For a brief update on last week's post, progress has been made. Of the things I could see immediate results on, I have done well. I am going to say this, though, and perhaps save others some smoothie ingredients: The people who tell you that you can't taste spinach in a smoothie are LIARS!!! And the truth is, I LIKE spinach in a salad. I always put it in my salad. But spinach in a green salad where it is supposed to be and spinach in a yummy berry smoothie of goodness are NOT the same thing. Poured last Sunday's smoothie down the drain, then carried on. One major success of our breakfast smoothie'ing has been that I not only cannot taste the oatmeal or the flaxseed, I really like the consistency the oatmeal gives it.
And while we are on the food subject, let me just say-- crockpot cooking is likely going to be my success story of 2013. The idea of throwing ingredients in a pot (and not even precooking the chicken!!!) before I leave for school and coming home to a delicious smelling house and supper done??? It's like having your own chef! And you don't even have to interact with another living soul! Where has this process been my whole marriage??? And WHY did none of you people who call yourselves my friends TELL me about this??? I'm in love. I heart my crockpot.
I actually had intended to write a serious post about the way the Lord has used multiple methods to speak to me about something and now that feels kind of wrong to include in a post about spinach in smoothies and crockpots. I guess I'll hold off on the serious for a day or two. After all, He might have more to say.
Since I now need to fill the space I had reserved for ... well, for the Lord... I usually write book reviews on my fb page. I thought I'd copy them onto this blog (and I still might), but for now, I'll abbreviate the six or so books I still need to review into a couple of sentences about each.
Over Christmas break, I caught up on my reading.
Lead with LUV by Ken Blanchard
I had been reading this off and on for months. I don't know why I'm drawn to books about corporate management because heaven knows I have no desire to end up in management of any kind and especially not corporate. Even still, this book is a candid conversation with the lady who is behind Southwest Airlines (my favorite airline!) and it really was fascinating. I love the idea of this form of management (and customer relationship). It reminded me a lot of Whale Done, a book I read a while back about Sea World trainers.
Prison Nation by Jenni Merritt
The book club book for January, I got drawn in a lot faster than I had expected. It's about a future day when the number of Americans in prison is roughly equal (or maybe higher) to the number who aren't. Entire cities are turned into prisons. I can't say much without giving away the ending, but it did feel chillingly possible at times when descriptions were given of the America that gave way to this.
Let's Pretend this Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
You might know her as The Bloggess. Or you might know her as incredibly crass and sometimes profane. Either way, it's a pretty interesting book. I will say that if you are easily offended, you might want to leave this one alone. The language is rough a lot of the time. I think what really interested me most about it is that she suffers terribly from anxiety and social disorders, and I really was drawn into the way her mind works. Her stories are WILD and mostly hilarious and she reminded me so much of a good friend of mine.
Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman
I feel kind of bad about this one because I totally stole it from my mother-in-law on the very night she received it as a Christmas gift. I started reading it on the couch in the middle of Kraig's family on Christmas night, only to realize very quickly as I tried to swipe away the tears that was a bad idea. This book, although from a writing perspective is probably not the best (you can tell she is a woman who wrote a book about her experience rather than a writer-- very repetitive in parts), is just absolutely amazing to me. This family is amazing to me. Again, I don't want to give away too much but the way they deal with loss and the family ties they hold to, not to mention their incredible faith is absolutely a blessing to read about. I highly recommend this book.
A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans
Boy oh boy, did this gal from little old Dayton, TN, get a lot of press over this book! Before I read it, I heard that from Christians (on social media and media, not in person) that it was against God, the Bible, the church, etc. I heard from non-Christians (again, not in person) that it was just another Christian stunt to try and get attention. It interested me that two groups on such opposing sides could both hate it. And yes, there was plenty of positive attention it gained as well. Soooo.... when two friends whom I greatly respect told me they read and loved it, I knew I had to read it. It was fabulous. Refreshing. Thought-provoking. Inspiring. I can't say enough good about it. I came away with a renewed interest in the Bible and a reignited passion for social justice. Do yourself a favor. Read it.
My Year with Eleanor by Noelle Hancock
I don't know what it is with me lately and books that involve year-long projects... first there was The Happiness Project, then Seven, then A Year of Biblical Womanhood, now this one. Anyway, this book (also a memoir) was a book that I picked mainly because I was interested in Eleanor Roosevelt and I don't know much about her other than that I really like her quotes. This author discovered several sayings that she liked, was forced to reassess her life due to the loss of her job, and set out to make a change before her 30th birthday, using Eleanor Roosevelt as her sort of guide. I liked it. I probably would have saved it for more of a summer read when I had more time, but it was good.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
THIS BOOK IS SO STINKING GOOD!!! It is epistolic, which took some getting used to, but I fell so in love with those characters that I did NOT want it to end. It was from my favorite period of history, WWII, and set in the Channel Islands during the Occupation and just after. I honestly can't say much about it because it is a book that develops and me saying much would ruin the magic of the book. I'll just say READ IT. And I'll give this excerpt from the acknowledgements:
"... they are joined by their love of books, of talking about books, and of their fellow readers. We are transformed-- magically-- into the literary society each time we pass a book along, each time we ask a question about it, each time we say, 'If you liked that, I bet you'd like this.' Whenever we are willing to be delighted and share our delights, as Mary Ann did, we are part of the ongoing story of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society."
That's it for now. I'm in the middle of Brandon Hatmaker's (husband of Jen, who wrote Seven, the book I probably talk about more than Shakespeare or The Book Thief these days...) book, The Barefoot Church. I'm anxious to finish it and share what I have gotten from it (which will likely go along with that message from the Lord part). :)
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