Spring Reading Thing 2010

It's been a long while since I've participated in Katrina's reading challenges, but now that I'm a bit more settled in the new house and have that all-important library card.... Well, it's time to jump back in!

I am trying to avoid my tendency to put reading ahead of the other responsibilities in my life, hence my list is shorter than in times past. This also has to do with the fact that many of the books are library requests and I am not sure how long it will take to get them. The library here has a shorter check-out period than I've been accustomed to (2 vs. 3 weeks), so I may have to do the unusual (for me, at any rate) and renew some of them. I'm not sure of the rules here, but in previous libraries, renewing wasn't an option if someone else was waiting, so hopefully that won't be a problem. The online system back in CA actually showed me what my position in the holds list was, so I knew how many people were ahead of and behind me in the list; I don't have that luxury here, so I'm flying blind.

With all that out of the way, here's the list:

Books on hand

The Annotated Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery. This has been on my shelf for a good while now. 


The Wee Musketeers, Robert Bresloff. This is an Advanced Reader's Copy I received through LibraryThing. It's a kids' book and won't take long once I take the time to sit down with it. Looks like fun, and is right up Joel's alley. 

Not a Tame Lion, Bruce Edwards. Another book I've had for quite some time. I actually began this one, but it got misplaced in one of our moves and I found it again shelving books after this one. 


Shades of Blue, Karen Kingsbury. Technically not on hand, but will be arriving in the next week or so.

Books I'm waiting on

Girl Meets God, Lauren Winner. This book received a lot of buzz several years ago, but this will be my first chance to read it.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Donald Miller. Having loved his previous books, I'm really looking forward to this one.

Take Three, Karen Kingsbury. Third in a series of four.

Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver. Light fiction... read an online review that sounded interesting.

Coral Moon, Brandilyn Collins. Another book I read a recent review of. I've read some of her work before. Light suspense, nothing heavy.

The Rise of the Black Wolf,  Derek Benz. This is second in a trilogy for young adults. Joel is currently reading the first (which I read a few years ago). I want to pre-read this one for him.

The Fall of the Templar, Derek Benz. Book three of the trilogy.

I'm also hoping to come across something good to read aloud with the kids. We have gotten out of the practice of reading aloud and I'd like to start again.

The mother of all bulleted lists

My infrequency of posting has left many to wonder if I am still alive. The answer is unequivocally yes.... although with the schedule we'll be keeping this spring, that may not hold true for long! There is much I haven't mentioned here, but not for lack of wanting to; I just haven't found the time. But here I sit, hubby out of town, oldest daughter spending the night away, and the other three happily entertaining themselves a few steps away. This may just be the perfect time to get everything all out in the open. What better way to do it than with bullets???

• We joined the ranks of Wii owners this Christmas. It was the surprise hit of the day. As a testimony to its appeal, I saw more of Emily in the 3 days following Christmas Day than I did in the 3 weeks prior! Favorite games are Wii Sports (Joel has actually bowled a perfect 300!), Wii Play, and Carnival Games. Emily is lobbying to get Guitar Hero III after playing it on a friend's PlayStation; she says she RULES it. That probably means I would *not* rule it. I would like to wait and see if Rock Band is going to be made for Wii; my sister says it is a lot of fun. According to Wikipedia, EA announced plans for a Wii version on Jan. 31, so we'll have to wait and see if that plays out.
  
• I think I mentioned that the boys will be playing baseball this spring. Noah started practice this week. He had practice Monday and Wednesday from 5-6, Friday for about 1/2 of that, but only because we had to leave early for Celebrate Recovery, and today from 9-11. So far, it looks like the same schedule for next week, but it may change. Got the call from Joel's coach today, and his first practice is this Thursday from 5-6, with a 15-min parent meeting before that. This will be very interesting, having 2 in sports at the same time; it's a first for us. No word yet on what days the actual games will be. To complicate matters, Noah's team will have to travel to some surrounding towns 30 minutes or so away to play, and possibly even to one about 2 hours away. And then there is coordinating all this with Emily's play rehearsals, which for now are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays after school until around 4. Thankfully, many of Noah's team members live here in our neighborhood, less than a block away, even.
  
• During the sports physicals the boys had to prepare for Little League, we found out Noah needed a more thorough vision exam. So now he is sporting glasses. Overall, his vision isn't too bad, but it seems that his right eye had been doing most of the work.
• 
• Halle finished up her first AWANA book this past week. She is starting on the second one now. She probably won't be able to finish it this year, but should get far enough along in it so that she will be able to get through both it and book 3 next year, which will put her right on track with where she should be.
• Still making it to the movies on occasion. Emily and I went to see 27 Dresses a few weeks ago. Just goes to show I cannot listen to any professional movie reviewers. I loved it. Don't want to give anything away for those who haven't seen it, but for those who have, I totally was in tears in the bridal shop scene with the sister. I was feeling Jane's pain.
  
• Halle and I went to see the Hannah Montana 3D movie. I actually missed the Super Bowl to take her. We got home just moments after the last play. Ah well, I think it was worth it.
  
• Tonight, the kids and I went to the base theater to catch The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Halle hadn't been all that keen on seeing it, but even she said it was better than she thought it would be. I appreciated the message of the story: Heroes don't have to be the biggest, bravest, or strongest. They just have to do what's right, even when it isn't easy. Good lesson for our kids to learn, and I can think of a lot of us adults who would do well to learn it as well.
• The dog training is going well. What I find almost inconceivable is how much the dogs actually like wearing their training collars/leashes. This training is not the typical food reward kind of training, so they aren't acting all happy because they know they're getting treats, that's for sure. But when they see me go get the leashes from the leash rack, they both get very excited. One thing we are working on right now is the down stay. They're both pretty good with it; one funny thing is that when I am working with Rory, Campbell will often put himself in a down stay at the same time. Then when he hears me give her the "clear" signal, he'll get up as well. What I really like doing is seeing how softly I can give the command and get a response. I can really almost whisper it. What we really need to work on now is practicing in places away from home (the park, stores... there are a few around here that are dog-friendly, like Home Depot/Lowes). I took Rory to the duck pond park here on base a few days ago and she was quite distracted by the sea gulls! the ducks! the geese! She actually pulled on the leash for the first time in literally months. She was acting more like a Pointer (not June, Anita, or Ruth) than a Great Dane.
• We have a family outing planned for Monday to go to Sacramento to see the Bodies Revealed exhibit. Unfortunately, no picture-taking is allowed. Bummer. I think it is going to be very cool. Halle really doesn't want to see it ("Mom, I'm a girl... I don't want to see dead bodies!"), but she is still coming along; Emily just plain doesn't want to go anywhere with her family unless it is to buy stuff for her, so we'll see if she goes or not.
  
• I never wrote a wrap-up post for the fall reading challenge. Suffice it to say that I did manage to read all that was on my list with the exception of one book that I traded in early on, plus several more. Since the end of the challenge, I haven't had as much opportunity to read; I'm missing it.
• To that end, I am looking forward to the unified study we are starting at church this week. As a church, we will be reading a book by Bill Hybels, Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith. This will continue through to Easter; the sermons will relate to the book, as will our small group meetings. I've read the first chapter so far and liked what I read.
• Speaking of Easter, rehearsals for Easter choir started this past Monday night. Oops, one more thing to juggle on baseball practice night.
  

There... that's about it, I think. Hopefully you are still awake after all that. If I've left anything of importance out, it will probably come to me around 2am.

No excuses

Yeah, yeah, yeah.... I know. No excuses here. I just haven't had a whole lot to say or a whole lot of time in which to say it. Now that Noah has started flag football, we have just one more thing on our plate. Actually, I guess that would be at least 2 more things, sometimes 3; one night of practice, plus 1 to 2 games a week (Thursday evenings and/or Saturday afternoons).

So to ease back into this posting thing, I'll go with something easy: an update on my fall reading challenge progress. I'll post the original list with the completed books in strikeout:

1. Oceans Apart, Karen Kingsbury
2. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe.
   
3. The 5-Minute Face, Carmindy.
   
4. When Faith Meets Fame, Guideposts.
   
5. Blameless: A Novel, Thom Lemmons.
   
6. Alpha Girls: Understanding the New American Girl and How She is Changing the World, Dan Kindlon.
7. Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin', Paula Deen.
   
8. The Sleeping Doll, Jeffrey Deaver.
9. Sunrise, Karen Kingsbury.
   
10. Life's Healing Choices, John Baker.
11. It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff, Peter Walsh.
    
12. How Starbucks Saved My Life, Michael Gill.
13. Down River, John Hart.
14. The Other Mother, Gwendolen Gross.
15. Keeping the House, Ellen Baker.
16. Barefoot, Elin Hildebrand.
17. 74 Seaside Avenue, Debbie Macomber.
18. The Lovely Bones, Alice Sebold.
19. Still Summer, Jacquelyn Mitchard.
20. The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Kim Edwards.

11 out of 20 books read so far. I am working on Alpha Girls right now. UGH. We'll see if I finish it. That's the one by my bed (it is good for getting into a sleeping mood, that's for sure). I have a new book not on my list in the van to read in the carpool line... Abide With Me, by Elizabeth Strout. Carrie recommended it, so I added it to my request list at the library and got it almost immediately. I just started it today during the kids' music lessons and am over halfway through it. I only have 3 other books on my list that are actually here at the house, plus 2 waiting to be picked up at the library. I guess I'm still in line for the other 4.

Oh, and before I forget... notice the header? I won it in the Dog Days of Summer giveaways back in the summer. The giver was a bit backed up and wasn't able to work on it till last week. It's a definite improvement over the one I improvised in Paint.

Books galore, not much room for more

I've spent several hours the last couple of days cataloging my library into LibraryThing. With 522 books entered, I still have one bookcase left to enter, plus some books that are in a box in the garage. (I had already entered a bit over 100 when I started this time... I decided to go ahead and take the $25 lifetime subscription to help keep track of what I have, what I lend out, and what I sell/give away.) Because I have so many and space is limited here, I have to decide which books I am going to box up and put away until we settle down for good, which books I am willing to sell/trade/give away, which books I want to keep on the shelves now, and which ones I don't have room for at the moment, but will need in the next 3 school years. It's a tedious task... thankfully, I like that kind of tedium.

Speaking of giving away books... I plan to mail out the prizes from my giveaway tomorrow. Unfortunately, I haven't heard from a couple of people, so I will have to select new winners. Hoping to do that soon; I'll contact them before I announce them here. Also, one winner was gracious enough to decline her prize, as she had won a few other giveaways.

Time for a giveaway

EDITED TO ADD: Due to shipping costs, I will need to limit this to visitors from US and Canada. And please leave me some way to contact you! There are a few people who have left comments that have not left a blog address or an email, so I have no way to contact you if you've won.

I've been meaning to have this giveaway for a while now (even before the move), but Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer has given me the push I needed to finally "git 'r done." Anyone who has read my blog for any amount of time knows that I love to read. I have a selection of books in very good condition that I will ship to the winners of this giveaway. Just let me know which books you are interested in by number or name (or say ALL of 'em!). I will draw names Friday and try to post the winners before we head out to the homeschool conference in Modesto, so to be considered, you'll need to post your comment before 6am Pacific Time. 1 book per winner, unless there aren't enough entries.

1. The Ultimate Gift, by Jim Stovall (hardback). The basis for the movie of the same name, it's about a young man who must endure some interesting challenges and situations to claim his inheritance. I wrote about the movie here.

2. Learning to Breathe Again, by Tammy Trent (paperback). This is Tammy's story of her life after losing her husband in a diving accident. Very moving!

3. Too Good to Be True, by Trish Perry (paperback). I won this book in one of Camy Tang's giveaways a few weeks ago. It's an light and easy read, perfect for a day at the beach or the park with the kids.

4. Freefall, by Kristen Heitzmann (paperback). From the back of the book: "When a young woman stumbles out of the Hanalei Mountains on the island of Kauai with no memory of who she is, Monica Pierce knows she's been brought there by God. Her brother, Cameron, reluctantly agrees to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the stranger's arrival. He suspects her injuries were no accident, but he's far from convinced she's an innocent victim. And there's that nagging feeling he's seen her somewhere before. . . ."

5. God's Little Devotional Book for Parents (hardback). Pretty self-explanatory, I think!

6. Straight Up, by Lisa Samson (paperback). This was a free copy sent to me by Lisa to review. It was the first one of her books I'd read and I wasn't as taken in by it as most people. Since then, I've read several more of her books that I enjoyed much more. I'm sure one of you will love it.

7. In This Mountain, by Jan Karon (hardback). Book 7 in the Mitford Years series.

8. Norah's Ark, by Judy Baer (paperback). Loved this book by the author of The Whitney Chronicles.

9. The Covenant, by Beverly Lewis (paperback). This is book 1 in the Abram's Daughters series. Great read!

10. The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant (paperback). Very interesting telling of the story of Jacob's daughter, Dinah.

11. 100 Greatest Songs in Christian Music, (paperback). A look at some of the most popular songs in Christian music from the last 25 years or so. Subtitled, The Stories Behind the Music that Changed Our Lives Forever.

12. Tales from Dust River Gulch, by Tim Davis (paperback). For the kids. Cute stories with a wild west flair.

When I start organizing my bookshelves again, I will probably have a kids' book giveaway, so check back in!

Anyone still here? Anyone finished Book 7?

I know, it's been a while. I have been trying to keep up with things around here and limiting my time online. I can't even begin to remember what we've done around here in the last week, so I won't even try to write about anything more recent than the last day or 2.

I took the kids to Borders on Friday night to the Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Ball. Some of our neighbors were going (they had pre-ordered there at Borders, unlike me... I did the Amazon pre-order). The kids had a a great time participating in some HP Trivia and enjoyed free samples of drinks from the coffee bar (not coffee drinks). Things started getting pretty crazy around 11:45 or so, so we came on home.

Emily had me take her to the BX late yesterday morning. She bought her own copy of Deathly Hallows and began reading it shortly after we got back. Brian dragged me out to the garage to help him get it cleaned out so I could park in it. My book arrived about halfway through the process and I hated putting it aside until we were done. I finally began reading around 5pm, but had to stop several times for dinner prep and the meal. Once we were done eating, it was nothing but Harry, though. I finished up around 11 or so. No spoilers here from me, but I am convinced JK Rowling is a pure literary genius. Loved the book. I will definitely reread it at a more leisurely pace the next time.

Today I have a TON of laundry to fold and put away. Part of the work we did in the garage yesterday involved going through the bins of outgrown clothing and sorting into items for Goodwill, stuff for the younger kids to grow into, and stuff they can probably wear now. I was washing and drying laundry anyway, but with all the things I pulled out of the containers, I just about tripled my laundry work. Much of today will involve a "fashion show" with the kids trying on clothes.

Oh, and Rory has caught up with Campbell in the height department. Actually, she's just a tad taller than him. Only took her 3 weeks. When I took her to the vet this week for her next series of shots and her microchip, she had gained 8 pounds in 3 weeks as well. I'll try to take pictures to post soon.

Settling in and settling down

Still getting settled in the new place. It's only been 2 weeks and most of the rooms are together. Still left to unpack: 5 "mirror packs" of things from the walls of the old house and 2 boxes of books, papers, and "stuff" from the schoolroom/office. Being that there isn't a "schoolroom/office" in this house, I am holding off on those items until I am able to sort through all that is already unpacked and get it organized. I'll be reboxing some books and storing them in one of the storage areas here or in the garage in order to make room for our school things. I'll probably be looking for some kind of drawer-type storage I can keep here near this table/desk, since my old computer desk is in storage (too large for these accommodations).

One of the things I have done a little of and hope to finish up is cataloging my books with Library Thing. I think I will wind up getting a paid account. $25 isn't bad for a lifetime of being able to keep track of all my stuff. This thing just speaks to my anal side (Eww. That doesn't sound right.)

The house phone finally works. Took over a week for Comcast to fix it. Part of it had to do with them not disconnecting at the other house for some stupid reason. I still have to call and talk to them to make sure we don't get double-billed and are credited for the 10 days with no service. I think a month free would be great compensation for the frustration and inconvenience.

Rory is settling in very well. She is learning the routine quickly and knows that right after she finishes eating, she is supposed to go outside; she heads straight for the back door after she's done. We keep the door to the laundry room (where the dogs' food and water are kept) shut, so she will go there and sit (and alert us if we don't notice her) if she gets thirsty during the day. Campbell is learning the fine art of doggie play and the two of them can often be found chasing each other outside or rolling around on the floor in the living room. Rory is growing quickly and is almost the same height as Campbell now; it will be interesting to see how things change as she gets bigger than him!

Can't believe this summer is almost half over. Just 6 more weeks until Emily goes back to school. I've really enjoyed not having to take her to school every day. I guess I should savor these days while they last.

One day closer

We've been doing a little bit each day to get ready for this move. Dusting the bookcases, taking unwanted items to Goodwill, getting rid of the bleach spot... Yes, you heard me right. That bleach spot I mentioned this past weekend, the one that used to be a yellowish color, is now gone, thanks to this. I wish I had taken pictures so you could see the difference. I am one happy camper now.

We've had time to visit the base swimming pool a couple of times this week as well. Just $75 got us a family pass for the summer. Sure beats what they are asking for the community pools! ($280!!) I am sure the pass will come in handy once we are actually living on base and the weather begins heating up a bit more.

Tomorrow night, we are going to dinner at Olive Garden with friends from Antioch, then taking in a Won By One concert. Sounds like a nice way to celebrate being another year older, doesn't it?

Once we get settled into the new place, I plan on having a book giveaway like some of my other blogfriends have done. I have a group of books I put aside just for this purpose, most of them fairly new. So if you're a reader, be prepared to put your name in the hat for one!

And while I'm talking about future things... keep your eyes out for an announcement of something new here. (Mom and Pam, you already know... and Larry, if Mom hasn't told you already, just ask her.)

Just stuff

Lots of random things bumping around in the old grey matter today. I figure why fight it? So hang on: this is going to be a mish-mash of topics.

Spring Reading Challenge update: Still working on those last few non-fiction selections on my list. I'm about 1/2-way through Yancey's Prayer book (replacement for Where God Was Born), and more than 1/2-way through Lucado's Facing Your Giants. Same with How to Read the Bible... and Not a Tame Lion. The non-fiction is kicking my rear, I guess. But I did finish the fiction list and have added about a dozen more titles to the read column (since my last update, where I added 9 titles)... unfortunately, I returned many of them to the library without recording the titles; ones I can remember off the top of my head are Gardenias for Breakfast, and Private Justice & Shadow of Doubt (2 Teri Blackstock novels). Books I have here at the house that I've finished are 2 more Blackstock books, Line of Duty and Trial by Fire, Lisa Samson's Club Sandwich (I think my favorite of hers so far), Judy Baer's The Whitney Chronicles, and Confessions of a Super Mom (Melanie Hauser).

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The free concert last Saturday night was pretty good. We didn't bring lawn chairs to sit on the ball field and didn't want to stand up in front of the stage, so we made ourselves comfortable in the stands for the show. Lincoln Brewster was definitely better than Todd Agnew, but I enjoyed listening to the things Todd had to say in between songs. (I really think Todd's music is best enjoyed by listening to a studio version rather than live... there were lots of times he just didn't sound like he was quite where he should have been vocally.) Things got started later than they were supposed to and the kids got restless, so we ended up leaving before Todd finished.

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Joel has now moved up to the next level in his gymnastics class. I had promised him a uniform once he moved up, so we got that yesterday afternoon. Maybe I can get a picture of him in it today. Because he moved up, I had to switch days for gymnastics; He and Halle's classes run concurrently now so that we are at the gym for 1 hour on Tuesdays instead of 1 1/2 hours on Mondays.

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So now I've been to two different ladies' functions for church, the breakfast a week or so ago and a "Ladies' Afternoon Out" this past Sunday afternoon. There were a few more at the breakfast than at the last function, but a few of the same people were at each. Plus Brian and I attended a newcomer's class Sunday afternoon/evening, where we were able to meet some more couples, one of which is another homeschooling military family. It really looks like we will be able to be involved as much as we want/need to here.

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More book stuff: I've been lucky to be on the receiving end of some giveaways on other blogs lately. Lara just sent me one of the few Francine Rivers books I haven't read yet, Unshaken. And I was the lucky winner of one of Camy's weekly giveaways, Too Good to Be True, by Trish Perry. And then a few days ago, Carrie drew my name for a giveaway she was sponsoring and I'm looking forward to receiving The List, by Robert Whitlow, from her. I guess I will stop whining that I never win anything now!

Spring reading update

Since my last update, I'm still working my way through my original list; of the 9 books on my fiction list, I've read all but one and just began the last... The Ultimate Gift. But I've also read a bunch not on the list:

• The Church Ladies, Lisa Samson
• The Living End, Lisa Samson
• Halfway to Forever, Karen Kingsbury
• A Moment of Weakness, Karen Kingsbury
• Gideon's Gift, Karen Kingsbury
• Maggie's Miracle, Karen Kingsbury
• A Thousand Tomorrows, Karen Kingsbury
• Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
• Home for the Holidays, Meredith Efken
  

As far as my non-fiction list, I'm a couple of chapters into the Yancey book on Prayer, and maybe halfway through How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. I have the Lucado book (Facing Your Giants) from the library and will start it as soon as I finish the Yancey book.

The kids and I gave up on The Twenty-One Balloons ... just way too much extraneous material to hold their attention. We're about 6 chapters into The Apprentice now.

3 Characters book meme

I was tagged by Ellen at Above the Clouds for this book meme:

From books you have read:

Name 3 Characters you wish were real so you could meet them.

Name 3 Characters you would like to be.

Name 3 Characters who scare you.

My answers:

3 characters I wish were real:

Aslan
Melanie Wilkes (from Gone With the Wind)
Elizabeth Baxter (from Karen Kingsbury's Redemption series)

3 characters I would like to be:

Trixie Belden: I really did want to be Trixie when I was a kid.
Nick Cominsky: Just imagine really sitting down to dinner with Jesus!
Katy Hart (from Karen Kingsbury's Firstborn series)

3 characters who scare me:

Screwtape
Junior Cain (From the Corner of His Eye, Dean Koontz)
Edgler Vess (Intensity, Dean Koontz)

Our Easter and Spring Reading update

We had a very nice day yesterday.... my day began around 4am, when my stinkin' indispensable internal alarm woke me up. Afraid I wouldn't wake up in time if I went back to sleep, I flipped channels on the television for a couple of hours before heading downstairs to set out the kids' Easter goodies. Brian came downstairs around 6:30 or so and we hid eggs in the house for the 3 younger ones to hunt. I popped some Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls (Now with cream cheese icing!) into the oven and we woke the kids up shortly after those came out.

I managed to get pictures of the younger kids in their Easter duds (Emily didn't want her picture taken) before we left for church. After church, we went to Olive Garden for lunch. They weren't busy, but from the service we got, you would have thought they were. It took half an hour from placing our orders to get our breadsticks. We even got our soups and salads before our drinks, and the appetizer arrived less than 1 minute before the main courses. Ah well.... at least it tasted good!

I came home and headed straight for bed at the express command of my husband. I definitely needed the sleep; I didn't get up until around 4. While I was asleep, Brian had commandeered the kids into cleaning up the boys' bedroom. They threw out 2 kitchen trash bags of junk. Now we can actually see the floor again! Before I could be roped into manual labor was able to offer my assistance, I got a phone call from a friend back in Omaha (Thank you, Grace!!). We chatted for an hour and a half (I was amazed when I saw the call timer at the end... it certainly didn't seem that long!).

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So here's how the Spring Reading Thing is going:

I've managed to read 8 of the 9 books from my fiction list. That would be all of them but The Ultimate Gift. In addition, I've read 2 Terri Blackstock novels (Private Justice and Shadow of Doubt), and SAHM I Am, by Meredith Efken. I wholeheartedly recommend that last one; boy, could I relate to a lot of stuff in it! I'll be looking for the sequel to it. If you enjoy suspense/mystery, Terri Blackstock's books are good, too.

As far as the nonfiction goes, I gave up on Where God Was Born. I just could not get drawn into it. I've picked up a copy of Yancey's Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference as a replacement, but haven't started it. I still have all 5 books to go on that list.

Out of the 5 books on the list to read with the kids, we are still on the first one, The Twenty-One Balloons. I guess I'm not doing too bad with the list, considering there's a little over 2 months left in the challenge.

Potpourri

Naw, not the kind you smell.... I just have several things running through my head that I want to talk about and don't know where to start first. Lessee... how about books? The Spring Reading Thing started 4 days ago (is that all?), and I have knocked out 6 books from my list. I cannot say enough good things about Karen Kingsbury's Firstborn series. "Life-Changing Fiction" is her tag line and I have to wholeheartedly agree. I am still processing much of what was revealed to me through the characters and situations in the stories. And I want/need to go back and read the earlier Redemption series, as well!

The last book I read this weekend reminded me of why I stopped reading Stephen King in the first place. There was a time I liked his writing, but it seems like the last 10-15 years, his works just haven't appealed to me. But I heard so many people say that Lisey's Story was so awesome that when I saw it on the shelf at the library, I thought I'd give it a try. It did nothing for me. I didn't feel a connection to the characters at all. It was.... stupid. Give me a good Dean Koontz novel any day. Next on my list: The Westing Game. Once I get through the fiction books I have on hand, I'm sure the rest of the list will go a bit slower.

And then there was much rejoicing. Tonight was the finale of Grease: You're the One That I Want. I don't think I've ever followed any competition as closely as I did this one, at least not since the first year or two of Star Search (I guess I can say I remember Rosie O'Donnell and Brad Garrett back when...). I definitely had my favorites and was quite thrilled when they both made it into the top 4. And even more pleased to see that in a rare if not unheard-of occurrence (that being that America and I actually agreed upon something), they won! Congratulations to Broadway's new Danny and Sandy, Max Crumm and Laura Osnes. Now, who wants to bankroll my trip to NYC to see the show???

Great day with the kids today. Everyone was up and ready to go to church on time with no fuss. It was a good time of worship and we got to hear a singing group from William Jessup University. I also found out that one of the coaches from Halle and Joel's gymnastics gym attends there. She and her husband came in a little late and sat by me today. I was sitting behind someone I thought looked familiar and then afterwards Emily pointed out that it was her PE teacher. I think I could get used to worshiping with folks I might get to see more than once a week.

Spring into Reading

It's my first foray into the reading challenges at Callapidder Days!

I've never kept track of what I've read before, so this should be interesting. I'm wondering if my list is even long enough. Thankfully, there are only 3 on the list that I don't already have here at the house. I hope I am able to find them.

Fiction:

• Lisey's Story, Stephen King
• The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
• Fame, Karen Kingsbury
• Forgiven, Karen Kingsbury
• Found, Karen Kingsbury
• Family, Karen Kingsbury
• Forever, Karen Kingsbury
• The Thirteenth Tale, Diane Setterfield
• The Ultimate Gift, Jim Stovall

Nonfiction:

• Where God Was Born, Bruce Feiler
• Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation, Sarah Cunningham
• Facing Your Giants, Max Lucado
• How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Fee and Stuart
• Not a Tame Lion, Bruce Edwards

With the kids:

• The Twenty-One Balloons, William Pene du Bois
• The Apprentice, Pilar Molina Llorente
• The Little Riders, Margaretha Shemin
• A Little Princess, Francis Hodgson Burnett (hoping the boys can sit for this one!)
• And the Word Came With Power, Joanne Shetler

Must... not... look...

I have a stack of books beckoning me, but if I dare stop and look at them (or worse, pick one up!), I will never get anything done today. I have a list a mile long of chores to accomplish (laundry, vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen, etc.), plus that little thing called "school" with the youngest 3. It is taking all my willpower to avoid taking one peek inside the first book in Karen Kingsbury's Firstborn series. I know that if I so much as touch a book that is not part of our school for today, all hope of accomplishing anything is gone. Is there a name for this affliction? (Other than downright laziness... Let's not go there.)

Looking forward to tomorrow, when I will be posting my list of books for the Spring Reading Challenge hosted by Callapidder Days. I've never participated in one of her challenges before. I've never really kept track of the books I read before, either (except for one year in elementary school; I remember we wrote the names of the books we read on little circles and built "bookworms" out of them. I had the longest worm in class; big shock (NOT).). I think this is going to be fun!

Go... Stop... Go...

So the past couple of days have been rather full of activity. Friday morning I left the house with everyone asleep to take my van in to the dealer to have a couple things taken care of. I got to sit there for around an hour, waiting for the shuttle driver to arrive, then I was the last person dropped off... that got me home about 2 hours after I left.

Not long after that, Brian and I took the kids to the base duck pond to hear a history presentation by Bruce Larson. Bruce is a retired park ranger naturalist and offers a variety of classes and presentations to schools and homeschools alike. He talked about the "mountain men" (trappers) in the West and was attired in like fashion, including a belt with his firestarter kit, pouch with ammunition, powder horn, small knife, etc. He also had a large Bowie knife and talked to us about its origin. The boys were quite interested in his flintlock rifle; those of us into words and language appreciated how he explained that phrases like "lock, stock, and barrel" and "flash in the pan" both originated from this piece of equipment.

One part of the morning that held great interest was his demonstration of how to start a fire using a flint and steel. Before this, however, he asked the group to come up with the reasons being able to start a fire was so important. It didn't take long to come up with most answers (stay warm, cook, keep predators away), but a little longer for someone to think of another good reason... to get his clothes dry! (We'd been talking of trapping beavers, which would mean that the trapper may have gotten wet setting his traps.) The kids also enjoyed hearing several bird calls he had brought with him, including quail, owl, hawk, and turkey. Mr. Larson also passed on instructions on how a person should react if he were to encounter wild animals such as mountain lions or bears.

We had lunch with some other members of the group, then headed back to the duck pond to feed the ducks and visit some more. By the time we finished up there, it was time to pick up my van. When we did that, we discovered that the dealer had only received 1 of the 2 little parts they ordered, so I will have to take it back again for the second one to be installed (these are the brackets for the sunshades in the rear windows). We also found out that they aren't sure why the wireless headphones for the rear entertainment system aren't working when the kids watch a movie; they are ordering a new audio system to see if that's the problem (they've already tried replacing a cable). If that doesn't work, they'll put in a new DVD player. Am I glad we got the extended warranty!!

Brian went to Sacramento for today and tonight, so it was just me and the kids here at home. Emily wanted to go shopping, and since it wasn't my money she wanted to spend, I was glad to oblige. We managed to hit Kohl's, Old Navy, and the mall. She snagged some new tops at the first 2 places, but left the mall empty-handed. A later trip to Target yielded a new bathing suit top to match a suit we'd gotten earlier this year.

In between the running around, I managed to squeeze in some reading. Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas was an easy read. Not one of my favorites of his, but still pretty good. His writing seems different than his earlier works; I can't quite put my finger on it.

Yet another book meme!

Found at Life is Not a Cereal:

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?
If it has words on the page, I will read it.

Amazon or brick and mortar?
Both. Barnes & Noble if I've run out of books and need something now; Amazon if I have time to wait and need to save a little money.

Bookmark or dogear?
Bookmark! (Although not always a "real" bookmark... sometimes it's a receipt or business card... whatever happens to be nearby.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?
Now that we have the nifty floor-to-ceiling library area, I try to keep books alphabetized by author and separated into categories: Christian fiction/nonfiction, kids' general fiction/historical fiction, science, history, etc. The kids' section is rarely in order, though.

Keep, throw away, or sell?
Keep! Although I have been known to give a book away if it's not one I think I'll reread.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?
Keep... and in the case of children's books, try to remember to tape them on so they don't get lost.

Read with dustjacket or remove it?
Always on...it's a built in bookmark.

Short story or novel?
Novel.

Short story collection (short stories by the same author) or anthology (short stories by a different author?
Neither.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket?
Definitely Harry. Cannot stand Lemony.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?
When one of the kids draws blood from another. On the rare chance that doesn't happen, when I get too tired.

"It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?
Both.

Buy or Borrow?
Mostly buy; nobody to borrow from and the library doesn't carry much Christian literature.

New or used?
Mostly new for reasons above.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?
All 3. If a book comes recommended, I'll often check reviews. Just like with movie reviews, I can't always depend on the opinions of the professionals, so recommendations generally hold more sway.

Standalone or series?
Both. I enjoy continuing stories, but standalones are great because you don't have to worry about missing anything.

Favorite series?
Karen Kingsbury's 911 Series.

Favorite books read last year?
911 Series, Searching for God Knows What, And the Shofar Blew

Favorite books of all time?
Christian Lit: Peculiar People by Richard Soule, The Scarlet Thread
Christian Growth: Velvet Elvis
Chick Lit: The Yada Yada Prayer Group
For Fun: Lightning by Dean Koontz
Historical: Shogun by James Clavell
The Literature of Place: not even sure what that means!

You title it

Thanks to my early morning nature, I was able to get in some reading before the kids got up (and some afterwards)... I finished Robin Cook's Crisis and Diane Mott Davidson's Dark Tort. Then it was time to get Halle ready for the birthday party she was attending. I dropped her off and then had almost 2 hours to do a little shopping/browsing. I grabbed a burger and fries at Mel's Diner and then went to the Vacaville Premium Outlets. My mission there was to find a pair of sunglasses to replace my old pair that were bent and looked crooked on my face. Thankfully, there was a Sunglasses World outlet and I found just the thing. I wanted to browse PacSun, but that section of the shopping center was packed... I couldn't find a single open parking spot. So that was about the extent of my shopping. (Grace, I needed you there for some motivation.)

Fast forward to tonight... We've had dinner and the kids are all bathed and ready to settle in for the evening. The kids have a movie to watch: Spymate, and I'm hoping to watch The Second Chance. I also managed to find Disc One of the first season of House, and Memoirs of a Geisha. (I certainly won't watch all those tonight, but I can probably get them done in the next few days.)

Book bug

We've had a bit of a busy week around here, what with running one kid to school in the morning and then rushing back home to start our schoolday here. Add to that various other commitments (gymnastics, Wed. evening church, grocery shopping, etc.) I keep meeting myself coming and going, it seems. I'm hoping for a more relaxed weekend. It should be, since I won't need to get groceries or run any other major errands that I can think of. It will be lovely if we can just sit right here until time to go to church on Sunday morning.

I was talking to a friend on the phone today about going to Barnes & Noble the other night and not buying anything... and wishing I had. (We're watching our spending a little bit right now.) She came up with a great idea for those of us who want to read Christian literature (fiction or nonfiction), which is often nearly impossible to find in public libraries. Wouldn't it be cool if someone developed a rental system for these books kind of like the one NetFlix and Blockbuster.com have developed for movies? I think that would totally rock! Then if you really liked the book and wanted to spend the money on it, you could buy it. Sure could save someone for feeling like they wasted good money on a bad read. So who's going to start up this enterprise?