Monday Reading, The Post-Christmas Craziness Edition

Good Monday, friends!

So. I’ve kind of figured out the issue with Blogger, but I’m still frustrated at it. Lost my post last week AND didn’t ever let me post it?!?!? Argh! Stupid #$(*&@! Blogger.

Anyway.

Both of my children are sitting on the toilet right now (NO, not the SAME toilet), one with her Gameboy, one with a book. For some bizarre reason, whenever one gets “the urge,” the other follows suit. And then they both bring entertainment, because you know, it’s just not right to be bored whilst on the toilet. *Sigh* Should I be disturbed?

And speaking of disturbing, I just had to tell one of my children (who shall remain nameless) to “Take the turtle OUT OF YOUR UNDERWEAR NOW!” Do you really want to know more? I didn’t think so.

So it's been three Mondays since my medical debacle, and I'm *still* dragging most mornings. And noons. And evenings. Grrrr. It's been one of those things where I don't feel completely awful, just REALLY, REALLY TIRED and a little achy. And then I got a cold last week, YAY. Now I’m back to not feeling like I want to be taken out to the back forty and put down, so I haven't been focusing on it as much as I should be (bad Kristen!)... But hopefully the 32 different meds and supplements I've started taking will kill off whatever might still be in my system and I'll be back to my (much more) energetic self within the next few days. That would be good... VERY good.

I’m going to include some (actually, MOST) of last weeks’ post in here, so you’ll be all caught up for next week. Yay! And this time, I’ve gotten wise to Blogger’s wily ways and am prepared. Ha! (Insert evil laugh here.) You shall not foil me again with your dastardly deeds, Blogger!

Christmas was a good one for us here, as you might have suspected from my Christmas post. The Daddy has been home now for four days, and it’s been wonderful to have him home for so many days! We’ve had a low-key weekend, with lots of games and snuggle time and just general enjoyment.

As usual, I have about forty-seven different posts I want to write, but it always seems like Monday catches up with me again before I have the chance to write about all the other things I have stuck inside me. Always, suddenly, it's time for another reading list. Time management is not my forte. Neither is patience. Or a multitude of other things. Not that I'm complaining...

Well, actually, now that I think about it, I am complaining. I wish the time didn't seem to fly quite so quickly through my fingers and out the door. My little birds are starting to sprout their own feathers, and I'll be honest - I take no pleasure in the thought of how quickly these years have passed, and how soon it'll be that they will take flight into adventures that I can only be a small part of. I would repackage them both up into little babies again and do it all over - every minute, every tantrum, every scream and tears like rain, every brilliant smile like sunshine, and every giggle that  makes the whole world right - I would, if I somehow could.

And even as I type this, I cry, because I know the days, the weeks, the years... They grow shorter with every inch that my girls grow taller. My prayers have come to include something along these lines: "Lord, let them stay close to me, live close to me, even when they are all grown up and have their own babies, so that I never have to be without them."

...Okay, I'm back. Not that you knew I was gone, but still. I stopped myself from going into full-on bawl-your-eyes-out-because-your-babies-are-growing-up mode, dried my tears and did some things relatively useful, like surf Facebook, grade schoolwork, and put on a pot of red lentil soup for dinner.

But anyway, I've been thinking about several different topics that I want to touch on in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I have, in my own mind at least, been doing some stretching, some growing, some learning. And much of that has been related to the reading I've been doing, although I’ll only give you guys a taste of that today.

I'm also thinking of doing a daily, one-or-two-sentence post, just about life, the girls, or whatever. What do you think? Good idea? Can I keep it up (ACK!)?

Anyway, on to reading. Enjoy!

Books

So I recently purchased a book that was SO WORTH the money. It's called How To Fit A Car Seat On A Camel, and is a compilation of short stories edited by Sarah Franklin. And it's absolutely hysterical. There are about thirty stories in it, and they are all about traveling with kids. Although they are written by women from all walks of life, the recurring theme is that traveling with kids is NEVER DULL. I have laughed so hard I've cried over some of the stories… Mostly tears of recognition, because as a mother who has traveled many thousands of miles with her children, I’ve pretty much had it all happen. *Shudder*

I’m very nearly done with Illuminated… I only have like twenty pages left, but I still haven’t finished it. Yeah, yeah, I know, I should have been done with it ages ago, but the holidays have sort of taken all the wind out of my reading sails. Or deflated my reading balloon. Or… Well, you get the picture. But anyway, it’s been an interesting read.

My verdict thus far: While not the most well-written novel I’ve ever read, the writing is good and it has definitely been worth my time. The idea of a secret code hidden within the illuminations of the Gutenberg Bibles is an intriguing one, and I am definitely going to be researching the Gutenberg’s and medieval illuminations in the near future. The storyline is tight, and action-packed, keeping you on your toes pretty much throughout. It actually reads like an action movie, in some regards. There have been a couple of unexpected twists in the story that caught me completely off-guard (which is generally a good thing, unless I’m just looking for something mindless, which in this case, I definitely wasn’t), and surprisingly, there has been quite a bit more gore than I was expecting. Not like, you know, flesh-eating zombies with every atrocious detail spelled out or anything, but still a few mental images that were quite a bit more disturbing than I had expected the book to have.

I tend to avoid horror and gore in my reading and movie material – not religiously, but still avoid it, as I have too active of an imagination to fare well with much gore… As it is bloody nightmares have been a part of my life for many years, though fortunately, not NEARLY as frequently as they were when I was a child. So no horror movies or Stephen King for me, thankyouverymuch. Although I *did* read The Stand last year (after much prodding from my husband), and MAN, was that a GREAT BOOK. I may even devote a review to it, because it was over a thousand pages of (mostly) total awesomeness.

Anyway, my only gripe with the book so far is that it was over too soon… And I’m not even finished with it. But I almost am, and it’s over too soon. The info on the book says that it’s 320 pages, but it feels more like 120. It’s only 320 because the font isn’t a small one, and for me to be truly satisfied with a book, it generally needs to be at least 400 pages of smallish font. (That having been said, sometimes less is more, as with Elie Weisel’s Night. Just… Wow.) I just typically like more heft to my books. I like my books like I like my steaks, thick and meaty, with plenty to chew on, and leaving me totally sated, but wanting more in the near future. And this one has been closer to a veggie burger than a steak. Now THERE’S a connection I haven’t made before.  

I’ve also picked up and read a few paragraphs here and there out of these books in the last week or so:

Go Fly A Kite, by our own local Karen Costello. A seasoned homeschooling mom, Karen gives great and timely advice about all that homeschooling is (and isn’t) to those like me, who are just starting the homeschooling journey. A worthwhile read (although I haven’t read much of it, it’s still very good!)

Homeschooling For Excellence, by David and Micki Colfax. Although this book is a bit dated by some standards, there is some good information in it. I like their philosophy on education, and like how they implemented it. I also like what I have read thus far in it because the Colfax’s have been able to articulate in ways that I couldn’t, some of the compelling reasons behind wanting to homeschool in the first place.

Links

Are You Making Your To Do List Too Hard? Find Out Why: Small Notebook. Love Rachel, love her blog. And as if she wasn't already awesome enough, she's moving to Tuscany. As in, Italy. Ugh. It's so fabulous, it's disgusting. Good thing I'm not the jealous type or anything. 

Saffron To Boost Your Mood: MSN Health. Yes, I know, it's MSN. Should I be ashamed? Probably. Oh, well. Interesting read, though. 

Doctoral Degrees: The Disposable Academic: The Economist. This is a really good article on the general uselessness of the modern PhD. Not that that was any great revelation, but still. I mean, please. Who gets their PhD for money, anyway? And it hasn't dissuaded me from desiring to pursue my PhD at some point in the distant future. But I guess I'm one of those dreamy-eyed humanities students who'll do it for love, not money. And that’s totally okay with me.

Healthier, Scoopable Ice Cream With A Little Stevia: Simply Sugar & Gluten Free. I'm SO excited to try this recipe because I seriously LOOOOOOOOOOVE ice cream. And I didn't know there was a way to make it quite so low-carb. Awesome! Although I may have to wait until spring and it's a little warmer than the balmy thirty degrees we have going on right now. Ice cream in winter... I don't know. 

Some of the tears from earlier were very likely precipitated by this article on Evlogia, Are You Going To Have Any More? While I don't necessarily think that the question was out of line (but I'm nosy and not known for being a private person AT ALL.), I did think that her response to the lady next to her was exceptionally beautiful and heartbreaking for me, personally, to read. 

Then I found this, the website for the Campaign for Love & Forgiveness. Wow. How cool is that? And what a timely find, in this season that is supposed to be all about love, and that celebrates the greatest act of forgiveness in history, the birth of the Sacrificial Lamb.

When I was speaking about stretching and growing, I was speaking of the fact that I have recently started reading some blogs written by several devoutly Catholic women. If you know me, you know that although I’m married to a Catholic, there’s pretty much NOTHING in my life that would qualify me for Catholicism. Ritual, blah. Rules, rules and more rules, blech. The Pope, meh. I’m all about a non-traditional approach to faith and grace and whooooooooo and dancing and all that. But suddenly, here I am, reading all these posts about the Church, priests, and faith, and I am drawn in, I am curious, and I am challenged. Whoa. Very unexpected.

Evlogia is one of those blogs. Conversion Diary is another. There is another, but it escapes me right now. I’ll post it soon. It is SUCH worthwhile reading, even if you don’t agree with everything these ladies write.

And last but not least, I found this post, from Simcha Fischer’s blog, I Have To Sit Down (yet another Catholic woman. But even better, she’s a Jewish Catholic. I love it!). It’s great, and to the point – particularly about the many ways we judge the holidays and all that they entail, and the last part is ABSOLUTELY HYSTERICAL. I’m not going to give anything away, but I LAUGHED SO HARD (and I completely agree, sorry friends).

All right. Good night. I hope you enjoyed week's reading!