Making it Up As I Go

This week I:

managed to get Tiny to stay in Nursery for an hour and 45 minutes, with only 3 crying jags. (And yes, I was in there the whole time.)  This is a huge improvement from the previous week when she screamed and cried for an hour in there. (And yes, I was in there the whole time then too.)

taught preschool. We learned about bridges and the 3 Billy Goats Gruff. We skimmed over the part where the biggest billy goat kicks the troll into next week.

went grocery shopping.

got the carpet cleaned. Woo hoo! Seriously, is there anything as great as a freshly cleaned carpet? Other than new sheets?

got a new area rug for the living room, and a new one for under the dining room table.

finished Horns by Joe Hill, and stayed up WAY too late to do so. I’ll write more about it in my end of the month book roundup.

gave Z her very first haircut. I know, I know, she’s 3 1/2, she really should have had one by now. So I used my newly learned skills (thanks Enrichment!) and gave her a trim. I only cut off a tiny bit, but it looks much healthier now.  It took mucho bribery, but she learned that it doesn’t hurt and isn’t a big deal, so hopefully next time will be easier.

got supplies and a gazillion prima flowers to make Brandy’s guest book. Seriously, so many flowers. As I told her in an e-mail- “You know town? I’m going to it.”  But if you’re having a spring/flower themed wedding, that’s what you get!

practiced for the upcoming ward talent show. 3 of my insane friends and I are doing a “history of girl groups” lipsync….It’s possible that we’ve all lost our minds.  All I know is that I get to be Diana Ross, Susanna Hoffs, and Beyonce. Hopefully the result will be amusing.  (You know, purposefully amusing, not inadvertently so.)

read this month’s Vanity Fair. It was pretty good.

realized that 95% of my conversations with one of my friends start with one or the other of us saying  the phrase “I have a crazy idea”.  I will not comment on the ramifications of this.

got the girls new shoes.  They’d both outgrown theirs. Both new pairs are quite shiny.

discovered that Z wants a dinosaur theme for her birthday party. In 6 months. Yes, we start planning this early. We take parties very seriously ’round these parts. Ok, not really.

almost talked my daddy into getting a bright red rug for my parent’s living room. Lucky for him (and probably me too) he decided against it. (My momma hates red. But it would have looked SO good!)

I know there’s more but can’t remember. What have you gotten done this week?

Last night we went on an adventure, leaving the girls at home with Grandma and going to San Francisco to see Wicked.  And in true Wicked style, our whole experience was swankified.

We stayed at the Marriot at Union Square, which is GORGEOUS. We got to the hotel and checked in- dropped off our luggage to be taken upstairs and rushed off to our dinner reservations at Mortons. AMAZING food. The restaurant itself is gorgeous, the waitstaff super swanky (the Maitre’ d switched our white napkins for black so they wouldn’t get fuzz on our black clothes), and like I said, amazing food. Super super tender steak, even the green beans were amazing.

We went back to our hotel to catch a cab to the theater, and while the valet guy (what do you call him?) was about to call us a cab, the hotel car drove up, so he put us in it and sent us on to the theater, on the house.  Swanky, I tell you.

The show itself was so good. I’ve seen it before, but that just made it all better, as I knew what to watch for this time as far as the dancing and such went. Kendra Kassebaum, who plays Galinda, is a total and utter hoot, and she killed again last night. I cannot figure out how she manages to laugh while singing, it seems impossible. But my goodness, she’s funny. She looks like Amy Poehler to me, and so that makes it even more entertaining.    This is my favorite moment from the whole show- her “Yes, I do” after the slap- it’s so perfect.    (The Elpheba in these videos isn’t the one from the production we saw.)

The costumes are insanely gorgeous (Jess, if you haven’t seen them, you have to check them out, I’ll see if I can find a link) and so was everything else. It really was super good. And I totally got all teary, missing being on stage. It happens every time I see a show- I just want to be up there too.

After the show was over we went out with everyone else to find a complete – and somewhat baffling – lack of taxis.  As we were weighing our options, a man standing by a limo asked if we needed a cab. And, to paraphrase Ghostbusters, when a man with a limo asks if you need a cab, you say YES! So we hoped in the limo and got back to our hotel in fine style.

I actually got to sleep in this morning until 8, which is unheard of in these parts. (I woke up at 6, but ignored myself and went back to sleep.)  We had a lovely breakfast at a cute little cafe and crepery, and then headed home. The girls were in fine moods when we got back, well, they were until we got there; as soon as we stepped in the door Tiny started crying and wanted to be held and cuddled, but she’d been fine up to that point. Z had a wonderful time with her “grandma sleepover”, and apparently both of the girls had slept in until past 7, which they haven’t done for me for months.

So that was our adventure. Swanky, yes?

Some bits and pieces from life recently:

My new favorite band is Rock Sugar. A rock band stuck on a desert island in 1989 with only the 80’s pop cd collection of a 13 year old girl…  Absolutely hilarious and awesome.

Men’s moguls was KILLING me last night. Seriously, the Olympics has some kind of spores or something ( as my brother used to say about Harry Potter) – I don’t care in the least about men’s moguls, but I was on the edge of my seat  screaming as those last 3 skiers went down.  And did you see the US guy totally biff it toward the end there? B totally caused that.  He gave it to the universe, and the universe gave it right back.

We’re getting a new couch! B used his day off today and went and picked it out while we were busy with preschool- total surprise. We get it in a couple weeks. Woo hoo!

I have Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance stuck in my head. It will. not. leave. I won’t link to it so as to save you from the same fate.

I’ve been thinking about this post about girls and sports (and the drive to win vs. being “nice”) a lot over the last couple of days, especially in light of the Olympics and an interview I watched with the women’s mogul gold medalist, who talked about how it made her sad to have taken the gold from the Canadian who almost won.  I don’t know that I’m coming to any conclusions, especially since I never participated in competitive sports of any kind.  If anyone has any insights and wants to talk about it, I’d love to.

And now, some pictures!

Valentines girls

Tiny loves Pooh bear. I believe she currently has 6 stuffed Poohs.

She also loves dancing.

and is apparently considering following in her namesake’s shoes, playing the role of an updated Eliza Doolittle in an as yet unscheduled performance of My Fair Baby.

Z loves posing.

I believe that’s all that’s going on at the moment. I have a baby blanket to finish, and a large number of projects to start and finish. I need to write them all down so I can get them going and done.

What are you up to?

It is gloomy outside.

The heater is on.

Z is laying in bed looking at books with her footie “jalamas” half on and half off. She’s been whiny since she woke up, and halfway through changing her clothes she hit superwhiny, so I asked her to lay back down until she didn’t feel whiny anymore. She may be in there a long time.

Tiny is listening to songs on her “radio” and playing with Handy Manny tools. She’s dressed.

It’s 7:45 and I’ve already been up for a long time today. I don’t want to think about how long, it will just make me more tired.

I’m  considering launching an attempt to buy new boots today. My quest for a new dress to wear to Wicked next week has been unsuccessful so far, but new boots with an old skirt and new top might do the trick.

I think I’m going to go play with my new Boogie Board. It’s the coolest thing ever.

What’s going on with you at this moment?

Before I start, can I just say that I really want to take a nap right now? Really badly? But I know that if I do, I won’t be able to fall asleep tonight. And I just wasted an hour puttering around on the interwebs, so I feel like I should do something of substance now. So, without further ado, the books I’ve read in the last 9 days.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson: I wrote about my pathological inability to remember anything about this book earlier, and I have to admit that I because of that mental block, I went into reading this book a little wary. (Was my mind trying to protect me from something? Possibly…) Honestly, I’m not positive how I feel about the book.   The beginning was a little slow going; I read the first 120 pages in two 1/2 hr sittings; but then it ramped up and I hit a binge and finished the rest (500 or so pages) in 3 hours. The characters were quite interesting,  and the mystery at the center of the plot  (there were at least 2 other mysteries going on as well) was compelling.

It’s the story of a disgraced journalist who is hired to investigate 30 year old disappearance of a Swedish businessman’s brother’s granddaughter. (And yes, all of the relationships in the book are that convoluted.) As the story progresses, a mysterious, tormented, brilliant hacker named Lisbeth Salander is pulled into the case, and together she and the journalist uncover all sorts of unsavory information about the history of the family.  Part way through it wanders into serial killer/thriller territory, and while I don’t know what I was expecting, it wasn’t that.

The original title of the book (the Swedish version) was Men Who Hate Women, and while I can see why they changed the title – who would buy that book? – it’s a pretty accurate one. The central theme of the book is violence and oppression perpetrated against women, and while there was some pretty disturbing violence, which I wish I hadn’t read, it wasn’t necessarily gratuitous. It also deals with injustices and abuses of the Swedish court system, which were enlightening, but pretty depressing.

The thing that carried me through to the end was the character of Salander, the girl of the title. I wanted to know more about her, who she was, what made her tick- I just wish there was a way to do that without the rest of the depressingness. Which probably isn’t possible, as it seems that many of her issues stem from those very issues.  I haven’t decided whether I’ll read the next book in the series… we’ll see.

The Wild Things by David Eggers: This is the novelization of the movie-ization of the children’s book by Maurice Sendack (written by the writer of the screenplay for the movie) .  I haven’t seen the movie yet, but oh my goodness did this book kill me. I’ve read many different interpretations of the film, but what stood out to me most here was Max as a symbol for mother. He finds himself on a strange island, suddenly in charge of creatures he doesn’t understand, trying to institute some sort of order for his own safety and theirs, trying to juggle the needs and whims of each while struggling to come to some sort of comprehension of who he’s dealing with, seeing pieces of himself and his own family in them – when he doesn’t even understand himself.  Seriously, so much of this resonated, it really was devastating in a really good way- if that’s possible.  There’s a song from the movie that we hear on the radio, and it almost always makes me cry because it captures something so primal- and that’s what this book does as well. It captures the primal, terrified, struggling part of motherhood, the part that will fight fist and nail- to the death- to defend its children, while being simultaneously certain that those same children will most probably consume it.

Steady Days: A Journey Toward Intentional, Professional Motherhood by Jamie C. Martin: This is a great little book (what, it’s short!) containing some great ideas about using time in an organized way as a mom. Less about scheduling laundry and such, more about how to work in scheduled play time to blow bubbles and things. I found it really insightful, and will be using a number of ideas from it.

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith: I read this book a long while ago and really didn’t care for it, (you can read why here, starting in the 4th paragraph ), but it was the book club pick for the month, so I read it again. Going into with less expectation, and more interest in Africa, I appreciated it quite a bit more. It was still  light on character depth and development, and  I’m not going to rush out and pick up the rest in the series (Mr. McCall Smith and I have a complicated relationship), but it was better than last time, and that’s saying a lot.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: Prompted by a mention in #1 Ladies Detective Agency, I finally pulled this out and read it. (That description being false- I read it on the haunted Kindle, so I didn’t “pull it out” at all.)  I was supposed to read this a couple of times in college and didn’t, and therefore knew quite a bit about it without really having a sense of it. (This wasn’t one of the books I wrote a paper about without having read it — at least I don’t think it was. Although…. I remember writing a paper about colonization theory for my Gothic Imagination class that I did really poorly on, maybe it was on this book? Goodness, how I hated colonization theory. I wish I could take that class again now that I’m actually interested in it.)  BUT ANYWAY, I was surprised by this book, it wasn’t at all what I expected.  Interesting, compelling, but not half as dramatic as I’d been led to believe. It did have a crazy ramp-up part way through; I’d been reading it before bed and fell asleep, and when I picked it up the next day, all of the sudden I was in the midst of a gun battle and cannibals and fire, and had no idea how the plot had gotten there.  Overall, a good read.

The Humbling by Phillip Roth: This was a total impulse pick at the library, and I took it to the gym with me last night because it was short. It’s the story of an actor who has lost his skills (think writer’s block, but for an actor), had a mental breakdown, fallen for the 20 years younger lesbian daughter of old friends, lost her, contemplated suicide… it’s a concise, tightly written exploration of… something. I’m not quite sure what the ultimate point is; it explores the roles we play, courage, suicide, impersonation, identity, but I’m not sure what it ultimately says about any of it.

Now I’m reading by “Exterminate All the Brutes”: One Man’s Odyssey into the Heart of Darkness and the Origins of European Genocide by Sven Lindqvist, a fascinating exploration of the role of genocide in Europe’s colonization of Africa and how it created the atmosphere in which Hitler raised up the Nazi party. VERY interesting so far.

What are you reading?

Need a hand?

Just call Skloss (the tiger)  and Kay (the elephant). (Apparently they’re Swedish superheroes.)  Day or night (before bedtime), they’re ready on the double.

Zoe started dance class last week:

She’s enjoying it. Can you tell? And yes, it did take 2 ponytails and 4 pony holders to wrangle her bun into place.

Audrey is a crack-up, and possibly insane.

Her take on that?

“Me? Insane?”

“Hmmmm…..”

“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeell…..”

“Of course!”

I just got back from 1/2 hr on the elliptical machine at the gym, and as such am only capable of expressing the random thoughts that have been floating around my head today.

1. Have you heard the band Owl City?  Today I realized that their songs are what crushing tweeners would have  imagined Legolas singing to them  a couple years back when Lord of the Rings was huge. (You know, ignoring the whole ruthlessly impaling people with arrows thing, because he’s sensitive, dang it!)  Seriously, if songs are too twee for me, that’s saying something major.

2. I know I’m risking wrath here, but I CAN NOT see the appeal of John Mayer. He may be on my top 5 most disliked musicians list.

3. In a factor of about a billion more ( I don’t know how to say that, I don’t know math) than I dislike John Mayer, I HATE (HATE!) the smell that assaults you as you walk past Ambercrombie and Fitch at the mall. How does anyone shop there? Does this opinion make me old? Possibly.

4. I tried on roughly 17 dresses today (I have a hot date coming up!) and none were either long enough or had the right neckline. Or the sleeves were wrong. My friends who have similar dressing issues as I do- where do you find dresses? Not even fancy ones, just regular ones? I’m totally striking out here.

5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is ramping up into something really interesting and unexpected. It probably wasn’t unexpected to anyone else in the world, but seeing as I seem to have had a pathological inability to remember  ANYTHING about the book before I started – (seriously, I’d read about it a number of times but could never recall anything about it, and then e-mailed a friend to ask him about it because I thought I remembered him mentioning it , and he responded that I had, in fact, GIVEN him the book)- the emerging locked door mystery was a pleasant surprise.

6. The genuis mix on my Nano right now is totally scoring for me. Gene, Travis, Suede, Manic Street Preachers,  U2 – awesome.

7. I have about 20 JD Salinger short stories in my possession that I have never read before. All previously published in magazines or such, but never collected. Unread Salinger, that’s about as close to literary heaven as I can get.  I’m also planning a re-read of Catcher in the Rye in honor of Salinger’s passing; I haven’t read it since high school.

8. I have lovely new rainboots- black and white go-go boot style. Truly the most happy making rainboots I’ve ever owned.  I can’t wait for it to rain again.

9. Speaking of lovely new things, I have the schnazziest new computer ever seen. She is tiny, she is shiny, she is quick and ruthlessly efficient. She’s pretty dang close to silent, and could take down any computer that got near her. She’s beautifully organized, but I can tell she has a firmly based core of feist. If she got drunk I’m almost positive she would punch her commanding officer in the face.  (Ok, so maybe not.) But, as such, she has been christened Starbuck. B made her for me, and she is almost as wonderful as he is.

10. It’s almost my bedtime. Tiny has been waking up obscenely early, which means I have been waking up just as obscenely early. Obscene, I tell you. Anyway, I’m going to bed.  Otherwise I’ll be grumpy in the morning, and that’s no fun for anyone. Just ask, they’ll tell you.  And I have to teach Sunday School tomorrow. Someone remind me of that tomorrow, I’m almost certain to forget. It’s a good lesson though, I’m excited.

What random thoughts have you had today?

Tiny is wearing green sunglasses with a flowers on them. Now she’s screaming and throwing them. She’s a fickle beast.

Z is coloring in a Hello Kitty activity book with 1 dark green crayon that she suspects isn’t actually green. “Mama, are you even sure this is green?” It is.

I need to get off my duff and tidy up my house. The maintenance guys are coming over to touch up the paint on our walls (for free! Score!) and while it doesn’t quite look like a tornado hit, it at least resembles the results of a strong wind.

I need to get off my duff and CLEAN my house. Book club is here tonight, and, well, the place needs to look better for the RS ladies than for the maintenance guys. (That’s saying nothing about either group, but the maintenance guys really don’t care. And the RS ladies will be here longer. And conversation flows better in a clean, yummy smelling house. Or something.)

I’m excited about the little blue leotard on the counter; the one that signifies that Z is visiting a dance class tomorrow to “try it out”.  Woohoo!

Tiny is pulling every single thing out of my bag. When she encounters a zipper she fusses at me until I open it so that she can get at the things inside.  At least she’s occupied.

I’m loving these pictures that B took using his new flash : Z as a rapper, more Z, Tiny

I’m enjoying The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo which I started last night.

I’m also enjoying this post, which really struck me today.

I am hopeful that it won’t rain today.

I really need to go at least take a shower before the maintenance guys get here, so I’m going now.

What’s going on at your house at this moment?

I’ve decided to embrace my inner slackerness when it comes to posting about the books I read, and change my intent of writing about them right after they’re read to writing about them at the end of the month. I’ll feel less existential angst this way. (Or something.)

I’ve read 4 books so far this  month, and should have another finished up by the end of the month. That puts me solidly on my way to my goal of 50 for the year.

The House of Lost Souls by F.G. Cottam was a total impulse grab from the library. The blurb about the book included a haunting and a “decadent party in the 1920s”, and well, if I’m anything, I’m a sucker for the 1920s; decadent parties from then even more so.  The story was interesting, hinging on a house possessed of such evil that it makes anyone who visits insane (and ultimately suicidal)  from continual haunting after they leave the house. Only one man had successfully “gotten away” from the house, but he realizes he’s still embroiled in its evil after he’s called upon to help some college students who were lured to the house.  As the story progresses we learn how he was originally involved in the mystery of the house, and as he tries to help the girls, he discovers the truth of the house.  (It all started with said decadent party in the 1920s. )  Anyway, overall it was quite good, with some very well drawn characters. It’s only flaw for me was a rather sudden and surprising resolution that left me wanting far more information. (Let me be clear- there was enough information given, it wasn’t confusing or anything, I just wanted more.)

Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by Kim John Payne with Lisa M. Ross is one of the best parenting books I’ve read in quite a while. Payne maintains that kids are being overwhelmed by too many toys, too many activities, too much information, too many choices, and that that by simplifying in all of those areas, they will do better and be happier. There’s seriously so much in this book that I can’t begin to summarize it all; all I will say is that I HIGHLY recommend it, and it’s one I’ll go back to over and over again.

Iorich by Steven Brust was everything I wanted and more. I adore Brust’s Vlad Taltos series, and this episode returned to his trademark wit.  There was a good section of 10 or so pages in a row where I just cracked up on every page. This installment sees Vlad trying to help his falsely (but kind of rightly, because she did what she was accused of, but that’s not why she was actually imprisoned) imprisoned friend while negotiating his way through the political machinations of the powers that be (who are also his, and the imprisioned’s, friends, but are bound by duty to do their jobs) and solving a conspiracy.  Getting to see Cawti and Krager again, as well as meeting Vlad Jr. was fantastic as well.

We’re reading Persuasion by Jane Austen for book club this month, and I started reading, and then it looked like I was going to miss book club, and I had so many other things to read that I stopped reading, and then book club got moved to my house and so I had to finish it frantically this last couple of days. I’m glad I did, it’s the first Austen I’ve actually made it all the way through ( I KNOW, I KNOW. Don’t you have some book you should have read? Actually I read an article about people who lie about having read books and why they do, and I’ll admit that I lie about having read Austen just to avoid the incredulous reactions.) and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I kept wanting to slap various characters, but I’m fairly certain that was the point, so it was ok. What was odd, though, was that I kept thinking throughout what a different book it would have been had it been written by Virginia Woolf or Evelyn Waugh. I think the thought came up because they’ve all written about similar subjects- a good person ignored, a group visiting the country – and my mind wandered. If Waugh had written it the story would have been similar but the absurdity more pronounced, if it had been Woolf there would have been a death and more inner turmoil and torment. Anyway, it was an interesting thing to think about as I read. But that shouldn’t be taken to mean that I wished it was written differently, it was wonderful as it was. And true to report, the love letter toward the end is paralyzingly lovely.

I’m in the middle of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life by Wendy Watson Nelson, which is incredibly good and about the power of questions in our dealing with ourselves, others, and God. She has a 30 day challenge wherein you take a question to the scriptures every day for 30 days, which I’m excited to try. There are some great insights and thought provoking ideas in here.

I’m also in the middle of A Charlotte Mason Companion and Charlotte Mason Study Guide. I’ve got school on the brain.

I also have to get to Alice In Sunderland by Bryan Talbot, which I have from the library and will need to return soon. I’ve been meaning to read it for literally YEARS now, so I’m glad to get to it.

Anyway, that’s what I’m reading. What are you reading? Anything I should add to my list? Fill me in!