Absolute Favorite

I was going to title this "book review" but I don't feel like I'll actually be reviewing the book from a critical/ literary standpoint. Instead, I'm simply going to share why I absolutely LOVE Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

Being an English major in college, I obviously read quite a few pieces of literature. Thanks to my professors, I "met" authors I never would have encountered on my own, and thus actively sought more of their works. My favorite writers tended to be American, despite having read many British authors. In the course of all my studies, though, I never once was assigned Jane Eyre.

Upon graduating, I decided to read some of the classics simply for my own pleasure and knowledge. Despite my disinterest in British literature, I picked up JE... and fell in love.

Like most literature of that time (and place), the language is lofty and the sentences dense at times, yet those don't interfere with or slow down the story. (Shocker as this may sound, especially considering my training as an English teacher, I don't have the most expansive vocabulary, so lofty literature could impact my overall satisfaction with a book. As I think about it, though, I realize that several of my favorite books are those that elevate my vocabulary. Hmmm, maybe I should give myself more credit.) Instead, they allow the reader to connect with poor Jane and her situation. We see that though poor, she's not uneducated or unintelligent.

Her story itself evinces emotion from the reader; though I've read the novel innumerable times, I'm always overwhelmed by Jane's situation. I want to wring the necks of certain characters, or decry an injustice. I'm perplexed by one of Jane's decisions, though I'm beginning to better understand it. (I know I'm speaking in generalities, but I don't want to ruin the story for you. My hope is that you'll actually read it for yourself. It is SOOOOO good!)

Passion and reason are recurring topics. Should we forsake passion for reason, or vice versa? Jane is taught early on that one of these (again, I'm not spoiling anything!) has no place in life, especially for a girl of her station. This lesson prepares her for a time when she must willingly choose between the two. Though I know the outcome, I always hope that somehow, with every reading, it will change. Upon reading the novel this time, I do better understand her decision, and in some ways, I admire it. Here is a woman who will forsake what she wants most so that God's will might be done. (I came so close to spoiling it for you!) Wow. As a woman of faith, I don't know if I could do such. Jane's courage and strength are as humbling as they are frustrating.

I suppose I should end there. Otherwise, I really might spoil the story for you. Plus, I have yet to finish this reading of it, and well, today seems like a perfect day for cozying up with a book. Happy reading!

Where have all the grammarians gone?

I recognize that not all people are grammarians or English majors, but there are certain grammar basics that ALL people have no excuse for NOT knowing. I suppose I should be more forgiving (after all, I was a teacher), but when I see such gross grammatical errors in places of business, well, there's simply no excuse for that. How I wish I had a black Sharpie so that I could have corrected these errors:


*At a plus size clothing store at the mall: "Spend $50 and get a $10 CERTIFIFICATE." Seriously? Did someone not check the spelling before printing that sign?


*At a local gas station: "State INSPECTION'S". Hmmm, I didn't know an inspection could own something.


*At Border's (! This one REALLY shocked me. Of ALL the places to find an error!): "Religious INSPIRIATION". What?!!! And that label was on several shelves!


*On a kiddie ride at the mall: "Hot DOG'S. HAMBURGER'S." Again, didn't know those could be in the possessive form.

Biker Baby III

Biker Baby and her Biker Daddy

Guess who has her own bike?

First Christmas (a belated post)

Kate imitates Uncle Scott.

Leah, Grandma, & Mila

Leah received one of these for Christmas, and now we can't get her off it; it's probably her favorite toy!!

Playing in one of Grandma's baskets.

Throwing gang signs with Grandma Teddy? Where did she learn those?

Playing with Great Grandpa.

Cuddling with Papa.

Her favorite: the nativity set.

Blowing raspberries in between sips.

Attacking the monkey from cousin David.

Learning to open gifts.

Our present.

So I know that Christmas was almost a month ago, but with limited time to write, I simply haven't had a chance to update Leah's first Christmas. Besides, better late than never, right?

Although Leah won't remember it, her first Christmas was rather drawn out (but that made it extra enjoyable). The three of us celebrated together on the 23rd since we left for Scott's parents' on the 24th. Leah didn't quite know what to make of the gifts; she was more interested in the bows than in actually opening her presents. After she had opened a few (with Daddy's help, of course), she had a better understanding of what to do with the brightly wrapped packages.

Christmas Eve we were in NY. Scott's cousin and her family, his uncle, and his grandparents came over to his parents' house to celebrate. We gorged ourselves on appetizers (well, Leah didn't; at least she still ate well during the holiday), and then watched Leah and her cousin Trinity (11 months old at the time) open gifts. Again, neither one was that interested. Leah was more interested in playing with the Little People nativity that Grandma & Papa had set-up. That did change when Leah opened her stuffed monkey from cousin David. Her eyes lit up when she saw it.

Christmas day Leah was plenty spoiled by her grandparents and great grandparents, which was (truth be told) fine by me. I loved watching her play with them; since she doesn't get to visit them regularly, all the extra one-on-one time they had together was a blessing... for all of us. The rest of the weekend was equally relaxing and enjoyable. We made and decorated cookies (soooo good), and attempted chocolate dipped pretzels (that won't become a tradition). And we spent plenty of time just visiting.

Monday we celebrated Christmas with the rest of Scott's family; his brother and sister-in-law, along with their girls, came over for birthday dinner and the opening of stockings. Since we didn't know how long the girls would last, we celebrated Mila's first birthday before "doing" Christmas. Grandma, Mel, and I had made and decorated a cake earlier that day for the occasion; what fun we had! We might not become professional cake decorators (ours didn't look nearly as fancey as the one Dib had made for Mila while they were in Maine), but it could easily become a hobby. We were rather pleased with our creation: a tree with flowers and a couple butterflies. Not bad for freehanding. (Plus, we knew we were successful since everyone else could actually tell what we had made.) Mila enjoyed her cake, even though it took her a little while to really get into (translation: she didn't make a mess... initially).

Then onto the stockings. Kate, who will be three in April, wanted to open everything; she was convinced that most of the gifts were for her. Leah certainly didn't mind the assistance. After all, opening gifts is a lot of work for a baby! Despite all the presents (clothing, toys), Leah's favorite was still the nativity set. Go figure!

Overall, Christmas was how it's supposed to be: relaxing and filled with happy moments with family. Though Leah might not remember this one, I will, and I'm so glad it was even better than I could have imagined.

10 Months and Counting

The official 10-months photo

Our little helper: Building a fire with Daddy

She climbed onto the phone cart to reach the vent on the wall. Who doesn't enjoy a blast of hot air in the face?

Queen of the "mountain"!! (And oh so excited about it, too!)

Rockin' the after-bath do.

Each day brings us closer to Leah's first birthday; it's right around the corner! Talking with a friend the other day, she put into words exactly how I feel about Leah getting older: I can't experience life with her enough. I'm savoring every minute, and enjoying every stage, but I still can't get enough of them. I wish I could freeze each moment and revisit it at will (though I suppose camcorders allow us to do that to an extent, right?).

At this point in time, I feel as if many of Leah's milestones run together; I'm not exactly sure when she hit some of them since she now exhibits many of these "skills" on a regular basis. She's becoming more comfortable pulling herself up, but a better description would be pushing herself up. Although her arm strength is improving, she doesn't feel confident enough to actually pull herself up on her own; however, she will pull herself up if she's holding onto someone's fingers. Go figure! If she can climb on something, now, that's a different story. The kiddo readily climbs on an old Rubbermaid tub, the hearth, and the telephone cart in the kitchen. Those aren't too high over her head, so she feels more comfortable hauling herself up and onto them. And boy, does she move quickly, too! Scott and I have to keep a particularly watchful eye on her when he's trying to start a fire or before we know it, she'll be right there beside him, ready to lend a hand.

Leah also loves walking (assisted, of course). If she wants to take a cruise around the house, she'll crawl over to one of us, grab our fingers and pull herself up, and then direct us where she wants to go. Now that she's been practicing, she doesn't do the crabwalk as much, and she can actually move pretty quickly. Scott and I find it amusing that Leah has so much fun walking laps in the house. She doesn't need any toys, just her feet and a good pair of walking shoes. Now that she's discovered the joy of moving on two feet, Scott and I are awaiting the inevitable: walking on her own. Thankfully, she still has to master pulling up on her and then maintaining her balance (she did stand solo for a few seconds yesterday and today), but we know those will happen sooner rather than later.

Hmmmm, what else? Like I said earlier, everything just blurs together after awhile. Oh, we think she's learned how to sign the word "more". Granted, it's not perfectly clear and she doesn't use it all the time, but she's used it regularly enough during meals for us to decide that's what she's been doing. (Opening her mouth as wide as possible while making that sign also clued us in.) As for a first word, it's "Bob". (Okay, so that's not true, but we joke that it is. The other day, while playing with her toys, it sounded like she addressed one of them as "Bob". We're not sure where she came up with that one; could it be thanks to a particular book: Moo, Baa, La, La, La?)?

Resolutions

Ahh, a new year is upon us, and with it comes resolutions (or should that read, "with it come resolutions"? You'd think I'd know for certain after having taught English for ten years). Usually I don't make resolutions. After all, when I notice something I'd like to change in my life, I usually try to make the change then (I can be rather impatient about some things). This year will be different, though.

I've realized that I often neglect two hobbies that I really enjoy, writing and scrapbooking. At one point I was rather diligent about maintaining my photos, but then there was a period of time where I never had a chance to maintain them, thus I'm now a bit behind (though I'm sure my friends would laugh about what I consider to be "behind"). Thinking about this, I'm going to try and restructure my weeks so that I can commit one day a week to each task.

I know this won't be easy, especially with an almost ten-month old and a (thankfully) busy schedule, but I feel like it's important for ME. After all, too many moms lose themselves once they have kids, which I can totally understand. Some days (like yesterday) are so consumed with being mommy that I don't have a chance to breathe. Still, if I can plan time into my schedule, I'm more likely to stick to these resolutions.

I've decided to devote Tuesdays to all computer-related tasks (writing, uploading photos, emailing, checking Facebook). I figure that I can do so during Leah's two naps. Granted, I'm not sure how much I'll be able to accomplish, but at least that guarantees me a chance to write even just a little. That doesn't mean I'll be on FB all that much; after all, if you haven't figured out already, I rarely check it/ post status updates. I briefly check for photos (and sometimes scan the status updates of others) and then logout. I just have too many other tasks I'd like to accomplish.

One of the problems with writing regularly is that I don't always have a topic. I'm trying to combat that by compiling a list (they're posted right next to the computer monitor), but even that won't guarantee that I'll write. Funny how when I actually have time to write, I don't feel like it. Maybe by writing regularly, it'll be easier to overcome the temporary writer's block.

As for scrapbooking, that's reserved for Thursdays (don't worry, Ann; it won't interfere with our regular get-togethers!). If I can work on just a few pictures at a time, then I can catch up on Leah's album. Plus, like the writing, maybe I'll have a better chance at surmounting any sort of creativity block that pops up.

This doesn't mean I'll limit myself to the computer and/or scrapbooking to those days only; I'll still try to do both on other days, too, but I won't feel guilty about not getting to those on my "off" days. (That does mean that I might not check my email as frequently as I used to, but know that I'll get to it at least once a week.)

So why tell everyone? Well, for accountability, of course! If I were to tackle these on my own, they'd easily fall by the wayside, but by letting everyone else know, well, I have plenty of people checking up on me. Plus, maybe it'll encourage others in their own resolution endeavors.

Wish me luck!