Busy Themes-so much to do, write, and read aka Politics Will NOT Drag Me Down
Good LORD! I can not believe I am getting sucked into politics. Of all the things I usually pride myself in it is that I don't mess with politics. I pretty much shut my eyes, put my fingers in my ears, and hum loudly whenever I hear either Republican, Democrat, bi-partisan, GOP, etc... I can't believe I am even starting off this post this way. But America- the whole thing, the whole news and court hearings- ALL of it- it is a big circus. It is a car wreak I can't turn my eye away from. It is a reality show with characters saying and doing the strangest things that all feels like attention seeking. I am not taking sides (at least NOT on this platform), but all of me aches with sadness and my head hurts with anger. So all the sane part of me is ready to escape into the writing and reading and put politics aside.
Here is me stuffing all that in a bag and setting in on fire so that I concentrate on my true loves- reading and writing.
I have been EXTREMELY busy trying to get back into my regularly scheduled life. I have been feeling a lot of pressure to volunteer for school things for my girls. It is a big year for us- our first Middle Schooler and first in band! We now have a 6th grader, a 4th grader, and a 1st grader. I really wish I could be bigger part of their school life, but unfortunately I haven't felt very supported in this area and I keep hoping things will be more clear. I feel I would be more apt to volunteer if I was specifically called to do so so until that happens I am going to try not to feel so guilty and shine in the areas I am working on- Women's Ministry Committee, Sunday school teacher (new this year!) and supportive Youth Group leader's wife (aka cook, cleaner, sarcastic comment maker, and hostess of all things usually nerdy/geek related). I am rambling and saying all this to give some context to my life as it pertains to my reading goals.
My kids have reached the "we all have different reading needs" stage and thankfully they all now have their own bedrooms. So as of right now at any given time I am usually reading 4 different books if not more. I read to each child for 12 minutes every night except for Fridays (I know that doesn't sound like much but it adds up plus you have take into account cuddle time, personal questions, reassurances that spiders aren't out to get you, and general catch up which is not included in the allotted reading time). So, yeah, a lot of reading going on but since it isn't big chunks of time we haven't done a lot of finishing.
I will start with an update on how I am on my Popsugar Challenge.
30/50 or 28/40 & 2/10 and we are entering week 40- it looks like I am going to be struggling to get those Advanced books in unless I get a great few weeks or days even of reading.
As for the Newbery Challenge I have officially met my goal but I don't know if I will be reading more or not.
I am still loving the challenging and interesting The Great American Read which I encourage all to watch and find some good books from. My interested as waned a little bit mostly because the Facebook group is SO huge (which is great) but my posts are always pending and I have other reading groups which are far less active and wish they could be more like The Great American Read which just feels like a hype right now. Still love that so many people are loving it though! I love voting- it is just plain fun.
Here is the part of the post I love the most! Let me tell you what I have been reading:
MOM'S READING
For prompt #12 "a book with an LBGTQ+ protagonist"- way back in June the book Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides was voted for in my Popsugar reading group and I still intend to read it. Honestly wasn't looking forward to this prompt as it is a little controversial though I do not mind getting a bigger perspective on this world/topic. I guess I was more in the mood to read something that was more "flamingly gay" rather than a "multi-generational/medical epic story". Not that I haven't been enjoying it, but it wasn't my first pick. More about what Hermione is reading for this prompt later in the post.
I bought this book at the used book sale but with how things are going right now I have been better off finding time to listen to it. I am not very far in- less than 15% but it is very interesting and so far well paced.
For prompt #22 "a book with alliteration in the title" I chose The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien because I very very much wanted to line this one up with Tolkien Feast Week that I JUST discovered after learning, last year, that Hobbit Day is September 22. If I had discovered that this was a WHOLE week I would have planned better but I did have an AMAZING Hobbit Day. Here are a few pictures:
I can't wait to do the actual Feast Week but I did dedicate the whole day to Hobbit Day eating and cooking so that was a big enough challenge. As for the actual reading part of things, I did get my girls more interested in The Hobbit and I am nearly half way through The Two Towers. Honestly it is a lot of battles but the writing is so lyrical and beautiful plus I like listening to it.
Lastly for trying to finish the on going prompt #1 from the Advanced List- "a bestseller from the year you graduated high school" I have been trying to read through the Left Behind series. Yeah, it is a little embarrassing because these are poorly written books and it almost makes me embarrassed to be a Christian as a whole. But I am reading them all in good fun- End Times are great speculation and makes for a bit of hilarity even if you can't admit that. These were VERY popular books the year I graduated high school and I COULD have picked something easier than trying to fill ONE prompt with 12 books (technically I filled one prompt with a reread of Left Behind and Desecration book #9 is the book that fulfills the actual prompt because I graduated in 2001) but I promised myself if I could find more than half of these books at a used book sale I would finally finish reading these books- so I obviously found them and now I must go through with my promise to myself. Which reminds me there will be another used book sale in my area on Oct. 4-6 and I fully intend to be there!
Right now I am only on book #4 so I have a ways to go but these are very quick reads and it is easier to read around the kids because interruption is not as bad. It is toss up to see which I will finish first.
HERMIONE'S READING
Because of prompt #18 "a book with two authors" Hermione has been reading Left Behind for Kids- not a wholehearted recommendation but the only one I could think of in a quick. Plus we found nearly the entire series in a shoe box while cleaning out the church so there you go.
I have been reading to her Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith. I have not liked it very much and I am wanting to finish it so badly to get on to better books. I thought I could count it for one of my prompts but surprise surprise the twist is going to make me question if it could even count!!!
Since my daughter wanted to join in on the Popsugar Challenge: btw I think she is just slightly ahead on the goal but some prompts have been confusing for her and honestly I just told her read any book and it will fill it. But the prompt I was both dreading and excited for at the same time #12 a book with an LBGTQ+ protagonist had me putting this prompt off till now. She has start Jr. High/Middle school and I am sure she has heard sexual things. But as a parent I have been doing a poor job of teaching her and I want to rectify this as soon as possible also another reason I want to finish the weird cryptid/dinosaur book. I bought a couple of books to go through with her. She has definately let her sass flag fly these last few weeks and I just want to keep the lines of communication open and honest. So to do that I want to introduce a few things for us to talk about together through books:
I really wish this was natural conversation I could have. I am not afraid of being blunt but I am afraid to just bring up a subject out of almost no where. But it is most definitely time- PAST time actually. So I am a little late but better late then never as they always say. The books I picked might be a little on the cliche side but I couldn't really find much else with my limited time.
This will naturally flow (hopefully) into conversations about gender identity. I have to say- as a Christian, I am not against people who feel they are a different gender, feel they are attracted to the same sex, nor am I going to preach at them (that never goes well). All I know is they are people, I love them, and I will protect them. I may not understand them, and I would never want to feel like I had to make the choices they do, but after all I have observed and the people I know (which granted are not many) loving them and accepting them is the best. People are so afraid of different and unknown. Let's love first and fill in the rest of the details as we go along. So my number one lesson to teach my girls is to love others even in differences. I found a book that will fulfill prompt #12 for kids but I have a few concerns and would like to read the book first or together so we can talk about things like porn and the stereotypes of girls vs. boys. The book is called George by Alex Gino. This will be opening up a whole other world for us- like I said I am both excited and scared and it is exhilarating!
For #22 a book with alliteration in the title- I recommended to Hermione The Laura Line. So now we are adding racial studies into the mix. What is September for if not for learning?!?
ARIANA'S READING
Together we are reading the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- so yah!! We are having fun and reading my favorites!
On her own she is reading A Boy Called Bat and I love when she tells me what is happening in that book especially when she learns how divorced families work things out.
LUCY'S READING
We have been reading more together as my 1st grader has been working VERY hard at learning how to read. We find we need to slow down and sound out a little but she is rarely discouraged just easily preoccupied, distracted, and needs frequent breaks. We have been rereading more Junie B. Jones, which we both love. But we have also discovered a super cute 3 book series called Narwhal and Jelly- they are so adorable and I am so glad I found something just for her that she loves.
Phewww! Finally! This update is done! I know it was super eclectic but it was long overdue. Plus it was super cathartic after all the political talk which I will just have to get back to on Monday unless I find the option of hiding under a rock or something.
Here is me stuffing all that in a bag and setting in on fire so that I concentrate on my true loves- reading and writing.
I have been EXTREMELY busy trying to get back into my regularly scheduled life. I have been feeling a lot of pressure to volunteer for school things for my girls. It is a big year for us- our first Middle Schooler and first in band! We now have a 6th grader, a 4th grader, and a 1st grader. I really wish I could be bigger part of their school life, but unfortunately I haven't felt very supported in this area and I keep hoping things will be more clear. I feel I would be more apt to volunteer if I was specifically called to do so so until that happens I am going to try not to feel so guilty and shine in the areas I am working on- Women's Ministry Committee, Sunday school teacher (new this year!) and supportive Youth Group leader's wife (aka cook, cleaner, sarcastic comment maker, and hostess of all things usually nerdy/geek related). I am rambling and saying all this to give some context to my life as it pertains to my reading goals.
My kids have reached the "we all have different reading needs" stage and thankfully they all now have their own bedrooms. So as of right now at any given time I am usually reading 4 different books if not more. I read to each child for 12 minutes every night except for Fridays (I know that doesn't sound like much but it adds up plus you have take into account cuddle time, personal questions, reassurances that spiders aren't out to get you, and general catch up which is not included in the allotted reading time). So, yeah, a lot of reading going on but since it isn't big chunks of time we haven't done a lot of finishing.
I will start with an update on how I am on my Popsugar Challenge.
30/50 or 28/40 & 2/10 and we are entering week 40- it looks like I am going to be struggling to get those Advanced books in unless I get a great few weeks or days even of reading.
As for the Newbery Challenge I have officially met my goal but I don't know if I will be reading more or not.
I am still loving the challenging and interesting The Great American Read which I encourage all to watch and find some good books from. My interested as waned a little bit mostly because the Facebook group is SO huge (which is great) but my posts are always pending and I have other reading groups which are far less active and wish they could be more like The Great American Read which just feels like a hype right now. Still love that so many people are loving it though! I love voting- it is just plain fun.
Here is the part of the post I love the most! Let me tell you what I have been reading:
MOM'S READING
For prompt #12 "a book with an LBGTQ+ protagonist"- way back in June the book Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides was voted for in my Popsugar reading group and I still intend to read it. Honestly wasn't looking forward to this prompt as it is a little controversial though I do not mind getting a bigger perspective on this world/topic. I guess I was more in the mood to read something that was more "flamingly gay" rather than a "multi-generational/medical epic story". Not that I haven't been enjoying it, but it wasn't my first pick. More about what Hermione is reading for this prompt later in the post.
I bought this book at the used book sale but with how things are going right now I have been better off finding time to listen to it. I am not very far in- less than 15% but it is very interesting and so far well paced.
For prompt #22 "a book with alliteration in the title" I chose The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien because I very very much wanted to line this one up with Tolkien Feast Week that I JUST discovered after learning, last year, that Hobbit Day is September 22. If I had discovered that this was a WHOLE week I would have planned better but I did have an AMAZING Hobbit Day. Here are a few pictures:
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| Feast Table |
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| Feast Table |
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| Breakfast |
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| Second Breakfast |
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| Elevenses |
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| Lunch: Po-TAY-to Soup |
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| Tea Time |
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| Dinner: Beef, rice and bread |
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| Dinner: Farmer Maggot's Cottage Pie plus after-supper morsel Ranger Cookies |
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| Outdoor Reading |
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| Lucy took a picture of me |
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| More feasting! |
Lastly for trying to finish the on going prompt #1 from the Advanced List- "a bestseller from the year you graduated high school" I have been trying to read through the Left Behind series. Yeah, it is a little embarrassing because these are poorly written books and it almost makes me embarrassed to be a Christian as a whole. But I am reading them all in good fun- End Times are great speculation and makes for a bit of hilarity even if you can't admit that. These were VERY popular books the year I graduated high school and I COULD have picked something easier than trying to fill ONE prompt with 12 books (technically I filled one prompt with a reread of Left Behind and Desecration book #9 is the book that fulfills the actual prompt because I graduated in 2001) but I promised myself if I could find more than half of these books at a used book sale I would finally finish reading these books- so I obviously found them and now I must go through with my promise to myself. Which reminds me there will be another used book sale in my area on Oct. 4-6 and I fully intend to be there!
Right now I am only on book #4 so I have a ways to go but these are very quick reads and it is easier to read around the kids because interruption is not as bad. It is toss up to see which I will finish first.
HERMIONE'S READING
Because of prompt #18 "a book with two authors" Hermione has been reading Left Behind for Kids- not a wholehearted recommendation but the only one I could think of in a quick. Plus we found nearly the entire series in a shoe box while cleaning out the church so there you go.
I have been reading to her Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith. I have not liked it very much and I am wanting to finish it so badly to get on to better books. I thought I could count it for one of my prompts but surprise surprise the twist is going to make me question if it could even count!!!
Since my daughter wanted to join in on the Popsugar Challenge: btw I think she is just slightly ahead on the goal but some prompts have been confusing for her and honestly I just told her read any book and it will fill it. But the prompt I was both dreading and excited for at the same time #12 a book with an LBGTQ+ protagonist had me putting this prompt off till now. She has start Jr. High/Middle school and I am sure she has heard sexual things. But as a parent I have been doing a poor job of teaching her and I want to rectify this as soon as possible also another reason I want to finish the weird cryptid/dinosaur book. I bought a couple of books to go through with her. She has definately let her sass flag fly these last few weeks and I just want to keep the lines of communication open and honest. So to do that I want to introduce a few things for us to talk about together through books:
I really wish this was natural conversation I could have. I am not afraid of being blunt but I am afraid to just bring up a subject out of almost no where. But it is most definitely time- PAST time actually. So I am a little late but better late then never as they always say. The books I picked might be a little on the cliche side but I couldn't really find much else with my limited time.
 |
| Used Book Sale Find |
This will naturally flow (hopefully) into conversations about gender identity. I have to say- as a Christian, I am not against people who feel they are a different gender, feel they are attracted to the same sex, nor am I going to preach at them (that never goes well). All I know is they are people, I love them, and I will protect them. I may not understand them, and I would never want to feel like I had to make the choices they do, but after all I have observed and the people I know (which granted are not many) loving them and accepting them is the best. People are so afraid of different and unknown. Let's love first and fill in the rest of the details as we go along. So my number one lesson to teach my girls is to love others even in differences. I found a book that will fulfill prompt #12 for kids but I have a few concerns and would like to read the book first or together so we can talk about things like porn and the stereotypes of girls vs. boys. The book is called George by Alex Gino. This will be opening up a whole other world for us- like I said I am both excited and scared and it is exhilarating!
For #22 a book with alliteration in the title- I recommended to Hermione The Laura Line. So now we are adding racial studies into the mix. What is September for if not for learning?!?
ARIANA'S READING
Together we are reading the illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban- so yah!! We are having fun and reading my favorites!
On her own she is reading A Boy Called Bat and I love when she tells me what is happening in that book especially when she learns how divorced families work things out.
LUCY'S READING
We have been reading more together as my 1st grader has been working VERY hard at learning how to read. We find we need to slow down and sound out a little but she is rarely discouraged just easily preoccupied, distracted, and needs frequent breaks. We have been rereading more Junie B. Jones, which we both love. But we have also discovered a super cute 3 book series called Narwhal and Jelly- they are so adorable and I am so glad I found something just for her that she loves.
Phewww! Finally! This update is done! I know it was super eclectic but it was long overdue. Plus it was super cathartic after all the political talk which I will just have to get back to on Monday unless I find the option of hiding under a rock or something.
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