May 10, 2007

My Shameful Admission

Okay - so the word is out now due to discussion on others' blogs - I haven't read Lord of the Rings.

I've now finished The Children of Hurin.

SPOILER WARNING - if you haven't finished it yet, don't read on.

I was impressed by the story-telling and language. However, I was pretty disappointed with the ending. Long story short, everyone lives horrible lives and then dies. It was an intricately woven bit of literature, just not too cheery.

A curse is placed upon all of Hurin's kin and the story follows how this curse plays out. I'm glad Morgoth isn't a real life threat, although it chillingly reminded me of the One who is pure evil.

And when I say that everyone dies, I mean EVERYONE. Any character we get to know or like is a goner through various means. Hurin's daughter flings herself to her death while pregnant, his son is slain by an evil sword of his own will, Hurin's wife dies at the kids' burial site, then Hurin himself dies there too.

As an introduction to Tolkien, I may have chosen the wrong book. I was, however, advised to try reading The Hobbit, so I went to my local Christian book store and picked it up. I'm a sucker for hardback books and was so excited to find my choice there.

So my new reading adventure begins today. I'm sure it'll be fantastic and I already know that the main character makes it through the end alive because LOTR has Bilbo in it and it's a later date chronologically.

My daughter is knee deep into Harry Potter. She's now reading Chamber of Secrets and doing very well. I've come up with a new incentive. She's getting paid a penny per page, but will only recieve her money if she finishes the book. My theory is that she'll be encouraged to read bigger, more challenging books and therefore, be enriched further and develop a deeper love for reading.

It just wasn't working to have her read for a set period of time each day anymore. It worked for a couple of years, but now she ends up thinking of it like a chore instead of a privelage. It's the whole positive reinforcement thing.

So far, so good. I'll keep it up as long as it works. If it becomes ineffective, then I'll rethink and formulate a new attack strategy. Mwah ah ah...

May 8, 2007

Tagged

Eight Random Facts About Me

Here are the rules to anyone who gets tagged:

1. Post the rules of the game.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

My 8 Facts:

1. I love to scrapbook, though rarely do it as often as I'd like.

2. I tend to spout off relatively meaningless facts about random subjects at any point. If someone mentions water, I'll go into the fact that "80% of Americans walk around dehydrated and don't know it..." blah - blah - blah... You get the picture.

3. The biggest reason for not liking certain foods seems to be that I don't like the texture rather than the actual taste. Prime example - avocado. Eeewww...

4. I write everything on Post-Its. I am a list-maker from way back and my new canvas of choice has been Post-Its. I write To Do lists and grocery lists, as well as lists of items to pack for a trip, etc.

5. I've never ventured outside the continental United States. How bad is this: I lived in San Diego, yet never made it to TJ right across the border and have lived for 12 years now in Washington state and have yet to make it across the Canadian border not 4 hours from here.

6. I was a dancer for 13 years and my professional career was about to begin at age 16 with a touring company called the Young Americans when I injured my knee and God clearly showed me that my life was going to turn out vastly different than I had imagined. Even though my dancing days ended and thus many of my lifelong dreams, I learned about God's will and thank him everyday for NOT letting my dreams come true.

7. Umm - I can't stand movies that are drama or romantic in nature. I love action/adventure and comedy. I live plenty of drama and romance in my real life, so what's the point in finding escapism in a movie that mirrors real life?

8. Okay - last one, think random... When I was little I used to swim a lot and could hold my breath for a really long time. I would sit on the bottom of the public pool (about 13 feet deep) and suck water in and out of my mouth hoping to somehow develop the ability to extract oxygen from the water, thus teaching myself how to breath under water.

*Okay folks, that's it.*

I don't have many blog-buddies and I know that two of them have already been tagged, so as soon as I find more, I'll tag them.

EDIT: I've tagged EverlastingScribe over at Scribe Scrawlings.

Our Upcoming Trip

Fast approaching is our trip down to California. I'll be driving one of my parents' cars down for them as they move all their worldly belongings back to the town whence we all came.

My grandmother is battling a rare lung disease and needs the care of my parents. She isn't yet saved, so the mission is that much more urgent. It's amazing to see the obedience to God that my mom and dad are showing. They're leaving all of their family to go on a long and difficult journey toward a woman whose resistance to all things Christian boggles the mind.

During such a difficult time, our entire family up here in Washington is pulling together in support of each other. We're throwing a going away/birthday BBQ this Saturday. My brother, myself and my daughter will all be driving down to ease the transition. I get to stay for two weeks and hopefully ease my own transition. I've only ever lived a few hours away from my parents and this is all pretty sudden.

The bonus is that I know I'll at least get to see my grandmother once before the end. I only pray that she'll see the love and sacrifice of my parents and recognize God's love in them. Though I may never know.

Another plus is that me and my daughter will get to spend time in the town I grew up in. The last time we were there she was only about three years old, so she didn't retain a lot from the trip. I'll now get to share the wonders of my childhood with her on a level that will make an impact on her for sure.

The biggest downside of the entire trip will be that Jeff will be here and I there. We've only ever spent two days apart in our nearly ten years of wedded bliss. I know I'll need his comfort and support and receive it no matter how distant we be. However, I feel led to go.

I'm sure I'll be struck with inspiration galore and get some writing done while I'm away from home. The beaches, sunsets and familiarity will definitely infiltrate my imagination - hopefully.

As it all comes to pass, I'll be keeping my blog updated and any who read it shall be thus kept in the proverbial loop.
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