Book: Left To Tell
Author: Immaculee
Pages:
A neighbor down the street recommended this book and lent me her copy. I'm a huge WWII buff, but I wasn't sure how I'd feel about Rwanda. I don't have a lot of similarities to grasp at with Rwanda, or Africa, in general and I've always been perplexed by one tribe trying to rid the earth of another tribe. For whatever reason, Hitler's reasoning--while clearly insane--was a little bit more foreseeable. However, I gave it a shot and I'm glad I did. This turned out to be an incredible read I'd recommend to anyone.
In 1994, Rwanda broke out in a civil war that left a million Tutsis dead in 100 days, the doing of another tribe, the Hutus, that had lived side by side with them for eons of time. Overnight, neighbors and friends turned on each other, leaving an entire countryside ravished by evil no living soul should have to witness.
Immaculee grew up in a tiny village with her parents and three brothers and had earned her way to college--a rarity for a Tutsi woman. In Easter of 1994, she had contemplated staying at school to study, but instead came home for the traditional Easter meal. It was a decision, as harrowing as her ensuing journey was, that saved her life. While life was never really good for the Tutsi's, over the course of a few months, it had become dangerous. Ethnic cards were distributed so that you were branded by your tribe. Violence was becoming commonplace. But the worse was yet to come.
Refusing to leave during the night and escape to Zaire, Immaculee's father stood behind his beliefs that it was getting better and the government was going to put a stop to the fighting. The next day, it became impossible to escape Rwanda.
Immaculee's father sent her to a pastor's house for shelter. Though the pastor was a Hutu, he agreed to hide Immaculee and six other women in a secret bathrooom, about 4 foot by 6 foot, in his master bedroom until the worst of the fighting had passed. 91 days later, Immaculee emerged to tell her harrowing story.
Afraid they'd be detected by the various houseguests, servants, and eventually the killers that were looking for any and all Tutsis that were hiding, they sat virtually motionless for hours on end. It was during these quiet times that, instead of plotting her revenge and lamenting her situation, Immaculee turned herself over to God. Her daily conversations with God gave her the strength to continue forth in a brutal and uncompromising situation.
While graphic and horrifying with it's details, this book serves to remind us that there are people living in truly unimaginable conditions while we sleep soundly at night. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. Immaculee's faith and courage stands as a testament to us all that we can indeed overcome anything.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Pure Genius
I was driving to class today when I tuned in to the actual press conference announcing Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate. I have to admit, I was a little sad--I had really wanted Romney because he was my pick for president. But when I heard her speak, I jumped on the bandwagon.
Granted, I know nothing about this woman. I don't know her track record or her experience level or even who she was until about 10 am this morning. I had no idea that Alaska's governor was even a woman.
But why I like her: She's one of us. She wasn't born and bred a politician. She didn't come from money. Her father was an elementary school teacher and her mother worked as a school secretary. Her husband is an oil company production manager and also helps run a family commercial fishing business. She has five children. Five. That's three and a half more than I have--and she's managed to become governor of a state. She's personally lived her convictions. She's pro-life and when given the option to abort her last baby--born with down syndrome's--she opted not to. It's nice to finally see someone put their money where their mouth is. While it's easy to stand up there on your podium and denounce abortion, the real test comes when you prove you are what you say you are. She's for the military and currently has a son in active duty.
Palin began in the PTA, was elected into the City Council, became mayor of her little town and eventually governor of a state that is very male dominated. Alaska is a rural and home roots kind of place. Imagine trying to make yourself a name in that kind of environment.
She didn't go to some Ivy League school that daddy paid for. She competed in beauty pagents to pay her way through the University of Idaho. What makes her great: This could be me. I don't have to be at the mercy of wealth and old money. All of a sudden it's not the political powerhouses that are running the show. Anyone can be in this rat race called the "Presidential Election".
I think this move was pure genius on the part of McCain. He's taken a relatively unknown person and catapulted her onto the world platform, upstaging Obama and Biden and shaking up the election. It took a lot of courage to pass by the good ole boys and name Palin as the running mate and I for one couldn't be happier.
While time will tell if these two are the best match for the country, I'm happy that (a) women are finally getting into the hot seats and (b) I can actually relate to the candidate. If nothing else, this election should prove to be the most exciting one yet. History will be made if either candidate wins and may the best one take the cake.
Granted, I know nothing about this woman. I don't know her track record or her experience level or even who she was until about 10 am this morning. I had no idea that Alaska's governor was even a woman.
But why I like her: She's one of us. She wasn't born and bred a politician. She didn't come from money. Her father was an elementary school teacher and her mother worked as a school secretary. Her husband is an oil company production manager and also helps run a family commercial fishing business. She has five children. Five. That's three and a half more than I have--and she's managed to become governor of a state. She's personally lived her convictions. She's pro-life and when given the option to abort her last baby--born with down syndrome's--she opted not to. It's nice to finally see someone put their money where their mouth is. While it's easy to stand up there on your podium and denounce abortion, the real test comes when you prove you are what you say you are. She's for the military and currently has a son in active duty.
Palin began in the PTA, was elected into the City Council, became mayor of her little town and eventually governor of a state that is very male dominated. Alaska is a rural and home roots kind of place. Imagine trying to make yourself a name in that kind of environment.
She didn't go to some Ivy League school that daddy paid for. She competed in beauty pagents to pay her way through the University of Idaho. What makes her great: This could be me. I don't have to be at the mercy of wealth and old money. All of a sudden it's not the political powerhouses that are running the show. Anyone can be in this rat race called the "Presidential Election".
I think this move was pure genius on the part of McCain. He's taken a relatively unknown person and catapulted her onto the world platform, upstaging Obama and Biden and shaking up the election. It took a lot of courage to pass by the good ole boys and name Palin as the running mate and I for one couldn't be happier.
While time will tell if these two are the best match for the country, I'm happy that (a) women are finally getting into the hot seats and (b) I can actually relate to the candidate. If nothing else, this election should prove to be the most exciting one yet. History will be made if either candidate wins and may the best one take the cake.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
The Battle of Laundry and It's Accompanying Sock Treaty of 2008
I think the War of the Laundry began the day Wade started working for a company that expected him to dress in business casual. We began by getting him a whole new wardrobe. I was going to school and so my everyday clothes were fine. However, they still needed to be clean because I was going out in public. But a t-shirt is a t-shirt and I have plenty of those.
The pinnacle of the War of the Laundry, where the weaponry and words loomed large, began after school was out and my days blurred into a seemingly endless one.
"Now, what did I wear yesterday? It wasn't this, was it? It smells clean--sorta. Oh well. I'll just hope for the best and sit downwind from everyone in the driveway club."
Of course, Wade is expected to change his clothes every day. And even more importantly, they're expected to be clean. Hence the Great Laundry Battle.
It never begins before 10:30 at night. Usually during the ten o'clock news, Wade will turn to me and ask "do I have anything to wear tomorrow?"
"I don't know." I reply. So then one of us (usually me, because I do realize that part of this is my fault) gets up to check the laundry situation and lo and behold, he is clean out of work clothes. I start a new load and then when the buzzer goes off, I get out of bed to move them to the dryer. I return to my slumber and morning hits with all it's accompanying bells and whistles.
We have the same conversation nearly once a week. "Why can't you just keep on top of the laundry? Then we wouldn't be up at midnight moving clothes to the dryer."
I have close to 20 pairs of pants. Granted, I don't wear them all with the same amount of frequency, but in case of an emergency (and provided I'm not 6 months pregnant) I can potentially go an entire month without washing pants to wear. I'm not adverse to wearing my jeans a second day if need be, so I may even be able to stretch this into two months. They feel better on the second day after I've loosened them up anyways. If all else fails, I have four incredibly comfortable pairs of exercise pants that will do in a pinch. I have a multitude of t-shirts that will see me through to the end. My only hang up is underwear. But rarely, does a load of whites yield work clothes for Wade.
On the other hand, Wade has four pairs of dockers for work, three pairs of presentable jeans, maybe five t-shirts fit for public wear, one pair of running pants, and four pairs of shorts. He is adamant about not wearing his pants twice in a row. He wears the same five shirts every week to work. His only saving grace is the amount of underwear he owns, which is more than I've ever seen--male or female.
I realize that, being primarily at home, I should be able to find time in my busy day to load the washer with at least one load of laundry and then move it to the dryer. When the dryer beeps, it should take but a few minutes to hang up the shirts and pants and fold the rest. There's no logical reason why, with only 3 of us in the house, laundry is such a major stress. We have a great washer and dryer--much better than the one beforehand--so it should all be relatively painless. Except it's not.
I'm reminded of the complexity of it all when I was awoken this morning--and most mornings--by Wade rummaging for dress socks. It must be noted that dress socks are the bain of my existence. I dislike all socks, but despise dress socks with a passion. In the perfect world, we'd all wear flip flops, occasionally trading them in for a nicer pair of sandals to wear to church, weddings and funerals. Socks would be an occasional indulgence for when you are hiking or running.
I can honestly say that the thought of whether there are clean dress socks for Wade for the next day at work never, ever crosses my mind during the course of the day. Even when I throw in a load of laundry at 10:30 at night, it never dawns that I should also ensure that there is at least one pair of matching socks in there for the next day. Thus, the Sock Treaty of 2008 was born.
A few months ago, Wade confessed that it stresses him out to have to dig for socks in the morning. I agreed that from now on, I would match his dress socks and put them NOT in the sock pile, but rather in his dresser drawer. Then he wouldn't have to search for them. I thought this was a great compromise as matching socks ranks there on my to-do list somewhere between "milk a cow" and "schedule appointment with dermatologist to do an all over mole check". For a while, this treaty solved a lot of morning dilemmas. But then I stopped upholding my end of the bargain. And this morning, I awoke (again) to Wade searching for socks.
It's not the searching that bugs me per se but more so the enormous guilt I feel for having let down my end of the bargaining stick. Here, he goes off to slave in the battlefields of work (albeit sometimes behind a ping-pong or pool table) and I can't seem to find the time to put a measly load of laundry in? What kind of wife am I? Of course, the guilt eventually wears off and I go back to sleep, but still...
So, to my dear hubby who is soldiering on for the good of our family, the rebirth of the Sock Treaty of 2008. I vow to have clean socks for you to wear tomorrow.
The pinnacle of the War of the Laundry, where the weaponry and words loomed large, began after school was out and my days blurred into a seemingly endless one.
"Now, what did I wear yesterday? It wasn't this, was it? It smells clean--sorta. Oh well. I'll just hope for the best and sit downwind from everyone in the driveway club."
Of course, Wade is expected to change his clothes every day. And even more importantly, they're expected to be clean. Hence the Great Laundry Battle.
It never begins before 10:30 at night. Usually during the ten o'clock news, Wade will turn to me and ask "do I have anything to wear tomorrow?"
"I don't know." I reply. So then one of us (usually me, because I do realize that part of this is my fault) gets up to check the laundry situation and lo and behold, he is clean out of work clothes. I start a new load and then when the buzzer goes off, I get out of bed to move them to the dryer. I return to my slumber and morning hits with all it's accompanying bells and whistles.
We have the same conversation nearly once a week. "Why can't you just keep on top of the laundry? Then we wouldn't be up at midnight moving clothes to the dryer."
I have close to 20 pairs of pants. Granted, I don't wear them all with the same amount of frequency, but in case of an emergency (and provided I'm not 6 months pregnant) I can potentially go an entire month without washing pants to wear. I'm not adverse to wearing my jeans a second day if need be, so I may even be able to stretch this into two months. They feel better on the second day after I've loosened them up anyways. If all else fails, I have four incredibly comfortable pairs of exercise pants that will do in a pinch. I have a multitude of t-shirts that will see me through to the end. My only hang up is underwear. But rarely, does a load of whites yield work clothes for Wade.
On the other hand, Wade has four pairs of dockers for work, three pairs of presentable jeans, maybe five t-shirts fit for public wear, one pair of running pants, and four pairs of shorts. He is adamant about not wearing his pants twice in a row. He wears the same five shirts every week to work. His only saving grace is the amount of underwear he owns, which is more than I've ever seen--male or female.
I realize that, being primarily at home, I should be able to find time in my busy day to load the washer with at least one load of laundry and then move it to the dryer. When the dryer beeps, it should take but a few minutes to hang up the shirts and pants and fold the rest. There's no logical reason why, with only 3 of us in the house, laundry is such a major stress. We have a great washer and dryer--much better than the one beforehand--so it should all be relatively painless. Except it's not.
I'm reminded of the complexity of it all when I was awoken this morning--and most mornings--by Wade rummaging for dress socks. It must be noted that dress socks are the bain of my existence. I dislike all socks, but despise dress socks with a passion. In the perfect world, we'd all wear flip flops, occasionally trading them in for a nicer pair of sandals to wear to church, weddings and funerals. Socks would be an occasional indulgence for when you are hiking or running.
I can honestly say that the thought of whether there are clean dress socks for Wade for the next day at work never, ever crosses my mind during the course of the day. Even when I throw in a load of laundry at 10:30 at night, it never dawns that I should also ensure that there is at least one pair of matching socks in there for the next day. Thus, the Sock Treaty of 2008 was born.
A few months ago, Wade confessed that it stresses him out to have to dig for socks in the morning. I agreed that from now on, I would match his dress socks and put them NOT in the sock pile, but rather in his dresser drawer. Then he wouldn't have to search for them. I thought this was a great compromise as matching socks ranks there on my to-do list somewhere between "milk a cow" and "schedule appointment with dermatologist to do an all over mole check". For a while, this treaty solved a lot of morning dilemmas. But then I stopped upholding my end of the bargain. And this morning, I awoke (again) to Wade searching for socks.
It's not the searching that bugs me per se but more so the enormous guilt I feel for having let down my end of the bargaining stick. Here, he goes off to slave in the battlefields of work (albeit sometimes behind a ping-pong or pool table) and I can't seem to find the time to put a measly load of laundry in? What kind of wife am I? Of course, the guilt eventually wears off and I go back to sleep, but still...
So, to my dear hubby who is soldiering on for the good of our family, the rebirth of the Sock Treaty of 2008. I vow to have clean socks for you to wear tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Basement Update
So here it is, the infamous hole that I thought Wade was kidding about one morning two weeks ago when he announced he was going to cut it into the wall that evening. It wasn't until I heard suspicious sawing sounds that I realized he was serious about this whole thing. Mind you, I'm not entirely sure that Wade has ever cut a hole--of any size--into a wall. This is the same guy who freaked out when he came home one day from work to find that I had put up a shelf in the kitchen for knick knacks. In any case, this is where our food storage room is going. 
This is the bathtub we were told that wouldn't fit down our stairs. Wade and a friend inverted the bathtub so it was upsides down and then turned it as they went down the stairs, only minimally scratching the wall. We had to cut the hole into the wall first so that they didn't have to make the corner into the basement, but could walk through the "bedrooms". I have to say I was quite impressed with Wade's ingenuity.
The empty wall you see here is where our big screen will eventually go. Hopefully sooner rather than later--depending on funds. :) Other plans include installing a retractable projector screen and projector for intense movie watching. We'll see if that pans out. Again...funds. This picture doesn't quite capture the magnitude of the room. It's huge, running the entire length of the house (much like the shot with the bedrooms), so there's a lot of space to fill.
We realized the other day at the home furnishings store that we have been married seven years and have only bought a new washer/dryer and a mattress for a twin bed for Josh. Everything else was either given to us or we found off ksl classifieds for cheap. We're even on our second set of bedroom furniture in our master bedroom. Both sets were given to us by my parents who were upgrading theirs. Over the past four or five days, we've been sitting in a lot of couches and recliners trying to discern what it is we want. Of course, free is always better than full price (or even "sales" price) and I'm certainly not above hand-me-downs. They're a lot of the reason why we are where we are financially. But it's a little liberating to be discussing $1000 couches with seriousness instead of wishfulness. A HUGE part of both of us still balks at the idea of spending that much money for a piece of furniture, but it's soooo comfy. Who knew that you could actually pick out comfortable furniture. While my mom's furniture has always been nice, comfortable is not a label I would adhere to it. Even growing up, I don't recall having extraordinarily comfortable couches for our family room. That didn't stop us from snatching up the sofa and loveseat she offered us when we moved into our house from her living room. It was free and looked good (much better than the couch that sat in our television room until 3 weeks ago) and we don't spend a lot of time in there anyways. But, I haven't ever really been couch shopping, so I'm surprised at just how comfortable they can be. Good thing we have a few months to figure it all out.
Next step: The plumber is coming out next week to install all the plumbing for the bathroom and to put in a drain in our laundry room upstairs. It didn't dawn on us, until we started the whole basement thing, that we don't have a drain in the laundry room in case the water hose to the washer were to break. It would do a lot of damage before it found a way out, so we figured we better get that taken care of while they can still access the floor of the laundry room from the basement. Our many thanks go to the inspectors who let that little failure slide when the house was originally built. At least we caught it now.
After the plumber, we have the HVAC to do and then it's framing time. Meanwhile, we're still picking a fireplace, but hopefully, that should be squared away this week.
Wish Wade luck at his first day back to school tonight. We were able to accomplish everything I wanted before school started--get the basement completely cleaned out and get contractors lined up. Our garage is still full of stuff to take to the dump, but we have a while before it snows and we need that second spot.
Now if we could just keep the upstairs as clean as the downstairs...
This is a picture of our newly cleaned basement (thanks to yours truly). It hasn't been this clean since we moved in. I should've taken a before picture so you could all appreciate how much hard work I did. This is where the two bedrooms are going to go. It's hard to imagine it right now, but in a few months, you'll see.
This is the bathtub we were told that wouldn't fit down our stairs. Wade and a friend inverted the bathtub so it was upsides down and then turned it as they went down the stairs, only minimally scratching the wall. We had to cut the hole into the wall first so that they didn't have to make the corner into the basement, but could walk through the "bedrooms". I have to say I was quite impressed with Wade's ingenuity.The empty wall you see here is where our big screen will eventually go. Hopefully sooner rather than later--depending on funds. :) Other plans include installing a retractable projector screen and projector for intense movie watching. We'll see if that pans out. Again...funds. This picture doesn't quite capture the magnitude of the room. It's huge, running the entire length of the house (much like the shot with the bedrooms), so there's a lot of space to fill.
We realized the other day at the home furnishings store that we have been married seven years and have only bought a new washer/dryer and a mattress for a twin bed for Josh. Everything else was either given to us or we found off ksl classifieds for cheap. We're even on our second set of bedroom furniture in our master bedroom. Both sets were given to us by my parents who were upgrading theirs. Over the past four or five days, we've been sitting in a lot of couches and recliners trying to discern what it is we want. Of course, free is always better than full price (or even "sales" price) and I'm certainly not above hand-me-downs. They're a lot of the reason why we are where we are financially. But it's a little liberating to be discussing $1000 couches with seriousness instead of wishfulness. A HUGE part of both of us still balks at the idea of spending that much money for a piece of furniture, but it's soooo comfy. Who knew that you could actually pick out comfortable furniture. While my mom's furniture has always been nice, comfortable is not a label I would adhere to it. Even growing up, I don't recall having extraordinarily comfortable couches for our family room. That didn't stop us from snatching up the sofa and loveseat she offered us when we moved into our house from her living room. It was free and looked good (much better than the couch that sat in our television room until 3 weeks ago) and we don't spend a lot of time in there anyways. But, I haven't ever really been couch shopping, so I'm surprised at just how comfortable they can be. Good thing we have a few months to figure it all out.Next step: The plumber is coming out next week to install all the plumbing for the bathroom and to put in a drain in our laundry room upstairs. It didn't dawn on us, until we started the whole basement thing, that we don't have a drain in the laundry room in case the water hose to the washer were to break. It would do a lot of damage before it found a way out, so we figured we better get that taken care of while they can still access the floor of the laundry room from the basement. Our many thanks go to the inspectors who let that little failure slide when the house was originally built. At least we caught it now.
After the plumber, we have the HVAC to do and then it's framing time. Meanwhile, we're still picking a fireplace, but hopefully, that should be squared away this week.
Wish Wade luck at his first day back to school tonight. We were able to accomplish everything I wanted before school started--get the basement completely cleaned out and get contractors lined up. Our garage is still full of stuff to take to the dump, but we have a while before it snows and we need that second spot.
Now if we could just keep the upstairs as clean as the downstairs...
Monday, August 25, 2008
First Day of School
I cruised around looking for a parking spot that (a) didn't cost money (b) didn't require me to hike long distances uphill (c) wasn't illegal, feeling a little apprehensive about being "back" in school. Here I've been out for nearly a year and a half. What if I recognize people in the class and they know my "secret"? What if I know no one and then I don't have anyone to study with? What if I don't remember enough math to even finish the class and I fail and my husband gets mad at spending $1000 on a class so I'd finally get my degree and then I don't get it because I can't pass one more class? What if people are secretly laughing at the outfit I've chosen to wear?
Apparently, what I really should've been thinking about was "it's hard to look cool on a college campus when you're inching towards 30 AND you're five months pregnant."
Apparently, what I really should've been thinking about was "it's hard to look cool on a college campus when you're inching towards 30 AND you're five months pregnant."
Friday, August 22, 2008
It's the Little Things
There have been a lot of things that have made me smile this week--and I needed some things to smile about. Here's just a small sampling of what life has been like the past sevenish days:
* I was cleaning out the toy closet in anticipation of moving up stuff from the basement. The biggest task was finding all the puzzle pieces and correctly matching them up to their respective puzzles. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to throw some of them away because of missing pieces. Imagine my surprise when I found every piece to every puzzle. YAY!
*After much deliberating and some creative manuevering, Wade and a friend were able to get our tub enclosure down to the basement. Wade was told--more than once--it couldn't be done. Take that Home Depot!
*I went in to pick Josh up from nursery Sunday at church (I was sneaking out early...) and found him "learning how to share" the toys with the other children. Seems he really likes cars. Really? I've never noticed. As we were leaving, I told him he had to leave the sheep and Lightening McQueen car behind. He started to whimper, so I said they were Jesus' sheep and Lightening McQueen and what would Jesus play with if Josh took them home. That's the only explanation he needed. He put them back in the toy box, and though he wasn't happy, he didn't complain at all.
*Josh and I snuck out of church early and went home and took long Sunday naps. :)
* I was cleaning out the toy closet in anticipation of moving up stuff from the basement. The biggest task was finding all the puzzle pieces and correctly matching them up to their respective puzzles. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to throw some of them away because of missing pieces. Imagine my surprise when I found every piece to every puzzle. YAY!
*After much deliberating and some creative manuevering, Wade and a friend were able to get our tub enclosure down to the basement. Wade was told--more than once--it couldn't be done. Take that Home Depot!
*I went in to pick Josh up from nursery Sunday at church (I was sneaking out early...) and found him "learning how to share" the toys with the other children. Seems he really likes cars. Really? I've never noticed. As we were leaving, I told him he had to leave the sheep and Lightening McQueen car behind. He started to whimper, so I said they were Jesus' sheep and Lightening McQueen and what would Jesus play with if Josh took them home. That's the only explanation he needed. He put them back in the toy box, and though he wasn't happy, he didn't complain at all.
*Josh and I snuck out of church early and went home and took long Sunday naps. :)
* We were eating dinner at my in-laws...wait, this should be it's own entry because any dinner I don't have to make brings a smile to my face...
* Okay, we were eating dinner at my in-laws and afterwards, we were watching some nature show on channel 7 about elephants. Josh was so concerned about the baby elephants not having their mothers. It made me happy to see him emphathize for something other them himself.
* Our conversation about the elephants.
* The resolution to our conversation about the elephants. Josh and I had to go check out my parents' basement for elephants the day after our enlightening conversation. My mom clearly thought I was setting my three year old up for future psychiatric help by indulging him in his elephants-in-the-basement fantasy. As I see it, it's a minute out of my life and the kid's THREE, not eleven. If it makes him smile to go elephant hunting in grandma's basement, then who am I to take away that simple joy. Besides, we would sit down later and explain the illogicities of having elephants in the basement if the "problem" persists. So until then, elephant hunting we would go. When we got home, we went down to our basement and walked around. I casually mentioned that maybe the basement wasn't big enough for an elephant, at which Josh looked up and said, "yeah, elephants are too big for the basement." And that was that. Disaster averted and he figured it out on his own.
*While I was making dinner the other night, Josh came running into the kitchen and demanded that I dance with him. So we danced around the kitchen. Neither one of us exhibits a lot of coordination, but it was fun nonetheless.
*Yesterday, I awoke to a kid (my kid--not just any kid) dancing on my bed wearing his sunglasses and singing at the top of his lungs "Rock star, rock star". I asked him what he was doing and he responded "I'm going to be a rock star!"
*Josh fell asleep in the car on the way to the grocery store yesterday. Usually, he'll wake up once we get to our destination, but his poor head was bobbing and swaying in the cart. Finally, he caved in and curled up in a little ball with his head on my purse and slept all the way through the store. I transferred him back to the car, where he promptly fell asleep again, and then moved him inside the house, where he slept for another two hours. I was afraid he wouldn't go to bed, but eventually he did fall asleep last night as well.
*I surprised Wade by cleaning out the entire basement yesterday. I moved everything to the main floor and garage and swept it up. It was a lot of work. When Wade got home, I announced that he was taking me to dinner. He didn't balk at all at the idea of taking me out for food and now the basement is ready to be worked on. Our first major task is the plumbing for the bathroom. We called the plumber and he put us on his schedule for two weeks from now. YAY!
*Wade got accepted to the Master's program at Utah State despite applying six weeks after the admission deadline. He starts classes on Tuesday. We have waffled quite a bit on whether this is right thing to do at the right time, but ultimately, I think we're making the right decision. I'd much rather do it now then when the kids are older and have more places to go. Besides, his employer is paying 100% of it and who knows how long his job will last, so we better take advantage of it.
*While I'm not excited for the 1 1/2 hour round trip commute three days a week--starting Monday--to the U for a measly 45 minute class to get my Bachelor's in math, I'm happy that on December 16ish, I will have my degree and (hopefully) my baby girl in hand and I can finally cross that one (Get a bachelor's degree) off the list. As for another list item looming in view, I'm hoping to go au naturel as well for the birth of baby (yet to be named) and so I can cross that off as well. However, it's no biggie if I don't. I'll just find something else to add to the list in it's place. I certainly don't want to hold myself hostage to the list, and if going natural isn't in the game plan, I'll adapt.
*I got an email today from the library saying that the book I reserved a month and a half ago is ready. I had forgotten about this book, but now having gotten the email, I'm way excited for it.
*Since giving myself a free pass on the running, I've exercised every day this week by weight training and swimming. I think I just needed to give myself the okay that I could--and should--do something else. While I can't say that my back and pelvis are feeling that much better, I'm not near to tears as I have been. And I have been sleeping a lot better.
*I can still button up most of my pre-pregnancy-post-marathon jeans. The pre-marathon jeans were shoved to the back of the closet after the cruise in January, so no hard feelings there. However, more important than buttoning up, is that I can fit my butt and thighs into my jeans, and that makes me happy. I bought some belly band things that fit over the button and zipper so I can still wear my regular pants, ideally up to the birth of baby, but that will only work if I can still fit my butt and thighs into the pants. So far, so good. I'm determined not to spend more on maternity clothes, so I may have to rely on my exercise pants for the last month or so of the pregnancy. Good thing it'll be winter and not July.
*Troubles has stopped hissing at Mocaco every time he comes near her. It's been two weeks since his return. They're even sharing the same sun spot at the moment. Life must be settling back to normal.
So while the week has not been all good--my hot shoes I bought from the internet were obviously modeled on a pre-teen's foot and I can't fit my toes in them so now I have to send them back--for the most part, it's been a good week.
Book Review Friday 8/22/08
Book: The Last Cowgirl
Author: Jana Richman
Pages: 304
The last few months, I've been concentrating on the Salt Lake County's Reader's Choice books. I have mentioned before that I'm not sure how they pick these books (these are the best books you can find??) but it has opened up my reading repertoire quite a bit, so I won't criticize the list too much. In any case, this is yet another pick on the list. I can only assume it's spot on the list has something to do with the author being a local Salt Lake gal.
Dickie, now a middle-aged reporter in Salt Lake, is forced back home to deal with the aftermath of her brother's death from nerve gas poisoning. While home, she revisits her past--growing up in a mediocre town, Genoa, in Genoa County, Utah. Upon further reading, I came to the realization that Genoa, Genoa County, Utah is actually Tooele. I perked up quite a bit since that's my stomping grounds as of the moment.
Fighting her natural abilities and her hatred for her father, Dickie sabotages every effort to acclimate into this way of life. The story bounces back and forth between present day and past tense, so a clear view of what's happened emerges.
Author: Jana Richman
Pages: 304
The last few months, I've been concentrating on the Salt Lake County's Reader's Choice books. I have mentioned before that I'm not sure how they pick these books (these are the best books you can find??) but it has opened up my reading repertoire quite a bit, so I won't criticize the list too much. In any case, this is yet another pick on the list. I can only assume it's spot on the list has something to do with the author being a local Salt Lake gal.
Dickie, now a middle-aged reporter in Salt Lake, is forced back home to deal with the aftermath of her brother's death from nerve gas poisoning. While home, she revisits her past--growing up in a mediocre town, Genoa, in Genoa County, Utah. Upon further reading, I came to the realization that Genoa, Genoa County, Utah is actually Tooele. I perked up quite a bit since that's my stomping grounds as of the moment.
Fighting her natural abilities and her hatred for her father, Dickie sabotages every effort to acclimate into this way of life. The story bounces back and forth between present day and past tense, so a clear view of what's happened emerges.
Laced with a bunch of environmental junk, the book itself was eco-friendly and tree huggerish, but the underlying humor was fun. Richman walked that fine line between poking fun and making fun of a culture that the characters neither embrace or shun. While the characters were Mormon, they followed a less than strict adherence to the "rules". I found the humor to be refreshing.
I don't know that I would've enjoyed the book as much if I wasn't familiar with the area that was being described. Though many of the names of towns and such were changed, mountain ranges and Dugway Proving Grounds made their appearance. I can't help but think, in the end, the novel was a way to get back at Dugway and their "top-secret" missions involving nuclear waste and whatnot. In the end, I did find the writing to be pretty good though and that's all that matters.
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