TBR Challenge: Miss Match

I know it is surprising to see another TBR Challenge post so soon, but I had to do something I rarely ever do and that is abandon a book. Gasp!

The book in question is Miss Match by Erynn Mangum and was given to me as a gift. (To be fair, it was given to me by someone who doesn't know me at all.) I was quite surprised to discover that this book is so-called "Christian fiction." That was a new genre for me. I mean I am sure if I'd ever given it thought I would have realized that it had to exist, but I never have given it any thought.

In an attempt to be open-minded I read the first 50 something pages the other night, but I felt really uncomfortable about what I'd read. I wasn't sure why because I've read plenty of books about people of other religions. When I woke up the next morning I realized that what was making uncomfortable was that the "born again" aspects of the book (and there were quite a few for only 50 pages in) were a lot like preaching and not just part of the plot. I struggled with the decision, but ultimately decided the book must be abandoned because life is too short and there are too many other books out there.

Am I a Big Girl Now?

I am finding it hard to believe, but Zoe's 8th birthday is coming up in just a few weeks. (Yes, that means I will be posting her baby picture again soon.) In some ways these have been the fastest 8 years of my life. I have no idea where so much time went because it feels like only yesterday that we brought little baby Zoe home from the hospital. At the same time, I can't remember or imagine my life without her in it. But I will save the rest of the "remember when" stuff for her actual birthday because that's not what I wanted to write about today.

Zoe is obsessed with being a big girl. When she got up on her own and got herself dressed without being told she asked me, "am I acting like a big girl?" She has opinions on what big girls wear, read, play with, etc. I've been encouraging her efforts, of course.

This morning, however, I had to correct one of her ideas about being a big girl. Just before leaving for the bus stop Zoe asked me, "When I turn 8, can I say f**k?"

I forced myself not to laugh and said, "No, that's a grown-up word. Not even big girls should say that word."

"But Asher says f**k," she replied. Asher is her 12 year-old cousin.

"He shouldn't," I replied.

"He shouldn't say it to grown-ups," Zoe answered. I couldn't argue with that one.

I re-iterated that it is not a word she should use, but that some people do it in frustration. I suggested she use "phooey" instead.

"Phooey is a baby word." She got me again.

So finally I told her, "life just doesn't make sense sometimes, does it?"

TBR Challenge: Sense and Sensibilty

Back in December I agreed to participate in Emily's TBR Challenge. Several weeks ago I finished my first book for the challenge and that book was Sense and Sensibility. According to rule #6 I am supposed to write a blog post about each book I read for the challenge. Since I have a feeling I am going to have a hard time with a lot of the other rules that are part of this challenge (like not buying new books!) I am going to try to adhere to the blog post rule. So, even though I am not the most talented book reviewer, here goes.

This was my third reading of Sense and Sensibility, but my last reading was sometime in the 90s so it had been awhile. I had a pretty good memory of the overall plot, but had certainly forgot much of the details. It was excellent to have my memory refreshed to this wonderful book.

Despite the fact that I knew a happy ending was forthcoming, I was held in suspense much of the time while both Elinor and Marianne careened toward heartbreak and sunk into it. I found it interesting that both their views on love and the way to happiness turned out to be wrong and their heartbreak and disappointments give them both a better understanding of love and the way of the world.

This book also has some of my favorite secondary characters. Especially the girls' brother John and his wretched wife. They are quite funny caricatures, horrible in their behavior, but still amusing to observe. They and the others (Mrs. Ferrars, Lucy Steele, etc.) add to the color of the book and keep you from arriving at the happy ending too soon.

That all being said, I still think Colonel Brandon was too old for Marianne.

Play day #2

One day off wasn't enough for me last week so I decided to take Friday off for some more playing.

My good friend Tracie invited Zoe and me to come skiing with her and her daughter and since that is something I have been dying to do, and actually resolved to do this year, it was an offer I couldn't refuse.

Before Friday I hadn't actually been skiing since the winter before I got pregnant with Zoe so that was 8 years ago! I was a little nervous about remembering how to actually ski, but a little voice in my head was reminding me of an article that my father clipped and mailed to me once about "muscle memory." Besides a day of bad skiing has to be better than even a good day of work, right?

So, off we went Friday morning up into the Berkshires. I do love it up there -- as a place to visit. I could never really live there. Zoe and Tracie's daughter were singing along to their iPods and we were chatting away and before I knew it we arrived at Butternut. Zoe and I struggled our way through the ski rental process and got all our gear on and then we had a quick lunch in the lodge before Zoe's lesson started.

I dropped Zoe off for her lesson and she was pretty nervous. So nervous that she really didn't speak. Anyone who knows Zoe, knows how unusual that is for her! I was only a bit worried about her though. She's pretty coordinated and very strong. There was no reason why she couldn't get pretty far along in learning how to ski in a 3 hour lesson.

Tracie, her daughter and I then headed for the bunny hill chair lift line. There were a few butterflies in my stomach as we rode up. I struggled a little to get off the lift, but easily maneuvered to the top of the mountain from there. And just like that we started skiing and I was doing it. It was a thrill. One more run down the bunny hill and we moved on to better parts of the mountain. I think I had a smile on my face for the entire time. Until my legs started to ache anyway. Luckily that coincided with the end of Zoe's lesson. I couldn't wait to see how she did. I was hoping for a smiling face, but prepared for a serious pout.

We made our way over to the lesson area and there was Zoe going up the chair lift with her instructor. When she saw me below she shouted to me, "Mom! Mom! I can ski!!" The grin on her face was about a mile wide. It was awesome. I was so proud and happy. We can't wait to hit the slopes again!

I think this picture pretty well sums up what a great day it was:



Thanks again Tracie!

Play day

Due to some miraculous alignment of the planets, the stars, and the births of two of my nations most famous presidents I didn't have to work on Monday. I've been so busy with work that even though I knew the day off was coming I never stopped to think what I might do with my day. Luckily, inspiration in the form of my 12 year-old cousin, Asher, struck.

Asher and Zoe get along really well so it is lots of fun to get them together. He came to sleepover my house on Sunday night and I decided to make the most of having 2 kids on Monday.

We started off the day with some morning Mario Kart races on Wii. (That is one of the most addictive games ever invented!) That was quickly followed by pancakes and bacon at the diner. We needed fuel for the day ahead. Next stop was Wonderland if Ice skating rink where we were joined by my sister-in-law, my niece, and my nephew. We got in a good 2 hours of pretty good skating. All of us were inspired by the Olympics, of course.

Next up was lunch. Asher was dying for Subway so we stopped there on the way home and loaded up on sandwiches, Doritos and Gatorade. (None for me, thanks -- had to draw the line there.) After downing lunch and some brownies it was time for more Mario Kart races until Asher's parents picked him up. We were so sad to see him go Zoe and I had to take naps so we could feel better.

Later that afternoon Zoe and I went to Border's and stole some books by reading them while we were there. I had a coffee and she had a hot chocolate. We took up space in their comfy chairs until dinner time.

Although the day was filled with activities that wouldn't necessarily all go into my truly ideal day -- I mean we didn't even look in a shoe store -- all-in-all it was a fantastic day of play. I highly recommend it and hope to have one like it again soon.

Life is like a box of chocolates

On Sunday my Dad came over to watch the Super Bowl with us. He was leaving for a vacation to the Bahamas the next day so he brought Zoe a Valentine's gift. (Yes, I hate him for being in the Bahamas right now.) Zoe's gift was a traditional heart-shaped box of chocolate with a little stuffed Teddy Bear attached to the top. She liked it very much.

Before half-time Zoe gave up on watching the game with us and went upstairs to watch TV in my bedroom. She asked me if she could eat her Valentine's chocolate for her dessert. Since I am on a diet and want all candy like that disposed of one way or the other as quickly as possible, I said yes. She's a pretty good self-regulator so I wasn't worried she'd eat the entire box.

About an hour later I went up to check on her and tell her it was almost time for bed. Then I asked her how she liked her chocolate.

"It was awful!" she said. I was quite surprised so I asked her why. "I don't like chocolate with stuff in it. I took a bite out of each one, but they all had stuff in it."

I opened the discarded box and sure enough there was each chocolate with one bite gone. It was a pathetic site.

"Why can't they just make all chocolate? That stuff ruins it," she complained. I told her I didn't know.

I left the room and immediately burst out laughing. Then I showed the box to Rob who promptly made the problem chocolate go away by eating all the bitten candies.

Fashion Critic

I suppose I deserve this for all the fashion criticisms I've handed out to friends, family and strangers over the years, but last night I got my first taste of my daughter as my fashion critic.

Rob and I were having a date night and we were meeting another couple at a rather posh sounding place in downtown New Canaan, CT. I was looking forward to a night out and took the opportunity to wear my favorite heeled black boots and a black sweater that has silver sparkly threads running through it. I got myself dressed and ready and just as we were leaving and I was kissing her good-bye, Zoe looked away from the TV and at me and said, "Mom! Don't you think that's a bit much?"

Oy. I told her I didn't think that was very nice, but I kissed her good-bye anyway. She then finished me off with, "I still love you."

Double oy.

And for the record, I don't think my outfit was a bit much at all. A lot she knows!

Zo-wii

My father bought us a Wii for Hanukkah this year. Needless to say this gift has been a big hit with Zoe. She's becoming quite the boxer and bowler -- at least in the land of Wii. I have to say I think the Wii is pretty fun myself. I don't get much chance to play, but I do enjoy it. So the other day when Dad was over the house I suggested he try it out and maybe go a few rounds in the ring with Zoe. I don't think he had any idea what it would be like, but he sure got into it quickly.

This picture of the two of them boxing really cracks me up:


But what cracked me up even more was when my Dad asked me for the instructions. I told him you don't need them, you just figure it out. Apparently that was not a satisfactory answer because the very next time I saw him he handed me a half inch stack of paper on which he had printed out the complete instructions for all the Wii Sports games. Classic my father, I loved it. It reminded me of the clipped articles he used to mail me when I was in college. I gave the instructions to Zoe who promptly asked me what we needed them for.

Habits

Dinner conversation tonight:

Zoe: Mom, what's a habit?

Me: A habit? It's a behavior you do without thinking about it.

Zoe: Like what? What's your habit?

Me: Ummm... I eat too much candy.

Zoe: What about Daddy?

Me: Daddy has a habit of falling asleep on the couch.

Zoe: Isn't a good habit like a hobby?

Me: Ummm no.


It's always entertaining at our table.

Say it backwards

Lately Zoe has been obsessed with backwards words. Things like stressed backwards is desserts and dog is god, etc.

Even more fun are the words that are jibberish backwards which we've decided means the opposite of their meaning. For example at bedtime we've started saying "doog gninrom". That's good morning, of course.

Now I think I'll have introduce Zoe to palindromes. I think she'll get a real kick out of "racecar" and "a man, a plan, a canal, panama."

Location:Hurd St,Fairfield,United States

Evolutions of Birthday Greetings

As some of you may know, I recently celebrated my 39th birthday. Doesn't that sound like such a grown-up age? Fortunately I don't feel any more grown up than I did last week.

In my house when cards come for birthdays or other occasions we usually display them in the kitchen on our island. Yesterday I realized that I only got 4 cards. One from my mother, one from my father, one from Rob, and one from Heather. All great cards that I was happy to receive. But 4 seemed like a small number. Thinking that made me feel like maybe I was being greedy and I didn't feel like anyone "forgot" my birthday or anything like that. Then I remembered all the birthday greetings that poured in over Facebook, Twitter, and email. I was honestly overwhelmed by that. I heard from people who never would have sent me a card, but since it is so easy on FB, Twitter or email, I got tons of greetings. No one had to buy a card or find a stamp or my address or anything. And yet that really was a treat. Chalk that up to reason # 5,999 why I love the internet.

Of course this all got me thinking that the greeting card business probably isn't booming these days. Being that I work in book publishing, I gotta say, I can relate! Not sure what will happen with greeting cards in the coming years. It is still special to get a card or a physical invitation (non evite), maybe even more special now. But will places like the Hallmark Store evolve or die out? At the same time will that make more or less room for the independent card maker? And then I wondered...will Zoe send out actual paper invitations to her wedding? (Should she choose to have a wedding, and all that, of course.) Funny to watch the small things change, isn't it?

Zoe's room

My mother bought Zoe a desk for Christmas. She's been wanting a desk (and a computer, but that has to wait) so it was a great gift for her. The weekend after Christmas, Rob, who has a PhD in Ikea-ology, put the desk together and then we spent about 3 hours moving furniture around until we found just the right arrangement. That's a pretty good work out, actually.

All of a sudden it was a completely new bedroom which of course meant that Zoe needed new bedding. Rainbows just weren't going to cut it in this new "grown up" girl room. So, we went to Target (where else?) to check out their collection of bedding. At first Zoe was attracted to the iCarly bedding, then the zebra stripes caught her eye, but after some serious contemplation she ultimately decided on the "Rock Star" bed-in-a-bag set.


They are not pictured here, but the set also came with fuzzy throw pillows. Pretty cool.

Am I sad that we've gone from rainbows to rock star? A little.

But I do appreciate her desire to update her room and make it a place she likes. And since the re-do she has been spending a lot more time in her room which does please me. I remember how important my room was to me as a kid. It was my refuge really.

The only problem now is that she wants to paint her walls too -- lime green and sky blue. Luckily I still get the final edit.

First lines meme

I saw this over at Musings from the Sofa and thought it looked like fun...

The rules are easy: post the first line of the first post of each month [from last year].

January: Here is the list of all 50 books I read in 2008.

February: Tomorrow around noon I will be boarding a plane for California.

March: We're just home from Puerto Rico one day late as Mother Nature thoughtfully provided us with a snow storm on Monday and forcing us to prolong our stay.

April: I haven't gotten out my soap box in awhile so I thought it was time I dusted it off.

May: Any discussion of head lice will cause my own head to itch -- one hour for every minute of conversation.

June: Have you seen the blog Photoshop Disasters?

July: I just read this post from traciedesigns and I had to share it too because I think it is a great idea.

August: If you're a fan of teh show Mad Men then you've got to give this a try. On the AMC site you can "Mad Men" yourself!

September: It is definitely that time.

October: I love Mad Men, but I have loved Sesame Street even longer...

November: Because Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, I decided to make a little party out of it.

December: How on Earth did it get to be December 10th already?


I'm not sure what this says about my blog or me except that I like Mad Men, but it is an interesting snapshot of the year that was.

2010 Resolutions

OK, it's a new year, time for some new resolutions.

1. Make a budget. Stick to budget. This is the big one for the year. The big one and the hard one. It is sad, but true that we have no household budget and it is past due that we get one together. We certainly need to save more and make better spending decisions. Oh and there's that little thing called college tuition looming out there... My goal is to have the initial budget created by end of first quarter and start sticking to it by end of third. I know it shouldn't take this long, but I feel like I need to time to get it right.
2. Blog more. The last few months have been really busy ones for me and I've really let my blogging slip. I have not been good about keeping up with writing or reading the blogs I follow and I miss it -- both the writing and the keeping up with my blogging friends. I have a goal of a minimum of writing 2 posts and 2 blog reading sessions per week. That's not huge, but at least it gets me back into the habit of blogging regularly.
3. See more movies. I love movies and I hardly saw any this year. (Kids' movies don't count.) I am going to start keeping a list of movies seen on my blog similar to the list of books read. This will be both movies rented and movies seen in the theater. I prefer to go to the theater, but its just not always easy. I've already put together a short list of movies I want to rent and I made a very good jump start over Christmas week when I saw 3 movies in the theater and rented one.
   
4. Do some different stuff. Is that vague enough for you? OK, here's what I mean...For my birthday my mother is giving me a trip to a museum in Pennsylvania (not sure which one) and it got me thinking about how I never go to art museums anymore. I can't even remember the last time. I can't believe I haven't taken Zoe, my aspiring artist, to the Met or the MOMA. I've been wanting to go skiing for 2 years and haven't been yet. I love ice skating, there is a rink 15 minutes from me and I've only been twice in the last year. That kind of thing. It is time to shake things up a bit and be open to new adventures.

See you in 12 months for the wrap up report.

2009 Resolution Round-up

Here are my resolutions from last year and a report on how they worked out:

1. Read another 50 books.

Check. And that will be an ongoing goal.

2. Stay on top of my inbox.

I was doing really well with this until November and then things just fell apart. I hope to get back on track and it is more of a habit now so that is a good thing.

3. Cook.

Believe it or not, I did it. I think I am most proud of this. I have been cooking a lot and looking up recipes and all kinds of things I never thought I'd do. And while I can't say I really love cooking, it is good to be able to make what I want to eat and to know what I am eating.

4. Try doing more sports and outdoor activities.

Never made it skiing this year, but we did go ice skating. Also we got Chief who has brought a lot more walks and trips to the beach and park into my life. I did OK on this, but I'm just never going to be a kayak-er or anything like that.

5. Get rid of the clutter.

I'm getting there, but it could be better.

Overall I think I did pretty well this year. In addition to these goals, I lost 20lbs and am finally, FINALLY at my pre-pregnancy weight. And I have managed to keep it off and it feels like a real permanent change. It is a very good feeling.

OK now I have to get to work on my 2010 resolutions...

TBR Challenge

Somehow in a weak moment I agreed to this challenge from Emily. Here's how she presented it:

So, here is how this challenge works. It begins December 1, 2009 (because I always believe in challenges that give you more than one year to complete) and ends no later than December 31, 2010, but it really ends whenever you manage to complete it. Here are the rules:

1. Choose 20 books from your TBR list (or tome, if you are like me), and post them on December 1, 2009. If you'd like, you can tell us why you chose each book (I'm sure you can guess what I'd "like").

2. Read those 20 books.

3. Oh, did I mention? You are not allowed to buy any of them. If you don't already own them, you must beg, borrow, or steal them in order to read them.

4. Oh, I guess I forgot the other difficult part: you are not allowed to buy any new (or used. No, you can't get around it that way) books until you have read (or attempted to read at least 30+ pages) of all the books on your list.

5. There is one exception to the rules (because I am a fair kinda gal and belong to 2 book discussion groups): you may buy books you have to read for book discussion groups before you have read all 20 on your list, if you can't get them any other way (i.e. your library system doesn't have them and employs the Sloth Express to deliver all interlibrary loans). However, I highly recommend that you encourage your book discussion groups to read books from your list of 20.

6. And then that final thing: write a blog post about each book as you finish (or decide you can't finish) it.

As you can see I have already broken the first rule because I did not get my list up by December 1. Since one rule is broken, I think I'll break a few more, like rule number 3. If I have to have that kind of impediment, there's no way I'll get through this list. So, I've decided that I can buy books from this list, but no other books (besides books for bookclub). And the last rule broken is number 6. I am not a great book reviewer so I can't promise more than stating I read the book. I will keep a special list on the column of my blog to track my progress instead. If I feel I have anything worth saying about the book, I will post. I have I made this half-assed, or what? Hopefully, Emily won't be too disappointed in my version.

OK, here's my list:

1. Then We Came to the End -- Joshua Ferris
   This has been sitting on my shelf and I have wanted to read it, but I just never pick it up.
   
2. Independence Day -- Richard Ford
   I read the Sportswriter over a year ago for book club and I have been wanting to read the second book ever since.
   
3. Lay of the Land -- Richard Ford
   If I am going to read the second book, I might as well read the third.
   
4. Breakfast at Tiffany's -- Truman Capote
   I can't believe I haven't read this.
   
5. Sense and Sensibility -- Jane Austen
   This is a re-read, but one that I have been meaning to do for a few years.
6. Lady Susan -- Jane Austen
   Speaking of Jane Austen, I've never read this one.
   
7. Ten Days in the Hills -- Jane Smiley
   Another one that has been sitting on my shelf that I have been wanting to read and just never pick up.
   
8. The Player -- Michael Tolkin
   I loved this movie and I'm not sure I knew it was a book until I heard about the second book. I figured I couldn't read the second book until I read the first...
   
9. Return of the Player -- Michael Tolkin
   See above.
   
10. Brideshead Revisited -- Evelyn Waugh
    Another book I can't believe I haven't read yet.
    
11. The Glass Castle -- Jeannette Walls
12. Miss Match -- Erynn Mangum
    Both #11 and #12 were gifts from my LibraryThing Santa 2 years ago and I still haven't read them. I feel like I should read these books someone took the time to pick out for me.
    
13. The Believers -- Zoe Heller
    I bought the hardcover and still haven't read it. I want to get it read before the paperback comes out.
    
14. The Best American Short Stories 2009
    I get this book as a gift from my Mom every Christmas and I don't usually finish it so this year that is my goal.
    
15. Raymond Carver: A Writer's Life -- Carol Sklenicka
    I love Raymond Carver. I know this book just came out, but it immediately landed at the top of my TBR list.
    
16. Never Let Me Go -- Kazou Ishiguro
    Another one that's been sitting on my shelf.
    
17. The Poisonwood Bible -- Barbara Kingsolver
    So many people I know loved this book. I own it, but for some reason I've never read it. I am kind of afraid I won't like it, I think. We shall see...
    
18. Casino Royale -- Ian Fleming
    I feel like I should read this.
    
19. Mrs. Dalloway -- Virginia Woolf
    Just in case I'm feeling too happy.
    

Happy Holidays!

All the best in 2010

What is it about the holidays?

The holidays combined with the end of the year are just kicking my butt this year. Everything feels extra-intense -- the highs and the lows. Makes me kind of want to dive under the duvet until January 4th or so. Am I the only one feeling like this?

Zoe has certainly built up Christmas this year. She was very upset when we were decorating the tree because we didn't hang every ornament we own. She was afraid Santa would be disappointed. She is pushing on the Santa thing extra hard this year because I am afraid she is starting to question the whole thing. It breaks my heart a little. I want it to be extra special magic for her just a little longer.

The family stuff can be rough too. Its not too bad this year, but every little bump in the road gets magnified when Christmas or Hanukkah or New Year's is attached to it. I decided a few years ago that I wanted the holidays (including Thanksgiving) to be fun for me too and not just about familial obligation. Ultimately that has been good, but it does cause some tension. How can it not?

Work is insanity and I don't even want to talk about that. I just want a few days off to forget it. Hopefully I'll be able to put it mostly out of my mind. I will say that as rough a road as work has been this entire last year or more, I am ever more grateful for the wonderful people I work closely with. I have made a few very close friends that certainly make every day better. Some of them are far and farther flung, but it is no matter.

I hope for everyone that they can find something fun or special or just relaxing about this holiday season. I wish everyone all the best in 2010.

Coming soon...new year's resolutions...

The Cosmetics Counter: 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil

This is about as close as you can come to the perfect eyeliner.

The 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil by Urban Decay is my favorite cosmetics discovery of 2009. Sometime over the summer I read an article about waterproof eyeliners which I thought would be fun to try for swimming days. I tried a couple of other brands with mixed results, but I wasn't thrilled until I stumbled upon this eyeliner at one of my favorite stores, Sephora. My color of choice is Rockstar which is a dark purple, but any of the colors that don't include glitter or glimmer are excellent choices.

What makes it so great, you ask? Well, I'll tell you.

1. It is easy to apply -- unbelievably easy, really. You have to try it to see what I mean.
2. It goes on super-smooth and even.
3. It lasts a long, long time without running or smudging.
4. Even though $17 may seem like a lot for an eyeliner, the pencil lasts a long time.
   

The only downside is that you should use eye make-up remover to take it off at the end of the day otherwise it can be a little bit too lasting.

So if you're looking for a new eyeliner, I suggest you give this one a try.

SXSW Tour 09: Photos

I can't believe I never published this post. This is my collection of photos from my SXSW trip. Hope they are still somewhat interesting...

My favorite gas station quick mart (Somewhere in Louisiana):

Manicures and Pedicures for everyone! (Best manicure and pedicure ever, I should mention.)


Zoe and Samantha wrapped up with the presents.


Zoe and Samantha help with the Thanksgiving cooking.


Table is set and the first Thanksgiving meal I ever helped prepare is ready to be eaten! This was the first year I didn't just bring the wine.


The chefs!

The cool parking meters in Memphis just off Beale St.



Somewhere in Tennessee I spotted this helpful sign. Now what is a buiscuit and are they appropriate for the office??


Vacation is good.

The Gateway Arch. Missed it last year and thrilled I got to see it this year. It is pretty cool and something I've wanted to see since I was about 5.