Weejane re-attempts 75 in 2012

I can't believe this is my second year! Hooray!

Last year I read 57 books, by far the most I think I have ever read in one year. Even though I did not the "requisite" 75, this group was so wonderful, supportive and friendly that of course I was going to come back!

We will see what I read this year and I am so glad you all are joining me on this fabulous journey - not just for reading, but life! I've decided that I will also add all the books I read to WillWill and the Sprout. I won't count these toward my official 75 and I will tally how many times I read the same book (I'm interested to know!).

Let the reading commence! :)

Here's a pic of my punk after I helped him bake his first apple pie this fall!



January:
1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Where is Elmo's Blanket? by Nancy Stevenson
Merry Christmas, Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Caucilli
Stop Train Stop! (A Thomas the Tank Engine book)
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Five Little Ducks, no author (x3)
Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff
Snipp, Snapp, and Snurr and the Magic Horse by Maj Lindmann
2. The Family by Mario Puzo, completed by Carol Gino
Corduroy by Don Freeman
A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman
3. The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius (audiobook)
4. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
5. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
6. The Litigators by John Grisham

Welcome back!

dropping in to leave my star

My star is firmly placed! Glad to found you again, my friend. :D

Glad to see you back with us again, Brit!

Valerie & Stasia - So nice to see you both! I'll spiffy up the place once 2012 really starts!

Don't spiffy up the place on my account - it looks fine to me :)

Only your second year? IT seems as if you have been here so much longer!!

hugs

Brit, look forward to more good company in 2012. Happy new year!

Hi, Brit! So so glad that you'll be here again this year! I look forward to hearing all about your reading, your Will and your Whit and your little sprout. :)

Starred!



It's gonna be a good year, Brit! ;-)

Stasia - I needed a better intro - even if it is lacking in graphics! (hhhmmm. . . maybe I'll go find a picture of Will)

Kath - Hard to believe right? It seems like I've known you longer!

Paul - Glad that you'll be joining me again this year!

Amber - Me too! I can't wait to start our Latin lessons. Will I need a Latin-English dictionary?

Cee - I think it will too!

Hoping you have a great New Year!!

Hi Brit! Happy New Year!

Starred :) And happy new year!

Happy New Year, Brit!

Hello Chelle, Ilana, Melissa & Stasia! And Happy New Year to all!

Well, wouldn't you know it, but I can't sleep tonight. Ugh. I think it was the ill-advised cup of coffee at 3:30 this afternoon. (I so rarely drink the real stuff because it has a horrible effect on my anxiety.)

Anyway, I did manage to finish my first book of 2012!

Book #1: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Many many people have recommended this book to me over the years. The only other Card book I had read was Pastwatch which I read in high school. This book was pretty good, but the end really dragged for me. The story is about a third child (which is highly unusual in this futuristic society because the government has practically forbidden it) who is nicknamed Ender. At the age of 6 he is shipped off to battle school in outer space and trained for war with the Buggers, an alien race. Ender is believed to be humanity's last hope of defeating the Buggers and saving humanity. I found that once the war is over, the book just became flat and long.

It was very interesting to read from a history teacher's perspective though. Since it was written during the Cold War, Card incorporates that tension into his futuristic society. That was neat.

At first I was thinking of reading more of this book and possibly more of the author's work in general, then I read some more about the author and have decided against contributing to his coffers any further.

Now I need another audiobook!

I know.. Card has some ...not great beliefs.. and that is really too bad, because he can
really write! I have read quite a few of his books over the years.. but, once I found out
about his feelings on certain topics.. well.. it sort of takes the good out of a good book...

Happy New Year to you and your family..
I wish for lots of health and happiness for all 4 of you!
Wait, you have a cat right? Make it 5 6! :)

Your little boy is so cute! And I think you must be the first person to finish a book already, even if it was due to insomnia.

Kath - Yeah, I'm wondering if that is what ruined the end of Ender's Game. Oh well. He got some of my money from that book, but no more. Actually, we have 2 cats. . . :)

Susan - Thanks! Yeah, I thought about that as I was posting.

Waving along Route 30...

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Brit! Wishing you all the best in 2012!
Will's a cutie!!

fixed! lol

**waves back at qebo**

Lynda - Yeah, he is pretty cute even when he's acting like a whirling dervish!

:)

Happy New Year, Brit! What a great photo to start the year off with; he's adorable.

Happy New Year and starred!

Happy new year to you and your growing family!

Thanks Darryl! He's a mess right now - no nap and refuses to go down.

Hi Kerri!

Hey Luxx! Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year Brit! I've enjoyed chatting with you these past couple months and I do not see any reason for that to stop. I'm also glad you were happy with my little "Swap".

Okay now I'm curious about Card's questionable beliefs? His books are hit and miss with me. I either like them or think they are kind of "meh" Ender's Game was one of the better ones in my opinion. Congrats on finishing your first book! :)

ETA: Just saw the picture of your cutie!! Makes me go awwwwwww!

Whaddaya know!!! I was reading Ender's Game today and it'll be my first read of the year as well! But I didn't read your review yet since I didn't want to accidentally run across any spoilers. :) I've heard unanimously from a number of fellow spec fic readers that it's one of their favorite sci-fi books... and while I am aware of Card's religious affiliations, I've never found that it's unduly influenced his work (the ones of which I've read). Anyway, I'll have to come back and see what you said about it as I'm only going on the comment above (#30)!

Ohmygosh, Will simply refuses to stop being adorable!

And, nope, you won't need any sort of dictionary to start with - the textbook provides all the glossary you'll need at first in the back.

25 / 28 mmm yep Brit I think you're right Darryl was referring to Will and not the apple pie... although I must say both look splendid!

Mark - Well, I'm glad we can continue our chats! Your swap was great!

Valerie - It's kind of political on my part. Ender's Game was good until about 85% done, then I just did not find it as good as the rest of the book. I liked Pastwatch much better.

Faith - I'm not sure his religious beliefs effected his writing but it influenced how I thought about him and I think that had the negative impact. It almost made me sick to think that he might gain the smallest profit from me having purchased the audiobook from iTunes.

Amber - He is a cute. Although, today he was a bit tough to handle. **takes another swig from my 3rd G&T** Hooray! Once the school year picks up again I'll have a better idea of how much time I can devote. I have always wanted to learn Latin - I'm so excited!

Thanks, Paul! :) I think that was actually my first non-restaurant made apple pie too!

Hey Brit! What a great pic of Will and the PIE. The pie looks delicious, Will looks adorable! But the pie, the pie, I'll be right over for a piece, ha!

I hear you on the Card thing. I do not read sci-fi, but my hubby does. He loves Ender's Game, but he also feels as you do. 'Nuff said, because I do not want to dredge it up any further, you know?

But back to that delicious looking pie...

Sandy K

Hello! Saw you're expecting on the baby boomers thread, and the picture of your biggest little one up top has me hooked.

You definitely make me want to read Pastwatch that's for sure!

Baby, did I hear baby?? :D

Hi Brit, happy new year! What a darling photo! Nice looking pie, too :). How is Whit feeling?

*waving* as I pass through the threads, Brit

Good morning to you!! Love the picture of Will!
Nice pie too :) It has been a zillion years since I tried a pie..
but I have been giving it some thought... Dan bought a couple
from a place in the Strip District over Christmas... the apple pie
was so delish I swoon thinking about it.. made with real apples and not the soggy canned
things that most places pass off as filling..

Are the students back soon?
How is the family feeling.. better? I hope?

Oh, I hear you on those difficult days with the wee ones; their adorableness makes it hard for some people (*cough*mymother*cough*) to understand that they're not always perfect little angels, so sometimes it's hard to get sympathy as a long-suffering mom, no?

Sandy - Thanks for stopping by. I had no idea about Card. You're welcome anytime for pie! :)

Megan - Hello! I will try to keep everyone updated about the progress for the Sprout - and Will.

Valerie - Yes, baby. I'm very excited!

Anne - Happy New Year! Whitney is feeling better. Much less nausea, but still doesn't quite have the energy she used to.

*waves back at Stasia*

Kath - Students come back tonight. Family is doing better. Will got his last dose of OraPed this morning (which make him wired) and then I promptly sent him off for a day with Nana! :D Whitney is doing a bit better. How are you doing without Adam? Hanging in there?

Amber - so true! I hope Charlie's doing better today!

Here you are! I stayed away too long.. the threads grew and grew .. sigh..
Hard to keep up!

Students back huh? All good things must come to and end?
But why?

Did you have a nice day with Will all tucked up with his grandma and you settled in with
books and games?

It's crazy around here! I can hardly keep up and have lost all hope of keeping up now that work has started back up again.

Sometimes it's nice to have the students around. . . sometimes.

I had a fantastic day yesterday. Today is not quite as spectacular, but it's not bad.

The school librarians shoved Game of Thrones at me this afternoon because they want another teacher to read it. It also allows them to (truthfully) tell the kids it's checked out. It's on my TBR list anyway, but the head librarians seems to think it a bit too racy for high school. What do you guys think?

45: I had to delurk and be the first to offer my opinion. I personally would not want my 13-year-old son to read Game of Thrones, but I wouldn't object in the case of my 17-year-old daughter. Not because of the sex but because of the brutality. It is not a Young Adult book. As to whether or not the teachers should keep it checked out, I imagine those students who want to read it will and all you're doing is depriving some immature students with sexual material. It's not the Sears catalog or Victoria's Secret, and at least they're reading!

I agree. They are books for adults. That being said I read them when I was 16 or 17 (Can't remember now) and loved them. People have said I'm mature for my age though so that may be the case. The books are rather dark with no happy ending in sight. But because they're dark, and long, I think that only those who can handle that and want to read them will. :)

#45 - Part of me (probably the overly-idealistic library school student part) is somewhat disturbed that a librarian is interfering with the intellectual freedom of high school students, although, I don't know the whole story. I wonder why the library purchased it in the first place. Weird. Also, I know nothing about the series, other than that the books have gigantic page counts and maybe also dragons.

hmmm I am not a fan of keeping books from kids.. I agree with

>47 Kassilem: I think that only those who can handle that and want to read them will.

>48 DorsVenabili: is somewhat disturbed that a librarian is interfering with the intellectual freedom of high school students and I know nothing about the series, other than that the books have gigantic page counts and maybe also dragons so....

I am so sleepy!!!! Hope you had a good day :P

Thank you all for your thoughts.

I, too, was a bit worried about the librarian not wanting the kids to have them. The school has Pillars of the Earth which was brutal and had quite a lot of sexual content.

Jeanne and Melis - do you think the books are more brutal and/or contain more sexual content than Pillars? I do plan on reading Game of Thrones, just trying to find the time to fit it in.

Kerri - I think the librarian is worried because the school is in loco parentis for the boarding population and they are probably just being overly cautious.

Kath - Get some sleep! We're headed to bed soon too!

Alas, no major reading done today. Heading to bed and hopefully will read some of The Family.

Brit- Please put A Game of Thrones higher on your to-do list. It's incredible and the HBO series was terrific too! I would think the book is appropriate for 15 or 16 and up, of course what these kids are subjected to now a days, who knows!

When I first read the series I tore through them all in a matter of weeks. I felt I'd found a hidden jewel by accident. (This was before the hype when the HBO series was announced) I'm re through them again now so that I can read Martin' fifth book A Dance With Dragons, and it's taking me more time to get through them. One reason I think is that the books are full of politics, and I'm trying to pay more attention this time around as to why this war is happening and why that battle happened and who benefits, etc. There's a lot to notice.
I say the books are brutal because it's sometimes depressing to read. Things dont add up just to give a us satisfaction or entertainment. It's real, it's unfair, and it's heart-wrenching. Heroes die and villains win and blood is spilt in bucketfuls.
The HBO series itself was gruesome and very graphic. If that's a 10 in brutality and graphic sex then the books are probably a 7.
The sex scenes are really not that bad. Nothing graphic if I can remember correctly. I haven't read Pillars of the Earth so I can't compare the two. But I did look it up and add it to my Books to Read List :)
Hmmm... Have you read Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series? I thought that series was more brutal. Comparatively, Martin's books had me on the edge of my seat but Goodkind's had me so emotional that I was shivering.
Hope this helps.

I'm thinking, can't the kids just get the books elsewhere if they wanted to read the books as well?
And a librarian that withholds books seems like an oxymoron to me. :)

Hi Brit,

On the brutality/sexual content point, I've read the first couple of the George R R Martin books, and also Pillars of the Earth and I would say that Game of Thrones is more brutal. I can't really remember the sexual content, but Game of Thrones strikes me as a book for older readers than Pillars of the Earth. I don't know if I'd say it's "racy" (or that "racy-ness" should necessarily be a reason from keeping it away from the kids), but it's quite disturbing in parts, and I can understand why they might think it's inappropriate, particularly with children away from their families, and possibly not having someone close to discuss things with. There is a scene from one of the Martin books that still freaks me out, and I read them in the last couple of years. My teens were a long time ago!

Mark - If I had more time it would be higher up on my to-do list. I think I'll be reading it after I finish Cannery Row for the Steinbeckathon. I'm really really looking forward to reading it.

Melis - I have not read the Sword of Truth series. Maybe I will if the school library has that then should add Game of Thrones.

Valerie - I completely understand, but I think the school needs to take some responsibility. I don't agree, I'm just thinking about it from a liability and legalistic standpoint. They don't have the same freedoms a public library might.

Susan67 - Thank you for your thoughts. I'm interested to see how it compares to Pillars of the Earth.

Brit.. I am so sorry that your day had such an early ( not to mention loud and cold ) start.
No way to start the new term, imo. Did they ever figure out what happened?

I hope the rest of your day is calmer and definitely warmer!

I had A Game of Thrones on my shelf for ages, but never read it and ultimately
gave it away. Despite having heard such good things here so often, I don't regret
not reading it.. there are so many books, I can't read them all. So? But it still annoys
me that the librarian feels that way >8 mckait:-/

I am with Valerie - a librarian withholding books just seems so wrong!

I am in agreement with Valerie and Stasia, I think if the library carries the book then the kids should have access to check it out. The librarian censoring books from the kids seems very wrong.

Just watched the opening movie on Assassin's Creed: Revelations with Tomm. Wow. I *need* to play these games, and soon!

Kath - Yeah, faulty detector!! Arg!! They get them tested twice a year, you think they could figure this stuff out then! At least the school decided to cancel the fire drill for next week that was scheduled for 6:30 am. I plan on starting Game of Thrones this weekend.

Stasia and Chelle - Yes, I understand that it seems oxymoronic that a librarian would withhold books or censor, but in today's rather litigious climate I am sure some it is that she is getting pressure from the administration. The new assistant librarian (who we are good friends with) doesn't agree, but told me that she thinks the head librarian has gotten her knees cut out from under her by the administration in the past when parents object to certain material. So, while I do not agree, I understand the head librarian's cautiousness.

Amber - A-Mazing!! I wish I had more time to play! The opening movie for Revelations is quite moving.

I actually managed to read about 50 pages or so on the bus to and from our game yesterday. It was a disappointing game because we were the better team, but we couldn't make any of our shots (and the refs were calling things pretty lobsided toward the home team). While the girls played all-star defense, if we don't make our shots that doesn't give us much hope. Can anyone guess what we'll be doing in practice today??

Just popping in to see what you are up to :)
Glad to hear that the next fire drill was canceled. It makes sense.. so hard to
believe that the powers that be did it , lol..

It is Thursday .. week winding down already? Are things back to normal in class yet?

This whole month the students are engaged in a formal research paper. So we are in the library doing research. The paper is due at the end of the month. The kids can pick any topic (preferably not U.S. based) from post-WWII to current events. A handful of kids are doing Israel-Palestine stuff, one guy is looking at the Star Wars missile defense, another is looking at the effect of technology in citizens' perceptions of events, a Vietnamese student is looking at the Vietnam war and how the U.S. opinion differs from the Vietnamese opinion. In short, many kids have chosen cool topics. I can't wait to read them all!

I also picked up Wonderstruck!

This afternoon Will had a check-up and he's got a clean bill of health! Then we went to get his feet measured. In two full months (October - now) his foot grew a full size. He now wears a size 11. That's crazy!! Whitney just about had a heart attack when I told her I had to buy him new shoes.

Also, we have schedule Will for surgery. Part of what he had surgery on last year needs to be re-corrected because it grew back together. Ugh. I feel bad for him, but he should get it done.

Brit- Glad to hear about Will's check-up, sorry to hear about his next surgery. Poor guy! I hope you enjoy Wonderstruck. I met Selznick at an author event this past summer and got my copy signed. It's a good IN!

Wow! Sounds like Will is growing like a weed! Too bad about having to do another surgery though.

Brit - very interesting debate on libraries and censorship. Firstly I would start by my usual grumble that Kuala Lumpur lacks adequate libraries but I do notice that the National Library pigeon holes children into a very infantile section and the lending library section generally is limited. I believe that children should be encouraged to read and I also believe that children will generally choose for themselves what it is they want to read, censorship or no. I am not a sociologist by any means but surely the trends are more towards the George R. Martin genre than the historical epics such as Pillars of the Earth. I have read nothing by Martin and much of Follett, though not yet any of his two or three "epics". My own children thankfully enjoy reading although my efforts to decide for them what they should like is doomed to failure as it probably should be.

Good Morning Friends!

Mark - I'm just grateful that we have a great children's hospital nearby (A. I. DuPont) and a great surgeon. The surgery should probably only take 15 - 20 minutes, but the worst part will be when they wheel him away and he freaks out. I think I've decided to bring Wonderstruck with me to my girls' basketball tournament tomorrow. It will be a good quick read for the bus and in between games.

Stasia - He IS growing like a weed! The saleman at the store couldn't believe that he already needed a new pair of shoes. He told me that Will should start to slow down in the next year or so and then he added "unless his dad is like 6' 7" " To which I told him that the donor was 6' 3", the saleman then said, well, maybe he won't slow down. . . eeeeekkkkkkk!!!

Paul - I agree with the overall picture that kids should be encouraged to read whatever gets them reading.

For those interested, I (finally) put up a new blog post on my blog.

Also, for those Rick Riordan fans out there, the cover and title for the upcoming third and final book in the Kane Chronicles will be shown on Rock Center next Monday (1/9) at 10 pm. I'll be setting my DVR!

I see football and basketball in Will's future!

Let me know the title of the next Rick Riordan book, would you? I enjoy the Kane Chronicles.

Wow, Will's got bigger feet even than Charlie! Too bad they can't play on the same basketball team! I'll be keeping Will and you and Whit in my thoughts for his surgery. Poor little tiger. And poor you and Whit for having to watch him being wheeled away. Sometimes being a mom takes more strength than we think we have, but somehow we manage to find it, no?

Good morning Brit..
Late visiting.. I was awake from 3:30 - 5:30...then slept til 7.. I was determined to sleep more
so I am not in a coma when my Amy comes tonight..

Sorry there needs to be a surgery redo.. always a worry :{
So Will's dad is tall? So is Oliver's.. and he is a big boy too....always in the 97th percentile
growth wise..

I was stunned by how Wonderstruck came down in price after the holiday, and I will await your comments..I am thinking of picking it up. Hope your day is a good one :)

Stasia - Hopefully basketball! I'm becoming wary of football though. But I'm really hoping he likes baseball! I will certainly let you know the title of the next Riordan book! I think I may have to re-read the first two to catch myself up.

Amber - Yup, I'm not surprised. He has bigger feet than most kids at his preschool. It would be awesome if we lived closer so Will and Charlie could be teammates and buddies! It's true. I've never had to muster up so much strength.

Kath - Hooray for Amy coming to visit! The sperm donor was very tall and big. Not overly big, but it sounds like just solid. Will has always been in 98th percentile. I'll let know how Wonderstruck is.

I've had a good day. Productive. Grading papers. Although I am astonished at the number of kids who have failed to cite something in quotation marks. They will have the source in their works cited/bibliography, but fail to attribute the direct quotes. It's driving me nuts. I finally made the blanket rule in my grading that anyone who does that is not getting an A on their paper.

Whitney and I had a lunch date and then bought her some maternity clothes at a local consignment store. Now, I'm getting ready for practice. Short, but tough today. Then we will watch Varsity play. I may try to come back on later this evening, but definitely will not be on tomorrow until the evening after the tournament.

Sounds like a busy weekend.. see you when it's over :)

Hi Brit!
You seem caught up in the chaos of 2012 already!
I know how you feel about Will's surgery and the necessary separation. Both my girls had "tubes" surgically inserted in their ears (for drainage) when they were little. It didn't take long in real time - but took forever in Mommy time!

Will is a hunk of cuteness! (Apple pie looks yummy too)
:-)

I'm late but I have you starred now. LOVE the orange kitchenaid and that stovetop looks very familiar (we've got a glass cooktop as well). Will catch up on your thread soon!!

Wow Brit it sounds like you're a "hard task master" as a grader

source.....PaulCranswick Weejane 75er LT thread Post #74 (7 Jan 2012)
do I get an A grade?!

I fell behind here, but tried to catch up as best I can. Back to Ender's Game and Orson Scott Card, I didn't know the first thing about him or his political opinions when I put that book on my wishlist in the last few months. Haven't read much sic-fi in my life and I thought this was something I should read/listen to.

I visited Salt Lake City in the late 80s, and part of the visit included the the Mormon temple, which is a tourist attraction of sorts. They give a history of their religion there, maybe in hopes of getting some converts, I don't know, but I remember thinking how weird it all was. I was raised outside any religion or dogma, so most organized belief systems are strange to me. I say all this as a preface to a statement I want to make, as I don't want to come off as defending OSC's beliefs, but playing devil's advocate here, he IS a third generation Mormon, and as such has been brainwashed all his life, and I suppose, just doesn't know any better. As is the case with most people who are prejudiced one way or the other. They just don't know any better.

So I hope you won't hold it against me if/when I decide to read and review his book. After all, who better to write science fiction than someone who's very belief system is in itself science fiction? ;-)

eta: fixed typos. Gha!

>75 Smiler69:: I try my best not to let someone's religious affiliations color my enjoyment of a book. After all, I just want to read a good story. If it's good, great. If not, I can move on. Unless they're preaching at me in the book (which happens with any author on occasion), who cares what they believe? FWIW, I am a big fan of Card's work, just because I think he's a damn good storyteller. The End. :)

#70: I appreciate the heads up regarding the Riordan book.

I hope Will plays baseball too. After all, that is my sport!

Oh what a cute picture of Will, and your fabulous apple pie!!! YUM!

Kath - Yes, busy day today. My girls did well, all things considering. We won one game which meant that we didn't lose all of our games! Almost everyone on the team at a basket.

Elfchild - Thanks! I love my kitchenaid too! It was a present from my Dad's third wife.

Paul - absolutely! :) I just think that it's an upper-level elective and they should know how to do that by now!

Ilana - LOL! Very true.

Faith - It's not so much his religious beliefs. He is a board member of the National Organization for Marriage and vehemently homophobic. So while he is an excellent story-teller, I just could no longer focus on the story thinking that the man who was writing it did not think I deserve the right to marry the woman I love and have a family.

Stasia - Big smile!

Deb - Thanks!

Well, as I stated above the tournament went ok. I could not believe these girls were in high school, today I spent the majority of the day feeling like their mother and reminding them to pick up their stuff! Arg. There will be sprints on Monday.

I did not get as much reading done as I had hoped - only a couple pages of The Family. I'm nearing the end of that book, and need to start on several others. Not sure what to do tonight. I am definitely not grading!

Oh, ewww. I didn't know that about Card. Disappointing and frustrating and sad.

Yeah - I wasn't going to post about it, but I wanted to be clear that it wasn't (necessarily) his religious beliefs. I don't want to get too political on my thread.

Yeah, agreed. It seems that this group remains so friendly because we tend to stay away from such touchy topics. Having said that, I am glad you posted your reasons, because I was really curious about them but didn't want to ask... :)

Interesting conversation here. I think, knowing what I know, that it would be hard for me to read Ender's Game, but I appreciate what Faith says about wanting to enjoy a good story for it's own sake. I think it's human nature to be affected by things like that. If I know beforehand that an author has beliefs I strongly disagree with, it will be hard for me to like that author's work, even if it is really, really good, and free of author bias. I'll either stay away from it, or find a reason not to like it.

I hesitate to say this, because I don't want to equate a religious/political belief with which I don't agree with a horrid crime, but I bought a children's book several years ago that I had put away for "someday," or to give as a gift. From everything I've read about it, the book is supposed to be very good. I have since learned that the author is serving prison time for possession of child pornography, and now I have no desire to read the book, nor do I want to give it as a gift. I don't even want to give it away. I simply cannot separate what I know about the author from the book.

Finally catching up on your thread, Brit. Will is such a cutie and that pie looks yummy.

Re: Orson Scott Card, I can respect folks who choose to not read him because they don't like his views and don't wish to support the author by purchasing his books or cannot suspend their feeling about the author to enjoy the book but myself, I fall into the same category as dk_phoenix - I read him because he is a very fine storyteller and I enjoy many of his stories. Ender's Game is a particular favorite of mine and I have read it many times because I re-read that series from the beginning every time a sequel came out. I think I am a couple of books behind at this point, though, and I have less time for reading so I might not do that the next time I pick up an Ender book.

Re: keeping A Game of Thrones checked out, I must concur with DorsVenabili wondering "why the library purchased it in the first place" if they don't want students to read it. That said, I understand that a private school has different pressures on it than a public institution and I can see that the administration might well be putting pressure on the head librarian if they are getting pressure from parents. A Song of Ice and Fire is dark and brutal and decidedly adult (meaning written for adults rather than written for a YA audience, not "adult" in a euphemistic sense). It may also be the best piece of epic fantasy I have read other than Tolkien. I can't compare it to The Pillars of the Earth because I have read that (though I should...it's ON my TBR list).

Lots to read and think about on your thread. I love that!

popping in to catch up and say hello !

Amber - You can always ask! There are very questions I won't answer!

Anne - Your story about the children's book is just creepy. And I completely understand.

Elfchild - I wanted to keeping the series until I found about those views. I feel bad that it's getting in the way of me enjoying the series, but I just can't stop thinking about it. I really enjoyed listening to Ender's Game though and just wish I could find a cheap way to get some books on my iPod.

About A Game of Thrones, I think the librarian purchased it, then saw the HBO series and now feels stuck. That's the impression I got.

Hello Kath!

Book #2: The Family by Mario Puzo

This book was not nearly as good as The Godfather, but still enjoyable. It tells the story of the Borgias whom Puzo believes were the original mob. It is a very interesting perspective and reading the book with that in mind is fascinating. It is also fascinating to read how corrupt and corruptible people were back then. It makes me wonder if we have changed that much. . .

Although I am astonished at the number of kids who have failed to cite something in quotation marks. They will have the source in their works cited/bibliography, but fail to attribute the direct quotes. It's driving me nuts. I finally made the blanket rule in my grading that anyone who does that is not getting an A on their paper.

Every semester I find myself growing less and less tolerant of even "accidental" plagiarism. I spend so much time in class going over citations and quotations and formatting and plagiarism...

I read Card up until the end of the 80s and then started bouncing on his books--interestingly enough, that's about when his activism started. The first 4 books in the Ender series are really a thoughtful consideration on sentience and species integrity and respect--well worth it. One of his books in that period, I think it was Hart's Hope, yucked me out--numerous people have commented that his villains seem to be uniformly child abusers, at least after his early books. I can't read him any more, though--I can feel his opinions seeping through his writing.

Luxx - Yes, there will be much time spent on this during class today.

Roni - It's too bad, because I really enjoyed Ender's Game! I had not heard about those accusations from Hart's Hope.

Good Morning All! After a very busy weekend, it's time to begin another very busy week! Hooray! **slurps more coffee**

I began Wonderstruck last night and really enjoyed it. Although it is much sadder than Hugo Cabret.

So Wonderstruck is sad? I am sitting on it in my shopping cart..
I haven't bought it because I am pretty sure that I won't enjoy reading it..
but it is just so darned beautiful.....

Glad your busy weekend is over and that things will slow.. well okay .. not slow exactly..
but at least not enjoy team travel for the next few days, right?

hang in!

Kath - It is very beautiful! But yes, it is a little sad. Actually, we travel tomorrow and then we are home the rest of the week!

Not sure what the proper well wish is for this instance..
Break a leg seems like taunting fate..
so does knock em dead :PPP
I think I will go with hope you have fun and things go your way?

and YAY!!

You're the best, Kath! Knock 'em dead is good! I can't have any more of my players "break a leg." My point guard went down with a very badly sprained ankle at the end of last week. She's out until next week.

ouch! Sorry to hear that... I hope she gets well soon..
Safe and fun travels today..

>88 London_StJ:: Ugh. I did that when I taught English Composition last year... I think I went over citation in every class and still got papers back without quotation marks, citations, etc. I had one paper that was entirely plagiarized, unattributed quotations and the student, who was a senior student tried to give me and "I didn't know" story. I couldn't believe it... so I looked him in the eye and called him a liar. He didn't argue. He failed the class... for the second time. Not good, when he needed the class to graduate. Not my problem! They should know better. Or at least LISTEN FOR ONCE.

/end rant

Kath - Me! She did a great job as scorekeeper though! We had a great game, but lost 20-16. We'll get better though. We need to work on our offense.

Faith - It's just annoying to repeat yourself, huh? I hope my kids finally got the message.

Book #4 Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

This was a wonderful touching story. I know I wrote that the beginning was sad, and it was, but the end was very redeeming. It is the story of two people, Ben and Rose. Ben's story is told primarily words, while Rose's story is primarily told in gorgeous illustrations. I was wary of the story because of how sad it started out, but the sadness begins to fade and then I couldn't put it down! I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed Hugo Cabret. I'm not sure it was quite as good as Hugo Cabret because I think the character development in Hugo Cabret was better. Despite this, it was an amazing book. Selznick is certainly talented and I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next!

Brit- I'm glad you enjoyed Wonderstruck. I agree it's not as strong as Hugo but still worthwhile and a gorgeous book for the shelves.

Hi Brit!

It sounds like a good game :) The scores were really close!
I thought of you and wondered how it was going..

Hope today is a good one for you :)

Morning, Brit! I'm adding Wonderstruck to my wishlist - I loved Hugo Cabret, so I'm excited about this one!

I'm hoping to grab a copy of Wonderstruck in the near future. Loved Hugo Cabret!

Mark - Interestingly enough, the more I let Wonderstruck sit with me and percolate, the more I think I may like it more than Hugo Cabret.

Kath - It must have been your good thoughts that brought the game close! Thanks! Today was pretty good. I have a terrible earache. I went to the doc's yesterday. It's not infected which is good, but there a ton of fluid build-up so she gave me some nasal spray to try to clear up the eustacian tube. It's not working yet. Blah. At least I'm momentarily happy with my hot chocolate & kahlua!

Amber & Faith - It's a good one!

Busy day today. Spent about an hour at home eating dinner with the family (yummy yummy chicken in the slow cooker!!) and then ran off to a meeting for Will's day care about their auction. Now I'm finally home. Hopefully, I will read some. After a bit of trial and tribulation, finally downloaded a book off audible.com. Nothing excited, The Litigators by John Grisham, but something that will hopefully hold my attention while I do the rowing machine.

Hi Brit!
Glad to see you are taking good medicine for your ear, i.e., hot choc and kahlua! Hope the ear clears up quick for you.
Congrats on a great game.
Wonderstruck on my shelf... waiting patiently :)

#103 - Hi Brit! I was blabbing about Audible on my own thread. What sort of problems did you have? I downloaded a book onto my iPod and then later when I plugged it in again, my iTunes didn't recognize the iPod. After trying everything I could think of, I had to restore the iPod, so I lost all my music (about 70 Gs!). This wouldn't have been so bad, but the music was on an external drive that was hooked up to a different computer that had a virus, so we had to go through a lot of trouble making sure it was ok, then hooking it up to my laptop, etc. It was a nightmare! Everything seems ok now and I've been downloading books without any problems. Who knows?

I should also add that I hope your ear is ok!

Hey there, Brit! Sorry to hear about your earache...earaches SUCK. Hope the hot chocolate and kahlua does the trick...sounds tasty.

Sandy K

Brit - hope the earache has cleared up and that you have stopped rowing already. Seems a bit soul destroying pulling and panting like billy-o but getting precisely nowhere - I have the same problem with exercise bikes.

Hi Cee - Yes! Well, now that I'm heading to bed, I need something a bit stronger - prescription strength advil.

Kerri - cross-posted on your thread! My ear is fine - just hurts.

Sandy - It does suck! I was almost hoping it was infected because then I could get some antibiotics and clear it up!

Paul - I love doing the rowing machine! It kicks my a$$ in such a good way. I hope I can get on it tomorrow, but we'll see how my ear is doing.

Good Morning Friends!

I found this interesting article about Downton Abbey in the New York Times this morning. Here is the link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/business/media/mad-for-downton-publishers-have...

**DISCLAIMER ABOUT BELOW - I DID NOT POST THIS TO BE POLITICAL - ONLY BECAUSE IT WAS HARD TO DEAL WITH MY UPSET WIFE (who I perhaps thought was blowing things out of proportion)***

I (finally) started Cannery Row last night. I didn't even get past Chapter 1 though because I was so tired. We went to bed later than expected because we found out that our nephew has joined the Boy Scouts. My wife was very upset at this and called her mother. I hoped that would get it out of her system, but she is pregnant, hormonal, weepy and political. So, I had to be sympathetic. While I do not agree with my sister-in-law's decision and the way she went about it (asking the opinion of her gay nanny instead of her gay sister and wife), I just do not get as worked up (i.e. hysterical) as Whit. Anyway, she finally calmed down and we went to bed.

I will admit that this morning as I'm up with Will, I did hug him a little tighter and wish I could protect him a little more from the harsh world out there - as I'm sure every parent wishes!

****DONE*****

In other news, I'm loving this corn Thomas English Muffins I bought at the grocery store! Now, back to Elmo's World. . .

ETA: I also managed a new blog post yesterday!

Noted info about corn english muffins :)

Try taking an antihistamine tonight if your ear is still painful...

Ahhh the boy Scouts.. I understand how Whit would feel betrayed by her sister...
I imagine it was a tough decision, weighing her perception of what the Scouts
would do for her son against the politics ... very tough. Frankly, the boy's experience
will depend on the people who are running it in his area.. I have seen some train wrecks ..
but I have seen some who had good experiences. It is like anything else. I hope it is good for
the boy and as for the politics, ignorance of that kind always astounds and nauseates me. It
is time for them to enter the current century and wake up to reality instead of ignorance :(
I hope Whit is able to let it go...

Buy Whit a LOL book.. Greetings From Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer,
then get the sequel, Camptown Ladies.. and make sure you read them too :)
rd and I are great fans if this author.. you should see her emails.. lol . They are about a
hilarious Italian family ( clearly much is taken from life) who are rowdy and loving
and just plain outrageous. I think rd just reviewed the first one.. "Jamaica" made me laugh
as much the second time I read it as it did the first.. laughing is good.

Hope you feel better today...
Your blog post was lovely.... what a beautiful family you have!!
hugs

#109 - Sorry about your stressful evening! I hope you enjoy Cannery Row. I think it's my favorite Steinbeck.

Oh, Whit. I'm sorry about the earache and the hormonal wife and the reason why she was upset. I know that I'm an over-protective mom, but I am not looking forward to turning Charlie lose in the world, even if it just means his first day of school! So much ignorance and intolerance out there.

Thank the goddess for over protective moms..
they ..are the best of the lot imo.

It is a rough world out there and there is nothing wrong with a mom
protecting her baby... or someone elses..

You've just reminded me that I've yet to go see Hugo, the movie. Have you seen it? They have Wonderstruck at the library here, and I'm sure I'll pick it up sometime in the next few months.

I don't know the first think about the Boy Scouts, so staying out of that discussion.

I hope you enjoy Cannery Row. I think I saw a comment somewhere (on the CR thread?) that it wasn't flattering to women or some such. I don't know. I did have a period in my early 20s when I was very (overly?) sensitive and looking out for misogyny everywhere, but in this case I hope you get as wrapped up in the beautiful writing as much as I did.

Kath - You are so wonderful! I'm sure it was hard and I think much of it will depend on his local area. They are currently in Nashville, but will be moving to the eastern shore of Maryland over the summer. We'll see if he decides to stick with it after the move. At least that's my hope. Thanks for the book recommendations! I will have to see if the library has them! **runs off to find an antihistamine**

Kerri - Thanks! I've read Cannery Row before because I really enjoy Steinbeck and enjoyed it the first time around.

Amber - You're fantastic! Being a Mom requires so much more courage than ever I thought possible! Not to mention a lot of faith in the rest of the world!

Ilana - I'm not so worried about the misogyny. I went through a similar phase when I was about 18-20. I think it was the all-women's college! :) Of course, I loved going to all women's college and recommend it to all of my female students!

Ah - long day today. Lawyering was fine. Teaching was fine. But this stupid earache is really giving me a run for my money. I called the RN like she told me to do if it wasn't better, only to find out she wasn't in today. The nurse called me back and reviewed what I was supposed to be doing. I had been doing it all and nothing has helped. She said they could fit me in this afternoon before my practice, so I dashed off only to sit in the office for 40 effing minutes and not be seen! Now I have to go back tomorrow morning, probably with punk because I doubt I will be savvy enough to get him to day care before the 8:15 appointment.

Anyway, just finished watching the season premiere of Downton Abbey with the Wife! (While playing online games) Very exciting! Now off to bed for more Cannery Row!

Oh no! Stupid frustrating doctor's office! I hope you have better luck tomorrow. I was worried about taking Charlie with me to my appointments, but so far he's been perfect; the nurses always cluck over him and he eats that stuff up, and you and I both know how adorable Will is, so I'm sure you'll have a similar experience.

Ohh sorry about your ear and your crappy Dr apt! Hopefully they can fit you in tomorrow morning and get it taken care of for you!

Amber - Thanks! I'll bring the iPad and hopefully some Elmo will distract him enough if he gets restless.

Chelle - I'm going at 8:15 this morning, I just hope they actually give me something.

I get so angry when my time is wasted by someone else!
Mind you, it is perfectly fine if I waste it.. but sitting in a waiting room
is high on my list of things I hate to do. And to sit there and then not be seen..
I am afraid things would get ugly! lol

Sorry the antihistamine didn't help :( I was hoping..

I hope you can find the books :) The latest one is very new..
so they may not have it, but maybe the first one?

Hope that when I see the next post it is saying how great you are feeling!

hugs

Morning Brit- Thanks for sharing the Downton Abbey article. Another book list? How do we keep up? I also love that photo at the top of the article, w/ Mary. Looking forward to Sunday's episode.
Hope the earache is feeling better.

Kath - The doc now thinks it is an ear infection but just farther in the ear than what she can see. Gave me a z-pack and some non-narcotic pain meds. Already took! Just waiting for it to kick in.

Mark - Thanks! I'm looking forward to Sunday's episode too. Although the wife and I are both on duty in the dorm, so we'll probably watch it mid-week.

Oooh, hope those drugs kick in soon!

Hi there, I might be dredging up the past now (#109)....but is Scouts Bad? From my memory of it, it was somewhere I would way rather have gone to than Girl Guides. Im glad it's for boys and girls now (well it is here anyway), as it seemed way more outdoorsy focussed, and practical than Guides.

Yikes... I hope your ear is feeling better now that you have the pain meds! :)

>123 LovingLit: Probably because Boy Scouts does not accept gay boys or agnostics/atheists.

I sure hope that you are sleeping in today and feeling better!

Amber - Drugs are beginning to work! Although the loud gym and basketball buzzer haven't helped either. . .

Megan - Yeah, see Morphy's post. They also do not allow boys with gay parents (i.e. Will would be excluded because he has two moms).

Faith - Thanks!

Kath - No sleeping in for me, but starting to feel a bit better.

Well, I hope I can get some reading in today, but this morning was busy chasing the punk and doing some random things around the house. I'm just sitting down for a quick lunch before laundry load, uh, number-I-have-no-idea, is done. Then I need to throw on some semi-decent clothes and go coach. This afternoon I'm all about the football playoffs. Hopefully, tonight will be fairly relaxed!

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!

#127 - Wow. It's horrible enough that they don't allow gay troop leaders, but I didn't know they didn't allow boys with gay parents. That's heinous.

>125 Morphidae:/127 WHAT? Are you for real? I seriously cannot believe that in this day and age. Apart from that being illegal (discrimination on the basis of sexuality, a parents sexuality and religion), isnt it just plain silly? What country is is this happening in?

Hi Brit -
so glad your ear is improving. I had sooo many ear infections when I was a kid and still an occasional infection even now. I can empathize - ear aches are painful and annoying!

You must be an excellent time manager to fit so much in your life! Maybe I just don't remember all the ADLs when the kids were small. :} Your days make me tired!

Kerri - Yep. So if Will wanted to join, he could probably stay until they found he had two moms and neither my wife or I could have anything to do with his troop (if we tried to hide it).

Megan - The country that boasts the most about its freedom.

Cee- HELLO!! I have no idea how I fit it in either! Kath thinks I need a time-turner like Hermione from Harry Potter.

Brit, are you feeling better? So sorry an earache has been dragging you down. Do you get a change to rest on this (hopefully) long weekend?

Good morning Brit!
Megan, I can see that you are shocked.. sad state of affairs, I agree.

Brit, are you feeling better? Did you get to relax and read or just
have some YOU time?

will be moving to the eastern shore of Maryland over the summer.

That's near my neck of the woods.

The politics of scouts is bull, but I've (thankfully) found that individual troops don't always stand up to those politics. I've known a number of atheist gay scouts in our area, but that's a small, isolated sample. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about my own children in scouts; I think I'd rather we take them on camping trips ourselves, especially if the organization as a whole encourages prejudice.

My partner loved boyscouts because they went camping and carried pocket knives (he never went through the ranks because he didn't care about anything else). I hated girlscouts because we didn't go tent camping or carry knives, and I could already sew better than my troop leaders. ;)

Anne - I am feeling better, thanks for asking (you too Kath!). I slept in until 7:30 this morning. While I don't teach tomorrow, I am going into the law office and have practice in the afternoon.

Kath - My "me" time was last night from 9 - midnight. Although I am enjoying some quiet time during the punk's afternoon nap!

Luxx - Cool! My sister-in-law took a tenure-track teaching position at University of Maryland at Salisbury. Yeah, clearly Will won't be joining the scouts. I wonder if my nephew will stick with it after the move.

When I was little, my parents didn't want me in the Brownies/Girl Scouts because they didn't believe in how much help the parents gave the children on projects and stuff, and the fact that 80% of it seemed to be selling stuff. A couple of my friends' parents felt the same, so our three moms put together a weekly get-together for us, which rotated round to each other's houses, and each week the mom in charge for that week would have a craft for us to go together and some sort of structured game. My mom, who is an amazing seamstress, even made up matching outfits, to make up for us not having Brownie uniforms. We had way more fun that we ever would have in Girl Scouts. Maybe you could put something like that together with a couple of other moms in a few years? I'd love to do it for Charlie if he wants to some day (he won't be allowed in Boy Scouts, I think, much to the irritation of my Mother-In-Law. Go figure.).

Girl Scout dropout here. I think a lot of whether I enjoyed Scouts at the time had to do with the troop leaders at the time. Unfortunately I can really only remember one set of leaders that I really liked. However, I was really good at selling the cookies.

so our three moms put together a weekly get-together for us

After my post I was actually thinking how something like that would be a better option. How cool!

Amber - That's a fantastic idea! How fun!?

Lori - I was never in the Girl Scouts - but I do love eating their cookies!

Luxx - It would be fun! Too bad we all don't live closer!

Brit & Luxx: It was fantastic, and looking back, I can't see that it took all that much effort on the part of our moms. So worth it.

ETA: Oh, how great would it be if we could all get together and have play groups with our boys?!

Just running though to wish you a good day!

Hi Brit- Just swinging through to say hi! And hope your books are treating you well. Did not see DA last night, I'll get to it tonight.

Amber - that would be awesome!

Kath - Thanks!

Mark - Thanks! I just wish I had some time to actually read them! I was on duty last night so I haven't seen DA either. The wife and I will watch it at some point this week.

Book #5 Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

This book was a re-read for the Steinbeck-athon. I really enjoy Steinbeck so it was a good re-read. I find his writing very lyrical. Generally, I have trouble with books that lack a clear plot, but Steinbeck's writing always seems to draw me in.

Glad you enjoyed the book. I need to do some rereads of my own. I m missing some of my
books..

Nothing much going on in my life.. hope all of the many things in yours
are going smoothly :)

Hi Brit. Glad you enjoyed your re-read of Cannery Row. I just read it for the first time for the Steinbeckathon and am glad I did. It's definitely something I'll want to read again.

Ditto for me.

Good morning Brit!

Brit - Scouts, Guides the lot of em - hey! wake up! This is 2012 gender, sexuality, race, class, religion what does it matter? Important is what values we carry round with us not what values we try to impose on others. Take care my dear and hope the earache is a thing of the past.

Hi Brit!
I always liked Steinbeck but as I re-read some of his books I find I like him even more. Glad we are having this focus on his writings this year. :)
Have a restful night!

Just watching out for you... hope you are busy good.. not busy bad.. and that you are well by now.

Hello Friends!

I'm so sorry it has been days since I was able to get on here! Yes, the earache is a thing of the past. Thank goodness! Life has been very busy. Basketball team will have its fourth game in a week (Friday - Friday) tomorrow. AND we have to go 1 1/2 hours away - ick.

Class is going well, the kids wrapped their 3 weeks in the library. They have next week to write while we jump back into the Israel/Palestine conflict.

Will's day care is holding an auction and I'm helping out with that. The auction is not until March 24th, but I'm in charge of all the spreadsheets. Just time consuming.

I was able to start A Game of Thrones. And by start, I really mean start - I'm only page 25. :( Hopefully, I will really get into it; I'm still just trying to figure out all the characters. I did manage to obtain 3 books this week though and I would really like to get to them. I'm so tired, I can't even remember their titles. Linda (THANK YOU!) sent me one and the other two were orders from amazon based on a recommendation from Kath (THANK YOU) something about Jamaica and queer. :D

Okay, I'm going to try to visit all of your threads now. . . not entirely sure I will make it and I apologize. One day I will have time for myself, one day.

ETA: I'm listening to The Litigators and will get a bunch of listening time on aforementioned away game trip.

You got those books? I bet you will love them...
:) Take care .... * now I'm all anxious to hear how you and Whit like the books *

Good to see you here! I hope you do find some you time soon.

Oooo, I want to join in on the weekly meetup with the kids and a cool project.
I was not so much a Girl Guide dropout as an "asked maybe if I wanted to do something other than girl guides" type...was a little to regimented for me :(

Megan.. lol

My mom was a GS leader.. I was in for a couple of years..
I have vivid memories of working on my Katherine Tekakwitha project...
It was something to do.. and there was a Library ( or books?) badge that
I used as an excuse for more trips to the library, if I remember correctly..

Glad to hear everything is going well, although busy. Have a great weekend!

Adorable picture!

Brit - have a great weekend with your family, your books and with the basketball kids!

Good morning!!!

Hope you have some time off this weekend :)

Did it snow on you?

Hello All!

Kath - Yes, I got the books! I'm hoping to read them after A Game of Thrones. We did get some snow, probably 4 inches or so. I cleared off the cars early on and then we took the punk out to play. He was so excited! Now he's down for his nap and I made another pot of coffee to enjoy!

Hi Amber!

Hi Megan! It would be awesome if we could somehow create that playdate!

Thanks Kerri! I hope you guys are having a good weekend too!

Thanks TJ!

Paul - I hope you have a good weekend too! I'm slightly jealous about hearing how you may get some good scotch this evening!

I'm hoping that I can get some reading during the punk's nap.

Woohoo for punk nap time. All three of mine are down at once for the first time in *weeks*.

I miss nap time. My oldest son turned 11 today and despite the fact that he stayed up late last night (hockey game and sleepover with friends), there wasn't even the hint of a nap. Oh well, maybe in a few years, we will cycle back to nap time.

Nap time rules. We only have one napper left in our family now, and hes the baby :)
>163 porch_reader: Arent they supposed to go back to nap time in their teens ;)

Luxx - That's amazing!

Amy - He might - or it might just be that it seems like he's taking a morning nap when he sleeps until noon!

Megan - I dread the day Will gives up his naptime.

Hi Brit~

How goes the book... ?
Are you going to read straight through the series?

Hey Kath - The book is going well. I read a bunch (for me last night). It was a little hard though because I had an ice pack up to my nose. Will rammed the back of his into my face at top speed during bed time. No blood, but my nose is swollen. I have a big headache this morning. I don't know if I"m going to read them straight through. I need to decide how I want to acquire the other books since this one is from the school library and they only have the first one.

Oh yeah.. I remember now.. you are doing the librarian a favor..lol

OUCH! I have been head butted, but with intention..( so many times ) and I know how much it hurts.
I hope you feel better. I honestly thought I was going to lose an eye once.. but I
survived ..it hurt a lot for a day or three... hope yours feels better faster..

Just catching up on all of the posts in your thread. Well, it looks like you've had your share of difficulties over the past week or so. Sorry to hear it. The Boy Scout thing is just dreadful!!! Move to Canada - The Boy Scouts here have no such rules .

((((hugs Brit))))

Take care and I hope your earache/ nose bump/headache soon feels much better!

Seriously Deb? no such rules in Canada? WTH is wrong with this country anyway.. ?

Oh no! I've had that particular kind of nose/head-butt from Charlie. Another mommy rite of passage, I think. Hope you're feeling better!

I have no boys - but I want to move to Canada! I do love the USA in very many ways - but O! Canada.

Hope the nose is feeling better :{
Have a good day!

I was a Boy Scout (actually, it was called Cub Scouts and I have no idea if they are related at all), we met in a church, and if the purpose was to instill good morals and 'traditional' worldviews in us, well, it didn't work very well. :)

Just popping in to be sociable.. I am way too tired to be anything more :PPP

*waving* at Brit

I was forced into the Girl Scouts and hated it. I joined as a Brownie, which was not bad, but my memories of the Girl Scouts are not good ones.

Hope you are doing better today, my friend..
:(

Just dropping by to say hello! Hope your nose/face is feeling better...ouch!

Sandy K

Hello Friends! I'm just popping in quickly on my own thread. The face is worse than originally thought. Went to the docs and I have a mild concussion. X-rays did not show a nose fracture (at the urgent care), but my doc wants to rule out an orbital fracture. I get really nauseous from being on the computer for any length of time, but wanted to check in on my own thread. I apologize for neglecting all you, my dear friends. I'm just downloading another audiobook. That's the only thing that's kept me sane for the past two days - listening to The Litigators by John Grisham.

Kath - Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!

Deb - We have thought about moving to Canada. We were married there! (The first time).

Amber - Mommy rite of passage I could have done without!

Stephen - Glad to see the boy scouts miss every now and then! ;)

**waves back at Stasia**

Hi Sandy! - Yup. Ouch. I'm on a strict alternation of advil and tylenol.

Holy cow - that's one major head conk! I hope you feel better soon.

I confess I do love Canada. I think we are more European in flavour than say the US? Like Stasia, I was not that keen on Brownies and only lasted 6 months in Guides. My sons - one did enjoy a few years in Boy Scouts, the other had a complete disinterest in them. All depends on the child I guess.

Oh just read your post! I hope all is well once you've seen the doctor. Ouch!

Oh Brit! That sounds painful. Take good care of yourself.

Brit - hope the hooter is fine. Remind me not to get within striking distance of Will if we ever have the pleasure of meeting up!

Take care of yourself, Brit dear...

Oh no! Oh, I hope you recover quickly and feel better soon. I had a mild concussion last year, too, and it was terrible. Take it easy, and don't push yourself too hard or expect too much of yourself (easier said than doen, with a toddler underfoot, I know).

Hi Brit- Sorry to hear about the head troubles. Oh my! I hope you can recover quickly. Don't worry about us. We'll be fine. You heal.

Hello Brit, I feel your pain, my littlest monkey not only poked me in the eye yesterday but pulled out a chunk of hair (from that sensitive part right on the neck line- ouch!). And I wont even tell you about what he found and tried to EAT during some nappy free time.....*shudder shudder*. That was the worst.

Geesh! You all make me so happy my kids are in their 30s!
Been there - done that - moved on - thank the Goddess!

Brit, I hope you are feeling better and no perm damage - that was a hard knock! Ouch! Please "neglect" us as long as you need to... hugs!

Glad to see the boy scouts miss every now and then! ;)

Thank you. I just can't imagine being like...that. We've made so much social progress, and so many wonderful things have come from it, to think people still have such old fashion ideas like that...

So, which one of you ladies is going to cook me breakfast? I'm starving...

...no wait, that was a joke! A bad one! Oh god please don't hurt me, I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! AAHHHH!

No seriously, I hope you are recovering well from your blow to the noggin. Ouch!

Just popping in to let you know I am sending warm thoughts and positive energy your way..
hope they make it there !

Hello Friends!

Well, I am getting better each day. A little too much time spent on the computer yesterday morning at work meant hardly any screen time for the rest of the day. Thank you all for the well wishes and positive thoughts - they are definitely helping!

Luxx - Thanks! I'm getting there.

Deb - Canada does have a slightly European flair. It's been a while since I've been, but I used to go every summer to the Canadian San Juans.

Pat - Thanks! Taking care of myself is hard in this tech-driven world, but I'm making it work!

Paul - Nice to see you! Yes, be careful! He's a wild one!

Anne - Concussions are nothing to mess with. This probably my fifth or sixth, so I'm much more prone to them. It's been interesting working/living in education and working for a law firm. The educators take the concussion much more seriously than the partner at the law firm - who just scoffs when I tell him too much screen time makes me nauseous and gives me a headache. It's amazing how much better educated the school is about concussions because we deal with kids.

Mark - Glad to see you have things under control! (Of course, there was never a doubt in my mind!)

Megan - EEEKKKKK!!! I can only guess!

Cee - {{{hugs}}} I don't think there was any permanent damage - but I have had the Thomas the Tank Engine song running in my head constantly. . .

Stephen - I won't hurt you. . . but I will sick my 2 1/2 year old son on you! (And, yes, he is responsible for the concussion). ;)

Kath!!! - Thank you for checking in on me! The warm thoughts and positive energy have definitely helped!

Book #6 The Litigators by John Grisham

A good read (ok, listen) while I lay in a dark room doing nothing. I wish he hadn't wrapped things up so nicely, I was kind of hoping to hear from the law firm of Finley & Figg again. As a lawyer, parts of the book made me cringe (the whole Krayoxx trial). Other parts I could relate to - the opening when the third character has a panic attack and, literally, runs away from his firm.

I'm reading Game of Thrones, at least as much as my head will allow, and I'm listening to Game Change about the 2008 election and it's fascinating so far!

Glad to hear that you are on the mend, at last!

How on earth have you gotten so many concussions?

* imagines Brit putting self through school with a career in soccer or boxing *

Hi Brit - I wish you well on your continued healing. Concussions sound awful!

Hi Brit. It's good to see you posting and to hear you're getting better each day. Don't overdo it on LT!

I love the photo of your little guy...He is getting so big!

So good to hear that you're starting to feel better! Keep it up!

I hope that your reappearance means that you are feeling more yourself?
I also hope that your schedule wasn't too rough this week..

Brit - Just catching up. OUCH! re: the head-butting. Hope you continue to feel better!

Just catching up. I do hope you feel better soon. Oh a concussion! That's was quite the head butt! Argh. Take care!

Fifth or sixth concussion?!?! Oh, my, you need to be careful! You're right, schools are so much more aware now, and what a good thing. Take care of yourself!

Sorry to hear about your concussion! 5 or 6 seems like a lot! Hopefully the Thomas the Tank Engine song doesn't stay permanently !

just trying to check in before the day is done... you are in my thoughts...
hope you are not doing too much too soon..

Good morning!! Did you watch the video last night? Hope you weren't disappointed .. it was just a very brief funny moment... saw it on fb.

Are you back up to speed yet? Hope so... How are things going for the rest of the family? Everyone well and happy ? Nothing much going on with me.. I will probably visit Walter today and read ?

Hi Brit,
Hope you and family are well. ;-)

Wow.. Can't believe I didn't make it in here this morning..
sigh

Well.. The weekend is closer now, right?

Hang in there!

Hi Brit- I hope you are enjoying A Game of Thrones. I am crazy about these books. I think the 1st 3 are the best. Now, you can watch the HBO series, which actually does a very good job.
Hope all is well!

Hello All! i know I have been horridly MIA. I am back to full speed, which really seems like overdrive right now. My students are finishing up their research papers and constantly wanting to meet with me. Basketball season is winding down, but softball starts immediately after that. The headaches are coming with less frequency which is good. I saw the doc yesterday who said no contact sports for a month, but I should be fine once softball starts.

Kath - So good to see you! You have been in my thoughts too! The kermit video was hilarious!

Katie - Yup - feeling better! Just wish I had more time to read. Although I am listening to Game Change on my iPod and am about half-way through.

Deb - Will really did wallop me! It'll be a good story when he's a teenager.

Anne - Yeah. I've gotten hit in the head a lot. My first concussion was when I was in 6th grade. Softball to the temple. Had another in high school when I got elbowed across the jaw playing basketball. Had one or two in college playing ice hockey. Had two in law school from football. Once you've had one, you just become more prone to them.

Chelle - I was going to write about how the song was gone. But 30 seconds my son picked up his Thomas toy and it's playing that song. . . "They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight. . ." aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh

Hello Cee!

Kath - Yes, weekend is closer. Not sure if that means things will calm down though.

Mark - I am enjoying A Game of Thrones! I just wish I had more time to read them!

Off to another busy day! Maybe I will get to squeeze in lunch!

True, you seem to work as much on weekends as week days!
Glad to know that you got your concussions from sports instead of other
and more intentional violence. It seems better somehow...it is the same with Sprained ankles I think.. once you have a bad sprain.. it is easier to have it happen again. I have sprained both ankles badly several times. ugh! ( in case you were wondering, not even once was it playing football or ice hockey..)

:)

Hang in..

Good to hear that you're on the mend!

*whispers* I kinda like the Thomas song, although I annoy Tomm when I sing it in my very poor British accent!

Just stopping by to say hey!
Two cents from me on Boy Scouts or any organized social function.
After I signed my son (also Will)up for baseball and he wouldn't get out of the van for the very first day of practice I swore I would never sign him up for anything again unless he asked to be. Whenever he brought a sign up home I asked him if he were interested, usually not. But just asking was quite a stress reliever.

Hope all of you are feeling well this morning.

I hope the muddled feeling settles down soon. I'm now recovering from my second concussion, and hoping that I don't have any more - I don't like the feeling that my brain doesn't work properly, and I'm noticeably slower! Doesn't sound like you've got that problem, I can't imagine having as much to do as you do, and feeling like this.

>208 weejane: "They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight. . ."
Oh No, now I've got it in my head!

Kath - In fact, that same is true for sprained ankles! I've had multiple of those too. . .

Amber - Yeah, I don't mind actually singing it, but when it is constantly my background theme music in my head - that's another story!

Lynda - Hey! Yeah, I don't want to make (our) Will do something he doesn't want to. Although I'm so excited for him to play sports!! I really hope he wants to do that!

Lunacat - It is such a terrible feeling! I hope you're beginning to feel better! Lots of time lying down and limit the screen time!

Just finished a nice class about the Israel-Palestine conflict. My students asked very good thoughtful questions and were respectful of each as we danced around such a hot topic.

Megan - LOL! I'm sorry!

Hi Brit!
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Bye Brit!

Hi Katie!

So, I was planning on going to the Y for a cycling class this morning since the doc cleared me for low impact exercise (whatever that means). In the past, the cycling class have been offered a couple times on each Saturday and Sunday. Just looked at the February schedule and saw that the only time the class is being offered today was at 7:00 am!! Argh. I was really looking forward to going and working out. I guess I need to come up with an alternate plan. . . ugh. I'm so annoyed.

ETA: I'm an idiot. My YMCA was on a different page that I just had to search for. Many many more cycling classes. Happy Brit!

So glad to know that you can cycle in place any time you want! Hope the weekend is shaping up to be good all around!

The cycling machines aren't the ones with the swinging handles that go forward/backward in rhythm with your legs, are they? ...maybe you should wear a helmet, just in case. :P

Hello and Happy Saturday.

Good luck with the cycling class. I'm sorry you suffered a concussion...not fun at all.

Kath - Yes. Although once I figured out there was a class at a reasonable time, I already put on some coffee. Since it was expensive coffee, I didn't want to waste it so I drank it. Which meant no working out for me - coffee is really dehydrating. So I'll just wait until either later today or tomorrow.

Stephen - You're so funny! :P No, it's the stationary bike.

Linda - Thanks! Yeah, being concussed was not so much fun. How are you doing?

Hi Brit!
You are sounding better and it's happy news :)
Glad you didn't waste the coffee - exercising can wait :P

Sounds to me like yesterday was meant to be a coffee morning.
I hope you enjoyed both the coffee, and the morning !

Nothing much to tell here..Do you have any teams playing anything?
Today is superbowl day isn't it? Will you watch it ? Do you have a team that you like?

Good morning! I miss seeing you here..
guess we have to get used to it . You are so busy with your family, and It will
get busier in just a few months... Miss you though! Hope all is well and that you have
lots of happy :)

Cee - Yes, the coffee was very good!

Kath - Indeed! My girls had their last JV game on Monday. It was frustrating the other team had a girl who scored all (literally ALL) their points in the first half, then left to go play the second half with Varsity. But my team beat them in the second half! But for the fact our opponents scored 30 points in the first half we would have won. My 3rd team has its last game tomorrow. Then I get a week off!! GASP! And then softball.

I did watch the Super Bowl. I did not care too much who won except my good buddy whose house I was at is a HUGE giants fan, so I rooted for them. And may have stumbled upon a great boy's name!

I miss being here! Usually I get on Saturday morning, but the internet was out. :( Same thing with Sunday. Once my week starts it's really tough to get on. :(

I hope you all are doing well!! I'm still working on Game of Thrones and have almost finished Game Change. I'm totally hooked on audiobooks now!

I am glad to hear that audio books work for you, with your schedule.
Speaking of your schedule, how many sports are there at that school and
are there ANY that you are not involved in! yikes !

Great boy's name, huh? Good to know.. names are such dicey things!
I seriously think that kids should have a child name and then at age 14 or so get to choose an adult
name.. One name given on day one ( or two ) is just not sufficient, imo.

Glad to hear that you will have a week off.. sorry about the internet issue.. that totally stinks..

Just keeping your thread warm until you get back!

Thanks Kath!! I'm hoping to get some good reading done this weekend, but I have 16 research papers hanging over my head.

I like your idea about the names.

The internet continues to be a problem but > it seems to be working fairly well tonight.

My girls had their very last basketball game this evening. They did not play as well as I had hoped, but they tried hard in the 4th quarter for a comeback. The really frustrating part was that I caught one of the girls being dishonest. She was not at the game and I heard from her roommate that she was going to skip. I then found out that she was in the health center for "cramps." Funny how she was in their 10 days ago with the same thing . . . The health center director said I should absolutely take it as an act of dishonesty. So I will be meeting with the Dean first thing in the morning. I am really just more disappointed than anything.

Anyway, that's my evening - I will go lurk and try to catch up on threads now.

disappointments re: dishonesty is tough. Having been the recipient of the "Im disappointed in you" look, its also tough from the other side :)

Megan - Yes, it generally is tough being on the other side, but this particular student I'm not sure will get it. She was suspended for 3 weeks in January because she was involved with a serious alcohol incident and then was repeatedly dishonest about it. I just don't believe she gets it.

Morning Brit! I had a chance to listen to Game Change shortly after it came out and I didn't for some reason. Maybe, I can still try it. I hope you are enjoying The Game of Thrones. It's one of my favorites.

She won't. Take it from someone who was troubled as a teen. I had plenty of 'reasons' to be so, but it still makes me ashamed looking back on my behaviour. I knew when people around me were disappointed, and I swore to myself that I would change when things went wrong. But even when I did 'get it', it would only be a couple of weeks before I'd slip up again. I HATED disappointing people, I've always been a 'pleaser', but it wasn't enough to override the problems I was having.

The main thing that stopped me going off the rails completely was a lack of popularity. Had I been in with the 'in crowd', I dread to think what would have happened. However, I was the quiet, troubled, slightly weird kid who never found her niche, and therefore was sheltered from the worst by a lack of peer pressure.

Sounds like that won't happen with her though, and you're watching things fall apart for this girl. Such a shame. Lack of respect for responsibilities like a sport or a team is, looking at it from the side that has been there, a definite warning sign.

disappointments re: dishonesty is tough.

Couldn't agree more. I hate being liked to .

Hope your 16 papers go quickly.... and hope that things pick up for the girl
who skipped the game. But it was the last one .. and now you can hopefully
take a breath? Two would be even better..

Mark - Game Change is so fascinating! I hope you do get a chance to read it before it becomes too dated. I really like Game of Thrones, just wish I had more time to read it.

lunacat - I fear you right - she doesn't get it. She skipped practice yesterday. When I issued the cut, she e-mailed me to say she had left to go home early. I have little sympathy because she was not on the excused list and did not contact me about her early departure. I have a meeting with her, her advisor and the Dean on Monday. I am worried about her because I do like her and she is a talented athlete, but selfish attitude and lack respect for her team and teammates is really disappointing.

Kath - Thanks! I am supposed to get to go out to breakfast and grade some papers this morning, but it's snowing and the wife is still asleep. . . .

Morning Brit- I do like political books. I think I got the impression, early on, that Game Change was slanted to the "right", so it turned me off. It sounds like I was wrong about that.
I did read The Audacity to Win, which covers much of the same stuff. It was excellent.

It is snowing down here too... Maybe a good day to stay in and improvise?
Take care and have a good day :)

Brit - try not to be too hard on the young lady swinging the lead. Sometimes there are all sorts of reasons why we act seemingly indefensibly at a delicate age. I know because I have had such moments myself especially as my parents were in the throes of a break up when I was 14 and I ended up axed from the district soccer team for not being able to face training.

Mark - I'm not finding Game Change slanted to the right. I'll have to look for The Audacity to Win.

Kath - Yeah, I ran out to Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a bagel, then watched our wrestling team win their 8th consecutive league championship. Now we're at my MIL's because there is a dance at school tonight (right beneath our apartment). I love going to her house because I can just kick back and relax! Not to mention problem free and fast internet! :D

Paul - I know I should not be too hard on her, but I am just trying to hold her to the standard as everyone else. I know she doesn't have a good home-life, but she has no idea how her attitude affects everyone else. There is a large disconnect between how she thinks she is acting and how she is acting. This is year two of that behavior.

******

Well, I hope to actually get some reading done on Game of Thrones tonight. We'll see. Whit and I are planning to play a game this evening. So it will be after that.

Hope staying at MIL house means a nice sleep in for you?
That would be a good start to your day :)

How goes the book? Are you making any progress?
Hope you find some reading time today :)

Hi Brit - I'm sure your problem girl is safe in your more than capable hands. She is lucky to have a teacher bothered enough to care whether she turns up or not. The team will always get by but the individual sometimes doesnt. I was the fleetest of foot in the district and a winger for my soccer district when I was distracted for (about 6 weeks) a spell but I was cast aside and never came back into contention as I was seen as being temperamental (moi?!) and I switched to cycling instead as I had only myself to blame then until I realised that was also very much a team sport too.

Hi Brit!
Tough issues there - and tough age to be working with. Good luck to all involved...
One day soon I expect to finally read Game of Thrones :)

Kath - I was hoping for some good sleep, but I was too cold - not enough blankets. Oh well. The books are going well. I feel lame that I haven't finished one yet, but they're coming slowly. The seniors leave this Friday for senior projects, so class will be low key for two weeks. Maybe I'll get some reading done then!

Paul - Yeah, I hope she turns it around for softball season.

Cee - Hello! I hope that one day soon I will finally finish Game of Thrones!

********

Well today was a boring day. Went to the office where I did not get much of any substance done. Then I was on a panel for the 9th grade health class. I was pretending a pharmaceutical rep and they were pitching their ideas for a new form of contraception. It pretty funny watching these squirmy 9th graders talk about sex! My class was interesting, we talked about the U.S. should do if Israel attacks Iran. Then my big meeting with my player and the dean was cancelled. After all that build-up! Argh.

I came home, made some juice and now I'm trying to catch up with LT before heading over and watching a boy's basketball game.

Brit- Sorry you had a cruddy day. Hey, there's still time left. Did you see DA? If not, big improvement over last week. Yah!

we talked about (what?) the U.S. should do if Israel attacks Iran
Woah! Is that what's happening? I am so out of the loop international news-wise. Uh oh, talking about politics....dangerous territory, better switch to sex. Poor kids having to face the music and do contraception talk in front of (a) each other and (b) the teacher :) eek

Ugh, sex ed. I was such a shy thing in junior high school, and that week was *terrible* for me.
And I'm sorry about the troubled girl issues; my first instinct when I encountered dishonesty with my students was annoyance, and I let them know. It's so nice teaching college, where you can say things like, "What you just did there, well, that annoyed the crap out of me, and it's usually not a good idea to annoy your professor." Ha!

I just finished the latest book in the Martin series - hoo, they're so good!

Just popping in to say good morning, and wish you a happy day.

Hello Brit, just passing through and wanted to say hello :)

Missing you here.. hope all is well and happy at your house...
I am very stunned that February is nearly over.. and quite pleased about it !

I am hoping to have nothing more stressful to do today than to bake bread..

*hums a sixties song* *fluffs pillows*

Kath
What 60's song are you humming?

Here's a 60 song for you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLpZmjVwfog&feature=topics
How many of us can remember an obscure group called The Cowsills?

Hi Brit, I hope all is well with you and your loved ones.

oh good grief, I do remember them..lol. Actually it was Feelin' Groovy :)

Okay - so because of crappy internet, the really really long post that I thought I posted last night apparently did not post. Argh. It was long. And now I have to re-post.

Mark - Finally caught up with DA this afternoon. It was good!

Megan - No attacks yet, but I like to keep the kids on their toes.

Amber - I just read what I think may have been the most important chapter so far in A Game of Thrones! It was sooo good! I'm looking forward to spring break when I (hopefully) will have more time to read.

Cee - Thank you!

Hello Anne!

Kath - Thank you thank you thank you for keeping my thread nice and warm! It has been insanely busy here and, coupled with the craptastic internet, it has been difficult for me to both (a) read and (b) come on here and feel like I'm not reading enough.

Ilana - Things are going very well! Whitney has been feeling well and Will is, well, he's two.

********

Well, I guess I will start a new thread before I get to talking too much. . .

ETA - I guess the problem is that LT must not like Google Chrome.