New Digs. New Focus.

I've hemmed and hawed. I've struggled with life changes. I lost my interest in writing. I fell off the edge of the blog-iverse and stopped checking and/or following blogs altogether.

I was overwhelmed and in survival mode most of the last 4 years. From DaHubby's layoff in early 2010 until now, it's been pretty much one major overhaul after another. And, it's time to re-assess. It's time to dig out. It's time to stop running like my hair's on fire and p-r-o-c-e-s-s.

So much has changed but it's time to start making some sense.

Join me here.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

FIR wrap up

As usual, there's good news and bad news.

When I started Katrina's Fall Into Reading Challenge, I started with a list of nine books. Well, I got more than nine books read...just not the nine books I started out with. LOL I wrote a review for each as I finished up and they are linked below.

The books I completed from the original list were The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan and The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory. They were the most enjoyable of the gaggle I read this past few months.

In the interest of getting ready for the newest release from Jim Butcher, the 14th book in the Harry Dresden series, which was released on November 27, I re-read the first six in the series: Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, and Blood Rites.

I dug up a nugget buried on my tablet called When the Walls Fell by Monique Martin. It was a sequel to a debut novel by the author that I also found on a Kindle freebie site and would definitively recommend it.

Another Kindle nugget was Graceling by Kristin Cashore. This I would most definitively recommend if you are looking for an older teenager fan of Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or Hunger Games.

I started Lucy and Susan Letcher's travel journal  Barefoot Sisters: Southbound but I didn't not finish it. It was a doorstop that I didn't click with.

Finally, I dug out a book off the bookshelf that I've been meaning to read called Juliet by Ann Fortier. It was a mixed bag but a fun read if you're a Shakespeare geek as well as a lover of quick-paced mysteries.

And, in further defense of my original list, three of the books from that list (Crazy Love, 10 Habits of Happy Mothers, and Furies of Calderon) have all finally come up on my wait list at the library and are the next to be read in my queue!

Corgi addiction

Never had heard of or even seen a Corgi before I met DaHubby. He was the previous owner of two when we met. I had a *meh* reaction to them at first then sticker shock when we contacted a breeder after we married in 2001 to purchase a puppy.

We named him Rolle ("rol-lee") and he absolutely captured my heart. He was my constant companion as I settled into a new area, a new home, and married life. He was my furry comfort through years of infertility and pregnancy losses. He was also my buddy during my worried-filled pregnancy with Flicka.

Sadly, he became very sick in 2005 with a liver problem when I was pregnant with Pojke and we had to put him to sleep. It has been 7 years since then. Much talk has been tossed around about getting another dog but I just couldn't consider it.

First, there were the Vikings. When Rolle passed, Flicka was in diapers and I was pregnant with Pojke. Then, Pojke was nursing...then in diapers as well. Then, I didn't want to have to potty train more than one thing at a time. LOL Then, DaHubby went back to school full time while working full time so I'd be stuck with all the dog care. Then, DaHubby got laid off so we couldn't have afforded it anyway. Then, we had the upcoming move to IL. Then, we couldn't sell the house in MI so we had to rent in IL so...no dogs.

But, I've found that, along the way, my heart's healed enough to try again. And, while the Vikings and DaHubby discuss future boxer, chihuahua, Jack Russel terrier, and lab pro and cons, all I want is another Corgi.

I miss my Rolle-boy and love the personality of the Corgi - the intelligence, the goofiness, their comical looks. So, I'm saying it aloud to the universe...I'm ready.

FIR: "Southbound" and "Graceling"

It's getting down to the wire here. Katrina's Fall Into Reading challenge will be wrapping up next Friday. So, I wanted to throw out two more reviews...

"Southbound" was a travel journal of two sisters who hike the Appalachian Trail top to bottom over several months. Normally, I am a fan of travelogues especially those geared to more non-commercial locations. But, I've decided I'm just getting too old. LOL So old I couldn't finish the 480+ pages. By halfway through, I was tired and bored with their post-collegiate self doubt, woe-is-me, where do I go from here, who/what do I want to be when I grow up angst.

If I was 20 years younger, I'd probably add to its multiple 5-star reviews on Amazon but not as a 40-some mother of two.

"Graceling" came as a freebie through a Kindle discount site and looked like it would tickle my sci-fi, fantasy fancy. And, oh, did it! Loved Kristin Cashore's characters, plot, conflict, and development of her fantasy world. It felt a lot like Ursula LeGuin "Earthsea"books but with a female land-bound lead instead of Ged/Sparrowhawk.

It hits all the central fantasy themes: characters with unique gifts, political battling, a journey, a crisis of conscience, evil bad guys, you know the drill. What a delight for the main character to be a female and, in a sense, the antithesis of all stereotypical female traits: brutal, focused, independent, physical, non-emotional, killer instinct.

I would highly recommend it.

Wordless Wednesday

FIR: "Juliet"

I'm a Shakespeare geek.

I know. Big shocker there, eh?

So, when I found a novel that integrated a modern day mystery AND "Romeo and Juilet," I was all over it! LOL "Juliet" was not on my original FIR list but came as a paperbackswap.com delivery recently.

The story begins when Julie's aunt dies and old family secrets are revealed. Her and her sister's family connections to Siena, Italy take one, then both, on a ride of discovery. Nothing is as it seems. Century old grudges, alliances, and family lore twist nearly everything in unrecognizable puzzles.

I was completely enthralled with "Juliet" for about 2/3 of the book. The locations, the conflict, the unexpected romance angle, the literary references, the history. But, there were too many threads going so many directions that near the end, it seemed a forced race to tie everything up.

I'd recommend it for a slow, summer read but I was so caught up initially, rushing through to see how it ended that I found the ending disappointing despite the bad guys being caught, family being reconciled, and a couple finding - if that makes any sense at all.

FIR 2012: The Mark of Athena

At the beginning of October, "The Mark of Athena" was finally released. It is the third of Rick Riordan's "Heroes of Olympus" series which followed the original five-book series featuring Percy Jackson - a Greek demigod whose cut from the same cloth as Harry Potter.

Both find out following a pre-teen birthday that their everyday, troubled lives are actually very special - unbeknownst to them up until that point. Harry is whisked off to Hogwarts while Percy is swept away in Camp Half-Blood.

The "Heroes of Olympus" brings in the competing Roman mythology with the first book's story line where Jason, a Roman demigod, finds himself awakened to realize that Hera has been tinkering with his life - giving him amnesia, taking him from Camp Jupiter (the Roman equivalent of Camp Half-Blood), and depositing him around people he doesn't know at Camp Half-Blood which he didn't realize existed.

In book two, we discover that Percy has experienced the same phenomenon. Amnesia,  unknown people, and at Camp Jupiter.

Finally, in this third book, the two camps attempt to come together (something that's never happened before in the history of the either mythology) and face an impending threat from Gaia who wants ALL demigods and their parents destroyed regardless of their ancient affiliation.

Like the Potteresque equivalent, this eighth book is a door-stop. LOL However, it is an easy read. While not as dark at Potter, there's plenty of danger, death, mayhem, battling, self-examination, and savvy problem solving.

The book opens with the Jason and his new Camp Half-Blood compatriots en route to first Camp Jupiter for the first time in history. They know Percy is there but have no idea what kind of reception they will receive. Things start off well but quickly turn disastrous with the intervention of the gods.

This story line is the primary...but there's several others. Each demigod struggles with personal challenges and doubts. Additionally, one character (Percy's girlfriend Annabeth - a daughter of Athena) has a separate quest that weaves in and out of the primary unifying-against-Gaia theme.

The book ends with a huge, obvious cliff hanger that makes me wonder if Riordan or his publisher said "well, this would be a good place as any to stop. This book is already 500+ pages." So, I will wait another year or so until book four comes out - but wait I will because this is quickly becoming my favorite young adult series, even outshining Harry Potter.

Somehow Riordan writes complicated and in-depth story lines with a simple art that causes the reader to sit for hours to just keep reading and reading to see what happens next. His character pool has reached a size that it's starting to get hard to keep everyone, their parentage, their issues, and their story line separate but hanging on for the ride is WELL worth it.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

FIR 2012: When the Walls Fell

Well, it has been a rough 2 weeks. I finished my last book on the 8th. Four days later, we were at a hospital in Chicago saying our goodbyes to DaHubby's sister who was losing her battle with leukemia, a subsequent stem cell transplant, and its after effects. She died on the 13th and we unexpectedly stayed in Michigan until the 19th. Not a lot of reading going on.

So, over the last four days, I wrapped up something that's been sitting on my Kindle that I've been meaning to read: When the Walls Fell by Monique Martin. It's number two in her time travelling series. I read the first,  Out of Time (which is still free for Kindle at this posting), when I saw it on a Kindle freebie-of-the-day list, read the blurb, thought I'd like it, and downloaded it. It wasn't on my original FIR reading list.

It's light but challenging, quick but complicated, a little adventure and a little romance. Some good brain candy to get back on track with.

Then, I started one of the Barefoot Sisters' literary travelogues last night. Hoping to finish it by Monday.

Sharing a teaching tool...

I've been asked over and over to share this but can't find the original link or file...so I'm trying to embed it from Facebook. This is Flicka's former Daisy troop leader sharing how she taught that troop the Girl Scout law. And, I now use it with Flicka's brownie/junior troop.

FIR 2012: The Dresden Files 1-6

Well, I can blame an old high school friend for recommending Jim Butcher's novels to me a few years ago. Now, I figure there should be a 12-step group for people needing to get a life after reading the Harry Dresden series! LOL

One of my "secret" reading favorites are the fantasy/ sci-fi stuff of my adolescence. "A Wrinkle In Time" was THE book that drew me into the wonderful world of leisure reading around 3rd grade. Since then, I read and re-read L'Engle, LeGuin, Tolkien, Lewis,and McCaffrey over and over. You can now add Butcher to that list.

I read all the Harry Dresden series last year up to the thirteenth and most current, "Ghost Story," released last year. (By the way, number fourteen, "Cold Day," is to be released next month!) In honor of the pending new release, I wanted to re-read the series. I had put a hold on an e-version of the first six books and it happened to come in just at this reading challenge began. So, as I mentioned here, I followed this bibliographical detour from my original list and got reading.

And, I've gotten nothing done for a week!

Now, I won't go through all six plots but there is something to be said to see how Dresden develops over the course of each...so much so that I can't wait to catch up via books seven through 13. For the record, here are the titles include in this first half of a baker's dozen: Storm Front, Fool Moon, Grave Peril, Summer Knight, Death Masks, and Blood Rites.

I love watching Dresden's internal battles with good/evil, his past and history, his greater beliefs in Magic vs western religion, and the new challenges. I love the characters including Lieutenant Karrin Murphy and his often-called-upon fellow battle man, Michael, who happens to be a holy Knight of the Cross...for real. White crusader cape, red cross, wielding a sword containing a nail from the Crucifixion...yea, THAT Crucifixtion. LOL

If you're looking for some sci-fi brain candy to get lost in for a while, please go to your local library STAT and look into the Harry Dresden series.

Wordless Wednesday

FIR 2012: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Well, one book down...

I've followed the Boleyn books from Philippa Gregory a couple years ago. She has gone on to write over two dozen historically based novels primarily about the British monarchy.

Somewhere along the line, I had added "The White Queen" to my reading wish list at paperbackswap.com. My wish was granted about a week before Katrina's reading challenge started so I started with that one.

I didn't find it as absorbing at "The Other Boleyn Girl" - too dry, too much telling and not enough showing, and (ultimately, through no fault of Gregory) too many characters with the same names and similar titles. A family tree is provided at the beginning of the book illustrating the beginnings of The Cousins' War and the War of the Roses but it ended with the characters at the beginning of the book. It would have been helpful to continue it to include all the marriages and births that followed over the course of the 411 page book.

I was caught up in the beginning, the love story, and their ascension to the English monarchy. But, their stumblings  the politics, and their fall didn't keep me interested. I stopped liking the main character. I didn't care if she succeeded  Didn't care who came out on top of the three-pronged fight between the Lancasters, Yorks, and budding house of Tudor. The "drama" was not enough to keep me interested.

However, the whole "princes in the tower" mystery sparked enough interest in more information that I ordered two books through interlibrary loan to read next: "The War of the Roses" and "The Princes in the Tower" by Alison Weir - a noted and celebrated monarchy historian.

i would recommend this book for a summer read but probably will skip the rest of Gregory's books in this series to tackle Weir's.

Wordless Wednesday

Fall Into Reading 2012

Well, I'm running a little behind but I wanted to post a list for Katrina's reading challenge at Callapidder Days.

This time around and with the season of life we're in, I'm posting more of a wish list than to-do list.

We started homeschooling 6 weeks ago and are still easing into the lifestyle. I've had a few new interests lately (particularly the British history of the monarchy) plus books I've had in queue for over a year. I'm prioritizing some of the ones I'm most looking forward to. Plus, out here in the middle of nowhere in our new environs makes getting books from our local little library a bit more challenging.

So, I'm starting from this wish list and seeing where it takes me! :) I hope Katrina is OK with that. :)

Top of my list? Rick Riordan's book to be released on October 2nd - "Mark of Athena."

I've recently been introduced to Alison Weir and I'm finding it difficult to pick which of her books with which to start. I'm thinking of tackling "Wars of the Roses" and "Children of Henry VIII."

Another similar novel - "The White Queen" by Philippa Gregory.

And, I've been meaning to also read "Age of Wonder" by Richard Holmes.

Recently, I've been re-reading the Jim Butcher Harry Dresden series. Now that I've read them all, I thought I'd try the first of Butcher's other series, "Furies of Calderon."

One of my brain candy authors that I generally read in the summer but didn't get around to it this year in Diane Mott Davidson. I'm reading through her Goldy books and thought I'd throw in "Tough Cookie" for this challenge.

And, finally, a few more non-fiction...Meg Meeker's "10 Habits of Happy Mothers," Frances Chan's "Crazy Love," and Lucy and Susan Letcher's travel journal "Barefoot Sisters: Southbound."

Call me crazy but I'm pretty sure I won't be able to get all those here to the middle of my cornfield. I'll get what I can and maybe stumble onto something else that strikes my fancy. We shall see! Excited to see how much I get done!

Please don't hesitate to join us! Stop by Katrina's challenge anytime between now and mid-December to jump on board!

Finding our own ryhthm

The school year started with great plans. I always make plans. Following through? That's an entirely different story!

Knowing that a daily structure is both a curse and blessing on our home life, we started with a set of rules how things would happen and a list of times when they would happen.

But, I remembered something. I wanted the flexibility of homeschooling. I wanted this time together. So, do I seriously have to get up every morning at 5am with DaHubby, have chores rolling by 8am, and school by 9am? What's the darn rush?

Our schedule is still pretty open at this point. Friday school hasn't started. Another support group hasn't either. Other than soccer practices and games on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, our schedule is pretty open.

And, I remember...the schedule is not all-important. It's not the be-all-and-end-all. A big reason for this was the FLEXIBILITY homeschooling provides. Despite late nights.  Despite sick kids. Desite...well, LIFE!

So, should I worry what the neighbors think when we're still in PJ's at 1pm? Or, that we're doing school at 10am (or 12n) instead of 9am? Or that, thanks to homeschooling, we're sitting in our driveway some random day making papier-mache pinatas?

Nope. Not gonna do it.

I answer to God. And, to DaHubby. And, I don't think either of them care.

As long as it's done, it's quality work, it's consistent, and they're showing progress...who cares?

And, as a side note, no longer worrying about our 10:30am breakfasts or 2pm lunches either. So there!

Wow! That felt good! :)

What are we REALLY teaching?

Rookie year of homeschooling the Vikings so far has been a growing experience for all of us. The kids are going through a period of "de-schooling" while I realize how little I knew about where they are academically and how much they're capable of.

I was struck this weekend by the fact that we are already "off track" to what I envisioned. I seem to have already forgotten that I wanted lifelong learners, strong readers, deep believers, hearts for service, critical thinkers, good citizens, and lovers of the arts and gotten caught up in following a pre-set lesson plan structure put together by people who don't really know my kids.

I also realized that I'm already tweaking what I thought would be a perfect curriculum for the kids. The Vikings are having fun doing language arts and science, begrudgingly doing math, and have no particular use for this curriculum's social studies.And, there's so many other things that we are interested in and are available locally that following the prescribed curriculum is already becoming difficult.

And, I'm trying to not stress about the fact we're "falling behind" and make things worse. Trying not to panic and wonder about putting the kids back in public school. Trying not to buckle unde the enourmous pressure and responsibility I feel to do this correctly.

Then, I was reminded that it's all good, it's all a journey, and it has only been a few weeks. I wanted the flexibility.  I wanted the decrease in structure. And, I got it to the benefit of my Vikings.

My worries, struggles, and revelations are all perfectly normal. I got my kids back home where they are happier, healthier, and sleeping better.