Valentine's Day

We had a fun and busy Valentine's Day this year. I LOVE Valentine's Day and I am grateful that my husband does too. What's not to love about a day of love? This year I was a little slow with my holiday decorating but I got it all done and just in the nick of time. It looks great and I am sad to have to take it down. January was one long dark and dreary month and February has already given us several sunny days and bright holiday decorations too.

The kids woke up early and put on their festive Valentine's day outfits. Ailey and Bryn had been planning their outfits for days. Even Kameron broke out a red sports jersey and black and red track pants. They were excited to grab their "Red Lunches" and head out the door. You may recall that red lunch is where I pack a lunch that is all red and pink (actual food or the wrappers) and Valentine themed. The kids seriously love this. Over the years they have requested that I keep the contents a secret hence the staples...no peeking. These lunches are rarely healthy but they are fun. The one dud in their lunches this year was the craisins that Tyler threw in...apparently they don't want "worthless fruit" on Valentine's day. In defense of craisins...these were the cheapo Wal-mart brand and they were horrible. You've been warned.

They were all ready to go with their decorated Valentine Boxes. Ailey's class just finished studying the Titanic so her box was Titanic themed for their Titanic themed Valentine's Party. Kameron's teacher isn't too festive and he was bummed that she didn't go all out for their party. His Valentine box was an undecorated red and black Van's shoe box that he deemed good to go as is...why mess with perfection? Bryn decorated her box with her big buddies at preschool and so this year there was no big box decoration drama. Very easy.

Very cute!!

During the morning I was treated to this fun surprise from Tyler...

It was a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. I haven't taken a picture yet as they take 24 hours to officially *bloom* but already they are looking beautiful. There is something that is so fun and extra special about flowers that are delivered.

Then it was off to the school parties...

Like I said, Ailey's party was a Titanic party. This girl had not one, not two, but THREE outfits for the day. She arrived at school in her pink and red splendor. Then they had to change into their "poor" clothes as they talked about the people who worked below the deck and they got to learn to square dance and do some other things. THEN... they got to change into their "fancy clothes" and be the wealthy passengers. Here's Ailey in her fancy clothes complete with white gloves. She even had a little fake fur stole that she wore too.

As a wealthy passenger she was escorted to dine at the "captain's table". She had a little place card that said "Miss Johnson". They were served hot fudge sundaes by their butlers and maids (aka the parents) Ailey loved each and every minute of this party!! It was a really cute idea and the kids had a great time. I love that her teacher combines learning and fun.

Ailey and one of her BFFs Audrey

Look who showed up too!! As much fun as it is to have your mom at school it is over the moon exciting to have your DADDY come to school!!

We divided our time between both Kameron and Ailey's classes. Yes, lesson learned from the Halloween party. So while Kameron wasn't having the most festive party he was still having a great time. I was allowed to take a picture (shocker) but it is blurry due to the fact that the kid never stopped moving!!

Kameron and Jonathon in their Valentine *outfits*!! Ha ha. I am so glad that along with all these wild girls we were blessed with this crazy boy. Boys are awesome.

Reilly was out the door and at school before 6am for dance team practice. It is currently competition season so we see very little of her these days. She, unfortunately, had a hellish day at school (post all its own) and I picked her up early. HIGH SCHOOL BLOWS. But even she came home laden down with flowers and sparkling apple juice and treats. She is currently on pins and needles waiting to find out who her date is for our Stake's Priest/Laurel Dinner Dance. The stake assigns a boy to a girl. The boy finds out who he has as his date and then he asks her to the dinner dance creatively. So stay tuned...

We celebrated the rest of the night with the kids. Reilly had dance team practice and Ailey had ballet so we had a late fancy candlelight Valentine's dinner. Our kids LOVE that kind of stuff. Tyler picked up pizza dough from our favorite pizza place and everyone made their own personal pizza with all their favorite toppings. Then we had special drinks, sides, and dessert to go with it. At everyone's place were little Valentine's gifts from Tyler and I and cards and candy. We did our traditional family "love notes." Those are my very favorite part of Valentine's day. Tyler spoiled me with treats and gifts and I always feel like he out does me every year but I love that he is romantic and thoughtful. I wish I took more pictures but we were too busy snarfing, laughing, and quoting Willy Wonka to even think about getting a picture.

The YW in our ward did the best Valentine fundraiser. It was genius. They took orders for chocolate covered strawberries. They got a whole bunch of orders and worked hard until late on Wednesday night to make them and package them all pretty. Then they were delivered on Valentine's Day. Super great idea. I hope they earned all their camp money. I got a delicious box and then Janyse and I sent them to the ladies we visit teach. So perfect.

Anyway...Valentine's Day was wonderful and Tyler and I are going out this weekend for our own little celebration. I hope that your day of love was WONDERFUL too!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

For Your Reading Pleasure

I just finished two really fun books...books that I literally told people to "leave me alone!!" so I could finish them. That should tell you something there. Both books were great escape reading. In one the writing was cheesy but I was still drawn into it and in the other book the writing was beautiful but a little slow until about a third of the way in. I am glad that I kept reading because I found these books most enjoyable...a real treat!

First up...

From Goodreads:

1961 England. Laurel Nicolson is sixteen years old, dreaming alone in her childhood tree house during a family celebration at their home, Green Acres Farm. She spies a stranger coming up the long road to the farm and then observes her mother, Dorothy, speaking to him. And then she witnesses a crime.

Fifty years later, Laurel is a successful and well-regarded actress, living in London. She returns to Green Acres for Dorothy’s ninetieth birthday and finds herself overwhelmed by memories and questions she has not thought about for decades. She decides to find out the truth about the events of that summer day and lay to rest her own feelings of guilt. One photograph, of her mother and a woman Laurel has never met, called Vivian, is her first clue.

I loved this book, but then I am a Kate Morton fan, and I thought this was a great Kate Morton book. I like her writing. I think it is smart. I think that she does multiple plot lines across various time periods like no other. That said, this book had a rather slow start, for about the first third of the book, but then the suspense began to build and build and I was completely absorbed. The setting was intriguing London during the Blitz.  I love mysteries that are told and solved as secrets are revealed while the reader moves back and forth from the future to the past.

This writing was gorgeous...beautifully layered and nuanced with great characters who test our loyalties and assumptions (that was my favorite part) while the storyline twists and turns with the shifting perspectives of various characters as secrets are uncovered and revealed. Fabulous.

I loved it!!

My Rating: Fantastic






Second...

This was our book club pick for February. I was a little apprehensive as I hate scary books. The movie The Sixth Sense traumatized me for life. But this book, while spooky was also a lot of fun.





From Goodreads:

Practical Melanie Middleton hates to admit she can see ghosts. But she's going to have to accept it. An old man she recently met has died, leaving her his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her their secrets.

Enter Jack Trenholm, a gorgeous writer obsessed with unsolved mysteries. He has reason to believe that diamonds from the Confederate Treasury are hidden in the house. So he turns the charm on with Melanie, only to discover he's the smitten one... It turns out Jack's search has caught the attention of a malevolent ghost. Now, Jack and Melanie must unravel a mystery of passion, heartbreak and even murder.

Okay I'm not going to lie the writing was a bit cheesy but the plot was fun. Seriously fun. Fun enough that I was able to overlook the cheesy writing and stereotypical characters. I've always been in love with stories that are set in the South and so, of course, I was drawn into the beauty of Charleston and it's history. I also happen to have a love and appreciation for old houses and the stories that they have to tell. The book is part romance, part ghost story, and part mystery. The paranormal definitely added a unique aspect to what is basically a chick-lit romance. While the book is not perfect, it was still a fun read. The plot kept moving and drew me right in. I especially appreciated the fact that White wrapped up the mystery for us at the end and didn't leave us hanging particularly as this is the first book in a series. Will I read the next book in the series...yes, I think so.

My Rating: Fun.

 Party Time!

 It has been a week of parties around here. So perfect to end January with and start off February. Tyler's birthday was this weekend. He turned 42...FORTY-TWO!! He was 22 when we met. 20 years has flown by. I used to worry about the oddest things when we got engaged such as "Will I still love him 20 years from now?" "Will I still like him?" "Will he bug me?" "Will we have anything to talk about?" I am happy to report yes, yes, yes, and yes!! I still REALLY like him!! Bonus...I still REALLY REALLY LOVE HIM. I continue to find him interesting and fun...even more so than I did when he was 22. Tyler has grown, matured, become seasoned, and has evolved into quite a fascinating man. That brings me to the bugged part. Does he bug me at times? For sure. I know that I drive him insane at times (most times!!) but I love his 42 year old face that now has crags and laugh lines. I love the sprinkling of gray in his hair. I love his odd sense of humor and the little jiggety-jig he dances when he thinks he is particularly funny or clever...which is often. I love that pretty much every night we lock the door of our bedroom while the kids bang on the door and yell "Why is Mom so needy!!" (Thanks Reilly) while we laugh and discuss the events of the day. I made a great choice in a husband all those years ago. We have grown and melded together over the past 20 years and  I can't wait to see what we are like in the next 20 years. 21 year old Kristin was smarter than she looked.

Tyler had two celebrations this weekend. First, we met my mom and sister at Luna's for a most delicious and fancy adult dinner. It was wonderful. Tyler ordered the best thing that night and I appreciate that he let me eat a lot of it and most of his birthday dessert. He's good like that. :)

Aren't you loving Kelley's hair dark? I sure am. C'mon Stacey...everyone's doing it!!

Then Sunday night we had Tyler's usual Superbowl Birthday Party which was quite the par-tay to everyone except for Bryn who said that his party "Wasn't her favorite" because there wasn't a dance party at the end like we usually do on birthdays. She informed us that her birthday party (in April) will be a DANCE PARTY with sparkles. Bring it!

Tyler's birthday cake was a true fiasco and he nearly didn't even have a candle to blow out, which we all know is bad luck, so the poor man drove to the store late at night (scandalous I know) bought himself a sad Cyrus O'Leary pie so that I could put his candles on it for him to make a wish. The pie was a frozen block of lemon-flavored ice that I jammed those candles into and we ate pie popsicles but he blew out candles on his actual birthday about which I am fanatical. I know I have issues. I owe the man a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. STAT.

Party animal Bryn still going strong despite the late hour...and no dancing.

Happy Birthday Ty!! I love you!!

Then...I got to celebrate the upcoming marriage of my sweet friend, Carolyn. We had a girls lunch/shower at our friend, Andrea's house, and what an afternoon it was!! Should your day be a little gray and depressing try hanging out with these ladies for a few hours. I love these girls!! I have known them for years and they are truly the best!! My stomach hurt for hours from laughing. If you know them...you know what I am talking about...and how lucky you are!!

 Fabulousness!!

 (Back row left to right: KariAnn, Sheri, and Andrea. Front Row: Rebecca, Me, Valynn, Carolyn, Jodi and Lara.)

Congratulations Carolyn (and Jeff)!! 

We love you!!

Cabin Fever

 

It's January and the dreary gloom is finally taking it's toll. I am so not a fan. January is gray, long, frigid cold, and there is entirely too much snow. I am over it, and so is everyone else in my family, it appears. Bring on February with the fun and excitement of Tyler's birthday and Valentines Day.

I am getting a good start on some of those New Years Resolutions. One of the first ones being teaching my children to cook. Our nights are so jammed-packed with activities that I could really use some dinner help...at least with prepping and getting dinner started. Reilly is a capable cook but she is the busiest one of the bunch so the rest of the kids are getting in on the action.

Kameron made an entire meal all by himself...burrito bowls. They were delish. He has also learned how to make tartar sauce from scratch on a night that we had fish for dinner. It pretty much blew his mind that you don't need to by the disgusting stuff in a jar. Now he helps out regularly with the chopping, grating, and prepping of dinner. It's been so nice.

Here is Ailey making Huevos Rancheros on a Sunday night. Our church now starts at 1pm and goes until 4pm at which time it is nearly dark. Not. Cool.

Even Bryn is getting in on the action helping me make Rice Krispy treats. She was so darn proud of those cookies!! So cute.

It's been finals time around here so there has been more studying than usual going on.

One morning while driving the kids to school we had an ENORMOUS moose leap...yes leap...Harry and the Hendersons style... right out in front of us. That was a shock to the system!! I screamed, the kids screamed, the other drivers on the road were screaming as I slammed on my brakes on pure ice and slid to the side of the road. The kids were yelling "What is that?! Was that a camel?!" (It was a huge mangy moose and we have had a camel sighting this fall in a field on the way to school... That was also a crazy sight!!) Anyway after our near miss that moose took of running, slid and fell on the icy road, and leaped...yes leaped...again over a fence. Who knew they were so agile?

This is what has been keeping me going for the last few weeks...

Best show ever...until last night when it really ticked me off.

The whole family has been doing a lot of this:

Image via Pinterest

My goodreads account is getting more action than it has seen in a LONG TIME. Lots of books are getting read while trying to keep warm. Having that extra reading time has been wonderful though.

Great news!!  Our friend, Bill Thumstedter, who was seriously injured a few weeks ago has regained consciousness and things are looking good for his recovery. It will be a long and hard rehabilitation but there have been so many miracles along the way already and so many prayers have been answered. It has been wonderful to see. There has been such an outpouring of love for this family!!

Other exciting news has been all the Sisters Creed contracts arriving in the mail for various sales for 2013. So exciting!! 2013 is going to be a busy and fun year for our business.

Other than that I am gritting my teeth against the cold and counting down the days until cheery February...and so are they:

 Bring on Valentines Day!!

Book Review

This book series was recommended to me by a friend. I am not a mystery lover or spy book enthusiast but I decided to give it a try.

From Goodreads:

Mrs. Virgil (Emily) Pollifax of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was a widow with grown children. She was tired of attending her Garden Club meetings. She wanted to do something good for her country. So, naturally, she became a CIA agent. This time, the assignment sounds as tasty as a taco. A quick trip to Mexico City is on her agenda. Unfortunately, something goes wrong, and our dear Mrs. Pollifax finds herself embroiled in quite a hot Cold War--and her country's enemies find themselves entangled with one unbelievably feisty lady.

The book was published in the 1960s and has a dated feel and tone. It also has an antiquated political storyline in a Pre-Internet world but it was that part that I actually enjoyed. I liked the retro-factor. As for the rest of it...uh...not so much. I just didn't really get into it. I kept thinking that this was a book for the Murder She Wrote crowd and Mrs. Pollifax, in my mind, looked just like Angela Landsbury. It could have been a made-for-TV movie from the 80's. Imagine when I found out after reading the book that it WAS made into a made-for-TV movie starring none other than ANGELA LANDSBURY!! Craziness.

This book series is well-beloved and that is wonderful but it just wasn't my particular cup of tea. It didn't hold my interest as it wasn't really a mystery but more of a spy tale sans mystery. So yeah. Not for me, but other people really love it. If you liked the show Murder She Wrote you will probably thoroughly enjoy it.

My Rating: Okay...but not for me.

Crazy World

Yesterday we had another reality check of what a different world our kids are growing up in. Two homemade explosive devices went off in two different buildings at Reilly's high school. Both Reilly and Bryn were in both of those buildings during that time. Both are fine thank goodness...but seriously? Can't we send kids off to school anymore and feel confident that they will be safe? Apparently not.

When I dropped off Bryn at the preschool in the morning there was a fire truck in the parking lot but as I walked her inside it didn't seem like anything was amiss. Then when I picked her up a couple of hours later an unmarked police car drove in behind me and two police officers hurried inside. That doesn't ever give a parent a good feeling...especially with two daughters inside. Nothing was said as I picked Bryn up and drove home.

Brynnie ate a quick lunch and then we rushed out the door to get her to ballet. As I was driving out of my neighborhood I saw all kinds of high school students walking. Odd. I checked my emails to see if there was any reason the high school was out early...nothing. We live close to the high school and before I had gone more than two blocks I saw that there were high school students everywhere walking home. I quickly spotted Reilly walking with a friend and pulled over to ask her what was going on. She said that she heard that someone had set off smoke bombs and that everyone had to be evacuated. I dropped her off at her friend's house to study for finals and took Bryn to ballet. While driving there Tyler called to tell me that two homemade bombs had been detonated in two different buildings at two different times and that some teachers had been injured. As I drove past the high school it was swarming with firetrucks, ambulances, police cars, and news vans. (Reilly saw a guy in our ward who is a local TV news reporter and she said hi to him and asked him what was going on and her told her to just get out of the school fast and get home!!)

It wasn't until I had been at ballet for about 15 minutes that I finally got a call from the school saying what had happened and that the school had been evacuated and all activities were cancelled for the rest of the day...that was probably a good 30 minutes or more AFTER they sent all the kids home. That is a FAIL on the emergency notification system in my opinion. When I saw all the kids I quickly checked my phone for texts or emails from the school. Nothing.

Anyway...the person who set the 2 liter soda bottle "bombs" confessed and the authorities have assessed the school and found it safe so everyone went to school as normal this morning. Seriously though...this kind of stuff is CRAZY. It this the new norm?

Book Review

I just finished this book. It is an insiders look at a "modern" polygamist family. Very interesting. I have to admit I liked the book and read it super fast. I think it would be a fantastic book club selection. SO.MUCH.TO.DISCUSS.

From Goodreads:

From a family that inspired 'Big Love's' story of Bill Henrickson and his three wives, this first-ever memoir of a polygamous family captures the extraordinary workings of a unique family dynamic, and argues for the acceptance of plural marriage as an alternative lifestyle.

Polygamy is not something I have ever really wanted to think about let alone read about. I am LDS and I get annoyed by people who think that people who are LDS practice polygamy...we do not. We haven't for over 100 years and anyone who does is excommunicated. But still it is there...lurking in the past. That said, my Great-Great Grandfather was a polygamist and I am a descendant of one of his plural wives, Jane. (After reading her life history it didn't sound like she was a happy plural wife but that it was a sacrifice that she made.) So while this practice makes me truly uncomfortable, I still am curious about how in the world people subscribe to and practice this lifestyle...especially in our day and age.

I have never seen the TV show Big Love that was inspired by this family because it was about...you know...polygamy and I was sure it was filled with all kinds of fallacies about the Mormon Church.  But, somehow, I did start watching the train wreck that is the TV show Sister Wives. It is infinitely more intriguing to watch a show about actual polygamists than watch actors pretending to be polygamists. Every time I watch Sister Wives I think that they are crazy!! (and I really think they are) This family, though, the Dargers seem so much more intelligent and normal. They are able to articulate why they live this way and why it is important to them to shed light on this particular practice. They feel compelled to bring it out of the dark and dispel the myths so that people will know that it is only a very tiny population of practicing polygamists who are the Warren Jeffs of the world and that they too (the Dargers and most all other Fundamentalists) are appalled and repelled by his actions and crimes.

I guess that was what was so interesting to me. Hearing these seemingly normal people (not living in a compound somewhere in a long dress, french braids, and being child brides) talk about their beliefs in a way that made me have a deeper understanding of their choice of lifestyle and how it works for them. 

I found their day to day logistics fascinating. I loved learning how they run their household, raise their children, buy their groceries, coordinate three families integrated into one large family in one large house. I feel like I can barely do all I need to do taking care of four kids and one husband and here they are throwing in homeschooling, religious instruction, running a business, educating the world about polygamy, serving in their community, and helping the state of Utah work with polygamous families, getting 24 kids to various extracurricular activities, and grinding their own wheat and making 7 loaves of bread a day. Hello? How? They explain it all which was very satisfying.

They are also very open about honest about things that are hard. They talk very candidly about the difficulties and struggles they have had to overcome. Jealousy, persecution, wayward children, prejudice, dealing with the state, and particularly standing up for what they believe even when it is in complete opposition with the rest of the world. Unlike the Browns of Sister Wives that come off as somewhat false...don't tell me that Janelle is a happy wife. No way. I don't buy it. But...I do buy the Darger's story. I think they are sincere. Hearing all four of their different perspectives including the perspectives of their three oldest children was interesting and compelling. I found myself liking and caring about this family.

I do feel sad for them though. It has to be a lonely lifestyle even in mainstream society and surrounded by wives and children. To never be able to give yourself fully to one person and have that one person give themselves fully to you is very sad. Joe has to be the loneliest person of all. I was surprised to feel so much empathy for this family (and Joe) but I did and I do.

I found this book to be unusual and affecting. It gave me a different perspective on polygamy and those who practice it.

My Rating: Good

 Hey Go Team...Go Go Team...Hey Go Team!!

We've been cheering ourselves hoarse around here lately. We've been watching various games on TV and going to games, both high school and college. There has been a lot of cheering and yelling around here. Sports are making dull, dreary January a bit less dull and dreary.

First off...

Well...it was fun while it lasted. Poor Kam. He's a die-hard fan and he was seriously bummed.

Second...

We are some serious BYU Men's Volleyball fans!! I have been since college. I loved going to those games. It was the place to see and be seen. How I loved Hugh McCrutcheon back then...you know...when he had hair. These days I am still a BYU Volleyball fan but throw in the added enjoyment of watching the head coach and it's golden.

I grew up with Chris in...that's right...SPRINGDELL. He's a dell kid and I love watching dell kids conquer the world. Just as we always knew we would. :) He is a great coach and I get quite a kick out of watching him...well...coach. Of course, the highlight is when they cut to a close-up of him and I regale my kids with stories about him. A few of my kids current favorites are: 1.) When he hit me in the head with a baseball and I fell to the ground as if dead and he pick me up and carried me home crying and apologizing profusely, 2.) When he ordered me out of my own back yard so he could make out with my friend... in my back yard, 3.) When he felt my leg and said "Gee Sasquatch ever heard of a razor?! (I was in 6th grade and immediately went home and attempted to shave my legs and nearly bled to death), 4.) In Jr. High when I got my hair cut into a short preppy bob and he nicknamed me Cleopatra and walked like an Egyptian (while humming the song) whenever he saw me for the next 6 months until it grew out, 5.) When he and our friend Kyle showed up uninvited to my jr. high band concert (they were in high school) and suddenly appeared on stage (in the wings) jumping up and down and calling my name flustering me so much that when my big french horn moment came I couldn't even squeak out a note...Then telling me afterwards, when I was screaming at him for ruining my concert, "Relax Kristin. We just upped your coolness like 110%!! You should be THANKING us!!", 6.) When he broke his leg in high school and wheeled himself around in a wheelchair (Nellie Olsen style) and demanded that I push him around the dell to which I pushed him in a dead run directly towards the pond (Laura Ingalls style) as he screamed like a little girl and tried to apply the hand brakes...oh I could go on for days!! Seriously though...he's a great guy and I am super proud of him and his success.

Third... Reilly's High School

We have had such fun cheering on the mighty Saxons this year. Last week it was the big rivalry spirit game..."Rubber Chicken"...and it was held at the arena. The girls basketball team played...then the big spirit pep rally in which Reilly's dance team did a fantastic job (you can see it on my fb page if you are so inclined) and then the boys basketball team played. It was quite a night!!

Fourth...

The other night we hit the road to Pullman to watch a WSU vs the U of U basketball game. Reilly's dance team was performing at half-time. It was a lot of fun and Kameron had a blast. We need to do things like that more often. My mom, Ken, Stacey, and Dane all met us there. Dane and Kam are true basketball fans and were thrilled when WSU throttled the Utes. We all were. Yes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Kam and Dane...serious fans

Sad day...Kameron was too old/cool to go pose with the WSU mascot for a picture. Luckily Dane still would. This poor cougar is no BYU Cosmo is he? Time to upgrade the costume.

 Now there's a studly cougar!!

 Stacey, Mom, and Ken (intently watching the game)

Reilly joined us after she was done performing

Whenever you use the function on the iPhone that allows you to see yourself when taking a picture you just look crazy.

Ahh... father and son at a sporting event. Warms the heart. Kameron is looking more and more like Ty every day.

Go Cougs!!

Prayers For A Friend

Our friends, the Thumstedters ,just moved to Illinois. In fact, we just had a big going away party for them and sent them on their way with sad hearts but best wishes. They had been in their new area for less than a week when Bill was struck by a car and seriously injured. He is currently in the ICU in critical condition with a serious head injury, punctured lung, 8 broken ribs, and a shattered ankle. The neurologist has given him a 50/50 chance of waking up and being himself. We are devastated for their family and praying for a full recovery.

Book Club Reviews

This was our book club selection for the month of January picked by Janyse. I thought it looked good...book about a bunch of sisters...and couldn't wait to read it.

From Goodreads:

As a child, Maggie Faraday grew up in a lively, unconventional household with her young mother, four very different aunts, and eccentric grandfather. With her mother often away, her aunts took turns looking after her–until, just weeks before Maggie’s sixth birthday, a shocking event changed everything.

Twenty years later, Maggie is living alone in New York City when she receives a surprise visit from her grandfather Leo, who brings a revelation and a proposition: He’s preparing a special gift for his daughters and needs Maggie’s help. When the Faradays gather from all parts of the world to celebrate Christmas in July–a longstanding tradition–Maggie uncovers unexpected family history and learns that the women she thought she knew so intimately all have something to hide.

I thought this was your typical chick-lit made slightly better as it takes place in colorful and interesting locations, and tells the story of a complex family of sisters, and spans several decades. I liked the premise. It was pleasant reading as the characters of the sisters were developed from childhood to adulthood. There were secrets, lies, and a few twists here and there. But I finished the book feeling underwhelmed. It just didn't keep my attention like I wish it would have over 600 long pages.

I do think that the author did a great job of describing how complex sister relationships can be and describing how alliances form and reform in different configurations throughout the years...and how there is always usually one sister slightly outside the circle at different times. I just wish that she would have shown that to the readers instead of just telling us. Show us sisters calling other sisters, visiting sisters, and having private conversations about other sisters or Leo. That was completely lacking. I didn't feel like any of the sisters in the book were particularly close to each other as they had no idea what was really going on in any of their lives. I guess I was just hoping for more realism.  Sisters fighting, making up, pulling together, fighting, making up and pulling together again when they have to...that is real. I also didn't love the lackluster way that motherhood was portrayed by Tessa and most especially Clementine. All of the Faraday girls were somewhat unlikeable and that took away from the story.

The book gave me pause about keeping a journal or more particularly what I would write in a journal. It made me appreciate all the more my own sisters who I don't feel are at all like any of the Faraday girls...thank goodness...and appreciate being a mother who actually finds joy in mothering.

My Rating: Okay

This was our book club selection for November:

From Goodreads:

Natalie and Francois are the perfect couple, and perfectly happy. But after Francois dies suddenly, only seven years into their still blissful marriage, the widowed Natalie erects a fortress around her emotions into which no one can gain access. Until the most unlikely candidate appears: Markus, Natalie's Swedish, geeky, and unassuming coworker.

This is a translation of the French novel “La Délicatesse”. I loved that aspect from the get-go. Throw in that Delicacy is a quirky, quick read full of side notes and little details and I was sold.  Foenkinos' writing style is very spare and well...delicate. It was a fresh, charming read about love, loss, and finding love again.

My Rating: Good

 Oh Yes, There's More

 From Goodreads:

A deeply evocative story of ambition and betrayal, The Paris Wife captures a remarkable period of time and a love affair between two unforgettable people: Ernest Hemingway and his wife Hadley.

Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.

Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill-prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that, in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley.

This what I would call a thoughty novel. It makes you think. It is a well-written and smart historical novel. I really liked it. It is beautiful and atmospheric. You felt what it must have been like to be young, in love, and living the bohemian lifestyle in post-war Paris in the 1920s. The book offers a fascinating glimpse into the unraveling of a marriage.  

I loved the character development. Hemingway, the flawed, driven and ambitious young writer trying to make a name for himself as he surrounds himself with other creative individuals who become literary greats of their lost generation. Despite Ernest's flaws and short-comings I never lost empathy for the man even though I disliked him immensely. I also felt that despite the book being a fictional "memoir" I thought that Hadley had a genuine voice. Watching the crumbling of their marriage was both heart-wrenching and poignant. The situation of Hadley was so achingly sad as she realizes the truth about her complex marriage to Ernest with his infidelities, post-war issues, and intensity. I found the book absorbing. I liked it. It isn't a happy tale but it is an interesting one.

My Rating: Good...and it makes me want to read Hemingway's A Moveable Feast and The Sun Also Rises.

 From Goodreads:

The Reading Group follows the trials and tribulations of a group of women who meet regularly to read and discuss books.Over the course of a year, each of these women become intertwined, both in the books they read and within each others lives.

Inspired by a shared desire for conversation, a good book and a glass of wine-Clare, Harriet, Nicole, Polly, and Susan undergo startling revelations and transformations despite their differences in background, age and respective dilemmas.

What starts as a reading group gradually evolves into a forum where the women may express their views through the books they read and grow to become increasingly more open as the bonds of friendship cement.

There are several types of books that are bound to always grab my attention and interest. They are:
1.) books about sisters (especially 3 or more), 2.) books about lake houses, and 3.) books about book clubs. So when I saw this book sitting on the shelf at the library I had to pick it up. I was looking for some light and fluffy reading. The Reading Group is that but it also came with a dull and slow moving story and a cast of unlikeable characters who experience nearly every mid-life cliche there is to experience. Big disappointment.

The book had a couple of things going for it that kept me reading. First, it was British chick-lit which was a nice change; and second I loved the organization of the book. The author divides the chapters into months and lists the books they were reading for each month including a little synopsis of the book and their discussion. That was fun but that was about as good as it got.

One other thing I loved was the quote at the start of the book:


"The real, hidden subject of a book group discussion is the book group members themselves"--Margaret Atwood

That I do truly believe but, unfortunately, in this book it falls flat.

My Rating: Mediocre

From Goodreads:
 
Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage.

I am completely sick of every book these days saying "If you like Downton Abbey you are sure to like..." Enough already. (You can add any Jane Austen-esque book too.)

The book did give me more insight into the history of titled yet short on money British nobility marrying wealthy American heiresses to secure their positions and lands and in return giving the heiress the status symbol of a title. That was as close to Downton Abbey as it got. I also liked the juxtaposition of American culture versus English culture during the turn of the century. I found that quite fascinating.



This book is definitely not straight up historical fiction. I would categorize it as historical romance. Some loose ends weren't tied up as neatly as I would have liked at the end of the book and the brooding, contrived, and slightly unlikeable Duke was no Mr. Darcy but the writing was adequate. That said, I didn't feel that the author included enough depth and detail to make the story more compelling. Still, it was a good diversion and a quick read.

My Rating: Okay

From Goodreads:

It's the spring of 1938 and no longer safe to be a Jew in Vienna. Nineteen-year-old Elise Landau is forced to leave her glittering life of parties and champagne to become a parlor maid in England. She arrives at Tyneford, the great house on the bay, where servants polish silver and serve drinks on the lawn. But war is coming, and the world is changing. When the master of Tyneford's young son, Kit, returns home, he and Elise strike up an unlikely friendship that will transform Tyneford—and Elise—forever.

This was a book club selection from this fall. According to the cover this is another book that if I like Downton Abbey I am, again, sure to love this book. Fail. This book is nothing like Downton Abbey except for the setting of the English country house.

I did enjoy reading a WWII story told from the unique perspective of an Austrian Jew from an upper class family forced to escape Austria by fleeing to England to work as a domestic in the home of an English aristocrat.


Elise was an interesting character, not your typical beautiful but down on her luck heroine. I do think that her romance with Kit was far-fetched and never was exactly riveting. Perhaps it was the dialogue which I found to be awkward at times. I thought her relationship with Mr. Rivers was more interesting and real.

The storyline leaves the glittering bourgeois world of upper class Austria and moves to the English countryside and with it goes the life of the story. I thought the Landaus were, by far, the more charismatic and engaging family...not the Rivers... and I wish the storyline of the book would have stayed with the intriguing Anna and Julian. Throughout reading this book I found my mind wandering to what might be happening with them and hoping the storyline would turn in that direction. Sadly, it did not and I was left to read pages and pages of nothing happening in England. Austria was where the action was and I wish the storyline would have included what was going on there.

Even though the plot started out strong it seemed to fizzle and lose momentum about half way through but I still cared about the characters and wanted to know their fates. The author did a wonderful job of painting a beautiful picture of Tyneford and the English countryside. All in all, I enjoyed The House at Tyneford.

My Rating: Good

Quick Book Reviews


I'm doing some cleaning over on my goodreads account. Good-bye random "friends" I don't know. Good-bye books in limbo waiting to be reviewed. Good-bye books that I said I was "reading" but never finished and never wanted to try to read again. Good-bye books I said that I "wanted to read" but never really did. So that brings me to this post...these books have been lurking around waiting for me to write reviews but apparently I never really wanted to write them because they are all super old... as in...read a long time ago.

Here you go:

 From Goodreads:

Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers"—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

I found this book to be okay. Nothing spectacular. I didn't LOVE it. My sister, Stacey, loves this series and gives it to her nieces and nephews. It has been met with mixed reviews around here. Reilly read it years ago and really liked it. Kameron thought it was okay. I, too, found it okay. I was curious to see what all the hype and book-banning was about concerning it's atheist writer and anti-religious themes. Again...meh. Didn't bother me as it is a fantasy book. Nothing to get all worked up over. Entertaining but no Harry Potter.

My Rating: Okay

**I am currently listening to the 2nd book on and off and, so far, it too is okay.**

 From Goodreads:

Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones.With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.

I found this book to be charming. A little dull at times but still charming. Kind of like Caddy Woodlawn (a fantastic book) goes all scientific... Or Laura Ingalls the science kid. I thought it was cute. I kept waiting for tragedy or something to occur...it never did. I loved Calpurnia's relationship with her grandfather and their collection expeditions. I really wanted to go into her grandfather's study. It sounded awesome. Her mother, on the other hand, was a horror story. What was her problem? We never found out why she was so nasty did we? I read it so long ago and now I don't really care.

So, while I found it to be charming, probably all of my children would find it boring. Not a lot of action.

My Rating: Cute and Charming...a bit dull at times.

From Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she’s never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy.

As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it’s a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy’s uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. But the war is everywhere, and Daisy and her cousins must lead each other into a world that is unknown in the scariest, most elemental way.
  
My feelings about this book...NOT.A.FAN. This book comes with rave reviews (I have no idea why) and it is being made into a movie (again...why?) It has even been called a modern-day Jane Eyre. Yeah, right...My Aunt Fanny it is. This book is weird and disturbing and short and anything you would actually like to know about you never get to know about. If you like books about anorexia and incest with an apocalyptic twist...Hey! This book is for you!!

I wish the book would have actually been about what it CLAIMS to be about. The idea is great but the book goes to some weird and disturbing places. Not needed or wanted weird places. Therefore, I would never recommend this book to anyone nor would I want any of my kids to read it.

My Rating: Lame, Weird and Disturbing

 

From Goodreads:

To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

My friend, Lucy, suggested in her review of this book that you read it with as little foreknowledge as possible. So that is exactly what I did. I didn't read anything about the book besides her review. Perfect!! I liked trying to figure out what the premise of the whole book was about. I found the book very compelling. At times extremely claustrophobic, at times heart-breaking, and other times sweet.

I loved the story being told from the perspective and through the voice of 5 year-old Jack. It gave the book such a fresh take on this particular topic. This book made me think. I like it when that happens. It has stayed with me for a long time...particularly thinking about Jack's mom and what would I have done in that same situation. Wow. It was an interesting and haunting read.

My Rating: Good

From Goodreads:

As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.
Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox—his partner and closest friend—find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Richly atmospheric, stunning in its complexity, and utterly convincing and surprising to the end.
  
This is not my usual genre of book. I am rarely, if ever, interested in reading a gritty crime mystery. That said...I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did I like it...I REALLY liked it. I couldn't put it down. Sometimes it's nice to broaden your horizons a bit.

 My Rating: Good