Turning a Corner...

This morning when I asked my little one to please eat her cereal at the table (she wanted to eat cereal and watch "buzz")... she turned around put cereal and spoon on the table and pulled herself back up into the kitchen chair. And, when I shouted, "Hooray!" she gave me her cute little smile.

She didn't scream, hold both hands out and yell "stop! Stop!" just to make sure that I know she is opposed to rules or any kind of discipline. She didn't squint her eyes and scream, "you! you!" in an accusing way or have a complete fit on the floor.

She obeyed and smiled and everything here is peaceful and quiet. Have we turned a corner? That would be lovely.

I wish all rules were fair and right and made sense. I wish they were consistently enforced... always within reason. It's civilizing to eat at the table .. right!?!

Who knows. I often feel like I'm making this stuff up as I go. I wish parents were kind and thoughtful and never exasperated or just wishing for QUIET and always knew what they were doing! Then kids would be sure to know that their mom & dad just love them and want desperately for them to grow up right and feel the responsibilities for their success and happiness always.

But, before I get too carried away. Deep breath! One triumph on a Thursday is pretty good.

Bless My Ears & Whiskers...!

"I'm late!" We say that around here far too often.

The White Rabbit should be in

ThE LoVE BoxES SHoP

very soon,

unless his tardiness persists...

My Easter Basket...

When I was 30, my mom asked if I would feel badly if I didn't get an Easter Basket anymore... I said, "YES! :( " So a few years later.. I still get an Easter Basket. OK my mom was smart, the stuffies and "most" of the treats are for the kids, but the basket is for me. It's beautiful. So pretty this picture doesn't do it justice and I LOVE it. Thanks Mom! I love you!

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

This little book took a while to tug at my heart strings, which I think reflects poorly on me. I felt there were so many troubles that the character of Billie Jo Kelby was more of a caricature that a character. Then, near the end, after her mother and brother's tragic deaths and Billie's determination to face the war of land and sky against the human population... Billie Jo finds that she has a crack in her heart where their might be a place for a step mother. It was in that crack that I learned to appreciate Billie Jo and her toughness and her ability not just to survive, but to live. She accepts Louise when she realizes that Louise won't replace her mother... "...she knows how to come into a home and not step on the toes of a ghost." And Billie Jo really matures when she learns:

The way I see it, hard times aren't only about money, or drought, or dust. Hard times are about losing spirit, and hope, and what happens when dreams dry up." — Karen Hesse Out of the Dust

If you ever questioned the courage and every sort of toughness Americans are made of... Read this book.

So Brave, Young, and Handsome by Leif Enger

When Leif Enger wrote Peace Like a River, he wrote a modern American classic. It's a novel so beautiful that I read it four times and was deeply affected by the Christian allegory and the beauty of the language. In my opinion Peace Like a River is the grown up The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. It is a book that is so very rich.
Mr. Enger's book is loved by many and it means something to a lot of people. Imagine then the task of writing something new. Harper Lee never published a sophomore book. To Kill A Mockingbird is her only published novel, but it's a jewel.
So Brave, Young and Handsome is not Peace Like a River a book that I believe should live in the American literary canon forever, but it is a great book.
The characters have depth, they are engaging. The writing is sublime. It's ironically, the story of a writer who wrote one great book and has terrible expectations on his shoulders for the next... but after writing seven starts, puts it all away to help a neighbor find repentance on a wild goose chase across the west. I was sorry to finish the final page and say goodbye to people that I'd come to understand and enjoy and like so very much.

These cowboys didn't mind a lone horseman traveling through and confirmed
for Glendon that the river he followed was in fact the Rienda. Yes, it went all the way to the ocean. Yes, a region of citrus orchards awaited him downriver. No doubt the cowboys sense in this veteran horseman a lush deposit of stories, for they asked him to stay for an evening of music and fiery drink, but Glendon said no, he was too
near the end of his own tale now. He nudged Sparrow and they continued on, keeping the river on their left. ~Leif Enger So Brave, Young and Handsome

Easter Sabbath...

Our mother always makes holidays so beautiful. Love you mom.

Tomb, thou shalt not hold Him longer;

Death is strong, but Life is stronger;

Stronger than the dark, the light;

Stronger than the wrong, the right.

Faith & Hope triumphant say,

Christ will rise on Easter-Day.

~Phillips Brooks

The Queen of Fun!

Meet the Queen of Fun!
Wherever she is, there's a crowd of happy people.

Including this little one on her first egg hunt!

She found FIVE eggs! And then, she found a slippery slide!

After she went down holding mom's hand about 20 times, she got brave and went down all by herself! Hooray! What a fun day!!!

The War Against Boys by Christina Hoff Summers

When I was attending university, I wrote a paper about the different communication styles of men and women using for the basis of my arguments the research of Deborah Tannen who wrote You Just Don't Understand; Talk Between the Sexes-Women and Men in Conversation.

It was an enlightening experience. The class for some reason, had only women in it, and they attacked. They all believed that there was absolutely no difference between the way men and women communicate. They didn't just disagree with me, they were angry at what I believed and they were angry with the paper.

But, I grew up in a home with a masculine father and a feminine mother and brothers and sisters and I had seen different communication styles at work. To say that the sexes were the same in the way they thought and communicated flew in the face of common sense in my mind.

Then after I graduated, I worked for a time in the counseling office of a local high school. I again saw different communication styles between boys and girls. And, I saw other things. I saw how a greater number of boys than girls had a difficult time in school. In later years I have seen boys adopting feminine hair styles and wearing girls jeans and wondered... What is going on here?

Christina Hoff Sommers book explains a lot. It explains why my university class mates hated my paper. It explains why boys need different parenting and educational styles and why our society is ignoring the needs of boys and why boys are becoming feminized.

The book challenges the teaching of fuzzy concepts like "self-esteem" being taught in school and advocates for clear expectations that include civility and ethics that are backed up by discipline. The author makes the claim that shallow self-esteem belongs to every sociopath and the real self-esteem comes only through achievement. Sommers argues for the Aristotelian model that works toward excellence through study and habit. Aristotle said, "The moral virtues... are engendered in us neither by nor contrary to nature; we are constituted by nature to receive them, but their full development is due to habit.... So it is a matter of no little importance what sort of habits we form from the earliest age-- it makes a vast difference, or rather all the difference in the world."

If you have a son, work with boys in scouts, or have daughters and hope they will one day marry men... You ought to read this book.

(Thomas Sowell's book Economic Facts and Fallacies includes research that supports many of Sommers conclusions...)

Heart Boxes... In newish colors...

LoVE BOXEs SHoP...

Giving Blood...

I am squeamish about needles. You'd think after having 2 children, all my immunizations including flu shots every fall and allergy shots every week as a teen that I would be over it. I'm not, I'm a wimp.

My husband is not. He thinks it's pretty dumb not to be a blood donor. "It's so simple and you can save a life." He has faithfully donated blood about 4 times a year, but sometimes he's done it more often. He has kind of a rare blood type and so ARUP will call him personally and ask. He always runs in to the donation center in SLC. Once they called him and said that they had twins who were going in for surgery and could he come. We were on vacation. Had they not been able to find another donor, he was prepared to leave our vacation and drive a 12 hour round trip in order to help those twins. I know I'm blessed. This is just one of the million ways that C is a quiet hero.

Last night I decided it was time to stop being a wimp. There was no excuse. I had a good friend who was in a terrible accident at Christmas. It was time to step up. I hated it. They ask you all these questions that are icky to think about. For example, "Have you traded sex for drugs recently." No. I'm more of a pharmacy patron. I hated the needle. My kids were with me and when the little one saw a whole room of white coats.. she freaked out. There was screaming. It was embarrassing and little c had to take her out. It feels weird to be sitting there while your blood drains from your arm. When I got up, I felt woozy and nauseous basically until I went to sleep.

Who cares!!!

When I woke up this morning I felt wonderful!

Am I going to do it again. Yes. Am I going to hate every minute of it. Yes.

C said, "Just concentrate on the color blue.. It's very calming." He was wearing a blue shirt. I love you C.

Benefits of donating blood:

It reduces your risk of cancer.

Male blood donors are 17 times less likely to suffer a heart attack.

Donating blood helps you look and feel younger. (HERE)

Your body burns about 600-650 calories in its efforts to replace the blood you gave.

... and ....

YOU CAN SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE!!!

Ken Burns Lewis & Clark...

We missed part of this when it originally aired on PBS. It's beautifully done. (Craig told me that he would love to follow the Lewis and Clark trail to the ocean someday. I told him that he and his new wife would surely have a great time. Has he not noticed that I'm "indoorsy"...) anyway... It's beautiful. I loved Stephen Ambrose's book Lewis & Clark: Voyage of Discovery. I read it some time back, but it was amazing to see some of the sights they enjoyed in their travels. Ken Burns has sure made a fantastic career for himself. Fun!

Great Food Storage Tips...

My friend Denise recommended this powdered milk for our food storage when I asked for her advice. It is available at Bowman's and has quite a long shelf life. My dad found THIS blog post where a taste comparison was done. There are a few cheaper alternatives and the recommendation is to have a few of those on hand for bread making etc... but for drinking/price per gallon and nutrition... This is the winner. If you are interested in the price break down. Let me know and I will email you a list.

Then, if you are working on your storage. THIS food storage calculator is so helpful. I still have quite a few things to do.

Also learned this week: Bugs won't touch your sugar according to two sources. My parents have had sugar stored in just the paper store bags they come in and nothing has touched it. I bought 10 pound bags (best sale ever at Bowman's this week.. cheaper than the case lot sale) and tied them in grocery sacks just to prevent spillage and put them in a large plastic bin, but apparently that is more than you need to do.

Despicable Me...

Very, very cute. Worth it just for the part where Gru reads the kitten story. Laugh out loud in a few parts and fun in the rest. Great show.

Megamind... no mind at all.

They hired Will Ferrell. They hired Brad Pitt. They hired Tina Fey. They forgot to hire a writer. All the best bits are in the 20 second commercial. Pure torture. .. not as bad as Wall-E, but close.

A Tale of Two Cities International Studio Cast Recording...

I can't get over this music. It has completely taken over my heart. My favorite book in music that I love... a gift from heaven!

Available HERE...

War & Peace...

The sad thing is that I've never read this very famous book. I should have, but... Anyway, there were so many holes in this three-and-a-half-hour-long-epic that I had a difficult time following the story. Still Audrey is worth it. She is so beautiful and the costumes and sets are stunning. But, it took me three days to watch it. Henry Fonda is very good in it.

Chick Egg...

LoVE BOxES SHoP...

Bunny Egg...

LoVE BoXeS SHoP...

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir...

It's worth it to see this film for Rex Harrison's performance... and I truly love the ending and the cottage is so beautiful. I understand there was a later re-make of this film. I will have to check that out. Gene Tierney is so graceful and elegant, she's fun to watch.

I love how the proper Mrs. Muir publishes a book called "Blood and Swash" the memoirs of the ghost. Cute.

Morning Glory...

I thought this was darling. It's too bad that Hollywood had to besmirch it with foul language and other stuff. But, the story is really sweet. Harrison Ford's character was brilliant. I loved the added touch of the crazy socks.