Book Club

We had book club tonight and it was Josi's turn to pick the book.  It was her last book club meeting with us because she and her family are moving back West to be closer to their families.  We are really going to miss them!  Josi always chose books that sparked great discussion, one of my favorites being Last Child in the Woods.  This month she chose Lies My Teacher Told Me.

 Basically, this book goes through the history of the United States and retells it the way your high school history teacher never would have.  For example, the first chapter is about how we as Americans are taught 'hero worship' these larger than life characters from our past.  What did Helen Keller go on to do in adulthood after she overcame her disabilities?  She because a radical socialist.  She was happy with the Russian Revolution and "sang praises" to the new communist nation.   She was very popular in the eyes of our nation, until her conversion to socialism.  Isn't it interesting that our history books just happen to leave that part out.

Another example is Christopher Columbus.  The author goes to great lengths to discredit him by saying that he wasn't a great explorer-most people already knew that the earth was round-but he started the Indian (Native American) slave trade and committed great acts of genocide by spreading diseases among the indigenous people of the Americas.  

Like I said, this book made for some great discussions.  Each chapter told a little bit about the parts of history that are usually left out because it is written by the conquerors-- white men and women.  His chapters on the Native Americans and on the African slave trade are very eye opening.  

So, if you are interested in a not-so-light read, but want to expand your historical horizons, I would recommend this book.

Book Club

Sadly, I missed book club meeting because I was in Utah last week.  I was really looking forward to going because I loved this book.  A Girl Named Zippy is one of those books that make you laugh out loud, which can be quite embarrassing if you are at the gym on the stair master and happen to fall off because you are laughing so hard.  If you are looking for a well-written quick-read, this is it.

Book club

We read The City of Joy by Dominique LaPierre this month. What a depressing, yet inspiring novel!!

Here is a literary review from Barnes and Noble:

What irony that one of Calcutta's most devastating slums should be known as Anand Nagar, ``the City of Joy.'' By interweaving impressionistic glimpses from the lives of a French priest, a rickshaw driver, and an American doctor, Lapierre creates a searing vision of the struggle for survival, the flashing violence, and the social and cultural practices of the slum. His theme that from human misery can emerge joy might seem to some readers as a bogus acceptance of a terrible evil. Yet Lapierre's narrative slides skillfully in and out of both history and fiction to create an effective but horrible montage of disease, death, and destruction amid elements of charity, hope, and love. The City of Joy should elicit strong reactions from readers.

This book made me so grateful for the simple yet essential things in my life: my family, my health, a roof over my head, and food in my stomach. This is one of those books that are hard to read, yet hard to put down at the same time.

By the way, the book is nothing like the movie. Patrick Swayze does a great job, but the storyline is completely different. Go for the book!

For my treat, I made naan- a super delicious Indian flatbread. I got the recipe from youtube from this cute little Indian lady named Manjula. Here is a link to her recipe website. She has videos to go along with her recipes, which really helped me out!




This bread was so delicious and easy. I served it with dal.

Book club

We had a great turnout at book club, but we read an amazing book. It was The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. It grabbed my interest from the very first sentence: "I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster." This book was a very interesting memoir that I could not put down. It was a great read, but I will warn you that there is some language and some child abuse.
I ordered the next book, City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre, from Half.com and it came in the mail today. Check out the stamps. It looks like some kid got into his parents' stamp collection or something. 8 cent Eisenhower stamps? 1 1/4 cent Gallatin? I hope someone didn't get in trouble for mailing this so quickly.

Book Club

We had book club tonight.....I haven't been able to go all summer and I have seriously been going through withdrawals! It was so fun to just be with the other "gals", to visit, and discuss a good book. Just like any other C. S. Lewis book, this one doesn't disappoint. I have found, though, that with his books, I have to read a little bit, and then sit and think about what I just read in order to "get" it. Definitely not a "quick" read if you want to absorb what he is saying, but this is a short book at ony 149 pages.

Here is a quick synopsis of the book:

The writer, in a dream, boards a bus on a drizzly afternoon and embarks on an incredible voyage through Heaven and Hell. He meets a host of supernatural beings far removed from his expectations and comes to significant realizations about the ultimate consequences of everyday behavior. This is the starting point for a profound meditation upon good and evil. "If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell."

Book Club

Book Club was a little sparse this month. With vacations and all the business that goes on once school let out, it ended up being me and Christine. It was still so much fun! We got to have a good visit (without kids) and it didn't matter if we got off topic because it was just the two of us.
I really enjoyed her book choice The Bonesetter's Daughter. I must admit it was a little rough getting through the first 1/4 of the book when they were in San Francisco, but I think the author did that on purpose in order for us to see the turmoil that this woman was going through. Once the narration switched to her mother and her life in China, I could not put the book down. Here is a short synopsis:

Set in contemporary San Francisco and in a Chinese village where Peking Man is unearthed, The Bonesetter's Daughter is an excavation of the human spirit: the past, its deepest wounds, its most profound hopes. This is the story of LuLing Young, who searches for the name of her mother, the daughter of the famous Bonesetter from the Mouth of the Mountain. The story conjures the pain of broken dreams, the power of myths, and the strength of love that enables us to recover in memory what we have lost in grief.

Book Club

Book Club was last night. We went to Jess's house and discussed And There Was Light by Jacques Lusseyran. It was his autobiography and he led quite an amazing life. He became blind at the age of 8 after an accident at school, but never felt that he had a disability. Here is an excerpt from the publisher:

Permanently blinded at a young age, Jacques Lusseyran learned to "see" the world from within. This keenly developed inner sight enabled him to become a leader of the core of the French Resistance, enduring arrest by the Gestapo and the horrors of Buchenwald. This book is a testament to the joy that exists in all of us, a joy that no conditions–not even the worst –can kill. Lusseryan's inspring autobiography shows how he overcame the limitations of physical blindness by attending–literally–to the light inside his own mind.

I must admit, that I have not completely finished the book yet. (Life seems to have gotten hold of me and I'm trying to get back in control of my time again. . .is it possible? I'll keep you posted.)
What I thought was most interesting was this light from within that helped him to "see" people. Here is a quote from the book about an experience he had shortly after he had become blind.

I was aware of a radiance emanating from a place I knew nothing about, a place which might as well have been outside me as within. But radiance was there, or, to put it more precisely, light. It was a fact, for light was there. . .The amazing thing was that this was not magic for me at all, but reality. I could no more have denied it than people with eyes can deny that they see. I was not light myself, I knew that, but I bathed in it as an element which blindness had suddenly brought much closer. I could fee light rising, spreading, resting on objects, giving them form, then leaving them.

I love this. I believe that light is within all of us, it is the Light of Christ. Because of his blindness and having to look within himself instead of the outside world, he was able to become so finely aware of it. He used this light for discernment and was able to help recruit trustworthy men to join the French Resistance against the Germans who occupied France during World War II.

This book is definitely not a "light" read (pardon the pun!), but I am really enjoying it when I have time to sit and ponder about his experiences.

I just have to add this happy announcement: This month's book club was our 6 year anniversary of the formation of book club. We started in May 2002 and we read The Importance of Being Ernest. Good times. . good times. Thanks for helping to keep book club alive, girls! Now I'm wishing I would have remembered to make a cake or something!

Book Club

Book club! Let me tell you, I have not been able to attend book club for the last two months and I have been going through withdrawals. (February, Andy and I were on our trip. March, Ewan was sick.)

Probably the best thing about book club this month was that my MOM was able to come with me. She and my dad flew out here for the week to help with a kitchen we are remodeling. Here is my mom cuddling with Ewan on the couch. He warmed up to my parents so quickly. All it took was the ride home from the airport. I love it when my kids get old enough to remember my parents. I always show the boys pictures of my parents to help them know who they are. Ewan did great!

Anyway, about book club. I really enjoyed this book and I must admit that it wasn't one that I would have chosen to read on my own. (It was one of those books where I would have read the title, gotten a warm-fuzzy, but then moved on to something else.)

I loved how real and down-to-earth Sister Hinckley was. My favorite section was about when she was a young mother, probably because that is what I relate to the most right now. Knowing that she always felt like she didn't get anything done, that she was worried about her kids being sick, and having a hubby who wasn't home much just helped me to feel like I am normal and that I am doing OK.

This book was a really quick, fun read.

The Namesake- Book Club

For book club tonight we discussed The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. It was about a young man named Gogol. His parents immigrated from India because his father was going to MIT. Gogol was born in Boston, as was his younger sister. He has a hard time fitting in between two cultures: Indian and American. His name doesn't help with his identity crisis, either, because he was named after Nikolai Gogol, his father's favorite Russian author.

We had a lot of great discussion about fitting into a new area. Gogol's mother missed her family and life in India so much, but when she does get an oppurtunity to move back to India, she is sad and misses her life in Boston. I kept thinking to myself that I need to take advantage of living here and not take it for granted, even though I do miss my family and the whole Utah way of living terribly!

One thing we talked about is our names. How much effect do you think your name has shaped you: your personality, your outlook on life, any choices you have made, and the way people have treated you.

Another hot issue we talked about is moral standards. Obviously, Gogol's parents followed their tradition to a "T". They had an arranged marriage, never touched each other in public, even in their own home. She never even said her husband's name outloud in front of him, out of respect. Yet, here is Gogol and his sister, who are just one generation away, and they seem to have no problem living a "normal" American's way of life: kissing girls in public, promiscuity, living together, etc.

Anyway, this book was a little slow in the beginning, but once you got to know the characters, they seemed very real and alive. The author did a great job with the smoothness of her writing style. Everything seemed to just flow together.

I'd recommend this book if you are in a thought-provoking mood and want to learn about the Inidan culture.

Another funny thing about book club tonight was that it was held at Angie's house. She had just had a baby, her first girl after two boys. So, we used this oppurtunity to throw a surprise baby shower for her.....at her house. (Mwa-ha-ha!) It was so fun and Serena is definitely going to be a well-dressed baby!

Here is book club who attended that evening (from left to right): Me, Josi, Jess, baby Serena, Sandi, Melony, and Kelly. (Angie was taking the picture.)

Book Club

Tonight we had book club and we discussed Jesus the Christ by James E. Talmage. Since it is a 700+ page book, we decided to just read the first 9 chapters about the prophecies and birth of Christ. It was so nice to have our discussion centered on the Savior, especially at this time of the year.

November's Book Club

I can't believe that I haven't posted November's Book Club meeting yet. I have been so behind lately!
We read Sapphira and the Slave Girl by Willa Cather. I wasn't too sure about it when I started it, but the characters seemed so real and the story so interesting that it quickly drew me in.
The story takes place during the 1850's in Virginia. By all means a part of the South, yet close enough to the Mason-Dixon line to have many neighbors who don't agree with slavery. Sapphira was the lady of the house who always treated all of her slaves very kindly. For some reason, though, she treated Nancy horribly. Part of the plot is to figure out why Sapphira was so cruel to Nancy and what Nancy does in order to escape. (hint hint: the Underground Railroad plays a major part in that.)
This book was an easy, quick read. It was interesting to explore the different relationships in the book: mother-daughter, master-slave, husband-wife, servant-friend.

October Book Club

I just finished the funnest read! If you love Pride and Prejudice, especially watching the A&E version, you will love this book. It is about this girl who is obsessed with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. (Can you blame her?)Her great-aunt sends her to this vacation/resort in England where they have to pretend they are in Regency England (i.e. during Jane Austen't time period.)

It was a fun, quick read. The author is really witty. . . and she is LDS!
We read this for book club this month and it was so much fun to discuss. Of course, we did end up talking about meeting our husbands (a.k.a. our own Mr. Darcys) and whether or not they met our expectations on that first date. We also ended up talking about bad dates/boyfriends (a.k.a our own Mr. Wickhams).
If you are looking for an "escape" read, this is it.

Here is the yummy spread that we munched on while we discussed the book: a pumpkin cracker dip, Crumble-Top Pumpkin Muffins, Squash soup, Mini-Apple Cinnamon muffins, veggies and dip, cupcakes, a pasta salad, Oreos, salsa and chips. YUM!

Book club was at my house this evening. Here is the group, starting and the left and moving around the room: Brenda, Sandy, Havie, Rebekah, Christine, Josi. Angie, Sue, and I were still in the kitchen loading our plates!

Book Club for September

This book definitely made for some interesting conversation. It is a YAF about a 12-year old girl, Colleen, living on the prairie. Her mom had just given birth to a baby girl, but was very sick. This young girl ended up going out on the prairie, in a storm, to find help. She came across a wagon where a pioneer woman had also given birth to a healthy baby. The woman ended up dying, by she made Colleen promise to take care of the baby because her husband was a bad man. Colleen takes the baby back to her home. Her baby sister had died. She ended up switching the babies.
I know it doesn't really sound like a young adult book because of the subject matter, but what was most interesting was watching Colleen deal with this huge secret. She had to tell many lies to cover it up. She felt like she had to protect her mother-from knowing that her baby had died. She felt like she had to protect the baby girl, as a promise made to a dying woman.
Is a lie ever justified? Hmmmm...



Here are some of the tasty treats we had at book club. "Pumpkin" seemed to be the undeclared theme for the night. Pictured is a cheesecake square, pumpkin cake with whipped cream (using brown sugar instead of white), and Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Cake. Yum!!!

Book Club

All I can say is, Wow. This book was very enlightening and very interesting (to me!) I hope I can sum up some of the major points of the book and what we discussed during book club.

One of the main things this book did was make all of us think back to our childhood and how we played. Don't you think kids play differently today? There is a lot more TV, video games, etc. Even though there are more kids in organized sports, the rate of childhood obesity is climbing at an alarming rate.

Beautiful Arches National Park with the La Sal Mountains in the background.

"What are kids missing that soccer and Little League can't provide? Generalized, hour-to-hour physical activity is the likely absent ingredient. The physical and emotional exercise that children enjoy when they play in nature is more varied and less time-bound than organized sports." (pg. 47)

I firmly believe that organized sports are good for kids: it teaches discipline, respect, teamwork, plus it is a social outlet. But this cannot be the only activity that kids get! They have to be able to play in a natural setting.

The sub-title of the book is "Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder". The author confesses that it is not a scientific term, but a name he has given to this condition that he has defined as follows: "Nature-deficit disorder describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished uses of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses." (pg. 34)

Harrison throwing rocks in a mountain lake w/my mom. Grandpa and Nicole are fishing in the background.

Young and old alike need to be able to be outdoors. I definitely have noticed, especially in the winter during the cold and flu season, that when we are stuck indoors watching entirely way too much TV, that our senses are diminished. It makes me feel almost numbed to the world and all that wasted time seems to slip away. By the end of the day, I have nothing to account for those hours. It is like a gray cloud has swept over my life. But when we are able to be outside, whether it be working in the yard, the garden, or if I just sit outside and watch the boys find potato bugs, or lightening bugs, my senses become more aware. I can hear more clearly, I can see more detail. Nothing tastes better than eating something picked fresh from your garden or berry bush.

After researching an Outward-bound wilderness program for troubled youth, the participants reported "experiencing a sense of peace and an ability to think more clearly." (pg. 102)

I'm 7 mos pregnant with Zane in this picture at our family cabin. From l to r: Richard, Gma, Gpa, Dad, Harrison. Lori, Nicole, Me, Janelle, and Adam.

The book even discussed the etymology of the word "boredom", or more commonly heard from kids today, "I'm BORED!" The word didn't even exist until the nineteenth century. (pg. 166) Some of my fondest memories as a child is going up to our family cabin. My brothers and I built dams in the creek to make a swimming hole, we picked wild raspberries and tried to make a pie, we hid under the big pine tree up the hill and made up stories. It was impossible to be bored!

One of the most exciting things that we discussed during book club, which was not in the book, was about the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane. How important are the outdoors to us spiritually? Christ went to the tops of the mountains to pray. Is it not a surprise that Joseph went into a grove of trees behind his house to pray?

Nature is a necessity in our lives. It can heal us emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I was especially interested in the section on ADHD. The author did not claim that lack of natural play is a direct cause of ADHD, but that allowing children to use natural play as a treatment has been proven to help. Many parents, whose children have been diagnosed with ADHD, have noticed calmer behavior in their children, especially after hiking in the mountains or being able to play outside. He also says that ADHD has probably been around for many years, but was just not recognized because most children's energy was used to do farm chores, swim at a swimming hole, climb trees, etc.

One of my favorite quotes in the book was when the author quoted John Muir. After reading this quote, it made me realized why I get so homesick for Utah. I get homesick for my family, but now I understand the connection I have with the mountains:

I am well again, I came to life in the cool winds and the crystal waters of the mountains. -John Muir

July's Book Club

It is true that an amazing book will lead to amazing discussions! Jess chose The Peacegiver for this month. It was a great book that gave so much insight into the Atonement through two biblical stories: Abigail's offering and Jonah and the whale.

Abigail was a type of Christ--she was the peacemaker between David and Nabal. She claimed Nabal's sins and asked David to forgive her. She then supplied David with the food that he and his men needed in payment for taking care of Nabal's sheep. David accepted Abigail's plea of forgiveness and that, in turn, helped David to not sin. Here are a couple great quotes from the book:
"Abigails message was that forgiveness was for the one who was forgiving, not the one who was being forgiven. David needed to forgive so that, in the words of Abigail, 'he would continue to be found without evil'. . . She freed him (David) from the blind comfort of his grudges. Through this merciful act, she created for David the most forgiveness-friendly environment that could possible be created. David was never more able to do what he needed most to do---to forgive." (p. 65)
One thing that we did discuss on this topic was how bad it was to hold a grudge. Those feelings and thoughts begin to fester and grow inside of you and will, eventually, destroy you.

It was such a great book club meeting. I just don't know how I would survive without it! It is such an outlet for me to be able to talk to other women. Plus, I get in some much needed girl-time.

My favorite quote from the book was about the parallel relationship between the Fall and the Atonement:

"And so it is no accident that the Atonement will begin, as did the Fall, in a Garden. And it is no accident as well that the individuals in those gardens were each sinless, or that the events in those gardens centered on their exercise of agency--for Adam, whether he would partake of the bitter fruit, and for the Savior, whether he would partake of the bitter cup. The Savior and Adam faced a similar choice: If they did not partake, they would become lone men in paradise. Both partook that man might be. And by partaking of that bitterness, Adam came to know good and evil, and the Savior came to know all of the good and evil that had and would transpire in the hearts of men through all generations of time." (pg. 170)

April's Book Club

We had another great discussion at book club tonight. The book was Follow the River by James Alexander Thom. It was based on the true story of Mary Draper Ingles. In 1755, at the age of 23, she and her two children were captured by the Shawnee Indians. She was also pregnant at the time. It was an amazing story about her capture and escape. She eventually escaped the Shawnee and was able to find her way home by following the river. She walked 800 miles in forty days. This story was so gripping that I could not put the book down! Her struggles with nature, with hunger, and with trying to find her way home to her husband was amazing. We talked a lot about her strength, and about the strength of women in general.

This book is definitely a must-read!

One ironic thing about our book club tonight was that Mary Ingles's home was located in modern-day Blacksburg, Virginia. Her homestead was in the same place where the duck pond at Virginia Tech is today. It put chills down our spine to think about the fact that, 250 years ago, there was an Indian massacre in practically the same place as the biggest shooting tragedy of our country.

The Peacegiver

I just got this month's book club book in the mail today and I was so excited that it arrived so quickly. I had ordered it on half.com and was worried about the media mail. I ordered it last week and here it is!

I am definitely in desperate need of some peace in my life right now. We are so close to having our kitchen finished. We have saved so much money by doing this ourselves, but I am seriously starting to wonder if the stress has been worth it. I know it will be. . . once we are finished, right?

It seems like everything has been happening all at once. Andy and I are also in charge of organizing a tri-stake youth activity. We have over 300 kids registered to play volleyball, dodgeball, ultimate frisbee, human foosball, go swimming, run a 5k, video games, boardgames, watch a movie, and have a smash-bang dance at the end. It will be great, but organizing the youth into teams and working the logistics of transporting kids between the church and the YMCA has fried my brain. We are happy to serve and have loved doing this, I think the timing with our kitchen has made things rough.

I literally almost had a breakdown the other night. I know a big part of it, besides having my house in such disorder, has been that we haven't been eating very well for the past couple weeks. We have been eating out way too much and I know it has taken a toll.

I keep saying to myself that things will be better once life slows down. But does life seriously ever slow down?

Book Club

l to r: Rebecca, Ang, Sandy, and Sue

Not pictured: Josi and me.

(Josi took the picture while I was taking care of a fussy Ewan.)

Book Club was a much needed retreat tonight. It had been a hectic day with the boys, and I was ready to leave when it was time to go. I was even going to be on time. I was ready to head out the door when I realized I couldn't find my purse. Andy and I searched for over 15 minutes. We even called our friends to see if I had left it at their house the night before. At 6:55, Harrison finally fessed up, "Oh, I think I know where your purse it." I then followed him downstairs to the basement when he had stuffed my purse under the desk in the office. He had hid it there after he had cleaned it out of my gum.

We read the book The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. (Which happened to be very fitting for the month of Valentine's.) The entire premise of the book is the we each speak a different language when it comes to expressing love, and how we want love to be expressed to us. The five love languages are: Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Acts of Service, Quality Time, and Gifts. I took the test at the end and was not surprised to find out that I am a "quality time" kind of person. I think that this explains why I just about had a breakdown last year when Andy was gone so much, either for work or for reffing soccer games. Andy took the test and we both learned that he is a "words of affirmation" person.

We had great discussion, especially on whether or not we believe that there really are five love languages. We came to the conclusion that we do believe that people speak different "languages" when it comes to expressing love, but many people also speak different "dialects" in the act of expressing love.

If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it!

I must also add how theraputic book club is for me. It is one place I can go once a month to just "share" with other women, most of whom are also stay-at-home moms. We have a great range of age in regards to those who attend, but I love it. I love getting advice from other moms who have "been there" and "done that". Plus, the refreshments are always pot-luck and oh so delicious.

If any of you in the area are interested in coming to book club, please let me know. We'd love to have you attend!

The Cry and the Covenant

I just finished reading my book club pick for November and all I can say is, "WOW!" The book is The Cry and the Covenant by Morton Thompson. It is a historical-fiction novel based on the story of Ignaz Semmelweis.
In the 1800's, many women were dying after giving birth to their babies. At the time, there were almost 30 supposed causes of childbed fever, my personal favorite was the thought that these women got sick and died out of modesty. Like it was too much for a man to see them while he delivered the baby. Actually, the doctors would go from the bedside of one woman to another's without washing their hands. Or, the doctors would go from performing an autopsy to deliver a baby without washing their hands. No one knew about germs, etc. Semmelweis was the first doctor to suggest that they wash their hands. The death rate in his hospital went down drastically, but no one would believe that something as simple as washing their hands could actually be the cause of these deaths. He defended his ideas for almost 15 years, but it wasn't until almost 30 years after his death that other doctors finally realized how important it was to wash! It was an amazing book and I definitely recommend it!
Here is a link to wikipedia if you want to read more. It is seriously an amazing story. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis