Water for Elephants and Bucket Lists

Our book club is officially in full swing, after finishing up House Rules by Jodi Piccoult, which I found entertaining but likened it too much to a Lifetime movie, we chose Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I was a little apprehensive about this book, thinking that we had moved from one "chick book" to another, but I have to say that I was very much moved and entertained by this book. I won't spoil it, since we have our meeting on Tuesday to discuss over dinner followed by heading to the movies to watch the story play out on the big screen, but I know this was a wonderful novel by my physical reaction to this book.



You might be wondering, huh? Physical reaction? Sounds weird I know, but I do not know how else to explain it. It is strange, I find that when I finish a book, and if I really enjoyed it and was moved by the story, my body feels as if there is a hole in my chest, a small place where the breeze of the story that once moved through me lies still, and it leaves me with that strange feeling, like coming in from playing outside on a late summer evening into a still house. Maybe I am an unaware empath or something. Who knows.

Anyways, moving forward.

I enjoyed reading the author's notes on this book, about the research she did and the traveling to the museums, the books, and all the leg work that was involved, and reading this only cemented in me that I want, no wait, I need to write something. Ever since I read how Stephenie Meyers awoke from a dream and started writing scenes from the Twilight Saga during her sons' swim classes I have thought to myself, I can do that.

So, now that I am *gasp* 31 year's old, I think I need to start really taking stock of my life and what I want to accomplish. I have pretty much consider myself above adequate in most things that I pursue, which leaves me to believe that there still must be something I can be great at. Maybe I will get lucky and it will be writing, though I will not hold my breath. But I figure I will give it a shot.

Now...what to write about.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Last year a little quiz thing circulated Facebook stating that according to the BBC, out of 100 "classic" books, most people had only read 6. It has been my goal since then to read every book on that list. So far I have read The Great Gatsby and The Lovely Bones, but I recently decided to take a detour from my BBC list and read The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.

I was warned. This book was going to make me cry, and that it did.

I usually don't read books about animals, because I know they are going to die, and for some reason an animal dying almost always has to be more sad than a person dying. I was intrigued with the concept of the dog narrator, and I enjoyed the quirkiness of dogdom, but midway through it began to feel a little tedious to read. You know the dog is going to die, it is not really a spoiler, the first chapter sort of starts Pulp Fiction-style near the end. But as I got to the end it pulled nicely together and left me overall feeling like it was worth my time and money.

I recommend this book to anyone who can handle the emotional story of a dog and his master, and the story of their lives together and the beautiful wisdom and the pictures it paints of a dog and his family. I will honestly always look at my doggies differently now.

Understanding why things happen for a reason....

Why is it so hard to understand the way and the will of God.

I must say that when fate brought me to Bridge Street 2 weekends ago for a fun night out with friends, only to discover that a fantastic job opportunity was right there, it seemed like a billboard from God. I have stepped away from my BFA and design for almost 4 years now with only some freelance and some creativity sporatically interspersed over that time period. I have walked away and sacrificed it for time to spend with my family. But here I was with 2 people affirming my BFA, how amazing did that feel?! It felt like it was meant to be, it really did, and I was terrified.

When this job at Anthropologie basically fell into my lap, I really thought that was my cue to move onto something new.

The resume, the call, the interview, it all went so well. I guess I am just trying to figure out what I was supposed to get from it all, since I obviously did not get the job.

What am I supposed to learn from this experience.

I think the first thing I am thankful for is that I am not working in Huntsville. I am greatful for the fact that I do not have to commute 3 hours a day, that I do not have to wake up at 4:00 am to get there, and I do not have to be so far away and rely on others to care for my most precious gift.

I think it also reminded me that I am a creative and artistic person, and I can throw it all together still on a whim. I do still have a solid skill set, and it is just on the backburner now while more pressing things are in my life like raising my son and supporting my husband into medical school.

So where does it leave me? Who knows. Still searching I guess. Still searching for what I am supposed to do in the meantime. How am I supposed to help contribute to our little family while life is crazy and chaotic? God will provide a way and a means. Who am I to question what, where, and how. All I can do is discover, review and file away what I have learned and keep pressing forward.

Billy Pilgrim tried hard to care.

This might be my favorite line out of a book ever. In my pursuit to read literature outside of the Twilight Saga I am reading Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5. It's not really that great so far. I am trying hard to read it and get to the part that is going to make this book "great" - since I assume it must be this famous for a reason. I read that line on page 73 and thought about how true to life that statement actually is.

I like to think I am a naturally caring person, but I think I have to try "hard to care," because it would be so easy to slip into complete selfishness and only worry about matters that pertain to me.

So I am trying hard to care about this book. Concentrating on the words as I follow this journey through time. My dad told me for every book you read you become that much smarter - so alas I am trying hard to care.

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Everyone is doing it, really - it's great. Yeah. Twilight is like the gateway drug of the series. You read it, it is a little rough, but you enjoy the experience. You come down to the end, and you are left wanting more. Need another fix - enter New Moon, even better.

And so on and so forth until you finish Breaking Dawn and you are left thinking "where did all the time go?" "what have I been doing with my life" and things of that sort. You ravage your book shelves for something that can compare to the perfect mix of romance, sci-fi and suspense, but nothing is good enough. You say you are going to move on with you life, give up this "kid stuff" and you head to your local library.

But nothing fills the void. You need a fix. Breaking Dawn stares at you like a lonely friend needing some attention. You think of the good times you had together, and you reach for the book. You think to yourself, this is stupid, I have already read this, but the addiction grabs hold and you find yourself re-reading the entire series.

Yes. Help me. The first step is admitting you have a problem. I always thought I am not one of those pathetic 13-year-old girls who are obsessed with Twilight, but am I? Perhaps. I need to find something else to read!!

Homeschooling and Unschooling

So for some reason my current obsession lately is reading everything I can on homeschooling. Oliver is only 3.5, and I know I have some time to work out the kinks, but if I don't have like 3 things to obsess over on any given day, than I might actually have some time to relax.

Anyways, this venture has been frustrating because I cannot seem to find the right combination of information that I am looking for. I really love the idea of homeschooling, but I hate the idea of trying to recreate the classroom at home. I enjoy reading blurps from the Homeschool Channel, but when everyone submitted photos of their "school room" I found myself browsing in disbelief. I mean chalk boards, child's desks, and a mom's "teacher" desk? I am sure I am bound to offend someone here, but really? If you wanted that sort of set up maybe you should have gone into teaching? No wonder homeschooling has such a bad connotation with the "norm." Looking at these photos makes me feel sorry for these kids. I would rather be at school with my friends than sitting in my basement while my mom played teacher.

Okay, that was probably a little rough. I completely understand that there is more to homeschooling than that. I have many friends that homeschool and may like this idea, and if it works for your family than I think that is fantastic, but I know it would not work so much for mine.

So back to the beginning, I have been researching this concept of "unschooling," though the term is pretty lame, "natural learning" or "organic learning" seems to be a much friendlier sounding way of learning. It sounds great to embark on a child-led learning adventure, but what worries me is the ability to "let go" and try to not lead. I feel like I need some sort of book, some sort of focused time during the day where we will sit down and learn something. The more I sit back and relax and spend time with Oliver the more I realize that we actually "unschool" often.

Tonight we brought Jason dinner at UNA, so we decided to stroll around campus and take in the scenery. We splashed around in 2 fountains, hoped to see the lions, and found a mummified ciccada-looking bug (yes - I know perfect research opportunity!) Ollie immediately wanted to take it home and mount it next to his other bugs. I know that I am going to have to muster up some guts because this kid is going to be an bug enthusiast. My point is that just in that 30 minutes we were at UNA, so many vibrant learning opportunities presented themselves. I guess that is just what I envision, Oliver and I (and Jason when he's not at school) adventuring through life and this place we live, learning about everything we find. I just hope I can let go and let him lead. I hope I can keep it exciting, and I hope I can find a perfect balance.

Finished the skirts!

So I finished the little skirts for my niece Hannah. They were super simple and I think went over great. Now that I am a little more comfortable with the pattern I am able to get a little creative! I had one great idea I did not get a chance to finish because I left early. Will try to upload pics soon!

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