No. 14 - The Moon is Down

Finished my unread Steinbeck last week with The Moon is Down. I looked it up on Wikipedia. Very interesting.

[The Moon Is Down, a propaganda novella sponsored by the OSS and written by John Steinbeck, and for which he received a medal of honor, was published by Viking Press in March 1942. The story details a military occupation of a small town in Northern Europe by the army of an unnamed nation at war with England and Russia (much like the occupation of Norway by the Germans during World War II). A French language translation of the book was published illegally in Nazi-occupied France by Les Editions de Minuit, a French Resistance publishing house.^[1] Furthermore, numerous other editions were also secretly published across all of occupied Europe, including Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Dutch and Italian versions; it was the best-known work of American literature in the Soviet Union during the war.^[2] Without naming the occupying force as Nazis, references to 'The Leader', 'Memories of defeats in Belgium and France 20 years ago' clearly suggest it. Written with a purpose to motivate and enthuse the resistance movements in occupied countries, it has appeared in at least 92 editions across the world, proving its popularity.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_Is_Down

If you haven't read it, I would suggest it. Especially with this interesting history.

And now I'm finally doing it. I'm tackling a big project for the summer. I just started No. 25 - The Silmarillion. My brain already hurts but I so want to finish it!

Hair

I am in the process of growing out my hair. For most of my childhood and teen years, I would grow my hair out super long, then chop it, then grow it out, chop it, etc. But in 2005, I cut it from waist-length to chin length, and with a short (no pun intended) stint at shoulder length in 2007, it's been varying levels of short ever since.

Now that I'm trying to find a longer style, I find myself drawn to short styles more than ever! Styles I would never even be able to pull off, but still love.

source

source

source

Here are some that I love. I could never pull off Emma Watson short, but I still love looking at it.

I need a good longer style to keep me excited about growing it out. Any suggestions?

No. 3 - Cannery Row

I think I may have read my favorite John Steinbeck book. The flap says: "Steinbeck's tough yet charming portrait of people on the margin of society, dependent on one another for both physical and emotional survival." And it is just that. This beautiful piecework of portraits; depicting life for the people of Cannery Row. I loved that the story centers around Mack "and the boys": a hodge-podge group of bums who become a family, but in the meantime, Steinbeck adds chapters that tell the story of one or two characters, completely unrelated, never spoken of again. Such good writing.

Two quotes stuck out to me so much that I underlined and wrote them down.

"Socially Mack and the boys were beyond pale. Sam Malloy didn't speak to them as they went by the boiler. They drew into themselves and no one could foresee how they would come out of the cloud. For there are two possible reactions to social ostracism -- either a man emerges determined to be better, purer, and kindlier or he goes bad, challenges the world and does even worse things. This last is by far the commonest reaction to stigma."

Isn't this so true? I've even seen it in cases of deep hurt or sin. We get sucked in to ourselves and then we choose how we get out of it. My pastor says it like this: we can get better or we can get bitter. My prayer is that we all choose "better" and make the hard choices to find complete healing in Jesus.

"It has always seemed strange to me," said Doc. "The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism, and self-interest are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second."

Insightful, is it not?

I'm finishing up all the Steinbeck left in my Unread Library, and I'm working on No. 14 - The Moon is Down right now.

No. 20 - The Pearl & No. 22 - The Red Pony

One more entry for my Unread Library! These stories were printed in the same book and both are rather short, so I read them pretty quick last week.

I love Steinbeck. I always feel like I should see more depth in my everyday life when I'm reading him. That there is beauty to be found in even the most common actions. But what is interesting to me about Steinbeck is he presents it in a solemn, almost cynical, way; one where you feel reverence for the situation but realize that it actually happens every day. And that is great writing.

I'm working on No. 3 - Cannery Row right now; I figured I'd keep reading Steinbeck since there were 2 more books on my list.

Do you ever come back to an author and remember how much you love their writing?

Someone Who Gets Me

The following is a text message conversation I had with one of my favorite people:

(mind you, this is a Thursday)

Jesse: K SMILE??? K SMILE??? WHAT'S THIS K SMILE CRAP???

Me: You're crazy wildcat

Jesse: in awhile crocodile :)

Me: Ditto

Jesse: I love pokemon! :D

Me: Bakugan!!!

Jesse: What??? Yugio is way better!!!

Me: Downward dog

Jesse: purple??

Me: Purple drink

Jesse: sometimes!

Me: Monday night football

Jesse: its tuesday!

Me: Expelliarmus!

Jesse: When you said bakugon, mom read my text and thought you said bad cougar! hahahaha

Jesse: Avada kedavra

Me: bad llama, lol

Me: That's Unforgivable!

Jesse: hahahhaha

Jesse: only on tuesdays



Best littlest brother ever!

No. 28 - My Life in France

I'll admit, I didn't know much about Julia Child until the movie Julie & Julia came out. I remember thinking her voice was funny as a kid, but that's all. So I'm very much jumping on the Julia Child bandwagon.

My Life in France is written by Julia Child and her grand-nephew Alex Prud'Homme. I have never been to France, and from what you can see on this blog, I'm not that great of a cook, but there was something so inspiring about Julia's memoirs. This book was extremely entertaining but it also made me want to get passionate about the things I love to do. To love my life and my life's work with an unquenchable love and excitement. It also made me hungry. ;)

If you don't know French and you're going to read this, I'd grab a French dictionary or Google Translate for a few quotes and phrases.

Non-fiction that reads like fiction is fun because you can get caught up in the story and then realize, "that really happened!" and that's awesome.

It Is Well

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:

If Jordan above me shall roll,

No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life

Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,

The sky, not the grave, is our goal;

Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!

Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

The Perfect Spring Outfit {pt. 2}

I finally got this outfit put together! It took some time for my new bag to arrive and to hunt down the perfect shoes, but I wore it this week! And just in time too, it's getting too hot for pants.

From the actual outfit, I got the necklace from Forever21 and the bag from Fabric & Handle.

I found a pair of black skinny jeans at Goodwill for $7 and already had a white T with a sequined pocket that I got on clearance at Old Navy for probably around $10.

And the shoes! I so so so so so loooooove those Anthro oxfords and would still love to get them someday, but I don't have $150 to spend on a pair of shoes. But I do have $35 to spend on these:

ModCloth

Not bad, eh? And I totally love them! They are comfortable and a good color. I've already worn them multiple times and had to keep myself from wearing them again today.

So I am pretty proud of myself for building a $373.80 outfit for less than $100 and getting some pieces that I am very happy with and hope will last for awhile!

Dead Lizard

My dog brought a dead lizard into the house while I was the only one home. I stood there, frozen, for a good 30 seconds before getting the dog outside. Then I stood there, frozen but now squealing (I can't think of a good word for this noise...it's the "Oh My Gosh! I totally want to freak out and scream but that's weird cause it's just me around here" noise.) and trying to think through what to do.

I didn't think the dogs should get the lizard, but Addy was still in the house. But to get her meant I had to walk over the dead as a doornail lizard. And is putting the dogs outside and leaving them until someone gets home to take care of the lizard really the best solution? Probably not.

So I psyched myself up and got the dead lizard onto a piece of paper with the help of a shoe, carried it through the house, out the front door and flung it into my neighbors yard! Apparently, the adrenaline coursing through my body affected my judgment. Then the paper touched my hand, cue more freaking out and handwashing, and I didn't walk where the lizard had been for the rest of the day.

I think I need a husband.

No. 11 - Lady Susan

Another book down! Lady Susan is the last of Jane Austen's main works that I had to read. It was a very different style than her other writings, mainly this one is played out completely in letters. It still has the same Jane Austen wit, but lacks the romance. Different than what I expected, but glad that I read it. (especially to finish the list of an author's published works!)

I cheated last week and bought My Life in France by Julia Child (at the same Borders clearance as the notebook). I'm adding it to the list and starting it next.

Moleskine

I got my very first Moleskine notebook last week thanks to the closeout deal the Borders near me was having. It doesn't have lines. It is a big, black, intimidating, no line, ever-looming notebook that I haven't written in yet.

I decided that before I pull the trigger on such an impressive piece of stationery, I should at least finish 1 of the...4 maybe 5 notebooks I've started writing in. (I think I may have a problem)

And so I took my owl notebook around with me for a few days and I wrote 3/4 of a page. *crickets*

Anyone else out there have multiple half-finished notebooks hanging around?

A Good Day

What a great start to Spring! The weather is perfect right now, thanks to a cold, rainy yesterday that took away the heat for a bit.

Things I'm loving about today:
-perfect weather (duh)
-the smell of freshly mowed grass that is still rainy wet
-the crisp, cold air with warm sunshine and damp plants transports me back to Menlo Park (where I grew up)
-birds
-sweet oranges for breakfast
-Banjo slept on an afghan all night ;)
-Stars and Stripes Forever stuck in my head while I was walking

Today is going to be a good day.

The Perfect Spring Outfit

If I had all the money in the world, I would probably still get this:

Anthropologie

Anthropologie

Anthropologie

Fabric & Handle

Forever21

I actually have some similar pieces and the bag is on its way to my house :) so I'm looking forward to rebuilding this outfit on the cheap!

Top 5

My top 5 all time favorite bands:

(in no particular order)

1. Switchfoot
2. Jars of Clay
3. The Beatles
4. Chicago
5. Five Iron Frenzy

I was just thinking about that today...

No. 18 - Othello

Well, talk about a 1-2 punch with my Unread Library! This weekend was stormy and rainy (such a fun change in the desert!) and I was able to read Othello in 2 days. It makes sense, though, since it's a play, it couldn't take me a week to read through...could you imagine a week long play?! :)

It was good, and Shakespeare-ian and everything you could want in a tragedy: love, murder, deception, and betrayal. It was also pretty easy to understand. I haven't read Shakespeare since high school so I was curious to see how I could handle it without a teacher guiding me through, but it was pretty straightforward and the footnotes helped too!

Also, No. 2 - Candide was on this list but I read it last year. So I don't know if I read it during this Unread Library time and forgot to post about it or if I just mistakenly put it on the list. It's crossed off now.

Next up, I think it will be No. 11 - Lady Susan. I'm looking forward to a little Jane Austen after Dickens and Shakespeare.

Vintage Lamps

Right now I am dreaming about a giant ice cream cone, a swirly dress, and buying up secondhand items for a tiny little apartment in an artsy, small town.

In the mean time, I'll clean up these 2 vintage lamps I got at Goodwill this week.

This 60s desk lamp is so cool! It works and is a really awesome avocado green! The only down side is the first joint is a little loose, so it takes some finagling to get it to stay. I'm hoping I can tighten it up. I only paid $2.99 for it!

I love the power options switch!

This hobnail, milk glass lamp is so sweet and for $5, I just couldn't resist! I can't wait to find (or make) a shade to match!

No. 17 - Oliver Twist

I finally finished Oliver Twist last night! Just like my other Dickens experience (Great Expectations), it was slow going until the last 5 or so chapters; when things get exciting and you want to keep reading. What I think is interesting is how the first 45 chapters really are just set up for the final wrap up. What felt like a disjointed history, and was at times boring, for so long makes complete sense in the end.

Anyways, I'm still sold on Charles Dickens, and have 3 more of his books in my Unread Library, so we'll see what happens with those.

Now, due to a recommendation, my next book will be No. 18 - Othello.

Seasons

Have you ever been blown away by God's faithfulness? Goodness? Mercy? Love?

I'm in a season right now where I'm learning these things more than I ever have. And it's beautiful.

He is showing me things about myself that I have never fully believed, He is answering prayers in magnificent ways, He is touching my heart every day.

Sometimes, our experiences in life are high and exciting and full of sparkles (I don't know, doesn't it seem like life just sparkles sometimes?!). Other times, we are in the Valley. (my pastor talks about it here). Where God seems distant and life is hard.

Where are you today? Can we be praying for you for something? Let's talk about it in the comments below.

Writing

A friend commented to me recently that I should be writing. I've received a few of those comments from others over the last few months. Last night I watched Music & Lyrics and was reminded how cute Drew Barrymore is carrying around her notepad and clicky pen.

There is a big part of me that says "who would want to read your words?" and another part that is cautious about thinking too much of me. But I'm going to write more. On paper first. Maybe some things will end up here. That's all I have to say about that.

Now, I'm headed off to work on No. 17 - Oliver Twist.

Gluten-Free Breakfast

My mom is on a gluten free diet and suspects more of us 'kids' should be on it too. That said, I've been trying to lessen my gluten intake (which I'm sure doesn't really help, but it's helping my brain get used to the idea before I have to rid it from my diet). I also have only been working on this for like 3 days, so very little progress has been made!

This morning I was hungry for breakfast and it was cloudy and cold outside.

-side note- I'm so glad it's cold right now, because highs in the upper 70s in January was getting a little ridiculous. :)

Today is my day off, so I figure why not make something warm and yummy -and gluten-free- for breakfast. I really wanted something that is not gluten-free nor dairy-free: biscuits and gravy. Mmm. But I ceded and chose to make gluten free oat bran applesauce muffins. (My mom doesn't actually do well with oats, but I still tried them)

That's when I realized we didn't have applesauce. And so I "made" some by putting an apple and some warm water, sugar, and cinnamon into a food processor. :)

Let me just fast forward to taking the muffins out of the oven and trying a piece.....

The good news is, I now know how to make dirt muffins!!! The dirt muffins have been excommunicated to the compost bin.

One of these days, I am going to experiment with something and it will turn out.

Christmas Gifts

I know Christmas is way over, and this is a long time coming, but here is what I worked on for Christmas Gifts this year.

I had bookmarked this bread recipe from Summer Harms' blog and tried it a week before Christmas, you know, to make sure it turned out! And it did! It was really good. I've made it again since the Christmas craziness and took more time with it and loved it even more!

I also used this Cinnamon Honey Butter recipe. It is super yummy - like lick the spoon even though it's butter yummy. :)

ingredients are all ready

Oh my, yum

Once the loaves were made and the butter was jarred, I put everything in this metal pot from IKEA along with a dishtowel, and topped it all off with one of my felt trees. (You can read about the trees here)

Unfortunately, I assembled everything on the same day I baked all the bread and delivered the gifts, which meant I was running late and never got a picture of a finished gift. Oh well. If you wanted the recipe for anything, now you have it!

I Need This Today

There is so much more in my mind and heart than can be put into words. It feels like every so often, a time comes when one's faith is truly integral to survival. That feels dramatic, but right now, it's true. I have to turn to Jesus and cling to Him. To know the truth and choose to believe the truth. To put my entire heart and life and strength into His hands. To be overcome by His grace, glory, love, peace. To know that when I ask, He answers. And to trust that He is bigger than I am, that He not only has my life's perfect plan in motion, but the plans of everyone else as well. I can trust Him. I can rely on Him. I can run to Him and be comforted. And most unfathomable of all, I can be loved beyond measure by the God who created the universe, who stands above time and seasons and planets, who is all-powerful, who is all-knowing, who is in all places, who is right here with me, who traded the glory of heaven and constant worship of angels for a helpless infant body only to grow and  be beaten, mocked, and killed, stripped of dignity and respect, all so that I would not suffer the same fate. So that my crimes against God may be erased from my past, present, and future and that I may be seen as righteous, to have right standing with the Holy, perfect God Almighty. That is the Jesus that is Lord of my life. That is the Jesus that I cling to with all that I am. That is the Jesus that I want to share with the world. That is the Jesus that I choose again today, and every day.

No. 17 - Oliver Twist

I am making very slow progress on this book. I'm only about a third of the way through it and it seems like the Disney movie is already almost over by this point. I'm going to go out on a limb and say Oliver & Company left out some things.

Dickens is a really good writer and I'm enjoying the book, it just takes a lot of effort. My brain is getting back into gear, though, so I'm hoping to make some serious progress on it soon.

In other news, I'm going to my favorite antique store with my mom and sister. Love antique stores. :)

Purge, continued

I think it is safe to say that everything is cleaned out and cleaned up and I am settled into my new (old) room nicely. I still need to load up and drop off and then I will officially be done with The Purge of 2011.

 My desk, before. It became a landing place for my tiny creatures, which doesn't sound creepy at all.

Speaking of creepy, is it weird that I turned all their faces to watch the flame? It would be weirder if I didn't turn them, right?

 Desk, after.

I also went through all my magazines. What I decided to do was keep 2010 Better Homes & Gardens and Martha Stewart Living because I started my subscriptions in October. (why did it take me so long to just subscribe to a magazine I was buying off the rack every month?!) And also the MS Food ones. Then I picked out a few favorite issues of BHG. I stopped buying Real Simple because it didn't feel very simple to me. I couldn't afford anything in magazine and I wasn't finding tons of "I could do that for way less" inspiration like I do in the other ones. So I went through all the RS and ripped out a few recipes, images, articles I wanted to keep. Also in the keep pile: various Holiday specials, a few Country Living issues, all my Collide issues (church media).

The taller stack is the recycle pile. The short one is the keep!

Do you have an overflowing magazine collection? Or do you have a system to keep it in check? I'd love to hear about it!

Hope & Sail

I feel like my entire life has been leading up to this moment. It actually has, I guess, all my moments have led to this one, and this one, and now this one; if you’ll follow my thinking. I think of Jo March before she left for New York, the Pevensies before they walked through the wardrobe, Scout Finch at the beginning of the summer she met Dill, Anne Shirley waiting to be picked up by the Cuthberts, Mary Lennox before she had the key to the garden. Like these dear friends of mine, I have found myself at the end of a page with no idea what will happen when it turns.

But what I know is this: hope & sail. The idea originally came to me in a dream, in the space between asleep and awake. In it was the loveliest boat, warm ocean breezes, and the sweetest voice: “hope & sail.” To make it on any voyage one must have a destination and a means.  Hope is a destination; the dreams and expectations I have for my life are places I am headed. A sail is the means; with the wind of the Holy Spirit propelling me towards my destination.

I also feel challenged to look at "hope & sail" as a verb, calling me to action. I need to hope - to trust that God will give me the desires of my heart - and actively go after it. This season of my life is one where I can freely hope and then sail towards those things I hope for. It really is an exciting time.

Hopefully next week I'll have some information to share about a voyage, so to speak, that epitomizes hope & sail for me.

Closet

I made a lot of progress on my closet yesterday, which was great. I still have work to do in the bedroom, but for now, I'll show you the closet.

This horrible pile of stuff was right outside my room.

 Closet before. Note: mixed up clothes, books everywhere, shoe mess.

 Closet after. Not 100% but much, much better. Also, only a few shoe cubbies have 2 pairs of shoes, whereas before 2 was the minimum!

 From the door.

 Other side. Once again, still needs work, but at least I can see my clothes.

Pile of donations. And trash. See there are some books in there! ;)

*also, the reason so much doesn't fit is because when I moved out I got a queen sized bed, as opposed to the twin I had been using for years. So 1 bookshelf and a piece of my desk didn't make it back in, which, surprisingly, added a lot of storage!

Anybody else cleaning up and clearing out at the start of the year?

Welcome!

Welcome from my new home! I'm looking forward to a new year, a new blog, and many new experiences.

This week I moved back into my parents house. My landlord's other home sold faster than we expected; but I was able to just move home. I think it's going to be good for us all. I learned a lot in those two months. A lot about life and also about myself.

This moving process, however, has revealed something that I'm not OK with. I don't know how I did it, but in 2 months I acquired more stuff than I left with. The amount of meaningless junk I packed into my car is horrifying, Moving all of my clothes twice has shocked my system into a major purge. It is a cut-throat process and nothing is safe!

All of my craft supplies are going to be cut in half. - I just decided that right now, I hope I can stick with it. - And I may, may get rid of some books.

Stay tuned for the embarrassing photographic proof.