I like to move it, move it!

oh, wait. . . no, I don't. Moving and packing sucks! This weekend Cass and I packed up both our cars with his junk and drove to my house. This morning he carried on to Cedar, and we unloaded my car's worth of his stuff into the garage. But here is all my stuff! 

One wall of my room *just tilt your head a little*  (also I'm very excited and grateful for my new vacuum -- courtesy of some amazing Swallows :) )

The landing of the stairs. . . it's almost entirely books and shoes!

Tilt your head once more to see the foot of my bed with some of our new bedding -- The large quilt on bottom is from Grandma Swallow. 

 

 

 

So this is what I have packed so far . . . now just to get it to Cedar!

Sweet Grandmas, Quilts, and Weddings

My grandma passed away January 15, 2007. She was the mist kind, loving, selfless woman I have ever met. I won't go into brag-mode, but suffice it to say I consider myself blessed to have had her example. I sure hope she wore of on me.

As I plan my wedding, I am oft thinking of how things would be different if she were here. She was both an expert seamstress and quilter. She made stockings for all of us by our first Christmas, would randomly make us quilts, sewed my baptism dress, and was apparently finishing my mom's wedding dress on the way to the temple! While Grandma probably would've sewn my wedding dress, what I wanted most was a wedding ring quilt. You know, one of those old school ones that take forever to make and represent eternity. Well my mom loves my brother-in-law enough to make him a stocking last Christmas, but she doesn't love me enough to make me a quilt. And so I was resigned to store bought quilts until someone taught me to make my own.

This weekend I was thrown a lovely shower by my sweet new aunts and girl cousins. Grandma Swallow was able to leave her mission for the afternoon and come as well. And she made me a gorgeous quilt! I was just blown away that she would take the time out of her busy schedule to make me -- someone she hardly knows-- such a wonderful gift. Even the aunts and Grandma McCoy. I have met these people once before, and they were also so kind and welcoming. It was great!

And yes I love and miss my grandma. But these women will be wonderful togave in my life as well.

yes I said yes I will Yes

Happy Bloomsday, y'all!

In case you don't know, Bloomsday is the day in which Ulysses takes place, as well as the date of Joyce's first date with his later wife, Nora. Ulysses is actually in her honor, I believe. Apparently Dublin is the place to be today . . . Maybe next year?

So go read Joyce and celebrate his special day! Or atleast take someone on a date; she just might end up your wife!

Cuz crazy is perfect, so I will be perfect. . .

So . . . my life is a little crazy. I've been a little busy. But here's the run down on my haps as of late. 

Saturday I took the kids to 7 peaks. I sunscreened them and totally forgot about myself.  That sure hurt, and I learned my lesson! It was nice to just relax and read in the sunshine though. 

Tuesday I headed up to Salt Lake to have dinner with Cass and his boss. BBQ -- Delicious!

Wednesday the lovely ladies in the ward threw me a shower, and I was pleased with the attendance of ladies from the old ward and some friends -- as well as a very special friend's mom! Highlights were my new cookie press, my stack-able cooling racks (which I'm way too excited about!) and being able to chat it up with Nattie Cat :) Downside: I don't know Cass we'll enough, apparently, and ended up having to stick about ten pieces of gum in my mouth, which really isn't that big!!

Saturday was a crazy busy day! I had the eye doctor- lovely- and am not too much worse (yet I never ever ever! drive home from the eye doctor -- not safe!!). Then Cass came down and we headed to the Stone Family Reunion for lunch and some games. For dinner we headed up to meet Cass's best friend (and his wife, sister, and brother-in-law) who I have never met before. I was a little nervous.  I don't like meeting new people.  But I think it went okay.  They were nice. I don't think I was too weird. Afterwards we continued north towards Cass's homestead for the night.

Sunday we went to church and played with Cass's fam.  His baby sister is a doll. She's hilarious and I love her.  She's crazy fun. However, that evening I fell ill.  Cass drove me home and I took to bed for quite a while.

But! I still made time to read in the last little bit, leaving me with these lovely reviews to dispense for ya'll:

The Center of Everything : A Novel
I have had quite an adventure reading this book. You see, I got to page 214. And I read it, and finished it. And then my eyes went up the next page, and it didn't make sense. I read it again. Nope. And I checked the page number. It was not 215.  So I trekked to B&N where they didn't believe me that I bought the book there-- but we finally got sorted. About a week later it came and I was finally able to finish this lovely novel about the coming-of-age of a Midwestern girl in a America with a crazy mom, a crush on the neighbor, and a hottie friend who  dates the neighbor.  Best part: the mom was a teenager when she had our main character and has younger sisters close to the age of her daughter. At a family dinner, the Mom's sisters think their dad called her a Horse. Nope. Not it. Not horse.  I found this to be a great novel with both hilarious and touching moments. It's cited as akin to To Kill a Mockingbird.  I'm not sure I would classify it as such, but close as a coming-of-age novel.

 

 

And now I try to ---

-finish my thesis . . . Oh Isadora Duncan. How you plague me. I wish we could be friends. But I think we're on to the easier part now. . . I hope.

-print, address, and send announcements.  They should be done on Monday from the printers, so I suppose I shouldn't stress until I actually have them in my possession. 

-I also work every day, which I nerdily spice up with my myriad of howstuffworks.com podcasts.

-I also babysit twice a week, which is a nice respite from life. :)

-I have a busy, busy weekend!

-My mom's gong out of town next week, which doesn't really require any extra work from me - unless there is an emergency

-Not go insane! :)  

Beaches by Iris Rainer Dart 

So. No lies. I picked this book up because it had Bette on it and cost a dollar. I originally took it with me to 7 Peaks on Saturday because  I figured it would be easy to read in a loud, crazy environment.  Which it was.  But it was still a cute book. I enjoyed it, as I enjoy most books about friends throughout the years. Beaches is nothing special, but don't let that turn you off.  It's still touching and cute.

 The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1)

So I guess Rick is starting to rival Philippa, but I really enjoy reading "Matthew" books! They're easy to pick up and put down with my schedule and don't require too much thought. This series is similar to the others of Rick's, but it is about the Egyptian Gods and magicians.  I did like that he switched it up with the mortals being "blood of the pharaohs" and magicians instead of being demi-gods. I also like this because I do not know as much about the Egyptian Mythology as the Greek or Roman. Similar to my prior review on Rick, I just love that he can get kids to read. I don't care what kids are reading, as long as they are. However, I did not like that the chapters switched back and forth between Sadie and Carter (the main characters are brother and sister), and at times the action got a little rushed. However, if you're into "Matthew" books like I am, I'm sure you'll enjoy this.  

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

I did not enjoy this book at all. It was not fluid. It was consumed with sex. It tried to be literary, and I just feel that it really failed. I will not be recommending this to anyone anytime soon, nor rereading it. So if you love it, maybe you can talk me into it. But I doubt it. I'm sure part of the problem was that I had misconceptions about the book when I picked it up, but even after I figured the setting and everything, I didn't like it. It took me quite a while to get through it for a book I thought I would enjoy. I almost didn't finish it, but I have moral issues with not finishing a book. So I trucked through and hoped it would get better. It didn't.  Don't waste your time.  

Engagements

Last weekend, Scott Myler took some fantastic engagements for us! Here are my favorites :) 

Let Your Inner Tiger Roar?

So the other day I was reading one of my favorite mommy blogs, Suburban Turmoil, whose post was about Tiger Moms. And I'm not a mom, but it got me thinking.

I'm already a tiger, so I will totally be a crazy tiger mom. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm much less of a tiger now than I used to be. I can acknowledge When I didn't do my best, when someone gave a better interview or audition than I. But then there are the days I sit and wonder how I have had such an easy time with jobs I am seemingly unqualified (or at least under qualified) and am yet struggling to find a job in my field in Cedar. And at first I get a little 'tiger-y' about it. Almost to the point of entitlement. I mean, I'm Good!!  I have Experience!! But do do other people. And that's okay. I'll just keep trying. And so I've got to ditch the tiger sometimes. As my mom would say, be a duck. And as Dory would say, just keep swimming. And so I just keep going, keeping my tiger to myself. 

However, the tiger is very helpful sometimes. It gives me confidence. It helps me stick up for myself. Maybe we all need a little inner tiger, as long as we know when to cage it! But I think it will come in handy once I'm a mom. All kids need an advocate in their corner.  I look forward to being the biggest cheerleader for my children, and silently sulking when they didn't get the solo, even though they don't care.

The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar


I have a habit of picking up a book without knowing anything about it. The Bell Jar is no exception. I'm not really sure how I made it this far in life without reading Sylvia Plath, but I do know who she is. At least, I know she's a writer, a poet, and that she killed herself by sticking her head in the oven. (apparently shortly after the publication of this book)

But I digress. We're discussing The Bell Jar.

And I really enjoyed reading it. Esther, the main character, is very real, very well written.  I really felt as though I knew her. Which makes sense, because it is loosely autobiographical.  Plath suffered from terrible depression, which is very clear in the reading. I can't imagine anyone having written so well about depression unless they have experienced it themselves. Having experienced depression myself, I know how Esther and Plath feel, and I wish someone had been able to help them. Depression isn't always something you can just snap out of. It's not always something terrible; sometimes it's just the blahs. People don't always understand and then aren't able to help. Plath does a great job at illustrating that.

 I recommend this book for anyone who would like more insight into depression.

Happy Reading!

Zelda's Cut

Zelda's Cut

As ya'll know, I love Philippa Gregory. However, Zelda's Cut is probably my least favorite of her works. I really like the concept -- a literary author being forced to write trash that sells for money to support her sick husband who thinks they  have much more money than they do -- but I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. It both came out of nowhere and was completely acceptable for the characters. I really don't know. 

The novel is cleverly odd, and deals with a lot of important issues without actually talking about them. It was kind of nice, though, to just experience the issues and their affects. It does, however, discuss the concept of creating a person or an idea, and who has ownership over it. It talks about gender and sexual orientation. It's about self discovery. And, of course, it's about Art verses Entertainment. 

So. . . do I recommend Zelda's Cut? I'm not really sure. If you've never read Ms Gregory, it will probably turn you off to her, so don't let it be your first. But if you're feeling daring, or just want to discuss it with me, give it a shot. I'd love to hear what you think.