Book Review: Shakespeare's Secret by Elise Broach

I was fairly impressed by this book. It would be a great bridge book to get kids interested in Shakespeare since it centers around a mystery involving the present and Elizabethan England (Shakespeare's day).

It also discusses the pressures of family life and middle school life for young teenagers, (the main character is in six grade) and does a good job of portraying different situations and different aged characters (the other main character is in her 60's).

It was a quick read and a great listen (I listened to it on tape). I loved it and would recommend it to anyone.

My "Secret" Goals

Here are the secret goals that John referred to in one of his posts. They are not all of my year goals but they're a good start. I wrote them one night at like 3am when I couldn't sleep.

Things I’m thinking about:
✿ We should invite couples over on Friday nights to play games—maybe in the summer we could invite families. Then we could get to know people better and have fun at the same time. It would also help motivate me to help keep the house up better. Maybe we could have activities with the girls sometime Saturday.--We've done two Friday nights so far and it has been great. We've also done some fun activities with the girls.

✿ I want to do the scripture mastery with the girls again for the B of M. The books were a little too cumbersome but maybe if I laminated the small scripture mastery cards with a picture on the back and put them on a ring it would work better. I also want to find a music version of these that we could learn. I also want to find all the small scripture books and put them in a basket and keep them all together with the scripture mastery rings and some hymn books and children’s hymn books so we can find them for scripture study at night.--I made the girls the scripture mastery cards with pictures, laminated on a key rings. So far they have all passed off 1Ne 3:7, even Ruth. Sometime I'll make a recording and put it on the blog. It is super cute. Ruth loves "repeating" as she calls it. I also did the basket thing and it has worked pretty well. I found some free online versions of scripture mastery songs but I have yet to incorporate into our memorizing.

✿ I want to maybe arrange a weekend getaway for John and I sometime soon if funds allow and we can find a babysitter. --We'll see. Funding is still in question.

✿ I want to start exercising again everyday so I can have more energy. I also need to make time to spend more individual time with the girls and doing fun things that I enjoy with them. --I've maybe exercised twice in the past couple weeks, but I have at least been getting up and getting going in the morning instead of going back to bed. I need to work on this more.

✿ I need to sit down and make a list of personal goals for this year and kind of like a checklist like I had last year. It would help me be more productive and feel better.--still in the works.

✿ I’d like to do a featured gift of the day on my blog so the girls can acknowledge and say thank you for some of the gifts they were given by extended family. --did the Thankyou blog. I'll do some pictures when I figure it out or have John help me.

✿ I’d like to think of something to send back with Ron for Sarah’s birthday. Maybe a photo album with pictures of the girls and notes to her from the girls. Maybe some kind of special toy or book. I’m not sure. It can’t be big but I would like to show her we love her and think about her way over in France. --I made a small photo album with a note from each girl. It was very simple but it was done before Ron left to go back to France

✿ I’d still like to make a princess rag quilt and baby princess rag quilts for the Hunts. I need to get going though. --I picked out the fabric but have yet to do anything else.

✿ I need to finish the girl’s skirts. --nothing done yet.

✿ I need to start working on scrapbooking again. I really enjoyed that. And I need to use up all the supplies I bought.--nothing done yet.

✿ I need to finish sewing the back of Lily’s quilt and get it put together so I can start quilting it. --I organized it and drew a plan and cut the pieces so they fit but I haven't done any sewing yet.

✿ I want to be more of a doer and get some of the projects I’ve started finished.--well, I did make a table of contents for my FHE kits and finished a few I had started.

✿ I need to do the I spy picnic quilt--nothing yet

✿ I need to get some more flat storage containers and start on the toy room. We need one for Bratz and Barbies, one for Little people people, one for Littlest Pet Shop, one for food and kitchen stuff, one for super heros, one for baby accessories, and one for small dress-up. Hopefully if I organized it a little, the girls wouldn’t have to rifle through everything to find what they are looking for.--I bought some more bins but I haven't filled them with anything yet

✿ I want to start reading the Joseph Smith lessons together with John. Maybe we could read a section a night along with our scriptures. We need to start going to bed a little earlier so we have time for that.--we have been reading the lessons but we definitely haven't been going to bed earlier

✿ I want to organize the girls’ art supplies too.--nothing yet. I'm really going to have to think about this one.

Book Review: Bridge to Terabithia

I missed my book club tonight and for once I actually read the book. Mostly this was because it was a children's book that I could listen to on tape while I did chores.

Anyway here's my take on this book. I first read this book when I was a kid and I hated it. I've never been one for sad books and this book is definitely sad. As a result I was hesitant to read it again. However a few years ago I went to a children's book conference where Katherine Paterson was the key speaker. She was very interesting and I really love some of her other books, like Jacob Have I Loved. So since my book club picked the book I decided to give it a try.

The book is still sad but I found that it is actually hopeful in the end. And the writing is exceptional. It says a lot about families, friendship, and dealing with death. I enjoyed it and it wasn't quite as sad as I remembered. Although as I watched the movie, I definitely cried at the sad parts. It might just be because I'm pregnant.

Anyway it is a good, quick read and I liked the new movie too. It is definitely worth seeing and reading.

The Super IQ Test

My Result: Creative Theorist

People who are Creative Theorists are highly intelligent, complex people. They are able to process information of nearly every kind with ease, using both creativity and analysis to make sense of the world. Compared to others they also have very rich imaginations.

Take this test >

Book review: Austenland by Shannon Hale

First of all this is for John, who is always bugging me to do book reviews.

Second this book can be summed up by the dedication:
For Colin Firth
You're a really great guy, but I'm married, so I think we should just be friends.

If you don't know who Colin Firth is you probably won't find this book as funny as I did. There might still be hope for you if you love Jane Austen's books, especially Pride and Prejudice. John calls me obsessed and when I told him this book was about a lady who was obsessed with the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice, he asked if I was going to sue (he's the one who bought those dvds for me). Now in all fairness, this lady is so obsessed with the movie that she can't have a normal relationship with a guy. My obsession is just recreational and based more in Jane Austen's books themselves than in any particular version (although Colin Firth is the best Mr. Darcy by far).

Anyway the book is a quick read and hilarious, playing off of Jane Austen's books and stories. The lady goes to an actual resort that tries to recreate Jane Austen's day and stories so you can live them for yourself. Actors are paid to mimic different characters from the different books, clothing and accomodations are authentic, etc. It is really funny as she tries to live out her fantasy while still clinging to her 21st century lifestyle. Like I said if you like Jane Austen (even just the movies) you'll find this book amusing.

I knew there was a reason I liked Amy and Kay so much!

You Are 40% Boyish and 60% Girlish

You are pretty evenly split down the middle - a total eunuch. Okay, kidding about the eunuch part. But you do get along with both sexes. You reject traditional gender roles. However, you don't actively fight them. You're just you. You don't try to be what people expect you to be.

How Boyish or Girlish Are You?

Christmas Thankyous

I had this grand vision of posting a picture with the girls and a favorite present from the extended family every day so you could see how much they are all enjoying your presents, but since I'm having a hard time even getting out of bed in the morning (and not returning as soon as possible) and also since I am still having a hard time transferring the pictures from our digital camera to the blog, here are some verbal thankyous to tide you over until I get more ambitious and organized. (And these are just the ones I can think of right now, so if I forget anyone, the girls still loved your presents, just chalk it up to the fact that I'm also half brain-dead when I'm pregnant.)

First of all, Kaylynn, the girls absolutely loved the capes. Nothing happens nowadays without a Super (insert the name) to accompany the running girl in a cape. It's almost like their long lost Linus blankets. For a while they wanted to take them everywhere we went. Good work!!

Second the girls all loved the beautiful dresses that Grandpa and Grandma sent. They love fancy schmancy anything and are way excited to wear them to Missy's wedding.

Emma also especially liked the workbooks that Grandma and Grandpa sent with the pencils. She LOVES them. She keeps them in her bed at night to make sure that she gets her work time in and she is quickly getting better at writing. On Christmas morning, after all the presents were opened and we were waiting for breakfast, the first thing Emma did was to sit down at their table and begin copying down the alphabet in one of the book's activities.

Ruth liked everyone else's presents and her own. She especially enjoyed Lily's pull puzzle animal thing that Grandma and Grandpa sent. She takes apart and puts it back together at least once each day and loves to pull it. She knows it is Lily's but tries to avoid letting Lily know she is playing with it.

Kate loves the Webkins charms and both wears the necklace proudly and loves to play the computer game. Missy has her all hooked up and in the know about using the game.

The girls also really loved the clothes that Amy sent. Everything fit well and they love them (although Mary's undying favorite is the tank tops (underclothes) that Amy sent sometime last year). She would wear them night and day and does although we've insisted that she wear something over them, Mary is always one to push the envelope, if we let her just wear them, soon she would be wearing no clothes at all.

I loved the giftcard I received from Missy and the cute notecards from Amy--Hand-made, good work Amy!!

All the girls loved the necklaces from Adam. They wear them to church and love to look at them
as they hang out of reach to prevent them from being destroyed.

Mary loves her art sets from Grandma and Grandpa. She worked on one of the pictures for a week and still has all the colored pencils in the set stashed so she doesn't lose them so she can work on them later. She's had lots of fun.

Lily loves everything and is just glad when her sisters let her play with anything. Usually they are hiding things from her or running off to hide her toys in their room so they can play with them. Ah, the life of a youngest sister.

Anyway, thanks for everything. The girls had a great Christmas!!