on books and reading

One of my personal goals for this year was to read 40 books.  So far I've read 18 so I'm a little behind, but I'm pretty surprised at how close I'll be to actually achieving that goal since when I set the goal, I knew it would be challenging.  And since I haven't been sent any books from BlogHer Book Club lately, I've gotten to tackle some of the books that have been on my "To Read" list for a while now.  Anyway, here are some of my more recent reads and what I thought about them.

I finally got around to reading Pioneer Woman's "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" which I absolutely adored.  It's your basic love story, but there's just something so charming about that woman. As I was reading it I found myself not wanting it to end and because it's the story of her real life and how she met her husband you knew that it was going to have to end sometime.  Of course, we know from her blog that she has plenty more stories to tell and I can't wait for her to write another book and give us the next installment of her life.  Please, PW tell us about those babies!  Finish the story of how you came to know cooking so well and tell us what happens with your brother and parents.  Pretty please?

I also read the young adult book "I Am Number Four" by Pittacus Lore.  This was the book that was recently made into a movie released six months or so ago in theaters.  I'd had it on my "To Read" list for a long time.  I am a huge fan of YA series and was excited about this one.  Finding out the bit about this book being about aliens from another planet made me the slightest bit hesitant but I still wanted to give it a try and it certainly lived up to my expectations.  I will say that no, it's definitely not another Harry Potter series, but I do think it's up there on my list with The Hunger Games and Twilight books.  Like Twilight and HG, if you read it with an open mind, remembering the fact that it was written for teenagers and pre-teens then I think you will enjoy it.  As I get older I have started enjoying more sci-fi type reads as well which I never would have even considered reading when I was younger, but it's all good now. So I'm all excited about the movie and the fact that it's got Quinn from Glee in it makes it all that more exciting.  Have any of you seen it?

Little Bee was a book I kept noticing on blogs and recommendations on Facebook, etc. so I put it on my list.  Then the other day I decided to read the short Goodreads synopsis and I immediately knew what I wanted to read next.  Seriously, go read it.  Once you've read their teaser, you'll definitely want to read the book and I highly recommend doing that as well.  So hurry along folks!  Good reading awaits!


Questions of the Day:


-What good books have you read lately?



-What's the deal with orange?  Why the heck do all three of these books I enjoyed have orange covers?

-I tried to read The Pillars of the Earth, but just couldn't get into it.  I'd say I was at least a quarter of the way in when I quit.  DI you read it? Should I give it another try?

-Next up I have A Prayer for Owen Meany, Crazy Love, gods in Alabama, Winter Garden, and Sarah's Key.  Which should I read first?


 

one more minute and I coulda beat Nicole Ducouer!

source

The Sunday before school started I participated in my second triathlon.  The Ramblin' Rose women only triathlon is held at the Gateway YWCA each year here in Winston.  I did it last year as well, but I never did talk too much about it because if you recall I got a full-time teaching job the very next week

Last year I didn't train at all.  I really don't think I'd had any idea what I'd gotten myself into.  I just went out and did it.  I didn't even get nervous about it until right before.  I had no goals except to finish and I did it. I was so proud of myself.  I had an absolute blast.  I think mostly that was because I didn't take it too seriously but also it was because the whole spirit of the event is amazing.  Everyone is so encouraging and positive.  It was unlike any athletic event I'd ever been a part of.

This year I didn't train like I would have liked.  I continued exercising almost all summer.  I had been running two or three miles at a time all summer long and also lifting weights and trying to keep up with other cardio.  I hadn't been riding my bike though and I certainly didn't swim at all.  I just sat by the pool waiting for this to happen so I could capture it on video.  My goal this year was just to make it through the whole event without stopping to get off the bike or stopping to walk.


Anyway, the morning of the race I had to get up early and be at the Y by 6am since I was volunteering for set-up as well.  This was great because it didn't give me time to really think about the race itself.

I chose a slow swim time so I could be at the back of the pack.  I'm just not confident in my athletic abilities enough to want to really compete with the big group so I went after the herd.  While we all waited to start we stood around talking with the other ladies participating and I got to meet a huge group of teachers from the school Julianna would be starting K at that week.  [Side note: How awesome is that?  That a huge group of women and their co-workers get together and do this all as a group? What fun it seems like that would be!]

When it got close to my time to get in the pool I realized that I was going to be on the deep end and far side of the pool which made me very nervous.  I swallowed a bunch of water on my first push off from the side and I was completely beat after the first two laps so I did a lot of kicking lazily on my back just trying to get through.  I did make it out though and headed out on the bike.

Whit let me borrow her bike for the race which helped tremendously.  I rode the entire 8 miles without stopping and I felt awesome about that.  When I got off the bike I couldn't feel my legs for a good five minutes and after that they felt extremely heavy.  I know this may be crazy, but that was awesome too.

I ran almost the whole way.  I think I probably stopped and walked about one tenth of a mile uphill on the run part.  I was so thirsty.  I was never thirsty during the race last year and although I drank water on my bike and guzzled both water and Gatorade at the run aide station, it still wasn't enough.

It is an AMAZING feeling coming up on that finish line though.  I passed my family several times on the course.  I waved like a maniac at Josh so he would be able to see who I was.  Julianna ran the last tenth or so with me across the finish line.

source

My time was 1:21:07.  A whole 16 minutes faster than last year.  And I'm already looking forward to the next one.


Also at Ramblin' Rose:

twenty two months (two weeks late)

Dear Joshua,

Today you are just two months shy of being two years old.  I can't keep up with it anymore and my brain can't do the math very fast when someone asks how old you are. Some days I answer that you're twenty months old but most days I say that you're almost two just to save the trouble of figuring it out.  I can't believe that you're so close to being two when it totally seems like a month or two ago that we were walking around the fair trying to induce labor.

Buddy, I love you so much and it's been a really fun treat to be home with you this summer.  You've gotten very attached to me and while your separation anxiety has gotten better some the last week or so, you still love to be held by your Mama and are hesitant to leave my arms to go to anyone.

You started full-time childcare/preschool a week ago and you've made the transition really well.  You did cry several times when I dropped you off, but a few mornings you haven't cried at all.  You even take a decent nap on the floor mats at school which has completely surprised me. Everyone said you'd be fine and I guess you are.

You still don't know the colors but at least you are starting to learn most of the alphabet song.  It's amazing to hear you sing the words to Jesus Loves Me and You Are My Sunshine before bed each night.  We are working hard on teaching you the traditional God Is Great Blessing.  You have less interest in these things than your sister did, but I'm not worried at all. It's come in due time.

I love that you say "Thanks Welcome!" whenever someone gives you something.  It's like you're so well mannered and the other person is usually too slow for you so you say your part and theirs.  You really do speak well.  I adore that you call the ABCs the ABCDs.  Your preschool teachers have both remarked at how well you talk and on the first day of meeting them one understood you better than I did when you pointed out the Cookie Monster in the room.  Other words we like to hear you to say are Lightning McQueen's Kachow!, Arrrrrrrr Matey's! like a pirate because you say it like Mighty's, and Yook! (Look!).

For the record, it's impossible to resist your big brown eyes when you take my hand in the kitchen and say, "Come play with me, Mommy."

I think you've been cutting some molars the past few weeks or something because you've resorted to biting us again.  You'll come right up to Julianna while she's sitting on the couch and just lean right down and put your little mouth on her feet and chomp down.  Several weeks ago you bit my arm hard enough to leave a bruise on it for a week.  I'm at a loss as to how to stop this and I'm praying that it's just the teeth bothering you and it's something you'll grow out of soon.

I say it every month, but once again I want to acknowledge that you're all boy.  You're rough and tumble with Daddy and you hold your own with Jules.  You love to kick the cat and throw sticks.  The other day you say a Fruit of the Loom commercial on TV and after it went off you asked for "more girls in bathing suits." Heh.

You love being measured on the wall behind your bedroom door and you've grown quit a bit this summer.  Your pajama pants actually fit your little legs now instead of gathering at the ankles.  So it's obvious that you're growing physically, mentally, and emotionally and it's fun to take note of that growth.  It just seems so fast.  Slow down a bit, Buddy, OK?

I wrote most of this letter about two weeks ago and reading back over it now it already seems so out-of-date.  I never published it then because I hadn't quite finished it up.  I hope that's no indication of how neglected you'll be for the rest of your life as the second child.

We love you, Joshy!

Love,
Mama

obligatory first day of school pictures

My baby started Kindergarten two weeks ago.  She was so very excited.  She told me on numerous occasions that she was jealous that Josh and I got to go to school several days before her.

Then we found out that her school would be doing a staggered start for the Kindergarteners.  One half of the class would go a full day on the first day of school and the other half of the class would go on the second day of school.  Can you guess which group she was placed into?  Of course, she was in the second one.  This was good and bad.  She had to be patient and wait one more day for school to start, but it also gave Jonathan a chance to get home from his business trip to Wisconsin and see her off on her first day of school.

She told us ahead of time that she was most excited about getting to ride the bus (Whoa, there hold on! We were NOT going to let her ride the bus right off the bat.) and eating in the cafeteria.  We met her teacher at open house and she seemed nice enough.  She knew exactly how to talk to a five year old.  I suppose one would after teaching at the same school for 25 years.

Julianna's school requires a Standard Mode of Dress (uniform-type clothing) for Monday through Thursday and let's just say that Jules wasn't a fan of the collared shirts.  She is fine with the outfits for everything except those and fortunately they are not required to wear collars.

We knew of several people going into Kindergarten at her new school.  One was a boy from our neighborhood, another was a little girl from church, and we knew several of the kids from her preschool class would be going to her school.  Only one of those was assigned to her same class though.  She seemed OK with that.

We all took her to school the first day and walked her into the cafeteria. You could tell she was nervous but I know more than anything she was excited.  She keeps talking about how she just wants a boyfriend .

My response: (spoken like my twelve year old self) OVER MY DEAD BODY!

riding the bus

One of the things I wanted to do with the kids this summer was ride the bus.  I saw it on a list of cheap, fun activities to do with your kids at the beginning of the summer and of course, I never got around to it before school started.  Well, my mom and dad live downtown and Julianna had to stay with mom a day or two before she started school.  Josh had already started and I was having to go in for teacher workdays so Julianna was getting shuffled around everywhere.  Thank goodness for my awesome mother.

They waited for the bus on a sidewalk near my mom's house. Julianna loves to give her a hard time and make awful faces when Nanna tries to take her picture.  Finally the bus came and they went almost all the way to the back to find a seat.  Jules was so excited and I'm sure a little nervous too.

A kind man offered to take their picture together.  My mom's idea was to ride the bus a little ways into the downtown area and find a place for lunch.  You could probably guess that Julianna didn't want to get off the bus.  She wanted to keep riding and didn't want to eat at any of the places my mom suggested.  So they just rode the bus all the way back around and got back off near my mom's house.

Then they drove to Firehouse Subs and had a lunch date together.  Julianna was sweet enough to ask for a fire hat to bring home to her little brother.

Thanks, Mom, for taking my sweet girl on a new adventure!  She had a crazy good time and now she can't stop asking when she's going to get to ride the school bus.  She's lucky to have a Nanna available to do fun things with her.  We love you!

life in August

[Of course, by that I meant September.]

My house is a wreck.  My papers aren't graded.  My lunches aren't packed for tomorrow.  The pile of laundry is overtaking my bedroom.  I had Cold Stone today for an after school treat with Jules. My blog has been abandoned.  At least I've made it to the gym three times this week.  But the best is that for the first time ever, Josh cried when I picked him up from school yesterday.  He said, "No Mommy!  Josh stay at school! Go back in school!"

Makes me a wee bit sad, but makes me a great big bit happy.

by the end of this week

By the end of this week I will have

• finished a triathlon (16 minutes faster than last year)
• handled 4 nights and 4 days with two kids by myself
• gone to my own school's two open houses
• managed to get my daughter started in Kindergarten, yes Kindergarten 
• started my (almost... if you count part-time years) 9th year teaching 

That's a pretty impressive list in my opinion.

Also, you may not have noticed, but I am late writing Josh's 22 month letter.  Have no fear; I'm getting to it.