Awesome Book. Very insightful and great examples to apply immediately to my personal life. At first I read it in denial and thought of all the people it applied to...but after I picked the book up half way through, 6 months later, I realize that EVERYTHING in the book applies directly to ME. I am the one that needs to change and I am the one that has been going about the whole world with a critical let me fix it for you attitude. I never listen! I haven't listened probably my whole life...I always jump in with a solution to fix things and impart my great wisdom on everyone and anyone. I thought I was helping! I thought I was being nice. BUT it usually isn't what people want...I don't...why would they?
I realize I can't change myself overnight but I can try a little everyday to apply the things in this book and hopefully my relationship with my dear husband and my children and then my siblings and in laws and parents will change. Someday s I will do great and sometimes...I will slip into the old fix it attitude I feel comfortable with. I will apologize ahead of time for all the past fix its and the future fix its that slip.
Whole Book
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Law by Frederick Bastiat
This book was written in the 19th century but it is still applicable today, in fact more today then ever! It is full of truths, very insightful and inspired! He was an old French guy but such a good writer. He defends liberty on every front and I bet there aren't many that can argue with his facts on the flaws in socialism and other isms.
I like the way he says this about isms, "Please understand that I do not dispute their right to invent social combinations, to advertise them, to advocate them and to try them upon themselves, at their own expense and risk. But I do dispute their right to impose these plans upon us by law --by force --and to compel us to pay for them with our taxes....they need only give up the idea of forcing us to acquiesce to their groups and series..."
It is deep yet it is simple enough I could grasps most of it and apply it to my life today. I think I take a lot of our freedoms and laws for granted. I also think many of our laws have way too much government influence and control. This takes away our liberty and our pursuit of happiness.
So even though this book it so good and I highly recommend it to EVERYONE...Some of you might know that it took me over a year to read it! Yep I admit it. There is a lot to absorb but that really isn't the excuse I have...it was just such a dry book...in fact there isn't any adventure or romance or imagination! I kept getting distracted reading other things. AND to top all that off the book is only 85 pages long. That is embarrassing it took me so long. I think I might even read it again and why not again? Really it is good and I learned so much, I am only lazy lazy lazy.
Bastiat quotes Louis Blanc, "Society receives its momentum from power" This is the idea politicians accept. Then Bastiat says, "This will remain the case so long as human beings with feelings continue to remain passive; so long as they consider themselves incapable of bettering their prosperity and happiness by their own intelligence and their own energy; so long as they expect everything from the law; in short, so long as they imagine that their relationship to the state is the same as that of the sheep to the shepherd."
What does this quote say to you?
Whole Book
I like the way he says this about isms, "Please understand that I do not dispute their right to invent social combinations, to advertise them, to advocate them and to try them upon themselves, at their own expense and risk. But I do dispute their right to impose these plans upon us by law --by force --and to compel us to pay for them with our taxes....they need only give up the idea of forcing us to acquiesce to their groups and series..."
It is deep yet it is simple enough I could grasps most of it and apply it to my life today. I think I take a lot of our freedoms and laws for granted. I also think many of our laws have way too much government influence and control. This takes away our liberty and our pursuit of happiness.
So even though this book it so good and I highly recommend it to EVERYONE...Some of you might know that it took me over a year to read it! Yep I admit it. There is a lot to absorb but that really isn't the excuse I have...it was just such a dry book...in fact there isn't any adventure or romance or imagination! I kept getting distracted reading other things. AND to top all that off the book is only 85 pages long. That is embarrassing it took me so long. I think I might even read it again and why not again? Really it is good and I learned so much, I am only lazy lazy lazy.
Bastiat quotes Louis Blanc, "Society receives its momentum from power" This is the idea politicians accept. Then Bastiat says, "This will remain the case so long as human beings with feelings continue to remain passive; so long as they consider themselves incapable of bettering their prosperity and happiness by their own intelligence and their own energy; so long as they expect everything from the law; in short, so long as they imagine that their relationship to the state is the same as that of the sheep to the shepherd."
What does this quote say to you?
Whole Book
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Reading habits?
The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Add a 'L'to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (p) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total at the bottom.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen--Lx
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien-- Lx
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte-- X L
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling-X
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - P
6 The Bible-X L
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte-- XL
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell—P
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman x L
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens—P
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott-- XL
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy--
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller--
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare-- P
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier-
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien--XL
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger-- X
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot-- x
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell x
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald--X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens--P
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams—XL
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh-
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky--P
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck- x
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll-X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame--P
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy- x
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens--p
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis-- XL
34 Emma - Jane Austen- Lx
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen-Lx
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe -- XL
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini --x
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden- X
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne-- X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell—
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown-- x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery --XL
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy--
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood--
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding--P
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan-
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel--X
52 Dune - Frank Herbert--X
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons-
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen- x L
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon-
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens--P
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley--
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon--
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck-- P
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov-
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold--
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac-
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding-
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens --
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker-
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett-- XL
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce--
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath--
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray--
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens--X
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell--
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker--
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert--
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White--X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom x
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—X
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton--
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad--
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery-X
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams--x
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas-P
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare-X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl--X
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo- xL
My total is 36. I was surprised at how many I didn't recognize. I wonder where they came up with this motley list.
Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Add a 'L'to the ones you LOVE.
3) Star (p) those you plan on reading.
4) Tally your total at the bottom.
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen--Lx
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien-- Lx
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte-- X L
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling-X
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - P
6 The Bible-X L
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte-- XL
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell—P
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman x L
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens—P
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott-- XL
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy--
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller--
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare-- P
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier-
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien--XL
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger-- X
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot-- x
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell x
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald--X
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens--P
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams—XL
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh-
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky--P
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck- x
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll-X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame--P
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy- x
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens--p
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis-- XL
34 Emma - Jane Austen- Lx
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen-Lx
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe -- XL
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini --x
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden- X
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne-- X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell—
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown-- x
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery --XL
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy--
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood--
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding--P
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan-
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel--X
52 Dune - Frank Herbert--X
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons-
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen- x L
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon-
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens--P
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley--
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon--
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck-- P
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov-
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold--
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac-
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding-
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens --
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker-
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett-- XL
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce--
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath--
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray--
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens--X
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell--
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker--
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert--
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White--X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom x
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle—X
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton--
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad--
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery-X
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams--x
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas-P
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare-X
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl--X
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo- xL
My total is 36. I was surprised at how many I didn't recognize. I wonder where they came up with this motley list.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland Indiana by Haven Kimmel
Hmm, it was a fast read and I don't know what all the excitement is about. I found it kind of boring. I wouldn't want to read it in my book group.
It is about a small time town in Indiana. It is told from a child's point of view from birth to about 10 years old. It starts our a bit charming but then gets a bit weird when she talks about the animals that are killed by her neighbors and the lack of compassion she has for life in general or the people around her. She seems precocious but is really a very obnoxious kid. I think her take on religion kind of straggled away from the plot of the story.
This memoir is nice but could really use some editing. Her sister was right...why would anyone want to read about her life as a little girl in a town of 300 and a broken family? It just wasn't what I was expecting. It never got better just blah.
broken book
It is about a small time town in Indiana. It is told from a child's point of view from birth to about 10 years old. It starts our a bit charming but then gets a bit weird when she talks about the animals that are killed by her neighbors and the lack of compassion she has for life in general or the people around her. She seems precocious but is really a very obnoxious kid. I think her take on religion kind of straggled away from the plot of the story.
This memoir is nice but could really use some editing. Her sister was right...why would anyone want to read about her life as a little girl in a town of 300 and a broken family? It just wasn't what I was expecting. It never got better just blah.
broken book
The Case Against the Fed by Murray N. Rothbard
Hmmm, this was an interesting book...for all of the %10 I understood. Economics has never been my strong point. But it wasn't a total waste of time. In fact now I understand Atlas Shrugged a little better! Ha Ha.
What I got from the book is this...counterfeiting is bad and the Federal Reserve is essentially doing this very well and no one cares enough to put a stop to it. FOR YEARS!!! No one checks up on the Feds and most rich and powerful people in the history of the US (plus Presidents of the US) are all in on the scandal right under our noses. The American people are really quite ignorant of the whole thing...including me last week because we are too lazy to learn anything about banking and economics.
The solution...well it took two of the last pages to cover this one...go back to gold coins and don't print any more green paper money in the USA. I'm not sure this would work but at least it would be something since the nation is so totally in debt and the Feds got us there in the first place! They are very good liars and try to make themselves the heroes. Not!
Check out this blog for a better explanation of the Feds today and our economic crisis.
Whole Book
What I got from the book is this...counterfeiting is bad and the Federal Reserve is essentially doing this very well and no one cares enough to put a stop to it. FOR YEARS!!! No one checks up on the Feds and most rich and powerful people in the history of the US (plus Presidents of the US) are all in on the scandal right under our noses. The American people are really quite ignorant of the whole thing...including me last week because we are too lazy to learn anything about banking and economics.
The solution...well it took two of the last pages to cover this one...go back to gold coins and don't print any more green paper money in the USA. I'm not sure this would work but at least it would be something since the nation is so totally in debt and the Feds got us there in the first place! They are very good liars and try to make themselves the heroes. Not!
Check out this blog for a better explanation of the Feds today and our economic crisis.
Whole Book
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Empire by Orson Scott Card
Yikes, what a scary and exciting book! Written in 2006 it is amazing what some of the parallels to our society today are! It is of course fictional but makes many points about the political system and all the corruptness that is happening today.
Card makes up an American Civil War in the near future. There is all kinds of military things happening and espionage and of course terrorists. This was a fast read because I couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened next. I think he plans on making it a tv series or movie or something because it is written in tiny bursts of adventure and adrenaline scenes, one after the other....there really isn't a lot of time for getting into each characters head and developing deep dialogs or plots like Ender's Game.
What is really creepy is all the killing that happened and how important it is to defend ones family and have a plan. You have to be prepared and watch your back. You don't know who is your enemy. The police, the army the special ops, the CIA the President of the US or even the people you work with could be on the other side or just following orders from someone corrupt further up the line.
It is kind of a mystery book that unravels as it goes along. It was very good and worth reading.
Healing Book
Card makes up an American Civil War in the near future. There is all kinds of military things happening and espionage and of course terrorists. This was a fast read because I couldn't put it down. I had to know what happened next. I think he plans on making it a tv series or movie or something because it is written in tiny bursts of adventure and adrenaline scenes, one after the other....there really isn't a lot of time for getting into each characters head and developing deep dialogs or plots like Ender's Game.
What is really creepy is all the killing that happened and how important it is to defend ones family and have a plan. You have to be prepared and watch your back. You don't know who is your enemy. The police, the army the special ops, the CIA the President of the US or even the people you work with could be on the other side or just following orders from someone corrupt further up the line.
It is kind of a mystery book that unravels as it goes along. It was very good and worth reading.
Healing Book
Thursday, February 05, 2009
History of Hyde Park in Utah's Cache Valley, 1860-1990 by Dale Z Kirby
This is the tour of the new town we moved to in the last 3 months. It has such a rich pioneer heritage. I just finished reading History of Hyde Park in Utah's Cache Valley, 1860-1990 by Dale Z. Kirby. The author is a direct decedent of one of the first settlers in this town and had some very interesting journal entries from his ancestors.
My favorite part of the book was finding out that quite a few of the people that live in our ward are related to the early pioneers in Hyde Park! And it is really cool that our house was built by a guy in our ward's dad, who is related to the early settlers in this valley. And the water we get from the tap is from the natural Spring that attracted people to settle here in the first place!
This is a picture of the view from the up the hill just past the church. It shows the mountains west of Hyde Park over in Logan and beyond.
The church we attend is just around the corner from our house. It is a newer stake center build in the late 1990's but one of the first things they did when the pioneers got here was build a church. They had to keep rebuilding it bigger and bigger as more settlers came into the valley. They added a gymnasium where most of the fun dances and community events were held for a long time. Basketball and Baseball were very very popular to keep the youth from getting too bored and out of mischief.
The first bishop called by Brigham Young was William Hyde. He also served with Joseph Smith in the Mormon Battalion. He was a hard worker and a fair and honest man. He organized and lead the people in Hyde Park to build a community that cared for the people, their God, the land and the freedoms we have in this country.
Many people in Hyde Park also helped in the quarries to bring the rock down for the building of the Logan Temple.
This is a picture to the East. North Logan's mountains. We look at these mountains our our kitchen window! I love them covered with snow!
Hyde Park is actually only 3.2 Square miles. There are only just under
2,000 people living here. All of the shopping and businesses are in Logan. There isn't anything here but neighborhoods and farmland. We do have our own city building, community center and post office and a few parks but the schools are all in Logan and Smithfield. But the early settlers took education very seriously. There was always schools built in Hyde Park but they are all burned down or fallen down but one, it is still used today but is part of the North Logan School district. Many many people from Hyde Park were teachers and administrators in other schools nearby. Plus the university is USU is just 4 miles away over in Logan. 4-H was very popular and still is today.
It is a really cool place to live. The early settlers used to have dairy farms, mink farms, the RS sisters got into raising silk worms so they didn't just have to wear wool all the time. There were lots of sugar beets grown here and hay. They had a train station just down the road so they could get mail and goods from other towns. There used to be a co-op grocery store and a few other stores. But in the middle 1900's the town voted to limit businesses and growth in the town because it was getting to crowded and expensive to get water to the new homes. There are also a lot of canals running all through Hyde Park. Everyone had a barn and gardens on their property. There are a lot of people today that still have horses and small gardens. There were even polygamists in the 1800's that lived here in town...until they made it against the law and the rules of the church and they had to work our other options for living and caring for their multiple families. The police and fire stations are today combined with North Logan's and even the Library. It is just a mile down the road from us but in N. Logan. So we do all of our shopping and errands in Logan where they have grocery stores and the DI and Kohl's, a tiny mall, Walmart, Home Depot, Borders and restraunts plus lots of other stores because it is a "big" university town.
Our house has a big backyard and a few fruit trees. It also has a little barn and the water is on an irrigation water share system. There are Llamas behind our property owned by one of our neighbors and most of the neighbors near us all have goats,chickens, dogs and cats.
Our cool house!
Look at the awesome icicles hanging from our roof !
We love it here! We miss CALIF. but this is where we live now. It will be a great place for the kids to just run around and have fun all summer! We can't wait to jump into the fun of Hyde Park!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
25 Thing
Tagged on Facebook...here are my 25 random things about me just off the top of my head.
1. I get really frustrated trying to figure out simple things on the computer...like writing this? Did I put it in the right place on facebook? Did I do it right?
2.I love the snow! I love to ski, snowboard, snowshoe, throw snowballs and snow cave!
3. If someone else is remembering it or it is written down then I won't remember it.
4.I like to argue.
5.I like butter not margarine or other fake spreads.
6.I hardly ever ever read a book twice...I like suspense and if I already read it then I know what is going to happen next and it isn't as fun.
7.I put lotion on my hands about 6 times a day.
8.I always add water to the 100% juice container when the kids aren't looking, it makes it go further. Last night I added too much and my husband said it tasted nasty and wouldn't drink it. Ha Ha.
9.I look forward to Sundays.
10. I always go 8-10 days overdue. My babies like to bake!
11.My birthday always lands on or near Pres. day so it is like I get a holiday just for me!
12.I don't like to touch dog fur, if I do I wash my hands as soon as possible.
13. I don't mind handling and cooking raw meat as long as I hold my breath.
14. I love to talk. I am working on listening.
15. I have always wanted to go to Alaska.
16. I have never touched warm ocean water.
18.When I was growing up my family owned a small farm and I milked goats twice a day.
19. I am a really good shot with a rifle.
20. I really enjoy learning. I love to teach what I know to others.
21. I went to Wood badge this summer and am working on my two last tickets.
22. We moved in December but I haven't made any new bosom friends yet. (A term used by Anne of Green Gables if you don't know what I"m talking about.)
23. I love to read Jane Austen. I also like fantasy and fiction, but right now I am reading a history book for the new city we moved too and it is just fascinating!
24. I wore braces on my upper teeth for 2 1/2 years.
25. I am turning into my mother and I try to resist but it isn't working!
1. I get really frustrated trying to figure out simple things on the computer...like writing this? Did I put it in the right place on facebook? Did I do it right?
2.I love the snow! I love to ski, snowboard, snowshoe, throw snowballs and snow cave!
3. If someone else is remembering it or it is written down then I won't remember it.
4.I like to argue.
5.I like butter not margarine or other fake spreads.
6.I hardly ever ever read a book twice...I like suspense and if I already read it then I know what is going to happen next and it isn't as fun.
7.I put lotion on my hands about 6 times a day.
8.I always add water to the 100% juice container when the kids aren't looking, it makes it go further. Last night I added too much and my husband said it tasted nasty and wouldn't drink it. Ha Ha.
9.I look forward to Sundays.
10. I always go 8-10 days overdue. My babies like to bake!
11.My birthday always lands on or near Pres. day so it is like I get a holiday just for me!
12.I don't like to touch dog fur, if I do I wash my hands as soon as possible.
13. I don't mind handling and cooking raw meat as long as I hold my breath.
14. I love to talk. I am working on listening.
15. I have always wanted to go to Alaska.
16. I have never touched warm ocean water.
18.When I was growing up my family owned a small farm and I milked goats twice a day.
19. I am a really good shot with a rifle.
20. I really enjoy learning. I love to teach what I know to others.
21. I went to Wood badge this summer and am working on my two last tickets.
22. We moved in December but I haven't made any new bosom friends yet. (A term used by Anne of Green Gables if you don't know what I"m talking about.)
23. I love to read Jane Austen. I also like fantasy and fiction, but right now I am reading a history book for the new city we moved too and it is just fascinating!
24. I wore braces on my upper teeth for 2 1/2 years.
25. I am turning into my mother and I try to resist but it isn't working!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Incredible Edible? Egg...
Well, sometimes it really gets cold in Utah. Especially in North Logan. We suspect that the poor freezing cold chicken had a very hard night in the old chicken coop and out plopped this.
Amazing. Do you feel sorry for the hen?
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Wedding Cake!
This is a long overdue post about Geoff and Anita's remade wedding cake, by me!
So first they had a reception and Anita's mom's friend made the cake. But long before that my mom planned to have an open house so her ward would get to see the newly wedded couple too. This was scheduled around the 1st of the year a few weeks after they were married. Mom asked me to do the cake. I did a few other cakes for family and they were so much more work then I ever imagined...I was thinking this time around I will do something simple, yet elegant. Fondant! Instead of using my favorite whip cream icing that can only be found in CA I will try a new kind of smooth cake.
I viewed a ton of youtube videos on how to do the fondant, originally called marzipan...it's a type of almond paste. It tastes disgusting, unless you are from Spain or Germany. It is fun to make into all kinds of shapes. It feels like slightly dry play-dough and you can make it any color. It just needs to be smooth without air bubbles for the cake and you have to do it fast or it will dry out. Simple enough, right?
I found it on sale at Michael's and it was also available online or at Walmart but not at such a good price as Michael's if you have their coupon. I also needed a few other tools and stuff for the cake so I saved the coupon each week and bought the needed supplies one at a time at 40% to 50% off. I'm so thrifty!
This is the original cake for the reception (I didn't make it.)...when I saw it I couldn't believe it was almost exactly like I was going to make it! Ribbon on the bottom of each layer and I wanted a topper on the top and maybe a bow. Her colors were green, black and white.
I was talking to Anita's mom afterward when she was just about going to chuck the whole thing...it had three layers, two were made of Styrofoam. Ah Ha! I could just reuse the bottom of the cake. Only the top was real cake and I could make another real cake for the top and change it a bit! Her mom thought that was a great idea and we took it home!
Here are two fake layers. I had to clean it up a bit and I changed the ribbon.
Then I was ready to operate:
The girls helped me make the little balls to match the bottom layer. They made quite a few before we had enough that were relatively the same size.
TA DA! Now three layers...you can't even tell one was added!
The problem was we had to take out all the roses that went up the side of the cake. Then there were holes on that side. I then needed to fill in the holes or cover them. I thought I would add a few flat flowers that I cut out with a little tiny teeny cookie cutter but it looked so tacky. So I needed a ribbon bow to cascade down the side to hide the mess. Only I don't know how to tie ribbon bows that are beautiful. I asked all my sisters and sister in laws and finally my mom said her neighbor used to work as a florist and she would probably tie it for me. She did in less then a minute...perfect!
Then I had these really poky little bride and groom toppers that I found at the dollar store for 60 cents each. They were just so cute I couldn't pass them up! I think she looks like a little Anita and he almost looks like a love struck Geoff. I covered the bottom blue part with the same green ribbon and it looks like it matches.
They are so cute!
.jpg)
The funniest part is the bride is actually allergic to cake and dairy and stuff. So she just pretended to eat it. That was nice of her.
AND after all that fussing and work... the rest was just thrown into the garbage. You can see the Styrofoam layers. And I walked away. The End.
So first they had a reception and Anita's mom's friend made the cake. But long before that my mom planned to have an open house so her ward would get to see the newly wedded couple too. This was scheduled around the 1st of the year a few weeks after they were married. Mom asked me to do the cake. I did a few other cakes for family and they were so much more work then I ever imagined...I was thinking this time around I will do something simple, yet elegant. Fondant! Instead of using my favorite whip cream icing that can only be found in CA I will try a new kind of smooth cake.
I viewed a ton of youtube videos on how to do the fondant, originally called marzipan...it's a type of almond paste. It tastes disgusting, unless you are from Spain or Germany. It is fun to make into all kinds of shapes. It feels like slightly dry play-dough and you can make it any color. It just needs to be smooth without air bubbles for the cake and you have to do it fast or it will dry out. Simple enough, right?
I found it on sale at Michael's and it was also available online or at Walmart but not at such a good price as Michael's if you have their coupon. I also needed a few other tools and stuff for the cake so I saved the coupon each week and bought the needed supplies one at a time at 40% to 50% off. I'm so thrifty!
This is the original cake for the reception (I didn't make it.)...when I saw it I couldn't believe it was almost exactly like I was going to make it! Ribbon on the bottom of each layer and I wanted a topper on the top and maybe a bow. Her colors were green, black and white.
I was talking to Anita's mom afterward when she was just about going to chuck the whole thing...it had three layers, two were made of Styrofoam. Ah Ha! I could just reuse the bottom of the cake. Only the top was real cake and I could make another real cake for the top and change it a bit! Her mom thought that was a great idea and we took it home!
Here are two fake layers. I had to clean it up a bit and I changed the ribbon.
Then I was ready to operate:
The girls helped me make the little balls to match the bottom layer. They made quite a few before we had enough that were relatively the same size.
TA DA! Now three layers...you can't even tell one was added!
The problem was we had to take out all the roses that went up the side of the cake. Then there were holes on that side. I then needed to fill in the holes or cover them. I thought I would add a few flat flowers that I cut out with a little tiny teeny cookie cutter but it looked so tacky. So I needed a ribbon bow to cascade down the side to hide the mess. Only I don't know how to tie ribbon bows that are beautiful. I asked all my sisters and sister in laws and finally my mom said her neighbor used to work as a florist and she would probably tie it for me. She did in less then a minute...perfect!
Then I had these really poky little bride and groom toppers that I found at the dollar store for 60 cents each. They were just so cute I couldn't pass them up! I think she looks like a little Anita and he almost looks like a love struck Geoff. I covered the bottom blue part with the same green ribbon and it looks like it matches.
They are so cute!
.jpg)
The funniest part is the bride is actually allergic to cake and dairy and stuff. So she just pretended to eat it. That was nice of her.
AND after all that fussing and work... the rest was just thrown into the garbage. You can see the Styrofoam layers. And I walked away. The End.
Friday, January 16, 2009
These Three Remain: A novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan
Wow this was the best book to finish the series written as a spin "in" not "off" of Pride and Prejudice but from Darcy's point of view. I had so much fun with it that I pulled out my Austen book or the original P.P. and read about every other chapter going back and forth so I could hear Elizabeth's perspective and then Darcy's with all the small details filled in. He was so in love with her it was amazing he could ever get anything done...his whole life was filled with her in his thoughts and actions.
I think the author did a great job keeping faithful to the people and the events in Austen's original P.P. but adding details of Darcy's life that paint a whole picture!
SPOILERS:
If you remember in the middle of P.P Darcy gets rejected by Elizabeth when he proposes to her while staying with Lady Catherine, his aunt, for Easter. Darcy goes into a depression, treats everyone mean, then gets really really drunk one night...almost makes the worst decision of his life while attending a party of people trying to blackmail him and ends up getting saved by his really good friend that turns out to be a gov. spy! (never heard it like that did you?).
Then Darcy takes a journey of self-discovery as he tires to be the man his father would have wanted him to be and who he always thought he was...a gentleman. He has to come to term with his flaws and over come all the lies in his life about his character. He ends up thinking more about others then just himself and his family. He reaches out to help Elizabeth's little sister, he rights the mistake he made by discouraging his best friend from marrying the person he loved. He takes back some mean words he said to some friends and he confides in his dear sister and treats her like a grown up not a child anymore. He has a really funny Valet, Fletcher which he takes advice from as he quotes Shakespeare too. He puts his pride away and in the meantime Elizabeth is putting her prejudice away as she learns the truth about Wickam the evil, lying, gambling younger sister stealer and as she sees Darcy from a different point of view.
In the end it is "happier ever after" and a sigh of relief as they are finally married.
Whole Book
I think the author did a great job keeping faithful to the people and the events in Austen's original P.P. but adding details of Darcy's life that paint a whole picture!
SPOILERS:
If you remember in the middle of P.P Darcy gets rejected by Elizabeth when he proposes to her while staying with Lady Catherine, his aunt, for Easter. Darcy goes into a depression, treats everyone mean, then gets really really drunk one night...almost makes the worst decision of his life while attending a party of people trying to blackmail him and ends up getting saved by his really good friend that turns out to be a gov. spy! (never heard it like that did you?).
Then Darcy takes a journey of self-discovery as he tires to be the man his father would have wanted him to be and who he always thought he was...a gentleman. He has to come to term with his flaws and over come all the lies in his life about his character. He ends up thinking more about others then just himself and his family. He reaches out to help Elizabeth's little sister, he rights the mistake he made by discouraging his best friend from marrying the person he loved. He takes back some mean words he said to some friends and he confides in his dear sister and treats her like a grown up not a child anymore. He has a really funny Valet, Fletcher which he takes advice from as he quotes Shakespeare too. He puts his pride away and in the meantime Elizabeth is putting her prejudice away as she learns the truth about Wickam the evil, lying, gambling younger sister stealer and as she sees Darcy from a different point of view.
In the end it is "happier ever after" and a sigh of relief as they are finally married.
Whole Book
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Duty and Desire: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan
BOOK 2:
I am hooked on the Pride and Prejudice by Austen and this is just more to feast on. The book is all from Darcy's point of view and what he was doing the whole time he left Elizabeth's town and convinced his best friend Bingly to also.
The whole entire book he is going back and forth in his mind comparing Elizabeth to other ladies he meets, he dreams of her, he thinks of her he obsesses about her and he relies on these memories to help him through a tough decision. She was always the example of good and grounded.
This book has a bit of a twist...in fact it takes on its own adventure/mystery and is somewhat, I think, out of character for the always fair and unreadable tightwad Darcy. He shows emotion and he shares opinions and he almost falls for another girl! Yikes!
Luckily his trusty valet comes to his rescue more then once. They are really quite tight when it comes to confiding in each other about women, his love life, future and what to wear...(obviously the author was a women). It is still interesting and a good read.
The last book in the series should be even better because it will actually have the rest of the story and Elizabeth in it...this book didn't have her there once...only in his thoughts and memories.
Healing Book, Slightly Broken but kind of in a gray area.
I am hooked on the Pride and Prejudice by Austen and this is just more to feast on. The book is all from Darcy's point of view and what he was doing the whole time he left Elizabeth's town and convinced his best friend Bingly to also.
The whole entire book he is going back and forth in his mind comparing Elizabeth to other ladies he meets, he dreams of her, he thinks of her he obsesses about her and he relies on these memories to help him through a tough decision. She was always the example of good and grounded.
This book has a bit of a twist...in fact it takes on its own adventure/mystery and is somewhat, I think, out of character for the always fair and unreadable tightwad Darcy. He shows emotion and he shares opinions and he almost falls for another girl! Yikes!
Luckily his trusty valet comes to his rescue more then once. They are really quite tight when it comes to confiding in each other about women, his love life, future and what to wear...(obviously the author was a women). It is still interesting and a good read.
The last book in the series should be even better because it will actually have the rest of the story and Elizabeth in it...this book didn't have her there once...only in his thoughts and memories.
Healing Book, Slightly Broken but kind of in a gray area.
Friday, January 09, 2009
Sarah by Orsen Scott Card
This was a surprisingly good book. Of course it is fiction but the author tried to keep all the facts from the Bible in there plus give an accurate description of the time and place. Abraham and Sarah lived near Egypt, in Egypt and in the dessert near Sodom and Gomorah during one of the pharaohs reigns and during the destruction of those two greatly wicked cities. Card really got into the head of Sarah and what she was thinking all that time she was barren, couldn't have children yet the Lord had promised her seed to rule for generations after her in the land of Cannan.
The only fault I found was that Sarah was a bit too sensitive to her infertility and obsessed over it a little too much...she must have done so much more in her life that it wouldn't constantly have been on her mind every single day every minute of her life...for almost a hundred years! I think she would have come to terms with it long ago, especially with a wonderful husband like Abraham that loved her no matter what. (But then I am not infertile so I really can't say what was going through her mind...but I would think with enough faith the Lord could heal an aching heart even if it was not being able to have children.)
So I guess I will read the other two books in the series...I'm hooked!
WHOLE BOOK
The only fault I found was that Sarah was a bit too sensitive to her infertility and obsessed over it a little too much...she must have done so much more in her life that it wouldn't constantly have been on her mind every single day every minute of her life...for almost a hundred years! I think she would have come to terms with it long ago, especially with a wonderful husband like Abraham that loved her no matter what. (But then I am not infertile so I really can't say what was going through her mind...but I would think with enough faith the Lord could heal an aching heart even if it was not being able to have children.)
So I guess I will read the other two books in the series...I'm hooked!
WHOLE BOOK
Friday, January 02, 2009
Book List READ in 2008
It is time to reveal the list...did I waste my time or did I read stuff to improve myself and the world around me? Well, to be honest I am a little disappointed with this years list...I can blame it on moving and not having a library card or I don't have my two book groups that I love in CA here in UT and haven't joined one here yet..or that there is just so much junk to read out there in the main steam right now and I gave into temptation. Excuses excuses...Anyway, my goal each year is to read 50 or more books but I have come up short by 2 books this year. If I counted magazines or some more smaller children's books I am way over this goal but I don't count those so I am under. Still I read a lot and had fun!
1,2,3:Addy An American Girl Series book 4,5,6 by C. Port...
4:A Dog's Life by Anne M. Martin
5:Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis *
6:The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
7:An Assembly Such As This (Book 1) by Pamela Aidan
8:A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett *
9:The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett *
10:Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
11:Journey To The Center Of The Earth by Jules Verne
12:Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale
13:Prince Caspian by CS Lewis *
14:The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis *
15:The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis *
16: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis*
17:Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
18:Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl *
19:Sherlock Holmes selected stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
20:The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey *
21:Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
22:Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey
23:Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter *
24:The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
25:The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin *
26:Specials by Scott Westerfield
27:Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
28:Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
29:Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories
30:A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 13 The End By Lemony Snicket
31:Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
32:The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
33: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
34: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
35:Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
36:Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
37:Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
38:New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
39:Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
40:Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
41:Out of Nowhere by Ouida Sebestyen
42:Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
43:The Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark
44:Rules by Cynthia Lord
45:Joseph Smith the prophet by Trueman G. Madsen *
46:Aesop's Fables retold by Ann McGovern
47:The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
48:Your Mother Was A Person: A Work In Progress by Louis M. Palmer *
* Are the books I would recommend and read again that I feel were not a waste of time! Sadly out of the whole list there were only 12. *
1,2,3:Addy An American Girl Series book 4,5,6 by C. Port...
4:A Dog's Life by Anne M. Martin
5:Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis *
6:The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
7:An Assembly Such As This (Book 1) by Pamela Aidan
8:A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett *
9:The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett *
10:Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
11:Journey To The Center Of The Earth by Jules Verne
12:Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale
13:Prince Caspian by CS Lewis *
14:The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis *
15:The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis *
16: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis*
17:Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
18:Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl *
19:Sherlock Holmes selected stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
20:The Dragonriders of Pern by Anne McCaffrey *
21:Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
22:Dragonsdawn by Anne McCaffrey
23:Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter *
24:The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
25:The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin *
26:Specials by Scott Westerfield
27:Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
28:Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
29:Roald Dahl's Book of Ghost Stories
30:A Series of Unfortunate Events Book 13 The End By Lemony Snicket
31:Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
32:The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
33: The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman
34: The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman
35:Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
36:Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
37:Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer
38:New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
39:Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
40:Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
41:Out of Nowhere by Ouida Sebestyen
42:Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
43:The Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark
44:Rules by Cynthia Lord
45:Joseph Smith the prophet by Trueman G. Madsen *
46:Aesop's Fables retold by Ann McGovern
47:The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
48:Your Mother Was A Person: A Work In Progress by Louis M. Palmer *
* Are the books I would recommend and read again that I feel were not a waste of time! Sadly out of the whole list there were only 12. *
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Addy An American Girl Series book 4,5,6 by C. Porter
My daughter and I read these out loud over the summer for her Liberty Girls club. They are cute little historical fiction books about a girl named Addy. She is black and was a slave. Her family escapes and tries to make a new life being free in the North. Her brother fights in the Civil War. They were interesting and informative to read because they incorporated so much of the culture and the attitudes toward blacks during that time period. They each had a special message about standing up for what you believe and not giving up when it is hard. They were always talking about the power of HOPE even if it seems like everything is going wrong.
Whole Books
Whole Books
A Dog's Life by Anne M. Martin
This is an autobiography of a stray dog. I'm glad I am not a dog. This was a very very boring book. We kept listening to it because we thought it might get better. It didn't...the poor dog went through all kinds of adventures but nothing special or remarkable. Luckily it had a happy ending with the stray dog finally finding a human to spend the old dog days with to the end.
Whole book
Whole book
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
This was a good book. It even made me cry! It takes place in thelate 1930's during the Great Depression in America. I love the descriptions from a little boys point of view, especially the vampire scares.-- And the library! I laughed at the funny impressions he got of librarians. "I have a treat for you!" He knew that librarians and little kids think treats are very different but he pretended to be excited when she showed him the huge civil war history book.
This was a great read-out-loud book. The kids enjoyed it too.
Whole Book, Healing Book
This was a great read-out-loud book. The kids enjoyed it too.
Whole Book, Healing Book
Friday, December 05, 2008
35 books, falling short this year!
sheez...we moved to Utah and I stopped reading! Yikes! My goal this year was to read 50 books and I am only at 35...I need 15 more and that is almost a book a day! I don't even have a library card because I don't pay utility bills! They won't give me one if i don't have a utility bill at the address we are staying! I did borrow one from my sister for half the summer but I usually just got books for the kids...
Okay lets see if I can still reach the goal...I did finish 3 books this week and started 2 others...uhh that isn't a book a day! Maybe I will spend all day tomorrow at a bookstore and find only short children's books...no that is defeating the point of the goal. I could stop blogging so much and watch less tv and then I would have more time to read!
Uh, maybe I forgot a few books and haven't recorded them on the list...I better check with the kids and see if I missed any...panic!
Okay lets see if I can still reach the goal...I did finish 3 books this week and started 2 others...uhh that isn't a book a day! Maybe I will spend all day tomorrow at a bookstore and find only short children's books...no that is defeating the point of the goal. I could stop blogging so much and watch less tv and then I would have more time to read!
Uh, maybe I forgot a few books and haven't recorded them on the list...I better check with the kids and see if I missed any...panic!
The Five People You Meet In Heaven by Mitch Albom
I heard this was a movie but I haven't seen it yet. I think my mother in law recommended the movie a while back. I just happened to see the book at the library and took it home. Yep, it was a good book. Surprising and a little creepy, death sometimes is because there is so much unknown.
Pretty much the guy dies, he meets 5 different people that have been waiting for him to tell him something about their lives, ask for forgiveness or get forgiveness or teach him something important and then they can go on to the next part of heaven themselves.
What makes the book so very very interesting is this ordinary man's life. He thinks he didn't make a different or accomplish anything but because all of our lives are connected without even knowing it he made a huge difference to millions of people. He fought in the Vietnam war, or the war before that. He was a hero but never thought about it that way when he got back because of all the garbage and yucky things he had to go through as a soldier. He loved his wife, deeply. He hated his job but this was where he made the biggest difference in the world. Little things are big things. Some parts of the book were really sad, some were yucky because war just is, but some of the book was very inspiring.
I recommend it for a good fast read that will make you reflect on life and maybe see things from a new angle.
Healing Book
Pretty much the guy dies, he meets 5 different people that have been waiting for him to tell him something about their lives, ask for forgiveness or get forgiveness or teach him something important and then they can go on to the next part of heaven themselves.
What makes the book so very very interesting is this ordinary man's life. He thinks he didn't make a different or accomplish anything but because all of our lives are connected without even knowing it he made a huge difference to millions of people. He fought in the Vietnam war, or the war before that. He was a hero but never thought about it that way when he got back because of all the garbage and yucky things he had to go through as a soldier. He loved his wife, deeply. He hated his job but this was where he made the biggest difference in the world. Little things are big things. Some parts of the book were really sad, some were yucky because war just is, but some of the book was very inspiring.
I recommend it for a good fast read that will make you reflect on life and maybe see things from a new angle.
Healing Book
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)