Saturday, August 22, 2009

Two re-reads: Pride and Prejudice by Austen and An Assembly such as this by Aidan

Oh I had fun re-reading these two books together at the same time. First I would read An Assembly such as This, it was from Darcy's perspective then I would read up to the same point in Pride and Prejudice mostly from Elizabeth's perspective. Back and forth. It was so fun! It was only the first book in the three part series by Aidan so after I finished that one I just read Austen's book to the end.
I even made a vocabulary list for Aidan's book. Do you know all the definitions for these words?
3
Malingerer
Askance
Dubious
Alacrity
Portentous
Divan
Chagrin
Elicited
Procure
Visage
Castigating
Bereft
Gambit
Inanities
Simper
Inveigling
Drollery
Indignation
Desultory
Tete-a-tete
Vituperation
Acquisition
Cockloft
Assiduously
Surfeit
Insouciance
4
obdurately
accolades
exuberance
judiciously
pricking
forbore
palavering
consternation
prevarication
nuances
veritable
caricature
chatelaine
in vogue
5
Gauche
Ameliorate
Riposte
Antithesis
Innocuous
Reticence
Timbre
6
Vituperation
Perfidy
Mercurial
Discomfiture
Remonstrated
perambulations

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Lulled Into False Security

I was reading an article: Meridian Magazine It talks about how economists have said we are out of the recession. Which makes me laugh and the article continues telling us how stupid a statement like that is. The Nation is so far into debt and businesses are having a hard time, employment is bad and mortgages are on homes worth less than the amount of their loans. . .
It is quite a depressing sad realistic overview of where we really are despite the Pres. and the media telling us all is well in Zion.

At the end of the article it says this:
The Only Solution

The only real solution to this seemingly never-ending and suicidal disaster is for an honest and rigorous national recognition that we simply cannot afford an ever bigger and more costly government at every level. Until that happens, which won't be anytime soon, plan on higher taxes for your future. Plan on a shrinking economy. As the CBO points out, deficits penalize income, investments, and savings — so plan on that too.

In seeming desperation, our national government is selling record amounts of debt with a plan to borrow our way out of this economic crisis. Long term it can't work; it won't work. Prophets have warned us.

Several times in scripture is recorded the Lord's divine injunction to "Establish a house of order." While federal and state governments are unlikely to put their houses in order any time soon, we can put our own personal houses in order. We can protect our families from the intensifying economic storm clouds roiling all about us.

We can, we must, make our homes safe from the storms while we still have time. (End of Article)

WOW! How many times do we need to hear it and none the less from a Prophet! NOW is the time for us to get ready, even yesterday was a good time. We need to stop wasting time, money and resources and put it all in order.

What am I doing today? Well, just the usual. What could I be doing instead?

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Bullies in the Headlights by Mathew Buckley

This is the sequel to the Chickens in the Headlights book! I think they should be together in the same book but then what would be the point of the "sequel"...and I guess the first book would be too long. The book pretty much starts off right when the last book ended.
This book was just as funny as the first one! I loved it! Little boys are always getting into so much mischief. This book was full of adventures, schemes and friendships. The character seems a little more mature then the last book...he is about a year older but he still is naive and curious like little boys are.
The egg drop is pretty funny! Who would have known what corn starch would do if it is was dropped out of an airplane, unless you tried it!!!
I love the teachable moments with the old guy Sunday School teacher. It was sad to find out that his friends family's home environment was so different from his own loving home.
I loved the Christmas Doorbell Ditching section. (one financially hard year our ward got us for the 12 days of Christmas too.)
I loved the bully's in spite of them being so mean in the beginning. I'm glad that everything came together in the end. (I'm a sucker for happy endings).

I highly recommend this book and the book before it by Mathew Buckley! My son read it 4 times and I lost track of how many times he read the first book but he still quotes from both of them when we do funny things in our family that remind him of the stuff the boys did in the book in their crazy family.

Whole Book

Monday, August 03, 2009

Where are the Seagulls?



The corn is being attacked by GRASSHOPPERS!!!!
They might look small but they are as big as my finger and there are millions of them.

As you can see they are hungry.