Melanie's Stories

The Prosers, Part 2

2011-12-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

You'll never, ever in a million years believe it, but I am the new Saturday poster for The Prosers, that blog I was just barely gushing about. Seriously. It's true. If you don't believe me (and even if you do) go check it out!

The Prosers: Melanie is now an integral part of our team. Don't believe us? Look, here's a post

That means there is one less thing this blog has to be. I still want to do a million things with it, but it won't ever have to be a writer's blog. This gives me great hope that it will all sort itself out one of these days.

Anyway, I am over the moon excited to get to work with all those talented authors. Life is good!

The Prosers

2011-12-05T04:49:00.000-08:00

No way! It hasn't really been nearly 5 months since I posted here, has it? Where did that time go? It was filled with trying to sell our house, writing the rough draft of a new novel (!) and great family stuff. I'll try and be better, but I've got a few chapters left on that novel, the house is under contract, and Christmas is right around the corner, so it may be awhile. :(

In the meantime, let me recommend a new blog, not to take my place (heavens, no. Not that!) but to entertain you while you wait. It's geared toward aspiring writers, but it's lots of fun, regardless. It's called The Prosers and it's written by a talented group of ladies who are going to be famous someday!

Enjoy!

July's Books

2011-07-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

Possession

by: Elana Johnson

published in 2011

405 pages

4 stars

Summary:

The world has been divided into the Goodgrounds and the Badlands. Goodies live without hunger or crime, but they also live without control over their own choices. Vi knows she isn't like everyone else, but she wants to fit in so she can be with Zenn--her best friend and her future Match. Still, she can't help rebelling in small ways, and when she is arrested for walking in the park after dark with Zenn, she is assigned a cell with a man from the Badlands--egotistical, charismatic Jag. The Thinkers who control the Goodlands want Vi to join them, and soon she and Jag are on the run together.

Review:
Dystopian love triangles. I find myself irresistibly drawn to them even though I always think I've reached my dystopian limit. I've been thinking about how dystopian worlds are very well suited for love triangles--do I stay with the guy I've always loved in the world I've always known or do I go with the guy who keeps me off balance and has the promise of a better world? I only like love triangles to the extent that I'm satisfied with the ending for all three characters. Possession is the first book in the series, so the jury is still out on that one.

I haven't had much time to read lately, but I stayed up late to finish this one. I'm on pins and needles for the sequel to come out.

Unfortunately, I'm getting to be such a critic these days--I can't read a great story and leave it there. Parts of this book were very jarring for me. Elana Johnson never slows the action to examine the feelings of her characters. I hate that. Jag was constantly doing things that should have caused intense turmoil in Vi, and when I can't get into her head to feel that emotion I get confused and wonder if I'm misunderstanding things. When the action is over, she finds time to ruminate on it all, but by then I'm emotionally detached. On the other hand, Johnson is very proficient at explaining Vi's feelings during the kissing scenes. :-) I found myself wishing for more character growth, but that's just a personal preference. All in all, this was a very fun book.

buried

by: Robin Merrow MacCready

published in 2006

198 pages

2 stars

Summary, which I took directly from the front flap:

Claudine has long buried her own needs and dreams to cover for her alcoholic mother. She protects herself with careful planning and constant control. Order is her weapon. How deep do you dig to uncover the truth?

After Mom suddenly disappears--another alcoholic binge?--and seventeen year old Claudine finds herself all alone, a much darker reality emerges from beneath years of angry denial and enabling behavior. And as the truth comes closer to the surface, Claudine must dig for the answers she's always worked so hard to cover up.

A suspenseful and mind-twisting psychological thriller, Buried is about the drama and destruction of co-dependency and the redemptive power of secrets revealed.

Review:

I've been eyeing this book at the library for quite a while now, and finally decided to read it. Parts of it were very enjoyable, but I am a big fan of Character stories, and this was an Event story masquerading as a Character story. The story was much darker than the writing style prepared me for, and I only finished it because I needed to know what was happening. Once I found out, I wished I'd never known. People who enjoy mysteries and books about obsessive-compulsive disorder and co-dependency might enjoy this book, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

Enclave

by: Ann Aguirre

published in 2011

272 pages

4 stars

Summary:

As a Huntress, Deuce's short life is mapped out. She lives in the Enclave, but ventures out to hunt for meat in the tunnels while evading zombie-like creatures called Freaks. It's all she's ever wanted to do, but things become more complicated when she is partnered with Fade, a strange but lethal boy who claims to have come from Topside. The Freaks, who have always been dangerous, but mindless, are showing signs of intelligence and strategy, but the Elders of the Enclave refuse to believe Deuce and Fade. To Deuce's horror and Fade's delight, the pair of them are exiled, and forced Topside.

Review:

Yep. Another dystopian young adult novel. With zombies. And a love triangle of sorts. It couldn't be more different than Possession-humans are barely hanging on in this book. It had more of the feeling of Ship Breaker, which is a high recommendation. Deuce lives in the tunnels underneath New York in the years following what sounds like a nuclear war. The romance between Fade and Deuce is breathtakingly innocent and beautiful. Fade was my favorite part of this book--he makes the flaws worth it.

I can't really get into it without spoilers, but let's just say that although I enjoy getting into the head of a leader who seems purely evil and discovering that said person is fighting to bring civilization out of chaos, some reprehensible actions require more contrition and restitution than others. Redeeming an evil character is not something an author should undertake lightly.

Enclave is the first book in a series. I won't be racing to pre-order my copy of the sequel when it comes out, but I'll definitely be reading it. I recommend this book for most teenagers--it doesn't quite earn a Books for Boys seal, but I imagine many teenage boys would enjoy it. There is some frank discussion about rape and keeping women for their sexual and breeding capabilities. There is also a human hunting scene (a la The Most Dangerous Game) that was disturbing, though short.

June's Books, first edition

2011-06-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

I haven't read much this month. In fact, I thought I'd only have one book to talk about today, but I whipped through another one at the last minute.

"A Book For Boys" means it's a book I think boys and/or men would like. The market is so inundated with books written for girls that I feel like I've found a treasure when I find a book for my sons, and I want to share it. I hope girls love them too!

The Boy At The End Of The World

by: Greg van Eekhout

This book doesn't come out until tomorrow.

224 pages

4.5 stars*

This is A Book For Boys book!

My awesome friend Karen Smith sent me this book as an ARC (an advanced reader copy). It was so much fun to read a book that hasn't been published yet that I had to make sure and get my review of it up before it came out tomorrow. I hope I get that chance more often in the future.

Synopsis:

Many, many years ago, humans realized that we had used Earth up, and it could no longer sustain us. So they created 4 arks--places where endangered species (including people) could rest in a kind of cryogenic sleep until it was safe to reintroduce them into the environment. But when a young boy named Fisher wakes up, he knows something has gone wrong. All the other sleeping pods in his ark have been destroyed. He is the last surviving human. Luckily he is not completely alone. He has a broken robot named Click and a pet mastadon he names Protein to keep him company. This is a thrilling story of survival and friendship.

Middle grade science fiction. Have you ever heard of it? It's a genre that is sadly filled with holes. What child doesn't want to read a breathless story of survival filled with mutant robots and perilous adventures? This is a book for the whole family. I loved it, and can't wait for the next one. Greg van Eekhout has crammed so much into this book--it will spark conversations about our responsibility to the Earth and the animals on it, about artificial intelligence, and about the importance of morals in scientific inquiry--and yet the whole thing is wrapped up in a rolicking adventure that is pure fun. I highly recommend this one for girls and boys of all ages.

Entwined

by: Heather Dixon

published in 2011

472 pages

Young Adult fantasy

3.5 stars*

In the not too distant past, I could count on loving every single book my teenage daughter read, and she loved nearly everything I did. But then a book called City of Bones changed everything. We both loved it, but it was a sort of aberration for me. I loved Cassandra Clare's writing style, and her characters were great, but I'm not interested in trying other dark, romantic fantasy books, and J is. So lately, most of the books she checks out of the library just stay in her room, and I pick them up only to do motherly things like reading the synopsis and opening to random pages to make sure it isn't TOO dark or TOO romantic. And because of that, I very nearly missed this book.

Entwined is not that kind of book. It's a novel based on the Grimm's fairy tale "The Worn Out Dancing Slippers". It was a lovely story, with well-developed characters. Some of the character development felt clunky to me, but the way they interacted with each other more than made up for that.You know how in the old fairy tales, the hero blasts in and saves the day? And you know how, in the new fairy tales, the heroine figures out how to save herself, and then usually has to go rescue the hero? Well, my favorite thing about this book is that there was none of that. In this story, of a whole bunch of people get to try on the hero's hat. My favorite hero is her father. I hope you like it.

My rating system:

1=I couldn't finish it. Blech.

2=I finished it, but I wish I hadn't wasted my time.

3=I don't regret reading it, but I probably won't search out anything else by this author.

4=I loved it!

It is nearly impossible to get a 5. To get a 5 would almost always mean that it has taken its place among my favorites. Occasionally, to get a 5 might mean that it ought to take its place among my favorites, if only I had slightly better taste.

Life is good--the Crouse's new pool

2011-06-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

L was the first person to swim in our newly lined pool.
She was also the first one to jump off the diving board.

J was the first person to jump in the shallow end.
J was also the first person to catch some sun in a dry spot near the edge of the pool.

But...
I was the first person to jump off the diving board fully clothed.
I was also the first person to dive off the diving board.
Life is good.

Once Upon A Time update

2011-06-06T06:06:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, the middle of June is nearly here, and that is the deadline to finish the Once Upon A Time Challenge. In April I published a list of books I thought I would be reading for the challenge, but only 2 of those books stood the test of time. (I tried to read The Mists of Avalon right after being heartily annoyed by Waiting For Odysseus, and gave it up for awhile. Instead, I'm reading a much shortened version of King Arthur to my younger kids, and that's going to have to be good enough. I couldn't finish City of Fallen Angels either. So here's where I stand:

For fairy tales: A Tale Dark and Grimm
For fantasy: Eyes Like Stars and Alcatraz and the Shattered Lens
For mythology: Waiting For Odysseus
For folktales: King Arthur (Not finished yet)
And I haven't even started reading: A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is sort of the point of the whole contest.
Plus I've got to watch the movie!!!! Lots of work to do. I think I'd better give up house cleaning for a while. :^)

May's Books

2011-05-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

I've figured out that I don't much like waiting the whole month to tell you about the books I've read. I think in June I'm going to try writing it every two weeks instead. Still, this was a great month for reading! I read a lot of books I think both boys and girls would enjoy, which is always a plus for me. I hope you enjoy them!

A note about my rating system.

1=I couldn't finish it. Blech.

2=I finished it, but I wish I hadn't wasted my time.

3=I finished it, and I don't regret it, but I probably won't search out anything else by this author.

4=I loved it!

5= It is nearly impossible to get a 5. To get a 5 would almost always mean that it has taken its place among my favorites. Occasionally, to get a 5 might mean that it ought to take its place among my favorites, if only I had slightly better taste.

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

by: John Flanagan

438 pages

published in 2010

4.5/5 stars

This is a Book For Boys!

This is book 10 in The Ranger's Apprentice series, which starts with The Ruins of Gorlan.

This is a great series for all YA teens, especially boys. I have no idea if the sword fighting is true to life, but I'd be surprised if it was not, it's so well thought out. I love the intelligent, interesting characters and their interactions, but it's really the action that makes these books exciting.

It took a book or two before I got used to the omniscient point of view. John Flanagan is from Australia, and writers from outside the US are not nearly as locked into the limited third as we are. I'm not sure whether the author's writing has actually improved, or if I've simply gotten used to it.

The books are about a boy named Will who becomes apprenticed to the ranger named Halt in a magical world based on European medieval history. The rangers are a select group of men who serve as the intelligence force and police for King Duncan. They are masters of camouflage and certain kinds of fighting, especially the saxe knife and the long bow. These stories are Will's adventures. In each book he is older and travels somewhere new. In this particular book, he is in Nihon-Ja, a country that reminds me of medieval Japan, though the fit is not perfect. I highly recommend the series, but I think you need to start at book one.

(I read this for the Once Upon A Time Challenge)

A Tale Dark and Grim

by: Adam Gidwitz

192 pages

published in 2010

There is some confusion in my mind about who this is for. It's definitely for middle grades and up, but it's recommended as a read aloud for ages 6 and up. More on that in a moment.

4 stars (I loved it!)

This is a Book for Boys!

My oldest daughter started reading this to my younger children before I read the book. They were all completely entranced. I kept hearing little pieces of the story, and I would say, "Are you sure this is appropriate to read to little kids?" She would assure me that it was. Plus, every place I could find on-line said it was a great read for school age children. So I let it go.

And it was probably completely fine. This book is "“...well... awesome. But in a horrible, bloody kind of way." As if poor Hansel and Gretal didn't have it bad enough, Gidwitz has taken their story and added some of the more obscure and horrifying Grimm fairy tales and tied them into one gruesome tale.

In a world where most of the original tales have been softened and most of the uglier parts have been taken out, Gidwitz has "bloodied them back up." But his narrator has such a snarky sense of humor that it comes across as funny. Every gory scene has a warning in front of it, like this example: "Are there any small children in the room now?” he asks midway through the first tale, “If so, it would be best if we just...hurried them off to bed. Because this is where things start to get, well...awesome.” In addition, adding the horrific pieces back brings the meaning of the fairy tales back, and the narrator makes sure we get it.

So, as I read it, there were times when my eyes got big, and I turned to my daughter and said, "You REALLY read this part out loud?" But mostly I think it was great. All my kids, even my six year old, have picked that book up to read parts of it again.

The Magic Thief (Books 2 and 3)

by: Sarah Prineas

416 pages and 384 pages respectively

Lost: published in 2010

Found: published in 2011

For middle grades, though I think YA readers would like them too!

These are Books for Boys!

4 stars

In April I reviewed the first book in this series. I had listened to it as a book on tape and I said that although I enjoyed it, I thought it went a little slow. I read the sequels instead of listening to them, and it completely solved the problem. These are such fun books! I finished them both in less than a day, and when I was done I wished I'd read them to my younger kids.

This is the story of Connwaer after his locus magicalicus is destroyed. Without it, he can't communicate with the magic, and the magic desperately needs him. I especially enjoyed book 3. The magical world in these stories is so complex for a middle grade book. I love it when an author doesn't dumb things down for kids. I'm especially fascinated with Connwaer's relationship with Kerrn--the captain of the guard, who obviously respects Conn, yet doesn't flinch to have him arrested if that is her duty.

(I read this for the Once Upon A Time Challenge)

Waiting For Odysseus

by: Clemence McLaren

published in 2000

160 pages

Young Adult

2 stars

This is the story of the women who loved and waited for Odysseus--his nurse maid, Penelope, Circe, the king's daughter (whose name escapes me at the moment) and Athena. I love books with strong female protaganists, and I was excited to read more about the stories of these women. But this was not the story of these women. This is the story of them waiting around until they hear a story about Odysseus. It was just his story of them hearing stories about Odysseus, meeting him, falling in love with him and then pining away after he was gone. And you know, there was a lot of sex in the Odyssey, which is remarkably more obvious when being told from the point of view of the women he had sex with. Blech.

Pirates

by Celia Rees

374 pages

published in 2003

Young Adult (Mature)

4 stars!

Nancy Kington is a wealthy merchant's daughter living in Bristol, England in the early 1700s. She has promised to marry her childhood sweetheart, William. When her father dies, she is sent to live on her plantation in Jamaica, where she meets Minerva Sharpe, a black slave. Their lives entwine as they live through an attempted rape, an arranged marriage and a brutal murder. Together they escape to the high seas, where they live as pirates.

This book was exciting and well researched. I love stories set on ships, and found this to be a rollicking adventure. It's more mature in theme than a book like The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, and yet it has that same strong willed female protaganist that I love so much. The one thing I didn't like was that the overarching plot sometimes took a backseat to the action.

Death Cloud: Sherlock Holmes, The Legend Begins

by: Andrew Lane

306 pages

published in 2010

Young Adult

This is a Book for Boys!

4 stars

When Sherlock Holmes is fourteen, he spends the summer with his eccentric aunt and uncle, and spends his days wandering the English countryside with an orphan named Mattie. When two local people die with symptoms resembling the plague, Sherlock Holmes begins his investigative career. This is the first book about a teenage Sherlock Holmes to be endorsed by Conan Doyle's estate. It's attention to detail is remarkable. I love thinking about how Holmes became the man he was.

I enjoyed this book every bit as much as I enjoy a good Sherlock Holmes story--which is to say, it's an occasional pleasure for me. The story was far fetched, as Sherlock Holmes stories often are, but the character development was well thought out and fun.

You know who you are...

2011-05-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

Someone forgot to knock on wood.
Ah, well...back to the drawing board.

My House

2011-05-18T05:45:00.000-07:00

Good old-fashioned superstition has kept me from posting a follow up to Help Me Find A House!

We found one, and I'm still afraid that by letting that information loose on the internet I will provoke some spiteful little nixies and the whole thing will fall through. Drat those little nixies. Hopefully, if everyone knocks on wood while they are reading this, the nixies will be none the wiser. Go ahead.

Thank you.

I love the house we've chosen. Not as much as I love the one we're in right now, but I like the location loads better. Hopefully we'll learn to love the new house as much as we've loved this one. It's on a great street, in a neighborhood I've never heard a bad thing about. A neighborhood! The stuff of dreams. There is a girl in the same grade as my oldest daughter right next door. Does that give you chills? And...she has a younger sister in the same grade as my oldest son. And...you won't believe this, I'm sure, but I swear it's true. They are not the only kids in the neighborhood.

We can walk to the library, or if my kids want to take karate or dance, we could walk there too. We could ride bikes to school, if we so desired, and we won't have to get up at 3:30 a.m. just to get to seminary on time.

In the words of the famous scientist, Dr. Ray Stantz, "Wow. This place is great. When can we move in? You gotta try this pole. I'm gonna get my stuff. Hey. We should stay here. Tonight. Sleep here. You know, to try it out."

In later posts, I'll probably moan about all the things we're leaving behind--including my swimming pool, a great neighbor or two, and the hiking trails my dad built in the backyard. But for now, I want to celebrate where we're headed. A gorgeous backyard, a lovely sun-room and a music room. And people. I might not be able to stay in my pj's on computer mornings anymore. Who knows? A neighbor might stop by!

Hawthorne or Alcott?

2011-05-16T07:20:00.000-07:00

When my husband and I went to Boston for the weekend, we hiked on the Battle Trail--a 5.5 mile trail that marks the path taken by British soldiers marching from Boston to Concord.

It's a gorgeous trail in early May, especially if you're coming from Maine, where green hasn't yet asserted itself as the dominant spring color. All the trees along the trail are arrayed in the vivid greens of brand new leaves, and the meadows are covered in spring wildflowers. It's a feast for my winter weary eyes. We pass tourists and joggers, and one incredibly tough woman jogging uphill while pushing two children in a stroller.

On the map of the Battle Trail, it mentions a place called The Wayside, where you can visit the home of authors Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott and Margaret Sidney. I love Louisa May Alcott, and so we decided to stop there. I was expecting a little neighborhood--and I thought how incredible that one neighborhood could boast of so many famous authors. But it wasn't one neighborhood. It was one house. Seriously. The Wayside is the name of a home that was originally built in 1717. And not only famous authors lived there. Samuel Whitney was living there in 1775. He was the Muster Master for the Concord Minutemen during the Revolutionary War, and munitions were hidden in this house.

Bronson Alcott bought the house from him and named it The Hillside. I never thought that I had much of a problem distinguishing fiction from reality, but as I looked around the house, I couldn't figure out exactly where Teddy's grandfather's mansion would have been. To the left of the home were paths through a woods that had been there since before Louisa's time, and to the right was an old barn. Teddy couldn't have looked through his window to spy on the March's house. O.K. Melanie! No matter how similar Louisa's personality was to Jo March, it doesn't make Little Women an exact autobiography. Get over it.

Nathaniel Hawthorne bought the home from the Alcotts for $1,500. After buying the house, Hawthorne wrote, "Mr Alcott... had wasted a good deal of money in fitting it up to suit his own taste—all of which improvements I get for little or nothing. Having been much neglected, the place is the raggedest in the world but it will make, sooner or later, a comfortable and sufficiently pleasant home."^[1] Nathaniel renamed it "The Wayside" 'because it stood so close to the road that it could have been mistaken for a coach stop.' Doesn't he sound like a pleasant fellow?

Daniel and Harriet Lothrop bought the house in 1883. Harriet Lothrop used the pen name Margaret Sidney, which didn't mean anything to me until a few minutes ago when I was doing a little research for this blog post. Margaret Sidney is the author of Five Little Peppers and How They Grew! I love that book! What an awesome thing to find out the author wrote it while living in Louisa May Alcott's house.

I loved seeing the home and thinking about its unique history. Look at this picture though:

Notice how Nathaniel Hawthorne's name is written in big block letters? Humph.

My husband says I need to reread The Scarlet Letter before I say this, but in my opinion, Louisa May Alcott's work is so much more important to our society today than Nathaniel Hawthorne's books are. His works are definitely valuable! Yikes, I don't want to start that battle. But Louisa May Alcott is a voice our children need to read today, to be transported back to a time when people spent time with each other and played together.

I wish I knew how old this sign was, and why his name is so much larger than hers. I suppose he may have been much more famous at some point in his life. But is he now? Or maybe it was because he was a man. Or maybe my perception is just skewed.

What do you think?

Help Me Find A House!

2011-05-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

I knew I wasn't going to be writing as much for a while, but I didn't expect to stop so abruptly. My mind is so confused lately that I'm finding it hard to complete sentences, let alone blog posts. In spite a lot of prayer, the heavens seem determined to wait until I make a decision on my own. So I'm opening up my mind to that collective conscience called the internet. How do people cope with this thing called moving?

There are two truths battling for supremacy in my mind. We've found a house that will cost us almost exactly the same amount as we're paying right now. We're not exactly house poor, but we say no to a lot more things than I wish we had to. I'd hoped to buy a house that would free up some money. I have dreams of buying new furniture, and a new-to-me car. We'd love to have money to spend on doing things and going places. And don't forget the days of college and missions, which are marching inexorably closer.

So we could keep looking for a house that costs less. But I've seen what's out there. To have a house cost less would mean giving up a great location, giving up a nice yard, and that we'd have to spend a lot of time on fixing up a house with problems. I honestly don't know what the best choice is.

If you were me, what would you do?

April's Books

2011-04-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

In an earlier post, I came to the conclusion that writing book reviews and travelogues in the same blog wasn't such a grand idea. But then I came up with this brilliant plan--why not write up all my books at the end of each month in one crazy long post?

A note about my rating system.

1=I couldn't finish it. Blech.

2=I finished it, but I wish I hadn't wasted my time.

3=I finished it, and I don't regret it, but I probably won't search out anything else by this author.

4=I loved it!

(I read this book for the Once Upon A Time Challenge)

Alcatraz and the Shattered Lens

by: Brandon Sanderson

published in 2010

292 pages

For: Middle Grades and Up! This one needs stars and trumpets to announce that it's a book boys would enjoy.

Rating: 4/5 stars (I loved it!)

If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing Brandon Sanderson's less serious side, you're really missing out. This is book 4 of the Alcatraz series, so you should start from the beginning with Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians. Alcatraz doesn't realize that his propensity for breaking things is actually a talent--all the Smedry's have talents like that. He'd have found out a lot sooner if his grandfather's talent wasn't always being late for things. Now that he knows, the future of the human race rests on his shoulders.

A quote from the book: "Being a Smedry--I was coming to learn--was like being a mix of secret agent, special forces commando, diplomat, general and cheese taster."

And a great quote for all you authors and theater people: (from page 260)

"Anyway, what just happened is something we call a teddy bear on the mantle. This is an ancient storytelling rule that says, "If there's an exploding teddy bear that can destroy people's clothing in a given book, that teddy bear must be used to destroy someone's clothing by the end of the book."

YOU On A Diet

by: Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz

published in 2006. (There is a newer version, but this is the one I read.)

370 pages

Rating: 4/5 stars

Some time ago, I told myself that I'd never read another diet book. I'm so glad I didn't listen to myself. I'm a real sucker for science mixed with humor, so I would have enjoyed this book even if I didn't have any weight to lose.

A random quote: "Technically, (CCK) stands for cholecystokinin, but for our puposes, let's think of it as the Crucial Craving Killer because its main purpose is to tell your brain via the vagus nerve that your stomach feels fuller than a Baywatch swimming suit."

This book is full of great wisdom for people who are sick of dieting but don't know what a healthy lifestyle would look like without it. I just wish I'd found it before I signed up for 3 useless months of Weight Watchers. Oh well...

Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard

by: Chip Heath and Dan Heath

published in 2010

305 pages

Rating: 4.5/5 stars (I really loved it!)

The first time I heard about this book was during a marriage class at a Women's Conference at church. It caught my fancy, so I checked it out from the library. What an amazing book! Whether you want to change your interactions with your family, lose weight or change the direction of a multi-billion dollar company, this book is for you! But it's not just your typical self-help book. It was as hard to put down as any action-adventure novel could claim to be. I wanted to take notes, but instead I read it from start to finish. Luckily there's a handy-dandy section at the back for people like me.

The Alchemist

by: Paulo Coelho

This book is an English version of O Alquimista the Portugese original edition. which was published in 1988. It was published in English in 1994.

167 pages

rating 3.5/5 (I liked it)

From the back cover: Paulo Codlho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its simplicity and wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids.

The beginning of this story really spoke to my soul. In the beginning, it's a story about change--and how we can't continue to grow if we become too content with our lot in life. It's told like a fable--only one person is actually given a name. Everyone else is called something like "the shepherd" "the old man" and "the Englishman". I'm going through a time of change in my life right now, and it's simple message quieted my soul.

The end was disappointing. It stopped being about personal growth and became more a search for something that seemed to me to be nirvana. It just got kind of odd. I still liked it, but the ending made it drop from 4 stars to 3.5. This would make SUCH a great book group book. If only I belonged to one...

(I read this book for the Once Upon A Time Challenge)

Eyes Like Stars: Theatre Illuminata, Act I

by Lisa Mantchev

published in 2009

368 pages

For: Young Adult and up.

rating 3/5 stars (I liked it)

What a quirky book! It's quirkiness is one of the strongest things it has going for it. Someone who had a love for the behind-the-scenes part of theatre would probably be completely smitten. It's the story about all the characters from all the plays that ever existed, who live inside the Theatre Illuminata, and act when they are called upon. Ariel, from Shakepeare's The Tempest, is the only character who doesn't like his imprisonment, and he wants to figure out how to free everyone. Beatrice must stop him, and find a way to convince the theatre manager to let her stay. I was bothered because Beatrice never took the time to think "Am I doing the right thing?" I'm not convinced she was, but there was no room for a moral dilemma. The writing was great, and I'd love to find out what happens next, but I'll probably just read the spoilers on wikipedia.

The Magic Thief

by Sarah Prineas

audio version recorded in 2008

For: Middle Grades and up! Another one that needs to be circled and trumpeted because boys will enjoy it.

4/5 stars

I listened to this on CD, and the story was a trifle too slow for listening. If I'd read the book, it probably would have been a much more solid 4 star entry. I can't wait to read the sequel. Magic is somewhere underneath the ground, and cities have been built on the places where it bubbles up to the surface. Magicians have a locus magicalus--a stone that helps them harness the magical power. Conn is a homeless boy and a pickpocket, and when he steals Nevery's locus magicalus it ought to kill him--but it doesn't. Intrigued, Nevery takes him on as an apprentice. Meanwhile, the city's magic seems to be disappearing, and Nevery has to find out why.

City of Fallen Angels

by: Cassandra Clare

published in 2011

432 pages

1/5 stars

Yep. You read that right. My very favorite Mortal Instruments series, and I didn't even finish reading the fourth book. Let me rant for a moment.

I HATE IT when an author decides to push the envelope once she's got her readers hooked. We're pretty fastidious readers, and the Mortal Instruments series was already a little close to the edge. But I loved Jace so much--there was such a pure, shining spirit inside that sarcastic, gorgeous hero. I am one of Cassandra Clare's most devoted followers. But I won't follow her here.

Luckily, I was pretty happy with the way book 3 ended anyway. It seems a bit sadistic to throw these characters back into the action. I got through about page 75 before I stopped reading, and even more luckily, I really wasn't that into it. Jace had some nightmares, and Simon was perched to get involved in a turf fight between 2 vampires, and that's all! I wasn't hooked, except by my previous love of the characters, so it was not too gut-wrenching to stop.

Here's where I stand for the Once Upon A Time Challenge:

Finished:

Fantasy:

Book 1: Alcatraz and the Shattered Lens

Book 2: Eyes Like Stars

Still to go before June 20:

Folklore: Mists of Avalon

Mythology: Waiting for Oddysseus

Fairy Tales: A Tale Dark and Grimm

and A Midsummer's Night Dream

Jordan Stream Loop In Acadia National Park

2011-04-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Our family went to Acadia on Monday and walked the Jordan Stream Loop, which is 4 miles long, unless you have as much energy as our family did. By taking side paths and running back and forth we managed to turn that 4 mile trail into a 5.5 mile adventure (and some of us did much, much more). That's the beauty of Grampy's GPS tracking system--we could see how far we really walked.

To begin this loop, we started at the Jordan Pond Gatehouse.

As you can see, the trail isn't muddy at all.

At this point, my two youngest crossed a bridge like this:

and started hiking on the other side of Jordan Stream. There were several more bridges across the curves in the stream, but nothing that brought them back to our side. Finally they disappeared from sight. I panicked and ran back to the first bridge, crossed it and chased them down. They were finally able to cross on some rocks and downed trees with the help of my husband and me. But the downed tree didn't look strong enough to support my weight, so I kept going. Finally I took off my shoes and waded across one of the shallower sections. The water was much deeper and faster than usual, and it was great fun. My hero, D stayed on the other side of the stream the whole time to make sure I was safe. (The carriage trail had veered off some).

That brought us to the Cobblestone Bridge (where, incidentally, I could have crossed, if the other side of the trail would have let me get there. This is the only bridge in Acadia made of cobblestones, and it's even covered in cobblestones on the underside (the middle picture).

Jordan Stream

Jordan Pond with a view of The Bubbles

There was still a little bit of snow in places.

Shhhh!!! Don't tell...

2011-04-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...That was a much needed blogging break. I had time to breathe, read a little, do some hiking and panic.

Last summer I got inspired to write a list of 20 things I wanted to do before I turned 40. I just looked at it and felt my stomach lurch, because I took the winter off and forgot almost every single thing on the list except number 16: Walk, bike, horseback ride or take a carriage through all 45* miles of carriage trails in Acadia National Park. This one really captured my imagination, and although I'm behind, this goal is still within reach. To see the entire stomach-lurching list, you can click here.

Probably everyone reading this needs a small refresher course about my love for Acadia National Park, the place where forest meets ocean; nature meets sophistication; the beach meets the mountains. I particularly love the carriage trails for being the place where hiking meets walking. If you want to find out more about the carriage trails you can click here.

Shhh! Don't tell, because yesterday we hiked the Jordan Stream Loop at Acadia National Park. There were still signs up saying that the carriage roads were closed due to spring mud, but lots of people were hiking and no one seemed too bothered about it. The carriage trails were as dry as a bone. Am I making excuses? Yeah, maybe, but we'd driven for over 2 hours so we could mark a trail off my list. No little sign was going to hold me back.

I'll tell you more about our adventures on another post, but for now, I'm just getting you up to date on the progress of goal 16, the only goal I've actually started.
~~1. Eagle Lake Loop - 6 miles(bike)~~
2. Aunt Betty's Pond Loop - 5.9 miles
3. Witch Hole Pond Loop - 6.8 miles
~~4. Jordan Bubble Loop - 8.6 miles~~
~~5. Jordan Stream Loop 4.0~~
6. Day Mountain loop - 5.5 miles
7. Little Long Pond - 3.5 miles
8. Redfield Loop - This is one of 2 trails you have to hike to get to. I can't remember the other trail. This trail is 4.3 miles, but when you add in the additional hiking, it's closer to 5.5
~~9. Hadlock Brook - 3.9 miles~~
10. Ampitheatre Loop - 4.9 miles
11. Giant Slide Loop - 8.2
Total so far: 23.5 miles

In case you were wondering, I turn 40 in October. It's going to be a busy summer.

*You're exactly right. The numbers really don't add up. How smart of you to notice. That's because although there are 45-ish miles of carriage road, the loops double back on each other. For example, a big chunk of yesterday's hike was also a part of the Jordan Bubble Loop, which means I have hiked that section of trail twice so far. There's no way to get around it--if I want to hike the loops, I've got to do some sections twice. I am skipping the Around the Mountain Loop, which is almost entirely made out of pieces of trails I'll have already been on. I don't know how many actual miles I'll have hiked before I'm through, but it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 65.

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 30!!!!!: Something I Have Learned (about Blogging)

2011-04-12T07:15:00.000-07:00

Pièce de résistance: A French term from the early nineteenth century. Translated literally, it means "piece of resistance." It originally referred to the highlight of a meal which 'resisted' common conventions and practices, making the whole creation special. It is meant to give the sense that the item referred to is the most outstanding piece of the collection.

This blog post is not that.

This is what I've learned from the 30 Day Challenge--

1. Blogging is fun.

2. It's a lot of work. It takes up a much bigger chunk of my writing time than I thought it would--like all of it. In reality, I might have to choose...do I want to be a writer or a blogger?

I started this blog to give myself an on-line presence, because publishers and agents agree that it's an important part of getting published. If they have two equally brilliant novels, they are going to publish the one by the author who has a ready made fan base.

And if I decide to self-publish, a blog and the friends I've made in the blog-o-sphere will be my biggest assets. But it doesn't matter if I don't have any time to write fiction.

3. Blogging and writing require my creativity to be in different states--kind of like water. Blogging is more like ice, while writing fiction is more like the gaseous state. So far I haven't figured out how to make it morph quickly enough to be able to do both in any kind of productive way.

4. It's harder than I thought it would be to keep some anonymity for my family. Granted, if anonymity was my goal, naming my blog "melaniecrousesblog" was probably not the wisest of choices. But if you were a fan, who'd read one of my books and wanted MORE, having an easy way to find my blog seemed like a good idea.

Since then, I've read lots of information about protecting your children's identities--how important it is not to give out info, and I've tried. No pictures of my kids, no names, just initials. But the detective in me cringes, and knows that it wouldn't take a lot of effort for someone to figure out a lot about us based on the things I've said and my oh-so-discreet blog name.

5. And maybe I'm overreacting. Not many people, even famous ones, seem to worry about giving out personal info, especially in a blog post that's supposed to be about their own family. It's a conundrum.

6. I love blogs about book reviews. I have two or maybe three that I check on a daily basis for new book ideas. If they blogged about other things in the same space, I'm almost positive I wouldn't be as devoted a follower. So, although I could probably get away with writing an occasional book review, sharing an occasional music video or writing an occasional essay here, if I want to blog about them in any regular sort of way, they deserve their own blog space. Am I saying I want to start another blog??? Well...

7. Blogs about books take even more time to keep up than this one does. Because you have to read. Another conundrum for me, because although reading and writing both use up my creativity in its gaseous state, page for page, reading uses up as much creativity as writing does, and can quickly turn the creative places in my mind into the Sahara Desert.

8. There is money in blogging. It's hard to get started, but eventually this could be a good part time job.

Some interesting statistics:
Since starting this challenge, I've more than quadrupled the number of people who look at this blog. Granted, that's still not an astonomical number of people, but it is promising. It feels like such an honor that you took time out of your schedule to spend with me. Thank you.

My most popular posts are still the ones from the very beginning--the ones about hiking in Acadia National Park. (Yay! It's almost summer and hopefully I can add a few more.) I'm not sure why that is exactly. It must have something to do with the query searches, but it's all too complicated for me.

It took me 54 days to finish the 30 day blog challenge.

So, I learned a lot of things, but I'm still not sure how it will all play out in the end. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

AHMIR

2011-04-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I'd never heard of this group before. They're amazing. A friend of mine just posted this song on facebook, and I have to share it. A girl in our community committed suicide last week because of cyber-bullying. I didn't know her, but it has affected the kids at the high school and middle school profoundly. This song is for them:

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 29: Paintings I Love

2011-04-08T06:04:00.000-07:00

My kids have been blessed with a fantastic art teacher. The pictures on this post are of paintings he has helped middle school students create over the past three years. Each picture has two requirements--he assigns them a famous artist. They must study that artist and use his style in the picture. But the picture must also depict something about the small town we live in.

Making these pictures has become one of the most popular things to do at our school. I feel very attached to this project, even though very few people know I had anything to do with it. One day, three years ago, my amazing friend Lisa came to me. Even though her kids weren't even in school yet, she was already thinking about the drab, ugly halls at the middle school they would be going to in nine or ten years. The artist in her knew that something had to be done.

She contacted Mr. Tompkins, the art teacher, who recognized a great idea when he heard one. He adjusted it to fit his curriculum, and ran with it. Where do I come in? Well, three years ago I was the president of the PTO here. This art project is the thing I am most proud of accomplishing during my two years as president, so I stayed as involved as I could.

My favorite picture is based on the work of Mark Rothko, a Latvian born American painter. Although I like his work, I think the three students who worked on this one surpassed him in excellence. I could stare at it all day. Through the lens of my camera, it seemed like the water was rippling. (I should take this opportunity to point out the obvious--I am not a great photographer, and my camera is as bad as I am.)


In the style of Mark Rothko

My daughter worked on a painting using Giacomo Balla's style. He was an Italian painter who died in 1958. His Futurist style depicted light, movement and speed. Again, I like this painting better than anything he did. He was a strange duck. (He named his daughters Propeller and Light. Enough said.)

In the style of Giacomo Balla.

These paintings remind me so much of my Aunt Donna. I always wanted a picture like this in my house when I grew up.
In the style of Pier Mondrian

I don't know the artist who inspired this one. More research!*

*Andy Warhol--duh, duh, duh! Feeling embarassed now.

In the style of Jackson Pollock

In the style of Andre Derain

In the style of Picasso

I ought to know this one...I'll let you know after I pick up the kids today!*

*Victor Vasarely

In the style of Louise Nevelson

In the style of Joan Miro

In the style of Rene Magritte

Another one in the style of Rene Magritte

One more to research...*

*Gustav Klimt

This isn't all of the pictures, but it's most of them. At a later date, I'll probably add the rest, including some from the primary school, just because they are all fabulous.

I'm sorry I couldn't tell you the names of all the wonderful artists who painted these works. They deserve recognition, but they also deserve anonymity, unless they choose to divulge their names.

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 28: What's Next?

2011-04-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

OK, I admit it. I made this one up. The 30 Day List included several topics that didn't interest me at all. I did a few of them anyway, and oddly enough, some of those have turned into my most popular posts. Life can be strange, indeed.

But I've been making a list of books to read for the Once Upon A Time Challenge, and I thought you might be interested. I have several back-up choices if these books aren't as good as they sound, so I reserve the right to change my mind.

Here's a challenge for you. I just talked myself out of my mythology choice and need a new one. I think I've read almost everything good there is to read in the "Novels Based on Mythology" section. Can you help me find one?

The hardest part of the challenge so far has been deciding what I think the differences between folklore, mythology and fairy tales are. To me, mythology would be the stories people use to describe great events--creation and disaster stories, gods and the stories that surround them. Fairy tales are the stories with magic. But I've been pulling my hair out trying to figure out how folktales differ from the other two. Folk tales are the tales of a culture passed down orally through stories. Yikes. It's not so much a line between the categories as a gray blur, but I think I've got it figured out for the purposes of this challenge anyway.

My choices:

For Folktales: Something Arthurian. I've never read the Mists of Avalon or The Winter King, which suddenly seems like a gaping hole in my reading repertoire. Any opinions one way or the other would be lovely.

For fairy tales:

Fantasy will be supremely easy. I can grab just about anything off my to-read pile:

And of course:

Once Upon A Time Challenge

2011-04-06T05:35:00.000-07:00

My 30 Day Blog Challenge will be ending any day now, and I'm oh so ready to move on. I've got a couple of great post ideas left, but these last few post topics have definitely taxed my creativity. On the other hand, I love the 30 Day Challenge idea...since I haven't quite found my blogging niche yet, it makes sense to try on some different hats for 30 days at a time (well 30 days that stretch into 40 or 45 if you factor in all the days I take off :).

For my next 30 day challenge, I thought I might review 30 books in 30 days. Unfortunately, I can't read 30 books in 30 days (Oh, you know I could. But I promised my family I wouldn't do that to them) so some of them will have to be from memory. I go to my favorite reading blogs every day, hoping for a new post, so the idea of a book reviewing blog appeals to me. I'd especially love to review books teenage boys would enjoy, since they are so hard to find. (The niche is slowly filling up, but perusing the Young Adult section at Barnes and Noble is an eye opening experience. They might as well put up a sign that says "Teenage Girl Section."

But I digress...I don't even know where I was when I stumbled upon the 5th Annual Once Upon A Time Challenge,but I think it will dovetail nicely with my 30 Book Reviews In A Month (Or So) idea. Here's the plan:

The Once Upon A Time challenge runs from March 21 through June 20. As you can see, I'm already getting a late start, but that's alright, since I can choose a journey level.

Level 1: Read 5 books that fit into these categories: fantasy, folklore, fairy tale or mythology.

Level 2: Read at least one book from each of those categories.

Level 3: Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream OR a viewing of one of the many theatrical versions of the play.

There are a few more levels, but they involve non-fiction treatises about fantasy, folklore, fairy tales or mythology, so I'm not even going to bother to post them. There IS a Quest On Screen that looks interesting...I just need to blog about movies that fit into these categories.

So there it is...I love Shakespeare, and most of the books I read already fit into one of those categories, so I'm challenging myself to do Journey Level 3. Now back to our regularly scheduled Challenges...

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 27: My Favorite On-line Places

2011-04-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

The Six O Clock Scramble is an on-line dinner planning service. Every week you receive a grocery list and 5 healthy, delicious and quick to fix meals. I love it, and I'm not sure how we lived without it.

Hatrack River Writer's Workshop is the site that taught me almost everything I know about being a professional writer. It's also the place where I found a fantastic support group, and writers I am proud to call friends.

Facebook I admit it. I love facebook. Through facebook I've grown closer to friends and family I might have lost touch with otherwise, gotten to know a lot of my writer friends from Hatrack, joke around with people from my community and church that I otherwise wouldn't get a chance to talk to...It's a great place.

Netflix The salesman at Radio Shack told me that digital TV destroyed television for Maine. Between the weather, and the huge number of rural homes, tons of us just don't have television anymore. To be honest, we only had PBS and NBC before anyway, but now we've got nothing. So we love, love, love our Netflix. It doesn't give us everything, but hey...who wants everything? We've got Dora, Cyberchase, Mythbusters and Monk. Who could ask for anything more?

Well, me...I can't live without my weekly dose of Chuck!

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 26: A Recipe I Love

2011-04-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

We had this for the first time tonight, but I think it's going to become one of our favorites. In the past year, we have become pretty adventurous eaters, as you can see by the following conversation.

R: Do we have any garam masala*?
Me: Of course.
R: How about cardomom?
Me: Yeah, there's a little bit left.
R: How about sour cream?
Me: Ooh. I don't think so.

He fiddled with the ingredients, the way he always does, and by the time he finished, we had this yummy stew. It's vegetarian, but lentils are so hardy that you'll never miss the meat (or the sour cream). We had it with homemade rolls, and for dessert we had dessert crepes filled with vanilla icecream and covered with hot fudge. Yeah, we're that amazing. :D

(Did I mention that R loves to cook, and lets himself go wild on General Conference weekend? Just ask me what else he's cooked in the last 3 days.)

Moroccan Lentil Stew

serves 8

2 onions, chopped 1 quart stewed tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, minced 2 large carrots, diced

1 tsp. dried ginger 2 large stalks celery, diced

1 T. olive oil 1 1/2 tsp. garam masala*

7 c. water 1 1/2 tsp. cardamom

4 chicken bouillion cubes 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper

2 cups dry green lentils 3/4 tsp. cumin

19 oz can garbanzo beans, rinsed

Add onion, garlic, ginger and olive oil to a large nonstick saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring often (about 7 minutes). Add the water, bouillion cubes, lentils, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, carrots, celery, garam masala*, cardamom, cayenne, and cumin. Bring stew to a boil, then lower heat to simmer, cover saucepan, and continue to cook until lentils are soft (about 60 to 90 minutes). Ladle about a third to a half of the soup into a large blender and pulse briefly to puree. (Be careful with this step!!! It's hot!) Pour soup puree back into the pot and stir.

*Garam masala is a blend of Indian spices. I found ours at our local health food store, but they also had it at the regular grocery store in the spice aisle. Its smell is heavenly. Actually, it smells exactly like the inside of our health food store, a fact that both my son and I noticed independently.

Hunger

2011-04-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

The 30 Day Blog Challenge post that you were expecting is on hold because I have got to talk about this book that I just read.

Hunger

by: Jackie Morse Kessler

174 pages

published in 2010

Hunger's dedication page says:

"If you ever looked in the mirror, and hated what you saw,

This book is for you"

Hunger is different than anything I have ever read before. It's a young adult fantasy, which sounds like 85%of the books I read, I know, I know, but this is different. For one thing it's short--only 174 pages long. But its subject matter is unique as well.

Lisbeth Lewis is an anorexic girl who meets Death when she overdoses on her mother's medication. Instead of killing her, he gives her the job of Famine, one of the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. (The other horsemen are Death, War and Pestilence).

The chapters go back and forth between her troubled life and her journeys as a Horseman. She hasn't spoken to her best friend Suzanne since Suzanne 'accused' her of anorexia, and her boyfriend doesn't like her new friend Tammy very much. As Lisbeth, she's always cold, has trouble remembering things and is terrified of losing her boyfriend.

As Famine, she travels the world on her black steed Midnight, witnessing firsthand the many faces of hunger: both the hunger of the over-indulged rich and of the children who eat cakes made from dirt instead of flour and sugar.

I'm torn about this book. Totally torn. It's definitely for older teenagers, and there is some swearing and some sex, which are things I hate to recommend in a book. But, wow. There are lots of books about girls dealing with eating issues, but there is something so powerful about adding this mythology to the story. You can pull many messages from this story, but the two that really resonated with me were that you can't help other people if you don't first take care of yourself, and that there are some problems that we are not strong enough to handle alone. It also made me think about the need for balance--it isn't any healthier for life to be a feast all the time, than it would be for life to always be a famine.

The back of the book is really misleading--it talks about a sexy, funny Death. Yeah, he's supposed to be sexy, and he's got a sense of humor, but he's not really a big part of the story. I think the blurb was trying to convey that the subject matter is not handled in nearly as dark a way as it sounds...and that's true. Somehow it manages to stay entertaining.

I recommend this book cautiously. It's a thought provoking book and it contains a message of hope and love, but there is some moral relativism. Parents, this is a great book to talk about with your older teen.

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 25: My Favorite (Funny) Quotes

2011-03-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Fasten your seatbelts...I've been looking forward to this topic for a long time. I love quotes! At first I thought I'd do all my serious quotes, like "Try your best to make goodness attractive. That's one of the toughest assignments you'll ever be given." (That's Mr. Rogers, of course.)

But, when I woke up this morning, I wasn't in a very serious mood. I'll save those quotes for day 31 or something. So. Without further ado...my favorite NOT serious quotes!

The Mortal Instruments books:

"Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?'
Jace said, "Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself."
Dorothea roared at that. "At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland."
"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting."

Jace said, "Somehow, I thought it would be bigger."
Clary looked at the Cup in her hand. It was the size, perhaps, of an ordinary wineglass, only much heavier. Power thrummed through it, like blood through living veins. "It's a perfectly nice size," she said indignantly.
"Oh, it's big enough," he said patronizingly, "but somehow I was expecting something… you know." He gestured with his hands, indicating something roughly the size of a house cat.
"It's the Mortal Cup, Jace, not the Mortal Toilet Bowl," said Isabelle.

Ghostbusters:

Ray: Symmetrical book stacking. Just like the Philadelphia mass turbulence of 1947.
Dr. Venkman: You're right. No human being would stack books like this.

Gozer: The Choice is made!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Whoa! Ho! Ho! Whoa-oa!
Gozer: The Traveller has come!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Nobody choosed anything!
[turns to Egon]
Dr. Peter Venkman: Did you choose anything?
Dr. Egon Spengler: No.
Dr. Peter Venkman: [to Winston] Did YOU?
Winston Zeddemore: My mind is totally blank.
Dr. Peter Venkman: *I* didn't choose anything...
[long pause, Peter, Egon and Winston all look at Ray]
Dr Ray Stantz: I couldn't help it. It just popped in there.
Dr. Peter Venkman: [angrily] What? *What* "just popped in there?"
Dr Ray Stantz: I... I... I tried to think...
Dr. Egon Spengler: LOOK!
[they all look over one side of the roof]
Dr Ray Stantz: No! It CAN'T be!
Dr. Peter Venkman: What is it?
Dr Ray Stantz: It CAN'T be!
Dr. Peter Venkman: What did you DO, Ray?
[they all see a giant cubic white head topped with a sailor hat, Peter looks at Ray]
Dr Ray Stantz: [somberly] It's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

Harry Potter:

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. (Dumbledore) (How did that serious quote pop in here? Oops. :D)

"No, sighed Dumbledore. He is not very happy with me either. We must try not to sink beneath our anguish, Harry, but battle on." Harry grinned.

I am a wizard, not a baboon brandishing a stick.

Howl's Moving Castle:

Howl said, "I think we ought to live happily ever after," and she thought he meant it..."It should be hair-raising."

"And then you'll cut up all my clothes to teach me," said Howl.

Firefly:

Wash: Yes, yes, this is a fertile land, and we will thrive (as Stegosaurus:) We will rule over all this land, and we will call it...This Land. (as T-Rex:) I think we should call it...your grave! (as Stegosaurus:) Ah, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!" (as T-Rex:) Ha ha HA! Mine is an evil laugh...now die!

Mal: Well, look at this. Appears we got here just in the nick of time. Whaddya suppose that makes us?

Mal: Ain't we just.

(Zoe, Mal and Jayne are backed up against the edge of a cliff by an angry mob)
Mal: There's just an acre of you fellas, ain't there? (to Zoe: This is why we lost, you know. Superior numbers.
Zoe: Thanks for the re-enactment sir.

Dr: Horrible's Sing-Along Blog:

Dr. Horrible: And by the way it's not about making money, it's about taking money. Destroying the status quo because the status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it.

Dr. Horrible: Wow. Sarcasm. That's original.

Your turn! What are your favorite quotes?

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 24: Describe My Home

2011-03-28T05:52:00.000-07:00

Our home is for sale. It is the best home in the world. We've got 10 acres of woods in the backyard, a swimming pool and a rusty old swing set that has too many happy memories to give away just yet. My favorite trees are the maple in the front yard, the hemlock near the mailbox that the kids always climb, and the oak tree I planted when we had a still born baby. There are huge boulders in the backyard, at the beginning of the woods, and the kids have each claimed one. In between D's boulder and L's boulder, there is a firepit--well, it's more just a charred place with some rocks around it, but we cook s'mores out there once in a while.

The only garden I ever loved is right there too, where the woods meets the back lawn. It's wrapped around a pine tree and a birch tree--trees that I ought to add to my list of favorites. How can I move away from my trees??? My garden has at least 4 kinds of hosta, some astilbe and bellflowers. I once ignorantly planted mint in my garden. Do not do that unless you mean it! Mint is determined to take over the world. I am happy to say that my garden is mint free, though it took several years of pitched battle before I finally emerged victorious.

Japanese Spurge (Not my garden)

I've also got Sweet William, Goatsbeard and Stinging Dead Nettle, which is a gorgeous, gorgeous plant, in spite of its dreadful name. For some reason, my very favorite plant is an unobtrusive plant called Japanese Spurge. Mine doesn't look like this picture at all. It always just barely hangs on, and I rejoice every time it sends out a new shoot. It hardly grows, for some reason, and yet it is always there, tough enough to hold its own, even when other plants try to crowd it out.

I'm not sure why we've got Virginia Creeper up here in Maine, but if I leave my garden alone for very long (which I often do) when I come back I've got to pull long spiralling vines of it away from my flowers. It is so pretty, especially in the fall, that I think it is a shame Virginia Creeper is so intent on destruction.

A rock wall runs along the front of our property. Rock walls are amazing things. Have you lifted a rock lately? They are so much heavier than I ever expect them to be. And the people who first cleared this land dug them up, one by one, and carried them to the wall. I wonder if they were crazy or if they just didn't know that huge rocks grow in Maine soil, and no matter how hard you try, more immdeiately pop to the surface.

So why are we leaving, if we live in the best home in the world? Sometimes that just happens. It's time to move on. We live so far away from church and work--which are not even in the same direction--that we spend massive amounts of time traveling. Next year we'll add in early morning seminary. I know people who can travel 35 minutes, spend 40 minutes at seminary and then travel 35 minutes to the high school every morning for four years and still have time for a life, but we are not those people.

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 23: Something I Never Get Tired of Doing

2011-03-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

First of all, I didn't mean to make my last post title sound so dire--it sounded like I was jumping ship. But ta dah! I'm already back. My 30 day blog challenge has probably stretched into something closer to 40 days, but at least we're on the home stretch.

Those of you who know me, admit it. When you saw the title of this blog post you thought this was going to be a post about reading, right?

I thought so too, except, inexplicably, about a month ago, I burned out on reading. You see, when I started this blog, I thought I'd write one book review a week, no problem. I read that much, easy. I can't really put my finger on why it was so difficult. Maybe there was some subliminal need to impress you with the books I picked. I don't think so.

Maybe it was that I was searching for books a lot more, and the list of books I wanted to read got to be enormous. That's more likely. Plus, these blog posts take a lot longer to write than you would expect. And life has gotten really crazy, so available reading time has plummeted.

Whatever--I burned out on reading. And that's something I never expected to say. I still do it. I still love it. It's still the most likely candidate. But it just wouldn't be true to say "Reading is something I never get tired of doing." So what don't I ever get tired of doing? I mean if reading isn't sacred, I would almost have to say there's nothing I never get tired of doing. But I think, maybe, it's true that there are a few things:

watching the seasons change, especially winter into maple syrup season
watching my children sleep
waking my youngest 2 children up in the morning by reading to them

And most of the time, reading, walking, and singing.
And almost all the time: writing.

30 Day Blog Challenge--On hold

2011-03-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

I cruising close to the finish line. This is when I should put on that extra burst of speed and give it all I've got. But, that's just not going to happen. There are some great topics coming up, so stay tuned! But for a day or two, I'm giving in to my sore throat and to my heavy, heavy eyelids...................................

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 22: A Song Without Words That I Love

2011-03-21T09:09:00.000-07:00

So many choices...

Every summer, my friend Paul comes to Maine to teach violin at a music camp nearby, and I have the amazing opportunity to play duets with him at church (I play the piano, he plays the violin). He's so beyond me in ability that I always feel lucky and overwhelmed at the chance. This last summer he sent me a song called Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring to learn. It didn't seem like a hard song, and as I played it I realized that I recognized the tune. It was a beautiful song, and I was excited to play it with him.

Then we played it together. Or rather, I would play one measure, and then I'd get tripped up, listening to him play and he'd play a few more measures and stop. This happened over, and over, and over. Whenever I heard his part, I thought I'd come in at the wrong time or was playing at the wrong speed, but I was wrong--it's just the way the two parts come together. It is gorgeous when it works, but I couldn't seem to make it work.

So, we moved on to other songs, but I still wanted to play this one with him, so we kept practicing. I finally realized the only way I could do it was if I blocked him out completely, and focused completely on my own part. But listening to him play is one of the joys of my life, so I figured out how to record us so I could listen to it later. Here we are, in all of our kids-whining-and-people-coughing-in-the-background glory playing Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

And I can't have a post like this without giving a shout out to my own daughter. I love to listen to her play Cristofori's Dream and Dream of the Forgotten Child on the piano. Unfortunately, I don't have the audio of her playing, (when I get one, I'll post it).

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 21: A Talent I Possess

2011-03-18T06:07:00.000-07:00

I have the ability to know and love people. I can feel the core of goodness most people use to make decisions. I've often thought of this as a liability.

Sometimes I've wanted to shout at myself when I've had a political discussion with someone and agreed with everything they said, and then turned and had a discussion with their opposition and agreed with what they were saying too! I intuitively respond to people's value systems instead of their political viewpoints, and I'm way too persuadable. How frustrating for the poor people who were just looking for a good debate.

And don't even get me started about how hard it is for me to say "No". (I'm working on it though. I've been substitute teaching this year. There isn't a job in the world that makes you say NO more often.)

I wouldn't trade those weaknesses though. Not now that I realize they are merely a subset of the "talent" that has probably brought me more happiness than any other. It's the same part of me that understands what people are really saying and helps me to empathize with them. It must be this quality that has helped me find such amazing friends.

I think it's this same talent that makes me a good writer. I know when a conversation feels real. I know when I know a character well enough to put them in a book. There aren't any shortcuts. It's a mess if I try to create a character and I don't know about his parents or what he ate for breakfast last Thursday.

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 20!!!! Something I Wish I Could Forget

2011-03-17T16:19:00.000-07:00

We've all got songs that worm their way into our brains. Here are some of mine...

The Trashmen: Surfin' Bird

This may have been the first song that ever hammered its way into my brain and stayed there for over a month. I was a teenager, and I walked around begging total strangers to sing me a different song so I wouldn't go insane.

Willow Smith: I Whip My Hair Back and Forth

Even though this gets under my skin, it's also hypnotic. I'm not sure if it is the music or the dancing, but once I start, it's hard to stop.

Kung Fu Fighting

When my kids were little, someone gave us a hamster that sang this song and pretended to fight. I'm telling you this song played in my dreams for weeks before I finally trashed that thing.

It's Peanut Butter and Jelly Time

The first time I did Nanowrimo I found a web site that forced you to write quickly. If you didn't make your word count goal, this song would blast you as the punishment. Dang. I can't remember which website it was. Sorry!

Which songs can't you forget?

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 19: 5 Places I Would Love To Travel

2011-03-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

As usual, I asked my kids to answer this blog challenge. This is what they said:

J#1: Lugano, Switzerland (of course. I didn't really need to ask.)

J#2: Mexico
(L: No way! Mexico is a dangerous, dangerous place.
Me: I'd love to go to Mexico. Why do you want to go there?
J#2: Because they have the most coconuts in the world.)

D: Probably somewhere in the Netherlands. (Again...did I really need to ask?)

L: Ohio. Or where ever that toilet place is.

Hee, hee. This is what she means by "that toilet place", and it's definitely not in Ohio:

The Toilet Bowl, Hanauma Bay, Hawaii

Sadly, I don't think the Toilet Bowl is open for swimming anymore. I'd still go though! In fact, I'll concur with all my kids (again). I'd love to to all of those places, which leaves me with one more...It's so hard to pick. Should I backpack across Great Britain? Eat my way through Italy? I think the place I pick is a place I haven't been back to since I was a child. I LOVED San Diego, California when I was a kid, especially Sea World. So that's spot #5:

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 18: A Cause That Inspires You

2011-03-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

For days I tried to think of a great cause to talk about today. I wondered which of the many great causes I ought to try to raise awareness for, in my own bumbling way. Well, the Buy Local movement has really captured my interest. Unfortunately, if they looked in my kitchen cupboards I wouldn't win any contest to be their poster child (YET).

Or how about "It's Not A Bourne Movie Without Jason Bourne" or INABMWJB? Important, important issues, and the acronym sort of rolls off the tongue. It's a subset of the "Matt Damon: Please Be In More PG-13 Movies" movement that has been so wildly successful lately. They hardly need more publicity.

It took all the news from Japan before I realized that there is a cause that inspires me, along with an organization I have been a part of for so long that I sometimes take it for granted. Like most of you, my first response when I hear about a natural disaster is to wonder what I can do to help. It's a comfort to know that the money I donate to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints each month IS a form of helping.

Because we have emergency relief supplies stored throughout the world, and people already on the ground, we are usually one of the first organizations to get needed supplies in the hands of people who need them.

Here is the church's official statement about their Humanitarian Aid program:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides relief and development projects for humanitarian purposes in countries all over the world. Projects operate without regard to the nationality or religion of the recipients.
Humanitarian service may include emergency response to natural disasters, such as an earthquake or a tsunami, or man-made disasters, such as the effects of war and famine. It may also be part of a longer-term effort to meet serious and more entrenched human needs, such as the need to alleviate disease.
Within hours of a disaster, the Church works with local government officials to determine what supplies and food are needed. Materials are then immediately sent to the area.
After urgent needs are met, the Church looks for additional ways to help with the long-term needs of the community. The Church’s approach is to help people become self-reliant by teaching skills and providing resources for a self-sustained life.
Donations, principally from Church members but also from people around the world, are used to make relief projects possible. One hundred percent of the donations given to the Church’s humanitarian services are used for relief efforts. The Church absorbs its own overhead costs.
The humanitarian services arm of the Church sponsors five ongoing global projects to help people become more self-reliant. Initiatives include neonatal resuscitation training, clean water projects, wheelchair distribution, vision treatment and measles vaccinations.

You can donate on-line at www.lds.org/humanitarian or by mailing them to: Humanitarian Aid Fund, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 50 East North Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150 (or call 801-240-3544).

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 17: A Photo of the Last Thing I Purchased

2011-03-12T05:40:00.000-08:00

Quick! Before the last thing I purchased is something boring like a new piece of plumbing. This topic was supposed to be for Day 9, but on Day 9, that was the only thing I bought. It was cool enough, because the first piece of plumbing equipment I picked up happened to be the exact right piece (!) but I decided to wait for a more exciting development in the purchasing department.

Bad economy + natural dislike of shopping + really busy lately = I won't be buying anything cool any time soon. Add in the fact that I am not a great photographer, and you should just skip this post. Oh yeah. Too late.

Last night I went on a date night with my husband. We went to Panera Bread, which is one of my favorite places to eat. I bought a Tomato and Mozzarella Panini with a Fuji Apple Chicken salad. Yum!

(I did not take this picture. It came from a blog devoted to all things panini.)

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 16: Someone Who Inspires You

2011-03-11T04:35:00.000-08:00

When one of my children was preschool age, every day seemed to be a power struggle. I prayed about it a lot, and got a rather strange answer to my prayer. I felt inspired to watch Mr. Rogers with this child every day. We began planning our life around being home in time to cuddle up on the couch and watch Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, and he changed our life.

Everyone in the family got into it. Even the older cousins would sit on the floor and watch with us if they were around, which was an incredibly awesome thing for them to do, because it allowed my older children to drop their "I'm too old for this" attitude and enjoy the show.

Mr. Rogers is no longer on any stations near my house. On a happier note, while doing a little research for this blog, I realized that you could go here to watch him on line! I feel like Mr. Rogers is role-playing the best parenting demonstration ever. But as I've learned about this great man, he has taught me about more than just parenting. He's taught me about not being afraid of creativity, about the discipline needed to be creative, about the good one passionate person can do in the world.

Here is just one of the quotes by Mr. Rogers that has helped me in my life:

I like to swim, but there are some days I just don't feel much like doing it--but I do it anyway! I know it's good for me and I promised myself I'd do it every day, and I like to keep my promises. That's one of my disciplines. And it's a good feeling after you've tried and done something well. Inside you think, "I've kept at this and I've really learned it--not by magic, but by my own work.

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 15: 5 Memories From My Childhood

2011-03-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

We've reached the halfway point on my 30 day blog challenge. I didn't know if I'd enjoy writing all about myself and sending it out into the ether for anyone to read, but I'm having a great time! I hope you're enjoying it too. These memories are very, very random...

Me and my aunt Jayne

Memory #1: Swimming. We had a pool at our house when I was young, and after we moved my dad kept promising me that we'd build a pool at our new home as soon as I qualified for the Olympics. I loved the water, and being called a fish was always a compliment.

Other swimming memories:
Buckin' Bronco...I'd get on my dad's back and he'd go down to the bottom of the pool and try to buck me off.
Playing mermaid with my sisters in my grandma's pool, and I dared to swim with no one else around.
My uncle Mark's boat. I'd sit on the front of it and we'd speed as fast as we could.
Being absolutely positive I'd seen the Bear Lake monster's eye.

I'm pretty sure that water is the key ingredient to an amazing childhood.

Memory #2: I must have been about 7 years old when my parents took me to see a production of Fiddler on the Roof. Right in the middle of the play, there is a scene where a Tevya pretends he just had a scary dream, and as he's telling it to his wife, it unfolds around them. I was completely fascinated by a ghost that hovered right over their bed. I can imagine what a pest I must have made of myself, asking my parents how the actress was floating above the ground, because I can remember as plain as anything when my dad said, "She's standing on a bowling ball. Shhh!" I spent the rest of the time in complete silence, trying to see the bowling ball. I was an adult before I realized that it wasn't true.

Me and Sam

Memory #3: We spent a couple of years living in Heber City, Utah about a mile from my grandpa's farm. They had a huge dog named Sam. My aunt Jayne says I was terrified of him, but I don't remember that. What I remember is being woken up one night by Sam's howling. He'd attacked a porcupine, which turned out to be a really bad idea. I remember watching my dad use pliers to pull the quills out one by one...Poor Sam.

Memory #4: Piano lessons. After a few years, I loved them, but at first they were miserable. I remember scribbling "I QUIT!" all over the song Home On The Range in the John Thompson songbook. When I couldn't take it anymore, I learned just to eliminate the middleman (my mom) and put my own self in the corner. But I am so grateful she didn't let me quit. Playing the piano is one of my favorite things now.

Memory #5: Being surrounded by handicapped people. I wish I could give this blessing to my kids. My dad worked in nursing homes for most of my life, and my mom had a very special relationship with her aunt Marlene and all of the ladies from Marlene's group home. They were always coming over for parties. Another man, Claire Durfee, had such severe cerebral palsy that he couldn't walk and most people couldn't understand him when he spoke. I could though. My mom always said I helped him learn to talk. I don't know if that's true or not. What I know is that he had a smile like sunshine and he always made me happy.

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 14: 5 Things I Want To Do Before I Die

2011-03-07T08:27:00.000-08:00

We are in the middle of our 1000th snow day of the year--at least that's the way it feels. So as I started writing today's blog, I asked my kids to answer this question.

Some Things My Kids Want To Do Before They Die

Jump Off A Cliff

Me: What? Jump off a cliff? This isn't a list about how you want to die, it's stuff you want to do first. Do you mean you want to go hang-gliding?

J#2: No. I just want to jump off a cliff.

It took a little more probing before I realized he wanted to go cliff jumping. Silly me...Here's the rest of the list:

Sky diving
Waterskiing
Horseback riding
Meet Johnny Depp
Learn archery
Play in the FIFA world cup
Meet Wesley Sneijder
Go to Switzerland
publish a book
jump in a pound of spikes

Me: Is that your way of saying you're tired of talking about this?

Writing a list of 5 things I want to do before I die is very different than writing a list of 100 things I want to do before I die, or 20 things I want to do this year. A lot of whittling went on to make this list. Then I found a great quote:

“If I had my life to live over I’d dare to make more mistakes. I’d relax, I would limber up. I would be sillier than I have been this trip. I would take fewer things seriously . . . I would eat more ice cream and less beans. I would perhaps have more actual troubles, but I’d have fewer imaginary ones . . . “You see, I’ve been one of those persons who never goes anywhere without a thermometer, a hot water bottle, a raincoat, and a parachute. If I had it to do again, I would travel lighter than I have. “If I had my life to live over, I would start barefoot earlier in the spring and stay that way later in the fall. I would go to more dances. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would pick more daisies.”

With that in mind, here is my list:

5 Things I Want To Do Before I Die
(and no, I don't really care if I learn how to count)

1. Hold my great grand-children.

2. Live like a local for a month. Preferably somewhere warm. Or Switzerland. Somewhere that changes me.

3. Publish things. Get read. I no longer have a desire to be world famous. But I would love to make a living doing something I love as much as writing.

4. Make peace with my body.

5. Be a temple worker.

6. Complete my kids' list with them.

30 Day Challenge--Day 13: My Playlist

2011-03-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

Funny thing, but I actually made a playlist this morning before I remembered this was the topic. Glad you couldn't see me rocking out in my car--it might have made me self-conscious. Nothing new here, just all great music that has passed the test of time.

1. Give It To Me by Timbaland,

2. Club Can't Handle Me by Flo Rida

3. Cowboy Casanova by Carrie Underwood

4. Beer In Mexico by Kenny Chesney

5. Come On Get Higher by Matt Nathanson

6. Viva La Vida by Coldplay

7. I'm Your Man by Michael Buble

8. Queen of Hearts by Juice Newton

9. Somebody to Love The Glee Cast version

10. Love Story Meets Viva La Vida by: Jon Schmidt

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 12: Something I Love

2011-03-04T07:21:00.000-08:00

Something I Love...Clearplay

I started doing this 30 day challenge just over 2 weeks ago. When I first read the list of challenges, I KNEW I was going to blog about how much I love my Clearplay DVD player. It's an amazing device that allows you to download filters for loads of movies and an increasing number of TV shows. We're making our way through the episodes of Chuck right now. The filtering system edits out most of the stuff I wouldn't want my kids to see--though for some reason I couldn't get it to edit out Captain Awesome when he dressed up as Adam for Halloween, and it took some experimenting before I figured out what mix of settings would eliminate Sarah in her underwear.

For most of the movies we want to watch, it simply edits out the swearing. We could also program it to edit out just about anything we might have a problem with: violence and/or gore, sex and/or nudity, disrespectful talking, racial slurs, even mushiness. I've never used the mushiness setting, but one of these days I'm going to turn it on and figure out what the heck that's all about. There are 12 filtering categories in all, and for each category you can set "No Filtering; Least Filtering; Medium Filtering; or Most Filtering."

If they are skipping sound, the image keeps going, kind of like on TV-edited shows. If they skip a sight, it's a split second jump--in many cases you don't even notice it, but sometimes you can. One thing they strive to do is maintain the quality of the show and the storyline, and if something is important to the storyline, they don't filter it. I haven't had a problem with that.

They are constantly adding more movies and television shows to their data base, and they send you periodic updates. You take the flashdrive out of the DVD player, put it in the computer and push one little button and you've got their entire data base updated. It takes about 10 seconds, if that.

We've had to learn the hard way that not all content can be edited out of movies. If a movie is geared to teach a message you find offensive, Clearplay can't do a thing about it. It's also probably not going to edit out the important conversation two strangers have while lying in bed after meeting in a bar and...You get the picture.

The worst movie we ever watched on Clearplay was Grease. If I remember right, two of my favorite songs were completely edited out. Even with all settings up to maximum, we couldn't edit out the poor messages in that movie.

One of the best shows we've watched on Clearplay was the latest Star Trek movie. We kept most of the filtering off, but had language and violence on "least." I only noticed one spot where they edited violence, but there was a constant stream of swearing edited. We didn't miss it at all.

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 11: Something I Hate

2011-03-02T05:50:00.000-08:00

This post might not win me any friends. Quickly! Before I get hate mail! I DON'T hate Buffy the Vampire Slayer OR Veronica Mars. Logan Echolls and Xander Harris are some of my all time favorite television characters. What I hate is the way these shows reeled me in, made me love the characters like good friends and then spiraled down into a place where I didn't feel comfortable watching them anymore.

I've always felt that by the time my kids were teenagers, if a show wasn't appropriate for them to watch with me, most of the time I shouldn't be watching it either (with some obvious exceptions--my teens are still too young for some adult themes). The day I started needing to check the episode guide of Buffy the Vampire Slayer before I let my daughter watch it with me was a sad, sad day. We just finished the few acceptable episodes of season 4, and from what I can tell, it's not even worth it to look at the episode guide for season 5.

As you all know, Chuck is my favorite TV show. It started this same slippery slide--there is a point somewhere in season 2, maybe season 3, where I thought I might have to give it up. But some genius person on the Chuck writing staff realized that adding more sex was not what was going to save the ratings. Of course the characters on Chuck still don't act exactly the way I think they should--what a boring, sanitized show it would be if everyone did. But I'm no longer bombarded with a constant assault on my values.

Wake up television! There are still lots of us out there who want smart, sexy television without the trash!

30 Day Challenge--Day 10: A Memory from 10 years ago

2011-02-28T05:49:00.000-08:00

I'm just not sure how I'm going to top Day 9. I even took a day off, hoping for some inspiration.

I'm really glad for today's topic, because 10 years ago was a bittersweet time for me. I read through my journal (I wrote a total of 3 entries in 2001--pretty typical, unfortunately). 10 years ago, I was still adjusting to our move across the country. I had 2 small children, and almost exactly a decade ago, we found out our next baby was going to be severely handicapped. The doctor's exact words were "And not in the cute, down-syndrome kind of way." Our baby had a hole in his brain called a dandywalker that would require shunts for drainage. I wrote "It's kind of like walking into your worst nightmare, and slowly figuring out it's not really a nightmare at all."

We were still adjusting to this shocking news when he died. We named him Benjamin. It was, quite possibly, the toughest time in my life so far, and yet my family has never felt so literally carried in our Heavenly Father's hands. I'm incredibly grateful for the knowledge that he'll be part of our family forever.

Here is the one journal entry from 2001 that doesn't deal directly with Benjamin, although you'll still feel reverberations:

Have you ever tried to be depressed with a four year old, a three year old, and a golden retriever puppy? I can't even curl into the fetal position or the dog will eat my hair, D will super-slam me and J will tickle me. I'm potty-training D, and so he was going around in one of my t-shirts and he crawled on the kitchen counter and peed everywhere. J just handed me $1.25 and said, "Here Mom. I'll give you sixty dollars and seventy two cents if you'll read us Christmas stories." I said, "You need to bribe your own mom into reading you stories?" and she said, "Of course." How can I be in a bad mood when my life is such a sitcom?

I don't have any pictures of Benjamin to share, but here's a picture of Molly, my amazing dog who died a couple of months ago.

30 Day Blog Challenge--Day 9: Something I Don't Leave My House Without

2011-02-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, I would leave the house without my head attached if there was any possible way to do it. But 99% of the time I don't leave the house without these:

Why I Love My Cloth Grocery Bags:

They magically turn me into Superwoman! With hardly any effort on my part, I'm single-handedly saving one corner of the world. Now I am ultra-aware how many plastic bags I would have gotten if I hadn't had my cloth bags with me. It's a lot. No wonder there are rumors of people building an island out of all the plastic bags we're using.

When I use them I feel like a super-organized genius. This is because I've had all these cloth bags for a long time, but I would never think about them until I was standing in line at the grocery store. When I finally got back to my car, with about 37 plastic bags, there the cloth bags would be, mocking me with their complete emptiness. Finally, I invested $4.50 and bought myself 3 of the fold-able kind with snaps. Now I keep them in a small bag along with my wallet and other essentials and I rarely forget them! And 3 of the fold-able grocery bags have about the same capacity as 37 plastic bags, so it's all good.

They make me feel European-ish. I have no idea why, but they do.

They are so much more convenient than plastic or paper bags. I remember the thrill I felt the first time my mom came home with plastic bags instead of paper. It was so much easier to unload the back of the station wagon that it was almost like a party. Well, cloth bags are THAT much better than plastic.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 8--A Song That Fits Your Mood

2011-02-25T05:13:00.000-08:00

I think Lady Gaga (or was it Beyonce?) said it best:

"Stop calling, stop calling, I don't want to talk anymore..."

I made an error in judgment (or two) yesterday. L went to her first slumber party, and I let her take the cell phone. Not only did she keep us up half the night calling to check in every half hour (Hi! It's 1:39 and I just wanted to tell you I love you!...Hi! It's 2:10 and can you believe we're still awake?...), but she also called her grandparents at 1:00 in the morning. I finally asked the woman giving the party to confiscate the phone, but I didn't fall asleep until about 3:30. Of course our first regular phone call of the morning came at 6:15.

The song Telephone doesn't quite capture my feelings though, so here's my pick for today:

30 Day Challenge--Day 7: A Picture That Makes Me Laugh

2011-02-24T04:03:00.000-08:00

When I saw today's challenge, Gary Larson's Far Side was the first thing I thought of. Here's one website that will have you laughing until you cry.

30 Day Challenge Day 6: One person you couldn't imagine your life without

2011-02-23T12:18:00.000-08:00

The original question was : Who would you like to trade places with for a day?

You know, I couldn't think of anyone.

My life has its problems, but it's a comfort to know that I wouldn't trade it for anything else. On the other hand, it was making this blog post very boring, so I chose an alternate question.

My friend Susan is one person I couldn't imagine my life without. We're in the same ward, and she lives very close to the church building, while I live about half an hour away.

We're in the process of putting our house on the market so that we can move closer to church. It's a slow process, made slower by our crazy busy lifestyle. But if I were to be totally honest, the real reason our house in not already for sale is how overwhelmed I am at the whole thing.

Eleven years. That's how long I've lived in this house. It's pretty clean--never clean enough, in my opinion, and it's well lived in. We've got the magical kinds of bookshelves where books don't stay still. Wii remotes snake across our floor of their own volition, and marbles and legos multiply and scatter as soon as we turn our backs. It's a great house, but the thought of keeping it clean long enough to sell it makes me want to cry, and cry...and finally pray.

"Heavenly Father, I've never thought of myself as an incompetent person, but this simple thing that everyone has to do at some point in their lives has got me completely frozen. I don't know what to do! There are so many projects that I can't even pick one. I really, truly, from the bottom of my soul, need help."

My prayer started small and built into a silent kind of keening, that grew until it was finally answered by a phone call from Susan. "Melanie, if you want me, I've decided to come over to your house once a week until your house is ready to sell." And she has--for a couple of months now, she spends an entire day at my house. Together we get so much more done than I could ever have done on my own, even with twice the time.

At first I was thoroughly uncomfortable with that level of service. I knew it was something I could probably never repay, and I'm not sure anyone outside of my family has ever given that much to me before. We have a good time, chatting and laughing even while she cleaned out my trash compactor. My eyes still well up with tears when I think about it though, because it touches me on a deeply spiritual level.

For whatever reason, I couldn't do this thing. It didn't seem like it should be as impossible as it was, but I couldn't do it. To me, Susan was a little bit like Jesus Christ, who has given me a gift I quite simply can never repay. I can't do it alone, and so he's with me every step of the way, being the bridge to the places I can't get to on my own.

I feel the same sense of obligation, though on a much smaller scale, to Susan as I do to my Savior--an obligation to go out and make the world a better place, to try and lighten someone's load the way mine has been lightened.

30 Day Challenge: Day 5: This Day in My Life (with a bonus Chuck promo!)

2011-02-22T15:41:00.000-08:00

Image courtesy of Ohdeedoh

6:30 I sleep until this late, late hour, and then stumble around the house pretending to be helpful. R, J and D are spending the day skiing at Sugarloaf. Unfortunately, D is acting suspiciously like he might be getting sick. :(

7:30 They are finally off. It's just me, L and J #2 today. Our plans to spend the day with a friend have to be canceled because J #2 has a wicked sore throat. Instead, I critique a story for a friend, try to figure out this enigma called Squidoo and generally waste time until 8:30. Meanwhile, L and J are either sitting on my lap, coloring at the table or playing Wii Fit.

8:30-10:00 My plans for World Laundry Domination have been thwarted by J #1, who left 2 (two!) loads of wet clothes in the laundry room. I have regrouped, however, and now have plans for World Water Usage Domination--all my laundry, plus I didn't turn on the dishwasher last night, plus 1 shower and 2 baths, all (hopefully) before lunch today.

10:00-12:00 World Water Usage Domination is close to being on schedule. One lonely load of laundry left to be washed. I got sidetracked by a bookshelf moving project. In an astonishing turn of events, my bookshelves look very nice. A less astonishing side note--I now have books piled all over my living room floor.

12:00-5:00 All sorts of routine stuff, including boxing up the extra books, lunch, hangman with the kids and bringing wood in from the garage. I exercised! Then I went to my dentist appointment with two kids in tow. Fun, fun, fun!

This was actually J #1's appointment, but it's hard to get your teeth cleaned while skiing down the slopes. Since I had to cancel my appointment last week, I was glad to take her place. By the time I got to the dentist, L was sick again--pale, lying on the floor, miserable-looking sick. The poor kid. I thought she was finally over this. On the other hand, J #2 seems like he's feeling a little bit better.

Now I'm going to fold laundry while I watch Chuck vs The Masquerade. I haven't exactly been working my tail off today, but I think I still deserve a break. My dentist appointment wore both my sickly children out, so they are going to watch Blue's Clues for a while. My kids have a theory that Blue's Clues will cure most types of illness, but if it's REALLY bad, they need Kipper. If Kipper comes on, I might have to ditch Chuck. I love that puppy.

5:00 Chuck is amazing. Here's a promo for next week, you unfortunate people who haven't yet discovered Chuck and Co.:

6:39 Everyone made it home safely and dinner's on the table. The kids are full of stories about half pipes and catching air, and R just reminded me the home teachers will be here in 20 minutes. Have a great night!

30 Day Challenge: Day 4--My Favorite Book

2011-02-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

That's like asking me to tell you which child is my favorite. I just can't do it!

Of course there is my all-time favorite as yet unpublished book by that amazingly talented author--Melanie Crouse. The book is called Earth's Gate. And then there are the runners-up:

I'm sure there are more, but those are the five that first come to mind.

Book Review: Pathfinder

2011-02-21T05:50:00.000-08:00

Pathfinder

by: Orson Scott Card

672 pages

published in 2010

5/5 stars

Synopsis:

Is this science fiction? Or is it fantasy? I'm not sure. Orson Scott Card twists the two so well that it really doesn't matter. I love Debbie Carton's review of Pathfinder for Booklist, and try as I might, I couldn't do better, so here it is:

The first in a series, Card’s latest title has much in common with his Ender Wiggins books: precocious teens with complementary special talents, callously manipulative government authorities, endlessly creative worlds, and Card’s refusal to dumb down a plot for a young audience. Here he takes the notions of folding space and time, embracing paradox, “adopting a rule set in which . . . causality . . . controls reality, regardless of where it occurs on the timeline.” Thirteen-year-old Rigg is a Pathfinder, one who sees the paths of others’ pasts. Rigorously trained and thoroughly educated by his demanding father, Rigg is horrified when Father dies unexpectedly after a final order to find the sister he never knew he had. Rigg is accompanied on this journey by a small group of friends who have powers of bending and manipulating the flow of time. Card also skillfully twines a separate story line into the plot, featuring earth’s colonization of distant planets, led by the idealistic young pilot Ram Odin. Fast paced and thoroughly engrossing, the 650-plus pages fly by, challenging readers to care about and grasp sophisticated, confusing, and captivating ideas. As in L’Engle’s Time Quartet, science is secondary to the human need to connect with others, but Card does not shy away from full and fascinating discussions of the paradoxical worlds he has created. Grades 8-12. --Debbie Carton

My review:

You already know how I feel about Orson Scott Card. I think he's a genius--not just sort of a genius, but a Benjamin Franklin, Mensa should be so lucky-type. I think this is one of his best. I was so excited about Lost Gate, but after reading this one I remember what genius is. Debbie Carton was right to compare Rigg to Ender. This book still hasn't toppled my triumvirate of OSC books (Ender's Game, Speaker For The Dead and Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus) but Pastwatch is teetering...

30 Day Challenge: Day 3--My Favorite Television Show

2011-02-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

As if you didn't know...

It's Chuck, baby!

If you don't already know, (and I'm always shocked by how many people DON'T already know--obviously they are not my friends on facebook) Chuck is on NBC on Monday nights. It's the action dramedy about Chuck, an underachieving nerd with all of our nations secrets downloaded into his brain. I have loved watching him transition from a clumsy geek to a powerhouse spy. Even better, the clearplay DVD player cleans this television show up seamlessly. Best yet--so far, season 4 barely needs cleaning up.

Don't know what a clearplay DVD player is? Just wait a few more days.
(Ooh...suspense!)

Day 2: 5 Little Things That Make Me Happy

2011-02-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

1. The feeling of blankets wrapped around my bare feet at night.

2. When one of my children calls my attention to something because they want to share it with me. This happened last night at 3 a.m.
L: I called you in here to look at the night sky.
Me: (yawning) It's beautiful.
L: I know. I can't take my eyes off it.

3. Puddles!

4. Sitting by the fire reading a good book or watching a good movie.

5. When the lyrics in a song really flow. You know what I'm talking about--when one line in a song gives you happy shivers. It rarely has to do with what the song is saying, it's the way they say it.

Example:
The Eagles singing Desperado:
Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine.
It's hard to tell the night time from the day.
You're losing all your highs and lows,
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?

DAY 1: 15 Things About Me

2011-02-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

1. I have four amazing children, a great husband and a cat named Tiger, plus a still-born baby and a golden retriever waiting for us in heaven.

2. Our dog died two months ago, and since then Tiger has been doing her best to drive me crazy--scratching everyone and flicking her tail in my face. Plus she's always on the wrong side of every door, especially at two o'clock in the morning.

3. I'm not really an animal person, so I'm not sure why my first three things involved animals.

4. However, when I was a kid, I did plan to make my living riding whales at Sea World in San Diego.

5. Our house is for sale.

6. I've written several novels--only one is really polished enough to consider trying to sell.

7. I can't seem to make myself try to sell it.

8. Which in a complicated, convoluted way is why I started this blog in the first place. Don't ask.

9. I was raised in Utah, but now I live in a small town in central Maine. I miss the mountains all the time, but if I ever moved back I think I'd miss the lakes at least as much, maybe more.

10. I am a Mormon, and I love every minute of it.

11. I am the young women's president.

12. I'm not very athletic, but I get my best ideas for my novels while I'm hiking, snow shoeing and swimming.

13. I wish I lived near a big enough city that I could take boxing, fencing and zumba lessons.

14. When we hear a song I know in public, my kids all grip my arms and hiss under their breath: "Do Not start singing or dancing" OR, if they are slow on the uptake, then they hiss "Stop it" (and it takes a conscious act of will on my part to obey them. I think I'm alone far too much...)

15. I'm 39 and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but it involves some combination of writing and teaching.

I Am Number Four

2011-02-10T13:34:00.000-08:00

I AM NUMBER FOUR
by: Pittacus Lore
440 pages
published in 210

SUMMARY
Oh my goodness. I've got so much to say about this book, I don't want to bother writing a summary. Really, the book's cover says it all..."Three are dead. I am number four."

Doesn't that give you chills? 9 alien children from the planet Lorien are growing up on the planet Earth. They don't have any contact with each other, but they are bound together by a spell. As long as they never meet, they can only be killed in order. And the Mogadorians want them dead. Number Four knows when the first three die because a scar appears on his leg. He knows he is next.

REVIEW
Since Hunger Games, so many authors are trying to write in present tense. When done correctly, it is an amazing way to write action/adventure, because it makes the reader feel like they are right there in the middle of it all. But no one can do present tense like Suzanne Collins, including the mythical Pittacus Lore. His action/adventure is amazing. But he doesn't have the knack for making exposition flow in present tense. It's tough. His slower moments end up reading like this, "In today's game, one of her brothers and her father like one of the teams, while her other brother likes the other team. They argue with each other, taunt each other, cheer and groan depending on what's happening in the game." Yeah. Really.

I also had a difficult time believing some of the characters motivations, especially when he stays in town, although he knows he's putting his girlfriend at risk. Another character completely switches personalities for the last 90 pages of the book. I'm willing to let that one go, pending finding out a really great reason why in the sequel--cause I'll be there for the sequel. Everything I just wrote, and about a dozen other problems with the book, won't stop me from reading The Power of Six when it comes out in August 2011.

As I read, I felt almost like I was reading a very detailed screen play. This was one book that was made to be a movie. And I don't have long to wait. The movie comes out next week. With Alex Pettyfer as the star, no less. It's going to be amazing.

I recommend this book for most teenagers.

Trying something new

2011-02-09T06:12:00.000-08:00

Testing, testing...It would be very cool if this worked
http://listen.grooveshark.com/album/The+Wonders+Of+Younger+Out/5243859?src=5 This is the link to the Plain White T's song "The Rythm of Love"

Crouse Family Top 10 List of Retro Songs

2011-02-07T05:55:00.000-08:00

It didn't work out the way I expected.

I just assumed that the music I remember loving when I was young would be a part of my life forever. When I got my first mp3 player, Duran Duran was one of the first things I downloaded. We don't get in the mood for that as much as I thought we would. And is it possible for anyone to not like End Of The Road by Boyz II Men? My kids don't.

Here is a top 10 list of oldie songs we do love. This list is in a constant state of flux because we keep remembering new ones.

10. Desperado (LP Version) by the Eagles

9. I'm Too Sexy by Right Said Fred

8. Mr. Mom by Lonestar.

7.5 What About Now by Lonestar. My kids love it, but it probably wouldn't have made this list except that it's one of my all time favorite songs.

7. Lucille (2006 Digital Remaster) by Kenny Rogers. And The Gambler, and Coward Of The County (2006 Digital Remaster) This list isn't doing a very good job staying at only 10...

6. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown by Jim Croce

5. It's My Party by Lesley Gore

4. My Boyfriend's Back by the Angels

3. Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N'Roses (And OK, just about anything by Def Leppard, but I'm running out of space here. And did you see Slash during the halftime show last night??? Good times, good times)

2. Eye Of The Tiger by Survivor (Mainly because of this video...)

This was an outtake--The actor who plays Sam had missed his cue, but no one called "cut!" so

the actor who plays Dean kept going. Isn't he awesome? But I digress...

1.5 I almost forgot!!! My kids adore Elvira by the Oak Ridge Boys.

Drum roll please: The number one oldie song in our family at the moment is:

1. You're So Vain by Carly Simon. You walked into the party, like you were walking onto a yacht... We can't hear it and not sing along. It's impossible.

What are your favorite songs from the "olden days"?

Josh Turner

2011-02-05T05:20:00.000-08:00

Holy mackerel. He has a sexy voice.

In this song, his voice is so decadent that I kept thinking the lyrics had to be sinful. But they're not.

The Lost Gate

2011-02-04T05:45:00.000-08:00

THE LOST GATE

by: Orson Scott Card
378 pages
published in 2010
Genre: Fantasy

Summary:
The trickster god Loki has imprisoned several warring clans of gods on Earth for centuries, where they have forged a fragile truce. Without access to their homeland, their magic has become diluted. Everyone in the North family knows that Danny is a drekka--a god stuck on Earth without any magic at all. But then Danny realizes he is a gatemage, with the power, but not the skill necessary to reopen the gate to their homeland of Westil. As he flees for his life from those who would either kill him or force him to work for them, he discovers that the clans were not the only people stranded on Westil when the gates closed.

This novel is really two stories, set on alternate worlds. Danny's story takes up the majority of the novel, but meanwhile, the story of a boy called Wad is unfolding on Westil. To the average observer, Wad seems like the least important person in the kitchens at the castle, yet his power and influence will determine the destiny of the whole country.

Review:
First of all, Orson Scott Card is such a hero of mine that I nearly find myself tongue-tied at my own audacity. How can I review one of his books when his characters have been the inspiration for so much of my own life? I see other reviewers calling him "Card" and it makes me wince at the disrespect. Crazy, I know. So here goes...

Orson Scott Card's characters are usually super intelligent, but they still make lots of mistakes. They usually learn to screw up more thoughtfully the next time and they never give up. As their ability to achieve their objectives evolves, their ability to empathize with the people around them grows as well, and that is the charm of his books. I love, love, love falling into one of OSC's worlds, and this was no exception.

At first, I was hopeful that OSC had finally created another Ender (Ender's Game (Ender, Book 1)just for me. And then Danny seemed more like Bean (Ender's Shadow (Ender, Book 5) which was also acceptable. But by the end of the book, he was just Danny--still gifted like Ender and Bean, but with his own personality--as sly as Bean, but much more comfortable with his own sense of humor.

Because The Lost Gate takes place in such a complicated world, much of the novel is explanation and exposition. But OSC is a master storyteller. He weaves the physics of gatemaking almost seamlessly into the narrative. I enjoyed every page.

The Lost Gate is a crossover novel--marketed to both teenagers and adults. I recommend it only for very mature teens. The writing is complex and Danny and Wad find themselves in some adult situations. Although my kids loved Ender's Game, I'm not ready to recommend this one to them yet.

Cute Video, Creepy Lyrics/Cute Lyrics, Creepy Video

2011-01-31T05:48:00.000-08:00

I'm moving away from hip hop this week to talk about some of my favorite country music. I recently discovered Sugarland, the country duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush. Their song, Stuck Like Glue is a bouncy, fun love song. The music video features Captain Awesome from Chuck--what's not to love about that??? (Ryan McPartlin)

Well, for one thing, the music video is actually pretty creepy. My kids don't quite understand why I find it so disturbing--but I'd like to think no one would get away with making a cute music video about a man kidnapping a woman, tying her up, getting her drunk and then punching her in the face. Why should a man be any different?

When I talked to my kids about this, J called the woman a "creeper," which is such a great description that I had to add it.

Moving on to The Band Perry. Kimberly Perry is the lead vocalist in a band with her 2 brothers. When I first heard the song "If I Die Young" I liked everything except the lyrics, which seem to celebrate dying--"And maybe then you'll hear the words I've been singing/Funny when you're dead how people start listening." Since The Band Perry appeals to a young audience, I wasn't impressed by such dark lyrics.

But the music video is amazing! It changed the whole song for me. I'm a big Anne of Green Gables fan. Do you remember the scene where Anne is pretending to be the Lady of Shallott, and her boat starts to sink? Welcome to this music video. She's even holding a book of poems by Tennyson.

We all like this song, but it's my eight year old who sings (all day long!) about how she wants to be buried in satin and sunk in the river at dawn.

Howl's Moving Castle

2011-01-26T06:48:00.000-08:00

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
by: Diana Wynne Jones
429 pages
published in 1986

I was between stacks of reading material this week, so I reread one of my favorites. This book is full of chapters called things like "Chapter 5, Which Is Far Too Full of Washing" and "Chapter 6, In Which Howl Expresses His Feelings With Green Slime". Plus it's got Howl, the consummate talented, vain and charming man with a well-hidden heart of gold. Diana Wynne Jones is a prolific and talented author, and this is probably her best work. No one else could have pulled it off.

Sophie is a beautiful young lady until the Witch of the Waste curses her with old age.To break the curse, she makes a deal with a fire demon named Calcifer--if she can free him from the heartless wizard Howl, Calicifer promises to break the enchantment that makes her old. From the very beginning I wanted this to be a love story--but how could it be, when she calls all the eligible bachelors "young man" and works as Howl's cleaning lady?

I give this my highest recommendation.

Bruno Mars

2011-01-24T16:02:00.000-08:00

JUST THE WAY YOU ARE

Isn't Bruno Mars a cutie? He kind of reminds me of Michael Jackson in his too-perfect-to-be real phase. Just The Way You Are came on the radio at least a dozen times today. I started loving this song in a strange way. I kept hearing the tail end of it on the radio. The sweet lyrics even brought a tear or two to my eyes. I imagined that he was singing the song to a burn victim.

My oldest daughter and I were talking about the importance of loving someone for who they were on the inside, and I used this song as an example of that. And then I contrasted it to that other song I kept hearing on the radio...the one that started, "Her eyes, her eyes, Make the stars look like they're not shining; Her hair, her hair, Looks beautiful without her trying; She's so beautiful..." I would always get disgusted at that point and turn it off.

She looked at me kind of strangely and said, "You know that's the exact same song, don't you?" Google was called on to settle the matter, and as usual, she won. Still, I like this song, even if it's not quite as "beauty is only skin deep" as I'd originally thought it was.

GRENADE

And speaking of Bruno Mars...I love Grenade even better. What a talented guy. Personally, I think these lyrics shine.

The Club Can't Handle Me, pt. 2

2011-01-21T04:45:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I posted about dancing in the church parking lot during a snow storm at nighttime. We were waiting for my friend Renee to pick up her daughters and their friend. After reading my version of events, she sent me a message on facebook with her journal entry about the event. It was so amazing that I asked permission to post it here:

And turning quickly I saw them there, 5 perhaps 6, dancing in the moonbeams on a field of white. Fairies I think they were. Some were linked hand-in-hand as in a childhood game of ring-around-the-rosies. Others were solitary, with arms raised in praise to the heavens. Each head was thrown back in joyous laughter. Almost it seemed, in the same instant that I saw them, they were gone, spirited away to another plane. But their brilliance filled my spirit with happiness all the way home.

Even if the soundtrack was a silly hip hop song, this was the exact feeling of it. It was a magical moment.

A Kiss In Time

2011-01-20T05:37:00.000-08:00

A KISS IN TIME

by: Alex Flinn

371 pages

published in 2009

Synopsis:

Talia is your typical Sleeping Beauty. Jack is your typical red blooded American boy. After he breaks the curse that has kept her asleep for 316 years, they flee from the wrath of her father. Where do they go? To Florida of course. Talia has lots to learn about modern day life, and Jack has lots to learn about women.

Review:

This is the last book in my stack of overdue library books, and I saved the best for last. This book was complete fun. It was such a fluffy, silly plot, but I love to watch good characters grow. This is a book for mature teenagers. In one party scene they drink beer and Talia innocently gets drunk from jell-o shots and is nearly taken advantage of. This book could generate some interesting discussions about underage drinking or about how our perceptions of beauty have changed over time, and what beauty really is.

The Club Can't Handle Me

2011-01-19T13:57:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! Such good news in the Crouse world! I LOVE this song. There hasn't been a song this impossible to not dance to since Fire Burning by Sean Kingston. Even my husband has been heard surreptitiously whistling it as he walks down the hall.

Last Saturday I went on a 65 mile (each way) journey with 5 teenagers in the car in a snowstorm at night. We got back to the church to rendezvous with their ride home. We had a few minutes to kill, and Club Can't Handle Me came on the mp3 player. Imagine us with the music up high, dancing around the parking lot with big fluffy snowflakes falling all around us. It was--by far--the best part of the whole night.

But I've been cautious about watching the music video, because I'm leery of anyone who would sing a duet with Ke$ha (They sang Right Round together a couple of years ago.)

But I finally sat down to watch it, and it's the most appropriate clubbing music video I've ever seen. I'm not much of a car girl, but from the start, when Flo Rida is getting out of that AMAZING car and throwing money around, it was just an extravaganza of fun.

A Constant Heart

2011-01-18T12:31:00.000-08:00

A CONSTANT HEART
by: Siri Mitchell
381 pages
published in 2008

Synopsis:
Marget Barnardsen seems to lead a charmed life. She is intelligent, beautiful and bound to marry the Earl of Lytham. But for some reason both her new husband and Queen Elizabeth despise her. Desperate to win her husband's heart, she'll do whatever it takes to discover why and capture the love of a man bound to the queen.

Review:
Yes, every now and then I do read a book that isn't fantasy. I've been trying to find a good YA historical fiction, and I think this qualifies, though Marget is married, which is unusual in YA. This is a book for mature teens because there are many references to sex, including the consummation of a loveless marriage and several propositions of affairs. However, it is mostly implied and the main characters try very hard to do what is right.

As silly as it might seem, the most thrilling parts of this book for me were the face paint and hair products. I couldn't stop reading, I was so desperate for her to realize that the mercury and lead laced products were destroying her health, beauty and even more important things. It made me take a second look at the chemicals in my own life. A Constant Heart is a fascinating glimpse into the life of a courtier during Queen Elizabeth's reign. I look forward to reading more by Siri Mitchell.

Ready, Set

2011-01-17T13:22:00.000-08:00

We've been dancing to this song all day.

Radiant Darkness

2011-01-17T13:14:00.000-08:00

RADIANT DARKNESS
by: Emily Whitman
270 pages
published in 2009

Synopsis:
All you scholars of ancient myths, listen up! They've been telling Persephone's story wrong for centuries. Her mother is a goddess, and she created a paradise for Persephone, but Persephone was trapped there, doomed to be her mother's child forever. The book begins with the words, "I hate eternity." But then HE comes, and tames her as carefully as he would his wild horses, and makes her the queen of the underworld. But her love for the world of the dead may cause the destruction of the world of the living.

Review:
Another book out of the pile my daughter forced me to read over Christmas vacation. I really ought to start listening to that girl. This is a beautiful book. Too often, I fall in love with the hero of the story, and am left wondering what he sees in the cardboard heroine. But I love Persephone. More often than not, she makes the same decisions I think I would make if my mother was immortal and wanted me to stay twelve years old for eternity. Or if I realized I fell in love with Hades, the god of the underworld. And I'm pretty cool. ;^)

I think this book is appropriate for most teenagers. There is some kissing, but although Persephone and Hades are married, references to anything beyond that are very, very veiled.

My Fair Godmother

2011-01-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

MY FAIR GODMOTHER
by: Janette Rallison
311 pages
published by Walker & Co: A Division of Bloomsbury Publishing Co.

Synopsis:
Savannah is shocked when her boyfriend breaks up with her for her quiet sister Jane. It's even more humiliating when they try to find her a date to prom. Enter Chrysanthemum Everstar, Savannah's teenage diva of a fairy godmother. If only "Chrissy" would pay attention to Savannah's wishes. Instead, Savannah's first two wishes send her back in time, first as Cinderella and then as Snow White. Her last wish is even more disastrous and Savannah must find a way to rescue Tristan, the cute boy from school who gets sent to the middle ages.

Review:
This is completely not my usual kind of book. I bought it for my teenage daughter for Christmas, and she forced me to read it. I'm so glad she did. It is incredibly funny, especially chapter 2, when the top of Savannah's swim suit falls off at the pool. To the chagrin of the rest of my family, my daughter and I have read it out loud to each other twice now. It's hysterical.

The first few chapters are amazing, but Savannah's stints as Cinderella and Snow White are a little dull. But Savannah is growing and changing, and once she goes to rescue Tristan, it's hard to even set the book down. I love that it was not the studious older sister who needed the fairy godmother, but the beautiful and socially adept Savannah. It was disconcerting but lovely that Savannah was neither the hero of her own story nor the traditional damsel in distress. Instead, she and Tristan have to rescue each other.

The sequel, My Unfair Godmother, is coming out in April. It won't have the same characters, except the airheaded Fair Godmother, Chrissy. I have my fingers crossed that she gets a taste of her own medicine.

The Lost Hero

2011-01-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

THE LOST HERO
by: Rick Riordan
From the Heroes of Olympus series
Pages: 533
Published by Disney/Hyperion Books in 2010

Synopsis:
Jason has a problem: he doesn't remember anything--not his own name, the name of the girl he is holding hands with, or how he wound up on a school bus full of "bad kids". As if that wasn't disorienting enough, monsters attack his school bus and he and his friends are rescued and taken to Camp Half-Blood. Soon, he is leading a quest to rescue Hera--the goddess who stole his memories.

Review:
THE LOST HERO is my favorite book written by Rick Riordan. It is told from the point of view of three demigods. Jason is the son of Jupiter (the Roman name for Zeus). Piper is the girlfriend he can't remember. Leo is my favorite character. It's both his sense of humor and his tragic life story that raise this story above the Percy Jackson series for me.

Percy is not in this book, but his very absence adds to the suspense. He's vanished, and Annabeth is searching for him. There are so many tantalizing hints about where he's gone that I'm already antsy for book 2, which is coming out in Fall 2011. It's called THE SON OF NEPTUNE, so I've got my fingers crossed that it's the story of what's been happening to Percy while Annabeth is searching for him.

You don't need to have read the PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS series to enjoy this book, although I recommend it. Knowing the backstory definitely adds a sheen to THE LOST HERO.

Knock Three Times

2011-01-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

A new year, a new resolution. When I started this blog in 2010, I wasn't sure what I wanted it to be. I think I've figured that out now, thanks to a facebook status update by a friend of mine, Christina Lowe. It said simply, "Because sharing what you love is fun." Such a brilliant A-HA moment for me. I want to share the things I love.

This will be the place where my values meet up with fun stuff, with a blatant disregard for its age. Did a great song come out in the 1970's? I'm sharing it here. Did I finally read a great book that everyone else was talking about a year ago? I'll tell you all about it.

I promised a friend my first post would be a song called "Knock Three Times" by Tony Orlando and Dawn. This song came out the year I was born (1971), and the hairstyles are guaranteed to make you laugh, but I love this song. One of my earliest memories was of my mom making me my own personal cassette tape--back when that was cutting edge technology. We were all alone in the house, and I remember she was very worried that someone would knock on the door while we were making the tape, so it must have been old technology indeed. I can only remember the first 3 songs on the tape--S-A-T U R-D-A-Y Night, the Monster Mash, and Knock Three Times. I wore that tape out listening to those 3 songs.

Knock Three Times was one of the first songs I bought when I got an mp3 player, and now I have a whole new set of memories set to this song. My kids thought the part that goes, "When you look out your window tonight/Pull in the string with the note that's attached to my heart" was as overly sentimental as a song could get. Whenever they hear it, J pretends to pull on a string and D gasps, grabs his heart and falls to his knees as though she just ripped out his heart.*

*edited to add: J says D doesn't just fall to the floor, he starts screaming, and knocks into the coffee table.

Hadlock Brook Carriage Road in Acadia

2010-07-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

The good news: I finally started my goal to hike the carriage roads in Acadia. My kids and I drove nearly 3 hours to Acadia to hike the Hadlock Brook Carriage Road. It's one of the shorter carriage roads--only 4 miles--but the trail guide said it had "one of the steepest carriage road grades in the system" so I thought it would be challenging enough.

The bad news: It was gorgeous. It has to be one of the prettiest carriage roads in Acadia. There were a lot of side trips that were fun and exciting. And I forgot my camera!!!!

We started off at the Brown Mountain Gatehouse. The park ranger told us that this amazing building was originally built as the servant's quarters for the Rockefeller family. I couldn't find a picture that did it justice on the web. Did I mention that I forgot my camera?

The trail was wide and well maintained, and the kids were frequently distracted by the blueberry bushes on the side of the road. I kept telling them to save some for other hikers and for the bears, but they ignored me. The bushes were completely loaded with ripe berries this year. Then we passed Upper Hadlock Pond and took a side trail to get closer. We watched tiny fish dart from the sun shine to the shadows for a while. I startled a frog, who startled me back when he jumped into the water.

Then came the steep part. It was hot, humid and a little bit dusty, but even so, this was not a steepness that would cause people driving carriages to get out and guide the horses or to fervently wish for oxen. It wasn't tough at all. That doesn't mean we weren't hot and dusty by the time we got to the bridges. There are 3 bridges on this loop--the Hadlock Brook Bridge, the Hemlock Bridge and the Waterfall Bridge. These are gorgeous stone bridges. The waterfall next to Waterfall Bridge was just the right size for playing in. D and I stood right underneath it! Man, I wish I'd remembered a camera. We went off the carriage roads and onto the trails until everyone was thoroughly wet, and then we started the long, gradual descent back down to the car.

Roger made me promise that if "I dragged the kids all the way to Acadia for a boring old carriage trail", I would do something at the ocean as well, so we stopped at Seal Harbor and played in the waves for about 45 minutes before heading back home. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day. Even if I have no photographic proof that we did it.

Things I Love--Memoirs

2010-06-29T04:46:00.000-07:00

On the surface, autobiographies and memoirs are very similar. They are both true accounts about the author's life told in the first person. An autobiography is the entire story of a person's life, from birth until the time of writing. On the other hand, a memoir is much more intimate than an autobiography. It is usually about a much briefer span of time, and focuses on one theme or circumstance.

For example, in the book She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana, Haven Kimmel focuses on the transformation of her mother--a woman who lived in abject poverty, weighed 268 pounds and rarely moved away from the couch until the day she decided to go to college, get a driver's license and lose half her body weight. That transformation changes Haven's own life in profound ways, but the book covers only a few years of Haven's preadolescence.

Today I promised to do some sample book reviews, so I'm going to review all the memoirs I've read so far this year for you. As I wrote these reviews, I stumbled across many, many reviews that put mine to shame. If you want that kind, go to goodreads or amazon and be swept away by the dissertations some people write. I'm not trying to show you how amazingly profound book reviews can be. My goal is to show you how easy it is to let another reader know whether or not another book is worth picking up.

She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana is the sequel to the delightful memoir A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana by Haven Kimmel. Haven says that she never planned to write a sequel, but as she went to book signings so many people wanted to know what happened next. To her surprise, one of the most frequently asked questions was, "Did your mother ever get up off that couch?" Haven's answer is a resounding, "Boy, did she ever!"

Told in the same child-like spirit as the first book, Haven talks about poverty, depression and other heart-wrenching subjects with humor and wide eyed innocence. This book is the kind that has you rolling on the floor laughing when you know you probably should be crying, and will help you to remember that anything is possible. Recommended.

French By Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France is a travel memoir written by Rebecca Ramsey. It is the story of the four years her family spent living in France while her husband worked for Michelin. I have never been to France, but I studied French in school, have French relatives and have always been fascinated with all things French. I loved this book because Rebecca captured the essence of being a stranger in the French culture with good humor. Although the culture is so different from the South Carolina neighborhood she left, and not all the French people are kind to her or her children, you can tell that she truly learned to love France and the people there. This book is fun and light-hearted. Highly recommended.

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert isn't exactly a travel memoir, although it contains elements of that. It is the story of one woman's spiritual journey--her transformation from a "soul-sucking" woman who needs to have a man, but is never happy with one, into a woman who is at peace even when she is alone. After a bitter divorce and a whirlwind love affair leave Elizabeth in complete inner turmoil, she decides to spend a year off from her real life, traveling and finding peace. She spends 3 months in Italy, learning to speak Italian and eating great food; 3 months in India at an ashram learning mental and spiritual control and finally 3 months in Bali, learning to find balance between pleasure and spiritual rigor. The language is a little too salty for me, but Elizabeth's struggle to figure out why she was not happy when she had all the outward trappings of happiness struck a chord in my soul. Eat, Pray, Love is told with good humor and an honesty that took my breath away. Recommended with some reservations.

I've already done a review of this one, so I'll keep this short. In fact, let me show you the very basics:
1. The title: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (with a link--always a nice touch, but not necessary).
2. The author: Barbara Kingsolver (who is most famous for writing The Poisonwood Bible)
3. The genre: memoir
4. A short synopsis: A year in the life of the author and her family, when they move to their old family farm and spend an entire year eating only food that they grow themselves or that was grown locally.
5. The tone of the book, how it made me feel and whether I would recommend it: Parts of this book--especially the parts with the turkeys (!!!) made me laugh until I cried. This book has it all--facts and figures that will make you want to become a "locavore" and even make your own cheese, comedy enough to keep anyone's attention, and interesting stories that will stay with you long after you shut the book. Highly recommended.

How To Write A Book Review

2010-06-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

Some book reviews are better than the book itself. I love to read these after I've read the book. They make me "ooh" and "ah" all over again as the reviewer points out things I hadn't noticed or says the things in my heart that I didn't have the words for. I am NOT against these kinds of book reviews. I think they are amazing. But that's not the kind of book review I'm writing about today.

The main purpose of a book review is to help the potential reader see if the book you are talking about is one they want to read. The reader should also be able to find the book you are talking about if they decide to read it. Keeping those two objectives in mind, a book review only needs these elements:

1. The book's title
2. The author's name
3. The genre
4. A short synopsis
5. The tone of the book
6. Your recommendation

1. A title, including subtitle, if there is one. Pretty self-explanatory, I think.

2. The author, including any information you think is interesting or pertinent about the author. If you don't have anything, don't worry about it.

3. The genre. You can find the genre of your book by imagining where you'd get the book at a book store--the science fiction section? the young adult section? the mystery section? If you still don't know what to put, you can probably figure it out by going to amazon.com and looking at some of the reviews of the book. Some examples of genre are fantasy, sci-fi, chick-lit, thriller, mystery, romance, christian, literary, classic, young adult, middle grades... The list is quite extensive, and can get very category specific. There is no need for you to get this specific, unless you want to.

Let's use the book The Hunger Games as an example. It's probably enough information to say that it fits into the young adult genre. If you know genres well enough, you'll be able to figure out that it's young adult science fiction. Cool--but an astute potential reader will be able to figure out the sci-fi part when they read your synopsis. If you want to seem REALLY smart, you can mention that The Hunger Games is a dystopian young adult science fiction book. But is that really necessary?

4. A short synopsis. Short is the hardest part here. Especially if you have very strong feelings about the book, brevity is not easy. At the most, you want to give as much information as you might find on the back of the book, but keeping it even shorter is not a bad thing. Let me use the book Lark by Sally Watson as an example. Lark is young adult historical fiction. Here's my synopsis:

When Lark runs away from her uncle's Puritan family, she meets James, a royalist spy whose annoyance at being forced to protect her from the perils of Cromwell's England gradually turns into friendship, and possibly romance. They get into all sorts of perilous (and sometimes hilarious) adventures with gypsies and Roundhead soldiers as James struggles to figure out which of his conflicting duties deserves his loyalty.

5. The tone of the book, how it made you feel. Was the book hard to get through? Did you laugh a lot? Was one theme particularly meaningful or distasteful to you? Words like "light-hearted," "humorous," "exciting," "dry" or "deeply moving" are useful here. You're trying to convey a sense of what the book was like that might be missing from your synopsis. If you think your synopsis covered all the salient points, you can skip this part.

6. Would you recommend it? To whom? This is a good place to mention what kinds of people might not like it. For example, "I recommend this to anyone who has a strong stomach," or "If a lot of swearing turns you off, this might not be the book for you." There will be books that make you say, "Everyone get a copy of this, right now!" and that's alright too. We're mature enough to figure out whether or not we agree with you all by ourselves.

Tomorrow I'll post some reviews of books I've read recently.

July's Serendipity Challenge

2010-06-25T13:46:00.000-07:00

This month we are going to do a couple of things differently. I'd like each person to post how many points they think they can earn here. You can earn points by completing the 3 monthly reading tasks, reading other books, writing reviews and in other ways. I'm always looking for feedback, so let me know how this works for you. (FYI: My own personal goal for July is to earn 80 points. Your goal may be larger or smaller depending on your own personal circumstances.)

Earn points by completing the 3 major challenges!
1. 10 points--For me, 2010 has been the year of the memoir. In honor of my new found love, find a memoir that interests you and read it.

2. 10 points--America's Independence Day is July 4th. To celebrate, choose a book from one of these goodread's lists.
Best American Plays
American Literature At the Movies OR
Best Books About The American Revolution

3. 10 points--I can't wait for the new books by Suzanne Collins and Cassandra Clare that both come out in August, so I thought July would be a great month for us to reread some of our favorite books.

4. 5 points--Books over 100 pages each that don't fit any of the above categories can still earn 5 points per book.

Other ways to earn points:
1. 10 points--(This comes from the Seasonal Book Challenge) There is an age old saying...If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Likewise if a person reads a book and no one is there to see them...did the book ever get read? For this task you must read a book of at least 100 pages in public...at a park, or the beach, or on a plane, or a bus, or at a library...any public place will do. (Note from Melanie: I picked this one because I had such a hard time finding a book someone else was reading in June. :-)

2. Every time you review a book for one of the Serendipity Challenge tasks, you earn 10 points. If you're afraid to write a book review, don't be. It's a great way to help those of us who are searching for books to know if we want to try yours or not. Perhaps my next blog post will be about how to write book reviews.

3. I ALMOST had a task about soccer and the World Cup, but decided it keep it at 3 tasks. An optional way to earn 10 points would be to tie the books you choose to soccer in some way.

Review for Enormously Foxtrot

2010-06-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

June Goodreads Serendipity Challenge Task #2: Be a spy. Go to a public place and find someone reading a book. Without them noticing you, figure out what their book is and get a copy of it. Read it.

This was the most challenging task of all, I am disappointed to tell you. I went so many places, and never saw anyone reading a book. It was bizarre. Track meets, doctor's offices, t-ball games, parks, libraries...where have all the readers gone? I feel like I cheated a little on this one, because I finally had to use the books my own kids were reading. L was reading Princess School: If the Shoe Fits at the track meet. I felt bad choosing this book though, because I've already read it several times. To my relief, at the library a few days later, I saw D reading Enormously FoxTrot.

It's a cute comic strip--sort of along the same lines as Calvin and Hobbes, but not quite as amazing. The mother is an aspiring writer, and some of the strips about her really struck home. Her name is Andy, and her husband's name is Roger. Here's my favorite:
Roger: You look happy.
Andy: Are you kidding? With the kids back in school? I'm ecstatic! FINALLY I'll have some quiet around this house. FINALLY I'll be able to get some decent writing done. FINALLY I'll be able to do what I've dreamed of doing all summer.
Roger: Ironing my shirts?
(Next frame) Ironing SOME of my shirts?
Andy: Let's see...Now I THINK the Pulitzer Committee meets in March...

The next line shows her diligently working at her desk. She's thinking: The kids are back in school...Roger's off at work...Time to get some serious writing done...Great, brilliant writing...Pulitzer-winning writing...Starting today, Andy Fox is going to write like she's never written before...Just as soon as she finishes this crossword puzzle.

HA HA HA HA...Ouch. That kind of hurt. On a less personal note:
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Swamp Thing.
Swamp Thing Who?
Swamp Thing WHO??? Is that any way to greet your long lost identical twin?

Review for Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet

2010-06-24T06:07:00.000-07:00

June Goodreads Serendipity Challenge Task #3: For this task, read a book that has been featured on your favorite book/reading related blog. When you post this task include a link to the blog and a review of the book.

I've never met Jamie Ford, but I feel invested in this book because he and I frequent several of the same writer forums, and I have found him to be both classy and helpful, with a great sense of humor. His agent is Kristin Nelson, the author of a popular blog called Pubrants, and she talks about him all the time.

I often mention that I'm stuck in a young adult fantasy rut. That was one of the reasons I wanted to start a book group that would force me to expand my horizons, and it's books like this that make me glad I did. This is a beautiful book. It is about a boy named Henry Lee, a Chinese boy living in Seattle during World War II. He befriends a Japanese girl named Keiko, and quickly falls in love with her. The story switches back and forth between the story of Henry Lee, the boy, and Henry Lee more than 40 years later, right after his wife Ethel's death. The story begins when a middle aged Henry Lee sees a press conference being held at the Panama Hotel, a hotel that has been boarded up for years. The new owner has discovered the untouched belongings of several Japanese families in the basement of the hotel, where they had been stored when the Japanese were forced into internment camps during World War II. When the owner opens up a parasol that Henry recognizes as Keiko's, all of Henry's memories of Keiko and the difficult choices he made as a child come flooding back.

This book is not just a love story though. It is about the relationships of fathers and sons, and the power of stories to heal and bind us together. I recommend this book highly, and hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

Review for Scaredy Squirrel

2010-06-24T06:06:00.000-07:00

June Goodreads Serendipity Challenge Task #1: Read a book that has your name in the title or the author's name.

This was hard for me! I looked at several books: Dragon Prince, by Melanie Rawn; Confessions of Supermom, by Melanie Hauser; and The Diary of Melanie Martin, Or How I Survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower of Pizza, by Carol Weston; before choosing Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend by Melanie Watt. Some of you may think choosing a children's book was a copout. I don't. This challenge isn't about the word count. It's about finding good books in any genre. This was a very cute children's story about a lonely squirrel whose fears keep him from finding a friend. He decides that a goldfish who lives nearby might be the perfect (i.e. safe) friend, and finally works up the courage to go meet it. This is the story of his adventures on his journey to the goldfish. I won't ruin the ending for you, but it's cute.

#16--Travel all 45 (ish) miles of carriage roads in Acadia National Park

2010-06-17T11:08:00.000-07:00

John D. Rockefeller bought a summer home at Seal Island in 1910. It was the beginning of the era of the automobile, and he feared that automobile roads would ruin Mt. Desert Island. His dream was to create an elaborate system of auto-free roads and bridges that would provide access to the most beautiful parts of the island, which would later become Acadia National Park. Between 1913 and 1940 he worked tirelessly to oversee construction of 51 miles of roads, 17 bridges and 2 gatehouses. He presented the carriage road system and much of the land that would become Acadia as a gift to the people of the United States. The roads are made of broken stone, and follow the contours of the land to take advantage of the scenic views.

Today, you may occasionally see a horse drawn carriage or a horseback riders on the carriage trails, but you are more likely to see bikers, joggers and hikers. In the winter, many of the roads are groomed for cross country skiing.

Acadia is about 2.5 hours from my house, so getting there to hike more than once or twice a year is an issue. I have a book called A Pocket Guide to Carriage Roads of Acadia National Park that breaks the roads into 11 loops plus one long loop that goes around the whole park but uses pieces of the other loops. I can skip that long looped trail, but it's impossible to not backtrack on the trails occasionally, so by the time I'm finished with the 11 loops, I will have traveled 57 miles.

Here's the plan:

1. Eagle Lake Loop - 6 miles (bike)
2. Aunt Betty's Pond Loop - 5.9 miles (hike)
3. Witch Hole Pond Loop - 6.8 miles (bike)
4. Jordan Bubble Loop - 8.6 miles (hike)
5. Jordan Stream Loop 4.0 (cross country ski)
6. Day Mountain loop - 5.5 miles (horseback ride)
7. Little Long Pond - 3.5 miles (hike)
8. Redfield Loop (is actually 2 loops and can be either 2.3 miles or 4.3 miles. 4.3 for me!) Maybe I'll ride an actual carriage for this one.
9. Hadlock Brook - 3.9 miles (hike)
10. Ampitheatre Loop - 4.9 miles (hike)
11. Giant Slide Loop - 8.2 (hike. This is the hardest hike, as well as one of the longest)

If you're keeping track, that's 2 bike rides, 1 horseback ride, 1 carriage ride, 1 skiing trip and 6 hikes.

National Parks Part 2--Acadia

2010-06-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

My first trip to Acadia National Park was on my honeymoon. I'd never been to the East Coast before, and the rocky shores of the Atlantic Ocean riveted my imagination. I could have spent hours meandering around Pebble Beach or Thunder Hole, but Roger was looking for something a little more exciting--maybe The Beehive, or possibly even The Precipice.

At this point, I should mention that I LOVE peregrine falcons. I'm absolutely devoted to them, and if I had a million dollars I would donate money to their cause. I love them because they were nesting near the hike called The Precipice, and so it was closed to all hikers that day. Otherwise, I probably would not even be here writing this blog, because The Beehive nearly killed me, and apparently the Precipice is even more precipice-y. The picture at the top of this blog post is one small section of the Beehive. It's not a long hike--only 1.5 miles, but it feels like it's straight up. Metal rungs are dug right into the side of the cliff. I learned a lot about myself as I followed my husband up the cliff. Mostly about how I'm terrified of ledges, which I didn't really know before, but which has since become an important part of my life. Tears poured down my cheeks the whole way up the Beehive. Roger kept asking if I wanted to go back down, but I refused. I kept muttering to myself, "My mom may have raised a crier, but my dad didn't raise a quitter. My mom may have raised a crier, but my dad didn't raise a quitter." Somehow, I made it to the top without a stray gust of wind knocking me to my death on the rocky crags below. The views of Sand Beach and the Atlantic Ocean were spectacular, and we took the longer hike down the backside of the mountain.

Acadia National Park seems much more accessible than the National Parks I grew up with. You can pick wild blueberries as you hike, and people stop to chat with you wherever you go. Even after spending a summer in Bryce Canyon, I didn't feel at home there. The landscape is too stark and surreal to make it my own. But Acadia was instantly home-like. The trees, the ocean, the mountains, the flowers--it's all stuff you see out in the world, just more so.

Last summer we went to Acadia with my dad, my grandmother and 2 of my Utah nieces. My 5 year old son, J, wanted to stay at Thunder Hole all day. The waves crash in and out here--with spray as high as 40 feet when the conditions are just right. It was gentle the day we were there, and mesmerizing to watch the water level rise and fall. The next week, someone was swept off to sea and killed standing in the very spot J and I had stood for so long.

One of the more challenging things on my list is to travel all of the carriage roads in Acadia National Park--47 miles worth of trail. I've been to Acadia National Park at least 10 times since my honeymoon, but I have yet to do more than stare longingly down the carriage trails. There are always so many other things to do (like standing at Thunder Hole for hours) and somehow we've never made the time. That's about to change. Tomorrow I'll tell you about these amazing roads and my plan for traveling all of them in the next 16 months.

Things I Love--National Parks

2010-06-15T18:57:00.000-07:00

I love national parks. I guess that's not too surprising, since I was born and raised in Utah, which has a whomping 5 national parks and is only a stone's throw from Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon (this is a hypothetical stone. Do not throw stones near the Grand Canyon. Thank you.)

Some of my earliest memories include seeing a baby bear wander across the road in Yellowstone. A few minutes later a moose ran across the road as well. It somersaulted off the hood of our car and continued on its merry way.

Once, while hiking through a river in Zion's National Park, I fell and hit my forehead. I think I bled everywhere, but I remember that hike fondly because I was hiking through a river, for Pete's sake! How cool is that???

We got to the end of the hike--a pool created by a waterfall, I believe, and my mom and Grandma convinced me to change into my swimsuit while they held up towels for privacy. It was only after I'd completed the switch that I realized that the top of the waterfall was a scenic overlook. *Blush*

After my freshman year of college, I took working in the Lodge at Bryce Canyon National Park, a place I love so much that I made it the setting of one of my (as yet unpublished) novels. In an ironic twist, we took our kids there this summer, and I was miserable. I spent the whole time so panicked about my children near those steep drop offs that I wished I had a couple Valium (actually I often wish I had some Valium, but that's a topic for another time.)

The Hunger Games Series

2010-06-04T05:51:00.000-07:00

I know there are still members of the Serendipity Book Challenge that are looking for a book that has been talked about on a blog. I don't want to unduly influence anyone, but READ HUNGER GAMES, READ HUNGER GAMES, READ HUNGER GAMES! Mockingjay comes out on August 24, 2010 and I think it will be THE book to have read in 2010. It's worthy of staying up until midnight just to be one of the first people to buy the book. Seriously.

It's a story about a girl named Katniss who lives in a futuristic version of America which is controlled by the Capitol, where people live in wealth and luxury. The 13 districts that rebelled against the Capitol seventy five years ago are kept on the brink of starvation. Each year, to remember their defeat, they are forced to send two tributes--a boy and a girl to the Capitol to compete in The Hunger Games. The victor of the Hunger Games is the last one to survive.

This book is told in present tense, first person. I tried to copy her style once, and it's not easy to do. But it creates such a sense of immediacy that you feel like you are right there in the middle of the action. This is one book that won't take you all month to read. I'd like to see you try.

The June Serendipity Challenge is open!

2010-06-01T05:35:00.000-07:00

The June challenge has begun! To see a list of the tasks for the June challenge go here. I hope you have some good books picked out. Me--not so much. I read the first pages of Confessions of Super Mom a few days ago (CHEATER!!! I know, I know) and realized that anyone who could rave about a swiffer mop for that many pages couldn't possibly have anything to say that would hold my interest.

Dragon Prince is not what I thought either. It's 574 pages long, for starters. And based on the reviews I've read, I might not like it either. So I'm back on the hunt for a good author named Melanie.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet hasn't arrived yet, but that's OK, because I'm deeply immersed in Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia which I'm loving, except for some occasional language. If Hotel doesn't get here in time, Eat, Pray, Love works for the third task, because I did read about it on someone's blog. Unfortunately, I read about half of it in May. Do you think that should count?

Sad to admit, but I STILL haven't been anywhere public to spy on people reading. What are YOU reading?

Someone already wrote it...

2010-05-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about writing about #5 on my list of things to do before I turn 40--lose 40 pounds. I had some fantastic things to say, but lo and behold, someone beat me to it! You should read this amazing post at The Simple Dollar.

This is my favorite part:
"Major changes to how we behave are almost impossible to perfectly implement. Going from spending thousands a month on unnecessary stuff to spending nothing at all will rarely work for more than a week or two. Why? Because whenever you make a major change like that, you’re derailing a lot of tiny routines and habits, not just one. Humans are creatures of habit, and derailing even the simplest routine can be hard. Derailing lots of simple routines all at once can be incredibly hard. Make small changes, observe small victories, and be patient. It’s far better than yo-yoing, where you make a radical change, see some great success immediately, then fall off the horse and find yourself back where you started."

My Mom

2010-05-26T05:54:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the 2 year anniversary of my mom's death. I find I miss her more than ever as time goes by. She had a special gift of helping people see themselves the way God must see them--loved, valued and infinitely important.

But that's not what I want to talk about today. My mom also loved food. We had a special drink that we made in our house. We called it a "Lemon Juice Drink." (Wow. Weren't we creative?) We squeezed the juice out of a lemon, added water, sugar and salt and stirred it up. Those of us who liked this drink had a sixth sense about when someone was getting a lemon out of the fridge, and we'd hurry into the kitchen to say, "Will you make me one too?" Often I'd get stuck squeezing the lemons while my mom made the actual drink. There was no set recipe to follow, so making the drinks was the best job because the maker would have to sip from each glass until it tasted just right. One time we bought a whole bunch of lemons and sat around the kitchen drinking pitcher after pitcher full. It didn't seem that special at the time, but now that I'm a mom myself, I realize that moments of abundance like that don't come naturally to me. Lemons are expensive, and squeezing them takes time. Sometimes I find myself sneaking lemons out of the fridge when the kids are asleep so that I don't have to share. How sad it would be if this bizarre family drink died with me because I was too selfish to share it with my children.

My mom loved cream cheese wrapped up in pastrami. She said it was almost the only food she ate when she was pregnant with me. She also loved baked potatoes slathered with cheese, sour cream and lemon juice. Perhaps you're noticing a trend here. She liberally seasoned nearly every food she made with lemon pepper. I used to tease her about that mercilessly, but now I'm the same way with garlic.

She never did things in a small way. When I was a kid, we used to make bread--but she always tripled the recipe. She was big on letting us sneak tastes too. We'd take a small bit of dough and dip it in melted butter and then dip it in cinnamon and sugar. Yum. With that bread dough we might make bread, or we might make cinnamon rolls, or maybe even scones (not the British kind--the fried bread dough kind.) But whatever we made, some of it went to a neighbor or two.

My mom hated breakfast. If she was trying to be a good example she could force down a few frosted mini-wheats, but I don't think that was her daily routine. Her favorite breakfast food was Pepsi. She was a Pepsi connoisseur who swore there was a difference between the stuff in the can and the stuff that came out of a soda fountain. It was one of the few things she hated about Maine--there are no soda fountains in the gas stations. A whole state full of deprived people!

I remember how excited she was to eat a lobster in Maine. But when it came, she could hardly eat it because the eyes were staring at her. Still, every time she came to visit, she would say, "We've got to go to the Weathervane restaurant." Restaurants are places to return to--places to get into a routine with. That's the way to make a memory. Whenever we went to the Weathervane, she'd have to stop at the cute little shop next door, and then we'd have to walk down the wharf and look for star fish. I think she had similar routines with all her favorite restaurants.

She always ordered her big macs with extra sauce. She saved the ketchup/mayonnaise packets from Arctic Circle until she learned how to make her own. She would often stop at Su Casa to pick up an order of freshly made chips and salsa and bring it home to snack on as we made dinner.

I'm stopping now, not because I'm out of memories, but because this is already too long. I haven't even mentioned the Green Mint Cookies (we really weren't very good at making up names for our foods, were we?) or the fondue dinners yet. I hope people will share some of their food memories of my mom, because she used food as a tool to do her favorite thing--making memories with the people she loved.

The Serendipity Challenge for June

2010-05-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

I'm too excited to wait until June to give you your challenge. Besides, you might need a week to find and get a copy of your books.

Task #1: Read a book that has your name in the title or the author's name. For example, my name is JD or Jessica so I could read a book by JD Salinger or I could read the fantabulous book Jessica by Kevin Henkes.

Task #2: Be a spy. Go to a public place and find someone reading a book. Without them noticing you, figure out what their book is and get a copy of it. Read it.

Task #3: "(This one comes from the seasonal reading challenge, and is in honor of my brand new blog). Blogs have an important role in the world of books and reading today...they've even been the inspiration for books themselves. For this task read a book that has been featured on your favorite book/reading related blog. When you post this task include a link to the blog and a review of the book."

Note: You don't have to do all 3 tasks. Heck, you don't even have to do one of them, but I hope you will. Do as many as you have time for, but if you do all 3 I'll think you're really cool! Make sure and tell us which books you've chosen.

Here are my books:

For task 1: Confessions of Super Mom by Melanie Hauser OR Dragon Prince by Melanie Rawn. I've ordered them both from the library and we'll see which one gets here in time. There aren't many writers named Melanie, so I feel lucky to have found these.

For task 2: Haven't been anywhere public yet. Stay posted!

Task 3: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford from the blog PubRants and because he's a classy guy.

If you want to join the challenge, go to The Serendipity Challenge. See you there!

The Serendipity Challenge

2010-05-20T17:05:00.000-07:00

After long hours of debate and pouring over the many great ideas, the overwhelming pick for our book group's name is:

The Serendipity Challenge.

Go check it out! This is going to be so much fun!

Name That Book Club

2010-05-19T05:56:00.000-07:00

There are a few days left in the Spring Seasonal Book Challenge at Goodreads. I've only earned 5 points so far. Not so great in a contest where everyone else seems to be in the hundreds. So I'm leaving the 5 point challenges behind and jumping straight to the 15 pointers. If you're doing this with me, you need a goodreads account and at least a goodreads friend or two.

Here's the task:

15.6 - Friends and Friends of Friends
A.For the first part of this task read a book that is popular among the lists of your Goodreads friends that you have never read...to see a list of these books click on this link Popular Books
AND
B.For the second part of this task click on this link (Friends Of Friends) and select the first person on this list and read a 5 star book from their list.

I picked Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George for the first part of this task. I've ordered it from the library and hope it will get here in time.
AND
I got Catering to Nobody (Goldy, Book 1) from a friend of one of my friends. I picked this up at my little library here in town and read it yesterday. I've been meaning to read a mystery for quite a long time. This one was better than I expected, but I'm not rushing out to get the next one.

Next month, I'll be starting a book group for people like me who are up for one or two reading challenges a month, but aren't interested in wading through the mountains of e-mails this popular group gets. We'll pick one or two challenges from their list each month.

All I need before I start the book group is a name. Some play on Seasonal Reading Challenge--something that says that we are trying to build diversity into our reading.

20 Things To Do Before I Turn 40

2010-05-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

~~1. Start a blog.~~
2. Get published.
3. Get a passport
4. Use it.
5. Lose 40 pounds.
6. Try water skiing
7. Spend 40 hours working in the temple
8. Take a college class
9. Attend 10 free community events.
10. Get passionate about a cause and spend time helping it
11. Memorize an amazing song on the piano
12. Go horseback riding.
13. Climb Mt. Katadhin
14. Volunteer at the school for 40 hours
15. Write another book
16. Walk, bike, horseback ride or take a carriage through all 45 miles of carriage trails in Acadia National Park. (extra credit if I do the 10 miles outside the park!)
17. Donate blood
18. Find a farmer's market and start using it.
19. Play 25 different card/board games
20. Read 500 pages with each of my children

Life, the Universe and Everything

2010-05-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

I was bummed that someone had already taken the blog name Life, the Universe and Everything, because I didn't want to find a niche market, I wanted to be able to talk about everything! And I still do, but I'm beginning to find my focus. This list. It could take over my life. I read a book a month or two ago, and I wish I could recommend it, because it was a fun read. But the language was too trashy, and I've got high standards about what I'll recommend here. It was about a woman who was trying to complete a 20 Things To Do Before I Turn 25 list, and it inspired me to create my own. Unfortunately, I turned 25 a long time ago, so I had to revamp the title.

Starting this blog was one of the things on my list. Look at that. I haven't even finished making the list yet, and I already accomplished one thing on it. I'm on fire! I'll post my list in the next day or two.

Do you like my new background? I spent a long time picking it out, and then realized that it's the exact same background as one of my favorite author blogs... http://janette-rallison.blogspot.com/ I guess I know what I like, and hopefully she can forgive my unintentional copycatting.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

2010-05-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

A few posts ago, I mentioned that I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver for the Seasonal Book Challenge on Goodreads. Well, I'm still reading it. It might be the only book I read for the challenge this spring, which is a pretty pathetic showing. I'm reading it for one of the 5 point tasks, which is the smallest number of points you can earn at one time.

It's a life changing book though. Her premise is relatively simple--we should buy food from local sources. Then she tells us about the year her family strove to do only that while explaining why in great detail. There are so many reasons--better flavor and nutrition, a smaller carbon footprint, economics, our health...the list goes on and on, and it sounds so boring when I tell it to you, but she makes it come alive. I read the section about turkeys out loud to my whole family. We laughed until we cried and then we had a very serious discussion about the implications of eating mass produced turkeys. I'm still not sure what we're going to do about it, but we'll never look at turkeys the same way again.

I completely recommend this book. Yes, it does have some strong opinions, and you may not agree with all of them, but isn't that the beauty of a book that makes you think? It's one of those books that I find myself constantly inserting into conversations.

Still, it's not the kind of book I would usually choose to read on my own, which is the whole point of the Seasonal Book Challenge--to get people out of their comfort zones, expanding our horizons. Which is a great idea, but the Seasonal Book Challenge is a massive project, and I mean that in more ways than one. Although they specifically say that there is no minimum commitment for the challenge, most of the people in it earn a lot more than 5 points--I'm talking numbers in the hundreds. The number of people participating is the other huge factor in the Seasonal Reading Challenge. It's become a national phenomenon, and I don't feel a sense of connection with these women.

Which is why I'm considering starting my own group--both here on my blog and on goodreads. It would probably involve doing only one challenge a month instead of dozens. I hope you'll get involved--starting right now with any suggestions about how to get started!

November 2008? Let Me Introduce You To May 2010

2010-05-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

Every November since 2007, I embark on a crazy adventure, right in my own living room. Nanowrimo promises me 30 days and 30 nights of literary abandon, and it delivers. The goal is to squeeze writing 50,000 words into an already busy month. I pull more all nighters in November than I ever did in college. Truthfully, until I went insane, I knew the value of a good night's sleep.

I'm currently looking for a home for my 2007 novel, Earth's Gate. You might ask if it's really worth it to write so recklessly if it's going to take three long years to clean up the mess. The answer is YES. The beautiful manuscript wouldn't even exist without Nanowrimo, even if it looks nothing like the original. It's kind of like a baby in that way.

In 2008, I wrote the sequel to Earth's Gate. Well, not the whole sequel, just the love story part. I fell in love with a brand new character who didn't even exist in Earth's Gate, and he took over the whole story. In Earth's Gate, Jenny falls in love with Arram. In the 2008 sequel I forgot to mention them. It was all about Drew. It was a problem of such epic proportions that I squirreled the whole story away and waited til the opportune moment to dig it back out.

Now Karen, I ask you--is May 2010 really the opportune moment? We're trying to get our house ready to put on the market, it's the last month my youngest son will ever be in preschool, and therefore home during most of the day with his mom and I started a blog last week. Oh yeah--and everyone knows a writer should never write the sequel before she's even sold the first one.

But apparently it is the opportune moment. Karen challenged me to write a book before summer vacation started. I've had several ideas swimming around in my head for novels, but this is the one I feel passionate about. My goal is to write a one sentence summary of each of the chapters, just so I can make sure I have a real story arc. This time my main character will be a real main character. That's not the point of Nanowrimo though. Cohesive story lines are just a lucky bonus. The word count is what matters. So in addition to creating a real story arc, my goal is to write 5000 words a week, and share the process on my blog. It wouldn't win at Nanowrimo, but not even I am crazy enough to try that twice in a year.