The Sunday Salon and NaBloPoMo

This seemed to be more of a reading week for me. I finished two books- Complications (review here) and Fearless Fourteen by Evanovich. Both of these will be included with a Christmas gift, so it was nice to knock them off my list. I also started The Freedom Writer's Diary, and made a pretty good start in it. I'm starting to get a little torn between things that look great and finishing up some of the things I've already started before the end of the year.

Fearless Fourteen was ok. It wasn't any different than any of the others in the series though, and it seems like maybe it's time for Stephanie to change a little. The Ranger/Morelli conflict is well done, but it's been a lot of books now, it's time. I did not miss Stephanie's sister or her kids at all. Grandma Mazur starts playing online games, which is possibly the best part of the entire book. I heard a rumor that there will only be one more in the series, and I think that's probably for the best.

In other news- today is the last day of NaBloPoMo and I managed to post every single day! Let's see if I can do it through the end of the year, shall we?

We put up most of our indoor Christmas decorations today and it looks great. I did a few things differently this year and will take some pictures once all the boxes are back in the basement. My advent calendar turned out great and if the Pirate ever naps I'll go find some little goodies to put in it. I found some cards I bought on clearance last year in the boxes, so will just print a photo to put in them, not photo cards.

We went out and cut our own tree out of the Black Hills National Forest. We live fairly close to the forest, it's a nice drive through some very low hills. There was snow on the ground, so it felt all Christmas-y. It's a steal at $10 a tree, but you have to take your tree how nature makes it. We have a great one this year- tall and skinny but kinda sparse. We don't put a lot on our tree so it looks good this way.

On the way to get the tree we were one of the first cars to arrive on the scene of an accident. It was very clear that someone had been thrown from a vehicle into the road. He was covered so the Pirate didn't ask questions, but it was very sobering to be on the way to a fun family event, and be faced with this instead. The paramedics and cops arrived very soon after us and it was about 45 minutes before we were able to leave the scene. It was surreal to be singing and talking about Christmas in the truck, knowing what was happening just a very VERY short distance away. Thankfully, a fire truck parked in front of us, blocking our view. From what we pieced together, it was just a freak accident at 8 am on a Sunday. It looked very likely that the people in the two vehicles involved knew each other. My family was together having fun, while in town another family was getting the worst possible news. It really hit home that we need to be present in the present, and really savor every moment. And also, wear your seatbelt EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Now go hug your kids.

Please help!

Anyone have suggestions for non-scary, not too exciting, bed time music? The Pirate suddenly wants music at bedtime and it's it's hard to find a CD that doesn't have something that scares him. I have quite the collection of Disney soundtracks, but they all have at least one scary song. (Poor Unfortunate Souls, The Mob Song, Be Prepared, etc.) His CD player is not one you can program to skip tracks. He does not want lullabies because they are for babies. Every classical music CD we've tried has something scary. The only thing that's worked so far is an Animaniacs CD. Tonight I dug out my old Enya CDs, but it's been so long since I listened to them that I don't know if there's anything that will freak him out or not. Tomorrow night, we'll try Christmas music.

Any suggestions?

7 Random Reading things about me

I've seen this one go around and around, and since I can't think of anything else to blog about today, I thought I'd give it a shot.

1. The first "grown-up" book I read was Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. I have no idea why I thought this was different from the other chapter books I'd been reading, but I did. Obviously, it is aimed right at the demographic I was in at the time.
   
2. I used to collect the original yellow covered Nancy Drew books. At one point there was a finate number of them, and I had all but one or two. There were some new ones coming out in paperback, but I was a real snob about them. When my collection was near complete, I found a cardboard box to display them in. I spent an afternoon carefully removing the flaps and spray painting the box white, inside and out. I was too impatient to wait for the paint to dry and I put my books in the box while it was still wet. I bet you can see where this is going...
3. I read a *lot* of romance novels in high school and college. I firmly believe that it does not matter what you read, so long as you read something.
4. The very first book listed in my reading journal, from January of 1993, is called Michael's Wife. I did not meet Mike until 1999.
5. The librarian at the public library in the town where I grew up hated me. She was convinced that I was a horrible kid. She all but chased me out of the building and very strongly suggested that I never go back. I never did. The librarian at my junior high LOVED me. She would order books with me in mind and hold books so that I could read them before they were put out. These things happened the same year.
6. If anything scary or overly tense happens in a book I have to physically put the book down and stop reading. Sometimes this is for minutes, sometimes days. It can be good tense or bad tense, but either way, I stop.
7. There are 214 unread books in my bedroom alone. There are boxes of books in the garage that I've been moving around with me, unread, since high school. There are shelves in the living room, the basement and the Bug's room full of more books. Many of those are unread too. There are a dozen more recent aquisitions right here by my computer. I have read less than 40 books this year.

Anyone else who hasn't done this one? Consider yourself tagged.

Do you Twitter?

I blame this post on Bermudaonion.

Do you Twitter? I signed up a long time ago, but haven't really used it. I found that I didn't like having updates sent to gmail chat* and I don't have enough text messages a month to send them there. But recently, someone (ahem) asked if any of us used Twitter, so I went back over and found a bunch of YOU there! So I'm going to try to update more. I often have a tiny thing I want to say that isn't really much of a blog post, so I'll try to do it there instead. Feel free to follow me there.

*there is one person I follow who does all these tweets about where she is physically, like what store, and what street and that sort of thing. She lives across the country from me, and I don't know all these places, and it overwhelmed my google chat. So I disabled them. And now I don't see that I could enable them again anyway. I see that a lot of people use TwitterDeck. Is that a good thing?

Roughly the same day, I asked Ms. Onion how she got hooked up with all these awesome book giveaways, and she told me about Book Blogs. It's like Facebook! For Books! But without all those stupid Lil' Green plant things! So, I signed up there too.

If you no longer have any free time, blame the onion.

I'm thankful.

I'm thankful for the boys. The Pirate and the Bug. They are the best possible kids I could have. They are the old cliche of my heart outside of my body.

I am thankful for their daddy. He's a great daddy and husband.

I am thankful for my friends, both the ones who live here and the ones I haven't seen in person in years.

I am thankful for my family, both the ones I am related to by blood, and the ones I gained when I moved to South Dakota. (The above are the SD cousins, and below are the AL cousins.)

I am thankful for all of you, even though we have never met.

I hope you all have something to be thankful for today.

Review: Complications by Atul Gawande

A few years ago I ended up on jury duty for a medical malpractice case. We awarded the plantiff $552,000. It wasn't what she was asking for, but it was in her favor. In this particular case, the doctor had been sued over and over and was basically run out of town.

I was reminded of this while I read this book. The full title is Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science. Amazon.com summarizes it well:

Gently dismantling the myth of medical infallibility, Dr. Atul Gawande's
Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science is essential reading
for anyone involved in medicine--on either end of the stethoscope. Medical
professionals make mistakes, learn on the job, and improvise much of their
technique and self-confidence. Gawande's tales are humane and passionate
reminders that doctors are people, too. His prose is thoughtful and deeply
engaging, shifting from sometimes painful stories of suffering patients
(including his own child) to intriguing suggestions for improving medicine with
the same care he expresses in the surgical theater. Some of his ideas will make
health care providers nervous or even angry, but his disarming style,
confessional tone, and thoughtful arguments should win over most readers.
Complications is a book with heart and an excellent bedside manner, celebrating
rather than berating doctors for being merely human.

In the first half of the book Gawande writes in general terms about how doctors are human too. That medicine changes, but doctors don't go back to med school and are instead forced to learn on the fly. They are held to impossible standards, with no room for error. Now, I don't want to be ther person they make an error on, but it sure does make sense when put that way.

The second half of the book is individual chapters about different topics- gastric bypass, flesh eating bacteria, etc. Each chapter had one main case that Gawande uses as an example. Each one is an example of how things aren't always the way they seem. There is one very short chapter in this section that I did not read. I was reading after the boys were in bed, and the chapter was about SIDS. There was no way I was gonna read that before turning off the light. I will go back... eventually.

Overall, the book is a very fast read, and very interesting. Gawande has an easy style, it seems very much as if he's just another person talking to you and not a top surgeon. The medical details were occasionally a little heavy, but there are no pictures so it's not really gross. They would also be easy to skim and not lose a lot. I see on Amazon that he has another book called Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance, and I have added it to my PBS wishlist.

I wonder now, if I had read this before the trial if I would have felt differently. I've tried to remember as many details as possible, and I think we still would have found in her favor. While this book does soften my attitude towards doctors, the particulars of the doctor on my case were such that he did not inspire any goodwill. I do think that it would have changed some of the particulars of how I personally would have awarded the plantiff.

A little blatant self-promotion

As you all probably know, I have a little Etsy shop. I don't have a lot of free time and haven't added anything in weeks, so I have decided to close up shop. BUT- I'm gonna open a new one in January. I'll still be selling the same type of items, but due to several reasons, least of all this book, I'm going to change the name. I'm hoping to be able to put some real effort into it once all this Christmas sewing is done.

Why should you care?

Because I'm going to mark down the three remaining items to $10 each. I don't want to feel that I have wasted my listing fee, so I'm hoping to sell them before the transfer to the new shop takes place. The three remaining items are all Correspondence Kits. They are a handy little wrap designed to hold a pen and some notecards, and perhaps your address book. If you're looking for a little gift for a teacher or a Secret Santa gift, this is a great idea.

I will still be doing custom orders, so if you were interested in a jewelry bag or crayon roll, drop me an email and we'll discuss it.

It's Monday!

I don't know about the rest of you, but when I woke up at 5:15 to help a sobbing Pirate get his blanket of the floor, I had FLAT OUT FORGOTTEN that it was Monday. I got back in bed all nice and warm and then, "OH CRAP!" It was not a pleasant moment.

We survived the single parent weekend, barely. By the time I put Buggy down last night he was so crabby from lack of sleep we both wanted to cry. Every time he'd go to sleep Mr. I-Am-Being-Quiet would wake him right back up. I managed to actually read quite a bit last night, am perilously close to finishing something! Ok, I'm within 100 pages, that's close, right?

I didn't do so well on the To Do list last week (recap at the end) but thought I'd give it another shot this week.

So, The Week Ahead, created by SheIsTooFondOfBooks.

Monday- Plan holiday menu (what, you mean most of you have already done this?) Go grocery shopping. Try to spend 30 minutes sewing. Read two chapters. Remind husband to get tree permit. Return movies to redbox. Return books to library.

Tuesday- Think about Pie. Mmm. Pie. Finish up the commissioned jewelry bags (which are half done) and start cutting out stockings. Wait, find stockings first to use as pattern. Read two chapters. Remind husband to get tree permit.

Wednesday- Make pie. Think about cutting out commissioned crayon roles. Spend more time thinking about Brand New Website! (TBA later) Read two chapters. Clean house so that we don't spend Thanksgiving in a messy house. Remind husband to get tree permit.

Thursday- Cook. Eat. Read. Eat. Sew. Eat. Remind husband to get tree permit.

Friday- Go to work! Wish I was home with Mike and the boys. Clean house so we can make room for a Christmas Tree. Realize that the space we put the extra piece of furniture in every year now has shelves. (Or maybe realize that NOW, on Monday.) Remind husband to get tree permit.

Saturday- Finish crayon rolls. Start sewing stockings. Dig Christmas decor out of garage. Read two chapters.

Sunday- GET TREE. Decorate. Take pine needles out of the Bug's mouth. Read.

So how'd I do last week?

Monday- Run to the store at lunch for red felt and cat litter. Tonight, cut red felt stockings and white trim. Read at least two chapters

Tuesday-Find stockings (real ones) so that I can make a
template to make the Bug's. Read at least two chapters. Cut circles for
jewelry bags. Figure out how to put numbers on the stockings

Wednesday-TBR Day. Read at least two chapters. Sew jewelry bags. Ponder fabric choices for
commissioned crayon rolls Consider using stash, not buying.

Thursday-Freak out because Thanksgiving is a week
away and we do not have a turkey. Buy turkey. Assemble advent calendar from felt stockings Read at least two chapters. Look for lost journal

Friday- Celebrate because it is Friday! Read at least two chapters

Whew.

Chaos and Debris

I decided against a Sunday Salon because who'm I kidding? I don't read.

Instead, I thought I'd share some of the last two days with you all. Right now, the Bug is screeching while he jumps in the Jumperoo, which makes it play music. Noggin is playing "Everywhere I Go" which is cute, but sure does stick in your head, esp that "buttons are the belliest" line. The Pirate (heh, ya'll almost caught me using his real name!) is in clean pajamas after having just taken a swim in the tub. In his trunks. He says he's sick. Or maybe he's dead. Hard to tell. The blue tint to his mouth would be from paint, not lack of oxygen.

My table looks like this.

I have painted 50 clothespins red. One side still needs one more coat. The Pirate (dude, can't not use his name today) has painted several different dinosaurs and one Christmas tree, and then a dozen other....things.... See those little stack of stockings in the middle of the table? There are 25 pairs of green ones and 30 of red ones. The Giant Secret Project is just to the right of the picture.

There are chicken nuggets and frozen biscuits in the oven. I really hope that everyone naps when lunch is over. I have a ton of sewing I'd like to work on, and books to read, and quiet to enjoy.

Quiet. To. Enjoy.

Trish? Are you paying attention?

It's 6 am on Sunday and I was trying to decide if I wanted to get back in my bed where the Bug is sleeping or go ahead and have my coffee. The Bug got up to eat about 5, but miraculously went back to sleep (that never happens, he's a morning bug.) Then the Pirate woke up with a wet bed and is now in my bed too (with dry pjs.) Guess I'll go ahead and drink the coffee!

Oops, I hear the Bug talking, maybe I should rescue the Pirate from him.

Back later with the Sunday Salon. Maybe after it's light out and I'm not typing in the dark.

It's a single parent weekend.

My husband's store is conducting inventory tomorrow and since he's the boss it would appear it means he works the next 48 hours straight. So I'll be holding down the fort. I've decided to try to stay offline as much as possible, with the exception of when the Bug is nursing. I mean really, how do I resist these two?

So reading, sewing, and playing with boys is the order of the day.

I don't want to just post something so short though, so here's a few pictures of the Pirate's latest obsession. He is intent on copying the images on the front of his father's books. I made him a little cape (NOT my finest sewing, by far, but it took about 8 minutes) and he wears two swords ("scimitars, mommy") all the time. Can you tell who he is? Use every bit of your imagination. Pretend you are three. Answer after the pictures.

Did you recognize him? It's Drizzt.

Anyone know of any good fantasy books aimed at the preschool crowd?

Coffee, coffee mugs, etsy, and Christmas.

Every morning when I wake up I make myself one cup of coffee. I have a couple of coffee makers, but the one I use 99% of the time is this Keurig. The Keurig makes one cup of coffee at a time, so I don't waste a lot of coffee. I also have a Senseo one cup maker, and a more traditional coffeemaker, but those are stored elsewhere.

For the last year I have been using a set of snowman coffee mugs. They were a gift for Christmas, and are the size, shape, and design that you would expect from a large department store like J.C. Penny or Kohl's. They are, well, a little boring.

I have decided that I want a nice little collection of eclectic coffee mugs. A different mug every day! Because I was bored this morning, ya'll are all blessed with getting to see what I like. These are all available on Etsy. Unless I bought them.

This blue, green and chartreuse mug.

This black and white floral mug.

I am strangely drawn to these vintage mugs

This Cobalt Blue Monster Mug.

I also really like these tumblers.

How bad do I want to buy this Batman mug for the Pirate? (Ebay link, not etsy)

This one says MAMA. (also Ebay)

Why do I like this style so much? (Ebay) (I'm bidding on a Christmas present on Ebay that ends in a couple hours. I can't seem to tear myself away.)

This guy, who is selling his 4 vintage Snoopy mugs starting at $99, might wanna talk to this guy, who is selling his 1 vintage Snoopy mug starting at $0.99.

Dude. Just got outbid. Do I wanna go higher?

Here, go save some money. On me.

Lately I've been collecting blogs that scour the internets looking for good deals for ME and then convienently gathering them into one place. I thought that today I would share them with you! These are all blogs that post deals and coupons in various ways. Hopefully you can find a good deal among them. Add the to your reader! And if you know of any I missed, please, post a link!

• Want Not


• Mommy Making Money


• Deal Seeking Mom


• Mom Saves Money


• Tech Deals and More (and if you look at her profile, there are a ton more I haven't checked out!)
  


• Happy Housewife and Penny Pinching Mom
  

In other news, my friend Gina completed her first half marathon yesterday! BEFORE BREAKFAST. Go tell her congratulations, will ya?

Remember my to do list? Yeah, I didn't either. I did figure out the problem of the numbers though. Still haven't found the lost journal or returned the library books.

And last, did you ever watch Wings? I used to love that show. So much that I guess I decided I needed Helen's hair today. It's not so good. I really need to pay more attention. And, you know, care.

TBR Day: Mike, Mike, & Me by Wendy Markham

I finished this month's TBR Day book last week, but here I am on the day of trying to quick write my review. Figures.

Mike, Mike, & Me is a Red Dress Ink book. It caught my attention because it's about falling in love with Mike, which is something with which I was familiar. I ordered it from Paperbackswap, then it sat on my shelves along with everything else. It is firmly in the realm of chick lit and doesn't pretend otherwise. Told in both the present and the past, this is the story of Beau, a tired, slightly unhappy housewife. She moved to New York straight out of high school while her high school boyfriend, Mike, moved to California for school. They have always had a long distance relationship, but Beau is hoping he'll take a job in NY to be with her. One day at the airport, while waiting on Mike's plane, Beau meets Mike. After fighting with Mike about moving to NY, she impulsively calls Mike for "not a date." Things continue and Beau realizes she really is in love with Mike, but which one?

The chapters alternate from the present, where Beau is feeling unappreciated by her husband (Mike) and her kids; to the past, where Beau is falling in love with Mike. In the present, Beau has gotten an email from Mike which has stirred up the question: did she make the right choice? In the past, Beau is wearing leggings and Aqua Net and thinks Madonna must surely be a fad, while trying to make a decision. The entire book takes place over a couple of summers, the present summer, and the summer in the past when she had to decide between the two Mikes. Confused?

This is a really cute story. It's pretty well done on keeping you guessing on which Mike she choose (the reader doesn't find out til the very end.) Beau admits from the very beginning that she was always spoiled and used to getting her way, so you aren't overly annoyed by that. Her kids are barely in the book and not a distraction. The way she kept having to obsessively check her email to see if he replied was great. Both Mikes are appealing, even though I did have a favorite. Present Mike (the one she married) is clearly madly in love with her and trying to make her happy, even when she can't see it.

The bad- She can't see it. She flares up at him for no reason several times, which got old. I understood that she was having a crisis, but geez. The parts in the 80s are cute, and occasionally very witty (Milli Vanilli!) but by the end felt way overdone. She's a bit of a novice at email, and it really felt fake that she wouldn't be more familiar with it.

The very best part of the book is on the first page-

That they shared both a name and my heart is one of life's great ironies, don't you think?

Then again, maybe not. According to the United States Social Security Administration, Michael was the most popular boys' name in American between 1964 and 1998. Odds are, if you're a heterosexual female who was born between those years- as I am- you're going to date a couple of Mikes in your life. As I did.

Meanwhile, if you're a heterosexual male who was born in those years, you're going to date a couple of Lisas. That was the most popular girls' name the year I was born.

I'm not Lisa.

But I am! So that cracked me up. I got your Mike and Lisa right here!

Overall, good, but not great. Memorable only because of the device of keeping you guessing. If you read a lot of chick lit, I'd say pick it up but if you don't, skip it.

Bookworm Award

Trish tagged (awarded? gifted?) me with the Bookworm Award. Thanks Trish!

Here's the Rules:

Rules:
Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write out the fifth sentence, as well as two to five sentences following. The closest book to me is Lady of Quality by Georgette Heyer. Page 56 only has 6 sentences on it, being the last page of chapter 4.

'Well, don't put yourself into a stew!' recommended Miss Wynchwood. 'If he does come here with any such intention he will find he has me to deal with - and that is an experience which I fancy he won't enjoy!'

Now I'm supposed to tag 5 people, but I think everyone's already done this! If you haven't, and you want to, consider yourself tagged.

Wondering how I did on yesterday's list?

Monday- Run to the store at lunch for red felt and cat litter. (I went, they had no red felt!) Tonight, cut red felt stockings and white trim (see above about red felt.) Read at least two chapters (read one and a half, long chapters!).

And here's what I have on tap today-

Tuesday-Find stockings (real ones) so that I can make a template to make the Bug's. . Read at least two chapters. Cut circles for jewelry bags. Figure out how to put numbers on the stockings (any suggestions, internets? I don't fancy cutting out numbers from felt and sewing them on.)

Added to the list- return overdue library books!

It's Monday (already???) (a parenthetical post)

This weekend I got so much done. The house is clean (still!!), I have made huge progress on the Giant Secret Project (only 560 inches of hand sewing to go!), I cut out 15 pairs of felt stockings (palm sized, not full sized), and I read (or at least scanned) EVERY SINGLE Google Reader item. That's right, when I went to bed last night I had ZERO posts in my Reader. At this moment (8:21 am and yes, I am at work) I have 90.

So, high on my success, I have decided to do The Week Ahead, as created by SheIsTooFondofBooks (wow that is hard to type without spaces.)

Monday- Run to the store at lunch for red felt and cat litter. (SO exciting!) Tonight, cut red felt stockings and white trim. Read at least two chapters (current main books are Lady of Quality by Heyer, and Complications by Gawande, both excellent).

Tuesday-Find stockings (real ones) so that I can make a template to make the Bug's. (Very important that everyone has the same size stocking! More on this December 3). Read at least two chapters. Cut circles for jewelry bags. Figure out how to put numbers on the stockings (any suggestions, internets? I don't fancy cutting out numbers from felt and sewing them on.)

Wednesday-TBR Day (and for once, the book has been completed days in advance) Read at least two chapters. Sew jewelry bags. Ponder fabric choices for commissioned crayon rolls (anyone else needs some crayon rolls made?) Consider using stash, not buying.

Thursday-Freak out because Thanksgiving is a week away and we do not have a turkey. Buy turkey. Assemble advent calendar from felt stockings (by now one of you brilliant people will have figured out the number problem). Read at least two chapters. Look for lost journal (I mean, temporarily missing journal.)

Friday- Celebrate because it is Friday! First full week in three weeks, it's gonna be a tough one (snow day two weeks ago, holiday last week) Read at least two chapters (by now I gotta be close to finishing the Heyer.) Get annoyed at all the parenthesis.

Hey! Google Reader is up to 94 now! (Go back and add "read Reader" to every day.)

So, what's your week looking like?

The Sunday Salon: #7

A couple of weeks ago, Literary Feline posted a retrospective look at her reading. I thought that was a GREAT idea for a Sunday Salon, so I stole it. Plus, I didn't do much reading this week and I'd like to stay a little on topic. I did manage to finish one book, but I am saving the review for Wednesday. I managed to read a couple chapters in several others, but nothing new to mention. So, a look to the past.

I've been keeping a "book book" since 1993. I starting keeping track in a spiral notebook, and sometime in 1996 or so I transferred all the books to a pretty journal. (In reality, it's an ugly journal, that was back when choices were limited.) I filled that one up in 2000, and started a new one in 2001. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the first one. This in itself is a tragedy, as the very idea that it is lost (I can't hardly type that!) makes me wanna cry. It is also very weird, as I don't lose things. (Gina! back me up here!) I did copy everything into Library Thing, so I can recreate the list if I need to, but it won't be chronological.

Anyway, a little look back in the past-

In November 2001 I read 5 books, all romances. My first marriage was failing, my grandfather had just died, and it was just after September 11.

• Jo Goodman, Wild Sweet Ecstasy
• Stephanie Laurens, A Rake's Vow
• Stephanie Laurens, Scandal's Bride
• Stephanie Laurens, A Rogue's Proposal
• Stephanie Laurens, A Secret Love
  

In November 2002 I read 4 books. I had lived in South Dakota for 3 months at this point, and my book collection was very small.

• Michael Connelly, Void Moon
• Christopher Moore, Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story
• James Patterson, Violets are Blue
• Kim Izzo & Ceri Marsh, The Fabulous Girl's Guide to Decorum

In November 2003 a measly 2 books (sounds like this year!) I can't remember the first thing about November 2003.

• Richard Rubin, Confederacy of Silence: A True Tale of the New Old South
• Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

In 2004, 2 books again. Apparently I slack off in November. In late 2004 I was pregnant with the Pirate. We had bought a house that August and were in full first time homeowners crazy decorating mode. Both books that November were romances.

• Lisa Kleypas, Secrets of a Summer Night
• Laure Lee Guhrke, His Every Kiss

In 2005, 3 books. I had a 7 month old baby this year. Two of the books I read had been on the TBR for a while, and the third I read while on our annual family cabin trip. (This year it will be for Christmas.)

• John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany
• J. Maartin Troost, The Sex Lives of Cannibals
• Tracy Chevalier, Girl with a Pearl Earring

In 2006, 4. At this point I had created this blog, and started reviewing books. I'm not going back to link up, but you can search for the reviews from here out.

• Charlaine Harris, Dead to the World
• Charlaine Harris, Shakespeare's Landlord
• Marlena de Blasi, A Thousand Days in Venice
• Janet Evanovich, Twelve Sharp

In 2007, I did not complete a single book! That was when I was so sick from the pregnancy with the Bug and just didn't have it in me to focus.

This year I have finished two books, and will likely finish at least one more. It would be great if I could beat my average, but it doesn't look like it will be hard to do! I am inspired to go back and see what months I tend to read the most and average them all out. Do ya'll read more in certain months than in others? I'm wondering if the time change makes me read less. It gets dark so early that it feels late to me, so I just go to bed.

While I now keep the list in multiple places, I will always keep it in a journal, because I love the feel of it. I'm considering a new one next year, even though this one isn't QUITE full.

I really hope the other one turns up soon.

Anyone else ready for the weekend?

We were really lazy last night. Made dinner from a turkey breast from the deli- and by "made dinner" I mean sliced it up with some cheese and crackers. We lazed around and watched Kung Fu Panda, which is pretty cute. I finished my book for next Wednesday's TBR Day and started another that is a Christmas gift so needs to be read now. We did not clean anything because we had a lazy weekend planned.

This morning, as I was sitting here in my messy house enjoying two days of laziness and sewing, and my husband was getting ready to run to work for a bit, he casually mentions that his sister will be in town today... and might stop by. Uh. Hello? COULD YOU NOT HAVE MENTIONED THAT LAST NIGHT??? Then he went to work.

So far today I have:

• cleared the table of sewing and clothes
• done the dishes
• including the hand washers
• mostly cleared the counters
  
• picked up all the toys in the living room
• vacuumed the living room
• "helped" the Pirate clean his room
• vacuumed his room
• sorted the books in the living room
• removed some things to the basement (the baby swing, some outgrown clothes, laundry)
• swept
• dressed the Pirate
• dressed myself
• dressed the Bug
• dressed the Bug again
• fed the Bug
  
• fed the Bug again
  

Then Mike came home and cleaned the bathroom.

It's now 10:37 and our house is clean and there are no in-laws in sight.

I think I'll go sew.

How's your Saturday shaping up?

Things that have been on my mind.

Do you have Google Alerts set up for your blog? I have them set up to email me when anyone links to either this blog or We'd Rather Read. The alerts are emailed to me, and then sorted into a folder (well, label, it's gmail) and skip the inbox entirely. This is a nice little system unless... you don't check that folder! I just discovered 30 email in it. Granted, half those were from myself linking back to the other blog, but some of them were good posts that mentioned me and I FAILED TO NOTICE!! Now what? Do I go to these old posts and say, "um, hi. I see you very nicely linked to me TWO MONTHS AGO"? Do I ignore it? Do I go comment on their blogs? Some of them are regulars so I'm not so worried, but a couple were new to me blogs!

Second, I managed to get my Google Reader down to 425 today. I suspect that with the number of blogs I am subscribed to that I will never have it under control again. I need to unsubscribe from a few, I think.

Third, I have a group blog at We'd Rather Read. The idea was that some friends and I would get together and blog about reading. The project pretty much flopped. Any suggestions on how to incorporate it into Books. Lists. Life.? Or would you just leave it there?

Fourth, we think the Pirate has picked up some bad language. It's kinda hard to tell, as he will not repeat it if he thinks he's in trouble. The particular things he is saying aren't things we say. Don't misunderstand, we do have some bad language ourselves, but not the particular things he has said. What do we do? How do we figure out how he learned these things?

Fifth, the Bug. He is cute.

Wanna win a quilt?

No, not one of mine. IT'S EVEN BETTER!

Dana, at Old Red Barn Co. is giving away THREE quilts this time. All of them are stunning and there are multiple ways to get your name in the hat. So stop by at this link, and sign up!

I wish that I were that talented!

I won a prize!

A while ago I won a giveaway at My Aunt June. We exchanged a few emails and then I promptly forgot about it. A few nights ago, Mike finds a package for me on the doorstep from Aunt June. ("Aunt June? I don't have an Aunt June, do you?") This was my first (and so far only) win of a crafty nature, and I could not wait to break into it.

Look at all the goodness that she sent !

There are some little linen-y scraps. A largeish piece of a striped heavier cotton? (I can't identify fabric well, sorry.) A few coordinating fat quarters. Some zippers, which is awesome cause I just learned how to put a zipper in and I'm dying to figure out how to make these. Three very yummy candles. Some little decorative papers (I'm not sure what one does with those.) And see the plate in the middle there? Hand-painted! I think I'm gonna use it to put jewelry on. If you want some lovely hand-painted goodness, she has an Etsy shop where you can get some for yourself, along with some brand new scarves. Check out that little birdy bowl, how cute is that? (sorry, it's sold, but it's still CUTE.) I think she needs to do some mugs...

Thanks, Lauren, for the awesome gift!

I'm hoping to have time later for a proper post about crafting blogs, of which there are many (just like book blogs.) I had wanted to do it in this post, but the Bug feels that would be a waste of perfectly good time we could be spending together, so I guess I'll go snuggle. It's a hard life.

Are reviewers obligated to be nice?

There are some great conversations going on around the blogosphere regarding reviews and if a reviewer is obligated to give a favorable review in exchange for a free copy of a book. I don't think this is true, and I wouldn't ever say a book was great if it wasn't. I might not write the scathing review that I'd tell my husband, but I'd still post about the book and I'd let it be known that I wasn't a fan. Just this morning I posted a not great comment on Goodnight Bush. It wasn't a full review, I don't have the guts for that, but it wasn't glowing. It would appear that not all authors feel this way though.

Trish at Hey Lady! Whatcha readin'? posted an unfavorable review of a book she received from an author. She included a quote from the book as well, and based soley on the quote, I can imagine not enjoying the book. She was then attacked by the author for posting a negative review. Since then, several other blogger have also posted about the controversy. Obviously, I am too. Jessica, at Both Eyes Books Blog wrote a great post about it. Here's a good quote, but be sure to pop over and read the entire thing too.

Book bloggers are already generating unprecedented word-of-mouth sales and sending (readable) books to the top of best-seller lists. The reason this works, though, is that people trust this army of homegrown reviewers. If an author comes along and wants a quid-pro-quo arrangement - either a positive review or no review in exchange for, whoopee, a free book - well, the whole house of cards comes tumbling down.

Check this post at B&b ex libris about the dilemma of writing a review for a book you don't love. There is a great conversation in the comments of that post, so be sure to read those too. Do you think you need a disclaimer on your blog too? I'm thinking about adding one to mine!

It makes one wonder if the author really thought this through. If he paid any attention at all to the book blogging community, which you'd think would be in his best interests to do, then he'd have know how fast this would spread. Tell me, if you're reading this now, do you have ANY interest in reading his book? Without knowing the title, author or genre, and only knowing the controversy, would you accept it?

Two Quickie Reviews

First up is Death Masks by Jim Butcher. Death Masks is book 5 in the Harry Dresden series. I finished it a couple weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to review it until now. (Read: Lazy) When I finished book 4, I really thought the series was getting stronger, but this one took me MONTHS to finish so perhaps not? I did like it, I just felt no need to return to it every time I took a break. Because I read so many books at once (at least 4, usually), breaks are often long.

I didn't think that this installment did very much to advance the characters. There was very little having to do with any of my favorites from previous books and way too much to do with Susan. Michael had a nice, if brief, role. I much prefer it when Harry has his gang around him. In this episode, Harry is looking for the Shroud of Turin, which has been stolen and brought to Chicago. There is a flimsy little reason why it's the Shroud of Turin and NOT just say, a rock. The plot line doesn't really do much beyond be exciting. In spite of this, I have already moved book 6 to my bedside table.

The other book I want to mention is Goodnight Bush: A Parody. This is one of the books from my Hachette Books Group books. It's a short book, as anyone who is familiar with Goodnight Moon could probably tell you. The illustrations are similar to the original, with both color pages and black and white. I'm not a big fan of Bush (I voted for change), but even so I really disliked this book. It's mean and unfunny (is that a word?) and exactly the kind of humor I hate. I wouldn't even mention it here, except that I feel some obligation to say if I read the books I won or not. I have already passed it along to someone who appreciates it more than I. There is a website, if you want to know more.

Bermudaonion has posted a guest review of Goodnight Bush that is much MUCH better than my review. Check it out!

It's a real zoo around here.

Ok, I wasn't gonna blog about this, what with the recent SNAKE and all, but...

We had a mouse. I noticed the cats staring under the tv when I went to work but couldn't see anything. I came home for lunch and found them staring at the wall. See, we have this large rock wall in our living room, and as it turns out, it's the same color as a mouse. I wasn't ABOUT to touch the thing. If he'd been on the floor I'd have helped the cats to catch him, or maybe tried to trap him in a box or something, but he wasn't on the floor. He was way up on the wall. I was sure that if I disturbed him, he'd be on my HEAD. And that I just couldn't do. So I left him on the wall and went back to work, sure that he'd come down and the cats would take care of him.

I got home from work and the cats were still staring at the wall.

An hour later, my husband came home and chased it down onto the floor. (It didn't jump onto his head!) The cats were slow to move, perhaps all that sitting and staring had them in a daze. The mouse ran under the baby's jumperoo.... and Scout swooped and and snatched it up in one smooth motion. She calmly walked to the door and asked to be let outside, where she put the mouse down to play and he escaped into the snow. Goooooood doggie.

I'm surprised the cats aren't STILL staring at the wall.

(Mouse circled at the top.)

Book Bloggers Christmas Swap 2008

Nymeth at things mean a lot is organizing a Book Bloggers Christmas Swap! Doesn't that sound like fun?

Here's the rules:

Welcome to the second annual Book Bloggers Christmas Swap!

The second annual what?
Last year, I organized a Christmas gift swap between book bloggers, and this year Dewey and I are doing it again!

How does it work?
You sign up by sending an e-mail to xmasswap08 at gmail. You have until the 18th of November to do so. You will then be randomly assigned as another blogger’s Secret Santa.

What you have to do next is send that person a little something - it can be a book, a journal or bookmark, a box of Christmas cookies, a mixed CD, whatever you can think of. It doesn't have to be anything pricey, of course. Second hand books are perfectly acceptable, as are homemade gifts.

A different person will be assigned as your Secret Santa, and you'll only find out who they are when you get their package in the mail.

Something to keep in mind: Because there are book bloggers from all over the world, this is going to be an international swap. I understand that not everyone can afford to send a package overseas, though, so if that's the case with you, please don't feel that you can't sign up. Just include a note saying so in your e-mail, and we'll make sure you get a blogger who's near you.

What else should your e-mail include?
Other than your name, mailing address and willingness to send internationally, you should include your blog url and a short paragraph about what kind of gifts you like, so that your Secret Santa has an idea of what to get you. You could also include links to online wishlists, your librarything catalogue, etc. Anything that you think will make your Santa's life easier!

Important dates:
The most important date is the 18th of November. It's very important that you sign up until then, because after that we'll be assigning the Secret Santas, and once that has been done it would be complicated to include new participants.

As for when to mail your package, if you're sending internationally it's probably best to post it before the end of November. Last year, I suggested that people post theirs before the end of the first week of December, but that turned out to be a little late. If you're sending within your own country there's more flexibility, but remember that the mail tends to be slow around this time of year.

In any case, you should all know who your blogger is around the 20th of November, which leaves you at the very least ten days to get and mail your gift.

One more thing: if you could help spread the word by posting about this on your blogs, it would be very much appreciated!

Yesterday

Remember how I said we were gonna purge the Pirate's room? Well, we took EVERY SINGLE THING (except his pirate ship bed) out of the room. We sorted all the toys and got rid of everything broken (and one thing that wasn't broken. Seriously, do not buy that. It is the worst possible kind of suck.) We moved some toys that weren't played with to the basement to see if they'd be missed. We replaced the giant falling apart dresser with a smaller non- falling apart one. (Not sure how that's gonna work, it's much smaller, and tippy.) We rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned the carpet. We put all the furniture back in a different spot.

I'm a bad blogger, I forgot to take before pictures, but here's an idea from a messy day. (He was home sick that day.)

Here's the after. I think the room is twice as big now.

Oh, and I cleaned the bathtub and shower too. And then I took a nice long bath and read.