A Bad Kitty Christmas

Kyle and I have a tradition of buying a new Christmas book every year. In the past, we've purchased classics like Christmas Day in the Morning and The Polar Express, and fun, silly books like Llama Llama Holiday Drama. We never plan what we want to get, we just peruse the Christmas books and get whatever strikes our fancy at the time. This year, we found a book that is not only a great story with a sweet ending, lots of rhymes, and a healthy dose of alliteration, but particularly appropriate for us.

You may have seen an update from me earlier this week that our very ornery kitty, Ellie, knocked down our whole Christmas tree, making a huge mess and snapping the legs off beyond repair. After locking her in our bedroom for a couple hours and shedding a few tears in frustration, we packed up all the ornaments and lights, and decided that it would just be one less thing we'd have to deal with after MJ arrives.

Anyway, fast-forward to today... I went in search of our annual Christmas book, and the very first book I saw on the shelf was A Bad Kitty Christmas. Before even opening, I knew this would be our book.

It's a pretty humorous story at first, detailing all the damage Kitty causes at Christmas time, but then takes a turn for the sentimental as Kitty's family responds to the naughtiness.

I don't think there could be a better-fitting book for us this year, unless of course it had something to say about waiting on the arrival of a new baby. We still love our pretty kitty despite her destructive ways!

Super Nerds

Kyle and I have long fooled ourselves into thinking that we're really not that nerdy.  Sure, we like Star Trek.  Sure, we like Lord of the Rings.  Sure, we think Firefly was one of the most underrated shows ever.  But, we're not that nerdy, right?

A couple weeks ago we went to a book signing that solidified our super nerd status forever, though.  We've been to book signings before, but not like this one.  This time we went to a signing for a fantasy fiction writer, Brandon Sanderson.



I am currently reading his Mistborn series, and Kyle has read just about all of his books, with the exception of his young adult series.  I'm usually more into the Jane Austen-like works of fiction, but I find myself really enjoying this series.  (Kyle attributes this change to Twilight.  He says that series opened me up to more fantastical writing.) 

Sanderson has become more well-known recently in large part because he was tasked with completing the writing for the late Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.  Jordan tragically passed away before the finale of his twenty-odd-years-in-the-making series was complete.

The signing was really fun and surprisingly packed.  I couldn't believe how many other super nerds were in the St. Louis area for this.  The line of people wrapped all the way around this massive Barnes and Noble.



We told ourselves we were the coolest people there to make ourselves feel better.  Either way, it was cool for Kyle to get to meet one of his favorite living authors.  I'm sure my mom will have a good laugh at our expense when she finds out we went to a fantasy writer's book signing.



Come on, Mom.  It couldn't be any worse than the time we went to the midnight Return of the King premiere in costume, right?  After all, there were no wigs, elf ears, or chain-mail body suits involved this time!



Keepin' it real,
C-Bizzle

I owe it all to Laura Ingalls Wilder

Lately I've been thinking a lot about style. A frivolous line of thought, I'm sure. Nonetheless, it has captured my mind. I've not been thinking much about clothing style, but about the style of my home, about the way I want it to look and feel when people come in, about the way I feel when I'm there. The problem is, I have never been able to figure out what my style is. I've even taken quizzes that are supposed to help you figure out what your decorating style should be. They were inconclusive. I wasn't even "eclectic." I was just "unknown."

So lately I've been trying to refine my tastes. I've been trying to bring together elements of my life that I love and incorporate it into our home. It has been a challenge.

Over Christmas break, I discovered Anthroplogie at Woodfield Mall. Wow, was it perfect for me! I cannot think of a store I have ever loved more. I came out of there with a fresh perspective and tons of inspiration. When I came home, however, I was still having a hard time putting it all together... until tonight.

Tonight I had a self-revelation. Tonight I figured out what to call my style. I'm a modern girl with a prairie flare. It makes so much sense to me for so many reasons.

I could never decide as a child whether I liked living in town with my mom, or being in the country with my dad more. I have so many wonderful memories in both places. To this day, I cannot make up my mind.

I love the benefits of being in town, being close neighbors and friends, restaurants and places to go out; everything is at our fingertips. On the other hand, my heart swells to think of our family farm, acre upon acre of rich, black soil, green grass beneath my bare feet, gigantic, old oak trees, cows in the pasture, adventures in the woods with my cousins, and nothing but the sounds of nature for miles.

I've come to the conclusion that I want my home to be in town (or even a large city), but I still want that feeling I get when I am on the Johnson farm.

What does this all have to do with Laura Ingalls Wilder, you ask? I'll explain.

When I was very young, I did not like being at my dad's house. There were a number of reasons. Mostly, I think it is because I was bored. I had far more luxuries at my mother's house. All of my best toys were there. I had a pool. I had cable television, and a TV in my bedroom. I had air conditioning. I had sixty Barbies and tons of other dolls. I had dress-up clothes and my mother's perfume. I had a cat. I had my best friend, Erin, next door.

At some point between the ages of 9-11, however, my attitudes began to change. I can only attribute this change to the books I was reading at the time. I distinctly remember books becoming alive to me in 4th grade. I was reading The Secret Garden, Charlotte's Web, Anne of Green Gables, and most importantly, The Little House series.

As I opened the pages of Little House in the Big Woods, I no longer felt bored or unfortunate to be in the country, I felt blessed. I began to see all the adventure and opportunities for imagination that surrounded me. I put on my Little House outfit (a long flowery skirt and a bonnet) and began prancing through the yard. I remember bounding across the lawn with glee and shouting at my dad that I wished we had a covered wagon.

On our 36 acre farm there is a pond, two very old farmhouses (one with a secret stair case), several barns, beautiful gardens full of flowers and vegetables, hills that were, according to my older cousins, haunted by the ghosts of Indians, and so much more. If you cross the property line through the woods, you'll find an 19th century private cemetery that belonged to the family that originally built our farm.

I am so happy that I read those books. They truly helped me to appreciate the history and adventure that was beneath my feet. It was not until tonight that I realized how I am influenced by them to this day.

I can look around now and see that my home is some odd blend of my mother's more sophisticated taste, and the earthiness of the Johnson farm. I can look around and see that my taste is my own and that it doesn't have to fit the definitions of any design book. I owe it all to Laura.

"When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does." -Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan), You've Got Mail

The best little place you've never heard of...

Well, maybe you've heard of it, but as of two weeks ago, I had not. Coram Deo bookstore is a delightful little place north of Carbondale. You pull up to an old farmhouse remodeled to resemble and English country cottage. As you walk in the door, you'll find wall-to-wall books, beautful woodwork, a warm fire, and big leather chairs that beckon.

Upstairs and down are brimming with thousands of titles, everything from classic literature to reformed theology. Many of the books are collectible items, bound in leather and hand-tipped, with a scent that only old books can have. In the heart of the house there is Scottish and Irish memorabilia, jewelry, sweets, and other handmade crafts. You can enjoy a complimentary cup of Irish coffee or tea and sit by the fire.

The store is owned by a local family, Mark and Jane Akin. Together they have 11 children. They opened the store a few years ago in hopes that it would be a resource for local pastors and lovers of literature. It is a jewel for Southern Illinois. It would be a jewel anywhere, but as it is difficult to find high-quality culture in this area, it is a true blessing to me. I cannot wait to go back and share this with my friends and family.

Kyle, Drew, and I stayed there for over two hours exploring both floors of the house and chatting with the family that owns it. It was a wonderful afternoon and I could have spent even more time there. They are only open on Saturdays from 10am to 5pm, so next time you have a few free hours on a Saturday, I highly recommend that you journey up Reed Station Road and check it out.

106 Books

These are the top 106 books most often marked as "unread." As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded, but not to be read. A $ for the ones you own, * for the ones you've read, ** for the ones you read for a class, *** the ones you started but did not finish.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Anna Karenina $ ***
Crime and Punishment $
Catch-22 $ *
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Wuthering Heights $ ***
The Silmarillion $
Life of Pi
The Name of the Rose
Don Quixote
Moby Dick $
Ulysses
Madame Bovary
The Odyssey
Pride and Prejudice $ *
Jane Eyre ***
A Tale of Two Cities $ **
The Brothers Karamazov
Guns, Germs, and Steel
War and Peace $
Vanity Fair
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Iliad **
Emma $ *
The Blind Assassin
Zatoichi
The Kite Runner
Mrs. Dalloway
Great Expectations **
American Gods
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Atlas Shrugged
Reading Lolita in Tehran
Quicksilver Exposition
Wicked $ *
The Canterbury Tales $
The Historian
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Love in the Time of Cholera
Brave New World
The Fountainhead ***
Foucault's Pendulum
Middlemarch
Frankenstein $
The Count of Monte Cristo $
Dracula $
A Clockwork Orange
Anansi Boys
The Once and Future King
The Grapes of Wrath $ **
The Poisonwood Bible
1984
Angels & Demons
The Inferno
The Satanic Verses
Sense and Sensibility $ *
The Picture of Dorian Gray $ *
Mansfield Park $ *
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
To the Lighthouse
Tess of the D’Urbervilles
Oliver Twist
Gulliver's Travels
Les Misérables
The Corrections
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Dune $
The Prince
The Sound and the Fury
Angela's Ashes
The God of Small Things
A People’s History of the United States
Cryptonomicon
Neverwhere
A Confederacy of Dunces
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Dubliners
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Beloved
Slaughterhouse-five
The Scarlet Letter $ ***
Eats, Shoots & Leaves
The Mists of Avalon
Oryx and Crake
Collapse
Cloud Atlas
The Confusion
Lolita
Persuasion $
Northanger Abbey $ *
The Catcher in the Rye $
On the Road
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Freakonomics
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The Aeneid
Watership Down
Gravity's Rainbow
The Hobbit $ *
In Cold Blood
White Teeth
Treasure Island
David Copperfield $
The Three Musketeers $

I feel pretty awful about all the ones we own, but I have not read. At least Kyle has read most of them. I'm such a poser.

I'll tag Kyle because he's read more than just about anyone I know "just because," and Bonnie, who's practically a reading major (hooray for English), and Jon, because he's always asking people "Whatcha been readin' these days, brother?"

Current Reading List

Spiritual growth, just for fun, mental heavy lifting, and professional development... I've got it all on my list right now!

p.s. This does not include the many, many blogs I read on a daily basis or the podcasts I listen to several times a week.

All Jane Austen, all the time.

I sat at home on a perfect stormy evening last night and watched The Jane Austen Book Club and read Emma. The movie had some awkward parts and some not-so-fantastic acting, but I liked it overall. It has me very excited for my upcoming Jane Austen garden tea party.

In a few weeks I get to sit with my own friends and talk about these fantastic books. I'm trying to get my husband to read Northanger Abbey. He's only been exposed to Emma and he did not like it. I think N.A. is the least girly of them all. I'm going to try to re-read every Austen book by the end of the year. I've already done Pride & Prejudice. Anybody want to start a book club?

It feels wonderful to be able to read for fun! This is the first Sunday in a long time that I haven't been in a panic about what's due on Monday.