Gratitude Soapbox

Occasionally I think it is a good idea to be openly grateful for things, and thought I would share a few things from my soapbox of gratitude today.

1 - Beautiful Flowers

My mother-in-law bought these when she was in town visiting. I think they are just glorious. I am also grateful that you can't see what the floor looks like under my table.

2 - Grandmas and Bubbles
You know, kids without grandparents really do miss out. My tolerance for blowing bubbles in the rain is much lower than a grandma's and after about 10 minutes I would be worrying about all of the other things I should be doing rather than messing around in the rain. Grandmas (and Grandpas) are welcome to come and entertain the LG whenever they like. The LG is currently experiencing attention deficit disorder now that she is gone.

3 - People with an Opinion
I don't really care what your opinion is, but please have one. You can change your mind later. On a related note, Portland is pretty left-wing and I don't ever see McCain posters on people's lawns, but there are plenty of proud Obama supporters. I am really impressed with a sign I pass (partially because I agree with it) that sits in the window of a house I walk by daily. "Any government that is big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take it away." A silly-looking Obama figure is captioned with "Obamanation". I keep waiting to walk by and see a rock through the window - which I am ashamed to admit is one of the reasons I don't have a McCain poster on my own lawn. I am officially rambling now, but I think it is dangerous anytime there is too much of any one particular ideology. I felt the same when I lived in Utah. It might be what is really swaying me in favor of McCain this election year. I really respect people with unpopular opinions, even if I disagree with them. I think it is the highest form of patriotism to risk rocks through your windows or having your lawn spray painted or worse (maybe I'm just paranoid).

Political ramblings will be soon to follow in a separate posts. I know you will all be waiting on pins and needles to hear my opinion. ; )

"Oh, LG, you are getting so good at entertaining yourself!"

Yeah, that's what I was thinking as I was wrapping up a couple of emails from the upstairs office while the LG was quietly playing downstairs. As I walked down the hallway toward his room I could see two little puddles before he made his grand appearance looking like this:

Yes, that is the seat to his peewee potty seat that he likes to wear as a hat. Apparently, he also likes to use it to scoop water out of a very full sink and pour it over his head before wearing the potty as a top hat (I'm not interested in comments from the germ gallery). Creative and comical - that's what we are chalking this little mishap up to.

I don't think I could have captured my own feelings toward the situation as well as he appears to have done in the following pictures:

"You, Mister are in BIG Trouble!"

AND

"You, Mister know how to do a mess right!"

Book Tag

I was encouraged to get caught up on my summer reading by a recent tag (okay, not that recent) where you list 10 good books you have read. It sent me on a reading frenzy, so here they are in order. I tag the two Melanies, Ariana and whoever else reads who hasn't already done this. I need some more recommendations.

1. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen - Okay, so this one is a re-read. Whatever. Who doesn't like multiple doses of Mr. Darcy.
2. Atonement, Ian McEwan - I loved this book. Needless to say I wasn't a big fan of the movie in comparison. Regardless, I thought that the author did a superb job of painting believable characters. What intrigued me most was how I sympathized with all of the characters even though they all are at odds with each other at one point or another. Touching and depressing, but worth my time.
3. Light on Snow, Anita Shreve - This book was an easy to read, easy to understand, but not particularly enthralling, exhilarating or entertaining novel about a young girl who, when hiking in the woods with her father, stumbles across a newborn left in the snow. For as heavy as the subject matter should have been, I didn't find any of the characters or story line convincing enough to draw me in.
4. The Other Boleyn Girl, Phillipa Gregory - My mom lent me this one, and I was pleasantly surprised. Although it is a historical novel based on King Henry VII and the Boleyn sisters. It's pretty juicy and I'm sure that the author has taken more than a few liberties to create a very compelling story. Writing is so-so, but I would recommend this book as great airplane reading (which just happens to be where I read it).
5. Waiting for the Light to Change, Annette Haws - This was the weirdest book I have ever read. Not because the book itself is weird but more due to the subject matter. It was written by my debate coach in high school and is a supposedly fictional novel about a debate coach's experience, with the conflict centering around a mischievous policy debate team. It seems loosely factual rather than fictional to me, and I therefore remove myself from critiquing the actual contents of the book. Probably a particularly interesting read for anyone who graduated from my high school or who was ever involved in debate.
6. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, Frederick Douglas - This book blew me away. I had no idea that he was such an absolutely incredible individual. If I had to recommend just one of these 10 books, this would be it. He wrote this narrative himself when just in his late 20s as an escaped and later emancipated slave. It is just a testament to my belief that there are just some people who are truly unstoppable and that putting your mind to something is a very powerful thing. Seriously, check it out.
7. Kim, Rudyard Kipling - This one was not an easy read, but I am now a big fan of Kipling's writing style and will probably check out some others by him. The book is set in colonial India and as I am not an avid history buff, have a terrible memory, and am an imbecile when it comes to the details of Hinduism and Buddhism, I kept having to look things up. It took me a while to get through, but the language is so rich that I really felt like I was there and was also well worth my time.
8. The Stranger, Albert Camus - This was a VERY bleak book with a main character who IS the stranger. It's a short read, and very interesting. I won't get into all the literary analysis about this book, but it is out there. So bizarre is the main character that I couldn't help but like him even though he is pretty detestable. Anyway. Bizarre.
9. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini - I became a huge fan of Hosseini's after reading the Kite Runner. I know so little about the middle east generally, and Afghanistan specifically that both of these books have been fascinating. This book, however, struck a number of powerful chords with me, probably because I am a woman. I thought it was a realistic portrayal of unbelievable conditions that the women in Afghanistan must live through, and made me so grateful that I live in a much different world. Since the beginning of time, ladies, since the beginning of time. And to think that the world I enjoy really only began changing a few decades ago in just some parts of the world is a very eye-opening reminder of how lucky I am.
10. Katharine Graham Autobiography - I actually just recently started this book, but can hardly put it down. Graham is the woman who ran the Washington Post after her husband committed suicide. I feel like I am reading the story that Atlas Shrugged was based on. She was right in the middle of high-society and the political goings on in Washington from such an early age that the people she is connected to, things she saw and was involved in are truly inspiring. It also helped put me on planet earth about how much I, as someone who can't currently afford maids, and nannies, and butlers, can honestly expect to accomplish in a day or even a lifetime. It reminded me that even having the time to read 10 books is a luxury for people who spend their whole day trying to put food on the table. Also a must read recommendation.

Phew.

San Francisco

So I have been pretty lazy lately, and have lots of things in my head to blog about, but I should probably start off with something that will benefit my posterity. We took a trip the first week of September to San Francisco. As the whole fam (okay the LG only in utero) has been there before, we went to relax, no sightseeing involved. It was amazing, except for the drive which took about 12 hours instead of the 9 we had planned on. Not to mention that we didn't account properly for the scorching temps in the high desert in CA when we opted out of fixing our AC prior to the trip. Sweaty, sticky, crabby, cranky, poopy, and sleepy sum up those 12 hours. However, we arrived in time to grab some good Chinese food and get a good night's rest.

We stayed with my hip pushin-80-or-so-ish Aunt who lives in a sweet townhouse in "The Richmond" neighborhood - equipped with a guest suite which amply accommodated our little fam. I am really astounded at how cool my dad's sisters are. I also can't believe that all 11 of my dad's clan are still kickin'. Good genes and healthy lifestyles go a long way. Anyway, my Aunt was thrilled to let the LG drag her around in her own house by the hand and accept orders like sit, play, down, read, and walk. I thought that a lengthy explanation on the differences between dogs and people might be lost at his young age.

Here we are walking around Half Moon Bay with our friends who recently moved to SF from DC. It was a beautiful day and we were all a bit fascinated by a group of horses running along the coast. There was also tree climbing and other random horsing around.

It is also hard to pass up Muir Woods. It reminded us of the last time we were there with my nephew who was throwing tantrums disturbingly similar to those of the LG. My favorite part of the day was that it was a designated "quiet day" in the forest, so my parenting methods for handling these tantrums (i.e. strapping him in his stroller and letting him "work through" it on his own) were met with some nasty looks from passersby. I almost offered to let them take a whack at it. Go ahead, I dare you.

Another highlight was stumbling across a Steve and Barry's store near Fisherman's Wharf. There wasn't a great selection, but I did snag a couple of good finds for $8.95 a piece. The Bitten line by Sarah Jessica Parker is pretty basic but stylish. They even had some cute clothes for kids and the LG got a new pair of overalls.

Otherwise, it was a successful, relaxing getaway. I even finished a couple of books, making it possible to finally respond to a tag related to 10 good books I have read recently. Stay tuned. P.S. - please forgive my Photoshop gone awry