MIMI MONDAY

MIMI MONDAY

Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this.

 Books are where things are explained to you; life is

 where things arent. Im not surprised some people prefer books.

 -Julian Barnes

I've done some research;  for it turns out that my daughter is a worry-wort.  She's going to receive one of these books as a gift.  The rest of them Im going to encourage her to check out of the library.  If I cant convince her to take a chill pill, then maybe one of these wise women  can help her set down some of her anxieties.  All of these books come highly recommended.  (there are so many out there to choose from...its nice to get some personal recommendations.)  

One of America's most celebrated writers takes you home to a family and a small town so funny and unpredictable, you'd wish it were your own. "As warm as it is hilarious and believable . . . Never has the state of domestic chaos been so perfectly illuminated."--The New York Times Book Review.

Every mother should read this book. It brought back all the joy and frustrations of mothering babies and toddlers. There is a gem on almost every page. If you have a pregnant friend this book is a wonderful shower present. I want to read the authors poetry books after reading this book of letters.

In the delightfully candid, outlandishly funny Waiting for Birdy, Newman charts the year she anticipated the birth of her second child while also coping with the realities of raising a toddler. As she navigates life with her existentially curious and heartbreakingly sweet three-year-old, and her doozy of a pregnancy, she lends her irresistibly unique voice to the secret thoughts and fears of parents everywhere. Filled with quirky warmth and razor-sharp wit, Waiting for Birdy captures the universal wonder, terror, humor, and tenderness of raising a family.  review found here

I chose this one for the Book Discussion group because I was looking for a memoir and I remembered really liking this when I read it 21 years ago on the eve of Gabe's birth. I liked it just as much the second time around and reading it again now, on the eve of Gabe's transition into adulthood, made me realize what an impact this book has had on my life and the way I have raised my children. 

When I read it the first time, I kept thinking about how I spent too much of my own childhood watching Gilligan's Island instead of following my passions. Looking back on my sons' childhoods, I think they are a little closer to Dillard's than mine was. This may largely be due to our decision to get rid of the TV for several years while they were growing up. 

Anyway, I once again really enjoyed Dillard's ability to turn a phrase, her humor, her insights, and her images. Her description of the crippled moth has remained with me all these years. I was happy to be reminded of "Terwilliger bunts one" and her "hopes for her rough edges." The good news, as Dillard reminds me is that our "waking up" to ourselves is a continual process that can last through childhood and beyond.(less)  review found here

I just finished this last night, and I plan to go back through it again. It's one of the better books on raising children that I've ever read. Mogel is a child psychologist with a definite slant--for her, a lot of the answers to parenting problems lie in encouraging spiritual growth, in ourselves and in our children. You don't have to be Jewish to find great material in this book--I'm not--but you definitely need to accept the premise that human beings are happier in a spiritually enriched environment. review found here

Enright tells it like it is and she is witty, incredibly open and very moving. Much of the book was written in pieces while her baby daughter was sleeping in the same room. She writes about the beauty and strangeness of pregnancy, the vulnerability of mothers giving birth, and the joy and tediousness of having someone utterly dependent on you for sustenance. She’s also very funny, particularly when writing about “how to get trolleyed while breast-feeding”, cleaning obsessions and the difficulties of choosing just the right buggy. Enright eloquently explores her love for her daughter and son and writes intimately about the changes that happen in a relationship when children are born. 

I’ve read several memoirs of pregnancy and motherhood and this is one of the most original and candid I’ve come across. I can’t wait to get my hands on Anne Enright’s other books.  review found here

 The experience of motherhood is an experience in contradiction. It is commonplace and it is impossible to imagine. It is prosaic and it is mysterious. It is at once banal, bizarre, compelling, tedious, comic, and catastrophic. To become a mother is to become the chief actor in a drama of human existence to which no one turns up. It is the process by which an ordinary life is transformed unseen into a story of strange and powerful passions, of love and servitude, of confinement and compassion. Cusk’s account of a year of modern motherhood becomes many stories: a farewell to freedom, sleep, and time; a lesson in humility and hard work; a journey to the roots of love; a meditation on madness and mortality; and most of all a sentimental education in babies, books, toddler groups, bad advice, crying, breastfeeding, and never being alone. review found here.

and lastly but certainly not least...and probably the best of all...for Anne never fails me...
This is the one for Anna!!
Happy reading daughter!!!
Happy parenting too!!

.

the Vision

Fruition!

Here's a perfect little project for My Builder and I to take on for a weekend....for our little ones that visit and love to hang in the backyard!!!  Go here for easy directions!  (Im guessing that My Builder is going to construct one from PVC pipe.)

Make your own monster page corner, this is so much cooler than a bookmark, you can see the tutorial here.

I suppose the best kind of spring morning

is the best weather God has to offer.

from: I Capture the Castle

by: Dodie Smith

Its confirmed...I have spring fever!!  My new yard has little room for gardening. So this year its going to be about what we can grow in pots.  I have peas up and spinach.  My tomato is a baby sprout  as well as my squash plant.  Now  I've stumbled upon this great idea!!! What do you think? Will it work?  Im going to have to send My Builder off to Home Depot..for another project!!!
Go  Here for more details!!

If I had 19 bucks!!!!
Click here!!!

Conclusion of a letter from F. Scott Fitzgerald to his 12-year-old daughter Scottie, away at summer camp, Aug. 8, 1933:

Things to worry about:

Worry about courage
Worry about cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship

Things not to worry about:

Don’t worry about popular opinion
Don’t worry about dolls
Don’t worry about the past
Don’t worry about the future
Don’t worry about growing up
Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you
Don’t worry about triumph
Don’t worry about failures unless it comes through your own fault
Don’t worry about mosquitoes
Don’t worry about flies
Don’t worry about insects in general
Don’t worry about parents
Don’t worry about boys
Don’t worry about disappointments
Don’t worry about pleasures
Don’t worry about satisfactions

Things to think about:

What am I really aiming at?

How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:

(a) Scholarship

(b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them?

(c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?

“He didn’t want me to have the fun of making my own mistakes,” she wrote later. “He wanted to make them for me.”

artist: G. P. Bazzanti

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Parabens pelo seu aniversario!

Parabenspara voce!

Parabens e muitas felicidades!

Such a great idea...can I have one please?!

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Why pay a dollar for a bookmark? Why not use the dollar for a bookmark?

-Steven Spielberg

Its been a while since I've posted about somebody else's good ideas!!
I just couldnt resist this one. Anything having to do with books is alright by me!! I think you'll agree too. GoHERE to find out more!!

...note the red button marked
INSTANT SNACK BAR.
Say you were hungry and wanted
a treat; Just press it, and
instantly good things to eat
appear in a flash! Anything
that you please, from
hazelnut pudding to aerosol cheese!
from: If I Build a Car
by: Chris Van Dusen

Jamie Oliver and Anna could be BEST friends!
Enjoy
Its well worth the time to watch!!

Erma Bombeck
“IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER

I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the “good” living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather rambling about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted
in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television, and more
while watching life.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick, instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment, realizing that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”

There would have been more “I love you’s” and more “I’m sorry’s”

… but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute …
look at it and really see it … and never give it back.”

image by wassily kandinsky - an old town 1902

This nice and subtle happiness of reading,
this joy not chilled by age, this polite
and unpunished vice, this selfish, serene
life-long intoxication.
~Logan Pearsall Smith

(thanks swissmiss)

Walking, Hiking, Moving

She knew the time had come to rise up,
to be seen, to be heard, to grasp the
ladle of life and stir.
from: Jumping Off Places
by: Laura Stratton Friel 2004

Want to lose weight for free? No supplements needed, no drugs required, take a walk or a hike. With the economy deteriorating fast we are all looking for things to do that are free. Unemployment is up, prices are up, about the only thing going down are our home values and retirement funds.

The weather is perfect for walking. Start the walking regime that works for you. If you are in reasonably good shape, just open your door step outside and start walking. If you have any health problems at all, check with your doctor before you start any exercise program. You should walk fast enough to get your heart rate up but not so fast that you cannot speak comfortably. Try to increase your intensity or distance every few days. To increase your weight loss and conditioning try to jog for short spurts.

Grab the dog, call a friend, bribe a child, do whatever it takes to get moving. You will feel better after taking your walk or tackling a trail, and you may just lose weight in the process.

Dont Forget to Check Out My Hiking Blog Once In a While!!

The world is full of happiness, and plenty
to go round, if you are only willing to
take the kind that comes your way. The
whole secret is in being pliable.
from: Daddy-Long-Legs
by:Jean Webster 1912

(grandbaby #1- a year and a half ago!!)

Question of the day: are snowshoes getting better because their popularity is booming, or is their popularity booming because snowshoes are getting better?

Snowshoe questions and answers Here.

If you like snow, (crazy people) you may be in luck. Right here in Southern Utah you can find plenty of the white stuff,(hopefully for only a short time) to lure you out and give snowshoeing a try!! Remember all you really need to bring are your best waterproof boots and trekking poles! And have fun!!!

Give Pine Valley a try
or Brian Head Resort
and surprisingly even Red Mountain Trail!!

The more that you read, the more things
you will know. The more that you learn,
the more places you'll go.
Dr Seuss

thanks swissmiss and Jacket+Bookmark

God's Pharmacy! Amazing!

Somehow, the Good Lord dont want
to see no man start a cold morning
with just black coffee.
from: The Day No Pigs Would Die
by: Robert Newton Peck

It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... all before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...

God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!



A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.











A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food, which helps prevent heart disease, prostate cancer, breast cancer and more. Tomato juice can also reduce the tendency toward blood clotting








Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food





A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.








Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Kidney beans contain molybdenum, which helps sulfite oxidase to form and is responsible for detoxifying sulfites.












Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.















Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).



Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.












Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.












Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries











Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

















Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.








SUBJECT: Psalm 46:19

link here

images from flickr

...I learned the comfort that can be
taken from the pages of a book, and
all the friendship that can be found
in a story.
from: The Book That Changed My Life
by: Chris Bohjalin

Its been a wonderful year for me and books!!
Here's to hoping that 2010's bedside stack of books brings as much satisfaction.
I pledge to be even more discriminating
I will look to others for recommendations.
I have people.
I have a LONG 'to read' list.
Im excited to begin a new tally for 2010.
And Im 'publishing' last years list for posterity.
And again, I send out many thanks to Cathy for recommending what is possibly my favorite read of the year- The Book Thief
But wait....
thats too restricting to isolate just one book...
there were many delightful, intelligent, escapist reads this last year!!
Bless all talented, gifted authors!!!
And may 2010 bring more treasures!!
Happy Reading Friends!!!!
The 1st book on next years list-- THE WHISTLING SEASON by Ivan Doig (I've already read the first few pages...I cant wait to really dive in!!!)

# Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott ***
# Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott ****
# The Enoch Letters by Neal A Maxwell ****
# All God's Critters Got a Place in the Choir *****
# Dont Bite Me, Im Santa Claus by Tom Plummer *****
# The Book Thief by Markus Zusak *****
# The Book of Mormon (again) *****
# The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ****
# Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho ****
# These Is My Words by Susan E Turner *****
# Harvest Home by Thomas Tyron
# The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C Douglas *****
# The Book That Changed My Life edited by Coady ****
# Yearning For the Living God by F. Enzio Busche *****
# The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan ***
# The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold ****
# The Virgin Queen's Daughter by Ella March Chase ****
# Nick of Time by Ted Bell ****
# Jumping Off Places by Laura Stratton Friel *****
# The Princess Bride by William Goldman ****
# Refuge by Terry Tempst Williams ****
# Collect Stories by Wallace Stegner *****
# The Necklace by Cheryl Jarvis NF ****
# Two Old Women by Velma Wallis ****
# Chocolat by Joanne Harris ***
# Shosha by Isaac Bashevis Singer **
# Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster *****
# Pioneer Voices of Zion Canyon by Jean M. Smith-Carros ***
# The Peacegiver by James L. Ferrell *****
# She Touched the World by Sally and Robert Alexander ***
# Laddie by Gene Stratton-Porter *****
# The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne ****
# Blink by Malcolm Gladwell *****
# Bird Lake Moon by Henkes **
# Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale ***
# 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson ****
# Crispin by Avi ****
# Dave at Night by Gail Carson Levin **e
# Chains by Laurie Anderson *****
# Body Surfing by Anita Shreve ***
# The Shack by Wm Paul Young *****
# Missing May by Cynthia Rylant *****
# The Day They Gave Babies Away by Dale Eunson **
# Geology Underfoot In Southern Utah by Richard Orndorff ****
# The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch ***
# Half Broken Things by Morag Jos *