What I'm Reading, Hearing, Watching, and Doing

Reading:
My reading list, as usual, is as exciting as it is excessive.  I actually only spend about 20 minutes reading each day, so the fact that I'm carrying around and placing by the bedside all these books is pretty ridiculous.  But if loving so many books is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

I haven't actually started the newest addition to the culinary mystery series I love, but it's a library book, so I have to start and finish it quickly.  I'm almost finished with "The Gifts of Imperfection" (it's my nighttime book) and I'm about halfway through "The Shining" (one of two daytime books).  I purchased the sequel, "Doctor Sleep", as my pages-in-waiting.  The author of the book on my kindle is an old family friend, Darin Michael Shaw.  I believe "Chronicles of War" is his first novel, but his second published work.  I selected the giant book about the Vanderbilt ladies for my book group.  It was one of the more interesting-seeming titles that came up when I googled "books to make you smarter."  So far, I don't feel much smarter, though.  It seems to me that the Vanderbilt family was like a much earlier version of the Kardashian family.  I find myself disapproving of their long-ago extravagant parties and constant building of expensive houses, and not necessarily on principle.  I feel that they're a big part of the reason today's society is so celebrity-gaga and so shallow, as a whole.  Unfair?  That remains to be seen.

Hearing:
From Rip Claw: "Do we have any fun plans for today/tomorrow/the weekend?"  I don't know how or exactly when his obsession with "fun plans" started, but he was literally asking me that question every.single.day.  I figure there isn't anything wrong with wanting to know our plans, or with wanting them to be fun.  I was really tired of hearing the question, though, so I came up with this:

On the chalkboard painted portion of his bedroom wall.

In typical mom fashion, I included chores and additional school work (I give him advanced math problems, reading or writing assignments when we play school) in the fun.  Muah hah hah!

From Cupcake: "NO LIKE IT!" It's a rather long story, and not all that interesting, so I'll sum up: she has to drink some different kind of non-dairy milk that she isn't used to drinking.  We've tried soy, vanilla flavored almond, coconut, and lactaid milks.  Finally, after several days of bribing, cheering, rewarding, bargaining, begging, and attempting to disguise the flavors, she drank some soy milk without throwing her cup and yelling that dreaded phrase.  In addition to being a picky drinker, she is becoming a very finicky eater.  Perfect, considering she's off-the-chart small and her pediatrician probably thinks we're trying to cultivate an early eating disorder. ("Mom, what's it called when people say the opposite of something to try to be funny?" Sarcasm, son.  You'll hear a lot of it in our family.) It's hard to get her to eat enough protein and fat, so I'm very much okay with her love of hummus, guacamole, and peanut butter.

Ignore the messy counter top in the background and focus on the fact that she was licking fresh, homemade guacamole from her fingers.

Watching:
Okay, I'll be honest.  I wrote the title and the first half of this post about 9 hours ago, and now I can't remember what I was going to share about this subject.  You know how frustrating it is when you lose your train of thought mid-sentence?  This is like that, only a little worse.  I've been sitting at the computer for 40 minutes now, asking myself repeatedly, "What am I watching?"  I keep coming up with a few things that I know weren't IT, but will have to do.

• Parenthood- It's a show about 4 grown siblings and their own families.  Charming and I are getting thoroughly spoiled by watching it on Netflix, because we're still not caught up to the current season and can therefore watch 3 episodes a night when we are awake enough.  I dare you to watch and not find yourself relating to at least one of the main characters.
• Progress.  Charming is well on his way to his first ever half-marathon race!  His dedication to the training program and the ease with which he seems to achieve greater and greater things are just so thrilling to watch.  He'll be running the Swamp House Half Marathon in March.  You should, too.
• Potential paydays.  I am officially an approved substitute teacher for our county's schools.  Some of you may know this already, but many of you probably missed the blog post about it that I deleted a couple of days after publishing it.  (Curious, now, are you?  Let me know in the comments if you want to read the gory details and I'll see what I can do to satisfy.)  Now that I'm an employee, but not actually working, I'm spending time each day watching for jobs to open up.  
• Pigging out.  The 2 weeks of clean eating made me aware of my awful piggish habits.  I've been watching my junk food and overall calorie intake, these days, and I've only gorged myself a couple of times.  

Doing:
Really running!  I was surprised by how long after my tibial stress fracture I was running tentatively.  Like a slow, scaredy baby.  Also surprising was how long the mild soft tissue pain can last.  After long or fast runs, I still see swelling around the spot that was fractured, and the muscles in my calf and shin on that leg are much more tender than those on the other leg.  Apparently, though, this type of pain is not unusual for up to a year after an injury like the one I had.  I've been building my weekly mileage back up, and I've had some very successful long runs that have left me feeling like a real runner again.

Really cleaning!  Long ago, I made myself a cleaning schedule that looked so good on paper.  Well, it's actually on Google Calendar, but you know what I mean.  Turns out, following the schedule makes my house look good, too!  I (almost) always regret procrastination; I hate that I put off the tasks that I know I need to accomplish.  I decided recently that I would really, truly, not-just-saying-so, try to procrastinate less and try not to waste so much of my free time on nonsense.  It's a hard thing to do, to be productive, but it really is worthwhile.  What a wonderful feeling of relief comes when the laundry baskets, washer and dryer are all empty!


What advice should you take away from this post?  Read the books I'm reading.  Turn the tables on your kids when you hear things from them that are annoying.  Remember the information you want to convey.  Running is fun, even when it's scary.  Finally, go do--whatever--now!  Don't wait.



Best way to break a bad habit?

Best way to remember your own ideas?

Do You Need a Time-Out?

If you're my dear, sweet, beautiful 16-month-old Baby, then your answer will be an emphatic, "YES!"  Her new form of entertainment goes a little something like this:

Slap Mommy

Slap Bun-Bun (her favorite stuffed friend)

"Hey!  Hitting hurts.  No, Ma'am!"

Spit

"We do not spit."

Scream

Slap whatever surface is closest 

"Do you need a time-out?"

Nodding so vehemently that it looks like whiplash is next on the menu, "Yeh"

Now, her punishment is not going to sit in her time-out chair.  I've tried 4 different spots (3 chairs and a step), and as soon as she sits down she starts to grin, then giggle.  She absolutely loves it.  She has also figured out at what point I'm about to "let" her get up, and will scream, slap, or spit again in order to keep being "punished."  The threat minus the follow through has been working pretty well for a little while.  We usually only go through the routine once a day, and then she moves on to headstands or unnecessarily violent bun-bun kisses. "Mmmah!  Mmmah!  Mmmah!"

I brought 6 y.o. to Sea World last week to (finally-it has been open all of 2 1/2 months!) see the new Expedition Antarctica ride and penguin exhibit.  The ride was kinda boring, but I did enjoy the 2 extra staging areas that made it seem like the line was moving quickly.  And then, we exited the wild car on our right, and there was snow and ice and cold winds and workers wearing parkas and PENGUINS!  

Not a google image.  My own picture!

I haven't done any research, but I would still venture to say that this penguin enclosure is one of the first of its kind.  The barrier between us and them was only waist high, to me, and that was only closing in the giant aquarium.  I'm no zoologist (or ornithologist, or even psychologist, despite all my years in college) but it seemed like the penguins were pretty comfortable in their new home.  In fact, some birds hopped the fence to welcome us...or something.

4 times in the 5 minutes we were there, a penguin waddled into the crowd.

When the employee picked up this guy, we got a very close look at how penguins defecate.  In fact, the front pocket of 6 y.o.'s shorts betrayed the evidence of his closeness to the penguin's poopy protest of being picked up and put in time-out!  

Don't you just want to smooch his cute face?

6 y.o. was sent to his room a few times today, mere hours after the adorable photo above was taken.  Summer is wearing on him, I think, as is constant contact with Baby and me.  He claims he is feeling "only excited" about starting first grade next week.  Husband and I, however, would be okay with having him home for some more months, despite his backtalk and whiny, whiny, whiny whines.  

I have also taken a time-out this week, but not because I deserved it.  At least, I don't think I did.  I haven't been out for a run since Saturday.  That last run, brought to you by the number 7 (for different shades of pink I was wearing), the color pink, and the letter P (for pain in the knee), was my longest training run to date.  I had been experiencing some usually-bearable calf pain for several weeks, and had been disappointed by my performance in some of my recent runs.  

Pictured here: only 6 shades of pink, unless you count my sweaty face.  My sister borrowed my pink watch.
Also pictured here: evidence of my half-bag-o'-chips-per-night habit.  

So, like any dumdum runner, I ran 12 miles in a pretty hilly neighborhood.  I was quite pleased with my pace and with how I felt during and after the run, but I did feel a twinge in my left knee around mile 9.  I've now been limping around for 3 whole days, except for a 4 a.m. jog up and down the hallway to figure out whether or not I should join the running group for a 5 a.m. run.  Not sure if this is good or bad, but the pain is significantly different from the IT band pain I experienced a few months ago.  I'm still doing the IT band stretches that helped before, though.  Each time during this week that I think I'm successfully ignoring the pain because it isn't so bad, someone comments on my limp.  Therefore, I'll rest another day or so, I guess, and try to enjoy my time-out.

My advice for you, totally not given because misery loves company, is to take a time-out.  Whether you just want to sit in a big girl chair and will spit, slap, and scream your way there, or whether you want to greet the strange beings staring at you while you swim, sleep, and poop, giving yourself a little break will be helpful.  Don't believe me?  Fine.  But I think I saw you limping. ;-)

I changed the settings so you don't have to prove you're not a robot in order to leave a comment now.  So, go on.  Leave a comment.  

You too, robot.

What I'm Reading III

Alternate post title: Thank God for Libraries Full o' Free Books
Second alternate post title:  Unfinished Book Reviews (Again)

The list of books I want to read is growing so long, it actually hurts my head a little to think of it.  I'm not complaining, mind you.  I love reading, and the fact that there are so many delicious books that I have yet to dive in to makes me feel exhilarated.  Often, I find myself inwardly whining about not having enough time to read, but recently, I came to a realization that changed things for me.

Me: Ugghhh!  Another book to read?  

Less Annoying Me: Ugghhh!  More whining?

Me: But I don't have any tiiiiime!  Grr!

Less Annoying Me: Shut up.  You're a stay-at-home-mom, and half the time you don't even do laundry or dishes.  Not many grown-ups have more time than you.

Me:  So, what you're saying is...?

Less Annoying Me:  Maybe try a new plan.  Step 1- stop complaining about not having any time when you're wasting it on facebook and Subway Surfing on the Kindle Fire.  Step 2- read more books, simultaneously.  There's no way this "one at a time" nonsense is going to work.  Duh.

See, the last reading plan of mine has not been quite as effective since Baby has been sleeping through the night.  Hence, the Great Threebook Experiment.

Book #1- 

This is one that my dad and my oldest nephew have been insisting that I read for years now.  If I had taken their advice and read it a long time ago, I probably could have borrowed it from the library.  Now, there's even a wait for the audio version on CD, because, as my dad mentioned in the frantic text message he sent to me last week, the movie comes out in November and even the trailer is full of spoilers.  Lucky for me, the Kindle version was less than $5, and now I'm 72% done.  Let me say this carefully, so as not to be like the spoiler-filled movie trailer:  the beginning made me feel sad-almost unbearably so-because I'm the mom of a 6 year-old.  The middle made me angry, and during the last 15% or so, I've started to get "The Gotta" (Stephen King's term from Misery, meaning exactly what you'd think.  If you've ever read a good book, you know about The Gotta.).  So far, I've also managed to avoid seeing any ads for the movie (thank you, DVR!), and I'm confident that I can finish the book without having the ending spoiled for me.

Book #2-

At least 255 days of each year, Husband starts his morning watching Mike & Mike on ESPN 2.  They've been hosting a morning sports radio talk show for many more years than I've known about them, and at some point they started showing the radio broadcast on TV.  I enjoy talk radio, and I enjoy sports, and I enjoy my husband being happy, so I've gotten into it, too.  There are occasions that I turn it on before Husband wakes up, or keep it on after he has left for work.  Both Mikes are the kind of guys that you expect to be friends with as soon as you meet.  Also, they disagree about things sometimes, but not in the put-on, super annoying way that a lot of other sportscasters disagree.  Plus, they almost always have great things to say about my team's QB, even though my team is not usually the greatest.  I probably didn't need to ramble on and on about all of that, just to let you know that I feel like I know the Mike who wrote this, his first novel.

Back to the book!  Husband picked it up for me from the library the other day (prompting the whiny conversation in my head that I relayed up there) and I've just started Part 2, about 1/3 of the way through.  I'm really, really enjoying it so far.  I do sort-of "hear" Greenberg's voice, especially in the humorous parts, and my suspicion that most radio personalities have potty mouths when off air has been bolstered by the language in the book.  (I don't mind when book-people curse, as long as the words fit with their persona.)  I keep looking for evidence of inexperience or poor writing skills, but I've been pleasantly surprised to instead find myself engaged by and relating to the characters.  The only problem for me is that I read the summary of the story a couple of months ago when the book had just been released.  I was hoping all through Part 1 that I was remembering the summary of a different book, and that what I suspected was going to happen wasn't really going to happen to these women whom I already am attached to.  Alas, my memory served, and the first sentences of Part 2 confirmed my sad suspicions.  Without having finished it, I feel like it's kind-of cheating to recommend it.  Howzabout I'll let you know if I change my mind at the end, and want to take back my recommendation?  For now, go ahead and grab it.  I can vouch for Part 1, at least.

Book #3-

Because, well, I said I would.  Plus, my parents gifted me with it.  I'll admit, the multiple before-chapter-1 chapters annoyed me.  A LOT.  I figured there must have been some sort of dare, like, "Betcha can't use every sort of introduction in one book" so the authors were like, "Oh, yeah?  Watch this!"  Author's note.  Foreword.  Preface.  Introduction.  Chapter A.  A note to the reader. That's when I stopped reading, for a while, but I've picked it back up because, well, I said I would.  Like when reading a textbook or the Bible, I've even been prompted to highlight passages.  It's written pretty well, once the actual chapters start, and seems to be well-researched, too.  Probably you didn't know it, but I have a relative (NOT the sister I always mention) who is an addict, and that's one of the kinder words I use to describe her, lately.  If you're of a mind to do so, please pray for our family.  Even while reading the helpful words of those who have lived through the horror of a loved one's addiction, I'm finding it hard to be encouraged.

In other news, I found another great deal today!

Quick!  Get your bottled water before the sale ends and it goes back to the regular price!  Oh, and make sure you use your extra special card for the purchase.

Read more, whine less, and don't pay too much for bottled water.

What are YOU reading?

Snagged any great deals lately?

A Day In The Life Of Me

Are you ever so pleased with yourself that you are inspired to write bad poetry about your good decisions?  I was, yesterday, and even started a (terrible) poem on this very page.  Then, I was needed in the playroom as a Trouble referee, and had some time away from the computer to re-think my decision to wax poetic here.  Once I determined that I would just write a regular blog post, instead, I was again inspired, as I had made another great decision, and nearly burst into joyful song.  Quickly, I remembered how much better my singing voice sounds in my head than in my ears, though, and quietly sat down to just type like a normal person.

Rantom picture of my feet, Husband's back.  It's better than no picture, and better still than my poem would have been.

My day started at 4:20, when my alarm sounded and I found myself wide awake, barely even trying to talk myself into staying in bed.  Our running group meets for 5 a.m. runs 3 times/week, usually, and although I often tell myself I'll join them, it had been 6 months since I had actually found myself yawning in a dark parking lot with several other flashlight-wielding runners that early in the morning.  I was out of the house by 4:38, and at the meeting spot at 4:50.  (I didn't beat my always-early-for-everything friend there, though.  I thought I was golden, getting there 10 minutes early, but I guess I'll never beat her.  She even had to deal with her 4 yr old's potty accident before she left the house, and still got there first.  I mean, not that I care.  Whatev.)  Not only did this run start at 5 a.m., it was a speed workout.  We did a warm-up mile, then started Yasso drills- 800 meter (1/2 mile) 5k-pace repeats with 400 meter (1/4 mile) recovery walks between.  Most of the runners had done this workout in the preceding weeks, and had worked their way up to 6 repeats, but Kim and I decided to do 3, as this was our first speed training session.   

My friend Kim, after her first speed workout yesterday morning.
Okay, that's a lie.  This picture was taken 2 years ago.  

I must admit-even if it's annoying to read- I was really proud of my run.  My first 800 was 3:46, or a 7:31 min/mile pace.  Second one was 3:52, third was 3:50, fourth was 3:55.  My slowest pace was still well under 8 min/mile.  Which, it turns out, is my 5k goal pace.  And yeah, after 3 repeats, we started to sound like the drunkards I used to have to listen to when I was tending bar, "One more!  Just one more!"  We both had to get home to get kids to school and such, so we had to cut ourselves off after 4 instead of our planned 3.  I went home, stinky and sweaty and feeling like I could take on the world.

A few hours later, I had completed my usual morning tasks, showered (yes, that's separate from a usual morning task), remembered to put moisturizer on my face (which makes me feel so grown-up), and Baby had awakened from her morning nap.  She and I went to the produce market, where I remembered everything I wanted to buy, found the very best apples for a very low price, and I managed to keep her from grabbing and throwing any of the "bah"s ("Ball?  No, Baby, that's a lime.  And that's a potato.") she was so keen on pointing out.  

"Bah?"
"Yes, that's a book."
So what if I captioned a different photo in almost the same way the other day?  These are our conversations.

Before Husband left for work, I made beef stew (recipe below) and put it in the slow cooker.  Then, I washed and sliced the strawberries and put them in a container for easy access, threw out all the rotten old produce in the fridge to make room for the new stuff, gave Baby a snack, and cleaned up the kitchen.

I got a great parking spot at 6 y.o.'s school (if you arrive too late you have to park next to the very slow-moving line of cars, and there's no easy exit from those spots), was happy to see him write "green" in the air as soon as he exited the classroom so that I would know he'd had a good day, and convinced him to leave the snail he found on the curb without any tears at all.  Baby and I had lunch when we got back home, 6 y.o. achieved a new high score on the Subway Surfers app on the Kindle, I completed step 2 to make No Knead Bread, and then Baby and I both had a nap.

The next few hours were filled with the delicious smells of bread baking and stew stewing, the delightful sound of children playing without fighting, and the continual self-congratulations, mental applause, praise, and back pats that I so deserved.

After dinner was thoroughly enjoyed and almost entirely cleaned up, I took Baby and 6 y.o. to Office Depot.  6 y.o. needed a blank notebook, he said, and I was happy to oblige.  Maybe it's like this for everyone, maybe it's just for me (and now, my son), but I find something so exciting and wonderful about having a blank notebook.  It's like the feeling I get when I finally have, in my hands, the last book of a really good series.  I don't know what's going to unfold as I turn the pages, but I know I'm going to like it.  I can't wait to get started, but I also don't want to be rid of that best kind of anticipation- the kind which will never disappoint.

Blank pages, sharp pencils, and fresh markers.  Almost as blissful a scene as the secluded beach picture above.

Baby had a bath, 6 y.o. drew some pictures in the first section of his notebook ("Section 1- science experiments, section 2- drawings, like of animals in their habitats, and section 3- sentences about what I'm feeling." Boy, do I love this kid!), they both went to bed with no trouble, and I settled in on the couch to write this post.  

Since I like to focus on the positive side of things (you should, too!), I will pretend that the day ended as wonderfully as it began.  The hours of Baby screams (teething?  sick?  hungry?  gassy?  all 4?) and soul-crushing weariness that followed are not the important things to remember about the day, or about life in general.  I see nothing wrong with my detailing the triumphs, big and small, and skipping over the failures, like being unable to slice the bread because it was stuck to the baking dish, or turning my back on Baby for her to hit her face on the floor and bite her tongue bloody, or not finishing this post until 14 hours after I started.  It was a great day.  I have a great life.  In general.

Let me congratulate you on a triumph!  What are you proud of today?

Beef Stew

I'm not going to try to figure out exact measurements, since this is not a cookbook or a contest submission.  If you need them, though, let me know.

1 lb. beef chunks                                    

3 Tbs. butter                                                    

1 cup flour, seasoned with salt and pepper                                                      

Dredge the beef chunks in the flour, brown in melted butter over medium heat for approx. 8 minutes

2 cups water

8 oz can tomato sauce

1/2 bottle of chocolate bock or other dark beer (what you do with the other 1/2 of the bottle before noon on a weekday is your business)

Lots of salt                                                       

Pepper

Minced garlic

Rosemary

Parsley

Oregano

Stir together in a slow cooker, add the browned beef chunks.

Carrots

Celery

Potatoes                                                          

Peas

Mushrooms

Onions

Chop and stir in the vegetables (except the peas, you don't have to chop those).

Cook over low heat for 5-6 hours.  Serve with rustic chunks of bread you've pulled off the loaf by hand.

Nineteen

I'll just come right out with it.  Stephen King is my favorite author.  My goodness, it's hard to describe what I love about his books!  I've just started and then deleted 16 sentences, because I can't seem to get the words right.  Here are some of the words that I've repeatedly come up with during the last 7 minutes of trying to write 1 or 2 sentences:  Home. Familiar. Imagination. Exactly. Me. Sunset. Gotta. My thoughts. Afternoon. Understand.  Maybe someone else who has read his stories will be able to put those words together in a way that isn't so...nineteen.

As a Constant Reader of his, I've come to notice the number 19 in my daily life, and when I saw that I was approaching my 19th blog post (this one), I wanted it to be special.  Over the past few days, I've been daydreaming about The Dark Tower, and trying to think of ways to work it in to my mostly-about-running-and-kindergarten blog.  Last night, I dreamed about Roland Deschain, and woke up feeling sad, with the words "The Man in Black raced across the desert, and Roland followed" running through my mind.

I then came to the disturbing realization that I'm still reading the same book that I was reading back in January, even though I'm enjoying it and reading as often as I can.

The author, +Jenn Thorson , sent me a magnet and sticker.  Na na na boo boo!  I got prizes and yoooouuu didn't!  (But seriously, you should read this book, and add her on G+.  Awe. Some.)

That I also plan to read books for 2 different book clubs before the end of March, have received 2 free books that I'm really looking forward to reading, and had to return my last 2 library books, late and unread, does not bode well for my finding the time to re-read the entire Dark Tower series anytime soon.

sigh

Now, where was I?  Oh, yeah.  19.  Books.  Blogging.

I decided to share with you an idea I had a couple of years ago that I'm still praising myself for today.  I thought about how cool it would be for my son (daughter was yet-to-be) to receive the entire Dark Tower series as a gift for his 19th birthday.  Then, I started thinking of another favorite book series, and how cool it would be to give him the Harry Potter books for his 11th birthday ('cause that's how old Harry is when the series starts, remember?)  Finally, my Idea (capitalized on purpose, as it is that good) was fully formed.  I would start a birthday tradition from the time he learned to read until he turned 19, and give an age appropriate, meaningful, really special book or series of books as a gift each year.  Also important to note is that the books would be real ink and paper types, and hardcover, mostly.  I worry that 13 years from now, they'll be hard to find in that format.

4 haircuts, 3 shoe sizes, 2 lost teeth, and 1 pants size ago.  Hard to believe it has only been 6 months since his first day of Kindergarten.

 His 6th birthday is coming up soon, and he's been reading since last Spring, so at last, I get to start the tradition.  I was originally thinking of getting the Junie B. Jones books, but then I read some of them.  They're cute and funny, but little Junie narrator uses very poor grammar, and talks back to her parents and is allowed to say the words "stupid" and "dumb", which our son is not.  Even though it's hard to find them together in a good set, I have fond memories of reading the Amelia Bedelia* stories when I was a child, so they win this year.  Next year, he'll get the Arthur chapter books, followed by the Little House on the Prairie series when he turns 8.  My dad gave me a great book the year I turned 9, "Stories for 9-year-olds" which I would love to find for my little guy.  Age 10 will be exciting, too, with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series finally being appropriate.  11, HP (dur) and 12, Hunger Games ('cause when they're 12, they're eligible for the reaping, you know).  Between birthdays 13 and 18, he'll need to read some Tolkien, some Twain, and some not-required-by-teachers Classics.  And then, he'll turn 19...and I don't want to think about my sweet little boy being almost out of his teens, thankyouverymuch.

Today, I spattered advice all in and out of this post, but the gist should be clear, even if you just skimmed (yeah, I know who you are, you skimmers!):  READ!

What are you reading now?  No, no.  Don't tell me.  I can't add to my list of must-reads right now!  Ok, only tell me if you're not enjoying it and wouldn't recommend it.  Deal?

*The set pictured in that link is not what I would consider "good".  They're not written by the original author of the series, there are only 3 books, and they're paperback.

What I'm Reading

Dedicated to Stevie.  You and your tricycle changed my life.

I clearly remember the day I read a book by myself for the first time.  It was a weekend morning; my parents were still in bed and my older sister was probably concentrating very hard on Scooby Doo.  I picked up The Book and read the title all by myself.  Once the shock of my surprising ability to do that wore off, I opened the book and read the whole first page.  After that, I could no longer contain my excitement.  I quickly went into my parents' bedroom and woke them by re-reading the title and first page.  I got a few grunts and "mmm-hmm"s, but that was it.  I ended up reading the entire book without help (and earning the pride of my finally-awake parents), and have now spent the last 31 years with a book in my hand, on my mind, or both.

In high school and college, I wasn't required to read nearly as much as I wanted, so I feel like I'm still a little bit behind when it comes to the books everyone else has read.  In fact, the gaps on my list of books I've read sometimes make me quite sad.  Catcher in the Rye, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Hobbit, just to name a few.  I did choose The Scarlet Letter for my 9th grade book report, while everyone else was choosing books by Beverly Cleary or somesuch, but then my English teacher quit and then the next English teacher quit, and then the lady from the cafeteria became the English teacher and gave me a D on my report card (9th grade English was not good for me- when I get over it, I'll share the story) and then the Biology teacher switched to English, and probably I was supposed to learn about run-on sentences back then, but nobody ever taught me, nor did they properly critique my report on Hawthorne's book, so I didn't push the reading material envelope after that.

With this being a brand new blog and all, it is probably silly of me to plan gimmicks or regularly scheduled posts.  At this point, it's still a distinct possibility that this whole blogging thing will go the way of the newspapers my sis and I published when we were very young (ahhh- I was quite the Ace Reporter when it came to stuffed animal news), and not have a very long run.  However, I plan to share what I'm reading, along with the occasional book review, right here each week.

Husband gave me a Kindle Fire for Christmas in '11, which has been wonderful in so many ways.  Lately, I use it mostly to read (and play Scramble With Friends- user name rhirie- hit me up!) while I'm also reading actual ink-n-paper books.  This is the Kindle book I'm reading, and I just picked this one up in traditional format from the library for Book Club.  I recommend both.  The first, even though I'm only in the second chapter, was praised by my dad, and he's a smart guy who knows things.  The second I've actually read before, albeit years ago, and I know I enjoyed it very much.

This made me laugh.

Today's advice:  Read a book!  Who knows, maybe there is justice in the world, and every time someone reads a book, a Kardashian gets a pimple or gains a pound!

What was the first book you ever read?

What are you reading now?