The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I liked this book.

I'm still mulling it around in my brain.

The language came close to being a problem, and I'm sure if I really understood German, it would have been quite offensive. (This will make members of my immedieate family laugh - I will explain to them personally). There were some deity language issues, and although I strongly dislike that, I felt they fit the characters and story.

I noticed that it is classified as Young Adult fiction - I'm not sure I agree with that, but maybe I'm just getting old.

All right. Down to the nitty-gritty. I liked the writing a lot. It was a very creative way to weave the story. I liked the story - it pulled me in farther and farther the more I read. By the end I was emotionally invested in the story.

I recommend it.

One of the world's great mysteries solved

Every mother already knows this - there is no mystery to how the pyramids were built. There was no need for the early Egyptians to figure out some major pulley/lever/engineering system. Here is the truth: the pyramids are built from leftover bran cereal, mixed with a little milk, and left to dry. Those supposed engineering geniuses simply disposed of their leftovers in a community spot, patted them into shape and the pyramids were ready to go. The sphinx required a little more artisitic ability, but it's foundations were laid in the same way.

I came to this realization once again as I tackled mopping my kitchen floor and had to scrape bits of dried bran muffins from under the boys' chairs. Even my finely honed sense of blindness to household grease and grime was insulted by the state of my floor, and I gave in and mopped. It's true that Ray's cousin Kim and family are coming to visit for a couple of days - that might have pushed me over the edge a little bit. But they've lived with us in the past, and Kim is fully aware of my lack of housekeeping. No, the true impetus was that my lovely beige tile floor more closely resembled a dalmation than its true self.

Midway through the seemingly endless job I wondered if I called Audrey how soon she could be here with the boys. That's my usual excuse for putting off the mopping - "the boys will be here, and it's too hard to keep them off the floor while it's drying". But I persevered, and finished the job. It took a whopping 15 minutes. Now that is embarrassing. It takes me at least four times that long to talk myself into doing the job. The good news is, now I have a fairly clean kitchen floor.

I'm going to go add it to my to-do list for today.

Happy Birthday Ray!

Today is Ray's 51st birthday. No big bash this year - that only happens on the tens, and that was last year.

I decided to post ten things I like about Ray. There are so many that it was too hard to put the top ten things I like, or the ten greatest things about Ray, so I am choosing 10 random things I like.

1. He's my best friend.
2. He listens to me (he's had a lot of that this week).
3. He talks to me about what interests him, and what interests me.
4. He is a great father.
5. He's a pretty fun grandpa.
6. He is wise and gives me good counsel.
7. Ray is even tempered - he helps keep me on an even keel. Perhaps what is best is that he never seems to have or make an enemy. He truly gets along with everyone - even those he disagrees with.
8. He fixes things I break (see the blog about our car bumper).
9. He will go to chick flicks with me, just because it is something I like - not necessarily something he likes.
10. He loves me!

This isn't a new picture of Ray, in fact it's on the sidebar. It was taken when we were in Hawaii last February - a place I love to go to with him. It brings back great memories when I look at this picture.

My poor car

Today I was running errands with my niece Lucy. We went to Costco, and as I was pulling out of the parking spot I heard a terrible noise. At this point I may have thought a few inappropriate words - okay, I for sure did. I got out to investigate, and part of the underside of my car was now fully exposed, and caught on the little curb I had been parked over. Major bummer.

The underside of my car was also attached to my bumper. Why did they have to start making that all one piece? I love that car. (We got it last December from my parents when they upgraded to a new car.) Lucy was kind enough to extricate it from the curb, tuck it back underneath, and we were able to drive the car home no problem. The problem is that the bumper and wrecked part are one piece, and we're looking at having to replace that whole thing.

Second problem: we are going to Yosemite next week, and need to drive that car.

Third problem: Ray was not home when this happened. He was in Jackson Hole with his scouts. Imagine his delight to find out what I'd done. Actually he was great. Although when I asked if perhaps we couldn't just screw up the underside of the car and have it work, he volunteered his opinion that no, the underside could not be screwed up any more than it already was.

Poor joke aside, he re-evaluated, and indeed did put in some new washers and screws, and the car is fully functional. Unless you know to look for the problem, the car looks pretty normal. Whew!

The To-Do List: Friend or Foe?

Here are some truly rambling, too long thoughts on the subject.

Friend:
a. When used, a to-do list keeps me on track, and I get lots done
b. A to-do list keeps me from worrying about whether or not I will remember to do something (forgetfulness has gotten worse as I’ve gotten older)
c. A to-do list properly made has great aesthetic value. I love the look of tasks all lined up like ducks in a row (if only I could guarantee the execution of those tasks happened in such an orderly manner)

Foe:
a. When not used, a to-do list can be a great source of guilt.

Here’s how I’ve minimized the negatives of a to-do list: I no longer feel guilty for not completing tasks. If I don’t finish what’s on my list, it becomes merely a suggested list of items to complete, rather than an imperative list. Because of my behavior in life so far, all to-do lists have become suggestions.

Here is how I’ve maximized the use of a to-do list. First of all, one list is not sufficient to cover all aspects of life. Therefore I have several going at one time.
1. Long term projects – this is a list that never is completed. I add items as I think of things I’d like to get done over any prolonged space of time – from a week to years. Some things have been on this list for many years (such as label and put photos in albums, which with the onset of digital photography has morphed into label and put photos into files on my external hard drive, then in a digital scrapbook format.)
2. Quilt projects – I have listed quilts I’d like to make, quilts I already have the fabric and pattern for and need to make, and quilts that I’ve started, but have not yet finished. Sometimes I even have a section that includes completed quilts.
3. Cleaning projects – this is the least referred to list I have going. Usually it is not in a place I am likely to look. Every once in a while I get a bee in my bonnet about various household cleaning projects, and write them down. It usually is promptly and completely ignored following that. Just thinking it should be done makes it mostly done in my mind.
4. The daily list of things to do. I actually like to make a daily list for a week at a time, listing things I’d like to get done each day. The hope is that most items will actually be completed by the end of the week; if not on the actual day I project it should be done.

First: I maintain all these lists in various forms, and with various frequencies. When I have efficient streaks in my life, all lists are going strong. In the more relaxed, laissez-faire seasons, the suggestion lists are few and far between.

Second: The best format for lists is an attractive pad of paper that is long and thin (not the usual legal pad I prefer for other things). If I like the pad of paper, I’m more likely to use it, and keep the lists nearby so that I can look at them often. So silly, but true.

Third: Tasks should be written in a concise manner. If at all possible it should always fit on one line of the paper – not bleeding over onto a second, or (heaven forbid) third line.

Fourth: One thing that is imperative to me is crossing out an item that is completed. There is such a high level of satisfaction in that process. It should be a clean, single line through the entire task (thus leaving the task itself still able to be read – and there for all the world to see what was actually accomplished). When a page has most tasks completed, I start a new page, transferring incomplete tasks to that page, and adding new ones to it.

Fifth: Lists should be flexible! This is the basis for number 4 under maximizing a list. In fact, if I find myself ignoring nasty tasks on my list and seemingly getting nothing done, I will add to the list things I have actually accomplished that day. I am honest in this respect – I do not erase or cross out things I did not do. Eventually they might not be added to a new page, but I don’t cross off things I didn’t do.

Sixth: I can’t do this beforehand, because I am too superstitious, and it just seems a little morbid, but I hope on the day I die, one of my children will add that to my to-do list, and cross it off cleanly. Wouldn’t that be the ultimate satisfaction on a to-do list?

Rules by Cynthia Lord

Outstanding book about a 12 year old girl (Catherine) with an autistic younger brother (David). Catherine keeps a set of rules for David so he can get by better in life. In the process, she finds that some of the rules apply to herself as well. The book is well written, and I think Cynthia Lord captures the various struggles a 12 year old goes through to fit in with her peers and life in general.

Juvenile literature. Newbery Honor book.

One rule I live by: Never eat anything that looks like it did when it was alive.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

I don't want to give anything away. Let's just say it was a highly satisfying conclusion to the series. Next to Twilight (because it began the story and set the stage), this is by far my favorite of the four books.

Mighty fine.

Girls Camp 2008

The first time I ever went to Girls Camp was in 1992 - and before camp happened I swore I would never go again once I was done. Too much work, stress, and anxiety - not worth it. By the end of that first week at camp I had so much fun that I was hoping and praying they would let me come back again the next year. They did let me come back! I never missed a year all the way through 2005 - I was blessed to be there every year that each of my three daughters were at camp. Then I missed a couple years when I moved here. This year I was back at camp - my 15th time.

It was a new group and a new location, but most of it was just the same. Wonderful young women make all the difference in the world. And leaders? How could we do it without such great leaders? Ours were wonderful. I felt so lucky to be there. Admittedly, I do not run so fast, or jump so high (or run or jump at all for that matter) like I used to. I got more tired this year than I did back in 1992, but it was a good tired. Here are a few pictures from our days at the Crescent Region Church Property (on highway 6, outside of Spanish Fork):

1. Our ward group on the first day. So clean!
2. On the last day we were able to go on the zip-line. Due to my extreme fear of heights, I stayed off the zip-line, and right next to the ground, where I helped lower the seat so the girls could get off. That's me with the filthy backside (shown only to demonstrate the level of filth, not to show off my backside).
3. Okay, this is a cool picture of the Paul girls - Sarah getting off the seat, with Aubrey and Madelyn helping. I'm on the bottom, trying to hold the cable low enough so Sarah could get off. 4. Marci and me.
5. Ray and me. Lucky me, Ray came down with us on Tuesday to haul the trailer and help set up camp. He stayed through Wednesday morning. It was fun to have him see what the camp property was like so when I came home he could really tell what I was talking about.
I did miss Ensign Ranch - the church property outside of Cle Elum Washington that our old stake always went to. The Crescent region property had some great similarities, but was a little more primitive. The dirt was just the same. I can not believe how filthy we can get in so short a period of time. And how immune we get to that dirt. It felt so good to come home and have a nice, long shower. (No showers on the Crescent Region property).

Kudos to the stake (Sandy Utah Lone Peak Stake) for great organization, and fabulous campfires. Great speakers, and great final program Thursday night. I know how tough that is, and they did a fantastic job.

(thanks for the great pictures Carrie!)