Books I've Read Lately

I received a Kindle for Christmas and I have almost read more books in the past two months than I did all of last year. (I must admit that I have also come to accept the fact that I always have to have reading glasses when I sit down with anything that has print on it and even sometimes to eat. I think that I just didn't enjoy reading as much in the last year or so because it was so difficult to read for an extended period of time.) It is so convenient to just have the Kindle in my purse and pull it out any time I have to wait or just sitting at home. At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about not actually turning a page but I am a big fan now. The Kindle is a nice size and weight and very easy to read. I'm looking forward to taking it on a trip with me next week.

So here are the books I've read so far and what I thought of them:

A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion- is the story of three women whose lives revolve around their children, but in very different ways. I enjoyed this book.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls - is a true story of the life of the author as she grew up in a dysfunctional family. I loved this book and recommend it to all my friends. There is some profanity in it, so be warned.

Man's Search of Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl - the first half of the book is about his experience of living in Auschwitz and other concentration camps and trying to find a reason to stay alive. The last half is a psychology course on logotherapy, Frankl's idea that man's deepest desire is to find meaning and purpose in life. It is a good read although I will admit that I had to skim through some of the "Logotherapy In a Nuntshell" section.

Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley - a story of a young girl, with a passion for chemistry, watches a man die and then works to solve the mystery that will acquit her father of the murder. Many of my friends really liked this story - I did not. It was written well and was interesting but just not very believable.

Driven, an Autobiography of Larry Miller with Doug Robinson - The story about the iconic man of Utah and the Utah Jazz. I LOVE this book. While I was visiting my dad at the rehab center, they came to take him to physical therapy so I picked up Nedra's book and started reading it. I was hooked from the beginning. I recommend it to everyone.

Promise Me by Richard Paul Evens - about a mother and some tough choices she has to make. This was an easy read but I did not like it at all. I agree with one Amazon customer who wrote, "The story was just weird and creepy for me. The first half had me hook line and sinker, but the second half just left a really bad taste in my mouth."

The next books on my list are Half Broken Horses by Jeannette Walls, These is My Words by Nancy Turner and Midwives: a Novel by Chris Bohjalian.

A Big Snow Event

During the first half of February, we had almost spring like temperatures. The snow was almost all melted and we had beautiful sunny days. Over the last two weeks, we have returned to winter with two to three little (1-5 inches) snowstorms a week. One morning when I came home from my walk, I noticed some little footprints in the dusting of snow we had received the night before. I had Dennis come identify them. We had a racoon. It was the first time I had seen evidence of a racoon in the area although others have said that they were around.

Friday night we had a really good storm. When I went to bed, it was still snowing and we had already had about 9 inches. When we got up early Saturday morning, it had stopped snowing and we had about 12 new inches of snow. It was beautiful. I love it when everything is white a perfect. It's like being bundled in a big, white, fluffy cacoon - at least if I can stay in my nice warm house.

I hurried and got a few pictures taken before Dennis and all the other great guys in the neighborhood got to work with the snowblowers and shovels. By 10:00 most of the sidewalks and driveways on our street were cleared and the roads were driveable. (I'd say cleared but there are areas where they are just well packed and sanded.)

They Were Here

Last week, Mindy and Jeran came for a much anticipated visit. Alyna and I went to pick them up at the airport so we were able to visit with them on the way to Providence. They stayed with Mom and Dad Briscoe while they were here. They split their time between Mindy's work, both sets of parents and siblings, grandparents, friends and the ski slopes.

Even though a 10 day visit seemed like it would be long enough, it flew by sooooooooo quickly and before we knew it, we were on our way back to the airport again. It was so nice to have them come.

The Newest Izzy

Addison Rose Israelsen

This is something I should have posted a while ago but haven't gotten around to. Last month, Nate and Kristie had a beautiful baby girl that they named Addison Rose. Alyna and I went over to see her shortly after she arrived home from the hospital. There is nothing like a new baby to bring and lot of smiles and love to a family.

She is just perfect.

If you don't believe me, you can ask her grandparents. She is the first grandchild of both Nate and Kristie's families so she is much photographed (700+ in just two days)and very loved. Since all of them live in Providence, everyone is getting a lot of practice in sharing.

Her aunts and uncles think she is pretty great also.

We had a Briscoe family dinner this last Sunday and were able to get a nice 4 generation photo.

Michelle, Dave, Addy, Lola, Ralph, Kristie and Nate

Goals

As part of my 30 Day Blog effort, I listed 6 goals for the month. I learned some things about myself and about setting goals. I just reviewed the goals I had made and realized that I should have printed them out and put them where I could see them because I remembered a couple but not all of them. I also was glad that I set them so that they would be accomplished during that calendar month. It seems like a much more managable period of time to work on something than setting goals for a year. So here is the report on how I did:

1. Bedroom cleaned and organized. While I made significant headway in this project (there are now only the most used two suitcases in our bedroom) it is a project that takes continual effort and is never "done."

2. Clean the basement. I worked on this quite a bit throughout the month but I had to push pretty hard at the end to get it to the point that was acceptable to me. Last Saturday, I finally got the last of the Christmas garlands and such put away so Christmas is officially put away and that storage room is organized. The food storage room is so much better and while it is not perfect and I still can't get everything to fit on shelves, I think we can probably find and/or get to everything we need.

3.Clean up the sewing room. Much like the bedroom - I made progress but I have a gazillion projects waiting to be done so while it is much better, it is not perfect.

4. Choose a blogger publisher - forgot all about this one.

5. Start an exercise program. I worked on this one and have increased my flexibility a bit but haven't done anything consistently. Alyna and I got weighted hola hoops and have had fun working with them. I have also been working on my back exercises and did a little beginning Yoga.

6. No caffeinated soft drinks. Okay, so this was a lot harder than I expected it to be. The first 15 days were the worst. I ended up drinking Dr. Pepper three times this month. While that is not perfect, it is a huge improvement over what I would have done if I hadn't set the goal so it was good goal. I think I will try to be careful in the future but I am in no hurry to set that as a goal again any time soon.

So, even though I may not have achieved all my goals for the month, at least I got some things done and did better at some things (like the no caffeine) than I would have had I not set the goals. I think 4 or 5 good goals in a month would be an appropriate number to manage and I might could even remember that many. So what goals to work on in February??????

30 Day Blog - Day 30

A Picture of You a Year Ago and A Picture of You Now

30 day Blog - Day 29

What Have You Learned From Doing This 30 Day Blog

1. Thanks to my Dad and kids, I have lots of digital pictures. I can't always find just the one I want but then I stumble across others that I wouldn't have thought of or have known I had.

2. I certainly wish I were a better writer and could write more interesting blogs.

3. Posting a new blog everyday is very challenging. I love to read about what my kids and friends are thinking and doing but I will forgive them for not posting everyday or maybe even every week.....but at least a couple of times a month would be nice.

4. I am so blessed in so many ways - family, friends, opportunities, abilities, interests.......

5. Without Alyna, some of my postings wouldn't be possible, so I have a lot of computer skills to learn before she goes to far away.