Fill-You-In #11

It's been a whirlwind of a week. We've been busy every night this week with events and friends & family. Some of it has been hard work, but all of it has been fun.

The week kicked off with tumbling, a shopping trip to Springfield with my mom, and Book Bunch #2 at my house. We discussed Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James. Not pictured are the lovely Linda and Annie.

Old man winter finally took the hint and got on his way. We can only hope it was for good! The girls and I got out to enjoy the sunshine and took several walks in our new double stroller. We also got a package from my dear friend, Lisa, from Wisconsin who happens to be Eve's godmother. She sent lots of goodies, including these adorable flower headbands.

The end of the week brought a torrent of Easter preparations. Due to church board obligations, it fell to my dad (read: his wife and daughter) to prepare and host a reception for those that were baptized/confirmed at the Easter vigil. We cleaned, crafted, decorated, shopped, and prepared food. It was late and we were tired, but it went off without a hitch.

I got home in time to stuff around 450 Easter eggs with Jon for the Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday, and to set out the girls' Easter baskets. This year, Eve wore Eleanor's first Easter dress, and Eleanor picked out her own dress. I will say that she chose a dress that I would not have, but it looked much better than I anticipated, and she was very proud of her fashion selection.

 

They look alike, right? Not exactly alike, but definitely like sisters. I know my mom will say Eve looks a lot like I did as a baby in that particular picture. She doesn't always, but she does there.

 I'm sure any mother of multiple children could have warned me that getting a pic of both girls would be difficult. Oh. my. goodness. This is one of about 50 pictures, 98% of which are unusable. Praise the Lord, we got one!

 

What a difference a year makes!

Thanks to my mom and dad for hiding all of the eggs! The Easter egg hunt was a success, and Eleanor dumped all of her eggs unopened back into the bin. Apparently, it wasn't about the candy. (Side story: We had a dramatic episode the night before Easter that ended with me telling Eleanor that Easter was one of those special days where she could eat ALL the candy she wanted. Unlimited candy. The freedom was fun for her, but she limited herself very well.)

 We had lunch at my parents. It was fast, because we were all beat. Eve looks like we all felt. Done.

At home we had a short rest and rallied for a great evening of bike riding, running, Easter egg coloring, coffee, working on some marketing things, and story time. We had a great day. I'm going to see if I can squeeze in a few minutes of reading Watership Down before I pass out.

Soccer starts this week and we get to celebrate Lindsey and her sweet baby at a baby shower. I hope to finish Watership Down as I'm on a TIGHT reading schedule through the end of April. I also have A LOT of work to get done. Thankfully, I spent some time today getting organized.

Thanks for sticking with me! Happy Easter! 

Book Thoughts: Death Comes to Pemberley

I've moving away from calling my book opinions "reviews", because when I think of a book review, I think of a critical analysis of plots, characters, themes and symbolism. I might touch on some of those things sometimes, but mostly I'm just hitting the high points of what I thought. Book Thoughts seems appropriate.

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James is a murder-mystery novel based on the characters of the beloved Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. The book was chosen as a read for the Book Bunch, my Bolivar-based book club. On the night before a grand ball at Pemberley, a carriage arrives with a hysterical Lydia Wickham declaring she heard gunshots fired and that her beloved George is in danger and might be dead. Mr. Darcy & co. set out on a cold and stormy night to find George Wickham hunched over a body and mumbling what sounds like a confession. An investigation ensues and Wickham is put on trial for murder. In the mean time, a romance between Georgianna Darcy and a young lawyer is building, a young man is dying, and people are keeping all sorts of fun secrets.

I'm not especially familiar with the "who done it" type books, but from what I understand, they follow a pattern, much like romance novels. I'm not a gullible person, but I am a gullible reader. I knew that Wickham probably didn't murder anyone BUT MAYBE HE DID. Just like I was positive that Katniss wasn't going to die in The Hunger Games, BUT WHAT IF SHE DOES (ImustreadthestoryasfastaspossibletoseethatI'mright.)? I was curious for the details, and while I was reading I didn't consider how James maintained the integrity of Austen's characters. Overall, I thought the story was fun and the mystery was kind of? satisfying.

After I finished and lived with the story for a few days, some of the details registered boiled to the surface. I was not happy with Elizabeth's and Jane's minor roles. This book was more about Mr. Darcy and George Wickham. James took some liberties with Darcy's inner-most thoughts that Austen left unsaid. She killed some of the mystery of Fitzwilliam Darcy, and I don't think she got it right. I'd say more, but it might ruin your perception of him and his love for Jane. AND the characters lacked Austen's famous wit.

Did James do Austen's characters justice? Not really. I still liked the book, but I didn't love it. I would read something else of P.D. James', but let's leave Austen be.

Fill-You-In #10

It seems like we had a busy week, but I'm already focusing on this week, and it's going to be nuts. I get wrapped up in a life that is too "busy", but forget that our "busy" life is by choice and not a matter of necessity. I read an article a while back that said that people who are working several jobs to support their families never say they are "busy", because they're just "tired". Tonight, I'm feeling particularly blessed that we have a full life and time to spend with friends and family.

The highlight of my week was taking Eleanor on a date to the library and to "Mexico" (aka el Rodeo) while grandma kept Eve. I don't get to spend as much time with my big girl as I used to, and I miss getting to focus on just her. She is a funny, funny little girl. Of course, Eve is worth the shared time.

 

Two snow storms in one week in MARCH after the official beginning of Spring is unexpected. I'd prefer spring showers and a few flowers AND a warm day or 2 to get out and play, but I'll wait patiently. Easter weekend is looking to be warm (and rainy). 

Currently Reading: Watership Down by Richard Adams - I'm not projecting this will be finished this week. We had a great book club at Springfield Brew Co. I enjoy catching up with my girlfriends and talking about books. I hope this tradition sticks for many years to come!

Fitness: Bah. The snow is KILLING me. We'll just keep moving.

Crafting: I'm stalled on crafting, because I'm prepping over 400 Easter eggs for the church Easter egg hunt. My window shades hang white. I have to get to Springfield to get some fabric for them, anyway.

Favorite blog post from the week: THIS post about parenting made me chuckle.

Movies: ARGO! It was good, but it was soooo suspenseful. I'm the type of person to read the last chapter of a book, so I don't spend the entire book dying in suspense. I KNEW how Argo ended. I have basic knowledge of the Iranian hostage crisis, and I'd looked up Argo before we started it to get the finer details. It didn't matter. I thought I might come unglued watching the final scenes. Ben Affleck with a beard is a nice addition to any movie, though, don't you think?

TV: Not much going on here. I need to catch up on my Vampire Diaries.

Planned posts: I have a book review all written up to post right after my book club on Wednesday. I don't want to hint at my thoughts before the discussion!

Things to remember
Eleanor: Mommy/daughter date this week, and how excited she is to play the computer at the library and pick out her own books. Her current favorite is Revolting Reptiles and Strega Nona. I would recommend the latter.

Eve:  We heard her first "da" sound. She's already picked up "ma", but "da" was new. There are just baby jabbers and not in context, but it's fun to watch language develop.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

March 24th is more special than most days in March, because it's my mom's birthday. I am always quick to say that my mom is my best friend and my favorite person in the world. I like to think our mother-daughter relationship is special, and that I am luuuuuuuuuuuucky. Not every daughter gets a good mom. Maybe it's because I am an only child, or maybe we just click, but we've always been close. On the chance that she remembers to check her computer and reads this, Yes, Mom, I know. You're my mother, not my friend. Got it. Disregard all of the nice stuff.

I did not drag out the camera to take pictures of her birthday lunch--the lunch she insisted we not fuss with. Since I didn't take pictures, I dug this out of my picture box. I think she was 16 or 17. This is my favorite picture of her. The older I get, the more "woman" my mom because, and the less "mom" she becomes--if that makes sense. Of course, I didn't know her when this picture was taken. I wasn't even thought of, yet, but I like to think of her as a teenager, a young wife, and a young mother. Wasn't she gorgeous? She still is. Happy Birthday, Mama!

Book Review: Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir

I'm waaaaaay behind on my book reviews, but I've been reading a lot. Maybe I'll catch up and one morning you'll wake up to 10 book reviews in your reader. Anyway, Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson was a book club pick for the "Springfield Book Club". I believe Lindsey chose this book, and choose well she did.

Let's Pretend is a memoir by the well-known blogger, Jenny Lawson. She chronicles her unconventional Texas upbringing, her Goth-inspired youth, how she met her husband, Victor, her stint in corporate America, raising a family--her life, as a memoir usually does. Her writing is laugh-out-loud hilarious. I'm not joking--laugh out REALLY loud. The entire time I was reading, I would think to myself that "this" part was mostly not true (or, I would read aloud to Jon and comment how it was a crock of s---), then Lawson would throw in a picture to prove her point. I ended up thinking that it really was mostly true, and no, she really couldn't make this stuff up.

Sometimes I was overwhelmed with her stream-of-consciousness style writing and her antics and wondered if I really liked the book. Sometimes she is too much, but then she would tell a story about how she completely kai-boshed the first meeting with her future MIL by sitting on the fancy sofa cushions, and I would be all-in again. She also used a device? or maybe it wasn't a device? of including editor's comments to express her editor's dissension with what she wrote. For instance she would write something like: My editor doesn't think this is a chapter because it has no central focus. OR My editor says I can't say this as it isn't true, but it's my memoir and I'm going to famous for this s---. She also uses profanity throughout, and I think she does it rather well. If that sort of thing offends you, I'd steer clear of this book. In fact, if you're easily offended at all, just skip this one.

I don't follow her blog, but I had run across the Beyonce the giant metal chicken story, and felt much more connected to the stories after that chapter. Lawson's book certainly isn't a literary masterpiece, but it's well written, and girlfriend has issues that she conveys with hilarity and a little too much honesty. I have no doubt she makes a great living with her story-telling abilities. I haven't read Chelsea Handler, but someone at book club compared Lawson to her, and I imagine that they are similar. If you want a good laugh or lots of good laughs, pick up Let's Pretend.  I gave it a solid 3.5 stars, and thank Lindsey for choosing it.

Chocolate cake and a story

I love to cook. I''m comfortable following a recipe, or improvising. The running joke between me and mother is "where'd you get your love for cooking?" A family member asked me this straight-faced while my mom was RIGHT there. Awkward. The same person mused that I must have gotten it from a dead relative. Slam. I know where I got it, and so did that unnamed family member. I got it from my mom. She is the best home cook I know. I'm supposed to say that, because she's my mom, but even church people think so, too. Anything I make well, she makes better. When I got married, she wrote out many of my favorite recipes in a little journal. The journal is one of my favorite things. (Cue Julie Andrews.) The recipe I'm going to share is not from said journal, but it was a nice story to intro some of my cooking/baking adventures.

I'm not a baker. I love to cook, but baking stresses me out. Everything from the weather to the size of the measuring spoon has to be exact. I once read an article that showed the variation from one teaspoon to the next. Bah!  I want the perfect recipe, too, but I don't bake often enough to have the perfect recipe. I rely on All Recipes a lot for the user reviews, but even that has failed me sometimes. Not this time! I'm bringing chocolate cake to EVERYthing.

I found this recipe on AllRecipes, but after reading a few reviews, I discovered that it's the same recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box. Let's give credit where credit is due. My mom said her grandma used to make it. I didn't know this, but how 'bout a connection to the family matriarchs for the win!  (Enjoy the recipe.)

Basically, dump everything into a bowl, mix, pour into a prepared Bundt pan, and bake. I made THIS glaze to finish it off.

P.S.: I will get better at taking process pictures.

Fill-You-In #9

The official start of spring isn't until next week, but it seems spring activities are in full-swing at our house. The GORGEOUS and somewhat unseasonably warm weather might have something to do with it.

Last week, we battled the stomach flu, and this week Jon and Eleanor have had a cold, but it hasn't kept them down too much. Jon had a soccer coaches meeting this Tuesday (soccer starts in April!), Eve had her check up on Wednesday, and we hosted a group of friends on Thursday. Friday I prepped for a friend's birthday, and we've spent today celebrating a happy little 3-year-old's birthday. I'm brewing up a post about a few cakes I made for the party, so stay tuned! Our week in pictures and words:

 Eve. This is my favorite picture to date of her.

 

Eleanor, the artist. She spent a little time outside drawing herself and picking dandelions for me, but she calls them sunflowers. Why not?

 

We took a quick trip to Sam's Club with grandma, and Eve enjoyed her first shopping trip in the shopping cart like a big girl. Girlfriend is nosy! Eleanor picked out her Easter dress, too (pictures coming).

 

Eleanor sported a handlebar mustache at Elon's birthday party. All of the kids got a mustache and it was HILARIOUS! Some of the dads pasted 'staches on their faces and succeeded in looking extra creepy.

 

Eve and her friend, Elliot. 

Currently Reading: Death Comes to Pemberley by PD James. I'm getting a slow start, but will probably wrap up this week. I'm looking forward to book club on Tuesday.

Fitness: Weights this week.

Crafting: I bought what I thought was everything I needed to make some DIY shades for my back door, but didn't notice that the shades didn't come with hardware. I'll post about this project eventually.

Favorite blog post from the week: Week 29 - I can't wait to meet this little gal!

Movies: Nada. We have Edgar on Netflix, but haven't watched it yet.

TV: We're getting ready to watch SNL from last week. I'm EXCITED to see JT host, even if I am late to the party.

Planned posts: A post about my recent baking adventures, and MAYBE a book review. I'm behind on those.

Things to remember
Eleanor:  Eleanor screaming from the back yard "MOM, watch me swing!" I might have mentioned in another post (or on Instagram or Facebook--I lose track) that she's recently learned to swing herself. She's quite proud. On the same morning, she beamed as she walked in the back door with her "sunflowers" for me. She said, "Look, Mom, I brought beautiful sunflowers." We put 4 dandelion heads in a Pyrex bowl. She's so sweet, and dramatic. I see the stage in her future.

Eve:  Eve is exerting a lot more control over her little baby body. She flips and turns and rolls everywhere, especially in her crib. If I put her down before she's ready to pass out, she flips on to her stomach and grabs a hold of the slats of her crib and yells at me as if to say "get me out of this jail, lady, or you'll be sorry."