Books to Read!

There are so many books I want to read all the time but here is the beginning of my list. I am starting to read the Sherman Alexie book first so obviously my list is not in any order...I will probably add to it and hopefully will review each one at some point too. Here goes my reading ambitions...oh, I do want to give a shout out to Norman McLean's A River Runs Through It and any Faulkner. Both authors are on my 2009 list despite their exclusion from the list below. With that said, Happy Reading!

1. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz: This book seems to be an urban heart lifter, heart breaker, and everything in between. I am usually a huge fan of the underdog and eveything I have read suggests this book is written with awesomeness.
2. Shadow Country by Peter Matthieson....this book seems so overwhelmingly intense...in a good way and I look forward to reading it when I have the time and mental energy...it seems really comprehensive and I like books by Peter Matthieson. Any meaty fiction based on real history and gritty folklore can be good, right?
3. The Poverty of Progress by E. Bradford Burns...this book is one that has been sitting on my book shelf for several years but I haven't actually read it yet but I am proud to own it....time to buckle down and read about how modernization in Latin America is actually crippling the culture and economy rather than helping it.
4. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie....another book that sits on my shelf....I have started it several times but am resigned to finishing it in 2009!
5. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.....I want to know what all the fuss is about...and I like to read the book before I watch the movie, as a general rule.
6. Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama...my mom is reading this now but when she's done, I will borrow it and we'll chat it up real good
7. The Old Farmer's Almanac 2009....I am all about the practicality and usefulness of this here book
8. The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan....another favorite author of mine...and something to satisfy my western landscape historical curiosities
9. The Loop by Nicholas Evans....is a good sweeping book to transport you in a weekend without draining your brain power....I want to read it again as the details are now fuzzy....
10. March by Geraldine Brook...is a pulitzer prize winning twist that may surprise me....I'm going to give it a try....
11. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin... is a book that my husband will probably steal from me and read it before I do.
12. Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.....I really hope I am not disappointed by this book.....I want it to be really genuine and not conservative cheesy crap.
13. I Think I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris...is a book that will hopefully make me laugh and want to throw a party at the same time!

Ancient Art Diatribe

There's something to say about old school art forms. I am really into them. For starters, I am a weaver, albeit beginning, and think this is the cat's meow. I have so much yarn left after my scarf making rampage this last year and I am going to make a baby blanket for my first non-scarf project. This should be exciting and I will keep the updates coming. Right now my loom is naked as it needs a new project. Bead weaving would be super cool too. I am eager to get into spinning...that would be ideal....actually a loft overlooking the rest of my house that is devoted to my ancient arts would be ideal. I think hand made tiles are pretty cool too and so is glass blowing. I am a big fan of blown glass art and use to geek out for hours watching my old glass blower roommates make so many creations with various clear and colored glass....a very cool process. Also, the art of writing notes and sending them in the snail mail is somewhat lost in our advanced telecommunication culture. I like writing notes quite a bit and it's even better now that I have an awesome new pen. I should put my money where my mouth is and use a fountain pen and then I can really sing ancient art praises.

White Out!

Tonight I took a late night drive across town to take my brother home after an evening of hanging out and being the cool uncle. The streets are so empty as snow begins to pile up on them neglectfully in the late hours of this Sunday night. The flakes are coming down like whispering shards...different from the fluffy flakes of the first snow fall that we had here a month ago. It is so beautiful as everything looks like it has been suddenly and steadily dusted with a huge sifter in the pitch black sky....the sky is slowly grinding out a whisper of a storm. I am relieved to be back inside but I secretly wish I was outside walking between the contrast of the dark night and the bleached landscape of this new snow.

Out with the old, In with the new!

2009! That's crazy. My oldest son will be 10 this year. Whew.....So to commemorate the occasion I do have the must-have reminiscent portion and also the hopeful resolutions. In review, 2008 was packed! Here goes:

1. I gave birth to my third son in the spring and am super smitten with him. He is the ultimate combo kid and looks like both me and my husband simultaneously.
2. We bought our first house! We survived the paperwork, the good news, the bad news, and are proud home owners for better or for worse!
3. I mastered a simple scarf design on my loom. Yeah for the ancient art of weaving!
4. Fully potty trained my strong willed three year old that was way too attached to pull-ups.
5. Studied for the LSATs and managed to take them...again.
6. Incorporated a bi-weekly menu/grocery shopping system that we all have come to know and love.
7. Became more financially responsible.
8. Spent more quality time with my parents-accepting them for them and just enjoying their company and respecting their input.
9. I have begun the task of being more spiritually accountable and trying to grow from my beliefs.
   
10. Quit my job to focus on my family, my home, and academic goals!

In 2009 I want to do a number of things and have narrowed it down to this attainable list of ten:

1. Get accepted into law school (hopefully attainable)
2. Be a better listener...specifically I am not going to allow myself to interrupt other people. I come from a really vocal and boisterous family so interrupting is par for the course but all that's gonna change in 2009.
3. Let the crafts keep on coming! I am excited about making a baby blanket for my new niece on my loom...this will be a step up from my scarf rampage of 2008. Also, I am the proud owner of a sewing machine and am determined to not let it sit there....so I need to learn some seamstress skills. Additionally, I'd really like to geek out with a huge piece of foam core, various textiles, and a large jar of mod podge (this combination will always have a special place in my heart I'm afraid).
4. Get the best of my temper instead of vice versa
5. Acquire a successful and artful family portrait
6. Be healthier...and by this I have it narrowed down to two things. One, eat less sugar. Two, walk more.
   
7. Complete five indoor projects and five outdoor projects (to be listed in another late night spree of blogness).
8. Go on a family vacation.....we have it narrowed down to Glacier, Yellowstone, or the Outer Banks....time will tell....
9. Be way more selective about how I ration my time to things that don't really matter to me.
10. When in doubt, ask myself what Tina Fey would do.
    

5 reasons my parents can tell my kids what's up

Yesterday my mom and I were hanging out in my bathroom petting my kittens (they are kind of quarantined in there for multiple rounds of 'quiet time' throughout the day) and she looked at me with this worried look and wanted to apologize for any non-specific time that she might have interfered with my parenting by butting in and telling my kids how it is. Oh mom! I know it is important to create healthy boundaries and mutual lines of respect....with that said....it turns out I am super excited that my children's grandparents put their two cents in. This is for a number of reasons...I will list them, 1). the grandparents have been around the block more than me and did a great job so why stop a good thing 2). how can I teach my kids to respect their elders if I don't? 3). I didn't grow up with grandparents but my husband did (they put their two cents in all the time) and he respects the hell out of them and they helped make him a better person 4). I think America is one of the predominate countries that doesn't understand the importance of extended families and actually disrespects the elderly in many ways including isolating them from their own families 5). it takes a village to raise a child

My claim to fame

I place odd and prideful importance on my first word. I was driving with my parents somewhere in the prairie country of North Idaho and I pointed to the night sky from the back of the car and said, "moon".