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Friday, August 17, 2012
Sunday, August 12, 2012
summer reading
i've read some great books this summer. here are my favorites:
#1: Alice Ozma, The Reading Promise
my dad gave me this book which makes it extra meaningful. the book is about a promise alice made with her dad to read aloud together every day from the time she was nine until her first day of college. what an accomplishment!
she writes, "We called it The Reading Streak, but it was really more of a promise. A promise to each other, a promise to ourselves. A promise to always be there and to never give up. It was a promise of hope in hopeless times. It was a promise of comfort when things got uncomfortable. And we kept our promise to each other. But more than that, it was a promise to the world: a promise to remember the power of the printed word, to take time to cherish it, to protect it at all costs. He promised to explain, to anyone and everyone he meets, the life-changing ability literature can have. He promised to fight for it. So that’s what he’s doing."
this is a sweet read about the relationship between a dad, a daughter, and their books. you'll finish it with the belief that books are essential for a parent/child relationship. while my dad and i didn't make it eight years of reading together every day, he made reading with me a priority and this book reaffirmed how lucky i am that he did.
#2: Pat Conroy, My Reading Life
i'm fascinated by books authors write about writing (and in this case, reading). i know that nearly every author tries to de-romantacize his profession, but still, there's something unduly romantic about the life of a writer. my favorite chapters are the ones about his mother's love of gone with the wind and the English teacher who "pointed him onto the path of letters." several times conroy states that books saved his life; his books make you believe that is true.
favorite lines:
*writing is the only way i have to explain my own life to myself.
*i reach for a story to save my own life.
*turn me into something else, writers of the world. tell me everything i must know. hold nothing back.
*the most powerful words in english are "tell me a story."
and saving the best for last....
#3: John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
this novel did exactly what conroy believes a novel should: changed my life, turned me into something else, left me changed.
it is incredible.
i don't really know what else to say about it. i cried and cried and cried some more. any summary i try to offer will do the book injustice. it's worth the read and might just leave you a better person. the writing is witty, tragic, hopeful, honest, and downright brilliant.
favorite lines....(all images from pinterest)
*the fault, dear brutus, is not in our stars / but in ourselves...there is no shortage of fault to be found amid our stars.
*it seemed like forever ago, like we'd had this brief but still infinite forever. some infinities are bigger than other infirmities.
*it's hard as hell to hold on to your dignity when the risen sun is too bright in your losing eyes.
*grief does not change you, it reveals you.
what else would add? what are your must-reads this summer?
#1: Alice Ozma, The Reading Promise
my dad gave me this book which makes it extra meaningful. the book is about a promise alice made with her dad to read aloud together every day from the time she was nine until her first day of college. what an accomplishment!
she writes, "We called it The Reading Streak, but it was really more of a promise. A promise to each other, a promise to ourselves. A promise to always be there and to never give up. It was a promise of hope in hopeless times. It was a promise of comfort when things got uncomfortable. And we kept our promise to each other. But more than that, it was a promise to the world: a promise to remember the power of the printed word, to take time to cherish it, to protect it at all costs. He promised to explain, to anyone and everyone he meets, the life-changing ability literature can have. He promised to fight for it. So that’s what he’s doing."
this is a sweet read about the relationship between a dad, a daughter, and their books. you'll finish it with the belief that books are essential for a parent/child relationship. while my dad and i didn't make it eight years of reading together every day, he made reading with me a priority and this book reaffirmed how lucky i am that he did.
#2: Pat Conroy, My Reading Life
i'm fascinated by books authors write about writing (and in this case, reading). i know that nearly every author tries to de-romantacize his profession, but still, there's something unduly romantic about the life of a writer. my favorite chapters are the ones about his mother's love of gone with the wind and the English teacher who "pointed him onto the path of letters." several times conroy states that books saved his life; his books make you believe that is true.
favorite lines:
*writing is the only way i have to explain my own life to myself.
*i reach for a story to save my own life.
*turn me into something else, writers of the world. tell me everything i must know. hold nothing back.
*the most powerful words in english are "tell me a story."
and saving the best for last....
#3: John Green, The Fault in Our Stars
this novel did exactly what conroy believes a novel should: changed my life, turned me into something else, left me changed.
it is incredible.
i don't really know what else to say about it. i cried and cried and cried some more. any summary i try to offer will do the book injustice. it's worth the read and might just leave you a better person. the writing is witty, tragic, hopeful, honest, and downright brilliant.
favorite lines....(all images from pinterest)
*the fault, dear brutus, is not in our stars / but in ourselves...there is no shortage of fault to be found amid our stars.
*it seemed like forever ago, like we'd had this brief but still infinite forever. some infinities are bigger than other infirmities.
*it's hard as hell to hold on to your dignity when the risen sun is too bright in your losing eyes.
*grief does not change you, it reveals you.
what else would add? what are your must-reads this summer?
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
sun valley 2012
hard to believe the annual excursion to sun valley has already come and gone.
we look forward to this trip every year.
it's a family reunion of sorts mixed in with games, swimming, ice staking, eating, golfing, walking, shopping, late night chatting, biking, and making memories.
my grandparents are two of the most generous people i know, and i'm thankful that they make this trip possible.
Monday, July 30, 2012
third time's the charm
we got the best news ever while vacationing last week: we finally sold our house!
as stressful as it was to own a house we weren't living in, it had become our safety net to the place and people we love. i felt that as long as we had our house in logan, we might move back. now that it's not ours (and will be used as a rental property, sad), i've been nostalgic about all the things that did and didn't happen in our very first home.
it was the place where i learned how to cook and enjoy it. it's the place where i found yard work to be a little more enjoyable than ever before and learned firsthand how difficult it is to keep the grass green. we learned what it's like to have caring, friendly, wonderful neighbors. we put up christmas lights. we painted. we planted. we raised a puppy with only minimal damage to the floor. i held piano recitals and hosted a wedding shower. we cleaned out a flooded basement, twice. our weekends weren't complete without a trip to home depot. our house was small and it was old, but we took a lot of pride in the place we called home.
we never hosted that neighborhood BBQ we talked about. we never tore off the wheat wallpaper in the laundry room. we never replaced the awful linoleum floor or the stair coco tore up. and of course we had big plans for the second bedroom that didn't quite pan out.
i am relieved beyond words that we sold it--yay for only one monthly rent payment! i'm excited to start house hunting for something that we plan to stay in for a LONG time. but i'm also a little bit sad that the logan chapter of our life is closed. logan was so good to us.
as stressful as it was to own a house we weren't living in, it had become our safety net to the place and people we love. i felt that as long as we had our house in logan, we might move back. now that it's not ours (and will be used as a rental property, sad), i've been nostalgic about all the things that did and didn't happen in our very first home.
it was the place where i learned how to cook and enjoy it. it's the place where i found yard work to be a little more enjoyable than ever before and learned firsthand how difficult it is to keep the grass green. we learned what it's like to have caring, friendly, wonderful neighbors. we put up christmas lights. we painted. we planted. we raised a puppy with only minimal damage to the floor. i held piano recitals and hosted a wedding shower. we cleaned out a flooded basement, twice. our weekends weren't complete without a trip to home depot. our house was small and it was old, but we took a lot of pride in the place we called home.
we never hosted that neighborhood BBQ we talked about. we never tore off the wheat wallpaper in the laundry room. we never replaced the awful linoleum floor or the stair coco tore up. and of course we had big plans for the second bedroom that didn't quite pan out.
i am relieved beyond words that we sold it--yay for only one monthly rent payment! i'm excited to start house hunting for something that we plan to stay in for a LONG time. but i'm also a little bit sad that the logan chapter of our life is closed. logan was so good to us.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
the brethren
mike has a great group of friends from high school. they refer to themselves as "the brethren." only a couple are still in logan and some are as far away as south dakota, but everyone was able to get together over the weekend for brats and burgers and catching up. it really is a wonder these boys all turned out so well when you listen to their stories from way back when: lighting things on fire, creating havoc at school, tipping over golf carts, etc... i guess it's a testament to their awesome wives :) actually, each of them does have a great better half who have also become my dear friends. it was 8 years ago when i first met them, and when emily gave me a brand new tooth brush and a place to sleep the first time i met her, i had an idea that we'd be friends for a long time.
###
Favorite scripture read last week: "and we talk of christ, we rejoice in christ, we preach of christ, we prophesy of christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." -2 nephi 25:26
the last couple of weeks have been interesting in regards to persecution because of what i believe...so much anger and judgment and misunderstanding. while we all have different beliefs and different ways of showing our convictions, i believe the root of christian doctrine is the same. jesus is the christ. he is the savior of our souls. it is in christ that we rejoice and in christ that we find redemption.
birthday girl
the fam got together this weekend to celebrate paige's 14th birthday. while we were planning to go miniature golfing, the rain had other plans. no complaints here--the cooler air has been heavenly and has me so excited for fall. anyway. instead of golfing we stayed close to home which meant taking pictures of ourselves and jack, because really, is there anything cuter?
happy birthday paige!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
the little exploder that could
driving down I-15 at 10 pm on the fourth of july is a great way to experience fireworks. we could see dozens of little shows going on from ogden to park city.
we made a quick trip to logan for the fourth. we had to pick up coco who had been enjoying the last week chasing chickens and ducks at my in-laws. along the way, we stopped to say hello to my grandpa and checked on our vacant house. the grass is dying. the annuals (or is it perennials?) i planted years ago are dying and overgrown with weeds, and the back yard? our neighbors sprayed the weeds for fear they would overtake their garden, which was probably a good idea. we've had the house under contract twice with no luck of selling it yet. this week we have shown it to two people who really liked it and received one way too low offer. we are crossing our fingers that we can sell it this year. pretty please let one of them buy it!
we also got to pick up my car which has been in the shop for the last month. the transmission went out a few weeks ago. who would have thought that the 95 explorer--broken doors, no speakers, rattling at 50 mph and now no a/c--would outlast my newer and supposedly "nicer" car? we have lovingly named it the little exploder that could.
it's been kind of fun living with just one car as we wait for the insurance company to find a transmission to fix mine. my favorite part is that mike and i have been driving to and from work together. i drop him off and every day he has some new comment to make fun of our situation. "just drop me off at the corner. i don't want my friends seeing you drop me off" and "can you take me early today? i really want to play with my friends before work." i'm glad that he laughs at us. i love that rather than complaining or stressing out about it, he chooses to laugh and joke and make light of the fact that i'm his chauffeur for a while. i don't mind being his chauffer, and luckily he doesn't mind too much, either.
##
we made a quick trip to logan for the fourth. we had to pick up coco who had been enjoying the last week chasing chickens and ducks at my in-laws. along the way, we stopped to say hello to my grandpa and checked on our vacant house. the grass is dying. the annuals (or is it perennials?) i planted years ago are dying and overgrown with weeds, and the back yard? our neighbors sprayed the weeds for fear they would overtake their garden, which was probably a good idea. we've had the house under contract twice with no luck of selling it yet. this week we have shown it to two people who really liked it and received one way too low offer. we are crossing our fingers that we can sell it this year. pretty please let one of them buy it!
we also got to pick up my car which has been in the shop for the last month. the transmission went out a few weeks ago. who would have thought that the 95 explorer--broken doors, no speakers, rattling at 50 mph and now no a/c--would outlast my newer and supposedly "nicer" car? we have lovingly named it the little exploder that could.
it's been kind of fun living with just one car as we wait for the insurance company to find a transmission to fix mine. my favorite part is that mike and i have been driving to and from work together. i drop him off and every day he has some new comment to make fun of our situation. "just drop me off at the corner. i don't want my friends seeing you drop me off" and "can you take me early today? i really want to play with my friends before work." i'm glad that he laughs at us. i love that rather than complaining or stressing out about it, he chooses to laugh and joke and make light of the fact that i'm his chauffeur for a while. i don't mind being his chauffer, and luckily he doesn't mind too much, either.
##
spiritual enlightenment for the day: "and he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. most gladly therefore will i rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of christ may rest upon me." [2 cor. 12:9]
in this great talk by brad wilcox, he states: "Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.
Grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now. It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finisher's touch."
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