Fig and Thistle

Teaser Tuesday (Feb. 21)

2012-02-21T19:22:00.003-05:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

from The Dead Alive and A House to Let by Charles Dickens et al:

"In the cold winter sunlight, in the thick winter fog, in the black winterrain, in the white winter snow, the House was equally on my mind. I have heard, as everybody else has, of a spirit’s haunting ahouse; but I have had my own personal experience of a house’shaunting a spirit; for that House haunted mine." (pages 81-82)

from Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin:

"His feelings about America remained angry, and two years later he warned Macready, who had been invited to lecture in New York, against the country. It was 'a low, coarse, and mean Nation' and 'driven by a heard or rascals'." (page 142)

I'm desperately trying to ramp up my reading this week by finished both books. Wish me luck!

Happy Reading!

The Great Blogcation Debacle

2012-02-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

It is a very good thing I went on a Blogcation last week. Not because I necessarily got any rest or relaxation... no.. last week was HORRIBLE. I had a sinus infection, bronchitis, pinkeye, and Atticus was teething and vomiting from sticking his fingers down his throat.

Picture this.... Monday I was sent home from work due to a violent cough (yay sinus infection turned bronchitis). I woke Tuesday morning with my right eye swollen shut from pinkeye. I resolved to stay home in bed and sleep while the kids were at school. Then Atticus puked.

There I was, lumbering around the house. Coughing. Right eye shut. Nose running. Unshowered. One or both boobs hanging out from constant nursing. Chasing a gleeful toddler who discovered a penchant for vomit. Tuesday afternoon was a bit better; after Atticus napped and I read Charles Dickens with one eye open Atticus and I played. He is quite fond of "line things up on the window sill" game.

Things looked better after Tuesday. Mostly because I tried to rest. I read a little on Wednesday afternoon. I skipped my knitting group to go to bed early on Thursday. I took Friday off and spent time with Hope (she was out on holiday), exercising, stitching, and napping. I napped on Saturday and then enjoyed Hope's birthday party. Sunday it was back to work. Not a lot of reading, but a whole lot of tea, exercise, and napping.

Okay. This week WILL be better. I did, however, finish the softies for Atticus' class. I made 8 (one for Atticus and then one for each of his classmates). I didn't get them done until Friday as I thought it best to not stitch things for toddlers whilst suffering from pinkeye.

On to a new week, filled with cautious optimism.

Happy Birthday, Hope

2012-02-19T17:08:00.000-05:00

Hope are her crazy, be-cupcaked friends

I can't believe it. You are 12 years old today. It doesn't seem like it has been that long. I feel like just yesterday you were Atticus' age and curling up next to me for snuggles.

You are my first love. Of course I loved friends and family before you were born, but when you were born it was different. I saw you for the first time and I knew -- for the first time -- what it was like to love someone completely and fiercly. I've never forgotten the moment when I first held you and every quick hug you give reminds me of that rising joy and that thud in my heart that says love love love.

I'm so proud of the young lady you've become: smart, funny, sassy, beautiful, caring and kind. I love you, Peanut, happy birthday!

Charles Dickens Giveaway Winners!

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, I totally picked these winners on Wednesday because I couldn't wait any longer. Hope was at school so I used a random number generator.

Winners of the Charles Dickens bookmarks:

#25 -- Linda P!
#40 -- Jillian!
#21 -- Dusky Literati!
#101 -- Lindsey Sparks!

Email me your mailing addresses (Amanda.L.AddisonATgmailDOTcom)*

The winner of this lovely book:

#65 -- TED!!!

Remember that you need to email me by 11:59pm on Friday, 02/17 to claim your prize. I will pick another winner if I don't hear from you.

*btw -- my email address is all lower case. I was just trying to make it readable, sometimes folks think the "l" is a "1".

Blogcation

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow I'll announce the winners of the Charles Dickens giveaway, but today I wanted to give folks notice that I will be taking a blog-break from Saturday 02/11 until Sunday 02/19. I feel like I am spinning plates. When I blog I drop the ball on housework, when I exercise I drop the ball on reading, when I bake I drop the ball on knitting..... I have so much I want to do and no time. I've been cranky lately because since I've been exercising I find that my reading time is restricted. That makes for one grouchy book nerd.

Next week I have valentine crafts and baking to do and Hope's 12th birthday party to prep for and I'd like to finish a book as well.

If I don't get some solid reading time I am going to papercut someone. For real.

I'll see you all in a bit!

In Which the Dieting Heroine Discusses Poop -- Proceed with caution

2012-02-08T13:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, I'm not really going to talk about poop, well, not explicitly. But my bowel rumblings will factor into this update so I would proceed with caution if you have a disdain for bodily functions or you have... manners.

My first weight loss update is here. Here is my progress:

January 6th                                296
January 13th            291
January 20th                              290
January 27th                              289
February 3rd                              288

I'm losing a healthy pound a week so far with an overall weight loss of 8lbs in a five week period of time. That's a 1.6lb average! I weigh in this Friday and hopefully I will have lost another pound.

Okay, on to this week's friend and foe.

Warning: A discussion of poo ensues:

Friend: Probiotics
When I had my sinus infection in late January I was put on antibiotics. Because I was using Health Services at the university as opposed to going to the doctor, I was only able to get an antibiotic and I couldn't get that lovely little pill that would keep me from getting a yeast infection. I really didn't want a yeast infection, so in addition to eating a shit-ton of yogurt I started taking a probiotic. It is the Walgreens' brand and about $20 for a pack of 60 pills. Not only did I not get a terrible yeast infection, but I also have avoided my terrible stomach issues from eating healthy.

For the past three years -- with the exception of my pregnancy -- I have struggled with eating fruits and vegetables. I adore vegetables, but the stomach repercussions were awful. I joined eDiets last year and was following their diet plans for a dairy-free diet. At the time Atticus still had a dairy problem and I wasn't trying to lose weight as much as I was trying to achieve a balanced diet. The first two days were fine and then the shit hit the fan... nearly literally. My stomach was tight and distended. I had constant gas. I was pooping 5 to 7 times a day MINIMUM. I felt sluggish and disgusting. I kept up with the diet for two weeks thinking that my stomach just needed time to adjust. Nope. I was miserable. And the same thing happened when I was dieting in 2007 and when I made an attempt at being vegetarian in college.

I've been to doctors for the stomach trouble and it would end in tears and frustration:

Doctor: "You are fat. You need to lose weight. Eat fruits, vegetables, and whole grains."

Me: "Okay"

Two weeks later:

Doctor: "Your stomach cannot handle the fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Eat something greasy and you will feel better."

Me: "Okay"

And I did. Cue Vicious Cycle. A burger and fries and I felt better, but I was just getting fatter. WTF?

Of course, the doctor never did recommend probiotics. He said there may be a prescription, but with me nursing I didn't want random drugs floating in my body. I just happened to start taking probiotics a few weeks into my diet this go around.

I feel great. I had asparagus and mushrooms with lunch and yesterday I had four servings of broccoli with lunch. No horrible poo-issues. By golly I'm regular, but I'm going about twice a day as opposed to 6 times a day and I haven't had to pilfer Atticus's diaper rash cream (oh yeah, it was that bad... my ass hurt).

I'm going to keep up taking the probiotic capsule everyday.

Foe: Secrecy
I'm loving MyFitnessPal, but I can feel myself getting intimidated by the "hardcore" folks on there. People who don't eat all their calories and their diaries look sparse and militant. I want to keep my diary public as a form of accountability, but on the other hand I'm afraid of people judging me, that I'm not doing it right, and that maybe I should just throw in the towel. I have to remember that a pound a week is healthy and it is more likely to stay off. I will screw myself up if I under eat.

Because of my fears I find myself wanting to fib on my diary or leave things out all together. Last night I baked cookies and I had ONE cookie. It put me nearly 100 calories over my daily calorie goal. I seriously thought about not recording it so I could get that merry little message at the end of the day: "Amanda completed her diary for 02/07/12 and was under her calorie goal!" But it would have been a false pride and I would be paving the path for a compulsive eater's number one foe. SECRET EATING. Yes, that morbidly obese girl may be eating a salad and drinking a diet coke, but at night -- when no one is looking -- she is binging on bags of chips and candybars. I was that girl. I remember not eating at summer camps as a teenager and then hiding under my sleeping bag at night eating 7 Snicker bars.

I think the psychology behind this -- at least in my case -- was that I was afraid people were watching me. God knows I pay attention to what others eat (a similar habit among compulsive eaters and people with anorexia). If I could just "play along" then people would think that I was an unfortunate victim of genetics and I was simply fat for no reason in particular. I didn't want someone to make the connection that "those three cheeseburgers are making her fat." I didn't want to admit to myself that I was the one making myself fat. I would hide wrappers and trash in trashcans underneath other garbage. I would eat so quickly I sometimes threw-up. I wrapped myself in a McDonald's Big Mac Food Wrapper of Shame.

Being honest with myself about how I eat and what I eat and letting others see me eat is healthy. It keeps things in perspective by taking away all of the shame. When I'm not engaging in disordered eating I eat to get full and I enjoy my food, I don't deprive myself to get a societal pat on the back only to feed my deprivation with too much food. I hate myself after binge eating and I want to avoid it.

So... I will log in my food even if I go over on calories. I will log in everything and not think about it as good or bad. And I need to get over the assumption that everyone is paying attention to the food they see me eat. This week I'm going to be especially conscious of eating slowly, deliberately, and being honest in my food diary. Healthy eating mindset for the win!

Charles Dickens Month: The 5th and Final Post!

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-05:00

Whoohoo! We did it! 5 weeks of Dickens infused goodness. I didn't read as much as plan (when do I ever read as much as I plan?) but I did manage to complete all 822 pages of Our Mutual Friend and I'm pumped that other folks are reading Charles Dickens with fervor.

I thought I'd share a few pictures from the library Charles Dickens display I did. With the help of a few stellar work-study students we created a display about Dickens and I even shared my Charles Dickens action figure.

Alright. Now time for the giveaway details! Leave a comment by 11:59pm tonight (02/07) and tomorrow I will draw the winners. That's right. I said winners. Four of you will win a Charles Dickens bookmark. My local library had these bookmarks for sale and I snatched them up. The grand-prize winner will win this:

Isn't it pretty?! I totally want one for myself. I will send it to you directly from Amazon.com so I don't end up keeping it for myself.

The particulars:

Each comment you've made throughout the month will get you entered to win
However, you can only win once. (you just have a higher chance of winning and I want to share the love.
I am going to use the Fig and Thistle Random Number Generator (i.e. Hope will draw numbers out of a bag)
The winners will be announced on Friday, 02/10.
You will have one week to contact me with your mailing information.

Sounds good? Okey dokey, thanks to everyone who has participated. I know that January isn't the end of Dickens for me; I expect I'll continue reading stuff by and about him throughout 2012.

Making Monday

2012-02-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

I've actually been in quite the creative mood lately.

First of all, I started my cake decorating class on Saturday. I'm taking the class with my Mom and we are having a blast. We discussed the basics yesterday (filling a piping bag, the best icing for decorating, etc...) and then we practiced with the 18 tip and made stars and lines. When I got home I was eager to practice. Out came the sugar cookies (from a mix, I'm so lazy) and then I got to decorating:

My first cookie


Of course I had to be lewd...

...and disgusting

I can't wait for next week's class. We will learn how to torte a cake, make gel image transfers, and some more piping.

I'm also gearing up for some other projects:

A dish cloth WIP and some Valentine treat fabrics!

There is plenty here to keep me very busy through February. What are you making?

The Sunday Salon: A Disgruntled Reader Post

2012-02-05T11:46:00.001-05:00

Currently, I'm in a Very Bad Mood.

I shouldn't be. Sam and the kids are great, I started cake decorating class yesterday and had a blast, I'm drinking a cup of delicious coffee while Atticus plays and we enjoy an early, lazy Sunday morning.

But, seriously, my attitude stinks and it all has to do with a reading slump.

January was a fabulous month for me in terms of reading. I read three fabulous books: The Night Circus, Our Mutual Friend, and the latest volume of Joe Hill's Locke and Key graphic novel series. I also read one book that I loved up until the last 30 or so pages and I'll talk about that more in a bit. I think there are four reasons why I'm in slump-mode:

Reason #1: January was Too Darn Good

When I'm finished with a spectacular book I find that I'm a little spoiled. Everything else pales in comparison and I'm left trying to get over my awesome book pile so I can read books that are good (just not as good).

Reason #2: A String of Duds

Since finishing Our Mutual Friend I decided that I should read something short and fun before picking up Tomalin's Charles Dickens bio. Everything I've tried to read hasn't just been a "not the right time book." No, they have utterly sucked. First I picked up a short story anthology called Dickensian Whodunnits. I have owned this for a few years and I've really been looking forward to reading it. It sucked. I tried several stories. The stories are mysteries with some element of Dickens in them (from his life or concerning a character from his book). The problem is that each author in the anthology attempts to cram in historical context of the plot of the novel in an awful artificial fashion. Imagine loads of awkward dialogue with characters dropping sentences about Victorian times like a bad after-school special.

Reason #3: Sally Lockhart

I read the first book in Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart mystery series last year. The Ruby in Smoke was phenomenal. If you are unfamiliar, this is a YA series about a plucky Victorian girl who solves mysteries. The Ruby in the Smoke was like Sherlock Holmes meets The Moonstone for kids. I loved it.

I moved on to the second book in the series, The Shadow in the North. Here Sally is in her early twenties, went to Cambridge, and now has her own financial consulting business. I liked the book until the last bit. *****SPOILER ALERT*****
I lost interest when Sally willingly gave up her virginity to her beau in the middle of trying to figure out how to stop the bad guys and the bad guys are pretty much currently in pursuit. That felt awkwardly placed and out of character for Sally, her beau, and the time period. Then, of course, after that one sexual encounter all hell breaks loose. The beau dies in a fire, she blows up the bad guy, is buried under rubble, but miraculously survives. And she is pregnant. And totally cool with it. The book was okay, but I felt like that bit was stuck in there just to be shocking.

I was sticking with it until I tried reading the third book, The Tiger in the Well. Here Sally is living with her male photographer friends from the earlier book, working, and raising her daughter. Then a stranger shows up saying he is married to Sally and that her daughter belongs to him and he will take her. Pullman uses this as a chance to showcase unfair marriage laws of the Victorian period. The other historical bits in there concern the rise of socialism and the prejudice against Jews in England. This book felt.... contrived. Sally is an orphan with a Cambridge education, her own business, a pistol, a single mother, and she lives with a bachelor males. Until this stranger shows up life is peachy. I know Pullman wants to portray a strong Victorian heroine, but her life is too peachy for a modern-day single mother, let alone one in Victorian England. I feel like Pullman is being heavy-handed with his expose of Victorian inequalities and not functioning in the realm of reality.

I had to put it down. Bummer.

Reason #4: I Have no Time

Crafting. Exercising. Baking. Kids. An attempt to go to bed before midnight. All of these things mean less time reading. What is really pissing me off is not being able to read when I do get the time. I've quit eating my lunch at my work desk and I've been frequenting the break-room (my desk is piled with projects and research at the moment) and this means that people KEEP TALKING TO ME. Even when I indicate that I wouldn't like to be bothered they are in there yapping. Ugh. And then when I get a chance to read at home it is late at night and I can't focus.

ARGH!!!!!!

All this to say -- I am in a slump and it is zapping my joy. When I don't have time to read I turn into a surly booknerd and it ain't pretty.

I don't quite know what to do to lift myself out of this slump. I may just go ahead and tackle the Tomalin biography because I can't stand not reading or worse, reading shit.

Thursday Threads: Finishing some WIPS and other plans

2012-02-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

This week I plan on finishing two projects I'm nearly done with. The first is an embroidery project I started ages ago. I'm embellishing flowers on a thrifted pillowcase. Then there will be some sarcasm and either couching or felt letters applies. I cannot wait to finish it.

The second project is Hope's cowl. I'm really sick of this thing by now. There is actually a funny story behind this. I crocheted myself a cowl and Hope balked at it. Then she opened one of her tweenage celeb magazines and *SHOCK* Selena Gomez was wearing a cowl. Now Hope wants one! She asked for lots of colors and to make it long so she can make it "super loopy." You're super loopy, Hope. Harty Har Har.

Now, one to February projects. My yarn project will be from this lovely book:

And I'm planning on making this:

I also plan to carry a skein of cotton yarn and some knitting needles to whip-up dish clothes. My new favorite gift for teachers/family/friends has been baskets with a dishcloth, baked goods, and tea or coffee. Folks seem to like them and I like being able to give folks something homemade. I have plenty of cotton to keep me going:

Finally, lots of embroidery and sewing will be going on this month in the form of Valentines! Atticus's toddler class sent home a Valentine day list (you know the list of names). I feel silly sending scraps of paper to a bunch of under twos -- the paper valentines will be quickly destroyed and/or eaten -- and I don't want to send sugary junk. So I've decided to make the kiddos these:

The pattern is from Belle and Burger. I won't put buttons on as they are a choking hazard, but they will have wee stitched eyes and smiles and then the kiddos name on the back. The pillows are small and there are less than eight kids in the class. I should be able to whip-up these in a weekend.

I have a few other V-day stitchy plans, but they are secret and cannot be shared yet.

Hello, February

2012-02-01T09:49:00.002-05:00

I'm in a restless mood this morning; it is the kinda day that by 8am you think you've failed as a mom. A ridiculous and untrue statement, but still -- that feeling is there sometimes. Having a preteen and a toddler at the same time means that some mornings everyone -- even mom -- is in the state of mid-tantrum.

In an effort to cheer myself and not feel like a miserable person I thought I'd reflect on all the good points in January and think of the awesomeness in store this month.

January Highlights:

I posted 20 times on my blog. Holy cow! I'm doing so much better! I also updated my blog layout.
My new oven arrived!
It was Charles Dickens month. I read a marvelous Dickens' novel, Our Mutual Friend, and made many new Dickens-nerd blog friends.
I read several other phenomenal books, like The Night Circus and the fourth volume of Locke and Key. I also picked up some more cool books and developed my collection development policy.
I celebrated my second year of marriage to a splendid individual.
I participated in SOPA and PIPA protests (in my own fashion).
I lost 7 pounds and developed a DESIRE to exercise. (Yes, I actually enjoy it now)
I made some yarn storage and organized my craft lair.

Upcoming in February

Lots of baking related things -- I start a cake decorating class this Saturday. Also, I'm making treats for the university bake sale and Hope's birthday is coming up and she has requested the penguin cupcakes from Hello, Cupcake!.
I have lots of "making things" plans for this month (I'll talk about that more in depth tomorrow). Rest assured there is something yarnish, something stitchish, and many things Valentineish.
Gardening! As long as funds allow I will be putting a raised bed in the backyard, planting my first crop, and composting.
The Woman in Black movie will be released! SQUEEEEEE!!!! I've plans for a night of scary literary movie watching and Thai food with a good friend and I can't wait.
Hope's 12th birthday party. A skate party with gobs of tweenagers.

Alright, I've spent an hour pottering at writing this (interspersed with chores to combat my restlessness). I think a nice dose of "looking forward to things" helps with any spirit dampening morning.

I hope your February rocks!

Charles Dickens Month -- Post the Fourth

2012-01-31T05:00:00.000-05:00

I've been reading Charles Dickens's last completed novel, Our Mutual Friend, all month. While I was sniffling on the couch this past weekend I flew through the last 400 pages. I literally could not put the book down. I've tried to figure out how best to review a novel of over 800 pages with well over a dozen memorable and significant to the plot characters. And then there is the spoiler factor. There is no way for me to discuss this book in any capacity (i.e. over a sentence) without discussing some crucial plot element that would ruin the joy of your reading experience. In other words, I don't want to pop your Our Mutual Friend cherry; it would be both awkward and regrettable. We'll leave that to Charles. Seriously. Go read the book.

I will tell you that this is my THIRD favorite Dickens novel. I haven't read all of them yet, but thus far here are my favorites: 1)Bleak House, 2)Little Dorrit, 3)Our Mutual Friend, 4)Great Expectations 5)A Tale of Two Cities. I've read all of these novels in the past seven years. I have read David Copperfield and Oliver Twist, but that was in high school and I can't remember being overly fond of them. I've also read The Mystery of Edwin Drood but I don't know how to rate it. I love the book's writing and plot, but I'm so damned angry it wasn't finished and I don't know WHAT HAPPENED. I love it and reread it and then hate myself for going back to it and getting frustrated all over again. I get pissy thinking about it. We'll just call that book my Heathcliff.

Anyways, back to the point at hand. Our Mutual Friend was fabulous, the plot engaging, the characters excellent..... and it is my THIRD favorite Dickens novel. I'll tell you one last thing and then we'll throw a big ole' spoiler warning up. This book is about money.

Okay.....

BIG ASS SPOILER WARNING: I'm serious. I'm not even going to give a plot synopsis because if you haven't read this novel then you shouldn't be reading this here blog post!

**********************************************************************************

I've made it clear that I adore this book. HOWEVER there are two things that bothered me that I can really only discuss with those who have read the book:

Dickens wrote a stunning novel about greed, money, and corruption and then dropped the ball at the end.
I want to slap Bella Wilfer (aka Bella Rokesmith, aka Bella Harmon)

As I read this book about money: people going into debt, living beyond one's means, creditors being called in and lives ruined, new found money corrupting good people, covetousness (whether that be for money or a attractive young woman), I couldn't help but draw parallels to our current economic crisis. Foreclosures, credit card debt, jobless rates... It seemed that Dickens was expressing that when one is obsessed with money (or the lack thereof) and when one tries to appear to be more than what one is then one cannot fully live a happy and complete life. Translation: wanting $ + having 0$ + trying to seem like you have $ = RUINATION! We even have a 1%-er, Mr. Podsnap expounds on the embarrassment of the poor and basically says that they most likely want to be poor since they are poor. Let's look at a few examples, from about 3/4 into the novel of people experiencing the realities of money:

Noddy Boffin: This poor hard-working man is now wealthy! Oh, wait... now he has become evil and miserly. OMG he so freaking mean. What a monster!
Lizzie Hexam and Eugene Wrayburn: Lizzie was raised on the waterfront as her dad pocketed gold from the dead bodies in the river and Eugene is a gentleman (a poor gentleman, but a gentleman). Eugene knows he can never marry Lizzie and he doesn't even really consider it, he just admires her tenacity and pities her pathetic life.
Bella Wilfer: the protege of the Boffins, Bella is obsessed with money and is determined to marry her way to a better station in life.

By the end of the book, however, we learn that:

SURPRISE! Noddy wasn't mean at all. It was all an act! He is really a selfless, kind, wonderful creature. Good old Noddy!
OMG! How sweet, y'all. Eugene married Lizzie because he is about to DIE. He will be dead dead dead so now he finally realizes that he loves her and marries her while everyone in the room weeps. The difference in station doesn't matter because he will be dead. Gasp... but wait, he doesn't die! Hooray! And his stuffy, wealthy Papa doesn't care either. Hooray (throw confetti).
Bella is in love with the poor secretary and gives up everything to be with him because she is in LOVE and no longer wants money even though that is all she has ever thought about it. All it took was one belittling of the secretary by Noddy Boffin to confirm that she was in love and didn't care about the cash.

*sigh*

In Bleak House there is true suffering. Oh, folks suffer for a bit in Our Mutual Friend and several people meet sad, yet expected, ends, but at the end of OMF the good are all rewarded and the bad are all punished. Everything is made right. In Bleak House many characters suffer and things may be settled, but there is still hurt and sadness. For example, Esther marries her true love, but her face is scarred and she grieves for the mother she only knew briefly. Amy Dorrit's story in Little Dorrit ends happily, but that is really only the story of one couple experiencing that joyous happiness where everything turns out okay in the end, nearly everyone else is dead or supremely screwed-over. In OMF, so many people had tidy little happy endings and it seemed to ring a bit false.

On to Bella Wilfer/Rokesmith/Harmon. SLAP HER PLEASE. In the beginning of the novel, Bella is a headstrong, lazy, quick-tempered, spoiled, money-loving twit, but she is pretty and has dimples (of course). She is whisked off to live spoiled and pampered by the Boffins. Bella falls in love with John Rokesmith/Harmon and gives up everything to live with him. She has been deceived by the Boffins and John. The entire time she thought Noddy Boffin was a jerk and John was poor when in fact, John was refusing to claim the money and having the Boffins' assistance in testing Bella's love. Bella marries John and she's cool. She has a baby and everything is cool. She realizes that John always avoids Lawyer Lightwood and she's cool. She finds out that John is a suspected murderer and she's still cool. Suddenly, one day, John tells Bella that he isn't at his current job and they are wealthy and moving immediately. They show up at the Boffins. And then....everyone keeps laughing.

Noddy, Mrs. Boffin, and John: "hohohoho... harty har har... you thought you were poor... you thought that you married John Rokesmith and that John Harmon is dead... hahahahahhaha... we all lied to you... hahahahaha... because we wanted to test your love and emotions.... hahahahahaha..."

And the proud, headstrong, quick-tempered, sharp-tongued Bella just smiles and laughs and thinks life is grand. I would have been PISSED. To be played for at least two years because my husband wanted to see if I really was devoted. I just wished she has shown a wee little bit of anger or incredulity or something. But no, she was a perfect Angel. All motherly sighs, and shiny eyes, and radiating happiness.

Reading back through all of this it sounds like I didn't like the book. I did. I was happy for Lizzie and Eugene. I loved the character of Jenny Wren. The writing was beautiful and descriptive. I felt tension and suspense when I should. I laughed at the funny and mocking parts. It was a marvelous reading experience and this is a novel I will most certainly re-read. I think it was really the last 30 - 40 pages (of an over 800 page book) where I was slightly incredulous as to the tidy ending.

END OF SUPER-SPOILER PART!!!!!!!!!

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Now for a bit of housekeeping. I'm saving my Charles Dickens library display pictures for next week as I've babbled too much already. Also, I've decided what the winner of the drawing will win, but I'm not announcing that until next week. Remember, next Tuesday is the big 200 for Charles Dickens and the final wrap-up for this Dickens-infused month; make sure all comments are left by 11:59pm on 02/07/2012 to be eligible for the drawing!

Happy Reading!

Snot Induced Idleness Leads to Super Creativity Powers (sorta)

2012-01-30T11:59:00.000-05:00

I've been home ill with a sinus infection since Wednesday. I finally went to the doctor on Thursday and I didn't go into work Friday and I'm out today. You should know that I am the worst sick patient ever. I love being busy; I hate seeing the house a mess and lying in a heap of blankets for days and staring at the ceiling or television is a literal hell. During my snot-induced loafing I thought about why I hate being leisurely while ill. It comes down to two things:

I am going to die: As in, Life is only here for a bit and we are quickly hurdling towards demise. Therefore I should spend my time doing worthwhile things in order to eek the most I can out of my wee slice of time on Earth. Of course, "doing worthwhile things" translates into making lists, buying books, and knitting most of the time. I'm an Existentialist with embroidery patterns and cookie recipes.
I have Mom Guilt: When Sam -- who is hardly ever ill -- is sick or the kiddos aren't feeling well I send them all to bed, make pots of tea and stockpots of homemade soup, and dispense as many cuddles as tolerated. When I am sick, I feel like I'm slacking on my "mom-duties". I don't want to clean, or go to the grocery store, or -- the most guilt-inducing of all -- play with the kids. Then when Sam is at work and the kiddos are at school (like right now) I feel like I should "do" something. Laundry? Re-organizing the freezer? Dusting? On Friday, I decided to heave myself out of bed and tidy the house. I spent 20 minutes loading the dishwasher, folding clothes, and making beds. Then I had a huge coughing fit, felt utterly drained, and slept for another hour. In other words, it is okay for Sam and this kiddos to be ill and rest, but I feel like the ultimate slacker-mom when I am ill and rest.

My Not-So-Inner Feminist and my Inner-Reasonable-Person (she is buried deep) surfaced on Friday after I overdid it and decided to Take It Easy. I finished the last 400 pages of Our Mutual Friend. I did a little bit of embroidery. I watched Downton Abbey. I napped extensively. I let Sam handle dinner, and Atticus's bath, and playing with the kids. In fact, Sam took Atticus to the doctor (he has a little ear infection, but we caught it early on) morning and I stayed home and played Bejeweled on my phone.

By Saturday night I was going insane. I had to do something. So I knifed and buried my Inner-Reasonable-Person and decided to organize my Craft Lair. You can see the awfulness of my Craft Lair here. Atticus helped. He had great fun putting skeins of yarn in a laundry basket and then dragging them out again. I diagnosed the problem with my craft lair. I didn't have places to put things. Well, I have places, but none of them good when there is a curious toddler afoot. I let Atticus get into things as long as they aren't dangerous or impossibly messy to clean. Therefore yarn and embroidery hoops are forever scattered around the house. I needed a place out of the grasp of Atticus the Future Fiber Artist.... hummmmm......

Bingo....

Diaper boxes on top of the Craft Lair dresser!

Well, that worked, but was completely unattractive. Then Creativity slapped me silly and I had an idea.

1 Diaper box + rolls of faux wood-paneling (rescued from the library trash) + thrifted pillowcases = ATTRACTIVE YARN STORAGE.

I whipped these up in the space of 10 minutes and had all my yarn tidied away neatly. I spent the rest of the evening working for 10 minutes and then resting for 50 minutes. I got it done and when Sam came home from the tattoo shop sometime after-midnight the Craft Lair was a-sparkling.

Ohhhh.... ahhhhh....

They aren't perfect, but they look a heck of a lot better than undecorated diaper boxes.

Organization for the win!

A place for everything!

Accomplishing this really raised my spirits and it really didn't take too long or too much effort once I had a place for all my supplies. Huzzah!

Photo Friday: the Snot Monster Edition

2012-01-27T13:42:00.001-05:00

Blargh. I'm sick for the second time this year. This time with a miserable sinus infection. I'm doing nothing but sipping tea and blowing my nose. I am going to attempt some reading as well.

Downton Abbey Will Make Me Fat*

2012-01-25T10:03:00.003-05:00

I've decided to try and post about healthy things (i.e. weight, recipes, tips, troubles, etc....) regularly. I'm hoping it will help keep me motivated. I'm going to really embarrass myself and also keep track of my weight here. I really hate flashing my weight, but I'm hoping it will help. I keep telling myself that at least I'm not 356 pounds still. I was 356 and then lost to 248. Since 2008 I have gained 48 pounds. That is really scary to me.

January 6th 296
January 13th 291

January 20th 290!

I know it isn't a huge loss, but I'm so happy I lost a pound last week. And here is why...

~WARNING!!!!! WOMANLY THINGS DISCUSSED BELOW! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!~

...I started my period that morning. Any woman will tell you that weighing oneself when "on the rag" and especially on day one can be traumatic. I was already bloated and feeling gross. I entertained the notion of not weighing in. I was sure that the 5lb loss from last week was a complete fluke and that I'd gained 20lbs. I made myself weigh-in and I was pleasantly surprised.

Okay, on to the rest of the update. Each time I blog about my attempt at a healthier life I am going to try to identify one friend and one foe. Something that I have succeeded at or is a useful tool and then something that I'm struggling with and then try to find a solution.

Friend: My Fitness Pal app.
I have this neat-o app. on my phone that I use to keep my food diary and count calories and nutritional information. It is called MyFitnessPal and it is a free app. I have an Android, but it also is available for iPhone users.

Basically I just entered in all of my information and the program calculated my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). Essentially this is how many calories I burn daily doing nothing. At the size I am now, my current BMR is 2,047. Taking that information, along with how much I'd like to lose per week, MyFitnessPal calculates how many daily calories I need to lose weight. Right now my daily target is 1,590 calories.

When I eat something I add it to the meal list either by searching for the food, blipping the barcode with my Android, or adding in the calories. I just add in the calories when I make a recipe that has the caloric intake already figured. Online, you can add in a recipe, put the number of servings, and MyFitnessPal calculates the calories per serving.

You can also add exercises from their exercise database (areas for cardio and strength training) and EARN your calories back (if you want). I also use it to track water consumption.

With the app I get a full nutritional profile. I can see if I'm consuming too little protein and too many carbs. I can see which vitamins I'm deficient in and I can print progress reports.

The coolest bit is at the end of the day. When I get in bed and I'm all done eating for the day I simply click that I'm done and the app. calculates -- based on that days consumption and exercise -- how much I would weigh in 5 weeks if everyday was like today. AWESOME MOTIVATOR! Last night I was a little -- 48 calories -- over and I was super bummed. But when I finished closing out the day the app said that "if every day was like today you'd weigh 281.1 lbs in 5 weeks). OMG. Seriously! That's awesome!

Foe: Fatigue
When I was in college I really started to pack on weight. I think I gained about 40 pounds during my final year and a half of school. About 75% of this weight was from eating when I was tired. I was a full-time honors student taking a maximum amount of hours, working three part-time jobs which totaled about 34 hours a week of work, and I was a single mother with a toddler. Add to that my insanity in adding extracurricular activities; I was involved in several clubs and I was editor of our literary magazine. What the hell was I thinking? It ended up that the bulk of my homework and research occurred between 8pm (when Hope went to bed) and 3am. And of course, I was back up at 6am for the day to begin again.

Coffee could only do so much. I found that after 8pm I was eating to stay awake. Entire boxes of Wheat Thins. Popcorn. Animal Crackers. Ice Cream. During the day I carried what I thought was a healthy snack (yogurt-covered raisins) and I would eat virtually the entire day. I felt so hungry all the time. What I was really feeling was fatigue. I was exhausted, but I had to keep going.

I find I reach for food when I am tired more than anything else. I also shovel it in. There is no enjoying that doughnut, I'm cramming it down my throat as quickly as possible. Even though I don't have the hellish schedule I did in college, my life feels very full: work, parenting, housework, cooking, laundry, blogging, reading, friends, my 500 million hobbies...... My inclination is to stay up until 1am getting things done or doing something enjoyable and then wake back up at 5am.

Last night I started my fight with fatigue. I've decided by 9:30 I need to have my teeth brushed and be in the bed. I can read for an hour, but I'm not to get out of bed unless it is to use the "facilities. ' This means I have had to give up or postpone some things.... like Downton Abbey.

I don't have TV, but I usually watch Downton Abbey online on Monday or Tuesday nights. By the time the kids are in bed that puts me watching the hour-long program at 9pm. And I like to eat while I watch. AND, being the dork that I am, I find that I'm excited afterwards thinking about what will happen next and then I want to stay up and re-re-re-read Brideshead Revisited until 1am. Of course, I'm sleepy and Atticus wakes at 5am, so I find myself reaching for carb-y snacks. No more. I'm waiting until the weekend or a night when Sam is home to help with the kiddos and THEN I will watch Downton Abbey.

My other key sleepy time is after work when I'm cooking dinner. I'm normally cooking around 4:30 because we eat at 5:30 so Sam can go to the tattoo shop fairly early in the evening. I've accepted the fact that I'm starving by 4 and I must eat something. I usually go for a walk after work and then I come home and have a reasonable, protein-filled snack: a fiber one bar with a cheese stick or a boiled egg on a small salad or some yogurt with fruit. When I know what I'm going to eat I'm less liking to do that desperate grabbing for whatever carb/sugar I can shovel in.

Alright, goals for next week: keep logging in my food and watch-out for fatigue. Fingers crossed that I'll see some results on Friday!

(*Hyperbolic, attention-grabbing title, CHECK)

Charles Dickens Month -- The Rare Book Edition

2012-01-24T21:32:00.001-05:00

A thousand -- as Uriah Heep would say -- humble apologies; I know I'm woefully late with this week's Charles Dickens post and I could have titled it "The Better Late Than Never Post."

I'd like to share a bit of the Charles Dickens display I put together at my library with the help of our special collections curator/librarian and some ever-trusty work-study students. This week I'll highlight two treasures from our Rare Book Gallery and next week I'll work in a few pictures of the general display.

Gasp! What's that! The conclusion to The Mystery of Edwin Drood! Can it be??? Did Dickens leave another manuscript?????

Alas, this is not Charles Dickens's work. Once attributed to Wilkie Collins, this hoax novel was written by Henry Morford.

According to the special collection curator, this book, and the companion Edwin Drood, had a Sotheby slip in stating that the set was "exceedingly rare."

OMG. Look at the fancy edging!

Another fascinating find! The library I work at has the entire serialized set of Our Mutual Friend.

The serialized novel is resplendent with Victorian advertising.

I was squealing -- quietly -- when I was able to help select and arrange these precious items. I can't wait to explore our Rare Book Collection much more thoroughly in the future.

Making Me Crazy: a Plea to Crafters, Bakers, Stitchers, and Yarn Wranglers

2012-01-23T10:57:00.001-05:00

Yes, the cat bed is on top of the craft table.

My beautiful craft area has become a veritable nightmare and the place where we put everything we don't want Atticus to chew on. I am overwhelmed by the mess and all the projects. I don't know where to start (or maybe it is when to stop!). I have quit Pintrest temporarily because I am collecting more ideas and then doing nothing with them.

My goal this week is to organize this wreck. Then I am going to figure out February projects. I think I need to limit myself to one project in each area a month. I feel like a list may be in order.

My question to all the creative types out there: how the hellfire do you organize /manage your projects? Is this some sort of odd OCD? Please help!

Are you there Blog? It's Me, Amanda

2012-01-22T22:09:00.002-05:00

I've tried to make a concerted effort this year to be "real" on this blog. Not that I was fake before, but I did worry -- like I do in real life -- that people wouldn't like me, or they would be bored, or I would just come off as a weirdo. While I'll still try to maintain a sense of decorum -- i.e. I've been quite good about not bitching too much or too specifically about work -- I've written about things I wouldn't have written about in the past.

You wouldn't think it would be a big deal, but I was nervous about posting my collection development policy. Why I was nervous is any one's guess (maybe it wasn't thought out enough, or had silly gaps, or was just a brazen display of unabashed ocd nerdiness), but I had so many comments from other bookish folks about their collections and bookish plans. It made me so glad. I was piss-my-pants terrified of writing about my issues with binge eating but the response to my binge-eating post had me in happy, warm-fuzzy land. Knowing that others - fat or thin -- struggle with the same food issues has given me so much courage to Keep Calm and Carry On. It is the camaraderie of blogging that I love.

This got me thinking about when and why I started blogging. It was fall of 2004. I had graduated from college the year prior and all of my friends moved away after graduation. Off they went, back to other home cities and states or off to graduate programs and I was left in my little Georgia town. I was flat broke -- no car, very little money, and extremely isolated. I didn't know a single soul in G-ville, Georgia who loved reading like I loved reading. No one wanted to talk Jeanette Winterson essays. Or Mists of Avalon. Or Angela Carter short stories. Added to that I was a single mother and at the time I was dating an absolute moron. Total isolation. I went to the local coffee shop with large books in hand, but I just read. I didn't interact with a soul. A socially-awkward introvert, I didn't know how to walk up to someone and jump in a conversation... especially with when I tried to open conversations with "have you read A.S. Byatt?"

At this point in time my library where I worked was... for lack of a better word... a joke. We had no director and just before my arrival several people had quit or "left" and things were a mess. I was a copy cataloger and, alas, the system was nearly always down leaving me sitting at a desk and playing minesweeper for hours on end.

To combat extreme loneliness and boredom I decided to become a bit more active on some Yahoo book groups. There I met this lady and this lady. I don't remember which one of them started blogging first, but once the idea popped into my head, inspired by Andi and Heather, and once I realized "slap my ass and call me Sally there are other book nerds out there!" I was hooked. I've blogged ever since with one hiatus of four months when I deleted my first blog (The Blog Jar) and decided to take out the trash (moronic boyfriend).

Blogging has led me to make new friendships, discover new things, and I've truly grown as a person -- and no I'm not just talking about my waistline. I feel accepted and it is quite lovely to know that I can type out my frustrations and happy things and someone out there in the blog-o-sphere understands.

I hadn't intended on writing all of this, but I decided I might as well. I just wanted to thank everyone who leaves comments and the lurkers. And thanks for writing such great material out there for me to read. The great thing about blogging is that it isn't one-sided!

Okay, now it is time to hope off of my Oscar-speech box and head to bed. Atticus has pinkeye so I'll be home from work tomorrow and chasing a rambunctious little one through the house from 5am on. G'night!

Photo Friday: The Yogurt Monster!

2012-01-20T19:29:00.001-05:00

The Difference between Cookie and Cookies

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

So I haven't blogged about this yet, but I'm on a weight loss mission. I signed up for a weight-loss challenge last year, but that was kinda silly because I was nursing Atticus like crazy and it is never a good idea to diet whilst nursing full-time. I'm hesitant to blog about weight loss because I actually have a lot to say on the topic and it is a bit overwhelming. Way at the bottom of my blog is a weight loss ticker and that's pretty much all I've done publicly.

I have a lot to say. About why I'm fat. The weight I have loss. The weight I gained back. Eating Disorders. How weight has impacted my love life, my parenting, and other areas of my life. Until I get up the gumption to write it all down, I thought I'd start with baby steps.

I'm going to write about cookie. That isn't a typo. I meant cookie. One of the reasons I'm fat is because of cookies. Cakes. Breads. Slices of pizza. Not a cookie, cake, bread, or a slice of pizza. I'm fat because I ate too much really good food.

Here's something you may or may not know about me. In 2003, while battling depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from sexual violence, I was hospitalized in a mental health facility. Given my intense fear of men and frequent flashbacks I was placed in a wing of the hospital for women. That area of the hospital happened to specialized in eating disorders. So there I was, at that time over 350 pounds, sitting around with 60 pound women; some of the women were in wheelchairs, some about to be whisked to the hospital for feeding tubes, a couple with kidney failure, and more than a few with esophageal erosion and other health problems.

What I learned from these women suffering from anorexia and bulimia was that we were the same in so many ways. They all thought they looked like me. They had some of the same issues -- secrecy eating, low self-esteem, cutting and other modes of self-harm. And yes, all the food issues. As one of girl remarked to me, "Amanda, you're just like me, you're just all binge and no purge."

Tuesday's was Challenge Day. We were all ushered into a private dining area. The same dining area where we recorded what we ate and how we felt at each meal. A tiny, wee slice of cake was placed in front of each of use. The anorexic girls who didn't want to eat and the bulimic girls who wanted to eat tons only to throw it back up had to take one bite. ONE BITE. I can recall several of the girls weeping. This awful piece of cake would kill them. That one bite would make them fat, disgusting, ugly, ill.....

My challenge was to take one bite. ONE BITE. Slowly. Not wolfing it down. But I wanted all of the slice. And everyone else could give me the unwanted slices. Cake was good. Cake made me feel happy, calm, loved, satisfied, fulfilled. I needed cake. So. much. cake. I took one bite and the cake was carried away. I cried. I cried because I realized those many many many bites of cake would make me fat, disgusting, ugly, ill.....

I had the same problem as many of the other women at the facility. I had disordered eating. Not a single one of us could easily have cake as a reasonable part of our lives; an occasional treat in a realistic portion size.

Part of my disordered eating is that I identity my eating as being "good" and "bad". When I'm good I'm very very good. I eat rabbit food and exercise and think about calories constantly. When I'm bad I'll eat a sack of cheeseburgers and a half-gallon of ice cream. Both types of thinking are extreme and certainly not normal.

That being said, I've realized that I've slipped back into celebrating with a dozen cookies, rather than enjoying one cookie. I'll bake a batch and have one out of the oven, one with lunch, one for snack, one after dinner, one before bed..... Back in December I even promised myself a cookie every time the baby woke up in the middle of the night (I had three cookies between 10pm and 6am that night).

My goal is to lose weight, but my ultimate goal is to relearn my healthy eating habits. Eat when hungry. Quit when full. Healthful exercise. Reasonable portions.

Tuesday night I baked a batch of cookies. I wanted something chocolaty. I much rather indulge in a homemade something rather than a store bought something. I baked Martha Stewart's Surprise Cookies. I omitted the frosting. I made sure I did an hour of exercise that day instead of 30 minutes. The cookies came out of the oven.

I had one cookie. Slowly. With a small glass of fat-free milk. I was full and perfectly satisfied. I enjoyed that one cookie so much more knowing that I was eating reasonably.

Hooray, for cookie!

SOPA and PIPA HURTS LIBRARIES!

2012-01-18T09:20:00.000-05:00

Today marks the day that the Internet goes black to protest SOPA(H.R.3261) and PIPA (S.968). I had considered blacking out my blog in support, but to be honest I am not that tech-savvy and I feared loosing my blog altogether.

I'm hesitant to write about these "anti-piracy" bills, because I'm afraid my arguments and explanations will be unable to properly express how Fahrenheit-451-like these bills are and how the implications of these bills -- as they are written -- could ultimately censor our rights to free speech.

Okay so instead of writing eloquent tirades against SOPA and PIPA I'm just going to spill out the stupidity of these legislative bits of ignorance by writing my impressions. (i.e. this is an opinion piece, don't cite this in your papers, LOL).

First of all, you must know that I am a hardcore copyright follower and I think every librarian and library assistant should be invested in protecting copyright. At my job I AM the interlibrary loan department. Interlibrary Loan is basically resource-sharing among libraries. If a patron at my University needs a book on Sylvia Plath and Cold War Politics then I may request to borrow that book from another library and, in a reciprocating fashion, if another University needs to borrow an article from a journal we carry then we will lend them the journal article. All of these transactions occur under very strict and meticulously written guidelines. We have a limit on the number of articles we can request per year per journal, there are embargoes, and licensing agreements... Everything is stamped and emails are sent with copyright guidelines/warnings. The collection development librarian keeps an eye on my statistics and orders materials in areas that have heavy requests to keep our collection current with student needs. I am acutely aware, everyday, of my need to be a good steward of our libraries resources and of the intellectual property and copyright rights of the creators, scholars, and researchers who write these books and articles.

This attention to copyright extends to other areas at my library: course reserves are truly only for supplementary reading and no required texts are put on reserve. The librarians teach students (in classes, online, and in library interactions) the importance of evaluating, using, and properly citing resources. We abhor plagiarism in all forms. Copyright signs are mounted near the computers and copy machines. We educate faculty. Our online databases and subscriptions are under strict licensing agreements and have protections in place to prevent use by non-University members. In short, libraries like mine seek to ensure that copyright and fair use guidelines are followed and we are most certainly anti-piracy.

So what's the big deal? These bills are anti-piracy and libraries are anti-piracy, but I think piracy means something vastly different in these proposed bills.

See libraries follow a set of core beliefs called The Library Bill of Rights. I'd like to focus specifically on the third part, "Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment." ...the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment. See that's the catcher. Information, knowledge, enlightenment... are things that should be available to everyone no matter age, income, race, gender, location, etc..... The library provides a place for people to gain knowledge. Whether it is an article for that sophomore level English paper, a novel for a grandmother, well-researched information on Autism for the concerned mother, an aria for the budding opera singer, or an online book on accounting principles for the distance education students these items are for private study, scholarship, and research. They are to assist individuals into becoming better, wiser, more knowledgeable individuals.

Piracy denotes robbery, unauthorized use, and/or reproducing copyrighted material. Not reading, citing, and engaging in the material. Piracy means that the "pirate" wants something for nothing. To obtain a commodity without purchasing (hey libraries, public and private, purchase or subscribe to their items!) or sell/make a profit from another person's work, or they want to pass something off as their own that they didn't create. And this is why we have copyright and Fair Use. To make sure that libraries and library users are using these materials for education and enlightenment and not to make a dollar or prevent others from making a profit.

The scary thing is that SOPA and PIPA have taken things like infringement, the definition of wilfulness, and the commercial purposes and apply it in broad general terms that lump everyone together. The online distance student using an article obtained via Interlibrary Loan for a research paper? The same as someone who illegally distributes copies of the Twilight movie on Ebay. And the researchers, actors, writers, painters, etc... won't be making more money or have a firmer grasp on their respective intellectual property because of SOPA and PIPA. Rather, the large corporations -- the people/machines with the financial means to engage in rampant litigation -- will effectively shutout and shutdown libraries, obliterate opposition on the web, and otherwise use this law in ways it is not intended to be used. The language is broad, sweeping, and can be manipulated for other purposes. Purposes such as shutting down whistleblowers, dictating opinions, and -- yes -- whatever -ism or government in office (left-wing, right-wing, religious or not) can take this vague punitive bit of legislation and shut you up. Most certainly un-American.

If you'd like to read more about SOPA, PIPA and the potential impact of your ability and right to information, knowledge, and enlightenment you can check out the letter from The Library Copyright Alliance, American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, the Association of College and Research Libraries here.

To tell congress to "End Piracy, Not Liberty" visit here.

Charles Dickens Month -- A Slapdash post

2012-01-17T05:00:00.000-05:00

I've been ill all weekend, some sort of upper-respiratory funk, and I'm ashamed to say that this will be a post not very rich in content. I did want to put up SOMETHING so that all you folks who are on the ball will have a place to post links. By the way, I hope to visit more of your posts this week.

I have had much adventuring with Charles this week:

I'm deeper into Our Mutual Friend and it is getting so good!
I finished watching David Copperfield with Hope. She liked it and has asked if we can watch Our Mutual Friend. Funnily enough, she calls it Our Material Friend which could be applied to several of the characters in the book.
I've been working on a Charles Dickens display at the library. One display case is all about the novels. The other display case is filled with items from our Rare Books Gallery. As soon as it is done I promise to share pictures!
Sam gave me the best anniversary gift, Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin. I cannot wait to dig in once I've finished Our Mutual Friend.
While researching and pulling books for the library display, I came across Dickens' Fur Coat and Charlotte's Unanswered Letters: The Rows and Romances of England's Great Victorian Novelists by Daniel Pool. I've added it to my ever-growing TBR pile!

Alright folks, that's it for me this week. I promise to write more thoroughly next week! Hit me up with your links on Charles Dickens in the comments section.

Happy Reading!

Happy Anniversary, Sam

2012-01-16T17:02:00.001-05:00

This anniversary weekend has not gone as planned. Alas, the dratted snot monster has attacked me. Instead of romance and the dark chocolate espresso soaked cake I had planned on baking , I am in bed with chills and body aches.

But this weekend has certainly proved that I have married me a damn good man. I am laying in bed right now and listening to Sam cook dinner, care for the kids, and handle housework. He has brought me medicine and tissues. He loves me so much and I am such a lucky women.

He made me a Thai curry dinner last night, gave me a lovely frame for our wedding pictures with sweet nothings written on the frame. He painted me a picture. And he surprised me with the new Charles Dickens biography.

I love you, Sam, and you have made me the happiest woman.

My Collection Development Policy

2012-01-15T14:21:00.000-05:00

I work in a library as a library assistant and am quite familiar with the useful purposes of a collection development policy. Essentially a collection development policy guides a library's purchasing choices and also assists with weeding. Collection Development policies ensure that a collection meets the needs and desires of users. I can't believe I didn't think to write a policy for my own book-buying until a few months ago. And it has taken me until last week to go about actually writing it down.

This is how I knew it was time:

Summertime. The night of the Harry Potter 7.2 midnight movie. In Barnes and Noble. $25 in my pocket. Absolutely panicked. Finally I have a chance to buy books.... but what? I can only buy one or two items and there's so much! Fiction? Classics? Non-Fiction? Ack!!!!!!! I finally chose a novel, but the process was disconcerting. I was overwhelmed with choices, limited with funds, and had no idea what I even wanted. I had a title or two in my head, but when I couldn't find those on the shelves I felt severe anxiety. Booknerd Anxiety.

A few weeks later, a repeat. Same summer, but this time a used bookstore. $20 in my books and too many choices. Same issue.

Then this fall a completely different problem. I blew $20 at the charity library sale and came home with close to 40 books. I just grabbed what looked interesting and now I don't know where to put them all.

Okay. Seriously. I need a collection development policy.

Amanda's Collection Development Policy

General Scope: Mostly British / Classics / Women Writers / Historical Fiction

Collected Presses: Virago / Persephone / NYRB

Areas of Collection Growth:

Poets: Sylvia Plath / Anne Sexton / Edna St. Vincent Millay / T.S. Eliot / W.B. Yeats

Story Collections: From collected authors (see Authors list) / Mystery / Gothic and Ghostly / Historical / Fables and Fairy Tales

Historical Periods and Interests (for topical fiction and non-fiction collection): Victorian / History of the Book / Memoirs and Biographies by and/or about writers / British History 1400-1600 / Bohemian Leftbank / WWI, WW2, and in between / Classic Art / Fables and Fairy Tales

Authors: Sharon Kay Penman / The Brontes / Elizabeth Gaskell / Charles Dickens / Wilkie Collins / Evelyn Waugh / Angela Carter / Elizabeth Bowen / Shirley Jackson / Margaret George / Simone de Beauvoir / Virginia Woolf / George Eliot / E M Forster / John Galsworthy / Sylvia Townsend Warner / Rebecca West / Emile Zola / Iris Murdoch / Barbara Pym / Patricia Highsmith / A S Byatt / H P Lovecraft / M R James / Margaret Atwood

Those are the basic parameters.

Here are essential questions to ask before buying a book:

Is this item in good shape?
Is it from a press I collect or an area of collection growth?

Questions to Ask After Reading (must answer "yes" to at least four of the following questions to keep the book:

Will I read this again?
Will I wish to consult this item again?
Do I wish to lend this title to friends/family or save it for my children?
Is this a press I collect?
Does this fall within the areas of collection growth?
Is this a quality item (in good shape, excellent translation, etc....)?

Now I have a plan when I shop. First check for the presses I collect, second check my author list, third check for poetry and short stories, and fourth check for non-fiction titles.

This really really really makes me want to buy more books just to check out the policy. My next book-nerd clean up task is to do a massive book reorganizing, create a plan of attack for reading my books that I'm not sure I'll keep, and then updating my LibraryThing (which is vastly incorrect and hasn't been updated in two years).

Cheers for my nerdy OCD!

Give me some feedback? What do you think of my policy? Do you have a policy?

Photo Friday: What $15, 30 childless minutes, and a charity bookshop will get you...

2012-01-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

This week has been a busy week and weird. My normally normal work schedule was thrown off and messed me up royally. Usually I work days with a closing shift on Wednesdays. This week I closed on Sunday, Wednesday, and Thursday. And I worked 6 days in a row (one shift was a mere 3 hours, but it felt sooooooo long). And we had a ginormous rat in the library that -- of course -- showed up during my shift. And it rained some more in the library. And we had creepy half-propped back door open at 10pm in the library and I had to investigate. And students were screaming at me about holds because they hadn't returned the $311 worth of books they borrowed in 2010 and how dare I prevent their registering late....

OMG. Can I have a bakery/bookstore/coffeeshop/vintage boutique/embroidery shop yet? I like my actual job duties (ILL) but I can not take the random ridiculous bullshit. Seriously, I would not be surprised if I walk in on a plague of locusts on Tuesday. I am working on a Charles Dickens display and that rocks. I'm totally planning on making a Victorian Sponge Cake for the library in early February in celebration of Charles Dickens's birthday. Book dorks who bake are eccentric creatures.

There is good stuff going on too... it just seems like my messed up sleep pattern/work schedule has impacted my reading and mood. Good things -- anniversary weekend! Sam and I were going to go on a mega-thrifting day trip but the co-parent, Shannon, has the flu, so we've tweaked our plans. My MIL is coming over for a few hours so we can get lunch and do something. I want to go bowling. Sam wants to "walk around." I say bowling sounds more exciting!

I got a hair cut. I made a lot of good recipes. Baked a pan of brownies. Figured out my collection development policy (nerd snort). Listened to loads of Magnetic Fields. Drank more coffee than healthy. Oh, and I LOST 5 LBS. Yay!

Tonight I'm going to attempt bed at a decent hour (if going to bed at 11pm and waking at 5am is decent. See you cats later.

Charles Dickens Month -- Post the Second

2012-01-10T06:56:00.002-05:00

Here is is, Charles Dickens Tuesday once again. Let's get started!

I haven't read as much of Our Mutual Friend as I would like I'm on page 134 (and let me remind you it is over 800 pages long) and I am enjoying the story so far. My problem is that a Charles Dickens is not an "on the go" type of book. Dipping into it while on break at work, or in line, or while dinner is cooking isn't advisable. One must plunge head first into a Dickens tome and expect to put down roots. Atticus was ill this weekend with an ear infection (a temperature of over 102!) and I didn't have much time to get lost in Dickensian settings. But this week will be different. I'm determined to get a solid chunk read by next Tuesday.

I don't even know how to explain the plot to you thus far. I've been introduced to a bevy of characters: Noddy and his wife who adores Fashion have recently seen their place in society lifted due to an unexpected inheritance, the Wilfer family who have been disappointed in some finances they hoped to gain by their daughter's marriage, the Mr. and Mrs. Lammle who I believe are up to no good and a bevy of others in society -- low and high -- and they will all figure in the plot in some fashion. I'm expecting money will truly be the root of all evil in this book.

Monday evening I began watching the Daniel Radcliffe version of David Copperfield with Hope. We just finished the first episode and it is quite good. I haven't read the book since high school, but it is all coming back to me. I love Maggie Smith's spunk as David Copperfield's aunt and Hope was tickled that "so many Harry Potter" folks were in the film. We actually had a "teachable moment" while watching. Hope was asking about the mistreatment of David Copperfield. The idea of being flogged for not knowing lessons horrified her and she was also concerned when we discussed child labor and the Industrial Revolution. She really liked the film and wants to read the book one day (her ADHD can make large books quite a challenge to read). Oh, yeah, I also forgot how slimy and creepy Uriah Heep is... shudder....

I keep telling myself quality not quantity... I hope you all have a terrific week.

The Night Circus -- A Recipe

2012-01-09T10:21:00.002-05:00

I had every intention on posting my reaction to The Night Circus yesterday but between an evening shift at work, a sick little boy, and an inability to clearly articulate my thoughts it just didn't happen. I feel a bit silly even posting about The Night Circus; endlessly reviewed on book blogs, this novel of magicians in love and war has been hovering on the periphery of my reading for ages. I finally decided to delve in and tried my best to push aside all preconceived notions and expectations. I cracked open my book on New Year's Eve and prepared to "read in the New Year". I believed I could finish that book in one night. Oh I could have finished the book in one night, but I stopped myself.; I simply couldn't bring myself to let the book end. It was that good. Besides the gorgeous images, my favorite thing about The Night Circus was that it reminded me of many of my favorite novels, movies, and authors. Let me make it clear that this wasn't a case of Morgenstern's novel being a pale imitation of a favorite novel, rather it was more like she took the mythology of a myriad of magical things I love and made something new, but with a nod to the old.

Sounds delicious, eh? It is. And I've included the recipe for The Night Circus to better sum up my reading experience:

The Night Circus:

Ingredients:
4 Cups Angela Carter's work
2 Cups wonderfully atmospheric color palette of black and white
Dash of red
3 Cups of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
5 Tablespoons of Geek Love
4 Cups of damn fine writing
1 Cup of The Prestige
1 Quart ingenuity
Pinch of Harry Potter
Dash of Neil Gaiman

Mix Angela Carter's work with the color palette and dash of red.
Blend in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Geek Love, damn fine writing and The Prestige.
Create a well in the center and pour in ingenuity, fold in.
Sprinkle with Harry Potter and Neil Gaiman.

Bake at 387 pages. Serve with nighttime, cup of tea, and page-turning dazzlement.

There you are, your very own Night Circus recipe. Needless to say as my first read of 2012 Morgenstern's novel has set the bar quite high for my other reads!

Dear Darling Blog

2012-01-06T16:10:00.000-05:00

www.nataliedee.com

Dear Darling Blog,

I know it is only Friday and we just hung out on Tuesday, but I feel like I haven't seen you in forever. I went back to work and things have been CRAZY! Lots to do at work (type file type email schedule mail chat groan). Lots to do at home (nurse cook clean homework parenting laundry). And then there are the little quiet things I need to keep me sane (read bake read stitch read knit read crochet read write read). I have this awful fear that you will slip away and become a mere shadow of your quirky little self.

I value our relationship. You just really listen so well and you let me say what I want and you like my shitty pictures of all my wee hobbies and the endless cute pictures of the kiddos. Really what our relationship needs is some prioritizing. Making time for you is important and I'm not going to let my weirdly placed anxieties (no one will like me) or my more bizarre hobbies (although I don't think OCD organizing of kitchen cupboards at 3am is a hobby) or my crazy life as wife/mother/librarychica keep me from you.

So prioritizing it is. I made a little schedule so we can talk about our feelings or strengthen our bonds or do what ever the heckfire it is we do here, because I love you, hard. If I have a topic already in place in my weak little mind then when I do have time for us to hang out it will be much easier to get the ball going.

Ok, Blog, here is my new little blog schedule. Me making time for you. Because I care. so. much. for. some. odd. reason.

January
Sunday -- Sunday Salon (a bookish time)
Monday -- Making Monday (recipes, crafts, stitches, etc...)
Tuesday -- Charles Dickens Tuesday
Wednesday -- Web Wanderings (pintrest boards, memes, links, etc)
Thursday -- On the Home Front (mom stuff, marriage stuff, maybe even more recipes)
Friday -- Photo Friday

I'm not sure of the correct way to finish this little letter. I suppose I could say "you had me at 'new post'". Or I could just admit that "I can't quit you." But what it comes down to is "you complete me;" for some reason, my little memories and observations bring me joy and peace and happiness. Blog, you are worth making time to write because when I write about my life in this public of a venue I realize how much I have to appreciate and that always makes my day a bit brighter.

Here's looking at you, Blog.

XOXOXO,
Amanda

Charles Dickens Month -- Post the First

2012-01-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Last night, once the baby was in bed, I made a large mug of hot cocoa and listened to the wind whipping the tree branches outside. I scooped up the cat and made for my Comfy Spot on the sofa. I thought that the cold wintery night would be PERFECT for finishing the last 30 pages of The Night Circus. I settled in and then looked at my books stack. Oh. Right. There, beneath The Night Circus, Our Mutual Friend was waiting patiently. Waiting as he has been for the past five years that he has lived on my TBR shelf. I love Charles Dickens, but I have to be "in the mood" and I really wanted to finish my current book.

I did the Responsible Thing and put The Night Circus back on the table and picked up Our Mutual Friend. "After all," I said to the cat, "I can't host a Dickens month and then cease participating." I decided to give myself thirty minutes. Thirty minutes of large Victorian novel and THEN I could go back to reading a delicious tale concerning a magical circus.

I set a timer on my phone, cracked open Our Mutual Friend and read:

"In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark Bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in."

I was hooked.... I read and read and read. I shut off the timer to squeeze in a few more pages and before I knew it an hour had passed.

I'm less than 50 pages in (teeny print and I'm a slow reader), but already my mind is turning over the story. I've been introduced to a bevy of characters and I haven't really read enough to truly know how all the stories are linked. I will say that this book, like many of Dickens's novels, is about money. In fact, it is reminding me of Little Dorrit which I read last year and adored. I hope to plunge deeper into the novel this week and write more on the plot and characters next Tuesday.

I can't wait to hear about what you all are reading (or watching or listening) concerning Charles Dickens.

Okay, now a bit of housekeeping:

Originally I said that everyone should post about Dickens every Tuesday up to and including February 7th. I now realize that this is kinda silly. I know that people have schedules and plans and lives. So instead I propose that you can write a post concerning Dickens whenever you jolly well feel like it and then simply leave a comment on my most current Dickens post with a link to your Dickens post. However, the cut off for posting for giveaway purposes will be 11:59pm on Tuesday, February 2nd. I will be posting every Tuesday. Does that work for everyone? I believe we have close to 30 people participating. Yay!

Alright folks, leave your URLs in the Comments section and I'll do my best to visit your posts by the end of the week. Happy Reading!

2011 in Pictures

2012-01-02T08:22:00.001-05:00


January


February


March


April


May

June


July

August


September

October

November

December

It was really difficult to pick pictures this year. I have so many good memories! I hope 2012 proves to be just as rich with joy.

2011 Reading Wrap-Up

2012-01-01T17:41:00.002-05:00

I had the oddest surprise today. I was nearly positive that this reading year has been far better than last year. According to the stats, I read more in 2010! In 2010 I read 48 books and 17,398 pages. This year I read 43 books and 14,907 pages. I feel like my reading experience was much richer this year. I read good books in 2010, but I also got married, moved to a new home, and had a baby all in the space of a year; I was reading, but I was also quite distracted.

In last year's tradition, I'm going to post my end-of-the-year reading wrap-up post. I used the format from last year, but I also ~~stole~~ borrowed some questions/stats from A Work in Progress because I <3 her blog.

Best Books (in random order):
Saplings by Noel Streatfeild
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
Elizabeth I: A Novel by Margaret George
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Worst Book:
A tie between Fables #13: The Great Fables Crossover by The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory

Most Disappointing:
Alice I have Been by Melanie Benjamin

Most Surprising (in a good way):
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

Book I recommended the most:
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

Best Series:
The Sally Lockhart series by Philip Pullman

Favorite New Authors:
Richmal Crompton, Noel Streatfeild, Nancy Milford, Margaret George, Rumer Godden, Hilary Mantel, and Brian Selznick

Most Hilarious Read:
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

Most Thrilling, Unputdownable Read:
Room by Emma Donoghue

Book I most anticipated reading in 2011:
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Favorite Cover:

Most Memorable Character:
Lady Audley from Lady Audley's Secret

Most Beautifully Written:
Saplings by Noel Streatfeild

Greatest Impact:
Savage Beauty by Nancy Milford (It made me remember how much I enjoy non-fiction!)

Book I can't believe I waited so long to read:
A toss-up between In this House of Brede by Rumer Godden, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

Best Comfort:
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

Bleakest:
Saplings by Noel Streatfeild

Book that took me forever to read (in a good way):
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Book where I had no clue what was going on:
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (it took me a bit to get into the POV)

Most Obnoxious Character:
The "other woman" in Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple and Amy Dorrit's father in Little Dorrit

2011 Stats:

Pages Read: 14,907
Number of Books: 43
Challenges completed: 1 (what the fuck?)
Fiction: 30
Non-Fiction: 5
Graphic Novels: 6
Short Story Collections: 2
Books by men: 13
Books by women: 29
Books by both: 1
Plays: 0
Poetry Collections: 0
Virago: 1
Persephone: 4
NYRB: 0
Library books: 32
Books from my stacks: 11
Multiple books by same author: 4 -- Joe Hill, Bill Willingham, Susan Hill, and Brian Selznick

Okay folks -- onto 2012! Read or Die, people, Read or Die!

End of the Year Plans, a To-Do list

2011-12-31T07:31:00.000-05:00

Figure out how to change a poopy diaper with out the rambunctious toddler kicking my fresh arm tattoos.
Clean the house, I like starting a new year with a literal clean slate.
Do a bit of journaling during naptime and perhaps a wee bit of reading.
After nap load up the hubby and kids and travel to Athens to visit one of my bestest friends in the world, Catherine, and her brood.
Remember to take Catherine coffee and The Woman in Black because she MUST read it.
Arrive home in time for Atticus's bedtime and successfully tuck him in for the night.
Talk Sam into going out with his friends or painting.
Make a homemade pumpkin spice latte, grad a quilt, and head to the couch.
Read until midnight! My plan is to finish The Night Circus!

I'm reading so many end-of-the-year-reading posts. Tomorrow expect my stats and favorites. 2011 isn't over yet and I'm going to squeeze in one more book!

HAPPY NEW YEAR, Y'ALL!

Photo Friday -- New Tattoos!

2011-12-30T21:33:00.001-05:00

Tea on my left arm and coffee on my right. Drawn and tattooed by my husband, Sam.

Resolutions.... Sorta

2011-12-29T20:15:00.001-05:00

I had a lovely day today. Hope and I went out this afternoon to do some shopping. We hit up Target and our crappy local mall. I bought a water bottle, jammies for Atticus, some clothes for Hope, a recipe journal, and a crocheting book. Then a quick cup of coffee and a few errands. This evening the entire family helped pack up the Christmas decorations. That always makes me depressed; the house looks naked and cheerless when all the festive doodads are gone. Hope asked "why can't we leave it up all year?" And I told her "because then it wouldn't be special and fun; it would be blah and everyday."

I have fun and relaxing plans for this evening though; Sam and I have season one of Portlandia to watch, I'm making some homemade pumpkin spice lattes, and I Hope has begged me to crochet her a rainbow cowl for her birthday in February.

Speaking of Hope, look at how much she has grown:

Time has flown by and I can't believe she will be 12 in a few short months.

Speaking of time, I'm bringing back an old challenge I planned on doing several years ago. In 2007 I had planned on participating in the 101 things in 1001 days challenge. Essentially, you make a list of 1001 things you want or need to do and you knock 'em out in the course of 1001 days. This was on my old blog that I deleted when this happened and I only updated it once on my new blog.

What went wrong last time is that my life changed so completely and most of the goals were no longer applicable and I really wanted a fresh start. When I made the list I had just dumped my douche-bag boyfriend of six years. Then eight months later Sam and I started dating. Soon we were engaged, moved in together, married, and had a baby in the space of two years. My goals radically changed. Before that having a baby, planning a DIY wedding, and moving to a new home was not in the cards. I feel more settled in life now. I don't know everything that's in store for me, but I feel a bit more in control of my path. I felt like now was the time to set some new goals.

I don't really care for New Year's resolutions; I have reading goals and I kinda think about what I want to accomplish, but often a year is not enough time and I hate ending a year feeling like a royal failure. The 1001 days gives me much more time to complete goals and I can aspire to loftier dreams.

Cheers to new goals. ~~My start date is 01/01/2012 which will put me completing the goals by 09/28/2014.~~ Here is the catch: I'm not posting my list ahead of time. I've written it down in a notebook and I will pop-on every month or so and write about what I've completed. EDIT: I REALIZE I PRETTY MUCH STARTED THIS ON 12/16/2011 WHEN I STARTED MY HOLIDAY VACATION; NEW END DATE IS 09/12/2014!

The reason why I'm doing it this way is because I wrote down around 140 things rather than 101. See in some situations I have a goal A that cannot be reached (or will be inevitably delayed) if I select goal B. For example, If I have another baby then I won't move to Indiana right away for Graduate school. If I do finally get to go to Harry Potter Land then realistically speaking I most likely won't visit Portland, Oregon.

Wish me luck, this will certainly be an adventure!

My Reading Challenge Adventures, Part 2 and A Day in Books Meme

2011-12-28T23:25:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I talked about my first reading challenge chunk and today I want to talk about my overall reading challenge goals and general goals for the year. The good thing about doing most of my challenges in themed chunks is that if April rolls around and I'm waaaaayyyyyy behind I can stretch out my list until May (or even longer if need be) and I just won't sign up for anymore challenges. My yearly reading challenges will help shape my overall reading experience; sometimes I forget about short story collections, that novelist I always want to read again, or my ever-growing Virago collection. Once again, my joy in challenges is that I'm reading more mindfully and I'm choosing books with a bit more care. This post is very brief as I won't be listing quite so many titles, so I decided to follow it up with this fun little meme I found on A Work In Progress.

The Challenges!

GoodReads reading goal (50 books in a year)
Tea and Books -- Chamomile Lover, read 2 books of 700+ pages.
Short Story Reading Challenge -- Tell Me a Story, 1-3 short story collections
Reading Challenge Addict -- On the roof, 6 - 10 challenges entered and completed!
Support Your Local Library -- Level 2, read 24 library books
The TBR Pile Challenge -- Read 12 books on my TBR list (they all have been on my shelves for over a year!) within a year. Each one must be reviewed! My list of 12 titles and 2 alternates are listed below.

The TBR Pile Challenge!

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Zelda: A Life by Nancy Milford
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox
The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen
A House and Its Head by Ivy Compton-Burnett
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
The Warden by Anthony Trollope (alternate)
Summer will Show by Sylvia Townsend-Warner (alternate)

The Meme!

Simply insert titles of books you read this year into the following phrases:

I began the day with The Bad Seed.
On my way to work I saw Someone at a Distance
and walked by Hotel du Lac
to avoid The Woman in Black.
But I made sure to stop at Wolf Hall.
In the office, my boss said, "Whose Body?"
and sent me to research Lady Audley's Secret.
At lunch with Excellent Woman
I noticed The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
under Locke and Key
then went back to my desk, Wonderstruck!
Later, on the journey home I bought Fragile Things
because I have The Ruby in the Smoke.
then settling down for the evening, I picked up The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories
and studied The Small Hand
before saying goodnight to Little Dorrit.

What fun!

My 2012 Reading Challenge Adventures, Part 1

2011-12-27T15:34:00.000-05:00

I rarely actually finish a reading challenge. I bite off more than I can chew and go into my reading challenges with a list and good intentions, but I've never really "planned-out" my challenges. 2012 will be my kick-ass reading challenge year. I like reading challenges because I feel more mindful about my reading; I tend to notice connections and read with more purpose and it helps to eliminate the panic of "what the heck do I read next?"

My goal is to plan my reading to correspond with challenges and leave a few "wild card" reading spots open. I've also decided that instead of planning and entire year, I'll take a four month block, plan it and have the fourth month as my catch-up month. I've also planned to lump together reading challenges that overlap. That should simplify things a bit. I will be participating in a few long-term challenges that will last the entire year, but those challenges have more to do with page numbers, numbers of library books, etc... and have nothing to do with themes.

Here is what the first reading challenge chunk looks like:

January: Charles Dickens Month / Truth in Fiction / Back to Classics / Victorian
February: Truth in Fiction / Back to Classics / Victorian
March: Mystery / Vintage Mystery / Death by Gaslight / Victorian
April: Finish --> Classics / Mystery / Truth in Fiction / Victorian / READATHON

Here is what my first reading challenge chunk looks like:

The Mammoth Book of Dickensian Whodunnits edited by Mike Ashley
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens, A Life by Claire Tomalin

Professor Level, 7 pairs of books

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens / Charles Dickens: a Life by Claire Tomalin
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie / The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald / Zelda: A Life by Nancy Milford
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Ann Bronte / The Bronte Myth by Lucasta Miller
Richard III by William Shakespeare / The Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir
Transformations by Anne Sexton / Anne Sexton by Diane Middlebrook
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath / This Rough Magic by Paul Alexander

19th Century: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
20th Century: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Reread: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Ann Bronte
Play: Richard the III by William Shakespeare
Mystery/Horror/Crime: The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katherine Green
Romance: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Non-English: Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset
Award Winner: Hunger by Knut Hamson
Other Country (real or imagined): The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

Read 5 Victorian novels

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Ann Bronte
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
No Name by Wilkie Collins
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Deadly Decades, 8 books

Pre-1900s: The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katherine Green
1900-1909: The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart
1910-1919: The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan
1920-1929: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
1930-1939: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
1940-1949: The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin
1950-1959: The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
Bonus: Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith

Palmer the Poisoner, 10 books

The Leavenworth Case by Anna Katherine Green
The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart
The Mammoth Book of Dickension Whodunnits edited by Mike Ashley
No Name by Wilkie Collins
The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman
The Tiger in the Well by Philip Pullman
The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman
The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox
The Glass of Time by Michael Cox

Whew! Cross your fingers, folks. I hope I can get these all completed. It seems like a lot, but it overlaps nicely. Tomorrow I'll discuss my long-term challenges. Nerd Snorrrrtttt!

Christmas in Retrospect

2011-12-26T21:40:00.001-05:00

Christmas morning and ready to open gifts

I have had the most spectacular holiday season. This year I really wanted to focus on tradition - our new family holiday traditions. For Sam and I this was our fourth Christmas together and our second as a married couple. Last year Atticus had colic and I was breastfeeding every two hours and I didn't get to do a great deal of holiday preparation and celebration. I've been cobbling together wonderful memories from our childhood Christmases and pairing it with traditions that match our personalities and beliefs. It has been a wonderful experience to identify all those little things that make the season very special to our family.

Instead of doing a spiel of every Christmas detail I thought I'd list our family Christmas traditions (some old and some new) and add captioned holiday pics at the end. Let's jaunt through Roper Christmas land.

The Tree: The tree goes up the Sunday before Thanksgiving, so I have a full week to enjoy it before I go back to work. Our ornaments are very personal and folksy; we have some of my grandparents' ornaments, ornaments my parents painted their first Christmas together, crafted things, and loads of wooden/painted ornaments from thrift stores and yard sales. We have a little party for tree decorating. Christmas music is on for the first time, I make loads of finger foods for dinner and we decorate. When we are done we turn out the lights and gaze at our tree. The tree stays up until January 1st.

Baking: I start baking right after Thanksgiving. I bake a few different items a week and then freeze them. This keeps me from over-indulging and it makes assembling cookie trays and gift baskets a snap. A few recipes get made EVERY year: sausage cheese balls, toll house squares, molasses cookies, and fudge.

Cards: I used to purchase my cards at the end of the previous Christmas season (and I still have quite a stash), but this year we made our cards. Sam drew an awesome picture of a snowman throwing coffee at another snowman and, obviously, melting ensues. We sent these cards to people who would appreciate our weirdness and sent more traditional cards to some relatives, the land-lady, and other people who might think we were weirdos. Expect zombies, robots, dinosaurs, and talking coffee cups in the future. I try to get the cards out the first week of December, but I was late this year.

Stockings and Kid Gifts: Mom, erm, Santa stuffs stockings on Christmas Eve. Santa also wraps everything possible in paper-scraps to make the stocking opening last. The kids each get 7 gifts (in addition we have a budgeted amount). Two gifts are from mom and dad -- those are usually clothing/books/etc..., one gift is from the cat, one gift is from their favorite "lovey", and three gifts are from Santa. We open gifts one at a time from youngest to oldest.

Christmas Eve: Next year we are planning on doing cookie decorating with the kids on Christmas Eve day. That didn't happen this year because my oven broke four days before Christmas and I was out of my freezer stash. On Christmas Eve my in-laws come over for a holiday dinner and we open gifts from them. It is a fun tradition. When the kids go to bed. Sam and I watch a B-movie. Last year it was Santa Conquers the Martians and this year we watched Rubber (a movie about a self-aware tire who kills humans). Then we usually try to, ahem, go to bed early.

Christmas Day: We usually try to wait until 7am to open gifts -- this year Atticus was up at 5 and we were opening gifts by 6:15am! After gift opening we hang out and then meet my family at the local IHOP for pancakes. After eating we all hang out at my house for a bit, then my parents leave, the kids play, and I take a Christmas Nap. My mom took a Christmas nap every year and I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized that the holidays are so busy, joyful, but busy that by Christmas day I'm pooped. So it is off to bed for an indulgent 2-3 hour nap. Christmas Day dinner is usually leftovers or a crock pot soup. The last tradition is a personal one; I always put together a Lego set. This year my mom bought and let me borrow the Diagon Ally Harry Potter Lego set. Yay!

Next Year? I don't think I'll change much for next year. I managed to make some homemade gifts for teachers, the landlady and friends. I really like putting together gift baskets. In addition to homemade food, I buy tons of oranges from Hope's band fundraiser in early December, and I buy Harney Holiday Tea to include in the basket. Next year I plan to start my holiday gift planning/making October 1st so I don't feel so rushed and I can give out even more homemade gifts to friends and family.


No touch means NO TOUCH


My in-laws rock


OMG! Selena Gomez!


Rupert the Bear gets in the holiday spirit


post-Christmas lethargy


My sweet parents

My sweetie

An early Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T17:29:00.000-05:00

After some dreadful days at work and a bout of strep throat last week I decided to take a blog break. Then I went of holiday vacation.

I found myself missing this blog. I've had such a marvelous few days. I feel refreshed and renewed and I'm back to loving my life. While I want my blog to reflect my real life what I don't want is for it to become a place of constant bitching. Balance. And balance to me 90% joy and 10% drudgery. My 10% blah for this week is that my oven is totally broken and Hope is visiting Grandma and I miss her like crazy.

Here is a list of the wonderful things making this blogging mama smile:

Saturday: Breakfast out with Sam and Atticus. Santa was at the cafe and, of course, Atticus screamed bloody murder. We did learn that Atticus is nutso for cheesy grits. Good boy. A long afternoon nap. Baking sausage cheeseballs for our friends at Atlas Pizza.
Sunday: A trip to my parents' home. My sister lives about 5 hours south of us and it was great to see her any my little niece Evie Rose. Atticus was so sweet and hugged Evie every chance he could and Hope, as always, is so great with the little ones. We opened gifts. Mom and Dad gave Hope a digital camera, Atticus a car set, and Sam a Michael's gift-card. I was spoiled --a Le Creuset tea set, a vintage Christmas book, some holiday ornaments, a tea ball, owl pajamas and a cookbook. Dinner was superb (so. much. food.). After dinner I helped my brother put together some legos; it is a family tradition.
Monday: I cuddled with Atticus in the morning and then we went to my friend Michelle's house. Her little boy, Eli, is a few months older than Atticus and they had a pretty good time playing. We were home at lunch and Sam came home from work for the day. We all took a nap. Then the boys went to Michael's and I spent some time at Inman Perk reading. Monday night was spent prepping the rest of the holiday cards and stitching.
Tuesday: A rainy day. Atticus and I ran some errands in the morning. We bought Beau Kitty's Christmas gift --a new scratch post and some catnip. Atticus loved looking at the birds at PetSmart. While Atticus was napping I stitched and drank too much coffee. Then I had a surprise visit from friends Catherine and Spencer. It was so great to see them! That night after dinner I baked oatmeal cookies with chocolate covered Craisins.
Wednesday: I spent the morning playing with my darling little boy. He fell asleep on the floor while watching Winnie the Pooh and it was precious. I tried baking browned-butter sugar cookies and that was when my dying oven died. The repair guy came out and we will need a new oven. Even that couldn't dampen my mood. That afternoon my friend Alison and her little boy, Sam, came over to play. Sam is just a few weeks older than Atticus. That night Sam stayed home with Atticus and I went out for some coffee for a few hours. I normally work Wednesday nights and so it is best if I let Sam do Atticus's bedtime routine on Wednesdays so there aren't problems when I go back to work.
Today: Sam was home from work today. Yay! We took Atticus out for Thai food and to visit his adopted Thai family: Grandpa JB, Grandma Na, and Auntie Kik. Atticus had Tom Ka for the first time and LOVED IT. Then home for another nap. Right now Sam and I are out for the evening while Shannon hangs out with the little guy. Sam is drawing while I write and we've plans for a pasta dinner and seeing The Muppet Movie.

In addition I've finished two great books, The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck! both by Brian Selznick. I'm in the middle of rereading Susan Hill's The Woman in Black. I've nearly finished a stitching project and I'm about to start some more knitting. Good times.

Okay, now for a few pictures:

Big Sister helping Atticus.

The Tree!

Halls are certainly decked.

Yes! Tea set!

I loved looking at this book as a child. I'm so happy mom bought it for me!

Blurry picture, but such a happy one.

I hope all of you are having a joyous holiday season; I know I am!

Getting Rid of Bah-humbug

2011-12-14T09:37:00.001-05:00

Hi! As I write this I'm trying to choke down some hot tea. Last night I started running a fever and my throat became swollen and raw. I took some NyQuil and passed Sam the parenting baton. As usual with fevers I had weird and disturbing dreams and I woke this morning sore, achy, and still exhausted. I have a doctor appointment later this morning and I should probably start getting ready. But first, a bit of blog housekeeping....

This past week has been rough. We had some Unpleasantness at work that led to an employee "leaving." I spent yesterday afternoon crying. Despite the awfulness the holiday party went well. We ate at the Thai restaurant, laughed, exchanged gifts, and it was very nice and uplifting after the horrible day. Then I started feeling physically rotten. Between stress and illness and the house being disorganized I find myself being in a bah-humbug mood.

Really this entire week has bee full of moments of pure happiness and then unworldly stress. I'd love to blog about the lovely cookie exchange earlier in the week, but all the stress prevents me from giving it full attention.

So.... I'm going on a bit of a bloggy hiatus. I had planned on having a blog-vacation from Saturday the 17th until after Christmas, but I'm going to start a bit early. I'm going to use the rest of this week to get well, wrap things up at work, and then put the house in order so that I can focus on my family and the holidays next week.

I'll be back after Christmas with holiday updates, bookish news, and new goals for 2012. I hope you all have a peaceful and blessed holiday! Also, I'm sending out holiday letters and cards so email me your address if you want one (amanda(dot)L(dot)addison(at)gmail(dot)com). I love penfriends!

Merry Christmas!

Things I Learned this Week: Volume 1

2011-12-10T16:18:00.000-05:00

Periodically I like to reread my old journals and flip thorough my previous blog posts. I noticed that back many moons ago (before Sam and I were even dating) I would do a little "things I learned this week post." I didn't keep it up for very long but here is one and here is another. I thought I might kick it old school and resurrect this little meme.

I learned that one of the most awful disappointments in the world is finding out that someone you considered a close friend is actually an extreme douche-bag and has treated two quite likable ladies awfully.
I learned that one of the most difficult things in the world is to work with friends, because sometimes friends don't always stay your friends.
I've learned that Hope thinks I'm boring, our house is boring, and she doesn't want to have friends over because I'm lame.
I've learned the nail on the coffin of coolness in a daughter's eyes is when you say "but I have craft supplies!" after she tells you you aren't cool.
I've learned that I've reached my stressed-out max because I now have a cold sore on my mouth. Great.
I've learned that I can finish all of my Christmas shopping on a Saturday morning with a whining toddler in the space of an hour.
I've learned that the best cure for a stressful week involves a pedicure and a historical novel.

Alright. This post is utterly meaningless. I think I'll go ahead and press publish anyways.

The Broke and Bookish Secret Santa

2011-12-10T07:00:00.002-05:00

Thursday had been a rotten day at work, but after a post-work latte, a bit of reading, and plenty of baby hugs I was feeling much better. The icing on the cake is that my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa gift arrived! Two lovely books and chocolate! Just what I needed, there was not a blog address in the accompanying note, but thank you Paula A. !

A marvelous end to the day!

Photo Friday: Wednesday

2011-12-09T12:00:00.003-05:00

On Wednesdays I take Atticus to daycare at his regularly scheduled time (7:30) even though I don't go to work until noon (I work a split shift). I typically use the four-plus hours to run errands, but this past Wednesday I had a little baking fest. Actually, I just made 90 sugar cookies. I had other cookies in the freezer because I've been doing my holiday baking a bit at a time.

It was a lovely day: coffee, Bing crooning Christmas tunes, a steady rain, and rolling out cookie dough.

The trays and treat-bags were a hit at work, so I guess everyone wins!

Mean People Suck

2011-12-08T21:57:00.000-05:00

Remember yesterday when I said I was going to spend the next two days throwing out Mommy questions to you awesome people in the blog-o-sphere? Well never mind. Yesterday's answers to my tweenager dilemma were FABULOUS. I think Sam and I are going to get a cheap-o cell phone for a "family phone" and then wait to get Hope her own phone. When she does have her own phone she will have a privilege contract to sign. Excellent advice.

Today I was going to ask a breastfeeding/separation anxiety/teething question about Atticus. But this morning, at 5:30am, I was cuddled on couch with Atticus under the glow of the Christmas tree and nursing him and suddenly I didn't really care about asking questions. I was so wonderfully happy and peaceful. Now I don't need to ask any questions or worry that his weaning is set back. He'll quit when he's ready and I'm okay with that.

Right now my family life is saving me from absolute insanity. Sam is kind, gentle, and cracks me up. Hope brings silliness and adventure. Atticus is my teddy bear. Sure, the house is a mess most days and things can be rambunctious, but I love it. All the negativity and stress in my life is coming from outside sources and I need it to stop NOW.

In the past month I have been involved in no less than three intense and hurtful situations that somehow involve friends in some capacity. All three situations have called for me to take a stand, motivate myself to action, and put myself in an uncomfortable position. I won't go into details here on the situations, but I will say that I keep trying to do the Right Thing and I feel like I fuck it up. Also, being from a smallish town means that no situation is isolated so there are ramifications reverberating in many different areas. These situations all have such elements of meanness. I've been called a bitch, I've been told I'm ignorant, and one situation is too awful and new to even discuss. To top it off this is the end of the semester and everyone is frenzied, I'm piled with work to finish and I've no motivation, and every time I leave my house I encounter at least one Christmas-shopping crazed asshole. The result is that I'm turning into a bitch.

My mom told me when I was about Hope's age that I was "too-tenderhearted." I have a lot of love to give and I would do anything for a friend or for someone who's cause has merit in my eyes. I open myself up because I want to help people. Okay, I have a dark sense of humor and can be sarcastic, but that is just the hard-candy coating; deep down I'm all marshmallow fluff. All of this hate is hardening me: I snap at Hope, I'm cussing a ridiculous amount, when someone asks me how I am all I can think of to say involves bitching and moaning.

What do I do? I'm hurt, stressed, concerned, worried, and preoccupied. I'm resisting the urge to go into hermit mode. I keep doing my own little version of this song. I'm constantly thinking of awesome things I love: husband, babies, cat, flannel pjs, pots of tea, Barbara Pym, rolling cookie dough, soup, soft teal yarn, tiny stitches, glittered wrapping paper, crisp days, blankets, chocolate, new books, pumpkin lattes, the feeling of pen on paper, etc.... all the good, tangible things that help sooth and distract from the awfulness going on in my life.

Okay, I think blogging -- or more like ranting -- should make the list as well. I always feel better after venting on Ye Olde Blog.

So thank you, for listening to my babbling. It helps. Hug, hug, smooch, smooch.

Calling all mommy friends..... Gifts for an 11year-old girl?

2011-12-07T15:07:00.000-05:00

When Hope was born I was a 19 year-old single mother in college. I didn't know anyone else who had a kid or was pregnant. I mean, there was my mom and her friends and aunts, but NO ONE my age to talk to. I was vaguely aware of a handful of people who married right out of high school and had babies but they were either married well and living it up in a subdivision or in a trailer park and smoking pot. I was the only academically-motivated knocked-up gal in my tiny podunk town. What to do?

Needless to say I didn't have anyone to talk to; breastfeeding, sleep issues, baby poop, etc... were all topics of conversation that would waken disgusted looks in my college friends. And of course play dates consisted of a gang of 20 year old college girls watching The Wiggles with Hope and attempting to teach her the phrase "subvert the dominant patriarchy". Fun, but I still didn't have a mom to commiserate with and watch our children grow-up together.

One of the things I love most about being the mother of a baby/toddler now is that so many of my friends are pregnant or have kidlets of their own. Yay for mommy-friends! Now I can bounce around ideas about toddler crafts, groan over teething, and share in the joys of motherhood with someone who understands. Not only do I have mommy-friends in the "real world", but I also have blogger-mommy-friends and in some cases the real-world and blog mommy-friends overlap (hi, Katie and Jenna!).

Today and tomorrow I'm going to throw out some mom-questions to all my mommy-friends. Today's question concerns Hope and tomorrow's question concerns Atticus. Of course I appreciate any feedback even if you don't have kids. Sometimes it is refreshing to get an outside opinion. On to the question.... okay really it is more of a dilemma than a straight-up question.

The Dilemma:

Hope desperately wants a cell phone for Christmas. It would be easier for me if she had a cell phone. I'd have a way of getting in touch with her (and vice-versa) in an age where many of the people I know do not have land-line phones. Also, she is getting to that age where her friends are calling and since we don't have a land-line phone they call my cell phone. And then I end up handing my Android phone complete with full-web access for my ADHD daughter to use. Thank goodness I have insurance on the phone.

Okay -- so Hope wants a cell phone and I want her to have one... what's the dilemma?

I'm in a place where I don't want to do the most convenient thing and have it negatively impact the moral lessons I'm trying to teach Hope. Since hitting sixth grade Hope has become more immature. My mom has taught middle school for years and she says this is a current behavior trend. Hope is whiny, she won't do her homework or clean her room, she doesn't take care of the nice things she has (i.e.cds, cd player, ds game system, etc....). Last night she was literally wallowing on the floor and whining loudly about her chores. She wasn't this immature at age 8 and I certainly expect more from an 11-year-old.

I want Hope to know that with independence comes responsibility. I think that kids today have too much freedom and money, but lack the responsibility and consequences that come with having independence. Yes, I can sleep all day, eat what I want, and blow my money on vintage paperback because I-am-an-adult-and-I-can-do-what-I-want, but I don't do that because I have people who depend on me and bills to pay. You wouldn't believe the number of mothers who call to complain about their 23-year-old daughter's $9 library fine and offer to pay it straight away. It is something I handle regularly and I'm dismayed that so many young women can't take care of responsibilities and are perfectly willing to let parents handle everything. I wonder what will happen to these women when they are truly on their own and they learn that they actually have to pay rent and mommy and daddy can't bail them out.

I want Hope to be able to wear makeup, and go to sleepovers, and chose her clothes, and stay up late. But with that freedom and independence should come with responsibility. She needs to exhibit that she can do her homework, help around the house, and act like a mature young lady. You can't have it both ways.

If I give her a cell phone I feel like I'd be giving her a huge responsibility and privilege and I don't know if she is ready for that responsibility.

I'm looking for creative solutions here, or just affirmation that I'm not crazy and I'm on the right-track, or to be told that I need to loosen up. What would you do?

Truth in Fiction Challenge

2011-12-05T14:39:00.004-05:00

Several weeks ago I was musing on pairs of books, namely fiction books paired with a related non-fiction book. You can read all about that bookish musing here. Once I started thinking of fiction and non-fiction pairings I simply couldn't help myself. I had to make a challenge.

I present to you the TRUTH IN FICTION CHALLENGE!

The Details:
Challenge runs from 01/01/12 - 12/31/2012

Goal: read a specified number of book pairs that are comprised of one fiction book and one related non-fiction book. Think outside of the box; the non-fiction book could also be journals, letters, memoirs, etc.... The pairs needn't be exact matches, although there should be an easily detectable common thread. Overlapping with other challenges is fine.

The catch: Instead of individual reviews, after each book pair write a joint review. For example, if I read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and then The Journals of Sylvia Plath then my review post will be focused on both books.

Levels:
Freshman: 1 pair
Sophomore: 2 pairs
Junior: 3 pairs
Senior: 4 pairs
Masters: 5 pairs
PhD: 6 pairs
Professor: 7 pairs

Interested? Leave a comment and with a URL to a post (with or without a book list) or leave me a comment with which level you'll be aspiring to complete. (EDIT: I had a Mr. Linky up and it was giving me fits, so we're back to leaving comments).

Holiday Daze

2011-12-04T19:32:00.001-05:00

Regularly scheduled blog will not be happening. I am in Christmas mode: baking, wrapping gifts, and addressing cards is in full-swing. Wanna christmas letter? Hit me up at amanda(dot)l(dot)addison(at)gmail(dot)com. I'm on a roll!

Photo Friday: Finished Cowl

2011-12-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

I finished up a warm and snuggly cowl Wednesday night. I made it extra loose, because I don't like stuff strangling me. Despite the awful splitting I love Homespun yarn.

How to Read Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

2011-12-01T09:06:00.000-05:00

Do you ever "save" books? I have a dozen or so lust-worthy books that I'm rabid to read, but then something stops me. I want to wait for the right time, the perfect reading experience; essentially, I want to savor the reading experience and make it last. So the books go one a shelf to age like a wine or a cheese or something equally delicious (sourdough?). I periodically pick up the book, thumb-through the pages, and then back on the shelf.

Wolf Hall was at the top of the To Read and be Savored pile. A Christmas gift from a fellow book nerd friend, Wolf Hall has sat on my shelf since December of 2009. The novel is about Thomas Cromwell, born to an abusive blacksmith, Cromwell rises to power first as adviser to Cardinal Wolsey and then as an agent of Henry the VIII. As one who loves literary historical fiction (especially related to this time period) I knew I would love this novel. I finally decided that Wolf Hall was ready to be read this year. I've on my nightstand since January and it wasn't until November that I decided it was time for Wolf Hall.

I eagerly began reading and discovered....

I didn't like the book AT ALL.

Mantel switches point-of-view a great deal, meaning I found myself rereading passages to decipher who "he" could be and Mantel tends to switch between internal and external dialogue without making it clear to the reader. Let me clarify, it is beautifully written, but lacks the narrative ease of most historical fiction. I would say that most historical fiction is "plot-driven" or focused on describing historical "character"; Wolf Hall has an interesting plot and intriguing characters, but truly the writing is what shines.

Then I realized that my approach to Wolf Hall was completely wrong. I was reading it on lunch breaks or on the floor while Atticus played or when I was sleepy at night. Scratch that.... I followed a simple formula for The Reading of Wolf Hall and it worked, I loved the novel.

I present to you, instructions for reading Wolf Hall:

Ideal conditions include the evening hours before you get sleepy. Grey and cold weather are a plus.
Step one: tuck the kids in bed. Send the husband off to do something arty.
Step two: Brew a large pot of tea. I would highly recommend Harney & Sons Fine Tea Tower of London blend.
Step three: Sit in a comfy, but-not-too-comfy chair.
Step four: Open book
Step five: crawl into book
Step six: live inside sixteenth century England for a solid two hours or more
Step seven: reemerge, shake your head, and try to reacquaint yourself with new-fangled modernity

Truly a book to savor, Wolf Hall is not to be rushed. Finding yourself plunged into the machinations of Thomas Cromwell's mind and living the drama of the Reformation and Henry the VIII's court will tickle your nerd-fancy. I know that when I finished Wolf Hall I was more than ready for Hilary Mantel to finish the sequel now. RIGHT NOW. Although to be honest, it will most likely sit on my bookshelf for goodness knows how long until just. the. right. time.

The best cure for Malaise is Méliès and Company

2011-11-30T22:52:00.000-05:00

Today has been monstrously awful. Not one thing, but a string of tiny things leaving me tired, frustrated, and in tears. I think Thanksgiving vacation was so lovely and now everything has gone to hell. I'd love to barricade myself in my room with tea and Barbara Pym

Rather than pouting I'm focusing on lovely things. Like these...

Christmas Wish List

2011-11-29T17:00:00.001-05:00

Sam and I had a marvelous plan: this year we were only going to buy Christmas Gifts for the kids and not exchange gifts with each other. The idea was that for our second anniversary in January we were going to go out of town for two nights.

Then we found out Hope needed braces.

Then we found out round one of braces (scheduled for the first week in January) would cost $2,500 and insurance doesn't cover one cent.

Okay, scratch the out of town plans. Instead we are exchanging gifts. I already gave Sam his gift: a pair of tickets to see Rammenstein. He will be going with his good friend Andrew for a guy's night of German-metal-techno garbage... ahem... I mean music. He is very excited.

Sam says he wants to buy me a Nook for Christmas. I must say I'm intrigued by e-Readers, but I explained to him that nothing -- NOTHING -- will replace good ol' tangible books in my nerdy hands. I can't imagine not buying, holding, smelling my books. Yes, I am a book sniffer, guilty as charged, why would I want to sniff an e-Reader?

Anyhoo, I've been thinking about alternatives to an e-Reader for Christmas. So I humbly present to you my Santa list, intended for the Hubby to see and sharing with you all so you can bask in my dorkiness:

Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin
KitchenAid Handblender
Martha Stewart's Cookies
Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset (Penguin Deluxe Edition)
Pyrex 12-Piece Glass bake and store set
Coffee mugs with stand
King Arthur Baking company vanilla
Monty Python's Flying Circus boxset
Cardigans (3X)
Cheap and necessary kitchen doodads (I'm in desperate need of hot pads, wooden spoons, spatulas, whisks, etc....)
New fluffy bed pillows complete with an uninterrupted afternoon nap
Wreck this Journal
Nesting Doll Measuring Cups
Black Apple prints, notecards, etc... I love all of her things!
Giftcard to Yarn Rhapsody (local yarn store)
A pedicure
A Baby (just kidding... or am?)

Alrighty. There we go. No expensive e-Reader needed!

Blog Vacation -- What I did

2011-11-28T07:00:00.034-05:00

I must say I need to take planned blog-vacations more often. To pick a week and say I'm going to to devote it to my family and doing things I love was wonderful. I feel ready to write and share again. Normally, I try to MEGA-BLOG when I'm on vacation and that never works. I can stitch with the wee ones playing, but writing... well, that just isn't going to happen.

So here is what I did on my my Thanksgiving break from work and from blogging

Amassed more embroidery floss...

Hung out with this silly girl. We caught the Muppets' Movie on Saturday and she got her hair cut...

Finally finished Wolf Hall (more on that later)...

Took advantage of an AMAZING holiday sale and bought more Harney Tea...

Started making the kiddos stockings for Christmas...

Hope helped out a lot... she even raked leaves...

Enjoyed a Thanksgiving day with my family...

Made some chicken stock for the freezer...

Chased one inquisitive toddler and discovered he has a penchant for felt...

baking, of course...

Hope even got her craftiness on and made some holiday ornaments...

Halls are decked and fa-la-la-laing is in full-swing....

Cat cuddles....

Thankfully Reading Readathon Recap....

2011-11-27T16:21:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Jenn for hosting the Thankfully Reading Weekend, I did pretty durn well considering I was sidetracked by holiday cheer, tea, stitching, and general mom stuff. This is my one and only update as I was on blog-vacation for the past week. I finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel which I have been reading for at least two weeks. I'll be blogging more on Wolf Hall later in the week. I also knocked out volume 3 of Joe Hill's Locke and Key series and I'm well into Fables volume 14.

I know this is a lackluster review of my Thankfully Reading Weekend, but I beg caffeine-induced ADD. I try to focus on writing a decent review... ZOMG! Yarn! Must knit....and coffee.. coffee... where's my coffee...and.. what was I saying?

No worries. I read. You read. (throws confetti). Yay. Thanks, Jenn!

Thanksgiving Blog Vacation

2011-11-18T12:00:00.001-05:00

At 4:15pm today I will be a free little bird for well-over a week. Thank you Thanksgiving vacation. I'm mentally exhausted from drama that has been occurring in several facets of my life. I'm looking forward to spending a week hanging out with my family. I have plans for reading, baking, decorating for Christmas, crafts, stitching, and cuddling kids. I'm taking a blog-cation as well this week. I'll see you cats on Sunday, November 27!

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Yesterday: Wednesday, 11/16/11

2011-11-17T07:00:00.002-05:00

Thankfully Reading Weekend, 2011 Edition

2011-11-16T13:40:00.001-05:00

Today I was glancing at my reading goals. Yikes. Once again I've thrown in the towel on most of my reading challenges.* But I'm still clinging to my goal of reading 52 books this year. I've read 33 and there are only 46 days left in the year. Okay. Reality check. I'm certainly not going to read the other 19 books. Sigh.

Okay. New goal time. I'd like to read at least 12 more books. Ambitious if you look at my monthly reading rate, but not so ambitious when you consider that I have 1) a week of vacation next week and 2) two weeks off in December. Also, Atticus is finally sleeping through the night (shhhhhh.... I don't want to jinx it) and he is at the age where he will play on the floor and let me read for a least a little bit.

Luckily, Jenn over at Jenn's Bookshelves is hosting a Thankfully Reading Weekend. Next weekend, Fri 11/25 to Sun 11/27 I'll be trying my best to read the weekend away. My other goal is to only read from my pile of books in the bedroom. We'll call it TBR pile (lots of library books and few things in progress). I'll be choosing my reads from this stack:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (I'm about half-way through this one)
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (library book)
Locke and Key volumes 2 and 3 by Joe Hill (library books)
Excellent Women by Barbara Pym
Romancing Miss Bronte by Julie Gael (library book)
Flapper: A Madcap Story of Sex, Style, Celebrity and the Women who Made America Modern by Joshua Zeitz (library book)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (library book)
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
Fables #14: Witches by Bill Willingham (interlibrary loan book)
Hugh and Bess by Susan Higginbotham (interlibrary loan book)
The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman (library book)

Okay, sounds like a plan. I'm ready to read!

*Of course in a very bookish and nerdy manner I've already planned and revamped my reading challenge management for next year. nerd snooooorrrrrtttttt

Top 50 Books

2011-11-15T12:00:00.000-05:00

The other day Heather posted her top 50 books. I decided to post my top fifty list. I tried to type the books as they came to mind. So here they are in random order and straight from my brain to blog:

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

Frost in May by Antonia White

A Few Green Leaves by Barbara Pym

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

A Few Figs from Thistles by Edna St. Vincent Millay

Transformations by Anne Sexton

Ariel by Sylvia Plath

Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson

The Waves by Virginia Woolf

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

Howards End by E.M. Forster
The Collected Short Stories of Elizabeth Bowen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
The Corner that Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Swans on an Autumn River by Sylvia Townsend Warner

The Priory by Dorothy Whipple

The Birds Fall Down by Rebecca West

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

Germinal by Emile Zola

Count Magnus and Other Short Stories by M.R. James

Nothing Meets the Eye: The Uncollected Stories of Patricia Highsmith

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Good Apprentice by Iris Murdoch
In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden
Saplings by Noel Streatfeild
Drood by Dan Simmons
Affinity by Sarah Waters
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch

Some Ether: Poems by Nick Flynn
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
King Lear by William Shakespeare
Armadale by Wilkie Collins

Simple Things....

2011-11-14T12:00:00.000-05:00

... that make me happy

pretty leaves....

well-oraganized embroidery floss collection....

Date Day, with a special appearance by John Galsworthy!

2011-11-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

About once a month Sam and I try to go on a date,; every once in a while we are able to sneak away for a date day. That's right, an entire day kids free. This Saturday we had eight glorious hours of not cleaning house, not wiping up drool, not arguing with a tween, and generally acting like grownups.

We started the day off by becoming inordinately enraged. Sam went to cash his check at the bank (the bank he has an account with -- Regions Bank) and they wouldn't cash his check. Yup. The bank he banks with wouldn't cash his check, scary. Apparently you must have the same amount in your checking account as your check. That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. We considered staging an Occupy Regions, but decided against it. Luckily, Wells Fargo cashed the check since that is where Sam's employer banks. Guess who's moving to a credit union next week?

After that we went to Target. It was glorious. No shoveling goldfish. We didn't look at a single Selena Gomez CD. We bought a shower curtain and a baby gift for some friends. It rocked. Then on to Athens! We don't give a flip about football and so we didn't even realize that it was the Georgia vs. Auburn game. Whoopsy! We were stuck in traffic for a bit. Surrounded by GINORMOUS SUVs filled with folks wearing red and black. I watched with fascination as one debutante styled her hair with gallons of hairspray and she teased her hair like a Harpie in heat. I nearly wept for the ozone.

Once we arrived we decided to fork out $10 to park outside of a thrift store and spend the day walking. It was lovely out. We went to said thrift store and it was a bust. I picked up one book. We place was so bare. I tell you -- good thrifting occurs on weekday mornings (that's when you can get the good stuff).

Next, lunch at Siri Thai. I had some delicious noodles and then Sam had a curry. Then a walk to Avid Books, the new book store in Athens. The store is adorable and while the selection is small it is very well selected. I'll take a fiction section of 300 well-chosen titles over miles of crap any day. I picked out a board book about bugs for Atticus's Christmas and The Collected Writings of Zelda Fitzgerald for myself.

Then we walked over to the vintage shop Modern Star and I promptly spent all of my money. I luv this place. I passed up a mid-century modern teapot when I saw these:

a treasure trove of vintage Scribner's John Galsworthy novels. The Forsyte Saga for the win! Sam bought a vintage suitcase to make a portable art kit and then he bought me a Trifari enamel owl brooch. These increases my enamel brooch collection AND my owl collection. She is such a cute little owl.

At that point in time we realized we shouldn't spend any more money so we left to go visit our friends Becca and Jacob. Their daughter, Clarice, was born three weeks ago. I held her for the longest time. She is so sweet and seems so tiny to me! She is not quite 7 pounds and 3 weeks old; Atticus was nearly 10 pounds at birth and a 12 pounds by the time he was 3 weeks old.

We stayed for a bit and then it was time to head home. The ride home was lovely -- golden, serene, and filled with beautiful autumn leaves. We had a quick coffee at Inman Perk and then it was home to an exhausted and happy little Atticus and an equally exhausted Shannon the Coparent!

I can't wait until our December date!

Blabbity Blabbity Boo

2011-11-11T16:11:00.000-05:00

I'm sleepy. I stayed up too late last night drinking coffee (stupid me!), crocheting, and watching The Walking Dead with Sam. This morning Atticus woke at 5am and we snuggled together on the couch. I had a cataclysmic argument with Hope over the importance of buckling her seatbelt. I got my hair did on my lunchbreak. I hate all of my clothes. I just ate an orange. I'm not blogging right now I'm talking to myself out loud.

Bleh.

I've had two lovely letters from super-awesome-friends this week and it makes me miss my friends and spending time with Sam. I like how when you hang out with someone a ton you can kinda do your own thing and they can do their own thing but you are all together in a room. It is nice. For example. Last night Sam sat on the couch drawing and I was reading Wolf Hall. It was nice just being together. Now that he is tattooing 4 nights a week and I see him less. My problem is I WANT IT ALL: time alone and time with people I love. I have to have both or I feel off.

Oh well. Just so you know this isn't a downer post. I'm not feeling low, just really grateful. I have amazing people in my life.

Tomorrow is date day. Thrifting, lunch, coffee, visiting friends and a bookstore trip is in order. And smooching. Lots and lots of smooching.

Here are some other things floating around in my brain today:

I really need to make a list of my top fifty books. Thanks for the inspiration, Heather!
This is going on the "To Bake" list. Coffee-flavored cake. Yes please.
But then again, this looks pretty darn tasty too. I think I know why my ass is so big.
Beautiful and amazing embroidered book covers; I'm so inspired!
Laughed. My. Ass. Off. Thank you Feminist, Ryan Gosling!

Have a great weekend!

Thursday Thirteen: The Truth in Fiction Edition

2011-11-10T15:44:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling bookish lately which has led to tons of meandering around on GoodReads I have more book lists than you can shake a stick at. Below are some bookish pairs I'd like to read. The first book is fiction and the second book is a non-fiction work that relates -- by varying degrees -- to the fiction books:

Pair #1: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens and Charles Dickens: A Life by Claire Tomalin

Pair #2 The Professor by Charlotte Bronte and The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell

Pair #3: This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda: A Biography by Nancy Milford

Pair #4: The Queen of Last Hopes: The Story of Margaret of Anjou by Susan Higginbotham and The Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir

Pair #5: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks and London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd

Pair #6: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie and The Poisoners Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum

Pair #7: Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford and The Sisters: The Saga of the Miford Family by Mary S. Lovell

Pair #8: The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch and Iris Murdoch: A Life by Peter J. Conradi

Pair #9: Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George and The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty by G.J. Meyers

Pair #10: Man and Wife by Wilkie Collins and Wild Romance: A Victorian Story of a Marriage, a Trial, and a Self-Made Woman by Chole Schama

Pair #11: All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West and The Letters of Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf

Pair #12: The Complete Shorter Fiction of Virginia Woolf and Virginia Woolf by Hermione Lee

Pair #13: Richard III by William Shakespeare and Shakespeare's Kings: The Great Plays and the History of England in the Middle Ages 1337-1485 by John Julius Norwich

January -- Charles Dickens Month

2011-11-09T15:07:00.005-05:00

A few folks have expressed interest in joining me in my Charles Dickens month in January. Charles Dickens's Bicentennial celebration is happening in 2012 (his 200th birthday would have been on February 7th). May I present to you, most humbly,

There is no amount of reading or required posting or mini-challenges and such. I'm too busy and flighty to create a strict guidelines! The premise is basic: every Tuesday in January (there are 5 Tuesdays) post something about Charles Dickens. It can be a book, short story, or film review. It could be about his life. It could even merely relate to his time period. Basically just have something relevant about Charles Dickens in your blog post (heck, it could even be a rant about how much you hate Charles Dickens). On his birthday, Tuesday 02/07 there will be a big wrap-up!

Every Tuesday I'll have my weekly Charles Dickens post, so be sure to leave me a comment on that week's post with your URL. Here is the cool part: Every time you post a comment leaving a URL back to your Charles Dickensy-goodness you'll be entered in my Charles Dickens giveaway!!! After February 7th, I'll randomly draw a winner and you will get a Dickensian-themed prize. Depending on my finances we may have a couple of winners. The only stipulation is that your blog posts MUST actually be related to Charles Dickens. More on the giveaway at a later date. I have several ideas in mind. To break it down simply, if you post each of the 5 Tuesdays in January and the Tuesday in February you will be entered into the drawing 6 times. If you blog about Ol' Charlie more and add it to the Mr. Linky then you will be entered into my giveaway for each additional post. February 7th is the cut-off day for eligibility in the drawing.

Interested? Let me know if you'd like to participate so I can add your blog to my feed-reader!

EDIT: Dang Mr. Linky is giving me fits! Just add leave a comment here and I'll add you to the list. I'll post a list of all the participants at the beginning of the year.

I have big plans for Charles Dickens month! Happy Reading!

Cranberry Honey Drop Cookies UPGRADED!

2011-11-07T13:48:00.000-05:00

I found this recipe via Apartment Therapy and I've made it a few times. The cookies were actually kinda bland. I didn't dribble the chocolate across the top, so I thought that was the problem, but my issue wasn't really that of flavor but of texture. The cookies are a bit muffiny and taste like "health cookies." The cranberries are nice, but the experience of eating these cookies went a bit like this: "boring boring boring CRANBERRY! YEAH! boring boring boring CRANBERRY! YEAH!" I really wanted to like these cookies.

I found that using a stronger local honey as opposed to what you will find in bulk at a Costco is a bit helpful, but still... this cookie is dull. Even Hope and Sam didn't like the cookies and they eat anything and everything.

I thought I could improve this cookie by kicking it up a bit in the texture and flavor department. My upgraded Cranberry Honey Drop Cookie is pretty boss. In fact, it is now a Dark Chocolate Pecan Cranberry Cookie.

Behold:

Dark Chocolate Pecan Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from The Household Searchlight Cookbook, 1931-1946
And then Adapted from Apartment Therapy

Makes about 24 cookies

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup toasted pecans
3/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 3/4 + 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Put the cranberries in a small bowl and cover them with very hot or boiling water. Let them sit and plump while you prepare the rest of the dough.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, thoroughly combine the honey and the softened butter. Mix in the egg and the spices.

In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cup of the flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Gently stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring just until no more flour is visible.

Drain the cranberries. In the bowl used for the dry ingredients, toss the cranberries with 1/4 cup of flour. Fold the cranberries, nuts and chocolate chips into the cookie dough.

Drop tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto a cookie sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. The cookies will spread a little during baking. Bake 9-13 minutes, until the edges are turning golden. let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Delicious! Still muffiny and not too rich, but much more interesting. Mischief Managed!

Bookish OCD Strikes Again and some Charles Dickens Love!

2011-11-06T14:14:00.000-05:00

It is November. This means that my readerly OCD is in full-bloom. Around this time of year I begin to think about next year's reading. I'm changing the way I approach challenges and my reading. Normally I try to read a few library books (1-2) and then read something from my shelves. I tend to just grab what catches my eye and I don't really have a method to my madness. Except then I throw in challenges. I always, always, always sign up for WAY too many challenges and spread myself too thin. Then I don't complete anything. So far, I've made a solid dent in many of my reading challenges but I've only finished ONE CHALLENGE. I do the same thing with Readathons; I have my hands (eyeballs?) in too many books and find at the end that I've finished too few titles. After the last Readathon I got to thinking about creating a theme for my readathon TBR pile. Perhaps centered around a theme? Hummmm.... I can readathon and reading challenge at the same time. Brilliant!

Now my bookish OCD has reared its head and I've decided to use a theme or challenge to help structure my monthly reading. I'm not saying I won't read something different, but if my goal is to finish a challenge in month or so then focusing that reading may help my book anxiety. What is book anxiety? Well, I find myself overwhelmed by my bookshelves, the library stacks, interlibrary loan treasures, book challenges, and readalongs. TOO MANY BOOKS FREAK OUT GASP GASP GASP!!!!!

Ahem.

May I present to you my theme for January:

I love Charles Dickens and his 200th birthday is in February so naturally I'd love to spend some time reading Dickens. I will not only spend time reading Charles Dickens's fiction, but I'll also be reading non-fiction about Dickens and Victorian England and fiction based on Dickens's characters or even Dickens himself. Of course I've already assembled a book pool (duh, book OCD):

My definitely reading list:

Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
A House to Let by Charles Dickens (with Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth Gaskell)
Charles Dickens by Michael Slater
Victorian London by Liza Picard
The Mammoth Book of Dickensian Whodunnits edited by Mike Ashley

Other books I may work in:

We Two: Victoria and Albert by Gillian Gill
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl

In addition I'll be reviewing a few film versions of Dickensian works and -- the best part -- I've obtained permission to get into my library's rare book collection to lovingly caress (with a gloved hand, of course) some Dickens rarities. I hope you'll stop by to wallow in Victorian novel goodness.

Now it is time to spend the remainder of my Sunday "mom time" reading Wolf Hall.

Things I'm Loving: 11/04/2011

2011-11-05T07:00:00.045-04:00

Photo Credit

I love my little rental house, but the kitchen is functional and ugly as sin. I'm been thinking of ways to spruce things up a bit and I love the idea of this fabric backsplash and the open cabinetry option.

As I chopped a butternut squash last week to make chili I thought to myself, "my death will probably involve a knife and a butternut squash." Here is a great tip for roasting a squash so I don't maim or kill myself with a knife.

I'm totally signing up for this reading challenge. In fact, next year I think I'll make a month my "read from my stacks" month. I love supporting libraries, but I need to read the books on my shelf!

I desperately need a needlebook. Luckily, I found a pretty awesome set of directions for a cute, scrappy needlebook. I need to bust out those scraps and get to stitching!

I'm loving these beautiful Dahlia pins!

As if I needed another excuse for plate thrifting.

Hello to all my baking and book buddies, Penguin is releasing in the US several titles from the Great Food series. I want them all! Geez those covers are lust-worthy.

Reason #372 on the "why I need a doughnut pan" list.

Owl brooch!!!!!!!!!!!!

More embroidered book cover goodness.

Photo Friday: My Lunch Break

2011-11-04T15:39:00.000-04:00

M is for Movie and Meme

2011-11-03T07:00:00.039-04:00

I found this meme here and changed it just a bit. Something for a tired Thursday post!

Name a film that you have seen more than 10 times.
Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (I was 12, don't judge)

Name a film that you’ve seen multiple times in the cinema.
The last few Harry Potter movies and all of the LOTR movies

Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a film.
Richard Armitage

Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a film.
Nicholas Cage

Name a film that you quote from on a regular basis
Monty Python's Holy Grail, Fight Club, and the ork parts in LOTR

Name a film musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
The Sound of Music

Name a film that you would recommend everyone see.
The Uninvited. No, seriously. I'm surprised by the number of people who haven't seen this film.

Ever walked out of a film?
Sin City. I walked out because I was upset. The people in front of us brought their little kids and the kids were crying. I was about to beat the parents to death.

Name a film that made you cry in the cinema.
Up

Popcorn?
Yes, please

How often do you go to the cinema (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?
4 times a year or so

What’s the last film you saw in the cinema?
Captain America

What’s your favourite/preferred genre of film?
book-based films (duh)

What’s the first film you remember seeing in the cinema?
The Empire Strikes Back

What film do you wish you had never seen?
The Accused (I had nightmares for weeks)

What is the scariest film you’ve seen?
The Accused (nothing is scarier than rape and close-minded, anti-feminist actions)

If you could be any character portrayed in a movie, who would it be?
Falcor

Total number of films you own on DVD and video.
a few dozen, books before movies!

Last film you bought.
a classic horror movie box set

Last film you watched.
Away we go

Five films that mean a lot to you.
LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring
LOTR: The Two Towers
LOTR: Return of the King
The Uninvited
Harry Potter 7, part 2

Readerly Rambles: 11/02/2011

2011-11-02T16:00:00.001-04:00

What I gave up on:

Let me preface this by saying that I love Rebecca and I REALLY love My Cousin Rachel. I thought I would adore Daphne Du Maurier's short-story collection Don't Look Now. I hated it. I simply couldn't finish. The first story ("Don't Look Now") was fairly interesting, but I thought the ending a bit ridiculous. I read the second story. Meh. I started the third story. Double Meh. I couldn't quite but my finger on why these should-be-thrilling stories were so lackluster. Then it hit me. Timing.

Telling a scary story is much like telling a clever joke, the timing has to be right. Du Maurier's short stories are too long. Now I'm a fan of a longer story / novella but the writer must be able to sustain that level of suspense. I felt as if Du Maurier just needed a good editor; someone to tighten the prose. Her stories went on and on and on and on and I soon lost interest. I couldn't care one fig what happened to the characters and my imagination was bored.

What I read:

The Du Maurier collection put a damper on my reading this week, but last night I picked up Susan Hill's latest novella, The Small Hand. Holy Geez it was creepy!!! In fact, I had planned on using my Wednesday morning at home to draft blog posts. Instead I brewed a pot of Irish Breakfast tea, grabbed a quilt, curled up with the cat, and read my eyeballs out. The story is so unnerving. I think it was a bit like The House at Riverton meets MR James AND Henry James. Go. Read it right now. I'll wait here.

What's up next:

Fables #13 by Bill Willingham: I realize that getting into novels before going to bed is folly; inevitably I spend the night reading away and am one grumpy library girl the next morning. To curb my novel spelunking I've taken to reading graphic novels or short stories before bed. The reviews for this volume of Fables are less than stellar; I'm not a fan of the Jack spin-off series, but I will read this volume because my OCD will not allow me to move to volume #14 without having read volume #13.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel: It is time. I have been saving this novel for a few years and I feel it calling me. Time to dive in to some historical novel goodness.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton: I really enjoyed The House at Riverton and I can't wait to read this one. After The Small Hand I find myself needing some more decaying English countryside and dark secrets.

And now for some library loot:

Happy Reading!

L is for Lots of Books!!!

2011-11-01T16:07:00.001-04:00

I hit up the gigantic charity booksale on Thursday night and again on Saturday. I bought loads of books for just under $25 (which was my budget). However, I just realized that I sat down a pile of books and didn't go back and pick them up. Sigh. Oh well. I guess I can say that I stayed on budget and that someone else will get to enjoy those titles I left lying in a pile.

On to the bookish spoils!!!

I won't list out all the titles as they are all pretty clear in the picture. It is a bit difficult to read the title on that top, left-hand side book.

That's right. A copy of Carson McCuller's A Member of the Wedding with a funky embroidered copy. SCORE!!!

Sweet. I am one happy booknerd with incredibly cramped shelves. I need to start reading off my shelves more, but I realize I'm saying this with plans to visit the library in the morning. I am a book glutton and I'm totally okay with that.

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril Wrap-up!

2011-10-31T20:44:00.000-04:00

Alas, my favorite reading challenge is over. I look forward to Carl's RIP Reading Challenge every year. I love spooky reads from short stories to contemporary fiction to classics and this challenge allows me to indulge in creepy, atmospheric reads. I read 6 books for this challenge. Yay!

Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon: I loved this classic tail about one crazy, doll-face mama. Although not as good as Wilkie Collins' in my humble opinion, this Victorian sensational novel was quite the page-turner.

The Bad Seed by William March: HOLY CRAP! This book was creepy and ten million times better than the movie. Rhoda is a seemingly sweet, pretty little girl with a penchant for murder. Chilling.

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman: I was a little bit "meh" about this collection, but not really. Basically I loved the stories I loved and I hated the stories I hated. There was never really an in between. I think the collection is definitely worth a read, but I'd recommend dipping-in on occasion and not reading it straight through.

Locke and Key, volume 1 by Joe Hill: I liked this graphic novel, but it is really just a "dangling carrot" I have no idea what is going on and no idea what may or may not happen, but I know I MUST READ ON!

Clermont by Regina Maria Roche: A classic, florid, ridiculous Gothic Novel. I laughed and I imagined my self a shocked Jane Austen character reading this "horrid novel". What a riot.

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman: The first in a young adult mystery series by the author of The Dark Materials Trilogy. I loved this little book and I will certainly be hunting down the other three volumes. The Ruby in the Smoke was a bit like Sherlock Holmes meets The Moonstone meets a Samantha Parkington book (yes, the American Girl doll -- shut-up).

Wow. I just realized that I read in many different genres! Two classics, a modern novel, a short story collection, and YA. Interesting!

I can't wait until next year's RIP challenge!!!

Things I'm Loving...

2011-10-29T07:00:00.065-04:00

1. Bright green, thrifted cords

2. Exciting Rumer Godden news from Virago (Thanks, Verity, for keeping us up to date!)

3. Baking with apples. I cannot get enough baked apples and I know I will be making some apple butter soon!

4. This autumn cowl (I'm starting it this weekend!)

5. This be-cupcaked face:

6. Easy birdfeeders!

7. A tattoo-idea.... This vintage owl embroidery pattern on my leg and the ink looking like embroidery stitches. Whatcha think?

8. Made these pumpkin pancakes this week and they were FABULOUS!

9. Super huge book sale! I took a peek last night, but I plan on spending tomorrow hunting through thousands of books!

10. Lana Del Rey. Lovin' her!

Photo Friday: Crochet Edition

2011-10-28T05:51:00.002-04:00

Finis!

Happy First Birthday, Atticus Clay

2011-10-27T07:00:00.024-04:00

Dear Atticus,

I cannot believe you have been with us an entire year! You are mama's special blessing and you have brought so much joy into our lives. You are such a big boy now, but remember that you will always be mama's baby. Birthday hugs and kisses to you and get ready, because this is going to be a great year! Happy Birthday, Little Man.

All My Love,

Mama

Giveaway Winner!

2011-10-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

www.nataliedee.com

The winner of my giveaway is Giggly Mama! Yay! The Random Generator picked comment #4. Giggly said:

"I've always loved your blog. I like it the way it is and always has been. I always look forward to your book, recipe, craft, mom, and meme posts. :)"

Thanks, girl! Please email me your addy (amanda.l.addisonatgmailaddress) and I will get your prize in the mail to you. There will be -- as promised -- something handmade, something coffeeish, and something bookish. All of my three loves.

Thanks to everyone who commented. The comments were super nice and gave me the warm fuzzies. And, more importantly, it renewed my zest for blogging.

Thanks, buds!

A Glimpse at a Giveaway....

2011-10-25T07:00:00.004-04:00

Don't forget that tomorrow (as in at midnight, Wednesday 10/26) the giveaway will be closed. What? You didn't know I was doing a giveaway!

EDIT: TWEET THIS GIVEAWAY TO ENTER A SECOND TIME!!!

Basically go to this post and leave me a comment about what you like to see on my blog. Or you can email me at amanda(dot)l(dot)addison(at)gmail(dot)com and fill me in. So far only 9 people have commented.

By noon tomorrow I will randomly select a winner and that person will get something coffeeish, something bookish, and this, fuzzy scarf:

Hurry, quick! Enter while there is time!

Readathon -- The Final Update

2011-10-24T14:22:00.000-04:00

I think this has been my most successful Readathon yet. I read (as in solid reading time) close to nine hours. Reading is a pleasure for me and I've no desire to turn it into a chore, so I knew I certainly wouldn't be reading for 24 hours. Within those 9 hours I managed to finish 2 books, put a dent in a classic, and zip half-way through a YA book. My ultimate goal was to read at least 500 pages during Readathon, and that I did!

Here are my final stats:

Time Read: 8 hours, 40 minutes
Number of Pages Read: 530
Challenges: completed one challenge
Blogging and Tweets: 3 blog posts, 23 tweets

Next Readathon is April 21st, 2012! Of course, I have to make Readathon my own so I'll be making these changes in the structure of my readathon:

I'm going to make a theme for my Readathon next year. It may be Viragos, or library books, or books I own, or graphic novels, or books for a challenge, etc...... I'll decided the first week of April and begin assembling my stack 'o' books.
My goal will be to read 600 pages
I'll do a pre-Readathon post and a Readathon wrap-up the next day, but other than that I'm taking Readathon totally on Twitter.

Okey dokey, I'll see you Readathon cats next year!

The Classics Circuit: Clermont by Regina Maria Roche

2011-10-23T20:06:00.000-04:00

Many moons ago I took a college course on the Gothic Novel We read wonderful novels that I loved like The Mysteries of Udolpho, Melmoth the Wanderer, and The Monk. We also read a novel that mocks these sensational Gothic novels and that novel is Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. Needless to say I was WONDERFULLY excited to learn that Gothic Literature would be the theme for this circuit. I decided to read Clermont by Regina Maria Roche because of Jane Austen. My library has a set of novels, Clermont is included, that are called The Northanger Set of Jane Austen Horrid Novels. Of course, this is in reference to a statement made by one of the characters to Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey:

Dear creature! How much I am obliged to you; and when you have finished Udolpho, we will read the Italian together; and I have made out a list of ten or twelve more of the same kind for you.

Have you, indeed! How glad I am! What are they all?

I will read you their names directly; here they are, in my pocketbook. Castle of Wolfenbach, Clermont, Mysterious Warnings, Necromancer of the Black Forest, Midnight Bell, Orphan of the Rhine, and Horrid Mysteries. Those will last us some time.

Yes, pretty well; but are they all horrid, are you sure they are all horrid?

(Northanger Abbey, chapter 6)

The plot concerns Madeline Clermont a virtuous, charming, beautiful young woman who lives with her reclusive father in a small cottage. A series of accidental visits lead to Madeline falling in love and the papa Clermont's secret past coming back to haunt poor Madeline.

Readers of Gothic Literature will recognize the usual Gothic elements at play here: subterranean caverns, secrets, lust, thunderstorms, murder, deception, and load upon loads of streaming eyes, trembling lips, and more swooning than you can shake a stick at. If you want to get very drunk very quickly then take a swig anytime Madeline faints. You'll be drunk well before the middle of the book.

Of course I think part of the entire "horror" of the novel lies in Madeline's position. She is dependent upon shady people and lacks a solid position in life. The climax of the plot concerns plans for Madeline to enter into a forced marriage with a nefarious character. How horrifying to readers like Catherine Morland who can relate to the situation of being at the mercy of the men in one's life to obtain security.

When reading Clermont it is easy to become bogged down in all the hithers and whilsts and over-wrought emotions; I found going into this read with a familiarity with the genre, a sense of fun, and a smidgen of historical perspective made this read a real treat. I wouldn't say I'm ready to swoon over Clermont, but if you are looking for something florid, then this is right up your alley!

Readathon: 7:22pm

2011-10-22T19:22:00.000-04:00

Update TOTALS:
Time Spent Reading: 6 hours
Number of Pages: 354

I haven't finished any books yet, but that's because I learned from my past readathons. Personally I do better when I dip into various books rather than reading a book straight through. Right now I'm reading a Gothic Romance (Clermont), a Graphic Novel (Locke and Key), a Short Story Collection (Fragile Things), and a Young Adult novel (The Ruby in the Smoke).

I'm about to go on a two-hour reading sprint and then write-up a post for a bit. I'm at Starbucks and when I go home I'll shower and then try for a bit of sleep (maybe).

I hope everyone is enjoying readathon!

Readathon: 10:49am

2011-10-22T10:50:00.001-04:00

Stats:
Time Spent Reading: roughly 2.5 hours
Number of pages: 146 pages
What I read: Clermont pages 127-179, Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft pages 1-60, Fragile Things: Fictions and Wonders pages 219-254

A Readathon Meme:

1)Where are you reading from today? Gainesville, Georgia. Or, to be more specific Inman Perk Coffee (see delicious pumpkin latte above)
2)Three random facts about me… Uhmmmmm 1- I like coffee, 2- I'm insanely OCD about book lists, 3-I hate it when people randomly use the word random about non-random things (aka, like when they mean peculiar)
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? 7, but I think I'll only finish 3 or so. I just like to have variety.
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? My main goal is to just read, read, read. And have fun.
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? Drink lots of water and not too much caffeine. Get up and move around. Try not to get too obsessed with numbers (books, pages, comments, etc....).

Readathon: 8am

2011-10-22T08:00:00.002-04:00

Here we go Readathon!

Photo Friday: Atticus as a Beloved Dickens Character

2011-10-21T11:08:00.001-04:00

Can you name that Charles Dickens' character? He's one of my favorites...

Introvert Mom Break....

2011-10-20T07:00:00.036-04:00

I'm on vacation this week (actually my vacation started on Friday). I spent the weekend hanging out with the kids and Sam. On Monday Hope and Atticus were both out of their respective "schools" so we had fun going to the park:

On Tuesday Atticus went to daycare and Hope - who was still on fall break -- helped me flip bedrooms. Hope is now in the master bedroom, Atticus is in Hope's former room, and the Ma and Pa room is in the former nursery (i.e. the smallest bedroom).

For the rest of the week both kiddos are in school and Sam is at work and I am HOME ALONE. Oh dear god it is glorious. If I don't have time alone I'm a cranky, cranky woman. This week is offering me a chance to recharge. The cleaning is done. Laundry is nearly caught up. The weather is autumnal. Right now I'm listening to the wind dancing about the falling tree leaves. There has been loads of cuddling with the cat while reading Gothic novels. I've puttered about the house brewing pots of tea and listening to Sufjan Stevens, The Decemberists, and Fleet Foxes. I have some birthday crafts going and a soup simmering in the slow-cooker.

So while it has been looking like this outside:

I thought I'd show you all my cozy little nooks in my newly cleaned house. Hey, I'm enjoying it while it lasts:

Now it is time to go curl up with Beauregard Kitty and read.

Readerly Rambles: 10/19/2011

2011-10-19T14:52:00.001-04:00

What I've finished:

In this House of Brede by Rumer Godden: I inhaled this book about a group of nuns. I'm one of those agnostic types with a protestant background who is inexplicably fascinated by Catholicism. I enjoyed learning about the life of a nun, but I most enjoyed the different characters in the book and how they each met with different challenges (personal and related to their convent). This is my first Rumer Godden book and I'll definitely be reading her again. This book was for the TBR challenge.
Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon: This book was such fun! Lady Audley has a secret -- which the reader will discover soon after beginning the book -- and that secret threatens to destroy her current wealth and position she's obtained by marriage. Of course she will stop at nothing to ensure her status and everyone is shocked at her evil insanity because she is such a blonde, pretty, angelic creature. Oh Victorians, how horrific when the Angel in the House proves to be nefarious! This Victorian sensational novel was for Carl's RIP challenge.
The Bad Seed by William March: I picked this book up for Carl's RIP challenge because I love the campy film version. Oh WOW, the book is far darker, violent, and terrifying. Little Rhoda is bat shit crazy and one evil little sociopath. It was weird/interesting that I read this right after Lady Audley's Secret. Both books address society's views on beauty and innocence and deal with themes of maternal hereditary insanity. If I were in grad school I'd probably write a paper about the two novels. But I'm not. So I won't. (sticks out tongue)

What I'm Reading:

Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman: this is a group read over at Carl's blog. I'm enjoying this collection and you can read more about it here, here, here and here.
Clermont by Regina Maria Roche: Oh my goodness this is a fun one! A classic Gothic novel, this book stars one dim witted, overly good, heroine who is either trembling with emotion, quivering with fright, blanching with fear, or crimsoning with modestly. There are gobs of "hithers" and "whilsts" and flowery speeches. I must say I'm loving it and I feel all Catherine Morland when I'm reading it. This book is for The Classics Circuit.

What's Up Next:

It it mother-effin' Readathon time! (throws confetti). I have my stack of Readathon books below and Sam is watching the babies so I can read my eyeballs out. I can't wait to nerd-out with all of you on participants on Saturday, October 22nd at 8 a.m.

Recent Purchases:

The Evil Genius by Wilkie Collins
The House by the Churchyard by J. Sheridan LeFanu
A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith
A Place of Greater Safety by Hilary Mantel

Happy Reading!

Teaser Tuesday: The Over the Top Gothic Edition

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

from Clermont by Regina Maria Roche:

"It was not any apprehension of danger however which agitated the soul of Madeline, it was the agony of thinking that de Sevignie was the sad and solitary mourner to whose sweet and melancholy strains she had been listening; for in the air she heard she perfectly recollected one she had taught him during his visit at her father's house; and she wished to avoid his presence, least she should betray the emotions a knowledge of this dejection had inspired. Again she pressed for Olivia to depart; who, in compliance with her wishes was moving from the spot, when the nurse hastily exclaimed, 'Stop, Mam'selle, stop, he's coming now, for there's his dog.'" (pg. 67)

I feel like some more thunderstorms, swooning, and blanched cheeks are on the horizon. Ha! I'm reading this one for The Classics Circuit and will post my review on 10/23, don't forget to check back.

A Craft Lair!!!

2011-10-17T07:00:00.006-04:00

Nothing gets this mama out of a funk more than a glorious weekend with the family. We had a shitty yard sale that only yielded $37. So Sam and I blew the money on Thai food and a trip to Michael's for finger paints for the kids and oil pastels for Sam. I've played outside with Atticus (Hope is visiting her Nana), tidied the house, watched a few good movies, and accomplished this......

When we originally began renting this house in May 2010, I had plans for a basement craft lair. That just wasn't practical. I'm usually multi-tasking while I knit, crochet, embroider, and craft (baking and minding babies mostly) and sequestering myself downstairs wasn't practical. Now the stuff is upstairs in the sunroom so there will be plenty of light and I'm near the kitchen and in prime view of all the kiddos. This is only the beginning of this organization project and I'll be sure to post more pictures as I work on it. Beau approves. He hops up on the craft table to flee from grubby baby hands.

Fragile Things Readalong: Week 6

2011-10-16T15:30:00.001-04:00

Hooray! I enjoyed the tales this week far more than last week's readings.

My Life
What it is: a poem of sorts that consists of one long ramble from someone the reader can assume is frequenting a pub. The stories are ridiculous and marvelous. Sex-changes? Possessed Dishwashers? General strangeness? Check. Check. And Check.

Favorite Line: "I like to think that if / The dishwasher had not been haunted - well, / possessed, I guess would be more accurate -- / She'd still be here today..."

What worked for me: The reality of this poem. And my reality I mean not the reality of dudebuddy's stories, but the reality of running into those people with fantastical tales (especially the folks with stories that MAY be true, but most likely isn't).

Fifteen Painted Cards from a Vampire Tarot
What it is: A lovely little set of vignettes related to vampire life (erm... unlife?). I liked some more than others.

Favorite Line: I can't really pinpoint one favorite line, but I will say the writing is very strong. Each vignette hints at a very complex story line. Hooray for nice, tight writing.

What worked for me: I think restrained Gaiman works best. We didn't have a chance to delve into page after page of explicit sex and violence. Instead each piece (some are only a few lines and other a few paragraphs) pricks the imagination into filling in the shadowy bits of story -- the back story and the future of the principle players.

What didn't work: No complaints. Although I will say I had to focus. Sometimes with short pieces I tend to read too fast. I think it works best to make sure you pause between each set of vampire tales in this story.

Feeders and Eaters
What it is: one of my favorite Gaiman stories so far. A man boarding at a family home (Mister Barrow) meets another boarder, a woman -- Miss Corvier. The woman is old and seems to be involved in witchcraft (at the very least she is what my dad would call a "dirty hippie"). Then the cat goes missing. And Mr. Barrow finds the cat alive and half-eaten. Things get even more creepy from there!

Favorite Line: I don't really have a favorite line. The entire story is gripping (pun intended harty har har)

What worked: Yay! This story is gruesome, but not gruesome for shock value, simply gruesome in classic horror sense.

What didn't work: No complaints

Diseasemaker's Croup
What it is: Apparently a college-level writing exercise for everyone to read. Essentially, it is a faux medical description of a fake disease.

What didn't work: I didn't care for this. I felt like it had no point. It is as if Professor set a timer and said "describe a macabre disease.... go". I think this type of writing is showy and false. Although to be honest each time I tired to read my eyes just slid over the page. This may be a Reader (i.e. me) fail and not a Gaiman fail.

K is for Kill me Now.... Seriously I'm tired of the alphabet crap

2011-10-14T12:38:00.001-04:00

I was exhausted this morning. After two blissful weeks of Atticus sleeping through the night we're back to waking every hour. I've been hopeful that "this too shall pass" and so I've had a pretty good attitude about my lack of sleep, but now that he is nearly a year-old I feel a hopeless desperation. How long will this last. a few more weeks? Months? Years?

So this morning I was exhausted. The house is a wreck. I'm supposed to be having a yard sale tomorrow and I'm no where near ready. The bills still need to be paid. There is just too much to do and I'm so so so so so tired.

Hope watched Atticus this morning so I could take a quick shower and I had a Good Cry. An expletive-filled, blubbering, snotty, messy cry. Then I got out, dressed, dried my hair and prepared to be a Decent Mother. We went by the library and then came home. Hope played with Atticus so I could lie down for 30 minutes in the living room. We went for a glorious walk in the autumn sunshine and I took the kids to eat lunch with daddy at the college cafeteria. Now, Atticus is napping.

I'm overwhelmed. Between work, and kids, and domestic duties, and everything else I'm just tired. Also, Sam has gone back to tattooing in addition to his usual job. He loves it and he is so happy, but it means that he cannot help me as much.

Now you may be asking yourself, "what the hell is the point of this post?" I have no idea. I'm just in a major funk.

bleh..........................................................

Blogged and Determined (And a Giveaway)

2011-10-12T20:41:00.001-04:00

First of all, I am bound and determined to finish all my ABC posts (which were only supposed to last the month of September), participate in my Sunday group reads, blog my Classics Circuit post on the 23rd, AND participate in READATHON on the 22nd of this month. I'm so bad about starting themed blogger stuff and then dropping off. I really, really miss my regular blogging.

Expect some changes soon in November. I think I'm going to go to a daily format or some sort of loose schedule. Then maybe I can post ahead in those pocket of time I squirrel away for blogging instead of spending my time wondering what the heck to write about.

What I'd like from you all (my few brave readers) is a little bit of feedback. If you wouldn't mind, leave me a comment about what you'd like to see on Fig and Thistle or shoot me an email at amanda.l.addison(at)gmail(dot)com. Comment or email by 26 October 2011 and you'll be entered to win a gift box from moi. Of course, I haven't determined what exactly will go in said box. Let's just say it will contain something bookish, something coffeeish, and something handmade. Please, U.S. folks only (sorry, I'm so poor). I will draw a winner via random generator on the 26th!

To get your ideas churning in the ole gray matter, here's a list of ideas:

What subjects do you like most and would like to see with regularity? What do you hate?

Book reviews, library loots, and random reading stuff
Recipes
Crafts
Knitting and embroidery
Personal / life stuff
Mommy stuff
Rants
Professional stuff -- aka library stuff, particularly about Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing
Memes and blogger events
Challenges (books, weight loss, knitting, etc...)
Pintrest boards, items I love, product reviews
Blogs and links of interest
Health and weight loss
Clothes, thrifting, decorating
Lists
Movie reviews
More pictures
ANY OTHER IDEAS???

Now time for the disclaimer: I really want feedback, but in the end this blog is a representation of ME. This means it will never fit into a niche: books/mom stuff/baking..... I can't just write about one element in my life.

My recent lack of blogging is because I have TOO MUCH to talk about. I feel stuck and overwhelmed by all I want to share. I think having a set theme or loose structure will help me focus all these ideas and words and plans busting outta my brain.

Alright folks, share the love.