Recent Reading

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow are all snow days here in the state of Washington. No kidding- 95% of the state is out of school because of this deluge of snow. It's bizarre.

So it's a good time for me to write about what I've been reading lately. We'll start from farthest back:

Marley and Me.

Marley and Me was a fantastic, feel good book about a very bad dog, and his lucky owners. Really, it was the story of almost every dog family I know. We get these adorable puppies that are full of energy and naughtiness. They grow up to truly be our best friends, and yet they never really shed their naughty natures. -Thank goodness for that. Chester, our beagle, is five- and he still has the occasional day when he acts like he's a brand new pup.

The book was great, and I look forward to seeing the movie that opens on Christmas Day.

I love that each of Jodi Picoult's book challenges in some way what you think and why. This one was no different, but it somehow was just not my favorites of her books. In fact, it was probably my least favorite. The Pact tells the story of two families that are best friends and next door neighbors. Their kids grow up to fall in love, and inexplicably make a suicide pact that goes awry. The girl ends up dead and the boy is accused of her murder.

The book examines how lifelong friendships can be torn apart overnight and issues that might push teenagers over the edge.

There was a good reminder in the book, and that is this: teenagers need to be heard. In their lives, their problems are seemingly insurmountable, and adults tend to gloss over those problems with unhelpful sayings like: That happens to everyone. You'll get through it. or It's not that bad; just get over it. My job is working with teenagers (young ones), and it's important to remember to connect with them on their level, because they aren't able to connect with us on our level just yet.






Last night I finished reading John Baxter's non-fiction book Immovable Feast. Baxter was born in Sydney, Australia, lived a while in England, and settled in Los Angeles to make his living as a film critic. He met and fell in love with a French woman and moved to Paris. Did I mention he is also a chef?

This book tells the story of his move to Paris, his gradual acceptance into Marie-Do's family, and his preparation of this year's Parisian Christmas. Throughout the book he examines different Christmas food throughout the world, and what makes Paris unique in its Yuletide attitude and cuisine.

It was a delightful read, full of information and food. The only thing better than reading this book would be hearing these words from Baxter's own lips while sharing the table he so lovingly prepared for his family. -Yum.

The Madonnas of Leningrad

My school book club is reading The Madonnas of Leningrad, and I finished it last night. This is the tale of a woman in Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Russia, during WWII.

The story is set in the present (in Seattle), but the main character suffers from Alzheimer's, and frequently remembers the distant past more clearly than her immediate past. In Russia, before the war, she was a docent in the Hermitage art museum, and the book opens with her packing tens of thousands of pieces of art onto trains to be sent to Siberia for the duration of the war, to be safe from the Nazis.

After the art is gone, the Nazis nearly take Leningrad, and things go from bad to worse. The citizens are dying of hunger, there are no jobs, and the children are all sent away from the city for protection (just like the art). However, not many of the children returned.

The book was interesting for two reasons:

First, Bob and I took a vacation to Russia a couple of summers ago, and we saw much of St. Petersburg, the Hermitage, and the art skillfully described in the book.

Second, you just don't read much about Russia's perspective throughout WWII. For so long they were our most dangerous enemy that I think we neglected to view their suffering as equal to the rest of occupied Europe during WWII.

The book is only about 225 pages (which seems to be about 1,000 pages shorter than the shortest Russian book ever written). All in all, I thought it was a sweet little gem.

Da, I did.

Twilight... The Movie

I saw Twilight, the movie, yesterday. It was decent. Actually, it was really funny. I laughed quite a lot, and I was under the impression it was completely serious and drama-filled.

The special effects were LAME, but the movie overall was well done and followed the book accurately. I'm not disappointed at all.

Breaking Dawn (Not a spoiler)

Well I have FINALLY finished Stephenie Meyer's vampire series by completing the epic (in length not skill) novel, Breaking Dawn. Coming in at a whopping 750 pages, it was a bit of a doozy. And it wouldn't have been so bad if it had been well written. I'm fairly certain they employed an average monkey to copy write this bad boy.

Anyhoo... there were some interesting twists, and I did enjoy it. Actually I enjoyed the whole series despite myself and my love of well written prose. Still, there was something that engaged me enough to deal with controlling Edward and co-dependent Bella for damn near 3,000 pages. Wait, is that right? It might be less. Sometimes it seemed closer to 5K. I'm not sure.

Also, call me crazy, but I will be going to see Twilight the movie on Sunday with my English teacher friends and our husbands. Are we crazy? I think I'm going to call it a desire to stay current in young adult lit books and to be able to have a compare and contrast convo with my kiddos. Yeah, that's it.

Running, etc.

When I was in Boulder running the Bolder Boulder last spring, I saw this guy wearing some really interesting running shoes. I asked him what they were, and he said they were called Vibram's Five Finger Running Shoes. At that time, he said they weren't mainstream yet, but would be soon. More interestingly, he said he ran his fastest 10K time yet with them. Hmmm... I was intrigued.

Fast forward to now. I did some research on them, and they're supposed to strengthen the ENTIRE foot, kind of like running on the beach barefoot. It is interesting. I find that I run splay-toed, and that takes some getting used to. For now, I run in the Vibram's for the first 30 minutes, and then switch to my regular running shoes (with inserts), and they feel positively like running on clouds after the Vibrams. The jury is still out on these funny looking shoes.

This is my running set-up in the garage. It's fantastic, and I use it every day. Now it gets dark here at 4:25... so running inside is safer. I've got tons of motivation tacked to the walls in front of me (and Oprah's DVR'ed) so It's rather enjoyable, as far as treadmills go.

I've always wanted a treadmill, and it's just as wonderful as I imagined it would be. I love the convenience of running in my own garage. It's grrrrreat!

Veteran's Day Parade

Yesterday: Saturday, November 8th, the City of Auburn, Washington, had a Veteran's Day Parade, and Bob's troupe was invited to march in it. (You can see him at the front of the column of men... looking quite serious).

I love Veteran's Day, and even though this wasn't technically Veteran's Day, it was a powerful reminder. I have run the gamut of emotions regarding the military in these last six years. In OIF 1 (the first deployment) I really believed we were freeing these poor Iraqis from a terrifying regime. I thought it was a good thing that we were bringing them democracy. In OIF 3, the second time Bob deployed, I was much more cynical. We know many people who have been injured and killed over there, and we know far fewer people who believe what we are doing counts on the large scale. Though Bob can tell you heart warming stories about how what they are doing matters on the small scale... like guarding a girls' school so the girls wouldn't be kidnapped on their way home from school. But that could be done anywhere. And it was only being done in a nation that was rich with oil. Coincidence?

Anyway, yesterday as I watched these service men and women and veterans of all ages marching down the street, it reminded me that we are not the first generation to go through this frustration and deployment cycle. We're not the first to fight in a war we don't agree with or support whole heartedly. And with Obama coming to office, I am hopeful that things will change down the road. I am proud of our veterans. They have such a tough job, and they balance it all on a very full plate. Service to our nation and Family Time have a way of battling it out, and there are only so many days in the year and hours in those days.

Thank you, Veterans, from the bottom of our hearts.

Face On The Milk Carton

I started reading Face On the Milk Carton to my 7th Grade Orientation class a few minutes a day. Before I knew it, the quarter was over, and I hadn't had a chance to finish it. My kids checked every copy of it we had in the library, and I bought my own copy. Even though I had read it in high school, I couldn't remember how it ended.

Caroline B. Cooney's Face On The Milk Carton is about a high school girl called Janie Johnson who sees a picture of herself on a milk carton at lunch. She instantly understands that she's been kidnapped, though she doesn't remember the actual kidnapping. The entire book chronicles her mental journey as she tries to figure out if she is making up memories or if they are repressed. She can't imagine her loving parents as kidnappers, yet she is certain that picture is her as a little kid. The facts just don't line up.

I enjoyed reading it this time just as much as I did 15 years ago. It's an interesting read, and my kids really loved it.

Invisible Monster

Ooh... another great book by Chuck Palahniuk. He wrote Fight Club, and as you might expect there are fantastic twists in each of his books. I borrowed Invisible Monster from Rob, a fellow teacher, who thankfully has a refreshing perspective on literature. (The man has a background in literature but is teaching Math and Science. -It's a conundrum).

Invisible Monster is told from the perspective of a former model who had half her face shot off in a random free-way act of violence. In the months after the accident, she embarks on a quest with two interesting characters: one she-man, and one man with a serious identity problem... sexual and otherwise.

The story itself is fantastic, and there are lines that are so abruptly funny they rip the laughter from your throat. I found myself laughing in the most unexpected places even before my brain had a chance to process the fullness of the irony. Good stuff.

This, thankfully, was not Palahniuk's most disturbing book. They usually end, and I feel like I need to go read Elmo books or something. He has a way of showcasing human emotion and motivation in realistic, though sometimes depressing ways.

I've read many of his works, and by far, my most favorite is called Diary. I was actually in a stupor for about a week after reading it. I wasn't depressed, just absolutely captivated. It took that long, plus re-reading it one and a half more times to really absorb the plot twists. I would recommend it to nearly anyone: adult, that is.

I... Can't... Stop... Myself...

Don't hate me, Mc Cain lovers. This is the equivolent of the Obama/Biden sign in my yard. (Which I don't have, by the way: the sign, not the yard).

I really am hopeful for the future of the United States. May the best man win. And if that man is Mc Cain, and he dies of old age, I'm moving to Canada. I'm only 150 miles away. I could be there in hours.

Whatever your opinion: make your voice count on Tuesday.

Recent Reads

Two books I've read recently. One for kids, the other for adults.

I picked up This is San Francisco in a Borders bookstore in, you guessed it, San Francisco. Apparently there is a whole series of books in the This Is Collection (Rome, London, New York, etc). The book is full of vintage art that looks like it should be in books from our parents' childhood bookshelves. The narrative voice throughout leaves something to be desired. Still, I thought it made an excellent memento from the city.

Nicole Mones', The Last Chinese Chef, was our most recent book club selection. Mones tells the story of Maggie, whose husband was killed one year before, as she makes her way to China to research a paternity case filed against her deceased husband. Maggie, a food writer, interviews Sam, a Chinese chef, and undergoes a food education, second to none. I thought it was a simple story line with interesting characters. The shining gem in the book was the description of various foods: everything we know about Chinese food, here in America, is false.

I seriously need to make my way to China to try the real deal.

The Sights of San Francisco

Believe it or not, this was my first trip to California. Add another state to my list. There were "must see" things on the schedule, and here are the highlights:

Fisherman's Wharf (or Wharves?) at Pier 39. The crab was made out of flowers.

Me in front of Alcatraz. It doesn't seem like it would be too bad of a swim...

Robin and I having fun with this witch statue in one of the pier gift shops.

The seals... my absolute favorite part of the whole weekend. I could have watched them for hours. Talk about a study in sociology! They were hilarious.

Ghiradelli Square. Of course some chocolate had to come home with me.

A cupcake store! Not as great as "The Cupcakery" in Vegas. But I wouldn't turn down one of these yummy treats.The best way I know to "Carb Load."

Walking back from the Piers and Ghiradelli Square, we stumbled across Lombard Street, "The Crookedest Street in the world!" Also, not too relaxing of a walk for someone "resting" her legs for the marathon or for Robin who had just had foot surgery. Yikes!After Lombard Street, we ambled through Chinatown. The largest Chinese community outside of Asia. Not sure what was happening with this banner... perhaps another Cultural Revolution? Too tired to stay and ask.

There are other memories as well. Next time I go, I'll visit Alcatraz and see more of the cultural. I, perversely, probably, would like to get a picture of Hotel California. It was completely out of the way from anything we were near. Maybe next time.

It was a fantastic weekend, and the best part of it was spending time with Robin. I can't thank her enough for flying out to meet me (and feed me Luna Bars and bagels after the marathon). Thanks to her, we made it out of a sketchy neighborhood post marathon and are alive to tell of it today. So many memories and adventures. So little space to blog about it.

Not too shabby...

The Nike Women's Marathon was last Sunday, and I consider it a success. I flew in early Friday morning and met my friend Robin for a girl's weekend of sightseeing (and a long run thrown in).

This blog will detail the run, and tomorrow I'll put pictures of the sights.

So here I am on Friday, getting ready to pick up my running packet at Union Square. We stayed about a third of a mile from the starting line, which was perfect. San Francisco was basically turned into one huge Niketown for the weekend.

This is about 6:30 a.m. on Sunday. The race started at 7:00, so I am all nervous energy here in the hall outside our room. Ready to go!

There is the finish line. The fog hid it until I was right upon it... that was probably the most frustrating mile of my life!

Here I am 4 hours and 57 minutes after I started. No, not my fastest time, but it was definitely my best marathon. I never hit the wall; I never got angry; I was never absolutely discouraged (I've suffered all those things in every one of my other marathons).

My arms are full of goodies: a t-shirt, a Tiffany's necklace, granola, a smoothy... you name it, I was carrying it around in my happy stupor.


And here I am back in the hotel with my swag and and warm, dry fleece. I ended up coming in around 1,900 out of 20,000 runners, which I'm pretty pleased about. It says nothing for my time, really. I just means there were a whole bunch of women much slower than I was.

I wasn't sore afterward, and I didn't have any blisters. Just the usual chafing and overall fatigue.

While I enjoyed this marathon, I didn't have that relieved feeling afterward that I've had after all the others. I knew I would live through it, and I was pretty sure I would do okay. I'm ready for another challenge.

I'm thinking I need to either start running them faster, or I need to start looking in ultra-marathons. I could have done four more miles last Sunday. The shortest ultra-marathon is 30 miles. I'm thinking- if I can do 26.2, I can do 30. Does that sound crazy? Maybe just a little.

San Fran or Bust!

Early tomorrow morning I leave for San Francisco. It's surreal how fast the time has passed, and now I have the marathon monster staring me down. Sunday morning at 7:00, I'll start the race of a lifetime.

Each marathon is unique in weather, fellow runners, location, and when in my life it takes place. This one falls right after my 29th birthday. How empowering to be randomly chosen out of 100,000 runners to be one of 20,000 women to run this race. How amazing to be healthy and fit enough to undertake this kind of adventure. How fortunate to be able to meet my wonderful friend Robin for a girl's weekend.

It's going to be fantastic. So why am I so nervous?!

Eclipse

I just finished reading Stephenie Meyer's third book in the vampire series, Eclipse. It was a great read, and was much more enjoyable than the second book (though maybe not as good as the first)?

I've heard the fourth and final book (Breaking Dawn) is great, has tons of twists, and answers questions you didn't know you had. I'm a little surprised at myself for liking these books as much as I do. The teenage angst is off the charts, and the storyline is unbelievable. Still... there is something compelling in the pages that makes me want to finish the series.

My friend Bev sent me an uber-generous gift card to Barnes and Noble for my birthday. I know which book will be my first purchase. Breaking Dawn, you're coming home with me. Thanks, Bev!

Mt. St. Helen's

Day One: Sunny! Day Two: Moody!

Our school is pairing English and Science together for an amazing field trip to Mt. St. Helen's. It's a great chance for the kids to work on cross content work (meaning they write in Science class, basically).

So I took two different groups of kids last Wednesday and Thursday. The two days were both glorious, but couldn't have been more different. Day one was sunny, windy, and austere. We were all dressed for cold weather, and the day turned out quite toasty. In a word: beautiful.

Day two came, and it was pouring rain when we boarded the buses at school (three hours from the mountain), so naturally I was a bit concerned. However, we all had rain gear and good attitudes, so I thought it would be okay. It was much better than the first day even! The mountain was shrouded in clouds and mystery. The whole mood was somber and moody. I think it made for good writing.

Anyway, now I've been to Mt. St. Helen's (twice!). Next time I go, I'll be hiking it. Yay Washington!Day One: Squinting in the hot sun.

Day two with Science teacher Karla Hancock.