It also makes goal setting harder, because everything has a contingency to it. Even something as simple as volunteering to remove price tags from some books my kid's teacher bought for the classroom feels like a risk. And because this is the great Pacific Northwest, and it is fall, it rains. About every day. Which also means I am trying desperately to keep a three-year-old entertained with out resorting to waaaaay too much TV every day. I am not designed for stay-at-home mom life and sometimes I really struggle staying engaged in 3 y.o. activities for as long as I need to be. We've been breaking the day into chunks, and that helps.
I do have a couple of things I worked on last week. I finished a church book I was reading called The God Who Weeps. It was good, if a little over written. By that I mean the authors spent a little more time discussing each point than they really needed too. They had a whole bunch of fantastic quotes, many (possibly most) from non-LDS sources, which was interesting. But at times it felt like the kept discussing a topic just because they wanted to share more of the quotes. However, I enjoyed how they explained many topics, and it was written for a non-LDS audience so the language didn't have the Mormon-wall of vocabulary. I'm looking for a new church book to read, and I'm thinking about a collection of talks by Henry B. Eyring. He's my husband's favorite. :)
Along that line, I've been thinking about opening up my church library to friends from the congregation. Not living in Utah, the only way to access LDS books is to order/buy them. And I don't have the budget to buy all the books I would like to read. I'm thinking that maybe I can start small loan circle so we can share the books we do have. -
Along that line, I've been thinking about opening up my church library to friends from the congregation. Not living in Utah, the only way to access LDS books is to order/buy them. And I don't have the budget to buy all the books I would like to read. I'm thinking that maybe I can start small loan circle so we can share the books we do have. -
I started reading a not-for-book-club novel this week, which I haven't done in a long time. (I love our book club books; it's been cool to read things I never would have touched other wise. But there are still some things I want to read.) I've had East of Eden sitting on our shelf for I don't know how long so I decided to go for it. I'm not very far in, but it's turning out to be just what I was looking for. My friend's Goodreads review said the story line was a bit lacking but the writing was fantastic. I'm not sure how this is possible, but I understand. Albeit, I'm only about 60 pages in, so I can't pass judgment on the story yet. And it is hard to explain WHY Steinbeck's writing is so good. He doesn't use a lot of flowery language, and it doesn't feel like he goes into unusual detail about situations, circumstances or emotions, and yet I feel like I understand the characters unusually well.
Speaking of unusual character development, I've been listening to Anna Karenina. There's a book with some characters. However, it often feels a little too long winded as he describes daily circumstances to help us get to know the characters. I don't think I would have the patience to actually read this, but I am enjoying listening to it. I have 8 or 9 hours of listening left (!) and I hope to finish it this week. Yes 8 or 9 hours left. There are 27 sections to the audio book, and each one is about 1:15. Grand total it will take me about 6 weeks of listening to get through. This is why I have to listen. If I actually had to stop what I was doing to read, (instead of listening while I go for walks, do dishes, mop floors, drive in the car etc,) it would take MONTHS.
So, my list of things to work on this week:
1) Spend time on N- focused (3 year old) activities. These include play-doh, toy cars, kitchen toys, finger painting and hide and seek.
2) Take the dog for a walk everyday when the rain lets up. She'll drive us all nuts otherwise.
3) Spend time on E-focused (6 year old) activities. For some reason she and I struggle lately.
4) Read 100 pages of East of Eden
5) Finish listening to Anna Karenina
6) Have bedtime prayers with my kids. We pray before meals, but I've been reminded lately that it's my job to teach them about a personal relationship with the Lord; not just as someone we talk to before we eat.
7) Have a baby. I don't know if I'll get to this one this week, but I sure hope so.
Cheers!
Speaking of unusual character development, I've been listening to Anna Karenina. There's a book with some characters. However, it often feels a little too long winded as he describes daily circumstances to help us get to know the characters. I don't think I would have the patience to actually read this, but I am enjoying listening to it. I have 8 or 9 hours of listening left (!) and I hope to finish it this week. Yes 8 or 9 hours left. There are 27 sections to the audio book, and each one is about 1:15. Grand total it will take me about 6 weeks of listening to get through. This is why I have to listen. If I actually had to stop what I was doing to read, (instead of listening while I go for walks, do dishes, mop floors, drive in the car etc,) it would take MONTHS.
So, my list of things to work on this week:
1) Spend time on N- focused (3 year old) activities. These include play-doh, toy cars, kitchen toys, finger painting and hide and seek.
2) Take the dog for a walk everyday when the rain lets up. She'll drive us all nuts otherwise.
3) Spend time on E-focused (6 year old) activities. For some reason she and I struggle lately.
4) Read 100 pages of East of Eden
5) Finish listening to Anna Karenina
6) Have bedtime prayers with my kids. We pray before meals, but I've been reminded lately that it's my job to teach them about a personal relationship with the Lord; not just as someone we talk to before we eat.
7) Have a baby. I don't know if I'll get to this one this week, but I sure hope so.
Cheers!
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