Book of the Week: Sunset

I finished the Sunrise series by Karen Kingsbury this week! The fourth and final book, Sunset, was a bit of a cliffhanger but also wrapped the series up really well! Something that I love about the way Kingsbury writes, is that the characters have real experiences. Not every bad situation ends with rainbows and bunny rabbits and snuggly blankets. She writes about real people, in real life. 

Book of the Week: Someday

Yet again, I loved Karen Kingsbury's next story in the Sunrise book series about the Baxter and Flanigan families, titled Someday. I'm both anticipating and dreading the fourth and final book of the series!

WOLF PARK!!!

N and I had a little bit of a vacation this past week! We headed back to my hometown, and got some snazzy haircuts, went to a Harley Davidson to look at some shiny motorcycles, visited great-grandparents and great-aunts, had ice cream, and went to a tiny zoo with monkeys, farm animals, and a butterfly garden. The greatest part of the trip though was a little side trip to Wolf Park. If you haven't been there, you need to go.

I grew up going to Howl Night at Wolf Park and watching the bison demonstrations (those were really cool- they'd put the wolves and bison together, so that the wolves could "hunt" the bison, and the bison could charge the wolves, and both of the animals had a good old time acting fierce), so I knew I'd be taking N there. Unfortunately, when we arrived, it had just down poured, so the wolves were all far out of sight, hiding out in their warm little homes, rather than loping around in the soggy open field. Same went for the bison. BUT. We did get to see the red and grey foxes and coyotes! Our favorite was Scarlet, a super social little red fox. She spent the time that we were at her enclosure alternating between getting as close to us as possible, and running back the middle of the enclosure to chomp away at her dinner (watermelon- they eat fruits and vegetables, as well as meats, for those that didn't know).

We had a great time, and although it was a bit hard to get there, and will be a bit hard to get back any other times this summer, I do know that I plan to make a regular trip each summer! They have some really cool programs every year, and I'm looking forward to the 2016 calendar of events they have planned! If you are in the mood for a really unique day trip, here's a great one for you! Check out wolfpark.org and you can go to Howl Nights, fundraisers, runs or walks, or even adopt a wolf!

Book of the Week: Summer

Karen Kingsbury's second book in the Sunrise series, Summer, continues to follow Dane and Katie Matthews, the Flanigans, and Dane's biological family, the Baxters. I'm really enjoying this series! Can't wait to read the next one! 

Book of the Week: Sunrise

This week's book, Sunrise, was the first of the Sunrise series by Karen Kingsbury. It follows the story of multiple families, including Dane and Katie Matthews, Dane's extended family, and the Flanigans, a family that Katie temporarily lived with. Well written, this book is definitely a huge draw for moms everywhere.

Book of the Week: Laced

This week's book was Laced, by Carol Higgins Clark. I'd never heard of this author before, but the book was a fun, quick read. It seemed to be geared a bit towards young adults, but I did enjoy it although it didn't seem to be the most mature bit of reading. (And it's not as though I've been reading any really thought provoking stuff lately, anyway! If I'm not going to be tested on the material, I'm choosing the most immature reads I can find. It's all about relaxing, people!!!)

So anyway, Laced was a pretty fun little book, about Regan Reilly and her brand new husband, Jack Reilly. They are in Ireland for their honeymoon and a relic (a famous lace tablecloth) is stolen from the castle in which they are staying. It is discovered that it was stolen by Jack and Regan's archenemies, John and Jane Doe, some very well known jewel thieves that Jack has been trying to apprehend for some time.

There are a variety of sub stories going on within the book that introduces a wide variety of characters and connects them all, which made the read a bit more interesting, as well. Overall, I had fun reading as Jack and Regan did their best to nab the bad guys!!

Book of the Week: The Memory Keeper's Daughter

This week's book was The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards. I enjoyed this book quite a bit. At the beginning of the story, a doctor's wife gives birth to twins during a winter storm at her husband's office. One baby, a little boy, is a perfectly typical little baby, but the other, a little girl, is born with Down's syndrome.

Based on the medical knowledge of the times and his experience growing up with a younger sister with a medical disability, the doctor chooses to have his daughter sent to a home for cognitively impaired individuals. He instructs the nurse that assisted him in the delivery to take the little girl to the home and leave her there. However, she chooses not to leave the baby there after a brief time spent in the lobby waiting for the contact person to meet with her to take the child.

Due to a series of other events, the young mother holds a funeral service for the baby girl she believed to have been stillborn, the doctor feels that he can no longer inform his wife of the girl's existence, and the nurse chooses to keep the little girl as her own, moving states away to raise her.

The story then chronicles the doctor and his wife's relationship, the life and struggles of the young girl and the nurse who adopts her, and the childhood of the brother who is believed to be the sole survivor of the birth.

Book of the Week: Heartburn

Nora Ephron wrote/co-wrote three of my favorite chick movies, When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail, and Sleepless in Seattle, so when I saw the book Heartburn at my library last week, I grabbed it up. Though she wrote Heartburn, I actually had no idea that it was autobiographical prior to reading it!

I researched it a bit after I finished reading, and though she changed some details (names, professions, gender of her kids, and other little details about the people in the book), it was very interesting to read about her personal life from the perspective with which she wrote! It was a pretty sad story (the premise of the story is her discovery of her husband's, Carl Bernstein, affair while she was seven months pregnant with their second child, and the resulting end of their marriage), but at the same time she made it very humorous and quick.

I enjoyed the book so much that I searched Netflix and found the movie adaptation, and watched that, as well. Meryl Streep has never been a favorite of mine, nor has Jack Nicholson, but I tell you what! Meryl's role in this movie turned my opinion of her around! Her performance was so great, and she was so elegant and humorous and graceful, that it almost made the whole terrible situation in the book/movie better. 

At any rate, this has only solidified my love for Nora Ephron as a writer and director, and has made me come to appreciate her as a human being, as well!

One of my favorite Nora quotes: 

"...if I tell the story, I control the version.

...if I tell the story, I can make you laugh, 

and I would rather have you laugh at me than feel sorry for me.

...if I tell the story, it doesn't hurt as much.

...if I tell the story, I can get on with it.”

And some words to live by, "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." 

- Nora Ephron, 1941-2012.

Book of the Week: The Miner's Lady

Aaaaaaand this week finished up the third book of the series by Tracie Peterson, The Miner's Lady. I liked this one quite a bit, as well. One thing I really enjoy about this series, is that while the stories are similar in one big, vague aspect, there are no other similarities, whatsoever. Each book stands on it's own, with it's own characters, backstories, professions, issues, sidekicks, et cetera. Many book series', even when each book has a different main character, have interconnecting supporting characters, locations, and the like. Not so here! I really appreciated that in this series.

Book of the Week: The Quarryman's Bride

This week's book!

I enjoyed book two of the Tracie Peterson series I'm reading right now, The Quarryman's Bride. Recommend this one for chicks, as always. :)

About Character..

“Character is like a tree and reputation its shadow. The shadow is what we think it is and the tree is the real thing.” ― Abraham Lincoln

I have been thinking a lot about character and reputation lately. Abe Lincoln was a smart guy! His quote easily sums up what I believe about a person's character and their reputation, but I struggle with explaining my thoughts to others. (Thanks, Honest Abe!)

Throughout my short marriage, my long divorce, and my current happily ever after, I have worked hard to maintain my good character, to show Magoo by example the kind of person that I'd like him to grow to become. While it would have been easy to lose my temper (and I have) and tell off everyone wronging me (and I did a couple times), it is better to let those things roll off my back and continue to only do the best that I can for me and my little guy.

Who wouldn't want to do their best for that sweet little face??

I have (first world) very little right now, but what I do have is very valuable to me. My child, myself, my family, and my good friends (who have become family to me during everything that has happened in the last several years). I have an education and an opportunity to provide a home, education, and future for my son. We have a roof over our heads, food for our bellies, and clothes on our backs. I have a vehicle to get us where we need to go, and we even have the opportunity to do some fun mommy and son things together. While my life is "hard", I can easily recognize that I have it much, much, much, much easier than many others do, especially other single parents. I don't have to worry about food or shelter. If my funds run out, my son and I will be cared for while I continue to work towards my final degree and our own home. We are loved and we are safe.

Thanks to the best parents/grandparents out there for helping me make ends meet and caring for Magoo while I'm in class/internship!

This makes it even more important to me to focus on being the best version of myself that I can possibly be for Magoo. My character is of great value to me, as Magoo will eventually grow and will know me as a human, and not just his mama. I want to make sure that my character is good and beautiful. Solid and strong. Rooted, and yet growing and changing as things around me grow and change. My reputation as a loving, caring, intelligent, motivated, and thoughtful person will merely be a shadow of my true character, the real thing.

This little guy deserves my best.

This is my hope for my future and my son's future. That we would "put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and...forgiving each other...and above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in [our] hearts, to which indeed [we] were called in one body. And be thankful." (Colossians 3:12-15)  That we would "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of [our] mind[s], that by testing [we] may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2)  And "more than that, [that] we [would] rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5: 3-5)

I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to care for, teach, and help this happy little boy grow to be a man of great character who loves the Lord and who reflects that love on all those he encounters.

Book of the Week: The Icecutter's Daughter

You can tell by the title what kind of book I chose again this week- The Icecutter's Daughter, by Tracie Peterson, a woman I feel is a pretty good author. (This is, however, another Christian romance, so not exactly appreciated in the same way as Sara Gruen's At the Water's Edge.) I did enjoy this book though, and grabbed the next two books of the series to read over the next two weeks!

All of the characters in this book were either Svedish, ja, or German, and it was set in Minnesota in the late 1800s. I enjoyed all of the unique names that came about as a result of the setting! Rurik Jorgenson, Merrill Krause, Nils Olsson, and the like! Those were a lot of fun. The next book in the series is similar - The Miner's Daughter, or The Quarryman's Wife, or something like that.

Book of the Week: Sophie's Heart

Sophie's Heart, by Lori Wick, is exactly the kind of book I just complained about two weeks ago. In fact, it is the same author. However, it's what was within my reach, and it's what I read this week. Also, the heroine was actually from Czechoslovakia this time, so that's a new one. Good choice for that, at least, Lori.

Two Down, One to Go!

I'm officially on summer vacation! For one week. And I'm too tired to say anything else about it. Fingers crossed that grades turn out okay this semester, but there was at least one class that I'm pretty sure got me where it hurts...

Not thinking about it again for a week and a half.

Mac

Ten years ago, I met one of my best friends, Mac. Last week he stopped eating and drinking, and struggled to stand on his own.

Today, I had to say goodbye to him.

I loved Mac. 

He was with me during the worst times in my life and the best times in my life. 

He wasn't just with me, he actually went through them, too. 

He was always happy and excited to see me, always ready to play, always willing to go anywhere with me. 

He was my little heart, and I will always love him.

Thank you, Mac, for being the best dog, the sweetest friend that I could ever ask for.

Book of the Week: At the Water's Edge

I had to redeem my book reading experience after last week, and I selected At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen for this week's read. She authored Water for Elephants, as well. I loved At the Water's Edge, although I was a little skeptical going in, as I was not a fan of Water for Elephants.

I thought it was well written, and she did a great job of making the end of the book difficult to predict! I decided early-midway through the book exactly how I thought it was going to end, down to some very detailed predictions. Though the main prediction was correct, I was way off about everything else, as well as being wrong about how my only correct guess actually occurred within the story.

Additionally, it was a unique story, and it was about Nessie, people!! The Loch Ness monster!! Book of my heart!! I recommend it for a fun read!

Book of the Week: The Princess

This week's book was The Princess by Lori Wick. Not a good read...I don't know why I continue to read Christian romance books (I know exactly why I do- they are extremely accessible to me) because they are POORLY WRITTEN. These are typically just NOT good authors. (Sorry to all of those fans out there.) I read them because I can, and every time, I regret spending the amount of time it took to complete the book when I've actually finished it.

Anyway, here's the cover of The Princess for anyone who's interested, despite my lack of recommendation. I know there are tons of people out there who would absolutely love this- just not me!

When things go wrong...

Today I poured Dr. Pepper all over my lap in class. While others, initially including myself, might view this as a really crummy start to the day, it actually brought my mood around a little!

I had a rough day at internship the day before with some low functioning students, then on my way to class that morning, my ramp was unexpectedly closed for construction. I panicked for a bit, and eventually found myself in a Cracker Barrel parking lot in Okemos, trying to figure out exactly where I was and how to get to campus from there, while angry patrons of the restaurant honked at me. I had to run to class, but actually made it there before the professor, who was running late, thank goodness.

Then sitting there in class, partway through a miserable lecture, I dug through my bag and pulled out a Dr. Pepper. Now, I don't even drink pop anymore. This may have been the first time I'd had pop in a year, or even longer, and I wouldn't have even chosen to have it if my clinical supervisor hadn't pressured me to bring a pop bottle in at the end of the week for an intervention material. Anyway, I decided sugar was necessary at that moment in my life, and cracked open the pop bottle, and it GUSHED and fizzed all over the table and my pants...and I could have been upset. Most days, I probably would have. BUT, after so many other little things going wrong, it must have just struck a chord, because it totally changed my day for the better!

When so many little things go wrong and just keep going wrong, eventually you have to laugh, because all of those little things aren't worth getting upset!

Besides...

Book of the Week: The Magician's Nephew

Today's book of the week was The Magician's Nephew, another C. S. Lewis book from the Chronicles of Narnia.  For those of you interested in the series, READ IT!!

Book of the Week: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

This week I revisited one of my childhood favorites: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis! I would highly recommend it to ANYONE from the age of eight on up through geriatrics. My dad read the Chronicles of Narnia to my siblings and I when we were kids, and I really loved the whole series. (And still do now!)

Awesome book! I'll definitely be reading my way back through the series this summer!

Four Day Weekend!

It's Easter weekend! And I have a four day weekend! Party Central here at our house. Magoo and I started the weekend off right by heading to Indiana for lunch with family, a little construction supervising, and a bit of light shopping (HA- Nana came with us and there is no such thing as "light shopping" when she is involved).

Where's my hard hat, Mom??

Magoo also had his hair trimmed by a friend of mine Friday morning, as I've cut it the last several times and did a particularly poor job last time. I've cut it really well a few times in the past, but I thought, well hey! We're here with Megan, so she may as well give him a cute little cut and save him from another potentially bad mom-cut. :)  Look at the fancy little head of hair on that dapper dan!

We went for a walk downtown while waiting for our lunch date to go on break, and that's when we found a really cool construction site. Magoo loved watching the men working with the digger and the semi, so we hung around for a while and ate popcorn and waved and pointed and giggled. Lots of fun, people!

The semi driver waved at us, too!!

We broke our construction site date a little early when we heard a train whistle off in the distance, and passed the courthouse on our way to the train tracks, where a very sweet, very old gentleman gave Magoo a teddy bear and chatted for a minute. From there, we stopped at a little store with a train set and some other fun toys, since we couldn't hear the train whistle anymore. I love that store! It was great when I lived there as a kid, as a college student, and as a mom, it's still one of my favorite stores! Magoo had so much fun that it was actually too fun... there was a minor meltdown when it was time to leave for our lunch date! He enjoyed himself though.

We had lunch at Burger King since they have a play place, and oh man, was that crazy. Friday morning in early April, right? Should be nice and slow, right? WRONG. I guess it was spring break down there, because there were kids EVERYWHERE. Magoo made friends with a little guy his age though, and once he was brave enough to climb through the tunnel to get in, he had a lot of fun. He really wanted me to climb in there with him, but no thanks, kid! I don't want to be the cause of getting us kicked out of the BK play place! 

It was great to see family, even though it was really only for an hour- I really miss living in an area where it is convenient to see people that are important to me, and that were so pivotal in my life growing up. Love my family, love my hometown, and love the people that life there!

Captain Magoo

We ran into a few stores after lunch, and I almost, ALMOST (and now I really wish I had) bought some rockin' leather pants that were "reduced, on sale, clearance". How cool would that have been? I'm going back to BAR. GAIN. SHOP.  when I finally finish my program and have a big girl job somewhere. Magoo talked me into buying a couple things he wanted though! Well, one thing. I found the really fun hat he's wearing in the picture above, and thought it was too cute to pass up, and he asked Nana for the Thomas puzzle that you see him holding in the picture. Made out like a bandit!

And then he passed out on the way home. :)

Can't wait for our Easter Sunday festivities!

Book of the Week: Safe Haven

This week I went all Nicholas Sparks. I don't typically read his books OR watch any movies about his books, but I saw the movie Safe Haven sometime last year, and happened to notice the book in my mom's bookshelf this week. And that's how that happened. While I liked the movie, I'm not sure that I really enjoyed the book all that much. When you know people that lived through such a horrific experience, it ceases to be a light read and becomes something a bit more emotionally difficult to read through. Even if it IS Nicholas Sparks.

Book of the Week: Son

I finished Lois Lowry's Giver quartet this week, with the fourth novel, Son. I really loved the way that the book tied the stories of the main characters from the first three books together in Son. The two main characters are Claire, the birth mother of Gabriel (the baby from the The Giver), and Gabriel. Claire's story begins in the community in which The Giver takes place, and ends in the community in which Messenger takes place, and we also see Gabriel's interactions and relationships with Jonas and Matty. I think the author connected the stories and wrapped up the series really well. Loved it!

Planes, Trains, and Tricycles!

Happy Spring! To celebrate the "warmer" weather at our house, we busted out the red Radio Flyer tricycle today! While he doesn't have a clue how to push the pedals, Magoo is loving scooting around outside on his new trike by pushing off the ground.

Woo!! Tricycle!!

I can't wait for the weather to get a little warmer this spring! Normally, I'm stoked about it right about now, and it's actually been a pretty great winter (VERY cold for several weeks, but overall not bad), but I'm starting to get a little giddy about summer's (dare I say imminent) arrival. We're certainly enjoying seeing winter leave over here!

Baby raccoon :)

Book of the Week: Messenger

This week's book was Messenger by Lois Lowry. Another great read, it picked up the story of one of the side characters introduced in Gathering Blue. I loved the main character in this story, Matty, and thought it was a great continuation of the series.

Book of the Week: Gathering Blue

Following The Giver with Gathering Blue, also by Lois Lowry, made sense to me. This story follows a girl in a society similar to, but also different from that of The Giver. It was a good read, and I loved the characters. i highly recommend it to anyone!

Book of the Week: The Giver

I had to redeem myself after last week's book, so I chose The Giver, by Lois Lowry for my next read! This story was part of my sixth grade reading class curriculum, and although I couldn't remember any specific details about the book, I remembered that it was an excellent book! My memory served me well in that regard! The story is set in a community/society in which all deep feelings and memories involving the experiences brought on by those feelings have been removed from all members of society, with the exception of one person, the Giver. The Giver alone holds every single memory of feelings and sensations, in order to save the rest of his community from having to experience them. As he is growing older, a younger individual is selected from within the community to be the Receiver of memories, so that status quo can be maintained. The story follows the Receiver, Jonas, as he takes this on.

The Giver was such a great book that I poked around a bit and discovered that Lois Lowry actually wrote a series of books that went hand in hand with The Giver. I guess I don't need to do much hunting for the next several weeks' books!

Book of the Week: Fifty Shades of Grey

Oh, man, did I stoop, or what??

This week's book of the week. I'm a little embarrassed to say it! I read Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James this week, pretty much only because the movie just came out and I wanted to change up the style of book I read for once. It was not very well written, the story line was depressing (that's my opinion of that lifestyle, anyway), the characters are terrible, and their "relationship" is abusive and nauseating. That said, I think the author accomplished what she was going for, so good for her, though I certainly wouldn't care to claim the book as my work if I were the author. Also, I am a fan of the names of the main characters!

Book of the Week: The Choice

I believe today marks the final kid book that I'm "qualifying" as a book of the week! I read The Choice, by Nancy Rue (who I am sure is commonly mistaken for Nancy Drew- man, I wish I was!), which was the final book of the Christian Heritage Series. I loved them so much growing up, and the last two books were never purchased and read like the others. I completed the collection in late January so that I could read them all to Magoo like my dad read them to me! I can't wait until he's old enough to listen to chapter books! The nerd in me is so psyched about reading different book series' (serieses? seri?) with Magoo!

Happy day!

Today was a big milestone for me and Magoo! Hooray for us!

"New beginnings invariably come from old false things that are allowed to die. " ~Richard Rohr

What I've Been Listening To..

My all time favorite artist is Johnny Cash, the man in black. I have always loved his songs, his style, and OH MAN his voice! There is just something about his deep bass-baritone voice that is so beautiful and comforting. With everything that's been going on in my life in the last few weeks though, I have found myself listening to his cover of this Paul Simon song over and over.

Bridge Over Troubled Water

When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all

I'm on your side

Oh when times get rough
And friends just can't be found

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard, I will comfort you

I'll take your part
Oh, when darkness comes
And pain is all around

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on silver girl, sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine

Oh, if you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind

Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

~Paul Simon

Book of the Week: The Mountain of Marvels

This week's book was more of a short story: "The Mountain of Marvels" from The Mabinogion, a collection of old Celtic stories.

It was a fun little read for a quick break! :)

My friend, T.

T died this past week. He was a friend to me, and to many others, of all ages. Magoo loved him. I loved him. All of our friends loved him. The farmers at church loved him. Kids loved him. Musicians loved him. His coworkers loved him. Everyone loved T. I don't believe a person exists on this earth that knew T and didn't love him.

He was kind and ever thoughtful. He would do anything for anyone, no matter how big or small. He genuinely cared about his friends, telling them point blank, or showing them through his actions. T was sensitive. He was hilarious!! I have so many memories of absolutely goofy things he said and did. He was so smart. He knew just about everything there was to know about a lot of really strange, different things. The first time I saw T, he spent 1.5 hours educating my boss on the ins and outs and pros and cons of two way radios. In the days and weeks that followed, we became such great friends that it felt like I had known him forever.

He helped me through a very bad time in my life, encouraging and uplifting me when I was discouraged and felt like giving up. He gave so much of himself to the people around him that it is hard to fully grasp that he really gone, especially when I see so many little reminders of him everywhere. It feels like someone is playing a sick joke, and that he's going to pop out from behind a door when I come into a building- "Hey, guys, just kidding! I've been here this whole time!" It's so unreal.

I truly love my friends. They became my family in the last two years, and T was one of them. He was ripped out of my life without me expressing to him exactly how much I valued him as a human, how much I cared about him as my friend, and how greatly he has influenced me and changed who I am as a mother, sister, friend, and human being.

T's death has rocked my life. I hope that I can have as much impact and meaning in others' lives as T had on mine and Magoo's this last year. Thank you, T, for helping me see that I am strong and capable, and a wonderful mom. You are loved, and you will always be missed.

Book of the Week: The Struggle

Today I read a children's chapter book, The Struggle, by Nancy Rue.

Books help me forget about what's going on in real life, which is sometimes a good thing and at other times, it's not so great. While the story, which was about choosing your battles and turning the other cheek (aka do you catch the cattle rustlers by yourself or tell the grownups), wasn't really applicable to what was going on in my real life, the title was very fitting for what is going on within my personal community. Some really hard stuff happened this week, and I've put a lot of energy and emotions into just trying to process and understand that it really did happen and what to do and how to feel. 

I have had these verses on my mind all day, and they have cropped up in several different places, so I want to end this post with them:

"I lift up my eyes to the hills-- where does my help come from? 

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. " --Psalms 121:1-2

Book of the Week: The Princess and Curdie

The Princess and Curdie, by George MacDonald, was a classic from my childhood! I am pretty positive that I was twelve the last time I read it, and to those of you out there who are wondering, I would highly recommend it! Great book, great author, great use of time spent!

Semester Two: MSU

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all." --Sam Ewing

Grad school is really taking it out of me again this semester! It is getting a little bit unmanageable, BUT I've got one full semester down and only a few left. This is going to be so worth it!

Before I know it, I'll be graduating with a guaranteed career. I'll have my abominable student loans paid off, a decent car, a HOUSE of my own for Magoo and I, and I'll be able to watch Mama Mia! every night if my heart so desires. The best part? I'll have done it all on my own! The even better part? My special guy and I are the perfect family, and we'll never again have to deal with anyone or anything we don't want to put up with. :)

All I have to do to accomplish that is roll up my sleeves! Pretty simple, if you ask me!

Just call me Candace the Riveter!!!

J. Howard Miller's 'We Can Do It!', Westinghouse, February 1942.

Book of the Week: Whispers of the Bayou

This week's read was a Louisiana mystery, by Mindy Starns Clark, Whispers of the Bayou. I enjoyed it, although it wasn't written particularly well. The main character returns to her deceased grandparents' estate when the elderly, dying estate caretaker requests her presence. He dies before he is able to tell her why he summoned her, which sets off a chain of events leading to her eventually finding out quite a bit of truths about her family, and her past. It was definitely a lady book, but I had fun reading it!

The Lumineers and such

Ten songs (in no particular order) I will listen to for the rest of my life:

1. Ho Hey by the Lumineers
2. Jackson by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash
3. Theme from A Summer Place by Percy Faith
4. Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole
5. If I Didn't Care by Amy Adams & Lee Pace
6. Skyfall by Adele
7. Are You Lonesome Tonight (laughing version) by Elvis
8. Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash
9. I Walk The Line by Johnny Cash
10. Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat from Guys and Dolls (though I prefer the version from the 1955 film)

Book of the Week: The Exiles

The Exiles, by Gilbert and Lynn Morris was this week's book of the week. Totally boring read, and I wouldn't recommend it! However, it was a quick read, so at least there was that.

Magoo, Age Two

Something special happened this week! Magoo turned two! He is officially a big boy now- no longer a little baby. How did that even happen??

How did that little guy get so enormous in only two years?

Little Man's first birthday.

And here we are, age two! He's so grown up!

Boy and His Dogs, 2015

For his birthday party, we had barbecue and cake with some friends, and followed up with some Beatles Rockband. Magoo had so much fun, showing off his cars and basketball hoop to anyone he could drag into his room.

He had almost all of his favorite people with him for party night, and didn't want anyone to leave when it was over! One of his tiny friends was getting bundled up to leave and he ran over to her, grabbed her by the hand, and led her back over to his toys to play some more. Too cute!

On his actual birthday, we just relaxed and had fun playing around the house with the dogs and Magoo's new toys. We didn't do anything too overwhelming, since we'd already had a rockin' party!!

Oh, just doing a little carpentry!

This kid has so stinkin' much personality! He never ceases to make me laugh. :)

Some little facts about Magoo:

1) He loooooooves to read. 

2) He also loves to count.

3) He especially likes to read AND count. He'll turn the pages of whatever book he's reading, and with each turned page, I hear "ive! yix! eh'en! eigh! nine! nine! nine! den!!"

4) Choo-choo trains (joo-joos) are the bomb, yo!  (He had a Thomas the Train cake for his party - the frosting was a little soupy looking by the time I was done with all of the food coloring, but it still looked pretty darn good for my first-ever cake painting!)

5) He's got a mouthful of teeth, sixteen (plus some molars coming in now) to be exact.

6) He can say all of his aunts and uncles' names, which is quite a feat, considering how many aunts and uncles he has.

7) Blue is his favorite color. He'll take apart his foam alphabet floor mat and sort all of the blue pieces into a little pile, leaving all of the other colors in one big, multicolored heap on the floor. He also has rainbow popsicle sticks with velcro pieces attached to them - what does he do with them, do you think? He tears them all apart and wanders the house with every blue popsicle stick in hand or pocket, leaving all of the other colors in their pencil box. Silly kid!

8) His speech is somewhat delayed, not enough for me to really worry about him, but enough that TV has been banned while he is awake, in order to have as much creative, hands-on learning and people interaction as possible. He is improving quite a bit already, and is a pretty chatty guy, even though I don't often know what he's trying to say!

9) FaceTime is a favorite. He would talk for hours on FaceTime if anyone was available to talk to him for that long. :)

10) He's a food thief! He eats his own breakfast every morning, and then tries to eat mine, too! I have to move pretty fast if I want to get 50% or more of my own food.  Sidenote: If I just cooked two of whatever I was eating and gave one to him, he wouldn't want it. It's just because it's mine that has a such a draw!

11) He's a tantrum boy! If he doesn't get what he wants, he will either throw himself down on the floor, or if he's sitting on something, he'll do a limp noodle and slide off of it and THEN throw himself down on the floor, and cry. He used to bang his head on the ground, too, but finally figured out that all that does is hurt is head, so at least he doesn't do that anymore, except for the occasional accident. I've tried to reason with him (dumb, right? he's a toddler), and I've tried to distract him. Mostly I just ignore him and play with something he likes on the other side of the room, hoping he'll notice during a lull and get distracted by whatever I'm doing. It usually works!

12) He's started going to Sunday School and really likes it! He has a mailbox, and he gets to sing a song with his teacher and his classmates. He also usually gets to color a picture and he gets to take a Sunday School paper home. This week the story was about Zacchaeus, so he had a little paper with a spot for his paper doll Zacchaeus to sit in the tree, and a spot for him to stand on the ground next to Jesus. Pretty fun stuff!

13) Finding Nemo was an effective bribe for washing/rinsing his hair without thrashing or crying in the tub back in December, AND he has a fish shower curtain, so ocean life is really cool right now. He loves all of his sea life storybooks and his octopus bath toy.

14) He's a big fan of the Mexican restaurant in town, although he only ever eats the refried beans and the tortilla chips and salsa. Everything else gets spit back out. Sick! ;)

15) Magoo is learning how to use a potty chair, so that's a really new development! It helps when the potty chair plays the Thomas theme song every time it gets wet. We're doing it at a leisurely pace though, so I'm not really doing the "potty training" thing. I'll ask him after naps or throughout the day if he wants to sit on the potty, and sometimes he does and sometimes he doesn't. No big deal either way. He'll start doing it all the time when he's ready.

16) He loves wearing hats. Sailor hats are especially cool. Or his grandma's cowboy hat. Or his raccoon hat. Or his fireman hat. Or his summertime in the pool hat. All hats. That's not true. Most hats.

17) He's very good at taking stealthy selfies. I don't usually let him touch my phone, but somehow there are always pictures of his forehead or the floor in my photos. Maybe he'll be the Ansel Adams of his generation? I've got to get him out into nature! :)

18) His dogs are his favorite. He loves petting, hugging, snuggling, chasing, and talking to them, and he loves "feeding" them food from his kitchen. Sometimes I let him give them each a treat, and he'll grab the treats, run out to his kitchen, and put each treat in a different skillet and carefully carry them over and set them down on the ground for the dogs to eat.

19) He's also really loving a panda teddy that his grandma gave him for Christmas. It is pretty special!

20) Magoo gives the best hugs and kisses!

I love you, baby boy!!