projects progress...2013 update 6...

*The unofficial-for-me reading challenges:

Wandering Son Volume 3 by Takako Shimura fills holes for:
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 219 pages (12/20+),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (6/24),
the Young Adult Challenge (10/20),
and the Global Women of Color Reading Challenge--Asia (1/10)

Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni and Moyna Chitrakar fills holes for:
the Genre Variety Challenge--mythology (7/18),
the Telling Tales Reading Challenge (1/5),
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 152 pages (13/20+),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (7/24),
the Young Adult Challenge (11/20),
and the Global Women of Color Reading Challenge--Asia (2/10)

Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield fills holes for:
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 114 pages (14/20+),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (8/24),
the Young Adult Challenge (12/20),
and the Mental Illness Advocacy Reading Challenge (2/4)

A Game for Swallows: To Die, To Leave, To Return by Zeina Abirached fills holes for:
the What an Animal 2013 (5/6),
the Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge--memoir category (2/15+),
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 188 pages (15/20+),
the Middle East 2013 Reading Challenge (1/1-5),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (9/24),
the Young Adult Challenge (13/20),
and the Global Women of Color Reading Challenge--Middle East (3/10)

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley fills holes for:
the Telling Tales Reading Challenge (2/5),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (10/24),
and the Young Adult Challenge (14/20)

The Lindbergh Child: America's Hero and the Crime of the Century by Rick Geary fills holes for:
the Genre Variety Challenge--true crime (8/18),
the Nerdy Non-fiction Challenge--law and crime category (3/15+),
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 80 pages (16/20+),
and the Graphic Novels Challenge (11/24)

The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti by Rick Geary fills holes for:
the Nerdy Non-fiction Challenge--law and crime category (4/15+),
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 80 pages (17/20+),
and the Graphic Novels Challenge (12/24)

Castle Waiting Volume II by Linda Medley fills holes for:
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (11/60),
the Telling Tales Reading Challenge (3/5),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (13/24),
and the Young Adult Challenge (15/20)

Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda by J.P. Stassen fills holes for:
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 79 pages (18/20+),
and the Graphics Novels 2013 (14/24)

Americus by MK Reed and Jonathan Hill fills holes for:
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 216 pages (19/20+),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (15/24),
and the Young Adult Challenge (16/20)

Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge fills holes for:
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 192 pages (20/20+),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (16/24),
and the Young Adult Challenge (17/20)

Retrovirus by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Norberto Fernandez fills holes for:
the Genre Variety Challenge--sci-fi (9/18),
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 64 pages (21/20+),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (17/24)

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Part Three by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru fills holes for:
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 76 pages (22/20+),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (18/24),
and the Young Adult Challenge (18/20)

Lola: A Ghost Story by J. Torres and Elbert Or fills in holes for:
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 103 pages (23/20+),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (19/24),
and the Young Adult Challenge (19/20)

Revival Volume One: You're Among Friends by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton fills holes for:
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 128 pages (24/20+),
and the Graphics Novels 2013 (20/24)

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi fills holes for:
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (12/60),
the Nerdy Non-Fiction Challenge--memoir category (5/15+),
the Middle East 2013 Reading Challenge (2/1-5),
the Graphics Novels 2013 (21/24),
and the Global Women of Color Reading Challenge--Middle East (4/10)

A Killing Frost by John Marsden fills slots for:
the Quick Fix Challenge--coming in at 270 pages (25/20+),
and the Young Adult Challenge (20/20)

WooHoo!!! I've actually unofficially completed two of these challenges now (the Quick Fix and the Young Adult).


*Non-fiction Adventure (unofficial for me):

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is one of the books on my list.


*Personal read-the-world challenge:

Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Anri and Moyna Chitrakar fills the slot for Indian author.

A Game for Swallows by Zeina Abirached fills the slot for Lebanese author.

Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda by J.P. Stassen fills the slot for a Rwandan setting in a fictional work.

Lola: A Ghost Story by J. Torres and Elbert Or fills the slot for a Filipino setting in a fictional work.

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi fills the slot for an Iranian setting in a non-fiction work.


*Read the top 10 lists from The Ultimate Teen Book Guide:

The Complete Persepolis is on both the Biography/Memoir Top Ten and the Graphic Novel Top Ten.


*50x50:

#33. Make 50 meaningful layouts for Gray's albums. (1/50)

#37. Read 50 books I never heard of before buying/borrowing from the library. Sita's Ramayana, Tryanny, A Game for Swallows, Americus, Retrovirus, and Revival Volume One: You're Among Friends all fit here. (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12/50)

#40. Read a book set in each of the 50 states. The Lindbergh Child was set in New Jersey and Revival Volume One: You're Among Friends was set in Wisconsin. (17 and 18/50)

#41. Read 50 non-fiction books, each about a different country. The Complete Persepolis is a memoir, but it is also largely about Iran. (7/50)

#42. Read 50 memoirs, autobiographies, biographies, etc. A Game for Swallows and The Complete Persepolis (7 and 8/50)

#43. Read 50 award-winning books. Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda--the 2000 Rene Goscinny Award and The Complete Persepolis--2004 Alex Award. (10 and 11/50)


*My happiness project:

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi was one of my picks from my dear friend Kara. :)

projects progress...2013 update 5...

Run. Run away fast.

Lots of "progress" this past week.

*The unofficial-for-me reading challenges:

Anya's Ghost fills holes for:
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (6/60),
the Genre Variety Reading Challenge--fantasy (4/18),
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--coming in at 224 pages (5/20+),
the Graphic Novels 2013 Reading Challenge (1/24),
and the Young Adult Reading Challenge (4/20)

Chiggers fills holes for:
the What an Animal 6 (2/6),
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--coming in at 176 pages (6/20+),
the Graphic Novels 2013 Reading Challenge (2/24),
and the Young Adult Reading Challenge (5/20)

The Pigman fills holes for:
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (7/60),
the What an Animal 6 (3/6),
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--coming in at 166 pages (7/20+),
and the Young Adult Reading Challenge (6/20)

French Milk fills holes for:
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (8/60),
the Genre Variety Reading Challenge--memoir (5/18),
the Foodies Read Challenge (1/3),
the What's in a Name 6 Reading Challenge--something you'd find in your kitchen category (1/6),
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--coming in at 208 pages (8/20+),
and the Graphic Novels 2013 Reading Challenge (3/24)

The Night Watch fills holes for:
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (9/60),
the Genre Variety Reading Challenge--historical fiction ((6/18),
and the Mammoth Book Challenge--coming in at 524 pages (1/3)

Same Difference fills holes for:
the What an Animal 6--fish on cover (4/6),
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--coming in at 90 pages (9/20+),
the Graphic Novels 2013 Reading Challenge (4/24),
and the Young Adult Reading Challenge (7/20)

The Dead of the Night fills holes for:
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (10/60),
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--coming in at 271 pages (10/20+),
and the Young Adult Reading Challenge (8/20)

Friends With Boys fills in holes for:
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--coming in at 224 pages (11/20+),
the Graphic Novels 2013 Reading Challenge (5/24),
and the Young Adult Reading Challenge (9/20)


*Personal read-the-world challenge:

French Milk is filling the slot for a French setting in a non-fiction work.

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters is filling the slot for a Welsh author.

Friend With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks is filling the slot for a Canadian author.


*50x50:

#23. Give 50 "happy unexpected gifts." I made the gang February love notes. Each day Rich, Gray, Annie, and Max each get a new personal little note giving one thing I love about him/her, along with a little treat (usually a piece of candy). Of course, this was only "unexpected" on the first day. :P (5/50)

#29. Upcycle 50 things. One day Gray decided to make himself a sheath for his plastic sword. He made it out of newprint, so yeah, it didn't last long. So I asked him if he wanted to make one out of fabric instead. We went to the fabric stash, which includes clothes that have outlived their usefulness as clothes. He chose a pair of his old pjs, which worked out rather nicely. One of the legs was hole-less, so we just chopped it off, sewed the bottom closed, hemmed the top and sewed in a couple large buttonholes through which he could slide his belt. (10/50)

#37. Read 50 books I never heard of before buying/borrowing from the library. Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim fills this slot, though I have a feeling I really should have heard of it before. (6/50)

#40. Read a book set in each of the 50 states. Chiggers by Hope Larson is set in North Carolina. (16/50)

#42. Read 50 memoirs, biographies, autobiographies, etc. French Milk by Lucy Knisley. (6/50)

#43. Read 50 award-winning books. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters won the 2006 Lambda Literary Award for lesbian fiction. (9/50)

My "progress" seems to be feast or famine (usually famine)...but I sure ate well this week. :)

projects progress...2013 update 4

No update last week because I didn't manage to do even one piddly little thing. And I don't suspect this will exactly be a long update either. Yeah, not being all that productive. *shrug*

*The unofficial-for-me reading challenges:

Finished up Bad Science by Ben Goldacre. Awesome book! And it helps me on these lists:
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (5/60),
the Genre Variety Challenge--for nonfiction science (3/18),
and the Nerdy Non-fiction Challenge--first for the science category (1/15+)

*The Non-Fiction Adventure (which is also unofficial for me):

Bad Science is one of the books I had on my list for this. (1/50)

*50x50:

#22. Make 50 one-of-a-kind gifts. Finished up a blanket for Annie's birthday (yay for getting things done early!). (8/50)

(The picture does not do it justice--it is so soft and cozy!)












#44. Read 50 science/nature books. Bad Science obviously counts for this. (6/50)

*My happiness project:
Bad Science came from Ana's list of books. Have I said lately how freakin' much I love this project?!!! 'Cause I do! Thanks again, dear friend--you make my life so much richer!!! (5/50)

And that concludes another week's progress (or really I suppose I should say 2 week's worth). Not high in quantity, but definitely high in quality. :)

projects progress...2013 update 3

Yep, here we go again. :P

*The unofficial-for-me reading challenges:

I finished up Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden. It fills holes for...
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (4/60),
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--it comes in at 276 pages (4/20+),
and the 2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge (3/20)

*Personal read-the-world project:
Tomorrow, When the War Began fills in the slot for an Australian setting in a fictional work.

*50x50:
#47. Watch 50 different seasons of TV shows on DVD. I watched the first season of The Fabulous Beekman Boys (more about this in a sec). (16/50)

*My happiness project:
Chris's List of Movies/TV Shows: The Fabulous Beekman Boys, season 1. (2/51)
I know I've said it before, but I just can't stop myself from saying it again--I LOVE THIS PROJECT!!! And I'm so very grateful to all my friends who so generously spent their time making these lists for me. Every single time I do/read/watch one of the things from these lists, I feel I've been given a special gift. Thus far I've absolutely loved every item I've tackled. Absolutely loved. And I would have loved them even if I'd discovered them on my own. But that added bonus of having them all wrapped up with people I love, well, that just makes them beyond wonderful. So yep, The Fabulous Beekman Boys, which I adored, will always be associated with Chris in my mind. And I really did adore it--every episode made me laugh out loud. And a few of them made me cry, too. And I'm just so disappointed that Netflix doesn't have season 2 available...maybe someday. Thank you, Chris!!!

projects progress...2013 update 2...

I have a feeling this shall be quite the short list this week...

*The unofficial-for-me reading challenges:

First, I finished up Nick Hornby's More Baths Less Talking. It fills holes for...
the Mount TBR Challenge (2/60),
the 2013 Essay Challenge--six more essays (10/30),
and the Quick Fix Challenge--it comes in at 135 pages (2/20+),

And then I read The 10 p.m. Question by Kate De Goldi. It fills holes for...
the Mount TBR Challenge (3/60),
the Genre Variety Challenge--realistic fiction (2/18),
the What an Animal 2013--there's two birds on the cover and birds definitely play a part in the story (1/6),
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--it has 245 pages (3/20+),
the 2013 Young Adult Reading Challenge (2/20),
and the Mental Illness Advocacy Reading Challenge (1/4)

*Personal Read-the-World Project:
The 10 p.m. Question fills in the slot for a New Zealand setting in a work of fiction.

*50x50:
#11. Watch 50 documentaries. Annie and I watched American Experience: My Lai for school. Obviously very disturbing. (26/50)

*Happiness Project
The 10 p.m. Question came from the wonderful list of books that my dear friend Ana made me, and you better believe in my mind she was right there reading along with me. It's one more precious gift I will cherish forever. Thank you, Ana!

projects progress...2013 update 1...

Yeah, I know these posts must be excruciatingly boring for anyone else to read, but I find they're a good way to keep me from slipping behind in tracking my progress. The good news is that I made a loose schedule for myself for posting, and as "projects progress" is set for Fridays, you'll know what day to skip reading.

*The Unofficial-for-Me Reading Challenges:

I finished my first book of the year--The Wave by Todd Strasser (school reading). It fills in holes for...
the Mount TBR Reading Challenge (1/60),
the Genre Variety Reading Challenge--I'm counting it as "based on real events" genre, which probably isn't a "real" genre but I wasn't really sure how else to categorize it (1/18),
the Quick Fix Reading Challenge--as it comes in at only 138 pages (1/20+),
and the 2013 YA Reading Challenge (1/20)

I've also been reading Nick Hornby's More Baths Less Talking, which I started on New Year's Eve. Being as it's a collection of his essays from the Believer, any I've read since the New Year began count for...
the 2013 Essay Challenge
--"Stuff I've Been Reading-November/December 2010" by Nick Hornby
--"Stuff I've Been Reading-January 2011" by Nick Hornby
--"Stuff I've Been Reading-February 2011" by Nick Hornby
--"Stuff I've Been Reading-March/April 2011" by Nick Hornby
(4/30)

*50x50:

#37. Read 50 books I never heard of before buying/borrowing from library. (5/50)
The Wave also counts for this. I picked it up one time off one of those tables B&N has set up for the local school's assigned reading. I'd never heard of it before, but I thought it sounding intriguing and that Gray and I might enjoy it.

-----
Sadly, that is all my progress from these first few days of the new year. I did, however, notice that I've got at least 6 or 7 items going from my happiness project, so hopefully I'll complete at least a few of them before too terribly long. I also noticed that I really need to get in there and revamp my home projects list and my crafty-ish projects lists.

Paper Towns--thoughts along the way...

Paper Towns by John Green.

*Why this book? 1. My dear friend Ana put it on my happiness project list of books. :D 2. I was rummaging through all the as-yet unpacked boxes of books in our soon-to-be reading room and this book just jumped out at me. 3. Hello--it's John Green.

*Why has it taken me so long to get around to reading this book anyway? Good question. I have no good answer.

*I'm currently on page 32. I am definitely intrigued--what sort of adventure am I about to embark on here? Knowing John Green, it's going to be both interesting and meaningful.

*Haven't yet fallen in love with the characters (it is early), but this quote by Margo has me thinking that at the very least I'm going to like her very much:

Yeah. I'm a big believer in random capitalization. The rules of capitalization are so unfair to words in the middle.

*Page 37, and I like her even more.

That's always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people would want to be around someone because they're pretty. It's like picking your breakfast cereals based on color instead of taste.

*John Green has a knack for giving his characters really great names. This time it's Quentin. (Though I don't quite adore it as much as Hazel or Augustus from The Fault in Our Stars.)

*Lots of things I love about John Green and his writing. One of them is that he's just so damn clever in the way he puts things. But not just plain old clever, more like clever with a soul.

*Up to page 184 now. This book is shredding my heart. Thing is I can't even explain quite why. But it hurts. And it's personal. Not personal as in secret though. Just yeah, I don't know...

*Page 199. I've read this passage 6 or 7 times straight now...

...Margo Roth Spiegelman was a person, too. And I had never quite thought of her that way, no really; it was a failure of all my previous imaginings. All along--not only since she left, but for a decade before--I had been imagining her without listening, without knowing that she made as poor a window as I did. And so I could not imagine her as a person who could feel fear, who could feel isolated in a roomful of people, who could be shy about her record collection because it was too personal to share. Someone who might read travel books to escape having to live in the town that so many people escape to. Someone who--because no one thought she was a person--had no one to really talk to.

It makes me so sad. How often do I do that? Seriously. I find someone so awesome, so seemingly together, so full of confidence. And I'm intimidated. And I forget that this person has their own insecurities, and their own feelings of not being understood, and their own moments of loneliness.

*It is not at all unusual for me to cry during a book. I probably cry during more books than not. (Slight exaggeration, but only slight.) Laugh though. Like literally right out loud laugh--that's a much rarer beast. But I just did. Page 232.

*So love it when I learn cool new stuff reading a novel. For example, copyright traps. Might have gone to my grave without ever acquiring this knowledge if not for reading this book.

*Page 244. Laughed aloud again. In fact, I now sort of have a case of the giggles.

*Page 256. This latest burst of laughter has finally convinced Rich that he needs to move John Green way up the TBR pile.

*His knack for getting to very depths of what it is to be human, how it feels to be human, and yet still leave one filled with hope...that is John Green's gift. Well, one of gifts anyway.

*****
Project progress:

Happiness Project--Ana's list of books AND

Unofficial-for-me Reading Challenges--What's in a Name 5 (Category 5: A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title) AND

50x50--#40. Read a book set in each of the 50 states (Florida)

a little of this, a little of that...

Two down! Yep, the "do it" part of pin number two has been done. Again, it was a ridiculously easy one. (To see the awesome things others are "DO-ing," do hop over to our lovely hostess, Trish's place.)

Homemade taco seasoning. Now it's not like I use taco seasoning every day, or even every week. But I do buy those little packets on a semi-regular basis. So why the heck did it never occur to me to make my own?!! It just seems so obvious in hindsight. Though, truth be told, even if I had thought of it, I'm not sure I would have had a clue where to start in trying to put together a good blend of spices. Ah, but here is where our good friend Pinterest comes in so handy! When during a journey of internet goofing off, I stumble across a recipe for taco seasoning--CLICK, pin it!

To be perfectly honest, I'm not really sure how it compares taste-wise to those prepackaged little packets, because I used it in a recipe I'd never made before. But I can say the recipe was a huge success (I figured it would be a battle to even get the boys to try it, but Max had three helpings!), so the seasoning couldn't have stunk, right? I do have the impression that this seasoning was a little hotter, spicy-wise, than the packaged stuff, and in this house, that's a good thing.

A happy aside: The taco casserole finished up my very first 50x50 list (#15--Try 50 new recipes)!!! Seriously, I can't believe I *finally* finished one!!! Now let's just hope it won't be another year and a half until the next one's completed, 'cause at that rate I'll be dead loooooong before I make it through.

*****
I went outside to take a few pictures of the new place yesterday afternoon. But then I got distracted and started taking pictures Max and Rich tossing the football instead. And then the camera battery died. So pictures of the house will just have to wait. Instead, here's a picture of Max.

I can't remember if I've mentioned before how much he'd been wanting to get a pink mohawk. There was much pleading. Unfortunately the "pink" part was just too pricey for our blood. :( But even after a couple of weeks, he's still loving his new look!
















And here's just a couple of shots of our peaceful little swamp.

Have a wonderful relaxing oh-so-happy weekend, everyone!!!!

another gap filled...

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.

I know, I know--how the heck could I have lived for 48+ years without reading The Hobbit?!! I've never claimed to be well-read, and here's a prime example, huh? And you know what? This wasn't even one of those instances of "too many books" but instead was an instance of avoidance. I've just always had it in my head that it wasn't a book I'd really enjoy...

Despite the fact that I've never heard *anyone* say a bad word about it.

Despite the fact that people whose opinions I very much respect, and tend to generally match up pretty well with when it comes to books, love this book.

Despite the fact that I was afraid of The Lord of the Rings, and found I positively adored it when I finally dove in.

Still I doubted.

But then that darling husband of mine put it on his list for my happiness project. Combine that with the fact that I thought it would be a perfect choice for a school read with Gray *and* it's as perfect a choice for Once Upon a Time as likely exists...yeah, it was just time.

As everyone else on the planet has already read The Hobbit, it seems pointless to summarize or analyze or any other -ize it. (Okay, it's not really the pointlessness of it that is stopping me, but rather the fact that I suck at it and don't much enjoy doing it. :P )

But as for my expectations...well, they of course were proven wrong. I *did* enjoy this book. A great deal. Still, there's a few things I wish: 1.) That I'd read it as a kid. I have a feeling that I would have been positively captivated then, as multitudes of children have been over the years. And 2.) That I'd read it before The Lord of the Rings. Not because of the fact that the story takes place before those books, but because in some ways it felt somehow "less" than those amazing books. The Lord of the Rings has so much more depth and more darkness. I felt far more immersed in it than I did in Bilbo's story. (And yes, this begs the question--why have I never got around to reading The Return of the King. Another glaring omission in my reading. I don't know--I seem to have a problem with completion. I haven't yet read the third book in His Dark Materials either, another trilogy I'm completely in love with. /tangent) Anyway, while it's impossible to miss the similarities in the stories told in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, I think it's also impossible to miss how very different they are as well.

Bottom line: I'm grateful that Rich "forced" me into finally reading The Hobbit (and I'm grateful that I decided to use it for school, because Gray is loving it!). I found it to be absolutely delightful, and in many ways the timing was perfect for me--escaping to Middle Earth was a great stress-reliever. And while I may not be as fond of it as I am of The Lord of the Rings (what I've read anyway :P ), it is a definite mark in the WIN column.

(Projects progress: happiness project, Rich's list of books
AND 50x50, #39-Read 50 classics
AND of course, it counts as a Once Upon a Time read)

high hopes...

A bit weirded-out by the fact that we're one-third of the way through 2012 already. Guessing I'm not alone in that feeling. But I am happy to see May arrive. I've got high hopes for the month...

*I fully intend to be celebrating the end of the super-cleaning/unpacking before the end of the month. Cannot even put into words how happy that will make me.

*This month will finally see my much-loved dear friend Chris starting the next chapter of his life, where he'll actually get to spend his days and nights with his beloved.

*The lovely Trish's Pin It and Do It challenge starts today and runs through the month. I thoroughly plan to have fun with this!

*I'm starting a class, 31 Things, in mid-May. It's sort of a scrapbooking class, but not really. It's more of a writing your personal stories sort of workshop. It runs for 31 straight days, and I've no idea how the hell I'm going to make the time for it, but I *am* determined. And excited.

*At the end of the month, we will finally have reached garden planting time. I suspect it won't be as big and elaborate as I'd been dreaming of for this year, as everything's just taken so much more time than I anticipated. But it will be good just to have our tomatoes and jalapenos and whatever else we get around to in the ground. There's always next summer to expand, right?

*Hoping to get much more read this month than last. Shouldn't be hard, as I only finished four books in April. :P

*****
On a different note, I was trying to update my sadly ignored 50x50, and was very surprised to see that I've got a huge dent in a few of my goals. Like #15-Try 50 new recipes--just yesterday, I made it to 42! And I made it on a very yummy note. :)

Spicy Chocolate Applesauce Cake

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp baking cocoa
1 1/2 baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 cups applesauce
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large mixing bowl, combine first nine ingredients. Add shortening, eggs, and applesauce; beat until well mixed. Stir in walnuts and 3/4 cup of chocolate chips.

Pour into greased 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Thoughts: Definitely a keeper. Moist and delicious. Makes me happy that we still have a lot of applesauce left from last fall's canning spree.

The Fault in Our Stars...*totally* random thoughts...

*I realize even voicing this thought could bring threats of bodily harm, but I have to admit I was getting a bit sick of all the hype over pre-ordering and signed copies and blah, blah, blah. But thankfully, the minute I cracked open my pre-ordered, signed in purple, copy of the book and started reading, I viscerally remembered how much I love the mind of John Green.

*John Green chooses the. best. names. for his characters. Hazel Grace. Sheesh, I want to have another child just so I can name her Hazel Grace! Or Augustus. But especially Hazel Grace.

*Why does Hazel have to take classes at MCC?!! I know how stupid this sounds, but every time "MCC" is mentioned, I get pulled out of the story because that's the name of the school where Rich teaches/Annie takes classes.

*A bit that made me cringe a little:

...It was kind of a boy movie. I don't know why boys expect us to like boy movies. We don't expect them to like girl movies.... (p. 35)

*One of many, many, many brilliant bits:

...I guess I had been looking toward the Encouragement above the TV, a drawing of an angel with the caption Without Pain, How Could We Know Joy?

(This is an old argument in the field of Thinking About Suffering, and its stupidity and lack of sophistication could be plumbed for centuries, but suffice it to say that the existence of broccoli does not in any way affect the taste of chocolate. (p. 35)

*Page 90: First tears shed. Sweet tears.

*Page 98: Shed first throat-on-fire-from-trying-not-to-cry tears.

*My guess is that nearly everyone's life has been in one way, shape, or form been touched by cancer. In many ways, shapes, and forms. I have never personally had cancer. I can't pretend to know what it is like. And of course, there is no universal this-is-what-it's-like-to-have-cancer. Yet while acknowledging all of that, I can't help but believe that John Green somehow managed to get it right. I don't know for a fact, but I'm guessing there are at least bits and pieces that many teens with cancer can relate to in Hazel's and Augustus's and Isaac's stories. I wish I could ask my cousin Dee, but I can't because she died of leukemia when we were teens. I can't count how many times this book has made me think, "Was this how you felt, Dee?"

*I really like Hazel's parents.

*Page 245: First all out sobbing.

*So I just finished reading. As in just. As in I'm typing through tears. Tears that hurt. But also tears that love. Tears that hope. Tears that feel gratitude for...well, for many things. I don't know what to say about this book that could ever convey what a beautiful treasure it is. This seems profoundly absurd to me, but if I had to choose my three favorite books of fiction that I've read in the last twelve months, they would very likely be A Monster Calls, Two Weeks With the Queen, and The Fault in Our Stars. Why does this seem absurd? Because each of these books deals with cancer. But see, that's not it. That's not what makes them so profound. They're aren't wonderful simply because they rip your heart out and leave you sobbing. No, not one of them uses cancer as an easy way to loosen the tear ducts of its readers. No, what got to me, what won my heart over, was the truths that each of these books told in their own special way. Not truths about cancer. But truths about love. About people loving people in so many different ways. About the truths that seem too hard to admit but make us human. About the truths of loneliness. And the truths of being understood.

*I love this book.

(Project progress: 50x50, Item 8 from #40-Read a book set in each of the 50 states [this one was Indiana]
AND 2012 unofficial-for-me reading challenges, What's in a Name 5, category 2-a book with something you'd see in the sky in its title)

Small Wonder...random thoughts...

Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver.

Why have I not read anything by her before? Why? Why? Why?!!! It's not like I've never heard of her. It's not like I didn't know how much some of my dearest friends love her Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. *waves to Chris and Heather* Heck, it's not even like I don't have easy access to her books, as many of them are residing right on my own shelves.

Alas, I can't go back in time to change it, so I shall just rejoice in the fact that I finally discovered for myself the beauty of her writing. And beautiful it is. Understated and gorgeous. This essay collection covered a variety of subjects, but the beauty of her writing was an unbroken thread throughout.

But it wasn't her lovely writing that made me fall in love with her. It was her heart. As it was straight from there that she wrote. And in a very unsettling, yet very pleasant way, it felt as if she were writing from *my* heart. If I had the talent, these are the essays I would write. She covered so much ground in these essays, from war to the environment, from food sustainability to evolution, from reading to motherhood. And oh so much more. I admit that I can find myself feeling depressed, feeling angry, feeling hopeless when I ponder some of the issues she so eloquently writes about. But that's not how I read her essays. Instead, the feelings I came away with were awe and reverence and hope.

Ms. Kingsolver simply doesn't seem the type to dwell on blame. Instead she focuses on what can be done. Especially on what can be done in her own life, with her own family and community. Don't get me wrong, I shed tears on more than one occasion. But it's not the tears that will shape the way I remember this collection...it's the love and the hope that will.

(Project Progress: 50x50, #45--Read 50 short story or essay collections, item 7)

projects progress...a 50x50 update...

While I haven't written an update lately, I have been continuing to check things off the old 50 x 50, at least when I remember to. It's now been a little more than a year since I began, and when I look over my progress I think I'm fairly satisfied. Certainly some of the goals are coming along much more easily than others. I can't believe I have two which are at least halfway done now (goal #8--Donate 50 trunk-loads full of stuff to charity thrift store, etc. and goal #15--Try 50 new recipes). And there are several more that I'm at least a fifth of the way through (goal #10--Support 50 different independent local businesses, goal #16--Bake 50 different kinds of cookies, goal #18--Can/freeze/dry/otherwise preserve 50 different things, goal #30--Do 50 different environmentally friendly things, and #38--Read 50 books borrowed from someone else). Of course, these are balanced out by several goals that I haven't even begun yet. ;)

Yesterday saw me adding to a couple of goals. I managed to add two things to goal #22--Make 50 one-of-a-kind gifts. But truth is, one of them might have to come off sometime in the future. Yeah, this was not a well thought-out goal...because how can I always be sure that I won't eventually make "another" of something even if I don't have plans to at the moment. Oh well, for the time being, I added this chunky hat that I made to put in Annie's stocking:

Gray graciously offered to model it for me. I didn't realize he had this goofy face in mind, but who am I to complain--as I had no other model available at the time. :P But this is actually a hat I could see myself making again sometime. It was super quick to make (gotta love chunky yarn!) and I think it's a cute little hat. I used this free pattern but did make a few changes to it.









I also whipped up a dishcloth for my Mom's stocking, using a basket-weave stitch. Probably won't make another of these...I love a basket-weave stitch for a lot of things, but am not thrilled with for a dishcloth. Oh well, live and learn, huh?

Last night, I also managed to knock another off goal #11--Watch 50 documentaries. Though it might be considered cheating, as it's actually the third time I've watched this particular movie. (It's the first time I've watched it since starting the 50x50 so I've decided it's legit...and since it's my project, I make the rules, right? :P ) Anyway, I asked the boys if they wanted to watch a Christmas movie last night. They went to the movie cupboard, and came back with Food Inc. Yeah, not exactly a Christmas movie, but they both really wanted to watch it, and the rest of us had no objections to seeing it again so we went for it. I have to admit that I thought there was a possibility that the boys were going to tune out, but that definitely wasn't the case. Gray, especially, loved it!!! Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised though--Chew On This (Eric Schlosser's young people's version of Fast Food Nation) is one of his all-time favorite books. He was at times enthralled, disgusted, shocked, and inspired watching Food Inc. (Yeah, pretty much like me even during my third viewing.) We had to pause the movie multiple times, as he asked so many salient questions. And as an added bonus, he came away with a desire to actually help us in the garden next year. :)

Today should see me adding another check to goal #15--Try 50 new recipes. I'm going to try out a recipe for Ribbon Pumpkin Bread to take to my parents' tomorrow. If it's as divine as it sounds, I'll be sure to share the recipe. And in the meantime, I hope all of you celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow have a positively peaceful and relaxing holiday! And for those you not celebrating, I hope you have a damn fine day as well!