All the books below were written when the sisters were in their twenties (Anne and Emily died before the age of thirty. Charollote died just shy of forty.) The novels are all coming of age stories spanning many years, as the characters deal with the hand they've been dealt and suffer or delight in the consequences...did I mention that they're all romances :)
Here's my take on each book:
Weithering Heights by Emily Bronte(actually, I got this one from Michelle and read it on the plane ride home) (It was interesting, but a little dark for my taste. Emily was a malcontent according to Charlotte, whose personality is mirrored in the writting style of this novel. It features Heathcliff and Catherine, who supposedly have one of the greatest loves of all time-on par with Romeo and Juliet...except that they go down in a pile of flames and make each other and everyone connected to them miserable. They happen to be mentioned in book 3 of Twilight, so I read this one first.)
Angus Grey by Anne Bronte (I loved this one. Anne is the youngest of the sisters, but as simple as the story line is, it is touching and heartwarming. Anne apparently had a great relationship with Jesus and it shows in her writing: it's full of beautiful Christian truths and served as a reminder that Christ is always there to carry your burdens if you ask)
Jane Ayre by Charlotte Bronte (This is a great story! There's a ton of character development before the leading man is introduced, but it's so captivatingly heartbreaking that I didn't mind. This is a story of an amazingly steadfast girl/woman who does what is morally right even though it costs her love, safety and every earthly comfort and who loves so selflessly and so righteously that you can only hope that she gets her happy ending.)
According to Charlotte's intro to a later addition of Angus Grey, the sisters discovered one afternoon that they were all home from their various vocational places that they all wrote poetry! They challenged each other to write a novel (which turned out to be the three listed above) for their own entertainment...they ended up sending them to many publishing houses and after a couple years and countless rejection notices, Angus Grey and Wethering Heights were accepted. Charlotte was happy for her sisters, but devistated. Six months later, Jane Ayre was accepted and was actually published before her sisters' works. The public loved Jane Ayre and Agnus Grey, but went so far as to say that Wethering Heights was such a horrific book that even the author was embarassed to put his real name on it! It was only after her sisters' deaths that Charlotte came forward to clear up rumours that there was only one author (they had the same last name) and that they were in fact female. Emily died first (actually the second of the six siblings to pass away). Anne wrote The Tenant at Wildfell Hall before her death and Charlotte went on to write 3 or 4 other novels.
The Tenant at Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte (This is my favorite out of the bunch. It's a simple story told in a complex way (unlike Jane Ayre which is a complexly detailed story told in a simple straight forward way), the story of the summer twenty years ago that he fell in love for the first time retold by the main love interest to his brother in law in the forms of letters. At one point, he just passes over an entire diary to fill in the part of the life of the Tenant (his love interest) before she moved to Wildfell Hall. It's an amazingly crafted, easy to read story that so realistically tells of a woman who made a bad choice when she was young and is suffering the consequences. It's one that I want all my daughters to read before they start dating!)
February, we went to the public library and I got a ton of photography books. I didn't get to read all that I took out, but these ones I did...
This one was great for me. I didn't like the author's photographic style, but she had a lot of good tips for getting the best out of yourself and the kids.
I really learned alot for this one, especially how to find good light. I'd recommend this book in a heartbeat!
March...I've been bumming books from my friends, who have great taste (I must say!).
The Host by Stephenie Meyer (yup, the Twilight phenom). (I read this one twice, back to back. Its "sci-fi for people who don't like sci-fi." A more complicated concept than Twilight, it's the story of a strong-willed young woman who gets (ok, stay with me here, this is the complicated part) an alien inserted into her...the alien should take over, body and mind, but the human refuses to leave. While trying to find her human family, the human and alien develop a selflessly based love relationship that will force one of them to make the ulitimate sacrifice.)
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picout (I just finished this today. As a mother of a toddler and sister to by best friend, this one had me in tears. It's the story of two sisters and their family as they struggle with the empending certainty of one sister/daughter's death due to lukemia. The 13 year old, younger sister, conceived to be donor for her sister, must decide how far she'll go to give her sister/her best friend what she wants.)
I'm about halfway thru The Screwtape Letters by C S Lewis. I was waiting for some friends to who want to discuss it, but I think I'll just continue on my own. Next up, I've got The Red Tent, Memoirs of a Gaisha, Atonement, Every Fixed Star, and The Great Divorce. So many books, so little time...to do dishes and laundry, that is :)
Monday, March 09, 2009
March 9th, Daylight Savings = No Nap :(
But, we did have a great time playing imagination games! First, Sam told me that Claire needed a snack. He sat her at the table ang got her a bowl and spoon. Then he asked for some 'real food' for Claire (Sam was having chocolate cake, which he wasn't sharing!). He settled on a cookie on a spoon (chocolate macaroon that I put on a baby spoon then store in the freezer). Sam helped Claire eat hers, then he shared it and ate it himself. When he saw that there was another cookie on a spoon in the jar, he brought Grace to the table, got her a bowl and spoon then asked for 'real food.' Grace's cookie lasted alot longer than Claire's did, as you can see in the movie. Once we finished filming (my idea) and taking pictures (his idea), he went and found Grace a shirt, but by then, I was already uploading pictures and videos, so you'll have to take my word for it :)
But, we did have a great time playing imagination games! First, Sam told me that Claire needed a snack. He sat her at the table ang got her a bowl and spoon. Then he asked for some 'real food' for Claire (Sam was having chocolate cake, which he wasn't sharing!). He settled on a cookie on a spoon (chocolate macaroon that I put on a baby spoon then store in the freezer). Sam helped Claire eat hers, then he shared it and ate it himself. When he saw that there was another cookie on a spoon in the jar, he brought Grace to the table, got her a bowl and spoon then asked for 'real food.' Grace's cookie lasted alot longer than Claire's did, as you can see in the movie. Once we finished filming (my idea) and taking pictures (his idea), he went and found Grace a shirt, but by then, I was already uploading pictures and videos, so you'll have to take my word for it :)
Sunday, March 08, 2009
March 8th, All Aboard!
We *finally* checked out the trains at Hunter Park. The 2nd and 4th Sundays the hobbiest runs free rides for the kids and the park is only a 30 minute walk from our place!
We wanted to go two weeks ago, but Sam was so aweful in church that we told him he couldn't go. We gave him more than 30 chances to be quiet, to not run down the aisles, to not scream on the bus, to not lay down in the parking lot...well, you get the idea. In the end, we just asked that he not screech at us while we got ready (10 mins tops) and he couldn't even do that! So, I showed him the picture online of the kids on the train having fun then told him we couldn't go because we couldn't trust him to behave...
BUT, today, Sam was wonderful (for a 2.5 year old, I'm not crazy with my expectations :) )! So off to the trains we went :) They were down a train or two, so the wait was a bit much (about an hour!), but Sam was patient, splitting his time between standing in line with me and running around on the grass with Daddy. The ride was pretty long, about 30 minutes.
We were nervous about how Sam would do, sitting by himself, not leaning over the side, not climbing down, etc., but as you can see from the pictures, he did very well and had lots of fun!
And this afternoon, I went to see Twilight (AGAIN!) with Katie and her friend Wendy. It was good. I just finished The Host (another Stephenie Meyer novel)(which reminds me that I want to post all the books I've read this year for prosperty sake), so my head wasn't in Forks but in the Arizona dessert, but I enjoyed it all the same :) We're planning a MNI to watch Twilight when it's released to DVD...I can't wait!
We *finally* checked out the trains at Hunter Park. The 2nd and 4th Sundays the hobbiest runs free rides for the kids and the park is only a 30 minute walk from our place!
We wanted to go two weeks ago, but Sam was so aweful in church that we told him he couldn't go. We gave him more than 30 chances to be quiet, to not run down the aisles, to not scream on the bus, to not lay down in the parking lot...well, you get the idea. In the end, we just asked that he not screech at us while we got ready (10 mins tops) and he couldn't even do that! So, I showed him the picture online of the kids on the train having fun then told him we couldn't go because we couldn't trust him to behave...
BUT, today, Sam was wonderful (for a 2.5 year old, I'm not crazy with my expectations :) )! So off to the trains we went :) They were down a train or two, so the wait was a bit much (about an hour!), but Sam was patient, splitting his time between standing in line with me and running around on the grass with Daddy. The ride was pretty long, about 30 minutes.
We were nervous about how Sam would do, sitting by himself, not leaning over the side, not climbing down, etc., but as you can see from the pictures, he did very well and had lots of fun!
And this afternoon, I went to see Twilight (AGAIN!) with Katie and her friend Wendy. It was good. I just finished The Host (another Stephenie Meyer novel)(which reminds me that I want to post all the books I've read this year for prosperty sake), so my head wasn't in Forks but in the Arizona dessert, but I enjoyed it all the same :) We're planning a MNI to watch Twilight when it's released to DVD...I can't wait!
Saturday, March 07, 2009
March 5th, Snow Day!!!
Can you beleive we're only 30 mins from a winter wonderland??? We drove up with our friends Connie, Lucas and baby Phoenix and met some friends from Mom's Club at Kristen's Mom's House. I spent more time packing (there was ALOT of improvizing with plastic bags and multiple outfits consisting of many layers and every pair of shoes we have were brought, just in case!) and unpacking (okay, there's still a pile of stuff sitting in my living room) than we spent in the snow, but that's okay :) I was just glad that Sam's splash pants kept him dry and his polar fleece pants and his two pair of pj pants kept him warm (I left his snow suit back home...).
The snow was hard packed and kind of pelletie, which made for excellent sledding. Sam had more fun digging and climbing. He did sit on the sled, but refused to move...the strangest things scare Sam! He was fine with the GT sled at Nana's house, but it did have a stirring wheel to hold firmly onto...maybe he remembers the crazy speed that we reached when he and I shared a sled...I don't know. Anyway, he climbed in and right out again and yelled at me when I suggested he go down the hill! He made a snow angel with Sophia, although they didn't leave any marks in the firm snow :)
(Thanks Connie, for this photo!)
(Thanks Amber for this photo!)
The drive back down the mountain back to the valley...
(We only have ground squirrels, so it was nice to see a fat grey squirrel perched in a tree!)
Can you beleive we're only 30 mins from a winter wonderland??? We drove up with our friends Connie, Lucas and baby Phoenix and met some friends from Mom's Club at Kristen's Mom's House. I spent more time packing (there was ALOT of improvizing with plastic bags and multiple outfits consisting of many layers and every pair of shoes we have were brought, just in case!) and unpacking (okay, there's still a pile of stuff sitting in my living room) than we spent in the snow, but that's okay :) I was just glad that Sam's splash pants kept him dry and his polar fleece pants and his two pair of pj pants kept him warm (I left his snow suit back home...).
The snow was hard packed and kind of pelletie, which made for excellent sledding. Sam had more fun digging and climbing. He did sit on the sled, but refused to move...the strangest things scare Sam! He was fine with the GT sled at Nana's house, but it did have a stirring wheel to hold firmly onto...maybe he remembers the crazy speed that we reached when he and I shared a sled...I don't know. Anyway, he climbed in and right out again and yelled at me when I suggested he go down the hill! He made a snow angel with Sophia, although they didn't leave any marks in the firm snow :)
(Thanks Connie, for this photo!)
(Thanks Amber for this photo!)
The drive back down the mountain back to the valley...
(We only have ground squirrels, so it was nice to see a fat grey squirrel perched in a tree!)
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