madameblogalot

The Dark Ages: I actually watched this History Channel presentation in Sept. but forgot to list it. I “enjoyed” this film and felt like I learned something and actually put some history together as well. And, as my daughter was studying her world history that week, she quizzed me and it was over some of the things I had just watched! I got some of the questions right! So I guess I will rate this one as a HIT.

Nineteen Minutes: I am not a Jodie Picoult fan. This is only the second book by her I’ve read but daughter may use this as one of her choice readers so I wanted to read ahead of her. This novel about a school shooting is a tough one, which I guess Ms. Picoult writes about (tough current social events.) I just cannot wrap my mind around the way that teen behavior and even some adult behaviors, are normalized in her books-and in so many stories as well. Maybe I have been too naive, or maybe it really is just living in a conservative area of the country. At any rate, the story here is not enjoyable though I was drawn in and wanted to read the book, finishing the 455 page novel in less than a week. Even though I have never been in a school shooting setting I was able to relate to some of the feelings of some of the characters in the book so in that aspect I guess I would rate it a HIT. As for the storyline it is obviously not enjoyable and I hated the ending. I will rate this one as both a HIT and MISS.

the first part last: Another book daughter may read. Not my choice of reading material, but again focuses on a current social issue-teen pregnancy and parenthood. While I hate the language used I did feel like this one was perhaps a bit more realistic, being set in a large city. And the biggest difference in this story is that it is told from the teenage father’s perspective. A good twist. While it does delve into some places I would rather not have my daughter go, it was still descriptive without being too graphic (except for the language.) I did like the tone in which the story was told and felt the bond between the teen father and his newborn baby was beautifully and pretty realistically handled. I love the idea that lends itself to the book’s title: “But I figure if the world were really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They’d be all knowing in the beginning and innocent in the end. Then everybody could end their life on their momma or daddy’s stomach in a warm room, waiting for the soft morning light.” This kind of beauty leads me to go ahead and rate the story as a HIT.

Buck: This documentary about the real Horse Whisperer was very interesting and informative. While I have no interactions with horses, I found Buck’s way with horses to be the same way we should be in relationships with people. Buck is amazing; he came from an abusive childhood and instead of becoming an abuser himself, has turned around to help others over come abuse and to avoid abuse in relationships. While he focuses mainly on the relationship between horse and human, it is so readily applicable to any relationship. It sure made me wish I would have been a better parent. I will rate this one a HIT.

The Wildest Dream: I was intrigued by this movie title and “cast list” so I decided to watch while training on my bike one morning. It was narrated by Liam Neeson and is about the question as to whether George Mallory did in fact make it to the summit of Mt. Everest in 1924. I honestly did not know there was a question about it so found the story very interesting. Apparently in 1999 Conrad Anker, a mountaineer, found George Mallory’s body on his own quest to climb Everest. Mallory’s body was below the summit but it is unclear whether he made it to the top first or not. So Anker decided to recreate the expedition to see if it could indeed have been possible for Mallory to have summited in 1924. The story of Anker’s recreation is interesting. I think the one part that hit me the most though was when Anker showed his family the clothing they had recreated to match Mallory’s. By todays ideals, it could be considered substandard. When Conrad showed his wife and stepsons, the youngest boy, a preteen whose father died while climbing in the Himalayas, was asked if he would wear such clothing to climb Everest. When he replied “NO” his mother asked what he would wear. His response, a quiet, fervent “I wouldn’t climb Everest.”

I was also fascinated by the fact that Mallory used oxygen to aid him on the climb to the top, as well as the fact that his final ascent was filmed. As for Conrad and his partner’s remake of the expedition, it too was fascinating. I was really impressed with Leo’s (Anker’s partner) strength in rock climbing as well as how much altitude affects the climbers. All in all, I rate this film a HIT.

American Assassin: The story itself was fairly intriguing. If you like espionage and intrigue and don’t mind rough language, this might be a good one to read. I will rate this one as neither a HIT or MISS for me.

National Treasure: I watched this one with my oldest nephew while on a trip together. I had resisted before but enjoyed the second one so much I thought I’d give it a try. I really enjoy the history of these movies and thought this was a fun one. Towards the end of the movie I realized I had seen the ending already before. I rate this one as a HIT.

This morning before church I did the first leg of a triathlon relay event. I was the swimmer for our team. Our wave start consisted of men 45+, mens clydesdale (a weight division) and relay teams. Each wave had three minutes in between and they allowed us to jump off the dock into the bay to warm up for those three minutes. The water was pretty chilly when we jumped in. Thankfully I had on my wetsuit and that helped a great deal.

It seems in my limited experience I still have a hard time getting adjusted in the open water swim. Today it still took me some time, being one of the last swimmers to get started in our wave. By the first buoy however, I had caught up with the group. By the second buoy I was even passing a few people!

I never saw any of the women in the wave (other relay swimmers) but I know I was not the last finisher in our wave. I had estimated that I would finish the 1500 meter swim somewhere between 40-60 minutes. I was hoping for closer to 40. And I finished today in 38:38! I was thrilled with that time.

As soon as I finished swimming I ran out as quickly as I could to meet our next team member. I gave her the timing chip and she took off on her bike. Unfortunately I could not stay for more of the race but I did make it to church on time (after showering of course!) Our cyclist finished her 25 miles in 1:17 and our runner finished her 6.2 miles in 50+ minutes!! Good enough to earn us second place in our division!! And since we lost to some of my other team members, I didn’t feel too badly about it at all!!

We heard a sermon today about the effect each of us has on everyone around us. And also those we may not ever be around. It is the “butterfly effect”. What you do affects someone, who touches someone else, which leads to….and on and on. Even when you feel like what you do (for good or bad) is not a big thing, those small things touch other people in ways may we never know or realize.

It makes me think of something that has happened a few times to me as I am running. It is a sort of corny example but the first time it happened I thought it could be made into a tv commercial! As I ran by this older couple who walks every day, the man came over and handed me a small sucker. He had apparently just received it from a neighbor child of his. For whatever reason, he decided to give it to me. When he first gave it to me I just smiled and went on to carry the sucker til I got home. I did throw it away but while I was running with it, my “dream” of how it would make a commercial was if I were to hand it to someone else, who then passed it to someone else and on and on….

In this scenario the candy represents the effect we have on the people near us but also that we never know. If I had passed the candy on, it would have ended up with someone who was indirectly impacted by that little neighbor boy who first passed it on……

I have been looking for a little over a month now for a part time weekend job. You would think it would not be this hard! People are looking to hire, especially now for the holiday season. But I have not had any luck so far. I have applied at a photo studio, two Hobby Lobby, and Target. One interview, rejected. No other calls back (rejection!) So today I spent the afternoon looking online for a local job for part time, weekends/evenings, for which I am qualified. There are not many (rejections.) I did find our local JC Penney’s is hiring. So I went in to get an application. Seems like most are all online these days. So I filled one out at the in-store kiosk. After filling it out and answering fifty questions honestly, I was told “Thank you. Your responses do not match the qualifications for the job for which you applied.” I can apply there again, in 180 days!! I am not feeling too good about all these “rejections”!!

The Prestige: Wow! What an interesting movie! This show about magicians at the turn of the 20th century and their obsession with the perfect prestige was a bit confusing at first but in the end it was a good show with plenty of plot turns. I did figure some of it out before the end, but all in all an interesting show and I will rate it as a HIT.

The Great Divorce: I had been wanting to read some C.S. Lewis works and was able to get my hands on this one. I did not really enjoy the “story” though I did find the last few pages of the next to last chapter to be interesting. For the majority of the book I would rate it a MISS but since the one bit had some interest I will rate the book as neither a HIT or MISS.

Dead Girls Don’t Write Letters: This is daughter’s book for an English project. She has read it twice and said she just didn’t “get” the last chapter-even after reading the book twice. I told her I’d read it and see what I thought. I actually enjoyed this book, except for the language (WHY do they do that, especially in kids/young adult’s books!) And I liked the ending. The author left it a bit ambiguous, making it a great question in the reader’s mind. I think I “got” it, at least as far as my guess as to how it ended. And I liked the twist upon twist upon twist. With that last little twist added in at the end. I will go ahead and rate this one a HIT for older teens or adults wanting a fun, quick, quirky, easy read.

Four Blind Mice: I tried a new author this month. The book was fine, not outstanding. I liked the story (language and violence disclaimer) good enough. So I guess I will rate it as a near HIT.

Wintergirls: Haunting. Very descriptive imagery. This is a very real look at a pair of girls who struggle through the winter wastelands of eating disorders, and I hope it can be helpful to girls (and guys) who are in the midst of disordered behavior. A very thought provoking book. I can’t really call it a HIT in the sense of “enjoying” the book. But I think it does rate as a HIT in the way it deals with the subject.

Having an older teen, one who is stuck in the middle of the teen years and keeping a toddler everyday, I started thinking about how much these ages are alike. At first I thought I would say that teens and toddlers are in the same world only on opposite ends of the spectrum. But I think they are pretty much going through the same things-physically, emotionally, and mentally. I mean, we can see a toddler’s body growing and changing, and for the most part that is the same with teens. It is harder to tell the emotional and mental changes going on inside a toddler, but again, maybe not any harder than it is to tell with teens! I mean, they are both figuring out who they are apart from Mom, Dad and other family members; who they are in their own right, in their own community, and they are adamant about expressing their individualism. The mental changes and growth going on within toddlers could probably be said to be about even with teens. Even though a lot of people might think that there is nothing going on in that space between a teenager’s ears, there is plenty of observation, thought processing, reflecting, stewing, percolating and making pronouncements and assertions about the world in which they live. I guess the one advantage that toddlers have over teens is that most people think they are still “cute”.

In all the swirl of life we are going through right now, there are so many needs that have to be taken care of. I cannot believe the amount of money that has been spent by us this year. Money for physical therapies, college fees, eyeglasses, driver’s ed, the dentist, sessions with specialists, required health insurance for a college student…and this is all among the regular expenses required just to live and run a household!

I know some changes are in store for the next year’s budget planning. Things like driver’s ed are over. Physical therapies have ended. And for eye wear I will definitely check into cheap eyeglasses . This year I let my daughter talk me into “glasses in an hour.” In the future I want to check out some prescription eyeglass web sites to help control some of the outrageous costs while still meeting my family’s health needs. I hear they can provide sturdy, affordable and yet stylish eyeglasses to help meet any budget. So while health care often feels like a luxury I am hopeful to be able to meet all my family’s needs while remaining safely within our budget.

I read an article this weekend about the corn industry’s push to re-name high fructose corn syrup on labels (read here.) I know this is a controversial topic recently. While I try to refrain from buying products containing HFCS I know it is hard to do in modern day America. With all the bad press it just seems disingenuous for the makers to try to change the name. That seems like trying to pull the wool over the public’s eyes. Let the consumer make his or her own informed choice (meaning we need to be given the full information.) After all, isn’t a rose by any other name still a rose?

There is not much that can be said that has not already been said. I have had a hard time watching images that have been replayed on tv over the past week, even ten years later. They are disturbing images even now. And yet there is an importance in remembering the tenth anniversary of the 9/11/01 attacks. Not only is it a good way for us to deal with it, a kind of catharsis, but it helps to impart the meaning to our children.

As today is an important day for Americans to remember those who have fallen in recent history, it is important to teach the younger generation why it’s important to remember. Sometimes history seems like such a dull thing of the past to kids. Teaching them now about an historic event that we and many of them have lived through puts the human touch, emotion, and passion into history. It is important to impart not only information but values and lessons learned from such historic events. Today is a great day to recall why it’s so important to be mindful of and share such events.

I remember my granny talking about Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Day, “a date which will live in infamy”, and how it is nearly forgotten by today’s generation. It is up to us to impart those values to the ones coming behind. To know what it is we stand for. To know how we got where we are and why we do some of the things we do. It is important that history not always repeat itself. That is why days like today are so important.

My friend Marathon Bird recently posted about her recommitment to weekly menu planning. I had kind of fallen out of practice on that too, and was so glad she wrote about it. It is not a hard practice and really does not take too much time and the benefits are greater than the effort it takes. It makes putting together a shopping list easier, it makes the evenings go more smoothly, and it does save time and money too. I have been putting together my weekly menu again and I am glad MB reminded me to do it!