Silly me, I kept waiting for the end of July to do my semi-annual wrap up of the books I've read. Then I just realized the 6 month mark actually hit a month ago. OKAY... School's about to start next month and my book reading will have to diminish greatly again.
So, here's the books I've read so far this year, and the rating system:
1 star: Didn't like it at all
2 stars: It was ok
3 stars: Liked it
4 stars: Really liked it
5 stars: It was amazing
The 5 star books will be in color.
January:
***** Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn
February:
**** It's Just My Nature! A Guide to Knowing and Living Your True Nature by Carol Tuttle
*** The Geography of Love by Glenda Burgess
***** Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink
March:
*** Dressing Your Truth: Discover Your Personal Beauty Profile by Carol Tuttle (her book got a 3 star but her program she offers online is 5 stars all the way)
**** For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men by Shaunti Feldhahn
** Never let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
**** The Romantic's Guide: Hundreds of Creative Tips for a Lifetime of Love by Michael Webb
April:
*** Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
*** Veronika Decides to Die by Paolo Coelho
*** Figure It Out! The Real Woman's Guide to Great Style by Geri Brin
** Does This Make Me Look Fat?: The Definitive Rules for Dressing Thin for Every Height, Size, and Shape by Leah Faldon
*** Little Bee by Chris Cleave
**** Succulent Wild Woman by Susan Ariel Kennedy
May:
***** Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd (this was a 5 star for me personally but for ease of reading it was a 3 star)
***** 1,000 Artist Journal Pages: Personal Pages and Inspirations by Dawn Devries Sokol
***** Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond The Unexpected by Claudine Hellmuth
June:
** Eat Mangoes Naked: Finding Pleasure Everywhere by Susan Ariel Kennedy
**** The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker
**** Friendship with God: An Uncommon Dialogue by Neale Donald Walsh
July: (let's just include this anyways)
** Room by Emma Donoghue
***** God is No Laughing Matter: Observations and Objections on the Spiritual Path by Julia Cameron
**** Remembering Wholeness: A Personal Handbook for Thriving in the 21st Century by Carol Tuttle
**** Matched by Ally Condie
**** Bossypants by Tina Fey
**** An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer
***** Life's Alphabet Soup by Terri Ferran
If you want to see the full reviews go to my account at Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1028984-clarice
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
16 years
16 years and counting....we've been married 16 years. That seems like ALOT and it is! I LOVE that we've gone above and beyond the 15 year mark. The next big milestone is 20 years and that's not too far away.
For our anniversary we decided (ok, I decided) to hike to the Y. For those of you that don't know, it's this:
Yep, straight up a mountain!
Funny thing is people kept on telling me to do something else. There ARE prettier hikes to go on, but me and my strong personality, I wanted to accomplish something I had never done before. How can I live in Utah almost my entire life and never have hiked up to the Y on the mountain I have been living under for many, many years? No longer. I was going to do this!
So here we are at the base, ready to start hiking:
Oh wait, maybe I DON'T want to do this. Nah. I'm not going back down only to have to come back up and do this all over again, when I'm ready to attempt again. Better to do it right the first time, right?
It's funny how the climb went actually. Pretty close to the beginning Ken saw a trail (if you can call it that) that went straight up the mountain instead of the path that zigzagged a less steep way for all of us "normal" people. Ken decided he wanted to go up that way and meet me where the paths converge again. He made sure to ask if that was ok with me, and since I'm not one to say no, I said go for it.
It took him just as long to travel the steep path as it took me to slowly climb the regular path. (I was still getting used to the climb and started out pretty slow). Then from there on out we traveled our paths differently. Since I was slower, Ken would hang back a bit and let me move forward, then run up and catch up with me. Or sometimes he'd run ahead, but then get to wait for me. A lot of the time we walked hand in hand though, and often he got to wait a moment while I sat down to give my breath a rest.
It reminded me a bit like that poem Footprints in the Sand. Sometimes we walk alone, sometimes we walk together. But always we were aware of each other and our place on the path. For some the path is easier, for others they prefer to take life more at a leisurely path. Some can't make it up the hill, they turn around and go back. Some were carrying their children on their backs. Some traveled in groups, others traveled alone. But we were all there to experience life to it's fullest.
Alright, so enough of that. But really, I was REALLY glad I chose to go. This is exactly what I needed and wanted to do at this moment in my life. Here we are at the top. You can see the background is white and that is the painted rock that makes up the Y.
As you can see, it was pretty dark by the time we got up there:
Magical kisses:
And memories:
So happy to be together. Life is good, even when it's hard sometimes. It's worth it. It is. Better to travel this world together, then apart. I love you Ken. We've created something wonderful. And we're still creating each and every day. May God Bless us and may we always strive to be the best we can be.
For our anniversary we decided (ok, I decided) to hike to the Y. For those of you that don't know, it's this:
Yep, straight up a mountain!
Funny thing is people kept on telling me to do something else. There ARE prettier hikes to go on, but me and my strong personality, I wanted to accomplish something I had never done before. How can I live in Utah almost my entire life and never have hiked up to the Y on the mountain I have been living under for many, many years? No longer. I was going to do this!
So here we are at the base, ready to start hiking:
Oh wait, maybe I DON'T want to do this. Nah. I'm not going back down only to have to come back up and do this all over again, when I'm ready to attempt again. Better to do it right the first time, right?
It's funny how the climb went actually. Pretty close to the beginning Ken saw a trail (if you can call it that) that went straight up the mountain instead of the path that zigzagged a less steep way for all of us "normal" people. Ken decided he wanted to go up that way and meet me where the paths converge again. He made sure to ask if that was ok with me, and since I'm not one to say no, I said go for it.
It took him just as long to travel the steep path as it took me to slowly climb the regular path. (I was still getting used to the climb and started out pretty slow). Then from there on out we traveled our paths differently. Since I was slower, Ken would hang back a bit and let me move forward, then run up and catch up with me. Or sometimes he'd run ahead, but then get to wait for me. A lot of the time we walked hand in hand though, and often he got to wait a moment while I sat down to give my breath a rest.
It reminded me a bit like that poem Footprints in the Sand. Sometimes we walk alone, sometimes we walk together. But always we were aware of each other and our place on the path. For some the path is easier, for others they prefer to take life more at a leisurely path. Some can't make it up the hill, they turn around and go back. Some were carrying their children on their backs. Some traveled in groups, others traveled alone. But we were all there to experience life to it's fullest.
Alright, so enough of that. But really, I was REALLY glad I chose to go. This is exactly what I needed and wanted to do at this moment in my life. Here we are at the top. You can see the background is white and that is the painted rock that makes up the Y.
As you can see, it was pretty dark by the time we got up there:
Magical kisses:
And memories:
So happy to be together. Life is good, even when it's hard sometimes. It's worth it. It is. Better to travel this world together, then apart. I love you Ken. We've created something wonderful. And we're still creating each and every day. May God Bless us and may we always strive to be the best we can be.
Thursday, July 07, 2011
New home
This is the house that the Applegates moved into:
I can't wait to hang a pretty wreath there, I'm thinking a raffia one:
Kind of like this one I found on someone's blog a few years ago:
This is the church right across the street, from the house that the Applegates moved into.
This is the garden that has recently been weeded,(thanks Mom for helping me) in the backyard, of the house that the Applegates moved into.
These are the honeysuckle bushes which are my favorite part of the house that the Applegates moved into (smells SO good)
Here's some of the trees in the backyard of the house that the Applegates moved into. (We have 2 pear and 2 apple trees which I can't wait to buy a hammock for)
These are the boys who played with the boxes at the house that the Applegates moved into.
and played in the couches in the house that the Applegates moved to.
These are the books that the Applegate mom so lovingly sorted by color on her bookshelves.
These are the new couches that the Applegate mom found for only $75 at a yard sale the week before the Applegates moved into their new home.
This is the kitchen with the red table and chairs in the house that the Applegates moved into. (I plan on hanging a map up along the wall there)
This is the vinyl which shall be hung on the walls in the house that the Applegates moved into:
THE END. or maybe just the Beginning....I think we'll be happy here...
I can't wait to hang a pretty wreath there, I'm thinking a raffia one:
Kind of like this one I found on someone's blog a few years ago:
This is the church right across the street, from the house that the Applegates moved into.
This is the garden that has recently been weeded,(thanks Mom for helping me) in the backyard, of the house that the Applegates moved into.
These are the honeysuckle bushes which are my favorite part of the house that the Applegates moved into (smells SO good)
Here's some of the trees in the backyard of the house that the Applegates moved into. (We have 2 pear and 2 apple trees which I can't wait to buy a hammock for)
These are the boys who played with the boxes at the house that the Applegates moved into.
and played in the couches in the house that the Applegates moved to.
These are the books that the Applegate mom so lovingly sorted by color on her bookshelves.
These are the new couches that the Applegate mom found for only $75 at a yard sale the week before the Applegates moved into their new home.
This is the kitchen with the red table and chairs in the house that the Applegates moved into. (I plan on hanging a map up along the wall there)
This is the vinyl which shall be hung on the walls in the house that the Applegates moved into:
THE END. or maybe just the Beginning....I think we'll be happy here...
Friday, July 01, 2011
Boise Idaho
Last month I took the chance to ride up with my mother to Boise, Idaho to visit my sister Anita. Of course we had to bring the boys to play with their cousins.
You know their favorite part was probably getting to play the Aspen's video games:
Tasha and Hannah hanging out. (We brought along Natasha specifically because her and Hannah get along well)
Trying on the antler ears at the MK Nature Center in Boise:
Picking up a "pretend" heavy fish:
"REAL" animals:
This snake WAS real, it was on it's way to visit an elementary school:
Reading about fish eggs:
Looking in the aquariums:
Natasha finally out of bed, she spent the first day with allergies and asthma, I forgot to bring her inhaler and had to call in a prescription for a new one to the Boise Costco, poor girl:
Look Mom! Egyptian heiroglyphics! Sure, Egyptians in Idaho, Kalel! I think the word is petroglyphs?
They had beautiful flowers there too:
Photo opp!
Me with my mom and sister!
Smile Mom! I love when I get to snap a fun picture of her by surprise!
Roasting marshmallows in Anita's back yard:
And the kids camped out in the tent, they spent the whole night there I was surprised. I thought they'd get cold, but they didn't.
Thanks Anita and Chris for having us over and for the delicious FOOD! I say I should go visit my brother in Connecticut next, it's been 2 years! (This is when I miss JB flight benefits)
You know their favorite part was probably getting to play the Aspen's video games:
Tasha and Hannah hanging out. (We brought along Natasha specifically because her and Hannah get along well)
Trying on the antler ears at the MK Nature Center in Boise:
Picking up a "pretend" heavy fish:
"REAL" animals:
This snake WAS real, it was on it's way to visit an elementary school:
Reading about fish eggs:
Looking in the aquariums:
Natasha finally out of bed, she spent the first day with allergies and asthma, I forgot to bring her inhaler and had to call in a prescription for a new one to the Boise Costco, poor girl:
Look Mom! Egyptian heiroglyphics! Sure, Egyptians in Idaho, Kalel! I think the word is petroglyphs?
They had beautiful flowers there too:
Photo opp!
Me with my mom and sister!
Smile Mom! I love when I get to snap a fun picture of her by surprise!
Roasting marshmallows in Anita's back yard:
And the kids camped out in the tent, they spent the whole night there I was surprised. I thought they'd get cold, but they didn't.
Thanks Anita and Chris for having us over and for the delicious FOOD! I say I should go visit my brother in Connecticut next, it's been 2 years! (This is when I miss JB flight benefits)
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