Adventures in La La Land

I've had a string of bad luck choosing books to read this week. I got halfway through a James Patterson book before I realized the main character had cancer and the focus of the book was going to be his illness/death. I didn't read on. Then I started another one that sounded interesting, but was wayyyyy too political for me. I even started the sequel to The Rosie Project that I enjoyed so much. But I did not enjoy the sequel. I gave it a good try, but ended up abandoning that one as well. So I was relieved to finally come across a good book after all those failures. The Heist   by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg: I've been wanting to read a few books by famous authors to see what the fuss is all about. Janet Evanovich is a pretty big name and the premise of this book caught me. It's essentially White Collar meets Oceans Eleven, which are two of my favorites. (If you haven't seen White Collar , splurge the $8.99 a month for Netflix and take a week off of wo...

1. I've written multiple times about how much Lena loves Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood . Well this week, she had another adorable moment quoting one of Daniel's lines. She was trying a bunch of dried out markers, and when she came across one that actually worked, she ran to me in the living room yelling, "It works! Tigertastic!!" Lol. So stinkin' cute. 2. I only read one book this week! The Rosie Project  by Graeme Simsion. I really liked it! I don't know why I didn't read any others all week. Very strange. 3. Yesterday we went with some friends to the Grand Rapids Children's Museum. We've been trying to go for months, but one of our kids was always sick or the weather was nasty. We finally got around to it this week . . . and apparently so did everyone else. It must have been national field trip day. As we were walking up to the door, 4 buses pulled up. Oy. It was sheer madness. Lena hated it and begged to be held the whole time. The other k...

Amazon Affiliate Link I'm on a roll with good books lately! I never would've chosen this on my own, but my friend Carrie recommended it, and likened the main character to Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory . I love Sheldon and I thought it was a fun premise, so I placed a hold through the library's e-book service. (So weird that they place holds on electronic books.) That was weeks ago and I just got it today, so apparently I'm not the only one who wanted to read it! Here's part of the Amazon synopsis: The art of love is never a science: Meet Don Tillman, a brilliant yet socially inept professor of genetics, who’s decided it’s time he found a wife. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which Don approaches all things, he designs the Wife Project to find his perfect partner: a sixteen-page, scientifically valid survey to filter out the drinkers, the smokers, the late arrivers.  I was immediately drawn in to the story. And of course I read it all in...

1. This is old news, but I want to record it here. Last Saturday, Lena was running through the house, crashed into the corner of a tall table and fell to the ground screaming. I picked her up, looked at her forehead (where she told me it hurt) and didn't see anything, so figured she'd just have a nice goose-egg. She laid her head down on my chest and I consoled her for a while. When she sat back up, I noticed blood all over my sweatshirt. I turned her head a little bit and saw blood streaming down the side of her head. I pride myself on being pretty laid back. I don't freak out. I handle problems. But all that blood made me immediately woozy. Justin stepped in, told me to calm down and put pressure on Lena's head. It turned out to be a tiny little gash, but as I've learned, head wounds bleed viciously. FYI: hydrogen peroxide works like magic for removing blood from clothing! Thanks to all who suggested it on facebook!  2. I read 4 books this week. The first w...

Amazon Affiliate Link Every once in a while, I spend a couple hours browsing the library's e-book selection and adding things to my "wish list" as they strike my fancy. Yesterday, I was going through my wish list looking for something different to read and stumbled upon this book. I can't remember if I found it in the inspirational fiction section or just general fiction, but while it was decidedly clean and had Christian principles and discussion, it was way different than my usual inspirational fiction, so I'm including it in my 30 Before 30. The Amazon synopsis says: Sam is, to say the least, bookish. An English major of the highest order, her diet has always been Austen, Dickens, and Shakespeare. The problem is, both her prose and conversation tend to be more Elizabeth Bennet than Samantha Moore. But life for the twenty-three-year-old orphan is about to get stranger than fiction. An anonymous, Dickensian benefactor (calling himself Mr. Knightley) o...

It's that time of year again! I love doing these and seeing how different things are from year to year. ( 2013 . 2014 .)We've been busy all week, but yesterday I knew we were just going to stay home, so I figured it'd be a good day to represent our daily life. I was completely honest about how much screen time my girls have and how many no-bake cookies I eat. Try not to judge me too harshly. ;-) Thursday, April 16, 2015 5:10 Lola is standing by my bed crying pitifully. Get up and lock her out of my bedroom. 5:43 Lola is banging on my door incessantly. Get up and feed the stupid cat. 5:47 Back to bed. 6:39 Lena starts calling “Mommy! Wanna get up!” 6:40 Get Lena and her menagerie of stuffed animals out of crib as she tells me she soaked through her jammies. 6:41 Grab her some clean jammies and head downstairs. 6:42 Change Lena ’s diaper and clothes. 6:44 Get Lena a cup of juice/water. (75% water, 25% juice) 6:46 Back in bed with Lena . Turn on Dan...

Amazon Link I have a secret to tell you. I consider myself a bibliophile , but I'm actually kind of a poser. I love libraries. I adore bookstores. I dream of Belle's library in Beauty and the Beast. If I could go back to school, I'd get my masters in library science. But I don't actually love literature. Haha. I was an Education Major for a brief stint of my lackluster college career. I intended to be an English teacher, but dreaded the literature classes I would have to take . . .and ultimately teach. It's what propelled me to change my major . . . I had a dear friend at Spring Arbor, who was appalled by my disinterest in (more aptly, my abhorrence of) classic literature. She bought me a set of the greatest classics, but I'm not sure I ever actually read them all. (Sorry, Rachel!) I read and hated Jane Eyre, but other than that, I'm not sure I've ever read anything that could be classified as a "classic." So, when I started this 30 Befor...

1. We had a nice Easter. We actually all made it to church and Lena lasted for the whole service in her class!! That hasn't happened in weeks!! We alternate every other year for Easter with our families. This year was the VanderKoddes, but Justin's wonderful mom didn't want to cook, so we went to Olive Garden instead!! Glorious! We've got a good system there. I order one meal for the girls. Lucy eats the macaroni and Lena eats the sides (grapes and fries). Haha. I actually got something different (!) even after my post last week about how my tastes never change. I've been a little underwhelmed with their chicken alfredo lately (my usual), so I got the chicken carbonara instead. It was amaaaaaazing, but expensive! Thank goodness for gift cards. Here are the girls in their Easter best: I tried to talk Lucy out of the ice cream dress, but she insisted. Haha. Lena was not in the mood for pictures, so this is the best I could get. Haha. 2. On Monday, I took the ...

Amazon Link A facebook friend recommended this book to me. I ordered it from the library and stared at it on my nightstand for 2 weeks, but finally made myself pick it up and read it this week. It was . . .  ok. I have a ton of notes from the first few chapters, but he lost me after that. His basic premise is that Christians today are so busy looking for the "Next Big Thing" that they don't take the time to build a deep, authentic, sustainable faith. I agree, and found comfort in his encouragement that growth takes time and we don't need to rush it with "radical" life changes. And so this is what I need now: the courage to face an ordinary day - an afternoon with a colicky baby . . . without despair, the bravery it takes to believe that a small life is still a meaningful life, and the grace to know that even when I've done nothing that is powerful or bold or even interesting that the Lord notices me and is fond of me and that is enough. (20 - quo...

1. This week, I read Within My Heart  (Tamera Alexander), Take a Chance on Me   (Susan May Warren), It Had to Be You (Susan May Warren), and Instant Prairie Family  (Bonnie Navarro). I realized that on April 10, I'll be halfway to my 30th birthday and my deadline for 30 Before 30. As of today, I've read 13 books, so I need to read two more (non-inspirational fiction) before Friday to keep up. I have stacks of books I could be reading, but all I want to read are sappy romances. Oy. 2. The other day, my dad asked me to return some of his books to the library. He said, "I'd ask you to pick up some new ones for me, but I don't trust your taste. I don't understand how you can read the same genre all the time." I was thinking about that, and decided it's actually pretty understandable. I have a very obsessive personality. And I don't like to try new things or take risks. I've been getting the same meal at Olive Garden for 10 years. I've been o...