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What the Dickens by Gregory Maguire.
I LOVE Gregory Maguire. Well, I love his books. LOL. I have loved his books since I read Wicked. He has a wonderful imagination. This book was not at all what I expected. It's about the Tooth Fairy, but also some other things too, like wishes.
If you are wondering what the two have in common you should read this book to find out.
And then read Wicked and any other book by him that you can find.
Not just any Ten.
The AGE ten.
I have decided that Ten is not a very good age in boy years. What happened to my sweet little Cody? Remember him? He was so sweet and cute and funny, he liked to play with his brother.
That Cody is looooong gone and I miss him.
In his place is the this new Cody, he is moody and sassy and will NOT be nice to his brother at all. And he eats ALL THE TIME!!! This morning for breakfast he had a glass of chocolate milk, 2 scrambled eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, 6 large strawberries, a piece of toast and 3 chocolate chip cookies!!!!!!
Yesterday he got all grumpy because Kip and I decided to go to Costco. Cody grumped all the way there (he never wants to leave the house anymore) and when Kip said he was starting to be a pain Cody said "yeah so are YOU".
What?
At conferences the other day his teacher told me (like they always do) what a sweet, quiet, sensitive boy he is. I wish he was still like that at home. I suppose I should be happy that he is at least still acting human while with other people.
The other day we set up a new email address for him. I signed into it and added all the family email addresses to his contact list. While I was there I sent an email to myself so we could test it out. It said
"Hi mom.
I love you.
Cody"
While he was at school the next day I replied to the email. I wrote
"Even though I know I wrote this email it still made me feel good to think it came from you.
Mom"
How sad that the only way my son tells me he loves me know is if I email it to myself. LOL.
Ok, I guess that isn't completely true. The other night when I was leaving for work I told them I loved them (like I always do before I leave) and I heard him say "love you too".
Maybe I should've taped that huh?
I heard a rumor that it's only going to get worse as they get older.
Maybe it is time to get that puppy....
If you don't love photojojo yet, you will after you read this.
http://photojojo.com/content/tips/12-alternative-uses-for-camera/?utm_source=Oempro4&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=http%3A%2F%2Fphotojojo.com%2Fcontent%2Ftips%2F12-alternative-uses-for-camera%2F&utm_content=Subscriber%20%2384648&utm_campaign=12%20Ways%20to%20Use%20Your%20Camera%20As%20a%20Tool
I didn't mean to, I was doing the laundry and talking to my mom on the phone. I got distracted. I had opened the dryer but the clothes were too wrinkly, I must had turned around for a minute, when I started the dryer I heard this horrible clunking noise. I was so mad, that dryer is only a few months old. I shut the dryer off right away and opened the door (so I could see what was going on) and the cat jumped out!!!!!
Poor Tiger.
BTW in case you were wondering, cats are LOUD in the dryer....
So I've had some responses to my love story and I wanted to answer some questions.
Reading on the Kindle does NOT cause eye strain. It is not backlit like a computer monitor, so unlike staring at a computer screen all day (or night) and feeling all wonky afterwards it is more like reading a book.
Yes I too love the feel and smell of paper, remember I have a bookworm tattoo ok? I love books, I'm sure I always will. I still have books all around my house. I won't get rid of paper books I am sure, but I also love the feel and smell of TREES which have to die in large quantities to mass produce books. I also am sick of lugging books around with me where ever I go. Spring is right around the corner and I'm sure I will be spending plenty of time at the park, my sexy little kindle weighs alot less then a pile of books LOL.
Another thing I like is the built in dictionary and wikipedia access. I can see how this is going to be helpful for my children. My oldest in particular, when he reads, as he comes across a word he isn't familiar with he just skips it. With the kindle you can place the cursor in front of the word and the definition pops up on the bottom of the screen. You can also access wikipedia so you can do research or whatever right from within the book. You can also highlight text and write notes. I really think that the potential for textbooks with this device is HUGE. I have already heard of people saving money on textbooks and also saving their backs not having to carry around huge backpacks. I think for our children who were raised with the internet this will be really helpful.
Another aspect of the Kindle which I hadn't considered until I bought one was the world of self publishing. Lots of people turn the books they have written into kindle books. I'm sure it is a much cheaper and easier way to get your novel out to the public.
The kindle 2 can hold about 1500 books, magazines, newspapers and blogs at one time. I love that I can have all of that with me at anytime.
I personally am also enjoying the free classics. I might actually read Pride and Prejudice now
LOL.
Oh and don't forget, I am a gadget girl. I love my ipod, treo, laptop, DSLR camera and now my kindle.
I don't think it will ever replace books and I certainly hope that the price will eventually come down. I know that lots of the converted are selling their Kindle 1's on ebay and craigslist as they upgrade.
Ok, that's all for today.
Have a great day and Happy reading to you, no matter what format you are reading in. :-)
LOL
I don't know why, but I am. I just really am liking Facebook, and Twitter, and Scrapgirls, and Amazon, and well I just love the interent in general.
But I am addicted to farm town. It's this dumb game on facebook where you have a farm and you plant crops, harvest them, take them to town, get paid, plant MORE crops.
I have a cow, some sheep, a few pigs, some chickens and 7 neighbors. I am hoping to get to the next level (or two or three) so I can get a Llama. I LOVE llamas. Somewhere I have pic of me and both my kids getting licked by llamas.....I should find that.
Anyway, I am so addicted to FarmTown that my kids want facebook pages so they can play with me. Of course Cody also wants to play "scramble" with me too (I think he means scrabble LOL). He was really bummed when he found out you have to be 13 to get a facebook page.
We have issues.
I am so excited!!
I thought it would be a fun idea to do blog interviews, so I asked some people if I could interview them, and they said yes!!! Now all I have to do is think up some questions. Keep your eyes peeled!!
I hope to have the first one up by next week.
My children got me my favorite Christmas gift this year. A gift certificate for Amazon.com.
While trying to decide what to actually use it on, I decided that maybe I should try utilizing the local library again. I seem to have a problem RETURNING the books and end up paying a bunch of money for books I can't even keep. I am just too impatient for the library. We have a rather small library here and they never have any of the books I want on the shelves, I have tried requesting them online in the past but usually forget to pick them up. LOL. Due to the fact that my wishlist is much larger then my gift certificate I broke down and tried the library again.
I requested three books last Saturday and finally was able to pick one up today.
And yes, I finished it already.
As always I read the reviews for this book before I read the book. I don't know why I bother doing that. Sometimes I think it clouds my opinion of the book as I'm reading it, but I did it anyone. Lorna Landvik is one of my favorite authors. And not just because she is a local writer LOL. So I knew ahead of time that it was not one of her best novels, yet I still enjoyed it. It was written like emails back and forth between the main character and a few others. It seems that most of the people on Amazon didn't enjoy that but, I (being an internet junkie) really did. It certainly was not as good as "Oh my stars" or "Pattyjanes house of curl" or "Angry housewives eating bon bons" but it was a fun read. Glad I didn't use my GC on it. It reminding me of reading the perezhilton website. It is about a rich drunken heiress, her escapades being splashed all over the tabloids and her return to herself with some help from old friends.
Check it out the next time you are at the library, or better yet read "oh my stars" it's a good book.
Remember when I posted the book challenge?
I finished the book I was reading, Digging to America by Anne Tyler, and I thought I would post a little review. It has been several years since I read a book by this author, but I have always enjoyed her style. She has a way of making everyday life interesting.
Digging to America is the story of two American families who adopt baby girls from Korea. The book begins as the two families meet each other at the airport the day that their daughters arrive and follows the families for several years. The main theme of the book is finding your place. One of the families is a white family and the other family is Iranian. It is interesting to watch how differently the two families raise their daughters and the choices they make. Can you guess which family tries the hardest to "Americanize" their daughter and which tries the hardest to preserve her Korean-ness? It is an interesting glimpse into the life of an American who wasn't born in America. It is not my favorite book by Ms. Tyler but still a good one.
Maybe a better title would be HOW I decided to go digital.
It all started when we went to Florida. It was our first family vacation, the first airplane ride for my boys. I got a "better" digital camera for the trip. Looking back now with my DSLR that "better" camera seems like a piece of junk LOL. Anyway, when we got back from florida I went to shutterfly to make a photo book. I was almost happy with the book, but their templates left alot to be desired. Not to long after that I was at the store and found a magazine called Digital Scrapbooking Magazine. I was intriged. The mag had a list of all these online companies that sold Digi supplies. It was in that list that I found Scrapgirls, which would soon become my home away from home. I went to their website and spent months learning all I could about this new thing called "Digital Scrapbooking". It included lots of my favorite things, computers, digital photos, adobe software!!! It brought me back to my youth LOL. Ok, maybe I should explain that. I have a degree in Electronic Publishing that I haven't used in FOREVER. It was digital scrapbooking that made me realize how much I miss it.
There's lots about digi that I love. I have been a scrapbooker off and on for decades. But when I had the boys, lugging out all the papers and CUTTERS and glue and stickers, well......
It just became such a chore and a safety hazzard. Besides no messes, I like that you can use your supplies over and over again, you can change the color of a paper or embelishment to better match your layout, and it is much more portable. I can sit in the living room with my boys and scrap while they do homework or watch a movie or whatever. I can scrap in bed late at night when everyone else is asleep LOL. Mommy the night owl. Or at Caribou or while on vacation....
If you would like to learn more about Digital Scrapbooking look on the right of my blog, find the blinkie thing that says Scrapgirls, click on that you can go to that website and learn tons.
Oh and while you 're there, stop by the messageboard and look me up, my screen name is Shelbi.
If all that is still too confusing for you, give me a call I'd be happy to help.
On Monday Feb. 2nd my oldest son Cody turned 10.
TEN!!!!
Where did the last decade go?
I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday.
He was born 12 days past his due date, at 4:15 am. The Dr. and nurses couldn't figure out why we got so teary eyed when they announced the time of birth. 4/15 as in April 15th is the day we got married. Yes, it was tax day, it was also the 3 year anniversary of our first date. That are first child togather was born at 4:15 just seemed so meaningful to us at the time.
A few hours later when one of my friends from work came to visit us I shocked her by saying that I wanted another baby!!! She thought I was nuts and said maybe I should at least get him home before I decided I wanted more.
Alot has happened in the last ten years. We did end up having another baby, after losing one. We did ECFE, Pre-k, Elementary school, cub scouts, t-ball, karate. We've moved, learned about bullies, figured out potty training and flown with a 2 year (not fun). We've seen oceans, mountains, the desert, the Grand Canyon, the giant redwoods, Mount Rushmore, a variety of Zoos and even rode on the Pizza train.
One of my favorite (and some days least favorite) part about parenthood, the part they don't mention in the "what to expect when expecting" book, is how raising children is alot like reliving your own childhood. I almost feel like I am growing up WITH my boys, and some days I just don't want to be a grown up!!
Sometimes I miss that little baby, the one we called my third leg and velcro baby. Now he's too cool to let Mom hug him, unless of course he's sick, but at the same time I am really enjoying seeing the person he is turning into. I feel so privileged to be a part of his journey. I have a magnet on my fridge that reads "who are these kids, and why are they calling me mom"?
I used to joke that "whoever" decided it would be a good idea to put me in charge of someone else's life must be nuts. When I think of how close I came to not having kids I am filled with gratitude the "someone" knew more about what I wanted and needed then I did.
I just hope the next ten years go by a little slower.....
Friday was report card day at my son's school.
My oldest got an A- in art, he always gets his best grades in Art class. I am probably the only Mommy in town who gets so excited about this. My FIL used to be a high school art teacher, several members of my husband's side of the family are talented artists and I have always hoped that at least one of my boys would inherit that trait. He got a B- in both Math and Reading, which is an improvement over past years and I am happy about that too.
They both scored well in rule following and participation too. My youngest did well in everything except sight words and lower case letters. I think it has something to do with the tails. They have to learn the De'nealion alphabet and both of them had issues with the tails.
They are well behaved and learning stuff.
All is right with the world.
I read somewhere recently that 25% of Americans didn't read ANY books last year.
I thought that was really scary.
I have always been a big reader, so much so that I have a bookworm tattoo. I call it my nerd tattoo.
Admittedly I don't as many books now that I've had kids. I don't have as much time. And of course most of my "spare" time seems to be spent at my computer, I do read blogs and news websites and stuff while I am here so I do still read alot.
Thank God for Twilight series. I read all four of them the week I learned about them, I had been looking for a new series now that Harry Potter has ended.
So my challenge to you is this, let's read more this year.
Let's have a discussion about what we are reading. What are YOU reading? I want to know.
I have a list on the left side of this blog of the book I already read this year.
I was "cleaning" the other day and a book that I bought and then forgot about, so that is the next book I am going to start.
It's called Digging to America.
It was written by Anne Tyler.
When I'm done I'll tell you what I think of it.
Michelle
I decided to start a blog for two reasons.
1) You know me, I'm always sending out emails with jokes, or photos, or my latest scrapbook page or just general goings on at our house. I always seem to forget someone, so then I go back and send ANOTHER email and on and on.
And I was thinking "Gee I wish that was a way I could keep my friends and family updated on what we're doing and share photos and book reviews and just general chit chat in one place..."
2) It has been bitterly cold here and I had been cooped up in the house with the boys for waaaaay too long. LOL. I was on driving the ladies at Scrapgirls crazy posting lyrics to obscure 80's songs. One of them finally said "hey michelle I think you're bored, go take a pic of something"
I have been working on this thing for DAYS LOL. I have completely trashed it and started all over again. I am new to blogging so bare with me. I finally decided that I should just start already and update as I learn new things instead of trying to get everything "perfect" before I share it.
So bookmark me or add me to your favorites or follow me (look at the column on the left for that) or whatever it is you do to keep track of web places you like to visit, because you never know what I might put here. It might be something really fantastic or you know really lame, either way you don't want to miss it!!!
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